Duluth

We dropped into Duluth to find Lake Superior blanketed with fog - which made for cool temperatures but lessened the dramatic impact of reaching the world's largest lake. We drove through downtown, then to the beach and the waterfront. Unfortunately, no large ore carriers or other ships were scheduled to go through the cut for a couple more hours, so we grabbed a snack and headed on. The northern edge of Wisconsin went quickly and we ended up in Ironwood, Michigan, for night #4.

Lake Itasca

We (and a small horde of other tourists) watched the Mississippi River flow out of Lake Itasca and wind its way down towards Bemidji, as it started its long journey to the Gulf of Mexico where it will mix with crude oil to create a chemically and politically complex soup.

I doubt my family appreciates physical geography and plumbing quite the way I do, so the fact that we started Day 4 in the Red River watershed (Hudson Bay), spent the middle of the day at the headwaters of the Mississippi (Gulf of Mexico), and ended the day in the Great Lakes (the Saint Lawrence and the Atlantic), probably didn't occur to them as sort of cool!

North Dakota

We stuck to Route 2 across North Dakota, which was pretty much the original plan, although I had hoped we'd have time to swing south through Teddy Roosevelt NP (the ND badlands are more extensive and more interesting than the ones that most folks visit in South Dakota east of Wall Drug).

We drove past the old Schulmberger shop and the Super 8 in Williston and I even found the "Chateau" apartments in Minot where I spent a good part of 1982 while the bottom was dropping out of the oil market. The area around Tioga and Stanley was buzzing with activity - apparently they've found a way to squeeze oil directly out of the Bakken shale and there are new wells were everywhere. D politely tolerated my convoluted explanations of how oil and gas are located and extracted.

The Minot train station has been fixed up since I was last here - when D & I were returning from Chicago on the Empire Builder in April, 2005.

In Rugby, we marveled at how the Geographic Center of North America happens to occur right at an intersection along Route 2. Convenient. We stayed near Grand Forks and crossed the Red River the next morning, where it was actually drizzling.

Malta

East of the Fort Belknap Agency, we came to this little church on a rise, glowing in the last light of the day.

My passengers stayed in the car (were they uncomfortable with the lack of sidewalks, traffic lights, and street noise -or did they know something that I didn't?), so I wandered off in search of photos. The mosquitoes waited until I was far from the car before attacking. Some were the size of hummingbirds. I stood little chance out in the open, so I ran, fumbling with the gate, desperately hoping that M & D would let me open the door to get back in the car.

Shelby

Cut Bank, Shelby, Havre, Malta, and Glasgow (where we closed out day 2). Oil wells, wind turbines, and freight trains (we passed the Empire Builder, too).

Just east of Shelby, we checked out Devon (our own Devon wasn't too impressed), where the grain elevators were still active, but little else was.

The High Line (I've seen various spellings) is the route of the Great Northern and U.S. 2 across northern Montana. It should not be confused with the High Line of mid-town Manhattan, which we will visit next week, although both are railroad legacies.

Montana

We camped the first night in St. Regis - a routine established on our 2007 trip. Then we headed north along the Clark Fork and over to Flathead Lake where I could do some quick gravel beach drive-bys. It turns out we could have gone over Logan Pass, since it opened for the season at noon, but the prospect of the Going to the Sun Road, loaded with first day gawkers and RVs, didn't jive with a desire to be in the Big Apple in a week. We did stop in Columbia Falls for coffee at Montana Coffee Traders, then headed up to the Isaac Walton for lunch.

We crossed the divide at Marias Pass and put the car in neutral for the long coast down to the Mississippi (okay, not really). An hour from the pass and the Rockies were pretty much history - at least for 3 weeks.

Road Trip

We got out of Seattle before 9, which seemed pretty late to me, but (21 days later) has proved to be the earliest start of the trip! At least we only have one teenager to accommodate.

We loaded the rocket box with the basic camping stuff, although we're not too sure how much use it will get. Most of our payload (by weight) is actually AAA tour guides.

The Subaru rolled past 200K just east of Snoqualmie Pass. We're counting on it making the next 8000 without any hitches (or tows, or leaking head gaskets, or failed clutches). We'll stick to the interstate until we clear the northwest, then head off on more interesting roads.

Our daily schedule hasn't lent itself to posting stuff, so this entry is being written as we approach the end of the trip (from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, on Day 21?). The following entries will be similarly delayed, although I think I will date the posts to match the actual events and will probably bounce annoyingly between past and present tense.

Lake Union

I've been taking advantage of the new boat to explore local waterways - so far sticking to the ones close to home and with less frigid water. I'll expand out as time and confidence allows. Saturday was gorgeous, hinting that our dismal El Nino spring may eventually give way to a nice summer.

I've found Waterway 18, just east of Gasworks, a great place to launch. Early this morning the lake was crawling with scullers and sweepers racing each other backwards across the Lake - trying to get their training out of the way before the pleasure boaters and the breezes picked up.

Shilshole

Sunday seemed like a better evening to celebrate M's birthday than Monday (the real day), so we headed for Ray's. Despite today's high overcast, the weather was beautiful and the late afternoon sun was great. M & I both adhered to the seafood theme, while D, quite predictably, found the beef.

The Milwaukee Road

The old Milwaukee Route over Snoqualmie Pass hasn't seen a train in many decades and is now the Iron Horse trail (or alternatively, the John Wayne Trail). I parked at the Cedar Falls trailhead and rode ten miles or so up the valley before turning around. It was a beautiful morning with dog walkers in the first couple miles, occasional bicycles like me, and climbers up on the rocks near the Change Creek and Hall Creek trestles.

Because its a railroad, the grade is gradual and the turns sweeping. But it means it is a long gradual climb one way and a long easy ride back down. The highlights are the trestles - not counting the big tunnel at the top (but that was beyond today's reach and is closed right now anyway). It's cool to see I-90 winding up the valley below, but it also means there's always a gentle roar in the background.

Snoqualmie

I dropped D at Marymoor and then headed off in search of a bike ride. By way of a drive through Fall City and Snoqualmie, places I haven't explored in many years. Besides Snoqualmie Falls, I checked out some of the old railroad relics - some nice geared locomotives and some rolling stock, most of it desperately in need of a some tender loving care. I'm sure that keeping a vintage engine in good condition, especially out in the weather, is an awful lot of work.

Burlington

Another weekend spent in Mount Vernon area, this time for two days while the Garfield HS team competed at the Western Regionals. The weather was great, if not sweltering - at least by northwest standards (in the 70s). There was lots of great Ultimate - some of it even by our team - although in the end there were plenty of stronger clubs.

M and I managed to have a pleasant lunch at the Calico Cupboard on Saturday and there was even a brief acknowledgment of Mother's Day by the team during a time out on Sunday morning, but we also spent time running back and forth from Safeway and Costco to buy drinks and snacks and hanging out on the sidelines doing the normal parent cheering and chatting.