Author Archives: Mike

Zion National Park – 6/11/13

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The Narrows

The Narrows

Wow! Wow! Wow! The pictures in the link below will never do this place the justice it fully deserves! I can’t say it enough — anyone that has not been here needs to make plans to come. I had read and seen lots of pictures and info about Zion, but till you see it with your own eyes, you think it is not real.

We did the Narrows hike yesterday. The publications indicate to bring some water shoes  and be ready to get wet. There was a short one-mile walk to the river, and we got there early at 10am, as the temps had been in the high 90’s. This was where the real hike began and where everyone was crossing, so we followed. Within a few hundred yards we realized this is a bit more amazing than we thought. After about an hour, Traci looks to me and says, “this is the most amazing hike I think I have ever done!” We talk to several other first timers to the canyon and they repeat the same exact phrase, unprovoked. We spent almost 6 hours in the canyon and our feet were feeling it, a couple blisters, but it did not matter, there was no way to bring us down from this amazing place.  We estimate that we hiked in about 3 miles of the full 5-mile trip only to be stopped because we would have had to swim and this wouldn’t work with all of our gear. Traci’s pedometer for the day read 23,214 steps! This was the perfect hike for a hot day though as we were in and out of the water most of the day and shaded by the canyon.

Today, we got out earlier than the day before because of the expected heat.  We were on the trail by 9:20am and hiked to the Emerald Pools, which was a much shorter one than yesterday. However this hike was more uphill and in the heat. Wow, we were already tired; our recovery from the Narrows indicates we are not in our 20’s anymore (or 30’s)! Our legs felt like bricks, heavy and slow. We trudged up to the upper pool and I was sweating like I just ran a 5K run, it was already hot and it was only 10:30am. We hiked back, took the shuttle to the car and drove into the small town of Springdale on the South end of the park (We are staying at the Zion RV and Campground just outside the East entrance – much less croweded). We enjoyed a couple very cold beers and headed back to the MoHo to relax for the rest of the day as we are heading to Bryce Canyon tomorrow.

Hike to the Emerald Pools

Hike to the Emerald Pools

p.s.  We can’t say enough about the National Park Service here. The shuttle service to the various hikes was so well organized and of course everyone was so friendly and helpful.  How could they not be when they work in paradise?!

For additional pics, click HERE.  Warning – over 100 pics, but we cut it down from over 400!  The pics are high resolution so will take some time to load.  Just click on one of them and then you can scroll through them.

Lamoille Lake Hike – 6/4/13

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Lamoille Lake

Lamoille Lake – the view we were rewarded with after our intense hike!

We decided to take a drive to the Humbolt National Forest today – golf course was hosting a tournament so we will play golf later this week if we can get on. I was looking through a travel book that Traci’s friend Kindra gave us for our trip and it had a scenic drive that was very close to our place here in Elko. We took off about noon, and headed up to the Lamoille Canyon Scenic Byway. This canyon is huge. It feels like Glacier National Park in Montana, only a bit smaller. They call it the Grand Canyon of Nevada. It is extremely deep, with walls that must be at least 3-4,000 feet around us, very impressive. We drove to the end of the canyon, about 12 miles, passing several lookouts and a campground along the way. (The Thomas Canyon Campground looked really nice with very private sites and water running through the entire campground…for future reference).

Lamoille LakeThis is not our picture, but shows what the lake looks like after ice/snow meltsThis is not our picture, but shows what the lake looks like after ice/snow melt

We got to the parking lot and I had planned for a hike; brought our shoes, some food, lots of water, backpack, etc. We looked at the legend and thought we would go up hill vs. down hill, towards what we thought was Dollar Lakes. There were a few other groups out there and we started following a family with several children and fishing poles.  There are supposedly some nice Brooke Trout in these lakes – and where is my fishing gear – back in the MoHo. We passed two other groups on the trail, and shortly after the second group, the trail seemed to be very poor at best, probably because it is still early in the season. We kept trudging on as I thought I could see something here and there that resembled a trail. We knew from the terrain that there had to be a small lake ahead up over this little ridge. The surroundings got thicker, and now it was clear we were not on the trail anymore. After a good 30 minutes of trying to relocate the trail, we stopped for a moment and used the binoculars to take a longer look around. We saw two other groups of hikers, one to the left across the creek, the other group way to the right up on the side of a hill. We decided to head towards that hill, and in about 20 minutes we finally found a trail again that those people were using, no more foraging through the brush and marshes. This trail was heading straight up, switchbacks and eventually into several ice/snow fields. Now the trail was hidden again, but at this point I was not going to just give up and Traci was game for the challenge. We came over a ridge and there it was, the lake we had been looking for, only it was 99% covered in ice still! Absolutely stunning and not another person around. We stopped for a snack and some pictures and then it was time to head back. (My back had been sore the last 45 minutes or so, not sure why? A-G-E)

