Day 6: Williston to Bismarck

Today we took a detour from the Lewis and Clark trail and Missouri River and headed south on Highway 85 for the North Dakota Badlands. I can see why they call Montana "Big Sky Country." The sky is so blue here and there is so much of it with nothing to block your view - like trees. As Jim says, "You can see the sky by looking straight ahead here. You don't have to look up."

We stopped at an overlook to view the Badlands, rugged, but beautiful country. The French fur trappers named the Badlands because it was difficult to travel through. The settlers called it "hell after the fire went out." And with the winter temperatures here (-40 to -50), I think it might be hell frozen over in the winter.

We turned off for the North Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I wanted to see buffalo and there was a picture of a herd of these beasts on the cover of a brochure. The park ranger told us that the road was bad and it was closed 6 miles in due to oonstruction. We decided to try it anyway and within about a quarter mile we saw a buffalo about 15 feet from the road.

I immediately hopped out and started clicking. The beast was grazing and seemed to ignore us -- he certainly wasn't afraid of us. So Jim started making noise so the animal would lift it's head for pictures. Then he noticed us and started coming our way... Jim said, "I think you had better get in the car." So I did and we took off just as the animal reached the road and lumbered across it.

We enjoyed the beautiful scenery for the next 2 miles until we bottomed out with a loud crunch on the road. Fortunately there seemed to be no damage, but we decided not to continue -- it was definitely an SUV road.

Soon we found the friendly Interstate Highway again and headed east for Bismarck to visit Jim's uncle. After driving for 6 days, Jim says he could use some of that monkey butt powder. There seem to be more people in North Dakota, but we still have not broken the livestock barrier. According to a brochure we picked up at the rest stop, there are approximately three head of cattle per resident of North Dakota.

At Bismarck we rejoined the Lewis and Clark trail and the Missouri River. Jim's uncle lives across town, but it only took five minutes to get there. This seems like a very nice, livable town. We had a nice visit and dinner with Jim's uncle. We will be heading south to Iowa tomorrow.

Day 5: Glasgow MT to Williston ND

We had a great view of the town of Glasgow from the Motel. Grain elevators on the right, downtown buildings in the center and the railroad to the left. Glasgow started out as a railroad stop (no city). But if you stop there, they will come so it grew. It was originally known only as Siding 45, but in 1887 a railroad clerk named the town Glasgow.

We headed back to Fort Peck in hopes that the Interpretive Center would be open. Jim called and the message indicated that they would be open at 9am. I wanted to gthere to see Peck Rex, a reconstruction of a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton that was found near by. This area is dinosaur country -- they even have a dinosaur trail with a number of centers for recovering fossils. Peck Rex's picture is on many of the travel brochures, and he is very impressive.

When we got there, there were no cars. They had switched to October hours one day early -- closed Mondays. We could look in and see Peck Rex though -- he is in the lobby and takes up two stories. It was a beautiful day -- the sky is so blue here - and there is so much of it since there is nothing to block your view -- like trees. We took a nice walk along the nature trails around the Center. Then headed out for Bainville where Jim's mom was born and grew up.

We followed Highway 2, which parallels the Missouri River and the train tracks. We went through the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Jim noticed a sign for a "Red Bottom Festival." Of course, I didn't see it. He suggested that it might be connected to the anti monkey butt powder.

We stopped for a rest at Poplar which had the most activity going on of any of the towns we went through. They have a college and Tribal Arts and Crafts Center (which was closed for inventory). They had some outside exhibits though. Of interest was the old Tribal jail and the skeleton of an old ferry boat. I guess that there was lots of water traffic along the Missouri. It was probably a wider river before the Fort Peck Dam.

Just outside the Reservation we came to Culbertson, population 718. We found a place for lunch named "Me Too Pizza." How could we resist. There were three Montana Patrol cars parked out front -- the first we had seen in 600+ miles. It was a nice little place and we ordered. Then the waitress asked, "for here or to go?" Jim is hard of hearing and sometimes when he can't hear he ad libs and just answers. He looked at her and said, "cornbread." We had a good laugh about that one.

On to Bainville. Bainville is quite small. You have to turn off the highway, or you miss it entirely. All there is on the highway is an old fashioned gas station convenience store. There is a sign on the road into town. The road goes about 7 blocks and ends with a beautiful old church at the end of the road. The First English Lutheran Church.

