Mother and Son Going to Buffalo, NY – Day 13

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Ohio

Millies Café – “Go a quarter-mile and turn right at the caution light, go about four miles” are the instructions we use to find breakfast. Nothing on the highway identifies the place. Good thing we arrived on Wednesday, according to the waitress, as on weekends it’s standing room only. If you were to see for yourself how sparse the local population is out here, you’d understand how popular this place is to bring people in from near and far.

Ohio

Before and after breakfast, we were dealing with somewhat heavy fog, which quickly burned off into a blistering heat combined with humidity conditions, leaving us feeling like we were in a tropical fishbowl. We sweat. The air conditioner vents in the car sweat. The air is sweating. Humidity is a nemesis and absolutely alien to someone who’s been living in that good old Arizona dry heat. Moving around causes each individual pore to sweat in a kind of torture. Seconds later, every square inch of clothing is damp, but it’s so hot that our clothes are not cooled by the breeze or fans blowing air in the car. We are so hot and humid that we start creating our own personal cloud of humidity. I think we will start raining upon ourselves.

Ohio

The Ohio River Valley in July is not only a nearly unbearable land of humidity but also laden with crops this time of year. From vineyards, corn, beans, and melons to tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, and tobacco, we are taking inventory of a cornucopia of produce here along the river.

Ohio

Towns come and go, none really stand out. The scenery is definitely the winner here until we make Manchester, Ohio, where we stop at a small winery called Moyer on the Ohio. As they also have a cafe on the premises we use the opportunity to have lunch. Mom also picked up four bottles of Ohio wine, and we were right back on the road.

Ohio

Our waitress recommended that we cross the river into Maysville, Kentucky, about 20 minutes southwest of the winery. She emphasized that we go to Old Washington in Maysville in particular.

Ohio

I don’t believe I’ll ever be able to just drive by an abandoned gas station, as there’s something fascinating about these places. My best guess about what the attraction is would be that my imagination conjures the sights and sounds of travelers from the past who are driving somewhere new. Not going to work or school but on a migrant journey following opportunity and chasing new horizons. Without the mass media, we have today, those travelers from a previous age would be venturing into a great unknown where every corner showed them the unexpected.

Those people were fleeing their own uncertainty and inability to deal with particular situations, hoping for a new start elsewhere. When I stopped at a house in ruin, there really wasn’t anything special about the chaos of the place that appeared ransacked following its previous inhabitants abandoning it, but there was one thing that stood out. While everything appears to be turned over the potholder above the stove looks untouched. The person who put that back up on its hook after removing dinner from the oven probably never thought that they’d never use it again.

There are certainly parallels between these rural abandonments and Buffalo, which makes me wonder about what places in America are next.

Kentucky

Great recommendation from the woman at the winery to visit Old Washington. This is where Harriet Beecher Stowe found some of the inspiration to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin after watching a slave auction at the local courthouse back in 1833.

Kentucky

Quite a few old buildings from the 1700s still stand on Old Main Street; I only wish we had more time to visit. The truth is that we had enough time, but the hot weather and humidity were too oppressive for Mom’s comfort, so she waited in the car with the a/c on while I jumped out and grabbed a few photos.

Kentucky

There’s a lot of history in this small town I hope to find again someday in the future, but for now, we are leaving.

Kentucky

Back across the river in Ohio, just before Ripley, we stop to take a photo of a houseboat that is undergoing renovation. Seeing the owner, Mom now has the wherewithal to exit the car. I see how it is; if it’s something my mom wants, she’ll go the extra mile. She asks Bob, the owner of a local upholstery shop, about his labor of love. He’s been working on this aluminum 42-footer for four years now and is almost ready to start putting it back together.

Kentucky

Ripley itself is one of the towns Mom and I swear we must come back to. Sometimes, in the most unlikely of places, the most wonderful surprises await you. Today, it happened multiple times. Driving through Ripley, Mom spots an Easy Step shoe outlet and insists on visiting. Twenty minutes later, with five pairs of shoes and a new purse, she emerges to me, napping in the running car.

Kentucky

A few more miles down the road, and we’re aiming to cross the river back into Kentucky. Our $5 ferry ride has us landing in Augusta, Kentucky, our next amazing surprise location. Not far after leaving Augusta, we are on some of the twistiest roads known to mankind. A light rain starts to fall, but only for a minute before it starts to pummel the earth. Darkness descends in midday, and lightning strikes not more than 300 feet in front of us, making Mom grab my arm so quickly and tightly that I thought I’d jerk the van off the road.

Kentucky

The rain comes and goes while the road continues to twist and turn, zig and zag and we finally return to the road we were supposed to be on. The next stop was at a gas station for the facilities. I ask about a good place for home cooking and the attendant is quick to tell us of Mr. Ed’s in Verona. About 10 miles up the highway and then about 3 miles west, we will find Verona. One wrong turn, and we took the long way down a narrow road, which proved nice for photos but added a few miles to the journey. At the intersection of Mudlick and Glencoe Roads, we see that the girl meant Mr. Herb’s in Verona; there could not be another restaurant in this tiny village.

