DE VII - Big Skies Trip Report

4842
13
17
1320

Miles driven.
States visited.
Nights slept in teardrop.
Pictures taken.

The seventh annual Desert Expedition trip was a quite a trip. Old friends, new friends and new places. This was a very educational trip as well. We visited/learned/saw several significant places and events of the history of our great country. Of course, we ate well and camped at some fantastic sites.

What follows is an account of our trip, written daily by Laura with some input from me. And, of course, photos.

I will start off with a fitting quote from Theodore Roosevelt - "It is an incalculable added pleasure to anyone's sum of happiness if he grows to know, even slightly and imperfectly, how to read and enjoy the wonder-book of nature."

 

Big Skies Trip - Getting There

6/16 Friday

After weeks of awaiting a work contract approval, Scott's day at work was booked with meetings, conference calls, and tasks. Our plans for a leisurely afternoon of loading the rig and departing by 4 pm dissolved and when Scott finally arrived home at 2, it was hurry up and pull it all together. We were ready to pull out of the driveway by 5 and decided on Slope's barbecue in Cumming for dinner before heading out of town.



We beat the dinner crowd and started our trip by 6 pm. Except for a 15 min traffic delay at the Georgia-Tennessee state line, our first evening's drive was uneventful. We were greeted at the Manchester TN KOA by an excited camper wanting to check out our Teardrop and then settled in for a good night's rest at 10:30 local time. We were thankful for the fan creating a breeze in the heavy humid air.

6/17 Saturday

Woke up in Tennessee and bedded down in Iowa, a 5-state, 620-mile day. We started the day with breakfast at Cracker Barrel in the outskirts of Nashville. We trekked north through Tennessee catching the western tip of Kentucky and crossing the Ohio River at Paducah and into Illinois, my home state. We happened upon Uncle Joe's BBQ in Ina, IL at Rend Lake. Thinly sliced brisket piled high made for a delicious lunch, not Texas BBQ but award winning nonetheless. Cutting west across southern Illinois, we crossed into Missouri at St Louis on the New Mississippi River bridge (opened in 2014) - the Stan Span, short for Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge. Clearing city traffic we headed north for Iowa looking forward to an early arrival at camp. On a gas stop, noticing the fridge power had gone out we knew we'd have some troubleshooting to attend to. As we neared Iowa City we ran straight through a mighty thunderstorm complete with nearly hail-like raindrops pelting on our rig. Thankfully it was short lived or we drove right out of it, and found dinner at Frontier Family restaurant in Iowa City. Not letting the Art Deco decor throw us off, we enjoyed tasty Iowa beef in the form of chopped steak dinner. We headed north out of town to enjoy the evening at Sugar Bottom campground at Coralville Lake which was overflowing with families enjoying lake recreation on the holiday weekend. As nearby campers serenaded us with Mariachi music amid beer-drinking corn tosses, Scott traced the fridge power issue to a blown fuse under the hood. We repacked the truck bed and took a few moments to take in all the activity around us. Deciding to retreat into the Little Guy, we showered and closed the doors to the outside world, succumbed to our exhaustion and drifted off to sleep.

6/18 Sunday

Woke up in Iowa, bedded down in South Dakota, 3 state, 630 mile day. Awoke early, left the lake and drove north to Cedar Rapids to get a glimpse of the Brucemore estate. The beautiful brick mansion, built in the 1800s by a family from New York City homesteading in Iowa who had created a fortune meat packing. The mansion is nestled in a 26 acre garden in the center of town. Although we were departing earlier than the gates opened on a Sunday, we took in the street view.





We beat the dinner crowd and started our trip by 6 pm. Except for a 15 min traffic delay at the Georgia-Tennessee state line, our first evening's drive was uneventful. We were greeted at the Manchester TN KOA by an excited camper wanting to check out our Teardrop and then settled in for a good night's rest at 10:30 local time. We were thankful for the fan creating a breeze in the heavy humid air.

