Calico ghost town

While driving from Fresno to Las Vegas I spotted a sign for a ghost town. I convinced my husband to stop. Here are a few pictures of the old mining town.

The sign on Town Hall lists population changes throughout the years. Here are some of the figures: 40 people on 1881, 1,200 in 1887 and 800 in 1890.

Here is a picture of the old schoolhouse.

Fresno, CA

On June 30th we traveled over the Siskiyou mountains from Oregon to Fresno, CA. We were not happy about paying over four dollars a gallon on the otherside of the mountain range. The RV park was located in the suburbs of Fresno, so we were close to shopping and ~50 miles from Yosemite National Park. The next day we enjoyed a ride through the park.

One final note about the drivers in this park. First, unlike Yellowstone, drivers were not considerate enough to use the pullovers to allow traffic to pass. Second, when approaching a sharp turn it is wise to remove your foot from the gas pedal instead of repeatedly pressing the gas and then slamming on the brake. Anyone looking to make some money should consider selling brake pads in California!

Grants Pass, OR

We arrived at the Moon Mountain RV Camp on June 28th. This is one of the best private RV parks we have visited. The next day we decided to ride to the Redwood National park. It was a very chilly day but we enjoyed looking at the blue water and rocky beaches in Northern California.

We visited a place in the Redwood forest called Trees of Mystery. I took a gondola ride above the tree line to enjoy the view. Here is a picture of some of the trees. I couldn't even fit the whole tree in my camera frame.

Elma, WA

We arrived in Elma on June 26th. We decided to ride the coast up to the Quinault Reservation. The coastline is dramatically different from the coast in SC, because it is hilly and heavily wooded. You are also allowed to have fires and drive on the beach we visited. Quinault had a very nice tribal beach but it was closed to the general public.

North Cascades National Park

We arrived in Winthrop, WA on June 22nd. Our site was located on a private lake outside of town.

Winthrop is a great little town with a western theme. We enjoyed the candy shop, brewery and winery.

After visiting the town, we spent a couple of days riding through the North Cascades park. I have never seen more breathtaking views! My pictures do not do this place justice. We had hoped to kayak on Diablo lake which is glacier fed, but we did not have the proper gear to keep us warm. People have gotten hypothermia in the summer on this lake! The lake is a beautiful emerald green color.

My main goal this summer was to visit a glacier, so we drove up Cascade River road to do just that! On the way up we saw the Cascade river:

We also saw many waterfalls:

And valleys:

Of course we saw a glacier! When we first arrived I told my husband to check his brakes because I kept hearing a screeching sound. He thought he heard a child screaming. I decided to investigate and walked to the edge of the mountain. When I looked over I found the source, it was a red fox! Both of us took off running the opposite direction! We even witnessed a piece breaking off of the glacier. It sounded like a cannon! I thought this picture looked better in black and white.

So, as you can tell Washington is now one of my favorite, favorite places! The drinks in the Old Schoolhouse Brewery was outstanding, the ripe cherries were huge and delicious, the people were great and the scenery was second to none. If you stop at Big Twin Lake RV park, tell Bob and Mo hello. They are regulars every summer.

Osburn, ID

We arrived in Osburn after a nice drive from Yellowstone. Lookout Pass on 90 west was a little steep, but we made it over. The RV park was very nice. We would definitely return! We decided to ride our bikes on the Coeur D' Alene trail over to The town of Wallace. Wallace is an old mining town with an interesting history. The picturw below was taken on the trail between Osburn and Wallace.

Yellowstone National Park

We arrived in Gardiner, MT on June 14th. We decided to stay a week in order to explore Yellowstone and the five main areas. On the first day we explored the area around Mammoth Hot Springs. This area is the lowest elevation and therefore the warmest and closest to our campsite. I am posting a few pictures of this area below.





The second day we explored an area called Tower-Roosevelt. The road to Tower Fall was steep and winding. We stopped to view a petrified tree and spotted some bear cubs. Below I am posting a picture of the Yellowstone River.



Our third day we decided to ride to Old Faithful. This area is the highest in the park and the weather was dramatically different 2000 ft above Mammoth Springs. Old Faithful was smaller than I thought. Here is a picture.



On the last day we visited the park we drove the whole loop to see any areas we missed the first three days. The Midway Geyser Basin near Old Faithful was my favorite part of the park. At this location I was able to view the Grand Prismatic Spring. See below.



Here is a picture of a different spring at the same location.



The Yellowstone Grand Canyon was probably my second favorite area of the park. Below is a picture of the fall and canyon.





Finally, I enjoyed viewing the wildlife in the park. Here is a bison and a valley.

Wall, SD

We arrived in Wall after a very windy drive. The truck was getting about 5mpg because of the strong headwind. The RV park was one block from Wall Drug and just outside the entrance to the Badlands, which was a great location. I got a lot of pictures in the Badlands. I will post a few pictures below.

Shubert, Nebraska

We made it to Indian Cave State Park after a very windy drive across miles of farmland. We arrived on Saturday night, but by Sunday morning there were very few people camping at the park. The first night I saw a deer, an owl, a bat and lots of fireflies outside the camper. There is a historic town called St. Deroin in the park. One of the buildings in the town is an old one room brick school which was built in the 1800's. I have posted a few pictures of the school below.





After visiting St. Deroin, we headed to the indian cave. Despite years of people defacing the cave by carving initials into the walls, a few petroglyphs remain. Below are pictures of the cave and one of the glyphs.





I enjoyed visiting the park, but I doubt we would drive that far off of the interstate to return.

Piedmont, Missouri

Missouri is a very beautiful and very clean state. One of my favorite things about the area we visited is the rolling, golden hills. Below is a picture.



After a ride through the countryside, we went back to camp and took the kayaks onto Clearwater Lake. We found a small cove with steps leading up to a stone bench built into the side of a hill. Here is a picture of me on the stone ramp.



Piedmont Park was worth the long drive through small, winding roads.

Jasper, Alabama

We arrived at Clear Creek Camp on June 5th. The next morning we took a motorcycle ride to Natural Bridge Park.




There is a natural rock formation that looks like an indian. Here is a picture:



Here is a picture of the natural bridge:




Here is a picture of the cavern underneath the natural bridge:



After our scenic ride, we headed back to camp and then went kayaking on the Lewis Smith lake. We encountered very few people around our site or on the lake. It was very beautiful and peaceful! The weather was gorgeous and we had a great time in Jasper, Alabama!

Planning

Just finished planning the first half of our summer vacation!

10 days and counting!
4 days!!
3...