We made it through our first day on the road with no problems. Stopped in Denham Springs LA to visit with my old friend Doug Woerner. We stayed at the Outlet there that Doug manages. It was a good adventure to test our skills at camping without electricity for the night.

Becky, Doug's wife, joined us for dinner at Duke's Seafood which was great. Got some crab claws and stuffed flounder. Great evening reminiscing about old times.

We got an early start this morning to try and beat the traffic through Baton Rouge LA. Did not work as we got caught up in some just before crossing the Mississippi River.

One of the two things I have been dreading since we began planning this adventure proved to be no worries at all. Getting through Houston was a breeze actually. Traffic was light and roads were smooth. Seattle will be my next big obstacle.

The roads across Louisiana are to say the least terrible. I thought about stopping to make a donation to the state department of transportation if they would just repair a few miles.

We stopped at the Texas Welcome Center which was very nice and fairly new. Got some information about the state parks if we have time to visit some of them.

Made it to Stephen F. Austin State Park in San Felipe TX by about 3:30 so we had some time to get in a couple of short walks around the park. Most of the trails were closed near the river due to recent flooding. There were a lot of lightning bugs just before dusk but a rain shower scared them away before it got very dark.

Now...... just looking forward to getting across Texas in the next couple of days without incident.

Another day down and we are still in Texas. Sonora to be exact. Not much to see today although the scenery did begin to change after San Antonio. More hills and a lot of wild flowers everywhere along the roadside. We picked a vase full at one of the many rest areas we stopped at today.

Campgrounds are like towns in west Texas. Few and far between. But we managed to find one to accommodate our needs. No over the air TV stations but that is why I set up the satellite dish before we left home. Now we can watch ME-TV tonight.

The Verizon WiFi internet has worked continuously since we left home once we got everything connected to it. It is hard to believe that two people could have 7 devices that require WiFi but we do.

The weather is great. Cool, mid 70's and partly cloudy all day with a little rain to clean the windshield from the gigantic bugs they have in Texas. One more night in Texas and we should make it to New Mexico on Sunday.

Another beautiful day to travel across west Texas. The high was around 80 with mostly sunny skies all day. Oh yea.... no humidity.

We stopped at several rest areas as that seems to be almost the only attractions in this part of the USA. They are very nice and each is unique with native wildflowers and walking paths.

We arrived in Van Horn TX at about 3:30 in time do get a little house work done. The campground is nice with natural scenery but absolutely no grass anywhere. I guess that is common for the desert.

It did not get dark last night until about 9 pm and will likely be later than that tonight.

We are both looking forward to tomorrow as we will finally get to New Mexico. Our first real destination will be Rockhound State Park which I think will be very interesting with some hiking trails and rock hunting.

Everything is going great with no problems at all. Hope our luck holds out for another 90 days.

Day five finds us in New Mexico at Rockhound State Park near Deming NM. I wanted to stay here to find some rocks for Ryan and Ellie if possible. It is great campground in the high desert backed up to a mountain.

While we got here mid afternoon it is a little warm to start any hiking up the side of a mountain today. We did a couple of short walks to get the feel of the place but will save the longer ones for morning when it will be around 60 degrees.

We are surrounded by rocks and cacti that are beginning to bloom. We did see a roadrunner at one of the stops today. No coyote. The sunset was beautiful.

Our itinerary is still changing slightly day to day as we decide where to go next each night. It will not be set until we get to Dayton NV on the 14th. Until then we are taking it one day at a time.

Our second and last day at Rockhound State Park. We did an early morning hike up and over one of the smaller mountains on a trail. I did find some pieces of Jasper and some other interesting rocks. I am sure they are not valuable but they are different than anything we have around home.

The park desert flowers are blooming which makes the entire park colorful. We did see a lot of jack rabbits and some huge quail with some strange feathers on the top of their head. I could not get a photo of either as they are not people friendly.

Notice we have a canopy over our picnic table which comes in handy during the day when the sun seems so bright. While it is the desert the temperatures are relatively mild with the nights a little cold. Just being in the shade seems to reduce the temperature by 20 degrees.

Another beautiful sunset. Tomorrow we head out for Arizona and more desert camping just north of Tucson.

We are camping at Picacho Peak State Park tonight between Tucson and Phoenix Arizona. The saguaro cacti are huge as you can see in the photo with Ellen next to one of the giants.

We stopped off in the small town of Benson AZ on our drive here and visited an old railroad depot they had turned into a museum and visitor's center. It was once a thriving mining town back in the 1880s. There is not much to the town today.

I bet we were the only tourists who enjoyed grilled shrimp in the desert tonight. They were great. We bought ten pounds just before leaving home and must eat them all before getting to Canada June the 20th. It seems they do not allow such things to cross the border these days.

The mountains began to change today becoming much more rocky and jagged. The scenery is amazing with all the tall cacti in the foreground. Sure makes for a lot of great pictures.

Tomorrow we will venture into new territory for us. Just north of here we will turn onto Interstate I-8 toward California. That will actually be the first place neither of us have ever been.

We have reservations tomorrow night on the Colorado River where we will be able to see California across the river.

We are staying at River Breeze RV Resort in Ehrenberg Arizona on the Colorado River. The water was a welcome sight after so many days in the desert. I was surprised at how wide the river was and how fast it flows. Of course I had to skip some rocks across the thing.

We remember hiking to the headwaters of the Colorado River some years ago in Rocky Mountain National Park. It was merely a stream at that point. We also saw the river at several other places including the Grand Canyon on different trips out west.

The sun set today over California in the photo below but we are still in Arizona until morning. Looking forward to exploring Joshua Tree National Park tomorrow before heading north to the Sierra Nevada Mountains and cooler temperatures. Not looking forward to paying about $4 a gallon for gas but I will pump 80 gallons into that slot in the rear when necessary without hesitation.

Since I did not have many photos today, I thought I would share a look inside our home for the next three months for those of you who have not seen it yet. Everything is working out great. Ellen does all the work and I drive Mrs. Daisy around.

Mostly I think we enjoy sitting outside each day and watching the sunset over a different horizon every time. Each one is so unique but I am so ready to see it set over some really big mountains soon. Until tomorrow.......

We finally made it to California and it only took us nine days. To tell you the truth it does not look a lot different than Texas, New Mexico or Arizona yet.

Our first real adventure began this morning in Joshua Tree National Park. This was the first time we have ever even seen a Joshua Tree and were surprised at how many there are and how big they grow. It seems the trees were named by Mormon settlers who crossed the Mojave Desert in the mid-1800s, the tree's unusual shape reminded them of the Bible story in which Joshua reaches his hands up to the sky in prayer.

While the trees were interesting, the rock formations were also very intriguing to say the least. The shear size of the boulders are really amazing. We did see several rock climbers scaling the side of some of the rock faces that had to be hundreds of feet straight up. That is one thing definitely not on my bucket list.

It was a 58 mile drive through the park which saw the scenery change dramatically along the way with the elevation changes. The cacti varieties were numerous and many were in full bloom. Sorry I did not post more of the blooms.

We did see our first snow topped mountain this afternoon in the distance. We will see many more tomorrow as we will be camping at the foot of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states at 14,505 feet.

We are staying in Adelanto tonight. It is less than 100 miles from Disneyland and Los Angeles. We will not be visiting either of those places for obvious reasons. By the way, if you wish to drop either of us a note just email Ellen or send her a text. She likely gets tired of listening to me all day and would enjoy hearing from you.

Day ten finds us surrounded by snow covered mountains in Lone Pine, California. The clouds are covering most of the taller mountains. The weather has turned colder with the high in the 50's and little rain earlier today. There was snow ahead of us last night in Mammoth Lakes but we will not be there for another couple of days. The next couple of days look great with the clouds clearing out tomorrow.

We stopped off at a ghost town in Randsburg this morning. It was a silver mining town from the 1890's that was nearly abandoned shorty afterwards when the bottom fell out of the silver market. The town is still very much in place the way it was way back then with a few people still living there.

We drove a short distance out of the way to visit the Alabama Hills. They are famous for the hundreds of movies and television shows filmed there from the 1920's until recently. Most of the old westerns from 1920-1960 were filmed in this area. The Lone Ranger, Bonanza, Rawhide and many other shows were also filmed here. Recently Ironman was shot here.

Lone Pine has a great Film History Museum of all the films and shows made in the area. It was a very interesting place and one of the better museums we have seen over the years. It had plenty of movie memorabilia from the past 100 years.

I could not pass up the Rock and Gift shop in downtown Lone Pine. The town is very small with many of the businesses catering to the summer business crowd. It was not very crowded today and likely will not be until school gets out in late May. The campground is near Owens Lake which at one time was a huge lake. That was before Los Angeles stole all the water many years ago.

Until tomorrow.... We both wish all our friends and family could be with us to enjoy the sites and scenery. Oh yea. Did you notice the price of gas in the photo. We saw some for $4.89 today.

It is beginning to become difficult to remember what day of the week it is now. The one thing I do know is that today is the eleventh day of our trip. It is Saturday and we are in Bishop California.

It was a very short drive today so we had plenty of time to explore the town before going to our campground. We began the day at Manzanar. I know no one has ever heard of Manzanar so I will give you a little history lesson at no charge.

Shortly after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941 the USA decided to round up all the Japanese citizens and anyone that looked Japanese and hold them until after the war. Over 120,000 Japanese were taken from their homes and businesses along the west coast and placed in internment camps scattered around the western states. They were held there from early 1942 until the war was over.

Manzanar held about 10,000 people, most of who were legal US citizens born in the United States. They were kept behind barb wire and armed guards for nearly four years. When the war was over they were given $25 cash and sent on their way. All of them had lost their jobs and businesses. Can you imagine something like this happening in today's world? Most Americans were unaware the event even happened until many years later. It was a different news media than we have in today's society. History lesson is over for today.

We stopped off in Big Pine for a quick visit at the visitor's center to stand and stare at the mountains again. We do that a lot. I took one photo of a place we stopped that had hundreds if not thousands of butterflies. Someone said they were Monarch Butterflies. I do not know for certain but I do know we slaughtered about ten thousand of them on the front of the motorhome today.

By noon we made it to Bishop where we enjoyed a very nice lunch at Holy Smoke Texas Bar-B-Que. We strolled through the town and stepped into the most amazing bakery we had ever seen. Schat's Bakery seems to be world famous for it's baked goods. We also had a great dinner with me grilling a couple of nice Rib eye steaks.

We got an early start today to see some of the mountains up close. Our first stop was at Mammoth Lakes which is a major ski resort in the area. It snowed here a couple of days ago so there was still some on the ground.

June Lake Loop was a narrow winding road around several lakes that was beautiful. We saw two waterfalls. The first was huge and wide and the second was narrow but a big drop for the water. The third photo shows the big waterfall.

Mono Lake was a very interesting visit. Nice welcome center with exhibits and displays telling the history of the area. The lake is several miles across but in 1944 it was much larger before Los Angeles began stealing the water supply. Since then the lake has dropped over 50 feet. It is now protected with Los Angeles having to find their water elsewhere. It has these lava flumes in and around the lake from ancient volcano activity. Millions of birds use the lake during their annual migration. We did see a few ducks, gulls and smaller birds.

Tiago Pass to Yosemite was closed so we had to skip Yosemite this time. We already knew it would not open until at least June 1st. We just stopped on the side of the road today for a picnic since the weather was sunny and cool. The drive to Topaz Lake was nice as we followed Walker River the last few miles.

We have met so many great people. It seems every night we meet up with a camper or two to learn about RVing or the places we will be going soon. That seems to be the trend in that most everyone we meet is friendly and helpful. We are still new at this long term RV thing so I am always seeking advice from the people who have been doing this for a long time.

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and all the Moms out there. I hope you had a great day!

Topaz Lake proved to be a very windy location so we decided to take off for Carson City a day early. It was only 37 miles from Topaz Lake so it was no big deal to move. Our plan was to spend the day at the Nevada State Museum which is a must see when in the area. We caught a bus into town from our campground only to find the Museum is closed on Monday. Duh!

After regrouping we decided to pickup the rental car we had reserved some time ago. We walked from downtown the 15 or so blocks hoping we could get the car a day early. They did not have another car today but agreed to give us alternative transportation. A brand new 4X4 truck for the same price. That was a win-win for us. (see photo below)

So, we took off for Lake Tahoe which was only a 30 minute drive. What an amazing place. It is as beautiful as any place we have ever been. We drove about half way around the 72 miles it would take to circle the lake. The scenery changes every mile along the way. There is still a lot of snow on the ground from a recent snowfall.

One of the stops we made along the way was at Emerald Bay. We took some pictures of the lake and saw several eagles soaring overhead. There is also a huge waterfall near Emerald Bay where I snapped a few pictures.

I took about 70 photos but will only post the usual nine. We found a nice beach with only a few people around and watched the sunset at Nevada Beach as we ate our dinner. On the way back to the RV we saw a black bear just a few feet from the side of the road. It was getting dark and I really did not wish to agitate the animal today. So no photo this time. I figure we will see more bears later.

Now I can color in another state on our map. This is our first time staying the night in Nevada. That makes two new states this trip, including California, with a few more to go later.

Well we moved all of about 15 miles today from Carson City to Dayton NV. The move was short and early. We spent most of the day in Virginia City NV as planned. It is an old mining town that exists today much as it did back in 1875.

It was interesting to walk the streets and step into the many shops that line the street. The town was once famous for gold and silver mines that were plentiful in the area. It was the first major silver strike in the US back in 1859. The Comstock Mine alone produced millions of dollars worth of silver over the next 60 years.

There was a great little museum called the "The Way it Was". They had a lot of exhibits from the era including mining displays. The town was famous for the many characters that passed through over the years including Mark Twain who lived here for a few years before moving on to San Francisco and fame.

Some of the usual things to do around town were not open for the season so we missed a mine tour, street show and riding the train to Truckee and back.

We had planned on staying here another night but it seems we may need to leave early as there is a major "winter" storm coming through over the next few days. The weather man is calling for as much as a foot of snow and temperatures well below freezing. We have never been snowed in during May. I guess we will decide in the morning.

I did not really think about it but most of you do not have the chance to read these ramblings until the next day since we are two or three hours behind you in time. All you need to do is click on the 'Agenda' link just beneath the photos on the mainpage and you can go back to any day to read about our adventures and check out the photos if that interests you.

Day 15 proved to be adventuresome, entertaining and nerve-racking. We decided early to leave Dayton Nevada and head west to get ahead of imperative approaching snow storm.

But before leaving the area we still had one more objective. We got an early start and visited the Nevada State Museum. It was worth the effort. They have great exhibits of Nevada wildlife along with many displays of state history. There were some interesting gun collections from the past several centuries along with fossils and many displays of rocks and minerals.

The Museum is actually in the Carson City mint that produced silver US coins from 1870-1892. They still had some of the first equipment used to stamp out the coins. There were also many exhibits of silver and gold place settings.

I forgot to mention a short visit to Reno yesterday but since we pretty much found nothing to do there it was no wonder why I forgot about it. One thing about Nevada is that there seems to be a liquor store and Casino on every corner. Seems everywhere we went the past few days we turned by the casino.

After returning our rental truck and packing up the RV we took off for California again hoping to beat the weather. It did not work out that way. It began to rain as we started to climb over the Sierra Nevadas on interstate 80 out of Reno. Fortunately the temperature only dropped to 37 degrees as we topped the peak and it never snowed. That was a huge relief for me. We crossed over Donner pass and I had no intention of joining the Donner party.

