The Great American Eclipse of 2017 and Other Travels

Day 1: Eclipse minus 2 (Saturday, August 19)

Saturday morning was sunny and the weather looked promising for a beautiful trip to Idaho and Montana. With a full complement of five people (me, CJ, Ingrid, Becky, and Daniel) in the Subaru, we set off for a week of adventure in the Wild  West. Traffic was fairly light as we headed south on I405 and got lighter on eastbound I90. Beyond Issaquah we were on the open highway and leaving our problems behind at 70 MPH. Road trip!!

We made the traditional stop at the Indian John Hill rest area where we had a partial view of the beautiful Stuart Range. An hour or so later we stopped at Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park in Vantage to take a rest and admire the view.

The view to the east across the Columbia River at Vantage.

Daniel and Becky

Petroglyphs outside the Interpretive Center

From Vantage we continued east on I90 until hunger pangs brought us to a city park in Ritzville where we had sandwiches and cookies. I had no idea Ritzville could be such a pleasant place, and the park had swings!

There were swings at the park!

Ingrid swinging in Ritzville

After this excitement we continued on our way and, after crossing into Idaho, we stopped in the quaint town of Wallace. When I was there in 2015, I noticed the Bordello Museum but did not have a chance to visit. This time we did! The street level floor is mostly a gift shop but there are tours of the 2nd floor which was where the (ahem) business was actually carried on. Of course, we took the tour. Read the link for the full history but, amazingly, the bordello stayed in business until 1988, when the FBI arrested the local sheriff for various acts of corruption including, one assumes, being on the take from the local madam. The "girls," as our guide (herself a young woman) repeatedly referred to them, fled when they heard the Feds were in town, and left the rooms in their original prostitution-friendly condition complete with furniture, dinnerware, and clothing.

Outside the brothel, this book was being sold by its author, Heather Branstetter, a native of the area, a PhD, and a former professor. Naturally, with two historians in our party, we felt compelled to purchase a copy to add to our extensive library of historic harlotry.

No explanation necessary

 By an incredible coincidence (given my somewhat obsessive taste for huckleberries), the Wallace Huckleberry Festival was in full swing during our visit, featuring live rock music from the 60s and many tents hawking huckleberry jam. Needless to say, at least one jar was purchased.

One of the many Huckleberry Festival vendor tents. You know you are not in Liberal America anymore when you see signs like this. There was also a 2nd Amendment tent...

After our wildly successful visit to Wallace, we enjoyed a scenic drive through the mountains of Idaho and Montana, and arrived in Missoula in the early evening. Daniel took over much of the driving chores, allowing others of the party (especially me) to avoid driver exhaustion.

We found our lodging, Blossom's Bed and Breakfast, without difficulty and I walked inside to check in. The place was deserted. After hanging around for several minutes thinking someone would show up momentarily, I finally called the business phone number and talked to one of the owners who turned out to be Blossom's husband. He was recovering from shoulder surgery and could not come downstairs and Blossom herself was at a wedding and wouldn't be back for a while. Not knowing what else to do, we claimed our three rooms and went off in search of dinner.

Thanks to Becky's googling prowess, we found a brewery a few miles away and ordered pizza and beer. As we sat down to eat in a pleasant outdoor area on the bank of Grant Creek, we heard an employee shout "Last call!" which seemed peculiar since it was only 8:00PM on a Saturday night! Upon interrogation, this young man told us that Montana state law requires breweries to close early so as not to interfere with the bar trade. Apparently, bar owners also own the state legislature in Montana.

Ingrid enjoying a beer or two

We returned to our B and B and sat at leisure with drinks on the front porch. As we sat, Blossom herself returned and joined us for a time, regaling us with stories told with great vivacity and gusto. Afterwards, we went to bed on the greatest sheets imaginable!

Day 2: Eclipse minus 1 (Sunday, August 20)

Sunday morning we set off for Tetonia with a planned stop at a ghost town! Bannack, Montana, was a gold mining town founded in July of 1862. By the spring of 1863 it had over 3000 residents! For a time, Bannack was the capital of Montana Territory but, as the gold was mined out, its population dwindled to near zero. It was sold to a museum association in 1954 and later became a state park.

Below are some pictures of the abandoned town.

A cabin in Bannack

Masonic Lodge and School House

Ain't this artistic?

Masonic Lodge and School House

The Goodrich Hotel

Originally the county court house, later a hotel

A room in one of the buildings

Such a lonely ghost town

Bannack street scene

The road up the hill to the gallows

Interior of the Methodist Church

Bootlegger Cabin

Jail buildings

In front of the Masonic Lodge and School House

Becky in the school house. She was always a good student.

