Mountains, and Arches and Canyons, OH MY!

Hello from Day 34 in Tucumcari, New Mexico on Historic Route 66!

The Blue Swallow, one of the few motels that’s still a going concern on Route 66 in Tucumcari, NM

I thought I’d start with a recap of the Trip Stats as of today before I pick up where we left off. We have:

Driven about 7,500 kilometers, that’s 135 hours of driving in 34 days!
Visited 7 National Parks (Badlands, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Arches, Canyonlands and Mesa Verde), 3 National Monuments (Devil’s Tower, Mount Rushmore and Chimney Rock) and a cave!
Had an absolute hoot exploring the highways and byways of America with very little friction, given that we 3 creatures are living in about 180 square feet and have been together 24×7 for 34 days!

The last blog recapped our time in Yellowstone so to continue, on Day 21, we crossed the Continental Divide 3 times on our winding Yellowstone road and then left the park by the South Exit and travelled to Grand Teton National Park.

For those of you who are curious, the Continental Divide marks the spot where rivers flow towards either East towards the Atlantic or west to the Pacific. A place of transition, how very appropriate for we wanders.

As we entered Grand Teton, we stopped at Flagg Ranch visitor center to picnic, pick up park maps and get some advise on hiking trails from the rangers. As a bonus, we met a cool retired couple from Pennsylvania who were cruising around on electric bikes in the parking lot and they let us both have a go on the “Ariel Flyer”, made in Germany. Lots of fun to ride with power assistance – totally different feeling from pure peddle-power.

We drove through the park and knew we were in the Tetons when we saw the lofty and jagged Teton peaks looking like they were rising directly out of Jackson Lake. The mountains and the water with almost no transition in between them make a stunning scenery cocktail!

Jackson Lake and our first peek at the peaks!

We set up camp just outside the park in Moran, WY and drove back in to explore. At our first scenic turnout, Elk Ranch, we saw a herd of Bison grazing and as we were watching them, 3 Pronghorn galloped across the meadow. Impeccable timing!

Bison with a mountain chaser – that’s what I’m talking about!

Continuing on south on route 191 through the park, we stopped off at the Snake River Turnout and learned how these incredible, rugged mountain peaks were formed.

About 100 million years ago, a collision of tectonic plates along the west coast of North America bowed-up a huge block of sedimentary rock deposited by ancient seas. About 10 million years ago, movement on the Teton fault caused massive earthquakes – the mountains rose up and the valley floor dropped. The vertical displacement is about 30,000 feet!! The highest peak, Grand Teton, is at 13,770 feet and the valley floor is 6,800 feet above sea level, creating a very dramatic backdrop that’s so impossibly beautiful and incongruous, it looks as if it was a painted backdrop for a stage.

If the earthquakes started the job, erosion has carried on the work of sculpting this rocky aerie. About 2 million years ago, vast glaciers up to 3,500 feet thick flowed south from Yellowstone and filled the valley. Today, there are still 11 glaciers in existence on the high peaks. When we stopped at the Glacier Turnout to learn more about how the ice flows did their work, we met a couple traveling with their grandson and they lent us their “Live a Great Story” flag so we could snap a picture.

At the time, I didn’t know the scoop on the flag but after posting the picture, I found out it’s a movement out of Austin, Texas that embraces living a full life and one of my old pals, David Jobe, knows the founder. That small world thang kicking in again!

We continued our tour, driving up the interior road that’s closer to the mountains and stopped at the Cathedral Group Turnout. Cool story here – we stood on the exact spot where Ansel Adams took one of his best-known Grand Teton phots! The view of Teewinot, Grand Teton, and Mount Owen from this angle is stunning and again, I cried. There’s something about mountains and me…

Nature’s Cathedral – man can’t touch this majesty

After that, we did the Jenny Lake drive and hiked a short distance with Cassie on the trail before heading back to camp for the evening. Jenny Lake is so very beautiful, with tall pines buffeting the winds as they blow across the water, leaving wind-shaped ripples in their wake.

That night, there was a storyteller at our campground so we were entertained by Cracker Jack around the fire pit as we watched the sun set behind the mountains. His best story was about a diner that always had dirty plates and the owner’s excuse was they there as clean as “cold water” could get him. Can you guess the punchline? Cold Water was a dog!

Day 22 found us out in a raft on the Snake River doing a 10 mile float trip downstream from Deadman’s Bar to the Moose Visitor Center. It was a great 2 hours on the water and interesting to chat to our guide about some of the most memorable questions he is asked by tourists. The best ones were, “What time do they let the animals out?” And “Does the crew live on the raft?” (See pictures below). Alas, we didn’t see any moose that day (I guess the keepers forgot to let them out!) but we did see 4 bald eagles.

Another small world story, in our raft of 12 people, there was a fun family from Illinois who’s son is now a Veterinarian in Jackson, WY so we were able to get some local intel on where we could taking Cassie hiking as she’s barred from the National Park trails. Dr. Joe, DVM, recommended Cache Creek so the three of us happily spent the afternoon hiking though this great trail system in Jackson.

