10 Things We Learned Out West

This is my last blog because tomorrow we return home. Some parting thoughts.

1. RVers travel with multiple yippy dogs.
2. You can't pump your own gas in Oregon.
3. Expect road construction.
4. Minnesotans are a rarity out west.
5. We prefer mountains to oceans.
6. It pays to be nice to people who take reservations over the phone.
7. Helmets - don't leave home without them (both bike and motorcycle.)
8. All internet connections are not made equal.
9. "Don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened." Big Al
10. God is good, all the time!

Last Hike

Tomorrow we start for home. We decided not to go to Yellowstone National Park for a number of reasons. 1. We've been there twice before. 2. There is road construction, and there are long waits. 3. We have fallen in love with Grand Teton and didn't want to leave it yet. Bear Paw Lake was our destination today but it was really the hike around the east side of Leigh Lake that was so breath taking. I have bought my last book to read on the trip home. Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinor Pruitt Stewart was written in 1914. We'll have some final thoughts tomorrow.

Western Culture

Today is a day to rest. After our 10 mile hike we are tired. We went to worship service at the national park campground. There were people there from all over the U.S.. After church, we went to the National Museum of Wildlife Art right outside of Jackson. We took the audio tour and it was very interesting. There are many beautiful sculptures there as well. Friday night we went to the Bar J Chuckwagon Supper and Western Show. It was fun! Good food, lots of cowboy songs, and good comedy. We recommend both places.

Teton Range

The Teton Range extends for 50 miles. The highest peak at 13,770 feet is Grand Teton. Today we traveled north and went to Jackson Lake. The prominent mountain peak here is Mount Moran at 12,605 feet. This peak is named after artist Thomas Moran. He was along on the 1860 expedition through Jackson Valley (Hole). We are starting to be able to identify the peaks by name now!

Biking in the Tetons

An 8 mile bike trail follows the road going to Jenny Lake. What is even better is that this trail follows the base of the mountains! I now understand why these mountains are so grand. There are no foothills so they just rise up out of the ground in front of you. They are some of the most photographed mountains in the U.S. You should go to the visitor center when you visit a national park. You can get such good information. Today I bought 2 more books. One is on the wildflowers of Grand Teton and the other is about the history. Both topics to me are fascinating!

Moose and Pika

Grand Teton is that-grand! We took a ferry across Jenny Lake and then hiked down the Cascade Canyon Trail. Huge mountains were on either side of the trail. The trail follows Cascade Creek and there were many waterfalls. The bull moose was sitting under the tree on the hike out and the hike back. We also got to see our first pika in the rocks. They bleet and look like little bunny rabbits. You only find them in high mountains. I thought the pika was more amusing than the moose!

National Park #8-Grand Teton

This is a tremendous place! The growth of this park is due mainly to John D. Rockefeller, Jr.. Between 1927-1935 he bought 35,000 acres of farm and ranch land and donated it to the park. We spent the day at the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve. This 1,106 acre plot was donated to the park after the death of Laurence-John's son in 2001. This land had been the family retreat. We hiked around Phelp's Lake. I'm reading a new book-I Always Did Like Horses and Women a biography of Enoch Cal Carrington. He was a cowboy "character" who lived in Jackson during the early 1900s.

Elk Antler Arches

We are at Jackson, Wyoming and this place is as busy as Brainerd on the 4th of July! Jackson is 12 miles from Grand Teton National Park and 58 miles from Yellowstone National Park. Jackson Hole is the ski resort on the edge of town. The arches were erected in 1960 from shed antlers found at the National Elk Refuge near Jackson. 7,500 elk winter here each winter. The Boy Scouts are allowed to collect antlers at the Refuge and they sell them at public auction every May.

Travel Day

At 9:30 we left Kalispell to head south. On a travel day, we will usually cover about 250 miles and we travel for 6 hours. 4 lane roads are the safest for us. Rest areas are great to stop at for lunch. We just open the side slide on the trailer and make lunch. We arrived at 5:30 today at Idaho Falls-we are back in Idaho but tomorrow we will be in Wyoming and at the Grand Teton National Park. Idaho Falls is on the Snake River and they have a lovely bike/hike trail along the river.

Kayak and Hike

Two days have gone by. Friday we both rented kayaks and took them out on Whitefish Lake. It was a beautiful warm day and the kayaks skimmed wonderfully through the clear water. Today we took our final hike in Glacier and were greeted by this sign at the beginning of the trail. Making lots of noise, we walked the trail and took the turn to Snyder Lake. The trail was narrow with lots of new berries. Looking down, we saw a fresh print-so we turned around. We are not people who want to see a bear on our vacation!

