Author Archives: Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

About Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

We are a husband and wife team living in St. Paul MN. Both of us retired by the end of 2012 and decided to travel and visit areas of the U.S. and Canada that we had not seen before. Most of the time we head out for 3-7 weeks; usually by driving, first in our 2001 Saturn and then when it hit 225,000 miles we traded it in for our 2016 Subaru Legacy . This travel blog is written to help us remember the great places we have visited and people we have met as well as to inform family and friends of our whereabouts. Contact us at ckeh72@comcast.net In 2013 we took the following trips: Trip 1-January--2 weeks in Florida to visit Orlando, St. Augustine, Jacksonville, Amelia Island. Trip 2-February and March-4 weeks in Hawaii, visiting the four major islands. Trip 3-March and April--several weeks in New Mexico visiting family followed by traveling cross-country to VA for VA Garden week. Trip 4-May and June--6-7 weeks driving to Las Vegas, the Sierra Nevada Mtns, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia N.P, Salt Lake City, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Devils Tower and home. Trip 5-June- a quick trip to Boston to visit family. Trip 6-July and August-a 6-7 week trip to Calgary, Banff, Mt. Ranier and Mt. St. Helens, Olympic N.P., North Cascades N.P., Victoria, Vancouver, Whistler, Revelstoke, Jasper, Yoho,Whitefish lake, Theodore Roosevelt N.P. Trip 7-August and September- our daughters wedding in MD and returning home through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Trip 8-October and November-3-4 weeks in the Ozarks, Arkansas, Missouri. Trip 9-December and January 2014-Christmas in Santa Fe and New Years in Flagstaff and points in between. In 2014 we took the following trips: Trip 1--a week in Ely MN, most of it dog-sledding in late Feb. Trip 2--6 weeks in the Deep South including LA, MS, AL, GA and FL in March and April. Trip 3--a trip to Boston to visit family Trip 4--May and June houseboating on Lake Powell followed by Monument Valley, Arches and Canyonlands N.P, Black Canyon of the Gunnison N.P, San Juan Mtns of CO Trip 5--time spent in MN and the Midwest Trip 6--visiting Ontario, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, the Adirondack Mtns of NY, our daughters wedding in CT and home through Philly and Ohio, 7 weeks in September and October. Trip 7--Southern California including Joshua Tree and Mojave Desert N.P, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, and then to Flagstaff for Thanskgiving for three weeks in November. In 2015, we took the following trips: Trip 1- 8 weeks traveling around FL in February and March, most of it on the panhandle, penninsula and Gulf Coast. Trips 2 and 4 to Boston in April and July. Trip 3 was to Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior. Trip 5 was to southern MN. Trip 6 was to Voyageurs National Park and northwestern MN. Trip 7 was to the Great Smoky Mountains and neighboring areas. In 2016 Trip 1 was to Chicago IL. Trip 2 was to southwestern MN. Trip 3 was to Boston. Trip 4 was to southwestern United States. Trip 5 was to Lake Superior. Trip 6 was to Winona MN. Trip 7 to western Massachusetts (the Berkshire Mountains). Trip 8 to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Trip 9 to Boston and Rhode Island. In 2017, Trip 1 was to the Mississippi River Headwaters. Trip two will be a month long tour of Texas and another month traveling to and from Texas across the southern US. Image

2013, Trip Seven, September 5, The Sarahs Wedding and the UP

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

Charlevoix, MI Thursday, Sept 5

I would categorize today as our puttering around day. Chris might disagree but I get to do the typing.

Old Mission Lighthouse

Charlevoix lighthouse

We only had to travel less than 50 miles to Charlevoix from Traverse City-at least if we were to go on a direct path. As you might guess, we did not. Old Mission Peninsula sticks out in to Grand Traverse Bay and is about 15 miles long. We did a loop tour, going up the west side and down the east side.

The southern end of the peninsula is the locale for many summer homes as well as Traverse City residents. The northern end is more rural and you find numerous vineyards and orchards. Wine tasting rooms are common, as they are throughout the region. Small fruit stands where you leave the payment in a jar compete with large stands that also sell jams and pies.

Vineyards on Old Mission Peninsula

We stopped in Old Mission to mail a package. One local we met at the door wanted to make sure we noted that the Post Office sign stated “Main Post Office, Old Mission, MI” as if the small town had multiple offices.

