Salt Lake City to Boston

Day 40

Up early, and off to the airport.

Signing off for now. We will resume around March 11, 2008. And, as Dave Garroway would say, as he signed off, "Peace."

Salt Lake City

Day 39

As Sully would say, "What me worry? Salt Lake is a big city, I will find a spot". We wake full of energy, a few calls from the Yellow Pages to find a place for ChelseaExpress winterization (which means flushing out water & adding antifreeze to the vehicle). We hear that the State Fairgrounds store vehicles inside and has available space. The day is looking brighter.

We find a place for the winterization. The shop advises us of a warehouse around the corner that does storage. We checked it out and struck a deal for a heated space indoors for the winter. We were going to do an oil change & tuneup before storage, but the owner offered to get it done for us just before we return in the spring. All is complete and done by 1:00pm. Everything just fell in place. Relief! And as Sully would say again, "What me worry? This is a big city, I will find a spot"

We even have enough time in the afternoon to catch a movie before the Red Sox take on Cleveland at 5:15PM Mountain Time. We find a Sports Bar (tough in Salt Lake) with Cleveland fans behind us. The Red Sox win 10 - 3.

A few stories from the sports bar need to be mentioned. We arrived earlier in the day to reserve seats up front, but were told we couldn't. They said that if we were there by 5PM we would be able to get good seats. Because, it didn't get full until about 6PM. We get there at 5PM, but notice all the prime tables have Reserved signs on them. Sully starts to steam. We raise the issue with the manager. He tries to explain, apologizes & rearranges a couple of tables for us with a good view.

Next, we notice a promotion, a bucket of 4 beers (light or regular) by Coors for $8. We order some of each. We are told that earlier they ran out of regular Coors, and only have Light available. We ask for a replacement for the regular Coors, and are told it is not possible. The same manager, said that it was only a Coors Light promotion. He then proceeded to take down all the posters. We grabbed one before he got to it, and it stated both Light & Reg. He apologized again, but couldn't substitute another beer. He sent over an appetizer for our troubles. I think a message to Coors Headquarters will be sent.

And lastly, a guy from another table came over and told us he was a Red Sox fan. Guess where he was from? Wrong. He was from the last place you would think, New York.

Pokatello to Salt Lake City

Day 38

One of our goals today is to make the 120 miles down to Salt Lake City. The other is to find a home for ChelseaExpress to spend the winter. Our plans have slightly changed. That can happen when you are retired.

Sully and I are flying home from Salt Lake City Saturday Oct 13 & Steve flying home Monday Oct 15. Then, the 3 of us will fly back in March to go skiing for a few days with Joe and pickup ChelseaExpress to continue our journey. We think 2 more weeks will get us back home.

We arrive at our destination in the afternoon. There are a couple of prospects for storing ChelseaExpress, but nothing solid. I am a little nervous. We decide to sleep on it, and come up with some ideas in the morning. Our travels have taken us about 4,800 miles so far. A few US $s and many Canadian $s lighter, but what a time it has been. The laughs and adventure outweighed the cost tenfold. I would do it again without question.

Jackson Hole to Pokatello

Day 37
Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! This blog entry is now an official substitute for a card.

Day 37

Happy Anniversary, Barbara & Dennis -- 32 fabulous years.

The day starts out again with a small problem. Small problems we can handle. Since Ohio, we have been hearing a little ping coming from near the fan blade area of ChelseaExpress. We thought that maybe a small piece of metal was just rattling. We couldn't see the blade from under the hood because it was in a plastic cover. The noise finally needed to be looked at. So, under the vehicle I went. I found that the bolt holding the AC had come loose and was occasionally hitting the blades. Also, the AC belt was missing. The bolt could have wrecked the fan blade if it slipped any further. I was able to secure the bolt. We can hold off on replacing the AC belt this time of year.

Noise gone, off we go quietly. We stop in Pokatello, ID for the night. Steve & I try to get back to our championship ways with a challenge to Mike & Joe in Boccie. The balls weren't rolling the right way for us. We were defeated by the international champions, Mike Sullivan & Joe Walker. We will get those guys next year.

We wrap up the night with a beverage and Trivial Pursuit. It took 4 hours to get 8 questions right. Our explanation is that it was the Genius Edition.

Jackson Hole

Day 36

Onward to Jackson Hole, WY, 104 miles away through the mountains. We pick the safest route, which means the route with the lowest elevation to travel. Route 26 follows the very scenic Snake River for miles. Numerous photos were taken. ChelseaExpress handles these mountain passes much better.

