Through Facebook I got reacquainted with a high school friend, Jock, just before we left New Jersey on our adventure. He has a gorgeous house in Hood River, Oregon, which is about an hour east of Portland. When we started making plans to visit that area, it worked out that Jock needed a house-sitter during part of the time we’d be there. After a harrowing trip up his 1/2-mile long, steep, gravel driveway with a hillside on one side, a sheer dropoff on the other, and a challenging turn-around at the top, we spent two weeks enjoying his amazing view and taking care of his dog, Roo.

Continue reading Hood River and Portland, Oregon →

We had a great time seeing family back east: Jeff for one week and Sue for two.

Monty needed some work so we arranged for him to be worked on while we headed east.    Actually, Sue headed east by way of LA – the first time in over 6 months she didn’t work in Chicago!  Jeff got Monty to Camping World, then headed east by way of Columbus – to make sure his co-workers remembered who he is.

After a week of work, we finally headed to visit family.  Jeff flew in to Newark and picked up the rental car and drove to Nancy’s near Worcester.  Sue took the red-eye from LA, then a shuttle van from Boston.  It was quite the traveling weekend for our entire family – Nancy returning from LA, Peter and Irene from Alaska, Anne and Lianne driving to New Hampshire and Becka returning from Africa.  Thankfully, everyone made it safely and with all the luggage (more on this later). Continue reading Visiting Family Back East →

Gorgeous peaks and valleys, perfectly clear lakes with a green hue, and waterfalls everywhere make Glacier NP breathtaking.  At first we thought it was the glaciers we were there to see – but actually it’s what the glaciers left behind that creates the beauty of this park. It is so big its hard to see it all from one location and pictures do not do it justice.   We stayed near the west entrance, but ended up driving to the east (Many Glacier) entrance for a night to see that side too. There is also a segment of the park in Canada called the “International Peace Park”.

Continue reading Glacier National Park →

From Ennis, we traveled up to Great Falls. Since Sue has to fly to work we needed to be close to an airport, and that location also put us halfway to Glacier National Park – our next fun destination.

Great Falls couldn’t be more different from Bozeman or Ennis. It’s a tired, old industrial and military town on the Missouri River. The climate is very dry and while we were there, we experienced record-breaking heat. The best thing about Great Falls is the recreation trail that goes for miles on both sides of the river. It was fun to bike along this trail even though the only thing to see was the brown water and industry like an oil refinery, con-agra plant, General Mills foods, etc. Continue reading Not So Great Falls, Montana →

Originally, we planned to meet up with Jeff’s parents in Ennis for a week. They are avid fly-fishers and have visited Montana many times. Unfortunately, a last-minute event prevented their coming. Nothing too serious, but they would not have been able to fish, which was one of the main reasons they were meeting us here.    We decided to check out Ennis anyway and enjoy some peace and quiet away from the trains and highway!  Ennis is a cute little town on the Madison River just west of Yellowstone. Continue reading Ennis, Montana: Double Rainbow Capital →

After our amazing visit to Yellowstone, we headed to Bozeman, Montana. When I remember our time there, I’ll think of how cool and friendly the town was, and how much noise there was at our campground! On the plus side, we were only a mile from downtown – an easy bike ride. The campground hosts were the friendliest we’ve ever met, treating us like family from the moment we arrived. They had a huge DVD library to borrow from for free, and a help-yourself bookshelf. The problem was,  it was bordered by route 90 on one side and a very active train track on the other – with two un-gated crossings within a 1/2 mile. All day and night, the train horns blared. We couldn’t believe how loud they were. I couldn’t sit outside without ear plugs due to the highway noise. So, nothing’s perfect!

Continue reading Bozeman, Montana →

Everyone always says Yellowstone is beautiful – but we weren’t prepared for just how amazing it is! Driving around for 60-plus miles in a volcano caldera watching steam/geysers rising everywhere and boiling pools of water was incredible!  We stayed right in the park and, for the first time, had to take bear precautions. Grills had to be put away at night and you brought bear spray when hiking. There were bison everywhere. The first day, when you see them, you stop and take pictures even if they’re far away. The 2nd day, you get stopped by bison slowly ambling down the road and get some close-ups. The third day, you try to keep your patience while all the bison-neckers block the roads taking far away bison pictures. Continue reading Yellowstone – OMG! →

In our attempt to get a feel for different parts of Colorado we moved a few hours north from Colorado Springs. Also, our next door neighbors from New Jersey had moved to Fort Collins two years ago and we wanted to say ‘hi’ to them.  Loveland is about 10 minutes south of Fort Collins, which hosts one of the Colorado State University campuses and has a fun downtown. There are all kinds of shops and breweries, and bicycles are a common conveyance.   Loveland and Fort Collins has a huge network of bike paths, all with a great view of the “Front Range” of the Rockies.

Continue reading Loveland/Fort Collins, Colorado →

Our first stop in Colorado was the western edge of Colorado Springs, near Manitou Springs. We stayed at “Garden of the Gods” RV Park, and we had a gorgeous view of Pike’s Peak right from our yard. Continue reading Colorado Springs – We will return! →