This part of Michigan has a plenitude of lakes and streams. Our drive to Charlevoix took us by the Antrim Chain of Lakes-“the most beautiful lakes in the world”. The color was a beautiful blue in the lakes we saw and the water was very clear.

Torch Lake in the Antrim Chain of Lakes

We had lunch in Elk River, a small water side town to the way to Charlevoix. We picked up some Christmas ornaments made from Petoskey stone. A Petoskey stone is a rock and a fossil,
that is composed of a fossilized coral (Wikipedia). It is pretty well-known in Michigan. The shopkeeper directed us to a local restaurant for lunch and we managed to find the locally made ice cream store for dessert.

Earl Young designed home in Charlevoix

Charlevoix is the locale of a series of unique stone homes built and designed by a local man, Earl Young, who had one year of study at the University of Michigan School of Architecture back around 1910. The homes feature unusual stone fireplaces, unique chimneys, cedar shake roofs, and were designed without blue prints to fit the lots on which they sit. They are all private so we just walked around the outside of a number of them.

Castle Farms

We spent some time at “Castle Farms”. This was the location of a “model farm” built by the Chairman of Sears Roebuck in the 1910s who wanted to showcase model farming techniques and the farm products sold through the Sears catalog. It did not last long in its initial farm state and after decades of neglect has been renovated and is open for tours and is an event center for weddings, etc.

Tonight is an Evergreen night and our host is putting us up and two sisters who are on their way to Mackinac Island and the Grand Hotel. After get acquainted drinks, the five of us had dinner in downtown Charlevoix and wrapped up the evening with great conversation as the sun set on another unique day of travels.

Sunset on Lake Michigan

Ed and Chris Thursday, Sept 5 midnight

Categories: road trip, travel | Tags: Charlevoix MI, Elk RIver MI, Old Mission Peninsula | Leave a comment

2013 Trip Seven, September 2-3, The Sarahs’ Wedding and the UP

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

Traverse City, MI September 3, 2013

I recognize this post is being published out of order. It is also less interesting. However, I planned to keep a daily log and these two travel days were not yet covered. The wedding was more important and interesting and yesterday’s activities at Sleeping Bear Dunes more varied.

Monday, Sept. 2 we were all saying our good byes after the wedding. Travel plans had to be completed. Many of us gathered for breakfast at the Courtyard. Kathy’s flight out of BWI was first and I took her over there. Everyone else had more time before departure.

Lou and Joyce were staying in the DC area to extend their vacation. Jude and Bernie were being picked up by a friend. Bernie would fly back on Wednesday, Jude later in the week after some mid week work activities. Deb and Rebecca were driving home via CT and Carlisle and left after noon, Rebecca’s family having departed earlier in the day. Sarah Lesimer’s family was flying out of BWI later in the afternoon and Chris and I assisted in bringing them over to BWI.

Gene, Bernie says “Hi”

Our travel then continued with a drive to Columbus Ohio for the evening. We skipped the PA turnpike this time and traveled I-68 through western Maryland, northern West Virginia and southwestern PA to Ohio.

We have no pictures but the evening sky was fantastic as we were in the border area of WV and PA around sunset. It rained with black and gray clouds above us. Lightning flashed nearby. Off to the east, you could see huge white and gray cumulous clouds. To the north were tinges of deep blue sky. To the west, the sun peaked through and sunset colors of yellow, orange and red were visible. Quite memorable. We arrived in Columbus about 11.

Tuesday the trip continued traversing new sections of Ohio and Michigan. We are more appreciative of the diversity of these two populous states. Large cities intermingle with farmland and Ohio’s coal and natural gas production. The terrain is not as flat as the prairie states so the drive is not monotonous.

The “Pure Michigan” theme appears to be the main travel slogan.

Out of many options,we chose to head basically north through Toledo and skirted Detroit before passing Ann Arbor and entering the more forested region of MI. We arrived in Traverse City about 7 pm and looked for a place to eat.

It seemed no one wanted our money. We had numerous travel brochures and had picked out a few options. The first one we could not find initially. We had to double back and realized: a. the Days Inn it was supposed to be in front of was in the process of changing to a Country Inn by Carlson; and b.the restaurant had also changed names and while supposedly open, no cars were in the parking lot. We passed it by.

We went to downtown Traverse City. The second choice was closed. The third choice was open. However, the hostess stated the manager had just told her the kitchen was backed up and running very slow-yet the place did not look crowded. Having some prior experience with slow kitchens,we left.

