Category Archives: Vacation

Trips and flights of fancy.

Vacation

GAR: Day Nine – Spokane WA to East Glacier MT (375mi)

Today’s trek took us from our stop in Spokane to Glacier, driving across the upper part of Idaho, and into Montana. The upper part of Idaho wasn’t nearly as impressive as I thought it would be — not exactly as bland as Napoleon Dynamite portrayed Idaho, but more bland than I expected. And then we crossed into Montana.

Wow.

I can honestly say that I’ve never seen such amazing natural beauty as we saw in Montana today. This place is special, and boy does the landscape speak to me. We drove alongside Flathead Lake, stopping here and there for lunch and gas, and it just never got any less beautiful. We traversed the state highways, making our way toward Glacier, and the farther we drove, the more the mountains came into view. They were… are… beautiful, still with snowtops.

We arrived at the lodge, which was built in the early 1900s, and it had a quaint charm about it. No elevators, bellhops, folks opening doors for you, no TV, barely any connectivity through my Sprint card…. it’s well off the beaten path. As someone here said, they don’t believe in upgrades.

And about that snow… The Going-to-the-Sun road didn’t open on the 12th. Seems that there was a snowstorm that dumped six inches of snow at the lodge location just a few days ago. That’s about 4000′ lower than the pass through the mountains. Right now, they’re expecting the road to open no earlier than July. Now that’s some snow.

We made arrangements tonight to ride one of the Red Bus tours tomorrow. That should be a blast!

Vacation

GAR: Day Eight – Salem OR to Spokane WA (409mi)

After such a late night last night, we slept in a bit this morning. Today was a big day. Today we crossed 3000 miles on the journey, and we stopped pushing north, and began pushing east.

Our travel today was pretty uneventful, again watching the landscape slowly change from the big forests of the western inland part of Oregon to the unexpectedly scruffy prairie of eastern Washington, and then change again to the green colors that I expected from eastern Washington as we approached Spokane.

The highlight for today was visiting Multnomah Falls just outside Portland. This is a huge waterfall, filling the air with spray from its cold water. You can even hike to the top… we elected to only go as far as the bridge 60 feet or so up, which was plenty wet enough for us! The falls were really beautiful, and I coulda spent hours standing there watching the sun move across the spray. An hour with the falls was all we had time for though, so eastward we plunged.

Around lunchtime, we stopped in Cascade Locks at the Charburger Restaurant. I like going to “flavor of the area” joints, and this was definitely a good one. The whole place was decked out in western iron goods — brands, spurs, etc. — with plenty of room for tons of folks to eat. We were there a little after the lunch rush, so we got right in. I had a big ol’ half-pound BBQ-bacon-cheeseburger, with some onion rings and fries. This was just about the best hamburger I’d had in a long, long time. I dolled it up with some mayo, mustard, lettuce, pickle relish, pickles, and tomatoes for the what tasted like the perfect burger. If you’re on I-84 and looking for lunch, stop at the Charburger!

We continued driving northeast through eastern Washington’s farming areas, and stopped for some fresh cherries and strawberries. Man, there’s nothing like fruit straight from the field!

Washington’s greeted us with open arms, and tomorrow’s drive brings a short pass through Idaho before landing at Glacier National Park for three nights, followed by four nights at Yellowstone National Park. I have no idea what the connectivity will be like from either of those places, so things may be quiet on the Deauxmayne for the next week or so….

Vacation

GAR: Day Seven – Eureka CA to Salem OR (386mi)

This morning, it was early to rise, and off toward Oregon. Our first stop was the Redwood National and State Park.

We got to the Kuchel Visitor Center right as it opened, and started asking questions about what to do in the park. We were pointed to Elk Meadow, and true to its name, we saw a dozen elk feasting in the meadow. They were beautiful to see in their natural habitat. Of course, we have these at Lone Elk SP at home, but the addition of the vistas in the park made viewing them spectacular.

Having been told by the rangers about Davison Road, we headed up it to Gold Bluffs Beach and Fern Canyon. However, before heading up the dirt/gravel road, we took the front tops off, and set off through the dense forest. The road was clear, but canopied with the tallest trees I’ve ever seen, with ferns of all types covering the forest floor. This place was green, green, green, and beautiful to drive through, especially with the tops off. We could look skyward — right through the missing roof — and enjoy the majesty of these giant trees.

Once we cleared the big hill, we descended to the beach, where we found a couple of large elk. I’ve never thought about elk being near the beach, but in this environment, that must be pretty normal. The beach was beautiful to drive along. As we continued down the path, there were a couple of small stream crossings… the Jeep finally had its toes in the water! Nothing deep, but fun nonetheless. Darla even got out and shot its first crossing.

