Stage 10 - Seattle

I had visited Seattle once in my college days - as one of my friends was from that area - but can't say that I remember doing many of the standard tourist activities. I just remember there were beer gardens involved.  So I was looking forward to seeing the city in family style.

Our hotel was in South Lake Union - which is north of downtown but right on Lake Union.  I enjoy being near the marinas and having restaurants with decks with views into the Lake.  The new light rail had a stop in front of our hotel - so it was convenient to get into town.  As soon as we rolled into town - I set out to run around the lake - which seemed easy but I ended up run/walking 10 miles (I intended to do 5) as I took some wrong turns.  So we had a late dinner before retiring for the evening.

On Friday - I had intended to take a water taxi across the lake over to the University of Washington but something about the water level prevented the taxi from running that morning.  So I took the kids and drove the 4 miles to the University of Washington.  This was the third and final stop of the college tour.    It was pretty hot that day - so none of the kids were very excited to do the tour.

In the afternoon - we headed over to the Seattle Center - where the Space Needle and other attractions are located.  Due to time constraints (I had to pick up my Dad and Nancy at the airport) - we split into two groups - Jake and I did the EMP Museum and the rest rode up in the Space Needle.

After my airport pickup - we had a fantastic dinner out on a patio with views of the Space Needle.

The next morning I woke up to a very big surprise.....clouds.  Up until that morning - I could probably count the number of clouds we had seen on the first 23 days of the trip on all my fingers and toes.  The weather had been fantastic.  Since we were going to be outside and walking around - the cooler weather was actually a benefit.  We took the light rail downtown and walked through Pike Marketplace.  We then boarded a ferry for the 25 minute ride over to Bainbridge Island.  It is a relatively inexpensive way to get out into Puget Sound and see the city from the water.  Bainbridge Island is also a nice town to walk around and we grabbed lunch before heading back to Seattle.

We then walk around a bit before heading down to Safeco Field to catch the Twins-Mariners game.  I thought San Francisco had a high population of homeless people - but Seattle appears to be providing good competition.  Kelsey sagely noted that there were "no homeless people at DisneyWorld".  The Twins lost the game in the bottom of the ninth - so the locals went home happy but we were a bit disappointed.

We were a bit melancholy going back to the hotel - as we faced the reality of packing up and heading home.  Of course - when you are faced with an 11am flight - there is only one thing you can do....run a 10K before the flight !  There was a 10K race that started at 7:30 right outside our hotel. Jake and I had entered but had not done a tremendous amount of training throughout the vacation.  Jake beat me soundly again but not as bad as the race earlier this summer.  After the race - I threw down some post-race pancakes and showered and headed to the airport for the flight back to Boston. 

Westward O - FAQ

Some answers to frequently asked questions regarding the trip......

Q:  What are the 3 main rules of roadtrips ?
A:   Rule 1:  No eating at national chain restaurants.  Rule 2: No shaving (after an emotional appeal, Karen received a one-time exemption).  Rule 3: No GPS (only maps).

Q: Who does most of the driving ?
A:  I am in command of the ship.  If I slip out of consciousness then Karen is allowed to briefly take the wheel while trying to revive me.

Q:  What vehicle are you using ?
A:  We are driving my father's 1995 Toyota Sienna. Despite the age of the vehicle it is in very good shape and has low mileage.  Being able to borrow the van in MN really made this trip possible as renting a van for over three weeks and dropping it off in a different city would cost more than my first car.  As it has two captains chairs in the back - it is quite comfortable for our family of 5.

Q:  How did you choose your route ?
A:  The main decision point was the route after the Yellowstone visit.  A more Northern route would continue the theme of exposing the family to the natural beauty of the West.  I decided that a more diverse trip through some cities would be more likely to prevent mutiny. 

Q:  Have you ever contemplated leaving the kids at the side of the road ?
A:  Almost every day.  The vast majority of the time they have been great travellers but being in close quarters for long periods of time produces a significant amount of "stop touching me" chatter from the back of the vehicle.  Most of the time I try and just turn up the music.

Q:  How do you get enough time off of work to take a 25 day roadtrip ?
A:  Getting 25 days off is the easy part.  Coming back and still having a job is a bit more tricky.  Hopefully I can pull that off..

Q:  What is the general reception of your beard ?
A:  Lukewarm, at best.

