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

Trip Update Mar- May 2023 Part 3 NM-MT

Sunset at Curt Goudy SP

After returning from Hawaii, we picked up our RV in Albuquerque and started north. Just south of the CO/NM border, we stayed at Sugarite SP. This land was formerly a mining town and the ruins of some of the building and some of the mining equipment remained in place. The park developed the site with signs to explain the previous lifestyle.

We moved up to Cherry Creek SP in Denver and went out to dinner with Nick and Kristen. We had a nice dinner and Nick treated us at a fine Mexican restaurant in his old neighborhood. Further north, between Cheyenne and Laramie, WY we discovered Curt Goudy SP, a real gem. We did a couple hikes here in this beautiful park. Next, we went to Sinks SP near Lander, WY where the Popo Agie River flows into a sink hole and emerges several 100 feet downstream. We hiked up the canyon to see the massive Popo Agie Falls. The picture here is just a small part of the total falls. The third part of this delightful trio of parks was the Dubois Badlands, about fifty miles east of the Grand Teton NP. Such a beautiful area that is ignored by the crowds that pack GTNP.

Mountain Bluebird

One section of Popo Agie Falls

 

River Rise for Popo Agie River

Dubois Badlands

Dubois Badlands

Dubois Badlands

Grand Teton
In the Tetons, we spent several hours looking for wildlife, other than elk, which were everywhere. Our diligence paid off when I spotted a sow with her three cubs crossing a field as we were driving by. I guess I started a bear jam, because soon the road and shoulders were packed with cars. Unfortunately, momma bear took her cubs into the woods and most of the onlookers missed the show and left disappointed. I did not even get a picture. We did some hiking, but after hiking on old snow, we stuck to open fields where the snow was long gone.

Hiking in snow in GTNP

Elk everywhere

Frozen Lewis Lake

When we entered Yellowstone NP, we found Lewis Lake frozen over, but as we moved lower in elevation and closer to the thermal areas, most of the ice and snow were gone. Last year when we were forced to leave YNP due to the floods, we had not completed our tour of the park, missing the entire northern section and Yellowstone Canyon. The road to Gardiner, MT was destroyed last year, but a new one had been quickly built. That allowed us to stay in Gardiner while we explored the park.

Resting Elk in YNP

Grey Wolf

The first morning we were up at 5 am so we could get to Lamar Valley and see the wildlife that is out early. One advantage of the bad winter (heavy snows) was that the calving season had been delayed and most of the animal were just starting to calf. Of course, bison were everywhere, and bison nurseries had lots of newborns. We also saw 2 grizzlies and several wolves. At one spot, people were watching a wolf den about a third of a mile away with their spotting scopes and expensive cameras and lens. Due to brain fog, that did not lift until about 7 am, we forgot to bring our binoculars and our cell phone camera just was not up to the task! Afterwards we spent some time exploring the Mammoth Hot Springs area and saw several beautiful and colorful formations.

Mammoth Hot Springs 

Bison with newborn

Upper Yellowstone Falls

Two Classics

The next day we hiked the Yellowstone Canyon Rim Trail and went to viewpoints on both sides of the canyon. On our way back to Gardiner, we saw a cinnamon black bear, but her two cubs were up in a tree and later we saw another black bear with two cubs.  It was a good finish to our trip.

Cinnamon Bear

Undine Falls

Black Bear with 2 cubs

Trip Update Nov 2022-March 2023 PA-GA

National Christmas Tree

After our return from our European trip, we settled into the condo in MD for a while. We needed one last trip to Lewisburg, WV to do the final clean out of our garage there. We went down Thanksgiving Day and on the return trip we spent a night with Bob and Wendy near Lynchburg, VA. Shortly thereafter, our friend Stan Talbott retired from WSSC after 47 years of service. Stan provided excellent process control support to help the treatment plants work effectively and efficiently.

Stan and Deb

We enjoyed Carol and Cordale’s annual Christmas party along with our friends, Tom and Julie and Susan and Windsor. Linda hosted the Potter/Topper Christmas dinner. The surprise gift was that Jen was pregnant and due in June. Jen had just opened a flower shop in PA, so we went over for a visit and we were quite impressed. Her husband, Patrick, is co-owner of a bar in Philly, so we went there, and had fun playing games and tasting their latest batch of craft beer. We had dinner with Barb, Sharon, Trish and Scott on Christmas Eve in Towson, and continued the celebration at our home on Christmas Day. 

