Uniquely Theo

I knew needed to get up and out if I hoped to find any camping spot. So after just one cup of coffee I quickly packed up (whew no camp to break) and had us on the road. Lovely “blond” mountains were the scenery of the day in eastern Oregon. They were mostly dressed out in varying shades of straw, tans, yellows and dotted with sage brush. That gave way to relatively barren ranch land and some broader valleys and farms. Again very scenic Central Oregon Highway. I arrived in Bend, gassed up and headed south as fast as I could. The Gull Point Campground on was about 40 miles and off the beaten path. I arrived to see a campground full sign and all the non-reservable sites occupied. Figured I would head to Tasia that being the case but made a wrong turn instead of the exit and came across one open site that was quite large and quite private. It was the last one available. So I opted to take it for two nights. For whatever the reason I had not yet had my fill of tents, vault toilets, dirt etc. It is on Wicklup Reservoir and seemed quite nice but I had not given much thought to what the focus of most of the campers would be. However as the day wore on I could not get over how much coming and going there was. Numerous pick-up trucks and SUV’s kept going buy.More and more vehicles kept filling the campground with often several on a campsite. Constant coming any going. It is on a lake and the array of toys and the number of site with two or three families on them was more crowded and busy than any of the camping sites. I began to think this was not going to be the peaceful final camping experience in the Oregon Forest that I had envisioned. Kili was on edge and guard most of the time ready to pounce on the kids on bicycles, other individuals walking dogs. Since he was on a line he just about choked himself numerous times. I had an interesting walk around the campground, somewhat astonished by all of the stuff folks had for a week-end in the woods: Power boats, jet skis, paddle boards, canoes, kayaks, floats, tubes, fishing boats, ski boats, bicycles, 4 wheelers, dirt bikes, chairs, satellite dishes, barbecue grills, a myriad of tents in addition to the RV’S, screened dining rooms etc. etc Makes me think the even though I talk about all of my stuff, just how much can a Prius and moderate sized car top carrier hold. I am no completion for these “professional campers.” When the dogs and I settled in for the night, it wasn’t the hoot of owl or howl of coyotes I listened to but the shrill voices of many children having fun and some relatively loud adults as well. I was already beginning to think that one night here would be plenty.

I awoke to QUIET. All the revelers were still fast asleep. That naughty little Prissy inside of me so wanted to whoop it up but I managed to talk her out of it and I sat quietly and had my coffee. I decided though that I was DONE camping and would head down to my daughter Tasia’s near Ashland and bag the second night. I was not having a great experience though I do love to seeing so much family activity and togetherness. But first I had a plan to walk as far around the Wicklup reservoir/lake as I could. So the dogs and I set out on a gorgeous cool morning under a bright blue sky and a shimmering lake. With no one out and about yet, I let the dogs off leash and we had a lovely outing and they were able to romp about on the sand, in the marshy areas, through the fields of violets; terrorize the geese; and just generally have a superb walk

By the time we got back, the camping beach goers and boaters were all gearing up and getting their area for the day established with sun shades, chairs, the rafts and water toys, coolers, jet skis and pleasure boats by the beach. I could recall the days when my kids were younger and we would go on beach outings for the week-end with very much the same process of packing gear, setting up, frivolity, good company, lots of laughs and the kids all having a glorious time.

 

But now it was time for me to break camp and head out on the last leg of my westward journey. I continued to take the scenic roads through Oregon and drove down through Crater Lake National Park as a fitting finale for a trip that has been replete with so much incredible and astonishing land. I was surprised to see snow still around the lake as eight years ago my daughter Bernadette’s wedding was on the shores of this caldera lake of an incredibly deep blue color.

With a lot of satisfaction, peace in my heart and such positive feelings about my accomplishments, I pulled into Tasia’s after 38 days on the road, camping 26 of those night, traveling with 2 dogs through 15 states, and driving all of the 7268 mile myself.

 

 

My current plan was to go from Dinosaur National Monument to Crater’s of the Moon national Monument which would involve a hefty drive from the western Utah, taking the scenic routes and avoiding at all costs going through Salt Lake City. The rock formations of Flaming Gorge Reservoir and Recreation Area were of an unbelievable intense hue of red-orange. Every day I am astonished and am as much in awe of the scenery as I was on day one. I must sound like a broken record. But it is such a deep feeling of childlike awe that I continually experience. This land is magnificent and I pray we don’t keep destroying it. Every time I read about opening up National Forest lands for logging or areas for more oil exploration I cringe. As always I enjoyed the drive, made good time and appreciate that there are almost no advertising signs except on the rare occasion that I am approaching a small town that still has a thriving business. There may be one or two advertising billboards on approach but that is it. On so many highways, especially the interstates, I feel assaulted by so much advertisement all of he time.

