We're home

Really???? Ten weeks???? Already????

 

It's with mixed emotions that we wind up our road trip after 10 weeks and 1 day. As Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz said, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home" and today we're back in our own home and will be sleeping in our own bed tonight.

 

It's hard to put into words all that this trip has meant to us - each day was a blessing and an adventure. We'll try to get some statistics posted within a few days but for now, reality calls and we will need to get some groceries so I can learn how to cook again. Thanks to our good friend Kathy there was soup in the freezer for tonight so grocery shopping can wait until tomorrow. We also need to get unpacked, sort through some mail and pay a few bills ... all in good time.

 

We want to thank all of you for your prayers for our safety as well as your comments and emails as you've traveled with us these past 10 weeks. Thanks also to our family in Oregon who held down the fort for us ... taking care of the mail, mowing the lawn, picking up leaves and dusting louvers (inside family joke), etc. so we could make this trip without worrying about things at home.

 

Here are some photos of the trip log from our GPS showing an overview from our trip

 

Miles Driven

 

 

Hours Driven and Average Speed

 

We've come full circle

 

 

 

Day 70

Another beautiful sunrise greeted us this morning .... this time with the beautiful snow capped mountains as a back drop. Looking at the weather report for home, it will likely be our last sunrise (or even glimpse of the sun) for quite awhile.

 

Since we had extra time today we decided to take another "detour" to see one of those attractions we've passed more times than we can count on our journeys to and from Nebraska ... Golden Spike National Historic Site where the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads met at Promotory, Utah in 1869. Though the "Golden Spike" isn't there, seeing the place where the two railroads came together gave us another glimpse of the history of our great nation.

 

 

 

 

As we were traveling back to the interstate we passed by the ATK Missile Site ... there is something amazing about seeing a rocket booster that is used on the space shuttles. http://www.atk.com/

 

 

 

But the very best part of today was seeing Granddaughter No. 3 (Krista) and getting a personal guided tour of the Northwest Nazarene University Campus in Nampa, Idaho where she is going to school. Since Krista had never been to Cracker Barrel and because the last one before we get home is in Boise, Idaho, the three of us went out to dinner there. As a side note for all of you "okra haters" ... we introduced Krista to fried okra and she loved it.

 

 

Day 69

It was 14 degrees when we left Rock Springs, Wyoming this morning (coldest temps yet). Garey had to scrape the frost off the windows before we left but the sun was shining and thankfully there was no wind. It was definitely a good morning to have that extra cup of coffee as we started out our day!

Brrrrrr

 

This morning's sunrise - Rock Springs WY

 

It didn't take the sun long to start warming things up and we were able to get out of the car without our coats on when we stopped at various scenic overlooks. We have always wanted to see the Flaming Gorge area at the Wyoming/Utah border so we headed south from Rock Springs to our final destination today, just outside Salt Lake City, Utah. There was a lot more traffic on the road today but not so much that we couldn't take our time and enjoy the Wyoming and Utah landscape.

At Strawberry Reservoir

 

Garey at scenic overlook - Wyoming

 

Flaming Gorge Reservoir

 

Snow Capped Mountains in Utah

 

Utah farmland with snow capped mountains

 

Various rock formations

 

 

 

A bit hazy in background but such diverse terrain we had to take the picture anyway

 

We have come to love these roads less traveled!

 

We also saw more deer grazing today than we've seen for quite awhile as well as herds of antelope, cattle and horses grazing in the open fields and meadows (sorry, no pictures).

Garey went to visit with his cousin, Steve, this evening while I stayed back at the hotel so they could relive old times and catch up with each other. Like Garey said, it's hard to catch up on 35 years in three hours but it was a good visit and nice to reconnect.

Day 68

Most people know I love anything about the Old West and especially watching Westerns so today's drive was right up my alley as we drove some of Wyoming's backroads.

We made a stop in Medicine Bow, Wyoming (does anyone remember the television series "The Virginian"???) where we saw The Virginian Hotel, Judge Garth's law office and the Medicine Bow Jail. As we drove through Rawlins we stopped by the Old Wyoming State Penitentiary where many of the Old West's notorious criminals spent some time.

When we drive through this part of Wyoming on our way to or from Nebraska we're generally on I-80. On all these trips, we've seen signs for attractions several miles off the Interstate but have never ventured off to check them out (because of time contraints in travel). However, today we weren't on a timeline so we traveled off the Interstate a good part of the day and were able to drive right past those things or take a short detour to check them out.