We followed our trail back through the snow and relocated the trail we came up.  It was much easier to follow this very well defined trail back to the car. When we got to the parking lot, we saw that there was a sign for the horse trail that we must have missed when we arrived. We looked back at the legend on the map, and we clearly hiked to Lamoille Lake, up at almost the 9,740-foot level! Holy smokes – that is why we were so tired – there is some thin air up here. We got back to the car and had the celebratory cold beverage, and now my back was killing me! No Advil in the car, so just had to suffer back to the MoHo. Got home and the back is in full inflammation, time for some pizza, good drugs and cold beers before bedtime.

The mountain above Mike's head feeds the lake that we hiked to.

The mountain above Mike’s head feeds the lake that we hiked to.Traci hiking through the snow on the way to lake.Traci hiking through the snow on the way to lake.

If you are interested in more pics, click HERE!

Crater Lake…AMAZING! – 5/28/13

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DSC05113We left the wonderful resort in Bend on Memorial Day, headed south towards the Crater Lake area in a driving rainstorm. I guess the good side is that we did not waste a day that we could have been doing something fun. Arrived to the Crater Lake RV Resort mid-afternoon and WOW, what a neat little gem we stumbled onto!! (No we weren’t drinking yet.) They have about 10 spots for RV’s and each one backs right up to a little tiny stream that runs through the property. The view we have is out of a magazine! The owners here are the sweetest couple, Jim & Babe. They have owned the place for about 15 years. After being here for a couple days, it has everything you would ever need — mini-store/market, free video rentals, free canoes, horseshoes, pickle-ball and a great group fire pit – an absolute perfect place. Now, it might feel better because we have the place to ourselves, only about 1/3 full, but still very nice and the people are even better.

Ventured to Crater Lake National Park today – rain finally gave us a break – one of the wonders of the world for sure! The deepest fresh water lake in the USA, formed during the eruption of Mt. Mazama 7,700 years ago.  It snowed last night up here, so the fresh snow on the trees just makes it that much more amazing and beautiful. Because it is still very early in the season we have very limited access to the roads, most still covered by this year’s 44 feet of snowfall (Rim Drive still closed). We got some great pictures, hiked a bit down one of the plowed roads to another great lookout, packed a lunch and finished the hike off back at the car with a BL and a BLL (Bud Light Lime for Trace). This is a must-see for sure! Headed back down the 30 minutes to the RV park and looking forward to a nice fire tonight, my favorite way to end an evening.  We are enjoying Captain/Diets and my special super nachos. On towards Reno!

Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lake National ParkDSCN4255Mike admiring his fire

We’ll post more photos when we get a better internet connection.

Sweet Victory and Maryhill State Park – 5/22/13

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Maryhill State Park - Columbia River Gorge (Mike & Mitch)

Maryhill State Park – Columbia River Gorge (Mike & Mitch)

Knights win, Knights win, Knights win!! The WVC Knights win the NWAACC Women’s Fast Pitch Tournament for the first time in school history! Very exciting and huge congrats to the players and our great friend coach Pflugrath.

WVC Knights Fast Pitch - NWAACC champs!

WVC Knights Fast Pitch – NWAACC champs!

We left Portland on Monday afternoon, a bit later than we had hoped. When we were in the RV Park in Portland, we had to switch spaces for the last night as someone who rents there long term had reserved our site, no big deal to move a few spaces over for them. But in the process, Mike noticed an issue with the leveling jacks (there are stabilizing “feet” that gently lift the MoHo off the ground when parked to keep it more stable and relieve some pressure off the tires). After finally getting the jacks retracted, there was obviously a need to have a professional look at it, as they weren’t working correctly. Few phone calls and we found a place around the corner to drop the MoHo for the day while at the game. Unfortunately, they were not able to fix it, and gave us a few numbers to try. As we were heading out of Portland toward our next destination, Maryhill State Park, we decided there wasn’t a rush to get it repaired, we will make due until Bend.

