Crater Lake Drone Video

Crater Lake National Park is one of my favorite destinations. As I wrote in an earlier post, this gem of the Pacific Northwest is overflowing with natural beauty and an undercurrent of mystery. I discovered this video and felt it was worth sharing.

Here is some nice footage of a drone circling over the lake and Wizard Island with the Cascade Mountains in the distance. This is not my video, but was posted by You Tuber, Ralph der Kapitaen. While the video is nicely done, it does not equal the experience of seeing Crater Lake for yourself. I hope this gets your travel blood flowing and you start planning for summer trips! 

The Moab Diner

After a few days on the road eating energy bars and freeze dried meals from foil packets, I am ready to find a good restaurant that serves real food. When in Moab, Utah one of my favorites is the appropriately named, Moab Diner.

This is a family place located at 189 S. Main Street and is easy to find when driving through town. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner with a variety of platters, sandwiches and full meals. There is also a kids menu.

Now, this is what I am talking about! They have the burgers, chicken, and steaks as well as some specialty items like the "Kokopelli Chicken Sandwich" and the "Green Chili Sauce Cheeseburger."  It's all good, and I mean that literally.

They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner so no matter what time of day you arrive, you will find something you want. The food as well as the service has always been excellent and the prices are reasonable.

When you are ready for treat you can checkout the ice cream shop that serves cones, shakes, sundaes and more. When I am ready for desert I keep it simple and go for the pie!

After a full day of your favorite activity in the Moab area, I recommend the Moab Diner and Ice Cream Shoppe. Try to arrive before you're starving since during the summers tourist season they often have a waiting list for a table. But it's worth the wait.

Sego Canyon Adventure

Most travelers speeding east-west on I-70 through Grand County, Utah probably do not notice the small town of Thompson as they pass. Aside from the gas station, Thompson has little to attract passersby, but just north of town is Sego Canyon which is worth a second look.

Your adventure begins at Exit-187 on I-70. After leaving the interstate, turn north or Highway 94 toward the gas station that comes before you enter Thompson Springs.

You may want to fill your gas tank, get a snack or take care of other "personal business" at the Shell/7-Eleven convenience store before heading into the back country.

Just follow your nose straight on through the quiet (deserted) town of Thompson Springs. They do have some railroad tracks you may want pause and look both ways prior to crossing. Follow Highway 94 through Thompson and soon you'll see the signs to Thompson and Sego Canyons.

The winding road through Sego Canyon goes from rough pavement, to rock strewn gravel with areas of sand. At first the road is suitable for a car, but becomes a narrow, rough Jeep trail that provides a fun ride between sandstone cliffs, tall pines, and high desert landscapes.  Overall, the trail is not difficult or technically challenging on a motorcycle.

The sandstone walls near the mouth of the canyon display ancient art from three different Native American cultures, of three separate eras. This site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but sadly vandals have defaced many of the painted and carved images. 

The art above is credited to the Archaic people who lived in this area from 8,000 to 2,000 years ago, Experts claim these people were nomads who did not build permanent structures, but lived in caves or temporary structures. All that remains of their passing are these paintings.

These images are Barrier Canyon Style, which consists of larger than life manlike forms painted with no eyes or hollowed eyes and often no arms or legs. Over the centuries the Anasazi, Fremont, and Ute tribes also left their mark near here.

The ghost town of Sego, began as a small mining operation in the early 1890s when rancher Harry Ballard discovered coal and bought the land. By 1911 he sold the mine to a group of Salt Lake City investors who expanded the operation. The remnants of a railroad they built to haul coal is still visible in the canyon.  

The old company store is missing its roof and main floor, but the floor supports still protrude though the exterior stone walls. Decades later, the stone work on the building remains remarkably solid.

At one point Sego boasted a store, a boarding house and numerous homes for miners,  But, by the late 1940s, low profits and financial problems caused the mine to close and the town was eventually abandoned.

Since it is a ghost town, there has to be a ghost car. This battered, rusted, shell looked sadly at home resting beside a collapsed pile of dried out, splintered lumber that may have once been a home. 

Aside from the ghost town and Native American art, the natural beauty of Sego Canyon is worth taking time to admire. I spent several hours enjoying the sights and sounds of the canyon and did not see another person the entire time I was there.

I would liked to have stayed longer, but approaching darkness and some threatening storm clouds convinced me to head back to the highway.  Sego Canyon was a grat ride, with some interesting sites, as well. Next time you are in the area, I recommend you stop and see for yourself.   

At the Vietnam Veterans Traveling Memorial

The traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall is in the area this weekend and I stopped by to pay my respects.

As a veteran, I wanted to see the wall and a lot of other veteran-riders were on hand for this morning's ceremony. Once again, Sally was the only KLR in Cool Kids Parking.

I did 23 years in the United States Air Force, but always admired the U.S.Marines for their toughness, discipline, and those spiffy uniforms.

This was a special display for the Purple Heart. Besides Vietnam veterans, the wall is a tribute to veterans from all conflicts as well as September 11th first responders.

This replica wall is 80 percent the size of the wall in Washington D.C. and is 360 feet long. It travels to 30 locations every year.  

Today's ceremony honored POW-MIA veterans. The mayor and several guest speakers made speeches and several local veteran and motorcycle groups participated in the tribute.  

I had no name to find on the wall. Regardless, the traveling memorial is a solemn and impressive sight. So many names...so many lives lost.

Former president Calvin Coolidge is seldom remembered, but I like many of his quotes. One of today's speakers used a Coolidge quote that was new to me, and it was very appropriate for the occasion.

"The Nation that forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten" - Calvin Coolidge.

