Taking the backroads at 35 mph
Merv and I moved from Prairie Farm to Port Wing, WI near the south shore of Lake Superior in the fall of 2019. Maybe one day I will get back to blogging. It was fun while it lasted. The site as it is at least has value in being a snapshot of a window in time.
I made a trip out to extreme western Minnesota to attend the Big Stone County Harvest Fest. My niece Jessica’s family and her husbands cousins were selling garlic at a booth there. Jess and Les are excited about their new venture and it was fun sharing the weekend with them.
The prairie landscape reminded me of how much I enjoyed our model A road trip out west last year. I was so happy to take the time to travel the back roads again. It took me 2 hours to drive the 12 miles between their farm and Ortonville stopping every quarter-mile or so to take photos. Life doesn’t get better than that.
This past week I set them up with an e-commerce site: bigstonegarlic.com. I posted my photos on their Farm News blog. Take a look. This is my shameless way of sending traffic their way. Smile.
Success!
Today we had a bead baking lesson at the North House Folk School. Both kids were totally engaged in the making and in the eating of their own thin bread and focaccia loaves. Rosa said she would like to be an intern there like our instructor Emily.
We walk along the harbor on our way to and from the school and town and there are usually fisherman cleaning their catches in a cleaning station. They are happy to talk their catches. One man offered to teach the kids how to clean them. Both took about two steps back and politely declined.
Do we look cold?
At 9 am we went out on a 42 ft sailboat. The kids were unimpressed and went below where it was warmer to play captain and first mate. Coop was capt which meant Rosa had to do anything he asked.
We went for a hike up the Cascade River and looked for rocks on a beach. Coop found one so special he is going to include it in his will. Rosa wanted to know “Why if hot air rises, is it colder up north?”
Our attempt at baking Australian Outback bread (aka damper) was a limited success. We managed to mix it up alright, but all but 10% of the loaf was either burned black or still doughy. The part that was cooked well was very good though. It was really good with apple jam.
Jessica called just after the damper came out of the coals. The conversation lasted about a minute and went something like this on my end:
” Hi Jess, yes things are going fine – hey Rosa, was that water or lemonade? Ok, well you’d better pour that big container of water over the chair or its going to be all sticky. Hi Jess, no big deal, just some spilled… hey Coop, did you just burn your arm on the lid to the damper pan? Yes thanks Jess, we’ll need that ointment in Rosa’s bag. Guess I’d better go. Bye.”
After a morning swim we headed up the North Shore of Lake Superior towards Grand Marais. Our stop at Gooseberry Falls was cut short by a thunderstorm. It continued to storm so we skipped Split Rock Light House and continued to Grand Marais. It was still raining when we got there so we went into town and hit the bookstore. The weather cleared in time to set up camp and start a fire.
Anchor at our Best Western in Superior, WI
Sheila somehow deleted the first part of Rosa’s entry for day 1. Basically she said that we left her house in Brooklyn Park around 9:30 am. We listened to an Encyclopedia Brown audiobook, stopped at Subway for lunch and went straight to the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth.
I wish I would have taken pictures of the surrey bike ride but I was otherwise busy. Rosa pedaled the whole time and seemed to totally enjoy the biking experience. She really got her exercise that day. What a trouper. Coop and I took turns pedaling. While he was pedaling, I walked/jogged behind holding on and acted as an emergency brake. When I was pedaling I was also being watchful that he didn’t fall as he used the bike for a jungle gym.
At the aquarium we saw:
- mata mata turtles
- a sting ray
- piranhas ( they didn’t bite us)
- catfish
- ducks
- more turtles
- a crow
- a magpie
- and a lot of others
After a trip to the gift shop, we went to Canal Park, and we rented a Surrey bike that held us all (most of the time), and we went for a bike ride, and after we put the bike back, we went to Cold Stone Creamery and I got cake batter and mint ice cream with white choclate chips mixed in.
We went on a shopping spree and then ate a pizza at Vitta Pizza. We walked back to our car, and went to the hotel, and after a quick break, we went swimming and had a frantic search for a ball and a key, and a hotel room.
We headed back to our hotel room and changed into out PJs( at least I did) and I am now writing this blog. Read Cooper’s entry and you will learn more about our day)
Until tomorow,
Rosa 🙂 😉P.S. I miss you all a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
P.P.S. I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rosa wrote all the good stuff.
Its a good thing that my agate has crystals in it.
I liked the invasive species game at the aquarium. It was hard and fun and a little easy. We saw snakes too.
I liked swimming in the pool at the hotel. We played with a ball. I practiced swimming almost with no hands.
We got the best pizza ever and that’s the end of my blog for today.
-Cooper
This could really break your jaw!
Yesterday I got this jawbreaker at the Renaissance Festival.
I slept over at Sheila and Merv’s. Today we are going to make lists and pack for the trip. Tonight we are going into the cities and tomorrow we will pick up Rosa and go to the aquarium in Duluth. After that we will go to the north shore of Lake Superior.
-Cooper
Rosa is my great-niece. Cooper is my nephew and he’s great too. Cooper will be 9 next month, Rosa will be 10 in November. Last year Rosa and I spent a couple of fun days in Duluth. This year we are including Cooper and after hitting Duluth, we are going to venture up the north shore of Lake Superior to Grand Marais.
I’ll leave it to the recent email correspondence between these two and myself to fill you in on our plans for the upcoming trip.
