A few pictures of town. You'll see several different things here. There is a picture of my apartment building, another one later of my back porch. There are some pictures of town (roads and trees). There are only actually trees along the roads, so you get the false impression of a highly treed area.
The tree types vary greatly here. There are hardly any native trees in the neighborhoods. See, when the government first built the town around the nuclear site, they planted whatever they had. Anything that you give some water to and put in the ground here will grow. As long as it gets water. So we drove past asian trees, sweetgum trees, maples, birches, willows, fraser firs...I think I saw a mesquite too.
The building you'll see later, rather gray and ugly one, is my lab. The picture of the road with the bubble building in the distance...that's the nuclear site. I'm going on a tour later this summer. No, there won't be pictures. I have a headache, so this is going to be really short. Enjoy the pictures!
Oh, there are also a few vineyard pictures.
And now the promised tour of town...
Monday, May 26, 2008
Hello family and avid fans!
I will eventually put up one more post with pictures of town for you to see. I start work tomorrow morning, bright and early (well, it'll be nearly 11 your time). I just wanted to let you guys know that you should probably not expect daily posts this summer. If I do anything interesting, I'll keep you posted. I'm working on a puzzle right now. Not too exciting. I'm currently sorting the pieces by color. (So OC)
For those of you who may want to reach me, my address here is:
1900 Stevens Drive
Apartment 117
Richland, WA 99354
I will eventually put up one more post with pictures of town for you to see. I start work tomorrow morning, bright and early (well, it'll be nearly 11 your time). I just wanted to let you guys know that you should probably not expect daily posts this summer. If I do anything interesting, I'll keep you posted. I'm working on a puzzle right now. Not too exciting. I'm currently sorting the pieces by color. (So OC)
For those of you who may want to reach me, my address here is:
1900 Stevens Drive
Apartment 117
Richland, WA 99354
Friday, May 23, 2008
I guess this counts as day 7. I thought I'd share with you all some pictures of my apartment. It's very nice and very clean. Today we unpacked, tomorrow we head out to explore the town. We are going to find where I'll be working and find downtown and generally orient ourselves. In the pictures, the first room with the patchwork quilt is mine. The room with the Clemson blanket is where mom is sleeping right now.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
photo notes
For those of you who think the photos on the blog are too small, I have made public the daily slideshows. They are located at this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/home
Once I have the opportunity, I will put up an album containing almost all of my pictures (i had to pick and choose so as not to bore you readers) from the trip. In case you want to see them.
Also, I will be geotagging as much as possible so you can see where we were. If you don't know what that is, don't worry about it. It's a feature of Picasa.
Thanks for being such avid readers!
Once I have the opportunity, I will put up an album containing almost all of my pictures (i had to pick and choose so as not to bore you readers) from the trip. In case you want to see them.
Also, I will be geotagging as much as possible so you can see where we were. If you don't know what that is, don't worry about it. It's a feature of Picasa.
Thanks for being such avid readers!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
First, apologies go to my readers who have had to wait three days for a blog update. If you actually expected Yellowstone to have wireless, you’re crazy. I think I’d be disappointed if they had wireless here. They don’t have TVs in the rooms. And you should see our closet. Anyway, to ensure that you, my avid readers, get a quality travel update, I am writing while still in Yellowstone and will post as soon as I can.