Jackson Hole is not what I expected. I thought there would be one main street with ski area/mountains on one side. That was not the case. It is a real tourist mecca with t-shirt shops all over the area. There sure are enough places to shop and drink. There was one section of the main square that had a few art galleries with very nice western art. Reminded me a little of Santa Fe.

Spider webs in town this time of year are a problem. These webs end up flying through the air landing on cars, clothes & even faces. Don't go to Jackson Hole the first week of October.

Yellowstone to Jackson Hole

Day 35

Our day starts off with only slight problems. No big deal.

We are looking to find the easiest route to Jackson Hole, WY. The mountain pass through Yellowstone may still be closed, so we take the second best road. That road takes us toward Idaho Falls, ID. Over the continental divide (7,072 elevation).

All was going well until we started to make the climb up that hill. The ChelseaExpress has been having a tough time breathing at various elevations. Vehicles with carburetors (autos 1987 & older) have trouble getting enough oxygen to mix with the gas in high elevation areas. About 100 yards before the summit ChelseaExpress STOPPED/STALLED from the lack of oxygen.

We though we were going to have to turn around and go back to Yellowstone. Steve, Joe & I got out to stop the traffic so Sully could turn the vehicle around. Sully got it started again and thought he would give it one more try getting up the hill. ChelseaExpress had just enough energy with about 500 lbs less (3 guys) to make it to the top. It was all downhill from there. We look back and wonder what we would have done if we didn't make that summit. We now look for mountain passes that have an elevation below 7,000 feet.

Yellowstone

I forget who got us the bottle of Manny Being Merlot, and I have no idea how it tastes, but rest assured that the label is awesome.

Day 34

We wake to snow & 32 degree temperatures. We are advised at the entrance to Yellowstone that 2 of the major roads are closed due to ice & snow. The road to Old Faithful is open, so that becomes our goal. On our way we stop to see Buffalo, Elk, Deer and various small geysers.

We arrive at the parking lot to Old Faithful about 45 minutes before the scheduled eruption. Our anticipation builds, wondering if we are going to feel the earth shake under our feet. The ranger told us that there is a volcano under the ground covering more than 60% of the park. We are standing over it. The eruption of steam & water happens with a wimper. It shoots up about 40 feet without noise or vibration. A big disappointment. Summer crowds must be unbearable here.

We exit the park in the afternoon to catch some of the game in which the Red Sox clinch the first series. We hold of on uncorking the "Manny being Merlot" wine.

Missoula to West Yellowstone

Day 33

With advice from Brian, we take a scenic road toward West Yellowstone. The trail takes us through Nevada City, Virginia City, Ennis & Quake Lake. Nevada City & Virginia City are throwbacks in time (mining - western towns). Tourists flock to the these places in the summertime, but few (4 guys from Chelsea) are here this time of year. Steve pulls up to the bar at the old saloon and gets a shot of Old Thompson to get the day started. We arrive at Quake Lake, MT next. A quake in (I think) 1959 created a huge mountain land slide which killed numerous people, destroyed a town, created a damn and submerged trees. Upon leaving a small black bear tries to challenge ChelseaExpress by walking down the middle of the road toward us. We stop -- no sense in getting black bear fur in the radiator. He scurries off into the woods, but we keep a close eye for Momma Bear. We camp at West Yellowstone, Mt.

Missoula

Fans! The the RV officially has fans! Awesome.

Day 32

Oops, forgot to mention on our way to the restaurant we saw a small farm with Buffalo and a cut off horse head in the front yard. Yes, a real horse head. We didn't stay long here.

At Missoula we cruise around the U of Montana (Grizzlies) on a cold rainy day. The school doesn't hold a candle to the U of Calgary. Maybe the weather had some influence. Off we go to Butte, MT. We want to get there so we can catch some baseball, NY & Bosox. Butte is having a little resurgence due to the huge copper mine back in business. We find a combination sports bar, casino & restaurant. The Jokers Wild/Chefs Garden Restaurant with the fabulous owners Brian & Christina Hands. We conversed with them for hours, and found a lot of things in common. They made us feel like family. We had the 2nd best meal of our journey. The first was with our wives in Banff. The Bosox beat LAA. They got a kick out of our blog. So here is a special "HI" to Brian & Christina from the boys from Boston (Mike, Steve, Joe & Dennis).

