We are at Nick's Lake, a public NYDEC campground near Old Forge, NY. This morning we paddled the shoreline of Nick's Lake. The weather was mild and sunny and there are no motorboats allowed. A very pleasant and relaxing paddle. This afternoon we explored the towns of Old Forge and Inlet, along the "Fulton Chain", consisting of First Lake - Eighth Lake. There are deer in every other yard around here. They say bears have been raiding the campground, but we haven't seen any yet. Bear season opened this weekend; everyone has warned us to be careful hiking. I don't think I will wear my black hat and vest.
Tonight is forecast for 29 degrees, but it should warm up in the next few days.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
North to the Adirondacks
The Country Coach Nor'Easters fall rally is over. One good thing about hanging around until the bitter end of a rally is that you get a ton of leftover food. Today we will leave the Watkins Glen and the Finger Lakes region and head north towards the Adirondacks. I think we will go first towards Old Forge, on the west end of the park, about 4 hours from here. There are some good paddling and hiking opportunities in that area. After a few days we may move north and east towards the mountains and northern lakes areas.
Last night it got down to 40 degrees. It looks like it will warm up a bit over the next few days, with the highs heading into the mid 70's and lows in the 50s. I don't know what our internet access will be like, but I will post again when I can.
Last night it got down to 40 degrees. It looks like it will warm up a bit over the next few days, with the highs heading into the mid 70's and lows in the 50s. I don't know what our internet access will be like, but I will post again when I can.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Museums in New York
Yesterday we visited the Corning Museum of Glass. They have glass artifacts dating back 4000 years as well as priceless pieces of glass art. My favorites were the live glass blowing and forming exhibits and the technological glass exhibits, including containers (beer bottles), flat glass and optical glass. They had some hands-on classes, and Dorcas made a $1.00 glass bead for $15.00.
Today we visited Hammondsport at the south end of Keuka Lake. We spent most of the day touring the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum. Glenn Curtiss was a motorcycling and aviation pioneer and a contemporary and rival of the Wright Brothers. He set a number of speed and aviation records and is considered to be the "Father of Naval Aviation". This weekend they hosted the annual Seaplane Homecoming, and there were a dozen or more seaplanes at the lake, including the Curtiss seaplane reproduction "America", intending to make it's maiden flight. The original "America" was built with the intention of being the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic, but that effort was stymied by the outbreak of WWI. The reproduced "America" did not fly today, because it's engines could not produce enough power for take-off. It did taxi on the lake for the spectators.
This evening we learned to play "31", a card game I had never played before. Suffice it to say that these old folks (the average age of motorhomers exceeds ours by about 15 years) took advantage of the youngsters.
Today we visited Hammondsport at the south end of Keuka Lake. We spent most of the day touring the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum. Glenn Curtiss was a motorcycling and aviation pioneer and a contemporary and rival of the Wright Brothers. He set a number of speed and aviation records and is considered to be the "Father of Naval Aviation". This weekend they hosted the annual Seaplane Homecoming, and there were a dozen or more seaplanes at the lake, including the Curtiss seaplane reproduction "America", intending to make it's maiden flight. The original "America" was built with the intention of being the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic, but that effort was stymied by the outbreak of WWI. The reproduced "America" did not fly today, because it's engines could not produce enough power for take-off. It did taxi on the lake for the spectators.
This evening we learned to play "31", a card game I had never played before. Suffice it to say that these old folks (the average age of motorhomers exceeds ours by about 15 years) took advantage of the youngsters.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Trail of the Grape
"Bottle of wine, fruit of the vine
When you gonna let me get sober
Leave me alone. Let me go home
I wanna go back and start over"
Tom Paxton
We have found some wonderful cool weather here. Last night it was 46 degrees; today probably didn't get over about 70. It's been a great time to be here. Watkins Glen is at the south end of Seneca Lake, in the heart of New York's Finger Lakes region. It is a perfect wine growing region and there are 36 wineries on Seneca Lake alone. Today we visited five wineries for tastings. And, if that weren't enough, we returned to camp for a wine and cheese party. Wino heaven.
When you gonna let me get sober
Leave me alone. Let me go home
I wanna go back and start over"
Tom Paxton
We have found some wonderful cool weather here. Last night it was 46 degrees; today probably didn't get over about 70. It's been a great time to be here. Watkins Glen is at the south end of Seneca Lake, in the heart of New York's Finger Lakes region. It is a perfect wine growing region and there are 36 wineries on Seneca Lake alone. Today we visited five wineries for tastings. And, if that weren't enough, we returned to camp for a wine and cheese party. Wino heaven.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Watkins Glen, NY
We arrived at the KOA in Watkins Glen before noon. I have always had an aversion to camping at a "Kampground", for no particular reason that I could understand. Now I have a tangible reason for my prejudice. Ruth at the office assigned us site B-54, and we went on down to set up camp. When we got to B-54 there was yellow crime scene tape across the site, and the site was full of loose rubble and gravel. It looked like grave robbers had just left. I went back to the office to see what's up, but Ruth was clueless. She called Ray, an outside guy, and he said they had cut a tree and pulled a stump out of the rear of the site and hadn't finished repairing the surface. That's fine, but where do we park the coach? There were no other sites available for the duration of our stay. She had a site we could have for two nights, but we would have to move to another site for the next two nights. Finally Ray said he could fix the site. He would bring in some fresh gravel, spread it and compact it, but it would take about an hour. We really had no choice, so we checked in at the rally HQ while Ray did his thing. Amazingly he had gravel and a roller compacter on the site pretty quickly and was finished in just under an hour. It wasn't perfect, but it'll do. The Country Coach folks running the rally here have had other problems with the KOA and said they won't be coming back here again.
There are 34 coaches at the Country Coach Nor'easters Fall Rally. One must live in New England, MD, DE, PA, NJ or NY to join the Nor'easters chapter. We are one of only three guest coaches, so we are surrounded by Yankees, however, everyone here has been as nice as they can be to us. For a while we were afraid they had assigned us the war zone aka B-54 because we were interlopers from down south, but they assured us that was not the case. Right.
