SANTA BARBARA AND SOME NATIONAL PARKS

TRAVELS WITH BETSY 1

SANTA BARBARA AND SOME NATIONAL PARKS

Friday September 25, 2009

Down I-5...much of the land on either side is barren. Orchards, some bearing fruit, some withering in the dry heat, some dead and standing, some dead and bulldozed flat. Roadside signs..."Congress created dust bowl", apparently a reference to the water wars of the West. Ironic after several miles of running alongside and crossing the Delta Mendota and San Luis Canals, carrying water south.

Road work on Highway 41 W to Paso Robles is funded by the feds under the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Putting American to Work...bailout dollars.

The new gps isn't working and we have no maps for this area. AAA in San Luis Obispo saved us with maps including a detailed one of the Santa Barbara area, as we had no idea where we were going to this family wedding. Turned out to guide us beautifully to Goleta, Montecito and places in between. Goleta has a shopping mall that is the prettiest I've ever seen; even the Costco is barely recognizable, meeting the local building standards. Best Buy took good care of us and we now posses a new gps, which seems to be working fine.

The Cabrillo Drive along the beach in SB is terrific; place to park Betsy for a long walk and to meet the Barbaria/Seaton/Fox clan for lunch at Fess Parker's Doubletree. Palm trees line the grassy strolling/running area, the paved sidewalk thronged with walkers/bikers, the sand beautiful and inviting.

The rehearsal dinner at Stella Mara was wonderful, the wedding in Montecito was beautiful, relaxed, and lovely. Gene's grand nephew and his bride are off to a wonderful start with great plans for the future; amazingly mature at 24 years old. I didn't know people were married at that age any more.

Foggy Sunday a.m. found us traveling down 101 to meet Brian someplace between Corona and Las Vegas. We settled on Fontana and navigated the maze of freeways, feeling like pros as Gene drove from the 101 to the 210 to I-5. Have you ever had lunch at a Panera? Nice franchise of fresh food, good selection and yummy salads. After catching up with Brian and delivering some warm clothes to him, we headed off for Las Vegas over several 4,000 foot passes, crossing the desert in the blazing sun and Southern California heat. Amazed to find a solid string of cars buses trucks rvs coming toward us from Las Vegas, mile after mile, three lanes wide, all returning to So.Cal after a weekend in Las Vegas. Celebrated Brian's birthday without him by having dinner out.

On Monday we crossed over into the NW corner of Arizona, and at the last minute at the border of NV and AZ there sprang out of the desert a new community called Mesquite, complete with Del Webb Sun City, a grand casino pumping gallons of water through a lavish display of fountain and pools, inviting in this high desert of sandstone and sage brush. Acres of cars surrounding the casino. It seemed almost a mirage.

Route 59 out of Hurricane AZ took us over deserted desert to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, into forest and meadow, aspen lit by golden leaves. To the GC lodge and its 30's architecture and interior, light fixtures being particularly stunning. Walking toward the Bright Angel overlook, I felt the 8,000+ elevation, puffing and panting my way back up. Drove to Cape Royal, a 23 mile drive of several stunning overlooks including Angel Window and the delta where the Anasazi farmed thousands of years ago. A short hike at the end of the drive led us to a panorama of canyons and a glimpse of the Colorado River.

It was late, turning cold, and we needed to drive the 23 miles back, and then the 35 miles or so back to the campground when Gene discovered we needed fuel. Well, he knew we needed it and was sure he had seen a station somewhere on the beautiful drive in on the plateau. It was dark at 7:01 when we pulled into the station which closed at 7:00 p.m., lights slamming off. Happily, the people let us fill up, bless their hearts. A hairy drive back to the camp in the dark with deer browsing in herds and leaping in the lights. And then a side of beef standing immobile in the middle of the narrow road.

Tuesday took us to Zion via the East entrance, involving a narrow tunnel for which we were measured for fit. We fit. Through the narrow mile-long tunnel, and down a spectacularly steep road through stupendous sandstone cliffs and deep canyons. At the bottom, we parked and leaving Lucy in Betsy, took the 1.5 hour shuttle drive up the canyon to see this wonderful small park. Temperature back in Betsy was 98 F when we returned, but Lucy was fine with the shades drawn and the vent fan purring away.

Deciding to also see the NW corner, Kolob Canyon, we drove to the small town of Karranaville for the night, stopping to enjoy the sunset on the way.

Driving the next day on Highway 14 out of Cedar City UT through the Red Canyon was stunning. The red rocks were a perfect foil for the gold, yellow, red and green tree leaves, aflame with color matching the yellow stripes on the red chip seal highway. The Red Canyon is one of the most beautiful short drives we've ever been on, this time of year. Cedar Breaks National Monument is a huge natural amphitheater of deep canyons at about 10,000 feet. From the ranger station there we could see the gathering storm, predicting snow in Bryce NP, where we were headed. We were above sandstone but not above tree line as there were Bristle Cone pines there, one known to be 1,600 years old. We headed down past granite falls and lava fields. From 112 degrees in Las Vegas to 33 degrees at Cedar Breaks in two days.

At Bryce NP we found plenty of space to dry camp in the North Campground, and took off for the 36 mile round trip to the end of the park. Hoodoos, created from differential erosion of hard and soft layers of limestone, dolomite capstone, sandstone, are fantastical features of this park. Ice causes cracks in the stones during the 200 days where temperatures fall below freezing at night. Our night was freezing and shortly after going to bed, the carbon monoxide detector began to scream, causing no small amount of scurrying around to shut it up. Tucked back in we got colder and colder, finally realizing that the house batteries were not working, therefore the furnace was not working. No help there as turning on the generator during the night was a park no-no, so we just froze. It was 36 degrees in Betsy when we finally tumbled out and turned on the generator to power the furnace.

A hike the next day into the Kodachrome State Park showed us pipe stones of sandstone. The whole area was once dunes, from Wyoming to the southern tip of Nevada, compacted into stone then eroded away to form the etched rock faces and teetering spires. The Fremont Indians, Puebloans, 1,000 years ago used some of these rock faces as granaries.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a huge area surrounding several parks, national and state, including Capitol Reef, Bryce, Zion and the GC. There is a terrific visitor center at Escalante, jointly created and manned by BLM, NPS, FS. There is a quote on the wall: "When we say 'there is nothing out there' it only means we cannot see." (Terry Tempest Williams) On to Torrey UT and Capitol Reef NP. This beautiful park has everything...towering cliffs, narrow canyons, petroglyphs, and a lush Fremont River area where the Mormons settled, planted orchards which still bear fruit, and created a community called Fruita. We took the 2 mile trek into the narrow canyon, saw the petroglyphs and then saw, high on the canyon wall the carved names of the surveyors who laid out a road there in 1911. The road is gone, except for a patch of asphalt, but the trail is a terrific rocky walk toward the water 'tanks'. Capitol Reef is unique geologically in being a 'waterpocket fold', where the land folded when being thrust upward during the formation of the Rocky Mountains. This miles long fold is best seen in the visitor center model. Unique formations include Capitol Dome and Navajo Dome. The weather was beautiful, the grass lovely, the aspen glorious colors, the campground wonderful (although we couldn't camp there due to no house batteries and the freezing night temperatures).

Saturday it was off to the desert again, going through the Great Basin stretching from Western Utah through Nevada, stopping at the new visitor center for Great Basin NP, but not going in. Needing to make tracks to head home, we drove this desolate area ('there is nothing out there') from Delta UT to Fallon NV, over 430 miles. There is NO PLACE to stop and camp between here and there. Gene did a masterful job of going up and over numerous passes, thankfully becoming lower and lower as we got into Nevada. The first several at 8,000, 7,000, 6,000 feet were hairy with switchbacks and no guard rails. I felt a lot better when we were going over the 4,000 foot passes; felt almost level.

We leave Fallon today Sunday and plan to go home via the Feather River canyon, to complete the fall trip in search of national parks, deep canyons, red rocks, tall towers, and fall foliage and land in our own backyard tomorrow, Monday, October 5Th, 2009. Photos will be added later.

Endings and Memories

This is it....All the stuff is put away and although there is lots more to remember, when I toted up all the bills it brought back some highlights...In no particular order.

The dressed up black ladies in the local Western Skillet in Mississippi, after church on Sunday. Wonderful dresses, hats, shoes. And the men.....suits, ties, shiny shoes, stick pins, diamond rings, handkerchiefs in jacket pockets.

The Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia, where FDR spent time and where he died. (His mistress was hustled out of the house right away.) It was so small it's hard to believe in today's world. A narrow bed, another in a guest room, a small sitting room with a radio and a small desk, an adequate galley type kitchen, a living room with a dining table at one end. Up narrow winding stairs, a maid's room. I don't remember a bath at all; they probably closed that off. A garage below with a vintage car in it, one that he had designed with hand controls so he could drive himself.

Callaway Gardens, Georgia. Beautiful. Complete with butterfly house.

Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina. Amazingly huge, room after room. On the patio restaurant where we had lunch an adjoining table had a small dog at his owners feet in a travel bag. Lucy soon had her own, which enabled us to take her occasionally into places that didn't allow pets.

The beautiful old grist mill off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Driving on the Natchez Parkway, going into a small town with a used bookstore and trading some books I had for two she had....a mystery about the Natchez Parkway and short memoirs of the Deep South. Same small town (I think it was Clinton, no relation) had only a Mediterranean restaurant.

Hot Springs Arkansas....the Clinton Library is outstanding.

The Ozarks are wonderful and the Corps of Engineers, whatever damage they have done, have redeemed themselves in my eyes for their wonderful campgrounds...at under $10 night for us oldsters.

The night we were in a driving rainstorm seeking shelter in a small RV place when the manager came out under the umbrella to tell us to take the no-long-reserved spot.

The camp in Asheville NC where the rv across the way offered funnel cakes every morning...bring your own coffee and chat a while.

The poodle whose owner combed him out every morning and he went walking proudly about.

The American Portrait museum in DC...Great building, good art, and a couple of fun contemporary installations.

Discovering the local grocery stores and farmers markets. This is still a regional country.

Seeing all the corn being grown to feed to animals. What a disaster that is for our milk and beef.

Lucy's $120 haircut (including pick up and delivery to the NYC apartment). When we were too shaggy to go a step further, we had our hairs cut at WalMart.

The North Cascades....beautiful and worth another trip.

115 Cottage Street, looking very good.

Happy travels to you all.

Homeward.......

Not sure where I left off. We sped through Eastern Oregon mainly on US 395, spent last night in Goose Lake State Park, on the California line. Boarded by Ag inspectors coming into California so they could take the apple (from New Zealand) and tell me to cut the lemon and bag it so I could keep it. go figure. Deviated from 395 at Alturas to go toward Susanville via Eagle Lake; very hot, lake very low, so hotfooted it here to a green grass and concrete place in town for our next to last night.

Big mistake this a.m. Took Lucy for a walk from the campground, following The Trail, to go toward Goose Lake, which is very low. After running into a swarm of mosquitoes and being bitten numerous times, I took a short cut back to Betsy through a field. Nothing bothered my 66 inches, even at the ankles, but when we got 'home' Lucy was a mess of stickers and seeds of all sorts, which adhered to her curly hair somewhere between her 12 inches and the ground. What a mess. Poor baby. After picking and brushing for an hour, I put her in the sink to try to get the stickies out, which worked pretty well. At least she was able to quit scratching and tearing with her teeth and sleep most of the day, so now I'm going to finish the job and get the rest out of it. Maybe she'll get the Benadryl tonight!! (not really)

Tomorrow by 2 p.m. we will be in a campground in Tahoe City, yes, there's a National Forest Service campground facing Lake Tahoe, one of the most beautiful places on earth. That's our decompression spot before we head home Monday, and we were really lucky to find one spot for one night.

It's been quite an odyssey, and if feels good to be back in California. We even managed to stay married and pretty happy to be able to spend this time together. Now I will probably leave on Friday to substitute for Mom in the Morgan household in Hawaii while Barrie goes to Palmyra for 2 weeks. I think Gene will be happy to be alone for a while; he's been a brick about doing so much driving (we're close to 13,000 miles for this trip) and all the other stuff that being a man means when traveling via motor home.

I may get around to downloading and uploading the last of the photos, but probably no time soon. Thanks for riding along with us.

Hugs from Gail, Gene and Lucy.

Short and Sweet from North Central Washington

Back to PDT on the 19th of July. Beautiful approach to Coeur d'Alene where despite the fact that this is Aryan national country, we had brunch at a coffee house that could have been in Berkeley. Except there was no person of color. Except the Hawaiian with the long grey hair. Lovely marina, resort, public park, sand beach, boat tours, pontoon planes. Red geraniums everywhere against the green grass...stunning. Petunia baskets line the main Sherman Ave. Easy to get on the N bound I-95 and then miles of big box stores, lumber mills, Ohio Match Road, big billboards warning against using meth, past Silverwood theme park with a scary roller-coaster, waterpark, full parking lot and RV park. Evidently a destination resort. Lake Pend Orielle, or Ponderay as the small town at the north end is called, is also beautiful. A good COE camp on the lake where we were lucky to secure a spot for one night. Sandpoint ID a disappointment..touted as an artists town it had a few galleries only one open, a bridge of shops mostly empty, and the usual ice cream and T shirt shops. Coldwater Creek headquarters tempted me, but not enough to go in. Back in Safeway land and a good selection of fruits and veggies.

Washington State next, through the Palouse country, green wheat turning golden, desert, then Grand Coulee Dam. Met a couple from Ohio in the new Navion and spent a pleasant evening learning about their trip to Alaska. the camp is in the desert, but where the grass is irrigated in the picnic area there is lush green, playgrounds, picnic tables, swimming and boating areas...Just beautiful with water.

We visited GCDam in 1957 on our honeymoon (Gene likes dams, as you know), when it was only 15 years old. Away for the North Cascades and a day of driving through some of the most beautiful mountains I've ever seen, one after the other as you approach from the East. Surprise! Next to a lone pine tree growing out of a jutting stone someone had placed? carved? created? a standing figure, maybe 15 20 feet high, with a bent knee...person? Sasquatch? And along a fence in the res (Colville Indians) rested a collection of Wonder Horses, maybe a dozen of them.

The fires in Kamloops Canada affected some of the view near Omak and Oganogan, but the air cleared as we drove West. The desert turned to the Okanogan Valley and fields of ripening apples and cherries, some with red, silver and blue mylar flying from branches.

The mountains rise immediately from the fields and desert below, range after range, some forested, some with jagged barren peaks, some dressed in the mini skirt of a glacier. The twin peaks of Hozomeen on the Canadian border could be seen and just in front, the fire lookout at Desolation peak manned by Gary Snyder in the early 50's and Jack Kerouac in 1956. There are 3 jewels of lakes created by small dams on the Columbia a long time ago, turquoise and green from the glacial till. I would go back to Ross Lake in a minute, or camp on the shores of the second lake, whose name escapes me. The National Park Service has done an amazing job of protecting land and improving facilities for humans to enjoy this beautiful country. The Visitor Center at North Cascades was outstanding, just stunning in its architecture, comfort, and interactive displays. Our golden age passes make us feel like pikers every time we enter free into one of these beautifully preserved and enhanced areas. It helps to know our taxes go for more than war.

We're off to Wenatchee and heading for home.....Ranier will be there for us another day.

Montana and Idaho

Last night at Black Sandy State Park we were by the edge of a reservoir. If I lived in Helen MT, I too would own a boat and get the hell out of there for the lake first thing on Saturday a.m. As it was, we had a pleasant evening and a.m. watching the others ski-doo, fish, water ski, row, paddle, and otherwise enjoy the water. It was hot! Leaving for Missoula and points east, we went over McDonald Pass at 6320 feet, but it didn't feel high, as in Tahoe. Unfortunately, there are lots of dead and dying trees (bark beetles?) and some remnants of fires of a couple of years ago. We really feel as if we're in the West again. Avon, a little town where we expected nothing but a cup of coffee turned out to have a delightful general store and a mercantile which really was a quilt shop in a restored stone building. Lots of ranches, cattle, rivers....Bitterroot, Bear tooth, Clark Fork. And then St. Regis, with coffee shop, hucklesberries, gas stations, and an OK campground with a much appreciated swimming pool and clean showers. It was 100 degrees by the time we settled in for shrimp salad for dinner.

On to Couer d'Alene tomorrow...and beyond.

Montana

Half way across the middle of this beautiful state through the wheat fields and with occasional crops, we learn are mainly for growing seed. Near Billings, full of refineries, coal cars, and other 'dirty' industries there is the beautiful (now muddy) Yellowstone River. Leaving US 12 we drove on a lightly traveled I-94 to land in this beautiful campground by the river, green grass and nice landscaping everywhere. I'm not feeling all that great today, so Gene will do all the driving (he usually does 80% at least) as we go toward Helena and over the Continental Divide and into western Washington....I think. Anything to avoid Salt Lake City and Denver! There is less and less to say as we head into more familiar territory, so blogging is coming to an end. I'll keep some notes going to remind myself of where we've been and what in the world those photos are. Oh, and Gene says I failed to name the prarie dogs correctly....that's what they are, prarie dogs. My mind is going in bits and pieces!

