Road to Burning Man 2008

What happened to Burning Man???

2008-08-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

If you are landing here for the first time, check the advice in the column to the right to understand how this blog is organized - you are at the final entry.

Looking for Burning Man itself? For some, Burning Man is controversial so I've decided to cover our time there in a separate blog - see:

The Murrays do Burning Man 2008

Thanks to the many or few that took the time to look through this blog - I hope it gives you a taste of what it is like traveling about North America in an Airstream, and a little bit about life in the WBCCI.

Another flat, Dana and Aja to the rescue...

2008-08-20T15:05:00.000-07:00

We stopped near Medford for a wonderful lunchtime visit with cousins Dana and Aja, only to find a flat tire on returning to the trailer.

With a little help from Aja and Dana, we were able to get the tire changed fairly quickly and complete our journey home.

Land Yacht Harbor - Lacey WA

2008-08-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

After leaving Andrew we visited Washington Land Yacht Harbor, the Airstream campground at Lacy, WA, owned by the Washington unit of the WBCCI.

We camped in their transit parking lot and before we could get unhooked we ran into our fellow caravaners Malcolm and Sue, Chuck and Marggie, and Felix and Joanne. Next Steve, also a fellow caravaner and permanent resident of the park, showed up and he and Elaine invited all of us over for a spontaneous reunion dinner.

Of course, Steve also showed this rather receptive audience his growing collection of vintage Airstreams.

Seattle August 18-20, 2008

2008-08-20T15:03:00.001-07:00

The Maple Leaf Trail caravan is over, we are in the US, diesel is cheaper, no more loonies and twonies, and we are on our way home. But first a visit with son Andrew and Mary Lou, and their dog Freddie (not shown, cats Pumpkin and Sprocket). These are all rescue animals, now well adjusted and seemingly happy.

Andrew hosted the great first night with pizza at his townhouse in Seattle; on the rainy next night Marcia made a wonderful dinner at our trailer and Freddie got to use his raincoat; tonight I’m taking the humans to birthday dinner – we had not seen Andrew since his or his mother’s birthdays.

Getting out of Dodge...the jinx strikes again

2008-08-20T14:56:00.000-07:00

On returning from the caravan banquet in 2007, after a mishap-free trip (well mostly mishap-free), I managed to run over a hose bib in our campground. This caused flooding of 2-3 sites and the need to turn off the water throughout the campground for an hour.

This time, with the caravan completed and while waiting in line to board the ferry home, Floyd noticed that I had a flat trailer tire.

This is when this caravan stuff really pays off.

With boarding to begin in 45 minutes, Floyd, HV, and Cal jumped in and started changing my tire while Marcia hustled us all coffee from a local vendor. (Floyd -shown with his dog Taffy - and Jolene are from Colorado where he was in the Air Force and was a teacher; she spent her career working for the USAF Academy and the AF Space Command.) In the time it took me to find my spare tire, Floyd produced a battery-powered impact wrench and removed my old wheel. We had my spare inflated (it was low from storage) and on the trailer with plenty of time to spare.

What a group.

Final Banquet – Four Mile Roadhouse

2008-08-20T14:55:00.001-07:00

Tonight, August 17, 2008, the Maple Leaf Trail caravan came to a close with a banquet at the Four Mile Roadhouse – reportedly the 4^th oldest house in Victoria’s history, and a former brothel. (Many good places seem to have a dark side in their past.)

It is amazing how easily sixty-some people traveling together can become a family. We will hopefully meet again on future caravans.

The ladies have High Tea

2008-08-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

The traditional high tea at the Empress costs something like $20 so the Ladies of WBCCI decided to have their own in the meeting room of the Ft Victoria RV Park.

Butchart Gardens reappraised

2008-08-20T14:47:00.000-07:00

But after that hour (or so) we and four other couples settled on the no bugs, not over-watered, not under-watered, weed-free greens of Butchart for a picnic dinner and a little wine.

Butchart provided a folk music trio which we half-listened to while enjoying each other’s company and the, well, wine. The music and singing seemed cheerful in a background sort of way, even though I caught them singing “… end of the world as we know it”. Always bring wine to a folk concert, just in case.

We then moved to a fireworks viewing area and at 9:15 PM enjoyed a half-hour of really very good fireworks, not well documented here. There were, of course, the usual spectacular sky-bursting types, but there were also excellent ground level devices that moved dramatically on tracks, accompanied by strong music and singing.

At the end we grabbed our lawn chairs and blankets and walked through the darkness toward the exit. We had heard of more entertainment in other parts of the garden, but this didn’t really prepare us for what happened next: a floating apparition of a woman in a well-lit window, a halo of lights above her head, playing “Girl from Ipanema” on an organ.

Marcia and I headed on home. The others stayed for a guitar concert in another area of the park.

Judgment: Butchart Gardens rocks these days, if you go late in the afternoon on a summer Saturday, when you can enjoy the extras.

Butchart Gardens first (or third) impressions

2008-08-20T14:43:00.001-07:00

This is my third time here, and I’m anticipating liking it as much as the other two times, i.e. not so much.

The day doesn’t bode well because it is a little warm and humid, and the grounds are as beautiful and ordered as usual. In the darkness when the visitors are gone, man does what he has to do, and we don't want to know the details. There are no weeds, no mosquitoes, no dying plants, and everything is blooming.

An hour here should be enough.

Marcia's Victoria Secret

2008-08-20T14:29:00.001-07:00

For her birthday, I took her to a very nice Italian restaurant called Il Terrazzo (or something close) in an alley behind Willy's Bakery (also close), the latter being on Johnson St in Victoria.

Victoria today

2008-08-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

The photos are of the Empress Hotel (now the Fairmont Empress, gone the way of the Jasper Lodge and the Banff Springs Hotel), parliament building, and waterfront. Victoria and the greater metropolitan district are much larger than when we visited in 1985 but the downtown has maintained its charm. Biggest difference: Four-story condos have replaced vacant land and old industrial property, with prices comparable to popular areas of California.

We took (and highly recommend) a 45 minute harbor cruise on the small people ferry you see in one of the photos. These boats looked identical to the Otter service on the Sacramento River.

Victoria now claims to be the busiest North American seaplane port, recently passing anchorage.

Craigdarroch Castle - Namebrand genes aren't always the best

2008-08-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

This home, now a museum, was built by a man named Dunsmuir. He was into everything - mining, logging, railroads, and real estate. He knew how to push the right buttons in business and politics a century ago and produced many progeny, including misfit alcoholics and lunatics. He was the richest man in British Columbia.

A sad family history. He died before the house was finished. When his wife died the 20 acres high on a Victoria hill were subdivided and sold and the furnishings auctioned. It is now an impressive building refurbished with donations sitting on a tiny plot of land.

One Dunsmuir handled the family interests in California, got his name on a town, and built an estate in Oakland. Unfortuntely he died on his honeymoon.

A very star-crossed family.

