THE RAMBLING NEWS

HAPPY HOLIDAYS 2011

2012-01-01T07:52:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HOLIDAYS BELATED! I write this sitting in my rocker, with my feet up, next to the wood stove (this is Dick). We are burning Gren wood. No it's not a misspelling. We bought a pallet of compressed hardwood sawdust blocks. They burn just like coal. Very cool - I mean hot.
We are all doing well. Gaila is busy with a variety of things. She's always heading into town. I think she has to get away from me to keep her sanity. I stay home on my side of the creek to keep mine.
Maggie has been living here in Traverse City since July 2010. We don't see as much of her as we did when she lived 3,000 miles away in Anacortes, WA. She has been a busy farm girl this year. She and her boyfriend Brenin ran a CSA selling shares of crops and then delivering fresh vegetables every week to shareholders (if you're local sign up for a 2012 share). She also works two different jobs, is a DJ on the local NMC college station and training on car diagnostics. When her car was still running, she used to call and ASK me what was wrong with it, then she got to the point where she would call and TELL me what was wrong with it. Like my dad used to say, "A fart in a whirlwind." She and Brenin are now in Mexico attending a wedding, and Gaila and I are babysitting plants and animals.
Gaila and I agreed a year ago to be home six months and travel six months and it is working out so far. I did get 400 miles of backpacking in this year. As Mark Twain famously said, "The rumors of my death are highly exaggerated." Three people were attacked by grizzlies this past season. Two in Yellowstone were fatal and one man in Glacier was slapped around a bit. One of the Yellowstone fatalities happened to be a 60ish Michigan hiker. I was backpacking at the time, and Gaila started getting emails from a lot of people wondering how she was going to spend my life insurance bonanza. Wishful thinking people, but wrong Park. Besides, they say, if you are attacked by a bear you are safe if you smell really bad. I guarantee, if a bear attacks me I'm immediately and automatically going to smell really bad.
We have had a wonderful fall. The mild fall and early winter weather has given me the opportunity to attack the Autumn Olive bush trying to take over the Ole E Ranch (also known as Oleo Acres - the cheaper spread). I only cut the grass once a year. Once it gets tall enough it falls over. I would rather have an annual prairie fire. I accidentally did that this spring and came home to find five fire tanker trucks in the yard and a corps of firefighters with water tanks strapped on their backs spraying my yard and the neighboring property. Having a fire is actually a great way to see your neighbors. When we arrived home everyone was in the yard with a drink watching the action. Gaila calls these "Pre-Dick-aments," but you already know that. The week before the fire the creek flooded the yard. I want to get back on the road before the quake. --Keep Smilin', Dick and Gaila
The best to you in 2012.

MOUNTAINS IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR

2011-09-06T07:31:00.001-07:00

During our last week in Glacier National Park Dick went on a 100 mile backpacking trip with Rich Ward from Atlanta, GA. They had a great seven days hiking some of the beautiful areas in the park. Maggie flew out to visit us and she and I had some mother and daughter time before the guys walked back into camp. It was great being together again in this beautiful place. Yes, Dick is alive and well. He and Rich never saw one bear. He still says it’s because he smells too bad. Glacier and Yellowstone have been in the news several times over the summer because of bear attacks, fatal falls or near drownings. Dick wanted to stay in Glacier and help search for a young man who we heard was missing the day we started for home. http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/7443750-418/body-of-mchenry-county-hiker-found-in-national-park.html We kept hoping for a good outcome but sadly his body was found on Sept. 2nd where he had fallen 800 ft. The following John Muir quote was sent to us by a friend’s daughter who was part of the helicopter team that located the body.
“I never have held death in contempt, though in the course of my explorations I have often times felt that to meet one's fate on a noble mountain, or in the heart of a glacier, would be blessed as compared with death from disease, or from some shabby lowland accident. But the best death, quick and crystal-pure, set so glaringly open before us, is hard enough to face, even though we feel gratefully sure that we have already had happiness enough for a dozen lives.” - John Muir

We left Glacier National Park on August 30, and slowly traveled east to Michigan, taking another route through Montana that we love, down to Choteau and then across Hwy 200 through Lewistown and into the Great plains of North Dakota to stay at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We drove the 36 mile scenic loop at dawn and saw the beautiful landscape and wildlife of this area, including prairie dogs, bison and feral horses (a few pictures at the end of the video). What a beautiful place honoring the memory of Teddy Roosevelt and his environmental efforts. We then went from the plains thru Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, into Wisconsin and then Michigan. We camped at Walmart a couple nights with several other RVers. One morning Dick went into the store to get a donut for breakfast. I suggested he should get something half way healthy like a muffin. He returned with a smile on his face and a frosted covered pastry in hand. He said it was healthy because it had a fruit filling.
It’s good to be back at “Oleo Acres” Campground (the cheaper spread). All looks well but the lawn has six weeks of growth waiting to be cut. We are contemplating staying in the motorhome and heading out for a fall color tour in a few weeks.

Interesting facts:
1. “Bears bear bare bears”
2. In England Fireweed has been given the nickname “Blitz weed” because it was the first flower to come up in the devastated areas that had been bombed during WWII.
3. Wind turbine blades are nearly 150 feet long. We saw several single blades being hauled down the expressway. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUCECIl-Z4M&feature=related
4. The guy in the video, cooking at Ciao Mambo Restaurant in Whitefish, MT, is our nephew Kevin. Great food! Thanks Kevin!!!

WHAT A PLACE!

2011-08-13T10:57:00.001-07:00

We are loving being here at Glacier National Park. The first seven days we camped with our friends, Bill and Diana Plyley, who are visiting from Australia. So much time has passed since we were together last, yet we felt like we just continued where we left off nearly 30 years ago. We met them in 1978 and traveled together before they moved to Australia where Bill took a job in a gold mine. We had fun catching up on our children, family, jobs, travels etc... It’s interesting listening to the different words they use and we started using a few of them too. MOZZIE - Mosquito, LOO - bathroom, FANG IT - step on the gas, BREAKKY - breakfast, MATE - friend or buddy, TELE - television, QUEUE - line. Whenever Dick saw a line up at the restrooms he would say, “Is this the queue to the Loo?” It’s also interesting listening to their thoughts on America after being away so long. Diana loves Walmart - “It has everything and cheap.” “Everything over here is a bargain compared to Australia.” They are also amazed at how friendly everyone is. “Strangers approach you and look you in the eyes.” “Americans seem more confident and always say hello and start conversations.” Another observation is how big our cars and trucks are and no matter what level of income almost everyone here has an RV. Diana also commented on how Americans are “giagantuan.” There are overweight people in Australia, but Americans take it to the next level. One more thing they observed is how we have TV channels that rehash and beat the news to death.
Of course you know living with Dick there’s never a dull moment. The morning we were heading into Glacier I was percolating coffee and Dick decided he would get the RV ready to go. He checked the oil and the tires. The coffee wasn’t quite ready so I asked him to let me know when he’d be rolling off the leveling block so I could hold onto the coffee pot. Enough minutes must have gone by that he forgot to tell me to hold on and down we went. It was quite a fast drop. The stovetop cover that I had leaned against the back wall fell and knocked the coffee pot onto the floor. We were so busy wiping up the hot coffee off the floor as fast as we could that we didn’t see the stove top cover was now on top of the burner that was still on. So we then had a fire to put out. It was a wild time.
The next “PreDickament” was after a day of hiking several miles Dick sat out in the sunshine drinking a cold beer and got sleepy so went inside for a nap. When he got up he said he wasn’t feeling well and a little dizzy and sat down. The next thing I heard was a loud snore and his head was tilted back in the chair and he was chalky yellow. I tried shaking him but got no response. I then put his head down to his knees and tried carefully to lower his dead weight to the floor, all the while yelling at the top of my lungs for someone to help me. I was frantic trying to decide whether to stay with him and start mouth to mouth or run and get help. I saw Bill was at his campsite so I yelled out to him to get Diana and come help that something was wrong with Dick. By the time they arrived he was lying in a pool of blood. Fortunately, he then came around but was still weak and confused. He then could sit up. We all came to the conclusion that he didn’t drink enough water on the long hike and then drank a beer that isn’t good for dehydration and fainted. As far as why the bloody nose? Apparently when I lowered him to the floor he must have landed on his nose which started the bleeding. I was accused of hitting him.
Now for the last “PreDickament.” Dick was getting ready for his first overnight backpacking trip here in Glacier and realized he must have left his tent back in Michigan. That’s a big problem but that didn’t stop him. He went over to the Swiftcurrent Campground Store and bought a 10 X 12 tarp and away he went. When I told someone he wasn’t sleeping in a tent she said, “Oh, you’ve seen the cartoon where two bears are looking at two backpackers sleeping on the ground with no tent and one bear says to the other, “Mmmmmmm, soft on the outside, crunchy on the inside.” I didn’t need to hear that one.
There’s only been one mini-maul since we’ve been here. The man was bit in the arm and the leg but was able to hike out to get help. It made national news and when I finally got a phone connection I had several messages wondering if it was Dick. I think he’s bear proof. He assures me that he’s safe because he sleeps in a rip stop nylon tent. Three years ago a young seminary student from Kentucky was hiking alone and turned up missing in an area Dick knows real well. He’s been following the story over the years and while we’ve been here they finally found some of his remains. Dick tells me there is no danger but I still worry if he doesn’t show up at the time he says he will.
We stayed in three different areas of the park on the East side but just moved to the West side and will be here until we leave for home at the end of the month. It has been amazing so far. Dick has hiked over 120 miles and plans to hike at least another 120 before we leave. I’m a day hiker and stick to shorter hikes. I enjoy ranger led walks, not only because there is safety in numbers, but they explain so many things about the area. We loved camping at Many Glacier and every evening a volunteer had a scope set up to view goats and bighorn sheep and sometimes a grizzly with cubs on the mountainsides. There are grizzlies everywhere in that area. Also in the evenings we loved sitting on the Swiftcurrent Store porch and eating huckleberry ice cream. We have met so many great people. We’re like one big happy family enjoying this incredible place together.

NOTES to KNOW: In the Youtube video the guy in the costumes is Pat Hagan, our favorite park ranger, giving two of his famous campfire talks. The background music is Jack Gladstone, musician, storyteller, poet, philosopher of the Blackfeet Tribe. He gives concerts throughout the park.

RENDEZVOUS IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

2011-07-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

“Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” - John Muir

We are heading for Glacier National Park. It is Dick’s favorite place in the U.S. to backpack. I must admit it is one of the most beautiful places on earth. We were there last year and didn’t expect to go back this soon, but friends we met and traveled with in the late 70’s, are here from Australia visiting their families and touring the west. We haven’t seen them in the nearly 30 years since they moved to Australia for a job.
When they contacted us to see if we could arrange to connect before they flew back home, we quickly made plans to rendezvous in the Rocky Mountains. It’s only 1800 miles one way! Why not! We love this route crossing the magnificent straits of Mackinaw and then taking Hwy 2 through Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana all the way to Glacier. Traveling along Lake Michigan in the U.P. there was very little traffic or people. I think everyone was in Traverse City at the beach. This would be the place to vacation. Almost white beaches all to yourself and beautiful. There are times traveling this route when I feel like we’re in a time warp and returned to the 50’s. Wide open spaces, little traffic, small towns, trains, farmland, grain mills etc... Most of Hwy 2 is still two lane. Many of the little towns have free or almost free camping. We pulled into Chester, MT. to stay at the city park and were invited to join a farewell picnic for a choir teacher who took a job in Billings. I think the whole town was there to wish her well. It was touching listening to the choir sing the "Irish Blessing." It reminded me of the years Maggie was in her High School choir. They sang that song many times. We talked with some fellow campers who were from British Columbia and traveled by motorcycle to Eastern Canada and then down into the US and were now heading back home. When we mentioned we were from Michigan they couldn’t say enough about how beautiful Michigan is compared to all the other places they’d been. Clean, well-marked roads, great campgrounds and Welcome Centers and how they loved the U.P. We agreed.
Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, but North Dakota is the land of 10,000,000 prairie potholes. These potholes provide the most productive wetland habitat for waterfowl in North America. The water levels were abnormally high because of extensive flooding this year from storms during mid-July - especially around Minot. As we traveled through this area I thought about a book I read titled The Children’s Blizzard. I thought of the people who tried to settle and farm this area and the difficulties they had during the harsh winter blizzard of 1888 and how their descendants are still living here today and still fighting the elements. http://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/1506/the-children's-blizzard
Dick’s grandpa Mallery told Dick about a cousin who in his 20‘s homesteaded in the Dakotas in the early 1900s. They built a sod hut and started farming. Grandpa told Dick that he and grandma visited them when they traveled west once. We wish now we would have asked more questions when his grandfather was still alive. Like where in the Dakotas?
Because of the new technique of fracking for natural gas in the Bakken shale formation, many of the little towns of North Dakota have been taken over by oil field workers. There are RV camps behind every bush and gas station. There are infrastructures going up everywhere. The fracking oil business is booming. Fracking has caused much concern around the country because of so many chemicals being forced into the aquifer. Once the workers get all the infrastructures built then they move on. It reminds me of the “tent cities” in the gold rush days. http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/04/news/economy/oil_shale_bakken/index.htm I guess this is what we call progress.
It feels great being back in Montana. I just love the open spaces and big sky. http://www.bigskycountry.net/ I’m on the lookout for those mountains. Should see them sometime soon. The Empire Builder will be passing by on it’s way to Chicago anytime. Gotta go.
Westward Ho!!
CLICK HERE FOR DICK'S BLOG

I like reading the Historical Markers along the road except there’s no way we’ll stop at each one. I read the title as we drive by and look it up on the computer. (Yes, I’ve had a good Wifi connection all the way except through one Indian Reservation) One especially sad but interesting marker was by the town of Chinook. The Bear Paw Battlefield. This is where the Nez Perce surrendered after their long fight to stay on their own ancestral land. When Dick hiked the Continental Divide Trail in 1999, we camped near Wisdom, MT. and it was a very emotional experience visiting the Big Hole Battlefield. http://www.nps.gov/biho/index.htmhttp://www.nps.gov/biho/index.htm

HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN, JIGGETY JIG

2011-05-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

Bud Ward admiring a Loblolly Pine

Traveling north thru Georgia and into South Carolina the first day out of Florida, we headed for the Congaree Swamp National Park. http://www.nps.gov/cong/index.htm
It’s off the beaten path, so we almost decided to pass it by. This 24,000 acre park protects the largest contiguous area of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the United States. We hiked through the forest and were amazed at the size of the bald cypress and Loblolly pines. Spring is an excellent time for birding and the trees were alive with the sound of music. Our friends, Joy and Bud Ward, from home, had been trying to catch up to us on their return trip from Florida. They joined us at Congaree Swamp and camped near us. It was great. We also met up with them again along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Linville Falls. http://www.nps.gov/blri/index.htm
We tried to talk them into camping with us again but since they were tenting they decided to get a motel. That night it rained hard. We were on the outskirts of a tornado. We were thankful we were high and dry in our motorhome and Bud and Joy had decided on a motel.

Enjoying the view of Linville Falls from a high point

Between Florida and home, we made many stops to visit family and friends. Friends from Tennessee met us halfway for breakfast at Em’s Place up in the hills. They warned us we may pass it by because it doesn’t even look like a restaurant. Well, they were right. As you can see from the picture below it must have been a gas station at one time. Our new trusty GPS got us there. It was the only place open for breakfast for miles around. All the truckers ate there so we figured it had to be good (or else it was because it was the only place around). Even though it wasn't the greatest atmosphere, we enjoyed our visit.

