Rematerializing

Each day more of me is present in this place. Even though I'm not sure rematerializing is a word, it describes how I've been feeling since arriving home last week. Picture the transporter room on the old Star Trek when someone is having trouble beaming back from a far away planet. It is as though part of me is still out in Montana or Wyoming.

There is a lot to process from the ten days we spent traveling the West. It isn't just the time together or the distance we traveled or even the effort required to fit the family history pieces into place. We experienced a different culture in a foreign land. I am in awe of the people who have lived and worked their whole lives surrounded by a uniquely beautiful and unforgiving natural environment. I can better appreciate the independent spirit and drive that shaped my ancestors and kept them alive in harsh circumstances. They were stronger and more resilient than I could ever be.

Road Trip 2009

Day #10 - Home Again

3,117 miles, 1,000 photos, 10 states in 10 days, 7 motels/B & Bs, 2 tired travelers, and 1 fantastic journey.

We made it home from Twin Falls, Idaho in about nine hours. As we started to see trees again along the Columbia Gorge, Rebecca said she could breath easier. She also noticed an increase in bumper stickers on cars and trucks. Our car was the only one we saw with stickers in all of Montana, North & South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho.

When Rebecca proposed this trip about a year ago, I wasn't sure we could pull it off. Tonight I am happy to be home and proud of my daughter and our accomplishment. It will take a while to process everything that has happened in the last ten days. One thing for sure - we won't ever forget this time together.

I just checked the weather in Yellowstone - 14 degrees tonight and a 70% chance of snow. One road in is closed, one is icy and one is expected to freeze tonight. It is a good thing we decided not to go.

I promised more photos, but I am too tired tonight. The thought of sleeping in my own bed is just too tempting. Until tomorrow - good night and happy traveling.

Day #9 - Too Many Miles

The morning dawned clear and cold (26 degrees). Fortunately I-80 reopened over night so we were on our way by 8:30 am. The Interstate was dry although we could see signs of heavy snow by the side of the road and the mountains have a thick blanket.

I checked on Yellowstone one last time before we left this morning. More snow is expected tonight and night time temperatures will be in the teens. I also looked at the Wyoming road report and found warnings of ice on all the routes into the park. Even though we are disappointed about missing Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, it will be good to be home.

After taking more than a thousand photos, Rebecca has declared a moratorium on photography. You will just have to create a picture of the scenery on your own.

The road in Wyoming and Utah goes through one mountain pass after another. Yesterday between Cheyenne and Laramie we were at 8,640 feet. Today most of the passes were about 7,000. The surrounding mountains look deceptively low because the valleys are over a mile high. The rugged treeless slopes are impressive especially when their irregular surfaces are defined by a layer of snow. For the first time in a week, we passed through an urban area around Salt Lake and Ogden. It was a bit of a shock. I prefer the sparsely populated wide open spaces of Montana and Wyoming.

We drove 570 miles today and will have to endure about the same tomorrow. At least at the end of the day we don't have to check into a motel. Although we are both tired and eager to be home, we have enjoyed being traveling companions for this fantastic journey.

PS - The spotty Internet service has made it difficult to post photos. If all goes well, I will do a photo essay tomorrow.

Day #8 - Plan B

This was the view when we opened our motel room door this morning.

I had to clean 8 inches of snow off the car before I could even open the doors. By the time I went all the way around the car, the first windows I cleaned were covered again. Fortunately the driveway out of the parking lot sloped down hill and we made it to the slush covered road without too much trouble. The steep, curvy highway going south from Custer to Hot Springs, SD was slippery at first and then wet. We were happy to be safely out of the snow covered Black Hills.

Yes, this is a photo of buffalo on a snowy hillside in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

The route we were going to take through Wyoming today received the same snow we had in Custer which meant we had to come up with Plan B. Instead of turning west at Chadron, Nebraska we headed south to connect with Interstate 80. At first we encountered thick fog with visibility of about 100 yards and we were afraid Rebecca would completely miss Nebraska. The fog finally cleared shortly after the State line.

Rebecca's primary reason for this trip was to see Nebraska and today she did. We even have a photo to document the event. At one rest stop she got out to take a photo of a typical landscape and to "frolic through the grass."

