On the Road, Bend, OR - 7/29/2016

This morning we quickly pulled up stakes in Mountain Home, Idaho, and headed for Bend, Oregon.  We entered Oregon after about 1-1/2 hours of driving and proceeded west on US 20.

Boy, eastern Oregon is desolate.  Miles and mile of nothing but more miles.  Most was areas of high dessert with occasional farms that can only exist with irrigation.  Lunch time found us in the town of Burns, population about 2,700, but they did have a MacDonald's so we grabbed lunch there.

When we arrived in Bend we had to do some maneuvering as the direct route to the RV park would have taken us under a low railroad bridge.  The clearance was 12' 10" and we need 12' 7" but that was too close for comfort so we called the park and they routed us around the bridge.  What an RV park!  Goes by the name of Crown Villa RV Resort and it's the fanciest one we've seen.  Our parking pad is not gravel, asphalt or concrete, it's pavers.

Here is a photo of us in our parking spot, you can see the pavers.

And here are two photos of the RV park.

Lots of big, expensive motor homes around us.  Our little 28' rig looked like a little toy.  The unit next to us is a Beaver Marquis.  It's 45' long and has every bell and whistle known to man.  It's got a special hitch on the back so they can carry their Harley Davidson cruiser and tow a car at the same time.

It's hot, 97 degrees when we got here but it cooled down fast and we got out the BBQ grill and grilled some pork chops with baked potato and spinach.  By the time to eat it was so pleasant out that we ate outside.  Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler with a forecast high of 88.

On the Road, Mountain Home, ID - 7/28/2016

This morning we left West Yellowstone.  We are headed to Bend, Oregon, but for today our destination is an RV park in Mountain Home, Idaho.  Gas prices in West Yellowstone are high so we waited until we got to Idaho Falls to fill the gas tank.  We have an 89 gallon gas tank and I estimate that we are getting about 8 mpg, so a full tank will take us over 600 miles.

We are following US 20 which takes us to Craters of the Moon National Monument in south central Idaho.  Craters of the Moon is a basalt lava flood area  with over 60 known lava flows dating from 15,000 to 2,000 years ago.  It covers an area of 618 square miles and contains more then 25 volcano cones.  The source of the lava is the 53 mile long Great Rift of Idaho which is basically a crack in the mantle that allows subterranean molten rock to reach the surface.  There are two kinds of volcano cones and here is a photo of a cinder cone.

And here is an example of a spatter cone.

Since it was lunch time we found a picnic table in the shade of a tree and had lunch.  That big chunk of rock behind Pat is a block of solidified basalt lava.

Here you can see more spatter cones and a dead tree that someone has covered in ceramic tiles, I guess as some sort of art project.  The "dirt" is pulverized lava.

The landscape for miles around the park is pretty much barren lava fields that are inaccessible.

We are driving over the Snake River Plain which itself was formed as a result of volcanic activity over millions of years.  As many of you probably know there is a large "hot spot" under Yellowstone National Park that is the source of all of the geysers and other volcanic activity.  However, 18 million years ago that hot spot was about where the Idaho - Oregon border is now.  The hot spot hasn't moved but due to tectonic activity the North American Plate has moved over it and about 8 million years ago was under this area of Idaho.  The North American Plate is moving at about 1" per year.

As we approached Mountain Home we saw signs for traffic delays and congestion and saw large numbers of RVs pulling into a large open field.  We were curious what was going on and later found out that this weekend is the annual Mountain Home Music Festival with a number of big time country music stars.

We arrived in Mountain Home and found our RV park.  Very nice large park and thank goodness we had a reservation because the music festival has them sold out.  Here is a photo of us set up in the park.

It was hot, 101 degrees but dry as a bone.  Tomorrow morning we head on to Bend, Oregon.

Yellowstone & Grand Tetons - 7/26 - 7/27/2016

We spent yesterday and today exploring Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons National Parks.  We been to Yellowstone before so we spent the majority of our time this trip on the Grand Tetons.  Pat had never seen the Tetons before and I had visited them once back in 1965.

