Monday, December 27, 2010
Post Christmas Post
Uneventful X-mas. Family came over for dinner (ham and etc.), we sat around and talked for a bit and that was that. T'was even more quiet than usual. It was OK though, as it gave dw and I plenty of time to think about the giganto dental bills we're building up. It's our contribution to the general economic recovery --- Sakes alive! Money sitting around in a savings account -- collecting 1/2% interest per year -- isn't doing anyone any good. DA
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Christmas Is Nigh
We just finished dinner -- a vegan variation on a Moroccan carrot dish we had at Patrilary's. Since my heart annoyance stuff has happened I try to cook vegetarian several times a week. This particular meal was entirely edible, but not a taste treat. It really needed sausage. We also just finished watching Green Bay lose to New England -- it was a close game but Cheeseheads everywhere are now broken-hearted.
dw is getting close to completing the Christmas decorations. Again the main motif is kirigami but the installations are smaller this year than last, and are mainly confined to the living room. As always I am firm with my moral support.
Yesterday dw had a small luncheon with three friends (Larissa, Mary, and Laura) Everyone seemed to have a nice time -- dw also did the menu planning and prep -- I watched -- . I visited with everyone long enough to be polite and then retired to the study to write all of my X-mas cards. This year I'm a bit earlier than normal with the cards . I write at least a brief note in most of the cards (and I didn't exactly practice due diligence) so I didn't finish the cards until everyone was leaving -- (that wasn't intentional).
And today I went to the rock gym with John and Bob. dw met with Kate (John's wife) and they had coffee while we climbed. I rode with dw in her car to the gym, and then rode my bike back to the house. An easier workout for me, just riding one way. I was unenthused exercisewise so I only did one hard climb along with 6 or 7 easier ones. And was leisurely on the bike ride home. Better than nothing. DA
dw is getting close to completing the Christmas decorations. Again the main motif is kirigami but the installations are smaller this year than last, and are mainly confined to the living room. As always I am firm with my moral support.
Yesterday dw had a small luncheon with three friends (Larissa, Mary, and Laura) Everyone seemed to have a nice time -- dw also did the menu planning and prep -- I watched -- . I visited with everyone long enough to be polite and then retired to the study to write all of my X-mas cards. This year I'm a bit earlier than normal with the cards . I write at least a brief note in most of the cards (and I didn't exactly practice due diligence) so I didn't finish the cards until everyone was leaving -- (that wasn't intentional).
And today I went to the rock gym with John and Bob. dw met with Kate (John's wife) and they had coffee while we climbed. I rode with dw in her car to the gym, and then rode my bike back to the house. An easier workout for me, just riding one way. I was unenthused exercisewise so I only did one hard climb along with 6 or 7 easier ones. And was leisurely on the bike ride home. Better than nothing. DA
Monday, December 13, 2010
Action!
Yes, the holiday season has arrived and I am in action - ideas percolating, hauling Christmas boxes down from the attic, cutting and pasting kirigami (real cut and paste not that electric computer stuff), and artfully displaying the percolated results. Putter, arrange, rearrange, take down and put back up. I love it! The living room could now be considered The Red Room as a grid of red/green/white kirigami squares adorn the west wall. The grid has alternating diagonals of green, white and red backgrounds. Dennis bailed me out of that when I messed up the order and the grid had a green where a white background should have been. Horrors! Red bulb ornaments, red poinsettias, red wreath, red and white table runner on the entertainment center and a live green Charlie Brown tree with red (and a few green, blue and yellow) bulbs. Kirigami cutouts with red, green or white in them cover the woodwork arch and hang from the window curtain rods. You get the idea. That's it for holiday preparation. I am working Christmas Eve day and on call Christmas Day. It's my turn and that's okay. Twelve days til Christmas and hopefully, no 'partridge in a pear tree' when we get there. Happy Holidays, dw.
I haven't been nearly so active, Christmas-wise, although I am considering writing my X-mas cards. Otherwise I'm still working on the metal sculpture, occasionally exercising and generally messing about. Yesterday I made a device to hang another bird feeder. After I install it, we'll have east (old one) and west (new one) feeders. When we get really bored we can count bird-visits and compare and contrast, to find which feeder has the most curb appeal -- bird wise. DA
I haven't been nearly so active, Christmas-wise, although I am considering writing my X-mas cards. Otherwise I'm still working on the metal sculpture, occasionally exercising and generally messing about. Yesterday I made a device to hang another bird feeder. After I install it, we'll have east (old one) and west (new one) feeders. When we get really bored we can count bird-visits and compare and contrast, to find which feeder has the most curb appeal -- bird wise. DA
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Dec. 5, I think
Dennis has informed me it's way past my turn to blog so here I am with no significant news. Sunny and cool today - no rain - a pleasant change from the usual weather. Dennis used the nice day to mow the lawn and rake leaves - on December 5, that's almost criminal!!!! I spent the day indulging myself in holiday decorating i.e. taping a variety of kirigami cutouts on the wall, woodwork and windows. It's very festive as I selected out red, green and white cutouts and backgrounds thus creating a color theme. The tree will be a "Charlie Brown" tree that is growing in a container outside. Really, it is about as crooked as a tree can get and still be standing. Needs conditioning in the garage for a couple of days before being brought into the warm (and I use the term very loosely) house. And that's it - lawn care, decorating and waiting for a tree to heat up. Happy Sunday evening. dw
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thanksgiving
A quiet day. Had some family over -- good meal (If I do say so myself) -- talked -- looked at our trip pictures (dw has done a very good job of sorting, arranging and labeling the pics -- she didn't do a chronological arrangement but more of sorting by subject -- A LOT of work) and that's about it.
Otherwise not much has been happening. I've raked the leaves a couple of times (including the street) -- and taken pictures -- to avoid Portland's absurd new leaf tax which seems to have been suspended anyway. Another attempt by the city council to earn a 100% disapproval rating.
I didn't blog last Sunday because I had even less to say than I have today. The upcoming Sunday is looking bleak blog-wise. Perhaps I should make stuff up -- that seems to be the contemporary non-fiction way anyway. DA
Now I had a FABULOUS day after breakfast in bed, a pedicure, spa bath, hair and makeup revamp, nip and tuck here and there -oh, no, wait, that was my dream last night. Instead I'm making up for the quiet day by giving my body some metabolizing work as I consume piece after piece of apple pie and platefuls of SPAM MACARONI salad. You didn't think we would visit the Spam Museum and then forget the spam? Made it myself based on an old family recipe - boiled macaroni, can of spam, and peas married with an olive oil based mayonnaise (an Italian mayo, as it were). Tossed in leftover chopped onions and celery and added pepper only (because there is enough salt in the Spam to salinize the ocean) and called it good. Delish, of course. I agree that perhaps it's time to be more CREATIVE here in the blog. Will get back to you on that. dw
Otherwise not much has been happening. I've raked the leaves a couple of times (including the street) -- and taken pictures -- to avoid Portland's absurd new leaf tax which seems to have been suspended anyway. Another attempt by the city council to earn a 100% disapproval rating.
I didn't blog last Sunday because I had even less to say than I have today. The upcoming Sunday is looking bleak blog-wise. Perhaps I should make stuff up -- that seems to be the contemporary non-fiction way anyway. DA
Now I had a FABULOUS day after breakfast in bed, a pedicure, spa bath, hair and makeup revamp, nip and tuck here and there -oh, no, wait, that was my dream last night. Instead I'm making up for the quiet day by giving my body some metabolizing work as I consume piece after piece of apple pie and platefuls of SPAM MACARONI salad. You didn't think we would visit the Spam Museum and then forget the spam? Made it myself based on an old family recipe - boiled macaroni, can of spam, and peas married with an olive oil based mayonnaise (an Italian mayo, as it were). Tossed in leftover chopped onions and celery and added pepper only (because there is enough salt in the Spam to salinize the ocean) and called it good. Delish, of course. I agree that perhaps it's time to be more CREATIVE here in the blog. Will get back to you on that. dw
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Waiting Didn't Help Much
Another week with a dirth of excitement. I finally got my bike back together so I'll start riding again. I took it in for a new tire a week or so ago, and was told it really needed a tune-up. At a cost of $100 I decided to do it myself. So, it's done.
I'm still working on the steel sculpture, I'm still optimistic re: the eventual result.
I've gone walking a few times. Although it seems very "not green" to drive to an exercise place, I've been driving up Germantown road to the Wildwood trailhead. Lotsa foliage, steep canyons (the trail maintains elevation when crossing them) small streams. Nothing spectacular but a very nice deep-woods feel to the trails. The trail is a welcome change from walking around the neighborhood.
Dw may have an entry later in the week. She took a couple of days of r&r -- went to Hood River and is lolling about with a view of the river and a bunch of knitting and other projects to do.
And finally, I bought a new computer (an HP) -- I finally got fed up with the old one freezing and otherwise showing its age. -- There's not room at this desk for two old things. -- It's up and running but I still need to transfer the files from the old one to the new. It'll be easy enough, but I need to borrow a monitor to hook up with the old computer. (I didn't get a new monitor) -- And I just noticed an instruction to read the "Safety & Comfort Guide" in order to reduce the risk of serious injury while using the new keyboard. Another unrecognized peril in modern life. DA
I'm still working on the steel sculpture, I'm still optimistic re: the eventual result.
I've gone walking a few times. Although it seems very "not green" to drive to an exercise place, I've been driving up Germantown road to the Wildwood trailhead. Lotsa foliage, steep canyons (the trail maintains elevation when crossing them) small streams. Nothing spectacular but a very nice deep-woods feel to the trails. The trail is a welcome change from walking around the neighborhood.
Dw may have an entry later in the week. She took a couple of days of r&r -- went to Hood River and is lolling about with a view of the river and a bunch of knitting and other projects to do.
And finally, I bought a new computer (an HP) -- I finally got fed up with the old one freezing and otherwise showing its age. -- There's not room at this desk for two old things. -- It's up and running but I still need to transfer the files from the old one to the new. It'll be easy enough, but I need to borrow a monitor to hook up with the old computer. (I didn't get a new monitor) -- And I just noticed an instruction to read the "Safety & Comfort Guide" in order to reduce the risk of serious injury while using the new keyboard. Another unrecognized peril in modern life. DA
Monday, November 8, 2010
Wait, wait - I'm thinking
What's new since Halloween? Dennis and I enjoyed a fine dining experience last night at friend David M's house-sitting gig. After driving up and up the winding road behind Scappoose we found the address and arrived in enough daylight to admire the fabulous house. It's one of those sprawling hillside homes 3-4 years new with a circular gravel/paved entryway, carport, driveway winding around and under the house to the garage, windows, more windows, giant wood entry door, rain chains from the overhangs, etc. Lovely, lovely. So was the evening as we chatted and ate and caught up on the news - sitting around the dining room table next to the kitchen. The kitchen is the hearth of the home and I like that even in a giant home we hang around the kitchen. Some things do not change.
November has arrived with its variable weather -70 and sunny two days and then heavy rain, sun and rainbows the next. The vacation photos are hunkered down in a big dishpan waiting for me to put them in order. As winter previews with the rainy weather reading becomes a bigger draw and the photos are still waiting. Soon, real soon. dw
I concur with all of the above re: the house and evening.
I've been working on a sculpture (painted steel) which is coming along nicely. And I've been tuning up my bike. I'm not very interested in the bike job, but it needs to be done, and I need to finish it so I can get back to exercising. Cycling has replaced running as my preferred exercise although I consider it a mediocre substitute. DA
November has arrived with its variable weather -70 and sunny two days and then heavy rain, sun and rainbows the next. The vacation photos are hunkered down in a big dishpan waiting for me to put them in order. As winter previews with the rainy weather reading becomes a bigger draw and the photos are still waiting. Soon, real soon. dw
I concur with all of the above re: the house and evening.
I've been working on a sculpture (painted steel) which is coming along nicely. And I've been tuning up my bike. I'm not very interested in the bike job, but it needs to be done, and I need to finish it so I can get back to exercising. Cycling has replaced running as my preferred exercise although I consider it a mediocre substitute. DA
Sunday, October 31, 2010
All Hallows Eve
Dw got a phone call from Dennis S. earlier. He said he had checked the blog to see if there was an up-date, which, at that time, there wasn't. So I'm noting that I will almost always write the Sunday up-dates in the evening. This practice will give me another day for something to actually happen.
On Friday I went to the gym with grandson Josh. I think in the future I'll have to insist that he stay at our house until I retire to bed. That way he can carry me upstairs. Boy howdy was I reminded that I've been sitting on my butt for nearly two months. It's a win-win for both of us. The young women will think it's sweet that's he's climbing with his granddad, and I'll have a young stud to tow me up climbs.
Otherwise, dw and I played HalloweenScrooge this year. Instead of doing candy we turned off the lights and went to Powells. Bought a couple of books and then stopped at Widmer's (a brew pub -- for those who don't know) for dinner. We aren't really that bad. Last year we had fewer than ten kids ringing the door. In this neighborhood all of the tricker-treaters are attracted to Portsmouth St. -- it crosses our street a few blocks to the east and there are five houses in near proximity that do elaborate Halloween decorations. They draw all the local candy-hounds. Driving home we passed one or two hundred people on Portsmouth. That scene started twenty or more years ago with one house, and over the years their neighbors have joined in. It's all very interesting, but better them than me. DA
On Friday I went to the gym with grandson Josh. I think in the future I'll have to insist that he stay at our house until I retire to bed. That way he can carry me upstairs. Boy howdy was I reminded that I've been sitting on my butt for nearly two months. It's a win-win for both of us. The young women will think it's sweet that's he's climbing with his granddad, and I'll have a young stud to tow me up climbs.
Otherwise, dw and I played HalloweenScrooge this year. Instead of doing candy we turned off the lights and went to Powells. Bought a couple of books and then stopped at Widmer's (a brew pub -- for those who don't know) for dinner. We aren't really that bad. Last year we had fewer than ten kids ringing the door. In this neighborhood all of the tricker-treaters are attracted to Portsmouth St. -- it crosses our street a few blocks to the east and there are five houses in near proximity that do elaborate Halloween decorations. They draw all the local candy-hounds. Driving home we passed one or two hundred people on Portsmouth. That scene started twenty or more years ago with one house, and over the years their neighbors have joined in. It's all very interesting, but better them than me. DA
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Back home
This week has been reacclimatizing to our ordinary lives. We picked up our mail on Monday and included was a notice to appear for jury duty (for me). I was expecting it (though not so soon) since I had been called earlier but had postponed it for my angiogram. Went in on Tuesday. This was for a federal case in the Hatfield Courthouse. (I didn't even get to the voir dire of jury selection) But for the first time I did see the inside of the courthouse. There are some interesting art things: In the entrance hall are three water features. A very thin layer of water flows down a section of wall / pillar / clear glass panel about three feet wide. The section is slightly inset and is corrigated like a piece of cardboard with one side peeled off. Irregular ripples form in the flowing water (scarcely deep enough to wet your finger) that look like bubbles flowing down instead of up. It's a nice effect. On the ninth floor is an outdoor seating area with five 15 X 15 foot planted areas (among other things, each area has a couple of madrones) and several sculptural groupings. Stylized animals (mostly beavers) engaging in a trial, being tempted by a snake, etc. All sort of justice related. It's in interesting installation. Worth seeing (maybe) if you want to go through the security screening. There's also a large tapestry which I didn't see.
This afternoon I was going to order Thai for dinner. Changed my mind since I didn't want to order for dw (she was napping) so I was going to order a pizza when dw came downstairs and we ended going out for pizza.
None of it very interesting except I have wanted some Thai since we were in Bismarck N.D. when dw suggested we have some, but (at least according to the yellow pages) Bismarck HAS NO THAI RESTAURANTS. What's up with that? Bismarck also has -- and I have photographic evidence -- parking signs at the state capitol building that say "visitor parking" with an arrow pointing to the right, and a one way sign directly below the visitor parking sign (on the same post) with an arrow pointing to the left. dw and I thought "HUH?"
And with all due respect to North Dakota -- where we saw some very interesting things, and the people we talked with were very friendly -- their capitol building looks like a generic, anywhere in the world, 20 story office building. DA
This afternoon I was going to order Thai for dinner. Changed my mind since I didn't want to order for dw (she was napping) so I was going to order a pizza when dw came downstairs and we ended going out for pizza.
None of it very interesting except I have wanted some Thai since we were in Bismarck N.D. when dw suggested we have some, but (at least according to the yellow pages) Bismarck HAS NO THAI RESTAURANTS. What's up with that? Bismarck also has -- and I have photographic evidence -- parking signs at the state capitol building that say "visitor parking" with an arrow pointing to the right, and a one way sign directly below the visitor parking sign (on the same post) with an arrow pointing to the left. dw and I thought "HUH?"
And with all due respect to North Dakota -- where we saw some very interesting things, and the people we talked with were very friendly -- their capitol building looks like a generic, anywhere in the world, 20 story office building. DA
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Back in PDX- dw
Safely home and all is well. Arrived 9pm Sat. 10/16/10 in time to unload the car and watch British comedies on PBS (I have my priorities!). The 520 mile drive from Twin Falls, Idaho was smooth sailing as there wasn't much wind - frequently an issue in southern ID and the Gorge - and cruise control allowed for driving long hours. That and NPR and Dave Barry "I'll Mature When I'm Dead" - pretty funny, even listening to it the second time. I wanted a special end to the trip so we stopped in Hood River for dinner at Brians Pourhouse - a place of delicious food and excellent service. Tried the chocolate martini and I'm in trouble now!!!!! No wonder martinis are so popular - they can be a taste treat. Didn't interfere with my fish taco and pear cobbler dessert either. The ambience of Brians was enhanced by many high school prom persons - dressed to the nines and texting each other during dinner, while standing in the doorway and on the sidewalk waiting to get in. Hood River Harvest Festival was also going on so H.R. was crowded and hoppin'. It was still very enjoyable (perhaps enhanced by the chocolate martini, but I only had one!).
The drive from Hood River to Portland was the first night driving in a long time. I usually avoid it because you miss the sights and I'm not fond of driving at night. It went all right but I was happy to see the lights of Portland. Even if it meant I lost the bet. I said it would start raining at Cascade Locks and Dennis said it would not be raining at all. The pessimist and the optimist return home... He was right. I paid him the $1.
Arrived to the welcome lights of home - thank you Jackie. Now the work begins. Cleaning the car, clothes, camping gear and putting away the brochures, flyers, books, maps and souvenirs (Dennis-rocks from the Gaspe, Dianne-needlework project from Vermont). Tomorrow I'll pick up the "held mail" and spend a great deal of time sorting out the junk from the real stuff. Five and a half weeks of mail is a lot of mail. Then I will gather all my internal and external resources and download the photos off the camera onto the computer. Or go to Walgreens and have them make a CD! I'm leaning toward Walgreens... Good thing I don't work until Fri Oct. 22 - thank you Nancy!
Thank you for reading, hope it brought a smile or two to you. dw
P.S. Data will follow after I figure it out i.e. average gas mileage, etc. Have to do the conversion of liters to gallons for the Canada portion. I will mention we covered 9697 miles in 5 weeks, 4 days of travel. dw
The drive from Hood River to Portland was the first night driving in a long time. I usually avoid it because you miss the sights and I'm not fond of driving at night. It went all right but I was happy to see the lights of Portland. Even if it meant I lost the bet. I said it would start raining at Cascade Locks and Dennis said it would not be raining at all. The pessimist and the optimist return home... He was right. I paid him the $1.
Arrived to the welcome lights of home - thank you Jackie. Now the work begins. Cleaning the car, clothes, camping gear and putting away the brochures, flyers, books, maps and souvenirs (Dennis-rocks from the Gaspe, Dianne-needlework project from Vermont). Tomorrow I'll pick up the "held mail" and spend a great deal of time sorting out the junk from the real stuff. Five and a half weeks of mail is a lot of mail. Then I will gather all my internal and external resources and download the photos off the camera onto the computer. Or go to Walgreens and have them make a CD! I'm leaning toward Walgreens... Good thing I don't work until Fri Oct. 22 - thank you Nancy!
Thank you for reading, hope it brought a smile or two to you. dw
P.S. Data will follow after I figure it out i.e. average gas mileage, etc. Have to do the conversion of liters to gallons for the Canada portion. I will mention we covered 9697 miles in 5 weeks, 4 days of travel. dw
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Home again, home
Again, jiggedy jig. Another driving day. We were going to take a couple of small side drives today, but the driving was easy and we came straight home. -- With a stop in Hood River for dinner --
This morning in Twin Falls we could have stopped at an info center and seen Evel Knievel's jet-powered motorcycle that he used in his failed attempt to jump the Snake River canyon. The info center was on the wrong side of the road and it didn't seem worth the trouble (it was a 4-lane street). From a canyon viewing platform, however, we could see the dirt ramp he built for his attempt. I think he got what he really wanted: someone talking about him 30 years later.
Also in Twin Falls: a cemetary of dead combines. About 30 of them in a row, rusting away. I enjoy them more perched on a hill-top.
Just west of Twin Falls are sited -- just next to the freeway -- four or five huge feed-lots. Perhaps it's a multiplying effect but they seem to smell more fetid than other feed-lots we've driven past.
Finally, we're going to keep this blog going -- Probably with just one entry a week (Sun. P.M.) -- just so we can keep the title "danddontheroad". DA
This morning in Twin Falls we could have stopped at an info center and seen Evel Knievel's jet-powered motorcycle that he used in his failed attempt to jump the Snake River canyon. The info center was on the wrong side of the road and it didn't seem worth the trouble (it was a 4-lane street). From a canyon viewing platform, however, we could see the dirt ramp he built for his attempt. I think he got what he really wanted: someone talking about him 30 years later.
Also in Twin Falls: a cemetary of dead combines. About 30 of them in a row, rusting away. I enjoy them more perched on a hill-top.
Just west of Twin Falls are sited -- just next to the freeway -- four or five huge feed-lots. Perhaps it's a multiplying effect but they seem to smell more fetid than other feed-lots we've driven past.
Finally, we're going to keep this blog going -- Probably with just one entry a week (Sun. P.M.) -- just so we can keep the title "danddontheroad". DA
Friday, October 15, 2010
Twin Falls, ID
A driving day. From Bozeman we drove down 191 to West Yellowstone. After that we took 20, intending to look at the St Anthony sand dunes in eastern Idaho. We found the dunes -- a fairly large area, 5 miles by 30 miles, and they were nice dunes. But the whole area seemed to be open to dune buggies and ATVs (thanks, BLM) so we weren't inclined to do any hiking. A far southern area didn't have any road access -- and probably was open to ATVs -- We thought it was a wasted side trip. Two horns down on my viking helmet.
The drive itself was nice. 191 follows the Gallatin river -- mostly in a deep and steep canyon -- toward the south end the canyon opened into a wide valley leading to West Yellowstone. Weather was partly cloudy and warm (except at the pass altitude: 6500') with a cold wind. DA
The drive itself was nice. 191 follows the Gallatin river -- mostly in a deep and steep canyon -- toward the south end the canyon opened into a wide valley leading to West Yellowstone. Weather was partly cloudy and warm (except at the pass altitude: 6500') with a cold wind. DA
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Big Timber, MT
dw's description of the bison, antelope and coyote in the park was spot on. The antelope and coyote was a great little scene of preditor prey. I really enjoyed the buffalo ignoring the whole thing. --- As if a giant bison would worry about a scrawny coyote (although the coyote did have a fine bushy tail).
More observations from the road: Some of the farmers/ranchers around here seem to dispose of their old combines by parking them on a hill top and leaving them to rust away. They have a sculptural presence (sort of like a great lumbering beast) that's surprisingly interesting. We've seen five to ten of them.
The cow mystery is solved as we saw a herd walking west. The natural humors of the hemisphere have been restored. We are relieved.
Finally, we were passed by a pickup truck that had three or four dead deer loaded in the back. The only thing you could see wwere the feet and legs sticking up. Seeing just those made it extra grim and bizarre. DA
More observations from the road: Some of the farmers/ranchers around here seem to dispose of their old combines by parking them on a hill top and leaving them to rust away. They have a sculptural presence (sort of like a great lumbering beast) that's surprisingly interesting. We've seen five to ten of them.
The cow mystery is solved as we saw a herd walking west. The natural humors of the hemisphere have been restored. We are relieved.
Finally, we were passed by a pickup truck that had three or four dead deer loaded in the back. The only thing you could see wwere the feet and legs sticking up. Seeing just those made it extra grim and bizarre. DA
dw's turn...
First of all, thank you Hilary for the comments! Imagining being duped by a fake moose yard ornament made me laugh - did you take a photo of it??? Certainly photo-worthy? As for the guilt about not reading the blog - keep on reading! :-)
Today has been a delight. Sunny and warm all day - had the A/C on in the car. Started out on the scenic drive in Teddy Roosevelt Natl Park about 09 -(we rarely get an early start). The breakfast at the inn was stellar including the waffle mix that comes out of a dispensing machine into a small cup and then you make your own waffle. The process makes me nervous so I never do it. Dennis seems to enjoy them, though. Protein was provided in the form of hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, milk, etc. Those who travel will know that many "continental breakfasts" are a sugar hit so a real breakfast is a treat. Fortified we were off on the drive and at mile 19 of the 36 mile scenic loop we were stopped by bison in the road. About 60 were gathered for a mid-morning siesta and cud-chewing. Many were snuggled down in the shade looking like bison boulders, a few settled in the road and others stood around chewing without having eaten anything. A "couple" were on the side of the road, he investigating his opportunities and she blissfully ignoring it all. Another male came around and the first guy huffed and waved his giant head - young guy left but kept an eye on the lack of action. Ever hopeful, I guess. We were sort of stuck as they were blocking the road and frankly the possibility of mating happening right there was too good an opportunity to pass up. Nature in action! Well, not so much, as nothing happened for half an hour and the other bison moved off the road with a bit of nudging so we left. The couple was still together when we departed - maybe later...?
Well we were psyched for nature after that and weren't disappointed. Rounding a corner about 7 miles further down the road, the bison boulders were visible and a few were eating - maybe 10 of them, not the herd of mile 19 but still worth a stop. Thirty feet away were four antelope intermittently grazing and standing on alert because 20 feet away was a coyote who was pacing back and forth on the hillside just above the antelope. The coyote trotted away and then came back and the antelopes ate and then ran a bit when the coyote was too close. Wow, talk about a nature vignette. The bison were oblivious to all of it. The coyote continued pacing but didn't seem all that interested in the antelope as there were no young ones. Dennis figured out he was probably after the prairie dogs in an adjacent field. Yeah, there were prairie dog towns all over this park. After the fourth or fifth "town" with it's hundreds of furry rear-wobbling rodents, they started to creep me out. I kept thinking "hanta virus" but Dennis tells me it's bubonic plague that they can spread. Whatever. They are rodents. End of discussion.
It's Teddy Roosevelt National Park so we stopped at the Visitor Center and dutifully saw the 13 minute movie narrated Teddy-like and using his words. It was OK. His ancillary ranching cabin was out in back (there was a bigger cabin elsewhere). This cabin has been moved and one of its previous landing places was Portland, OR. Has anyone seen it while it was on display here? It's pretty tiny and the claim-to-fame is the attic with outside access and a window where the ranch hands could sleep. I took the paper fold-up of this cabin - meant for children, of course - and will color it using the set of free crayons from the North Dakota Visitor Center. It's always good to participate in the hands-on opportunities provided by travel! One interesting exhibit was a Teddy figure riding a horse in original clothing. Not exactly a big man, our Teddy. Beautiful park, though, and I'm glad he arranged for national parks to be created all those years ago.
By now it's noon and we've got to get going or we will never get home. Drove all afternoon on cruise control at 71mph. Montana speed limit is 75 but I guess I'm too old anymore, or not used to it. Sunny and lovely and good NPR jazz station and all is well. Called it quits in Big Timber, MT. Tomorrow we head to St. Anthony in Idaho, home of sand dunes and then on to PDX. Probably get home Sunday. dw
Today has been a delight. Sunny and warm all day - had the A/C on in the car. Started out on the scenic drive in Teddy Roosevelt Natl Park about 09 -(we rarely get an early start). The breakfast at the inn was stellar including the waffle mix that comes out of a dispensing machine into a small cup and then you make your own waffle. The process makes me nervous so I never do it. Dennis seems to enjoy them, though. Protein was provided in the form of hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, milk, etc. Those who travel will know that many "continental breakfasts" are a sugar hit so a real breakfast is a treat. Fortified we were off on the drive and at mile 19 of the 36 mile scenic loop we were stopped by bison in the road. About 60 were gathered for a mid-morning siesta and cud-chewing. Many were snuggled down in the shade looking like bison boulders, a few settled in the road and others stood around chewing without having eaten anything. A "couple" were on the side of the road, he investigating his opportunities and she blissfully ignoring it all. Another male came around and the first guy huffed and waved his giant head - young guy left but kept an eye on the lack of action. Ever hopeful, I guess. We were sort of stuck as they were blocking the road and frankly the possibility of mating happening right there was too good an opportunity to pass up. Nature in action! Well, not so much, as nothing happened for half an hour and the other bison moved off the road with a bit of nudging so we left. The couple was still together when we departed - maybe later...?
Well we were psyched for nature after that and weren't disappointed. Rounding a corner about 7 miles further down the road, the bison boulders were visible and a few were eating - maybe 10 of them, not the herd of mile 19 but still worth a stop. Thirty feet away were four antelope intermittently grazing and standing on alert because 20 feet away was a coyote who was pacing back and forth on the hillside just above the antelope. The coyote trotted away and then came back and the antelopes ate and then ran a bit when the coyote was too close. Wow, talk about a nature vignette. The bison were oblivious to all of it. The coyote continued pacing but didn't seem all that interested in the antelope as there were no young ones. Dennis figured out he was probably after the prairie dogs in an adjacent field. Yeah, there were prairie dog towns all over this park. After the fourth or fifth "town" with it's hundreds of furry rear-wobbling rodents, they started to creep me out. I kept thinking "hanta virus" but Dennis tells me it's bubonic plague that they can spread. Whatever. They are rodents. End of discussion.
It's Teddy Roosevelt National Park so we stopped at the Visitor Center and dutifully saw the 13 minute movie narrated Teddy-like and using his words. It was OK. His ancillary ranching cabin was out in back (there was a bigger cabin elsewhere). This cabin has been moved and one of its previous landing places was Portland, OR. Has anyone seen it while it was on display here? It's pretty tiny and the claim-to-fame is the attic with outside access and a window where the ranch hands could sleep. I took the paper fold-up of this cabin - meant for children, of course - and will color it using the set of free crayons from the North Dakota Visitor Center. It's always good to participate in the hands-on opportunities provided by travel! One interesting exhibit was a Teddy figure riding a horse in original clothing. Not exactly a big man, our Teddy. Beautiful park, though, and I'm glad he arranged for national parks to be created all those years ago.
By now it's noon and we've got to get going or we will never get home. Drove all afternoon on cruise control at 71mph. Montana speed limit is 75 but I guess I'm too old anymore, or not used to it. Sunny and lovely and good NPR jazz station and all is well. Called it quits in Big Timber, MT. Tomorrow we head to St. Anthony in Idaho, home of sand dunes and then on to PDX. Probably get home Sunday. dw
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Medora, N.D. outside of Theodore Roosevelt National Park
We just finished watching the last of the Chilean miners coming to the surface. Last night we watched the start of the rescue. An amazing event.
The is the first night we've had internet access since Sunday morning. Sunday night we stayed with a long time family friend of dw's -- Charlotte T. -- in Bruce, WI. Monday night (after some travail finding a motel) we stayed in St. Cloud MN. (This motel had WiFi, but when we accessed it the most direful warnings we've ever seen popped up -- promising doom if we continued with the connection, so we passed on the WiFi)
Tuesday in Bismarck, N.D. the WiFi connection was too weak to use. But tonight, here in Medora, N.D. we have a five bar connection and all's right with the world.
To go back a couple of days: through rural Ontario and Michigan (upper peninsula) many stretches of road, as well as individual ponds were fenced with a six-inch band of black plastic fence -- sometimes extending for hundreds of yards at a time. The purpose is to keep migrating turtles from getting smashed trying to cross the road. It seems to me that an ambitious, if suicidal, turtle could easily jump fences that low but I'm sure they help. And on the subject of fences: many of the rest areas in northern Wisc. were closed for winter. In addition to putting a barrier across the entrance, the state wrapped the bathrooms with orange plastic emergency fences. We thought locking the facilities should be enough. I mean which would you find easier -- use a crowbar to break into an outhouse, or walk ten feet to get to some bushes? But the area is close to the upper peninsula, so the Wisc. officials might have asked themselves: "What would a yooper do?" and acted accordingly.
Re: our visit with Charlotte. She lives, along with two outside dogs, and two cats, in a two bedroom house (with a couple of outbuildings) just off a river. A lovely place that feels remote although Charlotte says it isn't. She gave us a dinner of BBQ ribs with the usual fixings. It was wonderful, made even more so since our usual traveling meal is a sandwich and fruit from the nearest grocery store. It's good to look up friends and relatives when on the road. Memories of the Moraccan meal at Patrilary's...
Before we got to Charlotte's, we drove to Phillips to see the Fred Smith (1886-1976) Concrete Park -- formally The Wisconsin Concrete Park. (another thing to google) He was logger who retired and then started making concrete sculptures -- ending up with 270 or so figures. They are classic outsider art. The statues are mostly 1/2 to 3/4 life size (although some are 2 or 3 times life size) and are sort of modern primative -- Originally the figures were covered with pieces of glass (to give them life and sparkle) but much of that has been lost to time and a major storm. Interestingly, the Kohler Art Museum (as mentioned earlier) bought the site and has led the way to preserving and restoring the pieces.
---- A side-bar: We were listening to the Green Bay / Washington football game on WKQM (?) radio. During one of the breaks, the station ran an ad for anti-sway bars for trailers. "If your trailer sways like hippies around a campfire --" etc. you should buy their anti-sway bar. ----
After we left Bruce, we drove to Osceola, WI. to meet a Portland friend (Mary W.) of dw's. The friend was in Wisc., visiting and staying with her brother who runs the family farm. -- another fine and welcome meal (lunch) of fish and chips. -- After eating we toured the farm which was a dairy farm and is now a beef farm. We looked at the barn and equipment and the corn processing equipment and etc. etc. etc. -- Man there's a lot of stuff involved with modern farming.