Summer Theatre

All over Montana there is summer theater going on. Our choices were to go to Polson, Bigfork or Whitefish. Because of being a teacher, we chose the play at Whitefish and it was great fun. The story is about 6 young teens who are vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. It was a musical so there was singing and dancing. The Alpine Theatre is a professional acting company. Adults acted the adolescent parts. We like to support theatre troops when we travel. Have you been to a good play lately?

Flathead Sweet Cherries

All along Flathead Lake you will see small orchards and roadside stands. We stopped at Barbara's stand and bought some cherries. I would call them bing cherries but the ones we bought were really Lambert Cherries. Huckleberry is also really big in Montana. They grow wild on tall bushes in the mountains so they are hand picked and expensive. They are just ripening now. You can get huckleberry ice cream, pancakes, muffins, smoothies, jam you name it!

National Park #7-Glacier Park

Another National Park for us to visit! Glacier is a favorite place for us and this is our third time here. This year we took a shuttle bus to Logan Pass to do our hike. Logan Pass is on the continental divide. (From this imaginary line, streams flow either west or east.) The Going- to- the- Sun Road is the main road through Glacier. The hike we took paralleled this road-but we were much higher! You can see the road in the middle of the photo. Here is some trivia for you. The entire name of the park is-Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, and that is because we share this national park with Canada!

Flathead Lake

We have come west to Montana. Our campsite is on the Flathead River and today we motorcycled around Flathead Lake. It is the biggest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi. North of the lake is Glacier National Park. We stopped at Bigfork which has the prettiest flower baskets!

Rail to Trails

Biking down the Hiawatha Rail Trail was fun and beautiful. We biked the 15 mile section in Idaho and it was all downhill. A bus took us back to the top. There were 10 tunnels and seven high steel trestles. The St. Paul tunnel is 1.7 miles long and it is dark and cold. I made Al go first so I could follow him! The following web site has more photos and a video under media center.
www.ridethehiawatha.com

Idaho

This is the city of Coeur d'Alene . It was hot-92 degrees so many people were at the beach. This is a beautiful city with the Spokane River flowing into Lake Coeur d'Alene. There is a big resort to the right in the picture. We biked around town and then had fish for dinner at a floating restaurant!

Celebration

Today is my birthday so we had a special day. We hiked down the Cleetwood Trail which is the only legal way to get to Crater Lake. We boarded a boat and toured the west and the south part of the lake first. At Wizard Island, we got out of the boat and hiked to the peak of this volcano which is in Crater Lake. After 3 hours on the island we boarded the boat and toured the rest of the lake. Finally, we had to hike back up the Cleetwood Trail. This is a memorable birthday indeed!

Creeks, River, Waterfalls, Gorge

A sight seeing day today like many tourists have. You drive in the car, hike a few steps and see a beautiful waterfall or gorge. The Rogue River is a fast river and you can raft down it. Today we saw the river go into the ground and come out through another hole about 200 feet later . When underground, it traveled through a hollow lava tube! They call this a natural bridge and the Indians and early pioneers used the natural bridge to cross the river. Tomorrow will be a special day!

National Park #6-Crater Lake

WOW! Crater Lake National Park is really beautiful and the color of the lake is the most wonderful blue I have ever seen. We are glad to be back in the snowy mountains. The weather is perfect. I take the following comments from the park brochure. "Crater Lake rests in the shattered remnants of a volcano called Mount Mazama, which erupted and collapsed into itself 7,700 years ago. " We hiked to the top of Mount Scott, the highest point in the park, for exceptional views. We could even see Mt. Shasta in California. You must all see this park someday!

Crescent City, California

It is like being on the Northshore in the fall here in northern California. It is dreary and chilly and tomorrow it is supposed to rain. We will move inland to find better weather. We biked on Pebble Beach Drive which follows the coastline. We started at the Battery Point Lighthouse and ended at the Castle Rock National Wildlife Refuge. You could hear the seals barking for miles. There was a lone seal on the beach and we approached it but it did not swim away. We thought it was injured, but later it was gone!

National Park #5-Redwood

The tallest trees in the world are the Coastal Redwoods. We hiked to the tall trees today in this national park. The trees we saw were 350 feet tall-higher than the Statue of Liberty! We also could not resist going back and watching the ocean waves. I saw a seal swimming and also collected crab shells.

Northern most California

We are as far north in California as we can go. The weather has changed. It is now cloudy and chilly. There is a mist that comes rolling off of the ocean. We hiked on the beach and I kept looking for the deadly sneakers but we didn't see any! There were some surfers in wetsuits though. The sound of the waves hitting the beach is powerful!

Kayak the Sea Caves

After traveling 33 miles with 235 curves in the road, we get from our campsite to the ocean. Near Mendocino you can go out with a guide and about 10 people to kayak in the ocean. The sea caves are really fun to kayak in. I mostly enjoyed floating near the big breakers. We saw seals and kelp forests. I recommend it to all!