Rosa my GREAT NIECE!
Read Cooper’s pre-trip emails too.
July 15, 2014 2:06 pm
Hi Auntie Sheila,
I had an idea for a book on tape, what do you think about Encyclopedia Brown?
You said something about looking for a certain animal each day, so can we see how many
we can spot each day? Then we can sketch all the animals we saw, and the one we saw the most of we can sketch, and then do a goofy drawing of that animal! I think I may have seen an aquarium, so maybe we can check that out!
Could we stop by Noodles and Company,and maybe Orange Leaf (Do you still have your card?) and how about Amazing Grace(the restaurant with the huge sandwiches,and I think their breakfast is really good!)?
And are we coming home on Friday or Saturday?(Mom forgot to write it down!)
Really excited,
RosaP.S.
Don’t forget
Pictionary
July 15, 2014 3:56 PM
Hi Rosa,Good idea, I read the Encyclopedia Brown books when I was your age and I really liked them. Pick a couple and I will download them onto my iPhone for the trip.
There is an aquarium in Duluth that would be fun to visit. I hope we have time. I talked to your mom about us stopping at the library before we leave Monday morning, but maybe you could do that before so we would have time to stop at the aquarium before going to Gooseberry Falls.
I think we can eat at Noodles and Company. Cooper should find something there that he likes to eat. We won’t be eating out too often. You me and Coop will have to plan our meals and make a shopping list on the way to Duluth. There are lots of ice cream places up there. If Orange Leaf is your favorite, we can stop there (I’m not sure if the card is still in my purse or not).
We are going to come home Saturday. Clair and Cindy will be coming up from Rochester and will pick up Cooper at either your house or your Grandmas.
Fun!
Sheila
July 16, 2014 9:10 AM
Hi Aunt Sheila,
If you have an agate at home, can you bring it, because I have no idea what they look like.
Here are some ideas for the shopping list:
Bagels
yogurt
cream cheese
juice
pesto
pasta(not spaghetti, unless we want that instead of pasta)
Guess who is coming tonight?
Uncle Loren and Aunt Julie and Chase!
really excited
Rosa
P.S.
Can I bring my camping cup?
July 16, 2014 4:29 PM
Hi Rosa,I don’t think I have an agate but I’ll look. I used to have a bunch of them. Maybe we can find a rock shop and look at some.
Thats a good start for a shopping list. We’ll see what Cooper likes to eat too. Do your folks have a cookstove for camping?
Have fun with Loren and Julie!
Sheila
P.S. Definitely bring your camping cup.
July 16, 2014 6:27 PM
Hi Aunt Sheila,Yes, we have a cookstove, as I said on the phone. I think I might have an agate at home,but I’m not sure.
Another idea for our shopping list: frozen pizza! I think Coop likes pizza, as I happened to be sitting next to him at dinner a Ani’s party and he seemed to enjoy the pizza(although I think he may have pulled off the cheese) but just to be sure,can you ask Aunt Cindy? Today Grandma told me and Ani and Mom about some of her ideas for Herbster, and one of them was me and Coopey building some things(possibly out of driftwood) and have an art show to show our stuff! Could you help us? I don’t think Coop has been notified of this idea, but I will tell him about this on the trip (By the way, who are you picking up first?)Another idea was vests made out of old shirt or possibly old jeans(it was actually my idea). Did Grandma tell you about that? If not, I’ll tell you about it when you pick me up.
Here are more shopping list ideas:
Bread
jelly(how about strawberry?)
peanut butter
pickles(spicy, if everybody likes that kind)
potatoes(bring a peeler)
Chips?Lots of fun,
Rosa
July 16, 2014 7:20 PM
Hi Rosa,Cooking frozen pizza over a campfire? Worth a try!
Your grandma comes up with good ideas. We will have so much fun at Herbster building things out of driftwood. I think everyone should be encouraged to participate. We could have a sculpture garden on the beach.
All good food ideas. I will print a draft grocery list and we can get Coop’s input on the way to Duluth. I am sure he will have lots of ideas for food.
12 days and counting,
Sheil
July 17, 2014 5:17 PM
Hi Aunt Sheila,The sculpture garden sounds like a great idea!!!
Can you give me the campground number?
You said something about a lot of ice cream places in Duluth? Yum!!!!!!!! Do you remember if Orange Leaf has cookies and creme for a flavor of frozen yogurt? I love that kind of ice cream!!!! Orange Leaf had some kind of unusual flavors, if I remember correctly. Flavors like wedding cake and cherry tart? What do you think about borrowing Mom and Dad’s camp sandwich makers?
More food ideas:
milk
flour
baking powder(make sure it is not baking soda)
sugar
butter
We can use that to make damper, otherwise known as Australian outback bread. I can get the recipe.
We went to the Hudson beach with Michelle Gillard and her girls. We made a pool of that was quite wide(It started out as a sand castle) and we had a lot of fun in the Saint Croix riverFun
Rosa
P.S.
Should I bring my swim suit?
July 17, 2014 8:40 PM
Hi Rosa,Good thing you asked what number the campsite at the Gooseberry Park campground is because I was surprised to see when I logged in that my reservation did not go through. There are over still 60 sites that are first-come-first-serve at Gooseberry so I will call up there tomorrow to see how fast they fill up on Mondays. I hope we won’t have any trouble getting a spot.