After the hike, we went into town to the central square, described by our veteran raft guide as “Disneyland”. He wasn’t far off – very touristy but hey, when you’re a tourist, you actually do want to see archways made of Elk Antlers. And, before you get too worried about all those horns piled up, no Elks were harmed in the making of the arches – they naturally shed their antlers and these are collected by local scouts to make the tourist attraction.

No elk were harmed in the creation of this arch

On Day 23, it was Mick’s 58th birthday and while we were walking Cassie, we met a couple of women who had just retired from the State of Connecticut and one of them used to live in Mystic! For a country so vast, we have been continuously amazed by the “small world” connections we’ve found!

To celebrate The Mickster’s day, we did a beautiful 6 mile hike around Two Oceans Lake – the first half through alpine meadows with the Tetons as the backdrop and the second half hugging the lakeshore. We saw very few people on the trail – and one group we exchanged hellos with said they had seen a Bull Moose across the lake where we had just come from.

Getting out the binos, we had a good view of Mr. Moose wallowing in the shallows and breakfasting on aquatic plants on the other side of the lake. Another interesting fact we learned: Moose can dive down underwater up to 18 feet! Who knew?!? And how did they land on 18 feet instead of 15 or 20? Did they hold a Moose Diving Competition? See how travel broadens your horizons and get your brain working?

We continued on our trail thinking that was all of the good wildlife spotting luck we would have that day and then heard a commotion coming from the water’s edge just ahead. It was a gorgeous female moose making her way down to the water! The 2 moose sightings were a great birthday gift for Mick!

Mick’s second, and up close and personal Birthday Moose

We went back to camp and picked up Cassie and took her to Colter Bay for a swim and walk. A bit busier than other areas of the park, Colter Bay is still fun – great grocery store with yummy ice cream.

I could definitely have spent WAY MORE time in Grand Teton and hope someday we can go back for more hiking and kayaking. To me, as much as I loved Yellowstone, Tetons is a more manageable size and therefore less overwhelming. It was also way less crowded with other tourists which we really appreciated.

Day 24 found us on the road again, driving south along Route 89 to St. Charles, Idaho near Bear Lake. The drive again didn’t disappoint – following the Snake River and through the Bridger – Teton National forest. Arriving at our campground in St. Charles, I noticed a photocopied leaflet for Minnetonka Cave, just 10 miles away. We decided to check it out as there wasn’t much else going on in St. Charles (aside from amazing potatoes – they were delicious!).

WOW, was the cave fantastic! Discovered in the 1920’s, it’s a limestone cave up in the hills of the Cache National Forest. It was found by a grouse hunter who’s bird fell down onto a ledge – when he went to retrieve it, he felt cold air around his ankles and discovered the hidden entrance as it maintains a cool temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit year round.

We were lucky to have Cheyenne, a geology student and 7 year veteran at the cave, as our guide for the 1/2 mile hike into it’s depths. We climbed about 770 steps, visiting different “rooms” filled with stalagmites, stalactites, columns and “bacon”. Cave bacon are mineral ribbons that form over thousands of years as water finds its way through the stone along the same path – and because there’s also iron in the mineral mix, when you shine a light through these ribbons, yup, you guessed it, it looks like bacon. And what name have the guides given the BIGGEST bacon ribbon in the cave? KEVIN (duh)!

Day 25 was another travel day and we overnighted in Provo, Utah, where we visited Larry Miller Dodge to have the Ram’s oil changed. You know you’re driving a LONG way when you have to have an oil change half way around. It was a great customer service experience, and we met Jay, a retired police office who’s now working part time at the dealer. Cassie made lots of friends as pretty much everyone on staff came by to give her some fuss as we were waiting for the truck!

Cool storage facility next to camp in Provo, UT – the owner collects vintage signs

Day 26 was our travel day to Moab, Utah and we drove across 70 East to 191 South – again, incredible scenery on the road! Huge buttes (and that’s pronounced bee-ooots, not “buts” for all you Bevis and Butheads out there that keep LOLing my social media posts where that word appears!), Badland Cliffs, Roan Plateau and Book Cliffs.

After setting up camp, we drove into Arches National Park with Cassie to see the sights. Arches is a magical place! The towering sandstone formations and soaring natural arches are mind boggling! There are over 2,000 natural stone arches here.

Arches National Park – arches and MORE! This is Courthouse Rock and Park Avenue

So again, we are witnessing the artistry that the combination of water and ice can create given 100,000 years of time to work within. As best they can tell, geologists believe an underground salt bed is responsible for the arches, spires, balanced rocks, sandstone fins and eroded monoliths. Thousands of feet thick in some places, the salt was deposited across the Colorado Plateau 300 million years ago when a sea flowed into the region and then eventually evaporated.

Balanced Rock – look closely and you’ll see tiny people in this picture on the nearby smaller rock

Over millions of years, the salt bed was covered in debris that became rock. Salt under pressure is unstable so as the bed shifted, buckled and repositioned itself, it thrust the rock layers up, creating domes. That’s where erosion, ice and water come in, slicing up these domes into fins, and eventually some the fins become arches.

