The Case of the Missing BBQ Grill

Location: Glacier National Park, MT

We slept in this morning, finally getting our lazy bones out of bed around 8:30ish. Perhaps it was staying up til around 2 am or so, chatting away, that contributed to our laid back morning. We sure took our time having coffee at the campsite enjoying the beautiful view. Even tho the weather was about 10 degrees warmer this morning, the skies were cloudy and overcast. After a while we noticed a very gentle rain falling on the lake. Fortunately, we were under enough tree cover that we could continue to sit outside and enjoy the raindrops dancing on the lake. Eventually we got motivated, and after a much needed shower, (yes our first in a couple of days) we got around to exploring more of the park. By exploring I mean poking around the various gift shops in Apgar Village and West Glacier, visiting Lake MacDonald Lodge again, and taking a short walk to MacDonald Falls. I had to buy a new camera this morning (yeah, killed my other one by dropping it - ouch!) and we had a good time visiting with the owner of the local camera shop. I was excited about testing out the new camera so a lot of our day was spent was going on a photo safari. By early evening we were ready to have a night "at home". I spent the time playing around with some new photo apps and Lisa spent the time reading. If we can get our act together we are planning on attending the ranger talk at 8 tonight. There is one ongoing little side story that might be fun to share. The first day we were here we got a violation from the campground host for leaving our bbq grill on the picnic table while we were gone. He also confiscated it. Lisa and I thought we were being really meticulous about keeping the appropriate things put away. Who knew an empty bbq grill was not allowed? So, last night after fixing a really late dinner (bbq ribeye steaks) we made sure to put everything away and thought since our campsite wasn't vacated, it was okay to leave the bbq grill out while we went to bed. Also, the coals were still pretty hot so we thought it best to let them cool before touching the grill. Well, imagine our surprise when we woke up this morning and saw we had received another "food citation" and once again the bbq grill was confiscated! Okay, lesson learned! We were very diligent about making sure the bbq was put in the Eurovan before we took off this morning and seriously thought about leaving the campground host a plate of mini donuts on the picnic table with the note that said, "Sorry about leaving the bbq grill out. Please have some donuts on us." I wonder if we would have received another violation and the donuts confiscated - ha.

Going to the Sun

Location: Glacier National Park

Lisa and I woke up bright and early raring to go. (Okay, full disclosure here, I woke up bright and early and poor Lisa feigned she was awake). Our big outing for the day was to take the old fashioned red touring cars over the pass to the east side of the park. This road is referred to as the "Going to the Sun" road. We were blessed with bright blue skies, albeit still a bit chilly at 8:15 when we departed. Fortunately, we were provided with a blanket to snuggle under which just made the whole outing seem so much more like a step back into time. The entire tour lasted almost 10 hours! Our day included seeing Lake MacDonald Lodge, viewing six glaciers, numerous waterfalls, big horn sheep, mountain goats and views that were just jaw dropping spectacular. Early afternoon we arrived on the east side of the park and had lunch in the swanky dining room of Many Glacier Hotel on St. Mary's Lake. The driver even pretended not to mind we were late and had to come looking for us. Oops. BTW - our driver really made the trip special. He was really informative on a lot of the geological info, Indian folklore, flora, fauna and he was pretty hot to boot. (Not that Lisa and I really talked about it in length or anything! I mean those glaciers and views kept us pretty busy...Are you buying it Ned and Cary?) He kept entertained for hours. By the end of the day, Lisa was actually quoting him before he would say something. I think Lisa should move here and start giving tours. You think I'm full of b.s. Dang, Lisa is now an expert on everything glacial. We both agreed this is one of the best, most memorable days we've ever had. We took so many great pictures it's really hard to decide which one to post. Enjoy!

