Road Trip '16 -- And Back Again

By the time we got up Wednesday (July 6th) morning, Geoff was on a plane bound for St. Louis.  We were in no rush to leave but wanted to make Sheridan, Wyoming by supper.  The best thing about saying goodbye was knowing we'd see everyone again in August.

It was a pretty stress-free trip north.  We saw lots of pronghorn antelope and a huge herd of bison (very close to the giant bison that marks the border between Colorado and Wyoming).  We stopped for lunch near Chugwater (population 212).  The town was named for the sound bison made when they hit the ground after being driven off a buffalo jump (according to native legend). Who knew?  The town's claim to fame is the bucking horse emblem on Wyoming licence plates, Steamboat, was born there.

We then motored on to the Hampton Inn in Sheridan, dining at Sanford's Grub and Pub.  Again we enjoyed Bomber Mountain Ale in quart mason jars but we knew better and didn't order an appie.  Instead, I had Yllihp.  Yeah, I couldn't pronounce it either.  Turns out is it Philly spelled backward.  It was very good and the coleslaw was creamy heaven.

The next day, the plan was to stop at the Little Bighorn National Monument and find/plant a letter box.   When we had visited the museum and cemetery back in 2010 (see Day Two-Where the Deer and the Antelope Play), we discovered the grave of Major Marcus Reno.  We bought a pamphlet that told us the story of this much-maligned man.  He was branded a coward for leading an organized retreat when his troops met the Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians on the Little Bighorn River.  Reno fought the accusations and was cleared of all charges but the public was against him.  He probably suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and turned to drink.  He died of cancer a poor man.  His descendants and others interested in the man fought to have him re-buried at the Custer National Cemetery.  This was done in 1967 and he is the only officer of the 7th Calvary buried there.

I had carved a stamp to honour this historic figure and we planted it in the cemetery.  We then read the clues for the other letterbox and discovered it was also in the cemetery.  Another box was down by an abandoned hotel so we headed there.  Unfortunately, an elderly Crow woman and a puddle thwarted our efforts to find it.  Next time we pass this way, we'll get it.

There is a lovely rest stop just west of Billings so we headed there for lunch.  Unfortunately, it was undergoing renovations so we ate late near Bozeman.  Due to the weather issues we had coming down (see Road Trip '16 -- There), we drove west along Interstate 90.  It meets I-15 at Butte where  we headed north.  High on a hill overlooking the highway was a giant (90 ft) white statute of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Called Our Lady of the Rockies, it was built by a man who had prayed to Mary  promising to build her a statue if his wife recovered from cancer.  The project blossomed into a community effort, taking 6 years to complete.

In Helena, we stay at the Holiday Inn Express and eat at the restaurant next door, Buffalo Wild Wings.  The wings there are large so we shared a medium plate of tradition wings, then added onion rings and celery/carrots sticks for a balanced meal (yeah, right).  Beer was Lewis and Clarke Amber which we've had before and really enjoy.  It is a Helena brewery that uses locally grown ingredients.

The next day, July 8th, we were homeward bound.  We even played Paul Brandt's Alberta Bound on our stereo system (it always makes me tear up).  We made good time and were at the border at noon so decided to have lunch in the Sweetgrass rest stop.  Just as well as there was a long line up entering Canada and I'd have been starving had we waited.  If there is a line taking longer than any other, we'll find it.  So we sat for over 30 minutes waiting for our turn.  Our border guard seemed very thorough so we wondered what he was asking people.  When our turn came, he asked the usual questions about alcohol and cigarettes, then let us go.  Took all of 3 minutes.

We arrived home, quickly unloaded the car, and headed to Scotsman's Well for supper.  I had a buffalo chicken wrap with sweet potato fries and Glen ate spaghetti and meatballs, all washed down with Big Rock's Traditional Ale.  It was good to be home!

See photos here.

Fourth of July Weekend

This wasn't the first Fourth of July we've spent in Colorado (see Day Seven, Eight, and Nine - Aurora) but it will be the most memorable.  Melissa had booked two sites at their favourite campground, Reverend's Ridge in Golden Gate Canyon State Park on January 1st and that's when the road trip plans began.  Geoff had just started his new job so didn't know whether or not he would get vacation time.  Turns out he could take off Friday (Monday was July 4th) so we spent the morning loading up our two vehicles.  Elijah and Geoff's guitar came with us.

The hour and a half drive was made longer due to a horrible accident but both kids had fallen asleep so were spared the aftermath we witnessed.  Then we hit a thunderstorm which had us worried we'd be setting up camp in the rain.  Luck was with, though.  The sun came out just as we reached the campsite.

