Wind, wind go away...

When I left Boise this morning, I was not looking forward to the seven hour plus drive I had ahead of me. It was actually a pleasant drive until I came down the steep grade over Pendleton, OR and was literally hit by a wall of gusty crosswinds. Oh, no! Not again! Thankfully, I experienced the worst of it for about a half hour. As I headed north, the wind became less intense. I arrived at my pit stop for the night...my last of this road trip...in the Bavarian town of Leavenworth, WA.

It was still pretty windy, and I found out when I checked in that they had sporadic power outages in the morning. In fact, there was a warning sign on the hotel's elevator to use at your own risk. Not worried about getting stuck inside, I used it anyway. I was also informed that some businesses in the village...where most of the stores and restaurants are located...had closed due to the power outages.

Now, my plan for dinner was to get the iconic German dish, wiener schnitzel. I wanted to get takeout from one particular restaurant, but it was closed. I tried another one...also closed. But, I lucked out at the third restaurant. When I got back to my hotel room and looked at my food, I was a bit disappointed...hey, no gravy? And, it tasted just okay...that's spaetzle and red cabbage with the pork cutlet. I should have gotten the bratwurst!

And, so, my road trip...my LONG road trip...has come to an end. Tomorrow, I'll be driving back HOME! I've been away for nineteen days, and it's time to get back to my own bed and my beloved cat. I'll have driven over 5000 miles on this trip...the longest so far! I had a lot of fun and collected some wonderful memories, both literal and in photos. It won't be long before I start planning my next road trip...

The battle to Boise

After checking out of my hotel in Salt Lake City, I went to my car to load up my stuff and found it was covered with muddy spots. Apparently, an overnight rain coupled with a layer of dust resulted in an unsightly mess. Oh, well...I think it might rain again tomorrow! I had about a five hour drive to Boise ahead of me, but it wasn't all smooth sailing. I had to fight rather strong crosswinds the whole way, which played havoc on my gas mileage. My poor mileage reminded me of what I used to get with my Chevy Blazer. I usually fill up at a quarter tank, but that was every 300 miles! With my Outback, I'll average at least a hundred miles more than that...more if I'm not city driving or going too fast. Which reminds me...80 mph is too fast! I find myself driving 75 mph to get a little better MPG.

I had enough time this afternoon to visit the Idaho State Museum located in Boise. About five years ago, there was a smaller historical museum in town which I think turned into this much nicer museum.

This museum does an excellent job illustrating what makes Idaho such an interesting state. History, geography, industry and recreation are highlighted in visual and interactive exhibits. Here is a beautiful statue of Sacajawea, who accompanied Lewis & Clark on their Corps of Discovery Expedition.

There were also some unusual items on display, such as a 9000 year old sandal, a very old and large pencil sharpener, a vintage snowmobile and an outfit once worn by Paul Revere of the band The Raiders. And, yes...I did touch the otter tail.

In their Stories of Idaho gallery, which showcases the personal stories of Idahoans, there was actually someone I knew included. Horace Axtell was a member of the Nez Perce tribe, and I while I worked at Nez Perce National Historical Park in the mid-80s, his wife Andrea was a secretary there. I did have the pleasure of meeting Horace during get togethers, both official and informal.

Tomorrow is my last real road trip day before I make the final push toward home. I have another LONG drive ahead of me, but at least I'll gain an hour going from Mountain to Pacific Time. AND, I'll gain another hour because of Daylight Savings Time tonight!

Some things SHOULD stay in Vegas!

I had a long driving day today...SIX HOURS! I made sure to have a nice leisurely lunch midway, but because I entered the Mountain Time Zone, I lost an hour. And, by the time I arrived in Salt Lake City, it was time to check into my hotel and grab some takeout dinner. So, I will update what happened YESTERDAY.

