Fort Tiacondaroga

Our room last night in Postdam, NY was done Victorian style and looked out unto the river. The design on the chair backs was very similar to the love seat and rocker in our house.
No rain today as we continued through New York. We spend a little time in Lake Placid walking the main street which led us to the Olympic Museum. Lake Placid hosted the 1932 and 1980 winter Olympics. There is memorabilia from those Olympics as others. It was interesting to see how the equipment has changed over the years. Of course there was a video playing of the great USA hockey win in 1980.
Our next stop was Fort Tiacondaroga located on Lake Champlaign. The fort was built in 1758 and was the site of a major battle between the French and British to have control of the lake as it was the connector between New York City and Montreal. On the grounds leading up to the fort the trenches made by the French are very evident 250 or so years later. That's what the photo is. The fort and battle field were used again 20 years later during the Revolutionary War. The information said that some of the men fought both times.
To get across the lake, we took an open air ferry. It holds maybe 8 cars. The sign says to watch your children--be a good idea as there is only a chain across each end!
Now we are in Burlington, Vermont. We are going to wait out the tropical storm rain tomorrow so hopefully will post again and we will be all caught up!

Pennsylvania and New York

The last two days we have been working our way across western Pennsylvania and New York. Pennsylvania has wooded hills and great vistas. The trees are about a fourth of the way turned. One can really see what side of a hill gets the sun by the amount of fall color. Our first stop was at Rock City which is really off the beaten path. It is an area of huge boulders amongst the trees that are balanced on each other or an interesting shape. We followed the trail through the woods and marveled at how such huge rocks could balance like they do. They say there isn't an earthquake activity because of the leveling effect of the oil fields.
The highlight of yesterday was Niagara Falls. You don't need their tours to enjoy the falls. Pick up a guide in the visitor's center and walk to the falls which are basically out the back door of the center. For a buck you can go out on the observation deck that goes out over the river for more great views. Ride the elevator down and you can walk up a series of stairs and get closer and wetter. We found that that wasn't really worth it because the mist blocked out the falls. We didn't go to Canada but felt we had a good experience.
Shortly after we started driving this morning, Jason and Ryan called. They were waiting for muffins to be done. It is so strange to have such a time difference. It was the best way to start the day. We continued east stopping to see the Genesee Lighthouse near Rochester. We climbed to the top and learned some history and added to my lighthouse collection.
Along the road there were many old cemeteries. Another feature is the pumpkin displays. Anyone that grows produce, displays them by the road on flat trailers or tables. Mounds of pumpkins and squash were everywhere. Well, except for when I decided we should get a picture of one of these, we saw no more!
Before lunch it started to rain and it poured all day and continues to rain this evening. We went to Sackett Harbor to see the battlefield and learn some War of 1812 history. We toured the visitors center and viewed artifacts from the battle that took place there between the British and American's. We got pretty wet walking around the battlefield even with rain gear. Put the seat warmer to good use when we got back in the car.
Tonight we are in Potsdam, NY and making a plan for tomorrow. The rain is suppose to continue so will wait to see how that develops.

Youngstown

As the game was not until 4 pm, we set out to explore Youngstown. They have a huge park known as Mill Creek Park that is about 12 miles long running along a creek--surprise surprise. At one end are formal gardens. The grounds are beautiful and most of the species are labeled. We wondered that for a time then decided to head further down to the working flour mill. If it works, there will be a picture.
This mill was built in 1840 and has been rebuilt twice since then. Now the base of the walls is 10 feet thick to withstand any future flooding. The farmers used to bring their grain in over the nearby covered bridge to be ground into flour. It was fascinating to see how the whole process works. Across the covered bridge we went and the picnic table for another wine and cheese lunch. As Don is throwing the wine bottle away, he reads on the garbage can, "alcoholic beverages strictly forbidden". Ah well.
We got to the Youngstown State campus well ahead of game time so took in the end of the volleyball match. For those of you reading and wondering why we are going to this football game, it is because son Alan is a graduate of Southern Illinois and that is the Youngstown opponent. At the beginning of Missouri Valley Conference games this year, the teams line up across the field just behind the people doing the coin toss. After the toss, they all shake hands. The game started out great for SIU, but they didn't score in the second half and lost the game. It was a fun experience and the people around us were having a good time and fun to be around.
We came back to the room, ordered a pizza and watched the Beavers and the Broncos.
Tomorrow we are really leaving Ohio!

