Wilderness Wandering

October 13,2024 We left Cleveland in the dark as a thunderstorm was letting up.  We drove through OH, PA, MD, VA and over the border of WV. We decided to stop at Harpers Ferry National Historic Park en route to Shenandoah. We drove through the entrance gate about 1:30 PM. The parking was a zoo! We…

October 11, 2024 Cuyahoga Valley is an urban park. It covers 33,000 acres.  It is the 12th most visited park in the system, with more than 2 million visitors per year.  It was established to preserve the heritage of The Cuyahoga River and the Ohio and Erie Canal. The region’s industrial development harmed the river.…

10/09/2024 We left Lake Mills early in the morning and arrived at Indiana Dunes Visitor Center about 10:30 AM. We talked with the Ranger, which was a good thing, because several things we wanted to do were closed for the season. We watched the excellent park movie. We didn’t know this area was so rich with…

August 24, 2024 We left Moscow, ID and traveled north along the west side of Idaho up into the pan handle. We stopped in Coeur d’Alene at Independence Park on Northwest Lake and ate lunch on a park bench. We traveled across the pan handle and into Montana. The landscape changed dramatically, from wheat fields…

August 20, 2024 We left North Cascades and drove about 4 hours to Yakima, WA. We stopped in Yakima and did a wine flight at Kana Winery.  We sampled some wonderful wines.  We had dinner at Sumo. The teriyaki salmon was fantastic! We stayed at a rest stop nearby over night. It was decent, but…

August 15, 2024 We left Olympic National Park and headed to the port town of Kingston, WA. For fun, we decided to take the ferry across Puget Sound.  We arrived at 1:15 PM, but the 1:30 PM ferry was full. We parked and walked around the cute town and got some ice cream. We were back in the van at 2:15…

August 13, 2024 We were up and out of Cougar Rock campground at Mt. Rainer about 7 AM. The day started cloudy and foggy, with a little mist.  We stopped to take our photo with the entrance sign, since we did not do that on the way in.   We drove about 2-1/2 hours to the…

August 9, 2024 We left Crater Lake mid morning and spent the better part of the day driving through Oregon into Washington. We made a lunch stop in Eugene, the hometown of my bestie, Valerie.  About 4 PM we were within an hour of Rainier without a camping spot. Tim suggested I look for a state campground…

August 7, 2024 We drove up the incredibly gorgeous Oregon Coast to Bandon and then headed inland to Crater Lake.  We stopped for gas and there was an attendant to pump the gas for us. Until 2023, it was illegal to pump your own gas in Oregon, due to safety concerns! On the recommendation of…

August 3,2024 We left Sequoia NP mid afternoon on Friday to journey to Redwoods NP. We hit Fresno at rush hour. We were crossing the Bay Bridge in San Francisco at sunset. I found a rest stop about an hour away. Tim thought that was too early to stop. So we continued driving. We found a rest stop…