Arrival: 4854 miles

We had arrived, safe and sound, on Saturday evening after 4854 miles and exactly 2 weeks on the road.

Waking up with a tweaked back (possibly due to the really old lumpy mattress in Sahara, gambling losses or the Vegas martini’s??), fortunately Anna had fully gotten past her cold and was able to drive  all the way home.

With my adirondack chairs having arrived in one piece from the moving truck, enjoying my parent’s patio.

So, now that we are here, what now?  After a few days sleeping, unpacking, settling in, we are now moving on to our projects: for Anna her dissertation and for me the sailboat.  With all this blog experience, I am now starting my next blog:  http://buildingpocketship.wordpress.com/

Thanks for reading!

Day 13: 4200 Miles

Number of times I was carded in Vegas: 1. Reasons why: Buying a hot dog. No alcohol involved (at this point). What do they put in those things?

We stopped in Park City, UT, home of the Polygamy Porter (thanks for the tip, Steph) for a late lunch today and made a unanimous decision to skip Salt Lake in favor of driving straight to Las Vegas. It’s not that we have anything against Mormons (well…), but we are both done. As in D.O.N.E. done. Call us wimps, call us lame, but tomorrow we’ll be home.

After a long drive through the Utah desert – and our biggest in-trip fight yet, in the middle of an In ‘N Out in Arizona – we made it to the heartbeat of America. The sprawl at night is nothing like I’ve ever seen, miles upon miles of illumination. We opted for cheap and quick, booking a room at the Sahara. It took us nearly 3 hours to hemorrhage the rest of our money, but here we are: I’m sitting up in bed, typing this on the iPhone because I’m not going to pay $12.99 for Internet access. Sean, having spent his money not just on poker, but also on martinis, is passed out beside me. (Susan: Just kidding. Everyone else: No, I’m not.). In a few short hours we’ll be headed home… For the first time. Wish us luck. Better luck, at least, than we had at slots.

Day 13: 3750 miles

Ahh, the wonders of technology. Adding yesterday’s blog from a phone while driving through Montana. Never would have even thought that possible not long ago.

Though we were super fortunate staying with friends in Calgary over Labor day weekend, turns out everyone is turning Labor day weekend into Labor day week. With summer seemingly long gone with forecasts of rain in the 30s, we didn’t really feel like camping. Got the last beds in Glacier Nat’l Park on Tuesday.  Had to do some major hunting on Wednesday afternoon using GPS, cell phone and smart phone to find the only room open in all the towns around Yellowstone in this cool trout fishing lodge 90 miles or so away in Idaho. And we only found that with the help of a guy at a Holiday Inn who helped us out calling places for us. Turned out to be on our way if we take a different route through Yellowstone, so no loss. And, once again, we decided to look for a place near Jackson as Yellowstone was totally booked. Called around to all the places with vacancy signs in town – a few had 1 or 2 rooms open, but at very expensive rates. Again, we found a nice spot in a much more rural area an hour or so south along our route to CA. What would we do without GPSs and smart phones? Also, did I ever hear something about us being in this terrible recession keeping people from traveling?

Anyhow, today was a tourist day. Instead of your typical road trip car games, they were modified: one point for fanny packs, one for multi-pocketed vests, and one for full brim hats with the strap round the chin (despite the very cloudy day). Think we came in at 18 points for the day. Other that the tourists, we also saw your typical Yellowstone fare of hiking down to waterfalls, bison herds both in the distance and on the road, muddy hot tubs, clear hot tubs, meadows, etc. And of course, saved for last, Old Faithful. By this point, after seeing the recommended “3 day visit” Yellowstone in 7 hours of so, we were ready to move on. I did not want to sit and wait an hour for the geyser. We arrived there in freezing cold  drizzle (turning to wet snow after we left), and saw people all around. Of course, this meant it was about to blow as they weren’t admiring the nice day. After 5-10 minutes, it erupted for several minutes. Perfect timing.

Day 12: 3387 miles and counting

After leaving Calgary much to Anna and Max’s dismay, we drove down to waterton national park. Passing a sign with the word Bison in it, we came across a huge heard of Buffalo. Slowing down to a stop to take a picture, they seemed too familiar. Okay, so we say a bunch of cows. We were later vindicated spying a real herd of buffalo.
Waterton was nice despite the drizzly day. Went on a couple of hikes up red canyon and to a waterfall. Last we went to the giant 1920s era hotel. Awesome view through the huge rear window. From there we looked into other historic hotels further along our route. Turned out glacier national park lodge, built in1912, had one room left. At a price not much more than any decent hotel. So off we went, through the border one last time. Best view of any border crossing ever, with the Hugh monolith of Chief Mountain on the horizon.
Walking into the hotel, it was clearly not built recently, with it’s huge open courtyard supported by solid trees 3 feet thick and 4 stories tall. Really cool spot, though can’t say the same about their food.

