Got home around 4:00 on Monday, returned car, 3800kms! I am not much of a writer so I won't try to explain but suffice it to say I would very much like to go back this way again and spend more time in Yellowstone.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
"I walked into the lobby and said "Hello" because you have to start somewhere."
Was driving through Walla Walla looking for a place to sleep, saw THIS! Yay, Mike Birbiglia jumped out one of those windows! In his sleep!
Ponderosa Pine Pass
Crossed out of the Sawtooths on the Ponderosa Pine Highway, very quiet road, gorgeous, I sat here near the top for 20 minutes before another car came through.
Stopped at a Craft Fair in Stanley
Didn't buy anything but really, really wanted this bowl, purpleheart with an inlay of real turquoise.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Atlanta, Idaho
After breakfast I head further into the Sawtooth, it is an amazing place, I head off on an old unmanaged forestry road towards the town of Atlanta, rumoured to be the most remote town in the lower 48 states, it is 40 miles from the nearest paved road.
No Google maps reception out here so I follow the directions I was given carefully (the visitor centre lady at the highway said "Drive until you've about given up and you'll just about be there.") and drive for what seems a crazy long time, at least an hour, down a dirt road until finally I come around a bend and there is a town, unbelievable. I poke around, have a snack at the cafe and hike a bit, then head back out again. I have never been anywhere like Atlanta, it is odd and wonderful and twilight zoney and, as promised, amazingly remote.
No Google maps reception out here so I follow the directions I was given carefully (the visitor centre lady at the highway said "Drive until you've about given up and you'll just about be there.") and drive for what seems a crazy long time, at least an hour, down a dirt road until finally I come around a bend and there is a town, unbelievable. I poke around, have a snack at the cafe and hike a bit, then head back out again. I have never been anywhere like Atlanta, it is odd and wonderful and twilight zoney and, as promised, amazingly remote.
Stanley, ID - Breakfast
Kim, my Airbnb host insisted I stop in Stanley at the Redfish Lake Lodge for breakfast, I do so and it is awesome.
Redfish Lake Lodge
Uh-oh
I arrive at the Inn at Elsmere in Hailey, the innkeeper has no record of my reservation and is full for the night, she calls around, everything else is full as well, Hailey is not a big place. I phone Hotels.com, they admit their mistake and offer a free night in the closest vacancy, which is in Boise, 3 hours away and past the Sawtooth. I give Hotels.com a piece of my mind, thank the innkeeper for trying and head out to try and find wifi downtown.
Hotels are all booked for sure so I try Airbnb because you never know, even in a small place, Airbnb has several listings but they are either crazy money or full, I prepare to sleep in the car or under the stars.
Suddenly! I get a response from an Airbnb request, she tells me she is booked but understands the pickle I am in and would be willing to let me stay in her spare room!
I head over to the address and meet an amazing lady, she takes me in and gives me coffee. She is wonderful, a children's book illustrator. I am exhausted at this point and fall asleep almost immediately.
In the morning my hostess is up when I pop my head out of my room at 6:00 and offers coffee, we end up chatting a couple hours she give me tips for food and things to see in the Sawtooth and sends me on my way.
Amazing.
Hotels are all booked for sure so I try Airbnb because you never know, even in a small place, Airbnb has several listings but they are either crazy money or full, I prepare to sleep in the car or under the stars.
Suddenly! I get a response from an Airbnb request, she tells me she is booked but understands the pickle I am in and would be willing to let me stay in her spare room!
I head over to the address and meet an amazing lady, she takes me in and gives me coffee. She is wonderful, a children's book illustrator. I am exhausted at this point and fall asleep almost immediately.
In the morning my hostess is up when I pop my head out of my room at 6:00 and offers coffee, we end up chatting a couple hours she give me tips for food and things to see in the Sawtooth and sends me on my way.
Amazing.
Getting Tired
After visiting the moon I am starting to get tired, I come to the sad little town of Carey, ID (there are quite a few sad little towns like this when you don't drive the interstate) and am getting tired.
I pull over and search Hotels.com for a room nearby, I find one in Hailey and book it. Then I notice that Hailey is the start of the Sawtooth Nation Forest, I actually know this place, where Hemingway did his outdoorsy stuff (and where he shot himself) and home to Sun Valley (famous ski retreat of the rich and famous). I almost drove right across the bottom of the park without noticing.
I pull over and search Hotels.com for a room nearby, I find one in Hailey and book it. Then I notice that Hailey is the start of the Sawtooth Nation Forest, I actually know this place, where Hemingway did his outdoorsy stuff (and where he shot himself) and home to Sun Valley (famous ski retreat of the rich and famous). I almost drove right across the bottom of the park without noticing.
Westward Ho!
After seeing EBR-1 I continue west, avoiding the interstate, I'm driving on highway 20 and now start seeing signs for the Craters of the Moon!
Craters of the Moon turns out to be an entire valley made up of nothing but very recent volcanic rock and soil (around 2500 years old). The whole place looks like something from The Road, really neat.
Craters of the Moon turns out to be an entire valley made up of nothing but very recent volcanic rock and soil (around 2500 years old). The whole place looks like something from The Road, really neat.
Continuing West
After Rigby I drove another hour or so and started seeing sign for EBR-1, 20 miles ahead!
Turns out that out in the middle of desert scrub sits the site of the world's first electricity producing nuclear reactor, the EBR-1.