Much of the land appears quite arid and what farming there is along the route is usually grasslands with stacks and stacks of bales. The rest is ranch land but very few cows appeared to be grazing in the fields. Miles and miles of rolling hills and rock outcropping dotted with sagebrush and juniper primarily. I think what disturbed me most was the polluted air, the SMAZE that was hovering across the land. I first noticed it at an Overlook in Dinosaur National Monument which sees significant SMAZE from the urban air pollution of Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, coal and oil-fired powered plant in Utah and southern Colorado, and oil refineries and oil fields in the area. It seemed to be growing denser across that landscape as the day wore on. It felt almost eerie as if the distance scene was a stage and a scrim had been lowered in front of the lands on the horizon. I can remember when I did an Outward Bound in Utah about 25years ago and being so dismayed upon summiting my first mountain to see this same SMAZE across the mountains and later desert horizon then. It saddened me then and does now. To me, the loss of clear blue skies is another environmental disaster.

As it was getting late I was feeling concerned about getting a campsite but a call to the ranger revealed they rarely fill up during the week. So I arrived there around 5;00 and there were numerous sites available. It was quite a strange sight though, as they were all in the midst of a field of lave and the sites were often very small, close together, with very little privacy and NO shade. I selected one I thought would be great given the circumstances, and it was the highest one in the campground. I could see my tent perch on this flat area atop the site overlooking the black rugged lava rock field. Well, my tent, myself and the wind, wind, wind had quite the fight. I was going to win and I finally got it staked down and up. But I could tell it was going to be a battle I would not win in the long run as the wind was buffeting it constantly, so I pulled it up and set it down in a much more sheltered area backing up to my car. The family next door saw my plight and they all came over and they helped me finally get it settled. With the set up, dinner, and walk of the campground, before I knew it the sun was setting. So i climbed into my bag which was dotted with cinders (as well as the floor of the tent). I somehow can’t seem to get the dogs to shake of the dust, sand, dirt and cinders and wipe their feet before entering the tent and plopping down on my bag.

Even rising early I could feel the day heating up and with no shade and anticipated temps in the 90’s I decided not to stay the second night I had intended. Broke camp (the usual 1:15) and did a driving tour of the monument. Black lava and the arid sagebrush abound but for some reason I had a difficult time getting enthused during the seven mile loop drive. I did the .4 mile steep walk up the Inferno Cinder Cone and from the top the bleakness of the surrounds was even more accentuated. It was quite eerie with the the many cinder cones lined up in the distance and the thunderheads looming over the area. I have so many good and bad memories of lava fields. Riding through the lava fields during the Kona Ironman World Championship is a good memory, though very hot and windy memory. Hiking to the top of the Mauna Loa in Hawaii is the bad one. I started at 10,000 feet, I was not acclimated and I struggled the entire way. Two memories strike me most. I never saw anything living the entire hike up (plant, animal, insect or another human. The other is getting hypothermic at the end of the hike and barely able to warm myself up. I was scared. But this current adventure was not holding any joy for me so I opted to head on out.

I was heading towards Bend, Oregon and decided to search out dog friendly motels. Any motel that was reasonable was SOLD OUT and LaQuinta want $289.00 for a room. Feeling tired and having no real idea about campgrounds, and layered with 3 days of filth I decided to make a reservation at a Super 8 in Ontario OR – about a three hour drive. I got a dog-friendly room at the Super 8 just over the Idaho border in Ontario, Oregon. The last Super 8 I had stayed in Longmont Colorado was very nice so I gave it another go, For expediency I opted to take the Interstate for about 90 miles. I had already forgotten how much I hate interstates but was very quickly reminded of the heavy truck use, high speeds, high volume of traffic and not to forget the piggy back trucks.

When I exited the interstate and right there was the Super 8. Well, though the room was adequate and clean, the surroundings were quite remarkable – in a negative way. It was right next door to a Pilot Gas and Truck stop and there seemed to be a lot of people just hanging around in the parking lot. Lots of smokers and butts around. There was no close place to take the dogs except a trash strewn strip of burned out grass and weeds across the parking lot. Old box springs, furniture and an old dryer were stacked in a corner at end of walkway. My furniture was quaint and old and decor “early ugly”. I just about tripped on a machine being used to repair the dry pond in front of my room. But I had a good shower, good bed and a needed break. I spent quite a bit of time searching out campground around Bend in the Dechutes National Forest and I was not surprised to see that most of them were all ready sold out. I found a couple that had walk-in sites that can’t be reserved ahead and thought I would see if I could get a spot the next day and if not head on through to Tasia’s. It’s almost impossible to get campsites in the National Parks and Monument or National Forest at the spur of the moment anymore now that most sites can be reserved ahead of time. Anyhow the dogs were quite pleased with the digs and i did not hear any complaints from them.

