Crellim Creative

US Road Trip

Massachusetts

Crellim October 13, 2014

We drive into Massachusetts and the first real rain storm during daytime hours has set in. I’ve always wanted to see Salem, and with it being October 1, we definitely had to go. The first stop was to get some coffee at the Front Street Cafe. The cappuccino was decent, but the customer service of the manager was not. The rest of the employees seemed very friendly, but the manager acted overwhelmed and rude. It all started to go downhill when we ask for Dad’s coffee to go in his travel mug. The manager said, fine but he can’t have refills. I said okay whatever, just charge me for a cup of coffee. This is the first cafe I’ve ever had issue for bringing my own cup.

The morning crowd was filled with college kids and nannies, so there were lots of adorable kids running around. The crowd was friendly and warm. Even though they had no wifi, I decided to pull out my laptop and do some writing. Dad sat there people watching and playing with a few of the kids, including one that he got to sing Old McDonald with. It was way too cute.

But then suddenly a group of suits showed up and the manager got all huffy again. My dad was about to go up and by another cup of coffee, but before we could the manager came and asked me to move my laptop to another chair and to get off the internet. They needed to serve lunch. Fine, but I wasn’t using wifi, Dad and I both were sharing the table, and we had bought coffee and pastries. This poor manager just had an attitude. Unfortunately, it also means that the worst coffee shop experience I’ve had so far on this journey was at Front Street Cafe.

So we headed back to the car in hopes that the rain would lighten up before we wander around more, but there was no such luck. So we finally headed out and went to CVS to buy panchos. The rain kept coming down, as we wandered past the Essex Museum and finally over to the Salem Witch Trial Memorial. I do think the rain brought out the beauty of the memorial and the cemetery next door. Unfortunately, the panchos were barely keeping Dad and I dry so we just headed back to the car.

We had planned on going into Boston that day, but with no signs of the rain letting up it wasn’t looking that great. Luckily, Ellen and Sandy reached out and invited Dad and I over for tea. They do leave west of Boston, but with the rain we didn’t care about taking a drive. So we went and enjoyed tea, whoopee pies, and great conversation on a lake with the best name ever. Sandy can say the name of the lake perfectly. I tried and destroyed it 🙂

Then we headed off for a KOA just south of Boston, so we get cleaned up and do some laundry. Luckily, we found this great old diner in Middleboro for dinner. Dad did not think I could find a decent place to eat in this area, so Dave’s Diner was a treat.

Finally, the next morning the rain had broken. The clouds were still heavy and the air cool, but we could walk around without getting wet. So we headed into Boston to do some exploring. When I visited Boston in 2005, I took a walking history tour of Boston, which then started my addiction to walking history tours. I took Dad on a tour put on by the Freedom Walk Foundation, which was lead by a 18th century inn keeper Mary Clapham. We saw all the historical sites and learned about revolutionary Boston. Tour was entertaining and educational, and Dad definitely enjoyed the experience. I loved doing the tour again as well!

After the tour, we headed to the Northend to grab some lunch and explore. Lunch was decent but not memorable, so I’ll skip the description. But for desert we headed over to the famous Mike’s Pastry for a cannoli. I have been to Mike’s before and I’m not a huge fan of cannoli’s, but we grabbed a chocolate chip one for Dad. We wandered over to Paul Revere Square and Dad enjoyed his treat!

Then we headed up to the Old North Church, where the lanterns were hung to warn how the British would come. It is a beautiful church, without ornamentation or pews. Families, would by boxes in the church, and Paul Revere’s family still owns one of the boxes.

After wandering around Boston, I wanted to rest for a bit so we headed to the Thinking Cup Cafe. This was the first cafe I’d been that made beautiful latte art. It was a great place to take a quick break.

There was one last treat I wanted to enjoy before leaving Boston – chowdah! So we headed back to Quincey Market and went to Boston Chowder Company. Quincy Market is a touristy food market, so I was surprised that a well-rated chowder company would be there. But the New England Clam Chowder was fantastic and so was the lobster bisque. So don’t judge a market by it’s cover!

After rush hour had run it’s course, we slipped out of Boston and headed south so we could explore Cape Cod in the morning. We only made as far as the Nirvana Cafe on Cape Cod. The roads are tree-lined beauties. However, the people hanging out at the Cafe were all trying too hard to be important. So I definitely did not feel like I fit in. So rather than stick around to explore, we decided to head straight to NYC so we would have the weekend to explore!

US Road Trip

Dad – the Driver!

Crellim October 6, 2014

So my dad decided to crash my cross-country road trip. I ended up being really grateful he came along. Dad and I have travelled before, so I knew that we could travel together. We’d been hiking in Southern Utah and fishing in Montana in the past. I was hoping this trip would be about growth and I was worried that with him crashing, I wouldn’t grow since he’d make it easier. But really a cross-country adventure is best done with more than one!

Dad is not technologically enabled. He still has no cell phone, and I’m constantly trying to get him not to pay attention to the ads on the right-hide side of the google search screen. One day he called me to say he was searching for fishing supplies and following the ads, he finally ended up looking at girls with guns (suspect!!!!)

So I am doing all the research, navigation, and posting on this trip. Dad is never tagged in the photos on Facebook since he has no online presence. However, for those of you following this blog, you probably want to know a little bit more about this party crasher.

Dad is retired and spends his day golfing or fishing in between starting projects he rarely finishes. The few exceptions of finishing projects happened when I was laid off. He decided he need to finish the shed he’d always wanted to build in case he had to sell the house so we could all move to Portland. He didn’t believe me when I told him I was going to enjoy Oakland for a few years before I moved.

One of the ways I was afraid that dad would keep me from growing on this adventure, is that he is super outgoing and talks to everyone. I’m shyer and was hoping this trip would force me out of my comfort zone and talk to people along the way. But he’s helped me a lot with outgoingness. He starts a lot of conversations that I can then easily hop into without stress.

However, taking a super outgoing small town guy into a big city is rather interesting. He still talks to absolutely everyone. I keep having to give him cash because he empties his pocket for the poor people who ask. He even then apologizes to others that he has no cash to give them.

On the subway in NYC, he got all verklempt over a young guy playing bucket drums and gave all cash. The kid was super talented, but it took Dad at least 10 minutes to regain his composure.

I also tried to teach Dad about the proper subway behavior. Don’t talk to anyone, don’t make direct eye contact, when you look don’t stare and avert your eyes. He couldn’t handle it. He would constantly try to talk to people and get ignored. Definitely a in a bit over his head.

Dad had not been enjoying the small towns as much as the national parks we visited early in the trip. By the time we got to New England, all he could think about was how he wasn’t able to go flyfishing. It wasn’t until NYC, that he final said that was really cool. So when it comes to fishing he’s pretty obsessed.

However, he was overwhelmed by NYC, which I think most people are when visiting. I could hear him snicker twice and and then sigh. Heh, Heh, hmmmm. I kept wondering what he was thinking.

