Blue Laws and insanity

 When you do the same thing over and expect a different outcome...... Insanity

 

 One of the most perplexing things we, as westerners, encounter on our American wander are blue laws.

 Quite simply, we didn't get that there are any real benefits to them. 

  Seems, by talking to folks and reading the local publications, there are just as many drinkers in "dry" areas as there are in "wet" areas.

 The difference being the cost and availability of booze.

 Here is a real example of the silliness that some of these laws spawn.

 Four of us (My folks and Gwen and I) went to eat at a new fancy steak-house in Arkansas on a Sunday.

 We order drinks, three margaritas and a gin and tonic, the waitress asked us "are you in the drink club?" 

 "Uh, well- no, what's that?" said I, forgetting for a moment my position on the globe and the day of the week ( A common meandering symptom )

 She brings us some credit card sized cards and asks us to fill them out.

 Innocuous enough questions, name, age, signature.... OK

 We fill them all out and then she comes back with a tray and our drinks, we all hold up our dutifully recorded admission to alcohol use when she says;

 "Oh no, you keep those in your wallet, just sign our book and put your card number right next to it"

 OHH KAYY!  My mind at this time was reeling, In order to comply with a local ordinance concerning the consumption of adult beverages. The seller has to get the name in writing from someone that they don't know and that information must be corroborated by a card they will never read.

 I asked if I could sign everybody's name, what the heck? give it a try.

 "Sure" she hands me the book.

 Serves the drinks and says "be right back"

 This is too much, I always wanted to be Mickey Mouse

 M. Mouse #2235

 And so on, I named my mom Daffy Duck

 The meal was unremarkable, far below the fare we tasted at Fred's Fish House or the Blu Pig

 I have never come across any information that indicates that a blue law has been voted into existence since the repeal of prohibition.

 They just seem damn hard to vote OUT of existence.

 

Aspenglow

              The Mountains above Santa Fe

Aspenglow

 

 After surviving the Kansas transit we stop at the Eastern edge of the Rockies for a quick rest.

 then straight south to New Mexico following the Rio Grande to Taos and Santa Fe where we visit my uncle Pat for a few days.

 Pat is a natural historian with a nonstop narration of the areas history and shows us great places to eat and takes us on nature treks to see the aspens which are in full glory.

 Santa Fe is just plain wonderful, the architecture of the area is apparently mandated to the "Santa Fe" style, so the whole area has a cohesiveness that other areas could certainly benefit from.

 Wouldn't L.A. look better if it had to adhere to a Disneyland motif?

 

 New Mexico has a lot going for it, mountains, deserts, lonely roads pass mesas, desserts, a long interesting history chock full of Spanish conquests, American conquests, deserts. and the last economic conquest, Indian casinos.

 

 And as far as we could tell, no blue laws (more on that later) 

   

 

Kansas Blowin in the wind

                        Two hands at all times! 40 mph crosswind!

Kansas, what the heck was Dorothy thinking!

 

 I had been across Kansas before on a motorcycle trip, so I was somewhat prepared.

 

 Flat lands and wind.

 Kansas served up her best for us with shrieking side winds, see the pic above and look at the steering wheel, it's pitched over at forty five degrees on a straight road! the wind is so strong and gusty that at the end of the day I'm soaked in sweat.

 

 We passed the time making up Kansas jokes:

 Why did the wizard land in Oz?

 No balloon could land in Kansas unless it was one foot from the ground in Oklahoma.

 Why are there no litter patrols in Kansas?

 There are, but the signs are in Nebraska.

 

 We did find a safe, but seedy haven in Hays.

 There is a brewpub. Proof that despite the overabundance of "Jesus saves" signs every ten miles God does love Kansas, and at least wants some of them to be happy. 

 Made it through in two days, whew!!! 

 

The Gems of Arkansas

                            Big caterpillar
                   Gwen gets Diamond Fever!

Southern Arkansas Diamond Mine!

