I think everyone who lives in this beautiful country needs to drive across it at least once. Here's the approximate route I followed cross country. (not all the intermediate points are stops... I just had to create them to make the route follow the correct roads).
Also, I created dedicated photo galleries for my time in Glacier NP and for the Dallas World Aquarium (two very photogenic spots that I couldn't come even close to showing all the photos here in the blog that I wanted to)
Glacier National Park (check out a cool feature here: At the lower left, there is a link that says "View map". Click that, then turn the Google maps mode to "Hybrid" and zoom way in to see where the photos were taken.
Dallas World Aquarium
Other than that, I'm ready to sign out of this summer's adventure and return to blogging at ny06jh.blogspot.com. Oh yeah... 4600 miles in a BMW without even getting pulled over, and the worst damage sustained was a small chip in the windshield. Not bad... I'd do it all again.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Day 19: Ithaca
Total Miles: 4617
Total States: 17
Well, all vacations need to have an end somewhere... Today was a relatively short drive ("only" 670 miles) from Louisville back home to Ithaca. There really wasn't a ton to note, so here's the normal log and photo compilation:
The drive from Louisville to Ithaca.
Mile 4032: Crossed over into the state of Ohio
4142: Went through Columbus
4360: Made it through Ohio (in its very longest direction) and entered Pennsylvania. My lowest average speed for any state was here in PA, where there were no less than three major road construction projects in the 38 miles I went though. Caught a few glimpses of Lake Erie.
4398: Entered good 'ole New York State. The drive along the southern tier (the southern row of counties along the base of NY) was the prettiest since Glacier by far. It's all tree covered hills with quaint dairy farms in the meadowed valleys.
Mile 4617: Arrived at my house in Ithaca. I'm not sure which is more amazing: the fact that my car made it 4616 miles without anything breaking, or the fact that I was able to drive up Stewart Ave with nothing breaking. (For those of you not around Ithaca, Stewart is a very (read: VERY) old brick street just west of the university that is not in the best shape. My best guess is that the street itself is on the historic landmarks registry or something, so they can't just rip it out and repave...)
Total States: 17
Well, all vacations need to have an end somewhere... Today was a relatively short drive ("only" 670 miles) from Louisville back home to Ithaca. There really wasn't a ton to note, so here's the normal log and photo compilation:
The drive from Louisville to Ithaca.Mile 4032: Crossed over into the state of Ohio
4142: Went through Columbus
4360: Made it through Ohio (in its very longest direction) and entered Pennsylvania. My lowest average speed for any state was here in PA, where there were no less than three major road construction projects in the 38 miles I went though. Caught a few glimpses of Lake Erie.
4398: Entered good 'ole New York State. The drive along the southern tier (the southern row of counties along the base of NY) was the prettiest since Glacier by far. It's all tree covered hills with quaint dairy farms in the meadowed valleys.
Mile 4617: Arrived at my house in Ithaca. I'm not sure which is more amazing: the fact that my car made it 4616 miles without anything breaking, or the fact that I was able to drive up Stewart Ave with nothing breaking. (For those of you not around Ithaca, Stewart is a very (read: VERY) old brick street just west of the university that is not in the best shape. My best guess is that the street itself is on the historic landmarks registry or something, so they can't just rip it out and repave...)
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Day 18: Louisville
Total Miles: 3946
Total States: 14
I spent the day in Louisville with Chris and Sarah, friends from UW. Chris is attending Southern Baptist Seminary, and they actually had started classes yesterday! Now that's early. Anyhow, I kinda of worked around their schedules since Sarah had to work. After classes, Chris and I went downtown to sync up with Sarah's lunch break, and we had some delicious subs at a little hole-in-the-wall place.
Louisville waterfront
After that, Chris took me on a little tour of the town. As far as small cities go, Louisville has got to be one of the nicest. Its right on the Ohio river, with all sorts of waterfront open space. The downtown itself has a lot of old buildings, but is in pretty nice shape. There are some modern skyscrapers, but a lot of interesting architecture and art. Even out of the downtown area, many of the buildings ans houses are historic and very interesting to look at. We popped over the river to Indiana for a few minutes (hence the additional state in the "total states" count above), and drove by some of the major attractions, like the Louisville Slugger museum.
Downtown Louisville
After Sarah got off work, we went out to dinner at an excellent Mediterranean place. When we asked what one of the sides tasted like, the guy went back and prepared a whole tasting platter with all the sides. Not bad service, there. After dinner, we went back to the apartment and Chris' twin brother (also attending the same school) dropped by, and then we played Settlers of Catan, a strategy board game that was popular with some folks back at UW.
