We packed our stuff, piled the kids in the car and flipped a coin: heads meant North, tails meant East.
Aside from that key direction, and the general idea that we needed to be in Last Chance, Idaho by Wednesday, we had nowhere to be. Which meant we could be anywhere.
I should say right off the bat that he did all the driving. I would have driven, am a good driver, offered to drive, but he claimed to be happy behind the wheel. I had never seen the Trinity Mountains and he had never been to the coast north of it, so we were very excited. So excited that I fell asleep almost instantly in the car - well not instantly, but definitely long before Redding. Not exactly good form when you are seeking adventure with your partner, but anyone who has driven there can testify: the road to Redding is dull dull dull. I woke up just in time for the good part - the Trinity river.
No one was injured during the trip. Except for the occasional spats mostly spurred by the driver's occasional frustration with the periodic lack of attention to direction by the co-pilot (me), or the girls unwillingness to share a particular Barbie, we never really argued. I challenge you to put four people in a car for 9 days, have them sleep together in one-room hotels the whole time and have everyone return alive and unscathed. Think Big Brother in an SUV without the cameras or bikinis. And can I just digress here for a minute? Showtime keeps broadcasting "Big Brother After Dark" which I was sure would show all the sexy details edited out for television (although truth be told I haven't actually watched that show in years), but every time I flip to it to see what kind of naughty antics those kids are up to, it's just more talking talking talking. Yawn.
All in all we traveled 3500 miles - almost exactly. Here is our map for those of you following along from home:
After the Trinity mountains we tumbled into our first stop of the night: Crescent City, California. We were on the border, and could have made it into Oregon, but I had left the Oregon AAA Tour Book on the dining room table, so we decided to spend the night in California. On the way to our motel we saw elk, Big Ben and Babe. A decent motel with a hilarious Lighthouse motif, a good seafood dinner on the beach and then to bed.
The next day we continued north along the coast. The redwood forests were gorgeous and almost tropical, but by mid-afternoon it started to rain. I insisted we take a side trip to the giant Oregon Dunes, even though rain and sand definitely do not mix. Nor does it photograph very well.
At Eugene we collectively said "screw this weather" and turned East. We watched with fascination as the rain and forests and rivers (note to self: must fish here) gradually gave way to the high desert. We love the high desert. Before we had kids we spent many a summer exploring and looking for indian artifacts. Such a gorgeous landscape.
The second night we stayed in Burns, in what is perhaps the crummiest hotel ever: America's Best Inn. The rooms and beds were clean, but oh, the smell of urine in the hallways. We escaped early but not nearly quick enough.
The third day saw us in Idaho. We started off looking for the Hagerman Fossil Beds, but discovered - at the really great Visitor Center - that the actual fossil beds are all protected. Rats. In Cassandre's children's road atlas we learned about Shoshone Falls "The Niagra of the West." Happily it was not too far from the day's real destination, Craters of the Moon, so off we went.
Ok. It would have been on the way if someone hadn't gotten us really lost, so lost that we ended up on the other side of the falls, at the bottom of a private one-way road where the falls were within range but not within view. Xav, bless his heart, managed (after 90 minutes of this fool's errand) to find the right place. Thank goodness the falls were beautiful or he might have been ready to push me in.
It was getting kind of late by the time we were truly on the road to Craters of the Moon. Xav had been there 25 years ago, and he really wanted us to see it. Happily the road was deserted and no one cared if we went over 100 mph.
The upside of arriving late in the day is that we got amazing light. If you check out my flickr set you'll see what I mean, below you can see it in the shadows.
After Craters of the Moon we spent the night in Pocatello, cute but unremarkable. It was time to head out to the Lodge.
Henry's Fork Lodge is one of the best fishing lodges in the country, located in prime fly fishing territory. These guys don't nymph - it's all dry all the time (think A River Runs Through It). If they can't fish with dries, they'd rather die trying than switch to anything else. I think that attitude is rather hoity toity myself, but to tell you the truth, my fishing got 100% better in just two days with our guides. The first guide, Smitty had only been a guide for 18 years, our second guide, Dom, has been a guide for 27 years. It is Dom's fault that my hand looked like this at the end of the 2nd day - and I only caught one fish - an 18 inch cut-throat trout. But it was the biggest fish of the day and absolutely gorgeous.
We alternated our two fishing days with three days in Yellowstone park. I love this place. I even love the burnt-up parts. It's fascinating to see the new growth and the piles of trees. Mostly, however, I loved the springs and geysers. Here is one of the biggest ones, Grand Prismatic Spring. The day we saw it the winds were literally blowing 45mph and the girls were holding onto my legs, afraid they would blow away. I made them all walk around it anyway. Wind schmind. (I get this charming aspect of my personality directly from my dad. Now that I'm older, I consider it a quality. I know that not everyone will agree to this however.)
Can I just say how incredibly stupid people can be about wildlife? I saw people walking up to 2000 pound bison - they have horns for a reason, you know. They don't like it when people bother them. And the elk may look friendly, but don't go near their kids unless you want to be knocked on your ass. Now the video clip I once saw (Faces of Death?), of a guy who lured a bear into the car with his wife (yes, she's dead now) begins to make sense. People think that Yellowstone is a petting zoo. Ah, natural selection.
After Yellowstone we hightailed it through Wyoming and Idaho again, so that we could make it down to Yosemite for our last day. We spent the night of the eclipse on Mono Lake and the following day in the park. I had never been there so it was a grand discovery for me. We have a friend who is going to climb the face of El Capitain at the end of the month, so we spent a lot of time watching the climbers through binaculars - amazing and terrifying.
I have put the bulk of my photos here. I have to warn you that I am not a very experienced Flickr user - which means that the photos are in somewhat random order unless (I think) you choose to see them by date. They are also not always labeled. I know, I'm lame. If you want to see the shots of the girls, PM me with your Flickr ID and I will add you to my friends list.
Our road trip by the numbers:
Miles: 3500
Photos: 500+
Good photos: 12 (maybe less)
Number of days fishing: 2
Number of fish caught: it's not the number, it's the quality that matters
Price of gas: what does it matter, everyone pays less than Californians
Number of AAA Tour Books I brought: 4
Number of AAA Tour Books I should have brought: 5 (Hello Oregon!)
Number of maps/road atlases: 21 (not including GPS)
Days without television: 5
Days without radio: 8
Days without meaningful internet access: all of them (but I'm feeling better now)
Number of Barbies: 8
Number of lost Barbie accessories: they are only lost if you admit they existed in the first place
Would we do it again?
In a heartbeat.
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