2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Dubuque, Iowa

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https://goo.gl/photos/1raWKD2JDGJF4PvJ6

Friday, August 25^th – Monday, August 28^th 

Miller Riverview RV Park, Dubuque, Iowa

We packed up and headed south out of the Saint Paul Minnesota area towards Dubuque Iowa. Our goal was to stay on the Mississippi River and experience more of the river and its history. As we drove south out of Minnesota and through Iowa we saw more massive farms along the way. As we got closer to Dubuque and the Mississippi River we noticed that the farming process was different, Kurt called it contour farming. We later found out that there are farming regulations for any watershed from farms that drain into the Mississippi River. Crop row ridges of varying crop types are built by tilling and planting on the contour of the land to create hundreds of small dams. These ridges or dams slow the water flow and increase filtration, which reduces erosion and sediments. It was really quite beautiful to see, especially looking at satellite views of the farms and the amazing designs in the crops. He just loves this stuff and looking at the farmlands.

As we drove along the Great River Road southward, there were a couple of overlooks where we were able to view the Mississippi River and learn more history about the river. We finally arrived in Dubuque Iowa. It was really exciting to arrive at the Riverview RV Park right down at the river level. It was quite beautiful and we were able to watch barges and other boats heading up and down the river. 

We decided on the first full day there to drive around area, particularly in the City and check out the variety of interesting places to visit. The city is a river port, very industrial and with so many original brick buildings throughout downtown. We found a beautiful riverside park that was dedicated to the founder of Dubuque, Julien Dubuque, from Quebec Canada. His grave site is at this park named the Mines of Spain, on a lovely overlook. This park is near the location of his lead mines where he made his fortune, along with fur trading with the Indians. Another day we found downtown along the Riverside was an enormous museum, The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. At this wonderful Museum we learned more history of Dubuque, how Julien Dubuque founded the city and was an important person in the life of the people. There was a lot of information in the museum regarding Mark Twain. We learned how paddle/steam boat building was a major industry in Dubuque for many decades. We were also able to tour a historical river boat that was a dredging ship and built in Dubuque. The museum has a 3D movie theater and we were able to watch a National Geographic movie called Extreme Weather. It was really cool as it was in 4D, which along with the 3D, provided special effects of wind, smells and moisture that coordinated with the scenes you were viewing. It was pretty awesome.

Another day we drove up to Eagle Point Park, where we were able to see some beautiful long-distance views of the river and the Mississippi River Lock and Dam # 11. On another day, Kurt was also able to paddle from the campground up to the dam and then paddle back. He was really excited to again get his kayak on the Mississippi River. From our campground we were able to see a major bridge that crossed the river over into Wisconsin. That highway is along the border between Wisconsin and Illinois, they call this the Tri-State area.

We truly enjoyed our visit to Dubuque. There is so much history there that we learned about. We met a lot of really nice local people. This would probably be the last time we would be crossing or be near the Mississippi River on this trip, it was a fun journey. Next, we will head south into Illinois

2017 Pacific Coast Trip – Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

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https://goo.gl/photos/hEmibXQYf35dLtYx7

Monday, August 21^st – Thursday, August 24^th 

Lebanon Hills Regional Park Campground, St. Paul, MN

As we headed south towards the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, we crossed the Mississippi River a couple of times. Each crossing showed us that the river was getting wider and wider, as some smaller rivers were converging into the Mississippi. Also, we happened to be traveling on the date of the total eclipse of the Sun. We were in an area where we were able to see an 85% eclipse. At one point we stopped at a local Walmart to shop and found a young man in front of Walmart that had a 6 inch square black piece of filter glass and he was letting people view the eclipse through that black glass. It was really exciting just to see one glimpse of the eclipse. The eclipse was really something special.

As we continued to head southeast through Minnesota, we again drove the back roads. We are always in amazement of the agricultural areas in this state. As we approached Minneapolis we were shocked to see what a large metropolitan area that it is. We drove around to the southeast side of the city and arrived at Lebanon Hills Campground. This is a county park with amazing mountain biking trails and a beautiful campground. The mountain biking trails are what actually brought us to this area, along with the fact that we were able to see the Mississippi River again. The campground is a top-notch park with everything we needed. Also, the mountain biking trails were accessible right from the campground. 

