Streakerfreak's and OceanGirl's Move East!

[Streakerfreak]

Hello everyone!

Well its been two weeks since we arrived back in New England and between unpacking, job searches, and wedding planning I have not had much time to myself. I have finally gotten to write a trip report for our move.

The main purpose of this trip was to see areas of the country neither one of us have been too and if we enjoyed a certain area it would be put on our list of areas to go to when we have the chance to spend a summer traveling around the West.

After two years living in Eugene/Springfield Oregon, we decide it was time to head back to New England before our wedding.

Day 1
August 26

Since we were taking two weeks to move across country we decided the best way to get our stuff across was by mover. In the long run it came out to be about the same as anything else out there.

The movers arrived two hours late due to an accident so this caused much stress as there was a mountain of stuff to handle while Jenn was finishing up her last day of work. They were great though and got things done in a very respectful manner.

The start of the trip was not turning out so well. Besides the movers being late, I had a semi flat tire due to a leaky valve stem and not enough time to repair it. Luckily, I was able to get the shop I had worked at down the road to at least switch the tire (much faster then breaking out the high-lift) and I would fix it later on.

After finishing up all the must do things I was off to pick up Jenn and start heading east. It was already about 3pm. By this time we were three hours behind, stressed, and my back was aching so bad I was having a hard time shifting.

The week before the move they had finally re-opened McKenzie pass and since we never had the chance to take this road we jumped at the chance no matter how late it was.

One of the things I will miss most would be taking drives and finding ourselves in the middle of a lava field. Truly awesome sights!

Dee Wright Observatory

Around 6pm or 7pm we finally passed Bend, the furthest east we had been in Oregon.
We arrived at our first stop, Mitchell, Oregon, around 9pm. Mitchell is one creepy town at night. This picture does not do it justice as it was taken the next morning, but when I first arrived in the town I just stopped the truck and watched.

Our hotel that night would be the Oregon Hotel at the other end of town near the only street light. There was even a creepy old weathered man rocking back and forth on an old dilapidated porch near the hotel. He was the only person around:smilies27

The hotel though was very atmospheric and has some nice history behind it. No showers, just a tub, but it was a nice and friendly place to relax for the night.

Oh here is the nice part... $50 for the night!

Day 2
August 27
The next day we were off to the John Day Fossil Beds and it turned out to be our favorite day of the trip...at least until we reached Ontario, Oregon.

First we had to back track to The Painted Hills Region for a little bit.

 

[Streakerfreak]

I was still a little tense from the day before, my heart would not stop pounding, so it was a little hard to enjoy this portion. It was very beautiful!

John Day Fossil Beds has one of the best exhibits I have ever seen at a national park/monument.

We went for several "hikes" while we there to check the area out.

We sat down for lunch under a beautiful tree and we were all alone, not even a car past the entire hour we sat there.

Suddenly, my heart stopped bounding, the pain in my back relaxed, and I was extremely happy.
We packed up our food and kept going west on Route 26. We had the windows down and Jenn and I were very happy. We loved the area between Mitchell and Ironside, Oregon. We will be back here again some day.

Then disaster!

We stopped at the big covered wagon somewhere on Route 26

I made the mistake of leaving the camera in the back seat of the truck and when I opened the door it came crashing out on the pavement.

Polarizer was smashed and the lens barely worked. I could still take images, but I was limited. I only have a few accessories for my digital as most of my equipment is film based.

That night we stayed at a Best Western in Ontario, Oregon. Neither one of us were very happy here and looked forward to the next day. I ordered a new lens from B&H since we would not be heading near too many populated areas. I made sure to overnight it to our friends in Sheridan, WY.

Day 3
August 28

From Ontario we headed into Boise and once again we took Route 26 off the highway into Craters of the Moon.

Along the way there were some very large fires near Carey, ID.

At first they were of no worry to us.

 

[Streakerfreak]

We began to tour the very cool Craters of The Moon and started to notice the dense smoke rolling in, which really started to bother our breathing. We got to as many things as possible.

Jenn laughing at me as I trip.

Inferno Cone

Inside Indian Tunnel

Our destination for the night was Arco, ID.

We decided to stay at a KOA as it would make leaving in the morning easy. Due to the smoke, we decided to stay in one of there cabins for the night. We could leave even early this way since we had deadlines.
We loved them.

Day 4
August 29

This day was to find us heading into Yellowstone. What can I say about Yellowstone...well we loved the area surrounding the park, we thought the park was beautiful, but the crowds kind of turned me away.

Fountain Paint Pot Area

 

[XJxplorer]

More More!!!

 

[Streakerfreak]

Jenn yelling at me because she thought I was going to fall, when I was just grabbing at my back strap that was about to fall.

By this time we were touristed and crowded out so we headed to our next stop... Big Sky, MT.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Yellowstone area of Montana. It's very beautiful.

Day 5
August 30

Today was mostly a travel day with a few short stops along the way.

We headed east on I-90 stopping at the Pictograph Cave State Park which was actually disappointing as there is not much to see but a lot of rabbits.

From here we headed towards Sheridan, our stay for two nights, first stopping to see Little Big Horn. Why not we were passing it.

 

[Streakerfreak]

More More!!!

Its coming. My hand is getting tired as I have two weeks to write up:smilies27

 

[Streakerfreak]

We stayed for two nights at one of Jenn's friends house in Sheridan, WY. Unfortuanlly, we had a set back. Apparently UPS in Sheridan is run by incomaptant people. We won't even go into that. So I was still without a decent lens.

