171014 WydahoCruise: Our recent "cruise" into Wyoming & Idaho

In the naming of this cruise, it has turned out that I was somewhat less clever than I had believed myself to be. "Wydaho" is already in use by people who live on a slice of the border between those two states. 

Anyway, we have "cruised", and we have taken quite a number of pictures. Here are some of them.

• Touring Nampa & Boise: Train Depots <https://photos.app.goo.gl/NhnSvRSjRYifxRNK2> 
• Boise: Capitol, Garden, and Wetland Walk <https://photos.app.goo.gl/otuocKpQCZ0VotS02> 
• Emigrant Springs, OR <https://photos.app.goo.gl/K1AixRncPgTod2k32> 
• Thousand Springs S.P., Hagerman Valley, ID <https://photos.app.goo.gl/JsCT1mXwRctoz8T83> 

• Malad Gorge S.P., Hagerman, ID <https://photos.app.goo.gl/HevFyTE1kfC2RZrQ2> 

• Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, Great Rift volcanic zone, ID <https://photos.app.goo.gl/EgQvIeYdm1c5OSsM2> 

• Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring <https://photos.app.goo.gl/Lfh50qOdrgBT5i5F2> 

• Intermittent Spring <https://photos.app.goo.gl/FXB3p41OSLQs6uyM2> (Also locally known as "Intermitting Spring" and "Periodic Spring" This runs out of a mountain, then pauses for some minutes, then begins running again. (It _intermits_.) Quite remarkable to watch. 
• Wildlife Above Campground @ Kemmerer, WY <https://photos.app.goo.gl/BaYwlLheKWPLyZMk1> Pronghorn.
• Cody, WY: Museum and town, and beyond <https://photos.app.goo.gl/QXBlBpfqPR353UyJ2> 
• Buffalo Bill Cody Museum, Cody, WY <https://photos.app.goo.gl/3aGFQhwJmW4G8Jq63> 
• Drive to Shell Falls, WY <https://photos.app.goo.gl/1Qn4iGkusFOYwxUH3>
• Bighorn Canyon Loop Drive & Devil's Kitchen <https://photos.app.goo.gl/36dwgoEsel6GpW1M2> 
• Aerial Firefighters <https://photos.app.goo.gl/cTsnM11ldaUYaah42>  Greybull, WY.  <http://www.museumofflight.us>  One of these, the "flying boxcar", was used the original "Flight of the Phoenix". 
• Ten Sleep, WY <https://photos.app.goo.gl/87BTWFBJfUbO90wt1> Named for the Native Americans' experience of its being several days' travel from somewhere else of importance. • Medicine Lodge Archaeological Site <https://photos.app.goo.gl/8D6bs1bAWaeGnzyB3> 
• Big Horn Canyon drive <https://photos.app.goo.gl/61Lxz1DGSvXbmcUI3> 
• Antique Music, Kemmerer, WY <https://photos.app.goo.gl/P7xtSChBXONgyptH2> 
• South Pass City (ghost town) <https://photos.app.goo.gl/lMMULBkNE3nJSrtq2> 
• Fossils <https://photos.app.goo.gl/1oeCbtxbizqg5JUB3> 

Mark_
14:45 14 October 2017

21:03 15 October 2017

170427 Fruita, Colorado

170427 Fruita, Colorado
(Grand Junction)

As we drove toward our next campground, we were overtaken by a brand-new 1947 Ford coupe.  It had modern wheels and tires under it, and it sounded like it may have had a modern engine, but otherwise it seemed original on the outside--and shiny-new.  (And not hot-rodded, which I greatly appreciated; except for the wheels and tires, it appeared stock.)  My speed is usually 60 when a steep upgrade doesn't reduce that; this little coupe rolled past me easily--and beautifully.  (Speed limit in the countryside is 80.)

Waves of wind in the camp.
Warm enough that we could eat our late-midday snack with the door open.

Into town to mine the visitor's center, then to a great little shop for some excellent coffee. We spoke a little with the owner, who was justifiably proud of having been open for a whole year.  He was roasting his own beans, and the coffee was very good.

After coffee--late afternoon closing time--we walked into the former elementary school, now the City offices, to see what it was like inside.  All updated; nothing of interest to see there, except for some posters about local subjects, including a local legend or celebrity: Mike, the Headless Chicken.  (I have no idea.)

