Reflections

Reflections

June 10th 2023

Well we made it home! The final four days were a marathon drive of just under 2000 miles from Medora, on the western edge of North Dakota, back to Sudbury, Massachusetts. I can’t say it was the most fun part of the trip, but it wasn’t awful either. We split the journey into four ~500 mile sections and stopped at AirBNBs for three nights at Saint Cloud, Minnesota, Whiting, Indiana (just east of Chicago) and Clearfield, western Pennsylvania. During the drive we listened to the audio book “Undaunted Courage” by Stephen Ambrose, about the Lewis and Clark expedition that travelled up the Missouri River in 1804-6, over the Rockies, down the Columbia River to the Pacific and back. It was particularly interesting as we had travelled through some of those areas.

Our trip lasted one day short of 11 weeks. We covered just over 12,000 miles, camped for ~ 60 nights and spent the remainder with Tasha and Mac or at AirBNBs. We visited 12 National Parks or Seashore, 8 of which were new to us, and more than 20 State Parks and wilderness areas. I took countless thousands of photos (I could work it out, but even if I did I’m not prepared to share the number!) and posted ~300 of these on the blog. We had a fantastic time.

It’s perhaps inevitable that we draw some comparisons to our journey in 1987. On that trip we covered slightly more distance (14k compared to 12k miles), because we went all the way to the west coast. This time we deliberately tried to stay 2 nights or more in most places to allow more time to explore, whereas previously I think we were a little more rushed. In 1987 we were away for ten weeks and the whole trip cost us about $2,500, whereas I estimate that this trip, cost us about $10,000 for everything. We certainly used more non-tenting accommodation which raised the price, but petrol, camping fees and food costs are all a lot higher these days. (Actually , I think they are all a lot higher than 3 years ago.) We didn’t eat out very much on either journey. Overall, I think that the costs were reasonable and maybe comparable to our previous trip if you consider that there are 35 years in between. Perhaps the biggest noticeable difference is just how much more crowded and busy the parks and the country in general have become during that time. Having listened to some of Lewis and Clark’s descriptions of the wilderness they encountered you realize that our perspective is just a small snapshot of a much larger development of the country. We were thrilled to see bison in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, with a couple of herds numbering 50-100 animals; Lewis and Clark describe seeing herds of 10,000 bison on the prairie, along with countless deer, elk, bears and beaver. I realize it’s been over 200 years since their epic journey, but even in the past 35 years we can see that the process of humans overwhelming nature continues unabated.

It was still winter when we left New England at the end of March, and during our trip we have often debated whether we should have left later … or earlier! It was cold at the start, but really hot by the time we got to southern Texas. We then chased the spring northwards through Arizona, Colorado and Utah and by the time we reached the northern States it was summer and we were starting to deal with both heat and bugs. Overall, I think we timed it pretty well. From a birding point of view we left the east coast before the spring migration was really started and consequently missed many birds, such as eastern warblers, but in Texas there were some suggestions that we were only catching the tail-end of the western migration. You can’t win! Nonetheless we saw tons of birds overall and our 2023 bird list currently stands at 354 species. Working on our birding project was one of the really fun aspects of this expedition.

Our equipment worked really well. We used all our clothing from swim-suits to fleece pants, hats, gloves and winter coats. The only thing we never used was our kerosene lantern. We were always too tired to stay up much beyond sunset and our flashlights gave us all the light we needed. The only issue we had was our two-burner stove started to play up after we left Spokane. Actually the problem was almost certainly that our 10 lb marine propane tank had been over-filled during our stop-over and the Over Pressure Valve (OPV) was restricting the fuel flow, which we eventually resolved. We developed a good system for managing our two coolers and we didn’t have any food spoil and never once was I forced to drink a warm beer! However, when we arrived home we realized that the drain plug of one of the coolers had come open during the last day or two of our drive and some of our gear and the trunk of the car needed to be dried out. 

When we completed our 1987 journey, friends and family said that it was the trip of a lifetime. We certainly viewed it as an amazing experience but could not, at that time, appreciate how rare an opportunity it was to dedicate that length of time to an adventure. 35 years later, we realize once again how lucky we are to have been able to complete such an incredible journey. We are retired now, so in many ways we are free to decide what adventures we might pursue next. However, we are also much older and realize that such opportunities won’t go on forever, so it was also with some sadness that we arrived home with one more of life’s experience in the rear view mirror.

