Hobo, Grotto, Wind, Tires, Trails and Trees

When Mary and I left Minnesota, our plan was to head straight for Nebraska so we could fill in one of the three remaining states on our map of the lower 48, but we got side-tracked by some interesting diversions.  We spent the night in Iowa so we could experience…..

Britt, Iowa, the home of the annual Hobo Convention and Hobo museum.  The term Hobo comes from the greeting “Ho! Beau”, as men traveling for work would great each other during the great depression.  We also learned (from the brochure-the museum was not open when we came through) that the definition of a Hobo is “one who wanders and works”, whereas a Tramp is “one who wanders and dreams”, and a Bum is “one who neither wanders nor works”.  I guess Mary and I are Hobos aspiring to be Tramps, and hoping we don’t end-up Bums.

We visited the Grotto of the Redemption, a wonderful Catholic shrine built entirely of stones, petrified wood, stalactites, crystals and gems that were gathered throughout the western states.  Father Dobberstein gathered from 1900 to 1912 and then began a 40+ year obsession to build a very large rambling and strangely beautiful labyrinth of walkways and alters and caves to honor Jesus.  The site is literally out in the middle of nowhere (Iowa) and includes thirteen great statues made of Carrera Marble from Italy.  The grotto kind of reminded Mary and I of Coral Castle in Florida.  The adjacent church has a 300lb amethyst and a carved wooden alter with stained-glass windows from Germany.

We also learned that Iowa produces a greater percentage (20%) of its electrical energy from Wind than any other place on the planet, though they are not the largest producer of wind power in terms of total megawatts.  The wind blowing across Iowa seems almost constant, and there are very large windmills almost everywhere. There were also lots of semi’s carrying huge blades on I-80.

On our way to Nebraska City, one of the tires on Harriet separated. When this happens the tread rips off and sometimes can do great damage to the trailer. Luckily, only some of the lower sheet metal was bent and I was able to pull to the side of the road (I-80) safely.  Our motor club dispatched someone to put on our spare for us (it takes a pretty hefty jack), and we were on our way again in about one and one-half hours.  I was able to get a new tire and borrow a jack in Nebraska City to put it on in the RV park.

Nebraska City turns out to be a pretty interesting small (7,000 pop) town. We really enjoyed Parker’s BBQ – a must if you are ever here. The area was a prominent stop for Lewis and Clark, a major starting off point for the westward migration, and thanks to J Sterling Morton, a significant player in the country’s appreciation for trees. The Morton family settled just outside of Nebraska City on a large tract of grassland and proceeded to plant trees of numerous species.  The patriarch was the US’s first Secretary of Agriculture (under Grover Cleveland) and was the founder of Arbor Day.  A day to celebrate and plant trees, and as the literature points out, one of the few holidays that is not political, religious or commemorating some past event.  Arbor Day is a day to look to and invest in the future by planting a tree.  One of Morton’s sons went on to become the owner of the Morton Salt Company and another son, the Argo cornstarch company.

We visited a fairly new and well-done Lewis and Clark interpretive center that included some trails overlooking the Missouri River.  In a little over two years the expedition went from St Louis to the Pacific Ocean (and back!) via the Missouri, Snake and Columbia Rivers.  They recorded over 100 new plant and 122 animal species and learned of the migration of the salmon from the native cultures that they encountered.  We biked along a trail called the Steamboat Trace that ran along the western edge of the Missouri River (before it was channeled). The Missouri, as we learned, used to flow wide, up to 3 miles, and shallow along Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri.  Spring floods added fertile silt to a broad stretch of “bottom land” and the river wandered a very curvy path before modern channelization and dredging deepened and straightened its course.

During the great westward migration from 1846-1866 Nebraska City was home to several “freighting” companies who would outfit the wagon trains with livestock and supplies for their journey on the Oregon, California or Mormon trials.  With the advent of the transcontinental railroad the overland route was obsolete and Nebraska City was no longer a major commercial transportation hub.

We successfully waited out hurricane Isaac up here in Nebraska and were able to learn a few things to boot!  We are heading out tomorrow to Oklahoma - another of our “not visited before” states.

Wayzata, MN - My Home town

On the way to Minnesota, we passed many prairies and wheat and cornfields. Bob and I stopped for lunch at the Corn Palace in Mitchell SD, where the annual corn festival was just setting up. The Palace was built in 1892 and every year they redecorate the outside with cobs of corn and cornhusks in new and elaborate designs. They call it a folk-art wonder on the prairie of South Dakota. Yes indeedy – it certainly is a wonder.

