Travelogue

Quinault RainforestOlympic National Park encompasses over 1,400 square miles of the Olympic Peninsula in northwest Washington State. It is a land of tremendous variety with several distinct ecosystems: glacier-covered mountains, 60 miles of rugged Pacific coastline, a lush temperate rain forest, and subalpine meadows full of wildflowers. The western slopes of the mountains receive more than 200 inches a year of precipitation, giving it the distinction of being the wettest climate in the Continental U.S.

There is no road that runs through the entire park. While US 101 goes through a few sections of the park, access is mostly from spur roads that lead from US 101 into such areas as Hurricane Ridge, Sole Duc, the Hoh Rain Forest, and Rialto Beach.

Lake Quinault and the Quinault Rainforest

Quinault RainforestSince we were approaching the Park on US 101 from the south, the first section of the National Park we came to was Lake Quinault and the Quinault Rainforest - one of the few parts of the park we hadn’t seen on previous visits.

The lake was lovely, surrounded by steep mountains and a rainforest near its southern shore. The Quinault Rainforest is one of the three major rainforests on the Olympic Peninsula, receiving 167 inches of rain a year. Today was the only rainy day forecasted so far on our trip, but what better place to spend it than in a rainforest.

There is a popular 0.6-mile Rainforest Trail, but we wanted to do the more ambitious 5-mile Quinault Loop National Recreation Trail, which started up the road a bit across from the USFS Ranger Station.

Willaby FallsFrom there we entered a lush forest of huge Douglas firs, Sitka spruce, western hemlock and red-cedar, with lots of ferns and mosses. There were interpretive signs along the way explaining the ecology of the forest. We saw only 2 or 3 people the whole way.

Eventually we came to a junction, which allowed us to continue onto the shorter and therefore more popular Rainforest Trail which led us through a stand of 500-year-old Douglas Firs.

We continued through a tunnel which went under the road towards Willaby Campground and a view of Willaby Falls from a wooden bridge. However, to really see the falls you had to clamber a few yards off trail by the bridge to get a full, unobstructed view of the falls.

From there we walked along the shore of Lake Quinault, eventually coming to the lawn of the historic rustic Lake Quinault Lodge, a very impressive structure that would have been an awesome place to stay. Not exactly cheap though. When I was researching places to stay in the area, I saw that their rooms were around $400 a night and they weren’t even available. Instead we would be lodging at site D011 in the Kalaloch Campground for $13.

The irony was, it didn’t rain a drop our entire time in the Rainforest.

Kalaloch

Beach 4However, as we continued our drive up US 101 to Kalaloch, it did start to rain, and not just a drizzle, but a good steady rain. Camping in the back of a 4Runner in the rain is not the greatest experience, so I certainly hoped that the forecast was correct and that it would clear up by mid-afternoon.

The rain did pretty much stop when forecasted, but since there was no real need to check into our campground except to sleep, we decided to explore some of the beaches recommended for their tremendous scenery..

Over the next few days we would try to explore the most beautiful beaches along the Olympic coast. Each of them shared the classic Olympic Peninsula traits - broad and sandy with much driftwood washed ashore, and rock outcroppings, called seas stacks, eerily rising from the sea. Despite that, each of them had their own distinct feel and beauty.

Beach 4We got most of our ideas from our Photographing Washington book, a series that shows the most stunning natural scenery in each of the western states. You don’t have to be a photographer to enjoy spending time on a beautiful beach.

Today, we found time to stroll along three of them.

First up, the rather uncreatively-named Beach 4, just a 3-mile drive north of the Kalaloch Campground. The parking lot was practically full, which was something we would encounter at every beach and trailhead in the park. Since Covid and the discovery by so many Americans that nature is really pretty cool, the national parks have exploded in terms of number of visitors.

Ruby BeachWe had been to this beach before, in another lifetime back in 2001 when we had gone on a ranger-led guided tour of the tide pools, with our then 10-and 12-year old sons.

This beach, which has been designated a marine wildlife preserve, is known as being one of the best locations in Olympic National Park for exploring the pools..

When we got to the trailhead, we checked the tide chart and found out that unfortunately this week the negative low tides, when the pools are exposed and best visited, occurred at ungodly hours in the middle of the night. So no tide pools for us this visit.

Ruby BeachYou can’t have it all. After all, we did hit Bandon Beach earlier this week at the absolute best timing in terms of tides.

Still, the beach was very beautiful and very much worth the stroll along its rocky shores.

We continued another 5 miles up US 101 to another one of Olympic’s gems, Ruby Beach. This one was so crowded that we had to wait for a parking space.

The 1/4-mile trail down to the beach was steep with good view points of the beach and their signature sea stacks along the way. Unlike some of the other beaches, this one was mostly cobblestones rather than sand.

Ruby BeachThere were several interesting sea stacks to admire, including one with two holes that served up all kinds of photographic opportunities. I imagine there is a line up of people during the evening to capture sunset through it.

Also, Cedar Creek ran alongside the beach a bit before flowing into the Ocean providing kids with a fun, safe place to play in the water. Herb and I set our backpacks up against a large driftwood log near the Creek and sat for awhile just enjoying the surroundings.

Our final beach of the day was Kalaloch Beach right from our campground - not too shabby either.

Cocktail hour on Kalaloch BeachWe didn’t go far that night as our main goal was to sit on a driftwood log, sipping wine, and watch the sun set. It didn't disappoint.

There was a cute little cairn on our log, which made for interesting photos of sun rays seeping through the gaps between its individual stones.

Tomorrow we would be moving for 2 nights into one of the rustic cabins atop the bluff further down the beach. I was very excited.

Cairn sunsetSince we couldn’t check into our cabin until 4:00, we had the whole day to explore. After another walk on “our” beach, we headed north with the intention of visiting the Hoh Rainforest. After driving about 20 miles north on US 101, we turned onto the Upper Hoh Road where it was another 18 miles to the Hoh Rainforest Visitor Center.

Still quite a bit before the Olympic National Park Entrance kiosk, traffic came to a stop and we noticed a sign that said 45 minute wait. Cars would only be allowed in as other cars left. You’ve got to be kidding me. This was the same thing we encountered in Utah when trying to get into Arches National Park. Since Covid, the national park are being overrun with visitors in numbers they have never seen before.

Rialto BeachOh well. We had been to the Hoh Rainforest before and we had just hike in the Quinault Rainforest yesterday, so we decided to make a U-Turn and visit another beach on our list instead..