Jim wanted to find some buildings that were around 90 years ago when his mother was born, so he asked a group of men that were working on a house. He told them the family name, and one man told him, "I think we are related." He was about Jim's age and full of information about the early homesteaders. He said that he had met Jim's uncle and cousin. His aunt runs the city museum and he thought there were pictures of Jim's relatives in the museum. Of course the museum closes on Labor Day and they couldn't locate his aunt. But we got his contact information.

We had a family mystery that started with an old picture that was labeled on the back, "Grandpa Fry on the island." It was an old log cabin and we were pretty sure it was the house on his homestead which was supposed to be southwest of Bainville. People still use the old homestead names for old houses, so we were looking for the "Fry House." One of the guys said that he thought that it might be on the road to Fort Union -- what was left of it.

So we turned onto the gravel road to Fort Union. About 11 miles later, Jim spotted an old log house up the hill. We found a driveway and drove over to it. It certainly looked like it could be the remains of an old homestead (1906ish) house. Then Jim looked at the area around the house and said, "This must be it." That was because there was a gully almost all the way around the house which when filled with water would make it an "island." It was quite exciting to find the house.

We went on to Fort Union Trading Post. Interestingly, the parking lot was in Montana and the Fort was in North Dakota. So we literally walked from Montana to North Dakota. The fort really stood out in the landscape. It was white with a bright red roof. Inside the "bourgeois" house was white with green, blue, and red trim. The fort was built by the American Fur Company in 1828. The CEO of the fort got to live in the huge bourgeois house while all the others were cramped 6 families per room. They did have a dining hall, so some of the workers got to eat in the big house. The guide said that "no white woman ever lived here." That is, all the men married Indian women. An interesting dynamic. The post was dismantled in the late 1800's. They have done an excellent job of reconstructing the fort.

The gravel road became paved at the North Dakota line and we headed east again. The next town of any size was Williston, population 12,000 people. Compared to the towns we have been in for the last two days, it seems like a BIG city. We will find a car wash tomorrow. Our silver car is now white.

Day 4: Billings to Glasgow

Today we left the interstate highway system and launched into the wilderness. We are on course to where Jim's mom was born and grew up and to where his parents met and were married. Jim's cousin warned us to fill up with gas before we headed north. There is nothing for over a hundred miles.

There were two towns before we got to the nothingness stretch, Roundup and Grass Range -- this is cattle contry, if you haven't guessed. Roundup was a small town with an old mainstreet. It had gas and a motel. We noticed several businesses, "Rowdy, Ropin, and Repair" and Jim's favorite, "Snively Law Firm." We thought we would take a rest stop at Grass Range assuming it would be similar to Roundup. Mistake. All we saw were three buildings and then nothing for miles and miles.

Nothing means vast grazing lands with cattle and white-tail deer and large farms with wheat fields. It also means 5 or 10 minutes between encountering another car. Very quiet, peaceful, lonely, and beautiful country. Along the way were several "Historical Points" that we used as rest stops. This one is for the Little Rocky Mountains, also called "Island Mountains" because they pop up here and there as a small group of mountains in the vast plains. The Indians used the islands for fasting, praying, and vision questing. The outlaws, such as Butch Cassity used them for hide outs. And then they discovered gold...

And oil. We saw a lot of oil rigs. And even passed through a county named "Petroleum." I'm adding that to my list of awful names for cities/counties along with Weed, Drain, Boring, and a Montana city I added yesterday, Phosphate.

We finally came to Malta and civalization. We celebrated by having lunch at the Dairy King. Then proceeded on Highway 2 East to Glasgow. Jim's parents were married at the courthouse there, so we set out to find it and take a picture. We found it, but hadn't stopped to think that since the building would be over 70 years old, they might have rebuilt it. They did. It looked like it had been build fairly recently. We did ask someone and found out it was rebuilt on the same land. So we went ahead and took a picture.

Jim's parents met at Fort Peck where they were working on the FDR project to build Fort Peck Dam in the thirties. We saw a sign for "Historic Fort Peck Hotel" and visions of the Timberline Lodge came into my mind. So off we went on the 17 mile trek. Number one - there are no trees here, none, nada. So the lake looked nothing like Detroit lake as I was envisioning and the lodge was interesting, but not a Timberline. Number two - everything closed down here on Labor Day. So it would have been a good place to stay, but we had to head back to Glasgow.

Not before exploring the dam. Fort Peck Dam is the largest hydraulic earth-filled dam in the world. It rises 250 feet aove the riverbed and is 21,026 feet long and 4,900 feet wide. It is located where the Missouri and Milk Rivers meet at a spot described by Lewis and Clark from their expedition.

Back in the Cottonwood Motel and RV park in Glasgow, I read that Valley County has more livestock than people. Also some interesting weather statistics. The coldest temperature recorded was on Feb. 15, 1936. It was 59 degrees BELOW ZERO. The average temperature for Feb. of 1936 was -15.8 degrees. Jim's parents were married in August of 1936 and they moved to Seattle by the end of the year. I told Jim, "No wonder they left."

Day 3: Butte to Billings

First I need to make a public apology to Jim for questioning his siting of a sign for the "Testicle Festival." This is indeed an annual event at Rock Creek Lodge outside Missoula. If you are interested you can get more information at: http://www.testyfesty.com/ --WARNING this site is for mature audiences only. The reference is to rocky mountain oysters which are served in abundance at the event.

Also, while I was looking things up on the web, I found a site for the "anti monkey butt powder." Evidently "monkey butt" is what you get when you ride a motorcycle all day -- or something similar. If this is a problem for you, check out their site at: http://www.antimonkeybutt.com/whatisamb.html


We toured Butte this morning. As you go uphill you come to the Historic Landmark District, and Historic Uptown Butte. This is really old town Butte, very well preserved with lots of bars and restaurants in old buildings. All through the old town you see mining equipment and buildings -- it is like the city was built as part of the Berkeley Pit.

Then we went further up the hill and ended up in "Historic Walkerville". This looked like housing for the miners right in the pit mine itself -- or very close. Mainly small houses. The only business we saw was a tavern called "Pisser's Palace."

We went back down the hill into Butte residential districts. Jim said it reminded him of a down-scale San Francisco. There are a lot of very interesting Victorian houses on very hilly streets.

We were wondering what industry is keeping Butte afloat now that mining has ceased. When we asked Jim's cousin, she said, "bars." There certainly were a lot of those and numerous casinos attached to almost every motel down by the freeway. Also, evidently anyone being inducted into the US Military has to go through Butte. And there is still some activity related to mining.

There certainly are a lot of casinos in Montana. I'm guessing that non-tribal gambling is legal here, because of names like "Lucky Lil" and the fact that nearly every motel/hotel also has a casino.

After our tour of Butte, we headed off East on I-90 across the Continental Divide. We found that we were following the Lewis and Clark trail -- have been for some time -- just hadn't noticed those familiar signs. At Bozeman we discovered we were at the headwaters of the Missouri. Lewis and Clark named the 3 rivers that came together here to form the head waters (Madison, Jefferson, Gallatin). This is also where Sacajawea originally lived before she was kidnapped by another tribe.

The countryside is a vast high plane. We saw a for sale by owner sign for 269,000 acres. We can see the mountains of Yellowstone to the south. According to the map, one of the peaks is called Mt. Cowen (11,000 ft). Wonder what relative that was????

Billings is nestled below some shear cliffs. Evidently the Indians used to do religious sacrifices off those cliffs. They also would herd Buffalo off the cliffs in the early days. And no doubt some settlers/soldiers as well. This area was quite a battleground in the Indian wars.

We found a nice motel near the hospitals (there are quite a few here) and met with Jim's cousin Carol and her husband. Jim and Carol hadn't seen each other in 50 years ! They took us for a tour of the city - and up on the cliffs overlooking the city. We had a great steak dinner at a very local restraunt and a very enjoyable evening.

Day 2: Coeur d' Alene to Butte

The Flamigo Cat: This cat immediately came into our room with us and hid under the bed. She had to be coaxed out with kitty treats. She greeted us in the morning and joined us for coffee.

We went for a walk before leaving Coeur d' Alene and really enjoyed the old homes in the area (east of the high-rises). Saw a sign in front of an ACE Hardware store that said "anti monkey butt powder." Must be a northern Idaho thing??

We met with our financial advisor for breakfast. Before we left, Jim said, " I wonder if Bill will be really depressed? " I said, " about the financial crisis?" -- Jim said, "No, the USC/Oregon game." Bill is an avid USC fan. He arrived wearing his USC t-shirt -- still a proud fan.

We travelled today through mining country in Idaho and then Montana. Just outside Missoula, Jim claimed to see two signs for a "Testicle Festival." Of course, each time I had my nose in a book, reading about the geology of the area. I asked him what city it was for and he said "Elk something". Couldn't find any "Elk" cities on the map -- so I've classified this with the "monkey powder."

Did you know that Montana used to be a lush tropical climate? -- Back before the ice age and Glacial Lake Missoula. Maybe there is an upside to global warming?

