Our Final Few Days, then Home!

Our personal path to the lake

Val and Hatch at the base of the Cayuse Crater  - Broken Top trail

Ernie and Hatch enjoying Senoj Lake

In the Three Sisters Wilderness, we had a wonderful visit with Val and Hatch and we were able to take several hikes and visit a local museum in Bend while she was there.  (Unfortunately, Joe was unable to join us due to a broken hand and foot.)

What a Diffference a Day Makes!

Crane Prairie Reservoir next to our campsite

Quinn River birding area

Cow Meadow area - Deschuttes River

 The Labor Day celebrations have passed and suddenly, the campgrounds are empty, the resorts are closing, and the nights are getting colder (last night - into the mid-20's here in the Three Sisters Wilderness area).  And - this magic all happened on Tuesday!  What a wonderful difference a day makes!

Timberline

Mt Hood - up close and personal

The magestic Timberline Lodge

 From Mt St Helens, we drove to the small town of Cascade Locks on the beautiful Columbia River and there we stayed two nights at a small KOA campground (where the nightly train whistles reminded us of home.)

We're used to being the smallest rig in these private parks

The Road Less Traveled...

Storm clouds gathering at Mt. Rainier

Mt. Rainier magnificence - cloaked in white

Dusk descends on the mountaintops

We watched excitedly as the climbers descended slowly

Oh - we love the high country!

When provided the opportunity, we always tend to pick the less popular road to access a park or special destination - the benefits being: far less traffic and hassle on the road, quaint towns, fewer people and shorter lines, if any. As wonderful as they are, we tend to avoid the "Carmel-like" venues, and, instead, are drawn to places that are less touristy and relatively unknown. We love the adventure of discovering new places (to us) and the wonderful surprises we find around each bend.

Cascadia

 Washington Pass - on a clear day - you can see forever!

"Blue skies, smiling at me...nothing but blue skies can I see!"

Last Monday, we fled the smoky, hazy hot sunshine of Winthrop for the North Cascades National Park. Surprisingly, there was no change.  It took several days for the smoke and heat (95 degree weather) and humidity to clear out there as well,but it did, thankfully, due to thundershowers and several days of cool rain and mist. The local Washington fires now appear to be somewhat under control and the air has finally cleared with blue skies welcoming us this morning as we drove back over the Washington Pass heading east.

Just Add Water...

Winthrop, WA"old west" humor signpost

Well...our plans changed...One of the great things about traveling without confirmed reservations - you can change your itinerary immediately if logistics become difficult...and we did - so we headed back to the U.S. and are now in northern Washington.

Back in the USA!

North to Alaska!

Prince Rupert's Cow Bay

  

Mile 0 is good enough for us for this year!

We really didn't plan on it beforehand, but since this trip is all about adventures and exploring, we decided to step into Alaska for just a minute ...just cause we had the opportunity to do so.

The Canadian Rockies!

We crossed the border into Canada with barely any questions asked...we simply showed our passports and we were through - welcomed by a well-fed deer munching unafraid on the grass at the roadside. How easy is that? And the natural beauty of the land we visited there - took our breath away!

Kinney Lake - Mt Robson

Looking for mountain sheep - white spots on green

Canadian Rocky solitude

Drama epitomized - Athabascan Falls, Jasper

Steps as an art form!

Here Comes the Sun

Ooohhh those views!

Many Glacier Area of the Park

Logan Pass covered in snow - the road opened July 3rd

For two weeks, we explored the area in and around Glacier National Park. Northern Montana is gorgeous in the early summer...with lush green growth everywhere (the variety of trees in the forest and the dense understory of ferns and wildflowers below).  We were surprised at a number of things:

Gushing, Steaming, Bubbling and Rocky Mountain Grandeur!

Teton magnificence

View - from the Jackson Lake Lodge - It took our breath away!

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble - Yellowstone caldera

Our happy camper - Ava!

Well, we've had a fantastic two weeks visiting the Grand Teton National Park and touring Yellowstone, our first National Park in the nation. Geographically, they sit right next to each other, yet they are unexpectedly quite distinct in their geology and their available tourist venues. It was fun mixing up our days, for example, with a Teton hike around Jenny Lake one day, contrasted the next day with a tour of the geyser basin in Yellowstone. Both parks were, quite simply, a feast for the eyes and the senses.

The ultimate reward, during those two week, was that Lisa, Eric and baby Ava also joined us for a week of adventure.  They camped in their tent and we used the trailer for cooking and to escape the rain, cold and mosquitoes, when needed.  We had a wonderful time hiking, exploring, eating Lisa's creative dinners, and kayaking, and our little Ava was delightful the entire time - of course!

