Trip Planning

Sunday I became serious about planning our route from here to Kankakee, IL.  We will be meeting up with the Adventure Caravan travelers there, with our formal trip beginning on Sept 20. We will travel with the group from there to the Santa Monica pier...the official end of Route 66. 
 

So, this is my spreadsheet of our trip....and it has already changed! That's one of the things I find most challenging. I can't tell you how many times I block out a trip, locate campgrounds within a suitable mileage, make reservations.....and then discover that we need to tweak our plans...and I get to change or cancel some reservations and make new plans. It can be frustrating! 

Here it is Tuesday and we are still unsure if what I have set up is "set in stone". 

But, I moved on and have adopted a "Que Sera, Sera" attitude. 

Many years ago my parents had a large sailboat that they sailed on Lake Ontario. One of the other boats in the marina was named, "Que Sera". The dinghy had "Sera" painted on its transom. It always made me smile, and when I hear the phrase, I immediately think of the boat. Can't help it! 

Today I ran some errands and actually visited Walmart twice! I haven't been in Walmart in months. I do like going there for their veggies, which are usually the freshest in town. But, the parking lot is always crazy and it is always crowded inside. The Mister wanted to show me a small griddle that maybe we could carry on the motorhome instead of a grill. They didn't have the exact one we wanted at Walmart, but from what they had we could make a decision. He later found the grill at Ace Hardware, but they didn't have the connector  for using small propane tanks, so back I went to pick up the connector! 

I discovered that I enjoy cooking on a Blackstone griddle.  I like cooking everything at once...even hamburgers and steaks come out great. I have my formula for making slider sized, medium rare cheeseburgers with sautéed onions and/or mushrooms. Yum! That's what we had tonight! The Mister 'seasoned' the grill by heating small amounts of oil, wiping the grill down,  and repeating the oil treatment 2 more times. Then, I sautéed a bunch of onions in oil before cooking the rest of our dinner on it. 

I finished the last of 23 journals for our Rt 66 tour. I ran out of the Rt 66 fabric, so used embroidery on a simpler fabric. I actually like these last two better than the others! The leaders of the tour will get these:

We have had more rain. It is glorious! Our yard is loving it!

Saddlery

While in Pendleton, OR we stopped to see the oldest western wear and saddle shop in continuous operation. Hamley's has been in operation in this exact building since 1905. There were known for making the "finest saddles man could ride", and they continue to make saddles today. 

This machine was called the "clicker". It cut multiple layers of leather using a force up to 50,000 lbs

This is a Hamley's saddle from 1922 that was sold to Hoot Gibson

Duff Severe was a renowned saddle maker who apprenticed at Haley's.

Here's a description of the bronze art work of Duff

Duff was famous for his detailed miniature saddles

Across the street from Hamley's we ran into Rod, another saddle maker,

and another character!

Rod told us about his life riding broncs, drinking too much, coming clean and now working out to make a comeback appearance in a rodeo to honor his brother who died in a rodeo accident. 

I bought his book and will be able to tell you more about Rod once I'm finished. 

But, keep your eyes/ears open to see if miracles do happen,

which, according to Rod, is a given!

 

High Point of the Journey

This is the sort of canoe that Lewis & Clark used to continue up the Missouri and had to haul when they portaged around Great Falls.

The canoes were buried, along with a cache of supplies for the return journey

Lewis & Clark crossed the continental divide at this point

This was the highest elevation of their journey

I stood where Clark did, and took in the view

The headwaters of the Missouri are near Lemhi Pass. I am standing with my feet on either side of the Missouri! 

The water comes out of a spring in the the copse of trees behind me.

 

Bannock, MT

Bannack is a former mining town near Dillon, Montana. Most of the houses and shops were abandoned when gold ran out, with the last residents leaving in the 1970's. The town was founded in 1862 following a major gold strike. It served as the capital of the Montana Territory in 1864. 

Bannock had a colorful history around crooked law enforcement and hangings. The gallows are located  one the hill toward the center of this picture. 

 

Helena, MT

We toured Helena in an open-sided "train" in the rain, thus my pictures are not the best. Helena has some lovely old homes and buildings reflecting its beginning as a gold camp in 1860's

Like many older towns, Helena had fires that destroyed much of the city. This is the "Guardian of the Gulch" that was constructed after a fire in 1876.

We visited the capitol building

After seeing CM Russell's paintings we were interested in seeing this, his largest work, hanging in the House of Representatives. The scene depicts Lewis & Clark meeting the Indians. Russell had to raise the roof of his studio in order to paint a canvas this large.

The Senate has this large, bronze bas relief depicting the Corps of Discovery struggling onward.

We also took a boat trip to see the "Gateway of the Mountains", as described by Lewis & Clark. The guide pointed out geological features and historical locations, one where the Corps of Discovery camped and another where a devastating wild fire took the lives of 13 firefighters.

Indian pictographs can be seen in this recessed grotto. 

The flat plates of rock were created by plate tectonics

Site of the Mann Gulch fire in 1949

 

A black bear can be seen in the middle of the picture. 

He turned around to look at us!

The Gateway

The video shows why this area was called the Gateway. As the boat moves, the rock seems to slide open, or closed.