Hi everyone! We will be starting our cross country trip on Monday, 4/23/18 in our 1978 Corvette.. Hopefully we will be telling you and showing you our adventures daily. Stay tuned!
Monday, 4/23/18 Our first day and of course it is drizzling. We are now at Pine Mountain State Resort Park in Kentucky. Great place with wonderful views. The photo is from Cumberland Gap Historical Park. It was taken from Pinnacle Outlook featuring a view of TN, VA & KY. The picture was actually taken in VA. On a another note, the Corvette is doing great!! We got close to 18 miles/gallon. On to Gatlinburg tomorrow.
Tuesday, 4/24/18 Today started off raining, but we luckily drove out of it going to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Gatlinburg, TN. (see photo) We drove the Cades Cove Loop road and stopped at the gift shop (of course). When we got back to the car, it would not start. Some people tried to jump start it, thinking it was the battery, but no luck. So we were waiting for a park ranger when a guy suggested it might be the neutral safety switch. Guess what, that was the it!! Thank goodness. So we were on our way again. Tomorrow is Lookout Mountain.
Wednesday, 3/25/18 Change of plans today. We looked at the weather for Lookout Mountain and was raining there, so we decided to go back to Gatlinburg and toured the Arts & Crafts loop. Saw some neat stuff, but didn’t buy anything. 🙁 We are staying in Chattanooga, TN tonight, which is very close to Lookout Mountain. The weather forecast is SUNNY tomorrow, so we should get some great pictures.
Thursday, 4/26/18 Well, the Corvette really wants it to quit raining because the wipers have stopped working completely. Anyway, we will deal with it. This morning we went to Lookout Mountain, but it was raining so hard we decided to go to Ruby Falls, which is a huge (145′ tall) waterfall inside a cave in Lookout Mountain. Gorgeous! We also drove to Little River Canyon National Preserve in Fort Payne, AL. Got some nice pictures in between the raindrops, On to Atlanta tomorrow.
Friday, 4/27/18 Well, the good news is that it is not raining. The bad news is that the Corvette had issues today. So it was around a $1000.00 day! The car is 40 years old, so we had expected some things to go wrong, but not this soon. We just want to throw out a big Thank You to Then and Now Auto Restoration in Marietta, GA. Let’s try this again: On to Atlanta tomorrow.
Saturday 4/28/18 Today we went to the World of Coke in downtown Atlanta. Saw lots of memorabilia and heard multiple times about the secret recipe to Coke, which they still won’t tell you. Turns out the guy who formulated the drink sold the business pretty cheaply to a sharp operator who really marketed it into the corporate behemoth it is today. We also made a little trip out to Stone Mountain to check out the bas-relief carvings of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and ‘Stonewall’ (Thomas) Jackson on the side of the mountain.
Sunday, 4/29/18 Today was a really good day – travel and adventurewise. We went to the Barber Motorsports Museum in Leeds, AL. I (Anne) wasn’t too sure when I picked this one out because I’m not into motorcycles, but I was impressed! There were 5 floors of bikes. Very, very interesting and fun. We had a hard time picking out pictures to post. We are staying is Mississippi tonight and going on to Arkansas tomorrow. Hope you are enjoying our little write-ups.
Monday 4-30-18 Well, today was another let down as a problem hiding behind the first problem with the corvette made itself impossible to ignore. Looks like driving fairly long distances is bringing out the weaknesses in the car. Stuck in Hot Springs, AR for tonight, at a minimum, possibly two. Luckily, there are a few things to do here.
Tuesday, 5/1/18 This morning we visited Hot Springs Arkansas in a rental car. The picture is of a real hot spring coming out of the ground. We also saw the famous Bathhouse Row. The photo is of the last original spa still in operation. The last photo is a view of the city of Hot Springs taken from the tower at Hot Springs National Park. We got the Corvette back this afternoon and will be going to Crater of Diamonds State Park. Maybe we can find a diamond big enough to pay for all the repairs!!
Wednesday 5/2/18 Apparently, the corvette isn’t thrilled with moving around so much; it refused to start today. Luckily, we found yet another small garage with a knowledgeable older gentleman who correctly diagnosed the issue as a bad fuel pump (new, just two years ago!!) which was intermittently failing to deliver fuel. Fortunately, a local supplier had the correct replacement and he had us back on the road by noon.
We went on to visit Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro. Now that we have seen it, we can’t recommend it. Basically its a big graveled field. You can rent some panning equipment and shovels (for twice the entry price) so you can sweat your brains out shoveling dirt into a pan, swash it around in water to concentrate the densest stuff in a small area, then pick through that hoping to find something shiny. We skipped that part after the ranger demonstrating proper panning technique mentioned he had been doing the demo 3 times a day for five years and hadn’t found a diamond yet. There were plenty of people trying, so I guess they didn’t find the odds discouraging.
