Sorry for the delay in posting. Our computer died and its made updating difficult. But no more excuses.
We leave early from Buffalo headed for Montana. Before we know it, we enter Montana. We are anxious to get home so we're not stopping in Montana except for gas and a meal. We stop in Livingston for lunch at the Rib and Chop House, a somewhat fancy restaurant with everyday prices. I had the buffalo hamburger and Staci had a fried shrimp poorboy sandwich. Both were delicious. We drive through the rest of Montana, through several mountain passes. the roads were clear except for semi trucks that struggled on the steep roads. Near the border of Idaho there was a forest fire near the highway. It wasn't too big so hopefully it was put out quickly.
We reach Idaho which looks just like Montana. We stop in Cour D'Alene for the night. After a good meal at IHOP we settle into our hotel room for more bad tv (Staci's favorite part of staying in hotels). In the morning we head out early. We stop in Spokane to visit Manito Park, a smaller version of Butchart Gardens. The flowers weren't blooming yet, its too early, but we could tell that it will be a beautiful site to see in the summer. We plan on coming back.
We keep driving through Washington, stopping across the Columbia River from Vantage to see an overlook of the River. It's a great view of the Gorge. We stop again in North Bend for lunch and to visit Snoqualmie Falls. Neither of us had been there before. Not quite as massive of Niagara Falls, but still a site to see.
We hop back in the car for the last leg of our journey. In less than an hour we enter Seattle, a city we left 24 days ago. We traveled through 24 states, one Canadian Provence, and the District of Columbia. As we pull into the driveway, our cat Violet pokes her head between the curtains to greet us. Staci lets out an excited yelp and runs to see her cat. The trip is officially over. Over the next few days we unpack, get reacquainted with the city we left and begin to prepare for our next adventure. That one begins in July with the birth of our son.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
South Dakota
Tuesday morning started out leisurely. I took a quick dip in the pool, took advantage of the continental breakfast and we were on the road by 9am. I-90 through South Dakota is all farm land. The farms were nice to look at, but after several hours of nothing but farms I've had enough. The only thing getting me through this long drive was the billboards. Lots of them. They keep advertising two things: Wall Drug and 1880 Town.
1880 Town is a town set in the year 1880, it looks more like a theme park but worth a stop in the summer time. It was closed for the season. Wall Drug is unlike anything I've ever seen. It started as pharmacy (it still is) and morphed into an all encompassing restaurant, gift shop, theme park type place. They literally sell everything under the sun. Though we were the only customers at the time, (most of the place was closed for the season) there were several parking lots and even a place for tour buses. I can imagine it packed in the summer. My favorite billboard was the one advertising "Free Ice". Now it is about 40 degress outside and there is snow everywhere on the ground. I had to ask a local about the free ice and he said the temp can get up to 100 - 110 in the summer. That combined with lots of tourists (mostly to see the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore, not Wall Drug), creates a need ice.
Before we make it to Wall Drug, we drive through the Badlands National Park. This is probably as close to the surface of the moon as I will ever get. It is a vast nothingness of small mounds of a muddy clay substance. Each year several inches errodes from these hills, leaving a flat barren wasteland behind. Even among the nothingness, it is a beautiful place and somewhere Staci and I intend to return. You could spend an entire week camping, hiking and exploring this park.
After the Badlands and Wall Drug we stop at Mt. Rushmore. Another must-see experience. We watch a 14 minute video describing how the monument was made. We admire the monument from the amphitheater viewing area. The trail leading you closer to the monument was...closed for the season. There was still snow and ice on the ground. I was tempted to hike it anyway but my pregnant companion thought better of that. We left as the monument was closing.
We decide to drive a few more hours since it's still early. We finally stop in Buffalo, WY for the night. The trip through Wyoming had magnificent scenary. The setting sun behind the blue rocky mountains probably helped. Tomorrow we head for Montana.
1880 Town is a town set in the year 1880, it looks more like a theme park but worth a stop in the summer time. It was closed for the season. Wall Drug is unlike anything I've ever seen. It started as pharmacy (it still is) and morphed into an all encompassing restaurant, gift shop, theme park type place. They literally sell everything under the sun. Though we were the only customers at the time, (most of the place was closed for the season) there were several parking lots and even a place for tour buses. I can imagine it packed in the summer. My favorite billboard was the one advertising "Free Ice". Now it is about 40 degress outside and there is snow everywhere on the ground. I had to ask a local about the free ice and he said the temp can get up to 100 - 110 in the summer. That combined with lots of tourists (mostly to see the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore, not Wall Drug), creates a need ice.
