Driving across America has allowed me to be privy to some pretty interesting sights, and I’m not just talking scenery. I am sure that if someone from South Dakota went on a road trip to California they would think that all the street names sound foreign, that the speed limit is quaintly low, and that people drive like maniacs. Likewise, driving in states like Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota causes some culture shock. For example, people do not wear helmets on motorcycles. Ok, that’s not that uncommon, there are lots of states without helmet laws. But how many times have you seen someone on a motorcycle towing a small trailer that housed a miniature horse?  And how many times have you seen someone on a four-wheeler (sans helmet of course) go through a Starbucks drive-through? Also, as a Californian it is in my nature to avoid fast food chains called “Taco John’s.” Andrew, on the other hand, insisted on trying a burrito and he was (unsurprisingly) disappointed. One last oddity: in states like Wyoming and South Dakota corn subsidies are high and corn crops are plentiful. This means that “super” or “premium” gasoline (which has a higher ethanol content) is actually cheaper than regular. And yes, we learned that the hard way.

In Wyoming I had the good fortune of visiting two places that have significance in two of my favorite movies. The first was Sundance, WY, a town from which the Sundance Kid took his name after spending some time in their jail. They had a fun sculpture of him sitting on a jailhouse bench, and I spent several minutes posing with him while Andrew took photos and bemused locals went about their morning commutes. The statue was handsome, but not quite as beautiful as Robert Redford’s version. Not far from Sundance is Devil’s Tower, an amazing geological wonder smack dab in the middle of flat farmland. Like most National Parks and Monuments, dogs are not allowed on the paths, so Andrew took a hike while Zephyr and I soaked up the sun (and in his case, attention). Which leads me to Road Trip Rule #3: If you find yourself bickering a lot with your road mate, take some time apart! Devil’s Tower allowed each of us to recharge and reflect privately. Oh, and while I haven’t had any mashed potatoes since I visited, I think I could do a pretty good reproduction. And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, please go rent Close Encounters of the Third Kind. NOW.

The Black Hills of South Dakota are beautiful, and serve as an important cultural and religious section of land for many Native Americans. While driving through we found a local radio station that was broadcasting a Native American talk show, and listened with interest as we drove to Crazy Horse, a huge monument to this Native American icon that is being carved into the hillside. This monument is a carving in progress, and when complete will be the largest mountain carving in the world. I’m not sure what that really means, as I don’t think there are a plethora of mountain carvings out there. But we paid the $20 entrance fee, and went in to see an informational movie and check out the Native American museum. The project is funded entirely through visitor admissions and donations, and the original artist’s family has taken over the project since his death in 1982.

Apparently the federal government has tried several times to fund the project and the family has refused to accept any help. One consequence of this is that the carving is done in very slow, small increments. At the time we went, the face was complete and we could see the outline of an outstretched arm. I think I will need to revisit the area in another 50 years to see how it’s coming along. A short twenty minute drive outside Crazy Horse we passed Mt Rushmore. In comparison to Crazy Horse, and despite how it looks in movies and photos, Mt. Rushmore is pretty dang small. We didn’t feel compelled to pay for parking so we caught a glimpse from a pullout down the road, and then headed out to Badlands National Park for our next adventure.

What a cutie

Such a strange and beautiful sight!

Devil’s Tower is a huge draw for rock climbers, but many Native Americans feel climbing here is disrespectful as this is a highly sacred place. I was happy just to sit and look at it for a while.

So much open space boggles my little California mind

See? Not so massive

What better way to end the day than with a mountain goat sighting? They are the coolest.

A lovely sunset amid more open space

On our way out of Canada we stopped for gas and met a “gang” of middle-aged men driving Model T’s of varying styles. One guy looked like he was driving a go-cart: the car had no ceiling, doors, windows, windshield, nothing! He basically had wheels, floorboards, and a steering column. These guys liked our teardrop, and as we got talking about our trip they suggested we drive through Glacier National Park, which is just over the border in Montana. Apparently this is one of the most beautiful drives in the world, and so I was super excited to add this to our itinerary.

