July 30, 2008 Return of the bison

I was interested in a story posted today about the efforts of some people to return the bison to the wild. It shows that no issue these days is without pros and cons. Certainly the ranchers have a valid concern that bison infected with brucellosis should not be released to spread the disease to their cattle. And the land available to support massive herds of bison is definitely not sufficient. Even the National Bison Range keeps their herd small to maintain wildlife diversity on the refuge.

I was surprised to learn at the Bison Refuge that most of the bison alive today are not genetically pure bison, having cross-bred with cattle over the last century and a half. The bison at Yellowstone are the most genetically pure, as the article mentions. But how awesome would it be to see large herds of bison on the prairies again? The challenges of balancing economics and practicality with what is essentially emotion confronts us here. What do you think?

July 25, 2008 We're home, and so is Randy

I opened up my browser to Yahoo just now, and came upon the sad news that Randy Pausch has died. To those who don't know the name, Randy was a Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist whose "last lecture" about facing terminal cancer became an Internet sensation, a best-selling book, and a TV movie. He was 47. If you haven't had the opportunity to see the video of his last lecture, or the background to it, see it here (highly recommended to watch). If you have, and know of him, perhaps you are as saddened as I am.

So what has this to do with my trip diary? Everything. As Randy said "We don't beat the reaper by living longer, we beat the reaper by living well and living fully." Randy would say, "If you do nothing else in your life, have fun".

We're trying, Randy, we're trying.

July 20, 2008 Back Home

The following are some disjointed observations that I may not have mentioned in previous postings.

* Cottonwood trees are obnoxious
* Large industrial-size toilet paper is hard to pull
* Based on reports from Ray, and my own experience using communal shower/bath areas, women are much bigger slobs than men
* Drivers lose all skill they may have had when they enter natural areas and see wildlife. An otherwise presumably intelligent person will stop dead on the road to look at a bison in a field 100 yards away.
* On long drives, it’s a good idea to check fluids regularly (the Impala gave us a scare at one point—only needed coolant—a LOT of coolant…)
* Food prices EVERYWHERE are much higher than back home in NH (small peaches for over $1.00 each in Wisconsin??!!)
* Verizon is the best cell carrier—that guy in glasses and his friends really are everywhere…)
* Cruise control is one of the finest inventions—especially west of the Mississippi
* Any hot dog that is not natural casing (even Hebrew National) sucks
* 2 things that keep America together: Walmart and World Weekly News
* Hanging a wet towel out to dry in windy weather out west will dry it quickly and maybe make it dirtier than when you hung it out.
* A cold beer, comfortable chair, and a view of the mountains make everything alright
* Fruit is extremely expensive in western states
* Unless you want to pay $3.95 for a can of Manwich, try not to buy groceries anywhere near a campground
* We didn’t see many eastern license plates at all when we were out west. They must be flying in and renting cars.
* There are still a lot of RVs in campgrounds, despite high gas prices
* Block ice lasts at least 3x as long as ice cubes
* Water in Montana and Wyoming tastes good, but is very mineral tasting and cold right out of the tap
* All boys, no matter how old, have a compelling drive to throw rocks in water or over the edge of a chasm.
* Our favorite ranch name (seen in Montana): “Lottsawatta”
* Cheapest gas on our trip, seen in Gillette, WY: $3.789/gallon
* Odd gas fact: in SD, gas stations have cheaper Plus gas than regular
* Final stats:

Gallons of gas: 208.524

Average mpg: 30.84

Miles traveled: 6431

Total expenses—food, gas, lodging: under $2500 (we know how to live cheaply!)

July 18, 2008 Stan Hywet, Akron , OH

Today we started out with the intention to visit two places: Stan Hywet (pronounced Stan Hee-wet), and the National Inventors' Hall of Fame., both in Akron, OH. First on the agenda was Stan Hywet, the former home of the founder of Goodyear Rubber, Fred Sieberling. We told Bambi to take us there, a feat which she has accomplished admirably throughout our trip (or for at least 95% of the time). But the city of Akron had other plans for us. Only .3 of a mile from our destination, we came to a road block--a literal road block due to construction. There were no signs or information as to how to detour around it to our destination, ands Bambi wasn't any help either, always rerouting us to the spot of the blockage. Brain power to the rescue! Ray figured our way around this, and we set off to explore.

Betweeen 1912 and 1915, Fred Sieberling and his wife, Gertrude built a country estate in Akron, and called it Stan Hywet, Old English for "Stone Quarry". Set on 70 acres of landscaped grounds and gardens, the 65 room, 25 bathroom Manor House is of English Tudor design. But it has many modern conveniences (for the time it was built) like phones and central heating, and in the kitchen, a steam table, electric refrigerators, and a gas/coal/wood cooking range. We opted for a guided house tour. Although the house was as hot as an oven (the day was in the steamy 90s, and the house had no air conditioning), and Ray just about had to pour me out of the house at the end of the tour, it was interesting. More impressive , though, were the gardens and conservatory. Amazing to both of us, was the fact that the Sieberlings used this house as a 3-season residence--all but summer. Yet the gardens were always maintained, even though they were never here to enjoy them at their summer peak. And they truly are spectacular. The conservatory as it exists today is a replication of the original style that was originally built for fruit and flower growing. We checked out the butterfly exhibition at the conservatory. Also of note, is that Stan Hywet is the the place where Alcoholics Anonymous was born in 1935. Beautiful grounds, interesting home.

We were two of the last people ushered from the grounds of the property at 4:30. By then, it was too late to consider the Inventors' Hall of Fame. After considering our options, we decided to get home on Saturday, and so, headed to Rochester to retrieve Jerry. We'll stay there tonight, and head home Saturday.

Thanks for following our blog. It's not done yet though. Check in tomorrow for other observations that may not have been mentioned on previous days. I'm hoping to get the photos out in batches, and will link on each blog entry the place to see the photos for that day.

See photos of the day here.

