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Day 1 – Thursday, May 18, 2000:
We set out for New Mexico from Skeeter and Dennis’s place at about 7:45.  After a small drizzle just past Siloam Springs, we hit the Cherokee Turnpike and had a sunny drive for the rest of the day.  Another toll road took us to Oklahoma City, where we made our first stop.  We looked around a bit for a grocery store to find sandwich meat and cheese, but settled for a convenience store and filled up the fuel tank around noon.  We got on I-40 and headed west into Texas, stopping near Amarillo just before 6pm for our next refueling.  A couple more hours of driving took us into the Mountain Time zone and up to Tucumcari, NM, where we parked the Lindy for the first night.  It was a nice little place called Mountain Road RV Park, right next to an interesting flat-topped mountain.  We immediately pulled out the grill and started on a couple of steaks for supper.  Awesome steaks, and Dad cooked them just right!  With fish steaks and beer on the side, the meal was a great end to the 12 hours of driving.  We watched a little TV, and then hit the sack at around 10:30.  A great first day!

Day 2 – Friday, May 19, 2000:
Woke up by the morning sunlight around 6:30.  Took showers and hit the road around 8am after changing the coolant in the Lindy (she was getting a little hot). Stopped for breakfast in Santa Rosa and then drove west on I-40.  Went by AutoZone in Albuquerque to pick up some utilities and filled up on gas.  Got off of I-40 to drive for a while on the historic Route 66 about 20 miles outside of Gallup.  Stopped at Red Rock National Park for about an hour to walk around and take pictures.  Very cool.  Got back on Route 66 and made it to Gallup around 3:30pm.  Filled up on gas, then stopped at Albertson’s to pick up food for the next 3-4 days.  Stopped at K-Mart to grab a shower curtain, then finally left Gallup at 5pm.  We headed north on Hwy 666 for a few miles, then took 264 westward into Arizona and through the Navajo and Hopi Indian reservations.  We needed to find a place to stop before sundown, and luckily found an RV campsite in Keams Canyon.  It was a temporary site setup for construction workers who were working on a new hospital nearby (on the Hopi Reservation).  After settling in, we took a hike up the side of the canyon, which was pretty exhilarating, and took some cool pictures.  We got back to the camper, microwaved some meals, and then got to bed around 9:30.  Another terrific day, not to mention we had our first expedition.

Day 3 – Saturday, May 20, 2000:
Rolled out of bed around 7am.  We had a slight Lindy malfunction, but it was taken care of in less than a half hour with the RV Tech’s expertise on hand.  We drove out of Keams Canyon and across the reservations to Tuba City, AZ, filled up on gas, and then headed for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Along the way we had to cross the Colorado River at Antelope Pass over the Navajo Bridge.  Luckily, we stopped at the tourist station there because there was a notice to North Rim campers that it was closed due to a forest fire that they call the Outlet Fire.  It will re-open on Monday the 22nd, so we have two days to kill before we can see the Grand Canyon (although we could see the northern part of it from there).  We decided to head north through Page, AZ, to see Glen Canyon and Lake Powell.  We stopped to check out the dam at Carl Hayden Visitor Center and were given a recommendation for a good campsite by a ranger there.  We stayed at Wahweap Campground, right on Lake Powell, with an awesome view of Glen Canyon behind the lake.  We immediately walked down to the lake to take a dip.  It was icy cold, but we got used to it eventually.  We pulled out the grill, cooked some hot dogs, drank some brew, and chilled out in our chairs for a while, then went for a walk around the campground.  We found the first green grass we’d seen since Oklahoma, some interesting flowers, and a pool and hot tub area.  We headed back to the Lindy, drank some more brew, and just sat and listened to music… very relaxing.  It was another great day, despite the change of plans.

Day 4 – Sunday, May 21, 2000:
Got up around 6am and rolled out around 7:30.  Took showers in the Lindy for the first time… worked out very well.  Drove to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and found a spectacular trail up to some very interesting landscapes.  There were all these rocks on columns of sandstone called hoodoos.  That was very cool. We took a nearly 3 hour hike around an area chock full of different variations of sandstone.  We took nearly 200 pictures there, believe it or not!  Got back to the Lindy and drove to Kanab, stopped to make some phone calls, get some groceries, and eat lunch at a little Mexican restaurant.  We then proceeded to Jacobs Lake to stay for the night.  It is only 45 minutes north of the North Rim, so we will be able to get in line for North Rim check-in early.  The campground here has a small pond (entitled Jacobs “Lake”) where an amazing number of deer gather to graze and drink.  The manager says they come out every evening around sundown.  Tonight there were about 30 deer.  While watching the deer, we met a couple from Florida and struck up a conversation.  Coincidentally, the man had just retired as a mechanical engineer from Honeywell where he’d worked on gyros for bomber planes.  The wind started cooling off the place, so we returned to the Lindy to listen to music and eat supper.  If these days keep getting better, I won’t be able to contain myself by the end of the trip!

Day 5 – Monday, May 22, 2000:
Got up early and headed down to the gate at the North Rim.  They didn’t open until noon, so we had about 4 hours to kill. We drove back down the road to a trailhead and hiked a ways down the mountain.  The hike back up showed us how out of shape we were, but we are still determined to hike down into the Grand Canyon valley to swim in the Colorado River.  We got back to the gate around 11:40, only to get in line behind the cars that’d gotten there earlier.  We waited about an hour before we finally got through.  We drove down the road and saw some of the fire damage that had occurred earlier in the week.  We got our reservations for the campsites both on the top and bottom of the canyon.  We’ll be hiking down into the canyon tomorrow, the 23rd; we’ll stay two nights at a campsite halfway down the mountain, and then hike back up on the 25th.  On the 24th, we plan to hike to the Colorado River and back to the halfway campsite.  After settling in, we hiked the trail from the campsites to the lodge.  The lodge is pretty amazing by itself… hundreds of huge logs were used to construct it.  We got some extra supplies for the trip tomorrow and came back to the Lindy to cook steaks.  We’ll pack up our supplies and will be headed down the side of the canyon by 7:30am.

Day 8 – Thursday, May 25, 2000:
We survived our backpacking trip into the Grand Canyon.  The hike was awesome all around.  It was a great workout as well as terrific scenery.  We left the Lindy around 7:45am Tuesday morning and arrived at our campsite around noon.  We didn’t hike all the way to the Colorado River, but instead stayed two nights at Cottonwood Campground, halfway between the trailhead and the river.  It was a seven mile hike, and in those seven miles, we went from an altitude of 8200ft to 3900ft – a 4300ft drop.  We were one of the last parties to arrive at the campground, so we had to settle for a site without any shade from the 115° temperatures.  I have never felt heat quite like that.  As hot as it was, it was very dry, so it really felt like it was only 90°.  We basically spent the next few hours laying in what shade we could find.  We drank lots of water, and with the breeze it was quite comfortable.  We took a few dips in the creek nearby, explored a side canyon, and got to bed right around dark.  We got up Wednesday morning and hiked 1.4 miles further down the trail to see Ribbon Falls.  That was absolutely amazing.  It was a great stopping spot.  We stayed there to wait out the afternoon heat then hiked back towards camp and stopped for a little bit of exploration along the way.  We took naps when we got back to camp, then hung out by the creek for a while, had fish steaks for dinner, and then hit the sack.  We woke up even before the crack of dawn this morning.  We had everything packed up and left the campsite at 6am to avoid as much of the sweltering sun as possible.  We made it back to the trailhead by 11:30, just in time to miss the worst of the heat.  Once we got to the Lindy, we just muddled around and relaxed… took some well-deserved showers, washed clothes, and fixed some fish and hot dogs over the grill.  Tonight I’m going to start on one of the books that I got for graduation… not sure which one yet.