Pine Tree Arch out in the Devil’s Garden

Back at camp, we had a beautiful sunset and snapped some fab pictures of the old western style schoolhouse that’s on the property (apparently it’s been used in movies, and I can totally believe it!).

Day 27 was our day to hike in Arches as we boarded Cassie at a local vet’s for the day. We did the 3 mile hike out to Delicate Arch – it was a good hard slog especially with the heat and elevation. Although there were quite a few other folks out there, it didn’t spoil it. Native Americans believed that the Arches are portals into another world and after standing under them myself, I can understand why. It defies all logic that rock arches can span great distances and endure for eons so it must be magic!

In the afternoon, we hiked in the Devils Garden and were really lucky to have one of the few cloudy days of the trip so far – the clouds moved in and kept the temperatures in the 90’s a bit cooler than the 100+ degrees we’d had the day before walking around Moab.

We visited the Tunnel Arch, the Pine Tree Arch and the Landscape Arch. The Landscape Arch is the longest free standing natural stone arch in the world and in 1991, a rock slab 60 feet long, 11 feet wide and 4 feet thick fell from the underside, leaving an even thinner ribbon of rock. This is a landscape that’s constantly changing – slowly but relentlessly as time, temperature, water and ice wield their carving tools.

Our last hike of the day was out to the Double Arch in the Window’s Section… again, the size of these soaring, giant spans defies belief and standing underneath them is awe-inspiring.

On Day 28, we visited Canyonlands National Park, about a 30 mile drive from our camp in Moab. On the way, of course there was more stunning scenery and of particular interest were 2 large Buttes named the Monitor and the Merrimac as they resemble the 2 iron-sided civil war ships facing off in a battle of the high “sea” of the Colorado Plain.

The Monitor and The Merimac, facing off on the Colorado Plateau

We chose to visit the Island in the Sky area, just barely scratching the surface of this 527 square mile, remote and wild park. There are very few paved roads and one areas of the park is accessible only by 4 wheel drive vehicles via gravel tracks.

Water and gravity are the architects here, cutting the flat layers of sedimentary rock into hundreds of canyons, mesas, buttes, arches, fins and spires. The Green and Colorado Rivers have done spectacular work!

The name “Island in the Sky” is so very fitting – even before we stood at the canyon’s rim looking down 2,200 feet to the lowest part, we could feel the elevation somehow. In some primal way, our bodies and senses knew we were on the high ground.

We stood on the edges of Shafer Canyon and Buck Canyon and looked down to the “white rim” 1,200 feet below us and to the very bottom where the Green River runs, 1,000 feet below that! The wind and bird calls were the only sounds filling this deep, alien landscape.

Over the past 7 days, we experienced 13,000 foot jagged mountain peaks, grassland valleys home to bison, elk, moose and pronghorn, beautiful lakes, running rivers, deep limestone caverns, soaring sandstone arches, and canyons that would look at home on Mars were it not for the rivers still flowing through their lowest parts. What a wild and beautiful world we live in – my heart is full and I can testify that being immersed in the natural world is truly soul-food!

The road less travelled in Shafer Canyon, Canyonlands

Stay tuned for the next installment as we start heading back East to civilization, starting with Mesa Verde National Park.

The Yellowstone Edition – WOW. Just WOW

Featured

Hello, My Peeps!

I am sitting here on Day 30 of The Epic Adventure (in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado) and feeling so very grateful to be having this experience! It’s been amazing and overwhelming at times… and the theme is definitely one of gratitude – for this time to re-energize and connect with the vast and wondrous country that is America!

When last I left off, we were just about to start our time in Yellowstone National Park. Although I had done some research on the park – you know, stats and figures and main attractions – it didn’t prepare me at all for the real thing. My first day in Yellowstone I really felt unsettled – overwhelmed, excited and totally daunted by this huge collection of sensory overload that is this park.

Reflecting back, I think it was my type-A personality kicking in as I realized there was no way I could see and experience even a fraction of what was here. I just had to give in, let my overachieving self go, and ease into the “let’s do more of less” approach that Mick and I landed on.

On Day 17, after setting up camp in Wapiti, we had time to do an afternoon “orientation” driving safari and entered through the east gate. We crossed over the Sylvan Pass at 8,630 feet and had incredible views of Yellowstone Lake as we descended to Fishing Bridge.

There we were treated to seeing a small herd of Bison, right off the road about 20 yards from our truck. These creatures are MASSIVE and it was so cool to see them chilling out, almost as if they were posing for us voyeurs.

We drove north to the Mud Volcano area and had a quick look at the more accessible spots as we had Cassie – and Yellowstone is unfortunately not very dog friendly. It’s understandable, though, you definitely don’t want to disturb the native wildlife (or draw bears as apparently they LOVE dogs too but as meals, not companions!) and it can be dangerous around the thermal areas.

