Food, wine, and Wilsons in Kelowna, British Columbia

What would I rather eat....Beef-a-roni over the campstove, or roasted lamb over a green tomatilla salsa followed by fresh peach pie prepared by some top Canadian chefs?  Hmmmm.  We crossed the border from Idaho into British Columbia, finally arriving in Kelowna, BC to join a Wilson birthday celebration for Reid's eldest brother.  And as with all recent Wilson reunions, Chef Doug came along and has treated us to amazing meals (visit his Toronto restaurant Cava).  And this time, pastry chef Laura came too...OMG!! What is even worse/better is that there are a plethora of vineyards in Kelowna and along the beautiful Okanagan Lake, surrounded by desert mountains.  What a view from Scott and Audrey Wilson's new home!  This has been a nice respite from the go-go of the national park vacation.

Not many glaciers left in Glacier National Park

We had the privilege of driving and hiking in Glacier National Park in NW Montana several days ago.  There were plenty of majestic, snow-capped mountains to behold, but sadly, we learned from the park rangers that only 25 glaciers remain due to climate change (down from 150 a little over a hundred years ago).  We could only see one -- Jackson Glacier.  We had a blast hiking up through snow along a trail to Hidden Lake.  Gorgeous blue.  We hung out with a couple mountain goats while eating a picnic lunch (of yet another PB&J).  The kids and Reid (the big kid) slid down the mountain in the snow.  We spent 2 nights in a historic, western style hotel in Kalispell, Montana.

Geysers Galore in Yellowstone

Ok, so I'm catching up on blogposts since we've been out of internet range in Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks.  Actually, I am perfectly happy not being connected. 

Yellowstone had all sorts of amazing sights, from the many geysers of the volcanic plateau, to the bison grazing (enormous, mysterious animals), to the famous Yellowstone River falls of the yellow rock canyon, and the beautiful blue lakes and mountains.  We hiked, took endless photos, and sat in the van in "bison jams" as the bison crossed the road in the early evening -- the unfortunate reality of humans and wilderness colliding.  Old Faithful blows about every 90 minutes, timed pretty accurately by the park rangers.  We watched at 3:10 pm together with about 1000 of our closest tourists pals.  But enjoyed the many other steaming geysers just as much, sitting in beautiful pools of hot, turquoise, rust and white elements.   

It was in Yellowstone where I reached my camping limit.  It was freezing in the tent, despite my many layers, and at about 4 am, I told Reid, "I'm done with camping, and I'm not sleeping here again."  Packing up the tent, I also had a small anger meltdown -- just too much close proximity with family for a bit too long.  We lucked out and got a heated cabin for a night by the historic Yellowstone Lake Hotel.  Ahhh, hot shower and hot breakfast!

Crammed in the Mini-Van

We've found the mini-van experience pretty comfortable, and are pretty sure the Prius would not have worked too well on this adventure.  But we've also discovered how easy it is for things to disappear in the depths of the mystery of stuff, crammed in the van.

Grand time in Grand Tetons National Park

We arrived late into Grand Tetons National Park (can't remember what day! maybe August 9??), in time to see the sun setting over the mountains and to have a late dinner of soup heated on the propane gas stove.  Then settled into 2 nights in an old fashioned tent type cabin in the park.  The cool night turned into a warm sunny day, and we hiked around beautiful Jenny Lake, at the foot of the Tetons, and up to "Inspiration Point."  The rocky, snow-capped Teton range are truly majestic.  Saw a little pika on the trail, but no bear (maybe Reid's bear bell scared them away?!).  That evening, we skipped stones into Lake Jackson and swam a bit in the cold water, as the sun set.  Peaceful.  Next morning, a highlight for me was kayaking around the lake, as the Tetons towered above us.  Loved it!

From Boise to Craters of the Moon, Idaho

After Tahoe, we drove 8 hours across desert of Nevada and Oregon.  The views were amazing -- sagebrush valleys and dry mountains, so it actually flew by (and the book on CD helped a lot too). After camping for several days, we relished 2 nights in a hotel in Boise, Idaho -- a high desert town surrounded by brown foothills we really liked.  Had a fabulous meal of local, smoked trout, and of course -- potatoes.  Drew wanted to see the famous blue football field of Boise state, and I enjoyed some downtown shopping (Raleigh still has a lot to learn).

Then, off to Craters of the Moon, a national monument that is quite a shocker.  Reid was especially taken with the fields and sculptures of black lava rock in the midst of the Idaho desert.  Formed by volcanic lava seeping up.  Imagine being an early pioneer in a wagon coming across the Oregon Trail and suddenly encountering all this jagged rock.  Of course, it was Native Americans who helped them figure out how to get across on local paths.  

Mono Lake -- oasis in the desert

Leaving Yosemite at 9900 feet elevation, we drove down over part of the Sierra Nevadas and immediately felt like we were in a desert.  Soon we were among sage brush and dry, rounder mountains, and then came upon Mono Lake -- a salty blue lake in the middle of a desert.  Gold was once mined in the area.  Fascinating calcium deposits formed funky pillars called tufas. Surprised to see seagulls flying around, feeding on the brine shrimp.

Breathtaking Yosemite

Driving up to Yosemite, I commented to Reid, "it seems hard to imagine that an amazing national park is coming up...it's so dry and barren and not very impressive."  But then, we went over a mountain, rounded a curve, and then I gasped.  In front of us laid the Yosemite valley and the famous Half Dome -- the magnificent granite tower.  We hiked in four areas of the park, along the valley floor along meadows enclosed by the granite cliffs, up to crashing, tall and powerful waterfalls, and into the giant Sequoias grove.  The national park was crawling with tourists, many of which were from other countries.  But some trails were less crowded -- we especially liked the Panorama Trail.  It was much drier and warmer in the day than I expected, then cool at night.  We camped along the Merced River in a great spot in the lower Wawona campground.  The stars were brilliant -- especially when we had to get up and head to the bathroom in the middle of the night!  We took one chilly dip in the river to try to get the dust off --- bbbrrrrrr.

