Cruise blues and other news~~~

We took a 7 day Alaska cruise out of Seattle aboard the Norwegian  cruise line's ship Jewel.  Our accommodations were perfect;  a mini-suite with a full balcony.  Daughter Steph took care of all the booking and what a good job she did.  We had tons of space and beautiful views.

Photo from our balcony ~ Ship leaving Seattle

The first two days were spent at sea and by the end of the second day as we pull into Ketchikan Howard had full blown gout in his right foot, making walking long distances very painful.  There is a lot of walking on a gigantic cruise ship not to mention the shore excursions we planned to do, but alas, it was not meant to be.  By the time we got to our first destination, Ketchikan, we were resolved to the fact we wouldn't be doing much more that sitting on our balcony and watching the incredible scenery drift by.  Plus we had mostly nasty weather, rain and fog for 6 of our 7 days.  The sun came out in Victoria, BC on our last day. Nevertheless, we enjoyed ourselves immensely, eating delicious cruise ship cuisine, and enjoying a trip of a lifetime.  Here's the ship's itinerary:

1. Ketchikan, our first stop, has a population of just over 8,000 and is the fifth most populous city in the state of Alaska. Local economy is based on tourism and fishing, hence the title of salmon capital of the world.
2. Our next stop is Juneau, Alaska's 3rd largest city by population.  Anchorage is first with just over 300,00.  The Aurora Borealis or Northern lights can be seen on clear nights from August through April, usually over Mt. Juneau.  There are lots of shore excursions including whale watching and trips to the Mendenhall Glacier.
3. Skagway is home to the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park and to both the White Pass Scenic Railway and Chilkoot Trails, two famous paths in and out of town.  
4. After another day at sea we arrived in Victoria, BC.  We've been to Victoria many times and visited Bouchart Gardens, the Empress Hotel, and the beautiful Parliament Building. The downtown and marina areas make for a good walking tour..
5. Next stop Seattle.

Along the way we saw ice bergs and glaciers, quaint towns and seaports. There was a lot of fog and rain but our balcony was covered and there were large sliding glass doors to enjoy the views. Sure we missed out on some good shore excursions, but we made the most out of our days, depending on Howard's comfort level. 

   

Marina in Ketchikan

Cool, foggy days

Glaciers

Waterfalls

We returned to the Elk's lodge in Port Townsend for a few more days, then decided to take the ferry and spend some time in Anacortes.  More on that later.  We'll be returning to Port Townsend to our "happy place" at the marina where we have a waterfront view, August 18-30.

A month to roam....

And so it was that with a blank calendar for the next month we decided to take off for a road trip.  Our destination was St. George, Utah, more specifically Snow Canyon State Park, about 720 miles from Petaluma, an easy 2-3 day drive.  We discovered Snow Canyon SP a couple of years ago when Howard was running in the Senior Olympics held every October in St. George.   And as is always the case the journey proved to be as beautiful and interesting as the destination....Well almost!

Our first stop was a small RV park in Eureka, Nevada on Highway 50, the Loneliest road in America!  Lonely indeed, and barren for the most part, but it is a slice of Americana, sparsely populated with little towns, many boarded up, with light traffic.  This route also leads the way to Great Basin National Park, located in Eastern Nevada very near the border with Utah.  We had not visited Great Basin since our early days of RVing in our Dolphin MH, circa 1996!

Great Basin National Park:  A vast region of sage brush-covered valleys and narrow mountain ranges stretching from California's Sierra Nevada to Utah's Wasatch.  A must see, the Lehman Caves was our first experience in cave exploring with a ranger leading the way and explaining what we were seeing.  Though quite small it is beautifully decorated and well worth the tour.  Another plus is the drive to the base of Wheeler Peak which stretches to an altitude of over 13,000 feet.  There are many trails, some leading to Bristlecone Pine forests.  We were limited due to a much needed rain storm passing through.

Highway 50, The Loneliest Road in America

Eureka!!

