We had a great time visiting Lewis and Clark's Fort Clatsop near Astoria, OR and then exploring Portland!
We rode the excellent public transportation (it was nice to park the bus for two days) and had our Voodoo donuts. We,walked along the river and saw Mount Hood from the city.
We ate excellent food from food trucks - Polish, Mexican, Chinese, Thai and others. The kids discovered smoothies made with fruit and vegetables. We visited neat shops and museums and we interacted with some interesting people. One man in particular (we named him "Max Rider") has entertained us for hours as we reflected on the absurdities he spouted as fact.
The Saturday Market was an experience not to be missed - even in the the 93+ degree heat. Sasha and Elliott both bought paintings that spoke to them. Portland was a great city to visit!
On the way home, trekked to a ghost town -an abandoned gold mining town in the mountains in Montana. The 8 mile, one-lane, unpaved road to get there was crazy bad and we destroyed an ABS sensor. The "better" one-lane road back was even worse, but afforded some great views. Meeting a couple trucks coming the other was provided was white-knuckle moments on the mountain.
We made it through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota. We are in St. Cloud Minnesota now. Minnesota feels comfortable and familiar like home, even though we are still ~ 1000 miles away.
We are working our way to Pittsburgh for a family reunion this Saturday. Pictures to follow...
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Washington...to the Pacific!
Hi Friends and Family,
This country is huge. That is one of the key lessons / impressions we were hoping to instill in Elliott and Sasha as we tried to have them look up from their tablets.
We've made it as far west as we ever thought of going - to the beaches on the Pacific coast of Oregon!
From Wendover / West Wendover Utah / Nevada (where Lee had a lengthy discussion with the owner of a pawn shop near the casinos) we headed North through the Nevada scrub land and into Idaho.
Idaho was beautiful in it's own way - like every state we've seen. Shortly after crossing from Nevada into Idaho their was irrigation everywhere and things got a lot greener. We stopped at Twin Falls and visited a fantastic park, with falls on the Snake River, and then headed out to "Balanced Rock" where the kids stretched their legs. They loved climbing.
After a night in a state park along the pioneers "Oregon Trail", we headed to Boise for laundry and bus repair. As we entered Idaho, a small fuel leak on the cylinder #1 injector return line appeared. No one (ok, just the 3 different shops I was recommended to visit) in Boise was willing to help me with the repair, while A-C and the kids did laundry. (The kids were on the free WiFi: A-C did all of the work.) Lee ended up buying fuel line at an O'Reilly's Auto parts and planned for pulling the passenger wheel to access the injector. The leak seems to still be small enough to not impact the mileage (still about 15 mpg, even into the west winds and uphills), so I am not messing with it yet.
From Boise we pressed west in Oregon and along scenic Route 26 to Mt. Hood. We got really tired and slept along the road. The moonless sky and the stars were amazing.
We stopped at the Timberline lodge - an historic and truly great hotel where the outdoor shot of "The Shining" were filmed. We enjoyed watching the snow boarders roll into the ski area and head up onto the snow of Mt. Hood. Heading north to and then along the Columbia river, we saw some great waterfalls and then when all the way west to Astoria, OR (having passed through a bit of SW Washington). We played in the sand and Pacific waters at Shipwreck beach in Fort Stevens State Park.
It's all about heading back east from here...
This country is huge. That is one of the key lessons / impressions we were hoping to instill in Elliott and Sasha as we tried to have them look up from their tablets.
We've made it as far west as we ever thought of going - to the beaches on the Pacific coast of Oregon!
From Wendover / West Wendover Utah / Nevada (where Lee had a lengthy discussion with the owner of a pawn shop near the casinos) we headed North through the Nevada scrub land and into Idaho.
Idaho was beautiful in it's own way - like every state we've seen. Shortly after crossing from Nevada into Idaho their was irrigation everywhere and things got a lot greener. We stopped at Twin Falls and visited a fantastic park, with falls on the Snake River, and then headed out to "Balanced Rock" where the kids stretched their legs. They loved climbing.
After a night in a state park along the pioneers "Oregon Trail", we headed to Boise for laundry and bus repair. As we entered Idaho, a small fuel leak on the cylinder #1 injector return line appeared. No one (ok, just the 3 different shops I was recommended to visit) in Boise was willing to help me with the repair, while A-C and the kids did laundry. (The kids were on the free WiFi: A-C did all of the work.) Lee ended up buying fuel line at an O'Reilly's Auto parts and planned for pulling the passenger wheel to access the injector. The leak seems to still be small enough to not impact the mileage (still about 15 mpg, even into the west winds and uphills), so I am not messing with it yet.
