Day 19 - the end of Big Trip 8

Day 19- Saturday – July 13, 2013

0600 Up with Rocco – get him outside so he can take care of business.  He’s not used to going on an elevator to get outside.

0700 Go to Starbucks.  Stop for gas, $3.81/gallon

0954 Leaving hotel

1000 Sign for JoeBob’s Chicken Joint – voted best wings in 2006

1002 Stop for Jack in the Box breakfast

1036 California state line

1043 Tahoe National Forest

1050 Agriculture Inspection Station – get waved through

1057 Stop at Subway.  Sign outside says “Snow and ice fall from the roof – park at your own risk!”

1109 Leaving Subway- we even got cookies and chips this time!

1120 Donner State Park picnic area to eat.  Felisa gets a splinter.

12:05 p.m. It’s too busy here today – not really relaxing.  Might as well get going.

12:10 p.m. Stop at the museum for a bathroom break

12:35 p.m. Donner Pass summit , elevation 7,135 feet

1:11 p.m. Girl Scout Camp drop off complete

1:31 p.m. I-80 west

2:00 p.m. Secret Town Road

2:31 p.m. Rocklin,CA – stop for food at Arby’s.  Current temperature here in the valley, 98 degrees.

3:11 p.m. Sign for Jimboy’s Tacos

3:45 p.m. Stockton.  Construction traffic.

4:00 p.m.  Turn off for the I-205. Traffic finally eases up.

4:09 p.m. Stop for gas, $4.09/gallon.  Grab some fruit from the fruit stand as well as cold water and chocolate from the mini mart.  Expensive fruit here – 2 peaches cost $2.

4:53 p.m. Trucks full of something red, heading north.  What could it be?  Peaches? Tomatoes? Red peppers?

5:03 p.m. Heard a story on the radio that says sweat does not clog pores and that you should shower before you exercise, not after.  Say what?

5:21 p.m. Radio announcer recommends that pedestrians use only a single earbud for safety.  It helps maintain awareness of what is around you.  I totally agree.  I always use single earbuds when out walking the dog.

6:03 p.m. Pleasant Valley State Prison

6:18 p.m. Stop for gas in Kettleman City.  $4.26/gallon.  Current temperature, 99 degrees.

6:36 p.m. Back on the road.  Our final leg of the trip.

6:45 p.m. Cop!  (But he wasn’t interested in me, thank goodness!)

6:59 p.m. San Luis Obispo County.  Getting closer!

8:04 p.m. Can see the ocean!  Temperature is now 61 degrees.

8:10 p.m. Oops!  Almost missed the exit for Arroyo Grande.

8:14 p.m. Home Sweet Home!

Total miles = 5,581

Day 18

Day 18 – Friday – July 12, 2013

0700 Wake up

0825 Loaded and leaving the house

Stop at McD’s for breakfast. Is this my first McD’s iced coffee of the trip? It might be.  Stop at the ATM.

1001 Leave Mountain Home.

1009 Train. First one we’ve seen in awhile.  This one has a lot of double-stacked cars.

1019 Sunny. Clear blue skies. 80 degrees.

1037 BOB96.1 is a good station for driving music.

1055 Gas, $3.77/gallon. The car in front of us has a SLO/Cal Poly Alum license frame.

1113 Leaving. That was a long break. I updated the blog and our Facebook status while we were stopped.

1125 Chicken Dinner Road

1132 Where am I?  While we are stopped at a construction zone I check my phone map to get a better idea.

1134 Still waiting for our turn to go.  Might as well put on some sunscreen.  Lots of sun coming in the windows today.

1138 Finally moving again.

1143 Snake River

1145 Sign at the laundromat says “Will work for quarters”. Marsing, ID

1150 Cows

1154 US Ecology Idaho Waste site. I wonder what they have there.  (Google tells me it is LowLevelWaste – a category of miscellaneous nuclear waste)

12:10 p.m. Oregon state line.  We are greeted by 55 mph zone and a sign warning that this is a ticket zone.  In the middle of nowhere!

12:11 p.m. Open Range next 122 miles

12:18 p.m. 4,643 ft elevation

12:21 p.m. Cow Creek

12:32 p.m. Next gas in 100 miles. Jordan Valley

12:34 p.m. Map shows that we are barely into Oregon.  At 55 mph we might never make it out again!

12:49 p.m. Lewis Clark Trail  Historic Site

12:51 p.m. Snow-topped mountain on the horizon gives me hope that the desert will end eventually.

12:52 p.m. Rock Creek.  No water, just rocks.

12:59 p.m. We’re losing our BOB radio with the good driving music. L

1:02 p.m. Police car headed the other way with its back lights flashing.

1:03 p.m. Snow zone

1:06 p.m. Owyhee River

1:07 p.m. Turn my MP3 player to “Hazy Shade of Winter” to help mentally cool us off.

1:31 p.m. Turn the GPS off.  It’s hot up in the window and I’m pretty sure we won’t get lost since this is the only road around.

12:32 p.m. Pacific Time Zone.  Now our ETA feels even farther off.

12:50 p.m. Dust devil

12:51 p.m. Grandma Duffield calls to check in.

12:52 p.m. Blue Mountain Pass, elevation 5,293 feet

1:15 p.m. Nevada state line and town of McDermitt.  Not much here but the token state-line casino.

1:16 p.m. 70 mph now.  Yay!

1:18 p.m. Paiute and Shoshone Indian Reservation. Driving through reservations always makes me sad.  They are so poor and lacking in natural resources.

1:35 p.m. Humboldt/Santa Rosa Mountain area looks interesting.  And it’s only 87 degrees here which is surprisingly cool.

1:46 p.m. Checking for a radio station. Nothing yet.

1:57 p.m. Paradise Summit, elevation 4,987 feet

2:11 p.m. Wind monster

2:21 p.m. Poke and Peek Hospital Auxiliary

2:28 p.m. Stop for gas at the Flying J. $3.69/gallon.  There is a Burger King here also.

3:04 p.m. Whoppers are hard to eat while driving.

3:09 p.m. Road is very bumpy and Rocco is being very grumpy.

3:14 p.m. End of the construction zone. Phew!

3:18 p.m. Rest area is closed.  The next rest area is not for another 76 miles! And there are no bushes to hide behind out here.  What are you supposed to do if you need a pit stop?!

3:22 p.m. Gold Corporation is hiring miners to work at Marigold Mine.

3:28 p.m. Some sort of crazy structure at exit 145.  What is it made of?  Rocks?  Giant antlers?

3:35 p.m. Pass 3 trucks full of livestock.  Were they pigs or blond cows?

3:40 p.m. Lost our radio again.

3:42 p.m. Rye Patch Recreation Area is a total desert.  Good thing we’re not planning on camping here tonight.

4:32 p.m. Fog may make roads icy.  Well, that would spice up this boring drive a bit.  No fog around though today.