It was a pretty short visit, but that was probably OK since they were juggling school and work at this point. it was really good to see them and make and "east coast/west coast" connection.
Total States: 14
I spent the day in Louisville with Chris and Sarah, friends from UW. Chris is attending Southern Baptist Seminary, and they actually had started classes yesterday! Now that's early. Anyhow, I kinda of worked around their schedules since Sarah had to work. After classes, Chris and I went downtown to sync up with Sarah's lunch break, and we had some delicious subs at a little hole-in-the-wall place.
Louisville waterfrontAfter that, Chris took me on a little tour of the town. As far as small cities go, Louisville has got to be one of the nicest. Its right on the Ohio river, with all sorts of waterfront open space. The downtown itself has a lot of old buildings, but is in pretty nice shape. There are some modern skyscrapers, but a lot of interesting architecture and art. Even out of the downtown area, many of the buildings ans houses are historic and very interesting to look at. We popped over the river to Indiana for a few minutes (hence the additional state in the "total states" count above), and drove by some of the major attractions, like the Louisville Slugger museum.
Downtown LouisvilleAfter Sarah got off work, we went out to dinner at an excellent Mediterranean place. When we asked what one of the sides tasted like, the guy went back and prepared a whole tasting platter with all the sides. Not bad service, there. After dinner, we went back to the apartment and Chris' twin brother (also attending the same school) dropped by, and then we played Settlers of Catan, a strategy board game that was popular with some folks back at UW.
It was a pretty short visit, but that was probably OK since they were juggling school and work at this point. it was really good to see them and make and "east coast/west coast" connection.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Day 17
Total Miles: 3946
Total States: 13
I got a pretty early start to the day and managed to peel myself away from the kids by 7:30. It was an incredibly fun visit... not only getting to see some interesting stuff around the area, but also having plenty of time to just play with the kids. It has been quite the break from the fast-paced, intense PhD program.
Anyhow, destination today was Louisville, Kentucky, where a couple of my friends from UW had just moved to attend the Southern Baptist Seminary. Here's the travel log for the day...
Drive from Arlington, TX to Louisville, KY.
Mile 3052: Left Arlington. Hit some traffic trying to get around Dallas that held me up around half an hour. Sometimes you just really want to get out of a city... and especially out of its traffic!
3250: Crossed over from Texas into Arkansas at a town called Texarkana. (It's anybody's guess where they came up with a name like that!)
3385: Went through Little Rock. In general, there isn't much of interest along the freeway in Arkansas. I did appreciate the fact that most of the state is wooded along the freeway (I hadn't driven through any sort of trees since I left Glacier), but that was about it.
3422: Crossed the Mississippi into Tennessee (Thats a lot of double letters right there!). The freeways around Memphis were horrible in terms of heavy traffic and the merging that was necessary (such as while going around sharp corners with narrow lanes)
3430: I took a half hour detour to hit Mississippi (the state) so I could cross it off my list and never need to go back. This took me right through Graceland, the hometown of Elvis, though.
3437: Mississippi. The first state I've come across that doesn't bother to put a "Welcome to" sign on the interstate as you cross in.
3765: Nashville, TN. Of course I didn't take time to stop, but it still looked like a nice city. In general, the drive through Tennessee was quite enjoyable. Most of it is tree-covered hills that are a tiny bit too steep to be called "rolling". There were even some spots where the rock of the hills had to be cut back for the interstate (as opposed to the terrain I've been in for the last week+)
3794: Crossed into Kentucky
3823: Bowling Green, KY. GM had a plant here for years (and still does?), but its best known because Corvettes were made here. There is a national Corvette Museum that I would have stopped in at if (1) it wasn't closed for the night and (2) I had more time.
3893: Birthplace of Abe Lincoln. I forget the name of the town. Much like TN, KY is mostly rolling hills carpeted with trees and dotted with horse farms.
3946: Arrived in Louisville just after 10:00 pm.
Again, neither the BMW nor I had any problems with a day-long drive. We stayed up a little while talking, but both of them had to be up early the next morning. The trip is rapidly drawing to a close. I'll spend a full day and another night here in Louisville, but then its a quick 10 hour drive back to Ithaca.
Total States: 13
I got a pretty early start to the day and managed to peel myself away from the kids by 7:30. It was an incredibly fun visit... not only getting to see some interesting stuff around the area, but also having plenty of time to just play with the kids. It has been quite the break from the fast-paced, intense PhD program.
Anyhow, destination today was Louisville, Kentucky, where a couple of my friends from UW had just moved to attend the Southern Baptist Seminary. Here's the travel log for the day...
Drive from Arlington, TX to Louisville, KY.Mile 3052: Left Arlington. Hit some traffic trying to get around Dallas that held me up around half an hour. Sometimes you just really want to get out of a city... and especially out of its traffic!
