Summer 2014 - PNW Volunteer & Road Trip

[yellocoyote]

Travel Day 1: Elgin, IL to Ft. Dodge, IA

I didn't get out of bed incredibly early in the morning - I had plans to sleep in a little, and then have breakfast with The Boy and The Kid before heading west. So, I didn't really hit the road until about 9:30am.

This... all the way to Newport, Oregon.

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I had it in my mind that I would more or less boogie right through Illinois, Iowa, and eastern Nebraska... to where the landscape became a bit less like what I see around home (you know... minus all the buildings). That's more or less how it went. I stopped a couple of times in IL - checking tire pressure, refilling my water bottle, refueling. The segment of US 20 in IL is one I'd driven many, many times... been there, done that.

I spy... this! I could have easily driven under it.
We have farm communities west of where I live, but I have yet to see this beast.

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I quickly learned that driving US 20 through Iowa is very much like driving an interstate highway. It doesn't seem to route directly through the small towns like I'd hoped for, but instead it has exits. It's also a 4-lane divided highway. I initially had thoughts of getting off and finding some parallel farm roads to travel instead... for the experience. I still may do that.

Near Dyersville, IA, I saw a billboard for the "Field of Dreams" movie site, where the movie was filmed back in 1988. I made a detour off the highway to find the field. It was located a few miles out of town, but still plenty easy to find. I stopped to stretch my legs, walked the bases... and grab some photos.

"If you build it, they will come."

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As the towns approached and passed, I decided that a potential evening destination would be Ft. Dodge... if for no other reason than it sounded like it could be a cool little historic place with things to see and do. I went to the Dolliver Memorial State Park, which is about 6 or 7 miles outside of Ft. Dodge. I hiked one of their short trails before heading into town. While the assumption about Ft. Dodge having cool things to do and see may have been true, I arrived in town too late to enjoy any of the museums and other historic areas the town had to offer. It seemed to be one of those large, yet, smaller towns that roll their sidewalks up early. Regardless, I stopped in for dinner, and walked the all-but-deserted downtown area for a bit before the rain chased me back inside. At that point, I chalked up to bad timing on my part and called it a night.

 

[yellocoyote]

Travel Day 2: Ft. Dodge, IA to Merriman, NE

I boon-docked in the parking lot of a Menards in Ft. Dodge last night. It stopped raining and I ended up having very nice sleeping weather. Despite all of that, I didn't sleep that well. I think it would be safe to say that I am simply not used to sleeping in the back of the KJ yet... and I'm hoping that over time, that will get better.

I stayed off of US 20 for the first 30-40 miles out of 'Dodge' this morning, opting for the farm roads that ran parallel to the highway. But those roads eventually ended, turned in the wrong direction, or got too far from the highway... so I got back on 20. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the highway did eventually become what I hoped it would... a 2-lane road going through the small towns. That was the character I was looking for, and I'm glad that it moved away from the 4-lane feel.

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I didn't stop many more times through the remainder of Iowa... and even the first segment of Nebraska was very non-eventful. I did run through some crazy stormy weather - interesting enough that I felt the need to listen to all the weather resources I had just in case something particularly bad was in my path. Fortunately, it was only heavy rain and wind that I encountered. When I rolled into O'Neill, I saw proof that they had also endured the rain... all of their downtown streets were nearly entirely flooded. Most vehicles were staying towards the center, but I was a little better equipped than they... so I ran the left lane without any problems.

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I stopped just outside of Valentine, NE - once to visit an old steel bridge on my way into town, and again to visit the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge.

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I got out and hiked a trail leading to Fort Falls... which was FAR cooler than I anticipated. I'm not sure what the overall height of the fall was, but I was pretty impressed once I got to the bottom.

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Once back in the vehicle, the refuge also played host to a number of Prairie Dog towns, and it's own herd of Bison. I took my time puttering around the park, and getting some photos before I decided to move along.

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Being that it was still pretty early, I chose not to stop again in Valentine (for food, fuel, or otherwise), with the intentions of stopping in one of the towns further down the road. Not too far outside of Valentine, I crossed into the Mountain time zone... and got an hour back. So I had even more time to drive.