Pacific Ocean

We have reached the Pacific Ocean so that means our trip is 1/2 done. No longer can we go west. Mendocino is a wonderful, quaint city on the ocean. The flowers in the city are gorgeous! We walked the paths by the cliffs and the wildflowers there were pretty too. The rest of the day we spent visiting wine country. The road to the ocean is curvy and steep.

Wildflowers

Today we hiked across the Big Meadow to Scotts Lake. The meadow was alive with wildflowers and I love flowers! The meadows are important in keeping Lake Tahoe clean. The meadows filter water for the lake. We also had a great time watching the mountain bikers glide past us. It looked like so much fun!

Happy 4th of July!

A quiet day today. We hiked the rim trail with views of Lake Tahoe and Carson City. I thought I saw a dog on the trail and realized that it was a bear! We started clapping our hands and whistling at it so I didn't get a photo. Sorry! We zipped into Carson City to enjoy the shade at the capital buildings. Now we are having bbq and listening to Prairie Home Companion which is being broadcast from Avon!

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is a beautiful lake that is surrounded by mountains. About 1/2 of it is in California and the other part lies in Nevada. It also has 4 large casinos that are located in the south. Al wanted to come here because he skied at Heavenly last year which is near Tahoe. It is a big lake and deep! The average depth is 1,630 feet and the deepest part is 4,593 feet! There are some California State Parks on the west end. There we were able to do some biking on trails and also tour the Ehrman Mansion. With the 4th of July holiday here, it is crowded!

Water Issues

This is Mono Lake and the lake level used to be 50 feet higher. What happened to all the water? An aquaduct was built and water was transported for use in Los Angeles! We just came from Owens Valley and Owens Lake is almost totally dried up because of the aquaduct. It wasn't until the courts said it was not legal to do this that LA has cut back on the amount they drain away. It will take 20-50 years to bring Mono Lake up 25 feet. In Minnesota we take water for granted but that is not so in the thirsty Southwest!

Mt. Whitney Hike

The highest peak in California, and for that matter in the lower 48 states, is Mt. Whitney at 14,497 feet. We took a 5 hour round trip up to this beautiful lake called Lone Pine Lake. We were only about 1/5 of the way up to the summit. If you make it to the summit you are then in Sequoia National Park. We are on the wrong side of the mountains to enter this park or King's Canyon National Park. Those parks will have to wait to be seen another time. It is hot in the Owens Valley where we are camped but if you get up into the high country the temperature is delightful!

Manzanar

Nestled in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, is what remains of a Japanese relocation camp called Manzanar. In 1942, 10,000 Japanese, some of them U.S. citizens, were moved to this camp. They were moved there because we were at war with the Japanese. They left everything but one bag behind. Whole families were moved to this area during World War II. In 1992 President Reagan made an apology to the survivors and each survivor was given $20,000. He said it was a mistake. It was sad to look at the displays at this National Historic Site. The building is the auditorium where the interned could gather for special events. I am now reading Return to Manzanar which was written by a woman who lived in the camp.

Church

Sunday is still a church day for us. Yesterday we went to Galilee Baptist Church here in Williams. Ten churches can be found in this town of 3,000. The pastor preached on materialism. (We were surprised that there was no mention of Michael Jackson!) In these small towns the churches are small. What we have noticed is that the Mormon church buildings are very nice. They are made out of brick and the landscaping is beautiful. Today we head out to California. We loved our week here at the entrance to the Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon-South Rim

Hiking down from the rim of the canyon to the Colorado River takes two days in the Grand Canyon. Some people ride burros down and up. If you hike, you need to follow the switchbacks on the trail because it is so steep. From the rim to the river is a one mile drop! When you get to the bottom you can camp or stay at the Phantom Ranch. You need to plan about a year in advance to get your hiking permit or reservations. Planning is important because people have died attempting to hike to the bottom. We only hiked 1 hour down and then it took us 2 hours to hike back out. The book Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry tells the real story of a burro who worked in the canyon.

Sweater Weather

Tonight we are going to play UNO and we are comfy in our sweaters. The temperature is 69 degrees with low humidity. At night we sleep under the covers because it gets down to 50. We have been checking the weather in Minnesota-hot and humid! We are glad to be here. The IMAX theater is near the entrance to the Grand Canyon so we motorcycled up and saw the movie. It is called the Grand Canyon and it was exciting! It reminded us of when we rafted down the Colorado a number of years ago. Tomorrow we will leave early and spend the whole day at the South Rim.