3250: Crossed over from Texas into Arkansas at a town called Texarkana. (It's anybody's guess where they came up with a name like that!)
3385: Went through Little Rock. In general, there isn't much of interest along the freeway in Arkansas. I did appreciate the fact that most of the state is wooded along the freeway (I hadn't driven through any sort of trees since I left Glacier), but that was about it.
3422: Crossed the Mississippi into Tennessee (Thats a lot of double letters right there!). The freeways around Memphis were horrible in terms of heavy traffic and the merging that was necessary (such as while going around sharp corners with narrow lanes)
3430: I took a half hour detour to hit Mississippi (the state) so I could cross it off my list and never need to go back. This took me right through Graceland, the hometown of Elvis, though.
3437: Mississippi. The first state I've come across that doesn't bother to put a "Welcome to" sign on the interstate as you cross in.
3765: Nashville, TN. Of course I didn't take time to stop, but it still looked like a nice city. In general, the drive through Tennessee was quite enjoyable. Most of it is tree-covered hills that are a tiny bit too steep to be called "rolling". There were even some spots where the rock of the hills had to be cut back for the interstate (as opposed to the terrain I've been in for the last week+)
3794: Crossed into Kentucky
3823: Bowling Green, KY. GM had a plant here for years (and still does?), but its best known because Corvettes were made here. There is a national Corvette Museum that I would have stopped in at if (1) it wasn't closed for the night and (2) I had more time.
3893: Birthplace of Abe Lincoln. I forget the name of the town. Much like TN, KY is mostly rolling hills carpeted with trees and dotted with horse farms.
3946: Arrived in Louisville just after 10:00 pm.
Again, neither the BMW nor I had any problems with a day-long drive. We stayed up a little while talking, but both of them had to be up early the next morning. The trip is rapidly drawing to a close. I'll spend a full day and another night here in Louisville, but then its a quick 10 hour drive back to Ithaca.
Day 16
Today was a pretty low-key day with not a ton to report. It was my last day in Arlington, TX with relatives. We went to church, then cooked up some burgers for dinner. Then I spent the better part of the afternoon sorting pictures from the previous several days. The rest of the evening was spent packing and doing all the last-minute things that kids wanted to do before I left. After some jumping on the trampoline (after dark, when the temperature dipped down towards 90), I finished packing stuff and turned in for the night.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Day 15
Total Miles: 3052
Total States: 9
Today the whole family headed out to the Texas Soaring Association, where one of my cousins is pretty involved flying gliders. These are the type of gliders that are towed up a few thousand feet by a tow plane, then catch the thermals to stay up longer. I got to go up on a half-hour demo flight with one of the instructors. Man, he was a character. Turns out he flew fighters in Vietnam (some pretty crazy missions!) and is actually currently a test pilot for Lockheed Martin. So, needless to say I had a fair amount of confidence in his ability to pilot a simple glider!
The Glider we went up in...
We got hooked up with a tow, then sailed around a little looking for thermals in the near vicinity of the glider port. We caught a few, then he let me take the controls for a while. I've flown a little Cessna plane briefly before, so I had used the whole joystick/yaw pedal arrangement before, but not near enough to "feel" things. It was the same here. The controls all gave the inputs I expected, but I definitely did not feel connected with the glider. A few more runs and I'm sure it would come though. Then I relinquished the controls, and got a nice roller coaster ride with some pretty high G's and some spots getting pretty close to zero G's. It was a fun experience... flying with a great view through the bubble canopy without any engine noise or anything.
Getting a tow on up to 3500 feet
The glider port from the air
I got some good video clips of taking off and landing, so one of these days I'll take the time to upload some of the videos to Youtube so I can embed them here in the blog.
Total States: 9
Today the whole family headed out to the Texas Soaring Association, where one of my cousins is pretty involved flying gliders. These are the type of gliders that are towed up a few thousand feet by a tow plane, then catch the thermals to stay up longer. I got to go up on a half-hour demo flight with one of the instructors. Man, he was a character. Turns out he flew fighters in Vietnam (some pretty crazy missions!) and is actually currently a test pilot for Lockheed Martin. So, needless to say I had a fair amount of confidence in his ability to pilot a simple glider!
The Glider we went up in...We got hooked up with a tow, then sailed around a little looking for thermals in the near vicinity of the glider port. We caught a few, then he let me take the controls for a while. I've flown a little Cessna plane briefly before, so I had used the whole joystick/yaw pedal arrangement before, but not near enough to "feel" things. It was the same here. The controls all gave the inputs I expected, but I definitely did not feel connected with the glider. A few more runs and I'm sure it would come though. Then I relinquished the controls, and got a nice roller coaster ride with some pretty high G's and some spots getting pretty close to zero G's. It was a fun experience... flying with a great view through the bubble canopy without any engine noise or anything.
Getting a tow on up to 3500 feet
The glider port from the airI got some good video clips of taking off and landing, so one of these days I'll take the time to upload some of the videos to Youtube so I can embed them here in the blog.
Day 14: Dallas
Total Miles: 3052
Total States: 9
Today is Friday, and my uncle took the day off work, so we all went in to Dallas for the day. The main destination was the Dallas World Aquarium. Its right in the West End, which is the more historic downtown of Dallas. Despite a rather unassuming translucent glass exterior, the inside of the three story building was a big, open rainforest with real trees, tropical birds flying around, and a lot of well-integrated exhibits. It was almost as much a zoo as it was an aquarium. There were many above-ground animals such as a jaguar, spiders, chameleons, birds, etc.
Various pictures from the Dallas World Aquarium
Total States: 9
Today is Friday, and my uncle took the day off work, so we all went in to Dallas for the day. The main destination was the Dallas World Aquarium. Its right in the West End, which is the more historic downtown of Dallas. Despite a rather unassuming translucent glass exterior, the inside of the three story building was a big, open rainforest with real trees, tropical birds flying around, and a lot of well-integrated exhibits. It was almost as much a zoo as it was an aquarium. There were many above-ground animals such as a jaguar, spiders, chameleons, birds, etc.
Various pictures from the Dallas World AquariumAfter the Aquarium, the two older cousins and another friend stayed in Dallas for coffee, hangout, dinner, and just to walk around. We ended up at a Spaghetti warehouse for dinner, then walked through the old town to the Reunion Tower, which is kind of the iconic tower of Dallas (think Seattle's Space Needle). The views were great, even if the weather was a little warm. (It's been over a hundred and high RH!)
Reunion tower in Dallas
View of Dallas from the Reunion Tower
Reunion tower in Dallas
View of Dallas from the Reunion TowerSaturday, August 11, 2007
Day 13: Arlington, TX
Total Miles 3004
Total States: 9
Well, I got back to Arlington last night (no point in sticking around Austin for another night just to fight traffic in the morning. This tipped my trip odo just over 3000 miles in the last two weeks. Not bad. My cousins have the next 4 days planned out for me it seems. That involves a lot of playing with legos, jumping on the trampoline (after sunset!!), and other events that you will get to hear of as they happen.
Today, I saw the most cash I have ever seen in my life. By a few hundred million dollars. We took a little excursion to the Fort Worth Bureau of Printing and Engraving, which is one of only two places that US currency is printed. Their security is pretty crazy, and the whole visitor area is in overhead catwalks that don't ever connect to the floor. No, they don't hand out free samples at the end.
Besides a pretty interesting visitor center that had a lot of history and info on the security features and stuff, there was about a 45 minute tour through the overhead walkways. It is quite amazing seeing pallet on pallet of solid money. Literally tons. Turns out they use some of the printing machines produced at the Heidelberger Druck, a factory I toured while I was in Germany last summer. I mention it briefly in my post from last summer here. Anyhow, The printing presses were a bit more exciting spinning off hundred dollar bills.
That night, we watched Cars, the Pixar film. I've been wanting to see it for a while, and it lived up to its humorous reputation. It is also one of the most quoted movies around here with the kids! (behind only Star wars)
PS. It seems BMW is a much too boring name for my car. My cousins have decided its name should be Benedict Maximillianus Wilhelm (B.M.W.). Hmm. Any other suggestions?
Total States: 9
Well, I got back to Arlington last night (no point in sticking around Austin for another night just to fight traffic in the morning. This tipped my trip odo just over 3000 miles in the last two weeks. Not bad. My cousins have the next 4 days planned out for me it seems. That involves a lot of playing with legos, jumping on the trampoline (after sunset!!), and other events that you will get to hear of as they happen.
Today, I saw the most cash I have ever seen in my life. By a few hundred million dollars. We took a little excursion to the Fort Worth Bureau of Printing and Engraving, which is one of only two places that US currency is printed. Their security is pretty crazy, and the whole visitor area is in overhead catwalks that don't ever connect to the floor. No, they don't hand out free samples at the end.
Besides a pretty interesting visitor center that had a lot of history and info on the security features and stuff, there was about a 45 minute tour through the overhead walkways. It is quite amazing seeing pallet on pallet of solid money. Literally tons. Turns out they use some of the printing machines produced at the Heidelberger Druck, a factory I toured while I was in Germany last summer. I mention it briefly in my post from last summer here. Anyhow, The printing presses were a bit more exciting spinning off hundred dollar bills.
