Tag: #USAroadtrip

Boise Idaho

27 June 2018

Relaxed by the pool of my Airbnb in Meridian Idaho. I needed to soak up some of this glorious weather in Idaho.

I went for another walk downtown Boise and every Wednesday they have a free concert Alive After Five from 5pm to 8pm. This city certainly has a good vibe.

In the evening I enjoyed the entertainment of comedians at The World Series Comedy Liquid Laugh.

There were some mediocre comedians but one outstanding one was Gail Jones.

I meet people everywhere but Neica was another one I met in a bathoom (restroom) at the Liquid Laugh.

Neica you have the same surname as the comedian above. Good luck on Friday.

Idaho

26 June 2018

It was with a little sadness I left the haven in Pocatello. I got a good rest in a lovely home with beautiful peaceful landscape and interesting host.

There are so many treasures in this country and I then stumble upon Twin Falls, Idaho.

The Twin Falls video is here.

Down the road 16 minutes it just gets better. Shoshone Falls Idaho.

Next stop the Capital of Idaho, Boise. This town of 250,000 where you can get a gun licence easily and are permitted to walk around carrying as many guns as you want, but I have yet to see any. Below is the Capitol.

For dinner I had the most delicious paella at the Leku Ona. in the Basque Market area of Boise. I was fortunate to arrive during a festival with Basque dancers.

This city reminds me of Newtown/Surry Hills/San Diego with several trendy restuarants, modern buildings, lots of gay rainbow flags and lotsof people enjoying the balmy evening. Not what I would have expected from a small rural (hick ) town in Idaho but I got that wrong. I strolled the city and captured the sun setting in the west.

I found out about Gay Bingo when I discovered the best gay nightclub in Boise, The Balcony. It wasn’t very busy as it was a Tuesday night but even so this place has great atmosphere. I was disappointed I had missed out on Gay Bingo but had a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the company of Minerva Jayne’s, the host of bingo, after the show where we chatted for a couple of hours. Thank you Minerva Jayne for allowing me to “interview” you to learn about Idaho culture and your journey to become one of Idaho’s iconic entertainers.

Another great day.

Utah

25 June 2018

Salt Lake Ciity Utah is only 2.5 hours from Pocatello Idaho so I thought I would do a quick day drive south before I make my way north to Vancouver.

Utah is known for their Mormon (also known as Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints) population.

Temple Square is aptly named for the location of their grand Temple and gardens.

Down the road, The Lion House was built in 1856 for the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints, for his large family.

The Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Cauldron is located next to the Utah University Stadium.

The main reason to visit Salt Lake City was to see the Salt Lake. I was given incorrect information and ended up at Antelope Island and this was an unexpected surprise. There is much to see on this island including a marina, bison, hundreds of bird species but I found the salt lake beautiful. This is not the salt lake that holds car races or the setting for the movie “Radio Flyer” which I thought I was visiting. That salt lake I will attempt to see at the end of my trip.

The white parts in the photos are not waves or sand but salt. The blue and white contrast was magnificent.

Pocatello Idaho

24 June 2018

After a 10 hour day driving around Yellowstone I found an airbnb with this spectacular view in Idaho. Idaho is famous for its potatoes and known as the Gem State.

The Sunhaus is an interestingly architecturally designed house with eco self heating. The views are what have captivated me to stay for a few days. Again I need a bit of a rest and will use Pocatello as a base. Pocatello has a population of around 55,000. Named after a Shoshoni leader, it is the 5th largest city in Idaho.

Old Town had a theatre built in the 1930s which burnt down and all that is left is the Chief signage and the mosaic tiles below.

They have the only Museum of Clean in the world. It was closed but I hope to give you a run down on Tuesday when I plan to visit.

This poster in a shop was fun.

North Dakota

20 June 2018

I was told there was nothing to see in North Dakota. The first stop was the Painted Canyon. After driving through fields of corn and flat prairie grasslands this is quite spectacular.

Then Theodore Roosevelt National Park has bison, prairie dogs, wild horses, gophers and foxes.

This is the cabin known as the Maltese Cross where Roosevelt spent a lot of his peaceful time set in the town of Medora in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Stopped the night in Glendive whose motto is Good people surrounded by Badlands.

A pretty mean sunset in the West.

Glendive Dinosaur Museum. This is for my Great Nephew Christian.

Yellowstone National Park

23 June 2018

This is where I stayed in Cooke City just 6 km (4 miles) from the East entrance of Yellowstone.

It’s embarrassing but all I knew about Yellowstone National Park was:

  • Yogi Bear and Boo Boo
  • Smokey the Bear
  • Grizzly bears
  • Lots of people visit

I did not realise this huge park:

  • Is set on a super volcano which has had some recent concerning activity.
  • Has 5 entrances
  • You can camp or stay in lodges or cabins in the park

Some tips which might be of interest:

  • The North East entrance area of Cooke City/Silvergate is a small community with buildings which require to be built with natural products to fit within the alpine landscape
  • When parking at Mammoth Springs go to the upper section up the road. Easier to park and a shorter walk.
  • The West City entrance is more commercial, and in my opinion, not as appealing and more expensive than the East side
  • I recommend entering Yellowstone from the East entrance. There are fewer tourists from that side
  • Even though there were many tourists I didn’t feel overwhelmed.
  • Highly recommend the drive from Red Lodge to Cooke City along the Beartooth Highway
  • Take binoculars
  • Take a chair and picnic to sit and watch the animals
  • Stop and ask people if they have seen animal activity
  • There are traffic jams when someone sights an animal and vehicles stop everywhere
  • Don’t drive too close to the vehicle in front as people people get excited and slam on their brakes when an animal is sighted

Visiting the Norris Geyser reminded me of my visit to the Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii which recently erupted.

