Odd things seen en route

There are bound to be curiosities anywhere one travels, and when it's a 3200 mile route, it is possible to find lots of them. Here are some of the unanswerables seen between Florida and Washington.

A water tower out in the middle of nowhere - not apparently even in use. Did it pump water up? It doesn't even look large enough to hold very much gallonage. Was it for the city? Where is the city/town now?

I like the idea of an RV/camping location that is open to various types of cultures... I would presume the tenants of the tents are off on their horses.

Then we saw, just before the Idaho border between Montana, a lot of rocks in these curious formations. Most unusual in this sharp upthrusting and particularly

since there were lots more nearby that were round. It was a remind

er of our trip to Colorado where we saw sandstone that had been carved away by wind and water in The Garden of the Gods. But these structures look as if they were the results of glacial action. Perhaps a geologist will read this and comment.

One disturbing trend nationwide is the lack of anyone checking the spelling when advertising something, especially on large signs. We saw many examples but took a picture of this one.

Monster Burger in St. Regis, MT

If you find yourself on I-90 heading either east or west and you are in the western part of Montana, you will be doing yourself a disservice to drive past the infinitesimally small town of St. Regis where a miracle in food-stuffing is occurring.

It was getting dark, we were hungry and opted for what we thought would be a quick fix to that problem. We had no idea we were about to be presented with the largest, finest, gut-filling, "Monster-burger" either side of the Yellowstone River or Clark Fork. When the "cook" who I thought I heard being called "Fuzzy," came to the drive-up window, he asked Jey-hu if he was intending to drive while consuming this gastranomic disaster. "If so," he cautioned, "you will have to sign a disclaimer that we are not responsible for anything that happens to you."

Jey-hu laughed and said he wouldn't hold them liable - just bring it on. I was more circumspect and chose a simple burger (delicious in its simplicity). The entire crew came

to the window to pose for us and when they handed us the bag and we drove away, we had no idea what we were in for... Jey-hu had his hands - and mouth - full trying to drive and wrap his teeth around a four-inch thick meal!

It was clearly stuffed to overflowing with two meat patties, fried onions, mushrooms, lettuce, tomatoes and Fuzzy's 'secret sauce,' and the bun only added to the challenge. "I feel like a small snake trying to eat a large rabbit," Jey-hu mumbled between bites. I thought it was fortunate there were so few people on the road as we weaved around snaky turns toward Idaho at 40 mph.

No wonder there was a caution from Fuzzy!

(We've posted a picture of the signs on the eatery... Look for the neon sign "Frosty" - turn right at the stop sign and make the next left... you'll be ready to park or drive through! I'd recommend parking if you're ordering his Monster Burger, though.)

3200 miles, four days, no disasters!

On Saturday, Sept. 5, we woke up in Casper, Wyoming to sunny skies and the promise of warm weather. Wyoming has vast prairies, rugged mountains, a lot of interesting history and helpful people. The city started out as a garrison and after lots of conflicts with the Indians, one of which resulted in the death of a soldier named "Casper." Later a fort was built in his honor and so it evolved to today's busy city. (Click on the link for lots more info!)

Here is a short video of the road heading north from Casper - less than a minute of bouncy road travel - considerably less than what we endured!

One big disaster that occurred in Wyoming did not, fortunately, happen to us. But General George Custer made his last stand at the Little Bighorn River between current-day cities Sheridan and Billings. We stopped about lunch time and had a delightful and educational time travel in a small museum nearby the historical site. We were allowed to take a photograph of one of the many paintings depicting this sad event - sad because it was avoidable, sad because it was a tipping point in the demise of Native American culture at the hands of the U.S. Government and sad because it has taken a long time for many to awaken to the deceptions perpetrated by 'business interests' to be revealed. It was because the railroads wanted the land that the Indians lost it. (You can also read all the details of this battle by clicking on the link.)

Then we headed on to Billings, over the Yellowstone River, which was one of the great rivers that Lewis and Clark explored and documented. This shot, taken as we rushed by, is of a small park along the river in Billings. We were beginning to see signs of fall, with the cottonwoods turning yellow and the remnants of harvesting of the various crops.

Overall the traffic was very light for a holiday weekend. Probably a good thing for us as the trailer added so much weight we could not get over Bozeman Pass (5730 feet) faster than 35 mph.

We drove on through Livingston, MT to Butte and Missoula. Jey-hu's mother and step-father used to live in this area about 30 years ago and he regaled me with stories of his drives up to visit them with his children in tow. The weather began to become somewhat less sunny and Jey-hu got this great shot of the mountains and the rain falling over them.

As we began our entry into Idaho, we realized we had covered another four states, many miles and rather than stop for the night, we could probably make it home and wake up in our own bed instead of having yet another day to drive. So that's what we did. But we had a brief little adventure in St. Regis, MT... read the next entry.

1000 miles in one day!

After 1200 miles already, we still had at least 2000 more ahead of us. So we committed to the big push. It was almost 18 hours of driving through Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming, we reached Casper, WY, about 10:30 p.m. Tired, dark, cool, disoriented we stumbled into a cushy bed to sleep hard and fast so we could get up and do it again on Saturday. (The photo above was taken in western Kansas.)

The highlights are shown below: miles and miles of corn fields, sunflowers, soybeans and other unidentified crops being produced for consumers around the world. One town name in Kansas that captured our attention was "Smileyburg!"

And there really was a sign in Sedgwick County, KS, that announced we were traveling on the "Yellow Brick Road." (The Wizard of Oz, featuring a young Kansas girl caught up in a tornado, was written by L. Frank Baum who lived in this county.)

Finally after the rainy drive through Missouri, the long stretch of Kansas, there was Colorado and the Front Range (of the Rockies) with the sun about to set. We didn't stop and put the cameras away after dark.

Leaving Joplin, Missouri on Friday

In order to make good progress across this vast country of America, it was required that we make at least 1000 miles on Friday. We stayed overnight in Joplin, MO, had a quick dinner and got some good information on how to head west without going all the way up to Kansas City.

The city is named for Rev. Harris Joplin who was the founder of the first Methodist Congregation and is listed as established in 1873. Some people think it was named after Scott Joplin, the ragtime composer, who also lived in Missouri, but in Sedalia.

Anyhow, Friday morning started very wet... and we ended up driving off the Interstate to make some westerly progress. Here are a few shots, after the one above, of Missouri.

Visit to Centerton, Arkansas

As we drove over the Missouri River early on Thursday morning, the fog had lifted and we were able to see all of Memphis' skyline and the various tugboats on the river. We had a long drive ahead of us to reach the Ozarks and Centerton, the birthplace of Jey-hu's father.

The drive up and over the Boston Mountains and into the Fayetteville area was quite lovely. As we passed the University of Arkansas, I thought about a number of Multiple Myeloma bloggers I have followed who have had their treatments here. This medical center's focus is largely due to Sam Walton, another MM'er, who started his business in Bentonville, just 5 or 10 minutes north of Fayetteville.

This part of Arkansas is referred to as the Ozark region and encompasses the upper northwest corner of the state and most of the upper two-thirds eastward from the western-most boundary. It is also a state which appears to be growing and as the roads are improved, it will probably change quite a bit from its current rural atmosphere into a more cosmopolitan state.

So, it was not too surprising to find the little town of Centerton very much as it once was, at least on the old main street. Jey-hu took a number of pictures of the buildings, one of which can be seen below:

If you look closely you can see the signs of the early construction typical of the late 1800's, when the town was settled.

We will post more pictures tomorrow when we have better internet access and have a little more time. Heading west to Kansas and - deja vue - Colorado!