Stopped in, took the tour, very cool as well, the first nuclear plant and the invention of TV, within an hour of each other in the middle of nowhere!
Turns out that out in the middle of desert scrub sits the site of the world's first electricity producing nuclear reactor, the EBR-1.
Stopped in, took the tour, very cool as well, the first nuclear plant and the invention of TV, within an hour of each other in the middle of nowhere!
Heading West
Driving kinda randomly west at this point, about an hour after leaving the mountains I see a sign announcing the upcoming Town of Rigby - Birthplace of TV!
Yup, the town of Rigby, population not very much at all, is where a 14 year old Philo Farnsworth dreamt up the idea of using vacuum tubes to hold a video image.
I couldn't pass this one by. Stopped in, paid my $2, was curtly informed that the museum "Isn't just Farnsworth you know!".
Yup, the town of Rigby, population not very much at all, is where a 14 year old Philo Farnsworth dreamt up the idea of using vacuum tubes to hold a video image.
I couldn't pass this one by. Stopped in, paid my $2, was curtly informed that the museum "Isn't just Farnsworth you know!".
The museum also had a nice, unrelated, collection of barbed wires of the ages!
I'm Going to Jackson...
South of Grand Teton is the tourist trap town of Jackson, at this point, after checking Google maps, I think I should start heading for home, from here it's likely 2-3 days drive.
I turn west from Jackson and start climbing the Teton Pass, Highway 22. Amazing drive, very steep, no trucks allowed. Stop in Wilson for lunch.
I turn west from Jackson and start climbing the Teton Pass, Highway 22. Amazing drive, very steep, no trucks allowed. Stop in Wilson for lunch.
Leaving Yellowstone, into Grand Teton National Park
Not far south from Yellowstone is Grand Teton, named for the group of mountains that rise up strikingly from the flat plane around them, unfortunately it was cloudy at this point, I took a ton of pics but the clouds showed up in all of them.
Yellowstone - Old Faithful
I only waited literally about 3 minutes after arrival before the show started.
Yellowstone - Old Faithful
Old Faithful isn't really all that faithful, it actually erupts between 65 and 115 minutes after the previous eruption. The faithful part comes from the fact that the time until the next eruption can be estimated fairly accurately by the duration of the previous one.
YELLOWSTONE! COOL!
Yellowstone is amazing, I've never seen landscape quite like it.
Hot springs are everywhere.
These seem to steam non-stop.
Sometimes everything vents at the same time, the steam made me sneeze, a lot.
Where to?
I checked the map and have decided to go a bit further (not really all that far tho) and see Old Faithful in Yellowstone, I've never been to Wyoming (the state that only has 2 escalators! total!) and am already probably 80% of the way there. I stop in Bozeman, MT for the night. It's not too late and very warm out so I sleep outdoors, how romantic. Most of the area is rolling pasture land, I drive down a couple random dirt roads and find a quiet spot, shouldn't need tent so I setup Thermarest and sleeping bag in the grass and sleep. Not sure if this is normal or if I will get in trouble or what but all good.
Wake up wet the next morning, it is raining a bit.
Wake up wet the next morning, it is raining a bit.
Missoula
Apparently Missoula, MT has the largest Fiesta Ware dealer in the world, who knew? Picked up the hard to find white colour of my dinner plate set.
Saw this lovely three tiered serving tray, too much $$.
Idaho is small
I crossed Idaho very quickly and am in Montana, somewhere I know for sure I have been to before, lol. There is somewhere I want to see in Missoula so I headed there to find...
My favourite book is "The Sportswriter" by Richard Ford, Ford was born in the south but lived in Missoula while he was a struggling young writer working on what would turn out to be his breakthrough novel, this is the house he rented while he wrote the book, it isn't much but there is a nice feeling of locality to see the physical place where something you love was created.
"... I'm not always sure what I believe but I do think that one thing rarely leads to another in any sort of simple way..."
My favourite book is "The Sportswriter" by Richard Ford, Ford was born in the south but lived in Missoula while he was a struggling young writer working on what would turn out to be his breakthrough novel, this is the house he rented while he wrote the book, it isn't much but there is a nice feeling of locality to see the physical place where something you love was created.
"... I'm not always sure what I believe but I do think that one thing rarely leads to another in any sort of simple way..."
Onwards?
The realization that I have actually never been to Spokane also means I have never been to Idaho, so many beliefs being shattered. Idaho isn't far so I will keep driving.
Spokane - Remember? In Benny & Joon?
I thought I had been to Spokane before but upon arrival realized I was thinking of Kalispel. The only thing I know about Spokane is that it's where Benny & Joon was set, I had lunch at the diner where Sam (Johnny Depp) does his Buster Keaton dinner roll bit. I asked for two rolls and two forks, they said no. Burger and fries and a chocolate malted was all really good.
Friday, July 17, 2015
I like ferries!
At the far east end of the reservation you need to take the Kelly - Wilbur ferry across the widest part of the Columbia river, according to the captain it's the oldest ferry route west of the Mississippi, having run for nearly 150 years. It was empty when it got to my side and I was the only passenger on the sailing (plus Kevin the car of course).
Colville Indian Reservation
After the dam I drove through the Colville Indian Reservation, it is desolate and beautiful and very big, almost two hours to drive all across it.
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