Homeward Bound

Grand Tetons, Jackson, and Jackson Hole…

We climbed Teton Pass Wednesday afternoon… up the 10% grade, then having reached the summit, down the 10% grade… into Jackson Hole, the valley of the town of Jackson and the Grand Tetons.

The long detour around meant we arrived later than expected. The Buffalo round up slowed us. We had planned a 90 mile drive from Old Faithful… through Grand Teton National Park, instead we had a drive of twice that, and arrived in Jackson and now needed to drive north to the park.

We stopped at the visitor center on arrival… then north, along the Tetons, to Jenny Lake, still locked firmly in the frozen grasp of winter, north to Jackson Lake... At the dam we turned east and south, following the Snake River. We stopped at the oxbow, and found a moose. There are always moose at Oxbow. Continuing south we encountered herds of elk and bison… we stopped, we took photos…

Returning to Jackson (Jackson is the city, Jackson Hole is the valley) where we found our motel and checked in… we went a few blocks to the town square… we took photos at the elk horn arches… we walked about… the girls found tee-shirts, funny tee-shirts… Kelli’s (for her boyfriend Edwin) said “I like Big Tetons” Steph’s said “Feed the Bears, Walk up and pet the Moose, Let your kids ride the buffalo, Drive fast and pass on curves, We thank you for your support, Yellowstone Paramedics”
We dined at the Snake River Brewing Co. … I had been there before, several times… I like it… the girls liked it too. Afterward we returned downtown, and visited the “Million Dollar Cowboy Bar” for a round of drinks… (and you wonder why I didn’t blog that evening)

To the motel, to bed…

- A dark period, aka “night” occurs –

The next morning…

We got up early… out of the room by 6:30… down to a local bagel place… Pearl Street bagels… located on Pearl street, for coffee and ….. bagels… (who knew)

By 6:45 we were headed out of town… we stopped for gas… we climbed Teton Pass… we descended the other side… Down to Idaho Falls, on to Pocatello, on to Twin Falls… more gas… South into Nevada at Jackpot… now on Pacific time… on a two lane road, slowed by construction, flagmen and one way detours…

We ended up at the end of a long line of mixed cars and trucks, on a two lane road… I spent much time passing, a few cars at a time… patiently waiting, then downshifting and taking them two at a time.

At Wells we reached the Interstate, I-80… Now headed westward fast. We stopped for lunch in Elko… Mexican food… back on the interstate… Steph driving this leg… on to Winnemucca, our last stop for gas, and I take back the driver’s seat…

To Reno, up the Truckee River to the border, California again… to Truckee and Donner… over the pass, then downhill via Blue Canyon and Auburn… to Sacramento, to Vacaville… now the Bay Area in reach… across the Bay Bridge then pass the airport, and finally… home… about 8:30 pm… some 13 hours and nearly 1,000 miles later.

Goodbye Yellowstone...

Wednesday, May 12, 2010, Jackson Wy

Steph and I got up early, and went out to the geyser basin to look around. We saw the tail end of an Old Faithful eruption as we approached, then headed down the valley via the upper geyser basin path. Immediately we saw several smaller geysers, Anemone and Plume erupting… The walkways, made of wood or fake wood were frosty and slippery. Below Grand Geyser there were no other foot prints… we were the first into the area that day… well not quite… A bit further on, near Giant Geyser there, in the frost, were a set of bear prints… large bear prints… so somewhere nearby was a grizzly bear. We never saw him, but he was there…

We walked as far as Morning Glory pool, we saw Riverside Geyser erupt… then headed back up to the hotel to meet Kelly and have breakfast. Along the way we saw a lone buffalo. Breakfast was wonderful. Fortified we checked out of the hotel, packed the car, then took a last visit to the visitor center. We showed the ranger our “wolf” picture… the consensus was it wasn’t a wolf, it was a very large coyote… we also showed them the photos of the truck scattering the buffalo… they took the license plate number of the truck… The incident had been reported by others… The rangers received word that the West Yellowstone road was closed for a few hours so they could drive a herd of Buffalo back into the park.

