Day 23: California

Fires 

My original plan was to head south from Newport and see the Sequoia National Forest, and then head East to Redding California for the night. I caught on the news yesterday that there is a huge forest fire near Redding and it’s not contained. I didn’t want to get caught in a fire and I didn’t want to take a hotel room from a firefighter or evacuee, so I changed my plans today. It was probably my hardest day of the trip so far. 

I decided to go east and then around the fire, staying in the Lake Tahoe area tonight. There is no fast way to get from west to east in Northern California. I left before sunrise heading east through mountain passes, when the sun came up I was in heavily forested and mountainous terrain, with the rising sun hitting me perfectly in the eyes as I went east. I eventually headed south and east through ranch land and I started noticing the impact of recent fires. At one point I saw a temporary sign, showing where the incident command site was located and another sign showing where the helicopter landing site was. 

When I hit the California border, smoke was everywhere, it was thick and it covers the whole region. I noticed a few spray painted plywood signs saying thanks to Cal Fire, so this area has seen it problems too. I skirted Reno, which is stuck in the smoke and where I am tonight in Truckee has a persistent haze.

Last night at dinner, I had the longest conversation I have had in 3 weeks. A couple sitting near me outside, was from wine county, north of San Francisco. They were in Oregon scouting places they could move to. They explained that for the last 4 years, their house has been threatend with wild fires, and they are getting tired of having to have a “go bag” at that door. They were surprised with how expensive Oregon has become, I guess it’s because of all the other people from California moving to escape the fires. 

At any rate it’s good to be the Lake Tahoe region. I have been here a few times skiing. Last time I was with John and we were staying at a Casino. I woke John up and told him it was time to get up if we were going to make first chair at Squaw Valley. John hit the shower and I went to the Casino to play blackjack, while I was there, I realized I had not changed my watch, so it was in fact 4am. I went back to the room and told John to never mind. Needless to say, we made first chair. I think we were there before most of the employees.

Song of the Day: Hotel California, The Eagles Podcast: 

Stuff You Missed in History Class, today Gerrymandering – turns out in started in Massachusetts. 

Book on Tape: Started the Wright Brothers by David McCullough

Beer of the Day: Lazy Hazy, Fall River Brewing 

Total Miles 560

Day 22: Oregon Columbia River Gorge. What a day. Started out from Western Washington State early, for the first 200 miles, I thought I was in the Dakota’s, very dry and very stark landscape. Stopped for gas at an unattended station because that is all there was. When I finally crossed into Oregon and turned West towards Portland, Wow! The Columbia River is amazing. I’m driving along the river on I-84 and I see tugboats pushing barges east, I can see a Burlington Northern Train heading west with a long line of freight behind it and up on the hills, windmills turning slowly. Just when I think it can’t get any better, I come around the bend and see Mt Hood in the distance with its snowcapped peak. I stopped at Hood River Park in Oregon for lunch, it’s a big wind-surfing center, the river is about a mile wide at this point. From there, I headed towards Portland, stopping to get off on Route 30 whenever possible. I wanted to stop at Multnomah falls, but it was blocked off, however I did stop at an impressive fall just before, you can see in the picture below. After skirting Portland, I headed South and West heading for the coast. Passed through an area that had just burned, forest and some structures. Finally hit the coast and followed highway 101 down to Newport. Very overcast, one person told me it was smoke from the California fires, another told me it was normal coastal fog. Unbelievable scenery. Today is my 60th Birthday. This trip was my 60th birthday present to myself and why, even with Covid I was determined to make it happen this year. It’s as good as “The Year of Nate” this was what I called the year leading up to my 50th birthday. That year I went Helicopter skiing, sky diving, hot air ballooning and went to Denmark with Mom, Amanda, John and his daughter Hanne. A really good year, but I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my 60th then this trip. Today is perfect, I guess it’s the Apex since I have hit the Pacific and now head back east. Song of the Day: Heading East, Jackson Browne Podcast: On Something, CBD – the takeaway -Mileage may very (CBD helps some people more than others, and Buyer beware, lot of claims out there that are not true) Book on Tape: Finished Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee Beer of the Day: Breakside IPA, Breakside Brewery Total Miles 475 nbsp;

