July 15, 2005
I’ve returned from my road-trip. I’m happy to say that I was able to follow my planned route almost exactly, and I was able to see all of the things that I had wanted to see.
July 5, 2005 (Tuesday)
I departed at a leisurely 9:30AM. I drove to Brandon, South Dakota, where I got gas and a snack. I arrived in Murdo, SD a little after 4:00PM CDT. I ate at the Star Restaurant and then there was a rather wicked lightening storm late in the afternoon. I watched the movie “Troy” in my room at the Sioux Motel. Then I decided to go get a beer so I went to the Lost Souls Bar, where I met Lyn. After talking to him, we walked over to his brother Mike’s bar, The Rusty Spur; where we hung out with his other brother Jessie. The brothers built the bar themselves, and they did a nice job too. During our conversation, I found out that there were cougars in the area, as Jessie said they were after his horses.
457.5 miles
July 6, 2005 (Wednesday)
I left just after 8:00AM CDT and fueled up in Murdo. I headed for Rapid City, then to 16A to Mount Rushmore. I drove up a mountain on hairpin turns and through single-lane bridges until I reached an overlook t
hat was almost even with Mt. Rushmore. The Presidents were just across from me on the next mountain. There was some snow up that high, so I got a break from the rather hot temperatures. I continued west on 16 through Custer State Park, where I saw deer and buffalo. I made it to New Castle, Wyoming, and got gas and a hamburger. Then I traveled more mountain roads and saw a Turkey Vulture, deer and Pronghorn Antelope. I stopped at the Town House Motel in Worland, WY. I ate at Subway and bought tomorrow’s breakfast and some beer at the IGA. It was 95 degrees Fahrenheit.926 miles
July 7, 2005 (Thursday)
I woke early, and the TV informed me about the London transit bombings. I left at 6:30AM MDT and got gas. I stopped in Thermopolis, WY, to see the hot spring. I saw deer and Pronghorn Antelope. When I reached the Wind River Canyon (Wind River Indian Reservation), I was amazed at how beautiful this mountain pass was. The road went along the side of the mountain, and below me was the Wind River. I was in the Shoshone Nation. I continued to Lander, WY, and then headed north into Fort Washakie. I had directions from an e-mail inquiry, so I was able to navigate on the reservation to the grave sites of both (Louis & Clark’s guide) Sacagawea and the Shoshone Chief Washakie. I left a feather at each site and then headed back to Lander. I drove along the Flaming Gorge, and stopped at the visitor center. I got a room at the Days Inn in Vernal, Utah, and took a quick swim in the pool to combat the 100 degree (F) heat. I had dinner and settled in for the night.
1,301.7 miles
July 8, 2005 (Friday)
I was up very early, since I was used to the Central Time Zone. I waited for 6:30AM to have the complimentary Continental breakfast. I had called the Dinosaur National Monument and found out it opened at 8:00AM. It was close by, so I left at 7:20AM and arrived at 7:45AM. The shack where you have to pay was unoccupied, and the sign said to continue on. I found that nothing was open, but there was an “auto tour” sign up ahead. I paid my 50 cents for a map, and found that there was a desert hike called “The Sound of Silence Hiking Route.” It was about 3 ½ miles through the Utah desert. I had to do a little climbing, but the morning offered “cooler” temperatures than what would come later. The scenery was fantastic, and I saw Jack Rabbits and a couple of different kinds of lizards. The sage filled the air with fragrance, and I thoroughly enjoyed this hike. After I drove back to the Quarry, I took the shuttle to the exhibits and of course, I bought a T-shirt. I continued on my journey and saw lots of animals including an elk, deer, vultures and magpies. I got stuck in several construction zones, where I was forced to use my air conditioner. I got stuck in a big traffic jam in Glenwood Springs, Colorado and was lost for a short time. I finally found my way out to 82E. I needed to find somewhere to stay, and the guy at the place with the $150/night cabins told me that there was camping
down Avalanche Road. Calling this a “road,” was giving it immense credit! My Grand Am did its best to act like a 4-wheel-drive truck as I drove the long road wondering where-the-hell the campground was? Finally, when the creek was running over the road, I decided that I was not going to drive my car across a creek and I turned around and headed out. My attempts to find an unoccupied/unreserved campsite on this Saturday afternoon were unsuccessful. Eventually, I made my way through the mountains to Paonia, CO, where I got gas and managed to find a room at the Redwood Arms Motel. The single restaurant nearby was only open for breakfast and lunch, so while I wasn’t actually camping, I did end up eating some of my “camping food.” My room was extremely nice, however.1,580 miles
July 9, 2005 (Saturday)
I left at 7:00AM MDT. The mountain passes were very impressive and sometimes a little intimidating to drive through. One false move, and one could easily end up at the bottom of a ravine. I saw a very impressive buck in velvet. He was small in stature, but his antlers were very large. When I made my way to Durango, CO, I decided that I had better stop for beer. Most of these states had a rather meager selection of good beer –with the exception of Colorado where there was a seeming endless variety of good local beer! I made it to New Mexico, and stopped at the welcome center in Aztec to get directions to the Aztec National Monument. I walked around the Aztec Ruins (Anasazi “Pueblo Indians”) for awhile and toured the museum. I even watched the video, which I don’t normally have the patience for. After a couple of hours at the ruins, I bought another T-shirt and drove to Cuba, NM, where I got a room at the Del Prado Motel. I ate at the Del Prado (Mexican) Restaurant. I tried to find local beer in New Mexico, but I was unsuccessful. Just after dark, about 9:30PM I heard what sounded like gunshots. Minutes later, numerous emergency vehicles went past. After more “explosions,” I wondered if there might be fireworks, so I went outside to look. I saw a “crime command post” van go by, but there were no fireworks. Finally it stopped.
