This is the other half (larger post = more days of travel) of our month road trip. It begins on August 12th and takes us through the end! You people must love us in order to read this whole enormous novel of our lives. It took me two full evenings of grinding work to complete these. Phew.
August 12, 2009:
1. We drove up the Icefields Parkway-- a beautiful drive through Jasper, Alberta Canada to the Columbia Icefield. There, we were able to take an insane bus made specifically for driving on glacial ice on top of the Athabasca glacier. The ice is said to be thicker than the Eiffel Tower is high. It's quite safe and they have cones that block off areas you aren't to step on. People have died in the past stepping into cracks and falling into ice, freezin. Needless to say, we followed the rules. It was a tourist trap, but fun nonetheless.
2. We had full intentions of camping that night because it was so far from our timeshare in Banff, but the weather conditions were so poor that we decided to get dinner and make it a long drive back; sans camping. Speaking of dinner... we ate at Jasper Pizza and it wasn't too great. The pizza was the size of a medium in America and not cheap. Eh.
Here I am jumping on the glacier. It was pretty cold and I didn't bring a real jacket on this trip. I guess my California brain told me that since it's technically "summer", there wouldn't be a need. Boy, was I wrong!
Ray touching the just above freezing glacial water.
The Columbia Icefields bus we took. They cost over $1 million each, go down a 36% grade of ice (that's steep, people!), and none of them are created the exact same.
Hanging out on the glacier just before heading back to concrete land, gladly.
Ray jumped on the glacier too. I bet people thought we were nuts!
Look how small I am compared to these massive tires! I am 5'3" and totally bitty compared!
Aside the incredible bus that drove us on frozen water.
August 13, 2009
1. There are no photos from this day, sorry!
2. We drove outside of our timeshare and immediately saw an elk grazing on the side of the road. It's amazing how many tourits one elk can produce by just eating.
3. We headed downtown to check out the gondola that takes you to the top of a mountain in Banff. It overlooks the lodge and we figured we'd check it out. It was a 3.5 mile hike to the top... making it a total of 7 miles because we had to come down too! Kilometers are so much cooler. The hike was 5.6 kilometers... sounds so much more difficult put in those terms! We love gondola hikes because they are somewhat short, yet intense. There is a gradual climb all the way to the top and you can track progress easier than a traditional hike. We arrived at the top to tons of fog. Good thing we left pretty rapidly to get down because it began to rain shortly after!
4. Just a note: we worked out in the gym and hiking 6/7 days we were at the timeshare and we've been keeping up with that at every hotel we stay at that is equipped with a gym!
August 14, 2009
1. No photos here either!
2. We drove to Calgary which is located south of Banff. We checked out an Olympic training center they have there and it was intense! They had bobsleds, ski jump hills, etc. Those olympians have a tough job. We didn't test anything out ourselves other than spectating.
3. We drove to a local lake to our hotel after, Lake Minnewanka. This lake allows boats and was quite large.
4. Rainy and lazy day for the two of us!
August 15, 2009
1. Our last official day in Banff, Alberta, Canada. We made the most of it by getting prepared for the next leg of our trip-- laundry, working out, packing... then a little downtown action at night.
2. For dinner we went to The Old Spaghetti Factory, my mom's favorite! The food's never amazing, but it's a chain I was familiar with and have nostalgia attached to. Plus, I was so good with working out that I really wanted the spumoni ice cream. The food was decent, as always, but I learned to never ask for your pasta spicy in Canada. Their idea of spicy is pouring about 1/4 bottle of Tabasco and stirring. The taste was mediocre, the spice near unbearable... but the spumoni, just right!
3. We later headed out to find a local pub to taste a local drink (pictures below).
Here's Ray holding up a mini sign to show our location. We had a primo spot near the window and we had views of downtown and the mountains behind.
As we try and do when traveling... we tasted a local beer (Molson Canadian). Although I was quite convinced it tasted much like a Coors or Miller.
August 16, 20091. We left our timeshare and said goodbye to stability for awhile longer. One week in one place was fantastic and we have Ray's grandparents to thank for such an incredible week. We would not have had the opportunity to stay in Canada for as long as we had without their help. Thanks Gramie and Papa!