One of those included Curt Gowdy State Park and reservoir. Since the temperatures were down in the 20s the water was starting to ice over; it won't be long before the entire reservoir is covered in ice. It was a very nice area and would be a great place to stay with our 5th wheel for a few days (in warmer weather).

We always see herds of antelope as we travel through Wyoming but because we're usually on the Interstate they are in the distance and there is no way to stop and take pictures. Today, when we were on two lane roads, the antelope were "up close" on both sides of the road. Since we were the only car on the road, we were able to pull over and get lots of pictures.

We got into Rock Springs, Wyoming in plenty of time to do a little exploring before coming back to our room to settle in for the night. Tomorrow we'll be heading toward the Provo, Utah area where Garey will be meeting up with another one of his cousins (Steve). Since it will be just the two guys reliving their antics growing up, I'll be at the hotel kicking back and relaxing.

Enjoy Today's Pictures

 

Today's Road Less Traveled

 

 

Southeastern Part of Wyoming

 

 

 

Ice covered portion of reservoir

 

 

Recalculating, recalculating --- make a u-turn, make a u-turn

 

At Medicine Bow, Wyoming 

 

Not quite as portrayed in the movies

 

The Virginian Hotel

 

In Rawlins, Wyoming

 

Where the deer and the antelope play

(antelope grazing behind old buildings)

 

Part of the herd by the road

 

How this one felt about getting his picture taken

 

Day 67 - Journey Home

As has happened so many times on our trip, we began our day with a beautiful sunrise - this one in Ashland, Nebr. as we were saying good-bye to Dan, Alaina and Dayna.

 

 

 

After a quick stop to fill up the tank, grab coffee and yes, maple bars at Casey's (it's a tradition), we were on the road. We held with our plan to drive "the road less traveled" and stay off the Interstate as much as possible ... the roads we were on paralleled the train tracks and were three to five miles off Interstate 80. As many times as we've driven to Nebraska, this was a road we had never been on.

 

 

Most people envision Nebraska as being flat but our travels took us through such varied terrain as rolling hills, farmland, and the sand hills of Nebraska. It's easy to imagine the pioneers coming across this area in covered wagons.

 

Very early on our trip (Day 4), when we met up with our friends Gary and Kathy in North Dakota and explored Theodore Roosevelt National Park together we saw acres of prairie dog "towns" and herds of buffalo. It seemed quite appropriate that as we near the end of our journey we would see the same things. Though we weren't able to stop and get pictures of the prairie dogs this time, we did get pictures of a big herd of buffalo. We also saw a bald eagle (no picture since we couldn't stop at that particular area).

 

 

This buffalo seems to be sticking his tongue out at us!

 

Hey, Buffalo!

 

One of the other things we saw today was Bailey Yard in North Platte, Nebraska. It is the largest railroad classification yard in the world. The yard is located in the midst of key east-west and north-south corridors, making it a critical component of Union Pacific’s rail network. Even though we weren't able to get real close, we were able to get a couple of pictures. We had planned to stop and tour the Golden Spike Tower and Visitor's Center but found that it didn't open until afternoon on Sundays so we had to be content with pictures before moving on.  http://www.up.com/aboutup/facilities/bailey_yard/index.htm

 

 

As we were going through Ogalalla, Nebraska I noticed a quilt shop down one of the side streets that had a "Welcome" flag out front. Being the great guy that he is, Garey made a couple of turns and there we were, parked right in front of the store! It is a wonderful (and extremely friendly and helpful) shop and yes, I was able to find some fabric that I'm sure can be used in a future project! If you ever find yourself close to Ogalalla, it's well worth stopping here! http://www.silverthimbleogallala.com/

 

On the road again, we got to Sidney, Nebraska in plenty of time to see a beautiful sunset and spend some time at Cabela's. We're stopped for the night in Sidney and will be moving on to Rock Springs, Wyoming tomorrow.

 

There isn't a real good "off the beaten path" road through Wyoming but since the weather forecast looks pretty good for tomorrow we will be taking a bit of a detour leaving Laramie and following the Sand Creek Massacre Trail (http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/pdf/SandCreekBrochure.pdf) through Medicine Bow and on to Rawlins where we will get back on I-80 to Rock Springs.

 

A few more pictures from today

Bronze Elk at Cabela's at sunset