Boxster Road Trip

Day 30 of our #BoxsterRoadTrip takes us from Bardstown, KY to Richmond, IN.

We started our day with a drive through rural Kentucky.  Today had another first for Steve – seeing fields of tobacco and then seeing the drying sheds.  There is not nearly as much tobacco as there once was (thank goodness), but it is still a viable crop in the south.

One interesting thing we have noticed in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio has been something called Barn Quilts.  This is something that is truly rural America and it is fun (and interesting) to see all the different designs and colors.

And speaking of barns, the question of the day is “Why are most barns painted red?”.  We began to wonder about this and, of course, we had to “google it”.  Turns out “Barns are Painted Red Because of the Physics of Dying Stars“.  Or, to put it another way, because red ochre (FE2O3) is plentiful and cheap.  So, it was originally a matter of economics (and today is probably more a matter of tradition).

After leaving Kentucky, we drove through Ohio (Steve got to drive across the bridge this time) and ended up in Indiana, where we encountered a little road work, which took us on a detour through rural Indiana, before arriving in Richmond.

Today was another sunny day, in the high 70’s.  It is hard to believe this is really autumn.  And tomorrow is supposed to be more great weather!

This evening we are staying at a lovely Airbnb called “Blue Chestnut Room in Garden Manor“.  The hostess and host are delightful people.  Another Airbnb gem!

The journey continues . . .

Day 29 of #BoxsterRoadTrip is being brought to you by Steve!

Okay, I, Steve, have been given responsibility for today’s journalistic article.

So, this is the start of our fifth week on the road having covered 6,250 miles and 15 states so far, and with 12 days left to Boston.  Today is an Interstate day as there isn’t really an easy back roads way to get from here to there, so we do what we have to do – sit back and take it (the Interstate, that is).  Of course the border between Illinois and Indiana is a river, the Wabash, which means a bridge – and Jo is on driving duty!  But she doesn’t get off that lightly.  The route into Kentucky takes us across the Ohio River (and a bridge!), but at 70 MPH she’ll make it before her driving shift ends.

Larry, the Innkeeper at Sidwell & Friends, sent us off this morning with mugs full of great coffee, so Steve didn’t need to set up search patterns for Starbucks in either Illinois, Indiana or Kentucky!  Phew.  However, Jo has started her “Are we there yet?” routine, so maybe we do need to find her more coffee!

Fuel consumption (miles per gallon) continues to go up as the car is getting heavier due to the weight of the bugs attached to the front end.

You will notice the lack of photos for today’s trip as they have been kind of blurred due to the speed we seemed to be maintaining!  It appears that everyone heard we were going to travel the Interstate today because there seems to be very little traffic.  Our side is virtually deserted.  Maybe it is Monday or maybe everyone is just keeping clear of the crazy Californians!

As a sidebar, a suggestion for the Department of Transportation:  there should be signs on the Interstates and US Highways to tell you that there is a time zone change ahead.  This would make more sense than some of the signs you see along the way and be a lot more useful!  Anyway, turns out we lost an hour about 65 miles back.   Hope no one ran into it!

Jo commented around noon that she had not packed enough summer clothes.  She didn’t say whether that meant more clothes in total or less winter ones; but it is 85 degrees outside and it is the end of September!  We may be going shopping.

Interstate highways turn out to be even more monotonous than fields of corn and soy beans.  Another reason for no photos of the journey.  However, we did finally stop in Bardstown (known as the Bourbon capital of the world) to see if we could verify this claim.  Had a wonderful tour of the 1792 Distillery, complete with tasting.  We missed the annual Bourbon Festival by just a week!  Oh, darn!

After the distillery, we stopped at the Basilica of St Joseph Proto-Cathedral for a tour of the first cathedral west of the Alleghenies.

Tonight we are snuggling down at Red Rose Inn in Bardstown after a light supper at the local tavern.

(Editorial notes by Jo)

The journey continues . . .

Day 28 of #BoxsterRoadTrip took us from Nauvoo IL to Mount Vernon IL by way of Missouri.

Today was a day of rivers, corn, soybeans, more corn, more soybeans and Mark Twain!

We left Nauvoo and headed south, along the Mississippi River on our way to Hannibal, Missouri to visit the boyhood home of Mark Twain.  Steve had developed an optical nerve migraine, which was miraculously cured when we stopped at Starbuck’s for a coffee.  So he didn’t get out of his turn at diriving!

