Plans to visit Steens Mountain next...SE Oregon.....
31 August 2012 Friday (Steens Mountain)
Three nights at Fish Lake Campground on Steens Mountain....decided not to do the full loop around because have heard that the road is not that great on south side but did drive to Steens Mt summit....very windy but beautiful views.
29 August 2012 Wednesday (Crane OR to Steens Mt - 127 miles)
Beautiful moonset at about 4am...heading south through the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to Steens Mountain area near Frenchglen (where they also had a bad fire last month).
28 August 2012 Tuesday (McKenzie Bridge to Crane OR - 215 miles)
First stop at Trader Joes in Bend then east on highway 20......the haze from the fires was very thick but lightened as I got further east.....I hear that it is from the fires near Madras where I was a few days ago. This part of Oregon is high desert and very desolate although the town of Burns (130 miles east of Bend) is quite busy. Instead of heading directly to Steens Mt, I diverted on route 78 to Crystal Crane Hot Springs.....very nice and saw heaps of stars and the almost full moon this eve.
27 August 2012 Monday (McKenzie Bridge OR)
A day to catch up and wash my sheets and van.....and a visit to Cougar Dam!
26 August 2012 Sunday (McKenzie Bridge OR)
Jane and I drove her car on route 242 from McKenzie Bridge to Sisters for lunch at Angelines....with many stops along the way: nice hike to Proxy Falls and then along the lava fields at Dee Wright Observatory, with return on route 20/126.
25 August 2012 Saturday (Sisters to McKenzie Bridge OR - 97 miles)
Very COLD this morning at over 3000'....off to visit Jane.....another Roadtrek owner! I drove route 20/126 and stopped to visit Camp Sherman on the Metolius River where all the campgrounds were full and also visited the fish hatchery at Wizard Falls. Wonderful pot luck dinner with Jane's garden club on the veranda of the St Benedict Lodge right on the McKenzie River....we watched the rafters and kayakers running the waters!
24 August 2012 Friday (Madras to Sisters OR - 71 miles)
Early morning oil change in Redmond and then shopping in Bend at Trader Joes and Whole Foods (only place that carries my soy yogurt) and then finding many campgrounds full on a Friday eve so ended up at City Park in Sisters and great walk through town and free tastings at Friday Farmers Market
23 August 2012 Thursday (Goldendale WA to Madras OR - 133 miles)
Beautiful drive down route 97 and crossed the Columbia River Gorge into Oregon (heaps of wind turbines and views of all the mountains)....stop at Les Schwab in Madras for brake check and tire rotation....now trying to decide where to camp....plan to visit another RT owner Jane at McKenzie Bridge this weekend.
22 August 2012 Wednesday (Yakima to near Goldendale WA - 66 miles)
Looking for someone to look at my transmission....and found doubleA,MCO! And Joe was great....no charge for his labor of checking everything out and finding that I just needed more fluid....so a short drive to Brooks Memorial State Park to camp.
21 August 2012 Tuesday (Soap Lake to Yakima WA - 181 miles)
Beautiful drive south then west via Ephrata and Quincy to Leavenworth (Bavarian town in mountains) then south through Yakima Canyon along the river to Yakima....overnight at Yakima Sportsman State Park and met some great folks with whom I discussed my tranny problem.
20 August 2012 Monday (Soap Lake WA)
In order to get my half price discount at the campground, I need to stay two nights (at $14 per night) which is fine cos am on a lake with a swimming pool and internet and electric and water and surrounded by these beautiful rock walls. And found after walking around that most folks are not speaking english and the signs on the walls are in Russian.....so asked at the reception and she told me that over 80% of their visitors are Russian or Ukrainian! I did a google and found that many Russians and Ukrainians from WA and OR visit Soap Lake for the healing properties!
Morning swim in the mud lake (the blue mud is good for skin and the black mud is good for your bones!) then drove the two miles to the town of Soap Lake in the afternoon and visited Mom's European Deli which was packed with everyone speaking Russian....so enjoyed homemade chicken dumplings(pelmeni).....yummy....and very well stocked shop full of packages and tins, all in Russian!