From there, we strolled into nearby neighborhoods, where we were soon challenged by a voice from a house we were passing:  "Hey--are you following me?"  It was the coffee house owner working on the renovation of a(nother) house.  (The coffee place was in a renovated house.)  We all laughed, and we apologized for getting caught.  Nice fellow.

After our walk, we drove around town a bit--it's not a big place--and noted a few houses that had been worked on, giving the impression of a little boom. This is a mountain-biking region, and apparently this little town is benefitting from its proximity to Moab--and likely its lower costs.  A mountain-biking festival was in town for the weekend.

We then drove out of town into the hills, where hiking and equestrian trail-heads were all along the natural-surface roads.

A little before dusk we drove back to camp for dinner and more little wind-squalls.

Mark_
R/V _Serenity_, Fruita, CO (near Grand Junction)

170426 Green River State Park, UT-

This is a beautiful drive from Heyburn, ID--especially the part of it that winds along beside the river and railroad.  Later, some of the uphill grades can seem like pretty long grinds, and the downhills can seem pretty long and even exhilarating.  Thrill-rides with a trailer behind--and scenery all around.

We arrived at about dinnertime to a park that was 99% full--and we had no reservation.  We got the next-to-last slip--and people aborted entering the last one because it was too short.  Our good luck.

Fine.  We had been on the road for eight hours; although I have driven for longer than that, I didn't like it better.  We were glad to stop for the evening in a pretty little park.

Mark_
R/V _Serenity_, Green River State Park, UT

170425 Heyburn ID-

City of Rocks

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Rocks_National_Reserve>

We arose to an alarm clock so we could have plenty of daylight for this feature.  Good thing; it was pretty amazing, and we stayed out into the early evening.

The story is that the westward wagon-train parties went through there, and said that the collection of large (stacks and broken piles of) rock(s) resembled a "city".  Perhaps, from a distance, viewed askance, through a prism of suffering and hunger, the tortured brain might see this and think "city", but that impression would be more like imaginative hopefulness than anything else.  It was landscape run amok, with rocky outcroppings everywhere.

It is pretty amazing, though.  I nearly despaired of being able to adequately photograph what we were seeing--but I did end up making 300 attempts (to be posted later).

The weather was also remarkable.  In the first place, the mountains all around had plenty of snow on them.  Also, there were patches along where we were walking.  Finally, we experienced three or four brief periods of unmistakable snowing--just a few little thin falls of tiny particles of snow-like substance that weren't flakes, and were too dry for sleet.

On the way home, we stopped for a closer look at what appeared to be an old school campus: several three-story brick buildings grouped in grassy lawns, with a heat plant (smokestack, etc.) on the edge.  It looked like a small college campus, and it turned out to be that: a teacher's college <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albion_State_Normal_School>.  Most of the buildings were disused and in somewhat poor condition, but there was evidence that someone cared: All had good, recent, roofs.  

The day had opened very cool and quite breezy.  Later, both discomforts were moderated.  All in all: wonderful!

Mark_

R/V _Serenity_, Heyburn, ID

170424 Heyburn, ID-

Arrived at about noon after a nice drive through the countryside on US-30.  Not long after backing into our slip, we began experiencing wave after wave of wind and rain squalls.  I wore rain gear to complete the docking process (which was lengthy, because I had been careless in arranging the contents of my black water tank, rendering the in-slip pumpout uncertain and time-consuming).

All okay, though; re-arrangement and pumpout were accomplished, and the real rain didn't begin until four or five seconds after I had my lines Flemished.  (Utilities connected [all three, this time], stabilizers down, and the hitch insert off the truck and stowed.)

Anyway, after departing the Hagerman area, the scenic value of the roadside diminished somewhat as the land flattened and became more purely agricultural.  Nothing against potatoes or beans, of course, nor against beef or milk or clover or wool.

At dinnertime, we have done nothing beyond sitting around, catching up on some online news, and checking to see that we can actually visit the area we have planned for tomorrow: City of Rocks.  (There have been reports of snow.)