While it rained the remainder of the day it was a nice drive through dogwoods that were just blooming in one area. We passed through a valley near Grassy Hills CA where there were fruit trees for miles and miles. We actually stopped and bought some apricots, peaches and mandarin oranges. While I have eaten thousands of mandarin oranges out of a can, I had never seen one with the peel still attached.

We made it to Nice California around 5 pm just in time to hook up the electricity and climb inside to avoid the rain. It looks as if it will continue all day tomorrow so we will likely stay here another night.

The word for today is..... Rain. That is all it did. Just a steady drizzle all day long. To go along with the rain it is only about 50 degrees and windy. The campground at Nice California is nice and on a huge lake. The best description is that it is about the same as Mobile Bay except with mountains in the background.

We spent most of the day catching up on some chores and cleaning up the place. So it all worked out well.

The beach and docks have plenty of ducks and geese who do not seem to enjoy the weather any more than we do today. The shore is completely covered with rocks that I suppose have been here forever. They are smooth and many colors. Ellie could find a bucket full in just a few minutes.

We stayed two nights here and will be off again early in the morning. Tomorrow we see the Redwood trees. That should be exciting. We will be camping a few days at a park surrounded by the monster trees. But it may be a couple of days before we can share anything with you because it seems we will have no cell or internet services until Sunday.

Although we are only about 40-50 miles from the west coast of California we will not see it until Tuesday. The west coast has always been the main goal of this trip so it will be a great day. Hopefully the weather will cooperate a little better. It is suppose to be sunny tomorrow then more rain on Saturday.

The weather cleared up this morning and we took off again for another adventure. As we drove north we connected with Hwy 101 near Redwood Valley California. Our drive today was only just over 100 miles and we began to see the redwood trees as soon as we got onto Hwy 101.

We will follow this road the next 26 days until we reach the top of Washington State near Seattle. Our travels will slow to a snail's pace the next month. Most days we will only drive a few miles and stay in most places for two to three days. Most of our camping will be in state parks throughout Oregon and Washington.

I never knew northern California was so mountainous and hilly. The landscape is ever changing and very lovely this time of year. Wildflowers are still blooming and we see fruit trees and grape vineyards everywhere. We saw a few elk grazing in a field along with some local cows. I think we will see many more in the next couple of days.

We stopped off at a small gift shop to kill some time since our drive was only about two hours today. Ellen purchased a few souvenirs to remind us of the redwoods and California. In places the road is very narrow and a little scary with how close to the edge of the roadway the trees have grown. If we hit one with the RV it would be ugly and costly for certain.

We arrived at Ancient Redwoods campground mid afternoon and had time to do a little exploring among the giant trees. It is difficult to understand exactly how tall and huge they are because all the trees around them are gigantic. The weather remained nice all day but they are calling for rain tomorrow. We will be here for two nights so that will not be a problem.

Rain again all day so we did not get out much. Just hunkered down in the motor home. I doubt it rained more than half an inch and just drizzled all day. I posted some photos of the area I took yesterday.

It is really fine to have a day to do nothing. Some of you may know that I am no expert on doing nothing and must be busy with something all the time. I am working on getting better at just relaxing.

The campground here at Ancient Redwoods RV Resort in Redcrest has a great store and gift shop absolutely filled with redwood crafts and art made from the redwood trees. We bought a few things and another hooded sweatshirt for me. The temperature was 54 when we got up and fluctuated between 51-54 all day. The highs will be in the 50's for about the next ten days it seems but the rain will be over in a couple more days. I may be purchasing more sweatshirts soon.

Tomorrow we will actually see the Pacific Ocean just north of Eureka, California. We will try to do a little beach combing to see what we can find. Patrick's Point State Park is suppose to be one of the best around for exploring. We also have plans for a couple of short hikes through the redwood forest.

The weather cleared today and we are off again. We only traveled about 60 miles today so we had plenty of time to do some hiking and exploring. Our first stop was at Founders Grove where some of the largest redwoods exist. It was a nice short hike through the trees.

We also stopped off at the Interpretive Center in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. They had some exhibits with the area wildlife and some displays with local history. We drove through the Avenue of the Giants which is a 30 mile route where the road is barely wide enough for two cars to pass. The gigantic trees seem to be inches from the side of the roadway.

We drove through Eureka and Fortuna California, but did not stop. They were not exactly what I had expected but then I guess I really had no idea about what to expect.

We did stop at the very first place we could get to the ocean. It was at Clam Beach County Park just north of Eureka. It looked very much like the photos we had seen of the West Coast. The sand is not at all like Gulf Shores but darker and mostly very tiny rocks.

We arrived at our campground shortly after noon and quickly took off for the one mile hike to the beach. It is Humboldt Lagoons State park directly across from our campground. The beach was nice and warm by this time under a full sun and almost no wind. Not at all what I had expected. Everyone has been telling us to expect damp, dreary weather. We got lucky.

We were able to just sit on the beach which is covered with rocks. I did find a small bag full of agates which are very smooth and colorful rocks. We stayed a couple of hours and walked the beach before returning to the campground to have some grilled shrimp for dinner. We did not see any elk today but expect to see them early in the morning.

We will have a lot of beach time as we are only traveling a total of 250 miles over the next 14 days. Most of the time we will be staying on or very near the beach in state parks.

As promised the elk showed up early this morning in the campground. At first there were six or so that wandered into the pasture near the red school house. By the time we were ready to leave there were as many as 40 grazing nearby. It is always good to see the wild animals.

Our first stop was at the Thomas Kuchel Visitor's Center. Have you noticed we rarely pass up a visitor's Center? It was right on the beach so we could watch the surf. Soon afterwards we stopped at an overlook that was typical of all the pictures we have seen of the California Coast. Huge rocks and pounding waves. Some of the photos below are from this stop over.

After leaving the coast just a few miles down the road we were back in the middle of the redwoods in Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. It seems we go from one state or national park to another. We made a couple of stops in Crescent City to check out the marina, get supplies and mail some post cards to the family. There are not many big towns much less any cities in the near future for us.

We arrived at Redwoods RV Resort early afternoon and hiked around a little to check our the giant redwoods that are everywhere in the campground. The tallest trees were cut many years ago and most of the stumps are still visible. The last photo below shows what remains of a once gigantic redwood before it was cut likely 100 years ago.

After ten nights in California this will be our last. I must say once again the state is much more beautiful than even I could have imagined. It should be on everyone's bucket list. It will rain tonight and tomorrow but the weatherman will be kind to us the next ten days with warm (60's) temps and no rain in the forecast.

It is very difficult to believe that this is day 21 of our trip. After three weeks and just a little over 3,000 miles we made it to Oregon very early this morning. Of course our first stop was at the Crissey Field Visitor's Center across the state line. This was probably the best Visitor's Center we have seen to date. They were very helpful with maps, brochures and information.

Our drive today was exactly 19 miles so we had some time to kill since we could not check in at Harris Beach until 4:00 pm. The one thing everyone keeps telling us is to get some Fish & Chips in Oregon. We did exactly that for lunch today in the Brookings Marina at Catalyst Seafood. The restaurant was small but the fish was great. The waitress told us the fish was Rockfish and Lingcod. The fish house is in the back of the restaurant and they catch all the fish they serve themselves.

After arriving at Harris Beach State Park we could not get set up fast enough before heading down the path toward the beach. We made three trips this afternoon before the sunset. The park is magnificent as all the Oregon State Parks are, we have been told.

There are a couple of miles of beach to explore so we will have plenty to do the next few days. This is just the first of twenty consecutive nights we will spend at an Oregon State Park. Really looking forward to the next three weeks.

We started our morning early to get down to the beach at low tide to do some tide-pooling and rock collecting. The tides here can lower the water level by as much as ten feet twice a day unveiling a new world of sea creatures. Low tide is the best time to see the starfish, anemones, sea urchins, shells, clams and other creatures that live among the rocks on the beach.

There were starfish everywhere some as big as a foot across. Most were orange and a purplish color and just clinging to the rocks amid the seaweed. We have to be alert at all times on the beach as waves vary in intensity and a big one can sneak up on us at any time. Just when you think everything is fine, a rogue wave will come crashing in if we are not watching closely. It is too chilly to get wet early in the morning.

We did some resting in the middle of the day as the wind picked up. Cooked some brats for lunch. Then an afternoon hike around the campground and a walk back to the beach was nice.

We made three trips down the narrow paths today to the shoreline. The campground is about 300 feet higher than the beach so every trip down is steep and I mean STEEP. The last trip was an hour or so before sunset but we could not get a good view of the sun setting because a thick layer of fog rolled in just as the sun went over the horizon. No big deal really. We will see many more in the future.

This is the first place we have stayed where the satellite will not work because we are under too many trees. So we just stream videos from YouTube on the TV about the places we are going in the next couple of months. It is actually better than watching regular television anyway. We have managed to have internet every day since leaving home one way or another. That has been nice.

We will spend our third night here tomorrow so another day at Harris Beach State Park.

Another day of camping, if you can call it that, at Harris Beach State Park. If all Oregon State Parks are as great as this one we will be in for some nice times the next few weeks.

If you guessed we went to the beach this morning you would be 100% correct. We got there before low tide and took some pictures of the Sea Stars as they call them here. I always called them starfish. It seems the sea gulls enjoy a sea star for breakfast so we have learned to look for them near where the gulls gather on the rocks. Also saw a lot of other smaller creatures that we are learning the names of as we go along. Chitons and Lippets are two anemone like sea creatures that flourish on the rocks.

Came back to camp for some grilled burgers at lunchtime and made a couple other walks around the park and even walked into town this afternoon. It is only a mile or so away.

We made our first campfire tonight but it was not what I am accustomed to as a fire. Seems the only wood they have around here is pine and we all know pine does more smoking than burning. Ellen said if we had marshmallows, graham crackers and some chocolate bars we could make smores. We had none of those items it seems. So we just sat and tried to dodge the smoke for a while.

Not much else to report today. Just your average day of camping I suppose.

We took our time leaving Harris Beach. It is a little sad to leave but we know there will be other great places ahead of us. We only had to travel 49 miles today so we took our time.

Our first few stops were at viewpoints along Highway 101. One of the most photographed sites on the Oregon Coast is Natural Bridges where there are two arches over the ocean that some other braver souls dare to hike across. Not us today.

Arch Rock was another fantastic view. We could not pass that one by either. The road along the coast is winding and hilly. I am constantly driving uphill or downhill, turning right or left. Dodging log trucks and other motor homes. Never level or straight. All that makes it necessary to stop often to see anything.

We also stopped in Gold Beach to check out a gift shop. It is one of the few we have come across on the coast. Ellen purchased a few souvenirs to remember the area. We stepped into a fish market but the prices for Dungeness crabs was something like $20 a pound.

Ophir Beach was our stop for some lunch and a long walk down a beach literally covered with small, smooth and colorful rocks. I could not pass up the opportunity to keep a few. As always it was very windy and cold. The temperature has not topped 60 in a while.

We made it to Humbug Mountain State Park in time for a walk on the beach and a couple of strolls around the campground. Lastly I want to wish my sister, Kaye, a happy 39th birthday. Well something like 39 anyway.

We got off to a late start but that was fine since we only traveled another 50 miles or so today. We made a visit to Busy Bubbles Laundromat and RV Wash in Port Orford. I know it sounds strange to place those two businesses together but we have seen a couple of them recently. So we washed the RV and some clothes along with a trip to the Dollar General next door.

On our journey today we saw fields full of sheep. Likely more than I have ever seen previously. We stopped off at several viewpoints to admire the ocean and rock formations. One such stop was at Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint. You can sort of make out the shape of a face in the second photo below.

While there we were able to get a great view of thousands of birds nesting on the islands just off shore with the aid of a telescope. A group of people with some organization was there to observe the birds. They allowed us to get an up close look at them.

We made it to Bandon, Oregon and drove through town. Not much to see here. One note of interest is that Bandon grows nearly 3,000 acres of cranberries. We could see many of the bog areas where they are grown later in the Fall.

We reached our next destination at Bullards Beach State Park mid afternoon in time to beat the rain and get set up early. We did make a quick trip to the Coquille River Lighthouse but they were closing for the day as we arrived. The lighthouse was built in 1896 to assist ships in the area find the nearby ports. Oh yeah. We did see a wild turkey wandering through the park as we arrived. It seemed pretty secure strolling along. I guess just happy it is Memorial Weekend and not Thanksgiving.

Not many photos today due to the rain and my insistence in not lugging that camera around every second of every day. I did add a group of pictures some of you may enjoy under the 'Photoviewer' link on the homepage. The pictures are mostly of the flowers we have seen in our travels. I will continue to add to them as we go on our merry way. Day twenty-five is coming to a close. More tomorrow.

Another day at Bullards Beach State Park. The weather turned nice with mostly sunny skies which should carry over for the next few days. We took off for the beach early since I think the best time to see things are early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

It is about a mile to the beach across some small hills and sand dunes along a path that winds through the short pines, ferns and shrubbery. Very nice walk. I should say hike because it took us about three hours of continuous walking to get back to the campsite. A good workout for our legs today. We did find a few rocks worth keeping and took some pictures to remember the day.

Almost no one else was on the beach that early which is the way I prefer it. Just a few birds having breakfast I guess. We did see another wild turkey along the way and two more came wandering through our campsite later this afternoon.

We are in the middle of Oregon Duck fans. It seems everyone is a fan of the University of Oregon and most of them love to play cornhole. Games have been going on all around us since yesterday. I imagine the campground will clear out a lot by noon tomorrow as everyone goes back to work. This is a big campground with over 200 sites. All filled tonight and almost everyone here is from Oregon. Not many campers from any other state this weekend.

I grilled a couple of rib-eyes for dinner and Ellen baked a couple of potatoes along with some vegetables. All in all another great day in Oregon. One more day here and thirteen more before we leave Oregon behind. Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day tomorrow.

Our last day and night at Bullards Beach State Park is today. Once again we went for a very long walk along the beach to find a few rocks and agates. Actually we had a little luck just before low tide at 1:30 this afternoon. I did not lug the camera today so no pictures of our hiking.

The weather was a little warmer in the high 50s most of the day or I should say the wind was not as strong. It has been consistent the past two weeks with the lows around 48 and the highs around 57. Not much difference between night and day except the wind usually blows harder in the afternoon.

Our neighbors the past couple of days were from nearby Eugene, Oregon originally. They were here with their two grown children and their families who live about three hours away. He is retired but once farmed and grew hazelnuts for many years. I had to Google what those were. Seems they are a nut used mostly at Christmas time. They got me all involved in playing cornhole even when I really did not wish to embarrass myself. Needless to say they were very good at the game and had played for years.

Since I did not take any pictures today I thought I would share some of the photos of the rocks and things we have found. The agates are the most desirable as everyone is in search of them along the beach. They are not really worth much but people think they make good jewelry.

Sea Glass is something we find along the beach. It is formed over time mostly from the floats fishermen used many years ago which were made of glass before plastic and other materials were used to make the floats for nets and crab traps. The glass has been tumbles by the ocean for decades and is very smooth along the edges.

The other interesting thing found on the beach is petrified wood. I did find a couple of nice examples. It is very easy to find smooth and colorful rocks of every color, size and shape. I really must be careful with how many I pick up or were will never make it home with a ton of rocks. Until tomorrow......

