Fort Myers Beach

We arrived at San Carlos RV Resort on Dec. 18, our home for the next two and a half months. The RV park is on the mainland side about 1/2 mile from the bridge that goes over to the beaches in Fort Myers Beach.  This road goes from two lanes down to one to cross the bridge to the beaches and has been backed up 1-2 miles every day beginning around 10 am and lasting until after supper.  We are hoping it is this way because of the holidays.

We have walked along San Carlos Blvd. both directions, we have ridden our bikes from here to Lover’s Key and the other direction to Sanibel, and we have tried a few of the local seafood restaurants and bars.  We drove to downtown Fort Myers one day where we had a very good hamburger at Ford’s Garage.  

We had a very quiet Christmas Day.  It didn’t really feel very Christmasy because it was so warm!  But we did enjoy visiting with all our families via FaceTime.

The weather has been inconsistent - one day cool, some rain then sunshine that tempts us to wear shorts but not quite warm enough to be comfortable then cool and windy.  It seems to be getting warmer the last few days and we hope it stays that way for awhile.  

We Landed in DeLand

We left Beverly beach and drove a short distance to Ormond to get sun shades mounted on the windshield and side windows.  They attach with magnets so there will be no ladder climbing to put them up or take down.

We then drove to DeLand in central Florida where we camped on the St. John’s River near the DeLeon State Park (think Fountain of Youth) and Hontoon Island State Park.  We spent part of the afternoon attempting to put up the sun shades which looked like it should be a lot easier to do than we made it.  

Rain was predicted for Wednesday afternoon so we explored DeLand’s Historic District.  I really wanted to see the Stetson Mansion but it was closed.  The Valusia County Courthouse was open to visitors and has a really beautiful stained glass dome.  

By the time we got to DeLeon State Park the rain was falling so we didn’t stick around for long.  They have an area roped off to swim in Blue Spring which empties into the river and is a nice place to canoe.  No manatees were in residence that we could see.  But the Great Blue Heron looked pretty miserable in the rain!

Today we hiked 5.5 miles on the Hontoon Island located in the St. John’s River.  It was a a cool 58 degrees which made for a good walk and the island is beautiful with large palm trees, ferns and palm bushes as well as very tall deciduous shade trees.  Too cold for alligators or snakes.

Camptown Races

We pulled into our site at Camptown RV Resort on Friday afternoon and we were off to the ‘races’!  We had time to take a walk and then while John  hunted for a place to eat seafood for dinner Pam finished up the Christmas decorations by lighting a wreath and setting out a few more nick-knacks.  We opened windows so we could hear the waves lapping on the shore, lulling us into a good nights sleep.

The next few days we did not race around.  A couple of days were cloudy, rainy or foggy with one day of sunshine where we waded in the ocean waves and enjoyed some sunshine.  Pam did a couple of morning runs and we both walked often and explored the town of Flagler.

Our Winter Trip Begins

Since this is the year when our children and grandchildren spend Christmas with their in-laws and cousins, John has convinced me to leave MO on December 8 and make a fast trip cross county to warm, sunny Florida.

In order for me to get into the Christmas spirit I have brought several decorations and a small tree with us.  But we also stopped at my mother’s home in St. Charles for a couple of days to help her get her Christmas decorations put up.  We hung wreaths, washed windows, replaced light bulbs, and then put up the Christmas tree and decorated it with ornaments that brought back many loving memories.

We got as far as Waycross GA on the second day of travel and are camped in the Laura’s Walker State Park on the Laura Walker Lake.  It’s so quiet and peaceful with frogs quietly croaking and the occasional bird chirping.  Aaahhh!  Such serenity!

Early Fall in Summit County

It’s time to start heading towards home in Missouri but its a long, long way from Walla Walla so John drove 11 hours one day and 6 hours the next to arrive in Frisco, CO for a three night break at Heaton Bay on Lake Dillon.  

Our original plan was to get home on the 21st after visiting family in Oklahoma but my mother is haveing some troubles that my brother and sister have been dealing with and I felt it was time for me to get back and do my part with helping her.

It’s been a nice break to be in the mountains and riding our bikes every day.  We took a short ride around Lake Dillon on the day we arrived and then got up early on Monday morning and rode our bikes all the way up to Vail Pass. From Frisco to Copper Mountain Ski Resort is about 7 miles and then we rode another 9 miles to the Pass.  We considered riding down to Vail but that would have added another 18-20 miles to our day.  It was a beautiful day but at 10am the temperature was still in the 40’s until the sun moved above the mountain tops then it warmed up into the 70’s.  I never quite warmed up!  

From Copper Mtn. to Vail Pass the trail runs between the east bound and the west bound lanes of I-70 but due to the spacing and the trees and bushes and creek, one does not really notice the traffic.  We are so enjoying our e-bikes on these steep trails.

