Uncategorized – PhotoKent's Musings

Wondering north into Montana

After the Yellowstone, we wanted to go see the Missouri Headwaters area in Montana so had booked a campsite at the nearby state park. This is where Lewis & Clark Party encamped back in July 1805. However, the temp was in the 95 temp and, with no shade in the campground, we headed to a picnic area for shade of the van and went over to the Gallatin River for a swim. After immersing in about 10 inches of high current flow, we walked across the road to the Missouri River for a deeper more relaxing dip. Pretty amazing to be here and ponder that.

The next day we visited Lewis & Clark Caverns (not discovered by L&C tho but by some nearby hunters in early 1900’s). Took the tour which included a 0.6 mile hike up a hill in 95 degree full sunshine and then hike through an amazing array of caverns at 60 degrees. Refreshing and awe inspiring

We stopped a few days in Bozeman at a family member’s home. Moochdocking is fun to be with family or friends, get power for the fridge and have a real shower. Plus one of the best bakeries anywhere. The Wild Crumb bakery along with Fink’s Deli. One evening Wendy drove us up to Hyalite Reservoir for dinner from Finks’ Deli. Yum. Try the Portabello sandwich. OMG, the best.

Wendy took some photos of us at Hyalite Reservoir near Bozeman.

We then headed north 300 mile to Kalispell area and Glacier National park. The heat was getting to us a little bit so Sraddha found Rocky Mountain Hi RV park and we encamped there for 4 days of gravely needed rest. We took advantage of senior parking at the Kalispell farmers market. I guess we are considered “elderly”. Bike riding, day trip to Glacier in the rain. And washing off the bikes and cover from Idaho dust.

We did a day trip into the west side of Glacier park where we enjoyed water falls and hiking along with the incredible Macdonald Lodge.

Then we discovered…a flat tire on the inside of the left rear dually. Yikes. So we rested on Sunday with a bike ride to REI to pick up some chain lube. Now i am writing this portion of the blog at the Kalispell Les Schwab Tire shop. They have great internet!

Well. We need two new tires, Michelin Cross-climates. Les Schwab doesn’t have them but Discount Tire can get them tomorrow, so we head back to the RV park for another night! What to do about our West Glacier park Apgar campsite reservation today tho? Another Yikes. (Cancelled one of the nights)

So we are getting two new tires which we put on the front then used the old front tires (only 27k miles) to replace the bad tires on the left rear side. Same wear as right rear tires. They work great so we then drove up to MacDonald lodge and had some dinner. Did I mention it was raining? In July?

Sitting in the Lucke Lounge at McDonald Lodge for dinner snack

After dinner, we drove back to the Apgar Campground, essentially tucking in for the night, listening to the rain falling on our roof as we drifted off.

Early the next morning we headed east over Marias pass and continental divide towards East Glacier and Two Medicine lakes area

We spent several hours at the Glacier lodge walking around, enjoying the grounds, views and especially the gardens which volunteers spend their summers tending. The inside of the lodge is immense. This is the original lodge met by eastern tourists visiting by the Northern Pacific train before they would travel to other parts of the park and beyond. Plus they had WiFi (in this century) woo hoo!!

Our destination was Two Medicine Lakes, one of the three main camping areas in the east side of Glacier park. Enroute we stopped for a hike on the Two Medicine River at Eagle Falls which actually has an underground river falls underneath the higher river falls. Never saw anything like it before.

We also hiked up to Appsotoki Falls where we say some bighorn sheep ewes and a Ram.

Camping at Two Medicine lake was fun. We stayed only 1 night (And wished it were more). The next morning managed to score a ride on a boat across the lake for a delightful 1/2 mile hike to twin Falls. Then returned on the boat. Remind me to tell you the story of the bear spray when you see me. 🥴

On the road for 25 days so far, we headed north to St Mary’s lake where the visitor center and access to Logan pass via Shuttle lay. Our reservation at St Mary campground was 2 nights and we had decided to stay out for next 12 days before heading to Ogden for wedding. Had 5 days of reservations in the Tetons and we were contemplating going up to Canada. St Marys lake campground offered an amazing view and only 1/4 mile from shuttle to Logan Pass. Sweet. We were going to spend the next day up in Logan Pass.