This afternoon we visited the village of Watkins Glen and Watkins Glen State Park. Watkins Glen SP consists of a 1.5 mile run of Glen Creek as it cuts about 600' down through a narrow gorge of ancient sandstone and shale before reaching Seneca Lake. In the early 1900s steps and tunnels were built through the gorge for the tourists. There are a number of spectacular waterfalls and pools. The Village of Watkins Glen was very quaint and unspoiled. It is a very nice area, and we are looking forward to seeing more of it.
There are 34 coaches at the Country Coach Nor'easters Fall Rally. One must live in New England, MD, DE, PA, NJ or NY to join the Nor'easters chapter. We are one of only three guest coaches, so we are surrounded by Yankees, however, everyone here has been as nice as they can be to us. For a while we were afraid they had assigned us the war zone aka B-54 because we were interlopers from down south, but they assured us that was not the case. Right.
This afternoon we visited the village of Watkins Glen and Watkins Glen State Park. Watkins Glen SP consists of a 1.5 mile run of Glen Creek as it cuts about 600' down through a narrow gorge of ancient sandstone and shale before reaching Seneca Lake. In the early 1900s steps and tunnels were built through the gorge for the tourists. There are a number of spectacular waterfalls and pools. The Village of Watkins Glen was very quaint and unspoiled. It is a very nice area, and we are looking forward to seeing more of it.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Landing in New York
We got away this morning about 10:00 AM. That's about a 40 hour turnaround after returning from Minnesota. A rolling stone gathers no moss. Whatever that means. We stopped for the night about 10:00 PM at the I-81 visitor's center just across the New York state line. It's only about two hours to Watkins Glen, so we should arrive at the Country Coach rally by mid-morning tomorrow. The temperatures have been a bit cooler today; at 10:45 PM it was 59 degrees. We have been in and out of rain all afternoon. I hope we got some back home.
Off Again to the Great North East
Today we will depart again in the coach for a month-long trip to New York and New England. We will be attending a Country Coach rally in Watkins Glen NY Wed-Sun. After that we will head into the Adirondacks for some hiking and paddling. From there we will go to New England for more of the same. Hopefully we will find some cooler weather and some colorful fall foliage. We plan to meet some friends on the Greenbrier River Trail in mid October and then head home.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Out of Minnesota
We are off the water from our annual Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) excursion. We put in on Sunday August 26 and took out on Friday September 7, a total of 13 days. This trip was different from our other trips in several ways. First, we took a very short and leisurely route, with a very long layover on one lake. Second, there was a total fire ban in effect due to the extremely dry conditions. This affected our cooking strategy and our trash management. When we picked up our permit we asked the ranger what it would take for the Forest Service to lift the fire ban. He said the ban would be over when Noah's Ark floated by.
We put in on Lake One, near Ely.
This is one of the most popular entry points into the BWCAW. There were a ton of boats on the water and some real traffic jams at the portages. We portaged into Lake Two and then paddled into Lake Three, where we spent our first night. From Lake Three we paddled into Lake Four (see a pattern here?) Then we made two short portages into Fire Lake where we spent our second night. From Fire Lake we made another short portage into Hudson Lake where we spent our third night. Then we portaged into Lake Insula, where we base-camped for six nights. Lake Insula is a very interesting and pretty lake with a number of islands and coves. While at Insula, we spent our days paddling around to different coves, fishing, reading, and just plain goofed off. When we left Lake Insula, we basically reversed our route (but by-passed Fire Lake) and camped in the same lakes on the way out that we camped in when we entered.
We saw many, many bald eagles and loons, but saw very few big mammals.
Camp chipmunks and camp mice were abundant (Izaak wouldn't have stood for that!), but we saw no bears, no moose, no otters, not even a beaver (actually Wayne, Lynda and Don allegedly saw a bear and an otter on Fire Lake). The lack of these sightings was pretty unusual. People have said that the warm temperatures have driven the moose further north. The fishing was good. We ate fish for two meals, but could have had more fish dinners if we had wanted to. The weather was pretty good. The temperatures were mild, ranging from highs near 80 and lows in the 50s. We had a few light rains, but nothing significant enough to end the fire ban ..... until day 12. On day 12, the Thursday before we would take out, it started raining about noon. When it finished raining about 24 hours later, it had dumped between 10 and 13 inches, depending who you wished to believe. We didn't see Noah's Ark, but the critter's were lining up two by two. Luckily we were in camp during the whole rain event and stayed fairly dry under our tarp and in our tents. We asked the first paddlers we saw that had put in on Friday the status of the fire ban; they said the Forest Service would make an evaluation on the following Tuesday. 
Typical government bureaucracy inefficiency. A few hours later after we had taken out, we talked to a ranger, and he said the fire ban had been lifted at noon on Friday, that the supervisor had caved to political pressure. Typical government bureaucracy flip-flopping. So, in the end, the fire ban was rescinded just about the time we hit the landing at the take-out. Figures.
We spent Friday night in Ely, where Don treated us all to pizza and beer. We perused the shops of Ely and visited the vendors in the park for the Blue Moon Festival. On Saturday we shopped in Duluth and ate lunch at Fitger's Brewhouse, where Wayne picked up a couple of "Growlers". We now start the long drive home to North Carolina. We expect to arrive late on Sunday afternoon.
We put in on Lake One, near Ely.
This is one of the most popular entry points into the BWCAW. There were a ton of boats on the water and some real traffic jams at the portages. We portaged into Lake Two and then paddled into Lake Three, where we spent our first night. From Lake Three we paddled into Lake Four (see a pattern here?) Then we made two short portages into Fire Lake where we spent our second night. From Fire Lake we made another short portage into Hudson Lake where we spent our third night. Then we portaged into Lake Insula, where we base-camped for six nights. Lake Insula is a very interesting and pretty lake with a number of islands and coves. While at Insula, we spent our days paddling around to different coves, fishing, reading, and just plain goofed off. When we left Lake Insula, we basically reversed our route (but by-passed Fire Lake) and camped in the same lakes on the way out that we camped in when we entered.We saw many, many bald eagles and loons, but saw very few big mammals.