Q:  Are you camping on this trip ?
A:  The Olen family is what you would call "indoorsy".  We have tried to take as many hikes as possible but prefer to end the day with a roof over our heads and, with any luck, a big tin of bacon at the breakfast buffet in the morning.

Q:  What is that screaming that I hear coming from your pockets ?
A:  My credit cards begging for mercy.

Stage 9 - Northern CA Coast / Oregon

Leaving SF – we headed into wine and redwood country.   Karen must have still been a bit sleepy as we did not have to stop at one winery for a 'free sample'.  We got out and explored at some of the Redwood groves in Humboldt State Park.   Allowing the kids to run around the redwoods was a great break from the drive.

Given one of the tenants of Olen roadtrips is "tho shall not eat at national chain restaurants" - we get to choose from some interesting options.  One of our favorites was this gem in Willits CA.  They had lumberjack competitions playing on all the TVs. 

Our original destination was Eureka CA.    Eureka had many different options for hotels but most are pretty standard hotels right off the main drag through the city.  So I decided to go with an independent suites hotel in the town of Ferndale - a "Victorian Village" voted the "North Coast 's Best Attraction for Visitors".   It did not take long after pulling into town that it was likely the mayor of Ferndale who cast the only vote in that contest.  The architecture of the town was interesting but half the storefronts were vacant and the other half closed up shop at 3pm.  Walking through town I thought I had walked into a Steven King movie - I was just waiting for the mist to roll in.  The actual accommodations were pretty good but the town just had a weird vibe. 

We got out of town early and headed North stopping in Arcada California for breakfast.  Arcada is the home of Humboldt State University.  If you regret your son/daughter not being able to go to college in teh 1960's.. you need to add this to your list of school visits.  Yikes !

The ride up the Northern California coast had some very nice spots to dip your toes into the chilly Pacific.  Brett was always very enthusiastic about getting out of the car to spend some time on the beach.

We arrived in Eugene Oregon - home of the University Oregon.  We had a large suite in a hotel and had a nice pizza dinner at a college hangout.  The next morning I got up early to try and get the exhaust noise issue fixed on the van.  The exhaust noise has been progressively getting worse and the trip went on and this seemed like a good time to get the issue diagnosed.  The nearest national muffler chain was 5 miles away - so I took a chance and went to Goofy's Muffler Shop (no joke) right down the street from the hotel.  They quickly found the problem and fixed it and I was out of there in 45 minutes - with the van running much quieter.  Jake and I then headed into Eugene for a tour of the Univeristy of Oregon.  They have a very nice campus with many of the new buildings being funded by Phil Knight (founder of Nike).  After lunch we headed up to Lake Oswego (just South of Portland).

My cousin Mark and his family were nice enough to volunteer to host us as we passed through town.  Mark was home with his son Mike - while his wife Beth was travelling with their other son Tom to get him settled at Ohio State.  We had a nice dinner with them and it was nice to be able to catch up with them before we headed up to Seattle.

We stopped in Portland on the way out of Oregon.  Jake wanted to visit the NikeTown store and I wanted to show Karen the famous Portland rose gardens.  She was able to enjoy the scents of dozens of different varieties of roses.  I don't think the rose garden stop will make any of the kids Top 10 lists.

Next (and final) stop... Seattle....

Stage 8 - San Francisco

To this point, our journey had been through sparsely populated country.  As we left the peace of Lake Tahoe for San Francisco that was due change.  We encountered relatively heavy traffic heading across the Bay Bridge but were aided by being able to use the carpool lane. 

We arrived at our hotel around 6pm but our room was not ready but they bought us dinner at the hotel restaurant - so that was a good deal.  Our hotel was at the edge of Chinatown and we had a room with a nice view on the 23rd floor.  

Jake has an interest in magic and there is a iconic magic shop in SF that he wanted to visit.  So we took the Muni down towards Golden Gate Park to visit the Misdirections.  Jake had a good time exploring and the shop owner showed him some good card tricks.  Brett bought a giant penny and entertained us all by conducting about 500 'heads or tails' games as we walked through Golden Gate Park. 

Since Jake got his store on the agenda - Kelsey insisted we seek out the Vera Bradley store.  I could not have been more thrilled. In the afternoon we did most of the traditional tourist things.. (Coit Tower, Fisherman's Wharf, Lombard St, etc).  At Fisherman's Wharf they had a nice 'antique' arcade - where I impressed my children with my bubble hockey skills.