Rexford to Missoula

Day 31

On our way to Missoula we travel next to the very large Flathead Lake. Half way around we spot the Mission Mountain Winery in Dayton, MT. It is time for lunch and they point us to a restaurant that serves Bison burgers. I'll try it. When we get there we find that bison burgers have been off the menu for 1 year. But the cheese burgers were pretty good. A game of indoor shuffle board was played. Sully & Joe were victorious. Steve & I should have cheated. Wine tasting is next up. Sully was driving, so he was out. I did not picture this area for growing grapes, but I was wrong. I thought the Pinot Gris was the best of the bunch. There were no reds that grabbed our attention.

Fairmont to Rexford

Day 30

As usual, we con our way into the lodge's hot springs pool. This gives us a chance to relax, before the first Red Sox playoff game. A little further up in the hills of the camp site, with a great panoramic view, the original hot springs pool is located. Our next goal is to find a location where we can watch the Bosox kick some ass. Missola, MT would be a good choice, but it is a little to far away. So, we decide to get over the border first, then find a spot.

The US border is a funny story. The agent asks us his usual questions. The 2 questions that challenge us is, do we have beef and do we have citrus. We have both (oranges & bologna). He tells us to dispose of both. So, before you can say jack-rabbit, Sully pulls out the rolls & bologna and eats the evidence. Only the oranges are left to give the agent. We are then on our way.

A gas station attendant tells us of the Frontier restaurant/bar (big TV) and RV park in Rexford, MT. That's the spot. We park, watch the game have a few beverages, plus their famous 16oz rib eye steak dinner for $17. The Patriarch of the 180 residents in the town is 78 year old Don Caldwell. He seems to own the town and keeps a close eye on the restaurant. We view numerous deer right outside ChelseaExpress. Not much around this part of Montana.

Banff to Fairmont

Day 29

We get an extra bonus upon leaving our National Park campsite. Because we arrived at our site late, they didn't charge us for the night. What a country! The road we want for getting back to the US takes us through lake Louise. When we arrive at the Fairmont Lake Louise heavy snow is falling. It was snowing so hard we couldn't see the glacier and only half see the lake. No walk around the lake today. So, instead we relax at the Raidum Hot Springs. Overcast skies hinder views as we go over the mountain pass. The Fairmont Lodge/Rv Park/Hot Springs is our spot for the night.

Calgary and Banff

Let me once again express my amazement at the fact that they haven't been arrested for anything yet:

Day 28

We talk to the doctor (John Washington Service manager of Shaw GMC) to see how ChelseaExpress is doing. He said we should be able to pick her up early afternoon. He and his staff work non-stop to get us back on the road as soon as possible. We are extremely grateful for that service. Wendy thanks for you help also. Before we leave we mention to John about the rental car dent. He jumps under the car and pushes out the dent. It springs back to 90%. Maybe we can get by. Upon leaving it at the airport, Joe & Steve jump out and place their bags in front of the damaged area. Avis does a quick walk around and notice nothing. They drive off the car. Home free! We have just enough time to make it to the Royal Canadian Legion post 213 in Banff for the 6:30pm kickoff. We have found our friendly legion counterparts across the border.

Calgary and Banff

Day 27

We stay out by the U of Calgary, so we take a cruise by the school. We find the ice rink which housed the 1988 Calgary Olympics, and note they rent ice skates with public skating later in the day. We will be back. Early afternoon Sully, Steve & I put on our speed skating attire (looking for low wind resistance) head to the rink. We are inspired by Anton Ono, and rent 18inch long speed skates and hit the oval. the small track oval doesn't appear to have enough room for us. We obtain speeds of 20-30 mph without much effort. We missed our sport. Maybe the Senior Winter Olympic Committee is looking for competitors. Sunday football match ups weren't that good, so we hold our energy and wait for Monday Pats vs Cinn game.

Calgary and Banff

A hearty "hello" to Steve Artick and Joe Walker:

Day 26

We make our way to the airport to drop off our honies and pickup our next companions (Joe & Steve). The day then turns to a trifecta. We stop for a lunch and there Joe brakes his sunglasses, finds a bobby pin in his burger and our rental car obtains a very large dent in the bumper. Of course we declined the extra insurance coverage. No sense worrying about that now, wait until we drop off the vehicle. We take Joe & Steve over to see the Calgary Flames sports center, and then off for a little something to eat. Why not head to Chinatown?

Calgary and Banff

Day 25

We make our way to the Fairmont Banff Golf course to check out the greens. They look great. Just before we enter the Pro shop a coyote was spotted on the 17th green. He was doing his early morning howls. Golfers skipped this hole for a few minutes. The day before we noticed the Royal Canadian Legion #213. We could have our predinner cocktails in a legion atmosphere. Locals are met, conversation is entered into. It was hard to determine whether I was in Chelsea, MA or Banff, Alberta! We arrange for dinner at a nice restaurant where Sully & I romance our fabulous honies before they go back to the real world. We hear back about ChelseaExpress, the good news is that it can be fixed, the bad news is that it will take a couple of more days. As joe walker would say, "shit happens".

