We finally said good bye to Barbara and Hyla’s hospitality this morning, heading out toward Crater Lake National Park. It was a beautiful blue sky, which seems to only get bluer as one approaches altitude. On the way, we stopped for lunch at a rest area. We continued on, stopping at a few vista viewing […]
Western US
Barbara, Hyla, and Al
We went to Eugene, Oregon to see Barbara, Hyla, and Alfonso. Barbara is a cousin. By pure coincidence, another cousin, Susan, was visiting from Hawaii. Ellen hadn’t seen her since childhood. I first met Barbara and Hyla when they visited us in Linden Hills several years ago. We pulled up fairly late on Saturday. It […]
Pisgah Mushroom Festival
Sunday afternoon we attended the Mount Pisgah Mushroom Festival. It is sponsored by the Oregon Mycology Association as a fundraiser for the Mount Pisgah Arboretum. I can safely say that I have now seen more species of fungi than most people, (unless they have attended a mushroom festival themselves). It was a rainy day, but […]
More Lava Fields
Driving west through Oregon I was impressed with the number of cattle. I would have expected more in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. To be sure, they were there, but upon entering Oregon, there were many more. Other observations: East of the Rockies the hay is baled in round cylinders; while west of the Rockies it […]
Scenic Byways
Spent the night in Hailey, Idaho. We were told that Sun Valley and Ketchem are too chi-chi. Headed out on the Sun Valley Scenic Byway. When we went through the pass, it opened to the Salmon River Valley of the Sawtooth Mountains National Recreation Area. This area was created in the 1970’s by the efforts […]
Gruff
Can you see the billy goats? They’re really supposed to be there. This was shot from a mountain goat viewing bridge.
Craters of the Moon
There is a place in southern Idaho called “Craters of the Moon National Monument.” We didn’t really know anything about it, but it is on the map, and on our way. We spent the night in West Yellowstone. This morning we found a great coffee shop. It was kind of old school – in an […]
Homeless on the Range, with Buffalo on the Road…
To the tune of Home on the Range” Oh let me be homeless, With the buffalo on the road, And the elk and the antelope play… It took us a bit to get out of Red Lodge. As it turns out, there are two Cenex stations. So the bridge after the Cenex is actually the […]
Red Lodge – Wild Turkey Heaven
We spent the night in Red Lodge, Montana. Neither of us had ever been, and we both wanted to see it. Turns out it is a nice Montana town. It is at about 5500 feet of elevation, but doesn’t seem it. This may partially be because it is in a river valley. The ski area […]
TRNP is NOT a Turnip
We finally made it to Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP). We were supposed to have made it here on August 25th, Blakey’s birthday. Given the things that ensued, we did not. But we were not to be denied! I am pretty sure that we have had a stunningly beautiful autumn as the karmic counter-measure against […]