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Black Red Fox

Above Puget Sound lie the San Juan Islands.  Recently I spent some time on San Juan Island around the town of Friday Harbor.

San Juan Island National Historical Park, also known as American and English Camps, San Juan Island, is a U.S. National Historical Park owned and operated by the National Park Service on San Juan Island in the state of Washington. The park is made up of the sites of the British and U.S. Army camps during the Pig War, a boundary dispute over the ownership of the island. Both of these camps were set up in 1859 as response to a border controversy triggered by the killing of a pig.

At the southern end of the island is American Camp. It offers hiking trails, picnic areas and is a great place for whale watching.  It seems it is also a popular habitat of the red fox.  While I was there I learned that not all red fox are in fact red.  I spied this one in a field full of rabbits.  Apparently the fox would rather hunt smaller critters.

 

 

Landscape

I found Mars quite illuminating

While I was at the Tetons several weeks ago, the planet Mars was very prominent in the morning sky.  I was fortunate that the Moon was setting early which left me a night sky with lots of twinkling stars.

Here is an image of the Grand Teton range from across Jackson Lake with Mars being more visible than I’ve ever witnessed.  It was shot shortly before 0500.

Architecture

Deja Vu

In June of 2016 while traveling on the Heartland Rewind RoadTour, on my way from Moab to the Tetons and Yellowstone I let the GPS choose a route up through Idaho on a two lane road.  We had been on the road for a few hours when we came upon this old building.

Idaho Line Shack

It caught my eye so I found a spot to pull over and shot a few frames.

My normal MO is to let the GPS choose my routes (after I review and eliminate major highways).  Sometimes I regret it. But most of the time it takes me through small towns and interesting scenery, usually with very little traffic.

Fast forward 25 months.
This year when I left Grand Teton, I headed west through Idaho, once again allowing the GPS (a different one than last time) to plot my course.  Mid-morning I came around a bend in hilly country and saw an interesting shack on my left.  I pulled over to investigate.  Something looked strangely familiar.

Idaho Line Shack redux

As soon as I could, I checked images and notes from my time here two years before.  Sure enough, it was the same building.  Oh, the leaves on the vines were green this time and the fields were gold instead of green but we were in the same exact spot only heading in the opposite direction.

Go figure! thousands of miles to wander through and my GPS chose this road in the middle of Idaho farmland . . . again.

RoadTour 2018

Writting the final chapter of RoadTour 2018

We’ve reached the Northwestern terminus of this odyssey.  Really, one can’t get much more Northwest in the lower 48.  We are at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island at the top of Puget Sound in the Salish Sea.

Tomorrow we take the ferry back to the mainland and start our journey home.

Here are a couple photos from the shoreline of San Juan Island.

 

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Glacial Ice

We spent a couple days on the tallest active volcano and glacier on the lower 48.  The campground we were in hosts mountain climbers from all over the world.  Many of them climbed around the clock.  It is wild seeing those tiny headlamps they wear flickering about the glacier in the middle of the night.  Better them than me, ha ha.

Yes, those spots of light over on the left of the glacier are climbers.  Crazy folks!

Cheers from the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Paul and the puppy.

Architecture

Chapel of the Transfiguration

When I first visited the Tetons I happened upon this chapel. From the moment I first set foot inside I’ve had this image in my head. Monday morning when I left Grand Teton National Park I stopped and shot several images. Funny, it was raining both times I visited this chapel.

Yes, that’s a window facing Grand Teton.  I suppose that if the sermon gets too boring, one can always daydream of hiking the mountain.

 

This small log chapel, built in 1925, offers spectacular views of the Teton Mountain Range and a majestic place to pray. The Chapel will seat 65 people with additional seating outside, weather permitting.

 

RoadTour 2018

On the road in South Dakota

We have finally landed in a spot where the weather is comfortable and with time on our hands, Douglas Wyoming on the North Platte River.  It’s time I posted something from RoadTour 2018.

We’ve wandered west across Tennessee and Arkansas with some fun stops along the way.  Then we went north through Kansas and Nebraska and into South Dakota.  The Black Hills of South Dakota to be precise.  We camped at Wind Cave National Park.  It was hot as the dickens until after sundown and then it was comfortable.  Whew!