The boys had never slept in a tent by themselves so had a few issues setting it up.  Fortunately, it was a tent we'd given Geoff years ago so we knew the ins and outs of its erection.  Our poor old tent was showing its age and looked very saggy.  This became an issue when it started raining (with Armstrong camping, rain is a given).

After a couple of false starts, we had a fire going and Melissa had all the fixings for chicken fajitas ready to go.  I had bought giant marshmallows so the 'smores were amazing or so I was told.  I don't like this camping dessert.

Rain began during the night and our tent got quite damp.  Geoff fixed it by knotting up our bungy cords which tightened our fly.  Just as well since neither Glen nor I had had a good night's sleep.  Turns out some of the problems I foresaw about us 'oldies' camping actually transpired.  Glen had been nursing a sore hip for several months and the stiffness made getting dressed a chore.  This became a big problem in our tent (originally bought for backpacking 30 years ago).  The bottomline is if we camp again, we need a taller and wider tent!

Saturday we were to go fishing.  Miles is a great fisherman so we headed out with him to the Slough Pond.  Glen did his first cast and caught a small trout.  Before I could snap a photo, he'd had tossed it back.  That was the first and last fish caught that day.  Melissa and Elijah went on a hike and we all met back at the campsite for lunch.  It was raining again.

When the rain stopped, we headed to Dude's Fishing Hole.  A short hike meant we didn't take our folding chairs.  Just as well as we weren't there long before it poured.  I was the only one wearing rain gear so Geoff ran with the others back to the car while Glen and I brought up the rear.  I didn't realize we were at 9000 feet so couldn't understand why I was having problems breathing.  I'd had similar issues on Pikes Peak years ago so high altitude exercise is not for me.

Geoff got the fire started in the rain while we huddled under their picnic table cover.  The kids had made a friend and we had fun playing a camping game Melissa had brought.  We had hamburgers for supper and the rain let up enough for us to do 'smores again.

It was still overcast the next morning so Geoff built up the fire for a huge breakfast of bacon and scrambled eggs.  Glen cooked the eggs as that is his specialty.  We went fishing at Ranch Pond while Melissa and Elijah drove into Golden to get more ice.  After an hour of casting, I caught a fish!  I've never caught a trout before and it was pretty exciting.  Geoff said it was a keeper so Miles helped me bring it in and Geoff used his pliers to remove the hook so it became 'our' fish.

When the pond got crowded, we headed back to Slough Pond and Melissa and Elijah joined us as she had seen the car while driving back from Golden.  Geoff caught a fish on his bottom line so we had two treats for dinner.  Of course, two fish do not feed 6 people so we fried some brats on the fire and had a side of beans.  However, the fish were the more than delicious!

Just as we finished dinner, a man from the next campsite came over.  He was with a church group and all of them were Asian (except him).  They were having a cook-off and wanted us to judge their food since we'd be impartial.  They were given certain ingredients and had to create their dishes using these.  Melissa, Geoff and I enjoyed some excellent food and met some wonderful people.

Afterwards, Glen and I cleaned up camp while the rest of the family went to a talk on raptors.  Melissa took some amazing pictures of the owls.  Actually, the birds in our campsite were exciting, too.  We had several Black throated hummingbirds visit as well as Steller and Grey Jays, ravens and chickadees.  A hairy woodpecker also stopped by our tent.

It's always sad when one strikes camp but everyone worked together and left the sites cleaner than we found them.  The kids were excited to get home as it was July 4th and we were off to have a BBQ at friends and then do fireworks (they are banned in Aurora but not where Geoff's friend, Brady lives).  The minute we got home, Melissa had a load of laundry in the washing machine and Miles in the shower.  Not sure how we did it but everyone had a shower before we left for dinner.  Brady and Kelli have known us a couple years but we had never met his folks.  What nice people!  They sold airplane propellers of all things and had some interesting stories to tell.  Brady's burgers were 2 inches thick, I swear and he cooked them to perfection.

As soon as it got dark, the fireworks began.  Because this area of Denver is really several small cities, each one had their own display and we had a perfect view of several of them.  When I say the light show went on for hours, I'm not lying.  Brady had a collection of fireworks the kids could light so we had fun watching smoke bombs, firecrackers and explosions of all kinds.  The kids set the fireworks off in the middle of the street then raced back to the house while it exploded.   It was great fun.  During a lull in the action, the kids wanted sparklers so Geoff began lighting them.  The breeze kept snuffing his match so I got the butane lighter from our camping equipment.  We wanted a picture of the four kids with sparklers so Geoff decided to light them all at once.  Sounded like a good idea but what he created was a sparkler bomb which blew up and burned his hand.

