Month: May 2009 Page 1 of 3

Quick update as I’m in the Old Faithful parking lot, which is the only place in the last 2 days that I’ve had any kind of cell phone service.

We spent the night before last camping in Grand Teton National Park in the shadow of Grand Teton and right next to Jenny Lake. There’s still a lot of snow around Grand Teton park. We hiked the Jenny Lake trail loop (6.5 miles) and found many spots still covered in snow despite being over 70 degrees. It was a nice hike with beautiful scenery.

Then we drove to Yellowstone where we camped last night and will camp there again tonight and possibly tomorrow night as well. Yellowstone National Park is truly a natural wonder. We’ve seen some very cool things in our one day here so far. Looking forward to what we find in the next couple of days. We hiked 2 trails today (over 8 miles total) and saw Old Faithful erupt from an observation point we had to hike up to get to. Lots of beautiful pictures will be forthcoming. We even saw a young grizzly bear.

I don’t really have any cell phone service here and no wifi access points seem to be around so there’s a good chance of not updating tomorrow or the day after. We’ll see if I can get some service somewhere and if so I’ll write a quick entry. Definitely no pictures to be uploaded until I can get on a wifi connection. We’ll probably get a hotel on the way to Glacier National Park. So perhaps Sunday night I’ll get a chance to upload some pictures.

I’m still having quite a blast on my vacation! Unfortunately Brian has a cold at the moment. Hopefully he gets better soon so he’ll have a more enjoyable time. But we both are having a lot of fun hiking in the parks and seeing the sights. We’ll be in Yellowstone for the next couple of days at least, then starting toward Glacier National Park before heading west again through Washington where Brian will be leaving me and I will continue my journey solo.

Until next time!

New pics uploaded!

Yesterday we checked out Dinosaur National Monument in northeastern Utah. It was a lot cooler than I was expecting. The area it was in was very scenic. The main visitor center of the park had closed in 2006 due to its structural integrity being compromised due to shifting soil the place was built on. They are planning on building a new one starting this year.

Anyway we hiked the Fossil Discovery Trail and we got to see a number of different fossils embedded in the mountainside. Pretty cool. We also talked to a ranger for awhile who was very excited to tell us all he knows about the area and the fossils and how they were discovered and stuff. It was very interesting to listen to.

After that we continued to head west. We had dinner at a mexican place in Heber City, UT. We tried to find a campground but due to the lack of a campbook for Colorado and Utah we didn’t find anything until it was too late. So instead we opted to stay the third consecutive night in a hotel. This place near Salt Lake City airport. Cheaper, and MUCH better than last night’s hotel.

The plan for today is to walk around downtown Salt Lake City for a bit then start heading north through Idaho and finally back over to Wyoming. We are going to shoot for camping in Grand Teton National Park.

Since I have fast interent, I uploaded 3 more days of pictures to my gallery: http://gallery.james2009roadtrip.com

They now include pictures from Rocky Mountain National Park! Check ’em out. You’ll have to hit “next” on the gallery to get to page 2 of the list of albums.

Time to get this day rolling.

Yesterday we went through Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a pretty long tour and we did some minor hiking to some amazing view points. The weather unfortunately was mostly overcast and it rained occasionally at the lower elevations and even snowed a good amount when we were above 11,000 feet. I took lots of pictures and can’t wait to get a chance to upload them. It could be awhile though. We plan on being in the middle of nowhere for awhile.

Rocky Mountain National Park is really amazing. The views are spectacular and we even saw some moose and elk! We did fine in the high altitude. There was one hike that you had to take a bunch of steps up to get to the summit of one of the peaks and a lot of people were not faring too well on that, but we kicked its butt and got some awesome pics.

We didn’t have a campbook for Colorado (either I left it at home, or it was always missing from the collection). We tried going to a AAA but it was closed due to the holiday. But since the weather was not cooperating we decided to hit up a hotel anyway. How expensive could it be out here? The place we stayed in Denver area was under $60 for a pretty decent place with free internet and breakfast. So we figured places out here in nowhere Colorado would be cheaper. Wrong! We passed through Steamboat Springs which actually had pretty nice places for not bad rates ($75-79 at most places) but we thought we could do better. So we kept heading west and most places were closed or non-existant. We finally arrived in Craig, CO and went to a Holiday Inn that the guy said was $120. What? He offered us the friends and family discount (him being the friend) which was $79, still we opted to cheap out and head to the Super 8 which was infact $69 but a far way from the quality of every single other place we looked at. No internet, no free breakfast, just a crappy run down hotel. Ah well. Adventures!

Today we’re going to hit up Dinosaur National Monument and possibly Salt Lake City, UT before turning north and going to the Jackson, Yellowstone, Grand Teton area of Wyoming. I expect not to have much cell service out there. We shall see though. I’ll try to update when I can but I definitely wont be uploading pics until I can get on a fast connect again.

Weather today isn’t looking so great. It’s raining again. We need some good weather!

Reminder: New pictures posted at http://gallery.james2009roadtrip.com!