2. We headed to Waterton National Park. It's actually the same park as Glacier National Park in Montana (US), but the park is shared by both countries. We drove through Waterton first, checked out their lodge, had lunch, and headed to Glacier National Park in Montana to camp for the evening. We actually had to pass a border and were somewhat brutally questioned by the United States guard-- in addition to searching our trunk. As we drove, we experienced LOTS of cows on the roads because of open range. Some were running. It was entertaining to say the least.
3. We arrived in Glacier NP and set up camp at St. Mary's campground for the evening. As Ray was washing our dinner dishes near the bathroom area, I was reading a newspaper at our campsite picnic table. I looked up to find a wild fox about 5 feet from me and continuing to approach! I immediately stood and walked as fast as I could to the nearest campground of people as a refuge. Ray was in the direction of the fox, so I didn't head his direction. The 3 men at the other site were cooking steaks and came over to watch the fox leave our site after realizing there was no food to scavange. Quite a scary experience for me! I didn't know what a wild fox would do to me or if they were violent. Luckily, I was untouched.
4. Before we set up camp, we also saw 1 black bear on our drive near Many Glacier (another lodge that we absolutely intend to come back and vacation at someday) and a football field away from our personal tent for the evening. We locked our food tightly.
5. We tried some of the wild berries on the trees at our campsite after observing several other campers collecting them for their morning cereal and consulting a ranger about the safety of ingesting them. The ranger made it clear that they are safe and the bears especially loved them. At that point we weren't too excited about picking a campsite with tons around. No bears, though.
Waterton National Park. The lake is actually split. We're taking the photo from Canada with the views of the American side.
Waterton National Park. The lake is actually split. We're taking the photo from Canada with the views of the American side.
Many Glacier Lodge in Glacier National Park. This area of the park is known for having lots of wildlife, especially grizzlies. We intend to return. We loved the lodge for its comfortable feel.
First black bear sighting. He was crossing the river and eating as he went along.
Black bear sighting #2 near our campsite at St. Mary's.
August 17, 2009:1. We got up early and headed out. We passed by the Wild Goose Island (famous in a lot of photos in Glacier NP) and took a photo before the tourists began to pour in.
2. We spotted some other tourists with telescopes out and were able to see a grizzly bear grazing on a hill. It was pretty cool!
3. We headed down Logan Pass and couldn't believe how foggy it was. Visibility was terrible. If you've ever been to Glacier, you'll know about the "Going to the Sun Road" -- it's a road that winds high up around a mountain curve (created during the Great Depression for jobs) and because it's so high and steep, it got its name. There are small (about 2 feet tall) stone blocks holding you in if you crash. Not too safe!
4. We took a short 2 mile (4 mile total) hike to Avalanche Lake after a park ranger recommended it to us.
5. We came back on the "Going to the Sun Road" and it was clear! Phew!
6. We hiked another short (a billion steps, though) 1.5 mile (3 miles total) hike to "Hidden Lake" and back. We spotted a deer, 3 mountain goat, and 4 elk on this mini spot.
7. We gladly paid $1.25 each and waited 20 minutes to take showers that were timed at exactly 8 minutes before the water shut off.
8. Off to make dinner at our campsite, avoid the billions of flying critters that attempted to invade us, and sleep on the ground...
Here's Wild Goose Island and me ruining the beauty of it.
Here's Wild Goose Island and me ruining the beauty of it.
Here's a real picture that I didn't attempt to ruin.
Here's the grizzly we spotted on that hill grazing.
"Going to the Sun Road" at Logan Pass. The wall is tiny and we couldn't see a thing!
Avalanche Lake hike
A beautiful butterfly we saw on the way back from Avalanche Lake.
Hidden Lake (where we saw mountain goat!)
The deer spotted near Hidden Lake
Mountain goat hanging out on the rocks. We caught a photo of these guys as we headed back down from Hidden Lake.
August 18, 2009:1. We woke early to pack up our campsite and head to another entrance of Glacier-- at Two Medicine Lake. It's clearly the less-entered area of the park, being in the far southwest. We took a photo and walked to a cool waterfall before exiting Glacier for good.
2. The waterfall we walked to was called Running Eagle Falls. We highly recommend the short walk (maybe 5 minutes) if you ever find yourself in that area of the park.