Our first taste of the incredible geothermal activity in the park was Dragon’s Mouth Spring – a cave in the side of the hillside that belches steam and sounds as if it’s roaring. And right near by there are pools of boiling mud. It’s a very strange sight and it’s hard to accept it as reality – you really don’t expect the earth to do that!

Bubbling mud and steam coming from the Dragon’s Mouth Spring – CrayCray!

When we later toured the Historical Museum on Day 19, we read that early Yellowstone visitors tried have their travelogues published and were rejected by East Coast publishers as they refused to print “fantasy”.

Continuing north into the Hayden Valley, we again saw a herd of Bison in the grassland – this time alongside the clear running Yellowstone River and with Mount Washburn as the backdrop, towering 10,243 above.

And then, we went to The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. I am not ashamed to say that I cried. The rugged canyon’s sheer yellow rock walls contrasted with the water cascading over Upper (at 109 feet) and Lower Falls at (309 feet) was heart-changing. I describe myself as more spiritual than religious and standing there at the edge, I could see the hand of the creator.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone – awesome!

By then it was getting late and we had a 30+ mile drive back to Wapiti (through the gorgeous Shoshone National Forest so not really a hardship) once we got back to the East Gate.

On Day 18, we moved from Wapiti over to West Yellowstone in Montana and to the “Taj Ma Campground”, Grizzly RV Park. We drove through the park from the East Gate to the West Gate and stopped in Fishing Bridge to grab a coffee (and see the auto repair shop as Mick had a professional interest) where I asked a young man working there for the summer what his favourite day hike was. He recommended Fairy Falls out to Imperial Geyser so we put that on our list of things to do – nothing like a bit of local knowledge!

At Camp, our site backed on to the Custer-Gallatin National Park – where dogs are welcome – so we set up and took Cassie for a 2 hour hike through the trails. She’s really come into her own as a hiker during this trip!

We explored West Yellowstone that afternoon as well – pretty commercial and touristy but nice with it, and we went to a fabulous ice cream place where I tried the Honey Lavender Huckleberry. It was delish!

On Day 19, we got an early start to beat some of the crowds and arrived at the Midway Geyser Basin by 9 am, leaving Cassie tucked in at the trailer with the AC as she wasn’t allowed on the trails. As we approached the basin, there were lots of steam plumes coming from the ground as the cool morning air was much colder than the hot springs below.

We walked through the boardwalk area for a close up view of the Excelsior Geyser Crate and the Grand Prismatic Spring, which was difficult to see as it was covered in fog – but the cool thing was, the fog actually took on the colours of the pool below and we could see blue tones in the centre and red at the edges in the mist.

From there, we parked a short distance away at the Fairy Falls trail head and started our hike as recommended by our young friend, the barista in Fishing Bridge. It was a great trail, flat and through a pine forest. As we got close to the falls, we met a couple hiking with 2 young boys about 10 years old.

Like you do when you’re travelling, we said hello and exchanged stories – I noticed that Max, one of the kids, was wearing a Watch Hill shirt so asked if it was from Rhode Island. Turns out Sarah’s mom was from Westerly and went to Stonington High School. Talk about a small world! She and her husband Brian and son Leo live in Brooklyn and they’ve spent lots of time in Misquamicut and Westerly and Mystic. We hiked to the falls with them, took pictures and exchanged emails.

Fairy Falls was such a treat – a well over a 100 feet tall, the water fell in 2 cascades from the cliff to form a cold pool that flowed across the lower meadow in a stream. We couldn’t resist dipping our hands in and the kids took of the sneakers to walk in the fresh water. And, the best part was there were hardly any other visitors there.

We found in all the National Parks we’ve visited so far, that once you’re more than a 1/4 mile away from the road on a trail, the crowds thin remarkably.

We left our new friends to continue the hike to Imperial Geyser about another 1/3 of a mile out. We arrived to find it gushing continuously, sometimes as high as 20 feet! It was surrounded by a clear, steaming turquoise pool and some bubbling mud pots thrown in for good measure.

Curious about how geysers work, I later read that the plumes of hot water jetting into the sky are a combination of heated water and underground “plumbing”. When the pressure builds to a tipping point, it erupts to relieve itself.

That’s a pretty good metaphors for creatively handling life’s stressors – when your “plumbing” is overwhelmed, you have to find ways to periodically let off steam. Personally, I recommend semi-retirement and travelling as the ultimate stress managers 🙂

There was a short, steep hike up a nearby hill so we decided that perch would make a great snack spot so huffed our way up – the 6,000 foot altitude makes the air a bit thin! From there, we could see both the Fairy Falls across the valley and look down on the geyser.

As we were the only people there for a bit, we nicknamed it our “Private Geyser” (yes, sung to the Tina Tune of “Private Dancer” lol). While we were hiking down to Imperial again, Sarah, Brian and the boys arrived so we had another chance to chat before hiking out.

On the way back, we followed the heated stream that Imperial creates as the water flows up and out. It was an otherworldly landscape created by the steaming stream trickling through the red and white mineralized rocks.