Once we got to the end of the trail, we came to a walking trail into Fern Canyon. This canyon was mammoth, with walls that were more than thirty feet tall, and covered from top to bottom in ferns, with a small creek running in the bottom of the canyon. The rangers told us that some of this area was used to film one of the Jurassic Park films — the second one, I believe — and I could certainly see how that could be. This area looked prehistoric, and you could imagine a velociraptor cruising down the canyon pretty easily.

We doubled back, and continued north on the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. This is the old road through the park, and was lined with giant redwoods on either side, with plenty of turnouts to stop and enjoy them. After that drive, we had ended up spending just under four hours in the park, with the biggest part of the day’s drive ahead of us.

We continued up toward Crescent City, and found a little turnout next to a beach covered in rich, black sand. This little cove had loads of dark rocks jutting from the water, and I’m sure the wearing of those rocks by the waves created the sand we walked on. It was here that Sio finally got to dip her toes in the Pacific Ocean… it was cold! We played on the beach for a while, and continued on up the beach.

Once we got to Crescent City, we stopped on the shore, and ate at a little place called The Chart House Restaurant. This was a classic seaside dive — you could almost imagine the fisherman coming here to celebrate their catch. Their claim to fame was a beer battered fish, and it really lived up the billing. Really, really tasty and light. I could’ve eaten two orders easily!

On up the coast we went, crossing from California to Oregon, watching the redwoods dwindle, and the landscape change as we moved inland. We finally got to Salem — late — did our laundry, and crashed … late.

Apple Existence, Vacation

GAR: Day Six – Half Moon Bay CA to Eureka CA (356mi)

Teased by the mileage and GPS as being a short driving day, we moseyed around this morning, getting our fill of free breakfast from the Comfort Inn (the chain we’ve elected to try to favor during the trip), and reloaded the Jeep. A week of only pulling/replacing a few items at a time had made for a very unruly interior. With Sio’s stuff all over the backseat, it looked like a teenager exploded back there. A reload was definitely in order!

Part of that timing was around the Apple Company Store at Apple HQ, which opened at 10am. We arrived a little early, but found the doors open, and started wandering about inside. Generally, the hardware/software choices were the same as what was available at other Apple Stores — and the same price! — but half the store was devoted to trinkets…. hats, shirts, cups, pens, pencils, pocketknives. The three of us frolicked in the aisles for almost an hour before finally landing on a basketfull of goodies. A few photos, and we were on our way.

As we left San Francisco, we crossed the Golden Gate bridge. This was a cool trek! I was really surprised at how much pedestrian traffic there was. It seemed like the pedestrian walkway was stuffed with walkers, skateboarders, and cyclists. It was a great way to cap our stay in San Francisco.

The drive through the interior of California on US 101 was pleasant, although uneventful. However, in Petaluma, we did eat at our first In-N-Out Burger. This is a western chain I’d heard of, but never nibbled at. Essentially, it’s a fast paced, short menued hamburger joint with pretty good food.

Also in Petaluma, while refueling, I had a couple of folks asking about the Jeep. One of them had never seen an Unlimited, which was a surprise to me. After some good conversation, we continued on up the road.

After a little more driving, we saw a sign for a drive-through tree. We figured we had to take a look. As it ends up, that was a very, very cool deal. In the bottom of a giant redwood, a 6′ x 6′ 9″ square was carved out, just big enough to drive a vehicle through. Guess how big the Jeep is? About an inch shy of those dimensions all the way around! It was a neat experience, and I’m glad we took the new Jeep through it.

We saw tons of motorcycles today. From what the folks at the drive-through tree told us, there was a big biker party going on about 70 miles south of Eureka. Seems like that’s about when we started seeing fewer in the rear view mirror, and more in the oncoming lanes. Fun to see all the bikes, but they sure must’ve had a big ol’ place to gather so many folks!

We jaunted the rest of the way to Eureka, found our hotel, and slept well after hitting the hay!

Vacation

GAR: Day Five – San Francisco

San Francisco was our oyster today, and we spent most of the day in the city, goofing off and exploring.

Our first stop was Japantown. Siobhan badly wanted to explore this area of SF. She’s really taken a shine to Japanese culture, and this was right up her alley. We visited the pagoda, and wandered around a couple of Japanese malls in the Peace Plaza. She found some manga books she was looking for, and introduced Beck and me to pocky. Pocky’s pretty good stuff… basically a cylindrical biscuit, dipped in a flavored candy, and quite tasty.

