13) Badlands National Park, September 10 - September 16, 2009

On the way from Voyageurs to Badlands, we had several other adventures; we visited the headwaters of the Mississippi, strolled down memory lane in some of JEK’s old stomping grounds in South Dakota, and visited some other places of interest along our route.

Our first night out from Voyageurs we stopped at Itasca State Park near Park Rapids, Minnesota. This state park is the home of the headwaters of the Mississippi River. They don’t follow or select one of the feeder streams into Lake Itasca, but the outflow of the lake is designated as the beginning of our great national treasure of a river, the Mighty Mississippi. Here, you can easily walk across the Mississippi on a log and clearly see the bottom. Neither of those feats is easily accomplished down in our area of the country. We got to the park too late in the evening to get into the Mary Gibb Mississippi Headwater Center, but the grounds and trails to the headwaters were open, and we were the only vehicle in the parking lot and the only people on the trails. There were some outdoor exhibits at the Center, some of which we were able to peruse before it was too dark.

The Beginning of the Mississippi River

Next, it was on to South Dakota. Not only home of the Badlands National Park, but JEK’s birthplace and the location of most of his summer vacations during his early years. From Itasca, we went through Fargo, ND (Now JEK has been to all of the lower 48 states. Funny that the last one is adjacent to his birth state.) for normal maintenance on the truck, then on toward Garretson, SD where JEK spent so many summers visiting cousins and grandparents. It’s a long ways from Fargo to Garretson, so we decided to stop for the night in Watertown, SD, where JEK and his younger brother were born. We set up camp at Pelican Lake State Recreational Area, just outside of town and went to see if we could find the hospital where JEK was born and the house where his family lived. Of course, we hadn’t done the necessary research before leaving home, so we did not have addresses. We were pretty sure that we were in the correct area, finding an elementary school not too far from the hospital and other features that seemed familiar. We called Barry, JEK’s brother and by early the next morning he had found the address of the house—aren’t cell phones great? We went back to town and had no trouble finding the house. Sure enough, it was across the street from the elementary school that we had gone to the day before. Both the hospital and the elementary school are younger looking than either Barry or JEK, so we think they rebuilt on the same land.

Johnny's First Home

After a bit more touring around Watertown, we headed out for tiny Garretson (population about 800 back in the day, now about 1200). When we pulled into Palisades State Park just on the edge of Garretson, we found that it was FULL!! This was our first “no room in the inn experience” since we started on this trip and it was in Garretson, SD. Go figure. There was never any tourism in Garretson. The other nearby state park was also full. We found a spot in the city park campground and set up. We then drove into town to see if we could locate JEK’s aunt and uncle’s old house. Neighbors across the street confirmed the house Johnny seemed to remember as his aunt and uncle’s and said that JEK’s cousin, Bruce, was just three doors down the street. We had a nice visit with Bruce and his grandsons that evening.

The next day, we toured through Devil’s Gulch and found the house that JEK’s grandparents retired to in Garretson upon leaving the farm just across the state line in MN. We failed to find the farm, however. Oh well, next time. After breaking camp, we headed to Mitchell, SD for the famous Corn Palace. Coincidently, Mitchell is where Barry and JEK’s older brother was born. Very interesting to see the murals both inside and outside of the building made entirely of ears corn of many colors and a few grasses and grains of SD. The theme, this year, for the outside murals was “America’s Destinations”.

The Corn Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota

After seeing the Corn Palace, it was a short drive to Badlands National Park. We set up camp at the Cedar Pass Campground in the park and went out to do some hiking. We hiked Cliff Shelf Trail, Notch Trail (see picture of ladder you must climb on Notch Trail below), Window Trail, and Door Trail - all together about 2.5 miles - and still had time to drive up to world famous Wall Drugs. We took part of the park loop drive on the way back from Wall Drugs and made several of the stops and overlooks along the way before it got too dark. The campground evening program was on astronomy, and the very dark skies of the Badlands provided a clear view of the Milky Way and even the Andromeda galaxy with the naked eye. Telescopes were also available for some closer views.

