MICHIGAN TO WASHINGTON

As we traveled across Hwy 2 through North Dakota, Montana, Idaho and now Washington, a common sight and sound are trains transporting millions of barrels a day of crude oil from the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota and Eastern Montana. Black oil tankers, one after another, stretching as far as the eye can see. Many of the towns these trains travel through are not happy with the frequency of trains passing through which brings more noise and traffic jams but most of all concerns about the danger of a possible derailment.

We left Michigan just in time to miss the rains of early September and made it to Glacier National Park in time to enjoy a beautiful early fall snowstorm which lasted three days. We were fine with being holed up knowing that the temps would return to the 70's shortly.

While we were home this summer, my "handyman" (I used to go for "handsome" - now I go for "handy.") installed a quick release WAVE portable heater. We were thankful for the steady warmth it gave us. We had it on day and night during the below freezing weather - for just pennies an hour.

We moved up to St. Mary's Campground and set up a base camp while Dick went on a 4 day backpacking trip. I was warned of the bears frequenting the campground eating berries to help them fatten up for hibernation. I decided to take a bike ride and check out the campground. I was riding up Loop B which was closed to camping for the season. I couldn't believe my eyes when I came upon the biggest pile of bear scat I'd ever seen. I was nervous but decided I'd take my chances of being attacked because I just had to get a picture. As I rode the rest of the Loop I loudly announced "Hey Bear!" from that point on.

Of course, we had to make our yearly run to the Polebridge bakery for a bear claw. Dick is sitting on the front porch.  While enjoying our coffee and pastry a young man rode up on the bicycle you see on the right in the picture. It's called a penny-farthing. We were amazed to hear he was riding around the world on this thing. Click here to read about it: PENNY-FARTHING WORLD TOUR

A Penny-Farthing bike - I can't even imagine getting up on the seat let alone ride it!!

We kept hearing about Huckleberry pie and the best place was the Park Cafe. Since we were camped just down the road I decided to go buy us a couple pieces while Dick made a pot of coffee. As I sat down at the counter, the waiter asked if I needed a menu and I said, "No, I'd like two pieces of Huckleberry pie to go." He returned with two small pieces and said, "That will be $17.00".  I just about fell off my stool. I couldn't believe it! In total shock I asked, "How much for a WHOLE pie?"
He said, "$40.00".  I had a dilemma - if I went back to the motorhome with no pie, Dick would not be a happy camper so I bit my tongue and paid -- And I thought Traverse City pies were expensive!?

Kevin visited us at the campsite

While we were camped on the east side of the park we connected with our nephew, Kevin, and his friend, Shannan, who live in Whitefish.

Kevin Mallery and Shannan Michael 

After two weeks at Glacier we headed west on Hwy 2. A year ago, while at Glacier we met a couple who wanted to go on a long day hike but didn't want to leave their dog in their RV all day. We needed a "dog fix" so we offered to dog sit. We watched the dog twice for them. Nancy told us if we ever went through Sandpoint, Idaho we could park at her place. We took her up on the offer and stayed two days.

Nancy with Ali

One of the interesting places we visited was in the middle of nowhere - The Bird Aviation Museum and Invention Center in Sagle.  Nancy is a docent there and took us on a private tour. The museum was built in honor of Forrest M. Bird. He is best known for creating some of the first reliable mechanical ventilators for acute and chronic cardiopulmonary care. If you worked in the medical field you may have heard of the Bird Respirator. There is even a runway on the grounds so you can fly in to visit the museum. Another interesting invention happening in this little town of Sagle, Idaho is the SOLAR ROADWAY.

Last, but not least, we traveled on to look up a friend we hadn't seen in nearly twenty years. He and his family live in WA. near Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area  where his wife, Denise, works. We met Ken when we went to South Manitou Island (Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore near our home) in around 1990. He was a park ranger there and saw us struggling to start a fire on a windy/rainy day and invited us out of the weather to use his stove. He visited us several times before moving on to other NPS positions in other states. We've stayed in touch through the years. His nickname is "Tree" which I'm sure needs no explanation.

Our friend, Ken Bausch, with Maggie in 1991

Dick and Ken with his daughter, Alyson, in front of their home.
(Denise, I apologize for not getting you in a picture too!)

We are now in Wenatchee, WA, the apple capital of the world. To get here we drove through the Wenatchee Valley along the Columbia River with miles of orchards all along the banks. We are on our way to visit Maggie in the Seattle area. We look forward to being with our daughter!

                      Before and after the snow at Two Medicine in Glacier National Park.

MAGNIFICENT MICHIGAN

We are now back on the road again after a busy couple of months of yard work, house repairs, filling in at a couple jobs and visiting with friends and family. Since we were only home for a short time we never moved out of the motorhome and used our house as our guest house. It worked out great for friends visiting from PA. and another from Germany. We love our beautiful 6 acres with the stream flowing through but we know when we return next spring things will be so much different. A shopping mall is going in at the end of our little rural road and then our road will be widened 11 ft on our side with a new culvert going in where the stream crosses the road. As they say, "That's Progress."

Mackinaw Bridge photo taken from the top of the bridge tower by our niece. Photo credit Lexie Mallery

Our favorite route from our house is along beautiful Lake Michigan, over the spectacular Mackinaw bridge and the straits of Mackinaw and then west across the U.P.  We are again taking Hwy 2 all the way to Glacier National Park in Montana. This is a beautiful relaxing route through little "Yooper" towns. Dick and I both agree how beautiful Michigan is with its lush green forests, many rivers and lakes and spectacular views. We have traveled all across the U.S. and are happy that this is our home.

After the second day on the road, Boo is finally getting used to traveling again, but still feels most secure on one of our laps. 

This past spring while we were in Yellowstone our friend Bob Howell visited us one evening. He was in the park doing night photography and took this photo of our motorhome when he left and surprised us with it. Wanted to share because it's so amazing.

FUNNY THINGS WE SAW SO FAR ON THIS TRIP:

Passing through a small Wisconsin town today we saw a store that sells fireworks called THREE FINGERS FIREWORKS.

This huge billboard along I-35 in Duluth.  Couldn't believe it!!!

HEADING HOME!

Family gathering. L to R - Patrick and Julia McCasland (baby Haidyn soon to arrive), Dick and I, my "little" brother, Joel and his son, Cameron. My sister, Kathy and her husband Pat, Chelsey and Matthew (my sister's son and his fiancé).

As you know from the last blog we were visiting my sister in Foresthill, CA. We only planned to stay for eight days. We always say that and then end up staying two weeks. Last year we were there for my niece's (Julia) wedding. The timing was right this year to visit when her baby was due to arrive. Her due date was May 13 and we said we wouldn't leave until the baby was born.

Haidyn Grace arrived on the 22nd so I had a chance to hold my beautiful 

grand niece a couple of times.   

Replacing a pump system at a Sacramento Elementary School.

Our brother-in-law, Pat, owns his own business  Custom Pump & Power. He manufactures large commercial pump systems. He needed a right hand man for several days. Dick was the guy. It worked out well and paid well (it will pay for our gas to get home). They work great together and I'm sure Pat would have kept him working a bit longer but we needed to begin our trip back to Michigan. We want to be home by mid-June. 

Grandpa Pat and Great Uncle Dick stopped after work to hold Haidyn once more.

A fun evening playing Cribbage  R to L: Dick, sister Kathy, brother-in-law Pat and myself.

We're heading for Yellowstone National Park for a few days. Today I happened to see on Facebook that some friends we met in Florida a couple winters ago were traveling the same route as us in Idaho. They from the east and we from the west. I kept checking in on Facebook chat and it was amazing how the timing was perfect that we could meet at the exit they were taking south. We had a nice picnic lunch together.  

Posing for a selfie with Kimberley and Greg! It's a small world.

From Yellowstone we're continuing east to the Winnebago Factory in Forest City, Iowa.  It's nothing serious, just want to replace a few things. Along the way we'll visit several of our favorite places in South Dakota and then from Iowa on to Michigan where we plan to visit Marlene and Dave Ferguson who are hosts at Burt Lake State Park in Indian River. They want Dick to give a campfire talk about his Arizona hike. We'll camp a night or two before heading on to the Ole' E Ranch (Oleo Acres). I'm looking forward to being home for awhile. To all of our family and friends, if you're driving by, you'll know we're home if the lawn is mowed. We would love to see you. 

While in Yellowstone National Park our friend Bob Howell from Bozeman just happened to be in the park doing some night photos. We connected for a great evening visit. Yes, that's a buffalo grazing in the background. Check out his website - amazing work. http://roberthowellphotography.com

THE FINISH LINE

You are all wondering if Dick is done with his hike. He’s finished and now food is his number one priority. With no meat on his bones he does need some fattening up. Also, his legs never stop moving at night. Soon he’ll return to normal, whatever normal is for Dick. He’s saying this will be his last long hike and will stick with shorter 100 to 200 mile hikes???
To read about the last leg of his hike click here:  http://lookingatlifethruoneeye.blogspot.com/2014/05/finishing-at-utah-border-after-week-of.html He’s also added a Youtube video. Put on your own music for background listening.

