White Line Fever

Discussion in 'Adventure, Hiking, Backpacking and Travel' started by Dennis Adams, Mar 7, 2017.

  1. Dennis Adams

    Dennis Adams Member

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    I have been traveling for over 50 years. US, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Thailand, Indonesia, ....some trips solo, some with my family and extended family. Backpacking, boat camping, car camping, 66 Chevy Van, VW Bus, some crap holes and some five star resorts. I have White Line Fever.
    I grew up in SW MI, we have lived in SW Idaho, Gulf side of FL, and now East TN.
    Some of the travel was business and tagged with personal add ons.
    In my formative years my parents took us on a number of camping trips, hunting and fishing and I was involved with Scouting.
    I remember specifically almost to the day when I was bitten by the wanderlust bug. It was my Junior year of high school
    It was in sociology class, bored and looking at a map of the US in the back of a geography textbook....thinking....I want to travel to every state and see what it has to offer. I haven't been to Hawaii yet. Alaska summer of 2019 perhaps. Doing the research now
    ....my wife tells me Hawaii and the European River trips will have to be with my next wife. She won't do cruises.
    One of my favorite places full of diversity and things to do, is Vancouver Island! Been there five times and plan to return.
    I am now retired as of a year ago. We bought a small RV and our travels continue.. 27K miles in the last few months.

    Some of these trips go back to the mid 70s. Boating and camping in Michigan, living and backpacking in Idaho and traveling the PNW.

    Early photos were taken with 35mm Kodak film. Mostly Ektachrome and some Kodachrome slides and then scanned and digitized years later.
    As you know, the trips change in nature over the years with jobs, family commitments, including trials and tribulations, births and deaths.

    Enjoy. Comment as I post in this thread.

     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2017
  2. Dennis Adams

    Dennis Adams Member

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    Canyonlands UT 1976

    My Wife and I traveled for the first 6 months we were married. We were in our mid 20s in the mid 70s.

    66 Chevy Van. We moved to Idaho outside Boise in 1974, where we both taught grade school. Our combined income was $12,500 our rent was $100 per month. Gasoline was .55 per gallon. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by Elton John was number one. Gerald Ford and then Jimmy Carter were Presidents. We had the summers off and were unencumbered. Not a care so to speak. We bought a barely used VW Campmobile for $5200 and for four years we roamed the US and Canada during breaks, spring, Xmas and Summers. We were in close proximity to the PNW, Sun Valley, Jackson, Yellowstone, and even San Francisco was doable.
    Note the external oil cooler. Added a liter and kept things running cool. Almost too cool in the winter months.
    Cruising Idaho.
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    Cross Country Skiing near Idaho City. 1975
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    Note the gear. Much of it was put together as Frostline Kits. Bags, Down Jackets, Gators, 60/40 parkas, even sleeping bags we put together by sewing them ourselves...well Maureen did most of it. Most fun was breaking the down packets once they were in the pockets.
    The skis are Berkebeiner wood.
     
    Last edited: Mar 7, 2017
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  3. Dennis Adams

    Dennis Adams Member

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    Flashback to 1973. 6 other guys and myself rode 10 speeds from East Lansing, Michigan to Memphis, TN.
    About 1K miles over 30 days. I then hitched back to MI and then hitched to CO, TX and bused to Mazatlan, Mexico.
    My bike is in the foreground. Raleigh Super Course pulling a Cannondale bugger with a frame pack.
    This was a shot taken while on the go. Note canine repellent. I used it once as a pursuit item for a beagle. He peeled off very fast as a result of a direct hit.
    Essentials bag. Seiko Sports 100. Still wearing it 44 years later.
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    Last edited: Mar 7, 2017
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  4. Dennis Adams

    Dennis Adams Member

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    We just returned from 5 weeks in AZ. Basically Hwy 20 to 10, Catalina SP, Casa Grande, Lake Pleasant, Parker/Buckskin Mountain, Lake Havasu, Sedona 40 back to Knoxville.
    4700 miles with a number of side trips.
    Did some of this same trip last winter including some other parks and Grand Canyon.
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2017
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  5. Dennis Adams