However we got up the next morning and realized we really wanted to be home instead so packed up and drove 650 miles to Twin Falls, overnighted in an RV par in 95 degree temps and the next day, drove the other 500 miles home. Home sweet home

This trip was ambitious, while wonderful, it left us exhausted so we are staying home for a while and cancelling the fall Arizona trip. Will make a couple short trips later in fall to local spots like Half Moon bay and Sea Ranch. There is just no place like Ananda Village.

PS. Two weeks later We ended up driving 600A+ miles to Ogden for our great-nieces wedding then driving back. Then flying to Portland and back for another wedding near Mt Hood. 2 weddings in 6 days. Whew.

Both weddings were unique, charming and fun. Low budget DIY in Ogden at a Trout farm in 100 degree temps. Luxurious accommodations in a lodge near Mt Hood and sit down dinner reception at Mt Hood Farms for 100 family/friends. I was one of 2 “Train Uncles” invited by the bride. We weren’t allowed to take pics of the wedding but snapped a few at the reception.

So that has been our summer as the remaining year has been recuperation, rest and service at our community. Until next time……

2024 Key Activites and Moments

I know, this is 2024 and i forgot to publish so here it is. Stay tuned for 2025.

January 2024 — Dealing with a back flare up from early winter which pretty much knocked me out of commission for about 8 weeks. Stenosis due to old age and the body out of warranty prompted numerous trips to doctor(s) followed by injections and meds and PT and lots of body deep tissue massage. I started to come out of it but no travel. Able to serve in several capacities not requiring much physical effort. the good news is by late 2024 it was under good pain management with out serious drugs involved and i have learned how to function pretty much as before (this is written in Feb 2025). Didn’t get to take birthday trip to Morro Bay tho 😕 as i couldn’t ride bikes

February — Began to feel more normal again but still not going anywhere. Sold our mountain bikes, and road bike and bought Gazelle Step through e-bikes. Ananda held its week long Inner Renewal week with many guest speakers and activities. Was able to attend morning talks and serve in my usual capacities. Tax season looms as usual. No trips yet. Last trip was October 2023.

Limping out on Badwater Basin in Death Valley.

March — Light at the end of the tunnel here. Some additional medical procedures and, of course body work helped me begin to feel this body might last a few more years. We headed south to our usual haunts in Tucson. Catalina State park and McDowell Mountain County park NE of Scottsdale. I was able to ride the new bike easily and began to recondition the body for longer rides.

April —- a few more days of cycling and walking in McDowell Mountain saw us canceling the Grand Canyon part and heading for Colorado river only to find way too many speed boats loudly driving river all day long. So we bolted after 2 nights and headed over thru Carrizzo Plain to Morro Bay for a belated birthday visit. Loved it. End of May saw me in Gualala on the north coast of CA for Ananda Velo bike trip with the guys

May —. Began on North Coast then back home then a spontaneous trip to Grand Canyon since we got snowed out in March. Spent last week of May including Memorial Day camping hiking, ogling, and cycling.

Riding the Gold Country Challenge 56 miles, over 5k vertical

June — Did the Nevada County Gold Country Bike ride. 54 miles. Then also 50 mile RT Downieville to YUBA Pass. Then Up to Truckee area for a few day at elevation to enjoy the Tahoe area. Sraddha and I cycled 25-40 miles every day of trip. End of month was Ananda Village’s annual weeklong Spiritual Renewal week. Many guests from all over the world come for this event and we spend a lot of the week helping out in various capacities.

Part of the herd watching World Cup soccer on my iPad.

July — Annual “gathering of the herd” as i like to call it. Sraddhs’ sister’s family gathers for a week in July and we usually join them for a few days. This year it was in Loeb State park in southern Oregon coast. We drove up North coast and stayed in the Redwoods first for a few days then afterwards ventured up to Nehalem Bay and Netarts and then back down the coast via Bullards Beach and home. Almost 3 weeks of travel

August — first half of August busy at home serving and other responsibilities. Last part was an impromptu trip via car to Bozeman, MT, for a rendezvous with the Nunn family, my cousin Tom and his daughters and families. A total blast. We will be returning.