We left Old Faithful and headed down the Firehole River, stopping at Biscuit Basin and Fountain Paint Pots. We encountered the small buffalo heard along the road.
At Madison, we headed to west towards West Yellowstone. There were heads of elk and buffalo all along the river. We soon encountered a ranger, the leader of the vanguard, who asked us to stop, and wait until the buffalo had passed… we had blundered into the annual buffalo roundup. We were the third car in line, and had a great view. Shortly the bison arrived. They were being herded, much like cattle at a fast walk up the road by rangers on horseback. Included were lots of very young "red dogs" including a couple still sticky from birth with bloody umbilical cords. We saw at least 200 bison walk by, likely more. The animals didn't seem particularly stressed, and even the newborns could keep up.

Of course there is a significant back story… and more than a little controversy… Yellowstone’s bison are wild… they migrate within the park as the seasons change in search of better pasture. Bison do not respect the park boundaries… To the south, Grand Tetons National park is safe. To some extent the National forest lands are safe, but to the east and north the State of Montana, and the Montana Department of Livestock, and the politically powerful Montana ranching community have rules including slaughter of any animal which might come into contact with cattle. Buffalo can carry a form of tuberculosis. Montana cattle are certified as tuberculosis free. The ranchers believe that the buffalo pose a risk to their cattle. The Montana Department of Livestock (note: not wildlife, livestock, does the name suggest a bias?) reserves the right to shoot any bison that stray out of the park after May 15th

Of course there is another point of view… people note that the disease probably originated with European cattle, that elk and other wild animals also carry the disease, and elk and bison and cattle co-exist in the Grand Teton area without issue, but that is Wyoming, and this is Montana, home of the Montana Department of Livestock.

As a result, each spring, there is a campaign to “haze” the buffalo back into Yellowstone, and safety… The park rangers use horses… the Montana Department of Livestock is known to use helicopters…

Naturally, this is a time when the buffalo would be at lower elevations (of course the land in Montana around the park is at lower elevation) in search of better pasture (better pasture means cattle). This is baby season…

Considering the alternative, it seems a reasonable process, especially considering the alternative. I am uncomfortable with the helicopter, but the horses seem ok… I have seen bison much more disturbed by car and truck traffic on the road, elsewhere.

We enjoyed the bison parade… As unnatural as it seemed… We counted 173 cars inbound from West Yellowstone, held to clear the road for the round up. We exited Yellowstone, then drove south though Idaho towards Teton Pass, Jackson, and Grand Tetons.

Yellowstone

Wednesday, May 12, 2010, Jackson Wy

Yesterday we got up late… it was almost 7:00 before the girls joined me in the lobby for breakfast…

We started our day in Cody Wy. … We went for coffee at Rawhide coffee on main street… then into the hills towards Yellowstone. We were nervous... would the pass be open… would we need chains… We didn’t, but the we saw snow, and the pass was full of drifting snow. We saw our first Bison on the assent…

Down to the lake, which was frozen… Kelly tried throwing rocks, but the ice was thick… too thick to shatter under her assault.

We turned north at Fishing Bridge… though the Haden Valley… normally it would be teaming with animals… mostly herds of bison… but this time the valley was covered with a deep snow pack, still a couple of feet in Mid May… At Canyon we viewed the falls… then visited the visitor center, now 2 years old… We had chili at the store’s café, the only concessionaire open.

On to Norris where we headed north to Mammoth Springs… for a chance to view the terraces… then back south to Norris geyser basin…

From there it was further south, along the Gibbon River, to Madison where it joins the Fire hole River, from there to Old Faithful where we planned to spend the night… We were staying at the Snow Lodge… set back from the action, but more modern than the others… It was a great choice, a great hotel…

On the way we encountered a herd of bison along the Fire Hole River… they were on the road. It was a herd of maybe 40 animals including 3 “red dogs” very young babies. The herd was blocking the road… we stopped… the oncoming traffic stopped, a National Parks maintenance truck didn’t, they plowed through the herd panicking and scattering them. We took photos… The animals all survived… more later.

