Category Archives: USA

GART Day 4: Catching up

Posted on August 4, 2017 | 1 comment

While I am very happy that we were able to salvage this trip, these first few days have been very trying. Essentially, we covered 5 days worth of vacation in 3 days. Today was the last day to cram things in before we got “back on schedule.” And we started the day right: fabulous breakfast (including GF quiche and banana bread!) and great conversation with our fellow B&B residents.

Then off to Yellowstone via WY 14 – one of the most amazing routes I have ever driven (okay, Frank drove so I just rode). It goes through Big Horn National Forest. We drove up and down as much as driving west. At one point we were over 9000 feet! The scenery is magnificent. Well, I’ll let you judge for yourself.

Then we stopped in Cody – home of Buffalo Bill – to grab some picnic supplies and get the top down on the convertible. Then off we went to the Shoshone National Forest. More unbelievably beautiful scenery and a picnic by a river. Note that the sign next to the one announcing the picnic area announced grizzly bears. And yet we ate there anyway. It was so beautiful and peaceful.

Then on to the chaos that is Yellowstone. I wanted to enjoy it more than I did. I was shocked to see acre after acre of tree skeletons. (Note: need to Google that and see what I should have learned before we went.) After the peaceful beauty that we had just come through, the bus loads of tourists with selfie sticks was a bit jarring. We managed a short hike to the natural bridge – I got to climb things so I was happy. Funny that there was a sign that described how tiny this arch is compared to the ones in Utah (which we will be seeing next week!)

The traffic and the tourists were hard to take but we were determined to see the Grand Prismatic Spring and so we did. And it was pretty amazing.

But the number of buses and the pain of getting through the park made a trip to Old Faithful just too much to bear. So we headed south to the actual destination for the day: Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park. DSCN0892 We arrived just in time for sunset. We grabbed a couple of burgers and retired to our lovely but stupidly expensive cabin to call it a night.

Numbers for today:

States covered: 1 (Wyoming)
French lessons: 1 (Bon jour monsieur!)
Average gas mileage: 22mpg
Miles driven: 246
Elevation change: roughly 6000 feet
Number of steps: 11,312

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Posted in USA, Wyoming

GART day 3: Large stone things

Posted on August 3, 2017 | Leave a comment

The day started cool, grey, and rainy and didn’t improve much as time passed. We started with a great diner-type breakfast in the biker bar restaurant before packing up and heading to the first large stone thing of the day: Mount Rushmore. We only had a short drive to get there so we could check a box on the “must see list.” And it was impressive. There weren’t too many crowds so the viewing was good.

But viewing is all there really is to do there so once we were done, it was time to move on to the next large stone thing: the Crazy Horse Monument. Entirely done by private funds and leagues larger than Mt. Rushmore, the place is really impressive. Mostly the work of one family, it has taken 50 years to get a small fraction of the work done. It reminded me of the Sagrada Familia – amazing and not likely to be done in my lifetime.

Then we took the scenic route through the Black Hills looking for a nice hike. But the Black Hills are a National Forest and not a National Park, a difference that is important for hikers. The National Park Service has obviously spent a lot of time and effort making information available and usable for visitors. I’m not sure the USDA Forest Service has done the same. Let’s start with the fact that the main hiking map is called the “Non Motorized Trail map” and go from there. We never did find a hike that suited us so we just drove on the “Scenic Byway” and headed toward one of the better known towns in the Black Hills: Deadwood.

And once we got there, we drove right through. It is a town that has really enjoyed having a TV series based there and revels in the “Old West” theme. Add to that the hundreds of Sturgis folks whose bikes were parked all along the kitschy main street and we knew that it wasn’t the place for us. We drove on along the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway to an out-of-the-way restaurant where we had a lovely lunch with a view of the hills.

Then more driving (a sub-theme for the day) until we got to the last big stone thing: Devil’s Tower. A truly impressive rock formation that was worth the stop and the wander around the base. I can’t call it a hike because the path was paved and people with flip flops were walking there so it’s a wander not a hike.