4:36 p.m. Small dust devil crossing the highway

4:38 p.m. I have been seeing messages written with rocks alongside the road. I wonder if it’s for the pilots flying out of Fallon.

5:14 p.m. Arrive at Holiday Inn in Sparks.

6:50 p.m. Out to Barnes and Noble, dinner, and Petco.

Day 17 – Thursday – July 11, 2013

0630 Wake up. Let Rocco out in the backyard.

0800 Walk Rocco and wake up the kids.

0900 Take Rocco to day care.  He is not happy.  Breakfast at AJs.

1115 Roaring Springs water park in Boise.  It’s cloudy today which is nice for me – I won’t have to worry about getting a sunburn.

3:30 p.m. Time to head back.  Stop for gas and an errand at Home Depot before we leave the “big city”.

5:25 p.m. Pick up Rocco.  He is very happy to see us.

Leftover pizza for dinner.  Showers.  Doing laundry and getting the girls packed up for camp.  Crazy 8s.   And I finished the book I was reading.

Day 16 (full version)

Day 16
Wednesday, July 10, 2013

0630 Slept in

0750 Camp is packed and ready to go.  Current temperature, 55 degrees. Muffins for breakfast.

0757 Leaving.  Only 49 miles to Starbucks.  Oh wait - not leaving yet.  Emergency splinter removal needed.  We have two first aid kits with us and only one towelette between them - and it's dry!!! Might need to work on that when we get back.  And we should add tweezers too.

0806 Now we are leaving.  For sure this time.

0816 Hot air balloon

0818 Three more hot air balloons

0827 Cows

0909 Starbucks.  We had to stop and get Rocco out of the car.  He's acting weird again.

0940 Back on the road.  Current temperature is now 77 degrees.

0945 Oops!  Forgot to stop for gas.  All filled up now.  $3.67/gallon

0953 McDonalds

1000 Passing a boy scout trailer

1005 Three big RVs in a row, all towing a car, all from Florida.  Do you think they are together?

1007 Bear River Bird Refuge

1011 Another Florida RV

1021 Golden Spike National Historic Site

1027 A triple-trailer FedEx truck.  We passed a triple UPS earlier

1040 Rattlesnake Pass

1047 Snowville – looks like a desert to me

1053 Idaho

1105 Dust storm area

1108 Sweetzer Summit, elevation 5530 feet

1115 Occasional blinding dust storms next 19 miles.  That’s not good!

1116 City of Rocks National Reserve

1126 Raft River – looks to be about the right size for Ted the Rock

1127 Cows headed to the steak factory

1139 Idahoforest.org – the Governor says to reduce fuel because fires = pollution and danger

1140 Snake River – very wide

1144 Rupert, ID.  Is Ryan’s webkinz snake, Rupert, from here perhaps?

1149 Tanker truck from Florida.  What is he carrying all the way here from Florida?

1152 Exergen Temporal Scanner commercials have been on every radio station this trip

12:17 p.m. Gas, $3.75/gallon.  Lunch at Wendy’s.  Current temperature, 92 degrees.

12:53 p.m. Red light district energy education project.

12:56 p.m. Too many stinky feed lots along the highway

1:09 p.m. A group of 3 and then a group of 2 Penske moving trucks.  Do you think they are all 

working the same moving job?

1:18 p.m. Giant wine bottle and glass.  Is there a winery nearby?

1:20 p.m. Oregon Trail Center and 3 Island Crossing State Park.  Definitely want to stop next time.

1:24 p.m. FedEx double trailer almost crashed when changing lanes.  That’s the second time.

1:27 p.m. Trucks hauling grill propane tanks

1:49 p.m. Arrive at Mom’s house

We had Papa Murphy’s Pizza for dinner then went to the pool.  Met a Boy Scout and leader who showed us how they make paracord bracelets as a fundraiser in their troop.

Day 15 (full version)

Day 15
Tuesday, July 9, 2013

0600 Wake up

0728 Leaving - only half an hour behind schedule

0735 Starbucks line is way too long so don't stop

0737 Wag-n-Wash

0744 Gas, $3.61/gallon

0806 Heading up Ute Pass

0807 Fire danger is Extreme

0819 Stop at McD's in Woodland Park.  The GPS lied to us.  It said there is a Sonic (there's not) and there isn't a McD's (there is).  Oh well.  At least I got food and coffee.

0844 Rocco is making a weird noise in the back.

0846 Painted lizard rock grafitti

0850 Rocco making weird noises again - what's wrong with him?!

0855 South Platte River

0905 Pike National Forest and Wilkerson Pass.  Elevation 9,507 feet

0909 Cows

0912 Antelope

0932 San Isabel National Forest and Trout Creek Pass.  Elevation 9,487 feet

0940 Chaffee County.  "Now *this* is Colorado!"

0947 Buena Vista, elevation 7,954 feet

0955 Sign advertising a 10 day rafting trip

1016 Arkansas River

1024 Leadville, elevation 10, 151 feet.  "On top of it all!"

1037 Tennessee Pass and Continental Divide, elevation 10, 424 feet.  Current weather conditions - 66 degrees, sprinkling and breezy.  Feels cold!

1050 Top o' the Rockies Scenic Drive.  Looks like a nice area to camp and hike.

1055 White River National Forest

1100 Eagle River

1105 Notch Mountain, elevation 13,237 feet

1106 Old mine town

1108 This road is super curvy but has an awesome view!

1118 I-70

1131 Bellyache Ridge Road

1151 Colorado River

1153 Glenwood Canyon

1158 a long tunnel

12:06 p.m. No Name, CO

12:08 p.m. Glenwood Springs Hot Springs pool - the place is packed!

12:30 p.m. Rifle, CO - roundabouts in this town - yuck!

12:32 p.m. Sonic for lunch.  Program the GPS for Heber City.  205 miles away as the crow flies.  Current ETA is 6 p.m.

1:01 p.m. Gas, $3.89/gallon

1:08 p.m. Show on the radio about fire-adapted communities.  We have moved farther and farther into the mountains and forests and we need to learn to live in an environment that has fires.

1:18 p.m. Smells like rain

1:33 p.m. Construction stop

1:51 p.m. Stegosaurus Ridges

1:53 p.m. White River

1:56 p.m. Sheep

2:10 p.m. Rio Blanco River

2:37 p.m. Desperado Mine Road

2:40 p.m. Kenney Reservoir.  Maybe next time we should plan a break to swim in the lake.

2:47 p.m. Two plastic pink flamingos stuck in the rocks.