Every time he complains a little or says he’d rather be camping I start making fun of him and threaten to send him home. And every time he complains about traffic and asks why they drive like they do. I tell him because they sense that he is hear and they are driving bad just to bug him.

I definitely don’t thing this trip would be as interesting without him. He has definitely moved from support team to partner on the journey. Some of the most memorable moments would never have happened without him!

US Road Trip

Autumn in New England

Crellim October 6, 2014

We rush out of Albany to get started on exploring New England’s fall colors. I would have enjoyed taking time to walk around the downtown area of Albany; the buildings were super pretty. So I will just need to journey back out here again in the autumn to tour. I also still had in my mind, I need to hurry to get to Maine. However, as soon I as we drive into Vermont, I realize that we need to slow down and enjoy the ride. Vermont and New Hampshire are states that are also worthy of exploring. I’m so glad I made this realization before we sped through these states.

Immediately driving into Vermont, the fall colors came alive. The maple trees lined the highways with magnificent displays of yellow, rusty orange, and deep red. A farm would appear in an opening of these incredible trees. But it’s not just the trees changing color, it’s the bushes growing under the trees and the vines crawling up the trunks.

One of the recommended must stops of Vermont is the headquarters of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. I do love the taste of ice cream, but it really hates me. So unless I want to be pain, I usually avoid it 😦 But we still made the stop at the headquarters just to see what it was like. This was one of the most crowded stops we’ve made so far on the trip. The visitor center is not very big, which adds to the crowded feeling. Unfortunately, the tour of the headquarters is not for another 50 minutes, we don’t feel like waiting around. If we had stuck for the tour and gotten ice cream to bide the time, we would have been waiting 20 minutes in line just to get ice cream, which was not what either Dad or I wanted to do. So we headed down to Montpelier, the capital of Vermont.

Hunger drove our first stop in Montpelier, so we went strait to the Three Penny Taproom. This was my kind of pub. They had great beer from the New England region on tap and some of my favorites from California as well. I guess it was looking at all the autumn leaves, but I didn’t feel like beer. I went for a crisp and refreshing apple cider and dad went for an Old Rasputin. We also had the burger special which was pickled jalapeños and peanut butter. I had expected the peanut butter to be a stronger flavor on the burger, but really all I could do was smell it. The burger was still super flavorful, and I would definitely recommend it.

After eating, we decided to wander around town, which is not a big town with only 8,000 people. Even though the town is super small, there were a lot of quaint churches in town. I had to wander around and check out the steeples.

We camped again in Walmart, but this was the first Walmart I’ve seen that was on the banks of the river. We woke up to fog in the morning rising above this gorgeous river, which is not a bad way to start the morning.

We then headed into New Hampshire to take a few scenic drives around the White Mountains. Originally, I had planned for us to go to the top of Mount Washington, but when we got there, they wanted to charge us $38 to make it to the top, which had an elevation of 6,000 feet. Considering, I grew up in the mountains of Utah and had just gone through Glacier, I wasn’t motivated to spend that kind of money just to go to the top. So we continued on the scenic route to look at all the trees changing color. The drive was absolutely spectacular.

We make it into Portland, Maine in the early afternoon. First stop, is stop number 2 at FedEx; this time the package is for me. My mom had to send out my unemployment forms for me to complete and send back. But then it was straight down into Old Port to wander the streets and get our first taste of lobster.

Old Port is an older section of the city with lots of restaurants and tourists. It was even more alive than usual since two huge cruise ships had just docked in port. First we head to fish market in hopes of freshly steamed lobster, but the market had partly rotted and fallen into the sea. So they were only selling raw fish, which is all they had room left for. So we continued down the harbor until we reached Portland Lobster Company. This is my first taste of a lobster roll. The bread was buttery and perfect, and the lobster super sweet and tasty. It was a great introduction to the lobster roll.

Then we wander around the cobblestone streets until we found a cafe for me to work on my blog for a bit. The Bard Cafe was the stop, even though it was sweltering in the cafe. We did arrive in Portland on a record breaking 86 degree day. The cafe did not have fans or windows that opened so it was definitely hot and humid in there. But my cappuccino was very tasty. It was made more third-wave style with a poured heart, and not the crazy dry foam of the Italian style I’d been having else where.

We then headed a bit further south to Saco to camp at the KOA for the evening before we started to head north in the morning.

I had a lot of recommendations from Sandy, who was born and raised in Maine. I basically took her list and followed it. So we headed north on I95 through Augusta and Bangor. It was Sunday, which for not tourist stops I expect to be a bit slower. However, Augusta was dead. As we drove down the main street of shops, there were only 2 people out wandering about, and there were hardly any cars on the road. We quickly head out and continued onto Bangor.

Bangor, we drove past several churches and some beautiful old homes. This town was definitely more alive than Augusta. We headed downtown and drove through. It was at this moment I realized that my Dad was being impatient and rushing me. I could have spent more time wandering and taking photos, but he didn’t even pull over to park. He just asked how to get out of town. Dad likes the nature parts of the journey, but he has not been as keen on exploring the small towns and cities.

So we head east towards the coast and cross into Mount Desert. I find a fantastic lobster shop just outside of the town of Bar Harbor. We had our first lobster feast at Bar Harbor Lobster Pound, which was fantastic. The food was great, the prices reasonable, and the service fantastic. This was definitely my favorite of the lobster places we tried.

Then we drove into Bar Harbor to wander around and grab a beer. Cottage Street Pub was the place to stop and had the best craft cocktails, I’ve had so far on the journey. Tess had created several of the drinks, which were fantastic. This is also where I learned what we explores of autumn in New England are called – Leaf Peepers. I agree this name is absolutely perfect for what we were exploring.

We headed over to our camp ground in Acadia National Park for an early night, since we were waking at 5 am to enjoy the sunrise from Cadillac Mountain. Cadillac Mountain is the highest point on the Atlantic sea coast. The sun rise was a recommend to do. Plus I’ve seen several sunsets from the Pacific Ocean; watching the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean seemed like something I must do.

We got to the top of Cadillac Mountain by 6:00 am. The sky was already lightening as we were driving. When we got to the top, the ski was already lined in red. We sat there for 45 minutes to watch the sun break over the horizon. As soon as it came up, it went straight into the clouds. This was the only sun we saw for the rest of the day.

After the sunrise, we both needed coffee because of the early start, so we headed back to Bar Harbor to grab some caffeine. I hung out in the cafe for a while to work on my blog again. Plus it was overcast and cold outside, so it was nice to drink warm cappuccino and relax for a bit. Then we headed down to the harbor to wander around.

Finally, I felt energetic enough to go explore Acadia National Park. We took the loop road around the park. The fall colors were absolutely stunning on the drive. The overcast clouds made the colors pop. We pulled out at all the view points, but it was so cold neither of us were up for hiking. We did stop at Thunder Hole, but it wasn’t going off. It seemed like the waves were being knocked down as the storm slowly rolled in.

