Day 56 – 57, Kalispell and Whitefish, Montana

Friday, November 5^th - Saturday, November 6^th, 2010

It’s beginning to get difficult, not in the traveling sense of being on the road, but in the way that I’m discovering some really great places. Of course that’s not a terrible thing, but when it comes time for me to finally decide on a location, it won’t be easy.

Yesterday morning I left Missoula, MT and headed north on US-93. It was sunny up until I reached the Flathead Indian Reservation where a thick layer of fog was trapped below a cold inversion layer restricting visibility to about 100 yards. The sun finally broke through as I got closer to Flathead Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake in the western part of the contiguous United States. Flathead Lake runs nearly 30 miles long and almost 16 miles wide with a surface area of 191.5 square miles. I veered off of US-93 and took SR-35 north around the eastern side of the lake. It was a scenic drive with miles of apple and cherry orchards between the lake and the road on the left and mountains to the right. I drove through the town of Bigfork on the northeastern corner of the lake and then on to Kalispell. The total distance was around 150 miles.

I don’t think I would have necessarily come to Kalispell and Whitefish if it wasn’t recommended by Dan, a friend of my Uncle Phil. I knew I was going to like Kalispell even before I got there. Northwestern Montana is absolutely beautiful. Kalispell is a town of approximately 22k, is seven miles north of Flathead Lake, 31 miles from Glacier National Park and 17 miles away from both Whitefish (aka. Big Mountain) and Black Tail ski resorts. Kalispell is served by most of the modern convenience stores but has a small town feeling. Although it doesn’t seem to have a real “main street” to get out and walk around, everything is spread out in such a way that there is very little traffic and plenty of wide open space with mountain views in all directions.

Saturday, November 6^th, 2010

Today I drove from Kalispell to Whitefish, nearly 14 miles away. Whitefish has a small town feel with approximately 6-7,000 residents. There are plenty of nice quiet neighborhoods with tree lined streets. There are some smaller shops in town, mainly boutique stores, eateries and coffee shops but all of the major convenience stores are located in Kalispell. This is a great little town right at the base of the mountains with the ski resort visible in the distance.

Kalispell and Whitefish seem to have all of the outdoor activites available that I'm looking for with the added bonus of being close to a huge lake. This opens up the possibilities of kayaking, boating and lake fishing. Both of these places are now on the list along with Bozeman, MT and Salt Lake City, Utah.

Day 55 – Bozeman to Missoula, Montana

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

I’ve got to make this post quick as my laptop battery is almost dead and I’m at a Barnes & Noble with no electrical outlets for charging.

I left Bozeman this morning and headed northwest with the destination of Missoula in mind. I stopped in some towns along the way such as Belgrade, Manhattan, Three Forks, Butte and finally Missoula. The total trip was just a little over 200 miles. The weather was great, sunny and in the mid 60s. Most of the towns were small with Butte and Missoula significantly bigger. Missoula seems like it would be a neat place to live, the scenery is great and it has a young crowd feeling, but I don’t think there is alot of good skiing around, I could be wrong though? I didn’t do too much today besides drive. I did however stop in for two 99-cent tacos at Taco Sano. I chose the bbq brisket for the meat choice, the usual lettuce and tomato, jalapenos and topped with a chipotle mayo. They were pretty fantastic and a nice break from my normal routine of cream cheese-less bagels and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I'm getting more and more used to the hobo life on the road so even a $2 taco stop is really a welcomed treat.

So now I’m at the bookstore to kill some time and the rest of my laptop battery. I am trying to form a game plan for tomorrow. I think I am going to head north towards Whitefish and Kalispell. While I’m there, I might as well go to Glacier National Park. I think I’ve decided that I’m going all the way to the west coast. So Becky and Rick, if you’re reading this, I hope your Thanksgiving invitation in Seattle still stands?

I’m down to 6% battery life now so it's time to press the publish button. I’ve got a few books on fly fishing that will keep me occupied until the store closes and then I’ll go and look for a place to stay for the night.

Buenos noches

Day 53 & 54 – Bozeman, Montana

Tuesday, November 2^nd, Wednesday, November 3^rd, 2010

I have spent the past two days driving around Bozeman and talking to as many people as I can. It’s a beautiful area and the people are super friendly. Many are transplants from elsewhere and will never leave. Bozeman is a fairly sized town with a population of 27k according to the 2000 census. It’s huge compared to Victor and Driggs in Idaho, both having populations around 1,000, but small compared to places like Denver and Salt Lake City. It does have the feeling of a growing community as it seems developers are still building wherever they can.