6/17 Saturday

Woke up in Tennessee and bedded down in Iowa, a 5-state, 620-mile day. We started the day with breakfast at Cracker Barrel in the outskirts of Nashville. We trekked north through Tennessee catching the western tip of Kentucky and crossing the Ohio River at Paducah and into Illinois, my home state. We happened upon Uncle Joe's BBQ in Ina, IL at Rend Lake. Thinly sliced brisket piled high made for a delicious lunch, not Texas BBQ but award winning nonetheless. Cutting west across southern Illinois, we crossed into Missouri at St Louis on the New Mississippi River bridge (opened in 2014) - the Stan Span, short for Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge. Clearing city traffic we headed north for Iowa looking forward to an early arrival at camp. On a gas stop, noticing the fridge power had gone out we knew we'd have some troubleshooting to attend to. As we neared Iowa City we ran straight through a mighty thunderstorm complete with nearly hail-like raindrops pelting on our rig. Thankfully it was short lived or we drove right out of it, and found dinner at Frontier Family restaurant in Iowa City. Not letting the Art Deco decor throw us off, we enjoyed tasty Iowa beef in the form of chopped steak dinner. We headed north out of town to enjoy the evening at Sugar Bottom campground at Coralville Lake which was overflowing with families enjoying lake recreation on the holiday weekend. As nearby campers serenaded us with Mariachi music amid beer-drinking corn tosses, Scott traced the fridge power issue to a blown fuse under the hood. We repacked the truck bed and took a few moments to take in all the activity around us. Deciding to retreat into the Little Guy, we showered and closed the doors to the outside world, succumbed to our exhaustion and drifted off to sleep.

6/18 Sunday

Woke up in Iowa, bedded down in South Dakota, 3 state, 630 mile day. Awoke early, left the lake and drove north to Cedar Rapids to get a glimpse of the Brucemore estate. The beautiful brick mansion, built in the 1800s by a family from New York City homesteading in Iowa who had created a fortune meat packing. The mansion is nestled in a 26 acre garden in the center of town. Although we were departing earlier than the gates opened on a Sunday, we took in the street view.





A quick tour of the farm museum and we piled back into the truck to continue our westward journey into South Dakota.



Our first stop in South Dakota was in Mitchell to grab Cabela's t-shirts. At our second SD stop for gas, we were greeted by fellow travelers from Georgia and North Carolina who had ridden bikes from the east to west coast on I-40 and were headed back eastbound on I-90. We arrived at Badlands National Park just in time to get parked and watch a spectacular sun-setting color display light the sky.





The cool evening air beckoned us for a good night's sleep.

 

A close-up of Brucemore



Hawkeye Point, Iowa

 

Day 2 - South Dakota en route
6/19 Monday

Not yet accustomed to the 2 hour time difference, we awoke early and had a leisurely morning with a camp-cooked breakfast and map reading for the day's plans. By 7 we had eaten, washed up, and closed camp ready for our journey into Badlands on Loop Rd. The scenery was spectacular with peaks rising sharply all around us mimicking the look of drizzled sand castles in larger-than-life scale.





At the first overlook where we hopped out of the truck to enjoy the quiet of the canyon, we were greeted by red-shouldered Orioles playing around us.











In our 3 hour meandering drive through the park, we saw pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs, multiple bird and flower species, and even had sighting of a white fox in the prairie grasses. At the end of Loop Rd, we turned north out of the park into the town of Wall (pop. 818), fueled up, enjoyed delicious bison burgers at a local diner and strolled through the infamous Wall Drug Store picking out souvenirs. Wall Drug Store has been in operation since 1931 and is a must see for all who make it up to South Dakota. Our next adventure was to Minuteman Missile National Historic Site established in 1999 where we experienced the gravity of the Cold War nuclear armament buildup. The US force of 1000 missiles housed in underground silos has been trimmed down to less than 500 today. A Launch Command Center (preserved from the 1960s) and a missile silo (complete with a non-nuclear training missile) are available for public viewing. We headed back into Wall for a few days' provisions and then onto Sage Creek primitive campground back in Badlands.



