For your convenience, I have put all the pictures here at the top:
- Couer D'Alene, ID
- Rest Stop Racing in Montana
- Broadus, MT
- South Dakota night
- Black Hills
- Mt. Rushmore
- Thomas Photographs Mt. Rushmore
- The end of South Dakota
- My mother's house
- The hotel in Minneapolis
- Como Park Zoo
- 4th of July
- Baseball
- In The Field
- The Road To Yellowstone
- Yellowstone
Things I learned on our big cross-country trip:
- Breakfast is the cheapest meal of the day in restaurants.
- Gas gauges are not necessarily linearly correct.
- "Responsibility" on a road trip consists of having to remember to get gas, ice and don't forget the kids in the hotel.
- Signs warning of dangerous wildlife are not kidding.
I finally finished going through the remainder of our vacation pictures and have put them up for your viewing pleasure including:
On Friday we drove from Livingston, MT to Portland, OR. Almost 800 miles in a single day and we were home before it was dark. We spent the weekend resting, recuperating and catching up. The final statistics for the trip were:
| Outbound miles: | 2130 |
| Iowa/Minnesota miles: | 491 |
| Inbound miles: | 2170 |
| Total miles: | 4791 |
I've also managed to prepare a bunch of the pictures of family that I took while in Iowa and Minnesota including:
This week I'll try to get through the rest of the pictures and get them up here next weekend.
Today we finished up the Yellowstone leg of our trip which signalled the end of the recreational part of our vacation. I write tonight from Livingston, MT and tomorrow we will begin the long journey back to Portland, OR. The journey is an easy two days or could be a single but very long day. Tomorrow we plan to leave by 6:00 with breakfast to follow two hours later after the boys are fully awake. We'll skip lunch in favor of a snack and then an early dinner. This is the methodology we have used to burn up the miles. If we arrive in Spokane relatively early in the day, we'll drive right on to Portland.
We started out today at Yellowstone Grand Canyon. There were a number of overlooks and waterfalls to see - all beautiful but terrifying to me (I have acrophobia). It took me awhile to figure out that I was driving south from Canyon Junction (where we stayed last night) since the Yellowstone River runs north away from Yellowstone Lake.
After viewing the Grand Canyon, we headed north for Tower Falls and Mammoth Hot Springs. We drove by the former since Graham was sleeping and were a little disappointed in the effort-to-reward ratio at the latter. However, along the way north, we saw several forms of wild life including some very brave and friendly ground squirrels that ate crackers out of Thomas' hand as he giggled wildly. As we drove away from the ground squirrels, we spotted a coyote and watched him lope down the road oblivious to us and the rest of traffic. We also saw bison again today as well as a large herd of elk spread all over Mammoth where the highlight of my day occurred.
As we drove into Mammoth, we spotted several elk wandering around th employee compound. I instinctively turned into the next road leading to the elk only to be met with a "Service Road Only" sign. Deciding to ignore it, we drove around the back of the employee lodging to look at all the elk that walked and lounged about all over the place. After a few minutes of observing the elk around the compound, we spotted a tourist in a parking lot get out of his car, camera in hand, preparing to approach a few. There are signs all over the park indicating that one should exercise great caution with these animals but this man was clearly ignoring those instructions. Just as I slowed down to see if anything would happen, he got within 10 feet of one of the elk, who noticed him and charged. There was a chest-high bar between him and the elk but he jumped back like his life was in danger and the elk backed off. We had all our windows open but I let out the loudest guffaw you could possibly imagine. I suppose it was adding insult to psychic injury, but that guy was way over the line! Hilarious!
Total return miles: 1380
Total Yellowstone miles: 180
What a day we had yesterday! Yellowstone has to be one of the most incredible places in the world: paintpots, geysers, hot springs, pools, giant Yellowstone Lake and bison wandering across the highway at random intervals.
These are the highlights of our day:
- First stop: Buffallo Bill Dam right outside Cody, WY
- Yellowstone Lake: The kids threw rocks in the water while we watched a rainstorm raging on the other side of the lake.
- West Thumb Geyser Basin: Evidently this was on the other side of the lake because it was raining and thundering upon arrival. After it threatened to downpour we nearly packed it in but found a tree to hide under until it slowed down. After my mother took Thomas to the bathroom, Tina and I ventured down by the shores of the lake with Graham. When we reached the point of no return (probably a good quarter mile from the car) the rain came down with a vengeance. By the time we got back to the car, we were all soaked and Graham's lips were blue! Despite the rain, we really enjoyed ourselves especially The Abyss Pool. Way cool!