The town of Bozeman is a flat valley (elevation 4,820’) but is surrounded by six magnificent mountain ranges. It’s almost the perfect combination of city and convenience, farmland and outdoor life. Surprisingly, the daytime temperatures have been in the mid 60s but nights are chilly and in the 20s. Lots of people are outside walking and riding bikes. It’s also a pretty dog friendly place; there is a German Sheppard here inside of the Borders bookstore and no, it’s not a service dog.

So I think it’s pretty obvious that I am looking to settle in a place that offers an abundance of outdoor activity. Bozeman has three ski resorts within an hour’s drive, Bridger Bowl being just 16 miles away. The nearby mountain ranges offer plenty of hiking, biking, camping, climbing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling and backcountry skiing. Deer, elk and antelope are popular game animals although the elk populations are decreasing fast with the reintroduction of wolves to the area, a touchy subject with some of the hunters I've spoken to. There is also an abundance of Blue Ribbon Rivers and streams that make this a fishing destination. Montana is also one of the few sales tax free states. I was told they close off a couple of street blocks one night a week in the summer for live music and beer. There is definitely a lot to do here. Bozeman is absolutely a place I can see myself coming back to. The job market that is the key to supporting this kind of lifestyle is another question though.

Day 52 – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming -> Bozeman, Montana

Monday, November 1^st, 2010

Last night was cold. By 10am this morning the temperature was up to 24F so last night it was definitely in the mid teens. I’ll have to remember to put on a second pair of socks on nights like that, actually a second pair of everything. It had stopped snowing by 8pm the night before but the rain that fell most of the day yesterday froze on the roads once the temperature dropped below freezing so even though it was snowing hard, the roads were mostly impassable due to the ice. There were no grizzly sightings during the night and I didn’t see any tracks either. I have to say I was kind of hoping to see one.

The plows came on time and cleared the roads but only the top snow layer, leaving the ice behind. I drove a loop starting at Grant Village and worked my way counter clockwise around to Old Faithful. It was only 79 miles but it took a long time because I wasn’t driving more than 20mph until the ice cleared.

Yellowstone is a fascinating place. For starters, it’s one of the world’s largest volcanoes. The central portion of the park is an immense depression formed from an eruption 640,000 years ago. This event was estimate to be 1,000 times more forceful than Mount St. Helens and it left behind a crater, also known as a Caldera, thousands of feet deep and 40 miles wide. Magma resides just a few miles below the surface and fractures in the Earth’s crust make it easy for the super heated water to rise to the surface giving way to so many hydrothermal areas in the park. Yellowstone has the largest collection of geysers, hot springs, mud spots and steam vents.

When I first started out this morning, everything was covered in snow. It was beautiful. The sun was out but it took several hours to melt the ice. I didn’t realize that Yellowstone was as big as it was. I drove nearly 100 miles starting from the entrance and I probably only covered about half of the park. I wouldn’t have been able to do the rest anyway because many of the roads were already closed for the season. There is a lot to see in Yellowstone such as deep forests, mountains, waterfalls, rivers and streams and various types of thermal activity. The thing I was most interested in seeing though was the wildlife. I was able to come across wild elk, hundreds of buffalo, a bald eagle and several coyotes. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any bear or moose. I think the spring and summer months would be the best time to visit this park.

I finished off my visit to Yellowstone with a stop to see Old Faithful. This is probably Yellowstone’s most famous attraction. I went off like clockwork, actually about 3 minutes early. It was now almost 3pm and I had to make a decision, either continue south to finish the last leg of the loop and drive back to Jackson, or head out of Yellowstone via the west entrance and go to Montana. My time in Jackson was cut short by rushing to Yellowstone before it closed, and there was more that I wanted to see there. However, Jackson was almost 100 miles back south. I decided to head to Montana. Out of Yellowstone, I took US-191 north through the Gallatin National Forest. This drive reminded me somewhat of driving through Colorado, mountains everywhere and fast flowing streams that ran parallel with the road, fly fisherman abound. I was hoping that Montana looked like this, because this is what I was expecting. I stopped at Big Sky, a very nice ski town. Lone mountain summit was covered in snow and it’s prominent peak is visible from miles away in any direction. Next stop was Bozeman which is where I started writing, once again at a Barnes and Noble. It was already dark when I arrived but I did drive around a bit just to get a quick feel of the town. I had to finish this up over breakfast and coffee at McDonald's because B&N closed at 9pm before I was done. It 37 degrees this morning and it looks like a nice day is in store so it's time to start exploring Bozeman.