Across the street was another restaurant. One of the wait staff was seated at the bus stop and informed us the restaurant had just closed. Finally we found a local sports bar that was open and had dinner. For a town that has a lot of restaurants and tourists, it sure took a long time to be fed.

Ed and Chris Thursday, September 5 8 AM

Categories: road trip, travel | Tags: driving day | Leave a comment

2013, Trip Seven, September 4, The Sarahs’ Wedding and UP of Michigan

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

Traverse City, MI Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Well, most of the day was spent playing in the sand. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is about 25 miles west of Traverse City and was the main reason we decided to visit this section of Michigan before traveling north to the Upper Peninsula. Sleeping Bear is on the east coast of Lake Michigan. Traverse City is located at the lower end of Grand Traverse Bay which juts down into the state of Michigan from the Lake. (Go look at a map.)

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Sleeping Bear Dunes was voted the #1 Most Beautiful Place in America in a competition in 2011 held by ABC-TV’s Good Morning America show. The national lakeshoe is very nice but I would not place it number one. I am more partial to western U.S. views.

I wonder how many places are the “most” something. When Lake Michigan is written about here, they frequently mention that it is the largest lake entirely in the U.S.; dropping Lake Superior since it is partially in Canada.

Until mid afternoon the day was cloudy, cool and breezy. This was advantageous as our first hike of the day was climbing up a 110 foot sand dune. The sand here is very fine, rivaling the best we have seen at Florida beaches. The wind is normally from the northwest and this evidently contributes to the sand dune formation.

Dune Hill Climb, 2nd phase

Dune Hill Climb, phase one

In a few places we found rocks of varying colors but nothing as smooth as Lake Superior agates. Of course, The Minnesota shore of Lake Superior does not really have sand beaches and the water is always cold. Chris’ forays into the water found the water cool, but much warmer than Superior.

Running down the 110 foot dune was fun and easy. Going up was slow and challenging on the calf muscles. The dune climb is one of the major destinations within the national lakeshore. Families, couples (young and old), jocks, etc all were giving it their best effort. Most made it up, some continuing on to the next level of dunes which had a less intensive grade. Unfortunately, the shore is still quite a hike even after reaching the second set of dunes so we put off the beach until later in the day.

Glen Haven cannery

The Beach at Glen Haven

Our second stop was at Glen Haven Historic Village. This locale developed due to lumbering and shipping. Off shore are two islands, North and South Manitou, which have sheltered and created the Manitou Passage on Lake Michigan. The Passage was used by ships in the 1800s to avoid the storms on Lake Michigan. However, shoals and rocks also contributed to making the Passage hazardous. Numerous light houses and rescue stations were located along the shore. Glen Haven was one of those sites.

Glen Haven was a port to ship local lumber. It later transformed into a fruit and cannery area. Times change and now it is just historic and recreated. The beach is part of Sleeping Bear Bay and sheltered by Sleeping Bear Point. You can still see the wooden piers used to support a long dock which train cars used to bring lumber and fruit out to ships.

Cottonwood Trail

Our third stop was the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. This 7.4 mile road goes through woods and along dunes. A dozen stops exist to access or view parts of the lakeshore. We took the Cottonwood Trail, a 1.5 mile hike up, down, and along the sand dunes that worked those calf muscles some more. Another stop was high along the bluffs, providing a view along the lake.

By now the afternoon was marching along. We stopped at the Maritime Museum that discussed the rescue stations work. We went off road on some back country dirt roads looking for a higher overlook of the lake. (Which we found but it was not as dramatic as I had hoped.)

Beach shot

We finished up by driving the rest of the shoreline road that spans the peninsula created by Grand Traverse Bay. The state of Michigan wanted $8 to let us enter for a brief look at a lighthouse. It was after 5 pm and we decided we would probably be seeing enough lighthouses during this trip and past that opportunity by. We did stop for ice cream in a small town along the way though. And we passed the 45th parallel, the halfway point between the North Pole and the Equator.

We had dinner at Grand Traverse Pie Company. Think of a blend of Panera and Bakers Square. The pies were very good although the choices were more limited than Bakers Square. As we returned to the Hampton Inn, the desk clerk was explaining to a couple that he was booked up for the next three nights. (We went out for a walk then to the beach across the street from the hotel for the sunset and when we returned he was saying the same thing to another couple that had not made advance reservations and were looking for lodging at the last minute.)