What a day! We saw so many things today. It began by taking a side road called Seven Devils to get to a remote area of the coast. Our first stop was at Sunset Bay State Park for a nice view of a small bay and some high cliffs lining the bay and opening to the Pacific Ocean.

Just a couple of miles down the road was Cape Arago lighthouse. While the lighthouse is not accessible to the public we were able to get a few of photos. It was built back in 1934 after two previous lights in the same spot had been destroyed by weather and erosion.

Our next stop was a much anticipated place for both of us. It was Simpson Reef where hundreds of Stellar Sea Lions, California Sea Lions, Harbor Seals and Elephant Seals live almost year round. the reef is a few hundred yards off shore but I got some good shots after getting out the zoom lens for my camera. The Marine Mammals prefer this area because the reef offers everything to sustain them including fish, seaweed and shelter. We could hear them as soon as we opened the door to the RV. I remember that sound well from my time at Gulf World.

We then drove through Cape Arago State Park which offered some nice views but little parking space for anything the size of our RV.

Next up was the Umpqua Lighthouse just up the coast. This one was built in 1894 and still illuminates the ocean with red and white flashes.

Only a few miles off our intended trek was the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area. It was only a couple of hours after noon so I did not expect to see any wildlife at this time of day. We were surprised to see about a dozen male elk close to the viewing area. All were still in velvet and their antlers were not even fully grown yet.

I only put 14 pictures on this page but there are more in the 'Photoviewer' under Oregon. I took about 60 today but will not bore you with all of them.

By the time we got to Jessie Honeyman State Park it was near 4pm and we were ready for a good dinner and some quiet time. After a couple of short walks around the campground to get oriented with the place we ate and pretty much called it a day. Day 28 to be exact.

Our second day at Jessie Honeyman State Park in Oregon was more about relaxing than anything else. We did get in one hike this morning over to a huge lake and day use area.

The Park is filled with 200 year old Western Hemlock trees and surrounded by rhododendrons that are still in bloom. The trees tower over us at heights up to 200 feet. The park preserves these trees but the timber outside the park is used mostly for trim and molding in homes across the USA.

Our hike to the lake area was nice because the wind dies down in the mornings and when the sun comes out it warms up to a toasty 60 degrees most days. I hear the temperatures back home are in the mid 90s. Sorry.

Yesterday we walked around a smaller lake where I saw the largest frog I have ever seen sitting in the shallows awaiting some insect to come near I suppose. We can not walk to the beach from here because it is two miles away and we must cross the most massive sand dunes I have ever seen. So we just hung out on this side of the dunes today.

This is our fourth state park in Oregon and all four are completely different in every way. The scenery and topography changes dramatically each time we move. We did not know exactly what to expect from the Oregon Coast but to now is has exceeded all expectations.

In the morning we will head out to see more lighthouses, sea lions, beaches and small towns. It is only a 50 mile drive again but I am sure it will intentionally take us most of the day to get to South Beach State Park in Newport.

Our first stop today was at Sea Lions Caves along the coast. They had a nice little gift shop where Ellen purchased a few souvenirs. We started collecting refrigerator magnets of the places we visit. But not the cheesy one. We saw no sea lions here today.

Our next stop was at Heceta Head Lighthouse just a few miles up the road. Really nice walk uphill to the lighthouse. This lighthouse was built back in 1894 and still lights the way for ships today. We have yet to get inside any of the lighthouses because they are all closed for one reason or another. We did see a couple of people surfing in the bay below the lighthouse.

Cape Perpetua was a great place to visit. It is a Forestry Service Area that includes several trails to some sites along the ocean. There were a lot of tidal pools even though it was not low tide. We saw a lot of green anemones, sea urchins and clams. Also saw one sea star.

Next up was the town of Yachats where we parked on a side street and walked a few blocks to the state park which is located near town on a point. The town sits on the hillside and overlooks the ocean. Great view for the lucky people who live here.

We ate a late lunch at Governor Patterson State Park which was another wayside tucked up next to the ocean. State Parks are very common in Oregon. Seems like there is one every five to ten miles lately.

We wanted to visit Seal Rock State Park but could not get down to it because some school buses were parked in the only spaces we could have parked. So we stopped nearby and looked at the area from a distance.

After arriving at South Beach State Park in Newport we took a trail that led to the beach and on to some jetties that lined the pass from the Pacific to the Newport Harbor. That is where we saw the trawler coming in the pass.

Our second day at South Beach State Park near Newport Oregon was just like every other day. Great! We started the day by taking a relatively short walk to the Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center. The Center is a small exhibit hall with hands on displays where we could actually touch some of the creatures in the tidal pools they had set up. A really nice place to visit.

We next took a stroll along the nature trail on the Yaquina Bay Estuary. The path meandered around the bay and mudflats where many birds live and feed. The trail led us to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. I have been looking forward to visiting the aquarium since I learned it was in Newport.

The Aquarium had a bunch of the local sea creatures on display in small and large tanks. Everything from sharks to the different types of fish found in the pacific northwest. They also had sea lions, seals, otters and even two turkey vultures on display.

My favorite was actually the aviary where puffins and a few other native birds were swimming and playing around in the water areas set up for them.

Later in the day we walked back to the beach for a leisurely stroll south along the coast. Going south is always easiest so I prefer to go in that direction first. Seems the wind always blows form the Northwest which makes it tougher and colder on the return trip. All-in-all another great day on the Oregon Coast.

Tomorrow we head north again. I think about 20 miles to Beverly Beach for another two day stay. But we do have a couple of lighthouses to see and other things to do before arriving there.

Today was the first day of our second month on the road. It sure does not seem like it. Time is flying by. We drove across the bridge to Newport this morning to visit the Historic old town area and the port. We walked around the harbor and down Bay Street to see the shops, boats, fish markets and other buildings.

Ellen did find a few things in one of the gift shops that we could not live without. We went down to the sea lions docks to see and listen to the beasts. There were about a dozen California Sea Lions sunning themselves and sleeping except when disturbed by a new sea lion arriving looking for a spot to join them on the platforms. Then a minor skirmish would erupt between the two for a few minutes until they managed to work it all out and settle down to sleep once again.

We next drove a couple of miles to the world famous Yaquina Head Lighthouse. This is the tallest and most recognized lighthouse along the coast. The light has been here since 1873 when it was completed. The lighthouse sits on a point that extends well into the Pacific Ocean which makes for a great area to view the sea mammals and birds. Harbor seals and sea lions were sleeping on the rocks below.

There were several islands just covered in birds nesting and raising their young chicks. We wanted to stay longer as the morning was simply beautiful with sunny skies and temperatures near 60. The problem was the wind which was blowing somewhere between 25-30 mph. It made for a very windy view from the point. They say the tide pools are great here but since low tide was five hours away we decided to move on up the coast to Beverly Beach which is our campground for the evening.

After setting up camp. Well I parked the RV, plugged it in and extended the slide-outs. We walked down to the beach via a trail that followed a small creek for maybe 1/2 mile. The beach is about the same as the last two with a wide sandy shoreline and medium size waves. Once again it was nice but very windy.

Today is free camping day at all Oregon State Parks so we, and everyone else, enjoy a free night of camping.

Another day at Beverly Beach State Park proved to be surprisingly another great day. We took it easy most of the day and only took a short trail around the campground in the morning through the forest which looks very much like a rain forest.

After visiting the welcome center at the entrance to the Park, we discovered it might be possible to walk up the beach a couple of miles to explore another state park at Devil's Punch Bowl near low tide. So about 3 pm we loaded up the backpack and took off.

The walk was easy as the wind died down a bit today. The area was nice with some great views of the shoreline and ocean on top of the hill at the point. The Devil's Punch Bowl is actually a hole where the waves crash through holes beneath.

Fortunately there just happened to be a small shoppe that sold homemade candy at the top so we took the opportunity to buy six different flavors of the delicacy. The store was called Nye Beach Sweets.

After having some fudge for a sugar rush we walked down a path to reach the beach below just north of the punch bowl. The tide was almost at it's lowest so some of the tide pools were beginning to reveal themselves. The gulls were out having their dinner in the shallows along with at least nine sunbathing seals on the rocks.

We spotted a few anemones, a crab and other sea creatures among the pools of water. I could not pass up the chance to find more agates and rocks when they were spotted along the shore. This is the most agates I have found to date here.

So it was another great day on the coast. Tomorrow we head inland to visit the Columbia River Gorge area for a few days before returning to the Oregon Coast for another six nights. We are looking forward to seeing some waterfalls in the next couple of days.

We got up this morning with a different approach than the last thirteen days. We were leaving the coast behind and headed to the mountains and the Columbia River Gorge. The drive was nice as we drove through the H.B. Van Duzer Forest State Scenic Corridor toward Portland on highway 18.

I had no desire to see anything in Portland so we skirted the city but did need to get on the interstate for the short time. It was the first time in 27 days we have been on an interstate. I will never miss the interstate and actually prefer the two lane roads for the scenery. The only good thing about being on the interstate was a stopover at a wayside park to get our first view of Mount Hood near Portland. You will notice the waterfall in the bottom of the picture. That was an added bonus.

That short stop was near Oregon city. It seems that town was the end of the famous Oregon Trail. Over 150 years ago this was the final destination for the pioneers that risk everything to take the families and all their possessions from Missouri to Oregon in hopes of a better life.

We then drove along the Columbia River Gorge to Hood River were we made a brief stop at the Visitor's Center. It seems everywhere we wanted to go today either the parking lot was full or there was no easy access for a 36 foot RV. No big deal really as we just went on to our reserved campsite at Ainsworth State Park.

We had picked out several trails and waterfalls to visit but kept running into the same problem (notice the last photo below). The trails are closed to many of the falls and scenic views. They had a massive fire back in September 2017 and things have not recovered enough to allow hikers on many of the trails.

We have since regrouped and learned which places we can visit and will take off tomorrow for a very short drive to visit four or five of the waterfalls if all goes as planned. I almost forgot. It is the first time in 25 days I went outside with a short sleeve shirt.

We regrouped today and found a way to get to some of the waterfalls in spite of the obstacles. We were able to drive to Multnomah Falls and find a parking spot only because we got up early and took off. The waterfall here is one of the most photographed in the country. You will recognize the bridge in the middle of the falls from calendars.

Many of the trails in the area are closed until they are able to secure the paths. Some were just closed for a few days so we were unable to walk to the bridge. But to our advantage I snapped some pictures with no one on the bridge. The park ranger said that was very rare. It is one of the most magnificent places we have been in all our travels. So happy we got the chance to view it.

Next we took a trail about one half a mile to Wahkeena Falls. The trail was rather tough going uphill and not very wide for us old people. The falls is also nice and we were able to hike up and cross a bridge near the top of the falls. Spectacular view from that spot.

At this point we decided to forgo our last night at Ainsworth and go back to the coast. Along the way we drove through Portland and the mountains which had some nice scenery along the way. The mountains, not Portland. The road followed the Wilson River through the Tillamook State Forest.

Once near the coast, we stopped by the Tillamook Cheese Creamery for a tour of the factory where they make cheese by the ton. From above we could view the entire process of how they make cheddar cheese from milk to the packaged product. We tasted some samples and checked out the gift shop.

We found a campground easily at Harborview Inn & RV Park for the night which was a nice change of pace from the state parks. The park in set in the middle of the Garibaldi Marina. We had plenty of time to check out all the boats and fishermen along the docks. The sun set just a few minutes ago at about 9:00 pm across the bay.

We hung around the Garbaldi Marina this morning to watch the dozens of people come out at low tide to gather clams from the mudflats. They bring shovels, hoes and buckets to dig down and discover these huge clams that I suppose are a delicacy in the area.

We spoke to a game warden who watched over the proceedings to make certain all involved had a license and did not go over the 20 clam limit. He said the clams were plentiful in Tillamook Bay this time of year and that people came from far away to gather them. We had no shovel, bucket or mud boots much less a $28 license. So we just watched. I rather doubt I would like clams anyway.

There was a neat little gift shop we visited briefly in the small town. We would have hung around town a little longer but it seems almost the entire town closes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Honest.

We had spotted a nearby RV & Boat wash so we decided to try it. While it is a difficult task to wash this thing it was in dire need of a bath after so long on the road. It took a while but we got it washed.

It was less than 20 miles to our next destination at Nehalem Bay State Park so we arrived early. Once here we set up and walked to the beach but it was beginning to mist lightly so we returned and just walked around the campground. We spotted a single deer near one of the loops who seemed to not care at all that we just stood and watched her graze for a while. The deer did look up often to keep and eye on a dog at one of the nearby campsites.

We are winding down the days remaining in Oregon as we only have four more nights before leaving the state for Washington and Olympic National Park. We have been in Oregon fifteen days now and this is the first rain we have seen since the very first day we arrived in the state. We have appreciated the sunny days even if they have been a little on the cold side for us.

Today completes our fifth week on the road. Time is flying by now.

Low tide was around 10:30 am today which was perfect for a long walk up the beach to some tide pools near Manzanita. We saw numerous sea stars, crabs and clams on the rocks. Also saw a few anemones in the seaweed. Today was an extra low tide which was eight and a half feet lower than the overnight high tide. The beach was as much as 200 yards wider than last night.

The strange thing is that almost everywhere we go on the beaches there are not many people around. I guess it could be because there are just so many different beaches along the coast. Anyway it is fine with me to have the beach to ourselves. The campgrounds fill up on the weekends but are not half full during the week.

It drizzled a little midday so we rested before walking over to Nehalem Bay and the State Park Marina. There is always a lot of driftwood and logs along the beaches on the bays.

The sunset was great even if we could not actually see the sun set on the horizon. We have not seen many as the fog usually rolls in just before the sun sets. But tonight it did not.

The next two nights will be our last stop in Oregon at Fort Stevens State Park. There is no doubt we will be a little sad to leave this state.

Our first stop this morning was only a few miles down the road. Or I should say up the mountain. We had a great view of Nehalem Bay State Park and the beach from Neahkahnie Viewpoint. The tide was going out so you can see how much more beach is revealed at low tide.

We made a few more stops on our travels north but it was only about 40 miles to our next campground. We did stop at Fort Clatsop and visit a replica of the fort Lewis and Clark built in the winter of 1805 shortly after they arrived on the trip across the country.

After traveling down the Columbia River from Montana they finally arrived at the Pacific Ocean on November 7, 1805 following a eighteen month journey from Missouri. They built this fort near the west coast and remained here for the next four months. Once spring came, they returned to the east to tell of their adventures.

Lewis and Clark kept journals in great detail so much is known about their travels. The fort and museum are a great place to visit if American history interest you.

Once we arrived at Fort Stevens near Astoria, Oregon we toured some of the old remnants of the fort that stood here from 1866-1947. They had a little museum and much of the fort still stands. It looks a lot like Fort Morgan back home.

Our campsite for the next two nights is nestled among some huge trees. I think they are spruce and fir. We did not get to do much exploring this afternoon since it decided to rain a little. We will get out tomorrow as the rain should be gone.

Our last night in Oregon is near. After nineteen days we move on tomorrow. Fort Stevens is the largest State Park in Oregon and has a wealth of things to do. We hiked to the beach this morning to see the shipwreck of the Peter Iredale. The ship went aground in 1906 and is still visible today.

There were hundreds of people on the beach who were in search of razor clams. They all used a metal or pvc pipe to dig down as much as three feet to get the clams from the wet sand at low tide. Many of them simply drove on the beach, parked and spent the morning digging clams. We even saw one group cooking them right on the beach. It seems to be a family affair with the kids diligently digging alongside their parents.

