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Our alarm went off at 4:00 am.   Time to get up to head for the Philadelphia airport to catch our 8:30 am flight to Kalispell, Montana.   This is the closest airport to Glacier National Park, our first destination on our Canadian Rockies Adventure.    Our friends, Judy and Marty Tolen are traveling with us.

We first flew to Minneapolis and took a second flight to Kalispell.    We arrived around 1:15 pm Mountain Time (2 hours behind EST).

On the plane I sat next to a guy from the mountain north of Kalispell.    He gave lots of suggestions of things to do around the area and in Glacier.   Following his recommendation, we drove  to Whitefish, a small town north of Kalispell.   We were surprised at how many casino signs we passed along the way.  Notice the one room school Montana style.   What do you think of Frank’s new jacket?  Meet Wild Bill Franklin!

Whitefish is a cute town with lots of interesting shops.   We went into a saloon and had drinks.  It was a poker and pool hall with slot machines as well.   It’s not everyday that you can marvel at a taxidermied  bobcat, mountain lion, badger and a moose head.  ( To identify the  weasel like animal with a vertical stripe on  its face, I remembered the badger from the children’s book Best Friends for Francis.  )

Our next stop was the Homewood Suites in Kalispell were we had reservations for tonight.  Once again following the suggestion of the local, we headed for supper to Moose’s Saloon where he claimed “they make  the greatest pizzas in the area.”  Upon entering the swinging doors, we discovered a room with a really long bar, high backed booths with graffiti carved tables,  dim lighting, and sawdust covering the entire floor.   Not really sure we were making the wisest choice,  we ordered our pizzas at a take-out window and our drinks at the bar.   We took our first bites, hoping that the food would surpass our initial visual assessment. Lesson learned: Beware-someone else’s idea of  great food just may not your own!

We returned to our hotel, tired from our early start and a day of traveling.   Tomorrow we head to Glacier National Park and  touring Going-to-the-Sun Road!

Well, I have been talking about trying new things and being out of my comfort zone.   My trip home has had it all.    My flight this morning was a 7 am flight to Seattle, then another flight to Phildadelphia at 8:30 with arrival in PHL at 4:30.   I knew I would hit rush hour traffic, but I would deal!

Kate explained, “You don’t need to get to the airport before 6.   Portland is a small airport.  You’ll be fine.”   I had my misgivings.   Frank and I, being very conservative,  always give ourselves the suggested  two hour window.   To make matters worse, my very savvy daughter also convinced me to use my phone as my boarding pass.   “Sure,  I can do that,” I thought.

When I got to the airport the security line was horrendous.   I asked one of the security guards, “Will I make my flight? It starts boarding at 6:20.”   She responded, “You’ll be fine.” Famous last words.    About 25 minutes later, shoeless and sweatshirt less, I scrambled to get redressed and rushed to my gate.   Sure enough, they were still boarding and there were still a few folks even later than me.   Just as I got to the door of the plane, the flight attendant said to me, “You’ll have to check that carry on.   The overhead bins are full.”    That meant I would have to wait for my luggage on the luggage carousel instead of just taking it with me.  No big deal,  a few more minutes won’t be that bad, I assured myself.

Once on the plane, the pilot announced that the plane had a flight maintenance issues but it should be fixed momentarily.   The momentarily turned out to be a bit longer.   We had to exit that plane, board another, making our arrival in Seatlle around 9:1o.  Gone was my flight to PHL.

On the reboarding  of the Portland to Seattle shuttle, I realized that in very tiny print above the scanning code was TSA pre check  (the no wait line).   I could have avoided  the whole security mess and  would have had my suitcase in hand!

Rebooking I was assigned to a noon flight to Chicago, and a 10 pm flight to Philadelphia arriving at 1 am.   Driving myself home that late is NOT a wise choice for me.   Alaska reserved a hotel room for me in Phillie, so I will be getting home tomorrow morning.   I just needed to get a voucher from an agent in Phillie.  Hopefully my suitcase will arrive at 1am.

I tried to get on an earlier flight to Philadelphia that was leaving around 7pm.   “You have to travel with your luggage,” I was told.    Sure, I thought, fat chance it will be in Philadelphia even by 1 am.

1:00 am: No suitcase.     After filing my lost luggage claim, I then searched for an Alaskan Airline agent to get my hotel voucher. 1:45 am:  No airline agent!  Swell. Long story short, I got to the Clarion Hotel at 3 am, paid for the room,  and went straight to bed.

