Trip - Day 6

July 18, 2017

My traveling companion suggested we arise at 5 AM this morning, in hopes of seeing more wildlife, as we went on our way.  One of our destinations was the Lamar Valley http://yellowstone.net/intro/lamar-valley/, where wolves are known to linger.

It was dark at 5 AM, but by the time we headed out on the road, the sun was already coming up.  We had seen a few elk bucks in our area, but this morning we saw a small herd, about 8 elk cows less than a mile from our cabin.  A good start!

When we arrived at Hayden Valley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayden_Valley, the traffic was stopped, by the Bison crossing the road.  This was a real rush, to have Bison, large and small, walking so close you could reach out and touch them.  They stopped and stared at us, and then went on their way.  This was the first time we could see calves well.  Although we regularly see large herds in the Hayden Valley, away from the road, I wonder if the cows and calves mostly graze out of sight.

We did not see too much more, even in the Lamar Valley.  Occasional Bison, but we saw one antelope with a good set of horns, and additional elk cows.

We went on to Mammoth Springs https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/exploremammoth.htm, and walked in a short ways from the bottom, and then went to the top, and walked down quite a ways so we could see the main terrace.  This is a beautiful geological feature. Going up was not so bad. 

We decided to take the route from Mammoth to Norris to Canyon to Lake Lodge, even though there was advertised road work, with expectations of traffic delays.  We were delayed 15 minutes or so, but were at the end of the line, and I have to think those at the start of the line were delayed 30 minutes or more.

We stopped briefly at Sheepeater Cliff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheepeater_Cliff, which was a sheer cliff, and understandably, if sheep for some reason went over the edge, they were goners.

We stopped near Norris to go through the National Park Service Ranger Museum.  It was interesting, including that in the late 1800, the US Army ran the park, and set up some of the standards and traditions that last today.  Included in the history was the fact that former President Gerald Ford was a park ranger in 1936, and later, his son was a park ranger for a while.

We were within a couple of miles of Lake Village and saw the congestion in the road. The first ranger to arrive to direct traffic was an emergency medical services ranger in an ambulance.  I guess when an event like this happens, whoever arrives first takes charge!  We did not know what it was, but someone said “Moose alert.”  So, my traveling companion stopped, and down the hill we went, only she tripped, twisted her ankle slightly, and scraped her hand. She did not want medical care, and did want to see the moose. There were two: an adult with antlers, and either a cow, or more probably, a young moose.  So this might have been a cow and a calf.  They were at a medium distance from the road: not road side, but as close as or a little closer than some of the elk we have seen, and much closer that the distant Bison herds (not on the road.)  We both got a good look, and then moved on. 

We had a late lunch at Lake Village, and then headed to the cabins.  As we arrived at the back of the Lake Hotel area, there was the tell-tale crowd of animal watchers. This time, fairly close up, it was an elk bull with an enormous rack of antlers.  Gorgeous.

So, we arrived at the cabin a little after 3:30 PM and unloaded the vehicle.  Once again, the cabin was at a pleasant temperature.  We opened windows, and curtains on 2 sides, but on the west or south side, the sun comes in so that curtain remained closed. But with that window open and the one across the way open, we have been treated to a wonderfully refreshing breeze.

Some might say we should be out doing something, or just enjoying the fresh air. If we had a porch, I would do that. I could walk down to the lake, even.  But we are both very tired, and have been to every spot we wanted to see in the park.  We have seen elk, Bison, moose and antelope, as well as an assortment of birds.  At the discovery center, we saw Grizzlies and Wolves.  We still have a 3 day trip back to Lubbock, and no one can blame us if we want to rest.  Because, after all, that is what a vacation is for!

A Nice Trip to Albuquerque

A friend and I went to Albuquerque for a quick Labor Day weekend trip. It was a nice trip. We had lunch at http://www.clinescorners.com/index.html.  It was a good, greasy spoon diner lunch. Yummm.