Several Bison, doing what bison do, grazed on grass near the road affording us the opportunity for some close-up photos.



Little did they know, bison was on the menu for our dinner with black beans and rice. We pulled into camp finding a level spot between a couple from Germany touring the USA in their Unimog and a guy from Oregon in a one-man tent.



The sky was clear dotted with a few cottonball-esk clouds, the breeze briskly blowing across the plains, and we relaxed while watching the sun disappear over the horizon. Total drive today 95 miles.

 

Day 3 - Those black, black hills

6/20 Tuesday
Okay, either we are still on Eastern time or the 5 am dawns are waking us early. We enjoyed a camp breakfast, replete with Cafe Nutella (a personal specialty) when I spotted what looked to be a bison grazing over by the horses. Without my contacts in yet, the grazing horse looked just like a bison. When I mentioned it to Scott, he looked over and said, that is a bison! Right there in camp with us! As the bison approached ever so close, busily grazing, we snapped a few photos. We know the rule - you can look on as long as the bison is doing what bisons do. He wandered off turning many a camper's head as he strolled mightily close-by.



Even the prairie dogs took did a second-take.



We packed up camp and headed out for our first off-road adventure - Sheep Mountain Table trail in the south part of Badlands. The path took us out to cliffs with a view stretching for miles over terrain, some lush green where the rivers cut through, some white and grayish tan with the ever present drizzled sand castle buttes.





After the trail we headed north into Rapid City to get a bite of lunch at Pauly's pizzeria, a new establishment in town needing a bit more practice in getting it right. After lunch, we embarked on our next adventure - the South Dakota Air and Space Museum at the Ellsworth AFB. A B1-B Lancer stationed out front let us know we were in the right place.



There were 30+ aircraft outside the museum along with an ICBM.





Inside the museum was a brief history of flight, the Air Force, and the Ellsworth AFB in particular. One of its main missions has been to man the 100 launch control centers of the 1000 intercontinental ballistic missiles buried in silos throughout South Dakota during the Cold War years. The history lesson was sobering to say the least. We called it a day, stopped for provisions and drove south to Custer State Park (the very first-declared state park in the nation, est 1909?) to bed down for the night at Center Lake Campground.



We enjoyed a private site at the end of the campground, watched the sun drift down below the tree line and enjoyed the cooling air before retiring for the night. (124 miles, 51185)

 

Breakfast...



At this point, he started not doing what buffalo, so I backed away...



On to Badlands...















Air and Space Museum

 

Day 4 - The Mount of all Mounts
6/21 Wednesday

Yep. Up again early. We loved being on Mountain time. That and long days of light. After a camp breakfast of Cafe Nutella and scrambled eggs with hash browns peppered with onion and bison (this time cooked!), we packed up camp and headed out of Custer State Park into the Black Hills. Traveling north on Route 16A, with several long distance views of the spectacular Mount Rushmore, we wound through the Black Hill mountains getting ever closer to our destination, the National Memorial.





Arriving at the park we made our way to the Presidential Trail along the base of the mountain sporting the great granite sculpture. 422 steps later, we arrived at the museum to learn that Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and T. Roosevelt represented the founding, growth, preservation, and development of our great nation. The sculptor, G. Borglum selected Mount Rushmore for this monumental sculpture to show the grandeur of this country's ideals placing the sculpture as close to the heavens as earthly possible. The blasting, carving, and smoothing was accomplished in 1927-1941 and the sculptor died at the age of 74 just 6 months prior to the project's completion, his son Lincoln finishing the work.



Filled with gratitude for those who have made this country what it is, we embarked on a drive through the Black Hills on the Iron Mountain Road and Needles Highway.



Tunnels created by blasting through solid rock were just wide enough to accommodate our 7' wide teardrop trailer. The highlight of the route was ever so carefully passing through the lengthy Needles tunnel to see the Needles Eye high in the rock face overlooking a vast spread of vegetation below.