We checked in, then went in search of geysers… Old Faithful was scheduled to go as we arrived… we waited, it erupted… We explored more, we had the basin to ourselves… We saw grand geyser, we saw Castle geyser… we saw a large canine… maybe a coyote, maybe a wolf, we took photos…

Cold, we returned to a wonderful dinner… all of us had the 4 oz buffalo tenderloin… all rare… it was great.. The waiter was great… they gave us a survey… it was a perfect 5….

Off to bed, to collapse until tomorrow…

Randy

Through the valley of the shadow of Roosevelt's Nose

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Up by 7:00, out the door soon after…

We drove a different way out of town, finding the local railroad yard… for the Dakota Southern Railroad, a shortline, railroad trying to revive several semi abandoned granger lines… The yard was a junk yard of the highest order, but most amazing was the range of rusty and broken locomotives, ranging from three 70 ton GE’s with maybe 480 horse power up to a derelict 260+ ton UP Centennial with 6,600 horse power… I took photos…

From Chamberlain we again headed west, across the river then climbed up to the bluffs on the far side. On the west side of the Missouri the landscape changed… We had passed from the land of the mid-western farm to the planes… few trees, isolated small towns many fewer farms. It appeared to be a much harder place. We dropped off the Highway at Kennebec, South Dakota to explore. A town consisting of a grain elevator possibly served by the Dakota Southern Railroad, a main street, with a post office, a small grocery, the farm bureau, Plus a court house… I suspect without the courthouse the town would have died.

We passed other more successful towns as we worked our way west. All dominated by a grain elevator and possibly a water tower. We saw many roadside billboards advertising Wall Drug…

Eventually we turned south off the interstate towards Badlands National Park. A spectacular eroded cliff face, where the high planes drop off suddenly. The soft soils wash away easily, creating a sand castle like wonderland. We take a few short hikes, visit the visitor center, encounter prairie dogs, then drive the park highway, exiting northward towards I-90 and the town of Wall, South Dakota, home of Wall Drug, a small town pharmacy which has grown into a full block tourist mecca… a tacky mecca, but a mecca, built on highway signs and free ice water. I bought post cards, the girls bought fudge… We discussed the concept of the Jackalope at length…
Back on the highway we head first to Rapid City, where we eat lunch, then into the Black Hills… We are headed for Mt Rushmore, a national monument, but first we have to run the gauntlet of motels, tee shirt stores, fudge shops, wagon rides, a tourist train, and of course, water parks and mini golf… I have e a theory that you are required to have mini golf near every national park… A friend concurs and notes they have a I-Max theater at the Grand Canyon so you don’t actually have to go outside to see the canyon… you can do it from the comfort of an air conditioned theater.

Mt Rushmore was great, a monument as expected, with a visitor center, a court of flags and sight lines well thought out, with wonderful granite columns and a outdoor theater to view the evening Illumination. There are even hiking trails… As wonderful as it is it seemed strange to have a national park, based not on great and unusual natural places, or historic sites, but on a “created” site. I still enjoyed the visit. We took a hike along the bottom, and were surprised to see Rocky Mt. goats… We felt lucky until while leaving we saw more goats grazing along the road, with collars on…

From there we went to the Crazy Horse Memorial… a carved mountain to honor a great Lakota war chief. It’s a grand project, well underway, with a long way to go, so compared to Mt Rushmore it will one day be larger and grander. It is exciting as it is not static… you can see the vision, and how the vision is being realized… but it is also stamped with its creator’s personality.

Having survived the valley of the shadow of Rosevelt’s nose, we headed north to Deadwood and our motel and rest stop for this leg of the race… Much of old Deadwood remains, but has sadly been turned into a western mining town themed Las Vegas… There are restaurants if you look, but they are in the basements of the casinos… Much like old Nevada, there are slot machines everywhere and they dominate all.
We found a steak house had dinner including a bottle of South Dakota merlot, returned to our motel and went to bed.

