Heading South Through Kansas

After a two day stop in Smith Center, Kansas, for a factory tour of the Peterson Industries (Excel) Plant, we stopped in Salina, Kansas for three nights.

We spent a day at Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure Museum and Zoo. The 64,000 square foot museum displays hundreds of animals in very elaborate dioramas.

The zoo features over 100 species of rare and endangered animals. This was a little gem of a place.

Dwight D. Eisenhower's boyhood home is located in Abilene, Kansas. Dwight's parents lived in this house from 1898 until his mother, Ida, died in 1946. The house is located on its original site and contains the original furniture.

The eleven foot bronze statue of General Eisenhower stands in the center of the campus with the Eisenhower Presidental Museum to his right and the Eisenhower Presidential Library to his left.

This Memorial Chapel is one of five buildings located on the grounds. This is the final resting place of Dwight D. and Mamie Eisenhower, and their first-born son, Doud.

Fort Bridger, Wyoming

After leaving Reno, we passed the Bonneville Salt Flats on our way to Fort Bridger, WY. We had hoped to see some vehicles racing out on the flats, maybe even give the Yaris a whirl, but the Salt Flats had a light covering of water due to early fall rains. 

From Fort Bridger we took a day trip to Fossil Butte National Monument, outside of Kremmerer, whose primary feature is an ancient fossil filled lake.

This National Monument has a very good visitor center, auto tour and two hikes. There is an abundance of fossilized fishes, insects, plants, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

The town of Kremmerer is famous as the town in which James Cash Penney opened his first store, The Golden Rule, in 1902.

This store, referred to as the "Mother Store", is the original JC Penneys. As the picture shows, it is very small inside, but we still managed to find a couple of buys.

We took another day trip to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. The Red Canyon Visitor Center and overlook offers a spectatular view from 1400 feet above Red Canyon and the Green River.

Flaming Gorge Dam near Dutch John, Utah, rises 502 feet above bedrock. They offer one hour guided tours.

A twelve and a half mile geological auto loop winds through Sheep Creek Canyon.

The backway travels through a spectacular canyon, designated as a geological area by the U.S. Forest Service.

We drove out to these Charcoal Kilns near the Ghost Town of Piedmont, Wyoming. There are still remnants of the town close by.

Charcoal Kilns were used to turn pine logs into charcoal which was then used to burn in the smelt furnaces to refine ore.

Lake Tahoe

After leaving Tule Lake, California on September 5, we stopped in Reno, Nevada for four nights. Lake Tahoe, an hour away, is just over the scenic Rose Mountain Pass.

Thunderbird Lodge Historic Site, on the shore of Lake Tahoe, offers guided tours from Incline Village, NV. The tour started with a nice shuttle bus ride along the beautiful east shoreline.

This magnificent Summer estate was built in 1936 by George Whittell, an eccentric San Francisco Millionaire. Timing is everything, he pulled his money out of stock one week before the 1929 Crash.

Whittell's 1939 55-foot Mahogany yacht, Thunderbird, is stored in the boat house in perfect running order. The twin engines produce 2200hp, top speed of 70mph, displacement of 16 tons and fuel consumption of four gallons per mile.

The Thunderbird Lodge is also referred to as Lake Tahoe's "Castle in the Sky" because it is perched among the rocks in a secluded setting overlooking the lake.

The tour took 2 1/2 hours including the shuttle ride. This idyllic setting is available for weddings $$$$$ and the Yacht may be rented for $5,000 an hour. This was a gem of a tour. The boat is beautiful.

Farewell (For Now) to Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge

Fond goodbye to our friends and 2013 summer home
at Tule Lake.

Eagle Crest - John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument at 14,000 acres is comprised of three separate units. We had time to visit Sheep Rock Unit and Painted Hills Unit.

The Thomas Condon Paleontology Center that serves as both a Visitor Center and research facility is located at the Sheep Rock Unit. The research facility can be viewed through windows.