2:48 p.m. Cool globe statue

2:53 p.m. Chevron oil field

2:59 p.m. Pretty desolated out here in this corner of Colorado

3:07 p.m. Dinosaur, CO - elevation, 5,900 feet

3:08 p.m. Brontosaurus Blvd/ US-40

3:12 p.m. Utah

3:23 p.m. 97 degrees

3:27 p.m. Green River

3:43 p.m. Highway Patrol drives a pickup truck here

3:50 p.m. Gas, $3.73/gallon in Vernal

4:21 p.m. Uintah River

4:28 p.m. Best Western Plus - seems like a pretty nice hotel for a not-so-scenic area

4:32 p.m. Roosevelt, UT, 100 degrees

5:02 p.m. Starvation State Park

5:20 p.m. Wahsatch County

5:39 p.m. Chicken Creek East

5:46 p.m. Summit, elevation 8020 feet, 80 degrees

5:49 p.m. A semi truck is going 10 mph down the hill

6:02 p.m. Another one-lane construction road.  We are so close to our destination.  Will we really be there in 15 minutes?

6:20 p.m. Jordanelle State Park.  Are there campsites available???  Yes!!!

6:28 p.m. Campsite selected.  There is some highway noise but otherwise pretty quiet here.

7:17 p.m. Camp it set up so head over to the beach.  The kids made a new friend - Ted the Rock.  They helped him become a Driftwood Sailor and gave him swimming lessons.

7:50 p.m. Back at camp to make dinner.  Tacos.  The refried beans smell funny so we throw them away and Bella ate a quesadilla instead.

0840 p.m. Finishing up dinner.  The sun is down now and it is cooling off nicely.  We play some Crazy 8's before bed.

Day 14

Day 14
Monday, July 8, 2013

0545 Rocco wakes me up early - again!  I let him out and he comes back with muddy paws.  :(  I clean him up and then go back to bed to play on my iPad.

0700 Get up. Have a cup of coffee.  Try to get another updated long version posted to the blog.

0830 One half-cup of coffee later, Day 3 has been posted.

0945 Walk Rocco

1030 Go shopping while the kids stay home to play Wii.  I go to Sonic, DSW, Whole Foods, Archivers, and the thrift store.

12:45 p.m. Back home to watch Rocco and get the van clean and prepped to get back on the road while the kids go to lunch and a movie with Grandpa.  Lunch at Schlotsky's and Despicable Me 2.

More afternoon activities...  pay bills, wash dishes, find a campground for tomorrow, and fold the last load of laundry.

Dinner is bratburgers on the grill (yum!), beans, and peas.  Grilled cheese for Bella.  Then a couple more roads of Mexican Train.  We end on the 2's.  It's late and I need to sleep.  We have a long drive ahead tomorrow.

Day 13

Day 13
Sunday, July 7, 2013

Grandpa made bacon and eggs for breakfast- yum!  Ron and Ryan took Rocco for a long walk out in the park behind the house.  Afterwards we all drove out to Black Forest to see the fire damage.  Sandwiches for lunch when we get back to the house then I take Ron to the airport.  We stop at the auto shop along the way so he can fix my headlight (thanks!).  I get to stop at Target on the way back.  The afternoon rainstorm passes through.  For dinner we go to SMASHburger.  After dinner we play Mexican train dominoes until bedtime.

Day 12 (full version)

Day 12
Saturday, July 6, 2013

0550 Wake up

0725 Leaving camp

0730 Stop for a train crossing

0734 McD's for breakfast and coffee.  Ron even ordered it right.  :)

0744 Another train.  There were so many trains passing through last night.

0745 Question of the morning... How was the campsite?
     Felisa: Scary!
     Bella: I would've slept through the storm if Felisa hadn't been crying.
     Ryan: The pavilion was nice.  Everything was nice until... the storm.
So next time we need to set up with better wind protection and more stakes.  The wind out here on the prairie is no joke!

0813 Cows and antelope grazing amongst the snow fences.

0818 Medicine Bow River

0819 Thunderstorms predicted state-wide today.

0823 All of these snow fences look new.  Not sure I've ever seen new ones before.

0825 Windmills (very appropriate for all the wind around here!)

0902 Gas, $3.33/gallon

0910 Wyoming Territorial Prison
What did we learn here?
Ryan: Before the stockade was built in 1875, 25% of the prisoners regularly escaped.
Felisa: Every day 720 brooms were made in the broom workshop
Bella: One prisoner gained the trust of the guards and was allowed to have a pet antelope.  One night when he went out to feed it, he just walked away and escaped.
Favorite parts?
Felisa: broom factory
Ryan: cell blocks
Bella: none of it

1013 Headed through Laramie

1041 Colorado

1120 Fort Collins

1136 Stop for lunch at SMASHburger

12:11 p.m. Leave SMASHburger.  Drive past DSW.

12:16 p.m. Peloton Cycles.  We give Ron 13 minutes to look around.

12:23 p.m. His review... they have "every specialized bike around".

12:53 p.m. Day 11 summary has been posted to the blog

1:05 p.m. Entering Denver and hoping for no traffic jams but the highway has been pretty busy so far all the way down from Ft Collins.

1:36 p.m. Castle Rock

1:40 p.m.  And there's the traffic jam...  down to 2 lanes.

2:19 p.m. Grandpa's house!  Showers for all!  Laundry is started!  Time to relax and tell stories from the trip.  Rocco enjoyed some free time in the back yard looking for rabbits.

5:46 p.m. Going to Saltgrass Steakhouse for dinner.  Rocco waits in the car.

7:19 p.m. Back from dinner.

Rocco enjoys even more outside play time - he doesn't seem to want to go to bed tonight.  I'm all caught up on my iPad games and I have posted the full version of the first two days on the blog.

10:00 p.m. Bedtime!

Day 11 (Full Version)

Day 11
Friday, July 5, 2013

0630 Wake up. Rain and thunderstorms all night long.  Looks like Mother Nature wanted her own fireworks for the 4th of July.  It's very wet outside, but inside the tent - all dry!  For breakfast today we are having eggs and miscellaneous side dishes.  The cooler is getting a bit empty but we still need to get ice.

0944 Leaving the campground.  Things are sort of dried out.

0948 Stop at Lewis Falls for a picture.  Lots of people everywhere!  Time to take a poll on how long we will be driving today.
     Ryan - 9 hours including stops
     Bella - 8 hours including stops
     Felisa - 10 hours including stops (but 7 1/2 hours drive time only)
     Ron - 7 hours
     Sheila - 9 hours or less

0956 Felisa killed a mosquito in the car.  No stowaways!!!  (I killed 11 mosquitos back at the campground this morning.  They are everywhere after the rain.)

1002 Moose Falls.  No one at this pull out because you have to actually hike to see the falls rather than the falls earlier that were by the road.

1003 Time for Best Parts of Yellowstone--
     Bella - the lake
     Felisa - Old Faithful and the lake
     Ryan - Old Faithful
     Ron - Norris
     Sheila - seeing all the scenery and animals
     Rocco - the lake and campground walks

1005 Leaving Yellowstone via the South Entrance

1006 A series of roadside signs-
     We saw wildlife
     From afar
     Until we hit them
     With our car
     Slow Down!