After the Grand Canyon we traveled north to visit our friends Mike & Rochelle in Utah. They are the ones with the Smith Hotel in Glendale who we visited last year in Mormon country. 

While visiting them Mike helped Dick make a bowl out of a chunk of aspen. It was my Mother’s Day gift. Then Mike taught me how to make Sushi and we made enough to last me a couple of days. Yummy.

We then headed west across desolate Nevada. We were told there was a nice Rest Area a few miles before Tonopah that we could stay overnight. But when I saw the REST STOP sign full of bullet holes we decided to move on. Besides it was only 1pm. We ended up at a campground north of Lee Vining, California. We were also warned to make sure we filled up with gas in Nevada because the gas in California was very expensive. The cheapest we could find was $3.90/gal. in Tonopah. Our Gas Buddy App said it was only $3.85 in CA. so we just passed Nevada gas by. We squeaked into Lee Vining running on empty and found gas was $4.99/ gal. Dick wasn’t a happy camper. He decided to only get enough to get us 90 miles north to Minville, NV which wasn’t that much out of our way, where it was $3.85/gal. There we bought enough to last until we leave CA. 

We met my brother at Bear River Resort for a couple of days before heading for my sister’s in Foresthill, CA.  Joel took time off from work to camp with us.

He brought his boat and would get up early to fish for 4 or 5 hours. Dick’s not a fish eater. He said, “If cows could swim he’d be out there too.” Joel must LOVE to fish to be out on his boat by 5:30 a.m. He did enjoy catching several Mackinaw. Then we'd make a huge breakfast  when he returned.

Above is a picture of our first camping trip with Joel in 1978. He was about fourteen.

We have just arrived at my sister's where we set up camp for 8 days.

Remember last year we were here for my niece's wedding. This year we're in time to meet our grandniece who is due to arrive any day.

SUPPORT REPORT

I enjoyed my stay at the Desert Gardens RV Resort outside of Florence, AZ.  A beautiful time of year to be down here in the desert. There was lots to do and I had no time to get bored while Dick was gone 18 days hiking the AZ Trail.

Besides being close enough to visit with my parents a couple days a week, I met a group of people in the park who played Cribbage and other fun games several evenings a week. I also joined the water aerobics group. I made some lasting friendships. They all wanted to meet Dick when he returned and planned a little dinner get together. I think they were beginning to wonder if I made him up. When he reached the Grand Canyon he took a shuttle back to the Phoenix airport where I picked him up. Driving in that traffic was awful. I'm thankful I don't have to do that every day like most of those people.

The day we planned to leave Desert Gardens, Dick was very ill. We didn't know if it was giardia or food poisoning. He was up all night and not doing well that morning. We had reservations at Deadhorse State Park about 170 miles north in Cottonwood. I drove while he slept on the couch. He was feeling better by the time we got there but slept most of the afternoon. By the next morning he was a new man. Fortunately, it wasn't giardia. Considering all the mud puddles he's drank from, it was a concern even though he purified everything.

John Reid Donahue (cousin) with Nancy Ingalls 

While we were in Cottonwood, a distant cousin of Dick's visited us. (John is Dick's dad's mother's brother's son's son - got that?) He has been following our blog and connected through email.

See the deep cut in the distance? That is where Dick walked to reach the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

I am now camped at the Grand Canyon and Dick left from our campsite Wednesday morning to complete the last leg of he Arizona Trail. He expects to reach the Utah border in about four days. At that point he'll decide if he wants to walk back to me at the Grand Canyon or call it quits and have me drive the motorhome up to meet him. I think it will depend on the weather.

This place is truly a wonder of the world. It makes you stop and realize how truly small you are and that we're just a speck in time. I love the beautiful historical buildings and the beauty surrounding them. Lots of wildlife too. While walking on the rim yesterday, I saw California Condor F-3 and later spotted several elk while riding my bike. This park is biker friendly. This is a wonderful place to be while Dick is hiking but I'm thinking of hanging a sign around my neck that reads "CRIBBAGE ANYONE?"  I got hooked on playing cards with my group of friends at Desert Gardens. Problem is, I may not find anyone that speaks fluent English. There are people from every corner of the world here. Dick calls this the UN of the National Parks.

(Above) At Hermit's Rest, one of my favorite historical areas in the park.

