U.P., Up, & Away!

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We’d never been to the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) of Michigan before, and July seemed like a good time to travel north. So, we hit the road. We thought maybe it’d be cooler than the heat wave at home. But not so much. Add in smokey air from the Canadian wildfires and it wasn’t that different from the weather back in New England.

We left home on a Sunday and headed north through Vermont. After an early dinner at Burlington Beer Company, we checked in with the host of our Harvest Hosts site at Tanneberger Veterinary Hospital in St. Albans, Vermont. We parked overnight up the hill in back of the hospital.

On Monday morning, after the first of many visits to the closest Walmart, we pulled up at the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail for a bike ride. It took a little sleuthing to find the parking area. Apparently you have to drive up the trail itself to find parking. Anyway, it was a nice quiet ride.

After the ride, on the recommendation of our previous night’s host, Mark stopped in at Trailside Bakery for some local dairy chocolate milk, a squash pastry, and a molasses-ginger cookie. All happily consumed. 🙂

Before lunch, we crossed the midpoint between the equator and the north pole. Then the Canadian border. After lunch, we visited the Ecomuseum Zoo just west of Montreal. A cramped little zoo on a very hot day. Hopefully, our admission fee will help pay for some upgrades. The best sighting there was possibly a Green Heron (no photo) perched free in the trees above the Gyrfalcons’ cage.

We arrived at our KOA (Kampgrounds of America) campsite in Horton, Ontario, in time for dinner.

In the morning, as we headed toward Parry Sound, Ontario, we entered Algonquin Provincial Park. At the Welcome Center we discovered a beautiful totem pole carved by Algonquin Elder Dan Bowers more than ten years ago.

A little farther down the road, we stopped at Spruce Bog Boardwalk. Mark ran and I walked the boardwalk loop. From that parking lot, we followed a path leading to a second trail. The Lookout Trail led up to a cliff with an expansive view of the surrounding area. I was very happy to catch a glimpse of a Golden-crowned Kinglet that morning.

By late afternoon, we arrived at our next KOA site in Seguin, Ontario, just outside of Parry Sound, the birthplace of Bobby Orr. A visit to his Hall of Fame was on our shortlist.

Smokey skies gave everything an eerie yellow glow the next day. But that didn’t put a damper on our plans in Parry Sound. We walked/ran along a waterfront trail while we waited for the Hall of Fame to open. One section was lined with colorful painted rocks, so I added our Birthday Rocks for a photo op.

Mark went farther down the path than I walked and enjoyed a surprise sighting of a deer and fawn. Meanwhile, on a side trail, I had a close encounter with a fox and had to clap my hands and yell to scare it away.

The Hall of Fame was worth the wait — lots of memorabilia and a hanging model of the flying Bobby Orr from the Stanley Cup Final goal in 1970.

Then we crossed over the river and had lunch at Trestle Brewing.

We left Parry Sound after lunch and headed northwest. The air was fairly smokey, but we found Fielding Memorial Park and Bird Sanctuary in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, and decided to stop. It was late afternoon, but we encountered several interesting creatures. A pair of pigeons that wanted to make friends with us, a chipmunk that probably would’ve climbed up my leg if I let it, a Black-crowned Night Heron with its back to us, fishing, many Mallards, and a Great Blue Heron in the distance. Not to mention a beautiful bug or two.

We went back to Fielding the next morning after a stay at Holiday Beach Campground in Whitefish, Ontario. The campground was not nearly as fancy as the name implies, but the owner had a good long story to tell us about the flooding that nearly wiped them out and the slow recovery efforts they’ve been making. At Fielding, we saw some of the same creatures again, plus a young American Redstart, a Cedar Waxwing, and a red squirrel.

That afternoon, we crossed back into the U.S.and learned something new in the process. There were only two lanes open at the border and we chose what ended up being the slower of the two lines, of course. When it was our turn, we learned what was slowing things down. Did you know that if you bring oranges and avocados from the U.S. into Canada, you can’t bring them back into the U.S.? We didn’t. There’s a whole list of foods you can’t bring over the border and this particular agent was determined to do her job. After throwing out some perfectly good food, we arrived back in the U.S. at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

The second place on our shortlist for this trip was Mackinac Island. So we pulled into our KOA site in St. Ignace, Michigan, that evening and settled in for a two-night stay. In the morning, we left before six a.m. to claim a parking spot at Shepler’s Mackinac Island Ferry lot. We took our bikes and caught the 7:30 a.m. ferry to the island. No motorized vehicles are allowed on the island. Only bikes and horse-drawn carriages and carts.

We spent the morning riding the 8.2 mile perimeter of the island. We stopped for birds , an overlook arch, historical markers, and a nature trail or two. A very nice ride! And the first time I’d seen, or at least identified, a Common Merganser duck.

We parked our bikes back where we’d started and then walked the downtown area, browsing the shops. One gallery had a collection of lovely painted rocks for sale. (Another photo op for our Birthday Rocks.) Lunch at Great Turtle Brewery & Distillery was very good and then, after a little more shopping and checking out the Fort Mackinac which is set back, uphill from the downtown area, we caught the 2:30 p.m. ferry back to St. Ignace. Just as it started to rain.

On Saturday morning, we chased down a decent place for a walk/run, rejecting our first two finds and driving a couple of hours west instead to Manistique Boardwalk in Manistique, Michigan. The paved path ran along the shore of Lake Michigan and US-2 (Top of the Lake Scenic Byway aka Lake Michigan Circle Tour). It was windy and so many swallows flew around among a group of blackbirds there, but never landed for a photo. Oh, well. I did catch a Common Yellowthroat and a Cedar Waxwing, each with a beak-ful!

I also passed a group of protesters across the road playing loud music to get attention and had to use my long lens to read their signs.

When Mark finished his run, he met a couple, Harry and Jolene, from Michigan, who recommended we stop at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, even if we weren’t Packers fans. So, we did. Huge pro-shop!

That night, we stayed in the parking lot of Kerrigan Brothers Winery in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, where we bought a superb bottle of Cabernet for my Dad. In the morning we set out for More Brewing in Villa Park, Illinois. We’ve stopped there before and were surprised to find the beginning of the Great Western Trail, which is right next to More Brewing, under some kind of construction. We walked/ran the trail anyway. Then, lunch at More Brewing and we were off to our reserved KOA site in Kanakee, Illinois.