- Old Faithful: What trip to Yellowstone would be complete without a visit to Old Faithful? We changed clothes after we got there and found out we had just missed the last eruption. So we walked around for an hour looking at some of the other geysers (there are many) before settling in to wait for Old Faithful. The waiting seemed endless because the predicted time has a 10 minute margin of error. When it finally went off, it was kind of impressive, but we were on the downwind side which meant we saw mostly a lot of steam. And eventually a lot of cold water fell on us. I was disappointed since I thought it would have been more impressive. We had lunch in the adjacent cafeteria and then waited for the next eruption. Again the wait was long but we had a better angle this time. When it finally blew, it was singularly impressive. Imagine a 20-foot wide hold in the ground with water blowing out of it as fast as possible. Wow!
- Bison Number One: After our second viewing of Old Faithful, we were ready to pack it in and head for the hotel. Unfortunately, I got a little turned around when we took a shortcut through the Old Faithful Inn. We ended up wandering around the back of the Inn trying to right our direction and Tina discovered a bison laying near the side of the hotel, evidently enjoying the shade. We found the car shortly after that.
- More bisons and other wildlife: On the road to the hotel, we saw two more bison. One was standing in the middle of the lane on the other side of the road oblivious to all the cars driving (or trying to drive) by him. The other was sauntering down the shoulder of the road on our side of the road. These beasts are impressively large, to say the least! We also had several elk sightings on the way to the hotel. However, we came up short in our day-long bear search.
Last night we checked in to the Canyon Lodge cabins which are sort of buried in the woods near Yellowstone Grand Canyon. Thomas was dismayed to find there was no TV, but glad to watch a DVD on the Powerbook. Today we'll check out the Grand Canyon before heading north to see the Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Falls and whatever else is there before we leave the park and stay in Livingston, MT tonight.
Total return miles: 1267
Total Yellowstone miles: 117
Yesterday we drove from Gillette to Cody, WY going over the Bighorn Mountains in the process. Despite being on the Interstate for half the trip, every mile we drove yesterday was breath-taking. When I think of what the land looked like in the "Old West", I'm thinking of Wyoming. I never knew it before, but that's what it looks like. There's also a great deal of variation: mountains, plateaus, desert, waterfalls, grassland. The mountains themselves have much variation: granite, limestone and this really cool red, red rock. Driving up Interstate 90 towards Sheridan, I felt like I could see across those peaks and valleys for 20 or 30 miles.
If you lived here, that would be the only way to see your neighbors house. Our new atlas says that the total population of Wyoming is 482,000. That's for the whole state. It's probably less than half the population of the Portland Metro area. Total land area is 97,105 square feet. Oregon on the other hand has 3.3 million in roughly the same area. It makes our little state seem genuinely crowded.
On the way down the west side of the Bighorns, I found myself braking quite frequently. At one point, I pulled over because Graham needed something. When I looked out my window I saw a puff of smoke go by my window. I got out of the van and found smoke pouring out of the front wheel wells and the smell of burnt brakes in the air. We took a 20 minute break and when I drove the last three miles down the mountains I used the lower gears. I should have gotten a picture because that smoke was billowing off those brakes!
Yesterday afternoon we checked into the first of our three reserved hotels. This morning we'll venture into Yellowstone. My plan is to stop at the visitor center to determine our route for the day. We'll want to end up at Canyon Junction where our second reserved hotel is so I think we'll probably loop past Yellowstone Lake and check out Old Faithful. Yellowstone is huge so I don't want to try to do too much in one day. Tomorrow will be our last day at the park and the goal is to cover the north side before driving our final reserved hotel in Livingston, MT. At that point, we'll be two days from home.
Total return miles: 1102
We could have gone to the the Devil's Tower yesterday but an incredible rainstorm prevented us from doing so. Tina was driving and could barely see the road. She inadvertently made the wrong turn and we were headed down Interstate 90 in the wrong direction with no exits for 23 miles. The downpour got so bad that she pulled over and waited for it to lighten up a bit. After 15 minutes it didn't seem any lighter but it had started to hail, so we slowly made our way to Gillette, WY. It cleared up by the time we got to Gillette and we settled into the National 9 Inn after a little hotel comparison shopping. We all turned in early last night and today we will be driving to Cody, WY outside Yellowstone National Park.