For those who want to catch up on the happy hiker. Here is PART 4 of his blog:

http://lookingatlifethruoneeye.blogspot.com/2014/04/azt-superior-az-to-grand-canyon.html

Funny Face took over Boo's bed.

AND THE HIKE CONTINUES....

Wow - lots has happened since I posted last! Dick was just beginning his Arizona Trail hike and now he is almost to the town of Pine which is approximately 460 miles under his belt. Over the past few days he is having problems with heat in the 90's and water has been scarce. Everyone is saying it's hotter and drier than normal. I didn't hear from him last night but he tells me not to worry, if anything happens while he's hiking then he died happy. Is that comforting or what? At the beginning of his hike he would come in every 2nd or 3rd day. During this next leg I will not see him for about 12-14 days.

We enjoyed our stay in the Patagonia area. Our base camp was Patagonia Lake State Park. Since Dick was hiking for several days, I introduced myself to a group of RV neighbors that pulled into camp on St. Patrick's Day. They invited me to join them for a true Irish meal. After a couple days I drove 45 miles north to pick up Dick and when I brought him back to camp he right away walked over to introduce himself to my new friends and said, "Hello, I'm Gaila's long lost husband. I smell bad, I look bad, but I feel good!" He was immediately accepted into the group even without a shower.

We connected with friends from home, Maryanne Macy and Gregg Chance,
 who were renting a place near Patagonia Lake.

The Patagonia area is a flyway for migrating birds and also spring-breakers. The campground was full. We found that if you didn't make a reservation during this time of year you probably won't get into many campgrounds in the south.

This beautiful Elegant Trogan winters in Patagonia Lake State Park. Photo taken by Dick Mallery

We traveled on to Catalina State Park in the Tucson area. This park is being encroached upon by malls and homes, but once inside the park it's peaceful, beautiful with amazingly dark skies at night. Where does all the water come from for all these people? Dick asked a local this question and the answer is the Colorado River.

On this trip I read a book called WOMAN OVERBOARD by Camille Gannon and could relate to many of her feelings. I enjoyed the book so much I decided while in the Tucson area I would contact her and see if we could meet. Dick and I met up with Camille and Peter and had a fun evening talking about our adventures.
A fun read. http://www.womanoverboardbook.com

Our campsite with the Catalina Mountains in the background.

Then on to Florence, AZ to the Desert Gardens RV Resort, my home right now. Sounds fancy doesn't it? Well, it is. Since Dick would be gone 12-14 days on this leg of his hike, we scouted for a good place for me to stay that was safe, had something for me to do and near enough to my parents. I'm here off-season so many of the snowbirds are leaving. I have met a group that plays card games in the evenings and also joined the daily water aerobics. Last night I was invited to go out for dinner with a group. So I haven't had a chance to get lonely or bored. There is a beautiful 2 mile bike/walking path around the perimeter of the park that I love riding at sunset. It's nice being here this time of year to see the different types of cactus in bloom and all the nesting birds. I'm hoping the quail have their babies soon. I'm 5 miles from Florence, home of the third largest county jail in Arizona. I'm told Florence is one of the top safest towns in Arizona. If anyone escapes they're not going to hang around here - right?

We've had several visitors here. 

My parents only live about 32 miles from me so I see them a couple times a week.

Carl Fromholz and Lisa Grise, from home, had been in Mexico all winter and stopped 

to camp a couple of nights with us at this park. This park has lots of

rules. After only one night's stay, the next morning they knocked on our door to tell us that they'd been booted out because their trailer was older than 15 years and their breed of dog wasn't allowed.

We were sad to see them leave. If I hadn't already paid I would have left too.

Bill and Laurie Bassett, from home, came for an afternoon visit and the next day we all went to the trailhead outside of Superior to send Dick on his way for the next leg of his hike.

Dick is enjoying this hike. Sometimes during the day he'll call me when he's hiding under something to get out of the heat. A couple times I've offered to pick him up but he says, "No Way".  Here are his last two Blog entries if you're interested in his hike. (Margie - you may not want to read these because there are lots of snake pictures.)

PART II -  http://lookingatlifethruoneeye.blogspot.com/2014/03/i-just-finished-another-hundred-and.html

PART III -  http://lookingatlifethruoneeye.blogspot.com/2014_04_01_archive.html

Picture from the latest photo shoot of BOO.

Bob and Norma Bogard, from home, were at an RV park only a half hour away. 
It was fun connecting with them down here. Bob was our UPS man for nearly 19 years. 

            Amazing all the different cactus blooms!  No wonder it's called the "Painted desert".