WOW! Ryan and I had quite a crazy day today in San Francisco. We woke up, got in the car, and headed over to the Painted Houses. These are the houses that are at the beginning of the show Full House. After that we headed to Lombard street which is the crookidest street in America. Ryan drove down the street 2 times! After that we took the car back to the hotel and rode the cable cars into fishermans Wharf. There we had lunch outside on the bay and people watched for a while. After lunch we took an hour harbor cruise that took us around the Golden Gate Bridge and over to Alcatraz. We wanted to tour Alcatraz, but tickets were already sold out for the whole day.
After our boat cruise we headed to Coit tower for a nice view of the while Bay area. Next we took the street cars downtown to this mall (like the Gallery in Philadelphia). There we saw the only spiral escalator in the nation. I thought it would be more of a tight spiral, but it was just a little curvey. Either way we were somewhat dissapointed.
Next, we jumped on the BART system and headed down to the Oakland Collisum for the Oakland A's vs. Twins game. Amazingly enough we were able to get front row tickets for the game. And boy was it awesome. The A's came back from a 10 run defecit to win the game. It was the best comeback by the A's in team history. How awesome! Well tomorrow Ryan and I are headed to Yosemite. Have a good one!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Day 26 - Drive to San Fran Part 2
Hey everyone! So it took us a while but we finally made it to San Francisco. Ryan and I traveled from Crecent City, CA to San Fran. On the way we drove through Red Wood National Forrest and almost ran out of gas. We accidentally left town without filling up and barely made it to Don's Gas station in the middle of no where. Oh well. The drive town route 101 was just spectacular. Its a perfect drive for those who love great views and curvey roads. Later in the day we stopped in a town called Ukaih for lunch. We ate at this pub and the bartender had a Phillies hat on. So we chatted with him for a while about Philadelphia and the Phillies. Its been pretty cool to run into people from Phila during this trip. They are everywhere!
After lunch we drove through Sonoma County which is known for its grapes which make lots of red and white wines. This area is near Napa valley for those familiar with that that name. Ryan and I finally made it into San Francisco and stayed at a great hotel in Nob Hill. The owner was so nice and directed us to all of the great tourist sites for tomorrow. Check back to hear all about San Fran.
After lunch we drove through Sonoma County which is known for its grapes which make lots of red and white wines. This area is near Napa valley for those familiar with that that name. Ryan and I finally made it into San Francisco and stayed at a great hotel in Nob Hill. The owner was so nice and directed us to all of the great tourist sites for tomorrow. Check back to hear all about San Fran.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Day 25 - Drive to San Fran (Part 1)
We are back!! Ryan and I had a fantastic time in Alaska with our parents. We met some really awesome people, saw some amazing thing, and finally ate well on the cruise. Check out all of the Alaska photos to see wildlife, glaciers, and Sarah Palin. Honestly, the photots don't do any justice. Alaska is a must see place for those who love majestic view.
Today Ryan and I drove all the way from Seattle, WA to Crescent City, CA. We traveled through Redwood National Forrest which was well worth the detour. We also encountered someone brushing their teeth while driving. Whoa, how do you spit after your done? Tomorrow we are driving down route 101 toward San Francisco. Should be a spectacular drive. Till tomorrow.
Today Ryan and I drove all the way from Seattle, WA to Crescent City, CA. We traveled through Redwood National Forrest which was well worth the detour. We also encountered someone brushing their teeth while driving. Whoa, how do you spit after your done? Tomorrow we are driving down route 101 toward San Francisco. Should be a spectacular drive. Till tomorrow.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Headed to Alaska
Hey everyone!! Thanks for following along with this blog as Ryan and I travel cross country. Our parents have met us here out in Seattle and today we are headed on our trip to Alaska. We wont have any phone or internet for several days, so I'll catch everyone up on everything once we get back. Have a great week everyone!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Day 16 - Drive to Seattle, WA
Hey everyone. I am going to keep this blog pretty sure because it is late here in Seattle, and I am pretty tired from driving all day. Ryan and I drove all the way from Yellowstone NP, WY to Seattle, WA. We drove through Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and most of Washington state to get here. Over 750 miles in all.
Today Ryan and I finally did ate at a repeat resturant, McDonnalds. We were hoping to find one by 10:30am so we could get an egg McMuffin, but it didn't work out. We then drove through the mountains in Montana which was pretty nice. The drive seemed forever and each curve seemed like the last one. We stopped at a reststop just before we hit Idaho and had ham and cheese again for lunch. At the reststop we were bothered by 6-8 praire dogs (kinda like chipmuks) for some food. Of course Ryan gave them some bread and cheeseballs so they warmed right up to him. After lunch we headed back on our way. We saw a town in Montana called Drexel. Apparently there are no services there. I wanted to take a pictures and make a mockery of Drexel and how they have horrible service but couldnt get my camera out. The next town over from Drexel was named Henderson. I did get a picture of this, so check it out.
Ryan and I made it to Moses Lake, WA where we had Pizza Hut for dinner. It wasn't that good, but we were hungry so anything would have been good. We then got back into the car and traveled the last 200 miles into Seattle. The last 50 miles were really pretty was we traveled through the mountains. I saw some ski lifts and a few lodges and wished I could ski. I am definately going to have to come out west next winter and do some skiing!! Well off to get some laundary done, need some clean close for tomorrow. Ryan and I are picking up our parents from the Seattle/Tacoma airport and we need to look good. I think we are doing the space needle tomorrow as well. Check back in for more updates. Till then, have a good one!