So I thought.

Before coming into Cody, NE (dubbed "A town too tough to die"), I realized that I needed to refuel soon. Cody's one gas station was closed, so I chose to continue to the next town. Said 'next town' of Merriman (pop. 118) was quite a distance, and by the time I arrived, I had a problem. Merriman's only gas station had also closed for the day, and was not re-opening until 6am Monday morning. I did not have enough fuel to drive to the next town... and I wasn't entirely sure I could make it anywhere else for certain.

So there, I sat.

Nothing was open - not their cafe or their tavern. It was raining, so I didn't get out and wander about. Instead, I sat in the Jeep and read. And I went to bed early to try to make up for the previous night's lack of sleep.

 

[Dave]

Nice pics and adventure you are having, YC.


When I was on the road I almost ran out of gas one time also, so ever since that episode I always filled the tank (even if I had half a tank or more I topped it off) before I started getting off the beaten track in some of the small towns. Some of those places only have one gas station and they are not open all the time as you discovered.


Dave

 

[yellocoyote]

I've better about it today. If I get to a more major town, and I have under a half tank, I've been topping off. Seems to be working out so far.

 

[yellocoyote]

Travel Day 3: Merriman, NE to Casper, WY
I slept better this night, thankfully. The town was super-quiet, and not at all busy... which I'm sure played into a more restful night for me.

I was up well before 6:00am, and was parked at the pump when the gas station attendant opened shop. I wasn't the only one - there were 2 others waiting to fill up as well, but they were locals. Seeing them, I didn't feel so bad about stalking the station. I put over 16 gallons in the tank. After arriving in Gordon, NE later this morning, I established that I would not have made it there with the fuel I had left in the tank last night. I'm very relieved I didn't take that risk.

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I've enjoyed the drive on US 20 thus far. Far more than I enjoy traveling by interstate highway. I think it's because, for the most part, the US highway routes with the contour of the land - there never seems to be a shortage of things to look at, small towns and other items of interest. Interstates cut through the landscape, eliminates the active participation with the road, deletes the smaller towns... which seems to make the travel dull. The interesting thing is that, outside of traveling within the towns, I still do the same speed on the US highway as I would on the interstate highway.

Before arriving into Chadron, I took a short detour to the south of the highway, and into the Nebraska National Forest. I could see some pretty rock formations from the main road.

Definitely not in Chicago anymore...

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I stopped in Chadron for a shower and to refill my water, and then proceeded into Wyoming.

Soon after crossing the state line, I could begin to see a mountain range. I stopped in Douglas, WY to top off the tank and review my atlas for alternate route options - the mountain range was tempting, and I hoped that I could re-route in that direction. Before I left home, I had done a little research on both the Pony Express Trail and the Oregon Trail... and today, I'd hoped to find them. I found some 'unmaintained' roads (gravel/dirt) on the map, and decided that's what I'd do. I had a couple of options. I could (1) go north on the I-25 interstate from Douglas and catch a short dirt road, or I could (2) drive 15 miles south on the interstate, in the opposite direction that I had been driving, to a segment of unimproved road that would take me a lot longer to navigate. If I routed myself correctly, that road would dump me out back in Douglas... where I started from. I chose the second option.

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I spent the better part of the afternoon within the Medicine Bow National Forest navigating forest service trails and 2-track ranch roads. I'd guesstimate approx. 100 miles traveled on non-paved surfaces this afternoon. Gorgeous landscape, multiple encounters with elk and free-range cattle, and just a great day to be 'lost.'

I left the dirt roads for the pavement, and rolled into Casper, Wyoming this evening. I grabbed a quick dinner, and then headed out again... this time on the road that leads to the top of Casper Mountain. I stuck around there until just after sunset before coming back down into the foothills that is Casper.

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As I consider tomorrow's travel, there are a couple of things that come into mind. While I'm not one for setting a daily destination goal, I'd like to get into the neighborhood of Yellowstone by the end of the day tomorrow. That said, I'm now finding better information about the Pony Express/Oregon Trails, and I hope to find them west of Casper tomorrow. Even if I'm not successful, there are a TON of unimproved road routing options I can take in the direction of Yellowstone. I have to balance the time and distance... to experience the backcountry while still making my destination before dark.