From Boise we pressed west in Oregon and along scenic Route 26 to Mt. Hood. We got really tired and slept along the road. The moonless sky and the stars were amazing.
We stopped at the Timberline lodge - an historic and truly great hotel where the outdoor shot of "The Shining" were filmed. We enjoyed watching the snow boarders roll into the ski area and head up onto the snow of Mt. Hood. Heading north to and then along the Columbia river, we saw some great waterfalls and then when all the way west to Astoria, OR (having passed through a bit of SW Washington). We played in the sand and Pacific waters at Shipwreck beach in Fort Stevens State Park.
It's all about heading back east from here...
Monday, July 13, 2015
Yellowstone to Grand Tetons to Salt Lake City - seized caliper
Hi Friends and Family,
Day 15,16,and 17. We are now on the Nevada border with Utah - Wendover / West Wendover.
Before finding an air-conditioned motel out of the 92+ degree heat, we had a chance to visit the Bonneville Salt Flats - very cool.
Prior to that, we walked around Salt Lake City and visited "Temple Square" - the HQ of the Latter Day Saint Church while the bus was getting a new front caliper at Jiffy Lube. Those guys were great and we had the crew sign the bus fender, just like in Chesterton, IN.
Day 15,16,and 17. We are now on the Nevada border with Utah - Wendover / West Wendover.
Before finding an air-conditioned motel out of the 92+ degree heat, we had a chance to visit the Bonneville Salt Flats - very cool.
Prior to that, we walked around Salt Lake City and visited "Temple Square" - the HQ of the Latter Day Saint Church while the bus was getting a new front caliper at Jiffy Lube. Those guys were great and we had the crew sign the bus fender, just like in Chesterton, IN.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Yellowstone? Check! We are having a great time!
Hi Friends and Family,
At Mount Rushmore, I met gentleman who helped carve the mountain! He still lives right near the site and was grateful to have the work at the time - though dangerous as it was. I bought the small book he authored about the project.
We considered visiting Crazy Horse (but the price was steep and the kids had enough of enormous mountain carvings) instead we went to Wind Cave. The kids and us were really impressed with this!
The bus did get us to Yellowstone on Day 10!
At Mount Rushmore, I met gentleman who helped carve the mountain! He still lives right near the site and was grateful to have the work at the time - though dangerous as it was. I bought the small book he authored about the project.
We considered visiting Crazy Horse (but the price was steep and the kids had enough of enormous mountain carvings) instead we went to Wind Cave. The kids and us were really impressed with this!
The bus did get us to Yellowstone on Day 10!
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Some Pictures! Now in Greybull, WY
Wall Drug:
Badlands.
more to come! Thanks for viewing.
Badlands.
Mount Rushmore:
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Sorry to leave you all hanging - everything is awesome!
Hi Friends and Family,
Resolution of the cliffhanger ending of our last post (Elliott gone missing) was only supposed to leave folks wondering for a few hours, not a few days. Sorry about that.
Of course we found Elliott. He wandered off because he didn't want to get a haircut with his dad. He disappeared for 2 hours (not like boy Jesus gone for two days). We looked around the nice little town of Chesterton thinking he may be lost in a book in a store or library. We saw that the library was closed and then started to get a bit concerned / annoyed. (But we didn't really have anything specific to do while the bus was out-of-action over at Jiffy-Lube in the generica part of town. Mainly we were hungry and needed to find a place to stay.)
Lee went back to the barber and asked the kind gentlemen at the shop (which was celebrating being in business for 121 years in the same spot) to ask where a 15 year old boy could be. I said that the library was closed and that we had looked in the elsewhere, The barbers said that Chesterton has two library buildings and we had only seen the library annex.
Elliott was discovered exactly where we expected him to be - in the library reading a Terry Pratchett novel. As so often happens, the passage of time had escaped him. Sasha and Elliott exchanged punches in the library, and all was back to normal.
We ate at George's Gyro Spot - a great value- and walked to the hotel we had booked from the library - the Best Western Indian Oak. It has a pool and Sasha was very happy with evening and morning swims.
Josh, the assistant manager at Jiffy Lube, did a great job tracking down the three parts needed (two fluid lines and the transmission cooler) and had us on the road by 11:30 the next morning. We headed west (to Bolingbrook, IL) for lunch at a BD's Mongolian BBQ - one of our favorite restaurants.