Toward the end of our visit, we heard piano music coming from one of the buildings and stepped in to hear it. We are glad we did! Inside, we found Jaye Christensen, a local piano and organ player tickling the keys of an old piano of unknown vintage. She can play anything by ear and performed a song which included some impressive yodeling. I requested Down in the Valley which she said she had never played but then performed it quite admirably complete with left hand chords accompanying the melody. She then demonstrated a nearby pump organ to great effect. We learned that the building is not heated and the instruments it contains are subject to sub-zero temperatures during the Montana winters. And yet they persist.

Jaye told us a crazy story about when her house in the nearby town of Grant collapsed in a snow storm on a Thanksgiving weekend. No one else was in town at the time (it is tiny) and Jaye was trapped in the wreckage and was slowly freezing to death. A bearded man with long hair appeared and rescued her before departing in a purple pickup which seemed to disappear shortly thereafter. Jaye is convinced the man was Jesus Christ himself.

A few years later, the story goes on, Jaye was in a bar when a woman appeared and said her name was Mary Magdalene. She gave Jaye a picture of Jesus (which Jaye pulled out of her wallet to show us) and left the bar. When Jaye went outside to follow her, she was gone.

That's the story.

After this interesting visit, we continued down I15 and attempted to exit on highway 33 to Rexburg and, eventually, Tetonia. Unfortunately, the state police had closed the highway for unknown reasons and told us to go through Idaho Falls instead. We were not happy because this detour cost us an extra half hour on the road. However, the drive was beautiful once we got through Idaho Falls and we arrived in Tetonia in time for a late dinner. In addition to Valerie and Bob, Katie and Donny, and Michael, Sarah, and Clarissa were at the cabin bringing the total to 12. We looked forward to sharing the eclipse with this large portion of our extended family.

At the cabin

Day 2: Eclipse Day! (Monday, August 21)

We awakened on Eclipse Day to a bright morning with clear skies and the Tetons looming on the eastern horizon. After breakfast, we gathered on the cabin's porch and waited for the eclipse. The hummingbirds were busy with some nearby flowers so I passed the time trying to get some pictures of them. They move fast but I got a few decent shots.

Female Calliope Hummingbird

Another (or maybe the same) Calliope

Sun gazing as the eclipse progresses.

We all had our eclipse glasses (thanks to Becky and Katie) so we could look at the sun with impunity. Sometime around 10:30AM we started to see the moon taking a bite out of the sun. Michael found some binoculars and we had fun using them to observe the eclipse indirectly.

Cartoon eclipse eyes using binoculars.

And... the eclipse happened. It got dark, the temperature dropped, we saw the corona as well as the stars and Venus. We exchanged exclamations and the sun reappeared. Any attempt I could make to describe the ineffable would be fruitless so I will let it go...

Totality in Idaho! It may surprise you to learn that I copied this from the internet.

Sunset colors all around the horizon during totality

Afterwards, Michael, Ingrid, and I took a hike on the Bannock Trail on the grounds of the Grand Targhee Resort (3.2 miles/5.15 km and 1800 ft/549 m elevation gain). We had spectacular views and Michael flew his drone from the side of a mountain over a deep chasm and achieved a successful return. We made it to the summit and had a relaxing return to the parking lot via the ski lift!

On the Bannock Trail

The Tetons begin to make their appearance

Looking west over the valley

Michael with drone

Our party as photographed by a friendly fellow hiker

The Tetons

Odd rock formations in Jedediah Smith Wildnerness

The return trip via ski lift

We returned to a delicious dinner courtesy of CJ and spent the rest of the evening talking and drinking wine.

Day 3: Tuesday, August 22

In the morning, after fond farewells at the cabin, we drove into the bustling town of Rexburg, Idaho, to hunt down the rental car office where Becky and Daniel were picking up a car. Navigation in Rexburg is not as easy as one would think in such a small town, mostly due to street names like West 1st North and South 2nd West. I'm sure the natives are used to it but, to the candid observer, it seems a bit over the top. However, we eventually found the rental office and B&D got their car.

We drove to a grocery store to get some provisions for lunch and, using google maps, found a "nature park" nearby suitable for a picnic. Unfortunately, we immediately became separated in the heavy(?) Rexburg traffic and it took a while to find each other at the park. The park was located in the middle of an unsightly industrial district and the "nature" appellation seemed to spring from the fact that some grass and trees were growing there. However, B&D ate their lunch and we were able to blunder our way out of town and planned to rendezvous at Harriman State Park several miles up the road on the way to Yellowstone.