On Tuesday, we started by driving south into Idaho just west of the Tetons as we had heard about 2 scenic drives there that looked interesting.  The first was Mesa Canyon Scenic Trail which follows the path of the Henry Fork of the Snake River and we stopped to view a couple of waterfalls.  The first was the Upper Mesa Falls of the Henry Fork.  This waterfall is 114 ft. high and it is an easy trail right to the top of the falls.  Here is a photo.

Mesa Canyon has been carved out by this river and it is interesting in that the opposite side of the canyon is made of Rhyolite Tuff.  Rhyolite Tuff is formed when molten granite erupted so explosively that the magma was blown into dust size fragments that then settled and solidified.  This happened about one millions years ago.  The side I was on is made of basalt which resulted from molten flows from 15 miles away.  This happened 25,000 years ago.  The river has been carving this canyon between these two types of rock.

Our next stop was Lower Mesa Falls which you have to view from the canon rim.  Thiss falls is 65 ft. high and here is a photo.

This part of Idaho raises a lot of potatoes and we kept seeing signs for certified seed potatoes.  We were curious about what a seed potato is.  Found out that you do not grow potatoes from seed.  Potatoes produce seeds but do not grow true to seed.  What you have to do is take a potato, let it sit until the "eyes" start growing and then cut up the potato so each piece has a single eye.  This is what you plant and is what is called a seed potato.

We then took the Teton Scenic trail which takes you over a pass and into Jackson Hole which is the valley between the Teton Mountain Range on the west and the Gros Ventre Mountain Range on the east   The major town is Jackson which is a tourist mecca and we got there in time for a nice lunch.  I used my TripAdvisor app to give us some restaurant recommendations.  The number 1 recommended restaurant in Jackson was a hamburger place by the name of McPhaels so that is where we went.  It is a family run operation which has been in business since 1945 and we have to agree that it deserves its number 1 ranking.  They had this interesting looking arch at an entrance to a park made out of antlers,

We then drove north up the valley until we can to the main range of the Tetons.  These mountains are impressive as they are the only alpine type mountains in the US and they rise very abruptly from the valley floor and tower over the valley by 7,000 or so feet.  Here is a photo of our first view of these mountains.

The central peak is Grand Teton and it is the tallest at 13,770 ft.  Here is a close up of the peak.

At this point it was getting late and we had a long drive back to West Yellowstone so we called it a day.

On Thursday, we headed down to the Tetons early so we could get some good photos.  Turned out it was a smoky day from fires down to the south so the pictures weren't as clear as I would have liked.  This photo is of Mt. Moran.

What is not so evident in the above photo is the detail of the summit so here is a close up of the summit.

The Tetons are formed from gneiss and granite which are respectively 2.7 and 2.5 billion years old.  You can obviously see a "Black Dike" of 775 million year old diabase and if you look closely you can see a tan cap of sandstone that is all that is left of some 510 million year old beach.  Mt. Doran also has five small glaciers that are slowly disappearing.  Before about 1400 AD, it was warmer then it is now (that is why Greenland has its name, when it was discovered it was green with vegetation).  From about 1400 to 1850 there was the period know as "The Little Ice Age" when it was much colder, and this is the period when these glaciers formed.  Since 1850 it has warmed up and these glaciers have been melting.

We then drove the Lake Jenny scenic loop and got a chance to see this lake which is right at the base of the mountains.  This lake is crystal clear and is 2.2 mile long and 1.2 miles wide.  It was formed by glaciers about 12,000 years ago.   Here is a photo of Lake Jenny with Grand Teton in the background.

Between Grand Teton and Mt. Owen to the right, is Cascade Canyon.  When I was here is 1965 my room mate and I hiked from Lake Jenny at 6,783 ft. elevation up the Cascade Canyon Trail to Lake Solitude at 9,035 feet elevation.

Here is another photo of the peak of Grand Teton.  There is an alpine club headquartered in the park which gives climbing lessons and most of the peaks, including Grand Teton, can be climbed.  We weren't tempted.

We then started driving back north and took this photo of Jackson Lake with Mt. Doran in the background from the top of Signal Mountain which is about 900 ft. above the valley floor and so gives good views.

