The Bucket List Trip 1 We shoved off early afternoon on 7/13. First stop was Schaumburg, IL. Met up with my daughter Meg and my sister Kerry who flew in from NJ to join us on the first part of our trip. After a nice dinner we headed out to our first stopover in Rockford, IL. Next morning we drove up into Wisconsin and headed for Taliesin in Spring Green. I had originally purchased 2 tickets and neither my sister nor I thought of getting another. Since the tour was sold out I graciously gave up my ticket and headed for the nearest McDonalds for Wi-Fi and coffee. After the ladies finished their tour we headed west across MN. Our plan was to stop in Fairmont which is about half way through Minnesota. Fairmont was the only stop that we made that we couldn’t stay at a Marriott brand motel or a Best Western. It’s just not that big a whistle stop. We got a recommendation from the Comfort Inn desk clerk for a restaurant across the road at the Holiday Inn Express. The $3.00 off coupon clinched the deal. Off we went to the Green Mill restaurant. Now normally I wouldn’t be spending much time talking about where we had dinner but this was special. We weren’t in the place for 5 minutes when in walks a couple that have been close friends of ours for years. The four of us (my sister didn’t know them) just stood there with our mouths open staring in disbelief. Tom and Jane had bee visiting friends in Wisconsin and they had just visited Mt. Rushmore and were heading back to Wisconsin.
Bucket List Trip 2 Driving across I 90 in South Dakota you quickly realize that there are no limitations on billboards and signs in that state. Probably hundreds of businesses advertize but the undefeated champion in Wall Drug. We counted 67 signs for Wall Drugs; the first was spotted in MN. We probably missed a few. The last time we were in SD we had the kids in tow and after Mt. Rushmore we were anxious to keep going. This time we decided that we had to stop at Wall. But before Wall Drug we first had to stop at the billboard runner up The Corn Palace in Mitchell SD. As you can imagine the CP is dedicated to the wonders of maize. There was a varied menu in the snack shop where you could get corn on the cob, corn dogs, and many flavors of pop corn. Needless to say we looked around and headed out of town. Now Wall Drug is an interesting store. It’s a place you have to see…..but only once. For your trip across the Badlands it has everything from ammo to whisky. It’s made up of individual sections that contain trinkets, clothing, snacks, sporting goods and, something you don’t find in every “drug” store a chapel. From Wall it was on to our overnight stopping place Rapid City. After checking in and using our cocktail bag it was off to Mt. Rushmore. While the monument is the same as it was at our last visit in 1988, they have modernized the facilities. There’s now a ramped garage and an amphitheater for evening performances. My sister had her picture taken with a copy of the Summit NJ local paper and the faces in the background. She sent me a clipping with the published picture. From Mt. Rushmore we drove about 30 miles to the Crazy Horse Mountain. It’s really come along since our visit 23 yrs ago. At that time there was nothing other than a hole that had been blasted which was supposedly the space between the chief and his steed. Now however Crazy Horse’s head is done and you can visualize the final work. It should be done by 2050. There was a laser light show that started after sundown. It was great if you like feeling shame and guilt about how Native Americans have been treated. It concluded with a rendition of “Proud to be an American” which apparently was included to sooth some ruffled feathers.
The Bucket List Trip 3 It almost seems like a “Welcome to Montana” sign is unnecessary. The Mile Marker 551 let me know right away that I was there. In less than an hour from the state line we were pulling off to visit the Little Big Horn battlefield. We stopped at the visitor’s center and learned that a guided bus tour was just about to begin. Our guide was a husky dark gentleman with long straight hair tied in a tail. Who better to talk about the battle? I said to him “you look like a winner.” Seeing the topography explained a lot about what happened. Custer probably had no idea of the size of the village he was planning on attacking. He had lost the element of surprise and outrun his supplies. The ground he was on was not superior for defense. He drowned in a sea of angry Sioux and Cheyenne. An interesting tidbit our guide gave us. He was a member of the crow tribe who had been providing scouting help for Custer. Apparently the Sioux and Cheyenne were on Crow land and they were hoping that the Army would drive them out. The Crows pointed out to Custer where the enemy village was and then since their agreement was to find it not fight it, they asked to be dismissed. Pretty smart those Crows. From there it was off to Great Falls. We had a choice of routes. Our GPS had us staying on I 90 and then north on I 15. I had downloaded info from AAA that had us taking a more direct route on state roads. We opted for the latter and probably saved 1 ½ hrs. I was doing 80 on the state roads and just flew across Big Sky country. Great Falls is a very sophisticated city. It seems to have a lot of industry and undoubtedly is benefiting from the energy industry. Mary had developed an eye infection and we passed on the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center (quite frankly “interpretive” turned me off. Sounded like a lot of PC crap to me.) It was north to Calgary the next morning after a stop at a clinic and drug store. About 100 km. south (notice the change to metric?) of Calgary a stone thrown from the back of a truck took out my windshield. Started out as a 3 in crack and seemed to grow a little more every hour. Calgary was impressive. It’s a modern city with new skyscrapers under construction. It has the epitome of civilization, a Ruth’s Chris Steak House which I couldn’t resist. Kind of miffed that the didn’t have the cut of steak I ordered because they were out of some cuts because of the Calgary Stampede which had been the week before. Tomorrow would be the Canadian Rockies.