We then headed over to the other side of the island for lunch and to see what the rest of island looked like. We went to Thurston Lobster Pound, which was my least favorite lobster stop. I had another lobster roll which was no where as good as the one in Portland. But worse, was halfway through I started to feel sick eating the lobster. I spent the rest of the day not feeling well, and I knew I was lobstered out at that point.

Even though we didn’t hike, we had explored Acadia pretty thoroughly, so we decided to head south. We camped on Permaquid Point at Sherwood Campground. This campground was my favorite so far. At night, I could tell the dirt path felt really soft as I walked around, but it wasn’t until morning I realized the campground paths were all covered with moss. The entire campground was set into the woods and ferns. It was a super peaceful place to stay.

The next morning we officially made our turn south and spent the day exploring the lighthouses of Maine. Permaquid Point, Portland Head Lighthouse, and Nubble Lighthouse were all on the itinerary. Even through it was small, my favorite was Permaquid Point, since we could climb to the top and see the light. It is so cool to see these old lighthouses still in use.

We also stopped at Boothbay for lunch and to wander around the harbor. We stopped at a very flowery and cute cafe, Bridge Street Cafe. After three days of lobster, our egg meals were so satisfying and good. Lobster does not last with you for as long as other meals. I scarfed my egg and sausage wrap so quickly, I didn’t even take the time to take off my camera or purse. Both Dad and I tried to lick the plates before heading out into a cold fall day. Before leaving, we did walk across the bridge on the harbor, which was windy and beautiful.

Then we continued south through Maine chasing the rest of the lighthouse for the day. We then traversed back into New Hampshire on the coast. For dinner and beer, we met up with another colleague, Scott, who has been giving me tons of great tips for the journey. We met at Portsmouth Brewing Company in downtown Portsmouth. Portsmouth is a very lovely and alive port town. The buildings house many shops and restaurants, and the streets were filled with people enjoying the night. It was a perfect location for a great brewery. Dinner with Scott and his wife Dorothy was laughter filled evening complemented by great beer! I had the Rye Ale and the Brown Ale. The Rye was on the hoppy side for my taste, but the Brown Ale was smooth and flavorful.

Dinner with Scott and Dorothy was a great way for us to wrap up our northern New England exploration. A land filled with incredible trees that explore with color in the autumn, small quaint towns that seem to have as many steeples as people, seafood that nets the foodies, and friendly and fun people. I will definitely be back some future autumn to explore again.

US Road Trip

Journey Expectations

Crellim October 4, 2014

Starting on any journey is always filled with expectations on how things will go, and this was definitely true for me. There are expectations I have definitely not been able to meet or accomplish along this journey.

The biggest expectation was that I thought I would have time for other activities beyond exploring. The back of the Rav 4 is filled with 15 books I had hoped to read, and all my painting supplies. The amazing part of this journey is that there is always something to see or do. While we drive, I’m more interested in seeing the world go by than reading my books. I do feel like painting at times, but we don’t usually make it to camp until 10 pm when it is too dark to paint and I’m already too tired from the day. Plus, looking and exploring new things all day long is tiring just in itself. At home, I have so much routine which gives me energy for my creative pursuits. But this journey, I’m constantly seeing something new and learning more than I could imagine. By 8 pm, I’m exhausted and my brain can’t absorb much more. I was definitely surprised by how tired I get from this journey. But it’s just a good sign that I’m having an amazing trip and fully living it 🙂

When we do take breaks at cafes, I typically work on this blog and charge my camera batteries. There is so much to describe from what I’ve seen so far, each blog takes awhile to write. (I admit I’m horrible at editing my own work, so I know there are grammatical errors when I publish). I am using my photos from my iPhone for the blog, so that saves me some time since I’ve already edited those pictures. The photos from my camera will be a post journey memorial since I’ll need to sit down and work on them in the time I don’t have on this journey.

Now, this is not a complaint in anyway. I love everything that I am seeing and doing. I just really underestimated how much time we’d spend exploring. But I’m so glad there is so much to see and experience. I was also feeling a bit guilty about not getting to paint much, but I will be able to paint from all my photos so I’m not going to worry. I do own Jerri a painting, which I will finish before I get home 🙂 (probably in Texas, when I’m visiting family and it’s easier to clean up)

Another expectation was how many clothes I was going to need for the trip. I packed 8 outfits, with an additional layer for cold weather. I should have only brought 3 outfits with me. At some point, I might ship some of these clothes back to my parents house in Utah. My dad is complaining that he brought to many clothes as well. We also brought a cooler that we’ve only used to store hats. It might be time to load it up with all our extra stuff and ship it back. My mom does want us to ship her a lobster, so maybe we just put it all together :-S

Finally, I had originally wanted to go on this trip alone as a growing experience. So I’ve teased my dad a bit that he crashed my trip. But honestly, it has made it a lot easier to not be alone on this journey. Navigating around is so much simpler with my dad driving and me just telling him where to go. I don’t know if we would have made it through Chicago without both of us. Those roads are crazy confusing. Plus, if I had gone alone, I would need to stop every 5 minutes to take pictures and not get anywhere. With Dad driving, I’m able to watch and take photos along the way. I can also really pay attention to the world around me since I don’t have to focus on driving. I might tease dad when he gets impatient or in a hurry, but it’s been great having him on the trip. Plus, Dad would rather be driving, so I’ve been able to be the passenger the entire time, and usually he lets me explore what I want to see.

So if you plan to do a road trip across the US as well, here’s my advice. Leave the books and art supplies home. Grab your camera and journal. Pack and then cut everything by half before you head out the door. And last, find a travel partner so you can have a chance to actually see the world around you and not just concentrate on driving.

US Road Trip

Ohio and Upstate New York

Crellim September 29, 2014

I decided there was no way that I could even come close to seeing everything I wanted to in Chicago, and that I just need to come back. So we headed towards Indiana to stay at another Walmart.

When I was in high school, I went to a summer engineering program at University of Notre Dame, so I had already been to Indiana. I really had no desire to go back, so we decided to just to cross Indiana into Ohio. Also, I wanted to get to the fall colors in Maine before they were gone, so I picked one city in Ohio to stop and visit. Cleveland was the choice, and that was a great decision.

As we were driving across Indiana, we get a call from Mom saying that Dad’s brother Greg has passed out and is on the way to hospital. I start sending my phone number to my cousins so they can call and update my dad as we travel. Finally, we get a call from my Aunt Michelle, but we needed to get off the freeway so if my dad got upset he wouldn’t do it driving. So we pulled off the freeway on the east side of South Bend, Indiana and went to a gas station so my dad could take the call. The update was that they were still doing tests to figure out what was wrong without much detail. (Later, we would get updated that they couldn’t find anything wrong with my Uncle’s heart, and they sent him home. Good news).

