Red, White and Blue

05 Thursday Jul 2018

Northbound adventure began about 10AM today. For a holiday, traffic was fairly light. We opted not to stop along the way to our destination as we didn’t know what traffic ahead would be like. I also wanted to be in for the night before folks began heading home from their BBQs and picnics. The temperature in Idaho Falls this morning was a balmy 45 degrees. Not exactly what we’d call summer weather, but it did warm up rather quickly. (When I checked about 6AM it was 38 degrees with a 4 degree windchill.)

Through northern Idaho and the northeast corner of Oregon and on into Washington. Watching the topography change was a treat. The flat, vast farmland of Idaho into the rolling hills and Blue Mountains of Oregon. Two 6% grade descents today – the last overlooking gorgeous views of the farms and grain fields in the valley below. I enjoyed the view, at least. The passenger is not really keen on heights, especially when wending around mountain passes.

“Bessie,”as I have named her, hit 50,000 miles just over the Oregon border. Fun to think that I have helped put about 14,000 of those miles on her, and it will be closer to 16,500 by the time we complete this journey.

We crossed the 45th parallel today – halfway between the equator and north pole. Unfortunately no picture opportunity as we crossed it, just a sign on the side of the road as you drove by.

We checked into the hotel at 3PM, settled into the room, and then decided to see what fun we could find in the Columbia River Valley area of Washington. Hello, wineries! We managed to find one open, about 3 miles from the hotel.We had a very enjoyable tasting at J. Bookwalter Winery, and then stayed for happy hour at the restaurant. A perfect little meal at the end of the day. We are hoping to see fireworks from our room window when the sun sets.

We managed to get our red, white and blue in today (red wine, white wine and Blue Mountains!)

The BEST sliders!

Wishing everyone a very happy 4th of July!

Posted by andreapw | Filed under Blue Mountains, Columbia River Valey Wineries, Columbia River Valley, Idaho, Idaho Falls, J Bookwalter Winery, Oregon, Washington, wheat, wine, Wine Tasting

≈ Leave a comment

Image

Ash and alfalfa

04 Wednesday Jul 2018

We got up early today as we weren’t sure what the situation with the wildfires would be, and the smoke was definitely having a negative impact on both our breathing. The car had a layer of ash on it when we loaded it.

Time to head for fresher air! Not a whole lot of scenery today along US 40 westbound. Much of the same desertlike landscape. We climbed a few peaks, and eventually hit I-80 westbound. When I saw the sign that Reno, NV was 540 miles away, I did think for a split second about heading to Sacramento. We would have had maybe 30 minutes to visit a lot of people before we had to head on to Seattle, so I nixed the thought before it really got started. It was a pleasant split second, though.

Our first destination was Salt Lake City Brewing Co and Squatters Craft Beer. Mom and I shared a salad (which, I am hesitant to admit may have been my first green veggies since we left Illinois).

We drove to Temple Square, but a large thunderstorm was brewing, so we pulled to the side of the road and plugged in the directions to tonight’s lodging. I did manage to get a photo of the capital while at a red light.

We hit a bit of rain which cleaned the bugs of the windshield and helped with visibility as we left Salt Lake City. We crosssed into Idaho about 2:40PM, and watched vast green farmland come into view. I took a break from driving so was able to get some photos along the way.

Alfalfa field

And we got to see more wheat fields. This is a bit bittersweet, though, as we were detoured off the freeway onto the frontage road due to a fatal accident with a car and tractor trailor. Watching the wheat undulate in the breeze was mesmerizing.

It was a long, slow end to the day, and I won”t lie and say it was all happiness in our car.

But we made it to the hotel, unloaded what we needed, and I made a trip to the grocery store. Tonic water, Rose’s Lime Juice, rainbow roll sushi, and a few other snack items. When returning from to the hotel, I pulled in, parked , gathered the groceries and went to the side door to go up the stairs. My key wouldn’t work, and I thought maybe I had put my cell phone near it. I headed to the main lobby entrance, walked in, looked around for a moment and realized this was not the hotel we’d checked into. I turned around on a dime, walked back to the car, and drove to the parking lot next door where we are staying. If that didn’t say it had been a long day, I don’t know what does! A beverage and nosh and we are both much better!

I think tonight calls for a good night’s sleep and waking up when we feel like it. Oh, and today’s public service announcement is a good reminder for everyone tomorrow. (I would add to this ‘unless you are a paid professional.’)

