Author: bearcruzer

August 18, 2009

We saw our youngest son Sage embark on his own sojourn today, the one that will take him from boy to man in the next few weeks.  He was sworn in today as an Airman in the United States Air Force.  He will be spending the next 8 ½ weeks in boot camp at Lackland AFB in San Antonio TX.    He will then transfer to Keesler AFB in Mississippi to begin his instruction as an Air Traffic Controller, his first choice of Jobs.  He was initially told that this job was difficult to get into as there are not many openings.  However, an opening presented itself when another recruit who had requested that same job and had priority had gotten into some trouble in the last few days and was dropped from recruiters list.   Needless to say poor Sage got an earful of lectures the night before he was to leave when he went out with his friends for the last time in a long while.   Sage had chosen the quick ship option, which meant he could be called up in the event an opening presented itself…..which it did.  There have been many tears, hugs and words of encouragement and advice given to him in the last couple of days.  Mike and I went to the MEPS  (Military Enlistment Processing Service to watch him be sworn In)  Security was tight and we had to present ID to get in.  The Officer who was behind the desk offered me the box of Kleenex….I think he has seen this before.   We were able to visit with Sage for a little while and watch as he took his oath of service to our country.   We hugged him goodbye and left him to pursue his dreams while we pursue our own.   We will return to San Antonio in October to watch him graduate from Boot Camp and to see him off to Tech School.  Needless to say we are extremely proud albeit tearful upon seeing him go.   I tried to remain strong but spent most of that day with tears quietly running down my face and Michael giving me hugs telling me he will do just fine.   I know, I know….. but that doesn’t make it any easier.  Here it is day two and I am still crying as share this with you all.   We have decided to look for boats along the Gulf Coast and southern states and so we traveled from Alb. NM and made it to somewhere in the middle of TX before stopping around 11:00pm in a Walmart parking lot to crash for the night.  We will try to get to Mobile AL by Friday to see a Kennex Catamaran for sale there.   

We returned home to big Sage hugs.  It is wonderful to see so many familiar faces.  It is a strange but terrific feeling to have an open schedule that allows us to visit with so many of our friends.  Thanks to Karen and Laura for taking me hiking up to Alberta Peak where I left a smooth stone  that I picked up along my travels to the coast of Oregon, on the cairn at the summit.   Thanks to Laurie for allowing us to use her home as a central base of operations while we are here.   Thanks to Laurie, Stan, Don, Jim & Jackie who have been feeding us and wishing us well.       There have been big changes in the few days we have been back.  Sage was contacted by his recruiter and has been called up on the quick ship option.  He leaves for Air Force Boot Camp at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, TX this Tuesday.    He had just gotten hired by Eddie’s Uptown Grill and was supposed to start work Thursday Night.  He got the call from his recruiter Thursday morning and so had to call Ed back to let him know he would not be able to take the job after all.  We had planned on leaving Pagosa by Saturday but will stay through the weekend and deliver him to the Hyatt near the airport on Monday where he will become Air Force Property and will complete his processing as an Airman.    Mike, Don, & I put together a last minute farewell party for Sage on Sunday night and were extremely pleased and grateful to all those who turned out.   Many of Sage’s friends old and new as well as many of our friends who have watched him grow up were there to see him off.   You are all exceptional and will be missed greatly.  We enjoyed a last soak at the Overlook Spa with Sage after the party.   It will be some time before we can share time with each other as a family.  Mike and I will drive Sage to Abq. NM and stay to watch him sworn in as an Airman in the U.S. Air Force on Tuesday and then we will continue on our journey east to find our sailboat. 

John joined us for Breakfast and we spent a last morning together.  We have enjoyed so many adventures with our wonderful new friend over the last couple of days but we need to get back to Pagosa to wrap up those last minute details before we head out to find OUR boat.   Michael and I feel blessed to have met John and look forward to keeping in touch with him as we continue our travels.  As we were driving away I realized I had left my wallet sitting on the sink in the restroom of the Marina a few hours earlier.  Michael remained very composed and turned the Motor home around and drove the 16 miles back to the Marina.   I checked with the Rangers there and some kind soul had turned it in.   Whew!  Greatly relieved, we drove south through the Tetons, admiring their majestic beauty.  We continued through Jackson and didn’t see one parking spot anywhere.  That town was hopping.   On our drive we got to see a herd of pronghorn antelope.   We put quite a few miles on the motor home, skirting another large thunderstorm, before stopping just north of the Colorado Boarder where we spent the night in a church parking lot, not knowing the denomination until morning but hoping that they did not have early morning Saturday services that we might disrupt.   We awoke early and continued toward home, stopping along the way at one of our favorite places ORVIS HOT SPRINGS.   We had a wonderful soak and then drove the Creampuff  to the campground outside of Ouray.   I must say…..the mountains of Southwest CO ranks in the top of the many beautiful places we have encountered thus far on our journeys.  We continued on over Red Mountain Pass and on to Durango where we splurged and got a full hookup camp spot complete with WIFI. We will stop by the SS Office and DMV on Monday so I can change to my last  name to Gillich and then home to Pagosa Springs for a few days. 