After returning to US 101, we continued north through the town of Forks where we then made a left and headed west on WA-110. When we came to the fork with Mora Road, we had to make the decision - Rialto Beach to the right, 2nd Beach to the left. They both were on our list of most beautiful beaches.

Maybe we can do both today, I said. Well, we had to start with one, so we sort of randomly chose Rialto Beach maybe because 2nd Beach wasn’t as inspiringly named.

Rialto BeachAt the end of Mora Road, we came to yet another full trailhead parking lot, but fortunately we didn’t have to wait long for someone to pull out.

I think this was my favorite of the sea stack beaches on the Olympic Peninsula - my overall favorite has to be Bandon Beach in Oregon. Everything seemed a bit more dramatic - the crashing waves, the interesting, upright dead tree that looked like it was reaching out to the sea, and the sea stacks themselves.

The best part of all was that there is a natural arch on a rocky outcropping 1.5 miles down the beach called Hole-In-The-Wall. It looked a bit precarious to get to as you had to clamber over rocks to get to it. The high road was drier but required a bit of minor rock climbing and the lower route was slippery and you were sure to get your feet wet.

Rialto Beach - rock scrambling to Hole-in-the-WallWe watched people do this for awhile to make sure we wanted to do this, but when I saw enough people a lot less athletic than me, I told Herb let’s go for it. I did take the lower route where I couldn’t fall very far, but did get my sneakers soaked. Herb took the lower route as well, but somehow managed to stay drive.

Safely around the corner, we walked through the arch to an area that would be really cool in terms of tide pools if the tide was lower. Still, we did get to see several anemones.

Rialto Beach - Hole-in-the-WallThe tide was coming in, so we didn’t want to wait too long to make our way back from whence we came. It was easier on the way back, because my sneakers were already so wet that I didn't care about stepping in the water.

It was already 3:00, and I was pretty excited about checking into our cozy rustic cabin, so we decided to save 2nd Beach for another day.

We had stayed in these cabins in 1990, when we brought Andrew here as a one-year-old, so these cabins had a very nostalgic place in our hearts. However, this time would be a lot more quiet and peaceful.

Kalaloch - dinner at our cabinI was a little disappointed that we got the cabin on the very end, where there were trees obstructing our view of the ocean a bit, but it was still very nice. Rather than getting take-out food tonight at the Lodge, we decided to cook one of our backpacking meals on the patio, watching a lovely sunset through the trees.

After sunset, I convinced Herb that he really wanted to make a fire in the cabin’s wood burning stove. All the fixings were there - logs, kindling, and even a starter block. So, we set up our camping chairs in front of the stove and spent a cozy evening sipping wine before the fire.

Since we had the cabin for two nights, we decided to spend the entire day in the Kalaloch area.

Post-run along Kalaloch BeachWe started off the morning with an invigorating 5-mile run along the beach. I usually hate running on sand, but the sand on this beach was hard enough to make it fun. We did have to take our sneakers off to cross the Kalaloch Creek which flows into the ocean right by the lodge. It was so much fun.

After that we went over to the Kalaloch Lodge to enjoy lunch on their outdoor patio overlooking the Kalaloch Creek we had crossed earlier that morning. The food was good and the view was wonderful.

Tree of LifeLater that afternoon, we went for another stroll (and stream crossing) along the Kalaloch Beach. One of the most interesting features we discovered along the way was the Tree of Life (aka Tree Root Cave), a large sitka spruce on the edge of the bluff with its roots totally exposed, hanging onto nothing but air.

Somehow this amazing tree has managed to survive, despite having no soil or roots to anchor it in place. The tree seems to defy nature and the frequent storms that topple trees more firmly anchored in the soil.

2nd BeachMagic? Probably not, but that doesn’t stop beach strollers from paying homage to it - taking photos standing beneath its exposed roots. Of course, we had to do the same.

Another evening, another beautiful sunset and a cozy fire in our cabin.

It had been a lovely stop in Kalaloch, but we weren’t quite done with Olympic National Park yet. I had managed to get a campsite in the Sol Duc Hot Springs Campground, a section of the Park that we had never been to before.

On the way to Sol Duc, we decided to do a side trip to 2nd Beach, the last on my list of best beaches in Olympic National Park. So, when we got to Forks, rather than continuing on US 101, we once again made the turn onto WA-110, but this time we took it all the ways to its end rather than turning right on Mora Road towards Rialto Beach.

2nd BeachWe headed out on the 2nd Beach trail which took us through a lush, dense forest before leading us out onto another sandy beach with a rocky headland to the north and a large,tree-topped sea stack just offshore.

It was quite overcast as we strolled up the beach, but with the exception of 2 hours of drizzle a few days ago, we had managed to avoid being rained on during our entire trip.

Sol Duc Hot Springs

Hike to Sol Duc FallsBack in the car we continued on US 101 towards the Sol Duc Hot Springs resort where we had a campground reservation for that night. This resort is the most commercially developed area in Olympic National Park. Since 1912, tourists have been coming here to experience the medicinal healing of the hot springs.

Although we planned to partake in a hot spring soak later in the day, our first order of business was a hike to Sol Duc Falls. Conveniently, the trailhead for the hike was right from our campground.

Sol Duc FallsWe left the campground and entered a lovely forest of towering conifers and maples draped in Spanish moss. Not another soul was to be seen until our campground trail converged with the one starting at the major trailhead.

At a little over 2 miles we came to a wooden footbridge over a deep gorge, just 50 yards downstream from where the Sol Duc Falls cascades 50 feet before rushing through the narrow chasm under the bridge.

Wow! With the terrible drought in California this summer, we weren’t used to seeing and hearing water rushing anywhere. It was so refreshingly beautiful and all the vegetation around it was so green and lush..

Although the view from the bridge was good, we found a much better vantage point beyond the bridge by scrambling over some rocks to get down lower to the pool below the falls.

Hike to Sol Duc FallsWhile most people headed back along the trail we hiked in on, we continued on to the recommended Lover’s Lane trail. At first I didn’t like the trail, as it was rocky, unlike the soft pine needle covered trail on the way in. However, it got easier and more interesting and we crossed three footbridges made from huge cut logs, with wooden rails on only one side.

After about 5.5 miles we reached the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort, where we planned to take a soak, but first we needed to get back to the campground, which was one mile further, to retrieve our bathing suits and towels.