Love you all,
Carol

July 17, 2008 Indiana Lakeshore & Cord Museum

We decided to rush home, and visit Hampton Beach, NH. See the above photo. Or....maybe not. Maybe...we visited the Indiana (?!) Dunes National Lakeshore. Did you know that Indiana had shoreline on Lake Michigan? See here. After a bit of a trial finding the visitor center, we drove to the entrance to a trail to Indiana's "Mount Baldy", a "large" sand dune on Lake Michigan. It is 123 feet tall and is the largest "living" dune that marram grass and cottonwood trees cannot hold in place. This mound of sand actually moves south at a rate of four to five feet each year, burying all woodlands in its path. If someone blindfolded you and dropped you on the shore of Lake Michigan (or any of the Great Lakes) without tasting the water (it's fresh, not salt, obviously), you'd be hard pressed to know that you were not at the edge of an ocean. The water was shallow on the beach beyond the dunes, and so the water was refreshingly cool (not bone-numbing cold as is Atlantic waters). We spent a little time on the beach, and moved on.

Our next stop was to be the Auburn Cord-Dusenberg museum, an auto museum about 2 hours south of the Dunes. Our only miscalculation was that we had crossed the time zone to eastern, and had lost an hour during the day. By the time we got there, we didn't really have enough time to properly explore, but still got a great look at the museum. We saw one of the first front wheel drive cars, a giant 156" wheel base 1930s Cord (very cool looking), an early electric car from the turn of the century, and a prototype 30s car with disappearing headlights. Too bad we didn't really have the time to do this place justice. We were the last ones out the door before the ticket taker.

On to Toledo where we will spend the night.

See photos of the day here.

July 16, 2008 Olbrich Gardens, Madison, WI

Last night was the first night on our trip that we really longed for the comfort of air conditioning. At about 8 pm, we arrived at the Oakdale, WI KOA, and were led by golf cart (by Denny, the proprietor) to our cabin that had been closed up all day. The cabin had been sitting in the sun all day and the windows and door had been closed. When we opened the door, we were greeted with a blast of hot air that stunned us. The heat was bad enough, but it accompanied the humidity that had been building all day as we moved east. There was a ceiling fan in the cabin, but it did little to clear out the heat in the cabin. Taking into account that I sweat profusely, I seriously considered sleeping on the porch swing for the night. By 11:30, we decided to try sleeping with the door and windows open. If it had been just hot and humid, that would have been enough aggravation. But it turns out that this particular KOA is located right off the Interstate. Most, if not all, the cabins we've stayed at so far have been in fairly remote, quiet areas. As we tried to invite sleep, we listened to the drone of cars , and the whine and roar of tractor trailers speeding by. We might as well have been sleeping in the break down lane.

Funny thing was, that as we staggered to the bathrooms in the morning to shower and get ready for the new day, we passed a man relaxing outside his permanently installed RV reading the paper. Who would vacation just yards from a major interstate highway in brutal heat and humidity? And why sit outside instead of in his air conditioned RV? Is this insanity common to Wisconsin dwellers?

Today we decided to investigate Madison, capitol of Wisconsin. There is a public garden there of some renown, the Olbrich Botanical Gardens. The history of this park is interesting. Michael Olbrich was a lawyer who, in the early 1900s, bought up land along the lake on which Madison resides to keep that area from being swallowed up by residential and industrial development. Due to his efforts, this lovely park exists today. It is remarkable in that it is not just a greenway, but has specialty gardens (meadow, perennials, shade, herb, rose, rock, etc) filled with flowers that are perfectly kept. This public park is exceptionally manicured. For us, the only downside was the enduring humidity. The 68% humidity and 72 degree dew point were unbearable. Only last week, we hiked up steep inclines for miles at 90 degree + temps with no problem. The humidity made the air so thick, you could cut it with a proverbial knife.

After the park, we did a bit of a tour of Madison (nice city--pop 500,000+), and then departed for IL where we will stay for the night (in a motel! on sheets!) and have dinner (in a restaurant! and eat hot food! that someone else prepares!).

See photos of the day here.

July 15, 2008 Winnebagos and SPAM

And now for something completely different. Today we left Jackson, MN for a tour of Winnebago Industries in Forest City, IA, about 1 ½ hours away from Jackson. We traveled through some of Minnesota’s beautiful farmland once again. Right, left, left, right, down roads on which we would see one or two cars at the most, and cornfields on each side as far as the eye could see. Oh, and a few windmills as well. As we drove down CR23 in Minnesota, a straight shot from I90 into Iowa, through more cornfields to the horizon, I spotted a woman coming out of her farm house to go to her mailbox to collect her mail. It occurred to me that that’s pretty amazing. Out here in the remote country, they get their daily mail, just like in Boston, or LA. There are a lot of things in this country that go right (for the most part).

We arrived at Winnebago Industries, the maker of the Winnebago RV, in time for the 11 am tour. They herded our group into a room to show us a little promo film on their RVs and then we boarded a bus to shuttle around their large facility. It struck Ray and me that we were veritable youngsters compared to all the others taking this tour. The tour itself was pretty interesting. We had the opportunity to go into some of the facilities and see how the units are put together, and what makes these RVs unique. The picture above is of a cutout promo of the owner of Winnebago and his philosophy, prominently featured in the little museum onsite. We liked his ideas... Now, all we have to do is scrape up the $100,000+ for the unit and the $50,000+ for the gas to drive it around, and we’re all set. Worth the trip…

After a brief stop in the Forest City park for lunch, we departed for Austin, MN, home of everyone’s favorite lunchmeat---------------------SPAM. In 2002, The Hormel Company built a museum dedicated to the history of SPAM in the town where it was originated, and where it is still made (fabricated, er….concocted, er…).The museum is done partly tongue-in-cheek, partly marketing, partly historically. They tell the story of the man who started the Hormel factory, how the company grew, its involvement in the WWII effort, and its growth into a multi-national company. Did you know there are 6 varieties of SPAM? Did you know that SPAM is made of pork, ham, sugar, salt, spices, potato starch and sodium nitrite? Find out all you ever wanted to learn about SPAM, (and more that you didn’t) here. It was fun and worth the stop.

On to Oakdale, WI where we will spend the night in our (you guessed it) KOA cabin.

See photos of the day here.