Old Idaho Penitentiary

The Old Idaho Penitentiary at Boise is a National Historic Site and one of four territorial prisons open in the U.S. The Old Penitentiary was built in 1870 and functioned has a prison until 1973. That's a lot of history, and like many historical sites, it is a documented paranormal hot spot, previously featured in several ghost hunting television programs.

I visited for the history, but kept my eyes and ears open for paranormal activity. The history was great, the ghosts were disappointing. There was not one sight or sound that I could blame, or credit, to the prison's ghosts. Maybe Halloween is a better time of year for that.

Outside the prison yard, in the shadow of the original prison wall you get a good look at the wooden walkway where armed guards once patrolled. This view is looking toward the entrance and administration buildings.

The cell blocks are as drab and depressing as you might imagine and are very similar to scenes from The Shawshank Redemption - minus the convicts.

The temperature was over 95 degrees outside and the ground level cell block was hot. Up on the second level, it felt like an oven.

There was no air conditioning when the prison was active and I can't imagine the misery of being locked up in this sweat box!

A prisoner would not have seen this sunset. I held the camera over a barrier across the barred window on the second level of a cell block.

There were 10 executions by hanging at the prison and some of these inmates have continued to lurk around the prison as ghosts.

Above is a wall from the former dining hall which was designed by inmate George Hamilton. The dining hall burned down in a 1973 riot.  

From the "inside" guard towers peer down into "the yard" from each corner of the stone wall surrounding the prison yard. The hill beyond this tower represented freedom to the prisoners who stood here.

My day at the Old Pen covered a lot of history, stories, and sights. So much, that a second post will be coming to cover material I have omitted here. If your interests include history or the paranormal, then get on the road, the Old Idaho Penitentiary at Boise makes a great destination. 

Adventures on the Streets of Butte

On the second day of the Evel Knievel festival, uptown Butte was alive with the sights, sounds, and smells of a carnival. Street vendors offered everything from hotdogs, hamburgers, and tacos to ice cream, lemonade and cold beer. I wandered down the street soaking up the atmosphere, as people of all ages shopped, ate, drank and enjoyed the beautiful day.

Along with the food, were t-shirts, riding gear, hand bags, and new tattoos. Something for everyone. Dwight Yoakam's Guitars, Cadillacs blared on one street, while on the next block over, the Scorpions' Rock You Like A Hurricane blasted the crowd that bustled in the street. In case you forgot the occasion for this revelry, giant images of Evel Knievel gazed down from various buildings.

There was also plenty of free entertainment on the street. A group of motocross riders performed a stunt show and risked their lives in true Evel Knievel fashion. The large crowd was very impressed when three of them raced side-by-side up the ramps and back-flipped their bikes in unison. Click the picture below to see a video of these guys in action.

Later in the afternoon, a couple of  Harley riders put on another stunt exhibition. These bikes were really loud which was good since "loud pipes save lives" and both of these riders risked serious injury to entertain the crowd. Click the picture below for a short video of them showing their stuff.

That evening, I joined the parade of bikes to cruise the Evel Knievel Loop around Butte. The Harleys dominated this event with a smattering of other bikes including one KLR, a Kawi dirt bike, and a modified Honda scooter. Click the picture below to see the ride video.

The procession of bikes moved through Butte as police cars and fire trucks guarded the intersections, so the parade had no interruptions. Most memorable, were the crowds along the streets that waved and cheered as we passed. It was great to be treated like a hero for just showing up to ride! This experience alone would have made the trip to Butte worthwhile, but I had one other stop to make.

Mountain View Cemetery is on Harrison Avenue, just south of I-90 in Butte. When you enter the cemetery,  a couple of signs point the way down a tree lined drive to Evel's final resting place. I stopped Sally in front of the head stone and killed the motor. Nobody else was around and I think it worked out better that way.

I took a few pictures and sat down in the grass nearby. I had followed the memory of my boyhood hero for several hundred miles to reach this place and I was in no hurry to leave. It just seemed right to sit alone under the trees and enjoy the solitude.

Evel Knievel Days in Butte, Montana

I reached Butte, Montana on Thursday evening ready to hit Evel Knievel Days the next morning. Friday was day two of the event and over breakfast I scanned the local paper for the day's agenda.

Everything was happening in historic uptown Butte where I found about a million Harleys lining the streets. I wondered if I could be on the only KLR in town. Never afraid to stand out from the crowd, I parked just down the street from the Evel Knievel museum.

Late in life Evel had expressed his hope that all of his memorabilia could be displayed in a single Evel Knievel Museum. But that never happened. Instead, collectibles from his daredevil career are scattered among various private museums and private collections all over the U.S.

Evel Knievel Enterprises is one of these small museums with a respectable collection and some nice displays. Admittance was free, which was an unexpected surprise. So, I contributed to the museum's donation box and was happy to see many other folks doing the same. 

The place was packed with a lot of middle age or older men who were patiently followed by bored looking wives, girl friends, or daughters. These were the people who remember Knievel's glory days and were part of the Evel Knievel mania that effected kids of the 1970s. 

The main attractions in this museum were several Harley Davidsons that Evel rode in various performances. To me, these bikes were "the survivors." I imagined the forgotten wrecks from his failed jumps rusting in pieces in some scrap yard.

I also learned that Evel's son, Robbie is testing a new Canyon Sky Cycle and may attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon on September 8th, 2014. That date will be the 40th anniversary of his dad's failed Snake River Canyon jump.  

Also on display were many of Evel's leathers, helmets, and autographed photos. There were also other "odd ball" memorabilia, such as x-rays of some of his injuries. I was not overly interested in the x-rays, because something else had already captured my attention. 

One of my favorite pieces was this Evel Knievel pinball machine that was originally released by Bally in 1977. I would've loved to have dropped in a quarter and played some pinball. But, it was my first day in town and I didn't want to get thrown out of any establishment, just yet.