Archives 2015

Our accommodations at the Clarion Inn in Pocatello Idaho were not bad although anytime we stay at a place with outdoor facing room doors we know it is rolling the dice.  For dinner there was an Applebees within walking distance.  I downed a 20 ounce beer with my meal to take the edge off.

Our meals were a low calorie shrimp dish that included broccoli that was good except for one thing, they appeared to forget to cook the broccoli.  We asked the waitress if the broccoli was supposed to be served raw with the meal.  She said it was not so she brought each of us a side dish of steamed broccoli that was actually cooked.

We went to bed relatively early last night as we both have been dragging from a lot of poor nights of sleep on the trip.  Unfortunately that pattern continued last night.  I woke up for the first time at 11:59PM courtesy of some idiot that thought it would be cool to whistle a song loudly as he walked by the ground level rooms.  After that the rest of the night was on again off again sleep that had some odd dreams thrown in there.  The last one I remember had something to do with Rhonda Rousey trying out for the Olympic cross country skiing team.  It was very weird.

We actually set a 6 AM alarm this morning to try to get out on the road relatively early.  After breakfast we loaded the car and got some gas.  Gas fill ups in the Prius are almost fun.  I have had a number of stops where the bill has been less than $10.  We also ran the car through the car wash at the station.  It looks pretty terrible with a bug facial and road tar down the passenger side from our repeated run ins with road paving crews.

On our way to Craters of the Moon we stopped in Arco at the Pickle Palace, a famous hole in the wall that looks like it hasn’t changed in 50 years.  Cindy and I had some coffee and split a big, calorie packed but delicious cinnamon bun.  We also grabbed some of their world famous special seasoning that I was told about first by George from our running club.  Before we left Arco I showed Cindy the top of a submarine that is on display across from the restaurant.  I never understood how it wound up to be in Arco, Idaho but it is cool regardless.

We pulled into Craters of the Moon about 10am.  We filled up our two water bottles at the visitor center and then got our cave permit.  Since I was here last they began requiring a permit to go into the caves because of some disease bats were coming down with.  To qualify for the permit you have to vouch that you have not been inside a cave east of the Mississippi River during the last 10 years.

We entered the park and quickly stopped to hike a short portion of a trail.  Cindy was immediately impressed by the beautiful volcanic rock that was extremely  lightweight but sparkled like gold.  The park is at 6000 feet elevation so even a short walk got our breathing rate elevated.  When we got back to the car I dug in the luggage, looking for a light colored shirt to help reflect the warm sun.  I had nothing white, the lightest color I had was the yellow Iowa Hawkeyes shirt that got me so many comments in Mt Rushmore.  Oh well, I guess Hawkeyes it is then.

Our next stop was the Inferno Cinder cone which is basically a small mountain that is made entirely of cinders.  You were allowed to hike up it but before we did I took the quadcopter out for a flight, the first one since my crash at Yellowstone that sent debris into the prop motors.

I had fully charged all three of my batteries since Yellowstone in anticipation of flying again today at COTM.  I was a bit nervous but the copter took off and flew more or less normally.  However after only a minute or two I saw the status LED on the copter flashing red meaning the battery was already low.  WTF????

I was over a relatively flat cinder area about 50 yards from me so I brought the copter down there instead of risking flying it back to me.  My landing again had a little to much bounce to it, sending the copter props first into the cinders before the motors turned off.  There was no apparent damage but I was pissed the battery pack is apparently going bad.

I grabbed another one of my batteries and got a full 10 minute flight this time doing nice gradual loops around the area.  A nother couple had stopped in the same spot and found the drone interesting as I gave the husband basic info about how it worked.  When it was time to land the drone this time I decided to use the air snatch method where I just grab the quad as it hovers in front of me.  I didn’t want to risk another bumpy landing.

Cindy also filmed an impromptu 4 minute Tabata workout for her Fit FarmChick channel.  We figured it was a pretty unique opportunity to do so.  We then ascended the cinder hill.  The angle of ascension was pretty damn severe at spots.  By the time we made it to the top we were both sucking wind.  The reward for our efforts was a beautiful elevated perspective of the park.  The ancient lava fields are just like nothing else out there.

At one of the stops we started talking to an older couple.  The husband was ex-military like Cindy.  He asked Cindy if she had her “challenge coin”, something that evidently is handed out in various branches of the military in certain situations.  She said she did not have one.  The man reached into his pocket and showed us his which he apparently carries routinely.  Then when he reached out to shake Cindy’s hand, thanking her for her service he placed an object in her hand.  It was a small wooden wedge with a slot cut in it.

