Last Stop on the Summer's Journey -Smoky Mountain National Park

Phaedra and Zoe together at last:

Smoky Mountain National Park is our last “official” stop before we arrive home. We drove three, hard, 400+ mile days to get here. Then, it’s back in the car, over the mountains, off to Cades Cove, up Clingman’s Dome Road and ALWAYS looking for animals! I ask you… what are we? Chopped Liver??? Oh, I know, sometimes Zoe and I think we’re princesses or people and we are. But we do have 4 legs just like bears and deer, right?

Anyway, we know why these mountains are called Smoky Mountains! When we went to Clingman’s Dome, we couldn’t even see the top of the mountain. The top was hidden by a cloud. Everything looks hazy, and it makes me blink and blink. I thought that we wouldn’t go very high here, but the folks figured out that we actually climbed as many feet as we did in Rocky Mountain National Park on the Trail Ridge Road. It’s just that it is 6000 feet lower and no tundra. Plus, no snow. We really wanted snow again before we hit the beaches.

We even got some R and R time outside the car in a river. Mom had a fit because both of us decided to drink the river water. Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea – Zoe got a guppy tummy that night but was fine the next day.

These critters here are really hard to see in amongst the trees. But, you should have heard Dad when a bear crossed in front of us today. He got so excited that Mom shushed him. There were deer everywhere if you were lucky to see them and we even saw Wild Turkeys. Plus, we saw bears on four different times – a mother and 2 cubs, another mother and one cub, and two young cubs who seemed to be alone. Lucky for us, though, we were in our car. I saw on TV that a bear had attacked a man and his son plus chased the Ranger. The guys had planned to hike that same falls trail the next day, but it was heavily patrolled and closed to the public. Dad said that they had asked about bears at the visitor center the day it happened and had been assured that there was no problem at all. I’m glad they didn’t go!

We think we want to come back here in the fall when we can see through the trees better. Zoe and I like this area, and it doesn’t take as long to get here as it does to Colorado.

Tomorrow we leave for Chapel Hill. We’ll see most of you there and hope that those of you that our folks met along the way will visit us in North Carolina. What a summer it has been!

Phaedra and Zoe forever!

Nebraska

Phaedra here: Well, we’re on the home stretch, now. Zoe told you that we were going to Nebraska to visit Mom’s former digs and that we did! The first stop was a little whistle stop named Lewellen. This is where Mom lived from the time she was 4 until she was 9 and they moved to Michigan. Frankly, I don’t know why she wanted to “go back home” so much, but she and Dad had a great time in Nebraska.

Lewellen is a tiny, tiny berg of about 150 people, now, even though the sign coming in to town says 292. When Mom lived there she said it had 492 people! WOW!!! Anyway, the downtown has two blocks to it. People don’t parallel park there – they head in to the curb! Also, good thing that Zoe and I aren’t boys – no fire plugs, either. But, Mom remembered where everyone who was friends with her parents lived. She even met people who are living in those same homes, now. There sure are nice people in the west. She got to tour the high school where her father taught band – it is being turned into a museum, now. No kidding!!! Plus it has this awesome slide out the back which mom said was the fire escape. She and her friends used to climb up inside the one on the grade school from the outside and use it as a slide in the summertime. She learned that a friend of her folks, Mary Beard, left a trust to the town, and every year before school starts each school age child is invited to a picnic (along with her parents) and is given school supplies and a two-dollar bill to keep. Mom said that when she was in school, Mary gave everyone a Silver Dollar. Until about 20 years ago, she had a bank account holding her Silver Dollars (and birthday money from her childhood) in the Lewellen Bank (which is now headed by Mary Beard’s nephew). The swimming pool which Mary donated to the town is still open and being used, too!

They visited a place called Windlass Hill and nearby Ash Hollow, which is right on the Oregon Trail that runs through the area. Conestoga wagons needed to be lowered by hand down this area because it was too steep for the horse teams. There was an original Sod House that had been built by a “great/great” of her family’s friends, the Clarys, around 1899. This place became a station along the Oregon Trail that helped to “refresh and repair” wagon trains of settlers on the way west.