Thursday 5/3/18 Today we went to the Walmart Museum. Yes; there is a Walmart Museum. It documents the development of the Walmart empire and some little stories about Sam and his family. We also visited the Center of the Universe in Tulsa. A spot where sound echoes oddly, presumably because it IS the center of the universe. Tomorrow, we head for the National Cowboy Museum.
Dave with Sam’s truck. Anne at the Center of the Universe.
Friday 5/4/2018 Today we made it to the Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum parking lot with the car steaming and antifreeze pourring out. So we called AAA for a tow. Turns out it was a wire to the fans that some how was disconnected. So about 3 hours later we are back at the Cowboy Museum. It is very large with numerous displays, art, sculptures and native American artifacts.
Here They Come. And There They Go.
Trail’s End.
Saturday 5/5/18 Today was a pretty leisurely day. We visited the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Indiahoma, OK. As you can see from the photos, it is pretty nice. We ate lunch on top of Scott Mountain. We are now staying the night in Wichita Falls, TX and heading for Waco tomorrow.
Bison, enjoying the grass. The King of the Road.
View From Mt. Scott.
Sunday 5/6/18 Two tourist events today. The first one was the Waco Mammoth National Monument which featured bones of Columbian mammoths as opposed to wooly mammoths. Rather interesting. The next was the Dr. Pepper Museum highlighting the history of making of Dr. Pepper. On another note; talking with our daughter in FL who is taking care of our dog, Pepper, we found out that Pepper likes to eat bars of Irish Spring soap. First dog we ever owned that washed her own mouth!!
Monday 5/7/18 We started off today visiting Magnolia Marketplace which is the business of Chip & Joanna of HGTV Fixer Up fame. We are staying with Dave’s cousin Asa and his with Pat near Waco, for a couple of days, so we might not be doing the blog, so if you miss it for a few days, don’t worry.
Magnolia Marketplace (Chip & Joanna Gaines)
Wednesday 5/9/18 Today we drove to San Antonio. Saw the Alamo and did the river walk. We’re staying in San Antonio another night because we are meeting up with Anne’s cousin Shirley & her husband Dave who are also traveling the U.S. but in a large RV.
The Alamo. Riverwalk view. Statue of San Antonio, patron saint of lost things.
Thursday 5/10/18 Yesterday (Thursday) we went to the San Antonio Zoo. It’s a really good zoo as zoos go. We also went to the Japanese Tea Garden. Beautiful flowers and interesting buildings. Last night we went out with Anne’s cousin and her husband to a barbeque at their friends’ house. The car had a hard time starting when we got back, but did go, but not for long. We ended up having it towed once again. We were able to borrow their Jeep and got back to the hotel around 1:30AM. So I am writing this at 9:30AM on Friday. We will give you an update tonight.
San Antonio Zoo
Japanese Tea Garden
Friday 5/11/18 Well, another not so great day today. We are stuck in San Antonio until at least Monday. The mechanic said he couldn’t find anything wrong with the car, but Dave & I know there is something wrong. Dave thinks it might be the ignition switch or the wiring to the new fuel pump. They won’t work on it until Monday. We will be renting a car tomorrow and doing who knows what, I’m getting real tired of this and we have discussed heading home. We’ll see.
Saturday 5/12/18 We spent the day on an impromptu voyage through the Texas Hill Country, specifically Gillespie County, home to LBJ and also Hondo Crouch, locally famous for putting Luckenbach, TX on the map. Click here for details. Now, it consists, pretty much entirely, of a Post Office/bar and serves as the venue for music featuring local bands. It is also used by biker’s as a gathering spot. Texas hill country is also Texas wine country, so we visited a winery in our wanderings.
Sign Post. Anne, Dave, Dave, Shirley, Laurene & Lee at the P.O./bar
Sunday 5/13/18 Happy Mother’s Day! All 3 of my girls called and wished me a great Mother’s Day. Dave took me to a nearby outlet mall and we had a nice dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack. Tomorrow we are going to the garage where the Corvette is parked bright and early and Dave is going to give them some history of the car that will hopefully help them to fix it.
Monday 5/14/18 Well we finally escaped San Antonio today after spending the morning awaiting another repair. Like the overheating issue, this one (fuel pump shutting off randomly) traced back to a lousy butt connector rather than a solder connection when someone (no, not me) wired up that first electric fuel pump. We are currently in Ozona, TX, which is somewhere along I-10 in west Texas, heading for Big Bend National Park tomorrow.
Tuesday 5/15/18 We survived 102 degree temperatures today with no A/C in the car!!
