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USA eclipse 2017
  • John Bickerstaff
Jul – Aug 2017

USA eclipse 2017

A 36-day adventure by John Read more
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  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    All manner of bizarre treeness.

    August 10, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Laid back start to the day - run along the beach & back for brekkie. Heading up to Cape Meares Lighthouse & wildlife reserve - going to be a misty one again so waterproofs to hand. A world away from walks in the South West but bizarrely we had more rain there than in Oregon. Parked up at the lighthouse area first and ambled down - plenty of info about the local wildlife - most of which had passed through prior to August. Still a few gobby birds could be heard. For once bins had been remembered so Liz was scouring the surroundings for anything of interest. The lighthouse is, apparently, the shortest in Oregon but is one of only 2 to have an 8 faced mirror crafted in France. It's a special little lighthouse in a nutshell. Back up the hill to the Octopus tree - a tree shaped like an octopus & it kind of was but no-one knows quite why it turned out that way. Drove back to the main trailhead and walked down to the big spruce - no explanation needed. Quietness would have been nice though - 2 overly loud families were dominating the surroundings - singing songs for gods sake - how dare they!
    It was indeed a big spruce - apparently 750 - 800 years old.
    Decided to try & make it down to Cape Meares beach - a 2 mile hike should thin out the noisy masses. It did but with the thick mists & forest, views were limited and it was pretty moist under foot. Made it to where the forest thinned and offered some measure of views. Headed back for lunch at The Blue Agate cafe back at base camp. Epic crab & shrimp sarnie with seafood chowder, Liz had an equally monstrous fish and chips. Light tea tonight me thinks.    Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Mooching

    August 10, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Post stodge fest required one of 2 approaches - relax or work it off. Both were tried. Liz spent time working on her writing & enjoying the view. I went off to get supplies for tea - initially it was supposed to be at the end of a 25 miler but half way up the hill out of town plans changed - opted to go straight to Netarts, explore & pick up supplies. Not really much of a flatter option but definitely shorter. Bit of up & down between Oceanside & Netarts - mist was getting thicker. Got there to find that beyond the 2 grocery stores, there was little more of note - estate agent & hippy tat stores don't count. Took in the harbour - no boats - maybe they were all out... The bigger looking grocery store got the vote but offered little choice & was pretty pricey but I guess did the job. Headed back as the mist started to turn to drizzle. Right decision.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Ice cream for lunch.

    August 11, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Really misty morning - could barely see the sea on my morning run. The 3 arch rocks looked as if they were floating on clouds. Had an extended soak in the hot tub. Then on to the main event - taking in all that Tillamook has to offer & first stop was the Tillamook Cheese Factory. The visitor centre was supposedly good for free cheese samples, fine ice cream & fudge. Not a bad combination though they'll do well to compete on any front with Cornwall. The factory visit was unavailable due to the visitor centre being refurbished so we were left with an exhibition about cows & then a queue for the cheese. 6 samples - 2 mild, 2 more mature & 2 messed around with. Was all a little rushed. Had to move on to the next because the person behind would be waiting. The cheese was fine apart from the messed up stuff - why put pepper & jalapenos in? Wandered through the shop to the ice cream area - 1 scoop $4 - 3 scoops $5. Financially it was a no brainer. And as for the size of the scoops - could see why there were so many fat arses around here. My blueberry, stawberry & vanilla combination worked well but boy was it filling. And Liz battled gamely with the huge chunks of chocolate in her mint choc & raspberry white choc mixture. No other lunch arrangements were required. Tellingly at the cash registers there was a range of indigestion medication available.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Holy cow, that was some pig race.

    August 11, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    The County Show had been recommended as something quintessentially American so it would have been rude not to attend while in Tillamook. The concern was that there wouldn't be sufficient to entertain us until the essential viewing that was the pig and ford race at 5.30. We had an amble around town to try and pass a little time but eventually concluded that there wasn't much else in town. Parked up - our little car (a focus) hidden amongst massive pick-ups & 4WDs. Something of a metaphor. Wandered in - sampling the popcorn and we were in another world. Cow parades with a running commentary on the size & shape of their teets. All manner of bizarre foods - elephant ears, deep fried oreos & funnel cakes were on offer. Animals of all sizes & varieties were on show - some less harmoniously than others - a pair of pigs were having a barny. Explored the show & the carnival & then settled down to a couple of the horse races - atmospheric - though nothing was riding on it. There was an ice-cream tasting competition, hypnotists & lots of kids doing dodgy dances. There were gun & hunting exhibitions next to the Republican party's area proudly displaying pictures of the Orange one. It was all very random. But this was just the appetiser. The main course of weirdness was yet to come. Took our seats in the stands for the 'world famous' pig and ford race. Guy grabs a pig, puts it under his arm, cranks his Model T started & then proceeds to race round the track, swaps pig & repeat. The winners go through to the world championship - the fact that no-where outside of this bit of Oregon competes is irrelevant. The compere claimed this to be classic redneck fare. It was in fact hilarious - not sure the pigs agreed - a fair bit of squealing. The 2 races came & went - nothing could follow that so we didn't try & better it & went to the shops for fruit. A good proportion could do with taking our lead - yet more fatness.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Morning Cycle.

