What a Trip!!

We have now landed in Hartford City. It feels like we have lived forever in the van and now need to get our "land legs". What a trip it was and one that we are very glad that we had the opportunity to do. We saw a good cross section of the USA.

Since we are a detailed family---

6500 miles (approximately)
12 different states of the US
2 Canadian provinces
Time with all the family

It is good to get home and now for the work. Time to get ready for another trip RVICS in September.

Merrily We Roll Along

Yes, we are still heading east. Today, we finished off Idaho, hit the corner of Utah and ended up this evening in Green River, Wyoming. We did a side trip while in Twin Falls, Idaho. They have very scenic canyons with the Snake River at the bottom. Plus, they have a waterfall that is taller (so the literature says) than Niagra Falls. While driving east of Salt Lake City we attempted to take pictures of the pink rock mountains with the green grass on the sides but couldn't get it to work that looked anything like we were seeing. It is a beautiful country out in the middle of places that are very barren.

Do they have tornadoes in Wyoming? We didn't think so but they issued a warning for the county that we are in this evening. It did get dark, very cool and the wind blew hard. Interestingly enough, we turned on the TV to see where it was exactly BUT they only mentioned the tornado (no specific location at all). They went on for a minute or so about watching out for the lightning. We saw NO lightning. Weather is definitely different in this part of the world.

Tomorrow morning, we will continue east and see lots more of Wyoming.

Land of Contrasts

We have seen many contrasts in our travels the last 2 days. Let me back up and explain.

Yesterday morning we headed for the Oregon coast. The weather was very cool and we wore sweaters with the skies overcast all day long. The scenery is spectacular along the rocky shore line. We spent the day driving south along Highway 101 and stopping often. As evening approached and with no place to stay, we headed back east and stayed in Salem, Oregon, last night. However, we found an unexpected surprise in the drive along a state highway, a tunnel of trees totally blocking out the sky overhead. It was really neat.

This morning we headed back for the interstate and back east. After we got east of The Dalles in Oregon, the land became very arid again. Occasionally, we saw spots of green where it had been irrigated. Some places were garden like and others were very barren. Also, we didn't need the sweaters today. Ha!! The temps are up in the mid-90's again.

We are in Boise, Idaho, tonight and will continue our journey east tomorrow.

As We Travel Along---

We have traveled many miles the last couple of days and have seen much. However, a lot of the miles looked like the lower picture. This was taken in east-central Washington yesterday afternoon. It is the Columbia River. It is unbelievably large river in an area that is extremely arid. We drove this route so that we might once again see the difference water can make on the barren land. The Yakima Valley is a very green place that abounds with orchards and about every other green vegetable (maybe not green too) when it has been watered but the surrounding land is nothing but scrub trees or bare. Driving this route, we saw many grain fields being combined or, in some cases, still very green.

Today, we followed the Columbia River along the Washington-Oregon boundary. As we traveled east, it got a little green until just west of Portland we stopped and saw the Multanoma Falls. It is too tall to get it all in the camera. Well, actually I did but I was too far away and it didn't look right through the humidity. We tried to go visit Mt. St. Helen's but they were close to closing their doors. Maybe that will be another trip(?).

Tonight, we are staying just north of Portland on the Washington side of the Columbia River. We haven't seen the Pacific yet but are about 50 miles away. That is on the agenda for tomorrow as we drive south along the coast for a few miles. Soon, we will be heading the van back east again----

Day #2 of Wows!

Different friends that had visited Banff National Park in Canada had told us that it was a very beautiful place. They were not wrong! In many ways the Canadian Rocky's are different from the US Rocky Mountains but they are all WOW! We spent most of the day in the park enjoying the view. A special treat was taking the Gondola ride to high above the town of Banff. Yes, Don survived the ride!!

The crowds here were some of the largest that we have seen on our trip. It is very much a "United Nations" of people. However, this was a very friendly group of people. We visited with people from Oregon, Ontario, and Illinois. (K & J, they had a brother who had lived in Chilly.)

Tonight, we are staying at a small town just west of the park called Golden. After we stopped, we noticed that one of the back tires on the van wasn't looking so good. We found a tire store and bought 2 new ones. Tomorrow morning we will head south again toward the US border.

The Missed Pictures of Glacier

Now that I see them on the blog, I am not sure that these are the best pictures that we have to represent what we saw yesterday. One thing for sure the pictures don't do grander that we were able to see.

A Day of Wows!

When you think that it can't see anything more beautiful, you do. We had visited Glacier National Park many, many years ago when the girls were small. (It is so far back we can't even remember!) What we do remember is that we loved it, even though it was a cloudy day on that trip. Today, we saw the park with crystal, clear blue skies contrasting with the deep green vegetation and an abundance of waterfalls running. We walked a trail or 2 and pulled off when we could. (The park seemed extra full today.) There were mountain goats grazing too. One gentleman told us that down the mountain (before we got to that point) there was a grizzly bear near the highway. I attempted to download a picture or 2 but the computer said NO. Maybe another time.

After Glacier National Park, we headed north into Canada. We passed wide open spaces of nothing but cattle and grain fields. The grain is still green but was waving in the breezes.

Tonight, we are in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and will head into Banff National Park in the morning.

Our Day----

Yes, this is what we saw today. It was a perfecly clear day with blue skies and great temps. However, I have the sunburn to show that we are in Wyoming and not Indiana. The sun hits you hard and heavy out here!

After about a 3 hour morning drive we arrived at the Tetons. Jackson Hole was our next stop. We could have spent the day there but didn't. It is a great place to visit. Finally, we drove around Yellowstone. We have visited these places before but you always see new and different things with each visit.

We were amazed that these places were not packed with tourists on this a weekend day. So far, the only problem has been finding a cheap motel room. The problem is all the motorcycles are heading for Sturgis, SD, and the remainder of the rooms are filled with oil field workers!

Tonight, we can be found in Livingston, Montana, and will head for the west side of Glacier National Park in the morning.

Still Traveling North

This was another good day of travel. We started north out of Pueblo early this morning and are now in Rock Spring, Wyoming.

Since our travels today were in areas that we have already been too and seen, we went off the beaten path (translation interstate). When we got to Denver we headed west on US 40 and saw some beautiful mountain scenery that (we think) rivaled the Rocky Mountain National Park. There was a lookout at 11,500 feet and it was spectular. We met a couple of young men from Oklahoma and Texas (flat land USA) that had ridden their bicyles up the mountain from Winter Park. They asked to have their pictures taken. They then took our pictures and said we could use their bikes to make people think we had ridden up---yeah, sure!!!

Where drilling for oil products is permitted, they are working hard at putting down new wells---oil and natural gas (we think). In Wyoming it appears that the wells are almost on top of one another. We don't see sights like this back home.

Tomorrow, we are heading north again to the Tetons and Yellowstone. Since the daylight hours are long, we will probably leave early in the morning.