Buffalo to Murdo, SD to Jackson, MN to Lone Rock, WI to Carney, MI

We said good bye to Amy on Friday as she headed back to the Denver area. And we said good bye to Sylvia who decided she would check out Devils Tower. We’re continuing our trek eastward to bicycle on Prince Edward Island, and travel to Deerfield, Massachusetts to see my Mom.

From Buffalo, Paula & I traveled to Murdo, South Dakota. We stayed at a Harvest Host called the Pioneer Auto Museum. They had an excellent selection of antique cars, motorcycles, tractors, and bicycles. The highlight of the night’s stay was the weather. Check out what we confronted:

 

Luckily all was fine. We weathered the storm well.

Here’s a cross section of their vehicles…

But they didn’t have any recumbents!

Saturday morning we were up before our fellow-Harvest Host campers and headed for Jackson, Montana where we stayed at another Harvest Host called Fort Belmont. It was a lovely installation of a fort, but after 300 miles today, and 350 miles yesterday, we were ready for a rest, rather than a tour. It was an early night.

Sunday we traveled 290 miles to Lone Rock, Wisconsin where we stayed at the Fireside Campground. We opted for a campground because we wanted to bicycle on the trail that was right outside the campground. We cycled fifteen miles on Sunday on a gravel/sand path. Not much scenery, but lovely to get moving again.

On Monday we left the trailer where it was and drove to Taliesin, the historic home and studio of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The site is located on 2500 acres on the Wisconsin River just outside of the town of Spring Green. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour we took. On other trips we’ve toured Taliesin West in Scotsdale, Arizona, and Falling Water in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. We both appreciate his architectural style and creativity, but are mindful of its shortcomings around leaks and uncomfortable furniture. Here are a few photos of Taliesin:

This was one of the first buildings on the site; it was a school that his aunt ran.

This was the large meeting hall at the school.

These two photos show the barn area when the location was a working farm.

The following are photos inside his studio for his fellows — the people who wanted to study with him. The fellows worked the farm, built buildings and renovations on the site, and worked on their architectural designs.

Below are photos of his great room at his residence. It had a dining table and event space. Evenings were often spent with music. There was a grand piano, harp and a stringed instrument on display.

This photo shows one of Wright’s designs. It is a piece for a quartet to sit at which has light sources and music stands. It was quite captivating.

I thoroughly appreciated all the lines and angles that were in evidence.

Supposedly Frank Lloyd Wright did not appreciate portrait paintings. But he made one concession for a portrait of his mother, who encouraged him toward architecture throughout his life.

Today we traveled 290 miles to Carney, Michigan to stay at the Rambling Rose Studio. This is a working farm at the top of a hill, only accessed by a road that is named for its mileage from the border. We’re settled in though, and have been able to walk the ground, feed the goats, and admire the chicks and chickens before the rain arrived. Thankfully the largest part of the storm traveled north of us, and the evening was peaceful.

In a previous town, we stopped for a break at a bakery that was selling pasties. Can you guess what we shared for dinner? Yes, pasties! We have to sample the local cuisine. They were yummy!

Here are some photos of the Rambling Rose Studio farm:

Can you see the fawn?

Tomorrow we cross the Canadian border at Sault St. Marie. We’ve done all the required paperwork, so we’ll see how it goes…

Great Time with Amy & Sylvia in Buffalo, Wy

 After 165 miles of driving we arrived in Buffalo, Wyoming on Sunday in the early afternoon making this one of our shorter travel days. We were joined by Amy, who drove up from the Denver area.

Unfortunately Google Maps reports times based on driving the speed limit. But that’s not us. We’re traveling about 55 mph, and when the wind is not present we go 60. Pretty pokey, but it feels safer, and has the added benefit of slightly better gas mileage.

On Monday we did a small hike on the Clear Creek Trail. The section we did was all beside the creek with lovely water and rock sights. Sylvia and I took lots of pictures of course. Here are some:

Baxter appreciated the creek on our hike.

No water here for Paula.

Amy, Sylvia, Paula and Baxter.

The water was quite high everywhere, as the area had had lots of rain recently.

On Tuesday we hiked the other direction on the trail. Again lovely photographs. Sylvia and I were quite slow, as every turn showed us a new perspective we had to capture with our cameras. Amy, Paula and Baxter traveled more quickly, taking the dirt road on occasion. Sylvia and I stayed at the water’s edge whenever the trail allowed. On the way back we again separated into two groups. Sylvia and I missed a turnoff, so hiked an extra two miles! The end of our hike included walking on the state road, and following a rather hilly fence line back down to the trail. We made it though. My step counter told me I’d walked 19,400 steps. We figured this was about eight miles. Amy and Paula did about six miles. Needless to say we all arrived back to our rigs extremely tired. The steaks we had for dinner were delicious!

Here are some of our photos.

This is a picture that Sylvia took.

Paula, Amy, and Baxter (dragging his leash).

While this is just a decaying log beside a rock, do you see anything else?

These signs helped Sylvia and me determine we had walked too far back. Ugh!

The top of this mountain had hoodoos (pinnacles of weathered rock).

I loved the texture of the tree bark.

Sylvia posing for me.

We took it easy on Wednesday and Thursday this week, based on overdoing it Tuesday. Paula and I did a small walk on the same trail in town. The sign posts were quite interesting:

Be sure to read the second paragraph of this sign if you can…

Tomorrow we all head out. Paula and I are headed for the Pioneer Auto Museum in Murdo, South Dakota as our next Harvest Host stop. Amy heads back to the Denver area, and Sylvia is going to find some boondocking area to explore. Safe travels everyone!