9/30/2013 9PM

End of day 22    Trip odometer 6477 miles

We started today heading into Phoenix, Arizona.  We were able to find the 1-bedroom, furnished apartment we lived in 43 years ago.  The apartment complex is not as well taken care of as it was when we lived there.  Sad to see.  But Phoenix had grown so much since we were there and had lots of beautiful sites to offer.  We had a great lunch at a place called Kiss the Cook!
Then we headed north.  We took a spur-of-the-moment turn to see the Montezuma Castle, caves and homes that were built and occupied by Sinagua farmers between years 1200 and 1400.

 

 

From there we took a drive through Oak Creek and Sedona.  Lovely towns in a beautiful mountain setting.

 

 

tonight we are staying at the Cameron Trading Post.  This cluster of buildings was originally built in 1916 and has since added a lovely lodge and a good restaurant.  Such a treasure to find in an area where there are no other towns or buildings within 15 miles in any direction.



 





9/29/2013 9 PM

End of day 21  Trip odometer 6096 miles

We are a couple of days behind, so we will try to catch up tonight.   First some pictures from Thursday.

Lighthouse at Pidgeon Point

 

Coastline on Monterey Peninsula

 

The Lone Monterey Pine at Pebble Beach

 

 

Friday morning we took the tour of the Hearst Mansion.  Quite an amazing place with an equally amazing history.

 

One of three cottages and surrounding gardens

Neptune Pool

Dining room in the main house

 

As we continued to drive south we had lunch in Santa Barbara, then continued to LA and Brian and Mary.

 







 



At Brian and Mary's

 

That evening we had dinner at their good friends, the Rich's.  It was wonderful to see Louis and Marlene, and their daughters, and Jourdan.  Maureen, a family friend, was also with us for a wonderful dinner and visit.  Sorry, no pictures were taken there.

Saturday after breakfast, Jim, Brian and I took their dog Jeff Buckley to the dog park while Mary worked out at the gym. 

Mary and I went for manicures and pedicures, then Brian and Jim joined us for lunch.  Brian's friend, Tim, had arrived by then and was also with us.  Saturday evening, Brian had to work and Mary had tickets for her friend, Katie's, play.  So Jim and I moved over to Oakwood apartment where we stayed the night at Rachel's apartment.  Rachel was out of town for the weekend and graciously offer us her place to stay.  This is in Marina Del Rey, where Brian and Mary were married a year ago, so Jim and I knew the area and could get around on our own.

Today we met up again with Brian, Mary and Tim - and Jeff Buckley, of course - and all walked over to the Farmers' Market.  We sat under a tree and ate our yummy breakfasts from the vendors, and Mary did her weekly shopping.

We sadly left them at 1PM and started driving East.  Tonight we are staying in Quartzsite, Arizona.  Had a delicious dinner at Silly Al's Bar and Pizzeria. 

 





9/26/2013. 9:30 PM

End of day 18.  Trip odometer  5569 miles

We are having trouble with the WiFi on our laptop tonight, so I am writing this from my IPad.  Will have to add today's pictures tomorrow.

We continued down the California coast from San Francisco on Rt 1 today.

Had brunch at Zachery's in Santa Cruz.

We really enjoyed the drive around the Monterey Peninsula and the 17 Mile drive through the Pebble Beach area.

We arrived at the Hearst Castle too late to catch the last tour.  So we viewed the 40 minute video about the building of the castle and will return for the tour tomorrow morning.

We had dinner at The Hungry Fisherman in Morro Bay near where we are staying tonight.

9/25/2013 9 PM

End of day 17  Trip odometer 5316 miles

We drove from Merced to the San Francisco area.  We had lunch at the Buckeye Roadhouse.  Jim had been there about 18 months ago when Mary O'Malley's uncles to him and Brian on a tour of the city while the women-folk were at a wedding shower for Mary.
Jim wanted to get a good picture of the Golden Gate Bridge so we  drove up to a lookout point above the bridge.  We couldn't figure out why there were so many people up there until we realized the final race of the America's Cup was going on in the bay.  So, by dumb luck, we were able to watch the final 15 minutes of the race.  Congratulations, USA!
then we spent a few hours walking around Fisherman's Wharf.  Lots of people there too due to the America's Cup.
Tonight we are staying with Mary Rose and Dave.  Fran and Mary Claire joined us for dinner at The Corner Store.  So nice to see them where they live.