Thelma and Louise Ride Again

Location: Glacier National Park, Montana

The big day finally came! After a couple of false starts (forgetting this, forgetting that), Lisa and I (aka Thelma and Louise) were on the road at last. We headed north to Sandpoint and instead of continuing north, we decided to drive around Lake Pend Orielle and then head over a mountain pass eventually catching up with highway 2. This drive was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful, definitely making the top 10 list of scenic drives. While we were looking forward to reaching Glacier Park, Lisa and I were also in no hurry to get there. We savored the drive, letting the day unfold, enjoying each other's company and thoroughly appreciating the journey. We stopped to view some falls several other times we just had to pull over, get out and appreciate the spectacular beauty of Northern Idaho and Montana. (One of the pics below is of the Clark Fork River.) Hard to believe that yesterday it was cold, wet and stormy. When we finally pulled into Glacier National Park and checked in at the campground, the Park Ranger handed us a couple of tokens and said, "here this is for a free 5 minute shower. Come here and you'll get one for every day." Dang!! Most National Parks don't have showers and if they do, they are run by a private company and usually cost you anywhere from $3 to $5. Imagine my surprise! The Ranger also congratulated us on having the premier spot. She said this was the most coveted campsite in all the campground. (I guess it pays to sometimes be a bit obsessive and book things 6 months in advance!). Lisa and I couldn't wait to see just what we had in store. OMG - we have this picture perfect little spot, off by itself, right on Lake MacDonald! (See the other picture of our little dining area!). After getting set up we decided to get on our bikes and do a little exploring of the campground. By this time it was close to 6 and definitely wine and popcorn time. Well, after a couple of glasses, and feeling pretty proud of ourselves for getting the van perfectly leveled we decided it was time to attempt hanging up the hammock. I was showing off my bowlines and half hitches, which might have been pretty swanky if it was just knots, but the whole hammock thing didn't quite work out. No matter how hard we tried, the minute we got in the hammock, the rope would slip down the tree and our butts just hit the ground. Yes, between gales of laughter, Lisa managed to snap a picture of me "enjoying" the hammock, butt firmly planted on ground. Don't worry Ned, it's only day one and we still have 3 more days to get it right! We eventually got around to making dinner, which included barbecuing chicken, a salad, and cooking naan bread over a fire. After polishing off a bottle of wine we decided to call it a night. Life is good.

Catching Up with My Cousins

Location: Post Falls, Idaho

I slept like a log last night, but I have to admit I was a tad sore this morning. I've been keeping in touch with my dad while on this trip, and if you think I was going to get any sympathy from him on my harrowing bike ride, fuhgetaboutit! Growing up, no matter what trials or tribulations we endured dad's response was always the same, "It builds character." Needless to say, after hearing about my experience yesterday he actually trotted out that old line. I figure by now my moral fiber should be a cross between Atticus Finch (as in Gregory Peck's badass Atticus) and Scarlett O'Hara in that scene right before intermission when she is standing in the fields of her beloved Tara, holding a handful of dirt and proclaiming to the heavens, "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again." You get my drift...So dad, for the record I feel fine, I'm doing great, ready to go at it again today!!
My destination today is Post Falls, Idaho where my cousin Cary and his wife, Lisa live. For the last several months Lisa and I have been planning a trip to Glacier National Park. I can't believe we'll actually be together by tonight. Originally, I was going to head for Spokane and then head into Idaho. While pouring over my maps this morning, I decided to take a more scenic route and go thru the Southeast corner of Washington and then head up thru the Idaho panhandle. I realized that it would probably add about 3 hours or so to the trip, but I figured a) it was raining so why not b) it'll be fun to drive thru some of these old towns and c) it sure as hell beats riding a bike! I spent a couple of hours driving along the Columbia River leaving the high cliffs of the gorge behind and watching the land flatten out into barren desert. When I finally cut thru the bottom corner of Washington I really appreciated the beauty and colors of the growing wheat. Green, yellow, golden brown everywhere! See today's pic. I finally crossed over the Snake River and made it to Idaho. I stopped at several fruit stands and vista points, checked out a couple of state parks for future camping trips and drove past numerous Indian smoke shops until finally touching the outskirts of Couer d'alene and reaching Post Falls. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to see Lisa and Cary again!! The time just flew by getting caught up. After a night run to the grocery store Lisa and I are sufficiently stocked up to survive the wilderness for 3 days...yes, adult beverages and snacks are part of the wilderness experience.
Tomorrow...into the wild! (well in a car camping, junk food, road trip music kinda way).

