The Cannon Family's travel blog

GART Day 8: Of salt and spires

Posted on August 8, 2017 | Leave a comment

After a wonderful night’s sleep and a great breakfast, we hit the road again for the highlight of the day: the Bonneville Salt Flats. Any car nut, especially speed nuts, knows that the Bonneville Salt Flats are where many (most?) land speed records have been set. It is a 40 square mile salt pan west of Salt Lake City which is a vast white wasteland – and somewhere Frank has always wanted to go. So we did.

And it’s another post-apocalyptic setting, especially with the clouds and haze we had today. But it was really cool. And then we drove out on the flats – on the 10 miles stretch known as the Bonneville Speedway. It was cool and eerie.

Then we realized that we were only 10 miles from the Nevada border…. well, we can’t leave a challenge unaccepted. So we sped down the road to West Wendover, Nevada where we stopped at the Red Garter casino, spent a few minutes losing $5 on video poker (Frank won several times so he took longer to lose it all.), grabbed a cup of coffee and headed back toward town.

We made a quick stop at Great Salt Lake State Park to see the lake but it smelled pretty bad and the sand flies were unbearable so that didn’t last very long. So then it was off to the other big attraction in SLC: the Mormon temple. It is very impressive and the visitor centers do a wonderful job making sure everyone understands that the Latter Day Saints worship Jesus. We stopped at the tabernacle where the acoustics are unbelievable: we could hear a pin drop all the way across the building.

Just to be fair, we also stopped by the Cathedral of the Madeline, the diocesan seat for the Catholic church in Utah. The murals were impressive and the organ was fantastic. I find myself still lighting a candle for my mother in every church I visit and this was no exception. Then it was off to a fabulous dinner at a small plates restaurant, Eva, before heading back to the Inn. Frank managed to lose 3 games of pool to me before it was time to enjoy the jacuzzi bathtub and waste some time watching Lethal Weapon 4.

Numbers for today:

Miles driven: 285
Steps: 14,256
States visited: 2 (UT, NV)
French lesson: 1 (La rue est là bas)
Best poker hand: straight flush (paid $12.50)

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Posted in USA, Utah

GART Day 7: Stop, drop, and roll to Utah

Posted on August 6, 2017 | Leave a comment

Today did not go as we had intended. In my grand scheme, we would take some time after breakfast to go explore Sun Valley which was 20 minutes north of where we were staying. We were hoping to maybe get a short hike in the Sawtooth National Forest. But fate had other plans for us. Apparently, the haze we noticed on the drive yesterday was not from the heat or low cloud cover. It was smoke from massive wild fires just south of us were causing all the smoke. In fact, they were discouraging people from driving on the road that we were going to take to Salt Lake City.

So all those plans changed. I did a quick run in the morning – smoke didn’t seem to be an issue for me – and then got ready to hit the road right after breakfast. We changed our route to try to avoid the worst of the smoke and fire and put the top up on the convertible. We skipped our trip to Sun Valley since our new route was going to take longer than the original one and we understood that the valley was getting ready to possibly lose power for a few days as a result of the fire.

And then we drove. And kept driving. Nearly 300 miles without stopping. We could both see and smell the smoke as it hung over the vast boring beigeness of the landscape. It was a very unfun drive. One interesting thing was the hundreds of cyclists we passed on the road despite the smoke. For more than 45 miles we passed a line of cyclists all riding along the edge of the road as part of some event that we never did figure out.

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After four hours on the road, we got to Ogden, Utah where we stopped for lunch and to stretch our legs. I think it’s probably a very cool town but even the coolest town in Utah on a Sunday is boring. After lunch, we tried to get a hike in to Waterfall Canyon, partway up Mt. Ogden. I had read some cool stuff about it and every write up called it “a great little hike” which didn’t manage my expectations appropriately at all. We climbed more than 600 feet in just over a mile and got to a point where climbing over boulders was the necessary next step. And we decided not to bother. I don’t know how much farther we would have had to go to get to the falls but we were not appropriately equipped for anything longer than we had already done so back down we went. Here’s what the falls supposedly look like. Maybe another time.

We bundled back into the air conditioned car and headed to Salt Lake City. We arrived at our downtown B&B right as the Tour of Utah bike event was rapping up two blocks away at the state capital. I don’t think these were the same cyclists as we saw in Idaho though….

After a lovely dinner downtown at an Italian restaurant, it was time to get a last bit of exercise in so back uphill to the capital we went to watch the sunset.

