Denali 2011

We boarded the Alaska Marine ferry,Columbia in Bellingham Wa. the middle of August. Our destination was Denali and the Yukon area.

 After spending three nights on the ferry we got off at Haynes Ak. to start out drive to Denali.
Along the way we camped at Pine lake in Haynes Junction,Eagle campground in Tok than camped at the west end of the Denali  Hwy.

Once in Denali we spent 7 nights,3 of them at Teklanika,2 at Savage River and 2 at the entrance camp,Riley Creek.

From the different camps we used the park shuttle to travel further into the park. As this is the only way. No un permitted vehicles are allowed beyond Savage River.
We were amazed at the fall color of the tundra and the number of animals we saw there and the whole trip.

Leaving Denali we headed to Dawson City and the Dempster Hwy,spending a night at Tombstone camp,about 90 miles out the Dempster. The weather had turned bad so we headed south through Whitehorse and to Watson Lake,where we picked up the Cassiar Hwy.

After a night at Boya Lake we continued south on the Cassiar and about 100 miles along were stopped at Dees Lake . The road was closed by a landslide and no short time for re opening.
We turned north back to Boya for the night and the next morning decided to head to Skagway and travel by ferry to Prince Rupert to catch the BC ferry to Port Hardy then drive home from there.

It's good we can be flexible and change plans in the middle of the trip and also that we didn't get caught between both landslides on the Cassiar,as we would have been stuck there for a long time.

                                           A shot of Denali.The rangers tell you that the mountain is visible about 
                                          30% of the time We saw it every day . What a sight.

                                          Our first sight of a moose near the park. We would get to see many of
                                           these great animals.

                                           Lots of Trumpeter Swans also.

                                          The drive through the Denali Hwy all 130 miles of it are great.
                                          The scenery can't be caught on a picture,near like in person.

                                          All the fall color of the tundra,a patch work of it.

                                          A mom and calf near the entrance to the park.In the fall this area
                                          is the prime place to see them.

                                          Another peek at the "mountain"

                                            Some of the Caribou.

                                          They put on a great show for us.

                                          Mr. Griz just off the road.

                                           These are the white cousins of the Rocky Mt. Big Horn.

                                           Another moose further in the park.

                                          A not so common sighting of a black bear. There aren't
                                          many in the park,mostly grizzly bear.

                                           So many of the animals are right by the road.

                                          The bus had to stop and wait for this guy to move.

                                          More moose. lots.

                                          This is also along the Denali hwy to the north.I think it's the Alaska range.

                                          Dawso City and the river boat graveyard outside the campground.

                                          As we traveled along the Alaska hwy in the Yukon spotted some cranes
                                          overhead.

                                         This is "Robbie" from Watson Lake showing me his rig and the problem
                                          he was having with the lift panel.

                                          The famous signs of Watson Lake.

                                          So many animals along the road.

                                          On our first visit here in 1992,the ice was covering the tree area in
                                          the middle of the picture.It had receded about a mile since then.

                                           Mendenhall Glacier from the NF campground there.

                                          Our last shots of wildlife.A humpback from the BC ferry.

Ebbetts, Monitor,and Sonora Pass

This was a wandering trip,some planing but changes along the way were fitted in.
We started at Big Trees SP. This is a favorite of ours. When we had the cabin we would go there and walk/ski among the  sequoias at both the north and south grove.
I did get some fishing in at Beaver Creek and the trout just looked at me and laughed. I did get a hit but it must have been a small one.

 At our camp spot we had a family of Downy Woodpeckers living in a stump just outside our spot. 
We could hear them as they cried for food from their ever searching parents.

 This was a nice place to start.Very few other campers,almost like we had the place to ourselves.

Next we went to Union Lake and had it all to ourselves and did some kayaking and fishing.
No luck with the fish but the lake was full and the waterfowl were out feeding.

 Our next stop was Grover Hot Springs SP. Again not many people so the time was quiet.
We walked the trails to the falls from Burnside Lk.and ran across this California Rubber Boa.
This is the largest I have seen almost 2 feet long. Don't think you get to see them much.

We had some nice evenings with the thunder storms rolling in. No rain/hail just very loud and rumbling boomers. It was a real treat. We don't get them along the coast so much.

 On Saturday we left to head over Monitor Pass and stopped at Heenen Lake to walk the trail around the back of the lake.We were hoping to see the eagle family at the back of the lake but they must have not raised a family this year.
The wild flowers were nice and the views west toward Ebbetts Pass was nice to see with some snow.

 After checking out several camp places along Sonora Pass we found that the weather had gotten hot and it seemed like everyone from the valley was up there with their trailers/motor homes.
We headed up the Clarks Fork area and found some quiet spot for the night.

We had planned to skirt through Yosemite spent a night than head out to the coast near Cambria but with the temp at the park over 100* and loads of people we headed home to the fog .
This was a nice trip 6 nights out and some fishing along the way. I didn't have much luck but it was nice to be on the water.

