Voyagers: August 2013

Our Most Excellent Summer Adventure, Summer 2011

We set out on our journey on March 31. We were excited about traveling and anxious to get out-west. We made it to Winnie, Texas on our first night. We stayed at the RV campground of the Texas Rice Festival and it was a well landscaped and groomed meeting grounds. It had numerous pavilions and meeting rooms and a large arena and outdoor stage for the festival and other events. The stock barns were large and well maintained. We had a good night but it was hot and humid. We really appreciated the air conditioning in the camper. Tomorrow we head on over to New Braunfels.

We were not satisfied with the New Braunfels RV Park so we just pulled into Wal-Mart and spent the night. We made a salad for dinner and then walked the dogs around the area. It was still hot so we shopped in Wal-Mart until after dark. It did cool down some but just as we were settling in for the night; huge flocks of Grackles came to roost in the trees around the Wal-Mart lot. Out in the corner where we were, the Grackles were very active for a long time and never really quieted down the entire night. We went to McDonald’s for breakfast and then headed west.

Well, here’s another update from our Out-West Summer Adventure. After departing the New Braunfels area, we arrived at Fort Stockton. It was the third hot day of our travels. The thermometer was at 98 but the humidity was fairly low. It was actually quite comfortable in the shade but the sun was a scorcher. We were glad to see the cooler air after sundown. We had a comfortable evening and a restful night. I saw some beautiful yellow roses in the neighborhood.

Traveling on to Socorro, we encountered a Texas dust storm with high gusts and blinding, stifling dust. We were fortunate to get to Socorro before we were forced to get off the highway. The storm lasted about 24 hours and we just stayed in the RV until it subsided. Fortunately, we had a nice campground with cable TV, Internet, Indoor pool, and comfortable accommodations.

We arrived at El Paso and spent two very enjoyable days with cousins Helen and Richard. What an interesting and stimulating visit we had with them. They’re world travelers and they’re really taking advantage of their retirement-phase to take new journeys. They shared their journals and photos from their many and diverse trips to various parts of the globe. (Helen makes great photography) We especially enjoyed the report on their recent cruise/tour trip to China, Taiwan, South Korea, and other places that I can’t recall after having slept. Their home is located in the NW upper-valley of El Paso, just a short distance from Mexico and New Mexico. We took a fun tour of El Paso and did a breath-taking overlook of the city and Rio Grande Valley from a summit on the Franklin Mountains.

New Mexico is about the length of a garden hose from their property. They drove us to visit Richards’s farm near Mesilla, NM. (Richard is a terrific tour-guide.) I enjoyed seeing the onions and alfalfa growing in the irrigated fields and cattle grazing on irrigated grasslands. We also saw thousands of acres of pecan orchards in the area and shopped the gift store and sampled ice cream at Stahman’s pecan processing company. We also had lunch and shopped at Mesilla, a quaint, historic settlement on the Rio Grande.

Helen and Richard gave us a tour of their beautiful home and grounds, including the very impressive stables, paddocks, and arena that are the facilities used for their Arabian show-horse support, maintenance and training activities. They’re both excellent horsemen and it’s good to learn from folks who have such a passion for the fine equestrian skills and showmanship in both dressage and western style riding.

I sure don’t want to understate the fine southwestern meals that we shared together. We enjoyed some great Mexican food from Rosie’s special recipes. Of course, we had a good sampling of those great New Mexico chili peppers! We started off with refreshments and hors d’oeuvres on their upstairs pergola, while watching the sunset in the west and the magical purple and grey tones playing on the Franklin Mountains to the east. We then moved below to the poolside for evening dinner, followed by deserts in the sitting-room.

Susan, from Colorado joined us as another houseguest on Tuesday for company and also riding on Wednesday with Helen. I couldn’t complement Helen on the scrumptious food without her reminding me that housekeeper Rosie was the chef. I really fancied the idea of bringing Rosie along with us so that we could continue enjoying the delicious recipes from her repertoire. What wonderful hosts our cousins have been! Terry and I just loved the fine hospitality and our visit with Richard and Helen. We look forward to seeing them again and hopefully entertaining them in the future.

We arrived on Wednesday in Alamogordo, after a picnic lunch at White Sands Monument, we went for a visit with Chuck and Nancy. They have a beautiful and very comfortable home on the upslope of the Jarilla Mountains, overlooking Alamogordo and the White Sands plateau to the west. We enjoyed meals and catch-up conversation with Chuck and Nancy and walked around the neighborhood in the evening, including a terrific overlook of the White Sands area from their mountainside park.

Chuck and Nancy retired here from Salt Lake. We talked about all the retirement activities that they enjoy in Alamogordo. They also travel every few months and Chuck showed me his savvy procedures on Internet web sites finding cruises, hotels, airlines, and all sorts of travel opportunities at bargain-basement prices. Chuck and I worked together at the Lockheed-Martin rocket-ranch in the Waterton Canyon, near Denver. He took me under his wing and taught me about Master Production Scheduling while we were working on a Manufacturing Resource Planning System for the company. This was the computer-technology part of building the Titan Rockets that launched the twenty-four satellites of the GPS network that we all use and enjoy today. There were also other satellites launched, but that was classified and we didn’t know for sure what the satellites were designed for. I also told Chuck that I had visited Monty last summer in Mack, CO. The three of us worked together in Denver. Chuck is a staunch researcher and Systems Analyst and working with him benefited me for the rest of my career.

Nancy is a retired teacher and we share a lot of common hopes for the future of American Education. I learned that the nearby Hollomon Air Force Base has been training German Air Force pilots for a number of years now. The German children initially attended the local schools until the German military command determined that they had fallen too far behind when returning to the German Schools from the American school. Hollomon AFB now has a German school with German teachers in the Alamogordo area to provide the quality education the German pilots expect and demand for their children. What a disgrace for the local school district. Sad but true.

Chuck and Nancy expressed an intention to join us at Heyburn State Park in north Idaho this summer. Hopefully they can do just that! Terry and I will be there May 14/July 8 and we welcome any visitors.

We had a fine breakfast and spent a relaxed and casual morning with Chuck and Nancy, before we departed and continued our travel towards Las Vegas, NV.

Tonight, we’re in Quemado, NM. Just west of the continental divide and about 30 miles east of the Arizona line. The US 380 and US 60 highways facilitate a very scenic drive across central New Mexico. The mountains along the route are 7-10,000 feet with high valleys between the ranges. We stopped by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Datil (in the Plains of San Agustin) today. (This high plain is surrounded by volcanic uplifts and you can see this at great distances in a 360 degree panorama. (It was filled with water as a huge high lake in the distant past) Here, we got to see some of the huge dishes being remotely controlled for repositioning. We got to do the whisper-experiment where Terry and I talked in a whisper that was directed to the listener in amazing clarity. This demonstrated how the parabolic receiver dishes work. We saw a rattlesnake, pronghorn, and a prairie dog colony today too. We’re now at about 7000 feet elevation and its windy and cold tonight.

Well, last night was quiet and we got a good dinner and rest. We continued through central New Mexico and on into Arizona heading toward Las Vegas, Nevada. We visited the Petrified Forest National Park and had lunch near the Crystal Garden. It was getting very windy so we made a short hike among the petrified logs and were very impressed with the mineral colors and patterns that are present in the logs. We continued on to Winslow and encountered some very high wind gust and blowing dust. We slowed down and broke through it just east of Flagstaff.

We’re settled in a good campground and the weather service is predicting 6-10 inches of snow tonight and Saturday. We had planned on arriving in Las Vegas on Sunday but we may be here in Flagstaff until in it clears on Sunday.

Well, we went to sleep with no snow as predicted but it came in the middle of the night! I awoke about 3am and the outside sounded muffled and blanketed. I looked out the window and sure enough, we already had about eight inches on the picnic table. The weather predictions were right-on and we watched the snow until about noon Saturday. After lunch the snow slowed and we began to make preparations to depart for Las Vegas. The streets and Interstate were clear but the campground had not been plowed in our section. My neighbor and I asked for the loop to be plowed and away we went. Unfortunately, the roads were not clear to the west as we expected. We drove through some heavy, blinding snow, and it continued all the way to Kingman, AZ. It was a welcome sight, when we headed north on a dry, clear, scenic, Hwy. 93 to Las Vegas. We were so glad to get out of the snow and slush that we decided to drive on into Las Vegas. We arrived at Samstown about 9pm and settled into a very comfortable and well-located Samstown RV Resort just east of the strip and downtown. This RV Resort has a lot of amenities and our dogs have lots of neighbor dogs to visit. We went to Aunt Pat's (Terry's Aunt Pat has lived in Las Vegas since 1956.) in North Las Vegas on Sunday and then over to her cousin Jim's for a bar-b-cue. A whole bunch of Terry's cousins were there and it was fun to reunite with them and meet the others for the first time. We had a real mix of interesting people. They are a very close family and they work together and have a lot of get-togethers in North Las Vegas. Of course, the cousins who live and work here don't go to the strip or downtown, so we did our own tours on Sunday night and Monday. This evening, we're having dinner with Pat, daughter Deborah, and husband Larry. Larry works for the city and knows everything that's been and is. Larry grew up in Las Vegas. He also likes restaurants and is taking us to one of his favorites tonight.

Tomorrow, we head out to Sacramento to meet cousins Jim and Maureen coming from Albany, CA.

Today, we drove from Las Vegas north on US 95 to Tonopah, NV. We’re camping in an RV Park associated with the local casino. We made dinner and took a walk around the area. This is an old silver and gold mining town and it’s like going back in time. It’s a rough and tumble type town and people still work in mining here. You can see some interesting characters around the town. On the way up, we saw the Death Valley part of Nevada. I didn’t realize that Death Valley extended eastward into Nevada. We also passed several brothels on US 95 in the huge desert. They advertise on billboards and there looked to be some customers in the middle of the day. I wonder if they have group health insurance coverage.

This morning, I looked around Tonopah before heading out to Carson City. The community began about 1900 with the discovery of gold and silver rich ore by prospector Jim Butler when he went looking for a lost donkey he owned. The burro had wandered off during the night and had sought shelter near a rock outcropping. When Butler discovered the animal the next morning, he picked up a rock to throw at the beast, but instead noticed the rock was unusually heavy. He had stumbled upon the second-richest silver strike in Nevada history. Now the town depends on the Tonopah Test Range for its employment. The military has used the range as a nuclear test site, bomb range, and F-117 Nighthawk testing.

We headed on northwest on US 95. The route follows close to the east California line. You can just about spit into California at times. Today I saw a huge salt flat up around Beatty and realized that Death Valley extends into Nevada. At Hawthorne today, there was a 4.4 earthquake, as I learned on the 6pm news in Carson City. It was very windy and dusty at that time and I experienced a series of weird shakes on the road that I dismissed as strange wind gusts. Hawthorne is an old military ordnance depot and hundreds of half-buried bunkers are scattered throughout the desert there. We had lunch there and observed that the town is still mostly Army military operations. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center is also located there. You’ll have to figure that one out on your own. We were not allowed to tour the place! We also saw white pelicans on Walker Lake. That was sure a surprise to me.

We cut off US 95 at Schurz over to US395 and followed the Walker River up Wilson Canyon through a series of very impressive volcanic cliffs. The river is clear, cold, and fast as it comes down the canyon to the valley below. I must say that Smith valley and Carson Valley are beautiful, productive garden spots of Nevada. The waters from the Sierra Nevada Mountains water-shed, on the eastern slope make it all possible. Irrigation is producing alfalfa, timothy, and blue stem hay. Onions, potatoes, and sugar beets are the root crops. Wheat, barley, and other grains are heavy producers in the valleys.

Now I have to stop and walk the dogs. I’ll send more later.

Carson City is the smallest state capital. The city and Carson River are named after one of my favorite “mountain man” characters, Kit Carson, who led John C. Fremont and company through the area in 1843. It’s a beautiful valley and visited by beautiful bald eagles in the winter.

Thursday night and we’re in Sacramento California. Today, we traversed the Sierra-Nevada mountain range on old US Hwy. 50. We climbed up to 6000 feet and traveled along the south shore of Lake Tahoe. I still think about the Cartwright’s of TV’s Bonanza when I see the huge Ponderosa pines on the mountains. Of course Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America, is breathtaking, with it’s clear, turquoise water with the snow-covered mountains surrounding it and reflecting on its surface. I think that the lake is about 12 miles by 22miles. You can forget about bottom-fishing on Lake Tahoe, it’s 1645 feet deep. Tahoe is a very popular resort area but the economy has created some good buys on some million-dollar condos. If you can afford the gasoline and food at Tahoe, you can surely afford the condos!

We headed on west through the mountains and let me tell you it’s a breathtaking drive. The pass in under 8 thousand feet but the grades are long and steep. For instance, the same US Highway 50 crosses the Rocky Mountains in Colorado at 12,000 feet and the grades are more moderate and shorter. Boy do the Sierra Nevada’s have some fine trees to enjoy. The cypress, pine, redwood, and yew families are all there. What an awesome site and sight. We came down the western slope and encountered the oaks that extend all the way into the Sacramento valley. Now there are a lot of fast-moving Californians in the beautiful valley. We’ll tour the old town down at the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers. This historic area still has the shady old oaks and cottonwoods along the rivers. I read that the early Spanish visitors were so comforted in the valley that they compared it to the Holy Sacrament.

Tomorrow, we’ll meet cousins Jim and Maureen from Albany, CA. We’ll spend a couple of days touring around and visiting with them.

Today, Jim and Maureen arrived from San Francisco. We toured the old town in downtown Sacramento. It was like going back in time to see the historical buildings and monuments about the pioneer days of Sacramento. There are museums, monuments, and restaurants to meet every interest. Of course, the shopping opportunities abound in the area. This truly is the “Emerald Valley”!

On Saturday, we went to the 40-acre California State Capital Building and grounds.

Maureen is a design and landscape professional, so we got a lot of insight and information from her. Sacramento is a beautiful Capital City and the State Capital is a jewel for the state. The Capital Building architecture, furnishings, and art really give the visitor an appreciation for the wealth, beauty, and progressiveness of California. Jim had a lot of information to share about California and the local area. The grounds are a perfect landscape of trees from around the state, country, and world. The gardens are the finest examples of the plants as well. We were very impressed with the wide-variety of roses in the Rose Garden and we did a lot of sniffin’ with the bees. It really must be seen to fully grasp the significance, order, and message of the building and grounds.

Jim and Maureen have been such good tour guides and our visit was just perfect. We had lots of time to just stroll, sit, talk and take in the sights, sounds and aromas of the Old Sacramento. Let me be sure and state that the best part of our visit was seeing cousins Jim and Maureen. They’re world travelers and full of fun experiences and stories to share. It’s really good to have these cousins in California. Perhaps we’ll have an opportunity to entertain them in our region sometime!

Sunday, April 17

On Sunday, we move up northern California, toward Humboldt county and California’s Redwood Coast. Humboldt county is home to the tallest and largest, old-growth redwood groves from Big Sir to the Oregon state line. The Sacramento Valley is a huge patchwork of rice, wheat, orchards, and vineyards. Large corporate agriculture like Archer Daniels, Midland and ConAgri along with large private farms produce side-by-side. We traveled I-5 to Williams, CA. then headed west on CA 20 to US 101. This route passed through chartreuse-green rolling hills. We decided to spend the night at Willits on the retirement ranch of Seabiscuit. They offer tours of the ranch but we’re not interested because Seabiscuit is deceased and I don‘t care for dead horses.

This ranch is in Mendocino County, a deep, narrow, valley abundant in wildlife, trees, and wildflowers, just off the US 101 highway. Sam discovered the deer, jackrabbits, and turkeys and he’s very desirous of giving chase. The clouds rolled in late this evening and they’re just hanging right at the treetops. This area and on up the coast is called the “fog region”. A gentle rain is beginning as the weather rolls in from the Pacific Ocean.

This morning we walked some more and then packed up for continuing on north on US 101 to the redwood areas. On the way out of the ranch, we had to drive around cows and calves on the road. They looked at us like they wondered why we were leaving such a fine ranch with all the grass you can eat and a nice clean road to poop on! We also saw a heard of white deer on the ranch. I’m not sure what the story is on that but I’ll check the Internet and find out. Check out http://www.enlightphoto.com/webpages/camndo/mendocino02-14.html Part of the ranch is also “Ridgewood Ranch Nature Conservancy” part of a Mendocino land trust. Look at www.seabiscuitheritage.org/RidgewoodRanch.html.

April 18

My windshield wiper switch is going to be worn out driving in this Pacific weather. You turn it on/slow/fast/off every few miles because the rain just comes in waves like the ocean. It’s a gentle rain just like I remember from when I lived on the Kitsap Peninsula, west of Seattle. I remember April up there I was expecting a sunny spring and it rained another 30 days straight.

WOW, let me tell you, you can read the brochures and look at the pictures but there’s no way to grasp the stunning majesty of these huge redwoods along the 32-mile “Avenue of the Giants” in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. There’s 17 thousand acres of old-growth coast redwood forest. The tallest is almost 400 feet tall. I saw one that claims to contain 104 thousand board feet of lumber. We built a 1500 SqFt house with just 20 thousand board feet. We stopped by the visitor center and talked to some folks who are hosting like we’ll be doing in Idaho. We compared notes and got to hear about their experience. We’re camped on the “Avenue of the Giants” tonight in a very comfortable resort with full hookups, TV, and a WiFi access point that‘s really fast. Additionally, the sun is in the west and we’re enjoying the warm rays for a few hours before dark. Terry made a delicious dinner tonight and we’re just thinking about putting down roots here!

Fact is, I’m looking forward to the Pacific Coast tomorrow. I found a secluded beach where Jack, Daisy, and Sam can walk the beach with us. We just have to be careful with the surf as it’s dangerous to get close to it during large waves.

We stopped by Loleta, a small dairy farm community, where the Loleta Cheese Factory is the center of attention. You can sample a wide variety of hand-made cheeses and then go across the street to the bakery for some hot bread or cookies. We bought some of our favorite cheese and a round loaf of sourdough bread. (Terry-and the best oatmeal cookies I ever tasted!)

April 20

We’re spending a couple of days at Eureka on Humboldt Bay. We’re at the Redwood Acres County Park Fairgrounds. This is the multi-purpose event facility for Humboldt County. They have a stock-car track, equestrian facilities, baseball complex and pavilions. Yesterday, I watched the girls practice roller-derby. This is a popular sport in the area and girl’s classes of all ages compete. I was told that the cities and towns compete against each other in a roller-derby league of sorts.

We’re off now to tour around Eureka, an 1850 Victorian Seaport that remains Humboldt Counties’ major port. We’re also fishing (shopping) for salmon today! Hopefully, we’ll find a nice salmon or some crabs to prepare a Eureka seafood dinner.

We had Steelhead for supper. Steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout. We went to Samoa Beach and the tide was out so the beach was very wide. There wasn’t much wave action at the time. Tomorrow, we continue north towards Oregon.

April 21

It’s 2:45 pm and we’re drinking coffee in McDonald’s at Crescent City, Del Norte County, CA. We’ve seen more awesome redwood stands and a lot of breathtaking Pacific Coast shores. This is a wonderfully scenic route up the US 101 Highway on the California coast. We’ll be in Oregon in a short time and we’re looking forward to more Pacific Coast views. Jack, Sam, and Daisy got to take a good walk on the Pacific shores and they were very cautious of the waves. Even redneck dogs know to keep clear of these dangerous surf conditions. (Tide was rolling in!)

Please pray for my sister June, call or send a card. I got a call from her this morning after she left a follow-up oncologist visit, and she has another cancer tumor. She’ll have surgery Monday and go back on chemotherapy.

Her contact info:

June Waldron

4128 Mt. Herman Rd.

McComb, MS. 39648

E-mail beejay@telepak.net

Phone 601.542.3041 H

662.607.9505 cell

April 22

Well, we decided to spend the night at Crescent City. We setup at the Del Norte County 41^st Agricultural District Fairground. They have a big benefit week-end planned at the fairground. The benefit is planned to raise funds towards the March Tsunami damage to the marina. When you drive on the coast, the Tsunami warning signs remind one of how exposed some low areas of the coast are. We had another fine drive today stopping often to enjoy the sights. We had a serene picnic on a quiet, high precipice overlooking the Pacific Ocean. We were all alone and the dogs had the whole place to themselves to sniff the cool, salty air (Terry-and black sand beaches). The Oregon coast is more rocky, with large rocks out in the water. The rocks seem to take on their own special character as you gaze at them with the waves crashing on their bases. The sea birds and mammals love these rock islands of refuge. Some famous rivers enter the Pacific along this stretch of the Oregon Coast. The Rogue River comes out of one of the most scenic canyons in the area. We’re spending the next three days in Coos Bay. We’re staying at the Mill Casino Hotel and RV Park. It’s very accommodating and the casino had lots to offer in food and entertainment. We’ll attend Easter Mass at St. Monica’s Catholic Church in downtown Coos Bay. We’ll drive to Veneta, OR. on Monday to visit Terry’s niece Ariel and son Corbin.

We would like to wish everyone a very Happy Easter!

April 24

Happy Easter Sunday Everyone!

Our Easter started off with a misty fog and rain this morning. We attended the 8:30 Mass at St. Monica’s Catholic Church here in Coos Bay. After Mass, we went to WalMart and did some shopping. We had a list of things and it took some time. It was still raining, so we decided to buy a lemon and herb, roasted Easter Chicken from the deli section, along with some potato salad. Boy was that good! Following our Easter meal, I de-boned the remainder and boiled the bones and skin, for some good dog-soup. Boy did Jack, Sam, and Daisy enjoy that. Around mid-afternoon, the sun came out and we went over to the casino. The casino is owned by the Coquille tribe here in Oregon. The Coquille Indians lived along the Oregon Coast in the early days. The US made a Treaty with them in 1855 and put them on a reservation in 1856. In 1954 the US terminated their recognition of the tribe. In 1989, after a long legal process, the Coquille Tribal status was restored. They now have their own government and business interests. They own the Mill Casino in Coos Bay and they own a large cranberry production and processing operation in the region. Now, that is a success story for the tribe!

The Coos River runs into Coos Bay and the Pacific. The Coos name comes from another local Native American tribe. Coos Bay has been a fun and restful week-end. I was reminded that Cousin Jim was born here in 1947. I enjoyed imagining what it was like in 1947. The Coquille Casino is located on Coos Bay where a huge lumber mill was located in 1947. This entire area was a large waterfront and port at that time. Now, this area is changing to retail development.

Tomorrow, we travel to Veneta for a visit with Ariel and Corbin. (Terry’s niece and great-nephew.)

April 26

Yesterday, we continued north from Coos Bay on US 101 along the Oregon coast. It was a foggy, rainy, rain-forest, type of drive. The trees and ground are moss-covered and it’s like being in a Harry Potter movie or a scene from an ancient, primordial forest. Most of the drive is paralleled by the Oregon Sand Dunes, (a continuous ridge of white sand) on the west and the Coast Range on the east. We had lunch at Florence and then took Oregon 126 east, heading upriver along the Siuslaw River. Now, this section is really a rain forest. We continued east toward Eugene, home of the University of Oregon Ducks. We arrived at Veneta for a visit with Ariel, (boyfriend Tony) and Corbin. We set up at Fern Ridge Lake, a US Army Corps of Engineers Project on the Long Tom River. This is one of the many flood-control Corps projects across the United States.

Today and Wednesday, we’ll be with Ariel, Tony, and Corbin. We’ll spend time at their house and barn with the horses and watch 8-year-old Corbin ride his horse. We’ll also look around the Veneta/Eugene area.

Tidbit: Oregon state law requires gas to be dispensed by an attendant. You can not pump your own gas. Does it increase the price of fuel? Who cares, what’s another dime!

April 27

On Tuesday, we went to the horse barn to work with the horses. (Corbin stayed out of school to visit with us.) (He’s a high achieving student and could afford to miss two days.)Ariel likes to groom, ride, and train a quarter horse named Cisco. Another of the horses at the barn is a Kiger horse. The Kiger is an original Oregon mustang breed that came from the early Spanish horse. They somehow remained isolated without cross-breeding, in an area of Oregon and were discovered on government land by the Bureau of Land Management in 1955. They have small stripes on their legs and some other unusual markings. Look them up on Wikipedia.

Today, we went to Eugene and drove around town. We went to the University of Oregon campus and I went into the outstanding Athletics Facility. They’re preparing for Friday’s annual Spring Football Game with the Ducks vs. Ducks contest. I talked to one of the coaches and told him I was retired from Louisiana State University. We talked about their upcoming trip to LSU Baton Rouge’s Tiger Stadium next fall. I didn’t mention their National Championship loss to the University of Auburn at last season’s Rose Bowl.

The University of Oregon has a fine campus in downtown Eugene right on the banks of the Willamette River. We also spent several hours at the Alton Park along the banks of the Willamette River. OU’s campus joins this huge park and essentially the park is an extension of the campus. There were all sorts of students, jogging, walking and just socializing in the park. We were passed by some of the OU women’s track team on an afternoon workout along the River Path. All this made me realize how blessed I am to have been on the staff and faculty of an NCAA Institution. I never really appreciated that while I was working. Also, the park is loaded with wildlife right in downtown Eugene. We saw numerous songbirds, waterfowl, and birds of prey. We were very surprised to see nutria rats along the river walk. Louisiana has an abundance of these furry critters!

This evening, we said goodbye to Ariel, Corbin, and Tony. We’re enjoying our dinner back at the Fern Ridge Reservoir looking out over the water toward the west with the coast range in the background. Rain is coming in late tonight and snow is expected in the elevations above 4,000 feet. We’ll decide tomorrow what route we’ll take toward Hermiston, on the Columbia River, for a visit with Terry’s brother (Jeff).

April 29

Today’s Friday and we’ve been traveling now for one month. We’re setup in a US Army Corps of Engineers campground in the Columbia River Gorge, at the mouth of John Day River. The drive through the gorge from Portland to here was rain and fog all the way until we got to the Dalles. The Dalles is a French word that described the sluice or columnar basalt rocks carved by the Columbia River. In the pioneer days, there was a serious rapid in the river but now the lock and dam system has inundated it. Actually, the weather gave a very different look to the gorge and thanks to the rain, all the falls were going great. We stopped off at the Bonneville Lock and Dam Visitor Center and looked around. I saw the salmon coming through the fish ladder and enjoyed the historical exhibits they displayed on the Columbia River System. Terry has a cold and is trying to deal with that. Jack hurt his toe and we’ve been doctoring on him for two days. He’s doing much better today.

We talked to Terry’s brother, Jeff yesterday. He was in Tacoma and on the way home. We’ll get to see him this weekend. After that, our last visit will be with Jeff’s son, Justin, in Walla Walla.

As you may know, the Dalles and the Cascades are the dividing line between the wet western slope and the dry eastern slope. We’ll be dry for the remainder of our stay in eastern Oregon and eastern Washington.

April 30

We’ve enjoyed some good meals and visiting with Jeff. We setup at the Hat Rock Park north of Hermiston. Yes, there really is a rock that’s shaped like a stovepipe hat! It’s a basalt uplift that resembles Devils Tower, but much smaller. The Columbia River is just north in a deep canyon that cuts through the desert. There’s a side canyon with a trail down to the State Park picnic area, where we can see the river. While watching the sunset on that trail we were surprised when a long freight train passed below us along the riverside track. We saw deer, golden pheasant, quail, magpie, a ferruginous hawk, geese, and lots of songbirds. I wondered what Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery thought about when entering this area. It must have been a desolate looking place to them. Now, with irrigation, this area is a fruit and produce basket! They grow just about anything that you see in a produce market. There are a lot of commercial agriculture operations like Archer Daniels Midland, Con Agra etc. in the area. The Snake River and the Yakima River join the Columbia not far from here. The Richland/Kennewick/Pasco area is situated at the confluence of these rivers.

We also noticed these strange-looking warning sirens in this area. Jeff informed us that the US Army Chemical Depot and the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility are just west of Hermiston. The whole area was a danger zone but now the chemicals are destroyed and the project is winding down. The military had lots more deadly chemicals than they could use in WWII and they’re just now getting rid of it. Mustard gas must have a long shelf life!

Today is Sunday May 1, and we’ve had an enjoyable visit with Jeff. I last saw him thirty years ago and he’s matured almost as much as me! We met his neighbor and boss, Marco, and enjoyed talking about the agricultural products and practices of the area. I especially enjoyed learning about the irrigation practices and technologies that make this desert a garden spot. Marco’s family has been involved in the agricultural business for generations. They started by hauling produce from the fields and now they mainly haul processed product to the US distribution points.

Today is a clear, cool, day in rural Umatilla County, with great visibility. I stood on a promontory, overlooking the Columbia River and I could see for great distances. Flat-top basalt buttes, with irrigates valleys in every direction.

Now we head on up to Walla Walla, for a visit with Justin, (Jeff’s son) Terry’s nephew and his daughter Marley.

May 1

We spent Sunday morning and afternoon with Justin and Marley. (Terry’s nephew and great niece) We treated them to lunch and then spent the remainder of the afternoon at the Walla Walla city park. The park was very green and had great landscaping. They also had an aviary with some really beautiful birds. I really liked the pheasants and the tropical birds. It was a fine, sunny day and we just took pictures and enjoyed the warm sunshine. We could see the snow-covered Blue Mountains about forty miles to the east.

Justin is finishing the first year of a two-year, Career-Technical, Associate of Science degree at Walla Walla Community College. The program teaches and trains candidates in the field of wind-turbine support and maintenance. As you probably know, wind generators are becoming a successful enterprise in the windy areas of the country. After serving as a Community College Instructor, I was very impressed with his excitement, commitment, and performance in the new program.

Marley is two years old and way more that we could handle. Fortunately, the park took the edge off her and we were able to have a good visit.

We said goodbye to this, our last planned visit on our trip to Idaho. We sure thank and appreciate all of our gracious, hosts along the way. It’s been a dream-come-true to make this trip and to visit all of you great friends and relatives! We love you guys and are so proud to know you all!

Upon leaving Walla Walla, I had to visit AutoZone and replace a travel-trailer bulb to repair my turn signal. Then we headed to the Snake River and a US Army Corps of Engineers campground near the Little Goose Lock and Dam. We traveled along the Lewis and Clark route and then drove north to the Snake River. I could not adequately describe this big country with lush green irrigated horizontals AND perpendiculars, grand views, and deep canyons. The campground had been closed and there was only riverside camping available, so we picked an isolated place and setup camp. A Columbia County deputy sheriff stopped by on patrol and chatted with us for a spell. This is a huge county with only about 8 thousand residents. After he left we saw osprey, river otter, deer, white pelican, coyote, pheasant, duck, and geese. There were also large flocks of pigeons roosting and nesting in the basalt cliffs along the river. This area is normally used by fishermen but we saw no one after our visitor departed. It was so quite that you could hear the river rushing down toward it’s rendezvous with the Columbia River, many miles west. The night was crystal clear and we slept so soundly that the sun appeared in the east before we got a chance to go out and see the stars. The only light was the surprise of the red and green navigation markers after dark. Red is port (left) and green is starboard (right) at sea but on inland waterways red marks the right side of the channel going upstream and green the river left. I’m relying on my memory, so check me out on that before you navigate your riverboat! The Columbia and Snake River System establish Lewiston, Idaho to be the most inland port from the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately, no river traffic passed our little port on the Snake River. Jack, Sam, and Daisy had a fine time at this isolated spot because they were off-leash most of the time, except for wildlife encounters. Luckily, the howling coyote was across the wide, fast, river and impossible to connect with us!

May 2

Today we travel on east to Clarkston WA. and Lewiston ID., at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. These two towns are situated directly across from each other at the confluence. The Snake River is actually the state line in this area, so the Clearwater is entirely in Idaho. The Lewis and Clark party, after crossing the continental divide, took the Clearwater, Snake, and then Columbia Rivers to the Pacific Coast. Everything is capitalizing on the Lewis and Clark name here! Actually, they never set foot on the Washington side, in this area.

We report to Heyburn State Park for our summer work assignments on May 14. We’re only 90 miles from Heyburn now, so we’ll just explore this area in detail. We plan to go down to Hells Canyon this week.

Best wishes to everyone!

May 5 Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Today, we’re in Orofino, ID., located about 40 miles up the Clearwater River from Lewiston. The entire area is within the Nez Perce Reservation. The Nez Perce have been here for thousands of years and the 1805 Corps of Discovery was their first encounter with white people. The Nez Perce fed and provided for the Corps of Discovery when they emerged here from crossing the Rocky Mountains, exhausted and starving. The Nez Perce also helped them to make the five dugout canoes that took them down the Clearwater, Snake, and Columbia Rivers to the Pacific Ocean and returned them to here. On their return, the mountains still had too much snow to cross, so they spent a lot of time here with the Nez Perce awaiting snowmelt and a desirable crossing to the east. On their departure, the Nez Perce also guided them back through the mountains to the eastern slope of the continental divide.

Orofino is a Spanish name that that comes from two words meaning “fine gold ore” or something like that, which relates to the 1861 gold mining era. There is still visible evidence of the gold mining period.

Today, Orofino is the county seat of Clearwater County and the location of the huge Dworshak Dam and Fish Hatchery. This facility is owned and managed by the Federal Government in cooperation with the Nez Perce Tribe. It’s the largest producer of Steelhead Trout, Coho, and Chinook Salmon in the world. It’s a very technical operation, as a percentage of the fish go 500 miles to the Pacific and then return here years later to spawn and make more fish. I don’t know how they do this. Maybe they have the original GPS. I hope to find out when we visit the hatchery. Many become excellent fish entrees and I can attest that they are very good cooked on the grill!

