Midwest or bust

 Traveling has been pretty easy.     I hit the smoke about Bozeman, Montana and it has stayed with me.   Today, in Minnesota, it is clearing off some.

Wyoming was pretty... no more mountains, and lots of straight rolling hills.   I was planning to stay at a State Park, but didn't have reservations.    I drove 6 miles off the highway to the park.  At the entrance I was told there were probably sites available but I would have to call the reservation system to find out, and reserve a site.   My phone just said Call Failed every time I tried to call, even when I was somewhere that showed I had 3 bars.    I finally gave up, drove back to the highway and decided to find a motel for the night.    I stopped in Moorcraft, WY to get fuel, and Trip Advisor said the Cozy Motel was rated pretty well (newest review was a year ago), so I drove to the Motel.   It looked REALLY sad, and there was no place to park Waddles, AND the No Vacancy sign was out.   So I continued on to Sundance, WY.  and found a motel for the night.    Those of you following my SPOT tracker may also have noticed that it was not working well in Wyoming.    After rebooting my phone a couple times it started working again.   The motel I stayed in had internet, but it was a wide-open connection so I opted not to use it to update the blog.   I decided I was in a vortex while in Wyoming!

I started early yesterday, heading into South Dakota.   Another smokey, pretty sunrise.

If you have been to South Dakota you may have stopped at the infamous WALL DRUG.   It is hard to miss.   There were at least 20 billboards (large and small) for every mile along I-90, advertising everything from cowboy boots, free coffee and donuts for newlyweds to gold mining.  Pretty much anything you could possibly want.    I didn't stop there.

There must be a Corvette Rally going on somewhere.   At least 50 of them passed me on the highway during the day.     The speed limit in Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota is 70-80 mph.  Waddles and I waddled along at a lazy 60mph.    The advantage of driving on the freeway, rather than 2-lane back roads, is that I don't feel like I am hold anyone up.      The other interesting thing in South Dakota was there are LONG sections of freeway that are narrowed to 1 lane for construction, but nowhere did I see any work actually being done.    They are clearly rebuilding and improving the roads, but no one was there!   Seems odd.

And gas is much cheaper in the midwest than the west coast!

We made it across South Dakota and stayed at Blue Mounds State Park, Minnesota.   It was a very nice little park.   Lots of sites available (though I had to make reservations over the phone, the entrance booth was closed by the time I got there.

Another  red sunrise.   I wandered a little bit and saw buffalo roaming in the park, and heard lots of birds that I don't normally encounter in the west.    It was nice.

I know you can't see them in the photo below, but there are buffalo out on that ridge.

Today I will make it to my Nieces place in Wisconsin.    

Montana!

 It is a long way across Montana, and BEAUTIFUL.  Yesterday was lovely driving, for a short while across Northern Idaho, and then into Montana.    It was recommended that I stop in St Regis for a Huckleberry Milkshake, so I did.     The milkshake was pretty good (not as good as Troutlake, Washington Huckleberry Milkshakes, but worth the stop.  

 I also ran across this... The owner of Raven was pulling out as I came back to Waddles, so I flagged her down and we had a lovely visit.    Another single woman pulling a tiny trailer (although she was accompanied by 4 dogs)!.

My car turned over 140,000 mile today.... and purring like a kitten.

I spent the night at Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park between Butte and Bozeman.   It was a lovely little campground.   The Cavern tours were all filled up for the day, but I did drive to the top and took in some pretty views.

Got an early start this morning, and the air quality is pretty bad.  Looks like smoke coming in from somewhere to the north.    Made for a great sunrise. 

I am shooting for the North Dakota border today.  This is a quick stop where I have some internet connection to check mail and update the blog.

Stay tuned!

And we are off!

 Day 1 is under our belt.  It was a mostly easy day to Northeastern Washington.    Waddles and I got a pretty early start.

Everything on Waddles is working perfectly, all my food fit nicely into the fridge.  Early on I had 14 motorcycles pass me on the highway and I had the thought that they might be heading for Sturgus, South Dakota, which I will be passing through.  I had to look up the dates to see if that gathering would be going on when I was there, and fortunately it is not.   That would be a madhouse I would rather miss!

The drive was nice and in familiar territory so I don't yet really feel like I am on a big road trip.   Tomorrow will change that feeling I am sure.

Tonight I am mooch docking in front of a friend"s house.  Went out for a lovely dinner with friends and had a good visit.   It will be early to bed, and early to rise for this girl!  Tomorrow I head into uncharted territory.  

It appears that comments are being posted as Anonymous, including my responses, so I ask that you include at least your first name in your comments.  THANKS   I will do the same.

Planning

 After a lot of years of just making short trips, of 3-5 days, I am planning another long road trip to visit my sister and her family in the midwest.    I am thinking about how different this planning is, than it was the first long trip I took.  That trip, in 2016, was RIGHT after I purchased Waddles.   It was all new to me, and I had only taken her out for a short 2-night outing close to home.    What I remember about that planning experience is I wanted to make sure I had EVERYTHING I might need.   I had a big camp table, a Coleman stove, lots and lots of food and other do-dads I might need.     What I learned from that experience, and from all the Waddles trips I have gone on since, is that I don't need a lot of stuff.     I feel pretty comfortable with the bare minimum.   Kitchen stuff, some food, a small screen tent for shade, and bug abatement, chair, shower stuff, and clothing.    For this longer trip, I am taking laundry stuff, and extra set of sheets.  No extra stove, big table (only a small folding table), minimum of clothing and 'might need' things. 