Mark_
R/V _Serenity_
Just yards from the Snake River
Heyburn, ID (near Burley)

170423 Pictures so far

I have taken some pictures.  If you want to see some of what we have been seeing, your _Plan A_ should have been to come with us.  Here is your _Plan B_:

• Emigrant Springs State Park: <https://goo.gl/photos/ZNafDuNmCSWLmgkG9>
• Devil's Washbowl, Malad River: <https://goo.gl/photos/DeHRuongnSySqfZ19>
• White pelicans: <https://goo.gl/photos/3uoxXfauEcw3Ermr6>
• Wood-stave water pipe: <https://goo.gl/photos/erJxbV435GdQ4MGVA>
• Thousand Springs (leaking aquifer): <https://goo.gl/photos/ad4JiAVSsqo9EwSt6>
• Shoshone Falls, Twin Falls, ID: <https://goo.gl/photos/zhJENTAz8kbGFVmP6>

See?  You should have come along.

Mark_
R/V _Serenity_

170423 Hagerman, ID; Twin Falls

After sleeping in a bit, we drove to Twin Falls.  

Shoshone Falls was pouring a great deal of water--many times what we had seen during our previous visit here in August of 2015.  On that occasion there was a large amount of naked rock.  This time, not so much.  

There may also have been more tourists, although this is difficult to judge.  I did have the impression of more canine-Americans on the trails and walkways.  (This is the case _everywhere_!)  Build that wall!

At mid-afternoon snack time, we found a pleasant picnic table near the Snake River, unpacked our stuff--and put it all away again.  The perfectly nice East Indian family in the next table shelter was playing Indian pop music from their boom box or car system or whatever, and although the music itself was not objectionable on its face, and wasn't even terribly loud, we judged it incompatible with a pleasant and quiet afternoon beneath beautiful trees next to a major river.  We left in disgust.

On our return to camp, we found that the Good Sam Club rendezvous has left; except for the constant, mechanical, cooing of a murder (a coven?) of doves nearby, it's pretty quiet here at present.  The highway is only about a single block away from our site, but its traffic is infrequent and in no particular hurry, so not much noise comes from there.  Even the residents' little dogs are asleep, or something.

Unlike many, this park has excellent wi-fi.  We had been seeing a number of other hotspots as well, most of which had disappeared when the weekend crowd departed.  One remained: nerdsontheroad.  

Next to us is a large 5th-wheel trailer, with dirt bikes, pets, and a bunch of gear stowed beneath the trailer.  The hipster-looking young people seemed wrong for _early retirement_ but did seem to be full-timing, so I guessed _tech worker/s_ of some sort.  Just now it dawned on me that one of the wi-fi points I had been seeing might be theirs; on checking I found that it had remained after the great bulk of the others disappeared coincident with the departure of most of the rest of the campground's transients.

I was correct in some of my conjecture about them:  <http://nerdsontheroad.com> are in site # 37, Hagerman Village RV Campground, Hagerman, ID.  Cindy says that the site is not of much interest.  No recent images, so there may be no point in looking for _Serenity_ there.

There is, apparently, more or less nothing interesting about them beyond the fact that our speculation about their story was correct to some extent.

It has been a sunny and warm day, and the evening remains warm.  Having _Serenity_'s doors and ports open for a change made for a very pleasant evening.

Mark_

R/V _Serenity_, Hagerman, ID 

170422 Hagerman, ID sightseeing

Visitor's center:

  Pix of the Hagerman Horse fossil <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagerman_horse>.

  Information about local sights, including Thousand Springs (where the aquifer leaks out of shattered basaltic rock faces), Ritter Island State Park, and Devil's Washbowl at Malad Gorge.  

Weather was warm and sunny--although so breezy that long-lens photography was difficult.

Pix of white pelicans on the Snake.

I saw my first (I believe) pheasant couple at the side of the road.  Because of where Cindy has lived, this was nothing new for her.  I thought it quite a colorful novelty.

More of this area tomorrow.


Mark_
R/V _Serenity_, Hagerman, ID

170421 Hagerman, ID

Wind!  I neglected to mention in yesterday's log that we experienced the windiest driving that I believe we ever have had while towing.  We were never in the kind of danger that fills a corner of YouTube, but vehicle motion was pretty energetic.  The truck tracks well, so the driving was not difficult as such--just that we could feel it moving beneath us in a way that is pretty unusual.  The trailer stayed right where it belonged, centered in my mirrors.

