June 30, 2008 Through Wisconsin

After a quick breakfast (oatmeal and fruit) and a cup of coffee to go, we were off at 7:50 am, with the odometer at 99641. Our goal was to get to Jamestown, ND, a ride of about 729 miles. See the route here .

The day was bright, sunny, and warm. Holy smoke, Wisconsin is beautiful! Rolling green hills, and open spaces. We made a decision to come back there and explore more some time. Along the way, lots of dead deer and critters, many of which were unidentifiable in their current state. I guess road crews aren't exactly quick to do road pizza pick up in this part of the country.

Seeing all these farms out in the middle of nowhere (by eastern standards, anyway), made me think more about why the middle of America is chock-a-block with "red" states. As you drive by on the interstate, you see gigantic farms, with a farm building group out in the distance surrounded by trees. Your nearest neighbor might be miles away. Your living is the land, and that is dominated by the weather, good or bad that buffets it. What kind of strong, independent soul could live that life? Certainly not anyone who thinks that we're entitled to anything in this life. You get what you work for. That's what made America great.

Not much else to report on--I did see a sign that definitely caught my attention. Check out the site associated with the billboard that exclaimed WE DO COWS DOT COM.

See you tomorrow....

June 29, 2008 Going West

We're on our way. We left yesterday at about 10:30 am, arrived in Rochester at about 5:15 pm, and stayed with Alex and Jenna at their townhouse last night. Although Jerry (our cat) and J.B. (Alex and Jenna's cat) are not exactly best friends yet (an understatement, of course), I think that they will get to a point where they can ignore each other. Last night and this morning, there was a lot of growling and spitting. Good luck, Alex and Jenna!

Off this morning at about 8:30. Crazy weather--sunny with clouds, then light rain, then torrential rain, then sunny again. It was a mostly uneventful drive except for the few times we drove through a wall of water. God, radio across the country really stinks! At one point, the best we could scrounge up on talk radio was a discussion on rain gutters. Yikes! It made me start to yearn for a discussion on the election--talk about desperation!

Going through Chicago, we were reminded of how the world is changing...Saw a large billboard on the interstate that shouted: "DON'T BELIEVE YOU'RE THE FATHER? FAST, AFFORDABLE DNA TESTING: CALL XXX-XXX-XXXX" What a country...

So far, since NH where we had filled up for $3.92, gas prices are mostly over $4.00 a gallon, the highest at Elk Grove Village, IL (where we are staying tonight) at $4.17/gallon. We are averaging 29 mpg. Tomorrow the Impala will roll over to 100,000 miles!

June 19, 2008 Getting ready for the trip

The tent and propane stove are ready. So are the air mattresses and the cooler. We have a lantern, ponchos, hiking shoes, hats (I have my Celtics hat--Go green!) and our trusty sleeping bags (which we've had since we went traveling around the states in 1975). We're gathering all our "stuff" in preparation for our first substantial trip since 2000 when we went cross-country for 5 -6 weeks with Alex. For three weeks starting on June 28th, we'll be visiting some favorite US spots, and some new ones as well.

We plan on booking it out to Glacier National Park to spend 4 days there. I was startled to discover that the Going to the Sun road is still not open completely. The snow is up to 15 feet deep at Logan Pass .

After that, we really have no definite plans. We know we probably will stop by the National Bison Range maybe the Badlands in SD, the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD (I never did get to see that , Alex) Great Falls, MT, the Tetons, maybe Yellowstone, maybe the Flint Hills in KS, (not necessarily in that order, of course) and lots of little towns along the way. We'll decide as we go.

In the past, I've sometimes kept a diary of the days we spent traveling, and , of course, I took lots of pictures. This time, I thought I'd make my diary online, and share it with you.

I may not post every day, because Internet access may be limited in places. But I will try to post daily. Feel free to keep in touch by email.

We can't wait to be on the road again...