Who Likes Ike?

Today we visited the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas. And here's a quick study in contrasts:

• 1960s: Eisenhower's was the first presidential campaign to use the new medium of television ads, and after he left office, Ike continued to act as an adviser to future presidential administrations (Kennedy phoned him to ask for Ike's thoughts during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Johnson and Eisenhower conversed over the Vietnam War).
• 2009: I just received a message from a "Facebook" friend stating "I am in the process of removing all the conservative Republicans from my facebook account..."

It's a different era.

We spent a little over an hour at the Eisenhower Center. There was a small display on the Apollo missions since this month marks the 40th anniversary of our first manned mission to the lunar surface. Again, we were blessed with great timing -- reduced admission prices on Wednesdays!

Driving through Salina, Kansas, we saw a billboard for "The 2nd Friendliest Yarn Shop in the World." I figured that since Diana has been crocheting this whole trip, she might enjoy a stop there. The store is called YARNS, and it was an impressive shop. (If you're passing through Salina, it's downtown on Santa Fe Street.)

Porcupines and Rattlesnakes

We went to Agate Fossil Beds near Harrison, Nebraska, this morning. There is a small visitors' center and a couple of trails. We walked a 2.5-mile trail to see the area where the fossils were originally found. Along the way, we saw three rabbits, a rattlesnake, and a porcupine.

Then we did lots of driving through nice Nebraska and Kansas grassy plains. Very little traffic, a little rain.

Tomorrow - the Eisenhower Presidential Library.

Mountains and Mammoths

Left Wyoming today... went to South Dakota... then Nebraska.

Visited Mount Rushmore today. (Parking is private concession - what's up with that?!) The rain stopped just as we pulled into the parking lot. Did a self tour down the presidential trail and through the sculptor's studio. As soon as we got back inside the exhibit hall, the rain started up again. (Again, we were blessed with great timing.) At one of the gift shops, a gentleman who worked as a driller during the monument's construction was there answering questions and signing books.

We considered driving to the Crazy Horse Memorial, but it was pricey and we had some miles to cover, so we skipped it. We stopped at "The Mammoth Site" in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Here they discovered a bed of mammoth fossils that they are in the [slow] process of excavating. We made it on to Nebraska for sleepy time.

Out of Yellowstone

We left Yellowstone this morning. We drove from Lake north to exit via the northeast entrance and the Lamar Valley. I wanted to leave early in the morning while the wildlife might still be active. Well, we had to stop for three (lengthy) bison jams. Several of the Hayden Valley bison decided to park in the middle of the road. And several reckless tourists got so close that we were uncomfortable.

The drive out the northeast entrance was very nice. It features some rolling hills and some rocky mountains. Then we drove across Bear Tooth Pass along US 212. This is advertised as the most beautiful scenic byway in the country, and it was certainly breathtaking. Plenty of great, panoramic views of forests & mountains. The road is only open for a few months every year, and as you can imagine, that means that road repair has to occur during those few months. Fortunately we were again blessed with great timing since we were leaving the park on Sunday, and road construction was not scheduled for Saturdays and Sundays. We still had two very short delays on one-lane sections of the road, but nothing major.

Our drive to Sheridan, Wyoming traveled through several national forests and another mountain pass. We encountered a lot of light rain and some very heavy winds.

New License Plate Update

We've now seen every US state (plus D.C.) except for Massachusetts. We've only seen one Mexican plate, but about half of the Canadian provinces have been represented.

Lake

We left Canyon this morning and drove to the Mud Volcano area. Along the way we saw a large heard of bison sauntering through Hayden Valley. We then went over to the West Thumb Geyser Basin. I don't remember visiting this area before, but it was amazing. This basin is nestled right along Yellowstone Lake. This makes for beautiful color combinations -- the green trees and grass, deep blue water, rust colored thermophiles, chalky white dirt... it was well worth the trip. There are many hot springs here that exhibit the deep greens and blues that Morning Glory Pool is known for, but these features do not show the signs of vandalism that you see at the Lower Geyser Basin. The pools and other features here at West Thumb are concentrated very close together as well, which means less walking.