The Porcelain basin at Norris Geyser is picturesque although the smell of the gas is not pleasant.

This is an album of some of the many faces of Yellowstone.

Mount Rushmore/Crazy Horse/Deadwood South Dakota

19 June 2018

Yay!! I got to see the Presidents at Mount Rushmore!!

After 5 attempts over 3 days I had almost thought that I would miss out on this great wonder of the world. It was truly worth the wait. When I woke this morning the sun was shining. I couldn’t get out of the hotel fast enough praying that the fog wouldn’t roll back in. I was stuck in the entrance traffic and got this shot hoping that it wasn’t going to be my only one as the fog did come rolling in.

And then it cleared to the gorgeous picture at the beginning!! Another off my bucket list. This is truly a magnificent piece of art. 400 people worked on this sculpture financed by the Government, and not one person died on this dangerous project.

Then I went on to the Crazy Horse Memorial. The man who started this project, Korczak Ziolkowski, a sculptor, known as the storyteller in stone, was approached by Henry Running Bear to build a memorial “My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know that the red man has great heroes also”.

Korczak and his wife, Ruth, with their 10 children worked together and many of their 23 grandchildren still work on this project.

This project is funded totally by donations and tourists with the Foundation rejecting any government funding. Still has a long way to go.

Next stop was Deadwood South Dakota, famous for Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane.

The Saloon 10 where Wild Bill’s poker hand of a pair of 8s and Aces became known as “deadman’s hand” after he was murdered holding these cards.

Calamity Jane’s grave is next to Wild Bill’s as he had wanted.

Red Lodge Montana

21 June 2018

I spent most of today driving 3.5 hours to Billings and getting my rental car serviced. I could have had it swapped instead of the service but it meant moving my wardrobe to another car and remembering to move everything. Last car I swapped I lost my hat and I am also used to driving this Toyota Corolla. Don’t need the stress of changing cars. After the housekeeping I discovered I am 3 hours from Yellowstone National Park so set off in that direction. One hour later I started to get weary and stopped in Red Lodge. Another gem!

I went for a walk down the main street Broadway Avenue and bumped into this dear. I am hoping to see a bear as the locals said they wander around as do Elk.

I had dinner in a new seasonal Italian restaurant Ox Pasture, where the chef owner and his workers are from New York but from Italy. The atmosphere is festive.

Red Lodge have a songwriters festival this weekend and I enjoyed their open Mic night. I filmed a little of Yasha video.

Musician Tom Walter spends half the year in Austin Texas and the other half in Red Lodge Montana.

Beartooth Highway Montana/Wyoming

22 June 2018

I decided to take the scenic road from Red Lodge to Yellowstone National Park. How can one road provide so much stunnning landscape and changes of temperature!

Beartooth Highway climbs up to almost 3,300 metres (11,000 feet) with several switch backs in the road for the steep climb and descent.

Driving into Red Lodge I saw the snow on the mountains but had no idea I would be driving through the snow areas. There were people skiing in some spots.

Video of lake. It is summer here but need to remember it is very high up on the mountain.

On the way up this lookout had chipmunks. Another animal I can add to my list of sightings.

I found a room in a quaint cabin in Cooke City which has a population of 90 all year round and is 6.5 km (4 miles) outside of Yellowstone National Park. Because of snow, the road on the east side of Cooke City (which takes you to the North Eastern entrance of Yellowstone) is inaccessible for 5 months. Can you believe Yellowstone has over 4 million visitors in 150 days.

I drove 20 minutes into Yellowstone to have a look at what I might find tomorrow as it was too late to drive around or across the park and explore too much.

In one spot, Lamar Valley, there were people who had huge telescopic cameras set up on tripods. At the moment I arrived you could see mountain goats. Down the road there were some bison.

I saw a moose and a dozen marmots but I was not able to stop to get a photo. But this deer posed for me.

Devil’s Tower Wyoming

18 June 2018

Woke this morning to heavy rain and thick fog. I rang Mount Rushmore and visibility was nil. I didn’t want to waste a day but I don’t want to miss out on Mount Rushmore so I went for a 2 hour drive to Wyoming.

I stopped at a cute town called Aladdin with a population of 15. The 125 year old general store has five rooms of collectibles to purchase.

In fact, if you have $850,000 you can buy the whole town.

Devil’s Tower is the USA’s first national monument and set in the Black Hills. This monolith is considered sacred by Native Indians and is very popular for rock climbing.

How cute are the prairie dogs!!

And this cute deer who crossed my path.

Tonight I am staying in Keystone a cute historical town at the foot of Mount Rushmore.

I went up to Mount Rushmore as it is 7 minutes from Keystone. However, visibility was still nil.

I returned to Keystone and had dinner in Ruby’s Saloon.

Then I again went up to Mount Rushmore where I remained for 2 hours just waiting for the fog to clear for just a few seconds so I could see the Presidents. Not much to see tonight.

The whole monument is so beautifully set out.

The only thing you pay for is $10 for parking but it is valid for a whole year. I will try again in the morning and will decide if I should stay another night to capture a glimpse of this great monument. It is costing me money and time I had not planned. Hopefully the fog will lift. Rain is predicted for another 2 days though. There are people from all over the world who have missed out and I hope I am not one of them.