California to Yellowstone

California is behind us.
After many months of traversing back and forth and up and down and experiencing some great wonders of this state and our nation we have finally put California behind us. We’ll be hard pressed to ever forget the eclectic landscapes – deserts, sea shores, mountains, and massive agricultural areas. After leaving Monterey with its Pebble Beach Golf area, and the aquarium, we headed back north of San Francisco to Petaluma where the U.S. Coast Guard maintains a training center. While there we ventured to Point Reys National seashore to see elephant seals, Tule elk, black-tail deer (I think), and the beginning spring wildflower bloom. The rocky cliffs, miles of beach, and awesome scenic overviews made for a great day trip. On another day we ventured into the Sonoma Valley for some wine tasting. We took a tour that allowed us to experience the vineyards, the processing area, and then gave us a chance to taste several of their estate wines. They were good but I am still happy with Charles Shaw, a.k.a. Two-buck Chuck that we get at the Trader Joes stores. Before departing the USCG base we were told not to miss the Friday noon meal at the chow hall. Coast Guard cooks train at this base and every Friday there is a grand seafood buffet. For $4 and some change we dined on smoked and fresh salmon, assorted fried clams, shrimp, steamed mussels, and all the fixings. Believe you me, the Coast Guard eats well!

We casino hopped for a couple nights where we stayed at casinos that welcome RVers. We attempted to show our gratification by eating diner in the casinos and losing a few dollars at the gaming tables and in the slots but they apparently did not want our cash. After two nights we were still in the winner’s circle, and well fed as well.

Between casinos we passed through the Humboldt Redwood State Park and were in awe with the largest remaining stands of old-growth redwood trees. We hiked several trails and were just overcome with the majesty of these enormous trees and the spectacle of the lush ferns and mosses that flourish in this very wet and verdant ecosystem. We crossed the Klamath River several times and stopped for some Native American smoked salmon--great snack! The Klamath has been a river of controversy with the agricultural community taking too much water from the river leaving too little flow to support the salmon migration.

Humboldt Redwood State Park was not enough for us so we spent a few more days looking at the redwood and beaches of Redwood National Park. There we got to see the Roosevelt elk, as well as more majestic redwoods. We stayed in Smith River National Recreation Area and took a scenic drive on a one-lane gravel road along the river and through more old growth redwoods, and Douglas fir. Sure was impressive.

We left the National Forest campground in the recreation area and followed Rt 199 to Oregon where we stopped for a few days Near Grants Pass. A day after we drove the scenic mountain road, it was closed by a rock-slide. We camped at Valley of the Rogue River State Park—right along the Rogue River, noted for its white-water rafting and world class salmon and trout fishing. We’re between salmon and steelhead runs so I did not bother to wet a line, but maybe we can come through here another more appropriate time. With the recent rains and the winter run-off, all the rivers we see are flowing at capacity. We’re camped relatively close to Crater Lake so we took a day to drive into the National Park. As we climbed higher, we left the balmy 50+ degree temperature along the river and watched as the temperature dropped as we climbed up the mountain—finally reaching 23 degrees. Passing through a vast evergreen forest, we started seeing a dusting of snow that soon became a thick white blanket. At the top of the caldera near the visitor center the road-cuts made by the huge snow blowers were over 8 feet high on both sides of the road. This has not been a good year for snow fall. They are about 100 inches behind their normal 460” for the season.

From the ROGUE River area we headed for the coast. Not the best time to be on the Oregon coast with high seas, winds, daily rain, and cool temperatures. The coast is beautiful with great waves crashing onto the beach. Some beaches are great expanses of sand—others are rocky outcroppings. On a walk down to the waterline at near low-tide on Seal Beach we got to play in the tidal pools. No effort is needed to see Dozens of starfish in various shades of blue, orange and grey; sea anemones; sea cucumbers, and other squirting creatures. If all that was not enough, a flock of harlequin ducks perched nearby on some rocks and showed off their colors. Although I did not get to see any of the shorebirds that I was hoping to see, we were certainly not disappointed with what we did get to see.

We left the coast for the Columbia River Gorge where we took a quick tour of the Bonneville Dam and the fish hatchery. We also stopped at several exceptional waterfalls. Oregon has been rainy every day which, with the wind and cool temperatures, makes it a bit uncomfortable. We may just have to add Oregon-in-good-weather to our list of places we still want to visit.

We finally arrived at McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma, WA. Here we parked the RV and flew back East for a much needed visit with family and an essential grandkid fix. Seems all were well and growing just getting older and we realized how much we miss being around family.

After returning to McChord we started a circumvention of the Olympic Peninsula. With Mt Rainier in the rearview mirror we headed north. After passing through some awesome countryside with the Hood Canal on our right and verdant mountains disappearing into the clouds on the left we passed over beckoning salmon streams to arrive in Chimacum (near Port Townsend) Washington on the Strait of Juan de Fuega. Knowing good seafood would be scarce in a matter of weeks when we get to Yellowstone, we began a seafood binge with some great fresh (according to the waitress, “just 200 yards away”) oysters at a Mom-and-Pop family restaurant. Then a stop at a shellfish farm for some clams for steaming, and some smoked and shucked oysters for stew later on. In Port Townsend we took a self guided tour past dozens of beautiful Victorian homes -- all circa. 1860s – and stumbled on a sign –“fresh crabs, clams, oysters, seafood”. With a big Dungeness crab under our arm we headed home for what was one of several special seafood dinners.

Northwest birding was somewhat challenging. I managed to get a few new gulls as well as some alcids. New birds or not, the seascapes have been spectacular. We have stopped just short of the most Northwest point in the continental US to visit Mount Olympus, take a ferry to Victoria, B.C., and do some fascinating tidal pool investigating. We learned to live with the persistent rain and really enjoyed the Pacific Northwest. Completing our trip around the Olympic Peninsula, although without reaching our fill of lush fern –filled rain forests, magnificent coastlines, spectacular views of Mount Olympus, and fresh seafood feasts, we pointed our rig eastward and headed to Yellowstone National Park.

Our first week was one of training—exceptional training. World-known geologists covered the history of the landscape and the details of current seismic activity. Biologists gave details of bear, wolf, bison, and elk activity; ecologists verified weather, plant, and animal interaction and dependence; botanists took us on field trips to identify flowers. We have a few days set aside to re-familiarize ourselves with routine procedures, develop our programs, and prepare for another great year in, what I think, is America’s Wonderland.