Day 9 – Friday, May 26, 2000:
I began reading A Great Place to Live last night, the book that Ashley gave me.  It began by describing Santa Fe, NM, and some of its unique characteristics… maybe it would be a “great place to live.”  We got up this morning and hit the lodge for breakfast rather than fending for ourselves.  We then headed for the Widforss Trail, a hiking trail that runs along the western side of the North Rim. Unfortunately, it was closed due to the Outlet Fire.  I guess the firemen were using it as a base.  So we trucked down to our second choice, the Uncle Jim Trail.  Fouled again, the parking lot was full.  Rather than parking at our campsite and walking to the trailhead, we drove out to Cape Royal, on the eastern side of the North Rim.  It was a 21 mile drive on a very curvy road, but it took us directly through some of the worst sections of the Outlet Fire.  It was a depressing site seeing so much land that had nothing but black trees burnt to a crisp sticking out of the ground.  We finally reached Cape Royal, and that was pretty cool.  It was basically an overlook with lots of signs telling about things that can be seen from there.  We did a little bit of “off trail” exploring, then headed back to the parking lot to hike the Uncle Jim Trail.  We found a spot to park, and then hiked the trail to a point where we could see the North Kaibab Trail, which is the one we took to the bottom of the canyon.  We were able to spot points on the trail that we remembered walking the day before.  We came back to the camp, ate a little, then went out to Bright Angel Point to watch the sunset.  We then caught a Campfire Program about bats up at the Lodge Auditorium… that was interesting.  We came back to the campsite and basically just hit the sack.  I don’t think I’ll read anymore tonight… I’m pretty beat.  This is our fifth, and last night at the Grand Canyon – it has been a wonderful stay, but we are both ready to explore a new place again.  Tomorrow we’ll be heading toward Yosemite!

Day 10 – Saturday, May 26, 2000:
We left our campsite at the North Rim this morning around 8:30, got fueled up, and then headed west some more.  We made a stop at St. George, UT, for food and Wal-Mart stuff. Being a Saturday, it took us nearly 3 hours to get out of there!  We reached Las Vegas around 5:30.  The Lindy was overheating because the temperature outside was nearly 110°, so we had to take it slow.  We were going as slow as 30 MPH on the interstate highway for some of the uphill climbs!  Haha, lucky we’re not on much of a schedule!  We drove “The Strip” in Las Vegas, took a bunch of pictures, and then proceeded to get ourselves lost.  About an hour later (after about 5 or 6 wrong turns) we made it out of the city (seems to suck you in!).  We pulled in to Amargosa Valley RV Park at almost 9pm tonight.  We are just about the only people in the place, but the funny thing is that there are about 50 lots!  There is another RV, but it looks like a permanent resident with its satellite dish and flowerpots.  I just got finished washing dishes and cleaning up the kitchen area a bit.  Dad got some shelves at Wal-Mart that he cut to size with a hacksaw.  That organizes things a good bit, too.  We were thinking about going to Death Valley tomorrow, but I think today’s desert heat was about all we could stand… no need to ask for more of it!  So, we’ll stay up late and wake up late since we don’t have a whole lot of driving to do tomorrow.  I think I’ll read some more of my book tonight.

Day 11 – Sunday, May 28, 2000:
This morning we got up and tuned the Lindy in a few areas, then escaped from Amargosa Valley around 9am.  We turned onto Hwy 266, which cut through Inyo National Forest just over the California line. That proved to be some pretty curvy and steep road, but the Lindy handled it just fine… we just have to take it slow to avoid overheating.  Once we got to the top of the ridge, we were able to see a nice range of snow-capped mountains.  That was a nice sight.  We drove for a while longer, then came to Silver Lake, just outside of Yosemite.  We found a cozy little spot where we are right at the base of two snow-capped mountains, both of which have roaring streams of snowmelt gushing down their sides.  We went exploring almost immediately after arriving at the campsite.  We hiked to the top of one of the streams and admired its beauty and strength.  We walked back to the Lindy and started a fire in the pit to cook some steaks and veggies.  After eating, we were sitting around the fire and Dad looked up into the sky and said “I wonder if we can find any shooting stars.”  No more than five minutes later, we had given up looking at the sky, but both happened to be looking in the same direction when we witnessed the most impressive shooting star either of us has ever seen!  We both thought it was a firework at first, but then it glowed more and more whitish-green until it finally burned up.  It streaked halfway across the sky and lasted 2-3 seconds.  We both just stood there and said “Wow.”  It may have been a used-up satellite rather than a shooting star, but nonetheless, it was a fantastic sight.  Tomorrow, we’ll see if we can reach some of the snow on the side of the mountain!

Day 12 – Monday, May 29, 2000:
Well, today sure was “one thing after another!”  The morning started out great… we slept late and had breakfast, then went on a terrific hike up the side of the mountain we were camped near. We saw some great waterfalls and even did a little bit of “shoe-skiing” on the snow on the mountaintop.  We got back to the Lindy around noon, had some lunch, and then hit the road on our way to Yosemite.  We were only an hour or so away, so we didn’t feel a lot of pressure to get on the road early.  On the way out of the park we were camped at, we saw smoke above a mountain in the distance… a mountain which we were headed straight for.  As we got closer, we could tell that it was a forest fire, and that it was not under control. Lots of people were pulled off along the side of the road to watch the fire.  Eventually, the turn-off to Yosemite came up, but wouldn’t you know, the road was closed due to the fire!  The fireman instructed us to take a different road into the park… then we realized that the road was all the way on the other side of the park.  This meant an extra couple of hours of driving time, but we accepted it and drove on.  About an hour or more down the road, we found our turn-off, but there was a sign at its beginning saying something along the lines of “Very Crooked and Extremely Steep (26% Grades).  No Vehicles over 30 ft.  Vehicles with Trailers Not Recommended.”  We were mostly concerned with the Lindy not being able to pull itself up such steep grades, but also feared overheating.  We stopped to think about what we were getting ourselves into, but decided to press on.  Surprisingly, the Lindy climbed the hill with flying colors, however, an unanticipated potential problem was overlooked… Can the brakes take the severe downhill runs on the other side of the mountain?  Well, after a while, they began to heat up real bad.  We stopped to let them cool, but the front passenger side brakes eventually started smelling bad like they were really roasting.  After close examination, Dad determined that the bearing was bad – it was leaking grease, which was dripping into the brakes causing them to stink.  We then drove to Sonora, CA, about 50 miles away, to buy a new bearing to fix the problem.  After getting the bearing, we decided that the Lindy would easily make it to Yosemite, and we could just fix the bearing there.  We replotted our course on Streets & Trips and it showed us the shortest route to Yosemite.  We took this route, but eventually found ourselves on a very windy, very steep, one lane road.  It was so treacherous that we were forced to turn around and go back the way we came.  In doing so, we busted a pipe for the sewer system and leaked sewage all over the roadway… oops!  We went back to Sonora and camped out at the Sonora Fairgrounds… not so bad, but we had reservations for Yosemite tonight.  Dad took the wheel assembly apart to replace the bearing, but then came to the conclusion that the original bearing was not the problem.  It got dark so he’s going to work on it more in the morning.  We ate KFC chicken for supper and then he took a shower to clean up.  One more thing had to go wrong… the shower hose broke.  Now we can’t use the toilet or the shower.  Today was a pretty big mess; I’m sure it’ll be better by tomorrow.

