Sometimes the snow comes down in June…
But given the weather conditions today, I think it will still be here in June!
Anyway, right to the start of my very busy week. The weekend saw a flight to Vancouver and the usual airport melodramas I tend to create. I very nearly didn’t get on the first flight, as United- as ever- had overbooked it and needed volunteers to fly at 4.00pm. This would have meant missing my connection in Chicago- but given that they were offering first class tickets on the later flight, meal vouchers in the meantime, and two first class domestic flights to be taken at a later date I was very tempted. However, after the staff had played about with seating assignments I was upgraded and enjoyed a very comfortable on time flight.
Vancouver was amazing and Olympic fever and Team Canada is everywhere. So much so that even I was suckered in and spent a great afternoon wandering around the attractions. I have seen the Olympic flame, spied on the skiing events at Cypress Mountain through the window and generally been impressed at how busy it is and how well everything is running. I am also totally shocked at how much has changed in Vancouver in the six weeks I have been away! New signs have appeared, buildings have been repainted, streets have been altered and everything has a shiny new feeling! Including the people who are all walking around in Olympic Volunteer outfits! I decided not to join the 2 hour long queue to get into the store! I have to say, I am really glad I got to go back and enjoy the feeling of being a part of it all. I’m now looking forward to London 2012 to see how they do it all!
I did manage to get a bit of skiing in while I was up there, Grouse was a little disappointing and icy rather than snowy. But again they were fully into the Olympic spirit, with NBC broadcasting from the lodge 24 hours a day during the games. It was nice to get a chance to ski up there again; I had started to miss my weekly trips out.
Tuesday saw the start of the mammoth road trip. I have to say it was incredibly successful. 820 miles, three states and a car imported! The car was a lot easier than I had imagined it would be. I remember all too clearly the hassle of exporting the car and trying to get it all registered in Canada, and I had heard horror stories about how much harder it was to bring a previously US registered car back again… I was wrong. It was easy. A few pieces of paper later- the biggest problem being a printer that was jammed, and it all good to go… next stop Bozeman Montana!
The driving was a lot harder than I remember it being on the way up, and I do put a lot of that down to the weather. Snow, ice, curvy roads and sharp mountain passes do not make for easy driving and as it got darker it got harder. I was very glad to get through Washington, much as I love Seattle I’m glad I didn’t stop, into Idaho and beyond. While the scenery in Idaho can be fairly amazing I’m not sure exactly how one is supposed to react to a state whose biggest claim to fame is that it produces potatoes! License plate tag lines for the different states keep me hugely entertained on journeys such as these, and honestly, the potato state doesn’t really rank that high!
The driving today was a bit hit and miss- not literally! It had the mountain passes, the snow, the ice, the wind and the mud! Having taken a detour off the I-90, it did save about an hour- I found myself on a single carriageway road that took a lot of farm traffic. I was on this road for about 240 miles, and when I finally arrived at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota I took one look at my car and realized that despite the fact the numbers on my license plate are raised by ¼ inch and it is held in a frame it was impossible to tell if I had one or not! I have never seen so much dirt. Even 15 minutes in a car wash didn’t get it clean!
The surprising historical site today was on the way from Montana to Wyoming- and the Battle of Little Bighorn suddenly started to appear on the signs. I should really have know how close this was, and a four minute detour to the entrance of the national park was in order…
Mount Rushmore would be great in the summer. It is kind of how I imagine 1960s/ 1970s America to have been. All the weird little side attractions that are a little kooky. The Mystery Cosmos attraction for example. I still have no idea what it was- it was closed- but then I don't really think the owner has any idea either until he opens for the season, I'm not even sure you are meant to know what it was when you leave, but you get the general idea.Admittedly I wasn’t expecting Keystone, SD to be the most jumping place in mid February, but it was actually quite sad to be driving in and to see everywhere, and I mean everywhere- hotels, motels, the gas station, the gift store, cafes etc closed for the season. Mount Rushmore does have a lot of supplementary attractions and geological features to visit- if they are open, and I would imagine in the summer it would be fantastic for a few days exploring and trekking. I can always come back I guess- I did have to buy a year long season pass in order to get to the National Park and see the heads in the Mountain. (Yes, the tourist center was closed, yes, the walking tour was closed, yes, even the guided headset kiosk was closed!) I would usually go in for a long elaborate history lesson here, but I’m aware of all the details I’m trying to pack in so I’ll keep it short and say: Mount Rushmore is a granite sculpture by Gutzon Borglum, located within the United States Presidential Memorial that represents the first 150 years of the history of the United States of America with 60-foot sculptures of the heads of former United States presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. If you want to see anything else http://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm
I am now in Sioux Falls, SD which is not far from DeSmet, home of Laura Ingells Wilder… South Dakota has a lot more to offer than I originally thought. Again, a case of if only I had more time this would make a great meandering road trip- although I don’t think I would have stopped at the Fishing Museum in Livingstone!
1700 miles down and let’s see where I end up tomorrow…
But given the weather conditions today, I think it will still be here in June!
Anyway, right to the start of my very busy week. The weekend saw a flight to Vancouver and the usual airport melodramas I tend to create. I very nearly didn’t get on the first flight, as United- as ever- had overbooked it and needed volunteers to fly at 4.00pm. This would have meant missing my connection in Chicago- but given that they were offering first class tickets on the later flight, meal vouchers in the meantime, and two first class domestic flights to be taken at a later date I was very tempted. However, after the staff had played about with seating assignments I was upgraded and enjoyed a very comfortable on time flight.
Vancouver was amazing and Olympic fever and Team Canada is everywhere. So much so that even I was suckered in and spent a great afternoon wandering around the attractions. I have seen the Olympic flame, spied on the skiing events at Cypress Mountain through the window and generally been impressed at how busy it is and how well everything is running. I am also totally shocked at how much has changed in Vancouver in the six weeks I have been away! New signs have appeared, buildings have been repainted, streets have been altered and everything has a shiny new feeling! Including the people who are all walking around in Olympic Volunteer outfits! I decided not to join the 2 hour long queue to get into the store! I have to say, I am really glad I got to go back and enjoy the feeling of being a part of it all. I’m now looking forward to London 2012 to see how they do it all!
I did manage to get a bit of skiing in while I was up there, Grouse was a little disappointing and icy rather than snowy. But again they were fully into the Olympic spirit, with NBC broadcasting from the lodge 24 hours a day during the games. It was nice to get a chance to ski up there again; I had started to miss my weekly trips out.
Tuesday saw the start of the mammoth road trip. I have to say it was incredibly successful. 820 miles, three states and a car imported! The car was a lot easier than I had imagined it would be. I remember all too clearly the hassle of exporting the car and trying to get it all registered in Canada, and I had heard horror stories about how much harder it was to bring a previously US registered car back again… I was wrong. It was easy. A few pieces of paper later- the biggest problem being a printer that was jammed, and it all good to go… next stop Bozeman Montana!
The driving was a lot harder than I remember it being on the way up, and I do put a lot of that down to the weather. Snow, ice, curvy roads and sharp mountain passes do not make for easy driving and as it got darker it got harder. I was very glad to get through Washington, much as I love Seattle I’m glad I didn’t stop, into Idaho and beyond. While the scenery in Idaho can be fairly amazing I’m not sure exactly how one is supposed to react to a state whose biggest claim to fame is that it produces potatoes! License plate tag lines for the different states keep me hugely entertained on journeys such as these, and honestly, the potato state doesn’t really rank that high!
The driving today was a bit hit and miss- not literally! It had the mountain passes, the snow, the ice, the wind and the mud! Having taken a detour off the I-90, it did save about an hour- I found myself on a single carriageway road that took a lot of farm traffic. I was on this road for about 240 miles, and when I finally arrived at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota I took one look at my car and realized that despite the fact the numbers on my license plate are raised by ¼ inch and it is held in a frame it was impossible to tell if I had one or not! I have never seen so much dirt. Even 15 minutes in a car wash didn’t get it clean!
The surprising historical site today was on the way from Montana to Wyoming- and the Battle of Little Bighorn suddenly started to appear on the signs. I should really have know how close this was, and a four minute detour to the entrance of the national park was in order…
Mount Rushmore would be great in the summer. It is kind of how I imagine 1960s/ 1970s America to have been. All the weird little side attractions that are a little kooky. The Mystery Cosmos attraction for example. I still have no idea what it was- it was closed- but then I don't really think the owner has any idea either until he opens for the season, I'm not even sure you are meant to know what it was when you leave, but you get the general idea.Admittedly I wasn’t expecting Keystone, SD to be the most jumping place in mid February, but it was actually quite sad to be driving in and to see everywhere, and I mean everywhere- hotels, motels, the gas station, the gift store, cafes etc closed for the season. Mount Rushmore does have a lot of supplementary attractions and geological features to visit- if they are open, and I would imagine in the summer it would be fantastic for a few days exploring and trekking. I can always come back I guess- I did have to buy a year long season pass in order to get to the National Park and see the heads in the Mountain. (Yes, the tourist center was closed, yes, the walking tour was closed, yes, even the guided headset kiosk was closed!) I would usually go in for a long elaborate history lesson here, but I’m aware of all the details I’m trying to pack in so I’ll keep it short and say: Mount Rushmore is a granite sculpture by Gutzon Borglum, located within the United States Presidential Memorial that represents the first 150 years of the history of the United States of America with 60-foot sculptures of the heads of former United States presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. If you want to see anything else http://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm
I am now in Sioux Falls, SD which is not far from DeSmet, home of Laura Ingells Wilder… South Dakota has a lot more to offer than I originally thought. Again, a case of if only I had more time this would make a great meandering road trip- although I don’t think I would have stopped at the Fishing Museum in Livingstone!
1700 miles down and let’s see where I end up tomorrow…
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