Sol Duc Hot SpringsWe drove back to the resort for the 6:00 - 7:30 soaking session. Prices for adults (12+) are $15, but only $12 for Seniors (62+).

There are three mineral hot spring soaking pools to choose from and one freshwater pool. The small mineral pool is 99°, the medium 104°, and the large one 101°.

We choses to spend an enjoyable hour in the 101 degree one. Even that one was hot enough to make us switch back and forth between soaking and sitting along the pool’s edge, and a dip in the 85° freshwater one.

Lolo enjoying Sol Duc Hot SpringsThe next morning we left Sol Duc Hot Springs with the intention of hiking along Hurricane Ridge, the mountainous part of Olympic, but the clouds and threat of rain were definitely not going to be conducive to a hike known for its spectacular view.

Still we had had a wonderful time in Olympic - visiting some old favorites and seeing some new.

Time to head towards home, but a quick look at the smoky conditions in the West pretty much shut down any thoughts of further outdoor activity. We hopped on I5 and headed south.

Travelogue

Herb hitting the town in AberdeenWe were able to stay at the beach on Sauvie Island until mid-afternoon, because we didn’t have to drive too far today. All we needed to do was find a place to spend the night somewhere along the way to Kalaloch in Olympic National Park where we would be staying for three nights.

Aberdeen, Washington, was the right distance in that we would arrive in time to go out to dinner, and we would only have another hour to drive tomorrow to get to Olympic National Park. We found an Econo Lodge in walking distance to the 8th Street Ale House, which sounded perfect.

Aberdeen waterfrontWe had great burgers and beers at the 8th Street Ale House, an establishment obviously frequented by locals, which is always a good sign.

After dinner we took a stroll along the Chehalis River waterfront looking at the fishing boats before returning to our room. Tomorrow we would head to Olympic National Park where we had camping reservations in Kalaloch for one night and then a rustic cabin on the bluff for 2 more.

Travelogue

Japanese GardenOriginally, I thought Portland would be the easiest destination to find overnight accommodations as there were numerous options throughout the city with reasonable prices. But then it hit us. We have a Yakima rooftop box on top of our 4 Runner, making us over 7.5 feet high - too tall for parking garages, which was what most Portland hotels offered. We didn’t want to park a vehicle with most of our belongings in it on the streets of Portland, so we started to panic over whether this was feasible.

I then worked things backwards and went on Booking.com looking for places on the outskirts of the city with free parking. This led me to what seemed to be the ideal option - a studio apartment in the Nob Hill section of Portland in walking distance to Washington Park, with free street parking. The photos of the apartment were lovely and all the reviews raved about its excellent location and proximity to great restaurants.

Japanese GardenThe price seemed really reasonable too. We were excited, or at least until we saw that after all the fees were added on, the price nearly doubled. I was crestfallen, but we were in too deep, so we decided to just go for it. A few nights of camping would amortize the amount we were spending for sleeping each night.

Since we couldn’t check in our rental until 4:00, we decided to head directly to Washington Park, Portland’s crown jewel. Every city needs its monumental green space. New York has Central Park, San Francisco its Golden Gate Park, etc. Portland has its Washington Park, encompassing 130 acres of forest, a Japanese Garden, the international Rose Test Garden, a zoo, and more. It was modeled on European parks, with winding drives, fountains, statuary, and formal gardens. It was lovely.

International Rose GardenWe started our visit at the Japanese Garden where we were fortunate enough to find nearby parking. There was a significant crowd waiting to buy tickets. The Gardens are actually five separate gardens linked by winding paths:a Tea Garden, a Strolling Pond Garden, a Natural Garden, a Flat Garden, and a Sand and Stone Garden.

They were designed in the 1960s by Takuma Tono, a renowned Japanese landscape architect, and recognized by the Japanese ambassador to the United States as “the most beautiful and authentic Japanese garden in the world outside of Japan.”

Portland ZooTickets were $18.95 for adults and $16.25 for Seniors (65+).

From there we walked across the road to the International Test Rose Garden, where there are 4.5 acres of beautiful formal rose gardens with over 6,800 rose bushes representing 557 different varieties. It is one of 24 gardens in the U.S. that test new rose varieties for vigor, disease resistance, color, flower production, and fragrance.

From the garden there can on clear days be a wonderful view of Portland with Mount Hood in the background. Unfortunately, the smoke from various wildfires obscured the mountain.

I forgot to mention that Portland was experiencing a heatwave and it was well into the mid-90s, so our next activity was probably not the wisest. We decided to go to Oregon Zoo all the way at the other side of Washington Park, but rather than take the free shuttle, we thought it might be nice to see the whole park by walking there.

Portland ZooThe walk there was a bit more intense than we anticipated. Rather than winding paths through green areas and play areas, such as in Central or Golden Gate Parks, we were hiking for 3 miles or so up and down steep dirt paths through a pretty thick forest.

Finally, we arrived at the zoo, which was practically empty, due to the heat. We knew animal viewing would not be that great because they would all be hiding in the shade and not moving, but since we were here, we decided to buy tickets and go anyway.

The zoo is arranged in five areas that range across different continents and ecosystems: Great Northwest, Elephant Lands, Africa, Primate Forest and Discovery Zone. Within each zone you’ll find animals and habitats such as Africa Savanna or Polar Passage that recreate the habitats of specific animals.

Herb enjoying his $5 MargaritaWe did get to see see elephants, primates, giraffes, bears, flamingos, eagles, and much more,
but It was a bit sad, as the animals definitely were not active and did not look particularly happy or comfortable. We weren’t either, so we took the free park shuttle back to our car by the Japanese Garden and drove over to Lovejoy Avenue about a mile and a half away to check into our home for the next two nights.

We had a lovely little studio apartment in the fashionable Nob Hill neighborhood, known for its ornate Victorian houses, tree-lined streets, and a thriving dining scene.

Walking tour of PortlandThat evening we strolled over to NW 23rd Avenue, the trendy main drag with tons of restaurants, bars, and shops. We didn’t go too far before being drawn in by the bustling crowd at Santa Fe Taqueria and its $5 margaritas enticing sign. We sat at an outdoor table, had a delicious meal and listened to live music from the corner across the street.

The next day was our big walking tour of Portland, so we set off with rather an ambitious itinerary ahead of us.

First stop, the famous Powell’s City of Books. “City” of books was not an overstatement. This place was incredible, taking up an entire block square and three stories tall. Its miles of bookshelves contained new, used, and out-of-print books, and I dare anyone to stump them in having a book in their vast collection. You could literally spend days browsing their shelves and only making a dent in them.

Herb enjoying his giant box of Voodoo DonutsNext, we moved on to a less cerebral activity - Voodoo Donuts, the iconic and highly popular donut shop that refers to its bakers as artists. Needless to say, there was a very long line wrapping around the corner, but to my surprise, Herb had no hesitation waiting - that man loves a good pastry.

The menu was overwhelming, with over 50 cleverly named, mouth watering choices. We were quite conservative in both quantity and content. I talked Herb down from a dozen to two each of Portland Cream, Apple Fritter, Cinnamon Sugar Cake, and Double Chocolate.

They were packed in a pink box the size of Delaware that we now had to cart around the city on our tour. Herb took one for the team and ate one of the giant Apple Fritters and a Portland Cream immediately upon exiting the store and I joined him in his efforts with one of the Double Chocolates.

Lan Zu Chinese GardenDown to 5, we asked for some bags instead of the box and stuffed them in our backpacks, discarding the enormous pink box. With temps in the 90s, I was a bit worried about what the state of my other Double Chocolate would be at the end of the day.

We forged on. Next stop, the Lan Zu Chinese Garden, a replica of a formal garden built in the style of the Ming Dynasty. Its creation was a joint effort between craftspeople in Portland and its Chinese sister city. It is the largest traditional Chinese garden in the U.S.

Portland's Steel BridgeThe peaceful setting served as a sharp contrast to the noisy streets and higher buildings of downtown Portland that surrounded it - an oasis in a sea of modern urban life.

The landscaping, ponds, and buildings were beautiful and if it weren’t for my concerns about my Double Chocolate donut melting in my backpack, I would have been in a state of perfect peace and harmony. .

After leaving the Chinese Gardens we headed to the Tom McCall Waterfront Park. A friend of mine who recently lived in Portland warned us that this was often the location for Proud Boy / Antifa protests, so to be wary. Fortunately, today there were no protesters to be found. Just children cooling off in the fountains. I was very tempted to take a run through them myself.

Portland Art MuseumWe ended our tour at the Portland Art Museum, which I would have to say wasn’t my favorite art museum. Maybe we were just hot and tired - we had already walked over 8 miles, and were a bit overwhelmed by the degree of homelessness in the city, which is so very sad.

We headed back to our apartment for a well-needed nap, and maybe a donut.

That evening, we headed back out to NW 23rd Avenue to people watch and have dinner. This time we ate at Thai Bloom! (that ! is not a typo - it is actually part of the restaurant’s name) where we had a delicious dinner and my first ever Tamarind Margarita. It will not be my last.

Sauvie IslandAfter the last two day’s aggressive march though Portland trying to see everything, we needed some down time, so after checking out of our rental, we headed to Sauvie Island, ten miles northwest of Portland at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, reach via the Sauvie Island Bridge on Highway 30.

The southern half of the island is predominantly rural farmland, while the northern half is a wildlife refuge with sandy beaches along the northeastern side of the island. Parking permits are required in all wildlife areas on the island (which includes the beaches). Daily permits are $10 and can be purchased at several convenience stores on the island.

The island was lovely and we saw many bicyclists out enjoying a Sunday morning ride along its 12-mile “hill-less” loop.

The Floating SaucerWe were early enough to easily find a parking spot along a lovely sandy beach, where we spent the day relaxing, reading, and dipping ourselves in the Columbia River to get cool. It was a well-needed down day.

I did take a short stroll down the beach in search of a geocache that sounded very interesting. It was called "floating saucer." As my phone told me I was getting closer, I glanced towards the edge of the woods where I found a very surprising sight - a large submarine / flying saucer like object colorfully painted all over with graffiti.

A nearby signed gave its history: This 31-foot paddle wheel boat was built in 1973 in Hubbard, Oregon, by an engineer named Richard Ensign. It took him two years and cost $10,000. It could sleep 12 people and had a wood stove. It was launched on the Willamette River, went through the locks at Willamette Falls, and was front page of the Oregonian. It was dubbed the "floating saucer." It mostly likely was left here by the February 1996 flood.

I ever did find the geocache, but I am very glad that the search for it brought me here. Who would have thought?

Now onto more action.

Travelogue

John Dellenback Trail along the Umpqua DunesOf course before leaving Bandon, I had planned out our next destination and where we could camp. Not only did I find and reserve one campsite, but I reserved two because I wasn’t sure yet which one would be better to accomplish what we wanted to do, which was hike the John Dellenback Dunes Trail in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.

National Park camping is quite inexpensive, and even more so with a Seniors Lifetime Pass, which cuts the price in half. So, the downside of doing this was the loss of $10 on the campsite we did not use.

From dune to forest to oceanOne campground was the Eel Creek USFS Campground where the John Dellenback trail started. The second one was Umpqua Sand Camping, an OHV area on the beach, which would assuredly be noisy with dune buggies racing up and down the beach all day and night. Also, we weren’t sure if we would be able to find the other end of the John Dellenback Dunes Trail from there. After all, the Oregon Dunes NRA is the largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in North America, stretching 40 miles along the Oregon Coast from Florence to Coos Bay.

So, after first stopping at Eel Creek, we decided to stay there, as it was quiet and the trailhead for our planned hike was just a few campsites away.

The ocean part of the John Dellenback TrailThe hike was listed as a 3 (out of 5) in difficulty because of having to plod along deep, soft sand, but a 9 (out of 10) in scenic beauty. The campground host we spoke to felt like it was more of a 4 in difficulty.

Ok, so this hike could double as a workout. We set off from the trailhead in the campground and immediately began climbing a steep, yet short, deep sandy section through a conifer-forest before coming out to the dunes.

Theoretically, there were poles with blue stripes on top used as trail markers, but so far we couldn’t see one. Herb had a Gaia trail downloaded on his watch, so we followed that towards a large grouping of conifer trees atop a dune. I’ve been to many deserts on our travels, but never saw one with so many trees.

Umpqua Dunes along the John Dellenback TrailThese tree islands are a prominent topographic feature of the Oregon Dunes and make for a very different dune visual experience. I don’t quite understand the explanation for these tree islands, but it has something to do with the fact that these are oblique dunes with long gradual slopes on the west (ocean) side and much steeper slopes on the east side. Over many years wind stripped away the sand on the east (inland) side down to the permanently wet sand where water-loving vegetation can thrive. These areas are called deflation plains.As the dunes move eastward, the plants of the deflation plain also spread eastward.