For those that have been following our trip, we have a little challenge you. Look at the pictures and see if you can identify where we are. We will give you the answer tomorrow.
Mountain. Mule Ear peaks.
The Rio Grande. View from ranger station.
Wednesday 5/16/18 The answer from last night’s question is (drum roll, please): Big Bend National Park near Alpine, TX. On to today: We journeyed to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Spectacular! The pictures don’t do it justice. When we were leaving, there was a sign “Watch for Wildlife” and I said that there is no wildlife out here and up pop two long horn sheep running across the road making a liar out of me!!
The King under the mountain. Invisible water, several feet deep.
The Dragons Maw. Mountain Big Horn sheep (mom & kid) scamper outside.
Thursday 5/17/18 I don’t know if you have ever heard of the “Musical Highway”, but we drove on it today. It is a piece of the old Route 66 in Tijeras, NM. If you travel 45 MPH over the rumble strips, you can hear the song America the Beautiful. Really cool!!
We also visited Pecos National Historical Park which houses the remnants of a large Pueblo Indian settlement and the nearby Spanish church built long before Americans got anywhere near it. It is not a large park and the Indian ruins are in tough shape, but the background info was interesting.
Spanish church circa 1700s. Pueblo ruins that were once 4 stories tall. A still standing kiva, you can enter..
Friday 5/18/18 This morning we drove the “Turquoise Trail” and stopped in Madrid, NM, which has many art and jewelry shops. Dave bought me a turquoise ring that the owner will craft for me!
We also visited Great Sand National Park in Colorado. An oddity of the environment, pitting prevailing southwest to northeast winds against water washing mountain bits (sand) toward the southwest has piled up a massive set of dunes in a mountain bowl open toward the southwest. Neither force prevails so the sand just piles up there.
The Dunes. The swimming hole. The snow is still on the peaks of the Sangre de Cristo mountains.
Saturday 5/19/18 Today we went to Colorado Springs to visit my 2nd cousin Sue and her husband Duane. They took us to the Garden of the Gods which is a drive/trails through red rock sculptured by Mother Nature, The weather is rather chilly and rainy – around 50 degrees. First time we are wearing jeans on this trip. BTW Dave got the windshield wipers to work again! (Dave here: just dumb luck, hit a speed bump a little quick and they came on again. Probably more bad wire hiding somewhere behind that issue).
The kissing camels. Rock completely separated at base. Uptilted sandstone.
Sunday 5/20/18 Today we visited two Colorado Springs attractions, the Manitou Cliff Dwellings and Seven Falls, a tall skinny fall surrounded by towering red rock mountains. We did not visit Pike’s peak; the cog railway has been permanently closed and we didn’t want to prove the 78 couldn’t handle 14K+ feet altitude on the auto road. We did see it and Cheyenne mountain from a distance.
The first three photos are Indian cliff ruins. Pretty impressive that they are still standing. It was quite apparent that the Anasazi must have averaged considerably smaller bulk than I do; the rooms, doors, and passages are tiny. The tower behind me in the photo is three (very short) stories tall. The next photo is Seven Falls.
Monday 5/21/18 Today there were three events. The first one was calling our insurance company because someone rear-ended us. The damage could have been worse, but the bumper was pushed in a little and a lot of scratches. The next two events are better. We visited the Cussler Museum in Arvada, CO., which is a privately owned museum owned by the author Clive Cussler. Mr. Cussler wrote many adventure books that included his cars. Our last event was the Rocky Mountain National Park. We drove to the visitors center in Estes Park, CO. Great views of the Rocky Mountains, snow and wildlife.
Anne standing in snow. Bear Lake Rocky Mountain NP. Elk at same.
1929 Blower Bentley. 1937 Pierce-Arrow Travelodge.
Tuesday 5/22/2018 We spent today travelling from Estes Park, Colorado to Montrose, Colorado. A good part of the trip was on I-70 westbound which reaches a height slightly above 11,000 feet at the Eisenhower tunnel/pass. It has to be the most spectacular piece of Interstate we have ever seen.
Approach to Eisenhower tunnel on I-70. Stacked river, travel lanes on I-70. All taken while moving; fortunately the glass was clean.
Cliff face along I-70. Colorado River where it intersects I-70.
Wednesday 5/23/18 Today we visited the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP. The Gunnison is the river at the bottom of the gorge. This is located near Montrose, Colorado. It is a very steep walled canyon with many fantastic views. Created essentially the same way as the Grand Canyon, as the land lifted around an existing river which simply kept cutting away rock with it’s flow.