More later!

 

[Leeann]

Gorgeous - you picked a great route (at least from this end ).

 

[profdlp]

Gorgeous - you picked a great route (at least from this end ).

Well, you ain't the one sleeping in the back of a Jeep next to a gas pump in Bugtussle. :happy175:

(I kid - those are the things of which great memories are made!) :cheers:

 

[Leeann]

I almost was - in PA coming back from my aunt's place the weekend before Christmas '07. In a rented Liberty (Her driveway's almost straight up, unpaved and mostly unplowed. And it was snowing when we got there). Not a single damned gas station open for miles. Had to drive 15 miles off the interstate to find the only open gas station - and then put 20.2 gals in the tank.

 

[yellocoyote]

These are the things good stories are made of.

 

[yellocoyote]

Travel Day 4: Casper, WY to Cody, WY

Waking up from my luxurious parking spot at the Flying J in Casper, I felt pretty good overall. Most nights, I've stayed up until I've been exhausted... in hopes that I sleep better than the night before. So far, so good. I topped off the gas tank, topped off my hunger tank, and headed west out of town.

A photo I'd sent Aaron earlier this morning... I had told him that I got the motorcycle rack muddy (it's worse now).

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And there it was... like a beacon... the Historic Trails Interpretive Center! Just what I needed to locate the elusive Oregon & Pony Express trails. While the folks at the center meant well, they just didn't seem to have the answers I needed. Instead, they directed me down the road to the Casper BLM office... which ended up being JUST what I was looking for. The folks at the BLM were great - they told me exactly which unmarked dirt roads I needed to take to get where I wanted to go. Part of the conversation was their inquiry as to whether or not I had functional 4-wheel drive. I do, and told them so. Their major concern wasn't so much clearance issues, but the weather. Apparently when these roads get wet, they are quite 'fun' to navigate. And there was rain in the forecast today.

So off I went, following the instructions I was given. I did get turned around a couple of times, but corrected myself in short order.

Lo and behold!

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Oregon Trail to the left, Pony Express Trail to the right... and I am where they converge and travel together.

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I drove this segment of the trail for approximately 50 miles before hitting pavement again. Gorgeous views, and the impending weather made for a great backdrop. Other than a few sprinkles, it didn't do anything.

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Back out on the highway and down the road about 10 miles, I came to Independence Rock (I have the full image on my camera - I was just too close with the cell phone to get it all).

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Leaving Independence Rock, it was already past noon and nearing to 1:00pm. I had originally wanted to hop on a few more backroad segments, but I figured it would be best to stick to the paved surfaces if I wanted to get near Yellowstone before it got too late. But even the state highways were very scenic through the mountains, prairies and deserts. I pulled off a few times for photos.

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I am currently in Cody, Wyoming. I haven't been here too long yet, and I think I'm going to wander around downtown and see what I see, and find some place to sit for dinner. I'm about 50 miles outside of Yellowstone. So I think most of tomorrow (if not some of Thursday) will be dedicated to Yellowstone... and the Grand Tetons - I'm going there after Yellowstone and before driving into Idaho. I hoped to get to spend a couple of days in this area, getting my hike on and lots of photos. It seems I have made decent time and can do so.

 

[CactusJacked]

Beautiful scenery, and you appear to be having a good time. Curious, do you have a journalism background? Your storytelling skills and paragraph structure are put together very goodly!

 

[yellocoyote]

Curious, do you have a journalism background? Your storytelling skills and paragraph structure are put together very goodly!

Nope.

I always liked to write, was in honors-level English and Literature classes in school, and completely tested out of the English Composition classes in college. It kind of comes naturally.

Thanks.

 

[yellocoyote]

Travel Day 5: Cody, WY to West Yellowstone, MT

Today was ALL about Yellowstone National Park... and the trip there from Cody.