He rushed into the house and dunked it into the ice cooler we had for drinks then Melissa drove him to the hospital.  Being the states, he was in and out in under two hours.  He had second degree burns to most of his hand but his fingertips were spared.  None of the kids were hurt despite being close by.

The doctor also told him not to let the incident lessen his enjoyment of setting off fireworks on the Fourth of July.  We thought the same so we let the kids have fun after Geoff and Melissa left and drove them home after the finale.  Miles was a great navigator, getting us out of the neighbourhood onto a road we knew.

Geoff spent the night battling pain with drugs but seemed better the next day.  He couldn't go into work but joined us for lunch at Mellow Mushroom Pizzeria.  Glen and I shared my favourite, a vegetarian pizza called Kosmic Karma.  It was a great way to end our holiday in Aurora.

See photos here.

Family Time -- Aurora

We arrived in Aurora Sunday night (June 26th) and spent Monday relaxing.  Geoff had to work so we lazed around the backyard.  The kids ran through the sprinkler and I had fun capturing their antics with my camera (see photo) while enjoying the shade of their neighbour's tree.

We were to spend the week in town then head to the mountains to camp.  The highlight of the week was a visit to the History Colorado Centre.  During the summer, admission for kids under 18 is free (we saved $16).  Glen was thrilled he paid $2 less because he was a senior.  The museum is downtown but Melissa knew the place to park so we had no problems.  As we stepped into the main atrium, the kids rushed over to a R2D2 type unit and began pushing it across the floor.  A shiny brass disc embedded in the floor activated the machine telling us various aspects of Colorado history.  Each floor of the museum provided hands-on displays which the kids loved.  You could do school lessons in a one-room schoolhouse (nobody wanted to be reminded of school), work the cash in the general store, collect eggs (wood) from pretend chickens, milk a cow (with its own light show), and experience what it was like to sit in a house during a prairie dust storm of the 1930s.  They also had two temporary exhibits -- one called By Their Hats, Horses, and Homes, We Shall Know Them featuring historic photos of Colorado's early days.  The other, Awkward Family Photos, were pictures taken of real families in some pretty funny/awkward poses.  We all have those photos!

After the museum, we met Geoff at his work, Asynchrony Labs, and had a tour of his office housed in an old brick warehouse.  What a great feeling of space.  We planned having drinks at a nearby restaurant but its dining area was closed so we drove to Postino Wine Café (you had me at wine).  We dropped Glen off to secure us a table then found a place to park.  The restaurant is located in the Lower Highlands (LoHi in Denver parlance), a vibrant community of modern condos just north of downtown.  The building was built in the 60s to house the Denver BookBinding Company.  It was a warm night so Postino's had opened their windows to let a breeze flow through.  Glen chose a large banquette on the cusp of the patio.  Not only did they serve wine, but the kids had lemonade and Glen, Geoff, and I had local craft beer.  We ordered three 'boards' to be shared--cheese, butcher's, and pub.  The almond hummus was incredible as were the aged meats and cheeses.

Usually when Glen and I go to a restaurant, we're there for supper as well as appies but no, Geoff wanted to try out an alehouse down the street.  Way down the street.  We walked off some of the appies to reach it.  Called The Ale House at Amato's, it is housed in a place that originally made statuary and fountains.  The Amato family left some pieces behind and the restaurant honoured the building's past by adding their name to the ale house.  Owned by Breckenridge Brewing company, it proudly features this brewery's craft beer.  I enjoyed a Colorado Lamb Pita Salad.  I burned it off climbing back up the hill to the car.

See photos here.

The Good Guys Lost??

We weren't the only ones who have stopped by Little Bighorn to check out the National Monument, friends of Geoff and Melissa took their kids there.  After watching the video of the battle, the youngest told his grandfather that the 'good guys' lost.  When you're young, you want to be the good guy.  As you age, you learn humans can be good and bad.  At the Battle of Little Bighorn, the U.S. 7th Calvary lost to a confederacy of Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors.  Once the good guys, history now paints the Calvary as the ones who deserved to lose.

Glen wanted to see the re-enactment so we made a special stop at Little Bighorn in Montana on June 25th.  The show is hosted by the Crow people and is on their reservation south of Last Stand Hill.  It is at this bend in the river, Indian oral history tells us, that Lt. Col. Custer (see photo) fell (many historians dispute this).  They call it the Battle of Greasy Grass.

