Lower 48

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I could easily live in Michigan, UP or the mitten, I love them both, I'll definitely be back!
Tom I know the feeling but you've seen and done A LOT!!!
Charles, we look forward to it! Thank you to you and Laura again for everything.
 
Amanda's blog states "I feel like North Dakota is the calm before the storm because there isn?t much excitement in ND..." You should have been with me in 2004 at the north unit of Theodore Roosevelt NP the day a buffalo charged me. You want excitement? Try avoiding a 2000 pound mad buffalo. And then a few nights later I had to exit my van and almost tripped on the doorway. If I would have fell out of the van I would have landed on my right arm and broke it. I was 50 miles from the nearest doctor late on a Saturday night.

And then there was the afternoon at Juniper Campground in the north unit. I decided to go find something to photograph. Juniper is a small campground with 48 spaces, and mine was in the back. I drove up to the front of the campground where the check-in kiosk and restrooms are located at a large grassy area. About a dozen buffaloes has moved into the grass area and were busy mowing it. I have had a buffalo charge my van in the past so I parked and waited for the buffaloes to disperse. This is the only buffalo-jam I have ever seen in a campground.
 
There was a news piece on CBS about a buffalo stampede in Yellowstone last week. A buffalo charged the front end of an SUV and broke the windshield.
 
ChasA said:
There was a news piece on CBS about a buffalo stampede in Yellowstone last week. A buffalo charged the front end of an SUV and broke the windshield.

And this is news?  When we were fuelling up leaving Yellowstone in the summer of 2017, a tow truck pulled in the the gas station towing an SUV which has been disabled by a charging Buffalo (radiator pushed in).
 
RVMommaTo6 said:
Tom what happened?! Why did he charge you? How did you get away?!
There is only one road in the north unit to TRNP and at the very end is a cul-de-sac that turns into a small parking lot located on a small bluff that overlooks a large meadow. There were about a half a dozen other tourists parked there and looking at the view. As a group we were wandering around the cul-de-sac when we ventured onto a path located right next to the parking lot. The trail led into the woods.
About a hundred yards up the path was a lone buffalo. Lone buffaloes are a lot more dangerous than when they are in a group. A lone buffalo is an old man past his prime, no longer allowed to mate and rejected from the group. They are never in a good mood.

I am a wildlife photographer and I have had to study all the different animals I might run into so I know what to do if I encounter one in the wild and I end up too close. With buffalo it is pretty simple, out of sight out of mind. They have a worse memory than even me. So I yelled out to the group 'hide' and I disappeared behind a tree, so did everyone else. The buffalo stopped charging. He was pissed off because we were walking on his pathway.
 
We made it from NY to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and are now in the very rainy Washington.
I knew Washington had a reputation for being cloudy, but since we left NY 7 weeks ago, it rained one day in PA, one day on and off in Yellowstone, and at least part of every day that we've been in WA the past 4 days! ☁⚡☔???
 
I lived near Port Townsend for 5 years and found the Seattle TV stations actually forecast "sun breaks" hour by hour so people can plan their outdoor activities accordingly.

Any period of sunshine counts.  If it rains in the morning and again in the afternoon with a "sun break" in between it qualifies as a "sunny" day.

But it doesn't _always_ rain in the Pacific Northwest.  I was up there for a week in July and it was sunny and warm the whole time.  They usually get at least 2-3 weeks of dry summer weather.

And it snows in the winter.
 
If you are talking about the last week or so, it has been unusually rainy in the PNW for the month of September. My home weather station in the central Willamette Valley (Oregon) has recorded over an inch of rain in the last 6 1/2 hours. We often have warm, sunny weather well into October. The west coast has had several very dry years recently, so we locals are grateful for the rain. Most of California burned up last summer, but they are doing better now, thanks to a good deal of rainfall. Enjoy the greenery in the Evergreen State (Washington); it comes from rain.  :)
 
We are in Washington now at the Quinault Casino near Ocean Shores (thanks to Jackie and Tony for the recommendation!), looking out at the ocean on the other side of the dunes. Yes, it has been pretty rainy. The forecast for today is pretty good, so we are planning on heading to the beaches today, just to relax. And the area has certainly been in drought. Deciduous trees are turning brown with dryness instead of changing color, and the Hoh rainforest has had about half its normal rainfall.
 
Pam, The buffet food was a lot nicer than I thought and over 50s get cheap deal Wednesday and Thursdays I think before a certain time... Prime rib was good but their pot roast was fantastic!
 
? A lone buffalo is an old man past his prime, no longer allowed to mate and rejected from the group. They are never in a good mood.?

Well, now my wife knows what to call me. I should probably change my name from Oldgator to Lone Buffalo.  Thanks Tom.  :mad:
 
What a great adventure. My wife and I are looking forward to a big trip in about 3 years from now.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison is terrific.

Mammoth Cave may need reservations. I didn?t and had to miss it in early July on my way down to Nashville.

One of my favorites is Bryce Canyon.
 
We can't complain too much about the weather since it seems to rain while we're indoors and hasn't impacted us yet. I don't want to jinx myself, but we've been very lucky in that aspect.
Lynx0849 said:
Mammoth Cave may need reservations.
Reservations for camping there or reservations to see the actual cave?
 
Be aware the ferry at the river crossing in Mammoth Caves national park is closed for construction until later this year.
 
RVMommaTo6 said:
We can't complain too much about the weather since it seems to rain while we're indoors and hasn't impacted us yet. I don't want to jinx myself, but we've been very lucky in that aspect. Reservations for camping there or reservations to see the actual cave?

You might want to look at the web site and decide which tours you want.  I think the more popular ones fill quickly.  Since this has been in your plans for quite a while it would be disappointing to miss.  Probably make the reservations when you know for sure when you will be there.

I don't think there are many sites actually in the park campgrounds with water and electric.  I know you can be self sufficient but you can camp in full service campgrounds nearby and drive to the park.

Shelia (looking forward to meeting you along this part of your travels)
 
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