September — back up in Tahoe Truckee area for a few few more refreshing days of cycling before the snow sets in. As i look at my months calendar it is packed with visits, meetings etc. End of September we head north again to Portland for some specialized service on our camper van. Need an outside baggage door repaired. Had the starboard side repaired here last summer and now the port side needed hinge replaced. So up we go. Then headed across Oregon and Idaho thru Sun Valley area to Salt Lake Utah to see nephew and family. The down to Goblin Valley Utah. Amazing place. And over to Moab and Dead Horse point state park

October— we hit 6 National Parks in 2 weeks. All of them! Including North Rim of Grand Canyon. This was the big trip of year! In order, Canyon Lands, Arches, North Rim, Capital Reef, Bryce and Zion! Plus we encamped Dead Horse point SP next to Canyon lands, and Kodachrome Basin SP at the base of Bryce. Escalante Petrified SP near Escalante Staircase Otherwise stayed inside the other parks in their respective campgrounds. Fun cycling every location and one highlight at Dead horse point was using a Starlink Satellite dish to watch UW Huskies beat Michigan. (No cell service there).

November — pretty much stayed home for rest of year. We needed the time to recoup and enjoy the fall, cleaning yard for winter and spending time with friends.

December — is a deep time here spiritually. Many events and celebrations. December Kriya, World Brotherhood day, Christmas Concert, many good football games and cycling despite the cooler weather. No major snow events but it was a wet month. I maintained regular Pilates, Peloton, body work to manage the back and stay healthy. A lot of quiet time too.

All in all a pretty good year considering how it began. 18 state parks, 6 national parks, several forest service campgrounds. And a few boondocks nights too. A year of van camping in a 7 month period. Recuperated from back issue to being able to ride 50+ miles in a day. Culminating in a restful quiet end of year. 2025 will have several van camping trips but 2026 may have others.

A little trip thru the Tetons

well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted, lol, but I won’t go into all what’s happened. We are on a six week journey in July in the middle of the summer where everybody else travels and it’s usually something we don’t like to do, but we’re doing it.

We headed out on June 29 through Angel Lake their Wells, Nevada then onto the Tetons. On our way to a family gathering reunions are up in eastern Idaho, but first we spend a few days in the Tetons and then after Idaho we’re gonna head up into Montana for a few weeks and then we’re gonna come back to Utah for a wedding. All this is about six week trip.

We’ve been staying in Gros Ventre Campground on the south end of the Tetons and then traveling in different places every day. having been a regular visitor of the Teton Park in the last few years we kinda have our preferred places and since this is a fairly short trip, we decided to go ahead and visit those. We spent a day at string Lake, which is just near Jenny Lake, which afforded us the opportunity tosit out on the Waters edge early in the morning with nobody around. Then take a 25 mile bike ride down to the visitor center and back and also park for a day at signal Mountain facing the wind River range and just enjoy the weather. We had four different rain storms that came in.

When we got to Idaho specifically Ashton Idaho at the Jolly camper RV park, which was absolutely delightful and shaded in the afternoon during the 90° days it was quite delightful except for one thing. We had to replace our macerator pump. The macerator pump is what delivers the Black and Gray wastes to the sewer and it had died. Fortunately, I knew this was eventually going to happen so I bought another pump and with the help of our neighbors we are uninstalled the old one and put the new one on. The rest of the trip we visited with Sraddha’s family and also did some bike rides on the rails-to-trails bike trail nearby, which was used to be an old Union Pacific Railroad rail line.

All in all it was an enjoyable time with everyone and now, after 10 days on the road, we will next head up to the Yellowstone.

Grand Canyon Below the Rim day 2 – Phantom Ranch Rest Day

Camp was in the Bright Angel Campground just up from the river and about 10 minutes from Phantom Ranch. On our day off, we rested up after a fairly grueling hike then went exploring. Click on any of the photographs to expand for better viewing.