The show was to start at 1:00 but since it was first come, first serve, we decided to get there early.  We arrived at 10:00 and weren't the first.  Parking is in a huge field but isn't unlimited so getting there early was a good idea (cost per adult is $20.00).  We were told we could explore the Calvary Camp on the shores of the Little Bighorn River so that's what we did.  We spoke a young lady dressed as a private and learned she was an anthropology student.  As I took pictures, Glen questioned a gun enthusiast who had a display of rifles used by the calvary.  Only the officers carried pistols.

I wandered to the river and over the hill, came the Calvary!  What an incredible sight.  They were riding two by two down to the river to cross back into camp.  The volunteers had been there for a couple of weeks rehearsing for the show and were still working out the kinks.  It was nice to see the horses up close.  I wasn't the only one snapping pictures.

After crossing the river, they scattered and dismounted.  We met a few of them as they wandered through the camp.  A young man with a split beard caught my eye and we had a chat.  Turns out he portrayed Custer's Adjutant, 1st Lt. William Cooke.  We wished him luck and he laughed saying he was sure they would win this year.

We then made our way to the bleachers as they were beginning to fill up.  I noticed the top seats had backs so scrambled up to them.  Glen couldn't figure why until I pointed out we could lean back.  We ate our lunch and watched as the Crow natives rode back and forth on various errands.  Around noon, the emcee began to tell the story of the battle from the Indian point of view (and yes, he used that word).  He also told of how he got involved in the re-enactment.  By 1:00 the stands were full and the show began.  The major players were introduced and we learned that Sitting Bull was portrayed by a young Canadian.

All the while, the native boys were riding bareback, slipping on and off their horses.  When Custer was introduced, they galloped around the calvary.  The lad who played Crazy Horse was just as crazy as the name implies.  What was most impressive was when they galloped across the river with no hesitation, neither horse nor rider afraid.

A drum circle chanted during the quite moments as various historical characters paraded across the field.  The emcee told of how the West was explored and how the Indians lived.  Jim Bridger was there.  We'd learned about him from a Johnny Horton song.  So were Lewis and Clarke.

While the Calvary was getting ready for the battle, the Indians brought a herd of horses onto the Greasy Grass meadow.  Some of these horses were for sale so it was a chance to show them off.  I went nuts taking photographs.  I was glad I had my telephoto as they were quite far away.

The battle began when Crazy Horse galloped over the river and taunted Custer and his Calvary.  This actually happened, drawing the calvary into the area where the natives could fight them.  We watched the battle across the river and in the end, there were no more calvary and the Indians came riding back with hats and swords.  What a wild bunch!

Afterwards, you could meet the calvary and Indians and have your picture taken with whomever you chose.  There were also several breaks in the program for people to have photos taken with the stars so it was a laid-back kind of show.  Great fun for the whole family.

If you go, be sure to wear sunscreen as there is no shade and a hat is essential.  We were lucky as a stiff breeze kept us cool but it is a hot, dry place.  Some kids sold water and drinks throughout the show so if you aren't prepared, they were very willing to sell you something.  They also had a food stand selling "genuine Indian tacos" as our emcee called them.  T-shirts and souvenirs are also sold on site.

Leaving the parking lot was a bit iffy but we got out in about 15 minutes so were on the road by 3:00.  It was certainly an event worth doing.

See photos here.

Road Trip '16 -- There.....

On June 24th, we headed off to visit grandkids in Aurora.  Glen loves the drive down through Montana and Wyoming but he didn't feel our 2007 Saab would make it so, we bought a new-to-us 2013 Santa Fe SUV.  It has all the creature comforts like air conditioning which the Saab lacked.

We left Calgary, stopping in Claresholm for a break.  We'd been there before but the old railway station museum had been closed.  We did a brief tour of some of their artifacts then headed to Lethbridge.  It's always neat going under the longest and highest railway trestle in the world.  However, the city road meanders through town so travel time is slowed.  Too late, I learned that the truck route was the way to go.

Upon reaching the border we reminisced about our last trip through Coutts/Sweetgrass when Officer Hastings had issues with us bring a load of furniture down for Geoff (see Helena, Herc, Helena).  This time there seemed to be no issues although the officer asked if our grandsons cheered for the Broncos.  Duh!  His computer then told him to look under our hood which he did, then declared, yes, there was an engine in there.  Good to know!

