Glacier National Park Road Trip - Day 06

Our alarm went off at 7:00am and we were packed and searching for a Starbucks by 8:00. Failing to find one we exited Ontario, OR by 8:08 on Interstate 84. By 8:11 we came to the Welcome to Idaho sign.

And what do they do in Idaho for fun? We had our answer shortly since the first exit we came to was Hell's Canyon Recreation Area. We bypassed it for State Highway 52 and by 8:23 we were off the interstate and able to stay off it for most of the rest of the day. Our Back Roads of Idaho was helpful in leading us to some interesting adventures. Highway 52 followed the Payette River pretty closely which made for beautiful scenery. John made the observation that it was the sixth day of our road trip and we had not stopped at a McDonald's yet.

As we went through the small town of Emmett we were amazed at the number of pizza places and chiropractors. One chiropractor's sign said “Pain is not an ibuprofen deficiency”. John spotted a donut shop called The Rumor Mill. Linda noticed a farm supply store that advertised black oil sunflower seeds. And as we rolled into Horseshoe Bend another sign reminded John that soda is often called pop in Idaho, as well as Oregon.

There is so much green everywhere in the countryside, which is a pleasant change from the “golden” hills of California. When you move to California you are taught to say “golden” instead of “dead”, or "brown", for the state of the state from May through October.

As we came into McCall, ID it seemed large enough to have some parks so John found a park (that was built by Rotarians) on the Garmin GPS. As we headed that way the streets got increasingly more and more crowded. Soon it was apparent that we were in a major tourist area. This place has it made. Water sports for recreation in the summer and skiing in the winter. The Rotary Park was located right beside Payette Lake and we had a nice picnic bench in the shade and beautiful views of the beach, the lake, swimmers and of canoes and boats going past. Lunch was turkey sandwiches. We found an easier way out of the congestion and back onto our two-lane back road, Highway 95.

Remember how in Northern California we went through Nubieber and then Bieber? On Highway 95 after leaving the lake, we went through Meadows and New Meadows, Idaho. At that point we were at the 45th parallel which means that we were halfway between the equator and the North Pole. But, all you geography geeks out there already knew that, didn't you? Speaking of geography, we are not doing a mileage madness game this road trip but anyone who wants to can submit guesses after our return. We will know the total once we get back to The Buzzards' Roost.

From our Off the Beaten Path Idaho book we learned about Heaven's Gate and took a Forest Road (Forest Road 517)to get to a spectacular view of several mountains. We were pretty much up past the tree line and got to hike through patches of snow. To get to Heaven's Gate we had to go on Seven Devils' Road which was 18 miles long and ran off of Hwy 95. The first 5 miles were paved. Then there were 13 miles of 1-1/2 lane dirt road, the last two miles of which were unimproved. The "parking lot" at the end of the road is at 8,400 ft elevation. Our journey started at about 2,100 ft elevation at Hwy 95. The rest of the trek is stated to be a ".2 mile" hike. What they don't tell you is that it is .2 miles long and .2 miles UP. We got some good exercise on that hike to the Ranger Tower at the top. The views were quite nice. The road seemed a lot less bumpy on the way down. It did take up the major part of the afternoon so we missed out on two of the places we had planned to stop along the way.

Linda & Fannie Mae play in the snow in the parking lot

at Heaven's Gate. This is at 8,400 feet elevation.

The "improved" 1-1/2 lane dirt road. Oh well, it's

only 13 miles of it.

Our next stop was at The Dog Bark Park in Cottonwood, Idaho to see a quirky place built by a chainsaw artist of some fame, Dennis Sullivan. We took some photos and you can learn more about it at www.dogbarkparkinn.com. The artist and his wife (Francis Conklin) were quite hospitable. Dennis made a B&B building that sleeps a family of four and is in the shape of a beagle. He also created a fire hydrant that is, in fact, a restroom! One of our reasons for wanting to stop there was to get a photo for our scavenger hunt. One of the items is "a building that doesn't look like a building".

