A very busy week

We started in Ashland OR where we camped at Emigrant Campground.  A nice place but a very depressed half dry lake....too bad.  Rented a car from Enterprise and headed down to San Francisco to see some of our PA family and to celebrate Jackie and Mattie's wedding.  All good!

Before the wedding ceremony, we got to spend some time with Jack & Logan.  We took them to Muir Woods to see REALLY BIG trees, then to Point Reyes to check out the elephant seals.  Turned out to be a full day.  I'm expecting to hear about these REALLY BIG trees from Jack & Logan in the future.  Our PA family after the wedding continued down to the Monterey Aquarium before piloting the Jet Blue plan back to the East Coast.























Now for adventures in central Oregon.  Lots of great hiking, big trees (maybe not the REALLY BIG trees), and great waterfalls.  And best of all, our last two campsites, Susan Creek and Paradise Campgrounds, are right on the flowing river.  How great to sleep with the sound of the rivers flowing over the rocks!

 

 

Incredible BLUE water...............

I don't think we've ever taken as many photos of one place....Our 3 days of picture perfect weather with total blue skies must have helped.  Crater Lake just took our breaths away.  Such a jewel of a place!

We were able to get on the last boat trip of the season the day we arrived.  At 3:30 pm we pulled out from the dock (after having walked down a  trail with a 700 foot drop).  Cruised around the lake in the next two hours for incredible views.  On board, the Ranger gave us some great history, facts and figures.  Over 1700 feet deep makes this the deepest freshwater lake. The last eruption was 7700 years ago and the top of the Mazama volcano dropped, forming the caldera where we were currently boating.  And finally, the lake is at equilibrium with the snow melt matching the evaporation.  All really neat!

We also hiked some pretty magnificent hikes.  To the top, we headed...first on the Garfield Peak trail (3.4 miles, 1000 ft climb), and then on the Mt. Scott trail (5 miles, 1200 ft climb).  We just couldn't stop taking more and more pictures.  And we've gotten to be good elevation hikers.



Crater Lake is just plain....a WOW  !!!

Bend, Oregon

Why is the featured photo in this blog, a Napolean???  That's a good story.

But first we pulled into Tumalo State Park, where we were reintroduced to how terrific Oregon parks are when camping.  Nice to have showers along with full hookups.

Now for the Napolean story......With Bend only 8 miles away, we took the bike path along a secondary road.  We didn't know that we needed to climb over 800 feet to get to Bend.  We expected that since the town was along the Deschutes River, if anything, we'd being going downhill.  Wrong!

We made it, proud of our biking....and we spotted a bakery & more!  So after recharging on a Napolean and some coffee, back to the campground.  Good news, mostly downhill back to our site.

Before departing Bend, we took another day to walk the town and the nice park along the Deschutes River.  Also took the time to check out the brewery of the same name.  We've really enjoyed our time here.

Next on our itinerary, Sunriver,  where we biked 15 miles of their bike paths and ended at Benham Falls for some nice views.

Then on to LaPine State Park where we saw the largest pine tree in Oregon, The Big Tree, and camped for the night.

Rock climbing at Smith Rock State Park

As we approached Bend, OR, Ruthie had a special place to stop and check out.  When we started hiking down to the Crooked River and the volcanic cliffs, once again we were awestruck.  Like a painting, but this was real. 


































Then to watch the rock climbers on this premier area with
over a thousand routes up the formations; many bolted ---WOW!

We are AWESTRUCK with Eastern Oregon !

Starting in Dayville,  we drove into the Sheep Rock section of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. 

First, a 5 mile hike into the Blue Basin.  We climbed almost 1,000 feet, and as we rounded the hill we saw this awesome view.  Don't think we captured the full incredibleness on this photo.  We just kept taking pictures, and more pictures.....

Then a quick drive up the valley to the perfect location for an orchard of apples, pears, and nectarines.  We learned that the founder of this orchard was driving through the area selling fish from the west coast, and stopped to discover that the microclimate was perfect for fruit trees.  And he was correct!

Drove back to the Sheep Rock section where we visited the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center.  For over 100 years, fossils of early mammals (50 million years ago) have been discovered.  Ancestors of current horses, rhinos, cat-like animals, etc, etc.  Very informative displays.  Following our time at Dinosaur NM, we realize how little time, man has been on this earth.



To summarize the day, we stopped at the Painted Hills.  Yes this photo is real!!

