Category: Scenic Drive

Western Michigan

by Maria+Stephen, posted in Bike Trails, Biking, Boondocking, Camping, Coffee, Hiking, Kayaking, Scenic Drive

Arriving in Traverse City marks our completion of the 117 mile long M22 which follows the Lake Michigan shoreline of the Leelanau Peninsula. The M22 is a beautiful scenic drive offering great vistas of Lake Michigan and the Grand Traverse Bay. 0014,0015 

Traverse City Coffee Scene: Higher Grounds + Planetary Coffee. We have been disappointed with a number of the coffee roasters/shops in Western Michigan. Arriving in TC has brought us a couple of notables with Higher Ground Coffee Roasters and Planetary Coffee (serves Half Wit beans). Erik Harms owner and barista (pictured below) at Planetary is a long time roaster having previously roasted at Higher Grounds and the well regarded Dogwood Coffee in Minneapolis. Erik has provided us with several recommendations for the UP which we are excited to try over the next week. 0015,0016

Biking the Leelanau Rail Trail TC-Sutton Bay-TC.  0015

Hiking the dunes at Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. Camping at Leelanau SP. 0014

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Kayaking on the Pere Marquette near Lake Michigan. 0013

Biking on the Pere Marquette State Trail. 0012

Pere Marquette State Trail

 

 

Pennsylvania

by Maria+Stephen, posted in Biking, Hiking, Scenic Drive

 

On our final day in Pennsylvania we hiked in the Hickory Creek Wilderness Area within the Allegheny NF. 0004

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Today we biked a portion of the 65 mile Pine Creek bike trail. The bike trail was formerly a rail line intially operated by the Jersey Shore Railway then a succession of failed endeavors until eventually taken over by Conrail. Conrail abandoned the route in 1988. 0003

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First Hike of our current road trip. East rim of gorge down and back. 0002

 

 

 

 

Route 25

by Maria+Stephen, posted in Scenic Drive, Uncategorized

After flying to Spokane we made the drive to Rossland via the very scenic State Route 25. Route 25 originates in Davenport and ends just before the border with Canada so we were able to travel the entire route from start to finish. Lots of great scenery as much of the route hugs the river following the many bends and also rises above for spectacular vistas. The ferry is the Gifford-Inchellium Ferry. The church is located in the “town” of Hunters, WA.

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Price to Torrey

by Maria+Stephen, posted in Scenic Drive

Today we traveled from Price to Torrey where we will be staying while exploring Capitol Reef National Park. Along the way we traveled through the northern section of the San Rafael Swell to visit the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry which has one of the largest and densest concentrations  of dinosaur fossils ever found.

From there we traveled further south with the intent of driving through the Buckhorn Wash to visit the Wedge (aka the Little Grand Canyon) but rain overnight made the sand and dirt roads impassable. Instead we ventured south on Route 72 which took us through Fishlake National Forest and over the summit at Hogan’s Pass where we encountered gale force winds and snow.

Tomorrow we begin our hiking at Capitol Reef National Park.

 

Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry

DSC_0038Paradise Valley, Fishlake National Forest

DSC_0051Foy Bench 8975 Elevation

DSC_0057Cathedral Valley

DSC_0065Torrey, Utah

Day Trip to Nelson

by Maria+Stephen, posted in Coffee, Scenic Drive

On Sunday we took the day off from skiing and snowshoeing and hit the road  to visit the “big city” of Nelson (pop. 10,000). The ride up provided the excitement of driving through the Nancy Greene Summit Pass (check out the video) and then motoring along the Kootenay River (pictured below). Of course, a major goal of our trip was to find the best coffee roaster in the region.

Happily, we can report that we had productive and delicious stops at Oso Negro Coffee Roastery and John Ward Fine Coffee both located on Ward Street.

 

 

Browning, MT

by Maria+Stephen, posted in Scenic Drive

With cold temperatures and rain showers in the forecast we elected not to hike today. We took a road trip over to Browning to visit the Museum of the Plains Indians. The museum is located within the Blackfeet Tribal Indian Reservation which spans approximately 1.5 million acres. The Blackfeet Indians owned the land that now constitutes Glacier National Park until it was purchased by the federal government in 1895.

The museum has many artifacts from various Plains Indian tribes – clothing, jewelry, weapons, tools, household items and musical instruments. The displays were very informative and interesting.

We met several Blackfeet artists that were working at the museum today. A jewelry maker named Rene Bear Medicine and a young artist named Jeremy (self taught).

From Browning we looped around to East Glacier where we stopped for a late lunch at the Two Medicine Grill. We then drove back to St. Mary on MT 49 known locally as Looking Glass Hill Road. The road provides tremendous views of Two Medicine Lake and the valley below when the weather is clear. It is a curvy mountain road that is closed from November through April because of snow and frequent landslides. MT 49 is cattle country and we encountered many cattle on and along the road which along with the many hairpin turns makes it a slow but exhilarating trip.

A relaxing day and a chance to rest our tired legs.

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Hidden Lake

by Maria+Stephen, posted in Hiking, Scenic Drive

Drove to Logan Pass on the Continental Divide. Hiked from visitors center to Hidden Lake overlook, then proceeded down to the lake, took a lunch break and headed back up as the weather changed to hail and gusty winds. A grizzly bear and her two cubs were sighted by other hikers, but we were too late to catch a glimpse of them. We did, however, spot two hoary marmots. Continued down the Going to the Sun Road to St. Mary. Stopped along the way to view Jackson Glacier.imageimageimageimage

Howe Lake

by Maria+Stephen, posted in Hiking, Scenic Drive

A shorter hike on the morning of day two to beat rain showers forecasted for the afternoon. The trailhead is accessed via the one lane dirt Inside Fork Road – an adventure in it’s own right!

The trail runs through an area of forest burned in the North Fork during the 2001 Moose fire and really illustrates the power of nature. Howe Lake is actually two small lakes at the terminus of the Howe Lake Trail. Also, Grizzly Bear territory!

 

Howe Lake