Day 69: Three States in One Day!

We debated on whether to follow the map quest way of cutting across the plain states with all the floods and predicted storms or to head south in Nevada to Las Vegas then onto I40 all the way to NC. We opted to take our chances and cut across (the shortest route.) Leaving Nevada...

Passing through Utah...

Seeing so much of the different landscapes as we travel makes me wish I'd have paid more attention in Geology class when we studied how mountains, canyons and rivers were formed and the changes the weather and environment have on each of them.

I think my favorite landscape other than the beach, of course, has to be the Salt Flats. Well, maybe not my favorite but the one I am most curious to learn more about. It wasn't as windy through here as it was on the way out so it didn't look like snow blowing across the roads, but here is that random structure we passed. I videoed it, so I hope you will be able to see it. The music in the background is the radio (Carrie Underwood, Glenn's favorite American Idol)

We stopped at a Flying J before getting into Salt Lake City to fuel up and to rest for a while. We received two unexpected calls this afternoon. One was from my friend Gloria in Florida and the other from our friend Terry from back home.

Terry's call was especially strange because we hadn't spoken to him in a few months, since he was in Charlotte. He is a traveling nurse, which is how we met him. He was contracted at the hospital in our area and stayed right next door to us at the campground in Shallotte. Hard to believe it but he is in Rawlins, Wyoming which we plan to pass through tomorrow! So we made arrangements to stay the night there at the park where he is so we could visit a while.
As we drew near to Salt Lake, I spotted this lighthouse. Glenn said he thinks it is a smoke stack from a power plant or something, but I still maintain it is a light house.

As we entered Salt Lake City, we saw several planes flying into the airport. I thought this was a pretty neat shot with the mountains in the background.

Traffic slowed to a crawl for about 20 minutes because they had some of the lanes blocked off for road constructions right at the section where every few feet was another ramp coming into the east bound lanes.

It got really tight in a few spots and with the big rigs passing we thought a couple would clip the mirrors, but Glenn did a fabulous job of getting us out of there safe and sound. (I was holding on for dear life, so did not get many pictures of the traffic tie up!)

After we pulled out of the city the landscape changed from the flats and lakes to these rolling mountains with little neighborhoods tucked neatly in them. This is a new trek of the journey. We went down to Colorado on the way out west.

These rock formations were massive, I couldn't even get it all from a distance!
Here are two more shots to put these red rock mountains into perspective:
Same size train...
Little farms were nestled along the mountains, spaced a good distance apart. this was a very pretty drive.
Then we were into Wyoming.
We traveled 433.2 miles today and are staying at a Wal Mart in Evanston, WY tonight.

Day 68: On the Road Again

We left Oregon a couple of weeks early because of a few things happening here, there and everywhere that pushed-pulled us away. End of explanation. So here are some pictures of the journey.
Stopped at Winnemucca, NV for the night...402.3 miles closer to home!

Day 66: Hummingbirds

We have a hummingbird feeder in front of the large picture window in the KOA registration/store area. I finally snapped a picture of one of the little fellas that visit it each day!

We think they have a nest in a tree at the corner of the office but haven't located it yet.

Day 63: Rogue Valley Balloon Rally 2008 Friday am

This is the first time since our arrival that we have seen a sunrise! We got up early to go to a Balloon Rally I'd heard about. 6 am they set up the balloons.

After the traps were spread out they laid out the balloon and attached the ropes to the basket. They began to fill the balloon with air.
Not sure why this guy stuck his head inside while they were filling the balloon with air, but the picture is kinda funny!

It didn't take long before the balloon began to take shape.
They added some heat, and it began to float.
A little more heat and it stood the basket up.
They launched the first ones around 7 am!

WOW!

Day 62: The Veiw from My Window

Today we moved into another site in the campground because before we were in the center of the section. If we opened the front windows we were staring at the back end of someone else's camper. Now we face a field with cows! Much better!

We went out to the grocery store. Mt. McLoughlin is almost snow less! I guess the past 2 days of 102 degree temps has helped melt some of it.
This is the Fire Station and training center.

