Home at Last!

The later we drove last night the more the boys thoughts of reaching home, and shortly after entering Kentucky at midnight they decided we should just keep driving, so we did! We are all late night people, so until 2 am or so we passed the time with some great dscussions about world affairs, politics, our church, and summer plans. At 2:00 John went ot sleep in the back while Paul and I drove into Virginia for breakfast and our last tank of gas. We talked about his coming year at Appalacian State University and about making the coming weeks count in light of eternity.

After breakfast John was rested and took us the final 100 miles home, arriving in Clemmons at 9:45 am. And so our trip is over - 21 days, 7,600 miles and countless memories! But it sure is good to be back home.

It has been enjoyable to document our travels with this blog, and I hope that this will bring back many good memories for Paul and John in the years to come. Thanks to those of you who have sent encouraging notes to us along the way!

Heading Home

We awoke this morning with one thing on our minds – two more days driving and we are home! We started this trip in high spirits with a two-day push to get to Colorado Springs, and now we are ending still in high spirits and attempting to drive from Sioux City to Clemmons in two days. With three drivers, this should be no problem.

Today we crossed the “I” states – Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. I wonder if it is pure chance that these adjacent states all start with an “I”. The vegetable of the day was corn, and for the first 400 miles of our trip we were almost always driving next to corn fields. Every time I pass through the mid-west I am amazed at the vastness of the farm lands, and this trip was no exception.

I’ve been asked several times if I regret coming home a few days “early,” and the answer is not at all! What matters most to me is that we are following the route home that the boys choose in Vancouver. We have taken the time to visit attractions along the way each day, and have enjoyed seeing some spectacular land that we would have otherwise missed.

When the boys saw that we would be crossing Iowa on I-80, they remembered watching a History Channel show on Truck Stops two weeks ago and learning about “Iowa 80.” The world’s largest Truck Stop. They looked this up on the internet, saw that we would be passing by, and thus it became an afternoon destination for us! This was not a roadside gimmick, but was indeed a massive and impressive place. This is to Truck Stops what the Mall of America is to Malls, and we were there!

As we drove today I asked each son for five things that they think they will always remember from this trip. Interestingly, they named the exact same things for the first four: (1) Time in Vancouver and with the Andersons, (2) Time with their cousins and family in Fresno, CA, (3) Whitewater rafting in Colorado, and (4) Climbing rocks in the riverbeds in Yosemite. Paul’s number 5 was the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, and John’s number 5 was seeing the Giant Sequoia and Redwood trees in CA. It will be interesting to see what the boys remember most 30 years from now.

My memory will be of making the dream of showing my sons the USA into a reality! It’s been a wonderful three weeks with the boys – not one argument or disagreement on this trip, making me realize how much I have blessed by God with these boys! As great as this has been, I can’t wait to be with my wife and daughter again!

We are driving late tonight, as the boys have chosen to take us into Kentucky.

Tomorrow’s only destination is HOME!

South Dakota

Our journey since leaving Vancouver has been one through big States, mountain ranges, Indian Territory, and across and along rivers. What we haven’t seen much of are the cities that dot the eastern interstates. I don’t miss the cities at all!

Today’s State of the Day was South Dakota, the Mountains of the Day were the Black Hills, the Indians of the Day were the Sioux, and the River of the Day was the Missouri. I’ve enjoyed the three days of one-state-a-day travel, but this comes to an end after today as we will travel through eight states in our final two days on the road.

We had intended to spend last night in eastern Wyoming, but we found “no room at the Inn” and had to drive into South Dakota to find lodging. We ended up at the Best Western (our hotel of choice) in the small town of Sturgis. The boys knew about Sturgis as soon as they saw the name, having seen a National Geographic TV Special about the yearly motorcycle rally held there. The signs of this were everywhere! The hotel itself had a display of over 30 t-shirt designs for this years rally. There were also bikers everywhere, as the Black Hills and Sturgis have become a sort of Mecca to them. In the first week of August the town of Sturgis, population 8,000, will host the 67th annual rally and is anticipating 500,000 to 750,000 bikers, almost doubling the population of the state! (We’re staying tonight in Sioux Falls, SD, which with a population of 120,000 is listed as “South Dakota’s largest city except for one week in August.”)

