Craters of the Moon and other sites of little consequence

Having completed the initial foray into Idaho with the trip to Glacier NP, I had planned a second trip thru the state for additional sightseeing adventures.  This required me to fly from Seattle to Boise and then turn this episode into a driving exercise, and that it was.  The sites to be viewed were the Craters of the Moon NP, the Shoshone Falls and anything else I might stumble across during the driving part.  As it turned out, the unexpected sites were just as commanding as the two noted above.  I just didn't know what to expect until I stumbled over them.  So here is what I have to tell you.

First, as I noted, there is some considerable driving.  Boise to Craters NP was about 150 miles.  Then another 75 miles to Shoshone Falls.  Then there is the trip back to Boise which would add another 130 miles.  Not overwhelming but hardly a short stretch of the legs!  But this was all understood from the beginning.  On to the sites.  

Craters of the Moon NP is located in the middle of nowhere in south east Idaho.  You see very little except the scenery for most of the drive.  There are a couple of small towns, but if you blink, you will miss them.  

Craters NP is all about volcanoes and the rocks that they created during their eruptions.  Now these eruptions go back a few thousand years, and all volcanoes are considered dormant, so no worries, folks on any imminent explosions.  The rock is black and all sizes and shapes.  The park is covered with them as you see in the photos, and there are a few cones or mounds that were created when the volcanos were live.  

  One odd point is that this area is so unique compared to the rest of the state.  The area the volcanic rock covers is about 25 miles wide and up to 10 miles long.  But outside of this area, all you see are low lands and prairies that are either farmed or used for grazing by cattle.  I drove the loop road to see the cone volcanos from various vantage points.  

The area is slightly hilly but not too much.  The drive is interesting and there are a number of spots to stop and view the scene.  But in my opinion the park is more for hiking and cave exploring,  Since I am not much of a hiker, I stayed in the car and observed. As for cave exploring, one can do this if one desires, however, this option can be limited.  The caves are home to various bat populations, but there have been some viruses that can decimate the bats so not all caves are open to the public and one cave it is required to have and wear clothing that had not been in any cave recently.  Another point is that these caves are not like Carlsbad Caverns or Monmouth Cave.  There are no well laid out trails.  You are exploring caves that require one to crawl, duck, squeeze and basically get into the dirt.  You also need a flashlight as there is no lighting in these caves.  Not exactly my cup of tea.  I did manage to stop at the visitor center and pick up my usual tee shirt.

 After leaving Craters of the Moon National park, I headed for Shoshone falls.  As I stated earlier, this was about a 75 mile trip thru the plateaued plains of the state.  It was basically flat or rolling hills, and you could see for miles.  You did not get a sense of mountains or valleys on this ride.  That is until you reached the Snake River gorge. For 75 miles, you are driving on solid ground without a care in the world.  Then, all of a sudden the land ends and an impressive gorge shows up.  It was like that the land just disappeared.  It is similar to a miniature Grand Canyon.  

As you can tell from the pictures that this is a good sized hole in the ground and so different then the layout before reaching the canyon.  It is worth a trip, especially during the spring when snow run off from the warmer temperatures fill streams that also reach the falls.  There is a golf course at the base of the canyon that runs along the river.  On the western side, their is development of expensive homes that have incredible views, but that is for the rich.  

The canyon itself stretches for miles going on a more southerly course, where it sometimes is almost level with the land and then the sides mount upward again to form a smaller canyon.  I headed back to Boise to catch my late flight to head home.  It was a decent trip and the time spent with the Goodspeeds was as good as it gets.  

Now I'm working out my next trip which is looking like another trek to Colorado and a few more National Parks, Black Canyon and Great Sand Dunes.  Maybe even Mesa Verde if I have the time. 

Until next time.  

 Acadia NP Maine

Well, the world will little note nor long remember, or even care to remember, what one says here but I must not forget that what is said here as it is the most boring, disenfranchised, and downright non sensical drivel contained in the following paragraphs.  In other words, the Big Cashew travel/blogger is striking again after 3 wonderful blog less years.  So here we go.  All should get their pillows and blankets as they will be asleep before one completes reading the first few paragraphs.  Onward we shall go.

Day 1

This trip involves the most northern state, at lease on the continental East coast, which of course is Maine.  In particular, we will be chatting about Acadia National Park.  This was one of the few parks I have yet to visit.  But I've added another notch on the belt and you, the reader, will be immersed in the nuances of this farthest East representative of our spectacular park system.  We will start with a little geography and move on from there.  

Acadia is located in the northeast part of  Maine on the Atlantic Ocean.  There are numerous inlets and small bays that come into view from all vantage points of the park and there are some unusual items of interest.  One of the most unusual is that the town of Bar Harbor is almost entirely located in the park, or is it vise versa.  Bar Harbor takes up a part of the peninsula and is also on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.  In addition, there are private homes that are skirting the park, if not actually being in the park itself.  As you drive in various areas, you see many "Private" signs put up by the owners, so park visitors are kept at bay.  I only drove though part of the park today, as I arrived in midafternoon and was also hungry since I skipped lunch to drive here from the Bangor airport.   I took the Loop Road which runs around the park with a couple of offshoots that allow one to drive from Bar Harbor to the other towns and peninsulas that are South or East of the town.  Part of the Loop Road is one way while other sections are both ways.  I assume this is to help with the congestion that occurs when the summer tourists are in abundance.  Even at this late time of that summer, there are large crowds expected that will clog up the roads coming to and within the park.  After all it is Labor Day weekend.  This day, I visited the park visitor center which you hit almost immediately upon entry to the park.  

While most visitor centers are level with the parking lot, here there is a large parking lot and a short walk up hill to the actual building.  The lot has room for many car, but also tour busses and mobile homes.  I stopped to get my bearings and to check out the merchandise as I always look for a tee shirt of the park along with possible trinkets for the grandkids.  Tee shirts would do, but no National Park seems to carry young kid's clothes sizes.  Such is life!

Day 2

One thing I did not mention from yesterday's input, is that, yes, I was on the loop road, but could not find the one-way section.  I blame this on the poor signage, at least that's my story and I sticking to it.

The day started out on the wrong foot.  There was no tea for me.  There was tea in the office (girly teas the way I see it, like chamomile) and no flavored creamers and only small cups.  No comparison to WAWA or some major companies whose stations also cater to the coffee public.  With this being the situation, I headed out to the park.  This time I was going to find the one-way loop road and take it like a champ!  As it was, there were signs directing you.  I just didn't see them.  Well, anyway, the loop road runs about 27 miles.  It runs along the edge of the mountains that are in the park and you are left with magnificent views all along the way. 

 

I took my time, so I drove it in about 2 hours.  The other main event today was driving up to the top of Cadillac Mt.  It is the tallest point in the park (1,524 FT), and you get even more exquisite views of the ocean, the inlets and the bay.  The views are panoramic and there is a trail at the top of the mt that you take to get different views.  The day was perfect with minimal clouds so you could see for miles.

  This is a visit worth everyone's time, but due to crowds in the park, they have to limit the number of people who can drive to the summit.  They control this by requiring that visitors get a pass ($2) for a specific time you will be allowed to drive through the gates.  You have to go online to buy the pass and they also control this process by only allowing so many passes to be bought early.  They hold some passes and release them only a day or two before they their scheduled time.  If you miss your time the tickets are invalid.  

Even the evenings are worth a look.  You get to view incredible sunsets over the water as these pictures show.  It was nice just to take the time to watch the sun go down and see the coloring as it disappeared.

The bay and the ocean shimmer in the sunlight and the shores with their rocky.  It can be a little dangerous to walk down to the water as there is no real path.  Still, they give one a option to walk out near where they meet the waters for additional fascinating views.  Another item to make note of is that during the drive I was listening to oldies stations, as it seems like there are many of them.  The songs stirred memories and added to the enjoyment of the drive.  This was the perfect time to visit, as it was comfortable during the day and slightly cool in the evenings but no real winds to make it chilly.  I highly recommend the trip.  

 Glacier National Park

I realize that it has been a very long time since I published a trip under the Big Cashew moniker.  I have written four, more poorly than my usual drivel, but there has been no release to the masses or, more likely, the minimals.  I've been wondering why I have not had that motivation, but I guess it actually is rather simple to understand.  My wife passed away in 2019 and since then life has not been the same.  She had brought happiness, fun and companionship that had been missing.  She filled a tremendous void in my life that had occurred when my first wife passed away14 years earlier.  I don't think I have recovered from this second trip through hell and I have to wonder if I every will.  Don't get me wrong.  I continue to travel and see all the sites and sounds in this country and the memories are as vivid and inspiring as ever.  But I have not had the desire to put it down in words.  I am trying to get back to that state of mind.  It is difficult but I have a few aces in the hole that are helping me climb out of these dark places.  I have a grandson who came along just two months after my second wife passed on and he has been a godsend.  And before him, there is a granddaughter who was born at a time that allowed her to help the family get through the trying times before that fateful day in 2019.  I spend as much time as I can with both, although distance makes it a little more difficult for the granddaughter.  In addition to these  grandkids, I have a couple of friends who have provided so much support, and helped me through these trying times.  They were with me for this trip and it was one of the most enjoyable experiences that I have had in a very long time.  So I will pick up the old keyboard again and attempt to provide you the reader with what you have come to expect from me. Dull, boring, grammatical mistake filled writing.  I am at your service.

Well, here I am, on another trip.  It seems only 4 weeks ago I was in Acadia NP.  I guess that's because I was there at the noted time.  But this is a new trip and one that I have been looking forward to for some time.  The park itself promising to have some magnificent views and maybe possibly some enjoyable or at east tolerable short hikes to see nature up close and personal.  There is also, if the weather cooperates, spectacular stargazing, so we hope for the best.  One other reason I have looked forward to this trip is that I am not alone this time.  I am traveling with a couple of great friends who have been incredibly supportive of me through some of the most recent difficult times in my life.  They would be the Godspeed's,

 whom I have spent more time with over the last 26 years, than some of my own family.  Now I'm not saying they have been ecstatic with my constant presence, but they have yet to throw me out the car window, so I take it as a positive sign of begrudged indifference.  So the story begins.

For this trip, I first flew from Philly to Seattle to hook u with Pat and Tony.  We then proceeded to get in the car and start the 9+ hours of driving to get to the park.  This drive was spelled as we stopped in Spokane for the night and then proceeded to the park the next day.  Along the way we were presented with some very stunning vistas of the mountains in the eastern part of Washington and some rather desolate stretches of Idaho and Montana.  To live out here one is truly accepting the singular, self sufficient style.  One can drive many miles and still not see homesteads or civilization.  Well, anyway, we finally arrived late afternoon Wednesday, checked into the hotel and then proceeded to the visitor center in the park.  

The GPS provided directions and noted that the center was closing at 5:30 so we had to hurry just a bit.  As it turned out, the closing time was 5 PM, and they actually closed a few minutes earlier.  No access was provided so we decided to take a short hike to Apgar Village which has a couple of restaurants, businesses for renting kyacks, and a couple hotels.  There was also a spectacular view of Lake McDonald.  The walk was only about a half mile round trip, so I avoided doing a actual hike.  Thank heavens! Still the short stint was interesting and it was a great place to just sit and watch the surroundings.  The next day promised to be most interesting as we will be taking the Red Bus tour into the park along the "Going to the Sun Road".  More to follow.

Glacier NP 2nd Day

Today we were up and at'em and ready to go by 8 AM.  Of course we had to be up earlier to get in breakfast, shower and dress for the day.  We met in the lobby at the designated time and off we went.  Our schedule today was to arrive at the park at about 8:45 and check in with the driver of the Red Bus we had made reservations with earlier.  