Day 4: Cheyenne to Yellowstone
Since we had had such a long and dreary drive on day 3 and, since our drive would be only 8 hours, we decided to take a more leisurely pace across Wyoming. The slide show should really be broken down into two parts. The first would be the geology lesson. The second, snow. Seriously. Wyoming is absolutely beautiful. Very empty, very beautiful. Some of the most interesting geological features I’ve ever seen. So we set off from Cheyenne with the straight open road in front of us. Even on the interstate, we were almost alone. We could do 80 there though, so we didn’t mind all the nothing at that point. By the way, we’ve got a new slogan for a few of the states we’ve passed. Nebraska: “There’s more nothing where that came from.” Missouri: “You should see Nebraska.” Anyway, back to Wyoming. There is nothing out there. Cows, antelope, and fences. They have these snow fences that keep the snow from blowing onto the roads. There is a picture of them in the slide show, right before the pictures of the rocks. They get very strong winds out there, because there is nothing to block said winds. So they put fences up. At least some areas are making the best of the wind they’ve got. There were wind farms, with those big white windmills that are so cool. We stopped in one town whose name has slipped my mind (laramie?). It was the home of Wyoming University. The cowboys. We got t-shirts, so you'll have to see them. Quite funny. Mine has a ginormous cowboy on the front. We also saw the Sinclair oil refinery in Sinclair, WY. Once we turned off of the interstate, we were on hwy 287, which just made the interstate look busy. It is a bit unnerving to drive for miles without seeing any other cars (and you can see for miles, so you KNOW there aren’t any cars around). Makes you think you’re going the wrong way. We crossed the continental divide a total of 7 times during this trip. We took a lot of sign pictures, so you'll see those in the slide show. We had seen signs all the way that would tell you if the road was closed for snow and gates so they could actually keep you off of the roads if they needed to, so the report that it might snow on our second night in Yellowstone was a bit frightening. We decided that in Wyoming, they got snow all the time and knew how to deal with it. Brave Burka ladies soldiering on. Anyhoo, somewhere past Lander, WY we entered the Shoshone National Forest. I’ll just point out that for every beautiful picture we took, there is an even more beautiful picture to follow it. We get into the forest and are just cruising along toward the Tetons. You have to go through the Tetons to get to the south entrance to the park. So we come around the corner and there is snow everywhere. But it’s like 70-something out. We have short sleeves on and our windows down. And it’s warm. Thankfully, they were doing construction that stopped us long enough that we could stop the car and stretch our legs. So these woods are beautiful right? Yeah. Well then we get to the Tetons. Those things are absolutely amazing. Huge. Snowy. Just look at the pictures, alright? We took many many pictures. Some in color and some awesome B&Ws. We stopped in the park’s fancy lodge to rest for a moment, then we got on the road. After we stopped to take a picture of the MOOSE! Once leaving there, we headed onward to Yellowstone. Snow on both sides and a clear road. Still as warm as could be. By the way, I’ve decided to become a park ranger, but only if they let me wear the poofy pants that Mounties wear. And let me ride a moose. Anyway, we entered the park and took a lot of pictures. Especially of the frozen lake. Lake Yellowstone is covered in ice. There are melted parts right by the edge, but the thing is ginormous and completely frozen. Also, they scrape the snow out of the roads, so the sides are walls of snow. Please make sure to see the picture of me standing in front of the snow for effect. That pile is not from plows. It’s the same depth all the way into the woods for a little way. The Lake Yellowstone Hotel is yellow. Of course. Piles of snow from plowing are so high that if you aren’t on the correct row, you can’t find your car. Anyway, we ate dinner in the dining room there and it was delicious. No cell service, no tv, no internet. Ahhhh…
And in case you didn’t know...If you missed part of the slide show because you were reading the long description of Wyoming, a play button will appear at the end for you to start it over.
Day 5: Yellowstone!
So, today we woke up and it was raining. And cold. So we went over to the dining room for breakfast and requested a table by the giant picture windows. As we ate, the rain turned into snow. A lot of snow. That was sticking. And wasn’t stopping. It’s May, right? I’ve decided that the best place to be when it snows is inside with a cup of anything warm. We talked to a few employees and determined that it was safe to set out on the roads. Just don’t scare the bison with your car. So we set out and went on a loop around the park. We drove the loop and stopped whenever we saw fit. There are a lot of pictures. There was a wolf. Wait, the wolf was the day before. There was a grizzly bear, a bison, another two bison, and an elk. So look at the animal pictures. We saw some falls. Really serious water here. The snow melting (I guess it’s melting somewhere, right?) has brought the rivers higher. Oh, and it’s still snowing. We stopped at one of the geyser basins and wandered on the boardwalks. The colors and smells of the hot springs are so fascinating. The ugliness of this place is astounding. I have suffered greatly. (joking!) We stopped in and out of various places. Lots and lots of pictures of snow. You’ll probably hate snow by the time the slide show is over. Eventually, we worked our way over to Old Faithful. Of course. At this point, the snow is very heavy. We decided to see the geyser (which we got there just in time to see) and then discuss whether we would risk staying there for dinner like we had planned. Geyser…very cool. I wish the pictures better showed how huge and cool it was. Sadly, the haziness of snowy weather prevented good pictures. Go look up a picture online or something. It was cool. After that, we went inside the Inn and had coffee and hot cocoa while we poked around in the shop, then settled onto a sofa that is apparently from 1904 and watched the people. The whole place is very cozy. No, we didn’t try to drop Uncle David’s name there. We thought it might do more harm than good. We hung around and warmed up, then we went on a tour of the inn that was very cool. We now know all about the history of the inn and the park. We attempted a walk around the geyser that was rather cold and snowy. It was nice when the nearby hot springs put off smoke right at you. Even if the smoke smelled of sulfur, it was warm. Did I mention it was still snowing? We evaluated the roads and determined it was safe to stay there for dinner, so we ate an early dinner that was delicious. I highly suggest roasted red pepper and roasted gouda soup. That was only part of it, but it was such a yummy soup and so good for warming up my tummy. We returned across very snowy mountains to our own hotel and passed a snow plow on the way. Getting out in the morning may be interesting. They seem to be able to handle snow around here though…
An added note after looking through pictures: you'll see a lake in yesterday's pictures. Completely covered in ice. You'll see the same lake in today's pictures. Can't see across it for all the snow. Also, completely covered in snow and ice. I am completely astounded that a body of water as large as Lake Yellowstone could be frozen.