The only place I was determined to visit on this trip was Mount Rushmore.  Put a fork in it, its done!

Here are some images from the Mount Rushmore area.

Buffalo at Wind Cave National Park

The Crazy Horse Memorial under construction.

Larry, Curly, Moe and Shemp

Clouds kept drifting in and out, blocking the sunlight so about half the Rushmore images are a little flat. When I return home, I should be able to pull out several good shots.

Sculpting Mount Rushmore was a pretty amazing feat.  You cant help but admire it and then ask yourself why.  Why would someone come out to the middle of nowhere and carve huge busts of presidents in the mountains.  I guess it’s a special kind of stone.  ha ha.

Well, that’s all for now.  I’m going to walk along the river with the doggie.

Cheers

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Into the heat of the Deep South

And we haven’t gotten to the bottom of it yet.

We left home yesterday around noon heading west. The goal was to get to Oxford Alabama and stock up on some things at the local Sam’s Club. I also planned on asphalt camping in their parking lot for the night.

Wowsers! It was 98 degrees there. Thank goodness I have a generator to run the A/C and a controller to start and stop the generator depending upon A/C demand.

After shopping at Sam’s, I went to the local Publix Super Market for a sub sandwich. Since moving to my home in the North Georgia Mountains, I’ve missed these sandwiches. So, whenever I’m on the road and hungry and near a Publix, I stop and treat myself.

I found a spot with some shade and parked, fired up the generator and A/C and enjoyed my sandwich with a glass of cold milk. I love traveling with my refrigerator.

By 20:00 I was able to open some vents and windows, turn on a powered vent and sleep comfortably. Day one was done.

This morning we pressed on west into Mississippi and the Natchez Trace where I landed at the Jeff Busby campground. It is free, clean and level. It even has restrooms with indoor plumbing.

Um . . . . mid 90s!

Tomorrow we’ll turn south and go to another campground on the Natchez Trace. Then it’s west to Shreveport and then Athens Texas for a week. I imagine it’ll be a whole lot hotter there. Whew! After that it’ll be north and north west.

Well, when it cools off, the dog and I will sit outside and enjoy nature.

Cheers.

RoadTour 2018

What Willie said…

On the road again
Goin’ places that I’ve never been
Seein’ things that I may never see again
And I can’t wait to get on the road again

Clancy and I are about to embark on RoadTour 2018.  It’ll be interesting.  As usual, I have no firm idea where we are going or when we’ll get there.  She is 14 months old now and while still a puppy at heart, obeys my commands (most of the time).  We were on the road over the winter and Clancy got a pretty good handle on traveling.  When we return from this RoadTour, I expect she will be an avid camper and explorer.  As I’ve been loading up, Clancy climbs in and takes the passenger seat.  It’s where she and I first spent any time together and I believe she has fond memories of being there.  We drove home in it from Missouri where I got her.  Heck, if I just leave the side door open it wont be long before she is in the seat watching everything or curled up asleep.  Good doggie.

This will be the first trip with the new solar panels and batteries.  I’m looking forward to even more freedom as we explore remote places.

As always, we are delighted for you to tag along.  And, thanks to some of your suggestions while we’ve been on the road, I have explored places I didn’t know existed.  It is good to have you along.  We are heading west this time.  Check back often as I will be posting updates when I land someplace where internet is available.  Speaking of which, unless I’m in the middle of the nowhere, miles from anywhere, the AT&T hotspot on my iPhone does a reasonable job of getting me on the web.

If you’d like to help out with expenses, please click the PayPal link below. Fuel is outrageously expensive these days.




Architecture

Broadway and Main out in the desert

Somewhere out West in the desert is a small town. The intersection of Broadway and Main was the center of town as well as the center of finance and commerce.  On one corner was the bank, a magnificent building.  It was where everyone saved and borrowed money.  In the back corner of the building facing Main Street was the State run Liquor Store which has long since closed.  Someone opened a Tee Shirt store and a souvenir ship which folded long ago. Windows are boarded or broken and the lots around it scraped clean.  It stands as a monument to better days.