Day-31 .. Palouse marvels, Columbia River Gorge

Homeward bound!   Ruth Ann and David and I had a good breakfast before we said our goodbyes and I headed West.   100-miles of Palouse country side !

Getting closer to Washtucna I took pics of the outcroppings of Yakima basalt :

Over to Hwy.395 and headed south to the Tri-Cities.   Crossed the Columbia and took I-82 south and crossed the Columbia again and caught I-84 west.   Here's me dropping down into the start of the gorge a little west of Arlington :

Gorgeous day .. wasn't it?    When I arrived at The Dalles, I headed up Hwy.197 to get a better view of Mt.Hood and The Dalles :

I wanted to see some of our beautiful waterfalls, so I took the exit for Ainsworth State Park and headed to the first one, Horsetail Falls.

You can see all of the falls by driving on the Historic Columbia River Highway (US 30).   The falls you'll see from west-to-east will be : Horsetail, Oneonta, Multnomah (the granddaddy of them all), Wahkeena, Bridal Veil, Shepperds Dell, and Latourell.   Well worth the visits.   And then - you can have a marvelous view if you drive up to the Vista House at Crown Point!

What a perfect day to end this monumental 31-day road trip.   It all started in Seattle after a wonderful birthday party weekend for Cameron.   So many wonderful small highways and roads and small towns.   So much Americana.   So many historic places.    And to .. finally see Washington DC !  Wow.   And to .. enjoy several college lacrosse games of teams that I've watched on TV for years!   What a treat!

THANKS! to all of my hosts .. friends and relatives, all very special people.   You gave me unforgettable moments and memories.   You shared your dogs, kids and community with me.   Thank you for your warmth and hugs and fellowship.   I am less lonely because of you.   Till we meet again.  ❤

start odometer  :  113478
5/7   odometer  :  113837

day miles  :   359
TOTAL trip miles  :  6928 

Day-30 .. WSU, Biology Museum & Ferdinand's

30 days on the road !!  Can you believe it ?  What a journey this has been !  AND, my second one in six months !!!  Truly road-warrior-RavRovering ...

Washington State University looked glorious on this sun splashed day.  Ruth Ann had chosen some interesting and fun things to do.   We drove over to campus and parked near the biology building and the Connor Museum.   It holds the largest public collection of birds and mammals in the Pacific Northwest.   Most of the collection came from the State of Washington's exhibits from the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 !

The exhibits were amazing !   Here's a small selection of pics :

I saw hundreds of these pronghorns all throughout Wyoming and Montana :

It's worth a visit, if you're here to watch a Cougar football/lacrosse/basketball/baseball game, or for a yummy and fun visit with RA and David, or traveling through town to get to famous, winding Hwy.12 to go over Lolo Pass on your way to Yellowstone, . . or Ben & Christin's home -

We walked around campus and I had to take a few pics . .

Then, a yummy trip over to Ferdinand's Ice Cream Shoppe at WSU's Creamery.  It features old-fashioned ice cream and fountain treats.   Flavors include 'Apple Cup' Crisp, Blackberry Ripple, Cappuccino Chip, Caramel Cashew, Cougar Tracks, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Huckleberry Ripple, Tin Lizzy Classic, etc.

Wow !   So yummy.   We drove over to Moscow, Idaho for lunch at 'Bloom', which was next to the old Hotel Moscow, built in 1892.

AND, when we arrived home, ANOTHER treat, a NAP !   Must've been the road sapping energy that was replaced.   It felt great.   I'm finishing this post very early so I can visit with Ruth Ann and David and enjoy more time on the deck in this beautiful weather before the long trek home tomorrow, through Colfax, the Palouse hills and views of Yakima Basalt outcroppings on the way to Washtucna, the Tri-Cities valley and Columbia River Crossing, and the last segment of the Oregon Trail down the ultra spectacular Columbia River gorge !! ❤

Day-29 .. 'Cinco de LOLO'

I had said my goodbyes and given hugs to the girls and Ben and Christin last night so I could get an early start.   Ben had shown me a more direct route to I-90 and it worked well to make early progress on the road. 

Deer Lodge, Montana is a historic town.   Once a major railroad town, it served as the division headquarters for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St.Paul and Pacific Railroad.

Deer Lodge also has the Montana State Prison, a major employer.

Made good progress traveling to Missoula.   Took Hwy.12 West at the town of Lolo.   Signs indicated it was a winding 200-mile drive to Lewiston, Idaho.  Yikes!