1007 Headwaters at Flagg Ranch.  Stop for gas - $4.05/gallon.  Also pick up ice, coffee, and OJ for the road.

1025 Leaving the gas station

1033 Grand Teton Nationl Park and I get a sign picture!  :)

1040 Lizard Creek Campground.  It looks nice - small and remote.

1042 Jackson Lake.  Great view!  There is a flock of geese hanging out together in the water, just chillin'.

1043 2,992 miles so far

1048 Lots of wildflowers blooming right now.

1053 Laundry and shower facilities at the visitor center here.

1117 Leaving the visitors center.  We have a map of the park, water for Rocco, a smashed penny, and a stamp for my passport collection.

1127 Willow Flats overlook

1135 Jackson Lake Dam

1141 Mt.Moran overlook

1155 Jenny Lake overlook

12:18 p.m. Lots of bicycles out on the road today.

12:22 p.m. Stop at the post office in Moose, WY to finally mail Allie's postcard.  The sign inside the post office says "We appreciate you enormoosely!"

12:30 p.m. We have our 3G cell service back.

12:40 p.m. National Elk Refuge

12:44 p.m. National Museum of Wildlife Art - we should definitely stop there next time.

12:47 p.m. Jackson, WY.  Very busy in town.  There is rock climbing at the city park.  A group is riding horses down the ski hill path.  There are cool antler arches downtown and there is a tunnel into the mountain.

1:21 p.m. Lunch to go from Betty Rock.  We stop to eat at Phil Baux park but unfortunately dogs are not allowed so Rocco waits in the car then walks on the sidewalk.

1:47 p.m. Heading out

2:31 p.m. Look - an actual bridge for sale!

3:13 p.m. Pinedale, WY.  This town has a Mountain Man museum.  Sounds interesting for a future visit.

4:12 p.m. Eden, population 220.  Points of interest include Eden Bar and St Christopher's Catholic Church

4:33 p.m. Wild horse scenic tour turnoff.  (Further research reveals that this is an off-grid, serious 4-wheel drive scenic loop.  We survived the ghost town road but the van probably wouldn't make it here!)

4:46 p.m. Arrive in Rock Springs, population 23,000.  Stop for gas ($3.45/gallon) and snacks.  Ron is charging a 7% tax on all snacks which leads to some tough math problems but one of the kids says "Math is fun!"  Post an update on Facebook while we are in civilization.

5:07 p.m. Sonic!  But we're not stopping...  So sad.

5:08 p.m. Starbucks drive thru is very slow.  Probably because it's the only Starbucks for hundreds of miles!

5:15 p.m. Stop at the Chamber of Commerce for campground maps.  Flamingo Gorge is out - too remote.  Instead we are headed for Rawlins on I-80 East.

5:53 p.m. Onion truck with red, white, and yellow onions

6:06 p.m. Cyclist pulling a double-trailer.  Apparently double trailers aren't just for semis!

6:36 p.m. Blog summaries are up to date but I have tired fingers from thumb-typing it all.

6:46 p.m. Oh no! Construction!

7:07 p.m. Checked in at Western Hills Campground.  We're the first tent here but there are tons of RVs.  Ron picked up fried chicken and salad from the grocery store for dinner.

9:15 p.m. A rainstorm is coming so time to head for bed.

10:20 p.m. HUGE STORM!

10:30 p.m. Whew- it's over.  We're alive.  Felisa says that was the longest 10 minutes of her life.  Now that the storm has passed, we need to move the tent to a better windblock and add lots of stakes!

11:35 p.m. Bedtime, take 2.

Day 10 (full version)

Day 10 – Thursday – July 4, 2013

 0630 Wake up.  Get dressed right away so I can get Rocco out for a potty break.  He still won’t go. I think maybe he’s still nervous from the fireworks last night.  Then  we spot some elk cruising through town, enjoying their breakfast and it’s a hopeless case.  He just won’t pee! So back to the cabin to see if anyone else is up yet.

0700 Felisa is up so she comes with me to walk Rocco again.  I have once again just about given up hope when he finally decides to pee.  Whew.  Talk about bladder of steel!

0800 Stop at the local small market to pick up some food.  We got fruit, muffins, hot dogs, bread and ice.

0820 Stop in town to get some coffee.

0840 Mammoth Hot Springs.  Mmm… smell the sulfur!

0855 Visitor Center.  We take turns going in and waiting outside with Rocco.  While I was outside I saw a 4^th of July parade across the street in the lodge parking lot.  Rocco’s favorite part of this stop was sniffing the elk poop in the park.  What did we learn here?

Felisa – Otherwise known as song dogs, coyotes communicate through howls, yelps, and woofs.

Ryan – Elk cows give birth away from the herd and stay away for 2 weeks until the babies are strong enough to keep up with the herd.  They keep the calves hidden while they graze during this time.

Bella – Mountain lions eat bison and elk and sometimes also porcupines and marmots.

0930 We are on the road towards Old Faithful.

0937 Decide to drive through the Mammoth Hot Springs upper terrace on the way.  It definitely smells like sulfur up here!

0948 Orange Mound

0951 Angel Terrace.  Lots of dead trees here.

0952 Leaving the Upper Terrace Drive.

1009 Obsidian Cliff

1015 Roaring Mountain.  The 1988 forest fire burn area is across the street.

1034 Norris Geyser Basin.  Rocco and I hang around the parking lot while Ron and the kids go check it out.  It’s not too bad when we first arrive but the longer we wait, the crazier it gets in the parking lot.  Too many people and not enough spots.

1130 Leaving Norris.  They were able to see examples of all the main types of geothermal features – steam vents, hot springs, mud pots, and geysers.  What did we learn?

Felisa – Mud pots are sometimes called paint pots when minerals tint the mud various colors.
Ryan – Pork Chop was a friendly hot spring named for its shape.  In 1971 it turned into a continuous steam vent.  In 1985 it erupted violently shooting out lots of debris and has continued  to occasionally erupt since then.  Pork Chop is not so friendly anymore…
Bella – Hot springs are the most common geothermal feature in Yellowstone.

Our favorite parts of Norris:

Felisa and Ryan –the colors
Bella – the orange and green creek
Ron – Porcelain Geyser

 

1134 Elk Park

12:04 p.m. Fountain Paint Pot – a busy area so we didn’t stop but from the road it looks like a small colorful geyser.

12:12 p.m. Biscuit Basin

12:15 p.m. Passing Old Faithful.  We are worried about being able to find a campsite for tonight so we decide to skip Old Faithful and head for the campground.   We’ll come back up later in the day.

12:25 p.m. Continental Divide, Craig Pass, 8262 feet

12:33 p.m. Continental Divide, 8391 feet

12:44 p.m. Continental Divide, 7988 feet

12:56 p.m. Lewis Lake Campground.  The campground is pretty full already but we find a spot and get set up.  The group before us were total litterbugs. This place is a mess! After lunch Ron and the kids take Rocco for a walk and then we all relax a little. Ron takes the girls down to swim at the lake while Ryan and I stay at the camp with Rocco to read.  After a bit we hear thunder.  Not long after the swimmers are back.