May 8

It’s Mother’s Day and we’re still among the Nez Perce in Orofino, ID. We’re attending Mass today at the St. Theresa Catholic Church. We’re spending a week here in Orofino and it’s proving to be restful and enjoyable. There’s a lot of Lewis and Clark history here and the Dworshak Dam, Hatchery, and State Park all provide interesting attractions. The Lolo Trail is an ancient Indian trail that runs from the Bitterroot Valley in Montana to the Weippe Prairie just up the Clearwater River from here.

This was a “native American Interstate Highway” that was used cooperatively by the tribes. The plains tribes came west to the salmon fisheries and the Nez Perce traveled east to hunt the plains buffalo and gather camas roots and berries food. The trail was well worn and even had cairns to mark the route. The Indians believe the rock cairns are sacred and have spiritual value to them. The ancient tradition of piling on more rocks as they passed the cairns led them to believe that their ancestor’s spirits were associated with the rock pile markers. This trail was used by the Corps of Discovery westbound, but because it was late in the year, they almost perished in the winter conditions. On their return eastbound trip, they pushed their Nez Perce guides to start too early in the spring and they struggled in the snow again. Lewis and Clark probably learned that thousands of years of Nez Perce experience should not be ignored. The Nez Perce knew the mountains and how dangerous they can be. They waited with patience until the dangers of winter passed.

The Clearwater History Museum is packed with photographs and artifacts from the past days of the area. The Clearwater River Valley is a narrow valley with very favorable weather. The Nez Perce have been here for thousands of years and it’s obvious to see why they chose this place. The rich fisheries and the abundant wildlife are still a major asset to the area. The high, steep sides of the canyon provide great trails with impressive overlooks. The farms up in the mountains seem to be perched on ledges that just hang in the clouds.

Enjoy your Sunday and Mother’s Day!

Tuesday, May 10

What a beautiful day! It was cool and sunny this morning and warm and sunny this afternoon. We explored south today, driving the old mountain roads, down to Cottonwood and the Salmon River Canyon. Cottonwood, est. 1862, is at the south end of the Camas Prairie. Camas is a wild turnip-like root that’s sweet and can be boiled or roasted. It was also dried and made into flour. The prairie provided the Nez Perce with camas roots for thousands of years but now it’s growing thousands and thousands acres of wheat. Idaho grows several different varieties of wheat that’s used in numerous products, depending on the characteristics of the particular grain variety. Cottonwood is home to the 1906, St. Gertrude Monastery of Benedictine Sisters. This Monastery has produced Nurses and Teachers and has founded many hospitals and schools. It’s a beautifully landscaped, old campus with a Retirement Home for the Sisters, a breathtaking Chapel, a modern Retreat Center, and a History Museum. It commands an awesome view of the prairie and the surrounding snow-capped mountains. We were told about the museum last Sunday at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Orofino. Well, it was as good as they said! It has photographs and artifacts from the Nez Perce, pioneer days, the mining era, through the twentieth century. It’s amazing what fine collections, local historical groups and churches can create! I especially enjoyed the gemstone collection, old guns, and pioneer agricultural/farm/home items and tools. The collection has an interesting section on items that the Chinese mine workers brought into the area. Poly Bemis was the most famous of the Chinese people in Idaho. (Look her up!) Also, they have some incredible Nez Perce pictures from the late 1800’s.

Leaving the Monastery, we drove Idaho 13, a different route over the mountains to the South Fork of the Clearwater River. This is a high, narrow road, with long views, and exciting, steep drops down to the river canyon. We continued down the south fork to Kamiah, the confluence of the middle fork. Kamiah is also the spiritual center and birthplace of the Nez Perce. The “Heart of the Monster” is a rock formation, where Nez Perce legend describes as the beginning of the ancient Ne-mee-poo people. From here, we headed on down the Clearwater River to Orofino, the confluence of the north fork, and our campsite. We had a full day of Nez Perce, Lewis and Clark, and Idaho pioneer history today. Not to mention some astounding sights and BIG country.

Sunday, May 15

Well, it’s almost a week since I’ve updated my travel log. We’re now at Heyburn State Park and I need to remind myself of how we got here and what we did and saw along the way. Today, I’ll play catch-up!

So, we left Orofino on Wed. May 11, and back-tracked to Clarkston, WA to do some much-needed shopping. We spent several hours at the Super Wal-Mart (Our security-blanket store). I got tires for the truck and we stocked-up, taking advantage of the shopping opportunity, after being in the wilderness. After lunch, we re-crossed the Snake River over to Lewiston, ID. and headed north on US 95.

As you may know, Lewiston and Clarkston are just on opposite banks of the Snake River, which is the Washington/Idaho State Line there. The excitement in Lewiston on Wed. was a mountain lion that paid an uninvited visit to the local IGA store there. A woman saw his long tail protruding from the hedgerow along the side of the parking lot. The Idaho Game and Fish Commission got some press on the capture and removal of the beast, with a nice color photo of the 100-pound cat on the front page.

Shortly, after crossing the Snake, you cross the Clearwater River and catch US 95 north. This route immediately begins with a breathtaking, 2000-foot, 10-mile climb up to the prairie. There are no trees on the slope and you just feel like you could fall right down to the river and town below. Driving my truck and trailer on the long pull, I elected to stop at the lookouts and take a periodic rest break. The heavy commercial trucks rode their compression brakes (jake-brake) all the way down, so it’s very noisy on the slope. They had some fine overlooks, but I was glad to get up on the prairie and head on up through the vast farm country to Moscow. The University of Idaho is located at Moscow and this is the Idaho Land-Grant University. They have extensive under-graduate and graduate programs that serve the needs of the entire state. Our Next stop, was Heyburn State Park Visitor Center just east of Plummer, Idaho. We met the Park Manager, Ranger Beth Simanek, and the staff. Heyburn, the oldest State Park in the Pacific Northwest, is an old CCC project with a 5,700-acre park, surrounding a 2,300-acre lake. We proceeded 5 miles east to the Benewah Campground where Ranger Beth gave us a walk-thru tour. We setup in the Camp Host site and commenced to get acquainted with the facilities. This is a fine campground, set in a remote, wooded area. We’re surrounded by towering Douglas Firs, mixed with Ponderosa Pines, on a point overlooking the lake.

For the past several days, we’ve been getting ready for the park season opening, here at our campground. We helped Beth put up the new bulletin board signs and regulations. We’ve taken an inventory on our materials and studied the handbook on operations. The maintenance folks have delayed the campground opening because they have plumbing issues in the comfort station. We’ll delay opening until that’s repaired and the grounds keeping folks have cleaned up. We have a full day of training scheduled for next Wednesday with a bar-b-cue lunch and an afternoon tour of the entire park. The Volunteer Services Coordinator of Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, from Boise, will be here for the 1-day training session training. I’ve read the handbook and all the materials, so I know what to expect in the Campground Host training session. Safety, policies, procedures, and administration will be the focus on making for a great summer in the park. Come see us Y’all!

We attended Mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in St. Maries, ID., just seven miles east. This is our closest town but the Super Wal Mart is at Coeur D’Alene or Smelterville, both about 60 miles distance. You don’t just run to Walley World at this site!

Well, regardless of my typing and writing handicap, I’m about caught-up on this update! We’re looking forward to a great summer, so come visit us if you get a chance. You’ll like the Idaho history, geography and culture.

Unfortunately, cell phone and WiFi are not dependable at the campground, so I’ll have to plan my communications transactions.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

It’s hard to believe that a week has passed since my last travel log update. I want to bring it up to date so I’ll write the events since my last update. After getting settled into Benewah Campground, we began to explore around our campground and this area of Heyburn State Park. All our area is within the Coeur d’ Alene Reservation. We have lots of big trees and wildlife all around us. We’ve seen Osprey, Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle, and lots of duck and geese, White Pelicans, Rufus Hummingbird, lots of songbirds, and deer. There’s a Great Blue Herron rookery along a lakeside trail leading west from the campground. Our campground is situated on the east side of Heyburn State Park’s, Benewah Lake, about a mile off Idaho Route 5, seven miles west of St. Maries. It’s a little confusing for us because Chatcolet, Benewah, and Coeur D’ Alene Lakes are all the same huge body of water, fed by the St. Joe, St. Maries, and Coeur D’ Alene Rivers. The entire basin was inundated with the construction of the Post Falls Dam on the Spokane River. The Spokane River takes its rise from the 3700 sq. mile Coeur D’ Alene Basin and flows westerly into the Columbia River at Fort Spokane near Miles, in eastern Washington. Unfortunately, between the late 1800’s and into the 1900’s the basin received mine tailing runoff amounting to an estimated 50 to 80 million tons. Now lots of heavy metals like lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium are in the rivers, streams and basin. Environmental efforts are being made to clean up the lakes and streams but fish consumption guidelines make me concerned about the risk. Now, that’s a shame but the water looks great and water recreation is safe, but with precautions. (No mud pies for the kids and avoid dusty windy areas.) In addition, there’s a 4-6 inch layer of volcanic ash just below the soil surface, resulting from the 1980 Mt. St. Helens eruption. I talked to a local who experienced the eruption here and he told an interesting story. It was real hard on humans, animals and automobiles. The local emergency operations center placed facemasks in the resident’s mailboxes for respiratory protection. He accompanied a biologist from the U of Idaho to the east slope of Mt St Helens a year after the blast where several feet of ash lay. The biologist pointed out these rare patches of green grass growing on the desolate surface. That’s where the dead animals decayed and made the grass grow. He said that’s how they found some humans remains years later. Spirit Lake was under 600 feet of ash and those humans will never be found. St. Helens is about 300 miles west of us.

St. Maries is an old logging town that’s still logging, just smaller trees now. This was the largest stand of old-growth Ponderosa Pine in the world and it took several generations to cut and process it. In the early days, they had timber camps that cut and floated the giant logs down the rivers to the mills. Today, they haul on log trucks that you better watch out for. Now, they replant Douglas Fur and Larch on clear-cuts, for the timber industry. Don’t be discouraged by this report, as the area is a beautiful system of water, trees and historic towns. St. Maries is our closest town where we attend church, shop, laundry, and use the library’s WiFi access point for the Internet.

Last Tuesday, we traveled up to Smelterville located on I-90, (close to the Montana line), and situated on the upper Coeur D’ Alene River. The road up Idaho Route 3 North, through Coeur D’ Alene National Forest was an exciting and scenic drive. The St. Joe and Coeur D’ Alene Rivers are both flooding and we feared that some of the route may be under water on our return trip. Fortunately, the rivers have crested and the water will start to recede soon. Spring rain and snowmelt have combined to make a lot of flooding in the area. Continuing, the drive east on I-90 follows the Coeur D’ Alene upstream. We shopped Wal Mart and had lunch, then looked around Smelterville and Kellogg, just two miles east. This was an all-day trip, so we realized that the 60-mile trip to Wal Mart would not be very economical unless we have a big supply list. St. Maries will be our hometown shopping center, even though it’s more expensive, we’ll just get the things needed between “SuperCenter” Shopping excursions.

Last Wed., we had a full day of training with our Ranger and the State Parks Volunteer Services Coordinator. We watched video on the Idaho State Parks and Customer Service, and then covered the agenda on safety, management, and administration, followed by a bar-b-cue lunch. In the afternoon, our Ranger took us nine volunteers on a complete tour of the park, giving us a driving orientation on the facilities and general information that we will need to pass along to park visitors. The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation is very professional and excellent in the management of their State Parks. They have a staff of 132 people for 30 state parks, so they depend heavily on seasonal and volunteer workers. Therefore, they are very supportive and appreciative of us volunteers. We learned that they compete aggressively with Washington, Oregon and California for volunteers. Some of our volunteers have lots of experience and volunteer, living in State Parks year-round. Some go to various parks in the Pacific Northwest and others migrate around the country. Our co-workers come from law enforcement, computer technology, service industry, and a wide range of backgrounds. They all have interesting experience and stories to relate.

Heyburn State Park has a new, beautiful Visitor Center but the old CCC facilities and features impress me the most. The old lodge has that craftsmanship and workmanship using native materials that would be difficult and too expensive to duplicate today. As you well know, the CCC created these works of art all over our country and we should endeavor to preserve them because they represent the spirit and cooperation of our people.

The rest of the week has been spent working around the campground, walking trails, and dogs. Now, campers are coming in and our private campground has become public, since we opened on Thursday. The campers are excited about summer and all the outdoor activities. My job is mainly to make sure the campers follow the rules and stay safe. Most campers will cheerfully comply and a few will have to be counseled by the ranger. This is a great campground and we’re looking forward to a fun summer.

Tomorrow, we’re celebrating 25 years with Father Tim Ritchey, at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church in St. Maries. It’s a pot luck lunch and we’ll probably have a lot of local food recipes to try. I’ll let you know about it later.

Come see us if you can!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Greetings to all you friends and family! I hope that you’re all well and enjoying life! I’m in a sort of dilemma because my log is hard to read in your e-mail and if I send an attachment, some of you can’t open even a PDF file. Even when I copy and paste my text into an e-mail, it’s sometimes reformats the document. After 40 years in computer networking technology, I still haven’t mastered the application end of it. Finally, I was a lousy English Comp student and worse in typing, so I’ll do my best to get my message across. Please bear with me while I try to improve my skills! I’d ask Terry to help me but she’s too busy with her own projects. I’ll try to do a little better on my structure and I’ll use a larger font. Please let me know if any of you have any suggestions!

I promised to give you a report on the Church pot-luck lunch last Sunday, so let me do just that! The Church was celebrating twenty-six years of service with their Pastor. After Mass, we had a fine meal, with more food that one could possibly sample. I tried and was not disappointed with any dish. I will however have to say, that the food was like a Mississippi Church social, nothing unique or mysterious in our opinion. The 26^th Anniversary cake was special, decorated with vivid color graphics highlighting the Pastor’s service. I know, you’d have to see it to appreciate it! Terry had numerous compliments on her potato salad, which I thought was odd coming from the “Potato State”. Come to think of it, Terry’s was the only potato dish on the buffet. We enjoyed the meeting and the people were very friendly, so we felt right at home. This will be our Church Home for the summer and I think that it will be just fine! The Pastor’s homily talked a lot about the end of the world that didn’t happen. He must have had a lot of worried parishioners bugging him about it the prior week. I liked his humorous remarks and then his summary that we don’t need to be concerned if we about the business of the Lord.

Now I’ll tell you what else we’ve been doing since my last update. The campground has filled-up today (Thursday) for the Memorial Day Week-end. Most of the campers are from eastern Washington and the remainder is from north Idaho. Eastern Washington is a flat desert, that’s a fertile garden due to irrigation. The Washington people like to come east to north Idaho and get into the green mountains, trees, Whitewater Rivers, and lakes for their recreation. The north Idaho campers like to get out of the house like the rest of us, but they don’t want to go to eastern Washington and watch the crops grow, so they camp with the Washington folks, in Idaho, for their recreation.

This area has a very colorful logging history and it still depends on logging for much its economy. The primary timber trees are Douglas Fir, Grand Fir, Larch, and Ponderosa Pine. The logging method now is clear-cut then re-forest with primarily fir and some pine. You should see the size of the timber that was harvested in the pioneer days, spanning for several generations. Books have been written about the logging camps and the various logging methods employed to harvest the giant trees. Mining was and is another significant economic enterprise. The “Lucky Friday” still operates out of a one-mile-deep shaft, with tunnels driven in all the cardinal points, at numerous levels. One acquaintance recalls the day that the “Lucky Friday” elevator fell from the top to the bottom of the 1-mile shaft, taking out all the stops with it. The elevator was essentially an open cage that had two levels, the bottom for hauling out ore, and the top for miner transport. The mine was disabled for almost a year while they replaced all the steel elevator structure from bottom to top. Needless to say, loggers and miners are a rugged bunch that works hard for what they earn. The next enterprise is tourism, and Idaho has an abundance of all the resources to make that successful. Most of the population in the rural areas are Caucasian with strong work ethic and strong family bonds. The workers are also strong team players and that makes sense when you have to depend on your co-workers to watch your back in a man-eating plant. They have plaques and monuments in all the little towns dedicated to those fallen co-workers. As for me, I prefer to work in the tourism industry!

On Wednesday, we traveled to Coeur d’ Alene (pronounced core-da-lane), for a day of touring and shopping. Needless to say, they have a Super Wal Mart and we were ready for some “power shopping”. For your information, I learned that Coeur d’ Alene is a name given by the early French mountain men. It’s associated with the sharp trading practices of the local native people who traded with a “heart of awl”, meaning a sharp heart. Only the French could cook-up such a name! I would have named it Lake City because it’s at the north end of the most beautiful lake you’ll ever see. The locals just call it CdA for short. Fort William Tecumseh Sherman (1877), named after its founding Civil War General, was the foundation of the town. General Sherman and troops no doubt taught the natives that “American Trading” was even “sharper hearted” than their own practices. The town is an old log mill town that has grown into a modern city with the old historic sites intact. The waterfront, situated at the north end of Lake Coeur d’ Alene now boasts the longest floating boardwalk in the world, which traverses a marina of several billion dollars’ worth of boats. Several were for sale and we found one that we liked for $229 thousand, a basement bargain for that boat! We talked to other boaters and quickly saw that this is an elite boating region. The St. Joe River is the highest navigable river in the world at around twenty-two hundred feet. Salmon, muskee, pike, are the big fish but catfish, bass, and panfish that we like are abundant here too. CdA is also the 1912 birthplace of WW II Flying Ace Colonel Gregory “Pappy” Boyington. I sure watched a lot of a certain tv program about him but can’t recall the name of the show. I also learned that Julia Jean Turner (Lana Turner) (b.1921) hails from CdA.

On our return trip, we began to get the rain and snow that was predicted for the afternoon and night. On May 25, we had snow above three thousand feet, and our campground is at 2,100 feet. As we drove south on US 95, we could see the snow falling on our mountain area to the west. If you’re thinking that your area is too hot, just come to north Idaho and you can cool off real fast. Surprisingly, we were at about 40 degrees here overnight, but dropping down to thirties tonight. This is unusual, and hopefully summer weather will come soon! We have sunset here at about 9 pm, so the days are getting longer until June 21^st, which will be the longest day, and should be daylight till after 10 pm.

As I said, the campground is filled by today for the Memorial Day week-end. Our quite little campground has turned into a busy place in the forest. Just like in school and any other business, the people don’t read the instructions, so most of our work is giving friendly reminders of the policies and safety regulations. We’ll be glad when Monday comes and they all go back to work. We want our quite little campground back! Oh well, Week-ends will be busy now, for the remainder of the summer.

Monday, May 30, 2011

The Memorial Day week-end is drawing to a close and the campers are packing-up and heading-out, back to their homes and work. We’ve enjoyed having them at the campground this week-end and the kids have really had fun. Unfortunately, the week-end has been wet and cold with just a few hours of sunshine. That didn’t matter to the children, as they rode their bikes, fished, played in the water, and played all sorts of outdoor games that they made up. The adults kept the fires going, fished, cooked, hiked, read, watched movies, visited, and some tried to keep up with the kids. The RV trailer campers had the option of going indoors to the modern comforts but the tent campers had to endure the wet and cold. As you might guess, the tent campers left earlier than planned.

The main thing that I learned this first big week-end is that the electrical circuits are not able to support the needs of the larger RV trailers, so I had to reset tripped circuit breakers. Most campers learned to manage their individual power usage but one had to be reset five times on Friday/Saturday. On the fifth episode, I did a walk-thru on what they could not run simultaneously and thankfully that was the end of it. Another interesting occurrence this week-end was side arms. In Idaho, the State Parks forbid discharge of firearms or fireworks, but the campers can CARRY firearms. I had one young adult man and one adult young lady (not together) packing a pistol. I guess each state has different laws but if you can’t fire the weapon, I don’t see any reason for packing it, especially around children. Just keep it in your car and out of sight, I say. One observation; Idaho permits licensed unconcealed firearms and they carry big guns, Mississippi permits concealed firearms and we carry small pocket guns. That seems unfair to me! (eh eh) My reason for including this information is to give you a small example of the things that a campground host has to deal with. It’s a people business and you have to deal with safety, regulation, and personality issues as they come along. We had a lot of good advice and training on the camp host job but like anything else, when you get out in the field, that’s when you really learn. Our Ranger and all the support people are really good and that makes our job very manageable. We’re thoroughly enjoying the experience and the remainder of this summer will collectively determine if we do it again.

We are required to work a total of 20 hours/week. Terry can work 10 and I can work 10, or we can work any combination totaling 20 hours. The fact is, we’ll probably work 30-35 hrs/wk. just to get it all done. Being on duty mainly means being present and available. We actually spend a lot of time hiking, fishing, walking dogs, bird-watching, socializing, and just hanging out around the campground or in our RV. Duties mainly come up when campers have issues or need reminders. We’ve decided to take turns handling the duties so that we’re both not on duty all the time. On Tue-Thu. we can take any two days off. Also, we can laundry, shop, or go to town any day as long as one of us stays on duty. Additionally, we can go to Church together on Sunday as that‘s a quite, slow time in the campground. Our main duties deal with checking campers in and out, following regulations, and just keeping the area safe. We also have twice-daily visits from the maintenance crew, and the Ranger, coordinating our paperwork and communicating any issues or matters that need attention. The State Park is very professionally, well managed and we all work together to keep it that way.

Well, the sun is out and it looks some fishing is in order! I hope you enjoy my notes and I’d love to hear from you!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Today we took the day off and drove over to St. Maries to wash clothes. After we finished our laundry, we drove up the east side of the Coeur d’ Alene basin and lake, on Idaho 97. We heard that some moose may be in the flooded areas around the lake but we didn’t see any today. Moose and Elk are a nuisance this time of year because they browse the fruit trees and gardens and aggravate the homeowners. Now, this is a nice drive, and there are some beautiful properties along the steep shores, overlooking the lake. As you drive along Idaho 97, you look down on the lake properties and the lake. The houses range from small camps to large, landscaped, exclusive, lakeside estates After about thirty miles, we intersected I-90 and drove west to Coeur d’ Alene. We went to lunch, shopped the Mall, Target, and you guessed it, Super Wal Mart! In late afternoon, we drove down the west side of the lake on US 95 and then east to our Benewah Campground, completing a 120-mile loop.

Along this route, you intersect the Bicycle Trails of the Idaho Panhandle, which were developed on old, moderate-grade railroad beds. The rails were pulled-up, and the trails were created using Government Funding and Private Donations. The four trails are well maintained and have historical markers along the scenic routes.

The 72-mile, Trail of the Coeur d’ Alenes, runs from Plummer, on the west side of the panhandle, near the Idaho/Washington line, east to Mullan, near the Idaho/Montana line. The paved, trail follows the placid lake and whitewater river, intersecting numerous access points, with food and services.

The 24-mile, paved, North Idaho Centennial Trail runs from the north shore of the lake, west to Spokane, then 37 miles into Washington, following the Spokane River.

The 12-mile, compacted gravel, Northern Pacific Trail, climbs up to Lookout Pass, and ties the Coeur d’ Alene trail into the Route of the Hiawatha. Along the way, interpretive signs share the history of this unique railway.

Finally, the 15-mile, groomed, compacted gravel/paved, Route of the Hiawatha, heads east, through nine tunnels and across seven high steel trestles, tunneling under the Idaho/Montana line, and emerging from the 1.6 mile-long, Taft Tunnel, in Montana. The trail weaves through the mountaintops of the Bitterroot Divide. Now, that’s a truly unique mountain ride that‘s worth the trip to North Idaho! I would definitely bring my sidearm on this trip because the major portion goes through the National Forests and some remote, wild country.

I’m seeing so many Osprey and Bald Eagles that I just smile and wave. We also have Rufus and Calliope hummingbirds on our feeder, in the campground. I’m still looking for the Moose and I heard that they’re up the St. Joe River, so I’ll let you know!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Today all the campers have cleared-out and the campground is all ours. We decided to take a drive up the St. Joe River and go sightseeing. The St. Joe is slow, flat and placid down by us but it turns into whitewater as you go up the river to the east. We followed up the river about fifty miles into Shoshone County but could not go to its source up on the Bitterroot Divide because the snow still makes the road impassable.

We walked around the old railroad and logging towns and then went to the Logging History Exhibit at Marble Creek. Marble Creek is one of the larger clear, cold, mountain creeks that run into the St. Joe from the higher snowfields. Historic Marble Creek is where Idaho logging began in the early 1900’s. It has a very predictable history because the government attracted settlers through Homestead Legislation but the big timber companies came in and took about 70 per cent of the land from the settlers through numerous schemes. After the big timber companies took all they wanted, the companies donated the land back to the government to avoid on-going taxes. Then, the land was sold back to settlers. Is that predictable government conduct or what?

Claim Jumpers were one of the ways that the big companies would take away homesteader land. The unscrupulous claim jumpers would move in on an absent homesteader and get title to the claim, then sell it to the company. There was one story at Marble Creek that told about eleven homesteaders who, together, decided to put a stop to one notorious, villainous, claim jumper. They met at night, in an unoccupied cabin, and placed ten white beans along with one black bean in a jar. They blew out the light, shook the jar, and each man left the cabin as he drew a bean. That way no one ever knew who drew the black bean that sealed the fate of the assonated claim jumper. That was the law of the early pioneer days. Those neighbors took care of that problem and did not lose their land to the company.

The Marble Creek History Exhibit illustrates the people, logging methods, tools and hardships of the industry. The early loggers built skids and sluices to get the logs down to the St. Joe and then floated them to the mills. Every aspect of this process was a huge risk of life and limb.

Today, logging is still a major industry on the reforested slopes. Log trucks pulling log trailers haul about 140 thousand pounds and when they come down those narrow, one-lane forest service roads you best find a place to get out of the way! The new generation loggers have powerful equipment but it is just as dangerous as it ever was. Every little town has a memorial monument with a long list of names honoring logging fatalities from the pioneer days to present.

With all this destructive activity, the wildlife and landscape seem to grow and flourish, in spite of all the timber harvesting. I still didn’t see my moose in the wild but I’ll keep looking!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

On Tuesday, we stayed at the campground and did some cleaning and maintenance on our travel trailer. I went fishing and caught a nice sunfish but released it, not having another catch after the wind came up. We took a hike with the dogs and identified trees and plants along the way. There are lots of trees and plants that we don’t have in MS but a lot we do have. The common ones sometimes have interesting differences in appearance, size and shape. Mother nature’s good about that kind of thing! It was a good day in the park!

Today, we drove over to Spokane. We took Idaho 58 west across the high prairie then dropped down into the Spokane Valley. Wheat is king on the prairie and you drive past large fields covering sections of land.

We had lunch, then drove downtown to the Riverside Park on the Spokane River and spent several hours walking the park and crisscrossing the falls on the footbridges. The river crashes over a series of falls that have been cut through the granite uplift over time. This was a popular salmon fishing spot for numerous local tribes and others that traveled over the mountains to fish there. The water is high now and the roar of the cascading falls seems to shake the ground beneath your feet. You also get cold-water spray across some of the footbridges and that was exciting to the dogs and us. The dogs ain’t never seen nothing like that! They were very careful in their steps and stayed close to us along the way. The park, situated along both sides of the river, is beautifully landscaped with wide walks, pools, fountains, blue grass lawns, many varieties of trees, and radiant beds of flowers all around, with footbridges connecting both sides of the river.

Spokane downtown looks like a bunch of early 1900’s architecture, and that’s just what it is! The major current event in Spokane today is the issue with the old uranium mines on the Spokane Tribal lands. The mines supplied weapon-grade uranium ore to the Atomic Energy Commission during the “Cold War”. The Spokane Tribe leased out the land and worked the mines from 1954-1981, and now they fear that radiation from the mines, during that period, is killing them. They also cite other environmental issues that are still resulting from the open mines. Ironically, many driveways in the Spokane Valley have the green shimmer of low-grade uranium ore that was once considered harmless. The mining companies and government are in litigation with the Spokane Tribe to assign responsibility but answers are slow in coming. Ironically, the tribe is pushing for a share in the cleanup process, if it ever comes, regardless of the previous damage done to them in the mines. They just want jobs and income like they enjoyed from the mines. Uranium was a “hot item” and it’s obvious that the Tribe was taken advantage of. We may see this on the evening news if the tribe can get the national media behind the story!

In the afternoon, we drove east on I-90 to Post Falls, on the Spokane River, (founded 1880 by pioneer Frederick Post as a commercial sawmill) and I saw the moose that I’ve been looking for! I also got to see just about every other game animal and bird found in the Pacific Northwest! (Yeah, all this was taxidermy mounts at Cabela’s huge, mega sporting goods store!) Chief Andrew Seltice, of the Coeur d’ Alene Tribe, made a settlement Treaty with Mr. Post in 1880 and it’s recorded at “Treaty Rock” along with all sorts of other ancient pictographs and petroglyphs. Post Falls is the site of the Post Falls Dam, which controls the water level of the huge Lake Coeur d’ Alene. They also have a major whitewater kayak training center located on the Spokane River as it winds through the heart of town. Post Falls is also the home of Buck Knives and a major power generating plant at the dam.

We grocery shopped (you guessed it; Super Wal Mart), then had dinner before heading on west to Coeur d’ Alene, then we took US 95 south to where we started from. The big-circle trip today was about 156 miles, and that’s just a quick trip to the store in this big country!

Diane and Marguerite from Denver are coming for a visit next week. They rented a cabin in the park for next week and we’re looking forward to seeing them. Also, sister Rose is coming from MS too! She’s taking her time doing some sightseeing on the way. Hopefully, she will get to meet Diane and Marguerite while they’re here. We still have lots of room so you all come see us too! Maybe we’ll see the moose-in-the-wild while our guests are here! I’ll keep you posted!

June 11, 2011, 11:54 AM

This is the second weekend in June and we have about one quarter of the campground occupied. This weekend is designated free fishing in Idaho, so no fishing license is required on any Idaho waters open to fishing. The weather is still cool, with the nighttime temperature around 50 degrees and daytime high in the mid-sixties. The humidity is low so the weather is quite comfortable. We’ve learned that the Spokane weather forecast is not indicative of what we experience. There has been a lot of cold and rain around Spokane and eastern Washington but we’ve been dry and sunny. We suspect that’s why the campground occupation is low. At any rate, that makes our job easier so we’ll take it!

Friday evening around 7:30pm, we had a report of a bear over by the boat launch. Luckily, the Ranger was here and investigated the sighting. It was discovered that someone is feeding the bear over by the cabins and now we’re concerned that the bear will come over and raid our trashcans or someone’s campsite. That would result in the bear being trapped and removed from the area. Bears will be bears! Unfortunately, this violation of regulations by campers may even get the poor bear killed. Idaho commonly has the Black Bear and, in the panhandle, just north of us, the Grizzly Bear is found. The Grizzly Bear is protected by Federal Law and killing one carries a civil and criminal penalty of $50 grand fine and one year in jail. The Black Bear can be black to blond in color so his high rump, short claws, no shoulder hump and pointed ears distinguish him for the Grizzly. I have studied the brochures and the fact is most people can’t tell the difference between the two.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011 12:52 PM

What a fine, pleasant, time we’re having! Diane (from Denver) and Marguerite (from California) are here and they have rented the cabin at Rocky Point. (Terry and these two worked together at Denver, in the medical technology field.) The cabin is spacious, well accommodated and a perfect place for our headquarters.

We’ve been making a creative and enjoyable dinner every evening after each day of touring and sightseeing. On Monday, we drove around Heyburn State Park and we walked on the Coeur d’ Alene Trail across the Lake Chatcolet Bridge. Later, we enjoyed a nice bean soup that Terry made.

Tuesday, I was on duty so the girls rented bicycles and toured a section of the Coeur d’ Alene Trail, west of Harrison. They rented the bicycles in Harrison and then rode to the Chatcolet Bridge and back. The bicycles were a new reclining, tricycle-style model and the girls really had fun with these contraptions. The bicycle shop folks commented that these girls had the most fun with the cycles as any customers they’ve had! They are a hoot when they get together! They had a beautiful day, saw plentiful wildlife, and made excellent pictures. (Marguerite is the accomplished photographer.) Terry said that Diane (the birder) pointed out numerous birds and shared interesting and informative information about them.

Today, I’m on duty again so they’re hiking the Indian Cliffs Trail on the west side of Chatcolet Lake for some extraordinary views of the Couer d’ Alene Trail, St. Joe River and Coeur d’ Alene Lake. Tonight, we’re having a spaghetti dinner with root beer floats for desert.

Tomorrow we’re looking forward to sister Rose arriving from points east. We have more fun days planned for us all!

Thursday, Rose arrived and we all had a good visit ending with a fine dinner at the cabin. During the day, the girls drove up the St. Joe River, the highest navigable river in the world. They followed the scenic, shadowy, “Joe” from St. Maries, along the deep, slow water, lined with towering cottonwoods, where the eagles and osprey fish and nest. The water is so clear you can see the Dolly Varden, rainbow and cutthroat trout in this blue-ribbon trout fishery. They drove on up to Avery, near the Bitterroot Divide, where the river is continuous whitewater, and where the elk, moose, bear, cougar, songbirds, turkey, and bobcats are frequently observed. It was raining up there so they sent me a cell-phone picture of the wildlife in the local bar! They claim it was a coffee shop! Like I said, those girls are a hoot!

On Friday, we traveled up to Coeur d’ Alene and took the boat cruise on the lake. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the sights along the lakeshore. The north end of the lake has been developed and it’s home to some incredible resorts, lake houses, and boats. It is a very elite area and staggering to think what some of the properties cost.

We went over to Spokane and toured the falls and the downtown center. Everyone was extremely impressed with the falls. This was my second visit there and I was still awestruck. We said goodbye to Diane and Marguerite. Marguerite was heading to the airport and returning home to Sacramento. Diane was staying another day to travel north up to Pend Oreille (pronounced pon-der-ay). We had a great time with them and we’ll sure miss their company! We’ll look forward to seeing them again!

