Through Montana and over the the mountain

Thursday November 29th

Got a slow start this morning (must have been on Cathey’s schedule).  Once we got gassed up and on the road, I got out my computer and was going to do some writing but the computer wouldn’t boot-up.  I tried a couple more times and then texted the Michigan City helpdesk (son Jim).  He asked for symptoms and what I was seeing on the screen.  He gave me a couple of secret key combinations to force the boot-up process but to no avail.  His last bit of advice was to get to an Apple Store and let the genius folks there do their magic.  Due to that I missed a lot of the scenery between Billings and Livingston.  Cathey stopped in Livingston and got a snack at a very busy Dairy Queen. 

From there I drove to Three Forks where we usually stop at the Montana Wheat store for a sandwich and baked goods.  Then on to Missoula where we arrived about dark; we stopped for gas and then had to make a decision whether to stop there for the night or try to get over Lookout pass before we stopped.  (Lookout Pass is about two hours beyond Missoula and the next town with more than one motel is Coeur d’Alene, ID, which is about another hour.)  We called the Montana DOT road report number for pass information and found out that the road was considered wet with temperatures expected to be between 34 and 38 until 11pm.  So we decided to continue on our way rather than take the chance that tomorrow it might be snowing there and road conditions might be worse.

As it turned out the pass was a non-event; the road was wet but traffic was light and everybody seemed to be driving cautiously.  We gained an hour on the clock crossing the Idaho line, so I think we checked in the motel in Coeur d’Alene about 7:30, much relieved.

Chamberlain, SD to Billings, MT

Wednesday November 28^th

When I left the room this morning the sun was streaming straight down the hallway—so it was the day that the motel hallway lined up with the rising sun.  A good omen I hope! 

Got rolling by 9am and was running low on gas a couple of hours W of Chamberlain; gas stations were scarce, either closed for ever or closed for the season.  But we found a Conoco waiting to take our money at Kadoka.  Then on to Rapid City for our daily lunch/breakfast at Perkin’s.  From Rapid City it’s only another 60 or 80 miles to the Wyoming line and I thought it was just a short hop across WY and then into MT.  But the short hop turned out to be several hundred miles.  We were at Sheridan, WY about dark and then drove on to Billings, MT before we stopped for the night.  Then when we watched the weather on TV we found out that the West Coast is having a big storm.  There will be lots of rain for the next few days; we will have to watch road reports for the passes where there could be ice and snow.

From the Mississippi to the Missouri

Tuesday November 27^th

Cathey let me sleep until I woke up on my own, which didn’t happen until 7:20, so it’s my fault that we got a late start today.  First stop was a nearby Shopko to pick up some of the items that we discovered missing from our travel kit.  Got on the road about 9:30.  I forgot about Don Piper’s scenic route (along the Root River) west from La Crosse and regret it.  It’s one of those drives that is pleasant but parallels the main road and doesn’t take much extra time. 

Sunset in South Dakota

From the view via I-90 in eastern MN, I would say that the farms in MN are less tumbledown than what we see in eastern WI.  I think the difference is that the consolidation in the dairy industry has left many old farm buildings falling down.  But in MN the focus is more on cash crops so there are more farms still populated by farm families.

Made a lunch/gas stop in Austin.  Discovered the smells of money (the Hormel plant in Austin and the sugar beet plant further west); both of which I would prefer to the big dairy complexes near home. 

 Made it as far as Chamberlain, SD; we could have gone a little farther but motels beyond Chamberlain are iffy.  Chamberlain is where I-90 crosses the Missouri River –then the WEST begins!

We Reach Escape Velocity

Monday November 26^th

And we’re off like a turd of hurtles!  Too many last minute things to do…..

We finally got everything together and got on the road at about 3pm.  Cathey was doing the driving so that I could rest, but the passenger seat in the Suburban is not conducive to rest for large Polacks with achy knees. 

We made it as far as La Crosse and stopped for the night.  We didn’t get far but we did it in the best way – uneventfully.

Almost Nuttin'

Sunday April 8^th

Almost as exciting as yesterday, but we did manage to get together with Catie for dinner. We went to a place called Cicily’s. It was Italian food and it was very good; So good that we had dessert too.

Nuttin' Honey

Saturday April 7^th

Didn’t do anything but read today. Finished reading “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” and another small book.

California Redwoods

Friday April 6^th

We got up early to get going before 9am – and succeeded. It wasn’t very sunny when we left but the skies cleared as we traveled toward Crescent City. The only good road to the coast from here is US-199 that runs SW from Grants Pass, OR to Crescent City, CA. The entire trip is through the Coastal Range of mountains is up and down and follows the Illinois River valley for awhile and later the Smith River. Both of them are swift blue green rivers full of snow melt from the recent precipitation. We got to Crescent City about noon and then stopped and got some information at the park headquarters.

Our first stop was a few miles south of Crescent City on a high hill that overlooked the curve of the Crescent beach S of Crescent City and the shoreline to the S from there. There were some surfers along the beach but the surf was not very big today. Then we decided to go back to Crescent City and have lunch because we didn’t know what was available further south. We had lunch at a place called the Chart Room, which was right on the waterfront. There was a floating platform in the water just outside the restaurant and it was filled with harbor seals and sea lions. They weren’t doing much, just sunning themselves and one of the sea lions would occasionally do some barking. Later we notice that a nearby pier was also covered with sea lions. I had some clam chowder that was pretty good – not spectacular but good.

After lunch we continued our drive S along the coast to the Klamath River. We traveled on a side road on the N side of the river to a view point that looks over the river mouth and the coast both N & S. It was interesting to see the different colors of the ocean where the water from the river empties into the ocean. The land along the Klamath River is controlled by the Yuroc Indian Tribe and they control the fishery on the Klamath River. It is one river that still has a good salmon run.

Later we dorve along the S side of the River and went by a monument to an early Radar station that was built there in 1942. The installation was disguised as farm buildings and they are still there, though they have been restored. The place was put on the Historical Register in the late 70’s.

At 4:30 we decided to turn around and begin our trip back to Grants Pass and Gold Hill. We never did stop and take pictures of the trees – I don’t think our piddling cameras could do much to convey the size and majesty of these trees. It’s just one of the things that you have to see for yourself to understand.

We got back to Grants Pass about 7:30 and there was still a little daylight. We stopped at McDonalds for supper and then drove back to Gold Hill. Just before we reached Gold Hill the moon rose above the horizon. It was directly ahead of us on I-5 and it looked like it was the highway to the moon!