Our Tennessee friends, Beth, Steve, Michele and James at Em's Place

Speaking of our "new trusty GPS," we almost had a bad accident because we were in the wrong lane to exit the freeway. It scared us so bad we stopped at the next Best Buy and Dick bought the best buy they had. You may remember he named the other one "The Witch" because I didn't like the name he was calling it. He hasn't named this one yet.

Earl & Linda Stewart, Mt. Morris, PA

Linda with her father, Walter, who is 98 yrs old
(We'll be there to celebrate your 100th, Walter!)

It was great to reconnect with our Mt. Morris, PA friends. We met the Stewarts in 1979 when Dick worked with Earl in Arizona. We try to spend time together every few years. As usual, they were the best hosts and treated us like part of their family. Mt. Morris is located right on the West Virginia border and it's always interesting to explore that part of the country.
http://www.nps.gov/fone/index.htm

Enjoying a visit with my brother, Curt, and his wife, Lucy.

We traveled on to the Elkhart area to visit my brother and his wife but while we were there we scoured the RV Salvage stores for parts for our 1989 motorhome. We also took in the RV Hall of Fame which I highly recommend to anyone who is an RVer. http://www.rvmhhalloffame.org/ingramhall.cfm
Our last stop was the AirZoo. My cousin is the Tech Service Mgr there and gave us the grand tour. My Aunt and Uncle joined us and we caught up on each other's lives as we took in the amazing exhibits and murals. What an interesting place and another place I highly recommend. http://www.airzoo.org/

Enjoying the Air Zoo with my Aunt Rosemary and Uncle Red

The last couple of days of our trip we drove in the rain and made it home in a downpour. We decided to stay tucked in the motorhome for one more night and move back into the house the next day. The rain stopped during the night so we enjoyed the sounds of our campground. The peepers were in full force. It was a nice welcome
home.
P.S. Dick says we'd better leave town before something else happens. So far the creek backed up and washed out our driveway and he set the back forest on fire, but that's another story.
Info on other places we visited on our trip north.
New River Gorge
http://www.nps.gov/neri/photosmultimedia/index.htm
Amish Country, IN
http://www.amishcountry.org/explore-the-area/area-history

At turn of year, when winter's past
and spring's at hand, I think at last
I understand. Then comes the night
when peepers shrill and geese in flight
gabble the moon. And then I say
that all I know can be stowed away
in an acorn cup. But this is plain:
That snow is snow and rain is rain,
that wind is change, that water ran
before earth felt the foot of man;
that flesh and blood of me are kinned
with grass and bush and tree and wind;
that love is sweet and salt are tears;
that days become the turning years;
that I am new and time is old;
that love is warm and hate is cold.
What more is there to understand
when winter's past and spring's at hand? - Hal Borland

FAREWELL FLORIDA

2011-04-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

Miles of secluded beach at Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area

The park was named after the folk singer who drowned here

For several weeks we enjoyed the beaches along the Atlantic Ocean. Sebastian Inlet, Gamble Rogers at Flagler Beach and Anastasia by St. Augustine were some of the State Parks we camped in. Dick had no luck in his search for treasure. He even tried on the site where they are still salvaging treasures from the Spanish Fleet that went down during a hurricane in 1715. I don’t think he has the patience for this hobby. If he hasn’t found anything right away then he’s done. He says he’s selling the metal detector when he gets home and buying a camera instead. He’s always wanted to be a wildlife photographer. Patience is not one of his strong points so I’m not so sure he’ll have the patience for that either.

While he searched the beach for treasure, I picked up trash. I had one bag for fishing line, hooks and lures, and another for other trash. I expected the State Park beaches to be clean. I was also disappointed in the recycling system in the parks. Most only recycled aluminum and glass. Which brings up another point - why don't all states have deposits on cans and bottles. Florida is one that doesn’t and it shows. But the beaches are still beautiful and we enjoyed early morning and evening walks watching all the shorebirds. I especially loved watching the pelicans fly overhead or skim along the surface of the water and dive for their dinner. My favorite shorebird.

A Mallery Reunion in New Smyrna Beach

A wonderful bird is the pelican,
His bill will hold more than his belican.
He can take in his beak
Food enough for a week,
But I’m damned if I see how the helican. - Ogden Nash

We connected with several friends and family this winter. One day we received an email from friends who we had spent time with in Silver Springs. They were going to be in St. Augustine while we were there and wanted to spend a couple days with us. I called them on the day and time they said they’d be arriving and they asked, “Where are you?” I told them we were at the Anastasia State Park campground and asked them where they were, thinking they were at a condo somewhere. They said, “We’re at the campground in space 53.” This was a bit of a surprise because they were definitely not “campers” but as we hopped on our bikes and headed for space 53 we thought they probably had borrowed his dad’s camper van. In space 53 there was a a 30 foot Class A motorhome. They were so happy with their new rig. They wanted their first RV camping experience to be with us so we could answer any questions and help them figure things out. We had a great time.

There was a starving stray cat hanging around our campsite at Ft. Clinch State Park and, of course, being the softie I am, I fed it and made sure he was caught and taken to a rescue facility. He was very friendly with me but caused havoc with our two cats through the screen door. Several times throughout the next night the tent campers next to us would yell at something in their camp, "get outta here! Scram!" We all had a sleepless night but I felt good knowing it wasn't MY rescued cat causing their problems. It was either raccoons or rats but we didn't find out because the worn out campers were still sleeping when we headed north for the Georgia/Florida state line.

Lester & Lylah Mallery heading for Florida - 1956

It's a good thing we are heading home. Dick is sick of all the people and traffic. He really wanted to go west this winter again but he agreed to go to Florida for me. He refers to it as a "sea of humanity". He does admit, it's still better than shoveling snow all winter. We tried to stick to the natural areas as much as we could but it's the driving in between these places that he hates. Florida has some great state parks and they do try to preserve and protect but development is encroaching on their boundaries on all sides. Things have changed so much since his grandparents traveled with their little airstream and spent their winters in Stuart, Florida. Like Dick says, "the boomers are coming!" That includes us!

A visit with my Aunt Ellen in Vero Beach

One of the many boardwalks along the Inner Coastal Waterway

Spent the morning with John Hibbard in Jensen Beach
Formerly from Michigan. (A damn Yankee)

The travelin' cat

Looking out our window at the Spring breakers at Sebastian Inlet

IT'S A JUNGLE DOWN HERE

2011-04-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

Gators galore at Paynes Prairie

We left the Gulf beaches and headed for inland Florida staying at several state parks. Paynes Prairie Preserve, Rainbow Springs, Silver River and Myakka River. These are magic, quiet, beautiful jungles preserved for future generations. Places of refuge for wildlife with peaceful rivers flowing through. A birder’s paradise. We love all wildlife, even the alligators and snakes which we saw plenty of. At Paynes Prairie there were even buffalo and wild horses and Whooping Cranes.

Water Moccasin - watch where you're stepping!

We are enjoying our little blow-up Sea Eagle Kayak. At first I was hesitant to navigate the alligator infested waters, but we started out on the Rainbow River where there are very few and worked our way up to the Myakka where they are all along the banks sunning themselves or cooling themselves in the water. As we would approach they would slowly lower down into the water where we could only see their eyes. I would rather they stayed sunning themselves on the banks where I could keep an eye on them. We enjoyed every minute of our river trips.

When deflated, our kayak is stored in a bag and weighs 32 lbs. It was a mile hike to the Silver River to the launching site. After one day of Dick carrying the bag over his shoulder, we found a used golf cart at a thrift store and it works great!! The Silver River is still our favorite. It is located east of Ocala where we spent our winters from 1978 until the mid-80’s when we were full-time “gypsies” before Maggie was born, and then a few winters with her. We lived in our home on wheels on the banks of the Ocklawaha River and from there we’d paddle up to the Silver River whenever we had the chance. The family who owned the property became our family. For several of those winters we worked at Ocala Breeder’s Sales Company, a thorough-bred horse auction, to save enough money to travel for the summer months. The man who managed the company invited us to meet his family who adopted us immediately. We have kept in touch with all of these people and enjoyed seeing them again on this trip. Lots of reminiscing about all the years we were together. We also connected with a few other friends in South Venice who gave us a tour of that area.

We're now in Sebastian Inlet State Park on the ocean. We’re here for a few days to enjoy the beach and Dick is now hunting for some washed up treasure from the Spanish Fleet that went down off this coast during a hurricane in 1715. He's getting bored with his metal detector just finding small change.

The beautiful Silver River

Lots of birds, gators, turtles, fish and even monkeys!

Birdwatching on Upper Myakka Lake

Sandhill Cranes Photo by Jerome

Kayaking the Myakka River

Sheba napping on the motorhome step

Lunch at Snook Haven with the Barkers and Jankowskis

Watching an eagle at Paynes Prairie

“What has happened to awe? Where has wonder gone? I suspect that too much has been "explained" by the ignorant to the stupid. Modern man's greatest loss of spirit may be that he has ceased to be amazed at the wonders all around him.” - Ernest Lyons, My Florida

BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN

2011-03-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

The last I blogged was August when we returned home from our eight month trip west. I have been blessed to live in northern Michigan. It’s true - going away does make you appreciate home. I enjoy traveling, but I also like being home. I need that balance.

Our plan was to leave again after Christmas. Last year the holidays on Padre Island, Texas just didn't feel right. I wanted to be home this year and experience a real Christmas with snow and family and friends.

Also, with Maggie living in Traverse City again, I didn't want to leave until after January 1st.

The holidays came and went, but then other things kept us in the snow country. I didn’t have a problem with that, but I’m not the one who has to do all the shoveling, plowing and keeping the home fires burning. Warm weather was beginning to sound wonderful.

We left February 22 in 9 degree icy weather after a whole day of loading the motor home and cleaning and winterizing the house. (see above picture of ice cycles hanging off the motor home) We tossed the cats in at the last minute and they finally accepted their fate after the first day on the road. Funny Face hid under the bed in her “Cat Cave” and Sheba cried all day and wanted to be on my lap.

As we traveled south we were just ahead of a storm but it caught up to us when we camped in Clanton, Alabama. About midnight I was awaken when a community alert siren (air-raid) went off. Dick kept on snoring while it blasted for 5 minutes. Then over a loud speaker a man's voice blared out a warning of approaching severe wind and rain and to take cover. He kept repeating it and I finally shook Dick awake to listen (he was sleeping on his good ear). I figured it had to be bad because surely they don't announce every approaching storm?! I checked the area weather on the computer and it was saying the same thing as “Speaker man”. I went back to bed because Dick was snoring again and everything was still peaceful outside but woke up about an hour later to the motor home rocking back and forth in the strong winds and rain. It rocked me right back to sleep.

We were so happy to reach Florida. We camped among the hardwood forest at Florida Caverns State Park in the Panhandle for a couple days. It’s so nice being outdoors hiking and biking again.

http://www.floridastateparks.org/floridacaverns/default.cfm Living in the frozen north makes you appreciate the warmth, and sounds and sights of spring. The trees down here are beginning to blossom and the birds are singing. We loved listening to the barred owls at night. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barred_Owl/sounds

We are now camped on the Gulf at St. Joseph Peninsula State Park. on the “Forgotten Coast”. What a paradise. The campground is out on a spit.

We watch the sunset on one side of the campground and sunrise on the other. The beach is so beautiful! It sure is nice to see all this white and it’s NOT SNOW!!!

http://www.floridastateparks.org/stjoseph/default.cfm

On our 8 month trip you may remember me saying that I wasn’t getting enough alone time. Dick has solved that problem. He is now into metal detecting. He’s so into his new hobby that so far I’ve had a couple of hours by myself every day. He’s saving all the money he finds because he now wants to upgrade to one that goes into the water.

Dick does a weekly column called Dr. RV Shrink. Many of them are based on our problems and solutions. Check it out at Dr. RV Shrink

GLACIER - CROWN OF THE CONTINENT

2010-08-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

After exploring the North Cascades along scenic Hwy 20 in Washington, we headed for Montana to Glacier National Park. This place is so beautiful. The campgrounds were filled with vacationers, but we didn’t have to go far to experience solitude and quiet. Sitting next to the lakes in the early morning, drinking coffee, was a daily routine. There were a few hardy people swimming in the glacial fed waters but I would only go in so far to cool off. From the campground we’d walk or ride bikes on paved trails to West Glacier or Apgar Village.

While on the West side of the park, Dick went on a solo backpacking trip for six days and covered nearly 80 miles. PICTURES OF DICK'S HIKE He always hikes alone. I’m used to that, but in this wilderness it concerns me. In the 16 days we were at Glacier, we heard of several grizzly bluff charges, including Jack Hanna - the zoo man JACK HANNA STORY (we were told later this was a young cub just trying to get past him to his mama). We also heard about the grizzly killing near Yellowstone. GRIZZLY NEWS Not only can the bears be a threat, but moose and landslides and glacier crossings etc... Dick says, “any bear pub is good pub because it keeps people out of the backcountry.”

There was an abundance of wildflowers and huckleberries. I’m sure there are more bear encounters when the thimbleberries are ripe. The woods are thick with thimbleberry bushes lining both sides of the trails. We never saw a grizzly the whole time we were in the park - only scat. In the campground areas I did see some black bears along the trail and on the hillsides. Up at Logan Pass we loved watching the goats and sheep. We were very excited when a fisher ambled across the trail on the way to Avalanche Lake. Everyone else saw moose but us.

The morning we planned to move to Two Medicine on the East side of the park, I woke to find the window screen open about six inches. I sat up and counted cat heads. One was missing! Sheba had decided to go on a morning hunt. The squirrels and birds were always teasing her at the end of her leash and I think she was determined to get one. I was frantic when I remembered I had taken her collar with I.D. tag off the night before. We searched for about an hour and then as I passed the woods two loops down, I heard a bird making irritated noises at something. I decided to call for Sheba and heard this tiny meow saying, “go away, I almost got him.” She was crouched under a bush. It was still early enough to move to Two Medicine, but then we couldn’t get the motorhome started. So we stayed at Apgar another day while the solar panel charged the battery.

You’re lucky if you get a camping space this time of year. We arrived at Two Medicine the next morning and got a beautiful spot overlooking the lake with Mt. Sinopah in the background. The aroma from the spruce and balsam was wonderful.

Last year when Dick hiked I went to Pat Hagan’s Ranger Program. It was so good. We were lucky enough to attend two of his programs. He is a riot. Very humorous while teaching us about the mountain goat and birds of the park. You have to see it to believe it. We bought his book Seasonal Disorder. INFO ON PAT HAGAN'S BOOK

A couple times, at the evening campfire programs, we heard members from the Blackfeet and Kootenai tribe share information about their culture, traditions, and personal connection to Glacier National Park and really enjoyed Blackfeet singer and story teller, Jack Gladstone.
JACK GLADSTONE INFO

Dick hiked another two days in the Southeast part of the park. I drove him 40 miles to the Nyack trailhead where he would need to cross the Flathead River. He was advised not to try crossing this time of year due to high and fast water. He would be hiking through woods to the first river crossing. He didn’t want me waiting around to see if he crossed. He said if he couldn’t make it across he would hitchhike back to the campground. It was raining when I dropped him off and it rained all night. I was all snug and dry in the motorhome. The next morning I sat up in bed and looked out the window and there was a perfect full rainbow across the lake. I grabbed my jacket and camera and took pictures. What a beautiful morning, so quiet and peaceful. Almost everyone was still asleep in the campground. When Dick made it back to me late that day, he said the river was a “three crotch crossing.” Sounds like so much fun doesn’t it?

I enjoyed hiking with groups on Ranger led hikes. No bear sightings, but claw marks on trees and fur where they scratch their backs. BEAR SCRATCHING BACK ON TREE I enjoyed hiking with groups that didn’t wear bear bells and holler “hey Bear” or clap their hands every five minutes. The ranger tells people bells don’t work and the way you can tell black bear scat from grizzly scat is the grizzly scat has bells in it. Hiking with a group is safe enough that you don’t need to worry about making noise to warn the bears. On one of the walks we watched a beaver carry a tree branch downriver. Amazing creatures.

It was difficult to leave this beautiful place but we knew it was time. My parents are camped at the Ole’ E Ranch in Acme, and Maggie is in Traverse City now. If we didn’t have those two main reasons to head east, we would have probably inquired about being the campground hosts for the rest of the season.

THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

2010-07-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

“You can get so used to certain luxuries that you start to thinking they’re necessities, but when you have to forgo them, you come to see that you don’t need them after all. There is a big difference between needing things and wanting things - though many people have trouble telling the two apart.” - Anonymous

After leaving northern California, we took our time traveling up beautiful Hwy 101 through Oregon and Washington. Spectacular views of the rocky coastline, sea stacks, lighthouses, wildflowers, surfers, kite flyers (the Oregonians love their state), sea life and sunsets. The Oregon State parks are beautiful with trails leading to the beaches. One of my favorite areas was north of Florence. The beautiful Heceta Head Lighthouse, the one you see on so many calendars, and the famous sea lion caves. What interesting creatures. It was fun looking down on them basking in the sun on the rocky ledges from the scenic overlooks (that’s them on the rocks in the slideshow). Also, Cannon Beach with the famous, 235 ft high, Haystack Rock jutting out of the ocean.

Our last stop, before crossing the four mile bridge across the Columbia River into Washington, was Lewis & Clark National Park Fort Clatsop. Crossing this bridge reminded us of the straits of Mackinaw and the Mackinaw Bridge in Michigan.

In 1978, when we first traveled this route, we stayed at a free campground called “The Promise Land”. We remember driving through the coastal fog and being relieved to find a place to get off the road for the night. It was the perfect haven with free electric hookup. It truly was “the promise land”. We hoped to camp there this trip. It was not at all like we remembered, so we kept on truckin’ north to Kalaloch Beach, in Olympic National Park, where we had the best of two worlds, the beach on one side and the spruce forest on the other.

We passed through the now famous town of Forks on our way to the northern part of the National Park. All you Twilighters know what I’m talking about. There was “twilight” coffee, twilight tours, twilight you name it. Dick said he planned to stop for some “twilight” gas. The Lincoln Theatre (in downtown Port Angeles) was the one used in New Moon. Days before the showing of Eclipse, third in the series, there were fans lined up and camped in tents all along the sidewalk.

We camped at Heart of the Hills Campground near Port Angeles. This area has always been a favorite to us after living and working in Port Angeles thirty-two years ago. The town has grown a bit, with even a Walmart, but the downtown still has its charm. Dick had hoped to do an overnight hike in the high country, but the trails were impassable because of too much snow. We did several day hikes and especially enjoyed hiking up at Hurricane Ridge in the subalpine meadows; walking among wildflowers with beautiful glacier filled mountain peaks surrounding us. It’s how I imagine the Swiss Alps. I kept belting out the Sound of Music.

I was pleased to hear the park was removing two dams on the Elwha River that have stood since the early 1900s. This will restore salmon to the river and bring the area back to the natural. www.nps.gov/olym/

We were on our way to visit Maggie in Anacortes. We took the ferry from Port Townsend over to Whidbey Island and north to Washington Park, a city park not too far from her. We would be there over July 4. A total of ten days altogether. Our friend Chuck Woodbury drove up from Edmonds to visit us. We are friends from the newspaper days. He was publishing Outwest Magazine the same years we published The Dick E. Bird News. He and Dick have a lot in common and we had a great day catching up. Chuck now has a website for RVers and has added Dick’s RV Shrink column. http://www.rvtravel.com/

Washington Park has spectacular views when you walk out to the water’s edge. We loved walking by the water at dusk when the sky was saturated with reds and oranges and the seals were playing and fishing off shore. It was magical. Away from the water’s edge it is thickly wooded. We were experiencing grim skies and the sun rarely showed its face for the first five days we were there. Having no sunshine for several days can be a major factor in determining my moods. Getting out of the forested campground helped. Everyone commented that summer doesn’t officially arrive until July 5th. They were absolutely correct. On the 5th it was sunny and summer temps set in, the dark gray waters turned to sparkling blues and you could see the beautiful mountain tops with snow covered Mt. Baker in the distance.

We visited Maggie, in Anacortes, last September when she was working and living at the Shiphouse Bed & Breakfast. So now we had several more people we were looking forward to seeing again. I’m sure most of you know Maggie moved out to Washington, a little over a year ago, on a whim. During the slow season at the B & B she had another part-time job working at a little lingerie boutique downtown Anacortes. She has loved this area and made so many good friends, but recently made the decision to move back to Michigan. She flew back two days after we left Anacortes. We are happy that we made the decision to visit her again before she moved back home. We enjoyed a couple of campfire picnics with her and her friends. The three of us took an early morning ferry ride through the beautiful San Juan Islands, stopping at Orcas and Shaw Islands. We visited Oggie and Betty, Captain and First mate of the Shiphouse B & B, a few times over the ten days, and on our last day Oggie invited us and several friends over for a wonderful seafood dinner out on his patio overlooking the islands.

Fortunately, I travel with a man of all trades. The motorhome has given us trouble twice since we left California. Dick had to replace the solenoid in Oregon and the starter in Washington. Towing a car comes in very handy when the motorhome won’t move. We just unhook and drive to the nearest auto parts store. We’ve also been fortunate that both times we were stranded within ten miles of a store and they just happened to have the part we needed, for a 1989 Ford Econoline 350, in stock.

We are both looking forward to heading east to North Cascades and Glacier National Parks after almost eight months on the road. We first want to explore these beautiful places and Dick wants to do some long distance trips. Our ETA is around mid-August. We’ve been told our neighbor is mowing the lawn. We owe him big time! I’m wondering what my perennial gardens look like. I had a good friend help me get them started and then I abandon them. I have someone checking the house now and then and she says everything looks great and there has been no “mousecapades.” All is well. See you in a month!!

People in the campfire/picnic pictures:

KELLY SITEK (Maggie graduated with her and they were roommates in college and then Kelly moved out to Anacortes last September and they lived together at the B & B).

IAN FEATHERSTONE - Kelly’s boyfriend who is also from Traverse City and moved to Anacortes in February.

KRISTIE RAINCHILD - Maggie worked with her at the boutique and also lived with her for a few weeks before moving back to Traverse City.

LOGAN RAINCHILD - Kristie’s 3 yrs old son. What a cutie. As you can see by the pictures we had loads of fun with him.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS

2010-06-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

“Treat your family like friends and your friends like family.” - Proverb

After Yosemite we headed for Foresthill, California and parked our motor home in my sister, Kathy's, yard. This was the first time Dick had been here in 13 years. Our original plan was to stay for only five days, but two weeks later we finally left. Kathy and her husband, Pat, spoiled us. We commented that their place was the best campground we’d stayed at in six months. Great company, delicious food, hot-tubbing under the stars, great spot surrounded by beautiful flowers and trees. (Kathy got the green thumb in the family, it’s not among my talents). We played card games and they taught us to play Cribbage which will keep our brains sharp.

Pat manufactures booster pump systems. Dick went to work with him one day. I don’t think he helped much or made them any money. He played with the plasma cutter and came home with his name tag cut out of steel.

My brother, Joel, and his family live about 30 miles from Kathy and my parents were visiting from Arizona and staying at his place. We were planning to camp at his place at some point, but there wasn’t a space large enough for the motor home. On Memorial Day, Kathy invited everyone for a family reunion. I am the oldest of five. Kathy is five years younger, and Joel is 14 years younger. I have two other brothers who live in Indiana. Unfortunately, we have never been all together in at least forty years.

The following weekend most of the family went on a camping trip. My parents opted out because they had been down the road that lead to the lake and campground before and said they would never do it again. My brother assured us it was fine and led the way. The motor home was mostly in 2nd gear. There were many curves with several climbs and steep grades and then about 3 miles of potholes. We took it slow and it took us almost three hours to go the 50 miles to the campground. It was worth the effort in getting there. We had the campground all to ourselves and the lake was beautiful with several runoffs from snowmelt. We had three days of more family time - fishing, hiking, campfires and great food and conversation. (We have been sworn to secrecy on giving out info on the campground).

After returning from our camping trip, we took a drive over to wine-country in our Saturn and looked up some friends we hadn’t seen in several years. First stop was Healdsburg to visit Valerie Hansen who we hadn’t seen since 1981. We met her in 1979 when we lived in Port Angeles, WA. I worked with her for a short time. Through the years we have kept in touch. It was great seeing her again and meeting her husband, Larry. Then we visited Becky Gulick. She and her husband, Steve (picture in video of him with the boat he built www.fishyfish.com), and two small children live in Vallejo. We know Becky from Ocala, Florida where we spent several winters beginning in 1978. We worked for her dad at Ocala Breeders Sales (a thoroughbred horse auction). He invited us to meet his family and we were adopted by them and included in on every occasion. They were so good to us. Becky is the youngest of seven kids. We had the best time. What a great family. Lots going on at her house with children, chickens, cats and a dog. She fed us a wonderful meal and it was great catching up and reminiscing.

It was time to move on up the coast of California and visit Redwoods National Park. My 13 year old nephew, Cameron, went with us for a week. I mentioned in my last blog that he was at Yosemite the same time we were. It was the first time Dick had seen him since he was born. He and Dick got along great. They drove me a little crazy at times but it was good to spend time with Cameron. They went on an overnight backpacking trip, rode bikes, played the guitar etc... We enjoyed exploring the big tree forests and the ocean beaches and tide pools. My brother drove north to pick him up and camped with us for a couple days. It was a long drive, but he had always wanted to experience the area too. He did most of the cooking and made sure we had a campfire every night. It was great to spend time with him. I just wish we lived closer.

So now we are back to some alone time and heading up the coast of Oregon and Washington, and planning to see Maggie soon. Even though the state has its beauty and we will miss family and friends, we are happy to be out of California. It is a very congested state and it's having a rough time. Homeless people in the cities and even at the backcountry campsites. The price of gas was high because of an added tax, and campgrounds were more expensive than we have ever paid, and in disrepair. Arnold, it turns out, really is the terminator.

BEAUTIFUL YOSEMITE

2010-06-07T22:30:00.000-07:00

“For me and for thousands with similar inclinations, the most important passion of life is the
overpowering desire to escape periodically from the clutches of a mechanistic civilization. To us the enjoyment of solitude, complete independence, and the beauty of undefiled panoramas is absolutely essential to happiness.” - Bob Marshall

We are so fortunate to have such a variety of natural places in the US. Last December, we visited Padre Island and Goose Island in Texas and it breaks my heart to see what is happening to the Gulf. I can’t listen or watch the news.
We just spent ten days in beautiful Yosemite National Park, which is, understandably, one of the most visited parks in the system and it was already crowded in late May. We could easily get away from the crowds by riding our bikes or hiking. We learned fast to never drive the car. We used the shuttle, walked, or rode our bikes on all the fantastic bike trails. We met so many fun people, all having a good time and enjoying themselves in nature. I was pleased at how quiet the campground was even though they were always full. Everyone seemed respectful of quiet hours except for our first morning in the campground when Dick woke everyone up. (Click here for DICK'S BLOG) I take that back. It wasn’t always quiet at night. There is a Bear Patrol that drives through the campgrounds, shining bright lights into campsites and vehicles, making sure there are no coolers or anything that would draw bears into the area. We were woken a couple times by the patrol shining their lights in our windows and another time around 12:30 a.m. knocking on our motorhome door because we had a cooler in the backseat of the Saturn. There was nothing in it, but the bears don’t know that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9T9Il_Q3YY
May was a good time to see the park. The rivers and waterfalls were even more spectacular because of the snowmelt. It wasn’t peak snow melt yet and they were monitoring the rivers in case they might have to close part of the campgrounds that were along the river banks. The one hike that was challenging but enjoyable was the hike to Vernal Falls. There is a picture looking down at people at the top of the falls. The steps were cut out of the rock and very steep. Dick went on an overnight hike and climbed Half Dome. That’s challenging enough when the poles that hold the chains are up, but it was too early for that. He did it with just the chain. In the meantime, I’m down at the park library reading Death in Yosemite. Not a good idea. I was concerned after reading the numerous stories about people who had fallen off Half Dome. He made it back just fine, but still is hurting from the strain of pulling on the chain. He was thankful for the power grip gloves left behind by a previous climber.
Speaking of climbers. Yosemite is a climbers paradise. El Capitan is one of the world’s favorite challenges for rock climbers. www.elcapreport.com We watched several of them scaling the wall face. While we were in the park a young man fell 60 feet landing on a ledge. He lay unconscious until morning when he could be rescued by helicopter. We haven’t heard if he is still alive or not.
We also visited the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias because I wanted to see the famous Wawona Tunnel Tree. A picture of this tree has hung on my parent’s wall for years. In the late 1880‘s, this tree and the California Tunnel Tree were cut to allow horse-drawn stages to pass through. Stories and pictures of this gentle giant traveled around the world. This tree had a larger cavity and could be driven through by all visitors until it fell in the snowy winter of 1969.
My 13 year old nephew just happened to be at Yosemite on a class trip the same week we were. I hadn’t seen him in a couple years but Dick hadn’t seen him since he was a baby. It was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack. We couldn’t believe it when, out of four different campgrounds, we found him in our campground (which had 238 spaces), in the loop next to ours.
We left Yosemite to go visit my sister and brother and their families for a couple of weeks. To get there we traveled Hwy 49 thru all the cute little Gold Rush towns and Calaveras County where Mark Twain once lived.
http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/projects/price/frog.htm
I’m happy to hear you’re enjoying the pictures. It’s a good way to show you the beauty of each place we visit.

THE BIG TREES

2010-05-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

“When I entered this sublime wilderness the day was nearly done. The trees with rosy, glowing countenances seemed to be hushed and thoughtful, as if waiting in conscious religious dependence on the sun, and one naturally walked softly and awestricken among them.” - John Muir

Getting to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks was not easy. Not only because we had to go out of our way, but because we had to drive through a lot of California traffic to get there. We have always wanted to see these two parks when we traveled through California in the past, but there were always too many obstacles. This time we didn’t let that stop us. Dick gets very uptight driving on expressways and through cities. Being blind in one eye, he has no depth perception and depends on me to help with changing lanes, backing up, etc... I keep telling him to let me drive but that rarely happens. He loves to yell and call people names. The problem is, I’m the one who has to listen to him. Once we arrive and get parked, he is a happy camper - most of the time. I know how much he needs solitude and he is the happiest in the backcountry.

The big trees are amazing. In all the world sequoias grow naturally only on the West slope of the Sierra Nevada, most often between 5,000 and 7,000 feet of elevation. We took several pictures, but it’s hard to capture their immenseness. Kings Canyon is where the Grant Tree (the nation’s Christmas tree) is located. Sequoia National Park has the General Sherman Tree which is the largest living tree in the world, estimated at 2,300 years old. Of course we did several day hikes, exploring the canyons among the big trees. Dick wanted to do an overnight hike but there was too much snow in the high country. As you will see in the pictures there is still quite a bit of snow because of the high elevation, but the springtime weather was beautiful. I will keep this short because a picture is worth a thousand words.