Trudging through the sand was nowhere nearly as difficult as the hiking book or campground host led us to believe. Plus, we finally were able to find and follow the posts with the blue stripe on top. Good thing because we eventually entered a pretty thick forest and I don’t know how we would have found the opening without the post.

Umpqua DunesThis part of the hike was really cool as it led us on an easy dirt surface with the occasional boardwalk to get us over the wetter areas. There was even Spanish moss hanging from some of the trees. It was hard to believe we had just left sand dunes.

Eventually we popped out on a beautiful beach with crashing surf. There was no sign of OHV vehicles, or anyone for that matter, so I think we made a good choice staying at Eel Creek because we never would have been able to get to this trail from the OHV camping area.

The way back was much easier to navigate now that we knew the way. All in all it was a 6-mile hike, and much less difficult than we anticipated.

Travelogue

Coquille Point staircase to Bandon BeachI was pretty excited about Bandon. The photos of its uniquely shaped sea stacks were a definite draw. Unlike many of the sea stacks along the coast, which are large mounds with trees sprouting from their tops, these were distinct enough to have names, like Face Rock and Wizard’s Hat.

So, before leaving home, I booked a night at the Lighthouse Cove Inn near Bandon’s historic Old Town. I have to admit I am a sucker for names that imply coziness, so I was a bit disappointed that there was not a lighthouse in sight except on their signage. However, the location was great, and to their credit, there actually technically was a Lighthouse out in the cove beyond the Old Town.

Bandon Beach during sunsetDespite the extremely windy conditions, we decided to head out to the beach anyway. The sea stacks are located between Coquille Point and Face Rock, both of which have parking lots and wooden steps down to the beach. We parked at the nearer Coquille Point next to the Bandon Beach Motel, which had an incredibly good location, perched on the bluff above the beach.

Being the planner I am, I am always plotting where we will sleep the next night, so I walked into the Bandon Beach Motel to inquire about availability for the following night. They had one opening, so I grabbed it. Now, I could relax and enjoy the evening. Tomorrow, however, I would be back to worrying about the next night. I think I definitely need some serious mindfulness practice to learn to be more in the moment.

Bandon Beach during sunsetWe headed down the wooden steps to the beach where we were pelted with sand from the 25+ mph winds. Otherwise, conditions were perfect in that it was a receding tide, which allowed for photographing stunning reflections of the stacks in the puddles left behind, while not getting swept out to sea.

The sand was hard, which made for easy walking, so we walked the mile or so to Face Rock. Except for a few dedicated photographers, the beach was pretty deserted - I imagine due to the fierce winds. Despite that, it was an absolutely beautiful sunset and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. It was very exhilarating.

The next morning, I convinced Herb to go for a run with me, so we set off through the Old Town, running along the waterfront, past Coquille Point and onto Face Rock - not on the beach this time, but along the road.

Circles in the SandFrom the overlook above Face Rock, we looked down at a spectacular labyrinth created in the sand, with dozens of people wandering its intricate weaving paths. These labyrinths, which are created on 2 sets of 3 or 4 consecutive days each month during super low tides, are the brain child of Denny Dyke, who has been doing this for over a decade. His intention in creating these “Circles in the Sand” is to share love, joy, and kindness and provide a place for peaceful meditation.

It takes him about 2 hours to create his labyrinth and then the waiting crowd is allowed to enter and wander its twisting paths. He personally greets each person entering the maze and allows them to select one of the many moonstones he has in a basket.

Bandon Beach Night 2Each afternoon, the tide comes in and washes it away.

For now, we would continue our run, but vowed to come back tomorrow morning to experience it first hand.

We couldn’t check into our 2nd Bandon motel until 4:00, so after showering and checking out of the Lighthouse Cove Inn, we wandered the Old Town and looked for a place to have lunch. Some very positive Yelp reviews led us to the Bandon Fish Market, where a long line extending out into the parking lot confirmed its popularity.

Bandon Beach during sunsetIt was a bit of a wait, both to place our order and for it to be ready, but it was no hardship wandering along the lovely waterfront during our wait. Bandon is a very artsy town with beautiful wood-carved benches and sculptures to enjoy during a stroll. Also, along the waterfront fence were dozens of original paintings done by both the school children and adults of Bandon. Visitors were encouraged to vote for their favorites.

Finally, our name was called and we sat on one of those beautiful benches to enjoy our Fish and Chips and Dungeness Crab sandwich - the crab was for me as Herb is allergic to shellfish (poor guy).

Bandon Beach Night 2After lunch, we headed over to the Bandon Beach Motel to check in. What an incredible location!! Besides being just a stone’s throw from the wooden steps leading down to the beach from Coquille Point, there was the lovely ½-mile Coquille Point loop trail atop the bluff with interpretive displays about the ecology of the region.

That evening, we strolled back down to the beach to once again enjoy the sun setting over the sea stacks. Conditions were perfect - low tide and low winds. Pretty perfect. It was an absolutely lovely evening.

Bandon Beach Night 2The next morning we set out once more down the Coquille Point steps, this time to wander over to and hopefully wander through the Circles in the Sand Labyrinth, about a mile walk along the beach.

Somewhere along that stroll, I left Herb behind to photograph the stacks and entered the maze myself, first collecting my chosen moonstone from Denny Dyke, the creator of this incredible labyrinth. Although the maze was probably smaller than a football field, it took quite a bit of time because of all the twists and turns along the way.

Bandon Beach Night 2When I exited the maze, I stopped to add a heart with “Herb + Lolo” to the large collection at the end of the labyrinth.

I scanned the beach for Herb and finally spotted him in the labyrinth. He was so close but yet so far from finishing due to the growing crowds and twists and turns.

What a wonderful stop Bandon had been and we were so so lucky that our visit took place during one of its super low tides so that we could experience both the sea stack reflections at sunset and the Circles in the Sand labyrinth.

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Travelogue

Lolo stalking the fallen Dyerville GiantAfter about 3 and a half hours of driving towards Bandon, we decided to stop and stretch our legs amongst the giant California redwood trees of Northern California.

The fact that there are still so many groves of these incredible trees to enjoy, which happen to be the largest and tallest on earth, was not a given. After the gold rush, many miners that failed to strike it rich with gold turned to harvesting these giant redwoods. By the early 1900s, these priceless forests were badly threatened by years of unrestricted clear cut logging.

