Cascadia State Park to South Beach S.P.

Before we left Cascadia State Park this morning Eliot did his best to leave his ‘mark’. Overnight the park was almost empty which I found a little surprising given the fine weather and the fact that it was a weekend. No matter it was quiet and I slept well. We packed up late and headed further down Hwy 20 through Sweet Home, Lebanon, Albany and Corvalis. Between the Corvalis and the coast the GPS took us on quite a big run-around after we’d pulled off onto a side road. In stead of just saying “turn around” it took us on a long circle just to get us back to where we were 20 minutes before. I guess the GPS couldn’t suggest a U-Turn. But there must be some way of indicating that a big loop can be avoided by just going in the other direction to the one your currently pointed in.

By mid-afternoon we arrived in Newport, Oregon and headed down Hwy 101 to South Beach State Park. It’s just a mile or two out of town. My sister and I had stayed here last September when she had her west coast visit. Up and down the Oregon coast there are many bridges. Some big, some small. This big bridge crosses Newport harbour.

It’s good to be back on the coast although the change in temperature from yesterday in the interior and today on the coast was bracing. Yesterday around 30°C and today in Newport is around 18°C.

South Beach has an extensive area of dunes.

Burns, OR to Cascade State Park

We spent the morning driving further along Hwy 20 across a very arid plain that lies in the middle of Oregon. Who would believe this photo was taken in Oregon.

I thought we’d finally driven out of the forest fire smog but it turns out we’ve driven into a new forest fire zone. There is a huge blaze south of Sister, Oregon.

The above photo was taken at a rest stop in Brothers, Oregon. Americans seem to have a love hate relationship with their dogs. At many of the rest stops, dogs are only allowed at either end of the rest stop grounds. It’s usually a pretty inhospitable area for human or canine. For instance, I feared we would run into rattlesnakes when I took Eliot here for a whiz.

I have driven through so much lightly populated country over the past two weeks that it’s always a bit of a shock to drive into a town or city of any size. After two hours of desert, I was not quite prepared for the traffic congestion in Bend, Oregon (pop.65,000)

Up until now I have not said much about how the old 1984 VW has been performing. No point in tempting fate. But it has been doing remarkably well. I’ve been careful to keep an eye on the oil and coolant levels and so far we’ve put more than 20,000 kilometers on the overhauled engine. But as we entered Bend, Oregon I put my foot on the brake and my foot went all the way to the floor. Yikes! A little pumping of the brake pedal and the brakes came back only to disappear the next time I needed to stop. At least if we were going to have a problem, I could easily find help.

So I finally found a Les Schwab(?). Their staff had been really helpful a couple of years ago when I needed a new tire in Townsend, Washington. They didn’t make faces or snide remarks when they saw what I was driving and took old Helmut into a bay to check out the brakes. About a half hour later the guy (Barry) came to me looking quite serious. But it turned out not to be ... serious, that is. He said that everything about the brakes seemed fine and that there were no leaks. He suggested that perhaps the braking fluid has gotten too hot and ‘boiled’ creating air in the brake lines. He said it might be worth draining and flushing the ‘old’ brake fluid since as it gets old it’s boiling temperature gets lower. But he didn’t think it would be dangerous to continue on my way. So I did. And lucky me. They were having free brake inspections that week.

Since there was an oil change place around the corner, I took Helmut there for some new oil. Usually I change the oil once or twice a year but we’ve really been racking up the kilometers so it seemed like a good idea.

From Bend, Oregon, Hwy 20 goes over a couple passes in the Cascade Mountains. They’re not high like some of the passes further east but they are no less brutal.

It’s amazing how much the landscape changes in just a hour’s worth of driving. Up one side of the mountain where it looks as if it hasn’t rained for years then down the other side into a more familiar landscape of forests of ferns and huge trees with moss hanging from them. The temperature also dropped and as we descended from 4,000 feet we were in cloud for the first time in many days.