View from Burns Basin Overlook on Loop Drive

I Can't Believe I Climbed the Whole Thing!

Notch Trail

Yellow Mounds on Loop Drive

The next day, we finished the loop road and took one of the “high-clearance vehicle only” dirt roads out to some wonderful scenery at Sheep Mountain Table. The Indian-run White River Visitor Center was closed when we got there, a day earlier than the literature indicated. We got to see some buffalo (I know, they’re really bison) and prairie dogs along the way. We also got in two ranger talks, one on park geology and the other on fossils. The evening campground program provided some insight on the cultural history of the park and surrounding area.

The Pinnacles as Seen from Sheep Mountain Table

The next day it was on to the southwest corner of South Dakota and what turned out to be a surprising array of interesting things to see and do, including our next national park; Wind Cave.

12) Voyageurs National Park, September 6, - September 10, 2009

I’m starting to write this on the 99th day of our trip, and the date is 9/9/09—any omen here?

The first night out from Grand Portage, we stopped just past Ely, MN, at Bear Head Lake State Park to make camp. After setting up and having lunch, we took a rented canoe and paddled about 3 miles around the lake. Not all the way around the lake, because as we got into the “big” water, there was enough fetch, with a stiff breeze, to make it a little uncomfortable. We stayed in the relatively protected areas and had plenty to explore. That evening, we drove back to Ely to have dinner at the local brew pub, called Boathouse. It’s funny that a restaurant with that name would be decorated with a logging theme. Hmmm. We shared a walleye fillet dinner. Man, that’s some good eatin’.

From Ely, to Voyageurs National Park, there are several options; there’s three Visitor Centers and a fourth entrance with a ranger station. Two of the Visitor Centers are near the center of the park and one of them, Kabetogama, had boat tours available, so we headed in that direction. We stopped at Orr, MN at the local visitor information center, got some information, and did their Mickey Elverum Bog Walk. That was quite interesting to see swamp and bog way up north like that. (It’s kind of funny to hear people talking about going “down” to Minneapolis. We’re a ways north of that.) We headed to Woodenfrog State Forest Campground. All campgrounds in the NP are boat-accessible only. This small state forest borders right along the national park.

After setting up camp, we headed to the Kabetogama VC for the first Q&A session with the ranger. The volunteers there were heading back home to San Antonio the next morning, letting us know that the season up there was almost over. In fact, we signed up for the only boat tour that the park was still running. Luckily, it was the one that we most wanted to do; Kettle Falls. Kettle Falls is the only hotel in the park and has been in operation since 1913. We also went to the Ash River Visitor Center, which is not too far south of the Kabetogama center. While there, we did some more ranger grilling and hiked the Blind Ash Bay Trail. Got some really nice views of the lake and walked through some beautiful forest and fern glades.

JEK on Blind Ash Bay Trail

We had learned from the visitor centers that some of the local lodges have water taxis and that the Ellsworth Rock Garden is a must-see. The park service had ended their tours for the season to the gardens, and we wanted to see it. They suggested Arrowhead Lodge, because it is close to Woodenfrog and is a straight shot out to the rock garden on the Kabetogama Peninsula. We arranged for that trip on our way back to camp for the night. The next morning, promptly at “…8:30 or 9:00 or whenever”, we got over to Arrowhead. We were the only two on the boat besides the lodge owner/tour guide. On the way out, he filled us in on some of the park information and wheeled us by “Jack’s Cabin” right off Cutover Island. Jack was one of the land owners who were displaced by the park’s land acquisitions and one of the few very much in favor of the park. He donated all of Cutover Island, one of the larger islands in the park, with the stipulation that he have a life-time lease on his cabin on a little island just off Cutover. He is now 86 years old, and they think he and some family were visiting the cabin during the time that we were at Voyageurs. Our tour guide hopes that the park keeps the cabin even after Jack’s death, because of its historic value (not to mention tourist draw). Also on the way out to the rock garden, we saw one adult and one juvenile bald eagle perched in trees. There is a very healthy bald eagle population of over 150 in the park, and most mating pairs are able to raise all their chicks to fledge. When we arrived at the garden we found it to be quite amazing. While there were only a few flowers left blooming the rock work was impressive. No one knows, for sure, why Ellsworth built his rock garden over a period of 20 years, moving and balancing huge rocks all by hand with no helpers or mechanized tools. Jack Ellsworth estimated he put in between 14,000 to 15,000 hours in creating the garden, and he wanted it to appear to be a waterfall of flowers. It is a very inspiring and interesting place. “Nuff words, here’s some pictures:

