Chow time

Mo's location in Florence, Oregon, is on the river

Fresh-caught dungeness crab waiting to get cooked

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Tony's Crab Shack in  Bandon, OR

Warm crab and shrimp sandwich with lettuce and cheese.  Yum.

GOLDFIELD, NV - - Catching up on some of our favorite places (and meals) to eat.  These locations are in Oregon.

More Oregon Coast pics

Pacific sunser

Waves along the shore ... without fog

GPS co-ords in case you lose your lighthouse

Sea stacks near Yaquina Head

IN SOME BAR IN (PLYMOUTH) NORTHERN CALIFORNIA WITH WI-FI AND A LUNCH MENU - -

Along the Washington Coast

Rock cairns on driftwood along the Washington Coast

A tugboat headed for work in the San Juan Islands

Sign(s) we hope we never see in Florida

Along the road

Sometimes you get fog on the Oregon Coast.  We know the Pacific is right behind us but you can't always see it

Sunset among the dunes

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

FLORENCE, OR - - Photos courtesy of McDonalds wi-fi...Cost: 2 senior coffees and a sausage McMuffin.

Lunch on the ocean

SEASIDE, OR - - Lunch on the ocean.  Of course!  Kalaloch Lodge (WA).

It's all about location

SEASIDE, OR - - In choosing a campground site, it's all about location.  Sometimes, you get lucky.  This was our in site Kalaloch (WA) Campground in the Lincoln National Forest.

ON THE ROAD IN WASHINGTON

WILLAPA BAY, WA - - Since the last post we've covered a lot of miles.  And we've yet to find a place with adequate wi-fi connection to post photos - - without waiting a long, long time to see if they will actually make it to the blog.
     We've been to North Cascades National Park;  Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands; by-passed the congestion of Seattle by taking a ferry to Port Townsend where we headed off along the coastal parts of Olympic National Park.  We've had seafood, sea views and sea mist....and we're not out of Washington yet.

We have escaped

WILBUR, WA - - Finally, we have escaped West Glacier, MT, Glacier NP and our home for the past three months, Glacier Campground.  We waited until the Labor Day traffic had thinned and set our sights on the West Coast.  So, here we are in Wilbur, Wa.  Population 877 in the middle of huge wheat fields and stories of crop circles.
     We found a campground - - Country Lane Campground - - which features "RV Room Service."  You order off their menu and they will deliver your cooked meal or breakfast goodie to your door or tent flap.  We ran into another unique place a couple of years ago in Idaho where they campground owner invited us to 'go and pick yourselves some tomatoes and some corn from my garden.'  And then there was a newspaper outside in the morning.
     Wilbur got its name from Samuel Wilbur Condin, an influential individual in the late 1800's, who ran the Wild Goose Bill's Ranch nearby.  When the government and railroad wanted to get a town going where none existed, Wilbur got the call.
     It's wheat harvest time around here and we saw at least a dozen 'Big' thrasher-style machines carving a path through the wheat fields and sending up clouds of dust.
    We'll see where tomorrow takes us.

Photos from our last days

The snowplows are ready for the coming winter season.  These were 'parked' at Issac Walton Inn.

Colorful flowers always catch the eye.

Home with a view. 

WEST GLACIER, MT - - Some photos from our travels of the past few days.  Tomorrow, we head off toward the West Coast...picking out our route as we go

Over, Done, Finished

WEST GLACIER, MT - - Friday was our last day driving.  We'll probably stay at our West Glacier campground through Labor Day. The only plans we have are to head West to wander until we reach the Pacific.

Got Moose??

Mama moose slurping

Baby moose testing the water temperature

Mother and child reunion....but no hitting the dairy bar

EAST GLACIER, MT - - Greetings readers.  Sorry about the gap in postings but we were in the midst of a SSDT period (same spit, different day).  Anyway,  We've gone to Fishercap Lake near Swift Current Campground on the east side of the mountain in  the hope of seeing the moose who sometimes show up.  We got lucky.  First mom showed up.  Then, baby tentatively made his/her way out of the woods.  The lake water was cold and baby didn't want to get in, but when the 'milk bar' is 20' out in the water what can you do.  Mama wasn't having any of that.  Baby moose got close, got a snuggle, but didn't get any reward for the effort.

Oh, Canada

We've got clouds and mountains

Clouds and mountains reflected in a still lake

The annual "toes in the picture" with clouds and mountains

And a "Breakfast on the trail" shot

WEST GLACIER, MT - - Our 'days off' trip this week was to the Waterton (Alberta, Canada) portion of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.  We got lucky and were able to get a campsite at the in-town campground so we could walk everywhere.  We did a lot of wandering:  The top two pics are from our trip over while the final two were taken on a hike to Summit Lake...which is nowhere near a summit.

From our Canada trip

Reflection: Moraine Lake near Lake Louise (Alberta), CAN

Will work for peanuts

Ya better have something for me!

LAKE LOUISE, AB, CANADA - - We've been internet deprived for the past few days so the following blogs are catch-up until I look at more pictures.  We're pirating  this signal from a hostel we've stayed in before in LL.  The weather has been iffy with a lot of rain, but, if you check the following blogs you can see that the animals have been out.  Lydia's blog has some different pics and don't forget to check her "more pictures" Flicker page.  We had a wolf wandering along right beside the "Magic Bus".  I was driving so no shots on my cam.  