1,875.2 miles
July 10, 2005 (Sunday)
I got some much needed sleep, though some of the neighborhood cats woke me up once. I left at 7:30AM MDT. I drove through Albuquerque, NM. I stopped at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. The visitor center was closed on Sunday, but I hiked around a bit anyway. I climbed up one of the bluffs, and walked through the desert. There were numerous hummingbirds at the feeders outside of the visitor center. I drove on, and made it to the White Sands National Monument by 2:00PM. I drove through the white desert and hiked the “Big Dune Trail.” It was incredibly hot in the afternoon. Even back in the town of Alamogordo, NM, it was 100 degrees (F). I got a
room at the Satellite Motel. There was nowhere close by to eat, so I bought some microwaveable food and used the microwave in my motel room. This was appropriate, I thought, since I was so close to the Trinity Site, where the USA tested the first atomic bomb on July 16, 1945. The site is open to the public only two days per year, and since I wasn’t there on one of the days, I “nuked” my dinner instead. Later, one of the guys who was living at the motel, knocked on my door and tried to sell me a shirt for $15. I had just bought a new T-shirt at White Sands, so I wasn’t interested.2215.6 miles
July 11, 2005 (Monday)
I left at 6:45MDT. I started my journey by going through a mountain pass heading east, with the morning sun in my eyes. It was a bit challenging at times. Then I drove to and through Roswell, NM. I stopped for gas a few times, because there was so much… nothing. I had once gotten down to a quarter of a tank of gas with no end to the desert road in sight. I was not going to do that again. There were lots of cacti along 82E in New Mexico. When I got to west Texas, it smelled like cow crap. There was a town called Bovina, with lots of cattle. (Can you buy one cattle???) There was a stockyard in Bovina, and boy did it stink! This is why I don’t name things, because I would have probably named it “Cow Crap,” Texas; and Bovina was obviously a better name. I made it into the Oklahoma panhandle, where I got a room at the Longhorn Motel in Boise City. I ate at a little sandwich/ice cream/gift shop. The beer selection was bad again.
2,673.9 miles
July 12, 2005 (Tuesday)
I needed sleep, and I didn’t get on the road until 8:45AM CDT. It took about 2 ½ hours to drive to Dodge City, Kansas. I stopped at the welcome center and got pointed in the right direction to go to Front Street and Boot Hill. I arrived at about 11:30AM, so I was able to see a gunfight reenactment at High Noon. Then I visited the Boot Hill Cemetery and went through the museum along Front Street. I had a Sarsaparilla and a Club Sandwich while I was there, and then I left at about 2:00PM. I got gas and found that the beer selection was still really poor. I drove straight through to Concordia, KS, where I got a room at the Economy Inn. I had to drive back to downtown to get food and gas, and I did find some Colorado beer in the (Kansas) liquor store. At dusk, I noticed fireflies in the field in back of the motel. I could also hear what sounded like a woodcock and a variety of insects singing. There is a lot of grassland in this part of the world. There are lots of things
living in it. I saw some of it burning in the distance as I was driving today. There was also some spectacular cloud-to-ground lightening as I was driving through central Kansas. It seems there was a storm to the north and another to the south as I was driving east. Regarding all of this grassland… it got me thinking. There is a National Forest Service… is there also a National Grassland Service? If so, I have never heard of them. Perhaps the National Grasslands fall under the jurisdiction of the National Forest Service. Somehow this seems wrong to me…3,056.2 miles
July 13, 2005 (Wednesday) -This was the day the space shuttle was supposed to go back into space but it didn’t.
I left at 8:30AM CDT. I stopped in Adair, Iowa and got gas. I had lunch at Mikey’s Berry Sweet. The food was good, cheap and fast. Though I like Mexican food, I don’t want to eat it everyday. The southwest was dominated by Mexican restaurants, and it was nice to have some “regular” food when I got to Iowa. I stopped at a rest stop near Dow, and then continued into Minnesota and made it back home by 5:30PM CDT.
3608.2 miles
KJC
END
http://www.nps.gov/moru/
http://www.windriverhistory.org/
http://www.nps.gov/dino/
http://www.nps.gov/azru/
http://www.nps.gov/whsa/
http://www.boothill.org/
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