Day 13 – Tuesday, May 30, 2000:
We woke up at the crack of dawn so we could get started on the wheel as soon as possible.  Dad decided to go ahead and replace the bearing and brake pads since he already had the parts, but noticed a bad seal on the brake calipers.  This meant another trip to the parts store.  He called a taxi and went to get the parts, not realizing that it was only 7:30 and they didn’t open till 8:00.  Surprisingly, the cab driver didn’t charge him for the waiting time.  He made it back by 8:10 and from there the installation was pretty simple.  We got everything together and were on the road by 9:00.  Right down the road from our campsite was an RV supply place, so we stopped in there real quick to get a new shower hose.  We missed our reservation for the site at Yosemite last night, but we made it in for tonight at least.  The mountains coming into Yosemite were absolutely unbelievable!  Imagine several four-thousand foot solid granite mountains standing next to each other with massive six foot diameter pine trees all over them.  Then picture a very wide, very fast-flowing river at the foot of the mountains.  That was very impressive.  We got here around 11:00 and Dad took a nap around noon (he was still pretty stressed out from yesterday and this morning).  Meanwhile, I walked around the campground and took the shuttle to Yosemite Village.  I found a decent map of the area so we would be a little less lost and then I browsed around the Sports Shop and found myself a cool Yosemite t-shirt.  I got back to the Lindy around 1:30 and then we went for a nice long hike.  We first took the shuttle down to Yosemite Falls, which is a very recognizable waterfall.  I’d seen pictures of it before, but to see it up close, with the mist slapping you in the face and the cold breeze giving you goose bumps on an 80° day, it is quite an experience.  We walked right up to the base of the waterfall and both got soaked in its mist as if we’d gotten stuck in a rainstorm.  That is the most touristy spot in Yosemite; there were crowds of people there, probably half of them wielding a camera and getting someone to pose in front of the falls.  We then hiked up the side of Columbia Rock for almost a mile, but turned to go back down before we reached the overlook (it was getting late and we still had a 3.5 mile hike back to camp).  On the way back to camp, we basically took whatever side trails we could get our hands on without having to do anything very extensive.  We stopped at The Ahwahnee Hotel to look around a bit and sit down to a beer.  Finally made it back to camp at about 6:30 and were pretty worn out.  We got creative with our supper tonight and fixed burritos (well, more like soft tacos) with black beans, cheese, lettuce, and salsa.  We used the new propane stove Dad bought to try it out… it worked great.  After supper, we walked to the pay phone and called Rayna to wish her a happy birthday and let people know that we are doing OK and having lots of fun.  We came back to camp and basically just hit the sack… it’s been a long, fun day… much better than yesterday.  Keep those great days coming!

Day 14 – Wednesday, May 31, 2000:
We got a late start this morning… it was 8:30 when I got up to take a shower, and we didn’t really get moving till 10:30 or so when we had to vacate our site.  We drove down to the main parking area for the rest of the day and took the shuttle buses around where we needed to go.  First we went to the Yosemite Village gift shop and got a few things, then we visited the Visitor Center… wow, what a visit.  We took the bus up to Happy Isles where we caught the Vernal Falls Trail.  Guess where that went.  We hiked about a mile and a half up some pretty steep grades and got some very nice pictures of the falls. On the way up to the top we got soaking wet from all the mist in the air.  Like the falls yesterday, there was a pretty cool breeze, and cool turns to cold when you’re wet, so we passed the bottom of the falls as quickly as we could.  At the top we could see a beautiful rainbow from the mist at the bottom of the falls. We hiked a little further till we could see Nevada Falls then turned around and went back down.  I got a hot dog at a concession stand near Happy Isles Nature Center, then we rode the bus back to Yosemite Village and looked around at the Sports Shop.  We didn’t see anything that we had to have, so we hopped around the corner to the Yosemite Grill where we got some more to eat.  We ambled back to the Lindy and made our way out of the park after a nice, relaxing day of fun.  Heading for San Francisco, we stopped near Livermore, CA, at Del Valle State Rec Area to stay for the night.  It’s nothing big, but it has a lake with a nice little campground.  Tomorrow we’ll be spending the day in San Francisco, so that ought to be fun, too.

Day 15 – Thursday, June 1, 2000:
Got up this morning and drove back through Livermore, filled up on gas, and then took off for San Francisco.  We found a place to park down by the Fisherman’s Wharf (Pier 39) on the north end of SF.  By the way, we paid $18 to park the Lindy for the day… more than nearly all of the campsites we’ve stayed at.  We walked down through all the shops on the wharf and found ourselves next to about a hundred sea lions who were laying out in the sun. They were all barking at each other and wrestling and swimming around… fun to watch.  We got some good pictures, too.  Standing by the water, we then realized that it was a little chilly, so we went back to the Lindy to exchange our shorts for jeans and put on some sleeves.  We walked back to the wharf and an old WWII submarine tour struck our attention, so we took the tour… very interesting. After that, we took a long walk along the beach to the Golden Gate Bridge.  We walked out to the middle of the bridge and back, got some things at the gift shop, and then decided to take the bus back into town.  Well this was more of an undertaking than we expected.  We found a bus stop and waited for the bus, not knowing where in the world it would take us.  After waiting a while, a bus finally came by, but it didn’t stop for us.  We could see another bus stop from where we were and actually witnessed a bus stopping there and then leaving.  This tricked us into walking to the other stop… nearly as soon as we got there, we saw a bus come to our original stop.  At first we debated running back, but then made a break for it as we saw someone getting off the bus.  If we’d had five more seconds we would have made it.  Frustrated, we walked back to the other stop and finally another bus came along.  We were about to board when we asked the bus driver where she was going.  She said “19th Street… Is that where you want to go?”  We both looked at each other as if he were holding a cue card.  “We don’t know,” I said, “How about downtown?”  The bus driver replied, “I’m not going downtown, but the bus right behind me is.”  I looked behind the bus… nothing there.  After a few moments of debate, we waited another five minutes or so and the other bus came along.  It took us about 8 blocks in a desirable direction and then turned around.  We immediately got off the bus with instructions of which bus to take to get downtown.  We walked 4 blocks, waited another 5 minutes, and finally got on a bus that took us where we wanted to go (whew, that only took about 2 hours!).  It dumped us in Chinatown where we picked out an Indian restaurant to eat at called Tamoori Mahal.  We walked around the Financial District a bit, and then back to the Lindy.  We drove through downtown and over the Golden Gate Bridge, eventually stopping in Novato, CA, at a little RV park.  The RV’s are packed in here like sardines!  Not only that, they charge $32.50 a night!  This is by far the most expensive place we’ve stayed yet.  However, we have a laundromat, full hook-ups, and even internet access!  Finally get to check our email, but we’ll do that tomorrow.  It’s been a busy day, but we got a good tour of San Francisco.

Day 16 – Friday, June 2, 2000:
We got up this morning and washed clothes, took showers, and checked our email.  We drove through Napa Valley to see all the vineyards and to pick up a bottle of Merlot for Rayna.  We then proceeded north to the Avenue of the Giants – the 33 mile stretch of highway lined with an abundance of redwood groves in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. We took lots of pictures with the massive trees, and we’ll probably take lots more tomorrow.  Right now we’re camped in the park at Burlington Campground.  It’s a very nice place with huge redwoods in every site.  We made tuna fish sandwiches for supper tonight, then I gave Kevin a call to make sure he knew we were going to meet up with him tomorrow night in Oregon.  After that, I wrote out a bunch of post cards from Yosemite and San Francisco that I’ll send off tomorrow.  That’s about it for today… not a whole lot of excitement – mostly driving.