We reached Hannibal around 11:00 and meandered around the town, visited the Mark Twain Museum, and learned a little bit about the author of such greats as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  For instance, I did not know that Mark Twain also wrote A Connecticutt Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.  It was another sunny day and a great day for sightseeing.

After leaving Hannibal, we took backroads to Mount Vernon, Illinois, taking our own sweet time, crossing the Illinois River (another river!) and seeing lots more corn and soy bean fields.  It is amazing how much of this county is covered with those two crops!

Tonight we are staying at the Sidwell Friends Bed and Breakfast in Mt Vernon, Illinois.  This B&B is going to be a very tough act to follow – it is absolutely gorgeous!  We will take photos in the morning (when the sun comes up and we are a little more “with it”) and I’ll post a few in tomorrow’s blog.  For tomorrow . . .

The journey continues . . .

Day 27 of #BoxsterRoadTrip finds us in FIVE states!

We left Plattsmouth, Nebraska very early (6:30 am) and watched the sunrise as we drove south to Kansas.  We wish we could have had the time to go to Kansas City, but not on this trip.  We left Kansas and headed to Missouri, stopping at a restaurant called Toot Toot in Bethany, MO.  Then we started across Missouri.

Missouri had long straight roads followed by more long straight roads.  Jo had to give Steve a break driving because it was making him a little drowsy.  First thing she did was run over a snake.  That woke her up!

And then Steve woke up when we came across the camels!  First, it was a Dromedary Camel!  And then we saw the Bactrian Camel.  We had to double back for photos, just to document that we weren’t losing our minds!  Yep.  ‘Em are camels!

We crossed back into Iowa (that was a surprise!) on our way to Illinois, just before we crossed the mighty Mississippi River.  We followed the river north until we reached Nauvoo, Illinois.

Tonight we are staying at a historic (and lovely) B&B called The Nauvoo Grand.  We have a beautiful room with a view and, even better, a deep tub to soak away the aches from 406 miles of driving!

The journey continues . . .

Day 26 of #BoxsterRoadTrip took us from Swisher, Iowa to Plattsmouth, Nebraska.

We left our friends Amy & Al in Swisher, IA at 8:30 am and headed to the Amana Colonies.  We wandered around the East Amana and took a tour of the woolen mill.  If there would have been any room in the Porsche I might have bought something, but space is at a premium!

We left Amana and headed for Madison County, of the famous Bridges of Madison County movie and the birthplace of John Wayne.  We stopped for lunch at the Northside Café, which was featured in the movie and then went on to John Wayne’s house.  After than, we headed for the bridges.  We managed to drive by four of them (Imes, Holliwell, Cutler-Donahue, Rosewell) before time ran short and we had to boogie on down the road to Plattsmouth, Nebraska.

Imes Bridge

Holliwell Bridge

Cutler-Donahue Bridge

Rosewell Bridge

We arrived at the lovely Airbnb “County Living at it’s Finest” at 6:30 pm and our lovely hosts, Herb & Joyce, fed us dinner, complete with Margaritas!  That is true Midwestern hospitality!

We are up early tomorrow for, as I keep saying . . .

The journey continues . . .

Day 25 of #BoxsterRoadTrip was a day of sightseeing in the Cedar Rapids / Iowa City area.

The day started with a beautiful Iowa sunrise.  Then, after breakfast, it was off to the Devonian Fossil Gorge, an area created essentially by flooding (and this area has certainly seen more than its share of floods)!  As the linked website says “Imagine walking on a 375 million year old ocean floor!”.  Makes me feel like a youngster!

After the gorge, we headed to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch, IA.  Neither of us had ever been to a Presidential Library and this one was fascinating.  For example, I never knew Herbert Hoover was a Quaker.  I never knew that Herbert Hoover was the first president from west of the Mississippi.  We could have spent more time here but we did hit the highlights and it makes me want to read about the man and learn even more.

After lunch, we headed to the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, IA.  “Is this heaven?  No, it’s Iowa.”  And with the corn high, the sun out, the temperature in the 80’s, it was a perfect day to walk the bases and imagine you were there when the baseball greats walked out of the corn fields.  It is a beautiful spot and we had a great time.

The day ended with a lovely dinner with Amy & Al, their son, daughter-in-law and granddaughters.  And a dinner of pulled pork, cole slaw, potato salad and (of course) Iowa corn!

A perfect day, relaxing, sightseeing, visiting and getting ready to travel, for tomorrow . . .