Today Ryan and I finally did ate at a repeat resturant, McDonnalds. We were hoping to find one by 10:30am so we could get an egg McMuffin, but it didn't work out. We then drove through the mountains in Montana which was pretty nice. The drive seemed forever and each curve seemed like the last one. We stopped at a reststop just before we hit Idaho and had ham and cheese again for lunch. At the reststop we were bothered by 6-8 praire dogs (kinda like chipmuks) for some food. Of course Ryan gave them some bread and cheeseballs so they warmed right up to him. After lunch we headed back on our way. We saw a town in Montana called Drexel. Apparently there are no services there. I wanted to take a pictures and make a mockery of Drexel and how they have horrible service but couldnt get my camera out. The next town over from Drexel was named Henderson. I did get a picture of this, so check it out.
Ryan and I made it to Moses Lake, WA where we had Pizza Hut for dinner. It wasn't that good, but we were hungry so anything would have been good. We then got back into the car and traveled the last 200 miles into Seattle. The last 50 miles were really pretty was we traveled through the mountains. I saw some ski lifts and a few lodges and wished I could ski. I am definately going to have to come out west next winter and do some skiing!! Well off to get some laundary done, need some clean close for tomorrow. Ryan and I are picking up our parents from the Seattle/Tacoma airport and we need to look good. I think we are doing the space needle tomorrow as well. Check back in for more updates. Till then, have a good one!
Day 15 - Yellowstone (Part 2)
Hi everyone!! Today was our second day here in Yellowstone NP. Ryan and I woke up around 8:30, got all of our gear packed, ate some pop-tarts (thanks ash) and headed out to Yellowstone Lake. We arrived around 11:30 am and rented a motor boat to explore the lake. Ryan’s excitement was beyond containment because he wanted to drive a motor boat ever since we were in Chicago. So we headed out on the lake and had a great time taking in all of the beautiful sights and sounds. The lake was like a sheet of glass and we were one of the few boats out on the lake. All we could see for miles and miles were trees, snow covered mountains, and beautiful sunshine. However, the weather at Yellowstone is quite tricky, so within 45 minutes of us being out on the lake the weather changed. A storm started forming in the south so Ryan and I had to cut our boat trip short and head back into the Marina. So instead of spending 2 hours on the lake we only spent one. It sure was one fun hour on the lake! Later on we found out that the storm would have just skirted past us and we could have stayed out longer. Oh well…
After our boat journey Ryan and I made our way towards Old Faithful to rent some bikes. We stopped off alongside the road to have a picnic. Ryan and I just hung out by the lake, eating our sandwiches, and taking in the awesome view (check out the pictures). After lunch we traveled the rest of the way to Old Faithful and rented some bikes. We took this trail (about 2 miles) down to the main road and decided to do some hiking. We were told there was this awesome waterfall down this trail so we tried to find it. However, after 40 minutes of walking and 100 bug bites later we didn’t see a waterfall anywhere and decided to turn back. On our way back we passed by this HUGE Bison about 10 feet off of the bike trail. I didn’t even stop to take a photo because we just wanted to get past it as fast as possible. The Bison look harmless but they can go from 1-30 mph in the blink of an eye (or so we were told). About a half mile before we got back to Old Faithful the gear box on my bike broke and I had to walk the bike back to the station. It sorta sucked! It just seemed like everything was going half right all day long with the broken gear box and the rain storm on the lake.
After Ryan and I returned the bikes we were famished and went to the General store again for dinner. We had the same waitress Robyn (who was really nice and friendly) from the day before. We told her all about our crazy day, but said things could have been worse. She was telling us how she and her husband travel around in an RV all year and how she has worked at Yellowstone the past 3 summers and has yet to see a bear. I was very surprised by this, and told her that maybe her luck would change. After dinner, around 6pm, we headed back to our Cabin in Mammoth. On our way home we saw a serious motorcycle accident. This woman had apparently lost control of her bike and skidded off the road. There was blood all over the road and people trying to help her. Ryan and I tried to find a park ranger just down the road, but the station had already closed. The accident looked really bad and I’m not sure if the women made it. Ryan and I both agreed that if you get hurt out in Yellowstone your pretty much screwed. The closes hospital isn’t for hundreds of miles!!! After we saw the accident we came across some Bison in the road. One came right up to our car and we could have touched it!! Check out the pictures, it was WAY close!
Ryan and I finally got back to our cabin. I decided to take my first shower in 2 days in the communal shower. It honestly wasn’t too bad. Ryan just didn’t want to have any part of the shared showers and he definitely smells like Buffalo doo right now. After my shower Ryan and I sat out on our porch and watched the full moon rise. We could see so many stars in Yellowstone with very little light pollution around. I could even see the big dipper clear as day. Soon our cabin neighbors came back from their Harley ride and we chatted with them. We told them about our day and they told us how they had seen lots of Buffalo, 2 black bears and a Moose. I told them how lucky they were to see a Moose because apparently it’s pretty rare in Yellowstone. I also found out that the two brothers were Mets fans and I rubbed it in that the Phillies swept the Mets this weekend. Then the brothers from Illinois told us how they have relatives in Ocean City, NJ and how they visit them all the time. I told them how much I loved Mac and Manko and Knor Brothers. They started to rave about Mac and Mankos Pizza. I thought it was so cool that I could be chillin outside of a cabin in Yellowstone Wyoming having a conversation about pizza at the Jersey shore with complete strangers. How crazy!!! Well, off to bed, Ryan and I have a long ride to Seattle tomorrow. Goodnight everyone!
After our boat journey Ryan and I made our way towards Old Faithful to rent some bikes. We stopped off alongside the road to have a picnic. Ryan and I just hung out by the lake, eating our sandwiches, and taking in the awesome view (check out the pictures). After lunch we traveled the rest of the way to Old Faithful and rented some bikes. We took this trail (about 2 miles) down to the main road and decided to do some hiking. We were told there was this awesome waterfall down this trail so we tried to find it. However, after 40 minutes of walking and 100 bug bites later we didn’t see a waterfall anywhere and decided to turn back. On our way back we passed by this HUGE Bison about 10 feet off of the bike trail. I didn’t even stop to take a photo because we just wanted to get past it as fast as possible. The Bison look harmless but they can go from 1-30 mph in the blink of an eye (or so we were told). About a half mile before we got back to Old Faithful the gear box on my bike broke and I had to walk the bike back to the station. It sorta sucked! It just seemed like everything was going half right all day long with the broken gear box and the rain storm on the lake.