Day 17 – Saturday, June 3, 2000:
We set our alarms for early this morning to get a head start on the road.  We were expecting to spend a long time driving today, stopping along the way at Redwood National Park and Crater Lake National Park.  We didn’t really spend any time at our campsite even though we took our time choosing the right one!  The park ranger said we couldn’t run our generator till 10am. Needing the generator to run the coffee maker, we drove out early so we could brew our morning coffee.  We drove through the rest of the way through Humboldt and saw the other redwood trees as the sunlight was just barely peaking over the mountain tops.  We stopped at the McDonald’s in McKinleyville, CA, to get some breakfast.  As Dad was walking back to the Lindy, he noticed a faster drip from the radiator than before, so he naturally became more worried than before.  After messing with it for a while, we drove up to Eureka, CA, and made a stop at the beach.  We walked around on the sand and got a little wet, but it was cold, so our stop didn’t last long.  We collected some sand dollars that were scattered around and headed back to the Lindy.  We drove up to Crescent City, CA, and stopped at a parts store where Dad bought some more radiator stuff.  We overheated once more as we crossed more mountains through northern California, so we pulled over and ate some lunch while it cooled down.  We then proceeded into Oregon, through Grants Pass where we hit the interstate and pushed on through Portland and then to Hood River where my friend Kevin lives.  We had Kevin meet us when we drove into town so we could follow him to his uncle’s place.  We parked the Lindy in the back yard where we camped for the night.  We sat up and chatted with Kevin for a while, then turned in for the night.  Today we did the most driving we’d done since the first part of the trip.

Day 18 – Sunday, June 4, 2000:
We got up this morning and met Kevin’s uncle, Chris, and his girlfriend, Cindy.  Kevin’s girlfriend, Amity, joined us as we all went out for breakfast at a little café in town called Carolyn’s (Kevin picked up the tab – isn’t he a little sweetie?).  Afterwards, we all came back to the house and geared up to go for a hike near Mount Adams. We took a trail up to a peak called Sleeping Beauty where we could see nearly the entire Cascade mountain range.  We took pictures of Mt. Hood, Rainier, St. Helens, and Adams.  It was a terrific view.  We hiked back down to the car and drove down to White Salmon River to see the small waterfall.  We came back to the house and Cindy fixed a wonderful chicken and shrimp pasta for supper.  We drank some beer and played a little bit of ping pong, then someone suggested going to the drive-in theatre to watch Shanghai Noon and High Fidelity.  Everyone in agreement, we did that and had a great time.  It was a fantastic day with the perfect weather.

Day 19 – Monday, June 5, 2000:
Dad and I got up early this morning and took the Lindy down to a radiator repair shop here in Hood River.  We walked back to Chris and Cindy’s and then Kevin picked us up and took us on a tour of the town.  We walked in and out of the different shops, ate some brunch, and visited Amity at her work (a small clothing store).  I got a call back from a recruiter on my cell phone while we were walking around.  He said he had found a job I might be interested in at International, Inc., the truck builders, at their facility in Garland, TX.  He’s going to send them my resume and will try to get me scheduled for an interview when I get back.  We wanted to do a white-water rafting trip down the White Salmon River, so Dad and I did that with Kevin and Amity later that afternoon.  We had a great time, and have the pictures to show for it.  Afterwards, we went out for pizza at a place called Andrew’s… incredible!  Andrew’s doubles as a pizza restaurant and a movie theatre where people can eat and watch movies at the same time.  With our bellies full, we settled down for the night.  I took a relaxing shower and then laid out in the back yard on a hammock and called some friends from my cell phone.  Cindy got a movie at the rental place, so we watched Nicholas Cage’s new flick, Bringing Out the Dead – it was pretty weird.  By the end of the movie, I was barely hanging on to stay awake and Dad had already called it a night, so I hit the sack right afterwards.  The Lindy won’t be finished till around noon tomorrow, so we’re staying in Kevin’s room tonight.  Kevin did a good job of showing us some of the fun aspects of the area… yet another good day to add to the list!

Day 20 – Tuesday, June 6, 2000:
We slept in late today… till 9:30!  Chris and Cindy had coffee already made and we sat and talked for a while.  Chris helped me find some things on the internet that will help us with our trip, such as the cost of the ferry ride from Victoria Island to Vancouver and how to get to the best spot to see Mount St. Helens.  Dad called the radiator place and they said it’d be ready around 1pm.  Chris and Cindy drove us downtown where we popped into a bike shop.  I found myself a new bike pump… now all I have to do is ride my bike enough to justify buying it!  We then met up with Kevin at his work, Appland Jewelers, and we all went out to lunch.  Kevin took us back up to the radiator shop, but the guy didn’t have it ready yet, so he dropped us back at Chris and Cindy’s.  We helped Chris move some of his bedroom furniture from upstairs to his newly-remodeled room downstairs.  Chris drove Dad to pick up the Lindy, and when they returned, it was evident that the Lindy was developing new problems aside from the radiator, which had just been fixed.  Not long afterwards, Kevin called and said that Dad had forgotten his credit card at the radiator shop and that the guy was on his way to Kevin’s work to give it to him (it was kind of a weird circumstance, and not really worth detailing).  Kevin brought it to us and helped pack the Lindy back up.  We headed out of Hood River around 7pm and found a Seaquest State Park just outside of Mount St. Helens to stay for the night.

Day 21 – Wednesday, June 7, 2000:
We slept in again!  Boy, we need to start setting some alarms!  I think the weather was to blame – we had a nice trickle of rain all night long… excellent sleeping conditions.  We took showers this morning and cleaned up around the Lindy.  We finally got on the road around noon and headed for Mount St. Helens, even though we figured we wouldn’t be able to see it with all the clouds.  We had to drive through some pretty thick fog on the way up the mountain. We stopped at Johnston Ridge Observatory and Visitor Center, which was right in front of the blast zone.  The clouds cleared in some spots a couple of times, but we were never able to see the whole mountain.  We mostly saw white, but took pictures of what we did see of the mountain.  We watched a 15 minute movie that told the story of the volcano and what stages of eruption it went through… pretty interesting.  We ate lunch in the Lindy and then left around 4pm, setting sail for Seattle.  When we got to Seattle, we wondered around for a while, and then located the closest RV Park to the downtown area in a suburb called Bellevue.  We’re at Trailer Inns RV Park, just off the interstate.  Luckily, they had one space open for us in their multitude of sardinesque, fully-paved stalls.  We got some local newspapers to get some ideas of things to do tomorrow.  We then found a modem connection near the office, so we checked our email and did a search for things to do in Seattle.  We turned up quite a few things we’d like to do, including:  the Space Needle, the Science Center, the Aquarium, the Underground City Tour, and the Museum of Flight.  We’ll see how many of those we actually get to.  No sleeping in tomorrow!  Alarm is set for 7am.