The Bucket List Trip 4 Less than 2 hours from Calgary is Banff National Park. Situated in the Canadian Rockies it is a great place to visit during the heat of the summer. While the temperature was hitting the century mark back home, daytime highs were in the mid 60’s and evenings were cool and brisk. We stayed at the stately Banff Springs Fairmont. Built by the Canadian Pacific Railroad to attract tourists, it is one of the nicest places we have ever stayed. Mary wants to return for our 50th anniversary in 8 yrs. I had an afternoon tee time and was looking forward to playing the Banff Springs course. As happens sometime you’re greeted by a starter on the first tee that tells you local rules, cart restrictions and tidbits of local knowledge. This time it was a little different. Towards the end of his little talk he goes, “now mind the wildlife. Last month there was a foursome on the thirteenth tee preparing to tee off when an elk came crashing out of the woods. He was being chased by a grizzly which ran him down on the fairway and then buried him in a bunker.” I’m not sure I could tee off after seeing that. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to play out of any bunkers on 13. We were booked for two days and Banff so the next day was sort of a day off for us. We drove over to Lake Louise and decided to get the lay of the land by riding a gondola up the ski slope there. In the summer they call it the “Grizzly Express, your best chance to see a grizzly.” My attitude, “yeah right.” I asked the kid who was in charge of getting us loaded into the cab, “anyone see any grizzlies today?” He replied “I think a couple saw one early this morning.” (yeah, right) Well after seeing nothing other than a squirrel on the way up, we got off and headed for an observation deck slightly down the slope. A sign as we got off the gondola warned us to be careful of bears and to stay in groups of 4 or more. We were by ourselves but I figured with me we were bigger that some groups of 4 anyway. As we approached the deck we heard a gentleman calling to his daughter to come quickly. We rushed to the rail and saw a grizzly about a quarter mile down the slope. Mary did a great job getting a couple of pictures of him before he jogged into some trees. Just then a group of young adults arrived and I told them that there was a bear down the slope. They asked “where.” I told them he had just run into the woods. I know that look….”yeah, right.” However a short time later a ranger type individual arrived and informed us that we had to leave the slope immediately and head back down. The reason…..there was a grizzly in the area. I looked at the kids and thought “Yeah….RIGHT!” Two interesting things happened on the way back down. The two elderly ladies who got paired up with us in the cab knew Mary’s aunt who lives in their home town Montpelier, VT. And while they were chatting we spotted a mountain lion in the bushes below us. Hell of gondola tip. While on the deck we could see beautiful Lake Louise across the valley. We decided to see if we could have lunch in the Fairmont Hotel that has been built on its shore. We had to wait an hour but it was worth it. We had a window table and got to enjoy the spectacular view. It was a fun day. At dinner we talked about returning to this area again. 2 days was way to short a time to really enjoy the Canadian Rockies. Next morning it was time to head south through Banff and Kootenay National parks on our way to Idaho and a famous island green.
The Bucket List Trip 5 Thursday July 21 was mainly a travel day. We headed south and slightly west and were in British Columbia for a couple of hours. The mountains and lakes of Banff and Kootenay parks were breathtaking. We were not on major highways so the drive wasn’t easy. Canadian speed limits are lower than ours and I didn’t want to meet my first mountie getting pulled over. I had some concerns about a backup at the border but we were third in line and through in no time. We spent the night at a Best Western in Bonners Ferry, ID. Best part of the place was that it had a casino attached. It didn’t have any table game but Mr. Lucky did manage to win $720 in slots. Handed the money to my wife to show off. Never saw it again. Next morning it was a short trip down to Coeur d’Alene. I played their famous course with the island green. Unlike say, the TPC at Sawgrass, this baby is really an island and you get there by boat. They can move it with cables and so the yardage changes daily. The day I played it, it was 170 yds. from my tee. Hit the green but it rolled through to a bunker. Didn’t get up and down. I enjoyed the course. It was in great shape and the mandatory forecaddie was a big help. My game could have been better but that’s always the case these days. The resort there was totally booked when I tried to make a reservation but they are affiliated with a nice Best Western that offered a golf package. The lake there is very nice but quite frankly, the Canadian lakes I’d seen sort of spoiled my impression. I wasn’t used to seeing the shoreline full of homes and hotels. It was back to Montana Friday and a stopover in Bozeman. Our Residence Inn was next to an Outback Steakhouse and the Fosters was flowing freely. Saturday would be Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.
