Wildlife Safari in Oregon

Wildlife Safari near Winston Oregon is a great opportunity to see a variety of animals that roam freely while the vehicles stay on the designated road through the park.

Gemsbok

They have a very successful Cheetah breeding program and the following cats are in cages: Sumatran Tigers, African Lions and Bob Cats.

Ostrich

While driving through the park you may encounter any of the following animals:

Demara Zebra

Girraff

Hippopotamus 

Sika Deer,

Southern White Rion

Guanaco

Watusi Cattle, Common Cape Eland, Scimitar Oryx, White-Bearded Gnu (Wildebeest), Waterbuck, Black Buck, African Elephant, North American Black Bear, Brown Bear, American Bison, Nilgai, Tibetan Yak, White Cheek Gibbons, White Naped Crane, Emu, Rhea

Roosevelt Elk

Aoudad (Barbary Sheep)

Once you have driven through the park make sure that you visit the Safari Village. There are exhibits of native and exotic wildlife from reptiles and fish to cougars, bobcats, and cheetah. There is also an area that you can feed the goats and pat some of the animals.

Just a Pig

Black Swan

Just Waiting

Please Feed Me

Oregon Trip 2018

This trip we decided to fly to Portland and drive south to Crater Lake National Park. The day we arrived in Portland we drove to Salem Oregon. We had a wonderful Korean meal at Happy Bimbap House.

I ordered the Bimbap. It is served in a piping hot stone bowl. When bowl arrives you take your chopsticks and mix the raw egg into the dish so it cooks. Very tasty and filling dish.

Walking to the Game

Oregon Ducks Stadium

The next day we drove to Eugene. Bill really wanted to see a college football game so he had purchased a ticket for the Oregon Ducks. It was crazy the fans going to the game. We walked from Oregon University across the river to the stadium.

I went to The Museum of Natural and Cultural History on the University of Oregon campus. This was a small museum but has several interesting displays. There was information about the sabre tooth salmon. An excellent geology display. The hands-on displays are great for children to learn more about the topics. There were displays about the history of Oregon. Check out their website at http://natural-history.uoregon.edu.

While in Eugene we stayed at the Eugene Whiteaker International Hostel. The hostel is close to the tracks that run through the centre of town. There were about five trains that we heard during the night.

The next day we headed for Diamond Lake Resort in Southern Oregon. On the way, we visited the Wildlife Safari. For more information check out the posts on the Wildlife Park and Crater Lake.

The whole area from Portland to California has a great variety of wineries that can be visited. Depending on the area you can find a winery to visit.  North of Medford, we drove through the Rogue Valley and visited the Kriselle Cellars to check out their wines.

Bill relaxed on the deck in the sunshine while Elaine decided what to buy.

Grapes ready for Harvest

Leaving Diamond Lake we drove north on highway 97 to Bend Oregon. Three miles south of Bend is the High Desert Museum.

Otters

Burrowing Owl

 

The museum has several habitats for birds, snakes, turtles and a few mammals. 

There are excellent dioramas about the history in the area and the local indigenous people. Walking outside you can visit the raptor house, otter house, a working sawmill, and a settler's cabin and farm. When we visited there was staff dressed in period costume. There were numerous talks and demonstrations throughout the day that were free. 

This is a small museum and a great opportunity to learn about the area and some of the animals.

After the museum, we continued towards Mount Hood along highway 97 the highway 26. We had great views of Mount Jefferson as we passed through a deep canyon at Warm Springs. The Butte is a very impressive sight. Once you reach the Mount Hood area there is hiking, camping and skiing in the winter. The drive from Mount Hood to Portland is a scenic byway so be prepared for the drive to be a little slower through the communities.

Back in Portland, it was time to navigate the slow-moving freeways to return the rental car. You need to give yourself extra time as the traffic is gridlocked over an extended rush hour.

Bryce Canyon Utah

Bryce Canyon National Parks is definitely one of my favourite places that we visited this trip. The park is not really a canyon as you look down from the rim there is no rim on the other side. To really experience the park you need to walk down the 1600 feet or take a horse trip through the park. Trail rides can be arranged at the park lodge. You can still drive the whole park but there is a convenient shuttle service from the visitor's centre. The shuttle only goes as far as Bryce Point but you can drive to Rainbow Point.

It is a good idea to stop at the Visitor Center to find out hikes and guided activities. There is a  Lodge and a campground in the park but they booked up early so you need to plan ahead if you want to stay in the park. There is also lots of accommodation and campgrounds available outside of the park.

The trail we will be taking from Bryce Point

We decided to hike Peekaboo trail from Bryce Point along the left side of Peekaboo Loop rail and out of the valley via the Navajo Loop Trail on the right side of the loop.

Wall of Windows

Looking back at Bryce Point on the top of the rim.

We did not have to walk back to the starting point because we picked up the shuttle and rode back to our car parked near the Visitor Centre.

The climb out of the valley.

Inspiration Point View Point

When we got to the rim we walked from Sunset Point to Inspiration Point before catching the shuttle. Inspiration Point is definitely the area to see a great view. You can drive to this point and it is a short walk uphill to see the best view.

If you have the time to drive down to Rainbow Point. There are numerous viewpoints to stop at on the way. Make sure you take a picnic lunch and take time to stop at one of the picnic sites. The Natural Bridge area is an easily accessible viewpoint. The elevation at this viewpoint is 8627.

Utah May 2018

Looking for adventure and beautiful scenery southern Utah is a great choice. The temperature can become extremely hot in this state so choose the time you want to visit with what you want to do. We were interested in hiking and there are lots of opportunities. You can choose National Parks, State Parks, and the National Forest Areas. The elevation was high so it is important to make sure you are careful about how fast you are walking and don't forget that you are in a desert area so you will need plenty of water. For more information on the parks in the area check out this link Parks in Utah

Backside of Mountain at Brian Head

We stayed at Brian Head which is a ski resort area in the winter and the chairlift operates in the summer for a trip to the top of the mountain. The elevation is around 10000 ft so it was cool and you could still see snow drifts in the area in May. The summer activities on the ski hill were not open yet so the area was very quiet. From this location, we could visit Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks easily. These parks are extremely busy and you need to plan accordingly. 

Zion National Park has thousands of visitors each year so they have restricted access to the park. You need to take a shuttle bus into the valley.  The bus can be caught at the visitor's centre. The queue to catch the bus can long so arrive early to get a parking stall and avoid the lineups for the bus. Don't park outside of the designated parking stalls or you will be towed and the current rate was $300 US to get your vehicle back. If the lot is full at the Zion visitors centre there might be parking along the road within the park. We chose to drive the road through the park and to return earlier the next day to get good parking. Parking in town costs $20.00 US but they do provide a free shuttle to the park where you can transfer to the National Park shuttle. If you are planning to visit three national parks within a year it is worth purchasing an Annual Park Pass which was $80.00 US.

Overlook of the valley road going up to the tunnel.

 Trail to Overlook

The drive you can do within the park is spectacular. It is very twisty with lots of switchbacks as you climb the mountain towards the tunnel. The road is very congested so be prepared to take your time an the views are spectacular.  The tunnel its self is an engineering feat when it was built. If you are driving a motorhome you will need to pay extra at the Visitors Centre to drive through the tunnel because they have to stop the traffic and make it one way to accommodate the height of a bus or motorhome. On the east side of the tunnel is a great hike to a viewpoint that overlooks the valley that you just drove up. After the tunnel, there are numerous pull-offs so you can stop and hike or just admire the scenery which is different from the valley below. You can continue on this road to Bryce Canyon if you wish. We decided to visit Pink Coral Sands State Park for a picnic before return to Zion in the late afternoon when the park would be less busy.

Pink Coral Sands State Park will cost a small fee to enter. The sand has been created by the break down of the pink granite in the Escalante and the wind blowing the sand into the valley. The tallest sand dune in the park is 100 ft high. The park allows ATVs on the dunes and there is an interesting interpretive trail talking about the sand dunes and native plants. 

s

Quiet Oasis

Returning to Zion National Park after 6 pm was a quieter experience that at 10 am. Most people have left the area so to drive through the tunnel there was less of a wait and no queue for the shuttle into the restricted area. We decided to do a short hike into a waterfall and enjoy the park before returning the next morning earlier.

Because the trial had fewer people in the evening we encountered2 wildlife.

Surprise Visitor

The next day we arrived at the visitor's centre before it opened but the parking lot was already filling up. There was a short lineup for the shuttle but we did not have to wait long. This time we were riding the shuttle all the way to the end of the valley where the narrows trail starts. Because we had stopped at the visitor's centre the day before we had already planned our hikes for the day.

walking path to the narrows

At end of the shuttle road, we jumped off to start the walk up the valley to where the stream crosses the trail. This short hike is very popular and is the start of the trail that follows the river up to the narrows. You need to watch the weather when near the river at the end as flash floods can be a problem when it rains. The water temperature was 50 F so wading across the river multiple times was not very exciting but there were lots of people with special hiking boots and walking sticks doing the full trail.

