Left Coast

5919 miles.  We're home.  We left Bozeman this morning with a small decision to make.  We could stop in Coeur d'Alene after a fairly short drive and finish our trip the next day, or take it all of the way home… we opted for the later. 

We took I-90 all of the way home so nothing of note to mention regarding the last leg of our trip.  Being home, however; not long after we arrived and pulled the luggage and old brochures and debris out of the car we begin to reflect on what we've just done.  We took the long way home, from the other side of the country and saw and did so many things that it's hard to remember where each memorial event took place.  It's kind of funny how quickly things become a memory that could have taken place yesterday or a month ago.  We kept moving and had very little "down time" so events are kind of a blurr. 

It's amazing how much the landscape changes throughout the country.  Big mountains, little mountains.  Completely flat areas and hilly areas.  Some of the east and southeast areas of the country are so flat and sea level that it's easy to understand how storms can wreak such havoc in the areas.  

I think you can get a general understanding of the nature of people or at least there environment by watching them drive.  Some areas of the country people are pretty easygoing and will let you merge or make that left turn without giving it a second thought. Other areas: Boston, New York, you have to drive with a bit of an aggressive hand, and if you make eye contact, you just lost.  New York they like to use their horns.  It's unclear how they expect the situation to change because they honked the horn, but that doesn't stop them.  The cars seem to communicate wit each other using the horn.  It's all interesting to watch. 

It was a good trip.  It's nice to be home too. 

Big Sky

Heading north on 191 out of Rock Springs, you pass through range land.  Miles and miles of range.  Along the way we saw deer and antílope playing.  We saw a home on the range.  We even saw a red river in a valley.  Enough so, that you could write a song.  Actually not joking.  We did see all of that. 

We picked our route specifically to take us through Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park.  We were just passing through so there is certainly much more to see, but we sure enjoyed what we saw.  

Teton has the beauty and Yellowstone is unique.  

Plenty of wildlife (animals) made us proceed with caution. We've had many animals run across the road in front of us and virtually thousands of antílope watching us pass by.  Buffalo seemed to run rampant through Yellowstone. 

 

In Yellowstone, you could tell where there was something to see by the cluster of vehicles, whether or not it happened to be at a pull off area.  I could imagine myself pulling of the road at a random place to relieve myself, only to be followed by thousands of tourists with cameras. 

 We make our way through the park and on to Bozeman Montana for the night.  We're getting ever closer to home…

Across State Lines

Although our visit in Colorado was brief, we tried to make a reasonable attempt to see some of the sights. That included the continuation of our trip home. 

Tonight we find ourselves in Rock Springs, Wyoming, but we took the scenic route getting here.  

Our route took us through Breckenridge, Colorado, over the mountains and through some absolutely beautiful scenery.  (We didn't get any good pictures, so this is a stock photo) 

We wound our way over the mountain and watched as the high altitude trees slowly transitioned into rangeland.  Along the way we crossed the Contential Divide twice 

Rock Springs is an old coal mining town with a more modern peripheral area.  The place has an interesting history but one thing worth noting is that Butch Cassidy picked up his "Butch" nickname here while working as a butcher. 

Dinner and refreshments were at Bitter Creek Brewing, the local brew pub. 

Just Short of 14,114'

We left Hays Kansas around 9:00 this morning, continuing our journey west.  We crossed the border into Colorado, hardly noticing a difference other than the quality of pavement.  Finally a little way in, the terrain starts to become a little more hilly and the highway has corners.  We're already over 5 to 6000 feet in altitude. 

Today's destination takes us into Colorado for a night in Colorado Springs.  Colorado Springs just happens to be close to the world famous Pike's Peak.  We decided to take the ride up and follow the path of all of those famous racers. 

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is the second oldest auto race in the U.S.; 12.42 mile course with 156 turns ending at the 14115 foot ...

 

Because of snow and heavy fog near the top, we were only able to drive up to mile 11 of the 19 mile road.  Twisty and very scenic, even with the showers that enveloped us most of the way.  We were a little concerned about the clay hillsides.  Rocks and mud debris had fallen onto the roadway in several places and it looked as though some hillsides could have given way.  Luckily all was good. 

 On the way up to Pikes Peak we stopped by the old cliff dwellers homes and thought we'd have a look around.  It seems they moved out some years ago and nobody is sure where they are now.  Pretty crafty, those people.  Quite amazing what you can make work for yourself without building codes. 

Back in town and checked into a hotel, we set out on foot to check out the downtown area.  We got as far as 

Jack Quinn's Irish Pub.  In for a pint or two, we got to talking with the bar staff.  As soon as they learned our travels and intended destination, they were very helpful in suggesting places to see on route. 

As we were about to leave and see more of the town and check out a few possible places for dinner, another huge rain squall moved over the top of us.  It was intense enough that if we had tried to even walk next door, we would have been soaked.  We stayed for dinner. 

We'll press on tomorrow.  Probably to Wyoming. 

Somewhere in Kansas

Tonight, we hole up in Hays Kansas.  Where the hell is that, you ask!  I'm not really sure.  Kind of in the middle of flat.  Apparently one of the bigger of the small towns.  Seems nice; friendly people. 

We did make a stop for lunch today.  A friend was in Kansas City, Missouri not too long ago and stopped at a barbecue place that he raved about.  We thought we'd stop and check it out.  Q39 Barbecue has to be some of the best barbecue that we've ever had.  The brisket, pork ribs, burnt ends and there sauces were textbook perfect. If you're ever within a couple hundred miles of the place, it's worth the drive!  They actually are a world championship joint and it shows.  Okay, enough advertising for them. 

Back in Hays, we found a room and went off to explore the area.  Our first stop was Defiance Brewing.  

It was a very nice place with good beer and a very helpful beertender.  As we sipped a couple of pints, we got to asking about good places around to have dinner. She was nice enough to write down 7 or 8 of her favourites (I didn't think the town was that big).  Out of the mix, we decided on more barbecue. 

 We pulled up to and sat down at TK's Smokhaus.  Just after the bartender delivered our drinks, she asked if we'd like some free bacon…?  To the dumbfounded look on our faces, the bartender went on to explain that from 8:00pm till closing, every Thursday, they have free bacon.  Now, taco places will give you tortilla chips and salsa; some restaurants will give you some bread, but this place…not just an hors d'oeuvre sized portion of bacon, but a whole damn plate!  It gets even better!  The bacon is All-You-Can-Eat!  No kidding! 

We couldn't possibly even finish a single plate of bacon. We did put the leftovers in a box for road snacks.  

We had an idea for a light meal even before we rolled in.  Perhaps feeling a little obligated, we did order it, but just ate just enough to taste that their barbecue is good too.  We're not sure if it's as good as Q39, but it's good.  So, if you ever find yourself in the middle of Kansas on a Thursday, you know where to head. 

We waddled out, fully showing the effects of a bacon overdose.  There was more town to explore so we went in search of Main Street.  We cruised up and down Main St. before calling it a night.  Hays is a nice, clean town lined with turn of the century (19-20th) brick buildings. 

We're looking forward to a totally different experience tomorrow as we head into Colorado.