A Typical Day traveling with BIW

Left our Red Fish Lake campsite by 8am, and drove the 15 minutes to Stanley, ID, where we heard there was this terrific bakery with fabulous breakfasts.  All true!  What a way to start the day. 










Since we had almost 7 hours of driving ahead of us, when we passed the sign for Kirkham Hot Springs (only $2.50 with our Senior Pass), we had to pull in for a dip.  After some climbing on the rocks between pools, we found the perfect temperature hot springs to soothe our bodies.

Then on the road where we drove through some beautiful canyons, through barren Eastern Oregon, and the a stop at the city of John Day to check out the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site. 

History was that when gold was discovered in the 1860's, the town quickly filled up with prospectors.  Soon gold mines were dug and over 2,000 Chinese laborers arrived to help with the work.  Two very enterprising Chinese, Ing Hay and Lung On, moved to town to earn from this influx of their countrymen.  Ing Hay, a master of "pulse diagnosis" become the town doctor using his Chinese herbs to heal the sick, both the Chinese and the local townspeople.  Lung On, a merchant, opened a general store which also included a few beds for overnights, some gambling, and even opened the first Oldsmobile dealership in eastern Oregon.

The building where these two conducted their business was sealed after their deaths.  Reopened years later, all of the medicinal items, general store products, the furniture, and even the business journals were all intact.  This is a fascinating place.

Ketchum...then Red Fish Lake

After leaving the cool lava landscape of Craters of the Moon, civilization in the form of classy shops, a gourmet grocery, numerous coffee shops and bakeries; all this was well appreciated...........

First we parked BIW alongside the Woods River Bike Trail, just outside of Ketchum, Idaho, assembled our bikes and rode for some good coffee and snack before returning.  A quick 20 miles of beautiful biking.

Next, we headed up to Red Fish Lake.  There's a great lodge where we had a terrific dinner of Steelhead trout and Hanger steak -- we shared...and a fabulous dessert, crumbleberry cobbler.  Also many terrific campgrounds overlooking the lake, although even though we arrived a day early on Thursday, there were almost no sites left.  We did good, though, and settled in for a few camping days at Mt Heyburn campground -- with a lake view too!

Hiked the Red Fish Inlet trail from the Lodge to the other end of the lake.  Walked 7 miles with a nice climb for some stellar views of Red Fish Lake.  And at the end of the hike, we cooled our toes in the cool water until the shuttle came to speed us back to the Lodge.  Now that's hiking!

Red Fish was a HAPPENING place.  We thought we had come for July 4th.  Guess the closing of many of campgrounds in a couple of days spurred on the local Idahoans(?) for their last dip before winter descends. 

At the Lodge, celebrating our hike....

What a great place to do the laundry ......

Looks  like this Ketchum, Idaho Laundromutt could be a great franchise.  Where else can you do your laundry in style; nice couches, WiFi, and television; and also wash your dog...8 minutes for $9.

Since we hadn't taken showers in awhile; we did consider going for the $9 8 minute wash... Can't discriminate, can they?!

HOT Lava !!!

No, we weren't in Hawaii (although then we could have added the 48th state to our RVing of America).  We were at Craters of the Moon.  Lava fields, lava tunnels, cinder cones, and a landscape that was filled with volcanic boulders and ash.....Even our campsite in this National Monument was in a cleared area between lava fields.

The good news is that the lava wasn't actually hot.  It has had time to cool after the last eruption only 2,000 years ago.  Good thing!

We drove the loop road and did some of  the hikes including one that went to some of the cinder cones where you could look into the center of the once live volcano.  In places, walking was treacherous, so we needed to be
 very careful.  Eerie landscape.

And in case you were wondering, Yes some of the astronauts that went to the moon, including Alan Shepard, trained here at Craters of the Moon.  but, NO....this is not the place where the moon landing was filmed.

Flaming Gorge.......

This was a pretty wild place, until in 1964, the dam was completed, blocking the Green river and filling almost 200 feet of a once beautiful canyon.  The same one that our hero, John Wesley Powell, explored one hundred years earlier.  Now there is a lake and lots of recreational boating in this extensive waterway.  Not the same, but still pretty beautiful.

The first night we camped at Canyon Rim campground.  Walked over to the edge of canyon and experienced why this is called Flaming Gorge.  Coming back to our campsite, we had a difficult time getting into our RV as a herd of big horn sheep were grazing right in front!  They obviously didn't hear about the New Years coming.