Before we make it to Wall Drug, we drive through the Badlands National Park. This is probably as close to the surface of the moon as I will ever get. It is a vast nothingness of small mounds of a muddy clay substance. Each year several inches errodes from these hills, leaving a flat barren wasteland behind. Even among the nothingness, it is a beautiful place and somewhere Staci and I intend to return. You could spend an entire week camping, hiking and exploring this park.
After the Badlands and Wall Drug we stop at Mt. Rushmore. Another must-see experience. We watch a 14 minute video describing how the monument was made. We admire the monument from the amphitheater viewing area. The trail leading you closer to the monument was...closed for the season. There was still snow and ice on the ground. I was tempted to hike it anyway but my pregnant companion thought better of that. We left as the monument was closing.
We decide to drive a few more hours since it's still early. We finally stop in Buffalo, WY for the night. The trip through Wyoming had magnificent scenary. The setting sun behind the blue rocky mountains probably helped. Tomorrow we head for Montana.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Chicago
Today was a lot of driving. It started out with unburying the car from 3 inches of snow. We leave Kalamazoo behind headed for Chicago. A quick 2.5 hour drive or nap depending on which seat you're sitting in, we arrive at the Field Museum (also called the Natural History Museum), our only stop. The museum is very educational, with a large collection of exhibits. Not surprisingly, it is very similar to the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum. There were even a few items on loan from the Smithsonian on display. I'd have to say the Smithsonian's museum is better, but just by a little bit. The Field museum is huge and could easily take several days to see everything. We view interesting exhibits about the Aztec, Pirates, Dinasaurs and the Lions of Tsavo. If you saw the movie The Ghost and the Darkness with Val Kilmer, the two lions that terrorize the village are at this museum. If you watch the very end of the movie, it mentions this.
After the museum we decide to head out of Chicago. We planned on going to the Sears Tower but the weather was so overcast we couldn't see anything anyways. Staci's getting a little anxious to get back, so we push on to South Dakota. This is a long stretch of freeway through many states, each suprisingly different. Michigan which we already passed through to get to Chicago only stands out in my mind as a snowy place with lots and lots of road kill. I've never seen so much roadkill on one freeway in all my life. From Michigan, we dip into Indiana for a brief few miles. Nothing note worthy happened. Next is Illinois and its crappy tollways on I-90. Without warning a toll booth appears demanding $0.80. Luckily we have exactly that much change in the car so we're on our way until we hit the next toll booth. And there's no chance to get off the freeway to grab some cash because all of the off ramps have toll booths also. After frantically searching the ashtrays in the car and coming up empty, I tell the guy I can't pay the toll. He shakes his head and gives me a pink slip. That's what he called it too. I can pay the toll online within 7 days. He also tells me where an ATM is a few miles down the road. Through Illinois we pass through 4 or 5 toll booths with tolls ranging from 80 cents to a $1.60.
From there we enter Wisconsin, the Cheese State. I see a billboard for, and drag Staci to, a Cheese shop outside of Madison to get some blueberry white cheddar and Elk jerky. Both are good. Besides cheese, I remember the ski mountains. We begin seeing signs for skiing ahead at places called Cascade Mountain and Christmas Mountain. The funny thing is there aren't any mountains around here. We naturally assume they are off in the distance, but oh no. The "mountains" they ski on in Wisconsin are really just hills, and not even good ones at that. Queen Anne hill in Seattle is taller and steeper than the hills we saw. It made for a good laugh.
From Wisconsin's rolling hills we cross the mighty Mississippi River into Minnesota. After a somewhat hilly climb we reach the top of a plateau which we never come down from. It's flat, flat, flat. Lots of farm land with barns, tractors and cows. Very pretty country. The flatness made for a good sunset, until right before the sun went down. Everything that was remotely reflective shined directly into my eyes. Since we were heading towards the sun, there was no way to avoid the blinding light. Eventually it set and I could see the road again.
We make it into South Dakota just after dusk. We are staying outside Sioux Falls on the eastern border of South Dakota and tomorrow will head for Mt. Rushmore near the western border.
