Got home at 1 p.m. this afternoon Eastern Time. I had such a good time on the trip that as it was winding down I wondered if I would be disappointed to be home. But home looked real good to me and I slipped into my home routine seamlessly, grocery shopping, audio books back to the library, picked up the mail, emptied the car, made lunch and even got in my walk before supper.
My last research task was in Iowa City, to find the obituary and the gravesite of Douglas Cramer. I spent so much time thinking and imagining what life was like for Douglas Cramer when I was writing my book, that when I actually found his obituary (which referred to him as an "old soldier" at 63) and then went to the cemetery and found his gravestone with just no trouble at all, it seemed a fitting end to my long odyssey and brought tears to my eyes. The stone was set on a concrete block and was red in color which probably denotes it is more recent than 1899 when he died. The G.A.R. may have had something to do with its setting as it had his Civil War unit inscribed on it although I do not know what happened to his son.
It was a great trip. My car gave me not one bit of trouble, the whole 9000 miles - can you believe it? I had only a couple days of feeling under the weather, nothing serious. I had wonderful visits with friends and relatives, saw beautiful scenery and the sunset last night was gorgeous, all pink and mauve and purple, the most beautiful one I had seen in all the towns and cities and parks where I had stopped along the way, as if it was especially for me. During the night the moon was nearly full as it had been when I started out two months ago. The End.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Day 61 Council Bluffs, Iowa
I am sitting in a nice modern library in Council Bluffs. It is a beautiful cool fall day out with wispy clouds in the sky. Went for a walk around the park and enjoyed the huge fountain they have there while waiting for the library to open. One of the nice perks of school being in session is that the libraries are now open on Sunday afternoons.
Night before last I tried to find the Pawnee Lake Recreation area but when the GPS said I was there, I saw nothing of that nature. So I pulled into an access to a cornfield off a dirt road and stayed there that night. I have discovered if I bundle my feet up good so they stay warm, I will sleep comfortably, so I applied several layers to my feet and zipped up my sleeping bag and was soon drowzy. I did not expect the temperature to go too low as the sky was overcast. The wind was still gusting so strongly that it rocked the car sometimes though. During the night the wind finally died out.
Yesterday I spent in Omaha and for an hour of that time I tramped around the Forest Lawn cemetery looking for the graves of Wilfred, Josephine and Robert Douglass. In spite of having a map from the internet I did not find them. I don't know how the cemetery staff draws their maps, but once in the car and searching, nothing looks like what they have drawn. I was disappointed, but it was Saturday so the office was not open.
This morning, I woke in the residential area of Council Bluffs to the chattering of birds overhead. I had unknowingly parked directly under a tree whose branches were loaded with a berry that the birds were rapidly devouring. They even landed on the roof of my car (and I am sure left various deposits there). I was so warm and cozy in my cocoon, with no reason or inclination to get out, that I drifted off to sleep again and woke at 9:45!! Since it was Sunday I treated myself to a waffle combo at the Village Inn and then read in my car for an hour and a half while the sun warmed it up nicely. (I could find no UU church in the area)
Tomorrow I will visit a few small towns in SW Iowa, then on to Des Moines and Iowa City. Those will be my last research stops of my trip.
Night before last I tried to find the Pawnee Lake Recreation area but when the GPS said I was there, I saw nothing of that nature. So I pulled into an access to a cornfield off a dirt road and stayed there that night. I have discovered if I bundle my feet up good so they stay warm, I will sleep comfortably, so I applied several layers to my feet and zipped up my sleeping bag and was soon drowzy. I did not expect the temperature to go too low as the sky was overcast. The wind was still gusting so strongly that it rocked the car sometimes though. During the night the wind finally died out.
Yesterday I spent in Omaha and for an hour of that time I tramped around the Forest Lawn cemetery looking for the graves of Wilfred, Josephine and Robert Douglass. In spite of having a map from the internet I did not find them. I don't know how the cemetery staff draws their maps, but once in the car and searching, nothing looks like what they have drawn. I was disappointed, but it was Saturday so the office was not open.
This morning, I woke in the residential area of Council Bluffs to the chattering of birds overhead. I had unknowingly parked directly under a tree whose branches were loaded with a berry that the birds were rapidly devouring. They even landed on the roof of my car (and I am sure left various deposits there). I was so warm and cozy in my cocoon, with no reason or inclination to get out, that I drifted off to sleep again and woke at 9:45!! Since it was Sunday I treated myself to a waffle combo at the Village Inn and then read in my car for an hour and a half while the sun warmed it up nicely. (I could find no UU church in the area)
Tomorrow I will visit a few small towns in SW Iowa, then on to Des Moines and Iowa City. Those will be my last research stops of my trip.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Day 59 Lincoln, Nebraska
Well, I did better than I expected yesterday. I waited until 10:30 to leave Craig, giving the snow time to melt and I had dry roads. As I went north towards I-80, I began to see small patches of blue sky amidst the clouds and by the time I connected with I-80 I had sunshine. Once on I-80 the view was beautiful, the snow on the hills changing their shapes and images. There was a lot of wind but I got along nicely to Laramie by 1:30 and stopped and called the weather line. They said that I-80 was clear all the way to Cheyenne, which was what I was concerned about as there was another pass to go over. But worried for nothing, dry roads all the way.
