One last stop!

Stopped one last time for gas at exit 104. Also had some McDonald's
fries with Gus! It is a very nice day - 51 degrees and cloudy. A
little windy, though. I'm observing tiny wind waves on the Columbia
River...Almost to our new home!

Water Buffalo @ the Davenport Hotel

Here I am sitting on the golden water buffalo at the entrance of the
Davenport Hotel in Spokane. It was a pretty neat hotel, with a safari
theme. Lots of elephants, tigers, zebras, and giraffes! We had fun
walking around with Gus and showing him all the creatures...there was
even a stuffed real tiger in the lobby! It was a nice place to stay
with a comfy bed and lots of room for me, Gus, and the doggies!

4th of July Pass

One last pass before we head down into Coeur d' Alene - 4th of July
Pass. We looked up some history and one of the first roads linking the
Great Plains with the northwest was the Mullan Road, built between
1859 and 1862, built by US Army Lieutenant John Mullan. This road went
through the 4th of July Pass and a section of the road was completed
on July 4, 1861, hence the name. The elevation is only 3,081 feet. I
guess we were expecting the mountain passes to be higher like in
southern portions of the interstate system through the mountains. Some
neat civil engineering history!

Exit 0

It isn't every day you come across exit "0" - another shot from
Lookout Pass. I like mountain passes!

Idaho!

We made it to Idaho! Wow, Montana sure is a long state! It is hovering
around 32 degrees today with a few light snow flurries. The roads seem
OK - just a little steep and slippery right at the top of Lookout
Pass, which forms the border between Montana and Idaho. Surprising it
is only around 4,800 feet in elevation at the top of the pass.

It is exciting for Joe to be on a stretch of interstate he hasn't been
on before - only been as far as Missoula before.

Stick 'em up!

Good morning, everyone! Leaving Missoula this morning and stopped at
the mountain cooperative for gas and found these creatures for $89. I
love the interesting things you can observe on a cross country trip!

Milepost 161

Here we are on I-90 at milepost 161 in Montana. It has stopped
snowing/raining now and the sun is shining through neat clouds and
mountains are starting to appear. Stopped for another picture break.
Astro and I are watching Joe take another shot. Astro wants to go out
and run around so badly! But it is too muddy...what a nice day it is
shaping up to be! And Gus seems to be feeling better, too!

Welcome to Montana!

Just crossing into Montana...not the coolest sign like Wisconsin and
Minnesota have, but at least there is a sign! What a wide state that
lies again! Here we go!

Bison print?!?

As we are stopped to take a look at the Painted Canyon, I spied a
large footprint in the grass/mud. I wonder if it is from a buffalo?
I'll have to research that! I like exploring and observing!

Painted Canyon

Here I am at a scenic overlook called Painted Canyon. Another one of
the areas that Teddy Roosevelt worked on back in the day. Teddy
actually came to the Dakotas and ranched for a bit before returning to
New York and becoming president. I like Teddy Roosevelt and wish the
Republican Party could find some dudes like that again!

Geese in Flight

Somewhere around mile marker 65 on Interstate 94 in North Dakota we
came across a metal sculpture called, "Geese in Flight". Very neat
little geese on each fence post around the property fence. I like
winged migration!

Picture Time in North Dakota

So we decided to stop and have Joe take some pictures. Joe is easy to
spot with his bright blue jacket against the white landscape, but
Astro is out there with him. Can you spot her? Her coloring is a
perfect camouflage with the white snow and light brown grass. She had
a great time running around while Joe took some photos!

Great Plains

The Great Plains are very great today! Such a neat day out with the
white snow and white sky with shades of blue and purple mixed in...I
like it here. I wonder if there are lots of bunnies out there?

Bismarck!

Just got to Bismarck, ND - made it here around 11:30. As we turned to
go to the hotel, I came across this place called the Space Alien. It
looked really cool with the neat lights; however, it didn't come
across too well on the picture. Definitely not one of my best photos.

Did i mention that our home closed today and the deed recorded?!?
Yeah! Can't wait to show the doggies the new place.

OK - leg #1 down, four to go!

Beware!

Here I am at our hotel room. Astro and I let the maid service know we
didn't need service because we got the room Gus-proofed...she put this
sign outside the door after she saw Astro. I thought it was kinda
funny because Astro and Orion could probably only lick someone to
death!

One Last Storytime!

Here we are at the downtown Minneapolis library for one last storytime
for Gus. All of our stuff went on the moving truck and we are staying
in an hotel while we wait for Joe to fly back from Philadelphia to
join us for our trek to Portland. It is near zero degrees today, but
we were able to take the skyway from the hotel almost all the way here
- that was a fun adventure, too!

I know Gus will miss storytime and I'm sure he learned a lot! Can't
wait to find a new storytime in Portland!

Moving day!

The moving truck came yesterday and loaded up almost everything! We
just have a few things and the Jeep to drive across the country
now...I can't believe the movers got the big semi backed into the
alley space! It was weird seeing our apartment empty again. Excited
for our big adventure! I know it will be a road trip to remember! In
case you didn't catch it before, I love road trips! So much observing,
so little time!

January Day?

A nice January day, but where is all the snow? We took one last visit
here before moving to Portland...I will miss this place, but I know we
will visit and hopefully just be here every day, someday! I'm sure the
bunny will watch over the place!

Tinley Park

Here I am on a sunny, but windy, Wednesday afternoon...we just went to
Culver's and now we are at a very nice park in Tinley Park, close to
where Joe grew up. It is 46 degrees out today! But the wind makes it
feel like it is 35! Gus played on the swings and went down the slides.
It was very fun! Did I tell you we also went to the candy shop?!? That
was super fun, too! I like parks and candy shops...