We’re spending the night at Cascadia State Park. It’s a tenting park where Helmut fits in quite nicely. They’ve built new shower buildings but they’re not open yet. The sign says opening 2012 but the park closes for the season at the end of September so it looks as if they’re not going to make it.

Tomorrow off to the coast.

Picabo, Idaho to Burns, Oregon

Sunrise this morning at the fisherman’s camp (courtesy of the state of Idaho) where we stayed last night. The ‘camp’ is beside a river which must be good for fishing. And it’s sort of squeezed between two huge fields of something that the farmer and his helpers started reaping this morning quite early. With really noisy machinery. No matter. I let Eliot under the sleeping bag and we dozed off for another hour not arising until 8:15am. The farmer and his gang were still at it. Last night we were also treated to the carryings on of a bunch of coyotes. They yipped and yapped during the early part of the night but then decided to go elsewhere.

We were back on Highway 20 continuing west towards the coast. At Mountain Home, Idaho we had to hop on the Interstate for an hour and a half to get to Ontario, Oregon where we were able to pick up R20 again. I stopped in Mountain Home for a snack and some coffee. On our way out of town, I saw a business that specializes in RV parts and decided to ask them about the awning on the VW. It came with the van and is quite effective at repelling rain and sunshine. However, it’s as old as the van (28 years) and I always ended up cursing and swearing (hard to believe, I know) when I had to pack it up. In Nova Scotia I had added some spacers to keep it from catching on the side, sliding door. I guess my engineering know-how is not so great because my modifications caused the two little feet that sit against the body of the van to break off. Metal fatigue??

In any event, the awning was now even more annoying catching on the sliding door. As I expected, the guy I talked to said it really couldn’t be fixed. So I decided to junk it. I asked if I could throw it in their dumpster. He helped me remove it and carried it to the dumpster for me. Now that it’s gone I’m convinced that the van rides better. (I’m not suggesting that I’m being logical.) But I’m glad the damn thing’s gone. Of course, a new one might cost several hundred dollars. I think I will come up with something involving a tarp.

We stopped in Ontario, Oregon for a little travel advice and got it from the dearest little old lady at the rest stop. I said I was thinking of taking route 20 all the way to the coast and she said she thought that was a great plan. The first third of the trip has us in Burns, Oregon at a very nice RV Park where I’ve just had my first shower since Sunday.

This morning there was still a lot of smoke in the air when we headed out. By late this afternoon and a third of the way across Oregon, the sky had actually turned blue rather than the grey we’ve had the past few days.

The trip from Ontario involved a couple of mountain passes: Drinkwater Pass (at around 4,200 feet) and Stinkingwater Pass at just over 4,800 feet. Burns, Oregon is on a high, desert prairie at around 4,000 feet.

Teton National Park to Picabo, Idaho

No, we didn’t stop here because of the name of the town. We’re actually camped outside Picabo on a little river. It’s a forestry service type campsite. Very basic. I think it’s mostly used by fly fisherman who are likely at work mid-week. And, it appears to be free. There’s only one other camper ... a couple in a RV.

But the day began in Teton National Park in Wyoming. The haze of smoke from forest fires hadn’t cleared during the night. The best we got was this:

And that’s with a little tweeking of the contrast on the original photo file. We headed south out of the park through Jackson, Wyoming. It seems a fine little town but the traffic was horrendous. All those folks heading to Yellowstone, I guess.

We headed up Highway 22 which goes over Teton Pass. Immediately the grade was very steep (10% however that’s calculated). As there were no passing lanes we soon had a long lineup of cars behind us. I’m sure Helmut would have made it to the top in second gear but there might have been quite a bit of road rage going on behind us, so we abandoned the uphill climb and chose route B.

It turned out that the ride down Hwy 89 followed the Snake River much of it a wide canyon. Most of the traffic from the north disappeared and we could even stop and sit gazing over the edge without a dozen other cars stopping to see what was so interesting. And we ended up far enough south that most of the forest fire smoke disappeared.