We spent 5 minutes at the gas station with the car turned off, and when get back in to go the car does not start. I tried the key fab to see if we had triggered the alarm somehow and it wasn’t letting us start the car, but that didn’t work. In fact, the fab didn’t work at all to lock/unlock the door. Plus, the lights were dim. We’d just been driving for over an hour, so how in the hell could the battery die.

Dad got someone to come over and jump the car. It took letting the jumpers sit for five minutes before the car started again, but thankfully we did. I found the closest NAPA Auto Parts so we could head over and get a new battery for the car. As we were driving, the car kept trying to die again but we made it. Both Dad and I were hoping the alternator was still good, even though the battery was no longer holding a charge. At NAPA, they tested and confirmed the battery was bad. My mechanic dad took just a few minutes to change the battery and get us back on the road. Hopefully, this is the last breakdown of the trip, but it does bring peace or mind with Dad being a mechanic.

Finally, we continue on across Indiana and then into Ohio. The route is still rows and rows of corn. As dusk is setting in, we pull into Cleveland. The first place we try to go for dinner is closed 😦 So we continue further into the city, which some neighborhoods are completely empty. We see one or two cars in several blocks and the buildings and in need of TLC. This is the first town we see that has been visually hit by the recession, but it has been in a recession since the 70s when the steal factories all closed up.

We drive into Ohio City, which is a neighborhood that has undergone gentrification. Dinner is at a fantastic gourmet Mexican restaurant – Momocho. The guacamole was made with sheep’s milk gouda, roasted garlic cloves, and honey. I didn’t know what that mixture of flavors would be like for guacamole, but it was incredible. The restaurant had a warm wood feeling with dark red lights providing the ambience.

The next day we head into Roots Cafe which was rated as the best cafe in Cleveland. My cappuccino was Italian style, and the flavor was great. The cafe was colorful and inviting. It was a great place for me to work on my blog a bit and relax. The baristas gave us some great tips on what to explore. We headed back into Ohio City neighborhood to visit the West Side Market. This was the first closed market in Ohio. The food stands with fish, beef, cheeses, and other goods just made my mouth water. But the architecture of the old building took my breath away. Dad did a better job of picking out snacks with tamales. I grabbed some bacon cheddar popcorn and crab salad. Unfortunately, the market was closing, so we headed into the square across the street to eat our snacks. Dad gave half the tamales away to the hungry people hanging out in the square and we ate the others. They were so tasty! My crab salad was way to creamy and I couldn’t eat it. The popcorn was so bad we left it on the table for the birds.

We wandered around the neighborhood since the buildings were old but well taken care of. Finally, we head over to Great Lakes Brewing Company to grab a beer. My old friend from Grad School, Keisha, who now lives in Cleveland, calls and says she can meet us for a beer. It turns into a wonderful night of good beer, so-so food, and fantastic conversation. There are so many blessings about this trip, but one of my favorite so far is catching up with friends.

We head out that night to camp in Erie, Pennsylvania as we continue eastward. We’re only planning on exploring the Eastern part of Pennsylvania, so this is our only stop on this part of the journey. There’s not much in Erie, so we head into New York to check out Buffalo.

It’s lunch time, so the required stop in Buffalo is for buffalo wings. Way back when I was a vegetarian for a couple years in college, it was a craving for buffalo wings that got me eating meat again. I had to try wings in the town they originated from. We went to Gabriel’s Gate, which was listed as the top wings restaurant on a city poll. The road in front of the restaurant was completely torn up, so the place was empty because of the construction. Yet, the service was fantastic, and the food divine. The wings were the best wings I’ve ever had. Tons of flavor with a bit of a bite and homemade ranch to dip them in. The French Onion soup we started with had an amazing broth and cheese galore!

After eating, we headed down to the harbor to see the western most point of the Erie canal. This area is now a Military memorial, and most of the canal is underground. We walked along the harbor to look at the ships and see a lighthouse.

From Buffalo, we continue north to almost the Canadian border. (Reminder: Dad did not get his passport! Grrrr). From the highway, we can already see the steam rising from the waterfalls in our future. We pull into the parking lot for Niagara Falls, and head to the visitor center. Other than seeing the waterfall, everything else requires a fee to see. So we walk over to American Falls, and there is a rainbow showing in the steam going from top to bottom. The sound of the waterfall is incredible. Then we head over to Horseshoe Falls, which is the largest flowing waterfall in North America. There was so much mist coming off the falls, that I was completely soaked trying to take a photo of the falls. But really, the mist blocked most of the view of the falls. The US side of the falls is from where Lake Erie flows into Lake Ontario, so the view is not looking at the falls. That view is on the Canadian side, which we couldn’t see 😦

Niagara Falls is still a tourist trap. To take a boat ride to see the falls or to hike behind the falls each cost money. It is a very different natural experience than any of the national parks. It is unfortunate that Niagara Falls is not a national park, but I’m still grateful. The tourism that destroyed the natural fell of Niagara is what made our nation/Teddy Roosevelt realize we need to preserve the amazing natural features of our country for every citizen to enjoy.

We left Niagara to head to the capital of New York, Albany. It was getting late, so we stopped a bit short in Schenectady, New York. A cute town with lovely old buildings. I had heard of this town before, but I never expected to stay in it :). We rolled into Albany in the morning and went straight to the Harbor River Coffee Company. This was a total college cafe, since it was only a block from the campus. Yet, the bagel was tasty and the coffee decent. Plus, I could get wifi again to work on my blog.

Since I was pushing to get to New England to see the autumn colors, we didn’t stay long in Albany. However, driving through the center of town, I could tell how adorable this place was. I can’t wait to come back and explore further. This is a town that needs time to walk along the streets and check out the old buildings. Until the next time!

Poetry

Learning Experience

Crellim September 28, 2014

There is no reason for me to think about a job.
There is no reason for me to think about a boyfriend.
There is no reason for me to think about my future.
There is no reason for me to worry about my past.
All I have to do is see the world around me and watch the leaves change.
There is nothing I can do about my life back home.
All I can do is sit back and enjoy the ride.

It’s freeing to let it all go. I’ve never been able to do it before. I was always stuck in the middle of my life.
This journey has let me step away and just enjoy the moment. Hopefully, this gift and learning will stay with me always.

US Road Trip

Chicago

Crellim September 28, 2014

Driving into Chicago, my dad starts asking how big is the actually city, so I look the details up on wikipedia. Chicago is the 2nd largest city in the US. The city proper is 230 square miles, but the ChicagoLand area is over 2000 square miles. So this place is huge. The KOA we spend our first night in is 55 miles out of the city area and an one and a half hours out of the city. This was the closest official camping we could find near the city.

We’d been watching the storm clouds gather all day, and when we finally went to bed the storm passed over. This was a beautiful thunderstorm, with most of the lightning heading up into the atmosphere. So even when it was right above us it sounded far away. However, the strong wind and heavy rain definitely showed that the storm was overhead.