(the background music for the video is printed below the video)

The Mummers' Dance by Loreena McKinnett

When in the springtime of the year

When the trees are crowned with leaves

When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew

Are dressed in ribbons fair

When owls call the breathless moon

In the blue veil of the night

The shadows of the trees appear

Amidst the lantern light

We've been rambling all the night

And some time of this day

Now returning back again

we bring a garland gay

Who will go down to those shady groves

And summon the shadows there

And tie a ribbon on those sheltering arms

In the springtime of the year

The songs of birds seem to fill the wood

That when the fiddler plays

All their voices can be heard

Long past their woodland days

And so they linked their hands and danced

Round in circles and in rows

And so the journey of the night descends

When all the shades are gone

"A garland gay we bring you here

And at your door we stand

It is a sprout well budded out

The work of Our Lord's hand"

SPIRITUAL RENEWAL

2010-05-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

Zion National Park is an incredible place. We loved Zion when we visited 30 years ago and enjoyed it just as much this time. It has changed a bit because of the increase in the number of visitors, but the natural beauty is still the same. I read the journal from our May 1979 visit, and I noted there were only a few people camping in the campground. Not so this time. They closed one of the canyon roads to vehicles and now have a shuttle bus system in that area because of the increasing numbers of visitors each year. A great idea and many of the busier parks are doing this. The campground was full of Summer Tanagers and Yellow Warblers. You could spot them easily by their bright colors and beautiful song, and the black-chinned hummingbirds were out in full force. It was a very relaxing six days. We hiked and biked and attended all the evening programs at the outdoor amphitheater under the stars.

Several of you have asked how the cats are doing. They are both still with us and great travelers. Funny Face never goes near the door when it is open. After escaping a couple of times, it scared her enough to tell her that is not where she wants to go. She doesn’t want to lose her happy home. We have definitely bonded on this trip. Sheba does real well on a leash and even knows how to untangle herself sometimes. She’s been traveling since she was a kitten. (The ravens do intimidate her). We tried putting Funny Face on a leash but she freaked out. It was like having a fish on the end of your line, running out the real.

We left Zion and headed for Death Valley, but not before checking the temps first. We timed it perfectly, arriving in the late afternoon when it was around 82 degrees and it cooled off through the night. We hiked around dusk watching the bats and poor-wills swooping around us. We left the next morning around 6 a.m., beginning at 190 feet below sea level, we slowly climbed to 4,000 ft, stopping along the way to take in the views. We hit this area at a good time. Along the road, as we drove to higher elevations, the wildflowers were beautiful. All colors of the rainbow. We did have one problem along the way. Our refrigerator wouldn’t start and everything thawed. We had to buy an ice chest and put everything on ice to save our food. The next morning it started up again and everything is working great. Interestingly enough, when we were in Death Valley in 1981 our refrigerator quit working then too. We were pulling a 1963, 28 foot Avion Travel Trailer with a 1964 Chevy Suburban. That time we weren’t so lucky. Dick had to drag the refrigerator outside and roll it three times. It worked! Then if that wasn’t bad enough, the carrier bearing went out on the suburban. So this time it was not so bad compared to all that. John Denver had it right when he said, “Some days are diamonds, some days are stones.”

Below is a photo of our home on wheels (our Avion), taken in 1979 when we last visited the Utah canyonlands.

CLICK HERE TO READ DICK'S BLOG

GRAND CANYON GRANDEUR

2010-05-07T12:33:00.000-07:00

DICK'S BLOG
Because I had no reservation, I was expecting a long and frustrating wait for a permit to hike into the Grand Canyon. The National Park System is beginning to implode on itself from the impact of over visitation, lack of funding (they do not keep all the revenue they generate), and increasing attitude degradation on the part of park rangers who become fed up with visitors earlier and earlier in the season. I have always said, “Multiply Numbers/Divide Resources.” That little Dick E. Bird wisdom becomes more profound every year from my perspective. The problem with becoming an old fart is that your hard drive is full of the memories of “How it used to be.”

To my surprise, I was allowed into “The Canyon” on my fourth day in the park. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and I immediately scooted over to the backcountry office. I was fortunate enough to get a peach of a ranger. She was knowledgeable, personable, friendly and helpful. I’m to a point now where I am grading rangers. Only about 50% make the grade, and I’m grading on a curve.

I told her I didn’t have a reservation and that I would like to spend about four days in the backcountry (which would give Gaila a much needed sabbatical from me). I added that I would take whatever I could get. Beggars can’t be choosers. I said I would go to any areas that she could find openings. She did her magic on the computer and in five minutes I had an awesome permit.

It had me going half way down the Kaibab Trail then east along the Tonto Plateau for 6 miles, back the next day to Kaibab and descending to Bright Angel campground near Phantom Ranch. The next day up the Bright Angel Trail to Indian Gardens and the fourth day out. I’m still finding that amazing as this is the Primo time to be hiking in the Grand Canyon and yet I snared a decent permit.

Actually, I was a little suspect when I noticed my first night campsite was “Cremation Canyon.” Maybe they’ve heard of me. Maybe they know I’ve become “Oscar the Grouch” of park service policy. I was warned, “No water on the Kaibab and no water in Cremation.” No problem, I’m part camel. I just drank until my hump was swollen and headed down into the Big Amazing Ditch.

I don’t know how people do this in July. At least I don’t know how they can enjoy it. I left the rim on a day they were calling for snow, high winds and a high of 41 degrees. I never carry more than 2 quarts of water, but on this trip I carried a gallon. Yes, I have read the book, Death in the Canyon.

The switchback Kaibab trail and the incredible landscape it traverses seemed limitless. The morning light changing the shading every second. A half hour down the steep trail I was shedding layers. I like to hike fast and hard and long. I found myself stopping to take pictures every five minutes. I’m no photographer, blind in one eye and have no depth perception, but what the heck, film is history. This isn’t costing me a dime and I might even get lucky and take a decent picture. It’s more to show Gaila where I have been. I don’t give a rip about pictures. I keep all of mine on my hard drive, the one whirling around between my ears.

I get bored easily. I made it to Cremation Canyon by late morning. I could have stayed. I had a couple quarts of water left for dinner, breakfast and the next leg of the hike to Bright Angel campground. My map showed it was only a few more miles to another canyon called Lone Tree. My permit allowed me anywhere along this section of the plateau. I was cozy in a nice little “Man Cave” rock overhang with plenty of shade. Beyond that blazed full sun and temps in the mid-eighties. The trail was faint in many areas. It seemed to hug the South Rim Canyon wall and drop in and out of dry side canyons. I was told I would still find water in Lone Tree canyon. I decided to hike there. Sure enough there was still water pooled in canyon pockets, shade in rock overhangs, and the canyon floor was alive with spring. Wildflowers, blooming cactus, singing frogs, busy hummingbirds, and my favorite, aerial acrobatic ravens, gliding along the canyon thermals, creating drag by raising and lowering their feet, like small aircraft landing gear.

I usually do not filter water. Gaila says one day it will kill me. My theory is that I am building immunity to water borne disease. If you drink water in Mexico you get the screamers, but do you ever see Mexicans with the screamers? Anyway, I have not yet picked up giardia or any other nasty water borne bug, and I have consumed some nasty water. If I do, I’ve saved myself 50 years of filtering water so far. I still had several hours of daylight so I explored the canyon and decided to filter water using my “filter bulb.” I’ve been carrying it for years and have never tried it. It’s about the size of a fishing bobber and has a small charcoal filter as it’s core. I always wondered how fast it would work. It’s a gravity flow procedure. The Canyon Tree Frogs were loving the pools. It was like dying and going to heaven for them. They had been patiently waiting all winter for this bath. To me the water smelled a bit foul, contained a lot of algae, and well populated by pollywogs and the next generation of Canyon Tree Frog song, which sounds like bleating sheep.

I thought I was going to set up an IV and go hiking, thinking this water filter bulb was going to be a slow drip. To my pleasant surprise, it worked faster than a fancy, heavy, expensive filter pump. I filled my platypus water bladder, hung it upside-down from a tree branch and it filled my quart Gator Aid bottles in less than five minutes.

I didn’t have a watch. I just go to bed when it gets dark and get up and hike when it gets light. How simple is that?

In the morning I hiked five miles back toward the Kaibab before eating breakfast. It was raining pretty hard and cold. I had my poncho and down mittens (doubles as my pillow) on. My poncho is also the ground cloth for my tent. I have a big one that covers me and my pack. To keep it from blowing wildly in the fierce wind, I used a long pack strap as a poncho belt. Works great. My goal was to get back to the rock outcropping (Man Cave) I settled into near Cremation. I knew I could get out of the rain, fire up my Zip Ztove and enjoy my freeze dried bacon and eggs. The rain soon stopped, sun was shinning, birds were singing, flowers were growing. I sat looking across the Grand Canyon at the snow covered, 8,000 ft. North rim. I was nursing a hot cup of coffee. This is “Sucking the Juice out of Life.”

By noon I had crossed the Colorado and set up camp in Bright Angel Campground. It was a great site bordered by the canyon wall on one side and loud, rushing Phantom Creek on the other.

This is a little utopia just downstream from the Phantom Ranch. You will hear me in later blogs grousing about National Park Ranger attitudes, but here at Phantom Ranch and Bright Angel Campground I found some of the best. They were young with the ranger quality of old. It’s all about attitude. Even though the place was filled to capacity, the water pipe that supplies the valley was broken and the weather turned windy and rainy, the two rangers managing the area were cheerful, knowledgeable, instructive, interesting and interested.

I’m still waiting to hear if I have secured a backcountry job in North Cascades, but if it happens, I’m taking my lead from these two.

We were all conserving water, but by law, the Park Service has to provide water, even if it means flying it into the canyon. Plus, it’s probably cheaper than flying dried up bodies out. I left at first light the next morning to try my hand (feet) at conquering the switchbacks of Bright Angel trail. It was promising to be a hot day but by leaving early you enjoy a shaded trail until almost noon. I had less than five miles to Indian Garden. I decided I would wait and have breakfast there. It is a beautiful little oasis half way up the Bright Angel. The Ranger there was suspiciously looking at my Zip Ztove as I cooked breakfast. It burns ground litter so it could be considered an open fire, which is not permitted in the Canyon. The stove, which requires carrying no fuel, is approved by the National Park and Forest Service. Unfortunately, few Rangers are familiar with that fact. Gaila says I just love conflict and debate, but I feel it is my duty to educate the less enlightened. The Park Service has a manual full of rules as thick as the postal service's “Domestic Mail Manual.” And like similar government tomes, few have ever read them--besides me. And, like the Bible, those who have done the reading interpret differently the convoluted doublespeak they contain and are all of a different religion.

I was bored again. I decided it was only nine o’clock in the morning. I lifted my pack and started up the trail. I took my time and ended up my trip a day early. I called Gaila from the rim at noon and said, “I’m Baaaccck!” I just wanted to give her some warning in case she had a Ranger in the motorhome. I think she rates them differently than I do. --Keep Smilin’

GAILA'S BLOG

"You can see the way the whole world is put together, by looking at how it's been cut away millennium after millennium, and then you'd feel just like what you really are - a grain of sand in all this creation." - Katie Lee, Singer Songwriter

While Dick went backpacking for a few days, I stayed behind and enjoyed hiking along the Rim Trail each day. When he told me the route he was taking climbed 4500 ft in 9.3 miles one way, it did not sound like my idea of fun! A trip to this park can be a vacation or a challenge, a revelation or an ordeal. I opted for the revelation. Over 250 people are rescued from the canyon each year. One ranger said an average of six people a year fall into the canyon. While we were there a man drove his car off the south rim.

The Mather Campground is within walking distance to just about everything. If I would rather ride, there is a shuttle bus system. I love reading the history of the area we’re visiting. I was thrilled that the library let me check out books and dvds on the honor system. Learning about the Kolb brothers, Mary Jane Colter, Fred Harvey and the Harvey Girls, John Wesley Powell, Edward Abbey etc..., made my visit more interesting. Reading a book on “Women of the Canyon” gave me some idea what it’s like to ride the Colorado River or hike in and out of the canyon. I also attended ranger programs and learned about the incredible geology of this area and the California Condor. I was lucky to see a condor in flight and then perch below the Lookout Studio. It was #89.

http://www.birdfotos.com/birdfoto/condors/89/condor-89.htm
http://www.nps.gov/grca/naturescience/upload/CondorchartMarch19-2010.pdf

The Grand Canyon has over 4 million visitors a year. It is an amazing place - one of earth's most powerful inspiring landscapes and it overwhelms the senses.

AWESOME ARIZONA!

2010-05-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

The thoughts of the earth are my thoughts. The voice of the earth is my voice. All that belongs to the earth belongs to me. All that surrounds the earth surrounds me. It is lovely indeed, it is lovely indeed. - Navajo Proverb

After several months exploring New Mexico we crossed over into northeastern Arizona to visit Canyon de Chelly and Navajo National Monuments on our way to the Grand Canyon.

One of the reasons we couldn’t go back to Michigan right now is because we wanted to visit places in the West that we had never seen before and places we hadn’t been to in over 30 years. We knew we had made the right decision when we saw the beauty surrounding us. Amazing colors and spectacular views - canyons, mesas, mountains and rivers. New Mexico is interesting and has its own beauty, but Arizona is awesome! This is what traveling is all about.

I’m sure it helps that it’s spring and finally warming up and beginning to bud and turn green. The green desert floor against the red rock formations and blue skies brought many oohs and aahs, and I love the sweet aroma of the desert sage and the desert in bloom. The land of the Navajo is lovely indeed.

We enjoyed hikes into areas at both monuments where you aren’t allowed unless with a guide. Our guides were Navajo (Dine’) which made it even better. We sometimes had to wade across rivers to visit the preserved cliff dwellings of the Anasazi (ancient ones).**

We also took a day trip to Utah to see Monument Valley. Huge rock formations jut up from the desert floor. A backdrop for many car commercials and many of the early westerns. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhnDe_rTk_o

We were in the Navajo Nation; 27,000 sq. miles extending into Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. It is a sovereign nation with its own tribal government established in 1923. Most have kept their traditional customs and values and most speak the Navajo language and it is taught in the schools. They make exquisite jewelry, rugs and pottery and often sell their artwork along the roads.

Many appear to not have much but they are richly blessed with the beauty surrounding them. It’s a whole different way of life. To get to the beautiful protected areas we drove through many communities where the living conditions are very poor, but everyone has a Hogan, a sacred shelter where the family can be together. http://www.navajorugrepair.com/NavajoHogan.htm
There are stray dogs everywhere. It was the same in New Mexico. Most of these dogs are homeless but very friendly. They hang around outside restaurants, gas stations and stores and beg. I fed some when I could. I saw one lift his paw to every person that passed by. It must be the norm here because people don’t even pay attention. It’s hard for me because I want to take all of them home. I was shocked when Dick asked me if I wanted to take a little puppy with us that I had stopped to pet. It was so sweet, and I was torn, but decided it would not be wise. It needed a bath and would need to see a vet before I brought it in with the cats.

There were so many dead dogs along the roads and we even passed a dead horse. It’s open range for horses, as well as cattle. There is a shortage of water and we wondered how anyone or anything can live in some of these dry desert areas. Right now things are turning green but it must not last long.

We are now in Grand Canyon National Park and Dick just returned from a 3 day backpacking trip into the canyon. We will update you on our experiences soon. The adventure continues!

**History: It is believed that the Navajo first migrated to the area from the north - possibly the area of Central Canada - around the year 1000 C.E. At that time, the area was occupied by the ancestors of today's Hopi, Tewa and other pueblo peoples. The Navajo tended to be aggressive with their neighbors, stealing and raiding, and forced the Hopi into the tight, protective villages that still exist today.

Traditional Navajo society was very loosely organized, with little or no centralized governmental or religious structures. With the arrival of first the Spanish and later European-American settlers, the Navajos began a period of violent clashes that eventually resulted in an incredibly violent campaign against the Navajo by the US Army. Government forces killed or captured all of the Navajo they could find, including women and children. The captives were transported to a desolate army base in Redondo Bosque, New Mexico, where many people starved or died of disease in the horrible conditions there. As part of the campaign, the Army burned everything they could - hogans, crops, looms, and household belongings. Over 8,000 men, women and children were marched the 400 miles from Navajoland to Bosque Redondo in the winter of 1864, in what is known as the Long Walk.After several years, even US government officials were appalled and embarrassed by the conditions in Bosque Redondo. A treaty was concluded recognizing the sovereignty of the Navajo Nation and allowing the Navajo to return home to their ancestral land. In exchange, the Navajo pledged not to take up arms against their neighbors. The Navajo are one of the few Native American groups who managed to hang on to a significant portion of their historical lands.

NEWS FLASH FROM DICK

2010-04-16T05:53:00.000-07:00

LOST PART II

Well, Gaila has done it again. She is such a bad influence on me. We were headed home to Michigan and almost made it out of New Mexico. I mean, we were so close to Oklahoma we could have spit on an Okie and hit two Texans. I just casually mentioned we should turn around and head back across New Mexico and Northern Arizona, then go home by way of Nevada, then California, then up the Oregon and Washington coast and over to Montana. Most women would be more responsible and say, “No, we are going home.” Not Gaila. She said, “Okay!” She is sooooo bad!

It’s not such a crazy idea when you think about it. We are already all the way out here. We could hike in the Grand Canyon, Zion and maybe even parts of Yosemite National Parks. You can’t do that in Michigan. We weighed all the options. Go home and mow the yard or stay out here and hike the Zion Narrows. It was a tough decision but we are tonight camped at Eagle Nest, New Mexico just outside of Taos and headed west again. Another thing that this extended trip will prove is just how accurate the Discover Channel is. I watched that program where they pretend Man is wiped off the planet and nature takes over. They show buildings being eaten by vines and crumbling to ruins. I’m just curious if that will really happen if I don’t mow my lawn for the next seven years. Just kidding. That’s how long we were gone the last time Gaila started this irresponsible behavior. I’m almost sure it won’t get that bad again.

When you get to be my age you start looking into your bucket list. There are things I have never done yet and this might be the time to do some of them. Also, my wife says I have to have a job before I retire. So I have applied for one. I decided if I was going to be crazy wild, and get a job, I should get a Government Job. They never run out of money as long as they have ink. So I applied to North Cascades National Park as a backcountry ranger. A recent communication from them said I was at the top of the list of qualified applicants. It was kind of a “no-brainer” decision. They want to pay me $21,000.00 to backpack for six months. If it looks like they might give the job to someone else I might have to tell them I will do it for half price. I hope it doesn’t come down to that. With a 20 zillion trillion budget deficit, who’s going to miss a measly twenty-one grand that’s going to a good cause like backpacking. If it doesn’t happen, no big deal. If I die and never have a job, history will show that at least I tried.

If we do hear from North Cascades we will have to put our foot in the carburetor and head up there. If we do not hear from them, we plan to visit a lot of places we love and places we have never been. It will give us a chance to spend some more time with Gaila’s family in Arizona and California and Maggie in Washington. We haven’t told the two cats yet. They may mutiny. There are many pluses to this decision. One is that most people have done the responsible thing and gone home to mow. That has left all the great camping places empty and quiet. I think it might even be safe to head back into Arizona next week.

The toughest part for Gaila was having to give up her On-Call position at Urgent Care. They were kind enough to put it on hold for her this winter. After she hung up, I don’t know if she was crying because she was happy or sad. I don’t ask too many questions when she gets emotional. I find If I hike about five miles it cures her.

We put hours of thought into this decision. We made a list of reasons to stay out west and reasons to go home. The “stay list” just kept getting longer. Lists are a lot like casino odds, they can be fixed. So maybe we left a few things off the “go home list” but it’s not like we are never going home again. I think who ever said, “You can never go home again” was wrong. We intend to prove it, but not right away. --Keep Smilin’ Dick Carpe Diem!
“ Looking back your greatest regrets will be of things you didn’t do not the things you did do.”

FART IN A WHIRLWIND!

2010-04-13T18:32:00.000-07:00

We just spent eleven days in and around Santa Fe. Maggie flew in from Washington to join us for six of those days. We had a wonderful time touring and being together again after five months. Dick has written his views about the visit and I just can’t think of anything to add except the three day hunt for the ball gown. Maggie flew to Minneapolis after she left us and attended a Viennese Ball. We looked in every consignment shop in the Sanfa Fe area and saw sides of the town we would have never seen otherwise (and actually wished we hadn't). We would have pictures with this update, but after Maggie downloaded them to her computer they were deleted off my camera. So you can see some of the pictures by reading her Blog at http://gabbyhollaway.tumblr.com/

We are still in New Mexico enjoying spring in some of the Northeast areas. We are having a difficult time pointing the motorhome towards Michigan.

Dick's Blog below:

We had a great time with Maggie in Santa Fe. Although next year I think we will just get a mannequin to stick in the backseat with earphones in one ear playing scratchy music, a cell phone in the other, and laptop computer. The smartest thing we did was park the motorhome eight miles up the Santa Fe Ski Bowl Canyon out of cell and data coverage area. At about the five mile point we could actually have a conversation with the girl in the backseat that was as wired as the Army Command Center in Arlington, Virginia. It was still cold at night up in the ski bowl but in the morning we would drop down into Santa Fe where the sun was shinning and all of us could work out and take showers at the Ft. Marcy Public Recreation Facility right at the bottom of the mountain. It was a perfect location for camping near Santa Fe. Gaila and I arrived a few days early and explored the whole area for convenient camping. There are several commercial campgrounds, but we seldom do commercial. We like state and federal campgrounds surrounded by nature and trails. We found New Mexico’s Hyde Memorial State Park had seven electric sites that the ranger keeps plowed year-round. There usually would not be enough snow to ski in the Santa Fe National Forest Ski Bowl, but this year is unusually cold and snowy.

We played Skip Bo every night and acted silly and laughed until Gaila would wet her pants. Maggie and I knew our silliness had peaked once we pushed Gaila over the edge and she had to go change her pants.

After a little wine one night, Gaila said to me, “There are things you do that I love that you haven’t been doing enough of lately.” I said, “Like what?” She said, “Being gone!” Wine is like a truth serum. I think that means I should go hiking more.

We spent Easter Sunday up in the mountains of Bandelier National Park. Great hiking spot with pueblo ruins built into the canyon walls everywhere. This spectacular, watered canyon was a small utopia for thousands of years to the Native people of this region until the Spanish came along and screwed everything up. http://home.nps.gov/band/photosmultimedia/

While Maggie was with us, we also met friends from Traverse City who were on spring break in Taos. We met at Ojo Caliente hot springs, the most expensive way to submerge yourself in hot water in New Mexico. We had a great time, but all decided it would have been better to hike to one of the many free hot springs in the nearby mountains. Gregg, Katherine and Emerson then followed us into Santa Fe for dinner on their way to Albuquerque to catch a flight home the next morning.

On our last day with Magpie we finally made it up to Chimayo to the shrine of the holy dirt, or something like that. She and Gaila had been there the year I did my CDT hike and wanted to go back. The problem was it was Easter weekend and from Good Friday thru Sunday thousands of people are walking and driving to the mission from all over the world to get holy dirt. It’s a carnival atmosphere. It's a pilgrimage of people walking for miles carrying crosses and rosaries to leave near the church. http://www.newmexico.org/experience/holidays/chimayo.php They also drink a lot of beer and soda, eat pinon nuts, burritos and everything else the vendors are peddling. I like to hike, I just don’t like to find 10,000 people already there when I arrive. On Monday we had the whole place to ourselves. No traffic jams, just the aftermath of what looked like a real party. Trash everywhere and fresh holy dirt in the Sanctuario.

On our last night together we parked the motorhome close to the Albuquerque airport at the Sandia Casino. I am no casino officinado, but this one is really beautiful. With the Sandia Mountains as a backdrop the casino/hotel is designed after a local pueblo and the theme is weaved into the building inside and out. The other great thing is they give you free money. There is all kinds of money but free money has always been my favorite kind. Most casino’s give you a little fake slot machine money to play and you get to keep whatever you can win above and beyond the fake stuff. This was the same way but they also gave each of us twenty bucks in chips. First Maggie and I lost our fake money in the slots immediately. Gaila won forty bucks over her fake money and bailed. On the way out I took all of our sixty bucks in fake chips, went to the roulette table and put them on red. The ball landed on red, I exchanged the fake chips for real ones and we all went to the cashier and turned it into greenbacks. Now that’s my kind of campground. Not only is the camping free but they give you a hundred bucks for stopping in. I married Gaila because I thought she was 100% Cherokee and I was going to get some of that Cherokee Casino money from the Smoky Mountains area. As it turns out she is only a sixteenth which is not enough to even get free fake chips.

I am writing this is a beautiful canyon carved out by the Rio Pecos. It’s another gorgeous New Mexico State Park. A great place to relax and decompress after spending several days chasing after a Fart in a Whirlwind. --Keep Smilin’

LAND OF ENCHANTMENT

2010-03-24T19:39:00.000-07:00

“My only regret about dying is not being able to see this beautiful country anymore, unless the Indians are right and my spirit will walk here after I am gone.” - Georgia O’Keefe

It’s been 3 weeks since our last update. I try to make my blog as interesting as I can so you won’t get bored and will continue reading. We are still in New Mexico and only a few days away from meeting Maggie at the Albuquerque airport. She’s flying in from Seattle and will be traveling with us for 6 days in the Santa Fe and Taos area. Places she and I fell in love with when we were here in 1999 while Dick was hiking the Continental Divide Trail (CDT).

New Mexico is diverse and has so many interesting places to explore. It is called the “Land of Enchantment.” We love staying in the natural areas. These areas are clean, protected and well taken care of. Then there is another side to New Mexico. It has a very high poverty rate. So often we would drive through areas that looked like we were in a third world country. Then among the run down, what looked to be, unlivable homes, there would be a few beautiful well-kept homes mixed in. I also noticed in the bigger cities there are always people holding signs asking for money. It's very sad and depressing to see. Traveling in different parts of the country I see that it is not all utopia and I am reminded how fortunate we are.

We left City of Rocks State Park and drove up to Silver City. As we left the city we could see the Kneeling Nun rock formation in the distance. We drove the steep grades of Hwy 152, passing through the tiny town of Kingston “Home of the Spit and Whittle Club” and down into Hillsboro where we had to stop and eat at the Hillsboro General Store & Cafe. It was tradition. We’d been there a couple times before over the years and the owners, Ben and Doreen Lewis, know us as the “Dick E. Bird people.” When we drove through here in 1999 there was a police car facing the road that worked well in slowing cars down as they passed through town. I remember walking up to the car to ask the cop if I could park the motor home in the open field in town. I walked up to the window and then realized it was just a dummy. I wonder how many people got a laugh out of that one. This year the police car wasn’t there. The dummy must have been laid off due to budget cuts. We did a walking tour of Hillsboro. It has an interesting history and has turned into a cute little art community. As we headed east out of town we passed the Ladder Ranch, one of Ted Turner’s many land holds. Here is one of the largest herds of buffalo with no cattle strain. Ted is also a protector of rattlesnakes. I like this guy. It’s amazing what a bad rap the poor rattlesnakes get. They don’t want to hurt you. Just give them the right of way and they'll turn tail and run.

We headed for Caballo Lake State Park for a couple days and the highlight was Sandhill cranes flying over the lake, migrating for a layover in Bosque del Apache NWR. We were also planning to migrate north to the wildlife refuge, but since the weather was still a little cool, at the last minute we decided to head southeast of Alamogordo to Oliver Lee State Park. Parents of our good friend back home, Julie Mousseau, were campground hosts there and they kept emailing us to come over, and enticing us with “there’s great hiking here.” We traveled through Hatch, the Chile capital of the world. It’s amazing to see how this dry desert can grow pecans, pistachios, chiles, onions and grapes for wine. We also stopped to have a picnic and hike in White Sands National Park, one of the world’s natural wonders. We wished there was a campground in the park but over the next few weeks we understood why. We often saw in the distance the white sand blowing fiercly in the high southwest winds.

We met Julie’s parents, Marlene and Dave Ferguson, when we pulled in to find a camping spot at Oliver Lee. We planned to stay a couple of days, but ended up staying twelve. Julie told us her parents would give us the tour and they did. There was never a dull moment. Besides hiking all over the park, they took us on a couple of road trips to mountain country and showed us around Alamogordo. We had Marlene and Dave withdrawals after we left.

Over St. Patrick’s Day, we were at Valley of Fires BLM Campground. Hiking past a campsite that evening we heard a woman’s voice call out, “Happy St. Patrick’s Day.” We were greeted by a smiling woman who was Apache. No mistake about it. She said she just knew she had to have some Irish blood in her from one of her wild grandfathers. She even gave us a Blarney Stone - a polished pebble she picked up along the road. After many laughs, she explained she was with the New Mexico Archeologists and they were doing a dig of an ancient village that was discovered along the road near the park. She made our day.

Bosque del Apache NWR is a great bird migration area and we saw mule deer, coyotes, a skunk, and a variety of birds including a great horned owl, as we hiked and drove around the 12 mile auto loop. We then headed for El Morro and El Malpais National Monuments, camping in Datil and Pietown along the way. A slice of pie was $4.95 or you could buy a whole pie for just $25.00. A tourist trap for sure.

We decided to get full hookups today because of the cold weather. There were snow flurries last night and this morning. We are camped at the Sky City Casino RV Park. There were signs with arrows pointing the way to the campground. Dick commented how things have changed! The Indians used to shoot at us with arrows and now they’re inviting us to a safe place to camp with them for the night.
We've had some very cold New Mexico nights, and our furnace was giving us trouble and finally quit working. I was not a happy camper. We would get a camping site with electricity so we could use our electric heater and most days we had the sun to help warm things up. Dick was determined to fix the *!%!^$* furnace himself. He finally did without blowing us up and I don't have to look at his butt crack any longer!
Here is his story: Dick's Blog Update

White Sands National Monument: http://www.americansouthwest.net/new_mexico/white_sands/national_monument.html

Valley of Fire BLM: http://www.geo.utep.edu/loca/Volcanos/VALLEY.HTML

Bosque del Apache NWR: http://www.friendsofthebosque.org

El Morro National Monument: http://www.nps.gov/elmo/index.htm

El Malpais National Monument & Conservation Area: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/res/Education_in_BLM/Learning_Landscapes/For_Travelers/go/geology/el_malpais.html

YOUTUBE SLIDESHOW

2010-02-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

I put together a slideshow instead of writing a long Blog this time (not an easy task because I'm not so good at this high tech stuff). There are a few pictures of friends I wished I would have taken but didn't have my camera with me. No, that is not Dick in the red shirt. It's our friend Ed Trautwein who we met at Pancho Villa State Park. (Hi Ed - now you're famous!!) Dick's Blog will catch you up on what we've been up to since our last update. We are still enjoying the trip and the cats are still with us. They can't believe the size of these jackrabbits out here. They're bigger than the cats!!

DICK'S BLOG CLICK HERE

THE DICK AND GAILA CECIL B. DeMALLERY SHOW

RV LIVING

2010-02-12T16:21:00.000-08:00

"Normal day - let us be aware of the treasure you are. Let us learn from you, love you, savor you, bless you before you depart. Let us hold you while we may...!" - Mary Jean Irion

We decided to head into south eastern Arizona to visit some areas that we’ve enjoyed in the past. Bizbee (top photo), Patagonia, Madera Canyon and the Chiricahua Mtns near Portal (bottom photo), were at the top of the list. I’ve had several of my blog followers ask questions on what it’s been like living and traveling in an RV. I’ve decided to dedicate this update to talking about what these past months have been like for me and answering your questions. Someone asked if I’ve been homesick at all. Yes, there have been those days. I miss friends and family, the State and Elk Rapids Theaters, and Oryana Co-op. I haven’t missed my home or beautiful downtown Traverse City, because I know it’s covered with snow and ice, but I look forward to being back to my creek and the beautiful Grand Traverse Bay area when everything starts to turn green and blossom again. I miss the variety of things I do when I’m home. I miss our daughter. She has been in Washington all winter (Blog entry 9/22/09), but when she returns to Traverse City in April, I will be eager to get back so I can spend time with her again. In the meantime, I have enjoyed getting out of the snow for a few months. I think 4 months is enough if we do this again next year. Leaving after the holidays would be better. I like the snow through Christmas and I look forward to Spring.

I’ve always enjoyed traveling and exploring new areas, it’s in my blood. We’ve taken several trips through the years in this 27 foot motor home so I’m used to living in a small space for several months at a time. You would be amazed at the size of some of these rigs that people travel in these days. Dick said some of them range in price from $300,000 to $500,000. They don’t have any more amenities than I do, except for space and a washer and dryer (yes, you read it right). I’m content with my little motor home. Like I said in an earlier blog, we have to be organized and keep things in their place otherwise it's called "clutter". We don’t need much, so storage space is not a problem. We have our two cats with us. It would be easier with just one but we wouldn’t leave one behind. It’s good having a pet along to hug. Traveling with a cat is easier than a dog. A dog has to go outside at night and early in the morning, and often times the mornings are a bit chilly. Someone asked where we kept the litter box. We have the perfect spot under the bed. There is a storage door from the inside that we prop open and there is a door to this space from the outside which makes it easy for cleaning.

Someone also asked about showers and laundry. We have a separate shower which is small, but you only need enough elbow room to stand and wash yourself. As far as laundry, we each have enough changes of clothing and extra sheets, so we can go up to two weeks without needing a Laundromat. I also try to get a two week supply of food when we get to a city. Buying organic isn't easy. I don't find many health food stores and none that compare to Traverse City's Oryana, so either a large supermarket or Walmart will have to do. The kitchen area is small but there is an order to doing things that we’ve adapted to quite well. We just keep it simple but make the presentation elegant. Mornings are my favorite time to sit with a cup of coffee and watch the sunrise. We have a picture window next to our dining table and have been fortunate to park where we look out at the beautiful canyons, desert and/or mountains. We stayed in one privately owned RV park this winter and did not enjoy that because we had to look out at another RV on both sides. We try to stay in National or State run campgrounds.
Someone asked how do I get by without electricity when we boondock camp, which we do most of the time. I have only used a curling iron once since we left home. I pull my hair up into a ponytail most of the time. I've learned how to make great toast on an iron skillet on the stove burner. I do without the electric toothbrush and just brush harder with a manual one. We do have a generator that we use only to run the vacuum. Dick put a solar panel on the roof and it works great for charging the battery to run lights and heater. It's amazing what you can do without.

We have made several friends along the way. It’s great when we have someone else to talk to. Dick is very entertaining and interesting, but I like to talk with other people too. We did look up our friends from Traverse City, Melissa and Angelo Poli, who now live in Green Valley near where we stayed in Madera Canyon, AZ. We had the best time. We also visited with a couple from Illinois we met while camping in Texas. It was so great connecting with all of them. Now we are back at Pancho Villa State Park in New Mexico where we have met some characters. We fit right in.

We have an Alltel Wireless Stick which gives us a computer connection wherever there is cell phone service. Keeping in touch through email and Facebook really makes a difference for me. Also, we can get the news and hear what’s going on in the world. I haven’t missed not having television. We don’t watch it much at home anyway. It’s amazing how busy we are, yet it's a relaxing lifestyle most of the time. We enjoy hiking, playing cards, watching DVD’s, bird watching and reading to name a few. Dick has enjoyed writing his blogs and always has a story to tell. I was hoping Dick would do more hiking without me because I feel we both need some time apart. I agree with a comment another RVer said, “You have to go outside to change your mind.”

Someone wrote, “How lucky you are to have Dick to travel with - much nicer to have a fun companion than a grouch!” Well, I just have to say that you are so right, but Dick is lucky to have me to travel with too.
P.S. If you have more questions feel free to email me at glmallery@gmail.com

DICK'S STORIES BELOW:
RV Parking Rage
Border Patrol
Dr. R.V. Shrink

INTO NEW MEXICO

2010-01-29T17:43:00.000-08:00

Heading west from Marathon, Texas, we stocked up in Alpine and experienced more winds and cold weather camping in Ft Davis and the Guatalupe Mtns. We've been told these are abnormally low temps for this time of year and we hear it's the same all across the southern US. We were so pleased when we had a couple sunny days at Balmorhea State Park. There is a beautiful spring fed swimming pool at Balmorhea,with water temperatures of around 72-76 degrees; still too cool for us to get into the water, but we enjoyed all the aquatic wildlife.

Just before reaching New Mexico we stayed at Hueco Tanks State Park. We were in for a treat. There was a line of cars waiting to get into the park with license plates from all over the country. Then we started seeing large rectangular pads with legs walking towards the trails. I stopped a couple of guys and asked what the pads were for. They explained that these are crash pads for "bouldering" and this is one of the world's premiere bouldering areas. We had never heard of it. It is very interesting to see. The rock formations here are so unusual, and besides Dick's escapade with the campground host, it was very peaceful.

Bouldering at Hueco Tanks State Park
We've been having problems with our refrigerator so decided to stop at Camping World in El Paso to talk to the service department. We ended up talking with a salesman whose father had owned the airstream dealership in El Paso during the 60's and, like Dick, his family traveled with an Airstream when he was a kid and attended several of the same Airstream rallies - Hershey, PA, Seattle etc... The reminiscing went on for over an hour. It was late so we decided to stay overnight in the Texas Welcome Center across the street. My parents had been there and said it had 24 hour security guard and cameras. We never stay in rest areas because of all the truck traffic and noise, but the RVers even had their own area to park. All went well. The next day we headed over into New Mexico and stopped at their Welcome Center to get some info. It was really nice and we said we should have stayed there. A few days later we read about a January 4 murder at the Anthony, New Mexico Welcome Center. Well, that did it for me. I will never stay at a rest area or Welcome Center again - even if it says Security! It's not worth it and I would never rest anyway.

Dick and I were both reading a historical novel about Pancho Villa. So we headed for Pancho Villa State Park, in the town of Columbus on the border of Mexico. Reading this book beforehand made our visit to the museum more interesting. In 1916, the Mexican Revolutionaries under the leadership of Pancho Villa raided the small town of Columbus. Every year, as an expression of goodwill and friendship between the US and Mexico, up to 100 riders on horseback from Mexico cross the border and are joined by American riders and parade through the streets of Columbus and into the park.

We had heard two stories, good and bad, about crossing the border into Palomas, Mexico. I asked the park ranger and a friend from Michigan who used to be a campground host here and they both said it was no problem. They both highly recommended going to The Pink Store for lunch which is within a block after you cross the border. We enjoyed the food, the people and the atmosphere.
P olomas and The Pink Store
It's amazing the difference a few short steps mean economically, socially and politically. A line in the sand marks the stark contrast between two varied types of governments and the way people live. As we crossed the border back into the US, the song by John Lennon came to mind. No war, hate nor poverty, only peace. Everywhere you look along the border you will see Border Patrol vehicles. We've had to go through several checkpoints, answer questions and be sniffed by dogs.
We planned to only stay a night or two at Pancho Villa State Park but ended up staying eight days. Out our picture window we watched the Gamble's quail running through the cactus landscape with a view of the Tres Hermanas and Cedar Mountains in the distance. The sunrises and sunsets were beautiful. The main street of Columbus is within walking distance of the park where there is a post office, library and a couple cafes. Besides places to beautiful places to hike, and peace and quiet, these are the only requirements I need to enjoy an area. A movie theatre would be nice but we did get a library card for free and borrowed movies on DVD. The library even let us keep a book Dick is reading and said to just return it when we're back in the area. So it's on to Portal, Arizona and another adventure.

Imagine theres no countries

It isn’t hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace...

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world...

You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will live as one -- John Lennon

BIG BEND COUNTRY

2010-01-16T18:48:00.000-08:00

“The stars lean so close that if one stood tiptoe on the highest hill he might grasp at least one star in his tingling fingers. ......We should be able to glimpse eternity through those spark holes in the blanket of the long night. Perhaps we do. Where else is such order, such an eternal pattern, as in those stars that light the winter sky?” - Hal Borland

After stopping at a car wash to remove all the Padre Island salt and sand from our motor home, we traveled west stopping in Laredo to stock up on groceries and do laundry. We were definitely the minority. It seemed like the only English speaking people were the staff at the campgrounds. Our Spanish is limited but hola an gracias seemed to be enough. The last two weeks of December is an ongoing festivity along the border -- lots of parties in the campground with family and friends. Dick said there were many broken pinatas in the dumpsters and every evening we watched fireworks. To celebrate our thirty-fifth wedding anniversary on December 28, we satisfied our Mexican food craving at Palenque Grill in Laredo. We both agree the best gift to each other is this five month trip.

I love the cactus covered, wide open spaces of Texas. We now and then drive by an entrance to a ranch and pass through several, what appear to be, ghost towns. After Del Rio we crossed the beautiful Pecos River and, of course, had to stop in Langtry to visit the museum in honor of Judge Roy Bean “law west of the Pecos.” http://www.historictexas.net/valverde/people/judgeroybean.html

We then moseyed on to Seminole Canyon State Park where we hiked 7 miles and had lunch overlooking the Rio Grande River. We watched a beautiful full moon (the blue moon) light up the clear sky, and settled in for a night of fierce winds. We have had many nights of Texas winds. There are times we feel like we’re in a boat during a storm, but it eventually rocks us to sleep. We’ve had freezing temps several nights, but the sun warms everything up into the 60‘s or 70‘s during the day. Locals are saying they haven’t seen it this cold in over 20 years.

We traveled south out of Marathon (pronounced Marathin out here) heading for Big Bend National Park. We liked Marathon so much we visited again on our way out of the park. On a whim we took a side trip down to the Stillwell Ranch. We'd heard about the legendary Hallie Stillwell, a pioneer woman who married a cowboy who owned the 4L Ranch (4 L's in Stillwell in case you didn't figure it out). In 1997, she died at age 99. There is a campground and an old general store. The campground isn't much but it was not a wasted trip because we enjoyed meeting the granddaughter who now runs the place. She handed us a key to Hallie's Hall of Fame museum and told us to shut off the lights and lock it up when we were done. The museum and the hour long documentary honors this interesting woman. http://stillwellstore.com/hall-of-fame/

The park personnel asked us to keep Big Bend National Park a secret. It is very remote and the least visited National Park. It's difficult for me to keep a place as unique as this a secret, but I understand their reasoning. It is called Big Bend country because it is located at the Bend of the Rio Grande River which divides the US from Mexico. The park shares 118 miles with Mexico. The bird watching is great. The roadrunners were everywhere, and a site to see was the Vermillion (fire red orange) Flycatcher sitting in the morning sun just outside our window. Again, the coyotes were lurking around and hoping for a cat dinner. The only other wildlife we saw were the javelinas and deer. Big Bend’s night skies are so clear and with no light pollution the milky way and stars are intense. It was paradise sitting in the hot springs along the rushing Rio Grande River. The white throated swifts were thick as mosquitoes swooping over our heads and over the river and canyon walls. Best of all were all the beautiful hikes and places we explored.

My parents decided to try out their new camper and traveled from Arizona to camp with us at Big Bend for a couple of days. We had fun visiting and playing cards. Mom resupplied us with food before they left knowing we wouldn’t be near a grocery store for a while. The nearest town was over 100 miles away. We are hoping to camp together again in southern Arizona.

After nearly two weeks, we finally pried ourselves away from the park knowing there are more wonderful places to explore ahead.
Click here to read Dick's Blog

TEXAS TREASURE

2009-12-27T14:10:00.000-08:00

"I learned early that the richness of life is found in adventure. Adventure calls on all the faculties of mind and spirit. It develops self-reliance and independence. Life then teems with excitement. But man is not ready for adventure unless he is rid of fear. For fear confines him and limits his scope. He stays tethered by strings of doubt and indecision and has only a small and narrow world to explore." - William O. Douglas Of Men and Mountains
Texas is a different world. Driving through Houston, Dick was singing "Happiness is Houston,Texas in the Rearview Mirror". We noticed a couple of things that probably only happen in Texas. A sign on a library door that read "NO FIREARMS ALLOWED", and another at a little store "FRESH COON FOR SALE". I went into a feed store in a little Texan town and they were giving away camoflage drink holders. I said, "no thank-you". I should have taken it. I remembered someone who would love it for his birthday. While driving the expressway through Corpus Christi we witnessed the police trying to round up a loose steer at a shopping center. It is open range here isn't it? I was behind a couple at a grocery store buying something that looked like packaged lard. I asked them what it was and they explained it was the cow's stomach or tripe. "It's great!" they said. "You slice it up and cook it with beans and chilies and it's delicious." They added that they eat every part of the cow - TMI.
We traveled along the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail where we visited Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and then on to Padre Island National Park. All along the coast the bird watching was great. Besides the Whooping Crane, another first for me was the Caracara (the Mexican Eagle). I love the white and brown pelicans and the many migrating shorebirds. Around 380 bird species have been documented here. When I asked Dick about what kind of Terns we were seeing, he said, "They're either Wrongs or Rights or they could be U's." This is what it's like traveling with this guy. You should hear him when we're playing cards - he has an Italian accent one night, Mexican another. I keep telling him I prefer Irish. I think he does this to distract me so he can win.
Traveling to Padre Island National Park we turned on the wrong road because of our GPS. This time after Dick yelled at it, he apologized because we ended up at a free ferry crossing to the island. It saved us a lot of miles in traffic and it was a beautiful ride with schools of dolphins playing all around the ferry. Padre Island was great. We stayed nearly two weeks. We visited this place in 1979 and parked our car and trailer on the beach but we weren't so sure we'd do that again. If you want to read about our 1979 visit CLICK HERE

At first Dick said, "No way will I drive our rig out there." Then he decided to do it after watching others. It is hard to believe that you can drive out on the sand and not get stuck. We had equal amounts of rainy and cold days and sunny and warm days. We stayed in the campground for a few days then moved to the beach. We watched the waves and sunrises right out the motor home window. Two storms forced us back to the safety of the campground where the winds rocked the motor home all night. The Texas coast is noted for its heavy rain squalls. It was nice to be back in the shelter of the campground because most of the RVs were decorated for Christmas and it was Christmas Eve.
The National Park embraces close to 70 miles of sandy beaches with a variety of shells and birds and we loved watching the Ghost Crabs. We were told by the ranger the best time to see the crabs is at night. So we went out with a flashlight and watched and waited for quite awhile but saw nothing. We commented that the ranger didn't know what she was talking about because we saw more in the daytime. As we turned around to head back to the motor home, there in our path was a huge crab watching us. We also startled a big buck that ran in front of us. I picked up a couple sand dollars and brought them into the motor home to dry out. Funny Face started acting weird. She slunk low to the ground, acting like there was a lose snake under the chairs. We were looking under everything when I finally thought of the sand dollars and put them back outside. Then she acted normal again. We were told the next day that the darker sand dollars were still alive. I felt terrible - that poor little creature.
One morning it was calm enough to watch a few dolphins off shore, but mostly the surf was a constant roar. There were a pair of coyotes that came down to the beach a couple times a day. We never figured out what they were after. We couldn't let Sheba out on her leash alone because we didn't want to reel her rope in and find only a collar at the end - or a coyote.
There is a sad side to this little piece of paradise. There is a lot of trash that washes up on the beach. We were told that the predominant southeast wind drives the currents in the Gulf of Mexico to this location in the Northwest corner. As a result, anything that falls or is tossed into the Gulf eventually ends up here. Trying to keep all these miles of beach cleaned up is never ending. SHORELINE CLEANUP
Slowing down and being one with nature makes you wonder about things you see every day but you don't take time to understand. There were nights the sky was so dark and the constellations so clear. To think that we used to navigate by them and tell time by them. Or seeing the changes in the tides and learning how the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun affects the tide level.
Padre Island National Park was a wonderful place to spend the holidays and if the sun would have continued to shine, we may still be there. We decided we'd better head away from the ocean spray or we may begin to rust.
Link to Dick's Blog PADRE ISLAND NATIONAL PARK

MIGRATING SOUTH

2009-12-10T16:27:00.000-08:00

“When I die I want my heart and soul fully seeded with rich stories and experiences.” - Dawna Markova

Dick and I left home November 30 beating the first snow in northern Michigan. We would have waited until after Christmas if Maggie would have been home, but we were grateful that she decided, since she had just been home in November, she’d rather fly down to meet us somewhere warm this winter instead. We’ll never forget the time we left Michigan in January 1978 and got off the expressway in Kentucky not realizing the off ramps and side roads were glare ice. The 30 foot travel trailer we were hauling started to pass us on the left. Fortunately, we straightened it out by using the hand brake. A wrecker had to get us back out to the expressway!

To get into the spirit of the holidays, I have decorated the motor home a little bit with red candles and a vase of red berries and greenery from the woods, and I belt out a Christmas carol now and then.

We arrived in Nashville, TN, after driving two days, to begin a week of exploring the Natchez Trace from Nashville, TN to Natchez, MS. A beautiful National Scenic Parkway that has preserved our nation’s natural and cultural heritage. http://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm

Whenever we start a trip it takes a few days to decompress. Going from a busy lifestyle to becoming a laid back RVer can take some getting used to - believe it or not. Being together practically 24/7 is an adjustment. Keeping this small space clean is easy but we do have to be more organized living in 30’ motor home. Laundry is much less. At home I do a load every day but on the road it’s once a week. There are many changes from home, but after a while we get into the swing of things. Because of this life style we have more time to read and write. When we have a phone connection we can watch the news on the computer. We are not big TV watchers anyway. We play cards which we never do when we’re home, and we hike in a different place every day. Some of my favorites along the trace was visiting the grave of Meriwether Lewis, seeing the fields of cane and cotton, the bayous and the beautiful Magnolia trees (the MS. State tree and flower), visiting the town of Kosciusko, MS. just off the Trace, where Oprah was born and raised, touring the Mount Locus Stand (one of the oldest buildings in MS. dating back to 1780), and hiking where my Choctaw ancestors at one time lived (a spiritual experience for sure). We visited several of the towns just off the parkway. My favorite was the city of Natchez. Driving through downtown felt like we were on a movie set. Many huge southern plantation mansions. Before the Civil War there were 35 millionaires in the U.S. and Natchez had 12 of them. We toured Melrose Mansion and reading the history of slavery in an exhibit there was moving. http://www.visitnatchez.com/

I love listening to the southern accent in this part of the country. The blacks seem to have a different southern slang than the whites. It’s so amazing to listen to these southerners, but sometimes difficult to understand. Another thing I notice is everyone is laid back and friendly.

We have made friends with a couple from Ontario who we met the first evening at a campground on the Trace. We keep meeting up with them along the way which has been fun. They talked us into camping at a casino in La. We live four miles from one in Michigan and never go there but decided to go in and check it out. We were in the mood for some good Cajun cuisine but the menu prices were outrageous. We lost $15 in the slots in just a few minutes and left smelling like smoke. We just can’t figure out what the attraction is. We did think it was great how someone kept offering us free drinks. I made cajun rice & beans in the motor home and I won at a game of cards. Now that’s more like it.

Our two cats are with us. Funny Face did jump out of the motor home one afternoon and explored the whole campground. She finally came home after dark. I’m not sure how she knew which RV was hers. We told her she better be careful or she’ll end up being a southern cat and living in the bayou.

It has only been warm enough one night to open our windows. We keep traveling south and hope it warms up soon. We watch the weather up north and Dick is so happy he doesn’t have to shovel snow.

Ya’ll take care now, ya hear?

DICK'S BLOG BEATING THE BLIZZARD

BROKEN DOWN IN THE BADLANDS

2009-10-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

When we visited the Badlands National Park a couple weeks ago it reminded me of the time we were stranded there during the fall of 1990. Dick had written the experience down and published it in The Dick E. Bird News. I thought it would be fun to share the article because it is quite comical. Click on The Praying Mechanic link below.

The Praying Mechanic

BACK HOME!

2009-10-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

The winds were atrocious for two days as we traveled across the Great Plains and into Minnesota on I-90. Dick had to fight the wheel as the wind hit us broadside. There were areas of construction where the westbound lanes of the expressway were closed, and narrowed down to two lanes, so whenever a westbound semi passed us it would suck us in and blow us off the side of the road. The American flags were flying stiff. The Great Plains is referred to as America's wind corridor and contribute substantially to wind power in the United States. We saw turbine powered windmills from South Dakota into Minnesota.

People in this area must be acclimated to the wind and other conditions. We are always amazed at stories of early settlers who were lured to these open spaces by the offer of free or inexpensive land and tried to make a living.

In Minnesota, It was interesting to see the kestrel birdhouses mounted on the back of the highway signs along I-90, as part of a program to help the declining kestrel population. We would also see large flocks of redwing blackbirds in the sunflower fields. They're fattening up for fall migration. The farmers are allowed to kill these birds if they're eating their crops. How ironic -- they're growing the crops to sell as birdseed but they are killing the birds because they're eating the seed in the fields. learner.org/jnorth/tm/rwbb/RedwingPoisoning.html

The trees were just beginning to turn and the sun was shining as we traveled across Hwy 2 along the shores of Lake Michigan. We love northern Michigan but it sure would be nice if it was a little closer to the mountains. We stopped at a rest area along the lake and parked behind a caravan of RVers with Idaho license plates. They were all taking pictures and walking the beach in awe. We take for granted how unique our great lakes are and how fortunate we are to live surrounded by them. It truly is a wonder of the world. When whenever we see the Mackinaw Bridge we know we're on the home stretch. Even our cats were acting different today. They must have smelled home in the air.

For those of you going on a color tour of northern Michigan I highly recommend taking Hwy.

119 out of Harbor Springs, through the Tunnel of Trees to Cross Village, and make sure you check out the Bliss General store. Even though the trees weren't showing their peak colors it was still a nice route home.

It's hard to believe we traveled 5,500 miles in thirty days. We have lots of good memories and many new friends. When we first start a trip it takes a few days to get into the swing of things. Being with your spouse 24/7 can be a challenge but after a while it's not so bad. Finding your way around some areas can be difficult. There are times when you get lost, or miss a turn, or turn onto a dead end or a parking lot too small to turn around. For a motorhome pulling a car that is not good. But, you learn to roll with the punches. We don't have one of the fancy motorhomes with laundry, large kitchen and all the amenities of home, so it can be like roughing it sometimes -- but you get used to it. At least we're not in a tent. We've learned to always read the check list after stopping for a while. Once you've forgotten to lock the refrigerator, and food flies everywhere, you learn fast. It's amazing how much more we read, write and relax when there is no television. We've taken the time to write a blog and it has connected us to so many people. And that has been rewarding. Now that we have everything figured out, we would like to keep going and head to warmer climates but it's back to reality, we'll get used to it. Its good to be home.

"Man, being man and an ambulatory creature with a degree of restlessness in his blood, must be up and gone from time to time. He must go, if only to assure himself that the horizon has no boundary. What are hills for if not to have a farther side? But once one has gone, one must come back. And that is the final satisfaction of the trip, whether it is a vacation or just a journey -- the return itself. The homecoming." -- Hal Borland

Dick’s Comments:
Once we left the Badlands National Park I felt our pilgrimage to America’s wild places was over. There are few National Parks between South Dakota and home and none that we had time to visit. It was hammer down directly east. I was looking forward to a color tour across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan but we arrived a few days too early. Jack Frost was just beginning to get his brilliant palette fired up. We finished the trip the same way we started with a pasty at our favorite roadside rest area along Little Traverse Bay, south of Petoskey, Michigan. It was a real pasty too! Anyone can make a pasty but to be a true Yooper pasty it has to come from someone with an attitude. When Gaila bought these two it was from an Escanaba woman with veins of lard and ice water for blood. Every time Gaila would ask a question she would answer, but she had that look on her face that screamed out contempt. I knew she was thinking, “Ask me one more question and I’ll break your legs, eh.”

NATIONAL PARKS

2009-09-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

When we visit the National Parks we feel like we're home. Since our last blog entry, we drove to Devils Tower in Wyoming; America's first National Monument. In previous traveling years we've skirted this place but never visited. In the middle of mostly flat country is this huge rock, jutting out of the earth, measuring 867 ft from its base and 1000 ft in diameter. You may remember seeing it in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. We camped below it in a quiet little campground in the curve of the Belle Fourche River. In the evening we went to a ranger talk and in the dark someone pointed out a light on the side of Devils Tower. These were climbers that apparently had miscalculated their time and the ranger said they were also repelling down the most difficult side. More than 5,000 climbers come here every year from all over the world to ascend the massive columns. There are rescue rangers on duty but the one assigned for that day went to bed; tired of waiting for them to reach the bottom. According to the ranger they would have heard them yell or received a call from their cell phone if they had a problem.
After 35 years of marriage, Dick and I still have communication problems. His plan was "to walk the 1-1/2 miles to the visitor center and then take the loop around the tower." What he didn't say was we'd be hiking 1-1/2 miles of switchbacks up the side of a mountain to get there. I must admit it was a beautiful climb looking back down over the valley and the river. I'm actually getting better at this uphill climbing. I've acclimated to the higher elevation and I've hiked many trails on this trip that have strengthened my up hill climbing muscles.
Devils Tower is also a sacred site to American Indian tribes throughout the U.S. We saw several prayer bundles along the trail. I really wanted to stay longer but we decided we'd better keep going since we need to be home in a week and we still have so much we want to see.
We traveled next to Wind Cave National Park in Wyoming, seeing lots of wildlife - buffalo, prairie dogs, elk, turkeys, mule and white tail deer, antelope, mountain bluebirds etc.... We went to the evening program and the energetic ranger tells the audience of around 40 people that she would like us to follow her by car to a prairie where we could listen to the elk bugling. As we walked out into this field in the dark, we passed buffalo and walked around prairie dog holes, and then everyone sat very still under the stars and listened to the bugling in the distance. One of the reasons we love the National Parks so much is the ranger led walks and talks. We learn so much and we meet great people. So this leads me to the best part of the bugling experience. As you know, from Dick's last blog, the starter on the Saturn is shot. After too many arguments trying to push start it, we have decided to just keep it hooked up to the motorhome until we get home. Consequently, we needed a ride to the prairie bugling. A couple, who recently moved to South Dakota from Louisiana, willingly volunteered. After an evening of talking and laughing to and from the prairie, we exchanged contact information and Robin even had Dick take a picture of she and I for her Facebook. Great people. It reminded us that oftentimes good things come from bad situations. I didn't mind that our Saturn wasn't starting.
We were up before sunrise and the prairie dogs so we could see wildlife as we headed for the Badlands National Park. A unique beauty of its own, this place is located in southwestern South Dakota, and consists of nearly 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires with a grass prairie mixed in. It's hard to believe there is anything living in this arid place but it is home to so much wildlife.
This is the last national park on this trip. Now we are looking forward to getting to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and enjoying the beautiful fall colors, but know we have three long days of driving to get there.

Dick's Comments: Coming out of Cody, Wyo. I again tested the motorhome transmission getting up, over and through the Big Horn Mountains. That type of climbing sucks the petro, but worth the price of admission. We love the little town of Ten Sleep at the base of the Big Horns. Ten Sleep got its name by being ten sleeps (nights) between the Great Sioux Camps and the Platte River to the South, and the northern camp located near Bridger, Montana. We always feel like we have arrived home when we enter National Parkland. Devils Tower was no exception. We are so incredibly fortunate that these areas were set aside and protected for generations to come.

Besides the vast array of wildlife viewing opportunities in Wind Cave National Park and Custer State Park in the Black Hills region of South Dakota, the caves themselves are fun to explore with a ranger. We didn’t do a cave tour on this trip, but instead spent our time hunting for wildlife.

It is so easy to start friendships when traveling. This trip has been no exception. We met an interesting family at Devils Tower who travel, home school their daughter and publish a magazine “Airtstream Life” online and in print.

Another couple we met in Wind Cave became fast friends. In a short span of time we got acquainted, plus pulled over by park police. Dave and Robin and their lab puppy, Dakota, are avid hunters, especially bow hunting. Robin was telling us how she met Dave in a taxidermist shop. She actually set him up. “In hunting circles,” Dave says, “it’s called baiting.” Robin’s girlfriend ran the taxidermy shop. Robin had her eye on Dave and told her girlfriend to call if he showed up in the shop. The call came in and Robin made a 911 whistle-run for the taxidermy shop. It only took one of cupid’s arrows from her quiver to bag her buck. The rest is history. We laughed so hard our sides hurt.

The park police pulled us over because a headlight was out. None of us had seat-belts on, Robin gave the officer expired proof of insurance and Dakota just wanted to lick him. He didn’t ticket us but we were so confused we missed the campground turnoff in the dark. I think we could make a lot more friends if we didn’t haul a car around with us.

A trip out this way would not be complete without a traditional stop at “Wall Drug” and a loop through the Badlands. Our weather has been almost perfect on this trip but we were blown into the Badlands National Park. The wind and storms can be ferocious in the plains and especially here it seems. The last time we camped in Badlands National Park we watched a large troop of Boy Scouts take shelter in their vehicles as they watched their tents blow across the prairie like tumbleweeds. It comes with the territory I guess. A good place to earn your Long Tent Stake Merit Badge. --Keep Smilin

DICK'S JUMP OR SWIM STORY

MIGRATING EAST

2009-09-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

The best part of our trip to Crater Lake National Park was the Oregon Scenic Byway heading east out of Roseburg. It was much needed after taking traffic congested Interstate 5 from Anacortes. Another remarkable thing about Oregon was they still pump your gas and wash your windshield. Something I hadn't seen in years.

