Yellowstone NP Day Three

Danny and Cymy swimming in the Yellowstone River

Sunday June 24th: Today we decided to talk a drive around the South Loop road. As we entered the park we enjoyed the Bison herds and passed the Madison River Elk herd again in their usual haunts. Driving on south past Old Faithful we wound through the forest and up over the National Divide, 8800 feet at this point, and down the eastern side toward West Thumb. We turned left there and drove back northward along the Yellowstone Lake, which was beautiful to view the Rocky Mountains over its blue waters. We continued along the lake shore drive to the end and turned to travel westward again along the Yellowstone River. Saw a Coyote trotting along the road toward us so we slowed to a stop to let it go on by. Another Elk herd was grazing in a meadow, the buck here had large antlers, the largest that we had yet seen. We finally stopped for a picnic lunch along the river. While Carolyn set up the sandwiches I took Danny and Cymy for a swim. The water was so cold that they were shivering after twenty minutes so we toweled them dry and had a picnic. A hawk circled the river and screeched at the world and a group of Trumpeter Swans were a short distance down river on a small island. We looked them up in the Park guide to make sure what they were. After lunch we drove on around the north side of the South loop and back to the campground. A really enjoyable day.

Yellowstone NP Second Day

Bison herd crossing the main road with Paintpot steaming in the background

Saturday June 23rd: Today the plan was to drive back to the Old Faithful basin and walk the paths throughout the area. The NPS has laid out many miles of hard asphalt or boards to connect the geysers throughout this basin and we walked our share of them. On the way in we had the treat of being in the midst of a bison migration across the road. The herd was quite large, but luckily only about 50 of them broke away and moved to new grazing land on the other side of the roadway. Of course traffic slowed to a crawl. Some people in a hurry would wind their way among individual animals in a quite dangerous fashion. Carolyn got several nice pictures as we waited.
Once we got to Old Faithful we parked and got onto the trails leading to the outer geysers. We were able to see a number of them erupting - Daisy, Castle, Riverside, and even Old Faithful again from the vantage point of the Daisy Geyser. After the walk we had a late lunch picnic in the woods and stared down several big Ravens that looked like they wanted to share our sandwiches.

Yellowstone NP Day One

Friday June 22nd: We arrived at West Yellowstone yesterday at the Lionshead Campground outside of town. Drove on into the Yellowstone NP this morning for our first day. A few miles inside we stopped, along with everyone else, at the area set aside for a pair of Bald Eagles and their nest. Old Baldie was sitting on a fallen tree on the other side of the Madison river. Carolyn hopped out with the camera and was able to get a shot of him, although the distance was a little far for our small camera. Moving on into the park we soon came across the Madison river Elk Herd grazing along the river. Of course we all stopped again and walked out to get a clear shot of them. There appeared to be about six in the small herd and they pretty much ignored the dumb humans looking at them and chattering. We drove on and stopped at the Fountain Paint Pot Geyser area and walked the boardwalk around, enjoying the various pools, steamers, and bubbling mud "geysers". On to Old Faithful, where they have the Old Faithful Inn, stores, Visitors Center, and eveything else imaginable. We were able to see Old Faithful blow twice while there and got pictures and movies from two different areas and ate a late lunch while there. Especially after having been to the "Craters of the Moon", a predecessor of Yellowstone, we were more appreciative of being inside a volcanic caldera and the heat and force surging just beneath our feet.

Idaho Potato Museum and Exposition

Here is a picture of Carolyn standing in the heart of Idaho Potato country.

Wednesday June 20th: We drove to just up the road about five miles to see a replica of Fort Hall. This fort was established by the Hudson Bay Trading Company to be a focal point for the fur traders and local tribes, the Shoshoni and Bannock, to bring their furs and pick up supplies. We also visited the Bannock County Museum while there and walked through a replica of the town of Pocatello as it was first laid out, about 10 buildings all told. The county zoo was also on the premises and had some Bison and Elk. The Elk had tremendous antlers.

Then we drove up the road to the actual location where Fort Hall had stood, it is now on the Shoshoni/Bannock Reservation, and toured through the Reservation Museum. We had an interesting talk with the lady in charge and found out that, like the Hopi, the Shoshoni roots have been traced back to Aztec origins in Central America. She explained their religious story of the Beginning, which was very similar to that of the Hopis.

By that time we were ready for lunch so we went over to the local restaurant on the Reservation and had some Bison Stew and Frybread. It was delicious, but too much to eat at one sitting.

We then drove on up to the town of Blackfoot to see the Idaho Potato Museum and Exposition. Idaho produces about 1/3 of the potato's in the U.S. The potato was apparently originated in Peru and carried back to Europe by the Spanish and spread throughout the world from there.

Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho

This was a good picture of LIFE continuing from the barreness of a flow of lava.