Waking up at 8:45, I checked out and got on the hotel shuttle. Since it went right by  the lot where I parked my car, the driver stopped to let me off.   Hopping into my car,  I headed home with very little traffic.   10:30 am:  HOME AT LAST!

1. Always  allow plenty of time for airport security and print out boarding passes ahead of time!

2. Pay more for non-stops.   Less can go wrong.

4.  Even on carry on luggage  have ID labels visible both inside and out. Take all medications, and essentials in your backpack or purse. Never, never, never  let  it out of your possession!

5.   When all else fails, order a beer, maybe even two!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portland Forecast:  56 and cloudy.   I don’t know when I have been this excited over a cloudy day.  Kate thinks it will be a great day to go snowshoeing on Mt. Hood.  Since it is President’s Day, we opted for an afternoon adventure when hopefully it will be less crowded.

With some time on our hands, we took a long walk through Kate’s neighborhood this morning.  Here is Kate’s house on the right side and her red Toyota Matrix.  The next two pictures are typical houses in her neighborhood, the northeast section of the city.

We hadn’t gone very far, when my daughter said she had to go back and get a few quarters.   I knew I would find out in due time what that was all about.  I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

Who needs Oley Turnpike Dairy for entertainment?  Portland has it all! For a quarter apiece we each fed these three charming goats named Zy, Zanni, and Zilla.   Yep!  There was even a sign introducing them to would be feeders.

This afternoon we were off to Mt. Hood to a snow trail around Trillium Lake.    Kate borrowed boots for me from her friend Bubbles.   Helping me into the snowshoes and tightly securing them, we were off to the lake. Thankfully,  it wasn’t too crowded.  Walking in the snowshoes felt as if I had donned huge moon boots.   I only fell once, a real record for me! Since bringing dogs along on the trail is common,   I had to be on constant look out for dog poop.   As if I didn’t already have enough to worry about!

By the time we got back to the car, I was very, very tired.   I know I used muscles that I previously didn’t know existed.  The fronts of  my thighs in the front are in distress.  Hope I can hobble onto the plane home tomorrow morning!  Wow!  Besides making great memories today, my Fitbit now reads 17,697 steps!

 

 

 

 

Rain again today.   Since we were going to get wet anyway, Kate thought we should go to Silver Falls State Park which is about 50 miles south of Portland.  I had my doubts.  We both put on our rain gear and I added my smart wool socks.  If I got soaked to the core, at least I wanted warm feet.

When we arrived the sign explained that the park was a temperate rainforest receiving 80″ of rainfall a year.   So the rain theme was perfect and as Kate explained, “Waterfalls are waterfalls!”

Most of Silver Falls State Park was made in 1933 by the Civil Conservation Core and the WPA to give men jobs during the depression.   The trails, buildings, and the South Falls Lodge were built during this time.  As the name implies “Trail of Ten Falls”, there are ten falls in the park, four of which you can walk behind.   The whole loop would have been over 7 miles, but Kate took pity on me and we only did about 5 1/2 miles- 13,650 steps on my Fitbit.   My feet were pretty muddy and wet as were my jeans by the time we finished.  I was surprised that I actually felt warm, probably from all that walking and jumping around puddles.

 

It was after 1 when finished and headed for the restrooms. The stone and timber lodge was similar to many of the national park ones built during the depression era.   Finding out they had a cafe that was open, we ordered a cup of beer cheese soup and shared a pulled pork panini and ate in front of a toasty blazing fireplace.   Hiking works up a powerful appetite!

Tonight we are headed to McMenamin’s Kennedy School for supper and a movie.   (Frank, it was the one we ate at years ago with Kelly and Keith Moen.) McMenamin’s  is a chain in the Portland area.  They buy old buildings and make them into restaurants while preserving the original structure.  The Kennedy School has a movie theatre, a soaking pool, and lodging  in it too.  We are going to see the latest Hunger Games movie.

Later:   Back from the movie/dinner experience.   I made the mistake of ordering a salad and beer to eat while we were in the theatre.   I had not seen the seating arrangement ahead  of time.   Can you imagine me trying  to eat a salad while watching a futuristic movie I know nothing about in the dark on a comfy upholstered chair with an end table to my right?  After getting more of the lettuce and fixings on me rather than in my mouth, I abandoned the entree and enjoyed the beer. I should have ordered a slice of pizza!   And can you imagine the next thing I heard was Kate whispering, “Mom, wake up!  You’re snoring.”   Well, what did she expect after that drenching 5 mile hike !

All in all, another day in Portland with daughter Kate taking me out of my comfort zone.  What great writing research!   So much to write about!

