Michael Tefft's Blog, page 6

Day Seventeen: The Corn is as High as an Elephant’s Eye

With a not so early start today (we had fewer miles to drive today), we left Iowa and headed east. This was our view as we hit the road (which has kind of been our view for the last couple mornings):

Very soon, we crossed the Mississippi and entered into Illinois – this time we actually had a sign welcoming us:

We continued driving across Illinois (and avoiding Chicago).  The following was our view when we ate lunch at one of the Rest Areas of Highway 74. It added a little je ne sais quoi to our lunch:

On we travelled across Illinois – swinging by Peoria:

And lots and lots of corn:

Eventually, we crossed into Indiana:

And after driving through the country, we finally arrived in Bloomington.  After settling in at our hotel, we went to downtown Bloomington for dinner:

Tomorrow, we take our tour of Indiana University and then travel to Cincinnati to connect with friends.

Happy journeys!

Mike

Day Sixteen: You Ought to Give Iowa a Try…

This morning we left Mitchell, South Dakota and headed south to Iowa. As we got to Iowa, the countryside began to change from the flat plains to gently rolling hills. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought I was back in upstate New York.

We saw lots of corn and soybeans as we travelled from one side of the state to the other. We drove past Des Moines, the state capital:

On our way across Iowa, we started making up character names when we came to an exit with two town names. Some of the interesting characters we came up with today include Emery Farmer, Salem Yankton, Davis Hurley, and Colfax Mingo!

Being the huge Star Trek dork that I am, it’s no surprise that I would know that Riverside, Iowa was the birthplace of James T. Kirk. And as it happened, we would be driving within twenty or so miles on our way across Iowa, So I begged my family and if only to shut me off, we took a detour to visit.

The first thing you notice when you enter Riverside are the banners:

We pulled into town and found the Voyage Home Museum:

Although they were actually close, the kind people re-opened it so we could go in. And I was like a kid in a candy store:

It looks like someone might not be coming back from this away mission

We travelled into town and I paid homage to the birthplace of James Tiberious Kirk:

Riverside also hosts its own Trek convention in June and they have a number of cast members who have attended (Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, and Walter Koenig).  The convention information is here: http://trekfest.com

We hopped in the car and continued east to Davenport. But as we approached Davenport, we were also trying to outrun a storm:

Fortunately, we made it our hotel before the storm!

Tomorrow, we leave Iowa, cross Illinois (but go nowhere near Chicago), and arrive at Bloomington, Indiana so that we can visit Indiana University.

Happy journeys!

Mike

Day Fifteen: Life is a Highway

Another early day on the road. We left Sheridan, Wyoming and headed out on the road. Today we crossed two states and two time zones. And while our trip yesterday from Montana to Wyoming was filled with varied scenery, Once we left Wyoming, the scenery was much less varied:

Pretty much plains in every direction, occasionally broken by interesting hills or rock formations, but mostly plains like this:

And I know it sounds boring, and I won’t lie, that sometimes it was. But getting the chance to drive across the country mile by mile has been worth it. I really have an appreciation for how big this country of ours really is. That gets lost when you hop on a jet and hours later, you can be halfway across the country, skipping any number of states and time zones. It’s fascinating to see the differences and similarities in our country and I never would have seen that from a plane.

In all of the great adventure stories, the bulk of the story is the travel to get to the ultimate destination and how that travel changes the protagonist. I’m not sure how I’m changed exactly yet, but I have forgotten my work problems and although there is a level of stress in driving, it no way resembles the stress I felt before I left.  Travel has a way of making you feel very small and insignificant by making you feel connected to the greater world.

Tomorrow, we’re back on the road and heading across South Dakota, Minnesota, and into Iowa.

Happy journeys!

Mike

 

Day Fourteen: Wild Montana Skies, Part II

Today, we packed up the Cube and started the trek from Missoula to Sheridan, Wyoming.  Not long after we left Missoula, we saw a billboard for “Testicle Festival” (unfortunately, no picture). Later on, with more than a little trepidation, I later googled it and according to Wikipedia, it’s a festival geared around eating deep fried…well, you get it.  That certainly was an interesting way to start the day.

Driving through Montana is a study in landscapes: on the west side, it’s all mountains and hills ; on the east it’s plains.

We did stop for lunch in Bozeman, Montana. And since everything does revolve around Star Trek, Bozeman will be the scene of First Contact a couple of hundred years:

A variety of the scenery we saw on the way:

We passed by the site of the Battle of Little Big Horn and elected not to stop because we had a long day of driving. We finally entered Wyoming (we missed the sign on our way in the first time):

We made it our stop in Sheridan, Wyoming and had a good meal. Tomorrow, we travel to Mitchell, South Dakota.

Happy journeys,

Mike

Day Thirteen: Homeward Bound

Today, we turned around and started our way back home. We liked Seattle and wished we could have spent more time there, but it was time to start back. Today was the mirror of Day 10; this time driving from Seattle to Missoula, Montana. I got the lucky job of driving out of Seattle at 8:00 this morning. The parking lot cleverly disguised as a freeway was where I had to go first thing this morning:

We eventually clawed our way through the traffic and escaped Seattle and drove across Washington:

I also got to take over the driving just outside of Spokane, so I can say that I’ve officially unlocked the “Washington Urban Driving Achievement”.

We continued through Idaho (including a lovely section of one lane road where we got stuck behind a tractor trailer laboring up the mountains ) and finally reached Missoula.  When we were here on Sunday, we ate at the Iron Horse Grill – we loved it so much that we ate there again tonight, even though it wasn’t close to our hotel. And we weren’t disappointed – another great meal:

Tomorrow, we’re off to Sheridan, Wyoming.

Happy journeys,

Mike