Victoria BC beach

2008-08-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

Top - '57 Tbird, in mint condition
Middle - '46 Hansen, in great shape, finding the Pacific can be quite cold
Bottom - '41 Murray, needs work, doing lifeguard duty anyway

Pacific Rim National Park - a pile of rot

2008-08-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

Marcia and I drove to the Pacific Rim National Park in a light rain, having excellent fish-and-chips from a lunch wagon in Ucluelet – a ranger recommendation. We saw little else of interest as trees lining the highway block most views, but cataloged a lighthouse for old times’ sake.

We then drove toward Tofino but again had the same problem – no views to the ocean that didn’t require parking and walking in the drizzle. We stopped short of Tofino and instead hiked the Rainforest Trail, a plank 1 KM walkway with a forest canopy too thick to let in much rain. This was a beautiful walk through standing and fallen huge trees, with the ground never visible because of the dense decomposing vegetation.

Hector at the Echo Center

2008-08-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

Port Alberni (pop: 17,700) residents are very friendly, on an official and also casual basis. The WBCCI has made caravan stops in Port Alberni since the mid-l980s, and in this pond we are big.

We had a catered dinner in a community center and were welcomed by the Chamber of Commerce head, the president of the community center, and a representative of the mayor; the mayor sent his apologies but was in Beijing with 64 other locals cheering on a Port Alberni contender in the Olympics. Entertainment for the night included a local clogging couple and a group of six senior singers led by a near-toothless man named Hector, who had a good voice.

After dinner we drove to the river to see if we could see bear, as recommended by the C of C head. Nope. Later we were told they probably wouldn’t appear until September when salmon would be present in greater numbers. Others said simply that the salmon are way down this year, and if we see bear at all, they will be trash bears.

McLean Mill historical site

2008-08-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

This steam-powered sawmill shut down in the 1960s but in the 1990 locals began restoring it to fully working condition as an historical site.

No hidden diesel engines or electric motors or safety screens.

Using steam, four or five “workers” pulled a log from the mill pond and cut it into boards in a demonstration. In the 1960s there would have been 27 workers and much larger logs, and faster operation. But this looked dangerous enough, and in fact the man that oriented the log for cutting almost fell when the platform he was standing on suddenly moved. This was a great demonstration but sadly I don’t think you will see anything comparable in the lawsuit-happy US.

The blacksmiths are Larry and Chuck, and they spent most of the day at it. Chuck is a retired insurance claims agent from Delaware. He and Malcolm (not shown), a retired science teacher also from Delaware, like to geocache. We spied them geocaching even in a Vancouver WalMart parking lot, of all things.

The gentleman meditating is on his own caravan.

Steam train to McLean Mill - near Port Alberni

2008-08-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

We took a steam train ride into the woods to the old McLean Mill, passing “Flag Waving Sally” and some other very friendly locals. The photo of Sally is on the return trip, when she was not as animated.

Our train companions were Ray and Jean from Massachusetts. They have also been our neighbors in the last two campgrounds, and they have a nice cocker named Freckles. Well, usually nice; he barked most ferociously the two times I mistook his trailer for our trailer.

Jean is from Nova Scotia so they get to the Maritimes often. Ray is retired from the Postal Service and is a very convincing defender of our postal service verses the system in Canada. I notice from his license plate that he is also a Purple Heart veteran.

Port Alberni, Vancouver Island

2008-08-15T11:32:00.001-07:00

We are camped here in the fairgrounds, electric and water connections daisy chained much as in Bozeman. The foreground walkers are Marcia and Shirley.

Sproat Lake is the headquarters of an aerial firefighting unit the flies Martin Mars water bombers. These are huge WWII planes originally built for large transport, but converted to water tankers in the 1950s. The company has two planes of only seven ever built – the others have crashed or been destroyed in ground related accidents. One is currently fighting fires in California at Lake Shasta; they were also dispatched to the San Diego fires a few years ago.

Post trip note: The second Martin Mars was visible on Lake Shasta as we drove south at the end of our trip. It was not at that time active, however in early September we talked with a WBCCI member from Chico who reported seeing it in his area. Fires burned within a couple lots of his house.

The water tanks actually take up very little of the cargo area - water is heavy per cubic measure.

HV and Pat put on a spontaneous casual dinner for everybody called a Corn Boil. Corn, sausage, carrots, onions, and potatoes boiled together then spilled across a table. Help yourself. Very good. Again, presentation is important. (HV used to own a bunch of McDonald’s franchises, but picked up this meal specialty from southerners on a prior caravan. Pat was a hair dresser in her prior life and became one of several caravan hair-cutters, giving me a nice trim in Hope.)

Early start to Port Alberni

2008-08-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

Last night at a rainy drivers meeting, two more rigs dropped out of the caravan, Ralph and Sue to return to Arizona because of care issue with her 96 year old father, and Dave and Kathy (if I understand their reasons correctly) because they didn’t want to deal with their long trailer on the ferry to Vancouver Island and return. We also learned that Felix had his bicycles stolen from the back of his truck in the SkyTrain parking lot.

At 6:25 am this morning, with Gary’s brakes squealing painfully through Dogpatch, we headed in caravan for the thirty-mile drive to catch the ferry to Nanaimo and on to Port Alberni.. We were somewhere in the middle of the pack and it was quite a sight seeing nothing but Airstreams ahead and behind us. Fortunately for others and us, this was early Sunday morning and traffic was light.

The ferry boat to Fort Alberni is huge, looks somewhat like a cruise ship, and was built in Germany. We were told it came to Vancouver under its own power but with a false bow to handle the open ocean (the false bow later removed).

Our truck plus trailer totaled 46 feet (they called it 45) and cost $210 for the crossing, part of our original kitty fee. They accepted reservations from only a few of us, but all units successfully boarded and crossed. The ferry was excellent although we've heard it has been pulled out of serve a few times because of engine difficulties.

Mud Bay Park

2008-08-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

This Mud Bay Park bike ride in Surrey ended up maybe 18 miles round trip and we bailed out early because the scenery just wasn't changing. But the name didn't really promise much.

However we did bag some eagles!

He went, too...

2008-08-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

Stanley Park (Vancouver) wildlife

2008-08-15T11:15:00.000-07:00

Our trolley halted as traffic ahead slowed and we craned our necks to see what exotic life caused this disruption in the traffic flow. A raccoon. A little anti-climatic after bears and moose, etc.

The Capilano Suspension Bridge – North Vancouver

2008-08-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

There is more to this attraction than just a suspension bridge, and it is a good thing because it is ridiculously expensive.

We arrived about 3:30 on a somewhat rainy Saturday. Parking cost $5 for one hour and admission for two totaled over $50 after AAA and Senior discounts. Try for any discount you can get.

This is a beautiful deep gorge lined mostly by fir trees, crossed by a people suspension bridge. They described the bridge as wide as the wingspan of two 747s, and high enough to reach chest level of the Statue of Liberty. It or predecessor bridges have been here for probably a century.