The next day we hit the Embarcadero along the waterfront and then the boys and I hit the Giants-Rockies game while the girls did some shopping.  The AT&T ballpark is a very nice stadium on the water and it was a great afternoon for a ballgame.  The Giants won the game with a 3-run home run homer in the bottom of the 8th.  The lesson from the picture below is never ask somebody with big thumbs to take your picture.

Before we left the city by the bay I needed to get my Ghiradelli Sundae - so Jake and I rode the cable cars down to Ghiradelli Square to fill that void. 

The next morning - we hit Baker Beach on our way out of town.  Baker Beach is at the base of the Golden Gate bridge and the site of  my marriage proposal to my lovely wife - 17 years ago.  So we took the kids down to the spot - so I could recreate the moment for them.  They thought it was very embarrassing and weird - so it was a success.  It was slightly more foggy than the original day but glad I am thankful that I ordered enough wine that evening 17 years ago for her to say yes. 

As the fog at yet to totally burn off that morning - we were not able to get a great shot overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.  We had a great few days in the city.  The only thing on my list that we did not do was a visit to Alcatraz but oddly visiting a prison was not high on some members of our traveling party. 

Stage 7 - Lake Tahoe

It was less than an hour ride up the mountain from Reno to Lake Tahoe.  It was barely enough time for the kids to fight !  Karen and I spent part of our honeymoon at Lake Tahoe and are big fans of the area.   I had purposefully not scheduled anything for the two days at Tahoe - which was welcome news to Karen. 

We were staying at the Hyatt on the North shore of Lake Tahoe.  The hotel had a private beach and pier.  We declined the opportunity to rent a $200/day cabana but were all over those $5 dollar bottles of water !

We spent most of the time just hanging around the lake or the pool.  Watching the olympics has been part of our daily routine and the kids really enjoyed the beach volleyball - so we have been playing at every opportunity.  I was not able to convince Karen to wear the official USA beach volleyball uniform. 

In the 'It's a small world' category - we ran into the family of one of Kelsey's club soccer teammates (Kayla Raque) at the hotel.  They had recently relocated to California and were visiting the area.

It was a very relaxing two days in a very beautiful setting and allowed everyone to recharge their batteries for the stretch run of the vacation. 

Stage 6 - Ogden and Reno

We had close to a 5 hour drive to get from Jackson Wyoming to Ogden Utah.  While researching opportunities to take a break along the various routes - I was intrigued by the small town of Lava Hot Springs Idaho.  They had a river that runs through the middle of the town and they rent out tubes to float the river down through the town.   They also have an impressive pool complex.  So we stopped and had lunch and decided to visit the pool complex.  The kids had an awesome time with both the waterslides and diving platforms.  It is hard to believe that such a small town can support that large of a complex - and they only charge $7 !



Brett and Kelsey walking up to the high speed lines.



Bretto launching off the top platform.

 We pulled into Ogden and there was a bunch of activity going on around the Marriott where we were staying that night.  Despite my research - I had not realized that the Tour of Utah bike race was kicking off in Ogden the next day and all the racers and support team was staying in our hotel.    Karen did not seem to mind all of the elite racers prancing around the lobby in their bike shorts.  I am hoping for a Jenny Craig convention at our next hotel to provide me an ego boost.  To make myself feel better - Jake and I went over to Farr Better Ice Cream - an ice cream parlor that has been around since the 1920's. You know you are going to get good ice cream when the staff are wearing those old school paper hats.

We decided to stick around for the start of the race - perhaps to procrastinate leaving on our longest day of driving.   Bike racing is not a very exciting spectator sport. 

As loyal readers of this blog have figured out - I like to pack in a fair amount of activity into a day.  When I suggested that we stop at the Hill Aerospace Museum before we head out of Ogden - I was met with a look from my lovely bride that can be most delicately described as incredulous and more accurately as "are you &%$#* kidding me !!".  So Jake, Kelsey and I broke the record for quickest visit to the Hill Aerospace Museum.  They had a bunch of very cool military planes and copters in their hangers. 

The drive across the Nevada desert is not very exciting but the kids did well enduring the 8 hours of driving.  We stopped in Elko Nevada for lunch at Wingers.  Wingers was voted Best Wings in the US by USA Today.   After consuming a dozen wings - I would say that perhaps they are the best wings in Elko Nevada but would not crack my Top 10. 

