The house that Coke built 8/9/2018

The drive from Memphis to Mobile was a memorable one. Following Google's directions, we headed east in Mississippi on Route 19, a two-lane, narrow road, with a 55 mph speed limit. There wasn't a lot of traffic, until...we rounded a big sweeping curve to find a half a manufactured house barreling down the road toward us, taking up not only its own lane, but a healthy portion of ours. Ray did an admirable job keeping us on the road that had a 1 foot shoulder. Later, on some county road, again directed by Google, we rolled down a similar road to find an unmarked railroad bridge ahead of us. What was the clearance? We needed at least 13 feet to get under the bridge unscathed. A judgement was made. We proceeded. Success. After that, we ran into road construction, where workers were painting lines on the highway. It would have been easier if the cones to block off the right lane and allow for painting had not been placed at least a foot to the left of the striping. That left clear road just about the width of the RV to travel on. Result? We ran over a cone that collided with the front of the car. Fortunately, no permanent damage was done. All in a day's drive!

We are staying at a lovely state park just outside of Mobile, and on Mobile Bay. Tomorrow we visit

Bellingrath Gardens.

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Walter Bellingrath was one of the first Coca-Cola bottlers in the Southeast, and with his wealth built Bellingrath Gardens and home. He and his wife, Bessie, lived in the home which has since been converted into a museum. The gardens opened to the public in 1932.

Mr. and Mrs. B lived in Mobile, but wanted a place to get away from the pressures of life there, so they purchased a fishing camp on the Fowl River in 1917. The transformation from the "Belle Camp" fishing post into what is now Bellingrath Gardens and Home is largely thanks to Mrs. B, who had married Walter in 1906. Mrs. B began developing the gardens in 1927. The 10,500 square foot home was completed in 1935. That's a pretty big house for people who had no children.

The unique feature of this home is that it is all original. All the furniture and decorations are exactly as the Bellingraths left them, and

everything is pristine, exactly as if the Bellingraths had just left. The house and gardens have been maintained exactly as the Bellingraths did while they were living here.

When we originally showed up for the house tour, there were about 15 other people queued up for the tour. We opted to wait for the next tour, and are glad we did. We had our own personal tour, as there were no others at that time.

The house is beautiful, though ornate, Mrs. B's taste. The setting is serene. Apparently, spring is the time to come: azaleas and camellias are in bloom everywhere, and the weather is cooler and a bit drier. We'll be back.

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/kA8aK79E11nTyjK3A

All hail the King! 8/17/2018

There's a reason why, nearly 40 years after he died, Elvis Presley is still revered as "The King". We are in Memphis, TN, with the express reason to visit Graceland. As luck would have it, we were able to get a reservation at the Graceland RV park, within a 5 minute walk of its namesake. We are staying on Blue Suede Lane, right around the corner from Don't Be Cruel Lane.

Graceland the house is pretty much as Elvis left it in 1977 when he died. What impressed Ray and me is that although Elvis was richer than rich, the house is pretty liveable. He took the home, that was built in 1939, and made it his own. The style is distinctly 1970s: there are mirrors everywhere, there

is a room with carpeting on the ceiling, faux fur is common. But the house as a whole is livable. It's not what I would expect for a culture icon.

But the Graceland tour is about so much more than the house tour. Elvis' planes and autos and motorcycles are on display in a separate area. His military, movie and recording careers all had their separate areas of museum display. There is a fascinating exhibition devoted to Sam Phillips

and Sun Records, essentially the beginnings of rock and blues music as we know it. And there is an awesome area devoted to how Elvis influenced all of the music of today: with quotes from Frank Sinatra, to Justin Timberlake to Gene Simmons to Robert Plante to Michael Buble and Springsteen. James Brown had such respect and love for him, he even considered Elvis his brother.

We had been unaware of the fact that Elvis was a significant benefactor to many charities, and was very private about it. Over the course of his career, he received numerous awards, but he showed up to receive only one, as one of the 10 Outstanding Young Men of America 1970, given by the Jaycees, probably because it meant the most to him. It was the first time, as an entertainer, that he had been accepted on the same level as others in fields like biological research, business, medicine and national affairs.

We came away from the 5 or so hours we spent at the Graceland complex with a new appreciation for Elvis and the impact he had on all of music and culture.