July 14, 2008 Mitchell, SD & Pipestone, MN

Mitchell, SD is a town that is slightly larger than Amherst, NH. It happens to have a convention center there, called the Corn Palace. Such is the size of South Dakota that a town the size of Amherst can host conventions. But this is the case. The renown of the Corn Palace is such that they even have junk peddlers..er , I mean…souvenir shops across the street from the “Convention Center”. The unique feature of the Corn Palace (and there really is ONLY one) is that the decoration outside the “palace” (and I DO use the word VERY loosely) is (supposed to be) completely done in corn and corn pieces. Since Mitchell is right off the interstate, I asked that we detour into Mitchell to view the wonder that is the Corn Palace. I figured it would be a “drive by”. And BOY, was it ever. Check the photo above to see the glory of the Corn Palace. The only problem was that they weren’t done applying the corn to the building, so there were large plywood gaps in the designs, a feature sure to bring the crowds hustling into Mitchell. Geez, this is the height of tourist season! When were they figuring on getting the façade covered? Sometime as the snow starts to fly in SD? That could be as late as August!!!

From the ridiculous to the sublime. On to Pipestone National Monument, a lovely spot in south western Minnesota. First, a note on how we got here. Usually, we have been relying on Bambi to direct us wherever we wanted to go. I plug in the address, and she tells us how to get there. Such was the case with Pipestone. We left the Interstate as she told us to, and went down some long, funky, VERY rural roads. I must admit, I was getting a bit nervous as time was going on, and we hadn’t reached our destination. We were in podunkville for what seemed like a long time. Finally, we see a sign for the town of Pipestone. Hurray!! Bambi’s right again! Or… maybe not. We went down some streets in this town that the natives probably don’t use, to find ourselves looking at the back of what MIGHT be something Indian. By then, we turned Bambi off. She was recalculating our route WAY too many times. We finally found our way to the front of the monument.

This spot has spiritual meaning to all the Native American tribes. The stone quarried here is used by all American Indian tribes to make pipes. It was understood by all tribes that this spot was sacred, a place where all tribes would set aside differences, and work together to quarry the stone, a beautiful red stone used in their pipes (peace pipes?!). It is soft and easily worked. The quarries for this stone are set in the Minnesota prairie, an area that because of its spiritual significance was never farmed. It always was, and remains, tallgrass prairie. As you walk through this monument you feel the serenity of the place—the blowing grass in the wind, the flowers that punctuate the grassland, and the quiet.

Having read that 15 miles north of here there was a windmill belt across the cornfields, we decided to check it out. We followed the AAA directions, and saw nothing. Ray suggested that we go to the top of the hill to our right. Nothing there, so then we asked Bambi to route us to our destination for the night, Jackson, MN. Bambi suggested a route other than retracing our route to the interstate. It turned out to be a gem of a suggestion. This route took us through cornfields as far as the eye could see, with windmills dotting the horizon all along the way. We saw a car only once in a great while, sometimes a tractor, and once, a horse drawn wagon. Mostly the roads we took were empty. A highlight was a farmer walking through his corn field. Whenever you see a clump of trees in amongst the expansive fields, you can identify a house or group of farm buildings. We went through towns called Jasper, Lake Wilson, and Wilmont, most of whose populations were less than 300. The unbelievable part of this is that this 2 hour ride was through a tiny portion of the beautiful state that is Minnesota. Open skies and rolling farm fields, we’ll be back.

We ended our day at the Jackson, MN KOA where Bambi screwed up again (told us to go right instead of left as the KOA sign on the highway instructed). Oh well, we all make mistakes…

See photos of the day here.

July 13, 2008 Badlands Day 2

Today we planned to explore the Badlands a bit more. But let me tell you about our first night in the tent on this trip. Last night we met some very nice people who were tenting in the spot next to ours. They were from Central Pennsylvania (near Penn State), and were at the end of a two month tour of the country. They had been up in Alaska, and were wending their way home, expecting to be back by the beginning of next week. Before we all turned in for the night, the mister warned us that the Mrs. was a world class snorer. He was right. Just as we were settling in, we heard a growling noise. A bear? Some other animal? No, it was the Mrs. Just one of those campground annoyances. Then there was the cold. It only got down to 50 degrees or so, but it sure felt colder. We wore our sweat clothes and each used an extra blanket with our sleeping bags. It would have been OK (just OK--not great, I might add), if the Mrs. hadn't snored all night, and if Ray's air mattress had stayed inflated. This morning dawned bright and sunny, and we had pitched the tent to get the morning sun, so the tent warmed up nicely.

So off to the Badlands Park to take the Medicine loop trail. About 4 miles long, it traveled through prairie around the badland rock formations. The prairie itself was studded with wildflowers, and was the kind of place that inspires such a sense of peace in its quiet atmosphere. A lovely walk, made even more pleasant by the dry cool breeze we enjoyed for most of the trail. At times the prairie filled the horizon, and it was hard to imagine that this was so close to the "forbidding " badland rock formations.

We then enjoyed a lunch (you know what it was, Alex, right?) by the side of the road under the shade of a tree.

Further exploration took us to a short 1/4 mile trail. 1/4 mile? No problemo...Except for the fact that the 1/4 mile goes straight up the side of the rocks. Now, even that's not too bad--except that the rocks crumble when you try to grab onto them for support. The rock here is very soft, a fact that has created the landscape by erosion. When you look closely at the composition of the hills, you can see cracks and lines. When you drop a rock from waist high, it may break into several pieces. So as we tried to ascend this steep hill, the trail seemed to slip out from under our feet. When we tried to hold onto something for support, it broke off. Going up was bad enough. Coming down was worse. I spent a fair amount of my trip down on my butt. When that little jaunt was over, I had had enough for the day.

So we decided to take the road through the park--very scenic, and head toward Wall, home of Wall Drug. The road there offered expansive views of the plains around the park. We passed fields with hay rolls to the horizon, and at one point, we were flagged down by a man in a pickup who asked us to pull over for the "windrower" that was coming up the hill on the other side. I'm sure he knew we weren't locals when Ray asked, "What's a windrower?" It's one of those gigantic haying machines.

