Preparations for and travels before our Alaskan Trip - 2016

After spending the winter in Bothell, WA at the Lake Pleasant RV Park, we had appointments to have our motor home serviced in Oregon the first week in June. The coach work was to be done in Junction City and the motor and generator just up the road on the northeast side of Eugene, OR. Originally we had planned on staying in Bothell until the end of May before moving down to Oregon the week before our appointments in order to spend some time with Barbara's two sisters in Stayton. As usual, plans got changed. During the winter, we got to know and made friends with some good people at the Lynnwood Elks, including fellow Seahawks fans, golfers and a camping group. We joined the latter and went on several camp outs (what we call rallies) with them. Since one of these camp outs was to be held in Prosser, WA (east of the Cascades in the Yakima Valley) starting on 19 May, we thought that rather than come back to Bothell, spend a week, then turn around and travel back south to Oregon, we would instead spend some time in WA wine country and in the Cascades of northern OR. Again, plans changed when we looked at the weather forecast (cold!!) for the Memorial Day weekend in the mountains near John Day so we took a short detour to Walla Walla, WA before heading over to the Willamette Valley.

After saying our goodbyes to our camping group in Prosser, we spent part of one day and the night at one of our favorite wineries, Kiona vineyards in Benton City, WA before moving down to Kennewick for a night at the Tricity Elks.

Sunset over the Rattlesnake Hills - view from Kiona Vineyards, Benton City, WA

Mt Adams at sunset - view from Kiona Vineyards, Benton City, WA

While in Kennewick, we made contact with our good friends and fellow NKK members, Mike Carol Lowry and had dinner with them. From there we moved further east to Walla Walla and stayed 3 nights at the Elks lodge there – more sight seeing and wine tasting.

Famous dog statue on the street corner in Walla Walla, WA

RV parking at the Walla Walla Elks Lodge 287 - six 30 amp hookups

Leaving Walla Walla our next destination was the Elks lodge in Keizer, OR just north of Salem. Our route took us along the Columbia River – a little windy but a nice day. 

Mt Hood - view from I-84 west bound along the Columbia Gorge

Sailboarding on the Columbia River

We spent a week in Keizer, visiting Barbara’s sisters in Stayton (about 20 minute drive), shopping in preparation for our Alaskan trip and wine tasting. As our foam mattress had lost its memory, we ordered a Sleep Number mattress, which we found had to be shipped to a physical address – Barbara's sister Nancy agreed to receive it for us, so instead of heading from Eugene to Bend, we returned to Keizer.

While in Junction City, we discovered two other Newmar Fulltimers getting their coaches serviced, so we had a good visit and the promised to see each other again at the International rally in Colorado. Also while there, Barbara’s sister Nancy her husband Carl drove down and we had lunch at one of the largest Oregon wineries, the King Estate winery south of Eugene. Wonderful experience! It was great to have one-on-one time with them, as we usually meet at big family events.

King Estates Vineyards & Winery near Eugene, OR - view from entry road

Our view at lunch at the King Estates Winery near Eugene, OR

Back in Keizer we installed our new mattress and experienced one of the best nights of sleep in a long, long while.

Keizer, OR Elks 2472 - front entrance - note RVs beyond - over 40 full hookups

Keizer OR Elks RV park - our motor home 3rd on left

Before we could officially start our journey north to Alaska, we had to fulfill our commitment to participate in the 3-day RV Owner’s Lifestyle Seminar at the Okanagan College in Kelowna, BC the last weekend in June. From Keizer, we took OR-22 and 20 to Suttle Lake, then east to US-97 and north to Moro, across the Columbia River and over to Yakima. From Yakima we continued on US-97 to the Wenatchee Confluence State Park, north to Omak and across the border and up to Kelowna. 

Suttle Lake at the Suttle Lake National Forest campground - note Mt Washington just behind the hill 

Entrance to the Yakima Elks and Golf Course - Lodge 318 - beautiful golf course

Yakima Elks Lodge 318 RV parking - 38 sites with 50 amp power & water and 18 hole golf course

Kittitas Valley east of the WA Cascades - view from I-82-W looking north just outside Ellensburg, WA

Wenatchee River flowing into the Columbia -  nice 8 mile loop trail crossing both rivers

Confluence State Park, Wenatchee, WA -  one of the nicest state parks that we have stayed in - although pricey at $53 for one night with all the added charges for reservations and out-of-state fees.