The Bucket List Trip 6 Sometimes the shortest route is not the fastest route. What you have to take into account is the motorists that will be on the road with you. And so it was when I decided that the fastest way to Jackson, WY was to go through Yellowstone Park. I’d been in the park twice before and like the other drivers, I was in no hurry. Seeing a buffalo or elk was much more important than making time. It wasn’t until I entered the park and started driving that I realized that it was going to be a long, long trip. We stopped near Yellowstone Falls to have lunch and visited Artist’s Point which wasn’t open on our other visits. It makes for some great pictures of the falls. After that is was miles of following RVs and trailers meandering through the park. We finally got into Jackson and got to Mary’s sister Nancy’s house. They have a beautiful home on a butte that overlooks the Grand Tetons. We stayed for 3 nights relaxing. No packing, no checking in and no driving. I got to play 18 on Teton Pines which is a nice club in the valley. Dick Cheney’s home overlooks the practice green. We had time for little things like getting the car washed. By this time I was disgusted by the butterfly wings sticking out from my grill. It was nice having a home cooked meal but I’m sure that the in-laws appreciated us taking them to dinner one night at Teton Village. Overall, it was almost a vacation from our vacation. From Jackson we drove across Wyoming to Cheyenne. We arrived in the middle of their Frontier Days. I’d noticed that the rates at the Fairfield Inn were much higher than expected and had to inquire about what the special event was. When they explained about Frontier Days I checked out who was performing that night. I bought tickets for Darius Rucker with Kevin Costner doing the opening act. Mary wanted to see Costner but quite frankly, after 10 minutes, I’d heard enough. Rucker was great. He’s a good showman with a pleasant voice. I’ve become a fan.
The Bucket List Trip 7 Our trip was winding down as we headed across Nebraska to Lincoln. As requested, I called the only person I know in Nebraska, an ex-Marine staff sergeant, who is also a college football junkie. We were supposed to get together in L town. Something came up. He gave us a good recommendation for a place to eat Misty’s, which was a good choice. We took some pictures of this really big high school stadium that was only a few blocks from the restaurant. Because it was under construction getting ready for a new conference (I guess) we couldn’t get very close. We stayed at the Cornhusker Hotel by Marriott. I imagine that in football season it costs quite a penny to stay there. It was the first hotel since Banff that we stayed at that had a lounge. I like the whole stay. I was hoping to meet my college roommate in St. Louis the next day. I called him and he suggested that I check about flood damage along the Missouri. I found out that a bridge I was planning on taking was still out and a portion of I 29 was still washed out from the earlier flooding. We had to completely change our route to KC. We stayed at a Renaissance hotel at the St. Louis airport. We’d stayed there about 10 yrs before for my nephews wedding. It was a short drive from downtown and we met up with my roommate Bob for dinner at a very nice restaurant called The Sidney Café. It’s nice that after 40 yrs we still enjoy each other’s company. The next day was fun. Mary didn’t know but our son Mike was in town for a bachelor party for a college buddy. We conspired to surprise her at brunch the next morning. We were headed to Indy that afternoon where my three daughters were going to be to celebrate some grandchild birthdays. I offhandedly said to her, “you’re going to see all your kids today.” She replied “all but my son.” I said nothing. When he walked up to our table she was speechless. It was great. We headed to Indy later that day. We stayed with my daughter Moira a couple of days and had some fun time with her 3 kids. From there it was back home. Final stats 5632 miles 224 gallons of gas 12 states and 2 Canadian provinces
A very special thank you to Terry without whose patience and knowledge I could never have posted my photos.
Wow, spectacular pictures Mike. I do have to object to you using up the "Luck of the Irish" on the slot machines...we neeeded it last Sat!!
I'll tell you how lucky this Irishman is. After posting for about 2 hours I tried to submit my first report and the site had timed out. The second time I was doing my report we had a blackout as the result of a freak windstorm and I lost a lot of my work. Some of this I had to type 3 times to get it done. :x
That was one of the best detailed post I have ever read Gipper, you gave us a great gift by taking the time to share the incredible pictures and superb details of your trip, Thank You Very Much!! My wife and I had the pleasure of Banff National park and beautiful Lake Louise several years ago and it was incredible. I remember the Elk but nobody said anything about Grizzly bears. I would have liked to have seen some but in all honesty enjoyed the safety and comfort of seeing your pictures and reading your story instead... :shock: PS - Great surprise on the wife with your son... Thanks again Ralph
Thanks Ralph and Jim. Makes the effort worth it. I reminded myself about what a beautiful country we have.