Tonight we are staying at the quaint Gas Lite Motel in Laramie, Wyoming. We were hoping to drive around the weather and still be able to make it to Yellowstone tomorrow, but it looks like we will have to scrap our plans. They had snow last night and more is expected in the next several days. The temperature will be in the teens tonight. Right now I'm not sure what we will do tomorrow. Even the Interstate is closed west of here.

For a while today we considered driving south into Colorado and we have also talked about visiting Crater Lake as a substitute for Yellowstone. If the road doesn't open, I guess we will tour Laramie. When I planned the trip, all the information I read said it was rare to have snow before the third week of October. So much for research.

Day #7 - What happened to Mount Rushmore?

The best view of Mount Rushmore we saw today is the framed photo in our motel room. The snow started about an hour before we reached the road to the Memorial and by the time we started up the mountain it was dusting the trees. When we reached the parking lot, snow was coming down so heavily that we missed the turn off. We braved the walk from the parking lot to the visitor's center then took the snowy President's Trail to get as close as possible. The best we could do was a faint outline. I took Rebecca's photo to prove we were there even though the mountain wasn't.

Both of us were happy to head east from Beach this morning because we were a bit depressed by the clouds, wind, and cold. With so much sky overhead, the gray seemed overwhelming. Just before we turned south on our way to South Dakota, we stopped to view the Painted Canyon in the Teddy Roosevelt National Park.

There was only one good sized town for 200 miles and only a few cars. The road was so straight and the land so flat that I could see the ribbon of road at least 20 miles in front of me. It was hard not to be lulled to sleep by the rhythm of the tires on the road. The land is uniquely beautiful and the sky immense - we even saw a herd of buffalo.

The scene changed radically when we arrived at the pine tree covered Black Hills in South Dakota. It reminded us of the mountains we saw near Lewistown in Montana. On our way to Rushmore, we went through a charming old town called Deadwood. Rebecca is in love with the setting and the architecture.

Tonight we are staying in the Rocket Motel in Custer. It is one of those cute 1950s one story buildings built around a parking lot with separate red doors into each unit. It is still snowing and supposed to continue all night. If the storm moves NW, we may be able to drive around it on our way to Nebraska and Wyoming tomorrow. One day at a time.

Day #6 - Halfway

Halfway through our 12-day trip we find ourselves in Beach, North Dakota killing time this afternoon watching TV. We watched five hours of Iron Chef. I've done research at the library, met with the president of the Historical Society, visited Trotters Church, and checked out a local potter. There isn't much more to do in this tiny town, but we can't set out on the next leg of our trip because there isn't anywhere to stay for at least 100 miles.

The Golden Valley History Museum is extraordinary. By the time I arrived this morning, Judy had already pulled articles about my grandfather from large volumes containing the local newspapers from the 1930s. There were several about the progress of construction on the Trotters Church. Names of local people such as Lawhead and Halstead jogged loose some memories of my grandmother's stories.

I could have looked at newspapers all morning, but since we only had two hours Judy showed me around the seven large rooms of the museum. One unique exhibit is a room filled with glass fronted heritage boxes assembled by local families using old photos and artifacts. Another room is lined with vignettes of a doctor’s office dentist’s office, blacksmith shop, post office, kitchen, and parlor. Sewing machines filled one corner and an ornate piano dominated the center of the room. In another corner shelves were piled high with irons, canning jars, butter churns, and other household items.

Rebecca joined my for the 25 mile drive out to Trotters Church. The two-lane road went north over beautiful arid land. Suddenly the church appeared over the crest of a hill - except for a boarded up store it stood all alone on the prairie. When we went inside, I tried to imagine my grandfather standing in front of the crowded sanctuary on the day of the dedication. I could almost see my grandmother sitting with my mother and her five siblings in the honey colored pews.

Our stay here marks the end of the family history portion of our trip. Tomorrow we drive south into South Dakota where we will visit Mt. Rushmore and stay overnight in Custer. 