We crossed the border easily (again, I was driving and did the talking) and headed to Glacier. Unfortunately we were in for our first big disappointment of the trip. The drive on “Going-to-the-Sun Road” is so narrow, winding, and steep that they don’t let vehicles over 21 feet through. With the teardrop we didn’t make the cut, and so we bid adieu to Glacier, knowing that we will return someday. Thankfully mountains and valleys seem to stick around, so I am sure it will be just as beautiful next time we pass through!

The drive through Montana was long and relatively dull, especially at night. Thankfully Andrew and I were flipping through AM stations and picked up a Canadian station that was playing a mock news comedy show called “This is That.” It was hilarious, and really helped keep us awake and in good spirits. One of their taglines was “Canada. Winter with a chance of summer.” Having just visited Canada in September and needing to wear my winter clothes, I can attest to this one!

The next day we made it to Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone is a really interesting place. It’s like the Disney World of National Parks. There are people everywhere. There are benefits to this though. I like to call it the “wildlife warning system,” or WWS. If you see a pile of people on the side of the road, stop and get your camera ready! Thanks to the WWS, we were able to see bison, deer, big horned sheep, pronghorn, a black wolf eating a carcass, and a grizzly bear snoozing beside a river. The wolf and bear were at a safe distance, and were viewed through spotting scopes. These are animals I never would have spotted without the WWS! So despite the annoyance of traffic and tourists crawling everywhere, there are benefits to be had.

We enjoyed the park for a couple hours, and decided to find a spot to bed down for the night. Which brings me to Road Trip Rule #2: If a campsite has open spots, go there FIRST! Since we dawdled, we wound up not finding an open spot in the park and had to go back out to National Forest land. The nice thing about National Forest land is that it’s free, and we were able to find a spot with a nice fire pit and wood that someone had left behind. The bad thing about National Forest land is that you are ALONE, and when five pairs of unidentified eyes stare at you as you start to cook your s’mores, you have no one around to rely on. We especially can’t rely on Zephyr, who jumps into his bed in the back of the truck at the first sign of potential danger. We still aren’t sure if it was a momma bear and cubs or a pack of wolves. Either way, it was pretty scary! We shoved the marshmallows into the truck and jumped into our teardrop where I spent a fitful night listening to every little sound as Andrew snored blissfully away.

Our next destination was Grand Teton National Park. Just south of Yellowstone, Grand Teton is much smaller and a lot less crowded. They had a little village with a Laundromat and shower facility near our campground, so we took a little break from “roughing it” and cleaned ourselves up. The campground was really nice, and we watched the sunset from the nearby lake. The next morning we were really excited to drive up Signal Mountain to glimpse what is supposed to be an amazing view of the Teton range and valley. Unfortunately some wildfires were raging outside of the park, and the smoke had billowed in overnight and settled around Signal Mountain. We drove all the way up to the top to look at white haze. For me this was the second real disappointment of the trip, and I know that I will also have to return to Grand Teton for that view!

Fortunately beauty abounds, and I do not have to be within the boundaries of a National Park to find it. Throughout Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota we have stumbled upon some really interesting and stunning scenery. The juxtaposition between nature and agriculture has been especially intriguing to me. You might never notice how amazing a green crop of alfalfa can be until it’s placed at the base of red clay hills, or how desolate and lonely an abandoned barn can seem out in the middle of a cornfield. Every day we experience something new, and I marvel at how vast, varied, and verdant this huge nation of ours is.

Zephyr and I enjoy a Montana sunset

Much of Yellowstone looks like this…

…and it smells bad too! Sulfur smells like rotten eggs in case you were wondering.

Apparently this is supposed to deter people from walking on geysers

Let’s call him Jorge.

Not a bad view from our free campsite outside Yellowstone

Yup.

Better than a TV!

Zephyr especially likes being off leash

Sunset at Grand Tetons National Park

The only photo I could get of the Grand Tetons that wasn’t smokey. Sad face.

A sign painted on a nearby hill declared this to be the “World’s Largest Hot Spring!”

See? Gorgeous.

Our first night in Canada was spent off the side of the road in an apparent trucker campsite. It was rugged and less than beautiful, but we were tired and went straight to bed. After an early rise we decided to drive on until we came to a more scenic location for breakfast and coffee. The drive into the heart of British Columbia was incredibly green, foggy, and damp. Signs along the road warned of avalanche risks in the winter, and the giant tree trunks strewn along like pick-up-sticks on the mountainside were evidence of this incredible force of nature.  We found a small lake, next to which we enjoyed some breakfast and coffee while Zephyr played more Fetch The Stick. We had a nice morning, despite the unwelcome sight of a local fisherman’s, er…., backside as he bent to assemble his gear.

Our first destination in Canada was Jasper National Park. Jasper is located just north of Banff, so we decided to drive up and enter Jasper from the north, and drive all the way down through Banff over the next couple of days. Our first big Canadian shock was the price tag for entering National Parks. We have a US National Park pass, and get into all of the parks for free. Even so, if you pay to enter a US National Park, it’s good for one week. That’s not how they do things in Canada! You have to pay for each day you spend in the park. The cost to enter the park was $19.60 per day, and we bought two days. So we spent almost $40 just to be in the parks, but it doesn’t stop there! We stayed at park campgrounds both nights, and paid for fire permits for both nights. Each night cost us a whopping $36 (wood was included). For travelers on a budget, this was a huge expense. Fortunately the parks were gorgeous so we got over it quickly!

After an early morning shower (squee!), we headed out to Lake Maligne at the northernmost edge of the park. It was nice, but nothing to write home about. The real show stopper was Athabasca Falls, an incredible gushing, tumbling, pummeling, torrent of a waterfall with walking paths that lead right to the top. The waterfall was not huge, but the force of the water rushing over was incredible. The sound and the sight of this phenomenal energy are forever etched into my memory. As if that wasn’t awesome enough, the color of the water was icy blue: an aquamarine that is only found in glacial waters. Top that off with incredible, colorful, striated potholes that were carved out of the cliff side by the water, and you have my tip-top most favorite scenic location to date.

As we drove south into Banff we marveled at the angular, rocky, snow-dusted peaks that surrounded us. Once in Banff we readily decided that Jasper was more impressive. It is larger and more diverse than Banff, and feels less developed. Our campground in Banff was bordered by bear proof electric fencing, and the roadways were also fenced off from wildlife. I do understand the need to protect the animals, but that combined with the number of people, the resorts, and the trains that blared through the night, and we were happy just spending one night there. Oh, and yes, we went to Lake Louise. It is as beautiful as they say, and has that same arctic blue we found throughout the parks, but it was teeming with people, and kayak rentals, and other distractions so we spent very little time there. The town of Banff was cute and quaint, and we enjoyed walking around with the dog and drinking some local coffee.

On the roads throughout Jasper and Banff there were signs posted everywhere about wildlife on the road. Images alternated between caribou, elk, moose, big horned sheep, mountain goats, and bears. These occurred with such frequency that I felt we were guaranteed at least one sighting, if not a collision. No such luck! I was starting to feel downhearted about it all, when as soon as we exited the park we encountered a pile of big horned sheep on the roadside. It was a fitting way to say goodbye to Banff, and on we rode toward Montana.

Zephyr enjoyed our morning stop at a misty lakeside

Andrew is excellent at making fires. I am excellent at watching him work.

Fun (and cold!) times at Lake Maligne in Jasper National Park

Lake Maligne

A view of the river deep below the canyon at Athabasca Falls

It was cold here too…

Stunning view at Athabasca Falls

The color of the water was amazing next to the green lichens and trees

I will never forget this color!

Ok, maybe I took too many photos but I can’t get over the beauty of this place!