Camp chipmunks and camp mice were abundant (Izaak wouldn't have stood for that!), but we saw no bears, no moose, no otters, not even a beaver (actually Wayne, Lynda and Don allegedly saw a bear and an otter on Fire Lake). The lack of these sightings was pretty unusual. People have said that the warm temperatures have driven the moose further north. The fishing was good. We ate fish for two meals, but could have had more fish dinners if we had wanted to. The weather was pretty good. The temperatures were mild, ranging from highs near 80 and lows in the 50s. We had a few light rains, but nothing significant enough to end the fire ban ..... until day 12. On day 12, the Thursday before we would take out, it started raining about noon. When it finished raining about 24 hours later, it had dumped between 10 and 13 inches, depending who you wished to believe. We didn't see Noah's Ark, but the critter's were lining up two by two. Luckily we were in camp during the whole rain event and stayed fairly dry under our tarp and in our tents. We asked the first paddlers we saw that had put in on Friday the status of the fire ban; they said the Forest Service would make an evaluation on the following Tuesday. 
Typical government bureaucracy inefficiency. A few hours later after we had taken out, we talked to a ranger, and he said the fire ban had been lifted at noon on Friday, that the supervisor had caved to political pressure. Typical government bureaucracy flip-flopping. So, in the end, the fire ban was rescinded just about the time we hit the landing at the take-out. Figures.We spent Friday night in Ely, where Don treated us all to pizza and beer. We perused the shops of Ely and visited the vendors in the park for the Blue Moon Festival. On Saturday we shopped in Duluth and ate lunch at Fitger's Brewhouse, where Wayne picked up a couple of "Growlers". We now start the long drive home to North Carolina. We expect to arrive late on Sunday afternoon.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Boundary Waters, Here We Come
It seems like we just got unpacked from our last trip, and now we are off again. Life is good.
This morning we will depart for our annual pilgrimage to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota.
This morning we will depart for our annual pilgrimage to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota.
"Great glaciers carved the physical features of what is today known as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) by scraping and gouging rock. The glaciers left behind rugged cliffs and crags, canyons, gentle hills, towering rock formations, rocky shores, sandy beaches and several thousand lakes and streams, interspersed with islands and surrounded by forest.The BWCAW is a unique area located in the northern third of the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota. Approximately 1.3 million acres in size, it extends nearly 150 miles along the International Boundary adjacent to Canada's Quetico Provincial Park and bordered on the west by Voyageurs National Park. The BWCAW contains over 1200 miles of canoe routes, 15 hiking trails and approximately 2000 designated campsites. Wilderness offers freedom to those who wish to pursue an experience of expansive solitude, challenge and personal integration with nature. Because this area was set aside in 1926 to preserve its primitive character and made a part of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1964, it allows visitors to canoe, portage and camp in the spirit of the French Voyageurs of 200 years ago."
We will put in on Lake One about 15 miles east of Ely, MN 
on Sunday August 26 and take out at the same place on Friday September 7. Normally we would move almost every day and execute about 4-6 portages each day, in which we must carry our boats and gear from lake to lake. Portages range in length from about 100' to over half a mile. This year we are taking some Boundary Waters virgins with us and have planned an easier, more leisurely trip. We will lay over in the same campsite about every other day, and the route has relatively few portages. This will allow a little more time for fishing and just plain taking it easy, and hopefully, not kill the rookies. Unfortunately, there is currently a total prohibition on open fires, due to extremely dry conditions. This is inconvenient because we usually do about half of our cooking on an open fire. We have packed extra fuel for our camp stoves, but hopefully we will get some rain and the ban will be lifted. As my friend Wayne frequently says when anyone remarks about the great weather we've had on any particular trip: "I've never been on a [fill in the number] day long trip yet, when it didn't rain". This time I hope he's right.
After we put in on Sunday, we will have no internet access until we take out thirteen days later, so it may be a while before there is another post to this site.
Bon voyage.Monday, August 20, 2007
The Heart Rock Sweepstakes Winner IS .....
The heart rock weighed in at 
13 lbs 13 ounces. The winner of the Heart Rock Sweepstakes is Ann M. with an entry of 15 lbs. Congrats Ann on your winning guess. I wish there was a prize.
The heart rock has been placed on Izaak's grave, along with the other mementos gathered on the trip.
13 lbs 13 ounces. The winner of the Heart Rock Sweepstakes is Ann M. with an entry of 15 lbs. Congrats Ann on your winning guess. I wish there was a prize.The heart rock has been placed on Izaak's grave, along with the other mementos gathered on the trip.
Izaak Memorial Westward Ho Summer Adventure 2007 - wrap up
All in all it was a very enjoyable and satisfying trip. We had been worried that we would want to come home before we had planned to do so, but that never happened. When the time came to head for home we weren't ready; we wanted to stay even longer and go to even more places.
The best part of the trip, besides the obvious thing of seeing so many interesting places and things, is that we did it at our own pace. Except for the bookends, the Katy Trail bike trip and Bob Marshall backpack, we had no set schedule and could stay as long as we wanted at any particular place. Consequently, on several occasions we stayed a week or more in one place. We stayed 11 days in Glacier National Park alone. RETIREMENT IS GOOD! The worst parts of the trip were the record-breaking heat and the summer crowds in the national parks. Normally we wouldn't have planned such a trip for the middle of the summer, but with the bike trip in late May and the backpack in August, it made sense.
Trip Statistics:
Future Major Trips:
The best part of the trip, besides the obvious thing of seeing so many interesting places and things, is that we did it at our own pace. Except for the bookends, the Katy Trail bike trip and Bob Marshall backpack, we had no set schedule and could stay as long as we wanted at any particular place. Consequently, on several occasions we stayed a week or more in one place. We stayed 11 days in Glacier National Park alone. RETIREMENT IS GOOD! The worst parts of the trip were the record-breaking heat and the summer crowds in the national parks. Normally we wouldn't have planned such a trip for the middle of the summer, but with the bike trip in late May and the backpack in August, it made sense.
Trip Statistics:
- Duration: 86 days or a little more than 12 weeks.
- Distance: 6512 miles (not counting miles driven in the Honda, which would probably add another ~1200 miles.
- States Visited: TN, AL, MS, AR, TX, NM, AZ, UT, ID, MT, SD, WY, IA, MO, IL, and KY. Additionally we came within a few miles of, but did not enter, CO, NE, OK and Canada.
- Diesel Fuel Consumed: 786 gallon gallons ($2191) includes fuel for generator and hot water.
- Camping Costs: $461 Average cost = $5.42/night.
