Storm Warnings

    A huge storm has stationed itself off the smaller Hawaiian islands - particularly Kauai.  Some areas got over 14 inches of rain TODAY.  We got about 7 here.  This morning it was not raining when we got up and the sky was a bit blue here and there.  We decided to drive to the northeast side of the island to the Kilauea Lighthouse.  The northeast is the wetter part of the island, but it wasn't raining when we left.

    As old scout leaders we were prepared with fleece shirts and good raincoats.  The road started out wet with standing water in low areas.   By the time we had gone ten miles it was raining heavily and we could see water standing in parking lots and filling up drainage ditches.  We kept on driving.  Soon with the wipers going full blast we could only see the white stripe along the road (when it wasn't covered with water).  We pulled over and watched huge brown waves break against the shore.  The run-off from the hills and overflow from the sewers has turned the water brown.
    The rain let up a tad so we drove on.  Water flowed across the road in more areas.  It rushed down the mountains in huge, red mud gushes.  And we drove on.  The wind started to blow harder - sometimes hard enough to blow the water back off the road.  And we drove on.  We turned towards the shore and drove out to the lighthouse point.  As we got out on the point the wind was gusting up to 50 MPH.  The lighthouse road was closed.  We parked and looked out across to the lighthouse.  Gigantic waves broke against the rocks.  Rick got out and found the rain and wind so powerful he couldn't see anything.
   We fought our way out of the car for a pit stop and tested the quality of our REI rainwear.  I turned up the heat in the car to dry us out a little as we drove "home."  The standing water was even deeper on the way back - often halfway up our hubcaps.  We returned to our resort to find that the wind and rain had moved into the south side of the island.  We spent the rest of the day tucked into our condo watching leaves and branches blow by.  Since most of the windows only have wooden shutters on them it is sort of dark in the unit.  No heat either and we are pretty damp.  But it is an adventure and we have lots of books, plenty of cable channels and we DID bring some warmer clothes.  I feel sorry for folks with only T-shirts and shorts.  In the mean time I am reading up on my history of Hawaii and learning about the Hawaiian alphabet (only 12 letters). We will see what tomorrow brings.

Waimea Canyon Drive

     Mist, drizzle, sprinkle, shower, downpour, torrent, flood.  We had all of these rain experiences last night.  Including a few electric outages.  When we woke up this morning the weather channel told us that roads were flooded on many areas of the island.   It was especially bad on the north side which is usually wet anyway.  So we changed our plans and drove west to the dry side of the island to Waimea Canyon.  The drive goes from the shoreline up to a lookout at 4,000 feet in Koke'e State Park.  The drive follows along the edge of the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific."  The canyon is 3600' deep, two miles wide and 10 miles long.  It has dramatic red clay formations.  Today there were dozens of huge waterfalls.  At the top of the drive one overlook gives you a view of the far west side of the island - the mysterious NaPali coast.  This area has no roads and can be reached only by hiking trail or by water.  It is dramatically beautiful.  The last time we were here we took a catamaran sail out to this coast, but most sailing excursions are on hold until the high surf warnings are cancelled.  We could see the huge waves breaking on the NaPali shore from our 4000' overlook.
   The rain subsided for the afternoon, but it never got really warm today.  I sat out on the lawn and watched the waves for a while when I suddenly spotted a dolphin leaping out of the water over and over.  Was it Flipper?  No, it was a "spinner" dolphin which jumps high out of the water and twists in the air.  Over and over.   What a show.  In addition, the whales decided to come in near the shore and give us a show.  Maybe they like the wind and rain.
    We stopped at the supermarket and I bought batteries, more food and a new flashlight (some little boy made off with the one I usually pack in my suitcase, didn't  you Kellen?)  Now if the power goes off tonight I can at least find my way to the bathroom.  We are well buttoned up with all the shutters closed tight and a pile of good books to keep us company.  We will see what tomorrow brings.

