Montana Blow-Out
From Spokane to Idaho Falls, we had to pass through some seriously mountainous parts of Montana. Somewhere near Missoula (thank goodness!) we had a blow-out. Not to worry, we didn’t even notice it ’til we exited the highway to find something to eat. (There are two tires next to each other on each side of […]
Chinook Pass
The way to the top of Chinook Pass (5,430 feet) is designated an All American Road. It was historically used as a trading route over the Cascade Mountains. On our drive up the temperature dropped from the high 80s to the high 40s! We hadn’t felt anything that cold for months, and there was snow […]
Rumble on the River
For the last 41 years, Pasco, WA has hosted an annual event on the Columbia River featuring the world’s fastest race boats. Several classes of hydroplanes compete for the Atomic Cup during this action-packed weekend. Civilian and military aerial performances by a Navy F-18 Super Hornet and and F-16 Viper, among other aircraft, provided additional […]
Larrabee State Park
This beautiful area is a bit over 100 miles north of Seattle, near Bellingham, WA. It includes 8,100 feet of saltwater shoreline, two freshwater lakes, tidelands and deep wooded forests from sea level to 1940 feet. There are also lots and lots of hiking trails. The one we took was supposed to lead to “Lost […]
New Hobby: Geocaching, Seattle Kick-Off
One of our USG reps is an avid hiker. She told us that the purpose of a recent hike was to recover a “geocache,” a hidden treasure somewhere on the mountain. These geocaches are found using a GPS device after you visit a website (http://www.geocaching.com/) to find whether there are caches near you. Each cache […]
Old Sac
Old Sac is a National Registered Landmark and 28-acre State Historic Park, on the river, in downtown Sacramento. It includes the museums, steam train excursions, the Delta Queen (which used to travel daily to San Francisco in the late 1920s), shopping, restaurants, and memories of the area in the time of the gold rush.
Big Ol’ Trees
Moving inland from the coast, we followed the Russian River. There were sunbathers, kayaks, canoes and a host of other recreational activities for a sunny June afternoon. The river is dotted with small hamlets inhabited by a mix of the rich and fabulous, bohemian artists and their followers, and migrant laborers. Right in the middle, […]
Contrasting Coasts
Growing up on Cape Cod I have a certain idea of what the beach is supposed to look like. Sand stretches as far as you can see, flat except for rolling dunes filled with beachgrass and driftwood, beach plum and saltspray rose. The sea is deep blue or emerald green. Surfers are lucky to catch […]
Got Grapes?
We did a lot of initial research on the best way to get a feel for Napa Valley. There were bus tours, bike tours, shared shuttle vans, rented limos/SUVs, and the Wine Train (which doesn’t even let you off). A sense of independence, adventure, and a tight budget dictated we choose the drive-yourself-and-figure-it-out route. Napa […]
Believe
The new Shamu show at Seaworld. We also caught the dolphin show. Check out some other photos http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j97/d3loeber/San%20Diego/Sea%20World/