 Day 21: Washington

Leaving Boise, headed for Washington, my GPS wanted to keep me on the highway, going inland to Oregon, before coming out in Southeast Washington. I referred to my trusty Rand McNally and headed north on highway 95 on the Idaho side of the boarder, straight north.  An amazing drive, I had a little bit of everything. Started with Potato fields, then moved to ranch land with mountains in the distance, moved into the heavy trees, with logging trucks everywhere.  For a time, I followed the Salmon river then climbed over a mountain, into the plains.  Something for everyone. One of the most interesting drives because it just kept changing.

I went through the Nez Perce Indian reservation today, just was listening about their land getting stolen yesterday on Bury My Heart.  Went by a memorial to Lewis and Clarke, who started their voyage home from near here.  I stopped in Lewiston Idaho to see Hells Canyon State Park, but it’s just a park on the Snake River.  Hells Canyon is the deepest river gorge in North America, unfortunately for me to see it would require a long hike or at least an off-road adventure.  I opted to just know I drove past it.

Ended the day in Pullman Washington.  Noticed driving into town there were these rolling hills that all had just recently been harvested, I hadn’t seen anything like that before with all the hills.  Turns out it’s Canola. 

Song of the Day: Life is a Highway, Rascal Flatts

Podcast: New one today, Stuff You Missed in History Class. Today the Delano Grape Strike & Boycott. Turns out it was started by Filipino laborers, the Mexican labor workers under Cesar Chavez joined later.

Book on Tape:  Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee 

Beer of the Day:  Cryo Stash, Hop Valley Brewing

Total Miles 340

 Day 20: Idaho

I left Yellowstone when it was still dark, but Yellowstone is so big, it took me 90 minutes to exit the park to the West.  It was snowing when I hit the road, but there will still people with huge cameras on tripods getting set up to take pictures of birds on the river and the elk, which were already in the fields.

When I hit Idaho, rather than go for the interstate, I headed straight across on highway 20, first stop was Craters of the Moon in Areo.  This is a lava field, but unlike others I have seen that are at the base of a volcano, these come up from fissures in the ground. The park has a 7-mile drive around it, and I stopped for a hike up a mound of black sand.

Next stop was Ketchum.  Home to Sun Valley Ski area and the place where Ernest Hemingway is buried.  The town has a monument to Hemingway, probably to keep people from visiting his gave site.  Hemingway is a favorite of mine, so I stopped at the monument to pay my respects.  Sun Valley is supposed to be one of the first ski destinations, started in 1936.  The mountain is not huge from what I saw, but its base is right in the nice-looking little town.

Ended up in Boise for the night, at first glance this is a great little city, they have a whole street now closed off for restaurants to have outdoor dining and city is surround by stunning scenery.

Idaho has a different look then the rest of the Rockies, or at least what I saw today.  Flat farm and ranch land but surrounded by mountains.  It reminds me of parts of Colorado, but I didn’t notice the big climb up to the ski area’s that I’m used to.

Song of the Day: What’s your name, Lynyrd Skynyrd

Podcast: Smartless, today Seth Rogan

Book on Tape:  Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee Dee Brown – all about this area of the country

Beer of the Day:  Payette Rustler Bittercreek Alehouse

Total Miles 500

 Day 19: Wyoming

Yellowstone

Who knew that Yellowstone had its own Grand Canyon? Not me.  The only other time I have been to Yellowstone is with my brother John.  We were on a ski trip to Big Sky Montana in 2014 and took a day off from skiing and did a snowmobile tour from West Yellowstone into the park, ending at Old Faithful. It was a full day tour with some serious miles on the snowmobiles.  It was one of the best tours I have ever been on because they only allow 200 snowmobiles into the park on any one day so there were no crowds, the guide was really good and our group was small, maybe 8 snowmobiles total and  they showed us a lot of the geysers and we drove right by heards of bison, on the same road with us.