America's Cup Race San Francisco Bay

 

Golden Gate Bridge with San Francisco background

 

Mary Claire, Fran, Mary Rose, Kate, Jim and Dave

at The Corner Store.

 

 



9/25/2013 6:15AM

Yesterday was day 16.  Trip odometer 5148 miles

Tuesday we left Fresno to head to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.  We continue to be amazed and inspired by all the beauty this country of ours has to offer.  Jim, once again, managed all the curves and narrows of the mountains roads.  He enjoys driving these, but has had enough in the last 10 days to last him awhile. 
Spent the night in Merced, CA..Had a great dinner at De Angelos Italian Steakhouse. 
Today we head for the coast and San Francisco.

 

View of Sequoia Nat'l Park

 

 

A young bear feeding as we walked to Sherman Tree

 

Sherman Tree - the largest tree in the world

 

 

This doesn't do justice to how large the Sherman Tree behind

us really is!

 

 



9/23/2013 9PM

Hi, All.  Did you miss us?
Our motel last night didn't have Wi-Fi so we couldn't enter a post.  Now we can catch up.

Sunday, September 22     Day 14    Trip odometer 4452 miles
This was probably the least successful day.  We woke up to heavy rain.  After breakfast, we drove into California, heading to Redwood National Park.  We saw some amazing Redwoods as we entered the area.  But then we missed a turn, and had to add several miles doubling back.  Then it was a long drive to Santa Rosa where we spent the night.  The rain continued for the majority of the drive.

 

 

 



Monday, September 23    Day 15  Trip odometer 4768
Today was a MUCH better day.  We awoke to beautiful, clear skies.  Our destination today was Yosemite National Park.   It was a beautiful drive to and through the Park.  Both of us thought that today was the most awesome and majestic views yet.  We try to capture some in these pictures.

 

Welcome to Yosemite

 

 

9/21/2013 9:30PM

End of day 13.  Trip odometer 3993 miles

We left Ellen and Charles at 9AM.  We had a short, but delightful visit with them. 
From Portland we traveled west on Rt. 18 to return to the Pacific Coast of Oregon.  Yesterday, we traveled the Washington coast and the northern part of the Oregon coast in rain and mist.  And the coastal road didn't always stay near enough to view the Pacific. Today was a little cloudy at first, then sunny.  And Rt. 101 gave us a view of the shore 98% of the time.  What a beautiful drive!  Sometimes sandy beaches, sometimes rocky cliffs, but all of it stunning.
Tonight, we are staying in Brookings, OR. just four miles north of the border with California.

Oregon Coast from Cape Meares National Wildlife Reserve

 

Lighthouse at Cape Perpetua, OR

 

At Newport, Oregon

 

View from Strawberry Hill, OR







9/20/2013. 10 PM

End of day 12. Trip odometer 3671

We continued our drive along the coastal roads of the Olympic Peninsula today.  We crossed the Columbia River into Astoria, Oregon around 11:30 AM.  We had lunch at the Portway Tavern there.  It was raining after lunch as we drove the coast line in Oregon to Tillamook and Seaside until we reached the lighthouse at Cape Meares.  The rain had stopped by this time, So we could see the wild surf of the Pacific and the rocky coast that is the home of a variety of birds. Driving inland, we arrived Portland around 5 PM at the home of my niece, Ellen Stearns, and her husband and son, Charles and Max.  Ellen's sister, Lilian, joined us for drinks at Raciones and dinner at Tasty n Alder.  We are sorry we only have one night to spend with them.  

9/19/2013 8:15PM

End of day 11   Trip odometer  3395.5 miles

 

We sadly left Maureen and Ron this morning to catch the 8:40 ferry from Edmondson to Kingston on Washington's Olympic Peninsula.  We drove the road that kept us near the water of Puget Sound most of the morning.  Stopped for brunch in Port Angeles at Café New Day - horrible service, but good food.  Then we drove inland on Hurricane Ridge Road through Olympic National Park.  Beautiful views of the snow in the surrounding mountains.  Thanks, Ron, for suggesting this route.
Tonight we are in Hoquiam, WA.  Had a great dinner at the 8th Street Ale House across the street.

 

Beautiful Seattle

 

                                                                      Glaciers on Olympic Mountain

 

9/18/2013. 8PM

Day 10. Trip odometer unchanged from yesterday.