We then entered Yellowstone Park.  One thing we did get to do a lot in our drives around is cross the Continental Divide multiple times as it meanders through the park.  The highest is Craig Pass at 8,262 ft.  Little Isa Lake straddles the divide at that location and water from one end of the lake flows to the Atlantic via the Missouri River while water from the other end of the lake flows to the Pacific via the Snake River.

One thing you do see a lot of in Yellowstone is geyser fields and here is an example of one,

The other main attraction we visited in Yellowstone was the falls and canyon of the Yellowstone River.  Here is a close up photo of the falls.

And a view of the canyon.  Its deep, 800 to 1,200 ft., and 24 mile long.

One of the things everyone wants to see when they visit Yellowstone is buffalo so here is a nice shot of one.

The only problem with the buffalo is that everyone wants to take a photo of one and so whenever they come close to the road, instant traffic jam.  On this occasion we were stuck in a back up as everyone took photos for over an hour.  Here is a shot of some of the road side distractions.

The other problem is that the buffalo has the right of way and has no respect for cars and the road so here is one wandering across the road.  We had another one that just started walking down the road blocking all traffic.

That was the end of two days in these parks.  The next two days are travel days as we head to Bend, Oregon.

On the Road, West Yellowstone - 7/25/2016

This morning we left Great Falls, Montana, and after topping off the gasoline and propane tanks, we headed south on I-15.  We were basically following the path of the Missouri River and Lewis and Clark as we passed thru the Big Belt Mountains between Great Falls and Helena, the capital of Montana.

At Helena we left the Interstate and continued south on US-287 still following the path of the Missouri River.  At lunch time we arrived at the town of Three Forks and stopped at the Wheat Montana shop for lunch.  Wheat Montana is a third generation family run farm, mill, factory and shops in southwest Montana that raises their own wheat, mills, processes and bakes wheat products.  They are headquartered in Three Forks.  We always stop anytime we pass one of their shops as their breads and pastries are great.  Three Forks got its name as it is the site where the three forks of the Missouri River: the Gallatin, Madison and Jefferson rivers merge to form the Missouri.

We continued south on US-287 following the path of the Madison towards its source.  This is fly fishing and trout territory and as we drove along the Madison we saw lots of float boats with fly fisherman working the river.  As we climbed the grade towards West Yellowstone we passed two very large lakes.  The first is a new lake by the name of Earthquake Lake.  It got its name as it was formed on October 17, 1959 by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that triggered a massive landslide that dammed the Madison.  Today the lake is 6 miles long and up to 190 ft. deep.   Here is a photo I was able to download of the lake.

Just past Earthquake Lake was Hebgen Lake which was formed in 1914 to control flooding along the Madison and to generate electricity.  It is 21 miles long and up to 4 miles wide.  Would be a great place to have a fishing boat.

Shortly thereafter we arrived in West Yellowstone and found our campground.  Here are a couple of photos of us set up at our site.

Tomorrow morning we will pick up a rental car and head in to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks so we should have more interesting photos for you.

Great Falls, Montana - 7/18 - 7/24/2016

Here we are in Great Falls, Montana for a visit with our son, Gregory.  We've set up the RV in the FamCamp on Malstrom AFB where Greg works.  Here are a couple of photos of our camp site.

Here is our RV with the base water tank in the background.

This photo gives you a better idea of the FamCamp.

We had full hook ups and the price was right $100.00 for 7 days/8 nights.  Since Greg has a large apartment with a guest bedroom, we decided to stay there while in Great Falls and enjoy the luxury of a regular shower.

Just north of the Air Base is a lot of empty countryside.

Weather was great for our visit.  Most days in the 80s with low humidity and no rain.  For folks from Florida this weather was just about perfect

Pat's left knee was really bothering her so we decided to take it easy and have a relaxing visit with our son.  Monday was laundry day as we were running out of clean clothes.  On Tuesday, we visited Pass and ID on the base so Pat could get her military ID renewed as it was set to expire in early August and this would be our only chance to get it done until we got back to Florida.  On Wednesday Pat got an appointment at the Base clinic to have someone take a look at her knee.  Conclusion was that she needs a knee replacement and there was nothing in the short term that they could do.  They did recommend getting a knee brace so we did that.  We also hit the Base Exchange and Commissary to restock our RV with food and supplies.