I left Williams, AZ and drove straight to Las Vegas. I would be spending only a day and night in Sin City, but I decided to make the best of it. I had lunch at my very favorite road trip fast food hamburger place... Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers! Yes, even better than In N Out, Culver's, Shake Shack, Whataburger, etc, etc. I can get my burger without cheese and just mustard, onions and pickles...they have nice, big pickle slices! And, the crispy shoestring fries with fry sauce! And, the wonderful frozen custard...the single is a big, generous scoop of deliciousness!

After lunch, I headed over to what is currently considered the best museum in Vegas... Zak Bagans' The Haunted Museum. If you aren't familiar with him, he's on the Travel Channel show, Ghost Adventures. He typically visits places known to have ghosts and spirits, and either finds evidence that they exist or debunks the rumors. I've watched the show, which made me extremely curious as to what I would find at this museum.

As I waited in line to get in, I was required to sign a waiver, basically releasing the museum of all liability should sometime bad happen to me while inside the building. I know, rather ominous.

Once inside the building, I paid my admission and waited briefly in the small lobby area. This was the only room we were allowed to take photos, video, etc. The rest of the building was off limits as such, which is explainable for various reasons. So, enjoy the creepy doll pic.

So, what was the museum like? I could only describe it as a combination sideshow, haunted house and museum of oddities and the macabre. The guides were informative and animated as they walked us from room to room. There were some genuinely creepy and horrific things, like the exhibits on real-life monsters such as Charles Manson and serial killer John Wayne Gacy...the latter's clown paintings were on display. I won't give away much because I don't want to ruin things for anyone who would like to check this place out. But, the scariest stuff were Peggy the possessed doll speaking via a spirit box, and the famous Dybbuk box containing an evil Jewish spirit. Yes, I saw them both and thankfully, I came away not experiencing anything unpleasant...or have any evil attach themselves to me! I would highly recommend visiting this unique museum next time you visit Las Vegas...if you dare!

A well, a crater and bears...OH MY!

I didn't have very far to go for my first sightseeing destination of the day when I left Camp Verde this morning. It was sunny and just a little cool, which was just perfect for me. Yesterday, I visited Montezuma's Castle, and this morning, it was Montezuma Well. Despite being located in a desert environment, the well is constantly replenished by water bubbling up from its bottom. And, it never overfills due to an outlet that flows into the adjacent Beaver Creek. I spent a leisurely hour walking along the half mile loop trail. It was so peaceful...only two other people were there so early in the morning.

There were several ancient dwellings located along the wall of the well, down below at the water's edge and along the top edge. There was also some graffiti from people who had visited the site back in the late 1800s.

Another hour and a half later, I arrived at the Meteor Crater. This crater is the best preserved...as well as the largest...meteor impact site in the world. I guess that's why if someone says they visited the Meteor Crater, there is no mistaking it for some other one.

Even though there was a guided rim tour included in the price of admission, I wanted to have time to thoroughly enjoy my final destination of the day... Bearizona Wildlife Park!

This wildlife park is a combination drive-thru and walk-thru facility. I've only been to one similar drive-thru park and it had mostly African animals. This place specializes in North American species, big and small. I started things off with the drive-thru area, encountering some reindeer and mule deer.

Then, it really got exciting when I saw a timber wolf and bears! LOTS of bears! Black bears to exact, and running free. They make sure you keep your vehicle's windows closed and doors locked when driving through the wolf and bear sections. I thought it was rather amusing to see a kaibab squirrel helping itself to some of the bears' pumpkin treats.

The walk-thru area was somewhat small, but they had some beautiful animals. Here are photos of swift and red foxes, badger and bobcat.

Tomorrow, I'll be heading over to Sin City...Las Vegas! I'll only be there for one day and night, but I'm looking forward to a little fun. At least, I'm hoping it will be fun when I hit the slots. Losing all my money is NOT fun!