I looked it up and there are only two Orange Leaf stores in Minnesota, one in Woodbury and one in Blaine. There is a Cold Stone Creamery in Duluth’s Canal Park near the Duluth Pack Store where you bought Ani’s camping cup.
I think the sandwich makers will be perfect. For mine, I ‘d like to make something fancy like turkey & cranberry with brie cheese. Do you think that would work?
It would be a fun adventure to make damper. I’ve never heard of it. Have you eaten it? If so, where? One recipe I found says that you bake it in the ashes of a campfire.
Yes bring your swimsuit just in case. Funny, you could end up going swimming and wearing your winter jacket (on the sailboat) on the same trip. Maybe even on the same day.
Today was a beautiful day. I’m glad you were out in it. I was at my computer taking a webinar class on website development. Arg.
We are going to have a lot of organizing to do Sunday night so we don’t forget anything.
S
July 20, 2014 4:25 PM
Dear Aunt Sheila,I’m glad you mentioned Cold Stone Creamery, because I like that place a lot, but one problem. The servings are huge! I think I should have gotten a child’s small serving,or maybe that is what I had, but any way, the servings are real big, and you have to be careful how many toppings you put on. But the ice cream is really good, and they have a lot of toppings to choose from! I know of another place for frozen yogurt called Cherry Berry, and another one called Freeziac, and Leean Chin does frozen yogurt too, I think. your idea for a sandwich is great. I like butter and jelly sandwiches, but what I like best is basil pesto in a rolled up tortilla. Can we get those too?
Lets add turkey, cranberries and brie cheese to our shopping list. And if we are going to make damper, we are going to need measuring utensils like tablespoons,teaspoons,cups half cups,quarter cups, and third cups. If possible, can you bring all the measurement utensils? If you don’t have some of them, tell me which ones and I will ask Mom if we can bring them on the trip if we have one. You said you read that damper was supposed to be baked over campfire ashes. I read that too. We will be in the perfect situation for that. Can we get something else to drink besides juice? We should probably buy a couple of jugs of water, and do you think we could keep milk refrigerated
in a cooler? If so, we should probably add milk to the shopping list.
9 days and counting,Rosa
P.S.
Really excited!!
P.P.S.
Good luck getting a reservation at Gooseberry Falls!!
July 20, 2014 5:10 PM
Bad news, the Gooseberry Falls campground fills up right away in the morning and we won’t get there in time Monday to get a spot. I think what we will do instead is stay in a hotel near Duluth. On Monday we can go to the Aquarium and walk around Canal Park then spend Tuesday at Gooseberry Falls and Split Rock. Tuesday night we will camp at Grand Marais as planned. The hotel will have a pool so be sure to bring your swimming suit!
I will bring what we need for making dampers.
Our shopping list is really growing isn’t it? Fortunately, we can shop at the store in Grand Marais so we don’t have to bring the entire trip’s worth of food.
Yes, we can keep milk in the cooler. Do you like Greek yogurt with fruit in it?
July 21, 2014 4:56 PM
Dear Aunt Sheila,About the Greek yogurt, I don’t know if I have tried it, But it sounds pretty good! Lets pick some up at the store. I wish we could get to stay at Gooseberry Falls, but maybe next year. I wish the spots wouldn’t fill up so fast. Nuts! Where and at what time are you going to pick me up? I will send you the recipe for damper(hopefully it gets there in time), so you can see the other things we may need. I think I will try and make a copy of the sheet I put the recipe on so we both have one. Can you bring an extra sketchbook for me and how about one for Coop? I will try and get Mom to get out the camping stove, and did we want to use Mom and Dad’s camping dishes? I think we may need a hotel room with two beds, as I don’t think all three of us will fit on one bed, but we will see, because I think hotel bed are kind of on the big side. Will we stay in the hotel in Superior that we stayed in the last time or one someplace else, because if we stay in the one we did last time, we could probably visit Uncle Andy and Aunt Tiffany and that historic house we drove past the last time?. Do you remember how I got my hair to fly straight up in the air? That was funny!
Seven Days and counting,
R
P.S.
Really excited!
P.P.S.
Call me later!
P.P.P.S.
It is really hot here!
July 21, 2014 7:49 PM
Hi Rosa,I think our phone conversation put the final touches on getting things organized. Your dad said we can use your 6 man tent, cook stove and mess kit. I’ll be at your grandparents house on Sunday and will head over to your house if you get home from the farm in time Sunday night. Otherwise I’ll see you and Cooper Monday morning around 9:00.
We will be staying in a different hotel in Superior than last year. I got a good discount with our AAA membership. As I said on the phone, the room has two double beds and a sleeper sofa. We’ll have to play elimination Rummikub to see who sleeps on the sofa.
I think I remember the historic house from last year that you are talking about. Lets see how much time we have after the Aquarium on Monday. I’ll email Andy and see if we can eat supper with them someplace.
Still 7 days and counting,
S
P.S. It is really hot here too.
July 22, 2014 11:34 AM
Hi Aunt Sheila,I have one more thing to tell you, and that is the fact that Mom bought S’mores pancake, and salt and vinegar chips for our trip too. We will need a couple extra things for making the S’mores pancakes. I’ll tell you what we need: A beater(for the eggs, unless you can beat them at home and somehow find a way to keep them good until we need them, because we need lightly beaten eggs for these pancakes Mom bought),a griddle(do you have one?), and you might need more measurements then the ones we need for damper, but here are the ingredients:
3 Tbsp Melted butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
Add butter and eggs to the grocery list. We usually get home from the farm about nine, so we should get home in time.