Thursday we visited the Great Falls visitors center and museum and I did get to shoot some photos.  Great Falls got its name from the series of waterfalls on the Missouri river.  In 1805 the Lewis and Clark Expedition was following the Missouri river in an effort to find a easy way to the Pacific Ocean.  As they approached this area they heard from the local Indians about a water fall on the river.  However, when they got here it turned out that there were five waterfalls ranging in height from to 6-1/2 ft. to 87 ft. with cascades resulting in a total drop in the river of 612 ft.  The Expedition spent almost a month portaging around the falls before they could resume their journey upriver.

This photo is of a statue just outside of the visitor's center that shows Lewis and Clark looking over the waterfalls.

In this photo you can just see the Missouri river.  Back in Lewis and Clark's time it would have been much easier to see as you wouldn't have had the highways and buildings.

From the visitor's center we went to the Great Falls History Museum.  The museum building was originally an International Harvester manufacturing facility.  Here is a photo of one of their products from their heyday.

This is a 1924 Farmall tractor that originally sold for $950.00 and was made in this building.  It looks like you didn't have to worry about getting a flat but I imagine the ride was a little rough.

Here is a photo of a buggy from back in 19th century.

This is a photo of a model of the Great Falls Opera House that was built in 1891 when the city was only 6 years old.  It survived until 1955.  One of its most famous visitors was Mark Twain.

They also had on exhibit examples of old equipment such as this Underwood typewriter.

And this scale which was manufactured on Dayton, Ohio, where Pat is from.

Here is a mechanical calculator that was made in Switzerland from 1893 until 1935.  Supposedly it was the first calculator that could add, subtract, multiply and divide.  It was known as the Millionaire."

They also had a 1920s vintage National Cash Register company cash register also from Dayton.

This is a model of the Park Hotel which was built in 1886 when the city was only 1 year old.  It cost $50,000 to build and was destroyed by fire in 1914.

Friday we ran a few errands but mostly just relaxed.  Saturday was my birthday so we went out to dinner in celebration.  Had teppanyaki.  For as small and isolated as Great Falls is, they have some very good restaurants.

Monday we hit the road again and start playing tourist again.  We will be headed to the town of West Yellowstone for a couple of days exploring Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons.  We've been to Yellowstone several times but Pat has never been to the Tetons and it's been 53 years since I last visited the Tetons.

On the Road - Montana - 7/17/2016

This morning we left Medora, ND, started on the last leg of the trip to Greg's.  We started out on I-94 out of North Dakota and into Montana.  However, I-94 starts veering south towards Billings so we left the interstate and took Montana 200S and then Montana 200. The road was narrow with no shoulders so it was somewhat tense but traffic was very light.

Pat had packed a lunch so we stopped at a rest area and had lunch on a picnic table.  Then it was back on the road.  Things were going fine until we came to a construction area and we were diverted onto a temporary gravel road for about 10 miles.  That slowed us down as we couldn't do more then 30 MPH.  After the construction area the road was better.  That is until we had passed thru the town of Lewistown and then it was back onto a temporary gravel for about 7 miles.  It had rained so that section was muddy.  Once we cleared that construction things were good.

As we approached Great Falls we had to go thru two passes.  As we started up the first we heard a loud thump as if someone had thrown a rock at us.  Then the thumps came fast and furious and we realized we were in the middle of a hail storm.  As we got to the top of the pass the road looked like it was snow covered but it was hail not snow.  Luckily no damage and as soon as we cleared the pass the storm ended and it was clear sailing the rest of the way.

Found the Malstrom AFB FamCamp and in short order we were set up.  Greg met us and we headed out to dinner.  We plan to be here a week.

On the Road, North Dakota - 7/16/2016

We rolled out of the Walmart parking lot by 9:15 AM as this will be our longest day driving.  We will be finishing up the last of Minnesota and driving almost all the way across North Dakota, about 450 miles.  Luckily it is Interstate 94 all the way so we should make good time.  Most of the semis had already left.  We filled the gas tank and hit the road.

