Deer Lodge, MT - 7/26/17

Deer Lodge, Montana - 7/26/17

Deer Lodge ...
More churches than doctors; more bars than grocery stores; more casinos than restaurants ...
The leading attraction in Deer Lodge is a Prison Museum ...
this does not spell good times for a town.

Actually some efforts at revitalization are peaking through the abandoned town feeling, but there is a long way to go to bring any form of economic revival to this turn of the century town (there is a Go Fund Me site to preserve the Deer Lodge Inn ... currently boarded up, but in a turn of the century building).

Deer Lodge might be a case study for rural towns currently competing to have for-profit prisons placed in their town for jobs ... all that they might have in a decade or so is a Prison Museum.   Something to ponder ...

Bambi wanted to remind the town that saguaros don't grow this far north (too cold for them).

The KOA in Deer Lodge is on the Clark Fork River ... sounds picturesque, but it wasn't.

Fortunately, we are done with KOA campgrounds for awhile once we leave here.  Bambi has committed himself to stop complaining about KOA campgrounds and from offering unfavorable commentary on some rural communities ... he is going to "clean up" his act (was inspired by the Museum of Clean in Pocatello).

On to Wallace, Idaho ...

Pocatello, Idaho - 7/25/17

Pocatello, Idaho - 7/25/17

No pictures for this posting ... we had a drive through Utah into Pocatello, Idaho along US 15.  Highway construction along US 15 and rain kept our travels fairly focused on just getting to our next location ... in this case, a KOA campground in Pocatello.   We must admit that we are finding the KOA campgrounds to be disappointing ... while they score high on reliability (easy to make reservations and a consistent product/service) and are convenient when trying to travel to a destination ... they are not necessarily located in appealing areas and some have very basic facilities (and poor Internet) ... we need to do better for Bambi (and for ourselves).

I tried to talk Paul into going to the leading museum in Pocatello, the Museum of Clean ... "a massive 77,000 square foot complex teaching the value and history of clean across every aspect of life in a wide variety of entertaining, fun and highly interesting displays".  He sadly shook his head and offered the fact that perhaps I could get treatment for my cleaning disorder ... we laughed and enjoyed the absence of clean as we headed out of town ... on to Montana.  (Did you wonder how they keep a 77,000 square foot complex clean?  I did.  Inquiring minds want to know ...)

Shout Out to Phinny:  Our grand-puppy (actually an 11 year old Golden Doodle) is home now with our son, John, his wife, Paula, and our grand-son, Max, recovering from surgery to remove a mass on his spleen that was bleeding into his chest cavity.  They are awaiting biopsy results on the mass.  Phinn is home and recovering from his surgery doing his best to keep up everyone's spirits, including his own.

Glen Canyon Dam & Pioneer Day - 7/24/17

Glen Canyon Dam & Pioneer Day in Fillmore, Utah -7/24/17

Heading out of Bonito Campground just north of Flagstaff along US 89, we headed to northern Arizona through Glen Canyon Dam and stopping at the Glen Canyon Dam Visitor's Center ... the dam represents an enormous public works program and effort to manage water along the Colorado ... and yet, also represents the loss of what was known to be a stunningly beautiful Glen Canyon.  The opposition to the Glen Canyon Dam is often credited for the growth in the environmentalist movement ... pressure is still on by environmentalists to eliminate the Glen Canyon Dam.

Traveling through several very small towns along US 89 in Utah, we were scratching our heads wondering why each town was lined with American flags ... it looked like Independence Day in each small town, just waiting for the annual 4th of July parade and fireworks in the evening.  It turns out that July 24th is Pioneer Day in Utah ... a celebration and commemoration of the first Mormon pioneers who entered the Great Salt Lake Valley from Emigration Canyon on July 24, 1847.

So, what a perfect way to celebrate Pioneer Day than to stay in the middle of Utah ... Fillmore, Utah, to be exact ... at a KOA campground in the middle of the Great Basin desert ... lined with giant cottonwood trees and carefully tended green grass in front of each camping site ... bringing the green bounty to the desert.

Bambi was tucked into the campground amidst a sea of behemoths of recreational vehicles ... Feeling a bit small in the land of large format RVs ...

Paul takes care of Bambi's needs ...

Shout Out to Sander:  Our son, Sander, was struck by a driver, turning in front of him, while riding his bike on the streets of San Francisco.  The driver apparently did not see him even though he felt that they had made eye contact.  He took the full impact on his body and was brought to the hospital.   The driver stayed on the scene to offer assistance and report to the police.  Sander is bruised, swollen, scraped, but not broken.  He is home in his apartment in San Francisco resting and recovery.  Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Bonito Campground at Sunset Crater National Monument - 7/23/17

Bonito Campground at Sunset Crater National Monument near Flagstaff, Arizona - 7/23/17

We left Tucson dripping in sweat ... A flurry of packing, loading, and puzzling over what we might have forgotten ... the humidity from the previous night's monsoon rain storm left us needing another shower after our shower.  We also caught bits of the final day of Le Tour and the ever dramatic final sprint on the Champs Elysees to the finish.  Viva Le Tour and the amazing athletes who enter our lives in July and the stunningly beautiful country of France that hosts this magnificent sporting event.

The drive to northern Arizona was dramatic in its own right for the monsoon storms swirling around the mesas and mountain tops, marching across the valleys.   Dark sheets of rain, clouds in menacing formation, blinding torrents of rain covering the roadways and then disappearing ... creating a visceral sense of the incredible energy found in these storms.