We met the next morning and towed the sailing canoe over to the Southeast arm of Yellowstone Lake.   Since motorized traffic is not allowed past a certain point in the arm our plan was to anchor offshore and take the canoe to the end of the arm of the lake and then Hike to headwaters of the Yellowstone.   Best laid plans……so to speak.   We anchored the FAR WEST II and proceeded to climb into the sailing canoe.  Our first attempt an anchoring was not our best effort and from about 100 yards away, we could see the C-Dory was rapidly drifting toward shore.   We quickly returned to the C-Dory , losing the rudder to the canoe in the process,  we repositioned FAR WEST II and secured her with 2 anchors.   Once we felt secure that she would not end up beached we proceed with our Sailing Canoe Trip, (now steering with just a paddle).   The wind however by this time was directly on the nose and we were not making much headway even tacking.   So we changed our plan and paddled over to shore, we enjoyed lunch on the east bank of the Southeast Arm of Yellowstone and watched as clouds began to form to the west. We decided to go for a hike anyway and traveled approx 3 miles in on the Thorofare Trail contributing quite a bit of DNA along the way to the local population of Mosquitoes.  We forded a couple of streams and so ended up hiking in wet shoes.    As we stood admiring the view of the Yellowstone River, the winds began in front of the approaching thunderstorm.    Suddenly we heard a big CRASH!  No more pesky mosquitoes, just falling timbers to worry about.  We got on our rain gear and continued away from the area of dead timber.   The lightening began to flash around us and the rain became heavy for a while.  We hiked on to a ranger’s cabin that John knew of and took shelter on the porch for a bit until the rain eased some.  Michael had commented that he hoped we could see Moose on our hike.  John thought that was unlikely as the Reintroduced Wolf population had decreased the number of moose in the park.  Just as the last couple of words were out of John’s mouth, a huge bull moose walked out from the willows approx 75 yards away and stood looking at us.   We got a good chuckle over that.   We suggested that maybe John could take us where he knows we won’t see any Bears next.     When the rainstorm passed we hiked back to the Canoe and kept a lookout to see if the 2^nd anchoring job had held Far West II in her place during the storm.   We all let out a joyful yell upon seeing her right where we left her.   As we were boarding the Canoe, poor John slipped in the mud and fell in the lake and got soaked even more.   We fortunately had the winds with us and were able to sail the canoe right back to the C-Dory.   Far West II is equipped with a stove/heater unit that was immediately fired up and John was able to get into some dry clothes.   Michael remarked, “I haven’t been this soaked since our wedding day!”   We hoisted anchor, secured the canoe for towing and said goodbye to the back country of Yellowstone.  John loaned Michael a pair of dry swim trunks which gave us all a laugh when they ended up tangled around his ankles as he was adjusting the lines to the canoe.  The storm had kicked up following 4 ft waves on the lake and so we had to adjust our speed to a slow crawl for the 20 mile return trip, to keep the canoe from being swamped.  We were blessed with a glorious sunset on our return trip.   At 11:00pm we made it safely, albeit late, back to the marina where we were greeted by another friend of John’s who was happy to see us in one piece.   It turns out that while we were out hiking the Forest Service had radioed a recommendation to all boats that could get off of the lake, do so.    Michael reached for the line to secure the canoe next to Far West II for the night and the painter broke off of the canoe.  It had held for the entire return trip and broke off in the slip. Someone was looking out for us that day.   We sacked out in the Motor Home right there in the Marina Parking Lot and slept like rocks.