San Francisco & Monterey

From Oxnard we headed back east into the Mojave Desert for a few days of rest and relaxation. We stayed at Edwards AFB where I managed to get in a round of golf that I prefer not to elaborate on. We went to the Air Force test museum and thoroughly enjoyed the displays and especially the movies of the Air Force test history. Seeing Chuck Yeager’s Bell X-1 that broke the sound barrier as well as many other great airplanes was interesting. Edwards is on the Rodger’s Dry lake bed where the Space Shuttle lands when it cannot land at Cape Kennedy (Canaveral). Two 747s built to carry the Shuttle from Edwards back to Kennedy were parked on the ramp at Edwards.
We left Edwards for Travis AFB and were able to make a quick tour of Sequoia National Park. The weather in the mountains broke just enough that’ with rented chains for the tires, we were able to get up to see General Sherman, the largest tree in the world. The giant forest was simply spectacular and the snow that was over 8’ in places added to the experience. At Travis we stayed for about a week. Their fam-camp is ok but they have more rules than Alcatraz has and it was almost like being in prison. Regardless it was a great place to base while touring San Francisco. We rendezvoused in town with a very special couple who used to go with me out to Horn Island in Mississippi. They always said I was to call them if I ever came to California so we did. They met us and gave us a grand tour of San Francisco. From the government buildings, the Presidio, Golden Gate Bridge and more we drove all over the town, saw and rode on cable cars, drove down the most crooked street in the USA (Lombard Street), had some great food, saw some great views, and just had a great time. We attempted a whaling trip with Jennifer and Joey but wind, rain, and high seas made for a rather rough outing. We have rain checks and maybe we will get another chance. Sandi and I had been anxious for sea food and finally had a great meal at Fisherman’s Warf – Dungeness Crab and fresh salmon. We took a tour of Alcatraz, bought San Francisco sourdough bread, and just had an awesome time.
From San Francisco we went back south to Monterey. This has been another great stop. We drove along the Big Sur. Great waves crashing on rocky shores, sea lions, harbor seals, giant redwoods, some great birds and one breath-taking view after another as we cruised south along the coast. A stop at a farm market provided some of the freshest and tastiest strawberries and artichokes. We hiked trails in a most interesting National Estuary Research Reserve and I picked up a couple more life birds and then we spent a day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Not nearly as big as other aquariums we’ve been to like Atlanta, Chattanooga, and Baltimore, but every bit as good. They had a very natural display full of live shore birds. Black oyster-catchers, snowy plovers, marbled-godwits, American Avocets, assorted sandpipers, phalaropes, and more. All in the open and within arm’s reach. We ate lunch in their awesome restaurant sitting against big windows and enjoyed more sea food while watching harbor seals, pelagic and Brant’s cormorants, pigeon guillemots, and especially sea otter--all in the wild in the Monterey Bay. Their kelp forest display, and sea-horses were awesome.
Sandi and I have picked up a hitch-hiker in the form of a Barbie doll called Belle from the Beauty and the Beast. We take Belle with us and she gets to write back to her best friend and “Mommy” our four year old granddaughter, Braelyn, who though that since she could not travel with Nana and Pop Pop, maybe Belle could go. Remember Flat-Stanley?
Golf is great here as it should be. Sandi and I toured Pebble Beach and ate more seafood from the veranda of the clubhouse overlooking the famous 18th hole. I would have liked to play a round there since the course is open to the public but the $500 green fee is just out of my range. If I could only find a sponsor.

Salton Sea to Oxnard California

The Salton Sea was a great birding area and we were to return there but first it was back to the desert near Yuma to relax and return to Mexico for some affordable dental work. Then back to Slab City and a tour of the wetlands around the Salton Sea with a contract tour on the International Birding Festival. Saw some great birding areas. No life-birds but some great birding. Seeing thousands of Pintails at one time was interesting. The bird expert was a painful, egotistical, know-it-all, but except for some glaring mis-identifications, he really did have a good birding knowledge. From there we headed to desert Hot Springs Resort, a Western Horizon Resort. Not an organization that I would want to belong to. I was a bit amused with the inhospitality of nearly everyone – staff, members, sales staff, etc. Not that we did not meet some friendly folks but they were the exception and not the rule. Went from there to 29 Palms where we stayed at the Marine Corps Base. Just a few miles from the Joshua Tree National Park, we took the time to drive through the park, take a couple hikes through an oasis (saw my first California thrasher) and play a round of golf on the Marine base.
From there it was back to Algedones, Mexico for some dental follow-up. That completed we worked our way westward to Point Magu Navy Base near Ventura, California (Northwest of Los Angeles). We are nearly parked right on the beach. Shore birds and harbor seals are abundant. The weather forecast is scheduled to be varied from day-to –day for the next week so we need to plan our activities accordingly. The good weather of the first day made for a touring opportunity to see Hollywood. We took the drive down the Pacific Coast Highway and into Hollywood where we saw Grauman’s Chineese Theater, the Kodak Theater, the Hollywood Walk-of-Fame with all the stars as well as the footprints and hand prints of stars in front of the theater. We also went down to the La Brea Tar Pits to view the work being done there as well as to go through the museum and see the thousands of fossils they have so far discovered. The displays of Mammoths, saber-tooth cats, dire wolves, and more were a great sight to see. Watching the actual excavation-in-progress and the cleaning and cataloging work was most interesting.
The Oxnard area has been interesting. We visited the Harbor at Ventura, after getting some advice from the folks at the Oxnard Information Center. We attempted to find the roosting monarch butterflies at a local city park but few remained. Seems late February is just too late. We did fond a few mating pairs and others flying around as well as numerous hummingbirds. The only ones I could positively identify were Anna’s. The Costa hummingbird, supposedly common, simply eludes me. We sto[pped at a fruit stand and bough farm fresh celery, avacodos, and strawberries. Eating one of these berried is almost like eating an apple.

Oxnard is just a few miles from the Channel Islands so I had to take a trip out there. Added almost a dozen new birds to my life list including the endemic scrub jay of Santa Cruz Island. Saw several new cormorants, some auklets and common murrelets. No whales but hundreds, maybe thousands of common dolphins as well as a multitude of sea lions. A great trip on the Island Packer.

Phoenix to California's Salton Sea

We pulled into the Freightliner truck facility in Phoenix for what turned out to be a $1600 oil change. Actually a lot more than just an oil change: Filters, inspections, lube, transmission fluid change and more. There is a lot to be said about preventive maintenance.
We had a great couple of days together with Frank Ramsey, my roommate and squadron-mate from Vietnam days and his wife Janis. A few dinners out, a round of golf that I prefer not to talk about (Franks home course, a mountainous, but beautiful desert course, destroyed me), and plenty of time to recall our experiences as Lopez FACs (forward Air Controllers) made for a most enjoyable way to spend time while the RV was getting its annual checkup.
Frank and Janis have a place in Alaska where they spend the summer and keep their bush plane, a Maul, that Frank uses to get into the back country for hunting and fishing. We’ve been putting a trip to Alaska on the back burner for sometime but the invite from Frank and Janis to see Alaska the right way may be too good to pass up.



