Friends & Fall Colors Tour 2018
Part A (Hoodsport to Cooperstown)
Our journey began in late August as we packed up clothes to start a three-month road oddysey that will take us 15,000 miles to Great Basin NP, Jackson Hole, South Dakota, Chicago, Niagara Falls, New York (Cooperstown!), New England, Quebec, DC, North Carolina - eventually back to Chicago for a flight to Winnipeg, Manitoba, then a chartered flight to Churchill (Manitoba for polar bears!). Then southwest to San Diego (via Denver) for Thanksgiving. Then home to Hoodsport.
We started with a trip down I-5 to Redding, where we left our truck in the trusting hands of our besties, Julie & Stephanie. We took in one last ballgame with them (Mets-Giants on Saturday; Gmen lost in 10), taking the long Redding-SF- Redding day trip, about 430 miles round trip.
From there, we journeyed to see another great friend, Mike, at his humble abode in Gardnerville, down the Nevada side from Lake Tahoe.
Then it was off across the "lonliest road in America" - U.S. 50 - to a National Park we've never visited before: Great Basin National Park.
After nixing a purchase of an RV (we're simply not RV-types), we decided to go with a 2019 Subaru Outback; here we are about to take off from Palo Cedro (near Redding). Adventures ahead!
We headed across the "Lonliest Road in America" on Tuesday, and it's still one of my favorite drives, a long haul across the vast spaces of Nevada. Amazing that so few cars pass you - in either direction! We've taken the road several times, and when we'd get to Ely (NV), we'd say, "One day we should head to Great Basin National Park" (established in 1986). This time we did. Tracy booked us two nights at the Hidden Canyon Ranch, which, we later discovered, was seven miles back on a dirt road. For joy! But it turned out to be a treat and, as its name implies, is very well hidden.
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Clockwise from top left: We cheated; there was no sign entering Nevada the way we came, so this sign is Utah-to-Nevada (you eagle-eyes noted that with the time zone note); tiny Tracy along US-50; welcome to Hidden Canyon; the view of Wheeler Peak from the trail above the officel; the stairway hike and the office.
The following day was much anticipated, and it did not disappoint. We booked a morning ranger-guided tour through one of the 40 Great Basin NP caves: Lehman Cave. It was cool (literally) and one of the finer caves we've visited.
That gave us time to drive up Wheeler Peak to take the bristlecone pine trail (there's also a hike to the summit, but it's advised to go early to avoid any chance of a thunderstorm). The hike started above 11,000', so fall was already in the air and on the trees.
We highly recommend Great Basin NP. It's lightly used (it's free and the cave tours are cheap), and there is plenty to see and do.
The next day it was off to Jackson Hole and the Tetons!
We spent two days in the Jackson Hole-Tetons National Park area - not nearly enough time, of course - and any hope that the place had cleared out after Labor Day was soon dashed. The car lines weren't nearly as long as the summer crush, but there was no shortage of people! Twenty-seven years ago we did a wonderful float trip down the Snake River with a very good friend; the mountain range loomed to the west, and it was constantly changing with the sun at different angles and varying cloud patterns. Quite memorable; the kids loved it; as did we.
So when I booked a float trip for this stay, I ASSUMED it would take the same route. Wrong! It started in town (way south of where our '91 float ended), and all we could see of the great Teton range was in our rear view mirror. Sure, we saw eagles and osprey, but no moose, no elk. So if you plan a float here make sure it's north by the Tetons!
For the rest of the afternoon and evening we just stared at the great mountain range.
We had to hurry across the rest of Wyoming to get to cousin Johnny's log house just outside of Spearfish, South Dakota, but the cloud formations were of another world. The landscape of western Wyoming was like south Utah on Valium. Nonetheless, I could have stopped every half hour.
More than 25 years ago, Tracy took two road trips with the kids from Sacramento to Minneapolis. In one of those trips,she got lost (kids too young to help navigate) and wound up in Lander, Wyoming. They loved the town, so we decided to go through it on purpose this time. A highlight was the gravesite of Sacajawea, about 10 miles west of Lander.
After lunch, we headed to Spearfish, and I missed a turn right out of Lander; we drove 70 miles out of our way. Ugh. I didn't know that bad navigational skills were contagious!
We're used to highways on the west coast, where almost every exit has a gas station. Not so in oil-rich (but people-poor) Wyoming. Driving on fumes just south of Buffalo, we stopped for gas in Kaycee and were rewarded by a visit to a local park in honor of a favorite country western singer of ours, Chris LeDoux. We saw him in concert in Cheyenne back in '93 or '94. Sadly, he died of cancer at the age of 56 in 2005. Prior to his musical career, he was a world champion rodeo rider, lending authenticity to his musical lyrics.
With a population of 580,000, Wyoming gets two U.S. senators thanks to the constitutional compromise of 1787. Bet the founding fathers never envisioned a 60-to-1 population discrepancy between states!
