The first destination of our trip was a visit to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. We stayed on the west side of the park near Harrisonburg. The area around here was very scenic farmland.
We were pleasantly surprised that this weekend was ‘KOA member appreciation weekend’ and we got one night’s stay for free! As usual, the campground was very nice and we had a spot at the very back overlooking a forested area.
On Saturday we got up early and headed for the park. Our goal was to drive the length of the park on Skyline Drive. This road runs 105 miles north and south along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah National Park and is the only public road through the Park.
The weather was foggy and cloudy but nice and cool. We managed to get some nice views and had lunch at one of the picnic areas. The road was not busy at all but I was surprised to see almost all hiking trailheads nearly full of cars. I yearned to go on a hike but my knee isn’t quite up for it yet!
We ended up driving nearly 200 miles and got back to camp in time for our dinner! A great day at Shenandoah National Park. We start the second leg of our northbound journey with 4 stops between here and Maine and less than 200 miles a day driving.
Departure day saw fair but hot weather as we made out way up the Florida coast, through Jacksonville, and along the Georgia coast to Savannah. We made good time on one of our longer days and had a pleasant albeit warm night’s stay.
Music: The Tangent. Long-form Prog at its finest!
Day two had us drive through South Carolina – not as many miles today. The road south of Charlotte was rough but the Excellent Adventure road like a dream in heavy truck traffic until our stop in Lumberton, North Carolina. This campground was nice but not much shade for a hot-sticky day. They did have a nice trail along Back Swamp (part of the Lumber River system). Jake took a dip and cooled off!
Music: Peter Gabriel and related 80’s stuff picked out by the AI. Rumor has it Peter is ready to drop fresh tracks 20 years after his last studio album Up.
Day three started much cooler than the previous days, not even breaking 90F before our stop in southern Virginia – less than 200 miles today. The roads were better and a lot of truck traffic again. It dawned on me that 99% of the cars going in my direction pass me at my cruising speed of 60mph 😂! The campground, outside of Emporia, had a lot of residents that worked in the area. Very quiet and shady with lots of big trees.
Somewhere in southern Virginia
Music: More 80’s stuff ending with Tears for Fears. Everybody really does want to rule the world.
So much for the first leg of our northbound journey. We’ll spend the next couple of days exploring the Shenandoah National Park area before continuing on to Maine.
Our excellent adventure for this year has us heading north to Maine skirting the Northeast megapolis as much as possible. I’ll stay in Maine for a week visiting the coast and nearby areas. The return trip is planned through New Hampshire and New York and on to Pennsylvania where I will see the historic Tubridy and Kovac hometowns of Snow Shoe and Connellsville in Pennslyvania. Then down through the Appalachians to visit friends in Tennessee and then home. I plan to visit Shenandoah, Acadia, Watkins Glen, and New River Gorge parks and see the Mt. Washington and Adirondack areas.
We headed home after a great visit in Fort Collins.
Cross Country
First stop was WaKenney Kansas. Essentially an exit off of I-70 surrounded by vast fields of something or another! We saw a killer sunrise in the morning before heading south to Oklahoma.
Kansas Sunrise
We stopped in Oklahoma at a park near Tulsa. That night we got a good rain storm so we didn’t get to see much of the area although what we did see looked nice. The area was a lake off of the Arkansas river and obviously popular with boaters.
On day three we headed east through Arkansas to finally end up at a KOA just north of Memphis. It started to rain hard again so we hundred down for the night. We discovered one of the two main interstate bridges across the Mississippi River was closed for repairs and the advice to get on the road early!
We headed out at 5AM to drive about 2 miles before getting stuck in a 1 1/2 hour traffic jam. Seems a semi flipped and burned right where I-55 and I-40 come together. No wonder given the huge numbers of trucks and their (the truck drivers) mind-numbing idiocy when it comes to driving fast in heavy, rain-soaked traffic!
Memphis Truck Traffic
After that it was a day of crumbling infrastructure and numerous traffic jams trying to get through Memphis, Birmingham and Montgomery. By the time we got through all of that mess it just rained consistently all the way to Panama City. After 14 hours driving my butt was numb and my back was killing me!
Back in Florida
Back in Florida
However – we arrived safely back at brother Dave’s in Panama City. We spent 3 nights here with Dave & Lisa – took in a Rock the Dock music from his nearly completed back porch, played with the pups and relaxed.
