EAST to WEST via 15 STATES — Fall 1998

Background: After 7 months in the East operating our TRACE instrument and having a variety of other enjoyable times it became time to go back to California. The dates for a meeting at GSFC and then one in Palo Alto defined the two week window for this activity as the end of October and start of November (with Halloween midway). Dawna, of course, had had a fine time driving East back in March and I wanted to participate in going the other direction. Besides the time frame, the general approach was formed around a desire to visit folks along the way (Louisville, Urbana, Boulder, and Salt Lake City) and to see nice Fall colors (beginning with the nearby mountains). The rest of the game plan was to be determined en route with the governing concept being to not be in a rush.

This all sounds relatively easy but ignores the fact that moving is basically a pain and Dawna had to spend several weeks packing up our apartment and sending most of it to Cupertino, while I spent a couple days doing likewise with my GSFC office. Eventually UPS was in charge of about 14 boxes of home stuff and Emery Freight had 6 or so boxes of office stuff. The former, by the way seemed to be nearly twice what we had sent East a half year earlier demonstrating the fine job of nesting that Dawna had been doing ..... but I suppose I'm exaggerating. In any case, we spent Saturday finishing our packing and loading most of the car. The load involved a fair amount of food since even though we had been trying to eat our way through the stores for the last month or so we hadn't exactly accomplished it.

Sunday-1: Up at 6 AM and on the road by 8. Actually, this is a bit of a lie since it was the first day of non-daylight savings time so officially we were up at 5, but we ignored that technical detail. The two hour gap provided time for a big breakfast of bacon and hash browns (more items out of the freezer) and final loading of the car. Twas a beautiful day and we sailed over to the top of Shenandoah Nat'1 park. Got a new Golden Eagle as our old one had just transpired, stopped at the Visitor Center to chat with the Ranger and bought a book on short hikes in the park. Things were pretty uncrowded since it was like 8:45 AM (real/non-daylight time) and the center only opened at 8:30. Clear sky, sunshine, splendid leaves, not too much traffic - a nice start. And we headed down Skyline Drive.

The rest of the day was basically drive a few miles, stop at a scenic overlook (usually getting out but not always), stop for a short hike, continue. We did five hikes with the longest being a couple of miles. They were all quite enjoyable and provided nice views and lots of color. As the day progressed the crowds increased but it was never the traffic-jam sort of situation we had been concerned about. Shenandoah receives like 2 million visitors a year and 25% are in the month of October, thus our concern. Turns out things had slowed down a bit by this last weekend in the month, however. Still, when we did stop at a picnic area for a late lunch/early dinner we had to work a bit to get a table. Then, out came the Black Box BBQ and we feasted on lamb chops and potatoes plus beer/wine/chips, etc. All while looking at splendid color in shirt sleeve weather. Eventually it got toward dusk of course and we had gone all of 50 miles down the park! We were near Big Meadows where they have a (historical) lodge, camping, and other facilities. Figured nothing ventured = nothing gained so asked if they had a room and they did - and we took it. An old cabin that was over priced for the accommodations but not over priced for the convenience and setting. Checked out the lodge, was glad we didn't have to wait in line for dinner like others were doing, made phone calls to the folks we would be visiting shortly, and hit the bed. A fine night's rest after a good start for our adventure; although probably still as far from Cupertino as we were at our apartment in Maryland.

Monday-1: Up pretty earlier (still sort of acting like it was still daylight savings time so as to get the maximum use of the daylight portion of each day) and had coffee and camp coffee cake in the room. We were carrying our main kitchen coffee maker with us for just such occasions plus we had wanted to use it to the bitter end in the apartment rather than ship it. Then we continued down the road following the approach of the day before but with fewer stops. Did get in one nice, but still short, hike to the highest point in the park. By mid morning we were at the bottom of the park (103 miles from the top) and off we went, finally headed West. Drove along I-64 with the fall colors continuing to be quite nice and looking up the Shenandoah Valley and subsequent valleys also being neat. Some literature we had mentioned a unique covered bridge near Covington so we pulled off and sought it. Didn't do it in the most efficient manner; but finally found the bridge and it was very nice and in a splendid setting.

Soon we were into West Virginia (the S, Park was in Virginia and we had started in Maryland of course). Part of the game plan was to linger through WV since we'd never done much in this state. The next "side trip" was to a Wendys for lunch which again was not done efficiently due to some poor roadside markings. But a positive aspect of this goof was that we drove by the famous Greenbriar Resort of which I have heard for decades. Didn't eat there but rather at the Wendys; and there is even a bit of a story to that. Dawna likes their pita things, Helen had given her a set of gift certificates, she couldn't locate them at this point in time, we stopped and had the pitas anyway; and I liked mine as well - even eating all the salad that is part of it! We then headed north west on US-60 in order to stop at New River where there is a spectacular bridge, along with a visitors center and a walk down to a nice view point of the gorge. All quite good/enjoyable.