At Harriman, we took a walking loop with views of lakes and the surrounding hills. On the trail we met a party of tourists on horses looking somewhat uncomfortable and the weather was rather hot. We kept a vigorous lookout for snakes, bears, and banana slugs, none of which appeared and one of which doesn't even exist in this part of the country. But we were prepared!

A view on our walk at Harriman State Park

 We sadly parted company with B&D as we were heading for Yellowstone and they were planning a scenic drive back to the cabin.

We made good time until we reached the West Entrance to the park where there was a long, long line of cars waiting to enter. Our plan was to stop at a few places in the park on our way to Livingstone, Montana, where we had lodging arranged, and then spend all of the next day in the park.

After about 20 minutes we entered the park. When we reached Madison, we found that the road to Old Faithful was closed due to the crowded conditions in that area. Luckily, we were not planning to go in that direction so, after some delay, we headed north with the idea of stopping at the Norris Geyser Basin. Unfortunately, the parking lot there was closed due to hordes of tourists so we continued north toward Mammoth Hot Springs. Along the way, traffic stopped and, after quite a long wait we found that major construction was in progress and we slowly drove on gravel and dirt for about 9 miles. It was a long afternoon.

At length, we arrived at Canary Hot Spring which, unbeknownst to us, is at the southern edge of Mammoth Hot Springs. To our surprise, we found a parking place and took a scenic walk among the strangely beautiful hot springs.

Canary Hot Spring

Terraces at Canary Hot Spring

I haven't yet found an understandable explanation of how these terraces form. I understand they are created when carbonates come out of solution but why terraces? They are pretty though.

Perhaps my favorite Canary picture.

 We continued north to the main part of Mammoth Hot Springs where again, to our surprise, we found a parking spot. We also found even more spectacular formations.

At Mammoth Hot Springs

Looking straight down from the boardwalk

Finally I got the sun behind me.

Another vertical view from the boardwalk

 On the way back to the car, people said there were elk near the trail. We kept walking and eventually found these guys, who turned out to be mule deer.

Mule Deer

After this, it was nearing nightfall so we took off for the North Entrance and our beds in Livingston, Montana. However, near the visitors center I mistook the road to the east for the road to the north and wasted a few minutes before realizing my mistake. After turning around, we found that the correct route closely resembles a parking lot (because it IS a parking lot) and the signage was less than clear. So I hold myself blameless. 

We arrived in Livingston around 9:00PM after a fifty mile drive on a two lane road infested with aggressive pickup drivers. We checked in, had cheese sandwiches and wine for dinner, and collapsed into bed.

Day 4: Wednesday, August 23

Knowing that our Subaru burns a bit of oil during sustained highway driving, I checked the level and found it to be just a bit above the add line so I assumed all was well for the day's driving.

We got an early start and drove to the park's north entrance where we sailed on in with no one else in line. We took the route east toward Tower-Roosevelt to avoid the construction between Mammoth and Norris. Just south of Tower-Roosevelt we came upon a small buffalo herd very close to the road.

This guy was about 20 feet from the car!

We continued to the south and stopped near Canyon Village at Artist Point on South Rim Drive for a view of the lower falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Parking was hard to find but we persevered after waiting for some time for a guy to pretty much change all of his clothes while people behind us honked and went around us. But the view!

The lower falls of the Yellowstone River - 308 ft (94 meters)

The falls and more of the canyon

The view to the east from Artist Point

Another view of the canyon

 From here we continued south on our way to Old Faithful. On the way we stopped off at the Mud Volcano.

Mud Volcano

The Mud Volcano burbling away...

 A short walk from the MV is the aptly named Dragon Mouth Spring. This thing roars like a blast furnace (or a dragon) and spurts water and steam. You don't want to get too close.

Dragon Mouth Spring

Dragon Mouth Spring

Another strangely beautiful sight in the same area

 From here we drove on to Old Faithful. As we approached the parking lot, our Subaru's oil light came on. Great. Here we are in the middle of Yellowstone with car problems! I got on the horn to Jay's Auto Repair in Kirkland to ask their advice, which was, of course to add some oil but not too much. Oddly enough, there is a gas station and store near the Old Faithful Visitor Center where the right kind of oil was available. I added half a quart and the light did not reappear for the rest of the trip. Naturally, I spent the next 700 miles wondering if it would come on again. When I called Jay's again after we got home, they said we may never know why this incident occurred. This I don't like.