They took us around to all the "Hot" spots that first night including the randomly caged animals and bison.

Day 6
August 31
We did not do too much. In the morning we just headed into the mountains near Sheridan with our friends and that night we saw a showing of Tropic Thunder.

Jenn overlooking her friends boyfriends ranch.

Day 7
September 1

Up until this day we had wonderful weather. But of course the one night we actually camp it rains!

We left around mid morning and headed to Devils Tower where we were meeting up with KC, Graham, and Connie at the KOA there.

It turned out to be a cold, wet night. Thank god we had company to get us through the night.

Can't see it in the pic, but it was misting most of the night. KC seems to have a problem keeping his rear warm. I think we saw more of that side of him that night.

Day 8
September 2

Once everyone was packed up, we headed into the park for about an hour. Its a giant rock, what more can you see.

 

[IH8RDS]

Subscribed! patiently waiting.

 

[Streakerfreak]

From Devils Tower we still had most of the day to see stuff, so we decided to check out Mount Rushmore.

Yup...we saw...time to move on.

This area of South Dakota would have been beautiful, but you have to look past all the billboards and tourist traps. The atmosphere of the area was so-so do to this. We were glad to push father east.

That night we stayed at another KOA somewhere in South Dakota.

Day 9
September 3

Not much happened, just kept driving straight through Minnesota and into Wisconsin.

Reality hit me here when we came across crazy drivers in Milwaukee while in the rain. We spent a week driving with very little traffic. Total bummer.

We stayed two nights in Milwaukee with Jenn's Bride's Maid.

Day 10
September 4

Good news about the lens. After much fighting we were able to get the lens set to Wisconsin.

We all decided to head to the art museum. If your ever in Milwaukee check out the art museum. It is very cool.

Jenn and Becca checking out some Georgia O'Keefe

Day 11
September 5

No pictures today.

Heading out of Wisconsin, through Chicago, into Michigan and drove through the night into Canada with a new plan to head to Montreal and then head south into New England.

Day 12
September 6

By this time I am so tired. We stopped many times for me to rest my eyes while driving through Canada.

We started to have problems with this part of the trip. I finally decided to scratch Montreal and just head east into northern New York.

I finally decided the best place to end this trip would be the place of Jenn's first camping trip and would make for a great birthday present for myself.

The White Mountains in New Hampshire.

We arrived that night at another KOA and our last. I had enough of them by this time.

Day 13
September 7

We woke up early, ate pancakes, and headed to Mount Washington. I have been to Mount Washington many times before to drive it and hike it. I love it every time.

It is not that tall of a mountain, what makes it famous is it's weather. I myself have only seen clear sky's up there once. Usually, we get freezing rain and high winds in August there. Today was foggy going up, but then it cleared up after a few minutes on top:sombrero:

 

[Streakerfreak]

Here is a sampling of deaths on Mount Washington.

I blocked out the most recent passing for sake of the families.

The trail I hiked up on.

 

[Streakerfreak]

We arrived in CT that night.

September 8

We spent my birthday all over CT getting stuff done. Major bummer of a birthday.

September 9

The movers arrived way ahead of schedule.

September 10
To Long Island so Jenn could get some stuff done

The past couple of days.

So why did we move back to CT besides just the wedding. I love rich history. My main interests are in the colonial and Revolutionary war time frame of the US. New England is perfect for that.

The house we live in was built in 1900 which is rather young for the area. The average home dates from 1750- 1870. As I look at the basement it appears to have been built on top of an older foundation. We are right next to the water, unfortunately we can't see it as we have Electric Boat right in front of us. They build nuclear submarines. In the picture above of the house I am standing in front of the building, if I turned around and took the pic I would be carted away immediately and questioned. Its kind of scary. Up the road is the Naval Base and The USS Nautilus, the first Nuclear Submarine.

Two blocks from us is Fort Griswold. Here is the History Lesson.

Jenn and I walked up there the other day.

This is the historic site where, on September 6, 1781, British Forces, commanded by the infamous Benedict Arnold, captured the Fort and massacred 88 of the 165 defenders stationed there. The Ebenezer Avery House which sheltered the wounded after the battle has been restored on the grounds. A Revolutionary War museum also depicts the era.

This is the full story http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/stateparks/general_info/the_battle_of_groton_heights_and_the_burning_of_new_london.pdf

 

[Streakerfreak]

I know having so much death around us makes Jenn a little uneasy. I will post up in this thread again with some other pics of the area such as old houses, other battle sites and massacres.


Well that is a small sampling of the trip. We are happy to be back and can't wait for the leaves to change.

This area is called Rotton Groton. It lacks a lot of things and the naval base brings in a lot of people. I never was a fan of Groton, but the area I really love is not too far. Once we get ourselves settled in, jobs, and are here for a year or two we are looking to move ten miles down the road to either Mystic or Stonington.

 

[Streakerfreak]

There I think I got everything from the trip. I started to trail off at the end. I know I am forgetting something big....

 

[FourByLand]

Beautiful shots Phil!

Glad to see you and Jenn made it safe and sorry we won't get to see you in DV but glad we had that experience!

Best of luck!

:arabia:

 

[Streakerfreak]

Beautiful shots Phil!

Glad to see you and Jenn made it safe and sorry we won't get to see you in DV but glad we had that experience!

Best of luck!

:arabia:

Oh we will be back!

First up is our Honeymoon, then I am starting to plan a trip similar to that James Bay, Canada trip featured in the last Overland Journal, then we will probably come back west and tour the four corners and SoCal again. That is my four year plan.