Jack's Cabin Hidden in the Trees

Ellsworth Gardens Rockwork - flower season is over for this year

BYK and JEK at Arrowhead Sculpture in Ellsworth Gardens

It was quite windy and rough on the lake for our trip out to Ellsworth’s and back, which was fine on the large pontoon boat. But we decided to defer the canoe trip that we planned to take out to some of the closer islands until the winds died a little. They didn’t that day. Those winds were a front that brought a thunderstorm that evening providing the wonderful pitter patter of rain on the roof that lulls you to sleep. We decided that maybe we’d get out on a canoe after the Kettle Falls trip. Instead of the canoeing, we decided on a hike. We took the Echo Bay Trail, which is part of the NP but is encircled by the state forest where our campground was located. This trail was interesting as it went through various forest environments and from 2nd or 3rd growth into some first growth white pines.

Echo Bay Trail

The next morning was our Kettle Falls trip. The storm the night before had blown a dead tree across the campground road during the night, but Johnny was able to easily move it out of the way. We were on a nearly full (actually it would have been full, but one couple didn’t show up) tour boat. The trip to Kettle Falls was about 28 miles and was done on a national park pontoon boat even larger than the one we took out to Ellsworth. Even though there was a prediction of a 30% chance of rain, the weather turned out to be fabulous; warm by northern MN standards with clear blue skies and calm water. There were two rangers on our boat, the captain and our tour guide. On the 2-hour trip to Kettle Falls, we learned more about the history of the park and some of the eccentric early inhabitants of some of the islands. We saw at least five bald eagles and several of their huge, dishelved looking nests. We spent about 3 hours at Kettle Falls, touring the hotel, having lunch in the hotel restaurant, hiking, and touring the dam. You get tipsy in the bar of the hotel without drinking a drop of alcohol, because the floor has a HUGE hump in it (note the wedge-shaped support under the pool table in the picture below). The hotel was restored in 1986, because the original was built in 1913 without a foundation. The outer walls sank as much as 5 feet following the contour of the rock, and the hardwood floors all had large bows in them. The hallway upstairs was called “the ridgeback” because of the hump, and the hotel acquired the nickname “The Tiltin’ Hilton.” The bar floor was kept in the original shape, but other floors were leveled. Way back when, the lumber company owner on the island thought that the falls were the most beautiful that he’d seen, so he built a dam over them to provide hydroelectric power for his lumber mill. What was he thinking? Think the old greenbacks were influencing his decision? The trip back was uneventful and quiet; there were only one or two sights to see that we hadn’t already. The weather, wind, and water were all conducive to a nice canoe ride, but we were just too tired. And we’re here to have fun, so, maybe tomorrow before we leave for northern visitor center.

Bald Eagle Nest

Kettle Falls Hotel

Ketle Falls Bar - check the wedge under the pool table

Looking Downstream from Kettle Falls Dam

The Rainy Visitor Center is at the western end of the park by International Falls, and we decided to head on up there without doing the canoe trip. He VC offers beautiful views of Rainy Lake. Being late in the season all of their programs had ended for the year. We watched a video about the life of the voyageurs and then took a short hike around the waterfront. Beautiful, serene vistas of deep blue water, green forests and soft blue sky accented with puffy white clouds. Can’t get much better.