After Ryan and I returned the bikes we were famished and went to the General store again for dinner. We had the same waitress Robyn (who was really nice and friendly) from the day before. We told her all about our crazy day, but said things could have been worse. She was telling us how she and her husband travel around in an RV all year and how she has worked at Yellowstone the past 3 summers and has yet to see a bear. I was very surprised by this, and told her that maybe her luck would change. After dinner, around 6pm, we headed back to our Cabin in Mammoth. On our way home we saw a serious motorcycle accident. This woman had apparently lost control of her bike and skidded off the road. There was blood all over the road and people trying to help her. Ryan and I tried to find a park ranger just down the road, but the station had already closed. The accident looked really bad and I’m not sure if the women made it. Ryan and I both agreed that if you get hurt out in Yellowstone your pretty much screwed. The closes hospital isn’t for hundreds of miles!!! After we saw the accident we came across some Bison in the road. One came right up to our car and we could have touched it!! Check out the pictures, it was WAY close!
Ryan and I finally got back to our cabin. I decided to take my first shower in 2 days in the communal shower. It honestly wasn’t too bad. Ryan just didn’t want to have any part of the shared showers and he definitely smells like Buffalo doo right now. After my shower Ryan and I sat out on our porch and watched the full moon rise. We could see so many stars in Yellowstone with very little light pollution around. I could even see the big dipper clear as day. Soon our cabin neighbors came back from their Harley ride and we chatted with them. We told them about our day and they told us how they had seen lots of Buffalo, 2 black bears and a Moose. I told them how lucky they were to see a Moose because apparently it’s pretty rare in Yellowstone. I also found out that the two brothers were Mets fans and I rubbed it in that the Phillies swept the Mets this weekend. Then the brothers from Illinois told us how they have relatives in Ocean City, NJ and how they visit them all the time. I told them how much I loved Mac and Manko and Knor Brothers. They started to rave about Mac and Mankos Pizza. I thought it was so cool that I could be chillin outside of a cabin in Yellowstone Wyoming having a conversation about pizza at the Jersey shore with complete strangers. How crazy!!! Well, off to bed, Ryan and I have a long ride to Seattle tomorrow. Goodnight everyone!
Day 14 - Yellowstone NP (Day 1)
Greetings everyone!! Today Ryan and I did a whirlwind ten hour Ranger tour that encompassed all of Yellowstone National Park. We woke up at 7:00am, had some breakfast sandwiches at the local Mammoth Springs eatery and boarded our tour bus. Several of the passengers on the bus were from Pennsylvania. They were mainly Pittsburg Steelers fans and gave me a hard time about the Eagles. However, I did remind them that the Phillies were the 2008 World Champions of baseball (Thanks HK). So, we got our tour started and one of the things that Ryan and I noticed right off the bat was that we could not tell if our Park Ranger was male or female (nor could any of the other passengers). Our Park Ranger had a very deep voice and short hair, but had a bust like a women. We did not figure this mystery out till our first bathroom stop where the verdict was in fact a female (I really thought it was a male at first). I had a similar issue one time on a train in Sydney Australia (remember Pheebs?)
Anyhow, let’s get back to the Yellowstone. In the morning we traveled to many of the hot springs, geysers, steam vents, painters pit and bacteria pits in the western side of the park. I had never seen anything like this, and learning all about the eco-system and volcanic activity of the park was very interesting. I can’t even describe in words how beautiful everything looked so you are just going to have to look at all of the photos. At around eleven we made our way to the Old Faithful Lodge. There we had lunch including hamburgers and milkshakes at the General store. Everyone there was very friendly and it has such a cozy type atmosphere. If we were not frugal with our money, this is definitely the place to stay in Yellowstone. They even had some cell phone reception here….WOW!
After lunch we made sure to get a prime time seat to see Old Faithful erupt. Old Faithful gets its name because it is a cone geyser that erupts roughly every 92 minutes. It was a really cool sight to see water shoot up in the air about 200 feet. A must see if you visit Yellowstone NP. Check out the pictures and video of the eruption. After seeing old Faithful we boarded the bus and headed down the road that crosses the continental divide. I had no idea what this was so I asked the park ranger and this point is where the water either flows west to the Pacific Ocean or east to the Atlantic Ocean. I wanted to get out and pour some water on both sides of the divide but we didn’t stop. Once we were past the divide we saw something that hopefully we never see again. A black bear got hit by a pickup truck!!! We were traveling down the road and all of a sudden a black bear jumped into the road and this truck hit him. The bear flew across the road and then quickly sprang up. Then the bear slowly limped into the woods and up the mountain with a definite injury. The park ranger said that most likely the bear will die in the woods and that the person who hit the bear will have to pay a $1000 fine if the bear dies. Everyone on the bus was shocked to hear this because anybody could have hit the bear.
For the rest of the day we made several more stops. Check out the beautiful pictures of Yellowstone Lake and the mountains in the background. Ryan and I loved this area so much that we are going to try and rent a boat on the lake tomorrow to enjoy the scenery even more. Plus, Ryan just wants to drive a boat. After the passing by the lake we came to an area called “The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone”. This was by far the most beautiful part of the Park and the waterfalls really reminded me of Niagra Falls. This is also a must see for those traveling to Yellowstone. While on the tour today we saw many animals including Bison (which is the same as a Buffalo), female elk, male elk, pelicans, cut-throat trout, another non-hurt black bear, lots of birds, and some deer. It was really quite novel to see some of these animals in their natural habitat and not being shot with a tranquilizer gun on the 6pm news. Seeing the black bear running through the fields was a really cool experience.