    August 12, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Got upto the grim news that Liverpool had conceded a sloppy equaliser. Not happy. Nice cycle should help. Had one planned that might just do the trick. 23 miles along the Tillamook Bay and estuary and using forestry roads to cut back to Netarts. Started out and refreshing is probably the polite way of describing the temperature. Still a good chunk was uphill so it worked. Initially I was on the Cape Meares stretch - some nice views and some dodgy roads. At the other end, just by the road block duty was done - informing a big group of cyclists that the road hadn't entirely been swallowed up by the sea. Nice easy cycle along the river & so many cyclists going the other way - maybe drivers in Oregon are courteous towards cyclists...
    A short spell on the main road to Netarts suggested otherwise - plenty of inappropriate overtaking by pick-ups & 4WDs. Thankfully most of the way back was forestry roads - very quiet. At Netarts there was no avoiding the main road - back to the bad old ways. Pulled to the side of the road to take a photo - was given grief by a pick up for being in the way. If your car barely fits on the carriageway & you find it difficult negotiating obstacles because of this, don't blame me - get a smaller car. To soften the annoyance there were tentative signs that this may end up being a sunny day.    Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Good-day sunshine.

    August 12, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Surprisingly it looked as though it was going to be a sunny day. Sat outside cooling off after my cycle & the cloud was steadily thinning. While in the hot tub the sun's rays really started to make their presence felt. Happy days. Spent a little while longer relaxing on the veranda then headed down to beach. Liz nosied at some wedding type stuff going on on the beach. I mulled over whether to brave the rather chilly Pacific waters. Doesn't sound right - Pacific is tropical. Anyway it was likely that this was the solitary sunny day so after a gentle stroll up and down the beach swimmies were called for. The plan was a quick dash but stones and the odd crab claw put paid to that. Going to have to use the waves - managed a quick bit of body surfing but the cottage guide was right when they recommended wetsuits. Didn't dry quite as quickly as at Las Vegas or Boulder but the view was far more pleasant. Back upto the cottage for lunch, a bit of reading and squirrel watching. Lunch of cheese sarnies meant we were short for the evenings tacos so off on the bike again. Nice enough cycle to Netarts apart from the now usual idiotic pick-up drivers. By the time I'd got back the sea mist was beginning it's inevitable return. Oh well at least we had a glimpse of sunshine on the Oregon coast.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Muddy feet

    August 13, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    A rather more laid back start to the day - due to rain - was rewarded with a fine sighting of an eagle of some sort. Virtually no-one about - just me on my run & an eagle scoffing. Seemed pretty relaxed about my presence & was there on my way back. Not sure if it was a fairly young bird & wasn't prepared to leave food behind. Post breakie we headed out towards Pacific City - first stop was Cape Lookout with some good hikes. At the trailhead the map detailed the three options - long but easy; short & steep & the instantly discounted long & challenging. A number of people were at the map debating the same thing which was the easier option. Went for easy long. In our infinite wisdom we'd forgotten it had been raining through the night. The paths were a little damp. Sandals were not the best option. Battled on & managed to make it to a couple of lookouts but by then feet & sandals were looking a little worse for wear. Headed back when it became clear, much as it was sunny, views were only likely to be of the sea & little else. Warned a family on the way down when asked about the views. Back to the car to find feet were in a right muddy state - need to find a beach to clean up at...Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    What on earth are Jo Jos?

