Sunday April 27 Last Day on the Road

70763    331 miles   36*-46*    Raining   7:45 AM start  $3.89   11,938 miles Total

We rode secondary roads to Vantage, WA.  Rt 270 to WA 26.  Palouse then wheat fields turned to desert. The Columbia River at Vantage was very low.  I looked up why and read that there is a crack in the Wanapum Dam so the river has been lowered to relieve the pressure. Before long, we could see the Cascades in the distance. We turned off I-90 to WA 18, then I-5 and home.  

What a trip!! So many things we saw and did.  We're glad to be done sleeping in hotels and eating in restaurants for a while but it was worth it to have the opportunity to travel.

Other notes:

Church names we saw:

Peace Memorial Missionary

Old Scotts Hill AME

Union Bethel AME

Manhollow Missionary

Without Limits Christian

Palmetto Chapel

Love Faithaholics

The Potters House

Piney Woods Chapel

Heritage Baptist Church

Union Shiloh Baptist Church

Globe Landing Baptist Church

Angel Visit Baptist Church

Ebeneezer Baptist Church

Holy Mt Zion Temple of Deliverance

Little Zion

Riverside Drive

New Creek Gospel Hall

Message of Freedom Church

Beulah Baptist Church

Rolling Hills Baptist Church

Free Will Baptist Church

Lighthouse Baptist Church

Living Word Church

New Hope Community Church

Hi-Way Church of God

Believers Fellowship

Child Care Names:

Mustard Seed Kidz

Tiny Treasurers Academy

Open Arms

Small Wonders Child Care

Bright Ideas Child Care

Children's Village

Little People Daycare

Little Angels Daycare

Legacy Learning Center

Kiddie Carousel Academy

Castle of Care

Loading the truck one last time in Moscow, ID

Crossing into Eastern Washington out side of Moscow, ID

Peeking through the rainy windshield at one of the many different
kinds of barns we passed.

Rain had stopped as we approached the Columbia River Bridge
at Vantage, WA

Water lever was way down due to crack in the dam below the
I-90 bridge.  

Cascade Mountains coming into view under the
clouds.

The scotch broom weed is blooming along the roadsides.

Not far now!

Our mailbox in the rain.

The rhodies are staring to bloom in the yard.....

.....and the flowering cherry.

The weather at home was beautiful the next few days so we walked in
the woods at Rocky Creek Park.  We tried to get exercise on our trip
but it wasn't very consistent.

Saturday April 26 Bozeman, MT to Moscow, ID

70256   45* Blue sky a few miles down the road  8:53 AM

We drove I-90 W to Coeur d'Alene and then turned S on US 95 to Moscow, ID.  We have friends in Deary, ID who were celebrating a 50th birthday.  After we got a room in Moscow, we drove out to Deary for the birthday potluck.  The sun had come out making the evening scenery a beautiful contrast with bright blue sky, green fields and pines.  The temp began to drop with the sun so we gathered around the campfire to keep warm.  It was a wonderful way to spend our last evening on the road.

This pictures are also out of order.  :(

50th Birthday bonfire

Potluck birthday party for our friends in Deary, ID

2 cakes!

Bill, Cheryl's husband, leads the group in the "Happy Birthday Song"

After the rain storms, the clouds were spectacular

The Palouse is beautiful no matter what the weather.

Hail and slush while riding South on US 95

Lookout Pass 4600'

Rocky Mountains near Missoula

Mining outside Butte

Starbucks stop, of course!

Traffic on I-90

Friday April 25 Sturgis, SD to Bozeman, MT

69668    588 miles     Sunshine  52*-68*  8:16 AM    $4.07   20.1 mpg

We left Sturgis and headed West on I-90 along the edge of the Black Hills.  There is snow on the higher mountain tops.  At Sundance, WY, 4865' there are snow patches and antelope in the fields.  Near Pine Haven, I could see Devil's Tower in the distance. Oil derricks and an open pit coal mine in Wyodak. We continued up in elevation and there are more pine trees.  From Buffalo, we turned W on US 16 for Cody and the East entrance to Yellowstone which had been a stop on our honeymoon trip.  US 16 was an incredible drive over the Powder River Pass. We decided that road was a favorite of the whole trip. The temperature fell and we saw a couple of guys ice fishing in a small lake at the top, 9881'.  The trip down the other side was through Tensleep Canyon with rocks over 500 million years old. In Worland, we had a 360* view of the rock formations.  We passed the town of Emblem, population 10.  As we neared Cody, I checked the Yellowstone National Park website to be sure the roads we were traveling on were open.  The route signs in Cody didn't say anything about closures but the website said the road we were on wouldn't open till the first weekend in May so were changed the travel plan.  I found a few back roads that got us back on I-90 for Bozeman where our hotel room was new and comfy.