We stayed at the Nativo Lodge http://www.nativolodge.com/.  It was on the one hand, just another hotel. On the other hand, it was decorated with Native American art, had a beautiful lobby, and staff who were dedicated to ensuring the guests were well tended to. It was a nice place to stay, and not inconvenient to the museums and activities we planned to attend. And the price was right.

We went to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center http://www.indianpueblo.org/.  This was an amazing experience that explained about the Pueblo Culture, the interference of the Anglo Culture, and how the Pueblos are working to reclaim their culture. This was really fascinating to me.

We went to Old Town http://www.visitalbuquerque.org/travel-tools/neighborhoods/historic-old-town/, and went shopping and had dinner at the Church Street Café https://www.churchstreetcafe.com/. The food was good. 

We also went to the Biopark Zoo, Aquarium, and took the train rides through the Botanical Gardens http://www.cabq.gov/culturalservices/biopark.  This was an all day event, and was so interesting and enjoyable.

It was a good weekend trip. My travel companion was easy to be with. The activities were great.  It was a nice Labor Day Weekend trip.

Charles Kuralt's "America"

I recently picked up a non-fiction book to read, and enjoyed it so much, even though it was not for one of my book clubs, I decided to make a conscious effort to read more non-fiction.  So, low and behold, the last time I was in the library, I was walking to the back, and randomly went down a row of non-fiction book shelves, and saw Charles Kuralt.  On my way back to the front of the library, I made a point to go down the same row, and I picked up Charles Kuralt's America.

For those of you who do not know who Charles Kuralt http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/325153/Charles-Kuralt was, we was a television reporter who worked for CBS, and was most frequently seen on the Sunday Morning show. His segment was entitled "On the Road with Charles Kuralt" because he would travel around the country in a recreational vehicle, long before they were really, really common, and do interesting stories about America.

The book I read, Charles Kuralt's America http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/68402-1, was written by him after he retired. He spent a year traveling to various spots in the country, spending more or less a month in each spot.  I have to say, it was a most enjoyable book.  He went to several places I have been to:  the Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico, the Appalachians of North Carolina, the coast of Maine, Vermont, New York City.  And they way he talked about the other places, and the people he met, lead me to believe that I would enjoy those places as much as he did, because the places I had been were described by him so winningly.  Even New York City. He commented that New Yorkers do not live in New York city, they live in their own little village or area of New York City.  When my niece lived in Brooklyn, she described it very much that way, which made it seem much more pleasant, like home.

What he did was more than reporting on a location, or describing the sights or writing about people. When he did was report on the location and the people, and the character of both, personalizing it so the beauty, uniqueness, the spirit and heart of his subjects reached out and touched us through the airwaves.  His manner was gently, unassuming, charming.  He was a mild mannered person. This came through in his reports. But he was very insightful, had depth of character and depth of understanding and caring for the people about whom he reported. He did not exploit people or places in his reports.  I sometimes think he held back, maybe just a little, to help preserve the uniqueness of fragile places.  He could afford to do that. His stories were not about "scoops" but they were about the heart and soul of this country.  And he did capture that, time and time again.

This was truly a very enjoyable book.  I know I will read more by Charles Kuralt.  He was, and still is, a national treasure.

Vacations experiences

Last year, in the autumn, I took a driving trip to northeast New Mexico.  It was a short trip, but filled with long hours of comfortable, back roads but good highway driving, sightseeing, good eating, comfortable hotel time, and in general just nice, relaxing time.

The leisure, release and relaxation I enjoyed on that trip sustained me for quite some time, and even now, as I recall it, I can  also recall the relaxed feeling I experienced.

That is what a vacation should engender: nothing rushed, nothing stressful or hectic, nothing untoward.