Future Major Trips:
- Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness - Aug 24-Sep 9 (without the motorcoach)
- Adirondacks and New England - Sep 11 - ~Oct 15
- NC Outer Banks ~one week sometime in Nov
- Florida - ~Dec 15 - ~Feb 15
The Franklin Reunion, Linville Falls, NC
August 10-13
This weekend we attended the reunion of the descendants of Samuel and Dorcas Franklin in Linville Falls.
Samuel Franklin is my great, great, great, great grandfather. This year is the 150th anniversary of his death and the 75th anniversary of the Franklin reunion. Samuel Franklin's father was James Franklin, Ben Franklin's older brother. Therefor the guy on the $100 bill is my great, great, great, great, great uncle. Dorcas (Whitley, not Franklin) has always been very popular at this reunion. She is the only Dorcas I have found in the family, since great grandma Dorcas Franklin. I find this odd, since many family names have been recycled heavily. Ironically, my maternal great grandmother was May Delilah Greene Franklin, descended from Nathanial Greene of Revolutionary War fame, thus joining the Franklin and Greene lines.
On Monday afternoon, August 13, we arrived at home thus ending the Izaak Memorial Westward Ho Summer Adventure 2007. The homeplace was in great shape, excepting some tall weeds in the natural beds. We spent the next several days unpacking and getting accustomed the the southern humidity.
This weekend we attended the reunion of the descendants of Samuel and Dorcas Franklin in Linville Falls.
Samuel Franklin is my great, great, great, great grandfather. This year is the 150th anniversary of his death and the 75th anniversary of the Franklin reunion. Samuel Franklin's father was James Franklin, Ben Franklin's older brother. Therefor the guy on the $100 bill is my great, great, great, great, great uncle. Dorcas (Whitley, not Franklin) has always been very popular at this reunion. She is the only Dorcas I have found in the family, since great grandma Dorcas Franklin. I find this odd, since many family names have been recycled heavily. Ironically, my maternal great grandmother was May Delilah Greene Franklin, descended from Nathanial Greene of Revolutionary War fame, thus joining the Franklin and Greene lines.On Monday afternoon, August 13, we arrived at home thus ending the Izaak Memorial Westward Ho Summer Adventure 2007. The homeplace was in great shape, excepting some tall weeds in the natural beds. We spent the next several days unpacking and getting accustomed the the southern humidity.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Heading Home: North Carolina!!!!!
We were on the road again this morning by 7:00 after a 2.5 hour nap. We parked the coach at the Holiday Inn in Morganton and took the Honda to the Charlotte airport (which is where we are for this writing) to meet my mother's noon arrival. We will take her back to Morganton then take the coach to the Linville Falls Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway this afternoon. We will attend a family reunion at Linville Falls this weekend, take my mother back to Charlotte on Monday morning and be home by Monday afternoon.
Whew!!!!!
Whew!!!!!
Heading Home: Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee
Thursday August 9
We woke early and I was in the Lowe's when they opened at 7:00. It only took two trips into the store to get everything I needed, but it only cost $1.01. I replaced the broken water line pretty quickly, but I didn't attempt to replace the broken shut-off valve since it had that funky heat-shrink connector and it wasn't currently leaking. If I had tried to replace the valve, we would probably still be there, and there would be water all over the Lowe's parking lot. I will work on it when we get home. We were on the road by 7:45. We bought diesel in central Missouri and set another personal record: 125.5 gallons. The gauge still wasn't dead on "E", but since the tank only holds 135 gallons, that's probably as far as we will ever push it. Dorcas drove a few stretches today, but every time she got behind the wheel, we hit a construction zone. She said she wanted to drive through St. Louis, but chickened out at the last minute when she hit heavy traffic and construction. We hit our only really big pile-up about 9:00 near Lebanon, TN. Of course Dorcas was driving. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to go one mile. During our "stop" we took advantage of the time by taking showers, napping and catching up on the journal. I think Dorcas flashed a family in a Subaru when she came out of the shower. I'm thankful nobody knocked on the door wanting to use the bathroom. We pulled over for a short nap near Sevierville, TN about 4:00 AM.
We woke early and I was in the Lowe's when they opened at 7:00. It only took two trips into the store to get everything I needed, but it only cost $1.01. I replaced the broken water line pretty quickly, but I didn't attempt to replace the broken shut-off valve since it had that funky heat-shrink connector and it wasn't currently leaking. If I had tried to replace the valve, we would probably still be there, and there would be water all over the Lowe's parking lot. I will work on it when we get home. We were on the road by 7:45. We bought diesel in central Missouri and set another personal record: 125.5 gallons. The gauge still wasn't dead on "E", but since the tank only holds 135 gallons, that's probably as far as we will ever push it. Dorcas drove a few stretches today, but every time she got behind the wheel, we hit a construction zone. She said she wanted to drive through St. Louis, but chickened out at the last minute when she hit heavy traffic and construction. We hit our only really big pile-up about 9:00 near Lebanon, TN. Of course Dorcas was driving. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to go one mile. During our "stop" we took advantage of the time by taking showers, napping and catching up on the journal. I think Dorcas flashed a family in a Subaru when she came out of the shower. I'm thankful nobody knocked on the door wanting to use the bathroom. We pulled over for a short nap near Sevierville, TN about 4:00 AM.
Headed home: South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri
Wednesday August 8
Today was another big travel day. Technically the western portion of our vacation is now over. We are headed to Charlotte as quickly as we can to meet my mother at the airport at noon on Friday and then will double back to Linville Falls for a family reunion this weekend. We will be home on Monday. We left Wind River NP about 7:00 and headed east across the plains of South Dakota. The day was largely uneventful, except that Dorcas drove a couple of hours.
She hasn't driven enough to become comfortable yet, but she will get plenty of practice in the next few days. We had planned to stop at Wall Drug and the Mitchell Corn Palace, just for some diversions, but figured each stop would cost us over an hour, so we kept going. We did stop at the Minuteman Missile National Historical Site east of Rapid City. You can see an actual missile bunker, one of 150 that used to cover the South Dakota plains. There were films and exhibits describing how the missiles were used as deterrents during the cold war with the Soviet Union.