Further downstream, the water is still hot enough to change the landscape

Our last stop on the hike was a stop at the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook, a side trail that gives a birds eye view out over the turquoise, green, red and yellow pool. As it was afternoon by the time we had hiked out, the air temperature had equalized enough and the mist had lifted to give us a spectacular view over this natural wonder. A bucket list check off for me, for sure!

There are 3 things to know about the Grand Prismatic Spring: 1) it’s GRAND 2) it’s a prismatic rainbow burst of Colour 3) it’s a SPRING!

It was an awesome 5 mile hike with 3 great pay offs!

That afternoon, we took Cassie back into West Yellowstone and the lovely History Museum staff member let her in so she could tour through with us. We learned about the earthquake in 1966 that changes the park landscape and created a new lake and the forest fire in 1988 that destroyed hundreds of acres of forest and almost burned down The Old Faithful Inn.

We also learned about the pioneers who settled the area in the 1890s and early 1920s and 30s visitors who arrived via the newly completed Union Pacific railroad. There was a restaurant at the station called The Beanery and it was staffed by young women called The Beanery Queens – one of their job requirements was they had sing to the guests! Talk about my dream job 🙂

As the capstone to a very full day 19, we visited the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery center where bears and wolves who can no longer survive in the wild find sanctuary. Their focus is on educating people to leave wild animals alone as it’s very common for human interactions to result in the death of the bear or wolf. It was so cool to see these beautiful animals up close and personal and learn about the ongoing conservation efforts as Canadian wolf packs have been reintroduced to Yellowstone.

On Day 20, we had our second full day in Yellowstone so decided to beat the crowds again and set off early. On the way in, I checked the eruption prediction website for Old Faithful and realized that, if we hustled a bit, we could make the 8:31 +/- 10 minutes show. It was great timing and we arrived with about 30 other people to watch the Geyser do his thing.

There was an early morning hush among us spectators as we sat on benches waiting for the big event. And then an older, retired Marine arrived and provided some comic relief by having a full on conversation with his GoPro video camera, giving it voice commands that seem to have mixed results. We had a good chuckle as he kept trying to start and stop filming as we were watching for the eruption.

The event itself did not disappoint – we were awestruck as after a brief build up, water shot 70 feet in the air and continued to jet into the sky for several minutes before subsiding into a trickle of hot steam again from the geyser’s mouth . Old Faithful had, yet again, lived up to his name.

Before leaving the Old Faithful area, we took a quick self-guided tour of the stunning Old Faithful Inn. After seeing this beautiful architectural treasure in person, we understood why those courageous firefighters had worked night and day to save this gem from the voracious fires.

To continue the geyser theme, we then drove to the trail head for the Lone Star Geyser, another geothermal wonder that’s accessed by a 2 mile trail that runs along the pretty Firehole River.

Firehole River and the human Firehole, Mick

We arrived to find that the “Geyser Log” read it had erupted an hour earlier and was pretty much on a 3 hour schedule with the possibility of a “mini-spurt” 90 minutes after the big one. We hung out for an hour hoping for some action but saw just a tiny fart of an eruption before we called it and hiked out.

As a consolation prize, we did get to see the gorgeous Kepler Cascades back at our trail head.

Kepler Cascades and my Downtown Magnetawan T

I wish I had the vocabulary to describe Yellowstone and the impact it had on me. Although it was busy with busloads of tourists furiously snapping pictures with their fancy cameras, once we got off the beaten path, we were surrounded by an immense landscape like no other place on earth.

From bubbling mud pots, steaming turquoise pools, jets of water shooting into the sky, towering snow dappled mountain peaks, grassland dotted with bison, tall pine forests, “`crystal clear flowing rivers, deep stone canyons, cascading waterfalls, and vast lakes, Yellowstone is a fantasy land – perhaps one of the Creator’s finest works.

Rainbow over our camp on our last evening in West Yellowstone

Stay tuned for our Grand Teton episode next!

Musing on Deposition and Erosion, Mountains and Prairie Dog Hills on Day 18

Featured

Climbing the ladder on The Notch Trail, The Badlands

Hello, Lovelies! Sorry my entries are so spread out – it’s down to 2 main hurdles: wifi really does suck in most campgrounds and each day is so filled with experiences I’m finding I need time to process it all and ruminate before writing.

So it’s Day 18 and we’ve arrived in West Yellowstone, Montana and the Epic Adventure stats are as follows:

We’ve driven 4,250 km so far – that includes travelling from camp to camp as well as touring around time in our locations
We’ve logged a total of 73 hours of drive time, 100% of which has been done by The Mickster who is truly “King of the Road”!
Our “State Count” is now up to 8: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana.
If you were to ask me which experience has been my favourite so far, I’d be hard pressed to choose – they are all amazing in their own way, as varied as this beautiful country is!

To pick up where we left off, on Day 10, we drove about 150 miles from Canton, South Dakota to Platte. We arrived at Snake Creek Recreation area where our site backed right on to the Mighty Missouri River. It was a nice, quiet campground and we enjoyed spending the afternoon looking at the river and the evening looking at the stars.

