Easter South Dakota is what you may call a drive-by state. You know they don’t have a lot to show when the highway construction signs say; Construction Zone Ahead, Fines Double, Slow Down to 70.
It was a very nice drive all the way to Minnesota. Perhaps the most interesting stop was a place called, ‘Eat at Bill’s Place.’ Sandi remembered a cartoon on TV where there was a sign in the background that said, ‘Eat at Bill’s Place,’ so we did. Have you ever had deep-fat fried macaroni? That was one of their hallmark dishes.
Eastern South Dakota was beautiful in a empty, old, flat, green, rolling, going on to forever, blue ‘Simpsons’ sky, sort of way.
When we got into Minnesota we started seeing wind turbines, big ones, perhaps 200’ tall with slow moving 3-bladed wheels spinning at about 22-1/2 RPM. They were quiet and evidently working as we saw probably 200 along the road. I don’t know how many KW they are producing but it sure seems like it has potential.
With the popularity of the wind turbines Minnesota may have to change the logo on its license plates. At present it is ‘Land of 10,000 Lakes.’ BTW, have you ever noticed what is below the logo? If you look really close, in small letters it says, ‘Breeding grounds of the state bird.’
We found a KOA in Albert Lea (?) but they didn’t have any camping cabins left. We kind of wanted one there too because they were expecting bad weather later on that evening. When we made the reservations they told us in a disparaging way to be prepared for some raucous blues music late into the evening by a Blues Festival next door. Wow, how lucky could we get? Anyway, after the tents were set up we walked down a side road to the festival and found a hole in a fence and made ourselves to home. The lightening was flashing in the distance, the guitarists were ripping the strings off their guitars, and the drums were thundering on the stage. It was a good evening to listen to some Blues, and they were good. It went on until about 1:30 in the morning, but we were in bed by then.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Iowa Trip Friday
First thing in the morning we went to the Crazy Horse Exhibit. It is a massive carving on a huge rock outcropping that was started in about 1950 to recognize the undying spirit of Crazy Horse and the Sioux people. It is somewhat like Mt. Rushmore but about 10 times larger. It was pretty impressive especially given the fact that it is totally supported by private revenues. Mt. Rushmore was our next stop. It too was very impressive. I think Calvin liked it.
We took off down I-90 again and started east again. We thought of staying around the area another day, but there were too many tourist trap attractions. So, on down the road to Wall Drug, the ultimate tourist trap. Sandi says, “where you go to buy your rubber tomahawks and rubber chickens.” We started seeing Wall Drug highway signs just after leaving Yellowstone and they became progressively more common. They were inviting you to stop in for 5 cent cups of coffee, viewing things like world class bottle-cap collections, Sturgis T-Shirts, and bumper stickers that said, “Where the hell is Wall Drug?” So, of course, we had to stop.
I managed to fend off all the vendors and elbow my way to what my ultimate goal was in stopping. I walked past the rubber chickens hanging in the window, past the Wall Drug shot glasses, raccoon skin hats, and walked into drug store and bought a stick of deodorant.
We proceeded east on I-90 again only to interrupted by more roadside attraction signs. A Minute Man Missile Site, an actual 1880 Sod House tourist trap (with the only place in United States with white Prairie Dogs and the largest white Prairie Dog city), and yet another sign asking if we were sure we didn’t want to turn around and visit Wall Drug. We stopped at the Sod House. It was actually pretty cool. I have an idea the location was chosen for the missile site because of all the ground around the area had been softened up by the prairie dogs
We drove through the Badlands of desperado fame and were amazed at the forms that the earth has taken. I’m not sure if it was uplift or the ground sinking around it. It appeared that the ground had been worn away and the mountains were left in various shapes that were ‘bad.’ We stayed the night at a KOA and got there just in time for the pool to be closed because of an impending lightening and thunder show. Just as I was planning to dive in the pool the manager was getting everyone out. In fact I was in the middle of a beautiful swan dive just ready to slice the water in a clean knife-like dive when I felt this shepherd’s hook looking thing hook me by the neck and yank me over to the pool and set me upright on my feet in one smooth movement.
“Not now, son, thar’s a lightnen’ storm a-coming,” the manager said. (Not really, I just made that up.)
We took off down I-90 again and started east again. We thought of staying around the area another day, but there were too many tourist trap attractions. So, on down the road to Wall Drug, the ultimate tourist trap. Sandi says, “where you go to buy your rubber tomahawks and rubber chickens.” We started seeing Wall Drug highway signs just after leaving Yellowstone and they became progressively more common. They were inviting you to stop in for 5 cent cups of coffee, viewing things like world class bottle-cap collections, Sturgis T-Shirts, and bumper stickers that said, “Where the hell is Wall Drug?” So, of course, we had to stop.
I managed to fend off all the vendors and elbow my way to what my ultimate goal was in stopping. I walked past the rubber chickens hanging in the window, past the Wall Drug shot glasses, raccoon skin hats, and walked into drug store and bought a stick of deodorant.