See you in 4 days!!!
R
P.S.
Really excited!!!
My nephew Cooper. He’s GREAT!
Our email conversation:
July 22, 2014 1:29 PM
I want to listen to the animals noises at dawn and night and evening.
Listen to waves also. – Cooper
July 22, 2014 2:24 PM
Yes, and I hope that we have a clear night where the sky over the lake is lit up by trillions of stars. – Sheila
July 22, 2014 2:36 PM
Hi Aunt Sheila,Mom and I just read all of the emails between you and Rosa.
I have a Cherry Berry coupon somewhere. I like big servings of ice cream and frozen yogurt.
I like Australian Outback Bread. I had it at an Australian Outback restaurant.
I know what kind of rock you were talking about. It has one color in it, but a lot of different colors are found in those sort of rocks.
I barely like greek yogurt with fruit in it. It tastes sour to me, at least a little bit.
I doubt we will be able make a pizza on the fire.
Saturday my great grandma Nylene turns 90. I’m not sure what time her party is. Mom will have to find out.
Cant wait to see you.
Cooper
p.s. It was hot here too yesterday
p.p.s It was hot here the day before
p.p.p.s. it was in the middle the day before the day before
July 23 2014, 4:34 PM
Hi Coop,Save your coupon. I looked and there are no Cherry Berry stores along the north shore of Lake Superior. There is a Cold Stone Creamery in Duluth and they have good ice cream.
I am looking forward to trying Australian Outback Bread, also known I guess as damper. That seems like an odd name for bread but the Australians probably think damper is an odd name for a device found in a chimney.
It is hard to describe an agate, but I know one when I see one.
Greek yogurt is not for everyone. It is a bit sour, but I like sour things like sour gummy bears, Skittles and Jolly Rogers.
I found a recipe for making pizza on the grill. You grill one side of the dough without anything on it except some butter. Then you turn it over and quickly put pizza sauce and the cheese on it. Then you cover it and cook it until the cheese melts. I’m thinking it can be done with crusts that are small enough to cover with a cooking pan lid. That is not to say that we won’t burn them though.
See you this weekend at Ren in the Glenn!
Sheila
Jul 23, 2014, at 2:16 PM
Hi Aunt Sheila.I’m looking forward to our trip. How many days long is it?
Is the aquarium fresh water or salt water? Is it big? Are there plenty of fish in the aquarium?
I’m getting a metal detector. I’m not sure it will be here in time to bring it with. It would be fun to use it on the beaches and maybe even find gold in that area. Maybe even some diamond rings.
See you soon.
Cooper
Jul 23, 2014, at 4:00 PM
Hi Coop,I think I’ll be picking you up near our house at Ren In The Glenn on Saturday or Sunday. We will Leave Rosa’s house Monday morning and come back Saturday. So the trip will be 5 days but you might be staying at my house a day or so beforehand.
The Great Lakes Aquarium is pretty large. It’s like a zoo only with underwater animals. It has both salt and freshwater aquariums. On Monday, when we will be there, there will be three demonstrations with live animals starting at 12:30. One with a crow, one with otters and one with a snapping turtle. We will have to leave early if we want to see the show with the crow.
S
Jul 25, 2014, at 1:22 PM
Hi.We got our metal detector today. I got my birthday present early, my very own metal detector too. We can bring mine on our trip. Please save room for it in the car.
Cooper
Great! Learn all about how it works that you can!
S
Coop will be posting here on Monday evening from our hotel in Superior, WI
Click on a city name for its entry.
Sheila’s words:It’s the day before our trip. Merv has our Model A ready, complete with an add-on brake light and turn signals. Model A’s didn’t have turn signals back in the day. And the brake light is an inconspicuous amber light mounted on the left rear fender. There is a two gallon gas can and a gallon of antifreeze strapped to the rear bumper. Tools and spare parts are under the seats. There is a load of laundry and packing left to do. Its been rather a low-key day before such an ambitious undertaking.
At 7:00 tomorrow morning we will be meeting up with our friends Larry and Linda Hanson just south of Turtle Lake, WI and we will be on our way. Our ultimate goal is Missoula Montana but for Day One, our goal is to make it to Alexandria, MN where Sheila’s brother Denny and his wife Barb will be putting us up for the night.
Barb, in her confirmation email wrote “Can’t wait to see the six of you!” And it’s true, the two cars will be characters in this trip as much as the people. Larry and Linda will be driving their 1928 Model A Ford Roadster. Its a convertible but they can snap on side curtains. We will be driving our 1930 Model A Tudor. These old cars cruise along at 40 mph. They were made for the back roads that we will be taking. One of Henry Ford’s specifications for the car was that there had to be room on the floor of the backseat for a 10 gallon milk can so there will be plenty of room for our gear.
Denny has tentatively arranged to have Merv and Larry show the cars to some members of his church tomorrow night. Merv and Larry love to show people their cars and people, especially in small town’s, love them too. Whenever we stop with our “A” in a small town we can count on someone walking over and asking about it. Often three or four more join in before we make our getaway. Once an old gentleman remarked wistfully that he had “courted many a gal in a car just like this”. It’s also fun to watch people react as they first hear the car coming and then turn, smile and wave. Merv honks the a-ooga horn and they laugh. I hope to catch a number of these scenes as movies and photos and then stream them together later.
