You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August 2019.
The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge 8/5/19
I’ve never been to Oregon, although from what I’ve heard, read and seen in movies/TV I’d always thought that I’d like it. My impression was one of lush, green mountainsides with running water, decaying huge trees and wildlife running around everywhere. What we got was either flattish desert or dry high country with beautiful canyon drives and walks through huge ponderosa pines.
We stayed a week in Burns, which is about the midway point between Boise and Bend. It’s really the only point between those locations and a week was a bit much, even for slow movers like us. We explored south into the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and north into the Malheur National Forest. Walked through the woods, looked at more lava fields, even took a nice soak in some hot springs. Mostly we took it easy (hey, it’s allowed) and then moved on to Bend.
We had a busy four days in Bend. The two big things of interest were our visit to Tumalo Falls and our drive on the Cascade Lake Scenic Byway. The drive was very nice. We took the ski lift to the top of Mt. Bachelor, drove as far as Elk Lake (after receiving assurances from a nice ranger that we would see the prettiest spots if we drove that far), and took a beautiful walk circumnavigating Todd Lake. While on that walk we built up our karma by finding car keys in the grass on the far side of the lake. We rescued them and pretty easily found the owner. She would have had serious issues if they hadn’t been found as there was no cell signal and we were a long way from anywhere. Our good deed of the day.
We really liked the Bend area. Which is a good thing, since we’ll be back for a week’s stay.
PS: On the drive from Burns to Bend we picked up four chips in our windshield from flying stones. I mentioned this to a random guy in a rest stop and he told me he picked one up too. He was pissed. He’d had his windshield replaced a week earlier. So it goes.
This fellow said good morning to me on my morning walks. Burns, OR 8/5/19
Tumalo Falls 8/12/19
The South Sister with the Middle and North Sisters in the background. They are known as The Sisters or The Three Sisters. 8/13/19
View from Mt. Bachelor 8/13/19
Mt. Bachelor and Todd Lake. This is just about where we found the keys. 8/13/19
Broken Top Mountain 8/13/19
As it turns out, Boise, ID is a perfect example of why we are doing what we’re doing. If we were just traveling from point A to point B on a vacation schedule we might, at best, stop in Boise for an overnight rest before moving on. Since we can take our time, we stayed for a week, although we could have spent more time. Boise was an interesting stop.
What did we do? Learned about the Basque influence, and it was large, on Boise. Saw the World Center for Birds of Prey and had a great chat with one of the volunteers there. Took an awesome drive through the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, although the only birds we saw were, unexpectedly, chickens on top of a butte. Had a private tour through a field of pictographs, few of which we would have noticed ourselves. Visited a few wineries/vineyards and saw many more. Bought a couple of bottles, too.
None of which would have happened if we had been cruising through on vacation. We would have had a hurried stop at best as we rushed on to our next “must see” destination. Instead we got to know this area of the world a little better. And had some great paella on the way.
Look at the claws on this guy! World Center For Birds of Prey. 7/30/19
Lunch in the Basque section of Boise. Paella! Boise, ID 7/31/19
Future wine. 8/1/19
More future wine. 8/1/19
Idaho’s Initial Point. This is the benchmark for all surveying in Idaho. 8/2/19
The only fowl sighting at the Birds of Prey Conservation Area. This was on top of the Initial Point Butte which was, in turn, far from anywhere. 8/2/19
The Snake River in the Birds of Prey Conservation Area 8/2/19
The Snake River in the Birds of Prey Conservation Area 8/2/19
The Snake River in the Birds of Prey Conservation Area 8/2/19
Pictographs. Birds of Prey Conservation Area 8/2/19
Field of boulders with pictographs on them. Birds of Prey Conservation Area 8/2/19
From Ennis we drove out of the lush Madison Valley and into the quite different landscape of the Idaho high desert to Arco. This area has two claims to fame, one natural and one very definitely manmade. The natural one is the surreal and starkly beautiful landscape that makes up the Craters of the Moon National Monument. Summer had finally arrived in full force which limited the time we were comfortable wandering around this crazy landscape but we returned several times in order to fully appreciate the forces that created this harsh environment. It really is other-worldly. Lava tubes, cinder cones, spatter cones; we learned about and saw them all. We walked/crawled through a lava tube “cave” and climbed to the top of a huge cinder cone. This place is unlike any other we’ve been to. Well worth the trip (and a strong NASA connection, too).
Rising from the desert, a conning tower. Arco, ID 7/24/19
The second claim to fame in the area is atomic power. The large, and frankly mysterious, Idaho National Lab is just down the road. While it’s not exactly in the middle of nowhere, you can see it from there. Among other things, this is where the world’s first breeder reactor was brought on-line. Arco, Idaho is the first town to be totally powered by atomic energy. And this is where the technology, processes, and procedures were created to power the Navy’s submarines with nuclear reactors, thus explaining the conning tower rising out of the ground as you enter town. It’s more than a little strange.
We took some nice drives, toured the Experimental Breeder Reactor 1 (EHB-1), ate some good ribs and smoked baked potatoes, and generally enjoyed our time in Arco. Especially when Patti was able to enjoy horses right outside our window. Simple pleasures.
The view out our window. Arco, ID 7/22/19
The Big Southern Butte viewed from the Experimental Breeder Reactor-1 (EHB-1) 7/24/19
Simulated spent nuclear rods art the EHB-1. I was surprised at how small they were. 7/27/19
The moon peaking over the lip of a lava tube. Craters of the Moon National Monument 7/25/19
A cinder cone across a desolate landscape of lava. Craters of the Moon National Monument 7/25/19
More desolation with the Big Southern Butte in the distance. Craters of the Moon National Monument 7/25/19
The huge cinder cone. Craters of the Moon National Monument 7/23/19
View from the top of the cone. Craters of the Moon National Monument 7/25/19
Nature. Just…nature. Craters of the Moon National Monument 7/25/19
Snow in the bottom of a splatter cone, creating some needed coolness. Craters of the Moon National Monument 7/23/19
We eased our way out of Montana with a stay in Ennis, located in the heart of the Madison River Valley and, apparently, Mecca for fly fisherman. If you could see the river the odds were good that you could also see fishermen. We’re not into fishing, but we had no trouble keeping busy in this gorgeous place. Among other things, we toured a lake created by an earthquake in 1959 (this story should be made into a movie…check it out here), visited the touristy “ghost town” of Virginia City, took a lengthy and very interesting tour of the region with our nephew, drove up a canyon to see a “real” ghost town, hung out in a hot spring, and sat in the front of the coach and watched the colors change on the Madison Mountains.
We had a good time. Here are lots of pictures.
The rock slide on the opposite face cut across the valley and more than 400′ up the other side. It blocked the Madison and created Earthquake Lake. 7/16/19
This boulder surfed down the mountain, across the valley, and up the other side. Without rolling. Earthquake Lake 7/16/19
A drowned cabin. Earthquake Lake 7/19/19
Structures at the “Smugglersville” ghost town. 7/18/19
Structures at the “Smugglersville” ghost town. 7/18/19
The mine in “Smugglersville” 7/18/19
The Explosives Shed in “Smugglersville” 7/18/19
Ennis Lake 7/20/19
Ennis Lake 7/20/19
Ennis Lake 7/20/19
The Madison River Valley 7/20/19
The World as We See It 