Catching Up

Blogging Update

Beginning in the Fall of 2008 I embarked on a 10-year 100,000 mile tour of the 48 lower states and Canada's ten provinces to mark my retirement from Canada Post. I'm so thankful to be retired!

My final big trip was in 2018 to Austin and then on to see Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Devils Tower, (minus Dreyfus) and the 5 note chord, though the KOA did show the movie with the icon in the background.

What followed you may have heard about. The Pandemic closed the borders and in Canada even provincial borders. Everything was locked down for a time and then gasoline got so expensive I quip I can't afford to drive around the block.

In the aftermath of all this I've taken to reading 300 books a year, writing e-mail too few ever answer, and cooking up a storm. Who can afford to eat out, well, I can't. The internet is an endless source of new and exciting recipes. Although we appear to have entered a post literate age I ignore you tube videos and read recipes.

Microsoft, Apple, and Google are in a competitive war that sees their softwares made deliberately incompatible even to the point of refusing to accept e-mail written on each other's platforms.

When my amplifier went into protect mode I lost the use of my CD and DVD players and increasingly watch movies online.

I'm still looking for the episodes of Yellowstone I'm owed and have been watching Walker with Paladecki. I've read and watched Game of Thrones. On the advice of a friend have discovered that Yannick Bisson gave up the chaps he wore in Nothing too Good for a Cowboy to wear a dapper suit while he bikes around Nineteenth Century TO as William Murdoch, Toronto Constabulary Detective.

In the last 4 years my travels have been of the armchair variety often reading about the places I missed the first time around. I'm not anxious to return to Cody Wyoming where vans were packed in so tight one could pass a coffee to one's neighbour without exiting the van. Or for a visit to the Nevada Welcome Centre, a gambling casino. Or the park in Florida where I was nearly eaten alive by insects.

These days I walk to church and cross the street for most of my medical needs; one must admit one's age. I'm not so concerned about Trump as by the fact that so many Americans are taken in by him. The world's addiction to social media is also concerning. I've exited Facebook as full of fake news, hysteria, and worse. In an age of handheld devices people no longer know how to do mental arithmetic or write by hand. Mass murders are a weekly event in America and violence and weapons are spreading across the border. Stop the world, I want to get off, or at least get lost in a good book.

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Surrogacy

Gay male partners have been resorting to surrogacy to gestate designer babies. So far genetic modification is illegal. I have reservations about turning a woman into a womb for hire. The pope of course uses the word despicable. The idea that rich women chose to resort to having another bear their child because they do not want to subject their bodies to the stresses of childbirth does sound monstrous. With the world so filled with orphans I wonder why they don't go for adoption. There would be more genetic risk involved of course but….

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Waste

Our landfills are packed with things people threw out and replaced rather than mend, repair, maintain or clean. Comments on a recent process for washing pillows saw people finding it too much bother when they could simply replace their soiled pillows.

This throwaway philosophy is widespread. I decry the fact that everything involved with a meal at the golden arches or the Shelbys across the road from me is garbage including it seems the leftover fries and half finished plastic bottles of water. Same alas goes for Tim Hortons. Only about 4 states in the Union charge a deposit on beverage containers. We got recycling as a compromise that allowed beverage companies not to be required to reuse pop bottles. Stores jumped at restricting plastic bags as it saved them money.

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Nostalgia

Nostalgia is big business especially in the tourist trade. With the death of the inshore fishery the chief source of income for the aging populations of most Newfoundland Outports or the island fishing communities off Nova Scotia's South Shore are old age security or UI after the fish plant shuts down for the year if it still operates and the work lasts that long. Most are not unlike Tancook Island where the population doubles during the tourist season when people come to enjoy the quiet pace of life, visit relatives, enjoy the beaches, and just get away from it all. Tancook grows cabbages and turnips to produce their eponymous Sauer Kraut. Ladies knit, quilt, and hook rugs sold in the two local general stores cum craft shoppes. Bed and Breakfast operations and boat tours round things out.

Many former towns in Nova Scotia no longer have sufficient tax base to support themselves and have ceased to exist subsumed by the local county administration. When the fish plant or the mine closes and a town loses its major employer an outflow of young people looking for work follows. Homes for which there is no sale sit abandoned and boarded up, municipalities that would sell them for unpaid taxes can't even give them away.



I have just discovered that websites that show pictures of abandoned homes, manors, castles, and estates generate high traffic and have become extremely popular. Digital photography and cellphone cameras with posting apps to social media websites have facilitated the trend.

An Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia wedding photographer is documenting the roads that led to former thriving communities that have been abandoned by the province because no one lives on them or uses them save for recreational purposes. Given the annual crop of potholes and washboards, especially on dirt roads when I see signs that read Road not Maintained I facetiously ask, how do you tell the difference?