Cindy looked at the man confused.  He told her it was a challenge coin holder.  He said he makes them by hand and he wanted Cindy to have this one.  He said if she contacted her local Air Force office she could likely get her own challenge coin.  It was a very sweet thing of the man to do.  Repeatedly when I am with Cindy she will meet other former military members.  There is a true family feeling in those interactions, regardless of what time, what role or what branch of the military you were in.

We hiked another trail that included Buffalo Cave.  Cindy and I were about to turn around as it seemed like we had walked further than we needed to according to the map.  We just then spotted the cave.  We traversed the short but tricky cave.  The ceiling was very low requiring me to cover most of it sprawled out Spiderman style.  Luckily I only had to do so for maybe 50 or 60 feet.

We had already spent a couple hours at the park and since we still have to drive to Salt Lake City today we had to watch our time.  I told her the only other thing I wanted to make sure we do is the Indian Tunnel which is MUCH bigger and longer.

The walk to the tunnel takes you right through the jagged lava field.  There is a very twisty and undulating small path you stay on for the hike.  Cindy absolutely loved the tunnel.  Even the portions where you are walking normally you have to watch your footing because of the uneven lava floor.  She really liked the sections that required you to climb over huge piles of rock to continue.  It’s also amazing when you enter pockets of dramatically cooler air in the cave, some 20-30 degrees less than the surface temperature.

I was mildly disappointed that since my last visit they did away with the weathered old wooden sign and trail markers.  (look at image at the top of the blog)  They instead replaced them with much more reasonable and longer lasting metal signs and marker poles.  Visually however they pale in comparison to what used to be there.

So we made it back to the car.  I told Cindy I had one more battery pack left, I wanted to just do a quick back and forth sortie over the lava field.  I thought it would make for some really cool video.  Cindy was nervous about me doing the sortie since the lava field I wanted to fly over was restricted ground and if something went wrong it would not be easy to get it back.  I assured her it would be no problem, just a  quick out and back.

So after waiting for a GPS lock I started the GoPro and sent the copter out over the lava field, maybe 20 feet above the rocks.  As the Phantom went out I had the solid green blinking light which means all is well.  I took the quad out maybe 100-125 yards, stopped it, turned it around and then started it back towards me at a slow and steady pace.

All of a sudden it looked like the copter stopped coming towards me.  Not only did it stop coming towards me, it was slowly losing altitude.  Cindy said to me “Is it supposed to be going down???”  The Phantom did not respond to more throttle, I knew that it was going down, this other battery pack must be shit as well.

As the Phantom dropped out of my field of view I just pulled the throttle stick down to kill the motor, hoping I can somehow minimize the damage.  I could absolutely not believe the scenario that Cindy was worried about, the scenario I told her she should have no worries about, had just occurred.  For the second time in three days I had crashed the Phantom, something I had never done before in Florida.

Now I had a real dilemma.  By nature I follow most rules and respect boundaries.  My copter was now sitting somewhere in the middle of an area of a national park that you absolutely were not supposed to walk across.  On the other hand I had a $1000 copter and $400 GoPro camera sitting out there.  I had to try to recover it.

To complicate matters we just passed a park ranger lead tour of Indian Tunnel as we came back to the parking lot.  I could still see the group but they were pretty far away.  I knew if the ranger saw my walking across the lava field he was going to have a shit fit and at best tell me to get off of it asap or at worst fine me.  At this point I cursed my decision to wear my bright yellow Iowa shirt. I stuck out like a beacon against the black lava.  I tried to actually stay bent over and low as much as I could to stay out of view the best I could.

The footing was in a word, treacherous.  This area was not designed for ffet, the lava field was uneven, sharp, and filled with a lot of loose rocks.  I had tunnel vision, switching between watching my footing and scanning the rocks for my expensive toy.  At first I thought the white copter would stand out against the rocks but what I didn’t consider was just how uneven the lava field was.  There were tons of holes and valleys the copter could be hiding in.

After circling out there in the area I thought the copter should have been for almost 20 minutes and coming up empty I was close to giving up.  I knew sooner or later I was going to get busted for being out there.  I had Cindy trying to direct me as to what area she thought the copter went down.  I yelled back to her to grab the controller and turn on the motors, I hoped I could get some sort of audio cue as to the location.

