You.know you are home when. ..

The birds wake you up at 4 am!  It:s good to be home.  Thanks for following our travels.  Until our next adventure...

A Room with a View

John scored again!  Our room looked over the Horseshoe Falls with the American Falls to the left

The kids were excited to revisit Niagara. We did a handful of Falls' touristy things. The most exciting was Cave of the Winds on the US side. We were right under the Bridal Veil Falls. We were soaked and blown by the spray! One really appreciates the power of the Falls there!  The kids enjoyed the attractions but we lamented the absence of real interpretive information.

It was a fun ending to our trip.  We are traveling home now. We catch glimpses of the Erie Canal every now and again.  Thoughts of a camping-canal trip get tossed around.  Perhaps next summer??

We have put together a fun playlist of folk songs and the like reflecting our travels.  Did you know that there is no old folk song about Niagara Falls?  Amazing.  We found one by Green Bean that worked though.  And Wisconsin has a pretty impressive collection amassed.

We are also enjoying Lord of the Rings on audio.  It's a great adaptation.

We're looking forward to getting home although a little sad to see our adventures end.  In some ways the trip has gone by so quickly and in others it seems like we have been away for an eternity!

Eeeww!!

Now here's a well traveled car!  Another challenge for our fair readers...

We all participated in the "Great License Plate Scavenger Hunt."  We did pretty well heading west and rocked at Yellowstone.  Still, we are missing ONE state!  Any guesses as to what it is???

As for our travels, we just left Ohio where we had a wonderful time with the Patry's (Michele' s family). The kids had a squirt fight with Uncle Matt---I think Matt got the better of the kids:  ) We relaxed in the hot tub, celebrated Uncle Paul's birthday, feasted on grill grub, and visited and laughed the day away!  I had a walk down memory lane while walking around my childhood neighborhood.  I even got to traipse through the woods with Nicholas, Andrew and his girlfriend. The little falls with the hollow reeds was still there!

Later, Nicholas lugged up 4 river rocks from the "Crick" for Aunt Renee's garden.  The deal was a dollar a rock.  Talk about determination. An overgrown trail, a deep ravine, an unwieldy 5 gallon bucket, and heavy rocks. No small task! The adults got a chuckle out of this and he was pleases as punch with his $4. And I reckon Renee will find a good spot in the garden for them!

After a breakfast feast of bacon and waffles, we hit the road again.  Thank you Matt and Renee for your grand hospitality.  And thanks Matthew and Andrew for making time for us.

We are headed to Niagara Falls for the surprise part of our trip.  The kids think we are heading home, but it will be a short journey today!

Stops in Minnesota

We stepped off the beaten path today and stopped Pipestone National Monument. Another stamp for the Passbook!  This area is considered sacred land by Native Americans.  It has been quarried for many centuries for the pipestone which had been used to make peace pipes. It is a soft, red stone akin to soapstone.  There is an old agreement in place that allows Native Americans to still quarry and there is an 8 year waiting list.  Adelaide recalls that to get to the pipestone, one must chisel through sioux quartzite which we told is the third hardest stone in the world (although the moh's hardness scale doesn't totally support this).

We then stopped at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove. This is the area the Ingalls family lived in On the Banks of Plum Creek.

It was fun driving though Minnesota for awhile. We saw a great many wind turbines as well as some being transported on trucks.
THEY ARE HUGE!  After awhile though, all the green crop fields and farms become monotonous.

We have listened to some great audios on our trip: Paddle to the Sea, The Lone Ranger, Call of the Wild, and Robinson Crusoe.  And Google loves me.

We have just entered WI and I think a stop for cheese curds could be in order...

And now to leave you with a little trivia we learned on this trip.  There are technically no Buffalo or antelope in the US.  The correct terms are bison and pronghorn, unless, of course, you live in India or Africa. So you can now add that to your knowledge box!

Pipestone National Park

http://www.nps.gov/pipe/index.htm

Oacama, SD

Yes it really is an oasis when driving through SD.  We stopped for dinner here.  It is reminiscent of Wall Drug in that it had a restaurant, gift shop, grocery store, motel and probably more.  It was a taxidermist' s dream and had more 5¢ coffee.

The Siren Call of 5¢ Coffee

Good morning!! Our view from the balcony

Okay so the balcony felt 80 years old and after our initial foray, all our enjoyment of the view came from inside our room! But what an INCREDIBLE view!!!