Day 9: Mile 2862

We hit the road again tomorrow morning after a blissful three days in Calgary, AB, with our friends Sherry and Craig.  And in case you have at any point doubted Sean’s ability to muscle past any obstinacy – I mean, any obstacle – let me elaborate:  We hit the road again tomorrow despite my insistence that I’m done and would prefer just to fly to Santa Barbara from here, thank you very much.

It’s not that I haven’t enjoyed the road trip.  I really have.  But I also haven’t had a home since my lease ran out at the end of July.  And this long weekend at Sherry and Craig’s beautiful house has me craving a space of my own:  an apartment, or at least a room – not a tent or a motor lodge double.  Of course, I also know we can’t just fly from here, so I’ll be right beside Sean tomorrow, and I know as soon as we see the next new thing I’ll be officially back on board.

We began this weekend with an evening of catching up and playing with the pup, one-year-old Max.  Max, incidentally, immediately identified Sean as his BFF and hasn’t left him yet.

Saturday we went to Lake Louise and Banff National Park, then returned here for a home-grilled meal and movie night.  (I’ll let Sean tell you about our outdoor adventures.)  Yesterday we took it easy, first joining a third couple for the most extravagant brunch buffet I’ve ever seen.  The food was spread around the entire first floor of a hotel; they seat hundreds of diners not just in the restaurant, but in both of the downstairs ballrooms.  My favorites?  Eggs Benedict made to order, and mini cream-puffs – the latter for dipping in a chocolate fountain.  I’ll be dreaming about that place for years, I’m sure.

Our newest friends peeled off, and Sherry, Craig, Sean, and I headed downtown for a rain-soaked tour and a drink at the Calagarians’ favorite watering hole.  Dinner Sunday was Papa John’s pizza, a delicacy I haven’t had since leaving Maryland.  After another movie ended at ten, we chatted for a for what we thought was a few minutes, but was actually three and a half hours.  Thank God for such good friends!

Sean and I slept in this morning, then, after taking Max for a run, began a daylong Wii tournament with our hosts.  Sherry, Sean, and I took a break for locally-made ice cream; after dinner we dove back in.  I’m happy to announce that I’m the reining ski jump champion.  Next visit, I suppose, we’ll have to visit Calgary Olympic Park for the real thing.  (Mom:  Just kidding.  Everyone else:  Maybe not.)

Now it’s time to pack up and head to bed (and nurse our newly-acquired Carpal Tunnel Syndrome).  Adieu, Calgary.  Adieu, Canada.  We’ll miss you.

Day 7: Mile 2630

About Saskatchewan:  They have a lot of bugs.  Or, I should say, had a lot of bugs, until we collected the majority of them on our grill, license plate, and windshield.  It started innocently enough, with Sean saying, “Look at all the butterflies!”   Whap.  Whap.  Whap whap WHAP.  The farther west you go, the bigger they get.

Today was the drive we’d been warned about, the “if you both make it through this alive, you’ll be together forever” haul from Estevan to Calgary.  It honestly wasn’t that bad (says the girl who, thanks to her head cold, slept through most of it).  The scenery’s so different from anything I’m used too:  wheat fields, grain elevators, oil wells, and sky as far as the eye can see.

We’re being very good about gas now, stopping every 1/2 tank to top it off.  We had a first today during one of our refuels:  the attendant asked, “Where you from?”  Sean said, “Massachusetts.”  “Where’s that?”  I, thinking she hadn’t heard, repeated, “Massachusetts.”  No, she’d heard Sean.  She just hadn’t heard of Massachusetts.  We described its rough geographical location, then paid for the petrol.

That, then was our day:  drive, stop for gas, scrape bugs off windshield, repeat.  We stopped in Moose Jaw for fresh root beer from A & W.  The best part?  No ice!  There’s even a statement on the cups explaining that ice only ruins the good root beer flavor; they keep theirs chilled in the machine to the perfect temperature.

Now, as we go to bed, a special shout out to Sherry and Craig, our amazing hosts here in Calgary.  Thanks for the laughs, Sher, and the beer, Craig.  It will be marvelous to have a few days of rest in such a lovely place.

Day 6: 2010 miles

Made it to Canada.  Again.  After our second rainy night of camping, we headed out at our earliest start time yet, 8:30.  Got to love that extra hour in the day we gained.  We passed through the rest of Michigan, then through a corner of Wisconsin, then on into Duluth, Minnesota.  We passed across Minnesota and into North Dakota, finally passing through Portal and into Canada, making it as far north as Estevan, Saskatchewan.

