Wed, May 11, 2011

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

When you travel the northwest, around every corner practically, the scenery is going to change dramatically as does the weather. – Donna Downey

We all say we don’t like change and we say change is inevitable… there are so many quotes about change but even the slightest change can sometimes create excitement or opportunity. There are certain types of change that I love and others than I don’t like at all.  But the change that comes when you’re on a road trip is one I embrace!

Tuesday was a long day for us and by the time I got thru with my journal and going thru the photos for the day it was the wee hours of the morning.  But, remarkably I woke up feeling pretty good this morning and about our usual time. 

Charles and I both like the routine of our daily lives at home.  We like having our family near and we are sticklers for particular traditions in our relationship that create a certain comfort in our marriage.  We know we can count on each other and know the depth of our bond.  We don’t want any changes in this area.  But then there is a change of scenery i.e. a road trip.  We are both addicts to a road trip.  We have, on more than one occasion, made a spontaneous trip to the mountains or the beach or just driven to Mobile for dinner and driven home again.  We love to be on the road.  We are devoted to our road trips no matter what the length.

One of the great things about traveling the northwest is the change of scenery, the lay of the land, the altitude, the temperatures, or the weather.  Today we experienced a bit of all of that which is not unusual.  We generally get excited about change when we are on the road.  Changes in the weather can produce the opportunity for something other than the “run of the mill photo”.  It can keep you on your toes or lull you into a wonderful nap.  We had a little bit of all of that today.

When we left the motel after a continental breakfast, the day was perfect according to most normal people’s definition.  Temperatures were already in the sixties, blue skies in every direction accented with just a few wisps of white clouds and add a warm soft breeze to provide comfort to us and the pups.  We took advantage of the weather to tool around in the Palouse region for most of the day.  The scenery was like something out of a Disney movie. 

We had an interesting stop at the Lower Granite Lock & Dam on the Snake River.  Went into the Visitor Center there and learned a good bit about Salmon and Trout and how the dam was built to accommodate their need to make their way up river to spawn.  In the center they had a viewing area where you could watch the fish as they made their way up the ladders built to enable them to get past the dam itself.  There was a super guy working in that area and he let us go into the area where a woman sits observing each fish that passes thru the ladder and keeps up with statistical information.  I don’t know how she does it all day!  The guy was a wealth of information and more than willing to share with us.  It was a good stop.

After leaving the dam we continued our trek in the general direction of the Columbia River Gorge and our destination plan of The Dalles, Oregon for the night.  We made numerous stops all day for photos and puppy play and wonderful short naps with that heavenly breeze flowing into the Jeep. 

When we got to the Columbia river west of Walla Walla, Washington we noticed a pretty good dip in the temperatures which had climbed into the upper seventies in the Palouse region.  There were more clouds and the breeze seemed to be getting stronger.  Still it was a beautiful day and the windows remained down on the Jeep.  As the afternoon progressed however, so did the change in the weather.  As we wound our way around the huge hills along the river the breezes turned into wind, the temperatures began to drop and the wisps of clouds grew to dark gray clouds that began to fill the sky. 

East of The Dalles it became practically a gale!  Areas of the land that were plowed but no crop covered the ground became the birth place of dust storms.  From the high cliffs overlooking the gorge and river below it was an awesome sight.  Soon the winds grew stronger and a cold rain began… well at least that ended the dust storms!  It got interesting to say the least but beautiful as well and we still enjoyed the change of scenery and weather. 

Just before we reached The Dalles you could see a break in the clouds to the west and as we turned across the river for the last time today the sun broke thru the break in the clouds and lit up the gorge in the most gorgeous golden light.  Unfortunately, we were in a place where it was not convenient to turn around and we needed to get to the motel to be sure we could get a room so no picture.  As I am sitting here typing the winds have died down again and all is peaceful. 

It was a very interesting day on the road and we are well tonight.  We hope that y’all are too.

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger



Tue, May 10, 2011

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

It works best to have a partner in life who is also addicted to road trips.  I am lucky to have one such man. – Donna Downey

The Lochsa Lodge is such a great place to stay.  Woke up this morning after a restful night’s sleep, looked out the window of our cabin and was staring eye to eye practically with a doe.  Soon there were two does listening intently to determine if indeed there were humans in the cabin.  Just a creak of the bathroom door and they were gone in a flash!

After a hearty breakfast in the lodge we were ready to hit the trail so to speak. We love to visit the DeVoto Memorial Cedar Grove whenever we take this route and we had come past it without stopping yesterday in order to be sure we could get a room at the lodge.  So we made the short drive East to enjoy almost the entire morning in this beautiful area of old growth red cedars among other large trees.  It is such a peaceful and restful place with a short winding trail thru the trees with the Lochsa River humming in the background.  It was a perfect morning.