Guess what:??? I might become a biker dog!!! Mom goes crazy thinking about that, but in Lewellen where we camped there was a Biker Bash going on, too. Every night there was LOUD music from 8:00 pm until 1:00 am. I loved it!! It didn’t really bother Mom and Dad – the music was WAY louder than the bikes, too.



What did keep Dad awake all night long, though, was the railroad that ran behind the campground. Every hour, two trains running east and west went by and shook our camper to high heavens. The morning we left, Dad counted the cars and each train had 133 cars filled with coal going east and who knows what going west. Mom had thought that there were at least 100 cars and I didn’t believe her. That’s a lot of cars!

The next day in Nebraska, we drove another 300 miles to the area where her father’s family homesteaded in the 1800’s. We camped at the Ord city park. There were 8 campsites situated next to a beautiful little lake which had a walking/bike path around it. Zoe and I walked there every morning with Dad while Mom slept in. She must think she is a princess or something!

You all know how shy Mom is, right? Well, she screwed up her courage and made plans to get in touch with her long, lost family. She knew that one of her cousins was a doctor in Ord so they went to the public library to use WiFi and a phone book. Well, no luck in finding him until the librarian assistant asked her if she was finding what she needed. When she said she was having trouble finding a number for her cousin Bernie, the girl got a big smile on her face and asked if she wanted his home number. Then she whipped out her cell phone and said she was a good friend with his son! Well, this led to reconnecting with Bernie and his mom (whom my Mom’s Dad had taught English to when she was in high school), and Bernie’s son, too. Dad has been made an honorary member of the Keown (formerly MacKeown) clan. He feels very honored!

Mom took him to North Loup and they were invited to visit Mom’s Grandfather’s home. It hasn’t changed since she used to visit her grandparents when they lived there. Her grandmother lived in the house until she was 96 in 1989 and found it too difficult to tend to the upkeep of it. Imagine that! Pioneers, I guess!

They went to the cemetery where many of Mom’s “greats” are buried and left flowers on the graves. They both felt good doing that… The church where Mom’s ancestors attended is right across the street from her grandparents’ home. Unfortunately, Mom and Dad weren’t able to visit the church. They’ll do that some other time, I guess! Once again, people in this small town were very friendly to the folks. Maybe when people have time and aren’t so “crowded” they can lend a hand to strangers.

Another place that they visited (and we had to stay home) was the Happy Jack Chalk Mine just east of Scotia (another bitty town where Mom lived before Lewellen). Mom’s father and she used to explore the mine/cave when she was growing up. It had changed a great deal, I guess. She was really surprised to find that it now has a “new” entrance and a tour that they needed to take to see the caves. When they visited Scotia, they saw a building that had been made with chalk mined from the Happy Jack.

They, also, visited the high school where her father attended and played quarterback for the football team. It still is in use and is the high school for the whole Valley County.



After just 3 nights, we headed east toward home. Zoe and I will let you know how that looooong trip goes. Personally, I look forward to running in the back yard. That Zoe, though, doesn’t even remember the back yard. She was only 9 weeks old when we left home and now she’s almost as big as I am.

So long, y’all.

Phaedra over and out for now!

RMNP-Week Two

Zoe here: Phaedra issued a challenge saying that I can’t top her entry from last week. Well, I did it! How about MOOSE! Not just one, not two, but three moose! When we drove Trail Ridge Road all the way to Grand Lake, we saw a mom moose with her twins right beside the road. Mom and Dad got so excited you’d think they had won the lottery. Boy - was that moose BIG! We had a picnic by Poudre Lake and got to eat lots of Elk Duds. I’m going to miss them

This has been a week of seeing tons of animals and lots of exercise for Mom and Dad. They rode bikes around Lake Estes Loop and found out that riding a bike at 7500 feet is a bit different from riding at 200 feet or even at 4000 feet like in Zion. They had no idea, but they made it back home after some good aerobic exercise!

One night, they went downtown for dinner – you know how much Mom likes to not cook – and there in the middle of Estes Park were 3 large female elk amidst nearly a hundred people who were waiting for the nightly concert in the park. Seems kind of dumb to me that these elk would just hang out, lie down there, and not worry about everyone, but who asks me?