Pat had packed sandwiches so we were able to pull into a rest area just before we reached Bismark and have lunch.  We lucked out in that we could see some heavy rain as we approached Bismark but luckily it passed just north of us and all we got was a few raindrops and some gusty wind.  One advantage of driving across these open areas is that you can see the rain from a long way off.

As we were nearing the end of the days drive, we were making good time and would also pick up an hour as the campground we are headed to is in the Mountain Time zone.  So we were able to stop at a couple of sites for some pictures of the scenery.  These next two photos are of Sweetbriar Lake.

Our destination for today is the Red Trail campground is Medora, ND, just on the edge of the Little Missouri  Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Here are some photos of the badlands just before we got to our campground.

We will be camping in Medora, ND, which is a small town that was founded in 1883 by a French nobleman by the name of Marquis de Mores on the transcontinental line of the Northern Pacific Railroad.  The town was named after his wife, Medora His idea was to ship refrigerated beef to Chicago and so he built a meat packing plant and a house called the Chateau de Mores.  The packing plant is gone but the house is now a museum.

Theodore Roosevelt wanted to be a rancher and established a ranch called the Elk Horn just north of Medora on the Little Missouri River.  His work with local ranchers and people of the area led to the naming of the national park after him.  When he ran for mayor of New York in 1886 he described himself as "the cowboy of the Dakotas."

We had called ahead for a reservation so we were able to get set up before it got too late.  Here we are in the campground.

The campground was located in a pretty area.

Tomorrow we leave North Dakota and head across Montana until we get to Great Falls about 400 miles.

On the Road - Minnesota - 7/15/2016

This morning we packed up and started heading north to Minnesota.  We are on the way to Greg's in Great Falls, MT, but we first have to drive north into Minnesota, then a day crossing North Dakota and then another day to Great Falls.  To break it up today we made two stops, the first at the SPAM Museum in Austin, MN, and the second at the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN, just south of Minneapolis.

In this case SPAM has nothing to do with computers and is the canned ham product that Hormel has been making since 1937.  In 1991, Hormel opened a small museum to celebrate its 100th anniversary.  Then 10 years later, in 2001, the museum was enlarged and focused on SPAM.  SPAM gained popularity after its use during WW II.  Today SPAM is sold in over 41 countries in 18 varieties.  The museum covers the history of SPAM and shows how it is used in a number of countries.  Here we are at the entrance of the museum.

This display showed ways that SPAM is used in Japan.  They make a sushi like dish with SPAM.

As a result of GIs having SPAM in their rations, it became very popular in countries where large number of GIs were stationed. Like South Korea.

And the Philippines.

It has become very popular in China to the point that Hormel is setting up a plant in China to make SPAM.

This display commemorates a thank you letter that Gen. Eisenhower sent the president of Hormel.

Here are he varieties of SPAM.

And Monty Python even made a movie about SPAM.

We spent a little over an hour in the museum, then grabbed lunch and headed to the Mall of America just south of Minneapolis.  This is the largest mall in the USA and is very impressive.  It was opened in 1992 and is owned by a Canadian company.  It is in the form of an open rectangle with a very large covered atrium in the center.  It encloses 96.4 acres, has about 530 stores spread across 3 floors with a partial fourth floor.  The anchor stores at each corner are Sears, Macy's, Nordstrom and Crayola Experience.  Here we are approaching the north entrance.

The atrium in the center holds an amusement park called the Nickelodeon Experience with multiple roller coasters, a flume ride, Ferris wheel, carousel, etc.  Here is a photo of the center.

Here is a short video which shows some of the rides being used.

Here is the Ferris wheel.

And the carousel.

We spent about 2-1/2 hours here and then started heading north again.  We stopped in the small town of Sauk Centre, MN and pulled into the super Walmart parking lot.  We will spend the night here.  Walmart is very friendly to RVers and unless local ordinances prevent it will let RVers and truckers overnight in their parking lot.  What they are counting on is that you will come into the store and spend some money.  We did.  We picked up a rotisserie chicken for dinner and other supplies.  Here are some photos of us in the Walmart lot.

There was another RV just in front of us.

And truckers.

Tomorrow we will head across North Dakota.  This will be our longest drive as we need to cover about 450 miles.