North Dakota

Badlands of North Dakota

Bison

Mustard field

Headwaters of the Mississippi

Lake Bemidji

Barn in Minnesota

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

Mackinac Bridge

We're sitting in the only RV in a small park one block from dowtown Regent ND, surrounded by grassland, silos, and grain elevators, having had a drink at the local bar and a brat 'dinner' in the park, a Wednesday night happening here, hanging with the locals. The world's tallest metal sculptures brought us here, all seven of them, along the Enchanted Highway off I-94. Peaceful.

Highways coming and going out of Williston, the nearest town to our State Park camp of last night, are lined with dealers of oil and farm equipment, junked cars and trucks. Halliburton yards, Case, John Deere dealers all over the place. Oil wells are scattered about. the huge Missouri River, full and muddy, floods on by. The Badlands of North Dakota are nothing like the Badlands of South Dakota, being green and rolling and quite beautiful. The Theodore Roosevelt National Park, honoring the conservationist who was inspired by his hunting experience here to set aside much land in parks and monuments, has both north and south scenic drives and visitor centers. At one we met a couple from England who are traveling the US for a year or two. Very interesting...this is their 25th national park, more than we've seen I'll bet. The Little Missouri National Grasslands, some native and some cultivated, rolled on by. Little blue flowers, I learned, were flax, being grown experimentally, to cope with the changing soil and climate conditions. The south part of the park is a wonder of different soils, having been scoured by glaciers, of course, and different colors, from tan to buff to rose. There were several groundhog towns, and a lone buffalo who allowed us to take a photo. We later learned it was very dangerous to be so close to him even in the vehicle as a lone young male has lost his battle to be head of the herd and been banished. This makes them angry; but he was contentedly munching on dandelions and paid us no mind.

Did I mention the wind? It was very WINDY at all points in the park and apparently it always blows like this. At least the skies were blue. The Enchanted Highway, east on I-94 and out of our way, is what brought us to Regent. A local artist, insurance salesman and RV park owner, he has created seven huge metal sculptures from old oil well and farm equipment, tin and what have you. Some are 70 feet tall and depict mainly birds, fish, and people. TR is astride a horse, done in wire; pheasant are multi-colored, a flock of them, and fish leap above and below the water line. It's enough to make the 30 mile drive off the freeway and to this small but alive town.

Oddities: The 'ya betcha' I received in return for a 'thank you' in Wisconsin. Searching for a screw in the bins of screws to replace a lost one needed for a pot handle, and losing the original we had brought in to match. Strange foods: cheese curds, pemeal, poutine, lefse. Finding the hold in the wall where the bathroom sink drain goes and rescuing one of the two hair brushes that had disappeared there. Parking next to our twin in a parking lot. Black gnats by the cloud near a river in MN. A whole day of blue sky and no clouds in MN after weeks of rain and/or cloudy weather. Indian casinos and Tribal Police cars, a tribal radio station broadcasting many happy birthdays. Roadside wildflowers in July. States where beer is sold only by the case, and only at the beer store in VA. BIG dog houses for calves, all lined up near a barn. Ribbons of roads curling over hills. Billboards advertising Bronco Max, "Busting Bad Water--for enhanced glyphosate performance." Alexander ND with with a Lewis and Clark museum and a huge sign proclaiming the 10 Commandments. Going through Rugby ND, the geographical center of North America. We didn't stop.

MN and ND

Chippewa Falls WI has a main street of old brick and stone buildings, which looks so different than a main street of wood. For one thing, it's darker and with no overhangs, everything is a flat front. The names on the fronts of the buildings are the Feed Exchange, Brewery, the Shoe Factory. Now these buildings are occupied by coffee houses, banks, apartments. And the best darn ice cream you've ever had at Olson's Creamery. A sweet little park, small falls, a small zoo including buffalo. Farmers Market day, so we stuffed our fridge with carrots, spinach, basil, lettuce, beets, blueberries,and bread baked and sold by a Mennonite girl in long dress and hair cover. Iced mocha for Gene and lefse for me, the Norwegian version of crepes, tortillas, lavosh, etc., made from potatoes, flour and lard. whoops. Crossing Wisconsin, the highway passes huge dairy farms, multiple barns and silos and piles of manure, covered with white plastic and held down by tires. No small....not like a feed lot in the central valley of California. Wisconsin roads are not mowed on the side, but as in all the other midwestern states, there is NO LITTER. Haven't seen a plastic bag blowing in the wind yet.

Crossing into Minnesota the Welcome Center provided info on the Twin Cities,the Mall of America and where I could get a manicure in the 'burbs. St. Paul is a city I'd come back to; downtown is a wonderful mix of old and new. The sculpture garden in downtown Minneapolis is small, and the famous spoon and cherry fountain a delight. Also a nice steel sculpture by di Suervo, who has one similar on the Embarcadero South of Market in SF. The Mall of America; what can I say. We went there to see what all the hub-bub has been about. We found a mob scene of underdressed and overweight people. Nordies, our destination for a short shopping list, provided a respite from the crowds, but after that we were out of there. Didn't even see the amusement park or the aquarium. I understand families plan their vacations there a a destination; talked to one woman whose daughter brings her kids there for the day so they can amuse themselves while she sits, reads, shops. Out of there to camp beside a river outside of St. Cloud.

July 12, 2009. Stuck in traffic in Monticello MN as preparation for a parade for the River Festival, and a mysterious closure of I 94 North had the town jammed...all we wanted was coffee. Tempers short in Betsy, I tell you, until we finally found a way toward Itasca State Park to the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Gene's finished reading Rising Tide, and has seen the river from its widest at New Orleans and this trip, deep and wide in Mississippi, to its origins in Minnesota. Itasca turns out not to be an Indian name, but a combination of Veritas caput.....true head, supposedly. Westward ho, on scenic roads with few towns, little population, lots of trees and lakes. Another festival, the Wild Rice Festival, in another town, and more lakes, some with beautiful homes on the shores and some that couldn't be seen at all. Lots of boats, though some of the lakes seem shallow, grassy, and best suited for the party boars that drove by. Timber seems to be the industry. We crossed the Mississippi multiple times, the river becoming smaller and smaller going North. The park at the headwaters is very well done, with many kids mainly crossing the river on stones. We chose a small board to cross. The signs gave dimensions of the mighty rivers of the world, and we discovered we have been on the four longest....the Amazon, the Nile, the Yangtze and the Mississippi....well not ON the Miss, so someday we'll have to take a boat tour, maybe out of Minneapolis, or perhaps get to St. Louis one of these days.

July 13...An hour's walk to Bog Lake through a bog...peatland of acidic water and soil covered with sphagnum moss, brush, and flowers including wild orchids and carnivorous pitcher plants..started the day after a night at Bemidji State Park MN. The lake was lovely with a sandy beach and tall pines and birch. Green is everywhere but no longer are the roadsides clipped and mown, but wilder grasses and still wildflowers. Stands of birch and evergreens. Logging. County roads, crossroads bars and cafes, gates to ranches, rolled hay in fields. We were on the Great River Road of MN. Bought wall eyed pike at the local fish market, and a woolen sweater at the Bemidji mills outlet.

North Dakota beckoned and we found a lovely campsite at Turtle River State Park, with few people, only a little thunder storm, and showers we took advantage of to bath Lucy. THAT was a trip, with her clinging to my shoulders and whimpering the whole time. Then we took Betsy for a shower in town and flew across wide open spaces under cloudy skies...what clouds! what skies! what rain!..toward the opposite side of the state. Highway 2 is terrific, 4 lane divided and no one on it. Where are the truckers? Where are the people? houses? barns? animals? First crop of hay is rolled and in the fields, second crop growing. Also growing, more corn silage, and unidentified row crops. And there stood Infinity, by Minnokta Power, a single 'windmill'. Lots of ponds, lakes, and ducks, all surrounded by tall grass; looked like prime hunting ground. Blinding rain, a tribal radio station, and suddenly fields of yellow, miles of them. Leeds ND boasts it grows seeds, and one farm told of growing beans too. So I guess the yellow is growing mustard seed...beautiful against all the green. Dumping rain, huge cumulus in blue sky, then black clouds, high gusty winds combine to make driving a challenge which Gene was admirably up to. Leaving Minot, the terrain changed to rolling hills, and turning off US 2 for county roads, passing oil wells pumping, we climbed toward Lewis and Clark State Park, passing a bay of huge Lake Sakakawea where sailboats were docked. We can only imagine the wildly difficult trek L&C had, and were grateful we were diesel powered and campground electrified.

