Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City, UT

November 22nd, 2014

I had a long drive ahead of me as I made my way south. I was headed toward Bear Lake State Park in Utah. With the road through Yellowstone closed for the winter, I had to make my way around the park. US 119 took me through the mountains that surround Yellowstone. The area is loaded with campsites, most closed for the winter, that serve as overflow for the park during the summer. The trees were covered with snow, the creek was still flowing, and the mountains were towering overhead. If you can't get into the park due to crowds, this would be a pretty nice alternative. It was also one of the more relaxing drives I have had.

Sunset in Montpelier, ID

I made it all the way to Montpelier before I checked the weather forecast for the area. Unfortunately the weather was not going to cooperate and it was going to drop to 5° that night, well below my sleeping bags limits. I wasn't even sure that the Bear Lake had campsites available, so I stayed in Montpelier.

Lights behind my hotel for the night

There wasn't much to do in the town, but there was a giant M behind my hotel. I am not sure if it was for the High School, or something else, but I counted them as the first Christmas lights of the season.

Bear Lake State Park

The next morning I made the quick trip down to check out Bear Lake. On the way there, the land was mostly flat, which was a vast difference from the mountainous terrain I was used to. Then, as if appearing out of nowhere, was a giant lake with mountains off in the distance.

It is very much a summer destination and it was mostly abandoned while I was there. The docks were mostly empty, with one or two boats for emergencies. There was no ice in the lake, but I am sure it was far too cold to swim in. The whole area seemed very touristy, like a summer destination for everyone who lived in Salt Lake City. After taking a few pictures by the lake and on top of the mountains on the way out, I made my way towards Salt Lake City.

I had to pass through Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest on my way to Salt Lake City. It was another wooded, winding road through the mountains, which was really relaxing. There was even a ski hill tucked in there, making me wish I had brought my snowboard gear.

Logan, UT

After leaving the national forest, you are greeted with this view in Logan, UT. You are high up overseeing the valley with some mountains off in the distance. I sat in my car and looked around for a few minutes. It is hard to believe there wasn't anyone else stopping to enjoy the view. They must be used to it.

Mormon Headquarters: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I arrived in Salt Lake City shortly after noon. I walked around the church square, which took up quite a large portion of the city. I didn't go inside any of the buildings because a wedding was going on and I didn't think they would appreciate an underdressed onlooker.

I walked around the outdoor mall looking for a decent place for lunch. I eventually pulled out my phone and used Yelp to find Spitz.

Spitz SLC

One of the things I was spoiled with back in Dearborn was Shawarma. I hadn't really had anything remotely close to as good until I stopped at Spitz. Not only was it good Shawarma, it ranked up there with some of the best from Dearborn. Stuffed, I made my way out of the city and continued south.

Salt Lake City was located at a crossroads for me. I had two paths that I could take: I could go east and revisit Arches National Park, or I could head west and visit Zion. I decided that if I was going to revisit Arches, I should likely see if there was anything else around to see. I noticed that Canyonlands was essentially right next to Arches, so Arches won out.

I made it as far as the rest area before US 191, pulled in, and slept in my car for the night.

Pictures of Salt Lake City

Yellowstone National Park

It was about 5° outside, and the water coming out can be upwards of 150°.

November 21st, 2013

I didn't leave Riverside until after lunch, so I only had a few hours of driving before it started to get dark. I made it through Idaho and into Montana just after it got dark. I spent the night in Butte, determined to get an early start and make it to Yellowstone the next day.

It was such a dark night that I completely missed the fact that my hotel was surrounded by mountains when I woke up. It is hard to imagine giant mountains being anything remotely close to "sneaky", and yet they nearly took my breath away when I started the car.

I did indeed get my early start, but as I had come to expect not everything in my journey was going to go as smooth as planned. There has been a lot of talk this year about the "Arctic Vortex", caused by the jetstream being pushed south. I happened to be on I-90, west of Bozeman, MT when this happened back in November. The skies went from clear to less than 15 feet of visibility. Traffic nearly came to a complete hault. I limped along on the road to Livingston, where I would need to turn and head south to get to Yellowstone.

Not wanting to push my luck with the storm, I stayed at the Super 8. If you are ever in Livingston, I highly recommend staying there. Great rooms, low price, nice staff, plenty of coffee. By the next morning, the storm had cleared and I was able to make my way south.

Yellowstone is a BIG park. So big, in fact, that they are not able to keep the entire park's road system open all year round. When I was there, only the northernmost road was open, while the rest was limited to the rangers. This means that if I wanted to go see Old Faithful I would have a 60 mile round trip hike from the closest place I could park. I will let that wonder wait until I come back to visit in the summer months...

Approximately parallel with Traverse City, MI!

One of the first sights upon entering the park was a river that ran next to the road. It was a super cold day due to the jetstream, so it was a little odd not seeing any ice flowing down the river. There were signs posted next to the river warning people not to go in (not that I was tempted at all). Upstream the river met with a hot spring, so the water temperature was upwards of 150°. Not something you wanted to use for a quick dip.

The river is partially fed by a hot spring, so you could see green vegetation in the river with snow on the bank!

One of the areas still accessible was the Mammoth Hot Springs. Most of the businesses up there (gas station, hotel, general store) were closed, but you could still walk on the platforms surrounding the springs.

Liberty Cap: dormant hot spring cone

 There were many formations, like the cone above, to go and see. They are formed by minerals brought up from the springs and deposited on the surface. The springs aren't fixed, and some of the paths up to the surface can become dormant for years before flowing again. The whole area is pretty volatile and reminds you that Yellowstone is still a very active volcano.

Some of the walkways took you almost down to water level. The steam rising up from these smelled just like the hot springs that I was able to lounge in back at Olympic. With the day being as cold as it was, I was wishing for a nice relaxing soak.

The deposits formed little plateaus. 

View from the upper springs

Waterfall hidden at the end of the trail.

After exploring the springs and taking a nice hike, I made my way east. Since only the northern road was opened, I tried to see everything that was available to me in a single day. After I left the hot spring area, I started to see some wildlife. There were lots of buffalo, a few foxes, a wolf, and lots of deer. I didn't see any elk, but I think they prefer a different area during the colder months.

Buffalo!

The road east changed elevation quite a few times. The environment was also different, between heavily forested areas and wide open plains. There were a few hidden lakes and watering holes, as well as evidence from the last eruption of Yellowstone. It was absolutely stunning.

Everywhere I looked there were great panorama shots!

Taken from a bridge crossing the Yellowstone River

I made it as far as I could east before turning around. The roads were beginning to get really icy as the trees got closer to the road. Since I was going to need to head west to continue my journey, I backtracked to Livingston. I was able to enjoy the sun setting over the mountains and changing the scenery the entire way back.

The last picture I was able to snap before it really got dark.

Again, this is an area of the country that pictures just do not do it justice. I can see why people spend weeks out here during the summer. I intend on coming back to visit and seeing everything I can.

Take a look at the pictures linked below, I have about 95 from the area.

Pictures of Yellowstone National Park

Riverside State Park

Lt. Data's costume from ST:TNG

November 18th, 2013

After returning from Alma, I spent that last weekdays and weekend with Max and Cait before taking off on the road again. Max and I visited the EMP museum. Basically, it is a nerd haven with fantasy, fiction, sci-fi, and music exhibits. They were also handing out starter packs of Magic The Gathering cards, so Max and I were playing during lunch. I am not sure how, but I am pretty sure we were the biggest nerds there.

Simon Peg's costume from Shaun of the Dead.

They have a recording studio upstairs where you can record 15 minutes of yourself or a group on instruments.

On the last night Max, Cait, and myself did a night on the town in Seattle. We hit a few of the higher rated bars and speakeasies. We had tried to visit a brewery that we had a Groupon for, but they closed before we got there. Have to check those times closely! We still had a great time visiting the other places downtown. We even got to watch a class of acrobats practicing. I think Max and Cait might be trying some of that this year.

In the morning I said my goodbyes and hopped in the car. Cait said I couldn't come back this time until I finished the trip! I had my plan to make a V across the country; making my way south before shooting back home to Traverse City. This portion would be a much faster pace than my first leg, to see as much as I could before reaching home and prepping for the wedding. My first stop was Riverside State Park, just outside Spokane, WA.

Passing over the Columbia River. Such a great place for lunch with a view!

On my way there I had to pass through the Cascades. There wasn't any snow when I left Seattle, but as I went higher into the mountains there was quite a bit of it. The roads weren't too bad, but you really couldn't go full speed.

The furthest I ventured upon arriving.

I got there just around 4:30. This meant I only had about an hour before it got dark. I setup my tent, walked about 2 minutes to the bridge to take the shot above, made dinner, and went to sleep.

Other side of the bridge in the morning.

Bridge constructed by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps). These guys did great work at a lot of the parks I visited.

I woke up just after sunrise and hit the trails. I hadn't been hiking for a while, so it was good to get back into nature. I didn't really see anyone out on the trail, which wasn't too surprising. I was also the only person who stayed the night at the park. It was like my own private state park for the day!

The trail kept pretty close to the river the whole time. It was much calmer upstream.

I hiked along the path for about 4 miles until I saw it was another 8 miles to my destination. The maps they had didn't really give you a good idea of how long the paths were, since they stuck pretty close to the campsites. Not wanting to walk a total of 20 miles that day, I made my way back to the camp. 8 miles after not hiking for about a month would prove to be enough the next morning when my feet and legs would ache.

Being by myself, there was really not much to do in the park besides hike. Hiking is great, but after spending half the day in my own head I had had enough for a little while.

Really cool bar, and lots of craft beer!

With the day halfway over, I decided I would grab some lunch downtown. I got on Yelp and found The Flying Goat. I had a pear and blue cheese pizza that was fantastic. I of course had to wash it down with a local craft beer.

After lunch I hit the road again towards Yellowstone.

Pictures of the EMP
Pictures of Riverside State Park

Alma, MI

Grandpa Ted Brecht

November 8th, 2013

After Rainier, I stuck around in Seattle waiting for my laptop to come back. It was acting up and had to be sent back for servicing. In that time I also tweaked my back somehow (still kind of a mystery). Once I got my laptop back, I figured I would hit the road again. I had been in Seattle on and off for about a month and was itching to get back out there.

I was about ready to leave when I got a call from my Mom. My Grandpa (Mom's side) wasn't doing well back home. Grandpa hadn't been doing well for a while, but in the past week he had taken a turn towards the worst. I dropped my plans and found the first flight back to Michigan.

I landed in Grand Rapids around 10:30pm and waited for my sister to get there from Chicago. I took up the driving, arriving in Elwell around midnight. She had to work all day before heading to pick me up.

We were able to see Grandpa in the hospital. I had seen my Grandma Doherty (Dad's side) before she passed and the sight was very similar. The man that I loved was sitting there in pain and looked rather foreign to me. Grandpa was always smiling when us kids were around but he was out of it. The worst part was feeling absolutely powerless.

Grandpa always hated hospitals, so we moved him to hospice. The place was out in the woods, surrounded by trees and really peaceful. Grandpa passed while most of us were on our way to the hospice. Those who were around said that he seemed to relax a little after seeing he was out of the hospital.

My cousin Adam and his fiance Angela drove all day from Duluth, MN but didn't make it in time. I don't know if that is better or worse. My sister didn't get to see Grandma Doherty before she passed. Her memories don't include the sadness of seeing Grandma in pain.

Grandpa and Adam

We decided we would scan some pictures we had of him and make a slide show. I did a lot of the scanning with my sister, but when it came time to put the slideshow together I was incapacitated by my back. The pain had been around since I hurt it, but it reasserted  with a vengeance. I couldn't stand, sit, or lay down. My Dad took me to emergency care and they gave me some meds that made it manageable. Adam was able to finish the slideshow with his dad.

My back also prevented me from being a pallbearer at the funeral. This hurt because I felt that this was the one thing I could do for him and it had been taken away. I know Grandpa would understand, but it still had me feeling useless.

At the cemetery, Grandpa was honored with a 21 gun salute for his service. He joined the Army during the Korean War and was stationed in Greenland 1952 to 1954.

I spent my summers out on the farm with my sister. We would always "help" grandpa by shucking corn, cleaning the dust off the combine, or cutting grass around the machines. He would cook us breakfast in the morning; sausage, pancakes and eggs. Adam and I rode with him a few times to drop off grain at the elevators, often hopping in the wagons to help force the grain out. He always had a few animals following him around, often with us joining the pack. He was always, always good to us.

I am not a very emotional person, at least on the outside, but this hurt. Even now, writing this, I am fighting tears. My Grandpa was a great man and I will miss him dearly.

Mt. Rainier

Housekeeping: I am currently back home for the holidays, and will try and finish off the remaining blog posts (about 20) before the end of the year.

Oct. 19th, 2013

The weekend after I went back to Redmond, Max had some friends stop by. George and Michelle  came from Colorado to explore Seattle, as well as catch up with Max.

On the weekend, we decided to head down to Mt. Rainier. The parks were finally open again, and it was just a few hours drive to get there.

We slept in late, and didn't get started until noon. We were a little worried that we wouldn't be able to see anything at the park. Up until the last 10 minutes before the gate, the entire area was covered in a dense fog. However, the path cleared and we had blue skies for our entire visit!

View just entering the park.

I was so happy that the parks were back in service, and quite a few others were as well. It wasn't packed, but there were definitely a lot of people visiting.