Total return miles: 850
We all slept like rocks in the Dakota Inn last night and I woke an hour before my alarm. We headed into the Badlands at 8:00. I took a few wrong turns on the way to Wounded Knee but nothing big. Thomas asked me who was "in" the grave for the big memorial stone at the cemetary there and I told him "alot of people." "How many?" "There are 43 names written on the stone." When he asked me to read them to him, I could only read two before I choked up.
After lunch in Pine Ridge, we drove back up through the Black Hills, but this time on the western side. We've been off the interstate all day and I feel like I've seen a bigger slice of Americana than we have previously. What's more, since the speed limit is 65 on most state roads in South Dakota, we still have most of the advantage of being on the interstate.
As I write this we are in Wyoming and approaching the Devil's Tower within the next couple of hours. We'll probably stop early tonight, see the Tower tonight and rise early. We have a hotel reservation in Cody tomorrow so we have to be there tomorrow. If we get there early enough, perhaps we can venture into the park before settling in the for the night. We'll see.
Recent listening: South Dakota radio (classical, metal and country)
We made it to Belvidere but it turned out that it's pretty much a ghost-town now. Lots and lots of run-down and empty buildings. According to the atlas, the population is 63. There was a seedy looking motel, but nowhere to eat. We decided to motor on to Kadoka where we are now staying at the Dakota Inn. Tina has taken a bit sick this evening but she is still determined to complete the sojourn to Wounded Knee. We'll come back up to Interstate 90 through the Badlands, drive back up through Rapid City and head into Wyoming for our meeting with Destiny in Yellowstone.
Total return miles: 520
Recent listening: Faith and Courage/Sinead O'Connor
Last night was our final night in Riceville. We had planned to rise early and leave by 6:00 this morning but we ended up staying up till 3:00 with my nephews playing UNO. We managed to get on the road by 9:00, though and have made good time. We just passed through Mitchell, SD where we filled up with gas and attempted unsuccessfully to refill the pacifier supply. We are aiming to get as close to Wounded Knee as we can tonight with the probable target being Belvidere, SD.
Recent listening: Reveal/R.E.M.
In the last few days I've developed a bit of a summer cold including a sore throat and runny nose. Today, I'm relaxing and resting in preparation for our departure tomorrow. We're still a little unclear about the driving plan, but we have hotel reservations in and around Yellowstone on the 10th, 11th and 12th. We're also hoping to stop at Wounded Knee and drive thru the Badlands if we have time since we skipped those because of the "Check Engine" light.
Recent listening: Reveal/R.E.M.
Whew! We have been having alot of fun and have been very busy with my family in the last week. We spent a couple of days with them and a few cousins in Minneapolis where we went to Valley Fair (an amusement park) and the Como Park Zoo. Overall, I think everyone had a great time even though we had some problems with our hotel (Holiday Inn in Burnsville - not recommended).
On July 4 we drove back from Minneapolis and went to a fireworks show in Clear Lake, IA. Even though it's a pretty small town, they acquitted themselves pretty well with a fine fireworks display from the middle of the lake. Afterwords, we drove home to Riceville and the next day everyone lounged about like slugs. We were completely worn out!
Today we visited my uncle and aunt's farm while they were harvesting oats for silage. The kids got to look at the cows, have rides on the tractors and even a few ATV rides. We had a nice snack out in the field and I noted for a second time that rural Iowa looks beautiful from the middle of a field. The corn is about waste-high now and it is breath-taking as it blows in the wind. Miles and miles of corn. Incredible.
We've already begun telling people goodbye as my sister Maridee and her family headed back to California today in their Winnebago. Tomorrow we'll have a whole host of well-wishers bidding us farewell as we'll be leaving Sunday morning. My sister Mardean leaves for Atlanta that evening. Luckily for my mother, the impact of everyone's departure will be somewhat lessened since she will be returning with us to Oregon in the van.
The "Check Engine" light drama turned out to be much ado about nothing. I had a local mechanic scan the van and we just need to replace the EGR valve. All reliable sources indicate we can get it done after we get home. Also van-related is the fact that the odometer turned over one hundred thousand miles on the way back from Minnesota. Everyone was asleep so I had to celebrate the occasion by myself.