Made it up to Lolo Pass.   Excellent visitor's center.   Quite a lot of snow left over from Winter.    Here's pic of the center and the view looking West.

Started down the Lochsa River which eventually merges with the Clearwater River.   At this time of year the river is boiling and surging and rushing down from the mountains for 200 miles.   As you can imagine the river and Hwy.12 twists and turns many times in a mile.   While breathtaking it's also a physical test of driving.   Hundreds of kayakers and rafters were enjoying this turbulent river on this beautiful 74-deg. day.

Another historical sign :

After about 5-hours I finally made it down to Lewiston, Idaho.   I found Hwy.195 and drove up a monster hill to get on top of the Palouse.  Here's the view looking down on Lewiston and the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers.

Drove through the small towns of Uniontown and Colton to get to Pullman.   Ruth Ann and David and Lizzy (black lab) excitedly greeted me.   We took some beers and wine out to the deck and enjoyed the weather and talked about my odyssey and adventures.      Roast beef dinner and lemon meringue pie made for a perfect ending to a delightful drive.    Should sleep well tonight.

start odometer  :  113014
5/5   odometer  :  113478

day miles  :    464
trip miles  :  6569

Day-28 .. Tunnels, caverns, and FUN !

Another beautiful Montana sky and weather to start the day.  Here's the view from Ben & Christin's living room while drinking coffee :

snow-capped mountain ranges, wildlife aplenty on their acreage

 Today's adventure is touring the Lewis & Clark Caverns.   About an hour plus from Bozeman.   We took back roads and the scenery was awesome !

The caverns have been familiar to Native Americans long before discovery by local ranchers in the late 1800s.   The Lewis and Clark expedition camped withing sight of the caverns on July 31, 1805, when they camped along Antelope Creek.   We stopped at the visitor center and paid for a guided tour.  We met with several groups and listened to the ranger give a talk.

It's a 2-mile hike starting at 5300-feet elevation and takes 2-hours.   If you're claustrophobic this is NOT the hike for you.   3/4-mile hike UP to the entrance, 3/4-mile hike through tunnels and caverns and 1/2-mile hike back to the visitor center.   Here we are waiting for the adventure to begin.

Enjoy ... tunnels, caverns, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstones, soda straws, etc.

walking .. down, down, down ..

A wow! experience, .. pretty eerie, tight-tight spaces, subterranean,  ...
This was the view looking down on the valley we drove up from :

Drove back home and Christin fixed buffalo burgers and hot dogs and potatoes and broccoli.   Look at this setting as it was gorgeous outside having a picnic!

What a fantastic day.  A new and memory-lasting experience for me and the kids.   Loved spending more time with the family.    Thanks Ben and Christin for a lovely stop over and sharing your beautiful home!   I'll be back.

On to Pullman,WA and a visit with David & Ruth Ann.   I'll see if Lolo Pass is open and enjoy a very winding road down to Lewiston, ID.   It was used by the Nez Perce and the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Day-27 .. Bozeman & Ben & Christin & family

The day dawned sunny with Montana's BIG SKY!   Ben went to work early and Christin scurried to get six little girls ready for school!   I took my time shaving and showering since I was leaving later.   I took the RavRover in for an oil change, after all .. it's been 6,000 miles!    Afterwards I headed over to the Museum of the Rockies.

Wow!   Along with the Thermopolis Dinosaur Museum, I'd say that these two are much more extensive than the Smithsonian in Wash,DC!    Awesome displays and continuing research going on.  Next picture is one showing a lady and a couple of Montana State Univ. students working on field specimens.

Now for the fun pictures.   Enjoy .. Cameron ..

So much to see and study in this area of the museum.   They also had quite a lot about Yellowstone, native tribes, early mining operations, and early area transportation.

On my drive back into downtown I saw this interesting old house on Wilson St.:

When downtown, I walked Main St. and admired the late 1800's buildings.

Ben got off work a little early and met me for a beer at the Rockin R.

A little later Christin drove into town with the girls and we ate dinner at one of their favorite pizza restaurants.    Drove home and Ben started a bath for the girls.   When the girls were in their pajamas we went out to the deck and enjoyed a glass of wine and the spectacular mountain range scenery.  What a view!   We proceeded to play story time.   We all had to pick an animal or insect and when it was our turn we had to add to the story.   A lot of fun and laughs.

Tomorrow we plan on traveling to a geologic wonder, the Lewis and Clark Caverns.   Should be a fun day with the girls.