Wagons Ho

We hitched up the Biff and headed West young man! We followed the path of the original settlers along the Oregon Trail which follows the course of the Snake River through this part of the country. The land around Idaho and eastern Oregon is arid grasslands. There was plenty of grass for the livestock and water to be found but still a harsh climate. We unhitched and rested in Baker City, OR and decided to stay for two nights. Pretty little town. The next day we visited the Interpretive Center on the Oregon Trail.  Truly amazing what these heroic pioneers went through to settle this wild land.  I highly recommend checking it out if you are in the area.  We started the drive towards Hells Canyon, be warned – this is much longer drive than you think on twisty roads over rolling hills. We gave up and turned around not wanting to drive all day. Hmm, maybe next time. 

We continued on through Oregon in a northerly direction towards Washington. Most folks picture Oregon and Washington as lush rain swept forests.  This area is dry and more reminisce of New Mexico than I was expecting. We were headed for the Grand Coulee Dam. The closer we got to the dam the more dramatic the geography of the area.  This was the flood plane for the Ice Age Lake Missoula noted for biblical proportioned floods.  The landscape showed the evidence with odd large boulders randomly placed over the flat lands, and then turning into the dramatic  Dry Falls dwarfing current day Niagara Falls. Okay, so all my life I thought Coulee Dam was named after someone but “dam” I was wrong.  This area is called the Grand Coulee with coulee being yet another name for dried ditch.  What?  Just a fancy name for a dry gulch, ditch, arroyos, wash, etc - I’ll add it to my list.  

Dry Falls

Natural spring fed lakes dot the area and a few RV parks too.  We stayed at Sun Lake which is private and adjacent to the Sun Lake/Dry Falls State Park.  A little confusing but the private park has full hookups. This area is a big weekend destination for the locals providing swimming and boating.  The campground was nice enough but I have never seen winds like we did in this canyon.  I don’t know if it was just the time of year or always this way due to the geography but they were almost hurricane force at times! The Biff was a rocking and rolling and not in a fun way.

Mr. Rattlesnake

We stayed a few days in the area.  Checking out some of the trails in state park (and rattlesnakes)  and visiting the famous dam.  The Coulee Dam is the largest in the North American Hemisphere, yup even bigger than Hoover Dam in Nevada.  Impressive! The tour is free and the views of the Columbia River from atop the dam can’t be beat.  We did not get back to see the laser show,  we heard they are even worth staying up past 10:00 pm! The town has strict rules about preserving the original houses. You get a real feel what the place looked like in the 30's when the dam was built.  A little bit of engineering history preserved. Interesting area but tomorrow was moving day.  Canada here we come!

Grand Coulee Dam

The Highs and Lows

Wheeler Peak

We have traveled highway 50 through Utah a few times.  We avoid pulling the Biff through Salt Lake City on interstate 15 if at all possible.  This is a long lonesome road once you head west past Interstate 15.   A flat dried lake bed from past millenniums.  Still there is beauty in this harsh land and late spring was good time to visit before the summer sun bakes the land and the days too hot to travel.   This time we decided to stop at the Great Basin National Park instead of driving through to Ely, Nevada.  I have seen the turn off for the park and wondered what the area had to offer.   It was time to find out!

Lehman Caves

Turns out there are some beautiful caves to visit in the park.  The Lehman Caves are worth the stop and some of the prettier caves we have seen in our travels.   We did not do any hiking in the park but I have been told the hike to Wheeler Peak is challenging and beautiful.  We took the drive to the top and admired the view from a distance.

We opted to stay at one of the two little RV parks in the area as opposed to attempting to stay in the National Park.  We find that we usually are too big for most national parks. We chose the one closer to the park entrance as opposed to the one just across the Nevada border on highway 50 with the casino/restaurant/bar/motel/grocery/gas station all rolled into one. It had it all!

Shoshone Falls

We headed out and turned north at Ely onto highway 93 and stayed on it up to Twin Falls, Idaho.  The road stays in the basin and is known for being part of the Pony Express route.   We watched the storms move in around the bordering mountain ranges and stopped in Wells for lunch just in time as one of the storms hit.   It was chasing us the rest of the drive until we passed into Idaho.  

We stayed a few nights in Twin Falls taking the time to get caught up on a few necessary chores.  We did do some exploring checking out both the Twin Falls which the town is named and the more spectacular Shoshone Falls.  Both have dams on them which had the effect of making the Twin Falls only half what it once was – I wonder why they don’t change the name to “Only One Fall Now”.

Perrine Bridge - it's a long way down! 

Are you sure you really want to jump?

This area is infamous for the failed attempt by Evil Knievel to jump the Snake River.  It is one steep drop!  There are still a few daredevils in the area as this is the only place in the country that allows base jumping from the mighty Perrine Bridge.  Yikes!  We happened to time it just right for two brave souls to make the jump and safely parasailing down to the  river banks.  All in all, a nice area but time for us to snake along down the road.

Safely to the ground !

Take Two

Crossing over the Colorado River

Here we go again!  Alaska take two!  We packed up and headed down our driveway on the last Friday in May. Often times when you travel in a Rv you are looking for the new road to travel but sometimes you are looking to retrace the familiar looking to find what you missed the first time. Traveling back to an area takes away some of the urgency to see it all and focus on lesser known areas that may be  a bit more off the beaten path,  or a chance to revisit an area that was especially enjoyable.  Living in New Mexico we have explored many of her scenic byways many times.  The drive from Albuquerque to Farmington via 550 is still one of my favorites.  Our plan was to spend few days revisiting southern Utah which we find one of the most beautiful areas in the Southwest.  This time around the wild flowers were blooming everywhere after the unusually wet and cool spring.  A familiar vista repainted.

Capitol Reef NP

We passed the iconic “Shiprock” formation in the Four Corners area of New Mexico and headed down a lesser taken road to spend the night in Blanding, Utah.  We knew that all thou it was a short drive mile wise, the drive from Blanding via highway 95 and then highway 24 to Torrey, Utah is winding, slow and unbelievably beautiful.   The color of the rocks and open vistas are truly incredible as you snake through the land passing over the Colorado River and then pass Capitol Reef National Park.  A drive to be savored firsthand, cameras do not capture the scale and beauty of the landscape.   

Torrey is at the cross roads of highways 12 and 24.  There are a few nice RV parks ( we stayed at Wonderland) it is worth staying in this area for a few days with enough to see and explore with Capitol Reef NP nearby.  The drive via 12 to Bryce Canyon NP is one of the most scenic byways in the country.  Once in your life everyone should see this area of the country and take this drive.  Jack and I have done it a few times and opted out of going to Bryce again but it is one I recommend as a must do! Check out my earlier blog posts on this area too!

Here we go!

The Motley Crew

Getting steeper!

Our RV friends Jim and Liz were staying in Torrey waiting for truck repairs L.  We spent the next few days enjoying their company over roaring campfires and watching the full moon rising.  The highlight of the visit was taking an ATV tour of the area.  We took turns driving the rugged roads cautious at first then embracing the adventure.  What a hoot! Watch out for that tree!  It was time to head down that road and say goodbye to our friends.  We knew they would be the last familiar faces we would see for a few months.  It was a very social first half of the year but now it was time to hit that long lonesome road to Alaska.  

Whirlwind Cross Country

It was a fast and busy Florida season.  We got to know  old neighbors Phil and Karen better and met new neighbors Bob and Sherry  but also said goodbye to Ed and Rosie.   Wishing them the best in their new adventures! We enjoyed the pond drama with our gator neighbors, “Little Guy” and “Fatso” played a game of cat and mouse all season.  “Little Guy” was the faster swimmer but “Fatso” still tried to make a meal out of him from time to time.   We did a few touristy things this time around too!  We took a tour of the Kennedy Space Center and an airboat ride on the St. John’s River.   Highly recommend doing both.   One day we drove up to Flagler Beach where we met our Facebook friends Ellen and Damon face to face for the first time!  All in all it was whirlwind season but family commitments were a calling.  We packed up and headed home via Naples where we did our annual get together with the siblings.  Just a little out of the way ;) Only 2200 more miles to go!

Airboat ride on St.John's River

We did not dilly dally too much on the road home staying hitched and doing mostly overnighters along I10.  We had to get home for the most important wedding of my niece Maggie.  We were having all sorts of family members staying with us, so we figured we better be at home when they came a knocking.

Balmorhea State Park campground

 It was 880 miles of interstate driving along I10 in Texas.  Geez, that’s one big state!   We decided to rest and spent a few days at Balmorhea State Park.  What a little gem!  It has spring feed swimming pool in the middle of the vast and desolate Permian Basin.  You can swim with the fishies!  This time around the Permian Basin was awash with wild flowers.  What a difference a little rain can make in a desert!  Little rain?  Turns out we got out of Texas just in time, as the state was hit by historic rains and mass flooding the month of May.   

Excel Rally

Just one more detour for the spring Excel Rally held in Elephant Butte, New Mexico.  It was a fun filled weekend visiting friends.   However, it was time to head up our driveway and park the Biff for a bit.  We pulled up our driveway on April 27 which was also Jack's 60th birthday! Happy Birthday to my hubby!  But not too long, we headed out again four weeks later for our next road trip.  Stay tuned!