Moominmama's Adventures

  Wherein Moominmama hits the waters of the Coeur d'Alene basin and gets a shock when she learns about its lingering pollution... Moominmama dropped down the chimney that is northern Idaho after crossing from Kootenay National Park in Canada. Her license plate caused momentary confusion to a border guard who didn't recognize New Hampshire's Live Free or Die logo. She knows she is far from home! With a population just over 58,000 people, Coeur d'Alene is one of the fastest growing cities in Idaho. One of its main attractions is the Coeur d'Alene Lake: 25 miles long, with a plethora of bays and a shoreline of over 100 miles thanks to a former glacier. This means the city and the communities around it are very much oriented to the water. Here's the lake-facing portion of the downtown with its marina, obviously in boom mode. This is one of two sky cranes I saw downtown. This whole area was shaped by glaciers. The Coeur d'Alene River became part of an ice sheet 9...

Wherein Moominmama learns about Cambrian fossils, shares her campground with bighorn sheep and kayaks the Columbia River... The entrance to Redstreak Campground is up a steep road, and the grass on either side is a favorite of the local bighorn sheep. Moominmama even spotted them in the town of Radium Hot Springs, relaxing on a grassy verge along Main Street. The town has adopted them (or maybe vice versa), and inside its main traffic circle is what first looked like an abstract sculpture until I realized it was a giant recreation of their magnificent horns.  Radium is the entryway into Kootenay National Park on the western side of the Rockies. The park stretches from Radium to the Continental Divide and Banff, twisting northeast between mountains with rivers and creeks feeding into the Kootenay River which, in turn, feeds the Columbia River in Radium's valley. In this photo, Tookum Creek has carved a deep channel known as Marble Canyon as the green water runs into the Vermilion Ri...

In which Moominmama finally arrives in the Canadian Rockies and enjoys a land made beautiful by its proximity to glaciers... Moominmama's first hike in Yoho National Park was to Emerald Lake, pictured above. Like much of the water here, it's a piercing blue-green, sometimes clouded by glacial silt, known as rock flour. That's thanks to this guy here, Michael Glacier, barely visible through the clouds, which feeds Emerald Lake.  Moominmama is on the western side of the Rockies, staying in a town in the valley between the Columbia range and the Rockies, where the Kicking Horse River (popular for its rapids) merges with the grand Columbia. The Kicking Horse also has the mark of glaciers in its waters, the milky green of fast-moving water that keeps the pale rock flour churned up as it flows. Moominmama has seen this on the eastern side of the Canadian Rockies in the famous Banff, Jasper and Lake Louise areas east of the Continental Divide. This time, the goal is to see some o...

  Wherein Moominmama visits a land of shrinking glaciers and brilliant wildflowers and meets another friendly marmot... Behold the Meeting of the Waters, where the runoff from the Illecillewaet and Asulkan glaciers meet. Moominmama took a hike that originally led to the foot of the Illecillewaet Glacier, (pronounced ill-a-silhouette) an area that is now just a cascade of water. The glacier itself is out of view, having retreated almost a mile and about 2,000 feet vertically up the rock.  Moominmama is not yet in the Canadian Rockies. It turns out these mountains west of the Rockies are called the Columbia Range, and Moominmama is staying in a section known as the Selkirks where Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Park are located. This is one of the benefits of travel -- I've just discovered an entire mountain range between the Rockies and the Coastal Range that I never knew existed! This year is the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation (per the United Nations), and ...

In which Moominmama attends a Pacific Northwest Alto-gather, reconnecting with old friends and trading tips about our Alto trailers... Meet my friend Janet, the selfie photographer in this picture, and all my other Alto friends as we gathered for a potluck dinner at a group campsite on Vancouver Island. We all own Alto trailers of one sort or another, all made by Safari Condo, a Quebec company.  As someone commented, our trailers create instant friendships among people from very different backgrounds. But what we do have in common is an appreciation for a small, well-made and energy-efficient trailer, a love for the outdoors and an openness to new experiences. It turns out I am pretty much guaranteed to hit it off with a fellow Altoiste. It was also fascinating to hear from my Canadian friends exactly how angry they are at the current U.S. administration. They are not planning trips into the States and are doing their best not to buy American products -- and they support their new ...

Wherein Moominmama explores the Olympic Peninsula and the Pacific Rim (Canadian) National Park on Vancouver Island... This may be the summer of the marmots! On a hike up Hurricane Ridge within the Olympic National Park, a dozen or more were running around and munching on bluebells in a field below Mount Olympus.  This "Olympic" marmot is unique to the high elevations of the Olympic Mountains and under threat from coyotes, which are not native to the peninsula. But these marmots are still fat and cute and not that afraid of humans. This has also been a summer of vehicular challenges. Olympic National Park is large but near a major population center in Seattle.  It was very difficult to score a reservation so I only had two days to explore, with long drives between the areas of the park.  These drives were made more challenging when an oil tanker overturned, forcing a significant detour between Port Angeles and the rest of the park. It was even more inconvenient for the peo...

In which Moominmama meets up with her brother's family to explore Mount Hood and takes a look back at some special sculptures... For much of the past week, Moominmama has had her brother, sister-in-law and their dog as hiking companions. We camped together near Mount Hood and explored some trails around its base.  Mt. Hood is another one of those dormant volcanoes that stretch up the northwest coast, in this case, the tallest in Oregon at 11,125 feet. My brother is more familiar with the area, so it was nice to take advantage of his expertise starting with a primo creekside campsite on the East Fork of the Hood River. During our days together, we hiked to a spectacular overlook where these photos were taken, swam in Trillium Lake at the mountain's base and did a section of the Pacific Crest Trail near the Timberline Lodge, a historic site featured in the movie The Shining.  Back at camp, we shared meals and conversation. It was a nice visit and a chance to scope out my br...