We are in Butte now which was a huge mining concern. The giant pit mine is closed now, but still has a record for the amount of silver, lead, copper and other minerals extracted over the years.

Entertainment for tonight will be the Presidential debates. On to Billings tomorrow.

Day 1: Portland to Coeur d' Alene

Coeur d' Alene is a beautiful town right next to the lake. We stayed at the Flamingo Motel, a small 14 unit old style motel that has each room decorated differently. We stayed here last year in the "Country Cottage." This year we drove up and they had one room left -- the "Cowboy." Talk about luck. The host said that this was the only room they had vacant for several weeks.


The room is cute and location perfect. We are in the shadow of numerous new high-rist condos. They tore down the building next door and will be building something there soon. We are hoping that the Motel will be there for our next visit and not fall prey to new development. We are within walking distance from "the Coeur d' Alene", a huge luxery hotel and marina, the park along the lake and a number of restraunts, a museum, and all those new high-rise condos...


Had dinner at the Coeur d" Alene Brewing Company (est. 1908) at the corner of 2nd and Lakeside. The food was great and I had a Vanilla Bourbon Stout that was really delicious. A nice dark beer with a slightly sweet vanilla flavor that takes away any bitterness. We tried to buy some, but they do not bottle it. So you have to go there to get it. Highly recommended.

We are now back in our Cowboy room andJim is happy-- watching the Oregon State/USC game.


The drive here was very pleasant. Nice and sunny once we got to Hood River. 395 North to Spokane reminds me of Western Kansas only not quite so flat, but no trees and lots of wheat fields. According to our Roadside Geology book this area is called the "Scablands." It was formed from massive volcano flows of basalt millions of years ago.


Then there was the Spokane floods. During the ice age the Pend Oreille Lake near Sand Point, Idaho (about 50 miles north of here) formed an ice dam and created the Glacial Lake Missoula. The water backed up was 2000 feet deep, and the lake contained avbout 500 cubic miles of water. When global warming occured, the dam broke loose and all that water rushed towards Spokane and the scablands. Jim said he saw a TV show describing how scientists were trying to figure out what had happened. They had found Montana boulders on the top of some of the cliffs along the Columbia Gorge. They finally verified the flood.


And we think our version of global warming is bad!


We stopped at several rest areas and encountered wild life




and lakes left over from the flood.

On to Montana tomorrow.

The Plan

Here is our current plan of action:

Part I: To Florida

We will start in Oregon/Washington and head for Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. Then cross into Montana turning north at Billings after visiting with Jim's cousin. We will go through Wolf Point, Glasgow, and on to Culbertson, Montana, where Jim's mother was born.

Then we will cross over into North Dakota and make a right turn at Bismarck after visiting with Jim's uncle. In South Dakota we will head forAberdeen, where Jim's great grandfather and great grandmother are buried.

Then south to Iowa, to visit our son in Chariton, just south of Des Moines. Then we will head to Kansas (Olathe and Chanute) to see some friends of my parents and visit Mee gravesites. Then across Missouri and the tip of Illinois into Tennessee.

We will explore the backroads of middle Tennesee near Cookville seeking out the Ned Cowan Homestead (on the national historic register) and William Trousdale town of Gallatin. (Jim's great x 4 relatives) Then we wil head south to Florida. We will go through Georgia and down to Naples, Florida on the Gulf coast near the Everglades. We will stay with Jim's uncle for a while and recoup.

Part II: Back to the Pacific Northwest

Assuming an absence of hurricanes, one of us hasn't decided to fly home, we will travel along the Gulf coast up to Pensacola where my dad trained as a Navy Pilot for WWII. Then over to New Orleans and Houston where my brother lives. I don't think we will be going to Galveston for the weekend as we originally planned.

Then we will get to know Texas very well as we travel over several days to Amarillo. On to Albuquerque, and Flagstaff. Then we plan to explore the Grand Canyon and Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks.

Finally we will travel North up through Salt Lake City and into Idaho. We hope to visit Jim's anut in Twin Falls, then move on to Boise and Pendelton. I'm sure we will be glad to see the Columbia River again and head for home.

That's all folks. About 9,000 miles and 21 states.

The Beginning

This journey begins in Clark County, Washington. In the shadow of an active volcano

Getting Ready

Less than a week to go before we take off on our grand road trip. There is so much to do including setting up this blog. The chicks have encouraged me to record our experiences travelling across the US in search of relatives, dead and alive.