On to Wall, as Ray says "Chock full of schlock". This place has every imaginable trinket, gee-gaw, worthless piece of junk you can possibly imagine, served up in the name of the almighty dollar to pull in anxious tourists. What a nuthouse, in such stark contrast to the country around it. But we did see a wonderful exhibit there of historic photographs of cowboys and indians ( yeah--I know, very un-pc word). The stories of the photographers were wonderful to read.

By then, it was getting late. Back to the campground for a beer or two, and dinner. And one more night in the tent. At least tonight the Mrs. is on her way home, and we have no neighbors.

See photos of the day here.

July 12, 2008 Badlands in a tent

Drove from Devils Tower to Rapid City to buy groceries. Thank God for the GPS (we call the female guiding voice "Bambi") in guiding us wherever we need to go! She always gets us to whatever service we need.

Anyway, after our Walmart stop, off to the Badlands. We will camp here for 2 nights. And when I say camp, I mean tent camp. Arrived early afternoon, and set up the tent. Hurray!! Ray and I did not kill each other in the process!! (Well, we ALMOST did, but succeeded with no bloodshed!!) In truth, a few harsh words were spoken, but we're still on speaking terms...(Just kidding!)

Badlands was just a few miles up the road, so once we were settled in, we went back up to the Visitor Center. There we watched a short movie that showcased people from around the area talking about reminiscences of growing up here, and the challenges of being neighbors to a National Park. Often private and public interests conflict. What the park sees as a natural enhancement to the park (the reintroduction of a species for example), sometimes the rancher sees as pests. A white-haired woman in her 70s who lived on the Pine Bluff reservation and runs a cafe there, bemusedly said that when vacationers come to her cafe, they want to see "Indians". She is a full blooded Sioux. Another man recalled that his father had homesteaded in 1916 here in South Dakota. The movie showed pictures of the rough hewn shack in which he grew up. His father was a Czech immigrant who wanted to make it in America. So they moved from Milwaukee and made their home here. He was born 6 years later, and has been here in the South Dakota plains ever since. But the idea you come away with after listening to all these voices, is that they love and embrace the wide open plains on which they live. What we see as an unimaginablie life, they see as the only life they would want to live.

To describe the Badlands for those who have never visited here, imagine the following. You've ridden for miles and miles seeing open , rolling plains to the horizon, and all of a sudden, you come upon a warren of jagged rocks, deep canyons, towering spires and flat-topped tables among the buttes--all in the middle of the plains. It really is worth the trip. We explored a few shorter trails for the rest of the afternoon, and will try a longer one tomorrow. One of he trails we started up took us ap a steep ladder to the top of a rocky area. We followed the trail along the very edge of the high rocky perch, when we came to a sign on the trail. "Dangerous area, keep to the right". Well, the "safe" area we were supposed to travel was a ledge about 2 feet wide, covered with loose gravel, with no handholds. Since we were about 100 feet up, and the passage looked VERY dicey, sanity ruled and we turned back.

Of note here, is the incredible wind. Ever since Glacier, the wind has been gusting. Even though we've slathered ourselves with spf50 sunscreen, I think we have windburn. Keeping a hat on your head is next to impossible unless you somehow tie it on. But the days have been sunny and very comfortable.

See photos of the day here.

July 11, 2008 Crazy Woman Rd. and Devils Tower

After reading an article on the bulletin board at the Buffalo KOA, we were intrigued about a drive described as “not to be missed”. Since we’re not often in this part of the country, we decided to take the drive. Before we left, though, we took the extra precaution to clarify with the campground proprietor that the road, while dirt, was navigable by a sedan. “No problem!” she said. “RVs can do it.” Encouraged, off we went.

Well, I must say, that I have never seen an RV that can take the rocks, ruts and bounces we took down the Crazy Woman Canyon Road. I have new respect for the Impala after this drive—15 miles of rocky, rutted dirt that runs into a canyon that is spectacular with steep rock walls on both sides of the one way road. For most of the road, only one car can pass. If another car comes along the other way, one of you has to back up (over rocks and ruts, mind you) to the nearest turnout. And there weren’t many turnouts.

To be fair, only the first 8-9 miles or so are rough going. (Our top speed through that stretch was maybe 5 mph tops.) The rest is reasonably navigable. As a matter of fact, the last part of the route takes you through high plains, with views to the horizon. We saw a mother and baby antelope grazing not too far in the distance. But one major issue I haven’t mentioned is the wind. We had read that although the day would be sunny, we should expect winds gusting 35 to perhaps 50 mph. And boy, did the forecast deliver. It was even hard to stand up in some places out in the open.

After this adventure, it was again time to stock up on groceries. We stopped in Gillette, WY and discovered a boom in building there. The road construction had traffic tied up, and the wind (it was still gusting) was blowing dust in clouds. We hastily made our purchases at Walmart, and left for Devils Tower, about 2 hours northeast of Gillette.

Driving Wyoming roads is amazing. Like many places in the Midwest, the Wyoming plains are rolling hills with no trees or bushes at all. You can, as I’ve noted before, see to the horizon all around you. We were wondering how the kids out in the middle of nowhere get schooled?

Arrived at Devils Tower by 2 pm. Settled into our KOA cabin which directly faces the tower. (One cute sidebar: The campgound shows the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind every night.) Then we drove the ½ mile up the road to the National Monument. We learned there that Devils Tower was not created by rock upthrust through the earth’s surface. It was created under ground. The ground essentially eroded around it. That's about a mile of erosion. One other little tidbit: when Congress wrote legislation making it the first National Monument, it incorrectly spelled Devils without an apostrophe. That’s why it is spelled “Devils”, and not “Devil’s”.

We took the little 1.3 mile trail around the monument, the decided to do a bit more exploring, and took the Red Beds trail (3 miles). The Red Beds trail was lovely, taking us along the edge of a hill with fabulous valley views, through iron-stained bluffs and into a broad prairie.

By this time, it was getting late, and we returned to the campground for dinner. Tomorrow we head for the Badlands.

See photos of the day here.