The past couple of days we took a few short hikes and drove through the mountains for some breathtaking views. We ended our stay with a boat tour on Waterton Lake this morning and learned a few interesting facts. One is that Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park was the first of it's kind.  Since the biodiversity and geography did not end at the border, the rotaries of East Glacier and Watertown met and agreed to merge these 2 Parks reflecting the spirit of peace and cooperation between the two countries. 

Okay so this is all very nice, but apparently there is an agreement between the US and Canada that dictates there be a visible line at the border when possible.  Who knew?! We could easily see it on both sides of the mountains surrounding the lake.  All the brush had been cut down.  We then noticed it again when we crossed back to MT!  Even more entertaining was the "border crossing" for hikers getting off the boat at the MT side of the lake.  If you were a Canadian or US citizen you needed to show your passport before you could take the hike there. Ah the complexities of international relations!

Now Adelaide reminded me that we had forgotten to mention some of our culinary delights.  We had some yummy desserts the other day at that great little restaurant we went to.  The kids devoured their Buffalo Jump Brownie Sunday while we equally enjoyed a Huckleberry cobbler.  Huckleberry anything can be found throughout this region.  We sampled gooseberries last night.  Very pretty, dark yellow, cherry-sized berries with a sweet-tart taste.  Oh and Isaac may just prove that old adage, "You are what you eat" and come home transformed into a chicken finger : )

Now let's end by testing your bear knowledge.  As you know we have been a bit consumed by bears while we have been out West.  It's hard not to when every piece of literature, posted sign, ranger, guide, news story etc. warns you about them.  We have had many conversations about this, as you can well imagine!

Now the two types of bears out here are grizzlies and black bears.  Are these bears carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores?  Here's a hint--they are different.  Now don't immediately run to Google it (even though I have been doing that the whole trip)!  We look forward to hearing your best guesses.

On our way east through Montana...this is one BIG state.  Beautiful too. No real plans except catching up with Ohio relatives this weekend and maybe a lunch stop at Maid Rite for those loose meat sandwiches if we can find an open restaurant heading East.

Stay tuned....

Prince of Wales Hotel, Watertown, Alberta, Canada

Here is where we stayed last night.  It felt like we were stepping back in time.  This hotel is over 80 years old.  It was the dream of one of the founders of the Great Northern Railroad. With his motto, "See America First," he advertised Glacier-Waterton as the American Alps.  Folks would come in by train, hop on horseback, and travel to chalets each a day's ride from each other.  They would end their two or more week vacation "in style and elegance" at the Prince of Wales. When you walk in the front doors, you are greeted with a million dollar view of Waterton Lake through full length windows.  WOW!  The main floor opens up four stories high with dark wood and beams.  We had a "suite" so to speak--2 small bedrooms with doors so we could actually have some space.  The kids even closed their door so they could read in peace!

Yes! It's Snow! Logan Pass, Glacier National Park, Mt

Okay you East coasters---check this out!  The temp was 38. Outside was snowing/raining and inside the visitor's center everyone was gathered close to the blazing fire!

Up in the clouds at Glacier National

John had the driving "thrill" while Michele gripped the door with white knuckles and kids were oblivious to the mountainside only mere feet away.

White crosses in Montana

http://www.mtlegion.org/programs/Marker.php

Glacier Info

http://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm

Glacier National Park

I

Greetings to our friends and family from 55 degree and rainy Montana. We understand you are having some warm weather in New England.  Sure wish we had a little bit of that here!

We totally wimped out on camping tonight and are staying another night at a hotel in Whitefish.  Pool, warmth, dry beds, no bears...you get the picture.

We headed out to Glacier this morning and what crowds!  A ranger who spoke to John likened it to "Walmart the day after Thanksgiving."  We opted for the lesser traveled route and headed south on a loop that went in and out of the park.  This photo was taken in Essex--Essex, MT that is!  We had just stopped at Goatlick Overlook and there they all were!  Big and little mountain goats climbing up and down hillsides.  Very cool.

  This route also paralleled a very active freight train route through the mountains.  We saw train after train and counted the cars at over 100 each time.  The kids loved this. Don't you remember doing that as a kid??

We stopped at the tiny town of East Glacier and had a fantastic lunch at a hole in the wall restaurant.  Yum!  Freshly baked bread for the sandwiches, just picked veggies, homemade potato chips and excellent local beer.  Have we mentioned all the microbrews we have been trying? Listen to these: Moose Drool, Old Faithful Ale, Bitch Beer, Troutslayer, and Big Sky IPA.  Fun-huh?

