SSW from Rainier to Crater Lake

Today we travelled from Rainier to Crater Lake, in Oregon. Southern Washington holds acres of orchards - apples, cherries, plums, etc. Then we crossed the Columbia River basin and came to what the Zane Grey stories (High Plains Drifter, and Riders of the Purple Sage come to mind) were all about. Looking across the high plains of Oregon are the Sierras -all snow-capped and imposing - Rainier, Adams, Hood, St. Helens, Jefferson, the Three Sisters - it just goes on and on and on - all to our right as we head south toward the former Mt. Mazama (which blew up 5,000 feet of rock six miles wide over 7,000 years ago). Needless to say - a very big boom! The eastern forests are so far away - literally. We have seen nothing but grassland and conifers for the last few days (except for the orchards). It is a fascinating change in environment. Can you imagine riding in a covered wagon in late August or September, seeing those peaks, and knowing your life depended on getting across that range before the first big snows set in? Major anxiety, I bet. Then we arrive at Crater Lake. They claim this is the cleanest air and water in the world - it sure takes your breath away!

Happy Father's Day!

Today Pop Pop got to the glaciers - in Mt. Rainier National Park, not in Glacier. We met De De's sister and husband, Joanie and Jimmy, and had a gorgeous day in Rainier National Park. Several years ago, we were in Alaska and saw Denali, which is topped off with clouds over 90% of the time. Rainier was also topped in clouds, but still very impressive. We also got our first taste of "big trees." All in all, a very happy father's day - and I hope all fathers enjoy the day as well.

A walk in the weeds

Yesterday, no blog due to no internet connection - so hopefully, two today. For the first time on the trip, Pop Pop had a blue funk, but thankfully, only for a little while. We decided on a hike at Bowman Lake, which turned out to be relatively cold, wet, and weedy. Our normal 4' to 5' wide soft paths through the parks wound up to be 18" wide through 3' to 4' tall weeds hanging over the trail due to a steady rain. But that was just the symptom. The real reason for the funk was that we had come to Glacier Park, and had not seen a glacier - the whole eastern side of the park was a tantalizing 40 miles away through Logan Pass, which was going to open June 21st, one week later. They were still digging out 100' snow drifts closing the pass. Bummer! We could have driven 6 to 8 hours to the east side - but decided that was just too much, considering how much driving the trip entailed. In the PM, we came back to the Lake MacDonald area and walked around John's Lake. That picked Pop Pop back up, because it was a particularly pretty walk in some of the same area where we had rode horses the prior day. On this walk, we took a can of bear spray (mace for bears). It did occur to us that this might not be the best spot to walk, but it did majorly calm down my annoyance. Pics for this blog include one from Lake Bowman, three from our PM walk, and one of Lake MacDonald the morning we left.

Yo bear!

We need your imagination today, because we don't have "live" pictures of our horseback ride (we were not allowed to take pictures while on our horse). We were on a relaxing "walk in the woods" horseback ride today, and with 15 minutes to go (after riding for an hour and 3/4) our guide, Page, stopped and with a clear change in voice (that indicated "I'm not in charge") shouted out several times "Yo bear!" A few seconds later, and 15 yards ahead of us, a large mother black bear and a cub crossed the trail and went off to our right to re-emerge about 20 yards away through the forest. At this point, we don't know if there are any other cubs, and whether we are between the mother and any of her brood. Our guide radioed the horse barn, and they said they had seen the bear and only one cub. After a minute, we continued on the trail. Pictures today include De De and Pop Pop in saddle, a trail pic - similar to the one we were riding on - and several views of Lake MacDonald.

Avalanche Lake

Good news and bad. We had our first hike today and it was superb. Bad news: the Road to the Sun is closed until July 1, due to construction at lower levels, and the pass is not yet plowed through. So we won't be able to drive close to the glaciers. However, picking out pictures today is really difficult - we have so many options. We started a short walk (about a mile) on Trail of the Cedars, where at selected parts of the trail they posted Haiku poems. Here is one: Moist Pacific air/ Blocked by Rocky Mountain heights/ Giant cedars thrive./ The second part of our hike was to Avalanche Lake, following a stream of the fastest water we ever saw. The hike was four miles, but totally worth it. While at the lake, and having a snack, we had a visitor. Finally, back at the Lodge, we were impressed by the view over a couple of the cabins.