The journey continues . . .

Day 24 of #BoxsterRoadTrip found us traveling west from Wisconsin Dells, WI to Swisher, IA.

When we left the Dells, it was rather cool but clear.  We started with the top up but by late morning, we had put the top down and were enjoying a warm autumn day as we crossed into Illinois.  Our first stop was in a lovely little town called Galena where, it seems, they sell dolls heads by the bowl full.  I know, a little sick, but Halloween is not too far off.  😉

As we were leaving Galena, IL, we discovered this had been the home of Ulysses S Grant prior to the civil war.

We left Galena and were soon crossing the mighty Mississippi and next thing we knew, we were in Iowa and it was raining.  The top went back up.  Then it was pretty much a straight shot into Cedar Rapids and then on to Swisher, where we are staying with our good friends Amy and Al (and dog Ember) for a couple of nights.  A lovely dinner, lots of visiting and we are both ready to call it a day.  Tomorrow will be a day of visiting and doing a little sightseeing.  And then on Friday . . .

The journey continues . . .

Day 23 of #BoxsterRoadtrip was a lazy day.  Because tomorrow we start driving WEST.  Yep, that seems backward, but in order to visit every state, we have to do a little zigzagging.

We started the day late, after a sleep in and a lazy breakfast.  Our first stop was downtown Wisconsin Dells to take the River Walk.  It is a shame this is such a short walk as it is the prettiest part of Wisconsin Dells.  The Dells is really aimed at families with children, with lots of “theme parks” and inexpensive restaurants.  But for a couple of old fuddy duddies, it is really not the place.  Nonetheless, it was a good spot to take a laundry break and a few days with only short day trips.  Our next major stop is Boston, so tomorrow starts the next major leg of the journey.  To date, we have traveled a little over 5,000 miles.

Our second stop was at a farmer’s market to buy some fruit and veggies for dinner tonight.  A nice salad, some wine and fresh raspberries will make a perfect light meal.  The farmer’s market was fun and I would have loved to buy a lot more, but we only have one meal left before it is off to Cedar Rapids, IA.

We stopped for gas and then back to the condo to watch TV (something we haven’t done much of for the last 3 weeks), do a little reading and repack.  For tomorrow . . .

The journey continues . . .

Day 22 of #BoxsterRoadTrip finds us doing a few more “day trips”.

We started the day with a trip to Carr Valley Cheese Company in La Valle, WI.  This is a small, family run, cheese factory with a specialty of cheddars (although they do also make other cheeses).  The lovely lady who waited on us was from Livermore, CA which is just up the road from us!  Small world.  The cheeses here were lovely and we even got a tour of the cheese making floor.

We left La Valle and headed to Plain, WI where we stopped at Cedar Grove Cheese Factory.  Another small cheese making company who specialize in cheese made without artificial growth hormones (rBGH), animal enzymes, or genetically modified ingredients (GMOs).  Another fabulous experience and lovely cheeses.  And another delightful lady who helped us and educated us more on cheese making.

After two doses of cheese, we decided some wine would be in order, so we headed to Wollersheim Winery in Prairie du Sac, WI.  This was very interesting, because the original founder of this winery was a Hungarian nobleman named Agoston Haraszthy who selected this site for vineyards in the 1840s. However, in 1849, Haraszthy decided to follow the gold rush west to California, where he eventually became known as the founder of the California wine industry.

This was an easy, laid back, day (except for a few detours which sent us around in a few circles).  But the sun was out and the top was down, so we didn’t complain (except for Steve, but I just ignore him).

The journey continues . . .

Day 21 of our #BoxsterRoadTrip.

We started the day with some really cool clouds and a little bit of rain.  Steve wondered if these were tornado clouds and I assured him they weren’t.  (As if I know!)  We took the back roads from Wisconsin Dells to Theresa, WI to do some cheese tasting at Widmer’s Cheese Cellers.  Excellent cheese and we bought a chunk to have with some fresh bread we already had.  Great start to the day.

Next stop (again taking back roads), was Kelley Country Creamery.  You may remember me blogging about this earlier, saying this was one stop that was a definite “must do”.  I have to say we had a great time here.  First, the ice cream is to die for!  Jo had dark chocolate raspberry, coffee, and chocolate w/rice krispies.  Steve had coffee and mint marshmallow (and ate most of Jo’s dark chocolate raspberry).  While we were devouring our ice cream, Karen Kelley sat down and chatted with us.  We started talking about cheese (because they also make their own cheese) and Karen was nice enough to bring us some of their mature BallyByron to taste.  It is a great cheese and we brought some of that back with us also.  It reminds us of a nice English Red Leicester.

