Tue, Oct 19, 2010

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

After a good night’s sleep and a continental breakfast that turned out to be a full breakfast at the motel we were ready to hit the road for a “travel” day.  It was brisk to say the least this morning with the temperatures in the twenties but the skies were crystal clear.  Our goal for the day was to get thru Wyoming and a good way into Utah so that Wednesday we could go into the Arches/Canyonland area.

We did very well making only one side trip by taking the Sheep Creek Canyon Scenic Byway.  This picturesque drive of about twenty miles is adjacent to the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. The first half of the drive winds along Sheep Creek and among towering cliffs of geologic formations that soar overhead like skyscrapers.  Near the head of Sheep Creek we were lucky to spot a small herd of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep.  Because of the dense vegetation between us we were only able to get a photo of one of the females. Sheep Creek is fed by Big Spring a gushing spring that pours out of the rock just a short hike from the road.  Charles made the short climb up to the spring and I kept the pups playing in the creek.  We were surprised to still find brilliant Aspens and Cottonwoods all along this drive as well as most of the entire drive today. 

We originally intended to drive to Price, UT but only two motels allow pets and both were booked full so for the first time on this trip we had to extend our planned drive another 65 miles to Green River, UT.

It was another good day on the road and we are doing well tonight.  We hope that you all are too!

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger 

Mon, Oct 18, 2010



Monday, October 18, 2010

Not a bad way to start the week… waking up in West Yellowstone with plans to spend the better part of the day wandering the gorgeous land known as Yellowstone.  Charles was up early, made coffee and brought continental breakfast goodies back to the room.  Then he was off to get our flat tire repaired.  Things went well at the tire shop and by the time he returned I had everything ready to load.  The temperatures on our trip back through Yellowstone were a good bit cooler with a healthy frost covering anything that wasn’t moving.  The forecast was for clear skies later in the day but we began the morning in a wispy fog.

There were very sparse crowds, particularly this early in the morning, and at times it seemed as if we had the park to ourselves. We knew from our trip up that there was a trumpeter swan along a section of the Madison River so we took the river loop where we had seen it but no luck.  However, maybe a mile further and there it was slowly working its way up the river feeding.  We pulled out the big lens and tripod and made the short hike up the river. With not a soul around it seemed content to feed and then check us out occasionally.  We made a bunch of shots then just watched it feeding in the fog for a while before those temps in the twenties drove us back to the Jeep. 

The park weather changes frequently but the wisps of fog made for some gorgeous landscape scenes particularly as the mists rose from the river waters and floated away.  At times the fog was a hindrance to photography but other times it added a wonderfully mysterious atmosphere. 

A couple of miles further as we cruised along enjoying the Madison River we saw the signs of another animal… several cars pulled off on the side of the rode and cameras pointing into the woods.  It was a nice herd of elk cows.  We stopped a little away from the other cars searching for the bull.  Unless he was out gathering more cows he should be somewhere close by.  Many of the cows were still lying down so we figured maybe he was just up in the trees and not visible.  Just as we were about to move on a large cow emerged from the trees right across from us and there he was following her intently.  She started grazing and he did as well so I took a few shots but when a young lady from one of the cars approached he perked up and we got a few nice shots.  We thanked him and the young lady and continued on our morning journey. 

After several stops to enjoy the scenery, we met a large bull buffalo walking down the road.  He and a small car were having a bit of a standoff.  Buffalo are no different than we are in that they like to take the easiest route and he didn’t really want to give up the middle of the road.  The drive of the car was tentative but eventually eased forward and the buffalo shook his head in frustration and moved off to a well worn path on the opposite side of the road.  Right behind him was another large bull that looked just like the buffalo on the Indian head nickel.  To get our shots we had pulled into a picnic area and just waited for them to walk by us. 

Then it was time for puppy play when we got to our usual spot on the Firehole River where we can walk down the river a ways and take the pups off leash to take a swim and play between us. 

In hopes of finding more wildlife we took a side road with a parking area near the Firehole River.  It was still quite foggy so long distance photography was not an option.  We did see a nice herd of buffalo on the other side and down the river so we grabbed the big lens and tripod and headed out.  I have to admit it was a little eerie out there when you get away from the car and the only sound is the distant gurgling of the river.  The fog was just rolling across the landscape but there were beginning to be patches of blue sky and off in the distance we were seeing shafts of sunshine reaching the landscape.  Again, this is where the fog adds that atmosphere… I was just kidding Charles about keeping an eye out for wandering bears while I had my head buried in my camera.  Just about that time I glanced back over my shoulder and not 50 feet from us (insert silent scream here) was the dreaded bicycle rider.  It was a take your breath away moment! Then as if making up for scaring me to death God lifted the fog a bit and spread a little more sunshine and we got a few nice shots before departing.