Day 50 & 51 - Victor and Driggs, ID - Jackson, WY - Yellowstone

Saturday, October 30^th, 2010

Last night I decided to head out of Idaho Falls and drive the 65 miles to Victor, ID. I had wanted to check out Victor and a town named Driggs, both just over the Teton pass from Jackson Hole, Wyoming and about 12 miles from Grand Targhee. I arrived in Victor kind of late, somewhere around 10pm. In the morning I drove around the small town. There is the main road, SR-33 that runs north-south and connects Victor and Driggs, about eight miles apart. Victor had a population of 840 according to the 2000 census. There isn’t a whole lot off of the main street, or on the main street for that matter, but it’s a beautiful area surrounded by the Big Hole Mountains in Idaho to the west and the Teton Mountain Range in Wyoming to the east. After spending about an hour in Victor, I proceeded to drive to Driggs. Driggs was a little bit bigger than Victor, but not much. It’s population according to Wiki was 1,100.

I pulled out my phone and used an app named real estate droid to do a quick search for real estate in the area. To my surprise, there were a lot of nice homes that, in my opinion, were priced reasonably. I drove to one of the homes and was impressed enough to call the listing agent for more details. Within an hour, I was inside for a tour. I spent a few hours with the realtor looking at properties. Even though he knew I would be on my way with no chance of buying, he was more than willing to keep showing me houses. Apparently, Victor and Driggs have suffered substantially from the collapse of the housing bubble. There were a lot of spec houses built to take advantage of the never ending home price appreciation. Now there is a glut of new, unoccupied homes in inventory and many unemployed builders and tradesman who came and settled here to take advantage of the boom times. I didn’t want to use up the realtor’s entire day so I said that I had seen enough. When I left he said that he had a good feeling about me and told me if I ever decide on Driggs as a place to live, that he would probably have a place for me at his office if wanted to become a realtor. Wow, my first “unofficial” job offer! Who knows, I did really like the area but for a single person I think it might be too small of a place to meet people, but hermit life would be great here! This is truly a place for the outdoorsman. I set out for Jackson in the evening and drove over the Teton pass and across the border into Wyoming. It was getting dark by the time I arrived so I focused on a place to sleep.

Sunday, October 31^st, 2010

Happy Halloween. It had rained all night and pretty much all day. There was a low cloud cover and it was foggy so it was difficult to see more than a few hundred yards up into the mountains. I grabbed my rain jacket and walked around downtown, stopping in at the different tourist and ski shops. Many of the people I talked to in the ski shops have come from the east coast. I don’t think I met anyone born and raised here. Most have come out just after college with the intention of spending a ski season before getting a “real” job. Twenty years later and they’re still there. I really like the town of Jackson. It would be a great place to be a ski bum but in terms of making a true living here, it’s pretty unlikely. I drove a few miles to the Jackson Hole Ski Resort and into another ski shop. I was talking to a guy there and had mentioned what I was doing and that I was eventually going to head up through Yellowstone. He told me that he read in the paper that the Park Service was going to close Yellowstone tomorrow. I jumped in my car and got on my way. I wanted to spend more time at Jackson Hole, but I thought this was more important. It was now 3pm so I drove quickly to take advantage of the few daylight hours left. It was almost 65 miles to the south entrance of Yellowstone from Jackson Hole. It was still raining and I had really wanted to do Yellowstone in better weather to have a better chance of seeing the wild animals. I arrived at the gate to get into the park. The ranger said the park would be open for another week but a misprint in the newspapers did say the park would be closing November 1^st. Oh well, I rushed for nothing but I was here now. The ranger told me there was inclement weather ahead and that snow tires or chains were required. I told her I had neither but she let me pass as long as I knew I was on my own if I ran into any trouble. The roads were clear and it was down to a slight drizzle so I proceeded. Within the first thirty minutes, the roads were covered in white almost instantaneously. At times it was almost blizzard conditions. The snow was accumulating fast on top of icy roadways. I pulled off at the first turnout to find a general store that was closed for the season and a gas station. I parked my car under the gas pump awning to take cover from the snow. The temperatures were dropping fast and ice was already building on the windows. This was going to be my home for the night. I was outside cooking up some chicken noodle soup when a ranger came by and suggested I stay put and that most of the roads have been closed. He also mentioned to keep any food locked in my vehicle because there was a grizzly walking around here this morning, about 20 yards from where we were standing. I’ll be staying in the car tonight! The road plows should be out around 7am and it should be smooth sailing after that.

