Sunset

Our first surprise came while breakfast was being prepared. Sean was on a mission to get bacon, though he did't get far since our car would not start. Now ever since we left Vancouver the neutral safety switch (NSS) had been giving us problems. This switch doesn't allow you to start the car while in gear. Most of the trip we had to start the car with the shifter in neutral, which was not a big deal.

I didn't panic as I knew it wasn't a major issue. It wasn't the battery or the starter or something some other major part. My hunch was the NSS, had finally crapped out. Luckily these old diesels have a block on the passenger side fender that was designed for a starter switch that a mechanic could use to turn the engine over manually while doing timing adjustments and other engine maintenance. I figured all I needed to do was to short the terminals which should spin the starter. 

After firing up the glow plugs and leaving the shifter in park, I ran around to the other side of the car and shorted the terminals. The engine turned over with out hesitation. The familiar sound of diesel engine was sweet music to my ears. 

It was too late to get bacon now, but surprise two was around the corner. Upon entering the house and triumphantly telling everyone our car problems were over, Sean and I were treated to the best breakfast of the entire trip. Chelsia made amazing huckleberry pancakes accompanied by Sharla's "The Queen of Cookin' Eggs" scrambled and over easy eggs. I have never eaten so many pancakes! 

The time came to hit the road again. We were off again, speeding into the smoke filled skies of Montana.

The ride home was un-eventful. Many hours of flat, smoke filled scenery tried to entertain the eyes.  The cool North-West air was a welcome change from the heat of Texas.

This was my sixth road trip to Texas. Every time the way down is a little different, with more to see and learn. I look forward to next year and the years to follow - thanks to everyone who followed this story and I hope you enjoyed it!

The Trip North

Final numbers for the trip North. Total distance driven 4,831km (3001miles). Fuel used 401L (106 US Gallons). Fuel economy 8.3L/100km (28MPG).

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Reasonable and Prudent

After running about on back roads and roads like US 24, the Interstate is rather boring. We had ahead of us a rather simple run North.

We made a quick stop in the morning at SLC so I could show Sean the Mormon Temple. I had the night before educated Sean about the Mormon religion by having him watch a South Park episode regarding the origins. I highly recommend this episode (Season 7, Episode 12 "All About Mormons") as a good starter for anyone.  at this point. This being my fourth visit to the temple I started feeling like a Temple tour guide and began wondering why I always come here. Maybe it will be my last visit, but the oddness of the place is too much to pass up showing new people on my road trips.

After crossing int Idaho I decided to stop at the Visitors Centre again to search for an Idaho potato pin. I again was disappointed to find none, but something caught my eye.

The Potato Lady

This eye catching poster was part of a display put up by the Potato Museum of Idaho in Blackfoot, ID. A quick glance of the map showed it is on our path. Surely they would know about the pin I was seeking.

The first real services you can get off the I-15 North after the Idaho border is a little town named Malad City. Malad's proud motto is "Where Idaho Begins", and does it ever. I randomly picked a place to eat off my GPS called Dude Ranch Cafe. The cafe is on a main road in the centre of town, the type where cars park on  an angle off the street, typical of many small American towns. 

Dude Ranch Cafe - Salad Bar View

The cafe was full of good ol' boys dressed in full camo, perhaps coming back from a day of hunting or perhaps it is just the way the dress every day in Malad. We were informed that our food would take some time to get to us due to it being busy. The room we were in seemed empty but what we didn't see was the "dining" room next door full of people as it was "Homecoming Day". Usually I would not be happy about waiting almost 45 minutes to eat, but the food was amazing! I had a Reuben sandwich with fries. The sandwich was good, but the winner was the fries. Idaho potatoes are amazing, and I would have been happy eating a whole other plate of the fries but it was time to be on our way. I highly recommend the Dude Ranch Cafe in Malad City, ID, if you ever find yourself in the area.

