NOTICE

We learned something on this trip and we feel that we really must pass this information on to anyone who may be reading this blog, if only as a public service.

There has been a lot of 'evidence' offered to us, and it is an untruth.

Even though...

...a friend's son swore he saw one in his back yard (we believe the picture offered as proof had been heavily photoshopped).

...my cousin said that they are ALWAYS around

...my sister claims to have one as a pet named Alphonse

...a man said that he had a near miss just scant minutes after we passed the VERY same place

...every province and state indicated their existence and

...many hotels had a 'gottagettagund' variety,

please be advised that

the MOOSE IS A MYTH!

The missing post

Gosh, where did the last week disappear to? We are home and back into the routine of work and cooking and physio and everything else that just seems to take up days. That little taste of retirement--I could handle it!

We left Illinois, and spent the next night here. It was a pretty quiet night, but the place was quite interesting. For one thing, the lady who runs it is a flautist, who used to work for interesting people like this guy. But she has also spent considerable time in Zimbabwe, which holds a particular fascination for me. Her living room is full of great cds, some movies and several pieces of Zimbabwe sculptures and handicrafts, all of which she sells on behalf of the artists. There were some gorgeous pieces, one of which is carved in ironwood--a jaguar about to make his move on a hippo in the water. That piece now resides on our fireplace mantle.

After Ohio, we shopped. Outlet mall shopping is fun! And it is perhaps a little too easy to indulge. Nonetheless, we made the most of it, and I am pleased to say that two/thirds of our Christmas shopping is not only purchased but wrapped.

The only other events really were fighting with the duct tape holding our sunroof on. The heat was so intense that the glue on the tape kept melting away, basically, leaving a funny whistle noise and the potential for the whole entire thing to come right off, taking out whoever or whatever would be in its path. Yeah, that was as fun as it sounds.

And all too soon, yet not soon enough we were home. Our cat missed us, the magic painter was here to transform the guest room, and the hot hot weather has followed us here.

It was a GREAT trip. A really wonderful time, and I hope we take more road trips in the future.

But, it is as always, great to be home too.

one of the longest days

Well, because I didn't sleep last night, we slept in this morning....and because we slept in this morning, we missed breakfast at the hotel...and because we missed breakfast at the hotel, we had to have breakfast at IHOP.

Thank heavens the very sugary lady at IHOP had the great idea of giving us coffee to go!

And because we had breakfast at IHOP, we left very late. And because we left late, we weren't prepared for how long the traffic delays would be. And because of traffic delays we didn't get around to having dinner until about 930.

We had dinner at Jonah's restaurant in Peoria, Illinois. It had the potential to be great. Admittedly, the food was pretty good. But the enjoyment of that was downgraded significantly by the very rushed service. We knew that they were closing soon, but if you are going to let people in the door, offer them a full menu, upgrade their drink order to a full bottle of wine--then for heaven's sake, treat them the same as a guest in a 7. Every bit of the meal was rushed, and (pet peeve coming out here) they couldn't wait until we left to start vacuuming. I hate vacuum harmonics on top of classical music. If we had known it would be like that, we would have ordered completely differently. If they had suggested we could have a more leisurely meal in the lounge, we would have. If they said the kitchen was closing, we would have made different choices. Heck, we play fair in the sandbox.

We paid the same as someone else who had been there earlier...and it wasn't a cheap meal. So rushed was the service that we had salads served before appetizers were finished, main course served before salad was started, and then the laughable offer of dessert. It was so clear that they wanted us out of there...we weren't going to order dessert. Worse still, when we said that--the server made no offer of anything to appease us.

So in my opinion, even if the fish was good (and it wasn't bad...but it wasn't great either), but the service sucks, then the whole thing is a waste of money.

Or, I could be grouchy because I didn't get any sleep last night!

one more thing...

Is there anything as lovely as a deer and two fawn

running across the prairie?

No, not really!

Unless of course you are talking about

a solitary bison on a grassland hill.

And could I capture any of that on film?

Not a chance.

Sleepless in Sioux City

AARGH

It's 3:30 a.m. and I haven't been to sleep yet. I get into a few nights like this. The good news is that it is a driving day tomorrow and I can sleep in the car.

So instead of snoozing, let me remind myself about the day we just had. It started out in the best way. We ate breakfast at Baker's Bakery in Custer, South Dakota. I had seen reviews of this place online, and it was recommended by many. So, we went and I must say that it lived up to the reviews it had. This was one of the best breakfasts we have had on this trip.

It started out with a breakfast burrito--sans green sauce. It was spicy (but not hot), and soooooo good. First we shared the burrito and then we shared the cinnamon bun. I confess that when I took the first bite, I was transported back to a time when I was oh so small, and visiting my grandparents. The bakery in their town made the BEST cinnamon buns, and it had been my intent to visit there for a trip down memory lane. That didn't happen because of my brother's heart attack.