We made more stops at the geysers and Cascade Falls and then headed for Yellowstone Lake for a picnic before beginning our departure from the park.  The skies were not mostly blue and the sun was shining brightly so the temperatures had made their way into the lower sixties.  After a wonderfully peaceful picnic overlooking the Lake we went back to the road that would take us south and out of the park.  Our final stop in the park was to see Moose Falls.  We had never made the short but steep hike to see this particular fall.  As one who suffers with horrible knees I don’t favor steep trails but after several weeks of building those leg muscles I felt up to the task.  It was worth it, of course, as most hikes are. 

When we returned to the Jeep we pulled out the maps and plotted a course for the last bit of day that remained.  We decided not to stay in Jackson Hole but to drive another 75 miles or so to Pinedale, WY a small town in the high sage desert.  We have a good room and had a good supper and are ready to relax. 

We are tired tonight but very well and hope that you all are well too!

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger

Sun, Oct 17, 2010

Sunday, October 17, 2010

We were up a little earlier than usual this morning, grabbed a hot coffee when we checked out, and hit the road… supposedly for West Yellowstone.  Well we did end up in West Yellowstone about dark anyway.  We were going to take the most direct route but that didn’t last long.  After several stops for short walks and a good breakfast in the small town of Fairfield, ID we began to get antsy looking for a route (obviously not a direct route) that we had never taken.  Because Idaho is a very rugged state with lots of mountain ranges there are not a lot of roads that cross the state from west to east.  But we found an interesting looking road that ran from Ketchum/Sun Valley thru the mountains and out to Hwy 93 which we could take back down to Arco, ID. 

This lovely detour took care of the morning and part of the afternoon.  We had a good cheeseburger in Pickle’s Place in Arco.  The name was unusual but there were a lot of cars there at 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon so we stopped and it was well worth it.  Friendly folks and good food!

After leaving Arco we found another diversion that would actually be a little bit shorter route but would require us to take about a 25 to 30 mile drive on a dirt road.  Since we had been in a few showers earlier we were tentative but at the last minute decided the weather looked cooperative and decided to take our chances knowing that if the road was questionable we would just have to return and find other plans for the night. 

It was indeed a good graded gravel road and the late afternoon light was unbelievable.  At least until we heard our tire pressure monitor go off.  We stopped and checked and could not tell which tire was going down so continued about five more miles and found a good place to pull off next to a large set of corrals.  By then we could tell it was the left rear.  We were just about 40 miles from West Yellowstone so the wonderful warm temperatures of the high desert had given way to more mountainous temperatures in the low forties.  Luckily it was not windy and in about fifteen minutes we were on our way again.

It is always a little unnerving to be driving on a gravel road with no spare tire but we didn’t really have a choice. There was less dirt road ahead of us than behind and many more services and motels if we had more problems.   We made it to West Yellowstone just about dark with no further problems and have already found a tire shop to get the spare fixed in the morning.  Since we had a hearty breakfast and late lunch we are going to bypass supper and are settling in with just a cup of coffee.

We were surprised to find so much fall color remaining. The entire day was just one beautiful view after another with a little color thrown in along the way.

We are well tonight and hope you all are too.  After our tire repair tomorrow we will head into Yellowstone for the day.

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger



Sat, Oct 16, 2010

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Originally we thought this might be another “travel” day that would take us to West Yellowstone and then we would be in Yellowstone on Sunday.  But, the weather was just too good today so we decided it would be a get off the beaten path day instead.  So, as the crow flies, we probably moved about 60 miles, but by the road we drove closer to 175 miles with well over 100 of that on a single lane dirt road. 

From Ontario, OR we drove about 50 miles south to Jordan Valley, OR a small town in the high desert of southeastern Oregon.  This is a remote and beautiful area and is the starting point of the Owyhee (pronounced like Hawaii) Uplands Back Country Byway.  In the early 1800s three Hawaiian fur trappers were brought to the area to trap a creek that emptied into the Snake River.  When they did not return an expedition went in search of them and found one of them murdered at their camp.  The other two were never found.  In their honor the stream was named Owyhee which was an early spelling for Hawaii. 