More Ohio

We started the morning by going across the river from our motel to Fort Laurens which was built in 1787 to help defend the Delware Indians, but wasn't really located in the right spot. It wasn't manned for very long.
Our first stop in Canton was the First Ladies Museum. It is a history collection of the first ladies. Many items displayed are things that they have been given during their world travels. First ladies that did much to promote good will are emphasized. They have the inaugural gowns in half sizes. Connected with the museum is the home of William and Ida McKinley. Many of the furnishings are original and others are duplications that they have found at estate sales. It is a beautiful house with the intersting feature of curved door tops. In the third floor ballroom there are photos of all
We had our wine and cheese picnic at one of the tables in the courtyard of the McKinley home. People eating there on their lunch breaks were jealous of the wine!
Across town we went to the Football Hall of Fame. As their collection grows, so does the building--up to five buildings all connected. The long ago history was interesting and beginning in the 60's it was like a walk down memory lane. So many familiar names. There is a quietness to the areas until you get to the super bowl room and the present day displays and then there are many videos and sound recordings that after awhile dull the senses. Midway through we went to Fawcett Stadium which is just outside. This is where the Hall of Fame game is played. During the rest of the time, two high schools and two small colleges in town claim Fawcett Field as their home field. It is pretty basic as far as fields go.
We drove north to Youngstown for the evening. Listening to the sports news last night we discovered that the Salukis are playing Youngstown today so we got tickets. The fall color is not quite here yet in New England so we have time to take a day off from travelling.

Ohio

Today we wondered through north central Ohio. From Toledo, we dropped on to secondary roads driving southeast. We went through such communities as Bellevue, Clyde, and Wooster. There are more cornfields, but there are more trees and rolling hills. We had lunch in Millersburg in an old restored building. It began in the 1800's as a stage stop. What is now the tavern used to be the livery stable. In the town square is a big monument to honor those that fought in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican War, and the War of Patriot Rebellion that later became citizens of the county. Now that is a term I have not heard for the Civil War.
After lunch we stopped at an Amish cheese factory getting cheese to go with our wine for a picnic tomorrow. Next up was the Warther Museum. Mr Warther is a well known wood carver--not known to us. He could carve things out of wood that were made of a single piece. He earned fame by carving model working trains, many of which are in the museum. When he wasn't carving, he was making knives which is how he earned his money and his family continues today. His wife collected buttons and then mounted them on white ceiling tiles in different patterns. They cover the walls and ceiling of his old studio.
Tonight we are in Boliver and tomorrow will go to Canton.

Chicago area

The photo is Lake Michigan taken from the east side. Chicago would be beyond the water horizon.
From Iowa City we drove north to McHenry, Illinois to start our Chicago Hoffmann visits. Mark and Tarah fixed us dinner and we visited into the evening. The next morning we found a great place for breakfast, The Windhill Pancake House. They are heavily decorated for Halloween, but the food was yummy.
After doing laundry, we went to Crystal Lake to meet Pete and Noreen for lunch. Pete is Don's brother. Did a little shopping in the village and had a good visit over lunch. We headed south to see their daughter Lori and her husband Richard. We took the El to Wrigley Field and a Cubs game. We opted for dinner before at a brew pub. We stayed their for the rain delay which went on long enough that we decided not to go in. It was still lightening after 8 when we left. We had been their before so it was okay not to go.
This morning we drove through the corner of Indiana and into Michigan. We both felt that this was the beginning of adventure as we have never been in this part of the country. He got to Kalamazoo to have lunch with nephew Chris. He is a TA supervisor at Western Michigan and enjoying it very much.
We made a stop in Ann Arbor mostly to take some pictures of Michigan's stadium. Someone in the family is a fan. Tonight we are in Monroe, Michigan on which is on Lake Erie. I believe Canton, Ohio is on the agenda for tomorrow.