We gassed up in Shelby, Montana then headed to Great Falls.  We stopped for lunch near the Whoop Up trail stop where we had lunch on our first trip south (see Road Trip 2010).  At Great Falls, we headed east, leaving the Interstate behind.  The idea was to cut across Montana and shorten our trip to Billings.

Ten hours later, we arrived at our hotel so the trip Goggle said would take 8 hours took much longer.  In part due to weather issues.  The first storm we hit was torrential rain.  Water sluiced across the highway.  Glen had wondered why the Santa Fe had 19 inch tires but during this, he was glad to have extra rubber on the road.  We were just drying off when strong winds buffeted the car. It's pretty bad when a passenger can tell how hard it is to keep the car on the road.

Then came the hail.  No, we didn't have to worry about our sun roof because the wind was blowing it horizontally across the highway.  We could barely see in front of us but there was no shoulder so we crept along.  Finally, as we crested a hill, we came upon an access road that allowed us to pull over.  We weren't the only ones.  Being hammered by hail was like having a metal cocktail mixer full of ice shaken beside your ear.  Very scary!!  The hail landing on the ground around us appeared to be about pea sized.

When the storm had eased, we headed to Roundup for gas, then came at Billings from the north.  We didn't realize that there was a route 90 and an Interstate 90 and we took the wrong road.  This spit us out west of the city which meant our journey was longer as we backtracked.  We were hungry and tired which didn't help with navigation.  However, we finally reached our hotel, Hilton's Hampton Inn, dumped our luggage and went next door to the Fiddler's Green Pub.  We'd been there before.  They make great pizza so we had that, washing it down with Bozone Amber Ale made by the Bozeman Brewing Company

The next day we headed to Little Bighorn.  On our first road trip, we stopped here (see Where the Deer and the Antelope Play) and did the museum and cemetery.  It was then we learned the Crow tribe stages an enactment on the anniversary of the Battle.  Glen wanted to this happen so we arrived at 10:00 on June 25th (140th anniversary of the battle). See the next post for a description of what we experienced.

After the enactment, we headed to Sheridan,Wyoming.  It was just before 4pm so plenty of time to get caught up on emails, etc.  The Hampton Inn didn't have a restaurant so we asked for a recommendation and ended up at Sanford's Grub and Pub.  What an unique place!  Ever inch of space was filled with old license plates, posters, and memorabilia of all kinds.  There was even a giant alligator!  Beer, served in quart mason jars, was a local ale made by the Black Tooth Brewery called Bomber Mountain Amber.

The food had a definite southern spin.  We had a plate of Buffalo Wing a Ding Dings then were served on the biggest plate I've ever seen Southern Fried Catfish with Crawfish sauce.  Too much food!

A trick we've learned when travelling is to buy your lunch first thing in the morning then you aren't caught somewhere without food, especially when that somewhere is Wyoming (see Oh yes, Wyoming).  It seems most gas stations we stopped at had a Subway restaurant next door.  So, while other customers were buying breakfast sandwiches, I ordered lunch.  We had an insulated bag that kept the drinks cool so it worked out well.

Sunday, we drove through some spectacular landscapes and even at 130 km/hr, the beauty could be savoured.  I experimented with taking photos from the car window which can be seen on my Shutterfly site.  We stopped for lunch in Douglas.  We had no idea why Douglas was there in the middle of nowhere but it was a going concern.  The information centre is well off the highway and Glen almost gave up trying to find it.  An old railway station houses a small gift shop and it is surrounded by an old engine, dining and sleeper cars.  A small park had two picnic tables in the shade.  Very welcoming!  We chatted with the older couple manning the place and learned all about Jackalopes.  This strange creature is a cross between a jackrabbit and an antelope.  We had our photo taken next to one (see photo above) and received a hunting license should we wish to shoot one ourselves (assuming we had a gun).  Hunting season is June 31 (check a calendar).

Originally, Douglas was a stop on the railroad that functioned as a supply depot for surrounding ranchers.  The station was built in 1886 and named for a US senator.  It continues to be home to cowboys although there are oilfields outside of town.

Glen was enamoured with the restored dining car as it was exactly like the one his family enjoyed as they travelled from Ottawa to Colorado Springs 50 years ago.  Etched in his memory is the time he had his first bowl of cream of wheat while sitting in Union Station in Denver.  Little did he know then that his son would live there and his two grandkids would be Denverites.

As soon as you hit the Wyoming/Colorado border, traffic triples and it is slow going as you pass through Fort Collins and its satellite communities.  We took the toll road that goes from the airport to Geoff's place in Aurora.  It was nice to be settled and enjoy home cooking.

See photos here.