Look at this beautiful and HUGE pear orchard!

Day 61: Happy Camp Smoke

As I've mentioned before, northern California is pretty much on fire. On our way out of Cave Junction, Oregon (where the caves are located) we saw this billow of smoke.

We later heard on the news that it was from the Happy Camp (Indian Reservation) fire.

Day 61: Oregon Caves National Monument

When I was younger I went to Carlsbad Caverns and loved it, but it doesn't compare to the Oregon Caves for true experience of natural beauty underground! From the twists and turns of the 14 or so miles of road up the mountain to the Chateau that sits near the top of the mountain, this place was phenomenal!

We ate lunch at the diner before we took the 90+ minute hike through the caves.

This is Jennifer, our ranger/tour guide. She was a wealth of knowledge and alot of fun.

This cave is a National Monument set aside by President Taft in 1906.

Jennifer told us the story of the first known person to enter the cave and thus the one named as its founder, Elijah Davidson. (approximately 1874) But actually I think it was his dog, Bruno, who should get the credit. Elijah and Bruno were hunting and while Elijah was preparing the deer he had just shot to carry back to his camp, Bruno took off in the woods after something. Elijah stopped what he was doing to chase after his companion only to find that Bruno was following a bear right into a dark hole in the side of the mountain! He stood at the entrance calling for Bruno but the dog kept barking and the bear growling. But when he heard a yelp he charged into the dark cave, gun ready.

He used the matches he had in his pocket to see as he followed the sounds. In some places he had to crawl to get through. The matches illuminated some ghostly shapes along the walls of the cave.

This place was unlike anything Elijah had ever seen.

His matches burned downed to his fingertips so he pulled out another.

As he moved on, saw odd-looking white and tan rocks that glowed in the flickering light.

He continued like this until he realized he was down to the last of the matches, his only source of light. He turned and began to retrace his steps,

but it all looked so completely different from the other direction, that he wasn’t certain through which of the maze of passageways he had come. He found his foot and hand prints in some soft earth, but just as he began to follow them, the last of his matches died. He was engulfed in darkness. What to do???

Elijah heard a stream and he knew that the running water would lead him out of a cave. So he followed the sound to the stream then followed the stream out of the cave (3 hours later.) Note also that the average temperature inside the cave is 44 degrees which means the water is at least that cold, so not only was Elijah in the dark, and cold, but now he had to crawl under and through tunnels and feel his way out of the cave soaking wet!

Once out into the daylight, he said a little prayer of thanks. But what about Bruno? was he still in the cave?

Elijah went back to get the deer and took it to the cave entrance. He lay the carcass down and as he turned and began to head down the hill, he heard a familiar bark from behind him. Bruno ran down the slope, limping a bit on his left foreleg, but smiling his pleasure at seeing his human friend once again. The dog had some nasty cuts, but would heal in good time. For now, the two were just so glad to see one another that the hunter didn’t mind the face washing he got from his four-legged friend. They returned to camp.

The next morning Elijah took his buddies to the entrance of the cave. Elijah pointed in its direction. “You see that black spot? That’s my bear.” It had eaten a good chunk of the deer carcass and lay engorged on the ground in front of the black hole. Elijah then shot him and made a nice bear rug for his home.

Isn't that a great story???

Okay, as for us and our trip into the cave...we traversed up and down over 500 steps, most of which are steep and uneven and we had to duck under protruding rocks and such as we went. We were tired and thirsty when we exited the cave and we still had to walk down a steep path to the car! By the time we got home, we were both very sore! We exercised our bodies and our minds. We really learned alot on this trip!

One tid-bit I thought was cool was that the university and the park rangers are doing some research. They had buckets set up collecting and measuring the water coming from above ground into the cave. They do this to see if they need to do a controlled burn to relieve some of the underbrush because it uses up the water needed by the trees and the cave environment. If the water draining is low they will need to clear out some of the undergrowth so the roots of the trees don't push into the cave and destroy the "cave system."