We then drove down to Grant Village. We met some rain and a little hail there. Next, we drove toward the east entrance a little ways before heading back to Lake to check in to our cabin. We ate dinner at the sandwich counter at the general store at Lake. While we waited for our burger and roast beef sandwich, we realized the kitchen was contained in a small room the size of a little closet. When I went to counter for a refill of our sodas, I commented on the small kitched. The waiter said, "Oh, it's small alright -- it's just one pannini machine." He said that afternoon they had received a single order for 30 sandwiches, and it shut them down for most of the lunch crowd.

After dinner, I walked around the historic Lake Hotel for a while. It is the park's oldest operating hotel at over 100 years old. As I walked through the lobby, I noticed the pretentious classical music, then realized it was provided by a live string quartet. Beautiful colonial architecture, great views.

Canyon - 2000 miles and counting

This is the only day of our trip that we won't be moving to a different hotel. So we decided to take advantage and sleep late. When I woke, I read through my copy of Yellowstone Treasures by Janet Chapple. Reading about the facilities here at Canyon, I saw that there is a trail near one of the cabins that leads to the Grand View area on the rim of the Canyon. So I set out to find it. Sure enough, behind the cabin is an unmarked trail that soon becomes paved. I came out right at the parking area for Grand View. I walked along the rim of the Canyon for a while, snapping plenty of photos, then headed back to the cabin.

Diana and I drove both rims of the Canyon and found some great views. Several places were crowded. We ran into several traffic jams where tourists were photographing bison near the road, but we were again blessed with great timing and always seemed to have much shorter delays than folks traveling the opposite direction.


Diana suggested we go to Lake and ask about fishing trips. We got to the marina and found that there were plenty of motorboats available to rent. Between the marina and the general store next door, we were able to get all we needed for a short, impromptu fishing trip. We rented rods, bought some lures, bought our licenses, and rented a motorboat. Neither of us had run a motorboat before, and the staff did a great job of showing Diana how everything worked. We went out and spent a little over an hour on the lake. We didn't catch anything, but we had fun playing around.

On the way back to Canyon, I had to stop for a jaywalking bison, but we made it back to the cabins just as a hard rain began. When the rain stopped, we went to the general store at Canyon and ate at the Soda Fountain there. My burger and Diana's bratwurst were great. We're talking about stopping there for breakfast tomorrow before we head out of Canyon and over to Lake.

Geysers, Paint Pots, and Bears!

According to my pedometer, I walked a little over 7 1/2 miles today.

I got up early and packed quietly so Diana could sleep. Then after about 15 minutes of slathering on sunscreen. I finally left the cabin and walked down the paved path at the lower geyser basin toward Morning Glory Pool. Ran into a handful of people -- including four or five joggers. Every time I stopped in the shade, I wished I had put on bug repellent along with the sunscreen.

I stopped by Old Faithful's "temporary" visitors' center, studied the map for a while, then went back to the cabin. I watched Old Faithful erupt at 9:27 (and it was RIGHT on time). Diana & I loaded the car, visited the Old Faithful Inn, then walked the geyser basin again. Castle geyser was "unpredictable today" because of an unusual eruption early this morning. So it was spouting off fairly constantly. Grotto geyser was also very active as we walked past.

We then set out to drive north through the park, stopping at several places along the way. One section of the park road is under construction, and we were told to expect 30-minute delays. So we picked up sandwiches and planned to "picnic" in the car during our delay.

We stopped at Grand Prismatic Pool before we hit the construction. We broke out our lunch, and suddenly the line of cars was moving. Our 30-minute delay lasted about five minutes. Once again, we were blessed with great timing.

We stopped at Artist Paint Pots, Norris Geyser Basin, and Mammoth Hot Springs. Then we set out east and south along the perimeter of the park to get to Canyon, our site for the night. We stopped for a very large elk and for Tower Falls. Then we came across a mob of people and cars stopped beside the road. As we wove past the cars, we tried to see what the mob was focused on. I had about decided the only thing that could draw a crowd like this was a bear with cubs. Right about then, I spotted a sandy-brown grizzly wandering through the open field below the road. We found a spot to pull off and snapped several quick photos. (And for the record, a ranger showed up shortly after we did and said our car was parked "alright.") Shortly after that, we saw a wolf trotting along the road, and we finally made it to Canyon.

The cabins here aren't as nice as Old Faithful, and housekeeping here at Canyon doesn't leave the windows open. That meant our cabin was hot and muggy when we got there. We rigged up the fan, opened the windows, and headed to get some dinner. Then we saw a bison grazing by the stop sign on our way back to the cabin.