    August 13, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    At the first opportunity a beach was located. Time to clean. Feet & shoes were dunked in the icy cold & yes that meant the sandals were soaked but it was better than the muddiness that preceded it. And yes, on the way back to the car feet are going to get sandy but it will brush off. Anyway onwards to Pacific City - sounds a big place but anything is a city in the US so we weren't going in with huge expectations of facilities. As it happened, where the facilities were proved to be a curse as well as a blessing. Stopped at the first sign of food - we were hungry. And there was easy access to the beach, parking however looked a problem. No matter get food sorted & worry about that afterwards. Went in to find a sarnie counter as well as a fudge counter. Had to be done. He looked utterly confused though when asked to cut it up. Do people just bite from a bar of fudge - how uncivilised. The sandwiches were equally confusing for us - what's a hogie? We had to circle all the options we wanted on the sandwich & it automatically came with chips. I've managed to go this far without chips - I'm not blowing it when buying a sarnie. There was an alternative - Jo Jos - eh? They were explained to be potato wedges. Then why not call them what they are and then people will understand! Chips avoided bags of food in hand off to find the beach. The car park was full, as it seemed this stretch of beach was. Turned round to escape & got stuck behind the slowest pick-up ever. Turned off eventually & we headed towards a coastal state park. No facilities other than toilet, bin & car park. It was deserted. Nice. Sat up in the dunes in the sun & scoffed. Walked along the beach & thankfully it wasn't hot enough for me to agonise about whether I should be going in for a swim. By now the sandals were pretty much dry - ended up using mine to guide a washed up jelly fish back seawards - not sure relief or gratitude exist for them.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Driver & navigator's prerogative

    August 13, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    The great thing about being driver & navigator is that you can set the agenda for the day. Not that I don't do that anyway. But things that are rejected can just happen to be on the route home. How handy - well since we are in the area it would be rude not to. The Tillamook Air Museum was just such a case. Liz wasn't remotely interested but it happened to be on our way home IF we visited Munson Creek Falls, which by all account were quite impressive. After the muddy events earlier questions were asked about the wisdom of visiting a waterfall. All I'd read indicated an American style walk - drive virtually all the way and then a tiny walk to the view, return to car and drive off. To be fair it was a quarter of a mile which for some yanks is practically a marathon. Anyway we got to the end of the trail or at least the sign saying the end of the trail. The trail carried on... Always likely to carry on but when the couple in front declared 'can't see any sign here' & carried on. Neither could I.
    To be fair the view wasn't any better. Onwards to the air museum - didn't have long - only open till 5. Liz was adamant that she was uninterested, so it was a quick look while she waited. Primarily I wanted to see the hangar - a blimp hangar from the war. It could hold 8 at one time and is the biggest wooden structure in N. America. It was indeed impressive and the planes located within were interesting enough. Primarily they gave scale though. Back to the cottage, noting along the way a grocery shop that did sharp line in guns - for that moment when you go to the shops for milk and realise you are in need of a gun - unbelievable. One last cycle - back upto Cape Meares - see it in sunshine. A fiendishly hot Kung Po chicken and a first and probably last sunset on the Oregon coast.    Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Last minute sorting

    August 14, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Rather than go off trying to cram as much into the last day it was more a case off sorting out for the next leg. Early morning run as per normal. Back in time for the bike guy to pick up the bike. Chunnered a bit about drivers inconsiderate nature towards cyclists. Seemed sympathetic but who knows. By this time the epic wash / dry sequence had begun. In a bored moment checked on whether there was anything we'd missed in Oceanside. Sure enough at the North end of the beach was a tunnel through to the variously named - Tunnel, Agate or Lost Boy Cove. I prefer the latter. Rather than disturb Liz and ostensibly to see what lunch options were available I wandered off. Checked up on the two cafes & inevitably investigated the tunnel. Knowing that it existed, it was quite obvious where it was. Was a bit dark & damp but it led, as claimed, to a series of beaches with a few people scouring the coast for agate stones. I was just enjoying the walk. At the other end of the beach a couple of people were tending to a bird - looked like a chick & was clearly a bit stunned. They weren't sure what had happened to it but were building some form of sea break to shelter it a bit. Not sure it would help but at least they were trying. Headed back & the 2 cafes were rejected - too expensive. The local shop was rejected for lack of options so off to Tillamook. Could get some brekkie things as well. After lunch Liz ventured into the tunnel with me. Things were a bit more blustery & the sea was a little higher. Looked for seals but only got birds. Back to the main beach & looked on as a couple of kite surfers did their thing. Very impressive. Back to pack. Not h.p. don't want to go.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Back to the noisy city.