After we gave our two well-received 90 minute sessions in Kelowna, on June 27^th we drove to Kamloops for a two night stay. 

Kamview Hts. RV Campground - east of Kamloops - note it's uphill - OK park but some noise from the Trans Canada Highway and trains just below the park.

Leaving Kamloops on June 28, as we crossed the Thompson River on northbound BC-5 we felt that we were truly starting our Alaska adventure. Another blog entry will follow soon, depending on our access to the internet, so stay tuned. 

Shelby with Tom and Barbara

A Trip to the Top of the World - Mt. Evans Co 17 Jul 2013, plus a bit more

The day after our Rocky Mountain National Park drive, we got up early and headed south from our RV park on the 30 mile drive to the top of Mt. Evans, another 14'er that is accessible via the highest paved road in North America. We wanted an early start, as by about 11 am the clouds start to build up along the Front Range, and we wanted to see the views unobstructed by  clouds.

 This is the last hairpin turn before the parking lot near the summit of Mt. Evans. We were surprised that the entire summit is made up of tumbled boulders, rather than a smooth granite dome.

 These mountain goats were perched on the rocks right next to the parking area at the top of the road. They are really scruffy looking as they shed their winter coats.

 We hiked up the very rough, rocky trail to the top of Mt. Evans from the parking lot - only about 134 feet above the parking lot, but lots of switchbacks, and given that the final altitude is 14,264 feet, we were quite out of breath. This is the view to the northwest from the summit. The ridge visible at the mid-left is part of the trail up from Summit Lake, visible at the lower right.

Summit Lake sits on the north side of Mt. Evans. The trail from the parking lot is visible as a diagonal line from the lower right to upper left of the photo.

Here we are at the summit, with a tired Shelby. I'm not sure she liked the altitude any better than we did! It does feel like the top of the world, with 360 degree views all around.

Back down at the parking area, we again document our highest trip to date (I doubt we'll ever get any higher, given that we're not mountain climbers). This view is to the northeast, toward Denver.

 Just below the first hairpin turn on our way down the mountain, cars were stopped in both lanes of the road to view these mountain goat families. The adults are shedding hair like mad, but the kids look soft and fluffy.

 This is one of the turns on the wider part of the road down Mt. Evans (the narrower part doesn't have a center line). No guardrail, no shoulder, and a steep drop off made for very cautious driving! We were glad we'd gone up early, as by noon the summit was completely fogged in by monsoon clouds building on the front range.

After two days of driving mountain switchbacks, we decided to let the engineer do the driving on the Georgetown Loop Railroad - a narrow-gauge steam engine train that climbs from Devil's Gate in Georgetown (8615 feet) to Silver Plume, 2 miles up the canyon at 9178 feet. The railroad was originally built to bring ore down for processing, and was dismantled after the mining boom ended. It was rebuilt in the 1970's as a tourist attraction.

 On July 19th, we left Idaho Springs and headed farther west on I-70. Here were are winding our way through Glenwood Canyon. The Colorado River is full of red silt from the recent heavy rainstorms. Note how the eastbound lanes disappear under the elevated westbound lanes of the interstate - no room in the canyon for side by side roads!

 These twin tunnels are at the western end of Glenwood Canyon. See how much browner the river is down stream from a weir dam that seems to be trapping most of the red silt.

 We stayed one night at Grande River Vineyards, one of the Harvest Hosts that allow us to dry camp overnight - of course, it ended up being more expensive than a campground because we liked a number of their wines and bought several bottles.

We circled the lower parking area five or six times trying to find a level parking spot, and finally ended up at the bottom of the lot propped up on boards to get level - but it sure beats staying overnight at a truck stop!

Later this week I'll post another entry describing our stay in far western Colorado - Colorado National Monument and the Palisade Fruit and Wine Byway.

Circle Trip around Rocky Mountain National Park, 16 Jul 2013

It's been a long time since we posted to this blog - but after hours of frustration trying to post a Picasa web album, which is now apparently only a function of Google+, which I cannot figure out, I decided to post our photos of Western Colorado as a blog.