Remember, you can click on any of the photos here for a higher-resolution version.

Driving and Driving

Long, long day. We left Laramie this morning, heading straight for the Park. Google maps said it's a seven-hour trip. Our GPS said nine hours. The GPS was dead on.


We stopped for lunch in Landers, WY, making great time, then we hit quite a bit of road construction from Dubois on. Outside Grand Tetons, inside Grand Tetons... plenty of road work.


We stopped shortly in Grand Tetons and made it to the Old Faithful cabins right at about nine hours of driving. We ate at the lodge cafeteria, roamed the geyser basing briefly, and went to bed.

Colorado Springs Photos

Finally some photos from our day in Colorado Springs. We drove up Pikes Peak in the morning. Traffic was very light with lots of pullouts, so we set our own pace and pulled over if anyone in a hurry came along. Had a great time on a beautiful drive. Spent a while at the top, shopping, eating lunch, having those famous Pikes Peak doughnuts.

Later we went to the US Air Force Academy. The base/campus is huge (and has amazing views). We got to the visitors' center shortly before the center and the chapel were about to close, so we hustled over to the chapel to tour it while we could. It is well worth the trip. The interior of the chapel is highlighted by a huge pipe organ and stripes of stained glass that criss-cross the ceiling and run to the floor.

Busy day, busy day

So it's after midnight and we're finally in Laramie, Wyoming (some construction in the north side of Denver). So I don't have all my great photos ready to post, but here are some of yesterday's highlights:

• Drove up Pikes Peak... 19-mile drive (one-way)... at the base, it was overcast, by the summit, we were in sun, looking down on those clouds.
• Lunched at the top
• Went to Miramont Castle near the base of Pikes Peak. It was alright.
• Went to the US Air Force Academy. WOW! Then we toured their chapel. Double-WOW!
• Drove to Denver, had dinner.
• Went to the Chamberlin Observatory in Denver... tour included the basement (cool!).

Pictures to follow.

Day 3: Santa Rosa -> Colorado Springs 1000+ miles

Today we drove to Colorado Springs, Colorado. We stopped for a quick lunch in Raton, New Mexico. Once in Colorado Springs, we headed for Garden of the Gods, a city park. Our GPS unit actually had better directions than the city signs, but we didn't trust it initially, so it took us a while to find our destination. But when we did... WOW!

Garden of the Gods features some amazing stone formations that are striking against the lush greenery of the area. Most of the formations are a deep red, the plants are a lush green, and the sky was a bright blue. It was beautiful.

Then we had dinner at a nice local restaurant - The Mason Jar. Tomorrow we will spend most of the day in Colorado Springs -- Pike's Peak, Air Force Academy, and whatever else we find. Then tomorrow night we will visit an observatory in Denver.

Day 2: Carlsbad, NM -> Santa Rosa, NM

We hit Carlsbad Caverns early this morning. We Showed up about 8:30, picked up our tickets for the 10:00 tour of King's Palace, and walked down via the "natural entrance." I thought the entry to the cave was worth the walk, but once you're in the mouth, there is a long, less interesting walk to the main room (where the elevator meets you).

It turns out, we picked the right day to visit. Since yesterday was the annual "Bat Flight Breakfast," and it was Fee-Free Weekend at several parks around the country, Carlsbad saw over 4,500 visitors yesterday. We heard stories about the wait for the elevators back to the top. Our visit was very un-crowded and nice, and we enjoyed lunch at the almost deserted underground lunchroom.

We did not do the self-guided tour of the Big Room. After the long walk in and the 90-minute guided tour of King's Palace, we were ready to hit the road. So we started of toward Santa Rosa, New Mexico... with a short stop along the way in Roswell. We hit the UFO Museum. Quite a hoot.

In Santa Rosa, we plan to see some of the city parks. The skies here are very gray and there are some impressive lightning displays in the distance.

License Plate Update

Plus Chihuahua, Mexico... I'll update the map with Canada & Mexico when I get a better internet connection.

The Bats!

We drove over to the caverns this evening to watch the flight of the bats. Tonight the bats started flying at about 8:20. The bats circle in the bowl of the cave entrance for a while before they take off over the hills. Almost like popcorn in an air popper -- swirling around until it's ready to fly out. This means the best seats are ones that give you a view down into the bowl of the cave entrance.