Black Bear Shuffle

The lunch time shuffle...seen along the Icefields Parkway

Both sides of the fence

Sign language

Bear's eye view of captive camper

LAKE LOUISE (AB, CANADA) - - Lake Louise has lots of bears.  Bears love a free meal.  Bears can scare the heck out of you when you're not expecting it.  So, the tent and soft-sided vehicle campground in Lake Louise is surrounded by electric fence.  We have not seen any bears in our stays here, but the fencing makes you feel safe...or maybe like you're in prison.

Spectacular Edith Cavell

On the road to Mt. Edith Cavell

Avalanche warning with Angel Glacier in the background

JASPER, (AB), CANADA - -One of our favorite areas in Jasper National Park is Mt. Edith Cavell.  Named after a British nurse in World War I, who was executed by the Germans as a traitor for helping over 200 military individuals escape Belgium where she  worked as a teacher and refused to leave once WWI began.

Life In The Fast Lane

Goat jam outside Jasper ( Canada)

Fortunately this Elk didn't wander onto the highway

'Mama' Loon taking a stretch break from her nest

JASPER, (ALBERTA), CANADA - - Sights along the way in Jasper

Not seen lately in Florida

Beggar on the trail

Please, I haven't had breakfast yet!!

LAKE LOUISE, AB, CANADA - - Some of 'trail' beggars we meet are more animated than others.  This chipmonk thought he was Mike Tyson while trying to extort some food on a lake side trail at Lake Louise. 

Front yard ornament

Great Northern Railways engine

WEST GLACIER, MT - - Some people have pickup trucks or abandoned cars on blocks in their front yard.  The Issac Walton Inn (Essex, MT)  figured having a train engine was even better.  The Great Northern runs the northernmost transcontinental rail route...from Minneapolis to Seattle.

The Gang...Relaxing after a hard day

Couch potatoes

WEST GLACIER, MT - - Porky (left) and Maddie relax after a hard day at the campground.

Train-ing time

WEST GLACIER, MT - - Our campground is less than half a mile from the train tracks.  The freight trains (Burlington Northern Santa Fe, above) run 24-hours a day.  So it's not unusual to hear the engineer laying on the ??horn or whatever at 2 a.m. as he blasts through the area.  And the engineers REALLY like to make sure everyone hears them coming.  But we hear trains back home in OB so it's really no big deal.

Shaggy

WEST GLACIER, MT - - Appropriately, the area where these pictures were taken is called 'Goat Lick' The shaggy guy in the top two photos came out from beneath the bridge we were standing on to meander along side the stream before heading up hill to meet with his 'gang'.

Catch-up

WEST GLACIER, MT - - Pastoral sunshine on the ranch...somewhere in Montana.
     The Sharp-tailed Grouse (bird #1) in a previous blog was shot while we traveled on the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway (a road definitely worthy of the "scenic" designation).
     Bird #2 is a Yellow-headed Blackbird.  The other bird in the previous blog is still unidentified.  The photos were shot in the Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge near Stevensville, MT.

Clouds and cones

WHITEFISH, MT - - Low clouds, high snow and Ponderosa Pine cones seen along the way to Whitefish.  We've arrived at our destination for the Summer although we don't have to be at 'training' for another 6 days.  So, it's off to more adventures.  Yes, I forgot to find out the types of birds from my last blog. 

Bird quiz

SANDPOINT, ID - - This is a test.  Mainly because I can't find my bird book to identify the above  avian species.  ID will be provided in the next post.  We're hit and miss with spots with wi-fi. 

Signs you don't see in Florida

RED LODGE., MT - - We've found a coffee shop with wi-fi so here's another adventure.  Last night we stayed in a US Forest Service campground.  Fee: $5, of course there was no water, showers, steak and lobster, etc.  Our distinctive camp site number logo and the sign below tells you a little about the area.
     We were heading down from Dead Indian Pass and found Dead Indian Campground.  This route is part of the Nez Perce 'War' of 1877.  Chief Joseph, Lean Elk and what remained of the fleeing tribe were trying to make it to Canada and freedom.  Two troops of US Army cavalry (one behind, one ahead) were attempting to block their route.  On this day, the Nez Perce eluded capture.  However, the Indians had to leave a badly wounded warrior and he was found by the Army and killed.  Thus the name 'Dead Indian Pass'. 

More fun

CLICK ON THE LINK TO LYDIA'S BLOG ...ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THIS PAGE...TO CATCH UP ON MORE OF OUR RECENT ADVENTURES. 

A bit of history

RIVERTON, WY - - Friday, we were meandering our way somewhere on a scenic back road in the Medicine Bow National Forest.  The cloud cover was dropping as was the temperature.  (There's still plenty of ice covering the small lake in the bottom center of the photo.  The pull out where we stopped had an info board about the Snowy Range Mountains and 12,000'+ Medicine Bow Peak (to the left). 
     A small plaque nearby served to honor 66 individuals  who perished in 1955.  Interest piqued, I checked Google.  United Airlines Flt. 409 left Denver headed to Salt Lake.  The Douglas DC-4  was prop-driven and assigned a flight plan at 10,000' - - plenty of altitude for the surrounding mountains if you stayed on course.  It is believed that the pilots, 80-minutes late at take off, decided on a short cut, and (apparently due to a faulty altimeter)  flew head on into Medicine Bow Peak.  It took five days on the steep, snowy slopes to remove the remains.  At the time, it was the deadliest plane crash in U.S. commercial aviation history.