Day Seven: Wild Montana Skies
Today was purely a driving day. That’s not to say there wasn’t plenty of things to see, but the point of today was to get from Gillette, WY to the West Entrance of Yellowstone – over 470 miles.
As indicated by the lyrics, the morning started out very wet. We headed out on our old friend I-90 and travelled north and then crossed into Montana:
And we travelled across Montana from Wibaux to Bozeman before turning south to the West Entrance of Yellowstone. We passed by Little Big Horn, but with seven hours of driving today, we didn’t really want to take the extra time – maybe on the way back. Montana was a variety of landscapes – flat plains, rolling hills, buttes, and mountains. Here’s a handful of pictures I took:
Tomorrow we tour Yellowstone National Park.
Happy journeys!
Mike
Read MoreDay Six: North By Northwest Close Encounters
We packed up the Cube, left the Badlands and headed west. Our first stop today was the site of the finale of North By Northwest – Mount Rushmore. In fact, in the town of Keystone, we passed an area where the movie was filmed. Unfortunately,we weren’t allowed to escape from spies and climb down George Washington’s face, but we did get lots of pictures including the obligatory picture:
After leaving Mt. Rushmore, we travelled down the road to the Crazy Horse Memorial:
And after a bit of traveling in circles, we finally got back on the way to Devil’s Tower. I’ve been dying to see this ever since I saw Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I am, however, very disappointed to point out that I didn’t find the hidden military base behind the mountain or UFO’s flying around:
From there we travelled on to our eventual destination of Gillette, Wyoming. Here’s some random scenery on the way:
The thing that struck me today was the scale of the dreams of Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument. Both of these projects are measured not in days, but decades and both projects outlived their originators. That kind of long term vision and thinking is something we don’t see in the age of internet time, where unless it happens instantly, it’s too long. Seeing these demonstrations of persistence of vision makes me wonder if we as a society are capable of attempting projects like these that require perseverance measured in decades, and not days. It’s inspiring and reconfirms my commitment to my novel.
Tomorrow it’s a long travel day as we traverse the state of Wyoming to arrive in Yellowstone National Park.
Happy journeys!
Mike
Read MoreDay Five: Into The Badlands
We got an early start because we had a bunch of South Dakota to drive through to get to the Badlands and our campground. Not long after we got on the road, we started seeing signs for Wall Drug every mile for the next the 292 miles – the seemingly western equivalent of South of the Border.
During that time, the scenery had changed from corn and soy bean fields to fields of sorghum, sunflowers, and just plain grass.
We stopped at Wall Drug – a tourist attraction of epic proportions, but we did enjoy looking around and as you can see, I was able to ride the elusive Giant Jackalope
After a quick picnic lunch in the car, we continued to the Badlands National Park. When got out at the first Scenic Overlook, we were treated by a sign similar to this:
In case you can’t read it, it says “Beware of Rattlesnakes”. Gee Toto, we’re not in the North East anymore!
Below are just a few of the nearly two hundred pictures I took while we were in Badlands. The scenery was amazing!
Tomorrow it’s on to Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Monument, and Devil’s Tower. Disappointingly, we are not going to be able to stop at the the town of Red Shirt (a silly Star Trek reference).
Happy journeys!
Mike
Read MoreDay Four: On The Road Again…
I got up nice and early and went to Rosen Nissan who was kind enough to fit us in this morning. Turns out the noise was from the connection between the muffler and the center pipe. They clamped it together and we should be good for now! So, a little later than planned, we were on the road again.
We drove a little distance out of Madison and stopped for coffee. When we did, there was also a Cheese Market and a Jerky Outlet, so we had to partake. After refueling the car (and us), we hit the road.
We saw this cool site around Orange, WI:
We drove into Minnesota, which apparently seems to be embarrassed about itself because this was the only sign we saw on Route 90 when we crossed the border:
No fancy, welcoming sign, just information.
So we continued to drive across the bottom of Minnesota. And drove some more…And drove some more…..
Until we finally made it to South Dakota:
It was kind of a long day because of the late stuff, but we’ve just got back from supper and settling in for the night.
One thing I’ve noticed so far is that during much of our trip, the landscape (with a few exceptions) could be anyplace in upstate New York. We’ve seen plains that go on for over and gentle rolling hills; lakes and rivers. Tomorrow, we drive to Wall, SD and then into the Bad Lands. This will probably be the point where the landscape REALLY changes.
Happy Journeys!
Mike
Read MoreGreat American Road Trip Day 3: Badgertown
Today, was the first official college visit: University of Wisconsin – Madison. With the Cube still sounding like a poor man’s Harley (we have a 7:30 appointment tomorrow morning to get it fixed), we headed for downtown Madison.
In the morning, we sat through the obligatory Admissions presentation and then did a 90 minute walking tour around campus. Here are a few of the sights along the way:
Here is the view from campus towards the Wisconsin State Capitol Building:
This is Bascom Hall; one of the three oldest building on campus and site of the annual snowball fight:
This is Van Hise Hall which is the language building and probably the place my son will spend the most time if he decides to come here:
Here’s Washburn Observatory which I photographed because I thought it was cool
After the tour, we ate lunch on campus and made use of our coupons at the Daily Scoop, an ice cream shop where the ice cream is made by the Agriculture Department. It was excellent ice cream and we enjoyed it greatly. But if there were any doubt about the existence of the Agricultural Department, here’s a photo I took in downtown Madison:
Yes, Virginia, there is a silo in downtown Madison!
I found the whole trip very fascinating. According to US News and World Report, my alma mater, Clarkson University has an undergraduate enrollment of 3,247. University of Wisconsin – Madison has an undergraduate enrollment of 31,289 – nearly ten times the enrollment of my college. My wife and I were discussing this and remarked that in New York, we don’t have very few giant schools. Interestingly, the average class size is around 27 – which I find remarkable for a school this size.
I envy my son in many ways. While I don’t think I could ever go back to living in a tiny college dorm room (which the tour reminded me exactly how small those rooms were), I envy him all of the opportunities that await him in college. I have very few regrets about my own college experience, but I just envy the opportunities and experiences that are available now. Like even considering a college nearly halfway across the country. When I went to school, the guidance office pretty much could only get you information on schools in your region – mostly New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Thanks to the internet, you can find out about any college anywhere.
Now, we’re just relaxing in the hotel room – the wifi seems to be a little more cooperative tonight. Tomorrow, after a quick stop to get the Cube checked out, we’re off to South Dakota!
Happy Journeys!
Mike
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