From Phoenix we made a short drive to Tonopah, AZ where there is a great hot springs. The private area that Sandi and I rented for two hours had a beautiful rock hot tub with a water temp around 106F. There was also a cooling tub which we did not use. Lounges and chairs faced to the west and the setting sun. The private area was enclosed on three sides and completely open facing the desert. What a great way to watch a beautiful sunset.
We finally arrived in Quartzite, AZ, the boondocking destination for thousands of RVers. We heard from our great friend, Marilyn Darling, from Mexico and Yellowstone and met her and several other friends whom we had travelled with into Mexico. We joined up with another 100 other RVers who belong to a group called the “Boomers” all baby-boomers born between 1940 – 1960. We were all parked in the middle of the desert on BLM land. The “Boomers” are an interesting group—no officers, no rules. A working display of anarchy. If you do not like what you see or what is going on, you are free to leave anytime. Our visit here coincided with a huge flea market and a rather large RV show each with hundreds of vendors selling everything from RV-unique items to things that I can’t imagine anyone needing – miracle eyeglass cleaner, kitchen aids that chop and dice (just like seen on TV), tools, nuts and bolts, jewelery, and much more. We did get new RV slide-out awnings and a few other item that we really needed. It is also a rock-hound’s mecca and all kinds of lapidary equipment, rocks and fossils are on display and are available for sale.
This town is quite different. It has a gum museum (never been to one of them), a book seller that has a store on Main Street who does not wear any clothes, and there is a monument to Hadji Ali, a Syrian camel driver that came here in the early 1860s to help the U.S. Army with a test to see if camels would work in the American deserts. Known locally as Hi Jolly, he is buried beneath a pyramid monument in the local cemetery. We are surrounded by mountains, but the desert is flat and quite suitable for boondocking. It really is like a big party. It has been fun but we were ready to continue on towards California.

From Quartzite we headed to Yuma and then into california where we faound a great place out in the desert to spend a few days. The rains came and we watched an Arroyo "dry stream bed" go from bone dry to a raging flood torrent. The wheather forcasters commented that they had never in a liffetime seen Arizona entirely in the green forcasting rain. Many had more than a half a years rain in one day. We endured the rain and 50 mile-per-hour winds and really apreciated the nice weather when it returned. We took a side trip without the RV into Algedones, Mexico where we had another tooth filled and both got a couple pairs of glasses.

Then on to El Centro Naval Air Facility. Small Navy Air base that is used for training and also is the winter home for the Navy's Blue Angels. It was quite thrilling to see a daily air show right over the RV when the Blue and Gold F-18s would return from their practice sessions.

North of El Centro in the Salton Sea, one of the Important Birding Areas. An awesome inland sea, that is saltier than the Pacific Ocean, is a great place to see birds. I've seen nearly 100 species and have added a couple new birds to my life list. I think the Eurasian Widgeon is the best so far. A close look in the photo will show Ross Geese. Snow Geese, American Avocets, Shovellers, Pintails, Widgeon, and more. What a place.

Departing Tucson

Thought I better bring this blog up to date, if not for those who may try to keep up with us, then just to keep up my historical record of where we’ve been or what we have done.
After departing Sabino Canyon, we parked the RV at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base(DMAFB) and flew back East to visit our kids, grandkids and my parents. We managed to have this visit coincide with Sam's birthday. Birthdays are special times and just maybe we will be able to attend a few more of them in the future. Another short visit, we decided we needed more time so our next visit may be a bit longer and we will, in all likelihood, head back East after Yellowstone this coming summer.
On returning to Tucson after our trip east we got tickets and went to see a great production of the Nutcracker Suite on Christmas Eve. We had two Christmas dinners: a party put on by the DMAFB RV Park and a great Christmas dinner at the chow hall on base. Military members, their wives and kids, all manned the serving line, giving up some of their Christmas day to bring Christmas dinner to those who could not head home for the holiday.
We departed DM for Kartchner State Park and the Kartchner caverns, a magnificent recently discovered cave, that has been meticulously managed and developed to preserve its natural qualities – no colored lights, no music played on stalactites, and little focus on the naming of the features but a lot of geology facts. From there, a quick trip to Douglas AZ and Agua Parieta Mexico for some golf, shopping, and some dental work. Then we headed a short distance to Naco, AZ so I could play the Turquoise Valley Golf course that is home to the 10th longest golf hole in the world – a 747 yard par 6 – called the rattler. Not a favorite hole of mine where the best I could do was bogey.
We returned to DMAFB and I managed a few more rounds of golf- One at the Tucson National course (which was home of the Tucson Open years ago) and another round on the DMAFB course. We also took a trip to the San Xavier Mission which is just south of Tucson. One of the missions founded by Father Kino, this mission still serves the Tohono O'Odham Indian Nation.
Disney has been advertising a day at the park in return for a day of volunteer service. Sandi and I decided to accept the invitation and gave a day to help the Girl Scouts distribute 351,000 cases of cookies. Our plans are to get to Disneyland sometime in the next month. We will probably forgo the hi-speed roller coaster rides and opt for more sedate attractions but we are looking to take a Segway tour of the park.
We will leave DM today for Phoenix for some routine annual maintenance on the RV.

Sabino Canyon

Sabino Canyon is a beautiful place. It is a Federal Recreation Area and our RV is parked amongst the assorted Cacti of the Sonoran Desert. Not a single day goes by without wildlife of some kind appearing. White-tail deer, Gambril’s quail, desert cotton-tail rabbits, and assorted lizards seem to be every where. Tucson weather is awesome. There was one day of winter where we had temps during the day in the 50s but most days we see 80s and 90s. In 1 1/2 months we’ve seen rain twice with not enough either time to make anything wet.

We are volunteers at the Sabino Canyon Visitor Center. Sandi mans the visitor services desk and I have developed a Junior Ranger Program which I am supposed to present twice a day on Saturdays and Sundays. We only “work” three days a week but are always with two or three other volunteers or paid personel. Sabino Canyon, next to the Grand Canyon, is the most visited natural area in Arizona (so I’ve heard). Very few of the daily visitors come into the visitor center with only 400-500 coming through the door on a busy day; most come to the co-located bookstore that is operated by a separate organization so the three or four of us essentially take turns helping the few visitors who ask for help. The Forest Service has not been very aggressive in advertising the Junior Ranger Program and I have only given the program to about 40 people in eight weeks. Needless to say, we are far from over worked. The rest of the volunteers who work here are a good group. Like many public land management agencies (National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife, and National Park Service), the organizations would not be able to do what they do without the volunteers. It is very apparent here. I think the other volunteers are kept rather busy during their work periods but Sandi and I are very underutilized. Never-the-less we sure enjoy being in the area.

On our four days a week off we generally take a hike through the canyon area. Our 1-6 mile hikes are special events. We always hope to see Coatis, Gila Monsters, Bobcats, or Mountain Lions but we are never in the right place at the right time. We have seen an assortment of comon lizards including collared-lizards. It is probably too cold for the big lizards but in the time we have been here others have reported seeing the cats and coatis. Maybe we will be lucky before we leave here. We’ve been to the Tucson Opera, toured the Biosphere, driven to Mount Lemmon, and have found the selection of resturaunts in Tucson great. A China-Thai resturaunt serves great spring rolls and friends of ours from Yellowstone NP and Big Bend NP stopped by and we went to the El Corral resturaunt for great prime rib where we were surrounded by old photos of the likes of Tom Mix, Roy Rodgers, Hopalong Cassidy, the Cisco Kid, Gene Autry and others--all the others.