Finally, Ryan and I got back from our 10 hour tour and headed into town (Gradiner, MT) to grab some dinner. We also wanted to get some cell phone service and feel somewhat connected to the outside world. We ate dinner at a local saloon and the food was pretty good. We also went and had ice cream at the same place (Helens) as the night before. Wow, what a day!!! Tomorrow Ryan and I are headed to Yellowstone lake to do some boating and then renting some bikes and riding on some trails. Hope everyone had a great 4th of July and that everyone is doing well!! Byebye!
Anyhow, let’s get back to the Yellowstone. In the morning we traveled to many of the hot springs, geysers, steam vents, painters pit and bacteria pits in the western side of the park. I had never seen anything like this, and learning all about the eco-system and volcanic activity of the park was very interesting. I can’t even describe in words how beautiful everything looked so you are just going to have to look at all of the photos. At around eleven we made our way to the Old Faithful Lodge. There we had lunch including hamburgers and milkshakes at the General store. Everyone there was very friendly and it has such a cozy type atmosphere. If we were not frugal with our money, this is definitely the place to stay in Yellowstone. They even had some cell phone reception here….WOW!
After lunch we made sure to get a prime time seat to see Old Faithful erupt. Old Faithful gets its name because it is a cone geyser that erupts roughly every 92 minutes. It was a really cool sight to see water shoot up in the air about 200 feet. A must see if you visit Yellowstone NP. Check out the pictures and video of the eruption. After seeing old Faithful we boarded the bus and headed down the road that crosses the continental divide. I had no idea what this was so I asked the park ranger and this point is where the water either flows west to the Pacific Ocean or east to the Atlantic Ocean. I wanted to get out and pour some water on both sides of the divide but we didn’t stop. Once we were past the divide we saw something that hopefully we never see again. A black bear got hit by a pickup truck!!! We were traveling down the road and all of a sudden a black bear jumped into the road and this truck hit him. The bear flew across the road and then quickly sprang up. Then the bear slowly limped into the woods and up the mountain with a definite injury. The park ranger said that most likely the bear will die in the woods and that the person who hit the bear will have to pay a $1000 fine if the bear dies. Everyone on the bus was shocked to hear this because anybody could have hit the bear.
For the rest of the day we made several more stops. Check out the beautiful pictures of Yellowstone Lake and the mountains in the background. Ryan and I loved this area so much that we are going to try and rent a boat on the lake tomorrow to enjoy the scenery even more. Plus, Ryan just wants to drive a boat. After the passing by the lake we came to an area called “The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone”. This was by far the most beautiful part of the Park and the waterfalls really reminded me of Niagra Falls. This is also a must see for those traveling to Yellowstone. While on the tour today we saw many animals including Bison (which is the same as a Buffalo), female elk, male elk, pelicans, cut-throat trout, another non-hurt black bear, lots of birds, and some deer. It was really quite novel to see some of these animals in their natural habitat and not being shot with a tranquilizer gun on the 6pm news. Seeing the black bear running through the fields was a really cool experience.
Finally, Ryan and I got back from our 10 hour tour and headed into town (Gradiner, MT) to grab some dinner. We also wanted to get some cell phone service and feel somewhat connected to the outside world. We ate dinner at a local saloon and the food was pretty good. We also went and had ice cream at the same place (Helens) as the night before. Wow, what a day!!! Tomorrow Ryan and I are headed to Yellowstone lake to do some boating and then renting some bikes and riding on some trails. Hope everyone had a great 4th of July and that everyone is doing well!! Byebye!
Day 13 - Drive to Yellowstone NP (Wyoming)
Hey everyone, this is Ryan and Eric blogging from the open road. Today we made the trip from Rapid City South Dakota to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Ryan and I did not have cell phone service for about half of the trip today. Part of our ride took us along route 212 in western South Dakota. Apparently, they are doing road work and today Ryan and I were the last car in this line of cars and we were able to carry the baton. It was as very interesting experience (see photos).
Our drive took us through some very rural parts of Montana. There were no gas stations, food stores, or even mailboxes for miles at a time. The road didn’t have any speed limit signs and I am pretty sure I broke the 100 mph barrier twice today trying to pass some trucks on a single lane highway (boy was that fun!!!). Our travel route brought us right by the Battle of Little Big Horn. Ryan and I spent about an hour in the park looking at the monument where all of Custard’s soldiers were massacred by Sitting Bull and the Sioux Nation. Ryan and I learned a little bit about the battle from some of the Park Rangers, and we walked around the visitor’s center. Being out there in the hills of Montana and seeing all of the grave stones, reminded me of Gettysburg. See some of the beautiful pictures that we took from the park.
After we checked out the Monument we continued along our travel route and had dinner in Billings Montana. We wanted to have dinner at Wendy’s but we decided to eat at Applebee’s instead. I know this may sound weird, but there is a reason why I am telling this story. It turns out our waitress at Applebee’s (her name was Linda) grew up in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. The whole conversation got started because I was complaining about how so many famous people had been dying since we left Philadelphia (Steve McNair was shot today). She almost flipped out to discover that we were from Philadelphia. She even knew where Downingtown was and said she used to live 40 minutes from there. Man what a small world this is!!! I always love running into people in the middle of po-dunk that know you or where you are from. So cool!!!
So then Ryan and I continued along our journey and eventually made it to Yellowstone NP. The ride off of Interstate I-90 was amazingly beautiful. This was the first time that Ryan or I had seen the Rocky Mountains up close. Check out all of the car photos, scenic overlooks, and videos of the area that we took. I cannot even say with words how beautiful it is out here. And the best part is that it smells like Christmas all of the time with all of the pine trees.