In spite of these tribulations, we had a good time waiting for Old Faithful to erupt as it produced many false starts. Eventually, the real eruption happened, after which we took a break for an outdoor lunch of cheese sandwiches and cookies as we sat on logs.

Old Faithful doing its thing

We headed back to the north reversing our morning route. Along the way we stopped at the West Thumb Geyser Basin and walked among the weirdly colored pools. Afterwards, we visited the brink of the upper falls.

Gazing down from the top of the upper falls of the Yellowstone

 Further north we found more buffalo herds.

This must be buffalo heaven

We arrived back in Livingston after a harrowing drive north from the park featuring more high speed pickup drivers and people stopping unexpectedly to turn into obscure driveways.

We were hungry and decided to try the 2nd Street Bistro in downtown Livingston which turned out to be quite good and the beer and wine flowed. We returned to the motel and, once again, crashed after having too much fun for one day.

Day 5: Thursday, August 24

After sleeping in a bit, we left Livingston behind and set off for home on I90. We stopped off in Butte where we went to a grocery store for provisions, took a drive around town, and then attempted to find a park to eat our picnic lunch. Google maps sent us to an obscure government office (rather than the intended picnic area) but eventually we found Stoddard Park. The only picnic tables appeared to be between some tennis courts and a golf course and the wind was blowing, drying out our sandwiches before we could finish them. My impression of Butte is not a good one.

We continued our westward course and stopped to stretch our legs at the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site near Deer Lodge, Montana.

After talking to the local park rangers, we walked around the ranch buildings and ended up talking to another ranger, a nice lady with a Texas accent, who was an expert on chuckwagons.

The Buggy Shed

 We learned many interesting things about the cattle drives of the late 19th century. For example, the age of the cowboys was generally younger than 20. The cook was in charge of their health and the chuckwagon contained food enough for 15 or so cowboys to eat for a month! We were offered cowboy coffee but I, of course, declined.

The Chuck Wagon

The Burlington Northern paid us a visit

We got back in the car and spent the rest of the day driving, ending up at a Quality Inn in Spokane Valley. What a place! We had a big room with a comfortable couch, queen beds, free breakfast, free sample massages, and free fresh-baked cookies! All for less than $100/night! In Livingston, we got much less for more money. We walked to a nearby Mexican restaurant for a delicious dinner, drank a lot of beer and sangria and got momentarily confused as we reeled our way back to the motel. Good times.

Day 6: Friday, August 25

We decided to take the long way home to show Ingrid Grand Coulee Dam and the North Cascades. We got off I90 just west of Spokane and took Highway 2 through Davenport to Wilbur where we turned off on 174 to Grand Coulee Dam. I had not been to Grand Coulee since I was a child, so I was anxious to see what it is like.

There is a nice visitors center that explains a lot about the project and the dam itself. I especially liked turning a crank to generate enough power to light up little bulbs on a map. There were three cranks, one for each power house and the map allows you to see where the power goes (hint: mostly to the Puget Sound lowlands). There were also exhibits showing the various types of turbines and pumps which warmed my fluid dynamicist heart and I learned that Banks Lake is a reservoir that supplies all of the irrigation water for the Columbia Basin Project. We didn't have time to take a tour though.

Grand Coulee Dam

Grand Coulee Dam

From the dam, we got a bit off course (turned the wrong way out of the parking lot) but corrected ourselves and drove north on highway 155 through the Colville Indian Reservation, through Nespelem (a significant town in some of Sherman Alexie's books), ending up in Omak for lunch. As usual, we had sandwiches in a city park and then drove through Okanogan where we got on highway 20 for our drive across the North Cascades Highway. 

We stopped in Winthrop to show Ingrid a faux Western town (not to be confused with a real western town like Bannack, Montana) where we took a stroll and got a milkshake. Oddly enough, we also came across some Kirkland acquaintances from our kids' school years who have moved to Winthrop.

In Winthrop

 After this salubrious pause, we continued into the North Cascades where we stopped at the Washington Pass Observation Site and took a short hike at Rainy Lake.

The view from Washington Pass Observation Site: Liberty Bell Mountain

Kangaroo Ridge (I think)

Grey Jay

Rainy Lake

 We continued our drive with the western sun in our eyes and finally pulled into our driveway around 8:00PM. We were TIRED!

This was an epic road trip! We traveled in four states, had a couple of three-state days, and probably drove over 2000 miles. And, it was great to share it with Ingrid who, I am sure, now has a better idea of what the western U.S. is like than she did before.