5:13 The car is packed back up with our food and other items we don’t want to leave sitting out while we drive back across the park to see Old Faithful.

5:22 p.m. Continental Divide, 7988 feet

5:32 p.m. Continental Divide, 8391 feet. People are in front of the sign so I don’t get a picture.

5:43 p.m. Continental Divide, 8262 feet. I got a picture but it’s raining so not sure it will turn out.

5:55 p.m. Old Faithful parking.  It’s raining here too. We have arrived at a good time.  We can look around the visitors’ center for a bit before Old Faithful’s next predicted eruption.  I was worried we would have arrived just after an eruption and have to wait a long time.

6:47 p.m. There she blows! The estimated time was 6:39.  The show lasted 3 minutes.  We stood in the rain for at least 30 minutes waiting for the eruption but now we’ve all seen it and can check it off the bucket list. Even Rocco got to see it but he had to wait off to the side since he wasn’t allowed in the official viewing area.  He had a better seat though, at least for the waiting time, because he stayed dry under a tree!  After the eruption Ron took the kids shopping at the general store while Rocco and I went back to the car.

7:20 p.m. Leaving Old Faithful area.  As we drive back to camp there is a full double rainbow.  So awesome!

7:52 p.m. Finally got a picture of the Continental Divide sign.  We have crossed the Continental Divide 9 times today!

8:02 p.m. Back at the campsite. Throw together a quick dinner of franks-n-beans.  The rain held off but there are 6 million billion bazillion mosquitoes swarming us. It’s awful!  We start a fire hoping to scare them off with the smoke and we’re all covered head-to-toe and nothing we do seems to be thwarting them.  Our last defense – hide in the tent!

9:45 p.m. All of us are bedded down for the night.  No one is sleepy but it’s the only way to avoid the mosquitoes!

Day 9 (full version)

Day 9 – Wednesday – July 3, 2013

0605 Wake up.

0715 We are packed and loaded, ready to hit the road.  We’ve got a long drive ahead of us today so we didn’t even take time to make coffee.  We’ve got to get out of here!  Actually though, despite the fact that the campground was full, it was really a very nice, quiet campground.

0736 Bald eagle perched in the top of a tree enjoying the morning view of Lake McDonald.

0743 Leaving the park.

0824 Stop for gas, $3.63/gallon, ice for the cooler, and coffee for the drivers.

0839 Big Fork, MT and Flathead Lake.  Current temperature, 75 degrees.

0846 Woods Bay, MT.  This town features an all-weather concrete teepee and a place selling chainsaw carvings.

0856 Lots of orchards here along the lake and the highway.  It looks like mostly cherries to me but hard to know for sure when we are whizzing by at 60 miles per hour.

0858 Flathead Indian Reservation

0900 Runaway dog in the road.  The owner scooped him up just in time – a big truck was about to run him over!

0919 Polson, MT

0921 Miracle of America Museum.  Looks interesting for a future stop.

0924 Jolly Pack Rat.  What a great name for a second-hand store.

0926 Peoples Center.  Not sure what it is exactly.  An Indian museum/learning center maybe?

0931 An entire herd of cattle hanging out under the one tree in the field.  There’s just not enough shade for all of them!

0934 Suds-n-Duds.  It’s a Laundromat, carwash, and showers.  Get everything clean at once, including yourself!

0935 Stop at McD’s for more coffee and a late breakfast.

1004 National Bison Range.  Do you think we’ll see any bison?  (Spoiler alert – we didn’t.)  Also all the signs here on the reservation have the original Indian names in addition to the new English names.

1013 Bison hides for sale.  Hmm.  Maybe that’s why we haven’t seen any bison yet.

1020  An article in the local paper says that the yellow fields are actually canola plants.

1031 Arrive in Missoula

1045 Blackfoot River

1125 Gas, $3.53/gallon

1150 Headed up Bear Gulch Road looking for a ghost town.

12:00 p.m. Bella has pointed out that it is “high noon”.  That can’t be good.  Now the kids are reviewing all the Scooby Doo stories that involve being lost on dirt roads and ghost towns.  We’ll be lucky to make it out alive.

12:34 p.m. Still driving.  Now we are on the Cave Gulch Road detour.  This road is awful!  We’re never going to make it!  But on the plus side, there are so many butterflies.  Good omens?  I hope so.

12:41 p.m. Arrive at Garnet Ghost Town.  No flat tires.  No crashing off the mountain cliffs. We made it!  Not sure how we’re going to get back out though.  And where did all these cars come from?  We (thankfully) only met one car on the (very skinny) road.  Wait, what does that sign say?  Highway 200?  Where does Highway 200 go?

1:53 p.m. After a very nice visit in Garnet (even Rocco was allowed in all the buildings – wasn’t that hospitable of the ghosts to allow pets?) we are headed out – on Highway 200.  That road is much better than the way we came.  Our favorite parts of the ghost town:

Ryan – the hotel

Bella – the general store

Felisa – the blacksmith and the house that was just her size

Sheila – being able to go in and walk around all the buildings in town

Ron – Felisa’s house

Rocco – NOT the bugs.  He did like the treats from the volunteers though and being able to go inside the buildings to sniff around.

Looking at the map I see that we could have driven straight down Highway 83 from Glacier to Highway 200 saving ourselves time and grey hairs but then it wouldn’t have been such a memorable adventure!  Now we will always remember our visit to the ghost town.

2:31 p.m. Following the Blackfoot River back to Missoula.

2:37 p.m. Bonner Mill

2:44 p.m. Taco Bell in Missoula for a late lunch.

3:13 p.m. Caught a bit of cell signal in Missoula and was able to post a couple pictures to Facebook.  It was a roaming signal.  Really hoping the cell phone bill isn’t crazy this month.

3:29 p.m. Back to Drummond –the place where our 4-hour (111 mile) detour to the ghost town originally started.

3:54 p.m. Sign says local fireworks don’t start until 10:15 p.m.  So late.  But then again it doesn’t get dark very early here so that makes sense.  Not sure if I would be able to stay awake to see the fireworks though.

3:58 p.m. Grant-Kohrs Ranch Historic Site.  Hot and sunny here but a cool place to see.  It is one of the original ranches in the area.

4:39 p.m. Leaving the ranch.  Rocco wasn’t allowed in so Ryan waited with him at the car while Ron and the girls and I went in to look around.

4:41 p.m. Old Montana Prison is here in this town and a few other interesting things to see in Deer Lodge.  Add it to the list of places to come back to.

4:53 p.m. Anaconda Smokestack

5:01 p.m. Pass a pick-up truck with a bass drum in the back.

5:13 p.m. Butte, MT. Elevation 5767 feet.