Our destination the next day was Muncie, Indiana, to visit my cousin Jamie and her family. While checking the map for a good place to walk/run, I discovered an Artwalk in Rensselaer, Indiana. We had to see it. We picked up a Jasper County Mural Tour brochure at the welcome center in the quaint downtown area and walked around to view the more than fifty murals. The tour officially started in their Potawatomi Park.

So many beautiful, colorful expressions of creativity! Here are a few of our favorites…

After that, we found Fisher Oaks Savanna Nature Preserve in Walcott, Indiana, for a walk/run.

Apparently, the Indigo Bunting makes enough noise to be identified by the Merlin app on my phone, but it doesn’t like to show itself for the camera. This preserve was the first of three venues where I heard the Indigo Bunting, but never saw it. I’ve added it to my “elusive birds” list which previously only included the Red-eyed Vireo. At least there were some beautiful butterflies!

We had a great visit with Jamie, Andy, and Isabella. We missed Sam, who was away at camp. We parked in their driveway overnight, went out to dinner with them to Elm Street Brewing Company, and met several of their neighbors who enjoyed a guided tour inside our van.

In the morning, we headed east, toward home. Rain was in the forecast, so we stopped at Cardinal Greenway Rail Trail just after leaving their house. There, once again, I heard an Indigo Bunting, but never saw it.

After the Greenway, we aimed for Columbus, Ohio. The plan was to see The Odyssey movie and then visit Hoof Hearted Brewing for dinner, before heading to a KOA in Buckley Lake, Ohio, about a half hour outside of Columbus. The movie was fantastic! The brewery was closed. So, we tried out Knotty Pine Brewing instead. Apparently they’d had some technical difficulties recently and had only one of their own beers available. 😦

We never saw any rain in Columbus, but as we got closer to the KOA we could tell that it had rained hard there earlier. Soon after we parked at our campsite, I heard a hawk nearby. My phone app said Cooper’s Hawk. I was excited to find it in a nearby tree and after a brief photo session, I heard more hawks. Three of them approached the first one and they all flew off squawking together. What a sight!

Later on, as it was getting darker, I heard a Red-headed Woodpecker. When I finally found it, it didn’t have a red head. It was a juvenile. And it was certainly acting its age — making all kinds of peeping-cheeping noises and jumping from tree to tree to tree. I did manage to snap a few pictures of it.

That almost made up for missing the Indigo Bunting. Sort of.

At end the day, we finally encountered some rain. A downpour, in fact. Right after I finished folding clean, dry laundry in the laundry room while Mark took a shower in the KOA bathhouse. We ran back to the van together and were dripping wet by the time we got there. I managed to shield most of the dry laundry. Kind of.

Right down the street from the KOA, we’d seen a sign for Buckeye Lake State Park. A perfect spot for a walk/run the next morning. It was a beautiful day! And the Barn Swallows were a bonus!

We spent the morning there and then headed for a KOA campground in Emlenton, Pennsylvania. They were a new-ish KOA and it was quiet. The most activity we saw was when a Great Blue Heron took off from the little pond behind us as we opened the van door in the morning.

There was a chilly fog in the air that morning. As we drove to the main road, the fog formed a thick-walled tunnel around the road. We’d never seen fog do that before. It looked strange, but it didn’t last too long. About ninety minutes later, we stopped at the David S. Ammerman Trail in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. While Mark went for a run, I found a Northern Yellow Warbler and didn’t find the Indigo Bunting that I could clearly hear. Ah, well.

We got to our Harvest Hosts camping site, Jam Room Brewing Company, in Greentown, Pennsylvania, before dinner. They had a nice open area up a hill behind them where there was room for several campers to spread out. They were gracious hosts, but we didn’t like the food and beer options in their restaurant, so we ate in the van and relaxed for a while before bed.

In the morning, after visiting a nearby Walmart and having breakfast while parked in their lot, we continued to head toward home. But we made time to stop for a walk/run on the Heritage Trail near Goshen, New York. What an unexpected treasure trove of wildlife! As usual, I heard more types of birds than I actually saw. I managed to get photos of a few, including a Solitary Sandpiper (fuzzy, faraway pics), a Mute Swan family, and a Downy Woodpecker.

From there, we made our way to Albany, NY, and Fidens Brewing Company, where we enjoyed a late lunch. Marked ordered some cans to-go and we hit the road for home. About three hours later we pulled into our own driveway. Plenty of sunlight left for unloading the van before collapsing in our king-sized bed. Another adventure in the books.

Spring Break

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It was March—the month that so many educational institutions set students free for a week, causing crowds at every warm vacation spot in the country. But we had made plans and were itching to drive south anyway. One of the goals for this trip was to make it all the way to the Florida Keys. We’d driven to Florida a few times before and talked about going there “someday,” but schedules and the long drive deterred us from getting that far south. This time we decided to make reservations well in advance; we were committed.

As usual, we took plenty of side trips, some planned and some chosen on the fly. Our first stop, which is often our last stop at the end of a road trip, was Fiden’s Brewing in Albany. We then crossed into Pennsylvania and stopped at the Bushkill Trailhead of McDade Trail for an afternoon walk. We met a local man there who shared stories of his roadtripping days in the seventies.

The next day, as we drove from Pennsylvania through a corner of West Virginia and into Virginia, we visited Shenandoah Caverns in Quicksburg, Virginia. There were several caverns along the way to choose from, but it was late in the afternoon, so we stopped at the first one we came to. We had a private tour. Stunning cave formations!

We arrived at our campsite in Broadway, Virginia, around suppertime. A little time to relax and observe the wildlife. I spotted one woodpecker that didn’t look familiar, either a juvenile Downy or Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, maybe.

The next day, we found one of several trails at New River State Park in North Carolina for walk.

Later that afternoon, we arrived at our friends’ place in Charlotte, North Carolina. We planned to stay with them for one night (and to deliver some sought after New England and New York brewery favorites to them) on our way to Atlanta, Georgia. We’d eventually catch up with them again at the end of the week for some shared camping in Georgia and Florida.

It rained off and on that night and was still raining when we left them in the morning. But the sun was out by the time we entered Georgia. On the recommendation of our friends, we parked outside of Atlanta and used public transportation. The MARTA system was surprisingly easy to figure out and to use. It did add a bit to our travel time, though.

First stop in Atlanta was the Center for Puppetry Arts. I’d first learned about it from a Facebook post in a writing group I belong to. The Center has a permanent collection of Jim Henson creations. I was intrigued. The exhibit was so informative. Henson’s imagination was mind-blowing! I found myself smiling through the whole exhibit. Muppets, Sesame Street characters, The Dark Crystal, and more.