19 August 2012 Sunday (Loomis to Soap Lake WA - 153 miles)
A VERY HOT day today driving the Grand Coulee corridor route 155....first stop Omak for fillup at $3.85 per gallon and also some shopping at Safeway and WalMart! Quite a beautiful drive along the cliffs and lakes with visit to Coulee dam...and I was most impressed by Dry Falls, where the mighty Columbia River once formed a giant cataract two and a half times higher and five times wider than Niagara Falls...now camping on Soap Lake and plan to soak in the medicinal waters tomorrow.
18 August 2012 Saturday (Sun Cove Resort on Wannacut Lake WA)
A day to swim in the pool and the lake.....and found that my van transmission problem was due to Greg not putting in enough transmission fluid.....although it still does not seem to drive well.
17 August 2012 Friday (Loomis WA USA)
I just may stay a few days to either swim in the pool or the wonderful lake (healing waters with epsom salt).....and now I am having transmission problems. Greg, the son at the resort, did some work for me by repairing a broken transmission line (after I found a pool of fluid on the ground) but this afternoon I have driven to Oroville (now at the library) and I am not sure my van is driving quite right.....so now to find a mechanic....but not on a weekend so may stay at the resort longer than planned until services open on Monday.
16 August 2012 Thursday (Kentucky Alleyne Provincial Park BC Canada to Loomis WA USA - 145 miles)
Great two days walking around the Kentucky and Alleyne lakes and visiting with the local folks...now back on the road...using internet at the Sandman Hotel in the lovely town of Princeton. As I approached Osoyoos (a very busy city and actually a desert in southern BC), I saw a border crossing to USA at Nighthawk so I did a view of Osoyoos from the overlook and turned around and crossed into the USA via Nighthawk, a very empty place...and it is nice to be "home" again.....beautiful drive in northern Washington via lakes and desert farmland. Stopped at a few RV parks (at one they were closed for lunch?) then saw a sign for one five miles down a back road to Wannacut Lake (Sun Cove Resort)....what a great find....fairly empty and great owners.....had some homemade blackberry pie made by Gail. There is another family from Vancouver BC here in the cabins for extended family reunion (they have been doing this for 20 years) so has been fun to chat with them.
15 August 2012 Wednesday (Kentucky Alleyne Provincial Park BC Canada)
Beautiful sunny day for walks around the lakes and cooking up all my veggies before I cross back into the USA.
14 August 2012 Tuesday (Wells Gray south to Kentucky Alleyne PP BC - 197 miles)
A very hazy day and now using internet at Hampton Inn in Kamloops....a very busy town....may camp south on route 5A at Monck Provincial Park on Nicola Lake...but NO.....very busy with screaming kids and barking dogs ( the kids do not start school until after 1 September so everyone is out for their last fling)...so continued south to Kentucky Alleyne PP....about six kms off road and very nice. Unfortunately, I rolled down my window while driving and a bee got lodged in my ear and stung the outer lobe.....ouch!
13 August 2012 Monday (Wells Gray Provincial Park)
Explored the park and camped at Pyramid Mountain on the Murten River.....another great hiking day to the many waterfalls of Wells Gray.
12 August 2012 Sunday (McBride to maybe Wells Gray Provincial Park - 206 miles)
Plans to drive to Clearwater BC then north through the Wells Gray park and hopefully find camping site as base for some hiking....great campsite at Falls Creek on the Clearwater River....and wonderful hike up hill for views.
11 August 2012 Saturday (Whiskers Point BC to McBride near Mt Robson - 214 miles)
A very sunny day with morning visit to Bear Lake and Crooked River Park where the trees are very dead due to beetles.... and now using internet at Prince George Visitor Center.
Plans are to drive southeast toward Mt Robson then southwest via Wells Gray Provincial Park before getting into the very busy area near Kamloops and south through the wine country Kelowna/Penticton....will be a culture shock after so much "outback"! And the temps will be very much higher!
Overnight at Beaverview campground right on the Fraser River....and hot showers!
10 August 2012 Friday (Hudson Hope to Whiskers Point Provincial Park BC Canada - 250 miles)
Early morning visit to Chetwynd, big logging town and the chainsaw carving sculpture capital of the world, and a fill up on coffee at Tim Hortons.....many parks between here and Prince George so hope for another peaceful eve with some afternoon hikes. Overnight at Whiskers Point Provincial Park on McLeod Lake with short hike on nature trail.