Tuesday June 19th: We decided to take a drive over to the Craters of the Moon National Monument today. The drive was about 100 miles each way, but really worth the time. The drive itself gave us a better idea about Idaho, or at least this area of the state. The road was arrow straight and flat as we were in the Snake river basin. Vocanic cones sprout up from the level ground and a mountain range gets closer as we drive westward. We curve around to the south by Arco, ID and go another 25 miles to the NM entrance. This was apparently one area, out of many that was home to the hot spot shallow area in the earths surface. They traced the origion of the hotspot from the Oregon/Idaho border up to its current location at Yellowstone. None of the areas are completely dead though many erupt again over the next several thousand years. We walked several of the trails that were throughout the park and had lunch at a really nice area under a house sized hunk of lava and shaded by a tree. A good sized chipmonk kept us company and posed for several pictures. He was rewarded with a couple of pieces of bread that he seemed to really appreciate. I hiked up a volcano to the top and took a number of panoramic pictures from there. Boy, I felt each of my 64 years and each of the 6000 feet altitude before reaching the top. A short while later we walked up a "splatter hole" volcano and went down inside the cone for a view. They apparently get about three to five feet of snow here each year so a lot is closed from October through April.

Eastward Ho - Starting back to the Right Coast

Monday June 18th: We packed up and left Seattle Saturday morning, the 16th and drove up to I-90 and points east. The trip up and over the Snoqualamie Pass was beautiful, then down the other side toward Yakima. Coming down we began to see the land dry up until we were again in sand and sagebrush. We left I-90 and moved onto I-84 toward Pendleton, Oregon for our first night out. Pendleton needed more time as it looked to be a city to spend a couple of days enjoying, but we were only here overnight. Sunday we got back in the saddle and drove on down I-84E to Boise, Idaho. Up and over another mountain pass, this one around 3600 ft (Snoqualamie topped out at right at 3000 ft). The land was in continual transition looking more like some of New Mexico that we had seen on the way west. Today we traveled on up to Pocatello, Idaho and will stay here for a couple of days. We passed flat topped mesas and cattle country with miles of sagebrush. Then hugh tracts of land supported by long moveable water systems supported fields of corn and wheat. Further north we began running alongside the Snake river and the irrigation became more serious. Large, large tracts of potatoes began to appear in the valley areas between the mesas, all irrigated of course. Spectacular mountains always in the far or near distance. I could not have said what my idea of Idaho had been prior to the trip, but it did not include the variety that we have encountered. Tomorrow we will drive up to the Craters of the Moon National Monument then see the Idaho Potatoe Exposition in Blackfoot, ID.

Mount Rainier Viewing

Friday June 15th: This evening was unusual for the time that we have been here in the Seattle area - it was clear and sunny. As we walked the dogs over toward the Nature Center next to the campground we were greeted by a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier highlighted by the setting sun. We had only seen it once and we were on the road and couldn't get a picture. Here is what hangs over Seattle every day, but is only rarely glimpsed even by those who live here. It is a breathtaking sight that the camera cannot show properly.

Leavenworth WA

Thursday June 14th: We drove over the Mountains over WA-2 to a small ex-logging town, Leavenworth, which decided to remake itself into a Bavarian hamlet rather than die as the logging moved on from their area. They have very strict rules that each building WILL look like a Bavarian building. This is complete with murals/paintings on the walls, flower boxes on balconies, mode of dress of the store owners and employees, food, and nutcrackers. We strolled around town and looked in the windows or walked through the door. Of course we also did some wine tasting and had lunch at "King Ludwig's" - Jaegersnitzel and Weinersnitzel each, completewith Spaetzle. It was a very pleasant day all in all. Drove up to snow line on the trip over there and small snow spritzes several times. Coming back we dropped south toward I-90 and were surprised to top through one pass and find ourselves back in a desert with sage brush and prairie grass and sand. The rain must all get sucked out by the mountains and leaves eastern Washington looking like New Mexico.

Seattle Washington

Wednesday June 13th: Today we drove into Seattle to see the city, the bay, and the Space Needle of course. Our first surprise was to discover that Seattle was built down the side of a pretty steep hillside, one that could rival some of San Francisco's best in my opinion. We got off of I-5 at Seneca St and pointed the nose of the truck down, down, and still more down hill until we finally got to Alaska Way along the harbor. This road is directly under WA-99, an elevated highway. Once there we drove through the parking area for about five blocks until a young homeless man, directing cars into parking spaces that were right in front of them, pointed us into an empty space. I gave him a couple of dollars - "for the shelter tonight". Stopped for lunch at the harbor and ate the house Northwest Fish Chowder and Fish and Chips. The table overlooked the harbor and we watched a fireboat tied up and a large ferry dock and unload. We then walked down Alaska Way until we came to the right street to go uphill toward the scenic downtown shopping area. Walked on over to the Space Needle and went on up to the 580 foot level where the view was awsome. Here is one shot that we took overlooking the Seattle city center and with the Mountains and Mt. Ranier off in the background.