I got up this morning, stopped for a bite at a local coffee shop - Rocky Mountain MoJoe. It was pretty darn good, all the way around. Worth stopping by if you're ever in the neighborhood. After breakfast, I topped off the tank and cleaned the mud off the headlights and windshield (it had gotten pretty bad after the Pony Express & Oregon trails). I hit the road once more.

Leaving Cody...

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I had 50 miles to cover between Cody and the Yellowstone entrance. Once I left the Cody city limits, I was driving into the Buffalo Bill State Park. It was here where I drove through a series of tunnels through the mountain (one of which was 3/4 mile long), to be greeted by the Buffalo Bill Dam on the other side.

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I arrived into Yellowstone a short while later. I had made the decision to purchase one of the all-parks, all-the-time passes before making this trip. So I'd gotten that squared away with the park ranger and made my way into the park.

I didn't make it all the way around the park - I didn't figure that I would. In previous visits, we mostly had time to drive through the park, and get out and look at a few items of interest. This trip, I have hiked within the park far more than ever before. I had a grizzly bear sighting on the South Loop trail which is somewhere between Canyon and Tower Falls. Fortunately, I spotted it from a distance and we both continued to do what we were doing. It was a pretty cool experience.

I came in at the 'East Entrance' on the map, and stopped for the evening in West Yellowstone (West Entrance).

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Just a small smattering of photos that I remembered to take with my phone...

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And to my recollection, we've never had to endure this much snow in the Midwest all at once...

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I ran out of daylight before I ran out of things to do and see... and I wanted to make it into West Yellowstone so I could call The Boy before he went to bed. Driving out of the park after dusk was a whole new adventure in itself... most of us encounter deer on the road. How about trying to dodge and avoid Bison?! Needless to say, the trip out took a little while longer than I had hoped... not that I was in a huge hurry.

I got into West Yellowstone, called Aaron, and found a place to park and sleep for the night. I would complete the park loop tomorrow - trying to be a little more selective with the frequency that I stop - and then head into the Grand Teton NP.

Everything after leaving Yellowstone NP will be new territory, for me. I've yet to visit the Tetons, and I've not yet driven into Idaho...

New experiences ahead!

 

[CactusJacked]

You can say that again. Oh wait, you did!

 

[profdlp]

...I had a grizzly bear sighting on the South Loop trail which is somewhere between Canyon and Tower Falls. Fortunately, I spotted it from a distance and we both continued to do what we were doing...

It's a good thing that what he was doing was "not" looking for lunch! :signs8:

I'm loving your posts. It's probably the closest I'll get to a vacation this year. (Again...)

 

[yellocoyote]

Travel Day 6: West Yellowstone, MT to Arco, ID
(via Yellowstone NP & Grand Teton NP)

Sleep was absolute crap last night. I was plenty tired, so I'm not entirely sure what happened. On the upside, I got an earlier start with breakfast... and updates... and getting on the road... and everything. It's a good thing too - the later in the day, the more and more people made their way back into Yellowstone with me.

My intention for this morning was to continue the loop towards the south entrance, maybe stop off and make the obligatory visit with Old Faithful, and then exit from there. What I actually did was hike around a couple of the larger geyser basins, drove a couple of the side roads that not too many people take to see some waterfalls, drive to Old Faithful... arrived as it was erupting... looked at it for a second from the Jeep in the parking lot, and continued on my merry way.

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The last bit of my drive through Yellowstone was the southern route - this is one I don't recall having driving before. It certainly didn't disappoint, and it did give me some more look at the snow.

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Grand Teton National Park was next. I'd never been there before, and had no idea what to expect. I did like the amount of villages on the route - Yellowstone is so spread out that sometimes you're driving a sizable distance to get what you're looking for. But what really blew me away was the views!

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Amazing!!

I also didn't realize that upon exiting the southern end of the Tetons, you end up in the touristy ski town of Jackson Hole. While I'd heard of it before... I think I was simply oblivious as to where it was. I've been enlightened... and now I want to go back there some winter to go snowboarding.

Continuing over the Teton range and into Idaho, the landscape went from mountain ranges, to valley in a heartbeat. If not for the giants on the horizon, I could have mistaken the area for Iowa. I passed through Idaho Falls and caught up with US 20 again, moving west.

