I had grand ambitions of writing a post a day during this trip.
HA HA HA HA HA!
So let’s catch up briefly on where we’ve been and what we’ve seen in the last 10 days. We’ve been behind the windshield. And we’ve seen whatever is in front of it. Here is a synopsis:
Hitting the road, Day 1! I90-W, Brimfield, MassachusettsUpstate New York, near Lake OntarioOn Wellesley Island, NY, one of the 1000 Islands. About to cross into Canada.The geotag tells me this is Mulmur, Ontario, Canada. It looks like Mulmur, doesn’t it?Back into the US vis the Blue Water Bridge between Point Edward, Ontario and Port Huron, Michigan The S.S. City of Milwaukee, docked in a lake in northern MichiganTraverse City, MichiganEmpire, MichiganThe Mackinac Bridge, bringing us to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I’m cheating a bit — this is out of the back windshield.The interior of the UP. Conveniently geotagged as Interior Township.Suddenly we are in South Dakota. We absolutely blew through Wisconsin and Minnesota, with all due respect. I did a bunch of the driving so did not take pictures. This is in Iroquois, South Dakota.. Badlands. Not bad. Actually, amazing.George Washington’s hair is on fire.We were escorted past the controlled burn right near Mount Rushmore. It would have been kind of scary, as the smoke was intense, but there were hundreds of firefighters nearby fully in control.Approaching the mashed potato sculpture. If you don’t know what I am talking about, you are not a Gen Xer.Our first look at snow-capped mountains. Just drive down the Mass Pike about 2000 miles and you can see them too.A closer look at the snow in the Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming.Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming. See the sign that says use lower gear? We didn’t pay attention to it. Shortly after this shot, we pulled off to take some pictures, and our brakes were visibly smoking. The smell was horrible. I thought the car was going to go up in flames. We let them cool down for 30 minutes while we figured out how to put the rental SUV in low gear.Ah, blessed flatland!Into beautiful Montana for the night.We got up early to head to Yellowstone. Not that early — this is just before 9 a.m. We’re pretty far north.Our first impression of Yellowstone did not disappoint.So much smoking and burbling and gurgling. There is lots going on under the surface!.Heading out of Yellowstone.Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.Bison in our way on the way to spend the night in Jackson, Wyoming.
I have lots to say on some of the things we’ve seen, some of the experiences we’ve had, and some of the thoughts that have been swirling around my head during the last 10 days. But tonight let’s all just agree that a picture is worth a thousand words, and leave it at that.
If you are reading this, it’s because you asked for updates and pictures from our road trip, or maybe I shared this link because I thought you might be interested. If you haven’t asked for any of this, I’m not sure how you found this blog or what you are doing here, but welcome anyway!
Back story: my cousin invited us to her remote home in West Texas. She told us October is a nice time to visit. Since she lives hundreds of miles away from the closest airport, entailing a long drive, Andrew suggested we simply drive from our house. And then instead of taking a direct route through the middle of the country, we decided we could take a more scenic route and head north first. Yes, the logic is a little convoluted, but we’re not looking for efficiency. As luck would have it, Andrew has retired, and I can do my part-time work anywhere as long as I have my laptop with me. So this trip to Texas has morphed into a who-knows-how-many-week and who-knows-how-many-mile road trip. No itinerary. No agenda. We’ll get to West Texas at some point but the rest of it is kind of vague. .
Andrew and I headed out on our road trip on Thursday, October 16, a week after initially planned. There were obstacles (bad weather, under the weather, rental cars unavailable) and, at least on my end, a bit of inertia. I love road trips and thrill of exploration. Yet the comforts of home, especially when there is no flight to catch, no reservation to show up for, and nobody waiting for us at any particular time, can be an inertia trap. The world out there is vast and fascinating, but at the same time my own little island is so warm and cozy. What if leaving it is risky or grueling or simply not worth it?
Once we booked a minivan for four weeks, however, the clock started ticking and the fuse was lit. We packed up our snacks, our bikes, our books, our notebooks, our walking sticks, our laptops, our water bottles, our atlases, our golf clubs, and our clothes (sweaters, boots for cold up north; t-shirts, swimsuits for heat down south). Around noon we said our goodbyes to the stressed out labradoodle and drove up our driveway, down the familiar suburban streets, and on to I-90 West.
I-90W, Massachusetts Turnpike, near Brimfield
During the first stretch along the Mass Pike to the New York border, we reenacted the age-old dialogue of everyone ever who is on the road for fun in October in New England. “Is the foliage peak? Is it not yet peak? Is it past peak? Why so much green here? Why are the leaves all gone there? Why are the colors so muted? Why are the colors so bright in some spots?” We become amateur meteorologists and a forestry experts. It can’t be helped.
Random roadside tree at 65 mph in New York state
Our destination for day one was the 1000 Islands area of upstate New York/southeastern Ontario. We tootled along, stopping every couple of hours to gas up and stretch our legs, We checked out the Erie Canal at one turn-off. I found it fascinating, but I’ll spare you the details about the engineering marvel that it is, and how it changed the history and economy of the country. That’s what Wikipedia is for, after all. We hung a right in Syracuse and headed north. And then all of the sudden we were at the Great Lakes. Wait, what?
Our first view of Lake Ontario
Despite the maps and the GPS and the ETA and the route guidance and all the other information that tells you that you will get from Wayland to the shores of Lake Ontario in the course of an afternoon, it still comes as something of a shock to actually arrive there and see that vast blue. Metrowest Boston and the Great Lakes are attached to one another? Of course there are hundreds of miles in between, but it felt almost uncanny that you can get into the car in your driveway and then get out of the car that same day and be in a different part of the country.
So: my island isn’t actually an island. It’s connected to the rest of this country. Time to check it out.
make it up as we go along 