It was 7:30 by the time we got into Clarkston, WA so we checked into our suite at Motel 6, left Fannie to lounge in the room and walked across the parking lot to eat at Tomato Brothers. John had a salad, a blue cheese crusted skirt steak, asparagus and baked potato. Linda had a pear, blue cheese, cranberry, salad with balsamic dressing. The atmosphere and food were both excellent. And we had great service from our waiter Nick, who also clued us in on where to find the best gas price when we head out tomorrow (Costco). If you're ever in Clarkston, WA be sure to check out www.tomatobrothers.com.

And, finally, did you think Linda was going to forget the Song o' the Day? No such luck! She is getting in some good practice time for her ukelele group while on the road and is up to the songs beginning with the letter H. On page 99 she came to one of her all-time favorites - “Happy Trails” by Dale Evans, 1952: “Some trails are happy ones, others are blue. It's the way you ride the trail that counts; here's a happy one for you. Happy Trails to you, until we meet again. Happy Trails to you, keep smilin' until then. Who cares about the clouds when we're together? Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather. Happy Trails to you, 'til we meet again.”

Today's photo gallery (Day06) can be viewed by clicking here.

Good night. Sleep tight or loose, as you wish . . .

Glacier National Park Road Trip - Day 05

Our pleasant journey on this patriotic day began at 7:37am as we left Redmond, Oregon. We spent most of the day on two-lane roads and saw very few other vehicles. It was interesting to see various red, white and blue displays both in the little towns we passed through and in the countryside. The most attractive display was in Prineville, Oregon where folks were obviously getting set for their July 4th parade. The streets of downtown were lined with hundreds of flags. There was a well-preserved old-fashioned courthouse and town square.The Kiwanians were having a free pancake breakfast but we had already eaten. We stopped at the Prineville Starbucks for coffee and John made a new friend who gave him information about the Fossil Beds National Monument (one of our stopping points today).

Outside Prineville we came to a picturesque farm with a mostly wooden windmill and pulled over for a photo op. The farming couple was out moving irrigation pipes and came over to the fence for a friendly chat, telling us all about the windmill we were admiring. It is an S&W Zephyr over 50 years old that they moved from another location. They wished us safe travels.

By 10:30 we got to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. John was delighted to take Linda's photo by a sign instructing visitors to not remove fossils from the park. The trail guide is called A Walk Through Time since it is a 40-million year story of how prehistoric animals and their environment is has been revealed in the remains they left behind. Where there is now an arid sagebrush steppe, there was once a lush, tropical jungle. There were once rhinos, elephants and sabertooth tigers in the area. On the Leaf Hill Trail thousands of fossils have been found but Linda did not give into temptation and take any. Besides, she couldn't find any. There were some fossils on display in an exhibit case. On the Painted Hills Overlook Trail some incredible panoramas of the colorful Painted Hills were on display and both of the old buzzards were snapping lots of photos. The Painted Cove Trail was a nature trail with interpretive signs explaining the various parts of the geologic story as you are very close to the different colors making up the formations. John took six photos of some of the painted hills and converted them into the panorama shown below:


Painted Hills panorama in John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

 

Before leaving the park we stopped at the picnic area for lunch. It had a beautiful lush green grassy and clover lawn and some nice picnic tables in the shade. Lunch was pepper turkey & cheese sandwich, boiled egg, cheese stick, nut goodies, chips and Dr Pepper.

Back on State Highway 26 we had lots more beautiful country and many several small towns to go through. We stopped several more times along the way to photo old buildings, a quirky sign or two and some old farm implements

Suddenly we were in Mountain Time and lost an HOUR. Another mystery solved! John had been puzzling as to why the GPS was showing that it would take a whole HOUR longer than he was expecting it to take to arrive at our destination for the evening. Fairly soon after that we were almost to the eastern edge of Oregon.

