Misty’s Chincoteague

We drove the 1 ½ hours to the Virginia end of Assateague Island in hopes of seeing so many more wild ponies. But I was secretly concerned after we spoke with the volunteer at the Visitor’s Center. She told us how Tropical Storm Sandy had trashed the fences and the ponies had run rampant all over the Nature reserve. Well, why not? I thought to myself. I mean aren’t they the whole reason the reserve is here to begin with? As it turns out, the answer is NO. This end of the island is actually dedicated to Sika Deer, the DelMarva Fox Squirrel and a nesting sanctuary for thousands of waterfowl. The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department have secure grazing rights for their ponies and the herd is restricted to one end of the island. Knowing this, I thought with 150 ponies in a restricted area, there should be tons of viewing opportunities. We drove onto the reserve and straight to the trailhead that would lead to the pony viewing platform. The Woodland Trail is a paved easy 1 ½ mile loop through a forest devastated by Sandy’s power. Huge 200 foot tall pines were laid over while others were snapped like toothpicks 25-30 feet from the ground. Once out to the platform, my fears were realized although I hadn’t yet been able to voice them. Before us was hundred of acres of brown cord grass and not a single pony in sight. We waited for about 20 minutes but no ponies appeared. We found ourselves headed back to the shady path but somewhat quieter than we had been before. About 15 minutes further down the path was a trampled pathway through the briars and leading to the edge of the cord grass marsh. Our first impression was one of curiosity and the second was of hope. By the time we had reached the edge of the marshy area, Carl had spotted the first pony, a wildly marked brown and white pinto standing on a pine covered hummock about 100 yards from the edge of the 4 strand barbed wire fencing. We could just barely make out one or two more ponies in the shaded brush and trees. The  natural camouflage was amazingly effective. We worked our way out to the fence and set up the tripod for my camera. All that commotion got the attention of the pinto who decided those strange creatures near the fence were worth investigation so it slowly came out, nibbling here and there on the grass while the whole while keeping an eye on us. Slowly legs shifted on the hummock until we could see several members of the band. In all, there were 7 and we spent about an hour photographing them until they grazed their way out of range of my lens. On our way back to the trail, I breathed a huge sigh of relief and Carl mentioned how glad he was to find some ponies after having traveled that distance. We had planned to take a short trail named Bivalve off the Woodland trail but as we approached the sign for the turn, I froze. There, in front of me, was a very pregnant pony standing on the pavement about 100 feet in front of me. I grabbed a shot or two as she turned down the trail. I looked at Carl with a big smile on my face but he pointed back towards the sign. There on the path were two more very pregnant mares and they, too, turned down the Bivalve Trail. We slowly followed so as not to spook them. The trail was a mere ¼ mile and ended in Tom’s Cove, a tranquil body of water with a narrow beach running along the shore. It wasn’t the water or sand that had drawn the ponies here however. It was the rich new growth of cord grass about a foot tall. I stood almost transfixed by the sheer beauty of them as they chomped on the succulent shoots. We were so close we could easily hear the sucking sounds their hooves made in the mud as they moved from clump to clump. Their teeth ripped off large mouthfuls at a time and you could hear them chewing slowly, relishing every salty bit. I’ve read the ponies drink twice the fresh water domestic horses drink due to their higher than usual salt intake. Carl asked me about the mares being alone without a stallion for “protection”. And while I don’t have an official answer, I mentioned how some animals leave the herd to give birth alone which also includes that protective stallion. I was more curious about why they were on this side of the fencing and then it occurred to me Sandy had knocked down the fences and the Fire Department Cowboys had missed these three. Maybe there were more roaming around the reserve and we should find them! After 50 or so photos taken of the fat trio, I said goodbye and we returned to the parking area to have a bite of lunch. We drove to the beach and looked around for more pony opportunities. There were dozens of people, fishing, sunbathing, playing in the surf and even a couple flying kites but no ponies. I’ve read they save their beach time for the hot summer months where the breezes and cooling waters help to alleviate some of the bug miseries. Lastly we found ourselves at the Marsh Trail which wanders around one side of the Wildlife Loop, a 3 mile walking bike path that is open to vehicles after 3:00. As we were finishing the last ¼ mile of the Marsh Trail, I spotted a lone pony directly across from us with a large body of water separating us. It was just 3:00 and Carl decided to return the borrowed binoculars to the Visitor’s Center before we drove the loop. And as luck would have it, after returning the binoculars and driving the 3 mile Loop very slowly, it put us in a perfect position to get some beautiful shots of the lone pony, a stallion. I have to believe this is the band stallion for the fat trio of mares. At some point in the near future, they will rejoin him with their foals at their side. I wish I could be there for that moment. All together we saw and photographed 11 individuals from the Chincoteague herd. There were differences even though they are the same. These animals have the benefit of human intervention, health care at least once a year and they are also carrying marks, both brands and adhesive numbers attached to help quickly tell them apart from one another. Although I can’t prove it, I believe these animals are a bit larger and have sleeker coats. I do, however, take exception to the foals being taken from their dams at such an early age, some of them being no more than 3 months of age. But what do I know? They have been rounding them up for more than 70 years and will continue to do so. I’m just thrilled I was able to experience these beautiful animals in their natural home while they still exist. I’m going home a happy camper!

Day 91- Ausable Caverns vs. Irene

After the tremendous thunder and lightening show Mother Nature put on last night which was followed up by substantial rain, it was a blessing to see the sun light trying to shine through the thick stand of pines we’re camped under. All in all, it was a pretty good night. The Red Sox beat the Blue Jays, Baltimore beat Tampa Bay and Time Wakefield finally got his 200th win after 7 previous attempts. There was a bit of a chill in the air but not enough to convince me to close up the camper window on my side last night. I just love that fresh air. It did, however, make me think about wearing slacks into the Chasm a little later in the morning. We settled up with the office where they informed Carl his admission would be free because of his military service. My fare would be reduced because we’re staying in their campground. The shorts won out over the slacks and after a short walk across the street, we found ourselves at the welcome center. Military ID’s were offered to the lady at the cash register and we both were given free access to the privately owned geological attraction that has been wowing people since 1870. And when we learned the volume of water had risen more than 60 feet during Irene’s stay in the New England area, we were not surprised to find several bridges and hundreds of feet of catwalk had been completely washed away. The gorge, part of Lake Champlain’s drainage was also littered with a variety of materials which included Styrofoam, various types and sizes of lumber, car tires and even a propane cylinder. It was relatively easy to find the high water mark by the flattened shrubbery or torn up and scarred trees. We were allowed to walk down into the Chasm along some of the platforms to within feet of twisted metal and broken off concrete. The shear power of water in a gently flowing state is often mistaken and can be very damaging so imagine more than a hundred feet of water being forced down through the narrow rocky gorge. We saw rocks from a totally different part of the chasm sitting more than 100 feet above the current level of the water which seemed peaceful enough down where they were sending off the rafts. Yes, you can walk more than two miles along the rim of the chasm or you can walk part way through and take a raft ride down over two small scale rapids and a whirl pool before hauling out on a sandy spot downstream. We chose the long walk without the raft but did accept the offered trolley ride back to the welcome center where they dropped you off at the gift shop. We had lunch there, pizza for me and a chicken patty sandwich with fries for Carl, followed by the always popular souvenir shopping, the last of the post cards to send and the last of the magnets to live the rest of their lives on my refrigerator. It never ceases to amaze how many photos I take during a day like today. The warm sunshine was broken with light clouds, the walk was pleasant and the scenery was geologically breathtaking. I can’t get over how many layers of sedimentary rock make up the steep sided gorge, some more than a foot thick while others are a mere inch or two. We got an up close and personal look at the Rainbow Falls at the head of the Chasm where two hydroelectric buildings still provide power to the grid. We also saw a large eroded area near the bridge. All in all it was a great few hours and even though I’ve often said there is no such things as bad pizza, I’m not sure I’d rush over there to have another piece any time soon. And here is something else to consider. This was another place where there was no signage offering military personnel free admission. Over the 13 plus weeks of our trip, we are now in the habit of bringing out those cards as our preferred form of identification. Carl’s military service along with so many others shouldn’t be reduced to having to ask for reduced admission. There should be signs everywhere proudly proclaiming servicemen are welcome with all thanks. Everyone seems to fly a flag and think that’s enough.

Day 22- In Glacier

This morning was cold! I don’t know why. We’re at altitude and the mountains still have deep snow and glaciers on them. I had left every window in the camper open because it was unbearably hot last night so Carl jumped out of bed to get half of the windows while I grabbed the other half. Then it was back to sleep for a couple more hours. Carl didn’t want to run the generator at 8:00AM because our neighbors from VT have small children and they weren’t up yet. Instead of making coffee with the Keurig, I boiled water, in a pan on the gas stove, for tea. Breakfast was pancakes, banana for me and blueberry for Carl. I made a few blog notes and then Carl decided we should pack up to move to our reserved site for the next two nights. He can’t do anything about calling AAA until we are settled. Our luck was a little better today because the people on site A5 had checked out by 10:00 so we could move right in. The Rangers have been very helpful and notified the West Glacier gate there would be a wrecker coming. Carl set the generator up for me before he left. Now, he and the truck have gone off for who knows how long. He took his cell phone so he could keep me updated. I’ve made a slow cooker lasagna and at the stroke of 12:00 I cranked the generator over. The lasagna takes three hours but I can only have electricity for two. I may push it for an extra 15 minutes and then the residual heat should finish it off nicely. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. I also took the time to vacuum the carpet in the bedroom area and under the dining room table. I don’t know what I was thinking, but even taking our shoes off at the door, it had gotten really bad in only three weeks. Can’t imagine how it would look after ten. Before we left Helena, we had purchased a convertible stick model by Eureka that you can attach a handle to for larger jobs. I wasn’t expecting much for $35.00 but I‘m happy to say it did an okay job. When my two hours of “civilization” ends, I’ll take a walk with my camera and see what I can find.

Day 19- Housekeeping

Yes, I said the “H” word but there are a number of chores we had to do today. Both of us took showers and then I got some much needed laundry done. I rearranged a closet in the camper that was bothering me and Carl rearranged the back of the truck so we could reach things better. Carl paid some bills while I edited some photos. Then Carl cooked lunch and I wrote out some post cards. Then it was time to leave for the Cody Stampede, our first rodeo. I argued with myself whether to take the camera or not, taking it won out. Once I got there I filled up one of my media card. We had a great time, Carl had a Jeremiah Weed, his first and most likely last while I had an ice cream sandwich with chocolate chip cookies. Carl says I made the better choice. Later we each had a hot dog. The events were fast paced, bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, calf roping, barrel racing and bull riding. We were back to the camper by 8:30 and listened to local fireworks until Mother Nature decided to put her two cents worth in. Strong winds, torrential rains and some fair thunder and lighting put an end to the campers fireworks and most likely, Cody’s fireworks were washed out as well.

Day 18- Last Day in Yellowstone

I know we shouldn’t have but since we were staying 32 miles from the east gate, we got up very early today and “flew” to the park. Once at the East Gate, we continued to Fishing Bridge and then headed towards Old Faithful. This is the last loop through the park we hadn’t explored. Our first stop of the morning was at West Thumb Geyser Basin and it was just barely 8:00 on a crisp and promising morning. The thermal pools along Yellowstone Lake were steaming like crazy, making some of the photography a bit more challenging. We were part way through the ½ mile boardwalk when I stopped and looked to my left. There coming out of the wooded area was a young cow elk. She came slowly to the edge of the lake and took a deep drink, pausing every so often to look about. After a couple of minutes of taking her photo, I noticed several more young cow elk coming out of the very same group of trees. We kept hoping a bull would follow or another cow with a calf but we were disappointed on this count. In all, there were seven females wandering around, nibbling on the lichen and mineral rich bits of grass that grew in the area. It appears they live there or nearby all the time because of the multiple signs insisting the elk are not to be fed or approached because they are wild and dangerous. The signs say nothing about stationary visitors and elk who approach them. Two of the ladies climbed up on the boardwalk and crossed among a large group of Japanese tourists. That was truly exciting. I think “Watch out, here comes a big animal” translates in any language. About an hour later we found ourselves approaching Old Faithful who, it seems, has become a little less reliable in the past few years. Scientists don’t know if it’s because of changes in the water table or if the hotspot under Yellowstone has shifted just enough. It doesn’t matter because I’d made up my mind that we were sitting on that bench until she blew. We saw the geyser erupting as we pulled into the parking lot so we knew our wait could be anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 ½ hours. I am asked by another photographer what I plan to shoot the event with so, in the process, we struck up a conversation with her family that lasted the entire time we are there. One hour and 40 minutes after we sat down, the mound in front of us started to bubble and before we knew it, the full blown eruption is going off. There’s nothing in the foreground to judge but we estimate the height of the water at about 100 feet and it lasted about 5 minutes. It was great. After souvenirs, back in the truck, we decided to head on to Grand Prismatic Spring by way of Firehole Geyser. There was an enormous traffic jam at Grand Prismatic Spring so we continued on to find a nice place for lunch. I asked Carl to drive down Fountain Flats Road to the end. There, along the Firehole River, we just happened to find a small herd of bison cows with calves fairly close so we grabbed the tripod, camera and cable release and walked to a small clump of downed deadwood. We’re close enough to pull them in with my lens but not so close that we are violating any laws. I’m shooting away when Carl says something about the bull coming up behind us. I turned to look and there, between the river’s edge and our clump of trees is the largest most perfect Bison bull I’ve seen on this trip. I’m aware he’s way closer than we should be and the wind is sort of blowing in his face so he may be getting our scent. He started walking with an exaggerated stiff leg sort of walk and his tail was arched up as if he were going to leave a pile of scat but he didn’t. Then he started slowly wagging his head back and forth and grunting, followed by a display known as the Flemin response, which allows the scent on the wind to roll over this organ in his mouth. You’ve probably seen other animals roll their upper lip and make a strange face. That’s it! He passes us and I breath a sigh of relief. He’s caught wind of the cows up ahead and is definitely not the least bit interested in us. He stopped mid way between the cows and where we were, pawed at the ground, urinated in the dust pit and then lowered himself into the dust. He rolled and got good and coated and then headed off to his ladies. One by one, he approached the cows, sniffed at their rear end to check if they have come into season or maybe to find out if another bull has been messing with his ladies. This is where we spend our lunch time. It was a most exhilarating hour. Our last stop was finally to fight our way into a still congested Grand Prismatic Spring, a pool 200 feet across displaying more colored algae and bacteria than any other pool in the park. It dumps hundreds of steaming hot water into the Firehole River every minute. Oh and while we were watching the bison at Fountain Flats, we noticed a number of fly fishermen trying their hand at the fish in the river where we also noticed an osprey who at first hovered over the river and then swooped down to grab fish out of the very same river.

Yellowstone's Natural Bounty

Day 17- The Mammoth Hot Springs Loop

We got up even earlier today because the first 100 miles was a repeat of yesterday, road travel that is but not the animal sightings. Today we were really lucky to find several more bison bulls close to the truck but still no cows with calves nearby, just off in the distance. But the luck or skill came when I spotted what I thought was a cow moose. We parked the truck, walked up the road a few hundred feet and it was the n I discovered the white target surrounding her tail. It was a cow elk. We watched her for several minutes, just long enough to cause our own “Elk Jam”. It didn’t help the cause much because half the distance from the road to the elk was a huge Bison bull taking a dirt bath. By the time I lost track of the cow elk in the thick conifer brush, there were more than enough cars on both sides of the road and Carl and I took our leave. We found another beautiful spot for our lunch looking at the deep blue waters of Phantom Lake with no one else around. I can tell you that doesn’t happen very often on a Saturday in Yellowstone, never mind that it’s a holiday weekend. I had two places I wanted to visit in the park, one was grand Prismatic Spring and the other was The Terraces. Today, we found and walked into Jupiter’s Terrace, a gorgeous series of flat calm pools that trickle mineral rich waters over their edge. Each drop has created a different depth of shelf and the minerals determine the color. This structure must have been forming for hundreds of years. In another part of the Terrace is Minerva’s Terrace which some people think is even lovelier than Jupiter’s. I chose to find a place for lunch instead of hiking down to see Minerva’s. After lunch we headed off and before we’d gone too long, we came upon a “Bear Jam” and this time I mean Bear. Some distance from the road was a black bear sow and two very small cubs, maybe no more than 4 months old. Carl got the tripod and we stood with probably 50 other people and took pictures until the congestion in the road was just too much. The bear was moving away with each mouthful of grass she ripped off so that was my cue. Without my super lens, I couldn’t bring them near enough. I hope this doesn’t backfire on me when I get to Alaska. We left the park by way of the same gate we entered, considering ourselves to have had a great second day. Tomorrow is our last day in the park. We’ll spend the 4th of July doing laundry, taking showers and preparing for our departure on the 5th. We’ll finish off the 4th with The Cody Stamped. Carl got us tickets for the evening’s rodeo.

Day 15- To Cody, WY

We’re so close but not there yet. Yellowstone is around the corner. Well, we still have 35 miles to the eastern entrance. Today, we woke after what should have been a great night’s sleep. We were all alone above 9,000 feet and it was cold. The generator worked really hard. I’m thinking it was the altitude and since it was working so hard, it ran out of gas somewhere around 1:00AM. We ate our breakfast with eyes searching the wood line outside our camper with hopes of seeing any kind of wildlife but that didn’t happen. I figure there’s still so much good grazing in the valley and things are just beginning to green up here. I suspect the heat and bugs will drive them up here later. As we descended towards Cody, the Tensleep Creek caught our attention. It was well above flood stage, running wild outside of it’s banks. It was running so wild, we watched as it tore through two homes and just missed a third. Tensleep, we are told, is an old Indian name for the length of days to get to this point on their summer trek or ten night’s sleep. On the side of a school in Worland, WY I read the words, “ As regulations grow, freedom dies.” I thought it was very timely. And about that time, 4 State Trooper k-9 units went by us at a good clip. We spent the next few minutes guessing what the hurry was, drug bust, lost child, race riot ( just kidding ) and then there was the last thing we thought of, and actually turned out to be, a training exercise at the local junk yard. Our arrival in Cody was too early to check in at the Yellowstone Valley Inn and RV Park so we stopped at the Buffalo Bill Cody Historical Museum. Carl talked with the gentleman at the admission desk, asking if they offered a discount for veterans. The fellow asked to see his idea, stamped our hands and told us to enjoy the exhibit. We spent most of our time in the Yellowstone Natural History exhibit and the rest of the time in the Plains Indians exhibit. Still left to explore was an extensive firearms collection, a Buffalo Bill museum and a western art exhibit. It was a most enjoyable afternoon although a day would not be an unreasonable amount of time. Our site has a marvelous view along the raging Shoshone River, which is nearly at flood stage also. They had more snow than usual in the mountains this past winter and there’s a lot left to melt. Oh, I forgot to mention we passed several signs explaining about their attempt to lessen the Sage Brush on the plains. The plant, which isn’t native to the area, uses up water, prevents good grasses from growing, is only eaten by Pronghorns and provides sap rich tinder for wild fires.

Day 13- Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Custer State Park

What a whirlwind of a day! We were at Mt Rushmore just after the gates opened today. We had an idea that morning light would flood onto the faces and sure enough, it did. We had a problem with Abe throwing a shadow on Teddy for a while but before we left about 10:00, the shadow was gone. We took a leisurely walk on the Presidential trail, a 6/10th of a mile loop that gives you a slightly different look to the mountain, takes you to the studio where Gutzon Borglum worked and gives you a view of the forest that has grown up around the mountain since the completion of work. It was a great help to have parking garages in place instead of having to walk a great distance from parking lots. I loved the way they have designed the approach with the flags lining the approach to the viewing terrace. It’s a must do if you’re in the area and the $11.00 fee gives you a year’s access to the site. We did not get back to the night program because we were just too tired after our very full day. Our next stop was the Crazy Horse Memorial, a work in progress since 1947. The work is carried on by the family of Korczak Ziolkowski (core JOCK Jewel CUFF ski ). The face measures 90 feet and when complete, it will be the largest free standing sculpture in the world. You’d have to be the judge on if it’s worth the $10.00 per person admission. There are two movies, a huge museum, on site native craftspeople and a wonderful restaurant. All proceeds go into the work on the mountain and absolutely no federal money has been used or will be used. Work this season will begin on Crazy Horse’s wrist and hand resting atop the horse’s mane. After lunch, we headed to Custer State Park, home to 1300 wild and freely roaming buffalo. We hadn’t been in the park 15 minutes when we saw our first bull resting in the shade beside the road. Then it was more than an hour till the next. We drove the 67 mile Wilderness Loop Road slowly because it weaves it’s way through the Black Hills and turns back on itself a number of times as it climbs to over 6,000 feet. During our drive, we saw Pronghorn Antelope, prairie dogs and burros which are not native to the park but seem to collect quite a crowd begging for handouts. We continued on to the Iron Mountain Road which led us through three of the six tunnels carved through solid rock. One of these tunnels gave us a surprise view of Mt Rushmore, in the distance, through the opening. Just before we left the park to return to our camper, we came across a small herd of bachelor bulls. We waited while a couple went into a draw for a drink of the French Creek that winds it’s way through the park and then came to within 75 feet of the truck. It was a magnificent site to see these huge animals munching on the lush grasses that grow throughout the park. Sadly, we spent so much time in the park, we didn’t get to the Badlands so I’ll have to

put that back on the ol’ bucket list for another time. Tom

orrow, we head to Devil’s Tower in Wyoming.

South Dakota

Day 12- Sioux Falls, SD to Rapid City, SD

Last night Sioux Falls was hit with a severe thunderstorm accompanied by 60 mile an hour winds. We were there during the storm. There were times when I felt as if the camper lifted from the ground. I kept watch for a tornado but none materialized. This morning we found out winds were measured at 63 mph. What a wild ride! I think the only thing that saved us from further damage was a tall hill we were camped beside. Most of the wind went over us. Our travel route today was on rte I-90 for over 350 miles. It’s a good thing there was plenty of stuff to see, to begin with. There were large marshy areas with white caps in most of the pastures we passed and we noticed muskrat huts on more than a few of them. This area like most of the Midwest has had way more than their annual rainfall so it’s hard to tell where the normal water level would be but we noticed many fields with a number of large round bales of hay partially submerged in water. While Walnut Grove, MN is the childhood home of Laura Ingalls, De Smet, SD claims her after her marriage and while she was writing her memoirs. We stopped often for rest room and stretching breaks along the way. We took in the view at a couple of scenic overlooks. At one of them, we were treated to a spectacular view of the Lewis And Clark Memorial Bridge and at another, we got a sneak peak at the outskirts of the badlands. Now, don’t yell but we passed on the Corn Palace and Wall Drug. The Badlands will have to wait for another trip as well. The flat windswept plains with its oceans of waving multihued grasses gave way to the gentle rolling hills of cultivated crops and finally to the rugged landscape where numerous breeds of cattle, both dairy and beef, and horses grazed. Every once in a while we would see black tailed deer and pronghorn antelope grazing as well. Both Carl and I had to laugh at exit 127. You see, it was just there. No sign announced what town or road was to found in that direction, only the fact that at the end of the ramp was a dirt road running in both directions. In the distance I could see two homesteads. Imagine having an interstate exit all your own. Our home for the next two days is the Lazy J RV Park And Campground.

St Cloud Sampling

Day 9- The Journey To Randall

So maybe it wasn’t the best place to sleep last night but the price was right. After breakfast we walked back into the Welcome Center and asked what we might do along our route to kill a few hours. Michele has to work today and we didn’t want to arrive too early. The very pleasant woman behind the desk told us about Munsinger Gardens in St Cloud. The minor detour would take us about 3 miles out of our way and there was no fee for touring the acres of gorgeous flowers along the Mississippi River. I’m a sucker for flowers so off we went. Sure enough, two beautiful sprawling gardens waited for us. We wandered through acres of roses, delphiniums, trickling fountains and ever other flower you could name. It was beautiful. I was particularly struck by the huge variety of peonies they exhibited. We spent about two hours strolling about, in both sun and shade and it was well worth the time. Then we started looking for a place to eat, not something familiar like Mc Donald’s or Wendy’s. We were thinking Arby’s or Red Robin or anything after a while. We found Rte 10 is just about in the middle of no where. It goes through about 5 very small towns between St Cloud and where we were headed. We finally settled on a familiar place, Subway, in the town of Randall. We were less than a mile from Michele’s house. It was great to see the boys, Christian and Jude. It has been 5 years since we were last able to visit. They’ve grown so much. We talked for several hours, played Yahtze and then retired for the evening, lulled to sleep by the gentle hum of our generator and the not so gentle blast from the trains as the crossed each road in Randall. I’d forgotten how much impact those heavy freights can have on their surroundings. I could feel the ground rumble before I actually heard them.

Day 8- The Dells And Beyond

Today reminded me of New England in late October. The sky was overcast and low, the wind had a bite to it and you could just tell there was something brewing in the near future. So, I gave up the Dells until another date. We come back this way the end of August and it would mean a side trip so we are investigating this possibility. We traveled the highway for most of the trip but came upon a detour through the countryside on county roads identified by letters and not numbers. We thought it odd until we looked at a map of Wisconsin and found countless counties so I guess if you look at it from that point of view, instead of having Rte 302, they have CR-J or CR MM. One of the little towns we traveled through was Ripon, Wisconsin where a sign boasted the birthplace of the republican party. Gas prices in this region are 3.55 per gallon . Once back on the highway we drove for about 70 miles and pulled into a rest area. Here there was a memorial to law enforcement on Wisconsin, a plaque commemorating the Passenger Pigeon, extinct since 1914 and a paved walking path through a previous burn area. The crown fire was in 1977 and ruined 14 homes and more than 12,000 acres in a matter of minutes. The area reestablished itself ,with a bit of help, and supports a young but healthy oak and spruce mixture. The walk was just the stretching of legs we needed, a break of about 40 minutes including photos. Then it was back onto the highway. We crossed over the Mississippi River and entered the state of Minnesota just about the time Carl ran out of steam. Lucky for us there was an Information and welcome Center a few miles up the road. We asked about overnight sleeping in the parking area and were told there was a 6 hour minimum but, honestly, no one ever checked. We found out why later on. Most of the truckers pull of the road during rush hour and take a nap or catch up on their logs. By evening we were parked in a sea of tractor trailers and heard them coming and going all night. It was a different sort of experience than parking in a Wal-Mart. The photo is from the new growth burned area we walked through. You can see the charred trunk with new offshoots.

Day 7- St Ignace To Appleton, WI

The rain and high wind continued all through the night and we woke to the continued drumming of the raindrops on the camper roof. Normally, I would be lulled to sleep by this sound but I’d had enough. After breakfast, there was a bit of a lull so Carl and I tried to hurry through tucking everything into it’s proper place and then dashed about with some haste to get hooked on before the rains began once more in earnest. The drive to Appleton, WI, some 277 miles promised to be a long one, fighting wind and rain. Little did we know we would also fight fog and horrible road conditions a good part of the way. Our route today took us south along Lake Michigan and on most days you could tell what a scenic drive it would be. Along the road we spotted lupines growing and several smokehouse sending wonderful aromas into the air. Somewhere near the Hiawatha Golf course, we began to see signs warning of blowing sand and around the very next bend, there they were, not the massive shifting dunes of the Sahara but dunes, none the less, mile after mile of them. Just beyond was the Lake, acting like a proper ocean with white caps and wind driven waves that some people would enjoy boogie boarding on. I did manage a few photos today although I suspect they will be as grey and mean looking as I felt while taking them. Eventually, we came upon a sign that informed us we had crossed into the central time zone and just like that it was an hour earlier. Don’t know what I would have done without that sign. And even though it was that hour earlier, we were still hungry. Lunch found us at a county operated camp ground/ picnic area right on the shore. Imagine our surprise when we spotted a dump station and fresh water to refill our tank on our way out. The sky became quite ugly looking and please don’t take this wrong but I was actually looking for tornadoes. There was a very long line of thunderheads and smack in the middle, I saw what could only be described as a wall cloud, the kind that are know to rotate and produce twisters. I kept watching for miles but didn’t see anything except some teasers protruding from the bottom. Carl clarified my position on photographing tornadoes during this trip which is a definite yes, as long as we are not in imminent danger. By 4:00 PM, we were both beat so pulled into, yes, you guessed it, the Super Wal-mart in Appleton. After parking the camper, we grabbed the grocery list and our environmentally sound reusable bags to get groceries for the next week. The weather isn’t looking very good for our visit to the Wisconsin Dells tomorrow with more severe storms predicted in the area for another 36 hours. We’ll just have to play it by ear. I can’t believe it’s been a week already. We've traveled 1364 miles to date.

A Little Piece Of The Upper Penisular

Top to Bottom and Left to Right:

A beautiful example of wild yellow lady slipper, White Paper Birch, St Ignace Light, Boats in Lake Huron protected harbor, A different sort of deer at Indian Village, Patriotic moose, Mackinac Bridge cable Towers and Mackinac Bridge dividing Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

Day 5 and 6 - In The Park

We knew it could happen. We knew, at some point, it would happen. It clouded up and rained most of the night. Monday has lousy weather and Tuesday isn‘t looking good either. So, I got caught up on editing photos and posting blog entries while I had an internet signal. Then I did some laundry and tried to think how better to arrange some of the stuff I can’t find a place for in the camper. Right now, the shower has three plastic totes full of stuff in it because I have run out of closets and drawers. Carl, meanwhile, fixed a leak in our city water supply, worked on leveling the camper a bit better, put out the awning for the very first time ever, installed the gas grill on the side of the camper for our supper meal and took the gas stove apart inside because we had a tiny “fire issue” with one of the three burners. We’ll have to find an RV place for parts on that one. It’s Tuesday now and the weather looks even more unsettled than Monday. I’ve made the decision to not go out to Mackinac Island. I’ll put this back on my bucket list. I can’t see enduring a rough crossing for a cold and windy day on an island with the prospect of gray pictures or getting drenched. This also kills plan B of driving up to Tahquamenom Falls, the second largest falls east of the Mississippi. So, we’ll have another down day, filling our propane and gas tanks and shopping for moccasins for Carl. While we were out getting the various fills, we also stopped to get a few provisions and a couple of post cards at the local tourist trap. It’s called The Indian Village. They boast a wide range of Minnetonka moccasins and a heritage museum. The very first thing I picked up was made in China. In fact, just about everything, including the moccasins, were made in China. I am so bummed that an “authentic Native American heritage site” should be filled with stuff like that. We just had a whopper of a thunder storm, enough so Carl shut off the television while it flashed and rumbled nearly at the same time. Tomorrow we’ll be off to Wisconsin.

Day 4- Travel to St Ignace, MI

We were on the road early today headed to what I hoped would be a marvelous photo excursion to Mackinac Island. We travel all day instead of stopping half way which put us a day ahead of schedule. The trip, for the most part, was uneventful. We stopped a couple of times, to stretch our legs, have lunch and fill the tank but otherwise kept moving until Carl realized he could drive the entire leg. I was skeptical. We called the Tiki RV Park and they said come on up. UP being the Upper Peninsular of Michigan. I took a few shots as we traveled but I can tell you there were times when I thought we were back in NY because the view out the window was mile after mile of farm lands and growing crops. Other times we could have imagined we were still in NH on Rte 93, a mixture of conifers and evergreens hugging the two lane highway with little or no travel accompanying us. One note of interest, we passed a sign that stated “ You have just crossed the 45th parallel, half way between the equator and the North Pole”. Now I’ve been to the Equator when we went to Belize but I doubt I will ever get to the North Pole. The wind was really strong and we both had some concern when the signs warned of severe cross winds on the Mackinac Bridge but our concerns were unfounded. The view from the bridge was of water as far as the eye could see, Lake Michigan to our left and Lake Huron to our right. It’s cool and quite breezy at our campsite but the park is quiet and our home away from home is cozy. Both Carl and I were pronouncing the name of St Ignace differently so I asked our campground host which was correct. Turns out neither of us was. It’s pronounced as if it were spelled St Ignis.

Other Images From Nighttime Niagara

Day 3- The “More On This Later”

While we were at the Three Sisters, a Park Ranger asked us not to go beyond a certain point. We wondered about this although the rocks were quite slippery even dry. Carl found a path in the other direction so I could take some photos of the rapids and little waterfalls up river and that’s when we saw the boat sunk in the river up to the gunwales. One of the guys on our tour asked a news reporter on scene and the following is part of the article she wrote for the evening news:

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. - YNN News Report - An early morning rescue on the Niagara River took a complicated turn Saturday. It started with a 911 call at around 2:15 am, about a disabled boat stuck near the power intakes with four teenagers on board. "Niagara Fire Department and New York State Park Police responded to that and quickly removed the people in that situation. In an attempt to recover the boat that was involved in that, the Park Police launched a jet boat into the river and in the process of that, actually grounded in the river," said Sergeant Mark Van Wie of the New York State Park Police.

Sergeant Van Wie says the police boat got hung up on rocks about 300 yards south of Horseshoe Falls.

"It's a very dangerous area as you can tell, with varying depths of the water, the rocks and what have you, and obviously the falls," said Van Wie. That meant some complications in the rescue of the officers, which included help from both sides of the falls. "That boat was in heavy water, only hanging on an anchor, and the water was high. We didn't want to put any extra stress on it. There was no way you could have just landed beside the boat so they could have jumped on to the helicopter," said Ruedi Hafen, the helicopter pilot involved in the officers' rescue. With a joint effort between the U.S. and Canadian responders, both officers were safely rescued around 8 am.