As we walked up the beach an eagle soared along the sand dunes in search of prey. The magnificent bird landed a couple of times in view of the camera. It was even nice enough to allow me to snap some pictures.

We took a trail through the massive hemlocks and spruce trees to and from the beach. The only wildlife we saw was a blue heron and a duck along the trails. All told the hike was in the neighborhood of six miles. Luckily most of it was paved and the beach is so compacted it is like walking on concrete. Trucks have no problem driving along the beach at low tide.

We rested this afternoon and had a grilled steak for dinner. A great close to day number thirty-nine.

We got up this Sunday Morning to another beautiful day in Oregon. Our first stop was only a few miles away in the port city of Astoria. We visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum on the waterfront. The museum houses displays and artifacts mostly about all the vessels that have been lost in the turbulent waters off the Columbia River.

It was very interesting to also see the fishing boats that were on display from every era over the past 100 years. Those were some mighty brave souls to venture out into the ocean in such small boats. When we left here we crossed the Astoria Bridge into the state of Washington, leaving Oregon behind.

Our next stop was at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment. This center detailed the entire trip made by the now famous explorers back in 1804-1805. They did a great job of laying out the journey step by step. The displays showed each leg of the trip and how this group of men overcame obstacles to reach the Pacific Ocean. The Center is actually very near where the explorers first saw the Pacific.

We also saw a sea lion swimming along in the waters beneath the Center. On our walk down the hill from here we eyed a deer grazing near the path.

Just a short distance away was the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. We did not walk over there as we got a pretty good view from where we were.

These two stops killed most of the day so we took off for our next campground. Along the way we saw the world's largest oyster in South Bend. There were a lot of oyster houses in the town that was alongside a huge bay.

Tonight we are staying at Grayland Beach State Park in Washington. Nice park on a secluded section of the coast right on the beach. Our campsite is only about 100 feet to cross the sand dunes but it is another few hundred yards to the water.

We left Grayland Beach this morning not knowing exactly what to expect today as far as scenery as we entered Olympic National Park. We stopped off at Quinalt where there were a couple of short trails around a lake.

The drive was nice through the Olympic National Forest as the trees once again were huge as they had not been clear cut for more than a century. After driving through the forest for an hour or so we found ourselves once again back at the beach but this time inside the National Park at Kalaloch Beach. We stopped by the Ranger Station to pick up some maps and get some tips on what to see.

The Ranger recommended a stop at Beach 4. I suppose they ran out of names for the beaches so they just numbered them in Washington. The beach here was different than most of the previous shorelines. There was very little sand and mostly gravel to walk on. Our timing was great because it was low tide so we got another chance to view a few tide pools and search for agates.

Our main goal for the day was the Hoh Rain Forest inside the National Park. After traveling 18 miles down a winding narrow road we arrived at the Rain Forest in time to take both the trails here. The first was Hall of Mosses Trail. It weaved through the forest where Hemlock and Spruce trees towered over the dense floor below. Moss covered everything here except the ferns which were plentiful.

Along the trail we saw a Pileated woodpecker on a fallen tree pecking away. A ranger warned us of a bear along the trail in a tree. As we approached the area the mother bear began to descend the tree so I snapped a couple of quick pictures and we ran for our lives. Fortunately we outran the couple behind us so I felt safe. We also walked the other Spruce Nature Trail which ran through the rain forest near the river and back. Both were beautiful walks on a day where the sun shined and the temperatures were in the mid 70's.

We passed the 4,000 mile mark today. Day forty-one of our journey.

We drove from Forks this morning through the corner of Olympic National Park as there is no way to actually drive through the park. So eventually we will pretty much drive all the way around the park.

We went by Crescent Lake which is a huge glacier lake with crystal clear and cold water. We stopped at a couple of viewpoints and wanted to stop more but they were paving the roadway right where we would have turned for a trail to a great waterfall. I read a bulletin that stated we would have to wait for four hours to get back on Highway 101 if we stopped. So, we drove on.

We stopped by the Olympic National Park Visitor's Center for a few minutes to buy a couple of souvenirs and check out the animal displays they had there. Along the way we drove through Port Angeles but did not see anyplace to stop for a visit.

Our reservations for the next two nights are at Salt Creek Recreation Area which is a county park. As soon as we arrived we knew this was a special place. It came highly recommended and did not disappoint. The second picture below is what we see out the windshield of the motorhome. Nice view for two days. We can see Canada across the water but will not get there for another nine days.

The third picture is Mount Baker we have been told. It is near North Cascades National Park where we will be in two more days.

The tide pools here are simply amazing as always. I have grown to love these and really do appreciate them. Many are just like a small aquarium and each one is different with a wide array of creatures living in them. We will do more exploring here tomorrow and check out more trails and anything else we can find.

After I wrote the Journal entry last evening we walked across the road to watch the sunset at about 9:15 and all kinds of things happened. We saw an otter swimming by and after he caught a fish, climbed out a rock and ate his dinner. About the same time a raccoon decided to stroll right down to where we were standing. Finally I had to run the little guy off so we could watch the sunset. And a beautiful sunset it was.

Today we walked around the Salt Creek area watching the waves roll in against the rocks, the birds and the deer. It seems the deer are almost tame and just wander around the campground and the field behind our RV. We have seen several deer, numerous raccoons and two otters.

This place has to rank as one of the best campgrounds we have had the privilege of visiting this trip. It has about everything one could want in a place to stay a couple of days. Even met a couple from the Knoxville area. It was good to hear southern spoken again.

I worked on my honey-do list today to catch up on a few things that needed to be done. Mostly we just relaxed today. We did walk to the tide pools at low tide to see a few more sea creatures that live among the rocks on the shore one last time.

The sunset today was once again magnificent. The best we have seen in the six weeks since we left our home behind in Alabama. Tomorrow we leave the coast for good and move on to the mountains near North Cascades National Park.

Well the day I have dreaded for months finally arrived. I had to drive through Seattle. Just could not find a way to get around the city without going through it. One thing is for certain. If I ever must drive in this part of the USA again, I will find a way around this city even if I must drive 500 miles out of the way. It took us eight hours to go about 250 miles between wrecks, construction and just plain people.

We did leave Highway 101 behind us today for the last time. We have not strayed far from 101 for the last 27 days. There was a lot to see along the way but it is time to move on. We got glimpses of Mt. Rainer and Mt. Olympus today while we drove south of Seattle. We are near Mt Baker which is one of the taller peaks around.

After stopping to get gas and by the local Walmart to replenish our supplies we finally made it to Rasar State Park at 5:00 pm. This park is small compared to the others we have visited but seems to have a lot to offer in trails and scenery. We only had a chance to make a short hike before dinner time but will get more exploring in tomorrow.

The next three nights will be inside North Cascades National Park with no electricity or water. Hopefully that goes well. I have been planning for some time so it should not be a problem.

Our first of three days inside North Cascades National Park was great. On our drive in we stopped off at Rockport rest area along the river and met a couple from Vancouver Canada. It was their first day of many to travel.

We only drove about 40 miles to get here today so we had plenty of time to check out things around the campground. We walked up to the Visitor's Center to pick up some maps and get a little information.

A few of the local wild berries are beginning to get ripe but I have to make sure they are edible before eating them. Two I have found are the red huckleberry which looks and grows much like the ones we have at home except they are red when ripe. They are some what sour but edible just the same. The other is a salmonberry which is yellow until it ripens and then turns red also. It is a little sweeter but nothing like a blackberry. The blackberries are weeks away from being ripe here.

Once in the park we got a few glimpses of snow topped mountains in our future. We found out one of the hikes we wanted to do is not possible because the trail is still covered in snow. We are camped alongside the Skagit River which is emerald green due to the water being from the glacier melt. And it is cold.

We walked a short distance to the town of Newhalem. Well I guess it is a town. It does have a single general store and a welcome Center. That is it. We got ourselves an ice cream and enjoyed a walk along the river on our return trip.

I added a photo of Ellen's collection of stuffed animals she buys that represent some of the animals we have seen. We have a beaver, California Quail, Chipmunk, black bear, sea lion and a moose. They are our resident pets that sit in the front window all day looking out over our beautiful campsites. I also posted a couple photos of the berries.

Our second day at North Cascades National Park was fun. We hung around the campsite this morning mostly relaxing. While grilling burgers for lunch Ellen spotted something moving in the bushes behind the RV. It turned out to be a doe and two small fawns. They wondered around nearby for the next 30-45 minutes. I managed to snap a few pictures but could not get close before the fawns would hop away.

The fawns were still nursing but would stray from mom for a few minutes at a time before scurrying back when they heard any sound at all. We went inside to eat after the burgers were done and they all three walked right next to the motorhome. But, I had left the camera in back on the tripod while we ate. Oh well. I took a couple of photos with Ellen's phone but they did not turn out very well.

After lunch we hiked to Ladder Falls near town. It once had a beautiful garden built about 100 years ago when they built the first of three dams in the area. We toured one of the facilities where they generate electricity for Seattle. The dam is about two miles away and they have huge tunnels that bring the water to the turbines. Kinda cool place.

There are a couple of creeks that run through the campground that are very nice and very loud as we approach them. One trail led to an area that archaeologist have studied for years. They claim people lived near a rock face for over 1,200 years and have found bones, pottery and arrow heads from many years ago. It looked like a open cave dwelling I suppose.

Later we walked around the campground checking everyone else out as we usually do every day. We boiled the last of our shrimp so no more for at least seven weeks I guess. Tomorrow we will relax and hang out around here again before moving on the new adventures. Today was day 46 of our travels. We are nearing the halfway point of our journey soon.

Since it was Sunday and Father's Day we kind of took the day off. Mostly just hung around the campsite and did a few very short walks.

It was nice to hear from the boys and all the grandchildren today. It was good to see their smiling faces on FaceTime. Kate, you are getting so big and so smart. She always wants to see Pops if I get out of the picture. So sweet. And I am glad Ryan got to climb a mountain finally after all these years. Ty is growing up so fast and is just such a big boy. And Ellie... Well Ellie is just Ellie.

We did learn a few things about this part of the world the past few days. Although we have not seen a bear near here we have been warned that they are plentiful in the park. But it seems they are about the size of a large dog. A park ranger said they only get to be about 70-90 pounds. Once I heard this I have become less cautious of the black bears.

We did make one final walk down a gravel road a few hundred yards from our campsite to see Newhalem Creek one last time from the bridge. Really a nice place to walk and just watch the water flow by. The current is so fast that it is difficult to hear anything other than the water.

I did find this one rock that seems to be covered in gold. While I do realize I may not have struck the mother lode it is still a nice piece. It did not photograph well but trust me, it is covered with gold like flakes. Maybe I will save it for Ellie or Ryan.

We have three more nights before crossing the border in to Canada. One more in Washington after we spend all day tomorrow going through North Cascades National Park and exploring it. Then two nights at a state park in northern Idaho. We have been trying to get everything ready for Canada but really do not know what to expect when we get there.

We knew it would be a busy day so we took off early in hopes of seeing everything. Our first stop was nearby at Gorge Overlook Trail. It was a short walk to view the Gorge Dam and Lake.

There are three lakes and three dams in North Cascades National Park. The second, and most beautiful, is Diablo Lake. The water is emerald green due to the minerals dissolved by the glaciers that reflect the sunlight. It was a bright sunny day so the water was a very unique shade of green. When we left the lake we saw another doe with a small fawn on the side of the road. The mother was just sitting there while the fawn played on the edge of the road.

We stopped at an overlook with a great view of Crater Peak. While the elevation was only 4,000 feet, the mountains towered over us. Most seem to be straight up in the air.

The highlight of the day was a two mile hike to Rainey Lake near Rainey Pass. The walk was for the most part flat with a wide paved trail. The lake is in photos 6-9 below. There were a couple of waterfalls that fell almost straight down for several hundred feet. It was one of the most beautiful places we have even had the opportunity to visit. Well worth the short hike. There were only a few other people on the trail while we walked it.

Washington Pass Overlook was both beautiful and scary. The trail led us to the edge of a huge drop off where the views were spectacular. It is the highest point we could drive to in the park. Really nice views.

We stopped off in Winthrop Washington for a short time to walk the town. They have kept and recreated the town much as it was in the late 1800's. The sidewalks are boards and all the store fronts are as they were a century ago. Not many stores or shops for us here so we moved on. But it was good to walk the street for a while.

We stopped to view the Chief Joseph Dam before passing near the Grand Coulee Dam. The dam, on the Columbia River, was completed in 1942 and produces more power than any other dam in the USA. After a long day we reached our campsite at Steamboat Rock State Park near 5:00 pm.

We made it out of Washington and into Idaho today. Just barely. We are only a few miles in Idaho at Farragut State Park. It is nice to be back in the mountains near a lake. Eastern Washington is not much to look at. We did come through one area that had apple and cherry trees as far as the eye could see for many miles. Other than that it was what they call a high plateau. I call it a desert.

Last night we stayed next to an older gentleman who roamed around the northwest painting landscapes. He was painting one of the place we were across a lake with the bluffs in the background. He sells his paintings to pay his way. He was actually a good artist and is originally from Orlando.

As we crossed into Idaho there was a great little visitor's center where we picked up a bunch of maps and information on the upcoming states we will visit once returning from Canada. That is the first welcome center we have seen at a state line since we entered Texas many weeks ago. It seems the states out here do not see a need to have welcome centers at the state lines. Very odd.

The campground here is nice. A long walk to the lake. We will check out the museum tomorrow and more of the park. We did see a bunch of prairie dogs in a colony that was fun to sit and watch them pop up out of their hole only to disappear again. Very timid animals for sure.

We are on day 49 which means we are halfway through our trip as we have it planned. All is going well and we have had no problems to speak about. We have met a lot of nice people along the way from every corner of the USA. We have not killed one another. That is why I post a photo with Ellen in it every few days so you know I have not left her on the side of the road somewhere.

We have very little cellphone or internet services here. Once we leave here on Thursday, those luxuries will almost be non-existent for the next ten days. We will be able to check our emails when we can find some free WiFi in Canada but will likely not be able to stay connected. So, if you need us just send an email and we will get back with you as soon as possible. I will post pictures and the journal notes when I can. If not, I will get caught back up when we return to Montana on Saturday 6/29.

This is our last night in the United States of America. We will be up early to drive the last few miles into Canada. I am both excited and a little anxious about crossing the border. There are so many rules and regulations it will make your head spin. I think we have everything in order and hopefully we will not be detained or have the RV searched. We have nothing to hide. I just do not wish to be hassled for no reason at all.

We visited the Brig Museum at Farragut State Park very near our campsite this morning. The name may mean something to the history buffs of Baldwin County. Admiral Farragut, for whom the park is named, became famous near our home at Fort Morgan.

He was the first Admiral in the USA Navy during the Civil War. He is remembered for his order at the Battle of Mobile Bay usually paraphrased as "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead".

On August 5, 1864, Farragut won a great victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay. Mobile was then the Confederacy's last major open port on the Gulf of Mexico. The bay was heavily mined (tethered naval mines were then known as "torpedoes"). Farragut ordered his fleet to charge the bay. When the monitor USS Tecumseh struck a mine and sank, the others began to pull back.

From his high perch, where he was lashed to the rigging of his flagship, USS Hartford, Farragut could see the ships pulling back. "What's the trouble?" he shouted through a trumpet to USS Brooklyn. "Torpedoes", was the shouted reply. "Damn the torpedoes.", said Farragut, "Four bells, Captain Drayton, go ahead. Jouett, full speed."

The bulk of the fleet succeeded in entering the bay. Farragut triumphed over the opposition of heavy batteries in Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines to defeat the squadron of Admiral Franklin Buchanan. History lesson complete for today.

Anyway, the park was built to train navy soldiers during WWII and housed as many as 40,000 troops. It was also a German POW camp during and after the war.

Other than that we sat and watched "Columbian Ground Squirrels" play. Yesterday I reported these as prairie dogs. We did some research and learned they were ground squirrels. No prairie dogs in Idaho. They behave and act very similar. So I guess they are the same thing but different.

We got a really early start today because we had about 240 miles to travel and had to get across the border. We stopped at the last WalMart in the US not knowing what the stores in Canada would hold for us. We reached the border at 10:30 and get a green light just a few minutes later.

We had thrown away milk, eggs, veggies and all our fire wood knowing those items are not allowed across the border. The person at the customs station never asked if we had any of those things and was only concerned as to why someone from Alabama did not carry a gun. Anyway we are in Canada.

I will never get accustomed to the metric system. The high today is 19 degrees Celsius. The speed limit is 100 KPH. We drove 400 kilometers today and gas costs $1.29.9 per liter. Very confusing.

We saw a lot of sheep, stopped by Moyie Lake for a look and the Cranbrook Visitor's Center for maps and information. Also stopped again at WalMart in Cranbrook to replenish our meat and dairy products. Now I must tell you that WalMart in Canada is much different that the USA. Either Canadians do not eat meat or they do not buy it at WalMart. I could have put the entire meat department in a single cart. I also could not find brats or Provolone Cheese. I saw very few items produced in the USA.

We stopped at the Wasa Rest Area for a little while and at Columbia Lake. The Lake is the source of the Columbia River. It starts here and flows to the Pacific Ocean. Very interesting since we have seen this river in more than a few places this trip.

We reached Redstreak Campground just inside Kootenay National Park in time to take a short hike. Almost right away we spotted three bighorn sheep. After returning to our RV we saw a big male sheep not 30 feet from our camper. I got some good photos of that big boy.

We passed the 5,000 mile mark on day 51. We are headed to Lake Louise tomorrow.

We started our day by stopping in the town of Radium Hot Springs just a mile or so away from our campsite last night. A nice gift shop provided Ellen with a couple of new stuffed animals. An eagle and a big horn sheep were added to her collection. We walked through a local grocery store to just look around. Then completed the trip at the visitor's center for some maps and information.

We entered Kootenay National Park almost immediately out of town. Shortly after the entrance we spotted about eight big horn sheep grazing on the hillside and a black bear standing on the side of the road watching us drive by. They have a "no stop" rule in effect now due to the fact the bears are near the road this time of year dining on the dandelions. We stopped at several viewpoints. Well, actually all the ones we could get into to gaze at the mountains and river.

We crossed the continental divide for the second time on this trip just before entering Banff National Park and turning north on the Trans Canada Highway. After making a couple more viewpoint stops we reached Lake Louise. The town is small but that does not keep the tourists from crowding every store and parking lot in town. I hope the last person leaving Japan turns the lights out. We did step into a few shops and Ellen bought some souvenirs.

The Lake Louise Campground is very nice with a trail that runs alongside the swift flowing emerald green river. It is great for a long peaceful walk through the tall fir and spruce trees. We saw ground squirrels, ravens and magpies along the trail. Snow covered mountains surround us on all four side.

So much for the first day of summer. The low tonight is about 35 and the high around 55. Nice summer weather. Tomorrow we travel north to Jasper via the Icefields Parkway. Hoping to see some views of the glaciers that line the road and who knows what else.

We made many stops today as we traveled the 140 miles between Lake Louise and Jasper through the Icefield Parkway. Crowfoot Glacier was the first glacier we saw along the route. One of the most beautiful places was Bow Lake. It is very popular and now we know why. A big lake surrounded by snow covered mountains with Bow Glacier in the background.

We wanted to stop at Peyto Lake but could not get in the parking lot because bear #1 was eating dandelions along the road near the entrance causing a traffic jam. We can visit the Lake tomorrow when we return. We made stops at Howse Pass, Bridal Veil Falls before leaving Banff National Park and entering Jasper National Park.

The main attraction in this part of Canada are the Columbia Icefields. They have tours that allow you to take a bus ride up next to the glacier. We did not wish to take the time go on that little escapade. We spent some time here at the interpretive center and gift shop but it was very crowded. The glaciers are awesome and difficult to describe.

We also stopped at Sunwapta Falls but the parking lot was full and all cluttered up because bear #2 was eating dandelions in the parking lot. Once again we will try to see the falls tomorrow. Bear #3 was just on the side of the road and once again eating dandelions. We have been told by a park ranger they love the flowers this time of year. I got some good pictures of the first three bears. All black bears.

Athabasco Falls was a place with good parking and a great walkway to a magnificent falls. The river is full from the recent rains and the falls roared over the rocks through a canyon. There were many places along the path to view the falls and canyon making it easy to get some good photos. I took 174 pictures today but will just post 14 in the journal.

Our last stop for the day was in the town of Jasper. Nice little town with many neat shops to rummage through. We walked a while and stepped in a few to add to our collection of souvenirs. Oh, I almost forgot. Just before town Ellen spotted bear #4 for the day. This one was a huge grizzly coming out of the trees toward the road. It was very near our campground so needless to say I am not venturing far from the RV tonight. All in all it was another great day. We did other things but I am trying not to make this journal too long and bore everyone to death. We hope to see other animals soon. I am getting tired of bears everywhere.

The sunset at 10:17 Mountain Time last night. We did not stay up to see it. Well, we spent last night at Wapiti Campground in Jasper Alberta, Canada. This morning we are heading home but it may take us another six and a half weeks to get there This is the furthest we will be from home. We have been 5,400 miles so far this trip but are actually only 2,700 miles from Foley.

We saw Black Bear #1 near Kerkeslin campground early this morning as we headed back to Lake Louise. Much like the others it was just strolling along beside the road. We stopped at Athabasca Pass Viewpoint, Goats and Glaciers pullout before spotting four mule deer near Mount Christie. Three were bucks still in velvet. Shortly thereafter bear #2 appeared once again dining on dandelions on the side of the highway near Sunwapta Falls Junction.

Our next wildlife encounter was a big horn sheep near a mountain pass and he too was very near the road. We pulled over at Parker Ridge and briefly walked the trail toward the mountain summit. Needless to say we decided to forgo the entire hike as it was almost straight up with a bunch of switchbacks.

We saw many waterfalls yesterday and today. Too many to post photos of here. Actually I took over 340 pictures the past two days and over 2,100 thus far this trip. The weeping wall was a nice stop to see at least seven waterfalls together that were each well over 100 feet high.

Our next bear, bear #3 today, was a grizzly I was told by a ranger. He had the hump and huge head which are characteristics of the grizzly. The black bears come in all colors so sometimes they are hard to tell apart. I managed to get stopped and took as many as 20 photos of the big guy. I have a telephoto lens so I was not as close to the bear as it seems in the pictures. I am smart enough to keep my distance. We saw this bear near Coleman Creek Campground.

The highlight of the day may have been Mistaya Canyon. The river is big and wild before falling into a very narrow canyon at full force. It is near impossible to get a good picture of the canyon but the river was great to see from several angles along the trail. The last stop of the day was at Peyto Lake. A place we could not get into yesterday because of the traffic and a bear in the road. You will notice the photos below of the bright blue lake. Absolutely amazing color. There is no way a camera can capture the sheer beauty of this body of water. No way.

We arrived back at Lake Louise in time to enjoy a quiet dinner and a stroll around the campground via the river trail. We are here for two more nights and will actually get to see Lake Louise and Lake Moraine tomorrow hopefully. The weather has been unbelievable even with a little rain here and there and the cold nights. These two Canadian National Parks are a must see for everyone. So put it on your bucket list today. I know Mom and Dad have been here and loved the place.

Our last day at Lake Louise proved to be another great day for hiking and sightseeing. Since parking is near impossible near the two main attractions in the area we took a transit bus to get to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. It actually worked out much better than driving. The day started out with beautiful weather once again.

We arrived at Lake Louise prior to the big rush of people later in the day to get in the hike along the lake to avoid the crowds. This is one of the busiest places in all of the Canadian Rockies. We enjoyed our stroll which hugs the lake shore for a distance of about two kilometers. As we walked, it was difficult not to gaze back at the Chateau Lake Louise. It is the huge hotel that sits on the banks of the magnificent lake.

From here we hopped on another bus to Moraine Lake. Much like Peyto Lake yesterday the water is more of a green color than the traditional blue. the difference between Peyto and Moraine is that this time we have the opportunity to walk right next to the lake along the shore instead of only viewing it from high above. Although it was mid morning by now, it was COLD! We did not bundle up today thinking the sun would be out and it would warm up from the overnight low of about 35 degrees. Well, the sun disappeared and the temperature fell even with the wind being calm. So we walked fast to keep warm.

The campground at Lake Louise is one of the better ones around. The campsite is nothing to brag about but the setting is unbelievable. The Village is within walking distance. A nice river runs through the Campground with several trails that wander through the trees and along the river.

This is our fifth night in Canada without any internet or cell phone service. It is pretty much non-existent in much of the National Parks. We still have four more nights before getting back to the USA but I really have not missed the lack of service. Other than those two things, Canada is wonderful. At least this part of it is great. We will be back I think someday.

I found some free wifi to update the journal but can not upload photos to the website now. I will try again later.

We departed from the Lake Louise area and traveled all of about 40 miles today before arriving at our next stop in the town of Banff. Since it was still morning we parked in town and walked around to get a feel for the streets and where things were located.

We have heard a lot about Tim Horton's and see them around in Canada. It is a fast food joint for breakfast and lunch. Problem is they do not serve anything with beef. Ellen got a chicken & bacon wrap and I got a bacon & cheddar melt. I forgot the Canadian Bacon is round like bologna. It was actually pretty good. The potato wedges were not good since they have no salt in the entire place. They do serve an all-veggie sausage for breakfast. Much like New York, it is near impossible to find a coke with ice anywhere in town. The only good thing was they had free wifi at Tim Horton's. The first in six days.

Our campground is only about two or three miles from downtown so we went and checked in to one of the nicest places we have stayed. It is located on top of a flat mountain surrounded by other bigger mountain tops. We are here for three nights because there is so much to see nearby. We can catch a bus a couple of blocks away that will take us to numerous destinations. We have plans to visit some waterfalls, a canyon and lakes.

We did ride the bus for $2 back to Banff and got off near Bow Falls to see the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and Bow Falls. Very nice and unique hotel. It was also a nice walk along the Bow River to town where we just did a little shopping. Banff is a very upscale town with very nice buildings along the main street in the center of town. Lots of places to eat and shop.

No bears today. But we did see a deer driving up the hill to the campground. The doe did not seem to care that a 36' RV was coming down the road. She just looked up and stood there. Fortunately I was going very slow and avoided running over Bambi this time.

Tomorrow we take off to see what we can see again. Every day is great in Canada.

Once again we decided to bypass the driving adventures today and take the transit bus to our destinations. We rode about 30 minutes to Johnston Canyon along the Bow Valley Parkway. I must say it is nice to ride instead of driving all the time. We managed to see several deer near the road and even one huge buck who wanted to cross the road just as the bus approached. He hurriedly did an about face and scurried up the hillside.

Johnston Canyon is a one mile round trip hike but a lot of it is uphill on a metal walkway suspended over the canyon. My only thought the entire time was about the competency of the engineer who designed it. The falls were fantastic as they fell over the limestone rocks above us. Waterfalls have always been a favorite of mine. I guess because we do not have any around home.

The morning saw a little rain but only a drizzle for a few minutes here and there. We never did get wet really. It snowed last night on the mountain peaks around our campsite, dusting the tops with the white powder. It was a nice view to awaken to early.

Anyway, we returned from the canyon to visit the Banff Park Museum in town. The Museum opened in 1903 and most of the animal exhibits we placed there soon thereafter. They had displays of many of the mammals and birds native to Canada. We are still learning the names of many of the birds we have seen this trip and even a few of the animals.

We got lucky as there was a local farmer's market in the park today so we picked up some fresh cherries and even a few ears of Canadian corn. The corn was over a dollar an ear but remember it is Canadian money, not real money. It is one of the only times I have eaten cherries. They are much sweeter than anything I have had previously. We are back at our campsite now around mid afternoon but may take the bus back to town later. We sprung for the $10 to have wifi for the day so I am trying to get caught up on everything on the internet. If you missed any of our Canadian adventure or pictures just go to the 'Agenda' tab on the Homepage and start with Redstreak on 6/20. Or you can just look at the Canada pictures under the 'Photoviewer' tab.

When we awake this morning it was overcast and raining. While it did not rain a lot today, it drizzled off and on all day. It actually worked out fine because we just hung around the campground most of the day and got some rest on our last day inside Banff National Park.

Shortly after lunch we hoped on the bus and made our last trip to the town of Banff. The transit system is great here. The buses run continuously about every thirty minutes to a central hub downtown. From here you can hop on any of at least 10 buses with routes to any destination within about 40 miles. The cost is 2-4 dollars for a ride. It is a great deal when you consider the alternative of fighting traffic and finding a place to park.

The rain held off for a few hours while we strolled down the streets going inside most of the shops just to have something to do. We did find a couple of gifts for the grandchildren. Banff is a beautiful town that is kept perfectly clean to the smallest detail. In fact everywhere we have been in Canada is very clean. I do not remember seeing any litter at all. We could take a lesson from them in the USA.

The clouds obscured our views of the mountains all day. The mist seems to hang just above the treetops but we know the mountains are there, we just cannot see them. Tomorrow night will be our last in Canada so we have to prepare for another border crossing. I hope it goes as well as the first one.

I did not take many pictures today but I will post some from the past couple of days.

The skies cleared early this morning to reveal another beautiful day for us to do a little traveling. Sadly we had to leave Banff National Park behind but not necessarily the mountains. As we headed east toward Calgary the mountains faded from view in the rearview mirror. To our surprise as we turned south on Hwy. 22 toward the USA, the mountains came back into view. So most of the day we had glimpses of the snow covered mountains.

Our journey today was about 200 miles with most of it along what they call the cowboy trail. We only saw a single cowboy on a horse but he was wearing a baseball cap so I have doubts about him being a true cowboy. One odd thing we saw along the road was a fence row a couple of miles long where people had attached caps and hats to the top of every fence post. I am not sure how or why this spectacle came to be.

We saw a few animals along the way as we drove through the rolling hills. I spotted a coyote near the fence row and we saw several deer on the roadside. We also saw more cows than we have seen since leaving Texas I guess. There were very few houses anywhere with most of the land dedicated to cattle grazing. We also saw a lot of sheep and horses in the fields.

Tonight we are staying just below the Oldman Dam on the Oldman River in the Oldman Dam Provincial Recreation Area. I suppose and Old Man came by here once. It is a nice campground along the river amongst the cottonwood trees out of the wind. We spotted more Columbian Ground Squirrels all over the campground and several more deer grazing on the hillsides surrounding the park.

Nearby are a couple dozen of the wind turbines which produce electricity for the area. We have seen these in numerous places since west Texas but this is the first time I managed to take a picture of them. It is surprising how big they are in real life. Tomorrow we are off to Waterton Lake National Park on the border with the USA, then we will try to get through customs and on to Glacier National Park in Montana.