5:15 p.m. Giant white statue on top of the bluff.  Who is it?  Jesus? Mary?  Whoever it is, it’s definitely biblical.

5:19 p.m. Beaverhead-Deer Lodge National Forest

5:21 p.m. Continental Divide, 6393 feet

5:38 p.m. Tobacco Root Mountains

5:40 p.m. Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park.  If we had more time we would stop.

6:03 p.m. Madison Buffalo Jump State Park – another place we wanted to see but there’s just not enough time!  The Indians used to drive the buffalo off the cliff here.

6:04 p.m. Construction zone

6:12 p.m. Gallatin River. Two dogs are out enjoying a swim in a river.

6:23 p.m. Bozeman, MT.  There’s a Target here- must be a big city.  Gas, $3.56/gallon

6:53 p.m. Bozeman Pass

7:03 p.m. Exit at Livingston onto Highway 89.  53 miles to the north entrance of Yellowstone.

8:00 p.m. Arrive at Yellowstone.  Only two campgrounds are still open.  The closest, Tower Falls, is 23 miles away.

8:04 p.m. Wyoming

8:07 p.m. Mammoth Campground – wow, that place is packed full!

8:40 p.m. Finally arrive at Tower Falls after a long drive, a buffalo jam (there were babies –so cute!), and a construction zone.  Sadly, the campground is full already.  We decide to go out the Northeast entrance to find another campground outside the park.

9:05 p.m. Never mind. Ron decided he’d rather go back out the North entrance and look for a hotel room in Gardiner.

9:06 p.m. Another bison crossing the road.  Slight delay

9:13 p.m. GPS changes to night colors. Must be sunset.

9:17 p.m. Wildlife we have seen so far here at Yellowstone tonight – bison, elk, pronghorn antelope, bears

9:24 p.m. Lightning in the distance.  Hope we are settled for the night before any rain catches up with us.

9:27 p.m. Stuck in the same buffalo jam with the babies but going back the other way.  There is one super slow baby who just won’t get out of the middle of the road.  So frustrating!

9:41 p.m. Finally get past the buffalo

9:43 p.m. Phantom Lake.  The buffalo that was there before is still there.

9:57 p.m. Mammoth Hot Springs

10:04 p.m. Back in Montana

10:45 p.m. Jim Bridger Motor Court.  Luckily they take dogs and they have a cabin still available.  While I am walking Rocco, fireworks start going off.  Rocco is NOT happy and pulls me back to the room as fast as he can.  He hasn’t gone potty yet so I really hope he can hold it all night.  Ron went out to find food and came back with pizza. Shower then bed.  What a loooooong day!

Day 8 (full version)

Day 8 – Tuesday – July 2, 2013

0700 Slept in this morning because of the time change.  Ron made eggs and bacon for breakfast.  Yum!  The garbage man came by while we were eating which was good because the dumpster was full to the brim!

0920 Ron and the kids leave to hike to Avalanche Lake.  Rocco can’t go and he was not happy to be left behind.

0935 Rocco and I go back across the street to McDonald Creek to explore for a while.  Then we go back to camp.  Rocco watches the squirrels and I read my book.

12:19 p.m. Everyone is back from their respective adventures.  We make PB&J sandwiches for lunch.  The kids told me about the elk they saw on the hike - hanging out right on the trail and not in a hurry to move despite all the tourist paparazzi taking their picture.  After lunch we are headed for Canada.

12:22 p.m. Stopped in a construction zone.

12:41 p.m. Made it through. Phew.

1:15 p.m. Continental Divide at Logan Pass.  Currently 82 degrees.  There are a couple bighorn sheep lounging on the snowy hillside.  We want to stop at the visitor’s center but this one is also way too busy.

1:33 p.m. St Mary’s Lake

1:45 p.m. Sinkhole on the side of the road

1:48 p.m. Stop at the visitor’s center at the St Mary’s entrance.  Not nearly so busy.  Unfortunately we don’t really get a chance to look around because the fire alarm goes off and everyone has to evacuate.  There are a few informational signs outside the center though so the kids can still tell us something that they learned:

Ryan – Four Native American groups in this area – Blackfoot, Sakish, Pend O’Reille, and Kootenai
Felisa – There is a straight line cut through the trees to mark the international border.

2:32 p.m. Almost hit a brown cow as we come around the corner.

2:40 p.m. Leaving the USA

2:42 p.m. Entering Canada.

3:15 p.m. Stop at Prince of Wales Hotel.  It is a resort hotel built in 1926-27 by the railroad to encourage travelers to use the train.

3:22 p.m. Visitor’s Center at Waterton.  Small but I got an unofficial stamp for my National Park passport book.

3:35 p.m. There is a lakeside village here inside the park.  Rocco tests out the Canadian water as we walk along the lake.

3:45 p.m. Decide to walk through town.  We bought postcards and then had a late lunch/snack at Trappers.  After our snack we went to buy stamps so we could mail the postcards from Canada which would make them that much more exciting to receive!  Instead of going to find the actual post office, we take advantage of the mail can at the postcard store.  Despite the sign declaring otherwise, it looks a lot like a trash can so we’re really hoping the postcards make it to their destinations!  Rocco even has time to take a potty break before we get back in the car.  His day is complete – he has peed in Canada!  haha

5:30 p.m. Stop at the scenic overlook.

5:34 p.m. Sofa Mountain fire area.  The fire was in 1998.  We have seen a lot of wildfire areas on this trip.  It has been interesting to see how things re-grow and how long it takes.

5:40 p.m. Border crossing back to the US.  It was much more stressful trying to get back in that it was to get out to Canada.  Rocco growled when the guards opened the back hatch of the van (without warning!).  Sure am glad he didn’t decide to bite the intruders.  That would’ve been trouble for sure.  We saw the line in the trees as we crossed through no-mans-land but weren’t quick enough to get a picture of it.

5:47 p.m. Deer by the road.

5:48 p.m. Person crossing the road.  This is the same area we saw the cow earlier. Quite a potentially dangerous stretch of back roads highway!

5:50 p.m. Chief Mountain, 9080 feet

5:52 p.m. Cow crossing the road.  See what I mean about dangerous!

5:58 p.m. Scenic overlook out over the valley.  There is definitely a difference in the scenery on this side of the divide.

6:12 p.m. Pick up some roaming cell service.  Get in a quick check of email (things are not looking good for the Creative Memories digital products as they continue through bankruptcy proceedings –so sad- but will have to get the specific details later) and post a quick blog update that we are still alive.  The blogger app that I put on my phone before we left has been good for quick updates along the way, especially this year since we are spending a lot more time off the grid.

6:21 p.m. Back at the St Mary’s entrance to Glacier.  The sign shows that most of the campgrounds are full.  Hopefully there will be less traffic on the road as we head back across to Avalanche.

6:35 p.m. Check my phone dictionary app for the official definition of “glacier”.  Maybe I will remember to check the park website for more interesting glacier tidbits when I finally get around to making my scrapbook.