Next stop Cocoa Beach – exactly 7 weeks from our launch date! The Excellent Adventure – Part 1 – is quickly coming to a close!
I stoped off for several nights in Fort Collins. I lived here in the first part of the 90s when I was working for Hewlett-Packard.
I remember skiing in Steamboat several years ago and mentioning that I was going to visit Fort Collins. Their reply was – “Those people who live in Fort Collins really think they live somewhere special!” – They do!
We spent three nights at the KOA on Taft near the Cache la Powder river. It was definitely the biggest KOA I had stayed at so far with a lot of activities for the kids and a large pond to fish in! While there we took a long walk on the Powder trail that runs along the river. I used to ride this part of the trail back in the 90s on my bike. Boy howdy has it changed a lot!
I also took time to catch up with Dan & Maggie again and visit my good friends the Odberts. I first met the Barry & Diane back in the mid-eighties at Marysville Washington. We all started working at HP at the same time and spent time together in Germany several years later. Both Barry & Diane and Dan & Maggie are four of my dearest friends and we had a great time catching up!
We headed off home with stops in Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas before stopping at brother Dave & Lisa’s house again to celebrate the 4th of July! The Excellent Adventure continues!
Our last destination – like everyone else I first saw the tower in Close Encounters of the Third Kind! Very popular place for family and bikers.
We finally experienced some rainy weather on our last destination. We arrived to find a long line of cars trying to get in the park! The KOA was right at the base of the Tower which made for great views.
Devils Tower National Monument
The next day we got up early and drove into the park. This afforded us a chance to see the Tower up close before the rain started later that morning. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying our last destination before heading home.
Jake and Eddie Devils at Tower National Monument
This area is close to Sturges, South Dakota and apparently during the annual gathering of motorcycle enthusiasts a rally its held to make the drive to the tower. The T-Shirt shops were filled with both Devils Tower and Sturges stuff and a lot of bars made sure the Bikers knew they and their booze money was welcome!
Woke up in the AM to a great sunrise for a last chance at a good shot of the Tower. It worked!
Headed for Fort Collins for a short visit (and to get the X6 serviced!) before heading home early next week.
Day 37 – we’ve been in Montana now for almost two weeks now! Next stop is Devil’s Tower in Wyoming.
We left Columbia Falls and drove down on the east side of Flathead Lake and then started heading east. For both days I was taken by the beauty and diversity of the landscape. I we drove it became more prairie-like with vast green undulating hills with dramatic mountain ranges in the background.
Excellent Adventure somewhere in Montana
Great Falls
Great Falls sits along the Missouri River and hosts a number of hydroelectric power plants. Like Butte, Great Falls was built up as evidenced by the drive through about 5 miles of fast food restaurants and gas stations with casinos (slot machines apparently) in them! Wild!
The KOA in Great Falls is amazing. It looked like someone inherited a bunch of money from a rich uncle and decided to built a resort-like RV park complete with a water park and live music. From all appearances- it worked!
The Jakester and I got up early and checked out the sunrise near one of the locations of the power plants. Breath-taking!
Billings
The drive from Great Falls to Billings was mostly through the plains with an occasional mountain pass to cross. I spotted my first wind farms in a while. A lot of motorcycles on this part of the trip.
Excellent Adventure at Wind Farms in Montana
Driving into Billings I thought to myself this must not be much of a city as I could not see much of anything ahead. Ha! To my surprise I reach the edge of a butte and see the city below in the trees! Quite a striking scene!
The KOA here is apparently the very first one – established in 1962. Like Great Falls it is more like a resort with a putt-putt golf course and permanent food truck on site! I met a young woman with her two young children in the hot tub (best Hot Tub so far on trip!) who told me they were waiting for Dad to come home working from working on cell towers (sunup to sundown!). They live in a tent out of their car. During the winter he manages a small ski resort. COVID changed their lives. I was struck at how happy they seemed – amazing!
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
On our last day eastward across Montana we stopped to see the Monument. What I did not expect to find was a National Cemetery! Up until the 1970s a veteran could still be buried there. It was a moving sight.
Called “the Crown of the Continent” – it has been my goal to visit Glacier for a long time now. We reach the far end of our journey.
