inkwellpatina

I started the blog with a poem, so it seems fitting to end it with one of the poems written on the trip: Of Rivers and Volcanos Purgatoire, Colorado, Virgin, American, the rivers of our travels slice through the earth revealing the stony sweep of time, layers of compression, erosion, uplift, and stretch, a landscape of anger, grieving, forgiveness, love. The rocky tale traces inland seas, echoes tectonic plates colliding or drifting apart in basalt, pumice, schist, granite, sandstone, limestone, shale. I want to leave no stone unturned on the trail of my own geology, in flux, changing daily as we hike down canyon, up cinder cone, over slippery stones in a cool river, whose shady ledges are fringed with wildflowers. Two of us, often seeking the fault line, making mountains out of molehills, travel literally ... read more

South Dakota, and over into Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan Saturday August 9 to Monday August 11, 2008 Mt. Rushmore With many bikers sharing the road, we drove southwest a bit to circle Mt. Rushmore. Declining the fairly steep entrance fee, we snapped photos from the highway at 2 different vantage points, and made our way east again; we would have liked to take Rte 44 to reach Badlands National Park, rather than the Interstate, but being short on time, opted for speed, and entered the park via the town of Wall. There we stopped at a gas station to use the rest room, and get snacks and coffee. Outside there was a coin-operated horse ride - and Rollie clowned around for the camera (Miles and I got in on the action too). They also had a ... read more

Grand Tetons to Thermopolis to Sturgis August 6, 7, 8 (Wed, Thurs, Fri) Grand Tetons We had planned to leave Yellowstone by way of the east entrance and to reach Thermopolis via Cody, but that entrance was closed and several people we met at Yellowstone had raved about the beauty of Grand Teton National Park, so we drove that way (south). We did not have time to stop and take a hike, but did make several stops at roadside pullovers along Jackson Lake, and at the ranger station at Jenny Lake we got maps (and re-stocked the pantry at a little grocery store). The terrain was lovely and definitely a “next time” destination. One roadside stop included signs about the geology of the range and a small garden of native plants, including a lot of ... read more

Yellowstone Days 1 and 2 Friday August 1st through Saturday August 2nd After seeing the Egyptian exhibit, we headed on toward Yellowstone, stopping somewhere along the way to get the groceries for 5 nights of camping. Our reserved campground was at Canyon Village, centrally located near the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. I had picked the Norris campground as my first choice, but it was full when I was making the reservations. Ours was a nice campground, and we were in a tents only loop, and although the actual tent pad was very tiny (and we had been warned to bring a smaller tent, but truly not even our 9x9 would have fit very well) we were able to pitch our tent at the back of the parking pad with no problem. So the lesson here is ... read more

Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Driving Through Fire, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Burney Falls, Crater Lake Dates: Tues July 22 - 23 Humboldt, Wed July 24 - 25 at Lassen, Fri July 25 through Mon July 28th at Crater Lake The Accidental Hiker We thought we had experienced redwoods in the Mariposa Grove at Yosemite. Yes, they were tall and broad of girth and very impressive. But the deep dark sequoia groves of Humboldt Redwoods State Park are something else altogether. I guess the difference is between a grove, even a substantial grove, with trees fairly spread apart, and a much larger expanse of sequoia-filled woods. It was romantically dark and mysterious, with sunlight filtering through the canopy in interesting patterns across the fern-strewn floor, it went on forever, it seemed, and felt like something out of ... read more