6:50 p.m. Logan’s Pass.   The bighorn sheep have crossed the street and are wandering through the visitor center parking lot.  Nice to be able to get their picture after all.

6:54 p.m. A mountain goat is posing nicely at the overlook but I miss the shot. Darn.

6:56 p.m. Avalanche zone – unstable snow- no stopping for the next ¼ mile.

6:59 p.m. “Another One Bites the Dust” is playing as we head down the pass.  Uh-oh!

7:01 p.m. Pass the Weeping Wall.  It’s fun to drive through a waterfall!

7:05 p.m. The word “vast” comes to mind with the views in this park.  The camera can’t begin to capture it.

7:06 p.m. I like the cool stair steps the water carves into the rock as it falls.

7:07 p.m. Bird Woman Falls, 492 feet high

7:08 p.m. The river in the valley is shining in the sun. So pretty and so far down!

7:15 p.m. Back at the Loop and Heaven’s Peak

7:28 p.m. Deer jam

7:30 p.m. Avalanche campground – home sweet home.  That’s the end of our 7-hour field trip to Canada. There is a lot of campfire smoke tonight.  Or is that the smell of our brakes after driving down the mountain?  We ate beans and rice for dinner.  After dinner, Ron, Felisa, and I took Rocco back across the street for one more walk along the river.  I iced my hands and Ron iced his feet in the water.  Felt good!

10:15 p.m. Bedtime.  Once again, it’s not even dark yet.

Day 7 (full version)

Day 7 – Monday – July 1, 2013

0630 Time to get up.  Take Rocco out and get the coffee started.  Turn on the tv to see what’s new in the world.  The Weather Channel says it will be 90 degrees in the mountains today (yuck) and also has a story about the 19 firefighters (smokejumpers) killed in the Arizona wildfire. Yikes.

0730 Ron is up.  Time to pack up and load up.  Make sure every available water bottle has been filled.  Rocco is once again waiting in the car, refusing to get out.  He wants to be sure he doesn’t get left behind!

0935 Leave the condo.  It is 71 degrees.  We are clean, dry, and somewhat rested.  Ready for Part 2 of the big trip!

0941 Waiting in the lodge parking lot while Ron turns the keys in.  There sure are a lot of minivans with roof boxes here.

0946 – Best parts of the weekend at the condo?

Ryan – the chair lift and having a bed
Bella – same as Ryan
Felisa – same as Ryan plus the view
Ron – the scenery and relaxing family time
Rocco – the soft carpet and having his toys out to play with
Sheila – the scenery, the accommodations, and the chance to reset everything before we go again

1005 Sandpoint.  Stop for gas but the station cannot accept credit cards so we head on out.

1008 McD’s drive thru for breakfast and coffee

1025 Someone painted fish graffiti on the hillside

1026 Gas, $3.59/gallon.  There is a café inside. The sign says that bathing suits must be covered.  There is also a boat inspection station.  We have driven 1,817 miles so far.

1039 Elmira Store Café has the “best food in town”.  I think it also has the only food in town!

1049 Pass a big-rig RV pulling a giant trailer with a satellite dish on the roof

1050 Truck of pigs headed south

1052 More yellow fields.  I wonder what crop that is.

1053 Bonners Ferry.  Population - 2,515.  This seems to be the main town for this area.  There are two grocery stores, Subway, gas stations, carwash, etc.  They even have a barber ship (that’s not a typo!) and South Hill Lockers, a meat and game processing place.

1058 Kootenai River.  More yellow fields.  Maybe it is potatoes?

1102 143 long miles until our next turn.

1107 Moyie River

1108 Evergreen Elementary.  All the windows are boarded up.  Must no longer be operational.

1116 Sign for cheapest cigarettes for 500 miles. Montana must have high cigarette taxes.

1117 now 12:17 p.m. Mountain Time Zone and Montana state line but no sign!  We have now added 4 new states (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana) to the kids’ lists and two states for Ron (Idaho and Montana) and I (Oregon and Montana).

12:24 p.m. Yaak River

12:28 p.m. Kootenai River

12:31 p.m. Troy, MT

12:39 p.m. Kootenai Falls and Swinging Bridge Historic point.  Oops – looked interesting.  Should’ve stopped.  Too busy though.  Oh well – next time!

12:50 p.m. Libby, MT.  Couple of cool eagle statues in town.  Elevation, 2066 feet.  Current temperature, 86 degrees

12:56 p.m. Granite Creek, MT

1:06 p.m. Construction ahead on a gravel road.

1:11 p.m. Flagman said there will be a 10 minute wait for the pilot car to get here.

1:14 p.m. It’s our turn to go already!  Not even close to a 10 minute wait.  Yay!

1:59 p.m. McGregor Lake, 89 degrees

2:24 p.m. Bike path.  Sign says rails to trails of NW Montana.

2:35 p.m. Stop at Jimmy Johns in Kalispell for lunch.  It is hot and sunny and Rocco is refusing to go potty but the food is good.  Well, except for Bella of course.  She doesn’t like Jimmy Johns.

3:05 p.m. Gas, $3.61/gallon.  Smiths for food.

3:35 p.m. St Richard’s Catholic Church.  Don’t see many of those.

3:37 p.m. Flathead River

3:43 p.m. Hungry Horse, MT.  Those are some really hungry looking horses on the signs around town.  Should we be worried?

3:55 p.m. Going to the Sun Road

3:57 p.m. We use the tall vehicles entrance to Glacier National Park.   Doesn’t look like our roof box would fit the other side.

3:58 p.m. Bear Country signs.  Also, all wildlife is dangerous.  You have been warned!

4:02 p.m. Apgar Visitor Center. This place is way too busy.  Decide to keep going.  It is 92 degrees here at Lake McDonald.  The Prius driving ahead of us has a San Luis Obispo license plate frame.

4:13 p.m. Rocco wants to get out and swim in the lake.  Are we there yet?

4:34 p.m. Arrive at our campsite.  It is 88 degrees – hot and crowded here at Glacier.  Not what I was expecting for sure.  I guess that’s what happens in the summer near a holiday weekend.

5:25 p.m. Tent is set up.  We walk across the street to check out the creek.  We saw a few elk in the woods.  The water is quite chilly.  Rocco wants to go in but keeps jumping back out again because it is so cold.  After our walk we play a couple rounds of Crazy 8’s.

7:00 p.m. Cooking dinner.  Tonight we are having rice-a-roni, chicken, broccoli, Caesar salad, and bread.

9:41 p.m. Sunset

10:00 p.m. Bedtime even though it’s still pretty light outside.  It sure is hard to see the stars when it won’t get dark before midnight!  I can’t stay up that late!

Day 6 (full version)

Day 6 – Sunday – June 30, 2013

0630 Rocco and Daddy are awake.

0715 Everyone is downstairs.  Rocco is playing – very happy to have his toys and playtime again.  Felisa says that Buddy fell out of the top bunk last night but luckily no permanent injuries.  We told him to be more careful tonight.