Miniatures and Montezuma's Castle

After a restful night in my hotel suite, I had a few more things to do in Tucson before leaving town. So far on my road trip, I've only visited one museum...that was the Museum of Modern Art last week in San Francisco. Today was my second... The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures. The name of the museum comes from its ability to send you back in time with its depictions of historical events...and also some very old pieces...all in miniature. The definition they give of miniature is at least 1/12th the size of the actual thing. Some of the items I saw in the museum were definitely much smaller. I liked the animals, especially the cat stuff. Look at the tiny chamber pot under the mouse bed!

 

The first miniatures in history were generally dollhouses. Nowadays, you can still see miniatures on display in buildings, but there are also standalone items and diorama type scenes. I always find myself drawn to tiny food pieces.

After my museum visit, I got a much-needed car wash and had lunch at a road trip favorite, Culver's...frozen custard! I then traveled north to the town of Camp Verde, the location of Montezuma's Castle National Monument. Now, this park has nothing to do with the Aztec ruler, Montezuma...the ruins were named by European-Americans back in the 1860s. They are really the ancient cliff dwellings of the Sinagua and Hohokam cultures. Some Hopi and Yavapai tribal clans are ancestors of those early peoples. Due to its location in the cliffs, the "castle" was basically inaccessible to the curious and thus, fairly well preserved. 

There was also another cliff dwelling adjacent to the Montezuma's Castle, mostly in ruins now known as Castle A. As you can see it was a beautiful day at the park and the temperature was also more favorable than it had been...mid-70s! I didn't take any animal photos today, but I did get flowers!

Tomorrow, the temperatures will continue to drop to more my style...40s and 50s! I'll be visiting a couple more outdoor sights and maybe see animals! Five more road trip days to go...

A day of rest, then...saguaros!

I spent yesterday reminiscing about the previous night's final Five for Fighting concert of the tour...and the other three shows I attended, too. I will not soon forget the good times! As I left Thousand Oaks and headed east, Sunday traffic was much more manageable than what I had experienced for the past couple of days. It was smooth sailing to Indio, where I made a brief stop for lunch and picked up some dates from Shields Date Garden. The hot temps continued when I crossed over into Arizona. It was the low 90s when I arrived in Yuma. I had planned to visit the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park, but confusion over Mountain Time and general weariness nixed that. I had assumed it was an hour later, which would not have given me much time to visit the park properly. But, after deciding to call it a day and check into my hotel early, I found out from the desk clerk that Arizona doesn't adhere to Daylight Savings Time. So, I was still technically on Pacific Time.  But, after so much driving for the past few days and not enough sleep, I needed a rest.

When I left Yuma this morning, I continued driving east and a couple hours later arrived at Painted Rock Petroglyph Site near Gila Bend, AZ. This site preserves the petroglyphs created by the ancient ancestors of the Yavapai people. The pile of rocks are located somewhat in the middle of nowhere, but it was well worth the drive off the interstate.

I was experimenting with my camera settings and decided to try out Expressive in the above photo. Hmm...it sure seems to give those rocks some personality! As I walked on the the loop trail, I spotted a pretty barrel cactus and an equally pretty lizard.

After my little walk, I ate my lunch at a shaded picnic table, then continued my drive all the way to Tucson. Initially, I was afraid it might be too hot to visit Saguaro National Park. But, once there, I realized the high 80s was not too bad at all. I picked up a map at the visitor center and some info on a couple of good short trails. I was actually at the western Tucson Mountain District of the park...the eastern section is the Rincon Mountain District. I drove along a gravel/dirt road to the Valley View Trail. Once out of my car and walking among the saguaros, I forgot all about the heat. The landscape was breathtaking!

I also did another short hike on the Signal Hill Trail, which features more cactus views and petroglyphs. And, I did see a couple more lizards! Sadly, no gila monster.

 

Tomorrow, I'll be starting my day with a museum visit in Tucson, then head north to (hopefully) cooler temps and a cultural site. I'm in the homestretch and will be slowly making my way back to Washington. It seems like so long ago that my road trip started. I'm really, REALLY missing my cat!