Ryan and I finally checked into our lodging here at Yellowstone NP. We are staying in an econo-cabin that does not have a bathroom. The cabin is pretty nice, but we have to walk about 30 feet away to find the bathroom or showers. Tomorrow (or better yet in the middle of the night) should be interesting when we have to use the facilities. After Ryan and I checked in we headed back towards Gardiner Montana, which is the closet town to Yellowstone NP from where we are staying. There we spent an hour watching fireworks. They were not anything fancy, but people all over the place were shooting them off so it was pretty cool. Ryan and I had some ice cream and made some phone calls (because we don’t have internet or cell phone in the Park) before we headed back to our cabin to sleep. Tomorrow we are doing an all day Ranger tour of Yellowstone, so check back for info on that and all sorts of pictures. Goodnight!
Our drive took us through some very rural parts of Montana. There were no gas stations, food stores, or even mailboxes for miles at a time. The road didn’t have any speed limit signs and I am pretty sure I broke the 100 mph barrier twice today trying to pass some trucks on a single lane highway (boy was that fun!!!). Our travel route brought us right by the Battle of Little Big Horn. Ryan and I spent about an hour in the park looking at the monument where all of Custard’s soldiers were massacred by Sitting Bull and the Sioux Nation. Ryan and I learned a little bit about the battle from some of the Park Rangers, and we walked around the visitor’s center. Being out there in the hills of Montana and seeing all of the grave stones, reminded me of Gettysburg. See some of the beautiful pictures that we took from the park.
After we checked out the Monument we continued along our travel route and had dinner in Billings Montana. We wanted to have dinner at Wendy’s but we decided to eat at Applebee’s instead. I know this may sound weird, but there is a reason why I am telling this story. It turns out our waitress at Applebee’s (her name was Linda) grew up in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. The whole conversation got started because I was complaining about how so many famous people had been dying since we left Philadelphia (Steve McNair was shot today). She almost flipped out to discover that we were from Philadelphia. She even knew where Downingtown was and said she used to live 40 minutes from there. Man what a small world this is!!! I always love running into people in the middle of po-dunk that know you or where you are from. So cool!!!
So then Ryan and I continued along our journey and eventually made it to Yellowstone NP. The ride off of Interstate I-90 was amazingly beautiful. This was the first time that Ryan or I had seen the Rocky Mountains up close. Check out all of the car photos, scenic overlooks, and videos of the area that we took. I cannot even say with words how beautiful it is out here. And the best part is that it smells like Christmas all of the time with all of the pine trees.
Ryan and I finally checked into our lodging here at Yellowstone NP. We are staying in an econo-cabin that does not have a bathroom. The cabin is pretty nice, but we have to walk about 30 feet away to find the bathroom or showers. Tomorrow (or better yet in the middle of the night) should be interesting when we have to use the facilities. After Ryan and I checked in we headed back towards Gardiner Montana, which is the closet town to Yellowstone NP from where we are staying. There we spent an hour watching fireworks. They were not anything fancy, but people all over the place were shooting them off so it was pretty cool. Ryan and I had some ice cream and made some phone calls (because we don’t have internet or cell phone in the Park) before we headed back to our cabin to sleep. Tomorrow we are doing an all day Ranger tour of Yellowstone, so check back for info on that and all sorts of pictures. Goodnight!
Day 12 - Mt. Rushmore
Greetings from Custer, SD! Ryan and I woke up today at the Holiday Inn Express in Custer South Dakota and had the best deluxe continental breakfast that we ever had. They had biscuits, eggs, sausage, and the normal continential muffins, begals and cerial. It was great! Then we headed off to Jewel Cave for our Lantern Tour. Good thing I pre-ordered tickets two days before because when we got there the earlier tour we could have taken would have been at like 3:45 pm. So we picked up our tickets and headed down the road another mile or two to where our tour started. Once there I decided to go to the bathroom before we entered the cave and it was pretty much like going into an outhouse (see pictures). I should have just gone to the bathroom behind a tree. Also, there was this cabin where we were supposed to meet the tour guide. For those of you that watch LOST, the house totally looked like Jacobs cabin. Haha. There was no cell phone service for several miles. It was kinda nice being out in the middle of the wilderness.
Everyone arrive for the tour and the park ranger came over to start the tour. The cool thing about the tour guide was the he played a character and acted like he was from 1930. He talked about the CCC and how they built most of the steps in the cave and about how the great Depression was the best thing that ever happened for the Park Services because it put people to work making roads and trails. Then we all were issued our old fashioned flame lanterns (just like the ones they used to originally explore the cave) and headed down the path to the cave. Once down there we found out that the Park Ranger had to lock us in the cave so that no vandals or passing travelers walked into the cave while we were on the tour. That was a little weird, but we weren’t turning back at this point. So, we headed into the cave and accended down 200ft along these very narrow wooden steps. There were also very small passage ways and Ryan kept almost bumping his head even when he was hunched over.
So the reason Jewel cave got its name was because when two brothers from Canada initially discovered the cave they thought that they had found Jewels because light kept reflecting off of the walls. They thought they found diamonds or something and struck it rich. It turns out it was just calcium deposites and non precious rocks. During the tour we were also told that the cave was first explored it was thought to be quite small. Further exploration determine that the cave is the second largest cave in the world at 146 miles long (second to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky 360 miles). There are some whom believe that Jewel cave stretches all the way to Wind Cave which is in Custer National Park over 40 miles away. The Ranger said that they are still exploring the cave and new caves and passages are found daily. Also, only 2 percent of the cave has currently been explored. If Jewel Cave and Wind Cave are in fact the same cave it would make this cave the largest in the world. Now the coolest thing that we did on the whole tour was when we walked into a giant cavern and turned all of our lanterns off. This was the first time in our lives that we were in complete darkness. It was pretty eerie, but an experience at the same time!
