Out West Day 34...Monday, August 24, 2009...The Final Stretch

I am up really early this morning...on the road at 6:00AM. Last year, I drove an extra hundred miles or so longer than whatI've got today...and it took me eighteen hours. Not today.
My first "break"...as I leave Albert Lea, I'm not enveloped in "pea soup" fog like last year...it's clear sailing through Minnesota, around Minneapolis and across the river into Wisconsin. This being Monday, I don't hit "Wisconsin Dells" traffic like last year, so I'm rolling south.
Into Illinois and through Rockford (home of my now-former company's LATO operation... lots of fun times in Rockford). Approaching Chicago, traffic is moderate (as opposed to last year's snail's pace) and I'm through the city in nothing flat.
Soon, I'm across the border into Michigan...unlike last year, no major construction delays...everything is breaking my way.
At 6:30PM, I'm pulling into my driveway...I've "shaved" almost six hours over last year's pace.
Now in my house, I note with pleasure that there are no unpleasant surprises like last year...nothing stolen, nothing moved, nothing damaged. My friend and neighbor, Spike, has done her job and done it well...and for that, I thank her.
The cats are glad to see me...at least so far as they are capable of that...as cats.
It is good...VERY good...to be home again.

Out West Day 33...Sunday, August 23, 2009...Devils Tower

For once, I'm up early this morning and on the road at sunrise. Devils Tower is about eighty miles west of Gillette, so I should be there early.
This part of the drive is familiar from last year...off the Interstate and thirty miles or so of winding two-lane road. Again, I am impressed by the fact that you don't really see Devils Tower until you're almost on top of it..then you come around a bend in the road and...wham!...there it is. The road only circles up the west side of the Tower from the south, so the views are somewhat limited...as a result, the angle of the sun is not good for photos today. Undaunted, I shoot half a roll of color and a full roll of Black & white.
On my way out, I stop by the prairie dog village for a few more photos...then...back on the road. My goal is to get out of Wyoming, through South Dakota and into Minnesota before stopping for the night...I want to be home tomorrow night.
Driving is good...light traffic...overcast, but no rain. I see some billboards promoting a little town just over the border into Minnesota..."Stop here", they say..."plenty of rooms in a friendly town". Around 8:00PM, I get to this town...and...it's very disappointing. Hotels are scattered far apart...no restaurants (just fast food joints) and, most disappointing of all, not a single friendly "tavern" in sight.
I decide to press on for another hundred miles to the city of Albert Lea...it's going to be late when I get there, but that's a fair trade-off for more civilized accommodations. At around 10:00PM, I exit the Interstate and find a Days Inn...and...right next door, another Applebee's...I'm in luck. After I check in, I walk over to Applebee's and...I'm in luck...it's late-night Happy Hour...$2.00 drafts. And...still more luck...appetizers are half off. A platter of sliders and a few drafts later, I'm feeling relaxed again. Another night in a bed...what a luxury. I sleep well knowing that tomorrow...I'll be home again.

Out West Day 32...Saturday, August 22, 2009...Heading Home!