Golf has been good. I get out twice a week and am playing well but just can not seem to get the game to where I want it but I guess all golfers never get low enough scores. Maybe today will be the day. Sandi has been spending lots of time exercising her sewing machine and is nearing completion of several projects.

We have gone through a rash of RV maintenance problems. A rogue rock jumped out and scraped the RV and the car-in-tow while I was pulling into a camping spot. Can’t believe what it cost to fix up just a scratch. Our powered patio awning had a multiple component failure. A gas spring failed and the motor stopped working. I had to have a gas spring special made but I was able to dissassemble the motor assemble and fix that myself. We came home one day to find our refrigerator on but not cooling. Took a new cooling unit. Then themicrowave/convection oven had a capacitor short out and I had to take it to a shop. They did fix it in just a couple days. Hope the string of failures stops. We have really been fortunate that we have had very few equipment failures since we started RVing.

We are in our last few days here. It has been interesting. A huge tortise wandered into the canyon. I t was identified as an exotic African Spur-thighed tortoise. We found out that it had escaped from a neighboring yard. It weighed over 80 pounds and was probably ten times larger than the native dessert tortoise that lives here. On Monday I went out of the RV and came face-to-face with a bobcat. I called to Sandi and she nearly swooned. She has a special attraction to wild cats and seeing one so close is special.

Crand Canyon NP to Sabino Canyon, AZ

The Grand Canyon is inspiring, not just because of the beauty but also because of it’s massiveness. A short hike out to one of the overlooks and some time spent looking for California Condors was time well spend even if the Condors were not cooperative.

From the North Rim we headed west to Las Vegas for a few nights at Nellis AFB and a show to celebrate our 37th anniversary. We watched the Lion King and the puppetry and the music were everything we had heard. What a great show. Another round of golf for me (46/42 again), a lunch with Angelina Yost, our boss a few years ago at Big Bend and we were back on the road to see the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We camped at another National Forest Campground and spent several days in the area. The views are awesome. We listened to two different Ranger programs – one on geology. We enjoy learning about geology and have developed a real interest in the geological history of the Earth. The second talk was an excellent talk on Condors and right in the middle of the Condor talk one of the huge birds (#33) flew over twice. What an experience. Bird #33 is the last remaining of the original birds released into the wild around 1996. After the talk, and some ice cream, but before leaving for the day, we saw a total of five different condors. With a 9+ foot wingspand they are easy to pick out from the turkey vultures with which they soared. A hike into the canyon is a must. I hiked a short way on the Kaibab trail to Ooh Aah point and then down to the Cedar Overlook. I wish I had considered a rim-to-rim hike. It would have been an awsome accomplishment. Maybe the next time.

We left the south rim and headed toward Tucson. We get an occassional high coolant temperature warning light when climbing up these mountains. A check with both Caterpillar and Freightliner indicates that we need a good radiator cleaning. We’ll get that done in Tucson sometime before heading out again.

We have made to the Sabino Canyon recreational area and are now set up and have good cell phone coverage as well as a good internet connection. The view from our RV of the mountains to the north and the hills covered with saguaro cactus is awesome. We’ll only be here for a few months before we head off somewhere else.

From Yellowstone to Navajo country

A tear comes to our eye each time we pass a wayward bison on our southward journey from Yellowstone National Park after an awesome summer. Our plans are to return as we have been given indications that we are rehire-eligible. This is the first I have worked for anyone but myself since retireing from the USAF in 1997 and I had no idea that returning to employment could be so enjoyable. We had an unblievably exceptional group of co-workers this summer. Over half the team were seasoned rangers with skills and depth-of-knowledge that I can only hope to acquire after more years of experience.
Before leaving Yellowstone we made a quick stop at Grant to visit with a ranger friend, Marilyn Darling, whom we had met in Mexico several years ago. After a quick lunch and some good-bys we continued on.

We headed south into the Grand Tetons and were fortunate to meet up with Jack and Chris, Chapter-8, Mexican Connection, Escapee friends whom we travelled with through Mexico last year. The boat ride across Jenny Lake and the hike to Hidden Falls was a needed outing. We managed to see numerous bull elk, antelope, bison, and finally an impressive bull moose at the lodge. The trip from the campground at Coulter Bay to the one at Gros Ventre was a short ride, leaving enough time to go to Jackson Hole for some touring, gallery cruising (couldn’t afford anything we liked), some icecream, and a visit to the chamber for some recommendations for evening activities. We decided on the Bar-J Chuckwagon and had a great evening of steak, chuckwagon beans and cowboy music. We’ll go there again.

The next day was for relaxation but we still managed to get out for some more wildlife viewing. More bison, pronghorn, two bull moose, and lastly a chorus of bugling bull elk.

We drove onward to Hill Air Force Base in Ogden Utah and had a most interesting drive. The scenery was beyond description. From the Tetons refleciting the morning sun to the Wasatch mountains and the broad hay fields and grazing lands between, the views were breathtaking. A few days at Hill allowed for some grocery shopping, a hair appointment for Sandi and, for me, a much needed round of golf (46/42), my first in about 6 months.

From Hill we headed to Moab Utah for a visit to the Arches and Canyonland National Parks and also the Dead Horse State Park. We stayed in a BLM campground right on the Colorado River. The morning and evening sun on the canyon walls defy description. This is in the “Dinosaur Diamond” so we had to go out and see some real dinosaur bones/fossils. A ranger led hike through the Firey Furnace, and ranger talks added to the experience and gave us a much greater appreciation of the natural stone sculptures and the magnificent canyons.

From Canyonlands we headed to the North Rim of the grand canyon. Passing through Monument Valley and the Navaho Reservation, we had to stop and see Navaho crafts that are available in open air stands along the highway. We stayed in a National Forest Campground and went to a several-hour-long talk on the Navaho and their crafts – primarily the woven blankets. They use no patterns, just make the pattern as they go. Since the length of the finished product is determined with the set of the first threads, the symetry of the blankets is almost beyond belief.

Last big visit for the year

Coming to realize that we were less that three weeks from our departure date and the end of a fantastic summer in Yellowstone, we decided to take one final look at one (if not our most) favorite places. The road between Madison and Norris is closed in the park which means that from our RV site in Madison, our only option to see the park requires travelling from here, to Old Faithful, Grant Village, Hayden Valley, and Canyon. Beyond that would take an additional day so we limited our adventure to a trip from here to Canyon and back.

The road from Madison to Old Faithful took us through the three most spectacular geyser basins in the world. The drive along the Firehole River is spectacular even though a few herds of elk impeded our movement. Seeing so much wildlife is such an inportant part of any trip through the park so we just enjoy even though it may be a bit of an inconvenience. At the Fountain Paint Pots we saw (and smelled) the boiling mud of the paint pots and saw all four types of thermal features that can be seen in more exagerated forms elsewhere in the park.

Our next stop was Great Fountain Geyser. Though it only erupts every 12 +/- hours, our timing was good and we saw one of the Park's most impressive predictable geysers put on a great show. This may be one of our favorite geysers, but picking your favorites in Yellowstone is as difficult/impossible as picking your favorite child or grandchild. Each and everyone is special.