I then heard it, the distinct sound of a prop hitting something off to my left.  About 10 yards away I finally spot the Phantom in a rocky gully.  I was surprised that it was sitting upright and that all four props seemed to be intact.  I told Cindy to cut the motors so I could grab it.  It looked like the mount for the GoPro took much of the impact as it had separated and was laying underneath the copter. The GoPro was still filming.

As quickly as I could I made my way back to the parking lot feeling extremely lucky to not get busted by park officials and to recover my quad more or less intact. I also felt extremely stupid.  Those two shitty battery packs are going in the trash.  I still can’t believe it went down.

After the park we backtracked to Arco where we had lunch at sub shop that used to be a gas station.  Just like many small towns on our journey, they are very cool to visit but living there full time would be sort of terrible.

We are now actively pushing towards Salt Lake City.  Time dictates that we don’t try to get to the salt flats today.  Instead I am hoping to get up early tomorrow to see them before backtracking and heading to Las Vegas.

Last night we got back later than we planned due to slow pace of vehicle movement in and out of Yellowstone.  We decided to do a very simple and low calorie dinner, picking up soup and salad that we prepared in the room.

I also messed around with my Phantom copter, trying to dislodge whatever debris was making the motors stick.  I turned it upside down and smacked each motor mount several times. I followed up by using my mouth as a primitive air blower, using it to try to further dislodge any foreign objects.  I plugged the battery back in and was surprised that all four props fired up again.  This morning I put the drone up in the air for a minute to make sure it was ok.  It appears to have survived my poor piloting decision.

Last night Cindy was trying to nail down our lodging for tonight.  We planned to stay in Idaho Falls.  After some searching it seemed like there was basically nothing available which seemed odd.  Sure it’s a Friday night but it’s Idaho Falls, wtf?  During one of Cindy’s calls where she was told there were no rooms we asked if there was something going on that was causing the lack of hotel rooms.  The woman said that this weekend was college check in weekend and the entire town was basically sold out.  It seemed late to me for college to be starting but at least we have our explanation. We wound up having to book a room at a hotel in a town named Pocatello which is 50 miles further south.

We woke up this morning after a less than stellar night of sleep.  So far on the trip I only recall one night where I slept straight through, everything else has been fragmented.  We enjoyed our free breakfast and checked out.  The hotel was great, the only negative was the the 20 or so taxidermied animals that were used to decorate the lobby.

One of the first places we stopped at in the park was Mud Avalanche, a cool spot with a bunch of thermal activity.  We walked the 1KM path which included a steep incline that had both of us out of breath.  The thin air was doing a number on us.

Even though we were getting out of the car often to see various sights we also were still spending hours driving around.  The excessive sitting is getting problematic.  In my case it is my lower back that is the most sore.  I could really use a day with no driving.

We had some awesome wildlife sightings on day two .  Multiple times we were face to face with packs of buffalo.  We also saw a very large bear crossing a lake near the road, there were tons of people stopped to check it out.

We took the northern loop today, covering the area we did not drive yesterday.  It was definitely different visually including a beautiful canyon area that was very, very cool.  Since we had to still drive a good distance to get to our hotel we made less stops in the park, just hitting what we found cool.

I am finding myself getting a little nuts from all of the driving.  When we took the Prius last year we had those few days in Durango where we basically stayed put.  This time we haven’t had that break since visiting Yellowstone still requires a lot of drive time.  We recently cleared the west entrance of the park, cutting through the corner of Montana before heading south in Idaho.

Our two days in Yellowstone were nothing short of spectacular.  The weather was pretty much perfect and we saw so many incredible things they all blur together.  Being in places like Yellowstone is a good way to realign your internal compass and get some perspective on what is truly important and beautiful.

Tomorrows highlight is a return to Craters of the Moon.  I look forward to taking my time to explore the park.  If you have ever seen the single wooden pole picture that adorns my blog, that is from Craters of the Moon.  It is one of most unique spots I have ever seen.

We have so far put more than 3000 miles on the odometer, a hefty total for 6 days.

The drive into Yellowstone was very beautiful but slow.  The constant ascension and descension combined with the very winding roads makes for slow travel which isn’t necessarily a bad thing since there is so much to look at.  Cindy was very excited when we hit crawling traffic due to buffalo crossing the road.  They were literally a few feet from us, giving us some awesome photo opportunities.  Cindy was not as excited to utilize the outhouse style toilets that are used primarily in the park.  I am not a big fan myself, utilizing mouth breathing and a refusal to look into the deep, dark cavern of excrement below.

