The Paw-Friendly “Big City” – Boise, ID

Yup, we’re in the “big city” now!

A relaxing river-stop on the downtown Greenbelt

So yours truly is (one again) getting up to no good on her own while hubby is away. That means it’s just me and the paws…the paws and I, and we’re doing it all in “big city” Boise. I place this in inverted commas because Boise is one of the few capitals we’ve travelled through that doesn’t feel large at all. There’s a mere 200,000 or so souls living here, a modest-sized downtown and pretty much all the shops and conveniences you’d expect. But what sets this place apart and makes it special is the nature. Right behind the city high-rises, and in fact even through downtown itself there are massive dedicated areas of green all for the benefit of humans and paws…and that gives the town a whole different feel.

On the trails in the Boise foothills

Boise City boasts over 850 acres of parks and natural areas and backs up against the fabulous Boise foothills, a 130-mile network of scenic and loose-yourself-in-the-mountains trails. These areas are not only human, bike and paw-friendly, but many of them have dedicated off-leash trails! That’s a total rarity in big cities and for passionate doggie-lovers like me it’s akin to finding ice cream in the desert….a total treat! I’ve not even come close to exploring all the spots, but figured I would share two of my favs:

1/ Boise Greenbelt

The awesome Boise Greenbelt

In 1964 some bright guys had the foresight to hire some other bright guys to create a continuous “green belt” of public lands stretching the entire length of the Boise River. The outcome of this awesome idea was a totally green, totally preserved 22-mile bike/hike/walk trail through the very middle of town. Genius! Our RV park (Boise Riverside RV Park) just happens to sit right on the Greenbelt so pooch and I have been hopping out of bed and onto the trails everyday. They’re leash-only, but there’s tons of access points to the river where you can unofficially go for a dip and a splash. This trail also happens to be a popular fishing spot, a great bike-path and part of the Idaho Birding Trail so there’s a bit of something for everyone.

2/ Boise Foothills

Tons of off-leash friendly trails in the foothills

The Boise Foothills pretty much engulf the entire northern view of Boise and huge parts of it are public land. What’s ultra-cool is that they’ve designed a big portion of their trails as off-leash friendly so doggie and you can both amble along in nature in total freedom. These trails are not only clearly marked on the maps, but they’re marked on-trail too so there’s never any question of whether your untethered pooch is legal. Polly was pretty much trained to be an off-leash doggie so we seek out these kind of places wherever we can. One our our fav spots is the Old Fort Military Reserve which is only ~15 mins drive from our park and encompasses a huge 460 acre sub-section of the larger foothills. This time of year it’s bursting with glorious yellow blooms and the ridgeline gives sweeping views of downtown. There’s even a dedicated fenced-in off-leash dog park and archery range on-site. Pretty cool!

There’s tons of other pooch-friendly areas around town including 9 other off-leash dog parks and a good selection of paw-happy restaurants (we may well hit one before hubby comes home). Between everything out here it’s one of the paw-friendliest spots I’ve been and that always gives it extra points on my scale.

A rather brilliant sunset at our RV park

As to getting up to no good? Well, I’ve been ordering packages on Amazon and have received several new Benchmark Atlases (very exciting for me), a new vacuum (on the way…very exciting for the rig) and new empty boxes (very exciting for the cats), plus I’ve been dabbling with motorized needles and thread. The latter sounds dangerous I know, especially for me, and I really have no idea what I’m doing, but I’m pretty sure the outcome will be something to blog about. Hope springs eternal ya know….

Brilliant yellow in the foothills

Polly poses with downtown Boise in the background

A happy cat

Pretty weeds

Morning walk on the Greenbelt

Gorgeous flowers

Wind Storms, Another Beast & Cottonwood Outings

Two very ball-focused doggies…will you throw it already, says Lewis??!!

It’s been a full coupla days here in the boondocks. On Sunday afternoon the Big White Beluga rolled into town and joined us at our little spot in the wilds. It was a welcome reunion with much dog-licking and happy paw-play (that would be the dogs, not Sue & Dave), and the two “beasts” slotted easily into our spacious pad for the evening cocktail and meal. Very relaxing stuff all-around.

Ominous clouds by the two “beasts” Monday AM

Stubbornly enjoying coffee in the chilly dust storm

But Beluga brought some weather too. The next morning the winds started picking up and some serious dark grey clouds rolled over the mountains. We stubbornly braved the gusts for our morning coffee (which became more like café-a-dirt), but were subsequently forced inside for the rest of the day. It turned out to be a rock n’roll kinda day, with slides in, 50 mph gusts and spatterings of rain, but the show from inside the RV stayed cozy and warm. The event reminded me of the wild spring winds we encountered in New Mexico a few years back. Not much you can do except point your butt to the wind and wait it out…such is life sometimes.

