Rick had to get up and catch a 5:15 a.m. shuttle to the airport so he could clear customs for his 7:00 flight to Dallas. His quiet as a church mouse departure still had me awake and ready to head across the road for breakfast at Denny's by 5:30 a.m. and gas next door at the Esso station as the free hot breakfast at the hotel would not open until 6:30 a.m. After checking out of the Holiday Inn, it was time to hit the road. Rick's schedule had put me a couple of days ahead of my original return to the U.S. so I decided to take advantage of it as I headed down Highway 2 south from Calgary. At Nanton, we turned west on Hwy 533 to drive through some of the best cattle country in Alberta before we joined Highway 22 and went south to Lundbreck and Bellevue.
At Lundbreck, we turned west on Highway 3 towards British Columbia. In the late 1800's this area had a lot of coal mines and you can still see the effects on the land. We stretched our legs at a rest stop at the Leitch Colleries state park. Prior to coal being mined, the Leitch Colleries site had been used as a RCMP fort to protect outlaws from the U.S. from stealing cattle. In 1903, the town of Frank was destroyed by a massive slide which can still be seen as it thundered down the mountain, killing residents and trapping many miners in the coal mine. The Frank slide moved 90 million tons of limestone in just a few minutes. Coal mining was effectively curtailed in Alberta from that slide.
Then it was west to the Crowsnest pass and Crowsnet Lake on Highway 3 into British Columbia.
From Crowsnest Pass, it was downhill toward Sparwood and the large dump truck exhibit.
After a lunch snack, we headed down to Fernie and then Elko. At Elko, we turned south on BC 93 to cross the border back into the U.S. at Roosville. We arrived at the Customs port at 2:00 p.m. and after 15 minutes, we were back in the U.S. From there it was on to Whitefish for gas. At 4 p.m., we were at West Glacier and headed for Logan Pass on the Going-to-the-Sun Highway. It is 48 miles of mountain switchback highway and the construction delays made it a four hour trip.
At Logan Pass, we were entertained by a mountain goat that was sure he had the right of way. Nothing could sway him from where he wanted to go.
From St. Mary, we headed on US 89 through the Blackfeet Indian Reservation to Browning and then spent the night in Cut Bank at the Glacier Country Inn and I can highly recommend it. We drove 417 miles today.
We were up and on the road by 8 a.m. on the way to Shelby where we joined Interstate 15 to Great Falls.
While we ate lunch, we had the oil changed in the pickup next door at a Pennzoil quick-lube. After lunch, we headed down Montana 200 to the rest stop at the 87-89-200 junction about 25 miles east of Great Falls and then headed down to White Sulphur Springs.
and went west to Townsend and then down to Three Forks where we going Interstate 90 east to Belgrade for the night at the La Quinta which was built on my Great Grandfather's farm there. Today's Mileage was only 304.
Saturday morning, we bought gas in Belgrade and headed south on US 191 towards West Yellowstone and arrived at the park by 10:20 a.m.
We were surprised by the lack of visitors for a weekend in July within the park or in West Yellowstone. We took in Old Faithful once again, and at West Thumb turned north towards the Fishing Bride on Yellowstone Lake before heading out of the park east towards Cody on U.S. 20. At Greybull, we found an airfield with a collection of old airplanes that had been used for fighting fires. Obviously, they had seen better days.
From Greybull, it was up and over the Granite Pass to Sheridan as we were leaving the Rockies behind us. We spent the night at Sheridian's Hampton Inn. We had dinner at the old Buffalo Bill - Sheridan Inn and enjoyed a Wyoming hitching in the ball room as we ate. Some wedding that was! Unfortunately, the wedding party had also taken over most of my floor at the Hampton Inn and they were celebrating most of the night and into the dawn. Ah, youth! We drove 387 miles today.
We spent the early part of the morning updating the trip log for Part 3 and posted it to the website. After filling up with gas in Sheridan, Wyoming, it was down I 90 to Buffalo and east towards Gillette where we arrived in time for lunch and the first Mexican meal in some time. From there, it was put the cruise control on and head east until the Mitchell, SD Hampton Inn was in the windshield. We drove 509 miles today.
We left the Hampton Inn with a storm threatening to drop rain just to the west of Mitchell, S.D. We managed to stay ahead of it and as we were nearing Fonda, Iowa for lunch, Dean H called to say he forgot the restaurant was closed on Monday's and we would gather in Pocahontus some 15 minutes away. Following lunch, a visit to the insurance office and the elevator, it was time to take a look at the farms and then head to the FSA office in Rockwell City before 4:30 p.m.
We managed to make it with 15 minutes to spare but only found one person in the office and she was locking up. No wonder it takes them so long to get paperwork finished. We then headed to Fort Dodge and found the AmericInn full as was Webster City, As rain was now upon us, we headed to Des Moines and got a room at the AmericInn in Grimes. Total miles traveled today was 371.
When we went down to breakfast at the hotel, traffic was stopped as the rain was continuing to pelt the area. We decided to work on the AAII-Peoria presentation for Thursday and other paperwork until after 10 a.m. when we headed back on the road east on I-80 towards Chicago. After fighting rain for several hours, we were near Princeton, Ill and decided to stay at the AmericInn about 4 p.m. there. I got their last room. Total miles traveled in the rain and fog was only 235 miles but it was the most difficult drive of the trip.
Overnight the front had passed and the day dawned bright and clear. Following breakfast, it was time to brave the I-80 crowd towards Chicago and a visit with several old friends and subscribers.
We left Chicago about 3 p.m. hoping to miss the traffic ... fat chance ... and another bout of thunderstorms. It took about 3 1/2 hours to drive back to Princeton for the night. Total mileage today was 288.
We had an early breakfast and then finished the preparation for the AAII-Peoria talk in the evening. We left Princeton about 3:30 and put in the GPS what we thought was the address for the restaurant we were to meet the chapter leaders for dinner about 5:00 p.m. Here's a clue ... make sure you don't have the wrong address in the GPS or you might not find the restaurant. We finally arrived at 5:30 p.m. ... was I embarrassed. Still when I finally arrived, I asked how many they expected at the meeting. Don Wagner said between 30 and 60 but who knows.
Well, we set the all time record attendance for Peoria with 80 persons in attendance for my talk on "What will the 2nd half mean for Investors?" and a lively Q&A session focusing on the Obama administration spending plans, health care reform and cap&trade. If Peoria is representative of fly-over country, some Congress people are in for a tough time during the August recess. Total mileage today ... 74 miles.
The last day of the trip of a lifetime had arrived and perhaps, the most miles to be traveled in one day. It was 789 miles from Peoria to Dallas and we left the motel at 3:30 a.m. with a full pot of coffee, two Kellogg's breakfast bars, a banana, and a can of V-8 juice. At 8:45 a.m. we were on the west side of St. Louis on I 44 and stopped for a breakfast break at the Toddle House where we engaged a Highway Patrolman at the counter about road conditions to the west. "Clear sailing" was his response and it was. Joplin was in the rear-view mirror at noon, Big Cabin at 1 p.m. and we arrived at Mario's Holy Frijoles restaurant in Richardson for dinner with the wife and #2 son, Craig at 6:25 p.m.
Total Trip mileage since June 3rd was 12,874.9 miles. It was a great trip. I hope that you have enjoyed following me and seeing the pictures.
I am ready to do it again. But I think I will take longer next time. Now I know where I want to spend more time.
Fred Richards/Strategic Investing