Today we were glad to have been carrying a 5-gallon can of extra gasoline; we stopped alongside in a freeway exit and poured it into the tank so that we could feel easy about the last few miles before we hit town.  The fuel was a year old, but it was still flammable; we made it to Costco without worry.  We might have made it anyway, but we decided not to bother with the bet; the hassle and potential danger of running dry while pulling a grade or entering an intersection would have taking some of the fun out of a day of driving through scenery.  Maneuvering without power steering or brake assist is not something I wish to practice.  That spare fuel adds a pleasant sensation of comfort in a vehicle that carries only 25 gallons of fuel in its main tank, and sometimes burns through it at a shocking rate.

Today's drive along I-84 was spectacular.  There are winding canyon runs along the Snake River, and spectacular vistas in broad valleys and from high passes.  We have traveled that way a number of times before, but on this occasion it was during daytime in brilliant sunshine.

We met about six Airstreams--two of which were still in their shrink-wrap as if headed for dealers.  We did see one dealer, in Caldwall, ID, but all but one of those trailers was headed away from there.  Rendezvous, perhaps.

We also met two Bigfoots--both slide-in truck campers.

In general, lots of RVs are out plying the highways--and staying overnight in the campgrounds.  Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area Campground (last night) was far from full, but this night's park (Hagerman RV Village, Hagerman, ID) has turned away at least one potential customer--the unhappy no-reservation-holding fellow immediately before us.

This is a pleasant park, with trees and grass at the sites, and wi-fi that works out in the campground. We will be here for three nights; there are fossils, springs, and waterfalls to be examined.

All is going well.  We are grateful to be out and to have this chance to stop and look at some things we have only read about.

Mark_

R/V _Serenity_, Hagerman, ID

 

170420 Emigrant Springs Heritage Center campground

We have departed early on the Ranger cruise to Four Corners.  Note that by "early" I mean "before the others"; it was not so early in the morning for us.  We cast off at about 0925; we arrived in the campground at about 1645, got set up (without unhitching), and found the promised campsite water not actually available. We had not bothered filling our water tank the last time we were out, so there was nothing at all to do but to up-anchor and roll around the corner to take on water at the restroom.  Not an actual problem.

Although it is next to the busy interstate highway and therefore very far from quiet, this is a pretty little park, with spacious, open, campsites among a mixture of ponderosa pine and other conifers.

Also present in surprising abundance: piles of snow. As we drove up, there was quite a bit of snow next to the highway (some of the passes are at nearly 3500'), but we thought it quite a novelty to park next to it in the campground.  Temperature at present is 46 F., so perhaps those piles won't grow any while we are here.

My Scangauge is working again, so we can again be treated to the knowledge that downhill we might get as much as 50-some miles per gallon.  This ready access to data from the truck's engine-management computer is not an entirely un-mixed blessing, however; uphill we watch fuel efficiency drop to 5 m.p.g. or worse.

Never mind that.  It would be unseemly to complain about the cost of dragging the absolute lap of luxury behind one's mode of transport.  Big refrigerator, hot meals, hot showers, room to stretch out, and warm or cool (as needed) shelter among the trees (or, occasionally, the Walmart _clientele_); this is a great thing.

Tomorrow we will look for a scenic byway that should be around here: Blue Mountain Scenic Byway, which follows an old route in parallel to the new-tangled Inteerstate highway.

We have had bright sunshine, rain, blue sky, clouds of the white and the ominous varieties.  We have dodged trucks and construction cones; we have looked up at snow-covered mountains; from the tops of steep and long switch-back systems we have looked into valleys full of orchards and vineyards--all of this during DAY 1!

Excellent.

Mark_
SERENITY
Emigrant Springs State Park, OR

TripPix: Banff 2016 UPDATED 26 NOVEMBER

The service I have been using to host my online pictures has changed its interface: I cannot share all of my albums at once; they must be shared individually.  This is how I solve that (those numbers are YYMMDD dates):

TripPix: Andy & Serenity Cruise to Banff & Jasper, Alberta, Canada

• 160831 Kilby Park & Museum <https://goo.gl/photos/jiXaYDcCkjxCmBRy9> 

• 160904 Overland Falls <https://goo.gl/photos/dhqEU6CZ5HG7Ccjp8> Added 26 November.
• 160904 Rearguard Falls <https://goo.gl/photos/1AfoKMmtp7wQAz4j8> Added 26 November.
• 160906 Edith Cavell Glacier & Icebergs <https://goo.gl/photos/ohdGQFLErACAmWpa9> 