We proceeded east on I-90 again only to interrupted by more roadside attraction signs. A Minute Man Missile Site, an actual 1880 Sod House tourist trap (with the only place in United States with white Prairie Dogs and the largest white Prairie Dog city), and yet another sign asking if we were sure we didn’t want to turn around and visit Wall Drug. We stopped at the Sod House. It was actually pretty cool. I have an idea the location was chosen for the missile site because of all the ground around the area had been softened up by the prairie dogs
We drove through the Badlands of desperado fame and were amazed at the forms that the earth has taken. I’m not sure if it was uplift or the ground sinking around it. It appeared that the ground had been worn away and the mountains were left in various shapes that were ‘bad.’ We stayed the night at a KOA and got there just in time for the pool to be closed because of an impending lightening and thunder show. Just as I was planning to dive in the pool the manager was getting everyone out. In fact I was in the middle of a beautiful swan dive just ready to slice the water in a clean knife-like dive when I felt this shepherd’s hook looking thing hook me by the neck and yank me over to the pool and set me upright on my feet in one smooth movement.
“Not now, son, thar’s a lightnen’ storm a-coming,” the manager said. (Not really, I just made that up.)
Friday, June 26, 2009
Iowa Trip Thursday
All along the way so far there’s a lot of history. It amazes me the transformations the land and people have gone through. I’ve always said that I would like to see a speeded-up version of the things that have gone on in the last million years. I know, it’s asking a lot isn’t it? Everything returns to the earth to start the cycle over again. I believe that what we refer as God is really a master scientist allowing humans to have choices. I believe that Earth is a grand series of successive experiments of free choice. The fossil record certainly suggests something has gone on before the Biblical history of around 6,000 years.
We drove to Little Bighorn National Monument and happened to be there on the anniversary of when it really happened. I am very impressed to what extent the Park Service preserves the historical, cultural, and natural resources. It is better to error on the side of conservatism than to have rules that are too lax.
A portrayal such as Little Bighorn is especially poignant because it is a human experience, and in all human experiences there are always differing points of view. I would imagine that it took many hours of careful negotiations on the correct explanations as to what went into the pamphlets, signage, and talks. No matter the outcome of the battle, ultimately, there were no winners.It was a powerful place, much like Gettysburg.
We then drove as far as Mt. Rushmore and stayed in the small city of KOA Central. On the way we went by Devil’s Postpile. It was a landmark that people on wagon trains would use as a progress monitor. If they reached this point before June 1 they had a good chance of getting across the Great Plains and over the Rocky Mountains before the first snows of fall. I actually felt kind of guilty since we could cover the same distance in about 8 hours…but I got over it.
We drove to Little Bighorn National Monument and happened to be there on the anniversary of when it really happened. I am very impressed to what extent the Park Service preserves the historical, cultural, and natural resources. It is better to error on the side of conservatism than to have rules that are too lax.
A portrayal such as Little Bighorn is especially poignant because it is a human experience, and in all human experiences there are always differing points of view. I would imagine that it took many hours of careful negotiations on the correct explanations as to what went into the pamphlets, signage, and talks. No matter the outcome of the battle, ultimately, there were no winners.It was a powerful place, much like Gettysburg.
We then drove as far as Mt. Rushmore and stayed in the small city of KOA Central. On the way we went by Devil’s Postpile. It was a landmark that people on wagon trains would use as a progress monitor. If they reached this point before June 1 they had a good chance of getting across the Great Plains and over the Rocky Mountains before the first snows of fall. I actually felt kind of guilty since we could cover the same distance in about 8 hours…but I got over it.
Iowa Trip Wednesday June 25
The next morning I saw a huge dog poking around one of our neighbor’s tents. It wasn’t making a sound, just sniffing around. Upon closer examination and opening both of my eyes it turned out that it was an elk. Not just one, but four elk wandering around through the campsites. The rangers told us about a bear that had been wandering out the campsites looking for food, but they hadn’t said anything about elks trying to mooch a free meal. Anyway, it was pretty cool to see them nosing around as long as they weren’t eating up our food.
This morning we drove by Yellowstone Lake. It’s a huge lake with 140 miles of shoreline, and it’s cold too so there were no beaches to swim at. I did manage to keep Sandi out of the water in spite of that though. We drove up the eastern side of the park to Mammoth Hot Springs. While we didn’t see any Wooly Mammoths on the way we did see some of their shirttail relatives. We saw probably 200 Rib Eyes on the hoof in the form of American Bison. Also, we saw about 100 Rib Roasts in the form of Elk. We even saw a Black Bear and quite a few Antelope and a Dall Sheep. While we saw some moose droppings we didn’t see any of the droppees.
