Idaho and Volcanos

 We had a wonderful, but altogether too quick visit with Robin and Lisa.  Roland did get to say hi to Pete before he left for work, too.  They had just returned from a student trip to Europe, so we exchanged traveling stories.  Thanks you Robin for letting us stay...and for making you late to work today! 

 Much of our traveling for the last two days has been littered with Oregon Trail signs.  It was a long trip via auto...hard to imagine having to find your way without a GPS or roads

 The big stop today was at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho.  The landscape was described, in 1923 as like the surface of the moon as seen through a telescope.  The craters on the actual moon are mostly the result of meteorite impacts where these at Craters of the Moon are of volcanic origin.  We were told that there were alot of wild flowers this time of year, but were not prepared for the diminutive nature of these flowers, including my favorite, the dwarf monkeyflower.

 These little white ones are dwarf buckwheat and aren't more than 3" high. A very different kind of wildflower meadow in some pretty inhospitable terrain.

 We hiked a short, but steep trail up to Inferno Cone, where there was an amazing view of the cinder cones and more distant scenery.

 The we took a 1 hour ranger led walk to Indian Tunnel Cave.   It is a lava tube, a lava flow tht hardened on the outside, thus insulating the lava inside so it still flowed, and when all the lava was eventually pushed through a cave remained. 

 This shows a hot collapse of lava - collapses being the fate of all lava tubes, but over long periods of time. 

 Here we are inside Indian Cave - a well lit area, from various sky lights that naturally formed. 

 We are looking up at a formation called a cupola - a round, smooth area, shown below.  It is an area where gas pressure built up and formed these bubble like structures. 

 All day we saw these historic and geological landmark signs. 

 Another drive in restaurant that harkens back to years ago.  Sadly, they no longer make their own root beer.  We had supper here.

 We arrived in West Yellowstone, MT at about 5:30 and enjoyed walking around the tiny town.  We went to Send It Home - a shop that has yarn, among other things.  I got a local bison yarn and some sock yarn and some silk from a local dyer.

We had dessert at a cute little ice cream shop.  This is Roland's Huck Finn Sundae.  It is vanilla ice cream with huckleberries mixed in, then topped with a huckleberry syrup, whipped cream and nuts.    All their ice cream starts with hard vanilla or chocolate and you have mixed in whatever you want.  I had a serving about half this size with vanilla, heath bars and caramel.  I couldn't resist the candy shop and got some salt water taffy for the road.

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Tomorrow we will be up early to head into Yellowstone for a bit, then through Grand Teton to Jackson Hole, WY and back to our cabin in Yellowstone.  They don't have wifi, so it will be a couple days before another post. 

 We woke up this morning to the sounds of the ocean.  Here are some pics that Roland took last night while walking on the beach hoping for a beautiful sunset that got clouded in.

 This morning Roland wanted me to get pics of him walking into the Pacific...the very cold Pacific.  He was walking out and got surprised by a little more wave action than he expected.




















Our gourmet breakfast at the B&B did not disappoint!  They served french toast with a warm maple pecan syrup, baked eggs with spinach, crimini mushrooms and chevre, cranberry coffee cake, fresh fruit and choice of hot and cold beverages.  It was a yummy way to start the day, but a 9 AM breakfast puts one on the road later than we had initially expected. 

 When we left Yachats, OR, we went north along the coast for a bit, then inland towards Portland.  The most beautiful part of the trip (and badly photographed, as they are all taken through the windshield) was along the Columbia River and seeing snow capped Mt. Hood.  The pics are looking across the river, so are of Washington, but we can't count WA on our map, because we only saw it, but didn't travel into the state. 

 We have been continually amazed at the number of windmills we have seen across the country.  It is a good feeling to know that parts of the country are taking greener energy seriously.

 We saw several damns along the way for hydro power, too.

We went from sea level to about 4,200 feet in elevation during our 10 hour day in the car.  Only a couple quicky stops to grab a bite and a potty break and we were off again.  We thought we were arriving in Boise at Robin's house at 8:30 PM, but discovered that they are in mountain time, so it was really 9:30.  I think I liked gaining hours on the way out better than I like losing them!

Tomorrow we are going to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve and then to spend the night in West Yellowstone.  I am excited, as Yellowstone and the Tetons are some of the places I am most looking forward to.

Oregon and the Pacific

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 We started the day finishing up at Black Sheep Gathering by buying three older Alice Starmore books.  If you are not a knitter, this won't mean much to you, but if you are, you will know I scored big!

Then we headed for ice cream at a local shop, but discovered it closed until noon, which was too long to wait.  Instead we went  next door to a great bakery.  I had an apple cinnamon scone and Roland had spanikopita...he swears he never heard of it before, but since it is one of Janet's favs, I can't believe it!

 As we headed up the coast we saw signs for Sarver Winery, so we (yet again) detoured from our intended route and went to a winery for a tasting.  We passed by Central Grange on the way...too bad we won't be here in July, cause their meetings sound like fun!

 At the winery we found some late harvest ice wine that is sweet and nectary, along with a beautiful view of the vineyard.

 These foxglove, that I only see in gardens at home, are wild flowers around here and in full bloom.  What a lovely sight along the highway.

 Next stop was Sea Lion Caves.  Doesn't this one look like some guy asleep on the couch?  The sounds they make sound like my house when the guys are all just falling asleep and snoring!  What fun to see them in the cave and the nearby rookery. 

The largest of the eared seal family and the principal tenant of Sea Lion Caves is the Steller sea lion. This animal is also considered non-migratory because there is no mass movement to summer or winter grounds, although individuals or small groups may travel hundreds of miles in search of food.

http://sealioncaves.com/home/ is the link to the site with more info on this place and a live web cam on the cave. 

 If you are a birder, you will be impressed that we saw Pigeon Guillemots at the cave, too.  I might just have to get my Life List started, so I can enter this species.  I have not become a serious birder yet, but it interests me more and more.

 I have not yet gone through the bird book to find this majestic bird, though it is a large raptor, like an eagle or hawk.  I loved watching it soar over the ocean.

 Here is the outdoor rookery where the sea lions are sliding in and out of the water.  They are much more graceful in the water than they are on the land.

 Roland really enjoys the ocean and relaxes when he hears it!

 Tonight is our "2nd Honeymoon" night at this lovely bed and breakfast, called the Sea Quest Inn.  We walk out of our room to our own little patio and then out to the ocean.  We have the door ajar just to hear the waves.  The beach here is pretty rocky, so it is a bit louder as the rocks tumble over and over each other.

Ice wine...a jacuzzi for two...guess I won't share any more details than that about a lovely evening by the ocean.

Tomorrow we begin our trip back East.  Next stop is Boise, Idaho, after a gourmet breakfast by a Johnson and Wales, RI graduate, who is the innkeeper.  Nerina is the loveliest of hostesses.