They also found their favorite coffee house, Coffee on the Rocks, where they go for coffee and bagels in the morning if they aren’t doing a long hike and sit on the river or on the lake. I guess there are good cookies there, too, since they went a couple of evenings. One night an elk and her 2 babies were right on the other side of the river from them. And, Mom didn’t have her camera. Can you imagine?

Mom and Dad celebrated their 39th anniversary here in Rocky Mountain. They went back to the Baldpate Inn where there are hummingbird feeders outside of the windows. They had a good time.

Trail Ridge Road beckoned them again, but this time we had to stay at home. This time they got to see some birds; Stellar’s Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, and the Dark-Eyed Junco – “Gray Race” whatever that means. There was a big marmot and chipmunks, pikas, and ground squirrels, too, as well as elk. Phaedra and I would have liked to be there to give chase, but we were guarding the home front.

Today which is the last day in the park, Mom and Dad decided to hike to Nymph and Dream Lakes. It was uphill all the way – about 1 mile. They liked coming down a lot more. Then that wasn’t enough… Oh, no! They, then, went another mile to Albert Falls. Then it started to thunder. They just made it back to the shuttle bus before it started to rain really hard. By the time they got back to the Park and Ride lot, it was hailing very hard. We got caught another time, too, when it was hailing. That was fun for me, but I don’t think that they enjoyed it. I liked chasing the little ice balls around, but Phaedra thought I was crazy. She’s old, you know.

We’re going to Nebraska next. Mom used to live there when she was a little kid like me, and she wants to visit her old homes. I don’t get it when Dad says that it took him 3 days to drive through Nebraska one day. I guess I’ll find out what he means when we get there.

Phaedra will tell you all about that next time.

Z

Rocky Mountain National Park-Week One

Phaedra here from Estes Park, Colorado. We arrived here on Wednesday, the 23rd of July. It was a long trip from Moab but beautiful through the canyons heading towards Denver. Dad found a shortcut from the interstate north to Estes Park. It might have been shorter but it took forever. It was worth it when he saw a black bear as we entered the city limits. WOW!!!!! As you can see here, I'm teaching Zoe to kick back and relax. I can get her to do almost anything I want - she's such a wuss!


The campground is nice with open spaces. It borders the national park and is only 2 miles from the town. The folks have traveled into the park every day and have seen lots of wildlife. This picture of a herd of more than 70 elk was taken up near the top of Trail Ridge Road which is the highest continuously paved road in the United States. It is open from late May until November of Early December. Sometimes in the winter the wind blows at more than 200 miles an hour. I'm sure glad I won't be there this winter!

One day we got to travel up the Trail Ridge Road with them. The views of the mountains were fantastic. Everywhere we looked, there were the most beautiful views. They saw snow fields, but we were not allowed to play in them. One day they went up to the top alone - 12, 080 feet above sea level where the air is really thin and went on a Tundra Hike with a ranger. They were looking for ptarmigan but didn't see any. What they did see were lots of wildflowers. Can you imagine, spending 2 hours in the thin air looking at little trees and different flowers that all look the same to me? They both seemed to enjoy it, though, and took lots of pictures of them. Walking up hill, however, seemed to be difficult. I don't think I would have had any trouble doing the hike. I am really such an athlete - you wouldn't believe it. Mom thinks I'm amazing and Dad just rolls his eyes. Zoe and I really like to wrestle and run, and the thin air is just fine for us!

Would you go out at 7AM and look for birds? Maybe I would if I could chase them. Dad was able to get Mom out of bed early enough to meet a ranger at 7AM at Upper Beaver Meadows. They were so excited when they came back after the 3 hour hike. It was only supposed to be an hour and a half, but everyone was enjoying it so much that the ranger just kept on going. There was a professional wildlife photographer along to learn about the different birds in the area so mom was in awe. He didn't have a camera with him. That was funny. Anyway, they learned lots of other things to go and see where it's good to take pictures and that was good, I guess. They thought so, anyway. They saw Red Crossbills, Red Nape Sapsuckers, Mountain Bluebirds, Violet-Green Swallows, Barn Swallows and their babies, a Red Tailed Hawk, and other birds that I can't remember and really don't know why they care about them. Mom lists all of the birds she sees on this website and gets so excited about them that sometimes I think she's losing it. Now, I could understand it if she were seeing dogs...but birds???