Leaving Sturgis this morning we took a short drive to Rapid City, where we turned south and went through a 20 mile gauntlet of tourist traps on our way to the Mount Rushmore National Monument. The monument area itself was fortunately free of these distractions, and the “giant heads in the rock” were quite impressive to see. We took dozens of photos, along with almost everyone else who was there, despite the fact that we have all seen many professional photos of this monument. I guess we just wanted to document the fact that we, too, had been to this place.

After slightly more than an hour at Mount Rushmore we headed back to Rapid City for lunch and then continued our journey east on I-90, with 450 miles of South Dakota still ahead of us. Leaving the Black Hills we passed through the Badlands region of the state and then rolled into the flatter plains of central and eastern SD. Along the way we learned that many of the places here were named by the Sioux and Dakota Indians and adopted by the French trappers in the early 1800’s and the settlers from the east who followed later.

In the center of the state we passed over the scenic Missouri River, and then traveled through very rich farmland in the eastern part of the state, ending in Sioux City. The boys did all of the driving again today, and spent hours together in the front seats engaged in lengthy discussions about all the modifications they want to make to their cars. I later told them that I was planning on washing my car and having the oil changed, but that didn’t impress them!

We got take-out pizza tonight and are now enjoying Myth Busters on the Discovery Channel. We hope to get an earlier start tomorrow morning and to be only 600 miles from home by the end of the day.

Big Sky Country

We awoke in Missoula, Montana today to a clear cool day and a distant view of snow capped mountains in the west. After a big breakfast we set out to cross the mountains of western Montana and enter the plains in the east. Whenever I’m crossing the USA west to east I have somewhat of a feeling of sadness at leaving the mountains behind, but this is soon replaced by a feeling of anticipation as my thoughts turn to arriving back home.

The boys took note of the fact that I have been doing slightly more than mo share of the driving, and they decided to handle all the driving duties today. Although I am more comfortable behind the wheel, I ended up really enjoying being a passenger today. The boys were quite disappointed to learn that there is indeed a speed limit in Montana (75 mph)! The rumor of the absence of a speed limit here is so widely spread that prominent on the official Montana State roadmaps id the statement “Montana does have speed limits!”

We crossed several mountain passes between 5-6,000’ as we traveled east, and for much of the day we had 10-13,000’ snow capped mountain peaks in view. The driving was easy today, and for most of the day we wound between the mountains following the path carved out by various rivers. There are quite a few rivers running through Montana, and many of them were explored by Lewis and Clark 200 years ago. According to the Montana State map, morethan 2,000 of the 8,000 miles explored by Lewis and Clark are in Montana.

A side note: I learned many years ago that the official State Department of Transportation maps are vastly superior to any other state map, which makes sense since the states are using them to promote tourism. Best of all, they are free! As I was planning my bicycle journey in 1980 I wrote to each of the lower 48 states requesting a map, and these maps were what I took along on that trip. I still have many of these maps for sentimental reasons.

In eastern Montana the mountains disappeared into the distance behind us and we entered rolling plains of green hills punctuated by rocky outcroppings. In Southeast Montana we entered the Crow Indian Reservation and paid a visit to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. As a child I read many books about American Indians, including some who were prominent in this part of Montana - Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. (Thanks, Mom and Dad, for buying so many books for me when I was young!) Our neighbors in Yorktown, NY had a print of a painting depicting Custer’s Last Stand hanging in their garage, and I often would look at this and try to imagine the west in the Indian days. I have always felt a sense of shame at the way the American Indians were herded onto reservations, and my time at this monument today was a time for reflection. We listened to a talk explaining the events leading up to this battle, toured the grounds, studied the displays in the museum, and visited the National Cemetery. It was good to visit a place that I have read about and thought about for so long, and I was pleased that the boys seemed glad to study and learn while there.