The next morning we planned on riding our bicycles over to a Natural Bridge not far from camp.  As we began our ride Mike wanted to check out the little Marina on Yellowstone Lake that was right outside the campground, no surprise there,  so we rode down to check out the boats.   As we were looking at the different types of boats that were kept at the Marina, a gentleman came up to us and asked where we were from and where we were headed?  His name was John Dracon and within a few minutes we found out he was staying on his 22 ft C-Dory, FAR WEST II, there at the Marina.   He invited us aboard to see his boat and upon discovering Mike was a sailor and hearing of our plans he asked us if we would like to take a ride with him out on Yellowstone Lake.   Well needless to say our bike ride from that point on consisted of riding back up to camp to change our clothes.  We spent the next couple of days with John and became fast friends, sharing meals and swapping jokes and stories.  John has been coming to Yellowstone for over 50 years and was even a volunteer ranger historian for the park at one time.    That first day out on the Lake, we traveled out to visit a couple of John’s Friends Jay and Jolee who also have a 22ft C-Dory called Hunkydory.  They were camping with their family at Eagle Bay on the Lake and John wanted to check on them.  We had lunch together and got to hear about some of HunkyDory’s adventures in Alaska.   We traveled back to the Marina and made plans to have dinner at our camp with John.   We had a wonderful meal and got to hear about John’s days as a Superintendent of Schools in Oregon.  At the end of that evening we were again invited by John out on the Lake, this time towing his 19ft sailing canoe.   We of course were delighted to accompany him.

We left old faithful and decided we would try to find a less accessible location for our next stop.  We read about Lone Star Geyser which is one of the few bicycle trails offered in the Park.   It was 2.5 miles to the Geyser and it erupted every 3 hours.  Even though we did not know when it was due to erupt we decided it would be a better choice to get away from the crowds.   It turned out to be a beautiful easy ride along a pristine creek.   As we rode along we encountered people leaving who had watched it erupt a short time before (just our luck) and told us it was worth the wait.    We arrived at the Geyser site and were delighted to find it with only a few people gathered.  We had about a 2 1/2 hour wait to watch it erupt so we hiked along the river that ran near the geyser and found numerous hot pools, springs and vents to explore.   The Geyser began to sputter and spray small bursts of hot water about 3-10 ft into the air for a few minutes then quieted down again.  Fortunately we had read the information provided and waited another 30 minutes for the big show.  The Geyser began shooting hot water about 25-30 ft high and continued for about 20 minutes, gradually changing from spewing water to belching steam.  There was even a small vent on the side of the geyser that was shooting sideways.  It was really cool to watch and a real pleasure to enjoy with only a few other people.    As we rode our bikes back to the Motor home we agreed it was definately worth the wait.

How about another Pic-a-nic Basket, Mr Ranger Sir?…..or how about another 4000?  Although we debated staying an extra day along the beautiful Buffalo River in Targhee National Forest we pressed on to Yellowstone.  We arrived at the West Entrance and waited in a long line of cars to get into the park.  We checked with the Visitor center at Madison Junction only to find out that we had arrived during the busiest season Yellowstone has seen in 5 years.   All the campgrounds in the Park were full.  We decided to head north and Visit a couple of geothermal sites and try to find a campground outside of the North Entrance for the night.    I had told Michael that we would know when we were getting close to seeing wildlife as the traffic would come to a crawl.  And so It was, our lone pic of the Bison was taken from the window of the Motor home as we rolled past in a line of cars going about 5mph.   We headed North and through the Park and stopped and Norris Geyser Basin.   I must say the Springs in Pagosa rivals if not surpasses the sulfur smell of Yellowstone.   Maybe my nose is just used to it.   We drove past but did not stop at Mammoth Hot Springs.  Looking up at the tiered deposits they looked like many of the springs had dried up.  Not quite as picturesque as I remembered.  We had to travel 16 miles out of the park to find a campground.  We got one of 2 spaces that were left and got up early the next morning to head back into the park, as the campgrounds in Yellowstone were reported to have been filling up by 8-10am daily.   Traveling in the park early is a great way to see some amazing sites without the crowds.  We stopped at Tower Falls and had them to ourselves.    We also stopped at Yellowstone Falls and Artists Point around 8:30.  The crowds were just beginning and we shared the overlook with a large group Jewish students chanting in Hebrew.   We passed a couple of large Bison lying out in the fields of the prairie and one dead badger.  We stopped at each of the Campgrounds we came to along the Eastern Side of the Jellystone Loop and finally found a camp spot for 2 nights at the Bay Bridge Campground.   Having secured a camp spot we continued over to Old Faithful Geyser and arrived just before lunch.   We watched it erupt with about 4000 other people sitting and standing 6 deep around the Geyser.  The parking lot to get in and out looked like something you would find at Disneyland.  We ate lunch in the motor home and took care of some telephone calls and waited for the throngs of cars to thin out before we continued our site seeing. 

 We left Boise and planned to travel to see Yellowstone National Park.  Michael has never been there and I was looking forward to sharing with him some of the amazing wildlife as well as the incredible geological aspects of our 1st National Park. We  traveled east across the beautiful state of Idaho enjoying a vast array of scenic areas.   The river system in Idaho is amazing and we saw numerous rafters out enjoying what seemed to us an extended rafting season.   On Bruce’s recommendation we stopped at a lovely Hot Springs next to the road outside of  Sunbeam ID and enjoyed a soak before lunch.   We pressed on and were intrigued by the incredible diversity of ecosystems.  We traveled through the  jagged and beautiful Sawtooth Mountains and enjoyed the desolate yet striking scenery of the Lava Cones rising over the sage covered prairie in the Craters of the Moon National Park.   We stopped for the evening outside of Yellowstone’s west entrance in the Targhee National Forest.   We were lucky enough to get a camp spot next to the River where we were priviledged to enjoy the company of Squirrels, Great Blue Herons, Kingfishers, Cormerants, Osprey, Bald Eagles, and numerous trout boiling the waters of the Buffalo River.   We relaxed around the campfire before bed and enjoyed a lovely walk in the morning .   We even found a  beaver dam and lodge not far from camp.   We considered staying an extra day but we wanted to press on to see Yellowstone.

We left the Pacific NW and headed south.  The plan for today is to get as far as Hood River OR.  Mike is an old windsurfer and Hood River is supposed to be a Primo Windsurf spot in the U.S.  We battled our way south and got to experience a bit of rush hour around Seattle as we did not leave the ferry from Anacortes till after 1:00pm.  We arrived in Hood River as the sun was setting but did not find a camp spot till after dark.  We enjoyed a walk around the town in the morning but the wind was not accomodating due to the recent heat wave that has encompassed the entire Pacific NW.   No wind, No windsurfers.  Mike did get to peruse a couple of surf shops and check out the latest gear.  Not much has changed other than shorter wider boards and of course having to share the water with the newest sport kite boarding or kite surfing.  I’d like to try that someday.   I know…..be careful what you wish for! 

We continued over to Boise and had a great visit with Christy, Bruce, Hannah & Matt.   We enjoyed meeting Hannah’s Guinea Pigs, playing with Rosie, their dog, watching Bruce maintaining his beautiful yard, and bike riding to the local golf course to hit a buckets of balls  with Matt & Christy . (I think he has a new found respect for what it takes to get a ball out of a sand trap.   Those guys on TV make it look so easy!)   Matthew had a birthday while we were there.  He turned 10.  Double Digits….a really big step.  Matt and Hannah were preparing to leave for 4H camp so we donated a couple of flashlights for their trip.   It was hard saying goodbye, as we drove away we discovered  Spongebob in our top bunk.  I’m certain it was his intention to accompany us back to the sea as he had overheard our plan to go sailing in the Caribbean.  As much as he would have enjoyed being returned to the ocean life we are destined for,  we drove him back to Hannah so he would not miss out on 4H camp.     Bruce met us in the driveway and Spongbob was returned albiet reluctantly back to his Inland Home. 

July  26th – 28^th

The morning of the 26^th greeted us with a light drizzle and thick fog blanketing the bay.  I took the computer down to the library at the resort where I could work on updating the blog, pics, & e-mail.    After breakfast Mike and Carl bicycled along the coast while I took care of some online accounting & etc.   The morning fog had burned off around 10:00am and we enjoyed a last soak before heading to Moran State Park.   We spent the next 3 days enjoying many of the bicycle, & hiking trails, and swimming in Cascade Lake.  This was definitely and R&R stop as we had no cell service or Internet access.  We took a drive up to Constitution Mountain and climbed the stone lookout tower for a 360 degree view of the sound.  That day was bright and clear and we could to Canada and snow covered mountains on the mainland of Washington. We bicycled to Cascade Falls and Hiked around Cascade Lake and also out to Sunrise Rock.  The water of the lake was refreshing after our ride and hikes as temps were in the 90’s. MORE PHOTOS.   We enjoyed a visit with a beautiful young woman named Claire who was expecting and enjoying a dip in the Lake with her Corgi Mix.  She was a transplant from Loveland Colorado.  I had stopped to talk with her about her dog and then she saw our license plates and we struck up a great conversation.  Thanks for stopping Claire.    We drove out to Buck Bay and bought 2 dozen large fresh oysters which we steamed and grilled on the half shell for a farewell dinner with Carl.  We will head out tomorrow for Hood River, OR. as Mike wants to check out the Windsurfing scene there before we head to Boise to visit Christy, Mike’s youngest sister and her family.