Trip Update June-Sept 2023 MD, MT, ID, OR and WA

Bitterroot-Mt State Flower

We arrived in Helena in late May, after driving up from Yellowstone NP. Two weeks later, we drove to Anaconda, MT and spent the day with Art, Susan and Windsor. Art led us on a hike overlooking the town. We also took a city tour in a vintage 1936 Yellowstone Park Tour Bus. The highlights included a visit to the 585’ Anaconda Stack, which was used with the copper smelters when “copper was king”. The stack is so big, the Washington Monument could fit entirely inside it. We also got an insider’s tour of the Washoe Theater, one of the most beautiful in the US.

1936 Yellowstone Tour Bus

Butte's colorful strip mine

The next day I had to fly back to Maryland for a minor medical procedure. Instead of flying right back, I spent a few days at the ocean, something I had been missing while we RVed full time. I also had lunch with Barb and Sharon before Sharon had to fly back to Albania. While I was in MD, Pat started hiking with the Helena Outdoor Club (HOC). When I returned, I joined her on some of the club’s hikes.

White Mariposa Lily

In mid-July we started a RV trip to ID, OR and WA. First stop was Montana’s Old Prison Museum in Deer Lake, MT. In addition, we checked out the classic cars in the Montana Auto Museum and the Frontier Montana Museum. Before entering Idaho, we hiked the trails at Big Hole National Battlefield. The Nez Perce had been chased across Idaho by the US Army with orders to put the Nez Perce in a reservation. Chief Joseph and others hoped to get the tribe to Canada. In the early morning hours, 150 years ago, the army launched a surprise attack, while most of the native Americas were still sleeping. Many Nez Perce were initially killed, but the Nez Perce launched a counter attack and pinned the solders down, until most of the tribe could safely leave the area. Chief Joseph was one of approximately 90 Nez Perce that died that day.

Montana Auto Museum

Instead of taking the interstate, we took a scenic drive through the mountains of Idaho. It was a beautiful drive with lots of wildlife. We saw big horn sheep, turkeys, sandhill cranes and a large herd of elk. It was also very hot, great if you were there to raft the rivers, like most of the tourists there. We did get to Eagle Island SP and enjoyed some lake swimming after a short and hot hike.

Stanley Lake, ID

When we got to Ontario, OR, I found out that my inside dual tire was flat. Luckily there was a Commercial Tire store around the corner. It turned out to be a loose valve stem extension connection. They fixed it-no charge! When we got to Redmond, OR we checked into Eagle Crest timeshare, which was a very nice resort. We hike at Smith Rock SP which is a very popular and beautiful park. Unfortunately, there was considerable smoke in the area, so we tried to limit our outside actives to a few hours per day. Bend, Oregon (just down the road from us) had the dubious distinction of having the worst air quality in the Western Hemisphere, during our visit. BC, WA and OR all contributed to the air pollution from forest fires. 

Falls on the McKenzie River, OR

It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's a Columbian Monkhood Flower

Smith Rock SP, OR

After a week in Redmond, we moved up to Whispering Pines timeshare in the Mt Hood area. The air quality improved and the hiking among the large trees was impressive. The only downside was the number of hikers on the popular trails, so we tried to pick less well-known ones. I was excited to go into Portland one day. We did hike in Washington Park which was large and beautiful, but the traffic getting there and back, hardly made it worth it. We had to stop at the North American Bigfoot Center in Boring, OR. We watched a couple videos of Bigfoot sightings, but nothing substitutes for a live sighting.