We left Kelley County Creamery and again started down a back road, this time heading back to Wisconsin Dells and a winery called Fawn Creek, by way of Manchester (making Steve feel right at home).  As we were driving along one of the back roads, we began to notice horse manure along both sides of the road.  And where there is horse manure, there are buggies!  So we knew we were in Amish country.  It didn’t take long before we began to see a number of buggies.  Almost commute traffic!

We ended the day at the Fawn Creek Winery looking for a bottle of wine to go with our wonderful cheeses.  We met one of the owners, Jim, and had a nice time tasting their wines and learning about their winery.  We ended up buying a Pinot Grigio and a Pinot Noir.

All in all, a very nice day.

The journey continues . . .

Day 20 of #BoxsterRoadTrip took us from Minneapolis to Wisonsin Dells.

We left Minneapolis around 9:30 and jumped on the Interstate.  Big mistake.  Traffic, trucks, RV’s and crazy people.  We only traveled a few miles and decided it was back onto US-12.  The speed limit (except going through the little towns) is 55 and often we couldn’t see another car either in front or behind us.  And I’m talking miles in front and back.  It was as if the road was US-Jo&Steve instead of US-12!  Yes, you have to slow for the little towns, but that is the fun of it.  Several of those little towns were horse-and-buggy Amish communities.  Don’t see that on an Interstate!

On our way to the Dells, we began to see our first glimpses of autumn color.  We had lunch at a place in Wisconsin Dells called Mac’s, which just serves different kinds of mac & cheese.  Comfort food.  Perfect food for cheese country.  We are staying at a timeshare called Mirror Lake & Tamarack Resort.  The first thing we did upon arriving was laundry!

The next few days will be spent doing day trips from this location.  It is nice to feel “settled” for a few days before the next leg of the trip.  So, even though we are staying put for a few days . . .

The journey continues . . .

Day 19 of #BoxsterRoadTrip saw us sightseeing in and around Minneapolis.

Started the day by heading off to Stillwater.  Lovely little town (with some awesome huge homes) with what we thought of as dueling churches in the old part of town.  As you can see from the photo, there were five, just in this shot!  Who has the biggest spire? Hmmm.

We walked along the St Croix River and around town.

Then we headed back to Minneapolis.

We wanted to see the Guthrie Theater and the Endless Bridge and the Dowling Studio Lobby.  We almost scored tickets to the Heidi Chronicles but, unfortunately, there were no seats available.  A lovely lady whom we met at the theater really tried to get us in (for which we were most grateful), but it is opening night.  Oh well, we did get some wonderful shots from the bridge and from the lobby.

We ended the day with the intention of getting a salad for dinner and, instead, decided on Pierogi, which neither of us had ever tried.  Not exactly healthy, but certainly tasty!

Tomorrow we head off to Wisconsin Dells, WI for five nights (and a little resting from driving).  The first item on the to-do list is laundry!  Looking forward to chilling and not driving for a few days (at least not driving far).

The journey continues . . .

Day 18 of BoxsterRoadTrip was pretty much a day of getting from here to there.

We left the lovely Foote Creek Bed & Breakfast after a wonderful breakfast and delightful conversation with the Innkeepers.  This Inn is a gem, even with the gravel road (which would be no trouble in almost any car but a Porsche – but we did it and it was worth it!!!).  If you are ever in the Aberdeen area of South Dakota or, if you are a pheasant hunter, this is the place to stay.

We got an early start and stuck to state highways and county roads the entire trip from South Dakota, into North Dakota, and on to Minnesota.  The morning was overcast and foggy, so no photos.  The roads almost all day were straight and pretty flat and, well, boring.  Lots of corn fields.  And then more corn fields.

We decided to go “light” for lunch, so we stopped at a little restaurant called “Don’s Café” in Morris, Minnesota and – uh oh – they make real milk shakes in just about any and every flavor you can imagine.  Steve sweet talked the waitress into making him two “half” milk shakes because he couldn’t decide between English Toffee and Butter Rum.  So he had both.  Jo had chocolate.  So much for “light”.

We arrived in Minneapolis just in time to experience commute traffic!  We had a lovely dinner at an Italian restaurant and ended the day at an Airbnb called “Craftsman Suite on the Mississippi “, which is a very nice home close to downtown and close to the river.  We are looking forward to exploring tomorrow.

The journey continues . . .

Day 17 of our #BoxsterRoadTrip takes us from Rapid City, SD to Aberdeen, SD.

We left the lovely Peregrine Point Bed and Breakfast, after being fed a gourmet breakfast of an egg and cheese soufflé with sausage, asparagus, and fresh fruit.  Add to that toast, cinnamon buns and coffee and we were sent off full and happy.

We had been told that there was an infestation of a beetle that was killing the pine trees, but it is way worse than we imagined, as you can see from the photo on the right.  There is a huge effort to cut down and remove the infected trees and there are probably hundreds of thousands of them to be culled out of the forests.

After leaving Rapid City, we headed north to Deadwood, SD, where Wild Bill Hickok was killed (and is buried).  The town was a little bit of a disappointment as there is more emphasis on gambling and shopping than on the historical aspect.  However, Steve did get some great pictures.

We stopped for lunch in a little town called Dupree (almost missed it).  It is a right turn off of US-212 and we missed the turn the first time.  We circled back and had lunch at the “Ranch House Café“.  Okay, I know there is a slim chance you will be driving by Dupree, SD but, if you are, stop at this little restaurant.  Don’t let the outside fool you.  It is cute as can be on the inside and the food was fresh, well prepared and delicious.  And the staff were some of the friendliest people we’ve met.  A real piece of Americana.

The day would not be complete unless there was a bridge for Jo to drive across (being that she hates driving across bridges).  And who would have thought there would be a bridge in South Dakota?  But there is and she found it!

We ended the day at Foote Creek B&B in Aberdeen and, yep, another gravel road.  The B&B is charming and our hosts are a delight.  We’ll snap a few photos in the morning and include them in the next blog.

A few more hundred miles of straight roads tomorrow.  So, if we don’t get some sleep, I won’t be able to say . . .

And the journey continues . . .

Day 16 of our #BoxsterRoadTrip started with a beautiful sunrise as we left Casper Wyoming and headed northeast toward South Dakota.  We broke our tradition and did about 55 miles on an Interstate (I-25).  The best part of that drive was that the speed limit was 80 and Jo was driving.  Yahoo! It didn’t take long for the sun to rise, the temperature to hit 70, the top to come down and for us to leave Wyoming and enter the deep black hills and badlands of South Dakota.

The first stop was at the Crazy Horse Memorial, which is privately run (not a US Park) and is beyond impressive.  The work on this memorial has been going on since 1923 and there is still a long way to go, as you can tell by the pictures.  The picture on the left is how it is today.  The picture on the right is how it will look, superimposed (by creative Steve) and the far right shows a drawing over the memorial as it is today.  You can see that this is still a work in progress.  And most of the work is done by blasting!  Amazing.

We stopped in Hill City, SD for lunch and ate at a “local” place called Hill City Café.  Jo had their soup and salad bar and everything was homemade.  Steve had his first buffalo burger (wait, there are no buffalos in the US, so it must have been a bison burger!).

Our next stop was Mount Rushmore, which is a National Park.  This is also an awesome sight and there were far more tourists here than at the Crazy Horse Memorial.  Again, this was mostly done by blasting but, since it had federal funding, it was done in significantly less time.  The other major point to consider is that the entire Mount Rushmore sculpture can fit into just Crazy Horse’s flowing hair.

We are spending the night at a lovely  B&B called  Peregrine Point Bed and Breakfast.  And, as we say . . .

The journey continues . . .

Day 15 of our #BoxsterRoadTrip!

Like most of our journey to date, we have kept away from Interstate Highways and have seen virtually no traffic.  US-1 in California through Oregon, US-101 to Portland, Interstates in Washington until we picked up US-2 outside of Seattle.  From there, staying on US-2, we traveled through Idaho and onto Kalispell, MT.  Then we took MT-83 south.  We picked up US-89 south of Helena, MT and took it all the way from Montana to Jackson, Wyoming.  Then we got onto US-26 to Casper, Wyoming.  So, we have traveled 3200 miles to date, with only 300 miles on Interstate Highways!  This is the best way to see the country and avoid the trucks and RVs!!!  We have averaged 28.6 miles per gallon so far, bends, hills, and mountains included.  Not bad for a 1998 Porsche Boxster, eh?

Pictures today are one last look at the Tetons and several great photos of Wyoming.

We are still taking bets on who will get stopped first and in what state.  So far, one bet is for Steve in Missouri and one bet is for Jo in “the south”.  The betting window is still open!

The journey continues . . .

Day 14 – two whole weeks – into our #BoxsterRoadTrip and today we traveled through Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park.

We started the day in line behind a bull deer, waiting to get into Yellowstone National Park North Entrance.  Not too far into the park we came upon a baby bear!  Too cute!!!    But where there is baby bear, so there will be mama bear, so we weren’t going to get too close.

After the bear, we came across a herd of bison.  They truly are magnificent creatures. And we ended the day with a butterfly.  We can’t forget the small creatures!

When you exit Yellowstone at the southern entrance, you are immediately in Grand Teton National Park.  The two parks are adjacent, but the terrain almost immediately begins to change.  The Teton’s rise up as if saying “look at me, aren’t I just grand!”.  And they are!

We ended the day in Jackson, where we did a little window shopping, had a bite to eat, and are going to recharge and get ready for tomorrow.  For, as you know . . .

The journey continues . . .

Day 13 of our #BoxsterRoadTrip and Oh, what a day this has been!

We started the day with a trip from Pray MT to Big Sky MT to see Jo’s cousin Janet (whom she hadn’t seen in over 50 years)!  With a stop at Starbucks in Bozeman (of course).  Once again, we got to drive up a gravel road!  I’m beginning to think our Boxster thinks it is an SUV!

It was great to see Janet and to meet her husband, Paul.  Time seemed to fly as we visited for several hours and, once again, we wished we had more time to spend.  But we really wanted to get to Yellowstone and see the west side of the park before it got dark.  So down the gravel road we drove and off to Yellowstone’s West Entrance we headed!

The first things we saw in the park were bison (there are no buffalo in the United States).  I think Steve did a great job of photographing these beautiful animals.  We actually saw a herd, but thought the close ups were better.

Then, on our way to Old Faithful (who is not too faithful anymore), we stopped at Fountain Paint Pots and snapped a few more photos.

Then it was on to the big fella, where we had to sit and wait for just over an hour before she blew!  But it was worth it, because not only did we see the geyser, but we also got to see a rainbow in the geyser’s spray.

It was 9:30 pm by the time we got back to the lovely B&B where we are staying (O’Carroll’s Bed & Breakfast).

The journey continues . . .

Day 12 of #BoxsterRoadTrip.

It’s been an interesting couple of days.  De-iced the car two days in a row, seen our first snow and were turned back by an avalanche in Glacier National Park.   Not bad for early September and a couple of Californians.

A long run today, down to Pray, Montana – let’s hope we don’t have to (pray, that is).  First stop is to gas up after saying farewell to our wonderful hosts, Sue & Bill.  Along our Montana journey, we’ve noticed a huge number of casinos, but they are all small – very small – the size of a roadside café or a small shop on Main Street.  You wonder how they can survive.

Down the Swan River – gradually climbing through the Rockies.  Nothing like the verticals of the Sierra Nevadas.  The Rockies are much “gentler” than you imagine, but they rise to awesome peaks.  You don’t notice going from 4,040 feet on your way to 6,325 feet and the Continental Divide.  Amongst all this beauty there is the sadness of Montana’s white crosses.  These white crosses mark the site of fatal traffic accidents and memorialize each death since 1952.  Even with so many crosses, not all fatalities are marked.

As we came to the end of this day’s journey, we realized we were driving into a semi-circle of magnificent snow capped mountains and down towards Yellowstone – our playground for Sunday.

One last thought for today:  We’d are taking input from family, friends and followers as to which state(s) we will be stopped in (by Dudley Do-Right) and who will be driving at the time!  🙂  Please place your bets!!!

The journey continues . . .

The plan today was to drive to Glacier and take the “Going to the Sun Road”.  As luck would have it, there was an avalanche and we only got a little bit past McDonald Lake (which was beautiful).  It was a little disheartening that we couldn’t make the drive, but better than being buried in the avalanche.

So, looking at the positive, Sue decided we should see Hungry Horse Dam and Reservoir.   See some of the photos below for the view we got (and the photos don’t even come close to the real view).

We then went on to the cute town of Whitefish and up to the Big Mountain Ski Resort, where we could have a fantastic view of Flathead Valley.

Tomorrow we head south.

The journey continues . . .