After getting our taste of Idaho potatoes, we headed to Blackfoot in search of the pin. The lady at the museum, knew exactly what I was looking for and had them hidden under her desk. She told me the pins were sought after (though upon reflection I think she may have been joking). She made it a point to tell me that in order for her to give out ten or more pins she had to call the Idaho Potato Board for permission. With my mission complete we kept heading North.

As we crossed into Montana, it started to get smoky. The sun began to turn red and finally disappeared behind the smoke from forest fires that have been plaguing parts of Idaho and Montana. It was a real shame since you could tell the scenery was very pretty.

We finally made it to our destination of Helena, MT, and as we turned left on to the street that would take us to our friend's house we came upon a surprising sign.

I asked Chelsia if she or her partner Sharla had done this as a joke for us. It turns out this is a sign to welcome hunters and the like from Alberta. I still think the sign was for us! Speaking of signs, I asked Sharla, a native of Montana, if it was true that they had no speed limit at some point in history. They certainly did. The daytime speed limit was posted "Reasonable and Prudent". It was stopped after too many out of state folks kept showing up to take their car for a fast spin, and ended up dying. One thing you will see a lot of on the sides of the  hi-ways in Montana is white crosses. 

Montana speed sign from back in the day

We were treated to an evening of beer and delicious chicken at a place called Suds Hut. It hit the spot after a fairly long drive. It was nice to catch up with friends I have not seen in some time, and I was sad that I only had this evening to spend with them. Despite this, I also felt good to be almost home. 

The morning brought two surprises, but that is for the next post!

Goblins!

We manage to drive 705km today but we did it all in Southern Utah. I have driven this area a lot but never actually spent quality time in the various parks.

From Cortez, CO we drove to Arches National Park near Moab Utah. It was my third visit to the park but by far the best. We drove all the way down the Devil's Garden and did a 1 hour hike in the area. It was definitely worth the effort, and I look forward to coming back next year doing the longer, more difficult trail.

I thought it would be a good idea to take Sean to see Goblin Valley. I had been there 8 years ago with friends and very much enjoyed it. Luckily this time it wasn't 110F out so we could spend an hour or so in the valley.

Goblin Valley, Utah

A Goblin

One thing I remembered from the last time I was in Goblin Valley was seeing a unpaved road (Temple Mountain Road) that ran almost due North of the Valley. Most people take US 24 from the I-70 to get in and out. 

View Larger Map

The unpaved road.

We decided to give this road a try. It quickly came apparent that the road was rough and had washout sections that could eventually make us turn around. 

Best Interstate Sign Ever

I felt pretty confident the Benz could make it. I just needed to take it easy over some heavily rutted sections of the road. Slowly but surely we made our way. The Sun was quickly setting and it seemed like the I-70 was no where in sight. Suddenly a herd of antelope (thought it was deer but Chelsia texted me with the correction, thank you!)  came across the road, a little reward for our work so far.

The sun finally set and the road kept going. After about an hour we finally saw another sign letting us know the I-70 still awaited us at some point.

Picking up speed along Temple Mt Road

Finally the I-70 was in sight, and 2 hours and 50km later we found ourselves racing along the Interstate again.  I would strongly recommend folks try Temple Mt Road if they are visiting Goblin Valley though I would not do it after a rain as some sections of the road would not be passable until it dried out.

Tonight we rest in the same hotel in Provo, UT that I stayed with Aaron coming down. Provo, again! I just can't shake this place. 

Ship of Fools

502km is not something I like to tell people I did in a full day of a road trip, but today was a different kind of day.

Sean mentioned Mesa Verde as a possible destination for our trip North. Mesa Verde is a National Park near Cortez, CO. Let me tell you, it is more than a National Park.

A view from 7,500'. Rain storm blowing in.

Well there you have a predictable National Park type view, but Mesa Verde is so much more. It is a possible view of our future.

Cliff Palace made by the Ancient Pueblo People

The Anasazi people or Ancient Pueblo People use to live on the top of these Mesas, around  AD 600. They farmed corn and grew communities around the area. Everything seemed to be going well until AD 1200. The Anasazi had totally logged (deforested) their land, and years of drought had wrecked havoc with their farming. A time of horrible violence began, and a once peaceful civilization began to spin out of control. Smaller groups of  Anasazi fled into the cliffs to find safety in hard to get to and easier to defend locations. 

