WYOMING and SOUTH DAKOTA

Trail End

Frank and Julia

With 46 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, Sheridan, Wyoming  is proud of its heritage.  Walking Main Street, it is easy to picture the town 100 years ago.   On the hill, overlooking town is Trail End, former home of John Kendrick, a cattle baron, governor and U.S. senator.  Completed in 1913 at the cost of $164,000, it would cost millions today.  


Best part of our stop here was that Julia and Frank, our good friends from Fort Collins, Colorado spent a couple of days with us on their way to Montana. 

Crazy Horse Monument

Leaving Wyoming, we  entered the Black Hills  of South Dakota, so named because the dark green pines seen from a distance look black.  Don’t be fooled.  The area is green and gorgeous. 

Crazy Horse Model

All of Mount Rushmore would fit in
section behind his face

 We spent 3 days in the town of Custer named after Lt. Col.  George Armstrong Custer who led the first gold expedition into the Black Hills and was later killed at the Battle of Little Big Horn in southeast Montana.  After unpacking the car, we headed to the Crazy Horse Memorial.  When Mount Rushmore Memorial was created in their homeland, elders of the Lakota Indian Tribe approached sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski.  Saying, “the red man has great heroes also,” they asked him to carve the likeness of Crazy Horse into a mountain in the Black Hills.  Korczak agreed, moved west and spent the rest of his life on the project.  It broke ground in 1948.  Although he died in 1982, most of his 10 children continue the work today.

Got food?

The next 2 days we explored Custer State Park, surely one of the most beautiful parks in the country.  The first day, we drove the Wildlife Loop.  We saw sheep, pronghorns and friendly burros who come up to the car hoping for a handout.  But aside from 2 bison in the distance, we were frustrated that none of the herd of 1,300 the park boasts were to be found.  Then, on our final leg, we rounded a curve and a buffalo was grazing right by the curb.  He could not have been more than 10’ from the car as I took pictures.  

One of a herd of 1,300 in the park

Buffalo are huge animals. They can be 6’ tall and weigh over 2,000 pounds.  It is estimated that 30 – 60 million roamed the Great Plains of North America when Columbus discovered America.  The Indians used every part of the buffalo.  Aside from food, it provided material for clothing, shelter and tools.  They called him Tatonka and believed he symbolized the Great Spirit since he provided so much that sustained them.  By the late 1880s, bison were practically extinct.  A few individuals led the charge to preserve the animal.  Between parks and private herds, there are presently about 60,000 in the country. 

One of the wider tunnels

The eye of the needle

Sylvan Lake

The next day we drove the  endless curves and narrow tunnels of Needles Highway (so named because of granite peaks formed up to 2 billion years ago) and Iron Mountain Road.   We took a break at Sylvan Lake and hiked the trail around the lake.  Then it was on to nearby  Keystone to see Mount Rushmore.

 Everyone has seen pictures of this national monument but to see it in person is quite breathtaking.  The faces of the 4 presidents - Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln - are 60 feet tall.  Washington has the longest nose at 21 feet; the others are 20 feet long.   As with Crazy Horse, most of the work is done with dynamite, blasting the stone away to within 2 inches of the finished surface.  Unlike Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore was created between 1927 and 1941, and only 6 years involved actual carving.  The difference is that Crazy Horse refuses government funds and employs only 12 full time workers on the mountain; it may forever be a work in progress.  Gutzon Borglum, the man who carved the Confederate Memorial on Stone Mountain in Georgia was the master artist behind Mount Rushmore.  Believe it or not, the project originated with the hope of drawing tourists to the Black Hills.  Did it ever succeed!  

Auto mania downtown Sioux Falls

The falls in Sioux Falls

 Our final stop in South Dakota was Sioux Falls.  With about 170,000 population, it is the biggest city in the state.  It has a very nice downtown which was filled to overflowing one night with car enthusiasts and their old, restored autos.  Falls Park, created around the namesake falls on the Sioux river, were created about 14,000 years ago during the last Ice Age and are a series of falls cascading over pink quartzite rocks.