We have had a great day in Seattle with Maureen and Ron.  After a morning walk up and down the trails in Interlaken Park, we had a breakfast that included Grandma Smith's sour cream kuchen.  Yum!

Later they drove us to the Seattle Locks where we could watch the movement of boats through the locks and walk the gardens nearby.  We had a delicious lunch at Chinook's at the Fisherman's Terminal.  We drove to Kerry Park in Queen Anne where we had a wonderful view of the Seattle downtown skyline and Puget Sound.

We have just returned from having dinner with Rob Duerr and his delightful children, Eva and Chas at Pizzuto's Italian Cafe.

We are closing the day back at Maureen's with her homemade apple pie!

A wonderful day filled with good people and good food!

9/17/2013. 8PM

End of day 9. Trip odometer 3113 miles

We left Othello, WA (which was at trip odometer 2889 miles) this morning and arrived in Tacoma about 1 PM.  We spent a couple hours enjoying the cars at LeMay American Automobile Museum.  This being the 60th anniversary of the corvette, they still had about a dozen corvettes in the museum since their big event last month.  Also many, many other great cars from 1890 to the late 1980's.

Now we are with Maureen and Ron in Seattle.  Maureen fixed a wonderful dinner and now she and Ron are helping us decide what to do when we leave here in 2 days.

9/16/2013 8PM

End of day 8.  I forgot to check the odometer when we checked in, so I will have to catch that up in the morning.

After breakfast, we headed north out of Boise on Rt. 55.  We continued to be amazed at the beautiful countryside we are driving through.  Mountains and mountain passes, valleys, ranches, potato farms in Idaho, and apple orchards in Washington.

 

River view near McCall, ID

 

We crossed the Snake River to enter Washington at Lewiston, ID.  We are staying the night in Othello, WA., about 1/3 of the way through Washington state.  Onward to Tacoma and Seattle tomorrow.

 

 

A view from Panorama Point in the Badlands National Park, S.D.

 

One of the many mountain peaks in the Grand Tetons National Park, WY

 

 





9/15/2013 8:00PM

End of Day 7  Trip odometer 2475 miles

It was raining hard and 49 degrees when we left the Togwotee Mountain Lodge this morning.  The heavy clouds prevented us from getting sunrise pictures of the Grand Tetons.  We took a few pictures through the rain.  Drove through Jackson, Wyoming which looked like a really nice place.  It gets very busy in the winter with all of its ski resorts.  We did some more mountain driving as we entered Idaho.  But the sun was out by then, so it was much nicer than the mountain passes of yesterday.  We had lunch in Idaho Falls then continued west, passing through some more incredible landscapes.  This included the crate moon area which is made up of ancient lava rock.  The rain had stopped, so we were able to drive with the top dowm again.  We are spending the night in Boise.  It was sunny and 93 degrees when we arrived.  Had a nice dinner at the Kopper Kettle near our motel.
Here are some pictures from yesterday and today:



Mount Rushmore illuminated at night

 

 

Eye of the Needle rock formation in Custer State Park

 

Entering Yellowstone

 

 

Our cabin at Togwotee Mountain Lodge.

 



9/14/2013. 8:45PM

End of day 6. Trip odometer 2086 miles

Started out from Billings, MT at 0800.  It's raining.  Stopped at the Red Lodge Cafe and Casino in Red Lodge for breakfast.  There seems to be a casino on every corner in Montana and Wyoming!

Our route to Yellowstone took us through mountains on Beartooth Highway - a winding and twisting road up and down the mountains with a 10K+ elevation.  With the rain, and fog at the higher elevations, it was a very interesting drive!  Not much traffic, so we could take our time at 20 miles per hour.

We entered Yellowstone at the Northeast entrance.  The drive through Yellowstone took several hours as we stopped frequently to get pictures of the beautiful waterfalls and other sites.  It was still raining much of the drive, but only a mist when we got out to walk the scenic sites or wait 45 minutes to see Old Faithful erupt. The sun finally came out as we neared the South Gate to exit Yellowstone and enter Grand Tetons National Park.  The grandeur of it all is amazing!  We plan to go back to the Grand Tetons tomorrow to get pictures with the pre-noon sun on the mountains.

Tonight we are staying just outside of Grand Teton National Park at the Togwotee Mountain Lodge in one of their cabins in the woods.  We had dinner at the Red Fox Saloon on site.  Had delicious local trout!!