    August 15, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Pretty well packed up last night so just a little checking, cleaning & sorting. Making sure no left passports. Breakfast & one last walk along the beach. Hard to leave - very nice cottage, with a very nice view of a very nice beach in a very nice village. I liked it. Time to go. Left at 10am giving us 3 hours to get the car back without incurring the charges that our friendly assistant tried to land us with. Should be plenty even allowing for the traffic chaos that is Portland - or at least how it seemed on our way through a week ago. The drive passed innocuously - the main sources of concern were the phone being annoyingly silent - it was clearly offended when being muted & is on a silent protest, oh and my wandering while trying to sort the silent phone. Unfortunately such mundane worries couldn't last. We hit the Portland motorway network & bizarrely the airport wasn't signposted or at least not until we knew where we were. The choice was I84 north or south. We'd been following the south signs so opted with that - it was north. Some hairy u-turn action (not on the motorway) Now the airport signs appear. Now the fun of finding petrol. The first one at the airport hadn't started in business, the next one Google took us to didn't exist - well played. Finally found one and it was considerably less than the area average of $3 Hertz claimed. Drop off was much smoother - verified that we'd avoided the surcharge & off to lugging baggage onto the metro. All very easy but noisy. Anywhere probably is noisy compared to Oceanside. Struggled a little bit finding the apartment & then heaved a sigh of relief. No crashed car & a bed for the night. Once settled, out for some lunch - a ludicrously expensive sarnie. Found a Safeway & helped the cashier with his crossword - what someone from Liverpool is called? In return he enlightened us to the joys of a Safeway card - saved $7 on this shop alone. Why no-one had offered us one before is beyond me - annoying. Liz had a relax while I scooted off for a short walk down to the river. Got to the Steel bridge & couldn't resist going across to the riverside walk. Just down to the next bridge, except you couldn't cross that on foot. Took 2 more to get back. 30 mins turned into close to 2 hours. Liz was writing happily when I got back.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Ecelctic Portland.

    August 16, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    No morning run - all the junctions & road crossings would've proved too much for my patience, much as I liked the idea of running along the river. Anyway, probably going to be doing a fair bit of walking. A leisurely breakfast & hopefully substantial enough to see us through the day. Today was all about seeing the weird and wonderful side of Portland - it portrays itself as somewhat leftfield - as the day progressed we'd see with due cause. Unfortunately what couldn't be missed also was the number of homeless - in the world's richest economy to have homeless people is inexcusable but then 50% have just voted to abolish universal healthcare. Walked into town and pretty much headed for 'Lizvana' - the world's biggest bookstore. Could she be any more excited. On the way we took in Voodoo Donuts - voodoo shaped donuts with jam blood oozing out. Near there was the famous 'Keep Portland Weird' sign. Don't think there's much to worry about on the donut front. As it happens the book thing was a little disappointing - it proclaims second hand bargains. Unfortunately books it seems are expensive over here so even the used books were pricey - back to the Kobo. On the way to the city square we passed a cannabis shop (not the first) - definitely not your normal US city this. Had the same symbol outside as a chemist in the UK - if you weren't paying attention things could get very confusing.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Poet's Beach

    August 16, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Took the light railway out towards the south river bank where the aerial tram went from. It was primarily built for health workers to commute to the hospital built on top of a hill without adequate parking space. In to the bargain it offered superb views of the city and surrounding countryside. Once at the top both Mount Hood and Mount St Helens could be seen clearly. Surprisingly no food like facilities could be found - the substantial breakfast would seem to not be substantial enough. On descending the food cart options were either too big or too weird - waffle sandwiches!! Decided to head along the river and see what we could find & ended up at Starbucks - cake & smoothie sufficed. Continuing on eagle eyes lizzy spotted a sign to Poet's Beach - surely some mistake but no - an urban beach had been set up on the river for the first time this year. Oh go on then - if I must have a swim. Not sure Liz was impressed with the ranger talking about a guy swimming across the river - now there's an idea. Bizarre setting just under a spaghetti like junction. In fact we would've driven over the beach yesterday. Who'd have thought. Ambled back along the river taking in an ice cream stop - well we were at the beach. Then the decision - which way to get to the metro - back into town or across the river towards the apartment. Seemed obvious but we ended up hiking through industrial estates and being deafened by freight trains. Liz wasn't impressed. Eventually made it back - plans for eating out were abandoned.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Have a little patience... Liz.

