Roadtrip: The Final Push to West Virginia

After 12 days and over 3,000 miles, the traveling circus has finally made land fall in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.  We were greeted last night by Ed and Nancy Kautz and their four dogs: Chessie, Sparky, Elmo, and Peewee.  Needless to say there was a lot of barking, sniffing, and getting to know one another (on the canine front, that is).  We are all so happy to be out of the car!

Friday morning we were woken up by a huge thunderstorm rolling through directly overhead in LaCrosse, WI.  That helped us get a nice early start, but it wasn't too long until we were wooed off the freeway by the promise of Wisconin cheese.  The Cheese Chalet provided us with such an opportunity, as well as stickers, some wine, and both antelope and pheasant meat sticks.  Wisconsin is such a pleasant place.

Mmmmm, Wisconsin cheese...

 Things got decidedly less pleasant the closer we got to Chicago.  Carl's mood got darker with every mile and every additional driver on the already crowded road.  He is not a fan of cities.  Even when we escaped the freeway and were driving past lush parks, endless bike paths, and cool old buildings, he was still dreaming of the wide open spaces of Montana, Idaho, anywhere but there.  The reason we stopped by Chicago, instead of giving it a wide berth, was to pay a visit to my new employers, the Northwest Passage.  They do adventure travel locally and all over the world, and when I head to Greece in September it will be to lead a couple trips for them.  Everyone there was very friendly, and one young man took on the daunting task of teaching Carl and me to stand up paddle board (also known as SUPing).

It takes a little bit to get familiar with the feel of a bobbing board under your feet, and swinging around a seven foot paddle to control said board.  The fact that Lake Michigan was heaving with 2 to 3 foot waves and 20 knot winds didn't help the situation.  Despite the challenging conditions, we both managed to stand up and get the hang of it.  It's both incredibly fun and a really, really good full body workout, especially after being in a car for the past week and a half.

Carl walking on water on Lake Michigan

And I'm up!  This is definitely my new favorite thing

The folks at Northwest Passage were kind enough to let us crash in a spare room.  Next morning none of us were ready to wake up or get back in the car.  There are significantly more people east of Chicago and Carl did an admirable job of getting us through the eleven and a half hour drive as efficiently as possible, fueled by Wisconsin cheese whips and pheasant sticks.  It was hard to tell who was more excited at turning down the driveway to Knutty Acres, us or the dogs.

So far we've slept in, done laundry, eaten lots of fresh fruit and homemade pie, and watched a massive rain storm roll through.  We have a couple days to decompress before heading to Morgantown to revisit Carl's college days and to Columbus, OH for another wedding.  Cell phones don't really work down here in the hollow so the best way to reach me is electronically.

We've got more pictures, so check them out by clicking here, or go to this address: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.672706189749.2080724.50802819&type=1&l=415c6ead63
Look for more updates soon!

Road Trip: Tetons to Wisconsin

Meadowlark Lake, Big Horn National Forest, WY

As we kick back our heels in a hotel in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, we could not have started out the day in a more different place.  We woke up this morning in the Black Hills of South Dakota in Summit Ridge cabin rented out by the Forest Service, and our 700 mile trip took us past Crazy Horse Mountain, the turn off to Mt. Rushmore, the Spam Museum, and miles and miles of corn fields and wind mills.  I have never been so happy to see green trees, rolling hills, or actual open water.  The dogs are simply ecstatic to be out of the car.

The fun part about this trip is that we've gotten to see corners of the country that neither of us have ever seen before, and between us we have eleven trips cross country.  Big Horn National Forest is a surprising place of jutting rock formations, towering open ridges, and thick pine forests in north-central Wyoming.  Our campsite backed up on the willows on a lake's edge, giving the pups plenty of access to sticks and swimming.  On a nearby ridge we discovered an old CCC lookout that was built in 1942.  The trail wound up through the pine trees, up a flight of crooked concrete steps, and past ancient rocks full of little sea shell fossils. Back at camp our neighbors presented us with a gift: a Norwegian fire log.  It's a log round cut like a cake, but not all the way through.  A little white gas and that sucker burned all night long.

We got to see Devil's Tower (plenty of bikers but no aliens), Mt. Rushmore (whole lot of granite), a tractor rally in Custer, SD, and a huge bull elk on our departure from the cabin this morning.  Who knows what we'll see tomorrow?

The fire tower in Big Horn National Forest

Devil's Tower

Mt. Rushmore

Summit Ridge Cabin

Roadtrip: Ashland to the Tetons

Bubba sure loves riding in the car

 And we're off!  We started about a week ago in Ashland, OR, and are now relaxing in Grand Teton National Park, WY.  A lot has happened in between there.  We had a quick stopover in Portland to say goodbye to my parents, and then got to spend two nights north of Spokane with my aunt Julie and uncle Scott.  From there we drove down through the Bitteroot Valley to get to Bozeman for a wedding.  Everything is pretty hazy from all the fires going on but the rivers, valleys, and peaks are still unbelievably beautiful.

Once in Bozeman, both to reward the pups for being such good travelers and to celebrate Luna's first birthday, we took a hike up to Lava Lake.  The three mile trail winds up alongside a creek, lush with the last of the fireweed and reams of ripe thimbleberries.  Just when you're wondering if you'll ever get there, the landscape opens up to an amazing mountain lake rimmed with tumbled blocks of granite.  The dogs were in the water instantly, and they spent a good hour frolicking and scaring the fish.  On the hike down we passed 26 other groups that had the same idea.

At Lava Lake

Happy first birthday to the best pup a girl could wish for!

From Bozeman we took the long way to the Tetons, looping around through Red Lodge and over Beartooth Pass.  If you've never been, that drive is one of the most incredible ones in the country.  From Red Lodge the road switchbacks up a sheer mountain side until you reach the top of the world at 11,000 feet.  There are mountains in every direction you look, and miles upon miles of alpine ridges and mountain lakes.  We stopped at one such lake to give the dogs a swim, and then continued down the other side to Cooke City, a place with just as many ATVs as cars.  From there it's a short jaunt to the northeastern entrance to Yellowstone, and a long scenic cruise down to the Tetons.  We got the full Yellowstone experience: bison jams, bubbling pits of sulphur-spewing mud, and silly tourists in giant RVs.

Here in the Tetons the wildlife all seems to be on vacation.  It's smokey here, too, and it even rained on us this morning (first rain we've seen since June!).  Carl's friends from the Wildlife Brigade are throwing him a party tonight, we've got some elk brats to celebrate, and tomorrow we're off to new and exciting locales.  Hooray for road trips!

Gearing Up To Go

Moving is always a pain in the neck.  The packing, the schlepping, the cleaning up and clearing out, it all tends to be a whole lot of work.  On the plus side, it's an excellent way to take stock of what you have and get rid of extra stuff you don't need.  This applies to hair as well...

Before...

...and after!

The reason for all this excitement is a series of fantastic adventures in the works.  On Tuesday, with most of our worldly possessions in a storage unit, we'll be heading east in the direction of West Virginia and the homestead of Carl's parents, which will be serving as our base of operations.  Come September I'll be off to the Greek island of Crete to lead a couple sea kayaking trips, and then in December Carl and I will be on our way to Chile, where for 3 months we'll be travelling, camping, and helping out some friends who do horse packing trips.  After that, who knows?  That's good enough for us for now.  I'm sure you're wondering about the pooches - they'll be hanging out at the Kautz farm in West Virginia, wandering the 60 acres, swimming in the Potomac, and romping with their four other dogs.  Life is looking good for all parties involved.

Keep posted for more exciting entries!