Tasia and Amara took the airport shuttle to Denver International so I did not have to pile the dogs in the car at 4:30 am.  I felt quite sad to see them going even though I would be seeing them in about a week in Oregon. I am good with doing things by myself but it is so much better when one shares experienced with kindred souls. We made it through ten days of challenging circumstances and there were relatively few skirmishes and we are all still ”best buds.” My daughter Tasia is an amazing woman. She is so kind, patient , helpful, smart, creative, inquisitive, artistic — she was there the whole time to help me, her daughter and the two dogs when needed. She has the stamina of a pair of oxen and more than once hoisted my pack up a difficult ascent when I was just about out of gas! She was so patient with her daughter Amara who was a real trooper but would peter out at just about the same time I would. She carried  Simba, aka “Tiny”Dog on numerous occasions and also hoisted 22 lb. Kili for about a mile when he could no longer walk. Kudos to Tasia for making these ten days a wonderful 3 generation backpacking and hiking trip.

I finally got myself organized enough to take off about 9:45 am. The car was in total disarray but as long as the stuff fit in I was not going to address the chaos of stuff yet. My last task was to get the free breakfast so I put the dogs in the car and went down to get a plate. The checkin clerk told me breakfast was from 5 am -10am Well there was NO Food!!! It was over at nine!!! I was mostly ticked because I had hoped to get some sausage and eggs to feed my poor skinny dog with no appetite. I instructed Siri to take me out of Denver using no major highways so we set off on a slow drive across town, enjoying some industrial sections, some lower income neighborhoods, driving right through the middle of downtown and then out onto some very scenic roller coaster hills, corkscrew ascents, hairpin turns, and marvelous vista roads. I was headed to Dinosaur National Monument and it was to be a 350 mile 9 hour adventure. The variety of environments was quite astonishing. I traversed through high forested mountains, lower altitude undulating mountains and hills, several upscale ski resort western style towns, some older small decaying towns, and a lot of what appear to be very inhospitable rolling arid land covered with sage brush and juniper. You know you are in the middle of nowhere the you see signs announcing that there are no services or gas for 57 miles. At the end of that 57 miles is a decaying town with perhaps only one operating business in the form of the local Conoco or the Kum and Go. As time went on I was not at all worried about getting a campsite on the Green River as I could not imagine flocks of people descending on this rather god forsaken area. So around 5:00 pm I entered Dinasaur National Monument. The area had changed rapidly as I approached and it was the beginning of some breathtaking lands. But at this point I opted to head straight for the campground and selected a sight (75) backing up to the Green River .

Now I was faced with the challenge of finding my car camping tent as I refused to spend another night fighting with the dogs for my space in the not so roomy backpacking tent. I was warned about it getting hot in this area and it was not to disappoint at a toasty 91 degrees at 7:30 pm. Of course all the car camping apparatus was in the carrier, stored away to make way for the backpacks down below. I managed to get it all squared away by dark at which point i was just finishing my dinner! But all was well inside. I felt a lot of joy, satisfaction and peace. I was in a beautiful area, I could hear he rushing of the water from the Green River, the dogs and I were both well and well fed….all of which bring an inner peace. After so many cold nights in the mountains, I was NOT going to complain about the heat — though I must admit it felt quite sticky and sweaty. Sitting in the quiet I could gaze at a spectacular array of stars while listening to the barking of coyote in the distance. I couldn’t ask for more.

I awoke around 7:00 to a sense of being baked in an oven as the sun was already heating up the new day and already was in full force intending to slowly bake me in my tent. Emerging, well rested, I took stock. It was a beautiful morning but I knew that my campsite would be in the fullpath of the sun for the entire day and we would be kiln dried by the time it would retreat behind the ridge around 7;30. This site was nice and shady the evening before at 7:30. But I had planned on car-treking for the day, going back to the Colorado Dinosaur National Monument Canyon Entrance. I wasn’t sure what that would hold as it had no fossil sites of dinosaurs museum. It was a 31 mile road cutting across sagebrush plateaus with many pullout at the rim of sheer-walled canyons. It turned out to be a superlative decision and the drive was stupendous. The further in and with altitude increasing the sandstone and other rock formations became more and more intriguing and colorful. To amuse myself further I kept “seeing” dinosaur shapes in the rock formations. With the striations and sworls all about, here again this area had it’s own unique character.