Here is the happy couple:

     

Tony had done some research on things to do in Glacier NP and a Red Bus tour was highly rated so we all agreed to give it a go.  Here is what they looked like.

These busses (there are 35 of them, I believe) are from the long lost past.  They were originally built in the late 1930's and had lasted until 1996.  At that time it was clear that they were past their prime and that new buses were probably the better way to go.  Glacier wasn't the only park where they had been used.  Yellowstone had 100 of these buses manufactured back in the thirty's and over the later years was pulling them from service and disposing of them as they become too costly to maintain.  The management at Glacier wanted to try a different route that would save the buses and they eventually found a savior in the Ford motor company, who provided a donation in the millions of dollars to recondition and restore them to their former glory.  And that is what was done.  They are 1930's autos with modern engineering.  It is a good story, and the trip was great decision for us and I would recommend it to everyone.  But one side note: There are 4 rows of bench seats and they normally need to fit 4 people per row.  It can get a bit tight and even slightly claustrophobic the further back you sit.  The roof is actually a tied down canvas sheet that can be removed in good weather.  The driver decides whether to remove the canvas if the weather is passable, and today it was. 

Here are a couple of the views through the window:  

The drive is on the main road, which is known as the Going to the Sun Road.   It winds from the Eastern entrance near St Mary, Montana to West Glacier, Montana.  It is approximatelyapproximatley 50 miles long and incredibly picturesque.  The road, for the most part, was built into the side of the mountains.  When you reach the higher altitudes, you notice that there are no guardrails but stones (see picture above) to keep the Red Bus on the straight and narrow.  I can personally advise you that in many instances, those stones are the only thing preventing one from plunging hundreds and hundreds of feet down the mountain side.  If you aren't afraid of heights, when you look down you are rewarded with more spectacular views as you see below:

The bus ride takes you to the summit which provides 360 degree viewing of the mountain tops.  There is a store at the summit but it was closed for the winter.  Still the sun was out and semi warming on a barley 50 degree day.  I should also mention what it was a little windy but we managed.  As I noted earlier, the driver can decide to open and pull back the canvas roof to the bus.  This is what he did after we passed beyond the summit heading down the eastern side a few miles to show us one of the glaciers.  There are about 2 dozen glaciers in the park, although there used be multiples of this number years ago.  They are slowly melting and there is concern that they will just disappear in the future.  Anyway, the driver decided to take the cover off when we stopped to look at one the glaciers.  

It was left open for most of the trip back to the West Glacier visitor center.  This allowed us even better viewing and we could stand up though the opening as he drove along.  It was not until we got back to the park floor that it started to rain and the canvas top was redeployed.  It was a most enjoyable day.

3rd Day

This is the day I remember the most as it was filled with muscle aches and the like.  We hiked about 3-4 miles round trip, to one of the smaller lakes that is nestled in the mountains.  I think it was Hidden Lake but I am not sure.  I can tell you that it was hard to keep up with the Goodspeeds, and my feet where hurting, but I managed to not be left behind.  

When you reach the lake (you cannot see it until you do reach it) you find yourself in a quiet bowl where the lake is surrounded by the mountains and you can see numerous small waterfalls on the mountain sides.  The change in elevation is not overwhelming but there is a lot of up and down sections of the trail and it will test you. Well, it tested me.  We were passed by a number of school groups of teenagers and younger kids.  They started well after us and got there well ahead of us.  But it was not a race.  We knew we had to make the entire hike to the lake and back, which we did, and it was good to reach the end point and sit down, rub out feet, put heat on our backs and take high levels of aspirin.  Here are a few pictures for your perusal.  

As I noted, the trip was well worth the effort, including the never ending hike.  I would recommend it be on anyone "bucket list", as I would rate it in the top 10 of all National Parks (disclaimer: I have not been to all National Parks but I have been to over 30 of them).  Even the 9 1/2 hour drive home was pleasant.