Mt Hood, OR

American Asters

Timberline Lodge, Mt Hood

Before heading home, we took a side trip to Renton, WA to see our friend Cornelia. We enjoyed a lunch out at a local golf course with a couple of her friend. We parked the RV next to her house and one day she said she smelled gas near the RV. We found a leak at the bottom of our gas tank. This was the same gas tank that had been ripped open when we had that big accident 18 months ago. The tank had been repaired, and now the repair failed. After numerous attempts to stop the leak, Cornelia found a YouTube video that demonstrated that soap rubbed into the crack would stop the leak! Pat succeeded in getting the soap into the crack and stopping the leak. We still had a 9-hour drive to get back to Helena and many miles through hot eastern Washington. We did not know how well the soap would hold up with heat from the road and the RV, so an epoxy was applied over the soap. This held up for a few days, but we noticed it leaking by the time we got to Missoula. When we got back to Helena, the soap was applied again and held. A new gas tank was installed a few weeks later. Our trip back from Washington included a stop at the Historic Savenac Tree Nursey to see our friend, Robert, whom we volunteered with at Savenac back in 2013.

That's a big tree

Montana Sunset

Trip Update Mar-May 2023 Part 1 MD to NM

Pat at Alley Mills and Alley Mills Spring

We left March 24 and headed west. We stopped in Elkhart, IN for RV service and then headed down to the Ozark Mountains. We found the roads in Il even worse than PA’s, but the road hazards were minor compared to the weather hazards. Strong winds and tornado warnings were frequent and made RV driving difficult. One night a tornado was scheduled to pass through our area in the middle of the night. Fortunately, it took a different path. I used to think that with a house on wheels, it would be easy to avoid tornados, but I learned that the storm fronts are so wide and the exact path is unpredictable so that trying to outrun them is usually not practical.

Cave on Current River

Whoever developed the first roller coaster must have been from the hills of MO. Riding a roller coaster road in an RV for 20 miles is exhausting and breathtaking. We took the car on a side trip to Rocky Falls Park for lunch and a hike. When we returned to the car, we realized we were locked out of our car. After going around in circles with our Road Assistance provider, the local sheriff’s department and a US Park Ranger, a woman who had lunch at the same picnic table where we ate lunch found our keys on the table. Boy did we feel foolish!

Bluff on Jacks Fork River

The main reason we went to the Ozarks was to canoe some of the rivers. Getting an outfitter to provide a canoe and shuttle was not a problem. First, we did the Current River starting at Akers. We got flushed downstream at 5 mph due to the high-water level. Next, we canoed the Jack’s Fork River, where we put in at Alley Mills. We expected an easy and fast float downstream, and we were busy enjoying the scenery when we got caught in a sweeper (a fallen tree at the water level that will cause boats to flip and then be pinned against the tree). I managed to walk the canoe upstream until we could cross to the other side and carry around the blockage. The remainder of the trip was enjoyable. These are spring fed rivers that flow year-round. There were many large springs in the area to explore.

 

Sunset over the Buffalo River area

There were plans to dam the Current River starting in the 1930’s and again in the 1950’s. Conservationists rallied support to protect the Current and Jacks Forks Rivers and they became part of the Ozarks National Scenic Riverways in 1972. These rivers were a warm up for us before canoeing the Buffalo River in Arkansas. The Buffalo River has been on my “Bucket List” for 40+ years. It was the first National River (Wild and Scenic River). This designation protected its deep valleys, towering bluffs and wilderness character.

Waterfall under Natural Bridge

Words of wisdom

Glory Hole- Waterfall through a hole in the rock

Alum Cove Natural Bridge

Bluffs along the Buffalo River

We put in at Ponca, AR to paddle the most scenic portion of the river. It was a chilly day, and I felt bad for the people that chose to paddle the river in sit on top kayaks - they would be wet and cold all day. We did a hike to Hemmed-in-Hollow before finishing the river trip. The area around the Buffalo River was interesting with many caves and waterfalls.

Lunch Break

Waterfall at Hemmed-in-Hollow

Another damn sunset!

Next, we had to drive across Oklahoma to get to Texas and New Mexico. Now OK was never very high on my list of interesting state to visit, but I had to upgrade its status after a visit to Tulsa. We arrived on Easter weekend, which is not a good time to visit a city with almost everything shut down. Through our World-Wide Travers Club, we contacted a local woman who offered to give us a tour of the town. This woman has been to 235 countries! Compared to her, I felt like a stay-at-home recluse.