Continued onward along the rivers (first the New and then the Kanawha) to Charleston. Splendid drive along the rivers. The goal here was the state capital building with its fine architecture, golden dome, super duper chandelier, and other stuff. Deliberately got there by 4 PM in hopes of getting a decent tour but that wasn't happening. However, the lady at the information desk said she was head of such tours so she'd give us one herself; which she did and which we enjoyed. Walked a bit along the river that runs right next to the capital, the weather still being great. Then, drove to a park on the edge of town and cooked dinner (barely beating the approaching darkness). Tonight's out-of-the-freezer dinner was a batch of Italian sausages. Bought gas (the gauge was on empty) and got back onto 1-64, soon leaving West Virginia and entering Kentucky. Drove a couple of hours and stopped at a routine motel in Morehead (don't they have an excellent basketball team?).

Tuesday-1: Got up at a reasonable time, had coffee and donuts in the lobby and then hit the road. Dawna was saying "what are we gong to sightsee on the way to the Olssons" and I had no answers since I had figured all we'd be doing was going straight to Louisville. Began to read the book and wished we had driven farther the night before so we could have done a few of the tempting items (like going to a Bourbon distillery) but such was life. So, we "just" selected an item basically along the way - the Red Mile race track in Lexington. This is primarily for surrey racing. Things were peaceful and we walked in as if we owned it, asked a fellow if we could get closer to the track than the inner grandstand where we were, and he opened a door and we went to the track edge. Various folks were working their horses out and we watched awhile; again nice sunshine and a nice setting. Wandered back through the grandstand^etting area and out to the stables ignoring the signs that said no trespassing. Dawna talked to, and petted, a couple of horses and then we started talking to a fellow who had one horse on a lead rope eating grass. The horse had like a sprinkler system dispensing water on all his legs and we learned how this is good for the horse and how she enjoys it. Turns out she (name is Fern - helpful if you are placing bets) is the best horse on the circuit this year, has won 12 of 17 races and has made like $640K thus far; soon to be a millionaire. Thus this fellow spoils her and accepts the cash! Neat treat to interact with them.

Drove westward through fine horse country, noting how popular black fences were; more of them than white ones and they do look good against the green (it wasn't blue even if it was Kentucky) grass. Got to Olsson before lunch time, chatted in the back yard while leaves fell on our heads, had some lunch (fish from their pond), kept on chatting, and a bit later took a tour of their spread. It is quite extensive compared to when we were there 19 years ago since they have bought 65 acres that bordered their prior "farm." Got in a reasonable hike seeing their land which included some splendid hardwood forests and some streams. Plus "met" their 8 horses who were running on the land - a very congenial group and in excellent condition (says D who is the horse person of course). Returned to the house as it was getting dark. bbq'd T-bone steaks, and had a chatty dinner. Some places along all this we did a tour of their amazing collections which fundamentally fill the entire house. Of order 2,000 dolls many of which came from Lynn's mother's collection after she died; of order of a few hundred model airplanes built by Don; books/magazines on both topics; and lots and lots of other "old" stuff. You have to see it to believe it and we only had time to actually discuss a couple of dozen items at most. To bed - in a room full of airplanes .....

Wednesday-1: A relaxed breakfast and then moved out, but not getting very far since our first stop was just across the river (into Indiana) from Louisville - The Falls of the Ohio State Park. This is an area of the river where a dam has left a bunch of land exposed and the rocky surface there is chocked full of fossils. There is a nice visitor center in which we spent a fair amount of time, and then we walked around outside looking at fossils. No, we didn't take any as that was against the rules. On the other hand, Dawna had taken a couple of fine specimens from the Olsson's spread. Before heading onward we had another bbq meal - steak (& chips & potatoes & salad & beer & wine). The table sat there looking out on the river, on the fossil beds, and across the river at the skyline/waterfront of Louisville - quite nice. Eventually moved on, basically driving up the freeway (1-65) towards Indianapolis and then westward (1-74) to Champaign/Urbana where the Swensons live. Arrived around 5 PM and witnessed Bonnie "negotiating" with the IRS over the phone. Then, went for a walk around the neighborhood - very nice, right next to farm land, and lots of fall leaves. Gary came home from "work" and we chatted, toured the house (large and nice), and then had a spaghetti dinner with wine and lots of talking topped off by one of Bonnie's double chocolate cake (with ice cream) deserts! Some living. To bed, a bit late for us, and a fine sleep.