Hanging Gardens

On the walk up to the river, you pass several rock walls that have hanging gardens. The plants have found small crevices and cracks in the rock face to grow from and there is dripping water that helps to keep them alive.  

Survival in the rock face

Start of the Narrows

This is the end of the easy hike up the valley. From this point on you have to cross the river numerous times to reach the slot canyon. If you look closely at the picture you can see numerous groups of people walking up towards the end of the river.

Along the trail, there were lots of squirrels.

Arenal Volcano Area in Northwest Costa Rica

The day after flying into the domestic airport in San Jose we drove up to La Fortuna to visit the area around Arenal Volcano. From San Jose, we took the number 1 highway to San Ramon then turned north toward La Fortuna. The highway is an excellent two lane road with frequent passing lanes. The biggest drawback is the volume of traffic. Make sure that you leave lots of time so that the frequent traffic jams don't increase your stress.

Coti eating an Iguana

Once through the town of San Ramon, the road narrows and follows the contour of the mountains. This road is very twisty and windy. The area is mainly agricultural with little towns along the way.  Watch out for the 25 Km school zones in each town. The road usually has two toupees (speed bumps) in these areas and your vehicle will take flight if you don't slow down. You also need to watch out for the narrow bridges. One lane usually had a ceda (yield sign). Signage along the road is good as long as you know which town is next. Even if you do not know Spanish it is easy to figure out what the road signs mean. The most interesting sign I saw do not feed the Coti!

One interesting stop along the road is the suspension bridge over a deep canyon. On the north end of the bridge is a nice restaurant and a small deck at the river's edge to view the canyon and bridge. You might see some interesting birds at the feeders on the platform as the put fruit out for the birds. This is a great rest spot.

There is a fairly long stretch of road where there is not a lot of development. The whole trip from San Jose airport to our hotel just outside of La Fortuna took us about three hours to drive in good weather. 

When we did the drive back to San Jose to catch our flight out the weather was rainy and the clouds in places were so low that you could not see very far in front of the car. Headlights were definitely needed! 

La Fortuna is a small town with a gas station on the one-way street travelling west through the centre of town. The town has a variety of tourist services available from restaurants, tour offices, souvenir shops and accommodation. There is also an airport just outside of town if you do not wish to drive, hire tourist transportation or take the bus.

View of Canyon and Volcano 

Outside of town towards Arenal Volcano are some high-end resorts and a variety of activities. Our accommodation was the Nayara Hotel and Spa a Costa Rican hotel. This is a beautiful property consisting of two different hotels that you could use the services at both hotels. Between the two proprieties is a canyon that has been preserved for wildlife. Because of the reserves within the property and the things they do to preserve the environment the resort is considered ecotourism. There are several pools in the resorts and some are identified for adults only. You can also book a variety of tours from the hotel and they also specialize in private tours.

Our first full day we drove up to Arenal National Park and hiked to the 1998 lava flow. There is a second area you can visit for the entry fee that allows you to walk down to the lake. The lake is man-made when the dam was built and provides fresh water and electricity for the area.

The town of El Castillo is very small and to reach this area you need to travel a bumpy gravel road. This town has accommodation, zip lining, river rafting, hiking, a butterfly sanctuary and reptile display. We visited the Butterfly Conservatory and this was very informative. The owner is an expat from the US and has studied and cultivated butterflies for years. If you are thinking that you want to visit make sure you have enough cash credit cards are not accepted. They also accept volunteers from around the world to work at the place. We met a man from Denmark during our visit. www.butterflyconservatory.org 

Day two we woke up to a perfectly wonderful cloudless view of Arenal Volcano. We could see the top smoking and I quickly grabbed my camera and went in search of the perfect picture. The Volcano is frequently in the clouds but we were very fortunate to see it so clearly. By the afternoon the clouds were back and it started to rain. One of our guides told us that it rains 400 days a year in this area even in the dry season.

We did a nature tour at the resort and Bill was excited to see a three-toed sloth. We spent the afternoon driving the north edge of the lake. There is not a lot along this area and it was difficult to stop and see the lake. A lot of the property in this area is private or tourist accommodation. Some people were taking a pontoon boat out on the lake but it was so rainy we choose not to do this.A

On Hanging Bridge

Motmot Bird

Our fourth day started at 5 am. We had booked a birding tour with Mystic Hanging Bridges www.misticopark.com and had to be there by 6:10 am. The night before was a steady rain but it had stopped. When we arrived at check in it started to rain again so we had a coffee and granola bar hoping the rain would lighten up which it did. The tour was small and we had a wonderful guide named Indira. We saw several hummingbirds, a variety of birds, learned about the local vegetation and watched the squirrel monkeys search for food.