The first day we took a drive around town and went to a historic park along the Mississippi River in the St. Paul area. This was historic Fort Snelling, which was active during the Civil War. This Historic Site is on the western bluffs of the Mississippi River, at a higher level where we could look down at the river. We also drove around to other parks where we could be at the river level to view it from there. 

During the four days there we spent most of our time on the mountain biking trails. We were so pleased as the trails were very well-engineered and maintained, with trail markers the best we've ever seen. We truly enjoyed the flowy trails that had an intermediate level of technical and obstacle challenges. 

Surprisingly, Kurt had mentioned that he was interested in going to the Mall of America, the largest mall in the U.S., in terms of number of stores and total floor area.  The Mall has 4 floors and over 7 million square feet. I was not so excited about visiting this mall as I am just not a mall person, but during my research of the mall we found one of our favorite restaurants is there, Cantina Laredo. There used to be one near where we lived in Palm Beach Gardens and it was absolutely our favorite Tex-Mex food in the world, but it had closed down a couple of years ago. With that knowledge I said “heck let's go”. I just wanted to go to eat and maybe just stroll through the mall little bit to check it out. The mall was absolutely the largest one I've ever seen in the US. It was crazy that there were duplicate stores in various parts of the mall. The huge central atrium of the mall was filled with an amusement park for children and families. Most of the amusements were Nickelodeon sponsored. It was so large, we actually got tired of walking around and headed back to the campground.

After four days there we were ready to move on to our next destination. Next stop being Dubuque Iowa, where we found a campground that was right on the Mississippi River. I knew Kurt would love this as he is a huge river fan and loves to watch barges.
 

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Lake Itasca, Minnesota - Miss. River Headwaters

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https://goo.gl/photos/eq63T5LZT1NBxqGs5

Thursday, August 17^th – Sunday, August 20^th 

LaSalle State Recreation Area, Solway, MN

Our next adventure was in search of the Headwaters of the Mississippi River in northern Minnesota. We headed north east about a hundred miles into the Lakes area of Minnesota. We arrived at LaSalle State Recreation Area where there is a wonderful campground out in the wilderness. Just seven miles south is Lake Itasca, which is the actual source of the headwaters of the Mississippi River. 

A first glimpse of the actual river was when we were driving to the campground and we crossed over two bridges with Mississippi River signs. We stopped to have a look and realized it was a very tiny river at that point, only about 6 feet wide, but it was flowing. 

Near the LaSalle Recreation Area there is a canoe access to the river, Coffee Pot Landing. We went there the next day and found a lovely hiking/snowmobiling trail with a bridge that crossed over the small Mississippi River. It was interesting that we found two really nice lean-to cabins along the trail which could be used either by overnight hikers or snowmobilers. 

The next day we drove down to Itasca State Park and spent most of the day there exploring the area. We took the dogs with us as they were allowed to hike the trails, so we had a really nice family day outing. The state park had a very informative Visitor Center, with lots of historical information about the park and all about the vegetation and wildlife. The Mississippi Headwaters Center also displayed the history of the search for the headwaters and the team that ultimately found it. In 1832, Henry Schoolcraft was guided by Chief Ozawigdib to Lake Itasca. We walked up the trail to the actual Headwaters area. At that point water was flowing out of Lake Itasca into the small, narrow beginnings of the Mississippi River. It was really cool that you could walk across the ankle-deep water of the Mississippi River at that point. It was so hard at this point to imagine that this little creek would turn into a gigantic river. We also visited various overlooks and shorter hiking loops within the park, then we had a nice lunch in a lovely picnic area. 

On our last day there we hiked some trails within the LaSalle Recreation Area. Kurt, me and the dogs headed out on the main trail. Kody and I only hiked part of the way and headed back around the campground trail, while Kurt and Luca hiked all the six miles around La Salle Lake. Later in the afternoon Kurt took off with his kayak and went down to Coffee Pot Landing, put it in the water and was able to kayak the upper beginnings of the Mississippi River. Check that off his bucket list!