When we stopped at a rest area I noticed water dripping out the outside vent to the refrigerator mechanicals. When I removed the cover, there was water dripping from the upper area of the fridge. This can't be good. The only water up there is the ice maker feed, but it is past the inlet valve, so it shouldn't be pressurized unless the ice maker is filling, which doesn't happen without AC power. Wherever it was coming from, it would be a bitch to repair, because there is no access. I hoped it was some condensate from the upper area of the fridge (the eternal optimist) and decided to monitor the problem later (procrastinate). We didn't have time for mechanical problems.
That evening there was perhaps the most magnificent thunderstorm I had ever seen. There were low clouds and lightning was flashing in 180 degree arcs all around us. It would flash on one side, travel through the clouds across and above us and end on the other side. I did this for about an hour. It never seemed to strike near us and it never rained on us and the wind never blew very strong. It was just this magnificent light show.
We stopped for the night at a Wal-Mart in St. Joseph, MO after driving about 700 miles. It was next door to a Lowe's hardware (foreshadowing). I checked the fridge cover and water was coming out much more heavily than before. Dang. When I removed the cover I saw that the 1/4" poly supply line for the ice maker was broken. When I had looked previously, it must have been a very small hole and was shooting a fine stream (so fine I didn't see it) into the upper area of the fridge back. Now the break was larger and it was obvious where the water was coming from. When I touched it, the line nearly broke in half and squirted like a geyser. We didn't need Yellowstone after all; we had our own Old Faithful. I cut off the water pump and dried my face and changed my shirt. Luckily the break was just past the cut-off valve. I started to close the valve and the handle broke off in my hand. Dang. Well, as long as the pump was off, we weren't losing water. We couldn't flush the toilet, but whatever. Luckily we were near a Lowe's. The broken line would be relatively easy to repair, but the valve would be more difficult. First, it was an unusual valve; I had never seen one just like it. Second, it was attached to the incoming pipe with some sort of shrink-style one-piece hose clamp that I had no idea how to deal with. Must be an RV thing. Time for bed. I'll consult a plumber at Lowe's.
Today was another big travel day. Technically the western portion of our vacation is now over. We are headed to Charlotte as quickly as we can to meet my mother at the airport at noon on Friday and then will double back to Linville Falls for a family reunion this weekend. We will be home on Monday. We left Wind River NP about 7:00 and headed east across the plains of South Dakota. The day was largely uneventful, except that Dorcas drove a couple of hours.
She hasn't driven enough to become comfortable yet, but she will get plenty of practice in the next few days. We had planned to stop at Wall Drug and the Mitchell Corn Palace, just for some diversions, but figured each stop would cost us over an hour, so we kept going. We did stop at the Minuteman Missile National Historical Site east of Rapid City. You can see an actual missile bunker, one of 150 that used to cover the South Dakota plains. There were films and exhibits describing how the missiles were used as deterrents during the cold war with the Soviet Union.When we stopped at a rest area I noticed water dripping out the outside vent to the refrigerator mechanicals. When I removed the cover, there was water dripping from the upper area of the fridge. This can't be good. The only water up there is the ice maker feed, but it is past the inlet valve, so it shouldn't be pressurized unless the ice maker is filling, which doesn't happen without AC power. Wherever it was coming from, it would be a bitch to repair, because there is no access. I hoped it was some condensate from the upper area of the fridge (the eternal optimist) and decided to monitor the problem later (procrastinate). We didn't have time for mechanical problems.
That evening there was perhaps the most magnificent thunderstorm I had ever seen. There were low clouds and lightning was flashing in 180 degree arcs all around us. It would flash on one side, travel through the clouds across and above us and end on the other side. I did this for about an hour. It never seemed to strike near us and it never rained on us and the wind never blew very strong. It was just this magnificent light show.
We stopped for the night at a Wal-Mart in St. Joseph, MO after driving about 700 miles. It was next door to a Lowe's hardware (foreshadowing). I checked the fridge cover and water was coming out much more heavily than before. Dang. When I removed the cover I saw that the 1/4" poly supply line for the ice maker was broken. When I had looked previously, it must have been a very small hole and was shooting a fine stream (so fine I didn't see it) into the upper area of the fridge back. Now the break was larger and it was obvious where the water was coming from. When I touched it, the line nearly broke in half and squirted like a geyser. We didn't need Yellowstone after all; we had our own Old Faithful. I cut off the water pump and dried my face and changed my shirt. Luckily the break was just past the cut-off valve. I started to close the valve and the handle broke off in my hand. Dang. Well, as long as the pump was off, we weren't losing water. We couldn't flush the toilet, but whatever. Luckily we were near a Lowe's. The broken line would be relatively easy to repair, but the valve would be more difficult. First, it was an unusual valve; I had never seen one just like it. Second, it was attached to the incoming pipe with some sort of shrink-style one-piece hose clamp that I had no idea how to deal with. Must be an RV thing. Time for bed. I'll consult a plumber at Lowe's.
Wind Cave NP, Hot Springs SD
Tuesday August 7
Today we took two more cave tours, this time at Wind Cave NP. Wind Cave is the 4th largest cave in the world, but is the world's most complex cave system.
There are ~125 miles of explored cave under one square mile of surface. Like Jewel Cave it is believed that only about 5% of the cave has been discovered. First we took the Candlelight Tour, which used candles mounted in buckets held sideways to explore unlighted, relatively primitive parts of the cave. The buckets amplified the candlelight, essentially making a primitive flashlight.. It is interesting that the historic light at Wind Cave is a candle bucket and at Jewel Cave it is an oil lantern. It is also interesting that the 2nd and 4th largest caves in the world are located within 30 miles of each other, but are not believed to be connected. Also, both have only one small known natural opening. After the Candlelight Tour we took the Fairgrounds Tour, which explores some of the larger rooms and the has many excellent examples of Wind Cave's signature "boxwork", very delicate calcite honeycomb fins.
The tour ended at about 6:00, so we boogied over to Mt. Rushmore for the evening lighting ceremony. We took the scenic route through Custer State Park and saw bison, turkey, prairie dogs and deer.Other wildlife sightings included about 10,000 bikers attending bike week at Sturgis. The motorcycle rally at Sturgis, located about 20 miles from Mt. Rushmore, has been going on this week and draws about 800,000 bikers. They have all been enjoying the same parks that we have been visiting in the South Dakota Black Hills. Consequently, they have been swarming around us all week. You can't even pull out of a diner without running over 4 bikes.