I drove until 4:00 and then called ahead to make a reservation at a motel because they were predicting freezing temperature overnight and in Craig I got the last motel room at the place I stopped. It was a good move because after I had checked in at Sidney, Nebraska, Comfort Inn last night,I heard them turning people away - they were full up. The dark clouds that had been behind me all day had caught up, but by this morning they had all blown past.
Today was just plain boring driving. Nebraska looks flat after the mountains, but of course, it isn't. It was extremely windy with hard gusts at times requiring reduced speed and sometimes the muscles in my hands were tired from gripping the wheel. I stopped once for a catnap and that was a big help. I got into Lincoln, NE, at about 4(Central Time) and luckily the library is open to 6, so I got my info here and will head towards Omaha for my next stop.
I drove until 4:00 and then called ahead to make a reservation at a motel because they were predicting freezing temperature overnight and in Craig I got the last motel room at the place I stopped. It was a good move because after I had checked in at Sidney, Nebraska, Comfort Inn last night,I heard them turning people away - they were full up. The dark clouds that had been behind me all day had caught up, but by this morning they had all blown past.
Today was just plain boring driving. Nebraska looks flat after the mountains, but of course, it isn't. It was extremely windy with hard gusts at times requiring reduced speed and sometimes the muscles in my hands were tired from gripping the wheel. I stopped once for a catnap and that was a big help. I got into Lincoln, NE, at about 4(Central Time) and luckily the library is open to 6, so I got my info here and will head towards Omaha for my next stop.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Day 58 Craig, Colorado
Well, I won't be making much mileage today with all the storm warnings. I will wait until later in the morning to let the temperature rise more. It has stopped snowing here, with about an inch on the ground, the streets wet.
If I had not stopped at the Dinosaur National Monument I might have made it over the Rockies before the snow shut off the passes but the Dinosaur Monument was a treat I gave myself. I woke at the campground in Salt Lake City yesterday at 3:30 a.m. when it began to rain lightly. By 7:30 it was raining steadily and water stood in the road and pooled on the lawn. I got underway about 9:30 and once out of the city began to climb. The mountains were beautiful even in the rain, like some giant paisley shawl spread across them, green, yellow, red, orange, purple, just lovely.
Then as I climbed I saw snow flurries. I was already driving in the slow lane to avoid hydroplaning and I kept inching my way along. Then the ground and roofs were white and I passed a snow-plastered sign that said Parley's Summit. I had been watching the outside temp gauge drop to 32 degrees and I hoped to get over the summit without any problem and I did. Still raining, I stopped at Heber, consulted he map and saw another mountain pass ahead of me. I drove through snow for about 10 miles but that was on the flats and got over the pass okay. The sky was heavy with very dark clouds and I hoped to stay ahead of them. I did for a while but then I turned southeast for Dinosaur and ran out of the storm into sunshine though the winds were strong and gusty. I could still see the dark angry-looking clouds to the north and after my stop at Dinosaur, when my GPS intended to send me due north again to catch I-80, I looked at my map, saw a mountain with a 9500 elevation along the route and said, oh, no, twice in one day is too much white knuckle driving. I turned back about 15 miles and took I-40 due east to Craig.
For 100 miles I drove in sunshine, with the black clouds on my left, and swirling dirt from the strong winds on my right. Just before getting to Craig, the sunshine ended and the dark clouds were overhead. Got into Craig just before dark, planning on a motel since the temperature was to go to the 20s. I stopped one place that looked like a motel, went into the office and asked if they had a room. The clerk stared at me for a minute and said, "This is a correctional facility; you don't want to stay here unless you have done something very bad" with a grin. I grinned back and got directions to a motel. Had a nice warm room and have been watching TV and studying the maps and figure I can probably get as far as Laramie today and will have to wait there for the storm to pass. Here in Colorado the chain rules are in effect through Vail and Loveland. I'm going north through the Basin to connect with I-80 west of Laramie. It doesn't look like any big peaks along the way north.