That night, we watched Cars, the Pixar film. I've been wanting to see it for a while, and it lived up to its humorous reputation. It is also one of the most quoted movies around here with the kids! (behind only Star wars)
PS. It seems BMW is a much too boring name for my car. My cousins have decided its name should be Benedict Maximillianus Wilhelm (B.M.W.). Hmm. Any other suggestions?
Day 10-12: SFF '07
UT AustinMonday through Wednesday I was attending the 18th annual Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF) conference at the UT Austin campus. For those of you not particularly familiar with the field, this conference deals with the latest and greatest 3D printers (printers that actually print out 3D, usable parts!) and techniques thereof.
UT CampusI won't bother to summarize too much of what went on, because I would probably bore most of you. But most of the talks were at least interesting enough to stay awake, and my talk (20 minutes, to ~ 50 people) went really well. I had several professors whom I had never met before come up to me in the hours following to ask further question about what I was doing. Even one guy from industry (he is the industry guru for 3D printing stuff... he was the opening keynote speaker and he compiles a well respected review of the 3D printing industry every year) was very interested and seemed to "get it".
Older part of UT campus
Fortunately, One of the other guys from our lab (google "Fab at Home") was there, so I knew someone else there. Monday night was a banquet at a fancy hotel, and Tuesday night was dinner at Stubbs, an iconic local Texas BBQ place. Wednesday after the conference, I walked around a little, and made it down to the Texas state capital, which happened to be only about 6 blocks from the south edge of the UT campus.
Texas State Capital
The dome of the Texas State CapitalDay 9
Total miles: 2800
Total states: 9
Well, I woke to a beautiful, crisp Texas morning. And by crisp, I'm referring to if you dropped an egg on the sidewalk. Except the RH was probably too high for that. But I awoke to my aunt cooking up some excellent french toast and sausage before church. After church, we had a pretty low-key afternoon, then I headed down towards Austin for my conference that started first thing Monday morning.
It was a quick, three hour drive down there, and I arrived at about mile 2800 on the trip odometer and checked into my hotel for the next three nights.
Total states: 9
Well, I woke to a beautiful, crisp Texas morning. And by crisp, I'm referring to if you dropped an egg on the sidewalk. Except the RH was probably too high for that. But I awoke to my aunt cooking up some excellent french toast and sausage before church. After church, we had a pretty low-key afternoon, then I headed down towards Austin for my conference that started first thing Monday morning.
It was a quick, three hour drive down there, and I arrived at about mile 2800 on the trip odometer and checked into my hotel for the next three nights.
Day 8
Total miles: 2595
Total states: 9
Well, I got away around 7:00 for one of the longest driving days of the trip. This is by far the most states in one day so far in the trip. And most of 'em weren't too exciting.
Mile 1620: Leaving Lagrange
1630: Crossed border into Nebraska. Gas prices were 30 cents higher in Nebraska that around
1767: Crossed into the northeast corner of Colorado
1790: Back into Nebraska
1870: Crossed into Kansas. Western Kansas actually has more rolling hills and little tree-shaded streams than I imagined (although honestly I didn't imagine much). But there was certainly plenty of flatness.
2193: We're not not in Kansas anymore... although Oklahoma is slightly less exciting than Oz.
2340: Cruisin' through Oklahoma City.
2420: Crossin' the border into the great republic of Teay-xas.
2595: Arrived in Arlington, TX by 11:00pm. The two youngest (of four) cousins were in bed, but Everyone else was up to greet.
But, I gotta say. That BMW just devoured pretty close to a 1000 mile day with only two stops (gas, and gas) with very little discomfort on my part. She's now decorated with bugs from 9 states, with quite a few more to go!
Total states: 9
Well, I got away around 7:00 for one of the longest driving days of the trip. This is by far the most states in one day so far in the trip. And most of 'em weren't too exciting.
Mile 1620: Leaving Lagrange
1630: Crossed border into Nebraska. Gas prices were 30 cents higher in Nebraska that around
1767: Crossed into the northeast corner of Colorado
1790: Back into Nebraska
1870: Crossed into Kansas. Western Kansas actually has more rolling hills and little tree-shaded streams than I imagined (although honestly I didn't imagine much). But there was certainly plenty of flatness.
2193: We're not not in Kansas anymore... although Oklahoma is slightly less exciting than Oz.
2340: Cruisin' through Oklahoma City.
2420: Crossin' the border into the great republic of Teay-xas.
2595: Arrived in Arlington, TX by 11:00pm. The two youngest (of four) cousins were in bed, but Everyone else was up to greet.