A few years ago, Larry came home with a 1919 Model T Coupe. He and Linda planned to drive it to Montana to visit relatives. Larry spent nearly a year restoring it to beautiful condition readying it for the trip. But time and progress conflicted to force a postponement until this year. Two weeks before the planned departure date, Larry was on a local drive in the Coupe when the crankshaft broke. A disheartening event. Fortunately, it happened then instead of someplace in North Dakota.
Larry fell back to his backup car, a 1928 Model A roadster which he had to hurry to get ready for such a trip. So he wound up preparing two cars for one trip.
When Larry first talked about going I said “Well, I’ll just go with you.” So on a whim I decided to go with him.
Our first glimpse of Larry and Linda at our rendezvous location on Cty K south of Turtle Lake.
What a great day! We met up with Larry and Linda, went over our back road route to Grantsburg and off we went.
I have to admit to wondering how I was going to spend the time as we crept along at 40mph but navigating is a full time job. And when I wasn’t tracking our route, I was thoroughly engaged in watching the scenery. Traveling slowly allows you the time to really see what you are driving by.
We made two stops en route. The first was at a wayside rest in Governor Knowles State Forrest to go over our route to Alexandria. The second was a dirt road tailgate lunch west of Ogilvie.
We were intrigued by rock corner markers in Benton county MN. A cylinder of woven wire fencing about 4 or 5 feet high and 4 feet in diameter filled with field-stone rocks.
We arrived at Dennis and Barb Angland’s home, Sheila’s brother and sister-in-law, near Alexandria, MN at 3:55pm having traveled 249 miles. Barb had snacks and refreshments ready, the table was set and we enjoyed a wonderful end-of-summer feast. Sheila’s nephew Bean, wife Tina and kids stopped in to visit too.
After dinner we brought the cars to show to the men’s club at Dennis’ church. The men were very interested, had lots of questions and shared their own tales of cars. It was hard for Dennis to gather them back in for their meeting.
Then it was back to their house for some conversation and a good night’s sleep.
Written by Sheila and Linda
Day two began with a great pancake breakfast at Den and Barb’s. And speaking of pancakes, the morning also began with a flat tire on Merv’s car. Merv and Larry put the spare on, no problem.
Well its now the morning of the third day 3. And I thought time was going to be plentiful on this trip. Its been tough finding the time to write.
So on the way to have the tire repaired yesterday, another tire went flat on our car. M&L put one of Larry’s spare tires on and we were once again on our way. Merv put new tubes in the tires before we left. It turns out the rubber on the tubes was of bad quality and had degraded. Fortunately the service station in Parkers Prairie had two tubes. There is a tractor that has similar size tires. The station only had two tubes of that size. We are on the look out for another two as we go along.
We headed out cross country from Parkers Prairie with Larry and Linda in the lead and crossed the Red River at Breckenridge. I was totally absorbed in following our route on the map and watching the countryside turn from lake country oak savanna to flat prairie with its occasional wetlands.
Linda was frustrated because choice of roads seemed to be either highways with semis or minimum maintenance dirt “field roads.” She noticed a sign for a Wild Rice Preservation Area. And numerous potholes seemed to be surrounded by wild rice.
Well into the afternoon Larry and Linda’s car overheated. As the guys were replacing the coolant, I enjoyed observing the marshland on either side of the road while Linda stood guard behind the cars holding up a FTD Lakeland Coop neon green shirt as a warning flag.
After we got back underway, the packing at the connection of the exhaust pipe and the manifold of Merv’s car gave way and we rode along listening to a very loud ticking sound.
Linda’s wildlife observations: 2 sandhill cranes, lots of swamp birds including, great blue herons, snowy egrets and a deer.
We were amused by the area’s short railroad telegraph poles still with their glass insulators not much taller than the corn.
It does seem unlikely, but actually Merv had a good day. I think he said “cripe” a couple of times but I guess these sorts of issues are to be expected with these old cars. I had a good day too. Am really enjoying life at 40mph.We stopped traveling after 7pm last night. After having a bite to eat we crashed.
I’ll upload pictures tonight I hope. Last night the wifi here was so slow as to be unusable . No cell coverage either. I am amongst morning people who are ready and raring to start day 3.
We meet up with friendly people every where we stop. Larry had stopped to top off his radiator and this man drove down his long driveway to see if we needed help.
The first thing the lady in the office of our motel said to us tonight was “Are you guys lost”? You don’t get that kind of question when you travel freeways.
We had a good day although it was a bit warm at 94 degrees. Not so bad for us as for Larry and Linda’s radiator which needed water added a few times. Once, when their radiator started spitting, we pulled off the road into a driveway in Emmons township. Thanks to the home owner for his route suggestions and a short visit (we hope you are following us on the blog now.) We are finding people along the way to be quite friendly and interested in our trip.
When Larry checked over his car this morning, he discovered that his radiator problem is caused by a leaky upper radiator hose. He got a stainless steel hose clamp and Merv got a muffler patching kit at a car parts store late this afternoon. The guys will make their repairs tomorrow morning.
Tired now and again I didn’t get the photos uploaded. Tomorrow will be hot again so we plan to start out early and stop someplace early afternoon. I hope to add photos to all posts then.
We enjoyed the little town of Carson ND. More curious, friendly and helpful people. We were told of a scenic back route through the badlands that was stunning. Merv was unable to fix our exhaust issue with a kit that turned out to be inadequate for the task. It did take the noise level down a tad and changed the pitch to something less annoying though.