This past June I took a trip that was very nice, but not as relaxing.  There were some issues: driving an unfamiliar car, driving in a big city instead of small towns and country roads, an airline issue which was minimal from my perspective, but still, a little stressful.  It was still a great vacation, but not as refreshing as my trip to New Mexico last autumn.

As we go through life, we can appreciate the changes we make, and what works and does not work for us.  I know myself, and driving trips are so much more pleasant for me.  Having control works for me.  Back roads and country atmospheres work for me.

But, if I did not experience other environments, other changes, I would not appreciate what works for me.

On San Juan Island

On San Juan Island, the proprietors with whom I dealt were all service conscious. One even offered tips of what to do, how to get there, the best deals, not her business. Tourism is their bread and butter, and they seem to be very conscious of this. I have to think, though, that Friday Harbor started as a weekend getaway community, and still supports that, as the Friday and Sunday ferry traffic is listed as very heavy. Of course, this would be true for tourism, as well as for weekend getaway residents.

I am told that Steve Miller http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Miller_(musician) is said to live on the island, although he is not always in residence.

I have to wonder at the people who ply a trade such as naturalist on a tour boat. I can not see that as being a position with good benefits, unless the tour company is very large. I wonder if Washington State offers group insurance rates to eco-tourism or tourism companies, as part of an incentive to attract good tourist company employees, and retain them. Do these people do other jobs in the off season, or even during the peak season? This might be the kind of work a budding author would do: the influx of new people, comments, ideas would be great, and working on a tourist job 6-10 hours a day, with no stress to go home with might make for a very comfortable and creative life style, from a creative perspective.

This is the kind of job that might allow someone to combine their passion for the outdoors, nature, sailing, teaching, with a vast amount of freedom. I wonder what kind of income it provides.
　
As we did the whale watch, we saw Baker Mountain http://www.athropolis.com/arctic-facts/fact-baker.htm one of the Cascade Mountains. We were told it holds the record snowfall amount for any mountain. I will have to look up that fact. I know people like to boast of records.

Musings on Seattle

If I return to the Seattle area to visit, I think I would do things differently: I would drive onto the ferry to San Juan Island with my vehicle, and stay a couple of days: in addition to the whale watching, and general tourist trips, there a couple of historic sights, state parks with beaches, and a lavender farm to tour. And, maybe even a sea kayak tour. That would not be a bad place to spend a couple of days.

And, I would want to visit the Carbon River Rainforest at the north east corner of Mt Rainier National Park. I would probably stay in a motel closer to the park, maybe in or near Tacoma vs. Seattle.

The last morning of my stay, I actually had time to do more sight seeing, but was not sure what I wanted to do. I considered the Boeing Fields Museum but was not really interested. I looked at the Woodland Park Zoo, but really, most zoos depress me. And it galls me to think that in addition to the zoo entrance fee, the city charged parking fees. I understand parking fees in the downtown area: it makes good economic sense to encourage people who can, to use public transportation, bicycles, and to discourage less driving. It makes good economic sense for land developers to use odd lots of land in the area, to turn a high profit, pay tax dollars, and provide a public service. But the zoo is many, many miles north of downtown. I have driven around the area a couple of times, and have seen no sign of public transportation (although it probably exists, and I do not know what to look for.) So, while this may be in keeping with a city wide policy to charge for parking at public places to decrease automobile usage, it smacks of pure greed. Fortunately, there are other areas of the park that offer non-pay amenities: walking, picnicking, park bench seating, and these do not have parking lots that do require a fee.

I sat in the shade at Green Lake Park, with the breeze blowing off the water. I had on a light jacket and gloves. Even on the ocean, traveling quickly, it was not quite that cold, but of course, I had the mitigating effects of the sun on the ocean. Over and over we were told that this has been a very wet year, and even that day, there were showers in the area, although the cirrus and cumulus clouds did not suggest rain at the park. However, there may have been rain elsewhere in the region.