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After the Tetons, we did (somewhat) have to race across Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa/Minnesota & Wisconsin to get to Chicago: Jenna was flying to Sacrameno to be maid of honor at the wedding of her best high school friend, Ashley, and we at least wanted to spend a day with her. So we gave short shrift to those states - but, of more importance, we gave too little time to my gracious cousins, Dr. Johnny (in Spearfish near the Black Hills in western SoDak) and Nurse Janet (with husband Tim in Sioux Falls in eastern SoDak); no offense, Janet/Tim, but if we had to live in South Dakota, we'd take the Black Hills and Spearfish any day.
But that didn't stop us from having fun crossing state lines. Our friend, Melinda (who, with hubby Dave, had to evacuate their brand new home in Wilmington, NC, in anticipation of the arrival of - not us, but - Hurricane Florence (ironically, Melinda's mother's name!)), sent me a Washington Post article a few years back that must be in storage in Redding. It was a full page of finding the intersection points of states (especially multiple states).
And, sure enough, as we're entering Iowa from South Dakota, there's a sign pointing to a tri-state marker. Eureka! Then we drove past it because there was no sign when we got to it (same thing happened in Wyoming with the Sacajawea gravesite sign: a sign on the highway, then no sign when you got back to the site). Fortunately, we figured it out 100 yards later, and we dutifully returned
Well, of course, you have to take a picture of the Minnehaha (MN) County sign post. My grandmother, Minnie, had a great laugh, so maybe she got a kick out of it in her years she spent living in Minneapolis before marrying Grandpa Fred and becoming farmers in Woonsocket, South Dakota, near the World Famous Corn Palace in Mitchell.
Above is the sign on the tri-state post. Tracy is standing in Iowa; my right arm is in South Dakota, my left leg is in Iowa, and my left arm is Minnesota; in theory (if the post is exactly where it should be), my skinny butt is in all three.
After crossing into Wisconsin over the VERY wide Mississippi River, we get a huge welcoming from the Cheese State.
Then, in Fennimore, Wisconsin, we come across our first Amish influence. This driver had just exited his carriage to pick up a huge horse dump.
End of Part A;
Our trip stalled a bit after we got to Chicago because Mother Nature decided that fall color season would start a bit later than normal here in the Midwest. No worries; Jenna flew to Sacramento for a wedding, and we get exclusive time with our grandcats (who ignore us) - and free accommodations. So we're playing in the Windy City.
Jenna's bar and brewery; wonderful river walk along the Chicago River; found this photogenic night heron fishing in the river; took iPhone camera classes at new Apple store.
Wrigley Field as it should be: in black and white; Jenna dolled up, getting ready for the wedding; and my portrait of one of our grandcats, Obie, 11, with a technique I learned at the Apple store.
Kayaks and architectural boats on the Chicago River; our last supper at Fatso's Last Stand: Chicago dogs!
Chicago
Detroit to Cleveland
My brother, Brad, a die-hard Detroit fan, used to sport a t-shirt that read: "I'm So Bad, I Vacation in Detroit." So as long as there was a ballpark still on my to-see list, and the drive to Cleveland too long, I figured we'd enjoy a vacation day in Detroit! I'd been here in 1999 with my good friend John (a native of the area) for two games during the last homestand at Tiger Stadium (we got three batting practice balls), but I have not been back since.
Comerica is a nice new ballpark - obviously without the old world charm of Tiger Stadium - with a view of downtown (a la Pittsburgh), but September baseball between two teams out of the hunt (Tigers-Twins) can be somewhat depressing: There's nothing on the line except the players' future, no small thing. Although the Tiger fans in attendance were loyal and did come decked in their swag. Tracy even ran into Giants fans from the Bay Area.
We had great seats behind home ($6.50 on StubHub) and were able to walk the ballpark before first pitch (Ty Cobb being one of the cool statues out beyond left field).
As long as you are driving between Detroit and Cleveland, you might as well stop in Toledo. If you ever watched M*A*S*H, you KNOW that Klinger's favorite team played here: the Toledo Mud Hens. This was a beautful ball park (named after a strange name for a bank: Fifth Third), and the team and city clearly has a sense of humor. Stay Holy, Toledo! The Mud Hens are a AAA affiliate of the Tigers; they finished 1st this year. They retired #1 in honor of Jamie Farr (a local) and #13 in honor of Crankshaft, a comic strip curmudgeon who often wears their hat.
Again, this was my second time in Cleveland (thanks to John back in '99), so I had been to the Indians ballpark before. We spent two nights at an AirBNB in nearby Lakewood, which was a very cool little suburb on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Transit access to downtown Cleveland, and a wonderful (and highly used) city park along the lake; many locals were enjoying the park or the lake walkway or the seating area where you can watch a sunset over the western edge of the lake.
But our main purpose was to spend a day at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (something else John and I did in '99). The museum has changed a lot in the past 19 years, but it's easy to get lost in time and noise as you re-experience the growth of rock and roll over the years. My favorite was the One Hit Wonders booth (it was a whole room in '99), where you can't believe all of these songs that you remember were performed by a singer or group, but who never had another hit. Fame is fleeting; obscurity is forever!