On to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

On Wisconsin

Niagara Falls and people enjoying them..............

I'm always adding photos behind!

We've traversed Michigan after staying and exploring Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. I climbed the 110 foot sand dune set aside for this purpose, to see the lake beyond...NOT. Many more a mile to go to see it, so clambering down I joined the other two and we scenicked drove the places to view the lake, the dunes, the cliffs of sand. Really a magnificient place and hard to believe this is a lake.

Dealt with search for dog food, and possible bad water, then off to Mackinaw City, which lists its major industries as toursim and fudge. The bridge is indeed pretty, and long at 5 miles. We had decided not to go to Maciknac Island...did I already say this? I have seen it and Gene wasn't much interested in big old summer homes salt water taffy, or an old fort, so we opted for a walk on the shore of Lake Michigan under the bridge, a swim for Lucy, and a path onward to the Upper Peninsula.

Weather a lovely 72o, we drove Highway 2 along the shores of Lake Michigan, and much of it was visible. Many lovely homes as well, not to mention the green tarpaper 'shacks' that once were tourist cabins overlooking the lake. Still operating, with white plastic chairs out front on each little porch. Fortified with pasties (yes, the Cornish miners were there too) and fresh veggies and fruit, we pressed on.

The Delta County park provided Pioneer Trail Campground in Escanaba, and we watched a lovely sunset through the woods, at almost 10 p.m. Continuing south, we crossed into Wisconsin at Route 64, ending today at Chippewa Falls, and passing MANY dairy farms. This is, after all, cheese country. A stop in Colby where we purchased....Colby. And lovely farm after farm, with 2 story houses, the equivalent of 3 story barns, and 50-60 foot silos of many dimensions. Fields of corn, soybeans, alfalfa, grasses, and ginseng. The State Park was full for the weekend, but a nearby small private park gave us their last rv spot, where we are playing ball with Lucy, doing laundry, and cooking simply, with cheese curds made into mac and cheese, Michigan brats, green salad and bi corn. Now, off to finish reading last Sunday's NYTimes. Did you see the Maureen Dowd column where she explained that Caribou Barbie wasn't having fun anymore, people were being mean to her and she didn't feel like finishing her term as gov. of Alaska? Priceless.

PS...forgot the highlight of the day...We had our hairs cut at WalMart. Not too bad; Gene looks good, I look as if I had my hair cut at WalMart.

On to the North

I can't believe it...just lost the whole blog. Where it went I don't know, but here is a shortened version......

Oddments and sights to remember: Tobacco crops and drying sheds in Ontario; wind farms along the shore of Lake Erie; the Scenic Byway that wasn't; a big all Christmas store in Frankenmuth that Gene wouldn't even go into; buying brats for dinner, drinking French Kiss coffee drink, yum. Seeing Horseshoe Falls from the Canadian side of Niagara Falls; watching a wedding of an 'older' couple overlooking the Falls, and seeing a bride and her bridesmaids don Wellies to walk the beach near Bar Harbor Maine. Names on barns in Ontario...Albert and Ellen Benko, and others. Taking Lucy to the shores of Lake Erie at Dog Beach, but not being allowed to let her run. Flat land, growing corn and soybeans, again, and sugar beets and something growing from mounded straw and covered with shade cloth. A horse and cart parked outside a local grocery store, unperturbed by the cars, with his straw hatted driver clopping away with the groceries. Collapsed barns with weeds growing through them. The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore...I didn't even know we had a national lakeshore. Chocolate everywhere, from museums to 'homemade' fudge, to multiple chocolate/coffee drinks. Signs for makers of Shaker Furniture. An Amish town with only one Amish to be seen. An airport in the middle of a field in the midle of Michigan with nothing else around.

we're off to see the Dunes, and trundle on to the Mackinac Bridge and the Upper Peninsula. We're deciding the route home, planning to be back July 29, so if you have any suggestions as to best ways to go, let us know. We're not sure at this point whether to drop down into the mid-west and brave the heat of St. Louis and the boredom of miles of corn fields coming west, or to stay north through Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakotas, etc.

In any case, we'll see you before too long......

Love, Gail, Gene and Lucy

Happy 4th of July from Niagra Falls, NY

We've spent more nights in New York than any other state since we began this odyssey. Tonight is the second here, it is after all a big holiday, and it seems fitting that we celebrate by going back to the falls to see the fireworks, which the Canadians set off, for some reason. It was so crowded today that they closed access to the 'island' at 11:30 this a.m. Good thing we got an early start and avoided most of the crowds. The Falls are truly spectacular, and with the sun shining for the first time in weeks, we saw them in all their glory. Tomorrow we'll go to the Ontario side and see them from there, before continuing our way westward.

Yesterday we left a camp called the Gateway to the Adirondacks, north of Utica in Poland (next to Russia), taking State route 20 to avoid the thruway...and then found ourselves on the toll road anyway. Speeding past Oneida (of cult, Native American and silverware fame), and skirting Syracuse, we escaped to drive a more leisurely pace through the Finger Lakes district. Some of this road is just tacky and littered with stop lights and malls, but several towns are charming and we loved driving through them. Geneva was lovely with Hobart and Willam Smith Colleges (Trevor Buck went to Hobart), great brick buildings downtown and darling painted brick row houses. Many towns lined the route with big old houses and huge old trees, several along the shores of Lake Seneca and Canadaigua. Some of the land is very bucolic with cattle, dairies, egg farms (!). On the way to Letchworth State Park (the Grand Canyon of the East) we traveled county roads with no one on them except an occasional pickup. Orange day lilies, especially at driveways, have appeared roadside through Vermont and New York. Cops, fields, mown 'lawns' acres of it, make the country look park-like. More wonderful old big houses in Livonia, Gennessee Valley, Geneseo, Leiscester (founded in 1602). And then a huge wind farm near Sheldon/Wales producing electricity somewhere for someone.

What struck me about the Niagra Falls State Park today was not only the sheer volume of water and falls, but the people from all over the world. There are an amazing number of East Indians, Sikhs, women in head scarves, Asians of all kinds but I'm not sophisticated enough to know the differences among Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, etc. Many European languages. And at least one African language, but then again, I really don't know the difference among those either. We skipped the boat ride and the slicker-covered walk down to where it is really wet, having done that in Brazil and loved it. But one only needs to do it once.

I had expected more tackiness, but except for the Visitor Center, which is a huge disappointment that I wouldn't go near again, everything was very well done. The trolleys were jammed, so we spent more time waiting than I would have liked, but people watching was wonderful. If any of the photos of the sari clad come out, I'll send them along.

We're off to the fireworks; let's see if this works out. Hope your Fourth was as enjoyable as ours.

Vermont

The rolled and verdant hills of Vermont are no exaggeration; it's incrediby beautiful here. Of course, we can't see more than a few miles ahead because of the mist/rain/clouds, but when we can see the distant hills, it adds to the beauty around us. All those pictures of charming villages, church spires, green hills and flowers/trees are absolutely accurate. Before leaving Canada, we noticed high tension wires with eagle's nests built in them, which Gene says are possible because the builders put boards across the towers for that purpose. Saw many nests.........no birds. And throughout Maine and New Hampshire, we saw by the roadsides stands of blue and occasionally pink tall flowers....penstemon? (sp?) And commercial evergreens, lots of them providing holiday trees to NYC and points south, plus several manufacturers of wreaths, I guess also holiday.

In Maine we stopped at Rumford Falls to gape at the 'highest falls east of Niagra', impressive because of their sheer volume of water, due to the amazing amounts of rain this Spring in these here parts. It's the Adroscoggin River that supplies electricity for the huge wood processing plant...paper, plywood, etc, manufacturing. And on through the rolling hills on a secondary road past Montpelier VT to our green camp on the shores of LimehurstLake (really a pond, with bubblers). Lucy got away from me, and dragging her leash, took off after the camp dogs, an old Setter and a big black Lab. The Setter turned and ran, tail between legs, and the Lab turned slowly toward Lucy, who wisely responded to my frantic screams and returned, saying "You were calling?" Gene couldn't stop laughing at my flailing arms, screaming voice and awkward run trying to capture the leash. 10 pounds trying to take on 2 70 pound dogs was pretty funny.

Nice and cool again; even though it's misty, we're grateful it's not 90/90, as it was last year at this time.....