How time flies when you are having fun, which brings us to the Song o' the Day: “Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think) by Carl Sigman and Herb Magidson, 1948 (found in Linda's Daily Ukelele Songbook). Let's take it up at the end of the 2nd verse: “. . . Next year, for sure, you'd see the world, You'll really get around. But how far can you travel when you're six feet underground?” Chorus: “Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think. Enjoy yourself, while you're still in the pink. The years go by as quickly as a wink. Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it's later than you think.”

We reached Ontario, Oregon by 6:30 Mountain Time and were soon settled into our Motel 6 suite. Really, if you haven't tried a Motel 6 in a while, you might be surprised. Our last 2 have both been very new and clean and have had a fridge and microwave. Coffee is served in the lobby starting at 6am. Oh, and the most important thing....all Motel 6's are pet friendly at no charge!

John felt like having breakfast for dinner so we settled on Denny's after our first choice, an Irish place, was closed. Being the patriot that he is, John ordered the Red White and Blue Plate Special (eggs, blueberry pancakes, bacon and hash browns). I guess the red was the ketchup he put on his hash browns. Linda had a chicken, pecan, cranberry salad with balsamic dressing.

Photo gallery of 72 images from Day 05 can be viewed by clicking here.

Rest well!

Glacier National Park Road Trip - Day 04

Everything seemed bright and shiny clean as we left Lakeview at 7:45 am. There was quite a nice rain last night. Linda and Fannie got to see a little lightening while out walking at 9:30 pm. You'd never guess what Lakeview's claim to fame is: the hangliding capitol of the world (due to its unique thermals). And it is nicknamed Tall Man since it is the tallest town in Oregon at 4,800 feet. That explains all the drawings we saw yesterday of tall slouching guys.

We were mostly on Oregon's Outback National Scenic Byway today. There was hardly any traffic and lots of variety in the landscape going back and forth between forested areas and high desert with lots of sagebrush. At 10 am we stopped at the Summer Lake Wildlife Area off highway 31. It is a joint project of Ducks Unlimited and the Oregon Fish and Game Department. We saw trumpeter swans, ducks (and other shore birds), grackles, blackbirds, ground squirrels, mosquitoes, yellow jackets, cat tails and some unidentified spacey looking purple plants.

This is the "spacey looking" purple plant. Note the

bee about to land and go after the nectar.

Linda was taking an up close photo of the purple bloom and noticed that it had an aroma a lot like lilacs, The unpaved road was good but bumpy and went in a loop past various water areas. The old buzzards and Fannie had the place to themselves (from a human and canine standpoint) and felt like the experience was worth a little extra time and a few bumps.

One tiny town on the Oregon Outback National Scenic Highway has a Mosquito Festival in late July. So if you love mosquitoes just head to Paisley, Oregon. Their Chamber of Commerce must have quite a sense of humor!

As lunchtime rolled around we came to the turnoff for Fort Rock. It is a six-mile drive to the east off of State Highway 31. Fort Rock is a 325 foot high crescent-shaped remains of an ancient volcano and is now a state park. The unique formation stands in stark contrast to the high desert that surrounds it. As we pulled into the small picnic area we were very close to the base of one side of the volcano's remains. John had a turkey sandwich, chips, diet root beer and a salty sweet peanut bar. Linda had some of her leftover pastie from The Dinner Bell and some nutty clusters. As we left the park, John paused to photo a very small and old-looking cemetery that was right next to the park. Many graves seemed to be very well decorated with flags for July 4th which is tomorrow. We also paused for photos at the Fort Rock Homestead Village which consists of pioneer cabins, a church and a doctor's office.

The Scenic Byway continued as we turned onto Highway 97 going northeast and lasted until we reached Bend, Oregon and the typical congestion of a 76,000 population city. After 18 more miles of traffic we reached Redmond and our 2nd floor suite at a very nice Motel 6. Fannie Mae was not a fan of her elevator ride so will thereafter be taking the stairs.