I visited Mt. Rushmore about 20 years ago, and the facilities have changed significantly since then. T
hey have built a large parking deck and all-new visitor's centers, gift stores and cafes. There is also a huge new amphitheater. When I was there it was fairly small and a quaint place I liked it better before, but I don't know how they could handle all the people that come now with the old facilities. The worst part is that they built the new visitor's center on top of the restaurant used as a setting in Alfred Hitchcock's "North By Northwest". So much for historic preservation by the National Park Service. There oughta be a law. I really like Mt. Rushmore. It appeals to my technical curiosity. I wish we had left more time to see it, but now it is time to go home.
Today we took two more cave tours, this time at Wind Cave NP. Wind Cave is the 4th largest cave in the world, but is the world's most complex cave system.
There are ~125 miles of explored cave under one square mile of surface. Like Jewel Cave it is believed that only about 5% of the cave has been discovered. First we took the Candlelight Tour, which used candles mounted in buckets held sideways to explore unlighted, relatively primitive parts of the cave. The buckets amplified the candlelight, essentially making a primitive flashlight.. It is interesting that the historic light at Wind Cave is a candle bucket and at Jewel Cave it is an oil lantern. It is also interesting that the 2nd and 4th largest caves in the world are located within 30 miles of each other, but are not believed to be connected. Also, both have only one small known natural opening. After the Candlelight Tour we took the Fairgrounds Tour, which explores some of the larger rooms and the has many excellent examples of Wind Cave's signature "boxwork", very delicate calcite honeycomb fins.The tour ended at about 6:00, so we boogied over to Mt. Rushmore for the evening lighting ceremony. We took the scenic route through Custer State Park and saw bison, turkey, prairie dogs and deer.Other wildlife sightings included about 10,000 bikers attending bike week at Sturgis. The motorcycle rally at Sturgis, located about 20 miles from Mt. Rushmore, has been going on this week and draws about 800,000 bikers. They have all been enjoying the same parks that we have been visiting in the South Dakota Black Hills. Consequently, they have been swarming around us all week. You can't even pull out of a diner without running over 4 bikes.
I visited Mt. Rushmore about 20 years ago, and the facilities have changed significantly since then. T
hey have built a large parking deck and all-new visitor's centers, gift stores and cafes. There is also a huge new amphitheater. When I was there it was fairly small and a quaint place I liked it better before, but I don't know how they could handle all the people that come now with the old facilities. The worst part is that they built the new visitor's center on top of the restaurant used as a setting in Alfred Hitchcock's "North By Northwest". So much for historic preservation by the National Park Service. There oughta be a law. I really like Mt. Rushmore. It appeals to my technical curiosity. I wish we had left more time to see it, but now it is time to go home.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Idiot of the Week
Faithful readers may remember that this trip was dedicated to Izaak and was named the "Izaak Memorial Westward Ho Summer Adventure 2007" in his honor. Accordingly I have been collecting mementos along the way to place on his grave when we return. We have collected many interesting and beautiful rocks from the best places we have been (none are from the national parks, of course; I know that that is illegal!), including a nice red sandstone slab in Utah on which I will carve a message and make a headstone. 
The red heart-shaped rock pictured here was found just under the water on the banks of Camp Izaak and just had to be a part of the collection of Izaak mementos. The problem was that we were more than 10 miles from the car and had severely overloaded packs to begin with. Fortunately I found a sucker, who wishes to remain anonymous, to haul the heart rock out in his pack. For this kind service this fool is honored as "Idiot of the Week".
Enter the Heart Rock Sweepstakes. Send your guess for the weight of the heart rock. I will weigh it when I get home and post the weight and name the winner. Post your guess, in pounds and ounces, to this blog or send me an e-mail by Monday August 13. The decision of the judge is final.
The red heart-shaped rock pictured here was found just under the water on the banks of Camp Izaak and just had to be a part of the collection of Izaak mementos. The problem was that we were more than 10 miles from the car and had severely overloaded packs to begin with. Fortunately I found a sucker, who wishes to remain anonymous, to haul the heart rock out in his pack. For this kind service this fool is honored as "Idiot of the Week".Enter the Heart Rock Sweepstakes. Send your guess for the weight of the heart rock. I will weigh it when I get home and post the weight and name the winner. Post your guess, in pounds and ounces, to this blog or send me an e-mail by Monday August 13. The decision of the judge is final.
Jewel Cave NM, Custer SD
Monday August 6
Pronghorn (commonly called antelope) ought to be the state mammal of Wyoming. You can see them in large herds all over the plains of Wyoming. They must be smarter than deer, however, because we never saw them crossing the road and never saw a pronghorn roadkill.
While driving through eastern Wyoming and the western edge of the Black Hills we called ahead to Jewel Cave National Monument and made reservations for some cave tours. Jewel Cave is famous for its calcite crystals that looked like jewels to the Michaud brothers, when they discovered the original 14" opening to the cave. They used dynamite to widen the entrance, but that entrance is still the only known natural entrance to the cave. After rushing to town to stake their mining claim, they realized the crystals were not gems and had no monetary value. So they opened the cave for tourists and explored about 2 miles of the cave. Today almost 140 miles of the cave have been explored and mapped, making Jewel Cave the second longest cave in the world. Based on the volume and patterns of the winds inhaled and exhaled from the cave, it is estimated that only about 5% of the cave has been found.
Our first tour was the Lantern Tour,
which enters through the historic entrance. This part of the cave is not lighted and each visitor is issued an oil lantern, our only source of illumination. The park ranger is dressed in a historic uniform, making the tour much like it would have been in the early 1900s during the early years of the cave tours. Since we were at the natural opening, bats and pack rats use this area, and we did find bats flying in the cave. The group was able to choose which section of the cave we wanted to explore and ascended and descended very old and steep wooden stairs along the route. We had to duck-walk through a few very low sections of the cave, but we also entered some large rooms. It was a very exciting and interesting tour. There was only one other family in our group (6 folks total), so it was a very intimate tour.
Our second tour was the Scenic Tour which enters via an elevator from the visitor's center, almost a mile from the historic entrance. This tour route is much more developed, and we had a larger group: 34 people.