Our party consisted of 2 couples, and our guides. So we had 3 tents and you can ask us in person about our tent and sleeping experience. 🤣. Suffice it to say we slept fairly well, however there were some comedic moments.

Our meals were the freeze dried type, supplemented with hot tea, coffee and our own snacks.

We used a JetBoil to heat the water, pouring it into the bags while stirring with our “Spork”. We then usually put the whole packet inside our down jackets for some warmth while waiting for 7-15 minutes. My fave was the Pad Thai. Oh, and the Crème Brûlée 😋, Tho we didn’t have a butane torch for the final touch, it was still tasty. Almost anything can taste good after a descent into the canyon.

We strolled around on our rest day checking out Phantom ranch and hiking a couple miles up the Bright Angel Canyon. My fave part was sitting on a rock being serenaded for 5 minutes by a Canyon Wren. Quite a melodic variety.

Writing postcards which will be delivered by Mule

Phantom Ranch is the famous lodge down in the canyon started in early 1900’s, now is run by Xanterra which runs the lodging and concessions on the rim. Until the early 50’s, most people rode down by mule. Now many hikers visit but permits are needed. Today, it is one of the most difficult hotel destinations to access in the US. Reservations usually are 15-18 months out and via some sort of “lottery” system. The campground is a little easier.

I could share many photos of the canyon, as it was such an amazing place. You could feel the Divine in Nature here very easily. The Vishnu Schist is the lowest geological layer we encountered, rock over 1.8 billion years old. Lots of flora everywhere. Cacti of many flavors, cottonwoods in the lower canyon. The trail follows the water line which brings water from a spring just below the north rim down to Phantom ranch then all the way up to the south rim. More on that later.

Of interest to me, was the telephone line which, in 1935, was added to run from the south r to the ranch and up to the north rim. Remnants remain can be seen along the trail in wires and pipe poles, some of which have been used in the campgrounds on which to hang packs. Maybe we could use some at Anandabell?

We went down the the beach where river rafters stop and take on fresh water.

Video of our dip in the river

Let me just say, well, we froze while dipping in. 🥶🥶🥶😂. The video is short (13 seconds) from in and out so we didn’t dally around at all. You can watch it above.

A full moon presented us with the opportunity to test our iPhone 14 nighttime capabilities. Not bad from what i can see.

Greetings from the bottom of the Grand Canyon!

We returned the second evening to eat house-made cornbread, veggie chili, salad and dessert at Phantom Ranch Canteen where our guides had made reservations months in advance. Unfortunately I didn’t have any photos. Satiated, we returned to our camp and went to bed. Guess we were tired. (Ya Think?). The next day (3) we head up to Havasupai Gardens.

Grand Canyon Below the Rim, Day 1 – South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch

We spent 4 days hiking into and out of the Grand Canyon with 4 other people. 2 guides, Mandy Lea and Kendrick, and 2 wonderful people, Jan and David, from Minnesota. It was the first time our guides and taken a whole group of folks over 70 years of age! Each day will have its own flavor and blog post.

South Kaibab Trail begins near Yaki point just a mile or so east of the visitors center. We camped at Trailer village with hookups to ensure heat in our van while on the hike, since the south rim temps were forecasted to be from 22-39 F. A big snow storm has blanketed the rim the prior week.

NOTE: this is a long post.At least look at photos. Click on them to expand.

Backcountry info center and trailer village west of Visitor Center.

We took the blue line shuttle from camp at 6 AM to meet our group at the Backcountry Info Center on the west end of village. Grabbing a coffee at nearby Maswik Lodge, we board, at 7AM, the “Hiker Express” shuttle directly to Kaibab trailhead on the east end. See maps above with red circled areas.

Trailhead with series of steep north facing switchbacks.

A sense of anticipation was building. We had hiked the first mile or so down to Ooh Aah point last fall and before during dry season, but ice and snow is a different cat on a steep downhill trail. Dangerous and slippery, we tried to stick to the uphill side of the trail.