The falls in Sioux Falls

  
Now we will cross Minnesota into Wisconsin.




TRAVEL TIP: If you do go to the Black Hills, plan to stay in Custer not Keystone.  It is much more convenient for visiting the state park and Crazy Horse, and easy to get to Mount Rushmore.
  

IDAHO and MONTANA

Lake Coeur d'Alene

Our suite at Coeur d'Alene Resort

We left Washington State and entered northern Idaho for a 6 day stay in Coeur d'Alene.   The words mean heart of an awl. French traders gave the area that name because they found the native Indians to be hard and sharp traders.


Coeur d'Alene is often found on Best Places to Live or Best Places to Retire lists.  It is easy to see why.  The 25 mile long lake, carved out by the Missoula Glacial Floods, is gorgeous.  The town is nice to

View from our room

 walk, the people are friendly.  


Thanks to skyauction and an upgrade when we checked in, we had a wonderful room at the Coeur d'Alene Resort overlooking the lake and city.  The downside was that it was cold and rained almost every day.  Hard to believe it was early June.  

Hiking along Gallatin River Trail

  

Bozeman Countryside

Love the old barns that dot the farmlands

Fortunately the weather improved as we made our way to Bozeman, Montana.  The drive  across the Bitteroot Mountains along the Clark Fork River is spectacular. Home town to about 40,000 people and Montana State University, Bozeman is the 4th largest city in the state.  The movies  A River Runs Through It and The Horse Whisperer were set in the area.  The beautiful scenery, skiing, hiking and fishing make it a popular area with outdoor enthusiasts.  

Gay pride parade Bozeman

Bozeman has a great downtown and many of the townspeople lined Main Street to watch the annual Gay Pride Parade.  After the parade, we met a cousin who lives in nearby Livingston for lunch.  As I've said before, one of the best parts of this lifestyle is touching base with far away friends and relatives.

Next stop: Sheridan, Wyoming

WASHINGTON STATE

Seattle Space Needle

Seattle offered another opportunity for a little reunion of World Cruisers.  Alan flew up from Colorado to join us in visiting Bob and Infa.  We had a wonderful 3 days together.  Since Alan had not been to Seattle before, we had to see the Space Needle (built for the 1962 World's Fair) and go to Pike Place Market -  not a great idea on a holiday weekend!  

 Bob, Infa at their beautiful waterside home with Alan & Ron

On Memorial Day, we dropped Alan at the airport and headed to Woodinville, Washington for 4 days at the lovely Willows Lodge, a luxurylink package. 

Alan, Geri & Alan

Gardens at Willows Lodge"

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't great (we were still in the Pacific Northwest), but our accommodations were beautiful, nice little town, lots of wineries (they are everywhere!) and great walking paths.  

The climate changed when we crossed the Cascade Mountains into the Wenatchee Valley, "Apple Capital of the World."  The area boasts 300 days of sunshine and 9 inches of rain (Seattle has 37). 

Our suite at Willows Lodge

Ohme Gardens overlook Wenatchee Valley

The town of Wenatchee sits at the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia Rivers.  Yes, we are back on the Columbia River.  From its source in Canada, the Columbia runs 1,214 miles to Portland, Oregon and the Pacific Ocean.  




There is a wonderful view of the town, the Cascade Mountains and the river from the Ohme Gardens, an alpine rock and flower garden situated on a bluff overlooking the valley. 

Wenatchee's 10 mile walkway along the Columbia

 Ohme Gardens

Rocky Reach Dam 

Fish Ladder at Rocky Reach Dam

There are 11 dams on the  Columbia River in the US and 3 in Canada.  We visited the Rocky Reach Dam while here.  It has a fish 






bypass tube allowing young fish to continue their journey to the sea.  It also has a fish ladder for mature salmon to return to their spawning ground. 