We took the NE exit out of the park and it very pretty again. Yellowstone holds such a varied tapestry of biomes it’s hard to take it all in. I guess large catastrophic events are not always a bad thing. On the way out of the park we followed the Yellowstone River (surprise) and it must have been quite a steep gradient as it was a very swift flowing river. Soon we started climbing again and the river fell away below us. There were snow covered mountains and rock spires all around us. The views went from “beautiful” to “wow” to “ .” Yes, soon we were just speechless. The speed limit in Montana on roads like this are posted as 75 MPH, but I was holding on to the steering wheel with both hands watching as the rear of the car came around a corner that I had just steered the front wheels around. Yes, there were hair-pin corners on every corner and we weren’t going 75 MPH. The alpine lakes still had snow on, in, and around them. It was a beautiful sight to see….from a distance. Later as we crested the summit there was a sign that said the elevation was 10, 849 feet. I felt on top of the world and a very sporting to be up there just wearing my T-Shirt until I saw a guy just cresting the hill on his bike. It was by accident that we took this road and we found out later that it was voted as “one of the most beautiful drives in the United States.” I’m not sure who was in on the voting but I’d have to agree with them.
Stayed the night at a KOA in Billings, Montana. Nothing really exciting until we heard the orchestra get tuned up for the evening. The bullfrogs were calling to each other. They sounded like they were just in front of our tent. It sounded like a bunch of Whoopee Cushions calling to each from all sides of the lake.
By the way, I have to take back everything I previously said about guys that ride Harleys. I saw a young bald-headed guy with only a goatee camping beside us.
This morning we drove by Yellowstone Lake. It’s a huge lake with 140 miles of shoreline, and it’s cold too so there were no beaches to swim at. I did manage to keep Sandi out of the water in spite of that though. We drove up the eastern side of the park to Mammoth Hot Springs. While we didn’t see any Wooly Mammoths on the way we did see some of their shirttail relatives. We saw probably 200 Rib Eyes on the hoof in the form of American Bison. Also, we saw about 100 Rib Roasts in the form of Elk. We even saw a Black Bear and quite a few Antelope and a Dall Sheep. While we saw some moose droppings we didn’t see any of the droppees.
We took the NE exit out of the park and it very pretty again. Yellowstone holds such a varied tapestry of biomes it’s hard to take it all in. I guess large catastrophic events are not always a bad thing. On the way out of the park we followed the Yellowstone River (surprise) and it must have been quite a steep gradient as it was a very swift flowing river. Soon we started climbing again and the river fell away below us. There were snow covered mountains and rock spires all around us. The views went from “beautiful” to “wow” to “ .” Yes, soon we were just speechless. The speed limit in Montana on roads like this are posted as 75 MPH, but I was holding on to the steering wheel with both hands watching as the rear of the car came around a corner that I had just steered the front wheels around. Yes, there were hair-pin corners on every corner and we weren’t going 75 MPH. The alpine lakes still had snow on, in, and around them. It was a beautiful sight to see….from a distance. Later as we crested the summit there was a sign that said the elevation was 10, 849 feet. I felt on top of the world and a very sporting to be up there just wearing my T-Shirt until I saw a guy just cresting the hill on his bike. It was by accident that we took this road and we found out later that it was voted as “one of the most beautiful drives in the United States.” I’m not sure who was in on the voting but I’d have to agree with them.
Stayed the night at a KOA in Billings, Montana. Nothing really exciting until we heard the orchestra get tuned up for the evening. The bullfrogs were calling to each other. They sounded like they were just in front of our tent. It sounded like a bunch of Whoopee Cushions calling to each from all sides of the lake.
By the way, I have to take back everything I previously said about guys that ride Harleys. I saw a young bald-headed guy with only a goatee camping beside us.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Iowa Trip Tuesday
The next morning we packed up and went to West Yellowstone to get some supplies and have breakfast. The one thing that I didn’t bring along was a light vest and I think that it would’ve made my sleeping situation a little warmer. While Sandi was at the grocery store I drove all the side-streets that I could find looking for a 2nd hand store to no avail. We stopped at a gas station to get gas and they happened to have some clothes there. No, I didn’t buy a vest there. I wasn’t going to spend $70 for a vest with a Yellowstone logo on it.
Upon entering the park we had to wait about 15 minutes to go through the entry point. It seems that everyone else wanted to go into the park about the same time that we did. We drove about 2 miles into the park and joined another line of people. There was a bald eagle nest visible from the road and everyone wanted to stop, get out, and take pictures even though the signs said ‘Study Area, Don’t stop, Don’t get out, Don’t scare the eagles.’ We drove on and stopped at the places that we hadn’t got to the evening before. At the southern end of the park we found a tent site. Actually, Sandi stood in line for about 2 hours to get a tent site. We set up the tent then went to see some more hot springs. In case you’re wondering, I did not get into any hot springs. I followed all of the rules set forth by the park. I didn’t step off the trails, I didn’t go anywhere a person wasn’t supposed to, I used the outhouses and not the trees, I didn’t cut down any trees for firewood. In fact, we bought a box of wood. That hurt. The rangers said that we could gather wood around the campsite for fires. Since this was in part of the area that burned in the fire of ’98 I guess they want to clean things up a little after Mother Nature did such a poor job of burning it all completely.