Next, we will head south to the St. Paul, MN area. There are some great mountain biking trails there and a nice campground.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Bismarck, ND & Moorhead, MN

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https://goo.gl/photos/RYXGGyvLYGk7uHhQ9

Thursday, August 10^th – Sunday, August 13^th

Ft. Abraham Lincoln State Park, Bismarck, North Dakota

We left Roosevelt N.P. and headed east in a straight line on I-94 to Bismarck, the capital city of North Dakota. Ft. Abraham Lincoln State Park was our destination. This park is located along the Missouri River, where the Heart River converges. The first known inhabitants of this place were the Mandan Indians that had built a village of earth lodges on the river bank slope, inhabited from years 1575 to 1781. They were skilled farmers, hunters and traders with other Indians in the territory. Lewis & Clark stopped here in 1804 and found the long abandoned Indian village, which they noted in their journals.  Many years later in 1872, after the Northern Pacific Railroad was built through this land, Fort McKeen was established on the bluffs. A year later, the land became Ft. Abraham Lincoln and was the base of Colonel George Custer and his 7^th Cavalry. This was where they rode out to the ill-fated campaign against the Plains Indians, at the Battle of Little Bighorn. We all know this was his last stand; they were defeated, he and most of the men died in this battle. In 1907, the land was donated to the state by President Theodore Roosevelt and became a State Park. Due to the military Fort being abandoned for decades, the State restored or rebuilt many of the buildings for historical purposes. The surrounding area is mostly agricultural lands on the rolling hills.

The campground was one of the nicest we have ever been in. The grounds along the river were heavily treed with green grass everywhere. The hills throughout the park had several miles of single track mountain biking trails. We did enjoy riding the trails, they were a lot of fun and not too technical. The views from the trails of the Missouri River valley were great. It was interesting to tour the historical buildings and learn more history of the area. Such a beautiful park, we truly enjoyed our time spent there. It was much more than we expected in N. Dakota.

Monday, August 14^th – Wednesday, August 16^th

Buffalo River State Park, Moorhead, Minnesota

On our way east, we had planned to stay in the Fargo, N.D. area. However, I found a great State Park just inside the Minnesota border. The weather forecast called for rain a couple of days, so we decided it would be good time to relax a little and also get some chores done on the camper. The park was very nice; large shady camp sites with a prairie view out the back window. It was in a remote area and was very quiet. We were able to hike some trails around the park, when it wasn’t raining. The small Buffalo River wound its way through the park. There was also a very nice “swimming hole” pool area. This was man-made and spring fed, very clean water and lifeguards. It looked like a lot of locals brought their children here for day use. It looked like a lot of fun, but was too cold for us.

This was a decompression stop for us, so there was not a lot of activities outdoors, thanks to the rain. After this respite, we were ready to head into northern Minnesota. We were then ready to move forward and head into North Minnesota.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Medora, North Dakota

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https://goo.gl/photos/e8TVXB2HNbeHmaux7

Friday, August 4^th – Wednesday, August 9^th

 

Cottonwood Campground in TRNP, Medora, North Dakota

 

We drove east on I-94, crossed over the North Dakota state line and arrived at the town of Medora. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP) entrance was right in town. We were not able to get a campsite in the National Park, so we headed to Sully Creek State Park, just a few miles south of town. We were able to stay there one night, so the next morning we could get in line at Cottonwood Campground in TRNP. A great site opened up just as we entered the campground, so we grabbed the site and setup our RV. The sites were very spacious and we were very lucky to get the site. We soon found out that almost all campsites in the area were taken due to an endurance mountain bike race on the next day, Saturday. The race followed the Maah Daah Hey trail, which is a single track trail, dating over 200 years. The Native Americans used this trail for a trade route between other tribes.

We drove back into Medora the next morning and explored the area. What a nice small, western town, host to the National Park. “Medora was founded in 1883 along the transcontinental rail line of the Northern Pacific Railway by French nobleman Marquis de Mores, who named the city after his wife Medora von Hoffman. Marquis de Mores wanted to ship refrigerated meat to Chicago via the railroad. He built a meat packing plant for this purpose and a house named the Chateau de Mores, which is now a museum.” The rest of the story surrounds Theodore Roosevelt, who was instrumental in the development of the National Park. In his mid-20’s, he traveled to the N. Dakota Badlands and Dakota Territory to relax and hunt buffalo. He fell in love with the area and built a cabin. He later became a cattle rancher. Years later he returned to New York and began his political career. After years in the East, he became a conservationist. This and his wealth allowed him to donate the land that would become the National Park.

The landscape of the Park is so different. The Badlands are a result of water and wind that moved and reshaped the rock formations. The layers of so many ancient times display the history of this land. It’s quite amazing to imagine that this land began 65 million years ago, and now has become incredible rock formations mostly consisting of sandstone, mudstone and bentonite clay. There are portions of the Park where petrified wood remain from the Badlands swampy history. The Painted Canyon, at another south entrance, displays the layers all across the valley, quite stunning.