Knowing there was snow/ice we were using Kahtoola micro-spikes which slip over our boots and provide stability down the series of steep north facing switchbacks to Ooh-Aah point and on down 1.5 miles to Cedar Ridge where we rested. Below this was mud, ice and mud-ice or “mice” in which we slipped a bit. Ask me about it. Needless to say we should left spikes on for another half mile. We continued down a good trail (except for the mud) to Skeleton Point, about 2.7 miles and 2,027 ft below the rim.

The next leg was down a very steep, rugged switchback called the “Red & White’s”on a trail blasted out of limestone cliffs, down to the Tonto Plateau. 4.5 miles and 3,200 ft below the rim. It’s called the “Red & Whites” because the limestone is white, however it is tinted red from all the other minerals and rocks around it. It was challenging but we made it down safely.

The Tonto plateau runs through the park on both sides of the Colorado river about 3000 feet below the rim and about 2000 feet above the river. We stopped for a rest at the “TipOff”. Which is a junction spot for the So. Kaibab and the Tonto Rim trails. A composting toilet Bathroom break helped, and we removed shoes to check the hot spots on feet. We refreshed the moleskin, dried out socks and headed on down.

Around that limestone bluff we just hiked down

On the trail over 5+ hours now, we “tip off” into the gorge down switchbacks and really fun areas. Trail is in good shape. we snack during the down-hike. Me on clif bars, Gu, peanut M&M’s. Sraddha has Kind bars and Gu. We each have 3 liters of water and electrolytes for the 7.2 mile, 4,872 ft elevation drop. There is no water on the trail. My pack weighs 29 lb. Sraddha’s is 19-20.

Our guides, Mandy Lea and Kendrick have about 30 trips into the canyon. Experience has taught them to take care of the details and one of these details is to send down gear as much gear as possible with the mules, which included our sleeping bags and food etc went down earlier and awaited us at Phantom Ranch. This makes such a large difference Mandy led the other 2 people, Jan and David who are faster while Kendrick stayed with us

I didn’t take a lot of photos on the last leg as we were tiring. We made it thru the tunnel, across the suspension bridge and more or less trudged along the river, one…step…at…a…time. We were grateful, exhilarated and super glad we made it to the bottom before sunset. About 9 hours, 7.2 miles, 20,000 steps and 4,872 feet below the rim.

Soon to be sunset on Colorado River. The tents are for a conservation corps crew working on the trail. Not a great photo due to sun in distance creating shadows but, well you get the idea.

We camped at the Bright Angel Campground right near the confluence of the Bright Angel creek descending from the north rim and the Colorado river. Phantom Ranch itself is about 1/3 mile up the creek from the river. (so-to-speak). More about that later. We set up camp and ate, grateful we made it safely and more or less sanely.

Daytime temp in mid 60’s and night time the low-mid 40’s. Most importantly the whole hike was in dry weather. I can’t stress enough how much this made our trip enjoyable. The previous week’s trip, our guides tell us, was colder, and much wetter. That’s a story for another day. Let’s just say we felt blessed.

Hopefully, i can find the time to make a shorter post about day 2 tomorrow. If you reached this “low point” 🙄. I urge you to subscribe to future posts on my home page and also leave any comments or questions. I will respond. I am not a big social media person, but it helps to know people read this.

Harvesting garlic

Lotsa people plant gardens and store for for emergency use. Few people include garlic. It is one of the essential food groups I love along with olive oil, chocolate and Parmesan cheese.

Last year we tried planting a pound of garlic as an experiment. It went well so we decided to plant 6 lb this season. Planting happens in November, about the only thing happening then. And not much to do over the winter but let it germinate and grow. We covered the beds with straw. Then we waited

We had planted 6 pounds of garlic in the beds. We watered a few times when it was hot. Mid May we trimmed off the garlic scapes which made for some fun dinner additions and in mid June we harvested over 120 garlic bulbs! We cut off the tops, trimmed and washed off the dirt, and laid them out on our patio table to dry off a little.

Garlic on patio table (right side in shade)

We bundled them up and hung them from the basement rafters in cooler dry air to season. Should be ready. We hope to use some bulbs for replanting in the late fall.

As for the chocolate, I will just buy and keep in storage.