The road through the park goes over the Continental Divide a couple of times and I am always entranced and amazed by it. Call me an amateur geologist. I have to ponder to think that two little drops of water can actually go down a different drainage and end up in different oceans thousands of miles apart. Or if the drop of water hits in just the right place it can split and become two half of drops of water and end up in oceans thousands of miles apart. Anyway, you get my drift. There’s a place in the Rockies where the mountains are such that 3 drops of water can actually go into the Pacific, Atlantic, and the Arctic. Of course I had to test the theory out. Now, to figure out a way to prove it.
We drove down to Grand Teton National Park. To save on signage costs the entrance signs are backed up to each other. That was so they can have ‘Entering Yellowstone’ on one side of the sign and ‘Entering Grand Teton’ on the other side. We kept saying that this high country reminded us of Alaska. Not that we’ve seen a lot of Alaska, it’s just that it that it has this look that says it’s only free of snow about 3 months of the year. The Tetons of course were magnificent in their beauty jutting up from a high mountain lake. Seems they were named by some poor hapless French fur trapper sitting around a campfire by himself looking up at the large mountain peaks missing his wife after spending too many days and nights away from the home-front.
When we got back we had hot dogs over the fire and Smores in the fire. It was a really clear (read cold) evening and Sandi and I walked out in a clearing to see the stars. It was stellar. It doesn’t happen often enough to be able to see the night sky without the ambient light of a town or city. It didn’t hurt that we were at about 7,000 feet either.
Upon entering the park we had to wait about 15 minutes to go through the entry point. It seems that everyone else wanted to go into the park about the same time that we did. We drove about 2 miles into the park and joined another line of people. There was a bald eagle nest visible from the road and everyone wanted to stop, get out, and take pictures even though the signs said ‘Study Area, Don’t stop, Don’t get out, Don’t scare the eagles.’ We drove on and stopped at the places that we hadn’t got to the evening before. At the southern end of the park we found a tent site. Actually, Sandi stood in line for about 2 hours to get a tent site. We set up the tent then went to see some more hot springs. In case you’re wondering, I did not get into any hot springs. I followed all of the rules set forth by the park. I didn’t step off the trails, I didn’t go anywhere a person wasn’t supposed to, I used the outhouses and not the trees, I didn’t cut down any trees for firewood. In fact, we bought a box of wood. That hurt. The rangers said that we could gather wood around the campsite for fires. Since this was in part of the area that burned in the fire of ’98 I guess they want to clean things up a little after Mother Nature did such a poor job of burning it all completely.
The road through the park goes over the Continental Divide a couple of times and I am always entranced and amazed by it. Call me an amateur geologist. I have to ponder to think that two little drops of water can actually go down a different drainage and end up in different oceans thousands of miles apart. Or if the drop of water hits in just the right place it can split and become two half of drops of water and end up in oceans thousands of miles apart. Anyway, you get my drift. There’s a place in the Rockies where the mountains are such that 3 drops of water can actually go into the Pacific, Atlantic, and the Arctic. Of course I had to test the theory out. Now, to figure out a way to prove it.
We drove down to Grand Teton National Park. To save on signage costs the entrance signs are backed up to each other. That was so they can have ‘Entering Yellowstone’ on one side of the sign and ‘Entering Grand Teton’ on the other side. We kept saying that this high country reminded us of Alaska. Not that we’ve seen a lot of Alaska, it’s just that it that it has this look that says it’s only free of snow about 3 months of the year. The Tetons of course were magnificent in their beauty jutting up from a high mountain lake. Seems they were named by some poor hapless French fur trapper sitting around a campfire by himself looking up at the large mountain peaks missing his wife after spending too many days and nights away from the home-front.
When we got back we had hot dogs over the fire and Smores in the fire. It was a really clear (read cold) evening and Sandi and I walked out in a clearing to see the stars. It was stellar. It doesn’t happen often enough to be able to see the night sky without the ambient light of a town or city. It didn’t hurt that we were at about 7,000 feet either.
Iowa Trip Monday
We drove as far as West Yellowstone. Not too far, but far enough. The roads up here were awesome. Tall mountains that started in fertile plains that go on forever. Hey, I forgot to add something about Pickles Restaurant. I thought it was kind of odd that on their Specials Menu they had Fish and Chips for $7.99 and Prime Rib for $14.99. Call me odd, but I can’t figure out how they can sell fish and chips for that price and it’s cheaper than the prime rib and we’re in the middle of “Beef Central.” There’s a herd of cows in every field, but not a single fish in sight.
We checked into a KOA just west of West Yellowstone. When Sandi called for a cabin site they were all filled up except for the “Deluxe Model” of which we didn’t even ask the price. We settled for a tent site even though Sandi said that she had been cold all day. Actually, I think it was just a case of looking at the elevation signs of the towns we were going through, 5,000’, 6,000’, 7,000’. They kept getting higher and higher and the road temperature on the dash was getting lower and lower. When we got to the KOA to check in they ‘happened’ to have a regular cabin available, so we took it. I didn’t even mention that they stated that if we canceled our reservation after we arrived we would only get 10% of the credit card charge that we were assessed before we were assured of our reservation. It diminished my view of mankind (and womankind).
