Looking Back at Some of our Favorite Photos from The Trip
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Author Archives: hennacornoelidays
Start of Something Big
We made it back to Chicago in time to catch the last few hours of July. After thirty eight days of driving in straight, zig-zag, curvy, and circular lines, it was finally time to rest. We did not feel as tired as you might expect. Henna was homesick toward the end and I was feeling the monotony of traveling every day (I always prefer to spend multiple days in one spot, but how many days could we really spend in Albert Lea, MN). Corey’s mantra the last few days, which I am sure has been influenced by the high humidity, has been “why do we live in Chicago?” But home is home and is made much nicer by the people we live near. This summer those neighbors have been especially awesome. The Pederson’s took over cat sitting duty when needed and also were a true friend to the felines. The Longos’ as well as neighbors Alex and Chad also assisted with the cats and kept a good eye on our house. And the Davis’ were able to keep one of two hermit crabs alive. Janice, of course, made us feel at home when we were so far from our actual home. Sam, Henna’s babysitter, expanded her job description and came to our house every day in order to feed and play with the cats. It is important to have good people in your life. It makes coming home worth it.
We also looked for changes in our neighborhood and found a few worth mentioning. The tree stump remained (the rest of the tree had crashed on my neighbors van as well as my fence), but my neighbors van had been repaired. I am also very excited to report that there is a new hot dog stand a short walk from my house. Other changes are more subtle. I feel great and have lost about seven pounds. I also feel fit (walking several miles a day will do that) and very confident. So confident, in fact, that I have worn my cowboy hat around town. Corey reports that her legs are strong and Henna is just happy to be home.
Most travel articles or travel books have a “if you go” section, usually placed at the end of the text. We have done the same, but decided to focus a little on cost. It is impossible for us to determine exactly how much our trip cost us for the simple reason that in any given five weeks we go out to restaurants, buy groceries, see movies, maybe go to a museum, etc. There are of course some specific purchases that we probably would not have made if we had stayed at home the past five weeks (whale tours are few and far between in Chicago, although the Shed would have been a lot cheaper). But here are some the costs specific to our trip:
Gas: We drove about 7500 miles and averaged close to 25 MPG (our car, a 2010 6 cylinder records this information). At $4/ gallon (I think we actually averaged less than that but it is hard to figure, especially when trying to convert liters to gallons) we spent approximately $1,260 on gas.
Hotels: We spent 7 nights at hotels. Every province and state, regardless of whether they have a sales tax or not (Oregon, Minnesota, and Montana do not) have a pretty hefty hotel tax. After that tax we spent approximately $125 a night at various hotels. This comes to $875 spent at hotels. By the way, I am much pickier and more likely to complain at hotels and this once led to a $25 discount due to a loud AC issue.
Camping: A blackjack worth of camping (21 nights). Money spent ranged from $12 to $40 (that included a reservation fee). KOAs, not surprisingly, were more expensive but also offered a lot more services; pools, showers, hot tubs (once), etc. Canadian parks were also more expensive. Total approximate cost for tent camping: $470. Of course there are also a lot of start up costs for tenting (the tent, sleeping bags, etc).
KOA Cabins: My favorite hotel alternative. You get a roof, but no linens and you have to share a bathroom with RVers, tenters, and fellow cabiners. The four nights spent at a cabin ranged from $90 (outside Victoria) to $40 (Corvalis, OR). Assume that local hotels are always twice the price of a KOA cabin. Total cost was about $270.
This is the end of our lucky 13th 2011 trip, but not an end to this blog. Over the next few days we will post some of our favorite photos from the trip. We also plan on describing some of our favorite two to three day adventures leaving from Chicago (this is meant to serve as an idea section for you at home). Next to planning our own trips, our next favorite activity is helping others do the same. On a hike this past fall we designed and envisioned a future online business in which we would do just that. Plan mini or long vacations for folks; supply them with information about traveling to places we’ve been etc. This blog was started as the beginning of that far off future endeavor. We may never get there, but it’s good to dream big. Therefore please, if you are looking for ideas or want a little guidance, ask us via the comments. You never know, this may be the start of something big.