Brian arrived last night and we went out for some beers and food in downtown Denver. Met a cool couple and drank some quite potent beers. We both had Bison burgers. Yes, the vegetarian B. Cook is on vacation!

Anyway the weather is looking pretty iffy again today. Thunderstorms and showers are forecast with a heavier soaking rain possible overnight. We plan on going through Rocky Mountain National Park today. If the weather is bad we will probably get a hotel.

I forgot to update the Google Map. Here it is:

View Larger Map

Now it’s off to get Brian’s bags from the airport (they sent it back to Denver for free… no problems) and then off to the park. The adventure continues.

I forget the exact amount, but I have now driven over 2600 miles since the start of this trip. I have my trip B odometer keeping tally for me.

Mt. Rushmore was better than I thought it would be, but the weather wasn’t. It was overcast and misty when I got there. It was $10 to park, but otherwise free to get in. I paid my dues and went in. Took a bunch of pics and got some video. While there I saw a Ranger talk about to begin so I joined the tour and listened in on some history. I also checked out a video of the carving of Mt. Rushmore that was good, except for the really annoying kid who would not shut up!

Anyway, after that I left and started heading toward Denver. It was a long way and I knew I couldn’t make it in one night since I wanted to stop at Rushmore first. I asked the GPS to find me a state park my AAA campbook told me about and it found it but then told me it’d take 25 hours and 1600 miles to get to. I was pretty shocked at that and got out my atlas and found the GPS was giving totally bogus directions. I told it to reroute for shortest distance instead of fastest, and it gave a much more drivable figure. The GPS has definitely attempted to mislead me several times here out west. It just doesn’t really know enough about a lot of these roads, I guess. Plus there’s a lot of road construction so things have probably changed a lot since the maps it came with were out.

Driving through Wyoming is the most middle of nowhere place I have been. There were long stretches of road I drove for miles without passing another car or even any buildings. No gas stations or anything for miles and miles. Fortunately they were 65MPH roads (not interstate though, which is 75). I had no cell signal at all for around 5 hours. I got to Glendo as the sun was getting low. I got a quick bite at the corner store and got a bundle of firewood and went into the park. It was insanely crowded! I guess I found out where everyone in Wyoming had gone. Granted it was a nice park with a nice lake, and it was Memorial Day Weekend, but it really messed with me. There was no other campground for 50 miles. Fortunately some guy saw my trouble in finding a camp spot and told me to use his spot, since he wasn’t planning on using it anyway. Weird, but I accepted his offer and had a decent night sleep. It was really windy and the wind blowing the tent and making a lot of noise woke me up frequently. The tent held fast though, just a little noisy in a strong gust.

I got to Denver early today. The weather for the most part was overcast but dry the entire drive into Denver. I found a hotel that had internet and laundry and was cheap and checked in. Talked to Brian and… he has some flight/baggage issues. It’s a long story, but basically his bags are headed to Colorado Springs and he’s getting off at Denver. Not sure how we’re gonna work that one out yet. He hasn’t arrived yet but will in less than 2 hours.

Denver is a pretty big city. I can’t say much about the view yet due to the weather. It has been thunderstorming off and on since I got to the hotel. Good thing I have a roof after 4 straight nights of camping. I’m definitely getting tired of camping now.

My laundry experience at the hotel was less than satisfactory. First a lot of people were looking to do laundry apparently. The I finally got in the line and after drying, my clothes weren’t completely dry. Gah! At least they don’t smell like camp fire anymore.

Finally I uploaded day 5 through day 8 pictures! Check them out: http://gallery.james2009roadtrip.com It has awesome pictures of Badlands National Park in Day 7!

The weather for tomorrow isn’t looking so good… rain, rain, rain. Might not be suitable for hiking and camping. We shall see…

I’m all packed up and ready to leave. But I got access to an open wifi access point and I am happy so I have checked the weather and found where the local post office is so I can mail out the latest batch of postcards.

The weather today is iffy. Cold, overcast, breezy. It even had a brief shower this morning before I got up. In anycase, I will be leaving South Dakota today. I’m going to Mt. Rushmore first and then driving through the black hills for awhile before starting my journey south-west toward Denver. I am meeting B. Cook there tomorrow who is flying in to partake on some of my adventures.

The Badlands was really awesome. I enjoyed hiking there. It was like being on another planet. I’m glad the weather yesterday was so nice for it. Today it would be cold and kinda miserable I think.

Well, I better get started and get on the road. I need gas, ice and coffee and to mail some postcards. Tomorrow when I’m in Denver in a hotel and have good internet access I will be uploading a lot more pics!

Lo and behold in the middle of nowhere there’s an open wifi point at the Badlands visitor center.

Day 5 was pretty much just a travel day. I drove across Minnesota and 2/3 of South Dakota. Basically, the middle of nowhere. Minnesota has tons of wind farms. I must have seen several hundred wind turbines. Pretty amazing site. Before nightfall I arrived in Wall, SD and found a nice camp ground called Sleepy Hollow. It’s not that sleepy though… at 5:30 in the morning a train went past about 30 yards away. That was loud.