After we were all settled in we went into the Yellowstone Park and went to Old Faithful. We were there at the perfect time; all the people were coming out (OK, that’s an overstatement, many of the people were coming out) and we were going in. The evening shadows on the hills were special, and going up the Yellowstone River was not able to be captured on film (digital media). I looked at the pictures I took and anything I do to the image doesn’t do it justice. Of course, our destination for the evening was Old Faithful and we were not disappointed. To get a “feet shot” and a good vantage point I had to take off my shoes and socks to clear the crowd away, so we ended up with a very large viewing area.
On the way back to West Yellowstone I stopped at as many of the hot springs, viewing points, and turnouts as possible, but I still missed some.
We checked into a KOA just west of West Yellowstone. When Sandi called for a cabin site they were all filled up except for the “Deluxe Model” of which we didn’t even ask the price. We settled for a tent site even though Sandi said that she had been cold all day. Actually, I think it was just a case of looking at the elevation signs of the towns we were going through, 5,000’, 6,000’, 7,000’. They kept getting higher and higher and the road temperature on the dash was getting lower and lower. When we got to the KOA to check in they ‘happened’ to have a regular cabin available, so we took it. I didn’t even mention that they stated that if we canceled our reservation after we arrived we would only get 10% of the credit card charge that we were assessed before we were assured of our reservation. It diminished my view of mankind (and womankind).
After we were all settled in we went into the Yellowstone Park and went to Old Faithful. We were there at the perfect time; all the people were coming out (OK, that’s an overstatement, many of the people were coming out) and we were going in. The evening shadows on the hills were special, and going up the Yellowstone River was not able to be captured on film (digital media). I looked at the pictures I took and anything I do to the image doesn’t do it justice. Of course, our destination for the evening was Old Faithful and we were not disappointed. To get a “feet shot” and a good vantage point I had to take off my shoes and socks to clear the crowd away, so we ended up with a very large viewing area.
On the way back to West Yellowstone I stopped at as many of the hot springs, viewing points, and turnouts as possible, but I still missed some.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Iowa trip Sunday
Sunday.
Our route from Caldwell, Idaho to where we ended up tonight in Arco, Idaho follows the Oregon Trail or alternate branches of it. Of course we had to stop and read as many information signs as we could. Because of that we really didn’t drive very far. At this rate we should arrive in Iowa just before the first freeze. All of the road signs pointed out the difficulties that these early pioneers endured as they traveled west. The Oregon Trail travelers were brave people. I think that even the women were studs. Imagine telling your kids that you’re going to be moving and going to a new home and the only thing we have to do is walk 2,o00 miles and if they were lucky it would only take 6 months. The only dangers were blisters, cholera, Indian attacks, rainstorms, flooded rivers, no water, no food, sunburn, lightening, tornadoes, rough trails, being lost, extreme weather, long daily hikes that ended within sight of where they started, and death. 12-15 miles was a good day. There was one story of this guy that was looking for a better route and he covered 80 miles in 17 days. I think he probably just stayed on the main trail after that foray.
Just think, if they would only have had the electric power transmission towers to guide them they probably could have really cut down their travel time. The Indians had traveled trails for 1,000s of years, but as soon as the white men came they stole that land from the Native Americans. They set up a toll road and exacted a toll to all the settlers that followed. Capitalism finds its way west. The next guy that bought him out set up what we would call the first Mini Mart. Of course they didn’t call it a Mini Mart they called it a General Store. There were quite a few old decrepit building that show the changes to what we know now as progress and the Mini Mart. I guess in a 100 years or so there will be more empty building falling down beside the existing falling down buildings. Ahhh, progress.
Have you ever noticed there aren’t any nature trails at places with names like Rattlesnake Junction or Rattlesnake Canyon? In fact, there aren’t even any turnouts. Of course if there were this is one person that would drive right on by. If I ever own a ranch I’m going to called it something like ‘Rattlesnake Haven’ or maybe ‘Rattlesnake Ranch.’ They have kind of an uninviting feeling to them don’t they? Fashionable and elegant, but yet understated.
We keep seeing a lot of old rough looking guys riding Harley Davidson motorcycles. They all have long wispy beards whipping behind them with helmets that have points on the top. It makes me understand why the salesmen wouldn’t sell me a Harley the last time I went in and drooled on the bikes in the showroom. I even offered to buy one of those fake white and gray beards hanging behind the counter. They had fake pony tails too, but even I have my limits. There were about six different styles of beards. The short dark bushy ones were called “Bad Beards.” There were varying degrees of lengths and colors down to the very end. The longest and whitest were the most expensive and were called “Baddest Ass Beards.” I wonder if they throw in a beard based on how much you pay for the new Harley?