July 10, 2008 Pompeys Pillar & Little Bighorn

Today our destinations were Pompeys Pillar and The Little Bighorn National Battlefield. (See our complete route here.) Out of the mountains we traveled into the plains, and picked up the interstate in Billings. More wide-open country you will never find--it is, after all, called Big Sky country. I can't think of any place in NH that has a continuous 360 degree view of the horizon--rolling hills cover in sweet clover, as far as the eye could see, a yellow blanket.

After stopping in Billings to buy more groceries, we continued on to Pompeys Pillar. The pillar is a large stone formation near the Yellowtone River. After having reached the Pacific, Lewis and Clark started their return home, but their aim was not just to return home as quickly as possible. They wanted to explore as much of this new part of the US as possible, and decided to split up the Corps of Discovery to cover more ground. Clark was to take the Yellowstone River and meet Lewis at the meeting of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers further east. On this return trip, Clark saw the outcropping that is now called Pompeys Pillar, climbed it, and left the only tangible evidence of the great expedition--he scribed his name and the date in the rock of the Pillar. See our photo above. In his journal, he wrote: "…arrived at a remarkable rock situated in an extensive bottom… this rock I ascended and from it's top had a most extensive view in every direction. This rock which I shall call Pompy's Tower is 200 feet high and 400 paces in secumpherance and only axcessable on one Side … The nativs have ingraved on the face of this rock the figures of animals & near which I marked my name and the day of the month & year." (Underlining added)

Both Ray and I were inspired to actually be at the spot where this history was made. Lewis and Clark changed the face of this country by charting what was then the territory purchased from France that gave the US a western boundary on the Pacific Ocean. This one expedition essentially helped make America what it has become. And we were privileged to be at the only place where there was tangible evidence of their passing. Awesome. (BTW, the pillar is named for Sacagawea's baby son, who accompanied her on the expedition. Pomp was William Clark's pet name for the boy.)

On to another historically significant spot, only 1 1/2 hours away form the Pillar. The Little Bighorn Nation Battlefield is the place where, in 1876, 263 soldiers and attached personnel of the U.S. Army, including Lt. Col. George A. Custer, met death at the hands of several thousand Lakota and Cheyenne warriors. The site is very well presented, with a clear explanation of how the battle occurred. We were privileged to arrive in time to hear a wonderful presentation by park ranger Gerald Jasper, on exactly what led up to the battle and the historic significance of the battle. His passion for the subject and vivid description was riveting. Again, being in the actual location of the event added great meaning to what he described. Coming here was a real treat.

By now, it was 4:30, and we had not yet decided where we would stay for the evening. Lo and behold, there was no cell signal in the area we were traveling (Verizon COULDN'T hear us now...) Eventually, we hit a signal, called a KOA, and I now write to you from the KOA cabin in Buffalo, Wyoming.

Not sure yet what tomorrow may bring...Sending love...

See pictures of the day here.

July 9, 2008 Yellowstone and Beartooth Highway

Off to Yellowstone National Park, and ultimately Red Lodge, MT today. See our route here. The road to Yellowstone for Bozeman, MT was predictably beautiful. Hills were covered with what looked like green fuzz, but what was actually pine trees. It became evident the closer we got to Yellowstone that the area was recovering from fires. In 1988 there were widespread wildfires that persisited for almost the entire summer. The result was a burn of almost 800,000 acres, what was about 36% of the total acreage of the park. But as I said, it was evident that the area was in recovery. In between the charred stumps and standing remains of burned trees, were smaller pines. And everywhere green growth and wildflowers.

Shortly after our entrance to the park, we saw a golden eagle nest.

On to Mammoth Hot Springs, an area of huge limestone deposits from underground hot springs that bubble up to the surface. The deposits look like giant mounds of vanilla ice cream. Back in the 90s, we came here with Alex, and the springs were flowing all around, and the smell of sulphur was strong. Now, mammoth Hot Springs are dry. Apparently, the springs can flow to different areas, or be diverted because of meineral build up. At any rate, Mammoth Hot Springs has very few remaining springs. The limestone deposits are what are left. We did a small circuit tour of Mammoth Hot Springs for an hour or so and moved on. Before we were done, though, we encountered a man who was walking the Mammoth Hot Spring boardwalk who, if nothing else, can be inspiration for all of us. This guy was walking with 2 crutches, and had obviously non-functioning legs in braces. He hiked up all the stairs to the top by himself and with great effort.

Our feelings about Yellowstone are mixed. What should be a wild and pristine place is wall to wall people. And this is understandable because there are so many things unique to this park—geysers, mud pots, thermal pools, wildlife… But unless you get out of the popular areas, and into the lesser used areas of the park, it feels more like a museum than a park.

From Mammoth Hot Springs, we drove northeast and decided to drive the 6 mile gravel road up on the Blacktail Plateau, an area known for wolf sightings. We weren’t expecting the gorgeous meadows we found there—red, pink, purple, yellow and white flowers, with the white cap peaks as a backdrop. A little bit of heaven. We continued on the road to exit the park when we came upon a small obstacle: a bison was strolling down the middle of the road. We came to a stop, but he didn’t, and kept on coming, heading directly for the car. At the last moment, he turned to his left, and stepped to the passenger side of the car. If my window had been open, I could have smelled his breath, he was that close. The picture that I snapped was of a giant bison head.

On to Red Lodge via the Beartooth Highway, what Charles Kuralt called the most beautiful drive in America. While I’m not so sure I agree, it is most certainly one of the finest roads we have driven. While I think I prefer the drama of the Going to the Sun Road at Glacier, with the peaks on all sides, the Beartooth provides unbelievable panoramas of the mountains at every twist and turn (and there are MANY). The 53.7-mile, 3 hour drive offers skytop views of snowcapped peaks, glaciers, alpine lakes and plateaus. The Beartooths are one of the highest elevation and most rugged areas in the lower 48 states, with 20 peaks over 12,000 feet in elevation. One of the earliest organized trips across the Beartooth Plateau was led in August 1882 by Lt. General Philip Sheridan of Civil War fame. The Beartooth Highway roughly follows the path of that expedition.