Day 6: Yellowstone to Richland
Technically, we aren't in Richland. We are staying at a hotel in Kennewick. Look it up on google maps. They're practically the same place. So...
We got up this morning to find that it had stopped snowing. Not that it made a difference, because there was still snow everywhere. On the bright side of things, Yellowstone really knows how to deal with snow on the roads. Anyway, we packed and had breakfast in the dining room (to let the roads thaw) and got on the road in a leisurely manner. We failed to realize that it would take us a full two hours to get out of the park. It was such a long drive that we had to take a bathroom break at Old Faithful. Anyway, it started snowing/raining as soon as we got out of West Yellowstone and headed north in Montana. Winding roads, in the snow and the rain, for 9 hours. Then there was the rest of the trip. Montana would have been beautiful but for the snow and the deficient rest area system. I have never had to go to the bathroom so badly so many times in one week. It was so strange that they would not put many rest areas out. They even put in rest areas with no restrooms. And some of them were closed for the winter. And there aren't any trees to go behind out where we were. We also learned about "chain-up" areas. They mean that you should probably be worried. See, out here, you can go up a hill and the weather be rainy and there be no snow on the ground but, as soon as you clear the hill (and by hill i mean rather large mountain. like really really really large.), there will be snow. Then you come down the hill and there's a chain removal area. So, when you see those signs...worry. Idaho was rather scenic. There is a very pretty lake that we drove past for a while. Mom remembers it as very steep, tall, foggy, and snowy. All true. We listened to "This American Life" to pass the time today. Rather interesting. I used to hate that show. We got into Washington and noticed that Spokane (being the second largest city in the state) is a lot wealthier than the towns we've been seeing the last few days. Then we left that city and crossed the empty part of the state. There are tumbleweeds pushed up against the fences, but rich farms that you can tell are very forced (lots of irrigation). We passed a few vineyards on the way into the Tri-Cities area (Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco). This is a rich wine country. In fact, I've just read that it is only second in the country to Sonoma. We crossed the Columbia River (really really really big). Anyway, It's been a long day. It took us 11.5 hours to get here. Thank goodness we crossed into another time zone. I'm tired, so I'm going to bed.