9/13/2013 10:50pm

Day 5  Trip odometer 1780 miles

Today was mostly a movement day.  We traveled north through the Black Hills National Forest that we hadn't seen yet.  Passed through Deadwood. Not nearly as interesting as the TV show.

Welcome To Deadwood.

 

Continued into Wyoming and saw Devil's Tower.

 

 

We had lunch at the Lake Stop Café on the edge of Lake DeSmet in Buffalo, Wyoming.  A funny little place that was a gas station, motel, café, bar, package store and casino all in one!

Later we stopped at Little Big Horn Monument, the site of the Indian battle and Custer's last stand.  A sad time in American history.

Markers place where the soldiers fell even tho they were buried elsewhere on the property.

 

 

We are spending the night in Billings, Montana.  We had dinner at the Rex.  We found it by using a website that Brian recommended of eating places that have been featured on various TV food shows.  Great dinner.  Thanks, Brian.

 

Tomorrow we are on the Yellowstone.



9/12/2013 9:30PM

End of day 4.  Trip odometer  1364.5 miles

We left Winner, South Dakota at 8:40 this morning under clear skies.  (So far we have been very lucky with the weather).  Two hours of driving through farm land and cattle ranches brought us to a very different landscape at Badlands National Park.  We spend 1 1/2 hours driving through this amazing rugged terrain.  Amazing!!

Exiting Badlands National Park, we drove into Wall, South Dakota, a real tourist trap and home of the famous Wall Drug Store.  We ate lunch at the Cactus Cafe across the street, then braved entering the famous store.  You can buy anything and everything in their various specialty sections.  There was even a Traveler's Chapel.  We must say - the ice cream at the side fountain was delicious!  We then toured the Wounded Knee Museum, which was very interesting and moving. 

By 3:30, we were in the Black Hills National Forest.  It was a beautiful drive through the pines and winding roads.  But our favorite part of the day was driving Needles Highway in Custer State Park.  Awesome granite formations rising high above ground level.  Many one-lane tunnels through the granite.  We saw deer, goats, and pronghorns that resemble antelope.

After checking into our room at the Econolodge and dinner at BaRLee's in Keystone, we attended the after-dark show at the amphitheater of Mt. Rushmore.  A video talk about the four presidents carved in the mountain.  Then, as America the Beautiful is sung, the spotlights gradually enlighten the famous sculpture.  A beautiful way to end an amazing day.  Thank you, Micki and Dave, for recommending it. 

We took LOTS of pictures today.  I will try to publish some on this blog when the are down- loaded from the cameras and I am not so exhausted!

9/11/2013. 8PM

End of day 3.  Trip odometer 1055 miles

We left the Fox's log home at 8:20 AM.  It's another beautiful day.  Drove through lots of flat farm land as we went from town to town.  Had a late breakfast at the Heartland Diner in Britt, IA.  As we approached the Missouri River to cross into South Dakota, the land was more hilly.  We passed many large ranches before it flattened out again to farm land.  We are enjoying seeing so much of our beautiful country.  We arrived in Winner, SD at 4:30PM and checked into The Warrior Inn.  Did a load of wash at Harold's Laundry before going to dinner at the Wild West Bar & Grill.

End of day 2. Trip odometer 681.7

Left Jackie and Denny Meier at 9:30AM - clear skies, 79 degrees, top down!  We feel like teenagers!  It was beautiful driving through the bountiful farmlands of Illinois and Iowa.  Iowa is more rolling than Illinois.  Top up by noon because it was already >90 degrees.  Stopped for the night at by former SurgiNet colleague from Mason City, Robin Fox.  She and her husband, Fred, have built a beautiful log home in the woods outside of Mason City.  It is a rustic, peaceful place.  Great to catch up with my old friend.

9/9/2013 9PM

End of day 1.  Trip odometer 288.8

Traveled US12 in rain from Ypsilanti to Somerset, MI (45 miles), then skies cleared and the top came down.  Lunch at Rachel's Country Cooking in White Pigeon, MI.  At 4:30PM, arrived in Ashkum, IL and have spent wonderful evening visiting and reminiscing with Jim's college friend, Denny Meier, and his wife, Jackie.   Tomorrow, heading to Iowa.

9/9/913 0955

Day 1.  Trip odometer 0.0

We are on our way!