More Photos

No verbiage....just photos

Maine and NB Canada

Left: Rockport ME

Right: This photo belongs to previous post.....obviously Hershey PA!

June 30, 2009. The Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, is easy to find and hard to forget. Crossing into Canada at Calais, Maine, past the Chocolate Factory, changing some money (Canada is now a bit of a bargain at $.85 to the $1.00, a 15% bonus for us), visiting the Tourist Center, we learned the tides comings and goings, and bounced (the roads aren't all that good) our way through St. John and along the coast, up to Moncton and down to Hopewell Rocks, in time to see the tide at its highest. The Bay is a huge funnel, with the narrow neck being what they call the Chocolate River. When the tide comes in it all fills up and when it empties it is possible to walk on the ocean floor...or at least the Bay floor. Which we did the next day. Spruce trees grow on top of formations of earth that look like flower pots, so when the tide is out the pots are exposed fully and arches below help give a visual landmark to the ebb and flow. Overnight in the Fundy National Park, in the rain, but beautiful. The experience of being on the floor of mud below what was 30 feet of water yesterday is pretty astonishing. Lots of rock, chocolate mud, tiny snail critters, seaweed, a mild drizzle, and it feels pretty far away from Northern California.
Ever heard of Poutine??? Turns out it is a pile of french fries with gravy and cheese. Passed that one by. Eating lots of seafood. I think I had my last white meal yesterday, of fish and chips (substitute baked potato for french fries) with sour cream, tartar sauce and coleslaw. Haddock is delicious, fish chowder wonderful, lobster rolls terrific. All white. Back to broccoli and salads for me. I anticipate seeing again the things I had become used to: saltbox architecture (no eaves), water everywhere, huge lakes, green marsh to the edge of lakes and bays and oceans, ride-on mowers, turnpikes, thunderclouds and rain, the Atlantic on the wrong side of the car, lots of woods, metal stars on homes, electric candles in windows, shrink wrapped boats in dry dock, church spires, American flags everywhere, on RVs, cemeteries, lining highways, in small towns, along promenades on ocean fronts.
When we were still in New Hampshire, we left in 85 degree (wet) weather, and went to Rockland, Rockport and Camden ME, each one delightful, cool, foggy, 59 degrees and wet. Went through Buckport and over a new bridge of a design I had never seen...looked somewhat like a Calatrava, but with a single center suspension support strung between two towers, with one lane on each side. One tower was the Penobscot Observatory at the site of Fort Knox, where the Brits defeated the US Navy in the war of independence. Through Rockport-Camden ME was a two mile drive of gorgeous homes and a farm of Belted Galloway cows (black with white belts). End of June in downeast Maine impressions: Still blooming, dogwood, peonies, lacecap hydrangeas covering a building, huge copper beeches, impatiens, petunias, hostas. Windjammers (schooners) in the 'haabaa', multiple small towns,...Red barns, garage sales, quarries, cemeteries. Shops advertising Antiques, Books, and Wine.
A couple of days ago we went to Freeport ME where the old barn of the LL Bean outlet we visited 30 years ago has been transformed into an upscale building for their sports gear, and a brand spanking' new square block of shops, including Brooks Brothers, J Crew, Body and Bath...well, you get the idea. Shirts for both of us in BB (one I've been seeking for two years). Every place was dog friendly and Lucy got lots of attention and treats. Acadia National Park provided a loop road, foggy, but a chance to see this magnificient park (green) and stop by a beach inlet (it wasn't raining!). Bar Harbor is charming and provided shop with a raincoat for Lucy. We drove even further down east to Dennysville through Cherryfield, the 'blueberry capital of the world.' A few huge old Victorian homes, one with a model train in the backyard with a man riding on it. Route 1 was the worst road, except for occasional re-paved stretches.
Decided against going to Nova Scotia and/or Ontario at this point. Found a delightful little campground on the shores of a small lake near the border and although it was misty there was no real rain until early a.mm. Back through rural roads to Maine, crossing just beyond McAdam, NB. The US Customs boarded us and looked in the closets, cupboards and refrigerator, confiscating citrus which we had bought in Maine. No matter, if it has been in Canada it can't come back in; goodbye lemon and lime. Going to Bangor, we left the I95 for Route 2, another worst road except for stretches of new paving and some construction; the snow must really do a job here each winter. Small towns with delightful old Victorians; lots of pride of ownership here, things very well kept on the whole. Towns such as Newport, Palmyra, Skowhegan, Norridgewock along the Kennebec River.....Farmington, Wilton, Dixfield with a huge crane unloading logs from trucks and stacking them for processing. Lots of wood up here in these woods. Small grassy campsite had everything we needed, including another Navion like Betsy with a dog named Ruby (Llhasapoo) who romped with Lucy for a while.
We're off to Vermont today, and probably going to Niagra Falls...More later.

DC, Philadelphia, NYC, Massachusetts and Beyond

The last 20 days have been a bit of a blur. The Morgans arrived on schedule at Dulles, meeting us the next morning at their hotel. Marvelous sight, the big lovely wonderfully decorated hotel lobby, a bigger space to lounge in than we'd had in 6 weeks or so. Adventure started with driving to Alexandria (actually Springfield, I think), to meet Pauls' Uncle Chet (Col, retired, USMC fighter jet pilot) and Aunt Cam. They welcomed us as family, parked Betsy in the drive, took Lucy while we toured and were the most wonderful hosts you can imagine. We left most mornings about 9 or 10, toured sometimes through dinner sometimes not. They shuttled us back and forth to the Metro, bless their hearts. Wonderful conversations, a tour of the church where Chet has done major research and George Washington worshipped, and a chance to exchange books with fellow bookie Cam.

The time with Barrie, Paul, Kyle and Reed was just wonderful. We travel well together, although Betsy is smallish for 6 of us. The Morgans camped all of three nights, while the plan was to camp every night except for DC and NYC. But it rained. And rained and rained. And rained.

Sights we saw: Mount Vernon, an all day adventure. air and Space Museum, the Castle of the Smithsonian and its garden, the Washington and Lincoln monuments. Gene's injured back and hip gave out, so he and Paul found a pedicab and a beer and met us while we walked the mall. Dinner one night with the Jones in their Georgetown home was a special treat. Their garden is lovely, the house a four story delight, the dinner delicious and their hospitality outstanding. That was also the day the Morgans rented a van so we could drive to see the National Cathedral, emassy row, picnic, park in Georgetown in the Jones driveway (Pete even drove us downtown!), and visit the White House Visitor Center, the Spy Museum, the National Portrait Gallery. Piled into a cab, having noticed the amazing traffic all around, and a long time later landed in Georgetown. That was the day of the shooting at the Holocaust Museum, and it caused a major traffic jam in the center of DC. We sped past the lighted memorials on the way back to VA.

At the end of the week, the Morgans met their friends the Maloneys for a hike/picnic, we took the day off, and next day drove to Gainesville VA so Kyle and Reed could meet Erica and Nate, cousins they didn't even know they had! Steph and Sean are doing so well, beautiful big house and grounds, kids healthy and lively, jobs going well. They hosted us overnight with wonderful food and accomodations, and the kids had a great time.

The drive toward Philadelphia was up highway 15, the History Highway, and a good stop at Gettysburg, Hard to imagine the style of warfare practiced then, with advancing lines of men and artillery, being cut down by fire from those on the hills around. Scary how close the South came to winning the war and how different a country we would be. On to Hershey for the tour, just as much fun as a Disney ride, and souvenirs of chocolate all around. Then a wonderful back roads drive to the campground at Coatesville PA, behind buggies of Amish, fields being worked by families in traditional dress. We stopped to buy eggs, jams, honey. The campground is a 'destination' campground, with locals there for their after-school holiday. The rain held off until we left, although there were major thunderbumpers in Philadelphia which passed Coatesville by. The big grassy sites were great for rvs and tents alike. The camp hosts were nice enough to give us a ride to the train station and pick us up after touring. Independence Square is impressive, the Ben Franklin underground museum a good start on what will be a more complete museum soon, the Liberty Bell did not disappoint, a printing demonstration taught me that our documents have survived because they were printed on cloth, AND I learned a lot more, like why we use July 4th as our day of independence. Reading Market was terrific with more booths and foods than you can count. I guess the Philly cheese steak sandwich was authentic...it was certainly big enough!...too big for both Kyle and me, and delicious. Lucy stayed in camp, being walked and played with by a couple who work there for the summer. Their lifestyle takes them from Florida to Pennsylvania and back again according to season, living in their RV and visiting their kids and grandkids in both places. So many ways to live a life.

On to New York. Following the gps instructions to the Lincoln Tunnel, we wondered at the 'no bottled propane' sign, but as our propane is tanked, not bottled, we thought we would be OK. Hadn't counted on the sturdy Parking Authority cop walking briskly to us as we approached the toll plaza, telling us to turn around, where to go, and then stopping traffic in both directions so we could leave and go up to the George Washington Bridge. With pilot Paul at the wheel, and Barrie navigating via a map, we swung around and got out of there.

Approaching Manhattan...now, what to do with Betsy? We heard there was an open parking lot nearby, but not wanting to drive blindly into Manhattan mid-afternoon, Barrie got on her IPhone and found a lot just two blocks from our apartment. Unloading our city bags and some staples, we found the third floor dog-friendly apartment comfortable and well appointed with two bedrooms, two baths, and couches for the kids. We figure our hosts live elsewhere mainly, but as they are both opera singers, their pied-a-terre behind Lincoln Center is an income stream for them and a haven for us. A walk to Central Park and back helped orient us to the neighborhood. Sights: doormen, cabs, construction, shops, shops, shops, services of all kinds, day care centers, pre-schools in matching pinneys on leashes, high schools, theaters, buses, more cabs, moms and strollers, dads and briefcases, nannies and kids, workers of all kinds, pocket parks, dogs, dogs, dogs, flowers, and TALL BUILDINGS, lots of them. Dense, dense, dense, crammed with people, mostly pleasant!

We quickly learned the whys and wherefores of the transit system...imagine having to have $2.00 worth of quarters each time you get on a bus! The natives buy cards, but we jingled all the way to the bus and back. Since it was RAINING, we went shopping the first day, to the Apple Store, a marvel of a glass block above ground. The contrast between it and The Plaza across the end of Central Park was startling! The group huddled outside on the sidewalk under umbrellas were not stragglers from a tour, but in fact early in line for the 7 a.m. sale the next day of the new IPhone. Those Mac people...I don't know....The Deli Cafe we found near Barneys was one of those wonderful New York places where you can get anything....a reuben, roasted veggie sandwiches, mac and cheese, cheeseburgers, etc. in a narrow little building with tables on the second floor. FAO Schwartz drew the boys, Barrie and I hit Barneys and later, the NorthFace. Somehow coming from Hawaii to Manhattan to buy North Face from Berkeley seemed odd, but it worked. A new rain jacket replaced the one Barrie wore for 10 years until it's coating fell off this summer, and Kyle got his sweatshirt, replacing the one that disappeared at SFO on the way over.

The Museum of Natural History was a disappointment. Maybe it's the advent of television and all those nature shows, but dark museums of stuffed people and animals just doesn't do it anymore. Reed particularly wanted to see the Minerals and Gems, which the sign said, was closed after 1 p.m. 'due to budget cutbacks.' The day was saved by a walk to Zabars for the experience, and for dinner goodies. Gene and Lucy had stayed home as Gene's neck was acting up, so cold drinks were waiting.

The Statue of Liberty day was great, with little rain, long lines, but a look inside the statue from the platform. The ferry ride to Liberty Island and Ellis Island (we didn't get off) was wonderful. Landing we stoked up on coffee and treats, subwayed up town and did lots of walking, to the Empire State Building and on to Grand Central Station, where we caught a subway home. Well, we got on the wrong train, an express which didn't stop where we thought it would. But by now we were seasoned enough to get off and walk through the neighborhoods, stopping at the post office open past 5 o'clock on a Friday night, to the wine shop, at the cheese shop, the CVS, and stroll past Lincoln Center with lines forming for performances. Lucy had spent the day at the groomers....pick up and delivery service, thank you...and was returned to us looking like a City Dog.

Then came the time to pack up and head out, done with a minimum of fuss, and off to Boston area, over turnpikes and thruways, with a stop at the oldest motorcycle shop in New Haven CT for Kyle. A beautiful array of bikes inside....wished I'd taken my camera in.

We were to camp at Cape Ann and spend time there on this beautiful bay, visiting Rockport (the end of the world) and Gloucester. But there was no protection for the campers at the campground, so Barrie found a little camp with a cottage. We should have known when we saw the office was a beat-up old house trailer, or when Barrie brushed a cockroach off my shoulder while standing in the moldy trailer, or most particularly when he asked for payment in cash only. But we had little choice at that point, so we parked Betsy in a grassy,muddy spot,and Morgans lugged bedrolls into one room in a string of unoccupied rooms with bath at the end of the hall, in this 'fishing camp' on the Little River. Never mind that there were no showers, we couldn't wait to get out of there the next day. The rest of Cape Ann was terrific, and of course, it kept RAINING. The solution to the wet dilemma was to check into the Cape Hedge Hotel. The solution to the narrow streets was to rent-a-wreck van. The solution to the kids being restless was to send them to the indoor heated pool and let them lay about with TV and soda while Mom and Dad went exploring. The drive around Rockport and Glosta was terrific. Very few tourists there, despite the week of dory races in Glosta, as the weather was so unseasonal. Last year it was 90, we were told.

Impressions: Halibut Point State Park, with a mammoth quarry now filled with water and rocky shores of the Atlantic. Picturesque statue of fisherman wearing sou'wester at the wheel and bronze tablets with names of the many men lost at sea during the height of the fishing years. Settlers were mainly Italian and Portugese. A draw bridge with plaque commemorating the man who dug the canal from the river to the bay, in 1623. Lots of fresh, fresh, fresh, seafood. The Causeway on Father's Day an especial treat, with platters piled high with haddock, lobster, sole, fish and chips, scallops. Bring your own wine and beer as these are dry towns in the restaurants. Rockport is more charming than Belvedere or Tiburon, but similar. Gloucester has a maritime museum, a harbor loop walk, a Coast Guard station with roll-over boats, retail and wholesale fish markets, the HQ of Gorton's fish, multiple bars, a fish shipping business, and a distinct lack of architectural controls. The homes surrounding these two villages are astounding and beautiful, set on large plots of ground, wonderfully landscaped. Prices are Bay Area similar. Marsh land is everywhere. They have preserved their marshes; especially stringent controls were put in after a condo development ate one of them. The dinky Corte Madera marsh doesn't hold a candle to these acres of lush green sponges.

We loved talking to the cook and his wife at the hotel; a former fisherman he gave us the low down on life in Cape Ann. I would go back, and as much as I'd love to see it in the sunshine, it was sooo appropriate that it was misty.

On to Boston for a day of Freedom Walk-ing, graveyards, Quincy Market (what a mess of a tourist place), a walk on the Long Wharf, gaping at the old and the new architecture, seeing dates that are common there when California was populated by Jesuits and Indians, walking on Boston Common. Lucy was carried in her airplane travel bag on the MBTA, while other dogs were just held in laps. The Marriott where the Morgans were staying the night before Hawaii departure provided a shuttle to the airport MBTA and back, so transportation and parking Betsy were no problem. Dinner at an old Italian restaurant recommended by the shuttle driver...'I've been going there since I was a kid!", a couple of $10 tips and he shuttled us there and back on his regular hotel/airport runs.

Saying good-bye to the Morgans was really hard, but we soldiered on and drove to the Concord area for a couple of days of lay-about. The campground was a mud hole and it was RAINING. Which led me to AccuWeather.com and the discovery that mid-New Hampshire was going to be fair the next day!!! So we trundled off to Chocorua and a lovely campsite on the shores of Moore's Pond, in the foothills of the White Mountains. Lovely site, best dog park (with agility equipment no less!), great walking trails, and a chance to clean up and chill out. We're plotting our move to the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, within a day or so. Catch you from Canada!

Hugs,
Gail and Gene, and Lucy too

Virginia

June 6, 2009. Photo tragedy....accidentally wiped out all the photos from the last couple of days, including Appomattox. Sob. Learned a couple of things, though, but probably not enough to keep me from doing it again! Nick will tell me, again, the fail-safe methods, but of course I'll just short cut them in a fit of forgetting.

So no photos of the farmers market in Roanoke, continuously operating since the 1880s. Or of the Taubman Art Museum, which looks like a Gehry gone slightly awry, tucked in between old building, the railroad tracks, and reconstructed market place buildings. Or of the many coal cars we saw sitting on sidings on the railroad. In Lynchburg, we traversed the Jerry Falwell parkway and saw the Liberty College, which I think is his. Huge campus of very impressive brick buildings, spanking clean.

Appomattox National Park is impressive, beautifully laid out, nicely restored buildings, plaques commemorating Lee's surrender to Grant to end the Civil War, one of the bloodiest in our history. The downtown if this little town is quaint. We lunched at Granny Bee's, which offered a choice of two sides with my flounder, all listed under vegetables, all either fried (potatoes) or creamed (corn) or sweetened (tomatoes), and including coleslaw and macaroni salad. Not a fresh anything under veggies. Gene says the pie was very good.

Driving the back roads, mostly, from there to near Madison, VA, we skirted Charlottesville (we'd been to Monticello some years back and decided it hadn't changed all that much so we wouldn't brave the traffic to see it again). The back roads took us through some gorgeous, GREEN country....it's raining again, does it always rain here???? We went through several hollers, where single and double-wides have been improved in every way imaginable...with basements, porches, additions at either end or in the middle, painted, vined, landscaped, or not. Then into big farms, e.g., Golden Fox on the James, Viewmont, Montecito, all acres and acres of rolling green pasture, raising angus cattle, horses, hay. We were on the Constitution Route, VA 20 until emerging into outskirts of Charlottesville. Very upscale outskirts. Talk about culture shock.

June 6, 2009. The rain seems to have stopped, the ground fog is clearing. Today is catch upday before we drive to Dulles tomorrow to meet the Morgans. Doubt I'll be doing much blogging while we are with them. We plan to be in Alexandria a week, then to Pennsylvania Dutch country and Philadelphia, on to NYC where we've rented an apartment in Manhattan for 3 days, then Boston area, and the Morgans leave from Boston on June 24. See ya!

North Carolina and Virginia

June 2, 2009. So the carrier sitting next to us at patio lunch yesterday contained a dachshund.......convinced me to buy the soft airline regulated carrier for Lucy and to give it a try in public places with No Pets signs. She doesn't go in willingly, but once in she happily joined us in the Craft Guild and Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Gene says it's not hard to carry her on his shoulder.

The Center is both an artists guild and an exhibition of NFS works. The weavings and quilts were beautiful; finally, quilts not from China. But I see why so few are produced for sale; the one I liked was a 52 x 52 wall hanging, priced at $1250. These were not country quilts....very sophisticated. Maybe I should go back to quilting.

Asheville itself is an interesting city architecturally, with blocks of churches and civic buildings that are varied in style and period. Most outstanding: the fully operational Woolworth's, with soda fountain. AND the Kress 5 & 10 a few blocks away. Awesome. Guess some cities stick to the past and what works, and some companies have the good sense to keep a small sample of what worked. I have no idea who owns them now, but they appear very real from the outside. Their Farmer's Market is a year round enterprise of both wholesale and retail vendors, in big long sheds. Local, or almost local: peaches, tomatoes, corn called 'bi', meaning both white and yellow, also known as Peaches and Cream. Broccoli looked sad after its travel from California.

Hickory: furniture manufacturing is not thiving, but there are many large outlets for furniture and enough traffic to make one think they are working. Just off a busy highway we found a Starbucks, a Camping World and a KOA. What more do we need to do the errands and quiet down. Nothing to recommend this campground except the fireflys........love that winking and blinking.

June 3, 2009. Statesville has about 100 homes near the downtown area, 98% of them restored, and of several periods. They've done a good job of keeping them up to date; the town is apparently prosperous as the storefronts are all occupied, but there are many homes for sale or rent...as everywhere we've been. Nearby Winston-Salem offered the mother of all shopping malls, with four parts to it, spread all over the place. A trip to Penneys finished the errands, so we headed for something less 21st century.

I didn't know that John Hus left the Catholic Priesthood one hundred years before Martin Luther's break, and formed the group known as Moravians. G erman speaking, they were from Moravia in what is now the Czech Republic. Having established a spare and simple form of Christian religion, they moved to several parts of the world, one of them being Pennsylvania in what would become the US. They established themselves on the frontier as well, as a group of men with varied skills trekked to North Carolina on the old wagon road and set up Wachovia, thousands of acres of land, starting BaTHARbra (Hebrew, meaning house of passage, or temporary home). The well defended and developing area, women and children having been added from PA, grew and thrived. A closed community, they were organized into social groups according to their sex and marital status, moving from one to the other (status, not sex) as the situation called for. Built in support groups. The color of the ribbon on the bonnet of the women denoted their status: single, married, widowed, perhaps married again. The community accepted refugees from surrounding settlements when Indians attacked, and gradually became an open community. Salem (from Shalom: Peace) became the Moravian community of trading and crafts, and neighboring Winston was big in tobacco and textiles. They combined in1913.

On the way back to the Blue Ridge Parkway we stopped in Mt. Airy, NC, with its streets named Andy Griffith Parkway, Mayberry place, etc. and found coffee. Interesting buildings of stone, some with false fronts, in varied styles. People nice, but one couple stood out. Just outside the pet store was a large older couple with a tiny Papillion in a pink tutu. They had her near a dog stroller, also pink, with lots and lots of other clothes and toys in it, and they were carrying large pet store logo bags with paw prints on them. That baby was coddled!

In a few minutes we were in SW Virginia, looking none too prosperous, but green and gorgeous land, and back on the parkway. Mountain Laurel is blooming (looks like a cross between a rhodie and an azalea). Driving under a canopy of large hardwood trees, elm, hickory, oak, maple, we rolled along with no billboards, few cars, occasional gaps like Orchard Gap with a small store, and a lovely old small stone church. Paralleling the parkway are local roads, so the backs of farms and small towns off to the side can be seen occasionally. This Appalachian Mountain country is gorgeous, with views and land that are so picturesque it's hard to believe. An overnight in Meadows of Dan, with thunder rolling and a major rain during the night. Local admonishments: watch out for the 3 Bs...bears, bees and bats and the 3 Ss...snakes, skunks and spiders.

Asheville North Carolina

Little White House at Warm Springs GA

West Point Lake, GA

Very small portion of Biltmore home, Asheville NC

The Vanderbilt estate, Biltmore, is the highlight of this area. Completed in 1895 it is the largest private home in the country. Opened to the public in 1930, its 8,000 acres were landscaped by Frederick Law Olmstead and the home, 255 rooms, is kept in top condition by the foundation of family members which owns and runs it. Beautifully maintained, restored, managed, we were treated wonderfully....the 1800 employees do a magnificient job of herding us all around and making us feel welcome. It's spectacular in all respects.

Driving here from northern Georgia along the Blue Ridge Parkway (begun 1935, completed 1987) was a twisting, turning, up and down experience. Speed limit at 45 mph was plenty fast, and at every turn there was a new sight of mountains, valleys, plants, trees, vistas. Once twice the height of the Himalayas, eroded over millions of years, the Great Smokies are on their way up again due to the upthrust of the Atlantic tectonic plate. The things you learn from rangers. I think we won't do the rest of the 400 some odd miles.

May 29, 2009, evening. How can I lose a hairbrush in 70 square feet? It's gone, disappeared. I didn't take it anyplace, but it's gone. I've searched the closet, the trash, the bathroom, where it is supposed to live. It's gone. Luckily i have another not-so-good one in my purse, But for right now, it's gone.

We spent the morning paying bills not on line, as it's not secure, but on the phone with Citizens Bank in NC....wonderful people who took care of us and allowed us to email them the amounts they need to write checks to our online payees. Have to write one check to the US Treasury, and discovered that the postal rates have gone up.....next stop, buy 2 cent stamps. Which reminds me, Kyle graduated 8th grade and we hardly noticed! It was an affirmation ceremony of some sort,so we didn't 'get it', but we are very proud of his being able start his freshman year of high school at MidPac in Honolulu. Way to go, Kyle! Gifts are forthcoming!!!!

We traversed the outskirts and burbs of Atlanta today, following highways past strip mall after strip mall, and development after development;...they apparently haven't heard of the depression here yet. Thought we would go to Athens, but decided we'd seen enough canon, so backtracked from Stone Mountain through the greater metro Atlanta area, miles and miles of it.
Stone Mountain is a very developed theme park, with lots of touristy attactions, and fairly attractive for all of that. The worst campground for the most money yet. BUT, the surroundings were lovely. Stone Mountain is a monolith of granite stuck up in the middle of northern middle Georgia, with a carving on it that claims to be the largest bas relief on granite in the world...everyone has to have the largest of something. This one features Jeff Davis, as they call him in these parts, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson. Lunch at Poco Bistro was a BLT, but with fried green tomatoes instead of regular...heartburn special for Gene, intriguing for me, but then I'm medicated. Escaping the confines of the outlying areas of Atlanta, we headed to the southern Appalachians, on the Foothill parkway. Suddenly beautiful, large trees, blooming wild azaelas, green everywhere. This part of the world has been experiencing a drought, but although they are not planting flowers, things are still green. What little rain they have had has sufficed to keep it so. We have done our best to bring the big downpours from Arkansas east, but we've been without rain for two days now.