Custer State Park and Mount Rushmore Photos
To all the roads I have loved before
The tilt is in full swing and I am writing you from Albert Lea, MN which is about 120 miles west of Lacrosse, WI. I should be home tomorrow late afternoon/ early evening. The heat and humidity plus our desire to get home by tomorrow contributed to us passing on such gems as the tractor museum and the South Dakota Hall of Fame. We did spend about an hour or so today at Wall Drug. Wall Drug is a place famous for being famous, but we like it plenty. In case you have never been there, it has dinosaurs, robot cowboy singers, and shooting arcades. It also boasts 5 cent coffee and free ice water. The founder of Wall Drug strung signs along highway 16 advertising free ice water in the 1930s and this snowballed into a large mall with a cowboy bent. A couple of years ago Corey purchased cowboy boots there that she has yet to wear. This time we had breakfast and bought some souvenirs. About an hour later we crossed the Missouri and decided not to stop at the rest stop/ small museum there. It was 13 years ago that Corey and I did stop to make time by the Missouri River. It was the beginning of one of our first true adventures and we met our first of many road friends. David and Ethel were in their late 70s/ early 80s and agreed to take our picture overlooking the river (this picture is now framed in our bedroom). We talked awhile and they told us that if we were still talking to each other at the end of the trip then we were meant to be. We haven’t shut up since.
A couple of hours past the river we crossed I29. Corey was driving, Henna was listening to a story, and I was entertaining myself with our road atlas. I was intrigued by the perpendicular interstate and saw that it journeyed south from Sioux Falls, SD to Sioux City, IA then down to Omaha and later Kansas City. Travelling north one would go past Grand Forks, ND and then, by route, Winnipeg. I was transported at that moment to earlier in our trip when we did just that. If you remember, we took route 2 to Grand Forks and then, due to flooding in North Dakota, drove past lumbering cattle trucks into ranch land and gas stations that you could neither pay at the pump or pay before you pumped. For a fleeting moment I felt that same freedom I experienced four weeks past. I thought then of all the routes and highways I have been on. There was one time when, just outside of Bend, Oregon my three-year old atlas did not anticipate a route (97) becoming a divided highway. The sudden and unexpected terror of being on something that should not exist cannot be overstated. Most times though the routes did not disappoint in what they offered; sights, interesting people, and a chance for adventure at every turn. We made time on the interstates and had fun on the routes.
Over the next week or so we will edit photos (my camera’s memory card is stuffed at a little over 1,500 photos) and try to digest this trip. I look forward to the process as it keeps the trip alive for just a little longer. Over the next year we will stare at maps trying to see the grand pattern, the route that speaks most to our heart. We have several ideas for next year, but for now are leaning toward Newfoundland. I hope you check in with us often as we will continue to post for as long as we feel the pull of the road.
Note: Both photos taken Summer, 2009
Stalker burros, bison road blocks, and granite presidents
I did not intend this trip to be a grand tour of KOAs, but that is what the last week has become. A couple of factors: 1) Henna’s profound love of swimming and her new found underwater diving skills and 2) Our love of cheap, fun places that allow us to camp. Yesterday’s KOA (in Custer, SD) was perfect. It had a lot of tenters, families, and trees. Besides having a pool, they also offered crafts for the kids and Henna painted a glass butterfly with a kindly older work camper. Today, I am about 35 miles north of Custer at the Rapid City KOA which is off of I90, is filled with some type of camp group which descended on the pool just before closing as well as punkish looking teens (and a few nice families). But the pool is nice and we had pizza delivered to us from a nearby place.
Today we did a figure eight through Custer State Park. 13 years ago, Corey and I camped for the first time and had our first good hike in the Black Hills area. My first night camping was memorable by the way, for me cutting my thumb pretty good while opening a can of tuna. We could not get a fire going and I remember some guy who worked at the campground watching my efforts and saying, “it will catch, don’t worry” and walking away. I do not remember if it ever catched. The hike was Harney Peak which I always tell people is the highest mountain east of the Mississippi. A couple of days ago I told that to Corey and she said “Harney Peak is not east of the Mississippi.” A quick look at the map confirmed this. So maybe it is the highest mountain east of the Rockies? At 7200′ it is tall, but I am not sure that it is taller than the presidential mountains in New Hampshire. One thing we can all agree on is that it is tall. We told Henna there was a castle at the top of the mountain (there is a stone CCC firewatch tower at the top) and that she could eat as much candy as she wanted while hiking. Yesterday she said she would do it but today she said no way.
