Truckin' North Through Idaho, Oregon and Washington

Day 44 - May 6

The destination today was Ashton, Idaho. Not too far from West Yellowstone. And we woke up to snow flurries. Temps are in the upper 30's. It's a blustery, windy day. We did have a decent campground at Eagle Peak Lodge and RV Park. But with the weather, well we had to make a pot of chicken soup.

Another wintry looking day!

 Day 45 - May 7

We woke up to snow flurries. Our agenda today was Mountain View RV Park in Arco, Idaho. And we would take a trip to Craters of the Moon National Preserve. Our first time here. But what we didn't realize that the barren land on Highway 20, our route today, was where the first nuclear plant in the US was. We stopped by the EBR-I - World's first nuclear power plant and of course the museum was closed! It stands for "Experimental Breeder Reactor - 1." The facility is a national historical landmark where usable electricity was first generated from nuclear energy in 1951. This pioneering reactor operated for 12 years before being shut down for the last time in 1963.   President Lyndon Johnson dedicated EBR-1 as a National Historical Landmark in 1966.

The Visitor Center at Craters of the Moon was closed today but we headed down the scenic loop. It was windy chilly, sleet and snowflakes, but we did two trails.  The trails are nice and paved. There is lots of signage to not get off the trail, almost to a bad extreme.  Guess there are too many "tourons" that don't realize the damage they create if they leave a trail.

Views from the road

Beautiful scenery

Peering into a hole and there's snow!

Look at the arch!

Day 46 - May 8

It wasn't a long drive to our camp at Mountain Home, Idaho. It's a very nice park. Made a stop at Three Island Crossing State Park. The Visitor Center is all about the Oregon Trail and how they crossed here. It was really interesting. we finally have some sunshine but it's still so very windy. We're located in Glenn's Ferry. The Snake River is wide and rushing this time of year.

Day 47 - May 9

We turned the Rambler west, northwest and headed towards Bend, Oregon. Our destination was Tumalo State Park which is north of Bend. My oh my.....I think Bend is not the Bend we remember. So much traffic and congestion really turned us off. But we did drive 362 miles today, which is a lot. We crossed into the Pacific time zone, so we are now 2 hours behind our loved ones at home. It was a very pretty drive. Most of the drive was through the high desert with lots of sagebrush. Closer to Bend, it changes to a whitewater river, pines, great views of the Three Sisters, Mt. Washington and Mt. Jefferson. 

Our campsite was great here.  Full hook up. weather is good enough that we enjoyed a campfire.

Day 48 - May 10

We booked a Harvest Host site tonight at Honeymoon Farms in Aurora, Oregon. Let me tell you.... the drive into the Willamette Valley is so beautiful! Spring has sprung here and we get to see it. It's so beautiful!  The bloom colors are vibrant! Orchards, Christmas tree farms are abundant. And it's warm. Almost hot. They are having a heat wave.  We're going from one extreme to another.

Our spot at Honeymoon Farms

Our site here is nice. We paid for a little electricity. And we keep getting weather alerts pertaining to the "extreme geothermic conditions and storm."  This means maybe we see the Northern Lights and maybe we lose satellite service.

And Praise God. We saw the Northern Lights.  The naked eye had a hard time seeing them but the camera got them!

It's hard to capture the words!

Day 49 - May 11

Today is a good day!  We're getting to visit with friends Jim and Randa Weber whom we first met when we volunteered at LBJ National Historical Park. They live in Canby, Oregon. We got to their house about 10 and she prepared a tasty brunch for us. Swedish Mama, scrambled eggs and fruit. We spent a good 3 hours catching up with them before going to our campsite which was another Harvest Host - Paradis Vineyard located in Silverton, Oregon. So pretty here. The gardens, orchards and vineyards are beautiful. Enjoyed a glass of wine and sitting here enjoying the views.

Jim and Randa

Swedish Mama

The Rambler

We ordered Starlink, had it shipped to Jim and Randa. Got it set up. Easy peasey. And it works. Much better than the weBoost. And we enjoyed a warm day. It's a heat wave here. Into the 90's.

Day 50 - May 12

We slept good at the vineyard!  We packed up and said good-bye Oregon, Hello Washington State! Unfortunately our route now has us on interstates - 205 then 5. More industrial along the Columbia River area. Saw a good view of Mt. Hood. Then as we neared our destination at Seaquest State Park, there were beautiful view of Mount Saint Helen's. There's a visitor center here across from the park. My oh my....that was a scary eruption back in 1980! An earthquake on May 18, 1980 caused the entire north face to slide away. This caused a blast of volcanic ash to rise high and deposit ash in 11 states. There were mud slides almost 50 miles away.

Our campsite feels like we're in the Pacific Northwest Rainforest. Tall, big trees, lush undergrowth and moss.

Moss

Looking up into the tree canopy

There's the Rambler in all the rainforest

Day 51 - MAY 13

Today we headed The Rambler north!  On interstate 5 through Seattle and all of that headache. Ron did a great job of maneuvering us down the  and the 405 and back on 5.  We're staying at Bay View State Park for the next 2 nights. It's on Padilla Bay. The tide's out so it looks more like mud flat. We've enjoyed visiting with neighbors over our camp fire.

Day 52 - May 14

Well, sometimes you have to take a laundry day. That's today. But we did it in Anacortes, Washington. A beautiful town. And we rewarded ourselves with an awesome lunch at Anthony's . Their chowder was top notch. We also picked up a few groceries. Filled the propane. Getting ready for a border crossing tomorrow.  Enjoyed visiting with campground friends again.

My first time to see an electric boat. Hope it works well for them.

Delicious

So, wish us well as we travel and cross the border tomorrow!  

Springtime in Yellowstone!

Day 43 - May 5

We couldn't make it to visit the Grand Tetons National Park due to road closures, but we could now make it across Highway 20 through the East Entrance and all the way to the West Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Not all roads were open yet in Yellowstone. We didn't know it, but we were going to get to experience Yellowstone in an unbelievable way!

Here's a hard to see picture of a very unexpected and never before seen animal for us in Yellowstone, and we've visited this park a lot over 45 years of marriage lol.

I had no idea that I was looking at a wolf and he was looking at me until I was going through my pictures. Otherwise, I would have zoomed in better!

We got up early because most wildlife sightings happen early in the day or in the evening. When I opened the shade in The Rambler, there was a beautiful mule deer looking back at me!  I took that as a good sign. Off to a great start! Going down the highway, The Rambler was making a curve and there's a big old male bison walking across.

He's still shedding his coat.

Just a ways down the road, we cross the Shoshone River and there are 2 big moose crossing it!  Unfortunately no place to safely pull over and snap a picture, but it's in my memory bank!

The scenery going into the park is just beautiful.

When we enter the park the Ranger told us we just missed a bear. Dang the luck.

What's interesting is that there were no tourists in line to take their photo at the entrance sign!

Spring in Yellowstone is a time of change.  We found mixed conditions weather wise. Many trails and roads are still iced over. The weather forecast was calling for wintry weather. When our kids were still growing up, we brought them here in the summertime. When I was growing up, my family brought us here in the summertime. When we became empty nesters, we loved traveling in the fall, and we visited several times in September and October. This spring time visit was a first!

The mountains still have a lot of snow.

Ron is 6' tall. That snow is deep still.

We have never seen Yellowstone Lake still iced over either!

Loved seeing it like this!

Located on the edge of the lake, the only place where some of the ice was melting.

Can you see the steam?

From Fishing Village, the road was open to Canyon Village.  Awesome!  Here are some photos from along the way.

When you think of Yellowstone pictures and documentaries, there are always the bison by the steam vents.

More bison

Here's the random stop in a snowy valley where I didn't notice the wolf looking at us.

Mud Volcano

Yellowstone River

Yellowstone River

I have several framed photos I have taken of the Lower Falls and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, but I was hoping to find a little snow for a new photo to frame! We did and it was breathtaking!

The Upper Falls. Check out the ice!

Yep, haven't seen it this way before in my life!

It's beautiful and the sound of the water crashing down!

Makes you cold!

We stopped off at the Norris Geyser Basin and started down the trail....until the rain shower pushed us back.Some more of our highlights driving through were elk in the river and of course the bison.

Steamboat geyser

Elk crossing the river

And of course, as usual, the pedestrians that don't look left or right, or stop and wait for the traffic to pass.

The drive through Yellowstone was one of the all time best I ever remember. I do have a memory tucked away from the late 60's when our family and two other families of cousins made a stop here. It was my first time to ever fish in a mountain river. We used salmon eggs for bait. I had a raincoat on. And I don't remember if we caught any, or how many, fish. But it's a memory nonetheless.

We're going to be heading west through Idaho to Oregon next. Until then......thank God for the beauty of nature that we get to experience!