Day 22 – Thursday, June 8, 2000:
We had a fun-filled day today!  We got out of bed nice and early to square away some registration stuff and catch the 10:00 bus from Bellevue into downtown Seattle.  A light drizzle set off the atmosphere for a typical Seattle day.  We started off by getting a bite to eat at a little Chinese restaurant.  Then we stopped by the Underground Tour to get our tickets, but couldn’t get in until 1pm, so we killed time in Pioneer Square until then.  The tour was excellent, and the guides were pretty funny (it may have helped that we drank some beers just before the tour).  Back around the turn of the century, Seattle streets had to be raised anywhere from 8 feet to 32 feet from original ground level due to tidal problems.  Because there were existing buildings in this area, their lower levels were covered by concrete and were eventually abandoned.  The tour covered some of the underground areas that were still intact while giving an overall history of Seattle.  It was very interesting.  We then grabbed a bus to take us up to the Science Center.  It was a fun place… lots of interesting things to do, mostly learning projects for kids, but plenty for us older kids.  When leaving the Science Center, we noticed some patches of blue sky and sunshine so we walked toward the famous Space Needle.  Upon reaching the Space Needle, we found that the tickets to go up to the observation deck sold for $11!  Even more amazing was that the line of ticket-holders stretched for about 150 feet!  “They can have it!” I said.  I didn’t want anything to do with that little venture… it’s only 570 feet up, anyway!  Right about that time we started a walking spree.  We walked down to the bay and all the way back to Pioneer Square, stopping at some of the piers along the way to take a look.  We decided Mediterranean food would be a good choice for dinner, so we found Trattoria Mitchelli, a place we’d noticed earlier.  It was a very small café-type shop where food was already made and stored in a glass case waiting to be sold.  It wasn’t what we expected, but we ate there anyway.  It was good food, however the manager shuffled us off prematurely so that he wouldn’t be late for a film he wanted to see.  Of course, he apologized and we said “No problem,” but it didn’t seem very professional. We walked to a nearby park to sit down and figure out our evening.  By this time it was 7pm.  We knew we wanted to see live music somewhere, but had not figured out who was playing tonight yet.  We got a copy of The Stranger, the local “clubs and entertainment” newspaper and low and behold – for $12 at a club called The Catwalk (just a few blocks away), the legendary Dick Dale: King of Surf Guitar was playing a show at 8pm.  Jackpot!  That ends of the search for entertainment and we head down there to get in line.  After a few minutes, we found out that the people in front of us had tickets, so we went to get our tickets at a pool hall down the street called The Fenix.  While we were there, we drank a couple of beers and played two games of pool (hehe, I won both).  Once we got back to the line, it had grown to 6 to 10 times what it was before!  We finally made it through the doors around 8:30 or so.  The opening band was called Shinola and they were pretty cool, but Dad didn’t like them… except for the drummer, who we both agreed kicked butt.  They played 7 or 8 songs, and then Dick Dale came out around 10:15.  He was so cool and so smooth… he liked to get involved with the crowd.  He’s a pretty funny guy – very charismatic.  He put on an outstanding performance, the best concert I’ve been to, I think.  There were all kinds of great things about the concert, but I won’t try to go into detail.  The show ended just after midnight and we took a cab back to the Lindy.  We were so pumped up about the concert, I’m sure the cabbie was tired of hearing about it!  We went to bed right away, but still we laid awake talking about the concert.  It was an exciting end to this great day.

Day 23 – Friday, June 9, 2000:
We did miscellaneous things this morning (including Dad changing out the distributor on the Lindy in hopes that it would solve a hesitation problem) and then rode the bus into town around 12:30. We dashed into a Starbucks and got some munchies for the road.  I had a hankering for a new pair of jeans so we dove into Eddie Bauer where I found some that I liked.  We walked down to the Aquarium and bought tickets.  We spent a couple of hours there… saw a whole lot of fish, let me tell ya.  We left there and walked down to the next pier where we found a seafood restaurant called The Crab Pot.  We ordered some beers and a dozen oysters to tide us over.  Since Dad had never been to an Omni theatre before, we walked back up the way to the IMAX Omnidome where we watched The Mysteries of Egypt.  After the show, we walked all over the place trying to find a suitable restaurant.  None seemed to fit our specs until we found what appeared to be a “real” Italian place.  All of the items on the menu were in Italian with English descriptions.  We had a good meal there and then took the bus back to the Lindy.  We got in around 10pm – enough time to wash clothes and check email before retiring for the night.  It was a fun day.

Day 24 – Saturday, June 10, 2000:
We got up this morning and prepared the Lindy to roll out of Seattle.  We spotted a grocery store on the way out, so we put our journey on pause while we stocked up on food.  After spending about a half-hour in the store, we came back to the Lindy, ready to roll out of the parking lot, but the darn thing wouldn’t start.  Luckily there was a mechanic and a parts store nearby, so we asked the mechanic about possible solutions and he recommended changing the ignition module.  We picked up one of those at the parts store, but it didn’t help.  Dad then figured it must be the transformer coil, but the parts store didn’t have it in stock, so he had to take a cab to another parts store about 4 miles away.  He got back with the coil, installed it, and we were on the road minutes later… Daddio saved the day again.  We then decided the Lindy was due for an oil change after running these 5,000 miles.  An hour and $44 later, we finally started making our way to Seattle to catch the ferry across Puget Sound to Bainbridge Island.  We got on the ferry around 6pm and it was a 35 minute ride.  We walked around while on the ferry to watch the Seattle skyline and the seagulls flying along.  From Bainbridge Island, we drove west through Washington toward the Pacific coastline.  We stopped at a state park after about a half-hour, right next to Hood Canal.  We walked down to the water and found that oysters and clams wash up on the shore where people can pop them open right there on the beach.  We didn’t, though, because we don’t have permits, instead we went back to the Lindy for some po-boys.  We played a little music before going to bed, Dad on his guitar and me on his keyboard.  After turning out the lights, we were both thankful that we weren’t spending the night in the Albertson’s parking lot!

Day 25 – Sunday, June 11, 2000:
It was raining when we woke up this morning… nice sleeping-in weather!  After rolling over in bed a few times, we drove out around 11am and headed for the ocean.  Along the way, we passed through Olympic National Park where we drove around the edge of Lake Crescent.  That was absolutely beautiful.  The lake was so calm and icy-looking; we stopped for a few pictures.  After another hour or so, we finally hit the ocean at Ruby Beach. Despite the rainy weather, we got down to walk around on the rocky beach.  We were obviously not from around there because the first thing we did was walk out on the sand without paying attention to the reach of the water.  We were looking at the rocks on the ground when the waves decided to spring on us.  Dad got out in time, but my feet got completely soaked… my umbrella didn’t seem to help much there.  I got laughed at, sure, but revenge was mine later on when a huge wave crashed on the rocks right in front of Dad.  His shoes got soaked, too, but he was wearing a poncho so his pants stayed dry.  We got back to the Lindy to dry off and warm up, and then we drove south along the coast until we got to Ocean City State Park.  It was right next to the beach and had a trail down to the water.  After driving around looking for a site, we noticed that quite a few of them were flooded from all the rain.  We found a site that wasn’t under water and stayed there for the night.  Dad wanted to run down to the beach before it got dark, but I was done for the day so I stayed behind.  About 15 minutes later he came back, a little peeved and a lot more wet, because the “short walk” to the beach turned out to be a long walk through heavy brush and deep puddles and channels!  He never even made it to the water because he was too wet and frustrated.  It was a pretty funny, but I tried not to laugh.  We popped some TV dinners into the microwave… hey, we gotta be lazy sometime!  We also put some tater tots in the oven as a side dish.  It rained all day long, and it’s still raining!  I hope it clears up tomorrow… I like a little rain here and there, but it’s getting old.  Haha, maybe I wouldn’t want to live here!

Day 26 – Monday, June 12, 2000:
Woke up this morning to the sweet sound of more rain!  I looked out the window and was glad to know that we were still above water.  We had our coffee, then moved on.  We drove south to Point Brown, a little peninsula on the Pacific Ocean near the middle of Washington where there is a long stretch of sandy beach.  Dad tried to talk me into renting wetsuits and surfboards and try to surf, but I wouldn’t go for it (I don’t think he would have actually done it, anyway).  At the end of the beach, a bunch of rocks were piled high enabling us to walk out over the crashing waves.  We each took about 10 pictures… trying to catch the waves at the perfect time so that their crash is at maximum height.  After soaking up the beach for a while, we drove back through Seattle and up to Bellingham, where we camped out for the night at Hidden Village RV Park.  Dad pulled out his new propane stove and cooked some spaghetti noodles… that made for a fine dinner!  I had two or three helpings of spaghetti.  We didn’t do much else today – mostly just drove.  Right now we’re only about 20 miles south of the Canada border, so we’ll be driving through Canada all day tomorrow, which ought to be exciting.  We’ve got our birth certificates and we’re all set to go.

