Roadtripping with Maggie - California and Oregon

It has taken me a long time to create the video, and subsequently, this blog post. This trip was back in early to mid July. The accompanying video can be found here.

Early on I had told my friends, Julie and her husband, Bob, that I wanted to meet them along their months-long thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. I figured I could meet them anywhere along the trail which runs from the Mexican board in California to the Canadian border in Washington state.

The window that opened was July 3 to July 16. As it turned out, Julie was in need of a rest and recuperation period so it was decided I would meet her in Mammoth Lakes, CA and the two of us would drive to Kennedy Meadows North to meet up with Bob who was continuing the trek.

I delayed the start of my trip to July 4 to time out better with Julie. I had wanted to see the fireworks at Mount Rushmore so this actually would help make that work out but, as it turned out, this year there were no fireworks at Mount Rushmore! They are saving them for a big event next year for the United States' 250th anniversary celebration. I didn't find this out until I had driven 574.5 miles to Rapid City, South Dakota. ☹️

But, as it turned out, the Rapid City fireworks were right outside our hotel window! Fun to watch but not fun for Maggie.

Day 2. We drove through the Black Hills of South Dakota to catch views of Mount Rushmore. I'd been to the monument years ago and figured it hadn't changed so took Monument Road and stopped to take photos now and again. We paid the park fee to drive through Custer State Park hoping to see bison or burros but didn't see either. ☹️

On into Wyoming...endless. Passed an enormous coal mining operation and some oil fields. Nearly ran out of gas 'cause they don't tell you that there is NOTHING along the way. Spent the night in Rock Springs, WY.

Day 3. Drove on into Utah, passsed Salt Lake City, and onto the salt flats (Bonneville Salt Flats) beyond the Great Salt Lake which I only caught glimpses of.

Kept going into Nevada and the Great Basin Desert. At least in Nevada, they warn you that that there isn't gas for...oh, 124 miles, then 167 miles! Our goal destination was McGill, NV but it turned out there wasn't much of anything there anymore, so we drove on to Ely, NV and the Four 7s Motel.

Day 4. Continued on through Nevada. Jill looked up some sites to see. We stopped at Lunar Crater on Bureau of Land Management land. We passed what I'm pretty sure was a missile site. Three police cars made sure we pulled off the highway to allow on oncoming wide load to pass.

The highways in Nevada are amazingly straight...like for a hundred miles. You will notice in the video that there are photos taken from inside the truck. Some are while it is moving thanks to lane keeping and adaptive cruise control. I never put Maggie in danger.

Still in Nevada, we passed a freaky solar energy site with a glowing tower. Into California and a fruit and plant check site. I hadn't had to stop for California's checks since I drove across the country in the 1980's. We drove into the Sierra Mountains to Mammoth Lakes. So very beautiful.

We met Julie at her hotel and got Maggie situated in the room. We went for a late lunch. Julie was getting as much rest as possible so while she napped with Maggie, I took a walk around the town of Mammoth Lakes. The elevation was very noticeable.

Day 5. Got some supplies before heading to Kennedy Meadows North to meet up with Bob. It is a short 110 miles mostly on California Highway 108. Incredible views going up to Sonora Pass, which is where the Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, crosses the highway. We happened to hit the summit when 3 PCT hikers landed at the crossroad/trail. We picked them up and Julie knew 2 of them! They were going to Kennedy Meadows North, too. I got to be a Trail Angel!

We were expecting Bob to arrive the next day. I took Maggie on a hike along a beautiful trout river while Julie rested. Bob had texted Julie while Maggie and I were out and said he would be arriving later that evening. We forgot Maggie's litter box at the hotel in Mammoth Lakes so the manager at Kennedy Meadows helped me figure out a substitute.... though Maggie never used it.

We drove back to the Sonora Pass summit to pick up Bob. We took another hiker who was looking to hitch a ride into another town up to the pass. More Trail Angel action! Bob hiked in just after sunset. He was with another hiker, Bespoke (trail name). We all drove back to the campgrounds and arrived just before the kitchen closed so Bob and Bespoke got a hardy meal before going to bed.