We stopped in Alexandria N.D. for some breakfast. Alexandria is the site of the "Norse Rune Stone" farce. Some farmer supposedly plowed up a stone with (oddly) hard to decode runes. The stone "proves" that ancient Norsemen made it to western Minn. In any case, I bought a plastic viking helmet. It is a perfect fit, and best of all, the horns are moveable. I can have two up, two down, one up and one down. The horns can be sideways, or fore and aft. It's great. We're using it in photographs to critique the sights we visit (two horns up, two horns down, etc)
The last two days have been devoted to giant things. Jamestown N.D. -- the worlds largest buffalo. It is pretty damn big (30+ feet high made of concrete) and it's sited so it's ass points toward the freeway. And in a nearby field a herd of buffalo has three white buffalo. Sacred to indians, it's said. So we saw three sacred buffalo dots.
---- Steele has the worlds largest sandhill crane. Again about 30+ feet high. Made of painted steel and swaying in the wind (a bonus you wouldn't always get).
----New Salem has the worlds largest holstein cow. 38 feet high and 50 feet long. It was built to compete with the worlds largest buffalo. The cow is on a hill, it has a great view, and it's facing the freeway. A scenic improvement (for drivers) over the bison.
----Note to Dennis S.: west of Bismarck, we passed a herd of cows on the move. Again trotting toward the east. -- If it's not a sign of something, it should be.
----And finally, we drove the Enchanted Highway. It runs south from I-94 to Regent. Along the 35 or 40 mile road are seven or eight giant statues -- all 20 to 35 feet high. Flock of geese, deer, grasshoppers, fisherman's dream, family, pheasants, Teddy Roosevelt, and I may have forgotten one.
----- Winters are cold and long in North Dakota -- plenty of time to plan big things ---
After Regent, we were going to drive to a burning coal mine, but when we inquired at Amidon, we found the fire had gone out, or was too far underground to be seen so we went straight to Medora and stopped for the night.
Amidon is the county seat of Slope County. -- "Smallest county seat in the United States." The courthouse is a wooden frame building, only a little bigger than our house. Amidon is pretty small and I'm inclined to believe their claim. DA
Our adventure is coming to an end - we're about three days from Portland and have one more must-see site - Idaho sand dunes. Will find their location and then decide which way to return to Portland. North Dakota has been more interesting than I would have expected. The Enchanted Highway yesterday was fun, driving over a hill and seeing giant grasshoppers two miles down the road and then stopping at the site of the giant scrap metal sculptures to see how big they really were. An individual decided to create these prairie related sculptures and the first one went up in 1991 ( I think, or 1997), not that long ago anyway and they are still standing and looking good (helped by plenty of guy wires). They are surrounded by miles of flat prairie covered in corn, soybeans and sunflowers and not much else - the occasional silo or water tower in the distance. Western North Dakota is hillier and here at Medora is the entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park with its scenic drive through badlands and painted hills. We drove part of the drive last night at dusk and encountered bison, feral horses, feral horse poop, pop-up prairie dogs and deer.
Salem Sue was worth the visit. This giant holstein cow can be seen for miles coming down the freeway. It sits on a hillside facing north and the freeway and looking onward and upward. Anatomically correct with a giant full udder it is huge! The eyes are big and seem to follow you as you drive up to it. I love this stuff. We had breakfast at a local diner and asked if it worked to bring tourists to New Salem. She said it did although she personally didn't care for it that much because it reminded her of the 25 years she spent dairy farming before deciding it was too much work and stopped. But she was getting used to it after five years of looking at it from the cafe window.
We have had beautiful weather the past few days, sunny warm days and cool nights. This is unusual for ND as they should be heading into colder weather by now instead of the 60-70 degree days of late. I'm glad for the good stuff, makes driving much more enjoyable. Time to stop and enjoy the continental breakfast here at the AmericInn. Later, dw
The is the first night we've had internet access since Sunday morning. Sunday night we stayed with a long time family friend of dw's -- Charlotte T. -- in Bruce, WI. Monday night (after some travail finding a motel) we stayed in St. Cloud MN. (This motel had WiFi, but when we accessed it the most direful warnings we've ever seen popped up -- promising doom if we continued with the connection, so we passed on the WiFi)
Tuesday in Bismarck, N.D. the WiFi connection was too weak to use. But tonight, here in Medora, N.D. we have a five bar connection and all's right with the world.
To go back a couple of days: through rural Ontario and Michigan (upper peninsula) many stretches of road, as well as individual ponds were fenced with a six-inch band of black plastic fence -- sometimes extending for hundreds of yards at a time. The purpose is to keep migrating turtles from getting smashed trying to cross the road. It seems to me that an ambitious, if suicidal, turtle could easily jump fences that low but I'm sure they help. And on the subject of fences: many of the rest areas in northern Wisc. were closed for winter. In addition to putting a barrier across the entrance, the state wrapped the bathrooms with orange plastic emergency fences. We thought locking the facilities should be enough. I mean which would you find easier -- use a crowbar to break into an outhouse, or walk ten feet to get to some bushes? But the area is close to the upper peninsula, so the Wisc. officials might have asked themselves: "What would a yooper do?" and acted accordingly.
Re: our visit with Charlotte. She lives, along with two outside dogs, and two cats, in a two bedroom house (with a couple of outbuildings) just off a river. A lovely place that feels remote although Charlotte says it isn't. She gave us a dinner of BBQ ribs with the usual fixings. It was wonderful, made even more so since our usual traveling meal is a sandwich and fruit from the nearest grocery store. It's good to look up friends and relatives when on the road. Memories of the Moraccan meal at Patrilary's...
Before we got to Charlotte's, we drove to Phillips to see the Fred Smith (1886-1976) Concrete Park -- formally The Wisconsin Concrete Park. (another thing to google) He was logger who retired and then started making concrete sculptures -- ending up with 270 or so figures. They are classic outsider art. The statues are mostly 1/2 to 3/4 life size (although some are 2 or 3 times life size) and are sort of modern primative -- Originally the figures were covered with pieces of glass (to give them life and sparkle) but much of that has been lost to time and a major storm. Interestingly, the Kohler Art Museum (as mentioned earlier) bought the site and has led the way to preserving and restoring the pieces.
---- A side-bar: We were listening to the Green Bay / Washington football game on WKQM (?) radio. During one of the breaks, the station ran an ad for anti-sway bars for trailers. "If your trailer sways like hippies around a campfire --" etc. you should buy their anti-sway bar. ----
After we left Bruce, we drove to Osceola, WI. to meet a Portland friend (Mary W.) of dw's. The friend was in Wisc., visiting and staying with her brother who runs the family farm. -- another fine and welcome meal (lunch) of fish and chips. -- After eating we toured the farm which was a dairy farm and is now a beef farm. We looked at the barn and equipment and the corn processing equipment and etc. etc. etc. -- Man there's a lot of stuff involved with modern farming.
We stopped in Alexandria N.D. for some breakfast. Alexandria is the site of the "Norse Rune Stone" farce. Some farmer supposedly plowed up a stone with (oddly) hard to decode runes. The stone "proves" that ancient Norsemen made it to western Minn. In any case, I bought a plastic viking helmet. It is a perfect fit, and best of all, the horns are moveable. I can have two up, two down, one up and one down. The horns can be sideways, or fore and aft. It's great. We're using it in photographs to critique the sights we visit (two horns up, two horns down, etc)
The last two days have been devoted to giant things. Jamestown N.D. -- the worlds largest buffalo. It is pretty damn big (30+ feet high made of concrete) and it's sited so it's ass points toward the freeway. And in a nearby field a herd of buffalo has three white buffalo. Sacred to indians, it's said. So we saw three sacred buffalo dots.
---- Steele has the worlds largest sandhill crane. Again about 30+ feet high. Made of painted steel and swaying in the wind (a bonus you wouldn't always get).
----New Salem has the worlds largest holstein cow. 38 feet high and 50 feet long. It was built to compete with the worlds largest buffalo. The cow is on a hill, it has a great view, and it's facing the freeway. A scenic improvement (for drivers) over the bison.
----Note to Dennis S.: west of Bismarck, we passed a herd of cows on the move. Again trotting toward the east. -- If it's not a sign of something, it should be.
----And finally, we drove the Enchanted Highway. It runs south from I-94 to Regent. Along the 35 or 40 mile road are seven or eight giant statues -- all 20 to 35 feet high. Flock of geese, deer, grasshoppers, fisherman's dream, family, pheasants, Teddy Roosevelt, and I may have forgotten one.
----- Winters are cold and long in North Dakota -- plenty of time to plan big things ---
After Regent, we were going to drive to a burning coal mine, but when we inquired at Amidon, we found the fire had gone out, or was too far underground to be seen so we went straight to Medora and stopped for the night.
Amidon is the county seat of Slope County. -- "Smallest county seat in the United States." The courthouse is a wooden frame building, only a little bigger than our house. Amidon is pretty small and I'm inclined to believe their claim. DA
Our adventure is coming to an end - we're about three days from Portland and have one more must-see site - Idaho sand dunes. Will find their location and then decide which way to return to Portland. North Dakota has been more interesting than I would have expected. The Enchanted Highway yesterday was fun, driving over a hill and seeing giant grasshoppers two miles down the road and then stopping at the site of the giant scrap metal sculptures to see how big they really were. An individual decided to create these prairie related sculptures and the first one went up in 1991 ( I think, or 1997), not that long ago anyway and they are still standing and looking good (helped by plenty of guy wires). They are surrounded by miles of flat prairie covered in corn, soybeans and sunflowers and not much else - the occasional silo or water tower in the distance. Western North Dakota is hillier and here at Medora is the entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park with its scenic drive through badlands and painted hills. We drove part of the drive last night at dusk and encountered bison, feral horses, feral horse poop, pop-up prairie dogs and deer.
Salem Sue was worth the visit. This giant holstein cow can be seen for miles coming down the freeway. It sits on a hillside facing north and the freeway and looking onward and upward. Anatomically correct with a giant full udder it is huge! The eyes are big and seem to follow you as you drive up to it. I love this stuff. We had breakfast at a local diner and asked if it worked to bring tourists to New Salem. She said it did although she personally didn't care for it that much because it reminded her of the 25 years she spent dairy farming before deciding it was too much work and stopped. But she was getting used to it after five years of looking at it from the cafe window.
We have had beautiful weather the past few days, sunny warm days and cool nights. This is unusual for ND as they should be heading into colder weather by now instead of the 60-70 degree days of late. I'm glad for the good stuff, makes driving much more enjoyable. Time to stop and enjoy the continental breakfast here at the AmericInn. Later, dw
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Iron Mountain, Michigan -- Sunday A.M.
We're moving on this morning. An alert for our faithful readers: We won't have internet access for at least one day, so no matter how exciting and eventful our trip becomes, we won't be blogging for a day or two. DA
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Iron Mountain, Michigan
Another driving day and we didn't do anything that fits into a small story arc, so this is, yet again, a series of notes and observations:
Just west of Blind River Ontario we passed 4 bald eagles perching on rocks in the middle of a river, while across the road and behind a livestock fence 3 white tailed deer were grazing in a small meadow. This trip has suffered a noteable shortage of large animals, (with the bison-sized exception of Wind Cave N.P.) so the eagles especially were a treat.
In the same area someone welded a bunch of old bicycles together to use as a fence. An interesting bit of semi folk art.
We have passed three pontoon boats shrink-wrapped in blue plastic. The sine qua non of winterization.
The residents of the Michigan Upper Peninsula have christened themselves "yoopers" -- "We're in America by law, but we're Yoopers by choice."
Finally: We stopped at a service station in Seney, Michigan for biological necessity (aka -- take a whizz).
The service station, self called "The Party Place" also had the usual 7-11 type snack food, a closed deli, a large selection of knives (butcher, hunting, novelty, swords, bowie, etc) an equally large selection of ammo, and a selection of real pelts. Including bear, fox (red and blue), skunk, otter, beaver and weasel ($22.50)
A service station nonpareil in my life experience. DA
Yeah, it was an uneventful day with a lot of driving. The fall color was classic. It was the sunny fall day of calendars and coffee table books. Even the U.S. customs guy asked if the fall color was good up in Ontario and it was. Plenty of tour buses in Algonquin Park for the holiday weekend. Monday is Thanksgiving Day in Canada so plenty of people were traveling and enjoying the fall colors. I've enjoyed seeing the foliage and am very glad for the sun after all the rain last week. At least returning to Portland we should be going through weather systems instead of traveling with them. I hope anyway. Tomorrow the Concrete Park in Phillips, WI and visiting a friend in Bruce, WI. dw
Just west of Blind River Ontario we passed 4 bald eagles perching on rocks in the middle of a river, while across the road and behind a livestock fence 3 white tailed deer were grazing in a small meadow. This trip has suffered a noteable shortage of large animals, (with the bison-sized exception of Wind Cave N.P.) so the eagles especially were a treat.
In the same area someone welded a bunch of old bicycles together to use as a fence. An interesting bit of semi folk art.
We have passed three pontoon boats shrink-wrapped in blue plastic. The sine qua non of winterization.
The residents of the Michigan Upper Peninsula have christened themselves "yoopers" -- "We're in America by law, but we're Yoopers by choice."
Finally: We stopped at a service station in Seney, Michigan for biological necessity (aka -- take a whizz).
The service station, self called "The Party Place" also had the usual 7-11 type snack food, a closed deli, a large selection of knives (butcher, hunting, novelty, swords, bowie, etc) an equally large selection of ammo, and a selection of real pelts. Including bear, fox (red and blue), skunk, otter, beaver and weasel ($22.50)
A service station nonpareil in my life experience. DA
Yeah, it was an uneventful day with a lot of driving. The fall color was classic. It was the sunny fall day of calendars and coffee table books. Even the U.S. customs guy asked if the fall color was good up in Ontario and it was. Plenty of tour buses in Algonquin Park for the holiday weekend. Monday is Thanksgiving Day in Canada so plenty of people were traveling and enjoying the fall colors. I've enjoyed seeing the foliage and am very glad for the sun after all the rain last week. At least returning to Portland we should be going through weather systems instead of traveling with them. I hope anyway. Tomorrow the Concrete Park in Phillips, WI and visiting a friend in Bruce, WI. dw
Friday, October 8, 2010
Espanola, Ontario
Today was a driving day. The weather was great, if windy and the drive was lovely in a quiet way. We drove through Algonquin Provincial Park, and it was nice with a lot of low hills and crags. Thousands of lakes large and small with slow meandering streams. Multiple bogs of every sort, spruce, peat, reed, general bog -- pretty much whatever sort of bog you might want can be found. Some areas of good fall color.
Other than scenery the day's high point was Sudbury, home of three of the worlds second biggest chimneys. Except one of the three is kinda short and fat. All of them are still putting out smoke from whatever kind of factory is under them.
More random observations: dw thought I was overly snide concerning Canadian artists. She's probably right.
Ontario v.s. Quebec moose and deer warning signs. Quebec clearly is the winner. Ontario has a cheery bounding deer and an agressive striding moose, But Quebec actually shows a car hitting a deer -- with an orangey spikey cartoon crash sign and the car is tilted, nearly out of control from the crash. Another sign shows the car hitting a moose. It has the same crash symbol, and the car is really tilted, clearly careening out of control. They're great. Quebec also has a "slow for children" sign that shows a dead kid on the pavement. Perhaps effective but a bit morbid. DA
Other than scenery the day's high point was Sudbury, home of three of the worlds second biggest chimneys. Except one of the three is kinda short and fat. All of them are still putting out smoke from whatever kind of factory is under them.
More random observations: dw thought I was overly snide concerning Canadian artists. She's probably right.
Ontario v.s. Quebec moose and deer warning signs. Quebec clearly is the winner. Ontario has a cheery bounding deer and an agressive striding moose, But Quebec actually shows a car hitting a deer -- with an orangey spikey cartoon crash sign and the car is tilted, nearly out of control from the crash. Another sign shows the car hitting a moose. It has the same crash symbol, and the car is really tilted, clearly careening out of control. They're great. Quebec also has a "slow for children" sign that shows a dead kid on the pavement. Perhaps effective but a bit morbid. DA
Good morning from Arnprior, Ontario!
Weather: not currently raining, some scattered strato-cirrus clouds, sun, full red, orange, yellow leaf color, 13 degrees Celsius (53 F).
Location: dw at table, DA reading in bed - both of us enjoying the morning coffee courtesy of the Twin Maple Motel although I'm not seeing any maple trees at this motel in Arnprior, Ont. (try saying that three times). The community is 7000 people and located on the Ottawa River which at this point is still pretty wide and big - especially after the recent rains. Cutesy lively downtown when we arrived last night - always nice to see an active community rather than a dying one, which many are these days.
When; Friday 0810
What's new? We're heading back to Portland in our leisurely wandering way. Heading west-ish anyway. The highlight of my day yesterday was the Canadian House of Commons at the Parliament Building in downtown Ottawa (Canada's capital) and home to Big Buildings. All very impressive. I have not experienced government-in-action so my impressions are those of a first timer. Security was impressive of course. Two security checks to get into the galleries. I was wanded at the second one and had everything out of my pockets when I still beeped. He ferreted out my money belt worn under my clothes. It didn't even have coins in it, just papers! Amazing. I told him he was exposing all my secrets! Made me remove it anyway. On to the observers gallery where we were informed we would get one warning about making a sound or gesture and if we did it again, out we would go (not fair as the legislators did plenty of both!). Single file we walked in and crawled up into gallery seats - talk about nosebleed section- then struggled with the hand held wand for language translations and volume. All those legislators you see listening on devices are probably just needing more volume as it was noisier than I expected. They got approximately 60 seconds to make their prepared statements and it moved along pretty quickly.
My favorite - Saskatchewan guy proclaiming the value of setting up Billy Bob's Golf Emporium or some such thing as a vehicle for promoting the economy. Quebec guy accusing the Nunavut woman of saying nasty things on Facebook. Then the room filled up with more legislators and a couple of press persons sat in their designated gallery seats for the slander accusations - graft and malfeasance (don't you love that word?), etc. Whew, back and forth so fast I couldn't keep up with the argument but I did recognize the failure to answer a direct question and the rhetoric. I thought, wow, this is why nothing gets done by the government - any government , I started to gesture OOOPS - no gesturing! No one saw, I guess as I didn't get booted out.
Justin Trudeau (yes, Pierre's son and a hunk if I do say so myself) spoke and was widely applauded. A security guard mentioned he was being groomed for being Premier in about ten years. I believe it. The entire experience was a hoot.
Time to head out. Any suggestions for sights to see in the northern U.S. email us at: djalexa@spiritone.com . We already know about Salem Sue World's Largest Holstein Cow in Salem, ND and it's a must-see. Later, dw
Location: dw at table, DA reading in bed - both of us enjoying the morning coffee courtesy of the Twin Maple Motel although I'm not seeing any maple trees at this motel in Arnprior, Ont. (try saying that three times). The community is 7000 people and located on the Ottawa River which at this point is still pretty wide and big - especially after the recent rains. Cutesy lively downtown when we arrived last night - always nice to see an active community rather than a dying one, which many are these days.
When; Friday 0810
What's new? We're heading back to Portland in our leisurely wandering way. Heading west-ish anyway. The highlight of my day yesterday was the Canadian House of Commons at the Parliament Building in downtown Ottawa (Canada's capital) and home to Big Buildings. All very impressive. I have not experienced government-in-action so my impressions are those of a first timer. Security was impressive of course. Two security checks to get into the galleries. I was wanded at the second one and had everything out of my pockets when I still beeped. He ferreted out my money belt worn under my clothes. It didn't even have coins in it, just papers! Amazing. I told him he was exposing all my secrets! Made me remove it anyway. On to the observers gallery where we were informed we would get one warning about making a sound or gesture and if we did it again, out we would go (not fair as the legislators did plenty of both!). Single file we walked in and crawled up into gallery seats - talk about nosebleed section- then struggled with the hand held wand for language translations and volume. All those legislators you see listening on devices are probably just needing more volume as it was noisier than I expected. They got approximately 60 seconds to make their prepared statements and it moved along pretty quickly.
My favorite - Saskatchewan guy proclaiming the value of setting up Billy Bob's Golf Emporium or some such thing as a vehicle for promoting the economy. Quebec guy accusing the Nunavut woman of saying nasty things on Facebook. Then the room filled up with more legislators and a couple of press persons sat in their designated gallery seats for the slander accusations - graft and malfeasance (don't you love that word?), etc. Whew, back and forth so fast I couldn't keep up with the argument but I did recognize the failure to answer a direct question and the rhetoric. I thought, wow, this is why nothing gets done by the government - any government , I started to gesture OOOPS - no gesturing! No one saw, I guess as I didn't get booted out.
Justin Trudeau (yes, Pierre's son and a hunk if I do say so myself) spoke and was widely applauded. A security guard mentioned he was being groomed for being Premier in about ten years. I believe it. The entire experience was a hoot.
Time to head out. Any suggestions for sights to see in the northern U.S. email us at: djalexa@spiritone.com . We already know about Salem Sue World's Largest Holstein Cow in Salem, ND and it's a must-see. Later, dw
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Ottawa
Even though we did have some blinding rain on the drive in, we had a good time in Ottawa. Yesterday afternoon we went to the National Gallery of Canada. While I don't want to injure the sensibilities of any Canadians who might come across this, I found the art in the Canadian Artists section to be (I'll be nice here) derivative. Otherwise there were some interesting things to see, particularly in the modern art section. We were surprised at the small display of Indian and Inuit art, which. is the Canadian Art equivalent of American Jazz and Blues. Today we looked at a couple of other galleries -- We're considering buying another print by Inuit Pudlo Pudlat -- we already have two by him. We're considering it but ($$$) is a major consideration. --- lest I forget: in front of the main entrance to the National Gallery is a giant (30 to 35 feet high) stylized spider with eggs --- We didn't really understand the relevance to anything.
We also went into the Notre-Dame Cathedral -- An impressive neo-gothic painted blue and gold, which looks much better than this description makes it sound.
Today we walked around the city -- visited a couple of galleries, had a street polish dog (DA) and bratwurst (dw), went through the now-wow-and-today shopping district (oddly, I found nothing to buy) and a farmers market.
But the highlight was visiting the Parliament Building. (which also included ascending the Peace Tower -- 350 ft. up -- just beneath the great clock and carrilon -- built 1919 to comemmorate the end of WWI -- which had a great view of the city) The real highlight was attending a Parliament debate. After a series of short (1 to 2 minutes) speeches by back-benchers, they got to the meat of the afternoon: Accusations of malfeasance and graft flew thick and fast (Hear, Hear!) (Pounding on the desk) (Hear, Hear!) Followed with a stout defense by the Conservative Leader ("That is not the case! We will thoroughly investigate any hint of fraud we find! Might I remind the Honorable Liberal Member, that the Liberals cut the budget for health care in 2004 while we Conservatives strongly protested that action!") -- (Hear, Hear!) (Pounding on the desk) (Hear, Hear!) It was great. We had the honor of hearing a 1 minute speech by Justin Trudeau -- son of Pierre -- a hot new face in Canadian politics.
--- Lest I forget: Personal comment to Cary N.: What's the point of a sober and courteous comment? and to Hilary S.: You needn't read that book on Carravagio any time soon (or even ever) :-) -- Wow, that's the first emoticon I've used in this blog --
Finally, I was wondering if our Montreal signage experience was unique to us, so I looked on the web for comments. A couple I found: "Our GPS was useless. The street names and numbers had no relation to what our GPS was showing" --- "and what's up with the blue "Tourist" markers? Are the numbers next to the names distances? Exit numbers? Prayers needed to find it? Because there are several places where the markers just disappear or go from 3 to 1 to 8 in just a few blocks"
I imagine we'll try Montreal another time, but when we do, we'll get a map in advance. DA
We also went into the Notre-Dame Cathedral -- An impressive neo-gothic painted blue and gold, which looks much better than this description makes it sound.
Today we walked around the city -- visited a couple of galleries, had a street polish dog (DA) and bratwurst (dw), went through the now-wow-and-today shopping district (oddly, I found nothing to buy) and a farmers market.
But the highlight was visiting the Parliament Building. (which also included ascending the Peace Tower -- 350 ft. up -- just beneath the great clock and carrilon -- built 1919 to comemmorate the end of WWI -- which had a great view of the city) The real highlight was attending a Parliament debate. After a series of short (1 to 2 minutes) speeches by back-benchers, they got to the meat of the afternoon: Accusations of malfeasance and graft flew thick and fast (Hear, Hear!) (Pounding on the desk) (Hear, Hear!) Followed with a stout defense by the Conservative Leader ("That is not the case! We will thoroughly investigate any hint of fraud we find! Might I remind the Honorable Liberal Member, that the Liberals cut the budget for health care in 2004 while we Conservatives strongly protested that action!") -- (Hear, Hear!) (Pounding on the desk) (Hear, Hear!) It was great. We had the honor of hearing a 1 minute speech by Justin Trudeau -- son of Pierre -- a hot new face in Canadian politics.
--- Lest I forget: Personal comment to Cary N.: What's the point of a sober and courteous comment? and to Hilary S.: You needn't read that book on Carravagio any time soon (or even ever) :-) -- Wow, that's the first emoticon I've used in this blog --
Finally, I was wondering if our Montreal signage experience was unique to us, so I looked on the web for comments. A couple I found: "Our GPS was useless. The street names and numbers had no relation to what our GPS was showing" --- "and what's up with the blue "Tourist" markers? Are the numbers next to the names distances? Exit numbers? Prayers needed to find it? Because there are several places where the markers just disappear or go from 3 to 1 to 8 in just a few blocks"
I imagine we'll try Montreal another time, but when we do, we'll get a map in advance. DA
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Montreal and Moses
Today was our last morning in Burlington. I wrote some doggeral in Patrilary's guest book (to the tune of "Sweet Betsy From Pike") And then we spent a pleasant morning with Hilary and Cary. The four of us had a light breakfast and shortly after that Cary left for Phildelphia. Then Hilary dw and I walked to the pedestrian mall and had some coffee (Sadie the dog came along to tell us when there was something interesting and vital to smell) -- Patrick had already gone to work so we were larking about without him.
We left about noon and went to a kinesthology (huh?) person (for dw) who did some back adjustments and gave dw some exercises to do. dw's back has been troublesome and she hasn't been able to drive for nearly a week. (My final pain scale update: knees: at rest 1 to 2 -- normal. walking 2 to 3.7 -- normal --- the passive range of motion worked miracles ) Anyway the adjustments and exercises seem to be helping and dw drove for awhile today.
After the kines (huh?) person we stopped at Patrick's place of work. He works for NRG -- a private company that makes and sells equipment that measures and analyzes sites for wind turbine installations. It was interesting -- it looks like a great place to work: the company (about 100 people work there) has a small gym, exercise pool, pool table, ping-pong table etc, etc. They also provide lunches (we had a piece of cake in Patrick's work area- courtesy of Laura who thought to recognize our visit - thank you, Laura) and incentives to car-pool and to buy hybrid cars. It's quite a place. The building has a large solar power installation, and a small wind turbine (it's not in a good place for wind power) It's about as green as a factory (officially -- light industry) can be.
Miscellaneous items about Burlington: We drove to Barre (pronounced Barry) Vermont (near Burlington) to look at the Hope Cemetery. Barre has, since 1818, quarried granite of a remarkably fine grade. and they have a long-time history of carving tombstones. The graveyard has a huge array of truely remarkable markers. A two-foot soccer ball on a pedestal. A bi-plane, a couple sitting up and holding hands in bed. -- Another site to Google and look at the pics. It's an amazing place -- obviously the local stone carvers use the cemetery as a marketing device. "Look at the things we can do in stone!!!"
As we were driving towards Montreal, I saw two fighter jets flying north. DA: "I think those are the vangard of our invasion of Canada." dw: "It's about time."
A couple of days ago we drove north, nearly to Canada, on the islands centered in Lake Champlain. We went to St Anne's Shrine -- now a shrine to St Anne -- rather nice -- but once the site (1667) of a French fort built to defend against the Iroquis.. I heard the following mumbles coming from the passenger seat: dw: "If it was kilometers, we'd already be there" (the site was further off the main road than we expected) and dw: "I'd rather have St Anne's Shrimp" (after having mis-read the map)
Mileage posts in Vermont tell the mileage in tenths of a mile, which is more specific than I need.
For weather reasons (too dry, too rainy, too warm) this isn't a good year for the leaf peepers. (according to an information bureau person.
All in all we had a very good day until we got to Montreal. For starters, we didn't get a good map before we got to the city, and then we arrived just at the start of rush hour. According to our map, there was Tourist Information just off the freeway. According to reality, not so much. At some point pre-Montreal we saw a sign for Tourist Information 4 K. Reality -- 4 K and no exit or any hint of Information. In the city we saw another sign: Tourist Info, L 4K. turned left, drove 5 blocks, came to a T intersection without a hint of another sign. On we trekked. Another sign Tourist Info R 1K -- turned right drove 2K and saw another sigh for Tourist Info in another K, and after two more kilometers, still nothing. At last we decided "F" this and headed for a main drag out of town. We turned right and after two blocks saw another Tourist Info sign 2K to our right. We ignored it. (all of this was during rush hour)
We have decided that Montreal can do nasty things to itself and we're moving on. If we gave it another try, I believe I'd sell my soul to the devil to get the power to inflict the Ten Plagues of Moses onto the city of Montreal. And whoever put up the Tourist Information signs would get the Ten Plagues plus a bad case of dandruff. DA
The above description of the Montreal experience has been downsized and sanitized for the general reading public - trust me. It was no picnic and I was beginning to feel we were in the Twilight Zone. To all of you out there who love and honor Montreal - maybe another time.... With better information and timing I'm sure we would be sitting in a Montreal B and B instead of this rather lovely room at the Auberge du Mont Rigaud - 1 hour and 15 minutes from downtown Montreal. Reading the "Discovery" free magazine (and real estate guide) to this area I am excited to see what daylight may bring. It could be lovely out there and we have no idea. Rigaud is on the Ottawa River and may be exploding with fall foliage but we arrived in the dark and don't know. Since the fall colour festival is this weekend here in Rigaud, I hope there's something out there for the attendees.
BIGGEST NEWS! Dennis thought he lost the above posting which he put a lot of effort and time into and I found it! I solved a computer problem. Wow. Feel free to congratulate me in your head if you won't "comment".
That's the yin and yang of travel - a gorgeous day with family and interesting experiences and the Circle of Hell in the big city. Can't wait until tomorrow! dw
We left about noon and went to a kinesthology (huh?) person (for dw) who did some back adjustments and gave dw some exercises to do. dw's back has been troublesome and she hasn't been able to drive for nearly a week. (My final pain scale update: knees: at rest 1 to 2 -- normal. walking 2 to 3.7 -- normal --- the passive range of motion worked miracles ) Anyway the adjustments and exercises seem to be helping and dw drove for awhile today.
After the kines (huh?) person we stopped at Patrick's place of work. He works for NRG -- a private company that makes and sells equipment that measures and analyzes sites for wind turbine installations. It was interesting -- it looks like a great place to work: the company (about 100 people work there) has a small gym, exercise pool, pool table, ping-pong table etc, etc. They also provide lunches (we had a piece of cake in Patrick's work area- courtesy of Laura who thought to recognize our visit - thank you, Laura) and incentives to car-pool and to buy hybrid cars. It's quite a place. The building has a large solar power installation, and a small wind turbine (it's not in a good place for wind power) It's about as green as a factory (officially -- light industry) can be.
Miscellaneous items about Burlington: We drove to Barre (pronounced Barry) Vermont (near Burlington) to look at the Hope Cemetery. Barre has, since 1818, quarried granite of a remarkably fine grade. and they have a long-time history of carving tombstones. The graveyard has a huge array of truely remarkable markers. A two-foot soccer ball on a pedestal. A bi-plane, a couple sitting up and holding hands in bed. -- Another site to Google and look at the pics. It's an amazing place -- obviously the local stone carvers use the cemetery as a marketing device. "Look at the things we can do in stone!!!"
As we were driving towards Montreal, I saw two fighter jets flying north. DA: "I think those are the vangard of our invasion of Canada." dw: "It's about time."
A couple of days ago we drove north, nearly to Canada, on the islands centered in Lake Champlain. We went to St Anne's Shrine -- now a shrine to St Anne -- rather nice -- but once the site (1667) of a French fort built to defend against the Iroquis.. I heard the following mumbles coming from the passenger seat: dw: "If it was kilometers, we'd already be there" (the site was further off the main road than we expected) and dw: "I'd rather have St Anne's Shrimp" (after having mis-read the map)
Mileage posts in Vermont tell the mileage in tenths of a mile, which is more specific than I need.
For weather reasons (too dry, too rainy, too warm) this isn't a good year for the leaf peepers. (according to an information bureau person.
All in all we had a very good day until we got to Montreal. For starters, we didn't get a good map before we got to the city, and then we arrived just at the start of rush hour. According to our map, there was Tourist Information just off the freeway. According to reality, not so much. At some point pre-Montreal we saw a sign for Tourist Information 4 K. Reality -- 4 K and no exit or any hint of Information. In the city we saw another sign: Tourist Info, L 4K. turned left, drove 5 blocks, came to a T intersection without a hint of another sign. On we trekked. Another sign Tourist Info R 1K -- turned right drove 2K and saw another sigh for Tourist Info in another K, and after two more kilometers, still nothing. At last we decided "F" this and headed for a main drag out of town. We turned right and after two blocks saw another Tourist Info sign 2K to our right. We ignored it. (all of this was during rush hour)
We have decided that Montreal can do nasty things to itself and we're moving on. If we gave it another try, I believe I'd sell my soul to the devil to get the power to inflict the Ten Plagues of Moses onto the city of Montreal. And whoever put up the Tourist Information signs would get the Ten Plagues plus a bad case of dandruff. DA
The above description of the Montreal experience has been downsized and sanitized for the general reading public - trust me. It was no picnic and I was beginning to feel we were in the Twilight Zone. To all of you out there who love and honor Montreal - maybe another time.... With better information and timing I'm sure we would be sitting in a Montreal B and B instead of this rather lovely room at the Auberge du Mont Rigaud - 1 hour and 15 minutes from downtown Montreal. Reading the "Discovery" free magazine (and real estate guide) to this area I am excited to see what daylight may bring. It could be lovely out there and we have no idea. Rigaud is on the Ottawa River and may be exploding with fall foliage but we arrived in the dark and don't know. Since the fall colour festival is this weekend here in Rigaud, I hope there's something out there for the attendees.