The other benefit of the storm was that I found out Lindsey, my friend from grad school, was experiencing the same storm. (Oh, the wonders of Facebook). I had no idea I was that close to where Lindsay is now living. So we meet up the next morning and have a great breakfast! It was great to spend some time catching up with someone I respect so much. One of the many topics we discussed was belly dancing, which Lindsay loves to do. She sent me some great videos to watch, so when I get back to Oakland I’ll take some classes.

After a great breakfast, Dad and I head into Chicago proper. Our first stop is Millenium Park. We walk into the park off of Madison, and are greeted by a magnificent statue of a woman’s head. It is all white material and is stretched so it plays with perspective when viewing it. Then we headed up a few stairs to see The Bean.

The Bean is a very odd piece of art. It is a chrome-plated, reflective sphere shaped like a been. But it is wonderful! Every step around the Bean is a different view and a different reflection. Everyone who is visiting the Bean is playing around and interacting with the art. It is the most joyful interaction with art I have ever had. It was wonderful to watch everyone else take pictures and laugh. So no matter how odd the Bean might be, it is brilliant for the interaction and joy it brings.

Next, we headed over to the North Pond area of Lincoln Park. What a beautiful nature preserve for the city. The pond had geese and ducks enjoying the water. And it was a gorgeous contrast of the huge skyscrapers of downtown Chicago to the peaceful park. We then walked over to the Marina and out to Lake Michigan to look across the water and then across the Chicago skyline.

Finally, hunger called and we went to the Wicker Park neighborhood to grab some grub. My high school friend James spent years living in Chicago and gave lots of great recommendations. He recommended Wicker Park as an artsy and lively neighborhood to check out. I loved the architecture of the area with smaller brownstones and an incredible 6 point intersection at the heart of the neighborhood. It was already getting dark, so there was not much time for exploring. I found Piece Pizzeria and Brewery, which had a line waiting out the door, but there were two seats open at the bar. We walked passed the huge line waiting and sat down at the bar. The pizza was not deep-dish Chicago style, but it was still fantastic. The red sauce had a great savory flavor with both mozzarella and parmesan cheeses to complete the base. It was choose your own toppings, so we went with my favorite – mushroom, onion, and pepperoni. Then I had two beers this evening to wash down the pizza. The first was a belgian ale which was smooth, balanced, not too hoppy, and flavorful. Then I had a red ale, which was a bit stronger and had more hops, but still balanced and super good. Piece is a great craft brewery.

It was late and time to find a Walmart parking lot to camp in. There is definitely not camping available within the city limits, and I’m trying to keep this journey as inexpensive as possible. So the closest Walmart that allows camping is 15 miles out of the city center in Mount Prospect.

The next morning, we do the first round of car maintenance and get an oil change. Yes, that means we’ve been out for 5,000 miles!!!!!! Traveling and putting your car into the hands of an auto shop that you don’t know can be a bit worrisome, even if dad is a mechanic. However, Busse Auto in Mount Prospect were fantastic. A woman came in with an issue with her car, and she was clueless about cars. From the recommended fix from the mechanic, we could immediately tell they had no intention of taking advantage of her. Everyone that worked there were pleasant and finished the oil change within an hour. So if you are on a road trip and in the Chicago area, Busse Auto is a good place to stop for auto maintenance.

So after the chores are done, we head back into Chicago and meet Tracy, a colleague who works at WEG, for lunch at Uncommon Grounds. Another great lunch, with the breakfast burrito being super tasty. The atmosphere of the cafe was super cute and comfortable. Unfortunately, my cappuccino was way too hot and the milk burnt a bit. (I’m so damn picky when it comes to coffee now.) It was fantastic to catch up with Tracy, and enjoy lunch. I kept asking her how she got out of all her meetings, since I know my old friends at SAP can keep her on the phone all day 🙂

From lunch, we head into downtown to do an architectural boat tour of Chicago, which Tracy had recommended. What a cool way to explore the city and see all the amazing skyscrapers. The docent named all the architects of these magnificent structures, plus mapped out the history of the city as we floated along the rivers in heart of Chicago. It’s only an hour and a half tour, and I recommend it as a must do for a Chicago visit. My favorite building was Aqua, which I was not able to get a good photo of since it was set back behind some other buildings. I also loved Marina Park and River Park because those buildings stood out as the most unique against the skyline.

After the tour, we went on a hunt for a Chicago Dog. The first place on the list was right in the heart of the tourist district with a Hard Rock Cafe and Rainforest Cafe across the street. Even though the reviews were good, I couldn’t believe that it wasn’t a tourist trap nightmare. So we continued over towards Wrigley’s Fields. Unfortunately, there was a Cubs game that night and traffic was a mess. We still had plenty of sunlight left, so I decided we’d go back to Wicker Park so I could walk around and explore.

As we pulled into the Wicker Park neighborhood, we parked right in front of Metamorph Tattoo, which both James and my brother told me I had to stop. There friend Jacob who relocated to Chicago is now a sot after tattoo artist, and works at Metamorph Tattoo. Unfortunately, Jacob was not working that day, so I left my card. However, we did meet two of Jacob’s colleagues. I’m so bad with names, and I wish I could remember because they were fantastic.

We then walked down towards the 6 point intersection at the heart of Wicker Park to look at all the buildings and check out the restaurants. We stopped at Links Taproom, which is a new place in the neighborhood. They were having an Octoberfest celebration with beer reps from local breweries showcasing their beers. Plus, da Bears were playing the Jets that night. I loved Links Taproom. Everyone was super friendly, the hamburger was one of my favorites on the trip so far, and the free beer from the reps was perfect. We ate at the bar, and I met Ann who was about to leave Chicago for LA after ten years. She is the lovely lady who took the picture of dad and I in the bar, so we could remember the stop. Our bartender had just moved from Santa Cruz two months ago. I believe he’s only seen Chicago at its best weather, and as we leave I wish him luck on surviving his first Chicago winter.

Then we head over to the Flat Iron Bar, which is covered in amazing murals. The murals are all done by artists from the neighborhood. I explored the bar and then grabbed a whiskey mule to watch da Bears go from winning the game towards their decent into loss.

Speaking of murals, Chicago has a ton of great street art. I didn’t get much time to explore the art, which is another reason I have to come back. But here are a few of my favorites I found in Wicker Park, just walking a few blocks.