0920 An update on the morning so far-

Rocco enjoyed a short, very hilly walk – mostly UPhill. Ron continued on up the hill to do a recon of activities at the lodge.  The kids were playing DS but Felisa got bored.  Rocco is apparently a country dog.  This condo living is stressing him out.  He has been barking at everything including cars driving on the road behind us.  We got a call from the renters back in Virginia.  Apparently the water heater is dead.  Of course it is.  Because it’s a weekend and we are away from home with minimal cell service which makes it harder for everyone to deal with the problem.  Chores this morning include laundry, dishes, and drying out the tent, chairs, and other camp gear.

1135 Getting ready to head up the hill to the lodge for lunch and activities.

1:30 p.m. Rocco and I are back.  It is hot out there!  The others are planning to go rubber duck hunting (a fundraiser raffle thing) and ride the chair lift to the top of the mountain.

2:20 p.m. A call from Flood Plumbing.  Cost to replace the water heater is $2500.

2:45 p.m. Ryan and Felisa are back.  They thought the door was locked so they rang the doorbell.  Rocco was not happy about that!

2:46 p.m. Bella is back.

2:47 p.m. Ron is back. Everyone enjoyed the chair lift ride but didn’t win anything in the duck hunt.

5:00 p.m. Ron and I head down to Sandpoint for dinner.  The food is good but it took way too long.

7:00 p.m. Back at the condo with frozen pizza for the kids’ dinner.  After dinner Ron takes them up to the pool at the lodge.  Rocco and I stay home to do more laundry and dishes and to take a walk.

10:30 p.m. Last load is in the dryer.  Bedtime!

Day 5 (Full version)

Day 5 – Saturday – June 29, 2013

0700 Wake up.  It is wet outside again.  Thunderstorm rolled through about 5 a.m.

0853 Almost on the road.  Ron’s wallet was left inside the tent so we had to dig it out before we could go.

0857 Stop to take pictures of the lake and the creek.

0906 Sign says: Delay of 5 vehicles or more is illegal.  Must use turnout.

0907 Diablo Lake Overlook.  Great views here!  It is 62 degrees and the sun is hot already.

0948 Granite Creek

0956 Porcupine Creek

1000 Rainy Lake Trail in the Okanogan National Forest.  Rocco seems to like walking on the snow.  Even when he could go around, he doesn’t.  The lake is beautiful with many waterfalls on the far side.  Definitely worth the stop and the short hike.  At one point, Rocco was pulling Felisa, a la Marmaduke.  Luckily she didn’t fall.  Unfortunately the bathrooms here were disgusting.  There were also no fee envelopes out so people couldn’t pay the use fee.  Seemed like a neglected trail head.  Budget cuts or bad management?  Not sure.

1135 Back on the road.  We are about 2 ½ hours from Grand Coulee Dam.

1154 Klipchuk campground

1156 Leaving North Cascades Scenic Highway and the Okanogan National Forest.

1157 Hitchhiker on the side of the road.  Sorry but we are full to the brim.  There’s not even room to ride on the roof!

12:04 p.m. Very pretty valley with lots of horses

12:15 p.m. Winthrop, WA – a nice, cool old town.  The main street is a shopping district and there is even a cool pedestrian bridge on the edge of town.  We pick up lunch to go from Carlos 1800 Express (no dogs allowed at any of the restaurants in town).  Yummy Mexican food even if we did have to eat in the car.

12:44 p.m. Shafer Museum in Winthrop.  Also looks interesting for a future visit.

12:47 p.m. Methow River

1:13 p.m. Loup Loup Summit, 4020 feet.  There are lots of motorcycles on this road – must be the scenic route.

1:28 p.m. Big net covering the entire orchard.

1:29 p.m. Curtis Sheep Slaughter historic marker.  Hmm. Wonder what that was about. (Looked it up – apparently some angry cattlemen killed a bunch of sheep one night in 1903 to protest the increase in sheep farmers)

1:36 p.m. Canadian border is just 50 miles away…

1:40 p.m. Omak, WA

1:43 p.m. Coulee Corridor National Scenic Byway

1:54 p.m. Two cop cars chatting.  Must be the afternoon break time.

1:59 p.m. Rocco is thirsty.

2:02 p.m. News on the radio is talking about the current heat wave.  The forecast high for Death Valley today is 128 degrees, close to the hundred-year record of 134 degrees – the highest recorded temperature on Earth.  Death Valley is on our California bucket list but I’m thinking we probably shouldn’t visit in the summer.  The entire west coast is in the heat wave.  There have been lots of Facebook posts from friends back on the Central Coast lamenting the hot weather.  It definitely has not been as cool and refreshing on this trip as I was expecting considering how far north we are.  So I guess the good news is it would be worse if we were south.

2:04 p.m. News report – searching for a lost hiker on Mt. Hood

2:05 p.m. Disautel Pass, 3252 feet

2:06 p.m. Deer roadkill.  It looked like it had been smooshed and stretched – eew!

2:14 p.m. A hawk just swooped down to the road.  Looked like it was trying to grab us!

2:21 p.m. Colville Indian Agency

2:29 p.m. Spirit Ridge RV Park has teepee rentals!

2:30 p.m. Grand Coulee Dam in the distance

2:41 p.m. Arrive at the dam.  Whoa!  That’s a lot of water!  I haven’t seen that much water flowing over the spillways since Hoover Dam in the 80s.  What did we learn?

Felisa – Grand Coulee Dam is one of the largest concrete structures in the world.

Ryan – This dam has 11,975,521 cubic yards of concrete compared to Hoover Dam which has about 3,500,000 cubic yards.

3:19 p.m. Gas, $4.03/gallon

3:40 p.m. Wilbur, WA – had a giant Wilbur statue and a covered wagon.  Too bad we missed getting a picture of Wilbur.

4:28 p.m. Our 3G cell service has returned.  Commence the Facebook updates!

5:07 p.m. Idaho

5:15 p.m. Coeur d’Alene

5:41 p.m. Passed the Silverwood Amusement Park.  Lots of rollercoasters.

5:59 p.m. Lake Cocolalla

6:10 p.m. Sandpoint, ID

6:14 p.m. Safeway for provisions

6:30 p.m. Leaving Safeway and heading up the mountain to Schweitzer Ski Resort

7:00 p.m. Waiting at the lodge while Ron checks us in to our condo

7:15 p.m. At the condo.  Which has an insanely steep driveway.  No way would I tackle that in the winter. Yikes!  Everyone is very excited to have a house instead of a tent, even Rocco.  We unload the car then make dinner – rotisserie chicken, rice-a-roni, Caesar salad, and French bread.  Rocco tried to steal a chicken bone from the trash. Bad dog!  After dinner, showers for all.

10:00 p.m. Bedtime.  In beds!  J