Victoria BC

Friday June 8th: We moved yesterday, this time up to the Olympic NP penninsula to Diamond Point K/M Resort just south of Sequim, WA. Today we took the ferry from Port Angeles, WA over to Victoria BC. Victoria is a very pretty town, the capitol of British Columbia Province, and gets a lot of income from Cruise ships that pull in there. We walked down town along Warf St and through China Town over to Government St. and back to the harbor area. Had a good lunch about 3 pm. This picture was of the "Government Buldings" and a large standing carved/painted totum pole. We spent a very pleasant day all in all and watched a seal play in the water beside the ferry as we waited to pull out.

Mt. Ranier NP Entrance

June 6th: Drove over to the Mt Ranier National Park today. It was a very nice drive and the park area was beautiful. This is a picture of the Park Entrance.

Toutle River Valley toward Mt. St. Helens

As we left the Visitors Center we drove on toward Mt. St Helens and finally stopped at an overlook and restaurant by the Toutle River Valley. This picture was shot down the valley looking East. Georgeous view.

Mt. St. Helens and Mt Ranier WA

Wednesday June 5 and Thursday June 6th: We had moved up to the Thousand Trails Preserve near Chehalis, WA on Tuesday and settled in. As we moved into Washington the weather became rainey and cooler as a front moved in to the area. It had been in the 80's up here last week while we were in the 50's on the Oregon coast. Now as we come to Washington the temperature has dropped into the 50's for us. I surely didn't expect to be wearing coats this far into the summer.

Wednesday we traveled down I-5 to the Mt. St. Helens Visitor Center. The had a good movie about the eruption in 1980 and a model of the volcano that you could walk down into to see the various layers and magma chambers. They also had a very nice nature walk out through the marshy land, about a mile around that we enjoyed.

The picture above shows the overcast very well. If you count the third peak to the left of the big center peak, that will be Mt. St. Helens.

Pacific City Thousand Trails Preserve

Friday June 1st. Arrived at the Pacific City Thousand Trails today. The beach is just across the road and down through the woods. Very pretty walk. We have been taking the dogs and walking the beach each day. One day we drove up to Tillamook, OR to visit the Tillamook Cheese factory and have lunch. Just a beautiful relaxing weekend. We will leave Monday for Chahalis, Washington. Here is a picture of a bit of the Oregon coast.

South Jetty/Florence Oregon

Still Thursday, 31st of May: From old town Florence we drove out to a park where we could walk on the beach and on out a stone jetty the helps herd the river as it meets the Pacific Ocean. Walking out the jetty into the ocean was beautiful, but cold and windy. We didn't stay on the jetty long, but went back toward the campground and then out "South Jetty" road into the NP area in the dunes. Some four wheelers were having a go at one of the dunes and we got a picture of it.

South Jetty Preserve Near Florence, OR

Thursday, May 31: This area is the northern part of the Oregon Dunes National Monument, an series of sand dunes along the beach stretching some 50 miles long with some of the dunes reaching 500 feet high. We drove about eleven miles north to Sea Lion Cave, a large cave with access to view the sea lions in nature, in the morning then down into Florence for Lunch at Moe's and a little store hiking in the old town harbor area. This is a picture of the old draw bridge crossing the river in Florence.

Traveling up the Coast

Wednesday May 30th: Moving on up toward Florence, Oregon to the Thousand Trails Preserve at "South Jetty". As lunch time came we pulled off at a viewing area on the beach and took the dogs and us for a walk on the beach. Strangely the sand here was rather black. Carolyn took a picture of Danny, Cymy, and I with a piece of driftwood.

North on the Redwood Scenic Highway

Tuesday May 30th: We left the beautiul Russian River area and began driving north on US-101, also called the Redwood Scenic Highway toward Oregon. We plan to drive on up to an RPI campground, Redwood Trails Resort, to spend the night. As we travel north we slowly began seeing the roadside grass and the grass in the fields turn from solid dry brown to a sprinkling of green to solid green the further we travel. The drought conditions in Southern and Central California are really severe and they need a nice long turn to rain for several years to recover.

The Redwood Trails campground was small, but beautifully situated. An old origional red schoolhouse and an old caboose are out front with a large horse corral behind us. A wood carver had set up business next to the campground and had his works throughout the campground and store. Wonderfully done works, but we had nowhere to carry them. As we were setting down to dinner we looked out the window and five big Elk were drifting their way across the campground. Tried to get a picture of them, but it didn't turn out too well, but will put it on here anyway. If you look hard you can see two of them in the center of the picture. One faceing us and the other facing away. The old caboose is just to the left of the Elk and the old schoolhouse is further left, but out of the picture. We saw more Wednesday morning and a gentleman camped near us said that a herd of about forty wandered the area. Shortly after leaving Wednesday morning we saw a large number of them laying in a field a short way from the road.