Rose and I stayed around, shopped and had diner before returning to the Benewah campground via the Washington 27 rural route. We scanned the vast prairie and draws for moose but none were observed.

On Saturday, we drove down to the Palouse Valley and visited Moscow. We toured the University of Idaho campus, a beautiful campus with extraordinary buildings and exemplary landscaping. They’re called the U of I Vandals, so you might want to look that up !)

We also visited the Appaloosa Museum and headquarters for the Appaloosa Horse Club, featuring the evolution of the Appaloosa. The Appaloosa breed, Idaho’s State Horse, was developed by the Nez Perce based on early Spanish equine stock. Early non-native explorers referred to the spotted Nez Perce, horse from the Palouse River Valley, as a Palouse horse. Over time it became A palousey and later Appaloosa. The horse is now every color combination imaginable but it still has the stamina, intelligence, and spirit that the original Nez Perce animals possessed. In the early days, the Nez Perce had to walk, so the horse was to them, like four-wheelers to the current mountain people. They selected and bred the qualities that they needed to suit their lifestyles and the Appaloosa was perfect for the jobs.

My cousin George Hall Simmons was a horseman and he owned an Appaloosa that I enjoyed riding. We rode the woods and trails in southwest Mississippi during my youth, so you might say that I grew up with the Appaloosa. That horse was a pleasure to ride because it was so well trained and had such a pleasant disposition. You could even ride that horse into the water and fish from the saddle. That horse was also a great “woods horse”, meaning that the horse would calmly and patiently, guide himself through the thickets without dragging the rider off!

On the return trip from the Palouse Valley, we saw Potlatch, once site of the largest white pine lumber mill in the world. Potlatch Corporation, a multi-national forest products conglomerate, was started right there in the North Idaho panhandle.

On Sunday, we attended Church at St. Mary’s in St. Maries. After Church, we drove up to the Silver Valley in Shoshone County. This valley was a huge mining center in the early days but now it is home to the I-90 Interstate and a Ski Area along other Resorts and tourist attractions. We had lunch at a historic 1890 hotel and bar called the “Snake Pit”. There is some speculation about how it got the nickname and all I know is that “I didn’t see any snakes”.

We then drove over to Smelterville and shopped at Super Wal Mart. On our return drive, we stopped and toured the Cataldo, an 1853 Indian Mission of the Sacred Heart and the oldest building in Idaho. While we were there, we saw a momma Moose and her calf in the shallow lake. Later, we saw a large moose along the Coeur d’ Alene River. We got some superior pictures and that fulfilled my goal of seeing a Moose in the wild. We also saw a small herd of Elk. All of these wildlife sightings were within the roar of the Interstate I-90, a very unlikely site to expect a sighting!

Today, sister Rose left for Seattle to continue her trip down the Pacific Coast and San Diego. She plans to visit the Reagan Library and the other sights along the coast. We were poignant to see her leave, especially because I wanted to go to Seattle. Oh well, she promised to take lots of pictures for sharing, and enjoying this winter!

We’re alone now, plus the campground is empty, and it’s way to quite! We’re looking forward to the weekend when some campers will come in! In the meantime, Terry and I will do some touring on our own and visit some places that remain on our list of to-do’s. Our Church at St. Maries, is changing priests, so we have a farewell dinner next Sunday and a welcome dinner for the new priest the following Sunday, at the Fellowship Hall . The Church folks are good people and have been very helpful and cordial to us. They call us their summer campers!

Today, June 21, Terry and I were alone in the Benewah Campground so we decided to travel to Coeur d’ Alene (locals say CdA) to tour the North Idaho History Museum. The Museum includes CdA Indian, immigrant, mining, logging, steamboat, railroad, and recreation history. Afterwards, we enjoyed cheeseburgers and coconut pie at the famous Hudson’s Hamburger shop downtown, on the lake.

Next, we drove over to Post Falls and visited the Falls Park where we walked around the park with our dogs and took pictures of the falls. The entire Spokane River crashes and cascades through the narrow gorge making a plume of water vapor and a cool refrigerated feel to the air. This fall is smaller than the falls at Spokane but it is different and unique in the geography, geology, and history of the falls area. This was the site where, thanks to waterpower, the first sawmill, flourmill, and hydroelectric generation of Idaho began. It was also the first source of irrigation for the Spokane Valley that made the early grain production possible.

On Wednesday, Russell and Rachel came to visit us at the Benewah Campground. Russell and I grew up together on adjoining farms in south Pike County, Mississippi. Russell became our rural mail carrier and after many years of dedicated service, retired last March. He and Rachel love to travel and this summer they’ve been traveling the western states. They’ve been out west numerous time over the years but this year, like us, they’re spending the summer. They are excellent travel planners and researchers and fervent travelers. Russell diligently, makes notes in his Atlas anytime he reads or hears about an interesting event or place and then he and Rachel make a point of visiting these notable places on their travels. Russell and I spent numerous hot, humid, Mississippi daydream sessions, by my mailbox, talking about cool, dry, scenic, western-state, places where we’d rather be. We’ve been sharing notes for years on our travel excursions and it’s terrific to get a visit together out in Idaho!

We looked around the area and caught up on our visiting and sharing of travel notes. Russell told me he’s driven about seven thousand miles already on this summer tour and I was amazed at all the sights they’ve seen. Even with all that driving, he and Rachel have really taken time to “smell the roses“. He gave me lots of tips about unique out-of-the-way places that he had pre-researched and visited. GOOD STUFF!

We took turns making dinners and boy did we enjoy that! Rachel took the prize with her country fried steak, with rice and gravy, butterbeans, and a fine pone of hot cornbread, followed by fresh strawberry shortcake with topping. Now, that’s southern victuals that anyone would appreciate! We had a great visit with them and were discontented to see them leave us on Friday morning.

Friday afternoon June 24

This afternoon, Clyde and Gail arrived from Lockport, Louisiana. These south Louisiana friends are our weekend neighbors back home, as they own a recreational farm near us, in Mississippi. They traveled three days and two nights to get here. I would have been exhausted after all that but they were very energetic and doing very well. Anyway, we had a good visit this afternoon, walking the dogs and looking around the recreation area. We had a special south-Louisiana dinner tonight, consisting of a whole de-boned, marinated, chicken stuffed with seasoned shrimp and rice, and cooked slowly on the grill, accompanied by smothered potatoes w/peppers, and homegrown Louisiana tomatoes and cucumbers. We’ll have Clyde and Gail for a few days, so we’ll tour them around and visit some things that we haven’t seen yet. They intend to drive the International Selkirk (Mountains) Loop, North America’s only International Scenic Byway, around Kootenay Bay, British Columbia.

We have enjoyed the steady stream of visitors that have come to Idaho this summer. It’s very gratifying to have such delightful relatives, friends, and neighbors. Terry and I laughed when we said we “need a vacation” after all the visitors but we seriously did have a wonderful time with them all.

We’ve become so accustomed to the osprey that we just give them a glance but this afternoon we were treated to a rare catch. We were watching how the osprey use the wind to hover over the fishing spot when suddenly, the big bird just plummeted into the water and pulled out a large fish. It had trouble lifting out of the water and once airborne, it had to dip several times to regain a hold on the big fish. Now this was a real treat to see and left me wondering what the record catch for an osprey could be! Let me know if you have any hints!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

My thermometer showed 46 degrees this morning at 6am. We have not used our air-conditioner and we have used the heater every night. We still have some DAYS, when we use the heater. As you know, it’s officially summer and we’re still having this cool, sometimes damp, weather. The locals are all complaining about the weather, asking when summer days will come. For all our friends back in the South, I know what you’re experiencing weather wise, so I’d like to be able to send you a little blast of this Pacific Northwest climate and receive a little blast of your heat. I know, we’re never satisfied with the weather!

Today, we are saying goodbye to the Priest at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. As I mentioned, we’re having an appreciation lunch in the Fellowship Hall, after Mass. Based on our last name, we are to bring a desert, which was an easy decision, we‘re taking a gorgeous Strawberry Trifle. Clyde and Gail, our visitors from Lockport, Louisiana will accompany us today.

Please respond with your news!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, June 30, 2011

With the Fourth of July weekend approaching, the campground is filling with campers from all directions. They’re very excited and rushing to pick the best sites and get setup for the holiday weekend. Unfortunately, after the high water and wet, cool spring, the mosquitoes are out in force and very aggressive. You must wear repellant outdoors or they will cover your skin in an instant. This is a big weekend for the Park season and we expect to see all the issues that come with a busy weekend. Hopefully, everyone will follow the regulations, stay safe, and have a great weekend.

Terry and I wish all of you, our treasured friends and relatives, a most enjoyable Fourth of July Holiday.

For your information, this is our last weekend at the Park. Our assignment at the campground ends on July 8 and then we will meet Terry’s sister and husband (Kim and Glen) for a week in Yellowstone National Park beginning on July 11. After that, we’ll travel free from any commitment or schedule. We plan to travel south Idaho along the Snake River and then up to Montana along the Bitterroot River Valley, making our way up to Flathead Lake. We’ll visit with John and Joan at their camp in Bigfork, MT. and spend some time in Glacier National Park.

We’ve enjoyed the Camphost experience, and now we’re looking forward to being schedule-free. I’ll keep mailing, so you keep us current by responding with your news/comments too!

Having fun, wish you were here!

Friday 7-1

Upon completion of a very busy day, the campground is full to capacity and I’ve talked so much that my throat is sore. Terry and I have coordinated with the Park Office, directed campers, answered questions, and given friendly-reminders until we’re “blue-in-the-face”! As you might expect, about ten percent of the public read and follow the well-defined instructions posted at the self-service, fee station. Our greatest challenge is checking the fee envelopes for correctness. Any error requires scrutiny, analysis, and resolution with the customer. Sounds easy enough, except the fee envelopes may not be completed properly, to identify the site or customer involved. We conduct a site/fee verification session, daily with the Ranger, in order to balance with the computer records. I learned quickly, that busy weekends are made easier by greeting the campers on arrival and completing their fee envelopes for them and then check their payments, on the spot.

Some of the campers were treated to a nice surprise this afternoon when a Moose and her calf were spotted in the shallows of the lake. If that moose has any sense at all, it’s well away from this campground of nature-lovers! So now, let’s get through the Fourth of July Weekend without any accidents or major mishaps!

FYI; Heyburn State Park is the oldest state park in the Pacific Northwest, created in 1908. It consists of 5,744 acres of land and 2,233 acres of water. The early park structures were created by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) on the 1930’s. Today many of these facilities are still in use, a proud legacy of the CCC. Heyburn has a new, modern visitor center, rental cottages, cabins, a marina and store, twenty miles of hiking and horseback trails under 400-year-old Ponderosa Pines, and the 72-mile, paved, Trail of the Coeur d’ Alene Bicycle Trail, passes right through the park. Fishing for pike, bass, crappie, trout, salmon, and pan fish is terrific at Heyburn. OK, that’s the ten-cent tour and please hold your questions for the web site!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

This is our departure day from our service at Heyburn State Park. What a great bunch of folks we’ve met and worked with. Ron, the Park Manager, Beth, our Park Ranger, Maintenance: Bryce, Cody, Jessie, Michael and Jenifer, Patrick, Gary, Wade, Derrick, Office: Leslie, Emily, Shawn. (I’m listing the names for my memory sake.)

Our replacement camp-hosts arrived from Nevada and we did a walk-thru and got them started. We said goodbye to all our Heyburn State Park friends as they all visited with us before we left. (They were all such great folks and that made our experience at Heyburn most enjoyable.)

We departed around noon and headed south through the huge three million acre, St. Joe and Clearwater National Forests, of rural north central Idaho. Look at the map and you see the vast forested wilderness area. If you want to escape to a wild place, this is your ticket! You climb steep grades up the mountains, descend along narrow benches, following river gorges, cross high open prairies and realize that you’re being drawn deeper and deeper into the back country. This is home to the 3000-year-old, 18-foot diameter, Idaho State Record, Western Red Cedar. This is the wild where Moose, Elk, Bobcat, Bear, Cougar, and all the other wildlife of Idaho can be found. As you emerge the southern edge of the wilderness, you come upon a vast rolling prairie with ag fields and farms as far as the eye can see. Wheat is the primary crop but canola, hay, and certified seed crops can also be observed. I saw one 1200-acre field of white clover that is producing certified seed. Beekeepers had also situated hundreds of colonies of honeybees around the field to pollinate the crop and also produce honey. The roadsides and streams were lined with wildflowers such as white daisy’s, yarrow, bitterroot, western columbine, thimbleberry, and syringa.

One farmer had planted a large array of car bumpers, protruding above the ground, along his roadside, and put up a sigh, “his bumper crop”! He’s inhaled way to much diesel smoke out on that old farm tractor!

We took some pictures but Terry and I both agreed that pictures cannot begin to capture what you see and feel in this place. It’s just AWESOME! We’re just taking our time and loving the view as we head on down to Jackson Hole!

We camped on the Clearwater River at Orofino (home of the annual Boomershoot) next to the cold, clear, emerald-green, waters rushing down to the Snake. Yes, they fire rifles at exploding targets for competition and entertainment! How much fun can that be? I guess it depends on how the beer holds out!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Today, we drove east on US 12 following the Lewis and Clark Trail into the Bitterroot Mountains. We followed the Clearwater to Kamiah, then up the middle fork of the Clearwater to Lowell, confluence of the Lochsa with the middle fork. From Wikipedia: “The Kamiah area has been inhabited by the Nez Perce tribe for centuries. The name "Kamiah" is Nez Perce for "many rope litters," as Nez Perce manufactured "Kamia" ropes in the area to fish steelhead. Also, according to Nez Perce tradition, the Appaloosa horse was first bred in the area.”

At Lowell we followed the Lochsa (Rough Water) River up to Powell Junction and then climbed up and over Lolo Pass (5233‘) into Montana.

The pass is the highest point of the historic Lolo Trail, between the Bitterroot Valley in Montana and the Weippe Prairie in Idaho. This trail is where the Corp of Discovery almost perished in the late fall of 1805. The same weather prevailed in 2011 and the pass just opened for the season in late-June. (Lots of snow!)

These rivers are home to some of the best whitewater adventures in Idaho, with several outfitters located along the way. After crossing the pass, and the Bitterroot Divide, which is the state line, we headed on down to Missoula to do some Super Wal Mart shopping. It was late so we just feasted on a deli-roasted chicken and pasta salad, relaxed, and spent the night in the Wal Mart lot with a view of the Rattlesnake Mountains to the north and Lolo Peak to the south, in the distance. On the hills to the east was the giant “M” marking the University of Montana.

Friday, July 8, 2011

This morning I went out early and there were quite a number of overnighter RV’s in our little corner of the Wal-Mart lot. The Missoula Wal-Mart is a, large, well-landscaped property in an upscale area, with beautiful green lawns and walkways around the site. There were very expensive Class A coaches, not so expensive Travel Trailers, Truck Campers, and a small assortment of people having the appearance of living in their cars. There we were, sleeping side-by-side in the Super Wal-Mart lot. Now, ain’t that America!

Well, Yellowstone being our goal, we got our coffee and headed south up the north-flowing, fast-flowing, Bitterroot River. The lower valley is wide and green, with the upper valley narrow and rocky, with steep slopes and towering monoliths. The Indigo Girls made a song in the river’s namesake and it’s renown for cutthroat and brown trout. We continued up the Bitterroot Valley and over Lost Trail Pass (7264‘). Like Lolo Pass, this is the Bitterroot Divide, state line, and the continental divide, so now, we were back in Idaho. Down the western slope, you catch the south-flowing, North Fork of the Salmon River and follow it down to the town of North Fork and then south on up the Salmon, (called The River of No Return) (it’s flowing north and is the largest tributary of the Snake River) to Salmon, ID. and the confluence of the Lemhi and the Salmon Rivers in the Lemhi Valley. This is Lemhi Shoshone country and the birthplace of Sacajawea. No wonder Lewis and Clark’s Corp of Discovery got lost here! You can sure go in circles if you’re not careful! We could have used a Sacajawea today!

We rested and had lunch on the North Fork of the Salmon today and were treated to some nice bird watching in the giant cottonwood trees. The highlight was the Lewis’s Woodpecker, and one that you’ll enjoy looking up, no pun intended! After lunch, we drove on down to Salmon and set up camp on the Salmon River, just downstream from the confluence of the Lemhi River. We visited the Sacajawea Learning Center, a very fine museum with multi-media, and interpretive programs led by local historians. After sightseeing around Salmon for the remainder of the afternoon, we returned to camp, under the cottonwoods, on the banks of the Salmon River, and made a nice steak dinner. I must say that between Terry and I cooking, we enjoy some great meals in our travel trailer! I’m the outside cook and Terry is the inside cook. We have a microwave, gas cook top and oven, electric skillet, electric griddle, and gas grill, and we use them all! Our travel trailer has all the comforts of home and we have made it our home for the past several months. We just love the western states and we are blessed to make this, the trip of a lifetime.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

After a yummy sourdough-french-toast and bacon breakfast, we departed southeast from Salmon on Idaho 28. This scenic route follows the Lemhi River up the wide, green Lemhi Valley. Lewis and Clark and party entered the Lemhi Valley in August 1805 and this is where Sacajawea was reunited with her Shoshone people. She had been a captive of the Mandan’s on the Missouri River in North Dakota when Lewis and Clark recruited her and husband Charbonneau as guides. This was a great boon to the Travelers! There’s nothing like family when you’re in a jam! Unfortunately, they picked old Toby, a brother-in-law, to guide them over to the Clearwater, he got them lost, and they almost perished. Moral; Beware of those brother-in-law deals!

There are large ranches situated in the valley between the Lemhi Range on the west, and the Bitterroot Range on the east, and the ranchers were cutting and baling hay along the route. Many fields had rolls, blocks, and bales of hay in neat, geometric lines and patterns, awaiting removal to the storage area. We also observed large herds of cattle grazing on rich, green pastures. This is prime Elk country but scarce in the summer due to migration up the slopes. As you continue south, up the valley, it narrows and is too high for irrigation. We saw lots of cattle grazing these slopes. You scarcely realize that you’re in a steady climb as you travel up the valley from Salmon (4004’) to Gilmore Summit (7186’) where the Lemhi River takes its rise.

Just over the summit, we followed Birch Creek down the south slope, while enjoying a view of the Teton Range and Yellowstone Park, some 100 miles distant, with the Centennial Mountains to the Northeast.

Birch Creek is a cold and clear, shallow and rocky, fast-flowing stream, but it is a premier Brown Trout fishing stream. There are numerous access points along the route with good camping spots too. If not for the Yellowstone schedule, I would definitely spend a few days on Birch Creek.

Around mid-afternoon, we made camp at the Western Wings Shooting Club, an exceptional facility, located at Roberts, Idaho. The Club consists of an attractive Clubhouse, pleasant campground, and a specialized shooting course. The shaded shooting stations, about 50 yards apart, are situated along a mile-long trail of Russian Olive trees. The stations are progressive, with a degree of challenge ranging from novice to expert. Club carts are provided so that the shooter can ride to the range and from station to station.

Some shooters trailer their own off-road vehicles to use at the club. I was surprised that the campground is open to the public, another sign of the hard-economic times, I suppose! Needless to say, this is an elite club for people who are not concerned with the electric bill! In contrast, it made me think of my young days at Progress, Mississippi, when I would scrape together a dollar, and buy four shotgun shells at Uncle Claude’s store, so I could go hunting. Uncle Claude’s motto was “you can’t sell an item for twenty-five cents each, but they’ll sell out at 4 for a dollar”!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Finishing a good breakfast and a leisurely walk around the shooting club grounds, Terry, myself, Jack, Sam, and Daisy, continued our journey to Yellowstone. As we usually do, we avoided the Interstate and drove cross-country through some really big farm country along the Snake River Valley in Idaho and Wyoming. They grow potatoes here by the gillions and if you eat a French fry, it probably came from here! The Snake River (name comes from a miscommunication with the Shoshone, they said salmon and we heard snake) is 1,078 miles long, taking it’s rise in Yellowstone Park, and as the major tributary of the Columbia, joins the Columbia at Richland, WA. The Snake drains parts of six states and irrigates millions of acres of very diverse crops. The Columbia and the Snake with their series of locks and dams make Lewiston, Idaho the farthest inland port on the western slope of the Continental Divide. Consequently, ocean-going vessels can bring electronics stuff from China and we can send China all sorts of junk back, through Lewiston! World trade just don’t get any better!

As you have probably noticed, I really like rivers. Rivers are the foundation on my geography knowledge and I love the history, lore, agriculture, and recreation that they all provide.

Around mid-day, we camped at Alpine, Wyoming, in a quiet, attractive, campground on the (you guessed it) Snake river. We made a spaghetti dinner, bathed our dogs and vehicle, all in preparation for collecting Kim and Glen (Terry’s sister and husband) at the Jackson Airport on Monday. We’ll spend a week together in the Teton and Yellowstone area just visiting and playing tourist!

Write me your news asap!!!!!!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

My, how time flies! We spent a week at Jackson Hole and it just went by too fast! I’ve gotten too far behind on my travel log, as my intention is to keep a record of our experiences. I’ve been making some reminder notes so now I’ll attempt to catch-up.

Terry and I set up camp at the Teton RV Resort Park, east of Moran Junction, and then headed on down to the Jackson Airport. We collected Kim and Glen at the Jackson Airport last Monday and off we went. I can say however, that we took our time and “smelled the roses“. There were many people rushing around but we just casually toured Grand Teton and Yellowstone, saw more animals, and did more than ever before. We had clear, moonlight nights and what a magnificent view of the moonlit, snow-covered mountains we enjoyed. We saw gillions of Elk and all their associates on the moonlight nights too! When we visited Old Faithful, it was so cold that we had to buy jackets at the Gift Shop and at Mammoth Hot Springs, we were looking for shade! It was so much fun to share the great sights and experiences with good friends!

The water was still high in all the drainages and the falls were just breathtaking. Some areas of Yellowstone Park had 60 feet of snow last winter and with the spring rains, there is water everywhere, and unfortunately, many mosquitoes too. The days were warm, nights cool and the plants were in their prime, literally blankets of wildflowers on every slope. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with Terry’s sister and husband (Kim and Glen) in the parks and valleys. We also attended the Jackson/Teton County Rodeo and it was great fun! We sat next to a group from Belgium and I enjoyed explaining the various Rodeo events to the young boys. They most enjoyed Miss Teton County Rodeo Queen and required no explanation!

On Sunday PM, we attended the Bar J Chuckwagon Dinner and Show and what a time of laughs and entertainment, we had. This is a family-owned and operated Guest Resort Ranch near Teton Village, and the food, western music and cowboy comedy was very enjoyable.

On Monday, we sadly, sent our guests off from Jackson Airport, back to Indiana, back to home and work, so now we’re on our own again, with no schedule.

We traveled back through the parks to the west Yellowstone gate and over to Henry’s Lake, Idaho for a rest. I then learned that part of the northwest corner of Yellowstone Park is in Idaho and Montana, so you travel and learn!

Now we’re heading up to Bigfork, MT. to visit friends from Seattle (John and Joan) and make a re-visit to Glacier National Park. We traveled north on US 191 to Bozeman, following the Gallatin River through the limestone canyon walls, towards it’s confluence with the Jefferson and Madison Rivers to form the headwaters of the long Missouri River. We camped in Bozeman at Sunrise Campground where we met a fellow LSU Alumni. Mr. Desmond was an Architect and he designed the LSU Union and several other fine buildings on the Baton Rouge Campus. He and his wife have spent the past twelve summers in Bozeman where he likes to fly fish. Cousin, Pam (Pansy) Simmons Buetcher and husband Fred spent their adult lives at Montana State and Bozeman but I found no trace of them.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

This morning we set out to visit the “Three Forks” or the confluence of the Gallatin, Madison, and Jefferson Rivers, the headwaters of the Missouri River. This is where, as a young child, Sacajawea was captured by the Minnataree and then sold to the Mandan’s who lived far downriver. As a young woman with a baby, she later led the Corp of Discovery right back here and on over to her Shoshone childhood home in the Bitterroot Valley.

John Colter, a former member of the Corp of Discovery, made his 1808 escape from hostile Indians here and discovered Yellowstone on his escape route.

It was like going back in time to see the rivers as the Lewis and Clark party saw them. You can see the cliffs, colors, creeks, valleys, and mountain ranges as they saw them and described in their journals. When you travel and study the Rocky Mountains you come to understand that the chains consist of numerous Ranges, each Range having its own unique properties, such as geology, history, climate, and stuff like that. The rivers are still running high this July and that would have been a big problem for the Lewis and Clark Corps in July of 1805.

Next, we drove up the Jefferson River toward the Lewis and Clark Caverns. The caverns are carved from the 350-million-year-old Madison Limestone formation that was once covered by a shallow tropical sea. Lewis and Clark never saw the caverns but everything around these parts is named the for Lewis and Clark party. Lewis and Clark did explore the Jefferson River and valley, once covered by an ancient lake, as a suggested route west, following a lead given them by the Minnetaree, but it was not a feasible route.

In fact, Lewis and Clark explored all three tributaries to the Headwater of the Missouri trying to decide if one of the rivers was in fact a continuation of the Missouri. They decided that all three rivers were indeed separate, individual rivers, in their own right. The Lewis and Clark route is loaded with side-trips and this can be very confusing to the novice traveler. They were all over the mountains and valleys and had good reason for doing so, but it is confusing, if you assume that they took a straight route to the Pacific and back.

They opened the way for the development of this great western frontier and their names are well honored! I wonder if President Jefferson ever saw this great western country that he opened-up! He was probably too busy with Monticello and Sally Henning to take a trip out here! I’m sure he would be proud to have his name on this beautiful river, valley, and canyon of the Jefferson River. The Canyon is a fault line and the older granite is adjacent to the younger limestone. The limestone has been perforated by the mineral water and has formed about two miles of colored and decorated cavern.

On Thursday, we made our way up to Helena, Mt. by way of Whitehall and Boulder, a very scenic route along the Jefferson and Boulder Rivers and through rural, green valleys.

At Helena, we toured the striking, Montana State Capital, (Statehood 1899) situated against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, commanding a panoramic view of the vast Helena Valley. The Corps of Discovery called it the “Prickly Pear Valley” but little did they know that the Missouri River, as a water source, would turn it into an agricultural center, and the territorial and State Capital. We also visited the Montana State History Museum, an outstanding collection of C.M. Russell artwork, and splendid collection of historical artifacts.

Whew! Now I’m caught-up on my log! It’s way too easy to get behind and far too difficult to catch-up, so I’ll try to do better!

Today, we travel on up to Bigfork and Glacier National Park.

Friday, July 22, 2011

We did some morning shopping in Helena and departed around noon, headed to Bigfork via US 12, over MacDonald Pass (6320’) to the western slope of the Continental Divide, MT Route 141, MT Route 200, and MT Route 83. We had a lunch-picnic at MacDonald Pass, on a lot by the communication towers at the top. What a lovely view of the canyon and Helena Valley behind us to the east. During our picnic I accidentally had Sam and Daisy off the leash at the same time and that was a mistake we try hard not to make. Anyway, they looked at each other and me, and in an instant, took off on one of their wild runs that we try to prevent. They were gone for quite a while and even though I was on the very top of the peak, I couldn’t see them anywhere. Fortunately, the road was far away from the tower lot and I didn’t have to worry too much about that. When they returned, they were whipped by the hard run at that altitude and they were ready for water and rest. Hopefully, that little romp won’t be repeated!

The remainder of our travel today was very scenic, following the Little Blackfoot River with the Garnet Range to the west, The Big Blackfoot River with Bob Marshall Wilderness to the north, the Swan River with the Swan Range (and Chinese Wall) to the east and Mission Mountains to the west. By the time we reached Condon, we realized that the weekenders had claimed all the campgrounds, so we just parked at the Condon Rural Fire Station, made dinner and relaxed for the night.

July 25, 2011

Well, here I am playing catch-up on my travel log again! We’ve had a terrific week-end in Bigfork with John and Joan. Joan is a native of Montana and John is a convert. John and Joan are alumni of U. of Montana at Missoula, where they met. They have a gorgeous home on picturesque Swan Lake, nestled on the edge of the lake, among huge pines, overlooking their private beach, dock, and crystal-clear water. We enjoyed visiting, dining, and sharing travel stories.

On Sunday, we attended Church together in Bigfork and then had breakfast at a cute little restaurant in the Swan Valley. Next, we drove around neighboring, sparkling-blue, Flathead Lake (largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi) and enjoyed sightseeing, including the National Bison Range. We also saw bear, pronghorn antelope, elk, birds, and black-tailed deer on the 36-sq-mile, mountainous range. We also visited the historic, St. Ignatius Mission, prehistoric, glacial Lake Missoula, and the last Fort (Connah) of the Hudson Bay Company. This area is home to the Flathead and Blackfeet Native Americans and a center for their culture and customs.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Today, we traveled up to Columbia Falls and camped on the Flathead River to begin a week in Glacier National Park. Columbia Falls is the “Gateway to Glacier National Park” but every place around the area claims to be the “Gateway” too. Anyway, it’s a nice little town and we have a very accommodating campground with cable and WiFi and nice facilities. It’s a rainy day, so we’ll do some laundry and catch-up on chores.

7-26-2011

We spent the full day in Glacier National Park, a stunning display of geological processes with rugged peaks, clear waters, and glacial-carved valleys. There are only six peaks over 10 thousand feet, not very impressive for the Rocky Mountains, but boy are these mountains breathtaking! The steep, uplifted mountains are sedimentary material from an inland sea, millions of years old. Glaciers from the last Ice Age carved stark rips and tears in the rock and deposited huge moraines in the valleys. The flora and the fauna are just beyond comparison, so Mother Nature did an awesome artwork here! No wonder this place is sacred to the Blackfeet and Flathead natives. Here, you use some different terms like, cirque, horns, hanging valley, arêtes, which define the abrupt features that are encountered in the Park.

It was raining and that gave the Park a unique look. The Falls were very impressive and the clouds just hung like smoke on the peaks. We entered at West Glacier and traveled the “Going to the Sun” road over to St. Mary and East Glacier, and then US 2 back to Columbia Falls. At Logan Pass, on the Continental Divide, a lot of snow remains from the 80 feet this past winter.

Terry was nervous when we drove up the high, narrow, west face of the escarpment. It was raining and very windy, so I was nervous too! On the eastern slope, it began to clear and warm-up as we approached Lake St. Mary. It was still very windy because a weather front was moving through the area. Now, we’ll go back to the Park on a sunny, clear day and enjoy it from that perspective! In the meantime, we have the surrounding area to explore!

Thur. 7-28

We spent a sunny, clear day in Glacier National Park. The mountains were towering in the background of jade-colored, crystal-clear lakes and vast, emerald-green conifer slopes. We hiked through the Western-Red Cedar Grove at the base of Reynolds Mountain, and up the deep, narrow, roaring gorge of Avalanche Creek, just west of the Continental Divide.

Atop Triple Divide Peak, in the Two Medicine area, three slopes converge, each separate west, east, or north drainages to the Columbia, Mississippi, or Saskatchewan Rivers, respectively. Also, hot, dry, wind-swept prairies, cold-wet glaciers, deep lakes, old-growth forests, that are normally well separated, converge here. The 50-mile, Going-to-the-Sun Road cuts right through the middle and provides scenic and awe-inspiring overviews of the whole sacred landscape.

What a great week at Glacier and the surrounding area! Now, we head up to Kalispell for the week-end and then ramble around northwest Montana and North Idaho.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Now it’s time to play catch-up again. We enjoyed Kalispell for the weekend. We shopped, saw a movie (Cowboys and Aliens), attended Mass at St. Matthews’s downtown, and had Sunday lunch at a circa 1938 Soda Fountain (Norms News), where we enjoyed real chocolate malts with whipped-cream and cherry topping and cheeseburgers with fries. Afterwards, we took our dogs on a log walk at Woodbridge Park.

We’ve enjoyed a week of e-mails and pictures from our friend Sam who is vacationing in Hawaii. It’s terrific to have computer and cell phone just about everywhere we go. We were back along the Lewis and Clark Trail and I was thinking what e-mail, cell phone, and social networks would have meant to them. Jefferson and friends would have been bug’in them every day!

On Monday, after talking to Diane in Woodland Park, CO., we decided to head down to Colorado, along the western slope of the Continental Divide, for some Colorado rambling and then a visit with her and Dave. We traveled south on US 93 along the west side of Flathead Lake, an area famous for its sweet cherries. The cherries were not ready (late this season) when we came up the east side of Flathead Lake on our way to Bigfork and Glacier National Park. I just knew we’d get some good sweet Flathead cherries on the way south, but they’re still not ripe! We had to settle for Chelan cherries from Wal Mart!

Leaving the lake, we drove to the National Bison Range and had a picnic lunch. Earlier, John informed us that the National Bison Range was begun by the Flathead People, in an effort to restore buffalo to the western slope of the Continental Divide, after a long absence. Now you can drive through the vast expanse and get an idea of what the buffalo herds would have looked like 200 years ago. In the afternoon, we drove on south to Missoula and spent the night in a very nice campground.

On Tuesday, we had no choice but to travel I-90 east (we try to avoid interstates) to Cardwell in order to take US 287, MT 87, and US 20 to West Yellowstone. The Anaconda Stack caught our attention so we stopped by the Visitor Center. This 585-ft, stack is the world’s tallest masonry structure and all that remains of the old Anaconda Copper smelting plant.