It is lighted to highlight the scenic features of the cave and follows paved walkways with aluminum stairs and bridges with hand rails. This one should have been called the "Tourist's Tour". It passes through some very large rooms and some of the most scenic and unusual formations in the cave, but is not as intimate and exciting as the Lantern Tour. I'm glad we took both tours. It's sort of a then and now thing.
After the cave tours we drove about 35 miles to Wind Cave NP and made camp there in Elk Mountain CG.
Pronghorn (commonly called antelope) ought to be the state mammal of Wyoming. You can see them in large herds all over the plains of Wyoming. They must be smarter than deer, however, because we never saw them crossing the road and never saw a pronghorn roadkill.
While driving through eastern Wyoming and the western edge of the Black Hills we called ahead to Jewel Cave National Monument and made reservations for some cave tours. Jewel Cave is famous for its calcite crystals that looked like jewels to the Michaud brothers, when they discovered the original 14" opening to the cave. They used dynamite to widen the entrance, but that entrance is still the only known natural entrance to the cave. After rushing to town to stake their mining claim, they realized the crystals were not gems and had no monetary value. So they opened the cave for tourists and explored about 2 miles of the cave. Today almost 140 miles of the cave have been explored and mapped, making Jewel Cave the second longest cave in the world. Based on the volume and patterns of the winds inhaled and exhaled from the cave, it is estimated that only about 5% of the cave has been found.
Our first tour was the Lantern Tour,
which enters through the historic entrance. This part of the cave is not lighted and each visitor is issued an oil lantern, our only source of illumination. The park ranger is dressed in a historic uniform, making the tour much like it would have been in the early 1900s during the early years of the cave tours. Since we were at the natural opening, bats and pack rats use this area, and we did find bats flying in the cave. The group was able to choose which section of the cave we wanted to explore and ascended and descended very old and steep wooden stairs along the route. We had to duck-walk through a few very low sections of the cave, but we also entered some large rooms. It was a very exciting and interesting tour. There was only one other family in our group (6 folks total), so it was a very intimate tour.Our second tour was the Scenic Tour which enters via an elevator from the visitor's center, almost a mile from the historic entrance. This tour route is much more developed, and we had a larger group: 34 people.
It is lighted to highlight the scenic features of the cave and follows paved walkways with aluminum stairs and bridges with hand rails. This one should have been called the "Tourist's Tour". It passes through some very large rooms and some of the most scenic and unusual formations in the cave, but is not as intimate and exciting as the Lantern Tour. I'm glad we took both tours. It's sort of a then and now thing.After the cave tours we drove about 35 miles to Wind Cave NP and made camp there in Elk Mountain CG.
Travel Day into Wyoming
Sunday August 5
Today would be a long travel day. We ate breakfast with our friends at a quaint log cabin restaurant in Columbia Falls. We had planned to eat at the Blue Moon casino, but it turned out that the casino, or at least the casino restaurant, opened late on Sunday mornings. Montana is loaded with small casinos. There is one on about every other corner. No crazy rules here about letting the Native Americans get all the tourist's $$$. After breakfast we made our goodbyes, broke camp and hit the road about 10:00. As we drove south and east towards Missoula, the smoke and haze from the fires got even worse. We saw some evidence of recent burn along I-90 east of Missoula. As we continued eastward, the skies began to clear, and we actually saw some mountain vistas fairly clearly. We had hoped to visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, but it was after dark when we passed there so we kept going. We drove until about 11:00 PM and camped at the Wal-Mart in Sheridan, WY, where we did spend $27 on groceries. We made almost 600 miles today.
Today would be a long travel day. We ate breakfast with our friends at a quaint log cabin restaurant in Columbia Falls. We had planned to eat at the Blue Moon casino, but it turned out that the casino, or at least the casino restaurant, opened late on Sunday mornings. Montana is loaded with small casinos. There is one on about every other corner. No crazy rules here about letting the Native Americans get all the tourist's $$$. After breakfast we made our goodbyes, broke camp and hit the road about 10:00. As we drove south and east towards Missoula, the smoke and haze from the fires got even worse. We saw some evidence of recent burn along I-90 east of Missoula. As we continued eastward, the skies began to clear, and we actually saw some mountain vistas fairly clearly. We had hoped to visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, but it was after dark when we passed there so we kept going. We drove until about 11:00 PM and camped at the Wal-Mart in Sheridan, WY, where we did spend $27 on groceries. We made almost 600 miles today.
Bob Marshall Wilderness, Flathead National Forest, MT
July 30 - August 4
There have been fires all over northwestern Montana. Everywhere we have been people have told us that the place, campground, road, etc, we were just at had just been closed or evacuated because of fires. One might have thought that the Whitleys were leaving a trail of sparks and fires and trying to burn down Montana singlehandedly. Later we heard that the governor had declared the whole state a disaster area. Fortunately we were never directly affected. Several areas of the "Bob" were closed due to fires. We stopped at the Hungry Horse Ranger Station and confirmed that the area we planned to backpack in was not yet ablaze. So far so good.. From there we proceeded south about 65 miles along a gravel forest service road that follows the Hungry Horse Reservoir and the South Fork Flathead River to the Meadow Creek Gorge trailhead, our put-in point. There the campground host advised us to raise the hoods on our cars so the pack rats wouldn't move in. About 11:00 we set off on our 6-day adventure in the "Bob". Our plan was to hike pretty hard for the first day and then look for a place to base camp. From there we would hike and fish and loaf as we saw fit. We had been told that the trail followed the South Fork and was flat. For that reason we weren't quite prepared for the steady rise of the trail and the short, but fairly steep, descents and then ascents as we passed side creeks. We also weren't prepared for the heat which peaked in the mid 90s. We hiked about 10 miles and made camp on a large gravel bar on river right near Black Bear Creek. There was an excellent fishing hole just downstream where several cutthroat trouts were caught and released.
The next morning there was a moose in camp, but Dorcas and I missed it.