After the museum we decide to head out of Chicago. We planned on going to the Sears Tower but the weather was so overcast we couldn't see anything anyways. Staci's getting a little anxious to get back, so we push on to South Dakota. This is a long stretch of freeway through many states, each suprisingly different. Michigan which we already passed through to get to Chicago only stands out in my mind as a snowy place with lots and lots of road kill. I've never seen so much roadkill on one freeway in all my life. From Michigan, we dip into Indiana for a brief few miles. Nothing note worthy happened. Next is Illinois and its crappy tollways on I-90. Without warning a toll booth appears demanding $0.80. Luckily we have exactly that much change in the car so we're on our way until we hit the next toll booth. And there's no chance to get off the freeway to grab some cash because all of the off ramps have toll booths also. After frantically searching the ashtrays in the car and coming up empty, I tell the guy I can't pay the toll. He shakes his head and gives me a pink slip. That's what he called it too. I can pay the toll online within 7 days. He also tells me where an ATM is a few miles down the road. Through Illinois we pass through 4 or 5 toll booths with tolls ranging from 80 cents to a $1.60.
From there we enter Wisconsin, the Cheese State. I see a billboard for, and drag Staci to, a Cheese shop outside of Madison to get some blueberry white cheddar and Elk jerky. Both are good. Besides cheese, I remember the ski mountains. We begin seeing signs for skiing ahead at places called Cascade Mountain and Christmas Mountain. The funny thing is there aren't any mountains around here. We naturally assume they are off in the distance, but oh no. The "mountains" they ski on in Wisconsin are really just hills, and not even good ones at that. Queen Anne hill in Seattle is taller and steeper than the hills we saw. It made for a good laugh.
From Wisconsin's rolling hills we cross the mighty Mississippi River into Minnesota. After a somewhat hilly climb we reach the top of a plateau which we never come down from. It's flat, flat, flat. Lots of farm land with barns, tractors and cows. Very pretty country. The flatness made for a good sunset, until right before the sun went down. Everything that was remotely reflective shined directly into my eyes. Since we were heading towards the sun, there was no way to avoid the blinding light. Eventually it set and I could see the road again.
We make it into South Dakota just after dusk. We are staying outside Sioux Falls on the eastern border of South Dakota and tomorrow will head for Mt. Rushmore near the western border.
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls were fantastic. We were told to stay on the Canada side because the falls are best viewed from that side of the river. Getting into Canada was easy, we didn't have to show ID or anything. The border guard told us it was too cold to visit right now when we told him we were going to the falls. We arrive in the town of Niagara Falls at dusk, in time to check into the hotel then drive past the falls in the dark. They are lit up at night making for a cool effect. In the morning we head down again, hoping to ride The Maid of the Mist, a famous boat that takes you right up to the falls. Unfortunately it's still winter in this part of Canada, so the boats are out of the water, therefore no boat ride. We walk along the waterfront and take the obligatory photos in front of the falls. After a few hours we head out of Niagara Falls across Canada towards Michigan. We visit a winery along the way, there are a ton of them. We learn about Ice Wine, which is wine harvested late in the season when the temperature is under freezing. The frozen grapes make an unique sweet taste. We grab a bottle and hit the road. We cross the border into the US pretty easily; the line wasn't too long. We stop in Kalamazoo for the night merely because it's a funny name for a city. We probably should have driven about 30 minutes farther west because on Monday morning we wake up to find several inches of snow on the ground. There was a dramatic winter storm that hit Detroit last night, with parts of Michigan getting 7 + inches of snow. Where we are is the west edge of the storm. We should be out of it pretty soon. It's off to Chicago today.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Friday and Saturday
Friday was a day of recuperation. We slept in, then drove to Arlington National Cemetery. We saw JFK's grave, the tomb of the unknown soldier, the changing of the guard and many, many other graves. The cemetery is the second largest in the US, more than 500 acres. From there we caught the subway to the National Portrait Gallery. Before we got there we stopped for some delicious burgers at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. The burgers were amazingly good.
The Portrait Gallery, part of the Smithsonian, is a beautiful building where Lincoln's inaugural ball. The best part of the Gallery is its collection Presidential portraits, one for each President. A quick ride on the subway and we're back at the car. We head to Georgetown, a nearby neighborhood filled with cool shops, restaurants, cafes and Georgetown University.