Iowa

As we drove across Iowa it rained most of the morning. There were some interesting stops that could have been made, but combine the rain with our new traveling companion, a cold—hmmmm wonder where we got that?—we didn’t stop.
We arrived at our friends, Eric and Kim’s in the afternoon. We enjoyed their three little boys and got a glimpse into their lives for two days. For a little background, Kevin and Eric went to high school together. Their families try to get together every summer. Nephew Andy joined us for homemade pizza. He is 4 weeks into medical school and is enjoying the challenge and doesn’t understand the classmates that are already complaining. Andy, if you are reading this, I think often of your buffalo story.
Kim’s sister and uncle were also there and the three of them ran a triathlon on Sunday. Eric is madly working on a grant proposal so we didn’t see as much of him as he would have liked. Sunday afternoon, Kim and the boys and us went downtown Iowa City for a walking tour and dinner. We learned more about the flood they had two years ago that did a lot of damage to the campus.
Now it is on to Chicago and the Hoffmann relatives.

Driving Day

The photo is the Missouri River near Fort Mandan site of winter camp for Lewis and Clark.
The goal today was to knock out a bunch of miles so we would arrive in Iowa City at a decent time. It was not hard with a 75 mph speed limit in the Dakotas. We set the cruise at 76 and away we went. Except for slowdowns for construction we rolled along. Even with the slowdowns we averaged 73.6 mph and got good milage on the car. They are replacing 12-15 mile chunks of the freeway with cement roads. It was interesting to see how they do that. Lots of highway money being spent here.
Fields of corn and sunflowers line the highway. Don't know when they plan
to harvest--seems like the season is getting late.
We stopped in South Dakota for lunch and was looking at a paper. The sports page had Locker's name in the headline--follows us everywhere! The story slant was slightly different though. We are wondering how hard it will be for the announcers to keep the Huskies and the Huskers straight!
The highlight of yesterday's journey was a stop in Vermillion, SD at the National Music Museum. It is on the USD campus--large building, two floors with 9 galleries. There are instruments dating back to the 1500's through modern times. Amazing collection. If you are even slightly interested in music, make that a place to stop. It is just a little north of Sioux City, Iowa.

On to Bismarck ND

Before I catch you up on our travels, a hint for following the blog. Notice in the toolbar just above the title. If you click on follow this blog and sign up, you will get an e-mail when I do a new post that way you don't have to remember to check.
We stayed with Alan until Tuesday afternoon. We didn't do anything special, just spent time together.
Tuesday we went to Glasgow to visit John and Mary (John is my brother). We had a good visit that evening. The next morning Mary had gotten John's cold so she was out of the loop for most of the day. Don and I started the day by meeting Sue Dalby for coffee. Sue is a former student and ball player from Cottonwood. It was great to see her and to catch up.
Later we went out to the farm and to the pasture where John keeps his cows are for the summer. Montana is quite green for this time of year. The river is up from all the rain. In the evening, I met my cousin, Kathy for wine and a dessert called Baked Hot Chocolate--now there is a recipe I'm going to spend sometime figuring out--yummy!!
This morning (Thursday)we drove to Nashua and picked up my cousin, Jean and went out to Grandpa Peterson's farm and to the Grain Lutheran Church. Grandpa helped build it and I was baptized there. Little country church that has weathered the storms since 1929.Jean filled in some family history along the way. I found out that one of her daughter-in-laws makes art quilts with thread. Some are published in a book. There is seven miles of thread in one of the quilts!
We continued the day into North Dakota, stopping in Williston for lunch. At Gramma Sharon's you can get pie and coffee for $2.25--what a deal. We stopped in Washburn and the Lewis and Clark interpetive center and Fort Mandan. The centers were closed but we walked around and took pictures. At Fort Mandan we found a park called Fahlgren (my maiden name) Park. We were surprised and had to go investigate. It was given to the city in memory of Stan Fahlgren by his wife. I think he was a cousin of my Dad's. Be a great place for a family gathering.
Tommorrow we continue toward Iowa City.

