- COVID and Fire Tour 2020 — Introduction
- A quick stop at Mt. Rainier
- A short visit to Mt. Hood
- An interesting (and largely eventful) time at Newberry National Volcanic Monument
- Lava Beds National Monument
- Fire Evasion!
- Avoiding Vegas — and loving it!
- Kickin’ Route 66 and the Grand Canyon
- Migration — Communities that share the land on their way to somewhere (like us!)
- Red Rockin’ Utah’s (and a little of Arizona’s) National Parks and Monuments
- The journey home and final thoughts
Well, all good things must come to an end and ours ended a bit prematurely with an unscheduled need to get home. We had hoped to take the Pacific Coast route going back, but with the flare-up of the Glass and Zogg fires, we decided that would be a bad (and smokey) plan. So it was back to the old I-15/84/82/90 route we know so well. It also meant long days of driving with audio books to break the monotony. We did make a couple of interesting stops along the way, however.
We had joined an organization called Harvest Hosts. Basically, for a reasonable annual fee, you can dry camp in a large number of farms, wineries, etc. across the country. There is no charge to camp there, but it’s recommended that you buy some of the products from the place you are camping. We decided to give it a try at Barrel Springs Winery in Prosser, WA. Our hosts, Annette and Jim invited us to stay even though the winery was technically closed for harvest. We spent an enjoyable few hours with them (and winery dog, Benji) tasting their wines and talking about wine travel in New Zealand, Australia, and Mexico. The rig was parked right next to their Petit Verdot vines, so we tasted a few on the way out. A truly genteel way to camp!
Our second experience involved a visit to Leavenworth, WA, a Bavarian-styled town in the mountains a couple of hours east of Seattle. We were anxious to learn about the history and German heritage of the town, but there really isn’t any. This version of Leavenworth resulted from some entrepreneurs back in the 60s deciding to buy a “down-on-its luck” lumber town and turn it into a Bavarian Disneyland. Having said that, it’s a nice Bavarian Disneyland (except for the bus tour people) and the beer and sausages were pretty good!
After thinking about it, I have a few final thoughts on the trip. We knew there were risks with this trip associated with the Western fires and COVID-19. The fires were devastating. While providing some minor inconveniences, smokiness, and course changes for us, the real devastation lay for those in the fires’ path and the firefighters who valiantly fought them. We saw makeshift fire camps in fields and hotshot crews in Safeway. People lined up to cheer them. In two different places, we met people who had lived in Paradise, CA that had been literally burned off the map a couple of years ago. All still had relatives back there, trying to rebuild, but things were not looking good. The people we had met had decided to start new lives away from Paradise. Ironically, one of the families was running an RV Park adjacent to Lava Beds National Park, that burned in July. Luckily, they came through it okay and seemed to take it in stride.
The response to the COVID threat was decidedly mixed. Within the National Parks and Monuments, the lack of a national-level policy, left the decision up to the local park units. Some parks like Zion tied to enforce the wearing of masks in common areas, shuttles, etc., but the massive crowds made social distancing on trails difficult, even if people were wearing masks (many weren’t). Other parks “encouraged” masks and social distancing, but there was no enforcement. Some places like Utah had already gone “green” and hence, there was no requirement for masks or distancing. It felt weird to be in grocery stores where only a few people like us were wearing masks. Then, of course, there were the “political statement makers” who refused to wear masks. In some of the camping spots we stayed, there were great shows (including a group in Arizona in WW II-era Jeeps riding around the campground with no masks and political flags/banners flying). We also had a woman deliberately cough on us and then walked away. This is the biggest reason we tried to stay away from civilization as much as possible. This trip was definitely a microcosm of what is going on across the country related to COVID-19.
But the thing that struck me most was people related to the parks. After isolation/quarantine, people felt the need to get away — but not just anywhere — into nature. With all the stresses associated with COVID and today’s political environment, nature is where we turn. We are “of nature” and being amongst the natural beauty grounds us. It sure did for me — just what the doctor ordered. Anyway, I will wrap this up. On this trip, we visited 6 national parks, 11 national monuments, and a host of state and regional parks. It was great to see them all. Thanks for joining us and hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to get back out on the road!
This entry was posted in Travel, United States, Washington
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
