Albuquerque to Upstate New York via Northern Route

[Tom&Shelly]

This is our 4th trip to Upstate NY. Normally, we would have started earlier, like in May, but business with Shelly's family kept us in Albuquerque until it got HOT! (August 12, to be exact.) Our original plan was to stop at Palo Duro Canyon, near Amarillo, then on to see the Pea Ridge battle field in Arkansas, then up through Missouri, and on to Wisconsin, etc. But, looking at the weather, we couldn't help noticing most of those places had triple digit temperatures. Time for a better plan!

We took a bee-line north, to Lake Pueblo in Colorado and Scott's Bluff Nebraska, then turned East to the middle of South Dakota, and on to Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (aren't they the only ones who have one?), Ontario, and New York.

To avoid problems, we pinned our stay in New York by making reservations early, and are spending the Labor Day weekend at Delta Lake State Park. If Labour Day in Canada were on a different weekend, we could have played a switchero and avoided both holiday crowds. We didn't know it at the time, but Ontario kids went back to school last week, so we might have made that work anyway.

But we're here now, and will be seeing family over the next few days. Then we have to figure out how we want to go home. As time and interweb connectivity permits, i plan to post some pictures and pointless commentary on the folder about our "adventures". (FORSHADOWING: Our dog now sleeps in the teardrop with us, and, in a related matter, we had to stop and do laundry on two consecutive days while in Canada.)

Stay tuned...(or not, you still have free will, at least as far as I'm concerned)

Tom

 

[Tom&Shelly]

Our first stop was Lake Pueblo State Park Colorado, along the Front Range, where it was 103 during the one day we spent there. We had a little rainstorm when we arrived, and the three of us hung out in the tear drop, with our AC going. Our dog seemed to like that a lot, and there didn't seem to be any problems, so I took him for a walk after the storm cleared, and then he slept with us that night. The original plan was to have him in the back seat of the Tundra, but, of course, that isn't air conditioned, we'd have to leave windows open which would let rain and bugs in, etc. I didn't think that was a problem but got out voted.

The park is really for boaters. As you can see, there isn't much shade. There are hiking trails, that go up the bluff, where Charlie (the dog) and I took this. Didn't seem to be any hot water for the showers, but it wasn't much of an issue in those days.

Tom

 

[Tom&Shelly]

Our second stop was Lake Minatare State Recreation Area, Nebraska, near Scott's Bluff.

A nice campsite with trees, lower temperatures, and hot showers.

We spent two days there, mostly to see Scott's Bluff National Monument and Chimney Rock, two sites we'd missed several years ago, when we came home from a trip early due to COVID. (We could have seen both in one day, but we're slowing down.)

Scott's Bluff had a ranger talk about settlers heading through the area. We missed the first part of the talk, but I don't think settlers go there anymore; too crowded. There is a hiking trail to the top of the bluff, but there is also a drive and shorter trails around the top, which is what we chose to do.

Charlie makes friends everywhere there are humans. Not always with dogs. That afternoon, someone bit him, and we had to go find a vet. Turned out to be just a pinch, and it didn't seem to affect him emotionally as much as his parents. He got a salve for a few days and is now fine.

Chimney Rock was a beacon for the settlers. Sort of the VOR of the day, for those aviators who are old enough to remember what that means.

You can't actually walk on the rock, but there are a few miles of trails in front, on the plain. No shade, so be prepared!

Tom

 

[Tom&Shelly]

From Nebraska we took a right turn, and spent two nights at Snake Creek Recreation Area in the southern middle of South Dakota, on the Missouri River. Our campsite was right along the river, and Charlie scared me a little when we went down the bank. He sometimes forgets that there are two mammals at the ends of the leash. He made it down flat rocks as tall as him and drank from the Big Muddy, then turned and gave me his best "doggie-doo" eaten grin. Later, he lost a tennis ball in those rocks. He'd really like it back, so if anyone in Louisiana sees it, please me know.

The Rand McNally said the drive to Fort Thompson from the campground was scenic, but we didn't actually find that to be the case. Except for a little park we found to eat lunch. That's Chamberlain down below.

Around this point the weather was cool enough we wanted to grill our dinners, so we stopped at a grocery store in Chamberlain. Shelly stayed in the car with the dog while I bought several days worth of meat products--all we could contain in our cooler. Steak for dinner that night!

Tom

 

[Tom&Shelly]

Our next stop was Split Creek State Park just across the Minnesota border with Sioux Falls SD.

The campsite must have been good; I honestly don't remember much about it, and didn't write anything derogatory in my notes.

While driving through Sioux Falls, we decided we should buy a second harness for Charlie, as the first one was still wet with Missouri river water, and stopped at a Petco. Sports fans will be pleased that we bought a replacement for his lost tennis ball--a football shaped tennis ball felt covered toy that squeaks when squeezed. Now his favorite! I like it because the oblong shape means it is less likely to roll under rocks. There was also a vet there, which was nice because we had recently remembered we'd forgotten his monthly flea/tick meds. We came back the next day and they had already talked with Charlie's vet back home and had the meds ready. I sort of wish I'd use a veterinarian, they seem better organized than my doc and pharmacy!

It was still late August, and Petco already had Halloween decorations, including orange and black do-do bags. I think if we lived on a road with trick-or-treaters, I'd fill some with tootsi-rolls to give to the kids. Jus' sayen'.

We ate lunch at the Falls Overlook Cafe. The patio was booked for an event, but they let us inside, even with the dog. I didn't take any pictures of the park at Sioux Falls, but Shelly has some on her phone. Our cell phone coverage isn't good enough to transfer them, so I owe you a shot or two later in the thread.