Since we have a second day tomorrow to do some additional sight seeing in the park, Cindy worked on a game plan as far as what route we took. We pulled off a few times briefly to check out various cool sites but the first major stop was West Thumb which has a creaky boardwalk that winds between various hot springs and follows the shoreline of Yellowstone Lake. If you have never seen water boiling out of the ground before it really seems weird.  The steam, sulfur smell, and wild colors that come with it are pretty unique too.

We decided to then drive over the the Old Faithful region of the park.  It looked to me like the next eruption should be about 12:15.  Well we arrived on site shortly before 12:15 only to find the geyser was a bit premature, going off around 12:07.  Ok, no big deal, we figured we could eat lunch and then catch the next show since it blows roughly every 90 minutes.

The temperatures by noon had warmed nicely into the lower 70’s.  I walked around in shorts and a t-shirt all day and felt totally fine for most of it.  Cindy dressed a little warmer than me since she has a lower cold tolerance.

We ate lunch at one of places inside a lodge.  Well we got the food and then walked outside with it since the inside was clogged with people.  At lunch a trend we already noticed elsewhere was very evident, there were Asian tourists EVERYWHERE. It was very odd to see so many, there must have been some sort of massive bus trip.  In general there were a ton of foreign tourists there, we heard a lot of foreign tongues.    I was surprised that on a Thursday after school was back in session that there would be so many people there.  Nowhere was it more evident than at Old Faithful which is the biggest area in the park by far.  It literally has stadium sized parking space.

After we ate we dropped off a postcard at the onsite post office.  Cindy talked to the workers there briefly since she is an ex-postal worker.  We found it odd that  the entire park pretty much shuts down from late October to May.  I wonder where all the people that work there go during that time?

So we were about 30-35 minutes till the next Old Faithful eruption which they had posted as 1:41.  We saw people were already starting to congregate around the bench seating by the geyser.  We did not feel like standing the entire time so we decided to walk up and stake out our own bench.  It wasn’t a bad move in retrospect since very quickly after we got seated the mass of humanity piled in behind us several rows deep.

Once again the geyser had a premature eruption, firing off at 1:34.  Since I saw it before it was a little less draamtic but still cool to see.  It blasted water high into the clear blue sky for a couple minutes.  I remember when I saw it years ago the crowd applauded afterward.  There were no applause this time.  After the show Cindy and I walked a long winding path through a geyser field.  We saw a large variety of big and small geysers.  We probably walked 3-4 miles taking it all in.

After the walk we went into another lodge and relaxed for a couple minutes in some comfy chairs by a huge fireplace.  After a brief rest we indulged in what is becoming a weird tradition on this trip, getting some ice cream.  I am normally not a big ice cream guy.  If I have it a few times a year that is normal.  For whatever reason we have been downing it quite regularly on the trip so far.

I can’t tell you how many incredible pictures we took today.  The visuals are just absolutely stunning.  We are looking forward to blowing some of them up to be used as decoration at the house.

Late in the afteroon I pulled off to put the Phantom up to get some unique aerial video.  The spot I was flying at had a creek and a steep mountain on the other side.  Due to the mountains I couldn’t get a full GPS lock but it was close enough.  It was also VERY windy.  I was so confident from my past experiences flying the quadcopter in windy Florida conditions I wasnt worried.

So I got the copter up in the air without a major problem, flying up the face of the mountain and up and down a short section of the creek.  The battery light started flashing red so I brought the copter back to me.  The wind was really kicking up but the Phantom was still handling it pretty well.  I manuevered it behind the Prius and touched it down to the ground.  I held the throttle stick in the down position which kills the motors after a few seconds.  Well before the motors stopped a particularly strong gust of wind came in and picked the copter back up, tipping it into the large wood barrier and then flipping down the other other side of the rocky, dirty hill.

Cindy shrieked as my toy went tumbling down the hill, upside down, with the blades still spinning.  It stopped less than 5 feet from the edge of the water.  I said nothing during the crash although in my mind I was swearing up a storm.  Of course the first thing I tried to do once Cindy retrieved the copter was firing up the Phantom.  My heart sunk when only two of the four propellors spun up.  When I tried to move the two dead props there was immediate resistance.  Further inspection makes it seem like when the Phantom was upside down sliding down the hill with the props spinning it sucked dirt/pebbles into the brushless motors.  I am crossing my fingers that removing the motors and blowing them out will be an easy remedy.  However if the debris damaged the windings on the motor I will be SOL, requiring at a minimun new motors to fix it.  Depending on the cost of that option, it could be a reason to more seriously consider upgrading to the pretty awesome Phantom 3.