Day 4: Cheyenne to Yellowstone
Since we had had such a long and dreary drive on day 3 and, since our drive would be only 8 hours, we decided to take a more leisurely pace across Wyoming. The slide show should really be broken down into two parts. The first would be the geology lesson. The second, snow. Seriously. Wyoming is absolutely beautiful. Very empty, very beautiful. Some of the most interesting geological features I’ve ever seen. So we set off from Cheyenne with the straight open road in front of us. Even on the interstate, we were almost alone. We could do 80 there though, so we didn’t mind all the nothing at that point. By the way, we’ve got a new slogan for a few of the states we’ve passed. Nebraska: “There’s more nothing where that came from.” Missouri: “You should see Nebraska.” Anyway, back to Wyoming. There is nothing out there. Cows, antelope, and fences. They have these snow fences that keep the snow from blowing onto the roads. There is a picture of them in the slide show, right before the pictures of the rocks. They get very strong winds out there, because there is nothing to block said winds. So they put fences up. At least some areas are making the best of the wind they’ve got. There were wind farms, with those big white windmills that are so cool. We stopped in one town whose name has slipped my mind (laramie?). It was the home of Wyoming University. The cowboys. We got t-shirts, so you'll have to see them. Quite funny. Mine has a ginormous cowboy on the front. We also saw the Sinclair oil refinery in Sinclair, WY. Once we turned off of the interstate, we were on hwy 287, which just made the interstate look busy. It is a bit unnerving to drive for miles without seeing any other cars (and you can see for miles, so you KNOW there aren’t any cars around). Makes you think you’re going the wrong way. We crossed the continental divide a total of 7 times during this trip. We took a lot of sign pictures, so you'll see those in the slide show. We had seen signs all the way that would tell you if the road was closed for snow and gates so they could actually keep you off of the roads if they needed to, so the report that it might snow on our second night in Yellowstone was a bit frightening. We decided that in Wyoming, they got snow all the time and knew how to deal with it. Brave Burka ladies soldiering on. Anyhoo, somewhere past Lander, WY we entered the Shoshone National Forest. I’ll just point out that for every beautiful picture we took, there is an even more beautiful picture to follow it. We get into the forest and are just cruising along toward the Tetons. You have to go through the Tetons to get to the south entrance to the park. So we come around the corner and there is snow everywhere. But it’s like 70-something out. We have short sleeves on and our windows down. And it’s warm. Thankfully, they were doing construction that stopped us long enough that we could stop the car and stretch our legs. So these woods are beautiful right? Yeah. Well then we get to the Tetons. Those things are absolutely amazing. Huge. Snowy. Just look at the pictures, alright? We took many many pictures. Some in color and some awesome B&Ws. We stopped in the park’s fancy lodge to rest for a moment, then we got on the road. After we stopped to take a picture of the MOOSE! Once leaving there, we headed onward to Yellowstone. Snow on both sides and a clear road. Still as warm as could be. By the way, I’ve decided to become a park ranger, but only if they let me wear the poofy pants that Mounties wear. And let me ride a moose. Anyway, we entered the park and took a lot of pictures. Especially of the frozen lake. Lake Yellowstone is covered in ice. There are melted parts right by the edge, but the thing is ginormous and completely frozen. Also, they scrape the snow out of the roads, so the sides are walls of snow. Please make sure to see the picture of me standing in front of the snow for effect. That pile is not from plows. It’s the same depth all the way into the woods for a little way. The Lake Yellowstone Hotel is yellow. Of course. Piles of snow from plowing are so high that if you aren’t on the correct row, you can’t find your car. Anyway, we ate dinner in the dining room there and it was delicious. No cell service, no tv, no internet. Ahhhh…
And in case you didn’t know...If you missed part of the slide show because you were reading the long description of Wyoming, a play button will appear at the end for you to start it over.
Day 5: Yellowstone!
So, today we woke up and it was raining. And cold. So we went over to the dining room for breakfast and requested a table by the giant picture windows. As we ate, the rain turned into snow. A lot of snow. That was sticking. And wasn’t stopping. It’s May, right? I’ve decided that the best place to be when it snows is inside with a cup of anything warm. We talked to a few employees and determined that it was safe to set out on the roads. Just don’t scare the bison with your car. So we set out and went on a loop around the park. We drove the loop and stopped whenever we saw fit. There are a lot of pictures. There was a wolf. Wait, the wolf was the day before. There was a grizzly bear, a bison, another two bison, and an elk. So look at the animal pictures. We saw some falls. Really serious water here. The snow melting (I guess it’s melting somewhere, right?) has brought the rivers higher. Oh, and it’s still snowing. We stopped at one of the geyser basins and wandered on the boardwalks. The colors and smells of the hot springs are so fascinating. The ugliness of this place is astounding. I have suffered greatly. (joking!) We stopped in and out of various places. Lots and lots of pictures of snow. You’ll probably hate snow by the time the slide show is over. Eventually, we worked our way over to Old Faithful. Of course. At this point, the snow is very heavy. We decided to see the geyser (which we got there just in time to see) and then discuss whether we would risk staying there for dinner like we had planned. Geyser…very cool. I wish the pictures better showed how huge and cool it was. Sadly, the haziness of snowy weather prevented good pictures. Go look up a picture online or something. It was cool. After that, we went inside the Inn and had coffee and hot cocoa while we poked around in the shop, then settled onto a sofa that is apparently from 1904 and watched the people. The whole place is very cozy. No, we didn’t try to drop Uncle David’s name there. We thought it might do more harm than good. We hung around and warmed up, then we went on a tour of the inn that was very cool. We now know all about the history of the inn and the park. We attempted a walk around the geyser that was rather cold and snowy. It was nice when the nearby hot springs put off smoke right at you. Even if the smoke smelled of sulfur, it was warm. Did I mention it was still snowing? We evaluated the roads and determined it was safe to stay there for dinner, so we ate an early dinner that was delicious. I highly suggest roasted red pepper and roasted gouda soup. That was only part of it, but it was such a yummy soup and so good for warming up my tummy. We returned across very snowy mountains to our own hotel and passed a snow plow on the way. Getting out in the morning may be interesting. They seem to be able to handle snow around here though…
An added note after looking through pictures: you'll see a lake in yesterday's pictures. Completely covered in ice. You'll see the same lake in today's pictures. Can't see across it for all the snow. Also, completely covered in snow and ice. I am completely astounded that a body of water as large as Lake Yellowstone could be frozen.