    Dennis Adams Member

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  6. Dennis Adams

    Dennis Adams Member

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    Last year started in Destin, FL for a week before LA, TX. When we left Knoxville it was snowing. We were going to stay at a SP south of Birmingham but it was cold. I drove as far as north FL, Blackwater River SP. It was 28 degrees in the morning. We stayed in SP in MS and TX stayed in San Antonio two nights, Alamo and Riverwalk.
    Pardeneles River SP in the TExas Hill Country was our favorite.
    White Sands, NM is very interesting. image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg
    Visited numerous National Monuments. Musical Instrument Musuem in Phoenix is a must see.
    Stayed at Superstition Mountain SP. Typically hike anything that's available.
    Maricopa County around Phoenix has a great Park System.
    Again to Sedona for a week and the Grand Canyon for three nights.
     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2017
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  7. Dennis Adams

    Dennis Adams Member

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    image.jpeg Insert. image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg
     
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  8. Stone

    Stone Member

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    From the title, I thought surely this thread was going to be about cocaine.

    I was wrong. Off to sleep now. Will examine pics by weekend.
     
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  9. Dennis Adams

    Dennis Adams Member

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  10. Stone

    Stone Member

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    Fine pics. Great story. Thanks for sharing this.

    Looks like we've crossed paths several times in the last few decades. No surprise.

    "Flashback to 1973. 6 other guys and myself rode 10 speeds from East Lansing, Michigan to Memphis, TN."

    I grew up in Memphis, and was still there then, starting grad school. Didn't leave the first time until '76.

    I too had a VW van. '67 with a 72' sedan engine. Traveled out west extensively. Wish I had pics to share.
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2017
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  11. Dennis Adams

    Dennis Adams Member

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  12. anrkst6973

    anrkst6973 Member

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    Those are some great pics Dennis! That very first one in the second set should say "STOP!..or its gonna hurt!" Well it would if the highway dept had a sense of humor. :D Thank for sharing the ride with us.
     
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  13. Dennis Adams

    Dennis Adams Member

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    Summer 2016
    May 25 - June 27
    Last summer We met friends at Muskallonge State Pk on Lake Superior for Memorial Weekend. While there we did side trips And visited Tahquamenon Falls and took the Pictured Rocks Boat Tour out of Munising, MI in the Upper Peninsula.
    From there we went to the Porcupine Mountains and continued on to Bayfield, WI and around as far as Cornucopia, WI before heading south to Madison to meet our Son and Family. We visited a couple WI SP (they went to all 48 in 2016).
    Went to Mount Horub and New Glarus. Beer, cheese and brats.

    We set the GPS west for Red Lodge, Montana. Highway 90 is in remarkable shape and a pleasure to drive. We had many stops between. Wall Drug, Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, And Devils Tower. All this at a leisurely 60 MPH and about 350 miles per day. Many stops some for multiple days. We visited Cody and the fantastic Cody Museum (outstanding firearms museum) and the quaint Greybull, WY, and then stayed outside Red Lodge, MT.
    One of the highlights of this trip was driving the scenic Beartooth Highway aka HWY 212 which is the circuitous route into north Yellowstone!! We stopped a few times while driving through Yellowstone though we had been there many times since the mid 70s and so we pushed on.
    We were on a mission to get to the Headwaters Campground at Flagg Ranch. We stayed 3 days here. Great hikes around Huckleberry Hot Springs, and the Headwaters Lodge has a cozy bar with a few tasty local brews.

    Our next stop was Colter Bay CG in the Grand Teton National Park. We stayed at CB CG for eight days. Lots of hiking. Boat trip on Jackson Lake which brings you right up against the Mountains. Scenic drives, a couple trips to Jackson. One afternoon we rented a boat for a few hours and explored the bays. Eagles were plentiful, as was other wildlife throughout the Region.
    Each night we walked to the Lake for the sunset. We went to the main lodge a few times for views/food and refreshments.

    Five days later we were back in East Tennessee with the next trip coming in September. It was a great one.
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2017
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  14. Dennis Adams

    Dennis Adams Member

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    We visited Yellowstone and the Tetons 5 years ago.
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