After that, we walked through Olympic Park and sat outside for lunch. Next stop: Georgia Aquarium. We’d heard so many good things about the aquarium and there were some great exhibits, but it was a bit pricey and overcrowded, so some of its appeal was diminished for us. It felt like being at a Disney theme park during school vacation.

On Saturday, we met up with our friends from Charlotte at a campground in Blythe Island Regional Park, in Brunswick, Georgia. We camped for a night there and then moved on, with our friends, to Wekiwa Springs State Park in Apopka, Florida, for two more nights. Both campgrounds were great places to walk and discover wildlife. Even ticks, unfortunately.

The following Tuesday, we left Apopka and drove to Naples, Florida, to drop in on my Dad for a night. We went out to Mr. Big Fish for an early dinner, took advantage of the free laundry facilities and hot showers.

We left Dad’s the next morning, heading for our southernmost destination. But, of course, we had to stop at Everglades National Park on the way. A Swallow-tailed Kite flew right past us as we drove. That was the second time I’d ever seen one and both times were from out the van window. No pictures. 😦

We decided to bike Shark Valley Trail at the National Park. It felt safer to me than walking next to the alligators. Mark actually rode out farther than I did and had his own intimate moment with an alligator (see pictures below) before riding back to meet me. We saw a Purple Gallinule for the first time. And so many Great Blue Herons and alligators that I didn’t stop to photograph them all. The ride out was easy. Piece o’ cake, I thought. And then we turned around. The headwind was formidable. I could barely go a mile at a time without a rest.

We pulled into our campsite in Summerland Key just before seven in the evening. The place was crowded and hopping. Karaoke in the pub, kids on electric scooters, and hot food in the camp store. The beach, a strip of sand behind some bushes was deserted, probably due to the chilly breeze blowing through.

The National Key Deer Refuge was not too far up the road, so we visited the Upper Sugarloaf Trail in the morning. Key deer are an endangered smaller version of the white-tailed deer we see up north. One crossed our path as we drove to the trailhead. Then we walked (ran/biked) almost the whole, mostly deserted, paved path without another deer sighting. Until we were almost back to our parking spot. A lone deer stepped out to the edge of the woods along the path and started munching on leaves. We watched it for a good five to ten minutes before it crossed the pavement and disappeared into the brush on the other side. The only other wildlife sighting was a single Palm Warbler. At least I think that’s what it was.

On Friday, we took a day-trip to Key West. We’d planned a walking tour in the morning and a glass-bottom boat tour for the afternoon. Parking in Key West is an adventure in itself when you’re driving an oversized vehicle. Luckily, a local woman directed us from an illegal spot to a private lot around the corner where we were given a nice shady spot to back into.

We hadn’t read much about Key West and had no idea that the place was overrun with feral chickens. What a hoot! They wandered the streets and sidewalks, randomly crowing. We encountered quite a few, along with one hawk, during our walking tour of all the historic sights.

The walking tour ended at the southernmost point of the U.S (and also the southern end of Route 1). A large monument in the shape of a buoy marks the spot (or maybe the fictional spot) and is a tourist attraction for photo opportunities.

Our tour guide left us with a suggestion for lunch, so we walked about a mile to Salute` On the Beach for a seaside meal. During the walking tour, we’d received word that our glass-bottom boat tour was cancelled due to high winds. Disappointing. But that left our afternoon free for wandering around town and searching for our parked van.

After three nights at our Summerland Key campground, we left, with plans to make a few stops on our way back to mainland Florida. The Turtle Hospital in Marathon was interesting, but there was a lot of talking before we got to see any turtles. I think I was more impatient than the kids that were visiting. But we’d booked another glass-bottom boat tour in Key Largo, so we were in a time crunch. We saw a few turtles and then left early.

The line to get into John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo was long and moving slowly. We were anxious that we’d miss our boat. But we made it in with time to spare. Saw some birds on the way out to the reef and some fun sea life through the glass bottom. I only felt mildly nauseous staring at the ocean floor through the windows.

We arrived at our campground in Hollywood, Florida, around suppertime. It was one of the worst campgrounds we’ve stayed in. It felt like we were in a small neighborhood. The sites were small. The first site they gave us was next to an oversized rig whose awning stuck out into our site. We’d have hit it if we backed in. The second site was smaller and closer to the tiny bathrooms. And we had a perfect view of the trash dumpsters out our front window. The only redeeming sight in Hollywood was the impressive Hard Rock Cafe Hotel built in the shape of a guitar.

Needless to say, we left early the next morning. Less than an hour later, we stopped at Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Boynton Beach. It was a welcomed change from the Keys and Hollywood. We spent a few hours enjoying nature and the beautiful weather. We saw more Gallinules, a Barred Owl, a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks, a Limpkin, and the bonus: a Prairie Warbler. Little did I know until later, that Mark had spotted a Sandhill Crane, too!

We left around noon and headed for Civil Society Brewing Company in Jupiter, Florida, for lunch. We’d never been there before, but it came highly recommended by our friends in Charlotte.

Back on the road, we made an obligatory stop at Buc-ee’s, before arriving in St. Augustine for the night.

The next day was one of the warmer days on our trip and the beginning of our last week on the road. We visited Savannah National Wildlife Refuge in Hardeeville, South Carolina, and took their five-mile wildlife drive before parking at a second trail for a walk. We saw, among other creatures, a Snowy Egret, an American Coot, a Common Gallinule, and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet who was hiding its crown, making it hard to identify at first.

On Tuesday, I caught a Pileated Woodpecker at work before we left our Yemassee, South Carolina, campsite. Then, we re-visited one of our favorite spots, Santee National Wildlife Refuge. Like other wildlife refuges, it’s a big place. We visited the Bluff Unit in Summerton, South Carolina. The walk through the woods was nice, but the birds were all hiding that day. And something was burning in the distance, blowing smoke in our direction for a while. But we were rewarded that evening at our next campsite in Enfield, North Carolina, with a few avian visitors.

Wednesday was our “let’s get around DC and Baltimore without getting stuck in too much traffic” day. We did enjoy seeing all the cherry blossoms along the highway, though. And after passing Baltimore, we found the Jerusalem Mill Trail in Kingsville, Maryland, part of Gunpowder Falls State Park. It turned out to be a historic piece of town with a covered bridge, an old mill, and a small museum. The walk through the covered bridge and then into the woods was relaxing. Only one bird crossed my path, though: a Brown Creeper.