Day 6: Yellowstone to Richland
Technically, we aren't in Richland. We are staying at a hotel in Kennewick. Look it up on google maps. They're practically the same place. So...
We got up this morning to find that it had stopped snowing. Not that it made a difference, because there was still snow everywhere. On the bright side of things, Yellowstone really knows how to deal with snow on the roads. Anyway, we packed and had breakfast in the dining room (to let the roads thaw) and got on the road in a leisurely manner. We failed to realize that it would take us a full two hours to get out of the park. It was such a long drive that we had to take a bathroom break at Old Faithful. Anyway, it started snowing/raining as soon as we got out of West Yellowstone and headed north in Montana. Winding roads, in the snow and the rain, for 9 hours. Then there was the rest of the trip. Montana would have been beautiful but for the snow and the deficient rest area system. I have never had to go to the bathroom so badly so many times in one week. It was so strange that they would not put many rest areas out. They even put in rest areas with no restrooms. And some of them were closed for the winter. And there aren't any trees to go behind out where we were. We also learned about "chain-up" areas. They mean that you should probably be worried. See, out here, you can go up a hill and the weather be rainy and there be no snow on the ground but, as soon as you clear the hill (and by hill i mean rather large mountain. like really really really large.), there will be snow. Then you come down the hill and there's a chain removal area. So, when you see those signs...worry. Idaho was rather scenic. There is a very pretty lake that we drove past for a while. Mom remembers it as very steep, tall, foggy, and snowy. All true. We listened to "This American Life" to pass the time today. Rather interesting. I used to hate that show. We got into Washington and noticed that Spokane (being the second largest city in the state) is a lot wealthier than the towns we've been seeing the last few days. Then we left that city and crossed the empty part of the state. There are tumbleweeds pushed up against the fences, but rich farms that you can tell are very forced (lots of irrigation). We passed a few vineyards on the way into the Tri-Cities area (Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco). This is a rich wine country. In fact, I've just read that it is only second in the country to Sonoma. We crossed the Columbia River (really really really big). Anyway, It's been a long day. It took us 11.5 hours to get here. Thank goodness we crossed into another time zone. I'm tired, so I'm going to bed.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Day 2 Update:
There was a shooting outside our original hotel in St. Louis during the parade that blocked us from our hotel. I'm convinced that I heard the gunshots. Oh dear...
Day 3: St. Louis to Cheyenne, WY
St. Louis was fun to navigate in the morning, even at 6:30 am. We got on the road right at 6:00 local time. We lost another hour today, so now we're two hours behind the east coast. We crossed the entire state of Missouri. Looks like Illinois. Farms. Lots of farms. Our maps sent us on a loop of Kansas City (we didn't ever actually enter Kansas) that was like a bajillion miles long. Really. The loop doesn't loop. It heads straight north, then hangs a left and heads west. Look at a map some time. While we're on Kansas City, I should mention my commentary that all the major cities in states around here seem to be on the border. Here's how we figure it: borders are along rivers, rivers equal commerce, commerce builds cities. Omaha, Kansas City, St. Louis...think about how many cities you know on some sort of major waterway. Moving on now...
