Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Upper Midwest Tour - Epilogue

 One of our loyal blog readers wanted to know some stats for a our trip, so here goes:

  • We drove 6,874 miles in our Honda CRV - Hybrid.
  • We put 211.7 gallons of gasoline in the car, which got an average of 32.5 miles per gallon.
  • We visited 5 State Capitals (Bismarck, Indianapolis, Springfield, Des Moines, and Pierre).
  • We passed through or touched 13 states (OR, WA, ID, MT, ND, MN, WI, MI, IN, IL, IA, SD, & WY).
  • We climbed 6 State High Points (ND, MN, WI, MI, IL, & IA).
  • We hiked or walked 76.1 miles as I recorded, plus numerous other shorter strolls.
  • We cycled about 100 miles, according to Betsy's bike computer.
  • We visited 8 National Park Service sites (Teddy Roosevelt NP, Isle Royale NP, Grand Portage NM, Picture Rocks NL, Sleeping Bear Dunes NL, Lincoln House NHS, Yellowstone NP, and Craters of the Moon NM).
  • We camped in a tent for 10 nights; and
  • Slept in real beds for the other 24 nights, (some were better than others).
  • We crossed into all continently US Time Zones (first arriving to the EDT at Isle Royale and continuing in MI and IN).
  • We went from 123 degrees West Longitude to 86 degrees West Longitude (Portland to Indiana), and
  • We traveled between 48 degrees North Latitude (Isle Royale) to 39 degrees North Latitude (Indianapolis and Springfield).
  • And finally, I lost count of the number of beers I tried, most of them were locally brewed.  Though, I remember fondly one of the best Guinness's Draft I have ever had in Springfield, IL.

Monday, August 14, 2023

Upper Midwest Tour Day 34 and 35, Aug 12 & 13

The last post of our trip, mostly two days of driving.  We left Saturday morning from the hopping, busy town of West Yellowstone (evidently this is where tourists go if they can't get reservations inside the park) and drove, mostly on back roads, to Boise, ID.  Our only stop other than for gasoline was the Picabo Store.  The store is just before the turn north to Ketchum and Sun Valley.  It is mostly a fishing/hunting supply store, but Kirk Hall messaged us that they also make great sandwiches.   Since we were on our way to stay with Kirk and his wife, Betsy, we bought Kirk a sandwich.

We arrived at Betsy and Kirk's house around 4:30 pm, and, since we had been in the car all day, we unloaded our bikes for a 8.5-mile ride along the Boise River.  Kirk led the way, along the south bank, past Boise State University to the western edge of Boise.  The summertime "Boise Float" was in full swing and there were hundreds of people floating the river.  I am sure there was lots of beer drinking that added to the fun.  At the western end, we crossed over the river at a park with a standing wave pool -- youngsters were trying their hand at surfing the wave.  We cycled along the north side of the river, stopping at the Human Rights Memorial, which was relatively new, and sponsored by a friend of Betsy's.  I have attached a few photos.


An apt quote from a very smart man.

Anne Frank part of the Memorial.

One of two seating areas - beautiful stone work.

We had snacks and drinks after cycling -- to cool off and rehydrate. Then we walked to dinner at a neighborhood restaurant, sitting outside on the patio.  We had great conversations about all manner of stuff.  Kirk and I stayed up late trading our shared medical experiences.

Yesterday, after a leisurely breakfast, we said thank you to Betsy and Kirk, and drove home to Portland, via the Interstate.  Kirk recommended a short "off interstate" route to avoid the steep downhill and big semi trucks at Cabbage Hill coming off the Blue Mountains.  We took this route, stopping at the top, for a snack and great views in all directions..  Only two cars passed by on the road.  We had stopped in Baker for gasoline and, after filling up, drove along the main street, finding a wonderful bakery and cafe.  We bought some treats and I got a coffee.

The rest of the drive was uneventful.  On these last few days of driving, we listened to two more Walt Longmire audio books, which helped pass the time.  Craig Johnson, the author, is a great writer of dialog and his 16 books in the series may become the modern day classic for "cowboy" novels.  

We arrived in Portland about 4:00 pm, and unpacked the car in the heat -- 100 degrees.  Our timings unfortunate -- West Yellowstone was in the 70's.  It is Monday morning in Portland at 11 am and it's already 86 degrees,  heading for 105 degrees.


