Saturday, we went to the Rochester Farmers' Market along with a few thousand of our closest friends. It's a huge outdoor marketplace with all kinds of fruits, vegetables, baked goods, and anything else you can name. Fun to just wander around, see what they have, and just plain people-watch.
Tim had to work so we came home and puttered around the house and also watched the French Open. It was good to be able to catch up on what was happening at Roland Garros Stadium. In the evening, we checked out a couple of local breweries and then had a late dinner at Havana Cabana, a Cuban restaurant. Good food and generous portions. The waiter was almost as much fun as the atmosphere - think he needs to work on his people skills and interaction with the customers - NOT!
You may have noticed a change in the format of the blog. I wasn't happy with the backdrop on it, so I changed it to perhaps make it easier to read.
Hope all is well with everyone - it's cold and raining in Rochester on Sunday - quite a change from yesterday when it was 80 and muggy. I think maybe Vi and I should hire out as rainmakers - we seem to bring rain to wherever we visit - too bad it doesn't work in Reno!
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Rochester, NY
Well, we finally left Kendallville, IN after a nice day of
relaxation and errands. That’s the first
time in a long time that Fiwe have made a two-day stop on our way east – kind
of worked out nicely.
Stayed on US 6 through the rest of Indiana and into
Ohio. US 6 is nick-named the Grand Army of the
Republic Highway and there are monuments to the Civil War in a lot of the small
town squares. One example was the small
town of Egerton, OH where US 6 takes several turns to get around the town
square. We stopped to take a picture of
one Union soldier and noticed a woman painting a huge mural on the side of the
fire house. She was working on it for
the sesquicentennial Edgerton celebration later in the summer Of course, down south they call it the War of
Northern Aggression, but that’s another story!
Good two-lane road through the farm land and various manufacturing
plants. The area has a lot of
auto-related industries and manufactured/RV home builders. Unemployment rate is really low in Indiana
and there were help-wanted signs on most places. The fields seemed to have a lot of winter
wheat which was fully grown, but not yet turned to those “amber waves of
grain”.
Since we wanted to stay off the
Interstate as much as possible, but still continue heading in an easterly
direction, we switched from US 6 to US 20 in Ohio – it varied from two-lane to
four-lane and passed through lots of small towns which was fun. It also took us around Cleveland which is always
a mess to drive through because it’s where I-80 and I-90 split and has several
twists and turns. Finally got on I-90
and headed up to Erie, PA. Past Erie, we
went on I-86 (old Route 17) through the southern tier of New York. We enjoyed that drive because it goes through
the thickly-wooded hills – more trees on that one stretch than we have in all
of Nevada!
At one point, we saw the Seneca-Allegheny
Casino materialize out of the forest.
Huge casino and hotel in the middle of nowhere. Gee, I wonder where that financing comes from
J. It is truly said that the Indians are taking
the country back one quarter at a time.
We noticed that in New York the Rest Areas are also called Text Stops.
Headed north at Hornell to take
I-390 into Rochester. At this point, we
just wanted to get to Tim’s place as quickly as possible. Finally arrived there around 6:00 p.m. Nice place, think we’ll stick around for a
couple of days. Went out to dinner at
the Genesee Brewery which is built on the banks of the river which runs right
through the heart of Rochester. I always
enjoy seeing the old buildings and some of the remnants of the even older
buildings. After dinner, we took a walk
along the bridge over the river and looked at the falls – not quite Niagara
Falls, but impressive. They used to have
a laser light show over the falls, but it was cancelled years ago because of a
lack of funding.
Back to Tim and Kathy’s for the
evening.
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Kendallville, IN (Second Day)
We had a great relaxing day just catching up on some housekeeping items. There's a Chevrolet dealer here, so I had Snowflake serviced in order that she would continue to transport us across the United States. The service department was very helpful and squeezed us in first thing this morning. While I was waiting, I took a long walk to downtown Kendallville. Interesting town with lots of old buildings. The story is that during a tornado in the 1990's, the facades of the downtown buildings were torn off, revealing the old architectural touches. Makes sense, because the buildings are really beautiful in an old-fashioned way.
The town has not one, but two, golf courses. We had a tee time at 10:00 a.m. at Noble Hawk which is a great 18 hole course just south of town. Front nine was rolling countryside, while the back nine was more in the woods. Lots of water and challenges. Was a good day, we ended up with more golf balls than we started with and had a good four-hour round, even though we had to wait on almost every hole. The course was crowded, but played fairly well. We both shot well and had fun.
Later on in the afternoon, we did some shopping at a very exclusive shop - I think it was called Le Walmartte. Afterward, we took a drive in the country. There's a combination of farmland with lakes scattered around and quite a few manufacturing plants. The biggest plant in Kendallville is a Kraft plant which produces all their marshmallows, marshmallow crème and caramel; however, there are several other good sized operations.