 

 

This morning when we got up, we noticed that it wasn’t raining.   Kate thought we should head to the downtown area while it was just cloudy.  So off we went.   She still had some posters and fliers that she wanted to deliver to outdoor gear stores, which are plentiful in this town.

After we were done with the poster deliveries, we went to Powell’s Book Store.   It is an icon of Portland and I had always wanted to take a look.    It was really big and had lots of different book sections.    I almost got a Bill Bryson book for Frank.    I called home to check if he had that book and since he already had all the ones on the shelf, there was no sale for Powell’s!  I did comment to Kate, “Boy, wouldn’t it be great if I could get them to sell my Bunny Brother books.” Unfortunately, I did not bring any with me.

 

Today was Zwicklemania here in Portland.   That meant you could go to a whole lot of breweries, get a tour at each, and try samples of their popular beers.  We stopped at Deschutes Brewery for lunch, but opted for just water with our meal.  A little too early for me for beer.

Kate wanted to stop at a Walmart and Joanne’s  to get supplies to make her own backpack.   She is doing another thru hike.  This one is called The Hay Duke Trail which goes through the desert in Utah and Arizona for about 900 miles.  Leavin mid-March, it will take her and her friend Bubbles about 2 1/2 months.  So we were off to the interstate to get to those stores.

We also stopped at a Fred Meyers grocery store across the Columbia River in Washington state to get whipping cream, angel food cake, and rum so that Kate could try making tiramisu.

Starting her sewing project, Kate had lots of company.   Her cats Scarfy and Freddie hung around as well as her roommate’s cat, Grady.  Cats love material!  It is truly cat heaven here!

Felines watching with interest from left to right:  Grady, Scarfy, and shiny eyed Freddy!

After a yummy home cooked meal of spaghetti squash with tomato sauce  (Frank, you would have hated it!), we watched Squatch’s film about hiking in Iceland.  Kate was  as one of the stars of the film.  She went there for a few weeks last summer while Squatch was filming.   Iceland sure is vast, scenic, and extremely desolate!   We ended the night with small pieces of the scrumptious, homemade tiramisu.

Caught Grady in the act of inspecting my suitcase tonight.  Fortunately he did not confuse it for his litter box!   The cats should sleep well tonight; they have had a very busy day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I arrived late last night on my flight from Philadelphia to Portland. I flew first to Seattle than had a short flight to Portland. Kate picked me up and we got to her house around 11:20 pm.  Since that meant 2:20 EST, we went right to bed!

This morning Kate had to work until about noon.   Then we were off for some Portland exploring.   We headed to The Grilled Cheese Grill.   I will let the pictures do the explaining on this one.   Portland is noted for its food carts and this not only had the cart but a lively painted school bus as well.

It was in the 50’s and rainy.   We ordered our sandwiches and then hopped inside the bus to enjoy them.   This was not my typical veggie wrap, but I managed!  After all this is Portland, so I am trying new delicacies!  The cheese was Tillamook cheddar.

While walking to The Grilled Cheese Grill we passed a Recreational Cannabis store.   We were tempted to go in to give it a try, but held ourselves back.   Certainly not a typical store in Berks County, PA!

 

I was surprised to see signs of spring already.  The trees were beginning to bud and daffodils and crocuses were blooming.   Even some of the bushes were in bloom.  What a pleasant treat from the snow covered fields in our backyard in Blandon!

 

I noticed many of the curbs were moss covered as were some of the trees from the city’s rainy climate.

Kate delivered posters for her hiking club later this afternoon.   Portland is noted for it’s breweries so we stopped at the Base Camp Brewery for to a beer.

Then we went to the Secret Society to listen to a live band playing western  swing music.   I had a bowl of  spicey gumbo that left my mouth smoking.   I downed a whole glass of water but survived!   All in all, certainly a unique day with daughter Kate here in Portland!   Who knows what adventures are in store for us tomorrow?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, August 6th

We had an unplanned day on our hands.   Kate did arrange to take a day off from work after all and was willing to be our guide once again.   After much indecision on how to spend our last day, we finally all agreed that a trip to the Oregon coast might be fun!   Kate thought it was about an hour and forty minute drive without traffic congestion.   So off we went.

The beach was Oceanside not far from the town of  Tillamook.   We strolled the beach.  While it was not crowded, there were others walking and sitting on the beach.  Some children were building castles and forts.  Interestingly, the several kids were playing in water that formed a pond on the beach.   It probably was much warmer there than in the ocean itself.  Here are some scenes from our walk.