After a delicious lunch at the Chocolate Moose (don’t you just love that name?) in International Falls we were ready to head for our next destination; Badlands National Park in South Dakota.

11) Isle Royale National Park, August 29, - September 6, 2009

After solving most of our issues and waiting interminably for a home refrigerator repair, we finally got on the road from Huntsville, headed for Isle Royale National Park. This park is an island at the northwest corner of Lake Superior and is really designed for backpackers. It is accessible only by boat or sea plane. Commercial boats go from Copper Harbor, MI and Grand Portage, MN. A National Park boat leaves from Houghton, MI where the park headquarters is located. After studying various possibilities and talking to the folks at Grand Portage, we decided to do two day trips; one from Copper Harbor and one from Grand Portage. So we set the GPS for Copper Harbor and headed out (it’s over 1,000 miles).

There is nothing especially exciting about the trip up to Copper Harbor; the scenery is nice, but very similar to Tennessee and Alabama. We camped the first night at Edinburgh, IN and the second night at Kohler-Andrea State Park, just south on Sheboygan, WI. The only “fun” that we had on the way up to this point was during the second day, we detoured a little bit when we passed Chicago and headed over to Great Lakes/North Chicago/Waukegan, IL, where we lived during most of our Navy years. It had been about 34 years since we left there, so, as you might have guessed, things have changed dramatically. The on-base house that we lived in for the last 3 years is now behind a 10-foot fence that is covered with green netting, making it difficult to see. What we could see was a lot of tall weeds and houses that are obviously abandoned. The rest of the “Village” is still in use, so we don’t know if they plan to update our house (and the others on the three or so quarantined streets) or tear it down. We didn’t recognize the other two places that we lived, or our favorite Chinese Restaurant (Ho Wah’s where Barbara forced down the last couple of bites of Shrimps in Lobster Sauce while going into labor with our first child), but we’re sure that we passed directly by their locations. Kohler-Andrea State Park is nice, and we strolled the beach of Lake Michigan, watching waves larger than we normally see on the Gul Coast—but it’s August and 55 degrees, also not what we’d see on the Gulf.

Lake Michigan at Sunset

Copper Harbor is a picturesque little village near the tip of a peninsula off the north shore of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We drove right through town and set up camp at Fort Wilkins Historic State Park, about a mile from the center of town. The park is between lakes Superior and Fanny Hooe (not who, but hoe). Fanny Hooe Lake drains into Lake Superior by way of Fanny Hooe Creek, a raging creek filled with very cold water that flows through the park. We went to the evening program, presented by Rich Jamsen, who grew up in town as part of a commercial fishing family of Finnish descent. His pictures and stories of Copper Harbor and the surrounding area were very interesting. We also strolled over the creek and then drove over to the Copper Harbor Lighthouse overlook. It’s like a post card.

Fanny Hooe Creek

Moon Over Lake Fanny Hooe

The Isle Royale Queen IV, from Copper Harbor to Isle Royale -the locals pronounce it royal -leaves early in the morning. There were lots of backpackers on the boat, and the trip took about three hours. This was a good day, for this time of year, because the wind was only 10 to 15 knots, and the seas were only 2 to 3 feet. We were taking the seas broadside, so there was some roll, but not too bad. It’s about 54 miles from Copper Harbor to Rock Harbor on Isle Royale, so there was a long stretch when we were out of sight of land; pretty boring for this period but relaxing with the roll of the boat. As we neared the island, the view was great with the small bay at Rock Harbor coming closer and closer. There are over 400 smaller islands around the main island, and there are rocks and cliffs and the clear, Gitchee Gumee all around, making for a beautiful scene.

Arriving at Rock Harbor - The Water Was That Blue

On the island, after a short ranger orientation (don’t pet the moose), we did our normal ranger grilling to be sure that we did the best trail that we could in the short (about 3 hours) time that we had. The way the boats run, we could either go for the day as we did, stay overnight in at the lodge (we don’t backpack), or stay several days. If we stayed overnight, we would only get a couple of more hours to explore, because the boat leaves at oh-dark-thirty the next morning. Anyway, we selected the Stoll Memorial Trail with an extension all the way out to Scoville Point. This trail follows along Tobin Bay and provides several good vistas and affords a good sampling of the terrain and flora of the east end of island.

On the Stoll Memorial Trail

Lake Superior from the Stoll Memorial Trail

Walking the Plank on the Stoll Memorial Trail

Scoville Point, Isle Royale National Park

The next morning, we had time to do a tour of the Copper Harbor Lighthouse and have lunch before checkout time at the campground. The lighthouse tour was really well worth the time. A 20-minute ride in a small boat took us most of the length of Copper Harbor (the harbor is much larger than the town of the same name) out to the point where the lighthouse is situated. There is a new, blah, metal tower light that sits in front of the lovely, restored, historical lighthouse. The nice boatman also served as our tour guide for the hour or so that we were on site. We also had time to take a hike from the lighthouse, along the shoreline, past one of the old copper mine shafts, and back to the boat dock. This was a very pleasant morning; we even took time to have lunch at the local, Harbor Haus Restaurant before breaking camp. It was about 6 or 8 minutes after checkout, but we didn’t get busted as we headed out of Copper Harbor.

Copper Harbor Lighthouse

But wait. There’s more.

We pretty much hugged the shore of Lake Superior all the way from Copper Harbor, around the western tip of the lake, then up all the way to the Canadian border (almost). We took two days to make the approximately 400-mile trip, stopping at Pattison State Park, about 14 miles south of Superior, WI (across the river from Duluth, MN) for the night. On the way from Pattison to Grand Portage, MN, we stopped at Two Harbors, MN to take a tour of their lighthouse. This is a small lighthouse, still in operation, dating from the time when steel was king, and Minnesota had more shipping tonnage than any other area in the world. And they were doing that during an 8-month shipping season. This tour was interesting, but the best part of the lighthouse was off limits, because the light keeper’s residence is now a B&B. Just up the road a little farther was Split Rock Lighthouse, so we stopped there, too. This is a much more “up-scale” operation, with a large, modern visitor center, guides, and period-dressed enactors in the well-restored lighthouse and keeper’s house. This light is no longer in operation but during its time was a very important guide for shipping. So important, in fact, that there were three large, nice houses; one for the keeper and one each for two assistant keepers. The setting for this light is really beautiful at the crest of a 130-foot cliff over the water.

Split Rock Lighthouse

We’ll tell you the story about the camping situation at Grand Portage another time. Suffice it to say that we were wrong when we thought that this might be a remote, isolated area; it’s REALLY remote and isolated. So we wound up camping at Judge J C Magney State Park, about 20 miles south of the Grand Portage boat dock. We had to get up early, again, to catch the Wenonah out to Windigo on Isle Royale’s west end. This commercially-run boat made two stops on the way to the island: one at Hat Point where an old commercial fishing shack is still located (but not in operation); the second one was over the wreck of the cruise ship America, just at the mouth of Washington Harbor. This 20-or-so-mile trip took about 3 hours, with the stops. Washington Harbor is fjord-like, in that it’s less than ½ mile wide and about 4 miles long, ending at the Windigo Ranger Station.

Washington Harbor Going into Windigo

Rangers Awaiting our Arrival at Windigo

We got another ranger orientation (don’t pet the moose), and grilled them, too. We selected the Feldtman Lake Trail to Grace Creek Overlook. The trail goes on, but we didn’t have time for that. Along this about 3.6 miles of trail, we were able to find and munch on some delicious, wild blueberries, thimbleberries, and raspberries—yum. We got back to the dock/ranger station just in time for a short ranger program about the moose, wolves, and the longest running predator-prey study in the country. The return trip was very foggy as we left the protected harbor, so we didn’t get to make the normal stop at Rock of Ages Lighthouse—next time.