Lake Louise

Chelsea, get on that:

Day 24

Sully & I travel to Calgary in the morning and find a GMC repair shop. They agree at least to look at it and see if they can help us to get back on the road. We leave feeling a little better. At the first shop we stopped at, they were taking appointments for after Nov 10th. Time to put the inconvenience out of our mind. A mostly sunny day steers us to Lake Louise and a short walk around the lake. No wild animals crossed our paths. After the walk we feel our bodies get tight. The famous Hot Springs are only minutes away. We relax, relax & relax for 45 minutes in the 104 degree pool. Maybe the Chelsea YMCA can put one in.

Banff

Day 23

A little local cruising is in order for the day. The weather was accommodating, but not enough for visiting Lake Louise. A few cultural locations are visited, before thirst sets in. The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel beckons us for Bloody Marys & Martinis. Sitting outside viewing the mountains warrants a second cocktail. It is then time for the boys to implement one of our romantic plans. How about a nice BBQ grill with ChelseaExpress in the National Forest. Sully & I agree to shop & prepare everything to wine and dine our honies. A stop is made at the liquor store to obtain an ingredient we need. At check out a young lady asks us where the party is. She is amused by the old boys from the East. Our site is the best in the park. We are surrounded by mountains. Steak on the grill, corn on the cob & refreshments were on the menu. On our travels ChelseaExpress didn't seem to be driving the way we were use to. So, the next day we were going to see the doctor in Calgary to find out what ails her.

Calgary, part 4

Day 22

Our honnies are to arrive at about noon. So, we thought we would have some time to do laundry at the hotel before they get in. All went well until we broke one of the machines. It was probably the 20 lbs of clothes we stuffed in a 10 lbs machine. We took the laundry out before we were noticed. We then begged to use the super duper colossal machine in the basement to finish the load. All was completed just before Air Canada touched down. Our fabulous honnies bounce off the plane and into our arms. Boy are we glad to see them. On our way back to our hotel in Banff, we pick up ChelseaExpress from the safe neighborhood and park it close to the hotel.

Calgary, part 3

Day 21

One day before our fabulous wives arrive. We notice that there is a zoo close to downtown and figure that this place is our best shot of seeing a buffalo. We do get to see one there, but I can't take a picture because a gate & fence would have been in the background. The zoo was actually a pretty good hit. Did I mention that we liked Chinatown? We were still looking for the Golden Gate - west. We stopped a young man asking for recommendations and he escorted us into his restaurant. How is this, hot tea is served to us in a glass from a pitcher. Shrimp, black beans & pan-fried noodles is ordered & served just the way the Gate would have.

We hear that there is a minor league (Calgary Hitmen) game, so we are up for a little old time hitting hockey. On our way there, cruising through downtown, American Express & the Calgary Independent film festival decide they our services. They are always looking for up and coming new directors. We sit in the directors chair for a photo shoot, and tell them what we think of independent films. I think our ideas get overlooked Minor league hockey is viewed in a nice arena, but no boxing matches break out. Even Sully was disappointed.

Calgary, part 2

So long, Eddie:

Day 20

We reluctantly dropped Ed off at the airport just after midnight. I think he had tears in his eyes. Hotels are scarce, but we find one near the airport for $1,000 Canadian. No deals.

We wake in the morning & scurry around to find a sports bar that will carry the Pats game at 11:00am Mountain time. It takes a little getting use to having a Bud at 11:00am. After a little conversation with local truck drivers our road to the Pats has been identified. We find Jamesson's Pub by kickoff and realize we are the only 2 customers in the place. Our first beer hits us about the same time as the Pats first touchdown 11: 22am.We notice 3 Sunday specials on the menu, a bucket of 4 Bud Light for $16., an Irish Lager pint for $4, and 10 chicken wings for $2.50. How can we go wrong here. Six hours later we find our way back to the hotel.

Calgary

Day 19

We start out trying to drop off ChelseaExpress in a designated overnight parking area. however, when we get there we find that there are no other vehicles left there. We don't think it would be a good idea to leave it all alone there. Very limited RV parking in town, and we haven't seen any place that allows more than 24 hour parking. We look off the main street, and end up in a new residential neighborhood. The street has plenty of parking, plus no visible street signs restricting RV parking. We spot someone walking and they tells us that we shouldn't have a problem. We leave our cell #s in case someone needs to get in touch with us. We head back to Calgary and just before the city we stop at the 1988 Calgary Olympic venue. The park has been converted for off-season use as bike motocross, zip-line, ski jumping into a pool, and a huge plastic bubble ride. The bubble ride has 2 people strapped inside for a ride down the hill. Dizzy people exit at the bottom.