    August 17, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Needed some quiet time so after stocking up, it was off to Pittock Mansion & Washington Park - both offered potentially quiet hiking and nice views of the city. Definitely what was needed after yesterday's noisiness. Getting there, however was likely to be something of a challenge. First the metro to town, short walk to the No 20 bus stop. Then make sure we got off at the bottom of the road up the hill to the mansion. There then should be a shuttle bus waiting to take us up. Simples. Except the first 20 bus didn't go the route we wanted. Had to wait. Eventually the requisite bus arrived but the driver wasn't having us get on till some old codger moved his zimmer frame. The driver gave up. Google maps got us to the correct stop & the driver confirmed the existance of a shuttle - it just wasn't there. The simple fact was that the mansion was just half a mile up hill. Couldn't take too long by foot. Gave it 5 mins & on the 5th up it rolled. The driver gave us all the speil about the house - ultra modern for it's day - central heating and vacuum. At the end she offered the opportunity for questions - what is central vacuum - errr. Never mind - off to enjoy the view. Thankfully the skies had cleared somewhat. Mr Pittock had chosen a good spec. Weren't too interested in the building itself. Decided to walk down rather than get the shuttle - very nice & at the bottom rather than relying on the bus into town we decided to hike the wild wood trail to our first stop the Japanese Garden. Didn't look too far. In the end it was because there was something of a detour to the arboretum visitor centre. Some very big trees and peaceful surroundings. Had a little walk up to a viewing point and then continued our way to the Japanese Garden.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Hippo-bottom-mus

    August 17, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Despite a rather lengthy alternative route we made it to the Japanese Gardens. One slight problem - $15 to visit seemed a little steep especially since the Rose Gardens were free. No great choice. The fragrance of the roses was quite striking though each one I smelled seemed to be a dud. It was all very pretty but really was basically a lot of flowers. Got a good view of Mt Hood from here. Pushed on for the zoo & if there was time afterwards we'd look into other stuff. Found the shuttle bus & when it appeared those in front of us were poncing around - couldn't decide. We jumped in front - they were German - they'd have done the same to us. In what was probably my highlight of the day (ish) I noticed a sign saying there was a discount for those travelling on the metro. Result. Spent a fun couple of hours at the zoo watching the elephants trying to barge each other out of the shade. The hippos weren't arsed - just laying there, one facing us & one just showing us it's bum - nice. The giraffes entertained with their mad tongues. The metro from the zoo went straight through to our stop. Opted to get a pizza for tea. Only catch was that when we got in the oven wouldn't work so I was left dividing my time between texting the owner and formulating an explanation for how the first hire car ended up with a damaged wind screen. Not a happy bunny.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Fall frenzy.

    August 18, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Filled up on all the remaining food. Tidied and dumped the keys in the lock-box. Off to the airport for the final time to pick up our final car. That is if we could negotiate yet another rental procedure. That said the queue looked like being the major obstacle - that and a Hungarian couple insistent on being as long winded as possible. Eventually made it to the front just as a second server came along. Paperwork done & eclipse warnings given - apparently half the world's population were going to be in Oregon - bollocks - something around 2 billion then. We then had to get the car except we had to get a bus there. Our friendly driver Lawerence had a patter which we didn't fit into - first time in Portland, good flight? Etc. On arrival it looked like another queue but thankfully we were shepherded elsewhere. Picked a silver Dodge with cruise control - useful for the long drives. It was only when we got in that it dawned that there was no USB to charge stuff. Oh well - off to the Columbia gorge. First stop Vista House - named because unsurprisingly it had a good view, well to be fair a great view. Onwards & in to the waterfall belt - apparently the highest concentration of waterfalls in North America. First stop was Bridal Falls - nice walk but concerningly busy for an offbeat location. Next stop was Multnomah Falls - normally very busy & if our previous location was to go by it was going to be bad. Little did we know... The approaching road was solid for quarter of a mile (maybe the eclipse gridlock had already started.) Parking was a no go. Pushed on to the next car park, found a space & opted to take a walk - a couple of guys confirmed it to be possible. Turned out to be 2 miles of up & down - hard work. Got there and to be fair the falls were very striking. The crowds of fatties less so. And as for the fudge salesperson... In a country where the customer is king offering a plastic knife when being asked to chop up the fudge doesn't cut it. Back to the car and off to the Bridge of Gods - somewhat oversold & a toll bridge. Not going over the border then. Checked in, washed sandals and then headed out for a Hawaiian BBQ. Nice.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Cruise not snooze.