However, today, thanks to the foresight and work of the state of California and the Save the Redwoods League, hundreds of groves have been acquired and protected for our enjoyment. In 1968, Redwood National Park was created for the purpose of cooperative forest management with three other state parks: Jedediah Smith, Del Norte, and Prairie Creek. Today Redwood National and State Parks encompasses 133,000 acres and protects 45% of all remaining coast redwood old-growth forests.

Although you don’t even have to leave your car to enjoy these majestic groves along the scenic Redwood Highway, to truly experience them, you need to get out of the car and walk amongst them.

There are so many choices of groves to visit. We chose to drive the 30-mile-auto-tour route known as the Avenue of Giants, which pretty much parallels US 101, stopping to stroll the ½-mile loop through the Founders Grove.

There are two “special trees” along this loop. The Founders Tree, which is a memorial to the Save-the-Redwoods-League, and the Dyerville Giant, which was once the tallest tree in this region, clocking in at 370 feet. Unfortunately, the Giant fell back in 1991.

Refreshed, we continued on US 101 into Oregon. The only noteworthy thing that occurred along the drive is that we thought we saw an orange construction cone in the lane in front of us. The weird thing was the construction cone appeared to be moving - that’s because it was. This faux construction cone was actually a tiny capsule-like motorized vehicle, which definitely did not belong on a highway. At a traffic light, the top opened and a shirtless young man popped up to look around before enclosing himself back in his very strange vehicle and continuing on his merry way. I am glad I am not his mother.

Travelogue

As I mentioned in the previous stop, we decided while lunching in Hurricane to drive the estimated 6 ½ hours to Andrew and Celeste's (our son and daughter-in-law) house Bishop. However, as I also mentioned, that lovely lunchtime breeze was gaining some steam and no longer so lovely.

For our entire drive, we had to deal with gusting winds up to 50 mph, strong enough to move trailers and trucks in and out of their lanes. Not exactly relaxing.

We took some roads we hadn’t been on before that were pretty cool as we skirted the northern boundary of Death Valley and climbed up and down over the White Mountains. Finally around 8:30, well over our original ETA, we arrived.

Our other son Tommy and his fiancée Erin would be arriving the following night. Nothing makes me happier than having the whole gang together, and now that we are all vaccinated, it is happening more and more frequently.

I’m not going to go into any great detail about our family time together, but for my own purposes and desire to remember where the heck I have been this year, I added this as a stop on our Utah trip.

This is what we did over those 4 days:

• Herb and Andrew spend the entire first day with some father-son bonding over home maintenance
• Tommy and Erin arrive
• We all go to the Buttermilks to watch the boys and their wives/fiancées boulder
• Afterwards I go for a short run on the lovely Bishop Creek canal near their house
• Drinks at dinner at the Owens Valley Distillery in Bishop
• We all go to Pine Creek Canyon to watch them sport climb
• I go for a 5-mile run along the Bishop Canal
• Tommy and Erin leave to go back home
• The remaining four of us go the the Mountain Rambler Brewery for dinner
• We drive home to Sonoma County

And that's a wrap. Great trip but it will be good to be back in Sonoma Valley too.

Travelogue

Not a bad view at Kiva KoffeehouseAfter Herb removed me kicking and screaming from the lovely Boulder Mountain Lodge, we continued our journey with the plan of driving the Cottonwood Canyon Road through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to Kanab.

Our drive along very scenic highway 12 brought us to another highly recommended stop - the Kiva Koffeehouse in Escalante, a beautiful building that blended into the surrounding landscape with fabulous views from its outdoor dining area.

We were not the only ones that had this idea. The line was quite long and the wait for our food was even longer. However, we had no reason to complain, as we had managed to nab two chairs overlooking the red and white striated sandstone rock formations that we had grown so accustomed to over the past week.

Grosvenor Arch along the Cottonwood Canyon RoadThe final result was a great cup of coffee (mine an indulgent mocha with chocolate) and two salads with chicken to go - perhaps our dinner later tonight.

From there we continued along Route 12 to the town of Cannonville, where we turned off, passing right by Kodachrome Basin State Park (surprise surprise - no vacancy in the campground) to the start of the Cottonwood Canyon Road, a 46-mile drive on a well-graded dirt road, ending at Route 89 between the towns of Big Water and Kanab.

Compared to what we had been driving on, the road was very easy - much less bouncing and climbing. No need for me to get out of the truck to guide Herb over rock ledges.

Grosvenor Arch along the Cottonwood Canyon Road10 miles into the drive, we took the turnoff for the one-mile spur road to Grosvenor Arch, a unique sandstone double arch, 90 feet across, and 152 feet above the ground. An easy asphalt path led right up to the arch, but we ventured a little further to get right under it.

In 1949, the arch was named after Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor, president of the National Geographic Society and the first-time editor of the National Geographic magazine.

About 3 ½ miles south of the turnoff for Grosvenor Arch, we came to an area with colorful badlands to the east, referred to as Candyland because of its white and red rocks and pinnacles. It was pretty much high noon right now, so the stark lighting was not doing it the justice it deserved.

Approaching the Wahweap HoodoosTo the west was the Coxcomb, an elongated series of upwardly-pointed ridges that ran parallel to our drive.

The thing that ruined the drive a bit for us after being out in such remote places for the past week, were the very prominent power lines that ran along the entire drive, making it very difficult not to include them in a photo.

Rather than camp along the drive and do the recommended hike to Yellow Rock, we decided to go the whole way and try to find the Wahweap Hoodoos, which we had seen photos of in our Photography Guide.

Wahweap HoodoosThe directions were quite complicated, but fortunately we had the Gaia app, which pretty much has every remote road, hiking trail, attraction, etc. There were two ways to get there. One was a longer, rougher drive, but only required a 1-mile hike to the main hoodoo area, and the other one was a shorter, easier drive, but it required a 4 ½ mile (each way) hike to best hoodoos.

The Big FellaWe were very comfortable handling the more difficult road, so we chose the shorter hike direction. Gaia was great. I could follow our progress along the way on my phone, seeing every dirt turnoff we passed. That combined with the written directions in our photography guide brought us to the fence along the Wahweap Wash, with a sign instructing us now to drive in the wash.

The skies were getting ominous and we could see dark clouds and virga in the distance. I have been dying to use the word virga since we learned it a few days back from a park volunteer at the Great Gallery. It means rain that evaporates before reaching the ground.