Mileage update: 6,640.7

Day 47, 48 & 49 - Salt Lake City, UT -> Idaho

Wednesday, October 27^th, 2010

I boondocked for the night in Orem, UT in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Wal-Mart is one of the few places that will let RV’ers use their lot overnight to park and sleep. I know I’m not driving a big, fancy RV, but my Subaru has been my home on wheels for the past month and a half. There were no dark corners to take cover from the bright parking lot lights so I strategically nestled my car close to a tree on one side to shade the driver’s side. A sun visor blocked out the front windshield and a blanket resting over the headrests of the front seats blocked any light coming in through from the driver and passenger windows. Using my telescoping ski/hiking poles, I was able to temporarily fasten a towel across the back window and a dark sheet along the passenger side of the car. Fortunately, I have been able to create a very comfortable and dark sleeping environment in my car, my tiny RV. This will be quite helpful for when the temperatures really start to get cold and I no longer want to sleep in a tent.

I woke up in the morning to find a few inches of snow on the car. It wasn’t a lot, only about two inches, but it was enough to put a smile on my face. I ordered a coffee from McDonalds and ate a bagel from my food pantry, which is just a fancy name for my cardboard box and made my way to Salt Lake City, Utah.

I think it was only about 30 miles but I didn’t feel like driving those last 30 miles last night. I have an old friend, Eric, who has been living in Salt Lake for the past 7-8 years now and has offered his house as a place to stay while I am here. I grew up playing soccer with Eric on a competitive traveling team which disbanded around the time high school soccer began. We ended up going to different high schools so the last time I saw him was probably the last time that Steinert played Nottingham. It was Eric and his family that took me on my first ski trip to the Poconos back in our early teen years. So when I look back, it was probably that experience that planted the first tiny seed that grew in to my desire to be in the snowy mountains.

The first thing I did when I arrived in Salt Lake was to drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon to see how the snow last night affected the Snowbird and Alta ski resorts. Temperature wise, it was a mild day in the valley but it quickly cooled to the low 30s on my way to the resorts and cars coming down the canyon road in the opposite direction had almost a foot of snow on their roofs. I love the feeling of being in the mountains in winter. Tall snow covered mountains, blue skies and trees flocked in a heavy white. Even though the ski season doesn’t officially start until late November, there were plenty of skiers in the parking lot willing to skin or hike their way up to the top for the reward of being able to make perfect and solitary turns in knee to waist deep fresh snow, away from all of the people that the regular season brings.

It was now lunchtime and there is a place that I seek out every time I come to SLC, the Lone Star Taqueria. Lone Star makes some of the best fish tacos that I’ve ever had. They start with lightly fried Cod placed on two white corn tortillas and then top that with cabbage, tomato and onions and a wedge of lime. On the side is a small container of a mayo based sauce that has a late, mild heat of jalapeno peppers. It’s quite simple but just the right combination of flavors. Pair that with a DOS Equis and you’ve got one helluva meal!

From there, I drove Interstate 80 to have a peek at Park City and The Canyons. Not quite as much snow as in Little Cottonwood Canyon but snow nonetheless. I stopped in at Wasatch Brewery on Main Street in Park City to sample a Polygamy Porter. With a slogan like “bring some home for the wives”, I thought it was only fitting to try one while in Utah.

I arrived at Eric’s house just in time for dinner and to meet his fiance Laura. Eric also had an ex-coworker from NJ over for dinner as well. She was in town to do research on her family tree at the Family History Library, the largest genealogy database in the world. We stayed up until around midnight catching up on the past 20+ years.

Thursday, October 28^th, 2010

I got some laundry going in the morning and I dropped off my car to have the oil changed, the second time in less than two months. Eric and I drove up into Big Cottonwood Canyon to see some more snow at Solitude and Brighton. Eric really has a passion for skiing. We pulled over along side of this one road and we passed the binoculars back and forth as he was pointing out some of the places that he had gone backcountry skiing, and at the same time he was scoping out new spots. Some of the chutes and bowls he is riding gave me the willies just thinking about what it would be like looking down on some of these runs with your ski tips dangling out into the air. I’m definitely not at his level of skiing, but should get a lot closer with a full season under my belt. We grabbed some lunch at a diner and just hung out for the rest of the day. We cooked up some of the best burgers I’ve had for dinner. They were Rufus burgers. Rufus was a deer that Eric “acquired” last month and this guy was delicious! After dinner, Eric, Laura, myself and their friends Floyd and Lisa went out for a couple beers at the Hogwallow bar to watch some live music. All in all, a good day.

Friday, October 29^th, 2010

I took my third shower in three days this morning which might be a record. I hung out for a while and then unloaded a portion of the trunk before repacking it again to put some order and organization back to my car. It’s easy to pull things out of bags and toss them around when in a hurry, but when you’re living out of a car, disorganization quickly leads to frustration.