So today I have been touring the Badlands. They are awesome! I hiked over 10 miles. My feet are pretty tired now, but I feel great to have accomplished it. I’ve taken photos and video. No new photos will be uploaded until I’m in Denver most likely. I barely have any semblance of cell phone service way out here. It’s enough for text messaging and short phone calls, but I don’t even have EDGE wireless access out here even in “town”.

I will sleep again tonight at Sleepy Hollow. I’m in Mountain Time and it’s 5:30PM here. I’ve worked up quite an appetite with all my hiking. I think I’ve earned going out to dinner tonight.

I bought my National Parks pass and I definitely plan on getting my $80 worth. 1 year access to all National Parks and National Forests.

Anyway, I had to take advantage of this random wifi access point. Good thing my phone continually scans for wireless networks and let me know there was one here. 🙂

Tomorrow: pack up camp, head to Rapid City, SD, tour the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. Then camp somewhere between there and Denver. Sunday: Get to Denver fairly early… AND I get to meet up with a friend who will get to share these amazing adventures with me! I’m looking forward to having some company on this trip.

I had a great night sleep. The weather was perfect. Not cold, not hot. My camp spot was very nice and serene too. Anyway, I’m going to be breaking camp in a few minutes here and packing up. I have a very long drive ahead of me today, the longest so far. I’ll be going from La Crosse, WI to if not the Badlands themselves a camp ground nearby.

Finally for today the google map update:

View Larger Map

Today when I woke up I did some laundry at the hotel and had some free breakfast there. Then I went to downtown Madison around the capitol building and also around the UW campus. I took a bunch of pictures and the weather was amazing. Madison is a beautiful town. I think I would’ve liked it if I had gone to UW.

Anyway after walking around Madison for a few hours I went to House on the Rock. There’s a link in my last update I think. It was pretty cool. Good suggestion compe.

Then I drove through a whole lot of middle of nowhere. Eventually I ended up in La Crosse, Wisconsin which is where I am camping right now. I’m camping on the banks of the Mississippi (I think). The weather is pretty nice, in the 70’s right now at almost 11pm.

I have a lot of driving tomorrow to get close to the Badlands. I’m happy to have some internet here. No more pictures are likely to come until I spend the night in Denver. I may not have internet access or cell phone access at all for the next couple of days.

Since it is so nice outside I think I’m going to sit outside and enjoy my campfire for awhile more. Good night.

Yesterday started out nicely from the good night sleep. After getting my stuff together and letting traffic die down, I told the GPS to get me to the Sears Tower. It got me there quickly and accurately. I found parking and went in line. There was hardly any wait, so I paid my fee and went to the top of the Sears Tower. The weather was perfect for going to the top. I got some great pictures and video. When I got back to the parking garage I found that parking for the little bit over an hour I was there was $22! More than the ticket price and the souvenirs I bought at the top of the Sears Tower.

The pictures will be uploaded soon (30 minutes or so). The internet here isn’t as fast as the place last night, but I really like this hotel. Clarion Suites in Madison. Total bill here was $91. Seems expensive compared to a campground but I wanted to stay close in to Madison and this place seems nicer than the Best Western in downtown Evanston that I stayed at on Monday night.

After the Sears Tower I started heading for Milwaukee. I hit a rest stop and made some lunch. A little over 2 hours after leaving Chicago I arrived in Milwaukee. A few friends suggested the Miller Brewery tour, but I mainly just wanted to walk around and find some nice places to get a couple of tappers. The weather was awesome. In the 80’s, not a cloud in the sky. Perfect day to walk around a nice city. I hit up Water Street Brewery which was good and also Rock Bottom in Milwaukee! I’ve frequented the Rock Bottom in Bethesda many times so it was nice to check out one halfway across the country. They had mostly the same beer selection, but they had a Scotch Ale that Bethesda doesn’t have. So that’s what I drank, and it was good.

After Milwaukee I drove (soberly, of course) to Madison WI and checked into my hotel. The person at the front desk gave me a good recommendation for a place to get food and tappers so I headed out to that place. It was a good place filled with friendly people who were all interested in hearing about my trip. After that I went to downtown Madison and walked around the capitol and found another nice bar to get some local tappers. Then I headed back for a good night sleep.

Today the plan is to walk around downtown Madison, snap a bunch of pics, then head over to the House on the Rock. After that I’m going to find a camp ground somewhere. Tomorrow will probably mostly be a travel day. I want to get close to the Badlands tomorrow, so I can do some hiking there on the 22nd and 23rd. I will also try to see Mount Rushmore on the 23rd. Then the 24th will mostly be a driving day to Denver. Brian gets there around 8pm, so I’ll have plenty of time to get things situated.

The map so far:

View Larger Map

It is highly likely I wont have internet access the next few days. We’ll see how that works out. I don’t anticipate having very good cell reception in the middle of nowhere that I am going to. I also will be camping every night (unless there’s really bad weather which seems unlikely currently) until I get to Denver. So, back to roughing it! I’m going to miss these comfy king size beds.

Day 4 pictures will be uploaded shortly after this is posted. Check em out: http://gallery.james2009roadtrip.com