Our final day in Canada was great. We departed the campsite and arrived at Waterton Lakes National Park before most of the crowd on a Saturday. Monday, July 1st, is Canada Day. It is their version of Independence day so it is a long weekend for the Canadians. Now I wish we had hung around in Canada another couple of days to see how they celebrate. It seems to be about the same as the USA.

Anyway, Waterton is a nice small town tucked between the mountains with a lake as a backdrop. We started out by walking the streets of the town to see what was around here. Later we headed for a trail that runs around the lake toward a waterfall we wished to visit. The day was gorgeous. Plenty of sunshine with only one single problem. The wind off the lake was unbelievable. It had to be blowing around 40-50 mph and biting cold. Ellen said she will remember that the most about Waterton. The wind.

We did eventually get to the waterfall which was a refreshing surprise. It was worth enduring the wind on the lake. Lunch was good at Zum's even if it was busy. They did have tags on the walls from all over the world. Even one from Alabama. We managed to spend every cent of our Canadian money to eat lunch so I am glad to get rid of it.

After all was seen and done here, we left for the good ole USA. I took Hwy. 6 south to the border not certain how good the road would be for a 36' motorhome. As it turned out the road was fine but the scenery was unreal. We went high into the mountains with several pull offs to stop and enjoy along the way. Good picture taking spots also.

We got through Chief Mountain Customs in just a few minutes with no problems at all. After another 30 minutes or so we were back to normal with Verizon wifi service for the first time in almost ten days.

The campground tonight is called Chewing Blackbones RV Park and is inside the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. As we drove up they were having an Indian wedding in the meadow. Actually the bride was walking down the aisle as we approached. They hung around for a while with a band for entertainment.

We did spot a hawk on a fence post and a deer or two that I remember today. So, we are off to drive around the south side of Glacier National Park in the morning to Columbia Falls Montana. I am still working on a plan to see the park over the next five days. We hope to get in some hiking and sightseeing for sure.

The morning drive was once again great. The day started out with sunshine which ended up lasting all day. We drove around the east and south side of Glacier National Park since they would not allow us to drive through the park in our RV. No problem because I did not wish to drive through the park in anything this big.

The drive was typical Montana. Blue skies, great scenery and plenty of streams, rivers and creeks to view. Along the way we spotted deer, horses running wild on the hills and even a herd of a hundred or so bison on the Indian Reservation near Browning. We stopped for a while in East Glacier to visit the Glacier Lodge which was built in 1913. What a magnificent hotel and facility.

We also stopped a few times to watch the river and a couple of waterfalls. We arrived in Columbia Falls in time to visit the grocery store and pick up our rental car at Enterprise. That is our plan now. We have the car for four days which gives us the opportunity to visit the Park, Whitefish and Kalispell. It is much easier to get around through the mountains in a car.

After getting settled in at the magnificent Columbia Falls RV Park we hopped in the car and took off for Glacier around 6 pm. I figured it would be less crowded and we could get some good photos that time of day as well as see some twilight wildlife. We stopped on Lake McDonald where the water in unbelievably clear and cold. The shoreline is made up of small perfectly smooth rocks.

We had to stop at several waterfalls which are too numerous to name and post a picture of each one. The road is called the 'Going to the Sun Road' and it is not for the faint of heart. I have driven many roads in the mountains but this is the scariest. It is winding, narrow, close to the straight down drop offs on one side and sheer mountain cliffs on the other. And did I mention it is NARROW?

We reached Logan's Pass around 8 pm so we hung around for a while in the snow and managed to get some pictures of more big horn sheep and even a few mountain goats along the roadside. It is our first time to actually view the goats in the wild. I had to stop in the middle of the road, something I do not like to do, to get the mountain goats.

We made it back to the campsite around 10:30 pm just before dark. Well, since it never really gets dark here we will call it dark. It was another great day on our adventures. We are in the area another four days so who knows what we may find. Happy Birthday Kimberly. And Kate also. I forgot to mention her last week. She is a big two years old now.

We did a few chores this morning like simple RV repairs and the laundry before taking off for the "Going to the Sun Road" again just before noon. We spent the remaining daylight hours driving to St. Marys and back. Well, we did make quite a few stops along the way and even had a late lunch in St. Marys.

We ran into our neighbors from the RV park where we are staying at the loop in Glacier. They are from Navarre and on their way to Alaska in a couple of days. Nice people. Of course most people from the south are nice.

We once again saw the mountain goats at Logan's Pass on the hillside along the road. It was likely the same group we spotted yesterday. I got some great pictures of St. Mary's lake from Sun Point overlooking the lake. The weather was sunny but windy again today so the picture taking was not ideal.

We also saw more big horn sheep just west of the continental divide. This time they were crossing the road and one was even strolling down the road. They seem to have no fear of the heights as they just hop around on the ledges and rocks with ease.

Red Rock was a great stop. The rocks along the river are a deep red color which made this a little different than most rivers. We did check our a few gift shops at St. Marys and the 'Crown of the Continent Discovery Center'.

I have had a bad feeling about our campground we had reserved for the next three nights so we decided to drive there to check it out. It is only 14 miles from where we are staying tonight so it was no big deal to make the drive. I am so glad we did. It is not going to work at all. So, we will make other arrangements in the morning and go elsewhere.

It is a forgone conclusion that it was another great day. It seems every day is a great day. I know it sounds like a broken record but what can I do? I do not bore you with every tiny detail of our adventures because this journal would just be entirely too long and boring. Mainly I wanted to do the journal just to document the events for our enjoyment when we return.

We had to leave the Glacier area this morning. The reservations we had at Emery Bay were to say the least unacceptable. So we changed our reservations at Riverfront RV Park in Garrison to tonight and took off. We took the scenic route south instead of the easy interstate. It took us longer but the views were well worth the time and gas.

We spent most of the morning driving through the Flathead National Forest. We saw deer, which is nothing new since we see them now almost every day, six or seven turkeys and even a couple of vultures waiting on a fence for something to croak.

The snow topped mountains remained in sight most all day and are visible from our campsite tonight. We stopped at Summit Lake as seen in the two photos below. Another stop in Seeley Lake was a nice break as we browsed through a gift shop full of touristy items. We even had lunch beside a reservoir (Nevada Lake) with a great view of the water and hills.

Once we arrived in Garrison it came a thunderstorm that produced some small hail but I think we came through it fine. We have come back south and east enough for the satellite to work well again. We had lost a lot of our channels by being too far north and west according to Eddie.

The campground is nice. Sharon owns and manages the place. She is an elderly lady who started the park many years ago with her husband and raised nine kids here. We are next to a river where I could wander the shore for more rocks.

Tomorrow we begin a new phase to our adventures. Ellen wanted to go to a sapphire mine and I want to pan for gold and visit some ghost towns. The next four days we will do exactly that in southwest Montana. We had to scramble around to find different accommodations for the fourth of July but it all worked out wonderful. We will have more fun than if we had stayed in Columbia Falls another three days.

We took off down the back roads of southwest Montana this morning and found ourselves in Philipsburg just after a hail storm covered the town with small hail stones. Needless to say it was cold, cloudy and windy when we arrived. Philipsburg is famous for the sapphire mines nearby and we wanted to visit one today.

We chose Gem Mountain because it came highly recommended and was close to town. We wanted to go to the actual mining site but decided to bypass that because of the weather. It still worked out fine since we could sift through a bucket of dirt in search of the gemstones right in town.

It took us a couple of hours with the assistance of Alex who was very helpful and patient with us. He did all the washing of the raw dirt and showed us how to find the stones. It was a fun and different thing to do I suppose. Ellen found 23.11 ctw. total and even found one really nice sapphire that was 1.97 ctw. The expert said it was really nice so we left it with them and they will heat treat it and cut the gem before returning it to us later. It should make a nice necklace or ring.

We hung around town until about noon before taking off for our next destination at Virginia City, Montana about an hours drive away. Virginia City is an old ghost town that was refurbished about 70 years ago. There are many buildings standing just as they did some 150 years ago. Most of the original stores are arranged as they once stood including all the merchandise that were once sold in the stores.

They also had a small museum with displays from long ago that were interesting to see. We had homemade ice cream at one of the businesses. It was really good even on a chilly day. They have shows at night but they did not seem interesting enough to us. Our campground is only a few miles away so we were there in a few minutes. Along the road are miles of tailings from gold dredges that mined the creeks over 100 years ago. Many thousands of tons of tailing which are the byproduct of dredging.

We hope everyone has a great holiday tomorrow. Our hopes are to find a fireworks display near the town of Dillon to watch.

We left the ghost towns of Virginia City and Nevada City for the just real old town of Dillon, Montana. Dillon is a very unique place. Half the town looks much like it did 100 years ago with Victorian style architecture homes and an old downtown area with storefronts from long ago.

Our campground is only a few blocks from downtown so we were able to walk uptown this afternoon. While many of the stores are closed for the holiday it was still great to just stroll the streets for an hour or so. They did have a girl playing the guitar and singing outside a watering hole across from the park. They also have a museum along with an old log cabin and some older artifacts from 150 years ago.

The campground is really nice and all the pictures today are from inside the park. We can still see the snow topped mountains in the background to the west and south; mostly just rolling hills and meadows. The town has fireworks later tonight at dusk they advertise. I suppose that will be around 10:00 pm here.

Our hopes are to rent a car tomorrow if the place that does such things opens on a Friday. It is cheap and I have found a couple of interesting things we can do with a car that we will not be able to accomplish with a motor home. Unlike everywhere else we have been thus far on this adventure, I did not have this week planned out very well so we are winging it day to day. So far it has worked out well. Everywhere we drive is beautiful even if it was only about 47 miles today.

We hope everyone had a great holiday. We are closing out day number 65 on this trip. It is hard to believe it has been over nine weeks since we departed from Foley.

We were able to secure the use of a rental vehicle today to do some exploring of Southwestern Montana. They did not have any cars available so we settled for a new Toyota Tundra. Really nice ride. Anyway, with the wheels we took off for Crystal Park which is about 50 miles from our campground.

The drive there followed the Pioneer Scenic Byway which was truly a scenic drive. We spotted several deer, something we see every day now, in the surrounding grasslands. As we went around a curve a huge buck crossed the road and scurried into the forest. We stopped to watch seven horses and six young foals very near the road as we turned onto the byway.

We arrived at Crystal Park around 11:00 am in time to beat the crowds. That was a joke. There are no crowds in Montana. The park is inside a National Forest and is a great place to find crystals. So we pulled out the shovel, gloves, spades and trowels to find some of the crystals for ourselves. They are really easy to find at least the small ones are easy.

We dove right in among a few other brave souls and acted like we knew what we were doing. We did find a lot of small crystals and a lot of other interesting rocks and rock formations. I did not have time to clean them up yet so I will post some pictures once I get them polished. We stayed and dug around for about three hours before moving on.

Next up was the town of Bannack. This true ghost town came about in 1862 when gold was discovered nearby in a creek. It was the first territorial capital of Montana and was a booming town for a few years until the gold played out and everyone moved on. The town is preserved as it once was except no one has lived here for at least 80 years. Bannack has something like 50 buildings still standing and a couple of cemeteries close by. It was interesting to walk the streets. We purchased a guide that helped us identify the buildings.

We spent most of the day out sightseeing and exploring so we ended it at Sparky's Garage which is a really neat restaurant in Dillon. It is full of antique car and auto memorabilia. And the food was great. We are off tomorrow to see some of the best dinosaur fossils in the world in Bozeman at the Museum of the Rockies. They have two of the best Tyrannosaurus Rex around.

After two nights in Dillon, Montana we departed this morning for new adventures. We headed to Bozeman and the Museum of the Rockies. The museum is at Montana State University and is one of the better places to see dinosaur fossils around. They had almost a complete tyrannosaurs rex that was found in the late 1990s just north of here. Those things would have been scary for sure way back in time.

The displays are well done with plenty of signage and videos about where and how they collect the fossils. I would love to someday go to a place where they are digging. There was also a traveling exhibit from Mongolia which included many setting of Genghis Khan. Many other areas depicted western culture and history over the past 400 or so years.

They also have a living history farm including a house and small farm in an 1800's setting. There were people dressed as one would have back then going about their daily chores. Grandma was cooking up some deviled eggs and potatoes on the wood fired stove in the kitchen. The house actually reminded me a lot of Granny and Papa's home in Leeds.

From Bozeman we drove down the Gallatin Canyon road to our campsite just south of Big Sky at Red Cliff Campground in the National Forest. We have no electricity, water or sewer so it is perfect for a one night stay. It is in the mountains alongside a river with trees all around. What could be better?

Our last night in Montana will be the eighth in the Big Sky State. Fittingly we will spend it in Big Sky, Montana. We are only about 30 miles from the entrance of Yellowstone National Park but we have not decided whether to venture into the tourist infested park yet. A number of years ago we spent over a week in the park and nearby area so we have seen pretty much everything around here. We will be passing through West Yellowstone tomorrow and can get a better feel of just how jammed up with people the park may be and decide at that time.

We departed Red Cliff Campground after just one night and headed south toward Yellowstone through the Galatin Canyon. We did actually enter the National Park for a few miles on the northwest corner. It was a beautiful drive to West Yellowstone. It was early morning so we were both on the lookout for any sign of wildlife.

All of a sudden a big black bear came out of the forest just in front of us and dashed across the road in a full run. There was no way to stop and get a better look as the bear was long gone. It was just after we passed the sign stating we had entered Yellowstone.

After arriving in town we went to the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center to get some up close and personal looks at some of the animals they have here. They have about a dozen grizzlies that come out into a natural area about every hour. Anywhere from one to three come out at a time. The trainers hide food under rocks and in holes to keep the bears in as natural habitat as possible. It was neat to watch the animals move boulders and track down the scents. They have huge claws to move things around with easily. A couple of them took a dip in the pool in the habitat.

The wolves were less cooperative and just napped most of the time we were there. They also had raptors such as eagles, hawks and owls. All the animals were there because they had been harmed by humans or as is the case with most of the bear, they had become accustomed to finding food near people and where they live.

We had lunch at the Timberline Cafe, stopped by the visitor's center and did some shopping at some of the tourist traps. It is a great small town with lots to see and do if you wish to spend the time.

We arrived at Buffalo Campground in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest on the west side of Yellowstone mid afternoon in time to do some walking around. As soon as we left our loop I spotted something in the trees huge and dark colored. It was a moose! After watching it and running back to get the camera, a young moose came walking up to the mother. What a sight to see and totally unexpected. We did not think about seeing a moose here at all. We are here in Island Park, Idaho for two nights and then we are going into Yellowstone. Well we are driving through it on Tuesday.

Our last night at Buffalo campground was nice and quiet. I made a campfire since the day was chilly and partly cloudy. It did rain a little while we rested after lunch. I doubt the high got much above 60 degrees today.

We went for a couple of walks around the area and even across the street to the lodge just to look around. The campground is a great place to simply relax and enjoy the outdoors. It is in the National Forest and away from almost everything. A river and a small creek run next to the campground which are different than most of the places we have stayed in the mountains. The river flows gently and is not anything like most of the roaring rivers we see in most places.

We did not see the moose again toady but that did not hinder us from looking several times. About all the wildlife we saw were ravens and other birds. I am sure we will see more tomorrow as we travel through Yellowstone and the Tetons.