9 August 2012 Thursday (Sikanni to Hudson Hope via Fort St John BC - 202 miles)
Now using internet at the visitor center in Fort St John (most BC info centers have computers for public access)....planning a different route than from years past down towards Chetwynd....and the sun is shining! Big oil and gas development in this area with signs for no trespassing along the road because of poisonous gas....not sure if all the trees are brown and dead looking due to bugs or gas?
Great visit to and drive across Bennett Dam completed 12 September 1967 and is one of the world's largest earth dams!
Overnight at Alwin Holland Park right on the Peace River....nice local campsite with no one else around!
8 August 2012 Wednesday (Liard Hot Springs to Sikanni Chief BC - 294 miles)
Heaps of wildlife on the road this morning in the rain.....bear, elk, moose, sheep, bison......now in very sunny Fort Nelson where I hope that the petrol is less than $1.92 per litre. The price of gas has varied between $1.359 to $1.92 per litre! Overnight on the Sikanni River at campground where I have stayed in the past....they do a drawing in the eve and I won.....a free night....so saved $30 on camping with electric and hot showers! Big afternoon thunderstorm that was not too bad for us but downed trees and hail further south near Prince George.
7 August 2012 Tuesday (Big Creek to Liard Hot Springs BC - 163 miles)
Arrived at Liard early for great soak in hot springs in sunshine.....with a visit by a nice young black bear at the pools.
6 August 2012 Monday (Whitehorse to Big Creek Provincial Park BC - 217 miles)
Still not sure if I will drive down to Atlin since I have now heard that there are heaps of roadworks! And woke up to rain so will drive towards Liard Hot Springs, maybe by Wednesday, for a soak and give Atlin a miss.....still rainy and cold so need to find the sunshine! Found great campground on Big Creek and met a couple from Perth (where I am going in November) so we had great chat.....they purchased truck and 5th wheel camper and are driving for six months.
5 August 2012 Sunday Whitehorse YT
Saw a nice fox last eve walk through my campsite while eating dinner and another one this morning. Decided to get some clothes washing done early and then off for another hike somewhere before driving again on Monday....although the rains have returned today even though they predicted sunshine! Stocked up on fresh fruit and veggies at the Super Store and then short hike to Bert Law Island on the Yukon River.
4 August 2012 Saturday Whitehorse YT
I had driven by Miles Canyon yesterday and saw that they have guided hikes on Saturday (actually Tues-Sat at 10 and 2 for two hours) so stayed another day and joined the hike organized by the Yukon Conservation Society to Canyon City in Miles Canyon (3.5 kms)...a bit of morning fog but not a cloud in the sky after showers most of the evening....and the hike was wonderful with two young girls from the Yukon, Noah age 18 and Alex age 19! And I was the only client! And if the weather stays this nice, I may stay even another day and do another hike before driving on Monday when rain is predicted.....maybe next stop Atlin BC?
3 August 2012 Friday Whitehorse YT
Spent all day at Philmar RV getting sewage fixed...appears that it was not done correctly when I had it serviced in FL.....plus the actual work did not take much time it is just that these guys have their half hour coffee breaks and one hour lunch breaks.....so I wait while they eat! But then they overcharged me and also did a poor job....cannot find an RV mechanic to do anything correctly. The mechanic broke a few more parts and then I ended up paying for him to fix his mistakes!
Very heavy cloud cover today and cold but predictions for sun on Saturday! So will look for local RV park here then head on down the road tomorrow....overnite in the trees of Pioneer RV park.
2 August 2012 Thursday (Kusawa Lake to Whitehorse Yukon Territory Canada - 80 miles)
Had appointment with Mary Anne at Philmar RV but she is backed up on appts so will head out to Takhini Hot Springs for a soak (and a wash since no shower for three days!) and return tomorrow.....overcast with prediction of rain today.
1 August 2012 Wednesday (Haines AK to Kusawa Lake Yukon - 225 miles)
Heading north from Haines and crossing into Canada (BC/Yukon) today (from fog to sun to clouds)....wonderful last eve at Chilkat State Park.....many stops today at the various parks....Million Dollar Falls, Dezadeash, Kathleen Lake (had hiked the Cottonwood trail here about twenty years ago....many more people now).....then visit to new visitor center in Haines Junction. Folks had told me about wonderful Yukon park on Takhini river at Kusawa lake.....about 24 kms down a washboard dirt road but well worth the journey....except for the many people there....still, it was a quiet night!
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