Finally, I decide there is so much to see and do in Chicago that there is no way I’m going to be able to cover it on this journey. Plus, the stress of driving through the city is getting a bit overwhelming and I prefer to tour by walking and public transportation. So we decide this is our final day in Chicago, and we’ll head towards Indiana and continue on the road trip. I did enjoy Chicago and can’t wait to get back to explore more, but it will be much easier to do if I don’t have my dad in tow. 🙂

US Road Trip

Wisconsin – Beer and Cheese time

Crellim September 26, 2014

Corn fields still stretched out across the landscape in Wisconsin, but the hills are forested and not as flat. The colors are slowly starting to change as we cross Wisconsin. Many trees are still very green, but then there would be bursts of intense red and rich orange. The corn fields would but right up against the forest without much transition in the landscape. Red barns and old gray silos would dot the country side. To get the best definition of pastoral – driving through Wisconsin is it.

The sun was already setting before we made it to Madison. One of the best benefits of driving through prairie land is the sunsets. There are no mountains to disrupt the horizon. This sunset turned the clouds pink to contrast against the rich blue sky.

We pull into Madison to early to already camp, so taking Teddy’s recommendation we head over to Le Tigre Lounge. Teddy’s a friend from my favorite cafe in San Francisco, Contraband, and he was also raised in Wisconsin. His recommendation of Le Tigre Lounge is perfect!

Le Tigre is located in an older strip mall located next door to a Mexican market. A 50’s style bar with padded edges greats us as we walk in. The bar is dark and not very crowded. However, the decorations consist entirely of tigers. Some are stuffed animals and others are taxidermy. An old jukebox has a selection of 200 classics from which to choose. I had my favorite, a whiskey mule and a manhattan. The drinks were strong and very cheap. It is the perfect dive bar!

Then we head over to Walmart again to camp another night. This night was not as peaceful as the Walmart in Duluth because we lucked out to be there on the night they were painting the lines in the parking lot. I was able to sleep through without issue, but my dad had to keep watching trying to figure out what they were doing.

In the morning, we cleaned up and headed out to the House on the Rock. I had first heard of this house from Maria, who said I needed to check out all the locations from the novel American Gods by Neil Gieman. I’ve not read the book, but it was one of Maria’s favorites. And she told me a bit about the plot, and it the book is definitely on my reading list. However, I didn’t want to miss out on the locals just because I hadn’t read the book. So we asked some of the locals at Le Tigre if we should go and they said the House on the Rock is a must see.

I really had no idea what I was getting into by going to the House on the Rock. The building started in the 1960s by Alex Jordan who was a massive collector and I think a bit eccentric. Alex originally built the house himself by dragging limestone and cement up the 75 foot rock. The original gate house and main house have really low ceilings, with passageways and rooms lined with with couches. The decor is Asian-inspired, but crossed with 60s shag carpet on the floors and ceilings.

Exploring the House on the Rock is not stroll, it is a 3 hour odyssey into a very strange world. The stained glass and replica tiffany glass throughout the main house are beautiful, but the rooms are really dark and smell musty old. The newest completion to the main house is the infinity room, which is a point that extends off the house out over the trees. The room was completed in the 80s shortly after Jordan’s death. Walking to the end of the room is dizzying as the room sways slightly in the wind. Many of the others visiting, weren’t able to make it out to the end and look down over the valley.

The ceilings through the house were no more than 6 feet high, which is crazy considering Alex Jordan was 6’4”. He preferred the guest enjoying his home, where he never actually lived, to be sitting rather than standing.

After exploring the main house, we head into the rooms Alex built to store his collections. It is definitely at this moment, you jump down the rabbit hole in search of the mad hatter! He was obsessed with his collections – old dolls, vintage music machines, the royal jewels, model ships, guns, armor, old games, circus figurines and villages…

But it is not like walking through a museum to view the collections. I’m not sure if I walked into a nightmare or a fantasy exploring the rooms, but what ever it was I was completely in awe and absolutely overwhelmed.

The model ships wrapped the walls of a massive room filled with a sperm whale battling a giant octopus. Each of the mechanical music machines are huge and take up entire rooms. They are air and cam driven wonders. A giant rube goldberg machine in the shape of a steam engine train fills up another room. Then you enter a room with the world’s largest indoor carousal spinning in front of you. The carousal music and red lights turn the room into a dream and I wonder what pill the rabbit slipped me as walked in.

Then we walk into the Organ Room, which has the worlds largest chandelier. Multiple music machines, a drum tower that stretches into the sky, and orchestra made up of automated lifelike dolls.

The madness of the house just kept going on and on. I’ve definitely not described everything in detail, and my head is spinning just from thinking about it! The House on the Rock is an absolute must see for anyone Wisconsin or the mid-west for that matter. It is absurd, surreal, insane, eccentric, amazing, scary, and beautiful.

After leaving the House on the Rock, my brain was completely fried. I had horrible headache, and really was not up for any more site seeing. But just down the road was Frank Lloyd Write’s Visitor Center for his home ranch Tailisin. Driving down through road, I could tell immediately that all the buildings were Write’s. We stopped for a few minutes in the visitor center, but did not stay for a tour.

We headed back to Madison and go downtown to check out the Capitol and get some local Wisconsin cuisine. Thanks for the recommendation of Emily, we had the beer-battered cheese curds at the Old Fashioned. I really enjoyed the cheese curds, but I’m totally afraid I’ll have a heart attack if I ever eat them again. Then multiple people recommend going to the Great Dane, which I enjoyed the beer. However, going on a Friday night was a bad idea. It was super loud and crowded, and the crowded seemed like they would be going to a frat party after dinner and beer.

Madison’s Capitol is a beautiful building with impressive mosaic tiles. It was huge and stately, but Wisconsin is a state running a strong political divide. Dad managed to get in political conversation that I had to walk away from. I walked around and then stood in the middle of the rotunda, the most visible spot in the entire capitol. 20 minutes later, the capitol closed and Dad was nowhere to be found. Getting kicked out of the building, I find my dad outside taking photos for a wedding party. I learned that he is now the dorky old man we crashed a wedding and got a picture with a bride. I wonder if that will just be deleted or become a story for the couple!

I still haven’t recovered from the House on the Rock and I’m grumpy with dad for disappearing, so it’s time for a drink. Downtown really wasn’t my scene, so we head back to Le Tigre because that place is just that good! Finally, we close out the night at Walmart again before we head to Milwaukee in the morning. Ted has sent me lots of good tips for Milwaukee so we need the entire day to explore.

Milwaukee had a lot more urban feel to it than Madison with more industrial areas and warehouse buildings. Our first stop is to tour the Miller Brewery. Since I have the same namesake I felt it was a must stop for the journey. Yet, I was worried that by just mentioning Miller and Miller Time, it would just get everyone calling me by my last name again. So standing in the gift shop, I’m sent right back to high school, when I’d walk into the classroom and everyone would go, “What time is it? It’s Miller time.” I probably should have embraced that back then, but it was embarrassing. So I’m going to call visiting the Miller Brewery my reclaiming of “It’s Miller Time!” Because, hell yes, it is 🙂

Well, the tour was marketing at it’s finest. We watch a few very polished videos, saw the packaging and distribution rooms. We walked up 50 stairs to see the fermentation tanks. All of this, just to get some free samples of beer at the end. It was definitely interesting to see the automation process, where they can bottle 2,000 cans of beer a minute. But at the end of the tour, I had no motivation to wait in line to try the beer. We still had so much more to see.