Belated Update

If one didn’t laugh in the face of adversity there’d be little cause for humour on the East Coast. Hence rain and fog are referred to as Liquid Sunshine. Plenty of both kinds in Saint John on the Bay of Fundy this week. Fog starts rolling in with the tide each afternoon and becomes a palpable presence as first the harbour and then the city disappears behind a wall that creeps like a screen across the world. It hangs around until well into the next morning.

Having looked out and discovered there was nothing but grey haze to be seen I went back to bed on Monday. On Tuesday I became more active and having cleaned the bathroom floor swept and then scrubbed the main part of my living space the ABS flooring. For good measure went outside and cleaned smudges from my windows and the dead insect strikes from the front of my van.

Vitos is a Greek Restaurant family chain in Saint John where we went for Dinner on Tuesday, then back uptown to join the David Goss History Walk that wended round the neighbourhood near the Beatty ‘Hotel’. Superstitions serve to explain and allow seeming control of conditions or forces for which there is no means of mastery or explanation and nowhere are they more prevalant than among seafaring people. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, hauntings and angels: stairs creek, chairs rock, doors open and close, pipe organs are heard to play, rooms turn cold, furniture moves, pictures fall off walls for inexplicable reasons and apparitions of people long dead appear. Such phenomena are most often associated with persons who died by violent means. In Saint John such stories append to buildings at every turn. Whether it be clocks that haven’t worked for years that strike, the ghost that haunts the Imperial Theatre, who walks the burial ground, who visits her former home. Will the young man who fell to his death building the new Irving Tower walk its halls or ride its elevators in years to come?

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Got engrossed in my current read and stayed up late. At 6:00 this morning visibility was a few yards so after a few chores went back to sleep until 11:00. I may have been “burning daylight” but certainly not sunshine.

Once I got active engaged in the prosaic task of doing laundry. I managed to get there just before another patron arrived; I used two of the three machines at $2.00 a load. Watched her plug in two laptops, two tablets and a cellphone to recharge. The dryer cost $2.00 as well. The machines stayed busy. Folded after clothes dried. Managed to catch up online with my tablet while the wash churned.

Got a ride to Atlantic Superstore, headquarters in Brampton, Ontario where I picked up rice, a few other staples, spice rub for fish and two haddock steaks. The pork chops did not meet my standards. I’d made a salad for which I picked up Mediterranean dressing and cooked rice with a cube of butter, dash of lime juice and turmeric, heated the griddle, applied the rub and grilled the fish. The peaches I picked up weren’t quite ripe but we had some with cream.

After we walked over and had a look at the fog over SJ. Out by the pond four deer were browsing on the flower beds.

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Woke to the patter of rain on the roof. Did my morning online checks and went back to bed rather than face wash-up from yesterday’s repast. Slept until 10:30; alas at that point it was raining even harder. Had to break down and wash dishes.

We went out to dinner at Swiss Chalet here in SJ. The rotisserie was busy but the fact that one sympathized with an overworked waiter didn’t make our simple meal taking over an hour any easier to stomach. The place seems popular even on a foggy weekday night and the meal was good though servings seem to continually shrink. Sauce appeared in cardboard container and lemon infused rinsing bowls seem to have gone the way of the dodo. We even had to wait to pay our bill.

Went to Ciniplex to see Jurassic World II in 3-D. The 3-D effect was barely noticeable. One now has to buy one’s ticket at an electronic dispenser with credit card and select one’s seating. Then kick others out of one’s assigned seat. The ads were excessively noisy but the movie was at a tolerable level. Chris Pratt got to keep his shirt on in this outing even while diving in the waters off Costa Rica. The last hour is all action sequence.

Friday, July 27, 2018

Began with dense fog. I woke early and went back to bed as seems to have become my habit. Tried to call NS but the pay phone doesn’t seem to work. Quelle Surprise! Walked out to make faces at John the campground manager. Spent some time getting ready to travel tomorrow. The sun put in a very brief appearance and then got shy again.

Joined Tom for Dinner at his apartment with a trip to Pumpkin Patch to pick up groceries. Did some repairs while my host cooked. Tried to get to bed early.

Saturday, July 28. Entered the fog early and drove up NB Hwy 1 to join Hwy 2 to Nova Scotia past Moncton. Stopped at the Nova Scotia Welcome Centre that has been remodelled yet again to accommodate an enlarged boutique that occupies the entire North end of the building leaving a single service desk and reduced information kiosks. The piper, Jacob had just left feeling poorly, heavy woollen tartans must be uncomfortable in this heat.

Paid my toll with little grace and stopped at Masstown Market where crossing the parking lot was the most dangerous act I’ve undertaken. Visited the fish market for Cod Fish Patties. Picked up Hoppy Garrison Brewing Ale, honey and maple sugar. That Dutchmann’s Gouda which proved to be cumin and clove flavoured, :-(, raisin bread, the slicer out for repair, an apple caramel cake, blueberries and strawberries. From there took the 102 to Halifax and joined the 103 to Lunenburg taking the Blockhouse route. Dropped in on Aunt Muriel and Donna to arrange a Monday Visit.