Grand Coulee Dam

Banks Lake

Next stop: the town of Coulee Dam to see the Grand Coulee Dam.  The building of the dam began in 1933 under FDR.  It is the biggest dam in North America, one of the largest concrete structures in the world,  and the largest hydropower producer in the US.  It supplies power to 11 western states.   

Basalt cliffs

Dry Falls

Dry Falls

Building the dam was a godsend for the area.  It employed 7,000 people and turned an arid landscape into more than ½  million rich, fertile acres.   Today the Columbia Basin produces everything from A-apples to Z-zucchini, and more potatoes than neighboring Idaho.  The Hoover Dam is higher but Grand Coulee is more than 4 times as long.The dam siphoned off part of the Columbia River to create Banks Lake.  We drove the 30 mile stretch between Coulee City and Coulee Dam alongside the lake.  The scenery is magnificent.  As we learned in Oregon, this area was covered in lava millions of years ago – 3 miles thick in some places.   The glacial floods caused by water breaking through the ice dams of Lake Missoula carved the cliffs and riverbed, the canyons and the coulees.  Coulee means ravine or deep gully.   One of the most amazing remnants of the Ice Age is Dry Falls, so called because there is no water.   However, it was once the greatest waterfall in the world.  14,000 years old, Dry Falls is 3½ miles wide making it 5 times wider than Niagara Falls as well as  2½ times higher. 


SIGNS WE'VE SEEN ALONG THE WAY: People say I have a bad attitude.  I say, screw 'em.

OREGON

Deschutes River running through Bend

Brasada Ranch

Upon leaving California, we headed to Bend, Oregon.  Situated in the center of the state along the Deschutes River, and surrounded by volcanic mountains, Bend is a lovely town that has easily doubled in size since we were here with our motorhome in the late 90s.  


People are drawn to central Oregon's sunny days, dry desert climate and a landscape dramatically punctuated by snow covered mountain peaks. We enjoyed several days in a one bedroom unit at the Seventh Mountain Resort just outside town.  

Athletic center and pool

I wondered what I had gotten us into as we drove through miles of open countryside to our next destination.  The Brasada Ranch in the tiny hamlet of Powell Butte is at least 20 miles from a town of any size.   

Mountains to the west

Patio off bedroom with view of...

Fortunately, there was no need to worry and no desire to leave the place during our 4 day stay.   A casual restaurant in the Ranch House and a beautiful restaurant on site had excellent food.  The athletic center housed a top notch gym and indoor pool that opened to  outdoor pools.  Our suite was a beautiful one bedroom apartment with spectacular views of the Cascade Mountain range.  This was one of the most idyllic places we have visited in our journey.

Columbia River - Part of the Lewis & Clark Trail

Having heard about the beauty of the Columbia River Gorge, we made our way to The Dalles and Hood River. Unfortunately, the weather was wet, windy and cold, but the majesty of the area was still apparent.  

Basalt cliffs line Columbia River

40-60 million years ago, this part of the country was covered by a large inland sea. The earth gradually rose only to be covered by volcanic lava some 10 – 15 million years ago.   The volcanoes that formed the Cascade Mountain Range also formed the basalt cliffs of the gorge.

Multnomah Falls

      
Then the land was submerged again as glaciers melted after the last Ice Age and floodwaters  from western Montana broke through ice dams, carving the canyons walls.  Today the Columbia River is the 4^th largest in the U.S. and forms the border between Oregon and Washington.   The surrounding mountains include Mount Hood, Oregon’s highest at just over 11,000 feet.  Waterfalls include Multnomah Falls, America’s second highest year-round waterfall dropping 620 feet.

SACRAMENTO

CALIFORNIA STATE CAPITOL

When we told people we were going to spend a few days in Sacramento, they said “Whyyyy?”  Nevertheless, we’re glad we did.  Yes, there are economic problems, vacant buildings and homeless people on the streets.  But there is also much to see and enjoy.  Not to mention that Sacramento is often listed among the 10 sunniest cities in the country.