We wound our way up to Hill City and stopped for a truly Mexican and truly delicious lunch, tostadas and carnitas tacos. Escaping the crowds at Hill City we made our way northward on 385 to Deadwood. You know you are getting close to Deadwood when you see littered across the landscape - numerous fallen logs, whole tree size. I wondered, why so many dead trees? Deadwood, aptly named, is now a National Historic Landmark, 'entertaining guests since 1876.'



Deadwood was a wonderful surprise - beautiful old Western town feel, a bustling metropolis during the mining craze and the very place where Wild Bill Hickok was shot dead. Two days later, in 1876, Seth Bullock became the first sheriff in town and saved Deadwood from the lawlessness of the day. We stopped in to explore the visitor center, strolled the river walk and drove through historic Main Street.



Tempted to stay in Deadwood to explore the historic buildings, we decided instead to call it a day and find a campsite north of town on BLM land. We left town heading north on 85 and pulled off the paved road at Mount Theodore Roosevelt finding a cozy open grassy spot tucked away from - well, anything. We had the place to ourselves.



Scott cooked up black bean, beef, and onion to layer over tortilla chips, sprinkled with cheese and we enjoyed the nachos and then a warm shower before retiring for the night. Shortly after drifting off to sleep, we were awakened by bright flashes of lightening and Scott clamored out to put up chairs and equipment before getting drenched. The storm lasted some time into the night, but we were safely tucked away and slept right through it. (51275, 90 miles)

 

Who says trailers don't fit?





Somewhere north of Deadwood...



Good eats, too!

 

Day 5 Last Stand in "Last Best Place"
6/22 Thursday

The sun had us up by 5 am and then disappeared behind clouds to give us a chilly morning. A quick bowl of oatmeal, packed up camp and we were off to Wyoming. We headed north on SR 85, crossed I-90 and picked up SR 24 in Belle Fourche to head west into Wyoming. Our first exploration of the day was Devil's Tower in northeast Wyoming.



The rock tower, the largest of its kind in the world, and rising up from the plains surrounding it is made up of 5, 6, and 7 sided columns, some 600 feet in length and as much as 10 feet in diameter.





We hiked around the tower enjoying the changing terrain from Ponderosa pine forest to overlooks of vast plains dotted with cattle.










This rock tower is considered sacred ground by native Americans and rock climbing is curtailed the month of June in honor of sacred worship. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed this area a national monument in 1906, the first in the country. After our hike we headed back east on SR 24 to Hulett and found a much better-than-expected lunch at Red Rock Cafe. Departing Hulett, a town inhabited by 385 residents, we headed north on 112 to pick up SR 212 in Montana. We drove west into Crow Indian Reservation to the Little Bighorn Battlefield, named a National Monument. This is where Custer's 200+ men were mightily defeated by several thousand 'hostile' Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in 1876. The Indians were deemed hostile by the US government for refusing to give up their nomadic lifestyle and succumb to reservation life. Custer's entire 7th Calvary unit was overrun and died at the hands of the Indians on the hill named Last Stand which was the Native Americans' last great attempt to preserve their way of life. Also on the site is a national cemetery with thousands of cemetery stones dotting the hillside.



A tribute to the Indians was added recently in 2003 to honor Sitting Bull, a great Lakota leader and the Indians from 5 tribes that gave their lives fighting to protect their lifestyle.