Linda is still on songs in her uke book that start with C; therefore, our Song o' the Day is “Cabaret” by John Kander (1966). The fourth verse and the chorus seem very appropriate to adults of all ages, especially seniors: “Start by admitting from cradle to tomb, it isn't that long a stay. Life is a cabaret old chum, come to the cabaret. (And the chorus) Come taste the wine, come hear the band, come blow the horn, start celebrating, right this way your table's waiting . . .”

We took our desk clerk's recommendation for dinner and found a table waiting for us at Madeline's Grill, almost right across the street. Madeline's serves primarily Mexican cuisine, with some plain old American dishes as well. John had chicken fajitas and Linda had a garden fiesta burrito. There was no wine to taste and no mariachi band to hear but John was ready to celebrate when he looked at the check and noticed that there was no sales tax. Way to go, Oregon! Between that and not pumping your own gas, life is a caberet!

After dinner we made a short stop at Safeway to get ice for the cooler and at a Arco gas station (about 15 cents under everyone else, but cash/debit card only). For 15 cents per gallon, John decided he would go debit.

The photo gallery for today contains 34 images and can be viewed by clicking here.

Happy trails!

Glacier National Park Road Trip - Day 03

We left Red Bluff CA at 7:27 am and headed north to Oregon. The temperature was already 83 so it looks as if they are in for another very hot day. Our first stop was 3 exits north on I-5 to grab a coffee from Starbucks.

Between Redding and Burney on State Highway 299 John spotted Buzzard Roost Road so naturally the Two Old Buzzards had to check it out.  

 



Out in the middle of nowhere, John first spotted this

road on our Garmin GPS system, then we actually

came upon it and explored a little

We saw a sign at a Red Barn convenience store along the highway in Adin, CA that said “Hotter than the Devil's Shorts”. Neither one of us had ever heard that expression before.

As we passed through Adin, CA we came

upon this sign in front of a "we sell

pretty much everything" store

 

We stopped right at 12 noon in Alturas, CA to find a community park. John had Linda go into a Quizno's to inquire. The teen employee said there were no parks. However, as we drove towards the Chamber of Commerce to inquire further, Linda spotted a very nice park right off Main Street. There were even shaded picnic tables. Lunch was turkey sandwich, boiled egg, cheese stick, tato chips, Dr. Pepper and V8. Most satisfying!

There was very little traffic and lots of beautiful scenery. It varied from mountains and forest to flat fields with various crops in progress. Linda occasionally (her word....John would use "often") serenaded John and Fannie Mae on her ukelele and is now on the songs starting with the letter C. Her Jumpin' Jim Daily Ukelele is alphabetical starting with “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” and going all the way to “Zip A Dee Doo Dah”. The Song o' the Day for today is an oldie but goodie: “The Best Things in Life Are Free” from 1927 by BG DeSilva, Lew Brown and Ray Henderson. Here's the words so you can see if you agree: “The moon belongs to everyone, the best things in life are free. The stars belong to everyone, they gleam there for you and me. The flowers in spring, the robins that sing, the sunbeams that shine, they're yours and they're mine. And love can come to everyone, the best things in life are free”. Or, as someone else once opined, “The best things in life aren't things!”

We crossed into Oregon at around 2:45 pm and by 3:00 had found a very nice Interstate 8 Motel in Lakeview, Oregon. Lakeview is on the north end of Moose Lake. From all appearances coming up from the south, Moose Lake is pretty dry. Tonight we rest at about 4,700 feet....ten times more elevated than last night!

Linda often describes our home as being in Northern California but since it has taken us from Sunday to Tuesday to get to Oregon she now realizes that the Bay Area south of San Francisco, San Jose would be a more accurate description. Whatever, it was a very good day of what we sometimes call our NO RESERVATIONS Road Trip. On all previous road trips since 2009, we have made reservations for all our lodging. This time we decided to pay homage to Anthony Bourdain and be more casual about our itinerary. We do have reservations for our time in Glacier but, other than that, NO RESERVATIONS!