 After a very relaxing stay in Mountain Home, where Ron and I battled fiercely on the golf course (I finally beat him on the last round, and refused to play any more, he he) we headed south to seek our fortunes in the diamond mines of Arkansas

 

 The Crater of Diamonds in southern Arkansas is a diamond producing (sort-of) area where for six fifty a day per miner, you can dig up mud to your heart's content and screen the results in the hope you will find a diamond.

 

 Some people (we were told) have struck it rich here, we, on the other hand ended up with priceless memories.

 It's a trip well worth it.

 

 No, we didn't find any REAL diamonds, but we had a lot of good laughs with the other miners and got excited over pieces of glass ( YOO HOO! crap.) and got muddy, and had an incredible motorcycle ride to and from the park through winding forrest roads in southern Arkansas (One of my votes for most beautiful states)

 

 At the Tool rental shed we met some ranger/docents that had captured a huge caterpillar and were asking anyone if they knew what it was, I didn't know, but I knew how to find out.

 It was an Imperial Moth caterpillar, I looked it up on "What's that bug"

 A website I love,  bookmark the link.

 

Sister city to Los Osos

                         Spotless!!!!!

There are some things you just can't let by.

 I give you the weirdest, by far, official display by a large visitor center.

 The CLEAN toilet of the Great lakes Visitor Center.

  The visitor center is a huge building with interpretive trails and an observation tower overlooking Lake Superior.

 But if you look closely inside it harbors a darker side.

 Evidently, the construction of the center was a hotly debated subject by the local population, tucked away on side walls is a chronicle of misdeeds of vandals chopping down the poles to the "Coming soon the Great lakes visitor center" sign.

 Nasty letters to the editor calling it a monumental waste of money.. etc.

 Well it didn't work, the center stands as a monument to the forward thinking of local folks proud of their home, and proud of their housekeeping skills.

Either that, or the toilet is a poke in the eye to the doubters and naysayers.

 We, being just tourists, had to just stare in wonderment.

 This for you Los Osos,   You are not alone!

Pleasure Cruise part two

                Mississippi River Valley, Illinois.   Fall Color

Pleasure cruise part two.

 After Minnesota we travel down through Missouri to Arkansas to pick up passengers for another pleasure cruise.

 My mother Clara and her hubby Ron embark for a cruise up to Wisconsin and the northern woods to visit family and see the leaves change.

 We follow the Mississippi though forgotten towns and 

cornfields, stopping in places like Clarksville and dipping into Illinois to camp at deserted state parks.

 Vacationland this is not, RV parks are few and far between.

 The welcome in Wisconsin makes up for all, with Ron's son Shannon and lovely wife Cathy and his other son Eric showing us the great places to eat (all you can eat fried walleye.. yum!) Then Cathy proceeds to feed us to death with incredible meals of lamb (local farmer's) and the bounty of a rich farming community.

 Ron and I played a round of golf at Teal Lake, a course that would easily get hundreds of dollars a round  and a wait for a tee time in California, is walk-on here.  We had the course to ourselves (which was good, we nearly ran out of balls!)

 Very long, very narrow, BIG trees, lotsa water.   Fun.

 We then meandered across the top of Wisconsin touching Michigan and the great lakes, visiting the Great lakes visitor center and the Maritime museum before completing the circle back though Illinois and Missouri.

 The Fall is just happening, some of the trees are insanely colorful, mesmerizing us for mile upon mile.

 We will rest for a few days in Mountain Home, Arkansas and then...  

 Maybe we'll go see if Toto made it back to Kansas.

 It's a big country, with a big middle, the south is still reeling from hurricanes, the north is getting cold and the west coast beckons like a siren.

 And from there it's straight down to Mexico.

   

 

  

Minnesota nice

        Us at the falls,  what a great place!

Minnesota Nice

 

 After North Dakota we reentered civilization as we know it, staying at the Detroit Lakes RV camp. 

 Very nice, (especially after N.D.) It had a small lake with paddle-boats, lots of frogs and a cornfield that you could pick all you wanted.

 We were invited by our dear friends Joan and Dean Elwell to come to the Minneapolis area for a visit, so south we headed.

 We are so lucky to have such great friends, Joan and Dean and their (above average, of course) kids, Aiden and Katie made us right at home with a super-cool parking spot in their backyard.