After a long day of driving what are my impressions?  First, how about all our clever liquor store names we Americans can come up with: Party Stores in Michigan, Bottle Shops in North Dakota, and Off-License stores in Minnesota.  Second, I had always heard of Minnesotans being big on fishing and hunting.  But I never realized how serious they are.  An hour or so after Duluth, there was bait shop after bait shop.  My favorite: a 24 hour bait shop, “Al’s Bait and Tackle”.  You know that feeling of needing some worms or leeches at 2 a.m.  I was really prepared to be so bored driving through N. Dakota, but was surprised how nice the views were.  Here is a shot near the border with the hills peppered with graduation years.  (also had many “south of the border” mexican joints)

Another first on the trip: We ran out of gas.  Driving along, we got the “oh *&%$” feeling, the gas light is on.  From the gps, it was only 12 miles to the neareast station.  The needle looked really low, but should be able to make it.  10 miles later, the car is only coasting down the flat, windy highway.  After endless miles of farms, we roll onto an access road, and just keep rolling till the car stops, right in front of an autobody shop.  I ask them if they have any gas.  He didn’t think so, but did end up having a gallon or so left in a big jug.  Just enough to get us to the gas station.  Really nice guy, wouldn’t even take any money for the gas.  Up until today, we had only filled up once a day, so didn’t really think of gas much since we had already filled it up earlier…

Finally in Estevan, we decide it is time to stop for dinner and to find a hotel.  After driving by various fast food joints, we see Wayne’s Family Restaurant.  Hoping to get some sort of fresh food/product, seems as good a bet as any.  Turns out it is Chinese food. All in all, very good food at portions even bigger than American portions.  Unfortunately, I must say the portions matched the sizes of the patrons.  Feel like we are still battling away with Wayne’s even as I write this, in what is this time a very nice Day’s Inn.  The typical customers here are clearly energy company workers.  At every door is a sign to remove all muddy and oily boots.

Next, we have a long, flat, windy planes drive up to Calgary.  Reported to be extremely boring.  But I’m sure we’ll find something interesting.

Day 5: 1410 Miles

It rained–hard–overnight in Tahq. Falls, but had cleared up by yesterday morning. Or so we thought, until we hiked out to the Upper Falls and got drenched, much to the delight of a group of (umbrella-toting) elderly tourists.

We continued along the shores of Lake Superior to Marquette, MI, where Sean had his first pasty. This is a UP specialty, a miner’s lunch of steak, potatoes, and rutabagas in a pastry crust. Notice the wooden disc next to Sean’s pasty. It’s printed with the same message on both sides. (Folks in the Upper Peninsula call themselves “Yoopers” and embrace a hillbilly-type identity. To them, anyone from the LP (under the bridge) is a “troll”.)

We tried to find a mine tour, but wound up at a VERY local mining museum instead. I made Sean stop at Da Yooper’s Tourist Trap, too, which I remember from a childhood trip. Just inside the front door was a sign warning “the lady who keeps stealing size 7 moccasins” that they’d installed video cameras. Don’t look at me, I wear a 6.

Just before Wisconsin, a very nice lady reopened her coffee shop to scoop up the ice cream we’d been craving. Once in WI, we stopped in yet another beautiful waterside park, then headed into the woods for another night of camping (pit toilets this time). And another fierce rainstorm.

Day 4: 1350 Miles

We spent last night away from civilization (read: Wi-Fi and 3G) at gorgeous Tahquamenon Falls in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The highlight of yesterday’s drive was a stop in Sault St. Marie, ON, just across the St. Mary’s River from the U.S.A. (“I can see Russia from my window!”) We stopped at an auto shop to have a nail taken out of our tire, then convinced a reluctant border guard to let us back into our country.

On the way to our campground we had dinner in Paradise (MI), where the town motto is, “we’re glad you made it.” The facilities at Tahq. Falls are wonderful: clean bathrooms and free showers. The Falls themselves aren’t half-bad, either.

(This is where we lost phone coverage… Again. See the following post for the rest of the story.)

Day 2: 670 Miles

Tonight we’re in North Bay, ON, in room that is most decidedly not the Jacuzzi suite.  Sean and I are both really into camping on this road trip . . . in theory.  But at 9:30 pm and 85F we’re just a couple of  “take me to your nearest motor lodge” wimps.

After a late start this morning, we headed to Ottawa.  What a pleasant surprise!  With a river, a canal, neo-Gothic government buildings, and a cute pedestrian arcade, it’s a great place to be.

Our first stop was Parliament Hill.  After passing through an amazingly minimal security checkpoint, we ascended to the top of the clock tower–the “Peace tower”–for an aerial view of the city and the adjacent parts of Québec.  Nerd alert:  Sean and I were both very interested to learn that we were riding in Canada’s first incline elevator.  To avoid the tower’s carillon bells, the cables slope 9 degrees on the way up.

The view from the top of the Hill was lovely.  We learned a bit about Canadian history, too, on a (self-guided) tour of the grounds.  We had a conversation at the Whispering Wall, and met some of Canada’s early feminists.

*&#% straight, women are persons!

After lunch on Sparks Street, we got back into the car for a long afternoon.  Sean took over napping duty.  (Mom:  I did not take that photo while driving.  Everyone else:  Yes, I did.)

We’re now in what the polite call The Middle of Nowhere.  We ate dinner at a Subway.  (Note to those looking to expand their stocks portfolio:  Subway is huge in Canada.  I would venture to say that there are almost as many Subway franchises per capita here as there are Dunkin’ Donuts in Jamaica Plain.)

Now, for an air-conditioned snooze.  If only we could get the door to lock.  (Mom:  Just kidding.  Everyone else:  No, I’m not.)