We visited Butte, an area rich with minerals, the town that’s a mile high and a mile deep (mine shafts). This mine town produced the copper that brought electricity to a lot of early American homes. It’s also the largest heap of mine tailings that I’ve ever seen. They also have the Berkley Pit, a defunct 1700-ft deep, open-pit copper mine that has since filled with toxic water. Migratory birds that stop over on the lake get a free, soapy bath if they stay too long and become ill. The “Pit Watch” paper, a publication of the Berkley Pit Public Education Committee, keeps the public informed on any issues that arise from the “pit and other mines”. Of course, most of the mining operations are shut-down now thanks to places like South Africa, where they don’t have a pit-watch committee. Mining has given us so much but I see nothing but negatives from the aftermath. I liked the way the aliens mined in the “Cowboys and Aliens” movie that we saw in Kalispell! Check it out!

Well, we’re at Lewis and Clark Caverns Campground tonight. We’ve made a huge Montana-circle, in returning back here. This park has some incredible geography, and geology, well worth the effort to stop by. In addition, there are numerous Hot Spring Resorts in the area to help you soak your troubles away! (A good wintertime activity, not August) Tomorrow, we’ll head on down to West Yellowstone.

Finally, we have explored the Gallatin, Madison, and Jefferson River routes, that converge at Three Forks to form the headwaters of the long Missouri River. Each historical river is unique in it’s flora, fauna, geography, geology, and canyons.

Yesterday, we visited the 1959 earthquake site where the Madison River was dammed by a massive landslide. It was an awesome site of natural destruction but a prime example of what the Army Corp of Engineers can do to modify natural features. They have a visitor center there that shows how they re-channeled the Madison to restore management of the river.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

We’ve had a good visit in West Yellowstone. We stayed at a small campground three blocks from city center, so we had easy walking access to town. It’s an interesting, historical old town but way too much commercialism and too many tourists and T-shirt shops. We took Jack, Sam, and Daisy walking around town and they loved it. They wanted to go in every shop, especially the sidewalk café’s! They must have thought, “What a great town, to feed everyone, just sit down and eat”! Of course, they enjoyed reading the P-mails on every post and plug where the other dogs marked. The West Yellowstone weekend schedule is a classic car show event. We’ve seen quite a few already and they’re coming from all quarters. I love to see those old classic automobiles restored and even super-modified. I’ve seen a lot of candidates around rural old barns and ranches all over the western states, just waiting for someone to come along and adopt them. I wish I had the skills to do it!

We’ll be heading through Yellowstone Park today and then continue south toward Colorado. We’re still excited about going through Yellowstone, regardless of our recent visit.

Friday, August 5^th

Yellowstone and Teton Parks were as scenic as ever! The water has considerably diminished from the drainages but the flats are still green and the wildflowers are abundant. We had lunch at the Old Faithful area and it was full-to-the-brim with tourists just rushing around the sights. It was a cloudy, cool, jacket, day and we joked about buying our jackets there when we were there with Kim and Glen, in July. We took some good pictures and then drove on down to Jackson where we found a parking spot back by the Lutheran Church and spent the night there. We walked/shopped around Jackson and Terry found several unique shops. For example, Jackson Mercantile had an amazing collection of mounted birds and animals. Another was, the “By Nature Gallery”, like a Gem and Fossil Museum/Art Gallery.

Back at the travel trailer, we had several neighbors arrive later in the night. Jackson has a free overnight parking area for RV’s but it’s a little too close to the hustle and bustle of the crowds and traffic. The only issue we had at our overnight spot was when the “Jackson Gunfight” performance took place, Daisy hid under the bed and excitedly Sam thought we were going hunting, while Jack, who can‘t hear thunder, was wondering what all the excitement was about.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

We awoke this morning to a cool, crisp day on the Green River just south of La Barge, WY. Leaving Jackson yesterday, we traveled US 191/US189 along the Hoback and Green River valley between the Salt Range/Wyoming Range on the west and the Wind River Range on the east. The campsite is a Lincoln County, Green River access, in a cottonwood flat, on the banks of the river. We had the place all to ourselves other than a couple of drive-thrus in late afternoon. During the night, we heard some grunt sounds in the willows, by the river. I saw many deer tracks, so it must have been our deer neighbors. We enjoyed the birds and wildlife along the river. At the marshy, flat, headwaters of Fontenelle Lake, we watched Antelope, Deer, Sandhill Cranes, Tundra Swans, White Pelicans, Canada Geese, and all sorts of ducks and other waterfowl, and a Golden Eagle. Here, the landscape is a vast sagebrush steppe, and the river is a cottonwood-lined oasis. You can see the river on satelite photography because the cottonwood trees accentuate it.

We were curious about a long stretch of impoundment fence along the east side of US 191 between Hoback and Pinedale. It had strange-looking earthen abutments at set intervals, with an opening in the fence, at the top of each abutment, and a 6-foot flat wall on the opposing side. We were speculating and theorizing about the purpose of this weird fence. At the Pinedale Visitor Center, we got our answer. It’s a drift fence, designed to aid and protect the Pronghorn Antelope in their annual migration to and from Grand Teton Park and the Green River shrub steppe of southwest Wyoming. This fence design allows the Antelope to jump into the containment area but not out, therefore directing them away from the highway and along the migration route. Did you know, this migration is the second-longest migration in the Western Hemisphere? Check it out!

To all my acquaintances and friends who may be in low health or need a diversion, I recommend a trip to the western states! This great experience is good for the soul!

We visited the Pinedale/Sublette County Visitor Center and then had lunch at the city park on a fast, cold, clear tributary of the Green River. The Visitor Center is dedicated to the history and recreational resources of the area. This is Green River Rendezvous country where Jim Bridger and the other mountain men met (circa 1820-1840) to trade their beaver pelts and re-supply. This is also, where the Oregon Trail passed over the Continental Divide via the moderate South Pass on the southern end of the snow-covered, sawteeth of the Wind River Range. There’s a Historical Marker to Narcissa Prentiss Whitman and Eliza Hart Spalding, (missionary’s) the first white women to cross the pass. History tells us that about 500 thousand other souls passed that way, blazing the trail to Salt Lake, California, and Oregon.

This cool morning, I was reminded of how the Oregon Trail immigrants discarded items when traveling across this area, to lighten their load. Many abandoned warm bedding and clothing only to regret it in the higher elevations to the west. My ancestor, Joseph Adams Hall, made the difficult, dangerous trek from New Orleans to San Francisco, in 1851. I don’t know any details, other than, it was a one-way trip. He arrived in San Francisco in July and died from sickness in August, of 1851.

Currently, a new natural gas find is being developed in the valley, with hundreds of wells already in production. They’re currently building the pipeline across the valley and consequently, X-miles of pipe are now crossing the pass on trucks, three-pipes-at-a-time, kind of like the Oregon Trail wagons did it!

I also discovered that William Henry Jackson, famous to me as a Yellowstone and western photographer, was a fine artist. I saw some prints of numerous paintings that he produced, some in his eighties. His art was a great influence and brings the western history to life, anytime you look at it.

Sunday Afternoon, August 7, 2011

We arrived at Yampa State Park, on the Yampa River, about twenty miles west of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I made Chicken (Cordon) Swiss, one of my favorite, on-the-grill, dishes. (Grilled chicken breast, stuffed with swiss cheese and sweet red peppers.) This is a nice park, mainly focusing on whitewater river sports. The Yampa River takes its rise in the Flattops and flows to the Green River in Dinosaur National Park. It has various sections of water that offer different levels of challenge for paddlers. The historic Yampa Valley is very green and busy with the rancher’s making-hay and preparing for yet another winter.

To bring myself up to date, last night, we camped straddle the Continental Divide on Wyoming789. That part of Wyoming is sagebrush country covered with oil wells. We drove out to a wellhead with a good view of the eastern and western slope of the divide, from horizon to horizon, and camped right there. We had a good dinner/evening, listened to Prairie Home Companion, and looked forward to some stargazing in the night. Unfortunately, a distant oil collection point had an automatic flare for burning off unwanted gas and it made a bright yellow glow. We realized it was there when we camped but didn’t appreciate that it would be so bright at night. This negated the stargazing but we did have a very cool, very quite, (no neighbors to be seen) restful night.

I can attest to the fact that this area has more Antelope than I’ve ever seen! Some came within spitting distance of our trailer and just hung out with us all night. The nearby gas flare didn’t concern them at all. They had many young offspring and didn’t seem to mind us being around them. We got some really great pictures of them in their daily routine.

This morning, we made breakfast, walked the dogs (they loved the Antelope) and then continued on WY 789 south to the Colorado line where it becomes CO 13. CO 13 follows Fortification Rocks, home of Colorado’s largest rattlesnakes. Terry gathered some sage blooms but she was cautious in doing so. We saw a large herd of sheep, up in the rocky hills, being managed by a large white Great Pyrenees dog. He was out there all alone doing his job. We have a neighbor that has this breed of dog but he has never seen a sheep.

We arrived at Craig, home of Mr. Moffat, the early railroad magnet. Craig has his personal railroad headquarters-car on display.

From there, we took US 40 east to Hayden and Yampa State Park.

This afternoon, I hand-washed some jeans and shorts and laid them out on the picnic table, where they dried very quickly. That’s a nice feature of the western climate but my pants were stiff-as-a-board.

Monday evening, August 8, 2011

We’re camped at Stagecoach State Park, just off CO 131 on the old Yampa to Steamboat Springs Stagecoach Road. It took two days by stage in the early days but now it’s about 30 minutes. Steamboat Springs (1900) was a popular area for tourists who came by rail and then stage to enjoy the 150 mineral hot springs. Steamboat Springs was a large mineral spring that huffed and puffed like a steamboat. When the railroad came through town, the blasting changed the geology and the spring quit sounding like a steamboat. Now, it’s surrounded by a nice spa and hotel where you can relax and soak your cares away. The spring now sounds like a cash register!

Ranchers and farmers got started in the Yampa Valley around 1878 and by the mid-1920’s they were producing truck crops like strawberries and lettuce that they shipped to California markets. (Imagine that!)

Actually, Steamboat is becoming a lot like Aspen. You can run, hike, bike, boat, and all sorts of outdoor activities and recuperate at the massage table. Just bring your American Express because you don’t have enough cash!

When we lived in Denver, just 18 years ago, we came here often for summer and winter sports, when it was a small ranch town. We joked then, that you can bring “two pair of underwear and a $5 bill” for the weekend, and not change either in Steamboat! Many of the ranches where we did backcountry skiing are now 35 million in Condos. Can’t fault a rancher for that!

Strawberry Hot Springs is 12 miles north in a narrow ranch canyon, and the place we did après ski for free, natural, no management, swimsuits were optional. Today, it’s an elite spa with all the amenities, facilities and services that can be offered. Can’t fault the rancher for that!

Today I found two identical Cinch ($59.95/each) shirts in the old, Fifth-Generation, F.M. Light Western Store, one marked down by 25% and the other at the full price. I offered to buy them both for the 25% discount on the total sale. No one in the store could make a decision on my offer so I left without buying anything. Grandpa Light would never have let that happen! My how things change! Don’t misconstrue my opinion, Steamboat Springs is a fine resort area that still has a lot of the old west personality, look, and feel.

We had a fine evening at Stagecoach State Park with a spaghetti dinner layered parfait desert. We took a short hike up to the pinnacle overlook at sunset, took some pictures, and enjoyed the cool evening. In the morning, we had coffee with a nice view of the lake and the Flattops, some 40 miles to the southwest. We were accompanied a skunk cruising the campground for some leftovers. We are meandering toward Leadville and then over to Woodland Park to spend the weekend with Diane.

Tuesday evening, August 9

Today, we traveled from Stagecoach State Park, continuing south on CO 131. We followed the Yampa upstream toward the Flattops where it takes it’s rise. We stopped off at Yampa and looked around the old town. The main street is gravel and has fancy streetlamps right down the middle. Not too long ago, they drove cattle right down the wide main street to the stock pens.

Next, we climbed over the pass and descended into the Colorado River canyon. We followed the Colorado upstream for a while and then, climbed out of the canyon over to the Eagle River Valley and I-70. We had a picnic lunch at the pass, where were entertained by the loudest grasshoppers we have heard this summer. It was like a symphony of clacking castanet’s. At Wolcott and I-70, we stopped and watched a Zip Line outfitter as they traversed the canyon back and forth. They had six lines across the canyon that were progressively longer and higher as they moved down the canyon. They were leading two separated groups of about twenty zippers through the course. The entire group, followed by the leader traverses on line one, landing on the opposite platform. Next, the group moves along to line two, a little more thrilling, and everyone then winds upon the opposite side platform. Finishing on line six is the thrillus maximus, with a long, fast, high run. Terry got a great picture of a zipper flying high over the canyon floor, with I-70 traffic in the background below. I observed that everyone wears a helmet, which in my opinion would be the last thing to hit the ground in a fall. Regardless, if you want a thrill, this would be a good candidate.

Our next stop was the beautifully landscaped, exclusive and fashionable Vail Valley along I-70. Terry and the GPS had to guide me as I steered through the numerous traffic-circles at the intersections. We shopped at the Super Wal Mart, with the most unusual façade we’ve encountered. I’m sure some architect was paid well for the design but we thought it looked like an airport terminal. Inside, the store was very familiar and had the usual stuff that we like to purchase. After shopping, we drove US 6 and enjoyed seeing the various resorts and clubs with the beautiful buildings, lawns and plantings.

Subsequently, we took US 24 south toward Leadville and climbed up to Tennessee Pass (10,424‘), home of the 10^th Mountain Division. We camped at Camp Hale which covered the entire mountain valley on the north side of the pass.

August 10

We spent the day in Leadville, a mining center that started with gold in 1860, then silver in 1880, followed by zinc, lead, copper, and molybdenum, through WW II. The mines built huge fortunes for their owners and investors like Tabor, and May, while companies like Marshall Fields and Guggenheims got their start here. The homes, stores, hotels, and saloons are now tourist shops. The most obvious remnants of the mines are the mine tailings left all over the area. Many of the residences are built right next to huge piles of mine tailings. Regardless, the town is thriving with tourism.

The Tenth Mountain Division of WW II, trained at Camp Hale and then led the advance in Italy. A respectful and reverent monument at Tennessee Pass honors the Division but nothing remains of Camp Hale except the old streets and building foundations. Some of the 10^th Division men returned after WW II to found the Commercial Ski Industry in Colorado.

We camped at old Camp Hale, at ten-thousand feet, and got really cold overnight. It was great!

I had lost track of Tom, who I worked with in Denver. He had a house in Leadville and we stayed there on several occasions, when we skied, climbed, and hiked the Leadville area. While driving around looking for the house, we encountered the mail carrier and he informed that Tom was there. We went over and had a very enjoyable reunion.

Tom retired and moved to his Leadville house in 2008. He’s still the “mountain man” outdoorsman. Tom has climbed all 53 of the over 14-thousand-ft Colorado mountains and about half of the thirteeners. He likes to brag that he skis year-round by climbing up to the snowfields in the summer. We plan to stay in touch so maybe, we can ski and climb mountains with Tom again!

After Leadville, we continued south on US 24 and camped at the Arkansas River Rim, just north of Buena Vista. This area is another Colorado whitewater Mecca. The headwaters of the Arkansas are clear, cold, and fast. We have run the Arkansas through Brown’s Canyon with Diane, in her six-man raft and it’s a wild ride.

This is big-mountain country with numerous ranges, containing 14er‘s. (14 thousand ft. plus mountains) On the west side of the valley, the Collegiate Peaks rise abruptly to 14-thousand plus, with the 13K, Buffalo Peaks on the east side. Colorado has 53 mountains that exceed 14 thousand feet and ironically, they’re not technical. (No gear required.) They have established cairn-marked trails to the summit and if you’re willing to awake at 3am and climb the trail up and back, for 8-12 hours, they’re awaiting you. The most important rule is never get caught above tree-line in the afternoon, when thunderstorms are probable. Terry and I were caught on Medicine Bow Peak with a storm brewing, and the rocks were crackling with static electricity. That will “scare the hell of you” and it will definitely speed up your decent! The other irony is that, the majority of the 13K ft. mountains are technical.

We’ll spend another day in the Arkansas Valley and then spend the weekend with Diane at her house in Woodland Park.

Buena Vista, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains and Arkansas Valley, is a circa 1879 town, originally based on mining and agriculture, but is now focused on tourism. The area abounds with recreational opportunities for all seasons.

August 11 pm

We left Buena Vista after lunch and drove over Trout Creek Pass, into South Park, and over to Eleven Mile State Park, on the South Platt River. We’ve had a fine day and now the evening is really colorful with thunderstorms. We cooked fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, with broccoli for dinner.

The landscape here looks like huge monkey-bread, with the granite rocks wadded into a globular mess in every direction. The softer material has weathered away and left these monolithic formations, isolated and cumulative, over the surrounding terrain. This is an area of concentration for Black Bears, so we have to take precautions not to lure them into the campground. I guess they come anyway, so you just don’t want to be the one that gets attacked or gets your vehicle broken into! The bears are very intelligent and we have been informed that some have learned to jump on the roof of a vehicle, breaking the glass and gaining entry to the goodies. I say a bear like that is ready for public office or government work!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Today we head over to Woodland Park for a weekend with Diane. This morning, we walked around the rocks at Eleven Mile State Park on the South Platt River. This is a very unique area and has some spectacular views of the Collegiate Peaks and Monarch Pass to the west and the Sangre De Christo Mountains to the south.

We visited Florissant National Monument on the way, a park that has fossils of animals and plants from 35 million years ago, when the park was a tropical forest.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

My, how time flies! We’ve had a wonderful visit with Dave and Diane at Woodland Park, so much so, that we’re going back next weekend for another visit!

On Friday, we made dinner at Diane’s house and then walked around the neighborhood, where there are spectacular views of the west slope of (14,110 ft.) Pike’s Peak. In the afternoon, you can see the cars on the Pikes Peak road, as they climb up and down from the summit. You can see four states from up there, after you drive up the 19-mile road to the summit. Katherine Lee Bates wrote “America the Beautiful” after an inspirational visit to the summit, on a clear day.

Saturday morning, we went to the farmers market at Colorado Springs, where we found a wide selection of homegrown fruits and vegetables, along with local arts and crafts. We enjoyed coffee and pastries on a stroll around old Colorado City, on the west side of Colorado Springs. We spent the rest of the day up at Diane’s house at Woodland Park, where we made a delightful vegetable dinner feast, and then played the chicken-feet domino game.

On Sunday, Diane and Terry shopped at the Ikea Swedish store in Denver. The store has all things Swedish and they made some good buys. We’re still enjoying the Senap Grov and Sill, with the nice Swedish flatbread, as appetizers. Patrik will need to explain the Sill Matjes, as it is a real treat but we’re unsure about the ingredients!

I spent that time getting my truck serviced and doing some routine maintenance tasks. We again enjoyed our purchases from the Farmers Market, as Diane made a delicious vegetable pizza for dinner.

On Monday, Dave returned from his business trip and we had a good visit with Dave and Diane, while we made Chile Rellenos from fresh-roasted peppers we obtained at the (again) Farmers Market. We used the recipe that Helen and Richard sent us from housekeeper (Rosie). We enjoyed the dish with them in El Paso and I wanted to try it with the roasted peppers we got at the market. It was delicious and I know that we’ll get better at this scrumptious dish, in the future. Yes, we did eat a lot but we also got some exercise too!

Last night, while disposing of vegetable trimmings at the compost bin, I came within spitting-distance of two half-grown black bear cubs. We left them undisturbed, aware that momma bear must be close by. On the ten o’clock news, there was a cautionary segment about the concentration of black bear in Woodland Park and how they are raiding the trash bins, in a feeding frenzy, preparing for winter. The dogs were very nervous too, even this morning, when they got scent of the bears.

Dave and Diane left for work, and we headed out for a few days of rambling around the area. Mid-morning, Terry and I visited the Colorado Coffee Merchants Company in northeast Colorado Springs. We took a very aromatic tour of this importer and roaster of high-quality coffee beans. The tour was very informative and explained their entire enterprise of producing quality coffee beans for the wholesale and retail market. We tasted the various coffee products and finished with a delicious latte made by the professional baristas. Of course, we purchased some of their product and then spent some time on the WiFi access-point, in their shop.

Now, it looks like thunderstorms are moving in so we’ll relax for a while at our campground in Colorado Springs. We having fun playing tourist here, so we’ll stay around for a hiatus.

Wed. 4/17

Today, we drove up to Manitou Springs and took the cog railway to the summit of Pikes Peak. It was very scenic and exciting along the nine-mile railway. The railway has grades as steep as 25%, meaning you climb 1320 feet/mile. We followed along Ruxton Creek with waterfalls, Aspens, and conifers, passing boulder fields with rocks larger that the train. We passed bristlecone pines that are 2000 years old. Once we climbed above tree line, we got panoramic views of Manitou Springs, Colorado Springs, Colorado City, (1861 Capital of the Colorado Territory) and the Plains to the east.

We saw a Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep and lots of Alpine Flowers. A blanket of snow was laid, late yesterday, as a thunderstorm passed the summit, and today the runoff from the melting snow watered the plants and caused the creek to rush down the eastern slope. We passed Inspiration Point, where Catherine Bates was inspired to write “America the Beautiful”. On the summit, at 14,110 feet, we could see the prominent landmarks in four states. Today, we could see Flattop Butte, in Oklahoma, 168 miles away. To the west, we could see Divide, South Park (Parks are high/open meadows in the mountains), and the Collegiate Peaks in the Arkansas River Valley and the Sangre de Cristos to the south. To the north, we could see the Snowy Range and Medicine Bow Peak.

On the summit, you will notice that the air is low in oxygen (about 50% of sea level), and you will find yourself out-of-breath very quickly. Frequent rests and staying hydrated will keep you from getting altitude sickness. Terry still has a headache this afternoon, but it could have been the Mexican late-lunch that we had back in Colorado City! Anyway, for those who enjoy rail travel, spectacular mountain scenery, and the thrill of mountain climbing, without the work, this is the ride to take.

In late afternoon, we took a dog-walk around the “Garden of the Gods”, where sandstone and conglomerate rocks, 3-4 hundred-million years old, form stunning, weird, nature-art, towering, sculptures. The Visitor Center has interpretative exhibits and a movie on “How the Rocks Were Formed”. All these towering, massive, sedimentary sandstone “hogbacks” were once horizontal and are now vertical as a result of uplifting movement in the earth’s crust caused by the Pikes Peak massif.

The trails are well maintained and easy to walk among the cedars, pine, cottonwood, and aspen trees, with nice flower surprises around every turn with massive Pikes Peak occasionally appearing in the background. We walked until dark and the rock climbers were still there, packing up their gear and trading stories about this rock-climbing mecca. It was very cool in the evening as the lights of the city came on and made a blanket of color below.

Thur, 8/18

After breakfast and a good dog-walk, we drove over to the US Olympics Training Center, the first of three in the United States. Colorado Springs is also the home of the US Olympic Committee, located downtown, not far from the Training Center. The Training Center is a huge complex where athletes come to live and train, in preparation for the Olympic Games. The training facility provides the best equipment, technology, housing, and dining accommodations that can be assembled, for the purpose that it serves. The Visitor Center houses the “Hall of Fame”, which is a “Memory Lane” of the great Olympians of the past. It also houses an auditorium where a multimedia presentation is offered, on the mission of the US Olympics Training Centers. The tour takes you from the inspirational, informative, and ornamented Visitor Center, into the complex to observe the athletes, exercising and training with the resources provided by the Training Center.

After lunch, we took a tour of Patsy’s Candy Company, founded by an Irishman, Patsy Mehaney, in 1903, at the foot of “The Purple Mountain Majesty” Pike’s Peak, where they make extraordinary hand-crafted confections. On the tour of the Chocolate and Candy Factory, we saw how the delightful products are made, and sampled and experienced the traditional handcrafted artisanship. The company packs and ships confections world-wide and custom packages for many commercial accounts. Back out front, we were able to purchase any combination of confections, from their entire selection of products.

This evening, we walked the dogs in the Garden of the Gods Park and enjoyed the cool evening and awesome sights. Our dogs seem to sense that this is a special place, as they just look around and up at the monoliths that were horizontal sandstone layers of an ancient sea, and now they’re vertical rock fins that tower above the trails. As dark approached, the lights of the city shimmer and glow like a blanket of Christmas Wreath, on the valley.

Tomorrow, we return to Woodland Park for a visit with Dave and Diane. Next week, we’ll turn our bow toward home.

Sat. 8/20

We took a hike with Diane, up into the mountains north of the house. We had some panoramic views of the valley and Pikes Peak. There was a race to the summit of Pikes Peak today and the summit was packed with cars and people. I could see a steady stream of traffic all morning, heading to the top. The race is a run, held on the 14-mile, foot-trail from Manitou Springs to the summit, about 7 thousand vertical feet. The spectators like to drive up the road to the summit and watch the runners peak-out.

Sun. 8/21

We went on a hike with Dave and Diane, up around divide at Mueller State Park. We had a great hike and enjoyed some spectacular views. Dave and Diane identified lots of plants and wildflowers that we encountered along the way. Diane coaxed the Gray Mountain Jay to feed from her hand. I tried it and charmed a Gray Mountain Jay (Camp Robber) into eating sunflower seeds from my hand too. We got some incredible pictures!

After the hike, we had lunch at Florissant and then returned home for some R&R. We enjoyed some fine meals and visiting over the weekend. Diane and Dave are real outdoors enthusiasts and we really enjoy their company. Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye and head home.

Monday 8-22

Today, we drove up to Cheyenne, WY. and visited the State Capital and grounds. The Wyoming Territory was the first government in the world to grant women suffrage (1869), thanks to Ester Hobart Morris. We looked around town, and enjoyed seeing the urbane art and historic buildings. Cheyenne hasn’t changed much since we were here in 1992.

We’re camping here tonight and then continuing east on I-80 tomorrow to North Platte, NE. We elected to travel a northerly route home in order to avoid the hot southern weather. The days are hot but the nights are cool and comfortable. (We hope it persists!)

Tuesday 8-23

Drove east in Nebraska on I-80. The day, high temperature was 101 and the overnight low was 61. We camped at the Cabela Headquarters in Sydney, NE. We shopped the Cabela’s Store and were amazed at how extensive the enormous store is. Every product Cabella’s sells is in this store!

Wed. 8-24

More Nebraska on I-80 east. We camped at Grand Island tonight. The high today was 97 and the low tonight is predicted to be 61. This week the Nebraska State Fair begins in Grand Island, the Grandaddy of em all!

This evening was a brilliant sunset and we got some good pictures. The evening is cool and the cicadas are singing in the trees. Cornfields in every direction surround the campground. It’s as if we’re in a giant maize maze.

We stop in Wal Mart stores to cool off and rest, during the day. Our dogs have associated Wal Mart with “stopping” and they get excited when we say “WalMart”.

We’ve taken some good pictures on the plains but it’s way too hot out here. We’re headed to Missouri, where we can find some shade and a more comfortable environment.

Needless to say, if you come to Nebraska in August, come at night. I’m not as inspired to write my travel log in Nebraska as I was in the Rocky Mountains. That is not fair to Nebraska but the hot days just wilt my writing enthusiasm. (What little I have!)

Thursday 8-25

We spent the morning at the Nebraska State Capital, in Lincoln. The Capital Building is the second tallest, behind the Louisiana Capital in Baton Rouge. The sculptural and artistic elements of the building have elaborate symbolic interpretation. We joined a guided-tour of the building and were very impressed with this great capital of Nebraska and the old Nebraska Territory. Nebraska is the only US State with a unicameral Legislature, meaning nonpartisan. We enjoyed an overview of the Capital City from the observation deck where we could see the University of Nebraska Campus and “Cornhusker Stadium”, along with all the other landmarks of the city.

We spent the night at Atchison, KS, on the Missouri River, home of Amelia Earhart and the Atchison, Topeka and Sante Fe Railroad. Due to flood damage, we had to travel past three bridges, down river before we could make a crossing. The ferries of the old days would have come in handy to us! Shortly after entering Missouri, we saw our first “dead Armadillo” on the road and we knew we were getting back to the south!

We also saw Leavenworth, KS., the city of Prisons. We didn’t stop to visit anyone!

Friday 8-26

We arrived in Branson, MO. in mid-afternoon and camped at the Shenanigan RV Park, just off the main strip. This is our first time in Branson and we’re just surprised at how extensive this entertainment hub has progressed. Any entertainment/food/or amusement is available here. We’re trying to decide what show we want to see on Saturday night, while we enjoy a Key Lime Ice Cream Sundae. We watched a beautiful sunset and then cruised the strip after dark, marveling at all the neon lights and activities going on.

Saturday 8-27

It’s hot in Branson today, so we’re just staying in and doing some cleaning and chores. We have tickets to the 8pm music performance at the Mickey Gilley Theatre. We’ll make a night-on-the-town, as it will be more comfortable tonight.

On Monday, we’ll continue heading south, back to Mississippi and home. Hot or not, we have to get back and take care of home-stuff!

Monday, 8-31

We spent Monday and Tuesday with cousins Rusty and Marion in Little Rock. We camped close to their house on the Arkansas River, at Maumelle Park, a US Army Corps of Engineers Project. We had a very enjoyable visit and dined out at some fun restaurants.

Today we continued south on US 65 from Little Rock to Vicksburg. We camped at the Ameristar Casino RV Park on Washington St. It’s very hot so we’re staying in until sundown and then we’ll go to the casino to look around. We plan to make an early start tomorrow and travel MS 27 and I-55 another several hours to get home, before the days gets too hot.

This ends our “2011 Out West Summer Travels” and it’s been very enjoyable. Now we’ll work on getting our pictures and notes organized for later reference.

Enjoy you Labor Day Weekend!

Bob

Summer 2012 Adventures

Tree Notes:

Pine

2 needles- Lodgepole

3 needles- Ponderosa, Jeffery, Knobcone

5 needles- Western white, Sugar, Limber, Whitebark

Fir

Douglas- Needles all around

Grand- Flat silver on bottom

Outback Montana Campground Hwy. 35 South Sept. 21-23 F-Sa-Su

888.900.6973

Out West Travels- Summer 2012

Monday, May 14

We departed home in Progress, Pike County, Mississippi, Monday May 14, headed for Madison, Indiana and eventually Idaho. We will be at Heyburn State Park, Idaho, July-August, so come see us if you’re in the neighborhood! We’ll spend September in Montana where we’ll attend Bud’s family Reunion at Big Fork and ramble Montana for the rest of the month. Finally, in October, we plan to travel down to southern Utah and visit the numerous parks down there, before we head home.

We were packed and ready a day earlier than expected, so we decided to hit-the-road around noon, headed north to Madison, IN. We’re celebrating Jean’s (Terry’s mother) 80^th birthday with a party. All of Jean’s children are coming and many cousins and friends from all around the country are coming to the party too. We plan to make this a nice get-together, as Jean has not had all her children together in a long time. It will be held at Clifty Falls State Park in Madison, Indiana, overlooking the Ohio River and valley.

It was a pleasant day with fairly cool temperature and low humidity, so the dogs and us too, enjoyed the ride, weather, and scenery. Jack and Daisy ride in a crate in the back seat of our four-door truck. The back seat lets-down into a nice flat deck, which is perfect for the purpose of a traveling kennel. Sam rides in the back in a nice large crate that’s just right for him. The back truck bed has a cover-shell with windows that give him a comfortable surrounding.

We drove to Jackson, had treats at Canton and walked the dogs, then drove north to Grenada, MS. To find a campsite for the night.The City of Grenada served as a vital rail center and supply depot during the American Civil War. Following the Union victories at Shiloh in Tennessee and Corinth in northeast Mississippi, General John C. Pemberton, commanding the Confederate forces, established a strong defensive line, known as the Yalobusha Line, along the railroad that ran from Greenwood, Mississippi to Columbus, Mississippi. Pemberton used the Yalobusha Line to block Union General Ulysses S. Grant’s attempt to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi, by way of the Mississippi Central Railroad. During the winter of 1862 more than 22,000 Confederate Troops were stationed in and around Grenada, Mississippi. These troops constructed eight forts to protect this strategic rail center. If it were not for the success of Confederate General Earl Van Dorn’s infamous Confederate Calvary Raid on Grant’s Supply Depot in Holly Springs, Mississippi, a major Civil War Battle most certainly would have taken place at Grenada. Two of these forts, including the restored modified star fort, are located on the Grenada Lake Project and accessible to the public.

The disastrous Flood of 1927 served as the catalyst for the construction of four strategically located reservoirs located in North Mississippi. With the Flood Control Act of 1928, (protecting the fertile Delta from flooding was/is a big deal) the Vicksburg District became involved in a comprehensive flood control program. The major components of the program included the construction of lakes, levees, and large concrete floodwalls. In 1936, the Yazoo Headwater Project became a reality and resulted in the construction of Sardis, Arkabutla, Enid, and Grenada Lakes. Someday, the Mississippi delta could replace the California valley’s agriculture, because water/fertile soil is not an issue here. Construction on Grenada Lake, which is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, began in 1947 and opened for operation in January, 1954. Grenada Lake is located northeast of the City of Grenada on the Yalobusha River. Standing 80 feet above the streambed, Grenada Dam is an earthen-filled dam 13,900 feet long featuring a 200-foot concrete emergency spillway with a crest elevation of 231.0 NGVD. Grenada Lake has overflowed the emergency spillway four times since the lake was constructed occurring in 1973, 1980, 1983, and in 1991 when over 6 feet of water topped this structure. The intake structure contains 3 gates that measure 7.5 feet by 14 feet. Grenada Lake is Y-shaped and when filled to spillway crest extends up the Yalobusha River Valley a distance of 22 miles and up the Skuna River Valley a distance of 19 miles. Grenada Lake’s drainage area includes 1,320 square miles. The project encompasses 90,427 acres. The Recreation Pool is reached at elevation 215 feet NGVD and is usually the average lake elevation during the summer months. At this elevation the lake contains 35,820 acres and has approximately 148 miles of shoreline. The Conservation Pool contains 9,800 acres.