We also crossed from Colorado back into New Mexico via route 550, aka the Million Dollar Highway. This is considered one of the most dangerous roads in the US, a statement I believe after riding thru many miles of switchbacks with sheer drop offs unfettered by guardrails. The high point was over 11,000 feet. It was also incredibly beautiful. We met a local antique car club doing a cruise over the same stretch using cars that made our look new.
Views of the Black Canyon.
Views on the Million Dollar Highway. Click here for more info.
The San Juan Mountains. Tunnel/carport on the road. Note the stream shooting off the roof.
Thursday 5/24/18 This time is going to be a double day. We did not have WiFi last night because we stayed in a little town called Bluff, UT. So, if I can remember, we went to the Aztec Ruins in Aztec, NM. Very interesting buildings and very informative Park Rangers. We also went to Mesa Verde National Park in CO. We were not in time to get on any of the tours, so we drove and stopped at most of the view points. Our last stop was the Four Corners – Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. While we were at a restaurant in Bluff, we came out to see a blue 1979 Vette with Arizona tags parked next to us, so we asked who owned it and a nice Native American gentleman told us about it. We just had to take a picture.
Aztec, NM kiva. Mesa Verde, CO cliff dwelling.
Anne at Four Corners. Two C3s in Bluff, UT.
Friday 5/25/18 Today we drove to Monument Valley and took a Jeep tour of all the rock formations. Pretty cool. We are now in Caineville, UT for the night. It’s hard to find rooms because of the Memorial Day long weekend. Tomorrow we move on again. Stay we us!!
Sun hole in rock. “The Thumb”.
Pictographs. ‘Crying Eye’ sun hole.
Saturday 5/26/18 We had another busy day, visiting Capital Reef National Park in Torrey, UT, Kodachrome State Park in Cannonville, UT and a small corner of Bryce Canyon National Park on the way to our hotel in Cedar City, UT where it is pretty chilly 68 degrees compared to the 80’s when we left Caineville this morning. We opted to take the scenic route from Capital Reef to Cedar City, UT. Most of this slower, longer alternate route is along Utah route 12 with lots of altitude changes and sweeping curves. It keeps Rhonda (the Vette’s name) happy.
First two are in Capital Reef NP.
A spire in Kodachrome state park. Some of the Bryce Canyon hoodoos as we cut thru a corner of the park of Route 12.
Sunday 5/27/18 We visited two parks today; a small one named Cedar Breaks National Monument, near Cedar City, UT where we met a couple that used to live on Smith Mt. Lake, but sold their house there a few months ago and are touring the U. S. (small world); and Bryce Canyon National Park a major park with an 18 mile long scenic drive. Cedar Breaks is sort of a mini-Bryce with similar formations. There was still snow on the ground there. Bryce was spectacular (and crowded on Memorial Day weekend).
Cedar Breaks. Some of the snow there.
Bryce Natural Bridge. A spire reminiscent of a shell. Loads of spires.
Monday, Memorial Day, 5/28/2018 On our way to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, we did a quick stop to take pictures of the Glen Canyon Dam which is the dam that creates Lake Powell. We then went on to Sunset Crater. Amazing that over 1000 years have past since the volcano erupted and growth is just starting in the ash. Tonight we are staying in Williams, AZ, The town is like a mini Las Vegas! It is about 50 minutes from the Grand Canyon. Guess where we are going tomorrow!!
Glen Canyon Dam looking both ways: downstream and upstream.
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.
The volcano cone. Sample lava.
Tuesday 5/3/18 Well, today we went to the Grand Canyon. Actually we were pushed into the Grand Canyon Park, literally! The car stalled out while we were waiting in line, so two rangers pushed “Rhonda” to the side. She started once again and we were off. We decided to take the free shuttle bus to most of the lookouts. We took a ton of pictures. Can you guess what the last picture is called? ____ Rock. I’ll tell you tomorrow!
Grand Canyon views and the Colorado river.
Wednesday 5/30/18 I’m doing this blog on Thurs. because we did not have a good internet connection last night. Anyway, we went to Sedona, AZ. Really cool red rock formations. We also tried to visit the Ghost Town in Jerome, AZ, but Rhonda wasn’t cooperating. OK, I know all of you are waiting patiently for the answer to the rock question. It was DUCK ROCK!!
Rock formations around Sedona.
Thursday 5/31/18 Well, we once again tried to go Jerome. We did make it and took picture of the Sliding Jail, and then Rhonda stalled out on the way to the Ghost Town, so we decided to skip that one. She started again, but Dave found a vacuum hose that had a split in it, so we went to Auto Zone and he replaced it. On we go to Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden. I never knew there were so many kinds of cactus! When we were leaving Phoenix, Rhonda stalled out again on I-10 and wouldn’t start. So once again AAA came to the rescue and now we are staying in downtown Phoenix. Yes, the adventures of Dave and Anne continue!!