 Once settled in with a heartfelt welcome, they toured us around the Minneapolis and St. Paul area for four days.

 What a GREAT place, there are museums, The Minnesota Institute of the Arts, The St Paul Landmark building to name two that we visited (along with others)

 Huge theaters like the Guthrie, where we sipped drinks in the ubermodern bar on the seventh floor.

 Wonderful restaurants like Nye's all oozing tons-o-history

 We literally ate and drank ourselves silly

 Joan is the manager of the Lakeshore Players theater so she treated us to a performance there, "Axel and his dog". We loved it.

 Then there were farmer's markets, apple farms, and more sightseeing.

 And we enjoyed killer martinis made with Prairie Vodka, a local distilled organic corn juice that when chilled is ambrosia.

 We LOVED Minnesota!

 Except for the roads, worst we have encountered yet, maybe it was our route, but very rough.

 Never did meet Al Franken, oh well, can't have everything, even in Minnesota.

North Dakota-- Just Kidding

              A picture is worth dozens of words, need we say more?

North Dakota, Just Kidding.

 It begins with badlands and, well, let's just say the road was nice and straight, filled with all kinds of interesting things like:

 The World's largest Holstein cow,

 The World's largest Sandhill Crane

 The World's largest Buffalo

 The ENCHANTED highway with the World's largest metal sculptures.

 I'm sure there are lots of great places in North Dakota, nice secret places that they keep all to themselves.

 North Dakota reminds me of a line out of a David Byrne movie, I'll paraphrase;

 God found it was easier instead of making all the world beautiful, just make some people that like it that way.

 North Dakota has a shrinking population.

 Even God throws an airball occasionally. 

 Next Minnesota, The land of Al Franken and Jesse Ventura!!!

Montana Dreams

Montana.

 Crossing back into the US under lowering clouds and rain, down the twisty two lane Hwy 89 to Great Falls, the Rockies on our right peeking out every now and then, slowly, the weather clears the terrain flattens and Montana becomes what it promises.

 Big Sky Country.

 We took lots of pictures of Montana, but none of them seem right, every vista is a hundred miles in all directions, the eye strains to see the land, but the sky dominates.

 Eventually all you see is a small strip of land at the bottom with blue weighing down like an overturned ocean.

 It's a long way anywhere, so the imagination sets in.

 Cumulus clouds line up like malevolent jellyfish, marching in rank.

 Every now and then one descends in a purple rage, lowering tentacles to the flat bottom, ensnaring those  deer and antelope playing on the range.

 We follow Lewis and Clark's trail eschewing the interstate for the two lane Hwy 87

 Right through the middle.

 We see bears in the foothills of the Rockies

 We race Pronghorn antelope (clocked one at forty miles an hour)

 The road becomes a giant roller coaster of gentle up and down with no turns.

 Abandoned homesteads, some with rotting sod-roofed buildings attest others imaginations as well.

 We take a wrong turn in the middle of nowhere and go forty miles out of our way, no problem, in fact good, otherwise we would have bypassed Winnit.

 It's Sunday, the church parking lot has seven cars in it, the bar has two.

 There are no paved streets except the one down the middle.

 Montana,  Big Dream Country

Oh Canada!

         View outside the brewpub in Canmore 

OH CANADA!

 

 After Idaho we left the country stage north.

Get out the passports and international certificate for small animals (kitty Ju Ju's passport) answer questions about intended destination (small fib cause WE don't really know, we picked Fairmont Hot Springs because Gwen's sister said it was nice, why not?) anyway with a "have a nice day" we were off.

  Canadians are very polite

  Unfortunately for us there was a nasty little stowaway in the guise of a cold virus on board, sniffles coming on, we did hole up for a few days at the Fairmont hotsprings.

 Located right up against huge craggy mountains (Canadian Rockies) we laid low and recuperated with the help of the soothing hot water in the HUGE pool.

 Traveling is super easy in Canada, all the ATMs work and of course everybody takes plastic, we changed a hundred bucks into Canadian dollars and still ended up with five of her majesties dollars when we dropped back down into the US.

 We then wandered up the west side of those crazy mountains, stopping every so often to gawk at the size and steepness of them.

 We decided to cross over them to get to the Lake Louise/Banff national park area, so low gears and a stiff climb up Hwy 1 through unbelievably scenic valleys mountains and forests brought us to the Lake Louise campground.

 The campground is located on the Bow river, a glacial outpouring of the area, the water is pale blue and incredibly cold. Hiking trails wander though mossy rain forests with fantasy mushroom gardens all over, I counted at least twenty different varieties (no, we didn't eat any).

 Next day the weather decided summer was over, a low dense fog descended, the temperature plummeted and there were reports of snow at lower elevations.

 OK, we can take a hint, besides we're wussies, down we go, stopping at Canmore because there was a billboard for a BREWPUB.

 The road down was rainy and foggy, not much to see, we were sure there were magnificent vistas all around us,  but oh well, you don't get to pick the weather, a nice tasty beer and lunch at the pub would put things to right.

 Boy did it.

 Great food and beer and when we stepped out it was like stepping into a fairytail.

 A hole in the clouds appeared revealing snow capped craggy peaks all around us, magic.

 We had toyed with the idea of making east in Canada all the way to Winipeg, but the weather looked crummy, south seemed a better choice, so south we went.

 We stayed on the smaller roads (Hwy 22) to a choice between crossing back over the mountains west or east for a little bit then down to Montana.

 So naturally, we did both.

 This led us to the incomparable spot called Crowsnest Pass and one of Canada's 

most famous sights, Frank Slide.

 Frank was a small mining town that was questionably located under a monstrous loose rock of purest limestone, gravity, being poorly understood back then, did what gravity does.

 It dropped the rock right on them, square miles of huge boulders came down and buried the town and covered the mine, people in houses were crushed, but weirdly the miners just dug themselves out.

 Seeing that there was no way the town could be rebuilt on that pile of boulders, everyone moved to Crowsnest pass and opened souvenir stands. 

 Who said Canadians were boring? I love em.

 Well anyway, here we say goodbye to our dear neighbors in the great white north.

 Next, Montana, Big Sky-In -Your- Eye!

  

 

   

Idaho!

                      South fork of the Clearwater River, Idaho

Idaho!

 First, into Boise to visit an old friend that we hadn't seen in over 18 years.

 Michelle was our neighbor in Shell Beach when we were young business owners 

 (The Paperback Shack).

 She and Gwen had kept contact all this time.

 She and her husband Terry procured a level spot right next to their home, and graciously showed us some of the sights around town.

 Boise is obviously a very nice place to live, with a university, museums and all the cultural trappings that go along with that.

 After a few days and several thousand words catching up, we headed straight north to see the "Panhandle"

 Often following the Lewis and Clark trail, we tried to avoid the big highways.

 Highway 13 along the Clearwater river is wonderful, we found easy camping along the water, waterfalls, mountains, rolling fields of wheat with picturesque farms.

 Almost every one of them sporting a perfect red barn.

 Our last stop was at Sandpoint Idaho

 Located on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille, Sandpoint is kind of an over-the-top

tourist area, there are ski resorts a few miles away at Schweitzer Mountain The lake boasts a yacht/ sailing club, we watched a regatta from the pristine city beach then took the BMW (our dingy) for a ride to the ski resort for a microbrew/ music festival

 (Our favorite was the "Rocket Dog IPA" brewed in Sandpoint)

 Then it started hailing on us.

 Not the most comfortable thing for motorcycling so "down the hatch" fast and down the mountain too.

 The weather was still holding pretty nice most of the time, so North we go, across the border into...

 CANADA.

East We Go.

Eastern Oregon and Beyond

 The meander went on a mission of mercy and hedonism.

 Our dear friend Jo had suffered a back injury,  since we had nowhere to be, and since Gwen is a nurse (RN) par excellence, we stayed in Springfield Or. for a few days to help Jo, and suffer the delights of the Eugene/Springfield area.

 Perfect weather and walks on the allyisian riverside parks were a delight.