The Great Basin from along the road to the base of Wheeler Peak

Cathedral Gorge State Park:  We backtracked a bit on Highway 50 to pickup Highway 93, a scenic byway taking us south in the general direction of St. George, UT.  Just as our day of driving was winding down, according to "The rule of 3s - 300 miles per day, 3 o'clock in the afternoon"....we see a welcome sign near Panaca, NV announcing Cathedral Gorge State Park.  Having never taken this route before and not being familiar with Cathedral Gorge, we rightfully decided to stop for a day or two of exploring, and what a bonanza of exploring we found.

As the park brochure so graphically put it, if you had been here 2.5 million years ago, you would have needed gills.  Volcanoes, earthquakes, water, and erosion created the "hoodoo-like" spires, and buff-colored mud cliffs. Narrow slot canyons are cut deep into the old mud formations.  Adventurous visitors can crawl through tunnels to discover hidden chambers through the network of canyons.  We did no crawling but did enjoy many tight squeezes!  With the temps in the high 80s, the coolness of the slot canyons made for a more pleasant walk, with many photo ops.

Snow Canyon State Park:  We pulled in to Snow Canyon SP not sure if we would be able to get a site.  Being on the reservation system and on the venue of several Senior Games, we lucked out by being amenable to moving around a bit.  They hold 2 sites as first come, first serve and we managed to snag one for 5 days thus giving us a full week.  

The park is spectacular...period!  Located in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve amid lava flows and soaring sandstone cliffs in a fragile desert environment, we marvel at the majestic views and subtle interplay of light and shadow across the canyon walls.  There is a great multi-trail system accessible right across the street from the park offering miles of red rock splendor!  

We spent a day visiting nearby Zion National Park amidst a crowd of like-minded people.  Both sides of the approach road, Highway 9, were jammed with parked cars vying for access to the splendor surrounding us. We did our sightseeing from the car windows!

The temps were still hot throughout the southwest as we were putting together an itinerary for our departure from St. George.  We had our sights on Marble Canyon, maybe a quick ride to the North Rim to say hi to Gaelyn, and on to Safford in eastern AZ and Roper Lake State Park.  But we soon scratched these plans as we didn't want to be dependent on staying inside running the generator and air conditioning.  So we headed to Barstow and turned right for the Pacific coast.

We're now winding down our road trip and heading back to Petaluma where I start the process of cataract surgery for both eyes.  I'm looking forward to the end result as I hear it greatly improves vision!  It's been a great month!

A quick trip to the Joseph, OR area~~

Our very first stop in Eastern Oregon was at Pendleton, not on the itinerary and completely unscheduled. We had noticed our voltage gauge fluctuating while driving; sometimes down to almost zero, then back to the normal 13 volt range.  We looked up and found Cummins Northwest and they were able to get us in Monday morning, the day we had planned to leave Charbonneau.  Howard figured the voltage regulator or alternator may be failing, considering our MH is 14 years old with 157,000 miles.  When hooked up to the computer voltage was steady, no fluctuation even with a load.  All the wiring checked out so the only thing they could think of was that our gauge is faulty.  So we were sent on our way...

Lake Wallowa:

Bloggers are the best and we are continually learning and adding places to our "to go" list. We really focused on the Joseph area after reading Roads Less Traveled great write-up with their always beautiful photography.  We were a little skeptical when we got to La Grande on I-84. There was a lot of smoke and the air quality was poor, but we were too close to pass it by. 

Wallowa Lake State Park seemed to be our best choice as a base camp, located just 6 miles out of Joseph, and framed by jagged 9000 ft. peaks and a clear glacial lake.  The park was quite full but we were able to get 2 nights.  Smoke filled the air and the ranger mentioned a wildfire was close by.  Helicopters were flying back and forth to retrieve buckets of water from the lake.  Our photos are hazy at best.

Fire on the ridge line

Lake Wallowa geology

From the other side of the lake

Trail from our site to the lake

Imnaha:

We had one full day to see as much as possible, only covering a very small portion of all the many suggestions we received and places we had read about.  The decision was made to drive out to Imnaha, 30 miles east of Joseph, then decide if we had time to drive the 24 miles south to the Hat Point Lookout or the rough 27 miles north to Dug Bar, for the views into Hell's Canyon on the Snake River.

By the time we got to Imnaha it was close to noon. After a visit to the country store for a drink and some info we decided against driving out to the overlook.  We have driven to Heaven's Gate out of Riggins, ID, taken a wild jet boat trip into Hell's Canyon from the north end at Clarkston, WA, and lastly driven into the canyon from the south end on Highway 71 out of Cambridge, ID a couple of years ago when we visited friends in Caldwell.

Joseph:

So we headed back to spend the rest of our afternoon exploring the lovely town of Joseph. The smoke had receded leaving puffy clouds against a clear blue sky and we had a great walk-about, followed by a super good dinner at the Outlaw Restaurant:

On almost every street corner sits one of the famous bronze statues created at Valley Bronze at its foundry in Joseph; each paying tribute to a segment of the town's history.  Chief Joseph, the town's namesake, proudly overlooks all!

Please take the time to click on the various web links highlighted for more information on this area, one we plan to get back to for a longer stay.  But now, we have to move on.....

Over the North Cascades Scenic Byway to Winthrop, WA~~

But first a fast-forward:

Just in case you didn't get the memo, we are HERE!  It is beautiful and free for the month of September...after Labor Day, that is.  I'll dazzle you with beautiful pics and facts in the next installment.

Cascades drive:

This would be Highway 20 east of I-5 at Burlington, WA.  Scenic is almost an understatement.  It is magnificent, though a bit twisty and steep in places.  We are looking for a nice location to spend the upcoming Labor Day weekend, without reservations, of course. We had hoped to find a site on Lake Diablo at Colonial Creek CG, but all the lakeside sites were taken.  Otherwise we'd be parked in a dense forest which didn't appeal to us, so we continued on.  Lake Diablo, the crowning jewel of the North Cascades, is a stunning glacial lake of brilliant turquoise.

Once again our Passport America membership came to the rescue in the form of another great find at Pine Near RV Park in Winthrop, WA. Yes they were full over the weekend but with a little shuffling we were able to stay 4 nights, and actually got the half price discount for 3.  The park is pristine, well-maintained, great staff (obviously), and super-well situated to town access.

Winthrop, WA:

Now the town of Winthrop is a destination in itself!  Located at the north end of the 60-mile long Methow Valley, Winthrop is packed with history, a ton of recreational activities like mountain biking, cross-country and alpine skiing, hiking and rock climbing, fishing and rafting....all with a funky western flair.  We scored once again!

Sun Mountain:

After weeks of nasty sciatica and limited exercise it was time to take my body out for some hiking.  Howard, the older of the old farts, routinely runs 5 miles 3+ times a week and isn't bothered with these maladies!

It was a short drive up to the impressive Sun Mountain complex where we parked at the lodge with access to several trails, most of which are inter-active, pet friendly, and connecting.  We checked the maps and chose a combination of trails that would provide a loop, some elevation gain, and not be too lengthy.  First day out, you know... We did a combination of the Sunnyside trail to the Hough Homestead where there are great picnic facilities, restrooms, and some steer roping opportunities.  We returned via the Kraule and Ridge View. (Visual aid is needed here as I can't figure out how to embed a PDF file.  Any help greatly appreciated. I tried converting to JPEG.)   

We had such a great fun pain-free day we returned the following day to hike the Beaver Pond loop:

We toured the Shafer Museum, actually walked over as it is located right across the street from the RV park, then descended the steep stairway for a romp through the busy downtown on this crazy Labor Day Weekend.  We had the absolutely best Yucatecan-style meal at Carlos 1800; cochinita pibil for Lynda and poc-chuc for Howard.  And a fresh-made Margarita and Mojito made from scratch; no sweet and sour mix here.  Of course, we followed this with homemade butterscotch fudge ice cream at Sheri's.  We were walking, you know!