Postscript

Texas Panhandle

Just a last word on the Lewis and Clark trip. In 23 days, we have covered 7400 miles this trip, much more than I ever imagined.

We really have cannonballed home since picking up I40 south of Santa Fe, driving 600 miles each day on Thursday and Friday. And remained friends, probably the biggest

Cadillac Ranch

accomplishment.

We did make one stop at Cadillac Ranch outside Amarillo, TX. It is a public art installation set up in the 1970s by a couple of architecture students commenting on the evolution of Cadillac tailfins. Actually, my dad had one model they used, and my grandfather drove us to Seattle for the 1960 World's Fair in another. The public is invited to add

Public Art

paint to the project so it continually evolves. Despite the fact that there is NO signage and it's in the middle of a plowed field, there were lots of people there, some painting, some admiring as we did. Apparently enough come to paint, there are two dumpsters by the road for empty paint cans.

I have had a ball this trip and I have one big trip in mind for next year, but my  happiest times with the trailer have been in the nearby state parks with friends and young'uns. That might just be my focus from here on out. The equipment has performed admirably and we've been comfortable the whole trip (except for the brief evacuation during the storm in Iowa), but there's no place like home among loved ones and that seems to be where we are

both happiest.

I've got a few more short excursions still this fall while the weather nice. So Happy Trails. May we meet again soon.

South by southeast

We are ready for home. But not before taking in some southwestern color. Two

Estes Park, CO

days ago, we camped at Ft. Collins, CO and spent a day driving the Trail Ridge Scenic Highway from Estes Park west through Rocky Mountain National Park. It is the highest highway in the US and we topped out over 12,000 feet. My grandparents brought me through the Rockies when I was about 6 years old and I vividly remember frolicking in snow in my summer clothes. Precious little snow here,

Two miles high

even at the highest elevations.

We had lunch in an open air restaurant in the resort town of Grand Lake then we took another, equally beautiful route home through national forest land back to Ft. Collins. We have loved all of this but are getting saturated with it and running out of ways to photograph what we really can't capture.

Oh, those Rocky Mountains

We headed out of Ft. Collins down through Denver then down, finally, through more endless plains, interrupted by tree-covered buttes--something new. We'd seen lots of buttes, but always nearly barren, especially towards the tops. These were covered with thick trees all over. A pleasant change, but still endless. Yes, we are ready for the Uwharries.

Grand Lake, CO

Most of the places we've been so far have been pretty isolated, and in areas of very low population so we haven't had much traffic. We expected a lot at Rocky Mountain National Park as it was Labor Day and it was heavier than we've experienced, but still pretty mild. So we were out of practice navigating heavy traffic when we hit Denver.

Welcome to the Mile High City

The Coors Stadium was pretty impressive--loved the moving lines. And I have never seen a tractor pulling three trailers. It did get a little dicey at moments with 5 lanes of heavy traffic. I was pleased to see that they had an excellent system of electric trains. The tracks paralleled the interstate and the trains were frequent, full and fast--fast enough I wasn't able to get a picture, but you get the idea.

Denver Coors Stadium

From Denver, we continued south, through endless prairie to finally arrive at Santa Fe. We are staying in a hotel for two nights as a treat before we start the long haul home. Early this morning we got the oil changed and tires rotated on the truck and then spent a lovely morning and early afternoon in Old Santa Fe visiting galleries, jewelry stores and rug merchants. We had a great lunch and some Hagen Das sorbet and felt fully satisfied that we had completed our trip.

When we got back to the hotel to hook up the trailer for an

Be careful passing!

early exit in the morning, I saw my Check Engine Light. Our morning exit will depend on the dealer's ability to get us worked in today. I'm not too worried, but I'd sure rather be packing up to go. That said, this will be my last post for this trip. I may add a picture of Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX if we are able to stop, but this is pretty much the trip. We will be cannonballing home just as soon as our cannon can fire properly.

So enjoy this few pictures of Santa Fe and send some good thoughts for our machinery on the way home. Very much looking forward to seeing you at the end of the trail.