Grand Traverse Bay sunset across hotel

Ed and Chris Wednesday September 4 10:30 pm

Categories: road trip, travel | Tags: road trip, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, travel | Leave a comment

2013, September 1, The Sarahs’ Wedding and UP of Michigan

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

Gaithersburg, Maryland, September 1, 2013

Of course it was a great wedding. It united in marriage two fantastic, vibrant young women. Even the weather cooperated and the predicted showers never arrived.

Of course, one worries in advance. Will people arrive on time? How will the weather be? Will the food be timely? Will someone forget the rings or stammer stating their vows? Will the many children and young people be entertained?

Coming to the ceremony

At the ceremony

Well, in my humble and certainly unbiased opinion, it was a completely fantastic ceremony and event.

At the ceremony

Let’s jump to the ceremony, the reason for being together. It was held at a lower section of the event area, substantially in the shade. The band played music prior to the ceremony. Pastor Amy Butler of Calvary Baptist Church was the officiant. She knows both Sarahs and provided a touching and personal commentary on them and marriage. Each Sarah read the vows they had prepared. It was obvious that much thinking about marriage and each other has gone into them.

Social time

When the ceremony was completed, the band played music and we all walked back up to the Pavilion area, festively decorated in red and yellow. Smoky Glen Farm had been selected because the brides wanted a location where people could enjoy the day. They recognized that many of their friends had children, ranging in age from newborns to twenty year olds. The setting was designed so that both adults and young people could enjoy themselves. And it was obvious they did.

Fun and games

There was an inflated bouncing cage where children, and adults, could let loose. There was miniature golf where the competitive spirit was apparent. There was basketball and volleyball. There was a horseshoes pit. There was a ballfield that was used after dinner for a kickball event that attracted 80% of the participants who played with gusto and abandon.

Guest book table

After the ceremony, there was a predinner reception with fun, fair food including watermelon, cotton candy, and mini-donuts. Dinner was a buffet with a variety that satisfied both vegans and meat eaters. Dessert included a selection of pies made by Smokey Glen Farm and a surprise wedding cake that had been prepared by the fiancé of one of the girls’ friends from DC.

Thursday night after arrival, the Sarahs had met with several friends. The fiancé of one of them owns an Indian restaurant and bakery and stated that he wanted to provide a wedding cake for the ceremony. It was delicious and beautiful.

Wedding cake

Three toasts were offered after the meal. Deb Heimel offered one as a sibling and a friend. Kate Kavlock, a co-worker from the FDA, and Emily Pierson (Pie), a rugby friend, offered toasts symbolizing the junction of the many contacts in their lives.

The toasts

the toasts

The people came from across the country. People were from the West Coast and East Coast. People were from the north and the south. There were relatives and friends going back to high school days. From 2 PM to 9 PM, there was active play, fun, socializing, eating and just plain good times. The band ended up playing when the Saints Go Marching In and the group did a dance line around the pavilion.

Dancing

That is a summary. Of course, there are many vignettes. I will let those with Facebook pages give their own impressions. As parents, we were extremely proud of both of the young women as people and the planning that went into the ceremony and the celebration.

Kickball

Ed and Chris Columbus Ohio Tuesday Sept. 3.

(Once again, if you click on a picture, it will expand to full screen view.)

Categories: road trip, travel | Tags: heimel, Leismer, Sarah and Sarah wedding | 1 Comment

Trip Seven, August 30 and 31, The Sarahs’ Wedding and UP of Michigan

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

Gaithersburg, Friday, August 30th and Saturday August 31

The Courtyard Gaithersburg at Washingtonian Center

Well, we are back blogging. The two days prior to the wedding were occupied with wedding prep tasks and socializing. The wedding hotel was the Courtyard Washingtonian Center in Gaithersburg. It was an excellent selection for us.

Ice Cream time

The Courtyard is only 15 minutes from the wedding site, Smokey Glen Farm. We drove out there to double-check timing, route directions (simple and clear), road construction (none), etc. The Farm is able to host 5 or more parties at a time in separated areas.

The hotel is located in a development called Washingtonian Center. It is a pedestrian friendly area and busy day and night. Within walking distance are 10 or more restaurants, Starbucks, Target, Kohls, movie theater complex, numerous shops, a playground for kids, and a manmade lake with a .8 mile trail around it. The group of people staying here took advantage of everything except possibly the movie theaters.