The sliding jail; once across the street and several hundred feet uphill.
Pink Prickly Pear. Assorted cacti.
Friday 6/1/18 Unfortunately today was not a good day, We are still in Phoenix and the car is still in the shop waiting on yet another fuel pump. I will be so glad when this issue is resolved.
Saturday 6/2/18 Fuel pump replaced, BUT two miles later and we are calling for another tow. Guess it isn’t the pump. Only the carb hasn’t been touched yet and I’m thinking it must be the issue. Find out Monday I guess…
Sunday 6/3/18 Today was an exciting day. (just kidding) We did laundry, took a walk, got our hair cut and bought microwave food for dinner. Doing the cheap. Rhonda is an expensive girl!!.
Monday 6/4/18 After some discussion with the shop owner who was working on the car, we decided to move to another shop with a reputation for working successfully on older vehicles. Hopefully he will be better at diagnosing whatever is actually causing the fuel delivery issue. It appears that the electric pumps are less than ideal and keep beating themselves to death. Phoenix hit 110 degrees today; just as glad we weren’t outside driving around in it. Heat appears to be a factor in causing whatever is happening with the car. That is a good thing/bad thing since it’s making the issue recreatable, upping the odds on someone understanding the cause.
Tuesday 6/5/18 Well, after the shop spent most of the day trying various configurations of the electric fuel pump (moving it near the tank, trying a larger capacity pump), I got a call from the current shop asking why we were using electric and would we consider going back to the old mechanical setup? Next stop; back to the past, completing the circle.
Wednesday 6/6/18 Rhonda rolls again! GOODBYE Phoenix. Looks like old tech really does beat the cocky, noisy, young upstart for this specific application. A note of warning for anyone contemplating using an electric fuel pump with a carburetor equipped Corvette: DON’T. We are heading for California tomorrow!!
Thursday 6/7/18 We made it to California!! We drove from Goodyear, AZ (Phoenix suburb) to San Marcos, CA. We went through Imperial Valley County near the Salton Sea and stopped at the Sand Dunes. We also went to the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge. (yes, they named a refuge after Sonny Bono). You could barely see the Salton Sea from the Refuge without a long hike, so no pictures. We are staying with our daughter, Crystal in San Marcos for a few days.
Imperial Sand Dunes.
Friday 6/8/18 thru Sunday 6/10/18 We are combining all three days into this entry. Friday we went to the beach and took a picture with Rhonda just to prove she made it to the Pacific ocean! Saturday Dave went paddle boarding for the first time with our daughter. He didn’t do too badly. Sunday we took a walk in Encinitas and went to the Self-Realization Fellowship, which is basically a zen temple and gardens. They had koi ponds and views of the ocean. I’m told that Encinitas is the yoga capital of the world.
Rhonda visits the Pacific. Some fool on a paddle board.
A koi pond at the Swami’s place.
Monday 6/11/18 Another long day on the road, from San Marcos to San Simeon, CA. Visiting the Hearst Castle tomorrow morning and then on to our next stop.
Tuesday 6/12/18 Visited Hearst Castle in the morning. It is quite extensive and decorated in a mélange of different periods and nationalities, with statuary, wall hangings, furnishings. There are a number of guest ‘cottages’ surrounding the castle which was the center for hosting meals and parties. We also popped up the road a bit to see the sea lion colony.
The main building towers. The indoor pool. (The outdoor pool is being renovated).
Elephant seals doing what they do best.
Wednesday 6/13/18 Well, the car issues continue, this time a no start when hot which a new starter helped but failed to cure. It tracked down to a problem with getting enough current to the solenoid (old corroded wiring being the prime suspect). Since we didn’t have the time to try and replace all the whole mess, we ended up running a new wire from the battery directly to the solenoid with a momentary switch. Rhonda now has a push button start! Of course, it’s up to the operator to turn the ignition key to on, verify the car is in park and raise the hood to access the switch to operate the starter. Crude, but effective, if only one step away from hand cranking.
Thursday 6/14/18 It feels good to be back on the road again. Today we went to Sutter’s Fort State National Park in Sacramento. I signed a document dated June 14th 1846 to get 160 acres of land for free. In exchange, I will clear the acreage and start a farm within 3 years and 1 day. Pretty cool. Now where is that time machine?
Can anyone guess what the second picture is? I’ll let you know the answer tomorrow.
The other place we visited was The Squeeze Inn. It is a burger joint in Roseville, CA. Their burgers have a cheese skirt The cheese is piled on and then ice is used to keep the cheese leaking out from burning. Yummy!
The F150’s predecessor. Guess what this is???
Anne signs up for 160 acre land grant. The document to validate it.
