Another Walk in the Park

So, you like lighthouses?

2010-01-04T13:22:00.003-05:00

Lighthouses are always popular attractions. The Great Lakes are rimmed with lighthouses because commercial shipping and recreational boating are so popular. At nearby Marble Head, for example, the lighthouse is a well-recognized landmark.

Shirley and I visited several lighthouses along the Oregon Coast in Aug. of '09. Usually they were positioned on high promontories to maximize the range of their beams. Surf pounded the rocks far below reminding us that lighthouses are essentially functional. If tourists happen to like them, that's just a bonus.

At the Coquille River, the light guards a potentially treacherous bar where the river enters the ocean. When we were there, the surf was so high that it tossed a Coast Guard 44 boat as if it were a toy. Though fishing boats worked the calm waters of the river beneath the town of Bandon, none ventured out where the Coast Guard was conducting its drills.

The Great Western Tour

2009-10-14T15:13:00.061-04:00

Shirley and I spent two months on the Great Western Tour summarized here with a baker's dozen of photos. Later, in this blog, each of our major stops will be treated separately.

Arrived at Badlands National Park in South Dakota on July 30. Sharp ridges in the golden sunlight convinced us we had made an auspicious beginning on our first extended voyage (8,687 total miles) in the Roadtrek.

Returned to Yellowstone for the fourth year in a row. (Yes, I know. We are among the most fortunate of people.) Because we have seen all of the mandatory attractions numerous times, we devoted five days to fishing the Gardner River, seen here from our site in Mammoth Campground. Lots of beautiful brook trout with bright orange markings.

Crossed the panhandle of Idaho to the Columbia River Gorge. Visited Columbia Crest and Snoqualmie wineries and had to pass up numerous others. Did not pass up any of the spectacular waterfalls that plunge 600 feet and more from hanging valleys into the mighty Columbia.

North into Washington to visit Mt. Rainier National Park. Found that it lived up its name--rainier than we would have liked. On the fourth morning, we drove around to the eastern slopes of the 14,000-ft. peak and found sunshine at last. Took a five-mile loop trail through flower-filled meadows and along a high ridge with grand views of some of the 27 separate glaciers on the mountain.

Out on the NW peninsula of Washington State is Olympic National Park. We camped a mile from Rialto Beach with its great rock sentinels called sea stacks. On the beach, gigantic drift wood forms a barrier between land and ocean. Shirley loved listening to the waves rattle the black stones that form the beach. Dozens of pelicans dived for fish. Tourists searched for colorful, friction-polished stones and the occasional agate.

Cruised down the Oregon Coast on Rt. 101. Stopped regularly to visit lighthouses such as the Cape Blanco Light shown here. It sits on the western-most point in the contiguous 48 states and is the oldest and tallest light station on the coast. At several places on the spectacular Oregon coast, we heard the barking of seals and sea lions. Thousands of them competed for spots on rocky outcroppings above the pounding surf.

At Crater Lake National Park the main attraction is actually a color--a stunning blue. At 1,932 feet, Crater is the deepest lake in the US. The purity of the water (100% from rain and snow) means that light penetrates to great depths where all but the blue wavelengths are absorbed. Wizard Island, along the far shore, is said to resemble a conical magician's hat.

Lassen Volcanic National Park was one of the most pleasant surprises on our trip. What is now one of our favorite hikes, the King Creek Falls Trail, follows the stream to a waterfall. The alternate route back climbs through a series of cascades that we found more impressive than the falls. Around every bend was a new treasure.

At Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park, there are amazing views down the valley towards Half Dome. To the right are towering Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. To the left, the 2,425-foot Yosemite Falls. (Niagra, for comparison, is 186 feet.) In September, though, there were no falls. Yosemite Creek dries up in late summer.

Sequoia National Park converted Shirley into a real tree hugger. The giant sequoias were truly more impressive than I expected. The first branch on the General Sherman Tree, for example, is bigger than a full-grown oak tree.

Lake Mead is just over the ridge from Las Vegas. Except for a trip to Trader Joe's to restock our pantry, we avoided the city altogether. It's just not our kind of attraction. The Joshua Tree, shown here, and the mountains are much more appealing.

We climbed the Watchman Trail in Zion National Park for spectacular views up the valley. Magnificent Navajo sandstone cliffs, rivaling anything Yosemite has to offer, reminded us of why Zion is one of our favorite places.