Bob and I spent five days with my parents in Wayzata, MN.  Wayzata is on the shores of Lake Minnetonka, where Minnetonka Moccasins and Tonka Toys are from. We have seen those moccasins in almost every state we have visited – they are SO popular. My parents actually live north of there, which is now Plymouth. They live in the house they built when I was 5 years old and we affectionately refer to it as “the museum”. They still have paintings I did in high school in the basement!  In fact, the Gettens and Hammeses have lived in the Wayzata area for several generations. A lot of my aunts, uncles and cousins still live within a few miles of my parents.

My Dad and Mom will turn 87 and 80 this year. We celebrated their 61^st wedding anniversary with a lovely meal in downtown Wayzata. They are both very active at the Catholic Church.  They even managed to get us to go to mass on Sunday.  My mom sings in the choir, and my dad has been a “server” at mass for over 80 years!  They both still drive (pretty fast) and they have a large garden that dad tends and mom has to process and can. She says she’s ready for an apartment, but dad still loves the house and yard work.  He is also still flying his small plane and just recently passed his two-year check-ride and physical.

Bob and I enjoyed meeting my friend Nan at the Mill City Farmer’s Market in downtown Minneapolis and we walked out on the stone arch bridge that crosses the Mississippi.  I hadn’t seen Nan since high school and it was great to reconnect. Later that day, we were having drinks with my friend Ron, also from high school, at the “muni” – the local municipal bar and pub. There was a group at the table behind us talking about going to Orcas Island to attend a “granola wedding” and Bob finally couldn’t stand it.  He told them that we got married on Orcas, and that I had lived there for most of 19 years. It turned out the man had graduated from the University of Puget Sound, the same year that Bob did!! What are the chances of that?

During our time here we also had drinks and meals with my aunt and uncle and cousin and their spouses. Bob also reconnected with Bonnie, who he worked with in Seattle during the 1980s and attended our wedding.

We had planned to leave on Monday, but tropical storm Isaac has given us pause. This has been a good lesson for us as to how variable these storms can be.  We are heading to Nebraska, Oklahoma and Arkansas to finish off our map of the lower 48, but it looks like the weather is going to be pretty nasty in Arkansas later this week, so we decided to delay a day. That gave us a chance to wash the outside of Harriet and do some shopping. We also had lunch at Smash Burger, which just moved ahead of Five Guys for our favorite chain burger. I still think that Fudruckers is in the running, but we have to have another lunch there before it is declared the current winner.

The Not So Badlands

Mary’s friends really liked Badlands National Park, so we thought we would spend the night there on our way to Minneapolis.

Badlands NP is like a mini version of some of the areas in northern Arizona and southern Utah, eroded pinnacles and dried mud washes in various hues of grey, blue, yellow, pink and green, yet here in the South Dakota grasslands the area is teaming with wildlife. In one short 20-mile stretch of road we were able to get close-up encounters with Pronghorn antelope, Big Horn sheep, and Prairie dogs.  We also got more distant views of Bison. 

Today was one of the very few days we have used the air conditioning in Harriet.  It was pretty hot today 92+ so we only did some short walks from viewpoints, no long hikes.  But, we did have a great sunset and a very dark and starry night sky. We have seen the Milky Way many more times so far on this trip than we did on the whole of our extended journey in 2010-11.

 

Oh yes, I have to mention that a major roadside attraction is located between the Black Hills and the Badlands of South Dakota. The famous Wall Drug is just off I-90.  Mary and I wandered the many shops and museums, so now I can say we have been to Wall Drug. 

The Black Hills

Bob forgot to mention in our last blog that I actually lived in Glasgow, Scotland, for a few months in the early 70s. I had gone there to be with a man I still refer to as Wacko Bill – not my finest hour. It’s very different from Glasgow, MT.

The road and terrain between Glasgow and the Black Hills of So Dakota looks just like between Glacier and Glasgow – flat with wheat fields and the occasional corn field. Having grown up in the Midwest and seen lots of corn, I can tell which fields are “real” corn and which are the new GMO type. It’s quite scary that less than 1% of the corn I’ve seen across the country (including our fast trip in the cars to Florida) are real corn.

We made a quick stop at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and were surprised to learn that they have wild horses there. We didn’t spend enough time to find them, but it was an interesting place in the National Grasslands and North Dakota Badlands. Bob helped out a distressed RV renter who’s door was stuck shut! It turned out that they live only a few miles from my parents – small world.

Ms. Splitface

We set up at a nice campground outside of Sturgis, SD called Rush-no-more. Bob and I were able to get a site in a quiet upper loop that backs up against the National Forest. We were greeted by a wonderful cat with unusual markings that came to see us each day. One side of her face was black, the other tortoise shell, and it split in a perfect line right down the middle of her nose.  She enjoyed turkey, ham and tuna during our stay to supplement her usual diet of grasshoppers. There were also many deer and dozens of wild turkeys passing through. We enjoyed the pool and hot tub.

Sturgis is the site of an annual motorcycle rally that has been held for 72 years and attracts more than 500,000 people each year. What a zoo that is, and fortunately it was over about a week before we arrived. We had been marveling at all the bikes heading west as we came across the mountains and prairies. The town itself isn’t much and has only about 6,000 residents.

Bob and I rode our bicycles 16 miles on the Michelson Trail that winds through the Black Hills for 110 miles. We realized it’s been a long time since we were on those bikes. Time to get back into it.

Four old friends of mine, who were traveling in a motor home, heading west from Boston, met us at the campground for two nights. It was great to see them and spend some time together. Everyone went to Deadwood, SD and had lunch at Miss Kitty’s Cantina. Bob and I visited Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane’s graves there. All six of us hiked to the top of Bear Butte, a mountain that is sacred to the Native Americans. There were many prayers bundles and flags hung from trees and we saw a ceremonial area. It was a great climb with good spiritual energy and you can see four states from the top.

Bear Butte

Bob and the friends on the top of Bear butte

Glasgow, Montana

Most of you know how much I like things Scottish, so I thought an overnight stop in Glasgow would be fun, but there are no kilts in Glasgow, MT, just cowboy hats and plenty of large pick-ups.

However, on the outskirts (no pun intended) of town lies a hillside adorned with all manner of strange creatures. The inhabitants of this hillside not only include the usual bear and wolf, but also brontosaurus, triceratops and tyrannosaurus rex.  Mary was able to get a few pictures of the elusive critters.

I did manage to get a latte in Browning, MT as we headed east this morning.  Once beyond Browning, Montana truly opens up into the “Big Sky” country - nothing but grasslands, wheat and wide-open vistas. We took advantage of the broad views and watched the International Space Station flyby twice tonight.

Neither Mary nor I have been on this stretch of highway before - US 2 running the entire width of Montana, but Mary has been here before. The highway parallels the BNSF railway, and Mary once took a very long and boring train trip from Seattle to Minneapolis and back on that very track.

Driving Ozzie and Harriet along the highway is less boring than sitting in a train.  Mary has been reading the new book “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed, out loud as we drive. It is about a very troubled and ill-prepared woman who sets out to cover 1100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail alone. The book is very interesting and well written. Mary has always wanted to do the Pacific Crest Trail, but at our advanced ages we are setting our sights on slightly more modest challenges.

Our next stop is Sturgis, South Dakota  

Gorgeous Glacier

My, oh my.  I had forgotten how magical and fantastic Glacier National Park is.  What a wonderland!  I haven’t been here since 1990, and Bob’s only visit was in 2005, but it is SO worth exploring.

We both love Zion National Park, and it has always been our favorite park, but Glacier is a now a very close second. I believe that Zion is the spiritual heart of America, and it has a very special energy and sense of “being”, but Glacier is raw wilderness, mountain peaks, lakes, waterfalls, rivers and an amazing array of wildlife. There are tons of trails to explore and the exciting trip up to Logan Pass on the thin Going to the Sun Road with only a teensy guardrail on the edge that drops off 3,000 feet to the river below is breathtaking.

Glacier also has at least four (more than most) grand old Lodges built around 1900. I just adore looking at the rare photos they always hang in these lovely old structures built mostly out of huge timbers that sport an oversized fireplace in every main lobby. Bob and I discovered the “special” drinks they serve here that always include huckleberry, so we made it an afternoon tradition to stop at a Lodge for cocktails on the deck in the late afternoon. My favorite is the Huckleberry margarita. Bob fell for the Huckleberry whiskey sour.  We bought a bottle of huckleberry syrup in hopes of duplicating these gastronomic delights in the future, so if you visit us, please request one.

If you want to see the glaciers in Glacier, you need to get here soon. They have been receding rapidly for many years now. In 1850 there were 150 glaciers in the park and in 2010 there were only 25. They say that there won’t be any left in the park by 2020 or 2030, depending on how things heat up. What a shame, but it will still have those magnificent mountain peaks and most everything else. Perhaps it will be renamed.

Bob and I got out on a trail or two every day and managed to see several areas of the park. We had lots of close encounters with mountain goats that seemed quite used to people. One jumped down on the rocks right next to us when we were having a snack. What a shock! We also saw a moose in a lake along the trail and two grizzlies having a fun time wrestling and playing in a river. Big horned sheep showed themselves at two different locations, and we saw lots of ground squirrels and a marmot close up too. As usual, there were no sightings of mountain lions or wolves, although they are prevalent here. Several trails were closed because of bears and lions and even more were posted as high use areas. This is the only park I have been in where they recommend bear spray if you are hiking.

The altitude varies from around 3,000 ft to over 8,000 ft.  The weather has been quite warm (low 80’s) and not too cold at night. There are several places to overnight in the park and at the West and East entrances, but the area is not too over done or touristy.  Another great thing is the Red Busses. These are the same fabric topped busses used in the 1930’s.  Ford rebuilt several of them for the Park Service and it is great fun to see them on the roads throughout the park.

While here, we spent an evening at Lake MacDonald watching for shooting stars and we also saw some unexplained flashes of light. Maybe low level lightening in Canada? We just don’t know, but we saw bright flashes of light over the mountains at least a dozen times. We also enjoyed watching the International Space Station fly overhead on two nights. You can find out if it’s visible from your location by going to http.spaceweather.com/flybys/.  It’s really fun to watch it come up, go over and out of sight in about three minutes. It is much bigger and brighter than other satellites you see in the night sky.  We’ve done this many times in our travels and it’s always fun.

If you can, put Glacier on your list of MUST visit places. It is SO worth it!

Oops and Ouch

Bob and I left Olympia in Harriet on August 9^th, but not without a little drama. When Bob tried to back out of the driveway, we found that the brakes in Harriet were stuck on. This had never happened before and we were stumped. After an hour of messing around, Bob noticed that the emergency brake trip cord on the hitch had fallen out. It’s good to know that works so well and also something new to check each time we hook up. It was an easy fix once we discovered the problem and it only put us a little behind in our schedule.

We had a lovely trip across the Cascades with clear blue skies and warm temperatures and no other incidents on our way to Sandpoint, Idaho. This is a lovely area with steep mountains surrounding Lake Pend Oreille. The lake is about 30 miles long and very clean and clear. Bob enjoyed taking dips in it since we are camped at a fun place right along the shore in Hope, Idaho.

We are staying at Jeb and Margaret’s Trailer Haven – an old time campground and summer resort. This place has been operating for perhaps 50+ years and many of the people here come for the whole season.  Remember when people said they were going up to the lake for the summer? This is where they go. This park is about half RVs and the rest are “park models”, small mobile homes. We noted license plates from all over, but the highest number is from Alberta. Eh?

We planned to go hiking on our first full day here, but Bob was feeling dizzy in the morning so I went for a walk and let him sleep. He finally got up around 11:00 and then suddenly felt really awful and broke into a cold sweat. He urged me to call for the local paramedics who took him by ambulance to the Bonner General Hospital in Sandpoint as I followed in our truck. Bob went through a battery of tests and was hooked up to several machines for about three hours. The GOOD NEWS is that his heart and blood work are great, so is his blood pressure, and they determined that he had an inner ear disorder causing the dizziness. They gave him some medication and we came home.  Bob’s feeling fine now and it’s good to know what great shape he’s in.

Saturday we drove back into Sandpoint and walked through the downtown Farmer’s Market and the arts and crafts fair at the beach. It was another lovely day. There were many people in town because this is also the weekend of the Festival at Sandpoint, a musical event that runs for 10 days. Kenny Loggins was headlining tonight, and although we thoroughly enjoyed his show in Reno last year, we decided to stay home and rest up for tomorrow’s drive to Glacier National Park.

We couldn’t resist heading out to the grassy area along the lake at about 11pm to see if we could catch some of the Perseid Meteor Shower.  Wowza – we had a spectacular clear sky and could see the Milk Way bright and shiny. I haven’t seen that for a long time. Within a half hour we spotted 4 satellites and over a dozen meteors. We are hoping to catch another show tomorrow night in Montana.