Scavenger Hunt News: We made photos of two, possibly three, items on our hunt list. It was a good day. 

We had dinner at The Dinner Bell, recommended by the motel manager, and it was excellent. Linda got coleslaw and a pastie which was a flaky crust filled with beef, carrots, potatoes and rutabagas. She has leftovers for her lunch tomorrow. John got hamburger steak with mushroom gravy, corn and bread.

A neon sign is one item on our photo scavenger hunt. Our plan was go to downtown Lakeview to the Alger Theater and take a picture of their neon marquee after dark. Alas, it wasn't lit up! And, on top of that, it started to rain!

It'll be interesting to see what tomorrow's drive to Prineville, OR holds in store for the Two Old Buzzards.

The photo gallery for Day 03 contains 38 photos and can be viewed by clicking here.

Happy trails!

Glacier National Park Road Trip - Day 02

After breakfast in our Motel 6 Suite  (John had his Honey Nut Cheerios and Linda had part of her RBTT....Raw Bits Twang Twang) we were on our way to Lassen Volcanic National Park by 7:30. Fannie Mae opted to lounge around here since dogs are not allowed on the trails. She mentioned that she might go for a dip in the pool while were gone. Linda finished her RBTTs on the way to the park.

With perfect timing the Two Old Buzzards were in the park and at the visitor's station at 8:50 so they had just enough to peruse the outside info before the friendly park rangers opened up at 9 am. After watching a great 15-minute film about the geologic history of Lassen, we stamped our Passport, got a pin and bookmark for Linda and were on our way to the Sulphur Works. It was a smelly hydrothermal experience with a fumarole (steam vent) and a symphony of bubbling mudpots. There were lots of mule's ears in bloom around the Sulphur Works. Next the buzzards were off to find the trail head for Bumpass Hell. It was a 3-mile round trip going up to a viewpoint of several former volcanoes. That includes a total of over 1,000 feet of elevation change. The trail was through lots of forested areas and there was still quite a bit of snow on the ground in places. The trail was warm in the sunny areas and cool in the snowy and shady areas so, all in all, it was a perfect hiking experience. Bumpass Hell is at an elevation of over 8,700 feet. We made it back to Wilma right at 12 and had a lunch of cheese sticks, fiber bars and grapes before leaving for a 30-mile drive through the park. By the time we left, we could have sold our parking spot in Bumpass Hell.

Yes, it is July 1 and there is still plenty of snow to be

seen in Lassen Volcanic NP

We stopped often on the Bumpass Hell trail to

sit on a cool rock in the shade

The last major eruption in the park was almost 100 years ago and lasted for about 3 years. Mount Lassen Peak is the highest point in the park at over 10,200 feet. It is one of many active dormant, or extinct volcanoes found around the Pacific Ocean in what is called a Ring of Fire. The Ring is a seismic zone where edges of plates that form the Earth's crust grind against each other and one plate sinks down. Lassen Peak formed 27,000 years ago as a volcanic vent on the northern flank of another volcano (Brokeoff) and is one of the world's largest plug dome volcanoes. The highest point we reached on the park road was 8500 feet where the temperature was a pleasant 72 degrees.

We left the park from a different entrance and had a pleasant drive home. The choice of today's Song o' the Day was easy: Ring of Fire by June Cash and Merle Kilgore (1962). And, yes, it is one of the 365 songs in Jumpin' Jim's Daily Ukelele book. John seemed disappointed that there were only two verses. (John says his mama raised him to be polite).

When we arrived back in Red Bluff at 2:22 the temperature was 113, a far cry from 72 less than two hours and 8,000 feet earlier. Neither of their keys would work to unlock the door. Could the codes have melted off? John trudged to the office avoiding the hot, sticky melted asphalt, for re-keying. Fannie Mae welcomed the Two Old Buzzards with much enthusiasm. She said it had been too hot for a swim so she just stayed in and watched cat videos on YouTube.