I’d reserved my space at the Lunenburg Board of Trade Campground so I parked and then registered. After that long drive felt rather whacked out. The construction on the streets of Lunenburg last Fall was mercifully complete.

Sunday Morning dawned with heavy rain so I went back to bed sleeping in to 11:30. The road to Hell... Had grilled scallops and beet salad for lunch with a Garrison Red Beer. Walked up to the bandshell for the Blue Grass concert there. Sat beside a couple from West Virginia who summer in Kingsburg. Spent the rest of the day wandering around Lunenburg looking at Art Galleries and found some watercolours I liked were I in possession of wall space to hang and dollars to buy and frame. Sprang for an ice cream cone and stopped at Foodland for Grape Nut Ice Cream and more blueberries. Quiet evening reading.

Drove up to Aunt Muriel’s and moved in so to speak. We watched slides and had tea. Fish cakes for lunch and blueberry grunt for supper, madam requested seconds so I must have done something right. Home before dark having discovered the Back Harbour Rd that goes past first and second peninsula. The drive through Northwest heads straight to Blockhouse. The experience of travelling so much of North America makes these remembered place names sound quaint.

Monday morning drove up to Halifax to my sister’s. My four-year-old great nephew Caleb marched up to me and queried, “Who are you?” Your grandma’s brother. Being around 3 nephews 16 months, 4 and 8 years and “princess” Eva 11 was an experience. Their parents left them with grandparents and Aunt Amy while they enjoyed some together time. Major expeditions were mounted to Grand Lake for a swim and Shubenacadie Wildlife Park to feed the ducks, pet the deer, watch the river otters frolic. Shubie Sam was having a summer siesta resting up for next Groundhog Day and most of his neighbours were rather torpid. Like people they mind the heat.

While checking Wi-Fi connections was amused to see that one of the neighbours has an unprotected online thermostat.

Departed Halifax August 4 gassing up at Wilsons in Fall River. Watched two fools drag racing into dense fog just past the Standfield Airport and drove through fog to Tantramar Marsh where ironically the fog finally lifted. Lunch at the NB Info Centre before entering torrential rain past Moncton most of the route to Edmundston. Stopped at the Shell truck stop for gas but ignored the myriad fast food outlets adjoining: Subway, the Golden Arches, St. Hubert among others. The backup plan was Wal-Mart but drove down to see if there were weather cancellations at Riverside Campground. There were, though they demanded $38/day cash. Mud road, level gravel site and non-functional Wi-Fi. Site 52 is shaded. After that drive spent a quiet evening.

I stopped at Edmundston to hear the pipe organ at the cathedral but discovered folding chairs set up in front of a temporary altar out front in place for a special yearly service. Got a tour of the church and the basement crypt but did not hear the Casavant Organ. Attended the nearby Notre Dame de Madawaska for Mass in French—mercifully short sermon. No similar welcome at this elgise. Settled in for a quiet afternoon at my campsite beside a fast running stream that flows into the Madawaska here the border with the US. I’d not realized the US Border was so close but then I’d not visited the town beyond shopping at Sobeys and stopping for gas.

Not that I’m big on observing the Sabbath but Sunday Afternoon seems an odd time to do the mowing.

Monday, August 06, 2018

Left Edmundston in fog from the Madawaska and endured the bumpy Quebec Roads. Some crosswinds but no construction and little truck traffic. Stopped at a Subway for early lunch. Hot and weather warnings South of Montreal.

I was given a miserable site I should have walked back down to get changed but hung it out. Hot night with thunder rumbling in the distance, a brief gust of high winds and then showers through the night.

Tuesday, August 07, 2018

Got off around 7 and drove through to Cornwall where I filled up at Flying J and stopped for breakfast at Dennys. A good waitress makes all the difference. Excellent Wi-Fi Service as well.

Miles long traffic jam West of Kingston moved me to get off the highway and go back to find the local KOA. $77/night? And they charge extra to access the web with a second device. How do you spell clip joint? They missed making showers a for pay option. Later learned an inattentive driver ploughed into another vehicle causing that backup. Went for a late afternoon walk on the so-called Lost Channel Trail, meant for dog walkers. Hard to call it wild when the ever-present noise of traffic was nearby.

Set off at 3:00 AM to drive home. Little but truck traffic as I drove the darkened highway. Stopped in Oshawa at the last On Route Rest Stop to recoup then braved the drive through heavy traffic across the top of Toronto made worse by heavy rain and occasional flooded stretches. Traffic slowed at several transfer points between collectors and express lanes but never actually stopped. Made it home around 7:00 AM.