First view of Glacier National Park

We arrived at Glacier yesterday PM, but a thunderstorm and lack of connectivity in our cabin postponed this blog. On the way, we stopped at a general store and had to take a pic - yes these do really exist. Lake MacDonald and the view from the lodge porch close out our pictures for the day. To keep the trip current, however, here is the text of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, full upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. I offer the text with a sole comment that the Constitution remains remarkably relevant even today.

Wyoming and Montana

Well, today we travelled from Rapid City, SD, to Bozeman, MT. Driving in Wyoming is like sailing, but on a sea of green, with the swells 3 to 6 miles long, and hundreds of feet deep. There is no shade in Wyoming - actually, we came upon a small town in a valley with a stream running through it, and there was a grove of trees. Other than that, not a bit of shade anywhere! We came up with a poem for Route 90 in Wyoming: Wyoming Exit/ Ain't no food/Ain't no gas/ Just keep on driving/ There's only grass./ In Rapid City we met a couple driving back to Indiana from Portland. The husband's reaction was, "The further we went through Montana, the larger they made it." These are very big states. Big, and after driving miles and miles of prairie, seeing the Rockies for the first time is spectacular. We did stop at one exit early on in Montana - to see Donna's Diner. Good coffee, and the piece of cherry pie I ordered could have lasted four days, if I wasn't into blowing a week's worth of calories. Finally, trip wise, we were tooling along through Gillette at nearly 80 mph, and passed on the left the biggest building complex I have ever seen. I think it was a coal crushing operation, because, on the right, was the biggest mine operation we have ever seen. The seam of coal was perhaps 50 feet high (but down in the ground) and must have been a mile long, with giant machinery working the seam. At 80 mph, we got no pics. One last comment - some have alerted us that they can't comment on the blog. This "frosts" me, as I think Google has limited (or we have, unwittingly) comments to those with Google+ or g-mail accounts instead of the open forum we enjoyed in the past. Sorry if we have had a hand in this exclusion.

Wind Cave National Park

Today we travelled to Wind Cave National Park. There are 4 miles of "paved" trails through the cave (in eight different layers) out of known paths of 140 miles - it is a very big cave, one of the longest in the world. A Park Ranger got us 200 feet underground, and had a boy light a candle covered by a tin candlestick holder - then turned the lights out to show us what early exploration must have felt like. The candle cast a dim, but surprisingly wide pale over the chamber we were in. Then she blew out the candle - total darkness. A youngster screamed, and a father said, "I'm with the baby." Back with lights on, there was a brief discussion of total darkness. BTW, you can not see anything, and I mean any thing at all. Above the cave is a prairie wilderness area. We missed the elk herd, but saw buffalo, coyote, prong-horned antelope, and the ever present prairie dogs. Here are some examples. I think we were within ten feet of this big guy!

Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Custer State Park

All three of our destinations today are adjacent, and National Geographic rates Custer State Park one of the best in the nation. It is easy to see that designation, as the scenery is magnificent. The "vista" picture is just to show why this area is called the "Black Hills." Unfortunately, much of the pine forest (just like we saw several years ago in both Colorado and Alberta) is being devastated by an epidemic from the pine beetle - mountain after mountain of dead trees. It is really sad to see such mayhem. The Park service staffs are working hard to minimize the damage, but it is no easy task. Oh, guess which rock formation is named "Eye of the Needle."

Badlands National Park

The great plains - aptly named - as there are all crisp lines on the horizon, everywhere you look. The horizon is grass and sky, rocks and sky, mountains and sky, but never trees and sky. The rocks of the Badlands are very weird, rising up out of mile after mile of grassy plain. We also visited a pioneer, sod-buster, sod home, built only 100 years ago. Settlers paid $18 for 160 acres, which were theirs if they stayed at least 5 years - most did not. Another time, another place - the treatment of the Indians in the whole "homestead" process was pretty shabby. The western part of the Badlands Park is more high prairie, with lots of space for prairie dogs and bison. Here are some images from the day.