Back to the Pacific Northwest is the fifteenth installment of Finding My Way Home. To view the previous installment, click here. If you wish to start from the beginning, click here. This is the ongoing story of the six years I spent as a vagabond photographer.

Yellowstone and Grand Teton are all I hoped for. I only wish I could stay longer. But, the weather is turning colder and rain is becoming snow, so I must move to warmer climes. I have intentionally avoided the Yuma/Quartzsite/Tucson cliché of retired snow birds and will again this year. The northwest coast in winter is not what one would consider warm, but it rarely freezes, and is home to large numbers of wintering birds. It’s also much closer to Chris, who I haven’t seen since Monument Valley. That was in early June and it’s now late September.

As I begin my sophomore year as a full-timer, my confidence is growing. Not only in my ability to make repairs, but my ability to take things as they come. To make the best of whatever comes my way, or whatever way I go.

But, weighing on me is the fact that my twenty year old motor home is slowly falling apart. It seems each repair or improvement is immediately followed by something else. I hardly have time to pat myself on the back over a successful repair before I’m puzzling over what to do about a new problem. While I was expecting things would break and need fixing, I wasn’t prepared for constant trouble. Ironically, I have had few problems related to the motor vehicle part of my home. All my major headaches have been with the “house” part. These mobile dwellings just aren’t built to last, and mine has seen its better days. I have to make some decisions.

For now though, I must leave Wyoming and start the trek back to the Pacific Northwest. I’ve decided to spend a week in Bozeman, Montana. While I’m here, I meet some travelers from Maryland. They are on their way back home after their annual two week visit to the same two national parks I’ve just visited. They are returning their rented camper van the next morning and catching a flight back to the east coast. We have a nice visit and share stories of the wildlife we saw and photographed.

The next morning, they are gone before I am up. To my surprise, I find a small unopened bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream on the table next to my barbecue when I step outside. They must have decided they didn’t want to pack in their luggage and left it for me to enjoy. What they didn’t know is today is my birthday. Thanks for the birthday treat, Michael and friends from Maryland.

During my stay in Bozeman, I take the opportunity to explore nearby. An unexpected surprise is a lovely hike to an enchanting waterfall near the ski resort town of Big Sky. Ousel falls is a tiered waterfall that reminds me of a wedding cake. Since I’m here during the so-called shoulder season (between summer and ski season), there are very few people around and none on the trail. I’m so glad I decided to take that hike. Plus, I wanted to drive back through the spectacular Gallatin River Canyon in my car. This is the route I took from Wyoming to Montana, but it’s much easier to find places to pull over and admire the scenery when driving a small car.

Between Bozeman and Post Falls, Idaho, we spend a few days just outside Missoula. I picked an RV park right across the road from the Clark Fork River with my water dog in mind. While not on my list of favorite spots, it’s definitely one of Luna’s. I am longing to visit Glacier National Park, but it’s getting too late in the season this year. I put it on my list of places for next summer.

Post Falls, Idaho is part of the greater Coeur d’Alene metro area and more urban than I normally prefer. So, while I’m here, I tend to go exploring in the less traveled areas. One day, I find myself in Thompson Falls, Montana, about 100 miles away. I pull into a state park to eat the lunch I packed and hear what sounds like somebody chopping wood. I guess my mind rationalized that there must be a cabin or house adjacent to the park.

As I sit there, eating my sandwich, the chopping sound seems to get louder and closer. Now I’m puzzled. There are no houses or cabins that I can see, yet I can clearly hear loud wood chopping or pounding noises. As I get out of the car and walk toward the sound, I see a large bird fly and land on a tree. Then another one on another tree. Pileated woodpeckers!

I have wanted to spot one of these birds ever since I got a glimpse of one a few years earlier in Oregon. Now I’ve found a pair! Breathlessly, I run back to the car and get my camera. It’s difficult to get a decent shot in the shadow and light of the forest floor. Finally, after waiting and watching patiently, I manage a few photos of the prehistoric-looking birds in the light. After thanking them profusely for sticking around and posing for me, I get back in the car and return to camp.

My next stop is Pasco, Washington, where I’m meeting Chris at his mom’s house. I’m happy to have made it back to the Pacific Northwest. It’s been four months since we parted ways back in Arizona, and we have a lot to catch up on. I show him the repair I made from the wind damage and tell him I’m thinking about upgrading to a newer used RV. We go to a few lots and look around just to get an idea of prices and features. There are serious financial considerations before I make the jump, but it’s fun to look and dream of the possibilities.

Chris’s mom enjoys birding almost as much as I do. She joins me on a visit to McNary National Wildlife Refuge and we have a great time spotting birds together. One of the other birders on the trail alerts us to a great-horned owl. Perched in a tree just off the trail, this is the closest encounter either of us have ever had with a wild owl. Although the owl knows we are on the trail, we stay very quiet and move very slowly so as not to disturb it. We spend several minutes, watching and photographing before moving along the trail and back to the car. We’re both very excited and I’m happy I have someone with me to share the experience. The McNary Refuge is also the location for my first photo of a ring-necked pheasant in flight.

It seems Chris is always researching something and finding interesting places to visit. This time, he tells me he wants to go to a place in Washington called Dry Falls. This intrigues me. How can it be a falls if it’s dry? As it turns out, scientists believe there was once a waterfall larger than Niagara Falls in the central part of Washington when the last ice age ended. Currently, it is a large lake at the bottom of a bluff, but one can easily picture water falling over the bluff and how large it must have been. This is a place I likely never would have discovered, let alone visited, without his input. He keeps making my life more interesting.

Next, we will travel together south through Washington and Oregon, visiting interesting places along the way. Once we have a route planned, I get busy finding places to stay and calling for availability.