And the winner is .... (Day 11 - Final Day)
The last day of a trip is always a strange kind of transition, especially when you're going from one lifestyle to another. Road trips seem to magnify this, because there is no time you're so free as when you are on the road, with no real itinerary, no real responsibilities, and no cell phone signal. Of course, it's not a real freedom. No, the bills await, sometimes impatiently, the family worries, and your friends begin to wonder what happened to you. And all you wanted to see were wild horses.
But on to my subject. The winner .... of the Great State Rating Competition, that is. Having been through - let's count - 13 states, which one tops the list? Quick summary.
Maryland. Lived there 4 years. Got a ticket. Low speed limits. No.
West Virginia. Wild and Wonderful. Big hills. Green. Great songs about it. A contender.
Pennsylvania. (Very funny, No).
Ohio. Well, it did look like Ireland for a while. But only for a while. No.
Michigan. Southern Michigan was pretty boring, although they did have beer cheese, and coastal Michigan was pretty amazing up north. Mackinaw City nice, good local beer and "lakefood". U.P. tres beau. Girls not so pretty. Alas... you were so close.
Wisconsin. Not nearly as pretty as I thought it would be. Now, if I'd stopped at a brewery and cheese shop, you might have fared better. But no.
Minnesota. Good times, but in the city. Too many bugs.
South Dakota. It took me by surprise, the black hills, and Mount Rushmore was beautiful. But I still drove through the most boring and flat landscape in the country for a good 4 hours, and that's a lot to overcome. Sorry.
Nebraska. The company was wonderful. Kimball was not nearly as small as I expected (it even had a stoplight!). The steak was delicious. But the state ... eh .... at least it had high speed limits.
Wyoming. No wild horses. Thanks for playing, please try again next time.
Montana. Hmm.... good beer, good coffee, pretty girls, beautiful scenery, big ole sky, mountains, high speed limits, curvy roads. Sounds promising, very promising. Flathead Lake, for fishing. Picturesque mountain vistas. Great college towns. I'm thinking .... this could be it, folks!
Idaho. Raining in Coeur d'Alene, the only thing worth seeing in Idaho. When your license plate raves about potatoes, you know there isn't much to see. It's almost as bad as advertising your state's web site on your license plate (
http://www.state.pa.us/).
Washington. Well, Washington. You faced some pretty high expectations, considering I'd been talking you up to just about everyone in town for the past four years. Or more. And starting out in Eastern Washington (a truly astounding place, astounding that it can be so incredibly boring yet still in Washington State). Well, it was tough. And after Montana, who'd really blame you for losing? I mean, the potato fields, the wheat, the WIND which felt like it was going to tear the driver's side door off the car. And then, all of a sudden, we turned right. (Then we turned left, right, left and then right again). And we were going up alongside the mountains, and things started to get awfully pretty. We managed to pass the slowpokes, and wound around deliciously curvy roads, with the hills rising up so steep beside us that I couldn't see the tops of them out of my window. Ali seemed to like it, and I thought, man, the old girl (that is, WA) is catching up! And then .... THEN, we turned left. You know, into the mountains. The sun was out, the clouds were racing by and we came through the town of Leavenworth - Washington's Bavarian Village. Don't ask me how it got there, but dang if it isn't cute. At least, to drive through. And we left town and wound through some of the best scenery I'd seen in the entire trip - including Glacier Nat'l Park (sorry Montana). We cruised along a river cut into the mountainside, next to steep cliffs and sheer rock faces and the deep green of the trees reflecting in the turquoise of the river, and we felt not a little insignificant. We raced down the mountains, and struggled back up the mountains to Stevens Pass. And then, the most usual thing happened - clouds passed overhead, and it began to rain. Not the hard, lashing rain of a thunderstorm, but the soft, pitter-patter rain of the northwest. I got out of the car, looked at the mountains around me - so steep, so rocky, so ... unpretentious. And I thought, thank God. I'm home.
So, I think it's safe to say that in the final stretches, Washington blew away the competition. Without even trying. And maybe that's what best about Washington. It's genuine. It's authentic. It's real.
Town of the Day: George. George, Washington. I cracked up for about 10 minutes about that. That's really when I knew it was time to get off the road. :)
a la prochaine fois.
~Dan (and Ali)
Going Back to the Sun: Day 10
If the road I traveled yesterday is called the "Going to the Sun" road - what does it mean when I'm taking it in the opposite direction?
Back to Glacier. Picnic lunch in the rain, by the river by the mountain by the glacier. It felt right that it was raining. Not comfortable, but right. Even if it was a 5 minute lunch of a banana and a cheap gas-station sandwich. And some shots down by the rocks. Cold water. Gee. Stopped the car when I saw a load of cars, finally gave in. Thought I'd hike for a few minutes. An hour and a thousand feet of elevation later, I found myself at Avalanche Lake, very glad to have made the trip. Very social deer there. They even walked on the path. Talk about domesticated. Lake was gorgeous, remote, just the way I figured Glacier Nat'l Park ought to be. Glad I took the hike. Lots of people when I started, very few at the lake. Tough trail it was, I wondered why I kept seeing 70-something grandmothers on it. Maybe I was just seeing things. After all, I am conversing with my car. :)
Drive down from Glacier to Missoula, along Flathead Lake. Incredibly scenic. I thought, if I were a fisherman, I'd come there to fish. Then I thought, that's really what fishing is about, so maybe I'll do it anyway. Scenic drive along the mountains, stopped to take some glamour shots of Ali (yes, I know I've lost it). Popped over to see the St Ignatious Mission. Incredible church. Middle of nowhere. Fantastic murals on the inside, over 100 years old, painted by the cook. If I had a picture developed it would go (here).
Town of the Day: Hungry Horse, MT.
Welcome to the Northwest: Day 9
It rained. Lots. It clouded. Lots. It even snowed a little. But it didn't stop me. I saw Glacier National Park. At least until I hit the "Road Closed" sign. Tomorrow I'll go at it from the other side. But first, I will sleep. Really spectacularly improperly late.
Town of the Day: Whatever that tiny little hamlet was, on the little country road, that consisted of a post-office, a couple of houses, and old dilapidated western bar, and an espresso stand. I knew I'd officially entered the Northwest at that point.
Looking For Wild Horses at 80 mph: Day 8
I'd looked forward to driving through Wyoming again about as much as I looked forward to going to the dentist - and not just any dentist, my childhood dentist with the Hygenist named Rex.
I think all it took was someone to tell me that sometimes, if you look, you can see wild horses, driving through Wyoming. I'm pretty sure there is nothing cooler than wild horses. The device that Ed let me borrow to play my iPod in the car is pretty neat, but I think if I could have seen wild horses, I could have done without it. I didn't see any wild horses in Wyoming, but looking for them sure did pass the time.
(I did see what appeared to be wild horses. But they were in Montana. And they weren't really running free like wild horses are supposed to do. They were drinking water.)
It was still a long way between towns, but you know.... it could have been Kansas. Or root canal work with Rex.
Dan Gets Impulsive: Day 7
I'd said before I started my road trip that I wanted to bond with Ali (my car). It struck me that I might have taken things a little bit far when I found myself apologizing - out loud - to her, as we set out in the opposite direction she expected: South, to Kimball, Nebraska. It turned out there was no need, she was fine with it. After all, she'd never been west before.
It was the day before that I'd phoned Annie in the afternoon. How far was it from Rapid City to Kimball, I'd asked. She looked it up and said it was 5 hours. I thought, I could do it in 4. And it would be good to see my friend Annie, since I wasn't going to be able to meet up with her in Europe in the summer, as I'd planned.