We got on the road early Thursday morning and aimed for Hudson Valley, New York. The valley is home to a number of great places to visit including a few of Mark’s favorite breweries. We decided on a couple, and since Plan Bee Brewing is only open on Saturdays and Sundays, we settled on Hudson Valley Brewery in Beacon, New York, and Fox Farm Brewery in Salem, Connecticut. The plan was to then drive to my cousin Betty Ann’s house and park in her driveway overnight. But at the end of a long trip, when home is not that far away, plans change. We stayed for supper and a good visit and then drove less than two hours more to get home that night. It always feels good to come home, no matter how much we’re enjoying our adventures. And it didn’t hurt that all the snow had melted while we were gone!

How We Got Home: The Condensed (sort of) Version

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We did eventually get home again, in case anyone was wondering after reading California, Here We Come. But after traveling as far west as we could, we veered north/northeast through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and into Canada first.

In Oregon, we checked out Kirby Flat Trailhead which was anything but flat. We found it after yet another white-knuckle drive along windy roads with sheer drop-off edges. I had to close my eyes and just breathe for most of it. The trail offered beautiful scenery and pinecones larger than my shoe, but not a very easy hike or run.

A couple of hours later, we were passing through Eugene, Oregon, and went in search of Pre’s Trail, so named for the legendary track star Steve Prefontaine. A much better place for a run. Then, after battling too many hours of heavy traffic on I5, we met up with my cousin Kelly just south of Portland for a bite to eat. It was so good to see her!

The next morning, we found a stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail for a walk/run. I managed to capture a faraway image of a Red Crossbill and a decent photo of a California Scrub Jay. Then, lunch at Thunder Island Brewing where we had a great view of the Bridge of the Gods which crosses over the Columbia River from Oregon into Washington.

Later, on the road to Spokane, Washington, we came uncomfortably close to some wildfire hot spots.

In the morning, we walked/ran the Centennial Trail, a smooth, paved path which runs along the Spokane River. Lots of birds well-hidden in the trees and bushes, but I did manage to catch sight of a California Quail, a few Cedar Waxwings, and a gorgeous butterfly. From there we drove north-northeast, through Good Grief, Idaho, and into Canada.

The scenery, once we entered Canada, opened wide to snow-topped mountains and stunning blue-green waters. We drove through Radium Hot Springs in British Columbia, getting a surprise sighting of a group of elks on the sidewalk as we came around a bend. No time to grab the camera!

We drove to Banff in Alberta, choosing to view Lake Louise from the lift at the Lake Louise Mountain Resort. Along the way, we saw bridges over the highway apparently built for wildlife to safely cross over the road. Ingenious!

After the gondola ride, we checked out the town of Banff, stopping at Banff Legacy Trail for a short walk/run. Another great view, but you’ve got to watch out for the holes in the ground. You never know who might pop up!

The town of Banff was disappointing. Very touristy and part of Banff National Park, so they were advertising a pass purchase just to walk down the streets. We didn’t stay long. That night we checked into the Sandman Hotel in Calgary for the only hotel stay of the trip. We were upgraded to a suite which was unfortunately wasted on us van travelers.

For the next ten days, we traveled southeast and then fairly straight east toward home. Here are some of the highlights…

Frog Creek Wetlands in Claresholm, Alberta, Canada, where my Merlin app heard a lot more birds than I actually saw. The wide, flat trails looped around several ponds. I did spot a male and female Yellow-headed Blackbird, several Black Terns, a Clay-colored Sparrow, a Blue-winged Teal, an American Coot, several Killdeer, a female Red-winged Blackbird, and a Ruddy Duck with a blue bill.

In Billings, Montana, the Yellowstone River runs behind the KOA. There, we saw a few White Pelicans and a Yellow Warbler in the morning before driving off to Zimmerman Park overlooking the city of Billings. The trails there offered space for walking, running, and biking. And, of course, birding. I caught up with a Western Meadowlark, a Violet-green Swallow, a Lark Sparrow, and a Spotted Towhee.

We spent the next couple of days driving through South Dakota in one-hundred-plus degree weather. We stopped in Rapid City, South Dakota, for some shopping, and after checking out the presidential statues downtown we had lunch at Firehouse Brewing. Later, we stopped at Wall Drug to see what all the fuss (miles & miles of billboards) was about. Probably a fun stop for families with young kids, but the heat made everything a bit less tolerable. At one of our campsites we were even visited by a baby bird — a robin I think — that looked like it wasn’t enjoying the heat either!

We also stopped in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Mark went for a run in the heat while I strolled down to the falls.

In Minnesota, we stopped along the Douglas State Trail, where Mark found a running buddy and I found a Hairy Woodpecker. Then we stopped at Forager Brewery for lunch.

The sweltering heat continued from Wisconsin into Illinois where we attempted a walk/run along the Great Western Trail in the village of Villa Park. The only consolation was More Brewing, right next-door to the trail. Coincidence? I think not.

In Indiana, we stayed a night with Mark’s friend Chuck before driving through Ohio and into Pennsylvania to visit Mark’s cousin Bob in Erie. We actually met up with him in Presque Isle State Park. What a beautiful spot on a peninsula that stretches out into Lake Erie! Mark and Bob went for a long bike ride, while I spent hours checking out the birds. I found a Spotted Sandpiper with a couple of downy chicks running around, a very busy Yellow Warbler, and a nesting Robin. And I met a local woman who showed me where the Bank Swallows nest. What an unexpected bonus!

That night we made it to our campsite in Westfield, New York, in time for a short walk to see the sunset over Lake Erie.

Six weeks is a long time to be on the road, so in the morning we decided to make a bee-line for home. We still made a couple of stops along the way, though. We spent a soggy couple of hours at Erie Canal Park in Camillus, New York, and then dinner at Fidens Brewing in Albany. Always a good way to celebrate the end of a road trip.

Now that we’re home again, everyone keeps asking what we’ve got planned next. Considering it’s taken several months to finish reporting on this last trip, we might just have to keep you all guessing… for now. 🙂

California, Here We Come!

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We left Lake Tahoe and crossed into California on a Friday. If you want to read about our prior adventures, check out From Utah to Tahoe.

Saturday morning we got up super early in search of a hidden and highly recommended gem of a trail in Little Lakes Valley. Rock Creek Road in Bishop, California, led us up a steadily narrowing passage to the trailhead at Mosquito Flat. It was one of many white-knuckle drives we’d take over the course of our time on the road. We had no idea what we’d do if we met a vehicle trying to come back down while we were driving up. Luckily, we didn’t have to find out.