DSCN0819

And then the real drive began. Back to the freeway and long drive to Sheridan, WY. The weather didn’t really improve all day. We tried putting the top down once we crossed the state line but it wasn’t long before the cool temps and threatening clouds made us stop and put the top back up.

We got to the B&B a little late but in enough time to have a lovely chat with the owners. Another shout out to Rob and Bev at Residence Hill B&B who were able to move our reservation so that we could still stop here albeit a day late. Then we wandered downtown to have dinner at Frackleton’s . For my GF friends, if you ever find yourself in Sheridan, eat here. I had the best GF pasta I have ever had. Home made ziti with Gorgonzola sauce (fresh thyme, walnuts and shaved parmesan). Oh, and Frank had a great steak. (But it wasn’t as good as my pasta. 🙂

Numbers for today:

States visited: 2 (SD, WY)
Layers of sunscreen: 1 (and even that wasn’t necessary)
French lessons completed: 0 ( the scenery was too nice)
Steps taken: 11,056 (still dubious of these counts)
Miles driven: 354

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Posted in South Dakota, USA, Wyoming

GART Day 2: Go west!

Posted on August 2, 2017 | Leave a comment

Today’s plan was pretty simple: drive across South Dakota. From Sioux Falls to Rapid City, 400 miles along Interstate 90. Straight across a square state. Okay, we can do this. But first, we say good bye to Sioux Falls which I did with a lovely run along the Big Sioux River Greenway. Then breakfast and we hit the road.

The entertainment this trip is that we are going to learn French on the road. Frank really learned it in school and so just needs a refresher. I, on the other hand, have dabbled in Spanish and German but never even tried French. So today we rolled down the highway with the top down learning how to say “Je ne comprends pas le français” which, it turns out is really true. It was very entertaining that the first thing we were learning in French was how to say “Do you understand English?” and “I don’t understand French”!

We tried to find things along the route to break up the monotony but the reality is that there isn’t much to do along I90 through the middle of the state. We wanted to head north a bit to visit the capital but that was when the skies decided to open up so we opted to keep going. Then we tried to find somewhere to eat lunch. We looked to see what might be logical places to stop and found a few towns on our map who’s names were in slightly larger type so we took that as a sign that they might be larger towns with more options. Well they each had a population of just over 600 so I wonder if that is the South Dakota definition of “larger”.

We eventually gave up and decided to much through our snacks and just head to the Badlands. We drove the Badlands loop and stopped to do a few short hikes. The terrain is spectacular and like nothing else we had ever seen. It was very much like walking on another planet.

We continued the drive through the park and eventually got to Wall, SD for the obligatory visit to Wall Drug. They make very good ice cream, BTW. In addition to getting our free ice water, Frank bought a new hat to help keep the sun off his neck which is starting to burn.

Then off to the bed and breakfast for a shower and into town for a decent dinner. We are still in the “hastily rebooked” portion of the trip so the B&B here was not as thoroughly vetted as others on the itinerary. We were to check in at the restaurant which turned out to be more like a biker bar. (Side note: we are currently about 50 miles from Sturgis, SD where the famous biker rally will be held next week. We have passed more Harley’s and other bikes than Wall Drug signs so really everything is a biker bar around here right now.) We checked in and parked in front of our room door – think motor hotel from your childhood days – and I started to get very nervous. Then we went inside and say the lovely apartment with the JACUZZI BATH TUB and all was forgiven.

We showered and went into town to pick up a few items. We are now discovering all the things that we forgot and really do need – like a charger for the battery on Frank’s camera. God bless Best Buy. Then to eat steak! Entertainingly, we had dinner in a restaurant named Dakotah in Rapid City, South Dakota, served by a waiter named Dakota. Hmmmm….

A soak in the tub and some wrestling with the wifi (which we lost as you can tell by the late post) and it was off to bed.

Numbers for today:

Miles driven: 412
States covered: 1
Steps: 15,000ish
Layers of sunscreen: 3
French lessons completed: 1
Signs for Wall Drug: 51 (but we definitely missed some)

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Posted in South Dakota, USA

The Great American Road Trip begins!

Posted on July 31, 2017 | Leave a comment

Those of you who have watched the wailing and whining on Facebook or Twitter as well as those who have seen recent posts on the Cannon Chronicles will know that there was some doubt about this trip even happening. Well after a 50ish hour delay, we hit the road about noon and were bound and determined to make it to Sioux Falls, SD – about 371 miles north. The Great American Road Trip (GART) has begun!

Kansas City was overcast and cool so we started with the top up on the convertible. A little disappointing but at least we were on the road. It turns out that this is a pretty boring drive, straight up I-29. Lots of farm land and gently rolling “hills”. For hours. And hours. We passed out of Missouri and into Iowa. I decided that I don’t like Iowa because it didn’t welcome me. I like to collect photos of the “Welcome to [state name]” signs and we got to Iowa with no such announcement. Pooh.

But we drive on. Fast stop for a gas and a bit and Wendy’s and back on the road. We wanted to make a side trip to Omaha but that will have to wait for another time – there was miles to cover. Eventually we hit South Dakota – they had a lovely sign:

Just a little farther and we got to Sioux Falls and the hotel we booked online from my phone while racing through Iowa. It’s the only place where we don’t have a fancy bed and breakfast but since we weren’t sure we would make it, we didn’t care. The room is clean and adequate and right on the Big Sioux River with a greenway running right outside our hotel. We wandered downtown for some dinner and found the MacKenzie River Pizza company which had a bar and a gluten free menu – our bare minimum after a long day in the car.

Pizza and cider (or beer and a burger for Frank) was just what the doctor ordered. Thoroughly refreshed, we went off to explore Sioux Falls, wandering through the historic neighborhoods which reminded me of the Garden District in New Orleans but not as humid or gothic. Then on to the falls themselves. They are pretty impressive and we played tourist walking all around and actually reading the historic markers and the informational placquards about the Sioux Quartzite (or Jasper) stone: the red stone that is everywhere here. It’s harder than granite and almost as hard as diamond. (That is today’s useless info tidbit.) We saw where the mill was and where they quarried for prison rock. And then it hit: the miles and steps and stress came crashing down and it was time to head back to the hotel.

Yes, we are in bed before 10 o’clock but we have started our road trip and there is so much to look forward to.

Here’s some numbers for today:

Steps: 9,937 (according to my iPhone of which I am most dubious)
Signs for Wall Drug: 8 so far
States: 3 (MO, IA, SD)
Layers of sunscreen: 1
Avg speed: Frank won’t fess up.

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Posted in South Dakota, USA

Day 11: And country roads took us home

Posted on July 25, 2012 | Leave a comment

Today was the first day of the whole trip that I needed an alarm to get me up – probably because I didn’t sleep very well. Apparently, the word “Victorian” as a descriptor for a B&B means “AC doesn’t work very well” and our room was really stuffy and warm. It apparently also means “not up to date on the electronics” as evidenced by the TV-in-the-closet arrangement! Clearfield is also a town with bell ringer fever – the church bells on the Catholic church next door started ringing at 7am…. 46 times!

But breakfast with the proprietress Peggy and the two other guests was lovely: scrambled eggs with mushrooms and cheese, fruit salad, fried ham, home made bread (with GF biscuits for me), home made jam and banana bread. One of our fellow travelers works at RIT so Gillian got to hear more about that school from the staff side – bonus!

Then we packed up the Saab for the final time, put the roof down, and took all the back roads home. We did everything we could to avoid the PA Turnpike and the Breezewood interchange and got to see some of Americana along the way. It seemed fitting to have John Mellencamp playing as we passed little houses (not pink though), trailers, mansions, cute towns, not-big-enough-to-be-towns, all while going up and down the foothills through Pennsylvania. I confess that I never realized there were so many places with the words “Gap”, “Ridge”, and “Hollow” in their names! The drive was absolutely beautiful with few cars around, plenty of green trees, quietly flowing rivers and impossibly blue skies with fluffy white clouds. It was almost surreal.