 Incredible dinners and lots of laughter got Jo up quick, which was a good thing, because Jo and her hubby Jerry, were to take delivery of their first (RV) pop up camper in a few days.

 We needed to make a quick visit to the home port, Gold Beach, to reshuffle the rig (get rid of deadweight), so we all made plans to meet back at Belknap Springs for an inaugural camp-out (totally hedonistic style) 

  A great success, If you get the chance to go there, do it.

    From there, a true meander.

 East looked good, so we headed up into the eastern side of Oregon and inadvertently  got educated about Lewis and Clark. And someone who now stands as one of my favorite frontier heros.

 John Day

  If you get a road atlas of eastern Oregon, you will find a large area of the upper right hand side has a preponderance of places called "John Day this or that."

 There's  roads, towns, rivers, restaurants, even a National Park (Which oddly, gets the whole story right)

 John was a terrible scout, and his chief claim to fame was being robbed by Indians, (Natives), Stripped naked and left for rescue at what now is the mouth of the John Day River on the Columbia , but was then called "The river where we found John Day running around naked" He died insane.

 Needless to say, the name stuck

 It's a kind of country that makes you feel little, no big deal to park under a 200ft. tree here, common to have lots of free firewood handy and it's breathtakingly beautiful.

 The painted Desert WOW

 The Fossil bed exhibits are great, we had the pleasure of being attended to by a knowledgeable and enthusiastic ranger.

 I can't say enough good about all of the national park rangers, meandering would be so much poorer without them.

  Next, IDAHO DY YO!

 First stop, buy potatos potatoes potatoughs.

Pleasure Cruise

Pleasure Cruise.

 We needed to violate the prime directive of the Meander (No Destinations, No Designations) to get to Vancouver for the reunion, so the way up left us feeling like something was missed at the Carl G Washburn State Park, it proved to be a relevant and delightful foresight  a week or so later. 

As Gwen's sister Ellen and hubby Jim came aboard for their first taste of RVing and since this required a definite port of departure and return, it turned out to be a kinda "Grand Tour" de Oregon.

 We crossed the backbone of the Cascades four times, visiting Mt.Hood Timberline Lodge,  The Cove at Palisades State Park, Smith Rock (see pic above), Crater Lake, Diamond Lake State Park, Belknap Springs Resort and then back for a few days at C. G. Washburn State Park .(Not in that order. What? Actually PLAN a trip? Perish the thought!)

 The Cruise was a huge success by all accounts  (unanimous vote).

 Timberline lodge at Mt. Hood is a Movie set kinda place ( The Shining) with awesome views of the Mountain (They were STILL skiing in 80 degree weather).   The bar on the mezzanine serves Mt. Hood Ales brewed just a few miles down the mountain, I'm not sure , but I swear altitude makes the beer better, the Ice Axe IPA is outasight.

 Then down to the East side of the Cascades to follow the Deschutes River to a State park we picked just because it's close to Smith Rock S.P.

 The Cove Palisades State Park.

 But first, I'd like to write a word or two about navigation.

 I've used a GPS for flying airplanes and navigating boats, but this is the first time I've used a road GPS. 

 The Garmin Nuvi I bought at Best Buy has, I  swear, an evil pixie controlling it's database. 

 "Shortest rout?" No Problem, unless you count change in altitude a significant factor in your calculations.

 It will gladly direct you down a one lane mountain road to save .0001 miles.

 It's all part of our learning curve, so large paper maps will be the decider, the Gremlin will be used as a suggestion only. (It will get you to ANY address anywhere, so it is useful for visiting and finding stuff, you just have to laugh when you snake through surface streets to get somewhere that is under a freeway overpass with offramps.) 

 The Cove Is a conglomeration of several camping areas above Pelton Dam.

 We stayed at the one just before you drive down to the water area, a large GREEN lake that is situated in a blast furnace. 

 The rangers kill each other regularly to be transfered to the campground where we stayed a thousand feet up from the water. Kidding, but probably not much.

 The view over the sheer cliff (straight down and I'm not kidding, fear of heights?. don't look) Is wonderful, the colors at sunset. WOW.

