We left home for what we are calling our “Arctic Adventure” last Friday, 6/8. The word “Arctic” sounds pretentious this far away but that is our goal. We are now 2500 miles into the journey and are now at the East entrance to Glacier NP in readiness for moving north across the border into Canada tomorrow. I have copied and pasted a series of brief “blogs” or updates we sent to our family along the way. I’m afraid pictures will have to wait until much later because of a number of factors, not the least of which is the internet access charges. Verizon was very specific on what happens when we cross the border even with the “International Plan”.
Day 1, Williams Arizona
Well, the "Adventure" to the North Pole begins. Left Luke and Karina's house Friday morning just before 10 and drove all day. Drove up Hwy 95 from I-10 to I-40 along the Colorado River hoping for good views of the river but we only we were only allowed brief glimpses. We were setup for a quick stop over by 6:00 here in Williams. By "quick" I mean we didn't even unhitch from the truck. Will try and send something, however short, from each stop we make. There is a big biker rally here this weekend so a lot of activity. Went to a local Pub last night for brew and a light dinner. Had my first Grand Canyon Brewery pale ale, excellent. On to the South Rim today but since it is only an hour away from here we are taking it easy this morning. So, on to the GC for two nights and then on to Monument Valley on Monday.
Grand Canyon, Days 2&3
Mary Anne and I rafted the GC with our friend Joel a number of years ago and since then I have always felt that seeing it from the rim was, at best, second best. Well once again I was quite wrong about something I was quite sure of. From the river you cannot really see all the layers the river had to cut through over billions of years and how wide it must have been. From the river you often only see the current walls of the canyon, not those that went before.
We have a beautiful campsite in the woods but everything is "tinder box" dry and fire restrictions are firmly in place. No fires period. Until yesterday not even charcoal was allowed but that has been relaxed. This entire place is a maze of small roads, many one way and if the call came to get out in the middle of the night it could be very bad.
Spent all morning following the "Rim Trail" from the Lodges the 11 miles west to Hermits Rest. There is a road (and an excellent trail) but no private vehicles are allowed. There are shuttle buses however that stop at a number of "lookouts" along the way so you can hike, ride or combine the two. Saw 3 elk this morning, up close and personal.
Expect to be in Monument Valley tomorrow to pay homage to the "Johns" (Ford & Wayne). I have asked MA to wear a yellow ribbon.
Day 4 & 5, Monument Valley (OR WHY WE CAME THIS WAY)
We left our campsite on the South Rim Monday morning and stopped briefly at the Desert Tower. This is a 4 story rock tower built in the 30's as another attraction for the growing travelers taking the just recently built train route to the Grand Canyon. What is really unique is that every level is filled with Native American art, especially the paintings done directly on the walls and ceilings.
The Canyon was truly Grand but we came this way to go through Monument Valley and it exceeded all expectations. Every way you turn is another amazing vista, yet still very familiar. These are backdrops to so many movies we had grown up with and they are almost as real in person. Mary Anne said she was in "sensory overload" simply standing and absorbing. We stayed in Gouldings RV Park right in the valley. Goulding had slowly built up a trading post here in the 20's and when the depression came the Navajo were very badly impacted (as was Goulding) so he took all the photographs he had and his last $75 and went to Hollywood to "sell" the location. Fortunately, after not getting anywhere with his plan for weeks, he finally got in to see John Ford and the rest is history. Ford packed up an entire film crew including all the support people and moved to the valley. Stagecoach starring John Wayne was the result and many more followed. If this is on your list, go, if not, put it on and go. I strongly recommend the Green Chile Stew with Fry Bread, a Navajo mainstay.
This morning we slowly drove north and then West to an amazing road up and over the sheer wall of a mesa to reach the Natural Bridges National Monument. Look at a map of Utah in the lower right hand corner. Hwy 163 goes right through the valley and just after Mexican Hat look for Hwy 261. Look closely at a good map. Most of 261 is a black line indicating a paved two lane road but there is a 3-4 mile section that is shown in white and indicates unpaved switchbacks. We had missed that little detail but the warning signs caused us to look more closely. "No trucks over 20', no RVs, NO TRAILERS". Signs alone won't stop me from at least taking a look, unless of course it is wearing a badge and gun so on we went. Believe me when I tell you that you are following a perfectly "normal" paved road, straight as a ruler to the base of a sheer 2000' wall of rock. Even at the base you couldn't see where a road could possibly go. Yet up it goes, unpaved (signs call it "unimproved") with the tightest switchbacks I have been on in a vehicle. It is blasted out of the rock in such a way that you cannot see it from below. That was exciting. Natural Bridges was a little bland after Monument Valley and that road and now we are in Green River UT for the night. Expect to be in Idaho Falls late tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow is just a driving day, mostly Interstate (70 & 15).
Days 6 &7 Idaho & Montana
Day 6 was just a day's drive on I-15 from Utah to Idaho, but a day full of reminding each other what it had been like the first time we came this way. We got married in 1965 and a week later pulled the smallest U-Haul they made with everything we owned (it was still half empty) from the Bay Area to our current destination, Idaho Falls. I was being sent there by the Navy for a final 6 months of training out at the reactor test facilities before being assigned to a Submarine. As it turned out those 6 months turned into almost 3 years (stayed on as an Instructor) but we didn't know that then. We were city people, this bordered on the great unknown. The last few miles brought about looks of dismay, there was nothing here but farms, ranches and lava beds, mostly lava beds. Oh yes, only one freeway exit. Now there are 4 exits with a big sign telling us which one to take to tour the "Historic Old Town"! Historic Old Town? We cannot possibly be old enough to have lived in what is now a Historic Old Town. And our two children were born there as well. I know for sure they aren't old enough. Well we drove around a bit, got a nice place by the river and then went to dinner with our good friends Bill & Kathi. Had a wonderful time. This morning we are camped on beautiful Lake near Wolf Creek, Montana and plan to drive another couple of hours north to the East entrance to Glacier NP at a small village called St. Mary ( no "s"). We plan on at least two nights there before crossing the border into Canada. Oh yes, had a discussion with some guys who had been in the far north. They felt Pepper Spray was the best you could do for black and brown bears (much better than guns) but that Polar Bears are the problem that far north. Spray one of them with pepper and you would be asked to also pass the salt just before they “dug in”. This is so much fun, it really is.
Day 8, Glacier National Park
We are actually just outside the east entrance to the park. The “Highway To The Sun”, which crosses GNP is now closed. It was open last week but 3’ of new snow corrected that situation. The road is only open for 15 miles today but the Park Service thinks it will be open by next Tuesday. The “locals” are less sure. We are in a very nice Good Sam RV park called Johnson’s. I just got finished putting the rain fly on the side tent, it is cold (low 50’s), completely overcast and VERY windy. Our Raindrop continues to perform perfectly and always attracts a great deal of attention. Everyone we talk to that is heading north for the summer (should one be scheduled) is worried about their tires so I got thinking about changing one on the “drop”. I keep the scissor jacks lubricated but the mechanical advantage of that little “jackhandle” got me worried. Posted on the forum and everyone suggested a cordless drill. Don’t know what I was thinking, if I was at all, and left mine at home. Now I have two. More as we progress along the way.
Jim & Mary Anne