After Jewel Cave Ryan and I traveled back into Custer and had lunch at a pavilion in a Park. We had to eat here because it was raining and we could not sit outside (we bought cold cuts for lunch). Since it was raining we decided to head over to Custer National Park and drive around. When we got to the park the rain stopped. The scenary in Custer National Park was just beautiful (see pictures). Ryan and I were also able to get up close and personal with Buffalo, Elk, Jackasses and some Deer (no dad, we did not hit any with your car). Ryan and I even did some off roading (down some dirt trails). This enable us to get closer to the animals and boy was it cool. We also used our fancy binoculars to check out all of the animals. For anyone traveling through South Dakota, I would definitely recommend visiting this beautiful place.
After Custer Nation Park Ryan and I headed through the tunnels to Mt. Rushmore. The ride there was really beautiful as well (the whole area is). However, once we got to Mt. Rushmore it was a mob scene with people trying to get a place to sit to watch the fireworks. It was so crowded we could not even get into the monument. Better yet, I was really disappointed with the monument. I thought it would be more defined and larger than it was. Ryan and I literally got out took a photo and then just kept driving. To get a good vantage point for the fireworks Ryan and I decided to go up to this scenic lookout and see them from there. When we got there we cooked dinner on our grill (hotdogs) and made some friends. We met this guy Bo from Iowa who was there visiting his uncle. We also met some folks from Mitchell, SD. Let me remind you that Mitchell, SD is home of the Corn Palace. I had a nice conversation about it with this guy and he was like “you mean the giant bird feeder”. Apparently, Mitchell South Dakota is where they make all the boxes for pop-tarts and Eggo Waffles (that’s a nice nugget of info). Unfortunately, about an hour before the fireworks started some fog rolled in and we were unable to see anything. Once we realized it was pointless, Ryan and I decided just to head back to our hotel in Rapid City. For anyone thinking about traveling to Mt. Rushmore for the 4th of July I would totally advise against it. Hopefully, we can catch some fireworks tomorrow as we make our way to Yellowstone NP. Goodnight!
Everyone arrive for the tour and the park ranger came over to start the tour. The cool thing about the tour guide was the he played a character and acted like he was from 1930. He talked about the CCC and how they built most of the steps in the cave and about how the great Depression was the best thing that ever happened for the Park Services because it put people to work making roads and trails. Then we all were issued our old fashioned flame lanterns (just like the ones they used to originally explore the cave) and headed down the path to the cave. Once down there we found out that the Park Ranger had to lock us in the cave so that no vandals or passing travelers walked into the cave while we were on the tour. That was a little weird, but we weren’t turning back at this point. So, we headed into the cave and accended down 200ft along these very narrow wooden steps. There were also very small passage ways and Ryan kept almost bumping his head even when he was hunched over.
So the reason Jewel cave got its name was because when two brothers from Canada initially discovered the cave they thought that they had found Jewels because light kept reflecting off of the walls. They thought they found diamonds or something and struck it rich. It turns out it was just calcium deposites and non precious rocks. During the tour we were also told that the cave was first explored it was thought to be quite small. Further exploration determine that the cave is the second largest cave in the world at 146 miles long (second to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky 360 miles). There are some whom believe that Jewel cave stretches all the way to Wind Cave which is in Custer National Park over 40 miles away. The Ranger said that they are still exploring the cave and new caves and passages are found daily. Also, only 2 percent of the cave has currently been explored. If Jewel Cave and Wind Cave are in fact the same cave it would make this cave the largest in the world. Now the coolest thing that we did on the whole tour was when we walked into a giant cavern and turned all of our lanterns off. This was the first time in our lives that we were in complete darkness. It was pretty eerie, but an experience at the same time!
After Jewel Cave Ryan and I traveled back into Custer and had lunch at a pavilion in a Park. We had to eat here because it was raining and we could not sit outside (we bought cold cuts for lunch). Since it was raining we decided to head over to Custer National Park and drive around. When we got to the park the rain stopped. The scenary in Custer National Park was just beautiful (see pictures). Ryan and I were also able to get up close and personal with Buffalo, Elk, Jackasses and some Deer (no dad, we did not hit any with your car). Ryan and I even did some off roading (down some dirt trails). This enable us to get closer to the animals and boy was it cool. We also used our fancy binoculars to check out all of the animals. For anyone traveling through South Dakota, I would definitely recommend visiting this beautiful place.
After Custer Nation Park Ryan and I headed through the tunnels to Mt. Rushmore. The ride there was really beautiful as well (the whole area is). However, once we got to Mt. Rushmore it was a mob scene with people trying to get a place to sit to watch the fireworks. It was so crowded we could not even get into the monument. Better yet, I was really disappointed with the monument. I thought it would be more defined and larger than it was. Ryan and I literally got out took a photo and then just kept driving. To get a good vantage point for the fireworks Ryan and I decided to go up to this scenic lookout and see them from there. When we got there we cooked dinner on our grill (hotdogs) and made some friends. We met this guy Bo from Iowa who was there visiting his uncle. We also met some folks from Mitchell, SD. Let me remind you that Mitchell, SD is home of the Corn Palace. I had a nice conversation about it with this guy and he was like “you mean the giant bird feeder”. Apparently, Mitchell South Dakota is where they make all the boxes for pop-tarts and Eggo Waffles (that’s a nice nugget of info). Unfortunately, about an hour before the fireworks started some fog rolled in and we were unable to see anything. Once we realized it was pointless, Ryan and I decided just to head back to our hotel in Rapid City. For anyone thinking about traveling to Mt. Rushmore for the 4th of July I would totally advise against it. Hopefully, we can catch some fireworks tomorrow as we make our way to Yellowstone NP. Goodnight!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Day 11 - Drive to Custer, SD
Hello everyone! I am going to make this blog pretty short tonight because Ryan and I are exhausted from our 12 hour drive (600 plus miles from Minneapolis, MN to Custer, SD). Ryan and I woke up at 7:15am, packed up the car, had our free continental breakfast and got the hell out of Minneapolis. The drive through Minnesota was not too bad. There were lots of farms and windmills and stuff like that. Once we got to South Dakota the real fun started. I am just going to say that South Dakota is the land of tourist traps. Every other billboard was a sign for Corn Palace, or 1880 Prairie House, or 10 million year old garden. It was ridiculous!! However, Ryan and I did stop in a town called Mitchells for lunch and the Corn Palace was only 3 miles up the road, so we had to indulge ourselves and check it out. I was expecting to find this whole Palace thing completely made of corn. In reality it was just a giant gym in the middle of a town that had some murals made out of corn. I did buy a magnet as I have been doing at every place we have stopped at along the way. The Corn Palace was nice because we stretched our legs and spoke with this very nice man who told us that we needed to drive through Badlands Nation Park on our way to Rapid City. He also suggested that we stay closer to Mt. Rushmore, and we headed his advice.
