last chance gulch

The continuation of our drive to Helena, Montana:

After arriving in Helena, we both decided we wanted to be human for a night and see a movie at the theater. We settled on Going the Distance, which turned out to be hilarious, and went to The Brewpub, a bar/restaurant nearby, for a snack.

Lewis & Clark Brewing Co. beers:

Coconut-covered onion rings, half devoured:

We met a wise philosopher named Manny, who happened to be a cook at the Brewpub, and had a wonderful chat about life and society, you know- grown-up stuff.

Our bartender, bless her heart. Forgot her name… But she was awesome!

The parking garage next door played host to the van for the evening, allowing us a warm and full night’s sleep, FOR FREE!

Sunday was Denim Day. Marissa sported jorts (jean shorts), whilst Gretchen tried her hand at the Texas Tuxedo…

Caught in the middle of a Western jig:

We picked up necessary uncooked supplies at the local grocer, Safeway, since our fire-building skills have been known to be somewhat lackluster. Marissa had a little headache leftover from one too many Blackfoots at the Brewpub, so Gretchen navigated us to the Two Medicine entrance of Glacier National Park.

Shortly after entering the park, the following happened. Please excuse the reaction similar to a 5 year old child on Christmas morning, opening his most lusted after gift.

After the bear encounter, we set up shop on Two Medicine lake, somewhere on the southeastern side of Glacier:

First evening was a little rough, again, problems on the fire-starting front. Luckily, we approached some neighboring campers who were more than happy to help. After introducing himself as M.G (standing for Master Genius), he came to our rescue with a jug of diesel fuel and some new log arranging formations. We both acknowledge that we should know how to start a fire by now. That being said, I don’t think either of us will camp diesel-less from this day forth.

With flames ablaze, we focused on food. Utilizing the goods we picked up earlier, we classed up our camping game with these bad boys

Some thinly sliced bread, smear o spinach dip and some melted havarti.  A step above from trailmix to say the least.

With fanny packs bursting, we embarked early in the morning on South Shore trail. The hike went on for about around ten miles total. We prepared for the worst (bear mauling), but hoped for the best (moose sighting!)

Donk Tree:

Marissa’s dad’s longtime friend Kevin and his wife Carol offered to put us up for a few days in Missoula, Montana! We were ecstatic at the thought of a shower and clean clothes! On the way, Kevin advised us to stop at the ‘Garden of 1000 Buddhas.’ The Dalai Lama himself is expected to visit the Ewam Garden when it is completed. The following photos are dedicated to Kellie Brandt, the lover of all things Buddhism.

We ‘ohm-ed’ all the way to Kevin and Carol’s mountainside crib. What a view, people!

More on Missoula to come.

Peace,

Mimi and Gigi

a little extra time in helena…

Internet credits: Starbucks

yellowstone and beyond

When we left off, we were trying to find a campsite in the Big Horn mountains. We ended up just driving through and stopping at a campground called Circle Lake, which was first-come, first-serve. All nine campsites were vacant, so we set up shop, built a huge fire, and got ready for a great night! Then it started sleeting… After we scraped the ice off the windshield, we explored Big Horn a bit. Frost:

We set off for Yellowstone afterward, crossing our fingers that we would get a campsite, since all of the reservation employees basically laughed at us when we tried to get a spot over the phone. On the way we utilized Marissa’s ‘Road Food’ book and ate a delicious meal at Lisa’s in Greybull, Wyoming.

The drive was amazing, we passed through gorgeous mountains and amazing landscapes…

We entered the park through the east entrance and asked the ranger woman if there were any campsites available. She gave us a pass and let us in, warning that there was a buffalo on the road ahead and that we should give him some room. Our campsite the first night was in Bridge Bay, right near where the buffalo roam.

The campsite was a short walk to Yellowstone Lake.

Upon our check-in, we purchased a box of firewood from rangette Peggie, feeling confident that it would provide us with the raging fire we had created the night before. This was not the case.

Most of our camping neighbors turned their chairs to watch our pitiful fire and snicker. After two failed attempts, a nice couple came over and offered us a firestarter, something neither us were privy to.

After the outside assistance, we figured we were in the clear for the night. Countless attempts to keep the flame alive failed, and we went to sleep cold and in the dark.

Friday morning, we awoke early and headed out to do some sightseeing around the park on the drive to our new site, Canyon. Here are the findings!

Grand Prismatic Spring:

Turquoise pool:

Virginia Cascade:

Upper Falls:

We stopped at a trail and proceeded to take a death hike in flip flops 600 feet down to the Yellowstone River. To our delight, there was a rainbow at the end of the tunnel!