Ice cream time

Friday we took two cars (our Saturn and the Sarahs’ rental car) to BWI airport to pick up Ligia, Lauren, Daniel and Moses Leismer (Lauren’s son). BWI is an easy drive, particularly with the new cross county connector that was built that goes from Gaithersburg to I-95. It is a toll road that only takes EZ Pass but the I-Pass (from Illinois) that we had added to the Saturn last spring allowed us to use it.

Saturday night gathering

Saturday night #2

The group of us and Deb and Rebecca (who had driven in that day) went to Macaroni Grill for dinner and socializing. The meal started out on a sour note as we were seated late for our reservation and the lack of a waiter. However, we eventually got Jimmie and he took good care of us. Once we had a few appetizers and some beverages and Jimmie’s attentiveness, we were all in a great mood.

Saturday Chris and I picked up Kathy at BWI in the early afternoon and made a return trip to pick up Bernie around 7 pm. Jude arrived in DC Friday and spent the night with a friend. On Saturday, she was dropped off around 4 pm by a different long time friend and mentor and the two of them joined a group of us for ice cream.

Saturday night #3

Late Saturday we used the outdoor, second floor terrace of the Courtyard for an informal wine and cheese get-together for all of the wedding people who were staying in the hotel. So despite everyone having some minor,pre-wedding tasks, we were able to spend a fair amount of time enjoying each other’s company.

Saturday night #4

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Trip Seven, August 27-29, The Sarahs’ Wedding and the UP

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

Blue heron in one of the Cuyahoga National Park wetlands

Gaithersburg, MD Thursday August 29

Well obviously we made it to Gaithersburg. We spent the last two nights in Akron Ohio at the home of my cousin Colly Tigelman and her husband Bob. We could not have had a better experience. It has been some time since Colly and I got together. So, we had a lot of catching up to do.

Water lily in wetlands in Cuyahoga National Park

Despite the time apart, we meshed immediately. Hard not to do with two very nice people. Besides conversation and meals, we particularly enjoyed hearing about their trips to Europe.

Walking the ledges in Cuyahoga National Park

On Wednesday, Bob and Colly gave us a tour of Akron. Akron you may recall was for many years the home of tire manufacturing in the US, but that is now a past chapter in its history. Akron is in Summit County, so named due to its being the highest point on the old Ohio and Erie Canal.

Ledges Trail Cuyahoga National Park

We also visited Cuyahoga National Park, a relative newcomer to U.S. Parks but whose park history dates back to 1929 when an industrialist donated land to be a park perpetually.

The park stretches between Akron and Cleveland and its length and location make it one of the most visited parks in the country. The Ohio and Erie Canal ran through much of the park, as does the Cuyahoga (crooked) River. The Cleveland Orchestra has a summer performance venue here.

Ledges trail

We walked along a wetlands and then the Ledges Trail. This last trail follows several rock outcroppings and leads to an overlook. A young man on a two-year motorcycle tour of all of the national parks was kind enough to snap the photo of the four of us at the overlook.

Bob and Colly live close to the original border of the US with the “Indian Lands” and we passed a marker designating the spot where a 1785 “treaty” was supposed to transfer land from the Native Americans to the US. In another forgotten by me factoid, Connecticut had laid claim to this portion of the US and it was not until the U.S. assumed Connecticut Revolutionary War debts that the land (The Western Reserve) was given up. There is more to the story but that is a brief bit of history for you.

Bob, Colly, Ed and Chris in Cuyahoga National Park

Today, Thursday, was a basic travel day. We are staying at the Courtyard Gaithersburg, home base for the wedding party, and will be here until Monday morning.

Ed and Chris August 29 10 pm

Categories: road trip, travel | Tags: Cuyahoga National Park | Leave a comment

2013, Trip Seven, August 26, Sarahs’ Wedding and UP,

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

Valparaiso, IN Monday August 26

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

This was a driving day so you will get more pictures and fewer words. That may make some people pleased. It will shorten my time at the keyboard.

Lake Michigan water was not too cold

We left later than planned, deciding to sleep in a bit. We hit the road by 9:30, driving through Wisconsin and Illinois. The Illinois toll road had 35 miles of construction. While it slowed us down, it seemed to divert knowledgeable drivers to other roads. The construction area was not overly crowded.