The Mighty Missouri from Platte, South Dakota

On the 11th day, we drove from Canton to Interior, South Dakota (population 95), gateway to the Badlands National Park. On the way, we just had to stop at the 1880 Town (especially when we found out that dogs were welcome!) – it was just like you’d picture it, a recreated Western Town at the turn of the century. But with a twist! It’s also home to Otis, their resident camel who loves popcorn. Cassie didn’t quite know what to make of Otis, but Otis was quite nonplussed by her.

We also met Cinthy and Jeff, the resident entertainers in the Saloon who are big dog people so Cassie added them to her fan base!

Cinthy and Jeff, awesome entertainers at the 1880 Town Saloon

From there, it was on to camp just outside The Badlands on a site that overlooked the other-worldly rock formations. On our first day, we drove around the park, stopping to do short walks as it was pretty hot, especially for poor Cassie’s paws. We visited Yellow Mounds and Robert’s prairie dog town where the residents were charmingly poking their heads out to observe the visitors.

On Day 12, I watched the sunrise over the Badlands while Mick and Cassie slept in. Mick and I left Cassie in the air conditioning and stepped out for early morning hiking, walking The Door, The Window and The Notch trails. And of course, we met fellow Canadians along the way – two who were from Hamilton / Niagara even! Walking though this, Nature’s Sculpture Garden, was awe inspiring and humbling as we witnessed it’s tangible representation of the passage of time.

The deep canyons, soaring spires and flat table top rocks were all created by 2 basic forces: deposition and erosion. The incredibly beautiful landscape we see today has been in the works for 500,000 years and geologists estimate it will be in existence for 500,000 more before it’s totally erased. Each colourful and distinct layer of rock was deposited in turns, starting 75 million of years ago when a shallow islands sea stretched across the Great Plains.

Rock Cathedrals courtesy of Deposition and Erosion in The Badlands

When the Black Hills, 70 miles to the west, started to rise, the sea receded and over the next 30 million years, different waterways flowed and ebbed leaving subsequent yellow, grey and brown layers until, at the end, volcanic ash deposited the last 2.

All the while, erosion is having it’s way with the land, chiseling off rock and teasing the fantastic shapes from the earth like a patient and eternal sculptor.

As I reflected on this, it seemed to me a perfect metaphor for life’s experience and, if we are lucky, the honing of our soul that happens as we go through life. Like the seas and rivers, life delivers experiences to us that leave their marks – some good, some not-so-good. What we do with those deposits is up to us as, in our own personal version of erosion, we get to choose the layers to keep and what is best let go. Thus, we create our own towers, canyons and buttes.

As we travelled west, this theme of deposits and withdrawals continued.

On Day 13, it was, sadly, time to say goodbye to The Badlands and travel west again to Keystone, South Dakota (home of Mt. Rushmore) and camp at Horsethief Lake in The Black Hills. Luckily, as we drove along scenic SD Route 44 (ironically going through a town called “Scenic”), the Badlands kept us company for the first hour.

Once we arrived in Rapid City, we could see the majestic Black Hills rising up from the plains. Covered in deep pine forests and peppered with giant Granite spires, the landscape was a total contrast to the Badlands – Cool, fragrant and verdant.

On Day 14, we hiked 8 miles round trip from our camp to Mount Rushmore along the Centennial #89 and Blueberry Trails in the Black Elk Wilderness. At the trail head, we had to fill out a registration form that asked for our destination, date for hike and the Party Leader’s name so we wrote “Cassie Cassidy” and she totally lived up to her title for the day. For a dog with 3.5 legs, she hiked like a pro up and over the saddle of the mountain and splashing at every opportunity in the mountain stream that flowed alongside most of our trail.

Party Leader, Cassie Cassidy: Hiking like it was her job

Mick, King of the Road AND King of the Mountain

After hiking for 2 hours without seeing another living soul, we popped out of the woods and WHOOSH, we were in Tourist Town USA with thousands of other people there to see 4 of our founding fathers immortalized in stone. As awesome as the carving was, to me at least, it can’t hold a candle to the art that Nature produced when she made the Mountains.

Mt. Rushmore – pretty awesome but really can’t compare to Mother Nature’s hand

On Day 15, it was time to trek through the last bit of South Dakota and start working our way across to Buffalo, Wyoming. We drove on SD 16 and found the High Plains with grassland stretching as far as the eye can see, interrupted only by ranches and more interesting rock formations carved through the eons by earth’s ever changing moods.

We took a slight detour for a picnic at Devil’s Tower, America’s first National Landmark, dedicated in 1906. Rising 867 feet from the surrounding plains, Devil’s Tower was formed, as best as geologists can tell, by an intrusion or magma pushing through other layers of rock then cooling and hardening harder than the surrounding landscape. This softer stuff erodes over time and Voila, we have a tower.

As in life, we have towering strengths of personality, will or intelligence that are formed in the fire of galvanizing experiences – the hutzpah that continues to rise above the tideline and persevere when the weaker matter gives way.

From there, we arrived in Buffalo, Wyoming, a hip and vibrant town nestled in the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains. Buffalo is home to the Crazy Woman Creek, so I felt right at home.