So we drove through Custer State Park and were awed by how cool this park really is After Yellowstone, Waterton, etc. we thought this would pale in comparison. Not at all. There are meadows, funky rock formations, windy roads that rival taller mountain passes, narrow tunnels that allow only one lane of traffic, a herd of bison that, toward the end of the day, surrounded traffic and caused our hearts to quicken as they walked toward the car before suddenly veering away. While in a bison jam, a park ranger passed us going the other way and we asked if bison ever charge cars (I did this thinking the answer would comfort us). He said, “yeah, all the time” and then drove off. Meanwhile the bison are in front, behind, to the left, and to the right of us. We can smell and hear them grunt too. A couple of cars in front of us the drover froze up and we were stuck for a good ten minutes before being able to proceed.
The burros are a different matter. Quick review, in WY you can walk directly on dinosaur tracks and are encouraged to take any fossils you find. At Jewel Cave I was reprimanded for holding an acorn in the visitor center. At Custer State Park, you are not allowed to feed wildlike “except fot the burros…. we just want you to feed them something good like carrots” (the lady at the entrance gate). So we fed them. We also got of the car and petted them. And then we walked in a great meadow toward a herd of burros. Prarie dogs sent off their alarm and we watched for burro pooh and snakes in the grass (we found a lot of the first and none of the second).
Before seeing the bison and burros, but after first entering the park we took Iron Mountain Road which leads to Mount Rushmore. The road was designed to give several cool views of the monument. Quick fact: Mount Rushmore is incomplete. Congress cut off funding in 1941 (we were on the verge of WWII) and Lincoln is incomplete as well as some of the details of the other presidents. There also was a big do-over due to unforseen cracking which left several imperfections to the left of Washington.
After Mount Rushmore but before the bisons and burros we parked at Lake Sylvian. Lake Sylvian is lovely and also is the site of a trail head for Harney Peak. How convenient. The three of us started on the trail with the understanding we would only go as far as Henna wanted. Henna wanted to go about 50 yards. Corey graciously said I could continue for a bit and her and Henna went swimming in the lake. I continued on the trail until I reached a spur leading to Little Devil’s Tower. I figured that would be a logical turn around point and began walking to the tower. What I did not realize, was that the trail led to the top of the little tower, not a view of. About a third of a way up that spur I came across a vantage point that offered awesome views of the hills (they did look black from there). I did not have any way to record this. There was a family at the same point and I decided to ask a big favor: would they e-mail me a picture of that view. This request led to fun conversations and companionship the rest of the way up. At the time of the request, I did not realize that they were actually a family of eight. A very cool eight with the six children ranging from six to maybe their late teens. They were quick witted (they laughed at my jokes) and very kind to me. Still, I felt a bit funny hanging out with them, kind of like I was being unfaithfull to Corey and Henna. The trail, by the way, devolved into spray painted blue diamonds on rocks which led us into gulleys and crevases. Several points were only wide enough to allow me to walk with one foot directly in front of the other. The view at the top was stunning with us just a little bit lower than the stone fire tower which we could see across a ravine. As I was admiring this a little voice inside my head said “you told Corey you would be about an hour and it has been two.” I came down as fast as I can, once losing the trail and having to backtrack. I also resorted to throwing my water bottle down ahead of me so that I had both hands free. When I finally returned to the parking lot, Corey and Henna were happy to see me and not upset in the least. I felt true gratitude for them being so cool and understanding.
So here we are in Rapid City, two days before we hope to be home. Since Dan and Liz’s wedding, it has been 34 nights. 21 nights have found us sleaping in a tent. 4 times we stayed in a KOA cabin. We did 6 hotels and were lucky enough to have Lou host us for three nights. Our total trip odometer is over 6,500 miles. It is time to go home, but these have been an awesome 5 weeks. I will post some pictures, hopefully tomorrow and then again over the next week.