After a busy spring and early summer of motorhome rallies, Palmer reunion, and a 1-day RV service visit that turned into 11 days (another story!), we hastened to Idaho Springs, CO, about 30 miles west of Denver. At 8000 feet, it was a lot cooler and dryer than the hot, humid weather we'd been having since early June in Illinois. We did some walking along Clear Creek and geocaching around Idaho Springs, but the highlights of our 6 days in Idaho Springs were our loop trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, an early morning drive up to Mt. Evans, and the round-trip Georgetown Loop Railroad between Georgetown and Silver Plume, both old mining towns.

On July 16, we drove to Rocky Mountain National Park along the eastern side, with beautiful views of the mountains to the west.

This is a view of Long's Peak, one of Colorado's 14'ers at 14,259 feet. Several outfitters run trail rides along the margins of the national park

Once inside Rocky Mountain National Park, we drove up through the forest with numerous hairpin curves. This is a view back toward the east from the Rainbow Curve overlook, showing a few of the hairpins that the Trail Ridge Road, the only road connecting the east and west sides of the national park, makes as it climbs to a maximum altitude of 12,183 feet.

As we climbed higher and higher, we saw a number of cirques where glaciers used to be, but are no more.

When we got above the tree line, vast vistas opened up, The tundra was covered with wildflowers. Trail Ridge Road is closed from mid-October until Memorial Day - the sticks along the road are used to guide the snowplows when the road is being cleared in the spring. We call them "Yooper sticks" after the slender branches inserted along roadsides to guide snow plows in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

 These two elk were lounging in the tundra meadow close to the top of Trail Ridge Road.

 Poudre Lake is just to the east of the continental divide. It is the source of Cache la Poudre River, which flows east to join the South Platte River near Greeley, CO.

We crossed the continental divide at the west end of Poudre Lake, and just a couple of miles farther along Trail Ridge Rd we had a great view from the Farview Overlook toward the Kawuneeche Valley, with the source of the Colorado River among the Beaver Ponds. Notice the large proportion of trees that have been killed by the pine bark beetle. From here, the road winds its way down to the valley through numerous hairpin switchbacks

 We stopped for lunch at the Pine Beach Picnic Area on Shadow Mountain Lake, just outside the western entrance to the national park. We had a lovely view back toward Shadow Mountain to the east. Ospreys had a nest in one of the trees at the point of land in the center of the photos - we could hear them, but couldn't see them.

As we were eating our lunch, two white pelicans circled overhead and landed in the lake just a few yards in front of us. We were very surprised to see pelicans up here in the Rocky Mountains, but it turns out that the white pelicans migrate north during the summer from their wintering grounds on the Gulf of Mexico. White pelicans are quite a bit larger than the more common brown pelicans, and rather than diving for fish they scoop along the surface of the water for fish, frogs, and other small aquatic creatures.

A Week of Southern Mansions



Bouvoir after Katrina



Our week in Biloxi, MS and Vidalia, LA turned into a week of mansion and plantation tours. In Biloxi, we toured Beauvoir, the last home of Jefferson Davis, the reluctant president of the Confederacy. He wrote his book "The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government" in one of the outbuildings that he converted to a library/studio. The house sits just a few hundred feet from the Gulf, and was badly battered by Hurricane Katrina 7 years ago, losing its porches, part of its roof and 30 of the 60 foundation support pillars. It has been restored to its original splendor through some fairly amazing historical research and restoration. The trompe l'oeil ceilings are something to behold.



Bouvoir today; Living room ceiling at right -
what looks like moldings and plaques is just paint!

 

In Vidalia we were guests at the FMCA Texas Roadrunner's chapter rally, and met some very warm and friendly folks. The first night of the rally, we were treated to Gringo Pie from Fat Mama's Tamales, a scrumptious dish of small spicy tamales topped with chili and cheese. We had lunch at Fat Mama's a couple of times when we were in Natchez in 2010 and had planned to return, but instead they came to us. Over the next two days, we toured Stanton Hall, Rosalie, and Longwood in Natchez, MS and Frogmore Plantation just west of Vidalia, LA. Boyce and Lisa Eldridge from Tyler, TX carpooled with us, and we thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them. Since Natchez had no rail line, it was not of particular importance to the Union during the war. Many of the plantation owners who lived in Natchez were anti-war, and they agreed to allow the Union to occupy the town on the proviso that it not be burned, as were the towns along the river where resistence was met. Had the town resisted, the incredible mansions we toured would undoubtedly have been destroyed. Unfortunately, none of the mansions we toured in Natchez allowed interior photography, so our photos were limited to exteriors.



Stanton Hall front view



Finished in 1857, Stanton Hall is noted to be "one of the most palatial residences of antebellum America." In typical Southern style, it has very high ceilings and rooms on either side of a long, wide central hallway. This design, with tall windows that opened to the floor and large, high doors, ensured good air circulation during the long hot summers. Many of the original Stanton family furnishings have been returned by descendants - all dark rosewood with ornate carving. I'm not sure how people lived with all of the rich fabrics, floral designs, and heavy furniture that filled this house. We had lunch at the Carriage House restaurant on the grounds of Stanton Hall - Tom had their signature fried chicken, but Barbara went for the daily blue plate special, soft shell crab - which turned out to be the biggest soft shell we've ever seen. Both dishes were very good with crackling crisp breading - and reasonably priced as well.

Rosalie, which was finished in 1820 and served as the Union Army Headquarters during the Civil War, sits on a high bluff above the Mississippi river - the view from the second floor veranda looking upriver is spectacular. Although smaller than Stanton Hall, Rosalie has the same floor plan, with rooms opening onto a wide, high central hallway. The valuable furnishings were stored in the attic during the Union occupation, as the commander of the troups did not want them damaged during his tenure. We were therefore able to see the house as it was in its antebellum days of splendor. The picture here is one Tom took in April 2010, on a sunny day with the azaleas in full bloom.

Longwood, which was partially constructed in 1860-61, sits still unfinished on its spacious grounds. The architect and carpenters were from Philadelphia, and when war was imminent, they departed never to return. Fortunately, the exterior was finished, as were the 9 rooms on the basement level of this unique octagon-shaped structure with its onion-shaped dome. The family lived in great luxury on that first level, and many of the original furnishings remain. Dr. Haller Nutt, the owner of Longwood plantation, died of pneumonia in 1864, and the building was never completed. Each level was to have had eight rooms and 4 verandas surrounding a central rotunda. The rotunda was open to the dome from the principal floor upward. Had it been finished, this home would have had 32 rooms on 6 levels, and totaled 30,000 square feet. The finished basement level was 10,000 square feet - so it certainly didn't feel like a basement. The Haller children probably had a great time playing on the unfinished main floor, where they could run in a complete circle through the unfinished rooms.



As usual, if you click on this photo you can see an enlarged version of the planned bottom 4 floors



On a cold, blustery Saturday, we visited Frogmore Plantation, a still-working cotton plantation 14 miles west of Vidalia. As we sat in the early 1800's plantation chapel with its original pews, owner Lynette Tanner provided a history of cotton cultivation and plantation life, and the changes resulting from Eli Whitney's cotton gin, the 1884 Munger steam gin, and further developments up to the modern 900-bale-a-day gin that is still the mainstay of Frogmore. Interestingly, the Tanners do not charge farmers for ginning their cotton - they just keep the cotton seeds, which are valuable for oil, feed, fertilizer, and many other applications. We toured the well-preserved, rare Munger steam gin, and several of the early 1800's plantation buildings - the overseer's cabin, slave cabins, and kitchen house. Tom only took photos of the plantation store front and interior. 

At the plantation store, we bought a most interesting book, "Twelve Years a Slave" by Solomon Northup, a free black man  from New York who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841. He was rescued in 1853 and narrated his experiences in the following year. This book is considered by many scholars to be the most accurate accounting of lower Louisiana plantation life, as Solomon was a educated man who provided a most detailed accounting of the daily life on cotton and sugar plantations in the mid 1800s.

We've spent the last week in Greenville, MS and West Memphis, AR - subject of the next post in this blog!