Monday, May 10th

We were up at 7:00, out the door soon after.
Rain had set in overnight. We drove down the mountain towards Sturgis South Dakota, home of the largest and most famous of motorcycle rallies. Of course that takes place in August and this is May, so we missed it. We drove about, saw the self described “largest biker bar in the world” and many many others, all closed on this early spring morning… We found a coffee shop and had coffee before returning to I-90 and once again heading west.

The rain was heavy… so heavy that our progress was slowed…

We slipped into Wyoming, then left the road and visited “Devils Tower” National Monument… Of course, the tower its self was lost in the fog and clouds.
Back to I-90… conditions if anything were worse… driving was intense… we ate lunch in Buffalo Wy and considered heading straight to Cody, skipping a planned loop to the Custer Battlefield. When we left the restaurant the rain had stopped, so we pushed on north.

We crossed into Montana, finally reaching the battlefield along the Little Big Horn River… “ Last Stand Hill” with its monument and fenced markers, showing where Custer those who were with him at the “end” is just above the visitor center… other white granite markers, most simply marked “U.S. Soldier 7th Calvary Fell Here” are scattered over 6 miles of hill side. A few identify a specific soldier, officer or scout where the identity is known.

More recently, other red granite markers have been added, where some of the Indians, mostly Cheyenne fell, their tribe having preserved the memory of their lost warriors. Other markers have been added as new remains are located, and even identified. One white granite marker memorializes the site of the graves of the horses of the 7th cavalry.

A six mile road follows the ridge line where most of the battle was fought… down to the site where Reno and Benteen gathered their companies and managed to hold off the Indians until a relief column arrived. At the Reno/Benteen site the movements of the battle are more obvious, helped by accounts of the troops who survived.
Returning along the ridge the actions which ended up with the “Last Stand” also start to make more sense, the white granite markers marking Custer and his men’s desperate retreat up the ridge. Recent archeology and study of Indian accounts show that not only was Custer outnumbered, but that the Indians were a disciplined fighting force, forming organized skirmish lines as they defended their encampment.
I walked the various loops available (some were closed.) The girls were less interested…

Back in the car, we first drove north via I-90 west, then dropped South at Billings headed towards Cody Wy… As we headed south we realized that the trip to Little Big Horn while longer saved us a trip over a snow mountain pass.

It’s now 11:00 pm… We are hoping the road into Yellowstone is open tomorrow… if not we have a long detour ahead… It appears the road from Yellowstone to Jackson via Grand Tetons won’t be, requiring a detour out via West Yellowstone, the back to the east over Teton pass to get to Jackson…

There won’t be internet in Yellowstone tomorrow, so the next posting will be Wednesday night.

Bye for now, Randy

Chicago to the Missouri River

Saturday, May 8, 2010, Chamberlain South Dakota

We left Chicago a bit before 7:00 am, looking for an onramp on to I-90, our chosen route west… We found many east bound onramps, but all lacked a west bound mate… We found a Denny’s and had breakfast… we found the on ramp… Westward Ho!

Through Illinois (a toll road, not easy for visitors) into Wisconsin… at Baraboo we left I-90 and headed a bit south west looking for the town of North Freedom, home of the Mid-Continent Railroad Museum… We found it, I explored, the girls used the restroom and hid in the car…

As railroad museums go it was probably typical… They had done some great work, particularly wooden railroad cars, most of which were under cover. They had an impressive collection of stuff… they had a train ride… but they also had junk, and more stuff than they could care for, and lots of projects which appeared to have been going on a long time with limited success, and less going while I was there…
My train fix taken we returned to the road, and quickly regained I-90 westward continuing through Wisconsin and crossing the Mississippi River into Minnesota.

We had no planned stops in Minnesota, just a transit, an expected 4 hour transit. We were wrong… because, just off the Hwy in the town of Austin we found the SMAM museum… owned and operated by Hormel, the inventors and manufacturers of that iconic luncheon meat. The museum was an unexpected surprise… It was fun, it was very professional, they know that too many of us the meat is a joke, and acknowledged it well. I bought a tee shirt some post cards, and other goodies… refreshed we returned to the road westward.

An hour later outside the town of Blue Earth a billboard promised a 60’ tall “green giant”… We went in search of it… we found it… we took photos.