Day 27 – Tuesday, June 13, 2000:
We’ve crossed the border!  Customs didn’t hassle us too much (possibly because Dad went ahead and shaved his beard so he wouldn’t look “suspicious”), they just ran a check on our ID’s to make sure we were clean.  We were in and out in about 15 minutes.  Right off the bat we realized, “Oh yeah, we’ve got to start thinking in kilometers!”  It wasn’t until we stopped for gas, though, that we realized we’d have to start thinking in terms of liters, too.  Those conversions mixed with the Canadian/ U.S. monetary exchange rate of 147% got a little confusing, but we worked it out.  We got our hands on some Canadian currency and examined the “funny money” carefully. I’d never seen Canadian dollar bills before, I don’t think.  We just accepted the fact that it is money here and we can buy things with it, so we moved on.  Some days you’ve just got to drive all day to get where you’re going… well, today was one of those days.  We drove from about 9am until 5pm with minimal stops in between, but the scenery kept our attention – there was always something to look at.  On Highway 1, the Trans-Canada Highway, we saw dozens of waterfalls, countless snowcapped mountains, huge valleys, deep ravines, avalanche debris, tunnels… it was a very scenic drive. We made our first stop at Revelstoke National Park where we drove a windy and steep road up to the overlook.  Oops, the road was closed about a mile from the top, so we had to settle for the smaller overlook.  We snapped a couple of pictures and then drove back down the mountain in search of our planned destination – Glacier National Park.  We finally got to the park and guess what… both of the campgrounds were closed!  We weren’t too happy about that, but we took it with a grain of salt and found a campground outside the park called Kinbasket Lake Resort.  From the highway the sign in front of the dirt driveway read “RV Park, 4 km down to lake.”  It’s not the greatest place on Earth or anything, but it is nice.  Given, it would be a little nicer if the “lake” actually had water in it!  J  Ok, ok, it has a little bit of water, but it’s dried up for the most part.  Oh, and on the way down the driveway we saw a black bear!  He was just hanging around on the side of the road.  I told Dad to stop the Lindy so I could take his picture.  He replied in a serious tone, “Alright, but if he starts coming this way I’m puttin’ it to the floor.”  Turned out the bear was very cooperative… he even smiled for me.  There was a train track nearby, so we walked down it for a ways, just for something to do.  We walked back after we’d fulfilled our exploration craving.  We’ve noticed that it doesn’t get dark until very late because we are so far north.  We could still see tonight until around 11pm.  We munched on some fish steaks and played a little music.  Dad hit the hay while I stayed up and worked on the computer for a couple of hours, adding pictures to my journal.  Today held a few disappointments because of campgrounds and parks being closed, but we made the most of it and had fun anyway.

Day 28 – Wednesday, June 14, 2000:
Woke up this morning to more rain… another dreary day.  It’d be nice to get a little sunshine here and there.  We hit the road around 11am this morning and headed for Lake Louise. On the way, we drove through Yoho National Park where we detoured off onto Yoho Valley Road, which went up to Takakkaw Falls.  What do you know – the road was closed about a mile up the road, a few miles before the falls.  We settled for some overlooks just before the road block where we took some pictures, then we headed back down the mountain and on to Banff National Park, home of Lake Louise.  Before we hit the lake, we stopped at the Lake Louise Visitor Centre where we looked around, got some camping and hiking information, and bought a few more postcards.  We proceeded down to the lake to take some pictures.  There were canoes for rent at a boathouse, which would have been great, but it was just too cold and rainy for us.  We got back to the Lindy and ate frozen pizza for lunch (yes, we cooked it in the oven first!). Now that we’d reached our Canadian destination, we needed more to do before we left, so we drove a little further north to the Crowfoot Glacier observation point and then to Peyto Lake (Pee-toe). Peyto Lake was fascinating for two reasons.  First, because it is bright blue… just an amazing color.  It looks artificial, but it’s naturally caused by very fine rock powder floating in the lake that gives it a blue tint. Second, the trail to the lake observation point was covered in snow!  We were very surprised to see 2-3 feet of snow everywhere.  We didn’t have snowshoes, so with every step we sunk down a foot or so into the snow. I wished I’d had a snowboard or skis, or at least a sled… that would have been a blast.  The snow was difficult to walk in, but the trail wasn’t very long.  We had a great time playing in it, but we were pretty cold by the time we got back to the Lindy.  We drove back the way we came until we reached Mosquito Creek campground where we setup camp for the night. We built a fire with the wet wood we were supplied with… that took forever!  It was very frustrating trying to get it going, but it finally got to the point where it started to feel warm.  After an hour or two, we actually heard an avalanche!  We heard it across the valley, so we both ran to a clearing to try to get a glimpse of it, but it was over by the time we got there.  We sat out by the fire from about 7:30 until 12:30, just drinking beer and shooting the bull.  Tonight it never really got dark.  The sun went down around 11pm, but the moonlight was so powerful that we could still see all around us.  Today was a terrific day with the beautiful scenery and the snow and the campfire.  Even though a lot of places are still closed due to the weather, we picked a great time to visit Canada.

Day 29 – Thursday, June 15, 2000:
Boy, we slept late today!  Yeah, rolled out of bed around 11am!  Dad had a little bit of a headache from the beer-drinking last night, so I drove us down to the town of Banff while he rested a little while longer.  Luckily, by the time we got there his headache was gone. Banff grew into a town in the 1880’s when the railroad first made it into the Canadian Rockies.  It’s a cute little town with lots of fancy hotels and “touristy” stuff.  We stopped here because we wanted to ride a gondola up to the top of Sulphur Mountain – site of the first cable car system in Canada.  The tickets were $18 Canadian, but it was worth it.  The view at the top of the mountain was awesome.  We saw some bighorn sheep and lots of squirrels and chipmunks up there.  Before too long, we got ourselves some hot chocolate to keep us warm – it was cold up there with the wind howling like it was.  The summit of Sulphur Mountain is at 7,486 feet, and believe it or not, even in the middle of June, it started snowing while we were drinking our hot chocolate.  It was only flurries and it didn’t last long, but I never thought I’d see it snow in June.  Moving on with our day, we drove across town to see some hoodoos similar to the ones we saw at the Grand Staircase-Escalante.  They didn’t have rocks on their tops, though.  We drove into downtown Banff and walked around, poking our heads into the various different shops.  We stopped to eat at a Greek restaurant.  Wow, what great food!  I had roast lamb with rice, potatoes, and salad with chamomile tea… it was an excellent meal, and not too expensive, surprisingly.  The next stop on our tour of Banff was the hot springs pool.  We trekked up there with our bathing suits and towels only to find out that they had drained the pool the day before and the water hadn’t warmed up to its usual temperature of 40°C (104°F) yet.  The guy recommended that we try back in the morning, and that it might be up near normal temperature by then.  It was at 33°C (91°F) and we could have gotten in for half price, but we figured we’d wait for the “real thing.”  We drove out of the park and stayed at an RV campground nearby called Restwell Trailer Park.  We were pretty beat, so we just took it easy for the rest of the night.  Well, it was another excellent day to add to the list!

Day 30 – Friday, June 16, 2000:
Got up and washed clothes this morning.  Dad fixed the air conditioner on the Lindy (of course, there’s always something to fix) and we rolled out around noon.  We skipped the hot springs altogether – it was about 15 miles in the other direction and when we stopped by there it didn’t seem very thrilling.  We went ahead and drove on out of Canada.  The border patrol was surprisingly gentle on the return trip.  We tried to show our ID to the lady, but she wasn’t interested.  She wanted to know things like: How long did you stay?  Where are you from?  Where do you work?  Did you bring anything back with you?  She checked our license plate and we were out of there in about 2 minutes!  Now that’s service!  When we entered Canada, it took a good 15 minutes to go through the ordeal. We arrived at Glacier National Park in Montana around 6pm only to find out that the Lindy was too big to fit through Logan Pass.  This meant that we could only go about 10 miles into the park before we had to turn around and come back.  There was a campground within those 10 miles called Rising Sun, so we stayed there for the night, but not before getting a good hike in.  We drove down to Sun Point where we hiked a good 3 miles – rainy and cold as it was!  Wielding umbrellas, we conquered the rain and saw waterfalls and icy lakes unbeknownst to the dry folk.  Sure, we got our share of water in our boots, but we had fun.  We lit up the gas furnace tonight because we’re not plugged into electricity to run the electric heater and it’s gonna get cold.  For supper, we pulled out the grill and cooked some sausages to make some more po-boys.  That hit the spot.  Another day of driving behind us.  Now it’s onward to Yellowstone (assuming we can get a spot).  We might make it there by tomorrow night, we’ll see.