Our plan for the last few weeks of our trip is to slow down and spend more time just doing nothing. We will stay in most of the campgrounds for a couple of days just to begin the unwinding process. Tomorrow will be day 70 which means we have been on the road for ten weeks now. I think all things considered it has exceeded our expectations and that is something I did not think was possible.

The pictures today are just a few I took near our campsite of the flowers and river. It was a very nice day.

We took off early this morning in hopes of beating the crowds to the main attractions in Yellowstone. Once entering the park our first stop was at Midway Geyser Basin home to the famous Grand Prismatic Springs. We got lucky with a parking spot even if it was a walk to get to the pools.

Even though I have been here a couple of times it is still interesting to see the thermal activity in action with all the bacteria creating so many different colors in the pools and water. It was cool (about 54 degrees ) and a little windy so the pools were not in the best condition for viewing today. We also saw a single bison along the road grazing. I tried to get a picture but the really huge animal would not cooperate enough for me to get close.

We arrived at Old Faithful in time to catch the 11:19 eruption along with a few thousand of our closest friends from ever corner of the planet. Once again the windy conditions prevented the perfect photos. No big deal. We came to see it, not photograph it.

We stopped off at Kepler Cascades and West Thumb to see the waterfalls and geysers around Yellowstone Lake. The lake if enormous in size and I will never forget coming here with my family as a teen back in the early 1970's and seeing the entire lake frozen solid on the first day of June.

We also saw an elk that I was able to get pictures of but missed my chance at a deer who ran out just 50 feet or so in front of the motorhome. I do not wish to hit a deer this trip or any trip for that matter.

We exited Yellowstone after a few more stops and entered Grand Tetons National Park just a few miles down the road. This has to be one of our favorite places ever for sure. The mountains just come straight up out of the surrounding plains. It was late in the day so the photography is not great since I had to face west for the photos.

We stopped at a few overlooks and a visitor's center before heading south through Jackson Hole and on to Alpine, Wyoming where we will spend one night. Normally I would NEVER go through a National Park the way we did today. But it was just a road to get us from where we were in Idaho to Alpine. Places like these should be experienced not just seen.

There was no reason to leave our temporary home in Alpine, Wyoming early this morning so we took our time leaving the area. There were no big plans for the day so we just drove south slowly through the National Forest at times and the high plains the remainder of the day. We passed through the town of Afton that claims to have the world's largest 'Elk Antler Arch' across Main Street in downtown.

We stopped at Salt River mountain pass which is the same path taken by many thousands of people over 150 years ago on their way to a new and improved life in Oregon. It was the Oregon Trail. What a great place to think about the people and lives affected by this trail so very long ago when this country was still unexplored and young.

As we left the National Forest there were hundreds of sheep on a hillside where it seemed they were roaming freely except for one cowboy on horseback with at least six dogs by his side.

We stopped at Fossil Butte National Monument near Kemmerer, Wyoming where fossils are very common in the area. They had a great visitor's center with fossils on display. Most were in sandstone and of small plant life and insects. Did you know I like fossils? I wanted to go to a quarry where you can hunt for fossils and keep what you find but it is not possible to get there in our home on wheels. I will keep looking for a place to do just that later in the trip.

We can check off two more animals on our 'wishlist' of animals we had hoped to see this trip. We finally saw some pronghorn. And did we ever see some. I guess we saw as many as 50-75 near the road the last hour of driving today. As soon as I spotted the first one and started to stop to take a photo I also saw a red fox on a nearby hill who was likely planning his dinner for the day. By the time I got my camera the fox had wandered over the hill so no picture of the sly devil.

The only animals we have remaining are a whale and a grey wolf. There is no possibility of seeing a whale in the middle of the country and we only have a few more places to try and find a wolf. All things considered, I think we did well in seeing so much wildlife this trip.

The next two nights we will be in Fort Bridger, Wyoming. It is a very important and famous place that most people did not know existed. More about that tomorrow as we will be exploring the town and a nearby fort built back in 1834.

So how is a town of only 545 residents so important in American History? I will try to explain. In 1843 Jim Bridger built a fort and store which became an emigrant supply stop along the Oregon Trail here. From 1830-1869 the Oregon Trail was used by about 400,000 settlers, farmers, miners, ranchers, and business owners and their families in search of a new life.

Bridger was the Daniel Boone of Wyoming. He was a trapper and true mountain man who explored much of the state in the 1830s. Some of the earliest Rocky Mountain Rendezvous were held in the area where the trappers and hunters would meet to trade their furs and pelts to traders.

In 1847 the Mormons led by Brigham Young arrived from Illinois as they made their pilgrimage west to escape persecution in the east. They purchased the fort from Bridger in 1858 and set up a supply town to resupply Mormons as they traveled west. When President Buchanan sent the Army to unseat Brigham Young as self appointed governor of the territory the Mormons burned the fort and all the buildings and moved on to the Salt Lake area. As many as 500,000 Mormons made the journey through the Fort Bridger area over the next 30 years.

The military rebuilt the fort in 1858 and used it until 1890. During this time the fort was used by the pony express as a station and place to keep fresh horses for the riders from 1860-1861. The overland stage also used the town as a stop for the stagecoaches as they traveled between Kansas City and San Francisco.

Later the trans-continental railroad was built through the town. They also used the town to supply the men working on the railroad. Detachments from Fort Bridger were used to protect the Union Pacific Railroad workers from hostile Indians. In 1860 the first schoolhouse in Wyoming and still stands in the town.

One of the most important Indian treaties was signed at the fort to settle disputes between the United States and the Indians.

So now you know a little about the town. There is a lot more history here and it was interesting to learn about a place I had never even heard of until a few days ago. Now the town has two stores, a hotel and a pawn shop. Oh, and 545 residents.

Shortly after leaving Fort Bridger, Wyoming driving down some back road we came across a historical marker that told of the first 'mountain man rendezvous' back in 1825. It seems the trappers and hunters of the day would meet in a predetermined location once each year to sell or trade their furs and pelts to merchants back east. It became a ritual for the mountain men and a big get together each summer. These rendezvous are reenacted still today around Labor Day weekend.

We saw several more groups of pronghorn as we drove east today. The drive was only about 50 miles so we took our time and kept a lookout for wildlife. We even spotted a llama in an open field along with some deer. The terrain began to change as we approached the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. The drive was very scenic with snow topped mountains to the south and a gorge appearing to the north.

We stopped at Sheep Creek Overlook and Red Canyon Visitor's Center for some fantastic views of the river and canyon. One picture below was taken from inside the Center. We also saw some young and female big horn sheep at Red Canyon. Flaming Gorge is a lot like the Grand Canyon without all the people. Very nice place.

We traveled further to the dam and checked out the area but did not do the dam tour. That really does not interest me much. So by mid afternoon we arrived at our campsite at Firefighter's campground. It is named in honor of three firefighters who lost their lives in 1977 fighting a wildfire here. Beautiful campground located on top of a mountain with great views of the river and valleys below. We even saw several eagles soaring overhead.

In the evening we joined a few fellow campers for a ranger talk about the 1977 fire and the souls that lost their lives that day.

We enjoyed our only night in Utah in the Flaming Gorge area but I cannot help but remember a week we spent in Utah some years ago when it was over 100 degrees every day. Much nicer this time.

Just down the road near Vernal, Utah is the Dinosaur National Monument. This is an interesting place to visit. In 1909 they discovered dinosaur bones literally sticking up out of the earth. The scientists believe that during a drought, many dinosaurs died near a river. When the rains returned the floodwaters washed the bones of ten species and over 500 specimens downstream and jumbled the bones into piles.

The quarry is inside a building where the bones are displayed on a mountainside for everyone to view as they were found over a century ago. This single wall has over 1,500 bones in it today. They know that many more lie beneath and to the sides of this display which is about 100 feet tall and 300 feet long. It was strange to see the bones still embedded in the solid rock. I remember coming here when I was a teen with my parents.

We stopped by the Colorado Visitor's Center to pick up some maps and information. We are still working on the exact route for our last three weeks much of which will be spent in Colorado I guess. I am hesitant to head south or east too fast because we are both enjoying the cooler weather much more than the heat and humidity at home.

Tonight we are at Rifle Gap State Park in Colorado. The campground sits on a hill overlooking a beautiful lake. We will be here for a couple of nights before moving on to Ridgway State Park down the road. No internet at all here and no cell service. So I will need to post this when we leave the area.

We remained at Rifle Gap State Park for another day and used the time to relax mostly. The weather was once again great. The skies are mostly clear and the temperature mild for sure. We sat outside and watched some hummingbirds and bluebirds flying around our campsite off and on all day.

I believe we have figured out a route back home that will fill in the last three weeks of our journey. Our plans are to remain in Colorado as long as possible and then jump down to Taos and Santa Fe for a few days before heading east to spend some valuable time with our boys and grandkids the first of August. We have been able to facetime the grandkids about once a week to keep up with everything they are doing this summer. Really looking forward to seeing them soon.

Other than grilling some steaks for dinner we did not do much. A couple of short walks around the area filled in some of the time but mostly just a very relaxing day. It was day 75 to be exact.

The drive today was only about three hours but the terrain changed dramatically along the way. We departed from Rifle Gap and jumped on the interstate for a few miles to Grand Junction before turning south through Delta and Montrose, Colorado. We followed the Colorado River for a while on the interstate through the canyons.

We stopped to get gas and at a visitor's center south of Montrose at an Ute Indian Museum. The drive south began to change after that last stop as the San Juan Mountains came into view with their 14,000 foot peaks topped with snow. We are staying at Ridgway State Park just north of Ouray and a large lake. We actually stayed at this state park back in 2003 when we came out west in our last motor home. It is the same park but a different campground than last time. We are camped on top of the mountain instead of at lake level tonight.

The drive south of Ouray to Durango is known as the "Million Dollar Highway" and rated as the second scariest drive in the USA. We have done it a few times in a car but no way will I ever drive Hwy. 550 in this or any RV. Way too steep, narrow and curvy for me. Ouray is one of our favorite places to visit in Colorado.

We have seen several deer since arriving here. One walked right out in front of me as we walked down a trail at the welcome center near the entrance to the park. We will remain here for two nights before moving slowly toward the four corners area if you know where that is.

Our second day at Ridgeway was so great we decided to stay a third night. We will move to another loop on the other side of the lake with a good view. We looked around to find one of the better sites that was available.

Our morning hike went down the mountain and to the lake below while the animals were still out and about. We saw two mule deer grazing along the path near the lake early. While watching the deer I heard a loud thud nearby and saw a beaver swimming near the shore on the lake. It was a strange place to see a beaver but he obviously saw me first and slapped his tail to let me know this was his territory. We followed him for a while around the shore until he headed across the lake to the shore on the other side.

We saw another deer near the park entrance as we walked in search of the perfect campsite for tomorrow night. We finally settled on site 184 for the view and booked it. We took some short walks and just hung out most of the day until returning to our favorite overlook trail to view the sunset again tonight at about 8:30.

Looking forward to another day here at what could be our last state park on this trip. They are beginning to get very busy with the locals who come out in July for the water sports and swimming. We will be around the southwest corner of Colorado the next five nights and have booked another rental car for the weekend in Cortez to hopefully do some exploring in places we can not reach in the RV.

Our third and last day at Ridgeway State Park was mostly about more relaxing and enjoying the scenery. All the pictures below except the sunset were taken from our campsite. It is likely the best overall site we have enjoyed this trip. Simply beautiful.

As evening approached we spotted a herd of elk in the meadow across the lake. There had to be at least 30-40 in the herd walking up the slope toward the forest.

While the temperatures here have been in the 80s the humidity is near 0% so it feels much cooler and more comfortable than the temperature would suggest. It has been unbelievable how wonderful the weather has been this entire trip. I had prepared myself for the possibility of some bad weather at times but it has just been perfect almost the entire journey.

Tomorrow we head south across the San Juan mountains so the views should be great as we will need to top Lizard Head Pass at 10,222 feet high. This will be the highest pass we have encountered in the RV. It should not present a problem at all.

After three nights at Ridgway State Park we departed for new adventures. The drive was beautiful the entire 100 miles as we drove through the San Juan Mountains along the San Juan Skyway to Dolores. We made several stops as we had plenty of time to kill.

Our first stop was at a little park in the middle of nowhere. It was called Down Valley Park and had a pond and some trails that were planted in native wildflowers and shrubs. We made a few other brief stops at some of the overlooks as we approached Lizard Pass. It was a slow climb to 10,220 feet high which is better than a steep climb with numerous switchbacks. Most of the drive was through the Uncompahgre National Forest so it was beautiful.

We stopped at one overlook near Telluride where they had some signs about Butch Cassidy and how he had committed his first robbery at the local bank and escaped into the mountains very near that exact spot. Very interesting.

We followed the Dolores River from a small stream near the top of the mountains all the way to our campground tonight. We have stayed here previously back in 1993 with the boys. That year we stayed in a cabin that is still here along the river. Our campsite is great with a patio backed up to a small lake with the river just behind it.

This entire valley was dredged over 100 years ago when the prospectors searched for every ounce of gold they could find without a thought to the environment. The valley is leveled from the dredging with many small lakes for miles and miles.

We even have our own little garden and bird bath that is used often by the birds. Who could ask for anything better?

It was a very short drive today. About twelve miles to be exact. We moved from Dolores to Cortez, Colorado. We had reserved a rental car as we have done three times previously. For the third time we got a truck instead. I would prefer to have a truck driving these mountains so it keeps working out well. They even had a special price for the weekend so it was a double great deal.

Once we checked in the campground and had some lunch we took off for somewhere. I actually did not know where when we departed the campground. We ended up driving about 40 miles to the Four Corners Monument. This is the only place in the United States where four states meet. Colorado, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico all meet at a central location marked by a plaza.

They have commercialized the place since we were last here with the Native Americans setting up a marketplace where they sell their hand make jewelry and other items. There were about 50 vendors set up so we looked around and purchased a couple of things. On the way back to town I managed to get a picture of Chimney Rock which is a unique towering mesa.

After a home cooked spaghetti dinner we drove over to the Cortez Cultural Center to watch the Native Americans perform some ancient dance routines dressed in their historical clothing. They also talked a little about their culture. We have been here several times but this is the first time at their new venue which was very nicely done.

Following the show we had time to drive up to Mesa Verde National Park. Well we drove to the top of the Mesa and watched the sunset over Cortez a few thousand feet above the town. Mesa Verde is one of the most interesting places you will ever have the opportunity to visit. We have also been here several times but may go back on Sunday if I do not get sidetracked between now and then. Oh yea, we saw several deer on the drive up the mesa.

Tomorrow we will take the pickup truck to Silverton and Durango. That should be fun. The drive to Silverton is indescribable.

We got an early start this morning since we had so many things to do today. We decided to drive the 'Million Dollar Highway' to Ouray and back since it has been so long since we have been that way. After grabbing some breakfast in Durango we took off north toward Silverton via one of the most scenic roads in America.

We made several stops to view the mountains at each pass. There are three passes over 10,000 feet with Red Mountain being the tallest at 11,018. We arrived in Silverton prior to the first train from Durango so it was not crowded at all, which is a good thing. Ellen got in some shopping and we picked up some souvenirs and shirts. Just before we had lunch at the Shady Lady Saloon the train arrived which is a thrill all to itself. We have ridden the train once some years ago, it is absolutely one of the best things we have ever experienced.

After lunch we drove down a gravel road for a while to visit a real gold mine but decided against the tour inside the mine. I am not much on tight and dark places. The road is the beginning of the Alpine Loop which is a gravel/dirt road that goes between Lake City and Silverton. It is four wheel drive only and a little more than I wish to tackle today.