Photos of the house, grounds and museum stuff are here-- the descriptions of the pictures will tell you what you're looking at. :  https://photos.app.goo.gl/xH4SRQZ4P6TevDHF6

Toys and hills and heat 8/6/2018

There is a venue in Branson that touts itself as "The World's Largest Toy Museum".  That may be a bit of hype, but the place is chock full of  toys.  Outside the World’s Largest Toy Museum, two larger-than-life toy soldiers flank the entranceway, which leads to a collection of more than one million toys from the 19th century to today. antique tin fire trucks, a 1959 British Embassy Rolls-Royce,
superhero action figures, Matchbox cars, and retro lunchboxes, a more compact version of the dinner trays kids used to carry to school, a BB gun museum (a real hoot: my, how the world has changed), a Teddy Bear Museum, collections of Barbies, GI Joes, Military toys, and Star Wars figures.

We browsed the collections over the course of 4 hours, enjoying reminiscing over the stuff of our childhoods: paper dolls, army men, cap guns, Patty Playpal, pick-up-stix and so much more. The proprietors, like most businesses in this area, are open about their Christianity, and have not only left Bibles open in various locations around he museum, but have placed printed Bible quotes on many of the display shelves.

More pictures here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/JonupDgNwvBeVD6M6

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On Sunday we headed down to Table Rock State Park, just south of Branson, and took a hike along the lake rim trail. The weather was hot and sunny, and we only made 3 miles before the heat (in the upper 90s) had taken its toll, so we decided to retreat to the air conditioned car to see a bit more of the Ozarks in the area. We drove over to the College of the Ozarks, a Christian University that offers free tuition to students in exchange for work that they do on campus. The program requires students to work 15 hours a week at an on-campus work station and two 40-hour work weeks during breaks. It has a beautiful  campus at the top of a ridge in the Ozarks. The college has a museum there that includes the original Clampett's truck from the TV show Beverly Hillbillies. But being a Christian University, the museum was closed on Sunday.

We're off to Memphis tomorrow!

Branson day 2 8/4/2018

Since we had tickets to a show this evening, we thought we'd check out some of the surrounding countryside, and drove to the Ruth and Paul Henning Conservation area a short distance from our campground. It is a forested 1534 acre nature preserve with trails and an observation tower. The day was hot, but the first trail we took was shaded and, as an added bonus, paved, and led to the observation tower. I think the reason they paved the trail was that it is so hilly, that it would probably erode quickly without the hard surface. The observation tower was needed to get a view: the trees and underbrush were so thick. We climbed the metal observation tower, and got the touted 360 degree view of Branson and the Ozarks in the area. On the way back to the trailhead, we met a man who inquired about the trail and engaged him in conversation. He was visiting Branson with his family and was from Lincoln, Nebraska, about 400 miles away. He said he and his family didn't travel much and hadn't really been outside of Nebraska for a while. He and his wife couldn't imagine traveling with his 2 adolescent sons. That's just a completely different perspective from ours, and I know it's shared by a lot of people.

While at the conservation area, we tried another loop trail, this time, not paved, but rocky, hilly, and for us, sweaty. We remembered why we love to hike in the mountains out west in the summer. We'll have to come back to the Ozarks in the fall some time.

Back to the RV for a glass (or two) of wine, and then out for the evening dinner show of Dolly Parton's Stampede. They tell you to arrive early for the pre-show, and we're glad we did. On a central stage, flanked by tables and chairs on all sides, 3 brothers entertained with Bluegrass music. You haven't lived until you've heard a bluegrass rendition of Stayin' Alive or Smoke in the Water! That

was lots of fun. The Stampede show is dinner and live entertainment featuring thirty-two horses and dozens of riders performing trick riding and competitions inside a huge 35,000-square-foot arena. Dinner is served during the performance, and you eat without utensils. They serve up warm towels at the end of dinner to clean up. It was a family-friendly show, with interludes like a chicken race, where kids from the audience chased chickens to the finish line. Like much of the Midwest and south, there is no obvious cynicism about love of family, love of God, and love of country. The Dolly show ended with Dolly (not in person) singing a patriotic song with all the riders dressed in red, white and blue, and brandishing large American flags while galloping around the arena.

A few photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/fkTCWgALc8Q4C1tAA

Branson 8/4/2018

Branson, MO has all the commercialism of Gatlinburg, TN, the music of Nashville, and the beauty of Asheville, NC. Home to over 100 live shows that range from magic to rock 'n' roll, country, family harmonies, comedy, variety, gospel and dinner shows, it is set in the absolute beauty of the Ozarks. The Ozark Mountains may not have the soaring, breath-taking sheer cliffs and alpine vistas of the Rockies, but their tree-covered hills and valleys are just as scenic and engaging.

We've never visited this area before, so we will be here for 5 nights to check it out. 