I had seen photos of the Wahweap Hoodoos, but nothing had prepared me for the surreal otherworldliness. We felt like we had taken a wrong turn and landed on another planet - or better yet, a Dr. Seuss book.

Wahweap HoodoosThey seemed to spring out of nowhere after making a slight right into an alcove about a mile down a rather prosaic wash. There were about a dozen white hoodoos, but one in particular dominated the scene, rising about 30 feet in the air, topped by its little brown cap.

We’ve seen lots of strange rock formations in the west, but these topped the cake. Plus, it was the whitest rock I have ever seen, except maybe for the tufa castles in mono lake.

These particular hoodoos (also called spires, columns, pillars, and even goblins) were formed from a relatively soft, bright white entrada sandstone with a harder layer of dakota sandstone protecting them from erosion. Over millions of years, weathering has created these amazing formations. The brown caps of stone atop the towers are the harder, less easily erodable dakota sandstone. Hoodoos such as this are mainly found in dry, hot areas.

Interesting formation near our campsiteGeology is amazing, giving even Michelangelo a run for his money in creating wonders out of stone.

Those ominous clouds were getting closer and darker, so I kept trying to hurry Herb along, which he hates. I definitely think he wanted to spend more time there.

Time to find camping for the night, so we drove back a few miles from whence we came, but this time we turned left on the White Sands Jeep Trail, a very rough 4WD road which we learned about in our photography guide. After 1.3 very rocky, bumpy miles we came to a promontory that looked out over a small canyon that had some impressive, colorful hoodoos just under the rim. We had found our home for the night.

More Wahweap HoodoosAlthough it didn’t rain, it became extremely windy, to the point where we had to remain in the car, making brief forays out along the canyon rim to visit the little hoodoos.

The next morning, I felt really bad having rushed Herb away from the Wahweap Hoodoos, so we drove back for one more visit. Although they are supposedly best photographed in morning light, I think the drama of yesterday’s dark storm clouds created a better mood and background for these alien-like formations.

From the Wahweap Hoodoos we drove back along BLM roads to the Cottonwood Canyon Road and then out to Highway 89. I have a predilection towards culture and human history with a really nice natural backdrop, so I suggested to Herb that we go to Old Paria where Western movies used to be filmed. Our photography guide showed an awesome photo of an old western building used in the movies with multicolored butte in the background.

Along the scenic road to the Old Paria movie setUnfortunately, I didn’t read the fine print that building did not exist anymore. However, the drive along the dirt BLM 585 road, which traces the colorful red, white, and purple Chinle formation badlands was worth it. Also, for future reference we found some great dispersed camping sites.

There was, however, an interesting old cemetery with 20 graves of early settlers who tried to eke out a living in this desolate, yet beautiful, area.

From here we weren’t sure what to do. We were supposed to be in Bishop tomorrow night for my son’s birthday, which was about an 8 hour drive away.. We could take our time getting there or go the distance today.

Old Paria CemeteryWe figured we would just start driving that way and see what we felt like.

We were really getting into this eating lunch out thing, so we stopped in the town of Hurricane at the Main Street Cafe, which turned out to be a truly wonderful dining experience. The food was delicious, but it was really the ambience that felt so right. There was a lovely breeze on the outdoor patio, which was surrounded by green lawn and trees, something I didn’t realize how much I missed until now. It reminded me a bit of Key West, which is crazy, as the towns couldn’t be more different.

It was only 6 ½ hours to Bishop, so we decided to go for it. The problem was that that lovely breeze we had enjoyed so much at lunch wasn’t so lovely anymore.

Travelogue

Along the Notom Bullfrog RoadThe Notom Bullfrog Road was a surprise bonus for us. We had never heard of it before, and only did when we Googled how to get to the Strike Valley Overlook and the start of the scenic Burr Trail

Notom Bullfrog Road runs south through the lovely Strike Valley along the eastern boundary of Capitol Reef National Park, between the Henry Mountains and the Waterpocket Fold, all the way to the Bullfrog Marina on Lake Powell. We would only be going as far as the turnoff for the Burr Trail switchbacks.

Google Maps had estimated that we would only be able to travel 20 mph on this road, but it was so well graded that we did it in half the time. The scenery along the way was so unique and beautiful that we stopped several times along the way. The ranches set against the base of the Waterpocket Fold provided a lovely juxtaposition of man-made and natural beauty.

Burr Trail switchbacksAt 34 miles, we turned right towards Strike Valley and began our climb up the Burr Trail switchbacks, which although dirt, were doable in a 2WD car. However, they did climb 1,000 feet in a mile, so they were still pretty exciting. We stopped several times to gaze down at the tiny vehicles winding their way up the twists and turns of the switchbacks.

A short distance after the completion of the switchbacks, we came to the 3-mile spur road to the Strike Valley Overlook, where we planned to start the long 9.4 mile Upper Muley Twist hike tomorrow morning. The guide books said the road was extremely rough, so we decided to not scout it out today, but just do it once when necessary.

Some rock scrambling along the Upper Muley Twist hikeSince dispersed camping is not allowed in the national parks, we drove a few miles further until we hit asphalt, which told us we were now out of the Park, and camping was allowed. It wasn’t long before we found a nice spot in a pinyon forest, already decorated for us with several creative cairns around the firepit.

We had been going at a ridiculously fast pace so far on this, so we thought some down time would serve us well. It was nice to spend the afternoon without an agenda, just relaxing, reading, and building some cairns of our own.

The next morning we drove the short distance back to the turnoff for the Strike Valley Overlook, stopping first at the 2WD parking lot to walk out for a view over the valley. For those that don’t have 4WD, you have to start the Upper Muley Twist from here, adding 2.5 miles each direction.

Atop the Waterpocket Fold along the Upper Muley Twist hikeFortunately, we have a 4WD, because I had no desire to add 5 miles to an already long hike. The books were right though. The next 2 miles were very rough and definitely required high clearance. We were the only car in the parking lot.

From the parking lot, we set out north along a wash through Upper Muley Twist Canyon that paralleled the Waterpocket Fold. The initial part of the hike was quite easy, but we knew that wouldn’t last. There were several places along the wash branches off, but we always stayed to the right, as described in the trail guide.

At 1.5 miles we came to an unnamed arch on the left, about 200 feet above the wash, the first of half a dozen arches that we would pass that day.