Sunset #1

Sunset #2

Chicago area was heavy with trucks and speeding cars. We actually encountered only a few really congested areas despite driving through the area between 3-5 pm.

We were able to make our one planned stop, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore before the visitor center closed at 6 pm. We then spent 1.5 hours just sitting on the beach and watching the sun set.

Sunset #3

Sunset #4

Tuesday we should be at Colly and Bob’s by the late afternoon.

Sunset #5

Ed and Chris August 26 10 pm

Categories: road trip, travel | Tags: Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | 1 Comment

2013, Trip Seven, Sarahs’ Wedding and Upper Peninsula, August 25

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

This trip is short, for us, and primarily focused around the wedding of Sarah Heimel and Sarah Leismer. Departure is Monday morning, August 26. We will be coming home via the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The map of the proposed route is attached.

Saint Paul Sunday August 25

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2013, Trip Six, The Northwest, August 16

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

Saint Paul, August 15, Friday

Well we are home. It feels good. Trip Six is over. 8500 miles. 50 days. Just five states and four provinces. Great vistas, people, and weather. Probably one week longer than we are likely to do again.

Minnesota

Midas in Dickinson ND installed a new starter. Saw that our front brakes were pretty well gone so they installed new ones. Bonfe’s in St. Paul had inspected the car before we left and said brakes were fine for this trip but might need to be replaced before trip seven. I guess we went down a few more steep mountains that used up our brakes.

In any event, we left Dickinson around 10:30 am and just spent the day driving. Nothing exciting. Minneosta looked good as we crossed the border. Green and rolling hills. We stopped for meals and gas and were home around 9 pm.

Sunset in Minnesota saws goodbye to trip six

Eight days home and we head out for Trip Seven. The Sarahs’ Wedding and U.P. of Michigan.

Ed and Chris August 18 9 am

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Home | 2 Comments

2013, Trip Six. The Northwest, August 15

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Ed Heimel and Chris Klejbuk, MN travel bloggers; ckeh72@comcast.net

Thursday, August 15 Dickinson, ND

150 foot tall Pompeys Pillar

The weather was warm already as we left Bozeman for Dickinson ND. Travel is all on US interstates at 75 mph. A nice change of pace. We did have a few low mountain passes but most of the terrain was flat to rolling flat fields.

Clarks name on Pompeys Pillar

We made two planned stops for the day. First stop was at Pompeys Pillar National Monument. This is a rock outcropping that has had petroglyphs etched onto it for hundreds of years. Its most notable signatory is William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Clark and his team stopped here on the way back from the Pacific Ocean. Lewis had taken an alternate route in order to map greater portions of the west. They were to meet at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers.

Roosevelts cabin

Pompeys Pillar is on the Yellowstone river. Here the river is a slow, meandering plains river compared to the gusher we saw going through Yellowstone Canyon back in early June. It is named for Sacagawea’s son whom Clark nicknamed Pompey.

Our second stop was at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora ND. The park has a north unit and a south unit. The north unit has more badlands type features, but both sections do have badlands and grasslands. We stopped at the south unit. It is closer to I-94 and contains the cabin built by Teddy Roosevelt on his first ranch here.

Part of the bison herd at Roosevelt national park

View of Teddy Roosevelt National Park

Teddy Roosevelt had two ranches here. He found the area restful and when his wife and mother both died on the same day, he came here to mourn and recoup. His passion for conservation had a strong foothold from what he saw and observed here.

Wild horses in the park

We watched the video and drove the 26 mile loop route. We were able to observe more bison, pronghorn, and wild horses. As we were finishing the drive, bison were crossing and walking along the road. We pulled in behind other cars to watch and wait until they were off the road.

When the bison were finished ambling off the road, we discovered our car would not start. It is about 6:30 at this time. We called AAA who sent out a truck from Dickinson, about 30 miles east. I believe the problem to be the starter, we will find out more tomorrow. The car was towed to a Midas shop just a block from the hotel we are staying at,

Waiting for bison, Bikers used cars as shield.

Friday we had planned to get up early and drive home. This is one day sooner than projected, we were initially going to spend more time in the Roosevelt park but just are getting tired. Now we will have to wait and see how long it will take to get the car repaired.

Waiting for AAA

Ed and Chris August 16 9:30 AM

Categories: road trip, travel | Tags: Pompeys Pillar National Monument, Theodore Roosevelt National Park | Leave a comment

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