Located in the gently rolling hills of pine and hardwood forests at the entrance to the Mississippi Delta, Grenada Lake is an inland paradise. This 90,427 acre project has something to offer almost every outdoor enthusiast from hiking, boating, fishing, hunting, skiing, and bird watching, to camping, picnicking, golfing, swimming, and much, much more. The Grenada Lake Visitor Center is the perfect starting point for your visit to Grenada Lake. This uniquely designed facility features a theater and exhibits that interpret the lake and its natural resources. It is an excellent place to explore the rich history and cultures that have influenced and impacted this region of Mississippi. The Visitor Center also provides information about Grenada Lake's recreation facilities, local attractions and an overlook which provides a panoramic view of the 36,000 acre Grenada Lake. It was a very nice, restful night in the shaded campground and the breakfast was very enjoyable. A very diverse variety of large hardwood trees exists below the dam and I saw a “Shagbark Hickory”, that’s common in Indiana, but I was surprised to see it in north Mississippi. We hiked along the Yalobusha River and then up to the Dam and the dogs enjoyed the area the walk and sniff’in. This is a very nice area and I would recommend spending more time here.

Tuesday, May 15/May 16, 2012, 7:21 AM

Today we traveled from Grenada Lake, MS. to Reelfoot Lake, TN. We went up through Memphis, crossed the Mississippi River into Arkansas and drove north through the Arkansas delta past rice, corn, soybean, cotton, and wheat crops, stretching as far as the eye can see. The Mississippi River is running considerably high for this time of year, due to the heavy rains experienced throughout the vast Mississippi River drainage area. The river, at our second crossing was over a mile wide, covering the trees along the banks, with water up to the levees.

We picnicked in the camper at lunch and had a nice break. Presently, we entered the Missouri delta and then re-crossed the Mississippi River over to Tennessee. Most people don’t realize that Missouri has a Mississippi River Delta that is bordered on the west and south by Arkansas, and on the east by Tennessee. In Tennessee, we turned north and made our way to Reelfoot Lake. Reelfoot Lake is home to abundant, nesting Bald and Golden Eagles, along with hawks and various, assorted waterfowl. We saw some eagles and hawks up-close at the Visitor Center, where they have a rehabilitation center. We plan to take a three-hour cruise on the lake to spot some of these magnificent birds in the wild. We did the cruise this morning, led by a young Park Naturalist, and it was very relaxing and informative. He pointed out the geography, flora and fauna, which is abundant on and around the lake. We saw Osprey, all sorts of songbirds and lot’s of waterfowl and bunches of turtles and snakes. I’m glad we did the State Park cruise and I highly recommend it.

Reelfoot Lake is really a large, fairly shallow, bayou off the Mississippi River, which is surrounded by impressive stands of hardwood trees and huge bald cypress trees. The whole area was formed by the New Madrid earthquakes in 1811-1812. Hard to believe, but these were some violent, earth-altering quakes and they could come again, so it’s scary to think about the possibilities! In 1930, a spillway was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to achieve a manageable water level and flood control for the lake and surroundings. It still has a rustic surroundings in the town and camps and has been the scene for some Hollywood Movies. Reelfoot lake was named for a Chickasaw Chief (Kolopin), who had a deformed foot and walked with a rolling motion. The early settlers nicknamed “Kolopin”, Reelfoot and the name stuck. Reelfoot named the early white settlers “jerks” and that name stuck too! haha

We had a fine, home-cooked dinner tonight at the Reel Foot State Park Campground. I made chicken-double-pepper-jack, homegrown, roasted squash/onions, baked, homegrown, potatoes on the grill, which I must say was DELICIOUS. We plan to spend a couple of days here and just enjoy the peace and quite of this little corner of Tennessee, before we had on up to Madison, IN.

Please reply so that I can know who’s still valid on my mail-list. I hope that you find my travel-ramblings interesting, and we would love to hear your news and summer plans. We have several visitors coming to Heyburn State Park this summer, so you may be a possibility too!

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Today we traveled from Reelfoot Lake to Windy Hollow Lake, by Owensboro, KY. This was a scenic and enjoyable drive. We picnicked at “Land Between The Lakes” National Recreation Area, and revisited the area, after enjoying a vacation here with Glen and Kim, several years ago. The Cumberland River and the Tennessee River, separated only several miles by a low ridge that runs between the two rivers, forms the Land Between the Lakes.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a dam on the Cumberland, and another on the Tennessee, creating Cumberland and Kentucky Lakes, respectively. The resulting peninsula is a huge Forest Ser. park with all sorts of attractions and entertainment. Both lakes extend from the dams, south, from Kentucky into Tennessee. They dredged a canal between the two impoundments, creating one of the finest recreational waterways in the country. Below the dams, the two rivers flow on up to converge with the Ohio River, about four miles apart.

All this waterway is part of the Great Loop, a coveted challenge by inland boaters. Check it out! If you like the outdoors and water, put this on your “gotta visit list”!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Continuing our travel to Madison, IN., we drove from Owensboro, KY. To Leavenworth, IN.

We crossed the Ohio River at Owensboro, Kentucky and then headed up the winding Ohio River, on the Indiana bank. We picnicked at Rockport, Indiana, an old river town in Ohio Township, Spenser County, with the historical section down along the river bank and the new section, several hundred feet, up on the sandstone bluff. The sandstone bluff has inscriptions carved by people past and present and there are official markings that identify the record flood levels, from years past. I learned that it was from here that a young Abraham Lincoln boarded a flatboat and made his first trip to New Orleans. He wrote about New Orleans but he never mentioned what he did there, other than seeing the slave market. No doubt, he went to Bourbon Street, drank some Hurricanes, and partied large and got a tee shirt or something like that!

We continued east through the Hoosier National Forest on a beautiful, narrow, hilly, and shady road, with heavily-wooded hills and ravines on each side. The timber is almost exclusively hardwood of numerous species. We stopped at a high, very impressive overlook of the Ohio River and valley, with the Kentucky side being a vast, flat, plain of agricultural crops. (Mostly corn because Ethanol demand has corn at the highest price ever.)

I met a 75-year old, guy on a motorcycle, named Jerry Barnett, who is a retired Editorial Cartoonist for the Indianapolis News. What a spirit he has! We talked about a lot of things and then he rode off. I looked him up on the Internet and I was not surprised that he was very successful in his career. Also ran across John Bailey, (Lash and Steel Ministries), he performs a ’bullwhip and knife throwing” demonstration, followed by a sermon. That’s the kind of stuff that a small church can use to wake-um-up! One of the joys of traveling around the country, meeting new people!

We choose O’Bannon Woods State Park for our camp-home tonight and set about making a steak diner with home-grown, baked potatoes and store-bought broccoli. Yummy!

We will probably arrive in Madison tomorrow and start to work on Jeans memorial Day Birthday Party.

So far, I’ve been able to use MiFi everywhere we’ve been. My complements Verizon!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Friday, May 25, 2012

We’ve had a very pleasant week in Madison, Indiana(1809), visiting Terry’s Madison family. They live on the Ohio River, so you can sit on their porch and watch the river boats. The house is also situated on the east end of the “Madison River Walk”, a beautifully landscaped promenade that runs along the course of the river, from the east to the west end of Madison. This is an area that attracts locals and visitors alike, so you can always find someone to visit with and have a conversation. The river-street is often the scene of special events and festivals, like the Madison Regatta, a super hydroplane race event. (of course, the speed-boats are on the water, the people are on the street)! This Memorial Day weekend they have a crafts market and a vintage car show. As Terry’s family reunion gathers, we’ll check-out these and other attractions in old Madison. The family reunion is Sunday afternoon at Cliffy Falls State Park, on the west side of Madison. We’ve planned and ordered all the food and supplies, so we are expecting a great get-together for Jean’s 80^th Birthday! We have people coming from Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, Western States, my folks from Mississippi, and lots of local family.

On Tuesday, we’ll continue our travel to Idaho, following the Lewis and Clark trail. I’m excited about seeing this part of the Lewis and Clark Trail, as we’ve covered it from Montana to the Pacific.

Have a safe, enjoyable and relaxing Memorial Day Weekend and a special thanks to all our service personnel, past and present!

Bob & Terry

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Jean’s Birthday/Family Reunion was a great success and we all had a marvelous time. It was hot but we had lots of fun and didn’t let the hot weather deter us from our plans. We initially, feared a shortage of food but in reality, we had plenty. WalMart furnished a good supply of fried chicken, Kroger made a beautifully decorated cake, with all the family names, and the family’s all brought ice and drinks, and we had all the other details and furnishings pre-arranged. Sister June brought fresh squash and snap beans which I prepared and put out for the picnic. Jean and daughters made bread, potato salad, bean salad, and pasta salad. What a feast it was! Larry and Chris both organized and made very professional photographs of the group and various sub-groupings, which they made available for convenient download.

We sadly said our goodbyes at a farewell dinner on Monday evening and started packing and preparing to depart Madison.

We “made tracks” from Madison to Champaign, IL. today. It was raining in Madison when we “hit the road” and it continued to Indianapolis. The sun came out around the Illinois line but thankfully, the weather had moderated to cooler temperatures. This was a very welcome change as the Memorial Day weekend was very hot and humid in Madison.

Our goal was to find cooler surroundings and we have done just that, tonight in Champaign, IL. Today, our GPS, quoting an old saying of my dad, “gave up the ghost”, and without it, we realized how mush we rely on it. We got on the computer and found a BestBuy in Champaign, that gave us a trade-in deal. We gave them the old one and they gave us a new one in the deal. Very quickly, we have realized that the new one is way-better and we’re so happy that its worked out this way.

The family-owned campground we selected, about three miles north of Champaign, is a very pleasant oasis, a lake lined with shade trees, totally surrounded by corn fields. They had a nice, much-needed, laundry and mile-long lane around the grounds and along the corn field, that our dogs enjoyed. There were rabbits along the drainage ditch and the dogs got really excited about the prospects! Thanks to Russell, the Campground Directory software provides a valuable service in finding good campgrounds. We are also very appreciative of our Verizon MiFi in providing excellent, on-the-go, Internet service. Our new GPS is also an invaluable search tool and navigator for all sorts of goods and services. However, as we all know, there’s no substitute for a good map too! We just love traveling this great country and these things make it so tranquil and more enjoyable.

Tomorrow, we continue north to Wisconsin.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

The temperature dropped down to 52 degrees last night and it was chilly this morning. A very welcome change and just what we were looking for! During our picnic lunch at Bloomington, IL. we changed our plans and decided to head on west to the “Mighty Mississippi River”. We traveled through Peoria, Galesburg, and on to the “Quad Cities” (Bettendorf, Davenport, Iowa & Moline, Rock Island, Illinois) on the west and east banks of the Mississippi, respectively. We saw President Ronald Reagan’s alma mater, and Carl Sandberg’s birthplace.

The prairie is unique but I can see why it would make you want to get an education and go elsewhere. The vast, open farmland is dotted with little homestead- islands of trees, with the traditional farmhouse, lawn with clothesline, and garden, with barns, old silos, and new, shiny, high-capacity grain storage bins. Of course, I respect the hard-working folks who call it home. It’s a testament to the American People, to see how we have developed this great country. I grew up on a farm where my pioneer ancestors manually, planted and cultivated one row at-a-time. My family mechanically, planted, cultivated, and harvested two rows at-a time. Today, these farmers plant and harvest 16-24 rows at a time. Furthermore, with no-till farming, they apply topical and pre-emergent herbicides, fertilizer, AND plant in one pass. The seed is genetically engineered to fight off competition, pests and disease, while the farmer waits to harvest it all. Now that’s science at work!

From Moline, we followed the east bank on up to Savanna, IL. and the Mississippi Palisades State Park, a hardwood forest on the limestone river bluff. The river is clear, cold and blue, very different from our area downriver. There are lots of oxbows and meanders that make this area a boaters paradise. Just to the east/SE is the vast agricultural plain that is planted fencerow-to-fencerow with corn, to meet that high-dollar demand. In the past, the plain was part of a twenty-million-acre, tall-grass, prairie that must have been an awesome site to the early settlers. It gave Illinois the nickname “The Prairie State” but it’s gone now, so they could change it to the “CornRow State”. We took a short hike around the main park area and plan to hike some trails tomorrow for overlooks of the Mississippi from the bluffs.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

This morning dawned with rain and forty-nine degree temperature, my first occasion to wear jeans, jacket, and socks/shoes. We also turned on the heat in the travel trailer for the first time and gave the air conditioning a rest. This is the first campsite (Mississippi Palisades SP)we’ve had with no television, MiFi, or phone service, and it’s real nice and quite. Our only company is a tent camper who will probably not emerge much today. As I sit at the table, looking out the windows, I’m looking up a hollow, a narrow, flat, green, strip of turf beside the creek, surrounded by a variety of huge, green hardwood trees. On my left side I see a turkey gobbler that has a nine-inch beard and on my right is a slick, healthy, Whitetail doe browsing along the edge of the meadow. The turf is a feeding place for lots of Bluebirds, and Robins. The park hosts an abundant list of birds and wildlife that can be seen and heard in every direction and all quarters.

After lunch we took a walk in the rain with our dogs. It’s 49 degrees with a low (radio-prediction) of 42 for tonight. I LOVE IT!

The rain stopped about 4pm and we hiked down to the river and then south along the palisades for some fine vistas of the Mississippi river and valley. We worn jackets all day and it’s a terrific climate. This morning I called-up two nice Wild Turkey Gobblers, using a drinking straw, a trick I learned from Ray Sullivan. This is a “jewel” of a park and we have had it to ourselves for two days.

I’ve noticed that my cell phone goes down fast when there’s no service because it’s running hard trying to acquire a tower, so I just turn it off.

Please send me an update on your news? We love to hear from you friends!

Friday, June 1, 2012

The first day of June has been a fine, enjoyable day of travel. We departed Mississippi Palisades State Park at Savanna, IL. and crossed the river to the west bank, and headed north, in Iowa. This part of east Iowa is very hilly and has lots of small farms but they are growing corn too. The general area had a good rain yesterday and if you listen closely, you can hear the corn growing!

We drove north to Dubuque where we had lunch and did a bit of planning for the rest of the day. We re-crossed the river over to Wisconsin and continued north on US 61. We visited the Carr Valley Cheese Factory in Fennimore, Wisconsin and enjoyed sampling some fresh cheese curds, a “Wisconsin treat“. Naturally, we purchased some cheese curds, along with some other Wisconsin specialties, made in Wisconsin the genuine old-fashioned way, one being a delicious cow’s- milk parmesan, which we had on broccoli tonight. (delicious)

At Boscobel, there’s a huge wild turkey, a reminder that this is the wild turkey hunting capital of Wisconsin. It’s also the birthplace of the Gideons.

We had planned to camp on the Wisconsin River but did not find a campground along the way, so we went on up to the Kickapoo River and found a quite, secluded, private, campground. There is a family of Groundhogs living under the walkway behind our campsite but they will not let me get a picture. I tried several times and they scooted away each time.

In 1979, nearby Soldiers Grove was relocated from the Kickapoo River because of repeated flooding and became “America’s first solar village”. They employed all sorts of energy-saving technologies and techniques to become energy-efficient.

Tomorrow we plan to go north to LaCrosse and re-cross the Mississippi into Minnesota and then up the west bank to Minneapolis.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

This is the first Saturday in June and we awoke to 37 degrees this morning. We have the heat on but we’re enjoying every minute of it. Our breakfast was an experimental concoction we called cheese-curd toast. It was good but weird, because the cheese curds didn’t melt like regular cheese. They did, however keep their “squeaky” property, and we just “squeaked” our way through breakfast! We departed the Kickapoo River Campground and continued north on US 61. We made it about 15 miles to Viroqua, where they were having a Saturday Amish Market. We shopped and talked to the people and bought some nice “Christmas presents”. The Amish like to speak a Pennsylvania Dutch-German language that has “guttural sounds”. I enjoyed asking questions about what they do and how they live. We took some pictures of me pulling the horse carriage and Terry shopping the market. There were also some “Mennonite” folks at the market selling their wares. As “small-world” would have it, we met a woman who had lived (as a child) in Tylertown, MS. just a short distance from OUR house. She enjoyed hearing the “southern accent” again! We walked around the rustic little town and admired the clean, neat homes and grounds. We had lunch at Culvers and then decided to head west, back over to the river and follow the east bank up to La Crosse, WI. The east bank, Wisconsin side, was very scenic and there were lots of nice homes and camps along the river. European fur traders came here in the late 17^th century but no written record appears until 1805. Prairie La Crosse got it’s name from Zebulon Pike who explored upriver in 1805 and saw the Native Americans playing a game with sticks that resembled the Priests crozier, or La Crosse, in the French.

We went through the heart of La Crosse but elected not to tour around. My uncle Joe, from Mississippi, met and married his wife here before WWII, but I don’t know any details. We crossed the old bridge at La Crosse into the low land on the west bank. La Crescent (west bank) is a half-moon shaped area, surrounded by high hills. This made it a perfect place for the first apple plantation (the apple capital of Minnesota) in the Mid-west.

Next, we headed up the west bank, Minnesota side. This side of the river reminded me of the Mosel River Valley in Germany, with steep slopes, rock pinnacles, but trees instead of vineyards.

We passed lock&dam number five on the river at Winona, so there are only four more upstream. No more commercial navigation past that. Winona is an 1851 Island in the Mississippi River that was founded by a Steamboat Captain. It was a lumber town but now is more a tourist town. It’s nestled below 500-foot, limestone river bluffs that are covered with dense hardwoods. It’s very scenic and a good place to spent a while but we shopped around and moved on.

We found a nice campsite at Wabasha Campground and we’re settled in for the evening. There will be a Sunday morning service here but we don’t know who holds it. Could likely be Lutheran. We’ll see!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

We spent Saturday night at Wabasha, the home of the National Eagle Center, at the confluence of the Chippewa River with the “Mighty Mississippi”. This campground was very smokey because of so many campfires and we were glad to depart the smoke. It was otherwise quiet and a good nights rest.

We drove on up the river to Redwing, Minnesota, home of the boot and stoneware companies. We took a tour of the stoneware company’s museum and I realized that Grandma Lillie’s 20-gal pickle urn and Clyde’s little-brown jug both came from here. The area clay was perfect for pottery and so the rest of the story is history. We took a look at the old kilns and just imagined how much work the whole process would have been in the early days. It was totally integrated, so they had to dig the clay, hand throw the pots and jugs, fire them in the kiln and do the artwork, shipping and all. Some of the whiskey jugs were 50 gallon and impossible to handle when filled. I don’t know how they would have dispensed from these huge jugs. The company made a wide variety of stoneware and later got into the China manufacture. Speaking of China, they make the dinnerware and ceramics today. It was a very interesting town/tour and Terry found a nice pair of shoes in Redwing that she’s wearing today. Says her feet are loving the new shoes!

We continued NW up the Mississippi to the “twin cities” and I can assure you that Minneapolis/St. Paul is a large, booming area. The Sunday, mid-afternoon traffic was so heavy that I was thankful it was NOT Monday morning. I don’t know the population but most of them were on the road Sunday afternoon! We got a great overlook of the cities and drove right on through the massive construction detours and finally emerged on I-94, on the NW side of the metropolitan area.

We continued NW on I-94 to St. Cloud and found a nice rural campground on the west side of the town.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Today, we continue on I-94 west toward North Dakota. Leaving Minnesota, we saw Sauk Centre, boyhood home of Sinclair Lewis. We encountered the Red River ox cart trails that have an interesting story. (Check it out) Fergus Falls replaced the Otter Tail River falls with the Otter Tail Electric Power Company. Nice park, no falls!

In North Dakota, the points of interest were: 2,063-foot, KVLY-TV tower, North America’s tallest structure. Towns along I-94 were founded in the 1870’s by the Transcontinental Railroad and started agriculture on the prairie. We drove to Valley City and found a campground on the Sheyenne River on the east side of town. Did a lot of driving today in route to Bismarck, where we will spend a few days doing “Lewis and Clark” sites. We have to be at Heyburn State Park, Idaho, on June 29^th, so we have to plan a schedule to see the all things that we’ve planned.

More later……………………….

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

A fine, upper 50’s, morning in Valley City, North Dakota! Hot coffee and the “Good Morning America Show” to start it all off. Seeing the Queen of England celebrating her jubilee makes me want to “curtsey”! (oops bow!)

We walked around Valley City and saw the artistic Sheyenne bridges that are a source of pride to Valley City. Medicine Wheel Park has a huge Medicine Wheel that was inspired in the VCSU classroom and grew into a community project. It Reflects the beauty of the Earth’s journey around the sun and the grand cycle of the seasons. If you were a Native American, this would be very valuable. This is the ancestral land of the Standing Rock Sioux. They were a very robust tribe because they had a lot of boys named “Sioux”! heh heh

Today, we plan to head on west to Bismarck and spend a few days visiting the many historic sites.

Tue.-Fri. June 5-8

We’ve enjoyed exploring Bismarck, on the Wide Missouri River, and the surrounding area. Thanks to John in Montana and Russell in Mississippi ,for tips and suggestions!

The Mandan Villages, and Missouri Crossing are the previous names of this historic place on the Wide Missouri River. Now it’s Mandan on the west bank and Bismarck on the east bank. Bismarck was named (1873) by the Northern Pacific Transcontinental Railroad, in order to solicit investment money from German Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck.

Agriculture is still the main part of the economy but with the State Capital and a good labor force, medical, education and government, along with a strong manufacturing and service industry are thriving.

The Old Mandan Village (earth lodges), at the Heart River confluence, was already deserted when the Corps of Discovery came this way. The Mandan people had been decimated by the European diseases, and the survivors had moved sixty miles upriver. Lewis and Clark spent the first winter (1804) here by the new Knife River villages, among the Mandan and Hidatsa.

This is where they met and employed Sakakawea to accompany them as interpreter. When they finally reached the Pacific Ocean, Sakakawea said “long time, no sea!“

Later, Clark Fort was constructed as a trading center.

The old village, at the confluence of the Heart River and the Missouri River, became present-day, Abraham Lincoln State Park. This was also the site of 1875, Fort Lincoln where General George Custer launched his fateful campaign to the Little Big Horn. We had a guided tour of the Victorian home of George and Libbie Custer, on the Cavalry Square, of the fort. It’s a large, quite, setting where we saw deer, 13-stripe ground squirrels, and lots of birds among the huge cottonwoods and other hardwoods that line the Wide Missouri river.

We spent one day at the State Capital and the North Dakota Heritage Center. Walking through the engaging, museum is like traveling through the rich, Dakota Territory history.

We got to see “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” at the Bismarck Grand. We’ve been searching for this movie since April and finally found it in Bismarck! It was an entertaining movie and a good comedy-drama film.

The Bismarck Grand is a unique theater, with an Egyptian Motif, like a Las Vegas Casino. It has 15 screening rooms that are situated along a maze of passageways, like an Egyptian Tomb.

Finally, we visited the Washburn area, 40 miles upriver, to see some of the sites and sights up there. The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, Fort Mandan, and Knife River, provide an overview of the expedition and the time spent at Fort Mandan. L&CIC, has some great Karl Bodmer art portraying Missouri River and Native American life in 1834. Garrison Dam forms Sakakawea Lake, a huge Missouri River lake, backed up all the way to the Yellowstone River confluence, on the west North Dakota line.

As Jeff Foxworthy says;

If you switch from heat to A/C in one day and back again, or measure distance in hours, you might live in North Dakota! Yea, it is big, unpredictable country! I love topping a hill and looking out a distance of twenty miles to see the Missouri River Valley!

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Yesterday, Saturday, June 9, we entered the Mountain Time Zone and had amusement watching our GPS and cell phones change time zones. The GPS promptly changed and then my cell phone changed. Even after turning off/on, Terry’s phone didn’t change for quite a while. We have the same phone and provider but got different results. That’s wireless network traffic for you! What happens in the “cloud” stays in the “cloud!”

We set up camp on the Little Missouri River at Medora. This is a small, historic old town that’s trying to make it in tourism. They have lots of tourist shops and attractions. The “biggie” is a “Pitchfork Steak Fondue” and Medora Musical program at the Burning Hills Amphitheatre. There’s no tv or radio in this remote location.

Of course, the real attraction is the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The 26^th president, as a young man, lived, and learned here and he claimed that it made him a real-man. The 36-mile loop through the south unit is where we saw wild horses, prairie dogs, bison, and lots of birds. The Little Missouri River flows through the park and is an oasis-sanctuary in the desert of multi-colored hills. Badlands are a very unique and diverse place, and the river, hills, gulches, trees, wildlife, grasslands, and colors (red, gold, black. Grey, and all shades) are breathtaking. The black coal seams, (throughout time) burn because of lightning or fires and create the brick-red rock, like natural brick, so prevalent in the area.

I’m glad TR was here because his conservation efforts started the U.S. Forest service and went on to establish lots of monuments, publics lands, and parks for us all to enjoy. It rained several hours last night and got jacket-cold. I’m glad we’re in the travel trailer and not tent-camping or riding motorcycles. . This morning, we had toasted blts and hot coffee. Well, it’s Sunday morning and we’ll head on over to Glendive, Montana today.

We traveled through the National Grasslands area, just west of Medora. This gives an appreciation of what it was like when TR lived in the area.

Welcome to Montana! It was warm and sunny this morning in the “big sky” and now it’s not. The weather began to deteriorate as we followed the Yellowstone River upstream from Glendive. Around mid-afternoon, the clouds built in the west and you could see the rain falling but evaporating before it reached the ground. The wind/rain became gusty to the point that we decided to get to a place of shelter. There were a lot of motorcycle riders who were forced into shelter, along the highway, under overpasses or windbreak areas. We decided on Miles City because there’s a nice RN Park in town next to WalMart, the restaurants and stores. We had another windy, rainy, night but the sleeping was fine! This morning, we walked over to Murdock’s Ranch Supply and bought Sam a new bed. He seemed glad to get it as the old one was getting under-stuffed. Next, we went to the old town center and had coffee and treats at the old bakery. We saw the old “Montana Bar” and the other old buildings on main street. It was like going back to the “cow town” days before Malls and such made towns all the same.

Monday, June 11, 2012

We had a picnic lunch as we traveled on up the Yellowstone and arrived at Pompey’s Pillar early afternoon. We spent the entire afternoon at Pompey’s Pillar National Monument. It’s a remote park with a two-acre mass of sandstone on the Yellowstone, that rises 150 feet from the base. The north side of the Yellowstone River is a sandstone cliff and the south side is a flat plain, except for Pompey’s Pillar, which makes it a natural landmark. And so it was for the Native Americans, Lewis and Clark, and lots of folks that followed. It’s been known by different names but Clark named it Pompey’s Pillar in honor of Sacagawea’s child. On the same day, Clark carved “Wm. Clark July 25, 1806” at the top and it’s still there, the only on-site, physical evidence of the journey. Seems like he should have carved Pomp’s name there too! There’s a long staircase to the top and a fine view in all directions. The Yellowstone runs fast and cold here and the river refrigerates the air so that it’s very refreshing on a hot day. It’s also the site of a natural ford and Clark observed a buffalo crossing that lasted for hours. Now, the area is surrounded by wheat fields and instead of Buffalo, you see expensive farm equipment!

Tomorrow, we have a “lunch-date” reunion with Debbie, a Simmons cousin from Mississippi, who now lives in Columbus, MT. We’re looking forward to this because I haven’t seen her since we were kids.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Debbie had to work today, so we rescheduled our meeting to lunch tomorrow. As a result, we decided to spend a little more time around Billings. We took a hike on the Yellowstone River where there was a nice improved trail and the dogs enjoyed it as much as we did. They got to swim in the Yellowstone but they didn’t frolic (it was too cold). The river trail was beside the river in a cottonwood grove and I think every bird found in Montana was present today. We saw many birds that we see in Mississippi and some new ones. The yellow warbler is so bright it looks like a gold nugget in the bush. We saw one majestic cottonwood tree with a trunk larger than I’ve ever seen. I looked it up and it’s not the state record but it’s close.

We had a picnic lunch at the Riverside Park and then set out on a Billings shopping mission. Billings has the same stores as every city that size so we didn’t discover anything unusual but did find some good ice cream. We purchased some things that we needed at Sam’s Club and Lowes. It was a sunny day and fairly warm in the sun, however a shade tree was very pleasant, as a cool breeze prevailed. We headed over to Columbus mid-afternoon.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

We found a nice family-owned campground at Columbus and setup our “travel house“. Columbus began as a stage station and is now a town of agriculture and commerce. From our campsite, we have our first view of the Rocky Mountains, looking south to the Beartooth Range, highest range in Montana, (called Shining Mountains) and Yellowstone Park. Granite Peak, Montana’s highest, is 12,000 feet and is very prominent. Columbus, at the confluence of the Stillwater and Yellowstone rivers, is the county seat of Stillwater County, crossed by the old Bozeman and Yellowstone trails. Columbus Quarry provided the stone for the Helena State Capital. The Stillwater Mine produces palladium, platinum, gold, and silver which is concentrated, smelted and shipped to Belgium for refinement.

Last night, we had a “big wind” from the west that rocked us to sleep, but light rain.

This mornings dog walk introduced us to our first rattlesnake sighting. We encountered Montana’s only venomous reptile, the Western Prairie Rattlesnake. On a leash, Sam walked right over the rattlesnake, just as Terry saw it and pulled him away. Fortunately, the snake was very lethargic, as it was a cool morning.

Today, we’ll meet cousin Debbie for lunch and have a nice visit. Debbie is from Drew, MS. And has lived in Montana for most of her adult life. Our paternal grandfathers were Simmons brothers.

And a great visit it was! We had lunch together at Columbus and spent the rest of the afternoon at Debbie’s house looking at her family books, pics. etc. Debbie works in Columbus and husband Frank works at Yellowstone Park.

We had a good reunion and look forward to meeting again.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

We continued following the Yellowstone River upstream from Columbus. We stopped off at Big Timber for a picnic lunch and then we walked over to the Shiloh Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company of Big Timber, Montana. Boys, this is high-end hardware! You can get the top-of-the-line, 1874 Sharps Quigley Buffalo Rifle for $3,298. Choose 45, 50, or 54 caliber. But wait, there’s more! They specialize in customization that makes each rifle totally unique. For example, you can get customized engraving, wood finish, metal finish, butt plate, trigger, barrel, cheeckpiece, tips, grips, and swivels. (Just add a few thousand more)

Traveling up the Yellowstone Valley is a constant treat of spectacular views. The Beartooth, Crazy, Bridger, Tobacco Root, Big Belt, Madison, and Absaroka ranges are all snow-capped and gleaming in the sun. The valley is green with irrigated fields of hay and alfalfa. We saw a magnificent Bald Eagle on the river, and our first Magpies. We said goodbye to the Yellowstone at Livingston as we continued along the old Bozeman Trail and over the pass to Bozeman (4820ft). Just 34 miles west of Bozeman, the Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin Rivers form the headwaters of the wide-Missouri. From here, on the 1806 return trip, Sacagawea led Lewis about 35 miles over to the Yellowstone and then downstream to the Missouri confluence, missing Yellowstone Park. She knew it was there but she did what he requested and so he didn’t get to discover Yellowstone Park. Just think of the tourist dollars he missed!

Now we’re in the mountains we’ve waited for! WOW! I never fail to have my “throat swell” at the sight.

John Bozeman founded the trail and town (1864), now county seat of Gallatin County. Cowboys more over in Bozeman, because people have come from all over to enjoy life in the valley. We miss Pam and Fred and I think about them every time I see the big “M” (Montana State University) on the east slope. Terry and I climbed up there in 1988, on a visit with Pam and Fred. We took a picture from the house and another from the top, looking back to the house. (They loved it!) They always were so full of life and excitement about the people, places, and things around them. They both finished their lives in Columbus, as Debbie looked after them and Mattie Lou. Bozeman’s just not the same without them. We looked around some and then motored on west to Manhattan and a convenient campground.

Friday, 6-15-2012

Manhattan to Flint Creek, on the Scenic Pintler Loop. More great views of the splendid Rockies. Snow-capped Ranges in all quarters; Elkhorn, Tobacco Root, Highland, Pioneer, Flint Creek, all gleaming white in the sun.

We stopped for coffee, snacks and shopping at “Wheat Montana Farms”, in Three Forks, Montana, where they sow it, grow it, and dough it, into wonderful treats and take-away products.

Three Forks is the headwaters of the Wide-Missouri, formed by the Gallatin, Jefferson, and Madison Rivers. There’s a marvelous park and trials, commemorating the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Today, we crossed over to the western slope of the Continental Divide and had lunch at Anaconda, MT. Anaconda (1883) was a copper mining and smelting center. The tall smelter stack still remains, along with virtual mountains of mine tailings and slag. The black slag is like fine black sand and if they ever come up with a market for it, there’s another fortune to be made. We had a nice walk-about in Anaconda, looking at the old buildings, and sights, with our dogs.

From Anaconda, we drove the Pintler Scenic Highway and climbed a high, narrow road (MT1), over the Flint Creek Range, to a nice campsite on the headwaters of Flint Creek, in Granite County. The Creek was cold, clear, and roaring. This was a Forest Service campground with no hookups. Unfortunately, after we setup, we discovered the RV battery was dead, so we had no lights, refrig, or heat. Our propane cook-top and portable gas grill provided all the cooking we needed. We prepared for the situation and it was a very enjoyable night. We had some good walking along the creek, made dinner, and sat out until sundown, listening to the water and wildlife. It was dark just before 10pm and we had our sleeping bags ready. We were at 6,200 ft and the temp dropped down to 35 degrees overnight.

