Month: April 2023

April 1, 2023
April Fools, Flowers and Showers (all kinds)

April first found us traveling north through Oatman, Arizona, which is famous for their wild burros, but this year is also experiencing a bit of a “super bloom” of poppies from the wet fall and winter.

We enjoyed being tourists for a day, eating a buffalo burger at the Oatman Hotel, papering their wall with our personalized dollar bill, and getting a picture with one of their not-very-wild burros!

Spring weather wasn’t exactly on the forecast, and actually we spent most of April chasing winter with April showers of rain, sleet and snow! We stopped for a few days in Kingman, Arizona to stay out of weather as well as just savor the fact that we were on the road again. Larry installed the chill chaser on our a/c so we now have another option to stay warm, and we used it often this month. There was some sightseeing…

but the absolute best thing that happened on our stop was to reconnect with Dave and Cindy of the Albino Rhino! (AlbinoRhino at mytripjournal.com). Our last visit with them was in 2014 when they were in Florida and we talked with them about RV full-timing. They’re a great couple who have been on the road for 14 years now in a truck camper and we had such a fun time catching up! We hope to see them again this fall in the Grand Tetons on our way back from Alaska.
Continuing north, our journey stopped at Lake Mead and then on to Salt Lake City where it snowed on us. We celebrated Easter in the small town of Heyburn, Idaho where they have a city campground and park right on the river. Families came to have Easter Egg hunts and the air was full of children’s laughter.

Our next stop was in the town of Ketchum, Idaho to see Brent Hansen of Ski-Tek Hansen Orthotics. Several years ago we befriended a photographer in the Grand Tetons who wound up being the retired senior ranger for the Sawtooth Mountain range. He told us that Brent had taken good care of his feet and kept him hiking all these years. Last year, I had Brent make some orthotics for me which have made a huge difference in my foot neuromas. This year it was Larry’s turn to get orthotics so we can both keep hogging fun adventures wherever we roam.

Thanks, Brent, and all your team!

Pumpernickel post-holing in snow near Ketchum, Idaho (I’m a Florida cat, Hello!)

We boondocked near here overnight and stayed toasty warm in spite of the weather.

A bit further south near Jerome, Idaho we toured the Minidoka Japanese Internment Camp National Historic Site from WW2. It was too early in the season for tours or the visitor center being open, so we watched the NPS park video online before we went which was very helpful in understanding the events of that time. As we walked the loop trail learning from the exhibits and buildings, I chanced upon a beautiful blue swirl marble lying almost hidden in the grass. We held it and imagined the lives of the children who had played with it, and the stories it could tell before replacing back where it could continue to bear witness to history.

We had our teeth cleaned at Canyon Falls Dental in Jerome where we had had an excellent experience the year before. In spite of difficulties finding care, we stay on top of getting our teeth cleaned twice a year, and this office does a wonderful job (special thanks to Tanner!). Our plan from there was to head to Boise to pick up some Amazon packages and then keep going, but all that changed when we noticed a fellow RVer flashing their headlights at us as we passed them. Never a good thing! Upon pulling over and inspecting the rig, Larry saw that one of the roof latches had pulled away and was missing so that the front passenger side roof was lifting up as we drove. Yikes!

Thankfully, we were able to temporarily strap it closed and drive on backroads to a WalMart a few miles away where we bought more supplies and strapped the roof closed more securely (you can see what the latch is supposed to look like on the photo below which shows the drivers side)

This held the roof shut until we drove to a Camping World near Boise, Idaho where we were able to get what we needed for a repair and spend the night as Good Sam members. Yep, Life in a RV is worry free—April Fools! You just never know when you are going to join the not-so-exclusive club of RVs rolling down the road with some part of the rig taped or strapped down, pieces trying to fly away or items left deployed that should have been retracted before driving. Ok, so the last one is mostly avoidable with a departure checklist—like pre-flighting an airplane—but life happens sometimes.

Not all suprises were unpleasant as Lucky Larry found this fluttering on the roadside at one of our multiple stops for repair supplies and strap checks. 🍀

All fixed up, we continued our travels to eastern Oregon where I’d found a part of the Lewis and Clark trail we had not visited. Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was born to Sacajawea of the Corp of Discovery on the famous expedition. His very well-done and respectful gravesite is down a quiet dirt road near Jordan Valley, Oregon.

One of the things we like best about our life on the road is the opportunity to follow history and experience in person locations we’ve read about. As we drove west in 2019, we had listened to the book “Dauntless Courage” about the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and visited spots along the route then. It give us goosebumps to be somewhere like this and imagine the life and character of those who discovered and shaped this country.