With Beck navigating, we found our way to Lombard Street, and took the new Jeep down the path. That was quite interesting! With the nice bricks, and tons of tourists, it sure felt like I shouldn’t have been driving on it. In fact, the tourists were really taking a hard look at us as we wiggled down the lane. This was as exciting a Jeep ramble as we would have in SF. 🙂

With Japantown and Lombard behind us, it was time to visit Pier 39. It was way past lunch, so we stopped at the Surfboard Bar and Grille for a little lunch. The lunch was good, but the more interesting things was watching the people enter the restroom. It was a co-ed facility, with lockable stalls (kinda like an airline stall). Folks would walk in on the opposite sex washing their hands, and jump back, look around to see if they were in the right place, and then ask the waitstaff for the correct restroom. The reactions on folks’ faces were priceless.

Knowing there’s nothing that goes better with seafood than some time on the water, we set up for an hour-long cruise of the bay. That was wonderful! I’d done that trip a couple of times, but it was the first time for Beck and Sio. We ran under the bridge, around Alcatraz, and up and down the bay. Cold air, the occasional churning wave and a taped commentary by “Captain Nemo” made for a great time on the water.

No trip into the city is complete without a little souvenir shopping, so we walked about, picking up t-shirts and other trinkets. We came, we saw, we bought. 🙂

Vacation

GAR: Day Four – Winnemucca NV to Half Moon Bay CA (422mi)

Today’s drive was a little shorter — only two-thirds of yesterday’s — but it was the first day we’d taken on city traffic as we drove in the San Franciscan ‘burbs.

Leaving this morning, it was really comfortable, with temps in the 60s. We put Nevada behind us pretty quickly, and entered California right around lunchtime. After a quick stop for snacks and bio-breaks, we decided to veer from our plans, and head down to Lake Tahoe for a bit.

The Tahoe area is beautiful, with big hills, and loads of pine trees reaching for the sky. Add to that the beautiful blue lake, and you end up with an idyllic setting. We stopped, looked, shot some photos, and decided to head back to the interstate for the push into San Francisco…. on the worst road ever.

I-80 through northern California has got to be the bumpiest, roughest interstate highway I’ve ever driven. I thought some of the roads in Arizona were bad, but this took the cake. At least in Arizona, you’re travelling on a roughly flat surface through the desert. This road was uphill and downhill, with plenty of bouncing, harsh turns and road construction to make it that much more enjoyable. What a road!

Early rush hour wasn’t too bad, and we made it to Half Moon Bay around dinner time, with plenty of time to catch a meal, and get to a public beach access to watch the sun set into the Pacific. There’s a wildfire burning near here, and I thought that might help color the sunset, but it didn’t really seem to help much. Still, it was a beautiful sunset.

This was the first time Sio was able to see the ocean close up. She said that it was weird to not be able to see the edge of it. I guess I’d gotten past all the novelty of how big the ocean can be. It’s definitely been interesting to see this new experience through her eyes.

Tomorrow is a down day for us, with us planning to be tourists in the big city. Next up is the trek up the coast, with the Pacific northwest awaiting us toward the end of the week.

Vacation

GAR: Day Three – Rawlins WY to Winnemucca NV (652mi)

The shortness of the day yesterday — driven by the windy battle from behind the wheel — dictated a long drive today. With proper stops and a timezone change, we made this leg with wind left in the sails.

We stopped at a rest area along the way, and took some photos of prairie dogs. Very cute little critters, and fun to watch play and romp. From a big game perspective, this was the biggest mammal we’d gotten close to, and was certainly enjoyable to watch.

Crossing into Utah, we drove to Salt Lake City, and stopped for a bit at the edge of the lake. It was gorgeous! The weather was so much nicer than the weather I endured there a few years ago. The skies were blue, and there was plenty of visibility, with plenty of reflections in the lake. The best was yet to come, however.

As we were winding up our time in Utah, we came to a rest area just at the edge of the Bonneville Salt Flats. Again, three years ago, there were nasty skies, and really bad weather. This time, the weather was wonderful… and there was water on the flats! We pulled up, and found folks wading in toe-deep to ankle deep water atop the crusty salt. We dropped our shoes, and proceeded to wade in the water. The salt was hard, and really rough on the feet, but it was well worth it. We saw folks walking hundreds of feet into the salt desert, wading and exploring. This was by far the best stop of the day.

Another cool thing lay along the roads. Wherever the side of the road was light colored, folks had left messages, spelled out in rocks, for passersby to see. This was a kind of viral graffiti that was really amazing. Some messages were quick ones — someone’s name, or school mascot. Others were pledges of love, memories of other folks, along with some elaborate buildouts made of wire and beer bottles. Mixed in among these were tire tracks entering and exiting the salt desert, testimony to folks who’d spent a little youthful time breaking the law.