Of course, there is an expensive fudge and gift shop – but the goods seemed to be of high quality, prices annoyingly not marked. A small musical group entertained.

Crossing the gorge you find yourself in a densely canopied forest of large trees, many several hundred years old. The feeling is not unlike walking in California’s redwoods on a drizzly day - the same sounds, the same darkness, and same duff. (In fact, the Asian tourists keep asking for someone to point out the Sequoias.)

The operators provide added value by crisscrossing the area with a network of paths that let you view the forest and the gorge from all angles. Sometimes you walk on well-maintained trails, at other times the pathway consists of solid wooden walkways. The Cliffhanger Walk is wooden, and maybe six feet above the forest floor, following the edge of the gorge, dipping down in places for viewpoints. The Treetops Adventure trail is anchored high up in the forest canopy, like the eco-tour photos you typically see from Belize or Costa Rica. The forest itself is beautiful; the trails architecturally well done and attractively integrated.

Our visit took an hour and twenty minutes, including maybe 20 minutes in the gift shop area.

Getting around in Dogpatch and Vancouver

2008-08-15T11:10:00.001-07:00

Vancouver is fast-growing and traffic is horrible – I don’t know how they will get their act together in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics, but maybe there is naturally less traffic in the winter.

We stayed in Surrey on the outskirts of Vancouver is a poorly maintained RV park named Dogwood. The BigBus company operates red buses in Vancouver on a hop-on/hop-off basis. Because we are a large group they picked us up at Dogwood and sped us to town in what seemed like an old school bus after the jaws-of-life removed the roof from the back half. We had something like 62 people and they brought a bus with 58 seats – not a good start. Speeding down the freeway, saliva and hair flying, we landed in Vancouver and began a city tour in the same bus. The commentary was all recorded but the speakers didn’t work in the back of the bus. The driver cranked up the volume of the front speakers to try and help, driving the front passengers crazy. The tour left all with a headache and bad impression. Marcia and I spent a few days in Vancouver in January two years ago and came away very impressed by the city, but the BigBus routed our group through areas no tourist would ever go. Many fellow caravaners chose not to spend any more time in Vancouver.

The hop-on/hop-off process was available to us for later touring but didn’t work particularly well, with long waits at many stops. A rival company using trolleys came by more frequently and appeared to provide live commentary.

Not to be missed are the free city trolleys that provide transportation and commentary around Stanley Park.

Vancouver sights

2008-08-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

The Public Market on Granville Island, and the art museum downtown. Oh, and a VW bug.

I'm getting married in Vancouver...

2008-08-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

This was a Friday morning and we must have seen at least 10 wedding parties as we went about the city, mostly involving Asians. Somebody speculated that getting married on 08 08 08 at 08:08 might bode well for the future.

Getting around in Vancouver

2008-08-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

We stayed in Surrey on the outskirts of Vancouver is a poorly maintained RV park named Dogwood. The BigBus company operates red buses in Vancouver on a hop-on/hop-off basis. Because we are a large group they picked us up at Dogwood and sped us to town in what seemed like an old school bus after the jaws-of-life removed the roof from the back half. We had something like 62 people and they brought a bus with 58 seats – not a good start. Speeding down the freeway, saliva and hair flying, we landed in Vancouver (the above picture) and began a city tour. The commentary was all recorded but the speakers didn’t work in the back of the bus. The driver cranked up the volume of the front speakers to try and help, driving the front passengers crazy. The tour left all with a headache and bad impression. Marcia and I spent a few days in Vancouver in January two years ago and came away very impressed by the city, but the BigBus routed our group through areas no tourist would ever go. Many fellow caravaners chose not to spend any more time in Vancouver.

Not to be missed are the free city trolleys that provide transportation and commentary around Stanley Park.

Andrew the Airstreamer

2008-08-15T10:39:00.001-07:00

This is Andrew, unfortunately last in line for ice cream. That must explain his sad look, because normally he is very cheerful.

Andrew is 13, the youngest by far on the caravan. He is traveling with his grandparents Jerry and Phyllis, from Idaho. They have taken other grandkids on previous trips but I don't think they will be able to keep up. They have 4 children, 8 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren.

Andrew is going out for football. On this trip Gary put him in charge of the animal record - each rig reports to Andrew any interesting animals spotted.

Andrew the Airstreamer

2008-08-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

This is Andrew and his grandmother. Andrew had to wait until the end to get some birthday cake and ice cream, perhaps explaining the sad face. We were celebrating birthdays - including Marcia's.

Andrew is 13, the youngest by far on our trip, traveling with his grandparents Jerry and Phyllis. Gary put him in charge of the animal record - we all record, by rig, the significant animals we've spotted. Andrew is going out for football. Andrew is also very nice.

His parents are a joy and have taken other grandkids on other trips. But I don't think they will be able to do everybody -

Othello Quinette Tunnels - Hope, BC

2008-08-14T12:50:00.001-07:00

Hells Gate Canyon

2008-08-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

A long, long time ago railway pioneers were dynamiting for a tunnel in the Frazier Canyon but caused a landslide at Hells Gate that sped up the water to the point salmon could no longer go up-river to spawn. Debris was partially cleared but the problem remained so a tunnel was built to help the salmon, but it was not enough. The US and Canada jointly studied the problem and eventually built several elevations of passage ways and baffles to slow the river and allow the salmon to rest and climb. You can see some of the concrete work in the photos. But don’t call them fish ladders.

The tram was put in to take tourists to the fudge shop, and to give Gary another tram to include on our caravan.

A Parker's Life - Hope, BC

2008-08-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

The life of a parker can be dangerous and short, alternating between extreme boredom and the need for sudden bursts of unambiguous action. And back again.

British Columbia transition

2008-08-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

The transition from Jasper to British Columbia was like night-and-day. We went from protected forest to areas with extensive clear-cuts and replantings. You could tell the areas that had been replanted with pine, as they were rectangular and largely dead, the likely victim of beetles. The mountains no longer looked healthy, although in fairness we also saw beetle damage in Jasper.

As we turned south and west in British Columbia below Clearwater the area began to look like parts of dry California. There had been fires, and it was hard at times telling fire damage from beetle damage. I think the train approaching the tunnel is known as the Rocky Mountain Mountaineer.

Most of us drove along Hwy 5 and TCH-1, our route paralleling the Thompson River, the Frazier River and Frazier Canyon. As we drove west re-entering mountains the forests improved.

MLT Bears

2008-08-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

Gary had given each rig a small black bear to decorate thematically for a contest. Much more effort went into this than we anticipated, not that it would have altered our entry.

The Dutch Lake owners acted as judges, and the Grand Prize went to Rosemary for the decorated bear on the blanket. The bear on the flowerpot tepee was also a winner. Our entry? The bear with a maple leaf for a fig leaf, carrying the “EH?” flag.