 

Living Large in Tahoe

We drove out of foggy San Francisco across the Bay Bridge into Oakland, and not long after, into the sunshine of California.  Passing through Sacramento reminded me of Raleigh -- a capital city in the middle of the state, within driving distance of the coast and mountains.  But then on to glorious Lake Tahoe where we've had a blast with my old friend Susie Kocher and her family (Rick, Freeman and Evelyn).  After 10 years, it's been so fun to see our kids become immediate pals floating on a clear, cool river behind their house.  Susie does extension with forestry in N. California.  Rick treated us to an amazing day of sailing on clear and deep blue Lake Tahoe -- living large, I got to tell you!!  They told us stories of bears walking down their street, and we heard coyotes off in the distance last night.  Now on to Yosemite today....

The City of Prius Taxis

How better to arrive in San Francisco than across the Golden Gate bridge??  Walked til we dropped in the city July 29-31.  Up and down hills of neighborhoods of remarkable Spanish influenced architecture.  Buildings of every color (Savannah wants to live in a pink house now).  Checked out the Ferry Building and market (got some cool jewelry there) on the San Francisco Bay.  Mobs of tourists like us everywhere.  We rode every form of transit - electric streetcars, old fashioned trolley, buses, BART, but couldn't get on the famous cable car because of the hours long wait.  And Savannah counted all the Prius taxis we saw!  We ate our way through the city, including amazing Dim Sum in China town and risotto at Berretta's in the trendy Mission district.  We stayed with Reid's old Grinnell pal, Jack Cargas, and his wife Molly.  We had a blast with them, and Molly treated us to expert city recommendations and wonderful hospitality.  P.S.  San Francisco requires everyone to compost!

Big Red in Big Redwoods

Sometime earlier this week (honestly, we're losing track of the days!!), we spent two great days in the Redwoods National Park (park # 3).  For treehuggers like us, seeing the massive 1-2,000 year old trees was awesome.  They are magnificent, and we tried to get our family's arms around them, but only made it about a 1/4 of the circumference!  Other highlights were seeing a whale in the Klamath River, as well as elk and hawks.  We frolicked on the beach at the edge of the mighty, turbulent Pacific Ocean.  I did some sun salutations to the Western gods, while the kids got a little wet in the cold surf.

From there, we drove along the coast through winding roads until we eventually reached Mendicino and Van Dam State Park.  We camped there (a bit chilly), but enjoyed walking on the rocky beach of cliffs and fog, and also a unique pigmy forest.  And though we'd been cautioned, we did NOT smell any weed of fellow campers!

Crater Lake, Oregon

July 25, we departed Pt. Townsend early stopping along the road to enjoy a huge breakfast in Quilcine, WA.  Then, on to Portland for lunch by Pioneer Square downtown, where we bought marionberries at the farmer's market (more great public transit there!).  Finally settled in Eugene, Oregon at Cathy and Chuck Sherrick's -- Reid's second cousins.  They heaped us with good food and old stories, then sent us on our way yesterday a.m.  We wound our way through mountains and desert to Crater Lake National Park (park number two!).  Did NOT expect to see desert and snow at the same time -- Drew tried "butt glacading" down snowy slopes in shorts!  Then what an amazing spectacle of a deep, deep blue, blue lake created from an exploded volcano some 7,700 years ago.  Deepest lake in U.S.  Check it out here...

Pt. Townsend and Olympic National Park

Saturday, we took a scenic, windy ferry ride to the Olympic Peninsula to visit Reid's bro Stumpie, and Katy Ottaway, and Camille and Trey (cousins).  Sunday, we hiked up to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park (park number one!), where we lucked out into sunny weather.  Who expected to get a sunburn while throwing snowballs??!!  Huffing to the top, we got panaramic views of snow capped mountains, Mount Baker, wild flowers, and Vancouver Island, Canada.  Later, had pizza down by the pier in lovely little Pt. Townsend.  Drew and Savannah seemed all ears to the humorous, yet risque banter of Uncle Stumpie and cousin Trey!

(having trouble with internet in remote areas...will upload photos later!)

Living large in Seattle

Arrived to chilly weather in Seattle, but leaving in sunshine!  Got caught up with Raleigh friends, Bonnie Rochman (check her parenting blog at www.time.com) and Dov Pinker and kids, who live here in a funky house in a funky hood.  Went up the space needle for an awesome view of the sound, skyline and mountains, then off on the monorail to downtown Seattle.  Drew gave me a hard time for stopping and taking photos of the public transit!  Had yummy crepes in the Pike Street Market, where we also gorged on local cherries and raspberries, and sniffed the lavendar in season.  The evening was topped off with a breathtaking view (literally for me) of Mt. Ranier, who chose to show her snowy, majestic self for our pleasure.  Heading to the ferry now to cross Puget Sound.  (see us on ferry, with Mt. Baker in background).

Final planning stages for month-long trek...

Details, details.  Can't wait to head out on our month long western N. America adventure, but there sure are a lot of details to take care of.  Reid seems to think we need to have reservations (tent, friend, family or hotel) locked in every night.  Me, I'm thinking about having enough vitamins for a whole month.  And how many pairs of shoes can I bring.  Oh, and getting 3 grant proposals submitted by July 21!