But, I gotta say. That BMW just devoured pretty close to a 1000 mile day with only two stops (gas, and gas) with very little discomfort on my part. She's now decorated with bugs from 9 states, with quite a few more to go!
Day 7: Lagrange
Total Miles: 1620
Total States: 5
We were slightly more productive today in my second day in Lagrange. I think I only played a few hours of Xbox, and in the afternoon I helped Cam build up a computer. Of course (like almost any real project) it didn't go as smoothly as would be hoped. The problem actually boiled down to a DOA hard drive, which is relatively uncommon. Anyhow, we got it up and running with another hard drive and all was well.
That evening, we went to dinner in Scots bluff, Nebraska. It turns out that was only about 45 minutes away. We drove all that way for "fast food", but it was good fast food. The venue was Culvers, which I had never been to before. Turns out its a midwest (Wisconsin) chain that specializes in cheese stuff (go figure!) and butterburgers. Despite how unhealthy the term "butterburger" sounds, its actually just a normal burger where the buns are grilled with butter. They also had some really good strawberry lemonade that was SO creamy it should have been classified as a smoothie.
After that, we stopped by home depot on the way back, and I went to bed relatively early to prepare for a long day of driving the next day. In all, its was a really good time of relaxing. There's nothing like being in Lagrange to force relaxation, and it was good.
Total States: 5
We were slightly more productive today in my second day in Lagrange. I think I only played a few hours of Xbox, and in the afternoon I helped Cam build up a computer. Of course (like almost any real project) it didn't go as smoothly as would be hoped. The problem actually boiled down to a DOA hard drive, which is relatively uncommon. Anyhow, we got it up and running with another hard drive and all was well.
That evening, we went to dinner in Scots bluff, Nebraska. It turns out that was only about 45 minutes away. We drove all that way for "fast food", but it was good fast food. The venue was Culvers, which I had never been to before. Turns out its a midwest (Wisconsin) chain that specializes in cheese stuff (go figure!) and butterburgers. Despite how unhealthy the term "butterburger" sounds, its actually just a normal burger where the buns are grilled with butter. They also had some really good strawberry lemonade that was SO creamy it should have been classified as a smoothie.
After that, we stopped by home depot on the way back, and I went to bed relatively early to prepare for a long day of driving the next day. In all, its was a really good time of relaxing. There's nothing like being in Lagrange to force relaxation, and it was good.
Day 6: Lagrange
Total Miles: 1620
Total States: 4
After a few intense days of hiking and driving, I spent the day pretty much vegetating with the McCoys. I think I spent most of the morning playing Xbox with the boys, and the afternoon wasn't a whole lot more productive. But sometimes, it feels really good to just chill and be with friends. I definitely wasn't expecting to be back in Lagrange this soon after the spring break trip. Of course (as I was expecting) there weren't many other students there, and Casey was working at a camp somewhere far-ish away that week.
Total States: 4
After a few intense days of hiking and driving, I spent the day pretty much vegetating with the McCoys. I think I spent most of the morning playing Xbox with the boys, and the afternoon wasn't a whole lot more productive. But sometimes, it feels really good to just chill and be with friends. I definitely wasn't expecting to be back in Lagrange this soon after the spring break trip. Of course (as I was expecting) there weren't many other students there, and Casey was working at a camp somewhere far-ish away that week.
Day 5
Total Miles: 1620
Total States: 4
The drive from Glacier toLagrange, WY.
Today was a driving day. I left glacier early in the morning (like by 6:30) and headed south and east toward Lagrange, WY.
Mile 768: Left Two medicine campground
Mile 1000: Somewhere northeast of Helena
Mile 1090: Billings, MT
Mile 1285: Crossed the border into Wyoming
Mile 1435: Casper, Wy
Mile 1620: Arrived at Lagrange, WY.
The mountains stopped quite literally within ten miles east of Glacier, and I was driving through prairie for about 80% of the day. Nothing exciting, but at least it wasn't totally flat. I actually made pretty good time and arrived at the McCoys' by 7:00. I quite literally walked in the door, said hi, went back out to the car to grab my stuff, then took a shower. (after three days of hiking!)
Total States: 4
The drive from Glacier toLagrange, WY.Today was a driving day. I left glacier early in the morning (like by 6:30) and headed south and east toward Lagrange, WY.
Mile 768: Left Two medicine campground
Mile 1000: Somewhere northeast of Helena
Mile 1090: Billings, MT
Mile 1285: Crossed the border into Wyoming
Mile 1435: Casper, Wy
Mile 1620: Arrived at Lagrange, WY.
The mountains stopped quite literally within ten miles east of Glacier, and I was driving through prairie for about 80% of the day. Nothing exciting, but at least it wasn't totally flat. I actually made pretty good time and arrived at the McCoys' by 7:00. I quite literally walked in the door, said hi, went back out to the car to grab my stuff, then took a shower. (after three days of hiking!)