I was pretty pissed at myself after the crash.  In retrospect with as windy as it was, a much better decision would have been for me to just snatch the quad copter out of the air by hand.  It was pretty dumb of me to try to land it conventionally with those kind of gusts.  The only good news is I had the GoPro running the entire time so eventually you will be able to see my boneheaded flying in action.

Our time calculations were not very solid so we are winding up getting back later than we hoped.  There was a traffic jam leaving the park.  We were told it was due to some sort of bear interaction.  The traffic eventually started to flow but we heard what sure sounded like a gunshot as we drove by.  We both crossed our fingers it was a warning shot and they didn’t have to shoot an animal.

Tonight we are hoping to just do a simple soup and salad dinner to atone for some of our egregious eating recently.  We also have a TON of beautiful pictures to get online since internet service inside the park varies from none at all to dial up speed.  Tomorrow we will be hitting another section of Yellowstone as we drive through to the western exit which will eventually take us to our Friday stopping point of Idaho Falls.

So although we had less than 400 miles to cover yesterday the day still ran very long since we spent a lot of time at Mt Rushmore.  We wound up not getting into Cody until something like 8:15 PM local time (10:15 back east)  The hotel Cindy reserved, the AmericInn was surprisingly nice with a warm ski lodge vibe.  It will probably be our most expensive accommodations of the trip so I was happy it was a nice place.

We unpacked and quickly headed over to the nearby restaurant.  We were concerned they would be closing soon.  They closed at 9pm and we walked in at 8:45.  I felt a bit guilty about making the staff work longer but they didn’t seem to mind our tardy patronage.  We had an extremely tasty but unhealthy meal that included batter dipped fish, fries and absolutely sinful garlic toast. Oh well, we will try to walk off those calories today in Yellowstone.

Our room is right next to the guest laundry area which is very convenient since we needed to do some wash.  We only packed enough clothes for a week, not two.

During the last segment of the drive I was in the passenger seat playing Hearthstone on the iPad.  I found it very funny that I was literally in the middle of nowhere and still able to game against some random internet opponent.  Hearthstone has been my time killer of choice when I am not behind the steering wheel.

We had a great free breakfast at the hotel this morning before heading out to Yellowstone.  We just stopped at a picnic area and put the drone up in the air to catch some very beautiful aerial scenery.  Cindy Periscoped the sortie just for sun.

The weather outside is cool and crisp.  It should be a great day to explore Yellowstone.

The only negative about the Grand Gateway was it did not include a free breakfast buffet so we had to make other arrangements.  Cindy spotted a sign for the Morning Side Cafe which shared a strip mall with a 24 hour video casino.  The sign said they served breakfast and lunch, great.

The inside of the place had no real decorative theme, was sort of dirty, and staffed by a woman and a man who was the cook.  One one wall there was a steer skull.  On one ledge was a collection of toy cars and on the ledge below that a collection of John Wayne paraphanlia. You may think this description made us not like the place but actually was just the opposite, I like local, small eating establishments.

I was unsure if the man and woman were married or something else.  The woman had an outwardly grumpy appearance but she treated us nicely. The man, who was also the cook was more interesting.  He seemed even more grumpy and cooked in silence.  He had on a long sleeve shirt, a leather vest and a hankerchief tied around his neck.  He was thinly built and sported a scraggly moustache.  Cindy quietly asked the woman if she minded if she took a picture of him.  She said in a funny way “It’s not like he has anything to say about it”. The woman and man started joking back and forth a bit like an old married couple afterward where she gave him the finger and he threatened her jokingly with a knife.

It was funny seeing the regular patrons coming in, sitting in their regular seats and having the waitress prepare their regular order without them having to ask for it.  It was just old fashioned and cool.

The guy caught up on his orders and decided to put on his cowboy hat and walk outside for a smoke.  As he walked by Cindy thanked him for cooking our breakfast.  Surprisingly he was very friendly and nice, thanking her for coming in, the opposite reaction I would have guessed when we first walked in.  When he came back in from his smoke break he was just as gracious, happy to pose for a picture with Cindy.  He told me he hoped I wasn’t mad because he had his arm around my girl.

Cindy and I were all smiles as we left, knowing we just picked up another one of those random memories that only a road trip can provide.