The expansive Visitor Center includes a fossil museum, working laboratory and collections room with over 45,000 plant and animal fossils.

Fossilized Ancient Redwood

The James Cant Ranch was operated from the early 1900's
until the National Park Services purchased it in the 1970's.

A couple of easy trails lead you into colorful badlands
with banded layers of lava and ash.

Story in Stone Trail

Mascall Formation Overlook
View of road passing through Picture Gorge.




Painted Hills Overlook Trail



Painted Cove Trail

So ends a very memorable summer in Oregon
and Northern California

Eagle Crest - McKenzie/Santiam Pass

The McKenzie/Santiam Pass Scenic Byway is a journey of contrasts. On the dry east side of the Cascades lodge pole pines and lava fields provide a stark black and white contrast; while on the west side of the Cascades we found lush forests of Douglas fir, cedar, ferns and moss along with numerous waterfalls. This 82 mile all day loop drive starts in Sisters, Oregon. The byway contains the highest concentration of snow capped volcanoes in the lower 48 states. Broken Top Mountain, Mount Washington, and the three sisters (shown above), tower above the scenic route.

When you reach the 5325 foot McKenzie Pass you are surrounded by lava on all sides. The Dee Wright Observatory is a lava rock structure constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corp in 1935 and named for their foreman. From the Observatory, you can see six Cascade peaks on a clear day, which is what we had.

Mount Washington

The byway follows the path of an 1860's wagon route, emerging from the forest at Windy Point.

The half mile Lava River Interpretive Trail is a 30 minute walk on a paved surface through lava gutters and crevasses. You are on the boundary of two wilderness areas: Mt. Washington to the north and Three Sisters to the south. The official names of the Three Sisters are not very creative, North Sister, Middle Sister and South Sister. The locals call them Faith, Hope and Charity, respectively.

Descending from the McKenzie Pass into the Willamette National Forest we reached the trail head for Proxy Falls. These falls were well worth the short hike into the Three Sisters Wilderness Area. We learned that this 226 foot tall highly photographed falls frequently appears in calendars.

Sahalie Falls

 After we turned onto Highway 126, we began to catch glimpses of white water on the McKenzie River. We stopped at Sahalie Falls and continued on the river trail to Koosah Falls. The path follows on the edge of the frothing river. The falls were really gushing on this particular day.

Koosah Falls



Head Waters of The Metolius River bubble up from underground springs near the base of Black Butte

A final stop back in Sisters at Bronco Billy's Ranch Grill and Saloon
at the historic Sisters Hotel.

Eagle Crest - Newberry National Volcanic Monument

Newberry National Volcanic Monument is located in Central Oregon south of Bend. The entire area consists of 50,000+ acres of lakes, lava flows, and spectacular geologic features.

We found another obsidian glass mountain called Big Obsidian Flow. This is Oregon's youngest obsidian flow, roughly 1300 years old.

Over 170 million cubic yards of obsidian and pumice erupted from a vent within the caldera.

A one-mile loop interpretive trail guides you across a corner of the flow. Native Americans once used the obsidian glass for trade and to make tools.

The Monument's summit, 7,985 foot Paulina Peek, offers views of the Big Obsidian Flow and the two alpine lakes, Paulina and East, that formed inside the crater of the 500 square mile volcano.

Paulina Falls

A spiral road leads to the top of Lava Butte for a panoramic view of the Monument and surrounding area.

There is a working fire tower at the top of the butte. We took a trail around the rim to view the 400+ cinder cone strewn forest floor.

We followed a nine mile forest service gravel road to the Lava Cast Forest. Here we took the one-mile self guided interpretive trail winding across the 7,000 year old lava flow.

The lava flow enveloped a mature Ponderosa Pine Forest. As the hot lava flowed around the tree trunks, the shape of the trees left deep imprints as the lava cooled.

Two trees that grew together leaving imprints 10 feet deep.

When lava surged through the stands of pine, some trees were pushed over by its force. Others snapped off and some remained standing, anchored by their roots.