BIGGEST NEWS! Dennis thought he lost the above posting which he put a lot of effort and time into and I found it! I solved a computer problem. Wow. Feel free to congratulate me in your head if you won't "comment".
That's the yin and yang of travel - a gorgeous day with family and interesting experiences and the Circle of Hell in the big city. Can't wait until tomorrow! dw
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Burlington, VT
Again, a ton of rain during the drive from Quebec to here. (I read on the news that the storm that has been plaguing us has dropped more rain than normally falls in 6 weeks) -- Flooding in Wisconsin right after we left. Hurricane in Nova Scotia / Newfoundland when we were on the Gaspe, rain and flooding in New England (especially Vermont) now that we're here. We're going to notify areas that we're coming and suggest they give us money to stay away.
We stopped at an asbestos mine on the way here -- between Thetford Mines (a town) and Black Lake (a town named after a lake that no longer exists -- it was drained to put in a mine) Another big hole in the ground. The one we saw is no longer in operation. A different mine that is still operating doesn't allow visitors. -- A great pity -- I couldn't do my old guy at a construction site routine: " Yup, that's a mighty big hole. Course back in my day we had different sort of holes, but this hole is big enough for ordinary use."
In any case, we're staying with Patrick and Hilary S. (aka Patrilary) in their condo.
Burlington is a very pleasant college town. (bookstores, art galleries, buskers, street food, etc) It reminds me of a smaller version of Madison WI, or Eugene OR. Yesterday we walked Church street -- the pedestrian mall (had a crepe for a snack) -- then down to the lake. We were going to take the ferry to New York (using the ferry as a brief tour boat) but the last ship had sailed.
Before I forget to enter this: Happy Birthday Dan -- I'd like to do lunch, perhaps with Josh when we get back. --
Yesterday, while Patrick was off to a friends wedding (joined by Hilary in the evening) Hilary was a tour guide for dw and I. We drove a fall foliage / free snack tour. I guess we're early for the foliage (it was raining anyway) but the snacks -- cheese, chocolate, cider -- at various factories were good. We went to Stowe and had lunch. Stowe is a classic example of a quaint New England town, and the residents go to a fair amount of trouble to keep it that way. A couple of years ago, one of Patrick's uncles printed up a large official sign, togged himself up in official workman's clothing, and posted the sign on a brick wall -- The sign announced the upcoming arrival of a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop. Consternation and protest letters to the editor from the locals. Later, he did the same thing in Charlotte (another quaint New England town) only that time it was for a Red Lobster (Charlotte is on Lake Champlain). There were even more protests that time with a hundred or so angry letters to the editor. Though the second time someone at the newspaper noticed the signage occurred on April first.
As I'm writing this, the sun is out, no clouds in sight and we're hoping for a few good days. Today Hilary's mom (Cary N.) is coming by train from Phildelphia. We're looking forward to her arrival.
A small note: we were literally 6 feet past the interview with the customs officer at the U.S. border crossing when my phone (which you may remember doesn't work in Canada) rang, announcing I had some messages. DA
It's such a "welcome to the U.S. " feeling when the phone rings the minute you are two feet inside the border. Now if the messages were reading-worthy it would be even better. Nothing exciting except a few vague text messages and since we don't text it's a wonder we even receive them. Anyway, it allowed us to call and warn Hilary and Patrick we were close. Now we are in family time and have facilities to catch up on laundry and cleaning the car. How much coffee can one spill on a long distance road trip. Plenty. I'm thinking of having the carpeting changed in the car. Can you do that? Sightseeing yesterday in downtown Burlington was very much Madison State Street for those of you who may be familiar with the University of W'isconsin State Street area. For many years it was the toga capital of the world and with Halloween approaching it might be again. Plenty of pre-Halloween decor here. Pumpkins galore. And lots of beer and a few microbrews. We dined at one the evening we arrived and I have to admit the beer and food were very good and rival PDX's microbrews. Yup, Burlington is a good place to visit. Patrick and Hilary make me laugh so it's all good. More later, dw
We stopped at an asbestos mine on the way here -- between Thetford Mines (a town) and Black Lake (a town named after a lake that no longer exists -- it was drained to put in a mine) Another big hole in the ground. The one we saw is no longer in operation. A different mine that is still operating doesn't allow visitors. -- A great pity -- I couldn't do my old guy at a construction site routine: " Yup, that's a mighty big hole. Course back in my day we had different sort of holes, but this hole is big enough for ordinary use."
In any case, we're staying with Patrick and Hilary S. (aka Patrilary) in their condo.
Burlington is a very pleasant college town. (bookstores, art galleries, buskers, street food, etc) It reminds me of a smaller version of Madison WI, or Eugene OR. Yesterday we walked Church street -- the pedestrian mall (had a crepe for a snack) -- then down to the lake. We were going to take the ferry to New York (using the ferry as a brief tour boat) but the last ship had sailed.
Before I forget to enter this: Happy Birthday Dan -- I'd like to do lunch, perhaps with Josh when we get back. --
Yesterday, while Patrick was off to a friends wedding (joined by Hilary in the evening) Hilary was a tour guide for dw and I. We drove a fall foliage / free snack tour. I guess we're early for the foliage (it was raining anyway) but the snacks -- cheese, chocolate, cider -- at various factories were good. We went to Stowe and had lunch. Stowe is a classic example of a quaint New England town, and the residents go to a fair amount of trouble to keep it that way. A couple of years ago, one of Patrick's uncles printed up a large official sign, togged himself up in official workman's clothing, and posted the sign on a brick wall -- The sign announced the upcoming arrival of a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop. Consternation and protest letters to the editor from the locals. Later, he did the same thing in Charlotte (another quaint New England town) only that time it was for a Red Lobster (Charlotte is on Lake Champlain). There were even more protests that time with a hundred or so angry letters to the editor. Though the second time someone at the newspaper noticed the signage occurred on April first.
As I'm writing this, the sun is out, no clouds in sight and we're hoping for a few good days. Today Hilary's mom (Cary N.) is coming by train from Phildelphia. We're looking forward to her arrival.
A small note: we were literally 6 feet past the interview with the customs officer at the U.S. border crossing when my phone (which you may remember doesn't work in Canada) rang, announcing I had some messages. DA
It's such a "welcome to the U.S. " feeling when the phone rings the minute you are two feet inside the border. Now if the messages were reading-worthy it would be even better. Nothing exciting except a few vague text messages and since we don't text it's a wonder we even receive them. Anyway, it allowed us to call and warn Hilary and Patrick we were close. Now we are in family time and have facilities to catch up on laundry and cleaning the car. How much coffee can one spill on a long distance road trip. Plenty. I'm thinking of having the carpeting changed in the car. Can you do that? Sightseeing yesterday in downtown Burlington was very much Madison State Street for those of you who may be familiar with the University of W'isconsin State Street area. For many years it was the toga capital of the world and with Halloween approaching it might be again. Plenty of pre-Halloween decor here. Pumpkins galore. And lots of beer and a few microbrews. We dined at one the evening we arrived and I have to admit the beer and food were very good and rival PDX's microbrews. Yup, Burlington is a good place to visit. Patrick and Hilary make me laugh so it's all good. More later, dw
Thursday, September 30, 2010
31 rue de la Porte, The Room
This is a posting mostly for me as I want to remember this room. So far it's my favorite. Walked over to Starbucks at the Chateau Frontenac at 0730 and purchased two cafe au lait using our own mugs - $10.50. It's the 15% tax on everything that takes a bite. The coffee was perfect with the croissant (delicious as advertised) and worth it. I need more, though...
The room is on the rue de la Porte - a one way side street with a 15% (like the taxes!) grade sloping down north-northwest. So we have our own address even though the room is located in the back of the Motel St. Genevieve. Cool. Opening the outer screen door blocks the 3 foot wide sidewalk but there isn't much foot traffic so it's been all right. A bit unnerving when people do walk by while the blinds are open as they are right there! Our first view of the room was encouraging except for the giant dehumidifier plugged in and ready to go, the room being a bit musty and cold - we were assured that it would warm up in five minutes once we turned on the flat wall radiator. I ran the dehumidifier and was amazed at how it cleared up the air and even warmed the room more efficiently. Too much. Took awhile but I got hot. Some things never change!
Two single beds covered in white matelasse spreads, a beige loveseat, coffee table, two chairs, etc all on a patterned floral carpet. Walls are painted French Country Green and there is a long narrow bathroom at the back. The first night Dennis complained of sliding and sinking problems with the bed. My bed was wonderful. I thought it was his size not fitting on the single bed until I tried it myself. I sank and slid. In the interest of fairness we switched for the second night and I spent a fair amount of time messing with it trying to get it to sit and stay on the box spring but it was all too slippery. Dennis suggested rolling up the towel bath mat and shoving it under the mattress on the downhill side so at least the sliding would be less. Hey maybe it was because we are on a sloped street??!!! Slept fine after all that. Like I've said, sometimes the travel adventures are small ones. Discovered we had internet access here last night. It is everywhere.
Sink Coffee. Dennis reminded me to talk about what I like to call "sink coffee". Sometimes we cannot easily get regular brewed coffee - like the motel that had a restaurant and therefore didn't offer free morning coffee and then closed the restaurant for the season - so we have to improvise. Letting the hot water tap in the sink reach its peak temperature works for making instant coffee. We do carry small bottles of instant Italian espresso with us so we can do this when absolutely necessary. It works and the coffee is not too hot to drink. Just barely drinkable but that's another story. Meets our caffeine needs. dw
Today we're on the road again. It'll be a reasonably short drive with one possible stop at an asbestos mine. Since we needen't hurry we have a leisurely morning -- we also are waiting for the morning rush hour to abate.
There are a lot of restaurants in this (the old town) part of Quebec but otherwise a surprising lack of night life. We don't do much "night-life" stuff anyway but it is curious. But even with the rain I've really enjoyed this city and would return anytime.
Re the room: I agree with dw's comments. I felt like I should get a pack of Gitanes and sit in the open door -- holding the cigarette backwards between my thumb and forefinger. Smoking and glaring at passing tourists. DA
The room is on the rue de la Porte - a one way side street with a 15% (like the taxes!) grade sloping down north-northwest. So we have our own address even though the room is located in the back of the Motel St. Genevieve. Cool. Opening the outer screen door blocks the 3 foot wide sidewalk but there isn't much foot traffic so it's been all right. A bit unnerving when people do walk by while the blinds are open as they are right there! Our first view of the room was encouraging except for the giant dehumidifier plugged in and ready to go, the room being a bit musty and cold - we were assured that it would warm up in five minutes once we turned on the flat wall radiator. I ran the dehumidifier and was amazed at how it cleared up the air and even warmed the room more efficiently. Too much. Took awhile but I got hot. Some things never change!
Two single beds covered in white matelasse spreads, a beige loveseat, coffee table, two chairs, etc all on a patterned floral carpet. Walls are painted French Country Green and there is a long narrow bathroom at the back. The first night Dennis complained of sliding and sinking problems with the bed. My bed was wonderful. I thought it was his size not fitting on the single bed until I tried it myself. I sank and slid. In the interest of fairness we switched for the second night and I spent a fair amount of time messing with it trying to get it to sit and stay on the box spring but it was all too slippery. Dennis suggested rolling up the towel bath mat and shoving it under the mattress on the downhill side so at least the sliding would be less. Hey maybe it was because we are on a sloped street??!!! Slept fine after all that. Like I've said, sometimes the travel adventures are small ones. Discovered we had internet access here last night. It is everywhere.
Sink Coffee. Dennis reminded me to talk about what I like to call "sink coffee". Sometimes we cannot easily get regular brewed coffee - like the motel that had a restaurant and therefore didn't offer free morning coffee and then closed the restaurant for the season - so we have to improvise. Letting the hot water tap in the sink reach its peak temperature works for making instant coffee. We do carry small bottles of instant Italian espresso with us so we can do this when absolutely necessary. It works and the coffee is not too hot to drink. Just barely drinkable but that's another story. Meets our caffeine needs. dw
Today we're on the road again. It'll be a reasonably short drive with one possible stop at an asbestos mine. Since we needen't hurry we have a leisurely morning -- we also are waiting for the morning rush hour to abate.
There are a lot of restaurants in this (the old town) part of Quebec but otherwise a surprising lack of night life. We don't do much "night-life" stuff anyway but it is curious. But even with the rain I've really enjoyed this city and would return anytime.
Re the room: I agree with dw's comments. I felt like I should get a pack of Gitanes and sit in the open door -- holding the cigarette backwards between my thumb and forefinger. Smoking and glaring at passing tourists. DA
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
31 rue de la Porte (deux)
re: Gaspe. As we were driving the peninsula, we crossed one river after another (10 or so) called Riviere Saumon. We were thinking "Boy, they really didn't have much imagination when it came to naming rivers here!" Some variety would have been nice: Grande Saumon Riviere. Riviere Avec Saumon, etc. As it happens, the woman who checked us into our present hotel was a native of Gaspe' and she told us the "Riviere Saumon" wasn't the name of the rivers, but was referring to some sort of fishing rights.
We were on the Gaspe' after the end of the season (apparently Leafers aren't very big) and a lot of things were closed. The fall foliage was spotty -- we might have been too early -- and we met a lot of rain so the viewing was also spotty. It was a nice drive, and I'm glad we did it, but the weather definitely took out some of the pleasure.
In our next to last hotel on the Gaspe, we were 30' from the St Lawrence (our last was rain and fogged in) and we saw three freighters, a cruise ship -- coming in -- and a ferry -- going out. Here in Quebec there've been three cruise ships (with the attendant tour buses making walking the city unpleasant at times) four or five more freighters (at least one tanker) and another ferry. A lot of ship traffic but less than I expected for a seaway that serves nearly half of the U.S. and Canada
(an observation from dw: if your hotel/motel has an attached restaurant, you won't get free coffee in the morning)
Quebec is a beautiful city. We spent yesterday walking around (mostly in the rain) looking at buildings and galleries -- continued well after dark. Today the same, except it only sprinkled a few times. We went across the old town to an artists co-op gallery. The exhibits were mostly "installations" a couple were actually impressive and they all were good. After returning to the room at 4, we rested for several hours and went back out this evening. We wandered about a bit -- had a dessert -- went to view point that over-looked the lower old town, the river, and Ile de Quebec. Listened to a saxophone busker ("Smoke Gets In Your Eyes") for a bit and then back to the room. The weather this evening was near perfect: almost shirt sleeves, light breeze, no rain. The city showed us a very good side before we move on.
At the tourist info center, they have "Instant French" cheat sheets they hand out. French -- english/german/spanish/japanese/etc. Among other phrases deemed to be useful: "J'ai le Bloc!" = I have one heck of a hangover! But being the tourist city that it is, every clerk, waiter, etc. that we've met has been fully conversant in english. DA
We were on the Gaspe' after the end of the season (apparently Leafers aren't very big) and a lot of things were closed. The fall foliage was spotty -- we might have been too early -- and we met a lot of rain so the viewing was also spotty. It was a nice drive, and I'm glad we did it, but the weather definitely took out some of the pleasure.
In our next to last hotel on the Gaspe, we were 30' from the St Lawrence (our last was rain and fogged in) and we saw three freighters, a cruise ship -- coming in -- and a ferry -- going out. Here in Quebec there've been three cruise ships (with the attendant tour buses making walking the city unpleasant at times) four or five more freighters (at least one tanker) and another ferry. A lot of ship traffic but less than I expected for a seaway that serves nearly half of the U.S. and Canada
(an observation from dw: if your hotel/motel has an attached restaurant, you won't get free coffee in the morning)
Quebec is a beautiful city. We spent yesterday walking around (mostly in the rain) looking at buildings and galleries -- continued well after dark. Today the same, except it only sprinkled a few times. We went across the old town to an artists co-op gallery. The exhibits were mostly "installations" a couple were actually impressive and they all were good. After returning to the room at 4, we rested for several hours and went back out this evening. We wandered about a bit -- had a dessert -- went to view point that over-looked the lower old town, the river, and Ile de Quebec. Listened to a saxophone busker ("Smoke Gets In Your Eyes") for a bit and then back to the room. The weather this evening was near perfect: almost shirt sleeves, light breeze, no rain. The city showed us a very good side before we move on.