We rolled into Reno about 8pm and got to our hotel (Grand Sierra Resort).  Like most things in Reno - the Grand Sierra is a hotel and casino.  It had a variety of exciting activities for the kids- including 24 hour bowling !  They were also having some classic car event - so the parking lot was packed with some very cool old cars.  Karen and I lost $3 in the slot machines before deciding our money was better wasted at the bar.  Below you see the boys hitting the driving range.

Scott Gordon, one of my old college roommates from ASU, lives in Reno with his family and he works as an Operations manager at the Reno Airport - which is conveniently located a few blocks from our hotel.  So I went over to his office to catch up with him.  He took me out onto the runway and we got to drive around the see planes take off an land up close and personal.  It was a very cool experience and nice to catch up with Scott.

It was a brief (less than 24 hours) stay in Reno before we took the quick ride up the mountains to Lake Tahoe. 

Stage 5 - Jackson WY

The ride from Yellowstone to Jackson was relatively painless with great views of the Tetons during the trip.

Jackson WY is a more upscale and slightly larger version of Cody WY.   The Jackson economy is almost exclusively driven by tourism.  We were staying at a Homewood Suites just two blocks off the town square.  

On Saturday night we headed for the Jackson Hole rodeo that was just a few blocks from our hotel.  It was a great atmosphere and the kids were into all the different events.  We were amazed at some of the ages of the participants - they start them very young out here in the Wild West. 

We were very excited for the whitewater rafting on Sunday morning.  The temperatures in the morning were very cool - but it warmed up to close to 90 by the time the bus made it to the drop point.  We had a great guide who was from Maine and went to Northeastern. Brett, of course, road up at the head of the boat to get the most action.  The water temperature was a reasonable 60 degrees.  Our guide told us that last year it did not get above 51 degrees - as they had over 700 inches of snow here last year.   The river was a bit lower than last year due to the decreased snow melt but provided us plenty of excitement.  You can see me and Brett at the front of the boat and Karen, Jake and Kelsey at the back.

In the afternoon - we went over to Snow King Mountain Resort (we can see the runs from our hotel window) for a run down the alpine slide and then some hiking.

Overall we had a great time in Jackson and hope we can come back in the winter some day and ski at Jackson Hole.

Stage 4 - Yellowstone

The trip from Custer SD to Cody WY is a nice ride through the Big Horn mountains.  If nothing else it put the van brakes to the test with very steep descents.  Right before entering the mountains - we stopped at a restaurant (Udder House) that was converted from an old drug store - they kept the soda fountain.

We pulled into Cody and we were staying at the Holiday Inn right in 'downtown' Cody.   Starting in Custer - the atmosphere has been 'flavored' by the high number of bikers heading to Sturgis SD for the Sturgis Bike Rally that draws 800K people to the area.  Cody was no exception with a high volume of bikers.   My original plan was to take the plan to the Cody rodeo but I sensed my troops were getting a bit weary of my fill every minute agenda.  This ability to feel the breaking point coming on is why they call me the Road Trip Whisperer.  So we spent a lazy evening walking around Cody.

It is a pretty quick and easy from Cody to the East entrance of Yellowstone.  That is, for people who are interested in quick and easy.   Everybody knows the shortest distance between two points is through Montana.

Luckily the rest of the family did not realize that that we were taking the 'scenic route' until it was too late.  I do highly recommend taking the Beartooth Highway if you are anywhere near this area of the country.  My good buddy Charles Kuralt called it "the most beautiful drive in America".  It is only open in the Summer due to the high snowfall that makes it impassable.  It allowed for some spectacular views and allowed us to have a rare snowball fight in August.

After the drive we came to Cooke City in Montana and had lunch at the Prospector.  Cooke City is the gateway to the Northeast entrance to Yellowstone.  I thought it had a nice Western outpost feel to the town.

The Northeast entrance to the park takes you through the Lamar Valley - an area known for good animal sightings.  Not soon after entering the park - we saw a group of cars clustered by the side of the road.  We joined the throng and strained to determine what everybody was looking at across the valley.  We quickly learned two things:  1.  People were looking at a Grizzly snacking on a Buffalo carcass and 2.  We needed much stronger binoculars.   I am not sure where we acquired the binoculars but based upon their effectiveness it was likely in a box of Captain Crunch.   Both Kelsey and Jake were offered views through higher powered scopes but Karen and I were reduced to squinting at a dark shape on the horizon. 

In contrast to our far encounter of a Grizzly - we got many close encounters with Buffalo.  Any disappointment of not getting close to Buffalo in Custer was quickly erased by multiple encounters during our stay in Yellowstone (the picture below is out our back window).  Outside of the many bison- we saw quite a few deer and a Moose.  However a closer bear encounter eluded us our stay in Yellowstone. 

We spent two nights in a Western Cabin in the Canyon area of the park.  The accommodations exceeded our expectations and was very clean an comfortable.  It had an added benefit of now TV and no Wifi.   We could walk up to the Canyon village that had a restaurant, cafeteria and deli.  The best part was the location - just steps away from a path to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  I got up my first morning and walked to this area and was the only soul at the vista points.  As you can see from the pictures - it has fantastic views. 

After dragging the family along to see the various vista points along the canyon - we headed down to Yellowstone Lake to check out that area.  It was a gorgeous lake and a bit weird to see such a big lake with no boat traffic or development around the lake.  The lake is so cold year round - you don't see anybody swimming.  We had dinner at a place with nice views of the lake (this picture does not do it justice).

We also went to see many of the thermal features of the park.  The kids were not very excited about many of these due to the sulfur that is being spewed into the air.

Our final stop before we exited Yellowstone for Jackson WY - was Old Faithful.  Of course we pulled in right after it had gone off - so we had to wait about 90 minutes for the next eruption.  In addition to Old Faithful - we also got to see another geyser erupt during our stay in the area.

Overall we had a great Yellowstone experience.  Although I had read about it - I was surprised at the beauty of the Grand Canyon area.   I also worried about the summer crowds - as we were visiting during the peak time.  We had zero problems with crowds or traffic. The only traffic issues occurred when there were bison in the road and that was enjoyable.   The only thing that would have made it a perfect 10 would have been a closer encounter with a bear. 

Next stop Jackson WY - a relatively short trip due South of Yellowstone.

Stage 3 - Black HIlls

After some traditional Swedish pancakes at the farm - we piled back into the van to head across South Dakota.  Our first major decision was taking a short detour around Pierre (capital of SD) to go hit the Oahe Dam.  The Oahe dam is apparently the third largest Earthen Dam in the US.    When my wife hears the words slight detour - her default answer is "no".  If it was the top ranked dam - maybe I would have used my veto power - but for the third ranked dam - I decided to keep truckin....

After reconnecting with I-90 we then took the scenic route through the Badlands.  The trip through the Badlands exceeded my expectations.  The pictures do not do it justice but it was pretty stunning - as it was very different than any other place I have seen in the US.

The topography made it challenging to cloimb some of the hills - but that did not stop Jake from making an effort.  This forced Karen to the car - as she was unwilling to witness Jake scale some of the peaks.  He suffered a few cuts but otherwise came away unscathed.

The next stop was the iconic tourist trap Wall Drug.  Home of the 5 cent cup of coffee.   We had a bite to eat, browsed around and Jake had his cup of coffee.



After our stop in Wall it was time to play Karen's favorite game.  "Name the obscure relative we are staying with tonight !".  In this case we were crashing at the guest cabin of my brother's wife's uncle (Paul).  He lives in Custer - which is in the heart of the Black Hills and convenient to all the things that we wanted to do in the area.  After getting ourselves settled we headed over to Mt Rushmore - about a 20 minute drive from our cabin.  My only real memory from my last visit to Rushmore in 1980 was my sister throwing up.  They have made some changes since then to the viewing area and have a nice path around to get different viewing angles.

We had a bite to eat and then stayed for the lighting ceremony.  They show a nice film about the history of Mt Rushmore and highlights of each of the Presidents.  They then light up the mountain. Overall a very nice evening at Mt Rushmore.

The next morning we headed to climb Harney Peak in Custer State Park.  We were halfway there when I realized that I left the backpack of water back at the cabin - so we had to double back to get the water.  Harney peak is the highest point between the Rockies and the Alps - luckily you start pretty high but it is still a longer hike than my kids have ever done (7 mile total).  They did a great job and were rewarded with awesome views.

After the hike - we took a ride around the Custer State Park.  One of the key features of Custer is their Buffalo herd. 

We were doing the tour around the park in the middle of the day - so there were not many animals that were active.  There were some burros that were pretty friendly. 

We wrapped up the evening with a nice steak dinner at the Alpine Inn in Hill City. We were celebrating Jake's 15th birthday.  Although he probably would not have chosen to spend his big day in Western South Dakota - he had a good day. 

After dinner we settled back in at the cabin and started to pack up for our next leg out to Wyoming and Yellowstone.