When we returned to the hotel we had a great breakfast and then spent time resting before going the Eco Termales at 4 pm. The hot pools here are very different from Canadian hot springs. The water was very clear and no sulphur small. There were multiple pools to soak in.  We started in the coolest and moved towards the warmer pools. One pool had black sand on the bottom and the pools were built with cement and round rocks. The only allow 80 people into the pools during each five hour period of time. You can also choose to eat at the buffet or a la carte restaurant. Your bracelet has a barcode so you can order all your drinks and food using your bracelet and then they collect when you leave. For more information, you can visit their website at www.ecotermalesfortuna.cr  

Aguila de Osa Lodge in the Southern Zone

Relaxing Get Away

We enjoyed the heat, peacefulness, and extreme beauty of the incredible rainforest on the Osa Peninsula in southwestern Costa Rica. Getting to the lodge is an experience in its self.

We flew Sansa Air on a one propellor plan from the domestic airport near San Jose International Airport to Palmar Sur about a 30-minute flight. From the airport in Palmar Sur, a tourist taxi picked us up and drove the 20 minutes to the town of  Seripe. From the boat dock in Seripe, we took a motorboat for a 45-minute ride down the river and out onto the Pacific ocean. The ride was excellent and very exciting as the boat maneuvered through the ocean waves meeting the river. At times the waves can be 5 or 6 feet high. We had wanted to fly direct to Drakes Bay but the airport was closed as the government was making the runway safer.

The lodge is situated on a hill so be prepared to climb steps and get your Stairmaster exercise a few times a day. But the climb is worth it as the view over Drakes Bay is fantastic and the bird life is fascinating from Toucans to hummingbirds.

There is always lots of opportunities to keep busy while staying at the lodge through the numerous tours they offer.

We had a fascinating tour of the Terraba-Sierpe Mangroves, the largest untouched mangrove forest on the Pacific Coast of Central America. The wildlife viewing was spectacular! A hidden world, accessible only by boat and home to over 1000 birds, including the endemic Mangrove Hummingbird found nowhere else on the planet, the ecosystem is absolute paradise.



On our trip, we saw American crocodiles,  rare birds, the mangrove tree boa, iguanas, Jesus-christ lizards (that walk on water), river turtles, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, and the vicious white-faced capuchin monkeys . . . and then it happened . . . we looked to our right and there was the ant-eater sleeping in a tree.








Another day we decided to hike the trail to San Josecito beach from  Aguila de Osa Lodge. We were told the walk would take about two hours but with frequent stops to view the birds, wildlife and to cross a river it actually took three hours. During our walk we were confronted by a band of wild Capuchin monkeys - Elaine was hit on the head by one monkey with a huge stick and another shook a tree sapling at Bill, however, he stood his ground and we got a great video.

We took an excellent snorkelling tour to Cano Island.  Cano Island is a Biological Reserve and we had great visibility. There were schools of jackfish, lots of puffer fish, and a large variety of other tropical fish. Going out to the island we had an opportunity to see dolphins.


We hiked for over three hours along a path that leads into Cordova National Park as all our tours were completed.  We had an encounter with Capachino Monkeys as we wandered aimlessly down the path we had to ford a river.

Lying on the beach we saw flying fish skirting out of the water, dolphins and a humpback breached close to shore.


right in front of us. . . . after watching the leaf-cutter ants cross our path we continued on our way to the beach to meet the boat from Aguila de Osa that takes tourists snorkeling on Canso Isalnd.  No use walking back to the lodge over humongous trees, snake infested bushes, scary rivers, and scortching heat.

People at our lodge caught many fish i.e., 45 lb Marlin, snapper, grouper and lots of sail fish - great place to fish in Costa Rica

Looks like Nature Air is going under so we will have to rely on Travel Guard Canada to bail us out of the $685 USD owed to us . . . lots of stranded tourists on the islands off of Drake Bay - - - sitting ducks for the big cats, snakes, sharks, monkeys, and a horde of other night time predators

It was well over 90 degress everyday down in Drakes Bay so we are looking forward to cooler weather, hot springs, at Arenal (higher elevation) . . . as we drive up the bumpy lava roads