Interesting, everywhere I went in Seattle, even in the city park,  it was filled with people who have heavy accents. That is expected in the tourist spots, but in the city park, I listened to a Bulgarian who has been here 8 and a half years speak to a Lithuanian who has been here 26 years. Interesting.

As cold as it was, I saw swimmers in the lake. I think the people in Seattle celebrate the sunshine. And, it is the beginning of June.

Seattle: What I Saw, What I Did

I had a wonderful trip to Seattle recently, and this blog entry will recount some of that trip:

I went up the Space Needle http://www.spaceneedle.com/, built for the 1962 World's Fair.  Interesting, as I was reading about the preparations for the Seattle World's Fair, it reminded me of the story "The Devil and the White City" in which it was apparent that the preparations for the world's fair in Chicago were behind schedule and not done completely by the fair's opening.  It seems, the same happened in Seattle.

Another stop was Pike Place Market http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/explore_the_market/market_map.  This was a lot of fun, and a maze of variety and specialty stores.  I was able to have a good seafood meal at a restaurant with a great view of the harbor.

I drove to Mount Rainier National Park http://www.nps.gov/mora/index.htm. I went in at the southwest Nisqually Entrance, and left via route 410, out of the northeast section of the park.

On Mt. Rainier, except for ravens and Stellar Jays, the only wildlife I saw was a bobcat, crossing the road. That was either on route 123 or route 410, the less populated, less visited part of the park. That was on June 3, 2011. Interestingly, as I drove back to Seattle from Anacortes, on June 5, 2011, from my trip to San Juan Island for whale watching, I heard that route 123 was closed to one lane in some area, due to a snow slide. I can imagine it. On some parts of route 123, the height of the snow along the side of the road was more than double the height of the Ford Fusion I had rented and was driving. With the warming weather, these cliffs of snow undoubtedly became unstable, and slid.

At Mount Rainier, I had dinner in the Paradise Inn. This is an old style inn, with huge stone fireplaces, and the dining room had large windows, huge pillars, and great service. 

I spent the better part of a day on the Seattle waterfront.  My primary purpose was to go to the Seattle Aquarium http://www.seattleaquarium.org/, and take a harbor tour http://www.argosycruises.com/publiccruises/harbor.cfm. Both of these activities were really interesting.  The aquarium is like many such establishments, which are now involved in conservation and research efforts.  The harbor tour included information about the city as well as the harbor.

I took the Washington State Ferry http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/index.cfm from Anacortes to San Juan Island, http://www.visitsanjuans.com/ Friday Harbor, for a whale watch ride http://www.watchwhales.com/.

On the whale watch trip out of Friday Harbor into Puget Sound, south of San Juan Island, the viewing was good. We saw an adult and a juvenile bald eagle, and an aerie. We saw common murre, rhinoceros auklets, and black cormorants. There were multiple gulls, but I did not identify the specials.

We were treated to a wonderful demonstration of blowing and breaching by minke whales. We saw porpoise, harbor seals, a California sea lion, and more than one Stellar seal lion. The tour guides, San Juan Excursions, even gave out rain checks, based on the fact that we did not see Orca, although there was nothing in their literature stating that we were guaranteed to see Orca. The naturalist said the rain check did not expire, and could be redeemed years later. 

I spent many hours just driving around the city of Seattle.  I drove through Chinatown http://www.seattlechinatowntour.com/, but did not tour it. 

I drove by Safeco Field http://www.seattlechinatowntour.com/, and Qwest Field http://www.qwestfield.com/.  The most amazing thing about these stadia is that they are side by side in downtown Seattle!

I went to Woodland Park, but did not go to the zoo http://www.zoo.org/.  Woodland Park http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?id=292 is a high end park: with a trail for bikers, walkers, strollers, and the like.  It had a swimming area. People can fish from the banks. There is a golf course and tennis courts in the park. It is a nice place to sit and chill. 

There is more to tell. As I do, hopefully, you will not be bored, but will enjoy the information