3. We left the park and drove through the Blackfoot Indian reservation. It seemed like a slum. I wasn't too impressed...
4. We arrived in Helena, Montana and visited the post office and a few stores to find a postcard for Ray's cousin, Helena (said differently, same spelling). We thought she'd enjoy a postcard from Montana' capitol since it's her name!
5. We drove a bit more and arrived in Bozeman, Montana for the evening. We had dinner at Fuddruckers and a dessert treat at Coldstone. Fuddruckers reminds me of a few things: Going there as a child, and one of my students from last year's class, Daniel. Fuddruckers is his favorite restaurant and I wanted to email his family to tell them I went there and it reminded me of him... but my emails seem to have been misplaced! But then... I got an email from Daniel. What a pleasant surprise!
Two Medicine Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana
The short walk to Running Eagle Falls. It was even wheelchair accessible.
Pretty cool falls because of the way it comes out of the rock. Ray and I continue to be amazed that water comes from melting glaciers... but how much water can possibly pour out of these waterfalls at full-speed before they run dry?
Here's a sign of Helena, Montana-- state capitol! This one's for Helena herself. It was hard to shoot this photo driving full speed ahead!
August 19, 2009:1. We set off in the morning to drive to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Well, technically it's located in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming-- but if you checked out a map, I think Wyoming deserves the credit. I was told by my grad school buddy, Brent, to be careful about the traffic at Yellowstone since they shut off a part of the road to build a new bridge. Truthfully, the only traffic we encountered was herds of bison just chillin' on the road. I was disappointed that I never did get to see the "Welcome to Wyoming" sign. Boo.
2. On this first day, we wanted to knock out the busiest area: Old Faithful (erupts about every 90 minutes and the rangers predict it up to the minute... and they were right on the money!). We checked out geysers, fumerholes, and hotsprings before heading to the zoo that is Old Faithful. Ray kept warning me that we'd run into "Disneyland"-- and we did! We got this awesome parking spot though. I was a bit disappointed that the area surrounding the geyser was similar to a Los Angeles highway. I hoped that our car did not have to go over a land bridge...
3. We saw tons of geothermal "stuff". Naming all of them would be impossible. I have some fun pictures of various ones below. But naming the best one is easy: Castle Geyser takes the prize for the best one we saw the entire trip at Yellowstone. It apparently erupts twice a day and we happened to stumble upon it as it was erupting. Fabulous.
4. We saw tons of animals on this day: 1st buffalo sighting was right on the road. Around 6 p.m. a pretty hefty guy decided that our driving lane was perfect for his travels, too. We also saw: mule deer, deer, more buffalo, grizzly bear #3, and two wolves stalking elks.
5. We headed back to our campsite and made dinner (taking refuge in the car when the bugs invaded us beyond our ability to kill them fast enough). They were dive-bombing into our food practically. So unnecessary!
Here's the gorgeous Castle Geyser. That rainbow is totally natural. It rained for about 2 minutes before the photo was taken.
Standing in front of the geyser as it smokes
This is Old Faithful at the tail end of an exactly calculated eruption (5:04 p.m.)
During the Old Faithful eruption. It was pretty windy there!
The zoo of people that came to witness the eruption of Old Faithful. About 1 of every 3 people had purchased an ice cream cone. We were among the statistic. :)
Grizzly bear #3 sighting (first two spotted in Glacier NP).
Funky photo of the grizzly, but it's the best photo we've got!
Gorgeous buffalo shot. These guys can grow up to 2,000 pounds but amaze me with their grace and elegance. Their heads weigh around 100 pounds and the "hump" on their back is all muscle, "designed" to hold their massively large heads up. They also do this cool thing where they plop themselves entirely on their sides and rub around in the dirt to cool themselves. They are up on their feet with no problem. It's just so cool.
Up close and personal with Mr. Bison himself
A few of the people sitting here had been there for 2 days waiting for this to erupt (pen and paper in hand!)
Here's a fuming geyser at the Sulpur Cauldron, located a few miles from our campsite. Those things are stinky! This one looks like snow is covering it, but that's not snow at all. I loved how the animal tracks lay perfectly on the surface. During winter, these hotbeds (just a few miles from magma in the Earth's mantle) melt all snow and stay warm during the frigid, -30 degree winters. Animals flock to them for warmth and land that has been cleared from snow to search for food.
A series of photos we took of cool geothermal spots.