Went to dinner in Avila at an old restaurant - St. James. Originally build in 1880's, it supposedly is the oldest restaurant in Indiana. Good food, but too much. Too bad we're leaving tomorrow, otherwise, we might have taken a doggie bag home with us. http://www.stjamesavilla.com/
Tomorrow, we head out for Rochester. Probably take US 6 over I-80/I-90 and take the interstates over to Rochester. Should arrive there about the time Tim and Kathy are getting off work!
The town has not one, but two, golf courses. We had a tee time at 10:00 a.m. at Noble Hawk which is a great 18 hole course just south of town. Front nine was rolling countryside, while the back nine was more in the woods. Lots of water and challenges. Was a good day, we ended up with more golf balls than we started with and had a good four-hour round, even though we had to wait on almost every hole. The course was crowded, but played fairly well. We both shot well and had fun.
Later on in the afternoon, we did some shopping at a very exclusive shop - I think it was called Le Walmartte. Afterward, we took a drive in the country. There's a combination of farmland with lakes scattered around and quite a few manufacturing plants. The biggest plant in Kendallville is a Kraft plant which produces all their marshmallows, marshmallow crème and caramel; however, there are several other good sized operations.
Went to dinner in Avila at an old restaurant - St. James. Originally build in 1880's, it supposedly is the oldest restaurant in Indiana. Good food, but too much. Too bad we're leaving tomorrow, otherwise, we might have taken a doggie bag home with us. http://www.stjamesavilla.com/
Tomorrow, we head out for Rochester. Probably take US 6 over I-80/I-90 and take the interstates over to Rochester. Should arrive there about the time Tim and Kathy are getting off work!
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Kendallville, IN
Well, here we are in beautiful, downtown Kendallville (well, not exactly downtown, but right on the outskirts). Left Portage, WI in the rain and it rained all day log, sometimes harder than others, but I don't think we shut off the windshield wipers until we hit the Eastern Time Zone late this afternoon.
Took I-39 south until we hit US 30 in Illinois and then headed east on that highway. Countryside varied from farmland to subdivisions. In some areas, it looked like they sprinkled house seed on the farms and it sprouted suburban homes! US 30 twisted and turned through farms and the suburbs. We passed Joliet, IL and then took US 6 because 30 started to take a decidedly southeasterly bend. It's funny because we've been on US 6 whenever we pass through Tonopah, NV on our way to Las Vegas so it was kind of like re-visiting an old friend.
As we came east on US 6, we came through a lot of Amish country in mid-state Indiana. Some horse-drawn shays and a lot of furniture shops and quilt shops along the road. Don't think they do much large-scale farming because they don't use power vehicles, just horses. Guess they raise enough vegetables for their own use and some extra to sell, but no huge farms.
Because of the time change, we arrived in Kendallville early in the evening. We wanted to finish the book we were listening to and when we hit the time zone change on US 6, there weren't a lot of options for lodging. However, we lucked out - there was a Best Western here, as well as a Chevrolet dealer and a golf course. So, we're going to spend Thursday here and get the car serviced, play golf, and just relax. Then on Friday, we'll head over to Tim and Kathy's in Rochester.
Took I-39 south until we hit US 30 in Illinois and then headed east on that highway. Countryside varied from farmland to subdivisions. In some areas, it looked like they sprinkled house seed on the farms and it sprouted suburban homes! US 30 twisted and turned through farms and the suburbs. We passed Joliet, IL and then took US 6 because 30 started to take a decidedly southeasterly bend. It's funny because we've been on US 6 whenever we pass through Tonopah, NV on our way to Las Vegas so it was kind of like re-visiting an old friend.
As we came east on US 6, we came through a lot of Amish country in mid-state Indiana. Some horse-drawn shays and a lot of furniture shops and quilt shops along the road. Don't think they do much large-scale farming because they don't use power vehicles, just horses. Guess they raise enough vegetables for their own use and some extra to sell, but no huge farms.
Because of the time change, we arrived in Kendallville early in the evening. We wanted to finish the book we were listening to and when we hit the time zone change on US 6, there weren't a lot of options for lodging. However, we lucked out - there was a Best Western here, as well as a Chevrolet dealer and a golf course. So, we're going to spend Thursday here and get the car serviced, play golf, and just relax. Then on Friday, we'll head over to Tim and Kathy's in Rochester.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Portage, WI
Well, as usual, our plans changed slightly from what we originally were going to do. When we left West Fargo this morning, our plan was to go to Lacrosse, WI, get there early, play golf and check out the city which we really love to visit. As we were nearing Minneapolis, the heavens opened up and the rain came down - no golf! We continued our plan to go to Lacrosse, but go on a little further and put a few more miles in before we stopped for the evening. South of Minneapolis, we took the Great American River Highway along the Mississippi. It's probably pretty, but with the rain, clouds, etc., it wasn't very scenic.
This morning didn't start out well anyway. When we got up and I was loading the car, I left the door to the house open and guess who decided to check out his newfound freedom. I found out why Adrian and Michelle named their dog Chase. That's what I did all over the neighborhood - Chase running and me chasing, trying to stop traffic so he didn't get hit. One woman yelled at me to "Keep your dog on a leash" - oh, if only I had. With the help of a jogger (very attractive young woman), we managed to chase him back toward the house and he ran into the garage. I had tried calling Vi and Michelle, but no one was answering their phone. So I got my aerobic exercise in early this morning - unplanned, but stimulating.
Nice drive down. As we crossed the Red River and left North Dakota, the countryside changed almost immediately from flat farmland to rolling farmland with lots of trees. As we got further down I-94, there were more lakes (remember MN is the Land of 10,000 Lakes). Lots of traffic and the rain didn't seem to slow down the construction (or at least the barriers and lane changes).
Now for your history lesson of the day. Portage, WI is so-named because back in the mid 1600's, trappers discovered that you could portage from the Fox River to the Wisconsin River at this location and thus find a trail which connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi. Interesting, eh! Just before we got to the intersection of I-94 and I-90, we passed through Wisconsin Dells - a huge recreation area. I think Tom and Carolyn came through here when they were headed out West in Bucky years ago.
Tomorrow our main goal is get through the Chicago area - probably head a little further south than actually going through Chicago and see if there's a blue road* which heads east. Not sure how long we'll be on the road before we get to Tim and Kathy's in Rochester, but we're thinking either Thursday or Friday.
*Blue roads are the non-interstate roads, so-called because they are blue on the road maps
This morning didn't start out well anyway. When we got up and I was loading the car, I left the door to the house open and guess who decided to check out his newfound freedom. I found out why Adrian and Michelle named their dog Chase. That's what I did all over the neighborhood - Chase running and me chasing, trying to stop traffic so he didn't get hit. One woman yelled at me to "Keep your dog on a leash" - oh, if only I had. With the help of a jogger (very attractive young woman), we managed to chase him back toward the house and he ran into the garage. I had tried calling Vi and Michelle, but no one was answering their phone. So I got my aerobic exercise in early this morning - unplanned, but stimulating.
Nice drive down. As we crossed the Red River and left North Dakota, the countryside changed almost immediately from flat farmland to rolling farmland with lots of trees. As we got further down I-94, there were more lakes (remember MN is the Land of 10,000 Lakes). Lots of traffic and the rain didn't seem to slow down the construction (or at least the barriers and lane changes).
Now for your history lesson of the day. Portage, WI is so-named because back in the mid 1600's, trappers discovered that you could portage from the Fox River to the Wisconsin River at this location and thus find a trail which connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi. Interesting, eh! Just before we got to the intersection of I-94 and I-90, we passed through Wisconsin Dells - a huge recreation area. I think Tom and Carolyn came through here when they were headed out West in Bucky years ago.
Tomorrow our main goal is get through the Chicago area - probably head a little further south than actually going through Chicago and see if there's a blue road* which heads east. Not sure how long we'll be on the road before we get to Tim and Kathy's in Rochester, but we're thinking either Thursday or Friday.
*Blue roads are the non-interstate roads, so-called because they are blue on the road maps
Monday, May 25, 2015
Christine, ND
Well, since the entry about Rachel came from Mapleton, ND, I thought it only fair that this entry come from Christine (look that huge city up in your Rand McNally Atlas (or smart phone for those more technologically advanced).
Saturday we spent recuperating from Rachel's party and then did some stuff around Fargo. Went out to Holy Cross Cemetery and worked on the Ed's gravesite and Vi's Mother and Father's site. Planted some flowers and Ryan and I cleaned up the landscaping while Vi and Michelle planted the flowers. Good memories of the family and the site looked pretty for Memorial Day.
In the afternoon, Vi, Adrian and I went out to Ken and Melanie's to hang the quilt on the side of the house. Took along all the tools we needed as well as the materials and we hung it on the side of the porch so everyone could get a good look at it. Came back to town and Vi and Michelle got ready for the graduation while Adrian and I took the boys back out to the house to await everyone's arrival for the party.
Great turnout and they had decorated the tent, porch, house and everything that had a flat surface with pictures, memorabilia, sports awards, etc. You can imagine with Connor and Carley being twins and active in school and sports, there was plenty of raw material to choose from. Although there was a lot of family that had been at Rachel's party, it was a different circle of friends because of the different towns and schools. It was a lot of fun and the rain held off, so it just a cool, cloudy day with a few sprinkles later in the evening. Plenty of fun prepared by K&K Katering (two good friends of Melanie's (Kathy and Kathy)). There was a constant turnover as people were going to various parties around the area, so there was always a goodly number of people there, but still we had an opportunity to meet and greet.
Adrian and I left early (10:30 p.m.) with Ryan and Colin and Vi and Michelle stayed until after midnight. Slept in this morning and almost missed getting up for the Memorial Day services; however, when we got to Holy Cross, the service had been cancelled because of the rain which is still coming down.
Not sure what our plans are today - have to wait and see what develops.
Saturday we spent recuperating from Rachel's party and then did some stuff around Fargo. Went out to Holy Cross Cemetery and worked on the Ed's gravesite and Vi's Mother and Father's site. Planted some flowers and Ryan and I cleaned up the landscaping while Vi and Michelle planted the flowers. Good memories of the family and the site looked pretty for Memorial Day.
In the afternoon, Vi, Adrian and I went out to Ken and Melanie's to hang the quilt on the side of the house. Took along all the tools we needed as well as the materials and we hung it on the side of the porch so everyone could get a good look at it. Came back to town and Vi and Michelle got ready for the graduation while Adrian and I took the boys back out to the house to await everyone's arrival for the party.
Great turnout and they had decorated the tent, porch, house and everything that had a flat surface with pictures, memorabilia, sports awards, etc. You can imagine with Connor and Carley being twins and active in school and sports, there was plenty of raw material to choose from. Although there was a lot of family that had been at Rachel's party, it was a different circle of friends because of the different towns and schools. It was a lot of fun and the rain held off, so it just a cool, cloudy day with a few sprinkles later in the evening. Plenty of fun prepared by K&K Katering (two good friends of Melanie's (Kathy and Kathy)). There was a constant turnover as people were going to various parties around the area, so there was always a goodly number of people there, but still we had an opportunity to meet and greet.
Adrian and I left early (10:30 p.m.) with Ryan and Colin and Vi and Michelle stayed until after midnight. Slept in this morning and almost missed getting up for the Memorial Day services; however, when we got to Holy Cross, the service had been cancelled because of the rain which is still coming down.
Not sure what our plans are today - have to wait and see what develops.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Mapleton, ND
Well, actually we are still in West Fargo, but since a large portion of this entry is concerned with Rachel's graduation party (see later), I thought I'd give it Russ and Melinda's town name.
You all probably know this already, but it’s interesting how the Schlosser clan and Stames clan mesh
together in ages (in both cases, Vi and I are the middle children):
Mary Ann (my sister), Marjorie (Vi’s
sister), Violet, Tom Jr (me), Ed (Vi’s brother), Paul (my brother).
Then the next generation is similar:
Char, Melinda,
Tom III, Melanie, Michelle, Tim, Melissa
I'm not even going to try with the next younger generation :-). Now that you all have that straight (there will be a test sometime in the future), let's continue with our visit to North Dakota. The weather has been beautiful and there are no mosquitos - yet. Clear blue skies and moderate temperatures (moderate in North Dakota means you're not freezing). Friday was a day for errands - I went over to Costco and had the tires rotated on Snowflake while Michelle and Vi went shopping. The shopping trip was interrupted because we wanted to go over to Melanie and Ken's to give Carley her quilt. They were getting ready for Connor and Carley's party on Sunday and kind of had a limited period of time when Carley was going to be around. So out to Christine, ND to visit the Knudsen's.
Unwrapped and delivered the quilt to assorted oohs and aah's - it really is a beautiful piece of work done by my favorite seamstress! After some conversation, we headed back to town. Around five, we headed out to Mapleton for Rachel's graduation party. They were holding it in Russ's shop which is huge. I think when I wrote about Reilee's graduation party, I mentioned that calling Russ's shop a garage is like calling the Grand Canyon a ditch - still applies. Rachel (with perhaps some help from other members of the family) had really decorated the shop beautifully. She had poster boards with family pictures from birth to graduation, memorabilia, sports awards, etc.
They had the buffet dinner set up along one wall which is where Russ had all his tools neatly arranged. I think Vi may have made some comment about why wasn't my work area as neatly organized, but I could be mistaken. To give you some idea of the size of the shop, Russ can work on his combine and tractor inside the building without being cramped. It has its' own kitchen, bathroom, and room for several hundred people. It was impossible to estimate the number of people because they were constantly coming and going, as you can imagine because of all the other graduation parties going on.
It was a great opportunity to catch up on friends and family - as someone mentioned, it's much better to have graduations and weddings than funerals for family gatherings. Much more joyous occasion. Rachel looked beautiful and Russ and Melinda were the very proud parents (as they were two years ago when Reilee had a similar party). We've been coming back to North Dakota for a long time and it was fun have an opportunity to see everyone again. We get to see family all the time when we come back, but the opportunity to see all the people we met at weddings and other occasions are few and far between.
I still haven't posted any pictures on the cloud yet, but I promise to get around to that today. I think we're headed back out to Christine today to help Melanie and Ken with their arrangements. There's talk of a 10 by 40 tent which needs to be set up. Sounds more like a circus, perhaps we need a couple of elephants to help like the Ringling Brothers.
Enough for now. We may have to spend some time praying that the rain forecast for Sunday when Connor and Carley are having their party doesn't come until after midnight.
Unwrapped and delivered the quilt to assorted oohs and aah's - it really is a beautiful piece of work done by my favorite seamstress! After some conversation, we headed back to town. Around five, we headed out to Mapleton for Rachel's graduation party. They were holding it in Russ's shop which is huge. I think when I wrote about Reilee's graduation party, I mentioned that calling Russ's shop a garage is like calling the Grand Canyon a ditch - still applies. Rachel (with perhaps some help from other members of the family) had really decorated the shop beautifully. She had poster boards with family pictures from birth to graduation, memorabilia, sports awards, etc.
They had the buffet dinner set up along one wall which is where Russ had all his tools neatly arranged. I think Vi may have made some comment about why wasn't my work area as neatly organized, but I could be mistaken. To give you some idea of the size of the shop, Russ can work on his combine and tractor inside the building without being cramped. It has its' own kitchen, bathroom, and room for several hundred people. It was impossible to estimate the number of people because they were constantly coming and going, as you can imagine because of all the other graduation parties going on.
It was a great opportunity to catch up on friends and family - as someone mentioned, it's much better to have graduations and weddings than funerals for family gatherings. Much more joyous occasion. Rachel looked beautiful and Russ and Melinda were the very proud parents (as they were two years ago when Reilee had a similar party). We've been coming back to North Dakota for a long time and it was fun have an opportunity to see everyone again. We get to see family all the time when we come back, but the opportunity to see all the people we met at weddings and other occasions are few and far between.
I still haven't posted any pictures on the cloud yet, but I promise to get around to that today. I think we're headed back out to Christine today to help Melanie and Ken with their arrangements. There's talk of a 10 by 40 tent which needs to be set up. Sounds more like a circus, perhaps we need a couple of elephants to help like the Ringling Brothers.
Enough for now. We may have to spend some time praying that the rain forecast for Sunday when Connor and Carley are having their party doesn't come until after midnight.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
West Fargo, ND
Hey, we finally made it back here. Meant to tell you that we finished up Northern Lights by Nora Roberts yesterday, so today we had to start a new book by Mary Higgins Clark on the way from Bismarck to Fargo. Beautiful day with clear blue skies and temperature in the 50's. Not difficult travelling along I-94 - it's a straight line with just a few dips along the way. Stopped in Jamestown to refuel (nice to have gas in the $2.50 range) and get the car washed after to rid it of the red clay dust from yesterday's trip down to the cemetery.
Got to Michele's around 1:00 p.m. and were lucky enough to catch Melinda before she headed back out to help Rachel with the preparations for tomorrow's graduation party. Guess Rachel is pretty sure that she's going to graduate because she's having the party before graduation. We went to lunch with Michelle, Karen, Melanie, Carley, Reilee, and Connor at the Spitfire Restaurant. Good fun and great conversation catching up on what's happening.
This evening I went out with Adrian, Ryan, and Colin to a local shooting range where Colin and Ryan were taking trap shooting lessons Fun watching them shoot. Pretty crowded out there with varying degrees of skill from experts to novices.
I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow of the trip, but will close for now.
Got to Michele's around 1:00 p.m. and were lucky enough to catch Melinda before she headed back out to help Rachel with the preparations for tomorrow's graduation party. Guess Rachel is pretty sure that she's going to graduate because she's having the party before graduation. We went to lunch with Michelle, Karen, Melanie, Carley, Reilee, and Connor at the Spitfire Restaurant. Good fun and great conversation catching up on what's happening.
This evening I went out with Adrian, Ryan, and Colin to a local shooting range where Colin and Ryan were taking trap shooting lessons Fun watching them shoot. Pretty crowded out there with varying degrees of skill from experts to novices.
I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow of the trip, but will close for now.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Bismarck, ND
Well, we woke up to snow on the ground in Caspar, WY and wondered where we made the wrong turn into January! Snowflake (our Impala) was covered with snow, but it was right around freezing so it was easy to clean off. Headed north out of Caspar and it actually got warmer as we went further north - crazy weather. Went through Buffalo, WY which is on the eastern slope of the Little Big Horn Mountains. We saw a lot of signs saying "Interstate Closed When Flashing" - thank goodness the lights weren't flashing!
Wyoming is kind of a fascinating state. It seems to have all kinds of natural resources - coal, oil, cattle, sheep, wind farms, etc. Didn't hit many mountains, but mostly rolling country side where you could see for miles in every direction. Went through the Custer National Forest which spreads across a lot of Montana, Wyoming, South and North Dakota. I'll send pictures on SkyDrive of some of the territory.
As we drove north through South Dakota into North Dakota, we saw a lot of deserted farmsteads. Some had complete buildings, including farmhouses, barns, etc.; others you could tell from the tree breaks used to be farms. Now the big farms have taken over and absorbed the small government farms from the old days. Saw a lot of pheasants along the road - there were also a lot of dead ones on the road - not too swift a bird. Pretty, but not too smart! Came north along the Enchanted Highway which has a lot of neat artwork (neat and huge). We stopped in Richardton, ND at St Mary's Cemetery to see where Vi's Aunt Stella was buried, along with her husband John. We were lucky enough to talk to a local employee who gave us instructions on how to find the gravesite.
One of the reasons we went the way we did was to find St Peter and St Paul Cemetery where Vi's great-grandfather was buried. I had been in touch with St Ann's up in Hebron to find out where it was located. Talked to the caretaker before we left Reno and was able to get directions to the old cemetery. The church is still standing, although in an advanced state disrepair. It's down about seven miles south of Hebron, ND - all red dirt roads. It's a good thing it hadn't rained lately, so it was pretty easy driving. We have been stuck on North Dakota mud roads and it ain't fun. Originally, we had planned on staying in Mott, ND, but we were ahead of schedule, so stopped at St Peter and St Paul and then headed east on I-94 to Bismarck. Must be something going on because we were turned down at several places before finding a good room.
Heading into Fargo tomorrow, so it's the last opportunity for you all to head out of town. Don't think you'll have many options since the graduations are on Sunday!
Wyoming is kind of a fascinating state. It seems to have all kinds of natural resources - coal, oil, cattle, sheep, wind farms, etc. Didn't hit many mountains, but mostly rolling country side where you could see for miles in every direction. Went through the Custer National Forest which spreads across a lot of Montana, Wyoming, South and North Dakota. I'll send pictures on SkyDrive of some of the territory.
As we drove north through South Dakota into North Dakota, we saw a lot of deserted farmsteads. Some had complete buildings, including farmhouses, barns, etc.; others you could tell from the tree breaks used to be farms. Now the big farms have taken over and absorbed the small government farms from the old days. Saw a lot of pheasants along the road - there were also a lot of dead ones on the road - not too swift a bird. Pretty, but not too smart! Came north along the Enchanted Highway which has a lot of neat artwork (neat and huge). We stopped in Richardton, ND at St Mary's Cemetery to see where Vi's Aunt Stella was buried, along with her husband John. We were lucky enough to talk to a local employee who gave us instructions on how to find the gravesite.
One of the reasons we went the way we did was to find St Peter and St Paul Cemetery where Vi's great-grandfather was buried. I had been in touch with St Ann's up in Hebron to find out where it was located. Talked to the caretaker before we left Reno and was able to get directions to the old cemetery. The church is still standing, although in an advanced state disrepair. It's down about seven miles south of Hebron, ND - all red dirt roads. It's a good thing it hadn't rained lately, so it was pretty easy driving. We have been stuck on North Dakota mud roads and it ain't fun. Originally, we had planned on staying in Mott, ND, but we were ahead of schedule, so stopped at St Peter and St Paul and then headed east on I-94 to Bismarck. Must be something going on because we were turned down at several places before finding a good room.
Heading into Fargo tomorrow, so it's the last opportunity for you all to head out of town. Don't think you'll have many options since the graduations are on Sunday!
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Caspar, Wyoming
Well, you might ask why is this post from Caspar and not from Buffalo or Thermopolis, where we had originally planned to stay. Remember when I said our schedule might change from what we originally planned - well, for reasons that will be apparent later in this post, there were changes!
Started out early from West Wendover (helped no doubt by the fact that Wendover operates on Mountain Time rather than Pacific Time like the rest of Nevada). Must have something to do with the closer ties to Salt Lake City than other cities in Nevada. When you leave Wendover, you start across the Great Salt Lake and it was unusual to see all of the standing water on either side of the road, courtesy of the rain. Took a great picture of the Wasatch Range reflected in the standing water (I'll post pictures on my Sky Drive later this evening). Fun crossing the GSL because you see all the mounds of salt piled up waiting shipment - huge piles. Morton Salt is one of the largest processing plants there. We were lucky that we went through and around Salt Lake City after the rush hour.
Climbing out of SLC, you cross the Wasatch Mountains - that's the far eastern edge of the Great Basin. It was funny because we had been in Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada over the previous weekend and that's the western most part of the Great Basin. As we crossed the crest of the Wasatch, we went through Park City which is a great ski area in Utah. Coming down the eastern side of the mountains, we came through Echo Canyon. Again, it was the primary route for the trappers, pioneers, railroads and Interstate to get through the Wasatch, before crossing into Nevada on their way West. Beautiful drive down through the canyon.
Got to see our wildlife for the day - lots of pronghorn (and they're not antelopes) and one moose trying to figure out a way to get across the fence line guarding I-80. Later we got to see hundreds (no, that's not an exaggeration) of pronghorns as we continued through Utah and into Wyoming. Ran into some construction in Wyoming where they had the entire westbound section of I-80 closed for repaving. We had one lane east and one lane west for a long time, but traffic moved smoothly.
Originally, we had planned to get off I-80 at Rock Springs and head north to either Thermopolis or Buffalo, WY. As we headed north out of Rock Springs, Vi happened to notice a sign which said that South Pass was closed and asked if that was near where we were heading. South Pass was the route over the Continental Divide which led to our route north. Believe it or not, it was closed because of snow and ice. Talked to a local State Trooper and he gave us some alternatives, which is how we ended up in Caspar.
Got back on I-80 and headed for Rawlins where we headed north for Caspar. On the way north, we passed Independence Rock (remember that from yesterday's post?). Stopped in the pouring rain and took some pictures - it's a really neat spot. Crossed the Continental Divide a couple of times - believe it or not, the mountain range does not run in a direct north-south line - imagine that! On the lee side of the Continental Divide, we headed down into Caspar. The rain changed to snow and as we pulled into the Best Western, the snow was blowing sideways. Must have made a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in January!
We're hunkered down in the Best Western for the night. Looks like tomorrow might be better weather for our trip up and over to Mott, ND. We'll keep our fingers crossed for good weather.
Started out early from West Wendover (helped no doubt by the fact that Wendover operates on Mountain Time rather than Pacific Time like the rest of Nevada). Must have something to do with the closer ties to Salt Lake City than other cities in Nevada. When you leave Wendover, you start across the Great Salt Lake and it was unusual to see all of the standing water on either side of the road, courtesy of the rain. Took a great picture of the Wasatch Range reflected in the standing water (I'll post pictures on my Sky Drive later this evening). Fun crossing the GSL because you see all the mounds of salt piled up waiting shipment - huge piles. Morton Salt is one of the largest processing plants there. We were lucky that we went through and around Salt Lake City after the rush hour.
Climbing out of SLC, you cross the Wasatch Mountains - that's the far eastern edge of the Great Basin. It was funny because we had been in Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada over the previous weekend and that's the western most part of the Great Basin. As we crossed the crest of the Wasatch, we went through Park City which is a great ski area in Utah. Coming down the eastern side of the mountains, we came through Echo Canyon. Again, it was the primary route for the trappers, pioneers, railroads and Interstate to get through the Wasatch, before crossing into Nevada on their way West. Beautiful drive down through the canyon.
Got to see our wildlife for the day - lots of pronghorn (and they're not antelopes) and one moose trying to figure out a way to get across the fence line guarding I-80. Later we got to see hundreds (no, that's not an exaggeration) of pronghorns as we continued through Utah and into Wyoming. Ran into some construction in Wyoming where they had the entire westbound section of I-80 closed for repaving. We had one lane east and one lane west for a long time, but traffic moved smoothly.
Originally, we had planned to get off I-80 at Rock Springs and head north to either Thermopolis or Buffalo, WY. As we headed north out of Rock Springs, Vi happened to notice a sign which said that South Pass was closed and asked if that was near where we were heading. South Pass was the route over the Continental Divide which led to our route north. Believe it or not, it was closed because of snow and ice. Talked to a local State Trooper and he gave us some alternatives, which is how we ended up in Caspar.
Got back on I-80 and headed for Rawlins where we headed north for Caspar. On the way north, we passed Independence Rock (remember that from yesterday's post?). Stopped in the pouring rain and took some pictures - it's a really neat spot. Crossed the Continental Divide a couple of times - believe it or not, the mountain range does not run in a direct north-south line - imagine that! On the lee side of the Continental Divide, we headed down into Caspar. The rain changed to snow and as we pulled into the Best Western, the snow was blowing sideways. Must have made a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in January!
We're hunkered down in the Best Western for the night. Looks like tomorrow might be better weather for our trip up and over to Mott, ND. We'll keep our fingers crossed for good weather.
Monday, May 18, 2015
West Wendover, NV
Travelled across Nevada (all the way) listening to Northern Lights, by Nora Roberts. Books on disc certainly make the trip go faster. Passed through some exciting towns (yeah right) - Lovelock where OJ's prison is located. We didn't stop in to see him, but we did wave as we went by. Lovelock is where the Lovers Leap Balloon Festival is in February. They have a tradition there of having people put a lock on a series of chains around the court house. Started out small, but it has really grown. The idea is to "lock your love" - get it, in Lovelock. They have a similar tradition at a bridge in Paris and it has grown so popular that the bridge is in danger of being overloaded.
As we travel across Nevada, I always marvel at the speed with which we traverse the land and how painfully slow it was for the pioneers when they made their trek via oxen and horse-drawn wagon. Little different going 75 mph than five miles a day. To give you an idea of the length of time it took them, there is a place in Wyoming called Independence Rock because the pioneers hit that area on the 4th of July after starting from St Louis in April. The pioneers travelled along the Humboldt River through most of their trip until they got to the Humboldt Sink just west of Lovelock. They then had to cross the Forty Mile Desert until they got to either the Truckee or Carson River. This was the area of greatest hardship and where they jettisoned a lot of their cargo, lost animals, and just generally had a tough time. Now we breeze along a four-lane Interstate.
Made a rest stop at Puckerbrush, NV - population 28. I think they all work at the truck stop there. Had lunch in Elko after trying to stop at the Pioneer Interpretative Center just west, only to find that the Center is only open Wednesday through Sunday. It's a fun stop and outlines a lot of the history of the area and the pioneers who crossed there. Funny, the Indians used the Humboldt River as a major trade route, followed by the trappers/explorers, then the pioneers. Now the railroad follows the same route as does the Interstate. Easier to follow the river than cross all the mountain ranges.
The folks at the Peppermill were kind enough to make reservations for us at the Peppermill Hotel/Casino in West Wendover. This town sits right on the Nevada - Utah border and just east of here is the Great Salt Lake. We met Tom III and his family here several (well, more than several) years ago when they were travelling across the area. It has a lot of history - the Enola Gay crew trained here at a now run-down air base. For those not up on their history, the Enola Gay was the bomber which dropped the A-bomb on Hiroshima in 1945.
Couldn't believe how much rain we it coming across. It seemed like there was one squall after another - not used to that kind of weather in Nevada. Tomorrow we head into Utah and pass through Salt Lake City and into the Wasatch Mountains. Hopefully, we'll have better weather and see some of the great scenery.
As we travel across Nevada, I always marvel at the speed with which we traverse the land and how painfully slow it was for the pioneers when they made their trek via oxen and horse-drawn wagon. Little different going 75 mph than five miles a day. To give you an idea of the length of time it took them, there is a place in Wyoming called Independence Rock because the pioneers hit that area on the 4th of July after starting from St Louis in April. The pioneers travelled along the Humboldt River through most of their trip until they got to the Humboldt Sink just west of Lovelock. They then had to cross the Forty Mile Desert until they got to either the Truckee or Carson River. This was the area of greatest hardship and where they jettisoned a lot of their cargo, lost animals, and just generally had a tough time. Now we breeze along a four-lane Interstate.
Made a rest stop at Puckerbrush, NV - population 28. I think they all work at the truck stop there. Had lunch in Elko after trying to stop at the Pioneer Interpretative Center just west, only to find that the Center is only open Wednesday through Sunday. It's a fun stop and outlines a lot of the history of the area and the pioneers who crossed there. Funny, the Indians used the Humboldt River as a major trade route, followed by the trappers/explorers, then the pioneers. Now the railroad follows the same route as does the Interstate. Easier to follow the river than cross all the mountain ranges.
The folks at the Peppermill were kind enough to make reservations for us at the Peppermill Hotel/Casino in West Wendover. This town sits right on the Nevada - Utah border and just east of here is the Great Salt Lake. We met Tom III and his family here several (well, more than several) years ago when they were travelling across the area. It has a lot of history - the Enola Gay crew trained here at a now run-down air base. For those not up on their history, the Enola Gay was the bomber which dropped the A-bomb on Hiroshima in 1945.
Couldn't believe how much rain we it coming across. It seemed like there was one squall after another - not used to that kind of weather in Nevada. Tomorrow we head into Utah and pass through Salt Lake City and into the Wasatch Mountains. Hopefully, we'll have better weather and see some of the great scenery.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Reno, Nevada (start of the journey)
Sunday, May 17th, Reno, Nevada:
Well, tomorrow we start our journey east for the graduations in Fargo, ND and then on to Rochester, NY and Morrisville, VT. While we have no definite itinerary, right now our plans are to travel across Nevada tomorrow and stay at West Wendover at the Peppermill (now, why does that name sound familiar). We're hoping we'll be able to play golf in Wendover, but a lot depends on the weather - right now it isn't looking favorable.
On Tuesday, we going to go through Utah and into Wyoming. That day will consist of half I-80 and half back roads through Wyoming to either Thermopolis or Buffalo. Then the third day, we'll drive to Mott, ND (still on a combination of Interstate and back roads). We're staying in Mott because I would like to explore some of the places where Vi's family lived. I've been in touch with the caretaker at St Peter and St Paul Cemetery where her great-grandfather (on the Schlosser side) is buried. Evidently, the old church is still there - abandoned, but still standing.
Just wanted to give you all an idea of what our "plans" are, all is subject to change depending on weather or our whims.
Well, tomorrow we start our journey east for the graduations in Fargo, ND and then on to Rochester, NY and Morrisville, VT. While we have no definite itinerary, right now our plans are to travel across Nevada tomorrow and stay at West Wendover at the Peppermill (now, why does that name sound familiar). We're hoping we'll be able to play golf in Wendover, but a lot depends on the weather - right now it isn't looking favorable.
On Tuesday, we going to go through Utah and into Wyoming. That day will consist of half I-80 and half back roads through Wyoming to either Thermopolis or Buffalo. Then the third day, we'll drive to Mott, ND (still on a combination of Interstate and back roads). We're staying in Mott because I would like to explore some of the places where Vi's family lived. I've been in touch with the caretaker at St Peter and St Paul Cemetery where her great-grandfather (on the Schlosser side) is buried. Evidently, the old church is still there - abandoned, but still standing.
Just wanted to give you all an idea of what our "plans" are, all is subject to change depending on weather or our whims.
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