White Birch Along the Feldtmman Trail

Approaching the Fog

We spent one more night at Judge J C Magney so that we could tour the Grand Portage National Monument. Before heading back to Grand Portage from the campsite, we took the Devil’s Kettle Trail in the state park. This trail takes you up to a point where the Bruel River splits in half, and one half of the water goes down a big hole, seemingly to disappear forever. They say that there is no explanation as to where the water goes; there are no underground tunnels (it’s not limestone like down home). But, it seemed to us that just below the kettle, the river is as large as it is above, so… The National Monument includes, besides the preserved, 8.5-mile grand portage trail, a reconstructed stockade where the Voyageurs from the northwest met up with the pork eaters from Montreal to exchange furs and trade goods as part of the Northwest Company. Also provided at the monument, were information and exhibits, including a small village, of the history of the Ojibwe Indians, who were instrumental in the running of the trade routes. In fact, the Ojibwe were treated better by the NWco than were the voyageurs and pork eaters, who were rough and tumble canoe men, forced to camp outside of the stockade to do their fighting and raucous dealings. Our next stop was at Grand Portage State Park on the US/Canadian border. We hiked to High Falls which at 130 feet is the highest waterfall in Minnesota. Very pretty!

Devil's Kettle, Judge C. R. Magney State Park

Great Hall, Grand Portage National Monument

High Falls, Grand Portage State Park

Thus enlightened, we headed back to the campsite to plan the path to our next adventure and to get a good night’s sleep. We wanted to be ready to head out in the morning for Ely, MN, about half way to Voyageurs National Park.

10) Great Sand Dunes National Park, July 28, - July 31, 2009

As we approached the location that we knew to be Great Sand Dunes National Park, we began to see what looked like light-colored foot hills below the Sangre de Christo range of the Rockies. Again, the vista was just great: the nearly cloudless sky; the mountains; the wide, flat valley. Of course, one drives and drives, and the mountains seem no closer for a long time, but as we got fairly close, it was clear that these “foothills” were the sand dunes. They are amazing in their extent and height and in their location in this high (over 7,000 feet) desert valley.

The Great Sand Dunes

We arrived a little later than the suggested noon, to insure that we would find a camp site, but we had not had any trouble at any other park. None has even been close to half full. As we came through the gate, the ranger said that there were “…a few sites left. Get one quickly, because we’re filling up. Your best bet is Loop One.” So we went directly there, did not pass go, did not collect $200. There were 3 sites in loop one, not counting the reserved, handicap-accessible sites, bur we got a good one, with an unobstructed view of the dunes and the intervening meadow.

View of the Dunes from Our Campsite

Without even setting up camp, we headed to the visitor center before it closed. We like to grill the rangers and volunteers at visitor centers to get the “local knowledge” as to what the best trails are and what other things we need to do in the park and the area. When they ask, “How much time do you have?” it’s great to be able to say. “How much time do we need?” The centers also often have small but interesting museums and orientation videos. At this visitor center, we learned, among other things, the interesting story of the dunes formation.

We got back to camp in time to fix some dinner and get over to the amphitheater for the ranger program on the “Tigers of the Great Sand Dunes National Park”. A well-done program by a ranger who obviously loves his work (We find that to be true of all rangers.) The adults in the audience enjoyed the program as much as the kids, because the information presented was interesting, and he really played to the kids. By the way, the “Tigers” are the indigenous tiger beetle and tiger salamander. Looking at the dunes from even a short distance away, it’s hard to believe that anything survives there, but they do.