Baker's Bakery made up for all that! This bun was all caramelly nutty bad-for-me goodness, and it is the closest thing I ever had to one from Grandma's house. And because it was so tasty, and not cloyingly sweet, we decided that we would take two donuts for lunch. Oh yeah, it was a real nutritious day! I'm going to have to work on that when I get home or risk my brother's fate.

After indulging, we went looking for animals, with some success. First, we saw a buffalo, who was lumbering along the road. He touched the mirror on my side and he was so close I could have kissed him. I resisted that.

Then we saw a herd of burros. They were intermingled with stupid people. I mean really, the burros look tame, and they were obviously begging for food. But is it wise to stand in the way of one's hind legs just because you want a picture of the baby? One lady actually knelt down to pet the baby, and her backpack kept hitting the burro behind her. She didn't even notice when he stamped his feet. Me? I got out of there. After I took my own picture of the baby. But I have 18x zoom on my camera!

We saw lots of deer and antelope play too, and it was all-in-all a lovely little excursion. It was however, just the beginning of our drive. We had a long way to go.

On the way, we saw this.

And now, here I am, sleepless in Sioux City. It's now 3:43. Just in case you wondered how long it took me to type this.

God Carving Mountains

I am feeling very insignificant lately.

Today we went on a scenic drive that quite frankly took us completely by surprise. It's because we didn't do a lot of research before coming here--our plans have been quite fluid, and there have been a lot of changes. So today we grabbed a map that outlined five scenic drives of the Custer National Park area, and we picked one.

It was beautiful. Lots of trees, some wildlife, a few creeks, a couple of rock formations. But nothing, and I do mean nothing, prepared me for what was to come. We had just approached it through a 'one lane tunnel', and I think that was part of the surprise was because we didn't know it was coming. I can't capture it on film in a way that shows the emotion behind it. This huge cathedral of granite formations met us, in an area that had been cleared to allow perhaps a dozen cars to park and the 'one-lane' traffic to pass through the tunnel.

Logan Pass was stunning. Devil's Tower was ethereal. But the Needle's Eye made me cry.

Good work, God!

Men Carving Mountains

We are in Custer, South Dakota for a few nights. Last night, we went to see the Crazy Horse Memorial, which is quite an interesting sight indeed. I find it fascinating that one family would make this their generational life's project, without federal government aid. At the same time, I find myself wishing that they would accept it, because there is no way this will be finished in my lifetime.

Watching the video about the man behind the vision, and the work that has been done was thought-provoking. The size of the sculpture is a bit incomprehensible to me. Today, we went to Mount Rushmore, which was completed in a relatively few years because of available funding...but I found myself underwhelmed, again because of the size of the project. The four faces of Mount Rushmore are lovely, and we were introduced to them in grand fashion on the spectacular Needle's highway. But all four of them will fit inside the hair of Crazy Horse.

Perhaps the other reason that I am underwhelmed today is just due to all the tourism surrounding the sculptures. Some of it is okay--I like when I have a choice about what I want to see, and I don't really mind paying access fees. But I dislike it when it is commercialized for money's sake alone, and there is a lot of that around here. Need a Rushmore Burger? We can find that for you. A bunch of Lincoln fries? That's here too.

Ugh.

Devil's Tower

In 1977 Steven Spielberg released "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". I remember liking the movie--and the five note musical theme that went with it often comes to mind when strange things occur. Part of the location shooting for that movie took place at Devil's Tower. If I remember correctly, it was when the space ship was landing.

When we awoke this morning, it was to a day that was rainy, dreary, and cold. I was immediately disappointed that we didn't go to the monument last night--because the picture taking would surely have been better. We decided to go anyway.

I was in awe. Perhaps it was because of the rain--everything was so misty and ethereal. There were not a lot of voices to intrude as we walked around the monument. There were huge boulders cast carelessly around the base, almost as if a giant toddler had a temper tantrum and tossed his marbles around his room. It wasn't just boulders, but whole columns that had fallen off the side a hundred or so years ago.

It was crazy amazing!

Mountain pictures

My friend said I should have included some mountains in my pictures of Logan Pass...these are for her :-)

The Mayor's Inn

The Mayor's Inn, in Cody, Wyoming is a fabulous place to stay! We were welcomed so warmly, and treated so well. The proprieters are a great couple; she has filled the inn with lovely little extras, both practical and humourous (we even had a rubber ducky). He is an ex truck-driver with a passion for baking and classic country. Best of all, he is a self-taught EXCELLENT cook! Our first breakfast was fruit and mini-muffins, followed by the best blueberry pancakes (no syrup required), and terrific coffee. Our second breakfast was eggs benedict, cooked perfectly, with homemade hollondaise sauce. We decided to stay there for a dinner as well--he made buffalo medallions that were melt-in-your mouth, and a lovely salmon. The portions were generous, and the lady who served us was hilarious. To finish our dinner, we had dessert--and I have to say that my chocolate cake was SO good that I asked for the recipe. It was ready for me this morning before we left.