Numbers for today:

Miles driven: 318
Average gas mileage: 26 mpg
Number of steps: 15, 234
Number of floors: 70 (!)
Layers of sunscreen: 0.5 (top was up all day)
French lessons: 0.5 (finished from yesterday.

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Posted in Idaho, USA, Utah

GART Day 6: And so we go to Idaho

Posted on August 6, 2017 | Leave a comment

We awoke to our last morning in the Tetons. It has been wonderful having the Grand Teton looking over our cabin during our stay but all good things must come to an end. I managed a short run in the park – trying to get in one run in every state! – before we hit breakfast and headed to our next adventure: Idaho!

I confess that I had to do a bit of work to figure out how to make a stop in Idaho fit the itinerary. But since we lost our one night in Montana to the condensed first part of the trip, it was more important than ever that we make this work and be enjoyable. We made a pit stop in Jackson – what a cute town, we need to go back – get the car and some clothes clean. Then we headed across the Teton Pass with it’s 10% grades to go from Wyoming to Idaho. And then the next 250 miles or so was somewhat surreal.

Once we left the mountains, we crossed flat barren terrain. Lots of bare beigeness as we ran alongside the Snake river. And heat. After coming down from the mountains, the glaring sun drove the temperatures up. We stopped for lunch in Idaho Falls at a lovely brew pub across from the falls before heading west once more. We passed more flat, bland fields – mile after mile. I was looking for potatoes but all we saw was nuclear research facilities – Atomic City anyone?

At last we reached the National Park du jour: Craters of the Moon. A park that no one I know has ever visited or in most cases even heard of. Yellowstone gets more visitors in one month than Craters gets in a year. But it is so much cooler IMHO. It’s a large volcanic field that looks like a set from Star Trek – we kept waiting for a red shirted Trekkie to pop up from behind the volcanic rock and get shot. If you ever want to know what post apocalyptic America looks like – I think I’ve seen it.

There were hills to climb up and caves to climb in. We had to get certified before going into the caves to prevent the spread of White-Nose syndrome which has apparently been devastating the bat population. We didn’t see any bats but the caves were really cool.

We wrapped up our visit and headed to the Bed and Breakfast in bustling Hailey, ID. It is literally a one-stoplight town just south of Sun Valley. With a population of nearly 8,000, it is a bustling metropolis by Idaho standards (we passed through several towns that had populations in the 100s). We walked downtown and had a FABULOUS dinner at CK’s where we sat at the chef’s bench overlooking the kitchen and got to watch all the food being prepared. I had a wonderful gaucho steak with corn-jalapeno cakes and Frank had fresh Idaho trout with Idaho potatoes. We wandered around town before heading back to call it a night. Our room at the B&B has an extra deep tub so I decided to have a relaxing soak before bed. I can’t even tell you the color of the bathwater when I got out – apparently volcanic rock dust is black and very fine. I didn’t even notice it in the restaurant but it was certainly obvious in the bathtub. Ick.

Numbers for today:

Miles driven: 279
Layers of sunscreen: 3
French lessons: 1/2 (we turned it off to pay attention in the mountains and never got back to it)
Number of photographs at Craters: 49
Steps taken: 12,248
Flights climbed: 24

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Posted in Idaho, USA, Wyoming

GART Day 5: Staying put

Posted on August 4, 2017 | Leave a comment

Because of the change in departure day, this was our first stop where we had two night in the same place. After a somewhat rough night, I slept way too long (Frank felt the need to make sure I was still alive) but we eventually made it to breakfast. Then it was off to the main event of the day: hiking in the Tetons! I wanted something that rated as an actual hike (so no pavement) and was a little more than the casual tourist would be willing to undertake. After some research we decided on the Taggart Lake- Bradley Lake loop in the southern part of the park. And boy were we glad we did.

It took about half an hour to get to the trailhead and the car park was pretty full by the time we got there. Nevertheless, she persisted. We headed toward Bradley Lake first and it seemed like the 800 feet elevation change happened entirely on this part of the hike! We kept going up and had fabulous panoramic views of Bradley Lake – one of the 6 glacial lakes in the park.

We then headed toward Taggart Lake which was where we found the real magic. The trail goes right along the lake front (which means we had a lot of “down” to do first) and we were treated with crystal clear waters with spectacular mountain views in the background. I couldn’t resist dipping my feet in the water – which was really cold! – before continuing on the journey. All in all, the route we took covered 5.9 miles which we did in just about 3 hours. We then visited various scenic spots in the park before heading back to the hotel to take a dip in the pool to wash off the dust.