We are now busy unpacking and clearing away our gear. Our focus is shifting to life at home, preparing Cotinga for launch and starting to plan the next phase of our lives. We will pause in writing our blog until we set off on another adventure.

We had a great time!

Mike

These are just a few shots that never got included in previous blogs

An old truck converted into a flower bed at Aravaipa Farm and Orchard. An abstract shot created by zooming the lens

Farmland to the south of Spokane, Washington

Gloria birding with the scope, Otter Lake, Utah

Gloria bravely posing above a large drop-off - Bryce Canyon, Utah

Mike editing photos on his laptop at the picnic table in Mancos State Park. Photo editing was a lot harder whilst camping than it is on the boat because it was too bright outside during the day, and sometimes quite cold sitting outside at night (photo: Gloria iPhone)

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Sunday 4th - Tuesday 6th June 2023

Theodore Roosevelt National Park was one of our primary destinations for this trip. We had read in National Geographic that half of all North American ducks nest in North Dakota and for some reason we assumed that the park would be full of ponds. In this respect we couldn’t have been more wrong - the park is actually a mixture of prairie grasslands and bad land topography, with the Little Missouri River flowing through. There are two sections (north and south) that are separated by about 50 miles. There is also an area in the middle where Theodore Roosevelt had his ranch, but apparently no buildings remain. The park was created in 1947 to preserve the outstanding landscapes and in particular the prairie grasslands that are greatly under threat. We read in the park that prairie grasslands support the second highest level of biodiversity after the rainforests, but 70% of this land in the USA has been destroyed. The majority (60%) has been turned over to agriculture and some (10%) replaced with building developments of one sort or another. What is more disturbing is that the remaining 30% is in small, fragmented parcels that no longer functions in the way that the original grasslands used to. The park was dedicated to Theodore Roosevelt because of his contribution to conservation in general and the establishment of the National Park system. He also spent time in North Dakota on a ranch and viewed that experience as instrumental in shaping his life and preparing him for the challenges he faced as a leader. (If an appropriate “honor” is applied to our previous president we might in due course anticipate the renaming of the West Palm Beach sewage treatment plant … or possibly a federal penitentiary … but now I’m letting my optimism get away from me!)

The National Park campsites were full but we were able to book a campsite at Sully Creek State Park just two miles away from the southern entrance. This was a beautiful site with contrasting pit toilets and hot water showers. It was a spacious, flat and private site with good shade, picnic table, fire ring and views of the cliffs behind. The only disadvantage was that it was really hot whilst we were there (85-90oF) and bugs were quite formidable. The campground is right on the banks of the river and one particularly nice aspect is that they have an area dedicated to horse camping and we could see and hear some animals. There is a 144 mile trail called the “Maah Daah Hey” trail for hikers, bikers and horses, that runs through Sully Creek and the south unit of the national Park all the way up to the North unit. We think Tasha and Mac should do this with their horses Chinle and Kayenta once they are broken in.

After we got our tent set up, we spent a few hours exploring the south unit. Not only was it really hot, but also humid and shortly after we set out a series of thunderstorms rolled through. They didn’t cause too much of a problem and had passed by the time we returned to camp. On our first full day we hiked in the petrified forest wilderness area of the south unit and explored the scenic drive. The scenery was beautiful and started to appreciate the motivation for creating the park. We were also thrilled to see several herds of bison, up close and personal as well as herds of wild (feral) horses. On the second day we drove 70 miles up to the north unit of the park and spent several hours hiking the Caprock Coulee trail, which was really lovely. Although it was only 4.5 miles we were a little nervous setting out because it was so hot, but there was some shade on the early part of the walk and it turned out be a really delightful walk. 