Banff

Now that we're 18 days into this blog, let me state for the record that I had no idea Dad had such a thing for the passive voice.

Day 18

A rental car was reserved for the Banff area. We are giving ChelseaExpress a much deserved 9 day vacation. On our way out to Lake Louise we drive past the Banff Fairmont Hotel. A real sharp place. I can see us having a martini there one night. I'll go to the ATM just before.

Lake Louise is impressive, as was the drive up there. We take a mile walk around the lake, a nice easy stroll. The lake is a green/aqua color from the minerals that run off the glacier. On this day the glacier was partially covered in the clouds. At the beginning of the lake there is another Fairmont hotel. Nice, but not as nice as the one in Banff. We head off back to Banff and the famous hot springs. Even though it begins to rain, hot sulfur water would feel good. We go for it, and enjoy every degree of 104F.

Calgary to Banff

Day 17

Our travels next take us to Banff. Upon entering the views are breathless and with the air being thin, we are a little breathless. The altitude causes us to move a little slower.

We walk around town to get the lay of the land. We window shop, but make sure to keep our hands in our pockets, so that the Canadian dollars don't fly out. No deals in Banff, probably the 3rd most expensive place I have been in.

We stop at the visitors center to get info on camping. Here is where we find out that we are in the National Forest and have bypassed the entrance gate. That is ok, we can pay here, and pay we do. It was $18 per day & since we were going to be here for more than 7 days an annual pass for $123 was the only option. We find spectacular views from our camp site. Numerous pictures are taken right there.

Glacier Park to Calgary

Snow in September?!

Day 16

Just before we retired for the night, the rain had turned to snow in the mountains. What a sight. During the night the whole campground loses power. The electric portable heater doesn't work well without electricity. The power came back on at some point, probably at the same time it started to snow heavy. Yes, we fully wake to at least 2" covering the ground and still counting. I often wonder how it can be 80 degrees out and still snow. We change our plans from going down - west over a mountain pass to heading directly toward Calgary.

As we drive out we continue to have snow for 2 to 3 more hours. The snow lets up a bit just as we hit the Canadian border. We are stopped at the Canadian border to show passports. They proceed to ask us numerous questions about purpose, liquor, guns & mace. We answer no to all except the mace. They tell us that it is illegal in Canada & tell us to pull over. When they see what we have is actually "dog" spray, we are sent on our way. It is a good thing they didn't check our criminal history.

Just before we reach Calgary we run into another small problem, the gas gauge breaks. The cruise control went out a couple of days ago. We were getting a little over 200 miles per fill up. So, we decide to be on the safe side from now on and fill up every 150 miles. If the speedometer breaks, we could be pushing ChelseaExpress.

We park at a train station and head to Calgary. A bank calls us to change US dollars to Canadian. We convert $600 US and get $590 Canadian. (Thank you George for your economic policy.) We roam around a bit and have lunch in Chinatown. Yes, you have heard that before, big cities draw us there. We then spot "The Calgary Flames" sports bar, which is in a converted old movie theater. It is quite a place with at least 100 TVs of different sizes and channels. The Red Sox was on one of them, so we pull up a chair and have a beverage. We stay for 1/2 of the game.

Browning to Glacier National Park

Day 15

We head out to Glacier National Park. It was a short drive over a rough winding road, but no problem for our vehicle. A hike to Grinnell Glacier was in order. It was a 12 mile round trip adventure, so we being in excellent physical condition didn't give it a second thought. A short way in mountain goats were spotted. It was a nice day starting out, a little cold but partial sun in the big blue sky.

We went about 5 miles out when our senses kicked in and told us not to push our luck. We settled for lunch with great pictures before we turned around. The views are fabulous.

On our way down a black bear was spotted eating berries about 150 feet away. We keep our distance. Stories were heard about a grizzly and cub had been on the same trail the day before. The pepper spray was in our hands. It started to rain with about 1/2 hour to go to get back. A little wet, but quite satisfied. This rain produced snow caps on the mountains were were just on. What a different site from the day before. We heard of a good restaurant at a near by town, so off we went.

Conrad to Browning

Making friends in Montana:

Day 14

Our next stop takes us to Browning, MT. A depressed center for the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. This is also the site of Lewis & Clark. The only Indian to die on the Lewis & Clark expedition happened here. After leaving, we went over a spectacular mountain pass. The remnants of burnt timber from a previous conflagration was visible for at least 20 miles. An awful sight.

