Day 19 & 20 - Baker City & the Oregon Trail

 Baker City, Oregon was a vibrant place in the late 19th century. Saloons, brothels & showgirls peppered the rough streets of this town and many others like it. The frenzy for gold brought numerous shady characters into Baker City. We visited the Baker City Heritage Museum today and were amazed to learn this was also where Wally Byam was born. Wally was the inventor and creator of Airstream trailers and RV's and the museum had an entire section dedicated to him. They also had one of the best collections of rocks, fossils and minerals we've ever seen. This was in addition to the gold rush era antiques and Oregon Trail pioneer artifacts.

Stage coaches from the wild west days.

Minerals that glowed in the special dark room.

Day 17 & 18 - Craters of the Moon National Monument

Lava Flow campground within the Craters of the Moon Monument. This was dry camping - meaning no utilities to connect to, but it was quiet and more like real camping. There were Ranger talks and hikes within the park that we participated in, including a hike and trek within Buffalo cave.

Poipoi lava flow - Estimated to be approximately 2200 years old.

AhA lava flow, also known as "broken top" - This area is
similar to what we saw in Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii
a few years ago. It is the only area in the continental US that
has this type of visible lava surface.

One of the entrances to Buffalo Cave

Beginning our exploration of the cave

Inside the cave - No lights - no paved pathways
only the cave as it was for thousands of years.

Park Ranger giving us the story behind the cave and telling us
where to explore and to be careful not to bang our heads on the
sharp ceiling above as we wander around the cave.

Exiting the cave - it was a tight squeeze!

Pine cone from a "Limber Pine" - Notice the clear sap
dripping from the cone. Inside the cones is an edible nut
which the native Indians used for food.

Surface lava field - The entire area is known as "The Great Rift"

It was difficult to walk on this stuff

View from the top of one of the hills - looking down at our campsite

Hiking to the top of one of the largest cinder mountains in the park

Keep going

Not there yet!!

Ah - made it to the top.

Looking down from the top. Donna is standing in the middle of the picture.
She also made it to the top - Good Job!

Looking into one of the ice caves - That white stuff in
the middle of the picture is snow. The outside temperature
was 85 degrees at the time.

Josie and I having a glass of wine during Happy Hour!!!

Day 16 - Traveling from Bozeman, Montana to Arco, Idaho

 We left Bozeman early in the morning and drove to Craters of the Moon National Monument near Arco, Idaho. The 300 mile trip paralleled the Gellatin River, passing through the town of Big Sky, Montana and a section of Yellowstone NP. We stopped at a rest stop around 9:00am and took a few pictures. These particular pictures were taken after we crossed the Idaho border.

Looking from the river toward the road.

Very serene - Oh! and the air temperature was 47 degrees at the rime.

Day 15 - Bozeman Computer Museum /// Farmers Market

 This is a picture of our campground in Bozeman, Montana. It was quiet, relaxing and had perfect weather. We spent the day visiting one of the only computer museums in the US. It was fascinating to revisit history that we actually experienced. Later in the day we went to a local farmers market where we had supper and hung out with the locals.

Donna captured a flower and seed pod at the campground.

Within the computer museum was a large exhibit honoring
women in the sciences. This was one of my favorite quotes.

This was another. As a camper and traveler -  this says it all.

The 1st binary computer - Can you believe it was
invented in 1937 - As most people know - binary
code is the basis of all computer transactions -
simply a series of 1's and 0's.

This is the guy who invented the web - the standard for most of
today's websites.

The 1st desktop computer weighed in at 250 lbs.

Do you remember these? I used to have thousands of these
punch cards piled up on my desk to run programs and gather data.
We've come a long way.

This is the entrance to the museum.

Farmers market - Open 5 - 8 pm on Tuesdays

Donna checking out the fruit and veges.

Dinner at the park with 2 college students from the University of Montana.