Besides the dunes, the park includes a lot of the surrounding land and mountainside, which was obtained at the time that it was transformed from a National Monument to a National Park in 2004. So, there are several interesting trails to explore. We did the Montville Nature Trail inside the park boundaries and the Zapata Falls Trail, which is on BLM land just south of the park. The Montville Trail takes you along the old toll road that goes over the Mosca Pass. You have the option to continue up and over the pass or continue on a loop back to the parking area. We opted to do the loop. The loop also goes through an area that was once the little settlement of Montville (hence the trail name), but there is little or no remaining vestige—it requires some imagination as you read the trail guide at the numbered stops.

View of the Dunes from Montville Nature Trail

Mosca Creek, Montville Nature Trail

The road to the trailhead for Zapata Falls is another “dirt” road (really rocks and washboard interspersed with a little dirt, which we saw a lot of out west) for several miles. The trailhead is further than the literature says, so keep going until you get to an obvious parking area with restroom facilities, etc. Then, the trail is very rocky and pretty steep. But, when you get near the falls, the real challenge starts. At least one couple turned back at that point after all of the effort to get there. We pushed on, following a young woman and two children who blocked our way several times as they stopped for the children to pose for multiple photos. This part is about 150 yards of rock climbing and stream crossing and re-crossing to get to the mouth of a cave. The falls are back in the cave about 15 or 20yards, around a corner, and it is amazing. The sound is huge in that space as the water cascades 30 feet, crashing off the rocks as it descends to a small pool at the bottom. Well worth the effort, we thought, and very cool and refreshing after the workout. Be sure to wear waterproof shoes with enclosed toes.

Zapata Falls

Besides Zapata Falls, the ranger had told us that one of his favorite places in the whole area is the Blanca Wetlands—also BLM not far from the park. But first, we wanted to hike to the top of High Dune. High dune is the highest peak in the dunes, but not the tallest. (Star Dune is the tallest.) This is because highest is measured from sea level, and tallest is measured from the base. High Dune provides a whole new perspective on the dunes. From anywhere on the floor of the valley, you can only see the edge of the dunes. But from the peak (or from one of the higher mountainside trails), you can see the vast extent of the sand—30 square miles. Amazing. (Am I over-using that word? It’s hard not to.) There are no trails in the sand, of course, but it is an interesting challenge to pick the least difficult way to go. Going up is tough in the soft sand as you take one step up, only to slide back a half step. This takes some resolve and a “one-step-at-a-time” attitude. Just when we were within only about 200 yards of the top, a young man coming down said, “It’s not too much further. It’s just past this next peak a ways.” Another false peak. But the trip down was a trip. In many places, we could “skate” down, taking huge strides and sliding on one foot like the Norwegian speed skaters or us on our cross-country skis. Great fun.

On the Trail Up the Highest Dune

We Made It to the Top!

The Top of the Great Sand Dunes

The Blanca Wetlands turned out to be another surprise. In the middle of the high-desert valley, artesian springs bubble up and form several small lakes and swamps encircled by cattails – just gorgeous. As the ranger told us, no one goes there. It’s not marked on any of the roads, so you have to know where you’re going. We spent a few hours there (only chased out by a dangerous looking thunder storm headed our way) and did not see another human. This is another place that deserves more time.

Trail through Blanca Wetands

Pond at Blanca Wetlands

The Approaching Storm

Our next adventures became delayed as events sort of piled up that lead us to decide to go home for a few days.

On the Way to Great Sand Dunes National Park, July 16-July 28, 2009

From Mesa Verde we went to Durango, Colorado with the goal of riding the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. We had dinner that night at the Steamworks Brewery which was delicious. I had lobster ravioli in cream sauce with a raspberry coulis and Johnny had four cheese macaroni. Yum!