Today we rode from Heaton Bay through Frisco and up to Breckenridge where we window shopped and ate lunch.  They have closed about 5 blocks of their downtown area to cars so that the restaurants can set up tables in the street for pleasant outdoor dining and they have a mask order in place so we felt very safe.

Tomorrow (Wed.) we head to Missouri.  It’s a long enough drive that we will break it up into a two day drive.  This summer has been enjoyable but stressful due to the pandemic.  Enjoyable in that the US has so many wonderful national and state parks in which to explore nature and her beauty. Stressful in that everyone else is getting out to enjoy it all as well.  We had trouble finding places to stay, especially on the weekends, and when we did find available campsites, they were not necessarily where we wanted to be.  But on the whole we were in much better places than hot, muggy MO.

Blessing to all who read this blog, wear your mask, stay distanced and be well!

Walla Walla Wine

The skies cleared up overnight, the wind died down and the temperatures warmed up but not too hot.  Time for some wine tasting but since our first tasting was not until 2pm we decided to explore the town on our bikes.  It was a short exploration as the bike path was covered with Goats Head thorns and about 2 miles from the RV we both had flat tires!  Lucky for us we were only about a block away from a bike repair shop and they had all 4 tires fixed by lunch time.

John scheduled three days of wine tasting in Walla Walla, spreading them out so that our tongues don’t get overly tested.  Walla Walla is being very careful concerning Covid-19 as all the tastings were held outside and the wine was brought to our table in small carafes so that we poured it into our own glasses.

At Gramercy Cellars we got to taste while watching them sort grapes from their first pickings of the season.  We had been looking forward to this wine but were disappointed in their offerings.  The second tasting was at Amani Cellars where we had a verticals tasting of three syrahs.  Again we did not care for what they had.

Wednesday we tasted at The Walls tasting room in town and at Reininger at their tasting room surrounded by vineyards, none of which were their own grapes.  For dinner we tasted at Valdemar Estates.  This vineyard is owned by a European company so they offered some actual Spanish wines from north of Barcelona. After our tasting we stayed and enjoyed a nice Tapas dinner of Spanish dishes accompanied by Tempranillo and Carménére.

Thursday we enjoyed a nice Italian lunch before going to Seven Hills Winery for a tasting at their tasting room and then enjoyed a glass of wine at Charles Smith Wines after window shopping in the downtown.  Charles Smith did not offer any tastings, we had to buy a glass.  That was disappointing too because we wanted to try some of his other wines.

Smoke and Sand

The weather forecast was for high winds beginning at 11 am.  We left Prosser at 11am and drove to Walla Walla in 20 - 25 mph winds with smoke from fires west of us and dust blown from everywhere.  By the time we arrived in Walla Walla the winds were at 35 mph and visibility was less then a mile and at times 1/2 mile and it stayed that way all afternoon.  Nasty!

Red Mountain Vineyards

We have stayed in Prosser before on a previous trip but this time we visited the vineyards and tasting rooms in a region called Red Mountain, about 15 miles east of here near a town called Benton City.  This area or AVA is well known for producing Syrah wines although we were excited to find a couple of vineyards growing the Carménère grape. This wine is prevalent in Chile and Argentina.  One vineyard grew several grapes from Portugal and Spain as well.

John spent several hours researching the vineyards and then making reservations for tastings.  He left about an hour between each appointment so we didn’t have to rush from one place to the next. On Friday we tasted at two very small vineyards - Frichette and Fidelitas and then had a tasting and dinner at Terra Blanca Winery.  We bought a case at Terra Blanca and a couple of bottles at the other two.

We took the day off on Saturday and tasted wines on Sunday.  Hedges Family Estate was only Syrah’s and we didn’t find anything there that we liked but the building and grounds were beautiful.  We found a blend that we liked at Anelare and had a really good wood fired pizza for lunch.  Last stop was Col Solare.  Their buildings reminded us of a place in Chili. We think it may be owned by the same company but no one there could confirm our suspicions.  They had some very nice Cabernet.  

Riverfront Park

I talked John into going to Downtown Spokane since we have never been here before.  Of course all the museums and old buildings are closed due to COVID-19 but we did get to enjoy the Riverfront Park which was built for the Worlds Fair in 1974.  The Carousel was closed and not much going on in the Pavilion but we enjoyed walking in the  park, viewing the river and it’s waterfalls and riding in the worlds shortest (length) and longest (time wise) gondola ride. ( I made that up!). 

We stopped at a restaurant that overlooks the falls and enjoyed a cocktail before heading back to the RV.  