I'm up early this morning, but I'm having trouble getting motivated to pack up. I make coffee and cook myself a full breakfast...eggs, bacon and toast.Lots of dew this morning, so my tent fly is wet...that goes over the picnic table to dry out. Roll up the sleeping bag, liner and pad...into the Escape. I use one of my "Sham Wow!" towels to wipe the moisture off of my tent before taking that down and stowing it away.
It's cloudy this morning, so my rain fly has not dried off after a few hours...so...I wipe it down by hand. My plan was to be on the road by 7:00 or 8:00AM but, before I know it, it's almost 10:30...no early start today.
Now I'm on the road heading north back into Yellowstone...between construction and heavy traffic, it's slow going. By the time that I get to the East Entrance (Exit) of Yellowstone, it's almost 1:00PM...camping near Devils Tower is looking doubtful.
Exiting the Park, I'm now going through the Bighorns, last of the mountains for this trip. They are fairly steep...lots of those pleasant vertical drops. I drive through the town of Cody (founded by Buffalo Bill), then I'm in some very steep canyons before gradually descending near a huge man-made lake. I have never driven through this part of Wyoming...it's gorgeous. Signs along the way tell me the age of the exposed rock formations...the Cambrian period, the Pennsylvania period...pretty ancient.
Around 6:00PM or so, I'm coming to the town of Gillette, and I figure that it's time to stop for the evening. From my room at the Days Inn, it's only about a mile or so walk to the "Prime Rib Restaurant and Blue Martini Lounge"...my last meal of Western beef for awhile. The restaurant is nice...friendly bartender, chat with the owner about wine, have an extra-dry Stoli Martini with anchovy-stuffed olives...very relaxing. Given that I'm siting in a restaurant called "The Prime Rib, I figure that's the best thing to order...I'm right...it's perfectly cooked and really, really good. They have an excellent wine list...everything is well chosen, and I get a bottle of 2005 L'Ecole #41 Cab....I had this wine at the Winery in Walla Walla last year, so I know that it's good...it is!
I leave stuffed, happy and with that particular feeling of satisfaction that only comes with a meal of beef. There's an Applebee's next to my hotel, so I stop in there for a few beers...the perfect "cap" for a nice evening. The bartender, Meg, is friendly and her "pour" is most generous. I also meet a guy named Steve, who lives in Birmingham, Alabama and is up here working on the big coal-fired generating plant here in Gillette. I saw it on the way in, and it's a impressive sight...train car-loads of coal for as far as the eye can see. I ask Meg about the economy of Gillette...what do they do here? I figure that maybe there's a college here...nope...here, it's all about mining, oil drilling and power generation. Meg points out that they are even reopening some old uranium mines in anticipation of more nuclear power plant construction in the future. I've passed a number of wind generating plants along the way but, it should be noted, when the blades aren't moving, they are not producing any power. Steve and I spend a fair bit of time discussing the finer points of Alabama BBQ...open pit vs. closed pit, pork vs. beef, ketchup-based sauce vs. mustard-based, hickory vs. oak...it doesn't matter because they're all good.
And, soon, I'm back at the Days Inn and climbing into a real bed again...boy, that feels good. I'm out like a light.

Out West...Day 31...Friday, August 21, 2009...Preparing to Head Home

OK...so I'm over a month late with my last two posts...time flies when you're having fun (and at home).

My last day at Grand Teton National Park was pretty low-key. I slept in, had a light breakfast and read until lunch time. Weather was still good...sunny and warm.
After a lunch of kimchi noodles, I set about packing up to leave tomorrow morning. After thirty-one days on the road, I'm ready to start heading home. If I can get an early start, my plan is to camp near Devil's Tower on the other side of Wyoming and get some early morning photos before getting back on the road.
Once my preparations are completed, I head out to buy ice and take a few more photos. Back at camp, I'm cooking up the last of some pork with Thai Green Curry...a few Margaritas and a few glasses of South African Cab.
I build my last campfire as darkness falls. The sky is clear again, and the stars are brilliant...from my seat around the fire, I'm looking right at the Big Dipper. Soon the last of my logs are glowing embers, and it's time for bed...tomorrow is going to be a long day.

Out West Day 30...Thursday, August 20, 2009...Biking in Grand Teton...A Damsel in Distress

More so than Glacier or Yellowstone, Grand Teton has got some great bike paths/trails. The weather is beautiful again this morning...so...I'm going to bike some of those paths/trails.
I'm relaxing with my morning coffee when one of my fellow campers, Lynn, stops by to ask for help. She's left something "on" overnight in her Prius, and the battery is dead. The camper's creed being "help one another", I don't hesitate for a second. When I drive over to her campsite, however, I see that this is not going to be easy. In order to get next to her vehicle, I'm going to have to go in from the side over some big rocks, some logs and through some trees. I have to be careful not to catch any of that on the bottom of the Escape. On the third try, I make it in and ease up nex to Lynn's Prius. Thanks to Mark Birnhart, I've got a Ford Emergency Road Kit with jumper cables. I hook those up, but the Prius still won't start. It's got a single positive pole for jump starts and the negative clamp is not getting a good ground. But a few tries with different spots, and we've finally got it. Thus started, Lynn heads for Jackson, figuring the drive will charge up the battery.
Now back at my campsite, pack up my coffee stuff and bungee my bike to the cargo carrier...and I'm off. About four miles down the road, there's a nice bike path that follows along the highway. Three hours later, I'm hungry...it's lunchtime. This time, I head over to Jackson Lake Lodge for lunch. It's got a big dining room with a great view of the mountains. I order a "Game Burger" (2/3 Buffalo and 1/3 Elk meat) medium-rare with cheese and bacon...very, very good. And for dessert, some Huckleberry ice cream...better than good!
I pick up more ice for the cooler, and then spend the afternoon reading...I'm almost finished with the second book in the Teddy Roosevelt trilogy.
Before I know it, it's almost 7:00PM...dinner time. I'm not particularly hungry after a big lunch, so leftover Thai Curry is an easy meal. Soon, I'm sitting in front of the campfire enjoying a glass of Oregon Pinot Noir as the sun sets. Ten I'm off to bed early...tomorrow, I want to do a little driving around before packing up to leave the following morning.