Oceanside is a small town with a  population of 361.   There were a lot of rental properties.   We had lunch at one of the two cafes we saw.  It was Roseanna’s Cafe.   Picking a table overlooking the ocean, we were able to have a very enjoyable lunch with a great view.  After watching that seagull devour a crab, both Kate and I wanted seafood.  We both chose a bowl of seafood chowder that was full of crab and clams. Yummy! For dessert, I ordered a marionberry cobbler.  A marionberry is an indigenous blackberry found in this area.   It looked a lot like raspberries and was very tart.

Before heading back to Portland, Kate took us to Cape Meares State Park.   This park is located on a scenic overlook above Oceanside Beach.  There is a lighthouse on the point that was built in 1889.  The light today is automated.

Ever heard of an octopus tree? Well, there was a sign in the parking lot  that pointed us to the “Octopus Tree.”   We followed it to a huge tree that did indeed look like an octopus.   It is a gigantic Sitka spruce that had a 50 foot base. The sign said no one is really sure how it got its shape.  Legend has it that the Native American Tillamook tribe used it for special ceremonies since it could hold cedar canoes and other ritual objects.  The tree is both a historical sight and a curiosity.

We headed back to Portland.  Since we were back in town during rush hour, traffic was not good.  I was glad Kate was driving and I know Frank was too!

Our time in Portland and the northwest was coming to a close.   Our flight back home was  tomorrow at 7 am and we needed to get the rental car back around 5.    We programmed our GPS for the Thrifty Car Rental which is an off airport site.  Before going to sleep, we bid farewell to Kate’s feline companions, Freddy and Scarfy.   Kate’s  roommate’s cat, Grady,  took a real shine to Frank  so he got a few scratches under his chin as well.   But most of all we are sad to say goodbye to our daughter, thru-hiker Drop-n-roll.  Thanks, Kate,  for a being a great tour guide and hostess.  We loved hiking the PCT with you, even if it only was for two miles!

Wednesday, August 5th

Staying last night in Hood River, we decided to take the Hood River Scenic Train which would take as for a four and a half hour ride to  Parksdale, a small town at the base of Mt. Hood.   Having a little time to kill, we walked to the riverfront area of Hood River.  Prevailing strong winds throughout the Columbia River Gorge makes this town a popular spot for windsurfing and kiteboarding.   We sat and watched all the action.  At one point we counted over 15  kiteboarders in the river.  We marveled at the strength and skill it takes for these sports.

Our train started boarding at 10:30 and left at 11:00.  We splurged and got tickets in the dome car.  It included lunch as well – pork BBQ’s.   In the dome car, we sat up pretty high and it was great to see the scenery.   At first, it was along a river and forests.  As time went on, it mostly was orchards – pear orchards. This area is the biggest pear growing area in the USA.

Next on our agenda was the Columbia River Gorge Interpretive Center in Stevenson, Washington which is right across the Columbia from Cascade Locks.  We crossed the Columbia on the Bridge of the Gods to get to the museum.   There was an interesting film about how the Gorge was formed.  It amazes me how the scientists and geologists have learned that ice age flooding long ago formed the Gorge we see today.

There was a  37 foot high full scale replica of a 19th century fish wheel that was used to catch salmon on the Columbia River.  It was basically a wheel that scooped up the salmon as they journey upstream to spawn and then sent them to canneries.  You can imagine how this affected the future of the salmon.  The fish wheels were outlawed by Washington and Oregon in the 20’s and 30’s .

There was also a replica of a fishing platform used by the Native Americans who fished in the river,  just like the real ones we saw on the river at the fish hatcheries.

Multnomah Falls was our last stop of the day.  It is the second highest year-round falls in the U.S. with a drop of 620 feet.  It really is a double falls.  While it was pretty, this was a low snow year for this area and the flow of water was significantly less than I remembered the last time we saw it.  We had dinner on the patio of the Multnomah Lodge with a great view of the falls.

After walking to the bridge to view the upper falls, we headed back to Portland which was about a half hour drive to Kate’s house.  Since it was almost 8:00 p.m. the traffic was minimal and our GPS took us without a problem to 1439 NE Mason Street.

Later I suggested we take a walk to get  ice cream.   We headed for Alberta Street to a place Kate told us was quite popular here in Portland.   It is called Salt and Straw.  There was quite a line inside and outside of the store.   Kate explained “You have to be ready to try several kinds. They’ll give you samples to taste.”   I tried the sea salt ice cream with caramel ribbons and the snickerdoodle something or other.  I did not like them.