Whales and Rain

 As I sat quietly watching the sun come up this morning I saw several folks looking out at the ocean.  They were watching a pod of whales.  It was a great way to start the morning.  I grabbed my binoculars and joined them.  Awesome!
    Rick conked out early last night from his Mai Tai so we were ready early to head out for breakfast at the golf course.  Joe's on the Green is a restaurant on the Kiahuna Golf Course which has many outdoor tables.  It includes a great view of the mountains beyond the rolling course.  I tried "Joe's Favorite" scrambled eggs with mushrooms, onions and kelp.  I'm not so sure about the kelp.  Not my favorite.  But the coffee was great and the American fries were perfect.
   We drove around the Poipu area and then went back to the old sugar mill town, Koloa.  There are some nice shops in town in the old buildings including a couple that carry art works from local artists.  My favorite was about $3,000 out of my budget but great to look at.
   We had a lazy afternoon reading, swimming and whale watching.  Lots of Minnesota and North Dakota folks at this resort.  I enjoyed showing one couple how to locate the whales by the bursts of water from their blow holes as they come up.  I never get enough time in the water in Hawaii so I am trying to get swimming every day.  It was great until we had an absolute downpour.  Everyone wandered through the rain back to their rooms to get ready for dinner.  We cleaned up and drove down the beach to Brennekes which  has a great ocean view where I again saw whales.  As we stepped outside after dinner, the rain came again.  We have had a brief sunset and now more rain and thunder.  One spot on this island is the wettest place on earth.  I believe it.

Steelgrass Chocolate Farm

     Called Steelgrass because of the super strong bamboo growing on the property, the chocolate farm we toured today is one of the few places in Hawaii where the cocoa bean grows.  We saw an article in the Travel section of the StarTribune on this place and decided to take a tour.  The farm is in the highlands away from the ocean - just above a residential area.  It is always fun for us to go off the beaten track.  We took a three hour tour which gave us the chance to taste many tropical fruits and veggies that I have never even seen before.  Egg fruit which tastes and has the texture of cooked pumpkin.  Watermelon radish which is pink, white and green like a watermelon.  Sugar cane with lime juice - sort of a tart limeaid taste.  We saw cocoa plants growing and then tasted 10 different kinds of dark chocolate.  What a flavorful morning.
   On our trip back we stopped at several overlooks to the Waiamaia river valley and falls.  This part of the island was cultivated for farming in the early days of the native population.  We could see the giant surf along the shore in this area.  Still a high surf warning for this end of the island.  It is quieter on our southern beaches now with no warnings.  We stopped in a State Park for a picnic lunch (watched with great intensity by the ever present chicken population).

     On our way back to the condo I found a quilt store.  We both agreed that we had been to this store the last time we visited this island.  It has a nice front porch with comfortable chairs for the quilting spouses.
     A day on Kauai is not perfect without some time in the water.  The ocean is amazingly warm and wonderful.  One end of the beach is pretty rocky and the waves are fairly high.  Each day we have seen novice surfers hone their skills on the relatively gentle surf in this bay.  As the beach curves around the bottom flattens out and the waves are more gentle so it is great for kids and us older folks.  Nothing like a warm ocean.  I just love it.

Poipu Beach

     As always when we travel to Hawaii I was awake at my usual home time which is 4 am in Kauai.  The roosters were starting to crow (lots of very colorful chickens roam the island), but it was not time to get up.  I burrowed back into my very comfortable bed and slept until almost 7.  The rain has stopped and the early risers were out on the beach including a bride and groom getting some sunrise pictures taken - beautiful.

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We had bagels and fresh pineapple for breakfast and then wandered down to sit on the beach and watch surfing classes.  Some folks were doing pretty good.  We are on a protected bay so we can see some huge breakers off shore but the waves by the beach look good for beginners.  The water is warm and beautiful.  Ahh.
     We took a brief trip out to view Spouting Horn which is a hole in the lava rock where water shoots up.  Some pretty big bursts of water but I was not quick enough to catch on camera.  We stopped for lunch at Puka Dog - a wonderful Hawaiian hotdog - Soft bun, juicy hotdog, mango relish, sweet Hawaiian mustard -- the best!  Our afternoon was pure relaxation on the lanai - watching little kids play on the lawn and listening to the booming surf.  There are surf warnings up for the island until Friday which means that we really get to see some great rollers.
    After lunch we stopped at a little market in Koloa which is a the site of an old sugar mill.   Many of the old plantation-style houses are still there as well as some huge old trees.  There is so much new construction along the beach it is wonderful to see a bit of old Kauai.
    In the late afternoon we went to a small shopping center for a hula show.  Beautiful girls doing beautiful traditional Hawaiian dances.  We sat under the canopy of a huge tree while a few quick rain showers came through.  We enjoyed a fresh fish dinner at a restaurant which has a roof but no windows - very common in Hawaii.  I don't know why there are no birds flying around, but it is wonderful to feel the breeze, and smell the flowers after a long Minnesota winter.  Perfect day topped off with some coconut/pineapple ice cream.