After we pull into our camp site, we head out for a leisurely walk by the St Mary river. Now, you have to picture this, we are in an area of maybe 100 people in a 50 mile radius, and by the river we meet a guy from Salem, MA. Small world. Our next stop is to hit the outdoor hot tub with a spectacular mountain view to relax our minds. A couple is in there ahead of us. So we tell them of our adventure and they proceed to trump us. They are at the end stage of a 10,000 mile trip over part of the world. We thought we were doing something.

Little Big Horn to Conrad

3000 miles down, several more to go:

Day 13

We pass hundreds of wind turbines, just outside Billings, MT. We didn't hear a single word of complaint. A little further down the road, we encountered heavy smoke. It was from a forest fire 50 miles away. We stop in Conrad, MT, reported to be an old fur trading community. ChelseaExpress beckoned for an oil/filter change. We complied.

Sturgis to Little Big Horn

Day 12

We leave Sturgis and head north. Custer's Last Stand - Little Big Horn is our next stop. This is quite a place, huge in area, where are number of battles were waged. We need to drive ChelseaExpress miles all over the battle field. White markers are displayed for the killed soldiers and red markers for the native Americans. Sitting Bull a Lakota Indian and Crazy Horse were factors in these battles. Actually, a picture at the museum displayed Sitting Bull with Wild Bill Hickok side by side at the famous "Wild West Show". We wonder if the other Indians were happy with what Sitting Bull did. A stop in the next rest area, provided an encounter a meeting with a hunting guide with numerous antlers. Pictures were taken as we were the great hunters.

Deadwood to Sturgis

Stay strong, Eddie:

Day 11

We wake in the morning, brrr, slowly getting out of our sleeping bags. A portable heater is needed for future cold nights. We hear of a card game that we need to enter, so off we go. While playing poker someone takes a picture of the 3 of us. Time to get out of town.

On our way to Sturgis, we pick up that heater. Sturgis, as you may not know is where they have the largest motorcycle rally in the country. We missed it by 4 weeks, but the Tattoo parlors are still open. Ed says no to a tattoo for now, so Sully and I try to get him drunk. It doesn't work.

The Badlands to Deadwood

Sure beats Wall Drug:

Day 10

The day starts out cold and windy. A big change from the day before. We reach Mount Rushmore in Keyston battling a strong headwind. Goosebumps are felt viewing the presidents, videos and hearing about this huge accomplishment. The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, may have had a dark side before working on Rushmore.

On to one of our must-see places, Deadwood, SD. We are not disappointed. It looks to be an old mining town. It was total rebuild around 1890 after a fire. We head for the oldest bar and find that it has a simulation of the way Wild Bill Hickock was shot in the back of the head playing cards. We witness a shootout recreation on Main Street. No blood was spilled.

Main Street is filled with 30 saloons/casinos. Sully hits a couple of slots that net him $120. We check the bottom of his shoes, to see if they are clean. We find a saloon with live music, so we stay until our eyes close. The night is cold, real cold.

Montrose to the Badlands

Is the "Who are those guys?" for me? I don't understand your old-timey pop culture references, Dad.

Day 9

Our road next takes us to the Badlands. We look high and low for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but they must have outrun the law all the way to Mexico. "Who are those guys?"

The views are spectacular with buttes and caverns with the temperature in the 90's. We think we see bison in the distance, but they might be cardboard cutouts. On to our next stop, Wall drug. There were hundreds of billboards advertising the store for miles. It states the biggest drug store in the country. A big disappointment, it turned out to be a 95% souvenir shop.

Rockford to Montrose

Notice Dad's writing get a little epic in the first paragraph.

Day 8

Our next destination is the Badlands of SD, which is around 800 miles away. We are looking to make it in 2 days. From Rockford we will try to rest for the night in Sioux Falls, SD. As we hit the road we run into Chinook & Santa Ana winds. The ChelseaExpress is not built with aerodynamics in mind. As I write we are being hit by this wind, and I can barely read my own writing. Not much to see except dry flat land for miles.

We try to get off the highway in Sioux Falls, but the exit ramp is closed for construction. The camp site we have in mind is another 15 away, so we ask Lori of GPS for a restaurant en route. She gives us an "Irish Pub" in Montrose.

(Lori, by the way, is the narrator of their TomTom navigation system. I hope.)