That evening we boondocked at a beautiful spot nearby on Antelope Reservoir.

To be able to camp like THIS is what we worked so hard for all of February and March!

Finally! (Finalleeeeeeee!)
Roberta – Odd Life Crafting
So, you really have to go to their you tube channel and hear her say this in her very cute accent!

A friend asked for suggestions on a Utah Spring Break, and Larry thought I should share what I wrote.

You are going to have a blast!  I’ll give you some specifics from our visits, but first a few general thoughts:
1.  Start early.  Like, before sunrise to get where you want to go before it is hot and crowded. Pack breakfast stuff to eat on the road.  Pack lots of snacks to eat when you get to where you want to go, the saltier and more caloric the better as no one is their best hangry, ask Larry how he knows to pack an extra snack for me 😉. You can go out to lunch in town later while everyone else is hiking and mobbing the scenic views, plus you’ll be cooler inside.
2. Hydrate.  Take lots of water, electrolyte mixes, ice tea or whatever reviving beverage you enjoy.  If you’ve been to the desert, you remember how it sucks water out of you rapidly and leaves you drained with no energy, grumpy (or worse, hospitalized).
3. Slow down.  So, I used to look at the high points of a destination and had to do them. ALL OF THEM.  I’ve learned to leave something for another visit and pick a few of the places that are must sees—for me.  No matter what you do, someone hearing about your trip will tell you that you “missed” some really cool spot.  It is your vacation, enjoy it, do what you want–but maybe not all that you want to do.

For Arches, the place everyone goes is Delicate Arch.  It is beautiful, and it really glows at sunset.  Lots of people know this so it is extra busy then, but there is plenty of room. If you do sunset make sure to take a wind breaker as it gets cool after the sun goes down and headlamps or a flashlight as the hike back will be in the dark.  Whenever you go, take snacks and refreshments and sit there awhile and enjoy it.  So many people come, take the pix and leave, but it is fun to watch the light change, birds soar, people get their “gram” and just soak up the fact that you. are. there.  If you pack too many snacks (not sure if that’s possible) you can always offer extras to some parent whose child of whatever age is having a meltdown, or your neighbor photographer.

Fiery Furnace is a wonderful maze with great history.  Take time to absorb it, stop for a snack somewhere in there and imagine outlaws hiding out, or consider how it was a spiritual place for early peoples.  The Old West is called that because it has an old feel to it, if you stop and wait.
Other than that, there is a drive with multiple stops, again best done early for heat, prettiest light and crowds.
When we went with the kids, we did a rappelling adventure which they still talk about.

For Canyonlands, there is an iconic arch, Mesa Arch, that everyone goes to for sunrise pictures.  What no one tells you is that there are at least 100 other photographers squeezing into the same small space who all got there in the dark hoping for the same shot.  It’s fun if you know what to expect, are dressed for the cool morning, and have a good attitude.  The light is still pretty just after sunrise, and the serious photographers all leave.

Me taking a picture of Larry taking a picture

We reserved an overnight pass and took our Jeep on the White Rim drive which can be done in one very full day, or just do part of it.  Jeep or ATV rentals are available and the road isn’t too technical, or rental companies can suggest other trips.  Moab in general is an off-road paradise.

See how the light gets washed out midday?

In Capitol Reef, make sure you have pies and ice cream if the Gifford Farmhouse is open. No calories, I promise, and there are picnic tables out front, or go back up the street a little bit to a bigger picnic area where the deer usually hang out. There is a drive called Looping the Fold which can take most of the day but is very pretty, has this great switchback, and is informative—if you do it buy the little booklet on it at the visitor center.  You can go halfway and turn around at the switchback so you get to go up and down the switchback, which I would suggest if you are going to take Scenic Byway 12 later. Boulder is on the back part of the “loop” on the 12 where you’ll find the small but very informative Anasazi State Park Museum, and usually a taco truck out front whose food was spendy but good. There are a bunch of hikes in Capitol Reef, but Our Favorite Hike of the park was to Cassidy Arch.  Go early, enjoy the solitude, and this arch is 50 feet wide so you can stand and jump on it if you want for a nice pix.

Yeah, that’s Larry😍! Isn’t morning light magical?

Escalante and Scenic Byway 12 is a treasure.  The drive is gobsmackingly beautiful. Stunning, phenomenal, fantastic…anything, anything but the cliche “amazing.”  I challenge you not to use that word the whole trip and come up with others.