On site with us was a television crew filming an episode for Mysteries of Museums for the Travel Channel. It's sure to be a good episode to take in. From Custer's battlefield, now renamed Little Bighorn Battlefield, we drove north to Hardin to camp for the night. The town was bustling with activities for the annual reenactment of the Little Bighorn Battle. In town we happened upon a barbecue restaurant, Big Horn BBQ Boys, which rivaled any Texas barbecue we've had. At camp, we got in out of the gusty wind and called it a day. (51568, 300 miles)

 

Devil's Tower, Wyoming











Prayer flags





Little Big Horn Battlefield

 

Day 6 - Meet up!
6/23 Friday

The wind had died down in the night and we awoke to a quiet stillness overlooking the plains. We decided on a civil breakfast and went back into town to Big Horn BBQ for a skillet scramble. Arriving before opening time, and trying to figure out if we should wait for the restaurant opening, the owner unlocked the doors and invited us in for coffee while he set up. The meal hit the spot, probably the best bacon I've ever had - thick slabs, Hickory-smoked, with eggs and a big 'ole bowl of grits. We left Hardin heading west on I-90 for a 3 hour drive to Butte. We passed the continental divide through Bear Pass and continued uphill arriving in Butte to meet G. arriving from L.A. to join us. We got provisions for a week, gassed up and left town on I-90 to find Delmoe Lake Road, route 222. The dirt road was fairly smooth other than a few washboards. We arrived at the lakeside campground and met up with our fellow expeditioners -- F. from Albuquerque and K. from Germantown, MD. And F. was leading a group - D. from Prescott AZ and G. from San Antonio TX - to Alaska and met up with us for a few days on their way north.





We gathered round the campfire, overlooking the lake and talked of past trips and plans for the next few days while Scott made his infamous camp pizza - onion, sausage and mushroom.



The air turned cool as the sun started to sink and we called it a night. (51845, just under 300 miles traversed)

 

Pizza!!!!!!

 

Day 7 - Passport, oh passport - where are you?
6/24 Saturday
We were greeted by cool, brisk air upon awakening, enough so that I started the day with long johns (got down to 34 degrees in the mountain air). While Scott prepared oatmeal for breakfast, we looked over the map books planning to spend the day in Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest just east of Butte. Our caravan of 6 rigs headed out on Delmoe Lake Road (222) turning south on Whitetail Rd (173). We turned north climbing up a mountain to arrive at Ringing Rocks, an enormous pile of boulders that sing when struck with metal. Different size rocks produced different tones.





From Ringing Rocks we retraced our route back to Whitetail Road (173) making our way north through the mountains.









We crossed a stream and crossed paths with another group of Overlanders.





The terrain turned rocky the further north we went and the road got narrower and less passable.



A little further up the road 173 dead-ended at Hay Canyon Road. We evaluated the path, and considering our 3 rigs towing trailers decided to turn around for a more passable route. We retraced our steps south on 173 , make a quick jaunt on I-90 east to Whitehall where we exited the interstate highway and headed north on Whitetail Road (399) making our way towards Boulder. The road took us straight north through a wide valley, Whitetail Valley and when we got back into National Forest land we found a suitable campground in a quiet, open space overlooking the mountains.



While everyone set up camp, F. tore apart his truck looking for his elusive passport which he desperately needed for his journey through Canada to Alaska. About his second or third pass through all his belongings with still no passport, he started talking about driving back to New Mexico to retrieve it. Not wanting F. to have to leave and feeling certain the passport could be found, we meticulously went back through all his belongings... and Yes! There it was - under the q-tips in the medicine crate. Disaster averted, we settled in for grilled Swiss burgers and sautéed mushrooms. We grouped around a roaring campfire under the still fully-lit sky and shared stories about our adventures. Calling it a night, we headed to bed even before nightfall. (51909, 64 miles, nearly all dirt)

 

I seem to always get this view...



Quite the homestead...











This rock outcropping reminds me of Devil's Tower.

 

Day 8 - Rich, Rich Mining Ghosts
6/25 Sunday

We're starting to get used to brisk mornings, low 40s to upper 30s, upon awakening which called for hot oatmeal to start the day. We closed up camp and drove back out to Whitetail Rd northbound to Boulder where we jumped on I-15 westbound for Butte. Arriving in Butte from the east, we stopped to take in the view overlooking Berkeley Pit, a massive open pit mine which operated from 1955 to 1982 and is now the country's largest, most expensive superfund site.



