Monday, November 1

Eastern Washington seemed more like Big Sky country that Montana had. The mega farms with rare farmhouses and the distant mountains were dwarfed by the blushed cream, gray, and white sky of clouds. Once again, we crossed the magnificent Columbia River, this time at Vantage, and were treated to a glimpse of rainbow over the river. Threading through the Cascades, we finally got the rain. Sheets and torrents of it, in fact.

After 58 days, 32 different states, and 9,408 miles, it was marvelous to be home. Even in a gray-out of rain, Olympia looked LOVELY! And amazingly, we had beans, zucchini and corn just picked by Mike from the garden for our welcome home dinner. We have been incredibly blessed!

Sunday, October 31

Leaving Billings, we could see clouds bumping up against the mountains ahead. The white-topped dark peaks looked like there had been a good first snowfall. “Purple mountain majesties” kept running through my head. It was deeply satisfying scenery. Small rivers winding through fields of buff and red-tinged grasses edged with red twigged bushes, burgundy leafed bushes, and bright gold-leafed trees. All against the backdrop of mountains in all directions. The clouds began creeping over the mountains in foggy mists. We were thankful that the temperature continued in the 40s--no chance of snow.

Outside of Missoula, we were treated to a vivid rainbow. Some three hours later, we had cut across the Idaho panhandle and were driving towards Coeur d’Alene through a corridor of mountains draped in fabulous fall colors. Especially impressive were the tall bright yellow western tamarack/larch which glowed amongst the deep green pines as together they marched up and down the steep hillsides.

It was chilly but beautifully sunny in Coeur d’Alene and the sunlight danced across the lake. Enjoying a brisk walk along the lake’s shore, we were treated once again to the many colors of fall--reds, oranges, yellows, greens, browns. We somehow weren’t expecting such a beautiful display of colors in the west. So, ok, Mark’s idea to take I-90 was an excellent one!

Back at the truck, we slipped across the border back into Washington to spend the night in Spokane. Couldn’t quite face another 6 hours in the truck that night.

32. Idaho--Let it be perpetual/Gem State, Gem of the Mountains

Saturday, October 30

Early on Saturday morning, we drove up and out of Rapid City past the granary, which appeared to be the tallest building in town, and through heavy pine forests towards Mt. Rushmore. We had been here with the kids but many years ago. As advertised: Great Faces! We loved reading in the museum about the 14 year long ordeal as well as the process of carving (90% of the “carving“ was done by dynamite), more about Gutzon Borglum (the sculptor), and the reasons Borglum and others chose the four great presidents represented on the mountain.

Back to I-90 again.
--tawny colored grass covered hills, red exposed rocks, yellow-leafed trees
--blue skies with wispy strands of clouds, distant dark blue, tree-covered, low mountains sporting a small rim of snow

We entered Wyoming in sunny 50 degree weather. I-90 cuts through the upper northeast corner of Wyoming. We detoured off to go see Devil’s Tower. Great little museum at the start of the road--very hands’ on things for kids (as you can see from the big kid on the horse). We approached from the east and in the distance, the Devil’s Tower looked like a jolly…ho, ho, ho… blue giant’s thumb sticking up from the earth. Teddy Roosevelt made it the nation’s first national monument in 1906.
 

On entering the monument we drove through a flat grasslands area that was home to a large and active colony of plump little prairie dogs busily fattening up for winter even though they do not hibernate. We were surprised and delighted. Driving up towards the Tower we were once again impressed by its vertical streaked appearance which according to Indian legend was the result of an Indian boy turned giant bear who clawed the Tower trying to get at his seven sisters on top. (The sisters were magically turned into the stars of the Big Dipper--OK…) We much preferred the image of Richard Dreyfuss, in Close Encounters, frantically sculpting a mashed potato Tower with his fork. Remember that one? One of our favorites actually.

Back to I-90 we went through Gillette, Wyoming and found ourselves gaping at long trains full of coal. We whizzed by what looked like a huge, surface coal mine. After googling, we discovered that our guess was correct. The mines in the area produce 30% of our country’s coal used for electrical generation. Fun facts to know and tell: Gillette is called the Energy Capital of the Nation since it has natural gas and oil reserves as well.