At the tourist info center, they have "Instant French" cheat sheets they hand out. French -- english/german/spanish/japanese/etc. Among other phrases deemed to be useful: "J'ai le Bloc!" = I have one heck of a hangover! But being the tourist city that it is, every clerk, waiter, etc. that we've met has been fully conversant in english. DA
Quebec City - Old Town, 31 rue de la Porte
Whew, what a day. Haven't walked that much in years! The day began with breakfast at the Creperie le Petit Chateau known for Swiss fondue and crepes. I had normal one egg/toast/hash browns/fruit and coffee $7.95 plus tax 15%. This hotel does not have morning coffee so we had to get it somewhere and the Creperie was close. The tour of the Chateau Frontenac began at 10 a.m. $8.50 me, $7.75 Dennis (senior rate) and was mostly about the history of the Chateau as one of the first railroad hotels built to attract travelers. We were shown a room but none of the special suites because the place is full! Roosevelt, Churchill and a Canadian premier spent extended time in the hotel during the war planning D-Day. Lots of celebrities, too, have spent time there. I really wanted to see where these famous personages slept but it was not to be. Not to worry, the room we did see had internet connections, a fabulous view of the St. Lawrence River and a very normal bathroom - no gold faucets or anything.
On to the Notre Dame Cathedral - another big church with a pretty impressive gold painted altar. Quebec City has churches everywhere, too. Lots of steeples. I stopped in a church this afternoon and it turned out to be the public library - complete with stained glass windows and a baptismal font. The woman who checked us in yesterday turned out to be from the Gaspe peninsula and she told us the reason the churches were closed - and she confirmed that they were ALL closed - was because there were no priests. Current priests minister to several villages and the churches are only in use for weddings and funerals. Wow, all those churches and no one to use them.
Lunch at the Cafe Boulangerie Paillard - salad with duck, cranberries, carrots, apple in a maple vinaigrette for me, beef sandwich with bleu cheese and carmelized onions for Dennis plus a glass of wine. It was delicious and writing about it is making me hungry. The Boulangerie Paillard has been recognized as having the best croissants in the city. Bought two to bring "home" for breakfast tomorrow so I'll get back to you... Have to admit, our fine dining experiences are very limited as neither of us is comfortable spending $60 for an average dinner. And $60 is low - advertised specials are for $80 - $98 for a dinner for two - usually chateaubriand. Seems to be a popular menu selection. The B.P. served excellent food and the tourist information woman who recommended it made a good choice.
Wandered around the old town enjoying window shopping and experiencing the European feel of the place. Weather continues to be rainy and warm and manageable with an umbrella. Fall color is present and that's tempering the dismal skies. There is a rainfall warning for tomorrow and I don't know what that means. We will find out as we drive to Burlington, Vermont. dw
On to the Notre Dame Cathedral - another big church with a pretty impressive gold painted altar. Quebec City has churches everywhere, too. Lots of steeples. I stopped in a church this afternoon and it turned out to be the public library - complete with stained glass windows and a baptismal font. The woman who checked us in yesterday turned out to be from the Gaspe peninsula and she told us the reason the churches were closed - and she confirmed that they were ALL closed - was because there were no priests. Current priests minister to several villages and the churches are only in use for weddings and funerals. Wow, all those churches and no one to use them.
Lunch at the Cafe Boulangerie Paillard - salad with duck, cranberries, carrots, apple in a maple vinaigrette for me, beef sandwich with bleu cheese and carmelized onions for Dennis plus a glass of wine. It was delicious and writing about it is making me hungry. The Boulangerie Paillard has been recognized as having the best croissants in the city. Bought two to bring "home" for breakfast tomorrow so I'll get back to you... Have to admit, our fine dining experiences are very limited as neither of us is comfortable spending $60 for an average dinner. And $60 is low - advertised specials are for $80 - $98 for a dinner for two - usually chateaubriand. Seems to be a popular menu selection. The B.P. served excellent food and the tourist information woman who recommended it made a good choice.
Wandered around the old town enjoying window shopping and experiencing the European feel of the place. Weather continues to be rainy and warm and manageable with an umbrella. Fall color is present and that's tempering the dismal skies. There is a rainfall warning for tomorrow and I don't know what that means. We will find out as we drive to Burlington, Vermont. dw
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Port Daniel-Gascons, Gaspe' Peninsula, Quebec
To those who know, it's really Gaspesie -- Not that I'm snobby or anything. A quiet day today. Yesterday we drove in the non-stop rain. Went through some large areas of excellent fall foliage made especially brilliant in contrast to the grey sky and dark pines. Sun would have been better. Today has also been rainy.
To take a break from driving, we're staying a second night here in Port Daniel. Instead of moving on, today we went to a couple of nearby small villages -- looked at a couple of art galleries, each one had some nice pieces -- Another we stopped at was closed, but even better had a giant brown and white Saint Bernard who stared at us. He was a cross with something so he looked like a BIG Saint Bernard on stilts -- nearly the high-light of the day. We stopped at a fish-market / restaurant, and had lunch. We each had the fish soup which was quite good -- The same soup was offered avec snails. I've eaten snails and I might have missed something, but really, what's the point? Aside from being SNAILS they taste like rubbery not-much-of-anything.
While going to the first village, we passed two touring cyclists. The one in front was pulling a sort of wagon (it looked like a street luge) that was suspended in the front -- like the bike wagons for children --
A dog in a doggy rain-coat was sitting on this wagon. With that arrangement, the dog could hop off and run or walk whenever it wanted, and hop back on whenever it wanted. Looked like a great arrangement for the dog. Tomorrow we plan to move on.
For those of you who know and love the pain management scale: re my knees: today at rest: 1 (down from 1.5 yesterday and 2 the day before) today walking: 5 (down from 6.4 yesterday, and 7.8 the day before) -- a signal improvement, and aren't you glad you asked? DA
I take credit for the overnight knee improvement as I did passive range of motion to the legs! Wow, what a health care provider, eh?
Yeah, this Gaspe peninsula is interesting. There are tiny communities about every 10-15 km and each one has at least one tall steepled church and many have two or more. Picture small white houses scattered along the coast line, surrounded by pine trees and a tall steeple sticking up over the countryside. The Catholics and Anglicans duked it our here for the religious prize of large congregations and did it the way we do today - advertising. Hard to miss those churches and all I can think about is who built them as they are quite old. We tried a few doors today hoping to see the inside but all were locked. Perhaps tomorrow we can sneak in between services. Bit of local color - we stumbled onto the local teen hangout (drug drop?) at the Visitor Information parking lot! Honda Civics and little Toyotas and a small Saturn or two took turns pulling next to each other - driver window to driver window. At one point three cars were within an arms reach of each other and I imagined the guys in the middle shuffling from one side of the car to the other. Who knows what they were doing, a car would leave and shortly another would show up carefully maneuvering so no one had to get out of the car. It was raining after all... But really - "meet you at the Visitor Information parking lot" - no one has a better idea than that?!?
Just remembered we did see a moose yesterday. It was splayed out in the back of a pickup truck having been dressed out after a successful hunt. It was huge! Worried me a bit that it might fall out of the pickup bed and that we would be hit by a dead moose. Guess it was heavy enough that it didn't happen. Those who may remember Dennis's den with the inflatable moosehead prominently displayed over the computer will be glad to hear that the same inflatable moosehead was prominently displayed in a cafe/gallery in Bonaventure. Are we trendy or what? Supposed to be sunny tomorrow and I certainly hope so. These last two days have been too like rainy Portland to be very enjoyable. dw
To take a break from driving, we're staying a second night here in Port Daniel. Instead of moving on, today we went to a couple of nearby small villages -- looked at a couple of art galleries, each one had some nice pieces -- Another we stopped at was closed, but even better had a giant brown and white Saint Bernard who stared at us. He was a cross with something so he looked like a BIG Saint Bernard on stilts -- nearly the high-light of the day. We stopped at a fish-market / restaurant, and had lunch. We each had the fish soup which was quite good -- The same soup was offered avec snails. I've eaten snails and I might have missed something, but really, what's the point? Aside from being SNAILS they taste like rubbery not-much-of-anything.
While going to the first village, we passed two touring cyclists. The one in front was pulling a sort of wagon (it looked like a street luge) that was suspended in the front -- like the bike wagons for children --
A dog in a doggy rain-coat was sitting on this wagon. With that arrangement, the dog could hop off and run or walk whenever it wanted, and hop back on whenever it wanted. Looked like a great arrangement for the dog. Tomorrow we plan to move on.
For those of you who know and love the pain management scale: re my knees: today at rest: 1 (down from 1.5 yesterday and 2 the day before) today walking: 5 (down from 6.4 yesterday, and 7.8 the day before) -- a signal improvement, and aren't you glad you asked? DA
I take credit for the overnight knee improvement as I did passive range of motion to the legs! Wow, what a health care provider, eh?
Yeah, this Gaspe peninsula is interesting. There are tiny communities about every 10-15 km and each one has at least one tall steepled church and many have two or more. Picture small white houses scattered along the coast line, surrounded by pine trees and a tall steeple sticking up over the countryside. The Catholics and Anglicans duked it our here for the religious prize of large congregations and did it the way we do today - advertising. Hard to miss those churches and all I can think about is who built them as they are quite old. We tried a few doors today hoping to see the inside but all were locked. Perhaps tomorrow we can sneak in between services. Bit of local color - we stumbled onto the local teen hangout (drug drop?) at the Visitor Information parking lot! Honda Civics and little Toyotas and a small Saturn or two took turns pulling next to each other - driver window to driver window. At one point three cars were within an arms reach of each other and I imagined the guys in the middle shuffling from one side of the car to the other. Who knows what they were doing, a car would leave and shortly another would show up carefully maneuvering so no one had to get out of the car. It was raining after all... But really - "meet you at the Visitor Information parking lot" - no one has a better idea than that?!?
Just remembered we did see a moose yesterday. It was splayed out in the back of a pickup truck having been dressed out after a successful hunt. It was huge! Worried me a bit that it might fall out of the pickup bed and that we would be hit by a dead moose. Guess it was heavy enough that it didn't happen. Those who may remember Dennis's den with the inflatable moosehead prominently displayed over the computer will be glad to hear that the same inflatable moosehead was prominently displayed in a cafe/gallery in Bonaventure. Are we trendy or what? Supposed to be sunny tomorrow and I certainly hope so. These last two days have been too like rainy Portland to be very enjoyable. dw
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Caribou, Maine DA here
Yesterday we stopped at the Ben and Jerry's factory. It was 1 1/2 miles off the freeway and not worth the side trip. There wasn't anything in particular wrong with it it just wasn't interesting. We each had a child's size ice cream cone (mine was vanilla with caramel and chocolate chunky bits) the ice cream was too warm and started to drip right away. There seemed to be a high percentage of large people visiting the factory. -- Though maybe I'm just being snarky. -- My knees are worse than they've ever been -- to make it even better, they're both acting up -- and for no good reason. As I write this they seem to be improving -- today I was even having trouble getting in and out of the car. (not to whine or anything)
As dw said: some nice fall foliage but I think we're about a week ahead of prime time. Otherwise the last two days have been quiet. DA
As dw said: some nice fall foliage but I think we're about a week ahead of prime time. Otherwise the last two days have been quiet. DA
Caribou, Maine dw here
Dennis is having bad knee days and hobbling around like an old guy! Very disconcerting to watch so tonight he's icing them hoping the swelling will go down. I drove today and we still covered about 350 miles from Portland, ME to Caribou, ME. Today's highlight - Eartha. It's a giant globe created by the staff at Delorme the map company that makes road atlases. They are headquartered in Yarmouth, ME. The globe is 40 feet in diameter, made to scale and rotates on a giant arm at a speed of one rotation per minute. This means it's four stories high! As a map lover I found it fascinating in its intricacy. Well worth a visit. The Atlas Obscura website has again guided us to a "weird" thing to see. All you computer savvy people can pull up Eartha on the internet and see pictures better than the ones we took. But those pics don't have us in them!
We've been putting in long miles - about 400 per day- and enjoying the scenery. Fall foliage is beginning here in New England and motel prices reflect the new tourist season. A "no vacancy" sign greeted me when I pulled in to Russel's Motel here in Caribou and a few foul words came out of my mouth. Mrs. Russell was kind enough to find us a room here at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center for way more than she would have charged but we got a little discount probably because I looked so wasted. And I told her I was lost. Again. I have been having trouble reading the road signs - some signs indicate a turn after the sign and some indicate a turn before the sign so I am frequently turning too soon or too late and having to circle around to try it again. I got lost on the way to the guest laundry this evening. Ended up in the front lobby with an armload of dirty clothes and was redirected to the laundry room. I needed change anyway. Sometimes the travel adventures are tiny ones.
The fall colors are pretty but Dennis and I have been here before in full fall bloom so it's not as impressive to our "been there done that" selves. Still pretty, though. It's apparently moose hunting season (this weekend anyway - another reason for full motels) so there isn't a moose to be found. Plenty of highway warning signs for moose. There are deer warning signs but more moose ones. I get nervous worrying that one of those guys will decide to cross the highway. "Brake for moose, it could save your life" is a bumper sticker with a message I can live with. Au revoir for now. Tomorrow Quebec province and French! dw
We've been putting in long miles - about 400 per day- and enjoying the scenery. Fall foliage is beginning here in New England and motel prices reflect the new tourist season. A "no vacancy" sign greeted me when I pulled in to Russel's Motel here in Caribou and a few foul words came out of my mouth. Mrs. Russell was kind enough to find us a room here at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center for way more than she would have charged but we got a little discount probably because I looked so wasted. And I told her I was lost. Again. I have been having trouble reading the road signs - some signs indicate a turn after the sign and some indicate a turn before the sign so I am frequently turning too soon or too late and having to circle around to try it again. I got lost on the way to the guest laundry this evening. Ended up in the front lobby with an armload of dirty clothes and was redirected to the laundry room. I needed change anyway. Sometimes the travel adventures are tiny ones.
The fall colors are pretty but Dennis and I have been here before in full fall bloom so it's not as impressive to our "been there done that" selves. Still pretty, though. It's apparently moose hunting season (this weekend anyway - another reason for full motels) so there isn't a moose to be found. Plenty of highway warning signs for moose. There are deer warning signs but more moose ones. I get nervous worrying that one of those guys will decide to cross the highway. "Brake for moose, it could save your life" is a bumper sticker with a message I can live with. Au revoir for now. Tomorrow Quebec province and French! dw
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Waddington, NY
A.M. -- I discovered that our motel room doesn't have a Gideon Bible. Is Waddington (The Carp Capital of the World) situated at the gates of hell? A final note. After not working while we were in Canada, my cell phone started -- notifying me of a message -- half way across the bridge crossing from Canada to the US --- Locating itself to a few feet. DA
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Waddington, N.Y.
Here we are in the Carp Capital of the World, after spending several days in the wifi/cell phone black hole of Eastern Canada -- now it's catch-up time.
I would have made an entry Fri evening, but I spent nearly an hour trying to download pics from my camera so I could post a few but they kept disappearing into the laptop, never to be seen again (I succeeded in downloading about 10 out of 110 pics) -- I was so frustrated that the potential for laptop breakage was too high to keep using it. Anyway:
Saturday we went to Milwaukie to see the art museum (MAM) -- Milwaukie Art Museum (dw: "I've got two mams) The museum was really nice -- worth going out of your way to see. Some history of Art stuff, and a lot of modern works and outsider art things. I really enjoyed it. But the flat-out spectular part is the building itself. Part of it was designed by that friend of crossword fans: Eero Saarinen. The show-stopper is the Quadracci Pavillion by Calatrava, Kahler and Kiley. It's a jaw-dropper. I'd reccommend Googleing it to look at the pics -- I'm not going to try to describe it.
After the museum we went to the Third Ward --- Milwaukie old town. Sort of like a much larger Pearl District. Looked at some of the art galleries -- again some impressive things. A curious item: A beer bar bicycle cart. It was a wagon powered by 12 or 14 "stationary bicycles" geared to the wheels -- someone (presumably sober) to steer it and a center bar with a couple of taps. 12 or 14 people get to pedal around the city and drink beer. --- an amusing idea. The whole area was nearly people free -- on a nice Sat afternoon. A remarkable lack of people for the time the day and the size of the city.
Sunday we moved on. Took county road "P" to Sheboygan. ("Take Wi67 east, turn left and then it's "P" all the way to Sheboygan") -- A slight variation of dw's childhood joke. Dw hadn't seen the Kohler museum to we stopped there. I liked it even more the second time around.
After we drove further north -- stopping and camping at J. W. Wells State Park near Cedar River MI.
Last night we camped at Chutes Provincial Park, near Massey Ont. Starting about 2 a.m. we had thunder lightening and rain -- a couple of heavy showers. Our $30 tent only leaked a little bit.