If I had not stopped at the Dinosaur National Monument I might have made it over the Rockies before the snow shut off the passes but the Dinosaur Monument was a treat I gave myself. I woke at the campground in Salt Lake City yesterday at 3:30 a.m. when it began to rain lightly. By 7:30 it was raining steadily and water stood in the road and pooled on the lawn. I got underway about 9:30 and once out of the city began to climb. The mountains were beautiful even in the rain, like some giant paisley shawl spread across them, green, yellow, red, orange, purple, just lovely.
Then as I climbed I saw snow flurries. I was already driving in the slow lane to avoid hydroplaning and I kept inching my way along. Then the ground and roofs were white and I passed a snow-plastered sign that said Parley's Summit. I had been watching the outside temp gauge drop to 32 degrees and I hoped to get over the summit without any problem and I did. Still raining, I stopped at Heber, consulted he map and saw another mountain pass ahead of me. I drove through snow for about 10 miles but that was on the flats and got over the pass okay. The sky was heavy with very dark clouds and I hoped to stay ahead of them. I did for a while but then I turned southeast for Dinosaur and ran out of the storm into sunshine though the winds were strong and gusty. I could still see the dark angry-looking clouds to the north and after my stop at Dinosaur, when my GPS intended to send me due north again to catch I-80, I looked at my map, saw a mountain with a 9500 elevation along the route and said, oh, no, twice in one day is too much white knuckle driving. I turned back about 15 miles and took I-40 due east to Craig.
For 100 miles I drove in sunshine, with the black clouds on my left, and swirling dirt from the strong winds on my right. Just before getting to Craig, the sunshine ended and the dark clouds were overhead. Got into Craig just before dark, planning on a motel since the temperature was to go to the 20s. I stopped one place that looked like a motel, went into the office and asked if they had a room. The clerk stared at me for a minute and said, "This is a correctional facility; you don't want to stay here unless you have done something very bad" with a grin. I grinned back and got directions to a motel. Had a nice warm room and have been watching TV and studying the maps and figure I can probably get as far as Laramie today and will have to wait there for the storm to pass. Here in Colorado the chain rules are in effect through Vail and Loveland. I'm going north through the Basin to connect with I-80 west of Laramie. It doesn't look like any big peaks along the way north.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Day 55 Salt Lake City, Utah
I left Martha and Bob's about noon their time today as I knew I would be losing an hour entering Mountain Time. I got to the KOA campground in SLC about 5:30 MT and have a nice campsite, far enough away from the interstate not to hear all that traffic noise, and only a short ways on the same street to get to the Mormon History Center and not much further to the U. of Utah. So I think I will stay here another night. That will give me all day tomorrow to visit both the university and the history center and I can start out fresh from here on Wednesday morning. Besides the campground has free Wi-fi. It took me a while to get connected to it but I finally got on.
Most interesting sight in the long drive today was the Salt Flats at the upper end of Great Salt Lake. They are so flat and so reflective in the sunlight that it was not hard at all to see mirages of water where there were none. But in a few places near the interstate there were shallow pools of water and the fence posts were rimed with salt where the water level once was higher.
Yesterday Martha and I drove up Lamoille Canyon as far as the road went and then hiked in a little further to a place where in the spring there is a waterfall. There was only a very small stream at this season of the year but the golden aspens and the reds of other foliage and the mountain cliffs so high above us made for a impressive sight. It was definitely one of the highlights of my trip. Then this morning we went to Elizabeth's house (she's the lady whose free credits I used at the casino) to thank her and stayed an hour to help her, her husband and another friend pick plums off their plum tree. It was just loaded with plums similar to Italian plums but about half the size. She sent me off with a jar of plum jam and one of choke cherry jelly that she had put up. I will be enjoying those this winter I know.
Most interesting sight in the long drive today was the Salt Flats at the upper end of Great Salt Lake. They are so flat and so reflective in the sunlight that it was not hard at all to see mirages of water where there were none. But in a few places near the interstate there were shallow pools of water and the fence posts were rimed with salt where the water level once was higher.
Yesterday Martha and I drove up Lamoille Canyon as far as the road went and then hiked in a little further to a place where in the spring there is a waterfall. There was only a very small stream at this season of the year but the golden aspens and the reds of other foliage and the mountain cliffs so high above us made for a impressive sight. It was definitely one of the highlights of my trip. Then this morning we went to Elizabeth's house (she's the lady whose free credits I used at the casino) to thank her and stayed an hour to help her, her husband and another friend pick plums off their plum tree. It was just loaded with plums similar to Italian plums but about half the size. She sent me off with a jar of plum jam and one of choke cherry jelly that she had put up. I will be enjoying those this winter I know.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Day 54 Lamoille, Nevada
Arrived at Martha and Bob's about 4 on Friday afternoon. Have been watching Martha work. I tell her she looks like a farmer as she goes about the 4 hours it takes to water all of their plantings they have started around the house and yard. She breaks it up into 2 hours in the a.m. and 2 hours in the p.m. but hopes to get irrigation lines to take over the job this next year.