From Great Fountain we travelled the short distance to the Midway Geyser Basin, home of Grand Prizmatic Spring, the largest hot spring in this hemisphere and the third largest in the world. No words can describe the majesty or beauty of this special place.

We stopped at the Black Sand Basin, a place that we do not visit often, but a place that we find very special. There is a very active geyser there, some spectacular pools, including the famous handkerchief pool (where travellers long ago would toss in their dirty handkerchiefs, only to have them emerge from the abyss thoroughly cleaned) and a certain undescribable solutidude and beauty. A juvenile bald eagle made a pass, stooping downward toward the treetops only to soar upwards, then fold his wings and ballistically soar over the top in a sine-wave-like curve which he repeated numerous times. The eagles have just fledged and this one was certainly enjoying the fact that he can "slip the surly bonds of earth and dance on laughter-silvered wings".

Old Faithful, our next stop, is still Old Faithful and about every 90 minutes puts on a show for those who watch this event and miss the many other much-more spectacular eruptions around the park. We had our ice cream, saw the Inn (largest log structure in the world) and continued toward the Continental Divide. The Divide, as all geography students know, is the backbone of North America where rain falling either flows eastward to the Atlantic Ocean or westward to the Pacific, At Isa Lake, located on the divide, the water flows both ways during peak snow melt season. The one end of the lake has water flowing to the Firehole River, thence to the Madison, Missouri, Mississippi, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic Ocean. Water from the other side of this lake (more like a pond) flows through Shoshone Lake, the Snake River and eventually into the Pacific Ocean. There are only two such places like this in North America- both in Yellowstone National Park. God only knows how much I love this place!

We continued down to Grant Village for a short visit with a very special friend who is a ranger at Grant--probably Yellowstone's ranger with the longest history in Yellowstone National Park. Marilyn was a 5 month old baby when her father served here as an interp ranger many years ago (I will not say how many). He is featured in a life-sized mural at the Ranger Museum in Norris. They lived in a tent that was heated with a wood stove. I wonder how many of today's rangers would be willing to live like that. I only hope I can bounce up mountains like she can after I have logged as many miles as she has.

From Grant we headed northward into the Hayden Valley. Past Sulphur Caldron, a hot spring with a pH that nearly compares to battery acid, we entered the broad valley and were drawn to the large mass of vehicles at the second roadside pull-off. This is Yellowstone's indicator that there is either a wolf or bear in the open. This time it was a huge black Grizzly bear. A carcass of a bison, now just a broken up skeleton, lay at stream side. The Grizzly, still gorged from his last meal, woke up from his napping place in the higher grass, moved a few yards and then laid down at streamside for another nap. Earlier in the day that same bear shared the carcass with three other bears and three wolves. Now even the ravens could not find enough pickings for a decent meal. A coyote approached the carcass cautiously but decided that the risk was not worth the reward and crossed the Yellowstone river and headed to parts unknown to the East.

Only a few miles further up the valley and we encountered the herds of bison who migrate here annually for the rut. When the rut is active, bulls grunt, groan, roll in the dirt, and fight in fatal engagements, for the cows of their dreams. Seems all the bulls and cows are already paired up, but seeing the vast expanse of sage with hundreds of bison was still a rewarding and moving experience.

Our last stop was Canyon where the Upper and Lower Falls look much like they have for thousands of years. On one of Yellowstone's earliest explorations, one of the explorers, approaching from the upstream side, was distracted by his pack horse and looked up to suddenly see the canyon only after his horse stopped. His partners soon came up from behind and all were so overtaken by the majesty of the sight that not a word was spoken for over five minutes. I get the same feeling every time I witness the falls and the canyon.

This has been an awesome summer. Since I was but a grade school student, I always wanted to be a ranger. I even started my college years in a forestry program but was side-tracked by a war in a far off country in the far East. Now I am a ranger, and it is everything I had imagined. Sandi and I have had a special summer here this year and expect to return in 2010. For now we are but a few weeks from packing up and heading Southward before the cold weather comes and freezes us in place.

About half way

We are about halfway through our summer here at Yellowstone National Park. I think our ages, the altitude, and the 40 hour a week schedule is having an effect on us and sleep comes easy every night. We are thoroughly enjoying ourselves here this year which has been almost perfect. We have a group of co-workers that is exceptional. Except for one problem worker every one else is super to work with. I sure hope our supervisor realizes the significance of this dream team. Sandi and I have already decided that we want to return next year if we have the opportunity. Next year would be better that this year because I would already have programs developed for presentations. In the begining of this summer I spent nearly every waking hour developing my programs

Sandi works three 8-hour days one week and four 8-hour days the next. Two years ago, we split that schedule between us which gave us lots of time off. We got in a lot more fishing and hiking that year. I work five 8-hour days with every Wednesday and Thursday off. I have prepared a total of seven programs. There are four programs for youth at the Madison Junior Ranger Station, one Explore Yellowstone program to give visitors an idea on how to plan their visit here, one afternoon talk that I give at either the Museum of the Yellowstone or Grizzly Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, and an Evening Program. I have put in a lot of time into preparing these programs and most are developed to the point that I am quite happy with them. There are two that I think still need a little work.

This sure is a rewarding position. The pay leaves a bit to be desired. I'm a GS-5. Can't get much lower than that, but if I was looking for better pay, I'd be doing something else. If you have seen the recent CNN coverage on Yellowstone, the 77 year old ranger that they interview at Old Faithful Geyser says it very well. This is a labor of love. The kids and even adults that give us a sincere thanks for helping plan their trip, or after programs, is warming. We often come home after work on cloud-9 knowing that we have made a difference for someone. The appreciation they show is often quite moving and we have even received small, but meaningful tokens of appreciation and even letters of thanks. We love this place.

We now have a Skype acount and are able to communicate with our grandkids with both sound and video. What a treat! We will not get back to visit everyone until December, but until then this Skype should help considerably. It sure helps me.

Fishing has been wonderful. Catching has been a bit tough at times. The Madison, Firehole, and Gibbon Rivers are all fished very hard and the trout in them have seen a lot of flies drifted across them and are well educated. I tell people that the fish can not only tell that the fishing flies are not natural food but they can actully identify who tied the fly. We have only had one meal of fresh fish and my largest fish this season is only 12". I did miss a large fish a few days ago but we all know that it is the big one that always gets away.

Today is a relatively easy day for me although the 2:45PM - 11:45PM hours are a bit strange. I will probably try to put some polish on the two programs that I am not completely satisfied with and may try to tie some additional flies so I can match wits later in the week with these challenging fish.

With the season half over, we also need to start preparing for our next tour of duty in Sabino Canyon near Tucson, AZ. We will be volunteering there for about two months (october and November) and are really looking forward to that. Tucson is a wonderful town and Sabino Canyon is absolutely beautiful. Sandi will man a visitor information station and I will be doing nothing but kids programs - Have we gone to Heaven or what? I really do not know what we have done do deserve this life we are living but we sure have been blessed.

Live sure is good!