Spokane River

It was just a short drive over to Spokane but our GPS kept us entertained.  She pronounced the city “Spoken” and the Highway 97 was pronounced “en-tee-SAY-veene”.  It took me a while to figure out where we were going!!

The campground was located on the west side of the city and is next to a casino. It was all I could do to keep John away from the blackjack tables!  Ha ha!

The Centennial Trail runs through Spokane and along the Spokane River.  We got on the trail west of town and rode for about 11 miles.  It was a really pretty ride.  There were several places we could get off the paved road and follow paths to overlooks.  At one we found the ‘Bowl and Pitcher’ feature in the river.  The bowl was an spot in the water and the pitcher is a rock formation next to the bowl.  While looking at the river a couple walked by and asked if we had seen the moose!  Darn, missed him!  We had a picnic lunch near a small dam and then rode back.

Riding the Centennial Trail

We said our goodbyes to Ray and Judy as they headed north and we continued on westward to Coeur d’Alene for the weekend.  The 300 mile long Centennial Trail runs through Coeur d’Alene and on westward to the coast.  But near here it runs past the lake, the river and several other smaller lakes that makes for a scenic bike ride.

We logged almost 32 miles on this trail but it was all flat, no hills, no curves, no obstacles to go around, just straight and flat.  Nice if on a regular bike but not a very interesting ride on the e-bikes.

We did ride our bikes to the downtown area and that made for an interesting ride as we had to contend with traffic on the roads and losing the trail so that we got lost.  Thank goodness for Google Maps.

Shoshone & Coeur d’Alene

Taking a break from bike rides, Ray, Judy, John and I played golf on a mountainside golf course called Shoshone. I played horribly but John had a good day. 

The next day we drove up to Burke, an old gold mining town that was built in Burke Canyon.  The Frisco Stamp Mill was blown apart by striking working in 1890’s.  All we saw were its footings.  The town of Burke was established in a canyon so narrow that rails, roads and river shared the same thoroughfare.  In fact, the Tiger Hotel had the river and the railroad running through the middle of it.  And that’s how it was destroyed, by catching on fire due to sparks from the steam engine. Not much left to see today.

John and I rode our bikes from Kellogg to Wallace on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene, a rails to trails that connects to the Hiawatha on the east and goes all the way to Coeur d’Alene on the west.  In between is Wallace, an historic Wild West and mining community with an interstate highway running over the top of its downtown area.  We stopped in the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot, walked the town and then rode back to Kellogg, about 30 miles total.  Most of the historic buildings and museums were closed or required a reservation so we didn’t see much.

The Route of the Hiawatha

In 1907, after years of exploration of the Bitterroot Mountains, surveying and planning, the Milwaukee Railroad started constructions of the line through the mountains to complete a route from Chicago to Seattle.  By 1911 freight and passenger trains were running through using electricity to power the locomotives.  Despite financial problems during many years the train kept running until 1980 when the last freight train came through the tunnels.

It wasn’t until May of 1998 that most of the trail was opened to hikers and bikers and it was in 2001 that the 1.7 mile long St. Paul tunnel was opened.  Today we went through that long, dark, wet tunnel plus 8 more tunnels and over 7 high trestles in our 15 mile ride down the trail.

We left Henry’s Lake on Sunday and drove 6 hours through Montana to Kellogg Idaho where we met up with our friends Ray and Judy so that we could ride the Hiawatha with them - our third time and their first.  The ride through that tunnel  was very daunting for Ray and Judy as they didn’t really know what to expect but John and I actually enjoyed it and had fun teasing them afterwards. The only lights in the tunnel came from our head lamps and bike lights, water is constantly running down the tunnel walls and collecting in ditches on either side of the bike path and it was COLD, 45 degrees all the way!

It was a beautiful day and the Bitterroots were glorious.  We’ve driven through forested mountains many times, but this bike ride took us up and into the forests, with the steep mountain sides falling below us and rock faces hugging the edges of the trail.  We could smell the pines and feel the still and quiet of the trees with gurgling mountain streams fall below the trestles.  It is a magical ride.  

Ray and Judy rode the bus back up to the parking lot below the St. Paul tunnel while John and I used the e-bikes to ride back up the 1.6% grade, 15 miles.  We all had to ride through the long tunnel a second time.  Fun, fun day!

Bubbles, Boils, Steams and Falls

We have extended out stay on Henry’s Lake through the weekend and since we are so close to the national park I decided we should spend at least one day exploring Yellowstone. We only covered about 40 miles inside the park from the West Entrance, thru Madison, Norris and to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  We were able to view the falls but the road north was closed for the summer.

Along the way we stopped to view the Gibbon River and its falls, the Geyser Basin including the Blood Geyser although we did not see it erupt, and the Artists Paintpots.  We chose not to see Old Faithful to avoid the crowds plus we have seen it before, as we have seen all the others sites.

We spent a long time around the Lower and Upper Falls of the Grand Canyon.  We walked the trails along the river to get the best views of the falls from both sides of the canyon.

We also stopped in Canyon Village to get a souvenir hat and pin and trying to remember what it was like the last time we visited but all had changed.  The crowds were not nearly as bad as we thought they might be since there are many closed campgrounds and visitor centers, no tour buses and restricted areas.  The wild animals are still on their summer ranges far from the center of the park so we only slowed a couple of times to see a lone buffalo or a small herd of female elk.

On the way back I did make John stop to view the Norris Geyser Basin which is mostly boiling water and steam vents.  I still enjoy walking on the board walks and seeing the splashing of mini geysers, the blue waters and mineral covered lands along the Porcelain Basin Trail.

Earthquake Lake

This morning was a major cleaning day for me while John spent time making arrangements to get our Oasis pump replaced so we can again have hot water on demand.

This afternoon we took a driving tour to check out RV parks for this weekend and ended up driving through the Earthquake Lake Geologic Area.

On this day in 1959 a 7.5 earthquake, with its epicenter in Hebgen Lake, set off a massive landslide that sent 80 million tons of rock into the Madison River closing off the canyon and forming Earthquake Lake.  People camping in the canyon were awaken in the middle of the night by the explosive noise and high winds caused by the slide.  Massive boulder rained down and the road was broken. Over 300 people we caught in the mayhem, 28 lives were lost. Up stream from the slide, Hebgen Lake formed  massive waves that swept over the dam and up onto the shore line taking out lodges and cabins. One side of the lake sank 19 feet. Today you can see cabins on dry land that floated away in the floods and the scar from the landslide is most evident.  Engineers created a spillway to ease the pressure on the slide so that Earthquake Lake would not break through the rocks.

Henry’s Lake

Henry’s Lake State Park is about 15 miles west of the town of West Yellowstone.  John used up some of his luck to get us a site here for a whole week.  

We arrived on Thursday afternoon in the midst of a wind storm.  The lake is surrounded on three sides by mountains which produce unexpected and unexplainable winds. This day the winds were fast and fierce.  It felt like we were going to be blown over on our side!  

Supposedly a bevy (aka flock) of trumpeter swan spend their summer on the lake but we have not seen any yet.  It’s also supposed to be a good fishing lake but John hasn’t found the energy to get his fishing gear and kayak out of storage.  So I’ve had us walking around the campground and the neighborhood.

Yesterday was “Kill John Day”!  I insisted that we take a hike on the Targhee Creek Trail.  It was supposed to be 3 miles out and back, 6 total. I packed a lunch and we headed out at 11 am, temperature 85.  It really was a beautiful hike along alpine meadows, through forest and along the creek.  We had towering mountain sides on one side and mountain vistas on the other.   We had lunch at the 3 mike mark and I felt good enough to try to go on for another mile.  John was resistant but we started anyway.  Big mistake!!

We turned around about 1/2 mile past our lunch spot and had to endure the sun beating down on us almost the whole way back down.  Both of us were struggling to get back to the car and into A/C!  With no water left in the packs, we were glad to be finished with the hike.

Moonshine Arch

Thinking we would like one more day at River Run we asked if we could extend our stay on our site one more day.  We were told ‘no’ as the people coming in had locked the site.  We could move to another site.  It made no sense to us as there were at least 50 empty sites they could put the other people on.  We left and headed west.

First stop was Vernal Utah in the heart of dinosaur country and myriad rock formations.  Temperature 100!!  That was on Monday.  Today was almost as bad and we chose to explore a couple of places in the heat of the day.  Not real smart.

Just a few miles north of town and a few miles off the beaten path is the  Moonshine Arch.  We had to walk up a hill about .8 miles but it was worth the effort. The arch is about 85 feet long and 40 feet above our heads.

Back into town and out again on the other side we headed up Dry Fork Canyon past a memorial “Remember the Maine”, a ship that was blown up in Havana Harbor in 1898.  Another flag flies from atop a tall canyon wall opposite the memorial.  This is a very patriotic area!

In Dry Fork Canyon are Native American Petroglyphs from the Fremont culture which were created over 1,000 years ago.  The trail up was a true rock climb with trail markings of ribbon in bushes and twine strung between wooden dowel rods. But we were very close to the canyon walls where the petroglyphs were located.  

We thought about eating dinner out but every restaurant that John called did not require their servers to wear masks and we were not comfortable going to any of them.  On top of that, John had been in town and very few places or people wore masks. We decided to leave a day early and go somewhere where people understand the meaning of the word pandemic.