A few observations from the road: Dennis S. on the mysterious running cows -- "You need to get out of the city more." --- At the Cedar River MI. Plaza -- (a service station/quicky-mart/restaurant -- with a Fri nite fish-fry) -- there was a 5 ft shelf of books. It was the Menominee County Library branch. On county road "P" -- Lomira -- is a small church with a steeple that has a small roof like a flaired skirt about a quarter way up. ---"Seldom Seem Rd." west of Massey, Ont. --- Along hwy 17 west of Sudbury Ont. the many highway cuts -- low cliffs of 10 to 20 feet -- most of the cliffs are topped with small cairns of one to two feet high. DA
I would have made an entry Fri evening, but I spent nearly an hour trying to download pics from my camera so I could post a few but they kept disappearing into the laptop, never to be seen again (I succeeded in downloading about 10 out of 110 pics) -- I was so frustrated that the potential for laptop breakage was too high to keep using it. Anyway:
Saturday we went to Milwaukie to see the art museum (MAM) -- Milwaukie Art Museum (dw: "I've got two mams) The museum was really nice -- worth going out of your way to see. Some history of Art stuff, and a lot of modern works and outsider art things. I really enjoyed it. But the flat-out spectular part is the building itself. Part of it was designed by that friend of crossword fans: Eero Saarinen. The show-stopper is the Quadracci Pavillion by Calatrava, Kahler and Kiley. It's a jaw-dropper. I'd reccommend Googleing it to look at the pics -- I'm not going to try to describe it.
After the museum we went to the Third Ward --- Milwaukie old town. Sort of like a much larger Pearl District. Looked at some of the art galleries -- again some impressive things. A curious item: A beer bar bicycle cart. It was a wagon powered by 12 or 14 "stationary bicycles" geared to the wheels -- someone (presumably sober) to steer it and a center bar with a couple of taps. 12 or 14 people get to pedal around the city and drink beer. --- an amusing idea. The whole area was nearly people free -- on a nice Sat afternoon. A remarkable lack of people for the time the day and the size of the city.
Sunday we moved on. Took county road "P" to Sheboygan. ("Take Wi67 east, turn left and then it's "P" all the way to Sheboygan") -- A slight variation of dw's childhood joke. Dw hadn't seen the Kohler museum to we stopped there. I liked it even more the second time around.
After we drove further north -- stopping and camping at J. W. Wells State Park near Cedar River MI.
Last night we camped at Chutes Provincial Park, near Massey Ont. Starting about 2 a.m. we had thunder lightening and rain -- a couple of heavy showers. Our $30 tent only leaked a little bit.
A few observations from the road: Dennis S. on the mysterious running cows -- "You need to get out of the city more." --- At the Cedar River MI. Plaza -- (a service station/quicky-mart/restaurant -- with a Fri nite fish-fry) -- there was a 5 ft shelf of books. It was the Menominee County Library branch. On county road "P" -- Lomira -- is a small church with a steeple that has a small roof like a flaired skirt about a quarter way up. ---"Seldom Seem Rd." west of Massey, Ont. --- Along hwy 17 west of Sudbury Ont. the many highway cuts -- low cliffs of 10 to 20 feet -- most of the cliffs are topped with small cairns of one to two feet high. DA
Friday, September 17, 2010
oconomowoc redux and Paulines
Don't think Dennis gave Pauline's its full due as an Okauchee WI institution. The Friday Fish Fry is premium and gets even better when hor d'oevres begin at the bar i.e. Miller Lite and PBR on tap. The actual fish fry meal is a plethora of classic fish fry - fried cod, warmed German potato salad with bacon, piquant mayo-vinaigrette cole slaw, potato pancakes with applesauce, tartar sauce and rye bread lightly covered in sea salt. Served home style it really is the best of middle America cooking. There is a longstanding tradition of enjoying the fish fry out of the town - thus the drive 5 miles down the road from Oconomowoc (Five O's) to Okauchee on the lake. I used to think the fish fry developed because everyone went fishing on Friday and had it for dinner on Friday evening but I've been told otherwise. No one really seems able to answer the question so we are taking comments from readers on the possible origin of Friday Fish Fries in the Heartland - Wisconsin specificially. It's delish, whatever the origin.
This evening my dad suggested we play Polish poker - a card game I'd never heard of and after much coaxing we convened at the dining room table and played the game. I asked where it came from and Dennis said "Poland" - always ready with a quick answer. Of course neither my dad nor my aunt knew where it started, they played it with friends somewhere and were passing on the game to us. I won. Dennis was one point behind me and technically came in second so I shared my winnings with him - won $1 and gave him 50 cents. So I've still got it! Finished reading Harlan Coben "Gone for Good" and recommend it to those who enjoy a mystery. Next - the PD James "Innocent Blood". Good night, dw
This evening my dad suggested we play Polish poker - a card game I'd never heard of and after much coaxing we convened at the dining room table and played the game. I asked where it came from and Dennis said "Poland" - always ready with a quick answer. Of course neither my dad nor my aunt knew where it started, they played it with friends somewhere and were passing on the game to us. I won. Dennis was one point behind me and technically came in second so I shared my winnings with him - won $1 and gave him 50 cents. So I've still got it! Finished reading Harlan Coben "Gone for Good" and recommend it to those who enjoy a mystery. Next - the PD James "Innocent Blood". Good night, dw
Oconomowoc redux
Yesterday we drove back to Madison to socialize with Steve W. and Kay D. A very pleasant afternoon and evening. Among other things we watched Steven Colbert's Christmas special. The evening was interesting and fun for we who were involved but for others, not so much. We spent the night and after a walk (short for dw and I, much longer for Steve .) and a tasty breakfast we returned to Oconomowoc.
Dennis S. came over and we all went to Pauline's for a Friday night fish fry. I did not know this, but it seems that Wisconsin-wide (perhaps even midwest wide -- with, of course, a Wisconsin locus) having a fish dinner on Friday is just what is done. I think it's a Catholic thing, even though there are a lot more Lutherans, Methodists, etc. in this region than Catholics -- probably the fish thing sort of oozed out of the Catholics and into the other religions. If Jews and Moslims also do the Friday Fish Feast it would prove that I'm right.
The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent socializing -- again of limited interest to others.
I got an email from Bob D. telling me that a college friend of our's had an alarming and perhaps serious medical event. More and more people of my age are having physical problems. I don't like it. DA
Incidently, the mysterious P. D. James was "Innocent Blood"
Dennis S. came over and we all went to Pauline's for a Friday night fish fry. I did not know this, but it seems that Wisconsin-wide (perhaps even midwest wide -- with, of course, a Wisconsin locus) having a fish dinner on Friday is just what is done. I think it's a Catholic thing, even though there are a lot more Lutherans, Methodists, etc. in this region than Catholics -- probably the fish thing sort of oozed out of the Catholics and into the other religions. If Jews and Moslims also do the Friday Fish Feast it would prove that I'm right.
The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent socializing -- again of limited interest to others.
I got an email from Bob D. telling me that a college friend of our's had an alarming and perhaps serious medical event. More and more people of my age are having physical problems. I don't like it. DA
Incidently, the mysterious P. D. James was "Innocent Blood"
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
More Oconomowoc (2)
re: tgellos comment. Go ahead and make my head spin. That's a people feature I haven't really explored since Sean and Dan were much younger.
We had a bit of confusion this morning. We thought we had lost our blue binder with all of our traveling addresses and telephone numbers. Record of miles driven and gas used. Where we've stayed each night. In short all of the trivia we use to occupy our time when the road gets boring. dw thought we had left it with friends in Friendship (Mary W. and Rita D.) so dw sent three emails in about as many minutes. A few minutes later I found it -- it was in the WRONG PLACE in the car! We don't like challenges like that. Looking back (it's 11 pm) I guess the day was more exciting than I originally thought. DA
Mary wasn't too thrilled either, I'm sure, with the q60second emails as her Blackberry belts out "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin and prominent in the movie "The Sting" with every received email. It's a way to get someone's attention, though - consecutive emails. Our ISP changed at 6;37pm CDST and the email addresses seem to have disappeared and who knows what other malfunctioning may be happening. The last time they tried to "update" it was such a mess, they abandoned it and returned to the old system. Reminds me of work - McKesson, no McKesson.
My dad is doing well. Several more days of family and the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) on Sat. and then we are heading north over Lake Michigan into Canada and east to Vermont. I think we will stop at the Kohler Art Museum again so I can visit the Ladies Restroom with camera in hand. Maybe that should be a travel theme - "Restrooms I Have Seen". The central Wis. bookstore that has a million books, is hard to find and they may not be home - was indeed closed. Spoke with the owner on the phone this morning and she informed me they are only open June, July and August, said "goodbye" and hung up. Sorry I'm missing it.
Later, dw
We had a bit of confusion this morning. We thought we had lost our blue binder with all of our traveling addresses and telephone numbers. Record of miles driven and gas used. Where we've stayed each night. In short all of the trivia we use to occupy our time when the road gets boring. dw thought we had left it with friends in Friendship (Mary W. and Rita D.) so dw sent three emails in about as many minutes. A few minutes later I found it -- it was in the WRONG PLACE in the car! We don't like challenges like that. Looking back (it's 11 pm) I guess the day was more exciting than I originally thought. DA
Mary wasn't too thrilled either, I'm sure, with the q60second emails as her Blackberry belts out "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin and prominent in the movie "The Sting" with every received email. It's a way to get someone's attention, though - consecutive emails. Our ISP changed at 6;37pm CDST and the email addresses seem to have disappeared and who knows what other malfunctioning may be happening. The last time they tried to "update" it was such a mess, they abandoned it and returned to the old system. Reminds me of work - McKesson, no McKesson.
My dad is doing well. Several more days of family and the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) on Sat. and then we are heading north over Lake Michigan into Canada and east to Vermont. I think we will stop at the Kohler Art Museum again so I can visit the Ladies Restroom with camera in hand. Maybe that should be a travel theme - "Restrooms I Have Seen". The central Wis. bookstore that has a million books, is hard to find and they may not be home - was indeed closed. Spoke with the owner on the phone this morning and she informed me they are only open June, July and August, said "goodbye" and hung up. Sorry I'm missing it.
Later, dw
More Oconomowoc
A quiet day. dw went to Milwaukee to pick up her dad while I stayed in Ocon. I walked the main street and then did a circle -- enough to cover a mile+ -- Except for insurance offices, a few bars, a restaurant or two, there's not much happening in downtown Ocon. It's not quite dead but it sure seems to be heading that way.
Later, I took the car and drove to the nearest mall and bought some epoxy to do a repair job on my glasses (the plastic coating on the ear arms started to peel) -- As much as anything it was something to do.
Otherwise I read the paper and some more in my book (a P. D. James) -- I've read the book before, but since I remember very little about it (at the moment, not even the title) it's as good as never having read it.
And that's about it. As I said, a very quiet day. DA
Later, I took the car and drove to the nearest mall and bought some epoxy to do a repair job on my glasses (the plastic coating on the ear arms started to peel) -- As much as anything it was something to do.
Otherwise I read the paper and some more in my book (a P. D. James) -- I've read the book before, but since I remember very little about it (at the moment, not even the title) it's as good as never having read it.
And that's about it. As I said, a very quiet day. DA
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Still in Oconomowoc
dw went to Milwaukie with her dad for a medical procedure he was getting, while I drove to Sheboygan to see the Kohler Arts Center. It was a pleasant 80 mi. drive through. Classic midwest farm country: rolling hills, lotsa corn as well as other crops, some dairy -- small towns with lovely steepled churches. Just the beginnings of fall foliage. Very beautiful in a quiet way.
The Kohler (of kitchen and toilet fame) Museum is a really nice small museum. Rather than trying to be a general museum displaying the history of art, it seems to concentrate on contemporary work and outsider art. Right now it's featuring a show of humor in art. Some I've heard of (Linda Berry, Wegman, and a couple of others) but most I haven't. I really liked most of it (couldn't take any pics -- they didn't want pics taken, and there were too many people for me to do it anyway) Anyway I'm glad I drove up there.
The toilets are something special: the men's has an egyptian motif with each sink, urinal and toilet differently decorated, and the walls and counter covered with tiles also decorated with egyptian murals. It was REALLY something. Apparently the women's is as good or better, but (naturally) I didn't get to see that.
As part of their permanent collection, the museum has a large collection of water-colors done by Kamante Gatura (he was Isak Dinesen's cook and friend) -- They're mostly pics of animals, many of "red of tooth and claw" motif. All of outsider impressionistic style. I really liked them.
A side note: we got an email suggesting we join, or friend someone (an acquaintance) on facebook. Also listed were some other people who we might be interested in friending or whatever. Anyway some of them were from our address book. I wrote Sean A. warning him that someone might have gotten into our address book, and it seemed like it was a possible threat -- virus or otherwise. Sean wrote back telling me that that's just the way facebook works, and while caution is good, basically I just met up with life in the twenty-first century. Sigh -- I just got a cheap cell-phone, and I think that should be enough for awhile. DA
The Kohler (of kitchen and toilet fame) Museum is a really nice small museum. Rather than trying to be a general museum displaying the history of art, it seems to concentrate on contemporary work and outsider art. Right now it's featuring a show of humor in art. Some I've heard of (Linda Berry, Wegman, and a couple of others) but most I haven't. I really liked most of it (couldn't take any pics -- they didn't want pics taken, and there were too many people for me to do it anyway) Anyway I'm glad I drove up there.
The toilets are something special: the men's has an egyptian motif with each sink, urinal and toilet differently decorated, and the walls and counter covered with tiles also decorated with egyptian murals. It was REALLY something. Apparently the women's is as good or better, but (naturally) I didn't get to see that.
As part of their permanent collection, the museum has a large collection of water-colors done by Kamante Gatura (he was Isak Dinesen's cook and friend) -- They're mostly pics of animals, many of "red of tooth and claw" motif. All of outsider impressionistic style. I really liked them.
A side note: we got an email suggesting we join, or friend someone (an acquaintance) on facebook. Also listed were some other people who we might be interested in friending or whatever. Anyway some of them were from our address book. I wrote Sean A. warning him that someone might have gotten into our address book, and it seemed like it was a possible threat -- virus or otherwise. Sean wrote back telling me that that's just the way facebook works, and while caution is good, basically I just met up with life in the twenty-first century. Sigh -- I just got a cheap cell-phone, and I think that should be enough for awhile. DA
Monday, September 13, 2010
On to Oconomowoc
We got an earlyish start this morning (departing Friendship) to have time for a stop in Madison for a brief visit with bro Steve W. and his S.O. Kay D. (if that designation is OK with all concerned). We intend to return to Madison for a longer visit.
On the way to Ocon. we stopped to see the Forevertron. The World's Largest scrap metal sculpture. The Forevertron is just south of Baraboo (with it's circus museum -- World Famousest) and across the road from a munitions factory. The munitions factory is handily located to wipe out the Forevertron and the Circus Museum should either one become too obstreperous.
We also drove through Waunakee -- The Only Waunakee In The World -- It's also the best Waunakee in the world.
Just before we left the Forevertron, D. called Steve to warn him we were coming. (They like each other -- even though Steve has retired -- so it was a safe call) And Steve asked us to stop at Ski-Hi (which seems to have nothing to do with skiing, snow, or anything else wintery) and pick up a couple sacks of apples. We also bought a sack for ourselves (cortland) and an apple pie.
Visiting and seeing the new kitchen in S & K's house. We were going to go to the Toilet Paper Museum but alas, it closed a couple of years ago. Then on to Ocon. and the seniorer W's. DA
Back home in Dairyland. Driving through the rolling hills of south central Wisconsin, it was a post card - farms, silos, corn fields, red barns i.e. very picturesque. Enough to make one forget about the frigid winters and humid summers. It has been beautiful fall weather the past four days and everyone here is enjoying it after the heat of the summer. Family visiting time for the next couple of days and nothing "weird" on the schedule unless Dennis finds something on-line. dw
On the way to Ocon. we stopped to see the Forevertron. The World's Largest scrap metal sculpture. The Forevertron is just south of Baraboo (with it's circus museum -- World Famousest) and across the road from a munitions factory. The munitions factory is handily located to wipe out the Forevertron and the Circus Museum should either one become too obstreperous.
We also drove through Waunakee -- The Only Waunakee In The World -- It's also the best Waunakee in the world.
Just before we left the Forevertron, D. called Steve to warn him we were coming. (They like each other -- even though Steve has retired -- so it was a safe call) And Steve asked us to stop at Ski-Hi (which seems to have nothing to do with skiing, snow, or anything else wintery) and pick up a couple sacks of apples. We also bought a sack for ourselves (cortland) and an apple pie.
Visiting and seeing the new kitchen in S & K's house. We were going to go to the Toilet Paper Museum but alas, it closed a couple of years ago. Then on to Ocon. and the seniorer W's. DA
Back home in Dairyland. Driving through the rolling hills of south central Wisconsin, it was a post card - farms, silos, corn fields, red barns i.e. very picturesque. Enough to make one forget about the frigid winters and humid summers. It has been beautiful fall weather the past four days and everyone here is enjoying it after the heat of the summer. Family visiting time for the next couple of days and nothing "weird" on the schedule unless Dennis finds something on-line. dw
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Friday we took a tour of Wind Cave. It was interesting with mostly box work formations. -- 6" fins mostly on the ceiling forming pigeon holes of various sizes. Few other formations. No rooms of any great size -- mostly a bunch of narrow passages. It's the 4th longest known cave @ 137 miles of explored passages -- they say they have only explored 5 - 10% of the cave.