This ice cream place was very different.  But then, that is so “Portland”.   I read in a travel book that the locals pride themselves in being weird.  I think this ice cream store fits right in.   Just like Voodoo Doughnuts with their unusual doughnuts like the Voodoo Doll doughnut and the Bacon Maple Bar doughnut.   Weird works here in Portland.

More adventures tomorrow!   Thanks for following along on our travels!

Tuesday, August 4th Ever hear of an Alphorn?   I saw in a brochure that a Alphorn player performed from a balcony at a hotel down the street from ours at 9:15.    After breakfast we walked several blocks to catch his concert.  Since we watched from across Highway 2, it was hard to hear the horn over the traffic.  But it was free, and it was the first time I had ever heard one.  Pretty cool!

The Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery just two miles out of town was our next stop.  In the Visitor Center there was display showing the life cycle of the spring Chinook salmon.  When the Grand Coolee Dam was built on the Columbia River in the 1930’s, migration of the salmon above the dam came to a halt.  The federal government established fisheries to help the salmon of the Colombia River.  We took a self guided tour and saw fingerlings which were about 4-5 inches and adult salmon just about ready to spawn.  Here at the hatchery they have naturalists who know when the salmon are mature and collect the eggs and sperm and fertilize them in buckets.    A truck from another hatchery was picking up fingerlings to take to their facility.   With the hot temperatures they are having trouble keeping the fingerlings in the cool 60 degree water they need for survival.  The sad part is that in spite of all these efforts through these hatcheries, the spring Chinook salmon is an endangered species. There was also a nature trail at the hatchery.  While on the trail, Frank said “There’s something moving over there in the woods.”  We watched. It was black and big.  “It’s a black bear!”  Frank whispered.   We froze and watched as the bear continued to eat.   I tried to get a picture, but was afraid to move closer.   He left, but we were able to catch another glimpse of him as we walked a bit farther on the trail. The bear lifted his face and looked straight at us.  He was too quick to get a picture.

In the picture above you can see the fish ladder the salmon must swim to get to the holding pond at the hatchery.  They swim this journey from May to July.   The wood platforms by the bank of the Icicle River are Native American fishing platforms.  From a treaty in 1855 they have the rights to continue  their tribal traditons of hunting for salmon which is their primary source of food.  Wish we had been visiting when they were actively fishing. Chelan and Stehekin were to be our next stops.    Stehekin is a remote town in the Northern Cascade National Park and a resupply town for thru-hikers on the PCT.  Unfortunately we had to change our plans because of a wildfire that was causing hazardous air conditions and evacuations in the Lake Chelan area. We headed south on route 97 to the Columbia Gorge area,  The Columbia River is the border between Washington and Oregon.  We stopped at Stonehedge which is located on a cliff by the Columbia near Maryhill. It is a full-scale concrete reproduction of the famous one in England.  It was built in 1918 as a memorial to the men from Klickitat County who lost their lives in WWI.  The founder of the town of Maryhill, Samuel Hill,  built this monument and he is also buried nearby. This area has a lote of wind turbines.  The hills by the river were full of them. Gotta get some rest for more adventures in the Gorge area tomorrow.  Goodnight!

Since we did not hike much today,   Frank and I counted today as a zero day.  In the hiker world, that means a zero miles of hiking day set aside for resupplying, etc.  For us, it mostly was a day to relax and give our sore leg muscles some rest.

The Bavarian Inn is a very nice hotel.   Our complimentary hot breakfast buffet was one of the best ones we’ve ever had.   In our customary fashion, Frank chose assorted goodies including biscuits and gravy, while I opted for fruit, yogurt and cold cereal.

Next we decided to rent bikes.   They were real clunkers with coaster brakes; we really missed our own ten-speeds. There is a bridge in Waterfront Park that leads to nature trails on 15 acre Blackbird Island.  In spite of the challenge of riding the rented antiques, we had fun exploring this area along the Wenatchee  River.

After an afternoon at the hot tub and pool, we decided we would try a German restaurant.  There were six to choose from, all within easy walking distance from the Bavarian Lodge.  We choose the Bavarian Bistro on Front Street.   Frank had weiner schnitzel  which is breaded veal and I had jaegar ( pronounced yager ) schnitzel which is breaded pork with a mushroom sauce, red cabbage and spaetzle ( a kind of noodle) pictured below.

Below are a few scenes  around town; a few show the mountains in the background.  All in all, Leavenworth is a really unique place to visit.   As Frank put it “Now who in the world would have thought to make a Bavarian alpine village in the middle of Washington state!”  Obviously those wise businessmen of Leavenworth fifty some years ago!