Dar, in particular, has waited a long time for this. I finally got around to finishing the video recap of our trip to Alaska and the Far North. It's up on YouTube... here's a direct link. Don't expect too much. It's a compilation of short clips from our almost three months up there... so it's quick and jumpy, but it works for us and produces many warm memories.
Wisconsin to Oregon, 2016
The general route for the first part of the trip this year, oh, roughly between Wisconsin and Montana, is to follow US-12. We did depart from this plan at times, but that was the basic path. The back-half of the trip was still unplanned, except for my desire to do the Beartooth Highway again.
In Wisconsin on sideroads and backroads, we followed WI-33 up and through the Kickapoo River Valley in Western Wisconsin. Stopped for lunch in Wonewoc where we found the local Lions Club had big grills set up on Main Street and were offering lunch as a fund raiser. Think I had an entire half chicken with all the fixin’s… way more than I should have eaten. In Cashton, we got involved in a parade of some sort that slowed our progress. Then, just outside of Cashton, found our road to LaCrosse was closed due to some construction, and the detour was long. Crossed the Mississippi between LaCrosse and LaCrescent, and then up to our old neighborhood in Burnsville MN. where we overnighted at the home of good friend Jim.
Blue pins are camps; Red pin is motel |
There it is... over 7 feet high... all twine. Why? |
Between Miles City and Billings in Montanta we stopped again at Pompey’s Pillar, a must-see if you’re a history buff and a fan of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery. We’ve been here before but we have found repeats can be as enriching the second (or third) time. The significance of a place can be more firmly embedded in your mind with repetition. And there are some of us who just forget. An excellent ranger-guided walkabout and discussion made this stop notable.
During this trip west I estimate we were on Interstate Highways for just 350 miles (out of 2500 or so). A big chunk of that was between Miles City and Billings… about 150 miles. I can’t stress the pleasure of getting off Interstates enough. Just so much more rewarding and relaxing.
Just outside Billings we picked up US-212. The Beartooth Highway and Beartooth Pass is between Red Lodge MT and Cooke City MT… one of the most spectacular drives in the USA. We stayed at a campground near Red Lodge for two reasons: first, to give Red Lodge Ales brewpub a second chance after our less-than-agreeable stop the last time we were here. And second, to position ourselves for a morning start on the Beartooth… with the sun on our backs. For the record, Red Lodge Ales redeemed themselves in our book.
The next morning we headed “up the hill”. And we lucked out with just about the most perfect day to do it. I’m serious when I say it’s almost impossible to adequately describe that drive on a perfect day. It’s just got to be experienced.
Wildlife jam in Yellowstone. |
Then up to Bozeman for a quick dinner with professor Bill at MSU. US-191 runs between West Yellowstone and Bozeman, following the Gallatin River. I’ve written about this before, but we have a special place along this road we like to visit each time. It’s a gravel pull-off between the road and river where we stopped for breakfast, just the two of us, before kids, way back in 1974. The memory is of sitting on top a large rock in the river, munching a bowl of cherios. Somewhere we have some pics from that stop, but haven’t found them yet. That rock out in the river is really, for us, a monument to our relationship and we just have to stop by every once in a while. Ya know?
"our" rock is the big one behind Dar. |
After Bozeman we point the nose westward again. In keeping with our shunpiking theme, we took some backroads and sideroads through Wise River, Wisdom, stopping at Big Hole National Battlefield, the location of a sad tragic battle between the US Army and the Nez Perce Indians as they were attempting to relocate to Canada during the brief Nez Perce War. Very moving and puts a different perspective on history. Just west of the battlefield, up Joseph Creek, we crossed Chief Joseph Pass, and eventually down the Bitteroot Valley to Missoula. Stayed in a motel that night, our only motel of the trip.
From Missoula followed the Clark Fork River to Sandpoint and Ponderay in the Idaho panhandle. Stayed at a favorite campground on the lake... Riley Creek COE. We were both feeling a tad poorly the past couple days and denial wasn’t making it any better. Our original plan to see the kids in Washington on our way to homebase Sutherlin was scrapped and we headed south from here. Don’t want to show up and infect the grandkids… not the kind of thing good grandparents should do. Right?