We drove up to the top of the mountain first, checking out the trail to the peak. We didn't go too far because we were really not dressed for that type of weather.

George had toe shoes. Far too cold for me!

There was a visitors center on top with circular markers for each of the tall mountains along the Cascade Range. I snapped a few shots of the places I visited so far. Maybe one day I can see all of them!

The Medicine Lake eruption formed Lava Beds National Monument.

Crater Lake (Mount Mazama) was estimated at 12000 feet prior to the eruption the formed the lake.

Mount Rainier: 14410 feet

Deciding we wanted to keep all of our appendages, we made our way back down the mountain to a more suitable hike. We picked out a trail that went up the mountain, following a river and some waterfalls. This was a really peaceful area with beautiful views of the mountain as you climbed.

George decided he needed some exercise. Max dead-lifts.

We checked the time and decided that unless we wanted to walk back by the light of cell phones, we best head back to the car.

Made it back to the car just as the sun was setting.

This is another area that I wouldn't mind camping for a weekend and exploring all day.

Good Little Tourists :)

Pictures of Mt. Rainier

Deception Pass

Little buddy at my campsite

10/14/13

Housekeeping stuff: So, I am pretty far behind in my blog. As I write this today, I am at the Grand Canyon. I am at least 10 stops behind. I will try and post when I can, but I am more concentrated on the trip than the blog at the moment. I probably won't be caught up until Christmas time, but it will give you something to read in the Holiday craziness. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and didn't get trampled in the Black Friday madness!

Shortly after our trip to Wallace Falls, I decided I had better get back on the road. The national parks were still closed, but the state parks remained open. I went north to Deception Pass, with the idea that I would continue onto Vancouver.

It was a short drive up to the park, but I ran into problems almost immediately. First, the park required that you have a Discover Pass. This pass granted access to Washington state parks for an entire year for $30. Not a bad deal. However, they did not have a credit card machine and only had the self pay station open. Without the $30 in cash, I went to the ranger station to see if they could run my card. They couldn't, of course, but he knew where one of the self pay machines was. 10 minute trip and I had my pass in hand. Time to return to the park.

Second fumble, same story for the campsite: cash only. This time I had to find an atm. The corner store had an atm, but it was out of cash. Fear not, there was one 10 minutes up the road. Finally, I could enjoy the park...

The bridge over the pass. The park was quite calm.

I wandered around the park, taking a quick hike up to the bridge. The path took you along the beach. I remembered that I hadn't grabbed a walking stick since I set out on my journey, much to the dismay of my co-worker Mark. I decided to grab one and make my way back to the beach for sunset.

Watched the sunset while carving my new hiking stick and listening to a book. Really calming.

Not sure what caused the weird special rift in this picture. Happened in a few other shots for the park.

The next day I went further around the park. I climbed to the top of Goose Rock, then worked my way down along the coast. I stopped for about an hour to work on my walking stick; cleaning off the bark and creating a handhold. I was the only one on the trail, so it was quiet except for the birds and the wind.

On top of Goose Rock, the highest point in the park.

My trusty walking stick. Comes up to my shoulder. It has also been called my walking log/wizard staff.

The waters were calm and reflective.

The park didn't have many trials besides the ones I took, so I went to the north half of the park. There were a few more short hikes and scenic views, but not much. I ate a quick lunch while on a dock overlooking the islands.

Great view of the islands.

I felt like I had explored the area to it's fullest, and decided to head north. It was starting to get dark and I needed a place to sleep. I found Larrabee State Park on the map. It met all my requirements: state park and not national, open and not closed for the season, and relatively cheap. I arrived, set up camp, and just as I was about to start my fire I hear this loud horn. Turns out a train runs right by the park. So close that they warn campers on the edge closest to the tracks with a sign. The night was going to be fun.

I slept better than I thought, only waking up a few times that night to the train. It is a good thing I am a heavy sleeper. Overall, the campsite was nice if you could get past the train sounds. Running water, nice big camp sites, and warm showers (HUGE PLUS). I think I need to come back and give it another shot someday.

I didn't hike that day in the park. I decided it was going to be used for catching up on a few things, this blog included. I made my way to Bellingham and worked in a Starbucks the entire day. I was hoping that they would announce the national parks were going to re-open, so I could shoot over to Mt. Baker, but that didn't happen. At the end of the day, however, Max messaged me and convinced me to head back to Seattle. At this point, I didn't really feel like dealing with the border crossing or trying to find somewhere to stay for the night. So, return to Redmond I did.

Pictures of Deception Pass