Now Montrose is in the middle of noplace with a total population of 400. There are 3 places that catch our eye on Main Street: Irish Pub, Officers Bar and American Legion Post 417. We enter the Irish Bar with a family eating there, so we pull up to a table. A young man comes over to take our order. Sully asks for the special of the day. The young man yells to his father (and the rest of that family) if there are any specials left. "No" is the reply. Sully then asks for a chili. Again, No is replied. We excuse ourselves and head over to the Officers Bar. We are greeted there with a supreme frozen pizza toasted to perfection with beverages. Actually, we had a pretty good time with the locals. From there we thought we would have one more at the "Legion". I had my ID, but we were told that they are only open for functions & weddings and a monthly meeting. On to our campsite.

Chelsea to Chicago

They've broken out the musical instruments. God help us all.

Day 7

Sully & I start off the morning (9:15am) with a little music practice of "Summertime" & "House of the Rising Sun" We heard no complaints, maybe we sounded OK? Mauro, we're practicing!

As were begin to unhook at the campsite, we run into a problem. We have no electrical power in the back of ChelseaExpress and refrig propane light does not come on. We reset the circuit breaker and exam the fuses, that give us electrical power. However, the refrig propane light does not come on. We are hoping that it is only a bulb problem.

ChelseaExpress takes us along Lake Michigan Shore Drive and finds a spot at the convention center lot. We hop onto the subway to Wrigley. The game has just started and we find a scalper. At $20 a ticket we're in. It is an old park, but not as nice as Fenway. The grass looked like the old Carter Park softball field. Sully tries to upgrade his seat, but ushers are all over the place. We do get to see the St Louis hot rookie Ankle. Who started as a pitcher throwing a couple of pitches on the top of the back stop. He is now an outfielder, who has been on a hitting tear the last couple of months. It was cold, started to rain and the Cubs were ahead 7-3 when we left.

Hunger is calling, we head to Chinatown to look for Chicago's version of The Golden Gate. The "7 Wives Restaurant" gets the call. There was no "2 Wives Restaurant."

Now picture this: Sully doesn't bring his reading glasses, so he has no idea what is on the menu. So, he begins to tell "Joe" our waiter that he want shrimp with Black Bean Sauce over Thin Noodles. Joe doesn't know what to make of Sully. He says, "No can have noodle wif shrimf brack bean." After 10 minutes, Sully gets it with rice. Food was as good as the Gate.

Upon entering ChelseaExpress, we are greeted with good news. The propane light on the refrig is on. The only thing I can think of is that the refrig was cold enough that the propane didn't need to be activitaded. No need to do any further examination. We head out of Chicago north for about 70 miles to find a comfy night of sleep at Rockford, Il Wal-Mart.

Ann Arbor to Chelsea

The Chelsea Express stopped in one of its namesake towns on Day 6 -- Chelsea, MI:

Our first stop in Chelsea is by "The Chelsea Depot". A section with old building nicely rehabbed. As we pull around the corner to hookup with wifi, we pass in infamous Chelsea home of Jiffy Cornbread Mix. The coffee shop previously mentioned is a walk back in time (Coffee/Chelsea Historical Museum). The Congdon brothers, who came from Chelsea, MA in the 1780's settled Chelsea MI. They divided the land in half, and called it Chelsea.

We stay for 2 hours, and move onto the Wolverine Pub to catch the first half of Sunday football. While there was find out that the Cubs are playing St Louis in a day game on Monday in Chicago. Our next goal is set. Even if we can"t get a ticket, we can hit a bar around the stadium. We stop at Wiggens Beach State Park, Sawyer, MI 70 miles from Chicago.

Ann Arbor

Well, they found showers, at least:

Day 5 - The Big House

We find our way to our designated parking lot in the morning, and park in the middle of 4 other rvs, all of whom are Oregon fans. We tell them of our neutrality, even though we are wearing Michigan t-shirts. They buy it.

Our first move is to scout the area, we find that we are only 50 yrds from a top 10 golf course. We pull out the LL Bean Bocce Balls and challenge midwesterners. Sully, K & I kick ass (East 2 midwest 0). As we are playing we give Joe Mauro a call for pointers. He reads back some of the official ncaa bocce rules. Before we head off to the game we take individual pictures of the tops of our heads to send in as a "whos head is this". We think the pictures are easy giveaways.

[Ed note: pictures available here]

We con a golf cart ride to the stadium (would have been a 1 mile walk). How could they turn down a US vet & his friends. The Big House was not a friendly forum for the home team. The Ducks with QB Dennis Dixon run over the Wolverines for over 600 yds of offense and a final score of 39 to 7 in front of 109,000 fans. We had a great time, and a beautiful day for football. Shower in the morning at the Varsity Tennis Center with the wonderful help of the managing attendents. They were GREAT!