Ryan and I decided to upgrade our hotel and stay closer to Mt. Rushmore in a place called Custer, SD. We were originally going to stay in Rapid City. After the drive we had today it was definitely a good call to stay closer to the monument. At any rate, after the Corn Palace Ryan and I stopped at a scenic lookout spot where we had a nice view of the Missouri River. From there we continued towards the black hills of South Dakota. We hit some rain along the way, but it only lasted for a little while. Thank god it did, because we eventually got to Badlands National Park. Ryan and I are both glad we listed to the tour guides advice and checked this place out. The views from the National Park were breathtaking. I only wish that Ryan and I could have spent more time in this area, for we still had 2 hours to drive to get to our hotel. I wondered how the area had been created and it was not till the last scenic overlook that I found out that the area was formed from mineral deposits from volcanoes that had been in the area thousands of years ago. Volcanoes sure do create some spectacular sites. Check out all of the awesome photos that we took in Badlands National Park. Please feel free to use some of them as backdrops for your computers.
Once Ryan and I left Badlands National Park we made our way to Custer, SD. We checked into the hotel and realized that we had gained an hour and were officially on Mountain Time. We were pretty happy to have gained an hour, and it was the first time I have ever been on Mountain Time. Any who, we brought our bags into the hotel and headed into town for some grub. Ryan and I ate at a place called the Elk Bar and Soolon. The food was pretty good and the service was good as well (FINALLY). Check back tomorrow to see and hear more about our Lantern Cave tour at Jewel Cave (second largest cave in the world), Mt. Rushmore, and Custer Nation Park. Goodnight everyone!
Ryan and I decided to upgrade our hotel and stay closer to Mt. Rushmore in a place called Custer, SD. We were originally going to stay in Rapid City. After the drive we had today it was definitely a good call to stay closer to the monument. At any rate, after the Corn Palace Ryan and I stopped at a scenic lookout spot where we had a nice view of the Missouri River. From there we continued towards the black hills of South Dakota. We hit some rain along the way, but it only lasted for a little while. Thank god it did, because we eventually got to Badlands National Park. Ryan and I are both glad we listed to the tour guides advice and checked this place out. The views from the National Park were breathtaking. I only wish that Ryan and I could have spent more time in this area, for we still had 2 hours to drive to get to our hotel. I wondered how the area had been created and it was not till the last scenic overlook that I found out that the area was formed from mineral deposits from volcanoes that had been in the area thousands of years ago. Volcanoes sure do create some spectacular sites. Check out all of the awesome photos that we took in Badlands National Park. Please feel free to use some of them as backdrops for your computers.
Once Ryan and I left Badlands National Park we made our way to Custer, SD. We checked into the hotel and realized that we had gained an hour and were officially on Mountain Time. We were pretty happy to have gained an hour, and it was the first time I have ever been on Mountain Time. Any who, we brought our bags into the hotel and headed into town for some grub. Ryan and I ate at a place called the Elk Bar and Soolon. The food was pretty good and the service was good as well (FINALLY). Check back tomorrow to see and hear more about our Lantern Cave tour at Jewel Cave (second largest cave in the world), Mt. Rushmore, and Custer Nation Park. Goodnight everyone!
Day 10 - Mall of America, Minneapolis MN
Hey everyone!! Today Ryan and I were in Minneapolis Minnesota. We woke up and it was cold and rainy which was good because we were planning on spending the entire day at the Mall of America. We decided that we wanted to go to this local placed called Al’s for breakfast. Now Al’s is a place in downtown Minneapolis near the University of Minnesota and was featured in the book Diners, Drive In’s, and Dives. So we drove to this place and you really wouldn’t even know it was there unless you were looking for it. The place is literally a hole in the wall trying to be a dive. Ryan and I walk in to find that we have to wait in line in order to sit at the counter for breakfast. Granite, the counter only had like 16 places to sit. So we patiently wait for about 20 minutes, and it was well worth it. I had the blueberry pancakes and hash browns. They were both out of this world. The pancakes were very tasty (better than Denny’s) and the hash browns were crispy, just the way I like them. The restaurant really had a small town feel to it, and you could tell that locals were mainly the ones that frequented this place as determine by the yellow cards all over the place. I asked one of the employees what the cards were for and she said they were like debit accounts for all the locals. Cool place!