East Coast Rambles Summer 2018

Set out at 3:00 AM Thursday, July 19 to cross the top of Toronto. Little but truck traffic however with construction forcing everyone onto the collector lanes for most of the drive it proved worse than I’d expected. A double trailer driver nearly forced me off the road twice til I decided to speed up and get by him. Driving dark, ill-marked streets with frequent off ramps forcing lane changes was not fun. East of Toronto matters got quieter but truck traffic continued. I drove in a daze noticing streets signs I’d not paid attention to before and missing familiar ones.

Stopped in Napanee to gas up at Flying J and stop at Dennys to wait out sunrise as the route heads straight into the rising sun. Dennys there is no longer 24-hour and I waited out the 6 AM opening. The one waitress on duty seemed unnecessarily harried with only three customers to serve, not a happy camper. The coffee was fresh and rich flavoured, the philly cheesesteak omelet was heavy on overcooked meat with plenty of cheese. Coffee refill came grudgingly. Wi-Fi was painfully slow considering I was the only one using it. The remainder of the drive passed.

After 400 miles I did not feel like arguing with the person at the counter at Camping Aloutte about being upsold on a more expensive 3-service site in full sunlight I did not need. I do resent being lied to. The cheaper site was in full shade and available. I’d delayed my departure several days due to extreme heat among other challenges. Hot enough south of Montreal as it was. The HWY 30 bridge over the Saint Lawrence allowing a city bypass seems worth the $4.20 toll.

Set out around 9 Friday morning to avoid rush hour traffic. Heavy traffic between Quebec’s two major cities and major construction delays opposite Quebec City “Capital Region” in Levis. Got off the highway onto Route President Kennedy to get gas at Canadian Tire and a lunch at St. Hubert. A meal that passed straight through me, alas.

The mafia controls Quebec road construction and their highways are rough and crumbling soon after the equipment leaves the scene. Stopped for a few forgotten items and some beer at IGA Extra in Rivière-Du-Loup, then drove down to Camping Du Quai thankful I’d booked a site the previous evening as the campground was full. Christmas in July seems to be a thing with Canadian Campgrounds, the Pierre Noel Parade being the next day, Pierre Noel’s Chateau and gift shoppe is opposite. Restless evening though a stiff breeze carried cool salt air as the tide went out.

Got off at 7:00 Saturday morning and stopped at the New Brunswick border to visit the Tourist Centre and have breakfast losing an hour to Atlantic Daylight Saving Time. Stopped in Oromocto near the Fredericton Airport for fuel and joined HWY 7, a two-lane at 100 km/hr and made Rockwood Park, Saint John by 2:15 only fifteen minutes after my predicted arrival time. New Brunswick Drivers have a bad habit of passing and slowing down. Gaaaaaaah!

Cloudy to overcast here beside the Bay of Fundy. The young lady at the counter sent me to an occupied campsite. Got set up, placed levelling blocks and settled in thankful to stay in one place for an entire week.

Sunday morning met my friend Tom for a pick up for church at 10:00 am, grateful for someone who shows up on time. We had an hour before church time. A Presbyterian church named Grace the homily sang the praises of John Calvin the service beginning with a hymn written by Calvin. Only in Saint John would a corn boil be accompanied by mussels.

We went to Subway for a lobster sub. After I put Tom to sleep with a slide show of my US National Park Tour. Went for a walk about the park here visiting the Information centre where the seaquarium has been joined by a trio of large painted turtles who enjoy a private heat lamp and a ramp to pull out under it. They get fed commercial turtle pellets. Walked out to explore the Lily’s Cafe complex where canoes, kayaks and hydro cycles rent for average of $15/half hour. The pond has water lilies but is not all that large. Had a talk with the rental people.

Walked out to the point overlooking the Irving Railway Marshalling Yard to watch the fog eat the port and the rest of the city. It came in with the tide around 5:00. Rained overnight and into the morning.

Monday attended an organ demonstration at Trinity Anglican Cathedral. This is an electronic monster that utilizes recorded sounds. I was not impressed with the playing or the organ. I can listen to a recording at home. The sky cleared enough to let in some sun before the fog rolled in again.

Tuesday dawned foggy and remains overcast.

Wending Homeward

Upon leaving Badlands I was 1525 miles from home. Having seen the major National Parks I came South to visit the remainder of this blog documents the drive home.

On the way to Sioux City took a break as I did last time at Al’s Oasis. It doesn’t aspire to the excesses of Wall Drug but it’s up there. Large parking lot and restaurant offering coffee for 5¢/cup had a long waiting line. Having passed several military convoys I found another parked in the lot. Sunshine Grocery offers a decent selection. The usual collection of schlock adjoins. I yielded to the temptation of a Cold Mountain Dew and a bag of Nacho-Flavoured Tortilla Chips.