Today we had a choice of fording the river and saving a few miles by shortcutting a large bend in the river or continuing on the same side, climb a bluff and enjoy some views of the river. The group chose, you guessed it, the scenic, but harder and longer route. I think I may have found some potential new inductees into the "Dumb But Tough" club. We hiked about three miles, where we came to the Pack Bridge and a Forest Service work camp and began to look for a good base camp. We ate lunch in a shady spot near the corral while various members of our party set off in different directions at different times looking for a potential base camp. Finally we found a prime site on a bend on river left, about a half mile below the bridge. We christened it "Camp Izaak". During the four nights we spent there, at least a half dozen float parties told us that this was their favorite spot, and that they were disappointed when they came by and it was occupied. It was also an excellent fishing spot. We fished this section of river and had excellent results every day.
One thing we learned on this trip was that we, as hikers, were a very small minority of the area users. Before putting in, Dorcas was in an outfitter store and told the clerk we were hiking into the "Bob".
She responded "Are you taking a mule or a horse?" meaning which of the two we intended to use. Hiking and carrying the gear was not a consideration for her. By far the majority of the folks who use this area have their gear hauled in via horse or mule and then float out in rafts. While hiking in and out, we must have met or been passed by a half dozen pack strings each way. These animals apparently need a lot of room to pass, much more room than the mules in the Grand Canyon or Bryce Canyon. The wranglers continued to advise us they needed more room to pass, which was a problem on the narrow trail. A few of the wranglers were not particularly polite, resulting in the temptation to startle their animals and watch the stampede. While fishing in front of Camp Izaak, we frequently had to stop fishing and retrieve our lines as float trips drifted by. Most of the guides asked permission before crossing and apologized, but the clients wouldn't make eye contact and kept right on fishing. Low-life bastards. If you didn't duck you were likely to take a hook in the ear. Unfortunately, many caught fish in our hole, which added insult to more insult.
On the last day we hiked out via the shortcut across the large bend and forded the river, a total distance of about 11.5 miles. On the drive out the smoke and haze was so thick you could barely see across Hungry Horse Reservoir, only a mile or so. Dorcas and I returned to the coach in Kalispell were we discovered that we had tripped the breaker in our external power supply, forcing the generator to cycle on and off as the battery discharged. I had set my coach charger to charge at a lower rate specifically to keep that from happening, but I had forgotten to turn off the air conditioners. Duh! No harm. We were down a little diesel, but the fridge was still cold. We showered and dressed and drove to Whitefish to meet our friends and feast on pizza and beer at the Mackenzie River Pizza Company.
There have been fires all over northwestern Montana. Everywhere we have been people have told us that the place, campground, road, etc, we were just at had just been closed or evacuated because of fires. One might have thought that the Whitleys were leaving a trail of sparks and fires and trying to burn down Montana singlehandedly. Later we heard that the governor had declared the whole state a disaster area. Fortunately we were never directly affected. Several areas of the "Bob" were closed due to fires. We stopped at the Hungry Horse Ranger Station and confirmed that the area we planned to backpack in was not yet ablaze. So far so good.. From there we proceeded south about 65 miles along a gravel forest service road that follows the Hungry Horse Reservoir and the South Fork Flathead River to the Meadow Creek Gorge trailhead, our put-in point. There the campground host advised us to raise the hoods on our cars so the pack rats wouldn't move in. About 11:00 we set off on our 6-day adventure in the "Bob". Our plan was to hike pretty hard for the first day and then look for a place to base camp. From there we would hike and fish and loaf as we saw fit. We had been told that the trail followed the South Fork and was flat. For that reason we weren't quite prepared for the steady rise of the trail and the short, but fairly steep, descents and then ascents as we passed side creeks. We also weren't prepared for the heat which peaked in the mid 90s. We hiked about 10 miles and made camp on a large gravel bar on river right near Black Bear Creek. There was an excellent fishing hole just downstream where several cutthroat trouts were caught and released.The next morning there was a moose in camp, but Dorcas and I missed it.
Today we had a choice of fording the river and saving a few miles by shortcutting a large bend in the river or continuing on the same side, climb a bluff and enjoy some views of the river. The group chose, you guessed it, the scenic, but harder and longer route. I think I may have found some potential new inductees into the "Dumb But Tough" club. We hiked about three miles, where we came to the Pack Bridge and a Forest Service work camp and began to look for a good base camp. We ate lunch in a shady spot near the corral while various members of our party set off in different directions at different times looking for a potential base camp. Finally we found a prime site on a bend on river left, about a half mile below the bridge. We christened it "Camp Izaak". During the four nights we spent there, at least a half dozen float parties told us that this was their favorite spot, and that they were disappointed when they came by and it was occupied. It was also an excellent fishing spot. We fished this section of river and had excellent results every day.One thing we learned on this trip was that we, as hikers, were a very small minority of the area users. Before putting in, Dorcas was in an outfitter store and told the clerk we were hiking into the "Bob".
She responded "Are you taking a mule or a horse?" meaning which of the two we intended to use. Hiking and carrying the gear was not a consideration for her. By far the majority of the folks who use this area have their gear hauled in via horse or mule and then float out in rafts. While hiking in and out, we must have met or been passed by a half dozen pack strings each way. These animals apparently need a lot of room to pass, much more room than the mules in the Grand Canyon or Bryce Canyon. The wranglers continued to advise us they needed more room to pass, which was a problem on the narrow trail. A few of the wranglers were not particularly polite, resulting in the temptation to startle their animals and watch the stampede. While fishing in front of Camp Izaak, we frequently had to stop fishing and retrieve our lines as float trips drifted by. Most of the guides asked permission before crossing and apologized, but the clients wouldn't make eye contact and kept right on fishing. Low-life bastards. If you didn't duck you were likely to take a hook in the ear. Unfortunately, many caught fish in our hole, which added insult to more insult.On the last day we hiked out via the shortcut across the large bend and forded the river, a total distance of about 11.5 miles. On the drive out the smoke and haze was so thick you could barely see across Hungry Horse Reservoir, only a mile or so. Dorcas and I returned to the coach in Kalispell were we discovered that we had tripped the breaker in our external power supply, forcing the generator to cycle on and off as the battery discharged. I had set my coach charger to charge at a lower rate specifically to keep that from happening, but I had forgotten to turn off the air conditioners. Duh! No harm. We were down a little diesel, but the fridge was still cold. We showered and dressed and drove to Whitefish to meet our friends and feast on pizza and beer at the Mackenzie River Pizza Company.
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