Red rock views from our boondocking site

Today it’s a tad chillier, but the crazy stuff is mostly gone and we’re winding down to our very last cocktails overlooking the valley. By this time tomorrow we’ll have said our last goodbyes to Beluga, given our last adieu to Arizona and be on the red soils of Utah.

The old Fire Station at Jerome

But before I go I figured I’d round-up a few of our favorite outings in the Cottonwood area. This whole valley, part of the Verde Valley (Green Valley) has attracted people since the very first hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago. With its ready source of water, rich ore and mineral soils it’s seen steady development from early pueblo’s in the 1100′s, mining in the 1870′s to modern-day tourist attractions. Here’s some of our favs:

1/ Tuzigoot National Monument

Yours truly by gorgeous Tuzigoot

Tuzigoot National Monument is an excellent example of an early Sinagua village. Built between 1125 and 1400 it contains more than 110 rooms and sits beautifully on a hill-top ~120 feet above the Verde Valley. It’s just one of the many ancient pueblos in the area, but it was carefully excavated and remains rather well-preserved. Plus the museum has some very nice exhibits too. A really fun outing to learn about early cultures & settlements in the area. Definitely worth the visit.

2/ Jerome

It’s a good cuppa at Flatiron!

View of Jerome from 89A

A historic hillside town sprung from the discovery of vast deposits of copper in the late 1870′s. It grew from mining boom and ~15,000 people in the 1920′s to only 50 people and near ghost-town status by the mid 1950′s. The development of a State Park and pressure to preserve the heritage gave the town another start and it’s now a well-loved tourist stop. The old buildings weave their way up Cleopatra Hill (a fittingly lavish name) and there’s plenty of good food, wine and mining history to keep you occupied. Jerome doesn’t have the cool hippy culture of Bisbee (it’s much more gentrified/touristy than that), but it’s still got some nice appeal. In our 2 trips into town we had some excellent Mexican food at 15.Quince and a delicious coffee at the teeny Flatiron. Worth a stop for sure!

3/ Cottonwood, Verde River & The Wine Trail

The stick is over there, doggie..

Cottonwood is only ~5 miles from our boondocking site and boasts a cool old town downtown, a lovely State Park and multiple access points to the Verde River. The latter winds it way through the entire valley (and far beyond) and provides lots of neat little picnic areas, paddle trips and (most importantly for us) doggie-splash moments. As a nice little side-attraction  for those of us with a nose for grapes, there’s the Verde Valley Wine Trail. There seems to be no end of wine-tasting rooms around town, plus there’s even a winery within biking distance from our boondocking spot…no need to drive, baby!

Paul does a manly pose at Tuzigoot

That’s my quick and rough round-up of the area. There’s plenty more, of course including all of wonderful Sedona (which we visited a few years back), lovely Flagstaff and tons of interesting spots in the surrounding forests, but there’s only so much a boondocker can get around to. We’ve simply loved our winter in Arizona, but we’re looking forward to the next part of the voyage. See you in the red rocks of Utah!

Waaay too much fun at 15. Quince

Cool shadows in Jerome

Tuzigoot glory

The sliding Jerome jail

Cool clouds by “the beasts”

Happy doggies in the wilds

The teeeeny Flatiron Café in Jerome

And some parting sunset clouds

What?! You’re Still in Quartzsite?

First there was 4, then there was 2

Paul and taggart lounge outside the rig

So I admit we’ve been lazy….very, very lazy. We had the best of intentions to move ourselves out of our boondocking spot at least 5 days ago. I swear we did. I’d even mapped out our route, scoped out the next 2 boondocking locations and geared myself mentally for the big move. Then, the big RV show ended and other people starting leaving. First our caravan buddies left (sniff, sniff), then the other rigs in the desert started leaving (hmmm…quite nice really), and then suddenly we were practically alone (well, tickle me silly I do declare I like this).

And then there was one…

Hmmm…yes, I think I like this

So there we were all by our lonesome and we just couldn’t see any reason to leave. In fact it was at this point that our travel plans took a bit of a turn, as RV jello plans tend to do. Paul found out he needs to make another emergency trip home, I managed (by some ridiculous stroke of luck) to book the last (the only?) RV site remaining in all of Maricopa County and we decided we were going to stay here until he needs to fly from Phoenix. A whole slew of random RV plans magically fall into place and there you have it.