The guys riding these Harleys travel pretty light. I think they must lay out on the dirt beside their bike at the end of the day and sleep until there just short of being too stiff to stand up and get up and ride some more. We’ve never seen any of them camping overnight where we’ve camped so I’m just guessing that they just pull in behind gravel piles at night.
We pulled into Craters of the Moon National Park at about 2:00. It was really pretty cool. The guy at the entrance booth was complaining that they had already received 6 inches of rain there this year. I didn’t tell him that we were most likely responsible for bringing the rain. Speaking of weather, we’ve managed to avoid the hot searing heat of summer so far. In fact, we’ve managed to bring some of Crescent City’s weather with us. We hiked some short trails in the park and took some pictures. It’s been either wind and rainy, or rainy and windy. We’ve seen blue sky in front of us and blue sky in back of us, but it’s kind of like Moses, it’s never over the top of us, just ahead of us, or just behind us.
It’s amazing how things work out when you least expect them. After we left the park We were planning to drive to Pocatell, Idaho, a distance of about 150 miles so we called a KOA to see if they had room. They were all filled up. Just after I hung up the phone we noticed a billboard for a KOA in the town we were coming in to. It was the town of Arco, Idaho. Its claim to fame was the fact that it was the first town in America to be lit up by nuclear energy, or rather use nuclear energy to produce electricity. By the looks of the empty storefronts it didn’t really do a whole lot of good to propel the town into the 21st century. Judging by the people in town I don’t think I’d want to lay claim to that logo either.The only advantage I see is that the town doesn't need street lights. All the people walking around at night serves the light up the place pretty well.
We had dinner at a place called ‘Pickles.’ It was actually a pretty simple choice since there were only two eateries in town. Mom had deep fried pickles and thought they were pretty good. I had a Pickle Hamburger, without the pickles, and thought it was pretty average. After dinner we drove around to get a better vantage point to this hillside where evidently each year the graduating seniors paint their year onto the side of the mountain on the rocks. It was very impressive and visible from a long way off. I had to take a hike to the top of the hill just to see the view from the top. It took me about 40 minutes to walk to the top and I found why the numbers were so visible. Mountains are even bigger once you start climbing/crawling your way to the top. There was a lot of ‘mass wasting’ going on as it was pretty steep. Some of the numbers were an easy 20’ tall on a sheer rock wall. I have an idea the ones who had to paint these on lost some kind of bet, probably in a drinking game. It’s one thing to be able to do it now with climbing equipment, spray paint, and cell phones it’s another to do it in 1930. Lucky for whoever has to do it each year though, the town Medical Clinic is at the bottom of the hill.
The only things that will be left after man is gone are cell phone towers (that still don’t work) and mosquitoes.
Our route from Caldwell, Idaho to where we ended up tonight in Arco, Idaho follows the Oregon Trail or alternate branches of it. Of course we had to stop and read as many information signs as we could. Because of that we really didn’t drive very far. At this rate we should arrive in Iowa just before the first freeze. All of the road signs pointed out the difficulties that these early pioneers endured as they traveled west. The Oregon Trail travelers were brave people. I think that even the women were studs. Imagine telling your kids that you’re going to be moving and going to a new home and the only thing we have to do is walk 2,o00 miles and if they were lucky it would only take 6 months. The only dangers were blisters, cholera, Indian attacks, rainstorms, flooded rivers, no water, no food, sunburn, lightening, tornadoes, rough trails, being lost, extreme weather, long daily hikes that ended within sight of where they started, and death. 12-15 miles was a good day. There was one story of this guy that was looking for a better route and he covered 80 miles in 17 days. I think he probably just stayed on the main trail after that foray.
Just think, if they would only have had the electric power transmission towers to guide them they probably could have really cut down their travel time. The Indians had traveled trails for 1,000s of years, but as soon as the white men came they stole that land from the Native Americans. They set up a toll road and exacted a toll to all the settlers that followed. Capitalism finds its way west. The next guy that bought him out set up what we would call the first Mini Mart. Of course they didn’t call it a Mini Mart they called it a General Store. There were quite a few old decrepit building that show the changes to what we know now as progress and the Mini Mart. I guess in a 100 years or so there will be more empty building falling down beside the existing falling down buildings. Ahhh, progress.
Have you ever noticed there aren’t any nature trails at places with names like Rattlesnake Junction or Rattlesnake Canyon? In fact, there aren’t even any turnouts. Of course if there were this is one person that would drive right on by. If I ever own a ranch I’m going to called it something like ‘Rattlesnake Haven’ or maybe ‘Rattlesnake Ranch.’ They have kind of an uninviting feeling to them don’t they? Fashionable and elegant, but yet understated.
We keep seeing a lot of old rough looking guys riding Harley Davidson motorcycles. They all have long wispy beards whipping behind them with helmets that have points on the top. It makes me understand why the salesmen wouldn’t sell me a Harley the last time I went in and drooled on the bikes in the showroom. I even offered to buy one of those fake white and gray beards hanging behind the counter. They had fake pony tails too, but even I have my limits. There were about six different styles of beards. The short dark bushy ones were called “Bad Beards.” There were varying degrees of lengths and colors down to the very end. The longest and whitest were the most expensive and were called “Baddest Ass Beards.” I wonder if they throw in a beard based on how much you pay for the new Harley?