Wells Gray Provincial Park

2008-08-14T12:34:00.000-07:00

We drove to nearby Wells Gray Provincial Park. The very wide fall is called Dawson; the higher is Helmcken. They both were beautiful and powerful. The latter is taller than Niagra by multiples, I understand. The fungus was along one of the trails.

Dutch Lake RV Resort – Clearwater BC

2008-08-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

This family camp overlooks Dutch Lake, and the park took us on a stern wheeler ride. It was a real stern wheeler.

The close-up of the tree captures a bald eagle.

I got up early the next morning and found the lake covered with mist, the only sound that of loons. But then the loons’ normally lyrical call became frantic as an eagle swooped toward them and their youngsters. At the last instant the loons would go underwater and the eagle would circle again. This was repeated probably three times while I fumbled to find them in my camera, then the eagle flew away. I could not tell if the eagle had found its breakfast, and I did not know the original loon count. The remaining looms – two adults and two chicks – continued to swim but more rapidly and farther apart, and were no longer singing. You can marginally see them in one of the misty pictures.

Jasper AB to Clearwater BC

2008-08-14T12:27:00.001-07:00

Happy 27th Anniversary

2008-08-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

She had halibut, he had bison. His was excellent, hers was very good. Presentation is big at the Takarra Lodge, as it is in all of life. But the table covers are paper.

$5 cheesburgers in Jasper

2008-08-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

Jasper is very expensive but someone found that the Whistler Tavern served good cheeseburgers and fries for only $5, and gradually most of us got there, some multiple times. Although a tavern, the men’s room was a bit of a surprise. I hear the women’s room was less remarkable.

Pictured in the Whistler are Henry and Edna, from Baton Rouge. They may not look happy but they are a nice couple, married at age 16. In an embarrassing little campground contest we learned he last gave her flowers when their last son was born – 53 years ago. (A few days later I gave Marcia a bouquet of wildflowers, freshly picked during our parking detail. She said it would make her very happy if I did it, so I spontaneously decided to do it.)

But back to Henry and Edna. They have been Airstreaming since 1976, in the same Airstream. Henry was given a lifetime warranty on his purchase, a policy Airstream later discontinued. Henry has been back to Jackson Center several times for what would have been very expensive repairs. Every time he is challenged and has to pull out his papers and have them confirmed by one of the old guys, then the work is done. So Henry is not about to give up his ’76 for one of those new models.

Downtown Jasper

2008-08-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

Jasper and Banff are filled with campers, most of them rentals. These campers are not towing cars to use for touring so you see these RVs everywhere, crowding roadside viewpoints, in parking lots, doing odd things on the roads. (This pic was very early in the morning.)

The gentleman with the town’s mascot is Bruce. Bruce and Enid married after a week and lived on their boat in Hawaii for 10 years. Bruce has a masters in Geophysics and taught later at CSU, and Enid was a landscape architect. Bruce’s hearing worsened and he had to retire, but he can still understand some if directly facing the speaker. Bruce and Enid are co-leaders of our caravan, along with Gary and his mom Bert.

We believe on our last visit to Jasper maybe thirteen years ago our boys posed against the same mascot. We shall have to review our pictures.

Maligne Canyon - Jasper

2008-08-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

In Banff the magnificent sights are in-your-face, you can’t avoid them if you wished. In Jasper you have to get out of your car and explore.

One morning six of us went in to Jasper for breakfast and then on to hike Maligne Canyon. This well-traveled route is gorgeous and the drop-off makes you glad a safety fence runs innocuously along the more dangerous areas.

The feedwater for this beautiful river and falls come not from the surface, but from many underground creeks.

Our hikers this morning included Californians Shirley and Barry, plus from Illinois we had Art and Doris. Art is a farmer and Doris is a retired teacher. To Art, particularly, it was not easy surrounded by Californians, a state he blames for most of the country’s ills. However by nightfall and dinner at the Murray trailer, I think he had become more accepting, at least of us four.

Snowed in at Jasper

2008-08-14T11:35:00.001-07:00

If there is one thing our trip leader likes, it is trams and gondola rides. This one is in Jasper and our fare included a very good dinner at the top. Everything, including water, has to be hauled up the tram.

Marcia is pointing out that the town of Jasper is in the shape of a J. Note also that it is a beautiful if cloudy day. As we finished dinner a storm moved in and soon it was snowing. We were placed on a wind-hold for about 45 minutes, and then we got the hell out.

Whistlers Campground - Jasper

2008-08-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

This is about 4 km from Jasper.

Elk moved in one evening and grazed through the next morning, totally oblivious to the campers, seemingly not too bothered by the rather bothered dogs.

Nice parking by this trailer owner.

Peyto Lake

2008-08-07T13:53:00.001-07:00

We hiked to Peyto Lake and this beautiful overlook. One picture shows the (dirty) glacier feeding the lake, the large beach of glacial flour, and the streamers of flour entering the lake. The bulk of the lake is in the other photo.

Just another black bear

2008-08-07T13:48:00.000-07:00

... and still no grizzly.

Icefields Parkway and Athabasca Glacier

2008-08-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

Marcia is posing at the icefall of the Athabasca Glacier, about 7000 ft elevation.

The Athabasca is an outlet glacier spilling over from the Columbia Icefields. The Columbia Icefields fill the area between the peaks and are massive; as the ice builds some of it spills over through passes, feeding most of the glaciers in this area.

Athabasca has retreated 1500 meters since the late 19^th century, the retreat accelerating greatly during the 20^th century. It was chilly but well above freezing where Marcia is pictured, but extremely cold and windy where we walked on the glacier. We were given 20 minutes but 10 were enough because of the cold. The cones mark areas of weak ice and safe paths, and if you don’t pay attention you may become wet as well as cold.

We were on the toe of the glacier. You may faintly see our ice-cat path in Marcia’s picture, entering from the left side and climbing slightly toward the right.

The picture of our trailer at the glacier was taken the next day, as we left for Jasper.

Kootenay Plains Cavalcade Group Camp

2008-08-07T13:23:00.000-07:00

This was our only totally dry camp of the trip, two nights with no electricity, water, or dump beyond what our rigs could do. The location was a group favorite – quiet, very remote, massive views, great hiking, and an excellent cook-group-provided taco salad. (OK, so Marcia and I were team members.)

Two interesting dynamics came to a head here. A couple of caravaners got in a heated discussion with our leader over how things were being run. The leader, to his credit, was receptive and things improved on the remainder of the trip. The other incident involved an independent cuss with a walking stick and we suspected some health problems. He broke off from a hiking group and chose his own route. Search groups spontaneously formed when he didn’t return in a reasonable time. He eventually returned on his own upset that people were looking for him, but it took quite a while to get the searchers back into camp. One searcher publicly and rightfully bawled the guy out for hiking alone.

As a sidelight, we knew parts of our campground were verboten as having special meaning to the local Indians. Our errant hiker, and separately some of the searchers, stumbled into an area behind a ridge that was obviously used for ceremonies. At first the site appeared empty, but a searcher did encounter some Indians that offered a beer and help, and warned of a bear in the area. The next morning the bear was seen in our camp.