Just past Idaho Falls, the landscape seemed to become flat, dull, and barren. But, the farther I went, the more things just felt... 'strange.' I couldn't put my finger on why. Just eerie - kinda like the area might have been reminiscent of some sort of test range. There are buildings on the northern horizon, but all roads and paths leading towards them had 'restricted' signs. Mysterious.

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Turns out I was driving through Idaho National Laboratory land - 900 square miles of land dedicated to national-level nuclear lab and testing. Yikes! No wonder it was so strange and secretive.

I escaped the nuclear void, and next went to another odd area area that I hoped I would have time to visit. Craters of the Moon National Monument - just west of Arco, ID. This place is a little surreal. The change in the landscape is night and day. You go from driving in high-desert scrub to entering a world of black lava rock surfaces and remnants of old volcanoes. After cruising through the nuclear area, this seemed oddly appropriate.

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The park wasn't very large. The main road through was under 10 miles in total. I stayed for about 3 hours, did a little bit of light hiking. All the really cool-sounding things were a farther range than I wanted to do for as late in the evening as it had gotten. Things like hiking up to the top of dead volcanoes to see the craters and hiking down into caves (to harass the bats). Instead of going to the next town west for the evening, I came back to Arco instead. It was the closer of the towns. So, tomorrow I may stop back on my way by and do one or two of the things I passed on tonight.

 

[profdlp]

When I was in the Navy, half of our graduating class from Naval Nuclear Power school (including myself) were sent to Ballston Spa, NY for reactor training. The other half went to Idaho. Now I think I know just where in Idaho.

Your poor night's sleep was probably due to the glowing scenery from the nuke plant. :cheers:

 

[yellocoyote]

I just went through that today... so we'll see how I sleep tonight.

Yeah, that whole area just felt off. I'll have to do some homework on it to see what they're all about. I had someone on FB tell me that there is a submarine base under that place, where they test nuclear ballistic missile submarines. I'm not sure how true that is, but I'm intrigued.

 

[profdlp]

I suspect they heard about the training center. Navy nuke personnel end up on either subs or aircraft carriers, so they might have made the leap to sub testing.

Found this brief item: Naval Reactors Facility

EDIT: Here is where I was: Naval Support Activity Saratoga Springs

I lived off-base in a trailer on Atomic Project Road. :sparta:

 

[yellocoyote]

Travel Day 7: Arco, ID to Bend, OR

I was up again far earlier than should have been. Instead of trying to go back to sleep, I accepted defeat and stayed up. I stopped for fuel on my way out of town, and was westbound once again.

I did stop back at Craters of the Moon National Monument. I drove the loop road once more - I wasn't feeling up to doing any of the hiking that I thought I would. So after one final, and short, visit... I was on my way.

I was only on the road for a bit over an hour when I started feeling very groggy and road-weary. I had yet to experience during this trip so far, but I think my short sleep cycles were beginning to catch up with me. I came across a rest area near US 20 and State Road 75, parked, and tried for a power nap. I slept a little over an hour, felt a bit better and more alert. So I continued on.

When I'd gotten up this morning, I had intentions of stopping in Mountain Home, ID for a shower and breakfast (which ended up being lunch). I arrived there just before noon. Once finished in town, it was ever onward.

I'd decided yesterday, that because I spent a lot of time in Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks, I wanted to try to make up for that time today. So I didn't stop much at all, save for fuel stops... and today was a good day to just book it. The scenery, while pretty-ish, was not of the breathtaking and awe-inspiring nature today as it was yesterday.

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Drive, drive, and drive I did... finally landing in Bend, OR when it was all said and done. Just into the city limits on the east side of town, is Pilot Butte - you can drive to the top (550 ft.) for the grand view of the Cascade Mountains with the city of Bend at the base. I drove up once when I got into town...

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I returned closer to dark to get in some sunset photos.
The photos I took with my actual camera will be far better than these... but you get the idea.

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Tomorrow, I drive over a mountain range. I don't officially have to be to my first host site until Sunday morning... so I'll take one more day to get into the Portland area, explore a little, do some laundry... and enjoy one more glorious night of sleep in the Jeep.