The Inn itself has an interesting history; it was moved from it's original location, and then had a colourful past of assorted shops and a pizza parlour. However, no one ever used the inside; they just added on in bits and pieces outside. Then this couple bought it, and it has been lovingly restored to its Victorian roots.

They were also great travel planners. We saw quite a few interesting things--buildings where the Hole-In-The-Wall Gang planned their bank robberies, doors with bullet holes in them, and a lot of Buffalo Bill Cody this and that. There was a fair bit of cheesiness thrown in, but it was all fun.

They sent us on two different scenic routes (one yesterday and one today). We saw the most spectacular sights! Here is one of them...

I can't believe that we are starting the last week of the trip! Tomorrow--we're heading back to 1978. Stay tuned!

followed by...

AARGH.

This was not the best day, though it started out just fine. We saw an osprey nest

and watched the 3 birds for a short while. But after that...

It all started with pulling into a rest stop and realizing that our sunroof wouldn't close. This was problematic because of the heavy rain that was falling. So we had to find a Ford dealership who could help us. We did that by calling Dave and asking him to look it up for us, and send directions, which he did. He found the Brook-Hannah Ford Dealership in Butte Montana.

We pulled into Butte with the realization that we had just missed a hailstorm, and a dandy one at that. The dealership was shovelling out their car bays. We pulled in, and found out that there was a technical service bulletin out on just this problem with our car. But, it was going to take several days for the part to come in. The service guys didn't know how to close the sunroof, and none of us thought that the little blind inside the car (that slides under the sunroof) would keep out the rain.

And then one service guy genius had one more idea. He took apart the back of the car, and removed the motor for the sunroof. Then they were able to manually close it and duct tape the whole thing shut. Woo hoo! But wouldn't you know it, there was a weather warning out for another hail storm, possibly worse than the one that had just gone through, and we could see it coming. So the friendly Ford people suggested that we keep the car inside and wait with them, even though some of them were waiting to go home because the service shop was closed.

We LOVE the Brooks Hannah Ford People!!

The storm passed and we were on our way. For an hour. And then, there was another hail storm to deal with. It resulted in this

and this

and this

We were quite late getting to the B&B, but we were certainly made to feel welcome. A key had been left for us, and clear instructions on where our room was. We walked up the stairs and opened the door to find a gorgeous room, great big huge jacuzzi tub and a stuffed moose to say hello.

The best day so far...

Oh my goodness, what a day! I started out by making french toast with my buddy Brodie, and hugs from dear friends to send us on our way. Today we drove to Montana.

Montana! I'm really liking Montana. It is ruggedly beautiful. At Sue's suggestion, we took the Going to the Sun Highway, and my goodness it was gorgeous. I took more pictures today than the whole rest of the trip. Here is some of what we saw...

We also hit all kinds of weather. At one point, we were so close to an electrical storm that we could hear the static in the sky before it hit. What was strange about this is that we were exactly on the line of the front. The electricity was to the right of us. The sky behind us was rolling and pitch black. In front, it was clear and lovely.

I'll post more later--we have a long drive today. But I love Montana. I need to come back!

Old friends are the best friends...

After the anniversary party, we travelled south to see some people that we love. We were treated to fifteen minutes with one of my all time favourite young women. Oh how she has grown and changed in a year! And, I baked with her brother, and we made a favorite breakfast together, and it was all so good. These friends are so comfortable to be around, and we love them! I vented a wee bit, and now I can see that we are both so much more relaxed. It might have had to do with all the laughing around this...

In any case, I'm grateful. It is just the place we needed to be right now.

We also sought out a coffee place I wanted to visit because I've seen some of their coffee art. I'd advertise for them here, but they weren't too encouraging when I snapped this one, so I'm not going to. The coffee was pretty good...nice and smooth and all...and I appreciate the technique, but I won't travel to this particular one again. Somehow the attitude about the picture interfered with the whole experience.

Tomorrow, we head south again. It's time to start moving back towards home. We have a cat who needs us!

50 years

One of the main reasons for taking this trip is that my parents were celebrating their 50th anniversary. We had a super hot sunny day, that caused us to move the entire grouping of tables to the driveway. Then we had to race to beat the storm that threatened to spoil everything. But, when all is said and done, I think that we surprised them--especially with some guests that they never expected to come.

So, congratulations, Mom and Dad!

And...my brother hopes to open a barbeque restaurant. If he does, you should go. That man really understands pulled pork!