We stayed at the Citizens Hotel, a beautifully restored old hotel in walking distance to the Capitol and Old Sacramento.  The latter is one of the most authentic and best restored old towns we 

have ever visited.   Situated beside the Sacramento River, 28 acres have been designated a National Historic Landmark District and State Historic Park. 

MAIN ST. OLD SACRAMENTO

Sacramento began with the establishment of Sutter’s Fort following the arrival of John Sutter in 1839.  The town slowly developed until 1848 when the California Gold Rush began.  Then it grew virtually overnight.  It became the last stop on the Pony Express route as well as the terminus of the transcontinental railroad.  

RESTORED BUILDINGS OLD SACRAMENTO

Originally called Sutter’s Embarcadero, the busy trading center for miners became the City of Sacramento.  While convenient for travel and trade, the waterfront was  prone to flooding.  As described on the official Old Sacramento website: "In 1853 a mammoth project was proposed to raise the city above the flood level. The ambitious and expensive proposal was not fully accepted until another devastating flood swept through the city in 1862. Within a few years, thousands of cubic yards of earth were brought in on wagons and the daring scheme to raise the street level began. The original street level can be seen throughout Old Sacramento under the boardwalks and in basements."

Eventually, floods and fires that ravaged hastily erected wooden buildings forced the commercial development of the town eastward, away from the water.  The original town became known as the worst skid row west of Chicago.

RAILROAD MUSEUM OLD SACRAMENTO

In the mid 60s, a plan was born to redevelop the original city.   The result is 53 beautifully restored buildings, wooden sidewalks, shops, restaurants and several museums. 


The capitol city seemed an appropriate place to conclude our time in California which consisted of 3 months and 17 stops.  All of it enhanced by friends visited along the way.   So far, the nomadic lifestyle agrees with us. 

MT. SHASTA - OUR LAST PHOTO IN CALIFORNIA

As we drove north from Sacramento headed for Oregon, we stopped to take a picture of Mount Shasta and bid farewell to California.  For now.   

NAPA & SONOMA

Ron with Marcia at her Napa home

Old Mill & River Walk; Napa River Inn far left

We were fortunate that Marcia, yet another friend we met on the World Cruise, was at her house in Napa the day we arrived.  Combine a brilliant sun,  roses blooming and the beauty of her 25 acres and you have the picture of  tranquility.   We enjoyed lunch at the Oxbow before Marcia headed back to her home in Sausalito and we drove over to the Napa River Inn in the Old Mill District.  This was a deal from luxurylink.com (described in an earlier blog).  It included 2 nights at the Inn with a bottle of wine, breakfast and complimentary wine tasting cards.  We had a lovely room overlooking the Napa River.  

 Mission Sonoma

We spent several days in Sonoma County with the charming town of Sonoma at its heart. Sonoma is the northernmost point of the Mission Trail 1523 - 1823.  The trail went as far south as Guatemala and covered what is now 11 states.

Fayemarie, Ron, Geri & Jules

After a few relaxing days in Sebastopol, a little sun and getting caught up on laundry and correspondence, we headed back to Napa to visit Fayemarie and Jules.  They were on the World Cruise with us from San Francisco   to Beijing. 

Wine tasting at Stag's Leap

Their home is high on a hill with an expansive view of Napa Valley.  We had a wonderful time dining and wining with Jules, Fayemarie and her sons, Ian and Devin.  The highlight was a private wine tasting at Stag’s Leap.  The winery is one of California's oldest and has 90 acres of vineyards.  One could become intoxicated on the setting itself.  The wine is good too!

Gardens at Stag's Leap

Vineyards at Stag's Leap 

TRAVEL TIP: Groupon and Livingsocial have also come in very handy in our travels.  I simply put in the area we are going to visit and deals with considerable savings on lodging, meals, massages, salons etc. are emailed to me.