The gentlemen lounging in the camp chairs are Henry and Carlos, our parkers of the day, not working too hard. More about Henry in a later posting. Carlos (as I read him) is a successful serial entrepreneur from Texas, and he and Rosemary are nice people. Carlos is well-read on Burning Man and would really like to go, Rosemary more hesitant.

At this camp he and Rosemary drove back to Banff, parked their trailer, and drove to Calgary to catch a plane to a Dallas wedding. They rejoined us a few days later in Hope, British Columbia.

Another nice rack...

2008-08-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

This amazing elk was just outside our campsite when we arose one morning at Lake Louise. Just as mysteriously he suddenly disappeared.

Joy to the World...

2008-08-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

Gary was holding a SRO drivers meeting. Drivers meetings were usually held the night before a move to a new campground and covered things such as routes, departure and arrival times, parker/deparker assignments, scenic look-outs, and possible breakfast stops. Each rig has a driver’s binder.

Don’t fence me in (or out?)

2008-08-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

The authorities have encircled populated areas (such as the Lake Louise village) with electrified fencing to separate bears from people. You open a fence to take a hike, like going into another world.

Some areas are restricted to hiking groups having 4-6 "tightly packed" members, as bears are less likely to bother a closely packed large group. Other areas, such as the one in the photo, are closed down if there is a perceived threat. In this case a bear was reported following hikers, and about two weeks ago a bear (possibly the same one) attacked a jogger. This is why we suddenly found ourselves with nothing to do, and ended up driving some distance and hiking to Silverton Falls instead.

Silverton Falls – about 1 km one way

2008-08-03T16:11:00.000-07:00

The large nest is in the metalwork of an access bridge to TCH-1. We assume an osprey, but could be an eagle!

This was a fairly easy short hike but worth it, and we were looking for something to do. Our co-hikders are Barry and Shirley from Lincoln CA.

We Brake for Animals

2008-08-03T16:07:00.000-07:00

The railway parallels TCH-1 for much of the time. Bears favor this area because of grain falling from train cars. But traffic backs up and tourists sometimes take unreasonable risks. We are not immune.

Picnic at Takakkaw Falls

2008-08-03T16:03:00.001-07:00

The group had a hotdog picnic at Takakkaw Falls, a short distance into British Columbia. The picnic was intended for the next day but was moved up because of weather concerns. It worked, sort of. In the falls picture the sky is blue; the picnic concluded with torrential rains. Things change fast around here.

The road to the falls has a couple very tight switchbacks, and there are no warnings at the beginning. Tour buses somehow make these turns, but not always the unknowing RV driver.

So-called glacial flour – finely ground bits of rock – is probably the reason this river looks so white.

Spiral Railway

2008-08-03T15:51:00.001-07:00

The railway opened here with some sections on a 4-5% grade, but lives were lost and through-put was low. In 1927 the grade was lessened by tunneling into the mountains and spiraling around, coming out at a different level. This is complicated to visualize on site, and not just for these foreign language tourists arguing over the model.

The top photo shows a single long train. It is passing from left to right behind the trees in the foreground (cars not visible to the camera), circling to the left and entering the higher tunnel; at the same time cars are visible from the same train emerging from the mountain at a lower tunnel and moving toward the lower left corner of the photo.

There is a second spiral tunnel on the other side of the highway.

Gondola Ride near Lake Louise

2008-08-03T15:48:00.001-07:00

As part of our kitty fee we had a nice buffet breakfast and then took a gondola ride high above the valley. The gondola behind us saw a bear below, but we missed out. The panorama is from the top, with Lake Louise barely visible. (Panoramas don't seem to work very well in Blogger.)

Lake Louise

2008-08-03T15:40:00.001-07:00

Lake Louise is suffering the same way as Moraine Lake. The access road, like Moraine’s, was clogged with cars and RVs but we lucked into a space in the lot. The chateau is now also a Fairmont and greatly fixed up from our last visit, easily doubled in size with the addition of new buildings (not shown). We didn’t have time or energy to go inside, or hike the trail to the tea house; others said the inside was not up to the Banff Springs level. Canoes rent for $50/hr, making Moraine Lake's $40/hr a freaking bargain.

Building a larger road is not the answer. Eventually they will have to go to a shuttle mode, as in Yosemite. That will help the traffic, but too many people will remain a problem. (Barry in our groups suggests rubber bullets.)

Moraine Lake near Lake Louise

2008-08-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

Too beautiful, too many people. The parking lot was full. Cars and RVs were parked for a mile along the narrow road, complicating passage. We made one pass without luck and stopped for a picnic lunch at a spectacular viewpoint. After lunch we made another pass and lucked into a parking space.

Canoes rent for $40/hour. Instead we hiked to the end of the lake and back. Sometimes there would be few others on the trail then suddenly 30-40 people, and you would know a tour bus had arrived.

TCH-1 to Lake Louise

2008-08-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

First, let me clarify TCH-1. To a Californian it means one thing but to a Canadian it refers to the Trans Canada Highway #1.

TCH-1 is transitioning to divided (twinned, they say here) through the park. There is big concern about the highway and the railway blocking normal paths of animal movement, and accidents if animals (and people) are not separated. Hence, overpasses exclusively for animals. I think this cost a bit more than the Davis toad tunnels, and the officials are building several of these.

Marcia is getting very good at snapping pictures through the window of a moving car, and the camera stability feature is a big help. Traffic was slowing and suddenly she spotted our first moose of the trip, in a beautiful sunlit portion of the Bow River. Excited, she didn't think to take a picture then quickly got one off with me hollering at her. Cropped, this is what she got before I had to speed up.

In and around Tunnel Mountain Campground

2008-08-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

Canada Place and Cascades of Time Gardens

2008-08-03T15:19:00.000-07:00

The town of Banff, of course, is far more crowded than when we were first last here 13 years ago, when I swear we actually saw elk downtown. It remains a very up-market tourist town – restaurants, lodging, gift shops, etc.; I paid $4 for a single scoop of ice cream (fortunately very good). A lot of money has been spent beautifying the downtown. Banff and especially nearby Canmore are overrun with ok-to-nice-looking condo developments.

Oh Canada, EH!

2008-08-03T15:10:00.001-07:00

This dinner theater cliche-filled production has played for years in Canmore (next door to Banff) and Niagra Falls, and I doubt that it gets any better.

The food was surprisingly good,though, and the performer/wait-people were spirited.

(Picture courtesy Enid, a fellow caravaner.)

Banff Springs Hotel

2008-08-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

The classic and classy Banff Springs Hotel is now the Fairmont Banff Springs, upgraded tremendously and with sensitivity since our last visit. And it wasn’t too shabby back then. Rooms start over $400 in season. Our “kitty fee” included an excellent buffet and an historical tour. A short hike below the hotel takes you to Bow River Falls.