A Squeeze Inn cheeseburger (lots of cheese).
Friday 6/15/18 Yesterday’s mystery picture is indeed a brandy still. Apparently native California grapes were pretty sour, so it was common practice to run Locally produced wine through a still and make brandy out of it. Today we visited Lassen Volcanic National Park. It’s sort of a mini-Yellowstone in the north east corner of California.
The snow is still on the peaks. A volcanic mud pot.
Emerald Lake (still clogged with ice).
Saturday 6/16/18 We bopped back out to the coast today on a very scenic highway, Route 299 from Redding to Eureka, CA. We stopped in Klamath ( a bit up the coast from Eureka via Route 101). Klamath is home to the Trees of Mystery, a tourist attraction with a bit of walk through forest and a ski-type tram to a nearby peak. Tonight we are staying in a nearby seaside town, Crescent City, CA which is literally right on the ocean side. This city was pretty much washed away in 1964 due to a tsunami triggered by an Alaskan earthquake. Should be in Oregon tomorrow.
The big tree. Chronology on a trunk. Earliest, in the center, refers to the Crusades in 1096.
A bit of chainsaw whimsy.
Sunday 6/17/18 Today we visited Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. This lake sits in the cone of extinct volcano Mt. Mazama. It sits at an altitude of 6,178 feet, covers 20 square miles of surface and is 1,943 feet deep at the lowest point. It was pretty cold at the lake, in the 40s, and snow still covers some of the ground. Basically, after the volcano last erupted 7,700 years ago, any snow and water falling on the crater had no outlet and gradually filled the crater to create the lake seen today. Wizard island is actually a secondary cone formed after the top blew off creating the main crater. LLao rock is a lava flow, as opposed to volcanic ash which forms most of the peak.
The lake. Llao Rock.
Wizard Island.
Monday 6/18/18 Today we visited Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, a small national park near Newport, OR. It is home to a functional light house first commissioned in the 1870’s. Back in the day, it required 3 government employees to keep the (originally whale oil, but later pig lard) fueled lantern going every night. The area was so isolated they grew some of their own food, cared for their own cow, got their water from a cistern that needed periodic refilling with fresh water and generally only made it in to town once weekly. Today, the light is fully automated with electric lights installed sometime in the mid 20th century. It is also home to a zillion or so birds, seals and, seasonally, a whale watch area as the whales migrate past on the way north or south. Tomorrow, we should be in Washington state.
Yaquina Head Lighthouse outside. and inside.
Shore view. Seals relaxing.
Tuesday 6/19/18 Today found us in Tacoma, Washington checking out the Lemay America’s Car Museum. They have four floors of cars covering a wide range of automotive history and design. One of our favorites was the ’57 Nomad which we actually got to ride in for a short bit. They have a short track and were allowing customers to ride in either a 50’s era Citroen or the Nomad; an easy choice for us. We have a tough question for the auto buffs reading this: can you identify the red vehicle on the last two pictures? We will let you know tomorrow; I think you will be very surprised. One hint; the body dates to 1960.
The 1957 Chevy Nomad. The 2005 solar electric Momentum.
Car question of the day: what is it? (both shots are same car).
Wednesday 6/20/18 The answer to yesterday’s mystery auto question: you are looking at Ferrambo; a fusion of a Ferrari Modena powertrain and an 1960 Rambler American wagon. Here is a link detailing a little history about this vehicle.
Today we saw the Space Needle in Seattle. We were planning to have lunch at the top, but the restaurant was closed for renovations : -( Seattle is your typical city with plenty of traffic and expensive public parking ($18.00 for 2 hours)!! I miss Lynchburg! We are planning to go to Mount St. Helens tomorrow.
The needle. View of downtown from the top.
View of the sound from the top.
Thursday 6/21/18 Well, Mt St Helens was a bust. Morning clouds enshrouded the entire peak. You could barely see the road, never mind the crater. Click here for someone else’s pictures of same. Later we drove back into Oregon and followed historic route 30 as far as possible along the southern side of the gorge from Troutville to Hood River where we started south to catch views of Mt. Hood. Tonight, we are in Madras, Oregon where it is semi-desert and 88 degrees.
Mt St Helen, as we saw it. Columbia River Gorge, Vista House.
Views of Mt Hood. Note the cloud stream it forms. The clouds appear to move in opposite directions, but it’s because they are views of opposite sides of the mountain.
Friday 06/22/18 Today we drove by the Painted Hills in Mitchell, OR on our way to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City, OR. Here, they had movies and displays telling what it was like for the families from Independence, MO going on the Oregon Trail, all their trials and hardships.