Day off in Yellowstone National park

Sandi and I have the same days off so we make it a point to visit some place in the park each week. Yesterday we headed up to Mammoth to visit the Visitor Information Center there and hopefully to hike one of the trails to the old petrefied forest. Although we ran out of time and did not get to do the hike, we had a rather impressive day. Enroute to Mammoth a cinnamon black bear crossed the road and we were able to watch it for quite some time. We left the park through the Roosevelt Arch near Gardner Montana for lunch and had a great meal in a cafe in Gardner. On our return we saw Mountain Bighorn Sheep on the mountain right next to the road. During the day we would see two more herds of these interesting mammals. It is amazing how they cling to the narrow ledges of some rather steep cliffs.



We drove out to the Lamar Valley and thoroughly enjoyed the scenery. On the way we sighted a pair of sandhill cranes with two fuzzy young as well as a great assortment of ducks and a pair of Wilson's phalaropes, a life bird for me. The bull elk are growing their antlers at the rate of 1/2" - 5/8" daily and we passed several right along the road.



The Lamar valley never disappoints us. Bison were in abundance and scattered amongst them were pronghorn antelope and elk. We stopped to watch two black bear sows, each with a cub. Although they were seveeral hundred yards away, they entertained us for quite a while. We drove out past the Yellowstone Association and foud four wolves near a carcass along the Lamar River. Wolves will gorge themselves, eating over 20 pounds at a time. Apparently they had just finished eating and were just working their way slowly up to the tree line to sleep off their diner. Ravens and magpies were enjoying the left-overs. About half the elk that wolves kill are confiscated by grizzly bears and once a bear claims the carcass, nothig else is allowed near until the bear is done.



On our way home, Sandi noticed something in the distance near the Lamar River and we stopped in time to see it get into the river and cross it. Even with only the head visable above the water, we could easily identify it as a large bear. I came up the bank and ran around and eventually started toward us. This was an adult Grizzly bear and it's shoulder hump, dished face and ears were easily seen. It was several hundred yards away and we watched as it ran around and occasionally stopped to scrounge up something to eat. A crowd soon gathered and the large bear continued to move closer. It stopped about 100 yards away and rooted around for food then suddenly started running straight towards us sending everyone scrambling to their cars. After passing in front of us and crossing the road between cars that were lined up watching, it worked its way away from the crow.. What an experience!

The Yellowstone Rangers

We flew back to Salt Lake City, picked up our RV which was at the Freightliner truck facility for an oil change, and moved up to the Hill Air Force Base FamCamp near Ogden, a few miles north of Salt Lake City. We took a day trip to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake to see the bison, antelope, mule deer, and assorted birds. I picked up a couple additional life birds including the lazuli bunting and the California Gull which is the Utah state bird and is well know for breaking the plague of locusts the Mormon’s experienced when they first settled in the Salt Lake City. Our next day’s travel took us back into Salt Lake City where we toured the Church of Jesus Christ of the Later Day Saints, Mormon, complex. The Temple is an interesting piece of architecture and is off limits for non-church members but the rest of the complex is available. Two early 20ish female missionaries took us around, providing some Mormon history, personal testimony, and showed us some of the Mormon outreach and humanitarian projects. From there we went to do some genealogical research. The genealogy facility is impressive but our limited time proved insufficient to enable us to make any major discoveries.

The Tabernacle Choir practices on Thursday evenings and most of the practice is open to the public. We took advantage in the opportunity and got to hear the world famous choir and the 11,000+ pipe organ. The Sunday service where the radio program is broadcast from is also open to the public and we have placed that on our list of to do things for our next time through Salt Lake City.

We just happended to find out about a 140th anniversary of the Golden Spike Ceremony at Pronimatory Point near Salt Lake City where the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads met completing the building of the trans continental railroad. We were quite impressed and moved by the significance of the event.





An easy three hour drive took us to the Lava Hot Springs in Idaho. Run by the state of Idaho, these commercial hot springs are very nice. There were about 5 different pools with temperatures ranging from about 102 degrees to 110 degrees. We started at the cooler pools and ended up in the hottest. These pools are open year round and the photos in the brochure show bathers in the pools with snow covering everything around the pools. That would be a treat. We will probably stop back here sometime and maybe we will be fortunate to catch some snow.

One day at the hot springs was enough to cleanse our systems and we continued another three hours to Craters of the Moon National Monument. This is a weird place to say the least. Lava flows from over 15000 years ago to as recent as 2000 years ago have created a landscape that defies description. The lunar landing astronauts trained here for a reason although the moon’s surface is pocked from meteor impacts, not from lava. Cinder cones and spatter cones dot the 50mile by 30 mile park. Displays and movies in the visitor center describe the various types of flows and lavas. Nether Sandi or I have had much experience with volcanoes or lave so we were like to kids in a new and exciting learning environment. Though the lava in this park is predominantly basaltic, we are still able to relate some with our Yellowstone experiences where much of the lava is rhyolite. Interestingly enough the calderas that form a smile like arc through Idaho along the Snake River all occurred when the continental land mass moved over the hotspot located now where Yellowstone is.

Sandi and I drove the seven mile loop road and climbed to the top of Inferno Mountain which is a relatively recent cinder cone, a volcano that was active only 2000 years ago. After hiking through one of the lava tubes, we figured we had experienced Craters of the Moon and decided to continue towards Yellowstone.

A short two hour drive brought us to Rigby, Idaho, just north of Idaho Falls. Our purpose here was two-fold: 1) Meet with the technician who set up our internet satellite system several years ago and 2) Tour the Titanic Artifacts exhibit. The exhibit was interesting. The tickets we purchased were boarding passes and each of us had a pass with information about an original Titanic traveler. At the end we were able to check our names with a list of all passengers and found out that neither of us completed the voyage although Sandi’s traveler had a wife and two small children who were rescued.

The technician solved my internet problem by replacing a slightly warped dish and then allowed us to remain in his driveway for the evening. His wife’s parents, the Fenstermachers, trace their ancestors to Berks and Lehigh Counties in PA and were interested in meeting us so they came to the RV for a visit. Mrs. Fenstermacher is a genealogist for the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and offered help when I needed it. We had a great visit.

We made it to Yellowstone National Park, arriving just a couple days before our training. Our season got off to an exciting start when we fortuned to get to see a small pack of three wolves harass and then kill a wounded elk. The head wolf researcher in Yellowstone has only witnessed ten kills so we felt extremely fortunate to have been able to watch this somewhat gruesome but very natural cycling of energy in the food chain. Our pre-season training on the resources was exceptional with great presentations on wolves, history, and geology.

Finally in the park ranger uniform, I am fulfilling a life long desire. I am a park ranger and am loving it. Sandi is back on the job as a volunteer at the Madison Visitor Center. Two of Sandi’s days off coincide with mine but she gets an additional day or two off every week. It has been a while since either of us has put in 8 hour days and sleeping comes easy nearly every night.

Time off for me has been devoted almost entirely to preparing the minimum of seven programs that I am scheduled to present. As I get closer to completion on these preps, I can finally get out to cast a fly in nearby trout streams. Sandi has been catching up on some of her sewing and together we have been visiting and touring other visitor centers around the park. Yesterday we hiked the Lake Overlook trail near Grant Village. The two-mile moderately strenuous hike took us through prime bear country but all we saw was some bear scat and a few elk including one spotted new-born.