Our campground is a short distance from the entertainment strip, but has the quiet, country feel of a place much further away. Like all of Branson (and I suspect, all of the Ozarks), it is very hilly. All of the campsites are in tiers set along the hillsides, one row of sites above the next. As far as I could tell, pretty much all of the campgrounds in the area are the same set up. When we checked in, we found that we could get tickets for any of the shows through their preferred provider at a discount. When we perused the list, we chose 2 and called to order tickets. Within 15 minutes, the tickets were delivered to our RV door. 

The first show we saw was the Shanghai Acrobats, a show that really was amazing. For 2 hours with a 15 minute intermission, we saw a continuous stream of acrobatic acts. One of the craziest (and best) acts was a young man who held the handle of a sword in his mouth and balanced an upright stemmed wine glass on the edge of the sword blade, and slid the wine glass (without touching it) up and down the blade. Then he did the same thing and added liquid to the glass. Then he did contortions while holding the glass with liquid on the blade. He had the audience check out both the glass and the sword to confirm that they were legit. Great show!

Trees again! 8/3/2018

From our campground in Homewood, KS, we headed east and south toward Branson, MO where we will see a few shows and from which we will explore the Ozarks.

The first noticeable change came just west of Salina, KS. We could see many more trees along the road, replacing the open prairie. By the time we reached the Missouri border, trees were everywhere, and the hills were becoming blanketed, and the land much more hilly. As we drove east, in Peoria, KS we passed a farm with a tree growing inside a silo. It would have been difficult to turn around and come back to snap a picture of it, so we moved on. But it looked like this:

Apparently, that phenomenon is not that uncommon here in the Midwest. The abandoned silo provided a sheltered spot for the tree seed to take hold.

On to Branson!
A few photos are here
https://photos.app.goo.gl/x4Xafv5WwVTHX8TQ7

Prairie 8/2/2018

On the way to our stop for the night in Homewood, KS, we visited the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. Located in the Flint Hills, it protects a small portion of tallgrass prairie that once covered this continent. Of the 400,000 square miles of tallgrass prairie that used to exist, only about 4% remains, mostly in the Flint Hills of Kansas. The Preserve used to be the Spring Hill/ Z-Bar Ranch. It's a different kin
d of National Park in that it is under public-private management of the National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy.

The ranch home and farm buildings are open to the public for self-guided tours. The buildings are all made of Kansas limestone, the most common rock here, recalling that Kansas was under the sea epochs ago. The limestone formed from ancient marine deposits. (As an aside, in Kansas, it was

common for land owners to use limestone fenceposts rather than wood which was a scarce commodity.) For its day, the house was a grand work of art.

We took a loop trail that meandered through the prairie and a bison pasture. We were wary of coming too close, as we passed a lone bull. We saw many of the herd at a distance. It's a wonderful and unique experience (for us, anyway), to stand in an open field, and see the horizon in all directions, not a tree or bush in sight. Field met sky everywhere we looked. It's not hard to imagine the thundering sound of a herd of thousands of bison, just beyond view, over the hilltop. But we walked in the peaceful quiet of the prairie, with the only sounds being the grasshopper sparrows and meadowlarks that flew up from the grass as we passed.

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7pXWYTrKq3WsfATU6

Roaming Kansas dirt roads 7/31/2018

We had read that just south of where we are staying there are a few unusual scenic places: Cedar Bluff State Park, Threshing Machine Canyon,  and the Castle Rock Badlands. The latter 2 were on a list of 8 Kansas Wonders. That sounded good to us!

Following Google directions, we headed south in the Elantra, away from the Interstate. A 2-lane 65 mph road led due south like an arrow shooting through  Kansas farmland. We passed a picturesque church, the only building on the road, and shortly realized that we should have turned at the church to head to the Badlands. This was route 458, otherwise known as local R road, known elsewhere as an

S Road (I think)

"unimproved road". We did hope that it would eventually change to pavement. No such luck. After 20 miles of right and left turns, passing at least 4 snakes (2 of them very large) crossing the road, many washboard areas, acres and acres of corn and sorghum, no houses or buildings, people or cars, a few pieces of farm equipment, and some cattle, we made the turn for Castle Rock. As we approached the area, Google directed us to take a right turn. Ahh, no. I guess there used to be a road there. A rocky, cavernous, axle-destroying path is what was left. So we figured we would take the other road (loosely describing the other fork) as far as we could go--which turned out to be about 50-75 yards.  That road was so badly rutted that we didn't dare try advancing through it. It would take AAA more than a couple of hours to get to us there. So we just stopped, and started to explore the rock formations that were within walking distance. It was a beautiful area, with views across the landscape, carpeted with wildflowers, with not a soul around. All we could hear was the buzz of cicadas.  I joked to Ray that if we met our demise here, our bodies would never be found. It looked like we may have been the only visitors here in quite a while.