• 160906 Maligne Canyon <https://goo.gl/photos/TrySq6fzubyCJxQu9> 

• 160907 Bears in the Woods <https://goo.gl/photos/ibLtcVaZfhQRb4aK8> 

• 160919 Tunnel Mountain Village 1 camp @ sunset <https://goo.gl/photos/Ns6u69nxMYpm9frLA> 

One hears of these places, and sees their pictures in scenic calendars and coffee-table books, but the real thing--in binocular vision--is considerably better:  more unmistakably real--and much, much, bigger.  This was a wonderful trip.  Thanks, Andy.

Mark_ 

21 November 2016

TripPix: Other

TripPix: Other trips, hikes, sightings

• 130810 Nisqually Birding <https://goo.gl/photos/gxGBofoTR3hWftZW8>
• 130818 Hiking @ Mt. Rainier <https://goo.gl/photos/2Xh4S91ZmA99hUzH6>
• 130825 Hiking Naches Peak Loop, Mt. Rainier, w/Phil & Ann <https://goo.gl/photos/2d7cuf4VrxWq4rhe9>
• 130904 Cindy @ Ft Stevens Beach <https://goo.gl/photos/4dHvmCAWrtnVoiNY7>
• 140906 Camping Quinault <https://goo.gl/photos/gAM7hs5ixBXQVR8t6>
• 150117 Grilled Cheese & Cookie Party <https://goo.gl/photos/1fCyKWJw1kKqyvYs5>
• 150202 Cape Arago & Sunset Beaches <https://goo.gl/photos/8qUo7o6P1FbeDigR7>
• 160520 Gordon House, Frank Lloyd Wright, Oregon Garden, Silverton, OR <https://goo.gl/photos/X5rj6zV5TQ4A1SNw7>
• 160619 Owls @ Manchester SP <https://goo.gl/photos/X5rj6zV5TQ4A1SNw7>
• 160621 Vista House, Crown Point, Columbia River Gorge, OR <https://goo.gl/photos/EHBj2oRWeGGpoiVk6> 
• 160803 Skyline Trail, Mt Rainier <https://goo.gl/photos/zethyEw3cYUP6QzH9> 

Mark_ 

21 November 2016

The service I have been using to host my online pictures has changed its interface: I cannot share all of my albums at once; they must be shared individually.  This is how I solve that.  (Those numbers are YYMMDD dates.)

TripPix: Rangers in Yellowstone

TripPix: Several "Rigs" of Rangers rendezvoused in Yellowstone in 2013

• 130718 West Thumb Geyser Basin <https://goo.gl/photos/r5nCi5ip36dTKCm5A>

There was much more to the trip than this little sample of pictures indicates.  It was /huge/!  (More later.)

Mark_ 
21 November 2016

The service I have been using to host my online pictures has changed its interface: I cannot share all of my albums at once; they must be shared individually.  This is how I solve that.  (Those numbers are YYMMDD dates.)

TripPix: Missouri 2013

TripPix: We visited family and friends in Missouri in 2013

• 131005 Our multi-legged Missouri friends <https://goo.gl/photos/iz4ZnXbRZAybz1kG6>
• 131011 Jazz @ 18th & Vine, KC, MO <https://goo.gl/photos/rGVxKXjPkoJDVt2d8>
• 131019 Hannibal, MO <https://goo.gl/photos/W2NmcPcQo2hBPoYN6>
• 131020 Southbound along the Mississippi, from Hannibal <https://goo.gl/photos/pxMthmhvD4DHMurv5>
• 131021 Forest Park, St. Louis, MO <https://goo.gl/photos/kW2iuae7xstzjuaP6>
• 131021 Gateway Arch, St. Louis, MO <https://goo.gl/photos/dS9oc1VwevGtZ2L18>
• 131021 Historic Courthouse <https://goo.gl/photos/yfvw4DuC9HZHBHJf8>


Mark_
21 November 2016

The service I have been using to host my online pictures has changed its interface: I cannot share all of my albums at once; they must be shared individually.  This is how I solve that.  (Those numbers are YYMMDD dates.)

TripPix: Utah 2013

TripPix: Andy & Arcadia cruised to Arches and other interesting places in Utah.