Bryce Canyon National Park is home to oddly sculptured red rock formations called "hoodoos." A trail leads from the rim of the canyon down through the narrow defile of Wall Street, past balanced rocks and Thor's Hammer to the fanciful silhouette of Queen Victoria.

Motor mouth

2009-07-27T18:11:00.012-04:00

When Shirley and I first traveled west, we tried to make the drive time pass more quickly by listening to the radio or music on cassette tapes. Then, I tried checking out books on tape from the public library. But our trips were often longer than the time the library would allow us to keep the tapes. (This was, of course, way back in the Olden Days. Today, we have satellite radio, a flat-panel TV and other radically novel technologies and do-dads.) Still, it did convince us that a book on tape often has more to offer than the radio.

Reading beside a campfire after dinner was already a well-established practice with us. Then, we began to read aloud to each other. Shirley proved particularly adept at reading aloud so she continued while we were on the road.

In Nebraska or the Dakotas, if you have seen one mile of the countryside you have seen them all. We find that a good book really helps make the driving much more pleasant. The reading stops when we reach the mountains so Shirley can share in the Ooh! Aaah! Wow! Gollygeebobola!

Even with the interruptions for scenery appreciation, we (by whom I mean Shirley) have managed to get through a surprising number of books. This morning I made a quick review of our reading just to satisfy my own curiosity. A partial list includes: all of the novels of Jane Austen; all of Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha novels; all of Anthony Trollope's Palliser novels (6) and Barsetshire novels (6) plus others outside the series (S. has become a big fan of Trollope); a smattering of Dickens (at 800+ pages each, a "smattering" is heavy enough to throw your back out); biographies and misc. volumes of history. In addition to the reading aloud stuff, we both routinely take several books each for "private" reading. Shirley likes mysteries--especially if they involve a cat that solves riddles too tough for Sherlock Holmes--and romance. I am partial to the historical novels of Patrick O'Brian and Bernard Cornwell as well as actual history and biography.

All of this reading has resulted in what I think is an interesting phenomenon. By academic training, I am a literary fellow and I had read all of that stuff above--at least once--before Shirley started the reading aloud thing. During the first 30 years of our marriage, I occasionally suggested books I thought she might enjoy. Her response was luke warm at best. Once in a while she would read a preface or introduction before declaring that she just couldn't get into it.

When she started to read aloud, however, Shirley suddenly found the material much more palatable. I don't understand it. But I like it. Now, she asks eagerly what we are going to read next. It is really nice finally to share an enthusiasm for good books.

Recently, she has been reading Trollope's The Macdermots of Ballycloran while we enjoy cocktail time in our yard swing. (It is his first novel and not up to his later standards.) She'll continue with it tomorrow as we head west. After the Trollope, she'll begin George Eliot's Middlemarch. You may be among those whose only acquaintance with Eliot is via a high school literature course that included Silas Marner. It is amazing that anybody at all emerges from high school with a taste for real books. Now that you are all grown up, think about giving Middlemarch or The Mill on the Floss a chance. It could be the start of a beautiful relationship with Eliot.

Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to continuing a beautiful relationship with Shirley. And hoping that she takes "motor mouth" in the best possible sense.

2009-07-27T09:07:00.001-04:00

Preparing to leave

2009-07-26T17:56:00.005-04:00

These photos are from our May trip to the Smoky Mountains and up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Shenandoah National Park. As Shirley and I have for time for more extensive travel, there are far more photos and experiences than can be accommodated by Healthy Living News in my monthly column, "A Walk in the Park."

To illustrate that point, we are approaching the July 29 departure for a two-month tour of the West. We have an itinerary but no schedule--except for the week after Labor Day when we have campground reservations in Yosemite National Park. This is how I see the trip unfolding. Get out your Atlas and trace this route:

Badlands National Park in South Dakota

Flyfishing the Tongue River in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park

Flyfishing the Lochsa River in the Idaho panhandle

Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood, Oregon

Mt. Rainier National Park

Olympic National Park

Down the Oregon Coast

Redwoods National Park

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lake Tahoe

Yosemite National Park

Death Valley National Park

Then, depending on the weather in the high country, home via...

Zion National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park

Capitol Reef National Park

Canyonlands National Park

Arches National Park

Or, the southern route via...

Grand Canyon National Park

Sedona, AZ

Santa Fe, NM.

As you might guess, I am looking forward to making a lot of memories and photos on this trip. Though there are few things as boring as other people's vacation pictures, I hope you will find something here that will be worth the price of admission. (Wait. Shirley tells me there is no price of admission.)