Sat. 6-16-2012

This morning, we had some more good, brisk walks along the creek, where several trout fishermen were in action. We broke camp and drove on down to the valley and old Phillipsburg. In the Rockies, these high mountain valleys are called “parks”. It feels like a park too, because the vast green valley is surrounded by mountains, like a natural bowl. This is a popular tourist stop but the town had numerous Victorian houses, “Painted Ladies”, to admire. The old buildings on Main Street are very craftsmanlike, colorful and decorated too.

The mine here produces Sapphires and Opals. I found a Sapphire that was really striking for $7,300. Decided to look for a chocolate shake instead!

I found that chocolate shake at the old drug-store soda fountain, and it was good!

Leaving Phillipsburg, we drove on down the valley and Flint Creek to the confluence with Clark Fork River and then downstream to Missoula. On the western slope of the Continental Divide, we now follow waterways downstream, toward the Pacific. At Missoula, it’s time for a WalMart maintenance stop. I had the RV battery tested and we exchanged the bad one, plus the cash, for a nice new one. We decided to stay in Missoula for the remaining week-end and look around.

We’ll be on the western slope for the remainder of the summer. The Pacific Northwest is a fine place to spend the summer. Come try it sometime and see?

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Happy Fathers Day to all our “Fathers”!

Today, it’s raining, so we’ll continue on down the Clark fork River, toward Bonners Ferry.

Monday-Tuesday, June 18-19, 2012

We had a gorgeous campsite at Thompson Falls, MT. We camped right on the Clark Fork River, in the Lolo National Forest, about a mile north of the MT 200 bridge and downstream of the Thompson River convergence, and the old bridge. There was an Osprey nest on the “old bridge” and the critter was very vocal. There was a good walking trail along the river bank and we enjoyed the sights and sounds. The dogs enjoyed the sand-bars along the waters edge but the water was too cold and swift to suit them. The north bank was a rock face that towered up about 1500 feet. The conifers along the south river bluff smelled so good, but like most areas, the beetles have killed a multitude.

Montana 200 crosses and re-crosses the Clark Fork several times. David Thompson, early fur-trader, founded the town with his 1808 Trading Post. The University Of Montana folks have found the old site and are currently excavating, so I hope the community will get behind this effort and make it an official Historic Site.

I need to remind myself that MT 200 along the Jocko, and down to the Clark Fork River, and along the Salish and the Cabinet Mountains, was a terrific route, with lots of great stops and wonderful scenery, too much to recall, even looking at the map. I have a small notebook to help me but I don’t always make notes like I should. There was this gargantuan, sheer rock wall, south of the National Bison Range, where “Bad Rock” Trail (an old Indian trail) crossed, but I can’t recall the historic details. It’s a prime site to spot Bighorn Sheep, but now they’re all up in the higher elevations.

We continued on down the Clark Fork on MT 200 and then headed north on MT 56, through the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness and down the Bull River, another very scenic drive. In the marsh headwaters of the Bull River I saw an impressive Bull Moose, in velvet.

Just west of Mt. Snowy and east of the Idaho line, we visited the Ross Creek Giant Cedars, in the Kootenai National Forest. We had a picnic lunch in the RV Trailer (it was raining) and then made the one-mile hike through the enormous, towering trees. The colossal giants are the Western Red Cedar and the Western Hemlock. On up the creek, are stands of very impressive Engleman Spruce, Grand Fir, and Western White Pines. The understory was a virtual garden of native plants and shrubs like the Serviceberry, Syringa, Thimbleberry, and Devils Club, with Ross Creek running clear and cold through the grove. Terry and I make a good team in the woods because she knows plants and I know trees. We both work on identifying birds and animals and there were signs of Weasels, Pine Martins, Mink, and various bird calls but the trees are so tall and dense that made it unattainable.

When we got back to the RV, several cars had parked and blocked my turn-around plan. I need about an acre to turn around and I only had a half-acre. We just stayed calm and discussed how we could make the about-face. We made a decision and thanks to low guardrails, I was able to back the trailer out over the precipice, giving me room to turn. WHEW! Terry was really scared and nervously complemented me on the successful maneuver. It will be a remembered STORY.

At US 2, we joined the Kootenai River which comes down from British Columbia, Canada and runs into Lake Pend Oreille at Sandpoint, Idaho. We turned west on US 2 and found the singular campground in Troy. It’s a family-owned campground, more of a fish-camp. The electrical was dicey, no 30-amp, so I had to test circuits until I found two good 120-volt-20-amp ACs. That way, I could run the water heater on one circuit and the other RV electrics on the other circuit. I never RV without a multi-meter on board. It was still raining, which made my work even more challenging. After I finished, my neighbor, a large Native American, living in a slide-in, truck-camper, (no truck) emerged and gave me approval for my success. We talked a little about the fishing and then got out of the rain. I had wires running across his space to his electrical box and I hope it doesn’t cause him any problem. I don’t know how he fits in that little camper but we hope he stays in there!

It’s hard to believe that, this mountainous area, along US 2, claims the lowest point in Montana, (1820ft) on the Kootenai River, at the Idaho line. The state line is also the time zone, so we entered the Pacific Time Zone. It was again amusing as our electronic technologies made their necessary adjustment.

It’s also very noteworthy how the climate has moderated from Missoula to Troy, from arid to humid, and the first appearance of Larch and Grand Firs.

On Tuesday, we followed on down the Kootenai River heading northwest to Bonners Ferry, Idaho. I had to do another maintenance stop at CarQuest because my truck battery went bad. I purchased a new battery and installed it in a cold wind on the south bank of the Kootenai. Bonners Ferry was founded by Edwin Bonner (1864), where the Wildhorse Trail crossed the Kootenai River, on the way to the gold fields of British Columbia. Edwin established a ferry and a store and mined the gold from the miners pockets! Today, I was grateful to Edwin for CarQuest and a new battery!

We looked around some and then headed on downriver to Ponderay, Idaho, on Lake Pend Oreille.

OK, this is worthy of clarification. Pend Oreille comes from the early French fur trappers, a name meaning “hangs from the ears”, in reference to the shell earrings that the local Native Americans wore. Ponderay is the English pronunciation, so the Lake keep the French name and later, the town got the English name. (Same but different)

The natural lake was formed during the ice age, part of the Missoula flood, and is 1500 feet deep in places. It’s fed by the Kootenai and Clark Fork Rivers, and is drained by the Pend Oreille River into the Columbia River. David Thompson established a Northwest Company fur trading post in 1809, and it was then named Pend Oreille (pronounced Pond-o-ray), meaning ear-hanging or pendant.

There’s a Native Plant Arboretum in neighboring Sandpoint, that we plan to see tomorrow.

Saturday-Sunday June 23-24, 2012

We’re spending six days around magical Lake Pend Oreille and Priest Lake, the “Crown Jewels” of north Idaho.

Lake Pend Oreille, a glacial lake and the largest lake in Idaho is dotted with small towns and inviting resorts around the shore. Sandpoint is an artsy resort town with galleries, shops, yummy restaurants, great parks, and “Dubs ice cream “. Sandpoint is the West’s greatest railroading town, where three rail systems converge with 40 trains/day. The homes are Craftsman and Victorian style with charming gardens and dazzling green lawns. All the trees (large and small) here look like Christmas trees.

We visited Hope, an old logging town on the northeast shore, and enjoyed some nice walks and expansive views of the lake and mountains. We had lunch at the old Pack River country store and looked around at the Alpaca farms in the area.

At Ponderay, we shopped, saw “Men in Black III”, visited the Native Plant Arboretum, and the “Laughing Dog Brewery”. The towns have Osprey nesting platforms on tall poles around the water, so the Osprey can nest right in the “people areas”. It was not unusual to hear the Osprey call and then discover that it’s nesting in full view, if you just look up.

Priest Lake, a recreation paradise, is a 25-mile long glacial lake, surrounded by dense evergreen forests, and nestled in the Selkirk Mountain Range, cuddled by breathtaking, snow-capped mountains. The 10,000 year-old lake was settled in 1840 by trusted Jesuit Priest’s, serving the Kalispel tribe. The native word Kaniksu meaning “black robe” got changed to Priest Lake by John Mullan, road/railroad builder.

It’s very remote and camping, hiking, boating, fishing, and nature are the pastimes here. The water is cold and crystal clear. The 1920’s, Nell Shipman, Lion Head Lodge movie camp is on the east shore.

Priest River (town) is 22 miles south of Priest Lake, (the closest town) a small logging town, so we stocked up at Sandpoint before going up there.

This Sunday morning, we’re at the Riley Creek Recreation Area, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Campground, on the Pend Oreille River, located on US 2, between Sandpoint and Priest River. Just downstream, the Albeni Falls Dam impounds 95 thousand acres of cold., clear, mountain water. This includes Pend Oreille Lake, the rivers source. The rivers 65-mile, winding path, through the mountains, from the lake down to the dam, provides protection from winds and a safe boating waterway. The entire stretch is managed by the Corps and provides numerous well-maintained, recreation areas. The glacially carved, U shaped valley separates the Cabinet, Selkirk, and Coeur d’ Alene Mountain Ranges. It’s also an outstanding wildlife habitat. During the winter, the American Bald Eagle is a common site along the river. I saw one yesterday that must be late leaving for the summer.

The 1955, Albini Dam sits on the Pend Oreille River, about 90 miles upstream from where it enters the mighty Columbia River. It was built at the site of the natural Albeni Falls, named for discoverer, Albeni Poirier, a Canadian pioneer who built roads and businesses that opened up the area to settlement.

The Dam annually produces 200 million kilowatt hours of electrical energy to the Pacific Northwest. The one-hour tour of the powerhouse takes you to the inner workings of the mammoth dam, to see the turbines making alternating current. It’s an enjoyable and educational tour but I couldn’t test it (AC/DC) with my multi-meter.

Have a great Sunday!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

We had a good three days at Riley Creek Recreation Area. It’s an excellent campground with first-class trails for people and pets. The area has a nice mix of trees, plants and wildlife that are native to the area. It had excellent access to the Pend Oreille River, with piers, beach areas, and boat ramps. The Corps does an excellent job with their Recreation Areas. The Ranger (Taylor) has a University Of Idaho classmate (Travis) working at Heyburn State Park, so we had something in common. We had a nice chat with him about his work and he proceeded to recruit us for hosting, if we‘re interested.

On Saturday evening, the Ranger gave a talk and hands-on walk-about on the trees of the park. The area is predominately Western Red Cedar, then Douglas Fir, Grand Fir, Ponderosa, White, and Lodgepole Pine. The forest floor is carpeted with duff from the huge trees, which makes it “fairy-tale” like. You expect to see a hobbit or troll emerge from a hollow log or stump.

The majority of fee-users in this area are from Washington State, primarily the Spokane area (the State Line is 12 miles west.)

We drove over to Newport, Washington on Sunday afternoon for lunch and exploring around. We dined at a restaurant overlooking the Pend Oreille River on the Washington side.

We met a couple from French Settlement, Louisiana at the campground and we had coffee and some good visits with them. They’re retired and traveling the west and western Canada, for the summer. We plan on meeting again, back home, to compare notes and share experiences of our travels.

This morning we packed-up and headed out in the rain. We went back east to the Ponderay WalMart (my security-blanket store) for supplies and then headed south to Farragut State Park. It rained on us all the way, sometimes heavy, but always cold. In Farragut, it’s still raining but we’re in the Travel Trailer, warm and cozy, after some hot soup and chips.

Farragut Sate Park, named after “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” U.S. Navy, Civil War, Admiral David Farragut, is the site of the WW II Naval Training Center (1942-45), where almost a million sailors were trained. The 4,000-acre park is situated on a peninsula that is a glacial gravel bar. This site was picked above the west coast because it was secure from a coastal attack. Do you know of anyone who trained here? Incredibly, the museum has the archived photographs of every unit that trained here. The Museum is in the old “Brig” building and it’s educational, entertaining, and humbling. Unfortunately, the old sailors are rapidly passing away, but they still have their annual reunions.

The park looks exactly like an old abandoned military base, with quadrangle roads and old concrete building foundations all over the area. The site, on the south end of Lake Pend Oreille, is the draw that keeps bringing people back. The water is clear, cold, and deep, with the Coeur d’Alene mountains rising abruptly from the shore.

The Navy still maintains a submarine research center and deep-water acoustic research center at Bayview. (Can you hear me now?)

The park has some delightful trails, with splendid wildlife, and mountain views, for ourselves and our dogs. Dogs are allowed on the trails, just have to be on leash. We hiked a trail up to the boat docks and then back along the lakeshore. The last mile was a lot of ups and downs with a “big up” at the end. We were at it for three hours, so everyone is napping now.

We’ll relax and enjoy the park until we report to Heyburn State Park on Friday. We spoke to the Heyburn Ranger yesterday and everything is going exactly as planned. The current hosts will depart on Friday and we’ll assist for the remainder of the season. This is our second summer to work a half-season at Heyburn State Park, and being trained and experienced, we can immediately support the Ranger.

Please keep up your welcomed responses, we enjoy hearing from you all and we find your shared comments very interesting and helpful!

Friday, June 29, 2012

We arrived at Benewah Campground, Heyburn State Park, Idaho, on Lake Coeur d’ Alene, today and went right to work. The campground is filling fast for the long 4^th of July holiday and we expect to be very busy until next Thursday.

With the 4^th holiday falling on Wednesday, it’s difficult to anticipate what people will do for the “long week-end”. We just expect to be busy through the 10^th.

Our job is the same as last year, so we just have to check for fee payment, safety and policy compliance. Unfortunately, I got dog-bit on my first day and that invokes a policy and procedure exercise that will require some attention. It’s not serious but we have to follow the proper protocol so hopefully, it will be resolved judiciously and prudently. I don’t need any medical attention but we do have to file a report for the State Parks and recreation Office in Boise.

Most of the Heyburn State Park crew is back this summer. Travis is the new Intern Ranger and we have several new seasonal employees. It’s a good group of people that we enjoy working with.

We will resume our Sunday church attendance at St. Mary’s in St. Maries and we look forward to reuniting with those folks again, this summer. It’s great to back at the Inland Pacific Northwest and it looks like the weather will be very comfortable and enjoyable.

Have a safe, patriotic, and memorable Fourth of July Celebration, everyone!

Sunday, July 8, 2012

After a week at Heyburn State Park, Benewah Campground, we’ve comfortably settled into our routine. Most campers follow the well-published Policy and Safety rules and are easy to manage but you learn quickly how to spot the occasional difficult campers and anticipate issues. It’s good to correct them promptly and avoid any possible dispute. The Ranger is immediately behind us on all matters of violation, so we have a good team. We had the rare involvement of the Benewah County Sheriff on a criminal issue this week. Hopefully there will be no more of that, but the Law Enforcement folks are swift to respond, if necessary.

The most common infringement is failure to keep dogs on the leash. Most comply with one warning but some have to be reminded repeatedly. In the way of unusual, we had a camper family that brought their pair of Guinea Pigs. (We never had any trouble with them.)

At St. Mary’s Catholic Church in St. Maries, we reunited with the friendly folks of the congregation. We attended Church there last year and really enjoyed the experience. Coincidentally, they welcomed a new Priest on this first Sunday we attended. Next Sunday, following Mass, the Church will officially welcome the new Priest with a covered-dish luncheon in the Fellowship Hall. This is an excellent opportunity for us to get to know more people too and sample the local recipes.

We traveled up to Coeur D’ Alene yesterday for a nice break, with lunch and shopping. It was a clear, blue-sky, 85 degrees, day with the natural, 25-mile long, Lake Coeur d’ Alene, as blue as the sky. The Spokane River takes its rise at Coeur d’ Alene, on the northwest side of the lake, and flows down to the Columbia River. The Spokane River is running high right now and it’s odd to see the cold, clear water rushing down the channel. In the south, high, fast water is always muddy. The Spokane River access is closed in most places due to the high, dangerous water. The benefit is that the Spokane Falls are thundering with the white-water crashing through the narrow gorge. The river gage is currently falling but it’s running at an impressive 7,000 cubic feet per second. It’s exciting to walk across the falls on the suspension foot bridges in Spokane. At this level, it WILL get you wet in the spray coming off the riotous water.

We purchased a colorful basket of Petunias’ for decorating our campsite. Coeur d’ Alene has a Super WalMart and the usual stores and restaurants for a market that size, so we can get all the things that we need. For the Entertainment, Arts, and Cultural opportunities, we go to Spokane, about 50-mile distance.

This Sunday morning, we’re making a pasta Salad for the Church luncheon. This is our second Sunday and we already feel a part of the Church family. This is also the second Sunday for the new Priest and we’re having a “Welcome Luncheon” today, following Mass.

What’s new with you?

Wednesday, July 11, 2012- Saturday, July 14, 2012

Well, it’s 93 degrees this afternoon and everyone is complaining about the heat. We’re having unusually warm weather, close to record temperatures. Today, it was cooler in Mississippi, but it was raining there. We’re using the air-conditioning and just waiting it out. The Spokane report calls for several more days of the same, so we’re hoping the campground will be quiet for that period. The local people were whining about late summer, now they think it’s too hot.

Yesterday, I had a conversation with a Coeur d’Alene Elder, and he was a very interesting character. He is actively involved in teaching the Salish language to the young people of the tribes. He is one of just several Coeur d’Alene natives who know and speak the Native Language, all of them being elderly. They’re trying to keep the ancestral language alive and preserved for future generations. I was amazed to learn that some of the Salish-speaking groups in the Pacific Northwest have lost their native language. Some of the Salish Languages like the Pend Oreille, have such unique dialect that they can’t talk to other Salish. The “Education Folks” have published a dictionary of Salish Language that is helping to bridge the “dialect gap” and allow the Northwest Salish to talk. They hope that the young people will learn it and carry on. Would you bet on these young folks of today to do that? Maybe if it’s an App with games!

Today, we went to St. Maries and attended the Senior Meal Day. The Senior Citizens Center is open daily, with lunch on Monday-Wednesday-Friday. My goal was to talk to the Seniors and learn as much as I could about their lives in the Idaho Panhandle. It was a story of mills, mines, lumberjacking, and just making a living in a “Company Town”. I was surprised to observe that the majority had migrated from the mid-west in their young lives. The actual native Idahoans were in the minority and were less talkative. They mainly made their living from the timber, mining, and railway jobs too. It was sobering to see how many had teeth missing or no teeth at all. It’s probably because they can’t afford the dental services that are readily available in St. Maries. (Four Dentists)

The Seniors seem to have a little sub-culture that is cooperatively dedicated to getting-by in retirement. (Sharing commodities, clothes, glasses, and any useful items) When a Senior’s spouse expires, the survivor brings all the deceased belongings down to the Center for other Seniors to use it. Sometimes they just get a new spouse while they’re at it. It’s a rural area but they make their best effort to keep going, the best they can. It was interesting, but I probably won’t go back because our schedule doesn‘t fit.

As I sit at the table, in the Travel Trailer, I can look out the window, at our Hummingbird Feeder, just a few feet away. We have a few Hummingbirds coming and going and we do enjoy watching them on the feeder. We are not currently able to identify them, even with our bird books. (We’re seeing only females and juveniles) We have watched, compared, and discussed the little beggars but just can’t nail it down. Dave and Diane will know for sure when they come. In the meantime, we’ll keep working on it.

I talked to a camper-couple from the Oregon Coast and asked them about their recommendations for some of their favorite things on the Oregon coast.

They are well-traveled and had no hesitation in expounding on a list:

The Astoria Column

Fort Clatsop

McMinnville Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum

Myrtlewood Trees

Hatfield Marine Science Center

Sand Dunes

Oregon Coast Aquarium

Oregon Lighthouses

Cannon Beach

Sea Lion Caves

Tillamook County Creameries and Museum and Air Museum

Siskiyou, Siuslaw, and Umpqua National Forests

Recommendations from some Washington campers, for our planned coast route are:

Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum, IIwaco, WA

Pacific Coast Cranberry Research Foundation, Long Beach, WA

Lady Washington, Aberdeen

Polson Museum, Grays Harbor

Willapa Seaport

Whale Watching in Westport

Museum of the North Beach

Olympic National Park(Hoh Rain Forest, Hurricane ridge, Pacific Tide pools)

Cox & Cox Team Obsession USSBA

Hood Canal

Naval Undersea (Submarine) Museum, Keyport

Seattle Tour

In September, we’re taking a loop downstream, through the Columbia Gorge (Washington side) up the Oregon and Washington coast, over to Seattle and then east on WA 20 back to Montana. (We welcome any suggestions!)

As Gomer Pyle would say, “Surprise! Surprise!”. We were pleasantly surprised to have an unexpected visit from John and Joan this Saturday morning. They were traveling through our area and thankfully, took the time to look us up. It’s just so pleasing and agreeable to have nice folks call on us. We had a most enjoyable time with them, sitting in our screen-room at the campground. It was amusing and entertaining to share our news and stories since our last meeting (last Summer) with them. We’ll be looking forward to seeing them and other friends and relatives, in Bigfork this Fall. See you there!

p.s. A downpour this afternoon, in Spokane has left about three feet of water on a section of I-90, but we got nothing. The Spokane news reporter also said that they had penny, nickel and dime sized hail and that really got me to thinking! I’ve never heard it put that way! Have you? Down south, we compare hail to peas, golf balls, and tennis balls, sometimes quarters, but never penny’s or dimes.

Tomorrow, we’ll be attending Sunday Mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in St. Maries. They have welcomed a new Priest and they have also welcomed us back into the Church-family. We look forward to Sunday Mass at St Mary’s because of the nice people and the Coffee/Treats Social following Mass each Sunday. The Church was established in 1912, (they just celebrated their Centennial) and is a typical example of a Pacific Northwest (rural) Catholic Church. It has lots of attractive wood and striking stained-glass windows. You can identify the early prominent families by the memorial plates on each window.

Our little dog Jack woke up this morning with a swollen eye. (inner eyelid) It looked bad but I put a series of hot compress on it and then we dropped in some antihistamine drops. We suspect it may be allergy or an insect sting. It looks a lot better this afternoon and I hope it will continue to heal. We can’t see a Vet until Monday, but hopefully, he won’t need it.

Saturday and Sunday is the timeframe for the two-day Northern Pike fishing tournament on our lake. I’ve seen Bass tournaments (a high-tech, sporty crowd) but this crowd is more “catfish” looking (with rough-looking boats, gear, and anglers) and it makes sense, because Northern Pike fishing is a lot like catfishing. You go into coarse, shallow spots after this “toothy” fish.

Well, it’s dinner time and I’ll sigh off for now. I hope everyone is well and enjoying life. What’s up with you?

July 17, 2012

We’ve had a few thunderstorms pass through the area and the thunder really rolls over the lake and booms against the mountains. Sam and Daisy are afraid of thunder and crawl under the table to hide. They’re like “Radar O’reilly” because they can hear the thunder long before we hear it. We know immediately when the thunderstorm is approaching just by observing their behavior. When they start acting scared, we check the “Weather Web”, and sure enough, we have a thunderstorm coming. Jack can’t “hear thunder”, so he just sleeps through the whole thing. You can learn a lot from animals when you pay attention to them.

This week, David and Jackie, LSU friends from Louisiana, come for a visit. They’re coming to Seattle, over to Heyburn, and then up to Canada, looping back to Seattle. They’ll have only one full day with us so we’ll choose a good day-trip exploration.

Currently, the Thimble Berries and Service Berries are ripe. The Choke Cherries and Huckleberries will ripen in August. These are important wildlife foods and it looks like a good crop. The Ocean Spray is fading now but was a white-wash on the mountains slopes. The people and the Bears love the Huckleberries so you have to be aware of the competition. Furthermore, a good Huckleberry crop is essential to Bear reproduction and winter survival. The Chinook Salmon Run is late but it’s really impressive this year. The Columbia Basin is experiencing record numbers.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

We had some thunderstorms earlier in the week and the campground was cozy and untenanted. Unfortunately, the thunderstorms came with high humidity and warm temperatures, so we predominantly stayed inside. Fortunately, the thunderstorms ushered in some beautiful days and pleasant temperatures, which brought out plenteous campers for the weekend. The campground is full and thus, we’ve been busy.

David and Jackie , friends from LSU in Baton Rouge, spent two days with us. On Wednesday, we toured the park and then had dinner at Conklin’s Marina, overlooking the Lake, at sunset. On Thursday, we drove over to the Old Cataldo Mission State Park to see the new Coeur D’Alene Exhibition. The Cataldo Mission is the oldest surviving building in Idaho (1842) and the site where Father Pierre Jean De Smet, “Great Chief of the Blackrobes“, envisioned creating an “Empire of Christian Indians”. He made “Good Catholics” out of the Indians that lived around the Mission, but just like most of us, they only showed up on Easter. His 1842, Easter sermon was probably, “Where the hell have you people been all year?” We ate Rainier cherries right off the tree at Cataldo Mission.

Anyway, the Exhibition covers the history of the Coeur D’Alene people and it’s an excellent presentation of their living and surviving through the ages.

We also went to the old Snake Pit Hotel and Bar for refreshments and a look around the old gathering place of entertainment and “ill repute”. Back in the day, this was a place, where, if you didn’t have a gun, they gave you one.

This weekend the campground was full and we had people everywhere. We had a group of Graduate students from Washington State University at Pullman, with “loaner” camping gear from the University Recreation Department. They are from Nepal and this was their first camping trip. They asked us to help them with the tents, which had missing parts and some incompatible parts from other tents. I told them that the WSU tents would not work in Idaho, and we had a good laugh. When they discovered that we’re LSU Alumni and a past Faculty/Staff member, we had some good conversation about the SEC football. We finally got an inhabitable campsite set up and they enjoyed the visit to Heyburn State Park. The weekend weather was superb.

We had lots of kids in the campground and they love to fish in the lake. Sadly, when they catch a fish, they bring it back to their campsite and the parents congratulate them, with instructions to return it to the lake. By now, the poor fish is “deader than hell” but the Osprey don’t mind the free meal. I’m just waiting for evolution to advance to where the Osprey just grabs the kid, with the fish. Lol

We attended Church at St. Maries this Sunday morning, where we’re right in step with the new Priest. It was his fourth Sunday as well. They always have Coffee and Refreshments after Mass and this is a good time for us to “meet and greet”. The Congregation is mostly retired people with a variety of backgrounds. It’s interesting to hear their stories and share experiences.

Now, we’re back in a routine until Dave and Diane come to visit from Woodland Park, Colorado. Until then, we plan to go to Spokane and do some “tourist” things, suggested by friends. Our list includes the Arboretum park, Ruby Hotel, Gonzaga Campus Visitor Center, Trader Vic’s Market (Indian Food Ingredients etc.), and Eastern Washington University.

Any suggestions?

Thursday, July 26, 2012

We just returned from a tremendous two-day vacation to Spokane. This was the first night we’ve spent out of our RV Travel Trailer, since mid-May. We stayed in a Resort Lodge on the Spokane River, that was new and very comfortable for us AND our dogs. Spokane is an especially dog-friendly city.

We enjoyed walking around the Spokane Falls and just admiring the beautiful natural water feature. The falls are crisscrossed with long, high footbridges that allow you to get up-close and personal with the roaring falls. The Spokane River’s flow rate through the falls is currently only 2500 cubic feet per second, but it’s still impressive. Later, we walked around the Gonzaga Campus and admired the architecture, landscape, memorials, and the “smell of money “.

Needless to say, we had a protracted shopping list and the Spokane South-Hill area had just what we needed. Trader Joe’s (Thanks Joan!) was a fun, food shopping experience with tempting, hard-to-find, great-tasting foods and spices.

Our dining was diverse and we were guilty of excess. We shopped the Internet and found several notable restaurants. For example, Villaggio’s served a fine Neapolitan Brick Oven pizza, just like old world Italy.

We had a savory, Lebanese-style Pita lunch at the Pita Pit, in the Gonzaga Bulldog district.

We had a fish and chips lunch, just because it was there and sounded good.

The Eggs Benedict breakfast at the Country Café, was picked tops by KHQ TV Spokane, and we agree. I must confess, we also found an excellent chocolate malt.

Burning some excess calories, we toured 95-acre, Manito Park, the “Crown Jewel” of Spokane City Parks, with numerous breathtaking, gardens, formal Duncan Garden being the centerpiece. We also did the driving tour of Spokane’s South Hill area and tucked away around Manito Park are the “big houses”. These people will probably never know the joy of traveling in an RV!

The 65-acre, John A. Finch Arboretum was another walking tour, which hosts collections of trees and shrubs native to the inland northwest and other parts of the world. The natural beauty and charm of the arboretum enhance the “outdoor classroom”, where there’s always something more to learn. (Terry is our navigator using our Tom Tom and maps and she’s very good at orienteering.)

What’s your news? We’d love to hear from you! Send us a little update.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Well, it’s Friday night and the campground is full. We were warned that August can get hectic with campers who have not planned a vacation and they’re in a rush (without a plan) to get in a trip before school starts. So far, I agree with the warning! Given, we’re in the “people business” and this makes the challenge more interesting!

We had a good two-day trip on the east side of Lake Coeur D’Alene and in the Coeur D’Alene Mountains. We hiked a scenic BLM trail along the crest of the mountains for some grand views of the lake. We shopped our lists at Coeur D’Alene, dined at Olive Garden, and then down the west side back to the Park.

We also went up the St. Joe River to the Bitterroot Mountains and the Continental Divide (also the Idaho/Montana state line). The St. Joe River runs about 120 miles from the western slope of the divide down to the Spokane River. It’s a free-flowing river which offers challenging adventures to kayakers, and rafters, ranging from expert to novice. The higher you go up the river, the more challenging it becomes. It’s also an excellent “catch and release” trout fishing river.

Marble Creek, a major tributary of the St. Joe, is the historic logging district of northern Idaho. In the old days, logging started here by harvesting the giant cedars, firs, and pines, then floating them down the river to the mills. It’s a dangerous and colorful history of the Marble Creek area. There’s an Interpretative Site showing the early logging operations. Today, they’re still logging up there and even with the modern equipment, it’s still a dangerous job. For visitors, the main caution, is check with the Forest Service to see where the logging is currently operating. Then, you can better watch out for loaded log trucks coming down the mountain with 120,000 pounds of timber on the truck and trailer. If you want to be safer, get a CB radio and you can hear the truckers announcing their decent. Of course, the best way to stay out of the logging traffic is to go up after 5pm, weekends, or holidays. Actually, it’s a huge area with lots of forest service roads so you can go on quiet roads to secluded areas. I definitely recommend exploring this vast forest in Shoshone County.

We stopped by the Shadowy St. Joe, Forest Service Campground and visited with the camp hosts there. I got a picture of a huge Paper Birch tree in the campground, which is situated on an old farm homestead. She also gave us a nice garnet which is only found in the Clarkia area of the Idaho panhandle.

Today, we hiked from our campground over the mountain, through the Coeur D’Alene Tribal Lands, to the St. Joe River. There’s a large Cottonwood flat along the river and it serves as a Blue Heron rookery. The dogs swam in the river and I waded along the shore. Terry elected to watch. We enjoyed the hike but it was warm and dry coming back across the mountain. Our dogs totally “racked out” after that hike.

Today, we got a good supply of Montana’s famous, sweet, plump, Flathead Lake, Lambert Cherries and they are just scrumptious! They’re primarily, available to Montana and some surrounding states, and even though it’s a late harvest, boy are they a treat. The big red treasures from the east side of the lake experience a favorable soil, slope, and lake-moderated climate, which produces a maroon, tender, juicy, and oh-so-sweet fruit. Now that makes summer in the Rockies complete!

David and Jackie came for a two-day visit and we toured the park, had dinner at Conkling Marina, toured the Old Mission at Cataldo where we ate cherries off the tree. We also went to the Snake Pit.

We just heard from Jackie and David after having them visit us in the Park. They went on to Canada and then back to Seattle. I’m attaching Jackie’s notes to my notes so that I can remember her comments. I’m also sharing Jackie’s notes because they will be useful to others interested in the area.

(David and Jackie Summer 2012

We apologize for the delay in getting back with you. We’re just getting things back in order after arriving back home late last Tuesday night. I’m also preparing for school to start later this week.

The remainder of our vacation was wonderful! After we left the campground, we drove 600+ miles through upper Idaho and Canada to reach Vancouver. The countryside was gorgeous. We saw plenty of mountains covered with green fir trees and other types of green trees. We even saw a whitetail doe on the shoulder of the road! During most of the drive, the roads were curvy, and the grades were somewhat steep. However, David did a great job with negotiating the curves and slopes. When we arrived at our destination that same evening, we found that our studio apartment was a first-class place! We would definitely recommend it to you or to anyone else in your family who’d like to go to Vancouver. I think that we kept the contact information. If not, I could look it up on vrbo.com.

During our time in Vancouver, we saw the Butchart Gardens at Victoria. We took a trip on the ferry to get there. It was well worth the admission cost. There was a huge rose garden area with plenty of roses in bloom. The plants and flowers in the other garden areas were planted so beautifully according to color schemes, designs, etc. We went to the Chinatown area of Vancouver, which we were told is second to San Francisco’s Chinatown in population. The shops there were similar to the ones in San Francisco with plenty of open-air produce markets and fish markets. We rented bikes and rode around a bike trail at Stanley Park.