Day 6. Bob decided he didn't need to take a day of rest, so he and Julie went back on the PCT this day. I was already planning on driving to Ashland, Oregon to see Jill and her granddaughter, Ellie. It was a longer drive than I had originally thought but northeastern California is beautiful. I actually had to go back into Nevada for a bit. This is where California makes that angle jog because of Nevada. I picked up a new litter box and litter 😊

I saw two different pairs of sandhill cranes, the tall ones, and drove around Mt. Shasta. As I approached Ashland, there was a wildfire right next to I-5. I was shocked that the interstate was not closed as there were at least two large trees adjacent to the road that were completely engulfed in flames.

Days 7-10. I spent 3 days in glorious Ashland, Oregon, visiting my friend Jill and her grand-daughter. I got to see James Williams in August Wilson's Jitney at Oregon Shakespeare Festival. That was definitely a treat and highlight.

Maggie did pretty good as a house guest...at least better than last time we visited.

I knew it would be a stretch to get home in 3 days and wondered if it was really possible, but it was mostly a route Maggie and I had done before, so we went for it.

Day 11. Left Ashland and made it to Mountain Home, ID... a town we had stayed in before. Driving through eastern Oregon you realize you better have a full tank of gas. There is NO WHERE to get fuel for miles. We had to slow down twice for deer and fawns.

Day 12. We drove over 500 miles to Billings, Montana. We were on sections of I-15 and I-90 that we had previously avoided. There really was no stopping for sightseeing, however, this route goes along the Yellowstone River for tons of miles making for some lovely vistas.

Day 13. Had to decide if we were really going to get all the way home in one more day. We did! Over 830 miles and 10 1/2 hours of pretty much straight driving. There was light rain much of the way. The light rain wasn't difficult to drive in, but it meant we could only stop in specific places for Maggie to stretch her legs. This day was the most difficult for her and there were a few fits of "can we please get out of the truck!!"

But after all the miles, we made it home in advance of an event I had promised to attend. If you made it this far, congratulations and the accompanying video can be found here.

Home at last!

Bike - Camp Jay Cooke State Park

The swinging bridge.

Another biking-camping trip with Bud from June 29 - July 1. We went to Jay Cooke State Park south of Duluth along the St. Louis River. Here is link to the video.

Jay Cooke State Park is a really nice park with excellent facilities. It is known for the swinging bridge that crosses the St. Louis River. There is also a feeder trail to the Willard Munger Trail, a well maintained, very long rails-to-trails.

After arriving early on the 29th, we setup our campsite and headed out onto the bike trail heading toward Duluth. These rails-to-trails paths are fantastic with very little elevation change. There are tons of trees and little streams beside the trail. There are some major drop-offs on either side.

We stopped at Buffalo House at Buffalo Valley Campground for lunch. They do a great job of "advertising" on the Munger Trail to let you know how to get there. Our server suggested we keep going up the trail to see and ride through a tunnel.

We had planned on heading back to camp but couldn't resist such a unique thing, so we kept riding toward Duluth. It was a beautiful section of the trail carved through rock; however, we never found the tunnel but did get caught in a very severe thunderstorm. 

It as a bigger obstruction than 
this photo implies.

After trying to wait it out for quite a while, we decided to head back to camp. The storm eventually passed on, but the trail had become blocked by a large fallen tree. We helped two bikers who were coming in the opposite direction get over the tree and they helped us.

Once back at camp, we were happy to see that our gear was not too wet though we were soaked.

Day 2 we took the Willard Munger Trail in the other direction, south. There is not much to see or places to stop going in this direction. A good deal of it was fairly close to Highway 61. We made it as far as Mahtowa where we did find a place for lunch, Mahtowa Tavern.

Back at Jay Cooke, my friend Trish and her daughter Lyla visited for a while. Later Bud and I did a short hike into the park before another rainstorm looked like it was coming. This time, the storm went around us!

The State Park Rangers do check that you have a permit. The first night, the ranger gave us the "all good." As we were packing up to leave on July 1, another ranger said my state permit was not "valid" because I didn't have it stuck to my windshield. She revoked the permit and sent us to the ranger office to get a new one. The office was not open, but a ranger did issue me a new permit and seemed kind of ticked off that the other ranger had sited me. There was no charge for the new permit.

If you made it this far, here is the link to the video again.