At approximately the Idaho/Wyoming border the Snake River does a 180 and turns north. And the road follows it. The countryside is gentler and the valley gets much wider with lots of agriculture.

On we went through Idaho Falls where we stopped for lunch. Then continuing west on Highway 20. West of Idaho Falls is a whole lot of flat arid country that I’m sure is filled with rattlesnakes. But the road is good and goes in a straight line for miles and miles.

 

We stopped in the town of Alco, Idaho for gas and groceries. Gas was found but nothing resembling groceries was for sale. Dinner tonight was a can of beans and crackers and a pear for dessert. Sadly the Golden West Cafe appeared to be closed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About 30 minutes past Alco is Craters of the Moon National Monument. In the centre of Idaho there’s a huge lava field the remainders of volcanic activity some of which occurred only 2,000 years ago. It’s odd to be driving through cowboy desert when quite quickly it turns to a landscape more reminiscent of Hawaii.

Yellowstone to Grand Teton National Park

I cannot imagine what these parks are like in the summertime. Right now, in mid-September there are many, many people. The parking lots are jammed. Far worse than Thrifty’s on a Saturday afternoon. It can make sight-seeing a bit trying at times.

The main roadways in Yellowstone park are two circles making a figure eight. There are roads coming into the park in all four directions so you end up connecting to one of the two circles in the figure eight. We had arrived from the east and between yesterday and today we made a circle of the bottom of the figure eight. There are many, many places to stop. You can usually figure how worth it is to stop by the traffic jam created or the absence of parking places. However, you can be fooled. There are a few roads in the park that are narrow and you can drive in only one direction. Today, I was going down one of the these and decided to stop and take some pictures by the little stream that ran along the roadway. I’d only been stopped for about five minutes when several other cars had stopped and people had gotten out to see why I had stopped. I don’t think me crouching along the side of a brook taking pictures was exactly what they were expecting to find.

 

There is lots of wildlife. Everyone seems mad for the bison. I guess they do figure rather prominently in the advertising for the park. And you really do have to keep and eye out. This evening we are camped in Teton National Park. This afternoon I was strolling to the washroom and as I came up the path I discovered a big buck between me and the washroom door. He had a very impressive rack of antlers and seemed pretty laid back but I took no chances and found relief elsewhere.

Also on view today were waterfalls (lots of them):

The Yellowstone River:

And Yellowstone park’s Grand Canyon – a work in progress:

I was looking forward to Grand Teton National Park because of photographs I’ve seen of the lake and the huge mountains that rise up on the far side of the lake. There are no foothills for these peaks ... just bam ... there they are. However, there seem to be forest fires burning to the west and to the north and so today the peaks were just light grey outlines. Perhaps tomorrow will bring clearer skies.

Buffalo Bill State Park to Yellowstone

Still in Wyoming. The drive to the eastern entrance of Yellowstone National Park is spectacular. It follows a river canyon rising higher and higher as you get closer to the park gate. There were two HUGE bison in a field just to the right of the entrance. I thought they’d been put there to give visitors a thrill on first arriving but the gal at the gate said they’d just wandered in that morning.

After the park gate it was up over Sylvan Pass at just over 8,500 feet. No signs of altitude symptoms at this height. But we were up and over pretty quickly.

The national parks are not particularly dog friendly. No dogs on hiking trails. No dogs on any boardwalks. No dogs more than 100 feet from pavement basically. I’d say in Yellowstone the boardwalks are probably no place for any pet. If they should escape and leap off the boardwalk the waters are very hot, some deep and some quite acidic.

When we drove south to West Thumb Geyser Basin, I was lucky to find a shady parking spot (although it wasn’t scorching hot at 7,000 feet) and walked the boardwalks which take visitors past the thermal attractions found throughout the park – mud pools, hot springs, geysers.