Ruth relaxes by her truck in some early AM warmth

Ruth and doggie Jade (you can just see our rig in the background)

So we’ve been spending our last few days laaaaazing around and (of course) being a bit social as we tend to be. I made friends with a fascinating lady who was truck-camping just down the hill from us. Ruth is a vivacious 75-year old gal who travels with her doggie Jade. She lives in Redding, CA but loves the desert and is passionate about rocks so she decided, the gumptious lady that she is that she’d just take her truck over to Quartzsite and camp by herself in the boonies…no RV, no fancy get-up…just her and her dog rock-hunting by day and sleeping in the bed of the truck by night. I’m always interested in folks like this so I got into the habit of wondering down for a doggie-play and chat everyday. Not only did I meet a lovely lady, but she taught me a ton of stuff (which I admit I would be hard-pressed to remember) about rock-types and gems in Quartzsite. How cool is that?

Morning coffee at Beluga w/ Dave & Sue

Polly plays with her BEST PAL Lewis

We also had a wonderful visit from Luke (one of the folks from the Monaco iRV2 group), lovely and vivacious Ingrid & her doggie Bear (from LiveLaughRV) and…believe it or not…the big white Beluga with Sue, Dave, Lewis & Sasha rolled back through town for another overnight stay and play with us at the site.

Don’t worry about us baby, we ain’t gonna be lonely.

So now we finally have a plan. We are staying here until the 3rd at which point we’ll roll into Usery Mountain Regional Park in Phoenix where Paul will (once again) dump me unceremoniously so I can get into trouble by myself for the next few weeks. I’ve got a few social engagements lined up, an interesting move (I’ll need to move the rig while he’s gone) and who knows what other mayhem I’ll get up to? Either way it’s all part of the great unplanned journey of life. It’s not always rosy, it’s not always what you expected, so the best thing you can do is go with the flow and enjoy the scenery while you’re at it…I sure plan to.

High altitude ice rainbow

Taggart enjoys some afternoon sun

Throw the ball, throw the ball!

A very pink sunset

Into The Deep Blue – Crater Lake, OR

Welcome to the deep blue! Ellen soaks in the panorama at Watchman Tower

If you’re a geek like me you’ll remember the iconic IBM machine Deep Blue that beat the world champion of chess in 1997. It was a deep moment (geekwise) and for some reason that very image popped into my mind the first time I viewed Crater Lake. What I was seeing was almost inconceivable -> an all-encompassing panorama of the most unnatural rich shade of blue. It almost seemed staged, man-made and yet it’s 100% mother earth and inevitably a deeply moving moment. How do you wrap your head around something like that? And even more how do you write about it?

A rare shot of moi, thanks to Ellen

Crater Lake is unique and sometimes spots like these are the hardest blog posts to write, for the very reason that they’ve been written about millions of times over. Nothing I can tell you has not already been said, and everything I tell you will be moot until you come here for yourself. Alex, Ellen and the two of us spent an afternoon soaking in the atmosphere and my impressions came in waves, reflecting, echoing and multiplying off the oh-so-glassy surface and rocky sides of the lake. My thoughts built to a crescendo so perhaps that’s the best way to describe them. In any case, here goes my feeble attempt to capture the gloriousness of it all:

Crater Lake is Oh-So Deep

Oh, come ye to the deep….

The lake, or rather caldera that is Crater Lake reaches down 1,932 feet (589 m). It is the deepest lake in the US and the 6th deepest in the world. The water is so clear that you can almost imagine reaching the bottom and yet it goes on beyond what you can possibly imagine. There are folks who scuba dive here, which must surely be a fabulously surreal experience (= the natural version of a sensory deprivation immersion chamber?).

Crater Lake is Oh-So-Blue

Late afternoon is oh-so-blue

You can’t help but wonder at the blueness of it all. Deep as the ocean, bright as the sky, varied as a summer day. The intense richness of the color is direct thanks to the depth and clarity of the waters. Of all the colors of the rainbow violet and blue are the shortest wavelengths, and being so very deep Crater Lake absorbs the rest and reflects back a rich blend of the two. The blueness moves with the time of day ranging from a light fluffiness to a deep baritone, reflecting the sky in almost perfect symmetry. At the shallow edges of the lake the color shifts to aqua and even shades of orange. Quite the panorama.

Crater Lake is Oh-So-Steep

Last portion of the lovely hike to Watchman Tower

You can’t go wrong with ANY of the hikes on the rim

This unearthly depression with unthinkably steep sides is actually a massive caldera the remanent of an enormous volcanic explosion 7,700 years ago. Mount Mazama grew, blew and collapsed creating the base for this enduring lake. The rim drive that circles the crater (33 miles) stops at multiple scenic views and affords over 90 miles of hikes up steep and panoramic paths (For a short, easy hike do the stunning 1.6 mile roundtrip to Watchman Tower, for a longer and steeper one indulge in the 3.4 mile Garfield Peak). The steepness and vastness of the view will draw you into another world.