Day 16 found us on SD Route 16, crossing the Big Horn Mountains on our way to Cody, Wyoming. As we started our ascent, the mountains were shrouded in clouds that lifted as we gained elevation, revealing sweeping vistas of the soaring 10,000+ foot peaks. Here, instead of seeing geologic lines, the heights were marked by the changes in the forest with birch trees giving way to tall pines further up the mountain sides which were replaced by scrub, bare rock and snow patches at the highest elevations. We crossed over the Powder River Pass at 9,666 feet and descended to the Big Horn Basin, stopping for a picnic in Worland’s Pioneer Square park.

The people who tamed this land must have been made of tough stuff to survive it’s mercurial seasons – persevering like Devil’s Tower and eventually rising from their surroundings. We got a good sense of their characters when we spent time in Cody, truly a monument to The Wild West. We had dinner at the Irma, the hotel that Buffalo Bill Cody built and named for his daughter and took in a Rodeo. Man, those cowboys and girls and their horses are poetry in motion and tough as nails! Now, we can actually say with authority, “This isn’t my first rodeo!”.

On Day 17, we left Cody and travelled a short 30 mile hop to Wapiti, WY just outside of the Shoshone National Forest and about 20 miles away from the East Gate of Yellowstone National Park, one of the cornerstones of our trip.

Lunch with a view from our camp in Wapiti, South Dakota

I’m going to stop there as Yellowstone is going to need it’s very own post. It’s vast, it’s varied and it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. We have three days here so stay tuned for more on our YNP Adventures!

Featured

And On The 9th Day… an update from the roads

It’s August 4th, and Day 9 of The Epic Adventure. I’ve been too busy soaking it all in to write this week as we earn our camping stripes and figure out the flow and logistics of life on the road. THE GOOD NEWS: We love it and Cassie couldn’t be a better camping dog if she tried. We are all, as hoped and planned for, having the time of our lives!

First some stats:

We’ve driven 2,236 km in 9 days
That’s a total of 38 hours and 10 minutes of road time
We had one spat but made up quickly 🙂
We’ve been in 6 states – Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and South Dakota
We’ve camped in 5 spots – all a bit different with their own vibe and style

Our American hosts have been kind and helpful to a fault. Everyone we’ve met so far has wished us happy trails and gone out of their way to make our trip better. We have been in “The Heartland” and it shows.

Now for some details… before crossing the border, we made a quick pit stop to visit my dear friend and former boss / best coach ever, Linda, in Windsor, Ontario. It had been years since we’ve seen each other and it was so great to re-connect and meet her partner, Rick. Our only regret is that we couldn’t stay longer.

The road and the border were calling so after a brief visit, we hit the Ambassador Bridge from Windsor to Detroit. We were waved through to the Truck Clearance line with only one truck ahead of us so thought we were in luck as there were a few hundred cars waiting to get through.

But technology had other ideas – when we got to the kiosk, the border patrol officer’s computer crashed, he had never cleared a travel trailer through before ,and he had to call for reinforcements. After waiting 20 minutes and chatting with our friendly man-in-the-box (who is thinking of retiring soon), Office Beckham arrived, asked for a tour of Spot the Camper and then finally let us through!

Monroe, Michigan was our first stop at Stirling State Park on the shores of Lake Erie. We set up camp and set off to walk through the park’s wetlands. What a treat to see water lotus, heron, hawks, nesting swans, egrets and MUSKRATS! (Yes, I sang the song and serenaded Mick). The park is doing a great job of protecting the wetlands that are wedged between industrial areas and the back drop of tall smoke stacks and the iconic shape of a nuclear power plant tower contrasted sharply with the serenity of the marshes.

And there begins the theme of “contrasts” we’ve been noticing all week.

Day 2 in Michigan started with a tour of the War of 1812 Raisin River Battlefield, the site of a 2 day fight where the American troops were victorious over the Brits one day and then slaughtered the next, giving birth to the battle cry, “Remember the Raisin!!”

We happened upon the Monroe County Fair Parade so decided to check it out as it seemed the whole town had turned up for it. The parade didn’t disappoint – chock full of horses, sheriffs, marching bands, local beauty queens, church groups, fire engines, 4H clubs, and even a Star Wars club of sorts who turned up in costumes accompanied by R2D2! Cassie LOVED the parade and won many hearts.

The parade ended with 2 final floats, one featuring the Republicans who were Trumping up support and one manned by the Democratic Women who were making sure their voices were heard.

On day 3, I turned 54 in Michigan and ended the day in Remington, Indiana, population 1,200. We got set up at the Caboose Lake Campground – man, when they advertised “right off the highway” they weren’t kidding! – and headed into town. As we walked the streets of this quiet town, we noticed that almost all of the local businesses were closed, their dusty windows staring mournfully out on an empty “Main Street”. The town boasts a very cool brick Water Tower dating back to 1897 and a beautiful Catholic Church built in 1898.