Long Live Rock! At right, the oddest name for a restaurant on our trip - to date. Summer rolls on along Lake Erie, sans the crazy summer crowds, all heading to the cool of the lake to escape the summer heat and humidity. Bottom: Football Stadium, science museum, R&R HOF.
Niagara Falls, Day 1
I first went to Niagara Falls when I was 7 (I think); I still have vivid memories of that first boat trip toward the falls. It was awesome then; it's just as awesome today, even if the surrounding town has turned into a Vegas-styled Disneyland. But our AirBNB was off of the beaten track, and the WeGo bus pass works wonders.
This is the third time I've been back here since 1958, and we did things we probaby couldn't do back then - and did not do the last two times here. If you have never been, you should put it high on your bucket list. Today, the last day of summer, it hit 88 (supposed to be 59 high on Saturday the 22nd). Unseasonably warm.
Above, the American falls on the left; the Canadian (Horseshoe) falls on the right; the island between them (Goat Island) is in the U.S. Nine times more water flows over the Canadian falls. Below, on the edge of the Canadian falls as they tumble 188 feet toward the boat below.
Top left, Tracy looking at the American falls; we're outfitted in ponchos for obvious reasons: The Canadian boat Hornblower (Maid of the Mist is on the American side) goes right up to the falls, and it gets very, very wet. Below, Horseshoe falls; look just to the right, halfway down; we'll be there soon! The bottom photo is taken from that platform just to the side of the falls; it is very wet as I'm taking this photo. The American falls are behind the boat; the start of the Canadian falls is to the right; Goat Island is between the two. Both set of falls pour out of Lake Erie, eventually draining into Lake Ontario. There are tunnels that go behind the falls, but they aren't much to see.
Niagara Falls, Day 2
We did new things today. My suggestion for when you visit Niagara Falls: Do all of the real touristy stuff in one day (the Falls, the boat trip, the Journey behind the Falls (although the platform was the only real good part of the Journey)); then do stuff only a fraction of the tourists do. We took the WeGo bus up to Niagara Glen hiking trails, and we discovered that less than 1/10th of 1/10th of one percent of the tourists are willing to go on a hike; frankly, they'd rather sit in town and eat ice cream.
I did mention how incredibly tacky "downtown" Niagara Falls is? There's actually two downtowns: 1) the tacky one near the high-rise hotels and casinos (left) and 2) the one that goes west off of Queens Street (right). The latter is the local's downtown, and we stayed right off of it in an AirBNB. The WeGo bus barely penetrates the area, but it's easily accessible. Plus, there are local restaurants and shops that few tourists ever get to - e.g.,The Backyard Axe Throwing League!
But back to Niagara Glen hiking. A small visitor center introduces you to the area, then you set off for your hike. Obviously, you have to descend way down into the gorge to get to the trails along the river; then it's loaded with smaller trails (a good map may be obtained in the center) that take you all over the area. The only disturbing part is having to listen to helicopters above taking tourists on Falls fly-overs. But as you get near the river, the sound of the river makes it easy to ignore the artificial noises.
Just before we climbed the stairs back to the top, I spotted a fox running along a lower edge of the trails. Then, as we got back on top, there was a fox - another one; the same one? - running across the grassy park toward the woods with something in its month. A very unlucky black squirrel!! It didn't even diappear into the woods; it just stood there and ate its lunch.
We then drove north to Niagara-by-the-Lake, at the far northern end of the Niagara River, just as it pours into Lake Ontario. Not sure what to expect, we found the rest of the tourists! A mini- Monterey, with huge McMansions (where the Toronto elite retire!; Toronto is 90 minutes NE, and you can see the city across the lake from the end of town). Loads of wineries (it's considered a banana belt of Eastern Canada; one local insisted that NOTL (yes, that's what they call their city) doesn't get the winter blast like Buffalo, NY does, which is about 40 miles due south. Hard to believe, but true.
Cooperstown, NY
aka Mecca for baseball fans
Even without dramatic fall colors (too much summer rain; too late of a fall season), Cooperstown is a must-stop for any and all baseball fans. We enjoyed a nice hike through a typical upstate hardwood forest (Glimmerglass State Park at the north end of Lake Otsego; Cooperstown is at the southern end of the 4,000-acre lake) on a glorious first day of fall. Then spent the next day, a very rainy one (the weather forecast was correct!), at the Hall of Fame. It wasn't our first time here, but it's amazing how much you can learn in a day (and, hopefully, not forget the next).
Our AirBNB in the countryside about 6 miles north of town was as charming as charming gets. If you plan to be in the area, let us know, and we've got the place for you.
Deer Meadow Farm: AirBNB can't get any better; a nice hike down our rural road; Tracy hiking in the state park woods; Ranger Rick pointing south toward Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The art work at the Hall really caught my eye. And then there's Doubleday Field, a short walk away.
Below: Trevor Hoffman - HOF Class of 2018. Along with Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jack Morris, Alan Trammell & Jim Thome
We spent our last full day in Cooperstown (after I finished up what I'd missed in the Museum) at the Fenimore Art Museum. Good stuff, but the best part was wandering the grounds.
Johnny Podres throwing to Roy Campanella.
Cooperstown car wash!