Crater Lake is Oh-So Crazy

You can lounge and sip at the Rim Village Lodge with a view

This little slice of nature’s story sits at ~6,200 feet of elevation and enjoys all the craziness of mother nature’s whims. In winter it lies dormant in deep snow (~533 inches per year!), vast and seemingly dead, although rarely freezing due to its depth (the last recorded freeze was 1949). The park is hard to access during this time, but is free with rangers offering free winter snowshoe hikes too. In summer it resists the sun for many, many months finally coming out of hibernation for a short few late summer days for full access. Summertime the whole lake opens up and offers boat rides to the central island too (we just missed the season for these).

Crater Lake is Oh-So Incredible

It’s quite a unique kinda place

All the facts about this spot make it interesting, but cannot possibly describe the scene. Whether you’re stopping at a viewpoint, or hiking a trail or perhaps even sipping a long drink at the lodge the lake absorbs you completely. Deep blue drawing you in and keeping you captive in a game of mother nature’s chess. No, I couldn’t possibly describe what it’s like. It’s a moment, it’s a thought, it’s a spot unlike any other….and you’ll just have to come here to soak it in yourself!

P.S. Sadly no dogs are allowed on the trails at Crater Lake. You can bring pooch on roads, parking lots and picnic areas but not on your hike. Polly stayed home for our outing.

Another great view from the rim

And yet another….

Our New Blue Back Yard (And a Little Doggie Drama) – Diamond Lake, OR

Our new blue back yard

We’ve landed in our new back yard and I’ve gotta admit it ain’t bad. We left Eugene on Thursday and drove a pretty ~140 miles on 2-lane highway into the “dry side” of Oregon welcoming deep pine, dusty trails and volcanic mountains. Our destination was Diamond Lake, a lovely 3,000 acre blue oasis at ~5,000 ft just next to Crater Lake in south-central Oregon. Lots of blue, lots of space and relaxing camping….oh yeah, not bad at all.

Paul and Alex pose for a nice silhouette on the lake bike trail at Diamond Lake

This little adventure comes with cohorts too. By pre-arranged plan our good pals Alex and Ellen (our caravan buddies from last year) joined us on the drive and are staying the week here with us. Not only does this mean lots of fun communal hiking and biking, but also allows plenty of late-night chin wags and unlimited guiltless exchange of rum and cokes.

Alex just recently got a sweeeeet 1000 watts of solar installed on his rig too, so we get to drool over the panels and gawk at his stupendous amp generation (Paul already has watt-envy).

Panoramic view of Diamond Lake and Mount Thielsen from the Mount Bailey trail

Now obviously we’re here to see Crater Lake and that story will come, but for the last few days we’ve been lazing around and enjoying our own blue right here at the campground. Diamond Lake is flanked by two volcanic beauties, ~8,400 foot Mount Bailey to the west and the dangerous-looking ~9,200 foot Mount Thielsen to the east. There’s a paved and scenic 11-mile bike ride around the lake, a small lodge, masses of hiking trails (including to both mountains), several forest service campgrounds and 5 boat ramps. You won’t come here for shopping or food, but it’s a great spot to enjoy endless trails, deep pine, sweeping views and secluded creeks. Oh, and some not-to-shabby sunsets too.

Our first afternoon dip in the lake…made for a pretty pic, but not recommended

Our idyllic stay has only been (temporarily) interrupted by a little doggie-drama. We’re staying at the national forest campground which would actually be the perfect spot if not for the bummer of toxic algae bloom in the water. This was a minor point that we totally failed to notice on our first day here.

Polly is hopping again

So we arrived at our site, dashed out for a refreshing afternoon swim and were duly rewarded with yesterday’s pooch dinner re-delivered in its’ full glory into the RV today. Polly is fine (thanks to her quick thinking in getting it all out), but sadly no more dips in the lake for her. Thankfully there are many other doggie-treats in the area including unlimited trails, oceans of chipmunks (natural doggie TV!) and bouncing fresh fresh mountain air.

And that, folks, is pretty much exactly what we’ve been doing. Soaking up nature, enjoying our RV buddies and hangin’ in the kind of back yard that RVing is all about…not too shabby at all!

A lovely afternoon at the lake

Pretty evening through the pine

Paul and Alex pose by Silent Creek

Just another great lake view from the round-the-lake bike trail

View of the striking Mt Thielsen

“The pack” on the hike up Mount Bailey