Tomorrow is a relatively short drive of 244 miles up to Lakeview, Oregon. Wilma is gassed up and rarin' to go. We'll get up around 7'ish, have some breakfast in the room, load up and head out.

The photo gallery for Day 02 contains 52 photos and can be viewed by clicking here.

Happy Trails!

Glacier National Park Road Trip - Day 01

The Two Old Buzzards (John and Linda) got off to a great start today on the beginning of their 2013 Road Trip to Glacier National Park. Along with their trusty schnauzer companion Fannie Mae, they pulled out of the Buzzard's Roost at 7:08 am on a day that promised to be another scorcher in the heat wave that parts of California have been experiencing. Yesterday it got to 104 degrees in Morgan Hill which is unusual. And we don't even have air conditioning. Definitely time to get outta Dodge Hill.

After a delicious breakfast at The Daily Bagel Cafe it was photo time for the start of an added element to this Road Trip – a photo scavenger hunt sponsored by the San Jose Mercury News. The three members of Team Buzzardbait were officially photographed in the Tennant Station parking lot.

Heading off on our Glarier Road Trip and are prepared to

enter the Mercury News Photo Scavenger Hunt! Team

Buzzardbait has a great chance!

 

Buzzard Number One is especially excited about another added element to this Road Trip. Buzzard Number Two suggested that she bring her ukelele. In various past Road Trips there has been a funny sign of the day, a travel quote of the day and  a quirky business of the day. On this trip we will be having SONG OF THE DAY, starting off with (naturally) On the Road Again by that good ole dope smokin', goat roapin', tax dodgin' Texas boy Willie Nelson. And yes, Linda did play it on her ukelele, just to make it official. It just happened to be in the Jumpin' Jim Ukelele Songbook that her AAUkeW Group uses.

 

We were on the freeway until we got off I-5 at 10:15 in Woodland for a rest stop and a Starbuck's skinny mocha. After that we were able to mostly stay on the back roads for the rest of the day. We saw fields and fields of sunflowers, lots of groves of walnuts, rice paddies and various close-to-the-ground veggie crops. It was a good reminder of how much of our country's food is produced in California's central valley.

 

Right at the stroke of 12 noon we pulled over under a large oak tree in Grimes, CA and enjoyed a pleasant tailgate lunch of rice cakes, nectarines, V8, Diet Dr. Pepper and a salty sweet bar. We were back on the road by 12:22.

 

We reached today's destination – Red Bluff, CA – by 2:40 and checked into our luxurious suite at Motel 6. A quite descriptive phrase would be “Out of the frying pan and into the fire”. The temperature in Red Bluff was 109 degrees and is expected to reach 114 the day after tomorrow. Thank goodness Wilma (our Honda Odyssey van) and our Motel 6 room both have excellent air conditioners.

 

Our "new" Garmin 3590 GPS unit is on its first road trip, though we've had it for several months. Besides lifetime map updates and traffic, you can get apps for it. We already had the Weather app. Today, John bought the Gas Price App ($9.95 for a year). Found gas within 1.5 miles at $3.76. Most stations nearby are $3.81 to $3.99. We are thinking this app will pay for itself just on this road trip.

We ate dinner at an Applebee's for the first time in many years and were both very pleased with our choices. Linda had shrimp, veggies and rice. John had sirloin steak with garlic herb shrimp, potatoes and veggies. Only 490 calories!

After dinner Linda and Fannie Mae found enough shade to have a nice walk.

 

We have decided to spend two nights in Red Bluff to give us more time to spend at Lassen National Park. Tomorrow morning, Linda and John are off to the park. We want to go on a three mile round trip trail (Bumpass Hell Trail) so Fannie Mae gets to stay in the cool room while we are gone for a few hours.

The photo gallery for Day 01 contains 24 photos and can be viewed by clicking here.