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.