The drive to Mount Rushmore was relatively quick.  Cindy was very appreciative of the raw beauty of the area as well as her first glimpses of the monument itself.  The temps were in the 60’s which felt great to me but chilly enough for Cindy that she went back to grab her coat just in case.

Even though I had been there before I still was awestruck by just how incredible of an achievement Mt Rushmore is.  We had just started walking on the Presidential Trail when we had our first wildlife sighting, a mother and baby white mountain goat.  They were just hanging on the steep incline chowing down, apparently not bothered by us at all.

I had decided to wear the Iowa Hawkeyes shirt I bought just for the hell of it the other day.  I didn’t expect it to generate so much attention.  I got asked at least a half dozen times about it.  Evidently this area is an Iowa STATE fan base.  One of the park employees joked with me, saying he was surprised I don’t have a bloody nose yet from an Iowa State fan.

The walk along the Presidential Trail and th entire 3-4 hours we spent at the park was just beauitful.  I loved both admiring the monument and learning more about how it was made which is nothing short of amazing to me.  Seeing it with Cindy was even better since she is so appreciative and grateful.  It just makes sharing experiences with her fun.

We headed out of the park a little after noon and wound up having lunch in a town named Custer.  We again lucked out and had lunch at a rustic place that served us two of the best black bean burgers we ever enjoyed.  It was in a word, awesome.  We are now pushing across Wyoming to a town named Cody which will be staging our two day visit to Yellowstone out of.  Yellowstone is an incredible place. I can’t wait.

We pushed out of Omaha relatively early after filling up at the nearby Dunkin Donuts.  Our destination for the day was Rapid City, South Dakota with a stop at Wall Drug which is on the way.

Wall Drug is a place I was first made aware of as a kid when we went on a western road trip with my dad.  I remember buying an incredibly large Wall Drug pencil that was used in the pencil battles I used to participate in regularly.  I returned to Wall drug a number of years ago on one of my western road trips although having the dogs along meant my time to peruse was extremely limited.

Wall Drug started off as just what it sounds like, the official drug store for a town named Wall, South Dakota.  However it morphed into one of the biggest tourist trap destinations in the region.  Wall Drug uses a similar strategy as South of the Border, billboards and lots of them, starting as far as 150 miles away from Wall.

I was excited to show Cindy the place as I knew she would appreciate the endless diversity inside of the huge building which covers almost an entire block all by itself.  We arrived about 3:30 local time after flipping back another timezone during the drive there.

One of the first things we did was indulge in one of the Wall Drug traditions, a 5 cent cup off coffee.  The price has been the same for 50 years or more.  Despite the ridiculous price the coffee was actually quite good.  We then slowly started exploring the place which was sectioned off into various rooms that all connected in some way.

Some of the stuff is so tacky that it becomes instantly endearing like the incredibly unrealistic animatronics that are stationed at various spots.  Wall Drug is also the ultimate souvenir shop, they seem to literally have almost anything you can imagine.  Cindy and I spent a lot of time just walking around and looking at all there was to see, only making a few small purchases along the way.

They added a new section in the back that I had not seen before which included some outdoor exhibits, more food, and shopping.  They also had yet another huge animatronic, a T-rex which made little sense but that is what Wall Drug is, just random things, all designed to make you smile.

We also enjoyed some homemade ice cream at the in house soda shop which was great.  It was served to us by a girl with a russian accent.  There were a number of young workers there with similar accents.  At another nearby store we were talking to another russian girl and asked why there were so many russian young people working?  She said they are part of a student work exchange thing for the summer. How weird.

Cindy really enjoyed the Wall Drug experience and I enjoyed showing it to her.

We then left for Rapid City but made a pit stop at a tiny town to grab gas.  Being the only gas in town meant it was expensive, a full dollar per gallon more than the cheapest gas we have seen.  Luckily paying 3 bucks a gallon for gas in the Prius isn’t a big deal.

Speaking of the Prius, the 80 mph speed limit on most of route 90 has been killing our MPG numbers.  We have barely been able to average 40 mpg during this segment because of going that fast.  The Prius can sip gas at 45-50 mpg if you keep the speeds at 72-73 mph and no higher.

The hotel we stayed at in Rapid City was named the Grand Gateway and it was pretty damn cool with a retro style and unique appearance.  It had a huge lobby with pool tables, ping pong, indoor pool AND a 130 foot water slide.  Our room was old fashioned yet undeniably cool.  The best part was we only paid $68 to stay there.