As before, the pictures are end of day to beginning of day due to unwanted phone update issues.  I went to Verizon and they said it was an LG problem.  Great...

Three more states to Port Orchard

We like the traffic situation here!

Red hills in the background.  This irrigation system had 8 arm sections.

More red hills in the distance

Rural cabin

We followed this horse trailer and dog over Powder River Pass.  The
dog must have had very strong paw nails to hang on in the corners.

A curve is coming up big time!

Loaf Mountain in the distance

Giant rural junk yard

Leaving South Dakota

Thursday April 24 Mitchell, SD to Sturgis, SD

69342  326 miles   46* Overcast at the start but sun came out a few miles later   8:30 AM   $3.91 in Kadoka

Having driven I-90 W on much of our honeymoon and remembering that boring, hot ride across SD in a Pinto in July, we decided to count and photograph the Wall Drug signs.  We were surprised at how well kept the signs were.  In 1979, we thought there was a sign every mile but today, we only counted 80 between Mitchell and Wall Drug. 

YOLO-"You Only Live Once", "Busted Nut Bar and Grill", the towns of "Reliance" and "Winner".

Cattle, bill boards and wind turbines were the general scenery.  At times, we were in rolling hills and then back to flat spaces.  We stopped at the Bad National Park and took a walk in the "slump" where the high rock had cracked and fallen to the ground creating a green space. The scenery was amazing, with view points at 2700' and a campground mid way through the park. We checked out the Campground Host site. No trees and all the picnic tables were under shelter making us think the wind must blow on a regular basis.  On the way out of the park, we saw several prairie dog towns.  The park road took us right into Wall, SD for lunch and a chance to see how much had changed in 35 years.

We continued on I-90 W to see what Sturgis, SD looks like in the off motorcycle season.  Since we've had very little good exercise, we walked a mile into town, hoping the museum might still be open.  We were about 10 minutes too late so we strolled the main street remembering how it looks jammed with bikes.  We did find one antique store open and several bars.  The Best Western where we stayed had an agreement with the next door restaurant so we got to choose from menu items, not a breakfast bar as most hotels.

My phone had an update and now, my pictures are out of order :(  so this set begins at the end of the day.

We were here in 1989 on the bikes.  We camped 60 miles away
and spent about 4 hours in town which was sufficient.  We rode through
again in 2010 about 2 weeks before the big rally.  Vendors were already
setting up.  It was a good time to be passing through as opposed to
being at the rally itself.  That is a crazy time!

Giant rocking chair yard
ornament

Main Street in Sturgis on a Thursday night.  Not one bike in sight.

Creative chain saw carving on
this tree advertising a
flower shop.

Even the mail truck has a motorcycle on it.

"Your window to the West" in Wall

Lynn on the bronco 1979 and on the jack a lope in 2014.
No bronco in 2014.

1952 service trike on display in the Harley Shop

Sonny and the local girl in 1979

The new local girl with Sonny in 2014

The cafe served home made doughnuts!

Yummmeee.

The pictures don't do the scenery justice. It was just awesome.

At every turn, there was another amazing sight to see.

Board walk around the "Slump"

The blue sky set off the lighter shades of rock.  Erosion has no pattern.
The rock in directly ahead had a very pointed top where other rocks
were flat or rounded.

Slump boardwalk

The rock became rounded and more colorful as we drove through
the park.

I bet the night sky would be filled with stars from this campsite.

Selfie in the Badlands

Field art along I-90.  These horsemen were chasing
the stage coach below...

We saw many signs for an old west trading post at
this exit.  It was the off season so it was closed.

Farm country 

More big boy equipment along the way.

One of the many bill boards on I-90

Typical cattle ranch scene.

This unit is becoming an antique.

Crossing the Missouri River

I liked the gigantic American Flag

This was a bill board for the Firehouse Winery.  They had
quite a collection of fire trucks.  We must have seen
at least 5 ads with different trucks.

Dinosaur chasing a guy across the prarie

We drove by this museum but from the exterior decor,
decided not to spend the time or money.