As we end this section of our trip my mind has switched gear to future explorations. I am very keen to return to several of the places we have visited to see what they are like in the winter. This has received a mixed reception from Gloria that has evolved from “you have to be f-ing joking” to, on the positive side: "well there wouldn’t be so many bugs” … and on the negative side: “what would we do all day?” I’ll have to keep working on that one! As for now, we are currently outside Chicago on a 4-day, 1900 mile drive back home, with three overnight stops at AirBNB. I think we will hopefully post one more blog on reflections of our trip before we sign off for the time being.

Mike

A thunderstorm passes over the south unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park

A view of the Little Missouri river from the Wind Canyon trail

Amazing cacti flowers ... the challenge with taking these photos was that bees kept diving into the flowers for nectar!

Cactus flower close up ... yellow pollen everywhere!

Petrified wood acting as cap-stones above the bad lands cliffs

The trail through prairie grasslands ... we saw Bobolinks and grasshopper sparrows

A large herd of bison - composed mostly of cows, calves and young males. We think the mature bulls were mostly off on their own

Bison cow and calf

Bison - loosing its winter coat

Bison portrait - these animals are large, moody, unpredictable and can run 3 x faster than a human. I took these shots using a long lens, in this case from inside the car!

A herd of wild horses working their way down a cliff

One of the same horses feeding in the grasslands below

iThe "canonball" formation where smooth round rocks are being released from the eroding cliffs

A panorama overlooking the Little Missouri river in the north unit of the park

Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs and Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge

Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs and Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge

Friday June 2 and Saturday June 3, 2023

Shortly after our dinner was ready, it started to rain.  We decided to eat in the car—staying dry and avoiding spilling chili all over the tent.  After a while, the thunder started rumbling.  Then we started to see the flashes.  Some time around nine pm, we retired into the tent.  I read my book for a while but found that counting the seconds between the flash and the rumble was interfering with my concentration.  I lay on the cot counting... The storms carried on for several more hours.  During a lull in rain at 11:30 pm, I jumped out of the tent to answer a call of nature.  No sooner had I settled back onto my cot, the patter of rain on the tent resumed.  Thankfully, the inside of the tent remained dry and no pond developed around our tent. 

In the morning, we set out for Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge.  Most of the journey was on paved road but one section of road was dirt.  Presumably because of the heavy rain overnight, the mud was deep and the car was sliding around.  Mike did a masterful job of driving.  The refuge encompasses Lake Bowdoin. Before the last ice age, the lake was a horseshoe bend of the Missouri River.  The ice sheets force the river from its old channel to the present course 50 miles south.  To a large extent the water level in the lake is supplemented from the Milk River to provide a suitable habitat for migrating ducks and other birds.   A 15-mile one way gravel road circles the lake and some of the surrounding wetlands.  According to refuge literature, the drive takes 1.5 hours.  In our case, the elapsed time was more like 6 hours.  There were so many gulls, ducks, pelicans and other water birds as well as many grassland species.  Some National Wildlife Refuges can be a bit disappointing, but this was fabulous.  We didn’t see much in the way of other visitors except for a guy towing an ATV.  First, he went past us as we pulled off the road. Then to our shock, he came back, (what part of “one way” do you not understand?)  meeting us in a place where there was no pull out.  He drove his truck off the road and we got by! (I should say that for most of the loop the “road” was on a gravel dyke above some pretty wet looking prairie). 

By late afternoon the sun was out.  We returned to our campsite and took advantage of the “hot springs pool”.  Even I spent a lot more time in the warm water (too hot for real swimming) than in the icy plunge pool.  Thankfully the weather overnight was benign.

Gloria

Route 2, the main east-west highway in this part of Montana, photographed in the early morning as the previous evenings storms moved away.

Wilson's snipe

Western meadowlark

Wilson's phalarope. Having seen several of these birds in the last few days we are absolutely convinced that what we were seeing in the Great Salt Lake were Red Necked Phalaropes.

The American Avocet - my favorite bird!

Nesting Avocet

Nesting Avocet - up close

Killdeer

Chestnut Collared Larkspur - one of many new "life birds" that we have seen on this trip.