The dogs are very patient with my car trekking which involved hopping in and out to drink in each new astonishing   vista. I am so grateful for digital photography as I take tons of pictures so I will be able to lock some of the images into the gray matter of my aging brain. Though I did not have the place to myself, there were so few people and cars out there that there was a lot of solitude to just soak in the beauty of this earth. At the end of the Canyon road there was a two mile round trip Harper’s Corner Trail, a hike that was touted as a way to cap off an already amazing experience. It was high noon but I knew it was partially shaded. The temperature was 79 degrees. So I set out with the dogs. Yes, the ranger said this trail was dog friendly, one of only 3 trails so far I have found in a National Park that permits dogs. (though with the heat and 7580’ altitude, I didn’t work out to be too friendly for them or me). But with plenty of water and treats and stopping each 1/2 mile to replenish we had a wonderful hike along a rock cliff, jutting out like a promontory. There were amazing views of the Green and Yampa Rivers and their bench lands, cutting their way through brilliant red rock canyon. The Green River is truly a very rich green when viewed from above. Poor little Simba was panting so hard that I could here his heart thumping so I would pick him up and carry him a ways. But he kept trudging on at a pace I did not want to keep up. We took lots of cooling time in the shade. By the time we finished the temperature was 91 degrees.

 

We were headed back to the Quarry Entrance but first an ice and firewood stop. This meant stopping in the town Dinosaur, Colorado and I spent a bit of time observing how this town appears to be on its way to extinction as well. The only two businesses that appeared to be left were two gas stations/convenience stores. The rest were boarded up shuttered motels, several old rusted car and truck cemeteries. I find it very sad to see such decaying of these towns. There may have been only 2-3 business that looked like they were functioning.  I kept posing the question to myself: Will the town of Dinosaur Colorado, the gateway to Dinosaur National Monument soon be extinct?

I find it quite amusing that I am complaining about the heat and yet stopping to buy firewood so I can have a campfire. So I high tailed it back to the Fossil Entrance and did the Split Mountain Drive. This whole section is beautiful in a slightly different way. Because of the heat and the dogs I wasn’t able to visit any of the fossil sites, museum and petroglyphs but the experiencing the amazing formations of Tilted Rocks and Split Mountain on the Cub Creek Road was more than satisfying.

 

After a routine swift meal we enjoyed a leisurely walk along the Green River and I dipped my arms, feet, and legs in to wash of the top layer of grime that naturally accumulates when moving about a dirt and sand campsite and of course is even more of a delight when one adds sun screen and bug spray to the mix. The stars and coyotes were as delightful the second night.

 

I awoke to a chilly 39 degree morning and could barely wait to get into my hot cup of S’Buck’s Via. After a very efficient break down of camp we headed on up towards Independence Pass and had planned one more hike before we left the area. The Linkens Lake Trail was our choice as it would be mostly above tree line with about 500 feet of elevation. It was a true gem. It was a steep short rocky hike of 1.7 miles and the 360 degrees views were stunning. It starts by Roaring Fork River and enters the Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness Area (like that name) before ascending on a non-technical but an aggressive incline. Wildflowers, waterfalls, along the way and Lake Linkens at the end are beautiful.

Linkins Lake (elevation 12,008’) is what is called an alpine tarn. Jewel green in color and crystal clear, it is surrounded by fragile wildflowers, grasses, and lichen. The ground around was quite spongy so we treaded carefully and lightly. Being above tree line the view is of windswept expanses of mountain faces bordering the Continental Divide.

This, followed by the spectacular drive along the 12,005-foot Independence Pass, was a grande finale for our days of hiking. Enroute to Boulder and Longmont we took the scenic Peak to Peak Highway and were marveling at the rich beauty and ruggedness of the area when we rounded a corner and were thrust into the high stakes towns of Central City and Black Hawk. These two towns are in Clear Creek Canyon and are extensive gaming venues with rows of bustling casinos lining the road through this relatively narrow canyon. Just as quickly we were out of the casino row and back into undeveloped Rocky Mountain terrain. The week-end was quite a change of pace: real beds with clean sheets, a shower, carry-out meals, a time for regrouping, laundry, visiting with Amara’s Aunt Amy, a lovely walk up in the mountains though a relatively new growth forest, Sunday brunch, getting caught up on email. and beginning to formulate a travel plan for the rest of the drive west to Oregon. We headed to the LaQuinta by Denver Airport in the late afternoon for Tasia’s and Amara’s early Monday morning departure.