Another Trip to the North Shore with Maggie

Duluth from Skyline Parkway

Maggie and I made another quick and short trip up to the North Shore of Lake Superior. Instead of staying in a motel this time, we tent camped at Cascade River State Park. Link to video montage.

On the drive up I finally took Skyline Parkway (instead of I-35) which traverses the bluff at the top of Duluth. The views are thrilling. We also stopped at Silver Bay Marina for a lunch break.

We arrived at the park a little earlier than our campsite set up time but no one was there so we went ahead and got all situated. To be honest, I set up on the wrong site but was smart enough to double check 😊 The correct site was better anyway 😊😊

Maggie had dinner and then we went on a hike. This is the same park we had visited in March when it was cold and there was some snow. We took the hike toward Lookout Mountain but didn't go all the way to the top. The flowers along the path and the river were so very lovely. A perfect time to visit.

Comfy on the sleeping bag and therm-a-rest

After dinner at the Cascade Lodge Restaurant, we snuggled into the tent for the night. It was crazy windy, and I was afraid Maggie would freak out with the wind noise and twigs hitting the tent, but she was calm and quiet. I expected Maggie would sleep in a corner or snuggle up but instead she insisted on sleeping on the therm-a-rest and sleeping bag with me. If you've ever slept on a therm-a-rest, you know there is not much room beyond your own width. It was a tight fit but we both slept pretty well.

The next day I fixed a hearty breakfast of coffee and scrambled eggs with red onion, jalapeno, and cheese. Maggie didn't eat breakfast this morning. After breaking down the campsite, we headed to Grand Marais for a pastry treat and more coffee. I ran into my friend and ex-boss from Nash Finch, Holly, and her husband, Bob. We had a quick catchup before Maggie and I drove up the Gunflint Trail to Gunflint Lodge to meet up with Jenny B. The flowers along Gunflint Trail were spectacular. There was no way to photograph it. I highly recommend going to the North Shore at this time of year.

Lookout Point - Gunflint Lake

Maggie ate some lunch before Jenny, Maggie, and I hiked up to a Lookout Point over the spectacular Gunflint Lake. This is the lake we entered to go into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) Wilderness just last year, Jenny was staying at the Lodge because she was supervising groups of middle schoolers going into the BWCA.

Jenny treated me to a Northwoods canopy zip line tour. I had no idea this adventure even existed. The day was perfect. Not a cloud in the sky and not too hot. The views are amazing and to be at the tops of the majestic White Pines was an honor and awe-inspiring.

Maggie and I drove all the way back to Minneapolis after the canopy tour. It was a long six hours!

Link to video montage.

Quick trip to the Minnesota North Shore with Maggie

Sunsetting on the Caribou Trail

Simply wanted to get out of town for a couple of days and it has been another year with very little snow, so I thought I would head up north to see what snow there was.

If you want to jump to it, click here to watch the short video.

This was also an excuse to take the new Ford Maverick on a road trip.

On the Monday drive up I saw at least 4 bald eagles - two soaring along I-35 and two perched in trees along Highway 61. Also, had a pheasant fly all the way over all four lanes of I-35 right in front of me!

Maggie and I stayed at Solbakken Resort in Lutsen, again. This is where we stayed last year with Bud. It is convenient to get to places and is right on Lake Superior.

After we checked in, I drove up the Caribou Trail hoping to see owls. The news had mentioned that there were lots of owls along the north shore earlier in March and February. Unfortunately, I did not see any other than the plastic ones that are put on the tops of telephone poles.

Tuesday, drove into Grand Marais to have coffee at Java Moose Cafe. The owner, Sarah, is an Instagram crush of mine. The day's adventure was a hike in Cascade State Park to the top of Lookout Mountain. I have never stopped at this park.

Lake Superior meets the sky

The hike was challenging as there was not so much snow but a lot of ice. And I had Maggie in her backpack which meant I really could not afford to fall. We did make it to the top and the views of Lake Superior are fantastic.

Coming down was even more treacherous and I made a miss-calculation on the trail and ended up on Highway 61 for a tiny bit.

Had a late lunch at Cascade Lodge Restaurant.

