Leaving Orcas Island and Traveling East to Vermont- September 2018

On September 5^th, we drove around the horseshoe-shaped island to the town of Orcas and boarded the ferry to sail back to Anacortes on the mainland. The smoke was mostly gone so we had a scenic sail back. We unloaded with the rest of the vehicles, made our way through the resort town and headed east into the northern Cascade range to find a spot to boondock for the night. Our plan was to cross the mountains and find the Walmart in Wenatchee on the Columbia River Gorge. By the time we traversed most of the range it was getting dark, so before we got to Wenatchee we found a large pull-off on the side of the road along a river, and we stopped for the night.

On the ferry back to Anacortes

Looking back at Mount Constitution

Camped along US 2 and the Wenatchee River

The next morning we found the Walmart so that we could resupply with cheaper groceries. Island prices are steep. We were so glad we had stopped before arriving there the night before. The smoke hanging along the river was thick and the parking lot had posted signs that said “No Overnight Parking”. We bought our groceries, crossed the river and went west across the arid central part of Washington. We had a three night reservation at Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park near Coulee City. Four years ago, we made a quick stop there and promised ourselves, that we would return some day.


We checked into the campsite, a perfect site with a basalt cliff behind us and no neighbors on either side, and we were finally out of the smoke! The air was warm and dry and the stars plentiful at night. We heard the desert coyotes howl, which we hadn't heard all summer on the coast. We spent the days exploring the unique geology of the Dry Falls and the Channeled Scablands.

Camped at the bottom of the world's biggest waterfall.

Looking across the top of Dry Falls

Coffee Pot Lake in the Channeled Scablands

Sunset at Dry Falls

Dry Falls Lake - the former plunge pool for the falls

Mule Deer

September 9^th found us leaving Dry Falls and driving to Riverside State Park in Spokane to visit Cape D friends Carol and Chris, who were volunteering there. We had two nights along the tranquil Spokane River and enjoyed our visit to The Spokane House, the original fort that became the city of Spokane, where Carol and Chris were hosting. And, we shared good meals! Thanks for the great ribs Chris!


We left early on September 11^th and drove a long day to Glacier National Park to spend two nights with my brother Brian. After Labor Day, the St Marys Campground in the park is first-come first served. We arrived too late and the campground was full. We finally found a campsite in a private park nearby. Brian was working for the summer at a private lodge at St Marys at the east entrance to Glacier, and we were able to connect for his two days off. We spent a cold windy day driving up to Logan Pass and hiking to Hidden Lake. On our last visit four years ago, the lake was fog shrouded, so we were thrilled to finally see the amazing view! We did some more driving around the park and were surprised to see how crowded the park was that late in the season. Fall had definitely arrived and winter was close behind. Brian's lodge was closing in two weeks.

 

Hiking in Logan Pass

St Mary Lake

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Local residents

Hidden Lake

Hidden Lake

The next day took us on a long drive across Montana to the banks of the Yellowstone River north of Yellowstone National Park. Deborah and Mike, our fellow lighthouse hosts at Cape D were volunteering at the nearby Grizzly Experience and spending their free time exploring Yellowstone Park. We spent two nights at their campground and a twelve hour day looking for wildlife inside and outside the park. The locals had let them in on the secret location for finding grizzlies outside the park. We were up and out early on the cold morning while Mike drove us along the valley where we spotted two grizzlies, one far off, and one running in a field close to the road. No time for a photo before he was gone, but a memory of a large-muscled fast moving beautiful wild creature!

The Yellowstone River behind our camp site

 

Elk on the way to Yellowstone

Mule deer buck

Momma and baby bison

The Yellowstone River

Down at the overlook with Deborah and Mike

Mike then drove us through the park and we spent time in the Lamar Valley watching the herds of bison. Elsewhere in the park we spotted a mule deer buck, a large black bear, elk, and various smaller animals and birds. We did the quick hikes to the falls of the Yellowstone River and that was where we found the September crowds. We also made it to the Norris Geyser Basin, so we had a well rounded day in Yellowstone. That night we were honored to be the first dinner guests in their RV and enjoyed the food and wine! Altogether a very busy but wonderful day!

Norris Geyser Basin

Geyser-inspired arm waving by the geologist!

September 15^th found us moving on. We needed to be in Vermont for a family wedding by the end of the month, so it was time to make tracks across the country. We had a few places on our way that we wanted to make quick visits to, so after a quiet night at the Connor Battlefield State Historic Site in Ranchester, Wyoming, we left to travel to Devil's Tower National Monument, featured in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”.