I set out in the morning, driving through the black hills. Didn't see an interstate all day. Five hours later, I was in Kimball, where I spent the day hanging out with Annie, cooking for her parents, seeing her classroom, and sitting on the porch. And I learned what it means to "cruise main". For all you non-small-towners, "cruising main" is when you drive up and down main street. Usually a minimum of 5 or 10 times, or an hour, whichever is longer. You also have to keep the windows open and blast music. It helps if your vehicle is camouflaged in color or has a large gun rack. Good times, good times. So glad I can be genuinely impulsive on occasion. :)
Town of the Day: Carhenge. Not a town, so much as a "henge". Yes, kids, it's true. There is a carhenge. I believe the world's largest rubber band ball might have been nearby as well, alas, I was unable to stop. :)
Don't Hold Your Breath: South Dakota (Day 6)
It was a Monday. There are some days you just instinctively lower your expectations. And then, when something even mildly pleasant happens, it completely blows you away. South Dakota was this for me.
I'd been in North Dakota before. I had not enjoyed it. Except for a park where I was told there were wild horses. And I didn't see the horses, so that about did it for North Dakota for me. But South Dakota wasn't all that bad, once I got the first few hundred miles out of the way (this is key). The black hills were beautiful. The Badlands were awesome (I think this is because I felt kind of like Indiana Jones walking around them). Rushmore Cave was impressive. And Mount Rushmore was far better than my expectation. I was even there for the "lighting ceremony" during which we got to listen to a 30 minute speech of nationalistic american propaganda. And I love my country. But please, I was scared we were making terrorists right there in the audience... But I got my long-exposure shot, found a hotel, ate a calzone, and all-in-all, had quite a pleasant day in South Dakota.
Town of the day: Wall Drug. Don't ask.
Guinness, Frisbee Golf, and Raw Fish: Days 4-5
I hadn't seen my buddy Ryan in about 4 years. Pretty much ever since I moved to the east coast and he started law school. And now that both were finally over, we had to catch up. And catch up we did, making our way through pints of guinness, bouts of bocci ball and frisbee golf, and a trip to the Mall of America. Met the fiancee, the lovely Mara Garcia, and her son Alan (who kindly allowed me to sleep in his room, and taught me how to play Star Wars). Learned that fish can be *cooked* by squeezing lime on top of it. And sipped Paddy whiskey and watched Father Ted.
It was a good weekend.
U.P. UP ? : Day 3
James Joyce anyone??? Upper Peninsula. Right.
Drove across the Mackinac Bridge UP to the U.P., where Ali and I had a lovely drive along the coast of Lake Michigan. It was like cheap oceanfront property. I liked how they called local seafood "lakefood" although somehow that makes it sound a little disgusting. Ate lunch at the Swedish Pantry in Escanaba, MI. The road signs all said it was the best. I'm a sucker for good advertising. It was okay, but the decor was fantastic with old clocks and lots of umlauts. Made me wonder if someone confused Sweden with Switzerland! I felt like I was doing something, in my own small way, for my heritage. Aside from having the last name Wicklund, that is. The nice, non-swedish lady at the counter suggested that I HAD to drive down to the bottom of main street because there was a lovely park there. Well, I was in a hurry, but I thought, why not. The funny thing is that when you drive across the country, you see an awful lot of places. Big cities, small towns, national parks, forests, and coastlines. But the best places are always the little things that you discover where you're not expecting to. Everyone expects Yellowstone National Park to be beautiful. It is. But who knew the university campus in Bozeman was so pretty? Well, maybe you did. I didn't, at the time. Whatever, sidetracking sidetracking. The long and the short of it was, I found such a nice beach, inhabited by such, errr, nice folks (ahem), that I just had to stay a little while. So I cut Wisconsin a little short. It wasn't that nice anyway.
Made it to St Paul, Minnesoooota around 7.30, in time to meet Ryan and his fiancee Mara Garcia, for dinner at a Russian restaurant downtown.
Town of the day: Frankenmuth. 1-800-fun-town.
Flushing to Flushing: Day 2
On this day I discovered that there also exists a Flushing, Michigan.
Up by (holy!) Toledo, lunch in Ann Arbor. Thought about seeing the University I almost went to. Instead ate lunch at a grocery store. Up, up, up (u.p. later), bypass Detroit at all costs they said. Well I bypassed it at no cost. Take a jaunt to the coast in Bay City to see Lake Huron. Couldn't see Lake Huron, but saw a lot of car dealerships and a cheese shop where they sold "beer cheese". What a wonderful invention. Got stuck behind a truck with a "Git 'R Done" sticker on the back and decided it was time to hit the interstate again. Boring boring boring boring, oh kinda pretty, boring boring then hang a left at the town of Gaylord and oh! Pretty. Water! Driving out along the coast, the town of Charlevoix - lending credence to my belief that everything with a french name is better. Beauty of a coastal town, reminded me of Nova Scotia, particularly a more picturesque version of Cheticamp. Kept going along the coast, took a route I didn't know but it followed the coast and the nice thing about Michigan is that if you keep following the coast you're bound to hit the top. Which, in due time, I did. At sunset, got the requisite lovely photos of the Mackinac Bridge at sunset. Dinner at a local saloon with some fried walleye and a pint of local brew.
Town of the day:
Michilichiwichigan. (Sounds like a good place for a picca-nicca-wicca-dicca, if you ask me).
Cross-Country with Ali: Day 1
I thought about titling this post "Europhile re-discovers his inner American". But I didn't.
Quick synopsis of the day and the day leading up to the day. Why quick? Because I am lying on a motel bed at a super 8 and it's midnight. Why synopsis? Because I'm going to be an english teacher - apparently - so I should start using any vocabulary I happen to retain.
Dan's going away party, take 6. At Flanagan's but they ran out of guinness and it was just too bad an omen for my last night. Pulled out of the garage at 13.54 EDT, 1 June 2005 (anno dominus). Driving through Maryland. Phone calls to ask for directions so I didn't have to read my map while driving - this practice abandoned around 7.46pm somewhere in Ohio. Pretty scenery in western Maryland, bastard cops though. Think it was the Howard Dean sticker that did me in. The town of Flintstone. Wanted to stop at a used car lot and ask if I could test drive a .... okay okay, lame. Then wild and wonderful west virginia (yeeee-haw). Poor Ali, weighed down like a ... like a .... hummer??? Those WVA hills were really somethin'. Ah, then Pennsylvania (i hate you i hate you i hate you i hate you i hate you i hate you i hate you). Boycotted that state even though I needed fuel and some cuisine. Found that back in WVA again (it keeps coming back). Finally made it to Ohio - beautiful countryside. Reminds me of Ireland. Of course, pretty much any pretty countryside reminds me of Ireland. But trust me it was nice. 'Specially with the sunset later on. Don't worry, I wasn't driving, reading my map, adjusting the iPod, AND watching the sunset at the same time. Even I know my limits (3 things at once is plenty). And I didn't read my book while driving. Only in Pennsylvania, and I don't think that was really driving since I could have walked faster. The town of "Newcomerstown", how frighteningly original. Because the other towns didn't start with "newcomers" I suppose. A quick double-back to avoid Columbus and head for Cleveland. Frantically debating with myself (Ali no help at all). But the dots won. The dots, you know, on the map. The ones that mean "scenic route". Up by Cleveland, so up I went. More traffic. Good tunes. Almost a free place to stay but this is nicer, with the wireless internet, my own bed (two even) and a noisy air conditioner, unfortunately necessary. Weird guy at the rest stop - do ya think? Please stop following me, you odd, odd little man.
The town of the day: Flushing, OH. Those poor parents.
Tomorrow, better scenery, better food, fewer states, and definitely no Pennsylvania.
p.s. Ali is the car. :)