Georgetown was great. We wanted to find an internet cafe to sit for awhile and upload the blog. It took awhile but we found one. I should have known when we walk in to an empty cafe and the only waitress is on the phone. Staci is craving a decaf coffee, but they only have regular. And there's no internet access. The waitress is completely unhelpful. Farther down the street we find the perfect place. We end up hanging out there for several hours. We walk down the main drag of Georgetown and grab a bite to eat at Garrets. Peter's roommate Richard checked in with us to make sure we're doing okay and suggested heading to the Waterfront which we do and its very nice. We turn in early because we're getting up early to hit the road.
Saturday we leave early from DC and head to Gettysburg, PA. One of the bloodiest battle's during the Civil War, 50,000 soldiers died, were wounded or missing during the three day battle. There is a very informative visitor's center, though I picked the farthest parking lot from the center. Did I mention the temperature outside was 40 degrees with a windchill making it even colder. It is safe to say it was a freezing 5 minute walk to the center. We did part of the auto tour and I climbed the 95 steps of an observation tower to get a great view of the entire battlefield. I couldn't stay too long because it was FREEZING up there. On the auto tour we stop at Spangler's Spring where a confederate soldier stopped to fill his canteen only to find a group of union soldiers already there. To help you visualize this there are several "union soliders" hanging out by the spring. Since the confederate soldier quietly snuck back to his camp to warn the troops, we also chose to sneak away without talking to the reenacters. We did stop and talk to some guys who were cutting the grass around a monument. It turns out these guys are decendents of the regiment who fought in this section. They are in charge of keeping the grounds around their monument clean. I can't remember which regiment he was with but he was from the South. He used the word "yonder" several times, which Staci liked. After a good country lunch at The Avenue Restaurant, we drive another few hours to Niagara Falls.
The Portrait Gallery, part of the Smithsonian, is a beautiful building where Lincoln's inaugural ball. The best part of the Gallery is its collection Presidential portraits, one for each President. A quick ride on the subway and we're back at the car. We head to Georgetown, a nearby neighborhood filled with cool shops, restaurants, cafes and Georgetown University.
Georgetown was great. We wanted to find an internet cafe to sit for awhile and upload the blog. It took awhile but we found one. I should have known when we walk in to an empty cafe and the only waitress is on the phone. Staci is craving a decaf coffee, but they only have regular. And there's no internet access. The waitress is completely unhelpful. Farther down the street we find the perfect place. We end up hanging out there for several hours. We walk down the main drag of Georgetown and grab a bite to eat at Garrets. Peter's roommate Richard checked in with us to make sure we're doing okay and suggested heading to the Waterfront which we do and its very nice. We turn in early because we're getting up early to hit the road.
Saturday we leave early from DC and head to Gettysburg, PA. One of the bloodiest battle's during the Civil War, 50,000 soldiers died, were wounded or missing during the three day battle. There is a very informative visitor's center, though I picked the farthest parking lot from the center. Did I mention the temperature outside was 40 degrees with a windchill making it even colder. It is safe to say it was a freezing 5 minute walk to the center. We did part of the auto tour and I climbed the 95 steps of an observation tower to get a great view of the entire battlefield. I couldn't stay too long because it was FREEZING up there. On the auto tour we stop at Spangler's Spring where a confederate soldier stopped to fill his canteen only to find a group of union soldiers already there. To help you visualize this there are several "union soliders" hanging out by the spring. Since the confederate soldier quietly snuck back to his camp to warn the troops, we also chose to sneak away without talking to the reenacters. We did stop and talk to some guys who were cutting the grass around a monument. It turns out these guys are decendents of the regiment who fought in this section. They are in charge of keeping the grounds around their monument clean. I can't remember which regiment he was with but he was from the South. He used the word "yonder" several times, which Staci liked. After a good country lunch at The Avenue Restaurant, we drive another few hours to Niagara Falls.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Pictures and other stuff
I uploaded some pictures from DC. Click on the link at the right to see them.
Also if you know of anyone that lives in or near the following places, let me know. We're looking for places to stay in:
Sioux Falls, SD
Gillette, WY
Missoula, MT
Also if you know of anyone that lives in or near the following places, let me know. We're looking for places to stay in:
Sioux Falls, SD
Gillette, WY
Missoula, MT
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