We headed over to Two Medicine Lake where we took a scenic,but foggy boat tour.  We then braved the rain and went on a short hike.  Oh and did I mention we saw the cutest little black bear cub by the roadside? Roadside being key here.

Mexican restaurant for dinner with most excellent sangrias and a little pool time.  We have the blower going in the room and hopefully the kids won't hear any fireworks.  We're off early tomorrow for the Going to the Sun route and our night at the Prince of Wales lodge.  John chose this one and it looks too scenic to be true.  Can't wait! Will let you know...

Back to civilization

Native American Studies

http://www.flatheadreservation.org/timeline/timeline.html

FYI. Sights along the way

http://www.usbr.gov/gp/mtao../clarkcanyon/

Teton Dam

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teton_Dam?wasRedirected=true

We just passed through this area.  A little bit of trivia for you all. We didn't see any evidence of the flood except signs for a museum that caught our eye.

We crossed over the Tetons early this morning. The Idaho landscape right over the mountains was fascinating to view.  It went from ranches to agricultural.

We saw long,long irrigation machines and never ending fields of potatos and a grassy type crop. We drove through small towns (all around a population of 1000)--some right on the cusp of development and some obviously on decline. We even saw some hot air balloons up for a morning flight.

We are now heading toward Idaho Falls and Rt 15 toward Montana.  The landscape here is scrubby with sagebrush and wide open to the mountains in the distance.

Our time in the Tetons was grand!  We had a spacious camp site in a small campground. In the evenings we had campfires and attended a couple of ranger talks.  During the day, we hiked and kayaked / canoed. The bear warnings were everywhere and we hiked in half anticipation, half terror of encountering wildlife. Ironically most sightings were right from the road!

Oh and by the way...the arches in Jackson were made of elk antlers.  There is an elk refuge right outside of town and the antlers were collected when the elk lost them for the season.  Jen--our shoes have been perfect. Thanks again for taking us shopping.  Any more games of Killer Bunnies? And Kressleys--loving the Passbook!

On our way to Glacier National Park in Montana...

Jackson, WY

We set up camp at Jenny Lake and headed into town for the afternoon
It was a bit of a shock after our camping days.  We played tourist and went a Ripley's which the kids LOVED and we tolerated.  We ate out and watched the famous Jackson shoot out.  Back to camp now and a hike around Jenny Lake tomorrow

Grand Tetons

We have intermittent cell service at best these days.  A real vacation!  We had a great time  in Yellowstone
Yesterday we had an early morning hike around the upper falls.  It was a sight but we were a bit bear nervous. We then drove around the northern loop and saw herds of bison and a grizzly
Now at the Tetons for some hiking and scenery!

Thanks Nana & Granny

The kids have been buying some treasures

At the Old West cookout

In Pleasant Valley near the Roosevelt Lodge.  Gorgeous.

Morning Glory Pool

Yesterday we toured the Upper Geyser Basin.  We saw Old Faithful erupt at least a half a dozen times--now that's faithful!  We were also treated to Grand Geyser (the tallest predictable wig close viewing), Beehive (which is very unpredictable but which Nicholas amazingly recognized the precurser to), Riverside (which erupts right on the river), as Wells's many other wonders!  Adelaide has become the scat expert and we' be seen many signs of wildlife.

Today we viewed the Grand Prismatic Pool.  Wow!  So many sights are "wow"--words just don't do them justice. We set camp at Canyon campground.  There are bear warnings all around and we must be careful with our food and keeping the campsite clean.

The wildlife for today include bison, elk, a black bear, a coyote, a raven, some various ground squirrels, and something pronged sheep. 

The highlight of the day was our old west cookout.  The boys rode horses (John was traumatized by his unruly horse who finally had to be led home on a tow rope) and the girls rode in the wagon.  We had a wonderful guide in the wagon and my head was spinning with stories and information.

Tomorrow we go off exploring and trying to fit in as much as possible.  There is so much to see and do!

Old Faithful--out first viewing

"This is too much!" quoth Nicholas.

We entered Yellowstone and saw snow-capped mountains, a grizzly bear, bison walking down the road, deer, steam vents by Yellowstone Lake and now we await Old Faithful.  We haven't even been here 3 hours!  Tomorrow we explore the geyser basin.  Tonight a hot shower after several camping days. That is as eagerly anticipated as Old Faithful!