Day 31 – Saturday, June 17, 2000:
We woke up and got on the road, but first Dad called Yellowstone to try to get reservations for a campsite.  We didn’t expect to get in right away, and thought we’d have to dilly-dally around Montana for a day or two.  To our surprise, we landed three nights at Bridge Bay Campground in Yellowstone, starting tonight!  We had to be there by 10pm to get checked in.  To make it on time, we immediately drove out of Glacier National Park around 9am and just kept on driving through Montana.  We spotted a place to stop at along the way – a rock shop.  It was on an Indian Reservation and had genuine pieces for low prices.  We each got a few things there… we couldn’t help ourselves.  Dad bought some petrified dino-dung!  He was just about to buy a piece of smoky quartz, but at the last minute I had to stop him, for that was what I’d gotten him for a Father’s Day gift.  So rather than make up some story of why he shouldn’t buy the smoky quartz, I told him about it and gave it to him after we left the store.  I was going to give it to him the next day (Father’s Day), but the turkey weaseled me out of it.  We continued driving until we got to Yellowstone, basically. We drove into the park around 7:30 and figured we had it made, although we knew that our campground was another 45 miles into the park (keep in mind, Yellowstone is huge).  We had two and a half hours to get there, so we stopped along the way to check out some of the sites.  We saw our first geyser, sulphur spring, and buffalo along the road.  Timing it just right, we rolled into our campground, Bridge Bay, around 9:30.  They said they’d been waiting for us and had a spot reserved.  A slide show at the amphitheatre had just begun, so we ran down there to check it out.  It was about volcanoes and how they play a part in the geology of Yellowstone.  The ranger narrating the slide show was very interesting and she had excellent pictures of different things relating to volcanoes.  After the show, we walked back to the Lindy and ate some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches just before going to bed.  It was another long day of driving, but at least it ended with some fascinating sites at Yellowstone.

Day 32 – Sunday, June 18, 2000:
Wow!  We woke up to completely clear skies this morning and it remained clear and warm throughout the day.  There are two major driving loops in Yellowstone.  The large loop is about 96 miles long, and the smaller loop is about 60 miles.  We decided we would drive the large loop today and see all the sites along it.  First we stopped at Mud Volcano and Sulphur Caldron, which were very unique geothermal features.  Then we saw the Upper and Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, the park’s own “grand canyon.”  That was very cool… waterfalls are always good sites to see, and there was a designated place called Artist Point where the view was exceptionally beautiful.  We moved on to the Virginia Cascades – a quiet stream that flows softly over a stairway of rocks.  The next stop along the loop was the Norris Geyser Basin, a huge landscape filled with hundreds of geysers, some active and others dormant.  There were two main attractions there, the first being Steamboat Geyser, which erupts very rarely. It spews water to a height of 308 feet and last erupted on May 2 of this year.  However, the last time before that was in 1991 and the stats revealed that its eruptions are so unpredictable that they could be anywhere from 4 days to 50 years apart!  The other main attraction was Echinus Geyser, which erupts every 35-90 minutes.  We figured that would be a worthwhile wait and what do you know, we waited a full 90 minutes before it put on its show, which lasted about 3 minutes.  We rolled on around the loop to Firehole Canyon and then to Old Faithful.  Right on schedule, Old Faithful spilled her guts about 150 feet in the air… pretty cool. We drove around the loop a little more, catching sights of dozens more geysers and hot springs, then headed back to camp.  Since it was around dusk, we spotted quite a few buffalo and elk along the way.  We moseyed over to the amphitheatre again to see the ranger’s slide show.  Tonight it was about Yellowstone in general.  She shared her experiences in dealing with the great forest fire of 1988 that wiped out vast amounts of land inside the park.  We came back to the Lindy and cooked up some steaks (mighty tasty, I must say) then hit the sack.  It’s been a near-perfect Father’s Day… the weather, the scenery, the wildlife, the timing.  We packed a lot into one day; tomorrow will be the smaller loop.

Day 33 – Monday, June 19, 2000:
Oh boy, we sure wore ourselves out yesterday!  We slept right through the alarm clock this morning, but the steady rain outside didn’t help raise us out of bed any.  I finally got up and brewed some coffee to get us going.  We walked a trail along the rim of the canyon.  While we were out there it began to hail on us (some were quarter-inch sized); it was kind of fun walking through the hail, which was coming down pretty hard.  We were a little cold from the fast-blowing wind, but at least we weren’t getting wet.  A hot meal sure sounded good, so we drifted down to the dining hall.  I ordered trout and Dad had a barbeque sandwich, then we sat and drank coffee while the hail came down with even more authority than before.  I found a pay phone and called Mom to wish her a happy birthday and to see how things were going.  I told her a little bit about Canada and Yellowstone and the adventures we’d been through.  We hopped back into the Lindy and cruised around the smaller driving loop.  We started to gain altitude and soon the hail changed to snow and was pounding against the windshield. The temperature was well above freezing, so there was very little accumulation.  We pulled over to take pictures and fix some hot chocolate.  The snow quit soon afterwards and we continued down the loop, stopping at miscellaneous points along the way.  We got some excellent pictures of buffalo and elk on the way home… some actual close-up shots where the animal isn’t just a little speck and you say, “see that little dot there… that’s a buffalo.”  Oh, speaking of buffalo, we learned something today.  The American Buffalo is actually a bison – it is not a buffalo at all (ironically, the species name is bison bison).  We didn’t get details as to the differences between the two, only that bison in America have been mistakenly called buffalo for centuries.  We stopped to pick up some firewood and came back to camp to cook up some redfish that Dad had in the freezer.  As soon as we got the fire going, here came that darn hail again!  We were forced to use the gas grill and cook the fish under the awning.  The fish turned out very well and we ate it in the traditional British style… with chips (ok, ok, they were actually potato chips).  That was about enough activity for us, so we packed it in and called it a night.

Day 34 – Tuesday, June 20, 2000:
Lucky for us, we woke up to another gorgeous day.  Blue skies all around and reasonably warm temperatures… if only the wind weren’t blowing so strong, we wouldn’t have needed sweat shirts.  We were planning a hike to Natural Bridge this morning, but once we got to the trailhead we found out that the trail was closed.  Instead, we walked around the Old Faithful Geyser Basin for a couple of hours looking at all the different pools and formations.  Several geysers had schedules that they would follow.  There’d be a sign in front of it telling when the next expected eruption would be.  We got to see Old Faithful erupt again, then we drove out of the park and into Grand Teton National Park.  We found ourselves a campsite at Colter Bay and immediately took mid-afternoon naps.  Dad pulled out his hammock and I just stretched out on the picnic table.  It was the first time we’d snoozed outside since our backpacking trip at the Grand Canyon.  We got up and decided we would prepare a good meal for ourselves.  After a while of contemplation, we came up with a decision… creamy noodles and turkey with quesadillas on the side. We used Dad’s propane stove to cook the just-add-water noodle packet and then added turkey, Rotel, mustard, and honey to spice it up.  For the quesadillas, we used a large skillet to fry grated cheddar cheese and Rotel sandwiched in between two flour tortillas.  That was a terrific meal!  It really hit the spot after a long day of doing basically nothing!  We built a fire with the unused wood from last night and just sat around it playing music and stuff.  Maybe it wasn’t a very productive day… so what.