From Capitol Reef, take Scenic Byway 12, passing Boulder and the museum, to Lower Calf Creek Falls which is a really cool hike out to a hidden waterfall.  Pick up the brochure at the trailhead as there are some spots to see that are numbered on the hike. We started at first light and had the falls to ourselves for 45 minutes—like a cathedral in its beauty and peace that we were whispering as we often do.  A wild turkey strolled by us as we ate a picnic (starting to get a food theme here yet?). It is only a two mile hike but on the way out we counted 60 hikers coming in before we just stopped counting. No way they were going to have the same experience.  There is a nearby coffee house, Kiva Koffeehouse, that everyone raves about, especially the view (next time….)

My mouth is full of food

If you are not claustrophobic and up for an awesome one-of-a-kind, no one you know will have done this (except us) adventure, Spooky and Peek-a-boo slot canyons are the BEST slot canyons we have ever hiked.  You can look videos of them up on YouTube, or watch mine if it loads for you. The hikes are on a side trip gravel road well worth the drive, which any car should be able to do. Go early, again, we had the whole place to ourselves until on the way out, but it could be fun with people, too.
Epic.
Just.
Go.

On the Byway, stop in at the Escalante Heritage Center just before Escalante to watch an inspiring historic film that recreates how the Mormons settled this area.  After seeing it we decided next time we’re going to drive down to Hole in the Rock in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (wanted to do the slot canyons first, and leave something for another trip, right?)

Enjoy your vacation!

Tiptoe through the tulips (and fossils)

Mid-April found us leaving eastern Oregon and traveling West on our way to the coast.  We drove through the Mather National Forest to the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center at the Sheep Ranch Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.  At a fuel stop in John Day (the town), the fuel attendant noticed our Florida license plate and she was from a small town very close to where Larry and I both grew up—it is a small world!  The John Day Fossil beds are actually named after a man who was ambushed long ago and all his belongings were stolen, including his clothes, which made his rescue so noteworthy that the area was named after him 😂.  Oregon actually has a very large layer of fossil deposits and thankfully this particular area has been preserved for study and future enjoyment.  At the Paleontology Center we learned that these fossils were about the age of mammals (no dinosaurs here) and they are still learning so much about who was here and where they went.  Evidently rhinos and camels originated in North America and migrated across the Asia land bridge where they thrived while their counterparts here went extinct.  The pronghorn antelope originated here alongside the cheetah, who left for Asia and its ancestors here disappeared while the pronghorn stayed and multiplied. This explains why the pronghorn is 25mph faster than the timberwolf who is the fastest carnivore in North America.  Fascinating!

We also visited the Gant ranch where the original family homestead and ranch is still available for tours. 

This was the road up to the forest campground we’d planned to stay at….um, no.

Instead, we boondocked at a BLM site in a small meadow alongside a creek near the Painted Hills section of the National Monument where Larry used the evening to run the wire so we can use the Starlink once it is installed on the roof and replaced the digital Ute door lock that wasn’t unlocking.  He never stops working! That’s our Starlink deployed on the ground, where none of the free range cattle came by to inspect it overnight.

Although this little calf, his mama and the rest of the herd were in the road just around the corner from our campsite!

The next morning we had the hills to ourselves to explore before bad weather moved in and we landed at a campground in Bend, Oregon.  We had planned to stay at Tumalo State Park, but with our (lifetime) Passport America discount the resort was actually less expensive and more appealing in bad weather.  We parked our little truck camper on the brick paver sites nestled between the half million dollar Dutch Stars, Entegras and Newmars, and enjoyed the extra amenities like a sauna, hot tub, exercise room, lounge with free coffee and popcorn—yeah, we bougie.  It snowed and rained, was cloudy and miserable but we used the time to relax and work.  Larry installed the See Level tank monitors on the fresh and grey tanks, hung new towel rods and refitted the LP attachments, among other things.

The pass through the mountains never got less snowy, so when we left we drove the 6 hour route through the Columbia River Gorge to Silver Falls State Park.  The drive was pretty and we stopped to make lunch at The Hook, a spit of land on the Columbia River where folks often wind and kite surf.  It was so much fun to just stop, pop up the camper and enjoy the view!

Larry had asked about Spring festivals in Oregon so I found the very popular Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn near Silver Falls State Park.  This spring has been wetter and colder than normal so the tulips are a little late in blooming. For once the weather worked to our advantage as we got to see them just before peak bloom.  Very slick clay-like soil made up the fields and roads, so we almost got the camper stuck while parking—thank you four wheel drive!  We enjoyed taking pictures and being around all the people celebrating spring.  Below are some of our Tulip Festival photos and my philosophical musings.

