Humboldt Redwoods State Park

Land of the Giants, indeed!




One of the prettiest and priceyest campgrounds I saw - $35 per night for tent camping.



Lots of carved figures around, mostly bears. Some totem poles, and this fellow:


These hollowed bases inside larger redwoods are called "goose pens", where chickens, geese, or other varmints were penned up.

Oregon Coast - Hwy 101

Hands-down, the most scenic stretch of road I've seen on this trip. There is a pull-off area about every quarter mile it seems, each one is irresistible.

Just South of Manzanita:



Cape Kiwanda, which has a great beachside cafe for lunch and watching the surfers:




A little further South:




Look close and you can see a gray whale in the distance:




Cape Foulweather:





I think this is Seal Beach:





And Sunset Bay, Near Coos Bay, where I spent Sun. night and saved a woman and her daughter from a killer attack snail.

Manzanita

A sunny, windy drive west on Saturday along I-84 through the Columbia River Gorge. I saw a couple of folks windsurfing in the river and they were absolutely screaming along, must have been doing 25 knots or more. Unfortunately there was no good place I saw to pull off and film.

Stopped in Portland for a late lunch at a great little funky place with fantastic craft beers. Portland seems really cool, clean with lots of electric transit and bike lanes, art shops and stuff aplenty. N and I are already scheming a long weekend trip.

Landed at a seaside town called Manzanita, not far south of the Wash state line. Camped at Nehalum State Park on the beach Sat night, headed South in the home stretch tomorrow.







I want to try this. I think.

Was Frost a guerilla camper?

Nary a snowflake to be seen around these parts, but words ring true:

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Friday

Not much to report as I pretty much just drove all day, from Whitefish, MT through Coer D'Alene, Idaho, which also has some very scenic mountain vistas; especially the stretch through the Lobo Nat. Forest along the Clark Fork of the Columbia River (this same river cuts right through downtown Missoula).

Either my tire pressure with the heavy load or alignment on the Subaru is off, as both rear tires have worn edges down to the steel belts, so I stopped and got a new set this afternoon.

Through mostly farmland in Eastern Washington State, stopped in a hotel near Pasco, WA for the night. What I thought were allergies morphed into a sinus infection but as usual is now traveling down into my chest. Will attack it with OJ and rum tonight before sprint to Oregon Coast tomorrow. Camping from here on out, down hwy 101 to the East Bay.

Glacier National Park

The featured road that bisects this park on the northern Montana border is the "Go To The Sun Road", but unfortunately it was closed 15 miles from the East entrance. So, I barely scratched the surface of this park today. Regardless..Just...wow.

Blackfoot River

NOW I understand...

...the allure of fishing for wild trout in a mountain stream.

A brown, from the Bitterroot River, about 25 miles south of Missoula:



A rainbow, from the Blackfoot River, in Bonner, MT.

Little Big Horn

Sunday afternoon

A stormy, windy drive through Eastern Montana this afternoon. Colder nights tonight and tomorrow following this front are chasing me into roadside motels tonight and tomorrow.



Through the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Indian Reservations to Little Bighorn Battlefield, near Crow Agency, MT. The sight where an outnumbered George Armstrong Custer was put down by a legion of Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors that refused to herd themselves onto reserved land. Sitting Bull was an elder Chief at the time of this battle and apparently did not participate in the combat.

Last stand hill:







West from here toward the Rockies and Missoula and the quest for hungry trout.

Mt. Rushmore

Sunday morning

Located in Keystone, SD just outside Rapid City. The size of the monument was what caught me by surprise.

Tomb of Sitting Bull

On the banks of Lake Oahe/Missouri river, near Mobridge, SD. A rather inglorious memorial, I thought.

But, when have we ever treated Native Americans with any amount of respect?


http://www.sittingbullmonument.org/

Pack in, Pack out

When you are primitive camping, one fact of life is that you are going to be carrying everything with you, unless you are gonna eat wild berries or hunt for food. And if you are camping for any length of time, you are going to experience a full cycle of the digestive system.

A basic precept of "Leave No Trace" camping mandates that you carry everything back out that you brought in. EVERYTHING. Pack it in, pack it out, they say.

Thus, I present here the baggy-doody technique. Baggy-doody is the act. Doody-baggy is the device. I suggest gallon size ziplock bags for the novice. Grab each corner, one in front, the other in back (I go with the right hand in back, but do what feels comfortable), and bombs away.

Plus, if it's cold out, the end product makes for a nifty hand warmer, at least for a few minutes.

I opted for double-zippered bags with fresh seal on this trip.

Hopefully this is clear - please let me know if you need photos and I'll see what I can doo.

(sorry for the pun)

Grand Marais, MN

Later on Thursday morning: