Thursday, July 7, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Next Stop New Jersey!
Woke up this morning in Rockford, Illinois. We hit some traffic trying to get through Chicago (people who bitch about Beltline in Eugene have no idea), but after that it was pretty much smooth sailing through the rest of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Molly is doing well. She's always her usual self, meaning either asleep or smiling. The only thing is that we pretty much have to bribe her with something tasty each time we need to get her back into the Element. Each time, it seems like it needs to be something more tasty than the last. By the end of the trip, we may need a rack of lamb to get her back in there. Now, we are stopped for the night in Clarion, Pennsylvania. We are pretty tired and sweaty, but we have cookies and lightening bugs. Both are magical, but not together, that would be gross. I can't beleive it, but we only have about 5 hours of driving left before we are at Romel and Grace's place in Hoboken! We are very excited to see everyone!! And Molly also wants to meet some city dogs. Maybe we can find a dog park somewhere???
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Pictures!!
Here are just a few pictures from Spokane, WA, Couer d'Alene, ID, Yellowstone National Park, WY, & Mount Rushmore, SD. Click on the link below:
Pictures: July 2 - 4.
We are spending the night in Rockford, IL, which is not too far outside of Chicago. May post more later. Tired. :)
Pictures: July 2 - 4.
We are spending the night in Rockford, IL, which is not too far outside of Chicago. May post more later. Tired. :)
A 3 state day
On July 4th we woke up in Sundance, WY. We loaded up the car and pulled out ... but we had a flat tire. We pulled back into our parking spot and started putting on the spare donut tire. A nice couple that was parked near us asked if the spare needed air. Dave and I hadn't thought about that! In the end, they drove Dave a short distance with the spare to get it filled up. They were headed to Yellowstone and we were able to give them our entry pass which was good until 7/9. So, good results for all of us.
The hotel clerk called a few tire places, but since it was the holiday (and we were in a tiny town) everywhere was closed. She called the nearest WalMart (in South Dakota in the direction we were going) and they were open. Once we had the spare on, we drove 29 miles (on the frontage road that the hotel clerk had told us about) and got our tire fixed. The total cost: $10.60 and about 3 hour delay on the start of our drive. While it was a bummer to have a flat, it was really easy to deal with! Way better than if the flat had happen on the road, at night, etc!
Once we were able to really get going, we went to Mt. Rushmore. It was really cool (well the monument was, not the tempature)! After leaving Mt. Rushmore, which is on the west side of the state, we drove through the rest of South Dakota and into Minnesota. Molly survived about 30 minutes of fireworks and did pretty well. We then work up to a thunderstorm and she's not a fan of thunder either! Poor girl!
Our plan today is to drive through Minnesota into Wisconsin. Not sure how far we'll get, but we plan to drive to Milwaukee and then along Lake Michigan.
The hotel clerk called a few tire places, but since it was the holiday (and we were in a tiny town) everywhere was closed. She called the nearest WalMart (in South Dakota in the direction we were going) and they were open. Once we had the spare on, we drove 29 miles (on the frontage road that the hotel clerk had told us about) and got our tire fixed. The total cost: $10.60 and about 3 hour delay on the start of our drive. While it was a bummer to have a flat, it was really easy to deal with! Way better than if the flat had happen on the road, at night, etc!
Once we were able to really get going, we went to Mt. Rushmore. It was really cool (well the monument was, not the tempature)! After leaving Mt. Rushmore, which is on the west side of the state, we drove through the rest of South Dakota and into Minnesota. Molly survived about 30 minutes of fireworks and did pretty well. We then work up to a thunderstorm and she's not a fan of thunder either! Poor girl!
Our plan today is to drive through Minnesota into Wisconsin. Not sure how far we'll get, but we plan to drive to Milwaukee and then along Lake Michigan.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
MT to WY via Yellowstone
Today was another fun day! We covered about 500 miles and went through Yellowstone National Park - very pretty! The only hiccup in the day was when I accidently closed the car door on Molly's tail! :(
Other than that, all good stuff! When we first got into Yellowstone we stopped and there were these little critters popping out of holes. Needless to say, they were Molly's favorite thing! I was calling them prarie dogs, but based on literature from Yellowstone, they were actually Yellow Belly Marmotts ... funny name for cute little guys! Our next wildlife encounter was a herd of bison. Later on we were driving about 35 miles and a single bison began running on oppisite side just off the road, but in our direction. Very impressive! We pulled over and got a few pics once he moved into the road and stopped traffic. We also saw a Mule Deer.
After leaving Yellowstone, it was just 6 hours of driving east in Wyoming. We've stopped for the night in Sundance. We are about 20 miles away from the SD border. We are going to go to Mt. Rushmore tomorrow morning. Seriously, we didn't plan any of this out, but seems like we must have to be at Mt. Rushmore on the 4th! Our plan tomorrow is to drive well into the night to avoid as many fireworks as possible. So far Molly has only barked a 1 when she was inside the hotel and a few outside. She's doing great in the car too! I just have to be extra careful with her tail!