They spent all thhis past year getting their solar system in place, (lots of red tape and waiting for bureauocracy) and still waiting for the utility to come and change the meter before they are "hooked up" and can generate power. Pretty impressive array though, 5K in size.
Martha and I went to town yesterday, ran a bunch of errands, went to the Casino in Elko - what's a trip to Nevada without a visit to a casino? - and she let me use the free credits on a friend's card to play the penny slots and we came away winners. $12 for her and $10 for me. I had visited a casino in Coos Bay, Oregon, for their famous clam chowder but was totally mystified by the machines which have changed so much since the days you shoved your quarters in them.
The view here is great, about 150 degrees from their front yard. You can see for miles down in the valley. They have mule deer that visit daily. Later today we are going up Lamoille Canyon to see the aspens that are changing color rapidly now. Some of the other trees are starting to turn too. It's time to be heading home.
They spent all thhis past year getting their solar system in place, (lots of red tape and waiting for bureauocracy) and still waiting for the utility to come and change the meter before they are "hooked up" and can generate power. Pretty impressive array though, 5K in size.
Martha and I went to town yesterday, ran a bunch of errands, went to the Casino in Elko - what's a trip to Nevada without a visit to a casino? - and she let me use the free credits on a friend's card to play the penny slots and we came away winners. $12 for her and $10 for me. I had visited a casino in Coos Bay, Oregon, for their famous clam chowder but was totally mystified by the machines which have changed so much since the days you shoved your quarters in them.
The view here is great, about 150 degrees from their front yard. You can see for miles down in the valley. They have mule deer that visit daily. Later today we are going up Lamoille Canyon to see the aspens that are changing color rapidly now. Some of the other trees are starting to turn too. It's time to be heading home.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Day 51 Reno, Nevada
I loved Oregon. The coast was shrouded in mist and fog all morning yesterday so that was not so great, but the great waves coming in and breaking on the rocks were magnificent. My business in Coos Bay finished much sooner than I expected and so I turned east away from the coast and by 2 p.m. the sun was shining brightly and temperature climbed into the high 80s. Got a good campsite and today I drove across the mountains to Susanville and south to Reno. Finally, at long last, I am going EAST for a change. What a huge country we live in!
Forgot to tell you about an unusual sight a few days ago. As I was coming into Portland, on a downgrade, I saw police car lights ahead and expected they had pulled someone over. But as I drew abreast, I saw a car with its front end completely engulfed in fire. Flames were shooting out of the engine, both above and around the wheel wells, up to six feet high and included the dashboard area. They were so hot they had started a grass fire on the bank next to where it was parked. The police cruiser was parked a good 150 ft. behind it and there was no fire engine on the scene yet. By the time they got there the car would have been nothing but a burned out hulk and they would have a good grass fire on their hands. I had never seen anything like it except in the movies. To make it more spectacular, it was nearly dark, so it really stood out.
Today I saw some wildlife coming over the mountains. Coyote, a small deer, signs that said "elk", but I didn't see any of them. Highest elevation of the peaks I came over today was 5000 ft, at least two of those. These mountains look very different from the ones I've crossed before. They look like they are sculpted by wind with smooth ridges and short grass and then trees up high. When I was up high, there were terrific fir trees 100 ft. high along the road for miles. I was in Lassen National Forest (California).
So it's on to Lamoille to visit sister, Martha, and Bob tomorrow. I may be too late to go rafting in Colorado. We'll see.
Forgot to tell you about an unusual sight a few days ago. As I was coming into Portland, on a downgrade, I saw police car lights ahead and expected they had pulled someone over. But as I drew abreast, I saw a car with its front end completely engulfed in fire. Flames were shooting out of the engine, both above and around the wheel wells, up to six feet high and included the dashboard area. They were so hot they had started a grass fire on the bank next to where it was parked. The police cruiser was parked a good 150 ft. behind it and there was no fire engine on the scene yet. By the time they got there the car would have been nothing but a burned out hulk and they would have a good grass fire on their hands. I had never seen anything like it except in the movies. To make it more spectacular, it was nearly dark, so it really stood out.
Today I saw some wildlife coming over the mountains. Coyote, a small deer, signs that said "elk", but I didn't see any of them. Highest elevation of the peaks I came over today was 5000 ft, at least two of those. These mountains look very different from the ones I've crossed before. They look like they are sculpted by wind with smooth ridges and short grass and then trees up high. When I was up high, there were terrific fir trees 100 ft. high along the road for miles. I was in Lassen National Forest (California).
So it's on to Lamoille to visit sister, Martha, and Bob tomorrow. I may be too late to go rafting in Colorado. We'll see.
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