First Two Weeks: April 24- May 6

Crissy and Ethan

Road Trip!

The road trip with Tonya, my daughter, was delightful! After a nice breakfast with Ethan and Crissy, my son and his girlfriend who live in Denver, we spent the first night in Steamboat Springs at an off season luxury ski hotel. The drive there was a combination of clear weather, high winds, and snow, but even so, it wasn't too bad driving. After wandering the town of Steamboat a bit we found a fun trendy place called the Laundry (obviously a renovated laundry) and had nice happy hour dinner then lounged in hot springs. It was a great way to start the trip.

Monday found us at Dinosaur National Monument where we examined dinosaur bones and ancient pictographs. We started on a hike to get off the beaten path. We were treated to anticlines, desert dunes and a variety of colorful sedimentary layers. About 45 minutes into the hike the thunder started to roll. In as much as we were hiking in a stream bed, we decided to turn back so as to not get caught in a flash flood. Our timing was perfect as we made it back to the car just as it started raining. 

Woody & Brenda

We did a bit more exploring then made our way to Vernal, UT, for the night. By this time, it was raining in earnest. The weather was still unstable in the morning so decided to just head onto Salt Lake City. On the way to Brenda and Woody's house in Sandy, UT, We dropped in on the Alf Engen Ski Museum in Park City then on to the Great Salt Lake. Brenda had chili going in the crock pot and Woody made his world famous Margarita's. It was a short visit but great fun catching up with them!

Tonya popping out of a lava tube

Due to continued unstable weather and time constraints, we opted to start on the journey to Craters of the Moon National Monument first thing the following morning. It was a long but interesting drive. We passed on the opportunity to visit the Museum of Clean (http://www.museumofclean.com/) in Pocotello, ID, where for a mere $6 they advertise the worlds largest collection of vacuum cleaners. What a shame we didn't have time to stop! We also gave the Potato Museum a pass. Who knows what we missed with that decision. As we continued on to Craters of the Moon, we passed the Idaho National Laboratories (INL) and again had to pass on visiting the Atomic Museum. INL's claim to fame was apparently nuclear reactor testing. A stop at a very remote rest stop treated us to a series of interpretive sign boards explaining the role INL played in WWII and post WWII testing. They, of course, now advertise themselves as a National Environmental Research Park and Ecosystem Reserve. A bit of unexpected American cold war history! Arriving at Craters of the Moon about 3pm, we flew through the park, hiking a lava tube and examining ancient volcanic cones and craters. The monument and preserve encompass three major lava fields and about 400 miles and is one of the best preserved flood basalt areas in the continental US. We again raced the weather to do a quick two mile round trip hike to see tree molds, where the molten lava flowed through a grove of living trees causing them to release steam as they burned, leaving the impression of the charred wood on the surface. An interesting place that definitely deserves a trip back with more time allotted!

Painted Hills - John Day Fossil Beds

Thursday we made our way to John Day Fossil beds in OR. Much of this part of OR carries the name of John Day including a town, a river and of course the 13,944 acres of the park. John Day went to Oregon in 1812 as part of an overland expedition to the new Pacific Fur Company. Legend has it that John day and his partner Ramsay Crooks were robbed of all their belongings, including clothing, along the then Mah-hah River. Fortunately, they were rescued by a party of trappers. When others would pass the spot of the incident, they would point it out and thus the Mah-hah River became known as the John Day River. This part complemented our geology and fossil theme as this area features fossils of mammals and plants that lived between 45 and 5 million years ago. The monument consists of three widely geographic separated areas. We started at the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center to get an overview of the massive area. We made it to all three areas, Sheep Rock a brilliant display of exposed outcrops, the brilliant sedimentary layers of The Painted Hills and finishing with a fossil hike at the towering cliffs of the Clarno Unit. The area is so remote that we drove all the way across the state before we found a town large enough to host a hotel and restaurant and thus ended the day in The Dalles, OR, situated along the Columbia River.

Multnoma Falls 

Thursday was spent sightseeing the Columbia National River Gorge National Scenic Area, If you haven't been to this area, it's well worth the time. It is a dramatic drive along the Columbia River that takes in some magnificent water falls. We snapped photos of Horse Tail Falls, but the crown jewel of the area is Multnoma Falls which is 631'!  We even managed to squeeze in a hike to the top of the falls. The trail boasts 11 switchbacks with each being labeled to mark progress. Again, this was a quick drive that deserves more time. There are many trails we would have liked to explore.

Carter holding a chicken at the local park.

Tonya was anxious to rescue Dave from the sewer back up issues he'd been dealing with during her absence, so we headed back to Seattle Friday afternoon arriving in time to enjoy a lovely backyard barbecue of salmon complimented by local Washington wine.

Before leaving for Bellingham, WA (90 miles north of Seattle) to see my parents, I set up the fish tank with Carter and we bought some fish.

David, Chris and Wanda at Chuckanut Mannor

I've spent most of this past week with my folks, helping them with household chores and just visiting. This is a luxury my work schedule in CO has not permitted in quite a few years. Saturday, I take off for the UK to begin the international part of the adventure! Greatly looking forward to that!
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