Taking a break in Denver

We left this morning at 10:30AM. The late start was because we only had 150 miles to get to Denver. About an hour from Denver we had a severe weather forcast. It was easy to tell that a storm was coming by looking at the sky. We went to a gas station to wait out the storm. The good news was that it went northeast and missed us but if we would have continued, we would have been in it dealing with strong winds and hail. It was well worth the 45 minute wait.

We arrived in Aurora and went to see our daughter-in-law and son. Rose & Jim went with us but they got a call from some friends in the area so they left to go and spend the night with their friends. We are all having the first home cooked meal in almost 6 weeks. Yum! Tomorrow it is on to Kansas. Since we have the use of a garage, Ray is changing the oil in our car and doing some other routine maintenance.

Laramie, WY tonight; Denver tomorrow

This sign was over the door at a gas station/restaurant/liquor store/convience store/information center.

We took a scenic route again today, Route 191 for over 100 miles.  The Grand Tetons were gorgeous to look at. This morning, a hotel clerk told everyone to be careful hiking because yesterday in Yellowstone a man was hiking with his wife and came upon a female grizzly bear and her two cubs. She killed the man. It was the first time a bear has killed anyone in Yellowstone since 1986.  A short distance outside of Jackson or Jackson Hole (It was explained to me that the town used to be called Jackson Hole but the town leaders decided to change it to Jackson & the surrounding areas called Jackson Hole) A trucker had stopped along side of the road. He was looking a the biggest moose that I have ever seen. We stopped and after taking some pictures,  it finally hit us that it was a fake. I wonder how many people think that they saw a real moose there.

In Farson, WY we ate lunch at Mitch's Cafe. The locals said that it was not only the best place to eat but the only place to eat. The population was 368.  Ray said that it was the best hamburger he had eaten in a long time. It was a 3rd generation restaurant and had just good ole home cookin'. After we hit I-80 the landscape started to change to a more desert like appearance. The mountains disappeared for a while too. At the end of our ride, we ran in to a little rain but we made it to dinner and back before the big storms came.

We have driven just about 10,000 miles now.  The only car issue today was that Jim had to use his reserve gas today to make it to an exit where there was gas. Tomorrow will be a short ride. We will be in Denver & are looking forward to seeing John & Marcia (son & daughter-in-law).

Wed. July 6th: Yellowstone & Grand Tetons today

Old Faithful

We left around 8:30AM after a trip to the NAPPA store. We were out of fan belts. The drive was west to Bozeman and then south to Yellowstone. We crossed the continental divide 4 times today. Got gas at a station that had: a casino, convience store, gas, & Subway. Quite a combination.

Last night at the hotel, there was a brochure for "Our Lady of the Rockies." It was a 90 foot statue visible from the hotel, on top of the continental divide.

Lunch was at The Old Saloon, Established in 1902. It had all kinds of memorabilia from the area. One sign in the saloon read: Lost House Saloon Where the beer is colder than your ex wife's heart.

It is hard to describe Yellowstone. We did not see many animals: 2 elk, 1 bison then a herd of bison, 2 wild horses, a herd of deer. I was a little disappointed in the animals but it was hot outside. However, the geysers were amazing. Jim was leading. We came around a curve and saw a lot of steam. We were so glad that it was not his car, just a geyser close by. I finally saw Old Faithful, something that I wanted to see for a very long time.

I almost forgot to mention Jackson Hole. It is definately a tourist town. In the center of town, there is the town square that is a park. Each of the 4 corners have arches made for elk antlers. It is a tradition that started in the 1950's. All of the antlers are from local elk. There is a reserve here for the elk.

The cars ran fine today. Tomorrow we will be in Cheyenne, Wyoming. After that, Denver.

Fantastic Scenery in Idaho

We left around 8:30AM continuing on Highway 12 East through Orofind, Kamiah, Lowell to Missoula. We followed the Clearwater River for a long time. It is beautiful, with lots of white water, tall pine trees along the banks, waterfalls, and a very curvy road. In fact, there was a sign that said "Winding Road next 99 Miles" It was true.We traveled 100 miles, much less as the crow flies, it took 4 hours.  The road was also called "Northwest Passage Scenic Parkway, Lewis & Clark Trail & Nez Perce Trail.  When we crossed over Lolo Pass we were in Montana. Several times the words "Moose Crossing" were written on the road. I guess we were on the moose's road.

We got on I-90 and all was well. We were about half way to Butte when Jim passed us & pulled over. He had a broken fan belt, an easy fix. It wasn't long until we were back on the road again. This was the first car issue since June 28th.

Mileage today:  317   Total mileage is about 9,500.

Made it to Idaho today

We left Portland today & traveled a historic and scenic Highway  30 that was built in 1915.  The first stop was Vista House built in 1917. A lady there told us that during WWI, they used to watch for subs on the Columbia River from there. We drove on the road past four waterfalls, parking the car and walking to most of them. We are lucky that the former land owners had the foresight to donate the scenic areas to the state of Oregon. The falls were: Latourell, Multnomah, Bridal Veil, & Horse Tail Falls. I found it interesting that we had viewed Bridal Veil & Horse Tail Falls just outside of Valez, AK. After seventeen miles and several hours, it was time to get on the interstate. We went on I-84 and for an interstate, it was very scenic. We saw tugboats, barges, dams and a paddle boat, following the Columbia River. At the start of I-84, there was a sign warning us of wind gusts and strong crosswinds. We were lucky that we experienced very little of either one.

The terrain started to change to a desert like appearance. After we got on Highway 730, it changed again, looking like Midwestern farm country. We followed the Columbia River until after lunch when we followed US12. US12 is part of the Lewis & Clark Trail that we followed earlier in our trip.  When we went past Waitsburg, there were rolling hills again. Traveling through farm country, I saw some interesting names like Pie Plant Road and Lower Hog Eye Road (I never saw Upper Hog Eye Road.) The only animals cited today was quail. They would run to the edge of the road as we rode by.

Today was the first day in about 4 weeks that we drove with all of the windows open. Ray felt something on his leg & brushed it off on me. It was a wasp. We quickly stopped and got rid of it before either of us got stung. A little while later, a bumble bee flew in hit the back of Ray's head. It was dead on impact. No bee stings then either but somehow lots of little tiny, I think aphids? were all over us. Again we stopped and got rid of the bugs.  Hopefully that is the end of the bees!

The cars ran well today. We will spend the night in Lewiston, Idaho and continue on to Montana tomorrow.

Mt. St. Helen and Mt. Hood

This morning we left around 8:30 and drove toward Mt. St. Helen.  It was a 50+ miles out of our way but well worth the trip.  It was impressive watching the videos of the eruption and looking at the before and after pictures.  The personal comments from people who were in the area when the eruption started were very moving. There are remains of many trees still on the ground.  It was a reminder of how brutal nature can be. When we were stopped at an overlook. a man came to us and said "In Switzerland we have mountains like these  but we don't have cars like yours."

Close to the bottom of the mountain, we stopped at Patty's Place for a late lunch. This restaurant is known for its french fries & homemade cobbler. The fries are thin cut & dipped in a beer batter. Yum! After having a sandwich, Ray & I opted to have cobbler with ice cream, for dessert. I can personally vouch for how good the peach cobbler was. Ray said the apple was good too.  Rose and Jim did not have dessert. I decided that the cobbler was also my dinner. We continued down I-5 to Portland, Oregon.  We saw some great views of Mt. Hood as we got close to Portland. The skies have been clear allowing us to see both Mt. Ranier & Mt. Hood. Our mileage today was 284 miles.

Tomorrow we plan to drive along the Columbia River Gouge.  (We know that it will be windy.) Then cross over onto Washington state on Hwy. 14.We should be in Idaho tomorrow night. The "A's" are performing well.

Another day in Seattle

This morning we left the hotel around 10:30AM. Since it worked out so well yesterday, we decided to use the transit system again.  Our first stop was the Space Needle. It was another clear day with blue skies. It seemed that everyone in Seattle was here because of the nice weather. We had to wait about 30 minutes for tickets and then almost an hour to get inside. We could have avoided the wait if we wanted to pay double. We would have gotten the VIP treatment. The view was spectacular. Walking around the top, we were able to see all around the area. 

We left the Space Needle by tram and then walked to the waterfront, passing through Pike Fish Market to look for a place for lunch. I chose The Crab Pot. It was a good choice. Ray & I had a meal that was like a crab boil but it had crabs, shrimp, mussels, & clams in addition to the other stuff that is usually in it. The server spread the paper, brought us a mallet & melted butter. Then he dumped our dinner on the paper. It was s-o-o-o delicious. Jim had some halibut that he said was very good. Rose doesn't like fish so she had some chicken that she liked. After our meal, we walked around a little and then climbed the 105 steps (Jim counted them) to the top of University Street to get our train back to the hotel. Tomorrow we will head down I-5 going south.