Overnighted at Sioux Falls a KOA abutting I-90 which is never quiet. From there headed South on I-29 hitting heavy construction and enduring a 10-mile detour getting onto I-80 north of Omaha the East Bound onramp closed for unknown reasons. This wasn’t a long drive but some days it just seems so. The Iowa Welcome Centre turned me off when the doyen spent my entire visit complaining about his aches and pains.

Drove down to Winterset and got gas at an unmanned gas pump. The price was not as outrageous as my last visit. The roads haven’t improved either. Stopped next at Fareway and found many of the products I enjoyed last time no longer in stock. The aisles are uniquely arranged and signs can be somewhat quaint. The place did not live up to my past visits but a grocery boy took my bags out to my van as last time. 

 

Des Moines West KOA failed me. I had a reservation but was led to a site already occupied. I ended up on a tenting site in the back of beyond. A refund did little to placate me. Such treatment reflects badly on a park’s management style. I spent time reading and catching up on E-mail and blogging. Sunday morning walked up two drives in this ritzy rural estate enclave to Peace Lutheran Church. The modern air conditioned building with its folding chairs was no Little Brown Church in the Wildwood. Though not far from the Little Raccoon River in the middle of flat Iowa Corn Fields there was not forest. The young female pastor raced through her sermon and had us out of there in under half an hour. That afternoon I got my van washed by wind-drive hale and torrential rain. Since the area got a tornado warning the next day I suppose I came off lightly with only an inch of silt around my back tires the mud still adorning my entry.

Heavy Truck traffic on I-80 there being little more frustrating than being stuck behind two tractor trailers going close to the same speed attempting to pass one anther on a two lane stretch on an uphill grade. Mid-morning passed Rock Island where recent flooding brought back memories of the mosquitoes I encountered last time I stopped overnight there. Stopped for fuel and cleaned my windshield. Opted to avoid the tollway South of Chicago and ended up guided along Suburban City Streets under construction amid traffic lights and go slow signs. When I rejoined I-94 /I seemed to be the only vehicle on the highway doing the posted 55 speed limit and there being no cars stopped to get tickets traffic did not slow down.

I was annoyed once more to learn that Michigan City Campground insisted on upselling me a full service lot even though the one I wanted remained vacant for my entire stay. I resent being lied to. I did enjoy an afternoon swim in their new pool that I had all to myself. Spent most of my time reading. Walked about the park seeing Canada Geese beside the pond and a patch of blackberries up on the hill where the spring flowers were long spent and the season too dry to encourage may apples. We did get one night of distant thunder that wiped out the internet and the park’s phones.

Got off early on Thursday Morning and braved the Indiana Tollway and the Ohio Turnpike to the tune of $7.50 and $19.00—highway robbery. This stretch was not in bad shape. Busy Pennsylvania Welcome Centre was no help in finding camping. Ten mile traffic jam occasioned by a collision led me to take to side streets to get to the town of Erie.

 

Pulled into Sara’s Campground with considerable trepidation at 2:30 PM but was rewarded when Annie informed me she had a paved pad for me. I was introduced to he son and heir Jacob and said hello to Brian who was playing with a video gambling terminal that doled out a winner to a player the night before. Campsites in this park are crammed in but most of the resident population have held their sites for half a century. 

Hundreds camped out on the beach in tents. Spent some time talking to Jim the security guard in his little golf cart monitoring the entrance gate and walked down and talked some more with Richard at the corner who inherited his site from his uncle and has visited for 50 years.

Walked up to the nature centre but found it too warm to stick around. Found an antique coke bottle on my way home and turned it in to the gal at Sally’s Diner.

Later had a BBQ Chicken Salad and Curley Fries at Sara’s 50’s Diner run my Brian’s Brother I learn. Slurped an Orange/Vanilla Swirl Cone and liked it enough to have another next day. Ten Go Internet here was remarkably good. Got a few pix that last night of the sun over Lake Erie and walked over in the morning to visit with Brian and Annie and meet Rae their German Shepherd who manages to curl her bulk under Brian’s desk. But she’s Annie’s dog as her perked up ears demonstrated when she heard her mistress’ voice. 

Walked over in the evening to visit with Jacob. Conversations are interrupted by phone calls from people referred to other parks, the full sign posted on a cone at the entrance; and other calls for their attention. Their approach to customers may be relaxed and caring but make no mistake, this is one well-managed park.

Got off at 4:30 despite the truck blocking the most direct exit route, the remains of their fire from the night before smouldering 8 ft from my driver’s door. I’d filled up in Ohio the day I drove in and that gas saw me home. The New York Tollway cost me a further $6.25 USD in cash, the section through the reserve in horrible shape. The Peace Bridge was expanded to 3 marked lanes this time round and the customs agent was gracious and welcoming. The New York stretch of my drive was buggy beginning immediately as I passed the toll booth coming in. Still haven’t cleaned my windshield thoroughly. The bridge toll was $4.25 CDN, free going. Early on a Sunday Morning the QEW was quiet as I drove the remaining miles across the two skyways and made it home by 9:00 AM.