Balcony House, a dwelling of about 40 people.

While exploring these cliff dwellings, and understanding their history, one cannot feel a bit of a chilling similarity to our modern history. History, they say repeats itself and today one could not deny it. Our current history seems no different than the Anasazi's history. What cliffs will we flee to?

 

The sun begins to set at Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde is not a one hour in and out kind of park. It took a good part of our day and there was so much more to do. This space forces one to ask a lot of questions about our own time line right now. So many questions came to mind, however as the sun began to set we needed to go. We started to drive back down to the US 160 late in the day.

As I drove Sean and I carefully down the mountain road, I noticed a Park Ranger SUV following us. I was taking it easy as the Benz at 7,000' isn't the fastest, so his SUV was following us closely. I decided to pull over at a pull out designed for slower vehicles to let other pass. I soon had the red and blue lights behind me. 

The Park Ranger who came out of the SUV had a side arm, this was serious. I didn't walk off any path, I didn't pick any plants, what did I do? "I have pulled you over because you didn't signal your pull over" he said. I thought to tell tell him I pulled over to let his tail-gating ways to pass me, but figured this kind of logic was beyond him. "My turn signal relay is broken sir" I said, which is true, "It hasn't worked right since we left Moriarty in the morning. "Oh, that's no good" he said. "Were both of you wearing seatbelts?" he continued. "I wasn't (it's a god damn park where you pull over every 5 minutes to take a picture!), but my friend was" I replied. "License and registration please" he said. I handed over all the appropriate documents. While the Ranger did whatever they do, I thought "I paid to come in this park and this is what I get?". Twenty minutes ago I saw an couple in their 60s steal wood from the park, yet they made it out of the park because they owned a 2011 Dodge with working signal lights! It is not so bad getting pulled over in a National Park.  After all the time they make you wait is filled with breath taking views of nature. 

The Ranger returned to my window, "Here you go, consider this a warning" he said. "Thank you sir" I replied. The Ranger continue to idle behind us. "Do you think I can get out to take a picture of the view?" Sean asked. "Sure why not" I replied. Sean got out and the Ranger continued on his way.

My idea was to make it to Moab, UT today, but we decided to take it easy and stop in Cortez, CO. Cortez is small community that serves the tourists of Mesa Verde, and I highly recommend people stop here. We had a great meal at Main Street Brewery, and let me tell you they brew a good beer here too.

Hops growing outside the Brewery!

A great day awaits tomorrow. The Moab and all the South East Utah has to offer! 

Futurama

My time in Texas has ended. Aaron and I had a wonderful time in Smithville and Austin. We spent some time checking out varous galleries and eating excellent food made by my equally excellent friends in Smithville.

Aaron flew out on the 6th back to Thunder Bay, and on the 8th I picked up my friend Sean from the airport as he wanted to do the North bound part of the road trip. Sean came down to Austin with me last year, as an extension of our trip through Death Valley and to Las Vegas.

Lets take a quick pause to do some number crunching of the trip so far.

Distance from Vancouver, BC to Smithville, TX (including all side trips, but excluding time spent in Smithville/Austin) was 5,103km (3170 miles).

Fuel used in that distance was  454L (120 US Gallons). Giving us around 8.9L/100km (26MPG). Not awesome but not bad considering our average speed was about 125km/hr.

No major problems with the car, however there are some minor issues. One new stone chip in the windscreen, two stone chips in the right front headlight lens, a cranky neutral safety switch, and a sunroof that sometimes doesn't like to close.

Back to the North bound leg of the journey.

Sean and I left Smithville fairly early today. We decided to stop in Austin to take in a new exhibit at the Harry Ransom Centre. The Ransom Centre has been a favourite of mine since I discovered it about 5 years ago. It is free to enter and they have very interesting exhibits there that are always changing five

Last year Sean and I saw a one time exhibit that showed the history of censored materials in the USA. It was amazing! It is such a shame it is not on tour.