August 20, 2009:1. We drove by an area where tourists were checking out bighorn sheep through their scopes. We had been hoping to see this animal, so we stopped to check it out. We vowed to hike that area the next day (see below for August 21).
2. We spotted some elk on a hill, and visited a pretty waterfall.
3. Lunch at Roosevelt Lodge (we like to visit the various lodges and check out the accomodations).
4. We stopped in to see a petrified tree that had been stunted by the geothermal activity.
5. We visited the Mammoth hotsprings and the Norris Geyser Basin before showering at the "pay" showers at the lodge before sleeping in our precious tent (insert sarcasm here).
One of the waterfalls we saw at Yellowstone. We saw so many gorgeous waterfalls on this trip, I just can't remember the name of this one!
August 21, 2009:
1. We woke up early to see if we could hike and see those Bighorn sheep we spotted in the stranger's scope the previous day. Waking up at 7 a.m. in a tent is brutal. We hiked Mt. Washburn (2.5 miles, 5 miles total) and immediately spotted a group of about 17 Bighorn sheep when we arrived. (see photos below). The hike also introduced us to these adorable rabbit/mouse-looking rodents called pika. We also saw marmot (also saw those when we hiked Mt. Whitney in California 2 years ago) and deer.
2. At the summit, we spoke to the ranger, took some photos, and met some other hikers at the lookout points.
3. While driving in Yellowstone, you must prepare yourself for bison. They are everywhere. Again, we were greeted by the creatures on the road... everyday actually. They live in the Hayden Valley and if you want to see many animals, go there (but expect massive traffic). Our campsite was located within a few miles of the main animals zone.
4. We visited Mud Volcano, Lake Yellowstone (had lunch at the Fishing Bridge) and headed back for a shower (again... a spicy $3.25, but absolutely worth every penny. Not timed, hot, amazing).
5. For our last night in Yellowstone, we decided to go to a ranger talk. These talks are held at campgrounds and rangers have information to discuss about the park, safety, etc. This talk was about the "wild animals" in the park. He gave us some cool information and we really enjoyed the 1.25 hour talk.
6. Off to sleep on the ground... again.
This is a photo of the ranger station at Mt. Washburn. The top story is where the ranger lives (see below). The middle layer is a viewing deck for those who hike to the top. The bottom deck is home to restrooms and a radio signal tower-- hence all the wires and poles surrounding the building.
Summit of Mt. Washburn. A decent hike over 10,000 feet. You start to feel the altitude at that point. Since we had been camping at a high altitude anyhow, we didn't really feel it.
Here's the ranger who had all the knowledge of the sheep. He lives at the top of Mt. Washburn and his job is to watch for fires. He's lived up there for 4 straight months and has one more month to go before he heads down for the winter. I told him I was from Los Angeles and he said, "I'm sorry" - ha!
This male Bighorn hangs out with the women. According to the ranger (above), male Bighorn generally go off to hang out with their own gender. This guy, 5 years old, enjoys being around the ladies. Sounds like a plan. ;)
We took 5.5 mile hike up to one of Yellowstone's peaks, Mt. Washburn. We were hoping to see some bighorn sheep, and we did! We saw at least 17 and there could have been more over the hill. They're gorgeous creatures.
Yellowstone Lake and a fumerhole geyser. There's just magma under the Earth's crust warming that guy up to over boiling temperatures. No big deal.
Two really cool bison posing for our photos.
+head-to-head.JPG)
August 22, 2009:
Summit of Mt. Washburn. A decent hike over 10,000 feet. You start to feel the altitude at that point. Since we had been camping at a high altitude anyhow, we didn't really feel it.
Here's the ranger who had all the knowledge of the sheep. He lives at the top of Mt. Washburn and his job is to watch for fires. He's lived up there for 4 straight months and has one more month to go before he heads down for the winter. I told him I was from Los Angeles and he said, "I'm sorry" - ha!
This male Bighorn hangs out with the women. According to the ranger (above), male Bighorn generally go off to hang out with their own gender. This guy, 5 years old, enjoys being around the ladies. Sounds like a plan. ;)
We took 5.5 mile hike up to one of Yellowstone's peaks, Mt. Washburn. We were hoping to see some bighorn sheep, and we did! We saw at least 17 and there could have been more over the hill. They're gorgeous creatures.