Four canyons and a basin,plus snow

During that full moon trip to Cambria,Washburn CG,we had the idea of taking advantage of the nice fall weather and going to visit some canyon parks.We don't do desert camping mainly for the heat,but this time of the year worked out nicely.

I think the full moon influenced us a bit.

Looking at the map book to get some ideas we decided when we got home Friday to start the plan for the following Monday departure.
A bit of search work and a plan was cast.

Our route would start at Red Rocks Canyon SP, to Zion, the North Rim, Bryce, and finish at Kodachrome Basin SP.

We had a great trip,maybe not long enough but the weather played a bit of a factor.

Hope you enjoy the photos.We lucked out with the dramatic light features otherwise a lot of the color is washed out.There is so much to see at these parks and lots of walking trails.

This should be at the end but.....At the rest stop just south of Stockton I spotted this in the right front,but decided to leave it as no air was leaking.And get it fixed at home.It wasn't a problem.

 FIRST CANYON.
Red Rocks Canyon SP.This place was awesome,the moon was 3 nights after full.During the night it gave off so much light it was almost like daytime.

 Tuesday morning,woke before sunrise to walk and get some pictures.
The campsites are against the cliff in the background.

 SECOND CANYON.
Zion Canyon NP.After finding a nice spot at the south campground we walked around to get a feel of the area.

The wind at night does pick up a bit.The first night as I lay there in bed and the wind was making the liner flap against the roof lifters my thoughts went back to the thread a few weeks ago about "wind on our campers". It does wip up a bit with some real bad gusts at times.We slept through it no problem.

 Here we spotted Bill Harr's rig and stopped to visit.

 Sunset time at the campground.

 Next morning we took the first shuttle into the canyon.This is a great way to view and get info.You can get on and off at any spot along the route.There are no cars allowed through the end of Oct.

 Like the Denali trip of 2011 we didn't expect such vivid color.
This is the water fall at Emerald Pool trail.

 The most wildlife we saw were the Mule Deer.
Lots of nice bucks.

 Traveling east out of the park the scenery and rock formations change.Lots of different patterns and colors.

 THIRD  CANYON.
The North Rim GCNP.This is a Kaibab,Tassel eared squirrel.It only lives on the north rim.It has a cousin that is from the south rim but brown in color. These guys were all over the place but hard to get to stop and pose for a good photo.

 We did manage to get some Aspen color,but most of the trees were without leaves.

 We were treated to some great views as a small weather front moved in to add some contrast to the color.
Sunset at Bright Angel view spot.

 We caught the sun on a Vega coming over from the south rim,it dropped a few rain drops on us that's all.

 This shot has San Francisco Peak at Flagstaff in the background.

 FOURTH CANYON.
Bryce Canyon isn't a true canyon as the erosion is in the cliffs above the lower lands.

 I think this would be the way to visit the lower parts of the canyon.

 Once again a late afternoon storm came through to provide the needed contrast.The color is so intense it washes out.
We had some rain drops and also some popcorn snow.What a show nature has put on for us.

 THE BASIN.The next stop was Kodachrome Basin SP,Utah.About 25 miles from Bryce.
In searching info on this place found they have nice small cabins very inexpensive,so as we needed some out of camper time they fit the spot.
Kodachrome is a hands on place,nice walking trails right into the formations.There is also a nice campground there.The sites are back in a box canyon with some of the spots next to the rocks.

 Couldn't pass up this guy,so friendly.

 This is Indian Cave.no reason really for the name.The rock here is so soft you can rub your hand print in it.When it rains it rain erodes the surface to form little "flow"features.Similar to the features in caves only faster.Than the next rain washes them away.

 This is a Kodachrome Horned Juniper Lizard.Very rare.

 During our outside meals this jay would come around looking for crumbs.One morning he sat there and actually sang to us like a song bird,hadn't heard them do that before.

 The views are endless.At some points you cam look over toward Bryce and at sunrise get some beautiful shots.

 This is the only "arch" at the park.

 Our morning leaving caught this shot of an old homestead cabin.

 On out way home as we passed through Ely, NV the Northern Nevada Rail Museum was taking one engines out for a ride.Nice to watch it huffing and puffing up the grade next to Hwy 50.
I think these guys burn coal,not sure but smelled like it.
We were going to stop for the night just east of Austin,at the either Bob Scott or Hickson's Petroglyph campground,but after listening  to the weather in to the west of us and the forcast of snow over the Sierra passes ,we felt it would be best to get as far west as possible.We spent the night in Fallan ,NV and was glad for that as Ebbetts Pass was closed the next morning.We had planned to stop at out cabin for a night or two.Carson was our choice and the traffic or snow wasn't a problem.Just some more beautiful sights.

 Not much snow,about 8"or so.The road was clear with little or no traffic,except for the "crazies" who don't think the chain signs mean them.Drivers just don't get the 25 mph limit on icy/snowy roads.

This was such a great trip.I would go to Zion again maybe with a light snow cover and Kodachrome is a definite place to stop.
Once again we put a lot of miles on a short trip.Had the time to stay out longer but the weather became a factor.
Frank