It was a great show. I felt it was more impressive than Austin's Congress Street Bridge bats have been recently, though the ranger says that colony is twice as large as Carlsbad's. There is a scenic drive from the park entrance to the parking area at the visitors' center. It is about a 6-mile winding drive. At the beginning of the program, the ranger warned us that the lightning detectors were picking up strikes 3-8 miles out, and if they got close she would call of the program. Well, all went well, and we were treated to a great light show on our drive back as lightning lit up the sky across the horizon.

People from all over!

This map shows the states from which we have seen license plates, so far, on our trip. This is at the end of one day of driving from San Antonio, Texas to Carlsbad, New Mexico.

In other news, it's the end of Day One, and we haven't broken into the First Aid Kit, yet!

3-D Tour of Fort Stockton, Texas

For those 3-D enthusiasts out there... grab your red/blue glasses for a quick tour of Fort Stockton, Texas. (You can also click on each photo for a slightly larger version.)

Day 1: San Antonio -> Carlsbad... 460 miles

We left San Antonio early this morning. The city is in the midst of a drought, and it wasn't long before we saw much greener scenery. We also saw large wind energy farms on the West Texas mesas.








We stopped in Ft. Stockton for a break right around lunchtime. We stopped to visit Pete, the world's largest roadrunner. This weekend just happens to be the town's sesquicentennial (that's 150 years for those of you who haven't brushed up your Latin). Several people were in town for a big high school reunion and an all-day festival that included a parade.





We stopped by the Annie Riggs Musuem (those of you from Brownsville, think "The Stillman House," but three times as large. After our meandering tour, we took some photos out front, including the old courthouse across the street. There we met an older couple who asked me to walk across the lawn to take a photo of the courthouse cornerstone with their camera. Turns out, the gentleman's father was the builder of the courthouse.





We made it to Carlsbad, NM. It's still true, the highways aren't the same when you cross that Texas state line. (And the state line does jump out and surprise you.) From my last trip here as a kid, I remember the signs for White's City... they were a chain of billboards - like Burma Shaves, but bigger and less clever. Well the signs are still standing, but in terrible disarray. I don't know if a fire swept through the area at some point or if they have just not been maintained. One of the still legible signs boasts, "Kodak Film - Flashbulbs."

We got to our hotel, the first floor is half sub-terranean, and it has a convenient washer and dryer. We're planning to rest a while, then go to the Bat Flight Program at the Caverns this evening.

PS... after driving [a legal] 80 mph, 55 sure seems slooooow. How did I drive from Brownsville to College Station at 55 for all those years?!

Beartooth Pass out the northeast entrance of Yellowstone straddles the Montana/Wyoming border. One of the most scenic drives around, it is only open from Memorial Day through Labor day due to snow and other weather conditions.

The Montana Department of Transportation maintains online information about conditions at the pass.

Pre-Trip Shopping Spreeeeee!

Went to Wal*Mart today to buy odds and ends for the trip. Boy did I overspend! (And my wife will tell you how rare that is.)

I should have paid by volume... everything was little (and most of it was inexpensive -- just lots of odds and ends).

What stuff do you need for a trip? I got batteries, travel toothbrushes, sunscreen, batteries, band-aids, hand sanitizers, flashlights, batteries...

The trip is less than a week away!

Brownsville Trip - Not all Big Macs are created equal

My wife and I went to visit my family in Brownsville, Texas over the 4th of July weekend. We stopped in Raymondville for dinner on the drive down. There is a convenient McDonald's attached to a gas station (but unlike the more modern buildings that are gas stations with a McDonald's attached, this is really a McDonald's with a gas station stuck on the end).

We got our order and sat down, and Diana discovered that her Big Mac was mis-assembled. (See photo!) She wasn't sure whether or not she should send it back (after all, the parts were all there... just in the wrong order). I offered to take it back for her, and she let me. I showed the employee what was wrong and asked if we could get a new one. He turned around and had a new one made. He handed me a fresh Big Mac (yes, I witnessed that it was a new one) and I returned to my table. Diana opened it and discovered the new burger was made exactly the same way!

This time she went to the counter, and showed the problem to a diffferent employee. He was mortified (or at least acted mortified for our sake). The new, third, burger was assembled well. In fact, it was the best looking Big Mac I remember seeing. In fact, it almost looked like the photo of a Big Mac you see on the ads. Here you can see my wife enjoying her good Big Mac.