Update as of July 1,2023. I had taken bulbs from last years crop to plant this years crop

No photos as I forgot. The winter snows devastated my crop whil I was away in the Grand Canyon. We managed to harvest about 40% of what we planted.

When it’s not a travel week

We spent this past week doing deep cleaning in the house. Perfect time since the arctic blast we had this past week made it more fun to be inside than out. The house has suffered from all our travels. Now, every room is refreshed, things we don’t need anymore went away and still more to come. Spring cleaning came early thanks to cold weather. We also found and hired a house cleaner to maintain what we have now even whilst traveling.

Feeling very uplifted in this endeavor. Also a bit sore and worn out.

We laid to rest a good friend recently, one of the reasons we returned early from last travel. Anandi was a very good friend and how she lived her life was uplifting to both of us, and inspired us to increase our meditations and other spiritual activities. A life well lived

So now we rest a bit as the temps begin to warm and make it fun to be outside again and we get back out for some bike rides

2020 Desert Southwest

We have been here so many times and keep returning.

This February has been a bit more chilly than previous years, however with Mighty Wonder Van, we have remained warm and cozy when needed.

In previous RV travels with our bigger Class A rig, we tended to live from the inside out.

Last year out teardrop trailer experience taught is the value of nimble living from the outside in.

Now, we have, what we consider the best of both worlds. We have nimble easy travel yet can tuck in when weather necessitates.

Early Feb saw me riddling icy roads to head over Donner pass to take a shorter route thru western Nevada to Sedona AZ for a model Railroad meetup with some buddies.

Looking Back

2018 was _________ (fill in the blank).

Learning experience, Whirlwind, Unexpected, Delightful, Challenging, Full filling, Gone. You fill in the blanks. Certainly not boring.

Living a very active, yet reflective, life filled with new projects is challenging. Being “retired” hopefully allows one to have a little more say over not only what you are involved in but when.

For me, it is more a when since another aspect is living as service filled life. Sometimes the service is requested. Sometimes it is just a feeling that this is what is to be done. Sometimes I even say yes. Other times… well, let’s just hope I reflect on all of it.

Can’t say any major accomplishments this year but some progress and satisfaction from living a directional life.

Many photos and videos. See my youtube channel and website. Photo exhibit at Expanding Light guest retreat. Many greeting cards sold in boutiques. Good health for both of us. Even lost some weight and improved fitness. The Ananda Library working well, The Ananda Bell phones and internet systems are running fine and improved. A bit of travel to see family Wonderful garden House still standing (we live in a major wildfire risk area).

Much gratitude for friends, God, Guru. It’s all about relationships. Within and without.

Other than helping to celebrate Ananda Village 50th anniversary with new temple I am gonna get my General Amateur radio license, a trailer and do some local and perhaps western US travel. Maybe even some more photo/video

The adventure continues…and could even be fun

A Little Hawaiian Interlude

Perhaps you haven’t noticed but it’s been a while since last post. no excuses although I can think of a whole bunch. Used to post regularly while we were traveling around full time in the RV but since we moved into house, it has been busy.

Oh, you say, “thought you were retired?” Riiiigggghhhhtttt. “Retirement” means you have, or least you think you have, a little more say about how you spend your time. Could be true unless people think that, since you are retired, you have lotsa time to spend on their projects….

So we took a little time away to celebrate our 20th anniversary. Time flies.We flew to Maui. So here we are in “paradise” which translates to wonderful temperatures, tee shirts, shorts, island time, no worries. Everyone has their picture of what it’s like. It is pretty neat in some ways.

We have enjoyed our hikes and visit to Haleakala National park, the walks and morning swims on the beach, the temperatures, and exploring. But we prefer a more secluded quiet areas less touristy. Guess that is what we have gotten used to over the years. It’s always fun to people watch and there are all forms. At least everyone we have seen/met are pretty relaxed here.

We are ready for the comforts of home tho.

Take home lessons:

Research your accommodations more carefully if comfort is important.

Move around more often if exploring is important.

Pack less stuff

Be open to what is next rather than fixed while traveling

Not sure this is clear but more meanderings.