But unfortunately, every mile was bringing things closer to an end. We stopped for one last break in Fredericksburg where Gillian got some guitar bits (she is suffering serious playing withdrawals!) and then we had our sights set on the one thing we really missed this trip: Ethnic food that wasn’t Chinese or Italian. We hit an Indian buffet that was delicious and just what we needed to bring us back to reality. Not that it would take very long for that to happen: as soon as we hit the Beltway, we realized there was one other thing we had done without and hadn’t missed…. traffic!

But we made it home – and on a single tank of gas from Buffalo! Frank is quite pleased that the 94 Saab made it 386 miles on a single tank. Here are some more stats from the trip:

Total miles driven: about 2100 (Frank isn’t as much of a numbers geek as I am!) Total miles walked: 66 miles
In steps: 153,018

(Miles San ran before anyone else was up: 38.8)

Number of calories consumed: at least double what was expended!
Number of wineries visited: about 12
Number of bottles purchased: about 18
Number of bottles brought home: about 12 (the other 6 were delicious!)

Number of places we stayed with an Episcopal church called St. Andrews: 2 (weird eh?)

Number of days until the next blog post: approximately 350. We think Gillian has decided on Italy for our next overseas destination as it is her graduation trip. Tune in next June for those adventures. Thanks for reading along.

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Posted in USA

Day 10: Ontario to the Alleghenies

Posted on July 24, 2012 | Leave a comment

And so we prepare to leave Canada. It was a lovely morning – much cooler and dryer than yesterday making it much more enjoyable to cover 4.5 miles (even if some was up hill so I could run along a higher ridge of the escarpment). Breakfast was lovely again – poached pears followed by rosti with cheese and ham. I had a slice of raisin tea loaf from the Irish shop to add extra carbs because there just wasn’t enough on my plate already! 🙂

Then we say good bye to the Crown Ridge B&B and Ontario. I can’t recommend this place highly enough. Michelle took spectacular care of all of us, me especially, and the accomodations were comfy and priced right. We headed south to cross at the Fort Erie crossing into Buffalo which took 15 minutes instead of the hour it took to get into Canada at the Queenston/Lewiston crossing. We confessed that we had more than our duty free allotment of wine and the kind CBP officer just let us pass. Then we really started living life on the edge and we headed for downtown Buffalo to go to the one tourist attraction Gillian was interested in: The Anchor Bar, home of the original buffalo wings! She got to enjoy a plate of the famous wings (which she confessed that she didn’t like as much as those at Glory Days!) and then we were back out on the road headed for home.

But home was still 8 hours away. And because so much time in the car makes me cranky – even if we are in a convertible with the roof down on a gorgeous day – I decided we needed to split the journey so we have stopped for the night in historic Clearfield, PA. I haven’t figured out why it is historic but all the signs say that so it must be true. We found our B&B and we have yet another room with a deck which overlooks the west branch of the Susquehanna river (and one of the main streets through town). Clearfield is pretty small. It does have more than one stop light but the culinary choices are limited – if you don’t want pizza, Chinese or any thing served in an establishment with beer and NASCAR signs. (Hint: there are more gun stores here than gas stations.)

We wandered all dozen or so blocks of the historic downtown, noted that there are at least half a dozen churches within 100 yards of each other, and found what the woman at the B&B recommended as “fine dining” – Moena, an Italian restaurant with plastic table cloths but more than pasta on the menu. Our waitress was a gem and worked really hard to make sure I had a nice meal that I could eat – greek chicken with green beans (canned?) and red skin potatoes. Gillian had the steak and Frank had pork medallions with sour cherry chutney. Add a bottle of Arrogant Frog pint noir and it was quite a nice meal even if it wouldn’t qualify as “fine dining” in many other parts of the country.

After dinner Gillian headed back to the B&B to text and play with electronics and Frank and I walked an astounding distance along the river to the next town where we just happened to find an ice cream stand. Fortified with dutch chocolate almond and moose tracks, we made our way back to enjoy some Canadian wine on the deck and watch the traffic roll by. Our post dinner jaunt really racked up the mileage on the pedometer: 17,747 or 7.65 miles.

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Posted in Canada, Pennsylvania