Cleveland to Ann Arbor

In today's episode, the boys show remarkable maturity by avoiding both stolen electricity and keg stands:

Day 4

Off to Ann Arbor, might as well get there early. We cruise downtown and all around. Not a very big area. The town is taken over by the U. of Michigan. More so than Burlington being taken over by UVM. We try to find where we will be parking for the game the next day, but we have trouble with our GPS, Lori and small map. So we decide to pull into a huge supermarket parking lot. Other rvs are there, so we figure it will be a great place to stay the night. Fifteen minutes after we pull in the other rvs take off. I wonder if they are intimidated by the ChelseaExpress. Well, anyway, we decide to stay for the night.

But, first think of it, Friday night before a big football game, downtown must be jumping. So, we take a local bus being responsible adults to the heart of the city. We hit 3 watering holes and run into 90% Oregon fans. It must be that Michigan students are at house parties instead of hitting the bars. After the results of the game they will be hitting more of the bars, maybe looking for the coach. More on that later.

We make it back to our home with out incident. Now it is 11:00pm, ready to call it a night, but we give some thought, that it would be great to have electricity. After some examination of the supermarket, we notice that over by the garden shop thay have electric outlets. Now, it wouldn't take much to pull ChelseaExpress close to an outlet and run an extension cord. But, how do we explain what we are doing to the local midwestern judge. Cooler heads prevail.

Erie to Cleveland

On day 3, Dad writes:

Starts off with about 20 ants enjoying a breakfast of frosted mini wheats inside one our cabinets. It is a good thing that we brought enough ant spray. We now store our cereal and anything else open in the refrigerator. That is a minor problem, space for the beer is now reduced.

We arrive at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame early and stay 5 1/2 hours. A fabulous hit, I wanted to take out the sax and Sully the bass guitar. All of favorites were there, the Animals, Credence, James Brown & Ike & Tina Turner. Unfortunately none put on a live show. There was a big tribute to the Doors. And, the big question is did Jim Morrison die of natural causus in Paris? We then find our way to E. Harbor - Marblehead State Park Ohio. We were all set to watch Colts vs Saints. A warmup to Michigan vs Oregon game saturday. All the major stations were coming in clear except NBC.

Allegheny to Erie

While poaching WiFi in the cafe at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Dad writes:

Day 2

Sully's stress level goes through the roof as we check in & check out at the same time. We did not try to confuse the young lady, who was on her 2nd day of work.

[Editors note: My mother, who talked to Dad on the phone today, clarified that this was some sort of mix-up with the woman manning the camping office at the state park where the boys parked last night. I know that the idea of Sully being impatient is hard to believe, but travel stress does the strangest things to people.]

We stop for breakfast at Bemis Point on Lake Chacatacquaqua. We meet NY State Police who were there to organize a Canadian/NY drug bust. We were clean. Actually, they were testing a new mobile radio (Maicom) which happens to be a product that Ed K's company produces. Conversation went back and forth on the merits of the radio.

Our adventure next takes us to Erie, PA, which looks like a mall on rt 128. We realize that we are less than 200 miles away from Cleveland, so decide to look for an Erie Lakeside camp site. Geneva State Park, Ohio is the spot. We arrive early for us (2:00pm). We are right on Lake Erie, so off to the beach we go. Since it is only 1/4 mile away, we decide to take the ChelseaExpress to the beach. No sense in exerting ourselves the second day of our adventure. We stay until closing 7:00pm, on to the site, grill, camp fire & a couple of beverages. By 10:30pm, I think (clock has small numbers), we retire to watch a video. Sully has celebrated the first day of school in Winthrop.

Boston to Allegheny

Dad just sent me his first missives from the road. There are photos up on the Flickr page, too -- looks like they've had some beach weather! Dennis writes:

Day 1 9/4/07

Late departure - Projected 9:00am - left at 9:30am, almost without Dennis. Sully pulls out with Dennis still in the driveway. We follow big "M" through Chelsea via Central Ave. A few pictures taken before departure. In the Central Artery we miss the Mass Pike exit and are forced to turn around further down the road to get back on track. On the road we do about 500 miles in 11 hours to check out the "ChelseaExpress". It passes with flying colors. We pulled in into the Allegheney State Park at 9:30pm. We tried to call the fabulous wives, but no cell towers available. We will try in the morning. First time hookup went fairly well, only had electric to worry about.

So they've only gotten lost once so far, and only egregiously broken one speed limit. Not a bad average for the first day.