Just ahead we caught our first glimpse of glistening, snow-topped solid blue mountains against a white and steel gray sky--the Rockies…well, actually, the Big Horn Mountains which are considered part of the Rockies. For some time we had been passing giant gates on the highway’s on-and-off ramps along with large signs equipped with lights capable of flashing if activated. Made us realize that we were happy to be heading home BEFORE the snows came. We cruised through the 8500 mile mark. We spent the night in Billings, Montana at an RV park that was not yet closed for the winter as many increasingly were.

Montana trivia: there are 3 cows for every person in the state, the name comes from the Spanish word meaning mountain, it would take 12.9 hours at 60 mph to drive diagonally across the state from the upper northwest corner to the lower southeast corner (from Yaak to Alzada). Actually google maps says it would take 13 hours and 27 minutes. Any way you look at it, a long state!

30. Wyoming--Equal Rights/Equality State
31. Montana--Gold and Silver/Treasure State

Hmmm, not overly creative besides I thought Montana was called Big Sky country..

Friday, October 29

We were in the truck by 7:30, the thermometer reading 24 degrees. I took my pen out of the glove box to record this and it was too cold to write--had to warm the tip in my hand (hot water bottle already in place on my lap). We were treated to a glorious pre-sunrise deep orange streaked sky on our way out of town.

--the roadside grasses were frosted and the plowed field furrows white
--more wind farms plus some new ones being assembled

new propeller blade in transit

--flock after flock of tiny black birds undulated across the sky with the flock alternately bunching up and stretching out and occasionally plunging en mass into the grasses or harvested fields
--by 9 it was 33 degrees but at the rest stop the outside drinking fountain was already winterized, well wrapped in yellow plastic secured with duct tape
--we saw our first sign for Wall Drug--a mere 355 miles ahead
--by 11 AM we were in South Dakota and the temp was 45 degrees; blue skies and the ever present wind
--at noon we exited in Mitchell to make and eat lunch and take a quick gander at the Corn Palace--yearly redecorated with 12 different corn colors, each cob cut in half and nailed in place--how is it we never stopped here with the kids??

all made out of corn cobs

--in mid afternoon we crossed the Missouri River with the temperature continuing to climb
--signs welcoming pheasant hunters, droopy-headed fields of dried sunflowers, some 20 miles of mounded snow lingering along fence lines
--we finally notice that the plowed fields are gone and we are in the midst of grasslands with distant sprinkles of cattle
--A new sign proclaims: “WEAR FUR: Hunting and Trapping Keep Animal Populations in Balance”

Late in the afternoon we spy jagged sawtooth (with a few broken teeth, says Mark) mountains popping up out of the prairie--the Badlands. Somehow on our other car treks to Michigan, we had never stopped here either. There is a 40 mile loop off and back on to I-90. We almost thought we were in Bryce or Kodachrome again. Chiseled and eroding, bare and grass-topped, white with dusty rose stripes or yellow with deep pink streaks, the rock formations spread in a winding line across the landscape. Even spied a large herd of grazing deer and a threesome of bighorn sheep. We pushed on in the waning light for Rapid City.

29. South Dakota--Under God the people rule/Mount Rushmore State, Coyote State, or the newest catchy phrase: Great Faces, Great Places

Thursday, October 28

We left Terre Haute under gray skies. It was 45 degrees. The highway was lined with brown-leafed or bare-limbed trees and the wind was fierce. Snaking our way north towards I-90, we passed the 7,000 mile mark on the odometer. Our newest book-on-CD was Ivan Doig’s The Whistling Season. Although set in Montana, the prose fit our traveling conditions perfectly: “The wind was practicing for winter…the pewter sky….” We entered Illinois and miles of flat, flat farmland broken only by the occasional farmhouse surrounded by clumps of trees. A large sign along the highway proclaimed: Guns Save Life.

After checking long range weather outlooks for snow, Mark’s incurable wanderlust had ruled out taking the more southern I-80 to Salt Lake City since at that point we would encounter roads already traveled this trip--Horrors!

We rolled on into Wisconsin. My sister Teri had suggested a couple of interesting stops but we were bent on racking up some miles. We cruised by the rocky pinnacles and over the rolling hills near The Dells and continued on northwest towards Tomah (home to many of my step mom’s clansmen) and finally picked up I-90. Some 40 miles later, we crossed several miles of bridge over the mighty Mississippi River and entered Minnesota. A setting sun cast an orange glow on the riverside hills and bathed in eerie light fields of bright pumpkins left unpicked.