Yellowstone is still the wonderland we experienced two years ago and our experiences this year have been every-bit as enjoyable and exciting as those we had in the past. My duties include far more than just doing the programs for the Junior Rangers as well as adults but the gratification I get from helping youngster make a connection with this park is ample compensation and outweighs the drudgery of selling entrance permits and occasionally manning a road barrier. So far this season at Yellowstone appears to be heading in the right direction.

Vegas and points north

Vegas to Salt Lake City

Las Vegas was great and we look forward to when we will get to return again. That may be years from now. We drove the short way from Vegas to Zion National Park in Utah. The weather was still a little cool for us but we needed to work our way toward Yellowstone National Park. We had hoped to stay several days at Zion but all campground sites were full and we could only find a campground with a couple nites open. We made the best of it by visiting the visitor center and then on the full day, we put our bikes on the tram and rode the tram to the end of the road. A small hike toward the Narrows took us through some awsome scenery. Cliffs reaches skyward and the entire place has a spiritual feel about it. It was a spiritual place for the Paiute Indians but the Mormons and Methodist gave the towering cliffs and monuments their names. Called Little Zion by the Mormons because of the cathedral-like formations which the Methodists later named Angels Landing, The three Patriarchs, and the Great White Throne. After our hike we mounted our bikes for the 6.5 mile, nearly all down-hill coast back to the visitor center. The sun reflecting off the canyon walls created some warmth despite the occassional snow flurry.

From Zion we headed further north to Bryce Canyon. The RV Park we stayed at was a few feet below 8000’ feet and there was still snow in places. Hookups were limited to only electricity because of the still frozen ground. We parked amongst the ponderosa pines a few miles from the park entrance and made several daily trips into the park. On one day we drove the scenic drive through the park, stopping to look at each scenic look-out. The natural landscapes and stone sculptures defy description. A before-sunrise trip to the overlook at the main ampetheater proved well worth the time. Hot coffee in our thermos provided some comfort in the below freezing temperatures but seeing the hoodoos illuminate with the early morning sun’s warm reflecting light also took some of the edge off the cold. Seeing a hiking trail meandering through the natural sculpture garden a mile below the canyon rim was too much of an attraction and I donned my hiking gear and followed the trail down into the canyon, around the goblin-like hoodoos, and back to the top. With the daytime temperatures getting into the 60s, hiking was pleasant despite the elevation change from top to bottom and back up again.

After Bryce we headed further north and stopped at the Mystic Hot Springs for a soaking in the natural springs near Monroe Utah. Travertine terraces, the results of calcium precipitating from the 100+ degree water nearly consume the large tubs nestled into the hill above the campground.

Although we had planned to fly East to visit our kids, grandkids and my parents, a family funeral mandated altering our plans to fly east several days early. Despite the somberness of the occasion, we were ably to continue our trip as originally planned. In Maryland we were able to take Marisa and Sam to the National Zoo to see the Pandas and on the next day, with Bill, our son and their Dad along we rode the DC subway into town and enjoyed our favorite Smithsonian Museum, The Museum of Natural History. The Hope Diamond and other gems, and the collection of mammal skeletons interested the youngsters some but the insect exhibits seemed to provide the most entertainment. The butterfly house with a kaleidoscope-like display of multi-colored butterflies was the highlight. Armed with a display card showing different butterflies, Marisa led the way to finding and identifying the brilliant colored specimens that were everywhere. We passed through an airlock to enter the room and then again through another when we left where were closely inspected to make sure that no “hitchhiking” butterflies were catching a ride on our backs. The visit was way too short but we made the most of the short time we had and are already looking forward to our next trip back to Maryland.

We headed up to Pennsylvania for a few days with my parents. We had a great visit and one day my Brother Ken and his wife Kathy were able to joins us for diner. Not often the entire family gets together. It was special.

We left Pa and flew down to Alabama for a short visit with our Daughter and her family. The big event was to go see a theater production of “Alice in Wonderland- the biggest tea party.” Alice is our granddaughter’s idol, so to watch and participate in the somewhat interactive production was a real treat. Braelyn, to celebrate her up-coming third birthday, even got to go on stage with Alice. Despite the presence of all the exciting characters including the Rabbit who was always late, the March Hare, the Doormouse, and the Queen of Hearts, Braelyn just hugged her idol.

In all our visits and activities the grandkids seemed to find things they enjoyed but Sandi and I really had the best time just watching them.

Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada

We made it to Tucson but we’ve experienced a lot since the last posting. The Chapter-8 Ralley ended in Guaymas and the group of 50 or so Rvers split up into smaller groups and either headed back to the states or continued on to other destinations in Mexico. Our last day at the campground in Guaymas was devoted to getting some dental work done. I needed a crown and a filling. The total cost with two visits came to about $170. Not bad. We departed the Hotel/RV campground in Guaymas and rendezvoused with friends at a boondock site on the Pacific Ocean beach between Guaymas and the resort town of San Carlos. Boondocking is just parking somewhere and living off of the systems in the RV – no outside power, water, or sewer hook-ups. Sandi and I can easily go a week between times when we have to fill up our water tanks and dump our holding tanks. At this site we were just a few yards from the beach. Lots of birds, dolphins, sun, sand and not much more. We were with four other RVs that had made the trip with us to Quaymas from the states. Every evening a local huckster would stop by with fresh seafood and vegetables. A kilo (2.2 pounds) of huge shrimp cost about $7US but came with handfulls of fresh beans, squash, and grapefruit. The next night it was kilos of picked crabmeat.

We left the boondock site and headed south about 150 miles to Alamos and stayed in a small but nice RV park within walking distance of town. The RV park was quite nice. We were parked under comquat trees laden with fruit. Blooming bugamvillas boardered the park and every morning an extravigant bird show kept us entertained. Streaked-backed orioles, black-throated grey and Lucy’s warblers were common. Hummingbirds were abundant but moved too much for me to get positive identification. We arrived on Saturday afternoon and it just happened that Saturday nights are family nites around the plaza in the center of town. Virtually every Mexican town has a beautiful plaza with the church on one side and the govermnent buildings on the other. This was required in the 1500s when Spain was in charge. Alamos is quite an historic town. It was the capitol of the province when Spain governed all the territory north to Las Angeles, CA and Albuquerque, NM. The first 28 people to settle Los Angles made the trip from Alamos. Some of the buildings in the town date back to the 1500s. We strolled the town, ate some great food from vendors on the street and marvelled at the ancient buildings and walls. Sandi bought a beaded bracelet made by one of the local indian tribes. One day a few of us travelled out to a reservoir for more birding and saw hundreds of crested caracaras as well as numerous kingbirds, flycatchers and more unidentifiable hummingbirds.