I can't seem to get my photos to load now ... We'll figure it out and post soon!
Other than that, all good stuff! When we first got into Yellowstone we stopped and there were these little critters popping out of holes. Needless to say, they were Molly's favorite thing! I was calling them prarie dogs, but based on literature from Yellowstone, they were actually Yellow Belly Marmotts ... funny name for cute little guys! Our next wildlife encounter was a herd of bison. Later on we were driving about 35 miles and a single bison began running on oppisite side just off the road, but in our direction. Very impressive! We pulled over and got a few pics once he moved into the road and stopped traffic. We also saw a Mule Deer.
After leaving Yellowstone, it was just 6 hours of driving east in Wyoming. We've stopped for the night in Sundance. We are about 20 miles away from the SD border. We are going to go to Mt. Rushmore tomorrow morning. Seriously, we didn't plan any of this out, but seems like we must have to be at Mt. Rushmore on the 4th! Our plan tomorrow is to drive well into the night to avoid as many fireworks as possible. So far Molly has only barked a 1 when she was inside the hotel and a few outside. She's doing great in the car too! I just have to be extra careful with her tail!
I can't seem to get my photos to load now ... We'll figure it out and post soon!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Day 2: Pasco, WA to Livingston, MT
Before leaving leaving Washington today, we stopped for lunch in Spokane. It was a beautiful day--warm and a gorgeous blue, cloudless sky. We had lunch at a riverside park and the girls were super happy because they had fresh mini-donuts covered in powdered sugar for dessert. Next, we hit the road and made another stop in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Lake Coeur d'Alene is beautiful! We could have easily spent the whole day there. The only downside was that dogs were not allowed on the actual beach that we visited. Too bad, cuz we all wanted to take a swim. We hit the road again and stopped in downtown Missoula, Montana for a doggie walk and dinner. We actually had some pretty good pizza there (better than what we regularly eat in Eugene). Montana is a gorgeous state. We drove over the continental divide in the Rockie Mountains. We finally made it all the way to Livingston, Montana, which is close to the Wyoming border and not far from Yellowstone National Park. We'll drive through Yellowstone tomorrow morning and our plan is to make it all the way to just outside Mt Rushmore in South Dakota tomorrow night. All in all, day two was a spectacular day! Great weather, we saw two weddings, and ate donuts, and covered a lot of road! Glad to be at the hotel now. I love dog friendly hotels. This one is so friendly that there was a corgie at the bar. We have a lot more pictures that will have to wait until later to upload. Hopefully, we can post again tomorrow, but tomorrow is gonna be a really long day of driving. Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend!! Oh, does anybody know what buffalo busting is and why it's contested?
Friday, July 1, 2011
We are in WA!
So, the grand adventure has begun! I worked today until about 1pm and we took off about 3:30. It's now 10:30 and we are in Pasco, WA (on the western side of the state)- roughly 350 miles from Eugene. Not much to report so far, but here are the high (or low) lights:
* Once Molly saw us packing, she followed me everywhere ... into the closet, into the bathroom, back into the closet. Finally she realized I was just leading her on a crazy path and she barked to get me to focus on packing!
* Our new GPS system rocks! We've named the nice lady Ellen.
* Turns out lots of people stay in hotels over the 4th weekend, but the GPS ... I mean Ellen, helped us find a lovely Best Western.
* My hotel OCD is alive an well. I had said we could stay in Motel 6s. Yet, when we went to the 1st one (which was sold out), my internal alarm went off. It will be more expensive, but such is life!
* Lots of bugs will die on our windshield on this trip.
Tomorrow we'll travel to Spokane on 395 and then cross into ID up at the pan handle. ID will put Dave and I both at 32 states and ID gets Molly to 4 states. We'll continue into Montana, which gets me to 33 and Molly to 5 ... Dave stays at 32. Montana is big, so I don't know where we'll get to. But, we'll let you know!
Time to sleep! - Sara
* Once Molly saw us packing, she followed me everywhere ... into the closet, into the bathroom, back into the closet. Finally she realized I was just leading her on a crazy path and she barked to get me to focus on packing!
* Our new GPS system rocks! We've named the nice lady Ellen.
* Turns out lots of people stay in hotels over the 4th weekend, but the GPS ... I mean Ellen, helped us find a lovely Best Western.
* My hotel OCD is alive an well. I had said we could stay in Motel 6s. Yet, when we went to the 1st one (which was sold out), my internal alarm went off. It will be more expensive, but such is life!
* Lots of bugs will die on our windshield on this trip.
Tomorrow we'll travel to Spokane on 395 and then cross into ID up at the pan handle. ID will put Dave and I both at 32 states and ID gets Molly to 4 states. We'll continue into Montana, which gets me to 33 and Molly to 5 ... Dave stays at 32. Montana is big, so I don't know where we'll get to. But, we'll let you know!
Time to sleep! - Sara
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