We headed north from Kansas City and ended up entering Iowa for like 10 miles before we took a left and headed toward Nebraska. Before leaving the lovely state of Iowa (looks just like Missouri), we stopped at a "welcome center" that was a small museum, some maps, and a dude behind a desk. The dude was rather old. Had been to Myrtle Beach, so that was his impression of South Carolina. At least he enjoyed himself there. We made lunch on the back of the car in Iowa, then hit the road for Nebraska. Which was two miles down the road. Counting lunch, we were in the state of Iowa for like 25 minutes. Oh Nebraska. Nebraska is really really big. Like REALLY big. Lots of farms. I have so many pictures of farms. Lots of flat. I now know all sorts of things about crop irrigation systems. If you ever see an overhead view of Nebraska, look at the circles. They're due to the center pivot irrigation system. Look it up, it's very cool. North Platte had a Starbucks. We stopped there and were caught in a sudden rainstorm that lasted only a few minutes. The flat nature of the state causes weather to change very quickly there. Think "Little House on the Prairie" and the storms they had then. There was a constant wind while we were driving. It made staying on the road a challenge for mom. As we entered the panhandle region of the state, there was a change in terrain as more hills appeared and more rocks. There was also a significant increase in elevation. We decided that we have all the respect in the world for the people of Nebraska. Not only do they provide a significant amount of the country's food, they also survive through some very extreme seasons. It was 82 there today. I imagine the summers there are brutal as are the winters. Very unpredictable weather. Last Nebraska bit: the state is not only the cornhusker state, it is a source of oil, coal, wheat, grain, and cattle. Large beef farms around the state. More varied terrain than you'd imagine. All in all, very interesting, yet very boring.
We are now in the state capitol of Wyoming. Cheyenne is a town of only 56,000. About a third the size of Greenville. We came over a hill and could see mountains in the distance. The first thing we've seen on the horizon in a while. This is a very quiet town. Not at all touristy. Has a big plant (Pioneer something) and an old-fashioned downtown area.
The deer count: We've been counting dead deer. We are up to 11. Until the very edge of Nebraska, the dead deer outnumbered the live ones. This leads to the conclusion by majority rule that deer are, in fact, alive. We have been tallying all sorts of dead animals and are hoping for some more interesting ones tomorrow. I'm still looking for a bison and a moose for amy.
Tomorrow, we literally cross the state diagonally. We will see the Tetons as well as Yellowstone. We should be getting there early enough to look around.
Enjoy the pictures!!
There was a shooting outside our original hotel in St. Louis during the parade that blocked us from our hotel. I'm convinced that I heard the gunshots. Oh dear...
Day 3: St. Louis to Cheyenne, WY
St. Louis was fun to navigate in the morning, even at 6:30 am. We got on the road right at 6:00 local time. We lost another hour today, so now we're two hours behind the east coast. We crossed the entire state of Missouri. Looks like Illinois. Farms. Lots of farms. Our maps sent us on a loop of Kansas City (we didn't ever actually enter Kansas) that was like a bajillion miles long. Really. The loop doesn't loop. It heads straight north, then hangs a left and heads west. Look at a map some time. While we're on Kansas City, I should mention my commentary that all the major cities in states around here seem to be on the border. Here's how we figure it: borders are along rivers, rivers equal commerce, commerce builds cities. Omaha, Kansas City, St. Louis...think about how many cities you know on some sort of major waterway. Moving on now...
We headed north from Kansas City and ended up entering Iowa for like 10 miles before we took a left and headed toward Nebraska. Before leaving the lovely state of Iowa (looks just like Missouri), we stopped at a "welcome center" that was a small museum, some maps, and a dude behind a desk. The dude was rather old. Had been to Myrtle Beach, so that was his impression of South Carolina. At least he enjoyed himself there. We made lunch on the back of the car in Iowa, then hit the road for Nebraska. Which was two miles down the road. Counting lunch, we were in the state of Iowa for like 25 minutes. Oh Nebraska. Nebraska is really really big. Like REALLY big. Lots of farms. I have so many pictures of farms. Lots of flat. I now know all sorts of things about crop irrigation systems. If you ever see an overhead view of Nebraska, look at the circles. They're due to the center pivot irrigation system. Look it up, it's very cool. North Platte had a Starbucks. We stopped there and were caught in a sudden rainstorm that lasted only a few minutes. The flat nature of the state causes weather to change very quickly there. Think "Little House on the Prairie" and the storms they had then. There was a constant wind while we were driving. It made staying on the road a challenge for mom. As we entered the panhandle region of the state, there was a change in terrain as more hills appeared and more rocks. There was also a significant increase in elevation. We decided that we have all the respect in the world for the people of Nebraska. Not only do they provide a significant amount of the country's food, they also survive through some very extreme seasons. It was 82 there today. I imagine the summers there are brutal as are the winters. Very unpredictable weather. Last Nebraska bit: the state is not only the cornhusker state, it is a source of oil, coal, wheat, grain, and cattle. Large beef farms around the state. More varied terrain than you'd imagine. All in all, very interesting, yet very boring.