After breakfast Ryan and I headed over to the Mall of America, definitely a place that does not have a small town feel to it. Now the Mall of America is HUGE!!! They have like a gazillion different parking garages. So we eventually parked and walked into the mall. We walked around for a bit stopping into Hollister, Best Buy, Gap, and other places. At Best Buy I bought a wireless mouse because the one I brought with me on the trip crapped out on me. We also spoke to this guy for like 30 minutes about how Macs are better than PC’s. It was pretty informative, and they guy was really nice even though he knew we weren’t going to buy anything. Ryan and I decided that we needed to buy something from the Mall of America so we both got some nice tee shirts from Hollister. I normally wouldn’t buy anything from there but they had some nice and soft tees for $15. After walking around for like 2 hours Ryan and I had milk shakes and sandwiches at the Johnny Rockets which was pretty good. After that we checked out the Lego store and all of the cool Lego statues. I wanted to buy an Eiffel Tower Lego model but it was like $150 bucks so I decided against it.
Then we proceeded to ride this roller coaster called Rock Bottom Plunge at the Nickelodeon Theme Park in the middle of the mall. It cost us like $20 bucks just to ride one ride, which was ridiculous, but we figured we were there and needed to ride at least something. The coaster was actually pretty cool. For the first part of the ride you went up an incline vertically. Then you were shot back down and did some flips and twists. For being a little kiddy place, this was a somewhat intense roller coaster. After we did the coaster Ryan and I decided to see a movie. Since we are going to Vegas later on in this trip we decided to see Hangover. I already saw Hangover with Ashley, but it was so funny I didn’t mind seeing it again. Ryan and I definitely enjoyed the movie and hope our trip to Vegas won’t be as ridiculous as the movie!
After the movie Ryan and I decided to miniature golf before we had dinner. The artificial turf of the miniature golf course was hard to judge. Ryan and I ended up finishing even after all 18 holes. There was some dispute that Ryan had 1 mulligan and I had 2, but I am pretty sure we both had 2. Either way, it was pretty fun and it made us both pretty hungry. There was not too much of a food selection at the Mall of America (chain wise) so we decided to go to Hooters for dinner. We did this mainly because Ryan saw unlimited wings for $12 bucks and he was sold. So, we went in and I had a beer and a burger and Ryan had the unlimited wings. While we were eating there was a contest called “Are you smarter than your Hooters girl”. This was a contest where you faced off against your Hooters server and tried to answer questions for prizes. Lucky us, the questions were all Michael Jackson based because of his recent death. Ryan and I both lost to our Hooter server Anna so apparently we are stupider than a Hooters girl. Since we both lost we won like a bumper sticker and a clip thing. Don’t worry dad, we didn’t put the bumper sticker on your car. We just put it in the window for everyone to see. After dinner Ryan and I headed back to the hotel to get some sleep for our long drive to Rapid City, SD. Tomorrow we have a 9 hour, 600 mile drive ahead of us. Check back in for more about our trip to Mt. Rushmore and our tour through Jewel Cave. Till then, Chao!!
After breakfast Ryan and I headed over to the Mall of America, definitely a place that does not have a small town feel to it. Now the Mall of America is HUGE!!! They have like a gazillion different parking garages. So we eventually parked and walked into the mall. We walked around for a bit stopping into Hollister, Best Buy, Gap, and other places. At Best Buy I bought a wireless mouse because the one I brought with me on the trip crapped out on me. We also spoke to this guy for like 30 minutes about how Macs are better than PC’s. It was pretty informative, and they guy was really nice even though he knew we weren’t going to buy anything. Ryan and I decided that we needed to buy something from the Mall of America so we both got some nice tee shirts from Hollister. I normally wouldn’t buy anything from there but they had some nice and soft tees for $15. After walking around for like 2 hours Ryan and I had milk shakes and sandwiches at the Johnny Rockets which was pretty good. After that we checked out the Lego store and all of the cool Lego statues. I wanted to buy an Eiffel Tower Lego model but it was like $150 bucks so I decided against it.
Then we proceeded to ride this roller coaster called Rock Bottom Plunge at the Nickelodeon Theme Park in the middle of the mall. It cost us like $20 bucks just to ride one ride, which was ridiculous, but we figured we were there and needed to ride at least something. The coaster was actually pretty cool. For the first part of the ride you went up an incline vertically. Then you were shot back down and did some flips and twists. For being a little kiddy place, this was a somewhat intense roller coaster. After we did the coaster Ryan and I decided to see a movie. Since we are going to Vegas later on in this trip we decided to see Hangover. I already saw Hangover with Ashley, but it was so funny I didn’t mind seeing it again. Ryan and I definitely enjoyed the movie and hope our trip to Vegas won’t be as ridiculous as the movie!
After the movie Ryan and I decided to miniature golf before we had dinner. The artificial turf of the miniature golf course was hard to judge. Ryan and I ended up finishing even after all 18 holes. There was some dispute that Ryan had 1 mulligan and I had 2, but I am pretty sure we both had 2. Either way, it was pretty fun and it made us both pretty hungry. There was not too much of a food selection at the Mall of America (chain wise) so we decided to go to Hooters for dinner. We did this mainly because Ryan saw unlimited wings for $12 bucks and he was sold. So, we went in and I had a beer and a burger and Ryan had the unlimited wings. While we were eating there was a contest called “Are you smarter than your Hooters girl”. This was a contest where you faced off against your Hooters server and tried to answer questions for prizes. Lucky us, the questions were all Michael Jackson based because of his recent death. Ryan and I both lost to our Hooter server Anna so apparently we are stupider than a Hooters girl. Since we both lost we won like a bumper sticker and a clip thing. Don’t worry dad, we didn’t put the bumper sticker on your car. We just put it in the window for everyone to see. After dinner Ryan and I headed back to the hotel to get some sleep for our long drive to Rapid City, SD. Tomorrow we have a 9 hour, 600 mile drive ahead of us. Check back in for more about our trip to Mt. Rushmore and our tour through Jewel Cave. Till then, Chao!!
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