I drove a little over four hours today, straight up I-15 North and am currently in Idaho Falls relaxing at a Barnes & Noble. It’s a bit of a weird place and I’m not talking about the bookstore. I met someone while riding in Moab who said I wouldn’t miss anything if I didn’t check out Idaho Falls, she was absolutely correct. I don’t know if I’m going to stay here tonight or just get back on the road? I don’t need any more weirdness rubbing off on me.

Anyway, here’s my shout out to Eric and Laura for letting me crash with them. I had a great time and hopefully I get a chance to ride some deep stuff with them this winter!

Salt Lake City has probably moved into first position for possible relocation, for several reasons. The proximity to so much great skiing is hard to beat anywhere. House prices are the most reasonable so far. SLC has probably the best prospects for landing a job and I have two great contacts there already.

Day 46 - Bryce Canyon, Utah

Tuesday, October 26^th, 2010

Map of Bryce Canyon

Last night I entered Bryce Canyon National Park at around 9pm. The sign at the gate said that there were campsites available at the north campground. When I got to the campsite entrance, I got out of the car and picked up a reservation envelope. It was cold and there was already snow on the entrance sign. Picking a campsite works by way of the honor system. You take an envelope and proceed to find an empty spot that you want for setting up camp. The you write down information on the envelope like your license plate #, which campsite you chose and how many nights you plan to stay. Put cash or a check in the envelope ($15/night) and return to the entrance to place the envelope in a locked box. Before placing the envelope in the box, tear off a stub and place it on the post in front of your campsite. I chose my campsite but since it was getting late and was quite cold already with a chance of snow, I slept in my car.

When I woke up, my windows were frozen on the inside from my respiration. The temperature dropped down to 26F so it was a little chilly, even in the car. Apparently, Bryce Canyon because of its location and high altitude has 200 days of below freezing temperatures. It’s actually one of the highest areas in the Colorado Plateau. I turned on the heat to defrost my front and rear windows and then proceeded to the visitor’s center to get a map of the park. I drove to Bryce Point at the end of the park and figured that I would work my way back. I hiked the Bryce Point trail which connects to a looped trail named Peekaboo and then exits via the same Bryce Point trail. The entire hike was an easy five miles on smooth trails. It started at the top with a spectacular view looking down on the amphitheater of fins, spires, ridges, pillars, balanced rocks and hoodoos. The Paiute Native Americans believed the hoodoos were actually people that were turned to stone by coyotes with magical powers. The trail meandered back and forth, just like any other trail working its way down the side of a steep mountain side. Once at the bottom and looking up, these formations took on a completely different perspective. I would compare it to taking a helicopter ride to view the NYC skyline and then walking the streets and looking up at the same tall buildings from the ground. The landscape here is different like no other. There are thousands of these strangely formed, almost unlikely and improbable structures jutting straight up from the ground like flagpoles. In reality, it’s just a natural process of erosion by wind and water that slowly breaks apart the rock, one pebble, stone or boulder at a time. This canyon is a delicate one and always in the process of changing. Even though I was only there a short time, it was not uncommon to see small pieces of rock dislodge themselves and roll downhill across the trail in front of me. Some trails were closed due to rock slides. Not only were the formations fascinating but the colors seemed to be amplified by the sun. There were various shades of reds and grays, alternating in their horizontal layers. The red colors come from the presence of Iron and other trace minerals. The grays appear from the limestone layers and from the absence of Iron. Iron being the heaviest of the elements, filters out of the rock more quickly than the others, taking with it its red color, of course over millions of years. There are also other elements like Manganese and Magnesium which contribute some hints of blues and greens. As I was walking out of the canyon, the sun hit the rocks in such a way that it turned some of them bright orange, almost as if they were somehow illuminated from the inside. There were more trails to hike and other observation platforms to see Bryce Canyon from, but even as spectacular as these formations were, it was my opinion that they are all just different variations of the same thing. I spent about six hours here and then decided to move on.

I pulled out some maps and planned on heading in the direction of Salt Lake City. Most of the drive was pretty uneventful. I passed through small town after even smaller town, all having the look of being stuck forty years in the past. I could see snow caps off in the distance. I was a bit tired and didn’t feel like driving the 260 miles all at once so I'm going to try to find a place to crash somewhere between Provo and Orem. The good thing is that many of the mountains are already almost completely covered in snow!

Tomorrow I’ll make it the rest of the way to Salt Lake City. I know of a place that serves great fish tacos! Someone from Barnes and Noble just said it was snowing outside so I went out for a look. Snow and fish tacos tomorrow, what could be better?