Inching Closer to Home
The plan today was big. We would take I90 to 16, cross into South Dakota and see wild donkeys and bison in Custer State Park and then the granite presidents. We didn’t do none of that. We got off I90 and were on 16S for less than a minute before coming across the West Texas Trail museum in Moorecroft, Wy. A sign said it was free and we were out of the car not thirty minutes after leaving Gillette. By the way, Corey said I was to hard on that town so on the way out we detoured through their downtown. It was clean, had several stores, no resteraunts, coffee shops or book stores though. Still not my favorite place, but not the worse place either. Anyways, many attics made up this museum. There were coffins, pianos, WWI uniforms, various mounted cow heads, and short histories of the families making up Kirk County. There also was a very articulate and knowledgeable man with nothing else to do but answer my questions concerning ranching, the west Texas Trail, the history of Moorecroft, and dinosaur bones. It turned out he was friends with the family who once owned the land where the dino tracks were found. He talked about being a kid on his grandparents ranch and finding twelve or more arrow heads a summer. He also said that ranchers are suppose to tell people when they find stuff, but that means strangers coming on to their land. People in WY do not like that, but then again I am not a big fan of the meter man coming into my backyard. One sentence on the West Texas Trail: Cows were brought north from Texas to populate ranches in MT and Canada from the mid to late 19th century.
We then stopped for gas, made lunch at a rest stop, and traveled a few more miles on 16 into South Dakota. Corey hates caves but I made her pull into the Jewel Cave National Monument visitor center. Cave tours were sold out for the day but there was an enticing hike into “Hell Canyon” past the historic cave opening. Three and a half miles long and flat, this seemed easy to us mountain people. There was a big fire ten years ago which caused lots of stumps, no shade from sun, and a beautiful meadow filled with butterflies, wild flowers, and interesting birds. Henna tripped twice and skinned one knee. She also was stung by a bee. The sun and humidity (which us mountain people are no longer used to) was brutal. The hike, although gorgeous, became monotonous after the first mile or so. We saw one family at the onset of the hike, but then no one else and Corey was convinced we had made a wrong turn. But after climbing out of the canyon (it was a pretty small indentation by the way) we came across that historic opening and it was awesome. Cold air came out of one hole and there were small openings that a stupid man could venture into and then die a lonely death. The rocks here have a crystal sheen that rubs off and we felt this sense of discovery that often eludes us in more crowded places. The trail then took a bend around the corner and we found ourselves in a parking lot with maybe twenty people waiting for a cave tour. A few more steps and we met a ranger dressed in 1940s garb (that is when the rangers first gave tours) who showed us the origional cabin. Again, there was no one else around to compete for our attention and I asked him about the area, the canyon, and the CCC corps (who built the cabin and highway 16 that takes you to the cave). The trail from that point to the visitor center ventured on high ground and offered shade and cool breezes. Along the way Henna gave me the “prettiest acorn in the forest.” At the gift shop we bought a sticker and the ranger wannabe said “tell me you did not get that from the forest.” You can grab fossils from WY but do not take acorns from S. Dakota. A few more miles down the road was the Custer KOA where I write you these words. Total distance for the day: maybe a hundred twenty miles. Tomorrow we hope to see Custer State Park, Mt. Rushmore, and Wall Drug. But who knows, maybe a county fair will intercept us a mile east of here.
Road Games
A lot of people ask us how we keep our sanity and Henna happy on those long car rides. In general, we try not to have to many long driving days. But we live in Chicago and like to hang out on the west and east coast. Many days we either stay put or drive less than 100 miles. But other days, like the last few days, see us driving over 300 miles (our longest driving days have been around 400 miles). So these are some of our tips on surving long drives and good general road habits.
1) Get out as much as you can. Play catch at a rest stop. Pull out at a scenic place. Stop for ice cream. Anything breaks up the monotony of driving.