Thursday-1: Relaxed breakfast with Gary making waffles and drinking tons of coffee and then hit the road; this time southward (1-57) with a hint of westward. Yes, we have basically been going north and south on this trip thus far with a bit of a westward trend. The next general target was the Ozarks, mainly because I've never really been there and they represent an interesting place in the middle of the US; but this also meant dropping further south than makes sense (like back to the Louisville level and then further south yet). Fair amount of rain/mist but not a lot to see other than nice midwest farmland anyway. So, Dawna drove and I read whatever literature I had at hand in order to plot a route and appropriate stops. Got off the interstate to wonder towards the Mississippi River where the second picnic place we hit turned out to be a winner. Covered picnic table (it was misting off and on) and a fine view of the river - some great tugs pushing barges up and down it, etc. This banquet was bbq'd chicken. Now these bbq stops require a bit of time what with a need to make a fire and cook the food and then eat it and a bit of time to cool off the black box. But such forced slowdowns were good things and the settings were generally excellent (as was the food). Post meal we crossed the M into Missouri for a bit and then into Arkansas. We had decided to do the Arkansas part of the Ozarks in order to also see Arkansas. Drove a bit after dark, and got a motel at the edge of the Ozarks in the town of Hardy (for reference we were now on US-62).

Friday-1: Awoke to dense fog which threatened to harm our sightseeing but we didn't want to just sit there so we headed off (basically westward) and within 5 minutes we were in the sunshine. Up and down the hilly and colorful country we went. After a bit we took a side trip dropping southward on a state road (#14) in order to cross the Buffalo National River area. Fine scenery. Then a bit more westward, and then back northward and across the river again. Stopped at the Tyier Bend Visitor Center which was excellent with a nice ranger, fine film, good exhibits on the area and specifically on the river. The thrust is that this was the first river in the US to be declared a National River (1972) so much politics were involved in saving it from the Army Core of Engineers and their dams, etc. Now it presents like 150 miles of scenic/wild river that one can float down and their are plenty of canoe groups that will arrange any degree of trip for you. We got excited about the possibilities of doing some of this some day, but admit that it is a long way from anywhere. By now Dawna was getting into stopping at antique/junk/craft/etc stores along these back ways and we hit a good one just north of the river; even making a few purchases.

Once back on US-62 we continued westward. Next stop/exploring was Eureka Springs which is a large "tourist trap" with many of the attractions being religious in nature (such as Ne~w Holy Land Tour, Sacred Arts Center, Bible Museum, Church in the Grove, Parables of the Potter Presentations, Christ of the Ozarks Statue, and a Great Passion Play). They also have their share ofOzark folk stuff, musicals/plays, stores, amusements, and the like. For reference the AAA book has 31 motels listed in Eureka Hot Springs. I mention this metric because when I first started to look at towns with AAA stars in or near Ozark country I bumped into Branson (which is just up the road 40 miles or so into Missouri) and it had 92! Turns out it is the country music capital of the US now days according to many folks, like it has 35 theaters/music halls listed in the book. Amazing and I'd never heard of it! We avoided going there, by the way. Anyway, driving around Eureka Springs was interesting due to the tourist attractions and then all of a sudden we were on a "historical loop" drive where every house was a restored grand (often Victorian) house that is now a B&B. With Autumn leaves everywhere sparkling in the sunshine this was a fine scene.

Then headed west again leaving the Ozarks before dark and getting into the plains of Oklahoma. Our general approach each day was to drive a couple hours after dark, since dark came so soon, but to arrange things so that we didn't miss much by doing this. Also, we got up pretty early each day in order to get as much daylight as practical at the end of October. By now we had left US-62 and were on US-60, the same highway where we saw the covered bridge and New River gorge in West Virginia. We ended up stopping in Ponca City (or was it in Pawhuska?) at a non fancy (but cheap I admit) motel. By now it was also raining.

Saturday-1: Coffee cake and coffee in the room and hit the road. Still raining. Headed out across Oklahoma with the plan being to check things out along the way and eventually see Capulin Volcano Nat'1 Monument in northeastern New Mexico. First stop was to be at the Salt Plains Nat'1 Wildlife Refuge but it was raining so hard all we did was drive around the refuge for a few minutes. Oh, yes, on the way we passed north of Enid by about 20 miles but I didn't drop down and see Mickey Mantle's home town. Speaking of which when we were rolling up Indiana on the way to the Swensons we could have deterred to French Lick to see Larry Bird's home town and didn't so guess I'm just not a real sports fan.