Debi does The Dalles and Deschutes

Location: Deschutes River State Park, Oregon

About last night... I was camped out on the top bunk snuggled down in my single sleeping bag and freezing my butt off. It was only because I'm was either stubborn or way too lazy to drag my sorry little ass out of the bag to turn on the furnace, but lesson learned - tonight I'm turning the furnace on BEFORE I climb into the sack. Oh, and honey?...the thing I miss about you most is your body heat. Just saying...
The drive today was gorgeous driving in the high desert following along the Cascades. After about 4 or so hours I pulled into The Dalles and poked around the town for a bit. My uncle made me promise to eat at this restaurant called, Cousins, so being the good little niece I am, I checked it out. I even went so far as to scarf down a BLT (hold the mayo) with an "Arnie" on the side. Those of you who know my mom will appreciate that joke. The only thing I didn't appreciate was that when you open the door to leave, these barnyard animals make all these noises. I mean, the BLT wasn't THAT big!
I then headed to Deschutes State Park where the fun (and oh I use that word loosely) really began. (At this point, pour yourself a glass of wine and sit a spell. This could take awhile). The campground is nestled up against the Deschutes River right where it empties into the Columbia River. Quite scenic! It's more of a grassy knoll along the banks of a river than a wooded campground, but it has the added benefit of being at the trailhead of the Deschutes Rail Trail, which is what I was really after. I was quite pleasantly surprised that I was able to get a campsite right on the river, go figure. Life is good! The entire rail trail is 17 miles one way and my goal was to make it to at least the 12 mile marker, thus a 24 mile bike ride, pretty much my limit. Before I left I dutifully paid my campsite fee and decided that since I was doing this rather long and remote bike ride by myself I would let the campground host know where I was headed - just in case. He told me that there was a really cool abandoned farmhouse at mile 12 on the trail. Perfect! Before I left, my campground neighbor struck up a conversation, saw that I was getting geared up for a bike ride and said that his wife walked part of the trail this morning and saw EIGHT rattlesnakes. So he warned me to be extra careful. I began the bike ride with my camelback pouch, cell phone, camera, kleenex (you never know when you gotta go!), light jacket etc. In other words I felt quite prepared. The first mile is straight uphill which was a bit of a challenge in the glaring sun and heat, but I was patting myself on the back because I rode the whole way and didn't walk it. The trail somewhat flattened out after that and for the next several miles I was rewarded with beautiful views of the river. (Of course I kept thinking about those snakes which kinda took the whole zen thing outta of it. Surely he meant A snake on the trail and not Eight snakes on the trail). It was hot, but fun to ride along the river and see how it changed, sometimes flat and sometimes roaring with white water rapids. I was really working up a sweat and was so glad that I had my 70 oz. camelback with me. I passed some interesting things such as abandoned railway cars. (See the pics below). The wind was starting to pick up, but it was at my back so I didn't really notice that I was getting a bit tired. The path is a converted railtrail and basically a lot of loose gravel and quite washboardy. Not the easies thing to ride. I finally made it to mile marker 12 and there was the abandoned farm house!! At first I was just mesmerized by the beauty of this particular spot, seeing this dilapidated old house nestled near the river with a high grass field blowing in the wind. I got off my bike and began to take some pictures and this is the point where everything pretty much went to hell...
As I'm taking the pictures all of a sudden I hear a really eerie sound, like something or someone calling out. It could have been the wind, a crow, who knows, but suddenly everything felt a little too much Blair Witch Projecty for me, if you catch my drift. It suddenly occurred to me that I was 12 miles down this trail, where I saw absolutely nobody the whole time, and I'm standing next to this abandoned building hearing creepy sounds. I also noticed that things had started to get a bit dark, the weather had changed and the skies looked really foreboding. Wow...how quick that came on! Well let's just say my imagination got the better of me and I decided to jump on my bike and high tail it outta there. I knew I had a challenging 12 mile ride back and now I was headed INTO the wind. Mile 11...lightening. I began to count the seconds between the lightening and thunder telling myself that as long as I stayed ahead of it things would be okay. (The gods laughed). By mile 10 I wondered if I was an idiot to be on my bike - isn't it metal? Aren't I the highest point around? So I tried really hard to push on, but the wind was picking up and I was barely pedaling at 9mph. I passed one of the abandoned railway cars and knew by this time I was at mile 8. I was absolutely exhausted, getting cold, a bit scared and wondered how the hell I was going to be able to finish this ride. At mile 7, the first rain drops began and I was still hopeful that I could beat the rain. (The gods were just toying with me at this point). At mile 6, utterly exhausted and now completely drenched, I saw the other abandoned railway car. For a split second, a fleeting moment, a nano-second - I actually thought about getting out of the thunder, lightning, and torrential rain and waiting it out in the abandoned railway car. But then something primal, deep-down going back to cave man time in my brain, screamed at me...are you friggin' kidding me????? In the rain, clothes stuck to me wet and you want to go into an ABANDONED freight car? Does this not have the makings of every stereotypical horror movie ever made? Needless to say, the adrenalin rush got me to the 5 mile marker. At this point, there it was...the rattlesnake in the road - right in the middle of the bike path. Holy Shit! Just when I thought I didn't have it in me to pedal anymore, another adrenalin rush took over and I closed my eyes and pedaled like hell passed that snake. 4 mile marker and the winds are blowing so hard they actually knock me off the ground. I had taken off my glasses because it was raining so hard and I couldn't see thru the rain pelting on my lenses so of course, the first thing that goes thru my mind is great...can't see, howling wind and I'm on the ground with SNAKES! I do a quick body check, at this point so cold I wouldn't know if anything was broken, jump up and pedal like hell. And then an interesting thing happened. I decided that someone was watching over me. I mean, for several miles just when I was completely exhausted and almost ready to give up, something kept happening (albeit something scary as hell), to push me forward. Kinda cool huh? Well, let's just say that zen moment lasted less than a mile before I realized that I was pedaling with all my might and only doing about 4 mph. I knew the biggest challenge was ahead of me, mile 3. That was going to be straight uphill. I remembered there was a stream I rode thru at the bottom of the hill, oh so daintily lifting up my feet as I went threw it on the way down, because I didn't want to get wet. Do you think that was the point that the gods were laughing uncontrollably and said game on? Let's just say that this time I sloshed thru the stream knowing I couldn't possibly be anymore wetter, muddier and filthy dirty than I was. I hit the big hill and pathetically walked my bike up that hill, several times being blown off my feet. Hard to believe, but the storm was getting worse. At this point I tried to calculate how much longer, in minutes or hours this was going to take. But I was tired, cold, miserable and wish I had paid more attention in 5 grade math glass. If one is walking up a hill at 2mph and the winds are blowing at 30 mph. and this dumbass, pathetic middle aged woman has 3 miles to go how long will it take her till she had a glass of wine...you get my drift. I kept telling myself that if I could just made it to mile 1, I would get a free ride downhill to the campground. I finally, finally make it to the top of the hill and the winds are blowing so hard, that I can only get between 3 and 4 mph downhill...pedaling. OMG what do I see, but the campground! Now, at this point I figure that I'm gonna get some kind of hero's welcome. You know, "wow, you made it mile 24 miles in this weather?" "Dang, you are some kind of wonder woman to do that1" (Yes, I realize I'm sharing much too much of my illusions of grandeur, but by now I'm now delusional what can i say!). I get my wet, drowned self to the van and I'm so tired, cold and shaking I can't even get the damn door open. Then, the park ranger and campground host come on over to me. Ahhh, finally the hero's welcome!! "Uh excuse me, who said you can camp here!" "This spot is reserved...move the van, etc." What?! This was my ace in the hole, these gentlemen were my back-up plan to rescue me from horror movies, blinding rain, and feats extraordinaire???? Sigh...let's just say this VERY tall glass of wine and box of crackers have never ever tasted so good. The campground neighbors said earlier they wanted to come on over and check out the van and share a glass of wine. Screw them, wonder woman is going to bed.

A Different Journey

Location: Collier State Memorial Park, Oregon

I headed out for my first solo road trip, without Ned. It was bittersweet knowing that I left my favorite travel buddy behind and it did tug at my heart to see him waving me off in the rearview mirror. (If you're reading this send lots of energy and prayers to Ned that he'll kick this thing and be back in the saddle again!) Ned was a sweetheart making sure I knew all the ins and outs of the Winniemobile, how to change a bike tire, hang up a hammock, etc. to the point that I got a couple of lessons on how to tie a bowline and half hitch knots. Looks like I'll just have to put up a hammock to prove to him that I can do it!
The trip thru Northern California was gorgeous, especially when I rounded the bend and saw Mt. Shasta, in all her glory, covered in snow. Very rarely have I seen the top of this mountain without clouds chopping off the upper half. What a treat! I passed the time listening to an audio book, "The Fruit of the Tree" by Edith Wharton. Yes, a definite guilty pleasure listening to some of my favorite classics. (I have several queued up for the trip including Tolstoy and Jane Austen. Ned I bet you aren't missing this so much now!) I also really enjoyed the drive up highway 97, thru the high desert meadow. Just for the heck of it I decided to take business 97 and do a tour thru Klamath Falls. It's been many years since I've seen this town and I forgot about all the low brick buildings, quiet streets and half deserted logging operations around the lake. After 6 hours on the road, I pulled into Collier Memorial State Park in Chiloquin, Oregon and called it home for tonight.
This State Park has one of the largest logging museums and I was really looking forward to checking it out. There is a nice bike path that leads from the campground to the logging site. It meanders along Spring Creek and the Williamson River. It is really very pretty. I included some pictures below. I spent a couple of hours hanging out at the logging museum. It's an outdoor museum where you can visit a logging camp and then see the progression of logging in the area, from the first immigrants clearing the forest by hand, to the history of the steam engine and then the later day equipment. It's free and quite interesting. I'd say if you are ever traveling on highway 97 it's definitely worth a stop. Ned and my Uncle Bud would just love seeing all the old equipment. Most of it has been fully restored and there are detailed write ups on everything.
I spent the rest of the afternoon riding my bike around the various paths in the state park and checking out the river. The campground is nicely wooded, with very few people camped here - perhaps half a dozen in my loop and a bit more in the loop for the big boy RV's. Tonight there is a 9pm show at the ampitheatre called "Logging on the Move." I'm thinking of sneaking some wine in my coffee cup and moseying on over to check it out.