The hotel was built by the railway to lure tourists to the area. The present version dates from about 1927, I believe, when there was still very little construction in the area. It is impressive now, but had to have been awe inspiring back then with only nature around.

Elk

2008-08-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

We made several outings looking for interesting animals, including two trips along the Banff Hotel golf course – which had many Elk on our visit years ago with our sons. This time we saw only a coyote. We got back to the campground about 9:30 PM and spotted this guy in the last row of campers. Nice rack.

This is about as dark as it gets until 10 PM or latter.

Oh-oh, bear!

2008-08-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

Big Horned Sheep to Ordinary Deer

2008-08-03T14:56:00.000-07:00

We hiked to Minnewanka Lake. Something just made you feel there were bear about, but all we saw were big horn sheep on the road, and a spooked deer on a bridge. Oh and that balding old guy on the bridge. No wonder the deer was spooked.

The woman in the white flowerbed is Nancy – a theology graduate that now volunteers as a producer and graphics editor for public TV. She was never without a video camera.

Banff - Hoodoos

2008-08-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

Now these are the kind of views that make Banff justifiably famous. The vertical formations to the left are called Hoodoos and are all that remain of the cliffs from much earlier erosion. In the distance are the Bow and Spray rivers. The Bow ultimately flows through Calgary.

That chick in the blue jacket keeps getting in my pictures.

Road to Banff

2008-08-03T14:35:00.000-07:00

Glacier to Banff means another border crossing, but this official was in her twenties, friendly, good looking, asked only a few basic questions, and we were on our way. At Banff these animals presented the biggest hurdle, but you can't say we weren't warned of their possible presence. They eventually cleared a space for us to pass.

Glacier - Hike to Grinnel Lake

2008-08-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

A very nice 7-mile RT hike from the Swiftcurrent picnic area, around Josephine Lake to Grinnell Lake, and back. Several encounters with tourists that did it the easy way: by boat, from the Many Glaciers Hotel. The flower is called Beargrass and is unique to Glacier and southern Alberta.

Glacier – Going-to-the-Sun views

2008-08-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

In the 1800s there were over 200 glaciers in Glacier National Park. At the last count it was down to twenty-some.

Glacier - Going-to-the-Sun

2008-08-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

Glacier’s Going-to-the-Sun road is treacherous in good times. Right now parts are down to one lane and the gawking crowds are huge. Most of us chose to view this route from beautiful rebuilt 1937 touring busses casually called “jammers.” This way I can look at the scenery and not watch the road, and Marcia can look at the scenery without watching me not watching the road. (There are called “jammers” because originally they had manual transmissions and the road requires much shifting.)

The cost (after group discount) was $56 per person (with tip). There is no loop road within the park so the Jammers take you to one end and then back, on the same road. About 6 hours. They used to be included in the caravan kitty fee but were made an option when a prior caravaners had a panic attack on a Jammer. Expensive but worth it.

The inside photo is of the McDonald Lodge lobby near the western terminus of the road. Sorry to say the lodge food was generally “corporate” in the Canadian and American parks.

Montana - Glacier National Park - Coldplay

2008-08-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

This (minus those people) is supposedly the most photographed place in Glacier. You may recognize the background from the Paramount Pictures logo.

The other picture shows Marcia bravely posing as we enter a bear warning area for a short, very short, hike. She seems to be listening carefully for anything approaching her from behind.

Glacier National Park – St Mary’s entrance - Johnson RV Camp

2008-08-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

We crossed from Alberta back to Montana to explore Glacier, with nothing notable at the border. The gentleman in the black socks is Gary, our caravan leader, and a retired science teacher.

The other gentlemen are taking their turns as “parkers” – assisting incoming MLT caravaners locate their sites and get parked. This sometimes takes red flags, shouting, hand gestures of all types, and CB-work but without parkers (and sometimes with) there can be chaos as often a half-dozen rigs will arrive at the same time. We have various size trailers and several large motorhomes and sites are not usually interchangeable.

This park is run by a couple in their 90s. I never saw her but he buzzes around in a little golf cart. At the bottom of the hill is a popular café that specializes in great pies (our dinner one night).

An Osprey nest

2008-08-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

Baby ducked down, mama squawked, and papa started circling in wide loops also squawking. All I wanted was a picture.

Ya-hooo! 16.0 MPG

2008-08-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

Our MPG has been creeping up, and finally hit a record – 16.0 – pretty important with diesel around $5-5.50-/gallon. Although the American and Canadian dollar are now essentially at parity, prices for ordinary goods and services seem 10-20% higher here.

Post-trip note: By the time we reached home in Roseville we were at 16.4 MPG. This fell quickly to 16.2 MPG as we traveled to Burning Man.

Cameron Lake at Waterton

2008-08-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

The name was the main attraction here, however we did get a nice hike out of it.

Waterton Lakes National Park

2008-08-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

Alberta’s Waterton Lakes National Park and Montana’s Glacier National Park span the border and are administered with that sensitivity.

Several of us hiked up Waterton’s Bears Hump (as punctuated by the park), a 738 ft elevation gain trail 1.8 miles long and leading to spectacular panoramic views. That is Larry with the big camera, and Barry and Shirley in the group shot. Barry is a retired pharmacist and Shirley was a school teacher; they both live in Lincoln and travel a lot in their Airstream, with their cat Oilcan. Larry, as I may have already mentioned, is a retired teacher and California park ranger.

On the way back down we spotted a mother black bear and cub.

The hotel is the Prince of Wales. The prince never visited this hotel, but he did own a ranch next door to the Bar U in Alberta. According to locals, his Montana born wife preferred Paris and New York to Alberta, so he was rarely even at his ranch.

The hotel looks best from a distance. Up close modern carpentry substitutes for traditional craftsmanship. The knob to the left of the hotel in the profile photo is Bears Hump.

My Buffalo Burger was fantastic; after three tries, finally got one right. We had a gooseberry-topped dessert.

All Hail!

2008-08-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

We made a laundry stop in Fort Macleod and all hail broke loose.

I stepped into the hail and it hurt enough that I quickly came inside. My truck now has a half-dozen shallow hail dimples. Fortunately the storm never reached our trailer, in camp a few miles away. Hail and Airstreams don’t mix well.

Coincidentally, although we are not certain, we think the young ladies shown in the hail are the wife and daughter of White Feathers, the First Nations drummer at the buffalo jump. He owns the laundry. (Canadians refer to their Indian population as First Nations.)

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump - Alberta

2008-08-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

What a great name. Like calling the Calgary rodeo a Stampede. Gets the juices going, pulls the people in.

This is on a reservation and we spent a lot of time in the hot sun being culturally oriented.

Eventually we worked our way up the many floors of an exhibit built in to the cliff-side. Our First Nations guide explained what this site is all about. Or maybe a site 800 yards away – there seems to be some difference of opinion, but agreement that the present site (where surely some buffalo met their end) has better modern day road access.