    August 19, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Managed to find a suitable route for a run - down to the beach & at that time a sunrise into the bargain. Preparations were underway for a stand-up surf competition but there's an eclipse to get to so no time for waiting around, particularly with all the scare stories floating around all the news shows. Plodded back and got a bonus swim in the pool. Logged onto the LFC site to listen to the match. 0-0 at half time so called time & went to brekkie. Packed & loaded - no free cookies this morning. A quick stop before hitting the road - Rowena Crest viewpoint. One final view over the Columbia - loads of cyclists on the way up - some great hairpins for them to enjoy. Time to hit the road. As we drove along the gorge the climate clearly got drier & more arid & at the same time the gorge became shallower. Eventually we said goodbye to the river and ended up on vast plains. Tedious. A couple of viewpoints broke up the monotony. One of the plains just outside Pendleton. Another at Emigrant Springs State Park where we learned about the Oregon Trail. The final stop just outside La Grande was a historic arch bridge built initially for the timber industry but which ended up being a tourist attraction. Has to be said that probably was the highlight of La Grande - there wasn't much above the high street & most of the stores seemed to be closed - eclipse hours apparently. Limited food options so back to Safeway for some microwave food - nice and cheap.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Caught by the fuzz.

    August 20, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Interesting morning run. All was quiet on the streets of La Grande. Opted to play it simple - up & down Main St - there was nothing on the roads so the traffic lights wouldn't be a problem. All was going smoothly till a stationary car obscured my vision - only at the last minute did I see a car coming & stopped. Phew. Once gone proceeded on my way. Except I didn't - a grey car pulled up - the one that had almost run me down. A fart like siren. Oh dear. "Hey buddy" (I'm not & it's even less likely after this conversation. 'Officer Buddy' proceeded to lecture me on how I was almost run over (by him) and ran (irony) a red light. I could get a citation (whatever that is) Obviously I apologised & he let me off with a warning - he was just pissed off that he almost ran someone over & couldn't face having a sweaty runner in his nice new mustang - which incidentally was unmarked - entrapment. How do I know he was a narky individual - the next set of lights he waited at a green light & made sure I waited at the lights & went round the block & watched me at the next set. Came back along the back roads. Maintain that having to stop 'Officer Buddy' caused my calf to tighten up. Minimal brekkie - cheap motel. Now to see the traffic chaos that the eclipse was causing - early start should help. Aside from roadworks there was little of consequence to dusturb the journey - not even the surroundings were particularly inspiring - plains & rolling hills. Passed into the Mountain Time Zone which added an hour but that wasn't enough - way too early for check-in. All that didn't matter because we missed the turn. Pulled off at the services to regroup and were given plenty of options for the onward journey into Idaho. Decided to head off to the Owyhee Valley & Lake. An interesting drive - narrow roads & yet RV's and trucks with trailers all seemed to be heading in the opposite ditection. None would move over it seemed. Eventually made it to the State park area & a little oasis within the arid gorge and the lake created by the dam. A nice picnic lunch. A little walk & back to aircon. A little side trip to Snively Hot Springs. Easily found but disappointingly cold until I was pointed in the right direction. Scorchio. That's it. Nice dip & swim. Back to the hotel for Liz to tend her wounds - a couple of bites when hiking through to the springs. Pondered where to go for the eclipse over tea at an Irish Bar. The excitement...Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff
    1

    Wow!

    August 21, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    The big day - weather reports looked very kind. The plan was to base ourselves just outside the hotel as it seems most of the local astronomy buffs were doing. A good sign. A quick swim before checking out & finding a spec. Initial plans of the patches of grass outside were dashed by some selfish dog owners. We perched ourselves on the kerb and awaited first contact - 45 minutes away. Things were pretty warm - tried out the glasses & even that was wild - being able to look at the sun directly. The excitement mounted when the moon took a first little bite out of the sun. The first of many whoops - we're in the states so what can you expect. Only 75 minutes to wait. That said it never got boring watching the eclipse progessing. With 20 mins to go you could sense that the light was beginning to change & things were cooler - we no longer felt like we were burning. The sunbeams in the tree shadows were casting crescent shadows. 10 mins and the thin remnants of the sun were minimal. With a few minutes to go we were anticipating the things we would see but nothing could prepare for the enormity and majesty of what would transpire. The darkness suddenly came upon us and the sun was gone - just the corona spewing out from behind the moon. It was like there was a hole in the sky from where the sun should have been. You could see stars, the street lights came on and there was a whoop frenzy. It was the most amazing thing & I can completely understand how ancient peoples thought it was the end of the world. Then there was the diamond ring and totality was over. Most started to pack up but we were getting our moneys worth. We were seeing it through to the final contact. It was amazing how the light and heat came back so quickly. We weren't for moving though. Cadged wifi from the hotel to see when the next eclipse was 2026 & 27 in Spain. Bring it on.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Good recomendations.