At the end of the Beartooth Highway sits Red Lodge, our destination for the night. We met a couple staying at the cabin next door. They are middle school math teachers who are originally from Tennessee and moved to Billings, MT 14 years ago. The husband was a computer programmer in TN and wanted a change when they moved here, and so became a teacher. The wife was always a teacher. They love MT and the availability of all the things they have here: hunting, fishing, camping, hiking.

That’s all for now. Tomorrow takes us to Pompeys Pillar, Little Big Horn, and maybe Devils Tower. Til tomorrow…

See photos of the day here.

July 8, 2008--Helena, MT

On the advice of the father of a family we met at the West Glacier KOA, we decided to go to Helena, MT today. As incredible as it seemed to us, this family from Lethbridge, Alberta had never visited the St. Mary (eastern side) of Glacier National Park. Only a one hour and 42 minute drive to some of the most beautiful country, and he'd never visited, even though he'd lived in Lethbridge for the past five years (they'd moved from British Columbia). Amazing. We talked about the trails he might investigate there with his two young sons and wife, and he discussed some of the places he had visited. Helena had made an impression on him.

So off we went through more of the same gorgeous valleys and mountains. Arrived in Helena around 1:00 and found the Helena Cathedral first. The tour guide approached us and asked us if we'd like a tour, so we agreed. Building started in 1908, as our he told us, and ended in 1912. He gave us all the history of the cathedral. The church itself is beautiful--everything looks so well cared for. As a matter of fact, he told us that the church was in the process of a major renovation for which they were in the process of raising $4MM. They had replaced the floors (with tile), cleaned some of the many stained glass windows (fabulous). The stained glass in this cathedral were striking. I guess what impressed both Ray and me was that there were so many. On both walls, there were 2 levels of windows--all stained glass, in addition to the full wall of stained glass behind the altar and above the choir loft in the rear. The lighting was all gold leafed. The baptismal font was the only piece that really did not fit the cathedral. It was tiled, and looked much more modern than in any Gothic church I've ever seen. (It had an adult immersion pool as well as the infant bowl.) We lit a candle in Mary's chapel to the side of the main altar for strength, health and peace for Fr. Steve . The stained glass windows were worth the trip. And the personal guided tour was a bonus.

After this, we drove over to the state house. We were struck by the lack of security, as we casually strolled in the lower level doors. No one checked bags. We didn't see anyone, as we gave ourselves our own tour. I guess we've gotten used to security 2008 that we expected more attention to our presence. While not overly impressive (the Utah capitol, and for that matter,, the Massachusetts capitol are great), it was OK. One somewhat interesting side note is that on the second floor, there is a statue of Mike Mansfield, former senator from MT. His statue is joined with that of his wife. The only way he would permit a statue of himself in the capitol was to demand that his wife be portrayed next to him. What a smart guy!! A highlight of the capitol was the statue out front. It was of Thomas Francis Meagher, first governor of the state of Montana. The plaque on the statue tells his story: he formed the Irish Brigade for the Army of the Potomac, commanded in the battles of Fair Oaks, Mechanicsville, Gaines Mill, White Oaks Swamp, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and was acting governor from 1865 til his death. After surviving all that, he drowned in the Missouri River at Fort Benton on July 1, 1867. Imagine surviving all those battles, only to drown in the river.

We had been told that Helena had a great "Mansion district"--opulent homes built as a result of the gold rush here. We set off to check it out, only to find that sections in Newton, MA, or Brookline, MA are far more "Mansion-y" than what we found. Oh well, different strokes...

From there to Bozeman, MT where we will spend the night at another KOA cabin. These are really a great way to go.

See photos of the day here.

July 7, 2008 National Bison Range

Off to the National Bison Range.
At the refuge the government keeps a herd of about 350-500 bison as a reminder of the great herds that once roamed this country. The road took us through several VERY small towns, and Polson, a bit larger. The refuge is in a very out of the way location. This results in very little visitation. That works great for me. The greatest charm of this place is the absolute quiet and peace. There are 2 small trails that lead to wonderful vistas, and one that tells of the fact that the valley below the refuge was once a vast lake thousands of years ago. The highest lake level was only 550 feet below the place where Ray is standing in the photo. With no traffic noise, no planes overhead, and no other people around, the solitude was astounding. All you could hear was the wind, the grass rustling, and the insects buzzing. And we were surrounded by hillsides of flowers and grass with the mountains in the distance. This place is a treasure.

All that and the bison... The bison take no heed of cars as they drive through the refuge, and sometimes they park themselves in the middle of the road. They really are impressive animals.

We are staying at another cabin in a KOA in Missoula tonight. We did a bit of housekeeping (laundry), and caught a little bit of TV. I can't say I've missed it at all, and won't miss it for another 2 weeks.

Off to Helena, then Bozeman tomorrow.
See today's photos here.

July 6, 2008 Avalanche Lake--Glacier day 4

Today we set off for the west side of Glacier via the Going to the Sun Road. The closer we approached Logan Pass (the high point on the road), the cloudier it got. Many of the peaks were shrouded in clouds. In numerous spots, waterfalls cascaded over the road, and in some of those places, the road was eroded. It was for that reason (and many others) that the Park Service is in the process of road repair. Since the road is so narrow, they have lane closures that result in single lane traffic and traffic stoppages. It was directly after the flow of traffic on the westbound side started moving, that we spotted a mountain goat on the road--not just on the road, but right next to the car. Ray snapped the picture you see here.

For anyone who has never driven the GTTS Road, it is a 2 lane road that is barely wide enough in some spots to fit two cars side by side. Take into account that some drivers, spooked by the fact that they are driving VERY close to the edge of the mountain, drive over the center double line, and it makes for an interesting experience. So while you're dodging the rocks that jut out into the roadway (I mean, you can actually reach out and touch the rocks on the passenger side as you drive by), you need to be aware of the louts that can't stay on their own side of the road. Dad, you'd love this!

Over on the west side, we stopped at the area called Avalanche Lake. The 2.9 mile trail (one way) follows the Avalanche Creek gorge, winding upwards through the forest until it reaches the foot of Avalanche Lake. The lake is rimmed with steep cliffs on three sides with numerous waterfalls cascading downward from the hanging cirque valley formed by Sperry Glacier. Once on the trail, it felt very much like NH--deep forest. The lake at the end was quite spectacular, though, that typical Glacier aqua water.

After our hike, we stopped at the Lake McDonald Lodge, a designated historic site. This was one of the first lodges for the rich travelers who came by railroad to visit Glacier.

We ended the day at our KOA cabin in West Glacier. Since we had no dinner food left from our shopping foray at Great Falls, we had a dinner at the KOA. They offer a barbecue dinner (steak, corn on the cob , baked potato) for less than most restaurants and equal or better quality, and you can chat with the guy cooking your steak. Good deal.

Man we're pooped.
Til tomorrow...

See photos of the day here.

July 5, 2008 Two Medicine-- Glacier day 3

The day started and ended WINDY. So we figured we'd start by trying out a shorter trail at the Two Medicine area in the southeast part of the park, since we had never visited that part before. The Aster Park trail seemed to be an easier choice at a total of 3.8 miles roundtrip and rising 670 feet in that distance. what we didn't know was that the 670 feet was all in the last 1/2 mile or less. Even so, the trail took us through some lovely meadows filled with wildflowers, and the payoff after the steep ascent was an almost 360 degree view of the mountains. Breathtaking. On the way back, we were startled by the sight of a muledeer on the trail. It was obvious that he was quite used to seeing hikers, because he didn't bolt at our approach. He just kept on munching vegetation. Better there than in my back yard.

Since it was only about 1:30 by the time we had finished that hike, we decided to try another short hike--1.2 miles round trip to Appistoki Falls, a short part of a longer hike of 6.2 miles called Scenic Point. We had considered doing the Scenic Trail earlier, but we had been told to expect winds of 30+mph, and maybe some snow on the trail. The Scenic Trail rises 2350 feet. So, we started out for the Falls. A short jaunt later we were at the falls, and a gate blocked the trail. I, in my infinite wisdom, said, "No, the trail continues around to the top of the falls, and you have to go around the gate." So, we went...up to the Scenic Trail, via a cutoff that had evidence of slides. Probably not the safest route, but...

The view from the Scenic Trail was incredible, as we were above the tree line. Enticed, we continued on--just for a little bit, or so we thought at the time. Windy---HELL Yeah. But the views... So we continued on...Switchback after switchback, we went up and up and up, with the views becoming even more spectacular. But man, after a few hours, your calves start to tell you "no mas". But, we continued on, til we arrived at a point on the trail where the switchback had come to an edge looking directly out on the lake and the mountains beyond. But the trail along the edge looked VERY narrow, and the wind was gusting to at least 35-40 mph here. All of a sudden, Ray's vertigo kicked in. We had to have been up at least 2200 feet above the valley floor. We both decided that we had seen the views we came for, and turned back. 3 1/2 hours after we had started our little jaunt to the falls, we were back at the parking lot.

Back at Two Medicine Lake, we witnessed the EMTs bring a woman who had fallen back from somewhere along the lake trails . We weren't sure of her injuries, but they brought her back by boat.

The ride back to St. Mary was rich with views of the mountains and valleys as well. The word of the day is WOW.

We've decided to stay at Glacier for one more night on the other side of the park in West Glacier. Our experience at this KOA cabin has convinced us to try another over there.

Til tomorrow...
See photos of the day here.

July 4, 2008 Iceberg Lake trail, Glacier day 2

Slept in til 7:30 this morning. Although the day started out cloudy, it promised to be warm and gradually cleared. We set off for the Many Glacier area of the park, and hiked the Iceberg Lake trail, a 9.8 mile round trip. The trail ascends to a ridge that runs the majority of the trail, and from which you get a panorama view of the mountains and the valley. Along the length of the trail are carpets of wildflowers, red, orange, blue, white, pink. And as you pass through certain areas, the air is filled with the sweet scent of those flowers. Honestly, it’s like a party for your senses: the birds are singing, and the waterfalls echo through the valley, the flowers are often electric in color, the mountains seem as if you could reach out and touch them, and you can smell the dampness in the earth and the sweetness of the flowers around you.

When we went cross-country with Alex in 2000, we hiked this trail. But this time, there was a lot more snow, and snow melt. In many places along the trail, we had to tiptoe over rocks in streams, dodge waterfall spray, or walk over snow pack. In fact, the last ¾ mile of the 4.9 miles in to Iceberg Lake were completely snow covered. Nothing builds up your legs and ankles like walking uphill on slippery snow. For that matter, going downhill is harder. While Iceberg Lake was mostly thawed in 2000, it was completely frozen this year.

On the trail, we met a photographer carrying a huge film camera and tripod (the camera was probably 15” square) and the tripod was gigantic. He had carried the camera and tripod all the way up to Iceberg. When we asked if he was a commercial photographer, he said “No”. He was just photographing for his own personal pleasure. Yikes—now that’s dedication. We also stopped to speak with a young couple carrying a baby in a backpack. Man, we had trouble staying upright on the snow just by ourselves. And I wouldn’t want to be carrying a baby as I edged along a drop off while stepping through a stream. Also on the trail, one group of hikers pointed out bears high up on the mountain, and others noted mountain goats. But both sightings were well up in the higher elevations.

At the lake, we rested a bit and ate some of the snacks we had packed. As we ate, we heard a thunderous crack, and turned to the place from which the sound had come. A small rock slide started at the top, and we watched as it made its way down the cirque walls. Amazing that such a small rock slide could sound that loud. We wondered what the big ones sound like…

As we made our way back from the Lake, the skies began to darken. We had been told by a ranger that thunderstorms were moving this way. With about 2 miles left to go, it started to rain—not torrential, just big fat drops in a light rain. Since it wasn’t cold (temps were in 70s) it wasn’t any big deal. All in all, it was a great time.

Since we had no more “dinner food” back at the cabin, we treated ourselves to dinner at a local restaurant. This restaurant has been in St. Mary for over 50 years, and has that feel as well. They had home style food, well made, and in generous proportions. And the restaurant had killer views to boot. We went back to the cabin to clean up and crash, when we heard the sounds of fireworks. We opened the door, stepped out, and looked up to see fireworks erupting in the sky over the campground. A fitting end to the day. Happy Independence Day!