My parking spot had been rented out in my absence and was still occupied but I found alternate parking. Unloaded my fridge and took up the tub of collected brochures and guide books. I still haven’t checked out my Yellowstone Calendar. Better yet, after a soak in my bathtub I was able to join a Canada Day BBQ in the West Lot. Home I be in hot and muggy Oakville.

Cody Wyoming and Beyond

Cody, Wyoming retains its Wild Woolly West ethos amid more modern conveniences such as Albertsons and Wal-Mart Supercentre. Named for its founder William (Buffalo Bill) Cody it has five museums including the Cody Centre and two gun museums. 

The Old Trail Town proved to be a collection of rotting concrete chinked cabins holding moth-eaten collections including a stuffed two-headed calf and an immaculate horse drawn glass fronted funeral hearse. 

Hundreds of arrowheads were on display. 

The Bill Cody buried on site proved to be the famous Cody’s son. 

A large pile of bones served to demonstrate why bison were all but wiped out.

The nearby Stampede Grounds has nightly rodeo/stampedes from June through September. Barrel racing and calf roping anyone? Ponderosa Campground demanded cash. Their cabins named for famous outlaws.

An irrigation channel adjoins the highway out of town along with a railway track. I crossed the Big Horn National Forest stopping at a look-off to view the basin below.

 

I did not see the Big Horn Sheep the Forest protects but did encounter a bison crossing the road. A ditzy tourist bureau worker sent me on a wild moose chase to find Deer Park when my GPS failed on me. The mountains and ravines were impressive but in the end Deer Park was less than a mile from the Tourist Bureau. Don’t ask a local. Deer Park was well maintained but the owners have a rather mercenary attitude. Campers are an inconvenience on the way to making a profit. 

 

Devils Tower Monument is 25 miles off I-90 and it doesn’t come into view until one is 4 miles distant. I was not moved to drive West years ago from Rapid City but since I was driving by....

It is worth seeing though the day was hot as hell. Tiny visitors centre covers the basics after I managed to find parking near the base of the Tower. Walking up to the Rockpile at its base in the heat might tend to make on see visions. 

 

The KOA beside the park gatehouse has a million dollar location all kampsites affording a view of the tower. 

Extensive campground store with restaurant at one end opening up on a patio via a retractable glass wall. The tower can be seen above a screen that features showings of Close Encounters of the Third Kind when the staff can get the electronics to work. Independent Trading Post across the way and Post Office onsite. 

Red cliffs and creek back the park. 

 

Stopped at Granite Buick Chevrolet to get a necessary oil change and Rick Dupree welcomed me and had me serviced and out within the hour. The oil change and two new wipers plus 30-point check were a fraction of what I’d have paid at home plus I enjoyed free Wi-Fi and the Granite Cafe—gourmet coffee, fruit, pop corn, cookies and other goodies. Comfortable chairs with retractable tables for my tablet.

Rapid City KOA defied my GPS but I found it using some horse sense. The goat farm still backs the site and I parked around the bend backing onto it in about the same location as last time without the hail storm that greeted me upon my last visit. I despise Ten Go Internet.

Learned the temp hit 104 the previous day while I was dodging raindrops and wind gusts at Devils Tower.

Went for a swim in the pool and found it blood warm. Doing laundry when it’s raining is not the best move but I got it done and had damp things decorating my motorhome. Met Irvin, an outgoing smiling friendly young man headed with 4 companions in a pop-up tent trailer to Alaska. Regret not exchanging e-mails with him. A visit to the ice cream social yielded an interesting talk with Brock, the server. Met a couple from Vancouver. Rain limited the attendance. Had breakfast at the cafe before I departed next morning again, sheltered from the rain. They open at 7 and serve prefried bacon.

Stopped off at Wall to tour the monument to excess that is Wall Drug. Had a talk with the gal who manages the book store devoted to all things western including a display of Louis L’Amour romances and Little House on the Prairie Laura Ingalls Wilder including the just arrive biography I’ve borrowed from the Library though a hard cover book at 14.99 is a bargain. I didn’t buy anything but I did find a folded dollar bill lying on the floor.

Crossed into Badlands National Park and drove through the rain and dense fog to Interior to cross the White River onto Pine Ridge Reserve and the KOA there. Two owners since I was last here. Managed to finish one book I’ve been reading and will move onto the 626-page Ingalls Wilder bio. Got out for a walk to visit the cliff swallow colony nesting under the bridge. 