As at a number of sites in North America, the native peoples sometimes hunted buffalo (well, bison) in dramatic ways. One of the most efficient was to drive the beasts off a steep cliff. Much like the cliff shown behind our guide. Archeologists have found evidence at this cliff base that thousands of buffalo died here (or perhaps 800 yards away), beginning about 5000 years ago. (Erosion has since greatly reduced the cliff height.)

According to legend, a young buck hid below the cliff during a buffalo run. A severely injured but alive buffalo kicked-out, striking the boy in the head – hence the name Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.

The expansive view from the jump includes tepees in the foreground and, too distant to show on the screen, large wind turbines along the horizon.

The Great Canadian Barn Dance – southern Alberta

2008-08-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

This, to date, has been everybody’s favorite campground, even without full hook-ups.

The setting helps: there is no town of consequence for miles around, the skies are beautiful, the Montana Rockies loom up from practically no foothills, and the mosquitoes innocuous.

This campground is run by the Kunkel (?) family. Both nights they served up a buffet of roast beef, chicken, coleslaw, baked potato, beans, rolls, and desert. After dinner three generations of the family sang and played classic country western music. Two children (18 and 10), their mom and dad, granddad from each side of the family, and the brother of one of the granddads. All are skilled musicians. Well worth whatever we paid.

The Bar U Ranch – now a national park

2008-08-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, those are baseball caps on those fence posts – about two miles worth. Elsewhere, and for shorter distances, we saw fence posts topped with stones, and fence posts topped with bird houses.

The Bar U ranch is a preserved cattle and horse breeding operation, originally 157,000 acres. There couldn’t have been eight of us visiting this day, and probably twelve or more employees. We got very good attention.

The casting is a copy of a famous Charles Russell painting. Bar U owner George Lane was a larger-than-life character. He had been in Calgary tending his pregnant wife, and on the return trip by horseback came upon a wolf pack attacking his cattle. His response became the basis of the painting and casting.

Calgary’s Heritage Park Historical Village

2008-08-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

This is a good-sized recreation of an early Alberta community sectioned off to represent different time periods up to about 1914. Mixture of original buildings relocated to the sight and accurate reconstructions. We received a special tour, which led to the old-time clothing and the picture of Marcia, under the watchful eye of a moose, doing her best to make butter. A very worthwhile visit.

Alberta - Calgary

2008-08-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

All I have to show for Calgary is a photo of the Stampede's chuck wagon races (borrowed from Enid, also a MLT caravaner) and the picture of our miserable campground. All my other Calgary photos were accidentally erased.

This is Stampede week. It is not easy to find accommodations in one park for 32 rigs. Aside from the general public, we are also competing for space with the WBCCI Yellowhead caravan and a WBCCI Region 10 Calgary rally.

Over the campground fence was a very large puddle which grew greatly one night during the loudest rain and hail storm we have yet experienced in the Airstream. The campground is a few miles outside the Calgary city limits and the water was awful, probably well-based and relying partly on what you see here. All camp sites had sewer hookups, but several times a day a large tanker truck crossed to the other side of the fence and pumped out our sewage from several large gravity-fed tanks.

The Calgary Stampede runs 10 days and attracts the top echelon of rodeo riders. It also features chuck-wagon races, a nightly fireworks spectacle, a Superbowl-half-time-style extravaganza involving a cast of 100s of clean-cut Canadians (are there any others?). and other areas reminiscent of county fairs (animals, carney, rides, exhibits, etc.).

We froze in the stands but had a good time; it did run a bit long. Most rodeo events were won by Americans. The Canadians took the Chuck Wagon races. It had rained earlier so the mud livened things up.

Traffic in-and-out of Calgary is terrible on all days of the week, at least during Stampede. We drove downtown and walked Stephen Avenue, a collection of shops and restaurants in the high-rise district, but many in older buildings, with sidewalk seating. Had a nice lunch with Larry and Kathy at an 1888 (or so claimed) Irish pub. The Glenbow Museum, in the same area, is a gem (we and AAA agree).

The Hudson Bay Company turns out to be US owned these days and looks inside like a Broadway or Macys, with the same sort of goods – sorry, no beaver pelts.

The Calgary Tower rises 626 feet above the street and offers a tremendous observation point on what was a beautifully day (no pictures, all accidently deleted). Two things of note: As we waited for an up elevator, the doors opened and a horse came out. Apparently used in some publicity shots at the top, but it must have been an interesting sight. Also at the top (aside from a lady running a vacuum cleaner) was a small area with a glass floor, allowing you to look between your feet at the pedestrians far, far below. Not easy to do.

The highlight of our Calgary visit was seeing Cousin Tim. He seems to be getting along great and has recently formed a corporation with the intent of opening a school to train others in hypnotherapy techniques. Tim would not let us buy him dinner, and instead took us to Red River, an excellent nearby restaurant that almost turned us away because of the Stampede crowd. Later the three of us posed for a “TentParty Calgary 2008” photo, but it was among the accidentally deleted.

Alberta - Lethbridge

2008-08-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

This is the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden in Lethbridge, on the road to Calgary. Our guide said it was built in the 1960s as a “thank-you” (her words) to the Japanese that graciously gave up their property in BC and moved to Alberta during World War II to work in the beet fields.

Lethbridge is also known for its high railway bridge spanning a nearby canyon, which the town hoped would put it on the map. It is impressive but I accidentally deleted my pictures. We also toured a reconstructed Fort Whoop-Up but I never learned how it got its name. The fort was built by Americans in 1869 as a trading post – guns and illegal alcohol to the Indians, furs to the traders. This indiscretion (they also were rumored to be flying the US flag) led to the introduction of the North West Mounted Police to the area, and that is how the west was won.

Remington Carriage Museum – Cardston AB

2008-08-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

Would not have thought so many horseless carriages could be so interesting and well presented.

This is a small but pleasant town and the museum is large, formed from the private collection of a local contractor. He insisted the exhibit be in Cardston.

Alberta - Magrath - first camp

2008-08-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

It isn’t easy cramming 32 rigs into an RV park. Last year’s South-East-Coast caravan had maybe 22 rigs. We are on the waiting list for a Newfoundland caravan in 2009 that typically takes 34 rigs or more. Yes, it can be hard getting to know people.

Here we are welcomed by a home-cooked meal. Family and FOF, probably three generations, provided everything, including the entertainment.

Bill, the gentleman washing the red truck with waterless agents, cleans his truck and/or trailer daily, often more than once daily. We all gawk in amazement, preferring the natural patina and less effort of travel. Barry, on the left, fell under Bill’s spell and bought some of his cleaning agents, but his enthusiasm soon flagged

The yellow flowers are fields of Canola, sometimes called Rape Seed. Southern Alberta has a lot of open land, much of it covered with Canola. But the real wealth comes from oil – Alberta is Canada’s richest province.

The gentleman with Marcia is Larry, from NorCal, a former teacher and park ranger; the lady with Marcia is Kathy, married to Larry, and also a retired teacher.