The guys riding these Harleys travel pretty light. I think they must lay out on the dirt beside their bike at the end of the day and sleep until there just short of being too stiff to stand up and get up and ride some more. We’ve never seen any of them camping overnight where we’ve camped so I’m just guessing that they just pull in behind gravel piles at night.
We pulled into Craters of the Moon National Park at about 2:00. It was really pretty cool. The guy at the entrance booth was complaining that they had already received 6 inches of rain there this year. I didn’t tell him that we were most likely responsible for bringing the rain. Speaking of weather, we’ve managed to avoid the hot searing heat of summer so far. In fact, we’ve managed to bring some of Crescent City’s weather with us. We hiked some short trails in the park and took some pictures. It’s been either wind and rainy, or rainy and windy. We’ve seen blue sky in front of us and blue sky in back of us, but it’s kind of like Moses, it’s never over the top of us, just ahead of us, or just behind us.
It’s amazing how things work out when you least expect them. After we left the park We were planning to drive to Pocatell, Idaho, a distance of about 150 miles so we called a KOA to see if they had room. They were all filled up. Just after I hung up the phone we noticed a billboard for a KOA in the town we were coming in to. It was the town of Arco, Idaho. Its claim to fame was the fact that it was the first town in America to be lit up by nuclear energy, or rather use nuclear energy to produce electricity. By the looks of the empty storefronts it didn’t really do a whole lot of good to propel the town into the 21st century. Judging by the people in town I don’t think I’d want to lay claim to that logo either.The only advantage I see is that the town doesn't need street lights. All the people walking around at night serves the light up the place pretty well.
We had dinner at a place called ‘Pickles.’ It was actually a pretty simple choice since there were only two eateries in town. Mom had deep fried pickles and thought they were pretty good. I had a Pickle Hamburger, without the pickles, and thought it was pretty average. After dinner we drove around to get a better vantage point to this hillside where evidently each year the graduating seniors paint their year onto the side of the mountain on the rocks. It was very impressive and visible from a long way off. I had to take a hike to the top of the hill just to see the view from the top. It took me about 40 minutes to walk to the top and I found why the numbers were so visible. Mountains are even bigger once you start climbing/crawling your way to the top. There was a lot of ‘mass wasting’ going on as it was pretty steep. Some of the numbers were an easy 20’ tall on a sheer rock wall. I have an idea the ones who had to paint these on lost some kind of bet, probably in a drinking game. It’s one thing to be able to do it now with climbing equipment, spray paint, and cell phones it’s another to do it in 1930. Lucky for whoever has to do it each year though, the town Medical Clinic is at the bottom of the hill.
The only things that will be left after man is gone are cell phone towers (that still don’t work) and mosquitoes.
Iowas Trip Saturday
Saturday
Yes, it didn’t rain. It was a cool night, but not a cold night. I woke up and walked to the top of a nearby bluff. This area begs to have me take a walk-about to the top of these ridges just to show off the sights. We packed up and left by about 7:00. On the way out we saw, what I think was the same Pronghorn antelope that we saw coming in near the road. We took off on a well-maintained gravel road 49 miles to the nearest paved road. It was pretty neat. It is a barren high desert environment complete with varied wildlife. We saw about 5 more pronghorns on the way out. We drove down a really pretty river canyon on our way to Idaho. We stayed at an RV park in Caldwell, ID. There is a pretty little lake in the middle of the park. It blew and rained pretty hard at night but we didn't get picked up and dropped in the lake or get wet so it was a pretty good night. I'll bet Lewis and Clark or the Oregon Trail pioneers would have given a lot of money for a nyon tent like ours with a good rainfly.
Yes, it didn’t rain. It was a cool night, but not a cold night. I woke up and walked to the top of a nearby bluff. This area begs to have me take a walk-about to the top of these ridges just to show off the sights. We packed up and left by about 7:00. On the way out we saw, what I think was the same Pronghorn antelope that we saw coming in near the road. We took off on a well-maintained gravel road 49 miles to the nearest paved road. It was pretty neat. It is a barren high desert environment complete with varied wildlife. We saw about 5 more pronghorns on the way out. We drove down a really pretty river canyon on our way to Idaho. We stayed at an RV park in Caldwell, ID. There is a pretty little lake in the middle of the park. It blew and rained pretty hard at night but we didn't get picked up and dropped in the lake or get wet so it was a pretty good night. I'll bet Lewis and Clark or the Oregon Trail pioneers would have given a lot of money for a nyon tent like ours with a good rainfly.
