Sun and Sand Travelers

Boarding the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria

It has been forever since my last post but no worries, we haven’t dropped off the face of the earth due to a major calamity, we’ve just been very, very busy.  This is the visiting phase of our journey and the reason we set out on this trip to begin with.  After leaving the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, we boarded a ferry from Port Angeles to downtown Victoria, BC.  The weather was spectacular and snow-capped mountains were visible in every direction.   The border crossing upon arrival in Victoria was a breeze and before we knew it we were driving past the Parliament Buildings and the Empress Hotel on our way north to Nanaimo to visit my father. Continue reading →

Mt Olympus and the Olympic Range

Wow,  4000 miles of driving and we have finally made it to the northwestern tip of the lower 48.    Only by leaving from Key West instead of Orlando could the trip have been longer.    We’ve spent the last 4 nights at a campground just outside Olympic NP and it has been fabulous.  The weather has cleared and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed exploring this wild and rugged area.   Continue reading →

Twin 1000 yr old Douglas firs in old growth rainforest

After spending a couple of days in Missoula,  we once again hit the road to our next stop in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho.  Leonard has an old navy buddy who lives there and we were able to spend a couple of days with them and their family.  It was fun reconnecting after several years and we unknowingly timed it just right and were able to watch Steve and his band play great blue grass at our RV resort.  We really liked Coeur D’Alene, a pretty little mountain town on a beautiful lake. Continue reading →

Garnet Ghost Town

We love to explore old ghost towns and when we heard that the largest, best preserved ghost town in Montana was located about 45 min. from our RV park in Missoula, we didn’t hesitate to go explore it.    The town was originally built in the late 1800’s by miners seeking gold and other precious metals and at its peak it had about 1000 residents.    By 1905 most of the large strikes had been depleted and the town only had 150 residents.  Then a fire burned down many of the buildings and by the end of the Great Depression the town was deserted. Continue reading →

We arrived here yesterday after a short journey from Custer SP.  We were intending to visit for just a few hours and then carry on, but there is a gorgeous KOA campground right at the entrance to the Park that was calling our name, so  we decided to stay for the night.    The view is unparalleled, the weather incredible and we like it here so much that we’re going to stay for another night. Continue reading →

Custer State Park abounds with wildlife and while we were there we saw everything from white tail and mule deer, pronghorn, big horn sheep, marmots, wild burros to buffalo.    It’s similar to Yellowstone in its abundance of wildlife but without the geysers.   Continue reading →

Disappearing into the mountain wall!

The Needles Highway is a spectacular 14 mile road that gets its name from the needle-like granite formations which seem to pierce the horizon along the highway.  Getting to our campground located at Sylvan Lake, which was at the end of the Needles Hwy, was an experience that we will never forget.

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Summer White House of Calvin Coolidge

We’re going to spend 5 nights here in Custer State Park but because we had to cancel our original reservations we arrived here and just hoped for a spot.  There are 7 different campgrounds in this 71,000 acre park and the best they could do was have us move around to 4 of the different campgrounds.  Oh well, at least we’re in and this way we get the full feel of the park. Continue reading →

Badlands in the spring.

One of the goals for our trip has been met and we have arrived at Custer State Park just south of Rapid City, SD.    We took the scenic route and detoured through Badlands National Park,  which was spectacular.   Continue reading →

Kitchy Americana at its best.

We’re back on the road after a longer than anticipated stay in Rochester, MN. We’ll continue with our quest to experience new sights and see what we find along the way.     Our route west had led us to that folk art wonder on the prairie, the Corn Palace.   Continue reading →

Descending down the original entrance to the cave

We had the opportunity to go on a ranger led tour of part of Mammoth Cave, which is the largest cave in the world with over 400 miles of surveyed passageways.   The cold air rushes out to great us as we approach the cave entrance and inside the temperature is a chilly 54F.    Continue reading →

Nothing like a roaring fire!

Ahhh, the sight of a roaring fire in one of the two huge fireplaces greets us as we enter the lobby of the historic Grove Park Inn.  Built in 1913 by Edwin Grove, a pharmaceutical magnate from Tennessee, who got the concept for the Inn after a visit to the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park. Continue reading →