Flagstaff, Arizona

There have been fires north of Flagstaff and it has made for spectacular sunsets! Today we visited Flagstaff which is a city a bit smaller than St. Cloud. It is similar to St. Cloud because it has a university there-Northern Arizona University. It was most interesting to tour the Riordan Mansion that was built in 1904. The house is a state historic park and is an "Arts & Crafts" style mansion. We also visited "America's Mountain Garden" which is also known as the Arboretum at Flagstaff . Our day ended with a dinner at the old Weatherford Hotel located in the downtown historic district.

Williams, Arizona

After our trip here on Sunday, we needed to rest on Monday! Al did go out on Monday and buy 4 new tires for the trailer. Today we hiked to the top of Bill Williams Mountain. It was the most strenuous hike so far. It was 7 miles long and we gained 2,200 feet in elevation in getting to the top. We met these 4 guys from the Forest Service who were clearing logs from the trail. Someday maybe you can come out west and work on the mountain trails!

Glen Canyon Dam

Sunday was a long travel day. It was windy which makes it hard to pull the trailer. We also came upon an accident. The police were there and flew in a helicopter to assist people. When we got to the campsite, we noticed that one of the trailer tires was bald. We are so thankful that it did not go flat while driving across the desert! We did have a good lunch at the dam. This facility dams up the Colorado River and makes a wonderful reservoir called Lake Powell.

Back to Zion

Watch out for the flashflood! You are warned about this whenever you hike in a canyon. Today it was raining as we hiked so you are cautioned to look for high land if you hear a sound like a train coming through. Luckily, there was no flood. We did see evidence that earlier there had been a flood with all the debris along the hike. Tomorrow we leave this area and will go to Arizona and the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

Motorcycling in the Staircase

225 miles of cycling today! We went to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. No hiking just biking. The visitor center at Escalante is the best. There is a good 20 minute film about the area and very good displays. Did you know that there are 648 species of bees in this area? I also learned about cryptobiotic soils! The area is used to do research for the University of Utah. A good day to learn.

#4 National Park-Zion

Have you taken a bus lately? We have two times in the national parks. It is becoming a trend and don't be surprised if in the future you will not be able to drive in the busy national parks. It was crazy busy at Zion today. We could not find a parking spot in the park so we had to leave the park and park in a neighboring city. We then took the bus shuttle into the park. You can only go to the visitor center and the only way to get north of there is to take the bus! We do like the idea. The bus driver told us jokes so it made it fun. Hiking was busy too. We climbed to the Emerald Pool along with about 100 other people. It is an awesome park even though busy!

# 3 National Park-Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is split in two by the Colorado River. There is the North Rim and the South Rim. Both areas are distinct from each other. The North has more moisture and has pine trees. That is where we were today. Pictures can not really show what it is like. Again we had storms and rain. Lightening is a killer here and you don't want to be on the rim when it storms. We had to cut our hike on the Widforss Trail short. (Widforss was an artist who painted watercolors of the Grand Canyon in the 1930s). There are 4 1/2 million people who visit the Grand Canyon. 1/2 million visit the North Rim. We will report on the South Rim soon.

#2 National Park-Bryce Canyon in Utah

Ever heard of a hoodoo? After today we have! Hoodoo-a pillar of rock,usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion. The photo does not do the hoodoos justice! We hiked along the top rim and it made me dizzy to look down. There are many signs to warn about the cliffs. I am so glad I wasn't here on a field trip with 23 kids! I bought a new book today called Mormon Country by Wallace Stegner. It is about the early pioneers who came and claimed the "land who nobody wanted." Jenna, thanks for being a follower.

Kane County

Southwestern Utah is where we find ourselves. This is Kane County and we will be here for a week. There are many national parks, monuments, state parks and national forests. Glendale is the town where we are staying and there is a lot of traffic through here! Besides the traffic, it is kind of a dead town. The first night we took a walk down the main street and saw the sheriff's car. It looked like someone was sleeping in it. Look for yourself!

Colorado National Monument

What is the difference between a national park and a national monument? I asked a ranger today and he said politics. A president can sign on the line and make a monument but it takes an act of congress to make a national park. In 1911 President Taft made this area into a national monument. We watched rock climbers go to the top of Independence Monument. They had ropes, helmets and safety halters. We were not eager to join them on the top of this cliff!

Heading South

Today was a travel day. We are now in Grand Junction, Colorado. We saw some beautiful country as we traveled south. It is warmer here and we are sitting outside with no bugs. They only get 9 inches of rain per year here. In Minnesota we get over 40 inches per year. It is a cool place though. They have a national monument here not a national park that we will go to tomorrow. It is called the Colorado NationalMonument.

Today we didn't hike to a summit. We followed a white water stream to a waterfall.
After that we went to a small mountain lake surrounded by tall peaks and snow! The weather continues to be chilly and rainy so we will head south to find another national park. Hi Alex, glad you are a follower!

Day 2 Rocky Mountain Nat. Park