I'm finding some free time to go through all the pictures Thomas and I took on the digital cameras. Here's a few:
- Rest Stop Racing in Montana
- Broadus, MT
- South Dakota night
- Mt. Rushmore
- Thomas Photographs Mt. Rushmore
- The end of South Dakota
Yesterday morning we slept in and didn't leave Sioux Falls until 11:30. Our hotel room didn't have hot water so we had to shower and bathe in a separate room in the morning. However, Sioux Falls is supported by both Qwest.net and Sprint PCS so we were happy to have both Internet and cell phone service while we were there.
The destination for today was my Aunt Zelda's farm in Archer, IA. We got there by 14:00 and got out of the van just as she pulled in the drive. The boys spent the afternoon riding her horse, Friday, and then later we took them for a ride on her four wheeler ATV. We had originally intended to stay the night and then drive home to Riceville, IA the next morning but I started to feel the pull of home so we hit the road after a delicious Swiss steak dinner. Driving state highways 18 and 9, we didn't make time as well as we had on the Interstate, but we made the 200 mile trek in less than 4 hours and pulled into my Mother's house at 23:30. In the next few days, my siblings will be arriving from various destinations and then we'll all embark to Minneapolis, MN, for a fun-filled three days.
Total miles: 2130
Recent listening: KUNI (Iowa public radio)
Yesterday was a day like no other. I woke up very early in the morning with the stomach flu and spent the next hour reading the tour book in the bathroom. Fortunately, this left me very prepared for the day's events. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to do everything we wanted.
After everyone else woke up, we had breakfast and headed south from Spearfish to Rapid City. On the way I surprised Tina with a stop at Bear Butte, a landmark considered sacred by many Native American cultures and the birthplace of many Native American religions. Tina knew nothing about it in advance and was absolutely surprised and delighted. Credit the hour of research I had done that morning. The boys were glad to run around and look at the buffalo that wandered across the road in front of the car.
Despite the alleged healing powers of Bear Butte, my condition worsened during the remainder of the drive to our hotel in Rapid City. When I got out of the van upon arrival, my body felt like I had been awake for four days. We checked in, unloaded the van and let the kids run around while I attempted to recover. After it became obvious that I was unfit for travel, Tina took the kids to Storybook Island while I had a restless, fever-addled nap. I awoke two hours later feeling a little better and Tina and boys returned 10 minutes later.
Since I did not wish to miss the climax of our trip, I rode shotgun as Tina drove us to Mt. Rushmore. After Rushmore, I felt a bit better and drove to Crazy Horse Mountain. We had dinner nearby and then got lost driving around Custer State Park. Once we got on the main highway back to Rapid City we were unpleasantly surprised when the "Check Engine" light came on in the van. I pulled over, turned off the van and dutifully checked under the hood. Seeing nothing missing or disconnected I restarted the van and the light was not on. Still, I started to feel like our luck had taken a turn for the bad.
This morning we all slept in a bit and pushed the envelope a bit on our 10:00 checkout time. The plan for today had been to drive through the Badlands and on to Wounded Knee before returning to the highway and getting through as much of South Dakota for which we had time. Unfortunately, the prospect of driving through the Badlands with a questionable mechanical situation with the van did not appeal to us, so we decided to skip the Badlands and Wounded Knee until the trip home. We did stop at Wall Drug for a little while at noon but mostly we just drove all the way across South Dakota until we got to Sioux Falls, where I am writing this now.
The "Check Engine" light came on again about a hundred miles away from Mitchell, SD. This morning I had consulted the Owner's Manual for advice and found that although it did not require immediate attention, it should be serviced soon. It warned that "prolonged" driving could result in damage to other systems. It did not quantify "prolonged". I hoped it meant more than a thousand miles. So after a hundred miles, we stopped at a Dodge dealer in Mitchell and I asked the service guy if I could continue with the light on as long as it was not blinking. It was not. We ate dinner in Mitchell and continued on to Sioux Falls.
Because of my illness yesterday and the rigors of travel and touristing, I have not had time to process more pictures. I hope to do that this weekend so watch this space. I have lots but I'll only put up the best ones.
Total miles: 1816
Recent listening: Yellow Submarine/The Beatles; Faith and Courage/Sinead O'Connor; Once in a Red Moon/Joanne Shenandoah; hard rock and country via South Dakota radio
I was sick today. More tomorrow.
Total miles: 1435
Yesterday we made it to Bel Fourche in such great time that we decided to press on to Spearfish, SD, which is sort of the gateway to the Black Hills. On the way we were treated to a spectacular thunderstorm replete with bright, jagged lightning strikes and driving rain. By the time we checked into the Hill Top Inn it was coming down in buckets and the thunder was making me jump. Despite all the rain we get in Oregon, we never get thunderstorms. I've only seen a real lightning storm once in the ten years I've been there so I'm delighted whenever I can see a real Midwest thunderstorm.