Then we were off to New Glarus, Wisconsin, a town settled by Swiss in 1848.
Resolution of the cliffhanger ending of our last post (Elliott gone missing) was only supposed to leave folks wondering for a few hours, not a few days. Sorry about that.
Of course we found Elliott. He wandered off because he didn't want to get a haircut with his dad. He disappeared for 2 hours (not like boy Jesus gone for two days). We looked around the nice little town of Chesterton thinking he may be lost in a book in a store or library. We saw that the library was closed and then started to get a bit concerned / annoyed. (But we didn't really have anything specific to do while the bus was out-of-action over at Jiffy-Lube in the generica part of town. Mainly we were hungry and needed to find a place to stay.)
Lee went back to the barber and asked the kind gentlemen at the shop (which was celebrating being in business for 121 years in the same spot) to ask where a 15 year old boy could be. I said that the library was closed and that we had looked in the elsewhere, The barbers said that Chesterton has two library buildings and we had only seen the library annex.
Elliott was discovered exactly where we expected him to be - in the library reading a Terry Pratchett novel. As so often happens, the passage of time had escaped him. Sasha and Elliott exchanged punches in the library, and all was back to normal.
We ate at George's Gyro Spot - a great value- and walked to the hotel we had booked from the library - the Best Western Indian Oak. It has a pool and Sasha was very happy with evening and morning swims.
Josh, the assistant manager at Jiffy Lube, did a great job tracking down the three parts needed (two fluid lines and the transmission cooler) and had us on the road by 11:30 the next morning. We headed west (to Bolingbrook, IL) for lunch at a BD's Mongolian BBQ - one of our favorite restaurants.
Then we were off to New Glarus, Wisconsin, a town settled by Swiss in 1848.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Made it to Chesterton, Indiana, then...
Hi All,
Thanks for your interest in our journey.
A Rainbow is not always a good thing.
The rainbow was first seen in Henrietta, and then at Cedar Point in Ohio, and then a at Indiana Dunes National Seashore.
The rainbow was on the ground in front of the bus. It was a small leak of transmission fluid.
Upon arriving a our campsite, the leak became a steady drip. After a good nights rest and a trip to the beautiful shore of Lake Michigan, we headed to K-Mart to buy transmission fluid.
In the parking lot of K-Mart, the red liquid was pouring out faster than a drip per second. Time to seek professional help.
A-C walked to Auto Zone and Mindi directed her to Jiffy Lube a stone's throw away. Josh, the assistant manager and ASE certified technician diagnosed the problem right away - rust had taken its toll on the cooling lines and cooler in the very front of the bus. With the bus running, the leaks were obvious.
Josh ordered parts, but that gives us about 23 hours to spend in Chesterton - a very nice community about an hour from Chicago. Everyone here has been really helpful and friendly.
We got a root beer float fir the kids, then walked to a park on the historic downtown. Lee got a haircut from Byron's Barber Shop. Bryon and his partner John were extremely welcoming and sympathetic to our situation. They were very helpful with our next situation...
Elliott goes missing! (to be continued)
Thanks for your interest in our journey.
A Rainbow is not always a good thing.
The rainbow was first seen in Henrietta, and then at Cedar Point in Ohio, and then a at Indiana Dunes National Seashore.
The rainbow was on the ground in front of the bus. It was a small leak of transmission fluid.
Upon arriving a our campsite, the leak became a steady drip. After a good nights rest and a trip to the beautiful shore of Lake Michigan, we headed to K-Mart to buy transmission fluid.
In the parking lot of K-Mart, the red liquid was pouring out faster than a drip per second. Time to seek professional help.
A-C walked to Auto Zone and Mindi directed her to Jiffy Lube a stone's throw away. Josh, the assistant manager and ASE certified technician diagnosed the problem right away - rust had taken its toll on the cooling lines and cooler in the very front of the bus. With the bus running, the leaks were obvious.
Josh ordered parts, but that gives us about 23 hours to spend in Chesterton - a very nice community about an hour from Chicago. Everyone here has been really helpful and friendly.
We got a root beer float fir the kids, then walked to a park on the historic downtown. Lee got a haircut from Byron's Barber Shop. Bryon and his partner John were extremely welcoming and sympathetic to our situation. They were very helpful with our next situation...
Elliott goes missing! (to be continued)
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