After unloading we did a simple but decent dinner at the Perkins which was attached to the hotel.  At the end of the meal we did an impromptu hot sauce challenge where I dumped some tabasco sauce on a spoon and sucked it down.  Cindy thought she would be tough and put even more on a spoon and do the same.  She paid for her bravado, looking for things to drink for quite awhile afterward.

Before going up to the room Cindy and I had an intense best 3 out of 5 ping pong match that she won pretty easily, the first time I recall that ever happening.  Our room had two queen beds in it.  We thought we would be fine squeezing into one of them.  The decision resulted in less that great sleep for both of us.

Although we just finished up our Mt Rushmore visit I will break today into it’s own entry.

Yesterday was a pretty tough day in the car.  We have front loaded the first two days of the trip with the two longest driving days.  Between Sunday and Monday we have logged over 1650 miles, the first time I have ever gone that far in that short of a time.  The Missouri portion of the drive was the worst, it seemed like we were stuck in the state the majority of the day.

The day was filled almost exclusively with endless road lines.  The highlights were the few times we got to get out of the car. We stopped at a very pretty rest stop in Kentucky that was housed on an old historic site.

Our final destination yesterday was Omaha.  We did not get in until about 8PM local time.  It was so late we just stopped at a Paneras on the way in and got a to go order which we ate in our room.

Both Cindy and I were beat from two days of marathon driving.  Your body does not enjoy being in the seated position for double digit hours at a time.  Each time I get out of the car I walk like an 80 year old as my tight IT band refuses to release.

The place we stayed at last night was a renovated and rebranded Hampton Inn.  The place was clean, nice and priced very reasonably. The only negative was water pressure that felt like light rain. Since hotel accommodations are going to by far be the biggest expense of the trip, we are looking to score bargains wherever possible without having to dip into the bottom tier of hotel providers (Econolodge, America Best Value, Microtel, etc…)

Today our destination is Rapid City in South Dakota, our staging point for our visit to Mt Rushmore tomorrow.  On the way there we will be stopping at Wall Drug, one of the biggest tourist traps in the midwest.  Now that we have the two worst driving days out of the way we are looking forward to getting more opportunity to enjoy the new surroundings.

The roughly 875 mile drive yesterday went smoothly aside from the usual madness that starts to creep in after being in a vehicle for so long.  We found a Sleep Inn to stay at that was half decent both in accommodations and price point.

After unloading the car we headed back out for downtown Nashville.  You may recall last year we got raped in parking fees, paying around 50 bucks.  This year I took 30 seconds to do a Google search of affordable Nashville parking and was directed to a nearby garage that only cost 10 bucks.  It was about 3-4 blocks away from the main street but after 14 hours in a car we needed to walk.

Since it is Labor Day weekend the downtown area was quite busy.  Seeing the never ending river of people instantly soured my mood.  I was already tired from the two consecutive days of early alarms.  The first few places we looked at to eat were either packed, allowed smoking, or had deafening live music going on.  I wasn’t in the mood for any of the three.

We finally found a brewery/restaurant combo deal.  We were originally told there was a half hour wait but we instead found two empty chairs at the bar and ate there.  Just like the rest of downtown, the restaurant was very, busy.  I looked at how hard the bartenders were working and was glad it was not my vocation.  You have to be absolutely exhausted after a shift like this.

Cindy and I both enjoyed our dinners.  I opted for fish and chips while Cindy got a blackened mahi sandwich.  We both bypassed the ketchup for our fries and instead tried some vinegar which actually was pretty good. Once we were done eating I had no desire to walk the strip since we had done it last year.  We did revisit the same ice cream shoppe as last year and split a very good almond joy cone on the walk back to the car.

Once we showered back at the room we crashed pretty quickly in bed.  We were both really, really beat.

During the day we were checking in on the chickens pretty regularly thanks to the surveillance tech we have in and around the coop.  During one of those check ins we saw that a storm had actually blown the door to the chicken run closed, trapping one of the chickens inside and cutting the others off from their food and water.  We normally put a small piece of 4×4 wood in front of the door to prevent it from closing in such a situation, something our chicken sitters might not have known about.  I got ahold  of our next door neighbor and asked her to go open the door and block it.  Crisis averted.

