Bridges of Madison County, Iowa

We drove thru all of southern Wyoming and southern Nebraska without stopping to site-see, that was about 800 miles. Today I insisted we see something. This is a journey and I NEED something to blog about.

The Bridges of Madison County are in Iowa. Who knew that?? In the heart of Madison County is the small city of Winterset, where six of the remaining 19 covered bridges are near. Iowa novelist Robert James Waller romanticized these bridges in his best-selling novel and film staring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood. Many of the movie scenes were shot in town, as well as the bridges.

The most famous bridge is The Roseman, built in 1883. It was the easiest for us to find. The others we needed to stop at the Winterset Historical Museum to ask directions and received a detailed map. We saw four in all: Cutler-Donahoe, Holliwell, and Imes Covered Bridges, all built between 1870-1883. They all are similiar in shape and are painted red. Usually the bridges were named for the residents who lived closest and each one has a sign posted above the opening with the date and name. Most of them are now closed to traffic, except for one. Covered bridges were built to help preserve the large flooring timbers which were more expensive to replace then the lumber covering the sides and roof of the bridge. The drive, trying to find these bridges, thru the back roads was very peaceful and beautiful farmland. Southern Iowa is much hillier then the northern part. Still, rolling hills of corn and hay! Miles and miles!

Also, Winterset is the birthplace of John Wayne.

By the end of today, we should be in Illinois.

Driving Eastward....Homeward bound

We are driving east on I-80 thru the states of southern Wyoming and now Nebraska. The beautiful land of nothingness! Wyoming is all ranches and stinky cattle. Nebraska is all farms with miles of corn. The biggest thrill was going thru Hastings, NE home of Kool Aid. It all started here! No pictures interesting enough to waste my time posting. These prove it.

During our journey thru beautiful USA, Andy tries so hard to find the most unusual and memorable places for us to camp (other then Walmart). Tonight, we are "camping" in the front yard of the Y Motel, out in the middle of no where. (But they have electricity!!!) Across the street is a house with aspiring musicians....entertaining us. Thinking about getting their number to book for my daughters wedding!

The good news...there isn't any....we arrive in Iowa tomorrow. Soon we will be home to see our family. Sure miss them all.

Any Body Out There?

Is anyone following this blog?
I have been enjoying writing it but wondering if anyone really reads it. Comments please...email us at either teebox70@yahoo.com or langn54@yahoo.com.
Or make a direct comment on the blog site. THANKS!

The Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island

The Great Salt Lake is the saltiest body of water on Earth, with the exception of the Dead Sea. The salinity varies from 15 to 25%, six times saltier than the ocean. The lake gets its extreme saltiness from the mineral-laden freshwater streams that feed into it and find no outlet. The evaporation of the streams waters leaves so much salt behind that the lake will buoy a human body. Andy and I did not try to float, but we did wade in it. We noticed that the water trapped near the shores leaves inches of almost pure salt. We did not taste the water to see if it was indeed salty, I could feel in burn my fresh shaven legs! Antelope Island is one of the eight major islands in the lake. We spent the afternoon there hiking and looking for wildlife. We found a large herd of bison and an antelope. The bison are not native to the area but twelve were introduced to the island in 1893. The herd today is over 500.

We were lucky enough to be able to sit in on a rehearsal of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir tonight. This choir started as a small group of pioneers who were asked to sing when they arrived in 1847. Today, it is a 360 member choir plus a full symphony orchestra, all unpaid volunteers. These amazing singers and musicians are know as one of the great choirs in the world. They have received both Grammy and Emmy awards. Andy called his mom during the performance so she could listen in on this once in a life time experience.

Leaving Utah in the morning and continuing to head east. No definite plans on our next stop as of this writing.

Salt Lake City, Utah

We spent the night at Walmart just north of Salt Lake City where we had some action in the parking lot to entertain us for about 3 hours. It appeared three under-cover cops in unmarked trucks had a young couple hand cuffed and in and out of the police cars. Extra officers were even called in. Andy gave me minute by minute account of the happenings as he watched through binoculars out our window. Eventually, they were released and the cops left and the young walked into Walmart! Without electricity or TV, we enjoy any type of entertainment.

In the morning we toured the Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City which covers 35 acres. The temple itself allows no tours, but its 6 towers topped with finial spires is easy to spot anywhere in the city.

We toured the Tabernacle and actually sat in on an organ recital. The Tabernacle is home of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They said the Tabernacle has almost perfect acoustics, seats 6,500 and has a 11,623 pipe organ. Then we visited "This is the Place" museum. It sits at the foot of the mountains. There are statues and monuments of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, the first two presidents of the Mormon religion. It also explained the history of the Hand Cart Era when almost 3,000 Mormons made the 1,200 mile journey to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake pulling only 2 wheeled carts with their supplies. And Andy and I think we have it rough when we have no electricity or phone service!

