The extra 2 hours of driving to take the scenic Route 9 to 89 and 14 was so worthwhile, more amazing vistas, one from 9,910 ft above sea level.
Cathedral Gorge in Nevada is a miniature Grand Canyon. We were amazed to find such a unique place after a mesmerizing scenic drive from Zion through the Dixie National Park. Cathedral Gorge is Bambo’s favorite so far.
We had a relaxing meander along Route 50 (America’s Loneliest Highway).
Staying with the theme of new and unplanned, we are now at Hickison Petroglyphs park. Google “petroglyphs” for more info. The campground is very basic (no water) but it’s free 😀. Serenity is the word that comes to mind.
We were saddened to leave Highway 50 at Fernley, NV after passing through Fallon, home of the Navy’s premier tactical air warfare training center. My driving was slightly erratic watching the fighter jets bank and roll above us Top Gun style.
We took Rte 395 out of Reno (wheels spinning) for destination – Lassen. Every day on these non-interstate roads are scintillating with their beauty. As we left Nevada we passed by Honey Lake, an endorheic sink in the Great Basin Desert in NE California. Summer evaporation dries out the lake completely.
Ushingi climbs the hills with ease, downhills are another matter with some white-knuckle driving tapping the paddle-shifters to change gear for engine braking.
Lassen Volcanic Park is truly like being on another planet. Enjoy the pictures.
Day 30 of our trip found us at Klamath River next to the Redwood National Park.
Words or pictures don’t do justice to the magnificent Redwoods. We did two picturesque hikes among these giants. John Steinbeck said it best
“The redwoods once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe”
We are now in Oregon, meandering up Pacific coastal highway (Rte 101). The coastline is rugged and beautiful. We parked on the roadside (Cook’s Chasm) for our second night, disturbed occasionally by truckers barreling around the bend.
We drove through the misty mountain roads to Nehalem Bay campground. Another scenic drive. We stopped in Tillamook and grabbed lunch at Pelican Bay brewery and a six pack to go.
Tillamook and other small Oregon towns are certainly taking Covid 19 seriously. The small number of stores that are open request that you mask and wear their disposable gloves.
Instead of heading directly to Portland, OR from Nehalem we drove up to Astoria, OR and crossed into WA via the Astoria-Megler Bridge that spans the Columbia River. At 4 miles long, it is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America.
Portland is basically shutdown with few businesses open. The closed stores range from Best Buy to small shops.
Due to the rain, we left Umfana at the RV park and drove Ushingi into downtown Portland. Incredibly sad to see the extent of homeless people here.
A welcome relief from all the madness and sadness was Washington Park with the International Rose Garden and the Japanese Garden.
So many incredible roses, a sensory overload.
OK, enough of big cities, time to pack up the RV and head back out into the wilderness. Off to the Cascades in WA.
Day 36 finds us just outside Mt Rainier National Park at La Wis Wis campground on the Ohanapecosh River. Our original reservation (cancelled) was at a camp in Mt Rainier but once again Lynne did her magic and found a great substitute. She couldn’t arrange the weather unfortunately; two days of rain, rain, rain.
With the forecast for more rain we decided to leave one day early to split our long drive to northern WA. This also enabled us to resupply at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods and do laundry. With our Harvest Hosts membership we spent the night at a golf course, a first for us. Very peaceful at night but the mowers started a bit early 😀.
North Cascades area is beautiful in its own unique way. It is studded by glaciers and lakes and threaded by rivers like the Skagit and Stehekin. Thick green forest surround us.
The actual town of Newhalem has been shut down for Covid – nothing open. A few campgrounds are operational but with restrooms open and dump stations closed – really, they want you to use their restrooms instead of your self contained facilities – the absence of logic continues to astound us but we shouldn’t complain.
Rain was in the forecast so we didn’t extend our stay and instead chose to slowly travel along Route 20 and explore. The transition from the Rockies side to eastern WA was amazing. We had had enough meandering by 4:30 pm and found a delightful stop for the night. Free camping at Lup Lup campground next to Leader Lake.
Happy Father’s Day to the Fathers. Once again we chose the scenic route and made another unplanned stop in Spokane next to the Spokane River. I will take some photos in the morning. Who knew that Father’s Day was invented in Spokane – how is that for serendipity.
We are in Yellowstone National Park where there is NO cell signal. We drove out the park for a resupply and to download emails and hopefully upload a few pictures.
After leaving Spokane we spent one night in the parking lot at the Big Sky Brewing Company. It was a great overnight stop – beers and a Food Truck!
Our next stop in Montana was the Red Cliff campground. We were right next to the river but didn’t catch any trout.
We then drove into Yellowstone – what an incredible place. It is no wonder that it was the inspiration for many more National Parks. The diversity is amazing, it has a little bit of Zion, North Cascades, Glacier, Lassen, Sedona and Vermont.
Our original reservation only started on June 28th but once again Lynne did her magic and found 1 night at Grant Campground and then another night outside Yellowstone National Park at Rex Hale. Rex Hale is probably the most picturesque campground we have been to. We then found another 2 nights at Madison Campground for Jun 26 & 27 which combined well with our 28th original booking.
Saturday 27th we went for a great hike in Yellowstone. Amazing little lakes, geysers and Trumpeter Swans.
We have another week in Yellowstone so will be out of touch for a while.
Day 54 – just left Madison Campground to resupply in West Yellowstone – the traffic going back into the park to Canyon Lake is daunting to say the least. We have had frigid temps for the last few days. Lynne is so happy the sun is shining and might even be in the 70’s today.
Canyon is the most stunning area we have seen in Yellowstone so far. Yesterday we rode Umfana around the Canyon, Upper Falls and Lower Falls. Even the weather is dramatic, transitioning from sunny to a short hail and rain storm; thank goodness for our helmets 😀.
Today we rode to Norris to see the geyser system there. I don’t think we have been on a 2 mile trail that had such a variety of views, colored geyser ponds to snow covered peaks.
We are off to the Grand Tetons tomorrow. Happy 4th July to y’all.
We now know why they are called the “Grand” Tetons – incredibly stunning. How can anyone return to normal life after being in these grand places? We spent two days in the northern part of the Tetons and we will spend another two days in the southern section near Jackson. After this it is the Badlands, then headed home via Nashville to see Greg. Enjoy the photos of the Grand Tetons.
The trees have grown since Ansel Adams’ classic photo of Snake River
Blogging waiting for laundry in Jackson😀
We spent two glorious days hiking and riding from our base of Gros Ventre campground. Yesterday’s hike was Phelps Lake and today was Taggart Lake. Umfana had to brake hard for Pronghorn deer. For the fastest mammal in North America they took a long time to cross the road! Tomorrow we head off with clean clothes to the Badlands.
The Grand Tetons are a fitting place to end this page. Please visit Badlands and Back for the final chapter in our journey.
ushingi 