Friday, August 3, 2007
Day 4: Glacier NP
Total Miles: 813
Total States: 3
Gee... another day of hiking in some of the most beautiful mountains in the country in perfect, sunny, 80 degree weather. Why ever did I subject myself to this? haha...
After sleeping in a little bit (until 7:00), I did a quick campsite swap (the one I had found the night before was reserved for the second night) and then took off on another 19 mile hike. This hike followed Two Medicine Lake in, then up a valley past No Name Lake for about 7 miles, then quickly ascended to the continental divide (at around 7-8000 feet). The trail then traversed the divide for about 4 miles (This was some of the most beautiful trail I think I've ever been on in terms of views!)
Looking up Two Medicine Lake
Butterfly and Bee
No Name Lake (a popular backpacking destination)
More crazy sedimentary rock up past 7000 feet
Me on the divide over some lake. There were so many of these beautiful, deep blue lakes I can't recall all the names. It was also extremely windy up there (I had to take my hat off or else it would have just up and blown away!)
The wildflowers on this hike were amazing. This looks almost like a garden...
View from the divide
View from an outcropping at about 8000 feet
Another lake.
Total States: 3
Gee... another day of hiking in some of the most beautiful mountains in the country in perfect, sunny, 80 degree weather. Why ever did I subject myself to this? haha...
After sleeping in a little bit (until 7:00), I did a quick campsite swap (the one I had found the night before was reserved for the second night) and then took off on another 19 mile hike. This hike followed Two Medicine Lake in, then up a valley past No Name Lake for about 7 miles, then quickly ascended to the continental divide (at around 7-8000 feet). The trail then traversed the divide for about 4 miles (This was some of the most beautiful trail I think I've ever been on in terms of views!)
Looking up Two Medicine Lake
Butterfly and Bee
No Name Lake (a popular backpacking destination)
More crazy sedimentary rock up past 7000 feet
Me on the divide over some lake. There were so many of these beautiful, deep blue lakes I can't recall all the names. It was also extremely windy up there (I had to take my hat off or else it would have just up and blown away!)
The wildflowers on this hike were amazing. This looks almost like a garden...
View from the divide
View from an outcropping at about 8000 feet
Another lake.Man. What a good time. By the time I got back from this hike (it only took about 7 hours!), I had done about 45 miles of hiking in the last 45 hours. Making my average hiking speed 1 mph, including sleeping! Not bad... I was certainly pretty tired, although if I had time for a third day there, I would have done more! I went to bed really early that night so I could make it to the McCoys' house the next day in SE Wyoming by early evening.
Day 3: Glacier NP
Total Miles: 813
Total States: 3
Man, I can already tell this is going to be a hard post to write. I took upwards of 200 pictures today, most of them beautiful, and I somehow have to boil them down to 5-6 for this post! I will probably create a separate web photo gallery for Glacier later.
Anyhow, I woke up at 6:00 or so, broke camp, and drove up to Logan pass, which is the continental divide, and kind of the centerpiece of the park. They have a big visitor center and a few hikes taking off from there. At the ranger's recommendation, I decided to hike to Granite Chalet, up to Switchcurrent pass, up Switchcurrent mountain, and back down to "The Loop" on the main road. All in all it was about an 18 mile hike, with a few strenuous parts heading up to the continental divide. I reached the high point of my trip at Switchcurrent mountain, topping out at around 8500 feet. It's a good thing I am in decent shape... I actually hardly noticed the relative lack of oxygen up there except that my legs got tired quicker on the uphills.
So, enough words. Here's some pics:
The trail, starting off. Not a good place for those with fear of heights or poor balance!
Mountians, mountains, mountains. There were so many...
Lots of wildlife
Interesting rocks. the red and blue were together, sometimes ever sedimented together. Don't ask me why or how, but it looked cool.
Trail up Switchcurrent mountain
Mountain panorama
Looking over the continental divide to a glacier and lake
360 degree panorama from Switchcurrent mtn, up at 8500 feet.So when I got back from the 18 mile hike, I wasn't ready to be done yet, so I did a short 1.5 mile hike that also took off from Logan Pass to Hidden Lake. This trail was disgustingly tourist-overridden, but I grit my teeth to get the views, which were (of course) absolutely stunning.
Cure little wildlife
Not-so-little wildlife (moutain goats seem pretty gentle, though)
Mountains and bighorn sheep. This is one of my favorite panoramas from the day
and finally, Hidden Lake is revealed.