This year the exhibit is called  "I Have Seen the Future: Norman Bel Geddes Designs America". I am so happy we stopped in to see it. I had never heard of Bel Geddes but I had seen his design work before. From his designs of stages to the miniature cities of the future he built for the World Fair in Chicago, it was all excellent. A catalogue of his work was not available for us to buy since it was the first day open but I plan to purchase it online once I return home. The work can be looked at for hours! I highly recommend doing a bit of Google image searching, especially his stage drawings.

So after taking in some art it was time to head North. We wanted to put some miles in today, so we ended up driving 1,219km (757 miles). We didn't quite make it to Albuquerque, but we are just outside it tonight.

Our sights are set on the Mesa Verde National Park outside Cortez C,O for tomorrow's sight seeing. From there we will just continue North via Utah. Moab take two!

JUDD

Amarillo Ramp was not meant to be. We gave it one last go in the morning of the 31st. We took one more road we found on Google Maps.

Brickplant Road was looking promising. It was paved and a public road. As our hopes started to climb we were met with a white gate and signs telling us the road beyond was private and no trespassing was posted.  As Aaron and I discussed what we should do, we noticed a black truck coming toward us. Aaron got out of the car and the truck pulled over to talk to us.

A still from the time lapse camera.

It became clear pretty quickly that this man had not heard of the Ramp and couldn't help us. He did however let us know "It ain't a good idea to trespass in Texas." Aaron agreed and said "people have guns out here". "Yup" was all he answered and there ended our quest for the ramp.

I figured if Aaron could show me all this neat art, I could at least show him some natural art. Carlsbad Caverns is a great National Park to visit in New Mexico. It is the largest limestone cavern in the Western Hemisphere. It measures about 14 football fields and is 750' under the ground.

Like Arches park, I am not going to post more photos of the cavern, one must simply visit it (or Google some images). It was my second time there and it still blew my mind away. Sadly, the Post Office that use to be in the cavern is gone. Apparently people lost interest in the novelty of having letters and postcards sent from 750' under the ground. Sorry to those I told I would email, oh I mean mail them postcards from cavern. 

The road to Marfa was a great one. No Interstate for us! US-54 is a classic two lane desert road. I think we saw 4 other vehicles as we drove south. 

To get to Marfa we left US-54 and took US-90, another great American road trip road! As the sun began to set, we came across another piece of art.

Prada Marfa

Prada Marfa is a permanent art work designed to fall apart and return to the desert, like so many structures one sees along US-90. Though it is called Prada Marfa it is outside Valentine, TX, with Marfa still 100km away. I would recommend reading the Wiki article on this piece, it is pretty interesting. 

Blue Moon Rising

We pulled into Marfa around 21:30 CDT. Marfa was very active for a small town. We found a bar called Planet Marfa and it was a pretty good find. The bar was in an outside courtyard with a central bar. Picnic tables surrounded it and there was a teepee that had seating sunk below it. It seemed to be the place that locals and visitors came to have a cold one.

We had good fortune to sit next to a local man who gave us the low down on the town. Lodging was going to be tough since there was an art opening that night, combined with the Marfa Lights Festival. We headed out to his first recommendation The Hotel Paisano is a historic hotel and they had one room left for us. The building was used in the film Giant which starred James Dean.

After unpacking the car, we headed back to Plant Marfa, where out local friend invited us to the Gun Show the next day. Yup, were in Texas.

After a 800km day, beers, and heat sleep came quickly.

Marfa was Aaron's highlight of the trip. In the morning we started one of three tours of Donald Judd's works, home, and studios. Judd is best known for his minimalist work. Art history is not my strong point but I found the day to be fascinating. 

We started the morning with a tour of selected works of Judd, Dan Flavin, and John Chamberlain. The tour is put on through the Chinati Foundation, which Judd started in order to present and preserve large permanent art installations to the public. He had purchased an old military base in Marfa to do this on. It was a great tour, and I intend to go back for the full day tour which we missed. No photography was allowed so  I cannot share the great images I saw on the tour. I would recommend reading about Donald Judd on Wikipedia. 

