food trucks in seaside

Seaside and The Truman Show

On the recommendation of a friend, during my yearlong roadtrip across the USA 11 years ago, I visited Watercolor and Seaside in the Florida panhandle.  On my shortened journey this year (due to some challenges with VANgo and changing my travel priorities to horses), I made Seaside my last stop in Florida upon my return home from Texas.

Last time I visited the area, I hiked with the dogs in Grayton Beach State Park, strolled the beach, and enjoyed lunch at the Shrimp Shack.  This time, since I learned that a histamine intolerance is causing my migraines and eating seafood is out of the question, I made my tour about The Truman Show, a movie which came out in 1998.

TAKE THE TOUR!
wildflowers on gothic mountain

Happy Hiking: Gothic Mountain

I’ve always wanted to visit Crested Butte during the Wildflower Festival.  I finally did just that and for my first hike to Gothic Mountain via Trail 403 from Washington Gulch Road, they did not disappoint!

Happy Hiking!
atomic bomb

Day 294 – National Museum of Nuclear Science and History

Day 294 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways
National Museum of Nuclear Science and History

Before I began a long drive from Albuquerque to Wichita Falls on an extremely windy day; tumbleweeds bounced across the highway as dust filled the sky; I stopped at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History.  The museum included exhibits on WWII, the Manhattan Project, nuclear scientists, the cold war, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the falling of the Berlin Wall, and a variety of weapons, some still in use today.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Days 292 – 293: Petrified Forest National Park

Days 292 and 293 of Year Long Roadtrip Following Scenic Byways in the USA

Day 292

Well, I didn’t see anything of interest yesterday except road construction taking place in the rain. Most the time the road was just blocked off with no one there.  I couldn’t believe when I saw a crew was working in the rain!

I did forget to mention that while in Kings Canyon I parked behind a car with a Hawaii license plate, and I recall an Alaska one from Washington. While I didn’t concentrate on the other 48 states or for that matter consciously look for Hawaii and Alaska plates, I believe I can say I succeeded at the license plate game over the last year as I traveled to all contiguous states!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
sequoia national forest

Day 290 – Kings Canyon National Park

Day 290 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Over the past year, I heard that Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks are as pretty as Yosemite, but without the crowds.  Before returning to Texas, I thought I would see about that and drove 50 miles east from Fresno to the Northwest entrance of Kings Canyon National Park.

My first stop was to see the General Grant Tree, a giant sequoia.  In fact, it is the widest known sequoia, forty feet across, and the third largest tree in the world in terms of volume.  It stands 268 feet high, weighs 1,254 tons, and its circumference is 107 feet around.  Its largest branch is 4.5 feet in diameter and its first branch is 129 feet from the ground.  A few interesting facts about the tree:

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
Tenaya Lake

Day 288 – Yosemite and Beyond (Part 4)

Day 288 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Yosemite National Park

Mono Lake

From Reno, I followed Highway 385 south to Mono Lake, located just east of the Tioga Pass entrance to Yosemite National Park.  Mono Lake, nestled in a basin of sagebrush bordered by volcanic peaks is over 760,000 years old, making it one of the oldest lakes in North America.

The lake has no outlet. For thousands of years, streams have carried their minerals into the lake and evaporation has removed water from it. As a result, the mineral content has risen to almost 10 percent.  The salty waters afford swimmers a delightful sensation of buoyancy.  While fish can’t survive in these alkaline waters, it is still one of the most productive lakes in the world.  It supports millions of brine shrimp, alkali flies, and migratory birds.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
lassen volcanic national park

Day 287 – Mount Shasta – Cascade Loop (Part 5)

Day 287 of Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Another park that was closed due to snow in May when I was in the northern California area was Lassen Volcanic National Park so as I head south to Texas, I have revisited the park, this time on a beautiful day at the end of September.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
paulina and east lake

Day 285 – Cascades Lakes Highway

Day 285 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Sparks Lake

The skies were clear in Bend when I headed west into the Deschutes National Forest via the Cascade Lakes Highway.  Once I got into the mountains; however, it was a different story:  overcast and misty.  I can only imagine the beauty of Sparks Lake in the sunlight.  I rounded the bend and came across a golden prairie, perfectly flat like a parking lot, situated in between the evergreen covered mountains. 

It was such a stark contrast that it was simply remarkable despite the poor weather. At first, I didn’t even see the lake, only a narrow stream which wound through the meadow.  In fact, when I stopped to snap a photo, a placard claimed the Ray Atkeson, a professional photographer, felt this was the most stunning landscape in Oregon.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
mount bachelor

Day 284 – Mount Hood – Columbia River Gorge Loop (Part 4)

Day 284 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Barlow Road Tollgate

We awoke to another dreary day which kept me from any hikes first thing in the morning.  Just along the highway, we made our first stop at the reconstructed Barlow Road Tollgate.  Opened by Sam Barlow in 1846, this passageway was the first toll road on the Oregon Trail. Prior to the opening, pioneers had to convert their covered wagons into rafts and ride the rapids of the Columbia River.  Travelers paid 25 cents to pass through the gate and meeting the toll man was even a social occasion as they hadn’t seen anyone for miles.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
columbia river gorge

Day 279 – Columbia River Road (Part 2) and Mount Hood – Columbia River Gorge Loop

Day 279 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Ice Cave in Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Another wonderful day in the Pacific Northwest!  After a quick snapshot of Mount Adams, I took a short jaunt west from Trout Lake to explore an ice cave.  I expected to be taken on a guided tour, but instead found myself alone in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.  Beneath the evergreens by a picnic area is the entrance to a lava tube.  The cold air from the winter is trapped inside the cave forming an ice pool with stalagmite ice crystals poking upward from the floor.

Based on the information board map drawing there are two ice pools, a natural bridge, a crystal grotto, a crack room, and a few pits.   I only explored the first ten feet of the 400 foot cave as I was alone and had no intention of falling on ice and sharp lava in the dark!  I also followed a path above ground which led to the crack room and the pits.  Had I had the proper equipment and a partner, I would have liked to see the crystal grotto.  I bet it would be fantastic especially closer to winter time.  The weak beam on my flashlight just barely illuminated the area from a distance, but neither my eyes nor my camera were successful in focusing on much!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!