After the Castle Rock Badlands, next on the agenda was Cedar Bluff State Park. Again, dirt roads, farms, corn, sorghum, no houses or people, etc, etc. We arrived and went to the park office to be directed to Threshing Machine Canyon, which was supposedly nearby. The Kansas tourism office had instructed us to inquire there for directions. The young girl at the desk (the only person there) had never heard of it. Threshing Machine Canyon is the site of an 1850s Native American attack on a wagon train bearing a threshing machine, where there are carvings in the rocks dating back to the mid-1800s. At any rate, with no one else to ask, we tries to figure out where it was. We found a trail

A bench to enjoy the view of the reservoir: once they cut the pine trees

in the park that ran along the reservoir and into the prairie and took that, and discovered that the section of the park with the bluffs was several miles away on the trail. In search of the Threshing Machine canyon, it seemed that there were no clear directions online, and no one seemed to know where it was.

Kansas really needs to get its tourism act together. No signs, and people who should be there with answers have no clue.

But it is a beautiful state with farms, prairie, wildflowers and sky that goes on forever. Pictures are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CqVbwRUkbirDMGaw9

Up and down, up and down 7/30/2018

Our next stop was to be in Englewood, CO, where we would stay while visiting family nearby. It has been 2 years since I had seen my brother, Larry and his wife, Rose.  It was great having the opportunity to catch up. To get to the Denver area, we had to go over 4 mountain passes: Monarch at

11,312 feet, Trout Creek at 9346 feet, Red Hill at 9993 feet, and Kenosha at 10000 feet. Monarch, at the Continental Divide was the wildest, with inclines and declines of up to 7% on both sides, and a bit of rain and hail. Ray did a superlative job maneuvering the RV and car up and down without either blowing the engine, or demolishing the brakes.

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On to Kansas

The rough weather in the form of strong storms that had been predicted for our day of departure from Denver, missed us completely. Thank you, God! The prospect of strong winds and hail was somewhat disconcerting. But the ride through the last 3rd of Colorado, and the first quarter of Kansas was uneventful. We watched as the GPS recorded our descent from over 5300 feet to 2400 feet elevation. We're staying in a park right off the Interstate in Wakeeney, KS.

Black Canyon 7/27/2018

The ride from Provo to Montrose, CO was absolutely beautiful--mountains and wide open high

plains, punctuated with the sight of a herd of antelope grazing in a field.  The road took us through several small towns, as we played the "Guess That Population" game.  Helper (pop. 2095), Price (gorgeous canyon here) (pop 8371), Wellington (pop 1609), and Thompson, UT (pop 39) are a few.

Our destination was Montrose, CO, home of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, and of our campground. It's called the Black Canyon because it's so narrow and steep that the sun doesn't reach some parts of it, making it look black. From the campground to the entrance of the park is about a 20-minute drive. 

The first full day of our visit here, our plan was to drive the canyon rim road, and take all the walks to the rim. Depending on how long that took, we would either go back to the RV after the Rim drive, and return in the evening, or just stay in the park for the evening program. Because the park is not highly developed and has a very low ambient light threshold, it is an International Dark Sky Designated place. What  makes it very special to me is that is was the first place I ever saw the Milky Way (back in 1975). We camped here in a tent back then. We may have changed, but the canyon hasn't. So we eagerly looked forward to the evening program that would show off the "star" attraction with high powered telescopes. 

Superlative words don't adequately describe the beauty of this canyon. Even the best photographs fall far short of showing how steep, how grand, how deep the canyon really is. One cliff here, at 2300 feet is the highest in Colorado. If the Empire State Building stood on the canyon floor, it would reach slightly more than halfway to the top of the cliff. The face of that cliff is called The Painted Wall, seen in the photo to the right.

Most of the viewpoints here are a short walk from the road--200 yards to 1 1/2 miles round trip. All offer stellar views of the canyon. The last stop on the Rim Road presented us with a wonderful trail that took us to expansive views of the Uncompagre Valley on one side, and the Black Canyon on the other. By the time we were done checking out the rim views, it was about 4 pm, and

we opted to take the East Portal Road that heads down to the Gunnison River. That road consists of successive hairpin turns, with some sections at a 16% grade. We hesitated at first, but then decided to go for it. We're so glad we did!

From the bottom of the canyon, you get a whole different perspective. And it was here that we found the perfect, quiet spot to sit and contemplate the exquisite beauty that surrounded us. We broke out the lawn chairs and cracked open a few beers. 

It was hard to tear ourselves away, but we did, so we would have time to ascend the East Portal Road and get to Sunset View, a spot along the rim road where you can watch the sun go down over the canyon.  What made this sunset wonderful was that the small crowd assembled here watched it in almost reverential silence. Sweet!

By the time the sun had completely set, and the colors of the sky were fading, it was time to head over to the star show. BUT...there would be no stars on display that night as the clouds rolled in.

No matter. The Canyon was fabulous. Here are some photos we took: https://photos.app.goo.gl/BJspZTXniHx1bUqH6

Provo Canyon 7/27/2018

Monday's foray was a short drive from our campground to Provo Canyon. Ray had found what sounded like an interesting hike whose highlight was lots of wildflowers. Having hiked in National Forests before, we assumed that we would just follow the signs for the trails.

The trail we would start on, trail A, was an "out and back" trail. But we could make a loop hike by going to the trailhead for trail A, following that to trail B, and then to the junction for trail C, which would take us back to the trailhead. Unfortunately, the directions Ray got had no distances by which to gauge where the trail junctions were, and, as it turned out, there were no signs at the junction of trail A and B. With no one else on the trail, we had to guess where we should make the turn for trail B. Fortunately, we were able to make a more informed guess with a trail mapping app on my phone that showed us the track we were on.

Anyway, we hiked through aspen forest and mountain meadows replete with all kinds of wildflowers, as advertised. But a significant section of the trail took us through a dense area of shoulder-height ferns that was home to clouds of mosquitoes. The 2-foot wide trail here consisted of powdery dust and loose rocks, as the trail rose and descended steeply. Needless to say, this was not my favorite hike ever.

Pictures are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/VserBqVnnYCgTCrH7

The Golden Spike 7/26/2018

As we headed to Provo, UT from Twin Falls, ID, we decided to stop at the Golden Spike National Historic site in Promontory, UT, northwest of Salt Lake City, about 20 miles south of the interstate. I was not expecting it to be as interesting as it actually was. The visitor center has a comprehensive and fascinating look at why the transcontinental railroad was needed, how it was built, and the ramifications of having our country's coasts joined by railroad.

In May 1869, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads met at Promontory Point in Utah, changing the country forever. We saw replica trains re-enact the meeting of the two. One train puffed white smoke, the other black. The train from the west used what was an abundant source of fuel in California, wood, the one from the east used its main fuel, coal. The last ceremonial spike driven was the Golden Spike, which was then replaced with an iron one. The original Golden Spike is on display at Stanford University. The gentleman that drove that last spike was Leland Stanford, the president of the Central Pacific railroad, and at the time future founder of Stanford University.

Pictures are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8CHQNjye1VbSbMdC8

Hawks along the road 7/22/2018

Perrine Bridge over the Snake River

There are many trails in and around Twin Falls, most following the Snake River canyon rim. After a leisurely morning, we headed out to check some of them out. We went to the Perrine bridge, a bridge in Twin Falls that carries U.S. Highway 93 over the Snake River Canyon, connecting to Jerome County and I84. It's the 8th highest bridge in the US, and is named for I.B. Perrine, who pushed for 20th century irrigation projects in this area, and is credited with founding the city of Twin Falls. The Perrine Bridge is a popular basejumping site known all over the world and may be the only man-made structure in the United States where basejumping is allowed year-round without a permit. Jumpers often use the nearby visitor center as a home base before and after parachuting from the bridge.

From the visitor center there, the views of the canyon are impressive. You get wonderful views of the private Blue Lakes Country Club and the curving Snake River, as well as the bridge.

We walked along the canyon rim trail for a bit, then  decided to drive up to the Minidoka National Historic site near Jerome, ID outside Twin Falls. In 1942, President Roosevelt signed an Executive

Order requiring over 110,000 Japanese people to give up their homes, farms and businesses, and be brought to detention centers. For the rest of World War II, they remained there. Over 13,000 of those were imprisoned at Minidoka. This historic site presents the story of what happened here, and gives it a human face. Two thirds of the people who were brought here were Americans, and they lived American lives and swore allegiance to this country. While here, they formed boy scout and girl scout troops, a jazz band, art clubs, organized churches, planted gardens. The kids played marbles, jacks, jump rope--they lived American lives. In August 1943, Minidoka firefighters helped subdue a wildfire 60 miles from camp. The history of this place is so bizarre--Americans imprisoned for how they looked--it's hard to believe it actually happened. We can't ever forget this.

Minidoka is located on the outskirts of Twin Falls, in an area that is mostly agricultural. Once you are outside the hub of the city, there are farms everywhere. On our way to Minidoka, I had noted a hawk sitting on an irrigation rig by the side of the road. Then, on our departure, I noted several hawks sitting on that irrigation rig. We stopped the car, and looked back at the field we had just passed. There were at least 50 hawks perched on the irrigation rig in that field. We took some pictures and moved on. Later, I identified the hawks we saw as Swainson's hawks. The information I dug up on these hawks is that they favor wild prairie, hayfields, and pastures over wheat fields and alfalfa fields, which may offer its prey too much cover. They require elevated perches for hunting and a supply of small mammals such as young ground squirrels as prey for its nestlings. "Many still-hunt, watching for prey activity from a perch such as a tree, bush, pylon, telephone pole, hummock or other high object.These birds patrol open areas or scan for prey from a perch; they may also catch insects in flight. They take advantage of insects turned up by farm equipment or driven out by fire." Those hawks strung out on the irrigation rig were quite a sight to see. We caught a few pictures of them.

After our visit here, we decided to return to Shoshone Falls, where there is a trail that leads to the place where Evel Knievel tried to jump the Snake River Canyon (and failed). We hiked up the trail for a couple of miles, following switchback after switchback, up and up, til we were almost at the top of the canyon hills. But we saw no such place, although we were assured it was there. No signs, no markers. It was hot and it was getting late. Though the views of Shoshone Falls and the canyon were wonderful, we decided to pack it in and go home for a beer.

Pictures are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/rgVWQ1iQEyqHEFQw9

Down the Snake River--Twin Falls 7/21/2018

Shoshone Falls

Twin Falls, ID is a smallish community in southern Idaho, a gateway to the Snake River Canyon, which lies to the north. The drive from Hells Canyon took us back along Route 71, for us, that notorious hairpin turn on switchbacks that drop off to steep cliffs. We found that driving it at the beginning of a multi-hour drive, rather than at the end, made it much easier to traverse. The scenery was just as spectacular going as it was coming. On the way down, we did pass a short stretch of road that was covered in black blobs. I thought at first they might be rocks, but then I noted that they were moving! They must have been mormon crickets. This is a picture from the web, but it shows the distribution of the crickets on the road.

On the way through Cambridge, ID, population 316, (not to be at all confused with Cambridge, MA), we passed this little gem:
Wouldn't you love to stay here? No phones in the room, or cell service, but you can use the pay phone (maybe) out front. One thing we came to have some trepidation about were the many "Open Range" signs along back roads. Where there are "open range" laws, people wanting to keep animals off their property must erect a legal fence to keep animals out. So cattle will roam wherever they wish in "open range" country. There's nothing quite like driving your RV pulling a car around a narrow hairpin turn down a mountain to find cattle in the road. Surprise!!

One odd thing about where we were staying for the last several days was the time zone issue. Our campground was on the Oregon side of the Snake River, in the Pacific Time zone. Drive across the bridge, and you are in Mountain time. Without a cellular network, our phones always read Mountain time, the last signal they had before dropping off the network. When we left the campground to come south, and we finally had a signal, our phones added an hour. What? Where did that hour go??

After a few hours, we finally got back to I84, the first time we had been on the Interstate in weeks. Our stop was in Twin Falls at a campground owned by a former HP engineer and his wife. He suggested we see Shoshone Falls (only 10 minutes away) in the evening as the sun was setting, so we did. Here are some pictures, most taken by Ray: https://photos.app.goo.gl/UtvUDAk3YiNdddeD7

Wet and Wild on the Snake River 7/21/2018

Thursday we set out to the dam again for our jet boat tour. The day was forecast to be hot (upper 90s), dry, and sunny--common for this area. We lucked out in that this tour only had a total of 8 people, including us.The jet boat? What a hoot! Both Ray and I got soaked going through the class 4 rapids.

We stopped at a small sandy area along the banks of the river to dip our feet in the water, or take a quick swim (2 adults and 2 kids actually swam in the cold water--not as cold as Bear Brook State Park in NH in the summer). And we made another stop to see ancient Indian pictographs on the rocks on a small trail up from the water's edge.

2 of the adults on our tour were on a 2 week tour of Oregon, and were from Germany. They had each come to the US as exchange students, he in Texas, she in NJ. They met and married in Germany, and for the last several years have traveled to the US each summer. The young man mentioned that as someone who lives in northern Germany, he has never visited southern Germany, and doesn't know much about it. Sounds like a lot of people in the US.

At any rate, the jet boat ride was great. We'd love to do this again sometime.
Pictures here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/TCVfxsn9BsECsr7M9

The Eagle Has Landed! 7/21/2018

Our campground is operated by the Idaho Power Company and is located on the banks of the Snake River, about 22 miles (45 minutes) south of the Hells Canyon dam on the Oregon side of the river. It's lovely and shaded, and really in the middle of nowhere. There is no cell service at all, and there are no TV stations that can be picked up by antenna. The campground offers paid wifi, of which we have taken advantage. (The down side being that you get logged out after 15 minutes, and have to log back in) With 2 days scheduled here, we decided to check out the road to the dam, the place from which we would embark on our jet boat tour tomorrow. That was another winding, narrow road, this time, following the curves of the mountains that flank the Snake River. At one stop to enjoy the scenery, as I exited the car, something caught my eye. Flying up from the river, not 30 yards away, was a bald eagle. We watched it soar for a few seconds, and then it landed on a rock a short distance down the road, maybe 30-40 yards.

It sat there until another car came along and stopped. A woman got out, and started approaching the bird, prompting it to fly away. As she walked away, she acknowledged that she had made a mistake, calling back to us "Yeah, I'm an a****le." Seeing that bird so close in its natural habitat was awesome.

After driving the road to the dam, we decided to investigate another viewpoint of the canyon, about 35 miles north of the campground, and about 4000 feet higher in elevation. The temperature up there was 13 degrees cooler than down at the campground.The access road was, of course, narrow, and winding. But what a fabulous view at the top! You couldn't really see

View from the overlook

the river from the observation point, but the mountain view was stunning. The meadows up there were covered with red indian paintbrush, hyssop, and clover, as well as many other yellow, red, purple and white wildflowers. There were very few people there, and the silent beauty of the place was inspiring.

Pictures are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/FAwXwPwLwyn7WpWa8

Ray and Carol's Excellent Adventure--the long and winding road 7/20/2018

Route 12

NH has route 101 and Route 93, Massachusetts has I90 , I495 and I95. Florida has I75, I4, and I95. Every state has a main north-south and/or east west road. Idaho has Routes 12 and 95. Do not confuse 95 with I95.

We knew seting out that it would be an interesting drive to get from Missoula, MT to Oxbow, OR, when Garmin (and Google) said it would take 7  hours to go 350 miles by car. With construction delays, and with the challenges of maneuvering a 28 foot RV pulling a 15 foot car, it actually took 8 hours. We knew that the 2-lane roads we would be traveling were designated "scenic". But the "thrill" is all in the experience of it. We started in the mountains that rose steeply from the Lochsa River on one side, and the road (Route 12) on the other. We wound around curves, climbing 6-7% inclines and descending those hills for 137 miles, and passing through 0 towns. We missed the turn we should have taken in Kooskia, ID, and knew we were in trouble when Garmin directed us to turn at MT 162,

Nez Perce reservation--wheat fields and harvester

and drew a route down MT old route 7. I get nervous whenever we have to take the RV on roads designated "old". As it happened, the route took us through the Nez Perce reservation--beautiful wheat fields on rolling hills. If you went to nowhere, drove 60 miles in any direction, took a left, and drove another 30 miles, that might describe this route. We had very little company on the road. But it was more ups and downs and curves. Finally, we arrived at route 95, Idaho's main north-south route on the west side of the state. What did 95 look like? More ups and downs on extremely steep, curvy roads.

The last turn for us was at route 71, a road that

would take us to our campground on the Snake River. We thought: "Awesome, this road looks straighter than 12 or 95!" Nay, nay!! If it's possible, 71 was curvier and steeper than the other 2 combined. Admittedly, it took us through some fantastic scenery, with views down to the Brownlee dam. But, wow! What a drive! Here are a few pictures from the drive--all through the windshield--there was no place to stop!  https://photos.app.goo.gl/GDfAfBATaw6SgVya7

Bison 7/18/2018

We said goodbye to Glacier, and went south to just north of Missoula at the National Bison Range. The 18,500 acre range was established in 1908 to support a population of American bison. As one of the oldest wildlife refuges in the US, it is home to about 350-500 of these animals, as well as bear, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk, deer and many other animals, including about 200 species of birds. The range is open grasslands, and has an incredible quiet, peaceful beauty about it. To drive the park road, we had to unhook the car from the RV because the road is narrow and steep. Pictures are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/iJoUZPAzUawAfaNh6

Goats, sheep and killer views 7/13/2018

Click the photo for enlarged view

We made the correct decision today about getting to Logan Pass for our hike on the Highline trail. We drove to the St. Mary Visitor Center, parked the car, and took the park shuttle up to Logan Pass. Again, we lucked out on weather, starting in the high 60s and warming to the low 70s, with a refreshing, but not overpowering breeze.

The Highline trail is a relatively easy trail, that gains only 825 feet over 3.6 miles (total 7.2 miles round trip). At every step, and every turn, you have absolutely spectacular scenery as the Highline follows along the Continental Divide, also known as the Garden Wall in this area. The exceptionally beautiful views, the excellent opportunities for spotting wildlife, and the wildflowers, all combine to

That's Ray on the trail

make this an awesome hike. At roughly one-quarter of a mile from the trailhead you get to the famous ledge with the reputation for terrifying those with a fear of heights, us. In most places the ledge, hanging like a shelf along the Garden Wall, is only six to eight feet in width, and has drop-offs of roughly one hundred feet or more down to the Going-to-the-Sun Road below. This segment lasts for only three-tenths of a mile, though. Fortunately the National Park Service has installed a hand cable along this stretch of the trail.

The rest of the trail offers spectacular views as the trail continues to hug the cliffs. We may have a new favorite trail here...We did encounter a mountain goat that ambled along the trail, munching vegetation as he proceeded. He came so close, we could have pet him. We couldn't get out of his way

as the trail was barely wide enough to accommodate us. Then, towards the end of our hike, we came upon a small herd of bighorn sheep grazing in the meadow. The pictures tell the story:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DsY2ciUQzDys2y3AA
The capper of the day happened during dinner at a local restaurant. They keep doors and windows open, which was an invitation to a bat that was cruising the neighborhood. It went fluttering around the dining room and then scooted out the door.

Around the lake 7/12/2018

Today we drove south to the Two Medicine section of Glacier, about an hour south of St. Mary where we are staying. After making the turn on Route 49, the road takes you up a rough winding road to a spot that looks over the Lower Two Medicine Lake. The views are spectacular. We continued on to the North shore of Two Medicine Lake where we picked up a trail. After 2 days of longer trails, we decided to rest our feet with a shorter 4 mile hike.  Again we lucked out with cool, comfortable, blue-sky weather, perfect for hiking. As with other Glacier trails, the views were beautiful (of the lake, mountains and wildflowers). We usually stop to eat lunch somewhere along the trail, but decided not to do that as the trail was posted for bears that frequent the area.

We stopped on our way back north at that overlook on Lower Two Medicine Lake, and discovered 2
crosses off a small spur trail there. They were both memorials for Blackfeet Indians whose ashes had been scattered there. A more beautiful spot to send your ashes to the wind doesn't exist. Photos are here:

We opted to get dinner at the Two Sisters Cafe, a small restaurant just north of our campground. Great food, great service.
This photo of Two Sisters Cafe is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Bears and moose 7/12/2018

Our full first day at Glacier, we had planned to hike the Highline trail to Haystack Pass, a 7.5 mile trip that takes you along the Continental Divide. We drove up to Logan Pass where the trail begins,

but the was absolutely no place to park the car. They were turning people away from the parking lot up there. We could have driven down to a lower area and taken the shuttle back up, but it looked like there were many people already waiting for the shuttle, that arrives every 30 minutes or so. So we opted to take the St. Mary Falls/Virginia Falls hike, what turned out to be about 8 miles. It was a very windy day, with winds gusting to 25-30 mph--ultimately, a crucial fact for us. At any rate, we set out, and were struck by the number of people on the trail. We'd taken this trail before, and never encountered this many people, to the point that it seemed like we never were out of sight of other people on the trail. The scenery was still spectacular, though, and St. Mary Lake is still a blue-green gem.

We were amazed at the difference in vegetation on this hike from the last time we were here, in 2016. In 2015, there had been a large fire that had wiped out the trees from this section of the park. But in 2016, there were abundant colorful stands of wildflowers carpeting what had been the forest floor in all different colors. It was breathtaking. This year, 3 years after the fire, thimbleberry blanketed the area. We learned that this is evidence of the ecological succession after a fire.

When we came back from our hike, we discovered a huge error we'd made. We had left our awning out--not a smart move, with strong winds whipping. It shifted the plastic cover on the awning so it doesn't roll up correctly (the cover not the awning). Oh well, live and learn.

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Wednesday was Iceberg Lake trail (10 miles) day. We set out for Many Glacier area of the park, taking a dirt back road. A few miles down the road, we saw a large black bear in the middle of the road. at least 100 yards away. Even at that distance, we could tell he was large because he had really long legs. When he saw us, he scooted into the woods. 

Iceberg Lake trail was  as gorgeous as ever, and the weather was perfect--we started in the high 60s,

and it warmed to the low 70s. The pictures tell the story. We did see a moose reclining in the snow  down off the trail. That was pretty cool.

We got back from our hike just in time to make the evening

presentation of the Blackfeet Indian dancers at the visitor center. It was awesome. The Indians explained the dances and the costumes they wore, and showed us 8-10 different dances. It was wonderful. They do this every Wednesday evening during the summer at the St. Mary Visitor Center.

Pictures of Iceberg Lake are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/NhnBx2Xban3KrMz49

Pictures of St. Mary are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/yKjDUke2oDRmHKhX6