We departed Alamos and headed further south to El Fuerte. The most direct route required traveling 15 miles of dirt road so we opted to take a longer route on the hard surfaced roads. The RV park was little more than a parking lot beside a hotel. El Fuerte is named for an old Spanish Fort that was built in the mid 1500 to protect the Spaniards from the local indian population. We toured the town and walked through some beautiful hotels that charge about $55 US per nite. We stopped at a hotel that overlooked the El Fuerte River for a cervasa (beer) and found the platio swarming with hummingbirds. broad-billed, violet capped, and plain-capped start throats were everywhere. The proprietor was bird literate and was quick to recognize our birding interest. He helped identify the hummingbirds and was quick to set up his spotting scope to point out great kiskadees, social flycatchers, and assorted orioles from his tropical deck. He invited us to come back in the morning for a better experience and introduced us to his brother, the real birder, who offered to take us on a birding safari. We joined him the next morning for a great birding trip. He took us to several habitats and we added northern jancanas and bare throated tiger herons to our life lists. By boat we travelled to the largest blue heron rookery I’ve ever seen with hundreds of pairs of blue herons and almost as many great egret pairs covering the trees. We hiked into the brush to see rufus-bellied chachalacas and some old Mayan petroglyphs.

El Fuerte is also the jumping off point to go to the Copper Canyon of Mexico. Several times larger than the Grand Canyon of the US this is a major Mexican tourist area. The most popular way to get there is by train so we bought tickets on the first class train with a dining car and a bar car and rode it to the town of Creel which is tourist central for the Copper Canyon. Mexico’s Copper canyon is about 4-5 times a large as our Grand Canyon and is deeper. The train ride was awesome as we headed from near sea level to over 8000’ above. We went from desert through oak forests to pine forests. We crossed some scarry narrow bridges and passed through about 50 tunnels, some nearly ½ mile long. We stayed two nights in Creel. The manager of our hotel (also the rail station attendant) was our guide who took us to Tarahumara Indian, or now known as Raramuri (those who walk through life), villages, and showed us some interesting rock formations (Mushroom valley, and Valley of the erect penises), waterfalls and great scenery.

We caught the train south from Creel to Bahuichivo where we chanced to meet Albierto Ciacceo and his wife who offered nights lodging at his little inn for about $17/nite. The fee included transportation from the train station to Cerochui (about 36 kilometers on dirt roads) and also a guided hike into a local canyon to see the waterfalls and a chance meeting with more Raramuri Indians out gathering wood. The Raramuri are noted for their long distance running skills. They can run 20 hours straight while kicking and hitting a wooden ball the entire way. The Spanish forced them into the mountains and to this day some family groups continue to migrate from the canyon rim in the summertime where they grow corn to the warmer canyon valleys in the winter. Some still live in caves but many are settling in small villages. The women all still wear colorful traditional garb but the men all look like cowboys.

Albierto took us all down to the town of Urique in the bottom of the canyon. The road literally hung on cliffs and followed switchback after switch back as we descended from about 8000’ to 1800 feet in about 18 miles. In the tropical-like canyon bottom, Sandi picked a fresh papaya, and I got to watch dozens of broad bill, violet-crowned and white eared hummingbirds before Albierto took us back up the mountain to the train station for our trip back to El Fuerte.

From El Fuerte we continued south, our caravan of RVs now down to two, as members each begin to head out their own way. Our travelmate is Randy Dolan from Colorado. We travelled to the resort town of Mazatlan and after a harrowing drive down crowded city streets, we finally pulled into a resturaunt (La Palapa) parking lot and received permission from the owner to stay there for $7 US per nite. We had a great dinner in the resturaunt and each had a tequila shooter, compliments of the owner. We strolled down to Senior Frog, a tourist souvineer outlet, and later the next day visited the Centro Mercado or marketplace where anything from avacados, to clothing, to seafood and meats, to spices can be bought. The place is an amazing kleidoscope of colors and an eclectic assortment of stimuli to the senses.

We left Mazatlan early Sunday morning to aviod the traffic congestion and travelled another 100 miles south to Teacapan. I thought we were in paradise. We passed through miles of palm tree plantations, saw many birds in the mangrove-surrounded wetlands and finally parked next to the Pacific Ocean at an RV park with a beautiful swimming pool, small cabins and a beach that runs north and south as far as the eye can see with no one else in sight. This is essential the ecotome between the tropical rain forest and the Sonoran Desert. Although staying longer was tempting, we packed up and after about a week on the beach, headed back north following the free roads most of the way. Back to Guaymas. I had a dental apointment to get my cap put on and while there we went to the market to get 50 kilos of rice and beans to drop off at the Catholic Church kitchen in Benjamin Hill. The priest was ecstatic and sent out for an interpreter who conveyed his appreciation. We drove straight through from Benjamin Hill to Nogales and then on to Sierra Vista where our car was parked. We remained there a few days then made the short drive to Tucson.

Tucson was supposed to be just rest and relaxation but we did some touring. We headed to the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area, part of the Coronado National Forest, and while I was out hiking and birding, Sandi met the Volunteer Coordinator and got both of us “hired” as volunteers for early fall. Sandi will work at the Visitor Information Center and I will run a Junior Ranger program. They will give us a place to park our RV for a few hours each, and we get to enjoy Tucson on our days off. We also headed to the Saguaro National Park (west) and the Saguaro Desert Museum. This is an awesome zoo and deserves much more time that we gave it. We’ll return again on our next pass through Tucson. After nearly a week in Tucson we began our trip toward Yellowstone. Sandi has been selected for a volunteer position at the Madison Junior Ranger station and I will be working s a seasonal ranger in the same district.

From Tucson we passed through Phoenix and stopped for one night at the North Ranch Escapee Park in Congress, AZ. This neat, not so little, community of Rvers has daily activities. We went to the ice cream social and learned that last week they had a woodcarving convention with about 100 carvers and this week is dedicated to beading and over 100 have signed up for those activities.

From Congress our route took us over the Hoover Dam. What a trip that was and it filled a lifetime wish of Sandi’s. We are staying at the FamCamp at Nellis AFB (Home of the USAF Thunderbirds) and it is wonderful. We took a day and drove to California and through the Death Valley. What a beautiful place. We have made a mental not to return and spend a week sightseeing and hiking. The salt flats at over 250 feet below sea level are intriguing and the colors on the rocks, especially along the Artist Drive and at Artist’s Pallet are almost un-natural. We followed Twenty Mule Team Canyon Drive and saw unbelievable rock and dirt formations and also visited the Parks’ visitor center at Furnace Creek and learned of the geologic and human history of the valley. The 300 mile drive made for a long day but the scenery we saw crossing gaps in snow-capped mountains and the broad desert valleys was breathtaking and made the trip very worthwhile.

Last night was our night out in Vegas. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas but we’ll admit that we went to Ceaser’s Palace and had a diner and a show. Seeing Elton John life was great. He is an awesome entertainer and the show with all the lights and videos was a real experience to say the least..

This rather long epistle brings us up to date. From here we will head north through a few National Parks in Utah, we’ll Spend a little time in Salt Lake City, and will fly back East for a much-needed Grandkids fix. After returning from our visits with family we will continue on to Yellowstone National Park, where we will spend the summer.