Again back onto the road… westward again… Steph took over driving for a while, while I napped, awakening as we crossed into South Dakota… An hour or so into South Dakota we reached Mitchell, home of the Corn Palace, somewhat famous institution. A building covered with murals made of corn… It was late, and it and associated tourist stores were closed… we took more photos, and it was fun, but less than expected.

I took back the driver’s seat as we again got back on I-90. Chamberlain, our stop for the night was a little less than an hour away. We reached Chamberlain at sunset… we approached by first dropping down towards the Missouri River… It was truly spectacular… a sudden drop off the plains to the river, the river glowing in the failing sun, the bridges illuminated and silhouetted. We checked in, then went in search of food… We found the Anchor, a local café… buffalo burger for Kelli, a burger for Step, and I had a steak, all good, particularly the meat and the waffle fries…

We returned to the motel, too late for the pool, and too tired to care much…

The WiFi isn’t working, so I will post this next time I find a connection.

Randy

The grand rendezvous… Chicago

Throughout the day I had updates from the ladies… at 5:00 they were in Michigan, having visited Tanya and Fred, now again headed westward

At 6:00 they were near the Indiana/Illinois state line… stuck in traffic caused by a serious accident…

By 9:20 they were at the hotel, near O’hare, checking in…

I had left work a bit after 4:00 pacific time, headed home for the ride to the airport… the trip was slow… nearly an hour for what is usually 30 minutes, and occasionally less. I changed, grabed my bags and was off to the airport with Tina and Emma…

I rush to check my bag ($23.00 please) then make a quick trip through security… then rush to the gate, only to find that my flight, scheduled to board in about 15 minutes will instead board in an hour and 15 minutes… I retreat to the bar… order a beer and take out a book.

The beer is good, the book better (Sandstone Spine by David Roberts, a story of trip, a hike along a ridge in search of Anasazi… I see a summer trip in the book)
I set check the airline’s website on my phone, set the alarm on my phone… I drink another beer… I read more… the alarm goes off… I move to the gate where our plane has arrived… I board, find a place for my bags and sit down… The people who follow me aboard are not all as lucky… the space in the overhead bins is fast disappearing… they are offering to gate check bags… the dreaded announcements are starting… one bin nearby won’t close… the owner of the offending bag rearranges it and it now closes… the gentleman nearby, hoping to place his smaller bag in that bin once the oversize bad is disappointed.

I say to the “Stew” (aka flight attendant) “I bet you love this part of your job….” She “Uh Huh….”

You can either fight it and get mad or laugh at it… I choose to laugh.
We are now over the Sierras at about 37,000 feet… There is still significant snow below… the weather is broken layers of clouds and fog, soft grays in the failing light… About 8:00 we cross over into Nevada… I take a few pictures, then shut down the computer to read and hopefully take a nap.

They made up a half hour in flight. I won the luggage lottery… third bag off… after wandering about O’Hare looking for the shuttle stop I made it to the hotel about 1:30… A quick nap… Up again at 6:00 local time (4:00 pacific) and armed with a cup of coffee, and fortified by a quick shower, we are off…

First report from the road

Just in, as of 7:36 am Pacific time the girls were crossing the Ohio boarder, having rendezvoused at Dulles, and driven across Maryland and Pennsylvania... That's 4 states before 8:00 am (well, it's 11:00 where they are) They still need to cross Ohio, dodge into Michigan for a quick visit, across the top of Indiana then into Illinois before they stop for the night.

Here in California I am packed, the boarding pass is printed, and I am off to work for the day...

The photo is from the last trip to Chicago, three years ago... enjoy...

Randy

A new journey begins

It started about 11:00 this morning (pacific daylight time)… again about an hour ago… and will again tomorrow about 8:00 pm…

This morning, Steph left California Maryland, her home for the last year, where she lived with Kelly, her cousin’s wife… and their children (her cousin Fred, and Kelly, Hallie and Noah) by car… headed for Lorton Virginia… where another cousin, Jen and family live.