• 131025 Church Rock, near Arches <https://goo.gl/photos/CKwmdGhu5c6sEU1t7>

(Church Rock @ Wikipedia <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Rock_(Utah)>)

There are other pictures of our Utah cruise, but they aren't online yet.  (Not that the trip was unworthy; we have many wonderful pictures of it.)

Mark_
21 November 2016

The service I have been using to host my online pictures has changed its interface: I cannot share all of my albums at once; they must be shared individually.  This is how I solve that.  (Those numbers are YYMMDD dates.)

TripPix: _Serenity_ Cruises the U.S. NE

TripPix: Serenity Cruises the East Coast 2015--NE U.S. and SE Canada

• 150808 Twin Falls, Idaho <https://goo.gl/photos/kPftRgQ7Miu383m19>
• 150818 Fort Niagara <https://goo.gl/photos/MWzYF7ZzCQBNjT3y6>
• 150819 Niagara Falls <https://goo.gl/photos/qbkJNyRLMSN8pv8c7>
• 150822 The Breakers, Newport, RI <https://goo.gl/photos/1beurLVWTLDaAvVx6>
• 150823 Marble House, Newport, RI <https://goo.gl/photos/AAYpn9Df7GjwKmh1A>
• 150825 Martha's Vineyard <https://goo.gl/photos/d9pZtUaBxRBRKRme8>
• 150827 Nantucket <https://goo.gl/photos/forM6q9ATajQ5nUd9>
• 150829 Plymouth (Rock) <https://goo.gl/photos/erxLZchbD1f52BQZ8>
• 150830 Boston <https://goo.gl/photos/o6SVWcW5wEuMTwoR7>
• 150831 Marshlands <https://goo.gl/photos/1aJjwWRw93CRghfA7>
• 150901 Boston, too <https://goo.gl/photos/Rwados2DmjTuJXrJA>
• 150905 Portland Head Light @ Cape Elizabeth <https://goo.gl/photos/8pj4xcc2R68RzBwj9>
• 150907 Bath, ME <https://goo.gl/photos/yzSJhjhWeFmhGziDA>
• 150909 Bar Harbor <https://goo.gl/photos/km95ogtuYHFBiXcE7>
• 150910 Mt. Desert Island (above Bar Harbor) <https://goo.gl/photos/3ug5jE9aMHwNzLuMA>

We had long wished to see this area--northeast U.S. and southeast Canada, with emphasis on the maritime districts--and it had been our intention to remain out longer than we ended up accomplishing.  We blame the giant storm for our decision to abandon our plan in the middle.  (Of course it turned out to be less catastrophic than the worst possible prediction, but we had not wished to be either harmed or in the way; we left for home instead of risking those troubles.

We were there long enough to see many things of historical interest, and of both man-made and natural beauty.

The Canada pictures will be posted separately.

Mark_
21 November 2016

The service I have been using to host my online pictures has changed its interface: I cannot share all of my albums at once; they must be shared individually.  This is how I solve that.  (Those numbers are YYMMDD dates.)

161030 Tidal Bore, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

During our September 2015 trip to NE U.S. and SE Canada, we visited several sites along the Bay of Fundy--famous for its _world's greatest tidal range_--including Moncton, New Brunswick.  That town, roughly 30 miles up the Petitcodiac River, is famous for its tidal bore.

In general, a tidal bore is a wave that runs UP-river because the rising tide (or other surge) at the mouth has overwhelmed the river's flow, rising past the normal surface level of the river.  It is not so unusual for the lower reaches of rivers to be tidal, but when the difference in level is significant (large and sudden) the wave forms and the river appears to flow backward for a time behind the bore, following the wave upstream for miles.  The event will have ended when the water level has equalized and normal river flow re-established.

There are several of these around the world; the Bay of Fundy's tidal swing is enormous--the world's largest, at 40 feet or so--but the bore on the Petitcodiac River at Moncton is not the biggest.  (That might be an annual high-tide, sun-and-moon alignment, Chinese bore, which kills people every year.  See the Youtube video[s].)

