The Great Road Trip

Great visit with Sherry and David at the ranch near Gatesville, TX. Toured the land in an ATV and side-by-side, yummy enchiladas and croissant French toast and fruit, and relaxing on the porch under the stairs. Thank you, guys! Triple digit temps not even an issue. Life is good. Goats, deer, cattle, horses, Fort Hood. Texas is prettier than I imagined, politics aside. Heading home, highways and hotels. One more post with highlights and stats. Thanks for coming along for the ride, dear reader.

Nice visit with Susan, et al, strolling the plaza, massage at Ten Thousand Waves, fueling the local economy, having fun house hunting (not for us). Brief stop at Santa Fe Botanical Garden and heading east toward home. Already! Happy to make one more stop in/near Austin to visit Sherry and David. Hot! (The temp, but okay, maybe Sherry and David, too.)

July 23 - left one if our favorite cabins this trip, with the rushing river right outside and a full hummingbird feeder on our patio table. Parking lot full for Wild Basin hike to waterfalls, so we walked through the woods along a stream, passed a deer and her babies. Stopped in Castle Rock after getting a new car tire in Denver, meeting up with NJ bike friends Judy and Ed. July 24 - Passed up Pikes Peak, but drove through Castle of the Gods. New Mexico! So happy to be back. Great anniversary dinner at Love Apple in Taos. Yum! Overnight at Dreamcatcher B and B. Relaxing in their garden hammock. July 25 - strolled through Taos Plaza, then off to Santa Fe. Lunch with the new resident Kennedy clan! People floating down the Rio Grande, history, culture, hatch green chilis! Shoutout to Rawlings Farmhouse Ales for a great lunch. 

Finally, saw my moose! Actually a mother and baby (first just with its ears showing above the tall grass), at Sprague  Lake at sunrise. Plus the “alpine glow” of the sun rising on a clear morning. Continued on our guided tour to see areas we hadn't seen yet, Bear Lake, Moraine Park in daylight, up Trail Ridge Road (highest continuous road in lower 48) to Holwarth, site of the bootleggers long ago. Crossed Continental Divide several times, and saw devastation from last year's park fires. Passed Pourdre Lake where we saw, wait for it, 3 more moose! (Believe me. They were too far away for a clear phone pic.) Many thanks to Full Potential Wilderness for a terrific personalized tour.

The Green Jeep tour took 8 of us up Old Fall River Rd (narrow, one-way) back to Alpine Ridge, stopping to explore waterfalls and meadows filled with wildflowers. Passed a valley with 60+ elk, grazing and bedding down for the night. A lovely sunset, 2 rainbows (!) and mule deer and marmots. What an awesome park.  

After a fun lunch with Jeanette (a DC colleague) and her 3 kids near Salt Lake City and the Wahsatch Mtns, with an overnight in Rock Springs, WY (windy!), we made it to Estes Park, CO. Great cottage right on Big Thomson River, with active hummingbirds! Wow! We got 2 miles high today! Fall River entrance to Trail Ridge Road. Lots of scenic turnoffs and short hikes. Truly “the highway in the sky.” See for yourself. Saw marmots, chipmunks, and 4 adult elk in the meadow. Then saw 2 male elk just eating along the side of the road in town. Oy!

Made it to Leach Botanical Garden leaving Portland. An adorable fawn prancing through the ferns. And wow! Scenic! Gorgeous drive the long way along Rte 21. Cabin on Salmon River with front view of the Sawtooth Mountains.  Lots of dogs, kids, pickup trucks at Redfish Lake Lodge. Had a picnic dinner on their beach, listening to live music. Then gratefully returned to our separate, quiet cabin down the road. Night stars and the Milky Way! Hurrah! Central Idaho first dark sky designation. Makes sense. Took a relaxing float trip down the river, watching the osprey overhead and the mountains and ranches on the shore. It’s like adult camp, with so much to do outside. Found the local organic bakery and cafe, annual craft fair and library. Stanley feels unreal, like a movie set - all log cabins gridded out, catering to outdoorsy tourists. Scenic though! Took a short detour to Craters of the Moon National Preserve. Eerie lava fields from thousands of years ago, oozed out through fissures in ...

Having a great time exploring the city and environs with Hugh. Great bike rides (Hood River to Mosier Trail), Multnomah Falls, lots of food truck dining al fresco - plus Salt and Straw ice cream! Oregon Gardens in Silverton, Hoyt Arboretum at Washington Park, parachuters landing in a field, took the bike on the light rail to downtown and back  (fewer hills for me, Tom and Hugh pedaled the distance). Great ride through Washington Park and along the river, bridge crossings and neighborhoods. Plus a bonus eagle in a tree!

July 8 - took a long walk along the beach at low tide. Lots of crabs and mussel shells. And 20 intact sand dollars, wow! Another picnic lunch and afternoon relaxing in our Adirondack chairs, enjoying the ocean sounds and smells. No whale sighting yet, but an osprey with a fish for dinner. July 9, another great day. Hiked in Quinault Rain Forest Trail (much less busy), saw the world’s largest Sitka Spruce and Western Red Cedar (according to the trees’ PR, anyway), walked to Beach 2, relaxed at the lodge, watched a hummingbird. I could get used to this!