This evening Kellie, her best friend left California, the real one… via SFO and Virgin America (the Best Damn Airline in the World!) for Dulles Airport in Virginia…

Early tomorrow, very early, Steph will leave Lorton and rendezvous with Kellie of California (the real one)… then together drive west, across Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana (with a stop in Michigan to visit Tanya, her aunt, and Fred’s mom) on to Illinois where they will stop for the night…

Tomorrow evening I will leave California (the real one) via SFO and United Airlines (they break guitars you know… I won’t be bringing one so no problem) headed for Chicago, O’Hare… and a rendezvous with the girls… Steph and Kellie...

Together the three of us will continue west… eventually landing in San Mateo, 6 days later…

In between we plan on visiting at least one railroad museum (Mid-Continent in North Freedom Wisconsin), the Corn Palace in Mitchell South Dakota, before stopping for the night at Chamberlain, South Dakota on the Missouri River…

The next day (Sunday) we continue across South Dakota on I-90… dropping south to Badlands National Park, then rejoining I-90 at Wall, home of Wall Drug, then west to Rapid City… then into the valley of the shadow of Roosevelt’s nose at Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse before pausing for the night in Deadwood South Dakota…

The nest day (Monday) we rejoin I-90 westward… leaving to visit Devil’s Tower National Monument (Where Close Encounters of the 3^rd kind was filmed) then back to I-90 to the Little Big Horn Battlefield… then on to Billings Montana, before dropping back down to Cody Wyoming, our stop for the night.

The next morning (Tuesday) we have a short drive from Cody into and about Yellowstone National Park… We hope to and expect to see wildlife… then geysers… ending up at Old Faithful for the night…

The following morning (Wednesday) we are off to the south to Grand Tetons… Mountains, views, wildlife…. And Jackson, we are going to Jackson, Jackson Wyoming (apologies to Johnny and June Carter Cash) again, our evening stop…

Thursday will be a long hard drive, just short of 950 miles… at best a 12 hour drive, likely much longer... our target is home… San Mateo, a good target…

I am packing, clothing, two cameras, a computer, and lots of CD’s… The music will be important…

We have a plan (by now you probably have guessed that.) We have visited AAA for guide books and maps. We have used Google maps planning routes and diversions… We have visited web sites… for attractions, for national parks, for hotels…

We are off.

Live music and a new hat

A couple of Sundays ago T & I found our selves at the San Gregorio General store for a concert… The store is on the “coast side” of San Mateo County… a strangely rural area isolated area surprisingly close to Metropolitan San Francisco Bay…

The Band was Houston Jones, a local band which is difficult to categorize… they call their music “High Octane Americana”…. Their history may explain it all (or completely confuse…) three members were previously with the Waybacks, a newgrass/folk band… they added a gospel singer, and an accordion player… The result is spectacular… of course they are damned good musicians, which doesn’t hurt.

We had seen them a couple times before… once in a small club in Redwood City, the second time at a house concert (in a garage)

This seems to be the new face of music… bands self promote with their own websites, with You Tube, Facebook, and Myspace… they perform in small venues, even private homes… there isn’t a traditional record company involved…



So we find our selves headed to the coast on a Sunday afternoon… it was a pretty day, no fog, just a hint of chill in the air… we arrive to find one table (of the 6) left in the store… we grab it… The general store is unique… once a classic general store, it is now more of a bar (famous for their bloody marys) book store, clothing store, with snack food… It’s the kind of place were bicyclists and motorcyclists stop while out for a ride. They have live music on weekend. The band sets up. The band plays. We enjoy… They pass a jar for tips for the band… we feed the jar... we buy a couple of drinks each… and a new hat. I have been in search of a new hat since I lost my favorite in Buenos Aries last January… the old hat was a green felt fedora… the new hat is brown oiled canvas… Time will tell if it will ever be THE hat… but its at least a good hat for now.

I will be back on the road again next week. Steph and I, with guest traveler Kelly will be driving from Chicago to San Mateo, via the Black Hills of South Dakota, Yellowstone and Grand Teton… photos will be taken… trip reports will be posted… I will take the new hat.

I fly out Friday night…