Meeting Old Friends Colin has very fond memories of the time when, as an ingenuous young Englishman, he first visited and lived in Northern California in the early ’70s. We stayed with Davey and Morag Paterson, with whom Colin worked at Measurex, in Cupertino. The Paterson’s live in a beautiful community in the Santa Cruz Mountains …
Crater Lake National Park We planned to spend a day or two at Crater Lake National Park on the way South to California and entered the Park at the North end. It was a cloudy day but we were not prepared for the weather we encountered as we drove the West Rim to the top. …
We decided to stop at Bend, Oregon on our way Southwest to California and spent most of our time at the High Desert Museum followed by a scenic tour over to the West side of the Cascade Mountains and back. High Desert Museum This is a privately run non-profit, well-appointed and maintained museum covering …
Alternative Routes Leaving the Tetons with a date to spend July 4th weekend with Martha and Doug (Lane) Peterson in McCall, Idaho, we had only a couple of days to explore Southern Idaho. The Snake River Canyon and Shoshone Falls at Twin Falls was our planned stopover. As usual, we ignored our van’s GPS …
Continue reading “Idaho – Craters – Falls – Fireworks – Gardens”
The Teton Mountains Driving from Yellowstone South to Grand Teton National Park, we were unprepared for the dramatic views of the Teton Range coming into view. As we drove into the park, the view was even more beautiful as the mountains appeared behind Jackson Lake. Grand Teton, at 13,775 feet, is the highest point of the …
America’s first National park was created in 1872 and covers 3,500 square miles. The Yellowstone basin surrounded by mountains is really a Volcanic Crater or ‘Caldera’ created 640,000 years ago in an eruption when the land dropped 3,000 feet towards the magma chamber of molten rock below. The result is a an area of …
Cody Wyoming We left the Black Hills and traveled North West to the Bighorn Mountains climbed the over 9,000 ft pass and, despite all the warnings of steep grades, overheated brakes, etc. we took Rte14Alt down to the Bighorn River Basin – what a beautiful ride! Then West to Cody, the Eastern gateway town to Yellowstone National …
Continue reading “Rodeo! Cody Wyoming and the Buffalo Bill Museum”
The Black Hills The Black Hills were named so by the Lakota Indians because the hills were so densely covered in pines and looked dark from a distance. The Black Hills are situated West of the vast expanse of plains in South Dakota. The area, occupied by the Lakota, was excluded from white settlement by treaty …
Continue reading “Black Hills SD: Deadwood – Mt Rushmore – Custer SP”
Along the Way The Badlands of South Dakota were named so by the Lakota Indians because of the extreme temperatures, lack of water, and rugged terrain making them difficult to travel in or through. We had planned a day stop at a small campground in Salem, SD but, hearing of the heatwave forecast, we …
Canal Park, Duluth, MN When they learned we were heading South from Lake Superior North Shore through Duluth to St. Paul, several of our friends encouraged us to visit the area around the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth including the Maritime Museum. The bridge, spanning the Duluth Ship Canal, was completed in 1930 replacing …
We left Bayfield, Wisconsin with a strong recommendation from our friends to travel up the North Shore of Lake Superior, from Duluth towards Thunder Bay. It was a beautiful drive along the shore. We waited out a thunderstorm in Two Harbors, visited Split Rock Lighthouse, and carried on up to Silver Bay where we were booked …
Continue reading “Lake Superior North Shore, Tettegouche SP”
Apostle Islands We found a great little City Park right above Bayfield overlooking Lake Superior. The weather didn’t cooperate for the few days we were there but we did manage to take a morning tour of the Apostle Islands before the rain set in. It was a long tour, we visited nearly every one …
On our way to Copper Harbor, situated at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan’s UP (after seeing our first moose this trip, see right) we were given a clue about the area when passing through Houghton. On the map it mentions Michigan Technological University and we expected something small in this remote …
On Land We stayed by Little Beaver Lake in a campground with 7 other sites, who were all under canvas. The road in was marked as unsuitable for large vehicles but although unpaved, hilly, and twisty, we have been on worse. Even though the main feature of the area is the 42 mile long …
Sault Sainte Marie On our way back to the USA to travel along Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, it was time for a laundry and haircut stop. We selected a two night camping spot East of SSM, Ontario (see name above), not sure what we would find. It turned out to be a perfect …
Continue reading “Ojibway First Nation Tent and Trailer Park”
For Doggie Lovers Only! I saw the brochure at the welcome center and knew I had to have this particular adventure. Even with no snow on the ground, the brochure talked about tour visits. So I was game and it took little convincing for Colin to agree. The Husky Haven is owned by a …
American Redstart Two days in a row we were woken up by a light tapping noise moving up and down the side of our van. At first we thought of a woodpecker but the tapping was very light. We finally caught a glimpse of a pair of very small birds, one black with some …
Tobermory We decided to make our way to the South shore of Lake Superior via Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula, taking the Chi-Cheemaun ferry to Manitoulin Island and on to Sault Ste. Marie. Tobermory, a harbor town at the tip of the peninsula, is named after the similar Tobermory in the West of Scotland. It is a pleasant tourist …
Continue reading “Tobermory and the Bruce Peninsula, Manitoulin Island”
Niagara Falls Happily, we visited both the US and the Canadian sides of Niagara Falls, and neither were so busy as to be oppressive. The Canadian side is by far, the more gorgeous side of Niagara for several reasons. The views are spectacular, and the public parks continue along the water’s edge for miles and miles …
Visiting Old Friends The first step of our adventure touring North America was a short journey to Lancaster, PA to visit our friends who we met through the Medical Imaging business. Lon was the CEO of a start-up company in Newport News developing a new imaging device for early detection of breast cancer. Colin consulted …