Canadian National Parks are much more dog-friendly than their US counterparts. For this we (and Zephyr) were grateful!

A beautiful lake on our drive south towards Banff

The electric fence that surrounded our campground in Banff

Lake Louise…a rare moment when there were no people in my shot!

This past weekend we took a welcome break from life on the road and spent quality time with Andrew’s family in Washington State. I actually think the break would have been more welcome say 45 days in rather than just a week, but when you’re driving around North America you can’t really be choosy.

Puyallup is a suburban town about 45 minutes south of Seattle. It is one of those names that has taken me over a year to pronounce properly, and I still don’t really understand how a “y” comes out sounding like a “w” but there you have it. Pew-all-up, or “puke it all up” as I was taught by the locals. One of the great things about small town America in the fall is county fairs, as we discovered on our first night in Bishop. Puyallup actually boasts the largest county fair west of the Mississippi, so I figured we couldn’t miss this.

The fair was indeed large: in size, in content, in fried fatty foods. We walked for miles, ate disgustingly delicious junk food (my indulgences included a turkey leg AND a cotton candy cone each the size of my head), and checked out some games, rides, and sales booths. They sell everything at this fair, including hot tubs, salsa makers, and sheepskin boots (read: UGG knockoffs). I’m a sucker for a shoe, so I wound up purchasing a pair of said knockoffs in the largest child size, thus ensuring I would get an even better deal. As I sit here in the Canadian Rockies typing this up I can honestly say these boots are the best $50 I have spent in recent memory.

One of the reasons we spent so much time in Puyallup was so we could be with Nancy, Andrew’s mom who is recovering from hip replacement surgery and radiation for cancer. Nancy is one of those perpetually optimistic people, who are like aliens to me. She is always in a good mood, always up for visitors, and always counting her blessings. She will literally sit there and tell you how much worse it could be, even as she can’t find a comfortable position to lie in. I would like to take this opportunity to give Nancy some well-deserved kudos. Nancy: you are amazing! It’s your attitude, your personality, your selflessness, and your loving heart that I admire and that I find so inspiring. I am so thankful to have you in my life.

The highlight of my weekend with the Ides was breakfast Saturday morning. I cooked crepes, or as we call them in my egocentric family: Dutch Pancakes. Dutch Pancakes are a family tradition that my grandfather started before I was born. After he passed away my father made them during visits, and now my sister and I carry the torch as well. I was so happy to be able to share one of my old family traditions with my new family. They even pretended to like them! We also partook in Ide family traditions, like playing cutthroat poker for hours at a time and collecting berries and plums from the yard. Grace, our 22-month-old niece, definitely preferred berry picking to poker, but she has plenty of time to learn to appreciate the finer things in life.

On our last day in Puyallup we said goodbye and drove up to a quaint border town called Lynden, where Andrew’s old friend Jeremy lives with his little family. This town is not only quaint; it’s entirely Dutch! They even have a shopping center called Delft Square. Unfortunately Delft Square was gutted by a fire that was started by some teenagers who were smoking weed in an attic. How very Dutch indeed! We had a delicious dinner with Jeremy and his lovely wife Linda, and took a stroll through town with Zephyr and their adorable baby Abigail. Afterwards we said goodbye, and crossed our way, (without incident, since Andrew made me drive and do the talking), into the wilds of Canada.

They say, beneath the fog, that the Oregon coast is beautiful. The trees were lovely anyway…

Driving up the coast of Oregon

Nancy and Doug, the world’s best in-laws, at the county fair

That girl in the background is just jealous…

Grace enjoys a ride at the fair

I love me some fowl, what can I say?

The Ides and the Schlomers!