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park

Tuesday 30th May - Friday 2nd June

Glacier National Park is beautiful. The scenery is spectacular, but the name is becoming something of a misnomer. When the park was established in 1910 there were 100 glaciers. By 1965 two-thirds of them had disappeared, and at this point in time half of those remaining are too small to be classified as glaciers and are defined as “not active”. In perhaps another sign of environmental changes that are happening all around us, the park has been the victim of countless forest fires. While the frequency and intensity may be increasing, apparently there has only been one year since the park was opened that there hasn’t been a forest fire. The evidence of burned trees and cleared hillsides is hard to miss.

In 1987 when we visited Glacier we didn’t have the greatest time. The weather was damp and cold, and we freaked out about bears, although we never saw any! This time we enjoyed ourselves a lot more. The drive over from Flathead Lake was stunning in bright blue, cloudless skies. We stopped at a cafe for lunch in East Glacier and had one the best pies we have ever eaten in a restaurant … homemade blackberry/raspberry pie, fresh and still warm from the oven! Our campsite at St Mary was very pleasant, and once we got set up we still had time for a short walk. We then had two excellent days of hiking. On the first day we hiked the Triple Falls trail off the “Road to the Sun”, and as the name suggests, saw some beautiful waterfalls. On the second day we hiked up to Grinnell Lake from the “Many Glacier” area of the park. The weather was somewhat overcast, but we didn’t get rained on (much!). We also got to see some wildlife, including two grizzly bears, a fox, deer, beaver, marmot and several new bird species during our stay in the park. The first bear we saw was from a foot-bridge over the St Mary river, near the campsite. We were out for short evening stroll and Gloria spotted the grizzly wandering along the banks of the river near the campground. It disappeared behind some willow shrubs and then we heard much shouting and banging of pots from the campground. The bear re-appeared, walked into the river and swam across to an island in the middle. It was being swept down stream as we watched and at one point I thought it might come right under the bridge. However, it made landfall on the island, shook the water of its fur and wandered off into the trees. 

The weather turned rainy on our final evening and you couldn’t even see the mountains around. Fortunately, in the morning it was dry and we packed up and headed east across Montana. We encountered a fair bit of rain as we drove to our next campsite at Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs, but we got lucky with a couple of dry hours and we managed to get our tent up, dinner cooked and get showered before the storms rolled in. We ate dinner (chicken and bean chili) in the car, and that’s where I am sitting writing this blog.

As we have travelled the past ten weeks we have been constantly reminded of the two great environmental issues that we face on this earth. The first we talk about constantly, but make little headway, and that is climate change. (At this point I should acknowledge that Gloria and I realize that that we are only contributing to this issue in driving around the country.) The second problem in my mind is a bigger and more threatening concern and that is population growth. We rarely if ever talk about it, and if we do, it’s only to portray the negative economic aspects of low growth and the challenges of an aging population. Whilst this is clearly a global issue the information I have relates to the USA. Did you know that in 1776 the population of the USA was 2.5 million and that in the past 250 years it has grown 130 fold, and that since 1950 it has doubled? When we consider the impacts of climate change, for example on drought and water supply in the south west USA, nobody seems to frame the situation as a population rather than a changing climate problem. There are too many people for the available water … maybe we should be addressing the number of people rather than hoping that we can turn around the runaway train that is global warming in some vague expectation that there will miraculously be enough water to go round. It’s a really tough challenge for countless reasons, but one reason to be pessimistic is that capitalism, our underlying religion, relies on constant growth, which in turn fundamentally relies on increasing population. This seems to me like a serious vulnerability when it comes to long term future of humanity. From the perspective of the USA, does anyone think that a cross country trip that resembles a 3000 mile drive down Manhattan is an attractive prospect? We should think about that every time we cheer an uptick in “new building starts” as a sign of a vibrant economy.

Mike

Glacier NP from the east on our drive over

The incredible St Mary Falls from the footbridge across the river

An example of the remains of one of the countless forest fires

The lake below the "Many Glaciers" section of the park - early morning on our second day (not great light!)

Grinnell Lake - the last quarter mile involved a river crossing on two wedged logs and shuffling across some remaining snow patches

There were amazing flowers everywhere we went ... this is a wild orchid and there's a story behind this photo ...!

Bear Grass

(Indian) Paintbrush

Wild clematis?

Fox

A bold deer buck, with emerging antlers

The second grizzly we saw - from the road near "Many Glaciers"