Yellowstone Lake and a fumerhole geyser. There's just magma under the Earth's crust warming that guy up to over boiling temperatures. No big deal.
Two really cool bison posing for our photos.August 22, 2009:
1. We woke in Yellowstone (last night of 7 total days in a tent for this road trip!)... and packed up our camp. Back on the road for us two.
2. We figured we'd beat the rush and get out of the park before 10 a.m. The buffalo had a different idea. They intended to block every path we had to leave the park by parking themselves on the road. I think they secretly play a "human game" and attempt to mess with us. While they seem like a nuisance, it is a funny thing to see massive 2-ton animals hanging out on the road. It's crazy, annoying, yet fun.
3. We stopped off at a final geyser basin, West Thumb.
4. We drove south through a National Forest (J.D. Rockeller apparently even took over National Park land because they named the NF after him!) and headed into the Grand Teton National Park and ate lunch at Colter Bay = best national park food either of us had ever eaten!
5. We met with some rangers who gave us tips on where to spot animals (our main goal = moose).
6. We sought out to see the animals by driving around Oxbow Bend and definitely saw a female moose and her young crossing the river-- just like the rangers said. Awesome. At this point, we still intended to find a male moose (bull moose).
7. We headed south some more to Jackson, Wyoming. We walked around the town and went into Jackson Hole, Wy-- where the ski resort is located because neither of us had ever been there. It's said to be one of the most difficult mountains to ski. And to that... I say... I'll be waiting in the lodge with a hot cocoa, thanks!
8. We had dinner at a local joint: Mountain High Pizza Pie. Decent... but don't get the deep dish: it was a joke!
Our way out of Yellowstone National Park. We thought we'd be able to sneak out early with no animal complications. Not so. The buffalo decided it was a perfect time to create an "animal jam" as they're known by in the park. It was so intense that a ranger had to come through with his sirens and chase them off the road.
Grand Teton National Park. We spotted a mother moose and young crossing a river bend (Oxbow Bend) as we drove through the park. Incredible!
Under the antler arch in Jackson, Wyoming. See below for more information.
We stayed one night in Jackson, Wyoming. The ski area is called Jackson Hole. We visited that area too. These arches are made of animal (deer, elk mostly) antlers. They are not killed for their antlers like elephants are for their tusks. These animals completely shed their entire rack every year and grow a new one before mating season each year. They can grow up to 1 inch per day! How incredible is that!?! Anyhow, now Ray and I really want an antler lamp to go over our kitchen table when we purchase our first house (and the furniture of which we have virtually nothing...).
Absolute favorite part of Wyoming-- seeing a bull moose! Bull moose are called that because they're the male, not the female. Bull = male. We hiked about 2 miles into this canyon to check this guy out. We were told by a ranger that we had an 80% chance of seeing a male moose if we hiked into this glacial canyon (we had to take a ferry to). 80% turned to 100% at around 9:45 a.m. that morning.
5.JPG)
+national+monument.JPG)
Cute little prairie dog. There were a million of these little guys just burrowing holes all around Devil's Tower in Wyoming. Much like the signs in Yellowstone about not getting close to bison, there were signs everywhere warning against approach with the little dogs.
Mt. Rushmore from the street. Another monument I read all about online but refused to pay the parking fee of $10 just to park and stand outside to take the same photos I could take outside of the park. You'd think they would discount Annual National Park/Monument pass holders. Lincoln is looking quite sharp. I definitely envisioned Mt. Rushmore to be a rock face that was alone on flat land. But in reality, it is surrounded by gorgeous national forest and trees. But all people ever see is this photo which doesn't show much for surroundings...
Crazy Horse memorial is truly crazy. We refused to pay the $10/person admission to stare at a monument that wasn't complete... by a Polish guy who wasn't even a Native. But, we didn't mind stealing a photo from the street like other fellow paparazzo. ;)
Mountain goat seen just behing Mt. Rushmore on the road. A police officer was nearby to protect, it appeared, the goat and her young,
August 25, 2009:
1. We drove by the ever-so-famous, Wall Drug in South Dakota as we headed to the Badlands National Park. It was cool... except that the plains can look a bit like deserts... not as exciting of animals. They looked like mini grand canyons at times, Utah sculptures in some areas, and plain grasslands in others. We saw two animals: 1 deer and 1 bird of some kind. We're told others existed but chose to take the drive through of about 25 miles without exiting the car.