I now have a dog...

 

The work was fabulous!

 

SO much to see, we almost didn't get downtown!

 

Restaurant Old Santa Fe

 

Palace of the Governors with natives selling their wares in the shade. Did I say "necklace"?

 

Center for Performing Arts

 

Wine Bar

 

Museum of Art

 

Public Art

PS. The truck is fine. A shout out to Fiesta Nissan who checked the codes, updated the software, assuaged my worries, paid for Uber to and from our hotel while we waited and didn't charge us a thing. Kudos to kindness.

PPS. My friend, Linda, gave me a journal to log all the states I've visited with my old girl. When we get home, LibraryAnn will have rolled through 31 states and 3 Canadian provinces. A shout out to the Scamp folks as well.

Heading South

Wisdom, MT

If you haven't yet read Ivan Doig's Last Bus to Wisdom you are in for a treat. It takes place in the 1950s, mostly in Montana. It is the Mark Twain-esque adventures of an 11 year old boy and his great uncle escaping the clutches of a domineering great aunt. It's funny; it's poignant. It paints a wonderful picture of that era and that place. Doig died in 2015 and it was his last, and some say, his best book. At one point, heading into Montana, we drove on the Ivan Doig Memorial Highway. I never imagined I'd get to actually drive through Wisdom, or that it even really existed. Except for the Keurig coffee maker in the gas station, it's probably not changed much since the time Doig describes.

No lie there...

We've spent two hard days on the road. Yesterday we drove from Elk Bend to Cody, WY. We are still overwhelmed by the vastness and the endless rugged hills and plains. Through much of Wyoming, we saw lots of fenced sagebrush and little else.Today we drove from Cody to Fort Collins, CO. We are back in cropland now, somewhat. Corn seems to be the hardest thing to grow out here, probably because of the water requirements. We have seen some corn today, though we passed under electric highway signs warning us of high fire dangers throughout the trip. Early on, we saw the smoke of a distant wildfire off to our west.

Creative hay bales. Teddy Bale?

On our way out of Elk Bend, Ruthie managed to time it just right to hit Wheat Montana again for lunch. My indulgence was the best cherry turnover I've ever had. Ruthie is still eating on one of the two cinnamon rolls she bought driving in. The word "giant" does not begin to describe. And they are as good as they are generous.

The roads in Montana have been remarkably good, very unlike what we experienced in New England despite similarly cold winters. We not pleased with Route 120 out of Cody, WY, the worst road we've been on in a while, until we saw this delightful Teddy Bear. After a bit the pavement did improve and so did my attitude. There will be some minor repairs made when we get home caused by road vibration, but so far, despite some really rough going, we are in better shape than we deserve.

The Maverick brand gas stations have proven to be clean and accommodating,

Soap, water, dryer AND a handy shelf!

with a wide variety of grocery and  prepared food selections as well as good prices on gas. But this sink arrangement in the women's bath really blew me away. From left to right, each sink has automatic soap, water, and electric hand dryer. The best part of the deal is, you don't drip water across the room to the hand dryer. Plus you get a place to set your phone and keys.

Entering Wind River Canyon

The most spectacular view we had today was the drive through Wind River Canyon on the Wind River Reservation near Thermopolis, WY. The gorge varies in geological age from 3 million years old to 2.8 billion years old, such is its depth. It is a place of great contrasts. The drive along the river appears to be a steep descent but the river is running in the opposite direction--very disorienting. The canyon walls are

Wind River Canyon

steep and high and very rugged looking, but the road and accompanying railroad wend pleasantly among them. Just beyond the canyon and the reservation boundary is a dam that creates a huge reservoir. The lake is in a desert-like area and the juxtaposition of pleasure boats on blue water nestled among barren hills was another challenge to reconcile.

Wind River Canyon

Boysen Reservoir near Wind River Canyon

We have a
few more adventures ahead of us before turning home. As much fun as this has been, I'm getting ready to make the turn.   

Good Night, Moon!