This morning we checked out of the Hill Top Inn and moved across the street to the Something Hotel in search of a bigger room, a fridge, a pool and a lower rate. Successful on all counts, we unloaded the van into the room and made off into the Black Hills. We looped around the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway to Lead and Deadwood and then back to Spearfish. Along the way we saw:
- Bridal Veil Falls (but drove by since Graham was sleeping)
- Terry Peak (turned out to not be the vista view I was expecting)
- Black Hills Mining Museum (Graham nearly went ballistic during the "mine" tour)
- Gulches of Fun Amusement Park (the best part of the day - bumper boats, go-karts and a kid train)
- An excellent dinner at Mineral Palace (including the best $10 prime rib I've ever had)
- Trolley ride through Deadwood
- Witnessed the shooting of Wild Bill Hickock on Main Street in Deadwood
We were unprepared for the quantity of gaming venues in Deadwood. In fact, I don't think there is a single bar, restaurant or hotel there that does not at least have slot machines. Many evidently have more serious forms of gambling, but we did not investigate further. The boys were fascinated by the slot machines.
Graham continues to be problematic. Although he slept well last night, he's barely eating anything and is, consequently, quite grumpy at times. Tonight we realized that we had not changed his diaper since after breakfast and it was not very wet. Evidently, he's not getting many fluids either. What's more, every time he falls asleep in the van, we soon arrive at our destination so he gets really short naps. Let's hope for normalcy once we get to Iowa!
Tomorrow we leave Spearfish for Rapid City where I made reservations last month at the Royal Crest Hotel. At that time, I had intended to be arriving in the area so we are almost two days ahead of schedule. The expected itinerary tomorrow is:
- Storybook Island
- Dinosaur Park
- Checkin to Royal Crest
- Rushmore
- Crazy Horse
- Wall Drug
- whatever strikes our fancy
We're all having a blast so far and the kids really enjoyed today. Tomorrow should be even better for them and then it will be time to leave the Black Hills for the Badlands and then on to Iowa.
Our goal today was to make it past Billings, MT. This morning we drove through the beautiful part of Montana. It would have been idyllic but for Graham screaming his head off most of the time. He has obviously grown tired of the van, has not slept well, has been having stomache aches and is not eating very well. We stopped at 9:00 for breakfast in an old west town hoping that the change of pace would help but it did not. By the time we got to Billings at 14:00, we were desperate for him to nap. Outside of Billings we got lucky but we had to drive by Little Big Horn because we didn't dare wake him. Twenty miles down the road we hit some rough road and both boys wakened instantly.
We just left Broadus, MT, a few minutes ago after spending some time in a park and catching some dinner. We're shooting for Bel Fourche, SD and maybe beyond if Graham falls asleep.
Total miles: 1250 Travel time (including rests and stops): 11 hours
Recent listening: Car Wheels on a Gravel Road/Lucinda Williams; Faith and Courage/Sinead O'Connor; Beatles, U2, Bob Marley, Chant, etc.
| This morning we left our home in Portland at 6:00 am enroute to our summer vacation adventure. The original schedule had us in Coeur D' Alene, ID, tonight but we got there so early in the day that we just decided to drive a few more hours after we had lunch by beautiful Lake Coeur D' Alene. After lunch we stayed in the park for awhile and let the boys climb on a giant play structure and then we drove up through Lookout Pass before settling down tonight in the Bel Aire Hotel in Missoula. After dinner tonight we took a swim in the pool so the boys are very worn out. As I write this everyone appears to be sleeping like rocks. I should join them soon. |
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I thought I'd be getting to bed early tonight but just discovered that we lost an hour. Have you ever seen the Time Zone boundary that follows the Idaho border? Crazy stuff, man. Luckily, we won't see another Time Zone change until the middle of South Dakota.
Tomorrow we were slated for Billings followed by Rapid City the next day, but we're going to try to get as close to Rapid City as we can tomorrow.
Total miles: 540
Travel time (including rests and stops): 11 hours
Recent reading: Creepers by Keith Gray
Recent listening: Faith and Courage/Sinead O'Connor; Legend/Bob Marley and the Wailers; Babylon by Bus/Bob Marley and the Wailers