Leaving the Monument we drove south into Wyoming. With the sun setting behind us and the moon illuminating a strangely-sculpted landscape, both boys decided that “Wyoming doesn’t look like earth, but like some other planet!” We are presently headed east towards the Black Hills and the South Dakota border. The boys wanted to drive late tonight, so I am writing as we travel. They decided to spend the night in Sundance, Wyoming, just inside the Black Hills. I look forward to the landscape that will awaken us tomorrow! We have another National landmark to see in the morning – Mt. Rushmore. We missed the Canadian Rockies and the trans-Canada highway, but are seeing some beautiful country and significant landmarks instead. We’re having a blast!

Crossing Washington

We got up before 6 this morning, packed our car, had a time of prayer with Steve and then headed south toward the US border. (The route that the boys have chosen for our return journey is just over 3,000 miles long, and we are going to try to cover this in 5-6 days.) We left early this morning hoping to avoid the Vancouver and border traffic that we struggled with on Friday, and our early departure paid off as we crossed the border only one hour after leaving North Vancouver. The skies were overcast as we headed south toward Seattle, which again limited our visibility of the mountains to the east. Reaching Seattle we turned east on I-90, our route for the next 1,500 miles. The boys were quiet this morning and rested quite a bit throughout the day. I drove most of the day and was content to just quietly take in the varying scenery along our route.

Just east of Seattle we entered the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range. The hills were dense with green foliage and very beautiful, but the tops were again shrouded with clouds, concealing the full majesty of the mountain range. At the summit we found ourselves engulfed in thick clouds and light rain showers. The Cascades have chosen to conceal themselves from us again and will remain a mystery to me. I hope the Rocky Mountains in Montana will be more cooperative!

As we eased our way down the eastern slope of the Cascades, the clouds slowly parted to reveal a blue sky that would accompany us for the rest of our journey across Washington. Leaving the mountains behind the trees quickly vanished from the rolling hills and the rich green grass turned to brown. The rugged landscape here reminded us of the high prairie in eastern Colorado.

The mural of the landscape soon changed again as we entered a rich farmland with a wide variety of grains and other crops. There were many fruit stands in this area, but we didn’t see any orchards along I-90. A short while later the farmland turned to a barren landscape of rocky soil that eventually led down to a spectacular crossing of the Columbia River.

It was amazing to see how many times the landscape changed in the 130 miles we traveled from Seattle to the Columbia River in the middle of the state. It is for this reason that I once chose to cross the country by bicycle and now choose to transverse it by auto. Out West you never know what you will see around the next bend in the road, but chances are it will be something different. Within sixty miles we went from the lush mountains to rich farmland to a barren river gorge, and the day was just beginning.

Along the way we had a good chuckle as we passed a road sign for the town of George, Washington!

As we entered the eastern part of WA the landscape turned to one of rich farmland as far as the eye could see, melting into a vast blue sky above. It seemed at times that we were looking at thousands of acres of farmland and at times there wasn’t a single dwelling in sight. Thanks to signs along the roadway we knew that we were passing fields of wheat, hay, alfalfa, corn, peas, potatoes, and more.

We began to climb again as we neared Spokane, WA, and the 200 mile journey from Spokane across Idaho to Missoula, Montana has us climbing up and down the Couer D’Alene Mountains and the Bitterroot Mountains. With peaks in the 7-8,000’ range, and mountain passes over 4,000’, these mountains are but a prelude to the Rocky Mountains that we will cross tomorrow.

We ended the day in Missoula, with 625 miles behind us. While I am writing the boys are out in town, seeking out the local Wal-Mart to buy food and drinks. Afterward they are going to get a good workout in the fitness room and then they hope to watch Myth Busters on the Discovery Channel.

I am sitting in our 4th floor room in a luxurious Best Western Hotel, watching the sun set over the mountains. There’s no question about it; I love being in this part of the USA! Crossing Washington on I-90 was a spectacular journey that I would be glad to make again someday. And perhaps I might even see those shy Cascade Mountains! Tomorrow we cross Montana and hope to end the day another 600 miles closer to home.