The thing that was good about today is that coming from Livingston, I drove down spectacular highway 89, where I could see snow capped mountains.  I entered the park from the North, I saw a whole different part of the park that I didn’t see on the snowmobile tour.  Included was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, I had no idea.  I also got to see Geysers, Mammoth Hot springs, and Yellowstone lake, which is huge.

Elk and Bison everywhere.  From my time in the Black Hills I knew to expect big crowds, and indeed there were a lot of people here.  I can’t imagine what it’s like in the summer, but campgrounds with RV’s were packed.  I tried to avoid the big attractions, just too many people.  I was able to take a nice walk along the lake where I saw a pullout with no cars.  I was also smart, knowing that food would be limited in Yellowstone, I stocked up at a grocery store in Livingston and enjoyed a solitary lunch by the lake.

My friend Megan was here a few weeks ago and was worried about me not having reservations, she booked me a cabin on Yellowstone Lake.  No TV, no internet (I am going to try and send this from a hotel) and no cell service. Now I feel like John Steinbeck in Travels with Charlie, it’s great.

Song of the Day: I can still make Cheyenne, George Strait

Podcast: On Something, Medical Marijuana in Louisiana

Book on Tape:  Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee – fitting the section today was Montana and Wyoming

Beer of the Day:  Summit Dogs Double IPA, Outlaw Brewing

Total Miles 175

 Day 18: Montana

Big Sky Country

When I told you in day 1 about the guy I knew that did the Appalachian trail, one thing that struck me while reading his blog, every day all he had to do was wake up and put one foot in front of the other in order to reach his goal.  It hit me, what a great existence, no meetings, no multi-tasking, no worrying about what you had to get done today, just get up and get going.  I feel the same about this trip, except mine is even easier, just get up and put one wheel in front of the other, set the cruise control and move towards my goal.  Even a week shy of ½ halfway through this trip, I still love the feeling every morning of knowing I just need to get out of bed and get moving towards my goal.  It’s not lost on me how fortunate I am to have this opportunity; that I was able to retire early, that I have a supportive spouse, and that I have the health and desire to do this trip.

Today was a big trip mileage wise, I left Bismarck before the sun came up and headed west.  I stopped at Little Big Horn National Monument. Side note, I bought a National Park Pass 3 days ago, and it’s already paid for itself. The park is where Custer’s last stand happened.  They have a 5-mile drive through the battlefield and places to stop along the way.  A couple of things I noticed, this landscape gives you nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, once the battle began, it was all over.  The other thing, which was really interesting, they put markers where all the solders fell and, significantly, in 1999 put markers where the Indian fighters that perished fell. The Park Service recognized, they needed to provide a balanced account of the battle.  Another thing that stuck me was that Custer was removed from the battlefield and is buried at West Point (See Day 4) and Crazy Horse was a leader at this battle (see Day 16).

Another reason I know this trip fits my style, even after driving 10 hours and 600 miles, as soon as I got to my hotel in Livingston, MT, I dropped by bags and went to check out the town.  Nice little town with good restaurants, beautiful views and nice people.

Song of the Day: Big Sky Country Chris Whitley and Livingston Saturday Night Jimmy Buffett

Podcast: Smartless, today Astro Physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson

Book on Tape:  Finished Uncle Tom’s Cabin, started Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee Dee Brown

Beer of the Day:  Dirty Bird IPA Neptune Brewing

Total Miles 600

 Day 17: North Dakota

State Tree

What is the State Tree of North Dakota? …. The telephone pole. Credit to my friend Rocchio for that joke. 

I was believing the joke today after I left Hill City South Dakota, through Rapid City, then through Sturgis (home of the big motorcycle week, and recently Covid Super Spreader event).  Going North on a State Two lane, very few trees at all in this ranch land.  Homes and barns were tucked behind rocks, but I did not see the trees and water I saw in Nebraska.  I did however see cows, deer and even a buffalo heard (I think being raised for meat).

I can only imagine what this territory is like in a winter storm, nothing to stop the wind for miles.  I have been known to let my gas gauge get down to the warning light coming on, and then some.  Not here, when it gets below ½, I start looking.