Even so, Moncton's is an impressive and wonderful thing as it hisses and foams along its way upstream, moving past the town at about a swift walking pace.  It's such an important tourist attraction that they built a viewing area complete with bleachers.  I made a pretty good video from there, but the file size is extremely large; it is (for the time being) trapped on my computer.  In place of that, here are links to information, explanations, and videos:

• Tidal Bore
• Bay of Fundy
• Petitcodiac River: "Before the construction of a causeway in 1968, the river had one of the world's largest tidal bores, which ranged from 1 to 2 metres (3.3–6.6 ft) in height and moved at 5 to 13 kilometres per hour (3.1–8.1 mph). With the opening of the causeway gates in April 2010, the river is flushing itself of ocean silts, and the Bore is returning to its former glory." (Wikipedia)
• New Brunswick Tourism
• Moncton vids @ Youtube
• Other (all) Youtube examples

All pretty amazing.


Mark_
30 October 2016

131005 Missouri Trip Pictures 2013

In 2013 we traveled to Missouri, where we took some pictures.  Because Google's online image service does not support "sharing" access to multiple "albums", here is a list.

The 6-digit numbers are the dates of the albums: YYMMDD.

• 131005 Our multi-legged Missouri friends <https://goo.gl/photos/iz4ZnXbRZAybz1kG6>
• 131021 Forest Park, St. Louis, MO <https://goo.gl/photos/kW2iuae7xstzjuaP6>
• 131021 Gateway Arch, St. Louis, MO <https://goo.gl/photos/dS9oc1VwevGtZ2L18>
• 131021 Historic Courthouse <https://goo.gl/photos/yfvw4DuC9HZHBHJf8>
• 131020 Southbound along the Mississippi, from Hannibal <https://goo.gl/photos/pxMthmhvD4DHMurv5>
• 131019 Hannibal, MO <https://goo.gl/photos/W2NmcPcQo2hBPoYN6>
• 131012 Knob Noster, MO, SP camping <https://goo.gl/photos/Gj1WUgn2achFhJ9LA>
• 131011 Jazz @ 18th & Vine, KC, MO <https://goo.gl/photos/rGVxKXjPkoJDVt2d8>
• 131007 Walking along the Little Blue River <https://goo.gl/photos/Tve3ScJrxbv4FjVb6>

Mark_
26 October 2016

TripPix: Along Oregon Highways with Guides

TripPix: Two Oregon trips this year

• 130329 Spring Break in Oregon- Beach & Trees <https://goo.gl/photos/dZ8coBtGfk2qnhdPA>

• 130908 Volcanic Observatory; Belknap Hot Springs; Clear Lake <https://goo.gl/photos/irfGgLsNXPSjFfie9>
• 130909 Lava Butte and Big Obsidian Flow <https://goo.gl/photos/LKV9tMBZaU4gX1V88>
• 130910 Metolius River, etc. <https://goo.gl/photos/coXdo7Czv3o1jgNV6>
• 130911 Redmond Caves; Mt. Bachelor; Elk Lake; High Desert Museum <https://goo.gl/photos/AXW7zciVkx1zKgY89>
• 130913 Lower Canyon Creek campground <https://goo.gl/photos/QpDqVnvjReva7sQ89>

Oregon is a very beautiful state--and we are determined to do more exploring there.  Thanks, Henry & Miriam!

Mark_ 
21 November 2016

The service I have been using to host my online pictures has changed its interface: I cannot share all of my albums at once; they must be shared individually.  This is how I solve that.  (Those numbers are YYMMDD dates.)

Hiking to Delicate Arch

Today's activity was a 3-mile hike to one of the Moab area's signature features. An important part of this was a good steep climb up a sandstone slickrock face. (Cindy thinks a quarter-mile; I might have gone for a _third_. It was long, and it was steep.)

The arch itself is almost unbelievable. On the one hand, it's a large freestanding structure that looks like it should not exist at all--and may not forever, anyway. On the other hand, its setting is such that abundant magical scenery is in the view beyond it.

The hike is pretty strenuous, made more so by winds that came up, threatening to toss us off the rocky ledge that was the last push to the arch. It wasn't really quite dangerous as such, but did tend to enforce a certain awareness. It was in our faces on the way back down--and we ate a fair amount of the same sand responsible for the arches and the other fanciful contours of the surrounding scenery.

It felt like 40+ m.p.h. with gusts to quite a bit more. My Tilley hat's double leashes got a real workout--and I never worried about it.

All excellent!


Mark_
_Arcadia_, Moab, UT.