So we headed into the Bay View area of Milwaukee, which is an area under gentrification. So the old buildings are used for some really cool shops. It was about to start raining so we headed into brunch at Honeypie cafe and it was fantastic! We had the Pork Fries with and egg, and it was so tasty. All the ingredients were local and the food was super high quality. I would definitely rate this cafe as a must visit for any visit to Milwaukee.

Then we headed over to more of the downtown area of Milwaukee to see the Milwaukee Art Museum, which is an architectural wonder. Plus, with the storm clouds rolling in, the Museum was easy to photograph. However, because it was winding and about to storm, they wings of the building were not extended. So the view of the Museum could look very different on a sunny day. This was also our first view of Lake Michigan, since the Museum sits on a small harbor to the Lake.

So we walking around the park by the Museum and finally the clouds decided to dump on us for about 15 mins. We hid under the Veterans Monument next door to the museum until the rain stopped. Then the clouds broke up and it became a beautifully sunny afternoon.

There is so much to see and do on this trip, I have to take time to find a cafe with wifi so I can work on my blog. So I wanted to get caught up a bit more on my blog, so we went over to Stone Creek Cafe, which was warm and rich cafe. The wifi worked great and we sat there for a few hours so I could get caught up.

To close out our evening in Milwaukee, we went over to Sobelman’s which is rated as the best burgers and best bloodies in Milwaukee. The burger was fantastic, but I skipped the bloody and went for a local beer from New Glarus. Ted had recommend trying a beer from this brewery and it was fantastic.

After dinner, we hit the road to the KOA is northwest Chicago Land Suburbia, where we’d rest for the night.

US Road Trip

Minnesota

Crellim September 24, 2014

Driving across I90 through both South Dakota and Minnesota looks about the same. It is just rolling prairie land with large corn fields in the distance. As we drove across southern Minnesota, I kept wondering where are the lakes were. I figured with over 10,000 lakes that they should be spread out everywhere, but the farmland just stretched out in front of us. But with I90 running only 15 miles above the Iowa border, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

We’d talked to a few Minnesotans before we made it into the state that recommended we skip the Twin Cities and head up north to Duluth. My dad is not a city person, so we took the recommendation. Fortunately, we still had to drive through Minneapolis to go north, and we were passing through at rush hour, which there is no better time to stop and eat dinner. While in Ogden, I got a recommendation from Kase Johnston and his brother that I had to eat either of the bars where the Juicy Lucy was served. I’m so glad I listened.

The Juicy Lucy can be found at Matt’s Bar in Minneapolis or Club 58 in St. Paul. This burger is not the massive 1/2 lbs burgers found at a lot of restaurants today. It still had the manageable size like a good old-school restaurant, but the fries were out of control. The server comes up to take our order, and we go with two Juicy Lucy burgers and a 1/2 order of fries. She asks if we want the Lucy with onions, and of course the answer is, Yes!

As we wait for the Juicy Lucy to make their way to our table, Dad starts to check out the art with pictures of notable visitors. The large picture behind us is the most interesting. There is our server hugging President Obama with the rest of the staff circled around for group photo. The President is grinning like he’s just eaten the best damn burger of his life! We ask our server what it was like to meet the President, all she can say is “I still can’t believe that happened in my lifetime!”

The burgers arrive wrapped in papers to contain their bubbling goodness. The burgers were still super hot, so the cheese stuffed in the middle just oozed out. This damn burger was a greasy glorious mess. I thought I had an addiction to the burgers and Telegraph Beergarden in Oakland, but If I lived in the Twin Cities it would be serious trouble!

After experiencing the Juicy Lucy, my dad said we had to head to the Mall of America just to say we saw it. Guess what, it looks just like a huge mall with massive parking structures surrounding it. I can understand why a mall like this exists in Minnesota. With the cold ass winters and humid hot summers, where else are you going to escape! Neither dad or I are mall people or shoppers, so we just circled the mall and headed north.

We pulled into Duluth around 9 p.m. and started to look for cheap campground. We drove out into the middle of nowhere and they wanted us to pay $20 camp in a field with not amenities. Dad and I agreed this was a ripoff and decided to take advantage of Walmart’s policy to let people camp in their parking lots. We pulled up behind a semi and a 5th wheel already set up in the parking lot. Camping in a Walmart parking lot is a really strange experience. The parking lot lights stay on, but it was really quite. Definitely very different from all the other camping I’ve ever done before. However, in more urban areas we’d already planned to use Walmart and Church parking lots as we travelled.

Duluth is a gorgeous town that sits on Lake Superior. The wind was blowing straight of the lake, which made for a very cold day. So the first stop to get warm and wake up was the Duluth Coffee Company. They roast in house and were currently roasting, so the cafe smelled so toasty! A local architecture firm was paying for everyone’s coffee for the morning, which was a super nice treat. This cafe felt like they new coffee, so rather than going with the safety of a drip coffee I got my beloved cappuccino. This was the first cafe so far on this trip that I had latte art in my drink, and it was a very well made drink. They spun vinyl to complete the warm and comfortable atmosphere. So I hopped on the wifi and got caught up on publishing a few blogs that were sitting on my laptop.

After getting warmed out, we headed out into the cold to walk along the lakefront to check out the old 1909 lighthouse that used to guide ships into the Duluth canal. This is a very peaceful walk, and there were still a lot of people out enjoying the path in the middle of cold weekday. The lighthouse is beautiful but no longer in operation, since there is now a newer model on the other side of the canal.

At the mouth of the canal entering into the Port, the Army Corp of Engineers has build a marvel of a bridge. The Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge, can rise to let huge lake tankers enter into port and then lower down to allow cars to drive into Superior. With all the hydraulics and and metal supports, the bridge is stunning. We walked across the bridge to be able to see all the angles.

Then we headed back into the lake area of town, which has taken old industrial warehouses and turned them into lovely businesses for locals and tourists. We walked into a Gin Distillery and an Olive Oil store, but it was still early so didn’t try any. But the old warehouses were incredible.

Finally, we were both cold and hungry, so we went to Fitger’s Brewery for lunch. Fitger’s is a super old brewery that has been making beer for over 100 years. They’ve expanded the building a bit to include shops and a hotel. Even though Fitger’s is definitely a tourist spot, the food and drink is fantastic. We had fish tacos and vegetarian chili, and there was not a crumb left on the plate. As for the beer, I had the English Brown Ale on nitrous. It was creamy, smooth, with great flavor!

After, spending most of the day exploring Duluth, I really loved the town and would want to come back to get to see the city in more details. The old buildings around the lake are super charming, and town is very inviting. I wasn’t expecting a mid-west town so far north, to be so lovely!