    August 21, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌫 29 °C

    What could follow that? Well some hefty traffic jams - or so we were told & as we were packing up so the flow of the traffic on the motorway suggested. While it was slow it moved all the way to Boise - the state capital & from then onwards all was clear. So in answer to what follows - a lot of driving through yet more plains. Our friendly Texan from yesterday suggested there was plenty at Twin Falls but the drive there suggested nothing of any drama. Never judge a book by err... it's surroundings. The bridge over the Snake River Canyon was a suitably impressive intro. The canyon, partly made famous by Evel Knevel's ill-fated rocket jump across it was equally dramatic. We stopped at the visitor centre & wandered over to take a look. A guy was walking over the bridge & a few people seemed to suggest he was going to base jump off it. Surely not. But indeed he did. Wandered under the bridge and a few others had a go. Awesome dude - as a rather wasted base jumper who was milling around would say. Liked the fact we'd seen the total eclipse but had to outdo us - 13 jumped off at the same time during the eclipse. Headed back to check-in & chill. Watched some news & as a few people alluded to, pictures don't really do it justice - certainly mine don't. Decided to do the final recommend - Shoshone Falls. Referred to as the Niagara of the west. Impressive but apparently at this time of the year a hefty percent of the Snake River is diverted for irrigation. Unfortunately the walk to Evel's take off spot was substantially uphill & things were rather warm so that was a non-starter.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Hot stuff.

    August 22, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌫 28 °C

    200 miles or so of driving. A supposedly closed stretch of motorway pushed us towards an alternative route which went via the Craters of the Moon National Park. Sounded a suitable stop off - some walks & a markedly different landscape to anything we'd encountered before - volcanic outcrops, craters and lava flows. The initial drive was more interesting than a motorway but in no time at all we were back to long endless plains - as per normal. Approaching the national park we passed through lava fields which uncannily looked like endless piles of black rubble. Hopefully the park would be a little more distinctive than that. Judging by the visitor centre and how busy it was a lot people were expecting the same. The queue to pay was the biggest we've seen so far. Didn't bode well. The first walk - no space at the car park. The second & we were fortunate - the devil's orchard was a series of weird shaped lava outcrops and numerous negative placards about pollution. Might consider getting people out of the cars & instigating a shuttle bus system like every other national park we've been to. Next two car parks were full so no climbs up the cinder cones & the one way system meant a 5 mile round trip to have another go. Certainly was distinctive & striking scenery but the sheer weight of traffic spoiled it somewhat. Still we didn't pay so can't complain too much. Headed off to Idaha Falls & as Liz was heading towards a satisfying doze I was intrigued by a Historic Monument sign - EBR1 - curious - had to investigate which unfortunately meant a u-turn. She awoke to find us heading towards some form of nuclear museum. She wasn't impressed. Even less so when we were stopped by a soldier. Fortunately I wasn't in any more trouble - he was just helping out - they were rammed with all the post eclipse traffic. Anyway we parked up and she tolerated a self guided tour of the first generating nuclear power plant in the world. Hopefully we wouldn't leave glowing...Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Another set of falls.

    August 22, 2017 in the United States ⋅ 🌫 30 °C

    We rolled up at our motel to find things we'd begun to take for granted weren't necessarily so. No microwave & fridge. No free wifi. But there was a pool - that pacified me but Liz was hungry. Bit the bullet & had a burger at McDonalds - no chips - almost 4 weeks in the states & still no chips. Walked to the museum past the town's namesake falls - not quite as impressive as yesterdays. The town however was more pleasant. Headed to the museum which had an exhibition on space to tie in with the eclipse - for Idaho Falls was in the path of totality. Some interesting stuff - a camera that went to the moon, a number of samples of moon rock & some fun interactive stuff. Some info on the new innovative Orion capsule NASA are developing that looks uncannily like a Saturn V Apollo. Cutting-edge. Some local history which was curious. Came back via the Japanese garden on an island in the middle of the Snake River. Peaceful considering it was by a main road. Impressively it was all created by volunteers.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Boiling point...