Havre

We arrived at Alan's about the same time that he got home from work. He went for a bike ride and Don for a run. He fixed us dinner--like it when my kids cook for us.
On Saturday we packed a picnic and headed for Chinook to meet Kodi, Alan's girlfriend. Our destination was the Bear Paw Battlefield about 17 miles out of Chinook. This is the site where Chief Joseph surrendered to the calvery, but as we learned, not before putting up quite a battle. We ate our picnic then set out on the 1 1/4 loop trail with brochure in hand. It was windy but we didn't complain as we read that not only was it windy Sept 30-Oct 5, 1877, but the rain turned to snow. The Nezperce camped at this location to rest on their way to Canada and freedom which was only 40 miles away. They thought they had put enough distance between them and their persuers. The 400 Nezperce including woman and children made camp, killed a couple of buffalo and prepared to rest. Not much later, the calvery was seen closing in on their encampment. They held them off for several days, but in the end Chief Joseph needed to put a stop to the suffering of the children so he surrendered. Chief White Bird and a group of warriors did escape to Canada. This is the site where Chief Joseph's famous quote "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever" was uttered. Having lived on the Camas Prairie in Idaho which is steeped in Nezperce history, this was particularly interesting. There are no pictures as Ann forgot to put the card back in the camera!!
Sunday was pretty much a football day. Alan tells me that this weekend was the first weekend since sometime in September of 2007 that the Cougars, Huskies, and Hawks have all one on the same weekend. We went out to dinner and Kodi returned to Malta.
We are waiting for the morning chill to leave then we are going to go wash the bugs off the car--lot of grasshoppers on the way to the battlefield.
Untill next time--

Long Road Adventure Day 1

The long awaited trip to New England and fall color got underway Thursday, Sept.9th. Eastern Washington was sunny, bookended by rain in both sets of mountains. It was an uneventful drive. We arrived in Missoula in time to meet our neice, Marie, for pizza. She has rehersals for Hair so it was a brief visit, but great to see her always.
This morning we left Missoula and took Highway 200 through Lincoln. More rain until we over Rodgers Pass then it was sunny for most of the time. The forest between Lincoln and Rodgers Pass is in terrible shape. There must be some sort of disease or insect. Many trees are gray standing and about as many have all red needles and maybe 1/3-1/2 are in good condition. The area is one good lightning strike from going up in flames.
Had to stop and take some pictures of the long straight road--that stretch of road has always amazed me.
Alan wasn't going to be home until around 2 so we stopped in Fort Benton for lunch and to walk along the waterfront. They have many historical signs to read and old buildings to look at. We walked across the river bridge that was built in 1886 and was used until 1963. Fort Benton was a hub for trade and for people going further west.
Will be with Alan into early next week. Have a great weekend everyone.

Final Thoughts for Alaska

We have been home for two weeks and I realize I haven't done a wrap up on the trip to Alaska. So random thoughts and bits of information that we learned along the way. In nearly every community we were in, there were foreign students working in the hotels and the restaurants. Visiting with them, they told us that they were working in Alaska as a language exchange program where they work there and work on their English skills. Many were from Russia and Bulgaria. Considering the tourism, the communties don't have the population base to provide the work force so it is a good deal.
I had envisioned the tour of Denali and Kenai would have been a group of people, moving through the week together. That is not the case. We had our packet of tickets, but there was not a tour guide or the same people doing the activities. Knowing what I know now, a person could set this up on their own. To go from Anchorage to Seward and to Denali, we used the park connection buses and the train.
To do it again, I would recommend renting a car in Anchorage and driving to Seward and to Denali. You would have more mobility along the way. By doing the tour we did do some things that we wouldn't have done otherwise because they were part of the package. Thinking mostly of the plane ride--it is so worth it! If anyone is interested, I can give you places and numbers.
Most shops and motels are only open from May-September. Many of the shopkeepers don't live in the towns expect for the season. It was pretty unclear what everyone else does--get ready for winter, I guess. They do get $1200 oil money per person so that would help fund the off season. It is a different way of life.
I'm glad that we went to Alaska, but I don't think we would go again. Don, however, was intrigued with the large fish they were catching and that is saying alot for Don.
Since our return, Jason and Ryan were here for a week. Trips to Jetty Island and
the zoo were highlights. Don's brother, Rick, returned from his sailing adventure two days after we did. He left this morning. After a cleansing rain two days ago, I sit at the dining room table and enjoy the view of Mt. Baker across the lake. Live is good.
We are aiming to hit the road for our two month driving adventure on Sept. 10th. Have some things to finish up before we leave, but am making good progress.
Until then...