2. We couldn't find a single place to eat lunch (we were desperate) on I-90 in South Dakota and were forced to drive 30 miles outside of our way (60 miles round trip) for lunch. Ugh. That detour led us to the state capitol of South Dakota, Pierre. What a bust. I wouldn't exactly consider the town booming. The lady that WORKED at Taco Bell asked ME what a tostada was. Enough said. (needless to say, I didn't get a tostada)
3. We arrived into the largest city in South Dakota, Sioux Falls for the evening. Another workout. Yes!
Grand Teton National Park. We spotted a mother moose and young crossing a river bend (Oxbow Bend) as we drove through the park. Incredible!
Under the antler arch in Jackson, Wyoming. See below for more information.
We stayed one night in Jackson, Wyoming. The ski area is called Jackson Hole. We visited that area too. These arches are made of animal (deer, elk mostly) antlers. They are not killed for their antlers like elephants are for their tusks. These animals completely shed their entire rack every year and grow a new one before mating season each year. They can grow up to 1 inch per day! How incredible is that!?! Anyhow, now Ray and I really want an antler lamp to go over our kitchen table when we purchase our first house (and the furniture of which we have virtually nothing...).
Absolute favorite part of Wyoming-- seeing a bull moose! Bull moose are called that because they're the male, not the female. Bull = male. We hiked about 2 miles into this canyon to check this guy out. We were told by a ranger that we had an 80% chance of seeing a male moose if we hiked into this glacial canyon (we had to take a ferry to). 80% turned to 100% at around 9:45 a.m. that morning.August 23, 2009:
1. We woke early in our hotel to head back into the Grand Teton National Park for a short ferry ride to a recommended hike (Jenny Lake) by the rangers we met the previous day. The hike was through a glacial canyon, Cascade Canyon, and we were quoted an 80% chance of seeing a bull moose! That was the main goal of our 7 mile hike. It's crazy because 80% was also the statistic of thunderstorms in the afternoon... so needless to say, we needed to be speedy.
2. The good sign of arriving early was that it's a really busy hike and we beat the tourists-- also preventing them from scaring all the animals away. A good sign we did the right thing was seeing 3 deer walking along the lake when we arrived. They weren't scared away, phew. Hope existed.
3. The hike started at 1/2 mile to "Hidden Falls" and then another 1/2 mile to Inspiration Point. Most people don't go beyond this point because getting there is steep along rocks... but we continued. From that point where most people stop, it's really quite flat and beautiful because a glacier many years ago carved the mountain to make a glorious green and river-filled area. Perfect for animal spotting! We walked about 2 miles more and saw a bull moose grazing quite close to us. We were thrilled to get some photos (although none are incredibly clear) but were a bit scared he may attempt to charge us. They are beautiful and not interested in humans, but may be dangerous--especially around mating season.
4. We took photos, and hiked back alongside Jenny Lake to our car. Since we saw a bull moose, Ray vowed to buy us T-shirts as a culmination to our list of "wanna see" animals. We each got one at the Jackson Lake Lodge and headed out of the national park.
5. We drove through Central Wyoming (sadly passing directly through one of my grad friend's towns without knowing-- but finding out hours later...). Another fact: Wyoming is the least populated state in the entire US. Second is Vermont, third is Alaska.
6. We explored Casper, Wyoming (odd town that appeared to be deserted downtown and a new city was created around the highway instead...) and found out it was the 2nd largest city in the state.
7. We had Taco Johns for dinner (similar to Taco Time) -- a Cheyenne-based company.
8. We worked out at our hotel (yay!)... and off to sleep on a bed, gladly.
Bull moose favorite photo
5.JPG)
August 24, 2009:
1. Finishing up Wyoming, we visited Devil's Tower National Monument (thanks to erosion and deposition in addition to hot, yet cooled magma). We saw tons of pronghorn in Wyoming. The residents call them "antelope" but they really aren't antelope at all. That's where the song "Home on the Range where the deer and the (pronghorn) play..." came from!
2. We visited a small town called Sturgis, South Dakota as we entered a new state. It's home to an annual August (we were too late) motorcycle biker festival. It's often on TV, so we chose to be tourists...