My Family: Scott, Trish, Barb, Sharon, Pat and Don

Canoeing Lynches Creek, SC

On Jan 7^th we loaded the RV and headed south. We quickly found out that our RV water pump was not working. A few days later we picked up a new pump in Fayetteville, NC and I installed it. Our first outing was a canoe trip on the Leaches River in SC. We hiked in Congaree NP and saw wild pigs, four types of woodpeckers, including two Pileated Woodpeckers fighting over territory. 

Pileated Woodpecker in Congaree NP, SC

                                       

Where the Swamp Creatures Live

 On the way to our next campsite, we made a wrong turn (thanks, Garmin) and ended up at the entrance to a military base. The guard told us to make a U-turn just past the guard house. Unfortunately, the turning radius of the RV was wider than the road space available to U-turn and since we were towing the car we could not back up. We ended up blocking the exit road from the base until we could unhook the car from the RV. Once disconnected, we could back the RV up. When the car and RV are aligned and on level ground, you can disconnect in a couple of minutes. However, we were on a slope and not properly aligned. The connectors were jammed like I never experienced before. We broke out the tools and started hammering on the connecting pins, to little avail. We got some help from one of the soldiers waiting to get out. I do not know how long it took to get disconnected, (it seemed like forever) but the exit lane was backed up quite a way before the pins finally broke loose. Of course, later we found out that had we ignored the guard’s direction and proceeded 100 yd further pass the guard house on to the base, there was a traffic circle! I forgot to thank the guard for his guidance.

The Angel Tree, Charlestown, SC

While we were in SC, Barb went to the hospital with chest pain - fortunately it was diagnosed as a pulled muscle. We went to McLeod Plantation and took an excellent guided tour of the grounds with emphasis on slave life on the plantation and local history. We had a very big meal at a Gullah restaurant nearby.

Cypress Knees, Ebenezer Creek

We went down to Georgia. Linda Erby had recommended canoeing Ebenezer Creek, so we headed there. The creek was at flood level so it was actually more a swamp than a creek. From the put-in, we wondered into a dense cypress and tupelo forest, but with no current, visible landmarks, or sun, it seemed like an easy place to get lost. We turned around and meandered our way to the takeout several miles away.

Water Snake, Ebenezer Creek

We toured around Wormsloe SHS and drove down their entrance road lined with Live Oak Trees. The park was full of joggers participating in a 30 hr Yeti race. The goal was to see now many miles you could rack up in 30 hours. I missed the Yeti connection - do Yeti jog or just walk too fast to be caught on film?

Hemlock Falls on Moccasin Creek, GA

 

Panther Falls on Joe Creek, GA

After a few days of exploring around the Savannah area, we headed to the mountains in NW Georgia. With some recent rainfall, the conditions were good for hiking to waterfalls.  After 3 weeks of RVing, we winterized the RV and headed to a timeshare in the mountains near Sapphire, NC. From here we had easy access to the Nantahala National Forest and other scenic areas. All week, Pat had been commenting that she was hearing strange noises from outside our condo. I thought it was a cat. On our last day we called maintenance in to investigate. We were surprised to find that there was a bear with 3 cubs under our front porch!  The staff discussed having Fish and Wildlife relocate the bears, but we suggested leaving them there and leave the condo empty after we leave. Since it was the off season, they agreed. 

 

Armadillo, Gorges SP, NC

Our next stop was Boone, NC and on the way north, we rendezvoused with Floyd and Lauren in Marion. Having sold their house in PA last summer, they were renting near Charlotte and planning to move into their new home the following week, also near Charlotte. In Boone we had good access from our timeshare to the trails off the Blue Ridge Parkway. After a week there we headed back to MD, just prior to an incoming snow storm. We stopped in Fredericksburg to have lunch with an old friend and former neighbor, Ann Chab, and still made it home in time to see the Super Bowl.

Whitewater Falls, NC

Dry Falls of the Cullasaja River, Highlands, NC

Linda scheduled a Baby Shower for Jen in April, but since we will be on the road then, we had a Baby Sprinkle for Jen in March. (I thought I was being cute, coming up with Baby Sprinkle, then I found out it is a real event)!    

Jen, Patrick and ???????

My Friends: Grant, Ron, and Eldon - Explorers and World Class Canoers

Tom in a dugout canoe in the Amazon

Recently a good friend of ours, Tom Remy, passed away. We meet Tom and his wife Cornelia on a trip to Costa Rica in 1998 and have been friends ever since. We took many trips together, and Tom was always there with a big smile, ready to play cards, or share some interesting titbit he had stashed away in his brain. He was a welder by trade, and a Mr. Fix- It when needed, but he really enjoyed cooking, especially steaks on the grill, with blow torch in hand. Tom and his boisterous personality will be greatly missed.

Cornelia and Tom