This morning we did not set an alarm and woke up around 6AM central time.  I felt more rested than I have the past few days.  We enjoyed a nice spread at the free continental breakfast and got on the road before 7:30.  At the gas station I saw the low tire pressure sensor was on.  The air pump at the gas station was out of order.  I then remembered I packed my little portable compressor that runs off the cigarette lighter.  It took awhile but I put a few pounds of pressure in three of the four tires which cleared the warning light.

Our destination today after another long 750 miles is Omaha Nebraska.  The forecast highs there are only in the upper 70’s so I am looking forward to more pleasant temps.  We have already cleared Kentucky and are going through the small portion of Illinois before we cut straight through Missouri.

Happy Labor Day!

Yesterday Cindy and I arose to the 4AM alarm for the race we were timing.  With the new timing set up we need to get on site a little earlier so we have an opportunity to get the start line mats assembled ahead of time.  This race had a good amount of participants with over 500 signed up although that was around 100 less than last year.

Timing for the event went smoothly for me overall.  Although I dislike the extra mat set up time required with MyLaps, the timing seems rock solid.  I haven’t had one dead timing chip that I am aware of so far.  The only timing errors have been the human kind.  I did have one glitch where my backup timing box at the finish line lost it’s configuration when I powered it on.  Luckily since it was the backup it didn’t really matter.

After the race Cindy and I wasted little time before packing up and getting out of there.  Obviously we had a ton to get done at home to prepare for the trip.  Before trip prep could begin post-race work had to be completed which took a couple hours.  Unfortunately this time table meant I was outside mowing and weed whacking grass during the absolutely most brutal portion of the day heat-wise.  I was melting.

Cindy and I had a to do list to keep us on track with prep.  Slowly we crossed off each item.  By late afternoon I actually was at point where I could fck around in WoW for a little bit.

Last night I was getting Tuki’s stuff for the night done.  One of the things he likes to do is “guard” his food dish.  When I pull out his crock he lunges out at me like he is going to attack.  Usually it is just a show and he never touches me.  Well this time he latched firmly into my left index finger and bit hard, it hurt.

Well that instantly flipped my anger switch.  I am normally pretty passive about things and have a live and let live attitude, until you attack me.  It’s a part of my personality that can be a bit scary as for brief periods of time I can literally go into Hulk Smash mode.  Last night was one of those moments as I smashed the side of Tuki’s cage several times.  My intention was not to really hurt him but to scare the shit out of him so he realized in his bird brain that he crossed the line.  Tuki jumped back and started saying Tuki Tuk Tuki Tuk, something he does if he is scared.  My green skin started to fade when he did that and I felt bad for getting that mad at him, especially since we were going away.

We tried to get into bed by 9PM since we had our second consecutive 4AM alarm this morning.  We were up and on the road by 5AM after quickly checking on the chickens and saying goodbye to them.  So far we are 350 miles into the roughly 850 miles we plan on covering today.  I drove the first few hours and we will be switching back again shortly.

These first couple days will be more about gobbling down miles than sight seeing. The majority of what we are focusing on this time around happens after we cross the Mississippi River.  Adventure awaits.

So we are now entering the teeth of the next few days where race prep, race execution, and trip prep all needs to take place both in succession and simultaneously.  Last night I hopped on the mower to knock down some of the semi-soggy portions of the lawn.  I need to find time to walk around with the weed whacker as well before we leave.

It seems sort of impossible but after 47 years I was unsure of what my blood type was.  I am sure at some point I was told what type I was but I never cared to take note of it.  Well Cindy ordered an at home blood type kit which she administered to me this morning.  It looks like I am O+

The test involved piercing a finger with a lancet and then getting 4 test swabs of blood that are placed on a test strip. I like to consider myself pretty tough in most aspects but one area where I am an absolute lightweight is anything involving blood draw, even a silly pin prick scenario like this.  I didn’t look when Cindy was getting the samples.  When she was finished I got a small glance of my finger and felt an instant wave of cold sweats sweep over my body as well as feeling light headed, bad enough that I was looking for a chair.  It’s an annoying trait that only seems to get worse the more I think about not reacting that way.

Just like last year, I plan to have a laptop riding shotgun during the road trip to allow me to blog as I go which will allow for much better recollection and detail.  I am harboring equal parts anxiety and excitement about the trip.  On the anxiety side I worry about the logistics of the trip, the costs, and the care of the chickens.  On the flip side I look forward to a whole new collection of experiences.  Although I have visited some of these destinations before, it was done with the dogs in tow which was very limiting in regards to what we could do.  None of those restrictions will apply this time around.

See you from the road.