 

Yellowstone

I’ve fallen behind blogging because I’ve stayed at several campgrounds and KOA’s where Wi-Fi was slow and unpredictable making uploading blogs and pictures in particular difficult.

The first impression of Yellowstone is one of its sheer size. Driving from place to place even in the absence of traffic jams caused by drivers gawking at wildlife on the roadway takes considerable time. I started out early and passed the park ranger gatehouse before it opened for the day. I got to the Old Faithful Visitor Centre 45 minutes before the geyser erupted on schedule at 8:47. The Centre has a great view of the geyser but being up close seems important. I had time to tour the centre, visit the bookshop, and watch the Welcome movie which seemed to be mostly about cautions that visitors seem to manage to ignore. 

 

Old Faithful performed a 5 minute show spectacularly. I did not hang around for a second showing. 

 

The hot springs proved to be providing a free sauna as the wind blew the steam over the observers. One has to take a major hike to get a good view of the Prismatic Spring. 

The water running into the nearby river left the yellow deposits that give the park its name. 

 

 

On the way out of the park I passed a bison walking down the left-hand lane leading a group of impatient drivers and a bit later an entire herd whose audience had traffic coming in backed up for 5 miles. People!

Yellowstone West KOA is the better equipped of two such parks barely a mile apart. Just outside the National Park is a small intersection crowded with gas stations and other services. 

The KOA had slow to no Wi-Fi and campers who seemed to think my campsite was a shortcut along their way. The park has an indoor pool and copious numbers of bicycles built for four, even with canopies. The luxury campsites have paved patios and lawn swings. The view of mountains at the back is marred by high tension wires. I did get some spectacular cloud shots. 

 

Left at dawn for a return to the park again finding the gatehouse unmanned. 

Drove up to Mammoth Basin and admired the travertine marble housing built originally for the Buffalo Soldiers who monitored the park and now home to employees. 

The area has a large Post Office and the original mail carrier’s cottage along with the park administration centre. 

 

The visitor’s centre has a smallish bookstore and displays, washrooms in the basement. A nearby general store opens much earlier and has an extensive collection of memorabilia. Travetine Marble is formed when dissolved limestone precipitates during run-off from the springs. 

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone was cut through limestone formations by the river and must be seen to be believed. 

The lower falls thunder away at a distance, an osprey nesting on a rock tower having a unique view. I opted not to walk down to see the falls up close. 

 

Getting out of the park involved another pass and descent. Good views of snow capped mountains. I decamped ahead of overnight lows of 23 and snow.

Heading to Yellowstone

I got off from Mono Lake at 7:00 AM before it got hot, the wind came up, and gusting crosswinds began. After rising to 9000 ft the road dropped to 4000 and kept going down. After 100 miles my gas gauge had barely moved. My gas mileage today was 18 mpg. Lacking Wi-Fi access I was unable to check for road construction and ended up cooling my heels on HWY 395 and enduring several extended slow patches. Better alternatives existed but my GPS didn't choose them or have records. The drive through Carson City went on and on and on. After I reached I-80 the wind that had come up was following.

I've been through the Green River Tunnel before as it looked familiar. Much of the highway is rated at 80 mph. On the long straightaways there isn't much to see.

Just before Elko stopped at Pilot for gas at $3.13. In town got groceries at Smiths using my Kroger loyalty card.

Missed the Ironhorse Campground and in driving rain settled for the Double Dice Sports Bar and Grill and RV Park. Gambling and pool hall, this is Nevada. I was told their fees were cheaper, they lied.

I've been doing some research. Just as their Indian neighbours to South called those to the north Eskimo, eaters of raw meat; those outside the valley called their neighbours Yosemite, those who kill. Not an association the present owners promote readily. My present location, Elko, meant rocks piled on one another. More opportune is the meaning of Inyo, the place where the great spirits dwell.

My Great Value Wal-Mart Bacon might have been a bargain had it actually been a pound. Welcome to America where a pound is not a pound and a gallon is 128 oz. Where a 2 hour movie takes 3 hours to run because of ads. Where yahoos ride donor cycle crotch rockets without a helmet but wear a face mask for the bugs.

I-80 heads north from Elko to avoid a mountain range and tops out at 8000 ft before dropping to enter the Salt Flats of the Great Salt Lake. The highway runs straight on a raised bed with signs warning of blowing dust and triple signs warning of drowsiness. Five miles out of town one is still among salt beds, there are no suburbs.

New highways since my GPS was programmed and the commuter rail line mid street make getting to Salt Lake KOA challenging. The city is arranged on a grid 100 per block starting from Temple Square in all directions.

This is a luxury KOA though I quip at $60/night they could have made the sites level. Four hundred of their 600 sites are residential park model homes. Staff are busy but friendly and efficient. The price one pays for a site beside the pool I didn't use and the bathroom/laundry is contant traffic. There's a major rail line nearby and the airport across the Interstate. However this is one of the few campgrounds I've seen in the middle of a major city. 