3. We did a "driveby" at Mt. Rushmore. My photo is not too bad for being in a vehicle! They don't have any pullouts so you're almost forced to pay for parking and get out of the car. We just timed it right with the traffic and shot away!
4. We drove the 20 more miles to see Crazy Horse Monument and I'm still debating whether it was worth the gas.........
5. We drove back around in the Mt. Rushmore area and just behind Washington's head were two tracked mountain goats along the side of the road (mommy and baby).
6. We had dinner at Fuddruckers and spent the evening at a hotel in Rapid City.
Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming. There are rock climbers (2) on the left side of the rock face if you look closely. What crazy folks they are!
+national+monument.JPG)
Cute little prairie dog. There were a million of these little guys just burrowing holes all around Devil's Tower in Wyoming. Much like the signs in Yellowstone about not getting close to bison, there were signs everywhere warning against approach with the little dogs.
Mt. Rushmore from the street. Another monument I read all about online but refused to pay the parking fee of $10 just to park and stand outside to take the same photos I could take outside of the park. You'd think they would discount Annual National Park/Monument pass holders. Lincoln is looking quite sharp. I definitely envisioned Mt. Rushmore to be a rock face that was alone on flat land. But in reality, it is surrounded by gorgeous national forest and trees. But all people ever see is this photo which doesn't show much for surroundings...
Crazy Horse memorial is truly crazy. We refused to pay the $10/person admission to stare at a monument that wasn't complete... by a Polish guy who wasn't even a Native. But, we didn't mind stealing a photo from the street like other fellow paparazzo. ;)
Mountain goat seen just behing Mt. Rushmore on the road. A police officer was nearby to protect, it appeared, the goat and her young,
August 25, 2009:1. We drove by the ever-so-famous, Wall Drug in South Dakota as we headed to the Badlands National Park. It was cool... except that the plains can look a bit like deserts... not as exciting of animals. They looked like mini grand canyons at times, Utah sculptures in some areas, and plain grasslands in others. We saw two animals: 1 deer and 1 bird of some kind. We're told others existed but chose to take the drive through of about 25 miles without exiting the car.
2. We couldn't find a single place to eat lunch (we were desperate) on I-90 in South Dakota and were forced to drive 30 miles outside of our way (60 miles round trip) for lunch. Ugh. That detour led us to the state capitol of South Dakota, Pierre. What a bust. I wouldn't exactly consider the town booming. The lady that WORKED at Taco Bell asked ME what a tostada was. Enough said. (needless to say, I didn't get a tostada)
3. We arrived into the largest city in South Dakota, Sioux Falls for the evening. Another workout. Yes!
August 26, 2009:
1. We drove another painful 300 miles through the entire state of Minnesota to the very western tip of Wisconsin for the evening's stay.
2. Our friend Dana tells us that the northern part of the state is way more hopping. I believe her. ;)
3. The highlight of the day: being pulled over by a Minnesota state trooper. We were possibly speeding no more than 2-3 miles over the 70 mph speed limit but assume we were pulled over based on a couple things: foreign car in the midwest = rare, California plates on a highway most people traveling from California wouldn't normally drive on to reach Minnesota (but since we had so many northern detours on this trip, we took another road we wouldn't take as a straight shot from CA). We think he was nervous about us "running from the law" or being some kind of criminal. He never aluded to us speeding, breaking any law, doing anything wrong at all. He just asked us a ton of questions like: What is your job? Can you explain that? Where is all your stuff; like couches? Where are you headed? How long have you been traveling? Why are you on I-90 rather than the other highway? -- he was totally from Minnesota and really polite. Just a weird experience overall.
4. We got into La Crosse, Wisconsin just east of the Mississippi River (Ray got excited because he felt like Huck Finn) and got haircuts, worked out, ate at a sketchy burrito joint, took a dip in the pool/jacuzzi, and off to complete this novel of a blog post.
Tomorrow (August 27th) we arrive in Naperville, Illinois (another marathon driving day... I'm so over it!) to plant some roots and be normal for a bit before escaping to Germany on September 15th. I cannot tell you all how much I miss teaching already. Being away from those kids is definitely taking a piece of my soul away. Maybe next year; hopefully next year.
To see ALL of our photos (and not just choice ones for the blog), click HERE.
Posts