2) Eating out can be fun, but make it your choice to eat out and not a necessity. Always drive with a cooler. We also have a small propane stove and some charcoal. We make sandwiches, eat cereal, yogurt, or bagels with cream cheese for breakfast, and, especially when camping, cook our own dinner. Except when we feel like eating out. So, when in Victoria, we chose to eat in their China Town. In Cody we had a nice meal out before the resteraunt. In the middle of Idaho we made chicken tacos for dinner. You save a lot of money and avoid feeling fastfood/ diner blahs.
3) Corey, and sometimes me to, read to Henna a lot. Thus far this trip Corey finished the final Harry Potter book and several smaller books with Henna. My phone also has a dozen or so books on CD burned from the library (this year Henna has little interest, but in the past these books were good for an hour or so of driving). We do not have a DVD player, TV, etc. By the way, somewhere on the road, I heard a mom tell a misbehaving young one, “That’s it, you lost five minutes of video time in the car today.”
4) We have made us several verbal games that Henna cannot get enough of. They include 20 Questions, the Story Telling Game, and the Commercial Game. The two latter games involve one person, the judge, stating a category and the other two either making up a related story or a related commercial. The winner then is the judge in the next round.
With all that said, long drives can be exhausting and usually result in everyone being tired and crabby at about the same time. We try to always make the destination worth it and feel good that Henna enjoys short drives and can pretty well tolerate longer ones.
Pictures
Pictures!
A billion years or so in less than 300 miles
Woke up today in the 21st century and was able to travel back a billion years or so before getting a hotel in Gillette, WY. First a word about Gillette. There may be some nice neighborhoods hidden in this town, but if so they are well hidden. Our hotel is nice and so were the turkey hotdogs and mashed potatoes we microwaved for dinner. Add some chicken salad and it was heaven. But Gillette is a rough and tumble looking place in a dusty corner of I90. Gillette supposedly is doing well (it is known as the energy capital due to their coal, oil, and natural gas resources). But the dough is not being spent on coffee houses and art galleries. The drive here though was amazing.
It started with a pancake breakfast and buffalo patty for breakfast followed by a quick swim in the KOA pool. We hit the road around 10:30 feeling refreshed and ready for adventure. After a pit stop at a grocery store in Grey Bull we came across a small brown sign at a gravel road intersection. The sign listed several points of interest including “dinosaur tracks 5 miles.” After a quick deliberation we were off driving on a gravel road through BLM land. BLM lands is shorthand for “whatever the heck you want to do here is fine.” You can camp anywhere you want. You can also graze a herd of cattle, dig for fossils, or ride a horse/ ATV/ elephant whatever and wherever you want. The three of us ventured deep into this unregulated WY landscape on a very narrow and winding road. We saw several antelope and one truck parked in the sage brush. After 5 miles we came across a pavilion and parking lot that held one truck with a large family spilling out. More surprising was an outhouse and several plaques describing the find.
In 1997 a group of elderly explorers came across what was later confirmed as dinosaur tracks. The smiling faces of this group looked back at me at the sign which also described their finding as turning local archaeological history on its ear. Prior to their discovery, it was assumed that this part of WY was underneath a great sea. Now they believe that it made up a type of beach when WY, some 169 million years ago, was much closer to the equator. A short trail led to the tracks which were fossilized and there was no barrier preventing us from us touching their foot (?) prints. Another sign even said we were free to look for and collect fossils. Henna found a 168 million year shrimp fossil (which was later confirmed). Henna also caught several grasshoppers and this is what she talked about most on our drive back to the paved road.
Our next stop on our makeshift archaelogical tour was the Big Horn Valley. Geological forces I only vaguely understand resulted in a lot of very old rock being thrown up. Luckily the WY highway department puts wonderful signs up telling how old these rocks are. They ranged from being 70 million to 1.2 billion years old. The road is steep and incredibly beautiful and, just to add a higher degree of difficulty, cuts through ranches with sheep and cows hanging out by the side of the road. Maybe they were hitch hiking away from the ranch (I think you would agree that that would be a good choice for them). We left the car often to take several short hikes into this wonderland of striking rocks, buttes, and endless prarie grass. This road eventually led us to I90 and the hotel room I write this from. Tomorrow we hope to camp in Custer State Park, SD.
Hennacornoeli Days 