Entering Canada

2008-08-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

The rally is now over, and we are on our way to join our fellow Maple Leaf Trail (MLT) caravaners in Magrath, Alberta.. The Canadian border officials were very serious, no sign of humor. They told Marcia to take off her dark glasses.

Bozeman - Paradise Falls

2008-08-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

Paradise Falls – a half-mile hike a short distance from Bozeman.

Bozeman - Museum of the Rockies

2008-08-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

This is a great museum, emphasizing dinosauers found in Montana.

The photo, however, is of a pioneer home on the grounds. The docent, in an example of small-world, graduated from Muir in Pasadena and is married to someone from Pasadena High School that may have been in my brother's class.

Livingston Montana - Hotel Murray

2008-08-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

Eat at Ted's

2008-08-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

The bison shown probably aren’t the source, but we did eat at Ted’s in Bozeman. This nice looking and popular restaurant opened within the month and is part of a chain started by Ted Turner as an outlet for his bison meat. There were six of us, and they screwed up the orders for Mike and Me so I ended up with a disappointing chopped beef dinner, rather than the “bison pot roast” I’d ordered. They were quite nice, however, and “comped” our two meals and gave us a strawberry shortcake dessert. The other four seemed reasonably happy and enjoyed Mike’s and my struggles for justice.

The guy is Ed, a retired Forrest Service fire fighter, currently a rancher in Sonora. He and Susan were on last year's South East Coast caravan with us.

Headwaters of the Missouri

2008-08-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

This, according to Lewis and Clark, is the three-rivers confluence that begins the Missouri. I think that is the Missouri going off to the right, Fed by the Jefferson and the ? coming from the left; about a quarter mile downstream the ? joins the party. (As you can see, I have a poor memory for names. I'm in a nice Jasper bakery with free WiFi - but no time to look up little matters like basic facts. Or perhaps run spellcheck, if you spot dumb mistakes.)

WBCCI International Rally - Bozeman

2008-08-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

Close to 900 rigs gathered on the campus of Montana State University for the WBCCI 51^st annual rally. Probably 11 were from our NorCal unit. What do we do? Go to seminars on caravanning, trailer maintenance, unit organization, computer programs for documenting your travels, eat, drink, sight-see, share war stories with strangers from other states and Canada; participate in contests for best photos, best quilt, best anything; view vendor exhibits; watch the opening and closing ceremonies with the parade of unit flags; watch really hokey entertainment; prepare our rigs for national caravans that start out from Bozeman.

We all loved Bozeman - very friendly people, nice downtown, beautiful mountains, plenty of hikes. Reminds me a lot of Boulder CO. This really is Big Sky Country.

Missoula to Bozeman - arriving June 25, 2008

2008-07-14T06:51:00.001-07:00

In Missoula we visited a Smoke Jumping center, here jumpers repack their parachutes. Our 18 year old guide, on the left, is the daughter and niece of jumpers; she is a college freshman but expects to become a firefighter, undecided on jumping.

The colorful gas station is in Deer Lodge, not far from Missoula. There is some nice open country around here, with railroad tracks running parallel. It was strange to look over and see a couple of airplane fuselages go by, passenger windows and all.

The next three pictures are at Louis and Clark Caverns. L&C passed these caverns but are not believed to have seen them. Marcia is shown a couple hundred feet below ground, at a mile-high marker. Everything around here seems to be named after L&C.

Our WBCCI NorCal unit caravan is now over. In the top picture we are at our rally site on the campus of Montana State University in Bozeman, with 880 other rigs. Susan, Ed and Marcia are about to head out and explore. Weather is great - so far we've won our bet of paying for 3 amp electricity rather than 30 amp. It means mainly we can't run air conditioning, though we do miss the toaster and microwave.

Kamiah and the climb to Lolo Pass

2008-07-14T06:21:00.000-07:00

The caravaners in the bottom picture are listening to an automated ranger describe the Indian legend based on the mound in the background. It is believed to represent the "Heart of the Monster" and the origin of the Nez Perce tribe. The other pictures are on the route to Lolo Pass and the Continental Divide.

Hwy 12 in Washington and Idaho

2008-07-14T06:08:00.000-07:00

These were all taken along Hwy 12 between Walla Walla Washington and Kamiah Idaho - an incredibly beautiful rural drive. Marcia entered the bottom one in a rally photo contest but unfortunately did not win. It was shot through the window of the moving truck and was not edited in any way.

Multnomah Falls - Columbia River

2008-07-13T18:55:00.000-07:00

Sternwheeler Columbia River cruise - Cascade Locks, OR

2008-07-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

1. Larry, Martha and others onboard the sternwheeler tour boat.
2. View of Native American fishing platforms on the Columbia. This form of fishing is not permitted of others.
3-4. We spot one of our caravaners crossing the Bridge of the Gods, between WA and OR. (Ed, Susan, Marcia, Barbara, Jane, Mike.)

Fort Stevens, OR

2008-07-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

1. Cam recalls his Army days - Ft Stevens, near Astoria.
2. Larry and Shirley have a cat named Oilcan, and it has traveled 40,000 Airstream miles over the last two years.
3-4. Our campsites at Fort Stevens State Park, near Astoria.

Florence and Astoria, Oregon

2008-07-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

1. Somewhere on the Oregon coast, probably south of Tillamook.
2. Touring the sand dunes by dune buggy (holds 27 people), near Florence, OR.
3. Outside the excellent Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, OR.
4. Astoria Column, with panels showcasing the history of Oregon.
5. Larry and Marcia, at the base of the tower. On the drive to the tower we saw evidence of last year's storms with 135 MPH winds - downed trees. Most structural damage seems to have been repaired.
6-8. Other images from Astoria area.
9-11. Wreck of the Peter Iredale, near Florence. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of wrecks along this part of the Oregon coast, near the mouth of the Columbia River - this one is steel and the ruins survive, others became buried in the sand or were scrapped for salvage.

Lassen Pines - McArthur Rally - June 2008

2008-07-13T16:05:00.000-07:00

1. We tried for a photo of our Airstream on this one-lane covered bridge in southern Oregon. Unfortunately on the other side I became trapped on a long dead-end road. I got back an hour later, after a partial U-turn, and reconnecting the truck at a better angle.

2. For 'bro John, who gave me a copy of Hard Road West by Keith Meldahl, an entertaining geologist's take on the western emigration during the 1840s and 1850s.

3. Marcia, Susan and Ed on the Bear Creek bike trail, near Medford.

4. Along Bear Creek.

5. In McCloud, trip leaders Bob and Elaine held a meeting with our group caravaning to Bozeman. We have 11 rigs caravaning; number 12 had to drop out because an accident disabled their tow vehicle.

6. Mt Shasta, hazy because of the many fires burning in California.

7. Burney Falls.

8. A co-generation plant tour. Sawdust and woodchips are burned to make electricity. Very marginal operation as logging scrap these days has competing users, and the plant is labor intensive compared to, say, natural gas.