As we were walking around Sacred Heart remarking on the gorgeous stained glass windows, the priest, Father Andrew appeared, noticed that “we’re not from around here” and kindly offered us a tour of the church. He’s only been in the parish since July 1st and was very enthusiastic about showing us his new home, even inviting Cassie to come along. We chatted briefly about religion, and both Mick and I confessed to being brought up Catholic but not actively practicing now.

I lit a candle for my sister Lisa, my dad and Mick’s mum (as I always do whenever I visit a new church), we said good bye to Father Andrew, and he locked the church behind us.

A few minutes later, I reached for my phone to take another picture and couldn’t find it. Yup, that awful feeling you get when you can’t find your technology appendage! Realizing that I left it behind in the church, we went back to see if we could find Father Andrew and retrieve it.

After walking around what we hoped was the rectory, knocking on every door and ringing every bell we could find, we were about to give up when Father Andrew re-appeared, changed out of his collar and sporting a t shirt and shorts. We apologized profusely for disturbing his evening, and he graciously let us back into the church so I could retrieve my phone from the pew where I had left it. As we were saying our second good bye, he said, “It’s alright, maybe God wanted you to come back to the church”. I smiled and thought, “Well played, Father…Well played!”

On Day 4, we travelled 245 miles from Remington to Hampton, Illinois. We camped in Illiniwek Forest Preserve on the banks of the Mississippi River where we watched pelicans fly and tug boats push massive barges up-river through the locks. We met a lovely couple, Cathy and Lee, who after learning we were visiting from Canada, gave us a jar of local mustard made in town. They are retired, in their mid-70’s I would guess, and drive both a pick up truck and a red Nissan convertible.

Day 5 found us across the river in LeClaire, Iowa – yup, home of the American Pickers! Of course we visited Antique Archeology and “got the t-shirt”. The store did not disappoint, with hipster-chic found treasures we recognized from the show, like the rusted out, totally roached Indian Motorcycle they dug up in a front yard.

We spent time at The Buffalo Bill Museum, too, exploring the Lone Star Riverboat, a 1920’s era one room school house and more Buffalo Bill memorabilia than you can shake a stick at. Buffalo Bill, too, is a study in contrasts – on one hand, exploiting Native Americans in his side-show and on the other, advocating for their civil rights. He earned his nickname “Buffalo Bill” by killing bison, yet was known as a conservationist.

On Day 6, we left Illinois and drove about 240 miles to Pilot Knob State Park in Forest City, Iowa. On our drive, we saw thousands of acres of cornfields stretching as far as the eye could see and miles of bright blue skies broken up by tidy farms and towering windmills. This massive country can make a girl feel small.

Pilot Knob wasn’t original ginally one of our planned stops – we ended up there as the other place we were thinking of staying was full. What a wonderful piece of serendipity, as this State Park really is a hidden gem on the road less travelled. On the flat tabletop of the heartland, Pilot Knob’s claim to fame is its the second highest elevation in Iowa at 1,450 feet.

On Day 7, we wandered in to the Winnebago factory Visitor’s center and were able to jump onto a free tour. We walked through a cool vintage 1967 motor home that was one of the first off their assembly line and then watched as workers built 2019 spiffy, shiny Class A palaces on wheels.

On the 8th Day, we drove 160 miles on Route 18 across the rest of Iowa – yes, you guessed it, more corn and more windmills – and landed in Canton, South Dakota. On the way, we saw homemade road side signs reading “Jesus is Real”, negating evolution in favour of creationism, and extolling pro-life messages like “Real Men Love Babies”… these were dwarfed and outnumbered by huge commercial bill boards advertising the “Lions Den” Adult Outlet Stores and 74 Flavours of Beef Jerky.

Today was our 9th day and we spent it in Sioux Falls, a river city on the rise. We visited Falls Park and watched the water cascading over the red quartzite rocks. We walked around the ruins of The Queen Bee Flour Mill that was built to be the busiest, most productive mill of it’s time but went bust in just 2 years due to a lack of water power and unreliable wheat supplies.

From there we strolled to the vibrant downtown where arts and culture are thriving! There are so many cool sculptures (including my fave, “Space Cat”) along Phillips Street with ballot boxes for visitors to cast votes for their favourites. We passed by a bank where, in 1934, John Dillinger and his gang staged a hold up and made off with $49,000 in cash after winning a shoot out with the police.

We saw cathedral spires and followed them through a poor run-down neighbourhood passed a Dollar General store through to the gorgeous Cathedral Historic District filled with palatial turn of the century homes. I walked from the sweltering heat of a summer’s day into the cool darkness of St. Joseph Cathedral, a soaring masterpiece of marble, gilt and stained glass.

So far, it seems to me that present day America is truly a study in contrasts – we have been met with nothing but kindness from everyone we’ve met yet, while we have been here, we’ve heard about 2 different mass shootings on the news.

It feels like coming home – but to a country that’s different enough than the one that I left 22 years ago to feel like foreign territory.

I can’t wait to see what the coming days, weeks and months bring us as we continue our journey. Next week, we hit our western most points of Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Watch this space for the next instalment of #marymickandcassiesepicadventure.