So, after two nights at Riley Creek, we altered course to the south, through Lewiston and Clarkson to WA-129 south -- Rattlesnake Highway. We’d not heard about this road before… really just stumbled on it. But what a find. I’ll let the pictures do the describing. One doesn’t want to be in a hurry on this road, nor would I advise texting while driving. Briefly, it’s a canyon cut by Rattlesnake Creek, with a road stuck on the side of the canyon walls.
Click to expand. Wherever you see road, it's the road we're on. |
The last night. |
16 nights, about 2600 miles, some familiar things, some new. Perhaps a little faster than we’d ideally prefer. But it’s good to be home.
A few more pics...
Along the Beartooth |
Along the Beartooth |
Clyde Holliday State Park in Oregon |
Believe it or not... the only petrified wood park in South Dakota. |
Red Lodge Ales |
A Good Old-Fashioned Garage Raisin'
Breathing life back into the old blog, we’ll make an attempt here to bring it up to date before the end of the year. Let’s see… when we last heard from anybody at Dar and Thom’s RV Sabbatical Journal the new garage at the farm was just getting started. And my eyes (both of ‘em) were healing from cataract surgery.
But there was a garage to be built. There’s no doubt things started getting a bit more frantic as all the materials for the garage were delivered in early August. Piles of materials… wood, shingles, trusses, garage door parts, windows, sheathing and siding, and much much more… were scattered around the yard in strategic locations to make access easier and yet leave room for working and maneuvering. Rain predicted for later in the delivery day made the first effort one of getting it all protected from water damage.
The following day we were on the slab and nailing walls together. During the week, the core of the crew was Dar’s brother Dennis, Dar, and me. On weekends and a few scattered days here and there we had a larger crew who wanted to be part of this good old fashioned barn raisin’. That first weekend we had access to a handy hunk of equipment, a large construction fork lift owned by a neighbor, that made short work of setting trusses and lifting plywood and shingles onto the roof. Without it, the work would have progressed much more slowly and been accompanied by twisted joints, sore muscles, and mental anguish. As it was, the structure rose quickly and was covered within a week.
Dennis is the lead guy on this job. It’s his property and he has the most carpentry experience among the rag-tag group of helpers. He’s knowledgeable but he doesn’t have a lot of time for gold-bricks, slackers, or retired guys who think their hard working days are behind them. Unfortunately, I’m all three of these things. His motto is: if the sun’s shining he wants to hear nails being driven, wood being cut, and progress being made. Seven days per week, 12 or more hours per day. There will be no breaks until it’s built. We had an incredible period of sunny weather and I couldn’t find a rainy day anywhere to save me.
Dar's Mom, Marion, was a key member of the crew too. She supplied the food and refreshments to keep the crew moving so the job would be done before the snow flies.
After about three weeks the pace did slow down somewhat. The building was almost weather tight and work evolved to puttering with problems, internal stuff like wiring and trim, and landscaping around the outside. My last job was a small “well house” built from scraps and in the style of the garage itself.
Our summer evaporated as the calendar turned to September. Time to head back west again. We left September 11.
Here are a few photos of the various crew members. And, of course, there are more pics in our online photo album.
But there was a garage to be built. There’s no doubt things started getting a bit more frantic as all the materials for the garage were delivered in early August. Piles of materials… wood, shingles, trusses, garage door parts, windows, sheathing and siding, and much much more… were scattered around the yard in strategic locations to make access easier and yet leave room for working and maneuvering. Rain predicted for later in the delivery day made the first effort one of getting it all protected from water damage.
Dennis is the lead guy on this job. It’s his property and he has the most carpentry experience among the rag-tag group of helpers. He’s knowledgeable but he doesn’t have a lot of time for gold-bricks, slackers, or retired guys who think their hard working days are behind them. Unfortunately, I’m all three of these things. His motto is: if the sun’s shining he wants to hear nails being driven, wood being cut, and progress being made. Seven days per week, 12 or more hours per day. There will be no breaks until it’s built. We had an incredible period of sunny weather and I couldn’t find a rainy day anywhere to save me.
Dar's Mom, Marion, was a key member of the crew too. She supplied the food and refreshments to keep the crew moving so the job would be done before the snow flies.
After about three weeks the pace did slow down somewhat. The building was almost weather tight and work evolved to puttering with problems, internal stuff like wiring and trim, and landscaping around the outside. My last job was a small “well house” built from scraps and in the style of the garage itself.
Our summer evaporated as the calendar turned to September. Time to head back west again. We left September 11.
Here are a few photos of the various crew members. And, of course, there are more pics in our online photo album.
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