The town of Butte is a National Historic Landmark and was deemed the "richest hill in Earth." Gold was discovered in the hills in the 1860s shortly after Montana became a territory of the US and by 1917, one million dollars of gold at $8 an ounce had been mined. But it was the copper that earned Butte the title of richest hill on Earth. Mines, still active today, have produced over 2 billion dollars worth of gold, silver, copper and zinc. It seemed only fitting that we stop in and explore the World Museum of Mining.



The museum was built on the site of the old Orphan Girl mine which operated until 1950. We strolled the streets of a mining town village, clambered up several stories on the mining head frame to view the ore chutes, and most impressive, studied the 3 dimensional modeling of the extensive underground mine beneath the entire town of Butte, some 10,000 miles altogether. And although we passed on the hour and a half tour of a small portion of the underground mine, we left with a sense of the importance of mining in the development of our nation.





With replenished provisions and full tanks of gas we left Butte westbound on I-90 headed for Garnet Ghost town. F. "cooked" lunch for us all, a choice of hamburgers or burritos, all manifold-cooked, and all delicious. At Drummond, we turned off the interstate, found dirt at Bear Gulch Road heading north into Garnet Mountain Range. The road turned into single lane with a fairly steep ascent up to Garnet Ghost Town. A short hike through a sparsely wooded field abloom with wildflowers brought us to the best preserved ghost town in the country, with over thirty log structures.







What made Garnet different from all the other mining towns? The miners brought their families, built log homes instead of shacks and repurposed structures as the need arose. We strolled into the town general store, an opulent 3 story hotel, the saloon, and several family homes including a honeymoon suite, a modest one room cabin for newlyweds until they built their new home.



Leaving town, we headed south back down the steep one lane descent on Bear Gulch Rd and turned east onto Deep Creek Road. Deep Creek drive was deep in a canyon along a creek bed with mining tailings spilling out of the mountains on both sides of the road. We came to a three way split in the road and set set up camp on a nearby grassy plain.





We snacked on crackers and cheese and chips and salsa and then topped it off with pizza from a previous night's bake.The evening campfire talk was lively as ever knowing that F., D., and G. would split off from our group in the morning to cross the Canadian border on their way to Alaska. (52044, 130 miles)

 

The ghost town of Garnet

 

Day 9 - Rock Creek Road
6/26 Monday

We awoke to a cool, brisk morning, had scrambled eggs for breakfast and then it was hugs all around for F., D., and G.'s departure to find Alaska. We backtracked with G., and K. up Bear Gulch Road (single lane, steep incline) to Garnet Ghost Town and walked along the interpretative trail among the placer gold mines. Some mine shafts as deep as 100 feet still remain although they are now completely water-filled.




Halfway through the hike, we entered a spruce forest with trees towering some 80 to 100 feet high.





After the 20 minute hike which took us nearly an hour and one half, we headed west to find passage through the mountain. We were stopped by a locked gate atop Union Peak and decided it was a good place to break out the picnic baskets and have some lunch. (Scott has some great photos atop Union Peak.) Heading down another route looking for passage we were stopped yet again by a locked gate so we resorted to making our way to Highway 200 west to Bonner outside of Missoula. We fueled up in Bonner and found Interstate 90 eastbound for a short drive to find Rock Creek Road. Rock Creek Road follows Rock Creek, infamous for trout fishing, through a valley in Lolo National Forest. Rock Creek is a wide, shallow creek with fast moving water. It was dotted with fly fisherman along the 30 mile stretch we travelled.







We stopped for the night at Stoneycreek, camping on the edge of Rock Creek.



I whipped up a dish of black beans and rice with chicken while Scott changed the oil in the truck (it was time, afterall!). We took early showers and built the campfire to enjoy before the storm rolled in which chased us to bed early.



So with the sound of the nearby rushing creek, the thunder rolling in, and the rain on our teardrop we drifted off to sleep. (52138, nearly 100 miles)

 

I really enjoy century-old machinery


View from camp