Traveling through the Big Horn Mountains, WY

Wow! Spectacular!  Gorgeous! And disappointing when we came to the end.

Devil:s Tower, WY

We spent the day in search of Rocky Raccoon. No, not really but we certainly canvassed the Black Hills. Last night found us at a campground near Mt Rushmore. We had planned to skip The Four Heads but since we were so close we decided to stop by. John and I were AMAZED at how close we were!! I don't know where we viewed it from 18 years ago but we NEVER saw it so close! We were more impressed than the kids.

From there we stopped for Hobbit's second breakfast since we had a tour reservations for 12:20 at Jewel Cave. We learned that Jewel Cave is the 2nd longest in the world--now measuring 151,11 miles long. Every few weeks folks go down to do more exploring and measuring and remain there for about 4 days. They even have a staging area where they keep sleeping bags and they get their water from the cave. What we found even more amazing is that just to get to this area, they had to pass through spaces only 8 inches tall. Now that is a tight fit! Jewel Cave was named for the calcite deposits in it. We saw some very cool formations including two called Bacon and eggs!

After leaving the cave, we headed to Devil's Tower in Wyoming. We arrived in time to pop into the visitor's center and hike around the tower. Falcons are nesting around one face and we could see them soaring. There is a voluntary "no climb" period in June to honor a sacred period for the American Indians. We saw many prayer bundles and cloths tied to trees.

We are settled into camp for the night and off to Yellowstone tomorrow.

The Badlands, SD

CORN PALACE!

Home sweet home

Here we are in Mitchell, SD.  We have a scenic site but it is hot!

This was a crazy night of camping! We were swarmed by giant mosquitoes so we moved around quickly!! Around midnight the wild weather moved in. We had 2 solid hours of thunderstorms with some impressive cracks and booms and lightning. The wind was so strong that it threatened to blow away the tents. Michele had everything bundled and ready to dash to the car. Thankfully we all survived and we awoke to a much cooler morning.

Crumbs! Looks like lunch in the car.

At Home with the Deaven's in Wisconsin

After leaving the Locks, we traveled through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (where they actually had a UP State Fair--hmm...a secession in the works?!?). We skirted along Lake Michigan (and just how many of you can name all the Great Lakes??) and into the beautiful state of Wisconsin. Lots of red barns dotting the countryside. There we hung out with our good friends, the Deaven's.

They treated us to the culinary delights of the area--brats on the grill, local beer, cheese curds, frozen custard, and of course, CHEESE--including stinky Limburger (thanks for the tip Amanda!). The kids played on the trampoline, competed in video games, crafted, had nerf gun fights, and best of all, stayed up late talking and giggling. As for the grown ups, we hiked, visited, laughed, fixed brooms, and gamed. Our time with them is always enjoyable and always seems too brief! Thanks guys!

We are now on our way to South Dakota and are on the hunt for the Maid Rite chain where word has it we can eat some great loose meat sandwiches. Stay tuned....

Soo locks,MI

This morning we crossed from Sault Step Marie,ON to Sault Ste Marie,MI. We stopped at the Soo Locks which connect Lake Superior to Lake Huron and has a 21 ft difference! We were able to see several ships pass through, one being the largest sized vessel on the Great Lakes.

Yesterday was one of our longest travel days. We traversed Ontario. After crossing into Canada, we were driving through scenic farmland when we came across about 100 wind turbines--right smack dab among the farms! We stopped to listen, but could not hear them despite the number and close proximity. Very cool!

Later in the day we passed into the Laurentian Hills--wooded and rolling. That was a surprise since one tends to think of Ontario as mainly farmland.

Lastly we passed through an area dotted with mining towns. The landscape was scrubby and rocky. We were treated to a gorgeous sunset over the North Channel of Lake Huron. It didn't get dark until nearly 10 pm. It really felt like we were chasing the sun.

Crossing lake Champlain

After some technical difficulties, we seem to have figured out uploading photos. Here's hoping!

On our way

2 week countdown!

John: We are all getting excited with our impending departure. We even have our trek mapped out as far as Madison. Beyond that we have a few reservations here and there, but we have most of our time unstructured.

We looked into replacing our aged car 's antiquated CD player, so we can listen to MP3 files.

We also recognize that we don 't have room for every one in the family to bring their usual pillow. Inflatible pillows are under evaluation this week.