Paradise on Kauai

The weather at home was frightful; a horrible mix of rain, sleet and snow.  We have had problems getting out of our neighborhood on our private (which means not plowed sometimes for 24 hours) road.  So Matt drove us to a hotel just outside of the airport on Tuesday night.  This put us only 10 minutes by shuttle from our 7 am flight.

By the time we got up this morning I could see huge snowflakes adding to the mess.  But we got to the airport in plenty of time to stand in line at security.  Our flight boarded early to try to get in line for de-icing.  But we got stuck pulling away from the gate and spent an hour and a half in line to de-ice.  Our first stop was Phoenix and I had made up my mind that we would be stuck there at least overnight.  There is  only one flight a day to Kauai from Phoenix and we only had just over an hour between flights. We used up that time on the runway at MSP.  We were lucky that so many Minnesotans were taking that same flight because the plane to Hawaii was held at the gate until we got there and our luggage was loaded. 

After being on a plane for almost 5 hours we ran to catch a 6.5 hour flight and were thrilled to be in the air and on our way to warm breezes.  It was a non eventful flight and, yes, when we arrived our luggage was with us.

It was pouring rain in Kauai as we loaded into our rental and drove through rush hour traffic to the east side of the island.  We stopped for an early dinner (4 hour time change made it 4:30 in Kauaii and 7:30 in our heads.  Then we found a great small grocery store for some Kona coffee and fresh pineapple for breakfast and then headed to our condo on Poipu Beach.

This is an amazing place.  There are a bunch of condo buildings scattered among huge palm trees on a wide green lawn.  Our front lanai looks across the lawn to the booming surf.  There is no air conditioning, just plantation shutters on three sides of the condo.  Screens keep the birds out and the shutters can be closed to keep the rain out.  There is glass only in the sliding door that faces the ocean.  I can hear the surf, the rain, and the birds.  It smells of grass and earth and flowers.  I walked barefoot on the grass down to the ocean.  Tide and surf is high.  The sun has set – early here near the equator.  It is still raining as we try to stay awake until 9 pm.  This is paradise.

Kauai breezes are coming

     We are off to Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii in three days.  I just can't wait.  We went to Kauai for just a couple days several years ago, but this time we will have a full week.  Kauai is the oldest, 4th largest, and northern-most island of the Hawaiian chain. The fact that it is the oldest means that the volcanic rocks have had the most time to break down so the beaches have very fine white sand and most of the island is covered with good soil. It is called the "garden isle" because it is so very green. I really love all the tropical trees and flowers. I have been reading about a national botanical garden on the island that I would love to go see. We also read about a cocoa plantation that offers tours and chocolate sampling --- mmmmmm.

      The weather report for the week looks a bit rainy, but still in the upper 70's. We are staying right on the beach so I guess we will have to run out between rain showers and spend time in the water. I don't care. I am just looking forward to wearing shorts, going barefoot, and smelling warm, moist earth and flowers. Kauai earth is very red. They sell souvenir shirts dyed with the red mud. One of the Kauai visitor web sites warns folks not to bring new white sneakers during this muddy season or they will forever be a reddish pink. I am looking forward to Kona coffee, macadamia nuts, and pina colada everything. Aloha.

