Yes, we are finally close to home. After Bob driving most of the day in the pouring rain, we decided to stop in Port Huron (so he could watch the hockey game) and just relax. It's been a long day.
We are staying at the Best Western here in Port Huron. Judging by the people who come out the front door to have a smoke...........it looks like a half-way house for alcoholics (lol). We must be tired!!
Another card game planned, probably the last one for awhile. We never seem to do this at home - work, activities and television always seem to get in the way.
Back to reality tomorrow. It's been an awesome experience!!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Saturday May 14, 2011
After spending almost an hour to find a motel that had a vacancy, we ended up at the Super 8 in Davenport, IL. Apparently between a big Track & Field Meet and Graduations, weddings and it being Saturday night, it's a pretty busy corridor.
We had a long day of driving - 10 hours in total which is a lot for us. We ate lunch on the way (while driving) and had a steady run going through the farmland of Iowa. It's very similar to our farm land in southern Ontario.
We are close to the Illinois border so think we will probably get home by Monday.
We had a long day of driving - 10 hours in total which is a lot for us. We ate lunch on the way (while driving) and had a steady run going through the farmland of Iowa. It's very similar to our farm land in southern Ontario.
We are close to the Illinois border so think we will probably get home by Monday.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Well, I'm going to try this again. I just lost the last version of this - something funny about the internet connection! Last night I could only send a couple of emails, the connection speed was so slow, I just gave up.
We are settled at Americas Best Value Inn in Broken Bow, Nebraska. We spent this morning touring the Crazy Horse Museum in South Dakota. Yesterday we ended up in Custer South Dakota. We are going through a lot of little Western towns and stop if we think something looks interesting.
The drive through Montana, South Dakota and now Nebraska has been really interesting - the terrain changing by the minute it seems.
It's been a wonderful trip but I think we are both ready to head home - we are talking about what colour flowers to buy, how the lawn probably needs mowing, etc. so I think it's time!
Judging by what we've seen - we ARE VERY LUCKY to be living where we're living and how we live and are thankful for each day.
We are settled at Americas Best Value Inn in Broken Bow, Nebraska. We spent this morning touring the Crazy Horse Museum in South Dakota. Yesterday we ended up in Custer South Dakota. We are going through a lot of little Western towns and stop if we think something looks interesting.
The drive through Montana, South Dakota and now Nebraska has been really interesting - the terrain changing by the minute it seems.
It's been a wonderful trip but I think we are both ready to head home - we are talking about what colour flowers to buy, how the lawn probably needs mowing, etc. so I think it's time!
Judging by what we've seen - we ARE VERY LUCKY to be living where we're living and how we live and are thankful for each day.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Wednesday May 11th, 2011
Another great day. We toured the Buffalo Bill Cody museum this morning and had lunch at the Irma Hotel (originally owned by Buffalo Bill and named for his daughter Irma). What an amazing museum (5 different museums inside) and an interesting old Hotel/Saloon/Dining Room.
We then toured the main street of Cody - old fashioned western town. We left there and travelled over Big Horn Mountain (where temperatures were minus 2 C) and had a LOT of snow. It was beautiful because the roads were clear and NO SNOW STORM!!!
We are settled in at another Best Western in Sheridan Wyoming. The clerk asked Bob if he wanted a room close to the pool and of course Bob said yes. Well, our back door opens right onto the heated indoor pool deck and hot tub! Nice..........
I'm hoping that is the end of high elevation mountains (over 9,000 ft) with low temperatures. We are passing through a mountain range in South Dakota but don't think they will be as high.....
I will keep my fingers crossed anyway.
We then toured the main street of Cody - old fashioned western town. We left there and travelled over Big Horn Mountain (where temperatures were minus 2 C) and had a LOT of snow. It was beautiful because the roads were clear and NO SNOW STORM!!!
We are settled in at another Best Western in Sheridan Wyoming. The clerk asked Bob if he wanted a room close to the pool and of course Bob said yes. Well, our back door opens right onto the heated indoor pool deck and hot tub! Nice..........
I'm hoping that is the end of high elevation mountains (over 9,000 ft) with low temperatures. We are passing through a mountain range in South Dakota but don't think they will be as high.....
I will keep my fingers crossed anyway.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Tuesday May 10th, 2011
It stopped snowing during the night and we heard the pass was open with restrictions (mandatory chains and no trailers allowed) so the Canadian Sweetheart that I'm married to decided that HE can get out of Jackson Hole. So away we went, going through an avalanche area, another snow storm and finally got to Yellowstone National Park. We stopped to see Old Faithful (the Geyer that reaches up to 180 ft).
There was a LOT of snow there, sometimes the banks were twice the height of our truck but the roads were clear and it had stopped snowing by then. We saw herds of Big Horn Sheep, Deer, Bison and Elk....very interesting.
We ended up in Cody Wyoming, a real cute llittle town with a large Wild Bill Cody Cultural Center, apparently with 5 museums inside so that will keep us busy tomorrow.
Once again we are at a Best Western motel in Cody.
There was a LOT of snow there, sometimes the banks were twice the height of our truck but the roads were clear and it had stopped snowing by then. We saw herds of Big Horn Sheep, Deer, Bison and Elk....very interesting.