The only bad thing so far is that they have been going out to restaurants and not taking us. It doesn't seem fair, does it? We have to stay home and they go out but come back with NO doggie bags. Something has got to change. One place that they went to, The Baldpate Inn, had hummingbird feeders hanging outside their tableside window. They said that at one time there were 8 Hummingbirds taking turns feeding at the window. They, also, talked about the photography and key collections there at the inn. There were pictures of FDR and Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and tons of other people who had been there. One key collection was donated by the kids of a couple who collected a room key from every hotel and resort they visited over the course of their 50 year marriage. The keys came from places like Europe, the Carribean, Hawaii, the South Pacific, and around the US. Mom said that if the hotel clerk was a man when they were checking out, the wife went up and asked to keep the key and if it was a woman clerk, the husband went up to work the magic. She also said there were over a hundred keys just from them. There must have been millions of keys to hear them talk about it. Ho-hum!

Speaking of dining out, one day right next to the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, a herd of 30 elk decided to dine on the Aspen Trees right next to the center. It looked so funny seeing 7 elk rumps invading a cordoned off section of the visitor center eating the trees. There were babies and moms and they stopped traffic for at least a half hour. Mom has thousands of pictures of elk now. You all are in trouble when they get home and you have to sit through borrrrring pictures of her wildlife endeavors. Not me!!!

Mom says I need to stop so I don't bore you. Zoe has to write next week and I am sure she can't do as good a job as I have done. She is getting better, though. I kind of like having her for my new sister.

So long from your gal pal, Phaedra. Happy wags!

Arches

Zoe here !!!
The rest of the time we were in Moab, Mom and Dad spent it at Arches National Park. It's quite a spread out park with a 17 mile drive through the park and a couple of 5 mile side roads to tour.
There are arches and red hoodoos plus huge cliffs all made of sandstone everywhere. The majesty of the park was similar to that of Zion though it was more spread out Mom and Dad said.

They did lots of hiking everyday. With temperatures close to 100, they tried to get up early to hike. "Course, those of you who know Mom really well know that Dad had his work cut out for him in a big way. Early, buy the way, meant getting up around 8-9 and off by 11:00 if he was lucky. she says she wants to get up early, but somehow crankiness gets the best of her she, also, says! The first day, they hiked to Landscape Arch, which is the widest arch in the park, plus other arches along the way. With Mom taking pictures, they sure took their time getting back.

The next day they saw the Delicate Arch which is the most well known arch. They only hiked up 1/2 mile to view it as the hike to the actual arch is 3 miles with steep trails and narrow ledges, Dad's favorite.

A favorite hike for them was at the Windows area which was a couple of miles viewing 5 different arches. After hiking up to the North Window Arch and viewing the landscape behind, they realized why it was called Window. They were able to see both Window Arches at the same time and ended by hiking to the Double Arch. They came home very excited.


Landscape itself throughout the park was beautiful! We know that first hand because they let us ride with them one evening after it cooled down to 88. After spending most of the time in the camper, it was nice to get out. We saw things like The Three Gossips and the Balanced Rock.




Everyone is looking forward to Wednesday because it's on to Rocky Moutain National Park and cool. We aren't looking forward to the 400 mile drive however. Phaedra will send more later during our 2 weeks in the Rockies. I hope it snows!

Oh, yeah, Phaedra had a bath today and she thinks she's "all that!" I'm still so much cuter even if I am sometimes called a monster dog. Maybe I'm a little devilish, too. We do have a very bad table that makes me want to bite it. Mom spanked the bad, bad table today. Perhaps I won't go near it for a while. It looked scary when the table was punished! I sure don't want that to happen to me. I'm really glad that I picked this family to grow up in, though. They love me so much and I love all 3 of them plus my friends Parker, Anne, and Dov. I wish they were back with me here!

It's Z saying adios, y'all!