The drive was well-worth it. We claimed a corner parking spot and prepared to hike. Although we didn’t hike the full eight miles to see all of the lakes, what we did see was beautiful! And I even spied a Clark’s Nutcracker for the first time, high atop a tree .

I should probably mention that there’s absolutely no cell service in Little Lakes Valley. We’d planned to join a Zoom call with our adult children that morning after we’d driven the two hours to claim a coveted parking space. But when we arrived to find no cell service, we didn’t want to leave without hiking. So, our kids spent several hours wondering if we’d gone over a cliff somewhere. Whoops. We learned to keep them better informed after that.

We camped at Oh Ridge in June Lake, California, that night. And we had a few interesting encounters there. A Stellar’s Jay visited us while we ate supper. Then our campsite neighbors generously shared eggs from their own chickens because they had many and would find even more when they got back home. (Mark returned the generosity by sharing a Tree House Brewing beer we had in our cooler.) And then a deer crossed our path as we drove out to June Lake Brewing after supper.

We made a very early start again the next morning in order to get into Yosemite National Park before the crowds. It was a good plan, but there was so much to stop and see when we first entered the park that by the time we got to the Visitor’s Center, hours later, the place was mobbed. We were lucky to get a parking space. It was a hot day which made the crowds even less tolerable, but we made the best of it. Mark went for a run and I tried to find a quiet path to search for birds. Mark found Mirror Lake and I found a few waterfalls. I also spotted a male and a female Western Tanager, for the first time, in a roadside stand of trees.

The raven in that last photo flew uncomfortably low over my head before landing on the railing next to me. It then posed for multiple photographers!

On our way out of Yosemite, we almost drove right past El Capitan. A crowd had gathered in the field across the street from it and many people had trained binoculars and large cameras at the huge rock formation. We pulled over to find out what was going on. Turned out there were two sets of climbers scaling the vertical rock face! My stomach flipped just watching them. Insane!

For those who’ve been following the saga of the bench seat that we had uninstalled from the van floor and were trying to get rid of, you’ll be interested to know that we began to text back and forth with an interested party from southern California as we headed west from Yosemite. We weren’t traveling to southern California, but apparently he had family in Santa Cruz. A couple of days later, we actually met up with the man’s father in a Walmart parking lot in San Jose. He left with the seat and we left with cash in our pocket and a lighter load. That was a good day! 🙂

We stopped in El Cerrito, California, just north of San Francisco, overnight to visit a high school classmate of Mark’s. Keith welcomed us and cooked us a great supper that night. In the morning, the two of them biked the hills of El Cerrito together and then we hit the road again, heading north.

First stop, Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa. Apparently, Charles Schultz lived and worked in the area for decades before his death. Fun fact! But no, we didn’t check out his museum. Maybe next time. Later that evening, at our campground, a California Towhee and an Oregon Junco visited our site. Both firsts for me. But I only got a photo of the Towhee.

Next on our list was Mendocino Headlands State Park—highly recommended by my friend Michelle. We passed miles and miles of vineyards as we drove north. Beautiful scenery! And when we neared the coast and began driving up Route One, we drove through passages of redwoods. It felt like we’d entered another world.

As we pulled into the dirt parking lot at Mendocino Headlands, before we’d even parked, we were flagged down by a man approaching our van. Mark rolled down his window. Rocco, as he introduced himself, was from Germany and had been on the road for a while. He was flying home soon and wanted to know if we wanted any of his ‘stuff’. We checked out his stash and gained a camping chair, a handy plastic bin, a large plastic bowl, paper towels, unopened pasta and sauce, among other things. Score!

Then we parked and enjoyed the Headlands. Gorgeous! I texted Michelle on the spot to thank her for sending us there.

Numerous black and white birds covered the flat tops of a couple of large rock outcroppings at one end of the headlands. They were far away, so I had to zoom in to identify them. The large all-black ones I knew were some kind of Cormorant. Turns out that some of them sported bright blue bills, which meant they were Brandt’s Cormorants. Their bills turn blue during mating season. The smaller black and white birds reminded me of penguins. I learned they were Common Murres. Both of these were new to me.

So many birds!! And at the campground that night, I found two more birds species I’d never seen before. An Ash-throated Flycatcher and an Allen’s Hummingbird. There was a bush full of cheeping hummingbirds, but of course, I couldn’t get a clear shot of one until it landed in a nearby tree.

On our last day in California, we aimed northward, driving up the windy, cliff-hugging Pacific Coast Highway. We wanted to see more redwoods. First, we set the GPS for Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Later we aimed for Redwood National and State Parks. I have to say, we enjoyed Humboldt Redwoods State Park over the other, although we did find a beach at the latter parks’ visitor center.

I also found a few photo-worthy birds that day. The first was a puzzler, but I finally identified it as a Varied Thrush. The Pacific Wrens were so tiny and well-hidden in the dark woods that it was hard to get a decent picture. I also saw an Oregon Junco, a White-crowned Sparrow, and a Barn Swallow.

We left Redwood State and National Parks (and California) behind that afternoon and crossed into Oregon. More about the end of our northwestern adventure and the trip back home still to come. Stay tuned… 🙂

From Utah to Tahoe

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We arrived in Salt Lake City on a Monday. Both rain and sunshine accompanied us on the drive from Moab to Salt Lake. If you want to read about our adventures in Moab, check out Moving On to Moab.

The first stop in Salt Lake City was City Creek Canyon and Nature Preserve for a morning walk/run and a little birding. We found the trail and parked right next to the capitol building. Actually, we parked first and then found the trail. A new bird sighting for me there: a Blue Lazuli chirping away, high in a tree.

Did you notice the statue of Massasoit at the capitol? Apparently the one that stands in Plymouth, Massachusetts, is the original, but a copy was made to stand in Salt Lake in recognition of the Utah artist who sculpted it.

We stayed at a campground in Salt Lake City that night and headed for Great Salt Lake State Park the next day. We visited the southern shore of the lake, so I can’t speak to any other part of it. But it smelled a lot like a beach at low tide! It was there I learned that some blackbirds come with yellow heads! Who knew?! There were a lot of swallows flying around, too, but totally eluding my camera.

In one of the photos above, you can see a large island out in the lake. This is Antelope Island which is apparently inhabited by a variety of wildlife—including bison! I found that fascinating. Anyway, back on the salt-dusted shore there was a good-sized salt pile in one spot. I would’ve taken a picture of it, but didn’t feel like waiting for the woman who was using it as her own personal photo-shoot venue to finish up.

As we left the lake on the way to our next camping destination, we passed vast white fields. It looked like snow, but was actually more salt. The Bonneville Salt Flats. The whole area was once covered by a much larger lake—Lake Bonneville. But the Great Salt Lake is all that’s left of it, The salt flats also happen to be the site of world land-speed record runs. Interesting, but no, we decided against trying to set any records with our van. 🙂

The following day, we broke up the long drive by stopping at Rosewood Nature Study Area in Reno, Nevada. The heat was mostly bearable and we enjoyed the area very much. Mark went for a run and I set out on the nature trail. I saw a pair of marmots and several different birds.

Although the pictures are a bit fuzzy, the bird with the long pink neck is an American Avocet and the black and white one with the long pink legs is a Black-necked Stilt. There are also two different large white birds pictured. The one with black legs is probably a Great Egret and the one with the bill that seems heavier than its entire head is, of course, an American White Pelican. We’ve also seen a half dozen different types of swallows on our trip. They’re impossible for me to photograph in flight, but every once in a while one will land. The one pictured above appears to be a Barn Swallow. There may have been a few Cliff Swallows flying around, too.

We stayed at a KOA campground near Reno that night. As we sat in our Yeti chairs under the awning, enjoying the breeze and the occasional raindrop, we didn’t realize what was about to happen. Thunder rumbled. Lightning split the sky. And the rain came down! Mark got soaked trying to get the awning safely stowed. Meanwhile rain swept into the van through the dropped screen at the sliding door. Frantically grabbing a stack of towels and rags, we started mopping the river of water spreading across the van floor. Thunder and lightning crashed and the campground’s power went out. What a mess! But, as they say, there’s always a rainbow after the storm. Even a double one sometimes.

Our goal the following day was to catch a glimpse of Lake Tahoe while we were in Nevada. After searching for the closest access point while also looking for someplace to walk/run, we found the Lam Watah Historic Trail in Rabe Meadows. This lovely path led us right to the shore of beautiful blue Lake Tahoe. And again, I found more birds! Can you match the bird names to the photos? I saw a Barn Swallow, a Wilson’s Snipe, a Stellar’s Jay, a Red-breasted Sapsucker, a Western Wood-pewee, a Violet-green Swallow, a Red-shafted Northern Flicker, a Goldfinch, plus a few others.

What a beautiful day we had walking along the trail in Stateline, Nevada. The next day, we crossed the border into California. Yay!

More adventures to come!

P.S. For those of you who’ve been following our trip, you know we’d been lugging around the bench seat that Titan Vans removed for us in Colorado. Well, I decided to post it on Craig’s List while we were in Salt Lake City. And we got a hit. Someone in Southern California was interested. More on that later…

Moving On to Moab

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We left Colorado on a Friday. You can read about our adventures there in Hello, Colorado!

After driving to a peak elevation of eleven thousand feet on our way from Denver to Silt, Colorado, we camped there for our last night in the Centennial State. The Colorado River ran behind the campground and I found some wildlife along the riverside path. I think the Belted Kingfisher was a first for me.

We entered Utah the following day, arriving at our campsite in Moab just after lunch.

It was early enough in the day that we decided to spend the afternoon at Arches National Park. Unfortunately, we weren’t paying close attention to the fact that, on top of the high elevation, it was also almost one hundred degrees outside. So, while we enjoyed most of the visit to Arches, the hike up to Delicate Arch did me in. Evidently, I wasn’t as hydrated as I thought I was. Yikes!

Mark finished the trek to Delicate Arch without me, but found that his phone battery was dead when he got there. So, no photos. Oh, well. Here are some of the other sights we did manage to see and photograph. It was hard to choose among all the photos of huge red rock formations, but hopefully these give you a sense of the immensity of the landscape.

The heat continued the next day. We were still feeling the effects of our afternoon at Arches, so after a run/birdwatching stroll at Lions Park and Bike Path Trail we spent a leisurely day walking through downtown Moab. The Black-headed Grosbeak I saw on the trail was a first for me. And lunch at Trailhead Public House and Eatery was delicious.

On our third day in Moab, we stopped at Lions Park again for a walk/run. I saw the Black-headed Grosbeak again and, for the first time, a Western Kingbird.

After that, we ventured past Arches National Park to Canyonlands National Park. The sights there were breathtaking! Maybe even better than Arches?

On the way back from Canyonlands, we stopped at Dead Horse Point State Park which had been recommended to us by more than one person. Apparently it’s a well-known movie location site. (Thelma & Lousie, Mission Impossible,…) We were told we should stay for a memorable sunset, but the clouds had moved in and we were ready move on. Our last stop for the day was Moab Brewery where Mark (mostly) enjoyed a beer and a couple of appetizers.

We visited Lions Park Trailhead one last time the next morning for a walk/run and pulled out of Moab by lunchtime. On to Salt Lake City!

Hello, Colorado!

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Welcome back to our cross-country adventure! If you missed the first leg of the journey, you can read about it in Thought I’d Skip Gardening This Spring.

With our sights set on Colorado, we left Iowa and trekked across Nebraska. We stayed at a couple of Nebraska campgrounds along the way, gaining another hour as we entered Mountain Time. The plan was to stay with my father’s brother Donald for a few days, just outside of Denver, while our van was being serviced in Boulder. My Dad was finishing up a visit with them and was flying out the day we arrived. Before taking him to the airport mid-afternoon, they went golfing and out to lunch. We didn’t want to arrive to an empty house, so we stopped at Barr Lake State Park in Brighton, Colorado, for an early afternoon walk/run.

We spent close to four hours at Barr Lake. So many birds, so little time! Identifying them can be a challenge, but I did see a Western Kingbird and a Bullock’s Oriole for the first time. Actually, several of them.

We arrived at Donald and Valois’s in Centennial, Colorado, just before supper and spent a good deal of time and effort unloading all the essentials from our van in preparation for its service appointment. My cousin Diane and her husband, Pat, came by toting a bounty of leftovers from the weekend family feast for my father’s visit. We were well fed!

In the morning, we drove to Boulder to drop off the van at Titan Vans. Besides some maintenance services, we also asked them to remove a bench seat they’d installed in the original build. We hardly ever used it and wanted the precious storage space. (Anyone want a barely used seat?) We picked up a traffic-cone-orange Kia Kona at Enterprise Rental and stuffed it with more essentials from the van. Moving out of our van when we’re traveling is like packing for the trip all over again. It was hard to know what to leave behind.