River Jordan

 

Braved the light rail system to get to Temple Square. It's a marvel of efficiency and convenience and seems to run like clockwork. The city pointedly discourages giving change to beggars and provides donation meters for charity.

Visiting Temple Square for me is about the music. The Tabernacle has perfect acoustics. Three hundred and sixty voices, 100-piece orchestra and the famous organ which dominates the hall.

 

The two o'clock organ concert is a short half hour.

With 4 hours to kill I wandered down to the Red Rock Brewing Pub for lunch and ran afoul of a gay pride parade. In a state where "conversion therapy" is still practiced this was a miles long affair I had to brave to get lunch. Amber IPA was well hopped and the cod fish, slaw and chips were good if a mite expensive.

When I got home hot and tired had a 3-hour late afternoon nap. Woke in the wee hours of the morning and had a shower and went back to bed. Found my way to a Smith's for a few groceries and visited their gas bar where my Kroger Card saved me 3¢/gal. Had a scare when I realized my keys were not on me—left in the ignition when I was diverted by other concerns. Fortunately I hadn't locked the door.

Heavy truck traffic on I-15 North to Ogden but then it settles down. The Great Salt Lake is not visible from the highway but the sky remains hazy until after the height of land at Malad Summit 6820 ft. Snow-capped mountains appear to the West. I've finally entered Idaho.

Pocatello at 4462 ft is named after an Indian Chief. The self-described pokey little KOA here was the sixth in the chain. I suffered a few tense moments when I learned that Salt Lake had screwed up my reservation. Staff here chose to honour my payment. The cottonwoods here are aging little left of the one under which I'm parked. With the temp outside 88º my A/C has been running flat out. The campground is owned by a gentleman originally from Sudbury Ontario.

I've spent a fortune on camping for the next week. Check in time at Headwaters Campground Grand Teton is 2 PM. By the route I want to take through the park it's almost 200 miles distant.

Had a tepid coffee from my thermos and got off around 6:30 joining Interstate 15 after a trip through town. If Idaho is known for potatoes it is irrigation that makes them grow and the misters were all busy as I drove along. As anyone who waters a lawn should know doing so in the heat of the day is a waste of water. Idaho drivers don't seem to know about engine maintenance and almost every pickup trailed a cloud of smoke, one half-ton was pulled over and looked to be about to catch fire. Every trailer seemed to be leaking something, I hope not toxic. Three bags of sulphur were broken open in the passing lane. Signs warning drivers to secure their loads were regular roadside attractions.

Left I-15 at Idaho Falls and headed East into the sun on Hwy 28. Stopped at the ice cream stand, (closed) in Swan Valley and had lunch and used their porta potty. Hwy 31 climbs to a summit in Targhee National Forest with warnings forbiding trucks over 60,000 lbs. On the way back down 10% grades had me using low gear. There were two suicide lanes. Jackson Hole is a tourist trap. I stopped for gas at a cramped little Shell Station where the card reader screen was unreadable. Gas was $3.15. Stopped at a visitor centre for a break and used the facilities but didn't find anything worth the money. A left turn takes one toward the parks. None of the Grand Tetons Gate Houses were open so I drove through. The jagged Teton range to the left was outlined in snow. All the pull-outs were on the wrong side of the road. Speed limit throughout the park is 45. I was past the Visitor Centre Road before I could read the sign and did not go back. Caught a few pictures at one pull through site. 

 

Drove into Coulter Bay to pick up a park guide book and watch a one-hour movie on the Yellowstone Wolves. They're Canadian Wolves, an exchange as I remember between our prime minister and the American President. The thought that they might return to Canada hadn't occurred but they'd certainly be quite capable so they were kept in a pen to habituate. Shunning the gate they had to be let go through a hole cut in the fence. On many levels the return of the park's top predator has been beneficial. Although not gratuitous the violent nature of the wolf's life is not avoided. Caring for an animal that hates man is definitely a labour of love for the park ranger team. Interesting to learn that the entire pack cares for the Alpha Female's pups.

Drove the 2 miles past the campground road to reach the Yellowstone Park Gate to pick up their Visitor Guide. Long line to get in. Their closest visitor center being 12 miles in I turned around and came back.

After some driving around parked and walked into the Flynn Ranch Park Lodge. The elderly man who checked me in had no clue how to work their system and they had no record of what I'd already been billed. For the exorbitant price the campsite is a fly infested dirt lot. It is treed and the washroom is across the road. Moderately cramped but I've seen worse. At 5:00 PM I'm ready for bed. No evening programs here and I'm not prepared to drive 25 miles one way and drive back in the dark.

Spent a day in camp reading and catching up on a few chores. Early in the afternoon a thunderstorm developed.

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