My destination was Theodore Roosevelt National Park, in South Western North Dakota.  At the start of this trip I finished the book Leave It As It Is by David Glessner.  The author tells the story of Roosevelt and his efforts to conserve the American West during his presidency.  Roosevelt had many faults, but he did more than any other president to preserve nature.  The book also talked about how formative Roosevelt’s time in North Dakota was.  Roosevelt moved to North Dakota as a spoiled, sickly young man and earned a reputation for being a hard-working ranch hand.  Roosevelt credits his time in North Dakota for giving him the ability to assume the presidency after McKinley was shot.  The park has a nice 25-mile drive through it’s Badlands.  I was relieved to find it a lot less crowded that the Badlands in South Dakota.  I saw wild buffalo, wild horses and prairie dogs.

After visiting the park, I set my sites on staying in Bismarck for the night. It occurred to me in my planning I really didn’t think my stops through, as I had to back track 130 miles east to get to Bismarck.  You know you have not planned correctly when you need to change your time back to Central time.  Oh well, I wanted to see Bismarck and so I set my cruise at 80 and arrived in Bismarck.   I’m glad I stuck to my plan, Bismarck is probably my biggest surprise so far, it’s a nice little city actually a lot of trees and gently rolling hills.  Picture below is of the state capital. Very un-Capital looking, it’s a 19-story building, still the tallest building in North Dakota, but the grounds are nice and it made for a pleasant walk.

Song of the Day: I found this on Spotify, and it sums up my trip,  Across America Nanci Griffith

Podcast: Smartless, today conductor Gustavo Dudamel

Book on Tape:  Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Beer of the Day:  Red Dwarf Raspberry Sour, Laughing Sun Brewery (shout out to my friend Randy for getting me to try a sour last month)

Total Miles 450

 Day 16: South Dakota

Badlands

From Nebraska I headed North on a state Highway headed for South Dakota, Two lane road, no traffic, nice countryside, mostly ranches with small groups of cattle scattered about, water didn’t seem to be a problem and a few hayfields thrown in.  Whenever I saw a group of trees there was usually a house or two and a barn.  Crossing over to South Dakota the landscape got stark, more mobile homes, more casinos, maybe because it was close to the Pine Ridge reservation. I did see a huge sunflower field off of I-90.

My first destination was Badlands National Park.  Driving in, I thought where could this be?  I don’t see anything from horizon to horizon.  Just 5 miles south of I-90, the park is right there.  Another national park that lives up to its billing, really spectacular.  There is a 30-mile drive, but I talked to a Park Service guide and he suggested, if I had the time, I should continue on a dirt road for another 25 miles and see more wildlife.  I took the dirt road and was immediately happy because all the RV’s took the paved road back to 1-90, leaving the dirt road to myself.  I was also rewarded with seeing a heard of Buffalo.

Next stop was Mt. Rushmore, busy but what I expected, by chance I found a 2-mile hike through the woods that got me closer to the Presidents and away from the crowd. I also stopped in to see the Crazy Horse monument, more out of an obligation to fund the Native American project, it’s still a work in process, and its more gift shop and add-on tours, but still worth the trip.

I was shocked to see how busy it is here. I haven’t seen so many people in one place on this trip. All 3 sites were packed, and hotel, bar and restaurant all said they are surprised how many people are here after Labor Day.  Tons of RV’s and a lot of kids, (I guess home schooling?)  Like North Conway, there is a lot of businesses that can’t find help here, it’s unlike any other year.  I even overheard people walking the other way say they were from Boston – imagine that.

Song of the Day: Badlands – Bruce Springsteen

Podcast: On Something. Federal vs State Law, story about a Chilean women banned from the US for 5 years because she legally bought an edible in Colorado

Book on Tape:  Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Beer of the Day:  Smoke Jumper Stout, Firehouse Brewing

Total Miles 425

 Day 15: Nebraska

Corn Huskers.

When you drive from Vermont to Colorado, there are two routes. Northern route is Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, Iowa, Nebraska, into Colorado.  The Southern route is Pennsylvania, Columbus, St Louis, Kansas City, Kansas, into Colorado.  I have done this trip 7 times (I stayed in Colorado after senior year) 3 times the northern route, 4 times the southern route.  On this trip I have done parts of both, today I drove north from the southern route to the northern route.

From Lawrence, I stopped in Topeka.  I saw a museum that commemorated a stop on the Oregon trail and various other aspects of prairie life.  Next I stopped at the memorial of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark decision that said “separate but equal” education, was not in fact equal.  Both museums were closed, but it got me to drive through Topeka.

From Topeka, I connected the South and North routes, by driving a state highway, which was more interesting than the interstates.  I stopped at the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace museum between Omaha and Lincoln.  For what was billed as a “hidden treasure” in one of my guidebooks, wow was I surprised at the quality of this museum.  As I walked in, the one tour of the day was just starting, so I joined 2 other people.  What an amazing tour; the guide led us on a 2-hour tour of a museum, focused on the Strategic Air Command, but really two hangers of Air Force planes, from WWII to present day, with a focus on the Cold War era.  The guide was a former Vietnam era air tanker pilot.  He gave such an interesting tour, with stories and history, just amazing.

From there it was a long haul on 1-80 to North Platte, but at dinner I realized I was only 4 miles away from the “golden spike” which I thought was where the railroads joined, instead, it’s just the biggest railway yard in the country, turns out it was Utah where the railways joined.  Anyways, cool.

Song of the Day: Nebraska – Bruce Springsteen

Podcast: Smartless – Will Ferrell – funny stuff

Book on Tape:  Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Beer of the Day:  Peg Leg Brewery, North Platte Brewery. Beers have clever names like IPA and Pale Ale

Total Miles: 470

 Day 14: Kansas

We are not in Kansas anymore, oh wait we are.

From St Louis I headed west on I-70 bound for Kansas.  This road reminds me of the trip from Vermont to Colorado with my sister Astrid. It was between my Sophomore and Junior year, after coming home for 6 weeks or so, I decided to spend the summer in Durango.  Astrid agreed to take a couple of weeks and do the drive with me, hang out in Colorado, and be dropped off in Phoenix for a flight home.  We were on this stretch of 1-70 late in the day and all of a sudden, the dash lights and a few other electrical items go out.  We pulled over and I replaced the fuse which seemed to get everything working again.  Further on the down the road, it was getting dark and we were going through Kansas City.  All of a sudden Truckers would come up behind us and start flashing their lights. We figured out that our taillights were out, but at this point there was nothing more we could do.  We made it to a hotel for the night and were able to drive in daylight to Colorado the next day. I couldn’t get the car fixed until my friend Mike figured it out.  The other thing about that trip, Astrid kept asking if we could stop for snacks, I kept telling her we had to wait until we needed gas, no reason to stop twice. I think she is still mad about that.  More on the way I tortured poor Astrid on this trip, when I get to Colorado.

I stopped in Kansas City Missouri to view the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. My guidebook calls it “Cow Town’s World Class Collections”. Like the museum in Milwaukee, it’s in a beautiful new building but it has even more varied of a collection from Contemporary Art to Dutch, French and American Art.  They also have a sculpture garden, below is a picture of one of their iconic badminton shuttlecocks.

Ended the day in Lawrence.  In 1854 a group of people from Massachusetts founded this town, with the idea of making it a free slave state. Pro Slavery guerrillas massacred 180 unarmed men and boys and burned down the town in 1863, one of the great atrocities of the civil war.  Today Lawrence stands out for its rolling hills, unlike most of the rest of Kansas and its generally progressive views.  One tip-off is the use of masks are required in this county, so much different from Missouri.

Last Picture today is words I live by.

Song of the Day: For my class of 1978 friends – Dust in the Wind, Kansas

Podcast: On Something: Today, can weed replace opioids (spoiler alert, need more research)

Book on Tape:  Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Beer of the Day:  Yakimaniac Free State Beer

Total Miles 300

 Day 13: Missouri

Gateway to the West

I thought before I headed West I needed to be at the Arch in ST Louis. Before that though, I headed from Des Moines to Hannibal Missouri, birthplace of Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain.  The drive to Hannibal through South Eastern Iowa was nice, rolling hills on a state highway.  Nothing like driving through Iowa on I-80 where you just see flat cornfields.

I noted as soon as I passed into Missouri and stopped at a gas station for coffee, that masks are totally optional here.  For the first time on this trip there was no sign on the door of the gas station saying you needed to wear a mask.  I’ve seen people in other states not wearing them and wearing them wrong, but this is the first time it’s strictly optional.  Even at the museums, it was just a suggestion.

Downtown Hannibal had a huge levy protecting the town from the river, so you had to climb the levy to see the river.  The boyhood home of Mark Twain was a nice little museum, it also showed you where the character that was Huck Finn and the character Becky lived and how they influenced his writing.  They also talked about how Clemens Anti-Slavery views took hold, which was interesting to me because I just started listening to Uncle Tom’s Cabin today.

Next stop was St. Louis.  Rather than head down the interstate, I elected to take the state road along the Mississippi   I was rewarded with a couple of glimpses of the river, but nothing like the views yesterday.

I have driven by the Arch a few times; this was the first time I was able to see it up close.  The ride to the top was open, but sold out, so I spent the time admiring it from below, and doing a quick walk through the museum.

Song of the Day: St. Louis Blues Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder

Podcast: Today on Smartless, Kamala Harris – the first long interview I heard with her, I was impressed

Book on Tape:  At the end of The Pioneers he mentions that Harriet Beecher Stowe went up the Ohio to return to Massachusetts to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Beer of the Day:  Mansions & Benzes The Modern Brewery.

Total Miles 370 – same as yesterday

 Day 12: Iowa

Build it and they will come.

From Winona I continued south on the Minnesota side of the Mississippi river, more stunning views. At one point my GPS sent me over to the Wisconsin side.  I recognized it was going to put me on the same hour-long detour I got caught on yesterday, so I doubled back and was able to continue down the Minnesota side until after the detour.  After a short run through Wisconsin I passed over to Iowa.  At first it looked like a light had been switched as hills and trees gave way to nothing but corn.  I did get a glimpse of the Mississippi again from the Iowa side and it was back to hills and trees, before once again going over to all corn.

My destination was Dyersville, the location from the movie Field of Dreams. It was worth the stop; people were playing catch and shagging fly balls. The Farmhouse from the movie has been preserved as well.  Major league baseball has built a brand-new field a cornfield away and plan to have a game there with the Chicago White Sox and an opponent next year, but that field was off limits, you could see the lights, and that is about all. The Field of Dreams location was not in any of my guidebooks, but my former colleague, and friend Megan, who is well travelled, reviewed my plan and suggested I add the stop.  Megan also told me her Mom is obsessed with my blog as is my other friend and former colleague Dorian’s’ mom, who the cool thing is, lives in Belgium. It made me think of my mother, who was Danish, but loved to travel in the United States.  I can feel her with me on this trip.  She would say “Oh isn’t this intriguing.” Intriguing was her favorite word for seeing something new.  When you would ask her when she travelled if she slept in the car or on the plane she would say “I couldn’t sleep, I didn’t want to miss anything”.  Her other favorite saying which I carry with me on all my travels was “If you don’t have a good time, it’s your own fault”

After the Field of Dreams, I headed to Des Moines for the night. Des Moines is a nice small city, lot of building both residential and commercial. Traffic was light, but a lot of people out walking and biking on a very pleasant Saturday afternoon.

Song of the Day: Centerfield: John Fogerty

Podcast: On Something. Colorado Public Radio about marijuana since legalization – interesting discussion on how drug laws have been enforced to hurt minorities, staring with Opium and the Chinese that came to build the railways in the 1800’s.

Book on Tape:  My download didn’t work, hopefully a new one tomorrow

Beer of the Day:  Des Moines IPA, Confluence Brewing Company

Total Miles 370