Category: Travel

Posts about my Chapter 5 travel adventures

Today was a Plan C day!

Plan A, driving to the east side and exploring Two Medicine Lake, was scuttled due to a hostage/fatality incident closing HWY 2, the route to the east side (

https://www.usnews.com/…/great-falls-police-report…

). 

Plan B was interrupted by a grizzly bear. I took the shuttle to Jackson Glacier Outlook and planned to hike from there to St. Mary Falls. About 1.5 miles in, after I saw Deadwood Falls and a hanging bridge, four people hurried toward me from the direction I was heading. They had seen a grizzly on the trail about .25 miles down and only .25 miles from my destination. The grizzly started walking toward them, so they turned the other direction. I decided that even with my bear spray attached to my waist belt and ready for me to use, the wise decision was to turn around. 
Plan C: I hopped on the shuttle and hiked to Baring Falls and St. Mary Falls. Only minor glitch: the last shuttle out left at 4:50 pm, so I hightailed it out of there at a fast pace for the final 2.3 miles (under 17 mins/mile). 
Jackson Glacier, expected to fully melt by 2030.

 

The trail from Jackson Glacier Outlook

 

 

Clear water – Deadwood Falls

 

Hanging bridge

 

St. Mary Lake

 

Baring Falls

 

The pool of water under St. Mary Falls

 

St. Mary Falls

What a phenomenal day! Before I talk about the extraordinary beauty of this national park, I want to first praise the customer management systems they have in place. Everything from entering at the gate to getting hiking ideas from someone at the visitors’ center to the efficient shuttle system was smooth and effortless.
Now the beauty… I did two gorgeous hikes today, the first about six miles to Avalanche Lake. During this hike, I enjoyed the fun and reflective conversation with a recent grad from Indiana University who is traveling solo as she figures out what’s next for herself combining environmental justice and theater. Following that hike, I headed up to Logan’s Pass for the three mile round trip to Hidden Lake Overlook. The highlight was the herd of mountain goats eating grass and flowers right next to us on the trail!
Culling my pics from *71* to 10 created a challenge!
Stream from Avalanche Lake

 

Mini-waterfall near Avalanche Lake

 

Avalanche Lake with the mountains reflected in the water. 🙂

 

This butterfly hung out for quite awhile on my boot – practiced yoga breathing to remain still.

 

Another view of Avalanche Lake

 

Hidden Lake Trail

 

More views of Logan’s Pass from Hidden Lake trail.

 

Views from Hidden Lake trail

 

Hidden Lake!

 

One of many from the mountain goat herd feeding next to the trail!

Such a cool day! Left Spokane in the morning and walked around Coeur d’Alene for a bit. In Montana, visited Kootenai Falls and Hanging Bridge. The falls reminded me of Iceland and the hanging bridge of Costa Rica. 🙂 Now just outside Glacier – although I have a National Park Pass and a shuttle ticket for tomorrow (and another shuttle ticket for Thursday), I’m quite curious to see how the process will go, especially in comparison to Zion and given it’s summer…

Bridge over the train on trail to waterfall.

 

Waterfall

 

Waterfall

 

Guess who?!

 

On the hanging bridge

 

The hanging bridge!

 

Coeur d’Alene

 

The lake in Coeur d’Alene

 

The river trail in Spokane links with this trail in Coeur d’Alene

Following my WONDERFUL visit with Lynne and Ken, I left Bainbridge this morning in the ferry to Seattle. The ferry adventure was smooth and uneventful – yay! Headed to Spokane where I did the necessities – Trader Joe’s, Safeway, and Costco Gas – on my way to the KOA in Spokane. Hey, at 9 pm I get to see Harry and the Hendersons (or whatever the title is!) on an outside screen! Walked 5.5 miles along the Spokane Riverwalk Trail. Now grilling salmon for dinner. 🙂
Evening update: Showers were free even though I thought I’d need to use my quarters – hot and clean, too. Kids on the lawn watching the movie – sweet. Neighbors are friendly…Gary and Darlene, from Alabama, exploring national parks (left Glacier today and heading to Rainier tomorrow). Retired police officer…handed me religious brochures along with Glacier hike recommendations. Conversations with people outside of my “pod”: one of the reasons to travel!
Spokane Riverwalk Trail, part of the 63 mile Centennial Trail. https://spokanecentennialtrail.org

 

Spokane River. What you can’t see are the 97° temps!

 

Spokane River

 

Spokane River

 

I’m not in California anymore! I wonder who/why rubbed out the last word…

 

I love having dual SIM cards on my new phone and that I can do front facing portrait mode selfies, but I haven’t figured out how to take portrait mode flower pics. Suggestions?

 

 

Lovely day today! Hiked with Lynne and two of her Bainbridge besties, Renee and Marilyn. The forests and beaches on this island, even though there has been no rain for a record-breaking six weeks, are beautiful. In the afternoon, Ken’s daughter Sheryl and Sheryl’s husband Drew came over from Seattle for a belated Father’s Day celebration – and Amy and her cousin Naomi dropped by for a visit. Busy, active, and social day!

 

 

 

Hiked about (Fitbit on the fritz) eight miles total to and from the Heceta Head Lighthouse. The trail took me through a lush coastal forest and fern-covered meadow before ascending to view the lighthouse from above. After that terrific sight, walked down to the lighthouse itself, the keepers’ house, and the beach. Built in 1894, three keepers kept the oil flames aglow until electricity arrived in 1934 and reduced the need for keepers.
The latter part of the day consisted of splitting logs – first time I’ve used an axe! – and the usual RV chores – cooking, cleaning, refilling fresh water tanks, and dumping black and gray tanks.
Relaxed in the evening with my campfire and grilled salmon and salad.  🙂
Hard at work with trip planning! Progressive lenses are sometimes not enough!

