Browsed by
Month: September 2022

Red Right Returning July 22-July 24, 2022

Red Right Returning July 22-July 24, 2022

The United States is a vast and beautiful country. Our route took us through Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. Even in our rush to get home, we managed to avoid the interstate until southern Indiana heading toward home. We can tell you, our nation’s corn supply in the summer of 2022 was a bumper crop and provided miles of green! It was even pretty. One highlight was trying to find food in a small Iowa town and stumbling upon one of the most authentic Mexican dining experiences since the Merida market! There we had some amazing tacos and tried not to think very hard about what they were made from.

We also made the acquaintance of a couple there for lunch. It turns out, they were part of the RAGBRAI group that was biking across Iowa. We learned that this was an annual event described as “an epic eight-day rolling festival of bicycles, music, food, camaraderie, and community. It is the oldest, largest, and longest multi-day bicycle touring event in the world”. This year there were over 18,000 participants! And this was no easy ride. It was hot, humid and hilly and the rides were often around 50 miles each day. It looked fun though and we ended passing scores of riders and imagined what it would mean for a little town in Iowa to receive 18,0000 visitors in one day. Wow!

A few other highlights were a delicious steak dinner at a nice little restaurant somewhere in Kansas and  realizing we had made a reservation to stay in a hotel at a casino complex somewhere in Sioux City that was overflowing with, of all things, little league baseball players. Home was within a day’s drive, so we bypassed spending any time in either Lexington or Louisville but would love to go back.

The feeling of knowing you are going to sleep in your own bed is delightful. But-here we are now, sitting on the front porch in the gorgeous early Tennessee Fall and thinking about this trip home-relishing the adventure. And we realize that we just can’t wait to get back out there and find other blank places on the map to turn into memories.

Idaho, Montana, and Yellowstone July 15-July 22, 2022

Idaho, Montana, and Yellowstone July 15-July 22, 2022

The drive between Mount Rainier and Yellowstone was gorgeous and followed the footsteps of Lewis and Clark. The sun was shining (we hadn’t seen rain in months at this point) glistening off of distant snow covered peaks and shimmering on green green grass and clear gurgling rivers. We spent the night in an historic hotel in Orofino, Idaho where the elevator was really an old dumbwaiter that fit about two people max. The steep steps up to the fourth floor didn’t seem like a great option for bringing in bikes and we caused quite a bit of amusement in the parking lot locking them up like Fort Knox. We heard “nobody around here steals anything, the cops are too bored. They have nothing else to do- it would be impossible to get away with”. There were also a lot “see, they are still here” good natured jests the following morning. We took in a car show walking along the classic downtown main street adjacent to the hotel and soaked up the local vibe (which was conservative, country loving, and unfortunately Trump devoted). Well, we forgave them that one and headed off toward Bozeman, Montana.

On the way we checked out the natural Jerry Johnson Hot Springs along the Clearwater River. After a short hike in we enjoyed bathing in some of the temperature variable pools. We also enjoyed some rather interesting people watching. This included a man running about fighting an invisible martial arts foe and naked man lurking in the woods. But, hey- you do you.

Since we are hot spring junkies, we had reservations to camp in Bozeman- at you guessed it-The Bozeman Hot Springs Campground. This is a fantastic place with a big indoor/outdoor aquatic center utilizing natural springwater. There is a giant indoor swimming pool with hot tubs of various temperatures. The draw for us were the four outdoor swimming pools in a resort like patio that included flaming fences and boulder gardens. This overlooked a large stage! We got to hear great Americana music while floating in the warm mineral waters and just had a ball. We also went into the town of Bozeman for lunch. It is absolutely charming and very “bougie” with well-dressed hipsters and high-end shopping. We soaked up the vibe here too, with no forgiveness for Trump supporters required. It was just out of our price range!

We had another camping reservation at Rainbow Point Campgruond right outside of Yellowstone and headed that way. There had been floods and the NorthWest entrance was closed. We were camping near the West entrance and had no problems. In fact, the publicity of the park closures had likely kept the normal throngs of people who visit Yellowstone down to about half-throng level. There were definitely some parts that were crowded, but we also hiked for miles sometimes encountering only one or two people. We met up with our good friend Sherry Adams who camped and toured Yellowstone with us. She has been living in Idaho Falls and is a National Park regular.

 

Both of us were pretty anxious about all of the bear warnings that encouraged us to sleep with bear spray in our tent. We didn’t have any the first night and slept with an axe instead! Not exactly sure how that would have helped but we did our best, and end the end, didn’t see a one. We did get a good glimpse of some bison, learned why they are not buffalo, and saw some beautiful country. We also wanted to check out Old Faithful and the historic Lodge. In the best win/win of the visit we realized we could get a draft beer from the lodge saloon and see Old Faithful erupt (almost on schedule) from a balcony overlooking the natural wonder. Our Yellowstone experience was fantastic, but the call of home was ready to be answered. The next few days would require hours and hours of two-lane highways and lots of corn visualization. We were up for the task.

 

Mount Rainier July 12-July -15, 2022

Mount Rainier July 12-July -15, 2022

Mount Rainier turned out to be one of the most memorable and jaw dropping places we visited, even among the National Parks, which are always outstanding. First there was the White River campground. We were coming in on a Tuesday mid-morning, so the first come, first serve National Park Campground wasn’t overly intimidating. In-fact we found several good contenders…but then-struck gold! We actually found a large campsite that backed up to just massive Douglas Firs with a whitewater stream running by, offering the best night’s sleep sounds and “evening campfire with glass of wine sounds” anyone could ask for.

We set off on a breathtaking hike right out of the campground up toward a basecamp for mountain climbers. We didn’t quite make it all the way, because the snow (yes, you read that right) the snow was too thick and icy to cross safely in our tennis shoes. We settled back at camp and had our usual gourmet fireside dinner. No one can accuse us of roughing it!

The next day we drove up to the Sunrise visitors center in some more rugged hiking boots. We still didn’t have ice traction or poles, but we figured we would try to go as far as we could safely. Wow! What an incredible day. There were definitively some sketchy moments of walking along narrow snow and ice filled passages next to a looong slide or drop down. But we had packed a lunch and were out for adventure. At one point, I took a rest while Adrian jogged to the next knob about ½ mile ahead and very much up. This set of balds looked out directly over the majestic Mt. Rainier and had views for miles. All at once there was a vibration and low rumbling sound that grew louder. A large cornice of ice broke off of a ridge near the peak of the mountain and came tumbling down. It was an avalanche! Adrian captured it on video. In his initial adrenaline rush he confused this very active volcano with its sister and can be heard describing an event on Mount Saint Helens. He says he really thought it was a volcanic eruption at first! After he recovered from the excitement, he joined me for lunch. It was the talk of all of the hikers passing through and just an awesome display of nature we felt very lucky to see and see safely.

Our time in Mount Rainier National Park was too short. But, we were off to Yellowstone with ear to ear grins.