We later drove up to Ouray where we did more shopping. I think we may have even purchased a few things here. Ouray is a neat little town known as the 'Switzerland of America' for the architectural style of the homes and shops in town. Like Silverton it is set in a valley surrounded by huge mountains.

On the drive back we made a few stops at some waterfalls and overlooks and had a funnel cake in Silverton. Our last stop was at the Santa Rita park in Durango. Here we watched some people in rafts and kayaks maneuver the rapids down the river. It is a treacherous stretch where only the bravest of souls dare venture.

It was a long day for sure and we arrived back at the campground in Cortez around dark. So ends day 81 of our journey. Not many more and we will be heading toward Alabama.

Today was a get going late day as we did some chores around the RV before embarking on any adventures. We are running out of things to do around Cortez, Colorado so we decided to return to Mesa Verde National Park and spend the day there.

Mesa Verde, if you do not know, was a place where the Pueblo people lived for several centuries up until about 1300. They had built primitive dwellings on top of the meas for hundreds of years before beginning the cliff dwellings around 1200. By the year 1300 they had left the area completely. No one knows for certain why.

We had lunch at the Far View Cafe at the top of the mesa and looked around in the gift shop and museum. I have been here three times previously but it seems things have changed a bit since my last visit some seventeen years ago.

Now you must purchase a ticket to even get close to any of the cliff dwellings and go in a tour group. We bought tickets but once we saw how they were doing the groups decided against going. They were just herding you down the cliff like cattle for a ten minute ranger talk and then back up the cliff. You are not allowed to get very close to anything anymore. I suppose it is because of the number of people visiting the park these days. No big deal. We could see plenty from our viewpoint.

We did take the opportunity to see more of the park and many different things than on any previous trip here. We just took our time and visited some of the lesser known sites where the crowds were not as bad. This is one of the most fascinating places around if you are into history at all. So we spent most of the day here and enjoyed it very much.

After three nights in Cortez we departed for our next destination just over 100 miles away in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. The drive was once again nice with much of it through the National Forest.

One of our few stops was at what they called the 'Old Spanish Trail'. It seems a group of Spanish missionaries passed near Durango in 1776 in search of a route from Santa Fe to the California Coast. Other than that short history lesson for us it was just a drive through the forest.

Our campsite tonight has us facing the San Juan River with mountains to the north of us. It came a afternoon thunderstorm and cooled things off really well.

This place is overrun with hummingbirds. They have feeders near the office where we can view as many as twenty or more at one time hovering around their food source. They are definitely fun to watch as they buzz in and disappear almost as fast. We will be here two nights before heading south on Wednesday.

This will be our last night in Colorado and fittingly it is spent alongside a river with mountains in the background at Pagosa Springs. I suppose I should not complain after spending eleven nights in my favorite state. We actually did not not visit many of the best places to stay in Colorado in hopes of coming back very soon.

This morning we saw two big bucks on the hillside across the river. I did manage to get a few good pictures of the deer before they wandered off into the forest. They are still in velvet but their racks seemed to be full.

We spent most of the day just relaxing and enjoying the scenery. Hummingbird watching is a great way to spend some time. The trees are full of them with a steady stream of the birds coming to have a sip of the sugar water the camp hosts have put out for them.

This completes day 84 which means we have been on the road for twelve weeks. It is near impossible to remember all the places we have been and the things we have seen. Hopefully when we get home we will have time to look through all the pictures and recall the great times we are having.

With some remorse we departed Pagosa Springs this morning knowing it was our last day in Colorado. But, we also know that some new adventures await in Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico over the next few days.

We had plans to stay at a Corp of Engineers campground tonight but at the last minute decided to stay at Heron Lake State Park instead. It turned out to be a good move. The park has a really nice lake within walking distance. We are still in the mountains at an elevation of over 7,000 feet so the temps are cool and humidity near zero.

The lake is surrounded by somewhat high cliffs made of slate and sandstone so it is a great place to search for fossils. We walked down a couple of times and I actually found one fossil of a small plant. We planned to go back later in the day but it came a steady drizzle which put a damper on that plan. I will go back tomorrow with the camera for some pictures.

We will stay here for two nights and then on to Santa Fe where we have rented another vehicle for the weekend. I have learned that Enterprise rents cars cheap from Friday until Monday morning. That works great for us. We will be able to visit Taos and hopefully Los Alamos.

While we have been to Santa Fe a couple of times we have not spent much time there or the surrounding towns and scenic areas. It should be fun. This will be our last weekend as we take off Monday for Ellijay, Georgia and a five night visit with the boys and grandkids. My plan is to drive the 1,400 miles in three days. Hopefully that goes well.

Well it is our last day to just relax. Everyday from here forward will be busy with sightseeing, traveling or visiting with the grandkids. So we used it wisely and, well, we relaxed. There was a morning walk and an afternoon stroll but not much beyond that.

This state park is nice with the campsites spaced out so we have a lot of privacy. There are enough trees to give us some shade in the heat of the day. It likely got up to around 85 today but cools off nicely in the evening. New Mexico State Parks are all great I think and cheap too. It only costs us $14 a night to camp. That is if you call what we do camping. We even have electricity and water. We paid more than four times that amount at the state parks in Washington and three times as much in Colorado.

Tomorrow we head to Santa Fe to visit with the locals in that town and see what is going on this time of the year. There is some sort of Spanish Market Festival downtown at the plaza this weekend so we will check that out for certain.

The sunset was not great due to all the clouds but I did get one picture of a strange looking thunderstorm that passed to the west of us. The rain almost looked red in color. I suppose it could be radiation of some sort from all the nuclear weapons detonated near here seventy-five years ago. Who knows?

We arrived in Santa Fe just before noon after a beautiful drive through northern New Mexico. The terrain changed as we moved from the mountains to the high desert. We picked up our rental car with no problem and after setting up camp at Santa Fe Skies RV Park we took off to see the town.

The first stop in town has to be the Governor's Plaza downtown. The locals sell their jewelry and goods on the sidewalk in front of the buildings. While that was not what it once was the surrounding streets have changed dramatically since we were last here some 20 years ago. It is much more upscale with art galleries and upscale shops everywhere.

Santa Fe is beautiful downtown with every building in the entire town built like an adobe building. We made a few more stops on our way back to the RV Park to take a break.

After regrouping we drove to Canyon Road. It is lined with art galleries and small parks where the artist show their work in the gardens. Most of it is sculptures that are very well done. While we had no desire to spend a small fortune on a piece of art, we did enjoy walking around and viewing the gardens and fountains. Fantastic and gorgeous place for certain. Several of the galleries were holding open house tonight so they had live music which made the atmosphere festive.

As we drove back after dark we just happened upon the Railyard. While I had read some reviews about it, we had not planned to stop here tonight. But since we were in the neighborhood we checked it out. Most of the shops and galleries were closed but they did have a band playing on a stage outside so we enjoyed the music for a while.

By this time it was too late for us old folks to continue so we called it a day and headed home for the evening. We both enjoyed our first day in Santa Fe. A great little town. Oh yea, we found our first Dunkin' Donuts on this trip so we could not resist the urge to stop and buy some fresh donuts.

We had a very busy day today with a bunch of things to see and places to visit. There were even a few surprises today. The day started early as we drove to Taos which was about 70 miles away from Santa Fe. Along the way we went through a portion of the Rio Grande Gorge which was a nice drive with some scenery of the mountains and river.

After a quick stop at the visitor's center we arrived at the famous San Francisco de Assisi Mission Church. It is one of the oldest churches in the country that still holds services. Following a brief look around we moved on to the downtown area and the Taos Plaza where they held a farmer's market this Saturday morning. Most of the vendors were actually selling homegrown vegetables and fruit.

We browsed a few gift shops and galleries before taking off to view the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. The gorge is very deep and the bridge high above it. On the return trip Ellen spotted 20 bighorn sheep grazing along the roadside. That is the most we have ever seen in one location.

We stopped by the La Hacienda del los Martinez. It is an adobe house built in 1804 by the Martinez family and has been restored to it's original state. Much of it looked as it did over 200 years ago.

The top tourist attraction in Taos is the Taos Pueblo. It is a group of buildings that have existed for over 400 years where the Indians still live. Many of them sell items they make to the visitors who stop by. Our tour guide grew up there and was great with a sense of humor. He was very proud of his heritage and knowledgeable about his people and their history. One of the most interesting places I have been.

We drove the Enchanted Circle to Red River and Eagles Nest to get one last look at the mountains before heading home. We arrived in Red River just in time to watch some Indian dancing and an old fashion bank robbery and shootout. Well, actually it was the usual 'wild west corny gunfight'.

Our last stop was back in Taos for a nice dinner at the Alley Cantina off the plaza. Another great day on this trip ending with the sun setting as we arrived back at out home base for the evening.

We got off to a slow start today as there were some final chores to do before blasting off for Ellijay, Georgia tomorrow morning bright and early.

When we finally got going this afternoon we just rode to Santa Fe to see the Spanish Market in the downtown area. There were over 500 tents set up around the plaza with artists and craftsmen displaying their works for purchase. We did not find anything to buy as most of it did not relate well to our life I suppose.

We did catch a street magician doing some magic which was entertaining and funny. Mostly we just walked around and visited a few more of the local shops and galleries. Santa Fe is very interesting with all the upscale businesses downtown. A lot of sculptures and art for certain.

We went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner which was great. Not because it was a local restaurant but because we do not have one near us.

We've enjoyed our stay here, this is one of the nicer campgrounds. It is well managed and there are bunny rabbits all around. They are almost tame.

This is the final day of our adventure as we see it since we will be heading to see the grandkids on Wednesday. Fittingly I posted a picture of the sunset because the sun is setting on this trip. We will miss the mild temperatures and low humidity I am sure before the sun sets tomorrow over Oklahoma.

Well, all we did today was drive. There were a few stops just to stretch our legs, eat a couple of meals on the go and fill up with some gas. Other than that we decided to drive as many miles as possible because there is not much to see in north Texas and Oklahoma.

I have learned at least one thing on this trip. Every state could spend a few billion dollars on road repairs. Our entire interstate system is crumbling under our tires and there seems to be little done to alleviate the problem. There are very few stretches where the roads are good. Most are so bumpy I do not know how the motor home stays together.

The one thing that will take some getting used to again will be the heat. It reached 102 mid-afternoon in Oklahoma but cooled off to the mid 80's by sunset. No pictures today. Nothing worth of getting the camera out.

We did not drive as far today as yesterday. I think it was a around 430 miles. We arrived at Parker's Crossroads about 4:30 so there was time to relax and get caught up on some things that needed to be done.

Tomorrow will be a shorter drive of about 5-6 hours before we arrive at Doll Mountain near Ellijay, Georgia. Ryan & Ty start school on Thursday so we will not see them likely until Friday after school. Hopefully they can spend the weekend with us camping. Ellie will be there Thursday afternoon with the family. It will be so good to see them again after three months.

So all that is remaining to be done is to get things ready for our mini family reunion this weekend. I will try to post some pictures of the boys and their families as we have a blast for a few days before heading home on Monday.

We finally arrived at our final destination of this trip on day 92. We will be spending the next five nights at Doll Mountain Campground near Ellijay, Georgia. It is a Corp of Engineers site in the north Georgia mountains on a huge lake. The campground is beautiful with the campsites spaced out to allow each camper to feel like they are the only people here.

Now we chose this place not only because of the scenery but more importantly it is only a few miles from Chris' house. It is also not too far from Michael. Chris actually came by about 8:30 with a friend and stayed for a while. He delivered some firewood so we can make smores and roast some dogs on the fire when the grandkids get here.

Ellie and her family are coming for dinner tomorrow night after her open house at school and I hear she wants to stay until we go home. Good for us. Ryan and Ty start school tomorrow so they can not come over until Friday afternoon. They will also be staying the weekend. So the festivities will begin soon.

I did add three new links near the top of our homepage. They are 'Favorites', '100 Things We Saw' and 'Numbers'. Those are just something I put together to help us remember our journey.

We were joined this evening by Chris, Kimberly, Ellie and Baby Kate. They came over after Ellie's open house at school to have dinner with us. It was great to see half our family after being on the road for three months.

After dinner we just played with the kids for a while until it got late and time for them to go home. Well most of them left us. Ellie stayed with Grandma and Pops.

We spent the day walking around the campground, talking with Ellie and just hanging out. Ellie is somewhat into rock collecting so she enjoyed looking at all the rocks I had collected on our journey.

Later in the day Michael, Ryan and Ty came over for the evening after they got out of school. Chris & Kate also came to visit. We had burgers and brats for dinner and even made smores over the campfire. All-in-all another great day. Ellie, Ryan and Ty spent the night with us after Chris & Michael decided it was better to go home.

We spent the entire day with the grand kids which was great but very tiresome. Those four can wear us out with their nonstop play. We went for walks, tracked down a list for a scavenger hunt, skipped rocks on the lake among many other things.

We grilled out for dinner. After the dads went home for the evening the kiddos spent the night with us again in the RV. They were actually great and I suppose we wore them down because they were asleep in no time at all.

Our last day at Doll Mountain was another great day with the grand kids and our sons. While Chris and Michael wisely did not elect to spend the night in our home away from home, they did come back this morning to visit for a while.

They played Uno with grandma for a few hours after another pancake breakfast. Did you know Ellie puts cheese on her pancakes? By mid afternoon all were gone back to their respective lives and we were left all alone again. Not that that is a bad thing.

We spent the remainder of the day resting up from the past few days and getting things ready to move again tomorrow. We may extend the trip a day or two because we really can not think of a good reason to rush home at this time. We want to check out a couple of Corp of Engineer campgrounds near the Georgia state line in Valley and near Monroeville for future trips.

We resumed our journey again this morning. Instead of driving straight home we decided to check out a couple of Corp of Engineer campgrounds between Atlanta and our house.

The first one we have had our eye on is near West Point, Georgia right on the state line with Alabama. Most of the COE campgrounds seem to be about the same with all of them being on a lake near a dam that the Corp built long ago. We do not own a boat, jet ski, kayak, paddle board or even a blowup float but lakes do appeal to our nature with the forest, nature and wildlife.

After arriving here this afternoon we saw deer twice, a raccoon, a river otter and several ducks. Not bad for a place I did not expect to see much of anything. The campground is nearly deserted on a Monday night but that is fine with me. I guess school starts soon and most others are getting back into their rut at work after a long, hot summer.

Our plan is to stop tomorrow night north of Monroeville at Isaac Creek Campground which is another COE site on the Alabama River. We will also cross our sixth and final time zone. I will be happy to stay in one time zone for a while.

We did not make it home toady. Instead we stopped over at Isaac Creek Campground near Monroeville, Alabama. We are only about 120 from Foley but in no real hurry to get there. This is another Corp Campground which once again almost deserted during the middle of the week. It is on the Alabama River near Claiborne.

I remember coming near here as a child with my grandmother to hunt for fossils on some creek. I just can not remember exactly where. Papa Parker would drive Granny, Eddie and I up in the Datsun leaving their house long before daylight. We would stop by a big oak tree every time for breakfast and coffee. It is a very clear memory that I have thought about over the years.

Tomorrow will be our 99th and finally day on the road so it is time to call this thing done and head for home. We have a lot of work to do and go through three months of junk mail. Then we will need to start planning and getting ready for the next trip.