Driving in remote areas during the middle of the week is a wonderful thing. We are often the only vehicle for miles, and we are constantly remarking, “hey…guess what? We don’t have to work today!” On the one hand I know that luck has a lot to do with our situation. I was laid off, we were gifted a pick up truck (thanks mom!) which enabled us to sell our cars for travel funds, and Andrew’s part time gig at REI is allowing him to take a leave of absence with full health benefits for both of us. On the other hand, I believe a certain amount of chutzpah (or fearlessness to you gentiles) is required to take a leap like this. We often hear the remark, “I’m so jealous!” when we tell people what we’re up to. I do understand that this kind of adventure is not accessible to everyone, but I firmly believe that if one wants something badly enough, there are ways of making it happen.

Our last few days on the road have been a whirlwind of activity, driving, and lakes. Lakes, lakes and more lakes. And a river. Our next stop after Mammoth Lakes was Lake Tahoe. Andrew’s college friends Scott and Ashley live out here, and I got to meet them for the first time. Scott told us about his hunting adventures, including the time he had to tackle a big horned sheep. Needless to say, I really liked Scott and Ashley. They showed us a secret camping spot with an amazing view of Lake Tahoe, and we spent the evening drinking wine and telling stories about how we couples met and fell in love. It was wonderful, and after a cold night Andrew and I woke up to an amazing view and did a little top-rope climbing before hitting the road.

Next up was Crater Lake, one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. It is the cleanest large body of water in the entire world, and the visibility and color of the water is phenomenal. We arrived after dark, and decided to take a risk and drive out to the small campground that only has 16 spots. Naturally the campground was full, but we met a nice young couple that let us pull into their extra space and even shared their picnic table with us. Thanks Judson and Amanda, we hope you enjoyed the wine we left you! Road Trip Rule #1: Always bring extra alcohol. It is a great way to make friends and say thanks!

The next morning we packed up and did a driving tour around the lake. First up was “The Pinnacles,” an amazing outcropping of volcanic rock that were created when hot gasses escaped the rock, and the surrounding hillside eroded to reveal these amazing spires. Afterward we stopped at an overlook on Crater Lake and did a mini yoga session to wake up our muscles and prepare for the long drive ahead, and I’m fairly certain we surprised more than a few tourists with our “downward dog” maneuvers.

On our way up through Oregon we decided to take the scenic route through the Deschutes River area near Mt. Bachelor. We stopped off at beautiful Little Lava Lake for some lunch and so crazy Andrew could take a dip in ice melt. Zephyr played more “fetch the stick” and tired himself out for the next leg of the drive.

Our stopping point for the night was Smith Rock State Park, which is an awesome rock formation seemingly in the middle of farmland. Smith Rock was stunning, with huge red rocks towering over an idyllic gorge with a calm river that winds through a green valley. Gaggles of Canadian Geese flew overhead, which reminded me of my mom, a bird lover who is having her own fun adventure in Australia. Hi Mom, I miss you!

At Smith Rock there is no “car camping” allowed, and so we were required to set up our tent and camp away from our trailer. At first I was a bit grumpy at the prospect, but after we got into our sleeping bags I laid back and watched the brilliant stars through the open screen “ceiling” I was glad for the change of scenery.

The next day we awoke with the sun and did some quick rock climbing. Afterward we took real showers (huzzuh!), and drove west to meet my brother at his favorite fishing hole. Every time I visit the Pacific Northwest I am astounded by the greenery. Trees and ferns are literally dripping onto the road on all sides, and it is absolutely gorgeous, especially when it is sunny and warm. After catching three Rainbow Trout, we headed to Jared’s house for dinner and called it a day (or three)

Zephyr likes Lake Tahoe!

No words needed…utterly amazing.

My handsome hubby and some Pinnacles!

The stunning blue of Crater Lake

Sometimes I actually read these things

Happy dog with newly installed window grates!

If you decide to travel down unpaved forest roads, be prepared to unhitch when you hit a dead end!

Andrew took a dip with Zephyr in the arctic ice melt of Little Lava Lake

A picture is worth a thousand words!

I stayed on dry (and warm) land!

Gorgeous green valley surrounded by Smith Rock

Look ma, no hands!

I reel in a fish while Jared coaches

I cleaned my own fish!