    August 23, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    While I had a pool and while my leg was still uncomfortable to run on, it would have been rude not to have a morning swim despite the unforeseen issue of it being cloudy. The forecast talked of stray showers & storms. Where have they strayed from - Manchester. Can't blame them really. The small matter of 200 more miles, around half of which were in Yellowstone. Double edged sword - yes far more scenic & interesting but slow speed limits & the possibility of traffic jams (car park queues & wildlife issues) Aside from lunatic juggernaut drivers the drive to the park passed easily enough - the queues to get into the park didn't bode well though. Pulled in at the first information place - didn't have a lot of info though - weather & geyser eruption forecasts. Decided, while it was sunny to head to the Grand Prismatic Spring, which looked pretty cool. That was until we were half a mile away from the car park & the queue to park started. Busy doesn't come close. The main issue though was when people were getting to the car park they just stopped & waited for a spot. We got lucky after what seemed like ages. We followed the hoardes - the springs were very bright & colourful and the heat kicked out was quite striking. The wind had got up & clouds of steam were obscuring the view & annoyingly I couldn't see how you could get up to the hill for an overview. Decided with the way the traffic was to call it a day & head for the lodge. Except the wildlife wasn't co-operating. A glut of cars signalled a sighting - a coyote skulking in the distance. A little further on we saw elk & deer - one just casually crossing the road. And after a rain filled ascent of Dunravin Pass we descended to the Lamar Valley to be greeted by herds of Bison roaming on the road & causing traffic chaos. This type we didn't mind. Eventually rolled into Cooke City (it's not) at around 5.30 and our host did a superb job of making us welcome - detailed recommendations and stories - could barely get a word in edgeways. The Bear Tooth Cafe got the nod Liz loving her teriyaki chicken almost as much as her huckleberry cream soda. I had Chilli.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Bison blockage

    August 24, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    In order to avoid the mammoth queues of yesterday the bullet was bitten & an early start was the order of the day. Bakery breakfast and lunch bags bought. We were all set. Plan was to head out to the Lamar Valley - good for wildlife spotting particularly in the morning. See what was occurring & then try a walk in that area. Once in the park, what was occuring was a slow moving bison in the middle of the road. And nothing was for moving it. Waited patiently - couldn't see what was coming the other way & when stuff did it got pretty jumpy. Eventually it did move to the side so we could squeeze past. Further down the valley there were significant amounts of people all looking at something - rude not to investigate. Turns out to be some wolves (black not Warrington ones) on the prowl. Eventually picked one out. Bit noisy so we pushed on to Slough Creek trailhead. On the way more bison & what looked like a hunt but was in fact some calves messing around. The supposedly flat walk turned out to have a substantial climb at the start - still the breaks gave us chance to admire the views & wildlife - marmots, deer, pronghorns & woodpecker. Nice & peaceful - a good walk away from it all - this was more like it. A sociable group of ladies agreed & passed on some tips. A few bison were off in the distance but nothing closer & certainly nothing of the dangerous category - bears & wolves. Returned avoiding being run over by the excursion carts and made it back for lunch just as the thunder began.Read more

  • John BickerstaffUSA eclipse 2017John Bickerstaff

    Out of this world.

    August 24, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    One of the recommendations was Mammoth Springs - in fairness we were planning on going anyway but they were adamant it was well worth it. So as the rain drops started to fall we headed off. As the mountainous formations came in to sight, so did the sun. Timed that one well. Amazingly, though it was clearly busy, we found some parking. Was this going to be a chunner free day? Stopped off at the visitor centre - a few interesting bits & pieces. Bought a card for Aidan & Alice - only $2.99 (it was a jigsaw) had my change ready except that didn't include tax. You have no idea how much things are. Ludicrous. It's not even consistent - Walmart & petrol stations price with tax. Anyway chunnered to her & then Liz - neither having any power to do anything & then when buying postcards 3 for $1 - no $1.06 ... Liz has the patience of a saint or selective hearing. Began the walk up the calcite formations created by the Mammoth Springs only to be stopped by a crowd - watching something - apparently a snake - a big snake. Some guy said it was harmless but eats rattlesnakes - not sure how that stacks up. Steps led us upwards to a range of steadily more intricate plateaus created by the hot spring deposits. Each and every time it seemed you were in a steadily more weird & other worldly place. The heat was quite oppressive combined with the sun & shelter from the wind. The further along, the fewer coach parties there were which suited us nicely. The finale was like some alien cross of an epically iced cake and a snowy neon mountain. Downhill all the way for a cold drink. Called it a day & started the 90 min drive back. Bad driving aside (which is becoming the normal expectation) we got back to the hotel just as the heavens opened. Quick dash across the road for take away pizza.Read more

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