Around Rapid City S.D. the freeway is crusted with billboards. One struck me: "Select 55. The Lightest Beer In The World" -- "You'll think it's suspiciously yellow stale water"
Further on, by the E. Vermillion River, another road-side display: Giant painted steel hammer, flowers, fish, and curiously, a 25' tall head of Hathor, the Egyptian cow god.
We spent the night in Mitchell home of the Corn Palace. the Palace is a small town arena, seating perhaps 5000 on one side of the building, with a floor area for a basketball court and a half or so, and a stage (curtained when we were there) . Corn murals surrounding the seating, activity area. The exterior was in the process of re-corning so we didn't see it's full splendor.
Mitchell is also the site of the George McGovern museum. His family doubtless cares.
The Spam museum is a Wonder. As was the subsequent spam burger -- an ordinary burger, with a mighty slab of spam instead of a patty. Perhaps too mighty, but with spam who can number the ways?
After the spam, we took a scenic side road (s.r. 16) for 50 miles. In Grand Meadow we stopped and looked at a bank building: small but very nice prairie style building. We met an Amish buggy on the road. From their body posture we guess the older couple in the buggy were having some issues on this particular day. A nice side road and then back to the freeway and on to friends in Friendship. DA
Around Rapid City S.D. the freeway is crusted with billboards. One struck me: "Select 55. The Lightest Beer In The World" -- "You'll think it's suspiciously yellow stale water"
Further on, by the E. Vermillion River, another road-side display: Giant painted steel hammer, flowers, fish, and curiously, a 25' tall head of Hathor, the Egyptian cow god.
We spent the night in Mitchell home of the Corn Palace. the Palace is a small town arena, seating perhaps 5000 on one side of the building, with a floor area for a basketball court and a half or so, and a stage (curtained when we were there) . Corn murals surrounding the seating, activity area. The exterior was in the process of re-corning so we didn't see it's full splendor.
Mitchell is also the site of the George McGovern museum. His family doubtless cares.
The Spam museum is a Wonder. As was the subsequent spam burger -- an ordinary burger, with a mighty slab of spam instead of a patty. Perhaps too mighty, but with spam who can number the ways?
After the spam, we took a scenic side road (s.r. 16) for 50 miles. In Grand Meadow we stopped and looked at a bank building: small but very nice prairie style building. We met an Amish buggy on the road. From their body posture we guess the older couple in the buggy were having some issues on this particular day. A nice side road and then back to the freeway and on to friends in Friendship. DA
We're here.... Friendship, WI
Arrived 7;30pm last night in Friendship, WI at my friends house for a weekend stay and then we will head to my dad's. Yesterday was the fabulous Spam Museum - a destination museum for sure. Two hours of entertainment including the Monty Python Spam skit and a simulation of a game show - Spam Exam. Dennis and I tied on the show - me coming from behind to make the tie. The reward - Spamburgers at a nearby restaurant. Yum. Seriously, they weren't bad except for the salt load and today I'm a bit puffy - but that's the travel experience.
Factoids: 2406 miles so far. Average 46.11 mpg (love that Honda Civic!). 52.18 gallons of gas. $150 for gas. Subway meals - 3. Italian meal - 1. Pulled pork sandwich at roadside grill - 1. Grazing for meals - 14.
Cloudy days 2, thunderstorm 1, sun 3. Fauna: One dead turtle (I thought I'd missed it). Ooops. Three live osprey in a nest, up close and personal with one buffalo (excuse me, bison), eagle - 1, hundreds of prairie dogs, a few wild turkeys and a rabbit running away from the house when we arrived. Flora: pine trees, prairies, more prairies and then a few rolling hills.
Gotta go - dw
Factoids: 2406 miles so far. Average 46.11 mpg (love that Honda Civic!). 52.18 gallons of gas. $150 for gas. Subway meals - 3. Italian meal - 1. Pulled pork sandwich at roadside grill - 1. Grazing for meals - 14.
Cloudy days 2, thunderstorm 1, sun 3. Fauna: One dead turtle (I thought I'd missed it). Ooops. Three live osprey in a nest, up close and personal with one buffalo (excuse me, bison), eagle - 1, hundreds of prairie dogs, a few wild turkeys and a rabbit running away from the house when we arrived. Flora: pine trees, prairies, more prairies and then a few rolling hills.
Gotta go - dw
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Hot Springs S.D.
We had intended to camp in the Wind Cave N.P. but after a sunny morning, the afternoon and evening has been lightening, hail and pounding rain --- so a motel it is. As a small aside, after reading all of the scare stories du jour concerning bedbugs, we have been checking the motel beds for the critters. It seems they don't carry any diseases, but they still are nasty bugs -- as I know from Mexican experience (with a nod of the head to Bob D. who is smiling to himself right now)
We stopped at Devils Tower this morning -- took the short hike around the base (note to David N. : there's STILL a line of climbers waiting to ascent the Durrance route) -- watched several groups climbing, saw a bunch of birds -- including the wily Assup Woodpecker -- and I recieved several compliments on my bravery for doing the hike on crutches. I am always suitably modest.
After the Tower, we continued on a scenic drive through Hulett (paralleling I-90). East of Hulett, we passed a graveyard for giant (6'+) tires. At the end of the drive in Aladdin (pop. 15) we stopped at the 110 year old general store. It was full of assorted food stuffs, clothing, and junque. Both Dianne and I wanted one item, but at $100 we passed. It was an old print of bambi nursing with bambi's mom sniffing bambi's ass. Now, bambi's mom was really rooting around there -- it looked like she had nosed bambi's butt clear off the ground. Priceless, but not quite $100 priceless.
And after that we stopped at the Vore Buffalo Jump which was mildly interesting but not nearly as good as Head Smashed In in Alberta. We also stopped at the Wyoming info center which, among other things, had a life size, saddled, statue of a horse wading belly deep through a green mat. Should one choose, one could mount the horse for a photo op.
--- A shout-out to Dennis S --- Cows with horns were on the move. Walking and running towards the east at 1:11 P.M. Should we be alarmed? ---
Drove through Deadwood where Wild Bill Hickok was shot in 1872. It's perhaps apocryphal but supposedly Wild Bill (after lying doggo for several years) decided to go to Deadwood to take advantage of the gold rush. He sent ahead a wire to friends and enemies that he was coming to town, and that "I still wear my hair long." Meaning that though older he was still Wild Bill, and one tough dude. Naturally, like Samson, his hair, long or short, didn't do him any good and he was shot in the back while playing poker and holding the subsequently famous dead man's hand: aces and eights.
Went on to Lead (pronounced leed) and meaning not lead (as in pencil) but lead (as the first showing of a gold seam). But if I can find a --I (heart) LEAD-- bumper sticker like we saw in Idaho, it'll always be lead (as in pencil) to me.
North of Hill City S.D. we passed the "world's largest quilt store", and south of Hill City we passed a sign advertising Red Ass Rubarb wine -- as chilling as that may sound.
In the Wind Cave Park, we got up-close with a giant buffalo (we DEFINITELY stayed in the car, although I might have driven a bit too close) The great beast was scratching it's head on a stone sign and licking its nose.
Approaching Hot Springs another thunderstorm front moved in and the largest raindrops in the world started hitting the car. Threatened to break the windshield. DA
We stopped at Devils Tower this morning -- took the short hike around the base (note to David N. : there's STILL a line of climbers waiting to ascent the Durrance route) -- watched several groups climbing, saw a bunch of birds -- including the wily Assup Woodpecker -- and I recieved several compliments on my bravery for doing the hike on crutches. I am always suitably modest.
After the Tower, we continued on a scenic drive through Hulett (paralleling I-90). East of Hulett, we passed a graveyard for giant (6'+) tires. At the end of the drive in Aladdin (pop. 15) we stopped at the 110 year old general store. It was full of assorted food stuffs, clothing, and junque. Both Dianne and I wanted one item, but at $100 we passed. It was an old print of bambi nursing with bambi's mom sniffing bambi's ass. Now, bambi's mom was really rooting around there -- it looked like she had nosed bambi's butt clear off the ground. Priceless, but not quite $100 priceless.
And after that we stopped at the Vore Buffalo Jump which was mildly interesting but not nearly as good as Head Smashed In in Alberta. We also stopped at the Wyoming info center which, among other things, had a life size, saddled, statue of a horse wading belly deep through a green mat. Should one choose, one could mount the horse for a photo op.
--- A shout-out to Dennis S --- Cows with horns were on the move. Walking and running towards the east at 1:11 P.M. Should we be alarmed? ---
Drove through Deadwood where Wild Bill Hickok was shot in 1872. It's perhaps apocryphal but supposedly Wild Bill (after lying doggo for several years) decided to go to Deadwood to take advantage of the gold rush. He sent ahead a wire to friends and enemies that he was coming to town, and that "I still wear my hair long." Meaning that though older he was still Wild Bill, and one tough dude. Naturally, like Samson, his hair, long or short, didn't do him any good and he was shot in the back while playing poker and holding the subsequently famous dead man's hand: aces and eights.
Went on to Lead (pronounced leed) and meaning not lead (as in pencil) but lead (as the first showing of a gold seam). But if I can find a --I (heart) LEAD-- bumper sticker like we saw in Idaho, it'll always be lead (as in pencil) to me.
North of Hill City S.D. we passed the "world's largest quilt store", and south of Hill City we passed a sign advertising Red Ass Rubarb wine -- as chilling as that may sound.
In the Wind Cave Park, we got up-close with a giant buffalo (we DEFINITELY stayed in the car, although I might have driven a bit too close) The great beast was scratching it's head on a stone sign and licking its nose.
Approaching Hot Springs another thunderstorm front moved in and the largest raindrops in the world started hitting the car. Threatened to break the windshield. DA
blog- Day 7 0842 MDT
Gillette, WY 58degrees heading for 83 today with 30% chance of thunderstorms (Weather Channel prediction). We are driving to Devils Tower Monument to observe the climbers and not get hit by lightning. Featured in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" I am hoping for a bit of a spiritual experience as we observe the monument. It is the first national monument - ever - designated by Teddy Roosevelt in 1906. Should be interesting.
After reading an information board about Big Horn Sheep in Wyoming (at Sheridan, at the base of the Big Horn Mts.) - they were wiped out and are being re-introduced - we turned around to see a man hunkered down behind my car taking a close up photo of my license plate. It's a Crater Lake one and looks pretty on my blue car. The photo was either a tourist thing or I had been a very bad driver. Turns out they were French tourists and he was finding the variety of license plates "very American" and taking photos. He's right, we do have very good looking license plates and European plates are just those big numbers. We stood and chatted, he interpreting for his wife, me speaking slowly and clearly as his English was all right but not fluent and finally got around to Grand Teton Park - south of Yellowstone. They were heading to Yellowstone for a first time visit and brought up the Grand Tetons. The French find it amusing because Grand Teton in French means Big Tits and they like to find out if we know what it means. We do. And now "au revoir". dw
After reading an information board about Big Horn Sheep in Wyoming (at Sheridan, at the base of the Big Horn Mts.) - they were wiped out and are being re-introduced - we turned around to see a man hunkered down behind my car taking a close up photo of my license plate. It's a Crater Lake one and looks pretty on my blue car. The photo was either a tourist thing or I had been a very bad driver. Turns out they were French tourists and he was finding the variety of license plates "very American" and taking photos. He's right, we do have very good looking license plates and European plates are just those big numbers. We stood and chatted, he interpreting for his wife, me speaking slowly and clearly as his English was all right but not fluent and finally got around to Grand Teton Park - south of Yellowstone. They were heading to Yellowstone for a first time visit and brought up the Grand Tetons. The French find it amusing because Grand Teton in French means Big Tits and they like to find out if we know what it means. We do. And now "au revoir". dw
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Gillette, Wyoming
Since we won't get to a WiFi connection each day, we won't be posting daily entries. Making this the first catch-up day.
Before we left Portland, I saw a squirrel hitchhiking. It ran under a Honda SUV stopped at a light. Light changed, Honda drove on. --- squirrel gone. No squirrel, no squirrel debris = hitchhiker.
We successfully made it past the Great Bambi Brother massacre of 2008 much to our relief. Otherwise we haven't had any stand-out moments.
A few curiosities from the road :
A few miles east of Coeur d'Alene (CDA to the cognoscenti) next to the freeway is a life-size statue of an old-time photographer with view camera. Commerates someone I'm sure but at freeway speeds, I couldn't read the sign.
The Old Mission of the Sacred Heart at Cataldo Id. A lovely Jesuit church (now a state park) built in 1853 -- All the timbers and boards were cut and shaped by hand -- post and beam / mud and waddle construction. About 1870 a local lumber company became involved and it got gussied up with some fancy wood work, hand printed linen as wall paper, some paintings, etc.
Kellogg ID has sculptures of a knight lancing a dragon, a miner, something I don't remember and a broken figure of some sort. All of the found-object, welded-stuff style -- life size and interesting in a who-on-earth did all this stuff sort of way.
Wallace ID has the Stardust drive-in with a vast array of signs, neon and otherwise and a real tin spaceship you can sit in to eat your burger. Wallace also has the 10 Commandants (6' X 4' granite slab) in front of the courthouse.
A few miles east of Wallace -- again beside the freeway-- is Elmer's Fountain. Two 1' X 15' pipes with a few circular things and smaller pipes welded on -- All planted in the ground and fountaining water. I'm guessing the whole thing was built by Elmer.
We went to Anaconda MT and saw the tallest masonery structure in the world. A smelter chimney. (It should be understood that nearly everything in the west is the biggest, tallest, deepest, richest, or somethingest in the world) We couldn't actually get to the base (which is a state park) because ARCO was doing some important stuff up there. -- ARCO bought out Anaconda Copper -- so we looked at an information kiosk and admired a couple of mountains of tailings and slag.
In Butte we stopped to see (for $2 each) the Berkeley Pit. What's left of the Richest Hill In The World. 1.25 miles long by a mile wide by 1700 feet deep. Filled with 1000 feet of red water further filling with a lurid yellow waterfall. ARCO (nee anaconda) assures us that the water is nearly harmless -- not much different from coca cola (which might be true) -- particularly if you ignore the arsenic, iron, cadmium, etc, etc, (and dead birds) in the water
A freeway reader board east of Bozeman "arrive alive -- don't text -- and drive" -- I guess it's a problem when you're driving 75+ mph.
East of Billings (we're driving on I-90) we were passed by a Mini Cooper from Alberta -- it was going 90 or so (we were at the speed limit +3 to 5 mph) Later in Wyoming we passed it while it was stopped getting a ticket from the Wyoming HP. Yes! DA
Before we left Portland, I saw a squirrel hitchhiking. It ran under a Honda SUV stopped at a light. Light changed, Honda drove on. --- squirrel gone. No squirrel, no squirrel debris = hitchhiker.
We successfully made it past the Great Bambi Brother massacre of 2008 much to our relief. Otherwise we haven't had any stand-out moments.
A few curiosities from the road :
A few miles east of Coeur d'Alene (CDA to the cognoscenti) next to the freeway is a life-size statue of an old-time photographer with view camera. Commerates someone I'm sure but at freeway speeds, I couldn't read the sign.
The Old Mission of the Sacred Heart at Cataldo Id. A lovely Jesuit church (now a state park) built in 1853 -- All the timbers and boards were cut and shaped by hand -- post and beam / mud and waddle construction. About 1870 a local lumber company became involved and it got gussied up with some fancy wood work, hand printed linen as wall paper, some paintings, etc.
Kellogg ID has sculptures of a knight lancing a dragon, a miner, something I don't remember and a broken figure of some sort. All of the found-object, welded-stuff style -- life size and interesting in a who-on-earth did all this stuff sort of way.
Wallace ID has the Stardust drive-in with a vast array of signs, neon and otherwise and a real tin spaceship you can sit in to eat your burger. Wallace also has the 10 Commandants (6' X 4' granite slab) in front of the courthouse.
A few miles east of Wallace -- again beside the freeway-- is Elmer's Fountain. Two 1' X 15' pipes with a few circular things and smaller pipes welded on -- All planted in the ground and fountaining water. I'm guessing the whole thing was built by Elmer.
We went to Anaconda MT and saw the tallest masonery structure in the world. A smelter chimney. (It should be understood that nearly everything in the west is the biggest, tallest, deepest, richest, or somethingest in the world) We couldn't actually get to the base (which is a state park) because ARCO was doing some important stuff up there. -- ARCO bought out Anaconda Copper -- so we looked at an information kiosk and admired a couple of mountains of tailings and slag.
In Butte we stopped to see (for $2 each) the Berkeley Pit. What's left of the Richest Hill In The World. 1.25 miles long by a mile wide by 1700 feet deep. Filled with 1000 feet of red water further filling with a lurid yellow waterfall. ARCO (nee anaconda) assures us that the water is nearly harmless -- not much different from coca cola (which might be true) -- particularly if you ignore the arsenic, iron, cadmium, etc, etc, (and dead birds) in the water
A freeway reader board east of Bozeman "arrive alive -- don't text -- and drive" -- I guess it's a problem when you're driving 75+ mph.
East of Billings (we're driving on I-90) we were passed by a Mini Cooper from Alberta -- it was going 90 or so (we were at the speed limit +3 to 5 mph) Later in Wyoming we passed it while it was stopped getting a ticket from the Wyoming HP. Yes! DA
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