The weather was certainly a big deal during this leg. We left Rawlins at 35 degrees, and arrived in Winnemucca at about 85 degrees. In fact, the heat was pretty doggone oppressive, even more so with our room.

The hotel was just adequate, nothing fancy or elegant, and reflected the style of a 60s casino… kinda like it was trying to look like a wild west saloon room. Styling didn’t bother me, but there seemed to be no way to get it cooler. The air conditioner was definitely blowing, but it wasn’t cooling the room off. In truth, the whole hotel was that way. Waaaay too hot and sticky for my tastes!

Jeep, Vacation

GAR: Day Two – Kearney NE to Rawlins WY (475mi)

We awoke this morning to relatively clear skies, after a night of pretty amazing rain, thunder and lightning. After grabbing a quick spot of breakfast, we got moving…. and realized that the roof on the Jeep leaks.

I’m not terribly surprised, as this has been a common complaint I’ve seen on some of the Jeep forums. From what I can tell, water may be getting in the channel between the two front halves, and then works its way forward, draining at the windshield onto the top of the dash. It only did it when I stopped, so I assume that there’s something weird about the water path when the Jeep lurches at a stop. Strange thing is that I picked up Sio in some torrential downpours Friday, and had no issues. I’ve gotta do some research on this one…

So, remember yesterday, when I said things were windy? I had no idea how windy “windy” could be until today. We stopped at Tree Rock, and I thought we were gonna get blown over as we walked around. All through Wyoming, we saw signs heralding “High Winds Next 5 Miles”. Really…. 🙂 The winds were incredible most of the day, which made for a really long drive. Fighting the wind all day just ate me up, and I was too tired to go too much farther tonight.

BTW, it’s much colder today. Yesterday, I don’t think the temps dropped below 85 all day (at least, until the storms came through). Today, we started out around 60, warmed briefly to 70, but spent most of the day in the 50s. And I hear rumors of near-freezing temps overnight…. that should be fun!

I’m still in awe of the change in the landscape today. This morning, we left the flats of the Nebraska plains, and shortly after lunch, we got our first glimpse of the Rockies. By the time we landed for dinner, we’d cut into the mountains. What a great, picturesque view of this big ol’ country!!!

Vacation

GAR: Day One – St. Louis MO to Kearney NE (544mi)

After much scurrying about to load and pack (not in that order…. sometimes), we got underway on the Great American Roadtrip this morning just shy of 9am. Today is the first of three “big push” days, with 500mi being the target. Working hard these three days buys us shorter drives later and more time to smell the roses down the road, so it’s definitely effort well-spent.

And truthfully, it was largely an uneventful drive. The biggest concern we had was the wind. We had extremely strong southerly winds all the way across Missouri, and most of the way across Nebraska. Aside from fighting the wheel, that’s usually not a big deal. In the Jeep, that’s a different story.

I had read in the aftermarket catalogs about third party hood latches for the Jeep. The way the hood works is typical latch, but no handle inside the Jeep, so it’s kinda like the hood’s perpetually “popped”, just not unlatched. To keep it from being too much of a wind sucker, there are rubber hood latches on the hood, left and right. Get the right amount of wind (or buffeting from a big rig in front of you), and the hood dances. A lot.

Did I mention that the hood dances in high wind? 🙂

Needless to say, improved hood latches have moved closer to the top of my list for add-ons to the Jeep. That was really weird to see the hood moving around, and I kept having to tell myself that it was ok, expected, and that it would stay down.

Probably the coolest thing we saw on the drive today was in northern Missouri. A guy was changing a tire on the edge of the road, and standing right there on the stripe was a Missouri highway patrolman, hands on hips, facing the traffic. Pretty imposing look, and it definitely got your attention. Cool that he was watching the oncoming traffic while the guy was changing his tire.

BTW, northwestern Missouri and eastern Nebraska should be renamed “The Land of 10000 Additional Lakes”. The farm fields are flooded, really bad in places, with the lower lands becoming huge lakes with trees popping out of the water far from the shore.

We had planned to pull in at Grand Island NE, but I felt pretty fresh, so we pushed on to Kearney NE. As it ends up, that was a very, very good decision.

We watched Shrek 3 on cable, and quickly learned that there was quite sever weather just east of Kearney which was pummeling Grand Island. There were severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado warnings all night in that direction. We had bad storms, but nothing like what we heard about in Grand Island.

Despite the storms, it was a good day’s journey, and a good start to the trip.