Planning our trip home from Connor Battlefield

When we arrived in late morning we were fortunate to find a campsite. Within an hour or two, it was full. It took us 15 minutes to get through the entry gate to the park. This is a pretty remote area and in what used to be considered off-season! We got settled in and drove to the parking lot at the base of the tower for the hike around the base. It was hot and we shared the trail with a lot of other visitors, but that didn't distract us from the huge basalt monolith we circled. There were climbers scaling it. When we visited sixteen years ago, with our then 17 year-old daughter, there was a movement to keep climbers off the tower since this is a sacred area for the native tribes. I was surprised that after all these years and more awareness of respect for native sites, people were still climbing the rock.

Devils Tower

Genuine Prairie Dog

The next morning, September 17, we left for Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota. We signed up for a tour in the afternoon. It was not as spectacular as other caves we've toured, but it was good to get a dose of underground geology. We returned above ground and made the drive over to Wind Cave National Park, hoping to get into their campground late in the day. There were available campsites, but most were so small and steep that it took a while to find something suitable. We settled in for the night with thousands of prairie dogs, and a bison on the other side of the ridge from us, and a friendly, curious rabbit checking out our happy hour.

Mountain goats at the gate

Down in Jewel Cave

Selfie in Jewel Cave

Campground resident showed up for happy hour

The next day's plan was a drive to the town of Wall, South Dakota, east of Rapid City. We needed hook-ups, showers, laundry, and groceries before we started the long trek in earnest to get back east. We checked into a campground in town and did chores. The next morning we woke to cold and rain and decided to go over to the Wall Drug cafe for breakfast. A hot meal was a good idea, and one of the fry cooks recognized my shirt from the Amazon warehouse in Campbellsville, Kentucky. He was going back this Fall. We had already decided not to, after three years at Amazon. After breakfast we looked around at the shops we could walk to without going back out into the rain and then hopped into the truck and started the day's drive on I-90 east.

Breakfast at Wall Drug

Friendly locals!

We didn't get very far before we made an impulsive stop at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, just off the interstate. We declined to tour an old missile silo, which would have required backtracking to another interstate exit, but spent some time watching the movie and touring the exhibits in the center. Well done exhibits, but a little unnerving to recall my early elementary school years near Washington, DC, spent practicing air raid drills by descending into the crawl space under the building.

Heading east we encountered a wall of black clouds and heavy rain. We spent the night in the Cabellas parking lot, in Mitchell, South Dakota, hunkered down with other rigs riding out the storm. The next day we passed flooded fields and closed roads. Luckily we were on more interstate, so we were able to avoid flooding problems. We passed south into Iowa and out of the bad weather. North of Des Moines, Iowa we found a lovely campsite in an Army Corps of Engineers campground on Saylorville Lake. The temperature was 92 degrees when we arrived. More rain came through during the night and when we left in the morning it was 58 degrees. We headed east toward the Mississippi River.

Running from the storm

Saylorville Campsite

We managed to get into the Fairport Recreation Area campground in Muscatine, Iowa, and had a view of the Mississippi. The weather had cleared and was pleasant, so we took a breather and stayed for two nights. We watched the sunset and the barges go by.

Camp on the Mississippi

Sunset on the Mississippi

The night of September 23^rd found us in Spiceland, Indiana at a Flying J truck stop. The next day we kept going east on the interstate into the rain, and into Ohio. We had an appointment for September 25^th back at Jackson Center, Ohio at the Airstream Mothership to handle a few more warranty problems. We needed to get there early enough in the day to secure a campsite at the Terraport. We got there soon enough to find a space and the next morning the tractor came along and took the Airstream into the repair bays. We were hoping to have everything finished in one day as we had in the Spring, but we waited into a second day for the work to be completed. We finally left the Mothership at 11 am and traveled east again chasing another rainstorm.

Another beautiful Flying J sunset!

That night, September 26^th, we got as far as another Flying J in Corfu, New York. The next night found us in Dummerston, Vermont at the Kampfires campground. The weekend was devoted to the wedding of our nephew Jon and his bride Rebecca. It was a joyous occasion with family and new friends. The weather gods cooperated and we enjoyed the New England Fall weather and the leaves that were beginning to turn.

Wedding Flowers