Beginning Our Travels for 2012

Janet and I have had an inauspicious start to our travels this year.  I am hoping that much like last year we get the bad stuff out of the way right off the bat and have smoother sailing the rest of the way.  We left Alpine, CA on Saturday, Feb 25th., about 12 noon and planned on driving only 150 miles to Yuma AZ, so we figured we wouldn't need to leave too early.  We were driving down I-8 listening to some old Doobie Bros (Rockin' Down the Highway!) and 69 miles down the road something caught my attention in my side-view mirror.  I took a longer look and noticed smoke pouring out of the side of the trailer.  I immediately pulled over and found that our left front tire was completely shredded.  One of the problems with pulling a trailer is that you are so far removed from what is going on behind you, that you don't notice things like your tire blowing out until you are littering the freeway with rubber and sending a plume of smoke behind you to the delight of everyone following your rig. 

Fortunately we have road side assistance, unfortunately we have road side assistance through Camping World.  We went through 3 different people, but did finally get someone who was able to help and he dispatched a tow vehicle to us to replace the tire with our spare.  Three hours later we had our spare on and were able to continue down the road.  Three hours is an eternity while stranded on I-8 near El Centro.  For those who do not know the area, it is essentially a waste land of arid soil, arid mountains and dust.  They do some farming out there, but not sure what type of crop grows in this inhospitable land.  Thank goodness it was not summer as the temps would have been in the 100's I'm sure.  Amazingly, not one California Highway Patrol went by in the 3 hours we were stranded, although the Border Patrol cruised by a couple of times.  Guess you can speed all you want as long as you are not an illegal alien.

View from our truck while waiting for assistance

Janet and I made it safe and sound in Yuma at around 7:30 pm AZ time and are now looking for a tire place so that we can continue our travels.  Never thought it would take 6 1/2 hours to go 150 miles.

California

Lassen Peak, Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Deer Creek, Lassen National Forest

Misty Morning, Central California

Yosemite National Park

Hetch Hetchy Valley, Yosemite National Park

Asilomar State Beach near Monterey

Asilomar State Beach

Monarch Sanctuary in Pacific Grove

Montana de Oro State Park, Los Osos

Montana de Oro State Park, Los Osos

Montana de Oro State Park, Los Osos

Oregon

Continuing the last leg of our travels last year, we spent quite a bit of time in Oregon.  We really love this state and are always happy to return.

Vista House Columbia River Gorge Oregon

Columbia River Gorge Oregon

Multnomah Falls Oregon

Covered Bridge outside Cottage Grove Oregon

Row River Oregon

Office Covered Bridge, Westfir Oregon

Fall foliage, Umpqua National Forest, Oregon

Lighthouse at Bullard's State Beach

Bandon Oregon

Cacade Range from Rim Drive East in Crate Lake National Park

Crater Lake National Park

Forest Bridge near Rogue River National Forest

The Rest of Our 2011 Travels

It seems that I am never going to be able to finish last years travels.  So, I have decided to simply post a few of the shots I took in chronological order.  That way anyone who wants to know where we went after Montana can view them.  As they say, a picture tells a thousand words, so why fight it?  I have vowed to keep a log/diary of our trip this year in order to make it easier to transcribe into the blog.

OK, to start us off, here is Idaho and Washington.  Hope you all enjoy them.  Let me know if you have any specific questions on any of this places and I'll see what I can remember.  Cheers!

Sunbreak over Couer d'Alene Lake, Couer d'Alene Idaho

Space Needle, Seattle Washington

Seattle Skyline

Mount Ranier National Park

Waterfall at Mount Ranier National Park

Montana - Kootenai Falls

One of our favorite places to go in Montana is the Kootenai Falls area located between Libby and Troy Montana on US Hwy 2.  This is the setting for the film "River Wild" and has some amazing rapids when the river is running high and boasts one of the largest free flowing falls in the northwest.

Kootenai Falls Montana

Kootenai Falls Montana

Green Pool at Kootenai Falls

There are plenty of trails along the south side to explore and take in the views, but one of the most exciting and best views is from the swinging bridge just west of the main trail.  While the bridge is not for everyone (we saw a lot of people decide not to cross after stepping foot on it) it provides access to several more trails on the north side of the river as well as a spectacular view from the middle of the bridge.

Janet crossing the swinging bridge

There is so much to see and do in Montana. We've been to Montana several times and always enjoy going back.  For those who love the outdoors Montana is a real jewel.

Fern Shadow - Kootenai National Forest

Sunset over Noxon Reservoir - Trout Creek Montana

Montana

We left Yellowstone and headed northwest into Montana.  I always love visiting Big Sky Country.  I don't think there is anywhere in the world that is more scenic then western Montana.  With its sweeping vistas, huge mountain ranges and wide open spaces it gives one both a sense of awe and a feeling of serenity.  We first landed in a small town called Ennis which allowed us to day trip out to the old western towns of Virginia City and Nevada City.  Both towns are very rustic now, but were thriving gold towns during the 1800's.  Virginia City still has residents living there and is a National Historic Landmark along with much of the surrounding area.  Nevada City (1.5 miles west) is now an open air museum where you can step back in time and see what life was like during the gold rush.  The town was shut down for the season when we arrived, but we had been there before so had already seen much of it.  I really love shooting rustic items and this town gives me a chance to stretch out and explore.

Welcome to Nevada City

Nevada City Saloon

Kitchen Window

Nevada City Train

 

 

Yellowstone

Janet and I have been to Yellowstone several times before, but for the first time we actually stayed in the park which made it much easier to explore.  For those of you who have been there you know just how huge this park is 

(2,219,789 acres) and how difficult it is to see just a small portion of it.  We were here for 3 days and could have stayed for a week without seeing all there is to see.

Sunrise in Yellowstone

Yellowstone is a mix of landscapes, from the beautiful canyons, rivers and lakes to the surreal and other-worldly geothermal features that spew and steam and bubble throughout the park.  The colors of many of the geothermal pools are absolutely stunning.

Grand Prismatic Pool

Emerald Pool

We spent one afternoon on a hike with a ranger and learned so much about how the features were formed and found that due to the ever changing landscape these features do not always last for very long.

 

 

Geothermal Pool

One morning Janet and I decided to drive to one of the scenic waterfalls and then hike along the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  We drove to Artist Point and I took a few shots from various positions.  I was just about to pack it in when a lady told me to wait about 30 minutes when the sun crested over the canyon and I would be treated to a beautiful rainbow in the mist of the waterfall.  Gorgeous!

Waterfall Rainbow

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park is truly an American treasure and a must see for anyone who enjoys the beauty of nature and wildlife that abound in the park.

Where the Buffalo Roam

Sunset at Yellowstone