We are now in the state capitol of Wyoming. Cheyenne is a town of only 56,000. About a third the size of Greenville. We came over a hill and could see mountains in the distance. The first thing we've seen on the horizon in a while. This is a very quiet town. Not at all touristy. Has a big plant (Pioneer something) and an old-fashioned downtown area.
The deer count: We've been counting dead deer. We are up to 11. Until the very edge of Nebraska, the dead deer outnumbered the live ones. This leads to the conclusion by majority rule that deer are, in fact, alive. We have been tallying all sorts of dead animals and are hoping for some more interesting ones tomorrow. I'm still looking for a bison and a moose for amy.
Tomorrow, we literally cross the state diagonally. We will see the Tetons as well as Yellowstone. We should be getting there early enough to look around.
Enjoy the pictures!!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Day 1: Greenville to Knoxville
Well, seeing as how I have made this trip like a bajillion times, I didn't really see anything of note. Nothing new. I-40 is closed through Knoxville for those who may be trying to travel through that city any time soon. I highly suggest looking up the T-DOT website to find out the status of this road before you travel through that area. And now on to the weather report. Sunny with a chance of weather. Kidding. Really though, it was the same old mountains, same old road through the mountains. We have decided to take a picture of every state line that we cross. I have done an excellent job so far (as far as I am concerned). As I am now quite learned in the ways of slideshows, I can put a slideshow of each leg of the trip (yay! I know you're all excited, right?). We had a lovely party in Knoxville, with delicious food and a surprise birthday cake for Uncle Paul and Mom, who are both turning 29 this year. All the cousins (well, not all of them were there, but that's what G-ma kept telling me) came and we had a good time. And kicked them out promptly at 9:02.
Day 2: Knoxville to St. Louis
Up bright and early today. We were out the door and started the car promptly at 5:54 am. G-ma and G-pa were up to wave out the window at us. We got on the road and headed out toward Nashville with no problems. They even gave me a cup of hot water for my tea when we stopped by McDonald's for mom's coffee. The roads were clear, it being a Sunday morning, and we breezed through most of the day. Even Nashville. We saw Amy's favorite dam on the way to Nashville. We hopped through Kentucky and stopped at a rest area in Illinois to use a picnic table for lunch. While attempting to eat lunch, our efforts were thwarted by the vicious attack of a rabid squirrel and his gang of squirrel buddies. Okay, so they weren't vicious, they weren't rabid, and there were only two. But two's company. These squirrels were not bothered by mom's valiant attempt to defend our humble meal. She chose to take a lesson out of the Scott Burka Guide to Dealing with Animals. She yelled menacingly at them and waved. I chose to remove my feet from the ground and point while saying "no!" when they got on the table with us. The drive was fast, thanks partly to the lack of traffic on the roads and partly to the loss of a time zone. We lose another one of those tomorrow. Good thing too, since it's going to be 13 or 14 hours on the road tomorrow. We need all the daylight we can get. We got into St. Louis approximately 15 minutes before the start of the Cardinals game. Of course, we were rather lost, because 4 interstates become 1 interstate for a section there, and we weren't sure about the road numbers. So, we ended up in the middle of downtown in the game traffic. Let me say that police in this city are a bit incompetent. They don't direct. They just block streets and watch. We FINALLY find a road that allows us to get past the stadium to the road we need and we discover that the middle of town is blocked off too. In fact, there are tons of roads blocked off. I just looked up an events calendar and learned that there was a May Day parade and blues festival today. For those who are thinking "may day is on the first"...you're correct. They are a little late. Nevertheless, they were celebrating. And this celebration involved the section of road by our hotel being completely blocked off. So we went back down and talked them into letting us into the arch tram early. We walked around and took pictures and then we rode up in the little eggs. Those things are so strange. And so cool. And I got pictures of the two events that were causing us so much trouble. Must admit...the arch is way cooler than I thought it would be. And most of it has to do with how they built it. We watched a video on it. Very very very cool. And UN-SAFE (that's for dad). No safety harnesses at all. Mom survived the small spaces in the building and we made it up and down alive. After this, we headed away from town, had dinner, and talked our way into a hotel outside of town. Oh, and the people in this city don't understand intersections. Or how to drive. Tomorrow, I take the wheel first. Mom is already asleep, so I am going to hit the hay. At 8:32 pm, local time. Whatever. It's a long day tomorrow. Enjoy the pictures y'all!
