Author: James Hathaway

Adjusting to a new living environment is always an incremental process.  The lake house will be our summer residence but it will also be a gathering place for family and friends.

The first thing of note is the light.  Mornings come early and evenings linger. There is almost always a breeze off the lake that softens the afternoon heat. Another quality of note is pacing.  The environment encourages pause. Watching the birds forage for breakfast or a baby squirrel exploring a big old tree.

The seemingly endless activity on the lake is a focal point as most of the main rooms face the lake.  Kayaks, rowboats, pontoons boats of all sizes.  Water skiing, jet skis, and watercraft of all of shapes and sizes.  And yet there is an overarching sense of calm and beauty.  We are starting to like these qualities very quickly.

Today, we will are off to explore the local farmers market.  Later maybe a movie or explore one of the many little towns or hamlets in the area.

As Day 7 comes to a close we are in La Crosse, WI.  We are are officially in Wisconsin, albeit tomorrow before we make it to Hartford.  We will be happy to unload and unpack.

Today’s journey seemed slower than usual.  Maybe because Minnesota’s speed limit was the slowest of the last several states.  Perhaps it was because there were very few cities or stops available on Minnesota’s section of I-90.  By lunchtime, we decided to shed the Interstate and take a chance on the only route noted as a scenic byway ending at our destination, La Crosse.

What we discovered was an excellent road, unspoiled with virtually no traffic, MN Highway 16.  It was a pleasant ride.  We arrived in La Crosse with time to explore the town and enjoy some time walking along the Mississippi River.

It was a long and exhausting day.  It was also filled with lots of discovery and exploration.  Shortly after  leaving Rapid City, we left the Interstate and took a back entrance to Badlands National Park.  There was a big storm that passed though over night with residual rain this morning.

Nonetheless the scenery was spectacular.  The road was only 39 miles long but we made numerous stops for photos as each scene seemed more beautiful than the last.

Reluctantly, we were back on the interstate for the long drive to Sioux Falls.  After checking in to our hotel and a brief rest, we decided to explore Sioux Falls, a city of 150,000 people.

We discovered a charmingly gentrified downtown, a vibrant public art scene and a wonderful public friendly urban park.  We finished the day with a couple of local beers, shared a wedge salad with blue cheese, bacon and chopped tomatoes and topped it off with a thin crust pizza with olive oil, garlic, mozzarella, fontina, and bits of spinach.  It was awesome.

Our total driving miles, including today and yesterday, was 570 miles.  But we are now getting excited to get to our destination and start our next adventure at our family lake house.  One and a half days!!

What fun we had today!  First, we drove to Mount Rushmore.  What a spectacular National Monument.  The weather was perfect this morning.  Low 70’s and clear.

Next we drove through Custer State Park.  It had beautiful scenery, lovely facilities, well maintained roads and several surprises like scenic drives through unspoiled forests, narrow one lane tunnels through granite mountains and wildlife including buffalo, antelope, prairie dogs, and birds of all sizes.

Leaving the park we drove the Needles Highway, a narrow windy road through some of the most beautiful and unique terrain we have ever seen.  All and all, a delightful day.

Tomorrow, back on the road for 2-1/2 more days!  Stay tuned!!

A big HELLO to friends and family!  It is day 4 of our journey.  Today we traveled 345 miles.  After leaving Caspar we headed north.  We drove to Devil’s Tower National Monument.  As we drove we discovered the high plains and its oil wells, vast ranches, antelopes and more colorful rock formations.

We drove through the Black Hills National Forest and spent a couple of hours exploring the old town of Deadwood with it’s casinos, shops and restaurants nestled at the foot of the National Forest.

We will spend 2 nights here as a small break and tour a bit more tomorrow. Then back on the road for our last few days of travel.  More tomorrow!

Greetings from Casper, Wyoming!  What a day.  We traveled 449 miles today.  A chilly morning was tempered with clear sunny weather.  By contrast, most of the day was driving on I-80.  There were at least three major construction projects, most spanning many miles of one lane traffic at slow speeds.  Augh! (BTW, this was true for Nevada as well.  Also of note, we did not see one worker either day.)

Nonetheless, it was a wonderful day.  The farther away from home we get the more remote and expansive the scenery becomes.  We are reminded what a beautiful country we live in.

Tonight we spend in Casper, 120 miles north of I-80.  This afternoon we explored the downtown area and were impressed how well preserved and active it was, including three old movie theaters still in use.

We are looking forward to the next 2 days.  We will spend less time driving and more time exploring the monuments near and around Rapid City, South Dakota.

Here are some of the pictures we like most from today.

A wind farm on the high plains of Wyoming and Wasatch Mountains in Utah beyond.

A cabin dating to another era.

Greetings to all!  Day 2 is slipping into evening.  Mileage today was 372.  The countryside was quite rural.  We drove over several summits, the highest being 7100 ft. Traffic was light and posted speeds were 75 to 80 mph.

We arrived relatively early and had an early check in at our hotel.  We deferred exploring Salt Lake City as we have been here before.  We decided to catch a movie and found a huge shopping center and multiplex about 2 miles from the hotel.

We saw Wonder Woman.  The review will follow once we see two or three other films when time permits.  The theater was packed.  We had two of the few remaining seats.  Maybe it was the warm weather, temps in the upper 80’s.

Tomorrow will be a long day.  Salt Lake City to Casper, Wyoming.  Here are some pics from today.

Today was our first day on the road to Wisconsin.  It ended up being a long day but a fun one all the same.  Day 1 mileage: 397.  Our first stop was at Donner Lake in the Sierra Mountains near the Nevada border.  After living in the Bay Area for over 35 years, we had never made a stop before.  No crowds, light traffic, we stopped for a brief visit at Donner Lake State Park.

Next stop was Reno, Nevada.  We stopped for lunch with one of Jim’s former colleagues, Anna and her daughter.  We had a delightful sushi lunch.

Our afternoon drive took us to Winnemucca, Nevada and our hotel for the night from where this post is being written.  But the drive was both bleek and beautiful.