I got back from this hike, making it a 20+ mile day, hopped in the car, and drove out of the park around to a much less populated entrance to the south by Two Medicine Lake. This driving was actually some of the best the entire trip. The speed limit (out of the park) was 70, but the whole road was corners marked at "suggested" 25 or 35 MPH. Man, I love how that BMW handles, and this was a great opportunity to stretch her legs a little.
Arriving at Two Medicine campground, I set up camp and went to bed early again to do more of the same the next day...
Cure little wildlife
Not-so-little wildlife (moutain goats seem pretty gentle, though)
Mountains and bighorn sheep. This is one of my favorite panoramas from the day
and finally, Hidden Lake is revealed.I got back from this hike, making it a 20+ mile day, hopped in the car, and drove out of the park around to a much less populated entrance to the south by Two Medicine Lake. This driving was actually some of the best the entire trip. The speed limit (out of the park) was 70, but the whole road was corners marked at "suggested" 25 or 35 MPH. Man, I love how that BMW handles, and this was a great opportunity to stretch her legs a little.
Arriving at Two Medicine campground, I set up camp and went to bed early again to do more of the same the next day...
Day 2
Total miles: 715
Totals states: 3
After waking up and having breakfast, I got a relatively early start heading over to Glacier NP in northern Montana. Apparently, I've been there before (so my parents tell me at least), but I was itching to do some good hiking up in the rockies, and I heard Glacier was about as beautiful as it gets. So I left Alta lake not long after 9:00.
The drive from Alta Lake to Glacier NP. I missed the MT sign, and didn't take many pictures in the western MT mountains, because I was having too much fun driving.
Mile 348: Grand Coulee Dam - I've been here before (even in my memory!) so I didn't really stop to do anything besides get a couple pictures, man, it is a BIG hunk of concrete!
Grand Coulee Dam Panorama
Mile 456: After going through Spokane, I crossed over into Idaho. Yeah. Exciting.
Mile 533: Wait... another exciting one. I crossed the big black line on the ground over into Montana. This was actually some fun driving around here, but I missed the "Welcome to Montana" sign because it was on the top of a twisty mountain pass, and I was behind some huge camper thing. So much for getting the "welcome to" sign for every state I visited.
MIle 715: I finally arrive in Glacier around 6:00pm. The drive was not a big deal at all... I really love this car! I checked in at the ranger station for hike recommendations for the next two days, and got some good suggestions. I headed deep into the park to Avalanche campground (it was named after the creek that comes from avalanche lake, so I wasn't in any imminent danger of being buried under dirt!), set up camp, then went for a quick evening hike.
The hike was to the aforementioned Avalanche Lake, a mere 2.5 miles up the creek. It was an easy, well traveled hike, and it took hardly any time. There were some beautiful waterfalls along the creek and at the lake:
Avalanche Creek
Avalanche Lake. I got here a little too late for good lighting conditions...
I got back and went to bed not long after dark so I could get an early start to the hiking the next day (Monday).
Totals states: 3
After waking up and having breakfast, I got a relatively early start heading over to Glacier NP in northern Montana. Apparently, I've been there before (so my parents tell me at least), but I was itching to do some good hiking up in the rockies, and I heard Glacier was about as beautiful as it gets. So I left Alta lake not long after 9:00.
The drive from Alta Lake to Glacier NP. I missed the MT sign, and didn't take many pictures in the western MT mountains, because I was having too much fun driving.Mile 348: Grand Coulee Dam - I've been here before (even in my memory!) so I didn't really stop to do anything besides get a couple pictures, man, it is a BIG hunk of concrete!
Grand Coulee Dam PanoramaMile 456: After going through Spokane, I crossed over into Idaho. Yeah. Exciting.
Mile 533: Wait... another exciting one. I crossed the big black line on the ground over into Montana. This was actually some fun driving around here, but I missed the "Welcome to Montana" sign because it was on the top of a twisty mountain pass, and I was behind some huge camper thing. So much for getting the "welcome to" sign for every state I visited.
MIle 715: I finally arrive in Glacier around 6:00pm. The drive was not a big deal at all... I really love this car! I checked in at the ranger station for hike recommendations for the next two days, and got some good suggestions. I headed deep into the park to Avalanche campground (it was named after the creek that comes from avalanche lake, so I wasn't in any imminent danger of being buried under dirt!), set up camp, then went for a quick evening hike.
The hike was to the aforementioned Avalanche Lake, a mere 2.5 miles up the creek. It was an easy, well traveled hike, and it took hardly any time. There were some beautiful waterfalls along the creek and at the lake:
Avalanche Creek
Avalanche Lake. I got here a little too late for good lighting conditions...I got back and went to bed not long after dark so I could get an early start to the hiking the next day (Monday).
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