We’ve been out of cell range almost the entire way through North Dakota. Bismarck and here, that’s it. Note to self, don’t travel with cell phones with coverage supplied by your local telephone coop. The two-way radios we brought have been invaluable in communicating between cars. Messages like “Didn’t we want to turn there?” and “Stop at the next gas station” and “Where the hell are we?” go back and forth.
We started out the day traveling along the edge of a thunderstorm. It kept us cool most of the morning. But by the time we got to the town of Amidon , our departure off the tar road to the 34 mile gravel back road through the badlands the clouds had dissipated and it was getting warm. We had expected there to be a gas station there. Note to self, never expect there to be a gas station in a North Dakota town. After a quick calculation, we decided that we had plenty of fuel in our reserve gas cans to get us through to the large tourist town of Medora on the freeway.
The trip through the badlands was impressive. It would be impossible to relate the breadth and scope of that rugged landscape. Photos certainly are not going to to it either. As I mentioned earlier, we took a back road into them. We came in from the south. Most everyone comes in from the freeway and takes the driving tour through Theodore Roosevelt National Park right out of Medora. It was hot but not unbearable as long as we were driving with the breeze blowing on us. When we got to Medora, we saw a thermometer that read 102 degrees!
We are staying at a nice place in the country called Buffalo Gap Lodge with a sweeping view of the badlands out our window.
On Buffalo Gap Road en route to old highway 10.
It was overcast and cool in the morning when we headed south on a gravel from Buffalo Gap Lodge to old highway 10. The guys weren’t thrilled with the coarse rocky roadbed, but the scenery made up for it.
Water is a commodity here. No crops, just grazing land. They pipe in water in 6 inch PVC pipe from a lake several miles away. The system is called Rural Water and subscribers can hook into it. The owner of the lodge was installing a 6,000 gallon water tank to store the piped in water so that he could supply enough for the showers. He has a 1500 foot well but the water is not potable.
There were scattered showers throughout the day so the big sky was once again fun to watch.
We had lunch in Miles City and deliberated as to where to stay the night. Towns of any size are so far apart that we need to plan ahead. We learned the hard way that just because a town has large letters on the gazetteer doesn’t mean that it has services. We ate lunch at a wifi hotspot to find available rooms ahead. Today we had to decide between stopping at 3pm or going on another 100 miles. We wanted to get to Helena on Sunday so we decided to forge on to the town of Roundup, MT. We opted to take 40 miles of freeway to help shorten the drive. Linda remembers being nervous because of all the semi’s. I remember being bored for lack of scenery. The rest of the drive was enjoyable in spite of having to be alert because of all the deer as it got dark.
I asked Merv, still at the wheel after a long day of driving, how he was enjoying the trip. He grinned wide and said “I like my car.”
The repair wasn’t a complete success but it introduced some low frequency sounds. Now, instead of making an irritating clacking sound it sounds like the chuff of a high speed steam engine so its not unpleasant. The road we are on follows an old abandoned railroad bed. Its nice to think that we have returned the sound of a steam engine to these hills. We’ll attempt a more thorough repair sometime later.
Larry still has to top off his radiator from time to time.
At breakfast, a local man came up and introduced himself as owning the towing service in town. He told us that he recently had to tow a totaled Model T Touring car. The driver had stopped to make a left turn and a car of kids slammed into it from behind at 65mph. Everyone in the T was thrown from the car a considerable distance but they all lived. His story added fuel to Larry’s concern of getting hit from behind when driving on the freeway.
I made a recording of the sound in our car as we were driving along. I will try to post it.
The guys have driven the entire time. They don’t seem to mind. Neither do Linda and I.
We drove through the mountains in the afternoon. The guys were very aware of how slow we took the long hills so they kept moving off to the shoulder to let people pass. A lot of traffic with a strong head wind made for hard driving.
We arrived at Linda’s cousin Sharlene and her husband Kenny Kolb’s home in Helena late afternoon. They have a beautiful view of the valley and mountains from their home. It was nice to chat and relax. Sharlene and Kenny, and Linda and Larry used to double date in high school so they had a lot of catching up to do. We had some tasty apple cobbler and retired early.
The cars continue to draw a crowd.
Nice relaxed time with Sharlene and Kenny. They had been to the farmers market so we reaped the benefits with meals of fresh fruits and vegetables. We took a guided trolley ride around Helena and visited the Historical society museum with its large collection of old west paintings by Charles Russell.
On the trolley tour, we learned that Helena was once home to the countrie’s largest number per capita of millionaires – over 120. This was on account of gold mining in the vicinity. The trolley took us past many of their old mansions. I didn’t have my camera with me. I’m sorry to not have taken pictures of them.
Another interesting trolley ride story. They tore down an old bank building and they discovered and recovered enough gold in the mortar sand to finance the new building.
Sharlene spoke of a Montana resident who traveled to Wisconsin and had a hard time of it because they felt so closed in and claustrophobic. Sharlene says that even she and Kenny who grew up there have similar feelings when they go back to visit. I can see it. The grand vistas and low population density out here is quite …. I can’t come up with a word for it… freeing or calming maybe?
Linda admiring Bruce and Darcy’s trophies.