This particular spring is called The Abyss. Others were simply beautiful with different coloured mineral deposits and algae.

I found it interesting that none of these springs seemed to have any odour unlike the sulphuric springs in the Rocky Mountains.

After West Thumb we headed up north to investigate Old Faithful. I feared that it would be a mob scene but it wasn’t too bad. I had no idea what to expect. The park has built huge boardwalks almost all the way around the geyser. And a huge chuck of the circumference has benches. I spoke to some people who’d come over to ask about Eliot (and showed me pictures of their West Highland Terriers). The guy said that the next eruption was supposed to happen at 4pm. It was almost 3:30pm so we decided to stick around. This seemed to be a fairly dog friendly part of the park.

Eliot and I went off for a walk and returned about 3:45pm. People had been arriving steadily and there was quite a crowd. We waited and waited. The steam continued to pour out of the geyser’s mouth. Around 3:55pm a little steaming water splashed over the edge. Then at 4:00pm there was this:

It couldn’t have been more than four feet high. Everyone sat anticipating more. But sadly after ten minutes everyone realized that that had been it. Old Faithful hadn’t erupted; it had burped. It seems that several years ago there was an earthquake and it appears to have moved around some of Old Faithful’s innards. And now the geyser is less than faithful. It was pretty disappointing. It reminded me of the time I went to Hawaii and was eagerly anticipating seeing the lava flowing into the ocean at Volcanos National Park. But the day I finally got there, the park ranger informed me that the lava had mysteriously stopped flowing and that it was the first time it had ceased to flow in over the decade.

Tonight we’re camped at Madison campground. Besides the pathways around the campground being off-limits to Eliot, it’s one of those campground where everyone is squeezed in cheek by jowl. Now that it’s after 8pm, at least there are no generators running.

Tomorrow a little more exploring in Yellowstone and then down to Grand Teton National Park.

Buffalo, Wyoming to Cody, Wyoming

This morning started with an invasion. While I was busy getting the van ready for the road, Eliot and I were oblivious to the fact that we were being surrounded by a turkey and his/her gang. However, when Eliot noticed the intruders inspecting our campsite and table, he sprang into action and ran them off. None of the turkeys seemed particularly upset so I guess they’ve had run-ins with campground dogs before.

 

The ring leader and some of his gang

We began the day by heading west on Hwy 16. This involved going over the Big Horn Mountains into the valley on the other side. The pass through the mountains is at almost 10,000 feet. We were already at 4,500 feet but it was still going to be a big climb.

The trip did not go quickly. I had hoped that third gear would suffice for most of the climb. But second gear was called into use quite frequently. So we crept along at about 50 km/hr. Sometimes less. Before the summit, I decided Helmut needed a little break so we stopped to look at the view.

We eventually reached the summit.

I had never been at this high an elevation before (except in an airplane). We were well above 8,000 feet for some time and I began to notice that I was short of breath and getting a bit headachy. Just did feel quite right. It wasn’t very pleasant and I was glad to roll down the other side of the pass to more moderate elevations.

The western slopes of the Big Horn Mountains are much craggier than the eastern side.

A bit mini-Grand Canyon in appearance.

Needless to say we came down a lot faster than we went up and that was pretty much it for big hills for the day. The eastern side of the Big Horn’s is a vast valley that’s very desert like. Not much vegetation and things growing only where they are irrigated.

Onward through the towns of Ten Sleep, Worland and Greybull. In Greybull there is an airport that appears to have once had an aviation museum. The reason I say ‘used to’ is a very old sign advertising a museum of war planes and a lot of old planes that appear to have been abandoned. From the road I saw this one. I wonder what the history of it is. If you look closely you can see “Royal Canadian Air Force” printed on the side.

Tonight we’re camped at Buffalo Bill State Park (he was big in these parts apparently) and tomorrow it’s on to Yellowstone National Park which is about 40 miles down the road.