Kurt researched the Maah Daay Hey Trail for mountain biking. He would have loved to compete in the 100 mile endurance race; probably in one of several shorter miles races. We did get our bikes on the trail at the connection trail from Medora. After finding the correct path, we headed off on the amazing desert trail. Kurt rode out and back around 26 miles. I rode about 5 miles, enough for a good workout. He decided on our last day that he would ride 25 miles from a trailhead further north on the trail, where I could drop him off. We later met in Medora at the Picnic Park, where his ride ended. The boys and I hung out at the park and they got to run off leash and have some fun until Kurt arrived.

On one night, we went on ranger-led moon rise hike. We hiked at Wind Canyon as the young ranger told mythical stories about moon. He was so young, he didn’t really understand the moon missions, as he mentioned they were shuttled up to the moon, he kept mentioning the shuttle. Otherwise, he told some interesting stories and is a nice young man. We watched the sunset to the east and then the moon rise over the mountains to the west. It was a very beautiful evening. Truly enjoyed a new perspective on hiking.

The Park had many hiking trails, but we mostly hiked the short loops or trails at turnouts and overlooks. We hiked a couple of longer ones, so we were able to experience almost all landscapes in the Park. The Little Missouri River flows through the park, but at this time there is very little water in the river due to the terrible drought that this region has been in. This is a very different Park than most we have visited. We did see a lot of wildlife; wild horse herds, bison herds, pronghorn and many prairie dog towns. Our last morning in the campground, we woke up to fog and a herd of bison roaming through the campground. We were amazed at the close proximity that they came near us; we backed away as they rushed between our RV and one in behind us. WOW, it was so exciting, the alpha bull suddenly bolted and took the whole herd with him off into the fog. What a sendoff for our time spent there.

We enjoyed our time here; again, we had no idea what to expect and stayed a few more days than we had planned. Next, heading to Bismarck, N. Dakota.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Billings, Montana

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https://goo.gl/photos/aEKFvTtyQ4MAKdZf7

Friday, July 28^th – Thursday, August 3^rd  

Billings KOA, Billings, Montana

Leaving Helena, we headed east on scenic mountain roads, so much nicer than taking the boring interstates. We drove around and through the Helena National Forest and the Lewis and Clark National Forest, such beautiful scenery. We didn't know what to expect in Billings so we had only booked 4 days at the Billings KOA Park. It looked like a very nice park and it was right on the Yellowstone River, so we hoped to do some kayaking. Approaching the Billings area we we're driving over a high desert plateau, when we were able to see the Billings Valley. It’s a very large city, quite green and beautiful due to the rivers and creeks. Billings is the largest city in the state of Montana and it was quite obvious that it is a heavily agricultural, oil and gas, industrial town. One of the most significant features in Billings is the sandstone bluffs surround the city known as the Rimrocks. The “Rims” range in height from 200 to 500 feet. It is such different geology than we have seen anywhere in the northwestern states.

We had discovered that there were a couple of major mountain bike trail systems in the Billings area. The next day we headed out to Phipps Park, after visiting a local bicycle shop for some repair parts and trail advice. These trails were on the top of one of those Rimrock plateaus. They were actually a lot of fun once we got up there, but there was at least a mile long, steep climb up a single-track to the top, it was brutal. The views from the top of the Rimrock were spectacular, looking back into the Billings Valley and on the other side to the agricultural and suburban communities. A few of the trails were not rideable due to rock fall and lack of maintenance, so we just stayed on the very top rim trail. 

We were able to arrange a taxi shuttle so we could get our kayaks out on the Yellowstone River. We put in upstream at a public boat ramp and paddled back to the campground. The river was moving very swift and we actually did 20 miles and just about 3 hours. Along the way we were truly surprised to see six bald eagles; one pair in trees, two juveniles in trees and then near the end of the paddle we saw two adult bald eagles just sitting on the shoreline of the river. It was amazing to see that many eagles in one day. We had a really fun time, the weather was perfect and it was a great day. 