Dawsonville promised a quilt show, but it was too late when we arrived, and besides,they only had one quilt on display, probably not Chinese. So on we went to near Cleveland and a campsite on the river, with the highway just beyond.....with motorcycles and trucks trundling by. Bucolic it is not, but lovely it is, although noisy. We're waiting for the inevitable train to toot by. They have a thing for motorcycles here, one with nitro in the gas tank passed us in a flash. There are motorcycle museums; the man in Warm Springs who served us ice cream has one. He travels all the states to buy things and when I asked if he did so to sell them, the antiques, the motorcyles, the junque, he said, well, not so much. He just likes to buy.

Tomorrow we are going to Asheville, North Carolina, and while we would have liked to go further into the deep South in Georgia, (next time), We are heading for the Great Smokies and redezvous with our Morgan family. But y'all come back, yu hea.


May 30, 2009, evening. Campsite next to the river, pretty to look at and hear, enough so I could almost forget the road beyond it , favorite curlycue road of motorcycles. They went to bed early, as we didn't hear them later, but again this a.m. they were buzzing. Probably going to Helen, Georgia...a Bavarian village (not kidding) in the north Georgia hills. They really have the tourist thing down pat, with the cutesy village created in the late 1960s after Helen had declined...it was absolutely swarming with tourists on motorcycles, rvs, buses, cars and horsedrawn carriages....I counted six, Restaurants doing a booming business, and I suppose likewise the shops. We looked, laundered, headed out. Undecided about which direction to take, I thought a jaunt to Cherokee would be informative, as it is the head of the Cherokee Nation and has a two hour presentation on the Trail of Tears, which brought the Cherokees from Oklahoma here to North Carolina. Wrong. Not informative. Crawling with gamblers; how come I didn't figure that out? The Harrah's Casino is huge, with an equally huge parking garage under construction
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The Great Smokies are truly beautiful, rolling hills, wild rhodendrons and azaelas, forested/wooded. At some summit, my ears popped, which meant we were higher than 3,000 feet...and then there were the 6%, 7%, and 8% downgrades, whoooo--eee. With Brer Fox at the wheel, we were in good shape. The Happy Holiday RV Park (no, I'm not making this up) is grassy, spread out, lovely, and brings its own entertainment right to our windows in the form of a country group singing ala Dolly. It's nice and cool and we're comfortable after a round about way of getting here...When I realized we were going to the gambling capitol of the Cherokee Nation, I suggested we turn off before and follow Amy's (our new GPS) advice to the TreeTop RV Park. Well, we went round robin's barn, on small roads, country roads, over highways, off the Parkway, on the Parkway, and finally up a steep road, past a country club (imagine that 19th hole, on this twisting turning road), and past the TreeTop which was up such a steep driveway and had a For Sale sign on it that we didn't bother. Now, how to turn around? Up and up and up through gates to a gated community (who in their right mind would live here?), past an empty big house, an occupied big house, and not much more. The gates were open and beautifully landscaped, but the road was not to be believed.

We consider ourselves sorta mountain folk, living in Nevada City and years in Mill Valley, Mt. Tam, and surroundings. No strangers to the Sierras we are unafraid of mountain roads. But this was tough...Gene likened it to the time we drove our rented RV up as far as we could go up the top of Mt. Whitney. Managed to find a turnaround place and scrambled back down. No wonder Happy Holiday looks good to us.


We have reached here via US 64, a North Carolina Scenic Byway, and not incidentally, part of the Appalachian Highway. Along the way, we have sampled boiled peanuts, fried peanuts, peanut brittle, muscadine cider. We have seen the Confederate flag flying more than once, and the Ten Commandments on billboards and at the end of driveways. The North Georgia and southern North Carolina hills are gorgeous, and peopled with all kinds of folks....trailers, large houses, gated communities, shacks, farms, horse ranches, decrepit wood barns, water and its attendant boats, marinas, ski-doos.


Asheville tomorrow.

Selma AL, Montgomery AL, Stone Mountain GA

May 28, 2009. A terrifying almost rush hour ride on the Atlanta freeways, under construction, heading for Stone Mountain yesterday. Gene at the wheel did a fine job of being squeezed, cut off, braking, while I nervously navigated, overriding Amy, our new GPS. Speed limit was 50 mph and everyone was doing at least 65-70 mph. Stone Mountain is a huge entertainment complex built around a 'big ole' granite mountain,' with carvings of Confederate generals, etc. Fireworks last night, sight seeing today.

Yesterday we drove through the Garden District of Montgomery, an area of homes large and small, in stles ranging from neoclassical to bungalow and everything in between. Most of these homes built between 1870 and 1940; strict architectural controls keep them in their periods. Still home to area business people, civic leaders, etc. and their families, it's a vibrant mix of styles, races and socio-economic groups.

Entered Georgia, another wonderful Welcome Center, meandered into a COE campground at West Point Lake. Blue Heron flapping and gliding, red cardinals flashing, poor, slow ,dead armadillos, a turtle or two on the road. Lucy went swimming after sticks so had her second bath of the trip. Learned kudzu can grow 12" to 18" a day. Tick score: Lucy 2, Gail 1, Gene 0.

Yesterday we went to Pine Bluff, Georgia and ate grits with breakfast. Warm Springs was our destination....a very lovely setting, interesting small house where FDR retreated, and where he died (his mistress Lucy Mercer and the portait painter left when he suffered a stroke). I clearly remember the shock of adults when we received word (I was about 11?) and we were living in NYC. I still have great admiration for the man.

Callaway Gardens is a very impressive development of thousands of acres, including gardens, butterfly house, veggie garden, golf course, homes just being developed, a Birds of Prey section and show (which was fun). Did you know owls have longer necks than giraffes, in terms of numbers of vertebrae? They have 11 as opposed to our (and giraffes) 7, and can turn their heads 270 degrees. The rhodies were all gone, several stands of azaelas remained, oak leaf hydrangeas in full glory.

Warm Springs town is somewhat ragged; entered a funky complex of junk shops in search of promised ice cream, and found a man who opened the shop for us, talked our ears off, and gave Lucy a tiny vanilla cone, which she loved. Found a roadside stand with fresh veggies and gorged on just picked silver corn and Georgia peaches.

Then the terrifying freeway thriller, to Stone Mountain.

May 26, 2009. Here we sit in Soggy Selma, enjoying the muggy morning, looking at the 6 Mile Creek as it joins the Alabama River. At least the temp is only 72, while the humidity is 79. Brief foray into Selma yesterday produced little of interest except wonderful old houses and a wrought iron balcony on the hotel. Word is the town died about 20 years ago, so I guess it can't be blamed on the WalMart. But the bridge from which the famous march to Montgomery started is still there.

This campground is a paradise for catfishers, bullfrog hunters, boaters and gatherers...lots of families gathered here over the weekend. Industry: still some manufacturing in this town which made half the munitions, a major canon, and an iron clad boat for the Confederates.

Wildlife: dead armadillos on the road, guess they are really slow. Live turtles, noisy bullfrogs, mosquitos, snakes which we haven't seen, large bugs, no-see-ums, possum and racoons.

Architecture: Pre and post Civil War; the railroad depot, now a museum, Romanesque and really ugly, of brick with a false front, a turret and tower, painted bright red. Came past a prosperous lookiing development in Demopolis of large homes on several acres, perhaps around a golf course judging by the golf cart dealer on the highway.

People: Sunday morning breakfast at the Western Skillet in Meridian was an experience..watching the after church crowd come in, and trying to understand what the waitpeople were saying. This is truly another world where the local dialect is a unintelligble to us. And where everyone is friendly beyond belief, so the guy who inadvertently pulls his cart in front of us in the market, turns with a big grin and says "HI! How y'all doin' today?" and the woman who checks us in to the campground gives us her life's story woven through a short history of Alabama. The women and men who came in for brunch were dressed, dressed, dressed. The women, uniformly large, were in chiffon, silk, polyester dresses with matching shoes and hats. Wonderful hats. Dresses of all colors, some print, some with spangles, all flowing. The men were in suits, with softly colored shirts (yellow), lovely ties (blue), with stick pins (diamond). The white women were marginally less flashy, and less interesting. If only we could understand what they were saying! Can I help you? sounds like 'kin ah hep yew?' but it takes twice to get it. We're embarrassed; they think we're both deaf.

Of all the things we knew about Alabama, no one mentioned that it's very pretty, and green. Of course, it's raining.