 The Campground is nice and tidy and flat and is popular in that you will probably survive the heat.  We have A/C and used it.

 Next day, Smith Rock

 Smith Rock is proof that God believes in evolution.

 In the middle of freeking nowhere on a Crooked River is a chasm 1000 ft deep. rising out from the middle of that valley are humongous rocks some of which are clearly photoshopped. The sides of these rocks are so vertical it causes a subset of humans (rock climbers) to have religious epiphanies with dire consequences involving gravity, instant Darwin Award.

 That said, the trail (not too steep) to the bottom and casual wandering about is well worth the trip. Day use only, so it's a short visit, we saw Canadian Geese, Ospreys, Gnarley Pines and a quiet serenity unusual to say the least, binoculars helped spot eagle nests and the frayed end of ropes dangling to the last users demise, Kidding.

 Next was a cross over the Cascades to Belknap Hot Springs Resort.

 This privately owned resort is one of the best kept secrets that I will probably ruin.

 For about ten bucks a day per person you can soak in natural hot spring pools, full sized for swimming, wander  acres of manicured gardens of flowers and fancy sculptures and fountains. there is a lodge with stuff, campfire rings and the Mackenzie River. We met people that had stayed for weeks at a time, I don't blame them.

Next day Southward Ho! (after crossing the Cascades of course)

 Crater Lake needs no description from me, go there.

 Deepest lake in the US with NO streams or rivers going into it, yet it doesn't dry up.

 Kind of like the US budget.

 We stayed just a few miles down the road at Diamond Lake State Park.

 Nice quiet and of course beautiful, they have a reservation area and a no-res area, we lucked out and scored a super nice lakeside spot YA HOO.

 Then across the Cascades AGAIN out to the coast to Carl Washburn State Park.

 When we stopped there on the way to Vancouver for the reunion, we got the feeling that this place was special, so we lobbied Jim and Ellen to visit for a couple of days there on the return leg of the Pleasure Cruise.

 What a treat. Coastal rain forest, friendly (read too slow to run away) newts, miles of beachcombing, relaxation in beauty. Hobbit beaches, lighthouses. and the road back to Vancouver through Tillamook puts you on Highway 6 and right directly on the way to, and I'm not making this up,

 Alice's Restaurant 

 I don't know or care if this is THE Alice's Restaurant

 It ROCKS! The service is nice and homey, but don't be in a hurry, everything is handmade by Alice herself and I bow forever to her ability.

 (Hint.. the smoked pork chop and eggs.....mnnnnn.) 

   

Cutting the strings

Cutting the strings.
First order of business in our meander was getting the house and renter ducks in a row, moving our home address to our Oregon digs and setting up all the little details of bills and such.
Hours spent on the phone to customer service representatives, after the obligatory voice menu that asks you for your account number and all kinds of yes or no questions then hands you off to a REAL person who asks you for your account number again....
It seemed like it took forever, but we finally pointed the rigs nose forward and set out up the coast road hwy1 Oregon.
This is arguably one of the most scenic roads in America, the weather was great and we were excited to get moving.
First camp was at state park Carl G Washburn
http://www.all-oregon.com/parks/carl_washburn.htm
A drop- dead gorgeous spot with hobbit hole trails leading to a rocky sandy beach and a bubbling stream to serenade you to sleep.
Which caused us to get up at the crack of noon the next morning.
Well rested we set out to explore the Oregon Aquarium in Newport
http://www.aquarium.org/

Then a search for the next nights camp (not remarkable) before meeting Gwen's siblings in Vancouver Wa. for a family reunion, afterwards we will be taking on passengers Jim and Ellen McClure for a week long cruise to where the weather is nice either in Washington or Oregon.

Where Away

This is post one of the meander across America Blog.
Some folks say "post pictures" I say "Why bother much?"
Anyone can take snapshots of vistas or whatever.
What matters is what the author THINKS about the topography, flora and fauna.
With today"s internet, why not just post a link to a related picture or relevant information?
So this picture may be the only one.
There we are, Mike and Gwen with our doorway window blazing like a beacon.
We are not so much moving away as moving "out"

Open the door!