Our Costa Rica Trip - Part I This blog is primarily a summary of our trip, focusing on the best parts, and the occasional comment on what didn't work as well. Accompanying this 2-part narrative are what I think are the 120 best photos from our trip. We also took a lot of videos (especially since Miles had his flip camera along), and I have not even begun to deal with them yet. At some point I'll post a few. The Challenge Having purchased reduced-fare tickets just weeks before traveling, I threw myself on the mercy of a travel service. I [View Full Entry]

---

---

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 [View Full Entry]

---

---

Midland to Crown Point, Ohio Monday August 11 to Wednesday August 13, 2008 Midland Memories We pulled in to Midland pretty late at night, but it was exciting for Rollie to see the town he had grown up in - trying to remember his way around, noticing how much it had grown in 30 years, and what buildings were still intact, the schools he attended, where he played golf, the old neighborhood. We drove past the house he had lived in, just to get our bearings for the next day, then at a downtown café asked about motels and got a [View Full Entry]

---

---

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 [View Full Entry]

---

---

February 4th, 2009 Blog Etiquette My Bad Those of you subscribers who received multiple versions of the previous blog might notice that all quoted material has been removed from the blog. I apologize for all those e-mails. I was not really yet in the headset that blogging is a form of official publishing - but it is. When writing a peer-reviewed journal article for publication, citing a reference you have quoted suffices - because you are a scientist/academician and the other researchers you quote wish to be cited -- and besides, the publishing journal will check [View Full Entry]

---

---

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 [View Full Entry]

---

---

Yellowstone Days 3-5 Day 3 - Old Faithful Up early again to catch wildlife - saw mule deer, and - ho hum - lots of bison. But we went south past West Thumb and Yellowstone Lake and crossed the Continental Divide. At Isa Lake where there is a sign announcing the divide, we got out to take pictures of the yellow lily flowers. Long drive to Old Faithful. We had eaten stuff in the car but had no real breakfast, so once we arrived we went to the ranger station to find out the next expected time for the geyser to [View Full Entry]

---

---

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 [View Full Entry]

---

---

Fossil, Oregon to Blackfoot, Idaho Tuesday July 29th to Thurs July 31st Leaving Crater Lake, we felt lucky that our first day the air had been crystal clear, since on the 2nd it was a bit smoky from wildfires. This day, Tues July 29, we had a long driving day ahead of us. Headed for Bend, Oregon, and then up toward John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. With the information about the town of Fossil and an idea about going to the museum at John Day first, we headed up the highway, kids on Game Cube probably, Rollie driving and me [View Full Entry]

---

---

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 sprea [View Full Entry]

---

---