Day 35 – Wednesday, June 21, 2000:
We woke up to a cold Lindy this morning.  The pilot light on the furnace went out in the middle of the night, so it was just blowing cold air.  The temperature in the Lindy got down to 45°F.  Scared to withdraw from our sleeping bags, we stayed down until it was relatively safe to come out.  Once we got moving, we trucked down to the Visitor Center to see what was up.  They had a very nice Indian museum there with artifacts from all different tribes.  I got a book and Dad got a t-shirt, then we returned to the Lindy and found the Jenny Lake trailhead near the lodge.  We got geared up for a hike: packed a lunch and cameras, changed into shorts (for the first time in weeks!), and applied sunblock.  We began our hike around the lake and then up a valley between Grand Teton Mountain and Mount Moran (snow-capped peaks). In the valley we found Hidden Falls and took some nice pictures.  We hiked further to Inspiration Point where we could look out over the lake and the lodge.  We walked another mile or so up the valley when we decided we ought to be getting back, so we ate our lunch and then walked back down to the lake.  On the way, we spotted a moose and a black-tailed deer and we have pictures of both as proof.  After we got back, we stopped at the store for ice cream as a reward for our eight mile, three-and-a-half hour hike.  We maneuvered through the park a ways and then pulled over to dip our feet in the icy cold Snake River.  We then continued across Wyoming to Rock Springs where we pulled into the KOA RV Campground.  I fixed up some tomato soup and crackers with fish steaks and popcorn.  We ate and then called it a night.  I’m glad we got a good hike in today – we’d gone too long without any real trails.  Most of the trails we walked on in Yellowstone were paved or boarded.  The Jenny Lake Trail was rocky most of the way and steep in some parts… just right.

Day 36 – Thursday, June 22, 2000:
Well, today marks the first day of the 6th week, believe it or not.  We will probably be back in Fayetteville on Monday.  Right now we’re heading toward Longmont, CO (near Denver), to see my aunt and uncle, Tony and Stephanie, and my cousins, Mitch and Kayla.  Our goal for today was to reach Rocky Mountain National Park, and we did it.  We drove all day long with really only two pit stops besides gas.  The first was at Red Canyon Visitor Center in Flaming Gorge National Rec Area at the northeastern corner of Utah.  We browsed through the books and the mini-museum for a bit, then walked around the rim of the gorge.  Not really feeling up to a hike, we continued down the road until we got to a little town called Naples.  We stopped for lunch at a down-home burger joint.  Dad had a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a rootbeer float and I had a Cowboy Burger with fries and a black raspberry shake.  My burger was about three times the size of his, but if you know me, I won’t stop till I eat it all.  It was a great burger and I had no problem finishing it.  The fries were very good, too… homemade. The rest of the day we were driving, switching off every hour or two.  We pulled into the park around 7:30, but that wasn’t near the end of the line.  We had about a 6,000 foot climb ahead of us and then a 4,000 foot decent to the campground on the other side of the mountain – all in about 25 miles of road.  The view at the top (12,183 feet above sea level, the highest paved road in the country) was incredible, and was a great reward after the long hours of driving.  We hit it right as the sun was setting, which meant several things.  First, it meant we could get some great sunset pictures.  Second, it meant that we got to see a lot of elk up close.  Third, it meant the drive down the other side of the mountain would be in the dark.  After a slow ride down the mountain, we rolled into Moraine Park Campground at 9:30.  We found a site and ate some dinner, then wasted no time crawling into bed.  Tomorrow, we’ll hike around the park for a while, then drive east to Estes Park to explore a bit, then head down to Tony and Stephanie’s place.

Day 37 – Friday, June 23, 2000:
We didn’t feel much like hiking this morning, so we went ahead and drove out of the park and into Estes Park (it’s a town, not a park).  We went to the visitor information building to find some things to do around town.  First, we checked on mountain bike rentals so that we could ride some trails.  That ended up not working out, so we went up in another gondola to the top of Prospect Mountain.  That one was much older than the one we rode in Canada, giving it a much more rustic feel.  There were chipmunks everywhere at the top of the mountain and, unlike the national parks, feeding them was encouraged.  The gift shop sold peanuts so that people could feed the chipmunks and birds!  We hiked up to the summit and just sat for a while, admiring the view.  We rode the gondola back down and walked back to the Lindy for some lunch… watermelon!  We then walked around the town, bopping in and out of the shops, but not buying much.  Just as we were about to turn around and head back, we noticed there were about five elk in front of the Estes Park Public Library.  It was weird… they were just standing there in the middle of town eating fresh grass, leaves, and flowers out of the flower beds!  Lots of people were gathered around and taking pictures.  After the newness of it faded, we went back and drove into Longmont. We found Tony and Stephanie’s place just fine, then we all went down to the grocery store to get chicken and sausages to grill for dinner.  We mostly sat around and talked while the food was cooking, but Mitch and Kayla kept me busy.  Mitch is 5 and Kayla is 8… really great kids.  They couldn’t get enough of the rides I was giving: sitting on my back and shoulders, hanging upside-down from their feet, pulling them in their wagon, and swinging them around.  I played with their dogs a good bit, too.  One is a poodle named T-Zach and the other is a blue healer named Nicholas.  After the kids went to bed, Tony pulled out his telescope and we looked at stars and drank beer for a while.  We had a good time.

Day 38 – Saturday, June 24, 2000:
Tony offered to take us to the mountains to show us some of the spots where he likes to go off-roading.  We thought that was a great idea, so Dad and I went with him in his 4x4 truck to Roosevelt National Forest.  Stephanie had to work, so she kept the kids for the day while we went exploring with Tony.  He took us up some extremely rocky and steep roads typical of backcountry Colorado.  They were actually less like roads and more like trails! That was lots of fun.  We spent a couple of hours at his favorite camping spot eating lunch, looking across the mountain ranges, and shooting his pellet gun.  The next stop was Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park – the same road we’d crossed the night before last.  We hiked up into the tundra where the air is thin but the view is magnificent.  After spending a while there, we drove back down into the valley and decided to hike a trail at Glacier Gorge.  That turned out to be the highlight of the day as we walked along a roaring creek and blazed our own trail through the woods so that we could get to the best lookout points.  After a 2-3 hour hike, we headed back to the homestead to eat dinner and hit the sack… we were pretty tired.  What a nice day it was!  We had perfect weather all day long and everything went well.  Tony was a great tour guide.

Day 39 – Sunday, June 25, 2000:
Stephanie ran out to get some breakfast burritos at a local slop-shop.  Man, those were good!  They were pretty spicy, with eggs, hash browns, chicken, and green chili with cheese on top.  She got some extra sides of green chili for us to take on the road with us… yum!  We plugged in the laptop and checked our email again – we hadn’t been able to check it in about 2 weeks.  We spent a good portion of the day fixing some of their computer problems and installed FreeWWWeb on their computer while we were at it.  This gave them free internet access, the same system we’ve been using to check email on our trip.  We hung out around the house and the kids and the dogs wore me out some more.  We decided to go ahead and start driving home that evening.  We got on the road around 6pm and drove through Colorado and stopped a little ways past the Kansas border at Camp Inn Trailer Park.  By crossing back into the Central time zone, we lost another hour, so this put our stop at about 12:30am.  We had a pretty laid back day today.  We only drove for about five and a half hours, but at least it got us within range so that we can drive the rest of the way home tomorrow.  Fayetteville, here we come!

Day 40 – Monday, June 26, 2000:
We got on the road around 10:30 this morning. We did nothing but drive all day and fill up on gas twice.  We took turns driving and made pretty good time.  We got in to Skeeter and Dennis’s place around 9pm to finish our six-week adventure.  It sure was a once-in-a-lifetime experience… something we’ll never forget.