Heading home

   Our last night was in a campground just west of Des Moines.  We have stayed in this area many times before. It has been cloudy most of the day and looks like a storm.  We aren't going to detach the car tonight so we found a campground with long pull-through sites.  Unfortunately in this campground some of these are "side by side" sites which means that two RV's are pulled in close to a single set of electric, sewer and water connections so that with our slide out we are about 4 feet from our neighbor.
   This KOA has been purchased by new owners.  They are trying hard to come up with fun ideas to attract families in the area to camp for the weekend, use the swimming pool and playground, and participate in activities. Good business for the campground, but it put large groups of people on small sites.  In several sites a tent trailer, a tent and two cars were crammed into a small space.  One family set their tent up almost on the road.  Last year two small kids were killed when their tent was hit by a car so this looked to me like an accident waiting to happen.  Most campgrounds work to keep the tents very securely away from drivers.  We sat outside and watched the group next to us.   A couple of 8 year old girls coached a 5 year old boy into throwing rocks on top of the tent trailer and eating a chocolate bar that was laying on the ground.  Little devils.
   Suddenly the rain came up and everyone ran inside their tents.  Fortunately for the families spending the weekend, it stopped after an hour.  We opened our awning to get it to dry out before we store the camper for a couple weeks.
  This was another short trip for us.  I am not really ready to go home.  I had a great time with Mark and Joyce in the Black Hills.  It was so much fun to share the joys of RVing with them.  We loved camping in the national park campground.  It is just the reason that we bought this smaller RV.  I am already looking at other national parks that we can go to and spend time camping in the park.
   I never regret the time we spend traveling.  I miss my family when we are gone and I am unhappy when we have no phone service so that I can talk to them all, but I always enjoy the time in the outdoors.  I am almost always optimistic.  I like to plan for the next trip as we finish the one we are on.  However, I also know that circumstances can change things in an instant and so I sort of savor each trip as though it is the last one.
   I am thinking about returning to the Olympic Peninsula and the Cascades or perhaps back to Yellowstone without 28 Boy Scouts.  Once again I invite you to come along - in person or through the blog.  We love company.

Nebraska

    I had a huge problem in finding campgrounds for the trip home without a computer or any campground books.  The campground in Golden is a sister campground to the one in Estes Park.  We found the information on it in the office in Estes.  I had a KOA book and found a KOA campground in Nebraska along the Platte River, but when I called to make a reservation I was told that the campground was closed for the season due to flooding damage.  So I was back to the map looking at a large part of Nebraska that has very few campgrounds.  However, it DOES have a lot of State Recreation Areas along the Platte River.  We stayed at one on our way to Yosemite.  I used my phone to get a number for the Johnson Lake, SRA.  The park ranger told me that they never fill up on weeknights so although I was too late to get a reservation we should have no trouble getting a site.

   In the heat and humidity of this summer I was determined to find us a spot where we could hook up to electricity and run the air conditioner.  We can run it off the generator for a while, but probably not all night.  So we took off from Golden for our 350 mile jaunt to Johnson Lake.  The first part of the drive was through Denver which was surprisingly quiet, and up I76 which was also quite quiet.  Then we got onto I80 which seems to carry half of the truck traffic in the Midwest.  Each time a big semi passes us we are first blown to the shoulder and then sucked into the left lane.  Makes for tiring driving.  The camper can only go 65 when we pull our car (due to transmission issues with the car not the weight).  This means that on 70 and 75mph freeways  we are continuously passed.    Fortunately there was no crosswind today - very calm.
    Johnson Lake SRA is seven miles off the freeway which makes it very quiet.  The sites were huge and far apart with big cottonwoods shading all the sites.  The campground was located all along the lake shore so everyone has a view of the lake.  there was a nice swimming beach, playground and boat launch just down the shore from the campground.  We drove around the large lake after dinner and read a sign that told us it is a hydro-irrigation lake.   A huge canal ran out of the lake towards the nearby farms.  There was a variety of new, huge lake homes and tiny, old cabins surrounding the lake.  It was a beautiful, quiet evening.  We sat outside until after dark just enjoying one of our last nights on the road.