After our lunch, we headed south into Wisconsin hoping it would be a bit warmer when we arrived in Madison.

US Road Trip

South Dakota

Crellim September 24, 2014

We’ve been out on the journey for over a week and have definitely explored a lot of the West. However, we have one more stop be for we head out into the Great Plains, the Black Hill Mountains of South Dakota. We take I90 straight into South Dakota and exit in Sturgis. The motorcycles are long gone, so all that is left are empty beer halls that are definitely geared towards men who want to see scantily-clad women. Not my scene. However, Sturgis does have a great coffee roaster entering town. They had a few medium-bodied and dark-roast blends to choose from.

Then it was off to Deadwood, where William Hickok was killed and Calamity Jane liked to hang out. The town has gone back to its roots and it all about a gambling. Neither my dad or I like to gamble, so we just walked up and down the blocks of the old town looking at the old buildings. I’m sure it will upset my mom that we did not put even a $20.00 into a machine. We grabbed an late lunch at the Deadwood Social Club. The food was just alright, but my Dad told a story from his past that was very fitting for our location.

As we are eating, my dad states, “I shot my Spackman [an old boss] with a muzzleloader. I just walked in with my muzzleloader loaded with only a blackpowder wad and no bullet, and shot it right at his heart. He just sat there feeling his chest to see if he had a hole in his heart.”

I’ve heard a lot of my dad’s stories, but this was a new one for me. I just sat there sort of stunned and asked, “Really? Glad you kept your job. That would definitely fall under workplace harassment today.” He laughed and said he doesn’t even remember if he told my mom. I guess it was a different world 40 years ago. But this story was too good for me to keep for myself and I had to text it to my brother. I didn’t get much comment from him. But for all the shit my dad gave my brother for his behavior, Mike never had anything on Dad.

After digesting that story, we headed further into the Black Hills. I was getting late in the day. We had been trying to get to the Wind Caves, but they had already closed for the day. Instead, we headed over to Mount Rushmore to see the lighting ceremony. I have mixed feeling about Mount Rushmore. I’m completely in awe of the craftsmanship and effort it took to create. It is definitely a magnificent piece of art. But I’m also deeply bothered by the destruction of the mountain face it took to make it. Also, being at national memorials and other patriot sites, stirs my political turmoil about my feelings for the United States. I’m so grateful I’m from this country, but I’m not at all a nationalist. I have traveled the world to see the greatness of many other places to believe that it is not possible to set up countries on a rating system. And I have a very hard time visiting patriotic places without having the sins of our nation cross my mind, especially after driving through the Blackfeet and Crow Reservations. (I just learned more about Mount Rushmore and the rock it is carved into is one of the most holy sites for the Plains Indians of the area. I am now even more heartbroken by the memorial.)

However, Mount Rushmore is still a very beautiful monument and the lighting ceremony is the best time to visit. Well, the lighting of the monument is my favorite. The ceremony is a bit drawn out and not very exciting. But it was cool to walk through the museum and learn the history. Plus, there was an awesome Park Ranger, Daniel, who gave me a lot of recommendations on what to see and history of the area.

It was getting late, so we headed down to camp at Wind Cave National Park so we could tour the caves in the morning before continuing across South Dakota. When we got the the campground, the moon was up but had already changed to a waning crescent moon, so it wasn’t as bright as the other nights. We were on the prairies below the Black Hill Mountains, so I could see starts from horizon to horizon. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the stars until I saw them that night. I had to just stare up for a good long time. We could see cloudiness of the Milky Way, which I had only seen in photos before. Those stars will haunt my dreams for a long time. Later, as we were sleeping, I heard a very weird noise. It sounded like a higher pitched call across the prairie. I’m not sure if it was Elk bugging or Wolves howling, but it was a super cool sound.

The next morning, we started out early to get on the first tour of the Wind Cave. Our guide was Ranger Tyler and our group included a class of 34 8th graders from Wisconsin. They were a very well behaved group of kids and asked a lot of great questions on the tour. I would have loved to been able to go to a national park for a field trip when I was in school.

The Wind Cave is the most complex cave in the world and the 6th longest cave with over 125 miles of cave explored. However, the entire cave is contained in only 1 square mile. The cave only has on natural opening that would be large enough for a human to enter through and 7 other holes about the size of a fist. These holes are still large enough to allow the air to be the same make up of nitrogen and oxygen as above.

This Cave is not like normal caves with stalagmites and stalactites, since it was formed by different processes. It is formed of limestone like other caves but formed into decorations called boxwork, lace, and popcorn. 90% of the worlds boxwork formations are found in Wind Cave. We traveled down 300 stairs and 220 feet under the ground and explored several rooms of the Cave. However, there are miles and miles of cave still needing to be explored. I know it might be crazy to think that several hundred feet under ground with enough rock to make up a skyscraper standing above me, that I loved being in the cave. I would absolutely love the chance to explore the cave more and go surveying. I think I might have found a new love!

When we came to the Black Hills 25 years ago, we drove right past the Wind Cave National Park. I think my dad now regrets that decision, especially since I told him he justified why he doesn’t get to pick the stops on this road trip.

After the Wind Caves, we head back through the Black Hills to get up to I90 so we can head east towards Walls, South Dakota and Badlands National Park. Walls has turned into an even larger and crazier tourist trap compared to 25 years ago. Free water is still available and plenty of cheap junk is ready to buy. The place was big enough that I lost my dad and could not find him for an hour after circling around and around. Other people were really amazed by Wall Drug, but I found it overwhelming after seeing all the incredible nature we had been seeing.

To get back to nature, we then headed to the Badlands National Park. The formations in the badlands look like the earth has been ripped right out of the prairies. For most of the drive through the park, the road travels across the top of the Badland formations, but a few points do drop down to the bottom. Many of formations had layers of pink running across them. We entered the park as the sun was setting, so most of the formations were backlit. I can only imagine what it would be like to drive through the park at sunrise. This was another park that my Dad did not drive us through 25 years ago, so reason number 2 for him not getting to pick stops along the journey.

As we headed east from Badlands National Park, we definitely headed into the Great Plains of the US. Nothing but fields and grassland for miles. We made it to Mitchell, South Dakota to rest for the night. Mitchell is the home to the Corn Palace, which was not at all what I expected. The corn murals on the outside were being updated and the building was under construction. But the finished murals were very cool and to see the plans for how they lay out the murals was interesting. Yet, I did not expect it to be a gymnasium when I stepped inside.

The other crazy thing about the Corn Palace is that many of the locals refer to it as the big bird feeder, but we did not see a single bird around. We asked if they ever had bird problems, and the answer was not at all. I wonder if this has to do with the GMO corn they use to create 16 different colors of corn for the murals. The birds have decided it’s not so tasty.

After stopping for coffee and making friends with a Bull, we finished our drive through South Dakota and headed into Minnesota.

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