We left Sharlene and Kenny’s knowing that the first thing we were going to tackle was a 6 mile 8% grade over MacDonald pass. The continental divide runs along the top. Last night in Kenny’s off-road 4×4, the guys scouted out a possible gravel alternate route over the pass but ruled it out as being too rough. We got to be a bit concerned because they didn’t return until well after dark. They had waited “forever” for a train stopped on a siding at a crossing that was waiting for another train to pass by. A couple of hunters came by in a pickup with a low tire. Kenny loaned them his car jack. The hunters were lucky the guys had been detained because they were out in the middle of nowhere and it would have been a long time before another car came by.
We made it up the pass without any trouble. Highway 12 is a four lane so people were able to pass and the trucks were creeping along too. We even passed one. Merv did have to replenish the engine oil. It had dribbled out of the back of the engine during the long steep climb.
People continue to delight in our cars. At one point, as we crept up a steep grade, we pulled over to let a mini van pass us only to find them pulled over a little further up the hill. They had stopped to take a movie of us as we went by.
The rest of the route offered more great mountain scenery with an added bonus. In the town of Deer Lodge, a few miles off our route, was an antique car museum with over 120 old cars, many old model A’s and T’s. Many were extremely rare.
We pulled into Bruce and Darcy Hover’s place near Clinton, MT around 5:30. Bruce is Linda’s nephew. We caught them in the middle of a busy work week but they made us feel more than welcome. As you can see from the pictures, their home is a trophy chest. Bruce, Darcy and their two boys are avid hunters and lovers of the outdoors.
We came across a small herd of bighorn sheep grazing along side the road.
Bruce and Darcy suggested we head south for 40 or so miles on Rock Creek Road. Wow, was that ever an awesome drive. These photos will have to do for now.
The internet speed was so bad at the Super 6 Motel we stayed at last night as to be unusable. Much better tonight but its 11:00pm. Gotta get some sleep.
Have you driven a Ford lately?
We started out from Butte at 5300 feet on a winding uphill road over a mountain pass that took us up another 1000 feet. The road was steep with hairpin switchbacks but the car performed very well. The ‘A’ took the pass in second gear all the way. Beautiful views rewarded us at the top.
Just west of Livingston we stopped at a tourist attraction called Grizzley Encounter. A couple has built facilities that house 5 rescue grizzlies with a large zoo-like observation area. The bears come out 2 at a time (they don’t all get along) to play and forage for hidden fruits and nuts and we tourists watch and take photos. One playful female gave us quite a show. After first testing the water temp with her back foot, she took a swim and then ran circles around the yard like a puppy. She teased her big oaf of a male companion trying to get him to play but he was having fun straddling a huge log with his hind quarters and rocking it back and forth like a teeter-totter (see the pictures). One of the bears the couple had raised from a young cub. He is used in films. The others, they rescued from poor captivity situations.
After Grizzly Encounter, we attempted to bypass a section of the freeway on a cut off road we saw in the gazetteer. The road kept getting narrower and steeper as we drove up the mountain. Finally, just a few yards short of the crest, we hit a section that was so steep that our ‘A ‘could go no further. Just not enough power. And when we stopped the car even slid backwards a bit on the gravel. Yikes. There was no room to turn around and no going backwards for fear of an un-controled slide. Larry and Linda’s roadster is lighter and geared lower so they did not have a problem with the steep grade. Merv suggested that the three of us give him a push to try to get him going again. Fortunately that worked. The road ended as the driveway of a huge house on the very top of a mountain so we had to go back down that steep gravel slope. I can’t imagine how they managed to get big trucks up there to build that thing. Were we ever glad to get back to the tar.
We enjoyed our stay at our motel in Livingston. Its nice to park right outside of your room. Every time we would go outside, there would be people curious about the cars. Poor Larry, still sick with his cold and tired after a hard day of driving, was not sick or tired enough to stop chatting with people. He and Merv stayed out til after 9:00pm chatting with a couple who, on their evening drive in their Model T, happened to see our Model A’s in the motel parking lot.
You couldn’t cast a more suitable looking man to drive this old truck. Wish I’d have snapped a closeup as he went by.
A gorgeous day of driving through incredible beauty. On the advise of some locals we took Swingley Road south out of Livingston and could not believe our fortune. The weather, the cars, the scenery – everything was optimal.
After a couple of hours on I90 frontage road from Big Timber through Billings we were back on the back roads heading towards the Little Big Horn Battlefield. We are staying 15 or so miles from there in a motel at Hardin.
Larry’s cold has moved into his chest but he refuses to lay-over. He says that he has never taken a sick day in his life. I guess he isn’t about to start now.
Merv’s hip is giving him problems. He is fine driving but walking is quite painful. He will not be going on any walking tours tomorrow. Linda remarked that she has not had the time she would like to work on a needlepoint project. Merv told her he would stay back and work on it for her while we go off sight seeing.
The guys are taking the term “road trip” quite literally. Going from point A to point B has been the, well, point. No lengthy layovers and not much in the way of sight seeing. I have been content with this approach. The passing scenery has provided sightseeing a-plenty.
It was a good day for photos. Most of my photos have been taken from the window with the car underway and jiggling. I have been surprised and quite pleased with some of them.
Markers where two soldiers of Custer’s Seventh Cavalry fell.
Merv is on the laptop tonight so just a quick two fingered summary of our day.
We spent a lot of time at the Little Big Horn National Monument. They have done a good job mapping out the cultural and political issues as well as the battle strategies of both sides. We took the five mile drive around the battle field and stopped to read the descriptive markers.. It was a sobering experience.
We left there about 3pm and drove 3 hours to our motel at Broaden, MT. We went down the block for some good pizza and have tomorrow’s drive to the Black Hills region all planned out.
Merv’s hip is better today. He thinks he pulled a muscle getting into or out of the car. There isn’t much room between the steering wheel and the seat so he has to do a bit of contorting when climbing aboard.
Closeup of our headlight
I had to ask Larry where we started from this morning. It seems like a week ago.
It was a full day. We angled SE from Broadus, MT and cut across the corner of Wyoming into South Dakota. Then we went looped south into the Black Hills, took the Needles Highway scenic route, stopped at Mt. Rushmore and headed back north to Rapid City. In a way it reminded me of that segment from the Chevy Chase movie “Vacation” where they drive all the way to the Grand Canyon, nod a couple of times at the view and get right back into the car. I think we might be getting desensitized to grand scenery.
The roads of the Black Hills had sharper and steeper switchbacks than anything we had encountered in the mountains. Linda has a fear of heights so negotiating the narrow twisting roads with no shoulders and no guard rails did not amuse her. We did see some awesome vistas though.
By 7:30 pm when we pulled into Rapid City the guys were pretty tired from driving those hills without power steering or power brakes. We had seen some hotel signs along the way but we could not find them. We decided to look for one out by the airport which was on our route east anyway. No hotels there either. At that point we were 5 miles out of town, it was after dark and we were more than a little tired. And what happens but our alternator stopped keeping up with the headlights. It was one of those moments you laugh about after the fact. As it turned out, Merv found a way to make the alternator kick in, we stopped at a gas station and got directions and after some doubtful moments we found a nice hotel.
After settling into our room we went to a nearby Arby’s and rehashed the day. We even had a few chuckles.
Tomorrow we will head east through the South Dakota Badlands.
Linda modeling attire appropriate for a cross county trip in an open 1928 roadster. Sheila modeling attire appropriate for a cross country trip in a 1930 sedan.
This fellow had a roadster the same color as Larry’s but it didn’t have the spare tires mounted in the front fenders, his spare was mounted in the back, of course that meant it didn’t have a trunk … Linda and I headed for the lady’s room so you will have to ask Larry and Merv for the rest.
Click on an image to enlarge.
We plugged the openings in the firewall and floorboards with pieces of shop towels to keep the exhaust out.
The weather has taken a turn for the worse, we are finished sight seeing and are now like horses galloping back to the barn.
Larry and Linda put up a side-curtain on her side. She has been getting pummeled by a strong wind from the south east yesterday and today.
It was a dreary overcast day, not good for photos.
Click on an image to enlarge
Fueling up one last time
We drove under overcast skies again today. It’s hard to get good landscape pictures while underway in low light. Also making it difficult is all these Minnesota and Wisconsin trees. I’d see something engaging and it would be blocked or have passed before I could snap the picture. Not a problem in the Dakotas and Montana where I had time to get off two or three shots. I deleted 90 percent of the pics I took today. Thank goodness for digital cameras.
Today’s trip was uneventful which is a good thing. We were happy to cross over the Wabasha bridge and we stopped on the Wisconsin side to savor the moment. We all had the feeling of really having accomplished something. Merv and Larry with their mechanical skills and their long hours behind the wheel, Linda and me having successfully navigated the back roads with maps and gazetteers. It was comforting to have made the trip with two cars. It made us feel secure during the trip that we had a backup should one of us experience a total breakdown (as in mechanical).
Once in Wisconsin, we took the familiar highway 25 north through Menomonie and said our good-byes at its junction with county road F.
Tune in tomorrow evening for one more post.
Click image to enlarge.
I took a photo from the shotgun seat every hour that I was in the car.
Merv, Sheila, Linda, Larry
I have been trying to think of another mode of travel that would draw the smiles, trust, and local advise that these quaint old cars drew along the way. Both men and women showed such enthusiasm for the cars and for our venture wherever we stopped. These encounters left us smiling as we climbed back in and headed on our way. They made the trip. I suppose you could travel with a puppy and get a similar response. But then you would have to travel with a puppy.
We drove to Montana and back in our restored Model A s with a credit card in our pockets. When you think about it, people drove these cars to California in hard times under dire conditions. Now that is amazing. I wonder if the shared hard times drew people together. Did spontaneous campsites spring up alongside the road where people shared stories, supplies and skills?
At Crow Agency, MT
It was comforting to travel with another couple and another car. Larry and Linda’s skills, tools, parts, and eyes, all were good things to have on the road. Rehashing the events of the day with them added a lot to the trip too.
They came in so handy when needing to communicate between cars – “Hey, you missed the turn!” or “Pit stop next gas station” or “Gotta stop and check our coolant level.”
Our phone contract is with our local telephone coop. We rarely had cell reception even in some larger towns. Larry and Linda have Verizon, they had much better luck.
We took a modern general purpose hydraulic jack only to find that it wouldn’t lift the car high enough. Luckily Larry had one that would.
Purists might have a problem with having a GPS stuck on the dash of their model A. We did our navigating on Gazetteers but we found the GPS useful at times to know exactly where we were in relation to a town or a road.
Larry and Linda had been intending to go on this trip for a few years. Things kept getting in the way. Two weeks before we were set to go, the crankshaft broke on the Model T they intended to take. Rather than delay the trip any longer, they decided to take their Model A instead. It was just time to do this thing.