3rd Street in Historic District of Durango, Colorado

For several years friends had been telling us about the gorgeous scenery along the railroad's route, and it did not disappoint. At the suggestion of our campground hosts we chose to ride in one of the enclosed cars so we wouldn't suffer from raccoon syndrome. If you look at the picture of the train you can see the black smoke pouing out of the smokestack. Even at that our clothes were rather gritty feeling if we ran our hands down our pants legs.We were amazed, too, at the number of people who stopped along the nearby roads and at the crossings to get out of their cars or RVs to wave and take pictures of the train. There were also a lot of locals who stopped what they were doing in their yards or in apartment parking lots to smile and wave. I think pictures will do a better job describing the sights and scenery we saw along the route.

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad - Our Train

Inside Our Train Car

The Animas River Along the Route

The Animas River Going into the Ponderosa Pines

Grove of Aspens Along the Route

More Animas River - It is Gorgeous!

Approaching Silverton in the Distance - Some Snow Still in the Mountains

Silverton reminds you of an old mining town that still has not joined the 21st century. One of the main streets is still unpaved. There are restaurants, shopping and B&B’s if you want to spend the night and take the train back the next day. After signing up to take the train both ways, we discovered you can take the train one way and ride a bus back to Durango. This saves time, but we liked the different perspective of seeing the sights going and coming. We also had time to walk around old Durango and do a little shopping. Shopping is not one of the travelers in this party of 2’s favorite pastimes (I shan’t mention which one), so it was kept to a minimum.

According to Gauge Avalance Probability Appears to be Low

Stagecoach on Blair Street, Silverton, Colorado

On the way out of Durango, we drove to Chimney Rock Archeological Area, another recommendation from one of the rangers at Mesa Verde. This site is significant because of the alignment of many of the structures with the opening between Chimney Rock and Companion Rock to solar and lunar events. The Major Lunar Standstill occurs every 18.6 years,and the most recent one lasted from 2005-2007 with the next one in 2022. During this time period, as viewed from the fire tower, the moon rises between Chimney Rock and Companion Rock. We have it on our calendar for 2022.

Chimney Rock, on Right, and Companion Rock

Panorama from Top of the Mountain

We continued down the road and stopped at Ghost Ranch at Abiquiu, New Mexico for the night. Ghost Ranch is the beloved location where Georgia O’Keefe lived for over fifty years and painted some of her more famous works. While she never owned the ranch itself, the owners allowed her to purchase a house and 7 acres of land located on the ranch. She said God told her if she painted Pedernal , a mountain visible from the ranch, enough, he would give it to her. When she died her ashes were spread on Pedernal. We can fully understand why O’Keefe fell in love with this place. The beautiful colors, pinks, golds, and purples of the mountains, are outstanding, the pristine sky that serves as a backdrop, and the sense of peace and tranquility when you step onto the land - it is truly a very special place on our planet.

Georgia O'Keefe's Beloved Pedernal, Flat-Topped Mountain

Dining Hall at Ghost Ranch

We are taking the roundabout way to Great Sand Dunes, because we had to go by way of Las Cruces to get the tonneau cover for the truck installed. That done we head north toward Colorado, but by the time we get close to Albuquerque we notice the tires on the trailer are wearing very unevenly. A quick stop in Albuquerque to get an alignment and new tires on the trailer turned into 5 days, and we wound up leaving with our old tires back on the trailer. It seems there are no tires in New Mexico that will fit our trailer. We figure we might have better luck in Colorado. While waiting for tires in Albuquerque, we had a few good meals, including Jean-Pierre Creperie, which was really good. We visited the Botanical Gardens and Aquarium and drove to Santa Fe to visit Mission San Miguel and some of the art galleries along Canyon Road. We also took a day trip to Acoma Pueblo, which was on a holy day like when we visited the Taos Pueblo. This means no cameras or cell phones are allowed in the pueblo. While we were touring Acoma, some of the residents were involved in performing a rain dance. As we drove away from the parking lot, it began pouring down rain. A coincidence?

Acoma Pueblo on Top of Mesa

The next day, after waiting and waiting for the trailer, we departed Albuquerque fairly late in the afternoon. We only got to Santa Fe (again) where we spent the night before heading out for Great Sand Dunes National Park.