Vancouver

We’re getting spoiled here in Vancouver with long nights of sleep, the Anderson’s hospitality and Kim’s cooking! It’s been a great rest before we turn around to head back home. After a long night’s sleep, we headed to downtown Vancouver this afternoon with Steve and his daughter Lydia (age 13). There is an different sort of mass transit here to take you from North Vancouver over the water to Vancouver – the SeaBus. It’s very convenient, with a SeaBus leaving every 15 minutes for the 12 minute trip across the water.


In downtown Vancouver we strolled through the Gastown district and did the usual tourist things – enjoyed looking around, taking photos, and shopping for gifts and souvenirs. Having Lydia along with us all day yesterday and today made me realize something – I sure do miss my daughter Amy and all the friends she so often has at our house! Lydia has been a great “substitute daughter” for the weekend, and she did a wonderful job today helping me to pick out the perfect gift for Amy. Thanks, Lydia – I won’t forget your kindness!

While walking along the boys suddenly broke into grins as they spotted a red sports car and a grey sports car inside of an upscale hotel. I didn’t see what the big deal was, but they pointed out that this was a Ferrari F430 and an Aston Martin Vantage – I guess to a car enthusiast this is as impressive as the mountains are to me! I wanted to take a photo of the boys in front of the cars but they told me that this was not proper car etiquette.

Vancouver is a big hub for cargo ships, and we saw quite a few being unloaded onto trains. We also saw several Cruise Ships preparing for trips north to Alaska. I might have to try that some day, as Alaska is one of only three states that I have not yet been to.

After dinner the boys and I sat down to discuss the various possible routs back to North Carolina, and they decided that what they wanted most was “the shortest route!” After two weeks on the road traveling well over 4,000 miles, I can understand this. We let MapQuest plan out route and it will be back down to Seattle and then east through Washington, Idaho, Montana and so on, following an ESE course. I will have to wait for another day to see the Canadian Rockies, but that’s OK with me. We will of course get to travel through the Rocky Mountains again in Montana, and we just may get to see the Cascade Mountains in Washington tomorrow.

With our course set, we are packing our bags and getting ready for an early start in hopes of crossing the border much quicker than we did on Friday. This has been an absolutely wonderful weekend with Steve and Kim and their family, and we will leave here well rested, well fed and in very high spirits!

Into Canada

We left Vancouver, WA on Friday morning and headed north toward Seattle and then Canada. The weather was overcast with intermittent showers, which prevented us from seeing the Cascade Mountains to our east. We had anticipated great views of Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Baker, but all we saw were grey clouds.

Approaching the Canadian border we thought ourselves to be just 45 minutes away from our destination in North Vancouver, but we instead had 3 tough hours ahead of us. First we had to wait for an hour at the border, inching along in a line of cars, before finally having our two minute talk with the border guard. Having our ID’s and birth certificates at hand, we were soon on our way. A short while later we found ourselves in a massive traffic jam that made the last 30 miles of our trip last almost 2 hours.

We finally reached North Vancouver around 7 pm and I had a wonderful reunion with Steve and Kim Anderson. We talked and ate and talked some more about how the Lord has guided our lives over the past 21 years.

One of the first things we noticed in Canada was that their gasoline is only about $1.15! With the exchange rate as it is, this would be only about $1.08 in US dollars, so we were quite surprised and wondered how this could be. After asking Steve about this, we got the very bad news that gas in Canada is priced by the liter! So we are looking at well over $4 per gallon here!

On Saturday we slept late, relaxed for awhile, and then took a drive with Steve, Kim and their son Dan to see some of the sights in North Vancouver. We went to Lynn Canyon Park where we walked over an impressive suspension bridge and along a beautiful mountain stream, to the beach where we had a picnic lunch and watched ocean freighters and sailboats in the harbor, and up the mountainside to an overlook point where we could look down on Vancouver from 1,300’ elevation. This is a very mountainous area, and there are peaks in view from all directions. Even looking west toward the Pacific Ocean you see Vancouver Island in the distance, with mountains of over 6,000’. Someday I may come back here and enjoy some of the remote mountains and the rocky coastline of Vancouver Island, but for now I am very content to rest and get re-acquainted with the Andersons.