We ended up in Cody Wyoming, a real cute llittle town with a large Wild Bill Cody Cultural Center, apparently with 5 museums inside so that will keep us busy tomorrow.
Once again we are at a Best Western motel in Cody.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Well, more surprises to-day! We tried to get into YellowStone Park but most of the roads were closed because the 'winter' roads haven't been plowed yet. There are a few open but not the one we wanted to drive to Jackson Hole Wyoming.
Soooooo we took the long way around and had to go through a Pass to get there. Well it started snowing while going through the pass, snowing so hard that the Sheriff was there suggesting people either put on their chains or at least have 4 wheel drive! Of course this is almost 8,000 ft. above sea level so it is VERY HIGH and does not have a lot of guard rails.......Bob decided we should 'go for it' because we only had 12 miles to go to get here. We arrived safely but it kept on snowing. I'm not sure when we will be able to leave here as both Passes going out of this town are closed! We hit a high today of 3 degrees C but most of the time it was down to 0 degree C. They are predicting 2 inches of snow here in the valley so don't know what that means up in the mountains (Passes). We'll see.
To be stranded anywhere, this is the place to be. It's like a BIG St. Jacobs or Whistler - in the winter it is a ski resort so it has a lot of restaurants and many upscale shops and galleries. The odd shop is closed because it is 'between seasons'. Seasons being the winter skiing and the summer tourist industry. We just got back from doing our laundry and using the hot tub and heated indoor swimming pool. So, please don't feel too sorry for us. Besides, we don't HAVE to be home at any special time.
Bob is so happy that he won the SkipBo tournament last night - for the first time ever!! He's not so happy that he can't get to watch Nashville and Vancouver hockey game tonight. It all depends on the TV station in the area we stop in.
We will see what tomorrow brings.
Soooooo we took the long way around and had to go through a Pass to get there. Well it started snowing while going through the pass, snowing so hard that the Sheriff was there suggesting people either put on their chains or at least have 4 wheel drive! Of course this is almost 8,000 ft. above sea level so it is VERY HIGH and does not have a lot of guard rails.......Bob decided we should 'go for it' because we only had 12 miles to go to get here. We arrived safely but it kept on snowing. I'm not sure when we will be able to leave here as both Passes going out of this town are closed! We hit a high today of 3 degrees C but most of the time it was down to 0 degree C. They are predicting 2 inches of snow here in the valley so don't know what that means up in the mountains (Passes). We'll see.
To be stranded anywhere, this is the place to be. It's like a BIG St. Jacobs or Whistler - in the winter it is a ski resort so it has a lot of restaurants and many upscale shops and galleries. The odd shop is closed because it is 'between seasons'. Seasons being the winter skiing and the summer tourist industry. We just got back from doing our laundry and using the hot tub and heated indoor swimming pool. So, please don't feel too sorry for us. Besides, we don't HAVE to be home at any special time.
Bob is so happy that he won the SkipBo tournament last night - for the first time ever!! He's not so happy that he can't get to watch Nashville and Vancouver hockey game tonight. It all depends on the TV station in the area we stop in.
We will see what tomorrow brings.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Sunday, May 8th,2011
What a surprise we got today! We started out on our little trek through Phillipsburg, Butte, Montana then on to Virginia City and stopped at a few other places, ended up in Ennis Montana. It seems almost ALL the places don't open until the long week-end in May until Labour Day week-end. So we ended up looking in a lot of store windows. The only places that had activity or were busy were the Saloons!!
Unfortunatley there were a LOT of stores that were closed down completely. I guess the recession has finally caught up to these little store owners. Some of the tiny places look like ghost towns. One of the locals said we are here two months too soon!! We ran into quite a bit of snow on the ground- with temperatures varying from 36 to 55 degrees depending whether or not we were driving through mountain areas.
We did manage to get into a Mercantile here in Ennis and ended buying an old framed print and a decorated Native American dress (for display). It is beautiful.
One of the motels we passed had a sign that said "Hot Water Available" so we knew we might be in trouble if they were offering that as a way to get people to stop in! We ended up at the Fan Mountain Inn at Ennis, Montana. I was shocked that they had internet available.
Well, on to bigger and better things, we hope. We are going through Yellowstone Park tomorrow. On the map it says "Roads Closed in Winter Months" on most of the roads so we are hoping their 'winter' has passed and we are able to drive through.
Unfortunatley there were a LOT of stores that were closed down completely. I guess the recession has finally caught up to these little store owners. Some of the tiny places look like ghost towns. One of the locals said we are here two months too soon!! We ran into quite a bit of snow on the ground- with temperatures varying from 36 to 55 degrees depending whether or not we were driving through mountain areas.
We did manage to get into a Mercantile here in Ennis and ended buying an old framed print and a decorated Native American dress (for display). It is beautiful.
One of the motels we passed had a sign that said "Hot Water Available" so we knew we might be in trouble if they were offering that as a way to get people to stop in! We ended up at the Fan Mountain Inn at Ennis, Montana. I was shocked that they had internet available.
Well, on to bigger and better things, we hope. We are going through Yellowstone Park tomorrow. On the map it says "Roads Closed in Winter Months" on most of the roads so we are hoping their 'winter' has passed and we are able to drive through.
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