Venturing Into The Great Unknown

Today was the first of our relaxing days…and also not at all what we had originally planned to do. Today was originally supposed to be a visit (and picnic) at Crater Lake, but after further investigation, we realized that a major part of the rim road was closed today to motorized vehicles. We then decided to visit Newberry Volcanic Monument. It turned out to require more walking (5.5 miles) than we wanted to do with the temperature in the mid-20’s. It was also similar to the lava flows that we saw at Craters of the Moon, so decided to just drive to Eugene. We took the same route that we had planned to take today; we just turned onto Oregon State Route 58 from US-97 instead of continuing on to Crater Lake.
The landscape started out much the same as it was yesterday, with sagebrush and small pines covering the dry, brown flatlands. Before long however, the sagebrush disappeared and the small pines were replaced with taller evergreens of the Deschutes & Willamette National Forests. Along the way we stopped next to O’Dell Lake to take a picture of Diamond Peak, before continuing over the Willamette Pass.

As we neared Oakridge, we could see (and smell) the smoke from the Deception Complex fire. There were also several signs that referred to fire fighting activity in the area but it was still a ways from the highway. In that same general area we passed an A&W Drive-In – I haven’t seen one of those in decades and it turns out that this is one of two remaining in Oregon. We also saw signs informing us not to pass snowplows on the right (I can’t believe that they need to tell people that).

We arrived in Eugene just after twelve and decided to have a picnic lunch of leftovers at the top of Skinner Butte. I didn’t bother taking any pictures as the smoke from the forest fires made it hazy. With some time to kill before check-in, we decided to enjoy the A/C in the local shopping centre. Mum and I both got sunglasses at JC Penney, and I picked up a couple of long-sleeved shirts for work from Macy’s. We then headed to the hotel to relax before dinner.

Dinner was in nearby Springfield, at Giant Burger which was featured on Meat & Potatoes.

Mum had a BLT, while I had the Juicy Lucille Burger with chipotle cheddar and pepper jack cheeses. We also shared an order of Fire! Fire! Fries, so I opted for a milkshake to calm the burn from the inferno sauce that they make from habaneros. I had an Oregon Berry Shake which is made from raspberries, marionberries and blackberries with strawberry ice cream – extremely yummy.

It was a delicious (and spicy) dinner, and I’m glad we made the trip out to Springfield.

Tomorrow will be another lazy day as we head to Salem.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.

L

Today didn’t go exactly as planned, but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a good day. We started the day with breakfast in the lobby of the hotel. The clerk at the front desk, Vickie, was a riot and definitely added to the enjoyment of the meal. After a quick bite, we were off…heading west across the Great Sandy Desert towards Bend. It was a warm 25°C, and we were grateful for the A/C in the car. This was another day when there were times that there were no cars in sight…and seemingly no civilization around.

About halfway between Burns and Bend we passed through Brothers, which is basically just a post office, a couple of houses and a rest area.

 Just after we passed through Brothers, I added a new bird to my bird list…a Mountain Bluebird. I was unable to get a picture as I was driving at the time, but I am positive as to its identification – even Mum hadn’t seen one before. We decided against visiting Newberry Volcanic Monument today, and opted instead to have lunch in Sisters.

We parked the car in the shade on a back street and picnicked on leftovers. While eating we also espied several Pinyon Jays and  Gray Catbirds flitting around the Ponderosa Pines. After eating we walked around the downtown area and did some window shopping as well as look at the local objet d’art. The town hadn’t changed much since we were here two years ago, however, my leather store was gone (recently it seems). The flags that they used to have for crossing the street were also gone but we understand that is just temporary as they are fixing up the “main drag”. Mum was happy to see that the Quilt Shop (The Stitchin Post) was still there and she picked up two fat quarters and a cute tote bag pattern.

We left Sisters just before 3 and headed back to Bend to check in to our hotel. After relaxing for a couple of hours at the hotel (while watching Triple D) we headed out to dinner at Deschutes Brewery & Pub. As we neared downtown, we noticed that a couple of the streets we closed and it seemed like a street fair was going on. After parking, we learned it was Bend’s Oktoberfest. I am not one for crowds, but Mum told me to make some lemonade (When life gives you lemons…), so I decided to brave it – I’m glad I did.