Wednesday morning on the way home, I had breakfast with an old boss from Nash Finch. I have not seen her in a long time. She and her husband live outside of Grand Marais. I really appreciated that she took the time to get together.

Wednesday was a stormy day. Not so much snow on the North Shore as wind. I stopped at Tettegouche State Park to take a break and watch the waves on the lake. I saw two Golden Eagles between Two Harbors and Duluth. They are amazingly big!

A friend met me in Duluth for lunch. This was a nice break and also allowed time for the snowstorm in the Twin Cities to move on. By the time I left Duluth, the roads were pretty clear and so was the sky.

The Ford Maverick was very comfortable and handled the roads and weather well. I think I got a little over 32 mpg. The bad thing was while nearly home a dumpster truck threw a stone and hit my windshield. The windshield now has about a 10" crack which means I will be replacing the windshield...and I didn't even have 1,000 miles on the thing 🙁

Link to video.

Another spell in Palm Springs

Had a few days free so went to Palm Springs again (2nd trip this year!). Stayed with my friend, Bud, who is renting a beautiful home in Palm Springs.

The full park.

We went to Joshua Tree National Park on Thursday. It is less than an hour's drive from Palm Springs. There are lots of Joshua "Trees" but what really is the draw are the incredible rock formations.

We stuck to the northern portion of the park where the "trees" are. We did drive to Keys View to take in the expansiveness. You can see the San Andreas fault where it splits into 2 trenches. You can also see the Salton Sea in the far distance. Apparently, you can see Mexico, too. 😉

Video of the Joshua Tree adventure is here. Best viewed in landscape. This one is short.

On Friday we went to Mecca, California which is east of Palm Springs -- California takes a big angle down this far. I had read about the Ladder Canyon and Painted Canyon Trails. These are 2 trails maintained by a local hiking club that are inside a Bureau of Land Management area.

These were two conjoined hikes in geology that is difficult to describe. The Ladder Canyon Trail requires a series of ladders (we went in the up direction) to navigate through very narrow slit canyons. Once you reach the top, you hike along the ridge until you descend quickly into a very wide Painted Canyon.

Both hikes are a kind of endless series of "what-the" and "oh-my" and "that's crazy" things to see and absorb.

Entrance into the trailheads for
Ladder Canyon and Painted Canyon.

The Painted Canyon hike does have a brief section of rope and ladder but if you were to start at the beginning you could just hike to there and return. It is spectacular.

The Ladder and Painted Canyon Trails video is here. Best viewed in landscape. This one 7 1/2 minutes because there was so much to see. It also includes the drive getting to the start of the hikes. There are some really good videos on YouTube on how to get to the trail head.

Other things we did before I left on Sunday:

• saw a very funny production of Avenue Q at Revolution Stage Company
• had a kinda wild time at PS Air Bar after Avenue Q
• had dinner with friends Bob and Dianne who are also spending the winter in Palm Springs
• played pickleball 2x with "the boys"
• lounged in the hot tub
• I went for a run!

Lowkey Birthday

This post is really just to note that I shaved my beard 😊 Have not been a very celebratory mood lately so kept this year's bday to a minimum. Thank you, Amy, for arranging but sad you could not be there. Thank you, Jane, Bunny, Jenny, and especially Loretta for driving all the way down to lift my spirits.

Palm Springs for the New Year

Decided to take my friend Chris' invitation to come to Palm Springs for New Year's. Flew Sun Country on the 30th. Chris made reservations at Trio for dinner with friends for New Year's Eve. It was very pleasant.

Chris and I ended staying up past 1am getting caught up and reminiscing. 

I went for a short run on the 1st to take in all the flowering bushes and the different cacti.

Chris' condo has a heated pool, and he swims every morning. I joined in a few times. It was very nice. On the 2nd hiked the South Lykken Trail with Chris' friend, Kevin. After the hike, Chris and I went to my friend's Bud rented house for wine and cheese. Bud's brother David and sister-in-law, Mabel, were there. We decided to have dinner at The Tropicale, a swanky place.

Before heading to the airport on the 3rd, Chris and I met Bud, David, and Mabel at Spencer's for a delicious prix fixe lunch. The return flight was an hour delayed (seems to be a thing with Sun Country) but overall a good flight.

Returned to super cold weather so it was nice to get away for a while.