In our journey to different cities we have noticed the large number of homeless. We didn't see any in the state of Idaho but then surprised to see them here in Salt Lake City...actually sitting right outside the iron gates around Temple Square. We even noticed young people sleeping in their cars in parking lots. This is upsetting.

Caters of the Moon caves

We have been blessed with another beautiful day! Cool nights, blue skies and warm days with temperatures in the high 70's. Went to explore the lava tunnels and caves. These form when lava flow hardened on the outside while the lava still flowed within. Those temperatures inside the caves were around 40 degrees.

The first cave we went into was the Boy Scout Cave. It is a steep climb down the lava rocks into a narrow opening requiring you to either scoot on your back or knees to get through. All this time going over sharp lava rocks. Once inside, you are able to stand but always in need of watching your head for lava stalactites. (This is from molten rock that dripped and harden) Andy did clunk his head once or twice. There are no paved trails or artificial light. So it is pitch dark, requiring a flashlight. That cave is about 300 feet long and very "closed in". I didn't explore the entire cave and ventured out the way I came in. The floor of the cave can be a sheet of ice in the spring and retains some ice year-round. Although, Andy didn't encounter any.

The next cave we hiked was through the Indian Tunnel, which was very large: 30 feet high, 800 feet long, allowing us to walk comfortably. Collapses in the ceiling allows sunlight to enter, therefore our flashlights were not needed. This cave I explored without problems. Occasionally the nests of pigeons (or rock doves) would scattered loudly and scare me. Doves in this location was the last thing we expected.

Take a close look at the second photo...thats me!

Craters of the Moon, Idaho

Arrived in Twin Falls, Idaho and was surprised to see the Snake River Canyon. Absolutely beautiful! The canyon floor is home to two golf courses, one is a country club and the other is a public course. I'm sure Andy would have wanted to play a round but that meant I would have gone shopping at Macy's. We both passed on that opportunity.
Then headed to Craters of the Moon Nat'l Monument and Preserve. It is a vast ocean of volcanic rock from lava that welled up from long fissures across the Snake River plain over 15,000 years ago. Geologist compares this area to the surface of the moon. The parks lava fields and arid sagebrush seem barren but does have plant and animal life. In 1969, NASA Apollo astronauts (Alan Shephard) learned basic volcanic geology here as they prepared for their moon mission. We are actually camping within the Nat'l Preserve with the lava rocks all around us. We drove the 7 mile loop road and hiked a few of the trails to see the lava flow, miniature volcano craters, and scattered islands of cinder cones creating a "weird and scenic landscape". These fields cover almost half a million acres. No, we didn't see it all! Tomorrow we are exploring the caves. There is an area of lava tubes we will be able to journey through.

Hells Canyon

Hells Canyon was massive. The picture does it no justice, due to the lighting. We got up early and drove to the top of the canyon overlook. The sun was hazy just to the east, which made it hard for the camera to focus. The temperature around 7:30 AM was about 54 degrees but the wind blowing through made it feel so much colder. Of course, we had shorts on and could barely stand long for the camera to shoot our photo. But the drive along the Snake River in the valley of the canyon was more picturesque. And no wind.
We actually only got into about a third of the canyon due to the limited access by car. People come here to camp, boat and fish right along the river. There are no designated campgrounds, they pull up where ever its flat and clear. We noticed a sign at the only local gas station saying it closed at 3 pm on Saturday and was completely closed on Sunday. These people take their weekends seriously! And the river activity showed they enjoy the free time.

Finally got into Idaho. Saw miles of potatoes growing in the fields. But the terrain looks still the same as the farm land through out Oregon and Washington. These small towns are real different. Arriving in town and following the CAMP sign, we noticed it pointing straight. We turned around and it was pointing again straight in the opposite direction. Still couldn't find it. But they were state printed official signs on real state sign posts. We stopped and asked at the gas station, followed his directions and still no CAMP sign....but we did find the campgrounds, with no office, no directions, but an empty site we used.

This is Oregon!

We are headed to Hells Canyon, which is on the border of Oregon and Idaho. It is Americas deepest gorge, carved out by the Snake River. I am not sure where the name came from, but the temperature feels like HELL. When we first arrived it was 72 degrees, and the closer we got to the canyon, it soon warmed to 94! I read that the temperature can fluctuate up to 50 degrees. Our plan is to get up early with the sun tomorrow and drive to the canyon overlook.

The drive through southern Washington and north eastern Oregon was not what we expected. Very desert like terrain. As the pictures show, it was brown, dry, sage brush hills for miles. It is what Arizona looks like! When we arrived in the Yakima River valley it became a huge farm producing area. There are massive orchards, corn and vineyards. We drove through alot of US government land that is used for training and the top-secret Manhattan Project from WWII. That is the city of Richland, also called the "Atomic City".

