Yosemite National Park

We went to Yosemite National Park today.  We rode the bus from the campground into the park and used their free shuttle buses to move around inside the park.  It was a beautiful day with a high temperature in the 70's and sunshine. It was also a free admission day and a Saturday - all of which brought the people into the park.  We took the 2 hour Valley Floor tour on with open air seating and a park ranger guide on board.  It was a beautiful ride; we saw Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil Falls, El Capitan and the tunnel view of the valley among other sites.  Pictures of the falls are hard to see because the water is so close to the color of the mountain.  After we arrived at the campground Thursday afternoon we needed to get the oil changed in the truck and do laundry.  The closest dealer for the oil change was an hour away and they worked us in yesterday.  We had a nice lunch at Black Bear Diner which was a short walk.  We have not had a good cell signal for a few days now but we do have a good wifi signal at the campground.

Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA

Today we visited Lassen Volcanic National Park one of the lesser known parks in California.  It is home to 4 types of volcanoes: shield, composite, cinder cone and plug dome.  We saw Reflection Lake, Summit Lake, Mount Lassen and a waterfall among the varied landscape of the park.  The snow on Mt Lassen is from the winter snow that has not yet melted down into the valley.

Redwoods National Park

Today we went to Redwoods National Park.  The redwoods are amazing.  We rode a gondola up to the top of the mountain above the trees at the Mystery of the Trees in the park.  It was beautiful. They also have a trail with the story of Paul Bunyan. There are several state parks within this national park and much to see.  There are several places where you can drive through a redwood tree, however, the one that was recommended to us had been carved out many years ago when cars were much smaller!  There is very limited cell service here but we have cable tv and internet. The campground has a protected area full of redwood trees and ferns; a beautiful walk in the woods.

Crater Lake National Park

More snow! We did not expect to see any snow on this trip. Today we went to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. It had snowed there earlier this week and this was the first day this week that the trolley was running.  We timed it right and took the trolley around the rim.   It was about 40 degrees at the rim. One of the rangers was on board relating the history and interesting facts about the park.  It was even more beautiful with the snow.  On the way here yesterday a tire blew out on the camper. Paul was able to change it safely but didn't trust the spare so we took the time to find a place to buy a tire.  After they had put the new tire on the camper he saw a piece of wood in the spare so we bought 2 tires.  We were thankful he saw that and were really nice in taking of our problem.

Mt St Helens

Thursday brought some sunshine and a little rain which became fog in the mountains.  We visited Mount St Helens in Washington.  The visitor centers and observation center were very interesting with their exhibits and short film recounting the volcanic eruption of the mountain on May 18, 1980 and the natural regrowth.  Of course the losses were devastating for a very large area surrounding the mountain.  We walked up some of the paths where we could get a better view but the fog was too thick to actually see the mountain.

Mount Rainier

On Tuesday we went on a tour of Mount Rainier.  It is raining on and off in Washington which is much needed and helping clear the smoke from the fires.  It's cooler than we are used to and we only brought flannel shirts and light jackets so we "layered up" - not pretty! It was a pleasure for Paul to let someone else do the driving and we saw so much more than if we had driven there.  We walked a couple trails in the rain.  It was snowing at the Paradise Visitor Center which is about 5000 feet altitude.  Everyone was "playing" in the snow!  Because of the rain and snow we could not actually see the mountain but it was a good day.  So we saw snow in Montana and Washington in the summer - an unexpected surprise.  We were expecting to see and smell smoke from all the fires.

Montana

There was a change in the weather in Montana; a cool down bringing rain along with snow in the mountains.  This will help reduce the smoke from all the fires here.  It's not clear how much help but here near Butte we were told that the smoke has been replaced by clouds in the sky.   We were in Hardin, Montana (near Billings) last night and are at Deer Lodge, Montana tonight.  We had rain on and off yesterday and not quite as much today but we also saw snow in the mountains (over 5000 feet elevation)

along I-90 between Bozeman and Butte with some snowflakes falling on us.  The temperature was in the 40s all day and is forecast to fall into the 30s tonight.  Now that the system has passed more mild temperatures will return.

Devils Tower Wyoming

We went on a hayride from the campground around the owner's ranch near sunset last night.  After that we watched the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" which was filmed here 40 years ago. Today we went to Devil's Tower and walked the 1.3 mile trail around its base.

Road trip

We left home on Tuesday September 5th heading to Jacksonville to visit Paul's brother in the hospital. He was having issues with throat cancer treatment. Also Hurricane Irma was churning in the Atlantic with an uncertain track. Evacuations were in place for southern Florida. Bill was improving so we left there Thursday morning in heavy traffic northbound and busy gas stations.  We were able to make a reservation at a campground in Dothan, Alabama. At that point we decided we would go 300 miles a day reserving campgrounds each evening for the next night. Meanwhile we were watching predictions for Irma and keeping in touch with family.  We kept going staying in Tupelo, Mississippi,  Perryville, Missouri,  Kansas City, Missouri, North Sioux City, South Dakota, Midland, South Dakota and today we arrived at Devil'sTower, Wyoming.  Thankfully as Hurricane Irma battered the state of Florida our family and friends stayed safe and had minimal damage. Our houses survived the storm but were without electricity for a few days.  Prayers for all those who lost so much.