Anyway, in our down-sized vehicle, we headed for the Bobolink Trailhead in Boulder for a run/walk.

The most notable part of our visit to the Bobolink Trailhead was when Mark found an obstacle in his path while on his run. A cow! Sorry, no photos.

After a stop at Whole Foods to pick up some lunch, we drove back toward Denver, stopping at Denver Botanic Gardens to meet up with cousins Donna and Barbara. The Gardens were Donna’s idea and what a perfect, sunny afternoon we had! When a brief shower did pass by, we ducked into the Tropical Conservatory full of exotic plants and a treehouse.

Here’s a small sampling of the multitude of gorgeous flowers we saw…

Well, maybe a few more…

After the Botanic Gardens, the four of us had dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. At dinner, Donna told us about a couple of young Great Horned Owls that lived in a tree along a walking path near her house. So, of course, we had to follow her home. First, we got a tour of her own home gardens, which were beautiful! Then, we took a walk in search of owls… And we found them! (Along with our first sighting of a Spotted Towhee.)

The following day was a quiet one. We planned to take a bike ride along a nearby trail, but my bike brakes weren’t cooperating. So, Mark biked while I took a nice walk around the neighborhood. The afternoon was spent preparing to get back on the road the next morning. Later, we met up with Mary and Ruth, friends who’d moved to Colorado from Massachusetts several years ago, for dinner in Denver. It was good to see them.

In the morning, cousin Michael and his wife, Lori, stopped by for coffee and a brief visit. And before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. Donald and Valois had been the best hosts. We really enjoyed all their stories and the family history discussions. I’m sure they were ready for some alone time after all their company.

In Boulder, we picked up our van with it’s newly configured space, unpacked our rental car, and then drove back to Centennial to pick up our bikes and anything else that didn’t fit in the Kona. We said our final goodbyes and headed west to Utah.

Until next time, Colorado!

Thought I’d Skip Gardening This Spring…

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We’d been thinking and planning for a long time to make the trek west in our van—all the way to California and then north to Canada. And before we knew it, the time for thinking was over. We left home on a Monday, which seems to be our favorite day to launch ourselves into new adventures.

It felt strange to leave home during gardening season. The decision to skip vegetable gardening this spring/summer was not made easily. But I’m only one person with one “wild and precious life.” So before we left, I walked around the yard to view all the perennials in their various stages of splendor. The strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries were flowering. The apple trees were producing tiny bumps of would-be apples. The salvia, peonies, roses, azalea, chives, and butterfly bushes were flowering. The hydrangea, hibiscus, irises, daisies, balloon flowers, thistle, and black-eyed Susans were in their early stages. They’ll all look much different by the time we get back.

That first night, we camped at Letchworth State Park, nicknamed ‘Grand Canyon of the East’, in western New York. We checked out the Mt. Morris Dam before settling in at our campsite. The water at the dam was low. But according to a very knowledgeable and excited park employee, that’s normal.

We spent the following morning chasing waterfalls, rainbows, and birds along the Genesee River.

On the recommendation of a friend (thanks, Becky!), we stopped in the Glen Iris Inn to peek at the uniquely handsome staircase inside, before leaving the park. The Inn was an old farmhouse that William P. Letchworth had renovated as a country retreat. The bells hanging from the staircase were apparently brought back from Switzerland where Letchworth found that each had a unique tone to identify the cow wearing it.

Also that day, as on our last long road trip (October 2023), we learned of the death of another friend who’d been ill for a while. We’re sad to have to miss her funeral, but grateful for the visits we had with her recently.

That night we parked at the Gsellman Family Farm, a Harvest Hosts site in Ohio. Several full-sized goats, along with young (goat) kids, shared the space with us. When it started raining, they decided our van made a great shelter and we could hear them knocking around under us. Before we left in the morning, to make sure no goats were harmed in the process of exiting, Mark had to shoo them out with a broom.

After a pit stop at the local Walmart, we set our sights on more waterfalls, heading toward nearby Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Mark went for a run and I took a more leisurely (birding) pace along the Brandywine Falls trail.

After lunch, set our GPS for Beverly Shores, Indiana. The drive was a rainy one as we gained an hour, passing from Eastern to Central time. We arrived at the Dunewood Campground in Indiana Dunes National Park in time for supper.

In the morning, we left the campground and drove north about a mile to the shore of Lake Michigan. The water was choppy and the view expansive. You could have convinced me I was standing on an east coast beach looking out at the Atlantic Ocean.

Just down the street we pulled into the Great Marsh Trail parking lot. Mark went for a run along the Calumet Trail while I wandered down the Great Marsh Trail. Despite some noisy restoration work being done, the birds were active. I even spotted a few migrating Sandhill Cranes. [Disclaimer: I exchanged lenses on my two camera bodies before this trip. I’m still learning how to adjust the settings and the focus area on my D7500, so the bird photos are less than sharp.]

After lunch we left the shores of Lake Michigan and headed northwest toward Galena, Illinois. We’d reserved another Harvest Hosts site at yet another goat farm. At Hoof It Goat Treks we had a grassy spread by a dirt road all to ourselves (no goats) and fell asleep listening to a Barred Owl hooting in the woods behind us. The earliest goat hike was scheduled for 10am the next morning, so we opted out and headed to the local Walmart before 6:30am to use their facilities and have breakfast in their parking lot.

We spent the morning in downtown Galena. What a charming place! We passed by the home that was gifted to Ulysses S. Grant upon his triumphant return to Galena after the Civil War. The wide open Depot Park and River Trail, along with old brick homes lining Main Street gave it it’s charm. The list of birds we saw along the trail made me happy: Cliff Swallow, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow Warbler, American Redstart, Rough-winged Swallow, (Baltimore?) Oriole, Starling, Killdeer. After a run/walk along the trail, we stopped at Otto’s for lunch. It came highly recommended and did not disappoint. Mark even ordered a couple of their homemade blueberry pop-tarts togo.

From Galena, we headed for Decorah, Iowa, home to Toppling Goliath, one of Mark’s favorite breweries. On the way, we found the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier in Dyersville. The interior was beautiful! And, totally unrelated, we learned that Dyersville is where Field of Dreams, the movie starring Kevin Costner, was filmed. We declined the opportunity to actually see the baseball field from the film, though.

That evening, we had dinner at Toppling Goliath where Mark enjoyed a flight of some of his favorites. We stayed overnight at Pulpit Rock Campground, as we did three years ago when we first drove home from Boulder, Colorado, with our brand new van. The campground was way more crowded this time, with families and large groups and kids on bikes everywhere! I guess that’s what happens when you book a site at a family-friendly place on Memorial Day weekend.