Well, seeing as how I have made this trip like a bajillion times, I didn't really see anything of note. Nothing new. I-40 is closed through Knoxville for those who may be trying to travel through that city any time soon. I highly suggest looking up the T-DOT website to find out the status of this road before you travel through that area. And now on to the weather report. Sunny with a chance of weather. Kidding. Really though, it was the same old mountains, same old road through the mountains. We have decided to take a picture of every state line that we cross. I have done an excellent job so far (as far as I am concerned). As I am now quite learned in the ways of slideshows, I can put a slideshow of each leg of the trip (yay! I know you're all excited, right?). We had a lovely party in Knoxville, with delicious food and a surprise birthday cake for Uncle Paul and Mom, who are both turning 29 this year. All the cousins (well, not all of them were there, but that's what G-ma kept telling me) came and we had a good time. And kicked them out promptly at 9:02.
Day 2: Knoxville to St. Louis
Up bright and early today. We were out the door and started the car promptly at 5:54 am. G-ma and G-pa were up to wave out the window at us. We got on the road and headed out toward Nashville with no problems. They even gave me a cup of hot water for my tea when we stopped by McDonald's for mom's coffee. The roads were clear, it being a Sunday morning, and we breezed through most of the day. Even Nashville. We saw Amy's favorite dam on the way to Nashville. We hopped through Kentucky and stopped at a rest area in Illinois to use a picnic table for lunch. While attempting to eat lunch, our efforts were thwarted by the vicious attack of a rabid squirrel and his gang of squirrel buddies. Okay, so they weren't vicious, they weren't rabid, and there were only two. But two's company. These squirrels were not bothered by mom's valiant attempt to defend our humble meal. She chose to take a lesson out of the Scott Burka Guide to Dealing with Animals. She yelled menacingly at them and waved. I chose to remove my feet from the ground and point while saying "no!" when they got on the table with us. The drive was fast, thanks partly to the lack of traffic on the roads and partly to the loss of a time zone. We lose another one of those tomorrow. Good thing too, since it's going to be 13 or 14 hours on the road tomorrow. We need all the daylight we can get. We got into St. Louis approximately 15 minutes before the start of the Cardinals game. Of course, we were rather lost, because 4 interstates become 1 interstate for a section there, and we weren't sure about the road numbers. So, we ended up in the middle of downtown in the game traffic. Let me say that police in this city are a bit incompetent. They don't direct. They just block streets and watch. We FINALLY find a road that allows us to get past the stadium to the road we need and we discover that the middle of town is blocked off too. In fact, there are tons of roads blocked off. I just looked up an events calendar and learned that there was a May Day parade and blues festival today. For those who are thinking "may day is on the first"...you're correct. They are a little late. Nevertheless, they were celebrating. And this celebration involved the section of road by our hotel being completely blocked off. So we went back down and talked them into letting us into the arch tram early. We walked around and took pictures and then we rode up in the little eggs. Those things are so strange. And so cool. And I got pictures of the two events that were causing us so much trouble. Must admit...the arch is way cooler than I thought it would be. And most of it has to do with how they built it. We watched a video on it. Very very very cool. And UN-SAFE (that's for dad). No safety harnesses at all. Mom survived the small spaces in the building and we made it up and down alive. After this, we headed away from town, had dinner, and talked our way into a hotel outside of town. Oh, and the people in this city don't understand intersections. Or how to drive. Tomorrow, I take the wheel first. Mom is already asleep, so I am going to hit the hay. At 8:32 pm, local time. Whatever. It's a long day tomorrow. Enjoy the pictures y'all!
Thursday, May 08, 2008
So I am trying this new thing where instead of putting all the photos in individually, I put a slideshow in. We'll see how it works. These are just a few pictures from the end of the year.
As an update, I will be travel-blogging as mom and I (thelma and louise) take off for Washington. We're hoping to photograph every state line we cross, so get ready for some excitement!
As an update, I will be travel-blogging as mom and I (thelma and louise) take off for Washington. We're hoping to photograph every state line we cross, so get ready for some excitement!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)