See photos of the day here.

July 3, 2008 Glacier National Park-day 1

After a wonderful night's sleep in the cabin, we woke to a glorious morning--bright blue skies and as can be expected in these altitudes, a bit on the cool side-- in the 50s. It was promising to be a warm day.

Our first foray into Glacier National Park was a hike to Virginia Falls and back that took us along the edge of St. Mary Lake. It was a 6 mile hike that was fairly easy, but had fabulous payoffs for the sights along the way. Views of the mountains, the green-blue lake, and hillsides covered with wildflowers were everywhere. Ray and I each took a camera, and between us, we took about 120 pictures. One result of Ray taking a camera is that now you'll have proof that I actually came on this trip (there are photos of me). Along the trail, we came upon several waterfalls and streams that were swollen with the melt from this winter's massive snowfall.

After the hike, we drove up to Logan Pass, the midpoint of the Going to the Sun Road. The park had just opened the road for the first time yesterday. On June 11th, Glacier had a snowstorm that caused 25 avalanche paths that buried the road that had already been cleared. See a photo here of what the road looked like as late as June 23. As a matter of fact, there were jersey barriers up on parts of the road where the edge and wall had been destroyed. At the visitor's center at Logan Pass, the snow was still 8 feet high in places.

In the evening, we attended a talk given by one of the rangers on how the railroads opened up Glacier, and the automobile developed it. Pretty interesting.

See photos for today here. Til tomorrow...

July 2, 2008 Great Falls

The day dawned misty, rainy and cool... But we were warm and dry in our cabin. OH YEAH! The campground turned out to be nicer than many motels we've stayed at. Luxurious bathrooms, an outdoor kitchen, and they even bring the morning paper around to you.

After a fine night's sleep, we packed off to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls. Interesting enough, but we were both well-versed in the Lewis and Clark expedition, amazing as that was. After a few hours at the Center, we decided to go over to the Great Falls, the place where Lewis and Clark were forced to take their boats out of the water and carry them for 18 miles. The trip getting to the falls was about as interesting as the falls themselves. There's no easy way to get there, other than by the 7 miles or so of roads around and outside of the city of Great Falls. It's pretty obvious, by the shape of the road, that not too many people actually take the time to go to the falls. In the early 1900s, they built a dam directly behind the falls. We spent a little time there taking photos and then turned northwest to Glacier National Park.

That road was typically Montana--unbelievably beautiful, with 360 degree views to the horizon at the top of each rise in the road. By 5:30, we were at the edge of Glacier's snow-capped peaks. The road on which we approached Glacier was marked by the remains of the 2006 fire.
All along the road into the valleys were charred trees. I don't think I've ever seen a burn that large.

We settled into our cabin for the evening. Tomorrow and the next 3 days we will go exploring in Glacier. See today's pictures here.

July 1, 2008 Car trouble

What promised to be another “routine” long-distance ride (about 650 miles) from Jamestown, ND to Great Falls, MT, turned out to be anything but. About an hour after our start at 8:09 (odometer reading 100370), Ray noticed that the temperature gauge wasn’t working—no reading at all. Then, he tried the air conditioning---UH OH… no air. The fan worked, and everything else worked (including the electronic message center that tells you when stuff goes wrong—like low tire air pressure, open doors, high engine temp, etc). What to do? I checked the car manual. No help. So here’s the scenario: do we just tough out an upcoming ride of 590 miles in 90s heat without air conditioning, and hope that the message center would accurately tell us if the engine was overheating? Or should we stop and get the problem diagnosed and fixed? Remember that we still had about 9 hours more to drive and it was 10:00 am.

Being the reasonably sane folks that we are, and I, being a very sweat prone person, immediately opted to get the damned car fixed. I checked online for potential assistance. Nothing. So we decided to call the nearest Chevy dealer to see if we could drive in and get help. I checked online for a local dealer and called them. The first dealer in Bismarck, ND said that they could take us “maybe later this morning”. Forget it. We need assistance NOW. Drove a bit further and called a dealer in Dickinson, ND. YAAAAAY. “Come on in.” So we plugged the address into the GPS (soooooo helpful) and off we went to the dealer, Sax Chevrolet in Dickinson. Al Meier, the service manager there, took the car in immediately. After a 2.5-3 hour wait, we discovered that the computer controller for the car was on the fritz and had to be replaced for the tidy sum of $658.00. Yeah, but at least we now had air conditioning……

So, onward, starting at about 2:00 pm…to Glendive, MT, the beginning of an amazing road that’s pretty much of a straight shot to Great Falls, a road that’s about 343 miles long. For about 220 of those miles the scenery is essentially wide open spaces, (and I do mean WIDE OPEN) with ranches that spread themselves over the miles. The only way I can give you some equivalent is this: Imagine driving from our house in NH to Alex’s place in NY and all you can see for 80% of the ride is open land as far as you can see to the horizon, all rolling hills, and buttes. This ride would be punctuated over the first 220 and last 100 miles with a few ranches whose houses you cannot see—just driveways with a mailbox on the road. Amazing. We couldn’t help but speculate where the kids go to school… We also wondered at the number of road kill on this road. Geez--didn't their mothers tell them to look both ways before they cross the road?

Then the landscape started to change. We saw trees, and the road became curvy, ending in Lewiston, MT, for this part of the country, a good sized town. By then, it started to rain—not a good thing because we are camping tonight. And it was 7:00 already and we still had 1 ½ hours to drive.

By the time we had arrived at the KOA campground at which we had reserved a tent space, it was 8:30. It was apparent that the skies had opened up here and drenched the campground. Large, deep, puddles were everywhere. We were assigned a space, and told that if it was too wet at the space to come back. It was, and we did. When I went back to the office, the girl at the desk said that because it had been raining, and was very wet, she might be able to upgrade us to a cabin. After a call to the manager, the deed was done. We are spending the night in the comfort of a heated, dry cabin.

We sat on the porch swing of our little cabin, protected from the rain that had started up again, drinking a beer, and celebrated our day.

See pictures of the day here.

Til tomorrow...