When I started planning this trip several years ago the first pin I dropped on the map was Glacier. Like Montana, it has always had a certain mystique for me. I was not disappointed. What I discovered was an a natural beauty reminiscent of the Alps but on a more intimate scale.
Jake & Eddie Excellent Adventure at Glacier
There are five entrances to Glacier – two of those now require tickets to enter due to the popularity of the famous ‘Road to the Sun’ drive that leads from West Glacier to East. I was unable to secure a ticket and I later learned that even if I did I would have to board Jake in order to do the drive. The tickets allowed you to enter the gates between 6AM and 5PM. However, you could go early and that is what I decided to do – especially with the opes of some good pictures in the morning light.
Two Medicine
Sinopah Mountain at Two Medicine Lake
It started to rain the second morning of our visit. I decided to drive to the eastern portals of Two Medicine and Many Glacier that day – no tickets were required for these.
The drive itself on Route 2 through the lower section of the park affords some great views. As the rain let up mid-morning we arrived at Two Medicine area. Sinopah Mountain dominates this scenery. We spent some time hiking around before heading out.
Many Glaciers
Eddie & Jake at Many Glaciers
From there we drove north past the Eastern entrance to Many Glaciers. The way is a little rougher going as part of the road is not paved. We arrived in time to eat our lunch by the waterfall and enjoy the scenery.
Many Glaciers at Glacier National ParkMany Glaciers at Glacier National ParkMany Glaciers at Glacier National Park
West Glacier and Road to the Sun
The next morning we got up a ‘0-dark-30’ and headed into the park via the Bear Creek Campground road. Although this proved not to be necessary – I didn’t want to take a chance and it was a bit of an adventure. It was pretty cool watching the early morning dawn as we drove in.
We drove up Lake McDonald to find the road blocked off near Avalanche. Apparently they needed to prepare their on-going snow plowing operations before letting people drive up the pass. I guess at some point everyone needs to turn around and come back down. Sounded like a mess.
I knew the road was not completely open but what I did not know was that there was a strict no-pet policy on Road to the Sun as I learned reading all the disclaimers on the closed gate! A bit disappointed – but feeling I escaped a potential mess – we instead enjoyed the views on Lake McDonald and the Apgar Visitor Center area.
While we did not get to see quite everything we hoped, I left satisfied my long dream of visiting the park was a success and I will return to visit again and once again try the Road to the Sun!
Movin’ to Montana soon
Gonna be a Dental Floss tycoon
– Frank Zappa
I was very interested in seeing Montana – it seems to have a bit of a mystique about it. I was right – very good vibes in Montana!
Butte
We headed out from Red Lodge early to partly back track on I-90 before passing Bozeman and into new territory. I had read a bit about Butte – our overnight – and that it was at one point a large city based on mining. And boy howdy do these like like to dig in the ground!
Butte, Montana
The history of Butte is interesting – it was one of the largest mining boomtowns in it’s heyday in the late 1800s and early 1900s. A lot of history here including labor disputes, large-scale mine disasters and huge environmental impact in a town that once boasted 100,000 residents in a city full of saloons and brothels! My kind of place.
Now – like most places that have anything going for them in the west – it looks like an attractive place to live if you are an outdoor enthusiast or want to escape the big cities of the west coast (and elsewhere!).
That afternoon I checked out the Glacier website to see about tickets to drive the Road to the Sun (now required like the Fossil Gallery in Dinosaur). I needed to get on a 8AM and try and get tickets. So we stayed and I got skunked. Good news I found out later from a local in Columbia Falls you can go early (before 6AM) or late (after 5PM) with no ticket. So that is the plan.
Columbia Falls
We drove to the park we are staying at in Columbia Falls – essentially the gateway to the western entrance to the park and the famous Road to the Sun road – that morning. Once you leave I-90 and head north from Kalispell it becomes very scenic.
Flathead Lake looking North
It also starts to look very expensive given the cars, homes and boats in the beautiful Flathead Lake. This is obviously a big-time outdoor recreation portal on a scale I have never quite seen before. Closer to the park entrance there must be a half dozen very large resorts offering everything from rafting to zip lines to putt-putt golf. America’s backyard for sure!
Sunrise at the RV Park
One Month on the Road
As we arrived in Columbia Falls we celebrated one month on the road! 5400 miles long we have come to the turning point in the trip and set our sights on heading back south and east. What an excellent adventure it has been so far!
