DONE AND DONE

So here we were attempting to keep up with Sharon by writing a Blog a day for the month of November. We are finished discussing our interior decorating plans - although the more Harriet watches HGTV the more likely it is that further projects will occur. Our saga through a goodly part of the country has ended, although we could be cajoled into putting up more pictures of rocks.
We do not have the luxury of having pictures and/or anecdotes of beautiful, brilliant children to fill space.
So that is finally it (anyway when we looked back at the list of blogs for November it seems we missed on the 1st - hence the entire project was a loser to begin with).

FINAL QUESTION - TEST PAPERS

Anyone who thought they would get off easy after yesterday's entry - you're wrong. There is a final question. What significant error was made by one of the narrators on yesterday's videos?

Test papers are due via e-mail no later than 5:00pm Pacific time on Friday, Nov. 28th.
Papers returned later than that date will have points taken off.
Scoring the test is as follows:
Full credit for the correct answer (correct is determined by the "Professor")
Extra credit will be awarded if the answer is both correct and 'creative'.
Some credit will be allowed for incorrect, creative answers.
No credit for wrong, dull answers.

Please remember to write neatly and use correct grammar and proper spelling - the T.A. will mark down papers that fail to meet established criteria.

Failure to hand in a paper within 72 hours of the deadline will result in not only in an "F" in the course, but the possibility of other remedial actions.

THE FAT LADY SINGS

As you may have gathered from the title, this will in fact be the final blog of our autumnal trek (sounds like a migration). As you will recall we arrived home last night and after a good nights sleep, we realize a short review of trip is in order. Actually we forgot that we were able to use the digital camera to take a few video clips and now you will get to suffer through these wonderful experiences. But first, today's question: an essay of between 75 and 100 words on why you think these travel blogs are necessary (and we will count words).
Now on to the action. First are a couple from the top of the Arch.

And in case you were desperate for more rocks/clay:

And still more (because we know you love them as much as we do):

And finally, a bit of Wyoming (complete with a new narrator):

And now a final wrap up: were on the road for 12 days (yes it seemed longer). We spent time in 16 different states (some several times over) and actually drove a total of 4,867 miles. We saw some spectacular man made monuments and some unique natural formations. Spent good times with family and given the amount of time in the car together had few 'debates' and only got lost a couple of times. And now our final picture:

As the crow flies, not the way we drive. See you next year from The Great Smokies.

ARE WE THERE YET?

We bid adieu to South Bend. But before we do, we have to take a short tour of the Notre Dame campus. We never got to the South Bend Chocolate Co - a major disappointment. The campus is quite large, but also quite pretty and looks exactly like you would expect a major university to look (except for the cemetery that is on campus). A few representative shots:
A building (no we don't know which one - does it matter?): Statue and flowers (and way in the distance - the golden dome):

The famous Jesus mural that overlooks the football stadium:

The campus is not geared for driving, but we didn't have the time to walk around as we are still a ways away from home (719 miles/11 1/2 hours). So off we go. But wait, a question is in order. How many miles did we save by taking the shortcut through North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa?

The drive on I90 was as interminable as ever - it has to be one of the least interesting roads in the entire country. But we made it home and we're glad to be back.

We hope you have enjoyed the travelogue (stay tuned for tomorrow - never know what might happen), and to all a Good Night!

CAN"T GET THERE FROM HERE

When last heard from our intrepid travellers were in Bloomington, MN and heading home. Now ostensibly they had headed north to avoid Chicago. But those who know about these things realize that continuing on I94 takes one right through the heart of Chicago. Ha, they have a plan. As everyone knows, there is the southern route around tip of Chicago. But before we get there, today's quiz: It is a true/false question. Lake Iverson was named after Arne Iverson, an early Swedish settler who actually mapped many of the lakes in that part of Minnesota (no, not all 10,000)?
We head from Bloomington to Des Moines, Ia - only 233 miles and 3 1/2 hours. There we pick up I80 and head East to South Bend, In, totally bypassing Chicago. This portion of the trip is 412 miles, that we do in about 7 hours (due to construction).
If anyone is interested the route through Chicago from Sioux Falls to South Bend is about 695 miles. This day was so unexciting that there aren't even any pictures of rest areas.
But why South Bend? No not Notre Dame, but The South Bend Chocolate Co.
Anyway we eat again in Applebees and get to bed early.

DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' MAP

As we look at the map, going east from Sioux Falls, there is a rather direct route home - Interstate 90. Not a chance - Harriet is tired of driving that road - wants a change. Also wants to avoid Chicago (to drive through - if we would stay for a few days it would be fine). Before we leave, question of the day: Is anybody/everybody tired of looking at gorgeous (badlands) scenery?

So the obvious route is to go north to Wahpeton, ND, head east into Minnesota, pick up I94 and get to Bloomington, MN. This short detour is about 425 miles and should have taken about 6 1/2 hours. It took longer because of accidents and construction in the Bloomington area. Also because we needed to document some of our rest stops.

First in North Dakota:Not too impressive, until you realize that you are seeing 80% of the trees in the entire state.

Then in Minnesota:

Right on the shore of Lake Iverson. Actually as rest areas go, this was definitely one of the prettier ones.

Once in Bloomington, we immediately went to:

It really is a fascinating place, 3+ levels of stores and restaurants built around a fully functioning amusement area.

This was an attempt to capture it from the 3rd level.

We ate in Bubba Gumps, a restaurant with a Forrest Gump theme - it is a chain - we had eaten in one in Hawaii. Anyway good food, although a bit too spicy for Harriet and some local brews. Now to plan for tomorrow!!!

GO EAST OLD PEOPLE

We are ready to begin the long trek east, but before we actually go east, we go south back into the badlands. Why, because once again it is a gorgeous, sunny day, so we think we might see some things we missed in mist. However before we leave, the question of the day. Before we get to the question, a piece of information, the cemetery is actual The Mt. Moriah Cemetery, not Boot Hill. Today, we do multiple choice. Which of the following famous people are actually buried in the Mt. Moriah Cemetery? a) Wild Bill Hickok b) Annie Oakley c) Billy the Kid d) Jesse James e) Calamity Jane

Your answers are: 1. a and b 5. b and c 9. c and e

2. a and c 6. b and d 10. d and e

3. a and d 7. b and e 11. all of the above

4. a and e 8. c and d 12. it is a trick question - none of the above

Okay, the badlands still look bad even in good weather. A few shots follow - just a few because we know of the overwhelming joy that some readers don't get from looking at rocks (even if they are clay):

As we drove the weather began to change - a line of clouds came in from the west. And only because we think it is interesting, you'll have to look at the pictures. All were taken from the exact same spot - merely depended which way you looked.

There was some wildlife even in this rather inhospitable environment. Prairie Dogs posing: A rabbit hiding:

A Rattler ready to strike:

Actually we never saw a rattlesnake - guess they think the sign says "Beware Humans".

Regardless, our guide made sure we were careful:

Once we leave the badlands, a quick stop at Wall Drug for lunch (Buffalo burgers) and then we proceed east stopping in Sioux Falls for the night. We arrived late and did not disturb the family. Ate in our room (Subway take-out), because we wanted to watch our Tuesday night TV shows. How exciting!?!?

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE

So after a good nights sleep we are ready to tackle whatever the new day will bring. It is a beautiful day - blue skies and reasonable temperatures. We leave Spearfish, heading southeast (yes this is back the way we came - be patient). We have decided to see if the Spearfish Canyon road is open down into the Black Hills. It is and a few pics of the scenery (there are more that will make it to Shutterfly):

At the southern end of the canyon is the quasi famous town of Deadwood with a cemetery at the top of the hill (Boot Hill?). Because of the famous people buried in the cemetery there is a charge for entry - we passed. (Have you guessed tomorrows question??) For those of you who pay attention to these things, Deadwood was the town in the news last week that received 42 inches of snow from the blizzard that closed most of the western part of SD (Interstate 90 was closed from Mitchell to the WY state line ).
Since the weather was so lovely we decided to try one of the roads back to Mt. Rushmore. To get there we had to go through Custer State Park - the state of SD did not honor our National Parks pass so we were permitted to drive through on the main road - no detours. This meant we would miss Crystal Lake (is there a crystal lake in every state?), but we were able to stop at Pactola Reservoir, which is a lovely mountain lake.

While still in Custer State Park, we were able to drive past the Crazy Horse memorial. We did not go in because we are cheap and the cost was $10 per person. However, we were able to get a picture from the road. We then turned onto Iron Mountain Road (which was open) and headed for Mt. Rushmore. Iron Mountain road is known for its one lane tunnels and interesting views of Mt. Rushmore.
In case you can't read the sign. It says: "Sound Horn". (Really).We continued on to Mt. Rushmore. It is much more spectacular on a bright day when there has been no moisture (we have been told that the in the evening when the lights are turned on, it is even more spectacular). Some views:

We now headed back to Rapid City for the night, but we stopped in Keystone to go souvenir shopping. We were not able to take Needles Highway (the other scenic byway - it was still closed)On to Rapid City and dinner at Fuddruckers. Decent hamburgers, but no local brews.