Anyway back to the Back Country Byway… it’s about 100 miles long and is a single lane dirt road.  They warn you several times that there are no services etc… then when you cross over from Oregon into Idaho they have a sign stating “If you travel beyond this point you will be responsible for costs of search and rescue”.  Although that was a little intimidating, we have traveled this road a couple of times before and know that really applies to hunters who enter the area when they are in the midst of the winter snows which can be substantial.  Other than a few cattle ranches, there is nothing on the entire road.   This is the ultimate high desert country drive.  From sagebrush covered hills to rocky canyons from dusty dry soil to beautiful creeks, rivers and springs. The road winds through mountain woodlands and high mountain valleys before giving way to the sagebrush covered hills as you approach the end of the drive at Grandview, Idaho.

We made numerous stops and then enjoyed a nice long picnic in the primitive campground and picnic area located in a deep rock sided canyon on the North Fork of the Owyhee River.   Paris and Dodger are always on the lookout for critters, whether from the back seat windows or from our walks.  After lunch we took a walk along the Owyhee River and I noticed Paris was sniffing around a pile of rocks.  I called her back and she promptly returned with a small field mouse.  She was so proud; it was her first trophy ever!  Luckily for the small mouse he was traumatized but when I told her to “spit it out” she dropped it on the ground and after a little nudging from me he scurried off.  She was pretty hard to live with the rest of the drive.

As we approached one of our favorite photo spots, an old set of log cattle working pens, we saw a horse trailer parked next to the corral with a saddled horse standing quietly in the trailer.  We are very sensitive to bothering local ranchers so almost didn’t stop but decided to just make a quick stop and take a couple of photos.  I had no sooner snapped my second shot than Charles said, “Here comes a truck”.  Sure enough he pulled up and stepped out of the truck.  He was a big guy and looked like he could play quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys but I heard he and Charles talking and he was very soft spoken.  I climbed down from the corral fence and joined them.  Luck was with us again as he was perfectly ok with us taking photos. Whew!  He and his wife and mother-in-law were gathering cattle into the pasture where this corral was located.  We talked a good while about the area and he said his wife’s family owned 3,000 acres and leased other acreage as well.  He said that if we would go about a mile down the road we would see a small road to the left and they had another corral and a small cabin down there.  I asked if he would mind if we rode down there to photograph the corral and he said sure.  Of course we had to make that side trip and a few more before we finally exited the Byway at Grandview and made the short drive to Mountain Home, Idaho our resting spot for tonight.

Tomorrow we will continue our trek toward Yellowstone but for now we are just enjoying the memories we made today enjoying God’s handiwork.  By the way, this road often closes by the end of September because of snow but today it was perfect and the temperature got into the lower seventies! Unbelievable!

We are very well tonight and hope you all are too!

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger



Fri, Oct 15, 2010

Friday, October 15, 2010

The Red Lion here in Eugene, OR has won the best room of the trip so far.  Amble room, tastefully decorated, nice furniture, comfortable bed, large bathroom, good water, and a great desk with rollers on it so we could move me out into the room and I could actually see the TV.  Also, the room was very reasonable and came with a full breakfast which was delicious.  So the day began well. 

Today would be what we call a “travel” day which means we need to cover some miles because we do need to be home before our family no longer recognizes us.  We don’t drive faster or take direct routes necessarily but we don’t take as many side trips and our stops are not nearly as long.  So today, we would spend most of the day riding.

Our route would take us from Eugene, OR to Ontario OR or from the western side to the eastern side of the state.  It would take us thru a number of small towns along the McKenzie River and we would take the Old McKenzie Highway thru the Willamette National Forest then the Deschutes National Forest into Sisters and then Redmond and Prineville where we would enter the Ochoco National Forest.  So the ocean of yesterday gave way to the forests and mountains and these would give way to the high plains the long valleys and the sage desert.  But for those like Charles and myself it was still an awesome day of gorgeous scenery.   We particularly enjoy the long valleys that hold the John Day River.  They are home to some of the most gorgeous historic ranches and it seems at times that each valley holds just one then we wind around and enter another valley and there is another beautiful old barn and ranch house with long flat pastures beside the river, filled with cattle. For us there is no more fulfilling sight.

We made our usual stops for short hikes and puppy play and the weather, though cooler, was still quite tolerable.  At one stop at the Historic James Cant ranch the Park Ranger walked by and remarked about just how wonderful the weather was today and we had to agree.  Everyone seems to be enjoying these warm sunny days.

We made it to Ontario just about dark and have a nice room and have had a light supper and are going to relax for a while. Tomorrow we will drive across Idaho and possibly make it to West Yellowstone… if something more interesting doesn’t present itself.

We are well tonight and hope you all are too!

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger