Sorry ...

For the long break. We made it into Seattle on Monday and have been very, very busy ever since. Updates from the rest of our road trip and more pictures will follow soon.

Beartooth Highway

On Friday, most of our day was spent driving to our KOA Kampground in West Yellowstone, MT. Our route took us out of South Dakota, to Wyoming, to Montana, back into Wyoming, back into Montana, back into Wyoming again, and finally ending in Montana. Thus, we saw many state signs. While not necessarily the most direct route, it was definitely the coolest.

In Wyoming, the landscape was still somewhat barren and flat, but it didn't take long before we were driving through large hills the size of the Appalachians. Main attractions along the route included horse ranches, small oil fields, and refineries (which smelled awful!). Before we entered Montana we got our first view of the Rockies in the distance. We came over one of the large hills and there the were standing like huge giants in the distance, some with bits of snow still on top. We were disappointed when I-90 turned to detour around the mountains.

Crossing over into Montana, things were much the same. Until Beartooth Highway. In preparing our itinerary for the trip, I had checked the Scenic Byways website for any possible scenic routes and one that was heavily suggested was Beartooth Highway. This turned out to be well worth it. I'm not going to try to spend much time describing it because it will be better to just look at the pictures (once I get them uploaded), but I will say a few things. The Volvo reached 11,000 ft on this drive. (For comparison, Mt. Washington, the highest peak in the northeast, has an altitude of 6,288 ft.) We spent a lot of time driving on switchbacks up the mountain side and getting out of the car to snap pictures and admire the view. One of the vistas had a lot of chipmunks that were as brave as the squirrels on PSU campus. One of the chipmunks was almost 3 times the size of a normal chipmunk and particularly brave; more proof that tourists must feed them a LOT. There was one point that we walked a good distance from the car to look at a deer downhill, and we walked briskly to get back to the Volvo. When we got back in the car we realized we were out of breath from that little bit of exertion. Then we remembered the atmosphere is a lot thinner at 11,000 ft. The temperature was down to 50 degrees F at 4:00 PM. There were also bits of snow/ice on these peaks within walking distance. Tyler says I should be calling them "glaciers" but I continue to call it snow.

The end of Beartooth Highway brings you to Cooke City, MT. A very, very small town nestled in the mountains just outside the northeastern entrance to Yellowstone. We ate dinner at a restaurant in this area, and it was surprisingly good, despite being in the middle of nowhere. We entered Yellowstone. It was after 7:00 PM at this point, and they say dusk is a good time to see wildlife. Not long after entering the gates we saw a bison all by itself. This was followed by an elk. Further along was a herd of bison in the distance. Then a pronghorn. Suddenly we were looking ahead at the road and saw an animal running across directly in front of a van that was coming towards us. It didn't take long to realize it was a bear! As we sped up to see the bear, we saw the telltale golden fur of a grizzly. The grizzly slowed as it reached the top of a hill on our side of the road and we watched as it lumbered slowly on. The rest of the trip through Yellowstone was uneventful as the sun set.

We reached the KOA at about 10:00 PM and it was really cold. Most of Yellowstone and the surrounding area is above 6500 ft, so it gets pretty chilly at night. We quickly set up the tent and went to bed. While it was freezing outside, we stayed warm in the sleeping bags. The only thing that was cold for me was my nose, which felt like it was going to fall off. I made Tyler walk me to the bathrooms at 4:30 AM because I was afraid of running into a bear, and when he was checking the weather the next day he informed me that it got down to 40 degrees F that night and the coldest point was at 4:30 AM. :-)

Things We Forgot To Mention ...

While driving through South Dakota there was one sight that we found particularly strange and beautiful at the same time. Fields of sunflowers. Literally, fields the size of corn fields. The vibrant yellow heads against the dull brown background looked strange, yet somehow amazing. You could look into the distance and see hills of bright yellow and orange. The sides of the road also yielded smaller runaway sunflowers that must have been carried on the wind. These small rebels continued to be found along the road even after we had passed all the fields. Unfortunately, I was unable to get any pictures because my camera battery decided to die, and by the time I had charged it, we had left the golden fields in the dust ... literally :-).

The southern end of Minnesota is considered the northern end of the corn belt (according to my dad, and he should know). Therefore, we saw ridiculously huge fields of corn. There would be miles of corn fields, and then a small farm. Then more miles of corn fields, in all directions. There were a few large feed mills to go along with the general farming society that is southern Minnesota. It also appeared that some of the farmers had decided to cash-in on wind energy. Huge wind turbines could be seen spread out for miles over sections of fields. In some areas there were probably over 20 wind turbines in eye-sight. To me, it was kinda freaky to see this mechanical monstrosities towering over the country landscape. I kept wondering what would happen if one of the blades fell off, or what they do when a tornado comes through and rips one of the blades off. The blades are pointy and huge, probably a couple times longer than the Volvo.

Their method for road construction in SD, WY and MT, involves closing the entire side of the highway they are working on and re-routing traffic to the opposite side of the highway. Despite the magnitude of the construction, we experienced no delays. There is so little traffic on I-90 in these states that there is no problem with turning an interstate road into a single lane road.

Oh and did I mention that we've had a 75 mph speed limit since Minnesota?

The Black Hills

Thursday we started out from our motel in Chamberlain, SD and continued to cruise through the flat and bleak grasslands. We made a stop at Wall Drug Store to see what all the hubbub was about. It was a cute little shopping center, heavily western themed to look like an old west town, and with lots of cowboy and South Dakota merchandise. Our only purchases included a set of pocket knives, Tyler's a nice Buck Knife (which came in handy while camping), and mine a Victorinox Key Chain pocket knife. Oh, and Tyler has been collecting shot glasses along our travels; I'll make sure to take a picture of the collection at the end of the trip.

After leaving Wall, we headed for Bear Country USA. A few miles before we reached Bear Country the landscape got really interesting with large hills covered in pine trees. Bear Country's drive-through zoo was well worth it. While the elk, wolves, sheep, goats, and waterfowl, were not that impressive, the bears were. There were dozens of bears spread out over a large area of grassy hills with man-made caves and pools for them to play in. We were literally a few feet from the black bears. And many times we had to move slowly, or stop to wait as one of them walked in front of the Volvo. It was awesome! There were also a bunch of mountain lions in one section. We were lucky enough to see one of them climbing in the trees over the cars as we were pulling up to the mountain lion area. Unfortunately, it was too far to get a good picture. The park also had a few Bison, which Tyler had never seen before, and he was sure to point out right away how goofey they looked with their over-sized heads. At the end of the drive-through section, there was also Babyland. This was like a typical zoo, except with no cages, just fenced in areas. Here we saw two full-size grizzly bears, a lot of baby black bear cubs, badgers, skunks, porcupines (eating corn-on-the-cob), foxes, coyotes, grey wolves, racoons, beavers, bobcats, and otters.

After Bear Country we were running ahead of schedule and decided to drive down to Custer State Park and try to hit Needles Highway. This drive was amazing. Very soon after we started we stopped the car at a random spot because we could see a vista through the trees and got out of the car. We suddenly realized you could see Mt. Rushmore from where we were. We climbed to the top of a large boulder and looked out at the huge valley below Mt. Rushmore. It was incredible. Then we proceeded up the road to find tunnels cut into the rock that framed Mt. Rushmore in the distance. Going up and come down the mountain provided a lot of vistas, both of the Mt. Rushmore valley and of the plains that we had traveled across.

Finally, we made it to Needles Highway. This part of the trip provided spectacular views of interesting rock formations caused by wind erosion. This culminated in the area where the "Needle's Eye" (a perfectly eroded hole that looks like the eye of a needle) is located. Here we got out of the Volvo to climb around on some of the rocks. There will be lots of pictures of this area of the park on my Flickr account once I have time to upload them.

Finally, we made it to the KOA Kampground, and it was surprisingly nice. Our camping spot put us in a nice wooded area alongside other tents and a few cabins, with a brand-new shower/laundry/bathroom building very close by. They also had a pool, hot tub, pub, restaurant, grocery store, camping store, horse-back riding, and outdoor movie theater. We cooked dinner on the campfire in our new cast-iron frying pan: bacon, hot dogs, eggs, and toast. Then we headed to bed early.

This morning we woke at 6 AM to get an early start on our drive to Yellowstone. We showered, and ate breakfast at the pancake tent where they sold all you can eat pancakes for $2.50 a person. They were delicious; just like "Uncle Bill's" fluffy pancakes.

On to Yellowstone.

Driving Across the Midwest

We spent all of Wednesday driving across Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and South Dakota. It was an extremely long day, leaving at 9:30 AM and arriving at our hotel around 9:30 PM. It was also amazingly dull. The midwestern states are extremely flat, with the exception of Wisconsin which had some rolling hills that looked like they belong on the Windows XP wallpaper. In the beginning, it was interesting to see the huge fields of corn and soybeans, but towards the end we were getting tired of seeing the same thing over and over again. Especially when we got to the grasslands of South Dakota. It seemed as though the scenery had just gotten progressively bleaker. However, we did see an interesting sunset while driving in South Dakota, and we picked up cheddar cheese curd in Wisconsin.

Then there were the road signs in South Dakota. Sign upon sign of lovely tourist trap delights. The corn palace, world's largest bull-head sculpture (which we took pictures of from the road), country stores, Wall Drug Store (which was actually quite interesting), Reptile Gardens, Mt. Rushmore Cave, Mt. Rushmore Motels, 1880 town, Cosmos Mystery Area, and so many more. All of these signs started advertising at least 300 miles before the actual location. There were more billboards than people on the road, or houses on the landscape, combined. The slogan for South Dakota should be "land of billboards." Also, the rest stops along I-90 all had Tipi's in South Dakota.

All-in-all a somewhat boring day. We would never want to live in any of the places we drove through on Wednesday.

Wrigley Field

We spent the majority of yesterday recovering from our travels and pampering ourselves with room service. Around late afternoon we headed for the Red Line Subway to catch the train up to Addison Street, the home of Wrigley Field. We arrived there a few hours early and were able to secure back-row seats in the first level of bleacher seats. This way we had a bar to rest our backs on. The seats were just to the right of center field, giving us an awesome view of the plate. The concessions stands were also right behind us on the main concourse.

The game was rather boring for the first few innings, with the Cubs scoring one run and the Reds hardly moving around the bases. Towards the end of the game, things got a little more interesting, with the Reds failing to get a run and the Cubs getting 4 more in the 8th inning.

The crowd was interesting, being a mix of older hardcore fans and younger frat-boy drunks who did more standing around talking about how drunk they were and when and how much they couldn't remember than actually watching the game. But, nonetheless it was entertaining. After the game, we managed to snag a few souvenirs: a nice blue shot glass for Tyler and a cute pinstripe tee for me.

The journey back to the hotel was interesting as well. The bars around Wrigley Field looked and sounded ridiculously packed after the game, so we avoided them. There was also a huge line to get back onto the Red Line Subway. However, it moved fairly fast, and we were on the train within 10 minutes. They seem to know what they're doing on game nights. We made it back to the hotel with no further run-ins with jovial crack-heads and after uploading some more photos, went to bed to prepare for the 10 1/2 hour drive we had ahead of us.

All in all, a good night.

Chicago Culture

Arrived yesterday in Chicago around 1:30 PM central time after driving through Indiana, which apparently has Amish and that's about it. We're staying at the Avenue Hotel right in downtown Chicago and it is overbearingly classy, which means we have to tip everyone. The 3-hub-capped-Volvo-with-a-chair-roped-on-top is valet parked with all the other luxury cars. We are on the 37th floor with a view of both the city and Lake Michigan from a window that spans the entire wall. This is also our first experience with a minibar, but unfortuately we cannot figure out how to open it so I guess we do not deserve anything inside. We'd call the front desk and ask, but we already valet parked the Volvo and don't want to embarrass ourselves any further.

After examining our accommodations we walked a few blocks to the originator of Chicago-style deep dish pizza, Pizzeria Uno. It is some serious pizza, we ordered a small pan and we barely finished half. It was phenomenal; loaded with sausage, peppers, onions, pepperoni, cheese, and sauce and encompassed by a crispy pie-like crust.

We came back to the hotel to digest for a little while before venturing out into the city. We walked around with heads cocked up to the sky and a camera out like a couple of tourists making our way down to Millenium Park. There we stumbled upon some interpretive dancers around a fountain. I was embarrassed for them.

Also in the park is a very interesting sculpture of a giant bean with a metallic finish which is strategically placed to reflect the entire skyline of the city. More walking revealed that the park gets stranger, with a fountain that can't be described, just watch the video below:

For dinner we walked to the Indian Garden, hailed by some as the best Indian in Chicago. We ordered Chicken Tikka Masala (chunks of chicken in a tomato-curry sauce) and Tandoori Chicken (chicken marinated in yogurt and roasted in a clay oven). Along with our dishes we ordered Jasmine rice and garlic naan. The food was amazing.

After dinner, we dragged our sluggish bodies to Blue Chicago, one of the popular blues bars in Chicago. We had a few drinks at the no-frills bar and listened to some of the best music either of us have heard in a bar. It sounded much more professional than what we are used to.

On our walk back we were enaged by a crack-head. Usually, my homeless policy is to ignore them, but this woman was particular clever. After seeing Amanda and I walking hand-in-hand she approached me and said, "So this is who you've been cheating on me with." I tried to ignore her, but couldn't help chuckling at her joke. She then got to the point, asking for change; but, sticking to my policy, I politely turned her down. Thanking me for "at least talking to her" she then disappeared into the night.

Miles Traveled Today: 294 Miles
Total Mileage: 755 Miles

Cedar Point

We rode roller coasters the entire day, and it was awesome! But, now our feet hurt from standing in line all day. We spent about 10 hours at Cedar Point and were able to ride 9 of the 17 roller coasters available at the park.

I think the highlight was Top Thrill Dragster. The world's second tallest (420 ft) and second fastest ( 0-120 mph in 3.8 sec ) roller coaster. Also, Wicked Twister, the world's tallest (215) and fastest (72 mph) inverted coaster. See video below:

Our other favorites included:

• Mantis - a stand-up coaster with loops and corkscrews
• Maverick - the newest coaster, and wildest ride at Cedar Point
• Millenium Force - 93 mph and 310 ft

Overall, the best thing about the day was that we went to an amusement park and rode ONLY roller coasters ... all day!

Miles Traveled Today: 50 miles

Total Mileage: 456 miles

The First Leg

So we were able to take the Turnpike almost the whole way to Cleveland. And, there were a few firsts along the way, including:

• Digital Speed Limit Signs - They must change the speed limit?
• Multiple Tunnels - I guess it was cheaper to blast a hole?
• "Remove Sunglasses" signs - for the tunnels
• Wind Turbines - they're huge!!!!
• GM car plant - also huge ...

Wooooh! How Exciting ... :-P

The Turnpike in Ohio was boring and everyone drives like they're 80. There was a point where the speed limit was 50 mph on the interstate! But, Cleveland is a cute, clean little city and surprisingly barren for a Saturday night ... with the exception of the biker round-up outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was better than we expected it to be. They have a lot of really interesting items and information on display. Some things to note:

• Janis Joplin's awesome Hippie Porsche
• A handwritten letter from Madonna when she was in College! (Sounded freakily familiar and relatable.)
• A whole floor dedicated to The Doors. Morrison is interesting.
• Massively large display from THE WALL with huge moving school teacher.
• The best guitar by our opinion - Led Zeppelin Bass
• John Lennon's Piano
• "Hey Jude" original score outline
• Lots of really cool original concert posters.
• Really weird MTV music video montage (hard to describe)

As a side note, our hotel is very clean and comfortable. One down, three more to go.

Miles Traveled Today: 406 miles

Total Mileage: 406 miles

The Cube

The adorable 6' x 7' x 8' cube came on Thursday night at 4:30 PM. At first glance, we were a little worried. But, the couch fit ... vertically. We commenced packing and around 11 PM we started looking for any odds & ends items we might want to take. In the end we had more than enough space and probably could have packed many more boxes. (We probably could have fit that green recliner ;-)) It was strange to see all of our life's possessions crammed into one little box.

Another interesting note. The same guy who dropped off the cube, was the one to pick it up. So far ABF has provided us with a very intimate and good experience. We'll see if that opinion changes when we open the cube in Seattle.

Ta-Dah!

New Banner, New Look ...

It took me awhile, but the banner is finally up ... and I couldn't be happier about how it turned out! I even made a nice wallpaper for my computer from the image. I think that will be my background for the next few weeks.

A week from today we will be finished packing and probably going to bed to prepare for a week's worth of driving ...

Preparing for the Big Move

Our itinerary is slowly coming together ...

I've taken the time to make a personalized google map of all our stops. While this doesn't show the direct route, it gives an idea of what we would like to see. Also, later I'll be able to upload pictures from those locations.

Summer 2008 Road Trip - Lancaster to Seattle

Make sure to check back for information about pictures (on Flickr) and any additional updates.