The next two tours were put on by the Judd Foundation. Judd had purchased many properties in Marfa to use as his home, studios and library. Our second tour took us to a bank that he bought and converted to a studio. Everything was left as it was found after his death in 1994. Each building we visited was like a time capsule. 

The third tour took us to Judd's home. His home was in a compound that also included a massive library and studios. One thing that is unique about all of his spaces is his open, minimalist approach to where we work, slept and ate. It all looked like art, was all measured carefully and thought out completely. 

I was very taken by it all. I don't think Marfa would be the vibrant community is today if Judd had not moved there. The art community that had grown out of his presence since the late 70's certainly benefited this community. It was certainly an oddity as far as rural Texas towns go. I look forward to returning and exploring more of the town in the future. 

There was no lodging available for Saturday night as every place in Marfa was booked solid. Aaron and I decided to start our trek to Smithville, TX and stay the night somewhere along I-10. 

Moonlight Drive

We quickly found that most towns were books solid due to either the long weekend or the fact that were were now deep in oil ring country and the most rooms are booked to rig companies. We were lucky to find one room left in the small town of Ozona, TX.

I know I'm in Central Texas when the table behind us lights up cigarettes after dinner. We were not asked for smoking or non, that is not an option here.

It has been a great last two days, and I hope you all have enjoyed our trip so far. I won't be writing again till I leave for Vancouver around the 12th.

Sweet Potato + Marsh-mallows = Texas

730km brings us to Amarillo Texas, one success and one failure on the land art to do list.

We left Gallup, NM around 8:30 MST with our sights on Cadillac Ranch. The I-40  was our road the whole way today. It is a pretty straight, East bound Interstate, so it would make for a boring drive, but the scenery is pretty awesome if you like wide open sky. The best part of long straight roads like this is the conversation between friends.

After a long day of driving, our goal of Cadillac Ranch came visible off the I-40. We we pretty happy to see a bunch of cars parked off the road. Who thought so many people would come to see this?

The old girl parked outside Cadillac Ranch, dirty with the dust of the roads to Spiral Jetty.

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After the excitement of visiting Cadillac Ranch, we were ready to find Amarillo Ramp. We punched in the GPS coordinates into our car GPS and off we went. The Ramp is not so easy to find. It is on private  property and one has to walk to it. The night before we watched a YouTube video of some other people finding it and felt we cold do the same.

Sadly we were met with No Trespassing signs or gated unnamed roads that the GPS wanted us to run down. Aaron talked to two houses we found after driving down small one lane farm roads. The first house belonging to the Barton Family came up with nothing, the second at Circle Ranch also came up with nothing but the friendly advice of "be careful".  The Ramp was made in 1973 so it is not surprising no one has heard of it. 

After several dead ends we gave up our search and headed in Amarillo to find a hotel for the night. Those who are close to me know I am a big fan of Motel 6. In the last 3 years I have stayed at over 40 Motel 6's in the USA, and 1 in Canada. The Motel 6 we found in Amarillo is the best so far! It has been recently renovated with faux bamboo hardwood floors and a fancy style sink to boot!

Luxury at $39 a night!

Aaron wanted a steak, after all we are in Texas. We just returned from the Texas Roadhouse Restaurant (a chain in Texas we assume). Aaron had the Big Hoss Bone in Ribeye Steak (20oz) with sweet potato. He was asked if he wanted his potato loaded. What does loaded mean? Well for an extra dollar you get caramel and, wait for it..... marshmallows on your baked sweet potato, smartly he declined. I might add the potato did come with two almost ice cream scoop sized pads of butter on top of it.

On our way back to the motel, we saw this storage unit which was very proud of its security measures. 

Everything is bigger in Texas

Tomorrow we may attempt another visit of Amarillo Ramp. Ultimately we will be headed to Carlsbad Caverns and Marfa, Texas for more art!