We walked the block or so to the pub and found that it was surprisingly quiet…probably because everyone was drinking at the street party. After perusing the menu Mum decided on the Moroccan Salad and I had a pretzel and hot wings. We also decided to have a beer sampler which is six 4-oz servings of beer. Since this trip is about going outside of my comfort zone, I chose several types of beer that were new to me. I chose Black Butte Porter, Deschutes River Ale, Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Oktoberfest, Botanic Ale, and finally Bachelor Bitter. I chose the ones with the lowest IBUs, and was quite surprised that I enjoyed all of them, especially the Porter.

After dinner we walked around the street festival for a few minutes and then headed back to the hotel. All in all, it was a great day.

Talk to you soon and thank you for reading.

L

Our morning started, bright and sunny, 23°C, with a slight haze in the sky, as we headed towards Shoshone Falls. We drove the three miles out of town to the top of the road that leads down to the falls. Directly ahead of us, on the steep, dusty gravel road, was a grader – ugh. We decided that following it down the hill, amid a cloud of dust, just to see the falls which were at very low levels was just not worth it. We pulled over at the top of the hill and took some pictures of the surrounding canyon, and agreed we would wait until our next visit to Twin Falls to see the actual falls.

We jumped on the I-84 and headed toward Boise – I was quite amazed to see that the speed limit was 80 mph (130 kph). As we headed west the sky became hazier and hazier; almost like a smoke hanging in the air. It even started smelling like smoke which was quite disconcerting considering how dry the area is. After researching it further tonight, it turns out that it was smoke – caused by the King fire just west of Lake Tahoe (almost 500 miles away).

With the exception of the weird haze the drive to Boise was quite enjoyable. The magpies that we have seen along the sides of the road for the last couple of days continued to dart and flit about, and we also saw a couple of long (and I mean long) trains.

When we arrived in Boise we stopped at a scenic viewpoint. Due to the haze in the air we weren’t even sure what the scenic view was, so we got back in the car and continued on to the downtown core for lunch. After driving around the block several times, and trying to figure out how the paid parking worked, we finally arrived at our Food Network stop.

Bar Gernika is a Basque restaurant that serves ridiculously good food. Mum had the Solomo & Salad (pork tenderloin & pimientos) and I had the Lamb Dip with croquettas. The bread that it was served on was absolutely perfect and the creamy garlic house dressing that came with the salad was divine. (They were even nice enough to give us the recipe). I definitely want to go back on our next trip to Idaho.

We then headed over to Trader Joe’s, a supermarket that Mum wanted to go to, for some fruit (which they sell by the piece, not the pound) and other supplies. On the opposite corner was an objet d’art that I believe is a representation of the Boise River. Regardless of what it is, I thought it looked neat and took a picture.

We then headed out of Boise on the Interstate, getting off near the Idaho-Oregon border onto US-20; which we continued on for the rest of the day. This highway took us through the Columbia Plateau which was quite beautiful scenery, and surprisingly quiet traffic-wise. I was even able to take a picture of the scenery, standing in the middle of the 65 mph highway – totally kewl!

Over the last few days I have been continually surprised about the landscape we’ve driven through. I never pictured Idaho and Oregon as being desert-like…I have always thought of them as mountainous, with lush farmland in the low-lying areas. This has definitely been an educational experience.

We arrived in Burns around dinner time and after a brief rest, headed out to dinner at the local Apple Peddler. I have never heard of the restaurant myself, but it seems to be a chain in the Pacific Northwest. Both Mum and I enjoyed the light dinner we had, and found the price quite reasonable. I will consider this as a possible stop on future trips if there are no local Food Network restaurants to stop at.

Well that is it for today. Thank you for reading and I will talk to you tomorrow.

L

Today started out as a cold and overcast morning that threatened rain. We grabbed a couple of bad coffees from the so-called breakfast at the hotel and headed west over the Teton Pass. Once we got on the way the sun started peeking out from behind the clouds and by the time we were over the pass, it was a beautiful day. Before long, we were out of the mountainous terrain and entered a prairie-like landscape, covered with wind turbines. It is nearing the end of harvest season and, with the dry weather, the soil is loose and prone to blow in the wind. Although the dust devils weren’t as pronounced as some of the ones we saw in Western Washington, we saw quite a few but we unable to photograph any.

As we drove towards Idaho Falls, the clouds appeared ominous, with dark tails that threatened possible storms. About 11:30 we stopped in Idaho Falls for a walk, before enjoying a picnic lunch of leftovers next to the Snake River. While we were sitting next to the river, the sun burned off a lot of the clouds, leaving wisps in the sky.