The following day we hiked Little Hole National Scenic Trail which starts at the base of the dam and follows the Green River.  We walked two miles down stream before heading back.  Enjoyed watching the trout fisherman on the rafts and boats practicing their fishing.

Our second night of camping was at Fire Hole campground.  We figured we would see more  pine trees and have cool air; but were we wrong.  This was a totally different part of this park.  Camped down by the man made lake, but very arid.  No pine trees, only scrub, but  the night skies with the Milky Way was brilliant.

Following in the wake of John Wesley Powell

Back in 1869, John Wesley Powell, paddled down the Green River in what is now Utah.  He named the entrance between the split mountains, Gates of  Lodore, and continued through the rapids on a wild trip.

Only a few years later, we followed in his wake............well, I guess more than a few years later.  With the help from Don Hatch Expeditions (OARS), we took a one day trip down the same canyon.  Class II and III rapids got us wet; but we never dumped....thanks to Morey & Ruthie in the front of the raft,  to steer us thru the water's tongue.  Our experience from the Colorado River raft trip in 2001 through the Grand Canyon gave us the added skills required.

Great weather, incredible scenery, and even a big horn sheep up close and personal.

Only 150 million years ago...........

Who needs Jurassic Park, when you can visit Dinosaur National Monument and see and touch dinosaur fossils?! 

After checking out the Visitor Center and the many displays...............and of course gifts, we boarded the tram up the hill to the excavation area where Andrew Carnegie had sent his team of paleontologists to excavate the many fossils rumored to be in the Morrison Formation.  And excavate they did!  Complete dinosaur fossils were shipped to many museums including to
Pittsburgh, Denver, and many university museums.  Included were Stegoaurus, Camarasaurus, and Allosaurus.

Following our walk through the excavation building, we met up with a park Ranger and walked down the trail back to the Visitor Center.  The Ranger was a wealth of information about the world, millions of years ago, and the changes through time.

Tonight if we here thunder from the recent storm clouds, hope we don't think its actually the dinosaurs coming back.

Driving the Trail Ridge

Following our six days of fabulous camping and hiking at Glacier Basin, it was time to hit the road.  Our trusty BIW climbed up to almost 12,500 feet without a whimper.  










We stopped to walk a mile on the old Ute native American trail at 11,000 ft.  And on our walk, saw a mom bear and two cubs........What are they doing up here?  We kept our watch and made lots of noise, and we both went our own ways.

Then stopped at the Alpine Center where the Old Fall River Road meets the Trail Ridge Road.  At 12,000 ft, the alpine meadow and the views were just incredible.

We are now back at only 8500 ft for the night, camped on Lake Granby.  We even splurged the extra $6 so we could have electricity; have to be prepared for University of Michigans first game with coach Harbaugh............GO BLUE!



No wolverine, but did see this elk!

Morey loves his Retirement/Birthday gift

Morey never had a chance to have a retirement party when he turned 65...get that gold watch and get all of those well wishing handshakes.  Although, what could be better than having been retired already for over five years; traveling and loving life. 



The watch..........No GOLD watch..............but for his 65th birthday, he got a really cool Casio Protrek.  It has a timer, alarm, compass, measures barometric pressure, temperature, calculates altitude.....gives day and date (day is sure important when you're retired)...and even has the time!

Check out the altitude.  Yep, that's 11,160 feet.

Rocky Mountain High

For six days we have camped at Glacier Basin campground, site 18 (nice!), in Rocky Mountain National Park.  We've been hiking everyday with the exception of our one day in Estes Park to walk shops, taste the beer, the food, and even a specially dipped apple.  It is almost Fall, afterall!!

With daily hikes of 6 to 10 miles, we experienced the excellent trails leading to water falls, glacier fed lakes, open meadows, and lot of rocks.  For anyone who wants to follow in our footsteps, visit Alberta Falls, The Loch, Mill and Jewel Lakes...and then visit Cub Lake, the Pool...and much more.  All trails in the Bear Lake Corridor offer incredible views.

A special thank you to the Park Service for the excellent bus shuttle system.  No need to drive to the different trail heads.  Also thanks to Ranger Cullen who lead our 4 hour hike today.





We have taken tons of pictures; only posting a few.  OH, and almost forgot, in two days, September 4, 2015 is the 100 year anniversary of this parks creation.  ALL OF THIS PARK IS A WOW !!