San Juan Island

Today we took the ferry over to Friday Harbor, San Juan Island. The San Juan Archipelago is made of more then 700 islands, only 172 are named. Three hundred of them are only above water at low tide. These were created by glaciers billions of years ago.The ferry (with your car) is quite a experience itself. We lined up on the dock about one and a half hours prior to departure. So the lot itself became a huge tail gate party. There was even a vendor selling hot dogs which we took advantage of. The water surrounding these islands are home to many pods of wild orcas (killer whales). We weren't lucky enough to spot any. The ferry ride was about an hour long and you could stay in your car or go on deck or in an enclosed sitting area.

Friday Harbor is real picturesque with shops, restaurants, and galleries. We decided to drive around the island to look at the scenery. San Juan Island has its own winery. But we went to the Pelindaba Lavender Farm. The had 25,000 organically grown, scenic, row after row of bushy lavender plants. They weren't in complete bloom for another 2 weeks so the color wasn't as vibrant as I was expecting. Next we drove to the Krystal Acres Alpaca Farm where there were hundreds of grazing alpacas, young and old. They are only shaved once a year for their wool and looks like we visited fairly soon after they were buzzed. On the far side of this 55 mile island is Roche Harbor, a very upscale small resort community for boating families. There is money here!

After having dinner, we boarded the ferry around 10 pm and arrived back at Anacortes, Washington about midnight. When we arrived back at Larrabee State Park an hour later (yes, 1:00 AM) the gates to the park was closed with a sign stating "Campers Need To Be in by 10 PM". Who saw THAT sign??? And what state park locks their guests in at night??? Lucky for us, the gate wasn't locked, just closed, so we broke in!!!

The San Juan Island doesn't compare to our own Mackinaw!

Seattle

Downtown Seattle. What a beautiful city!

We stayed out by the airport, about 11 miles from the city center, and took the train into town in the morning. What an experience. People get on this train with their bikes and ipods, going to work with shorts and t-shirts on. Such a laid-back, hi-tech environment (home to Amazon.com, Expedia, Microsoft...guess I should expect that). Seattle does claim to have the highest percentage of people who ride their bikes to work. The transit only took 30 minutes and it was cheaper and easier then driving. Then when in the city, they have buses that are free if ridden in between the "red dotted line" (on our city map). It was very easier to cover a large area. Of course our first stop was to the famous Pike Place Market which opened in 1907. The market is similar to our Eastern Market in Detroit, only bigger, better and is open every day! It is both indoors and out with vendors selling fruit, vegetables, fresh fish, flowers and their crafts, t-shirts, jewelry, painting, etc. The fish market is where they yell while flinging king salmon and other fish to each other, they put on a real show for the customers. Of course, Andy and I ate both breakfast and lunch down there, taking in the city culture and people watching. There were a number of street buskers, musicians, and magicians performing on the busy street corners for our entertainment. And some great views of Puget Sound and the ferries.

The city is real clean and eco-conscious with a thriving downtown. I was surprise though of the large number of homeless and street people. They were sleeping on benches, the park grass and begging on the corner for money. I didn't expect this and it really did bother me.

Some Seattle, Washington facts: its called the Evergreen state (miles of hilly pines and firs); one of the rainiest places on earth (we have been lucky, sunny with temperatures in the 80's. The locals are complaining); you can enjoy both the coastlines and mountains; they have the best apples and great wines; virgin trees (like Oregon) dating back 300-400 years; Starbucks started here and they love their coffee with drive-through espresso huts on every corner; started the pop culture with alternative rock (Nirvana, Pearl Jam) and the birthplace of Jimi Hendrix!

Camper is finished!!! We pick it up and they said it is better then new, guaranteed! Looks good and we can't wait to sleep in our own featherbed tonight.

Seattle

On our way back to Seattle, we drove along the Columbia River Gorge. The north side of the river is Washington state and south is Oregon. The scenic road has waterfalls, unusual rock formations, and 2,000-foot cliffs. On clear days you can see Mt Hood, Mt Rainier, and Mt St Helen. We were only able to see Mt Hood. And it was fairly blue skies but hot with temperature hitting 93 degrees. The other photo is actually of Mt Rainier south of downtown Seattle and of course, the famous Space Needle. Spending another day or two here. First thing in the morning we are driving down to Pike Place Market to take in the heart and soul of the city.