We are not done - in case you thought that the old folk had forgotten a question about yesterday, we didn't! It is: How many time zones did we go through yesterday? Bye.

THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP WHITE SNOW

So there we were buying lunch for our journey to Wyoming. Yes another 60 miles west by northwest (a sequel?) to see The Devil's Tower (famed as the location of Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind). But before we begin the journey, a question or two (very easy and very hard): name the 4 presidents on Mt. Rushmore and the actual dates of their presidential service?

Another question comes to mind. Why would 2 supposedly rational people decide to head into the desolate eastern area of Wyoming the day after a major snowstorm had hit the area? (the answer has to do with 'supposedly rational'). Anyway, off we go. As we head west the snow cover definitely deepens although the Interstate is clear and mostly dry. It really doesn't matter as we pass fewer cars than we would on I88 or The Taconic. We leave the Interstate at the exit for Devils Tower - that leaves us almost 30 miles away. As we drive northwest on a lovely 2 lane road, we see nothing - no cars, no towns, no sign of any human (or otherwise) habitation (also no cellphone reception). But, the road is basically clear so we persevere and after about 27 miles, we see:

It sure does just stick straight up about 1600 feet. The unique part is that there are no other towers, mountains, buttes, mesas or high features in the area. There is a walking path around the tower but due to the 6-8 inches of snow we opted not to attempt it (just plain weak in our old age). Here are a few more images of the tower from different angles. The pictures are not in black and white. The tower is a grayish brown, it was overcast with low clouds and the snow covered most everything else.

In the vicintity of the tower we did spot an array of wildlife. Black Angus cattle stark against the snow (guess there is a ranch somewhere nearby - although never visible.A deer, totally unconcerned with our appearance: And as we were leaving we came upon a Prairie Dog village: As we were watching the Prairie Dogs, another critter (possibly a Ferret?) trotted across the road and all the Prairie Dogs dove into their holes. And now back to Spearfish, but one last look at the Wyoming landscape. No interesting restaurants in Spearfish (at least none we could find), so dinner at Applebees. Wonder what we'll do tomorrow.

HAIL TO THE CHIEFS

You left us waiting for the snow to fly. Well, guess what: the weather forecasters in Rapid City are no better than in Niskayuna. The 6 inches predicted turned out to be a dusting that didn't even stick to the roadways. We decided to stick to the plan of going to Mt. Rushmore. We did decide to err on the side of caution and take the main road from Rapid City rather than either of the 2 scenic roads that also go to the mountain. Before we leave, today's pop quiz: Was Wall Drugs named for the town or was the town named after the founder of the store (Ezekial Wall)?
We did manage a picture of The Alex Johnson before we left:Note the vehicle in front of the hotel. If that poor baby knew that we weren't even halfway through the trip, it would have died on the spot. As we left Rapid City we passed several statues of famous folk who stayed in Rapid City (most at the Alex Johnson) - many are presidents from the late 1800's and early 1900's. Don't know what it is about SD that requires them to put up statues all over the place. However, from the glimpses of sky, you can see it seems like a nice, sunny day.
At last we leave and as we head south, we begin to climb into the Black Hills and almost immediately the amount of snow on the sides of the road is apparent. As we drive on we pass one of the possible side roads we could have taken, but it is closed due to bad road conditions.
Upon arriving at Mt. Rushmore our first view of the presidents is disappointing. They are not white and shiny, but grey and streaked. What happens to granite when it gets wet? It turns grey (duh!). You will now be bored by several more shots of the presidents, some from rather different locations as there is a path around the base that provides some unique angles. Note the constantly changing sky.

Note that our guide has caught up to us - we are so lucky to have her.
Unfortunately we could not walk all the way around as the path was snow covered and icy.

So we returned to the main viewing area to find that there wasn't much to view. From that point on the fog continued to lower until there was no visible evidence that the presidents were there. We stayed around to check for souvenirs and discuss road conditions with the park rangers. Both scenic roads were closed and were expected to remain that way for the rest of the day. Time to adjust our schedule. Originally we were going to spend the night in Hill City in the heart of the Black Hills. But rather than 'kill the afternoon', we opted to push west. We stopped in Spearfish (could not drive the scenic Spearfish Canyon road either - hopefully another day) to obtain accommodations for the night and find a Subway for lunch before heading west to Wyoming! See you tomorrow.