Then to the Blue Heron bar for a drink before dinner. The reason we chose this lodge is that it is where the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium takes place each year. It is hosted by the KC Fed and many of my colleagues work very hard to make it a premier event for economists from around the world. Since I will never be an official attendee at the big event, I really wanted to see what the fuss was all about. And I promised a friend at work that I would have a drink in the Blue Heron for him – so I did: a Jackson Lake Lemonade which apparently involves huckleberries as do so many other things here.

We then had a lovely dinner in the Mural room where we got to watch the sunset over the Tetons. Afterwards, we struck up a conversation with an English couple and funnily enough, the wife went to school down the road from where I used to live in London. It was another case of “it’s a small world.”

Numbers for today:

Miles driven: 55 (all inside the park)
Steps taken: 17,327
Flights climbed: 37 (according to my iPhone)
Layers of sunscreen: 2
Hours slept: 8 (in chunks of 4 with breaks)

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Posted in USA, Wyoming

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.

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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

Wondering where we are?

Posted on February 24, 2017 | Leave a comment

Yes we are traveling but it’s not a typical travel blog type of trip so we aren’t posting here. If you are *really* interested in the few posts from this trip, visit The Cannon Chronicles where there will be a few tidbits and updates from the week.

Look here in late July for the grand road trip adventure!

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Posted in Uncategorized

The haze of the final days

Posted on August 16, 2016 | Leave a comment

While there should be separate entries for day 18 and day 19, it has become a bit of a blur at this point. The day after the epic bevvy is always painful and this year was no exception. We did see the sun for a few hours before having to deal with things like missing wallets and messed up airline reservations but in the end things settled down, the skies went grey again and all was right with the world. A final barbecue and blether and it was off to bed to face the marathon trip home.

And what an epic trip it was. We managed to get to get up and out promptly and arrived at Edinburgh airport in plenty of time – 2.5 hours before our flight was due to leave. And we needed it! We stood for more than 45 minutes in the United check in line to drop off the bags, then through security, arriving at the gate 10 minutes before boarding began. We boarded promptly, secured our exit row seats (yippee!) and then proceeded to sit on board for nearly an hour while “paperwork” was completed. This was now the 5th flight in a row on this trip that was delayed.

The flight itself was fine albeit a bit cramped – I don’t know how they can consider a 757 a good aircraft for transatlantic flights but they didn’t ask me. I managed to get a fair amount of work done and then we landed in Chicago 30 minutes before our connection to KC was to leave. Another missed connection and another set of pain for rebooking. We used our Global Entry for the first time and sailed through immigration only to wait forever to claim our bags before sailing through customs to recheck the bags. Am I the only one who thinks this is the stupidest arrangement on the planet? I have to walk my bags past the customs agent personally to hand them back over to someone to put on my next flight? Grrrr….

And in this case our next flight was 7 hours away. United had been kind enough to rebook us immediately on the very last flight out of Chicago departing at 10:40 pm and arriving at 12:14 am. So we had a LOT of time to kill in the airport. We wandered for about an hour, dazed and starving, trying to find someplace where I could actually eat more than just a salad. It ended up the Chili’s saved the day and a Margarita Chicken bowl and several drinks with the same name later, we wandered to the gate to sit and wait.

And wait. And wait. I used all the free wifi possible (and 2GB of data) to watch the Royals game and try to pass the time. Finally, as we neared 9:30, they changed the departure gate and we got to trek to another part of the F concourse to sit and…. wait. Our last and final flight of the trip went the way of the previous 5 and was delayed. Only 20 or so minutes instead of an hour and there was no connection to worry about. Our bags had arrived on an earlier flight – figures – so at least we didn’t have to wait for them. Our main worry was about getting home. Can you find an Uber car to come to KCI at 1 am?

Apparently, the answer is yes. Liz, the substitute teacher by day – minivan Uber driver by night, picked us up and delivered us safely home a mere 25 hours after we had begun our day in Barassie. We stumbled up the stairs to bed and I was thankful to have today off to recover.

Now slightly rested, newly styled, with a little bit of fresh food in the fridge (and hopefully none of whatever was smelling so bad when I got up), I can unpack and revel in our “smuggled goods” and try to remember what life is like when there are alarm clocks, commutes, and commitments. But those tales aren’t for here. If you are interested in the daily activities and random reflections when we aren’t traveling, you’ll need to visit the Cannon Chronicles. We’ll be back with more adventures next year. Thanks for following along.