Colorado Railroad Museum

    We have come to Golden to visit two places: The Colorado Railroad Museum and the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum.  We started with the quilts which are located in an old building in downtown Golden.  Downtown is actually fairly small - dwarfed by the huge Miller-Coors complex on the edge of town.  (The only two days a week that they don't give tours is when we were in town).  The rest of the downtown is nicely restored old buildings with lots of antique shops, cafes and businesses.  Clear Creek (actually more of a river) runs through the edge of downtown and has a beautiful river walk and parks all along it.  It is a pretty area to walk and shop.  The quilt museum is in one of the old buildings.  The information that I found online says that they have over 400 historic quilts and a new exhibit every two months.  The current display is of about 40 quilts by two quilters. The largest quilts used some very traditional applique patterns - all hand done and hand quilted.  Tiny, tiny stitches with some intricate designs.  I must admit, though, that I was looking forward to seeing some really old quilts - perhaps made by the gold miners or pioneers in Colorado.  After getting a taste of some beautiful quilting we walked further downtown to a quilt shop which had a lot of beautiful new quilts, fabric and quilt kits.  I managed to only buy one pattern.

   We left downtown and drove along the railroad tracks to the Colorado Railroad Museum.  A small indoor display gave us a lot of history about the development of railroads in Colorado.  Downstairs there was a large HO gauge train setup by the local model train club.  The large portion of the museum was outdoors where there were dozens of restored historic rail cars and engines.  There was also a large "garden" gauge layout which had working steam engines, bridges, tunnels, waterfalls, and mountains of Colorado.  I really enjoyed watching all the kids walk around this exhibit and talk with the volunteers who were running the trains.  There was some great detail in the buildings and houses that were part of the display.  It was a great museum.

Golden, Colorado

     The drive from Estes Park to Golden followed another narrow canyon, but this time we were going down, down, down about 2400 feet.  As we approached Boulder, Colorado, we saw many cyclists on the road.  So many that we thought there was a race, but then noticed that they were biking in both directions and on the cross roads as well. The area has bike routes marked on most major roads.  It appears to be a town with a very active population.  There were many beautiful homes perched high on the surrounding hills as well as pretty gardens and parks.  Beautiful in the summertime.  Not so sure about driving those steep driveways when there is ice and snow.
    Our new campground - Dakota Ridge - is very high end with lots of green grass, cement parking pads, and lots of trees.  It is really well kept which is a nice change after the weeds and dirt roads of the last campground.  We are at the edge of town, away from most street noise, with a great view of the foothills.  A walkway at the back of the campground leads to the top of a rocky mound where you can look out over Denver.  It has been quite hot but today it is rainy and much cooler.  The downside is that it's hard to take pictures of the view.
   We settled in and then drove to Lookout Mountain where Buffalo Bill Cody is buried.  Although he is well known for the town in Wyoming that is named for him, he wanted to be buried outside Denver.  He was a man who love publicity so perhaps he felt that he would get more notice if he were buried on this high point.
   The Buffalo Bill Museum is a fun place to visit.  There are many items from the Wild West Show including some film of the actual show and recordings of Buffalo Bill's voice.  It was a fun thing to do on a rainy day.  The view from Lookout Mountain was pretty foggy, but the drive around the area took us past lots of huge new homes.
    As we drove back we saw high fences along the freeway with crosswalks and underpasses for wild life.  This allows the elk, deer, fox etc. to safely move across the freeway from one area to another.  Nice for the wildlife, but also for drivers.  I would hate to hit an elk - those guys are BIG!

Old Fall River Road

     Old Fall River Road was opened in 1920 and was the first auto route into the high regions of the park.  We thought that we would miss the opportunity to drive it because late spring snows had prevented the annual work that needs to be done to open the road.  It is closed during the winter.  The road is a one-way, 11 mile gravel road which takes you up the Fall River valley to the visitor center at Fall River Pass, 11,796 feet above sea level.  When we arrived in the park the predicted opening of the road was not until later in August.  However, when we were at the Alpine Visitor Center after driving the Trail Ridge Road we saw cars driving on a gravel road behind the center.  The Ranger told us that the road had just opened, so today we decided to drive it.

    The road has a series of switch backs and follows a route traveled long ago by Indian hunters.  There are no guard rails and very few road signs.  The speed limit is 15 mph so it is not a quick drive.  There are few places to pull off to view the scenery, but you need to be careful not to get too close to the edge.  No picnic tables, no rest areas - just great views and a sense of following in the footsteps of adventurers.
    There were a surprising number of cars on the road - it was Monday and had only been opened for two days.  We also saw a fair number of Park Rangers on the road - keeping an eye on road conditions and offering help to anyone with car problems.  There is no phone service in the park so no calling AAA if you are stranded.  We saw one Jeep pulled over getting some Ranger aid.
     As we drove above the tree line we could see dark clouds forming above the Visitor Center.  We had read warnings in all the park publications about staying in your car when there are lightening storms.  With all rocks and no trees you are a real target for lightening at 12,000 feet.  I wasn't thrilled about being on the dirt road when the storm hit.  There were quite a few areas where the road was rebuilt after being washed out.  We were lucky and the rain held off until we got to the top.  Then the wind came and really got chilly.  I felt sorry for the folks who were only in T-shirts and shorts.
    We drove back down to Heavenly Valley for a picnic.  The rain stopped and it was warmer so we enjoyed watching families with small kids climbing on the rocks around the picnic area.  One especially adventurous boy climbed to the top of the rock pile.  I kept hearing, be careful, Matthew, come on down.  Seemed like just yesterday we kept saying the same thing to our rock climber.
    It was raining again by the time we got to the campground, so it was a good time to plan the next leg of our trip to Golden, Colorado.  I was really frustrated in trying to find a campground there,  I forgot to pack the Western half of my Woodall's Campground Guide, and I don't have a working computer.  Luckily we noticed in the brochure for our current campground that they have a sister campground in Golden.  The folks at the office made reservations for us and we are good to go for the next two nights.  Whew!

Estes Park, Colorado

     We left the national park campground to stay in a commercial campground in Estes Park, which was only an 8 mile drive.  The town backs right up onto national park land.  When we got to our new campground home - Spruce Lake RV park, we were too early to check in - the previous tenants had not checked out yet.  So we parked the RV and had coffee and donuts while we read the paper and caught back up on what was happening in the world.  Sometimes no news is good news, but now we are current.  After we had waited about and hour and a half I was getting pretty impatient since there were a number of open sites - apparently we had been somewhat forgotten as other folks checked in.  At last however, we got to our site with a nice view of the mountains on one side and a huge motorcycle trailer on the other.  As we were setting up two elk walked into the campground and decided to eat some grass.  Wildlife really up close and personal.
   After many days of picnic lunches we decided to go into town for lunch.  Yikes!  Sunday traffic in Estes Park is pretty overwhelming.  The main street in Estes Park is also the one of the main roads to the entrance to the park.  Most of the RV's, trucks, campers and cars going to Rocky Mountain drive through Estes.  On top of this are the thousands of folks staying in motels and condos in and around town.  There was no place to park.  We drove around a bit and found ourselves up on the hills above town in the Stanley Historic District.  F.O. Stanley, inventor of the Stanley Steamer car came to Estes Park and built the Stanley hotel.  It is a beautiful white resort hotel overlooking downtown Estes Park.  He developed the resort area as a destination for the tourists who were now arriving by car.  He built the Fall River Hydro plant in 1909 to power the hotel and resort buildings.
    We always like to have a meal at the historic hotels in or near the national parks that we visit so we stopped for a delicious lunch at the Cascade Restaurant in the Stanley Hotel.  Rick had a great clam chowder and I tried an elk burger - mmmm.  The view from the veranda was wonderful so we sat and relaxed for a while after lunch.  Then back downtown where we found parking.  The Fall River goes through town.  A river walk has been developed along it with benches, playgrounds, gardens, and cafes.  A beautiful addition to the town and a place that was less hectic where we could enjoy the beauty of the setting.
   We relaxed at the camper the rest of the afternoon as a sudden shower sent everyone indoors.  I am frustrated that there is almost no phone service still at this campground.  We had to drive a couple miles higher into the hills around town to answer a phone message.  Now my computer has mostly died.  I guess I will resort to the written word.