We arrived in Rochester in the dark. After an abortive attempt to find one campground, we called the KOA campground in town. The man told us that he could give us electricity but no water. The predicted temperature overnight was 22 degrees. With another call we discovered that a nearby Motel 6 would only be $10 more than the KOA. We quickly abandoned the camper!

26. Illinois--State sovereignty, national union/Land of Lincoln, Prairie State

27. Wisconsin--Forward/Badger State

28. Minnesota--The star of the North/North Star State, Land of 10,000 Lakes

Terre Haute

Tuesday afternoon we did push our way out of Grand Rapids south towards the Indiana border. We battled 25-30 mph winds with occasional strong gusts and watched our already meager miles per gallon plummet into single digits. Angry gray clouds flew by overhead. (We later learned that we had experienced a "weather bomb" where there is an intense low pressure system that generates tremendous winds, rain/snow!) 

The further south we went, the sunnier the skies became. About 80 miles out from Terre Haute, the long, straight, flat highway was encompassed by a vast, circular wind farm of huge, graceful, three-armed, white windmills steadily turning in the wind.

We arrived at Mandeville’s house after dark. They had even waited dinner for us!

Wednesday was a relaxed day with Teri. Saw a bit of Terre Haute again and walked the bike path where Peter’s memorial bench swing and plaque are located. It was a long wonderful walk with Lucy the dog straining out front of us in the autumn sunshine.

25. Indiana--The Crossroads of America/Hoosier State

From the internet….Where does the name Hoosier come from? The origins of Hoosier are rather obscure, but the most likely possibility is that the term is an alteration of hoozer, an English dialect word used to refer to anything unusually large. The first recorded instance of Hoosier meaning "Indiana resident" is dated 1826. Senses of the word recorded later in the Dictionary of Americanisms, included "a big, burly, uncouth specimen or individual; a frontiersman, countryman, rustic”. As a nickname, Hoosier was but one of a variety of disparaging terms arising in the early 19th century for the inhabitants of particular states. For example, Texans were called Beetheads, Alabamans were Lizards, Nebraskans were Bug-eaters, South Carolinians were Weasels, and Pennsylvanians were Leatherheads. People in Missouri might have had it worst of all-they were called Pukes. Originally, these names were probably taken up by people living in neighboring states, but belittled residents adopted them in a spirit of defiant pride, much as American colonists turned the derisive term Yankee into a moniker for their spirit of rebellion. Today, most of these frontier nicknames have disappeared from the landscape. A few like Okie still exist with much of their original animus. Others survive as nicknames for the sports teams of state universities-the North Carolina Tarheels, the Ohio Buckeyes, and so on-fighting words only on the playing field or court.      Well, I found it interesting..............

Saturday-Tuesday, October 23-26

Oops, I forgot my ongoing tally of states:
22. Massachusetts--By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty/Bay State, Old Colony State

23. Ohio--With God, all things are possible/Buckeye State

24. Michigan--If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you/Wolverine State, Great Lakes State

On Saturday morning, we visited the Calvin College campus. We saw the newly remodeled and enlarged and just dedicated Covenant Fine Arts Center, as the old FAC is now called. We also wandered through the indoor 362,000 sq. ft. fieldhouse complex--500 spectator aquatic center with Olympic size pool, climbing rock, state-of-the-art 5000 seat arena, 10,000 sq. ft. fitness center, dance center, indoor track and tennis courts….OH,MY!

It was Homecoming weekend so there were extra activities going on. We were intrigued by a talk given by the two main perpetrators of The Bananer back in 1970. If you know what that is, ask us about it. We now have the inside scoop and lots of fun stories! Saw Larry VanGenderen at the talk as well!

Other fun times:
--dinner at Blickleys with the Koks and Joyce, too



--church in Holland at the Hope College Chapel where Lydia’s choir was singing (got to meet Lydia’s boyfriend, Dave, too)


 

 --wine, munchies, and hours of conversation on Sunday evening with our long time friends Bob and Thea Leunk
--I relished Monday morning chat time at Ani’s house, just the two of us catching up
--lunch out with HS-and-beyond friend Mary Gates VanGoor
--dinner at 750 with Mark and Isabella



--Tuesday morning breakfast out with 8 of Mark’s aunts and uncles


The plan was to leave Grand Rapids for Terre Haute, IN immediately after breakfast. However, the winds are raging and a tornado warning is in effect. We’ll wait to see. Will probably leave now after lunch.....