Friday, August 11, 2023

Upper Midwest Tour, Day 32 and 33, Aug 10th & 11th

Yesterday, we had three Craig Johnson events or encounters.  One, we booked a hotel in Buffalo, Wyoming, which is the setting for his fictional town of Durant, where Walt Longmire is the sheriff.  Two, we encountered the 83rd Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which was a plot line in his book entitled "The Obvious Fact."  Three, after  arriving in Buffalo, we decided to attend the last night of the Longmire Rodeo and the author, his wife and daughter (we think) were there.  He acknowledged the gratitude for sponsoring the rodeo series.  Note, Craig Johnson is the author of 16 Walt Longmire novels; he lives on a ranch in Ucross, MT which is near Buffalo.  We are finding his audiobooks a joy to listen to while driving.

We knew that the Sturgis rally occurred in August, but did not know it took place the week we were passing through.  It was phenomenal -- hordes of cyclists, mostly male, middle-aged or older, reasonably polite to cars, and wearing few helmets or spandex.  The rally features vast gear tents, multiple beer tents, and at least two bikini motorcycle washing services.  The Harleys and their cousins dominated all Sturgis parking areas, and much of the surrounding countryside.  On the roads they traveled in packs and roar rather loudly.  We passed through Sturgis because we wanted to drive the Spearfish Canyon  Scenic Byway, which is accessed by way of Deadwood, Lead, and Cheyenne Crossing.  A beer tent or pavilion had been set up t at each of these crossroads and several more in-between.


Oahe Dam and Reservoir on the Missouri River, just a few miles north of Pierre, SD.  The reservoir is the longest man-made lake in the world, stretching to Bismarck, ND.  The dam is an earthen structure and contained 90,000,000,000 cubic yards of material.

Some photos taken from the car as we drove down Main Street of Sturgis.



The Spearfish Canyon was lovely, with great rock cliffs, tall pines, and the clear Spearfish Creek.  But all wildlife  had headed for the hills -- the motor cycle rumble was incessant.  The Byway drops about 2,000 feet, before reaching Spearfish.  We were able to pull off at one pullout for some photos.  We realized as we were in the canyon that we were back in the land of intense blue skies, not the hazy, white-yellow, pale skies of the mid-west.

Spearfish Creek, with a fisherman in the distance.

And, what the fisherman was trying to catch.

The canyon rocks.



In Spearfish, we stopped for smoothies before moving on to Buffalo, MT.  We did a short walk along the Buffalo greenway after landing in our motel.  

Our accommodation in Buffalo - the Z-Bar Cabins.

Mural in downtown Buffalo.

Ditto.

Ditto.

A young woman in a horse cart told us about the rodeo, so we shifted gears, put on some warmer clothing, and headed for the Fair Grounds, where we grabbed a light supper. We  didn't really know what to expect and the very first contestant was worrisome.  He was a very young boy - no older than 6 and maybe only 4 -  on a full-sized horse, being led around the barrel racing course by his mother on a second horse.  Happily, the other contestants were older and more experienced.  We had the sense that this particular rodeo was more of a training opportunity for youngsters and a chance to show off some local talent than a full-fledged show.  The program included barrel racing, bucking contests on both horses and bulls, and roping events.  One was new to us - goat roping. This poor white goat was tethered in the middle of the arena while riders raced up to it, got off the horse, and whipped ropes around its feet.  The same goat faced all the ropers and looked visibly unhappy by the end.

Barrel Racing at the Longmire Rodeo.

Ditto.

Calf roping first step.

Calf roping second step.  It is a timed event, fastest to complete wins.

Bare bronc riding -- must stay on for 8 seconds to get a score.

Sunset over the rodeo grounds

The Occidental Hotel, another place in Longmire books.

We breakfasted at The Busy Bee Cafe, another Longmire place.

Omelet and coffee -- note the mug "Longmire Country."

A bronze memorial in Buffalo to early Basque settlers who employed sheep dogs in the herding of sheep.

Today's drive went from Buffalo, MT to West Yellowstone, MT, via the back roads.  Our most nteresting stop was at Shell Falls.  It is a waterfall that flows over 2.5 billion year -old bedrock that has faulted, with one side dropping and forming a great canyon.  The falls  is at about 7,000 feet elevation on the west side of the Big Horn Mountains.  We had crossed over a 9,000 foot pass to reach it.  Because of the tilt of the rocks, younger rock formations are at lower elevations.  It was world-class scenery set in a National Forest so is not overwhelmed by tourists ticking off National Parks.


Elephant Mountain.




The Shell Falls, named for the shell fossils found in the rock.



The many rock formations.

We arrived at our accommodation -- The Moose Creek Inn, after driving through Yellowstone.  There were a couple of bison spottings and one small herd of elk.  The park is looking good where the wildfire occurred several years ago, with many new trees growing (about 5-feet tall) among the standing dead trunks.

We dined at the Madison Crossing Lounge on trout cakes, peach flatbreads and fancy salad.  Betsy had her favorite beer - Moose Drool, and I tried a Yellowstone Brewing ESB.  One observation from the restaurant - we saw at least 5 tables with 4 people or more where every person at the table was on a phone at the same time.

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Upper Midwest Tour, Day 30 & 31, Aug 8th and 9th

Two days with one major visit each day with biking - South Dakota High Point with Sioux Falls, SD and the State Capital in Pierre, SD.

Our first sight after leaving Des Moines was Hawkeye Point, the 1,670 foot, high point for Iowa.  It is in the Northwest corner of the state surrounded by rolling country with corn and soybean fields in all directions.  It is less than 5 miles from Minnesota.  The site used to be part of a private farm, but the owners gave it to the state in 2009.

Overview of Hawkeye Point.



One neat display is these four posts with the 50 highpoints shown on each sign, with an arrow pointing  roughly in the right direction.  The signposts make that point that NW Iowa is slightly closer to the east coast than the west coast.  Even though we have turned the corner on this trip and are heading home, we still have a long way to travel.

Note, the sign for Mt Hood, OR and the direction and distance

I am not sure you can tell, but Mt. Rainier is pointing in the same direction as the Kansas highpoint, and not toward the west.  Maybe the person that hung it was thinking of Washington, DC.

Native Prairie plants

We can finally put a name to the decorative panels on barns -- Barn Quilts


An early John Deere implement, which does not "run."  This is part of an antique farm equipment display at the high point.

Another mechanical John Deere.

Cornfield

From the high point, we drove a short way, crossing the border into South Dakota and stopping for the night in Sioux Falls.  They have a great 26-mile loop bike trail which we did about half, before cutting across town back to the hotel.  We passed a number of parks and sports fields, following the Big Sioux River.  We passed the zoo for the bison photo below.


Part of the trail was on a levee which protects the city.

Our hotel - a much better location than the previous night.

Today, we were off to Pierre, SD but, before leaving Sioux Falls, we went to visit the Falls.  It is rather impressive set of cascades.  The Big Sioux River flows over quartzite, which is a hard rock.  Quartzite is  harder than granite and nearly as hard as diamond (at least, that is what the sign said).  Sounds like it would be great for construction, but its hardness makes it hard to cut.  Like elsewhere in the country, development occurred at the Falls very early in the city's history.

The penstock (pipe) supports leading to the powerhouse for the Queen Bee Mill.  The powerhouse is in the distance.  I am standing where the Gate House was.

The Mill would grind grain and corn very efficiently but went bankrupt within  few years.

The powerhouse, though all it did was redirect the power from a vertical shaft to a horizontal shaft.

The overview of the entire Falls.

A train passing from right to left.

We left Sioux Falls and drove west.  About half way to the Pierre, is the town of Mitchell, where the one-of-kind Corn Palace is located.  So, we couldn't pass it up, at least for a drive-by.   (We did bypass the largest Popcorn Ball yesterday.)

I believe the Corn Palace, which is largely covered with various colored corn cobs, is redecorated each year with a different theme.  This is last year's decoration with the theme "Under the Big Top."


Circus scenes in each panel - again this is corn cobs, used like mosaic tiles.

We drove the rest of the way to Pierre (pronounced "peer").  We checked in to our motel and then rode about a mile to the State Capital building, which dates to 1910 and is modeled on the Minnesota capital.  It is a smaller building than the previous Capitals we have seen, but classy in its own way.  There was no guided tour, only a self-guided one.  We wandered around and enjoyed yet another visit to a State Capital.

This is a piece of terrazzo flooring which was laid by 63 Italians.  Each worker was allowed to place one blue tile in the floor.  This is an example.  The guide said that only 57 have actually been found.  Its size is about 1/2 inch square.

Only one dome - looking up.

The Grand Staircase.


An example of one of the many lunettes in the hallways depicting scenes from early in South Dakota statehood.

A swallow that is usually difficult to photograph, since they are continuously flying and swooping.  This was taken through a window in the Capital.

The Senate Chamber - 35 seats - with roll-top desks.

The House Chamber - 70 seats.

One of the many stenciled decorations covering the ceilings and upper walls. 

The summary for visitors


The WWII Memorial at Capital Lake, which is fed by an artesian spring with warm water.  The lake never freezes.

The spring gushing up.

We saw some large fish, unknown type, and this little guy in the Capital Lake.

The Capital across Capital Lake.

We next rode up Hilger Gulch, gaining some altitude before circling back to our motel.  Our initial route had taken us along the Missouri River to the Capital building.