We also kept seeing references to a man named John Day like Dayville and the John Day River. So we looked him up on Google and found out he was a fur hunter born in Culpeper, VA. Click here for details about his life.
Painted Hills, Oregon
Oregon Trail exhibit. Typical wagons.
John Day sign at highway turnout.
Saturday 6/23/18 Today we visited two sites in Idaho. The Shoshone falls are sometimes called the Niagara of the West. They are on the Snake River. It is a multi-stepped fall with a permanent rainbow cast by the mist kicked up by the motion. We also visited the Craters of the Moon National Park. It is 618 square miles of cinders and lava flows that formed without a central volcanic cone, just many small individual vents. We are starting to slowly work our way eastward again; should be in Montana tomorrow.
Shoshone Falls , ID Permanent rainbow at the bottom.
Craters of the Moon, ID.
Black cinder slope. Lava flow.
View inside a blow hole.
Sunday 6/24/18 Our plan today was to go to the American Computer Museum in Bozeman, MT, but there was an accident on route 20 in Idaho which held us up an hour so we decided to go to Yellowstone National Park instead. We took the wrong road as we were leaving and it happened to be a great thing. We saw some bison, a black bear, and a coyote on this road!! This is why we call it our adventure.
Old Faithful at rest. Mammoth Hot Springs.
Animals we met along the road.
Monday 6/25/18 We started the day at The American Computer & Robotics Museum in Bozeman, MT. Not a large museum, but some interesting items ranging from the space race, early computer games, WW2 encryption advances to the early days of electronic computing.
Later we drove thru Yellowstone again on our way to viewing the Grand Tetons. This is a relatively young range of old, hard rock evidenced by the many sharp, jagged peaks. It is covered in snow the year round.
The American Computer Museum.
Then (8 meg disk) & Now (1 terabyte drive). Replica of Antikythera mechanism, a BC analogue celestial movement calculator.
See how many of these computer games you recognize.
One last Yellowstone bison. Roadside cascade.
The Tetons.
Tuesday 6/26/18 Not much today; we drove from Dubois, WY to Custer, SD, basically across most of Wyoming. Did note the two statues below at the begin and end points of that drive.
Statue at Black Bear Inn, Dubois, WY. Statue in Custer, SD.
Wednesday 6/27/18 Custer State Park in Custer, SD was one of our destinations today. We drove the loop road and saw some bison and a couple of prairie dogs. We then drove the Needles Highway, which is also in the park Very interesting granite majestic spires. Then we took a trip to Crazy Horse Memorial also in Custer. It looks like they still have a lot more to do on this sculpture. Link to the private organization doing this sculpture. Link to Crazy Horse bio.
The Needles, Custer State Park, SD. Looks like a bishop.
Eye of the Needle; a tunnel on 87 passing through Custer State Park.
Crazy Horse Monument. The vision of the completed work.
Thursday 6/28/18 Today we drove the Enchanted Highway which features gigantic folk art steel structures along the side of the highway. These are huge steel structures standing hundreds of feet high. Later we drove the scenic loop at Teddy Roosevelt National Park in Medora, ND. It was a bit of a let down since there was construction happening along the roadway and the temperature (91) seemed to be keeping most of the animals out of sight. We had visited this park before, at dusk, in 2007, and saw all sorts of wild life, including a mustang herd.
The Enchanted Highway art works. The steel outline rider is Teddy Roosevelt.
View of Teddy Roosevelt National Park, South Unit, ND
Friday 6/29/18 Today we drove to Devil Tower, WY to see Devils Tower National Monument. We walked the mile + around the huge rock. We walked rather quickly because there was a thunderstorm threatening. When we arrived in Sundance, WY, where we are staying, they told us we just missed a hail storm. Rhonda doesn’t need any more damage!
If you would like to know more about Devils Tower click the link to the story and legends regarding Devils Tower.
Views of Devils Tower.
What does this rock resemble?
Saturday 6/30/18 I will answer the question from yesterday. Actually this is just my interpretation: A Lion?
On to today. We went to the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs SD. In 1974 a contractor hoping to build houses on this site was excavating a hill and found bones. He called officials and archeologists came and dug up the area finding bones and tusks from Columbian, wooly and pygmy mammoths and many other animals. Apparently, the site was a watering hole and because of the limestone, (which is slippery when wet) the animals that fell in could not get out.
We drove to Carhenge in Alliance, NE today, too. Really cool!. Can you guess what make of car is in the last photo? Hint: it was my (Anne) first car in 1976.
Reproduction Mammoths.
The real deal.
Carhenge. Caddy close-up.
Does anyone recognize this make/model?