Tom

 

[Tom&Shelly]

Our Second day at Split Creek we drove up the road to Pipestone National Monument Minnesota.

This was, and is, a place where regional Indian tribes quarry stone for their ceremonial pipes. It is a sacred place to them, and traditionally was neutral ground, where warring tribes would go in peace.

There is also a very scenic, pleasant, and dog-friendly walk on the grounds

The plant is called Smooth Sumac, and the stone feature is called, for some reason, "Old Stone Face".

Charlie enjoyed the hike, but isn't allowed in the visitor center/museum. (He's barred from all National Park's buildings, even though he never did anything; he never even had the chance!) So while I went in to check things out, he and Shelly sat on a shady bench. A half hour later, I was taking Charlie from the picnic area parking lot to a bench (while Shelly got our lunch out of the cooler) and a bunch of kids started yelling, "There's Charlie!" I was surprised, but waved back and told Charlie he had fans. Evidently, a church group had come by the bench at the visitor center, and many of them wanted to meet and pet the corgi. It's been like that this whole trip.

Tom

 

[Tom&Shelly]

Wow! It's been about a month and a half, and finally have time and interweb connectivity simultaneously to continue this thread.

At the moment, we're at Roosevelt State Park Mississippi, on a warm sunny day, on our way home after surviving a hurricane! Well, actually, we spent two nights in a chalet in a light to moderate drizzle. But the chalet had a TV set and the folks on the Weather Channel a few hundred miles south of us, who don't know enough to come in out of the rain, made the hurricane sound frightening! But that's later in the story.

From Split Creek State Park on the western side of Minnesota, we went to Interstate State Park on the eastern side. Confusingly, there is an Interstate State Park on the Wisconsin side too, which is where our navigation system took us. Far as I know, there is no particular coordination between the two, so, while great in concept, there is a practical flaw. Not too serious though--we recrossed the bridge and found our campsite on the Minnesota side.

Met two other corgis while walking Charlie, but they aren't all that social when it comes to others of their kind. Nice walk along the St. Croix River, right along the campsite. We also met a ten year old boy, a Ukrainian refugee, who played fetch with Charlie, giving Charlie's daddy a nice break. Charlie loves people!

We took a boat ride on the river and saw the St. Croix Cross, a natural rock formation which is supposed to look like a cross, on the Wisconsin side.

I can't say I saw the resemblance, and since that is the only thing we did in Wisconsin, other than drive through it the next day and buy corn on the cob, I can't in good conscience color in the state on our map of places we've seen in our teardrop. More specifically, I can't color it Wisconsin Cheddar Yellow, as I want to do someday, but will color it gray, indicating we drove through it. In other words, it deserves further attention in the future.

Tom

 

[Tom&Shelly]

Our next stop was Porcupine Wilderness State Park on the Upper Peninsula of Indiana. Just seeing if you're paying attention--it's in Michigan.

It's a big park but there isn't enough room, or trees, between sites. A neighbor told us that's typical of Michigan State Parks, for some reason. On the other hand, the campground is right at Lake Superior. Charlie tasted the water and finds it excellent. And he apologizes if his backwash polluted one tenth of the world's fresh water supply.

We encountered our first rain of the trip, good size storms but not long-lasting. A morning storm stopped just as we were thinking of trying the "Lake of the Clouds" hike, and so we did.

It brightened up in the afternoon, so we went out to find some waterfalls. At least one is down an extraordinarily large amount of wooden steps. The folks coming up told us the waterfall was a bunch of water falling down over rocks, which we felt was an adequate description to convey the picture in such a manner that we didn't actually have to descend the steps to see it. Steps are bad for corgis backs, even though he loves to bound up and down them, to the distress of anyone on the other end of the leash.

Eventually we did find a waterfall on a path that didn't have too many steps. I didn't have the camera with me, but I did at the next park, which also has waterfalls. So I'll put an extra shot or two of those in the next post. I mean really, how many waterfalls can one meaningfully see in one trip?

Tom

 

[Tom&Shelly]

We next went to the eastern side of the UP, a drive on a decidedly rainy day. On the way, we spotted a restaurant with enough of a porch that our corgi, and we, could eat in the dry. They featured what they called the "best pasties in the UP". Could well be right! A pastie--at least their pastie--is sort of like hash, with carrots, in a dumpling type pastry. They served it with a beef gravy, and it was, indeed, excellent.

We spent the next several days at Tahquamenon State Park, and I can't pronounce it either

Lots of good hiking, including to several waterfalls. Charlie and I discovered the lower falls on our morning poop walk--er, morning walk. (According to Shelly, we are only supposed to call it the "poop walk" among ourselves. Of course, we all know what we do on the walk. Er, I mean what Charlie does on the walk. Yes, that's what I mean!)

Of course, if there is a "lower falls" there must also be an "upper falls".

And, because I promised more falls in the last post, here's a bonus shot!

Tom

 

[Tom&Shelly]

While we enjoyed the waterfalls, we felt we should expand our horizons a bit for this trip and right up the road was one of the few dog-friendly museums we know about--the Ship Wreck Museum at White Fish Point.

All joking aside, this is the museum featuring the Edmond Fitzgerald, the ship that broke apart in a storm off of White Fish Point in November 1975. It includes a short film about the event, and some artifacts related to this, and other, ship wrecks in the Great Lakes. Rather moving.

Tom

 

[Tom&Shelly]

Just read the AI generated summary of this thread so far. My first impression is that if people want stupid pointless information like that, they should read the original. Oh well!

AI also modified my title, which is fine except we are now in Mississippi, so the northern route doesn’t apply at least for the return. On principle, I oppose letting AI change members’ content, including titles.

Tom (If I were artificial I’d call myself Art!)