There was a scenic drive that headed south of Billings and down into Wyoming called the Beartooth Scenic Byway. We took the dogs and planned to spend most of the day driving the amazing road. As we began heading south on the byway the elevation started changing rapidly. We went through the town of Red Lodge at elevation of 5500’, then after 7 miles of switchbacks up into the mountains, we were able to see the peaks and glaciers of the Beartooth Mountains. At one point we rose up into the tundra area which was quite flat and beautiful. There were several vista points and rest areas which made it even more wonderful for the views. At one point we passed over the 45th parallel which is also the Montana-Wyoming border. At this point we drove out of the Custer National Forest and into the Shoshone National Forest. We drove to the highest elevation which was the West Summit Overlook at 10,947’ above sea level, with amazing 360-degree views of the Beartooth Plateau and other mountain peaks. At that point and after 40 miles, we turned around and headed back to Billings. It was a wonderful day although it was a little bit overcast in some places. We were very glad we had taken the time to experience this Scenic Byway and see the amazing mountain range and the valleys. 

The next day we headed out to a different mountain biking trail called the Zimmerman Trail. This trail was on the south side plateau of the Billings Valley and was actually much better than the previous trails we had ridden. We enjoyed them so much we went there two days. We truly enjoyed the mountain bike trails there, along with all the other activities. 

Billings turned out to be an unexpected pleasure, we ended up staying a full week there and we were busy every day. Also the Billings KOA is an outstanding park, one of the nicest we have ever stayed at in the whole country. It also is the first KOA ever created. We don’t usually stay at KOA’s, due to the high prices, but this one was worth it.

This visit to Billings Montana really sealed the deal on how much we love this state. Everyone there was so nice and friendly, just good people! Again, we were sad to leave such a favorite place, but we were ready to head into North Dakota for adventures there.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Helena, Montana

Photo link:

https://goo.gl/photos/Bf69BXeRLuB9H2mb6

Friday, July 21^st – Thursday, July 27^th
Lincoln Road RV Park, Helena, Montana

On our drive out of Glacier National Park we drove back mountain roads so that we could see the beautiful scenery. We passed by several lakes, among them Seeley Lake, which was beautiful. We could see the Mission Mountains in the background. We also passed through Lincoln Montana where there were fires in the mountains of that area. Lincoln is also the location of the 5.8 earthquake that struck on July 6th. 

We finally arrived in Helena Montana and checked in at the Lincoln Road RV Park, which is north of the city. The next morning we headed into the city to the visitor center. This was located in a very historic area of Helena called Reeders Alley. This was the location where the original gold miners discovered gold in the gulch in Helena at the base of the mountain. These four miners had had found no gold throughout the Northwest, but on their way heading back East they said they would take one “ last chance”. They stopped at a creek at the base of Helena Mountain and found their gold. This was the beginning of the gold rush for this city and the founding of the city of Helena. Many other gold miners headed to Helena for their fortunes. At one time there were over 100 millionaires in the growing city, thus the city has a whole neighborhood of historic mansions. Remaining up in the gulch, which is now named “Last Chance Gulch”, are the remnants of the miners original stone cabins, which they abandoned once they made their millions. This city is filled with so much history and eventually became the state capital. 

We also found major mountain biking trails on Mount Helena which we enjoyed on three different days. The trails were well designed and a lot of fun, and provided fantastic views down into the Helena Valley.

Just seven miles north of the city the Missouri River flows through the mountains. When Lewis and Clark came this way along the Missouri, they named this the "Gates of the Mountains" as the canyon walls were very high and as they approached the canyon it looked like the rock walls were gates opening to the river. There was a beautiful lake there with a very nice marina and a lot of boating activities. 

One day we decided to take the tourist trolley around Helena to see all the sights and learn a little bit more about the history of this city. It was very enjoyable to see the mansions and all the major buildings, and listen to the guide tell us more about how the city developed over the decades. After the trolley tour Kurt and I went into the State Capitol building and walked around on a self-tour. It is actually quite a beautiful building inside and out, again there was more historic information in the capitol. 

Kurt took the dogs on a hiking excursion one afternoon along the Missouri River, the poor boys had been stuck in the camper and didn’t have any place to really run. They all three had fun on the hike.

We got lucky again, the Last Chance Stampede Rodeo and Fair was that weekend. We were able to attend the rodeo on the first night of events. It was so exciting to see great PRCA cowboys, the patriotism and excitement of a true Western rodeo. 

We really enjoyed the city of Helena and hope that we can come back here someday. We have so much fallen in love with Montana. We will consider coming back here to spend some of our summers, maybe rotating summers with the mountains in North Carolina and Virginia.

Looking forward to our next stop in Billings Montana. We hear that it is a big city, with some great mountain biking. We will see!