Sunday 7/1/18 Today we made two stops. The Chimney Rock, a historic landmark for wagon trails heading west in Bayard, Nebraska. The Golden Spike Tower, a viewpoint to the Bailey switching yard in North Platte, Nebraska. The Bailey yard is currently the world’s largest rail sorting yard, handling roughly 10,000 cars every day on 315 miles of switching tracks used to sort cars into trains by destination. Yesterday’s Carhenge mystery car is an AMC Gremlin; the model of Anne’s very first new car.
Chimney Rock. Golden Spike Tower.
Bailey switching yard.
Monday 7/2/18 Today we started with a visit to a Chevy dealership to have the brakes bled – not really a big deal, unless you need to stop. We then did an unscheduled trip to the Classic Car Collection in Kearney, NE. It has 200+ cars from the early 1900s through the 1970s. Below are just a few cars that caught our eyes. Later we visited the geographic center of the USA located in Lebanon, KS. Only a couple of weeks left to our adventure. It doesn’t look like we are going to complete our itinerary, but there is always next year.
38 Rolls Royce ‘Wraith’ 53 Kaiser Darrin
63 Split Window Corvette Early 70s metallic blue C3
Rhonda at the geographic center of the USA
Tuesday 7/3/18 Today we stopped in Wamego, KS to visit the Oz Museum. I thought it was going to be kid oriented, but there were movies about Frank Baum and a lot of information about making the movie in 1939. Very interesting and a lot of artifacts and memorabilia.
The main characters.
Wednesday 7/4/18 Today we visited Strataca in Hutchinson, KS. This is one of the few working mines that allows visitors. It is a salt mine tapping into a strata 650 feet below ground that was created by a shallow sea once reaching from Kansas to Arizona. Guess we aren’t running out of salt anytime soon.
Strataca salt example. Undercut saw used on new cut.
Ceiling fall. Pillar wall.
Thursday 7/5/18 A lot of driving today; around 6 hours from Hutchinson, KS to Branson, MO. Branson is definitely family oriented with amusement parks and fun restaurants like the one we ate at tonight: The Great American Chicken & Steak House (the fried chicken was really good). Tomorrow we are going to see a show. Stay tuned and we’ll tell you all about it in Friday’s excerpt.
Big Chicken at Branson restaurant.
Friday 7/6/18 We strayed around Branson this morning. We started with listening to a Johnny Cash tribute artist called Jackson Cash. Didn’t look much like Johnny, but he did justice to several of his songs; really did sound a lot like the real deal. Later we browsed through the Toy Museum, where we came across a big Corvette neon sign. See pictures below of the sign and our toy.
Corvette Neon Sign. Rhonda at the Toy Museum
The Branson Toy Museum.
Saturday 7/7/18 Today we visited Hannibal, Missouri, Sam Clemens (aka Mark Twain’s) home town. We discovered that many of his works were somewhat autobiographical and various actual town residents served as templates for his characters. Tom, of course, was Sam, himself. Huck Finn was modelled on a close friend, Tom Blankenship. Becky was modelled on Laura Hawkins, a neighbor. We also learned the work he felt was his personal best, titled ‘Joan of Arc’ is rarely read. Later we drove through St. Louis. We were too late to score a ride to the top today, so we settled for a picture of the arch itself.
Hannibal, MO, Samuel Clemens home town.
Tom Sawyer’s house. Huck Finn’s house.
Becky Thatcher’s house. Mark Twain (Sam Clemens) bust.
St Louis arch.
Sunday 7/8/18 Today we visited the Dream Car Museum in Evanston, Indiana. This is not a large collection, but it does have examples of muscle cars you don’t often see, both European and American from the 60s through today. All are in great condition. They also have an extensive collection of gas pumps, all the way back to a portable gas cart dating before filling stations were ubiquitous and you bought fuel at a hardware store. We are nearing the end of our trip with only a couple of hundred ‘as the crow flies’ miles to home. Unfortunately, the roads don’t run that way so we will be at least one more day on the road.
A fitting picture of Rhonda.
1996 Lamborghini Diablo 2013 Maserati Gran Tourismo
1965 Shelby 427 Cobra 1966 Ford GT40
1979 Pontiac Trans Am 1987 Buick Grand National
Monday 7/9/2018 I’m sure you have heard the phrase “all good things must come to an end”. Well, today was the last day of our adventure. We drove from Lexington, Kentucky back to our home in Virginia. We had a great time. Saw some amazing, interesting and odd things, but it was time to come home. We did about 3/4 of the stuff we set out to do, but we will do the rest some other time. Rhonda needs a good bath and a lot of mechanical TLC. Considering that she was on a flatbed truck 6 times and Dave and I didn’t kill each other, it was a great trip. Thank you to those who read our blog and we hope you enjoyed it. We’ll let you know when we decide to finish our adventure.