Anyway, at Salt Plains it was raining hard enough that we decided we ought to head for more major roads which meant going northward, perhaps all the way to 1-80. Good idea. but also meant additional less major roads and these just happened to be flooding. We drove through several places where the water was rushing across the road and much higher than one would like and held our breathes/etc, but made it up to US-50 which although not a freeway (1-80 was quite a bit further north and we didn't think we'd necessarily go that far north unless we made contact with some folks in Boulder via the telephone) was much less likely to flood and the rain had even lessened. Stopped in Greensburg, Kansas to see the World's Largest Hand Dug Well; 32' in diameter, 109' deep, you get to walk down a spiral staircase in it and it is actually rather nice. The Chamber of Commerce runs it and has a gift shop there which also contains the World's Largest Pallasite Meteorite It turns out an amazing number of meteors have been found in the local area and they have information about that. Plus, the lady running it was very friendly/ informative and it was a chance to get out of the rain. Yes, we bought a few things there.

We then continued westward on US-50 listening to reports of the flooding behind us, skipping Dodge City and Garden City as other possible stops along the Santa Fe Trail road; but we did get out to try to see some "real" wagon tracks in a light rain and heavy wind. Eventually found an indoor telephone and made our contact with Boulder. Oh, yes, just a bit out of Greensburg there was a spot where some "crazy" person has made and placed hundreds of "metal artwork" figurines in a lot next to the highway. Most were making some sort of political statement; e.g., a Clinton figure with the worlds telephone sax, oral is moral, Monica and Bill written next to the figure. Rolled into Colorado and the rain had let up enough and the road was fine enough that we stopped for a pizza. This was our Halloween dinner. Continued another hour or so pulling in at a motel in Puebelo, Had a nice warm bath, watched enough TV to hear about the flooding we'd "escaped" and hit the hay. •

Sunday-2: Continental breakfast in the lobby and then headed towards Boulder. Still raining and by the time we gained a couple thousand feet in elevation north of Colorado Springs there was plenty of snow on the sides of the road and a bit in the air; but we were on a "nice" interstate. Was quite overcast so didn't have good views of the mountains unfortunately. However, the evergreens along with road side were crusted with new snow and quite pretty. By Denver the rain/snow had pretty much quit and there was even some sunshine in Boulder. Went to the apartment of Andrew Borner and Amber, had a cup of coffee, chatted, and then headed out for lunch. Ate at a Brew Pub which had good beer and good food and continued our enjoyable conservation. Dawna in fact felt it was the best restaurant meal she had on this trip. They are real nice "kids" and we were glad we had made the effort to route our trip through there. They bent over backwards to be hospitable with we old folks. Oh, yes. Amber's mother was one of the first in the country to start one of these places where you paint your own pottery with their supervision/ help; and we went and saw the shop - neat, especially with Amber as a guide. Back at the apartment we looked over some maps, discussed several options, considered the weather, and hit the road westward. This time on US-40, as opposed to the interstate (both 1-70 and 1-80 were candidates) in order to see neat scenery without getting off on real back roads. The roads were clear but the sky was foggy so not great viewing. However, as we crossed the Continental Divide it got much better and we then saw some a lot of fine Rocky Mountain scenery. Pulled into Steamboat Springs a bit after dark, got a motel, snacked a bit (the lunch had been so filling as to not leave us interested in dinner) and had a fine sleep.

Monday-2: Raining gently again so couldn't go for a hike in the nice mountains or even for a walk of the various springs; but did drive around a bit checking out the huge complex. It is based on ski resorts but also has a large number of summer attractions (the literature lists 9 antique places, 19 art galleries, 10 places to rent boats, 2 breweries, 19 fishing/guide services, 15 horseback ride places, 8 rafting outfits, etc, etc). With wilderness in various directions it would be a fun summer stop except for the likely crowds. Next stop was Dinosaur National Monument. Fantastic display of dinosaur bones in an uplifted layer of sediment and fine informative displays in the visitor center. Makes one want to certainly go to the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh where many of the dinosaurs skeletons have been reassembled. Bought the appropriate literature and did the couple of hour drive with many stops along the way - such as super good petroglyphs, fine geology, interesting old homestead, etc. Cool and drizzling so again didn't get to do a hike of any significance. As an aside, there are a couple of different roads into the overall park and it would be a great place to go back and explore with the Toy! But for now, it was on the road again but rather than staying on US-40 into Salt Lake City, we headed north to see a bit of Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. Another fine spot for some future time but this time we merely drove by and looked out the window; and we also encountered some snow flurries so wanted to get to the Interstate (80) before dark. Which we did and so after going through a pass with a fair amount of snow flurry we stopped for dinner in Evanston. Dawna had a T-Bone steak and I had liver and both were poor. Makes one realize why we like those bbq's of ours. Got to SLC by about 8 PM, chatted with everyone at Dawna's folks' place and went to bed.

Tuesday-2: Did appropriate things around the house and that night took "everyone" out to Chuck -0-Rama for dinner. During the day we saw Dawna's dad, Jim, at the "rest home" -but he wasn't very conversant.