Arrived at the park, and our great friends Sunny and Mitch were there waiting for us to spend the nights as our first house guests!  They went to the tourney as well and this was a place to stop and spend a night together on their way home to Yakima. It was a gorgeous, calm day on the Columbia River, which is very rare this time of year. We had a great night sitting by the fire and meeting some fun ladies camping next to us, two sisters on an 8-day trip. Have a blast Rebecca and Laura! That night we got Mitch to agree they would stay one more night!!

Next day the weather turned a bit and the rain and cold arrived.  We headed out to do some local wine tasting. First stop was the Waving Tree Vineyards & Winery. The owners were there labeling some bottles, and invited us in for some wine. Evelyn & Terrance, great people with lots of local knowledge. We bought a case of vino from them between the four of us.  Very reasonably priced and nice quality wines, would go back anytime! Evelyn told us of a place down the road about 30 minutes where we might want to go for a quick adventure. The Klickitat River runs down a very steep canyon where Native fisherman stand on wooden platforms and use huge long poles to “dip” into the river to catch Salmon and Steelhead. She gave us perfect directions and we went for it. When we arrived, the place was vacant, but quickly someone showed up and he was “dipping” his long pole instantly. First “dip” and there was a very nice 6-8 pound salmon in his pole, wow! He proceeded to catch a total of four fish in the next 30 minutes while we explored around the fish ladder area. We talked to him on the way out and he said the platform he uses has been in his family since his grandfather. During the fall salmon run, he and his family can pull out over a ton of fish in a day — 2,000 lbs of salmon! Something we would love to come back a see in person!

Fisherman on the Klickitat

Fisherman on the Klickitat

Quick stop at the Maryhill Winery (one of the most amazing views you will ever have at any winery in the world, and summer concerts are amazing here!) on the way back to the campground. Returned to the MoHo for dinner, and the wind and rain were there in force. Mike decided to try the microwave/convection oven and cook up our pork loin inside vs. out in the weather on the grill. We set it up and 35 minutes later we had a perfectly prepared dinner, some very nice wine, followed by a long game of Dominoes. (The girls crushed the boys!)

View at Maryhill Winery - Cameron's & Miller's

View at Maryhill Winery – Cameron’s & Miller’s

Yummy dinner in the MoHo!

Yummy dinner in the MoHo!

Next morning, Sunny and Mitch are out early heading back home.  Thanks for staying with us for a couple of nights; we will see you in July! There is heavy rain and cold weather expected in our next location, Bend, Oregon. But, it is looking better for Memorial Day weekend.  Our plan is to stay for 4-5 days and try to get the MoHo maintenance taken care of. Talk to you all soon!

Off and Rolling

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Mt. St. Helens day!

We headed out for our first big trip on May 16th, 2013 — destination Portland, OR. The last minute details started to rack up and we just decided to “toss” everything into the MoHo and MDX and hit the road knowing we would have plenty of time to organize down the road. (For those of you who know Traci, that was a huge dilemma not having everything put in its place before we left! Needless to say, “organized Olly” felt a bit out of sorts.)

We had the Miller MoHo serviced on the 15th with an oil change and toad car breaking system repair. A part had to be ordered and overnighted to Infinity Coach in Sumner, WA. We stopped by the shop on our way out of town and picked up the part, then got down the road and found a parking lot to hook up the MDX and install the part. When we pulled into the lot to connect the car, Mike noticed something was awry. There was oil all over the back of the RV! Quick look and there it was — the oil cap had come off, but how much oil was missing? Fortunately, not enough to see any significant loss, so lets connect the MDX and get going.

Car is connected and all of a sudden there is a big 18-wheeler behind us wanting to deliver to a store in the parking lot we are parked in. We hurry into the MoHo and off we go. Minute or two later, Mike asks Traci “did we make sure the parking break was off on the MDX?” Neither can remember, but wheels are turning fine so lets keep going. About 2-3 minutes later, some guy motions to us on the freeway to pull over! Oh #*%#, the break must still be on. Hurry off the freeway to the shoulder and sure enough the back end of the MDX is smoking hot and stinks! Take off the break and lets just deal with it later, at this point we can’t do anything more – ROOKIES!!

Arrive in Portland at the Columbia River RV Park about 4:45pm, a couple hours later than we wanted, but we are here! Unhook the MDX and do a quick check to make sure it drives and stops, seems to be no issues with our error thank goodness – we won’t make that mistake again! Check in is quick, drive to site #99 and we are here!!!  It finally is starting to feel real, we have been planning this for so long and now we are settled in our first site! Now we get to start organizing, and let me tell you, there is a lot of organizing to do. We basically just tossed all our dry food into the MDX and the rest of our stuff into the MoHo and hit the road. We spent the next couple hours trying to find room for stuff, and in the process decide we just have to toss a bunch of junk we had held onto for too long and will never ever use – the purge is a very good feeling.

While here in Portland, we are attending the NWAACC Women’s Fast Pitch Softball Tourney, rooting for coach Pflu’s mighty Knights from Wenatchee Valley College. Day one the Knights get two wins, the second game is a very entertaining 18-3 blow out! Day two of the tourney starts out with a rain delay – time for us to update and post this blog report! We will let you know how it all goes, but needless to say, we are very happy with our MoHo and the Knights are kicking some tail in the tourney!

A little background – from Mike

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How does one go about doing something like this? First you have to read a lot, follow a lot of others who are doing it, take their best ideas and lessons they have learned and apply them. We have decided to go at this carefully, as I like to say, in stages. We took a “test” trip in the Fall of 2012 – Atlanta to Las Vegas in a rented 31’ class C motorhome. 2,400 miles in 9 days was way too much driving, but we realized we liked the “lifestyle” and if we could do it ourselves, we would definitely take more time along the way. We knew what we wanted based on our “test” trip, so that made it a lot easier to focus on our needs. Once we found the right coach, we could then do our first trip summer of 2013 for about 3 ½ months to make sure we really like it and want to continue without getting too far away. As much research as you can do, you will only know if you like it once you get out on the road. Then, if we want to continue – I am sure we will – we will take off for 18-24 months around the country.

We/Mike did a ton of looking for the “right” motorhome, with very specific criteria for our new home on 6 wheels. Then came the big decision; not finding anything locally we had to expand our search to the entire country. Now there were a lot of options out there for us to choose from, and we could get a lot more specific on exactly what we wanted in our motorhome. Then on about Dec. 8th, 2012 we found the one we wanted – in Emory, Texas! We immediately contacted the seller, and it was all but a done deal at that point.  We set March 1st as our time to fly down and inspect the coach and make an offer. (It is funny to look at the criteria – we hit almost every item we wanted in our find!) The offer was accepted and it was ours!!  What had we done? What had Mike done?! Traci had only seen pictures, Mike went alone to inspect and make the offer, so she had to put a lot of faith in his judgment.

Three weeks later Mike and his brother flew to Texas to drive the MoHo home to Seattle.  Note: Traci still had not seen the coach in person! The trip took 4 days, some long 12-14 hour driving days, but they made it home in time for Easter. They did it all along the way – stayed at a rest stop (El Paso, TX), stayed at a nice RV park (Indio, CA), and did the only other thing we all laugh at – slept in the parking lot of the WalMart with 12 other campers/RV’s/trailers (Yreka, CA). They arrived home late Saturday afternoon, and Traci got to finally see her new “home” and was happy with the digs!

The next several weeks would be busy. As I stated before, the motorhome we found has almost everything we could need. But there is still the need for us to make it ours – loading it up for our specific needs and wants. The short list of priorities includes: getting the Satellite TV set up (DirecTV is a nightmare!), getting Traci’s car “tow-able,” practice trips to learn how to connect everything (water, sewer, power and the towed car), learning all the nooks and cranny’s that you can use for storage (we actually removed the basement storage trays to allow for more room – huge difference!), what items do we really need to take, and what can we do without and how many clothing items can we get away with not taking – still have not finished that part. The one thing we have to realize is this – a hard one for Traci – we will surely forget or need something we did not plan on taking, but it will not be the end of the world, we will just make due with what we have or pick it up along the way – more of an adventure, right?

We are two weeks out right now from our first trip departure.  I, Mike, can’t wait!  We have to still get some of our kitchen items on board, go through our clothes, and probably fine tune on all the little things Mike has been hoarding in case he needed it. But with that said, the planning and prep stage has gone smoothly to this point and soon we will be out on the road for our first trip around the Northwest – Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Alberta, BC, and back to Washington – home just in time for the re-opening of Husky stadium!! GO DAWGS!