After lunch we headed downtown to get a few pictures of the falls as well as a closer view of the Tabernacle (as shown above).

We then headed towards Craters of the Moon National Volcanic Monument, just outside of Arco, ID. As we neared Arco, the prairies turned to more of a desert landscape, and buttes (which are actually just hills, not true buttes) rose from the sagebrush. We also drove past the Idaho National Laboratory, which is a 2,300 sq. km complex that employs over 4,000 employees and does nuclear research in numerous fields. Not long after, we arrived at a lookout which was about a mile from Craters of the Moon. We stopped, surveyed the landscape and decided that it definitely looked interesting enough to take a closer look. We both thoroughly enjoyed both our walk along a path that marked the different types of lava and lava flows; as well as the seven-mile drive through some of the lava fields. We have decided that we need to come back and visit this place next time we are in the area again.

We continued on towards Twin Falls, and watched as the mountains disappeared behind us. Coming around a corner just before I descended one of the last hills we encountered today, I happened to notice a lone creature at the top of the ridge. I pulled over and managed to get a photo, of my first Pronghorn. It wasn’t the greatest picture, but rarely do I get to see an animal for the first time AND get a picture of it.

We continued on into Twin Falls, and checked into the hotel. Twin Falls didn’t have any restaurants that were featured on a Food Network show, but my research on food sites had led me to Idaho Joe’s. We checked with the girl at the hotel’s front desk and although she hadn’t been there herself, she had heard great things about the place.

Man were we glad that we went there. Mum and I shared the boneless hot wings for an appy; followed by a Caesar Salad for Mum and a Blue Cheese bacon burger for me. It was heavenly. I even had my first bite of cornbread, which tasted pretty good for bread made from corn meal. Not only was it a great meal, but they also sold a steak seasoning that we had seen advertised at Pickle’s Restaurant in Arco. We both got a jar as it seemed to be kismet.

Well, we’ve now come to the end of our day, and I am off to bed.

Talk to you soon and thanks for reading.

L

What an exciting day! Not only did I take another state off my to-do list, but I was able to get so close to a Bison that I could have almost reached out an touched it. After a quick breakfast at the hotel we headed to Walmart to grab some picnic supplies, and then we were off towards Yellowstone. Before too long we left the flat plains of Bozeman and entered the Gallatin River Valley (as shown below).

The Gallatin River is one of the three rivers that converge in Three Forks, MT to form the Missouri River. The weird thing about the river is that it flows northwest, so as we traveled south beside the river, it seemed to flow “uphill”. Before long, we arrived in West Yellowstone and headed into Yellowstone Park. It wasn’t long before we were greeted by our first Bison – man they are HUGE!

After taking a few pictures, we continued on, stopping occasionally for photo ops and also because of wildlife on the road. For lunch we stopped at Canyon Village and had a picnic of last night’s steak frites and some fresh bread we had picked up. Then, we were off again…on a mission to see if we could find a bear or elk to photograph. We stopped at the Mud Volcano, and despite the strong sulphur smell, decided to walk around and take some pictures. The pictures below are of Mud Volcano and Dragon’s Mouth Spring.

After we left Yellowstone, we entered Grand Teton National Park. It is quite a drastic change in topography; with Grand Teton soaring almost 14,000 feet in the air. Although we arrived in the afternoon when the sun was directly behind the mountains, I was still able to get a couple of good pictures of the trio of mountains (Grand Teton, Mount Moran and South Teton).

Part of the reason that I was able to get pictures was because of the clouds that rolled in bringing some drizzle; and in turn, a double rainbow.

Before we knew it we were in Jackson. Jackson, is the epitome of a touristy ski resort town. The downtown streets are laden with outdoorsy shops and resorts line the highway. The hotel we are staying in was a tad difficult to find, but eventually we found it and brought in our bags, quickly freshened up, and headed off to dinner. Sidewinder’s Tavern was our Food Network stop for today and unfortunately it was a disaster. The service was sub-par and the food was mediocre at best – definitely not a place that I will ever recommend. I guess after visiting over 30 restaurants thus far, we were bound to find a dud. Maybe, on a different night, with a different waitress, and a different order of food it could be good. But, as it stands, I have to give it thumbs down.

Well it has been a long day, and my intermittent WiFi has made this blog take longer than normal to write (I can’t complain though, the front desk had a sign that warned of sketchy WiFi because it is, Wyoming of course).

Thank you for putting up with my rant and I will talk to you tomorrow.

L