With Rocket in the lead we walked out of the woods onto the paved road, and not 30 yards away was a huge, beautiful grizzly bear standing on the small bridge staring at us! To her left was a car trying to cross the bridge. She carefully weighed her odds, taking Rocket in interestedly, and then ambled off to her right and continued walking along the river’s edge scarfing up dandelions and vegetation along the way! What a week for wildlife viewing. We’ve seen 27 bears in a week - and on one perfect day, traveling down the Alaska Canadian highway, we saw 12! And while we count and enjoy our bear sightings most, we’ve also seen a variety of animals including a coyote, porcupine, Humpback whale, deer, swans, moose, 47 eagles and much more. We spent four days traveling across Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon on the Al-Can highway and enjoying the vast wilderness tracks this road cuts through...expansive forests for miles, lush grasses and valleys with rivers, ponds and lakes dotting the landscape. Once you get about a hundred miles down the road, there are fewer cars and trucks...and mostly RV’s, motorcycles and camper trucks. There are small villages of First Nation people or oil and gas exploration installments and places to overnight, but things are spread out and it’s wonderful to be away from the hustle and bustle of East coast cities or constant exits off a US highway like I-10 or Rt. 2. We set our sights on two places to stop for more than an overnight: Haines, AK and Kluane National Park in the Yukon. We’ve just spent 5 days in Haines and will add another 4, but next week we’ll head to Congdon Creek Campground near Kluane. Haines, AK is a diversion from the Al- Can Highway - about 100 miles south off the Al-Can, on the Haines Highway ( Rt 7) in southeast Alaska. This drive to Haines is one of the most spectacular drives in our three years of traveling. There’s one road into the beautiful seaport, which is also accessible by ferry or seaplane, but the snow capped mountains, fast moving streams, abundant wildlife and undeveloped land along the road make the drive high on our list. Haines is the heart of the Chilkat Valley, which is nicknamed the Valley of the Eagles (more about that in my next blog). The town is the historic capital of the Tlingit (pronounced Cling it) Indian culture, site of a frontier gold rush, and the beginning of the Inside Passage. It’s also known as a world class recreation destination, an adventure capital (think Heli-skiing, sea kayaking, mountaineering), and a great bear viewing destination. The town is on a peninsula with the Lutak Inlet on the north side and the Chilkat Inlet on the south. We’ve chosen to stay at the Chilkoot Lake Recreation area which is on the lake at the end of Lutak Road paralleling the Chilkoot River, which stretches into the Inlet. Chilkoot Lake is an important Sockeye Salmon spawning area, making equally important the Chilkoot River, that runs into the Inlet and ultimately the Pacific Ocean where salmon have lived the last few years of their life. Each year as many as 100,000 return to these spawning grounds, keeping a critical cycle in motion for this ecosystem. The salmon provide food and nutrients to eagles, bears, gulls, earthworms, and others animals as well as the vegetation and trees along the river. I find it fascinating that trees along salmon streams grow faster and taller than in other places due to the nutrients left behind by the decaying salmon bodies. There’s a weir operating along the Chilkoot River, where the salmon pool when the gates are closed, and an Alaska State Fish and Wildlife worker sits and counts the fish when he opens the gates to let the fish swim upstream to spawn. The state focuses their count on Sockeye but other varieties of salmon pass through the weir (Pink, Coho). And while the busy season here on the river is July and August, the state started counting salmon here June 3. When we arrived, the total since 6/3 was 260. Yesterday’s daily count was 457 for a cumulative total of 1,072 so the fish arrivals are starting to pick up. As you can imagine, this means the bears are also starting to arrive. Every day here we’ve seen bears along the river, along the roadsides, in the middle of the road, and even one day in the campsite next to us! It’s a very accessible bear viewing location. We’ve been surprised how few people are camping here, but every night there are a lot of local cars driving down the road in and through the campground looking for bears. I’m sure it’s packed beginning mid July when multiple bears are fishing the river. These are Grizzly bears, but in southeastern Alaska they’re known as coastal brown bears. Basically they’re not as aggressive as the grizzlies in say Glacier National Park. Because they have an abundant food source, they are not as stressed as bears elsewhere. Of course they are wild and will defend themselves and their young (and their fishing spots), but with proper respect for their space, people and bears can coexist here. I could write for days on the hiking here, the quintessential AK sea town feel - complete with the community radio fundraising drive, lots of local artists - the bears, and the eagles. BUT here are just a few paragraphs, and in my next blog I’ll write about why this is prized eagle territory. The day we met the bear on the bridge, it started like this... Terry, Rocket and I were down on the river and spotted a bear about 3/4 of a mile away under a bridge that goes to a dead end road along the Inlet. (Every day several times we walk Rocket for 2.5 miles (rt) from our campsite to the river and down to the Inlet, looking for wildlife). A group of four French people were reading placards along the river near our spot, and we tried to tell them about the bear. Since we don’t speak French and they didn’t speak English, I got down on all fours and grunted like a bear while Terry pointed to the bridge. He used his limited knowledge of French for 1, 2, 3 (Un, deux, trois) to count out the bridge stanchions to the place where the bear stood and handed them our most excellent binoculars. They were thrilled to see the bear. We began walking down the road to get a better view of the bear, and they gradually got into their vehicle and drove to the bridge. We arrived at about the same time, as we took a short cut through the woods along the river. As we came out of the woods with the view of the bridge, their car was turning onto the bridge, and there stood a very big coastal brown bear staring at US on her right and the CAR on her left. Rocket was in the lead, and I’m sure drew some of the bear’s attention. We pulled him back and retreated to the woods’ edge while the car reversed slowly. The bear ambled off the bridge and onto the near side of the river. While the French tourists left with some great pictures (I’m sure), we walked back along the road towards camp and found a vantage point to watch the bear feed along the tall vegetation on the river bank for another half hour. I’ve nicknamed her Shelly after a bear in my film IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF A BEAR; Shelly was a Kodiak bear (sub species of brown bear) in this Animal Planet documentary of 1997, but for some reason I want to give this bear the same name. We’ve seen Shelly quite a bit. She has a most distinctive shoulder hump unlike any bear I’ve ever seen. She’s also got beautiful dark legs and light brown hair on her face and back with a mottled snout. Last night I think it was she that decided to leave a pile of scat in the middle of the road as we were driving home! Because it’s light here until 11pm and because Terry counted 60 piles of scat in the road on a 7 mile stretch, we nightly drive towards town looking for wildlife. (It’s amazing the number of bears that defecate on the road, rather than the woods here! From the Canadian border along the Haines Highway (abut 45 miles), we wished we had counted the piles because the number was incredible, consequently making it exciting to know that bears were all around the peninsula). The other thing about driving along Lutak Road into town is marine life can be seen in the Inlet. Our first day when we left our campsite in the morning to drive to a hiking trailhead, within a few minutes, Terry (while driving) spotted a whale blowing! The Humpback blow of mist was obvious over the Inlet because the wind and waves weren’t too turbulent. We pulled over and watched for about fifteen minutes before the whale showed itself clearly and then breached displaying his tail markings. While I had the camera at the ready in my hands, I happily watched the scene unfold without bothering to look through the lens and compose a photo. I’m sorry I can’t share a picture with blog readers, but it was a wonderful feeling to just watch the whale and enjoy the moment. One day we hiked a portion of the Seduction Point trail which lies in the Chilkat State Park on the other side of the peninsula. (Another beautiful place to camp, but the gravel road in has a 14% grade, and we deemed it too steep for the RV.). This trail travels first through a forest of Sitka spruce and western hemlock with oversized plants including devil’s club, salmon berry bushes and skunk cabbage to Moose Meadow. In the meadow we didn’t see moose but did see beautiful wildflowers including western columbine, cow parsnip, yellow paintbrush and Sitka roses. From the meadow, a wide view unfolds of the blue green water of Chilkat Inlet. After 45 minutes, you travel along the Inlet and back into the woods to Twin Coves. Along this stretch on our return trip Terry spotted a lone harbor seal we enjoyed watching for about 10 minutes. We didn’t see bear or moose on the forested parts but we continued to David’s cove before heading back. You can continue on this trail to Seduction Point which is 6.8 miles one way. But you have to check the tide chart because at points you’re walking along the shoreline, and the trail may be obliterated during high tide. Another day we hiked the Battery Point trail and glassed the inlet for marine life (sadly seeing none), but what a great lunch spot. And one day we hiked the Mt. Riley trail. The route we took was steep and about 1,700’ elevation gain for a total of about 8-9 miles. But the 360° view atop this point is really spectacular even though we hiked it on a cloudy day. You can see it on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/1xn9QlaCeOo I’ve been looking for river otters each day and not spotted any, but today while watching a pair of eagles in fight above us as we stood on the bridge (that same bridge the bear stood on), I looked down into the water and saw a seal who had swum down the inlet to where the river meets it, in search of salmon. That was an unexpected wildlife spot. We’ve decided to extend our stay here since the salmon count is rising quite a bit daily, the seagulls are pouring in, and the bears continue to come. I want to write about the uniqueness of this place to eagles, both resident and migrating raptors so I’ll save that for my next blog. But before closing I’ll relate one more bear story. For the first two nights we had a neighbor in our loop of 10 sites. The morning after our third night their site was vacant, and I watched the host drive his truck through our loop twice, looking into the woods. At the second drive-by, I looked in my neighbor’s empty site and saw Shelly bear at the campfire ring beside the picnic table. After a minute or two, she began scenting the air and looking across our site into the next loop where another camper was cooking breakfast at his picnic table. The bear began to walk the path that connected the sites and I yelled to our neighbor, “Hey neighbor, there’s a bear coming your way.” I had to repeat it loudly twice. Eventually, the neighbor (an Alaskan who lives near here) said “I’m fine with it,” as his wife and 5 year old grandson biked the loop, unconcerned. He then shouted “Hey beautiful bear.” Shelly wandered off, and everyone was fine. So the natives are careful and respectful of the bears but used to their ways. The Chilkoot Lake Recreation Area we’re camping in is 9 miles from town at the end of the road on the lake. There are no water and electric hookups, just pit toilets and a magical setting. The cost is $15/night, and while we haven’t generated much solar energy in the wooded campground, we can run the generator to boost the battery. But we’ve found we don’t need much electricity since we’re out every night looking for bears instead of watching a movie. And because it’s mostly 40-50°F at night and 60’s during the day, the fridge isn’t working too hard nor do we need AC. There are some other campgrounds in town with hookups, and while several are overlooking the water, they aren’t as close to the salmon, eagle, bear action as we are. If you come to Haines, there are small inns and hotels if you’re not camping. But bring a raincoat and windbreaker because Haines lies in a temperate rain forest and receives about 60” of precipitation/year. (In 2010-2011, Haines had 360” of snow!!!!)
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In one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, on a most gorgeous day (sunny and 73°), I had a very wonderful hike with my husband and dog AND got to watch grizzly bears. It was Sunday, June 17 - Father’s Day in Lake Louise National Park, Canada. The thing was, I didn’t feel good. I’ve been fighting a cold since we were in Montana, and just had to keep hiking and pushing it, because these places are too wonderful not to enjoy through hiking. Finally, the cold hit me and brought me down. Two days later in another beautiful place, Jasper National Park, I’ve been sidelined....regulated to reading and doing laundry, taking it easy. But one of those days was a travel day and we got to enjoy the beautiful scenery along Highway 93 north which brought us from Banff to Jasper through the Icefields. I’ve always been impressed with the Rocky Mountains in the US, but let me tell you the Canadian Rockies are magnificent! We’ve been this way before, back in 2016 and so we are staying in the same campgrounds. In Banff, we stayed at Tunnel Mountain Village 1. This campground has a path running around it that cuts between the forest that borders the outer campground loops (G-J) and a meadow. Across from this meadow is another forest with a backdrop of a majestic snow-covered mountain peak. Both times we’ve stayed there, we were in loops that sit on the path. It’s a great biking, or dog walking path where wildlife can be seen. Last time here, we saw a black bear, coyotes, and elk while on the path. This year we saw elk, squirrels, and one early morning a mournful loon flew over my head calling. We stayed four nights and the fee was still the same as two years ago, $27.40 Canadian which works out to be about $21. We didn’t have any hookups but after 3 years of RV life, I can safely say that this campground has the best hot showers of any I’ve visited. They have strong volume, temperature you can control, and you don’t have to push a button for water every 10 seconds (like you have to in Jasper)! I mention the price because like in the US, park campground prices have not increased in 2 years. Gas, however, is another thing. While in most parts of Alberta, Canada the average liter price (1.35) works out to about $4.06/gallon US, BUT we found it to be over $US6.00/gallon near the Icefields!!! When you’re filling 80 gallons at a time, that cost adds up. And while a post card can cost .50 Canadian (.38 US) it costs 1.20 (.90 US) to mail to the states. And when I bought an inexpensive bottle of water (left my water bottle in RV) I noticed it was cheap at .49 (.37 US) but there was also a .10 returnable bottle fee and a .01 environmental charge. Yay, oh Canada for helping offset environmental destruction by charging us for using these plastic bottles! Because I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather, we didn’t hike each day in Banff. But one day we hiked the Castle Lookout trail and drove the Bow Valley Parkway looking for wildlife. That day we had nice hiking weather, cool in the morning and while cloudy part of the day, it didn’t rain on us. (We’ve needed heat in the evenings as it’s been in the 40s at night and 60s during the day.) We were hoping to see wolves or bears on the Bow Valley Drive but didn’t see any. However, on the way home, Terry (who was driving), spotted a bear way up on a hillside. We pulled off the highway and glassed with the binoculars. (I love our Celestron binoculars which are fabulous for wildlife spotting.). She had 3 cubs with her! One of the rainy days, I spent time in town (library and shopping). And the third day (Father’s Day), we drove to Lake Louise with a plan to hike nearby Moraine Lake. The weather had warmed and this particular Sunday was very busy in the Park. On weekends you have to arrive early to get a parking place. We arrived late (around 11am). There apparently is a private shuttle bus for Moraine, but we didn’t know about that until we arrived and had overshot the shuttle location. Parking attendants stood at the junction where Moraine Lake Road was closed. So we continued on the road toward Lake Louise. At the parking for Lake Louise, we were almost turned away by one parking attendant and told to drive back 20 minutes to a shuttle. But luckily, another parking attendant said, “hey, they have a dog - come on in here.” He motioned to some spaces in the lot right by the lake that were sectioned off and saved. Apparently dogs aren’t allowed on the shuttles so rather than have us go home, this fellow gave us a spot! I felt like it was Rocket’s Father’s Day present to Terry. Not only would we get to hike the area, but we were rewarded with the bear sighting! The lake was packed with tourists vying for pictures in front of the turquoise water as the mountains rose around us. We decided to take a 9 mile hike on the Plain of Six Glaciers trail to one of the lake’s two tea houses, built in the early 1900’s. We didn’t get far from the edge of the lake when we saw a roped off area marking a detour to the Lake Agnes’s teahouse trail...a detour due to bear activity. We saw a group of people with cameras on each end of the roped off area looking into a field, and we learned there was a grizzly bear. We couldn’t see well from the first vantage point, so went to the other end of the rope. From there we could see a mother with two spring cubs devouring dandelions in the field adjacent to the trailhead, only about 50 yards from dozens of people! We watched for about 5 minutes and then left so others could take pictures. I later heard from other hikers that a ranger came out and shot off bangers to get the bears to move from the area. I hope she and her cubs stay out of trouble, but we were thrilled to see them! Last time we came to Lake Louise, we took the Beehive trail to Lake Agnes and the tea house there which was a great hike. But we wanted to try a different trail. Because it’s early in the season and there’s still snow on the trails, I thought the tea house on Plain of 6 Glaciers would be closed. But thankfully for my cold, it was open and I had a delicious house blended Rooibos brew. (At the Lake Agnes tea house, there are 100 different types of tea.). The staff hike up to the teahouse carrying all the supplies 2-4 times a week except when the helicopter comes in once a year with all the sugar, flour, propane - totaling 10,000 pounds of supplies! We left Banff Monday headed for Jasper National Park, and on the way saw a black bear foraging and some mountain goats and elk. One thing I have to mention about the parks in Alberta is that they invested in overpasses called “animal bridges” along the highway for wildlife to cross. We saw these vegetation covered bridges as we rolled down the highway and from above on our hike to Castle Lookout as well. Banff also has built underpasses in high animal traffic areas, and if you’re interested in how these are working in Banff, here’s a video with more info. https://mymodernmet.com/wildlife-crossings/. Jasper is a good half-day drive from Banff and another wonderful spot, and we’ve spent a couple of days here resting and getting me well. The park has some great hiking trails also, but we’re only staying 2 nights because we’re eager to get to Alaska and still have a long way to go. In Jasper we stayed at Whistlers Campground- just like last time. Both times here, there’s been a fire ban which doesn’t bother us since we don’t normally have fires. But we’ve also arrived the same time of year as 2016 - elk calving season. The elk often travel through the wooded campground, and even have their calves here because it’s safer from predators. However the day we checked in, we learned a black bear and her cubs had been in the campground. When we checked in, the ranger reminded us to keep a clean campsite and leave no food, coolers, toiletries, etc out because the smells attract bears. Of course we’ve camped many times in bear country and know the routine. The next morning, we went to town to do laundry and upon our return, we found a ranger shooting noise makers into the woods near the entrance...we’re not sure if he was trying to move along a bear or elk. (On our way to town we saw 3 elk - one radio collared - strolling across the road here.) The rangers warn campers about the elk during calving season because they can be aggressive in the protection of their young. In Banff we saw some young calves, but even those looked big. Apparently not all of the elk have had their calves yet so we will beware. Last time here, we had an elk sit in the trees outside our campsite, even as the dogs came and went from the RV! Parks Canada does a wonderful job maintaining their gorgeous parks and managing wildlife. But most days, it’s more about managing the people, than the wildlife. Signs on how to keep a clean campsite abound in the campgrounds, signs on trails about critical habitat for wildlife, rules pointed out when you check into a campground or stop at a visitor center. The methods of handling a wildlife encounter (i.e. a nuisance bear or aggressive elk) have changed over the years, but park managers in both the US and Canada have decided it’s most effective if you manage the people. And it’s amazing how senseless people can be...every year it seems Yellowstone sees injured tourists who get too close to buffalo. Elk, bear, coyote and wolf encounters in these parks have taught the staff to be definitive with their instructions to campers and visitors and signage reinforces these ideas. Tomorrow we leave Jasper and will begin our travel to the Al-Can Highway and more remote areas of the country. We’ll leave behind long hot showers, recycling bins and the conveniences of nearby towns for supplies. But I’m starting to feel better and the weather seems to have turned into Summer, and the long hours of daylight will make for great hiking and traveling conditions.
“My, what big ears you have!!!” I know that’s what Little Red Riding hood said about the wolf disguised as granny. But that was my first thought when I spotted a bull moose while hiking in Glacier National Park last week. We were hiking our favorite trail to Upper Two Medicine Lake, hoping to relive or create a new magical moment like we’d had here 3 years ago. The trail moves around Two Medicine Lake and heads west towards Upper Two Medicine Lake, traveling through some forested areas and along places where the view opens up to reveal surrounding mountains and the beautiful lakes. There are ponds along the way that are a favorite for moose, and we’ve seen moose in several spots here all three visits to the park. But this day we hadn’t spotted any moose after about 8 miles, although we had enjoyed the beauty of the scenery and the day. Usually on the return trip of a hike, I find my mind wandering to what’s for dinner, when we’ll get finished, and other mundane things. I often find myself letting my guard down and not diligently looking for animals (which is my main focus for hiking). As it was on this day...but then I thought to myself just moments before spotting this moose, I must remember that the animals might be anywhere around us and I need to be vigilant. Sure enough, I looked up into thick brush and there was a tremendous dark body about 50 yards away. When he lifted his head, his mouth was full of greenery and he shook his head from side to side. His antlers were new velvet, not fully formed into a rack yet, and that made me focus more on his ears. The ears looked to be 10 inches long! I called out to Terry who was about 15 yards ahead and then I pulled out the camera. The bull didn’t seem to care that we were there and kept munching and walking along parallel to the trail, still about 50-60 yards from us. We were able to watch him and follow his progress for about 20 minutes, which was a real treat. Sometimes he shook his ears, sometimes he shook the branches, and often he munched as he walked. And what was especially nice, we had the spot all to ourselves. But try as I might, I couldn’t get a photograph because there was no clearing for a view and focusing with the dense vegetation was problematic...I tried both manually and automatic. What you see above is the result! Moose are plentiful in this part of the park, and there are two females (cows) here. Someone also spotted a calf run across the road, but we haven’t seen any calves. Terry saw a cow in the afternoon one day when I sent him and Rocket walking away from the Bighorn sheep that were trying to cross Pray Lake. (Pray Lake is an extension of Two Medicine Lake and is where the campsites are.). A group of 5 ewes were looking to cross Pray Lake just about 50’ from our campsite. The ewes looked nervous and we thought Rocket might effect their decision making process. So while I waited to get photos and video of the ewes crossing at the shallow point which is near the campsites, Terry walked Rocket to the end of the campground where the group sites are. This loop is still closed as well as another area right on the lake where we camped last year with our friends the Burt family. (In fact we arrived just the second day this campground opened for the season, opening only 37 sites out of 99). When walking Rocket before down there, we saw moose scat and sure enough Terry spotted the cow just at the edge of the water. The group site has an excellent spot for getting into Pray lake near another shallow crossing. This moose stared at Terry and the dog and decided to cross back to the other side. I think she is the same moose that crossed the lake where the sheep crossed the day before, and where a fellow camper photographed her in the water. Meanwhile, back near the campsite and shallow crossing near me, the 5 ewes led by the matriarch crossed and then wandered up the road! Apparently there’s something in the charcoal left on grills at campsites that aids the sheep’s digestive system. Sheep are often seen in camp, especially where there are unattended grills. Earlier in the day we had watched 7 sheep (4 lambs) eating grasses on a far off hillside when we hiked the Scenic Point trail. This group was seen in camp the day we arrived, but we missed seeing them close up. We hiked this trail in very windy conditions with a biting chill at the top. In fact, I let Terry hike the last half mile solo since I was a bit intimidated by the high winds on the narrow ledges ahead. Instead I sat down and photographed marmots and glassed the area with my binoculars. As Terry was coming down from the summit, and I had tired of the marmots, I spotted a black bear below, way off in the distance...half a mile or mile away perhaps. We were thrilled to watch him before he headed into tall brush...again we couldn’t get a photo. As you can tell, this area is rich with wildlife and beautiful as well. I could write pages and pages about the animal sightings, the natural beauty of the area, the specifics of the trail hikes available, the historic significance of the area to the Blackfeet tribe, etc. But, I’ll leave you with some photographs and the suggestion that this is one special park. If you can make it here, do it. If you come, know that the park is vast - 521 square miles. There is an east and west entrance, connected by the famed “Going to the Sun” road which is often closed into June because of the tremendous snow pack on Logan Pass which has to be cleared (it’s closed in Winter). Logan Pass and the road were partially closed for this visit. There are 13 campgrounds in the park, some just for tents. Our favorite is Two Medicine on the East side of the park and it’s first come, first served. During July and August, the park is incredibly busy. So June and Sept are excellent months, BUT know that you may find cold temps and snow. It hailed, snowed, rained and was exceptionally windy during this last stay. But we were prepared and enjoyed it immensely, as usual!
Have you ever wanted to be invisible? Have you ever felt invisible? As a teenager, I once wanted to be invisible at school after my boyfriend broke up with me and I was devastated, eyes red from tears, a mess and yet having to finish my afternoon classes. And when my son was in middle school, I wanted to be invisible - a fly on the wall - so I could hear what his teachers were saying and how he responded. But there are actually, I think, a lot of people who are invisible, living in plain view of the world. People who are often ignored. I remember once reading about a writer who assumed the life of someone just barely making ends meet, living on the edge of poverty. She walked more than a mile in someone else’s shoes. She worked two jobs and took the bus, shopped for groceries on the same salary a hotel maid did, and discovered that there are many people in broad daylight who become invisible: maids, custodial workers, construction workers, the homeless. People who are overlooked while being looked down upon. Whenever I’m in a hotel, I remember what the writer discovered, and I make a point of saying hello to custodial staff. But why am I writing about this in my travel blog? Because we’ve just crossed the country from VA to western MT and some of those many hours in the RV have listened to THE INVISIBLE MAN. Written by Ralph Ellison and published in 1952, this is a brilliant novel that incorporates many layers of discrimination, societal marginalization, and explains just how a black man growing up in the south and living through the 1940’s came to be an invisible man. Author Ellison won the National Book Award and the Russwurm Award for his story. And it’s a book I think every high school senior should be required to read. Terry and I used to travel 530 miles from VT to Washington, DC in one day, thinking nothing of it. Occasionally we’d tack on another 240 miles in the same day and make it to my parents’ home in VA. But that was in our car. And that was when we had jobs to get back to. In our RV we usually travel 250 miles in one day, and often spend no more than 6 hours a day on the road, often less. But when we’re eager to get to the west or back to the east coast, we have longer days; and, coming out to MT we averaged about 350/day this trip. When traveling we break up the day by listening to the radio some, our stored library of thousands of songs on my iPad some, talking and silence, and then we might listen to a book on tape. I picked up the INVISIBLE MAN at a vendor’s stall in Clarksville, VA who sells used DVDs and CDs. What a find! We drove for 5 days through VA, WV, KY, IL, IN, MO, and IA. On the fifth day, we made it to the Badlands in South Dakota and stopped for two nights. As we drove we heard how the protagonist, never named directly because he is after all invisible, is at the top of his high school class. He is invited to give a speech to a group of important white men. But first he and a group of young black boys are blindfolded and made to fight each other. The white men kick them and beat them with chairs, and it’s horrific to listen to. At the end of the brawl, they ask him to make his speech which he gives eloquently as blood runs down his face. They present him with a beautiful brief case filled with scholarship papers to attend a negro college. He is so grateful to these powerful pillars of the community he ignores the experience he just went through. He just knows now he will make something of his life. On night 5, we camp in the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, a free dispersed site we stayed in 2 years ago. It looks out over cliffs of sedimentary rock into a valley where Pronghorn and Big Horn sheep roam. We viewed some very close to our site, and even watched as a group of 4 ewes snuck up on Rocket, who took off in retreat! Our first night we had a wicked thunderstorm with continual lightening flashing through the blinds. Poor Rocket, shaken by any loud noise, had a restless night. The wind tore across the cliffs and we wondered at times if we should have moved further away from the edge. But in the morning, once the fog burned off, it was a beautiful sunny day: a day that generated solar power enabling Terry to watch his beloved Washington Capitals earn the Stanley Cup for the first time ever!! We drove into the Badlands National Park, just a few miles away and took our bikes off, then rode about 16-17 miles. We saw Pronghorn, Prairie Dogs (by the hundreds), Bighorn Sheep, and hawks. If you arrive early enough (we started at 7:30am), there aren’t many cars. By noon traffic picks up, and the best bike riding with long car-less stretches is passed. We returned to the RV for lunch and then drove into the Park with Rocket. He can’t hike on any trails here, but since we had gotten our exercise, we took him with us to see the beautiful striations in the rock, the waving grassland, the buffalo, and prairie dogs. Saturday we hit the road again and listened some more to THE INVISIBLE MAN. The novel is read by Joe Morton who does a wonderful job creating the myriad characters in the narrator’s life. In the early chapters he describes the adult life of our protagonist who lives in an unusual way, an invisible manner. Then the story moves back in time to his young life and begins to tell, over the next 18 hours, why someone would want to live as an invisible man. Listening only an hour or two per travel day, we have still quite a bit left. But this character is determined in his young college days to live as society expects him. To yes sir, and yes ma’am, his way through life....telling white people what they want to hear, not the way things really are. His disillusionment becomes clear as he moves to NY city but not so clear that he doesn’t become manipulated. He’s smart, but too eager to please and his coming-of-age after college is fraught with interesting experiences and characters. After leaving the Badlands, we moved quickly through South Dakota using the Gas Guru app to find the best gas prices - sometimes these apps take you to a closed gas station in town, away from your highway or to one you can’t maneuver an RV, beware! (Can someone please create an app for people driving long rigs that knows where the low bridges are and the dead-end places you can’t turn around a rig with a car in tow?). By day 7, we make it to Billings, MT where we spend an uneventful night in a Walmart parking lot (hey we don’t do it often, but we needed to pick up supplies before hitting Canada and it’s free). Other nights we spent in County and City parks (Iowa and Kentucky) where we had hookups and television, even some hiking trails. Oh that reminds me, one evening in KY on a dog walk, Rocket and I discovered a nestling had fallen from his nest and was chirping for help. I couldn’t find the nest to put him back so I took him to the RV and searched the web. I learned about feeding him and found a wildlife rehabilitator (Mary Jo) who would take him in - she was in Louisville, so he overnighted with us and we dropped him off the next day. (By the way, you can find a rehabber near you at this website: https://ahnow.org/mobile/ .Mary Jo thinks he is an Eastern Phoebe, and since he didn’t have a broken wing his chances are good of survival. It was an awesome experience to hold such a tiny creature and have his beak grasp my finger and swallow the mushy dog food I offered. But I was relieved to hand him off to an experienced rehabber. By day 8 we have arrived at our destination: Glacier National Park’s Two Medicine Campground. It was beautiful and sunny upon arrival around 4 pm. On the approach here though we watched lightning and rain in the distance. The temperature dropped from 95° to 68°F! Oh, did I mention the AC in the RV isn’t working? We can run it when hooked up to electric - thank God for those days in Iowa & Missouri when it was 90+, but when driving we have none. Our campground just opened and only about 40 sites are ready. Last year when we came in July, over 100 sites were in use and you had to arrive before 9am to get one. The road that cuts through the Park running east to west, the famed “Going to the Sun Road” - is still closed as the plows move 15+ feet of snow. Much of the park is closed in the Winter...there is interesting video of the machines clearing the snow on the steep roadway leading up to the Logan Pass on YouTube. As we set up, the host came by and informed us that snow is expected Sunday-Monday (that’s 6/10-11). Well that will be nice we say, at least we won’t need the air conditioning! Stay tuned for the next blog which features a crazy weather pattern and an unexpected Bull Moose.
For 30 years we’ve been going to the seashore for long weekends, vacations and spring breaks. We’ve stayed at Bethany Beach (South and West), Dewey, and Rehoboth - all in Delaware - but spent the most time in Ocean City, MD. The neighborhood we stayed in most often is bayside near 120th Street - a few blocks from the beach. We stayed mostly at Terry’s sister Barbara’s condo and spent a lot of time walking in the neighborhood which includes Heron Harbor. Nestled around a harbor with a bird sanctuary for waterfowl, it’s a very scenic area. In the early morning and at dusk, we like to walk, bike and run there for the views and less crowded streets of the main strip. Occasionally there are herons hunting in the shallow waters, most often geese and duck are predominant in the harbor. Surrounding the harbor, the roadway makes a Y with a street branching to the right and another to the left, these are courts that end at the water with great views of the Assawoman Bay. Million dollar homes on each court have boat docks on a lagoon at the rear with meticulously manicured landscaping in their front yards. Decades ago before the development began, we saw rabbits in abundance there. And at dusk I often thrilled at watching them. As the homes went up, we saw dozens of rabbits foraging and taking refuge in the shrubbery, but for the last five years, (maybe more; it’s hard to remember), I haven’t seen any. I don’t know if their numbers have been reduced by habitat loss, human activity, predators or pesticides. Probably all of the above. There are foxes in Ocean City and definitely more people and less habitat, but I suspect the pesticides/herbicides could be to blame. The lawns are free of clover and leafy greens (rabbit diet mainstays), and many have posted “fertilizer applied” signs. Out of probably 50 lawns, I saw only a handful that had clover or weeds. There are apparently rabbits in the dunes by the shore and foxes and deer too. But I miss the neighborhood rabbits by the harbor. If you go to Ocean City and spot a rabbit, let me know. Maybe there are more than I think; I hope so. I tried to find some online articles about rabbits in Ocean City and didn’t find any quantitative info. I researched a bit about pesticides and their effects on rabbits and can’t make any conclusions without knowing which companies are spraying what and what studies have shown about toxicity in rabbits. But if you are concerned about rabbit destruction of seedlings and plants in your own yard and looking for humane solutions, please check out this info: https://www.peta.org/issues/wildlife/rabbits/ For two weeks, we enjoyed reading, biking, walking and laying at the beach, as well as watching the Washington Capitals head to the finals of the Stanley Cup! And while we had quite a few rainy days as most folks on East Coast recall, it made the warm, sunny days all that much nicer. Since we have so many friends and family in the DC area, and since the shore is a popular retreat for DC folks, we were fortunate to visit with friends who came down for the weekends. It was great to see Terry’s sister Chris and husband Jimmy Kernan, along with Terry’s cousin JoAnne Vorndran. We also had a quick visit with Erica and John Charles and their kids. And we spent some time with Kevin Charles, the Whitcombs, and Danny Vieth boating to fun outdoor bars in Delaware. I love the beach for a recharge and since Terry’s Frozen shoulder is keeping us from hiking, this was just what the doctor ordered. We took a day trip down to Assateague National Seashore which allows dogs. Rocket enjoyed playing frisbee and meeting other canines and we also walked the few short trails and watched the wild ponies...always a favorite pastime for me when in OC. Of course it wouldn’t be a beach trip without a visit to Nicola’s Pizza in Rehoboth for veggie Nicobolis (their signature Strombolis -best I ever had), some fresh picked crabs, and fudge from Candy Kitchen! After taking care of all the requisite beach activities, we visited a couple of days in Rockville, MD before heading back to VA. In Rockville we were fortunate to stay with Terry’s sister Patti and the Warren family and meet their 5 month old puppy Bailey - such a sweetheart! And we got to see Terry’s sisters Maureen & Romey along with Romey’s husband Timmy. I also enjoyed visiting with my friend Eleanor, and we had dinner with our friends the Devlins In VA we spent a few days tying up loose ends, and Terry got another cortisone shot for his shoulder. The doctor says the painful part of this should be over in about 4-6 weeks. No PT is needed now, so we’ve hit the road in our RV for the next 4 months. Unfortunately it may be cost prohibitive to go all the way to the Arctic Ocean with gas prices rising and Canada’s high gas costs, but we’ll figure this out as we go. It’s uncomfortable for Terry walking or hiking a long way, but it will take us awhile to get out West and we hope the cortisone shot will help so hiking in the Tetons or in Glacier National Park by mid June is on the itinerary! Before we left VA where the RV sat for 7.5 months, my dear mom threw us a going away party Friday night. We had a wonderful time celebrating with friends and thank Mom and the attendees for a great sendoff. I forgot to take pictures until the last group of friends were leaving, so I quickly snapped one shot! As we drive across America in search of good hiking and wildlife watching out West, I’ll blog again. And if I see some rabbits, I’ll let you know. And never hesitate to send me an email or call with your animal sightings - I love hearing about them!
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AuthorFormer documentary film producer, wife and mother of one...I'm taking time off to see the US with my husband Terry. Here's where I'll write about our adventures RVing until the money runs out! Archives
August 2021
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