We’re off to southeastern Washington tomorrow, and hope to catch a fireworks display in town. And there are wineries within walking distance of the hotel! (Or at least it looks like they’re walking distance.) If you are traveling today or tomorrow, be safe and don’t drive faster than your guardian angels can fly.

Posted by andreapw | Filed under Alfalfa, Alfalfa fields, Idaho, Idaho Falls, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City Brewing Co, Squatters Brewing, Squatters Craft Beer, Utah, wheat, Wildfires

≈ 1 Comment

Image

Adventures Along the Road Less Traveled…

03 Tuesday Jul 2018

What an absolute treat to sleep with the window cracked open, fresh mountain air, and the sounds of birds chirping in the morning. We opted for breakfast 17 miles outside of Steamboat Springs at The Clark Store. A general store for locals, fresh breakfast, great coffee, and a fun mix of locals and travelers. The breakfast burrito was amazing. While lingering over breakfast and looking at routes for today’s drive, I spotted one that would take about an hour longer, but would bring us through Wyoming. If you’ve followed our past travels, you know which route we took!

We drove north on County Road 129, passing through Hahn’s Peak and Iron Mountain. We watched stands of white birch and aspen groves glistening in the warm summer breeze. The first highlight, though, was the sight of sheep on the side of the road, the rancher on horseback at the edge of the woods, and the little lamb who decided to nurse as momma crossed the road.

Suddenly we were looking at a dirt road, but GPS still indicated it was the correct route. I figured we could always turn around if it got too bad. The most glorious 39 miles of the trip so far! I think we saw maybe 10 other drivers along the way. Each one giving a friendly wave as we passed. As we passed into Wyoming, we found ourselves in the Little Snake River Valley. The Snake River Valley was one of my dad’s favorite places. Seemed appropriate we would stumble on the Little Snake River Valley.

When you take the less traveled road, you get to see all sorts of fun things…

My favorite sign of the day was “Drive Slow. Free Range Children.” We crossed in and out of Wyoming and Colorado several times, and eventually stayed on a more western route toward Dinosaur National Monument in Jensen, UT. We even spotted two St. Paul’s Episcopal churches…one in Dickson, a town with population of 97, and the other in Jensen.

The traffic was a a little hard to deal with!

The Dinosaur National Monument was more fun than either of us expected. Seeing an actual archeological dig site, touching dinosaur bones and realizing that dinosaurs really did roam the US millions of years ago brought a new perspective to the day.

We checked into our hotel, relaxed a bit and decided on a place to eat. The smoke from the wildfires burning in the area was a bit thicker than when we’d arrived, and we noticed ash on the car. We were happy to realize the red glow on the way back from dinner was the sun setting and not flames in the distance. Tomorrow we plan to be up and out a bit earlier than usual, and hopefully get into some clearer air and back to blue sky. Our prayers are with all those fighting the fires, those who are being evacuated, and those keeping a close eye on the situation in case they need to evacuate.

Posted by andreapw | Filed under Dinosaur National Monument, Episcopal Church, Jensen, UT, National Park Pass, National Parks, Ranchers, Sheep, Utah, Vernal, UT, Wildfires

≈ Leave a comment

Image

Rocky Mountain High – the mountains, that is

02 Monday Jul 2018

We were up and ready in time for breakfast at the hotel and on the road about 10AM. Filled up the gas tank, washed the windshield, and hit the highway. We finally saw the golden wheat fields of Kansas. The green of the corn and soybean fields next to them really made them stand out. A little research taught us this appears to be Kansas winter wheat which is planted in the fall and harvested in late June to early July. What struck us most was that it was maybe knee high or so. We’d both envisioned it much taller and really blowing in the wind. I guess that’s a lesson for us not to think about the musicals we know and love for information…or perhaps it just grows taller in Oklahoma.

We were 60 miles or so outside Denver when we spotted what has now become known as “A Brown Sign.” These are our signal that there is some interesting historical site, something whimsical, or down right odd that we may want to check out. Today’s Brown Sign said “Scenic Route to Denver.” Well, it sounded better than more of I-70 to me, so off the freeway we went onto State Route 86 through Kiowa and Elizabeth. A beautiful drive through foothills, ranches and small towns. It was the first time I had seen cows lying flat on their side, legs outstretched, in the late morning sun. We connected with I-25 into Denver, past Mile High Stadium, and eventually back to I-70. (Sorry for my Broncos fans. I was driving, and the Rockies had a home game today so traffic was a bit heavy. No place or time to stop for a photo. And a good thing I didn’t check the Rockie’s schedule before writing this as the SF Giants were in town. I might have stopped for that game!)