On July 26, we left Vancouver and made our way to Seattle. The apartment in Seattle was actually part of the second floor of an old house that was remodeled inside. The Seattle apartment was somewhat smaller in size than the Vancouver apartment. However, it had a kitchenette, combined living/bedroom, small bathroom, and walk-in closet. It was also fairly close to sightseeing areas, restaurants, and stores. Washington State University was only a few minutes away, too.

While in Seattle, we enjoyed the King Tut exhibit. It happened to be at the Pacific Science Center. I had seen it in New Orleans when I was in high school back in 1978. However, David had never seen it. We knew that this was something that we just couldn’t miss! We weren’t disappointed, either! The exhibit was even better than it was back in 1978, due to the addition of technological enhancements. If you haven’t seen it yet, perhaps you could drive over to Seattle to see the exhibit one day before you return to Mississippi. It will be there until January. We also recommend that you arrive by around 9:00 or 9:30 in the morning. We arrived then, and a long line was forming behind us. The museum opens at 10:00 A.M. We also enjoyed the Flight History Museum, which is associated with the Boeing company location in Seattle. There is a retired Air Force One plane and a Concorde Jet in the yard of the building. We were able to go inside each plane and look around. They were really interesting! In fact, the entire museum has so many interesting items about flight history, WWI and WWII plane engines/planes and/or replicas and items about space exploration. We went to the downtown Public Market area and bought some souvenirs. It was very crowded! There were fish markets and open-air produce markets there, too. Some stands sold fresh floral arrangements. We drove around the Washington State University campus one evening. There are many beautiful buildings that have Gothic-like architecture.

We really enjoyed our vacation this year. We enjoyed the time that we spent with you, too. Thanks again for your hospitality that you showed while we stayed with you. We’ll check back with you soon!

David and Jackie Summer 2012)

In closing this update, I’d like to invite you to friend Terry AND myself on Facebook, because that’s where we’re putting pictures and comments. I resisted Facebook until it became so commonplace, and now I wish I hadn’t resisted so long.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

The past two days were spent rambling and exploring new places. On Tuesday, we drove the MCCroskey Skyline Drive in the Palouse region, along the north Idaho/Washington line. The Land was owned by Virgil T. McCroskey, who donated the land to the State of Idaho to be maintained as a public park. The narrow Skyline Drive straddles the steep, rocky slopes of Skyline Ridge on Mineral Mountain. It’s a remote district and home to Deer, Elk, Moose, Black Bear, Turkey, Ruffed Grouse, and a plethora of birds and other wildlife. The varied slopes and terrain makes for a diverse wildlife population.

Speaking of wildlife, we discovered a Hoosier living in a truck camper on Iron Mountain. We stopped and talked to him about Indiana and he was glad to see someone who knew his homeland. I think he’s been living up there all summer because it’s remote and free. Not uncommon to run across these folks in the Idaho Wilderness.

Skyline Drive offers spectacular vistas of the Columbia River Basin to the west, and the Rocky Mountains to the east. The west views present dry-land farming to the horizon, in Washington, mostly wheat, rape, and oats. The views to the east present range-after-range of the Rockies.

The lands along the Palouse River and Valley are the ancestral home of the Nez Perce Native American people. The Nez Perce developed the leopard-spotted, Appaloosa horse, as many old cave paintings in the valley depict. The early settlers to the area called them a Palouse River horse and gradually the name evolved into Appaloosa horse. Now, it’s the State Horse of Idaho.

Mid-day, we headed east to Potlatch, the home of the old 1906 Potlatch Corporation, White Pine sawmill, largest in the world at the time. It was a company town, like a lot of towns in Idaho. Now, it’s a “bedroom community” for Moscow and Pullman.

We headed on east to the Palouse Divide and took a swim in the upper Palouse River. Then over the Palouse Divide to the St. Maries River and took another swim. It was a warm day, so we had lunch at St. Maries and then home to wash off the dust, as It’s very dry now and the mountain roads are all “big dust”.

Yesterday afternoon and night, we were in Coeur D’Alene for shopping, rest and relaxation. You know you’re in Idaho when you drive100 miles to shop in a TOWN-mall! The city, on the north end of the lake, was surreal at sunset and then came the lights, reflecting on Cougar Bay, with the Coeur D’Alene mountains in the background, catching the last rays of the sun. Along the lake on the west side of the city center is the combined campus of North Idaho College and Lewis-Clark College, which are located at the headwaters of the Spokane River. The campus is beautifully landscaped around attractive modern buildings, with the entire campus bordering the lake, where the river takes its rise. The shoreline is a continuous beach, with the 37-mile Centennial Bicycle Trail passing right alongside the campus and beach. (How do they get the students to come to class?) We really enjoyed walking the area and so did our ole dogs! The campus is situated on the site that was the ancestral gathering place in the vast Coeur D’Alene aboriginal lands. They came at various times of the year to fish the Salmon runs, trade things from the region, and fellowship.

The Coeur D’Alene lands covered over 4 million acres in parts of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, with Coeur D‘Alene lake at the center. By 1878, they were completely separated from their “spiritual lake”, but regained the south third, from the State of Idaho, in 2001, in a Federal Government court action. Our Heyburn State Park, Benewah Campground is part of the Tribal Lands. On the west side of the Tribal Lands is their Circling Raven Casino/Resort and Golf Course, a twenty-million dollar/year revenue generation that beats the heck out of salmon fishing. We stopped off there last night for refreshments and it is fabulous, as casinos go.

Today, we begin another busy weekend of campers rushing to get a trip done before schools starts and the season ends. This afternoon, the maintenance folks are repairing our “fee station” that got trashed today by an RV in reverse. I’m glad my truck and camper are surrounded very large Douglas Firs!

Next week, Dave and Diane, from Colorado, our last summer visitors at the Park, come for a stay in the Rocky Point Cabin. We’re looking forward to their visit because they really know wildlife, nature, and outdoor living.

Mail us an update on your stuff! Are you getting ready for school? What’s new?

Friday, August 17, 2012

Now, it’s the third weekend of August and the campground is again full for the weekend. We have two more weekends remaining, the last being the four-day Labor Day weekend. We depart the fourth of September for a ramble over to the Oregon and Washington coast for some ocean air, seafood, and sightseeing. We have a long list of suggested must-sees and we’re excited about being “tourists“.

Dave and Diane from Colorado just departed for Canada, after having spent four terrific days with us at Heyburn State Park. They rented the Rocky Point Cabin and we had wonderful dinners together at the cabin every night, followed by sunsets and conversations, at the end of the pier. We were also entertained by the owls after sunset. We had so much fun planning and making our favorite foods in the evenings. The cabin has a washer/dryer, so we did laundry without needing the usual bag full of quarters at the laundromat.

On Tuesday, we went to Clarkia, in Shoshone County for a hike in the 500-year-old Hobo Cedar Grove. Hiking the trail under the giant Western Red Cedars was so surreal, you expected the little hobbits to appear at every twist and turn of the trail. Our dogs we allowed on the trail so they had a “sniffin’ good time”. We picnicked, made pictures, and spent the better part of the day up at the Cedar Grove. It was a clear, cool, bluebird mountain day!

On Wednesday, we biked the Coeur d’Alene Trail, along the lake, from Harrison to Chatcolet and back. It was an awesome ride and we saw birds, animals, and picked blackberries. We finished-up with huckleberry ice cream and a cool wade in the lake at Harrison. We used the three-wheel, recumbent trikes and they were so pleasant to ride. Dave, in his coordinated bicycle togs, was the power-rider, as he would run ahead and then circle back to check on us.

Thursday, Diane and Terry used the canoes, kayaks, and paddle boats at Rocky Point and settled on the canoes for the better part of the day. Our park folks gave them a “good deal” and they got to play in the water all afternoon. Dave went fly-fishing on the St. Joe River and made a nice trout appetizer for dinner on Thursday evening. I had errands to run and joined the group for dinner. We spent the usual sunset on the pier, except this evening, Dave gave me lessons on fly casting, which was difficult for me to make much progress. (I’m a slow learner)

Today, we’re interacting with the campers for another weekend. We have various young people in the campground who will be going off to college, some as freshmen. I’m excited for them all and glad they won’t be in my classes. It’s great to know I’m NOT beginning another semester and year this August! Cody, my favorite seasonal park employee, is entering the University of Idaho, in Mechanical Engineering. He’s one that will make a good student because of his good work ethic, personality, and attitude.

The Benewah County Fair, at the St. Maries Fairground, runs for the next five days and we plan to “slip-off” to the fair this weekend. They’re celebrating 100 years of Benewah County Fair and 4-H. A good taste of rural life in the Idaho Panhandle can sampled at the fair, not to mention the “fair-food”.

After visiting the fair, we have a better appreciation for the rural life in the valleys and prairies of the north Idaho panhandle. The valleys have some irrigation and produce hay, legumes, swine, goats, cattle, horses and vegetable produce. The prairie is dryland farming and they produce several varieties of wheat, oats, barley, lentils, oil seed, and certified grass seed (timothy, rye, blue, fescue). The best part of the fair is the 4-H program, with the fine job the youth do with their farm animal projects. There’s plenty opportunity for the adults too, with their Home Economics, Horticulture, Art, and Equestrian events. An annual highlight is the Pie Contest followed by a silent auction, where you can take one home, for the highest bid. They’re also having cake and ice cream to celebrate their 100^th birthday of the Fair and 4-H in Benewah County. Finally, the entire fairground crowd is entertained nightly, by a music concert.

Please Friend us on Facebook for some pictures and comments!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Now comes the last weekend in August and we’re ready for the rush. This morning, our summer Ranger intern (Travis), brought his major professor around, on a tour of the park. We gave the proper kudos on Travis’s good work this summer. It was perfect timing, as we recently visited their Eastern Washington University campus in Cheney, last Tuesday.

Driving over, across the eastern Washington prairie, it’s dryland farming throughout the entire rolling hills. Ever wonder what 600 acres of split-peas looks like? That’s a lot of soup!

We also visited the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, just south of Cheney. In the path of the great Missoula floods, the entire scabland area was scoured clean to the underlying basalt, by the cataclysmic floods of ice and debris, moving across the landscape. Leaving behind expansive river-like channels and depressions that, 15,000 years later have become a maze of lowlands and dotted lakes, supporting an unusual combination of flora and fauna. If you enjoy the Wildlife Refuge, then this is a must-see. For years, geologists wondered how the large, non-native, granite boulders migrated to rest on the predominate basalt bedrock, and though time, they’ve learned that the Missoula floods were the catalyst of such unimaginable geological events. Strange but true!

Success story number one is, Turnbull’s lone trumpeter swan, found a new mate, after 33 years in residence.

Eastern Washington University, home of the (Big Sky Conference) Eagles, with the red football field, is situated on an attractive, 300-acre, park like campus, with an enrollment of 12,000 graduate and undergraduate students. The red field is the second NCAA Division I school, (Boise State blue) to have a non-green playing surface. Ironically, both teams won a national championship after the color-turf was installed. If the NCAA allows this to continue, imagine the Tennessee Orange, or any color/design that you want!

The EWU folks go to Spokane for entertainment and so did we! We dined at some new restaurants, “played tourist”, and did some shopping. We tent-camped on the Spokane River at a private campground. We arrived at dusk and set-up the tent, just in time for an unpredicted thunderstorm. The thunder and lightning made us and our dogs very nervous, so we sat it out in the truck. We looked at the storm on our Kindle and as it showed, the storm passed to the northeast very quickly.

Next morning, we noticed a Krispy Kreme Donut shop with the “Hot Product” sign flashing, so we had to take a sample. Oh, so good!

After a night in the Spokane Valley, we cruised over to Post Falls and shopped at the Cabela’s Outfitters, the world leading outdoor outfitter. Cabela’s has a huge store with every sporting good known to man. Terry found some pants she liked and I just wandered around with indigestion (to many Krispy Kremes). The store has one of the largest collection of wildlife mounts you’ll ever see, covering all the game and wildlife of the Rockies. They’re displayed in a large diorama depicting their native habitat.

Finally, we headed to Coeur d’Alene and then back down to Heyburn State Park. Our fuel stop is always the Warpath Smoke Shop in Plummer, on the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Lands. Fuel prices are always somewhat lower at the Warpath.

Today, the last Saturday in August, the low temperature was 42, very low humidity, and we had the heat on all night. It sure felt like Fall and I noticed that the ninebark shrubs are turning orange, so it won’t be long until a nipping frost. Some of the boundary counties, at higher elevations, along the Canadian border had freeze warnings last night.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

It’s the first Sunday in September, and our last Sunday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Father Paco will give the seasonal Park workers a blessing and we’ll be on our way September 4^th. We’ll miss Father Paco, especially his good humor. For example, this morning he announced that the diocese is producing a fund-raiser calendar (called “Men in Black”) to benefit the seminarians, featuring the twelve youngest priests in the diocese. He said, “I’m Father February”! We said our goodbyes to the Church friends at the coffee social, following Mass and departed.

It’s also “Paul Bunyan Days” this weekend in St. Maries, over the Labor Day weekend. It’s the major annual event for St. Maries and with parade, carnival, lumberjack competitions (including birling), music, Coeur D’Alene Tribal dancers, food, duck races, holy board, and the spectacular fireworks show, it draws crowds from around the Pacific Northwest. Say what? I learned that birling is really the log rolling competition and holy board is a game like horseshoes but played with washers. The fireworks were the most impressive I’ve ever seen. Terry was applauding the show and it continued for a solid thirty minutes. The concussion from the shells echoed around the surrounding mountains and canyons like an intense thunder storm and the colors and patterns were awesome.

Needless to say, the campground has been packed for Labor Day weekend and we’ll be glad to finish on Tuesday. As luck would have it, the comfort station water heater went out on Saturday, and the responsibility on the duty-Ranger to get something resolved. I suggested we blow-it-out with the air compressor and after an hour of getting ready, it worked. Unfortunately, we both looked like black-face characters from an old Al Jolson movie.

One of the campers is from Gillette, WY. and is a Dutch-oven cooking aficionado. Her family from Seattle met here at the campground for a little reunion. She made smoked salmon, elk stew, and followed with a peach cobbler. She prepared each entrée in an aluminum container that fit perfectly inside the Dutch oven, so no clean-up necessary. She just prepared and served each entrée, in order, so that they visited, cooked and ate all evening. Great idea for a campfire visit! While doing my duties, I dropped by to enjoy the delicious entrees. Thanks for the invite!

The fall harvest season is well underway in the Idaho panhandle and they’re filling the bins with numerous grain crops that have produced a good yield. In our rural area, you frequently drive through heavy dust clouds, blowing across the prairie from the huge harvest machinery. The combines commonly have 24-foot cutting headers and when working in unison, they generate lots of dust. Idaho is the potato state but wheat is king in the panhandle and it generally consists of four varieties:

Soft White Wheat (winter and spring): pastries, pancakes, cakes, cookies, crackers, flat breads, snack foods and cereals.
Hard Red Wheat (winter and spring): yeast breads, hard rolls and bagels, Asian noodles, flat breads.
Hard White Wheat (winter and spring): blended flours, Asian noodles, steam breads, domestic foods made with whole wheat.
Durum: pasta

Idaho’s average annual wheat yield is 100 million bushels at $9-11/bushel, so they don’t mind the dust!

To my surprise, Ole Sam has given up chasing deer on our morning walks. (I walk where campers are seldom seen) I’ve always known that the almost-tame deer just toy with him because they can easily evade him. They always run up the mountain trails and he’s decided that he’s too old to be chasing on those steep slopes. He has now switched to squirrels which equally disappoint him by scampering up a tree and barking down at him. He sometimes picks up the bear scent and I can tell because he gets real close and reverent. He’s never encountered the bear but he instinctively knows better.

He may have to retire soon and start a new career. He’s been a big hit as the camp-dog because he greets everyone and people are attracted to him.

Have an enjoyable Labor Day and send you news!

Bob & Terry

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Today is our first day to be back on the “tourist trail”. We finished our work at Heyburn State Park this morning and traveled to Pasco, Washington. We stopped in Plummer to see a 1000-pound Bull Moose that was killed by a motorist this morning. Wildlife and Fisheries authorities were taking it somewhere. It was almost out of velvet with a small patch remaining on one antler. As large as a horse, it was heartbreaking to see the magnificent animal killed that way. I know from experience that people drive too fast on these mountain roads.

We drove to Palouse, had lunch at the city park, and then down the Palouse Valley, along the Palouse Scenic Byway, through millions of acres of expansive farmland, producing wheat and legumes. The Palouse River is impressive in the Spring but in the dry season now, it’s very low.

We went through Colfax, the home of Virgil T. McCroskey, who created two State Parks, Steptoe Butte SP in Washington, and Mary Minerva McCroskey SP in Idaho. We visited these fine parks last month. Virgil, a pharmacist, owned the Elk Drug Store (building still stands) on Main Street and must have been very successful.

Colfax was founded in 1870 and was the prosperous junction of three railway lines. Currently, it has a large grain elevator and is struggling to reestablish itself as a growing town in a very rural area.

At Hooper, WA. Sheep, lambs, and wool are the main agricultural crop. The sheep look like rocks scattered across the Palouse hills.

We camped Tuesday night at the Franklin County Trade Recreation Agricultural Center (TRAC) in Pasco, WA. The multi-purpose event center is a versatile event venue hosting trade shows, conventions, entertainment, rodeo, ice rink, and all the city parks and recreation activities. We enjoyed walking the paved paths around the complex and admiring the landscaping. It has the greenest bluegrass you’ll ever see because with irrigation they can grow anything here. A quick observance is that, where the water stops, the native sage and desert begins.

The Tri-cities of Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco are located at the confluence of the Yakama, Snake, and Columbia Rivers. Pasco was founded in 1891 as an agricultural/railroad center using irrigation to produce fruit, grapes, and an abundance of other ag products.

Richland came next and later became the host site for the Hanford Nuclear Facility producing plutonium for nuclear weapons. Now, the main focus of Hanford is contamination clean-up.

Kennewick sprung up from Hanford people who wanted their own homes instead of the government housing at Richland. The three Franklin County cities are one large metropolitan area of 255 thousand.

On Wednesday morning, we had a leisurely walk around the complex and walked over to Dutch Brothers Coffee Shop for a pair of hot latte’s. We decided to drive scenic WA State Hwy 14, through the Columbia River Gorge. It definitely proved a scenic journey through the Columbia Gorge. It was an enjoyable day with picnic lunch on the Columbia River, at Roosevelt Park, on the dry east side of the gorge and camping at Beacon Rock SP on the wet west side of the gorge. Thanks to irrigation, there’s a lot of farming on the dry eastside. Thousands of acres of sweet corn are approaching harvest in the pivot-irrigation plots. Most of the plots are irrigated 360 degrees but a few along the highway are only 180-degree, half-circles. Grapes are very successful on the river slopes and Washington is second only to California in wine production.

At Hood River, we saw the beginning of the White Salmon forest fire that turned into a major fire that smoked Portland and the Willamette Valley.

At Beacon Rock SP, the 848-foot monolith of extruded volcanic, columnar basalt was named by Lewis and Clark in 1805. It marks the eastern extent of the Pacific tidal influence in the Columbia River, indicating their long journey to the Pacific was nearing an end. Beacon Rock was created when ice floods came down the gorge and removed the softer outer material, leaving the hard core behind. The Park has nine miles of trails along the river, and up the canyon, with the ¾ -mile trail to the rock-top, a thrilling climb with breathtaking views.

We picked nice blackberries and Terry used them with our breakfast pancakes. She made a compote that went very well with the hot cakes. The entire route from the western Columbia Gorge to the Pacific coast has gobs of ripe, thumb-size blackberries on every cane and every slope. With a little research, I discovered that Oregon is the leading commercial blackberry producer in the world. If berry-pick’in sister June had been here, she could have picked a gallon in 20 minutes.

Thursday morning was windy, fall-like, very enjoyable on the trail but with lots of smoke from the fire. We drove on out to Portland and picnicked at the City Arboretum, located on the west hill. We drove on across the valley, past attractive farms and up the east slope of the Coast Range, then down the west slope, following the Wilson River to Tillamook, Oregon (1851).

We visited the Farmer-owned, Tillamook Cheese Coop for a tour, ice cream, and some delicious cheese products. The Tillamook town and County have the first quilt trail on the West Coast, proudly displaying 3,000 quilt blocks.

We camped at a private campground next to one of the many dairy farms in Tillamook County. The 25,000-cow population equals the people population in Tillamook County. Cow manure is a prevalent odor in Tillamook but somehow it contributes to the rural character of the community.

On Friday, we traveled north on the Pacific Coast 101, El Camino Real, enjoying the haystack rock formations out in the ocean, a beach-walk with our dogs, a tour of Pacific Oyster Company, where they shuck ten-thousand pounds per day, and a fresh seafood lunch (clam chowder, fried cod, prawns w/slaw) at Warrenton. The oysters are the best I’ve ever had! Mark Twain liked them too, he wrote about them when he was living at San Francisco’s Occidental (Heaven on the Half-Shell) Hotel.

I keep thinking about Herb Alpert’s instrumental called “Route 101”!

The neat and cozy Victorian cottages with beautiful lawns and gardens are everywhere along the coast. We saw a Japanese Magnolia in full bloom, surprising as ours bloom in March.

At Garibaldi (1910), an authentic old Oregon fishing village, we popped into a fish monger shop to see the fresh seafood and the myrtle wood shop to look at the famous SW Oregon wood. It’s the closest, deep-water seaport to Portland and has a large commercial and public marina.

Cannon Beach is Oregon’s counterpart to California’s Carmel but not as sophisticated and fashionable. Cannon Beach is a slight detour as there’s a Hwy 101 bypass there. Just north, we enjoyed Seaside but it’s Friday and very congested with a weekend car show.

At Astoria (1810), the first permanent U.S. settlement on the Pacific Coast, we visited the Lewis and Clark (1805-1806) Fort Clatsop, winter camp. The trails were dog-friendly and very enjoyable, under the giant Sitka Spruce trees.

We also visited the Astoria Column. On the drive down the steep hill through Astoria, Terry commented that it was like San Francisco. We also saw a house that reminded us of Jim and Maureen’s home in Albany.

Crossing the Columbia River, Astoria-Megler bridge from Astoria, Oregon to Chinook, Washington was a high and steep adventure. Just being on the Pacific Ocean is very relaxing and enjoyable, not to mention the many attractions in every community.

After a full day, we camped at a private campground in Chinook, WA. at the mouth of the Columbia River. It’s windy, foggy, and cold tonight.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

With hot lattés we went north to IIwaco, home of the (1888) IIwaco (Clamshell) Railroad and Navigation Company, launched at IIwaco Wharf, to connect the steamboat arrivals to neighboring communities on the peninsula. The Steamers could only reach the wharf in mid-flood, so the railroad schedule was based on the tide table. (Likely the only railroad to operate on a tide table).

Just up the spit, on the west side of Willlapa Bay, is the best razor clam digs on the coast. Stomp along the beach at ebbing tide and watch for a clam hole (show), a mini-volcano-shaped sand around a hole (doughnut), a vee effect in the outgoing water indicates a siphon tube at the surface (necking), or the clam may eject a super-purge stream of saltwater (spit). Dig fast and a get the delicious razor clams for supper or you can go to the seafood restaurant and order what you want!

Cranberries are commercially grown on the peninsula with the 92^nd Cranberry Fair celebrated each October.

Next, we continued north on Hwy 101, along Willapa Bay, Grays Harbor, and a seafood lunch (clam chowder, fried oysters and clams w/chips) at Aberdeen. We shopped at Safeway, looked around town, then headed north through Humptulips and the Olympic National Forest to the Rain Forest Resort Village/campground on Lake Quinault. The Quinault Valley of the Rainforest Giants has six (National Forestry Association) champion conifer trees.

Ÿ Largest Western Red Cedar in the World- 63.5 feet around, 174 tall

Ÿ Largest Douglas Fir in the World- 40.10 feet around, 302 tall

Ÿ Largest Sitka Spruce in the World- 55.7 feet around, 191 tall, 1000 yrs old

Ÿ Largest Yellow Cedar in the U.S.- 37.7 feet around, 129 tall

Ÿ Largest Western Hemlock in the U.S.- 27.11 feet around, 172 tall

Ÿ Largest Mountain Hemlock in the World- 6 feet around, 152 tall

Every river that runs into the bays still has the old, tall, parallel, rows of pilings that were used to collect, bunch and raft logs out to the mills. This was a laborious job that had its own jargon, equipment, and worker skills. Seeing the giant trees above, it must have been astounding, in the pioneer days, to see entire forests populated with these mature trees.

Jasper Bunch settled up here in the 1880’s and raised a Roosevelt bull elk tamed to pull a plow on the homestead. You can still see the fields and orchards that remain.

It’s Sunday morning on Lake Quinault and it’s raining that “Seattle Rain”. Very nice here in the “Rain Forest”! (Coffee time!)

So much to do and see! May have to work next summer on the Pacific Coast!

Monday, September 10, 2012

The Pacific Coast is a wonderfully, refreshing and enjoyable change after the dry, dusty July-August in Idaho.

Local observation: The elementary school at Bruceport had a totem pole and, located in the rainforest, the small playground was under roof.

This is our second night in Port Angeles and the weather and surroundings are gorgeous. We spent the morning doing washing, maintenance, and dog-walking while my truck got a “brake job” at Les Schwab’s. We’re in a private campground on the east ridge of Port Angeles with a nice walking-street and an awesome view of the Strait of Juan De Fuca, Port Angeles, and Victoria, BC. Terry picked some nice blackberries along the street which fronts small farms/ranches on the west and blackberries on the east. I just saw a pair of Stellar Jays in the big western red cedar along the street.

Today we enjoyed another seafood lunch (clam chowder, breaded-fried razor clams, grilled prawns) at the Downrigger Restaurant, next to the ferry terminal, down on the waterfront port. I also stopped by the Smoker Shop and purchased some smoked Coho salmon and steelhead.

General observation: The Pacific Northwest loves their coffee, and so do we, as they’re located on roadsides, strip-mall parking lots, and grocery stores, manned by a variety of colorful baristas. Additionally, we enjoy the clever names the shops boast. For example, “Trouble’s Brewing”, “Human Bean”, “Daily Grind”, just to name a few. Do you know any good ones?

We spent the afternoon in north Olympic National Park, at the visitor centers and up on Hurricane Ridge. It was cold and windy but clear, so the views were splendid. It was possible to see Mt. Olympus to the SW and the entire U.S./British Columbia area around the Straight of Juan De Fuca. There were several large ships loading and unloading at the Port Angeles port facility, and we saw the ferry en route to Victoria British Columbia. When I lived on the Olympic Peninsula, the walk-on ferry-fare to Vancouver Island, BC was cheap, now it’s $16 and cars are $58.50.

A general observation: the Olympic Peninsula is currently about all things “Twilight” because of the book series and movie. It’s amazing how much money such a thing can bring into a local economy.

From Port Angeles, we drove down the Kitsap Peninsula past Sequim and the lavender farms, to Keyport and the official U.S. Naval Undersea Museum, which covers the entire history of submarines. I worked over on the Hood Canal at Bangor, on the Trident Submarine project, so it was of special interest to me to see the museum. We picnicked at the museum on smoked sockeye salmon with cream cheese, Wasa crackers, and fresh fruit.

Next, we went up to Poulsbo and found the apartment where I first lived when I worked at the Submarine Base. As I expected, the entire Kitsap Peninsula has developed and grown but the apartment was still basically the same.

It brought back a lot of memories but the most important is that I quit cigarettes here. Sam and Sammy came for a visit and after getting them back to SeaTac I was sick of smoking and I just quit. It was very intense but I quit cold-turkey and thankfully never touched another one.

We walked around Poulsbo, went to the Sluys bakery, that I loved to patronize when I lived there, and enjoyed the beautiful Puget Sound day.

We continued our route to Seattle with some grand views of Mt. Rainer(14,410-ft), across the Puget sound, past the Navy Mothball Fleet via the “Tacoma Narrows Bridge” and up I-5 to Seattle. With 650 thousand residents, everyone with a driver’s license (and some not) was on the freeway! We shopped the Northgate Mall, had dinner at Macaroni Grill, then found a nice private RV park in Bellevue, and set about visiting the city.

With a three-hour commercial city-tour, and our must-do list, we’ve experienced a weeks-worth of Seattle in two days. We had a spectacular time and thoroughly enjoyed the people, shops, restaurants, and the city. It was good to visit the Puget Sound area again!

A general observation: Seattle people are noticeably patient, courteous drivers and you seldom hear horns blaring on the freeways, even though it’s like the Indy 500 at rush hours!

What an adventure today, with a blowout on the trailer, around Maryville (the Strawberry city), we couldn’t get a safe space on I-5 to change it, so we had to drive down the steep shoulder, on to an open area on the side. I knew that I could drive down it but I wasn’t sure about driving back out, especially with heavy, fast traffic. Terry helped with the tools and directed me in getting lined-up to make my entrance back onto I-5. As luck would have it, a Washington state Patrol showed up just as I was ready to drive out. He blocked the right lane while I drove up on the shoulder and then out into the right lane. Luckily, there was a WalMart at the next exit, so we got a new spare tire AND shopped.

We spent the night at Mount Vernon, in the Skagit River Valley, where they grow Tulips like Holland. We wish we could see the tulips bloom in April. The Skagit River, famous Steelhead fishing and snow Geese in the winter, takes it’s rise in Canada, drains a large portion of the North Cascades, and flows into the north Puget Sound. We decided to drive Washington Highway 20(North Cascades Highway), a scenic route, from Port Townsend, on the ferry, up the Skagit, across the Cascades, and through eastern Washington to the Pend Oreille River.

We stopped for refreshments in Concrete, the early home of Washington Portland Cement company. The Henry Thompson Bridge (1918) was the world’s longest single-span concrete bridge, now the I-90 Veterans Memorial Centennial Bridge at Coeur d’Aene has 1730-foot spans. We talked to a native American totem pole carver at Concrete and heard about his 52 years of carving art. There’s a lot to know about totem poles!

We visited the North Cascades National Park Visitor Center at Newhalem which covered the alpine, sub alpine, wet and dry divisions of the park.

North Cascades National Park (The American Alps) should have been named Glacier NP because it has more glaciers, second only to Alaska. It doesn’t have the fourteen-thousand-foot mountains of the southern Rockies, but the Cascade Range has abrupt elevations with lots of glaciers. Rainy (4855) and Washington (5477) are steep and both have spectacular views. The Cascade portion of WA 20 is closed in winter, so that tells you what I’m talking about.

We encountered the awesome, thrilling Skagit Gorge, and three dams on the Skagit that provide part of the municipal hydroelectric power to the elevator (that we rode up the 500-foot Space Needle), and to the Seattle City Light Company.

We stopped near Washington Pass and made a dinner of smoked Steelhead spaghetti with Tillamook cheese cream sauce. Sooo.. good!

Then over Rainy and Washington Passes, to the eastern slope of the Cascades,

to Mazama, formerly “Goat Creek”. When they got the 1899 Post Office they chose the Greek name “Mazama” but later discovered they used the wrong book and it’s actually Spanish for “mountain goat”! Whatever, it works for me!

Following down the Methow River is the rustic, old-west town of Winthrop, an old American-west town, with wood sidewalks and false fronts, just like the movies. Winthrop holds the low temperature record for the State of Washington, at 48 degrees below zero. We enjoyed the Shafer Museum and sightseeing in Winthrop. We camped at the “Pine Near” RV park on the north side of town, with a splendid view of the river and valley, surrounded by the sun-bathed mountains. The eastern flank of the Cascade Range hosts lots of Ponderosa Pines. All the old settlements have the pines around the pioneer buildings.

We stopped at Twisp (from the Okanogan Salish name for wasp), located in the heart of the Methow Valley, at the confluence of the Methow and Twisp Rivers.

Crossing the Loup Loup Pass over to the Okanogan Valley, we observed a large forest fire to the southwest of us. Big smoke but not uncommon this year in the Rockies.

Okanogan and Omak are on the beautiful Okanogan River just a few miles apart. This is a high desert with irrigation in the valley, producing abundant fruit crops.

Okanogan (from the Okanogan Salish name for “meeting place”), is the county seat of Okanogan County.

Omak is the largest city in Okanogan County, located in a high desert valley, at the foot of the Okanogan Highlands. The Okanogan Highlands is a plateau-like, hilly area that lies between the Okanogan Valley and the Kettle river and runs up north into Canada.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

The towns along WA 20 are as diverse as the scenery, meaning that the history and enterprises are determined by their environments. You can see how each town developed and survived by adapting to their environments.

Tonasket, on the Okanogan River, in Okanogan County, was named after Grand Chief Tonasket, a leader of the Okanogan people following the 1846 Oregon Treaty (establishing the U.S./Canada Border).

Miners named Wauconda after their hometown, Wauconda, IL. It’s just west of Wauconda Pass (5587) but was relocated to the WA 20 route when the mines failed. Wauconda is owned by a couple from Bothell, WA., purchased for $360 thousand. Wauconda was known for it’s quality “white lightning” and on Independence Day 1922, a Wauconda cowboy strapped a horse saddle on the fuselage of a biplane and rode it through loops and twists, high above the crowd. He must have had a lot of “white lightning“that day!

Wauconda Pass(4310) is a long pull up and a long coast down, with some terrific scenery. It’s a high desert and but unique in its beauty.

Republic, Washington, located near the source of the Sanpoil River, is named after the Great Republic Mine, that was successful in the area. The Stonerose Fossil Site has 40 million-year-old fossils and the town has an 1895 carousel. The Okanogan Highlands are to the west and the Kettle Mountains to the east.

The Mountains of the Kettle River Range are as impressive as any to be found.