Crater Lake

Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the US at 1,932 feet. It is fed by only the rain and snow, no rivers or streams. It is also considered the cleanest large body of water in the world. The water is so clear and intense blue in color. The lake rest inside a caldera formed approximately 7,700 years ago when a 12,000 foot tall volcano collapsed following a major eruption. The photo of Andy and I looks like we are standing in front of a Walmart photo back drop!! In some of our photos we can't tell if the blue is the lake or the sky. Formed during the same eruptions are those pinnacles, volcanic spires where they are a little hike from the south rim of the crater.

The last photo is of one of the 50 covered bridges in the state. Oregon has more covered bridges then any state west of the Mississippi. Covered bridges were built to protect and extend the life of the bridge. They have such character.

Oregon has everything. Sand dunes, wine country, mountains, sandy beaches, deep canyons, water falls, lighthouses, whales, and desert areas and painted hills, etc, etc. The list is endless!

Interesting facts: Oregon has no sales tax; you can not pump your own gas; half of the states population lives in Portland; hazelnut is the states official nut and they grow 100% of the entire US commercial crop; the pear is Oregon's state fruit; there is over 800 vineyards; they produce 72 different varieties of wine grapes; nearly half of Oregon's total area is forest. Little tidbits we didn't know about this great state. And now you also know!

Tomorrow we are headed to the Columbia River Gorge. We are working our way back to the Seattle area to spend a few days before picking up the camper.

Pacific Coastal Scenic Byway

This is the Oregon coast! It is the best kept secret.

While our RV is being repaired, we decided to head south. Washington had been very cloudy and rainy and we heard it was sunny in Oregon and that's where we started our journey in the west. The scenery is unbelievable. We thought the coast line would be rocky but we didn't expect these beautiful beaches. We have a map of the coastal highway 101 with all the points of interest and roadways to turn off. Of course if we took every scenic viewpoint, it would take us weeks to drive the coast. We have spotted many grey whales from the shore, lots of noisy barking sea lions, and black pelicans. Also, there are about 12 lighthouses along the coast that reminds us of the Michigan great lakes. The beaches are not really crowded, but the temperature has only been in the low 60's. It hasn't stopped the body surfers, wind surfers or horseback riders we've seen along the shores. Along with the camp fires made right in the sand...even in the middle of the day (probably to get warm after being in the water!).

Last night Andy and I lost track of time and ate dinner late and then tried to get a hotel room in Lincoln City. They must have a couple thousand rooms within the city, but not one vacancy! We called and stopped into every motel, hotel and Inn without any luck. By 11:00 we decided to sleep in the truck. We drove to the casino and parked back by all the RV's. Around 6:30 am Andy, trying to comfort me, said "other people slept in their cars ". I said those are the homeless people. And his reply was: "we're homeless, too." How sad that you quit two great paying jobs and sell everything and you end up sleeping in your car! As of this writing, we have been in the same clothes for 48 hours. I'm laughing about it, not Andy. He said the F word!

Can you "total" your home?

Looks normal. But we have a major problem.

The two rear spring connectors broke free from the frame, ruined the axle, bent the frame and damaged all of the tires. Actually one tire had the steel belts showing. Damn those Alaskan roads!!

Thanks to a local camper (actually a bum living in a real old RV in the Walmart parking lot) who came over to borrow some toilet paper (because Walmart wouldn't let him use his food stamps to purchase the toilet paper) commented that he could smell a propane gas leak. Andy and I were having problems with getting hot water, so we thought it might be our camper. As Andy was looking under the camper, he discovered all the damage. Again...we were very lucky! We had just crossed into the US into Bellingham, Washington. We could have been driving down the mountains or been stranded in Canada in the middle of nothingness. It is great to be back in the U.S.A.

The nice man who towed our camper said it looked like it could be totaled! That is our home. You can't total a home! It took about 24 hours to get an estimate on the damage and our insurance approval, but looks like it all can be fixed and better then before.

Presently, we will be living in hotels for the next week. Our RV insurance is pretty good and will cover also those expenses plus food. So we decided to continue traveling. We headed down the coast of Washington and into Oregon. I read in "1,000 Places to See Before You Die" that the Coastal Hwy 101 down Oregon is just as beautiful has the California Hwy 1. We may try to head into the Redwood Nat'l Park in northern California (if time allows) before heading back to Seattle and the San Juan Islands, and then picking up the camper and heading back east.

Andy pulled a muscle in his lower back. So he has been resting and I have been driving. Luckily I had some Flexeril (muscle relaxers) and he had left over Codeine from his tooth abscess, that I thought we were "doctoring" him up pretty good. But today he felt he needed to go to a real doctor! And this M.D. told him to take Flexeril and Codeine and rest....go figure. It was a good excuse to see how well is retirement health insurance works. Actually, it works great. No co-payment and $10.00 or less prescriptions. Because of his pain, we haven't been doing alot except experiencing life along the north west coast.