As traffic was heavier than we expected, we opted not to stop at Red Rocks Park and Ampitheater. This has been added to the “Next time we drive through” list. The drive over the Rocky Mountains was breathtaking. Snow was still visible on many of the mountain tops, and it felt many times like we were on a roller coaster – just when you thought you had finished the climb to the top and were heading down, you’d climb some more. We stopped for lunch in Idaho Springs, and I reported to family members we were on the westside of the Rockies. If I’d looked at the atlas, I would have realized we’d just barely started our climb. We watched white water rafters getting started, others finishing their trip, passed ropes and zip-lining courses, drove through 8 tunnels (maybe more) and continued to climb higher. We were over 10,000 feet up, maybe even 13,000 feet before we started the first descent. 7% downhill grade for 7 miles. Kept the foot off the brake as much as possible as I was not planning to use the runaway truck lane if I didn’t have to! Unfortunately, the turn-offs we passed along the way came up suddenly, or were full, so I didn’t get a chance to get pictures. Photos on the internet, in movies or on TV do not do it justice. It is absolutely worth the drive.

We had a second 7% grade descent, but this only lasted 5 miles and led us eventually to Rabbits Ear Pass and the Continental Divide. Our third time crossing the divide in 5 years. Our next crossing will be eastbound in Canada. The landscape changed from dry, almost desert-like to more lush and green as we got closer to Steamboat Springs.

We pulled into our hotel about 4:30PM, unloaded what we needed for the night, and, despite the road buzz, opted to head into town for a nosh and beverage. We stumbled upon Table 79 which had a wonderful happy hour. We relaxed, ate, drank and soaked up some fresh air. The air is a bit thinner, and it’s a bit harder to take really deep breath. The view from our room patio makes it all worthwhile, though!

Tomorrow we are off to explore dinosaur fossils and petroglyphs.

Posted by andreapw | Filed under Broncos, Colorado, Continental Divide, Denver, Elizabeth, Idaho Springs, Kansas, Kiowa, Rabbit Ears Pass, Rockies, Rocky Mountains, Steamboat Springs, Table 79, Travel, wheat, winter wheat

≈ Leave a comment

Image

Toto, we’re still in Kansas…

01 Sunday Jul 2018

Today started with a wonderful visit wiht dear family friends. We caught up on the past 20+ (OK, maybe more like 30, but who’s counting?) years over coffee before we hit the road west. I think we would have sat there for a lot longer if we didn’t have a state to explore.
Our first stop was Wamego, KS where we followed the yellow brick road to the Wizard of Oz Museum. (Can you really go through Kansas and not stop?) It’s a great museum. There are over 2,000 artifacts, everything from L. Frank Baum’s books, toys and games from across the world and across decades, actual costumes and production notes from the filming, and even The Wiz and Wicked are represented. I was never a big fan of the movie as a child, but I do find nuggets of inspiration and wisdom in it as an adult.

Leaving Oz left us a little hungry, so we opted for lunch at Tall Grass Tap House in Manhattan, KS. Great craft brews, less noise than yesterday, and good food. We didn’t have time to drive through KSU campus, but the area is beautiful.

As we meandered along I-70, we spotted a sign for a 1901 carousel at the next exit. Well, you don’t have to ask us twice. We both enjoy carousels, and this was a perfect time for a stretch break. It turned out to be another incredible museum in Abilene, KS, the Dickson County Historical Museum. A very interactive, informative museum about the founding of the area – the settlers, their culture, and agriculture. It even included photos of Carrie Nation and her bar bashing temperance movement. The back of the museum is a history of the telephone. It was fun, and perhaps a bit sobering, to see how many I recognized. Outside was a cabin dating from the late 1800’s, a one room school house, antique farm implements, and the carousel.

The metal caskets with the ‘viewing’ window were a tad creepy, but in a day when you didn’t have selfies and digital photos, I suppose it was a comfort to those who had lost loved ones. Just across the street from the museum was President Eisenhower’s Library and childhood home. It was too late for us to visit, but we’ve added it to the list for a future trip.

A hundred miles or so later, we saw a sign for the Cathedral of the Plains. ‘Should we stop?” I asked my passenger. “Your decision” was her reply. So, of course, I made a quick exit to see what this was. Our first road trip was a series of “I wonder what this is…” and “This sounds like fun…” stops. It was good to get back to that spontaneity.

The Cathedral of the Plains, St. Fidelus Catholic Church

We finally landed in Colby, KS for the night, about 54 miles from the Colorado border. We got situated in the hotel just in time for a good old fashioned midwest thunderstorm to roll in.