Out West Day 29...Wednesday, August 19, 2009...Grand Teton National Park...Jenny Lake Campground

The temperature this morning is the warmest in weeks...I'm thinking high 50's/low 60's. This allows me to have my morning coffee outside instead of sitting in the Escape with the heat on.
This seems like a good day for a hike, so I pack up my hiking stuff and head out from camp along the Jenny Lake Trail. It's an easy one around the lake...pretty flat.I'm getting some good photos of the mountains which are pretty hard to miss. After three hours or so of hiking, I'm ready for lunch. So...I head back to camp and cook up a batch of those great Indomie noodles with some leftover steak...a good lunch.
I read for an hour or two, then take a break and head over to the General Store for ice. I've got two coolers with me...a new Coleman "Ultimate Extreme" for food and a smaller regular Coleman for beverages. The Ultimate Extreme is working out well...a 12lb. block of ice is lasting 4 days plus. The beverage cooler, however, requires ice every day or so.
Another hour or two of reading, and it's Cocktail Time...I'm in the mood for red wine, so I open a bottle of Italian Pinot Noir, and it's tasting really good. The Escape is so densely packed that things in the middle stay cool, even in the hot sun.
Dinner is a batch of Thai Green Curry with sliced pork and some fresh corn cut off the cob...and a batch of Basmati rice. A good meal.
Then, a nice fire, more wine...time for bed.

Out West Day 28...Tuesday, August 18, 2009...Grand Teton National Park...Jenny Lake Campground

My alarm is set for 6:00AM, but I'm up before that. I packed most everything yesterday...so... a couple of cups of coffee, a quick shower, and I'm off to Jenny Lake Campground. Weather is much better...sunny and in the 50's this morning. My luck stays with me...site #17 is open...it's big, comfortable, nice views.
I'm setting up my last camp of the trip...pitch the tent, lay out the sleeping pad/sleeping bag, unload the bike, set up the folding tables/chair, lay out the tarp over the firewood and charcoal...I'm in business. I read for awhile, then head over to the General Store for more firewood and ice. It's VERY crowded, and I have to lug two boxes of firewood and two bags of ice about a quarter of a mile across a huge parking lot from the store to my vehicle...several trips.
All of that work has made me hungry, so I head to the Jenny Lake Lodge for lunch. The restaurant there has been called by many the best in the whole National Park System...and it's pretty good. I order Sweet Potato and Ginger Bisque (tasty) and a big Chef's Salad (excellent). They have my new favorite dessert, Huckleberry Ice Cream, so I have a bowl of that as well.
After lunch, I pull my chair over into the shade and read for awhile. I've finished the Teddy Roosevelt Presidential years biography, and now I'm starting the first book in the trilogy, "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. Time flies and, before I know it, it's 6:00PM...the Cocktail Hour!
I pour myself a Margarita, read a little more, and star dinner...grilled Filet and Asparagus...wash that down with another Spanish Rioja. As I sit down to dinner, I realize that I am "sharing" my campsite...Rocky the squirrel hops over to the table...apparently unafraid of humans. After I "accidentally" drop a few cashews, Rocky's having his dinner in a tree while I'm having mine at the picnic table After dinner, I dump the charcoal into the fire pit, lay out some kindling, a few pieces of firewood...soon I've got a roaring fire. By 9:15PM or so, it's dark, and the stars are really out. That's one of the best things about camping...you're away from the bright lights, so you can really see the stars.
By 10:30PM, I'm ready for another great night's sleep.