Herb enjoying the view of the Strike ValleyJust 0.2 miles further, we arrived at Saddle Arch, located above a large crack on the canyon wall. This is an important landmark, because it is where the loop portion of the trail begins. An old wood sign points to the right for the Rim Route, but we followed the advice of the hiking guide to do the loop in a clockwise direction and continued straight up the canyon where we would eventually ascend to the rim.

As we continued up the wash, the colors of the canyon kept getting better and better. We kept our eye out to the west for more arches, and counted at least three more of them.

More views of the Strike Valley from atop the Waterpocket FoldAt around 3.2 miles, the canyon constricted dramatically and we arrived at a pouroff. Here we had a choice: squeezing our way through a narrow slot, or taking the recommended well-cairned bypass route on a ledge to our right.

After wandering a few feet into the narrow slot and finding it not to our liking, we chose the bypass route and climbed a slickrock slope up to a shelf about 150 feet above the wash. We followed the cairns for about a mile before it descended back down and joined the wash again.

We continued up the wash, and at 4.9 miles we reached an old wood sign marking the beginning of the Rim Route. From here, we left Upper Muley Twist Canyon and ascended a series of switchbacks through the Navajo sandstone to the ridge atop the Waterpocket Fold.

More Strike ValleyWe followed the prolific and well-placed cairns southeast along the top of the Fold. The views along the way were breathtaking - colorful Strike Valley to the east, the white sandstone domes of Capitol Reef to the north, and the red Wingate sandstone canyon walls, which we had just passed through, to the West. We could even see some of the arches we passed while walking up the wash.

After a few more miles of sensory overload and wondering which way to look, as it was all so incredible, at 7.3 miles we finally came to the very welcomed wood sign pointing us back to the Canyon Route, from which we came. After descending steeply over ledges and across slickrock, we were once again back in the Upper Muley Twist Canyon.

More scrambling along the Upper Muley Twist hikeFrom here we retraced our steps back along the wash to the trailhead. We had only passed three parties that day, and all of them were backpacking, which made us pretty proud to have accomplished this strenuous hike in a single day. The final stats were 10.7 miles with a 1,050 foot elevation gain. Doesn’t sound like that much, but much of that elevation gain (and eventually loss) required a lot of rock scrambling.

What a terrific hike!

After maneuvering back over the rocky Strike Valley Overlook spur road and heading west, we were soon once again on the asphalt of the Burr Trail. We had already done the most exciting part of it when we came up the Burr Trail Switchbacks yesterday, but there was still much great scenery to be had on the remaining 30 miles to the town of Boulder.

Along the ridge of the Waterpocket FoldThe Burr Trail used to be an old Mormon track used to bring livestock from the high-altitudes of Boulder to the warmer grazing areas of the Waterpocket Fold. The country is still wild and remote, but in the 1980s, the old trail was paved right up to the boundary of Capitol Reef. Today it is strictly used for recreational purposes, and there is nary a sign of a Mormon or a cattle herd to be seen.

There certainly were a lot of people out recreating and the trailhead parking lots were full to overflowing. We had already done more hiking than we needed that day, so we were perfectly satisfied watching the beautiful scenery go by from our car.

Back down in the Canyon along the Upper Muley Twist hikeThe nicest section of the drive was the last 10 miles or so through Long Canyon, which passed through sheer red sandstone cliffs covered with desert varnish. We stopped at a pullout that looked out over the canyon. It was lovely.

However, we were tired from our big hike that morning, dirty from five days of camping in the back of our 4Runner, and anxious about where we would find a decent hotel room for the night. We had had no cell coverage for days and the only thing we knew about Boulder, the next town we would be coming to, was that we should really try to eat at the Hell’s Backbone Grill.

As soon as we hit the end of the Burr Trail, we got a bit of cell coverage and I immediately jumped on my phone to try to find nearby hotels. While I was busy typing madly into my phone, Herb said, “that place says Vacancy,” and pointed at the rustic Boulder Mountain Lodge with a restaurant on the premises. That restaurant was the Hell’s Backbone Grill. We had struck gold.

Burr TrailThe woman in the office seemed hesitant at first when we asked if there was a room available. We had clearly seen the Vacancy sign and was wondering if we weren’t passing muster for some reason - I could think of a few. However, her dilemma was that someone had called earlier to inquire about a room and she thought they might still be coming. No money had been put down though, and we were there with credit card in hand. She finally agreed to give us the last room. I think I would have cried if she didn’t.

I thought I couldn’t be any happier, until she asked us if we wanted to book a time in the hot tub, which was now restricted to one couple at a time because of Covid. It was already 6:00 and we wanted to have dinner first, so we booked the 9:00 to 9:30 slot.

Along the Burr TrailThe place was beautiful. After a well-needed shower, I sat out on our back patio with a glass of wine, looking out over a lovely pond. Eventually, the man one patio over asked me if I was with the bicycle group. When I told him no, and that we had just wandered in off the Burr Trail and seen the Vacancy sign, he almost fell off his chair. He told me that this place was usually booked a year in advance and that I had been extremely lucky to have gotten a room. Whew!

He also advised me to call the restaurant if I was interested in having dinner because they are usually booked up. However, they did give preference to lodge guests, which I was now in the elite company of. I called them and asked for a 7:30 seating and they told me they would call me when my table was ready.

Boy were we happy to find this placeWe were seated at our table promptly at 7:30. It was very hard to believe that we were in Utah, in the town of Boulder (population of 226), one of the most remote towns in America.

This restaurant, which was started by two women from NYC over two decades ago, has been featured in The New Yorker, O: the Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Sunset Magazine, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Organic Gardening, Outside Traveler, Outside, Travel and Leisure, Washington Post, Men’s Journal, More, SLUG Magazine and National Geographic Traveler.

I could go on and on about all the awards and accolades they have rightly earned. The restaurants follow the Buddhist principles of commitment to sustainability, environmental ethics, and community responsibility. Much of their produce is grown on their six acre farm and their meat comes from local ranchers.

Dinner at the Hell's Backbone GrillNeedless to say, the food was delicious, the service impeccable, and the ambience lovely. I couldn’t stop feeling like we had just won the lottery.

Our perfect day concluded with a half hour of soaking our aching muscles (from our big hike) in the hot tub. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Tonight was certainly a contrast to our last 5 nights camping out in some very remote and beautiful places. However, Life is full of contrasts, and it is those contrasts that make things special. The totally different experiences of those nights in the wild and our cushy night tonight of fine dining followed by a hot tub enhanced our experience of each of them. However, I think a 6th night in the truck might have pushed me over the edge.