Touring Crater Lake National Park (Caldera Lake) with my sister and her husband for four days was great. They traveled from Foresthill, CA which was about a seven hour drive for them. The last time the guys had been together was in 1999 when Pat and Kathy and their two kids drove to Henry’s Lake, Idaho when Dick was hiking the Continental Divide Trail. So it was catch up time. Crater Lake is incredible. When I saw this huge deep crater, filled with water of the most beautiful shade of blue, my first expression was “this is amazing.” It is the deepest lake in the U.S. and is an incredible sight to see. The four of us explored the park by foot and car. Driving in some areas of the park you are right on the edge with no guard rails. It was especially scary driving those two lane roads in the motorhome. We played lots of games, ate lots of food, enjoyed campfire talks and so much more. We vowed to see each other at least once a year from now on.

On the next leg of our trip we drove two long days to reach the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks in Wyoming. Driving east through Oregon and Idaho we stayed off the expressways as much as we could. Miles of mountainous areas through Oregon leading into flat onion and potato country and then into the mountains again. The aspen trees are a beautiful golden color and are so beautiful among the deep dark green of the pines.
Just thought you'd like to know, the cats are still with us.

Click Here for Dick's Comments -- See Sept. 25th 2009

SIX DAYS WITH MAGGIE

2009-09-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

Our visit with our daughter, Maggie, was great. For those of you who do not know, in May she sent emails, inquiring about work, to several B & B’s in the San Juan area of Washington. Out of those that responded there was one in Anacortes called The Ship House B & B that she decided was perfect for her. http://www.shiphouseinn.com/tour/index.htm She was so excited but I was a little worried. You know how mothers can be. Being the adventurous and brave spirit she is, she flew out on June 17. Now it looks as if she’ll stay indefinitely. We understand why. The man she works for, Oggie, is special. The two of them make a good team running the B & B. He and his wife, Bette, are very kind and take good care of her. She is part of the family now. There was never a dull moment the six days we visited. Maggie stayed busy cooking and cleaning but when there were no guests there was plenty of time for sight-seeing with her parents. She loves the town and has made so many friends. We ate at a couple of her favorite places but also had some great seafood meals at the B & B. The Ship House B & B sits high on a cliff overlooking the ocean and the San Juan Islands. WOW - what an amazing view and sunsets. Maggie and I had mother and daughter time too. We went berry picking and enjoyed berries everyday. They seem to be bigger and more abundant out west. Visiting over coffee is one of our favorite things to do and she took me to a coffee shop she loves “The Supreme Bean.” We had hoped to take a ferry to Orcas Island but only fit in one ferry trip to Guemes Island where we went beach combing for agates. It was difficult saying good-bye but knowing how happy she is and seeing she is in a good place made it easier. The next morning we headed south to Oregon to meet up with my sister and brother-in-law in Crater Lake National Park.

Dick’s Comments:

What a great time we had in Anacortes. I was just getting into “Island Time” when we had to leave. I guess when you live on an island you begin to move like a sloth. I think it might be the ferry schedule, you have to get used to waiting. It’s a tough life. I slept in a hammock overlooking the best sunset in all of North America. I told Oggie I was his backup. Every time I climbed out of the hammock I said, “Hey Oggie, I’m back up!” One of Oggie’s favorite lines when he wants to rest is, “I’m going to measure my bed.”

They fed us like Kings and made us feel like family. Oggie is a real captain. He goes “garage sailing” every Friday. You should see the treasure he comes home with. The Ship House is all decked out in a nautical theme and I spent several days constantly discovering new things. Bette is a real sweetheart and Maggie loves helping her. We had six days of laughter. Maggie was always doing her Julia Child’s impersonation in the kitchen, especially the wine drinking part. A trip to the Ship House wouldn’t be complete without meeting “Popeye” and we did--Steve actually, a good friend of Oggie and Bette who visits often and brings all kinds of goodies and helps wherever he can. He has been helping Oggie build on to the B&B for a long time. I wanted to warn him before I left that Oggie bought 1400 bricks at a garage sale last week. Enough to build a new “Brick Ship House.”

We also met many of Maggie’s new friend’s, Elena, Casey and Billy.

Just before we arrived Maggie’s good friend Kelly moved out to Anacortes from Michigan and is rooming with Maggie and working in town at an Italian restaurant. Maggie is glad to have her aboard. It would take a lot more than six days to truly explore this area, but we did fit a lot in.

MONTANA AND MORE

2009-09-17T12:22:00.000-07:00

While Dick was backpacking for three days in Glacier NP, I enjoyed some alone time. I took a short hike through the campground and watched a mother black bear with her three cubs eating berries. Believe me, I wasn’t too close, they were specks on a mountainside. I went to a couple campfire programs. It was wonderful sitting outdoors in the evening, overlooking Lake McDonald with the mountains as a backdrop, listening to the stories and songs by Jack Gladstone, a Blackfoot Indian www.jackgladstone.com We heard him for the first time when we were here in 1997. His music is magical.

Another evening a ranger (Pat Hagan) stripped down (he did an actual strip show) to a goat costume and gave a talk on what a mountain goat’s life is like - a very humorous and entertaining evening I must say. We were parked at Medicine Lake CG when Dick left on the hike but he planned to hike down to the Southwest corner of the park so I moved down to West Glacier. Driving the motorhome with the Saturn in tow was a piece of cake. After driving it for five months when he hiked the CDT in 1999, it was like second nature. The weather was damp and cold and windy part of the time and I wondered what it must be like for Dick up in the higher elevations. I kept reassuring myself that if he hiked 3,800 miles from Mexico to Canada he could handle any kind of weather. I was also concerned because he was going to search for the body of the young man who never returned after backpacking last summer. GREAT! My parents planned to camp nearby until he returned and then head south for warmer weather. I cooked one of Dick’s favorite meals and the four of us celebrated his return. The next morning we headed west stopping in Whitehorse to find our nephew, Kevin Mallery.

He is living and working out here and it was great taking a couple hours to catch up. We crossed into Idaho and found a great campground along the Priest River. We were so excited to see several owls perched on telephone poles along Hwy. 2. We weren’t sure what kind they were and asked our campground host, who was from Texas, if he knew what they were. He says, “Oh, those are Hoot owls.” It was tough keeping straight faces as we thanked him and walked away. So the next morning we drove a little slower and get a better look at them. With the daylight we could see they were fakes. Dick’s comment was, “Them ain’t hoot owls, them’s pole-out-the-butt owls.”

We took the scenic Hwy. 20 across Washington. Several mountain passes and scenic overlooks and it cuts through the beautiful North Cascades National Park which was a first for us. We were full-time RV’ers, working our way around the country, from 1978 to 1986, visiting 49 states, and there are still so many places we haven’t seen.

We made a rule never to drive after dark but as we got closer to Anacortes and Maggie we broke the rule AGAIN. We arrived at the campground around 8:30PM (as Dick says, “Dark:30”). There were no lights and it was so dark as we drove up the entrance road. It was a narrow, first gear, climb and we were wondering what we were getting into. It’s not always easy finding a spot to camp for our size motorhome with a car, especially in the dark. We didn’t want to have to unhook the car. All of a sudden out of nowhere a man with white hair and a flashlight was directing us into a pull through camping space. I thanked him for his help and we never saw him again. When I mentioned this to the campground ranger he wondered who that could have been. It must have been an angel helping us. When daylight came we saw how beautiful the place was. Lush, green and surrounded by huge Douglas Fur and Ponderosa Pines. This would be our home for the six days we visited Maggie.

Dick’s Glacier Hike Link

Dick’s How Not to Fill Your Propane Tank Lesson

Dick’s Washington State Hwy 20 Route Link

Dick’s Refrigeration 101 Link

GLACIAL PARADISE

2009-09-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

Dick loves to watch for the Empire Builder (Amtrak from Chicago to Seattle) as we cross the prairie. He has ridden that out to Glacier in the fall a couple times. I think his fascination with trains started when his Dad woke up the whole family one night to watch the Zephyr (Amtrak Chicago to LA) go past their Airstream on one of their western trips when he was a kid. He’s always talking about jumping a train. I think he must have been a hobo in one of his past lives. The tracks follow Hwy. 2 almost the whole trip and we did see the Empire Builder pass us a few times.

After a couple long days on the road, through the breadbasket of America, passing through the geographical center of North America, and then under the big sky of Montana, we finally made it to paradise. Glacier National Park is incredible. We hiked around Two Medicine Lake that began at our campground. The 8 mile trail went through beautiful spruce forests and fields of wildflowers. We even ate a few raspberries and thimble berries along the way. We visited with several other hikers so it took a few hours more than it should have. It’s always fun meeting people as we travel. This morning as we walked up to the ranger station we were greeted by a woman carrying her mug of coffee and walking her little poodle at the end of a leash. She says, “Where are the bears? That’s what I wanna know. I came all this way so I want a picture of a bear.” Dick says, “Just keep trolling with that dog and you might just find one.”

One interesting couple we met on the trail were from Switzerland and had traveled to the U.S. on a container ship. They landed in Jacksonville, FL., bought a small motorhome and have been traveling across the country. Next they go to LA, sell the motorhome and take another container ship to Australia. They said it wasn’t cheap, but like a floating hotel with great food.

We did meet up with my parents here and there along Hwy 2 and have connected again with them here at Glacier. They know where all the “FREE” campgrounds and dump stations are. They will be with us until Tuesday when we head west to Washington and they’ll head for California to visit my sister and brother.

**I’m reading a book The Children’s Blizzard by David Laskin, the author of Devil in the White City. While traveling through North Dakota where you see nothing for miles and miles it is hard to believe what took place in this region in the 1880’s. For those of you who like reading historical books, I recommend this one.

Dick’s Comments

Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes but North Dakota is the land of a billion pot holes. I mean that in a good way. They dot the farmland across the state and this time of the year as well as spring they are loaded with migrating ducks. There’s a thousand miles of wheat between Minnesota and the Rockies. It must have been amazing to travel this stretch of the globe in a covered wagon through tall grass that would hide an Indian on a paint pony.

Traveling in the Electronic Age. I spent a month before we left trying to figure out the best way to stay connected and able to run our book business on the road. I discovered what I pretty much already knew--the cell phone company plans are the next best thing to bank robbery. I finally decided on the lesser of several evils. It used to be, “The customer is always right.” The new motto for many corporations is “The customer is always stupid.” That’s probably why so many of them are going bankrupt. Our cell service is Altell which was bought out by Verizon. We ended up with an internet data card from Altell which turned out to be faster than the Charter Cable we HAD at home. Yes, we fired Charter. Now Gaila is chatting online with her sister in California while I’m driving across the plains of Montana. I can see from horizon to horizon and can’t pick out a single tower, yet she has big pipe internet service flowing through the laptop. Amazing. We grandfathered into Altell before the switch this fall to Verizon. Much better and cheaper data plans. I thought we would be going back to the old dial-up speed so this has been a pleasant surprise. We can use it on our home computer--IF WE COME HOME!

INTO THE PLAINS

2009-09-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

Gaila's Blog

We are starting to get into the rhythm of the road. Some of our old stomping grounds have changed with time. We always stay at a little city campground in Ironwood, MI, right on the Wisconsin border. This trip our quiet little knoll in the woods had turned into a dirt bike sound machine. The fairgrounds behind the campground is now a dirt bike track. Instead of bird sounds we enjoyed an evening of unmuffled muffler goosing. Then at 7A.M. it started again.

We are not moving too fast. Quaint little up north towns keep inviting us in to explore. One we really enjoyed was Ashland, WI. There was a mural walk which was an artistic trip through Ashland’s history. It was so cool. Make sure you click on all the pages to see all the amazing murals.

http://www.visitashland.com/interactive/mural_walk.php?mural=1

As we get closer to the plains the trees begin to shrink. Parts of Minnesota remind us of the Alaska Highway, very tundra looking.

Funny Face is beginning to adjust to traveling. She has only upchucked once and comes out of her burrow beneath the shower every time we make a pit stop.

Dick is a rambling commentary. We passed a sign on a motel today that said, “$35 a night with a sign below it that read JESUS SAVES.” Dick added, “Everyone else pays full price.”

We drove after dark last night for about an hour. Big mistake. The front of our nice clean motorhome now has a thick coating of kamikaze Minnesota bugs. We’re trying to catch up to my parents who are traveling in their camper. We figure they’re about 2 hours ahead of us and we’ll camp together tonight. They left Michigan two days before us and are heading for Glacier National Park too.

Dick's Comments

I have enjoyed the comments about the picture on Gaila’s Blog of the Mallery clan heading for Seattle in 1962. Yes, I was even good looking way back then. Gaila mentioned that trip being the beginning of my wanderlust, but it really began in 1957 at the age of 8 when my dad bought this Airstream directly from the factory in Jackson, Ohio. It was the beginning of many trips west with my family and Highway 2 across the northern spine of the country holds many memories for me. Several of them from the era of this picture. Pulling an Airstream travel trailer was kind of a novelty in those days. People would say, “What’s that tin can you’re hauling.” There were few commercial campgrounds back then. My dad would stop and ask small town businesses if we could park and plug into electricity. Often we camped at gas stations, but our favorites were the A&W Root Beer stands. We went through Bemidji, MN today. I remember sitting on the lap of Paul Bunyan and petting Babe the Blue Ox on that trip west. We never missed photo opportunities like that.

The convertible with the wings was a 1959 Buick. The trailer was a 1957, 22 ft, Airstream. The dog (Duke) was a mutt, mostly collie. We got him from Uncle Vic. We never did get a horse--if you’re reading this Victor. The kid next to me, who used to beat me up a lot, is my much older brother Tom. He’s a great sailor now, but still a lousy golfer.

SEATTLE OR BUST

2009-08-25T13:15:00.001-07:00

The above picture is Dick and his family leaving Pontiac, MI for Seattle, WA and the World’s Fair in 1962. It was taken by a Michigan Bell Telephone photographer who was doing a story on Dick’s dad Ernie who worked for the company. From L to R -Bea, Dick, Duke, Tom and Ernie). I think this is where Dick got his wanderlust.

We were all set to head out on our trip west today (Aug 31st--my birthday) and we were short one cat. Dick swore she had not jumped out while he was loading the motorhome. We spent a half-hour searching the whole rig and turned up no sign of Funny Face. I thought she wedged herself in a small space under the shower but Dick said no way could she fit in there. Oh well, if she bailed before we sailed that’s her problem. AWOL and on a mouse diet and living outdoors until we return.

We drove north about 45 minutes and stopped at a little rest area on the shores of Lake Michigan north of Charlevoix. There we had my birthday dinner. Pasties and wine, salad and a view. We toasted my birthday with a gift of wine from good friends in wine glasses designed and created by world renowned artist Richard A. Bruening of the Stained Glass Company in Acme. Etched into each glass was a picture of our motorhome and below that “On the road again.”

Getting a late start we only made it to Flowing Well NF Campground west of Manistique, off Hwy 2 where we took a peaceful three mile hike along the Sturgeon River, came home and had Elephant Tracks ice cream in place of a birthday cake, and then I received my final present for the day--get your mind out of the gutter. It was my missing cat. She finally surfaced once the motorhome stopped bouncing down the road.

CLICK FOR DICK HERE Dick on work release but still tethered