Kodachrome: “Where All the World’s a Sunny Day”

Traveling south along the scenic Hwy 12, my next stop is Kodachrome Basin State Park. It’s another one of those places that I feel every blogging RVer has visited but me. I don’t typically go out of my way to visit state parks, but with a name like “Kodachrome,” how could I resist those “nice bright colors?” Continue reading

Into the Mist, and On to the Mystic

Headed west from Wisconsin with my sights set on Utah, I am determined not to have to cross the Rockies again. Having traversed I-70 through the Eisenhower Tunnel and across Vail Pass twice now, I will do what I have to do to avoid it again. That means either a more northerly route through Wyoming, or dropping down all the way to Hwy 160 to cross Colorado through Pagosa Springs and Durango…not exactly the flat plains. I decide to stay north and risk the weather.

But winter is coming on fast this year. Even as I left North Dakota, locals were talking about having to turn on the furnace earlier this year than they can recall in many years. I seem to have gone from summer straight into winter, skipping autumn altogether. Continue reading

The Tracker is a Regular Bison Wrangler!

There is more to see in the Black Hills of Dakota than just Mount Rushmore. (And I still can’t say that without winding out the old Beatles lyric, “Somewhere in the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota there lived a young boy named Rocky Racoon.”)

Mount Rushmore acts as the cornerstone to a well traveled loop that most commonly begins in Keystone, SD, drops down along the Iron Mountain Road, loops through Custer State Park, and back up along the Needles Parkway. This recommended loop is Continue reading

Red Rocks Revisited

Even though I set my intentions to see “all new things” on my southerly migration this year, there are a few favorite stops that I just can’t bypass, one of which is my favorite state park in the little Snow Canyon just outside of St. George, Utah.

I first visited Snow Canyon while staying at the Red Mountain Resort back in 2006 for Thanksgiving weekend as a “spa getaway.”   I took several of the guided hikes from the resort which sits at the gateway to the state park.  It was my first experience ever hiking slick rock, and my first time to ever hear “trust your shoes.”   I can still remember Continue reading

Fall in McCall

Mother Nature, along with Typhoon Songda, seems determined to deprive me of living the lines to my favorite poem, Helen Hunt Jackson’s “October’s Bright Blue Weather.” “Oh suns and skies and clouds of June and all ye flowers together, you cannot rival for one hour, October’s Bright Blue Weather.”   Though they may be able to deprive me of my October blue skies, they cannot rob me of my favorite season of the year, Fall. Continue reading

Heaven and Hell in Idaho

One of the sights in Idaho on my wish list is Hell’s Canyon, a 10-mile wide chasm carved by the Snake River, dividing Oregon, Washington and Idaho.   At 7,993 feet, it is North America’s deepest river gorge.   There are only three roads that reach the Snake River in the canyon – two from Oregon and one from Idaho.  But the road in Idaho at Pittsburgh Landing is not in the steep canyon section.   The only way to see the deepest sections are by boat or from a lookout.  I originally envisioned myself careening down the Snake River wearing a helmet and wielding an oar over Class III and IV rapids.   But I also envisioned myself here in August.  At this time of year, the white water rafts are in dry dock while the River Rats scurry south for the winter.  If I wanted to peer into Hell’s Canyon, I would have to resort to “Overlook.” Continue reading

The Coast is Not Clear, But I Am

In revisiting the small coastal towns along this route, I keep asking myself, “What exactly did I find to do in this town for a whole week last time?” I have to continually remind myself “You were working 8 hours a day, five days of that week.” Although I may have spent a week in that town, by the time I accounted for the work week plus drive time on the weekends, I really only had a day to explore. Since I have more time for exploring on this trip, I looked forward to prodding and probing deeper in each stop along the way while revisiting some of my favorite destinations. Only I am finding I may have allotted more time than I need. Continue reading

Stepping in the Same Ocean Twice

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” ~ Heraclitus

I love this quote. I often contemplate its meaning while standing on the banks of a river watching the water rush by, wondering where that water has come from and where it’s headed. Here this one instant and forever changed the next.

Now that I am back along the same Highway 101 Continue reading

Oregon: FINALLY!

It’s been a long time coming, and I am arriving about a month later than I had originally thought, but I finally crossed the state line into Oregon! With the exception of one 2-week trip home to Texas and 17 blissful days in Baja, I have been in California since January…longer than any state since I began full timing 3.5 years ago. Continue reading

La Cuesta Encantada, the Enchanted Hill

Yet another reason for my road trip, I had booked space in San Simeon State Park far in advance to be guaranteed of a place to park for Memorial Day Weekend.  Had I cancelled that space due to the Winnie repairs, I would have lost both booking fees and cancellation penalties, consuming the majority of the refund.   Since the reservation was for the “primitive” campground (Washburn, dry camping on the grass with no hook-ups,) I figured I could get by with pitching my tent there. Continue reading