On the Road Again

After 5 months spent mostly in Barbara's daughter Jennifer's yard in Gainesville, FL (broken up by rallies with our Florida Manatee's chapter of the Newmar Kountry Klub), we are again traveling with Shelby.
Last Wednesday we went south to Ocala to finish the towing set-up for our new-to-us Saturn Vue, then headed north to Monticello, FL just northwest of Tallahassee. The first part of the trip was uncomfortable, as the smoke from brush and forest fires in central Florida was so thick that visibility was down to 1/4 mile in places. Our eyes burned and our noses were sore for days.

The small town of Monticello is centered around a classic county courthouse, which sits in the middle of the road in a traffic circle. Many stately old homes sit on the tree-lined streets. Five miles north of town, we turned into a half-mile long dirt driveway leading to Golden Acres Farm, one of our Harvest Hosts overnight stops. It's fun for Tom, who was raised on a small family farm, to visit places like this and chat with the owners.

We were a little dubious about the trees arching overhead, but had no problems slowly wending our way up to the farmhouse, where we were warmly greeted by the owners, Bobbi and Fred Golden. They raise goats, sheep, chickens and guinea fowl, and sell lamb, goat meat, eggs, and jellies. They also have a dog boarding operation. We bought some very pretty (and tasty) light turquoise eggs.

Bobbie walked the grounds with us and said we could park wherever we'd be most comfortable - we ended up in a nice level spot at the edge of the woods.If you increase the size of this photo, you'll see little black spots all over the front of the motorhome - these were the stickiest bugs we've ever run into - instead of squishing like most bugs do, they just stuck to the motorhome intact. After I moved my tomato and basil plants from the shower stall to a sunny spot near the motorhome, we went for a walk back out to the road to stretch our legs a bit. The goats were very curious and watched us carefully as we passed by their pasture. The sheep didn't acknowledge our presence. Walking in the shade was very pleasant, but out in the sun we were very warm. Shelby was very interested in all the new smells along the way.

The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast, and departed for Vernon, FL (just south of I-10 north of Panama City). The drive along US 90 between Monticello and Tallahassee was like driving through a park - crepe myrtle trees were planted years ago along both sides of the road, and even now when they are not in bloom the peeling pale trunks and fresh green leaves are very pretty. We stopped at the Costco in Tallahassee to do a bit of stocking up before heading on to Three Oaks Winery in Vernon, another Harvest Hosts site. In contrast to our previous stop, here there was no driveway per se - we had to pull wide to the left of the parking area and make a u-turn close to the tasting room in order to park on the grass.

A motorhome with a larger turning radius than ours would have had difficulty getting into this spot. The site was level, my tomato plant had sun, and the winery actually had some interesting wines, so we weren't unhappy. The wine maker George was unlike any other winemaker we've encountered - most are very eager to talk about their operation, their wines, and their vines. George countered our questions with the most vague of answers: "How many cases of wine do you make a year?" "Some." "Where do you grow your grapes?" "Out back." Tom walked a mile back through the property, past the motocross course George built for his son, and never could find any grapevines.

On Friday the 13th we made the short trip to Orange Beach, AL, where we stayed two nights with Newmar friends Ginny and Jack Pitts. They have a lovely house on a canal that leads to Perdido Bay and thence to the Gulf of Mexico, a driveway long enough for us to park, and 50 amp power. Jack and Ginny were wonderful hosts - they drove us on a tour of Orange Beach, and treated us to a lunch of some of the best fried shrimp I've ever had at the Sea-n-Suds in Gulf Shores. Saturday morning we all went for a long walk on a pedestrian/bike trail near their house, then that afternoon they drove us over to Pensacola and treated us to lunch again, followed by a visit to the biggest fish market I've ever seen, Joe Patti's Famous Seafood Market. Even though it was late Saturday afternoon, the place was mobbed, but they've got so many people manning the counter that we didn't have to wait long at all. They had all kinds of fish I've never heard of, and also have a little gourmet market and bread bakery. The fish are very reasonable priced, but the gourmet stuff was not.

Sunday morning we said our farewells to Jack and Ginny, who were heading to their principal home in Lowndensboro, AL. We surely hope to see them again, as we had a great time getting to know them better, talking genealogy and our own histories, enjoying wine and good conversation.

Later that morning we packed up again, and drove over to Biloxi, MS, where we will be until Thursday. We are at Cajun RV park right across the road from the beach - haven't been out yet, as it's really warm and windy. The sand on this long beach is blindingly white. This morning was clear, but now it's cloudy and windy with a chance of rain. We actually had to close up and turn on the A/C, it's so hot and humid. We are clearly here at the end of the season - the park is only about a third full. Nice manager, and Tom met one of the work campers when he was up getting coffee this morning who is from McLeansboro, IL, where his sister lives. They had a good time talking about growing up in southern IL.

Cape Spear and Signal Hill, St. John's, Newfoundland, 11 & 12 July 2011

After our morning of whale and bird watching outside Bay Bulls, we drove back north to

Cape Spear, the easternmost land in North America. Cape Spear is the finger of land at the far right center on this map.

On the way to Cape Spear, we stopped briefly in Petty Harbour on Maddox Cove for some picture taking; this tiny harbor is accessible by the narrow opening in the breakwater that shields the moorage. Unlike many of the harbors on the Avalon Peninsula, this one faces northeast, open to the worst of winter's winds.

We were again lucky with weather - when we arrived at Cape Spear the wind was blowing, but it was warm enough to shed our jackets.

The Cape Spear lighthouse was first built in 1836, as a stone tower with a frame house for the light keeper's family built around it. It is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland. The same family, the Cantwells, have been keepers of the light since 1846, with each generation assuming the duties in turn. I imagine that today's supervisor of the fully automated light has a much easier job than his great grandfathers did - they had to clean the lamp every day, climb the stairs toting heavy cans of oil, and keep watch through the night to ensure the light kept burning. The current lighthouse, built of concrete in 1955, houses the modern light that was installed in the old lighthouse in 1912.

As we walked around the cape, we marveled at the tenacity of some of the plants - this blue flag iris is managing to survive in a most precarious position.

The coastline here, as with most of the Avalon Peninsula, is very rugged, with constant wash of waves and wind shaping the great mound of rock that makes up the land. The colors of the water ranged from deep blue to icy turquoise on this nice sunny day.

During World War II the country of Newfoundland cooperated with both the Americans and the British to man gun batteries designed to keep the port of St. John's safe from enemy incursions. The guns have rusted and the lifting mechanism is long gone, but the bunkers survive, and are cold and dank.

Looking northwest from Cape Spear, the entrance to St. John's Harbour is visible as a low spot to the left of Cabot's Tower atop Signal Hill - just barely visible in the center left of this picture of St. John's Bay.

The next day, we toured Signal Hill (so named by the British in the late 1700's, but popularly still called by its original name of "The Lookout"). From the early 1700's through 1962, spotters would watch from the top of the hill and signal down to the businesses along the wharves when an incoming ship was seen. Each company had its own flag that would be run up the pole by the spotter and seen by watchers down below in the harbor so they could prepare for the arrival of one of their ships.

Cabot Tower was built in 1897-1900 to celebrate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee and the 400th anniversary of John Cabot's landing in Newfoundland. St. John's Harbour is completely landlocked except for a narrow entrance protected by Signal Hill on the north and a smaller hill on the south. At the Battle of Signal Hill in 1762, the French ceded St. John's to the British. In 1901, Gugliemo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless radio transmission here, sent from Cornwall, UK.


The narrows are 600 feet across, with just a 200-foot-wide, 35-foot-deep shipping channel. The entrance is marked by a light on Cahill point, which was protected by gun batteries during WWII. The old concrete bunkers are all that is left of these gun placements, but the lighthouse remains active to the present.

The harbour itself is quite small, 1.2 miles long and only half a mile wide at its widest. Approximately 1200 commercial ships visit this harbor every year. Looking down from Signal Hill, one can see the entire harbor, all of downtown St. John's, and beyond. Since the mid-1700's, gun batteries have been placed around the hill to protect the harbor. Several of these are recreated by Parks Canada as part of the Signal Hill National Historic site.




This is the view of the eastern end of the harbor and downtown St. John's, which marches up the hillside with a convoluted series of narrow roads - clearly a city that was built before the advent of the automobile. The church in the upper center of the photo is the cathedral of St. John the Baptist, which will be featured in the next post to this blog.