Saturday morning, we arose around 6:15 (really..). Having our fill of camping, we decided to visit one last gem and head out of Yellowstone. Mammoth Hot Springs:

Reeking of campfire, we headed to the Washtub, a laundromat/DVD rental/public shower establishment outside of Yellowstone. The owner greeted us without shoes, and took our 4 dollars for an 8 minute, wonderful shower.

Heading to Helen, MT for the day/night with no real destinations in mind, we stopped off of the highway at Wheat Montana, a bakery, deli and wheat farm.

Thoroughly enjoyed were a rueben,

and the Silo (ham/pulled pork dynamite).

Signing off from Starbucks in Helena.

-Roadies G & M

5 men, 1 day

Nearest and Dearest,

Woke up sometime around 8 am in the middle a Walmart parking lot. Amidst a few glares, we brushed our teeth inside and peeled out of there within 20 minutes. Onward to Mount Rushmore with Gretch at the wheel!

After a short blip of driving, we decided to detour to Bob’s, a recommended food stop in Sioux Falls, SD. We came to find the people of South Dakota to be much more personable than the prior goons we had encountered in Iowa. We rolled up to Bob’s and sat at the counter, next to none other than Bob himself! Bob had taken over the restaurant (at the time, Petey’s Pickle Palace) in 1951, and had worked behind the counter until 1999. Super adorable and a total babe, he wished us good luck on our trip and told us to always keep smiling. (aaww!) A real ol’ G, he also obliged for a photo.

Ordered were the Bob’s Wild West Bison burger and the Little Ben Burger. Both were a force to be reckoned with.

Lots of scenery inbetween then and Rushmore. Looked like this most of the way.

Stopped for some Gas,

Rushmore, alas! Best depiction: Lincoln

After Rushmore, we putzed around for a bit deciding where to camp. After a lot of bad cell phone reception and a few dropped calls, we ended up at Center Lake campsite in Custer State Park, somewhere in the Black Hills National Forest. We couldn’t find our matches and it was too dark to find firewood, thus, our camp turned to be this pathetic site:

Took a walk this morn while Gretchen made up her beauty sleep after a restless night. In the words of a good friend, pixel this:

Off we go to Big Horn today. Already denied reservations from a few campsites in the area, so hopefully we will find somewhere to set up shop. Until then!

Signing Off,

– M.B

if we blog it, they will come

Evenin’ y’all.

Today was the magical day of takeoff. Marissa woke up at about 6 a.m. Putzing around for a few hours, she woke me around 840, we packed the covered wagon to the brim with Oregon Trail essentials like axles and oxen. We left Holland around 930 and didn’t look back.

Our first stop was to pick up some coffee and get our bare legs off the leather seats for fear they would soon meld. Dunkin Donuts provided us with delicious java, and we now know why America runs on Dunkin.

We were really excited to get to ‘Field of Dreams.’ Which is exactly what you would think, a baseball diamond amongst thousands of miles of bleak cornfields that smell like dirty diaper. Must be fertilizer time. Needless to say, I threw a spectacular pitch and Marissa hit it clear out of the park.  We also discovered a good contender for ‘Creature of the Week,’ but we’ll get to that later.

Along US 20 we saw signs for a Frank Lloyd Wright house called Cedar Rock. Venturing seven miles off the freeway and getting really excited to see the house, we pulled up to find the joint closed! Quite a disappointment.

Switching drivers energized us. I retired after my 8.5 hour shift behind the wheel, gave Marissa a few quick tips about how to whip and started to relax in the co-pilot chair. Hi Grandma!!!

We were still two hours from Sioux City but were getting restless and famished, so we GPS-ed a close restaurant. We landed at the luxurious Oasis Cafe in Lytton, Iowa. Locals later explained that the entire town was inbred and we burned our mouths trying to eat as fast as possible and get out of there. One colorful local, Mike, informed us that he had, “checked out your van and saw some o’ them voodoo ‘Buddhias’ sittin’ on dat dash.” We countered Mike’s statement by saying they were simply for good luck.

Our planned stop for the night is Sioux City, Iowa, which I can only hope is a little more lively than F.o.D. As for our ‘Creature of the Week’ section, we will scour the best of the American west to bring you the pride of our nation. Creme de la creme, a bevy of beauties, hand-picked by two of the most judgmental people you know.

We love you, America.
Sincerely,
G. Baby

Almost on the road…

Greetings all,

Roughly 12 days and some hours until departure. Time to get our ducks in a row, including playlist refinement, snacks and bevs, finding as many hats as possible to sport throughout the journey and figuring out where exactly we are going. Until that time, here is a tune that has been getting quite a few spins between the two of us:

Arcade Fire – Sprawl II

Sincerely,

Road Scholar M