From there we turned and headed West again on Highway 12 (also the Lewis & Clark Scenic ByWay) which follows the trail of several rivers its entire route with no services once you pass the lodge until some 65 miles later.  It is one of the prettiest and most remote drives in the US.  We made numerous stops to take short hikes, usually along a side creek in search of waterfalls.  Not long after we left the cedar grove the clouds began to break up for the first time in several days and we enjoyed the return of blue skies and sunshine for the rest of the day.

About 3:00 pm we returned to civilization via Lewiston, Idaho.  After a short stop to check in with family and my office and to fuel up we headed out again along the Snake River crossing shortly into Washington State and soon we were in the Palouse region.  This area of Washington is almost 100% farming and the primary crop is wheat.  It is one of the most picturesque areas we have ever seen.  This is not an area of level land… I don’t think there is any level land but is one of rolling dune looking hills. These random looking “hills and hollers” were formed during the Ice Age and consist of a very fertile layer of soil.  Due to the steepness of these hills special equipment has evolved to farm this area. It is amazing just to watch them plowing, spraying or harvesting on hills we would never consider using in our area.  The fields all look manicured right to the edge of the road and many of the farmer’s homes are meticulously landscaped.  The small towns are very compact and are unusually clean.

We stopped in Pullman, Washington (home to Washington State University) and got a room before heading out to Steptoe Butte. This rock formation rises above the surrounding Palouse hills by some 1,000 feet at an elevation of 3,612 feet and is the perfect place from which to view the rolling hills.  There is a winding road that takes you all the way to the top of the butte and from there you have a 360 degree view of the area.  Today we watched one guy paragliding from the top of the butte.  It was a gorgeous sight as he stepped off the side of the butte with the late afternoon sun sweeping across the rolling hills of recently plowed fields alternating with fields of green wheat.  We watched as he glided and floated until he landed barely visible some miles away. 

We then made the short drive back to Pullman and are ready for a night’s rest.  It was another great day on the road.  We are well tonight and hope yall are too.

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger



Mon, May 9, 2011

Monday, May 09, 2011

A birthday celebrated while on a road trip is pretty much guaranteed to be a great day! – Donna Downey

Today is my birthday and I am now one year older than I was yesterday.  Don’t feel any older but am reminded of the number of my years when I look into a mirror!  I am pretty much happy wherever I am, but have to admit that a birthday that falls while in the middle of a road trip is pretty good deal. 

Then there are those surprises we talked about earlier in the trip.  First one was Charles at about 5:30 am this morning:  “Honey, would you like me to make you some coffee now?” ... a slight pause and then “or would you rather go back to sleep for a while?” I mumbled… sleep and we must have slept at least another hour and a half.  Second surprise was breakfast in bed!  Way to go Charles!  Third surprise… phone calls, facebook messages, and emails wishing me a Happy Birthday.  I could get used to this.

I had known since Friday night that my computer at the office had lost connection to my office server which meant I could not get my emails on my Iphone but would have to wait and get them at night via an Internet connection.  I needed to try to get that fixed.  The room we had last night was perfect for us and it had the fastest wifi service I have ever run into while traveling.  It also had a nice sized desk and a super comfortable desk chair.  All of this came in handy when I began the process of getting all of my services restored.  Unfortunately, the next surprise was that the reason I had lost connection to the server was because it had gone down sometime Friday evening.  So Renee called and had a technician come to the office to check out the server.  Me just having to wait to get my email is an inconvenience but if the server were to go down, well that would bring an abrupt end to this wonderful road trip.  

So we spent the morning getting a few kinks worked out and finally got everything running again.  Hopefully the server will stay functional a while longer.  We had arranged for a late check out of 12:00 pm and had already decided that if there were any questions about the server then we would just stay in Dillon another night.  Luckily we finished up about 11:55 and then we were off.

Some people would consider the weather today dreadful.  Charles and I, however, like changes in the weather and even though it did cramp our style a little bit it was still gorgeous and we enjoyed our day.  We had planned to stop at the very remote ghost town of Bannack, MT.  It is the first territorial capital of Montana and is now a state park and has a number of old buildings to explore.  Unfortunately, after making the four mile drive down a dirt road, we arrived at the town only to find the snow had turned to mostly rain and it was raining just a little too hard to walk around the town.  It looked like a really neat place so we vowed to come back on another trip.  We did make a quick stop at the Bannack Cemetary just outside town.  It was beautiful with most family plots surrounded by old wooden fences.  One particular plot was surrounded by a very ornate iron fence. 

The weather today was rain in the lower elevations and snow anytime we got above 6,000 feet.  So as we traveled across southern Montana we got to see it all before the day was over. Since we didn’t get started until after 12:00 it was a short driving day anyway. 