We had an appointment at Titan Vans in Boulder, Colorado, the following week, so we booked a couple of campground stays in Nebraska. Along the way we found Ada Hayden Heritage Park in Ames, Iowa. It had hiking, biking, and running trails around a large central double-llake. Mark went for a run while I walked around half of the double-lake, over a bridge in the middle. My most exciting bird find was a crowded Purple Martin nesting box.

We spent that night at the first of two campgrounds in Nebraska. Between the rain, the failed attempts to find a place near the highway for running/walking, another time zone change, and a slight malfunction of our gray-water outlet, Nebraska didn’t hold much for us.

Colorado was a different story. But a story for another time.

Reversing Course

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We spent a few days in eighty-degree weather in Naples, Florida, a couple of months ago, but had to head home eventually. You can read about the beginning of this trip in Escaping the Snow and Warmer Weather. The trip home saw the temperature slide lower and lower the farther north we went.

But our first stop, less than an hour northwest of where we stayed in Naples, was one of my favorite places ever. Corkscrew Swamp Wildlife Sanctuary. While Mark went for a run, I spent more than two hours wandering the boardwalk, listening and looking for birds. It was a little crowded. With people, not birds. But I did manage to see at least one bird I’d never seen before: a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. So, it was a good day. The photos might not be museum quality, but they prove that I did see some wildlife. 🙂

From there we headed northeast to a KOA in Crystal River, Florida. Somehow, in all our trips to Florida, we’d never been in that area and had never stopped to see any manatee. But that’s what we did the following day. At Three Sisters Springs we caught glimpses of them as they swam, surfaced, and rested in the warm waters. One even sported a clumsy-looking tag on its back resembling a miniature buoy. At times, it was hard to tell if we were seeing large boulders in the water or living creatures.

That afternoon, despite a menacingly dark sky, we stopped at Seven Mile Loop Trailhead for a walk/run.

The Harvest Hosts site we’d booked for that night looked a little sketchy, so we moved on to a KOA in Kingsland, Georgia. The following day was basically a travel day, though we did stop for a walk/run at White Oaks Trailhead in Woodbine, Georgia. The trailhead was actually at a small post office.

As we headed toward Charlotte, North Carolina, the next day, we made a stop at Santee Wildlife Refuge in South Carolina. Mark went for a run while I checked out the wildlife. I found quite a few birds, although some were well-camouflaged in the brush. I’ve included a few of them here.

We spent the weekend with our friends, Cathy and Don, in Charlotte. We visited the Carolina Raptor Center and Latta Nature Preserve and saw several large beautiful raptors. They were all in cages, so I didn’t take any photos. Our walk through the nature preserve was nice but chilly!

The next morning, we went to mass at the Basilica at Belmont Abbey College and had lunch at Jekyll & Hyde Taphouse Grill downtown. The food and the beer both got a stamp of approval.

We left Charlotte on Monday morning, stopping at New River Trail State Park for a walk/run.

That night, we stayed at a KOA in Natural Bridge, Virginia. And, of course, had to go see the Natural Bridge the next day. Formed by water that has long since receded, the height and breadth of the bridge was mesmerizing. It was cold and early in the day, so we had the place to ourselves for the most part.

After a bite to eat in the van, we travelled a short distance down the road to Blue Ridge Trail so Mark could get a run in. And I took in the view of the mountains and the local wildlife. 🙂

As we headed north from Virginia, it was hard not to start thinking about getting home. We stayed overnight in Pennsylvania, then made a stop at Fidens Brewing in Albany, New York, for an early dinner the next day. Three hours from home doesn’t feel like much when we’ve been on the road for any length of time, so we made the trek after dinner, arriving home two weeks and two days after we’d left. And home is always good to come back to.

Warmer Weather

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We did find warmer weather, eventually, as we drove south from Massachusetts to Virginia and on to Florida. You can read about the chilly start to our trip in Escaping the Snow. After leaving Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, we set our sights on North Carolina.

Last March, we took a similar route south and discovered The Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in Wilson, North Carolina. You can see some of the photos I took of the huge outdoor whirligigs in last year’s post, Homeward Bound. Last year, we visited the park on a Monday—the day the store/museum is closed. So, we thought we’d stop by this time on a Wednesday to get the complete experience.

The museum was small, but it held many small whirligig creations by Vollis Simpson. They made me want to go home and start tinkering with something! One sculpture was covered with pieces of old signs made of reflector material. When flash photography is used, it appears to light up in the photograph. You’ll see what I mean in the photos below.

Of course we had to visit Casitas Brewing again, which is adjacent to the park. They’re under new ownership and management. We met the new owners and Mark enjoyed one of their regular beers. The buildings nearby sport some very colorful murals, which is always fun to see.

That night, we landed at Old North State Food Hall in Selma, North Carolina, through our Harvest Hosts membership. The Food Hall was like a large food court you’d find in a mall, but without the mall. The place was clean and bright with nice bathrooms and good wifi. We parked overnight in the back lot where only a couple of other trucks and one RV were parked. They were opened late enough at night and early enough the next morning to make it a very convenient stopover.

The night was a little rainy and the next morning we stopped at the Dunn-Erwin Rail Trail in Dunn, North Carolina, for a muddy walk/run before driving farther south to Richmond Hill, Georgia. There, we stayed at the Savannah South KOA. We happened to park right next to some fellow van travelers, Lucy & Larry, who had also taken a trip to PEI last August. Small world. We exchanged Instagram IDs and they were gone early the next morning.

Before we left, we discovered a bit of wildlife at the KOA.

Since we were so close to Savannah, and this was our second time passing through the area without spending more than a few hours there, we thought a trolley tour of historic Savannah would be a nice idea. It was interesting. But because it was a bit chilly, our driver left the plastic barrier up over the open trolley sides, so we couldn’t take any photos. And his heavy southern accent, layered with slurring over an obviously practiced script, made it hard to understand much of what he said. Oh, well.

We were back on the road by lunchtime and heading into Florida. We stayed that night at a KOA in Fort McCoy, Florida. Beautifully peaceful scene behind our camp site.

The next morning we found the Florida Trail Land Bridge Trailhead—a popular place for biking and horseback riding, apparently.

After a great hike and a run on the trail, we hit the road again and arrived in Naples, Florida, in time for dinner with my Dad. Naples would be our southern-most destination on this trip and a welcome stretch of beautiful, warm, sunny days.