If you've never had the experience of monsoon storms in the desert Southwest, take a look at the work of photographer, Mike Oblinski, in the link below that captures the raw power of a monsoon.

https://www.dpreview.com/news/5957544026/monsoon-iii-time-lapse-captures-the-raw-power-of-a-
monsoon?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2016-october-18&ref_=pe_1822230_211942830_dpr_nl_227_32

Our return to Bonito Campground was welcome relief from driving in and around the storms ... having been here twice before it is starting to feel familiar, like a home base for starting and ending trips north.  We continued to have more rain through the evening, but Bambi kept us dry and Fritz got a rain water rinse to begin our travels.

Rain reflected in Bambi's side

Rain puddling on Fritz's "sun" roof

Raindrops glistening like jewels on the ponderosa pines (we've reached higher elevations - 7000+ feet)

We're on our way ...

Siphon Draw Trail to the Basin (not the Flatiron) - 11/22/16

Unfortunately, not many pictures on this last day of hiking in the Superstition Mountains.  We hiked the Siphon Draw Trail from the campground to an area called the Basin.  The elevation at the campground was approximately 2,000 feet and we climbed 1,100 feet to the Basin.  Paul labeled it "an efficient route uphill" ... code words for steep, straight up, rocky climb with no level stretches.  We were in the sun (I kept hoping for the shade of the canyon) most of the way until we crossed into the draw of the canyon.

We rested at the Basin, a small pond of water attracting countless bees in the crux of the rhyolite that had been eroded by the water falling off of the cliffs above.  In the shade it became quite cool ... on with the jackets.  We watched a parade of younger souls trek on above the Basin on their way to the Flatiron.  The Flatiron is at 4,861' elevation in just over a mile beyond the Basin (an additional 1,700 feet of elevation in a mile).    The trail is not maintained above the Basin and we had already encountered difficult trail conditions, boulder hopping, trail scrounging ... we decided to leave the summit of the Flatiron to younger, hardier souls and headed back down.

We are heading out tomorrow morning to return to Tucson.  We accomplished a few goals:  1) To re-connect with the system of state parks.  This was a pleasant state park with electricity and water, well-spaced sites, well-tended facilities, and picturesque scenery just outside of our door and 2) To prove to ourselves that we can take a quick trip without having to commit to long distance driving or long periods of time, and 3) Paul also managed to do a brief "winterizing" of Bambi before colder temperatures hit Tucson.

This is our brief, but spectacular take on getting away in Bambi !

Treasure Loop Trail - Lost Dutchman State Park - 11/21/16

A night of rain made us both appreciate camping in Bambi as opposed to a tent ... we can listen to the rain with the comfort of a dry bed and waking up to a warming cup of coffee in the morning without sodden surroundings.

We took the Discovery Interpretive Trail to the Treasure Loop Trail up to Green Boulder in the massive rock structure.  The clouds still threatened rain and the winds went beyond gusty, and it was a treat to hike in such an unusual landscape with clouds sheltering the sun and winds to cool us.  The massive rock structure is actually a resurgent dome from ancient volcanic activity and the unusual rock structures are the result of the forces of erosion on the dome.

We missed a turn-off on the trail and returned on Jacob's Crosscut Trail and back down the Siphon Draw Trail to return to our campsite in time for lunch and a break (read "nap").

So, our afternoon hike was to re-do our Treasure Loop Trail from the opposite direction to understand our error ... we succeeded in figuring out our misstep and were treated to a magnificent sunset reflection on the rock massif.

We also caught the UA versus University of Northern Colorado men's basketball game by streaming the PAC 12 network.  Viva camping with Internet accessibility!  Viva the W for the UA!

Drive to the Lost Dutchman Mine State Park - 11/20/16

When confronted with the cooler temperatures of coming winter and the need to prepare Bambi for the months ahead, we decided to take him out for one last adventure before we drain his system.  We wanted some camping site nearby (no long drives during the Thanksgiving driving. Season), reasonable temperatures (definitely not interested in freezing or over-heating), hiking from the campsite (no need to unhook Bambi from Fritz) and some where new to both of us.  Lost Dutchman Mine State Park fit the bill ... 2 hours from home, moderate temperatures, hiking in the Superstition Mountains, and we had never been to this park.

Fortunately check-in time wasn't until 2 pm, so we had a reasonably comfortable start to the morning.   We drove up the Pinal Pioneer Parkway ... so much more leisurely than driving I-10.  And, it gave us an opportunity to stop for a bite to eat at the Tom Mix Monument.  Tom Mix was a silent movie star as the quintessential Western cowboy with his horse, Tony the Wonder Horse, making over 200 Western films.  He was born on my birthdate, in 1880.  When he was 60 years old, his film career nearly over as "talkies" took over the movie industry, he was driving from Tucson to Florence and crashed when he failed to observe a construction site along the Pinal Pioneer Parkway.  He likely was drunk at the time having stopped along the way at a tavern to play poker and drink whiskey.  He actually survived the crash, but when getting out of his car, a heavy leather trunk that was lashed to his car fell on him and broke his neck.  The Tom Mix Monument celebrates his life and marks the site of his death.  Tony the Wonder Horse lived on and died on the same date as Tom two years later at the age of 37.

Enough history ... and on to Lost Dutchman State Park ... we followed our iPhone map onto a dirt road, not maintained by the County, deeply rutted and a challenge for Fritz and Bambi for over a mile.  Note to Self:  Do not take Mountain View Avenue in Apache Junction ... it is on private land and no longer maintained and a hazard to drive.

We arrived, safe and sound, to a lovely site and few things disturbed in Bambi after the rough road.  Rain is threatening tonight, but we're tucked into our site ... had a walk around the campground ... and hoping for some great hikes in the Superstition Mountains.  Who knows, perhaps we'll find that Lost Dutchman Mine ...