The Sanpoil River takes it’s rise in this “grey country” and flows on down to Roosevelt Lake (Columbia River) impounded by Coulee Dam. WA 21 follows the Sanpoil River down to the Coulee and is a scenic dive we would like to make. (Maybe next time)

Sherman Pass (5575), in Colville National Forest, and named after William Tecumseh Sherman, is the highest pass in Washington that is open in winter. Sherman used this route in his 1880’s travels and Native Americans used it as early as six-thousand years ago. Both sides of the pass display stunning outcroppings of sedimentary, metamorphic, and marine rock. Evidence of the 1988 White Mountain fire is very visible with the narrow, conic crowns of the dead-wood conifers, towering over the new growth. The east side of Sherman Pass is predominately deciduous Western Larch and is definitely beginning to show fall color. What an exciting sight as fall can’t be far off. I could almost hear the Elk bugling in the valley. I’ve love to drive it in late October!

From the Sherman Pass summit, descending to the Columbia River is a steep, exciting, 18-mile run, where you stay geared down the entire way. Just as you see the Columbia River, it turns into steep, curving, switchbacks down to the river valley. WOW!

Kettle Falls is where WA 20 crosses the mighty Columbia River. It is the site where ancient floods deposited quartz boulders in the basalt river channel and caused falls that could be heard from miles away, by as many as fourteen native tribes, who gathered annually for Salmon runs. Now it’s quiet because the falls and the old town are inundated by Lake Roosevelt, behind the Grand Coulee Dam, 112 miles downstream. In 1969 the lake was drawn down, during a construction phase of an additional power house at Coulee, and the falls were partially exposed. So, they’re still under there!

Colville was the “Fort Colville“, site of a fort that came about during the Hudson’s Bay Company. David Thompson was the first white to see the falls and then came the fur traders. Father De Smet came to set up a mission to the natives but they were too busy catching fish to go to church and he built St. Paul Mission anyway. Stevens county, named after the first Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens, is largely public land, with the Colville National Forest, Roosevelt Lake, also the Colville and Spokane Reservations. It would take a summer here to explore this area. (Maybe someday)

Tiger Washington is on the Pend Oreille River and where WA 20 turns south to follow the river to Newport, Washington and the intersection with U.S. Highway 2. Named after George Tiger, the placed developed as a steamboat stop for commerce coming along the river. There was a store and the early settlers came for the mines, timber and river work. They got together and built a Post Office that served for a long time and is currently housing the Tiger Museum.

Blueside is on the Pend Oreille River about half-way between Albeni and Box Canyon Dams. It takes advantage of the serenity of the Pend Oreille on its way to the Columbia. There’s a nice resort on the river for visitors seeking lodging or RV accommodations but be sure and bring a boat because the river is what it’s all about.

Cusick, founded in 1902 by Joseph Cusick, is located downriver, on the old site of the largest village of the Pend d’ Oreille tribe. The natives should have hired a good real estate lawyer because it’s a prime piece of real estate. It has turned into a thriving small town with what you may need. There’s a large “newsprint” paper mill here and chip trucks are everywhere.

Usk has a Post Office but I don’t know what the attractions are. There must be a story with a name like this. Any comments?

Newport (1890) was the first steamboat landing site on the Pend Oreille, where it enters Washington, on its way to the Columbia, in Canada. Newport has a nice museum, shops, restaurants, and great views of the river. Just east is Pend Oreille Lake in Idaho.

Now, we come to the end of Washington 20 at the intersection with U.S. 2, and what a fine experience it was. WA 20 traverses a very diverse landscape, climate, geology, and geography of Washington State. In my opinion, Washington State consists of one of the most assorted lists of attractions in the U.S. From mountains, valleys, coast, high desert, rivers, history etc…., it is so.. Cool!

I look forward to seeing it again and highly recommend it to travelers seeking an adventure. Also, thanks for the suggestions, tips, and shared stories on this entire jaunt, it made the trip more enjoyable to hear from you friends.

From Newport, we headed east on U.S. Hwy. 2, entered Idaho, and camped at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Campground on the Pend Oreille River, just east of Priest river. We were here in late June and really like this park. The Ranger here graduated from Eastern Washington with Travis, one of our Heyburn State Park Rangers. It has spacious, well-maintained, sites, good walking, trails, swim beaches, boat piers, all under a large canopy of Western red cedars and firs. In my opinion, the Corps of Engineers campgrounds are the best. When they do it, it’s done right!

Sept. 19

We traveled east on U.S. 2 and shopped at Sand Point and Ponderay, then camped at Libby, Montana. We followed the Kootenai River and stopped at the Kootenai Falls and the swinging bridge, which is an awesome sight.

We continued on U.S. 2 to Kalispell and camped at the Elks Lodge, adjacent to the county airport. We shopped, explored and walked around Kalispell and then headed down to Bigfork, on Flathead Lake.

We met the O’Connor Reunion crowd (Bud’s family) at John and Joan’s home on Swan Lake for several nice days of visiting, dining, touring, and camaraderie.

We visited Glacier National Park and it was really special with the Fall colors. I was especially excited to hear an Elk bugling, (officially the first day of Fall and it’s cloudy and cool), my first this year. We were fortunate to see a golden eagle at Logan Pass and Mountain Goats on the eastern slope. Some of the others saw Bighorn Sheep on the Logan Pass trail. The million-acre Glacier National Park, bisected by the Continental Divide, is always impressive with it’s geography, geology, glaciers, climate, flora and fauna.

The O’Connor reunion was a blast and we sure did a lot of fun stuff!

John and Joan were terrific hosts and we were sad to depart their company.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Today, we headed south on MT 83 past Condon, the staging area for the Condon Mountain fire. It resembled a large Army field camp with equipment, aircraft, and field offices around the airfield, and a large tent camp on the opposite side of the road. The wildfire situation is serious with a long list of wildfires burning around Montana and the western states. Currently, “Big Sky” Montana is “Big Smoke” Montana.

We continued south up the Swan River and Valley, between the Swan Range and the Mission Mountains, to a picnic lunch at the riverside. Next, we went south, over the pass to the Clearwater River and down to MT 200(east), along the Blackfoot River, then south on MT 141 along Nevada Creek. The Clearwater (aptly named) and Blackfoot are excellent fishing and canoeing rivers.

At Avon, we took MT 12 down to I-90 and Deer Lodge and I-15. We saw the old Montana Territorial Prison (1871), a castle-like structure, where the early bad-boys were incarcerated. Now, there’s a new state prison and also it’s home to the Montana State Hospital.

The Grant-Kohrs Ranch (1862) is still a working ranch and now a National Historic Site.

On I-15, we crossed the Continental Divide between the Highland and Pioneer Mountains, then down to Dillon for a campsite on the Beaverhead River. This is a premier trout fishing river. I’ll always remember the first time I saw it with my old buddy Sam, back in the early 70’s. We drove his International Scout up here and fished, camped and had a general good ole time.

It was here that we were finally free of the current wildfire smoke! Dillon is the county seat of Beaverhead County and home of the old Beaverhead Slide hay-stacking contraption. You can still see the old derelict Beaver slides in the hayfields of the area, but they have been displaced by mechanized equipment. The old beaver slides required four handling operations to finally make a haystack and that was lots of work. Back then, they said “time ain’t nothing to a cowboy”. Dillon is still a pure old-west town and I hope it stays that way.

From Dillon, we traveled between the Blacktail and Tendoy Mountains. The Clark Canyon Dam impounds the upper Beaverhead River for irrigation purposes. It’s low now, but a huge lake in the Spring. The eastern slope of the Tendoy is dry with predominate Sage and we saw lots of Pronghorn and Deer.

We passed over the Continental Divide at Monida Pass(Monida‘s a state-line ghost town but the name comes from MONtana/IDAho). We saw Pronghorn on the dry eastern slopes. We crossed the Snake River Plain and saw lots of potatoes being dug and hauled out of the field. Every time that digger dumps into a truck, it’s 20 thousand pounds of French fries. A truck holds about 60 thousand pounds. Idaho plants an average of 350 thousand acres, yielding about 37 thousand pounds per acre. There’s 27 varieties of potatoes grown in Idaho and they have one to meet your needs!

Potatoes?

Dubois is the home of the U.S Sheep Experiment Station and they know all about sheep. Sheep?

The Falls of Idaho Falls were running low this time of year but we could imagine that it would be thunderous in spring. There’s a very well landscaped promenade along the Snake River and the Falls.

We walked over to the imposing Idaho Falls Mormon Temple and toured the grounds and the Visitor Center. They presented a guided walk-thru of the Visitor Center, ending with a short video on the LDS cannon. Our two young, female guides gave us a Book of Mormon and wished us a happy journey.

We drove around Idaho Falls, shopped and found a late-night campsite at a private RV Park in town.

Today, it’s on down to Salt Lake city and a few days of playing tourist.

On the Shoshone/Bannock Reservation slopes, we saw Western Maples, and Mountain Mahogany which were red/orange and the creek-bottom Cottonwoods and Willows were yellow/gold.

We looked around Pocatello.

A replica of old Fort Hall is located in Pocatello. It originally stood on the banks of the Snake River not too far from the new Shoshone-Bannock Casino. Fort Hall(1834) was an important waypoint(decision point) for early immigrants, continuing northwest on the Oregon Trail or southwest on the California Trail.

We picnic lunched at Malad city, an 1864 Welsh-Mormon settlement. The Malad River got named by early mountain men trapping in the area. It comes from the French word “Malade”, meaning sick or bad, not a name most would keep.

Cruised on south to the Montana/Utah line just south of Weston.

Clarkston, the first I-15 town in Utah, was named after Israel Clark, an early settler and LDS Branch President.

Past the Great Salt Lake.

Found a Commercial Campground close to the Great Salt Lake State Marina and a short distance from the Salt Lake City center.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

We spent the day at the attractions downtown. The Old and the new State Capital buildings are on a high hill overlooking the city and valley. The old building is the Visitor Center and had some great photographs of the early days. The new building was beautiful, with lots of native stone, wood, and art depicting the history of Utah. The Capital grounds and walking paths are delightfully landscaped with plantings that reflect Utah culture and pride.

Just up to the mountaintop east of the Capital is where Brigham Young stood and said “this is the place”! He was able to see the potential of the Great Salt Lake Valley and realized that he could put all his followers to work right away.

We toured the buildings on the 35-acre LDS Temple Square and what a special place it is. We were just awestruck while visiting the 21-thousand seat LDS Convention Center on the Square. What a showplace! The best of everything is found here.

Today, we toured the Tracy Aviary in Liberty Park, an outstanding collection from around the world. We walked on the Jordan River trail with our dogs and shopped around the south side of SLC. Salt Lake City is way too much for a short visit but we got an excellent overview and lots of good pictures.

A bicycle tour in Salt Lake city would be an idea adventure. They have superb paved trails along the irrigation canals, greenways, and bike lanes on major streets that cover the entire city. With everything you would possibly need along the way, you could visit all the major attractions on your bicycle and really enjoy the trees, gardens, and parks.

Monday, October 1, 2012

From the Wasatch Front and Salt Lake City, we continued on our route down to Cedar City, and a meet-up, campout-visit with Terry’s cousins from Las Vegas. Traveling I-15 we passed through many of the population centers of Utah. Salt Lake County and City were fun to tour around and being the Capital city, there were lots of attractions. We enjoyed the sunrise/sunsets with the Wasatch Mountains on the east and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west, showing the brilliant colors of fall, in the changing light.

We stopped at the “Red Barn”, near Fillmore in Millard County, and loaded up on fresh fruit. We purchased the largest pears and apples that I’ve ever seen and they had lots of samples to enjoy! The cold apple cider was delicious too! It was a beautiful, fall day and lots of customers from the cities had come out for fruit and the Hayride for the kids. Fillmore was the first Territorial Capital of the Utah Territory (1851) and it is named for President Millard Fillmore. Governor Brigham Young chose the Sevier Valley site for Fillmore and sent Anson Call to organize and colonize the place. The old statehouse (located in the geographical center of the territory) still stands. Millard County, along the west side of the Pahvant Mountains, is primarily situated in the old Lake Bonneville seafloor. The county has numerous, ancient, “black rock” lava flows, and near Delta is the natural lava, “Great Stone Face”, which purportedly resembles a profile of Joseph Smith. (I thought it looks more like Millard Fillmore)!

It’s Saturday, so we had to get to a campsite for College Football. Terry and I are LSU Alumni but it looks like Alabama is on the way to another National Championship.

Our next camp was at Nephi (1851) in Juab County. As a result of old volcanoes, the area is covered with outcroppings of lava rock. We walked around Nephi and enjoyed the cool air and colorful trees. Brigham Young sent George Washington Bradley to settle this town. Jaub (Ute name=Thirsty Valley) is fed by Salt Creek. It’s still an agricultural center and irrigation makes it possible.

I-15 has 80 mph test zones along the desolate stretches and that means the heavy-foot drivers go about 90 mph. If this works out, it may eventually lead to no-speed-limit Autobahns.

We toured Cove Fort (1867), constructed from local lava rock, and situated on the old Mormon Corridor, as a way-station. Brigham Young sent Ira Hinckley to build and settle it. The Mormon Corridor linked agricultural and trade centers of the Utah Mormon settlements between Fillmore and Beaver. This was part of the greater Salt Lake City to Los Angeles Trail. The forts provided protection for travelers through the ancestral lands of the Ute, who had not read the “Book of Mormon” and didn’t realize that the settlers were their cousins. Ha ha!

Sister Rees(caretaker) gave us a bag of vine-ripe tomatoes from the Cove Fort garden, along with some various fall squash. We’re enjoying them as we travel along the “Dixie” part of Utah.

At Beaver, we camped at the KOA and it was a very nice campground with everything a campground can offer. We had a huge cable-selection and still couldn’t decide what to watch. We did a complete cleanup and laundry project and the dogs got nervous because that usually means baths too! We had a terrific walking-road with marvelous mountain views and spectacular sunset/sunrise. We visited the DFA Cache Valley Cheese store and sampled their products, deciding on some scrumptious cheddar and jalapeno curd products (and ice cream). Beaver (1856) is one of a string of Mormon settlements across the length of Utah. The settlements were by design, about 1-day horse ride distance apart, depending on the agricultural suitability of the land. Beaver was the first Utah town to have electric power from the Beaver River hydroelectric plant. The Beaver area has as an old obsidian quarry used by the Paiutes and the ancient Fremont-period people before them. The Mormons settled the stake from nearby Parowan, an earlier settlement to the south. The first stake President was John Murdock who led down-and-back companies across the plains and helped with hand-cart rescue efforts in the mountains. When issues with Native American inhabitants arose, he was influential in the establishment of Fort Cameron at Beaver. He was also responsible for establishing the Beaver Branch of Brigham Young U. We love the small, friendly towns with so much history and pride of place. It’s like going back in time because the people are neat and clean and keep the surroundings the same.

Next, We decided to stay a few days in Parowan (1851 Mother Town of Southern Utah) and see the sights in the area. The Parowan Visitor Center parking lot had a concord grape vine loaded with ripe, juicy, sweet grapes. We sampled a few and wondered why no one is harvesting them for use, and then realized that the property is a summer rental cottage, now closed for the season. We found an espresso barista in town, rare since the Pacific Northwest, and in fact, the owner is from Seattle. With our morning latte, we are able to serenely explore!

The east Parowan canyon is the gateway to Scenic Route 143 up to the 10 thousand-foot Colorado Plateau, Cedar Breaks and Brian Head. This is the ancient route of Native Americans from their low desert winter homes to the high summer grounds.

Parowan is situated on the Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe to Los Angeles. It was the home of the ancient Native American people, followed by the Ute. The petroglyphs at Parowan Gap are the most unique and abundant we’ve ever seen. We passed the “Little Salt Lake” of Parowan Valley on our way up. The gap is a remote place surrounded by towering Navajo Sandstone cliffs. The area was the center of Iron mines that failed to sustain commercial volumes of pig iron. You can see small slag piles from early mine-located smelters that produced small, profitable pigs of iron, much needed by blacksmith finery forges, to fashion Mormon farm implements.

While there, we met Martin Tyner of the Southwest Wildlife Foundation as he was exercising some of his raptors. He’s also a master falconer and it was like going back in time through the Parowan Gap.

Unfortunately, after being smoke-free, a large wildfire has started in Nevada and the smoke is in the valley.

Today, we drove up the Parowan Canyon to Brian Head and Cedar Breaks National Monument, at 10 thousand plus feet. Brian Head is the highest peak near the Park and is one of the two peaks encompassing the widespread Brian Head Ski Resort. This would be a marvelous ski-vacation destination!

The CCC constructed the log-cabin Cedar Breaks Visitor Center (1937). It’s perched on the edge of the 2500-foot amphitheater which was created by fault uplift and erosion. The layers of various colors are revealed as you gaze down into the bottom of the chasm (really a half-bowl). The Paiute people thought that the hoodoos were actually bad people frozen in stone. They sure look like frozen people! We walked the daunting rim trail, took pictures and enjoyed the views of the multi-colored layers of material. The natural amphitheater, on the west end of the Colorado Plateau, is the headwaters of Mammoth Creek which flows out to Sevier River to the west. As you look out to the west, you can see the distant desert valley that is now an agricultural center. Early Spanish Reports credit the Paiute with creating irrigation ditches that watered elaborate gardens, so WE didn’t start the irrigation of the valleys to the west.

The Cedar Breaks are actually Juniper but who cares if it’s misnamed! We saw Bristlecone Pines that live to be hundreds even thousands of years old. We’ll have to take their word for that!

Every season would be delightful but I would especially love to see the high plateau meadows in Spring.

Please Send us an update on your news?

Thur. Oct 4

Terry’s kinfolks(Pat, Debbie, Larry) arrived in RV, from Las Vegas and we had an alfresco dinner at the KOA campground. It was a clear, cool evening and we enjoyed Terry’s jambalaya, out under the trees, with the Markagunt Plateau to the east and Cedar Valley and Cedar City to the west. Cedar City is at 5,840 feet and experiences a more favorable summer climate in SW Utah, with sunny days and cool evenings. We enjoyed beautiful days and chilly evenings as a front moved in from the Pacific. The first snow fell above 8 thousand feet and thoughts of winter are being mentioned on the local weather reports.

Larry was a terrific camp cook and Deborah, Terry, and Pat planned some delectable camp meals and treats. We had a very enjoyable visit at the camp and shopping around town. On Sunday, we drove to the Kolob Canyon, the unfrequented west unit of Zion National Park, for a picnic and some fine sightseeing.

On Monday, we had a farewell breakfast in Cedar City and Larry, Deborah, and Pat headed back to Las Vegas. Terry, myself, and pets, headed south to Toquerville and then east to Zion National Park. At Zion, we took the shuttle, an informative guided-tour of the Zion Canyon. We hiked up the Virgin River, under the Fremont Cottonwoods, into the Narrows, where we saw the Rock Squirrels, deer, and flowers in the deep shadowy canyon. Zion Canyon Scenic Drive runs from the Visitor Center, along the Virgin River gorge, up to the narrow, 2 thousand-foot deep, gorge at the head of the canyon. At sundown, we found a superb campsite in Springdale and had a good dinner, stargazing, and nights rest. In the morning we marveled at the sun, bathing the towering sandstone cliffs with light and shadows as we walked dogs around Springdale and had morning espresso latte.

Later, we used our pre-paid tunnel-ticket to travel east, up the precipitous, menacing switchbacks and through the mile-plus Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel, on UT 9, to Bryce Canyon. Checkerboard Mesa greets you on the east side of the tunnel. The drive over UT 9, UT 89, and UT 12 was like a National Park too. Red Canyon just north of Bryce (UT 12) was stunning with it’s formations and colors, along with breathtaking views across the Grand Staircase and into the Escalante Canyons to the southeast.

We setup camp at Ruby’s in Bryce Canyon City and then entered the park to drive the 18-mile scenic drive and explore the park.

The south end(9115 ft) has expansive vistas looking east, south, and west across the high plateaus and the ancient, uplifted, sea bed.

The north end has the hoodoos that formed from the uplifted(mya), lithified lake bed, and eroded into Technicolor, odd-shaped, stone, hoodoos. We walked down the popular trail among the hoodoos at sunset and were awestruck by the astounding beauty of natures work.

On Wednesday, we continued on UT 12 Scenic Byway and UT 24 to Capital Reef National Park, with brilliant fall colors and changing climatic conditions all the way. It was a scenic, thrilling, and scary route. Leaving Bryce Canyon National Park, UT 12 traverses down the east side of the park offering stunning views of Bryce and the Paunsaugunt Plateau. It passes through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Red Canyon, in Dixie National Forest. Next, it swings around the south and east of Table Cliff Plateau with constant views of Barney Top(10,577ft). We stopped in at Escalante Petrified Forest State Park for a picnic lunch and perusing the petrified trees in the veritable wonderland of petrified wood. Continuing east, we descended down into Escalante Gorge and crossed the crystal, Colorado River bound, Escalante River, lined with yellow Cottonwoods, gold Aspens, and red/orange scrub/shrub. Bending north, UT 12 steeply climbs Calf Creek Canyon, traverses Hells Backbone, a narrow, lofty, hogback, just wide enough for the 2-lane road. You can spit into the 1500-foot drop on either side of the road, while driving.

Cheerfully, we dropped down into Boulder for cold drinks, and then another climb over Boulder Mountain to Torrey. At Torrey, we caught UT 24 into the stunning Capital Reef National Park. We got to the Visitor Center at Fruita, just before closing and the campground was full, so we headed back to Torrey for a pleasant commercial campground. We had a good dinner, did Internet, chatted with other campers, and washed clothes, while enjoying the cool evening.

Thur. 10-11

Went back to Capital Reef today and then a scenic drive over to Grand Junction. Capital Reef with it’s 75-mile-long fold in the earth’s crust is a shopping arcade of natural surprises. The deer in the old Fruita area were engaging in fall activities and the trees, canyons, and colors made it all perfect. When we came upon the Colorado River, a wide strip of cottonwoods in full fall color, lined both sides for 15 miles. You could probably see it from space! This entire Sept-Oct. venture through west and southern Utah had been a “leaf peepers” paradise and I highly recommend it.

We agreed that these parks give you a sore neck! In Zion, and Capital Reef, you look up. In Cedars and Bryce, you look down. On the drive between you constantly look down and up!

WOW! What a great adventure through canyon country! The national parks in southern Utah are our favorites (Terry).

Friday, October 12, 2012

Today we awoke to a storm that’s bringing rain along the western slope of Colorado US 50, and snow down to 11 thousand feet. US 50 takes us along the lower mid-section of Colorado, connecting the western slope with the Front Range and Arkansas Valley. We travel to the Gunnison River Valley and then to the Uncompahgre River Valley and Olath, home of that yummy sweet corn. Heading east, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison is an awesome attraction.

US 50 then crosses Cerro Summit and descends to the Cimarron River and Curecanti Needle, symbol of the old Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. Continuing east, Highway 50 climbs up to Blue Mesa then over the Continental Divide at Monarch Pass(11,312).

Down the eastern slope we reach the Arkansas Valley and a lunch date with Tom, a friend from Denver, now retired and residing in Leadville.

Whoa, Back up! We made it to Gunnison in the late afternoon an d the storm had socked-in Monarch Pass, so we camped at the Gunnison KOA. They’re expecting freezing and snow tonight, so we’ll just wait and watch before we cross the divide at Monarch Pass. We ate a large pizza at Mario’s and shopped around Gunnison. In the evening, we drained the water lines and got ready for freezing temperatures.

Regardless of the inclement weather today, the hunters were out in force in SW Colorado, a mecca for Elk hunting. I love to hear the Wapiti bugling on a cold, late afternoon, as it echoes across the valley. There’s something primal about it that brings chills and goose bumps.

This morning, the sun was shining at Gunnison, so we decided to cross Monarch Pass and go over to Buena Vista. In Colorado, the weather is always deceptive, and we found that, after pre-checking, the pass was still socked-in above 9 thousand feet. From ten to eleven thousand, there was wind, snow pack and ice, calling for extreme caution. There was an accident just below the summit on the west side and I had to stand in line on that icy slope waiting our turn to pass. A car went over the edge and the emergency folks were trying to get down and rescue the driver. (Discovered on the Internet that there were four passengers and one was a fatality.) (Cited speed as the major factor.)Terry was nervous about my driving on the down-slope lane, but that’s the slow-lane and I had no choice. It was worrisome! We slid 3 times (Terry) When we crossed the divide and descended to about 9500 feet, on the east side it was dry and we were relieved to see it. We made it to Buena Vista, had a late lunch with Tom and enjoyed a nice visit. Tom, the “mountain man“, was skiing Fremont Pass this morning and was very excited about the beginning of another winter in Colorado.

Now, I’m watching College football and as I sit in our KOA campsite on the east side of the Arkansas Valley, I can see the majority of the radiant, new-snow-capped,14k+ Collegiate Range out my window. What beautiful artistry that storm left behind!

Today, traveling down the Arkansas River, we visited Salida, an old railroad town, now a tourist town, at the head of the Sangre de Cristo mountains.

We drove through Bighorn Canyon and yes, we saw Bighorn Sheep. At beautiful Canon City, we had a picnic lunch, just adjacent to one of the four federal and nine state prisons (major employers) in the town that straddles the Arkansas River. The ADX Supermax prison is the solitary (no pun intended) one of it’s kind in the US. (Who said crime doesn’t pay?) We suspected that some of the people in the park were there visiting their friends and relatives in the prisons. Terry joked that, “in forty years, there’ll be a lot of people with tattoos and belly-button piercings, but not in the original place”! During our picnic lunch, the tourist train that runs through the Royal Gorge passed by, with all it’s special viewing cars, headed to the canyon.

We left the enchanting Rocky Mountains in our rear-view mirror. It was really kind of sad, we have very good friends in those mountains and mountains are my favorite landscape (Terry). Out on the High Plains, we passed La Junta, Rocky Ford, and the other agricultural towns on US 50, in SE Colorado.

If you eat melons or plant melon seeds, then they probably came from Rocky Ford. President Obama personally endorsed Rocky Ford’s melons and they well publicize the fact. Christine’s, the best restaurant in Rock Ford, is located in a beautiful old church building.

La Junta had a WW II Army Air Base, with a 5,800 and 6,800 foot runway. (Still in use today) The drive-up window for State Bank is an old Santa Fe Railroad Caboose.

We passed several large feed lots that your nose detects before your eyes see it. (Cow manure, oh so pure!)

Las Animas (the city of lost souls) is the last home of Kit Carson. Legend has it that the town got it’s name following the deaths of some of Coronado’s Conquistadores.

We made it to Lamar and a small commercial campground run by a tractor-pull enthusiast. The campground is decorated with vintage tractors and the barn houses the race-tractors.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Out on the high plains, we traveled east on US Hwy 50, headed to Madison, Indiana, and a visit with Terry’s family.

We discovered a building in Lamar, Colorado that is made from petrified wood.

We saw Granada, Colorado, the location of Camp Amache, one of ten WWII, Japanese internment camps established by FDR, following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Next, We crossed into Kansas.

WOW! There’s miles and miles of Kansas on US Hwy. 50! It could get a little boring, but thanks to the Internet, we easily find interesting distractions.

Kendall is the home of Charles “Buffalo” Jones who in 1879 tried to capture and preserve wild buffalo to prevent their eradication and extinction.

Garden City, an old railroad town, had the “Big Pool”, a city swimming pool larger that a football field.

Dodge City began on the Santa Fe Trail and then a cow town. Didn’t see Matt Dillon, Bat Masterson or Wyatt Earp but saw lots of cows being processed at the Cargill and National Meat Packing Plants.

Pratt, Kansas was the final outfitting area for B-29 airplanes, serving in WW II. We also saw the Community College at Pratt. Annual Miss Kansas Pageant is here.

We visited Turon, Kansas, birthplace of Terry’s mom, Jeanne.

We saw Hutchinson Salt Discovery Well, where 26 salt companies developed around the salt vein.

Walton, Kansas beginning of Turkey Red Wheat- Russian immigrants brought the first grains and planted them here, starting the huge Kansas granary.

TheTallgrass Prairie National Preserve at Strong City, Kansas, is the former Spring Hill Farm and Ranch founded(1887) by Stephen F. Jones. We had a picnic lunch, walked the trails for views of the stone buildings and the prairie. A very interesting stop!

Treats at Emporia, where Veterans Day began.

We barely escaped the “rush hour” at Kansas City, but we saw the confluence of the Kansas River with the Missouri River.

Way behind on my notes, I’ve forgotten some things that I wanted to remember. Oh well, we’re trying to get to Madison for weekend plans.

We spent Monday night north of Wichita.

Tuesday just east of Kansas City

Wednesday night at Grayville, IL. The city campground was an explosion of fall colors.

We crossed the old 460-mile, Wabash and Erie Canal(1832) that linked the Great Lakes to the Ohio River.

On Thursday, we arrived in Madison, Indiana for a visit with Terry’s mom (Jeanne) and family. We decided to have a Halloween/Thanksgiving Dinner, so Terry(with helpers) made delicious roast turkey with all the trimmings. We dressed up in our best Halloween costumes and enjoyed the dinner together at the house, which overlooks the Ohio River, in Madison.

Monday 10-22

We departed Madison, Indiana and drove to Cuba Landing, Tennessee and a campsite on the Tennessee River, halfway between the south end of Kentucky Lake and Pickwick Dam.

On Tuesday, we drove on down to Senatobia and spent several days with sister Rose. We had a good visit with Rose and then made our way to a couple of days in Jackson before heading home.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Home looks like we’ll have a good list of clean-up activities. The yard and house are in need of attention as a result of our summers absence.

It’s a cool Sunday morning in Mississippi and we’re glad to return to the fall weather. We had a terrific summer and enjoyed the interesting experiences and the people. We visited, worked with, and met a long list of engaging, interesting people and that’s what made the summer special. Also, we tremendously appreciate the tips, advice, and sharing that many Facebook and e-mail friends provided to us. Suggestions like factorytoursusa.com, roadside America.com, vrbo.com, etc. introduced lots of unusual, informative, and entertaining sights and attractions along the way. Our Verizon MiFi performed flawlessly and provided constant contact with all our online friends and Internet resources.

With Thanksgiving and Christmas quickly approaching, we wish you all a very enjoyable holiday season.

Note:

No matter where you travel in the good ole USA, there’s always something interesting. In Mississippi this year, we’ve had record highs and record lows on the Mighty Mississippi River. The record high water washed away sandbars and the record low water exposed fossil-holding gravel beds, revealing ice-age fossils (teeth, bones, vertebra, jawbones, skulls) that haven’t seen the light of day in a looong time.

An article by Walt Grayson stated that the fossil experts at the Mississippi Museum of Natural History have been busy with specimens brought in this summer. We’re talking 10-thousand year-old mammoths, mastodons, camels, and saber-toothed tigers that have been extinct ages before the white man ever arrived here.

It just makes me wonder how the native people celebrated their Thanksgivings, back then. I’ve found and collected thirty-thousand year-old Clovis points around here all my life, and some of these spear points were no doubt embedded in now-extinct animals. I imagine a mammoth would have been a fine Thanksgiving kill for the ancient native people! Just picture a roasted mastodon with all the trimmings! Now picture the barbecue pulled-mastodon sandwiches for leftovers!

Now that was living high-on-the-mega-mammal!

Today, Thanksgiving fried turkey is all the rage in the south and I’m sure looking forward to that. I hope you have a good one (TG) too!

POST

We decided to take a break from Christmas preparations and spend a few days in New Orleans. We setup our RV at Pontchartrain Landing on the Industrial Canal between the lake and the Mississippi River. This is a great location, situated close to all the attractions of the city. This is perfect December weather for enjoying the city.

New Orleans is probably the most European-like city in the US and you can find it all here. We set out first thing this morning to the French Quarter for an early morning stroll and Café Du Monde for café Au Lait and beignets. Mid-morning, we took a tour of the St. Louis #1 Cemetery(1789) to see the architecture of the above-the-ground tombs and historical accounts of the many famous residents. Marie Laveau is a popular tomb but I like Bernard de Marigny, who introduced crapaud to New Orleans and America.

After the tour, we walked along the river front people-watching, and enjoyed a calliope concert from the Steamboat Natchez. At lunch, we headed uptown to the Superior Seafood and Oyster House at St. Charles and Napoleon for a fine Creole lunch, well worth the price.

In the afternoon, back at Pontchartrain Landing we enjoyed the sun, walked dogs, yacht shopped, and watched pelicans. This is a great location to lodge, relax and rest, during a visit to New Orleans.

In the evening, we drove over to City Park and enjoyed the walking tour of the “Celebration in the Oaks”, Christmas lights. This annual tradition gets better every year!

Finally, we completed our evening with a visit to Angelo Brocato’s Italian Ice Cream Parlor. The Gelato and Spumoni treats are irresistible, just too many to sample!

Merry Christmas to all! Please Send us an update on your news?

Most Common Causes of P0171, P0174 DTC's

CAUSE 1: PCV Tube's rubber elbow (where it connects to the Intake Manifold) is torn open and causing a major Vacuum Leak.

CAUSE 2: Intake Manifold Gaskets that are leaking Vacuum.

CAUSE 3: Fuel Pump that's going BAD, but hasn't completely fried yet.

CAUSE 4: A dirty (contaminated) MAF Sensor.

CAUSE 5: An exhaust leak right before the pre-Catalytic Converter Oxygen Sensors.

CAUSE 6: BAD pre-Catalytic Converter Oxygen Sensor.

Our Great Loop Experience

We are starting our Cruising the Great Loop blog now to chronicle how we are planning to "get there". So far our cruising has involved our pontoon boat, a tent, an ice chest and camp stove. Its been great fun though.

Voyagers

Friday, August 23, 2013

Classroom work

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Summer 2011 and Summer 2012

Summer 2012 Adventures