Hummingbird feeding at Tulsa Botanical Gardens

Art Deco Building in Tulsa

The Oil Boom 1901-1907 changed Tulsa from a frontier town to a boomtown. A Second Oil boom occurred between 1915 and 1930. Tulsa became the Oil Capital of the World, and home to many millionaires. There was a building boom and Art Deco was in vogue. We toured the downtown area and explored the tunnels that connected some of the buildings. Route 66 goes through Tulsa so there were some interesting attractions there. In Elk, OK we went through the National Route 66 Museum.

Art Deco Furnishings

Road into Palo Duro Canyon

In Texas, we spent some time in Palo Duro Canyon, which is south of Amarillo. Our final stop was Albuquerque, NM. Here we put our RV in storage at the local KOA, and flew from ABQ to the Big Island of Hawaii.

Texas Long Nosed Snake

Sunset over Palo Duro area

Trip Update Mar-May 2023 Part 2 Hawaii

Sunset in Hawaii

Grey Crowned Crane at Panaewa Rainforest Zoo

We flew to Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. We picked up our Turo (ride sharing business) car and we were on the road in a jiffy, while our fellow passengers were boarding rental car buses. We drove over the Saddle Road to Pahoa, a suburb of Hilo and checked into our AirBNB. The next day was kind of nasty so we checked out a couple of free museums in Hilo. (WOW something FREE in Hawaii!). We also toured the local zoo.

Mushroom explosion on Puna Trail

Pat on trail down to the volcano

Kalij Pheasant looking for a handout

We went to Volcano NP and hiked into the crater.  When we stopped for lunch, we meet a local Kalij pheasant who was also looking for lunch -from us! There was no significant volcanic activity on the island while we were there.

Volcano NP

Lava Tree Mold

Flowers from the Gardens

Colorful leaves too

The highlights of the Hilo area are the gardens. We spent a couple of hours at the HI Tropical Biosphere and Gardens. From here we drove back to Kona, stopping to take a rain soaking hike along the way. We checked into a timeshare on the coast near Kona. We took a snorkeling tour boat to Captain Cook Memorial. It was a nice trip, but the snorkeling was a bit disappointing. We spent the rest of the week at the beaches or on the trails. One resort charged us $20 to park in their public access parking lot. These lots have always been free in the past. We did see a lot of turtles while beachcombing.

Shark bait at Captain Cook Monument

Flower on the Big Island

Next, we flew to Kauai and after a night in a hotel, we checked into a great timeshare, the Bali Hai in Princeville. You could say we did the same thing here as we did on the Big Island; hike, visit gardens and go to the beach. True, but each island is different and has its own characteristics. We got married at the Coco Palms Resort on Kauai in 1982. A few years later, the resort was demolished by a hurricane. Some 35 years later, they are still talking about reconstruction.

Green Sea Turtle

Sunset from our Kona condo.

Blowhole on Kauai

Pat at Limahuli Garden

A change we found from previous visits were high entrance fees for tourist to some parks that used to be free. I guess Hawaii is trying to make up for the loss revenue from COVID. Overall, the higher prices we expected to pay because it is Hawaii, were even higher.

Wildflower on Kauai

Cliffs of Lanai

Spiner Dolphins

The last Island we visited was Maui. Here we had a condo in Kihei. From here we took a snorkeling trip out to Lanai. We ended up on the far side of the island due to the wave action. The snorkeling was OK, but at least we saw Spinner Dolphins on the trip in and out. After that trip, we decided to stick to sites we could access by swimming. Oddly enough, at an old deserted boat harbor, we saw better coral and more fish than we did on our boat trip! We did see about 7 green sea turtles a day while on Maui. After 5 days, we flew back to Albuquerque[DJ1] .

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 [DJ1]

Sunset from our Maui condo