Snapshots in Stone - Dinosaur Land

Dinosaur National Monument - Green River

Is this pen electrified? Chamo-Stego and Ernie - all matchy matchy.

We spent five days visiting Dinosaur National Monument located both in Utah and Colorado (north of Grand Junction, CO. and east of Salt Lake City, UT). It's an arid, high desert environment, but is right on the Green River which pours out of the Flaming Gorge dam (45 miles north).

San Juan Mountain High!

Last week, after more than two months in the high desert, we left the overwhelming heat and crowds and escaped to one of our favorite locations in the west - the San Juan Mountains in Colorado.  We were introduced to this magical place three years ago by family members during a trip here to enjoy the Fall colors and we are so grateful to them for this wonderful gift! Thank you so much, Al and Doug!

Edward Abbey Bliss

Two very happy campers doing what we love to do!

Double arch magic

Monolithic structures of sandstone dominated the landscape!

For over a week, we were able to explore the red rock country in and around Moab, Utah including: Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Monument, and Dead Horse Point State Park. We were fortunate that MJ and Chris were also able to accompany us on our adventures for part of that time, making those two days even more special and fun.

Tapestry rock art w/ curator MJ

Water's Amazing Handiwork

Natural bridges in White Canyon

When we left Mesa Verde, after 50 degree weather, we were hoping for warmer weather and our wish was definitely granted! For the next two weeks the weather hovered in the mid to high 90's.  Change is good! Yesl we were able to dry out...

The Green Table

We're back!  Finally, decent, reliable internet service!

Mesa Verde (or Green Table) provided us ample opportunity to explore and view remains of 700 years of Ancestral Puebloan culture.

Cliff Palace from overlook

We're in Heaven!

On Friday, May 9th, we snagged the "perfect" campsite in the Capitol Reef (Utah) Fruita campground and we ended up staying there for eight idyllic days! We hiked and explored daily and then in the afternoon, we would return to the lovely "green" garden where we camped.

Camping in a beautiful park of fruit and Cottonwood trees

Red rock contrasted against green trees, water and shade

An historic Mormon farm in the canyon

Deer rested here lazily in the late afternoon shade of the apricot trees

Fire and Ice

We're back! We've been having such a wonderful time, but since there hasn't been a reliable internet signal for Verizon (here in Southeastern Utah) while we were exploring Zion, Bryce, the Escalante Staircase and Capitol Reef, we've been unable to update our blog until now.

Nearly two weeks ago (Monday, May 5th -Thursday, May 8th), we visited Zion and Bryce National Parks - two of the original and most popular of Utah's red rock wonders.

Huge red sandstone monoliths of Zion towered over the Cottonwoods

View from the Zion Emerald Pools "walk" over the canyon

Valley of Fire

Valley of Fire at sunset

Our new favorite park in Nevada is the Valley of Fire which is located near Las Vegas, just outside of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

The Joy of Simple Accomplishments!

Yes; finally success!  We now have an "official CA" license plate for our Casita and we registered her at the smallest DMV office in CA - in Needles - a two-person office with no lines (it took about 30 minutes total) and we actually walked away holding the plate.  It's amazing what can be accomplished with the right people helping out.

We're now legal for CA

Walking Down Memory Lane...

When we were kids, during the 1950's and 60's - every alternate summer, my Dad would pack up the trailer and take our family our for our two week summer vacation - usually to the desert to "hunt for rocks."  As you can imagine, it was probably the very last thing kids would love to do for their summer vacation (in blistering hot weather, with sand, cactus, and rocks as our scenery)...but it was our father's passion, so we all went along with him and helped him find the rocks he liked (jasper, beautiful agates, opals, and petrified wood).

Walking in the Steps of the Ancients...

This past Thursday through Saturday, we visited Chaco Culture Historical National Monument in NW New Mexico - north of Albuquerque off of Hwy 550.  This desolate park is located 21 miles off of Hwy 550, 13 miles of which is a rough, dusty, dirt road  (and 5 miles of which is washboard).  The camping is fairly primitive here (there's heat, flush toilets and non-potable water in the restroom), but there's no electricity or water at the camp sites and drinking water is only available at one location at the visitor's center.  The visitor center is barren - missing a museum and historical displays. It's not an easy place to get to and there are few creature comforts there,  however, the peace and quiet of this remote location, the massive surrounding desert, the honey-colored Chaco Canyon cliffs and mesas, the phenomenal number of ruins and the tremendous importance of this Ancestral Puebloan site in its central relation to other important sites in the southwest (Mesa Verde, Canyon de Chelly, Bandelier, Betatakin, etc.) make it a "must see" for those interested in "first people" history and culture. Thank you, Betsy (from our hiking group), for recommending this place.

It's been a tough day here...