Enjoy!

4WD is for when 2WD got you in trouble

-OR-

If you’ve lost traction from full treads slow down and find your strength

Take the usual shots

But be open to unexpected beauty

Bloom on your own schedule

Be Yourself

(Honestly everyone who saw me taking this picture did likewise)

We grow old because we stop playing

Resistance means an opportunity to soar

😍

Love is that to life what wind is to a windmill. -Kari Shams

Back to the Pacific Ocean At Last

We stayed at Silver Falls State Park because the Tulip Festival was nearby but also because it is called the Crown Jewel” of the Oregon State Park system. The Trail of Ten Falls is well known for the number of gorgeous falls you can walk behind. Parts of the trail were almost impassably slick and muddy due to all the recent rain, but we liked Upper and Lower South Falls best, both of which have huge walkways behind them. Be prepared to get wet!

Cape Lookout State Park was our next campground, with a windy and rainy walk on the beach, but we were back at the Pacific Ocean!

“I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.”
-Sea Fever by John Masefield

Another reason we camped here was to visit Tillamook Cheese nearby that we had missed on our trip down the West Coast in 2019.

The factory floor at work was interesting to watch before we took the tour and then sampled so much cheese we barely had enough room for ice cream. (We managed!)

The next drive up the coast was on a much prettier day!

Fort Stevens State Park was where we landed at the day’s end, lured by more beach access, history including WW2 and Lewis and Clark, and a spring festival. Trifecta! Spring seemed to have mostly arrived on the coast by late April so we had some lovely weather. On the beach, we enjoyed morning walks and photos with the Peter Iredale wreck from 1906 that is ever so slowly being claimed by the sea.

Below are details from the Oregon State Park brochure.

“I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face and a grey dawn breaking.”
-Sea Fever by John Masefield

The historic area from Fort Stevens has been well preserved and we enjoyed a self guided walk one morning followed by a picnic lunch on the Oregon side of the Columbia River’s Pacific entrance watching the big and little ships come in. It was clear why the Fort was so strategic to protect the waterway access to the Columbia River from the Civil War to WW2. In 1942 a lone Japanese sub lobbed shells at the battery, making it the first time a mainland military fort had been fired on by an enemy since the war of 1812. The Army did not return fire lest they give away their position and defenses. The Japanese sub commander returned after the war to apologize and commented that they would never have fired on the fort if they knew all of the artillery pointed at them!

The Lewis and Clark expedition spent the winter of 1805 at nearby Fort Clatsop, which has been reconstructed according to drawings and writings in their journals. The day we were there a school group was on a field trip learning frontier skills—we needed to declare ourselves and intentions to the youthful fort “guards” to go inside! The adult volunteers were kind enough to let these two old kids practice making tallow candles and lighting a fire with flint and steel. What fun!

On a gorgeous day we drove up the very steep hill to the Astoria Column. Astoria, Oregon is often called little San Francisco because of the similar appearance of the homes and streets. We climbed to top of the tower, whose hand painted images on the spiral frieze commemorate the history of the Pacific Northwest, and launched little gliders we had purchased at the gift store below. Afterwards we retrieved them from where we saw them land and passed them on to other visitors to enjoy. We had a Dutch Bros coffee, enjoyed the view, and chatted for awhile with other sightseers.

I had purchased tickets for the Astoria Crab, Seafood and Wine Festival (we think the wine part should be listed first as there were lots of local winery booths) to continue celebrating Spring. Shuttles ran from the campground to the festival, making transportation easy. We ate “clowns” which are a NorthWest version of lobster rolls but with crab and cheese—delicious! We also purchased smoked salmon dip and saved some for a picnic as we drove up the 101 the next day.

Who is the clown now?
On our drive from Astoria, Oregon to Potlatch, Washington we stopped briefly at the Dismal Nitch. The Corps of Discovery had been stranded there for 6 days due to bad weather and we agree it was aptly named. It must have been so frustrating for Lewis and Clark to be able to hear the ocean after their long journey but not be able to get there!
April’s last stop was at a delightful campground, the Waterfront At Potlatch, on the Hood Canal in Washington State. We didn’t, but we could have spent a week here watching the tide change, the seals fish, and the boats glide by! Such a very peaceful and a wonderful way to end the month and our journey from Arizona to Washington.

“I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry tale from a laughing fellow-rover,
And a quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.”
-Sea Fever by John Masefield