Day #5 - Leaving Montana

Breakfast this morning was another tasty feast - baked apple right out of the oven, toast & jam, six grain oatmeal with maple syrup, coffee, and orange juice. We lingered over breakfast talking to our host about paint colors for the local library, arts education, the plight of small town businesses, the Oregon Coast, and much more. We were having such a good time - it was almost 11:00 am before we left Lewistown on our way to Beach, North Dakota.

It didn't take long before the Judith Mountains started to disappear behind us and all we could see in every direction was wide open prairie. Just a few puffy clouds dotted a clear blue sky. The towns were 50 to 75 miles apart with only one or two ranches in between and we almost had the road to ourselves. With a speed limit of 75 mph the miles passed quickly.

The photographer slept through a lot of scenery today so I will have to rely on the power of words to give a partial picture of the landscape. Our two-lane route took us in an almost straight line East through the rolling countryside of Eastern Montana - sometimes covered with sagebrush and sometimes grass as far as the eye could see. A sign at a rest stop informed us we were traversing the inland sea where half the Tyrannosaurus bones on display around the world were found. It is easy to imagine the layered formations around us rising up from an ocean bottom. Approaching the Montana/North Dakota border, thick clouds we had seen on the horizon earlier in the day began to gather over us.

We planned to eat in Glendive, a Montana town close to the border, but because the main streets of the town were blocked for a parade we traveled on to Beach, North Dakota. Our choice of restaurants was limited to a truck stop, Dairy Queen, tiny pizza place, or Mexican Restaurant. We chose Mexican. The six hour drive built up an appetite and the food was delicious.

Tonight we are staying at one of two motels in Beach along with a large number of hunters. Tomorrow morning I will be looking for information about my mother's family at the local museum and in the afternoon we hope to find a church my grandfather helped build out on a country road North of here.

Day #4 - Kendall Ghost Town

The day started with a delicious and hearty breakfast of apricot scones with homemade jam, fresh fruit, a cheese omelet with homemade salsa, toast, orange juice, and coffee served elegantly on a Stickley table in the formal dining room. During the meal, we discovered that our host's grandfather owned the drug store located just across the street from my great grandfather's blacksmith shop in Kendall and one of her children owns a business I have often frequented in Portland. It is indeed a small world.

It didn't snow last night. In fact the streets were dry and the sun was out as we headed north to find Kendall, the gold mining town where my grandmother's family lived from 1901 to about 1911. We missed the turnoff and traveled about 20 miles out of our way before we realized our mistake, but the rolling countryside surrounded by snow covered mountains was lovely.

After retracing our route, we turned onto the gravel road leading up into the mountains. Before long, the former Kendall Town Site came into view - rising up before us in a small protected valley surrounded by snow covered hilltops. The ruins of several stone buildings in various stages of decay were sprinkled along both sides of the road.

We spent more than an hour wandering from ruin to ruin taking pictures and comparing the locations to a map of the town. Even though my great grandfather's blacksmith shop made of wood was long gone, we located a large stone where he placed his anvil. The nearby ruins of the Presbyterian Church still rise two stories high punctuated by two rows of windows one above the other. While we wandered the town, I wondered what my grandmother would think about our expedition.

The drive back down from Kendall offered us the broadest panorama of the countryside we have seen. It was as though all of Montana was stretched out before us. We could see at least 75 miles in a 280 degree arc. Rebecca took 10 to 15 photos to stitch together to create a complete picture of snow covered mountains and bordering a rolling plain.

Upon our return, we split up for the afternoon. Rebecca checked out Main Street and I went to meet with the President of the Genealogy Society located on the second floor of a handsome Carnegie Library. Marilyn was waiting for me with my great grandmother's obituary and Lewistown address in hand.

The highlight of the afternoon was an unexpected visitor - Marilyn had asked a gentleman who has done extensive research on the history of Kendall to join us. Much to my surprise, I discovered this man is the author of an article I found online several months ago. Not only does he know a lot about his topic, he also showed me nearly 100 photos of the town and excerpts from the local newspaper of the time. I scribbled furiously in my notebook and made copies of dozens of photos, some of which show the blacksmith shop.

The experience of finding the graveyard yesterday and visiting Kendall today is more satisfying than I could ever imagine.

Tomorrow on our way to Beach, we will cross the 1,000 mile mark.