I have had my car checked and serviced, I have new tires (because the old ones were very worn), I have had my resident mechanic work on the Waddles wiring because my lights have been acting funny.   Turns out the ground wire on the trailer was brittle and had broken.  It has now been fixed and is working just fine.    Have I mentioned that having resident mechanic is very handy?

I have gone through my entire car, and Waddles, emptied out EVERYTHING and got rid of duplicates and other things I do not need to have.    I am debating about taking some sort of heat source.  I have a small electric heater and a small Heater Buddy propane heater, both of which I have used successfully on past trips.    Because this trip is in July, I don't think I will need heat, but I haven't decided yet.    I did check the Air Conditioner (which I have never really used) and it seems to be working fine.     I have extra fuses, a good spare tire (for both the car and Waddles) and i have AAA on my speed dial, just in case.  I have the trailer registration in hand, my passport (because who knows, I might decide to come home the long way).

I also have a SPOT tracker, for emergencies, and so my family can keep track of where I am.

I have reservations at a KOA Campground near my sister, but plan to just wing it for the rest of the trip.    The small concerns I do have are 1) it is peak vacation season, so campgrounds may be full, and 2) it's gonna be HOT and HUMID in the midwest.    AND I will deal with both of these things.

I have piles; what goes in the car, what goes in the kitchen, what goes in Waddles.  I have books to read, knitting to knit, sketchbooks to draw and paint in, camera to shoot with, binoculars for birding.   

Essentials 

Sorting the kitchen

In the kitchen and the car

Things to do

 

In the car

I have about a week before the trip, and I think I will be ready.  I am excited to be hitting the road with Waddles.   Stay tuned to this blog for trip updates as I go.

What are you doing with your summer?

First outing of ANOTHER season

 It has been a year, exactly, since I posted to this blog.    I apologize for that, but it seems like I have done 'repeat' trips the past few summers, and it didn't seem blog-worthy.    So, this post is once again about my annual trip to the Ladd Marsh Bird Festival in La Grande, Oregon.

I love this festival, and it gives me a chance to go back and visit people I don't see often enough, and to get time on the marsh, which to me is quite magical.

I drove over on Friday and got settled into the Hot Lake RV Park (conveniently located right on the edge of the marsh with lovely showers and a great view).   

View from Waddles

Friday evening I met up with a couple friends for dinner and then attended the evening kick off event, which included a talk about Sandhill Crane Nests, which was pretty interesting.   They are built in the water, sometimes floating, sometimes anchored to the bottom.  They can be 8' across sometimes, and must be rebuilt every year.   Sorry, I don't have any photos of them.

Went to bed early and rose VERY early to get onto the marsh as the sun was coming up.   It is delightful to be on the marsh as it wakes up.

Sunrise over the Marsh

Sunrise over the small fishing pond on the Marsh

I met up with another friend early and we wandered the marsh listening to Marsh Wrens, Common Yellow-Throats, a Bittern, Tree Swallows, Geese, Ducks, and more.      Another friend joined us and we visited a number of the 'stations' where bird experts, with spotting scopes, help see and identify birds.    There was lots of water on the marsh, and I didn't take many photos.

Egret

Tree Swallow

Nesting Tree Swallow

In the afternoon we drove around the area, visiting old familiar places, and ended up at the Haines Steakhouse, which I had not been to in many many years.   It hasn't changed much!

Early to bed for yet another VERY early morning on Sunday.    I had signed up for the Birds & Botany of the Pine Forests field trip.  Same one I did last year because it was a wonderful excursion.

The down side of the area we visited is that it is a popular camping and 4-wheeling area, which kind of kills the mood of a quiet walk in the woods, but it was early enough to not be too bad.

Lunch break

The Forest Service has put out a lot of nesting platforms for Great Grey Owls, because, apparently they are not great nest builders.  These platforms are used every year.   Most are in locations not revealed to anyone, but there are/were 4 which birders could visit, with the caveat that they not be disturbed.   Unfortunately in the past year, 3 of those 4 have been destroyed.   One was hit by lighting, one simply fell down, and the 3rd was being so disturbed by photographers parking themselves under it, and well meaning (I hope) people picking up baby owls that had fledged out of the nest, but were not yet able to fly (this is normal), that the Forest Service took the platform out.    

We were fortunate enough, on our field trip, to get to see, at a distance, the one platform that remains.    There was a female on the nest, and while we were there the male came in and gave her some food.    If the field trip guides had not pointed out where the platform was, it would have been nearly impossible to find.    This is a good thing, as while we were there a couple 4-wheelers drove by (we pretended to be looking at something in a very different direction) and some people who had expressly come out to  photograph the owls and had been looking for days without finding them, came by.    Our guides educated them on the situation and they were very appreciative.   I didn't get any photos of the owls as they were a long way off and my camera lens is not that good.  Along the way we saw lots and lots of flowers in bloom and saw & heard lots and lots of birds.    It was another great field trip and it was nice to be back in the Pine forests.

Here is your overload of flower photos!

Arnica

Camas

Dandelion with Bugs!

Mariposa Lily

Oregon Grape

Shooting Star

Star Flower ?

Wild Iris

Wild Strawberry

We stopped along the creek on our way back to town and it was lovely.

That afternoon I visited a friend on her fabulous deck-with-a-view, where we saw Lazuli Buntings and more.

I went back to Waddles and relaxed after a couple LONG days.    I was sitting inside, unwinding, not paying much attention to outside.    I decided to walk to the showers and this is what I encountered!!!   It was spectacular.   This is thunderstorm country, so the clouds are amazing.   There are also fires happening up in Canada right now which are sending smoke our way, which always contributes to beautiful sunsets.

Another wonderful Waddles trip to Ladd Marsh!    I will try to do better on blogging this year!