 

 

Tree-shrooms!

 

Anyone know what type of tree this is?

 

Wherever the wind blows!

 

 

I spy…

 

Still lighting the way!

 

And I didn’t hurt myself!

Had a wonderful dinner and evening last night with Kate and Chuck! So good to catch up after too many years. I know I’ll see them next year as they’re storing Addie parts for me – the awning and side door trim pieces! Thanks so much, Chuck, for taking care of my Addie for me! She looks – almost – as good as new!
After an early rise so I could miss the 8am-12noon road construction closure of HWY 101, I headed up the coast to Washburne State Park in Florence, OR. What a treat! Not only is it beautiful and quiet, the camp hosts are lovely and I’m surrounded by trees with only a short walk to the beach. Perfect!
I put last summer’s RV trip dinner cooking skills to work – I bought oysters at a local fish market and grilled them. So cool when they “pop” letting me know they’re ready to eat. Thanks for the oyster grilling lessons, Joel!

 

 

 

 

Morning errands, including buying a folding step stool and a single serving coffee French press, followed by a beautiful hike in the Arcata Community Forest. Enjoyed playing with my “natural windows” photos! Afternoon beer at a local brewery. Chuck, Kate’s talented husband, cleaned up Addie and plugged her holes with boat-grade silicon. She’s feeling much better! Fun to hear people at the pub share their stories of vehicle scapes and bruises!

Hiking in the forest with Kate and BJ, age 9. Velo, age 11, was better off resting his joints at home today. Kate and Chuck have raised eight dogs for Guide Dogs of America. Four became guide dogs; BJ and Velo chose to stay with Kate and Chuck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Good: After a beautiful drive through redwood trees, pulling over for lunch to enjoy the scenery, I arrived in Arcata to visit my friend Kate, who used to teach with me at Cal Poly, and her husband Chuck. Their home, set on an acre, is surrounded by redwoods and Kate and Chuck’s amazing garden. Kate and I took her two golden retrievers for a walk in the redwood forest.
The Bad: Going into their driveway, I cut the turn too close and scraped off the trim on the right hand side of Addie – the same side with the missing awning.
The Ugly: Poor Miss Addie! Although she is completely drivable and safe, she looks quite forlorn. Okay, I should have labeled this “The Forlorn” rather than “The Ugly!”

 

 

 

Woke up slowly, perhaps a result of the benedryl I took last night to help with my yellow jacket bites – they’re much better today! Hiked 4.5 miles at the Highland Springs Recreation Area. There’s a reservoir surrounded by what could be meadows if we had rain. Although hot – around 100° – I drank water and went slowly. Returned to camp for more water and a nap, followed by my festive lunch. There’s a nice breeze blowing, so it’s quite pleasant sitting outside, reading my book, and listening to K-Pop karaoke broadcasted from a few campsites away.

On the dam which creates the reservoir.

 

Highland Springs

 

Deer – many of them! – on the trail.

 

California…dry grass and oak trees.

 

And manzanitas!

 

Highland Springs.

 

Happy Fourth of July! Red cherries, white yogurt, and blueberries.

 

Clear Lake during my evening campground stroll.

 

The trail behind my campsite.

After “handling” the awning saga, I returned to camp. Read my book (The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah – EXCELLENT!), drank ice water, and ate cold cherries. When it finally cooled off a bit, hiked around camp – Indian Nature Trail and Dorn Nature Trail. Applied a surprisingly refreshing, although I’m not sure about healing, baking soda paste to my swollen and red bee stings. Enjoyed grilled salmon on salad while listening to my neighbors’ loud, I think Korean, music. All in all, a good day! 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a tad swollen, eh?! 

 

 

Although the duct tape held overnight, I added more this morning. The RV shop was short-handed with no repair people but was open for a half day and said to bring it over and he would see what he could do. I drove the 20 miles with my outside mirror focused on the awning, which didn’t budge – yay! The two people at the shop removed the awning and put it in Addie. The rivets holding the brackets are pulling out. I need new brackets and will find a shop somewhere that can fix it. Meanwhile I’ll travel with the awning in Addie and remove it when I camp. Hopefully this will be resolved during the week.

After spending a lovely evening with Sarah and Andy, I slept well in Addie, which was parked in their cul de sac. Then I drove through Napa, stopped and walked in Calistoga, and arrived at my campsite in Clear Lake.
Clear Lake…not very clear…lots of algae, toxic to touch…hot here. Explored the campground, rolled out my awning, sat and read my book (The Four Winds). Salad with shrimp on it for dinner… All good until I went to close my awning. The brackets holding the awning are pulling away from my vehicle. I kept trying to close it, and it wouldn’t close due to the awning’s angle. While trying to close it, I was stung three times by bees! I walked over to a nearby campsite and asked for help. Two wonderful people came over and helped hold the awning up so it was angled properly and I could close it. There’s an RV repair shop 20 miles from here, which Google says will be open on Saturday. Given the holiday weekend, I don’t know if they’ll be open…I’m hoping the awning doesn’t fall completely off while I drive to the shop…. My camper van is named Addie, short for adventure… 
Update: Hoping duct tape and Benadryl cream help with the awning and bee stings.
Relaxing dinner with Sarah and Andy.

 

The awning extended…

 

That’s the creek with green algae!

 
Warning!

 

Algae!

 

Relaxation before bee stings and awning drama.

 

Uh oh!!!