Iowa Trip Thursday / Friday
If you copy and paste this link it will take you to the pics of our trip.
http://picasaweb.google.com/jnshoop/62109IowaTrip02?authkey=Gv1sRgCLzw48mGo6yhJA&feat=directlink
Thursday
We got to Sandi’s appointment, the car servicing, and my doctor appointment and still made it as far as Shady Cove (just above Medford)) before dark. Talked to a guy that was waiting at the Volvo dealership that had an ACER computer and found that he really liked it. We stayed at a trailer park/campground by the name of ………. It was threatening to rain with a heavy overcast but no rain.
Friday
We got up and hit the road driving up the upper Rogue River. We drove to Crater Lake and since we were gaining in altitude we were soon driving in the clouds. Before we got to the Visitors Center at the top there was quite a bit of snow and we could barely see the lake as the clouds were so thick. We had to show Calvin a picture from a book of what it really looks like.
We drove into Klamath Falls past Upper Klamath Lake and bought a set of tires at Les Schwab. I didn't see any steel poking through but as we were to drive about 2,500 miles we thought it was a good idea. In the afternoon we drove to Lakeview and had lunch at a greasy pizza joint as we couldn't find a greasy hamburger joint. Our goal today was to drive to Hart Mountain National Refuge and stay the night at the hot springs near the camping area. The clouds were very dramatic. Tall, white, billowy clouds with a deep blue sky behind them. We saw Dall sheep high up on the mountains. Also, as we were driving in we saw and an antelope about 30’ off the road. I’ve never seen an antelope that close. The only time I’ve seen one that close, it was only from the shoulders up, and it was hanging out of a wall with smoke filled eyes staring straight ahead with a pair of panties on its left horn.
We set up camp and put the rain fly on the tent tonight as it looks somewhat ominous. I don’t think it’s going to rain, Sandi thinks it is. I give it a 10% chance of rain. She said if it doesn’t rain she’ll think I’m a god. I’m crossing my fingers to make sure it doesn’t. If it does rain, it goes without saying, my name is mud. I prefer god.
We walked over to the hot springs via the road and enjoyed a good soak. It wasn’t really hot, but it was nice. On the way back taking a shortcut we found out that there is another hot spring just hidden away in the tall scrub brush. The people that are in it say that it’s hotter that the main one. We’ll have to check it out tomorrow. We had a fire this evening and had brauts and beer. There was a small creek running down between the campsites and I caught a small Brook Trout. It was amazing to me that there is life that lives here and ekes out a living in this environment. There is a pretty small window when it is accessible to people, but animals exist here. Two-legged and four-legged.
P.S. It didn’t rain last time, so I wake up this morning a changed person….a god.
http://picasaweb.google.com/jnshoop/62109IowaTrip02?authkey=Gv1sRgCLzw48mGo6yhJA&feat=directlink
Thursday
We got to Sandi’s appointment, the car servicing, and my doctor appointment and still made it as far as Shady Cove (just above Medford)) before dark. Talked to a guy that was waiting at the Volvo dealership that had an ACER computer and found that he really liked it. We stayed at a trailer park/campground by the name of ………. It was threatening to rain with a heavy overcast but no rain.
Friday
We got up and hit the road driving up the upper Rogue River. We drove to Crater Lake and since we were gaining in altitude we were soon driving in the clouds. Before we got to the Visitors Center at the top there was quite a bit of snow and we could barely see the lake as the clouds were so thick. We had to show Calvin a picture from a book of what it really looks like.
We drove into Klamath Falls past Upper Klamath Lake and bought a set of tires at Les Schwab. I didn't see any steel poking through but as we were to drive about 2,500 miles we thought it was a good idea. In the afternoon we drove to Lakeview and had lunch at a greasy pizza joint as we couldn't find a greasy hamburger joint. Our goal today was to drive to Hart Mountain National Refuge and stay the night at the hot springs near the camping area. The clouds were very dramatic. Tall, white, billowy clouds with a deep blue sky behind them. We saw Dall sheep high up on the mountains. Also, as we were driving in we saw and an antelope about 30’ off the road. I’ve never seen an antelope that close. The only time I’ve seen one that close, it was only from the shoulders up, and it was hanging out of a wall with smoke filled eyes staring straight ahead with a pair of panties on its left horn.
We set up camp and put the rain fly on the tent tonight as it looks somewhat ominous. I don’t think it’s going to rain, Sandi thinks it is. I give it a 10% chance of rain. She said if it doesn’t rain she’ll think I’m a god. I’m crossing my fingers to make sure it doesn’t. If it does rain, it goes without saying, my name is mud. I prefer god.
We walked over to the hot springs via the road and enjoyed a good soak. It wasn’t really hot, but it was nice. On the way back taking a shortcut we found out that there is another hot spring just hidden away in the tall scrub brush. The people that are in it say that it’s hotter that the main one. We’ll have to check it out tomorrow. We had a fire this evening and had brauts and beer. There was a small creek running down between the campsites and I caught a small Brook Trout. It was amazing to me that there is life that lives here and ekes out a living in this environment. There is a pretty small window when it is accessible to people, but animals exist here. Two-legged and four-legged.
P.S. It didn’t rain last time, so I wake up this morning a changed person….a god.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
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