Tonight we are staying in a wonderful remote lodge in Powell, Idaho which is located on the Lewis & Clark Scenic Byway.  We are staying in a neat cabin and have no TV, no telephone, no cellphone service and no internet except in the lodge itself.  It sits amidst a huge forest of trees and on the bank of the Lochsa River.  We had a delicious dinner in the lodge, played one game of pool, and Charles has been reading various things to me while I do my journal and prep some photos for uploading tomorrow night. 

We have had a good day and I have had a wonderful birthday.  Thanks again everyone for all the birthday wishes.  We are very well tonight and hope that y’all are too.

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger



Sun, May 8, 2011

Sunday, May 08, 2011

I am blessed to have had wonderful parents.  I grew up in a “Leave It to Beaver” environment.  No my mother did not wear pearls every day but she truly is a gem.  In June she will be 92 and I am so grateful to have her.  I love you mom. – Donna Downey

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone!  Hope you all had a good one.  I do want to say a special thank you to my mom for being so special and doing her best to give me and my brothers such a great growing up time.  I think we all turned out pretty good.

Of course the first order of business was to make those phone calls to our mothers and luckily we were able to talk to both of them.  Both were surprised to hear we were in the snow and then immediately expressed concern about our safety.  After reassuring them the roads were completely clear they wished us well but I don’t think they liked the thought of us driving about the mountains of Montana with even a hint of snow in the forecast. 

With the temps in the mid thirties, cloudy skies and intermittent snow/rain we headed back into Yellowstone in search of wildlife to photograph.   We are often amazed at our luck of being in the right place at the right time and today was another lucky day.  I guess because of the large amount of snow still on the ground and a lot of melting snow and coldish temperatures not many folks made the decision to come to Yellowstone this weekend. The crowds just were not there.  There were as few people in the park today as we have ever seen and it was very helpful in moving around the overlooks and making those illegal u-turns to get into position to get a shot. 

Thanks in large part to Charles we were able to get shots of a buffalo and her calf laying together, a trumpeter swan, a pair of ground squirrels, elk, osprey, bald eagles and a coyote.  We’ve been doing this photography thing together for quite a few road trips now and we have developed a great system.  I usually spot the wildlife; give him an idea of where we need to be and he positions the Jeep so I can capture the moment.  With the two of us working together we are able to get shots that a lone photographer trying to shoot from a vehicle could never get.  We worked especially well today and I hope the photographs will show our technique to be successful.  I write my journal before looking at the photography so we will see.

There is a slight Mother’s Day theme to the photography today as well since we were able to shoot a nice sequence of shots between a buffalo cow and her calf and a ground squirrel and her baby.  There is also an interesting sequence of shots between two bald eagles vying for the same perch.

The weather never got too bad to drive us inside and at times made for some tremendous views.  We had a picnic overlooking a meadow filled with buffalo and before we left a wonderful nap by the Madison River. It was a great day in the park today.

More winter weather is set to move into the park tonight, tomorrow and Tuesday so we decided to move on to other parts of the West.  After leaving the park we made our way thru some beautiful scenery along the Madison River and then the Beaverhead River (great fly fishing areas) and are spending tonight in Dillon, MT.   

We are well tonight and hope y’all are too!

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger



Sat, May 7, 2011

Saturday, May 7, 2011

When the front desk clerk tells your husband her mother thinks he is the sweetest thing and his wife must be a very lucky woman… well you are going to hear that story many times over the rest of the day. – Donna Downey

We were going to try to make it to West Yellowstone today which meant a mostly driving day but it still turned out to be a very pleasant day.  Although we didn’t make a lot of stops the roads we chose were very nice and we saw a great diversity of terrain and plenty of snow as well.  We saw as much diversity in the weather today as we did in the landscapes and the scenery.  We had a little bit of it all… sunshine, warm temperatures, gentle breezes, cloudy, cooler temperatures, sunshine, warm temperatures… it just depended on our altitude pretty much.  We finished the day, however as we neared West Yellowstone with cooler temps, clouds, and just a little snow and even a little hail.  It was just pea sized and only lasted a minute so no damage done. 

We arrived in West Yellowstone about 6:00 pm. After a long day of driving we were tired and ready for a comfortable room so that was our first and what we thought would be our last stop for the day.  But after getting the room we couldn’t stand not to go into the park for just a little while so off we went.  The light was very dim and not suitable for any decent photography but we made a few spottings.  We saw elk, buffalo, buffalo calves, watched a pair of coyotes playing, and saw an immature eagle trying to fish in the Madison River which made the drive worthwhile.  There was a lot of snow in the park and a number of the overlooks we passed were not plowed.  It was very wet with the snow melt and you could tell by the gaunt bodies of the buffalo and elk that it was a hard winter for some.  

There is a forecast for some more winter weather so tomorrow morning we will check it out again and make a decision as to whether we should stay in the park all day tomorrow or move on ahead of the weather and come back thru the park possibly on the way home when more roads and pullouts would be open.

We had a good day today despite all the driving and are well tonight.  We hope you all are too.

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger