Destination Medford, Oregon and Coast

The calendar says it is the middle of June, we are in Forest City picking up a 27 foot Winnebago Access motor home sold to a dealer in Medford, Oregon. After purchasing a new battery and tail light for the Saturn and a stop in Ames for a random DOT drug test we were on the Interstate driving past the wet Iowa landscape. Ponds of water in the fields, rivers running bank full, lush green everywhere, pink wild roses blooming, and large white windmills on the horizon. Signs show detours for I-29 due to the flooding on the Missouri River.

Our Interstate System: The General's Plan
I-80 looks like a long gray ribbon with multicolor stripes of cars & trucks winding up down the hills of Nebraska! The Challenge magazine published by Pilot Travel Centers had an article on the origin of our Interstate system. In the summer of 1919, just after the end of World War I, a convoy of 81 military vehicles left from the zero milestone marker on the edge of the White House's South Lawn, met the Lincoln Highway(soon to be known as U.S. Highway 30) in southern Pennsylvania and slowly made it's way west. Destination: San Francisco, California!

The mission of the convoy was to move from the Atlantic shore to the Pacific to better understand the challenges the defending American Army would face if the US were ever invaded and military troops and equipment needed to be moved quickly from one place to another. As the colonel glared at the military transport truck lying on its side like a beast of burden with a broken leg, one of dozens of accidents that slowed the progress of the convoy, it was clearly showing him just how vulnerable America was to invading armies.

The rules of the mission: The convoy would proceed under "war time" conditions as if an invading enemy force had damaged or destroyed roads, bridges, railroads and tunnels. The troops were under orders of self-sufficiency; they had to seek out their own housing, food and water. No supplies would be provided to them. There were more than 300 soldiers and officers including a young lieutenant colonel from Kansas by the name of Eisenhower, who went along as an observer "for the adventure of it." What Eisenhower witnessed shaped his view of the relationship between national defense and America's road system!

This convoy covered 3,251 miles in 62 days averaging speeds no faster than 6 mph and covering about 52 miles a day (We do at least 500 miles a day delivering motor homes). The convoy suffered an average of one accident every 14 miles on wheel-rutted roads that meandered across vast sandy plains or perilous mountain trails used by pack trains and horse-drawn wagons. It damaged or destroyed 88 bridges because of its weight

In 1943 Eisenhower was promoted to supreme allied commander in Europe during World War II. While in Germany at the end of the war, he observed Hitler's autobahns and was impressed with the efficiency of the well-designed and constructed German road system. Nearly four decades after his observing the convoy across the US, Eisenhower signed into law the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 creating what is now known as the Interstate Highway System! (He was not the first person to conceive of a national highway system nor did he design the system, but he championed a feasible plan and saw it through to fruition.)

The 47,016 miles of the Interstate Highway System equals only 1 percent of America's 4 million miles of roads, but that 1 percent handles 25 percent of all vehicular traffic annually!

Across Nebraska:

• The Platte River is bank full.
• Crops look good, so good the deer are having a feast!
• Grain elevators dot the horizon and the sun reflects off the roof of the metal grain bins.
• Flat plains with farmers making hay on the irregular shaped edges of their circle irrigated fields of corn.
• Occasional flocks of wild turkeys feeding in the fields and pastures.
• Grass & tree covered sand hills in the distance give us the feeling of driving through a valley.
• The panhandle of Nebraska: rolling hills, pastures with cattle grazing, wheat fields with a yellow tint as it is ripening, occasional corn fields, cellphone towers, electrical transmission lines marching into the horizon, and wild flowers blooming in the pastures and median all under the wide open large blue sky!
• Prairie dogs sitting beside their mounds.
• Several large cattle feed lots growing steaks and burgers for us.
• Oil wells & storage tanks

Into Wyoming
The rest stop at Pine Bluffs, Wyoming features the High Plains of Archaeology Museum with a trail featuring sites and artifacts from historic Wyoming. We are trying to make many miles today so did not check it out after we ate our lunch in the shade beside a picnic table. Sunny with a huge blue sky and 80 degrees. Through the windshield:

• Snow covered mountain peaks on the horizon.
• Rigs set-up to drill for oil and natural gas.
• Irrigation systems are spraying water even as we drive under a very dark rain cloud!
• A semi on the frontage road hauling Ag Water--for cattle? for crops?
• You know you are in the wilderness when the Interstate has signs telling you how many miles to the next services!
• Strong side winds makes for both hands on the steering wheel and a noisy ride.
  
• Antelope grazing in the pastures.
• Climbing higher. Snow melt has pooled into ponds and streams keeping grass pastures green.
• A variety of wild flowers blooming--splashes of white, orange, yellow, blue and purple!
• Tall wooden snow fences standing like soldiers in company formation at attention waiting for the "blizzard" battle.
• Tall white windmills lined up on the ridges with blades spinning in the wind.

Rawlins Flying J for the night. Since Pilot has purchased the Flying J's they are bringing in the Denny's chain of restaurants, but this one has not been set up yet. Our supper was pizza, salad, milk and ice cream from the convenience store. We were parked on a high ridge so the wind rocked us to sleep!

Back on that long, winding grey ribbon of I-80! Light rain this morning as we drive past open pit mining for a variety of minerals and over the continental divide. Through a tunnel. Flocks of sheep grazing. Snow banks in cliffs on north slopes of mountains. Driving through Evanston we see spring flowering trees (lilacs and ornamental pear) in bloom. Also tulips and iris. Spring is just coming to this area!

Over the corner of Utah
The last time we were on this road we were driving early morning in the dark with a full moon. New landscape for us: mountains are green with grass and shrubs with rust colored rocks protruding from the sides. Hazy in the distance as we drive into rain. Interesting pattern as a small spray of water from the wet pavement trails each car & truck. The grey ribbon of Interstate winds through the valley beside a Railroad track and a stream with fast moving rapids. Awesome!

The Wastach Mountain Range has snow covered peaks. The clouds are sliding up over the mountain tops as we drive in and out of rain.

We can see the Great Salt Lake reflecting the blue-gray of the cloudy sky as we turn north. Out of the city into a valley with pastures, hay and small grain growing. Dairy & cattle ranches, small businesses and small towns nestled at the foot of the mountains. The valley widens. Scattered ranches on the horizon. Acres of green pastures, tilled fields & wheat stubble. A shepherd's covered wagon is parked on the side of the mountain. Small rectangular shaped wagon with a rounded metal roof and a horse tethered beside it. Flocks of sheep in the distance. Past the exit for the Golden Spike Natural Historic Site at Promontory, Utah. This is the place that the East and West Railroad tracks met.

North Into Idaho
New signs along the road: Deer Migration Crossing, Dust Storm Area (we did see one on the other side of the road blowing away from us!) and Game Crossing! Through the windshield:

• Blue skies with white fluffy clouds float above us as we deal with the wind.
• Acres & acres of just tilled irregular shaped fields as they lay across the contour of the rounded side of the mountain slopes.
• The fragrance of new mown hay!
• Fields of potatoes being irrigated.
• Potato planting & harvesting equipment and storage buildings.
  
• Over the Snake River--we will cross it several times!
• Canals are dug at intervals through the countryside to move water from the river to the irrigation systems.
• Large dairies have acres of "compost"--not fragrant--manure being aged to be bagged and sold for gardens!
• Black rocks in piles and emerging from pastures must be volcanic rocks left-over from the volcanoes in the area.
• Exit sign for the US Ecology Waste Site. Their website states," Idaho’s Grand View facility in the Owyhee Desert, treats and disposes hazardous waste, non-hazardous industrial wastes and low-activity radioactive material. The site's arid climate, deep groundwater, and favorable geology plus a state of the art multi-layer landfill liner system help ensure permanent waste isolation."
  
• Exit sign for The Oregon Trail Interpretive Center at Three Island Crossing State Park on the Snake River at Glenn's Ferry. Oregon Trail immigrants knew this place well. It is one of the most famous river crossings on the historic trail. It was used until 1869 when Gus Glen constructed a ferry 3 miles upstream.
• Pilot Travel Center Sign at Mountain Home--our stop for the night!

Because we will loose another hour at the Oregon/Idaho border we should be able to make delivery today, Lord willing. We will be leaving our long, gray four lane road for two lanes through the mountains, which will slow us down. Sunny with not much wind. Mountains are a black jagged outline to the east as the sun rises over them. Snow covered peaks in the distance to the west. This area seems dryer with the dessert to the south. Boise is a long town spread out in the valley. Miles of new road construction in the process with signs indicating that the "Project is funded with Carve Bonds."

Destination State--Oregon
This is like a traditional Jim & Shirley "road trip" only in a motor home as we turn onto the two lane highway driving through irrigated fields of onions, potatoes, hay, wheat, corn, and alfalfa in the valley at the foot of the mountains. A beautiful "quilt" in a variety of shades of green each outlined by the shallow irrigation ditches as we look down the valley from the highway! Through the Windshield:

• Sign indicating that we are driving on the Oregon Trail.
• Through the town of Vale. A stop on the Oregon Trail. The sides of the buildings have a mural depicting this stop.
• Sign: Snow Area as we climb up a mountain pass, Vines Hill Summit. If it was winter we would have to put on chains to get through the snow.
• Sign: Open Range--this is public land--As taxpayers we own it!!
• Sign: Loose Gravel--not a good sign for new motor home deliveries because it usually means some rock chips. But in the mountains this is the way they fix highways. Only short distance this time.
• Thanking the Lord for a beautiful sunny day and very good road curving around the mountains beside a fast running stream. Imagining what it would be like to be walking it or riding in a covered wagon!
• Small village of Juntra. Several old cement block buildings, one with a metal jail cell behind it. A small brick church with a few houses, a restaurant and a motel.
  
• Sign: Drinkwater Pass and Stinging Water Pass. Wondering what those names mean??
• Corner posts for fences are a wire-fence cylinder filled with rocks.
  
• Beautiful wild flowers scattered over the countryside like a rainbow! Shades of yellow, white, red, & blue.
• Empty hay sheds waiting at the end of the fields for bales of new cutting.
• Eagles flying.
• Training stables & horse ranches.
• The Paiute Indian Reservation.
• Following a semi-load of bagged onions heading to market.
• Lilacs blooming all over the town.
• Regular gas is $4.00/ gal.
• Oregon Experimental Range is 16,000 acres used by the U.S. Dept of Agriculture. Their mission is to develop agricultural and natural resource strategies that maintain or enhance inter mountain forest and shrub ecosystems. Currently they are researching the integration of beef cattle, range-land, wildlife, and watersheds. Your tax dollar at work!!
  
• Snow covered Cascade Mountain peaks ahead on the horizon.
• Pine Mt. Observatory exit. A place to go in the evening and watch the sky.
• Acres and acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management----Oregon Badlands with ATV and OHV trails, shooting range, ancient junipers, volcanic vistas and sand underfoot. One area had roads to several reservoirs and lakes.
• We missed a corner in Bend, but found our way through. Passed a sign in the parking lot--Local Morels for Sale. No price was printed!
• Our two lane road now has little dots beside it on the Atlas--scenic, but not for fast traveling! We discovering what it is like to drive a motor home through the mountains!
  
• Exit to High Desert Museum
• Exit to Newberry National Volcanic Monument with information on the volcanoes in the area. A few miles south is the Newberry Crater with lakes. No time to stop.
• Through the Winema National Forest with tall pine trees, meeting logging trucks, road construction stops and piles of black lava rock along the highway.
• Driving along the edge of Crater Lake National Park we see snow banks. The roads leading into the Park are closed and covered with snow!
• A call to the dealer gave us permission to park in their yard and check in the next morning. Another wrong turn making the dealers sign a welcome sight along with a motel a few blocks away!

Let's explore!
Back in the Saturn on a beautiful clear sunny day breathing in clear mountain air and again trying to find our way. This time to get out of Medford! The city is beautiful with huge rose bushes in the median. Finally on Hwy #238, a scenic winding road, with pine covered mountains, going west. Strawberry fields with red ripe berries, grapevines, pear orchards, hay & vegetable fields, blackberry hedges with white blossoms growing wild along fences and flowers, flowers, flowers!

Found Hwy 199 south to the coast. Another two lane road with dots beside it on the Atlas! Tree lined with tall pines, snow covered peaks in the distance, small towns, and logging trucks. Across the border into California winding through the Siskiou Mountains with 20 mph curves, rocky ledges, tall pines and fast moving rivers.

Reserved a room at the Econolodge in Crescent City. Turned north on Hwy #101 to follow the coast into Oregon. Smith River, CA is the Easter Lily Capitol of the world. Acres and acres of them growing between Smith River, CA and Brookings, OR. This area has rich soil and temperate weather making the "White Gold Rush" industry that provides 90 percent of the world's Easter Lily products.

The ocean is beautiful blue with white foam hitting the huge rocks along the coast. One area has farms where the farmers look out one window with an ocean view, walk across the room and view their pastures and fields. Sign: Olives for sale. Huge azalea bushes in bloom. Wild flowers, including blue spikes of foxglove, green fennel, and blackberries, are abundant in the ditches.

We stopped at the parking lot above the Whaleshead Beach, named from the shape of the rocks protruding from the water along the coast. (The rocks are called "sea stacks." They are super hard and withstand the erosion that breaks up the other rocks.) Walking down the path surrounded with a lush growth of plants and flowers, to the black sand(because of the lava rocks in the area) covered with drift wood. The wind was blowing fog in across the tops of the trees. Awesome!

Nearly every place a creek or a river flows into the ocean there is a place to see the ocean and often a beach for you to walk. Bicycle trails are available and even marked in the city. Flashing lights warn when a cycle is in a tunnel or on a bridge.

The fog was limiting our visibility so turned around, stopped at The Apple Peddler for our supper. Would highly recommend it for fresh and tasty food. Clam chowder was excellent. Back south to Crescent City with the fog rolling in for the evening.

A foggy damp morning to drive along the coast. Stopped at several beaches to walk and watch the surfers ride the huge waves. Heard the fog horn on the lighthouse that we could not see. Listened to the roar of the surf. Found many sand dollars laying on the beach. In and out of fog as we drive past and through the Redwood forest. Very tall pines with a reddish bark that turns to gray. A lot of decks and siding standing!

Signs: "Tusnami Hazard Zone" are scattered along the highway. "Deadly Sneaker Waves & Hazardous Surf" did not stop the surfers!

An Adventure as we head home:
Found a road, Hwy #36(with dots in the Atlas!) to take us East away from the ocean and toward Iowa. When you are in the mountains there are not many choices going your direction! A motel reservation in Redding was a wise move because it took us 5 hours to drive the 150 miles! An adventure!

• The sign stated that this two lane road was not recommended for semi's.
• Herds of Brown Swiss and Guernsey cows graze in pastures.
  
• Winding our way through small towns and rural areas with pine covered mountains in every direction.
• Wide and narrow valley views.
  
• Through a forest of Redwood trees. We could reach out our hand and touch the trees as we passed.
  
• Did meet some logging trucks and one semi load of hay bales.
• Constant curves, climbing and coasting down the mountain with up to 10% grades. Some places no center marking.
• The few small towns had populations of 50 or less with no gas stations.
• Some road construction that we had to stop and wait for.
• A couple of shifts in the road that could have been caused by an earthquake.
• Spectacular views!

After a cool, restful night's sleep we headed to Lassen Volcanic National Park. Their website stated that they had 18 feet of snow this winter. They started clearing roads in May. We will see if it is open today.

• A two lane road with no ditches or shoulders as drive beside ranch fences and front lawns in the towns.
• Black volcanic rocks are scattered in pastures and yards.
• Pretty vistas as we climb higher.
• Park is closed because of snow.
• We did stop at Vista Point in the Lassen National Forest. We could see the snow covered volcano peak in the distance.
• Ponderosa and Jack Pines grow in this area. They grow a whorl of branches around the trunk each year. Count them for the age of tree. Six mature trees have enough lumber to build a house.
• Snow covered peaks in both directions.

A cup of coffee at Susanville, CA as we drive out of the forest and into the desert with sagebrush and blooming cactus. Definitely cattle country. Taller snow streaked mountains in the distance. This snow melt is putting water into many of the "dry lakes" listed in the Atlas. The pastures are still green and fields are being irrigated.

Into Nevada
Back on I-80, that long gray ribbon that extends from coast to coast! Wind is blowing dust off one of the "dry lake" beds as we travel the 40 mile desert on the California Trail West that runs from Loveluck to Reno. It was a horror for wagon trains, but it was shorter. It was so hot that they would travel at night. The loss of livestock and lives were tremendous. There was no water available in this area. We stopped at a Rest Stop that had as its source of water one "old fashioned" hand pump, no grass, but did have shade built over the picnic tables.

• Large bank of clouds spotted ahead. How far? Very hard to judge distances in the mountains.
• An open pit mine.
• A reservoir of turquoise water spreads out along the valley floor making a "recreation" area. It was created with a dam on the Humboldt River.
• Processing plants for the minerals mined in the area & electrical power stations are scattered thruout the mountains.
• Spent a frustrating night at the Super 8 in Elko. Phone service for local calls only and cell phone cut off as trying to make reservation for next night.
• Sunny cool drive continues past mining company headquarters and supply depots. Some mines in this wilderness could be gold mines because Nevada mines the most gold in the US. Not large nuggets, but flakes that need to be processed from the rock.
• West Wendover has huge casino/hotels rising up from the desert in a stretch beside the interstate. Nothing green. Just rocks and concrete!

Back into Utah
The Great Salt Lake Desert stretches out in front and all around us. No green. Only white sand with occasional areas of water from the snow melt. Exit to the Bonneville Speedway. Exit to the Utah Test & Training Range and the Dugway Proving Grounds. Large piles of salt at the Morton Salt company.

Great Salt Lake on our left is a beautiful turquoise with snow covered mountains as a back drop. We heard on the radio reports of flooding in areas of the city due to the unusually large amounts of snow in the mountains and saw water on the shoulder of I-80. Past the world's largest open pit mine, Bringham Canyon Mine has been mining copper since 1906.

Winding thru the Parleys Canyon. Every mile is a "Kodak Moment!" Some green grass, shrubs, trees and covered with wildflowers with signs pointing to recreational areas. Always another range of mountains in sight with a pass to get over or a valley to get through! Like life?? God provides strength and wisdom for both experiences when we trust the shed blood of Jesus for our faith!

Back to Hwy#84 north--rewind scenery!
This is where we took #84 North into Idaho on way out so we can "rewind" our scenery!

About an hour west of Rawlins, WY we were stopped by an accident up ahead on the interstate. A semi tractor and the mechanics truck helping it were both burning. Traffic both ways was stopped for over 2 hours while they let it burn. It was so isolated it took too long to get fire engines to the area. No one was injured, but the semi was just a small pile of steel along the side of the road. What do you do for 2 hours stopped on the Interstate? We visited with the people waiting with us and checked with the motel to be sure we had a room!

Gabby's restaurant in Rawlins is the popular place for the locals to go. We picked the wrong item from the menu. Our chicken was so small you "almost had to take the egg shell off before frying it!" We looked around and saw some awesome pastas and burritos! The rain cloud that had been threatening moved to the east and gave us a spectacular rainbow to view out of the restaurant window. The bulletin board had a schedule posted for Friday night movies in the local park. A costume contest for the theme of the movie was included!

Finished our trip on the long gray line thru Nebraska, past the metal sculpture of a wolf howling to the sky on the butte above the town of Potter, NE, a stay in York, under the Arch that spans the interstate, and across the flooded Missouri River into Iowa. Even in a fog Iowa is looking great. The lower gas prices are welcome after the $4+ out west. Interesting to see the blades of the windmills disappear in the fog and then reappear. The metal pheasant sculptures near mile marker 50 welcome us back.

We do miss the clear mountain air! So thankful for the opportunity to enjoy our adventure and so thankful for our home on the Prairie!

Prairie Schooners

Red Deer, Alberta, Canada delivery in August

Difficult start:
All ready to go at 8 AM when made call to see if we could have the unit to Red Deer. It's a "go!"
20 miles down the road and car is making a very-loud-not-good noise! A local mechanic graciously checked out the exhaust system and fixed it. On the road again.
At pick-up had to wait for some paper work before taking off with unit.
Because all Minnesota license plates were in use, we had to drive a 2 lane state highway to the South Dakota border instead of Interstate--time consuming!
Even with all the delays we did enjoy a partly cloudy pretty day driving through the green Iowa flat farmland into the rolling hills near the IA/SD border and the Big Sioux River. Then instantly we were in Cowboy Country!!

On the road again after a good night's sleep in Mitchell, South Dakota. Thank-you Walmart for letting us park on your lot.

View through the windshield as we listened to the audio book about the building of the Panama Canal, "Path between the Countries" by David McCullogh, our favorite history author:

Very green except wheat stubble left after harvesting.
Fields of corn, sunflowers, sorghum, hay & pasture.
Stacks of large round bales dot the countryside.
Grain elevators & ranch buildings can be seen in the distance.
Many, many signs advertising all the places you can stop and see "stuff" or eat or sleep or play--including an 1880 town used as a set for the movie "Dances with Wolves" & Wall Drug!
The edge of the Badlands is visible from I-90 and the landscape becomes sandy grassland pasture.
The edge of the Black Hills covered with pine trees are also visible. In the distance they do, indeed, look like "Black Hills."

Into Wyoming on hwy#212 shortcut with miles of grass pasture, stacks of bales, cattle & antelope grazing together, occasional ranches are visible or a drive to a ranch marked with a sign made of metal cutouts and long trains in the distance!
Mountain time zone.

Checked with our office at the border and all papers are in order.

Into Montana. Oops! driving through some road construction with loose gravel over tar. No detour. Dealer cleaned off motor home and Jim had a Saturn with tar to clean when we got home.
Sunny, very warm with 99 degree temperature, but no humidity under the big blue sky of Montana today.
Large black shadow of the Rocky Mountains in the distance as backdrop.
Middle of wheat harvest season.
Combines in fields. Trucks headed to the elevators.
Straw bales lined up like soldiers in formation or stacked in long high piles with a fence around.
Red wheat has a deep red brown color. White wheat is more golden.
One elevator had a huge pile of wheat stacked on the ground.
More metal cut-out signs with interesting names mounted on tall poles to show ranch entrances.
You can see where the river flows by the green trees, shrubs & fields growing along its banks in contrast to the brown grass of acres of pasture.

Life lesson: Deep roots into God's life giving water in His Word will result in recognizable growth even in our dry world culture!!

Very windy and we are driving into it!
Lots of bugs hitting our windshield!

Into Canada: Border crossing went smoothly and learned the hard way that we needed to stop at every inspection station even with papers in order.
Mind is calculating kilometers into miles on the road and liters into gallons at the gas stations. We are paying $3.43/gal for gas!
Very hazy almost like a fog with only about 3 miles visibility. Some light rain.
Through car wash, to dealer, check in went smoothly.
Found a Super 8. Relaxed, caught up with book-work, & went for a walk.
We found out that British Columbia was having a series of wildfires. Smoke from the blazes was picked up by high winds and driven east into Alberta. Enough to prompt an air-quality warning for the week-end. This also resulted in very poor visibility for sight-seeing. After our walk around the near-by mall we were experiencing itchy eyes and scratchy throat.

Plans changed--no sightseeing in the Canadian Mtns because of fires so headed south back to the US. Because this was prime vacation time we booked a motel for the night with the points we had accumulated in previous trips giving us time for sight-seeing.

The sun is shining through the haze as we near the border. We can see the tall peaks of the Rocky Mountains of the park ahead. The tallest have patches of snow shining white in the sun.

While we waited in line to cross the border we ate 2 apples. Okay to bring them across the border in our stomach, but not in the ice chest!! But did have to pay a "commercial fee" because we delivered a motor home into Canada.

Babb, Mt-- A cafe beside the Sinclair station and across the street a locally owned motel. The Babb Cafe served an excellent thick & juicy Swiss Mushroom Burger with a fresh leaf lettuce mixture, tomato, dill pickle & onion on the side. Cole slaw with a creamy garlic dressing & potato salad seasoned with dill pickles.
Herbs were growing in a window box.

The newspaper clippings on the bulletin board told stories of the winter of 1947 when the town was completely isolated from Dec 16 until Jan 20 due to a blizzard dumping 10 ft of snow in the area. The people had plenty of food, but the fuel for oil furnaces and cook stoves was getting low!

Glacier National Park

We entered at St. Mary and drove the "Going-to-the-Sun" road past two large lakes. Unlike rivers, glaciers erode wide-bottomed, steep-sided, and u-shaped valleys. Deep glacial lakes fill in the bottoms of the larger glacial valleys.

The clear blue sky was reflected in the lake. A beautiful sunny day. Wildflowers including purple asters, red cardinal flower and deep pink fire weed bloomed along the edges of the road. Huge sharp mountain peaks in all directions. Magnificent! Awesome!

A walking trail through the forest took us back to the Barring Falls. It was eerie walking through an area where the pines had died from a disease. The branches were black and curled downward with no needles. A walk across the tree branch bridge offered us a view of the falls!Since this was prime vacation time the park was full of cars and people. We could not stop at the visitor centers because the parking lots were full. If we were doing it again at this time of the year we would seriously consider paying to ride on the white shuttle bus or one of the red buses with open tops. They take you into the visitor center and drop you off regardless of how full the parking lot is!

Also, this is prime road construction time and there is only one road so traffic stops and waits sometimes up to a half hour. This does give one time to really "see" the area.

We drove past areas with sliver threads of water meandering down the slopes from the melting glaciers to the valley floor, a weeping wall!

We could see hikers following trails on the sides of the mountains. The hikers were stopped on one trail by mountain goats.

A great day's drive.
Travel Lodge in Kalispell, MT for the evening.
Made a reservation for Super 8 in Livingston, MT putting us just outside Yellowstone tomorrow.

Montana scenery

Headed South and kept passing fruit & vegetable stands that advertised "sweet cherries" for sale. Stopped at one that had an orchard behind it. Bought a quart size bag of them! They are huge compared to what we have back home in the super market. We call them bing cherries! Sweet & juicy! We asked about huckleberries, which are also advertised. They are like blueberries only more tart and at this time of the year we could only purchase them as jelly or jam.

A new sign along the road--"cell phone pullout 1/4 mile." It would be very dangerous to be driving the mountain curves, which require both hands and talking on cell phone!

The highway takes us around Flathead Lake. Blue with mountain peaks surrounding and dotted with white sail boats today.

Past the National Bison Range. We see more buffalo through our kitchen window than we saw driving past here (-:!

Grant-Kohrs Ranch

The Grant-Kohrs Ranch in Deer Lodge, MT preserves the strongest symbols of the American West. Wide open spaces, the hard-working cowboy, his spirited cow pony and vast herds of cattle. It is free. You can walk around the grounds and at certain times a guide will take you through the house.

• Conrad Kohrs was born in Germany in 1835, left home at 15, sailed the world as a cabin boy, searched for gold in California & Canada & in 1862 this part of the Idaho Territory that would become southwest Montana. He made his fortune not by panning gold but by raising cattle. He arrived in the territory with only the clothes on his back and his bedroll. He had learned the rudiments of the butchering trade from relatives in New York & Iowa. He worked as a butchers assistant and soon owned his own shops in many gold camps. Johnny Grant sold him cattle to supply his shops and in 1866 sold his ranch to Kohrs.

• In the 1890's Kohrs' cattle grazed on more than ten million acres of public land in four states and two provinces. In time he purchased 30,000 acres for his home ranch.
• The Cattle Barons were a new breed of entrepreneur that had to adapt to the problems of harsh weather, disease, rustling, economic fluctuations, homesteaders and the barb wire fence!
  
• Their dining room table extended with 13 leaves for entertaining.
  
• In one room was a bed that folded up into the wall because the cowboy that lived with them would not make his bed in the mornings and Augusta Kohrs insisted on a neat home.
  
• He provided a heated room with a wall of windows for Agusta to grow plants and flowers.
• Augusta, his wife, and Kohrs were childhood acquaintances in Germany. They dated for about three weeks before they married in Iowa in 1868. (Wonder what he told her about the frontier he was taking her to??) She preserved her heritage and as the family prospered she acquired fine pieces of furniture and art balancing the cultures of the Old World and the New.
• A fold-up cabinet desk with two wings hinged on a center shaft. About 4 ft x 4 ft x 4 ft when closed and locked was interesting.
  
• Because they sold meat, he preferred the Hereford from Europe rather than longhorns. The longhorns do trail long distances but have less meat and could not stand the winter. He built a railroad spur in order to ship his meat type cattle east to the stockyards in Chicago.
  
• They had hot and cold running water in the house. A large tin tub insert in a wooden box.
  
• It would take three wheelbarrows of coal a day to keep the water from freezing in the 1800's.
• The kitchen stove had a huge hood to keep the heat collected and vented out. It also had a couple of small pull-down shelves mounted on the back of the stove for warming food.
  
• A barn with antique buggys and carts used by the family that included a buggy station wagon used by the family on vacations.
  

There are some interactive exhibits that the children will enjoy and a chuck wagon with a cook that serves coffee and stories about trail rides!

Back to I-90, past the Pintler Scenic route that we had driven a couple years earlier. You can see the Anacanda copper mining tower from the interstate.

As we wind through the valley the sun is like a giant spot light making "glory" rays between clouds then spotlighting mountain slopes or our valley between the area of hazy blue-grey rain showers. Thank-you Lord for our personal theater production!!

Supper at a super Chinese restaurant in Livingston, bookwork, but no internet connection. We can hear the wind howling outside. A reminder of 2 years ago when we drove through the Bozeman pass in the winter winds.

Yellowstone National Park
This is the picture that you always see and think of when you hear the word Yellowstone National Park--Old Faithful!

Yes, we waited on the benches and visited with the people around us, listened to a rancher speak about it and the animals in the area and then we saw it in person!!!

Walked through the Old Faithful Lodge and it's awesome carpentry! The huge rock fire place, the banisters and railings crafted from natural shaped logs, and the massive size of everything.

In the ranger station we learned that this whole area is the cone of a volcano. Since Jan 1, 2000 they had had thousands of small earthquakes. None could be felt. If they would have happened at one time it would only be a 4 on the Richter scale.

Beehive geyser near old faithful spouts intermittently also.

We were warned by many signs to stay on the board walk because of the fragility of the surface around the geysers. But a huge buffalo that evidently cannot read was walking up beside Old Faithful just as it finished spouting!

We entered the park through the original entrance on the North near Gardiner driving under the rock arch.

Mammoth Hot Springs is a small village with motels, visitor center, shops, Historic Fort Yellowstone and a herd of elk that grazed on the lawns!

The fragrance of sulfur is in the air, steam is visible, the multicolored Hot Spring terraces loom up before us. Signs tell us that the colors are due to microorganisms in the hot water, but when it is done flowing it turns white. It is dangerous to walk on the surface because the acid will eat through the sole of your shoes and the earth crust will break without warning. We walked the boardwalk path. It gets changed as the flow changes.

As we drove through this area of the park we would see steam coming up from holes in the ground along the edge of the road. It sounds like a percolating coffee pot!

Saw a herd of mule deer and a herd of buffalo.

Drove a 6 mile one-way one-lane gravel road through the Blacktail Plateau. Wild flowers and green grass.

Stopped at Tower Falls to walk out on the observation deck to see the falls. Lots of tourists!

Many acres showing previous burns. Dead trees either standing or laying on the side of the mountains with new growth starting.

Lodge pole pines have branches and green needles only at the top of the tree with a bare trunk. Resemble a forest of Christmas trees on top of telephone poles!) Their pine cone is glued shut and needs fire to melt and dislodge the seeds for new growth. Fire is good for that purpose!

Grand Teton National Park

Driving south on Hwy 89 headed to Jackson Hole and our room at the Super 8 we had a magnificent view of the Grand Teton Mountains.

Into the Park the mountains with rugged peaks sprinkled with snow towered above the blue Jackson Lake.

It was the end of the day so did not take time to cruise any of the roads leading into the mountains.

This was a fitting ending to a great day discovering yet another part of God's creation.


Headed Home:

View from the windshield:

• Beautiful sunrise as we drive in 30 degree temps watching the sun highlight rocky, pine covered peaks.
  
• Through Hoback Canyon we watch fog rising from the lake surface.
• Acres of grassland with mountains in background, ranch & beef country, herds of antelope grazing, stacks of bales surrounded by a "tall" fence in the middle of the hay fields.
• Past South Pass, a National Historic Landmark. a major feature of the Oregon trail traveled by western immigrants during the 1850's.
• Many, many Cruise America rental RV's are on the highway this summer.
• Into Nebraska. Interesting shaped bluffs form a background to acres of farmland and pastures. Brilliant yellow fields of sunflowers accent the gold wheat and green corn & hay.

A good night's sleep in Ogalala, the Cowboy capital!
Back across the Missouri River and into Iowa.
The Prairie does look good!

Thanks for traveling with us via the web!
See you along the way!

Prairie Schooners

Draper, Utah Delivery in September 2010

We picked up a Navion Itasca motor home at Forest City, bringing it to the Prairie to be packed for an early take off the next morning. It has a Mercedes Benz diesel getting 12 to 13 mpg on a Sprinter chassis with a compact & attractive interior.

Our foggy, cool drive to pick it up turned into a hot muggy, sunny afternoon of packing.

Early AM, Tuesday, we headed south & west avoiding bridge reconstruction thru rain and lightening.

Daylight on I-80 west through rolling hills covered with golden brown crops waiting for harvest with occasional green pastures for contrast.

We discovered that Pilot Travel Centers and Flying J Travel Centers are one company and points are interchangeable. No more cash discount on gas, but the points for purchases will apply to meals and other purchases from their store.

Drove thru fog and rain for several hours on Wednesday heading west. Passing fields of corn, soybeans, sugar beets, & sunflowers; pastures with cattle; irrigation rigs; and long trains.

Into Wyoming under a sunny blue sky with fluffy white clouds.

Views thru the windshield:

Cattle grazing around oil wells scattered over the rolling pastures. Tall white windmills lined up along the ridges. Refineries, storage tanks, oil wells, power plants, tall poles carrying electrical wires, & communication towers scattered over the landscape. The tall peaks of the Rocky Mtns with splashes of white snow provide a backdrop. The leaves on the aspen trees are turning gold making a brilliant accent to the brown grass and green pines along the water ways in the valleys. New wooden snow fences are lined up in formation like soldiers waiting for the battle to start. Signs giving warnings about the dates of the closings of certain rest stops. Areas with prairie dog mounds. Herds of antelope grazing.

The rolling hills turn into pine covered mtns and rocky cliffs. Each curve in the road provides a different vista of the country. The fluffy white clouds turn into dark clouds and drop rain and strong winds. “Strong Wind next 5 miles” sign is frequent for the rest of the day. Over the Continental Divide. Past a large area that had recently been burned. We could still smell the acrid odor of smoke & ashes.

Thank-you, Walmart, for allowing us to stay overnight on your parking lot!

Good Eats: Wendy’s Apple Pecan Chicken Salad. ½ of a salad is generous and just right with a baked potato for a meal. The salad also contains cranberries and blue cheese chunks and is served with a Pomegranate Vinaigrette Dressing. The Spicy Chicken Caesar was not so good.

D-day: We living in mountain time, but our bodies are programed for central time, so up early and driving under a full moon. Know we are missing some beautiful scenery. The moonlight highlights mountain peaks as we climb and curve through the valley but also will miss some of the morning commuter traffic near Salt Lake City.

Our printed directions contained street names, but the streets are actually numbered. Thanks to "Gertrude," our Garmin, we found the car wash & dealer. Fast check-in.

Scenic Drive (Our First Fall Colors of the Season!)

In the Saturn and headed south on I-15 out of Salt Lake City to SR 89 for a scenic drive. Utah is definitely using our “stimulus money” for road construction! They even have a sign to let us know that we are paying for it! The mountains in the background are covered with shrubs with red leaves.

Thru the windshield:

Lots of mountain wilderness with occasional small homes until the valley widened. More small and large ranches. Interesting businesses: Ranch Rental for small or large groups. Commercial Pheasant Hunting.

Lunch at the Home Plate Café. We parked our little Saturn between the local four-wheel drive pick-ups with deer antlers on their dash! Enjoyed a good, but not outstanding meal while listening to the conversations of the local people

Two lane Highway #31 curves thru the canyon with spires of green fir and spruce trees and neon yellow/orange of aspens.

Our first fall colors of the year! What a treat! Not only did God create trees for our use, for our protection, but also for our enjoyment year around!

Signs seen: “Snow plows operating both directions in your lane”

“Frequent Deer Crossing”

“Cattle Grazing” because this is open range.

We did see a flock of sheep walking up the middle of the road and around the curve was a sheep herders trailer parked under the trees in the pasture. It looked like a wagon on wheels with a curved roof. His horse was tethered to the side of it.

Many trails for ATV’s and hiking.

Streams and lakes for fishing.

Wasatch Plateu: Transition between Colorado Plateau on the east and the Basin & Range province to the west. At the timberline.

Mammoth bones discovered in August 1988 when digging a dam to control the flow of water thru the mtns. An area museum has the bones. The mammoth probably died in Noah's flood?

We drove past several lakes formed by dikes. The water level is very low. They have had very little rain in Sept. this year. One lake covers an abandoned coal mining town from the l870’s. A vein of coal was discovered and coke huts were constructed to burn impurities from the coal making it burn with a higher heat to use for making steel. Coal mining is still taking place in other areas of the valley. It is used for the power plants.

Spruce Beetle is killing trees. The Forest service is removing the dead and dying trees to encourage aspen growth. Aspens are a natural fire resistant tree.

Out of the canyon and into the wide valley surrounded by rock mountains. It looks like the inside of a super gigantic gravel pit! Small ranches & farms with grazing livestock, hay, wheat & clover fields where irrigation is available.

Took the Interstate to Salina to find a motel for the night. $3.14/gal for gas. One of the highest prices on the trip.

Hwy 24 east is an excellent road taking us past a gypsum plant, rocky mountain peaks, drilling rig for natural gas, oil wells & equipment & pipes are scattered along the valley along with ranches.

In the Fish Lake National Forest the yellow blossoms on the creosote bush mingle with the soft greens of the sage, the shades of brown grasses and splashes of neon yellow aspens in the high peaks in the distance! This area was known as Grass Valley when Brigham Young and the Mormon settlers arrived. Such contrast.

Driving along the top of a mountain we can see a patchwork of fields with ranch buildings resembling toys set in the corner of each area! All irrigation systems are running in the valley! We stopped at a local gas station convenience store for a cup of coffee. It also sold fishing poles, lures & horse bridles! The owner said that it had been very wet this spring. The second cutting of hay was a foot tall before the bales from first cutting could be removed.

Along the valley near Bicknell, Utah we found the Nielsen Grist Mill built in 1893. The water was channeled from the Fremont river and dropped 27 ft into the mill wheel. They ground grains into flour, gemade (could not find out what that was), bran and shorts(?). A farmer received a sack of flour for 3 bags of wheat. The sacks were sewn by hand. They could not grow hard red wheatin this area. It makes the best flour so eventually trucked in the four rather than wheat and closed the mill. All the equipment is in usable condition now.

Capitol Reef National Park

What is the Capitol Reef? It is a giant buckle in the earth's crust that stretches across south-central Utah. It is called a waterpocket fold, forced upwards probably during Noah's flood, which has eroded into colorful cliffs, massive domes, soaring spires, twisting canyons and graceful arches. The basalt rock, which makes up most of the ocean's floor weathers to a reddish or greenish tint. In this area it is mostly reddish.

The Fremont River flows through the area creating some grass land and large trees. We saw two huge cottonwood trees.

The early Morman settlers planted orchards which still produce cherries, apricots, peaches, pears, apples and plums as well as almonds and walnuts. You are welcome to stroll into any of the unlocked orchards and pick and eat for free or pick and take for a fee.

Are the petroglyphs left by the early Fremont Culture from 700 to 1250 the first Facebook profiles or the first blog or first "tweet"?

Awesome formations and canyons.

Headed home

It was time to head home. Back to I-70 east, 80+ temp, clear blue skies with only a few small white fluffy clouds lined up in formation over the distant mountain peaks.

Interesting signs: "Eagles on Highway"

At some of the exits: "No Services" "Ranch Exit"

Facts about Utah:

State emblem is the beehive which symbolizes industry and the pioneer virtues of thrift and perseverance.

State insect is the honey bee.

State tree is the blue spruce.

State Mineral is Copper. Kennecott's Bingham Canyon mine in Utah is the world's largest open-pit copper mine.

State Bird: California Seagull. It saved settlers by eating crickets destroying their crops in 1848.

The people of Salt Lake City consume more Jell-O per capita than any other city in the Untied States.

The federal government owns 65% of Utah's land, including 5 national parks, 7 national monuments, 2 national recreation areas and 6 national forests

Personally, I had always considered Utah as desert country, but was amazed to see all the mountains, canyons and irrigated farm land.

We chose Hwy 50 through south western Colorado. Good road curving through the Rocky Mountains with ranches in the valleys. The leaves on the bushes are shades of pink, red to purple & green with occasional neon yellow gold aspens. Velvet covered mountains with gold jewels! A nice farewell before we enter the brown fields being harvested in Kansas, Missouri and Iowa.

Life lesson: Notice the mileage signs along the Interstate. They are located every so many miles to keep you informed of what is ahead. They always list the closest town and then a city far in the distance. My "mileage signs" are in God's word. Reading daily to let me know where I am in my spiritual life, strength and guidance for the day, focus for now. But also what is ahead in the future, the promise of what He has provided through faith in Jesus shed blood. Eternal Life with Him! Thank-you, Lord!

Thank-you for traveling with us!

Prairie Schooners