Tag Archives: Biking

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… 🙂

PEI and Nova Scotia

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It’s been several months since we traveled to Canada for our fortieth wedding anniversary, but it’s better late than never to finish up the story of our trip…

In my last post, A Taste of Canada, we had just crossed the Confederation Bridge onto Prince Edward Island. What we hadn’t realized was that it was Old Home Week, a local ‘family fun’ celebration that originated over a hundred years ago.

On our first morning there, we had planned to visit nearby Charlottetown. It looked to be a charming city with a boardwalk and plenty to keep us busy. But as we drove toward the city, we could tell something was up. People were parking along the streets and walking toward the downtown area. Up ahead we could see road closures. Apparently a parade was about to start. We pulled over to re-group and quickly turned around and headed to the north shore of the island instead, away from the crowds.

We found a bike trail in Morrell and spent the morning biking from there to St. Peter’s — about a seven mile trip. We stopped for lunch and then biked back. Such beautiful, peaceful scenery! And a surprise bird encounter along the way. (I should also mention a few other surprise encounters: several other Massachusetts residents spending time on the bike trail that day.)

After our bike ride, we traveled west, following the northern coast, to check out Brackley Beach in Prince Edward Island National Park. Apparently, a rain shower had just passed through, even though we encountered nothing but sunny skies on our way. The rain made the dark sand even darker, almost muddy. Very different from the Cape Cod beaches we’re used to.

We rounded out the day with a stop at P.E.I. Brewing.

The next morning was my birthday. And as a special treat we’d booked a ride on the ferry from P.E.I. to Nova Scotia. This would cut off several hours of driving. We’d never taken the van on a ferry before. I’m not a huge fan of boats, so I had mixed feelings about the whole idea. At least we got to drive through Charlottetown on our way. While we waited to get in the ferry line (we were so early that the ferry before ours hadn’t left yet), we checked out a nearby lighthouse.

The ferry trip lasted about seventy five minutes, but felt much shorter. Before we knew it, we were disembarking in Nova Scotia. We scoped out our reserved campsite before heading to quaint downtown Pictou for an early dinner.

Our campsite backed up to an inlet and offered a beautiful view. The photos aren’t great, but they’re evidence of the Short-billed Dowitcher, the Lesser Yellowleg, and the Great Blue Heron right in our backyard.

The view behind our van was nice, but the campground itself felt more like someone’s hilly backyard and the bathroom facility was extremely ‘rustic’. We decided not to stay a second night.

After realizing we didn’t have enough time to enjoy a coastal drive around Cape Breton, we thought a night in a hotel in Halifax might be a nice change of pace, along with another ferry trip back to New Brunswick. To make a long story a lot shorter, that didn’t work out. We made a ‘non-refundable’ reservation at the Marriott Harbourfront, only to discover that our van couldn’t fit in their parking garage and the parking lot they sent us to, blocks away, was closed. It took a little pleading at the front desk to cancel the reservation. And there was no room for us on the ferry, either. Oh, well.

But before we arrived in Halifax, we stopped in Antigonish for a walk and a bike ride. And a quick peek at St. Francis Xavier University.

We also stopped at Good Robot Brewing in Halifax, right across the street from Halifax Common, a large green space with recreational fields, facilities, and walking paths in between and around them.

We ate lunch and took a long walk around the Common. After leaving Halifax with no place to say for the night, we found a KOA close by. With room for us. Whew!

The next morning we aimed the van toward New Brunswick. After a stop in Amherst, Nova Scotia, for a hike around Amherst Point Bird Sanctuary, we took a detour to check out a monarch sculpture in Dieppe, New Brunswick (thanks, Tricia S.), before landing back at Rockwood Park in St. John, which we’d left a mere four days earlier.

It was drizzling and foggy the next morning as we headed west for one last stop before crossing the border into the U.S. St. Andrews did not disappoint. We first visited Kingsbrae Gardens.

After the gardens, we drove downtown to have lunch in the seaside town.

We left Canada mid-afternoon that day with a bucket-load of memories and a camera card full of beautiful images to help us remember. We spent the night once again parked in our son’s Maine driveway before heading home the next day. And of course, we made a couple of stops on the way: Mast Landing Audubon Sanctuary in Freeport for a walk/run, Mast Landing Brewery, and lunch at Bissell Brothers in Portland.