Kentucky

The food is excellent. The starter is fried green tomatoes; we agree they are the best we have ever had. I ordered the cod, for which they are locally famous, and Mom went for the catfish. For sides, Mom has more fried green tomatoes, and for me, the green beans. Both of our dishes are great, but I would have preferred the catfish. For dessert, we nearly have coronaries before reaching the front door after gobbling down a deep-fried slice of apple pie with ice cream and caramel sauce, an “oh my god!” experience. Feeling like we’re falling behind schedule, although it’s a loose one for sure, we decide on taking the dreaded freeway to shave some time off the driving requirements.

John Wise in Indiana

The idea was to beeline it to Madison, Indiana, and then take Highway 56 across the state as we continue in our effort to bypass any major cities and minimize freeway driving. Right, enough energy to go shoe shopping and eat deep-fried apple pie, but it’s too hot, and her feet hurt, so I have to get out and snap a selfie of myself. I should have worn donuts on my shoulders to get my mom to follow me around.

Indiana

Does that look like Kentucky to you? As far as I could tell, the barge was hauling coal.

Indiana

In Old Madison, we almost ruined our plans. This place must be one of a small handful of absolutely perfect places in America. I had said Harbor Springs in Michigan would be in the top three, and Monterey, California, would probably be there too; that leaves Madison to round out the list. I’ll have to give this more thought and see just what my top 10 favorite American cities would be. I suppose I would also want to include Canandaigua, New York. While I’m at it, throw in Apalachicola, Florida, so there it is a beginning to my all-time favorite cities in the United States.

Indiana

We talk of staying the night after spotting a riverside motel that, for only $59, begs us to stay. Our loved ones back home are begging us to return, so we decide it’s better to get a few more miles down the road before calling it a day.

Indiana

Only 75 more miles were driven before we were too tired to continue. We made it to Paoli, Indiana, but didn’t quite find what we were looking for in accommodations. In French Lick, we stop at the Lane Motel grabbing a nice little room for about $57.

Mother and Son Going to Buffalo, NY – Day 4

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Michigan

Never before have my mother or I had to deal with water that smelled worse. The strong odor of sulfur hits your nose, and then the iron in the water splashing on your lips tastes of blood. Our showers were taken quickly and felt mostly ineffectual. Bottled water was necessary for brushing our teeth.

Stepping outside, though, was a dream with blue skies and not a hint of wind, making for a picture-perfect reflection in the lake in front of our lodging. We are later than usual getting onto the road, seeing we slept in, so it’s already after 9:00 as we continue our march eastward.

Michigan

Out in the middle of nowhere, all we can do is drive, admiring the trees, flowers, and the winding road taking us over the Michigan landscape here in summer.

Michigan

In Marquette, Michigan, we reach Lake Superior again. No wonder this lake feels like an ocean; it’s 350 miles long by 160 miles wide, making it impossible to see the other side no matter the direction you look. A little turned around, we quickly righted our path and ended up at a small corner of the bay. We’re near an old platform once used for filling ore into barges headed to steel mills that dotted the Great Lakes in former times.

A local fish shop looks like it has the potential to offer breakfast. It turns out they sell fresh raw fish and nothing else. The proprietor suggests a place around the corner and up the hill called the Nordic Inn, which turns out to work fine, satisfying our morning hunger attack.

Michigan

Passing the Bahrman Potato Warehouse in Skandia, Michigan I needed to stop for this photo due to the heavy sag of the roofs. It wasn’t just the state approaching collapse that I wanted to note but the fact that it was a potato barn, and in my limited thoughts about growing spuds, I’d not thought of them outside of Idaho. Such is the effectiveness of marketing and branding as Michigan is known for cars and Motown, or can you think of anything else?

Michigan

It may as well be summertime in California and Florida all year round, as the constant buzz of activity and throngs of people suggest that the crowds are on vacation there every day. Here we are moving over some incredibly beautiful landscapes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan in the middle of summer, and there is nobody out here. This northern part of the Midwest doesn’t seem to draw in that many visitors, which is perplexing. Maybe lakes and forests only hold deep appeal to those who dwell in deserts.

Karen Goff and John Wise in Michigan

With the crazy pace of driving now slowing, we’ll hopefully take more opportunities to step out of the car together to experience the places we are passing through. Here we are on day four already, and this is the first selfie of my mother and me standing in front of Lake Michigan. Over the coming 12 days, there will be very few photos of my mother, which is a bit tragic as this was supposed to be something more than a simple sightseeing trip to New York. At 57 years old, my mom does not have much stamina for physical activity, which includes simply walking. Even 11 years ago, when Caroline and I were in America from Germany to get married, she ended up not being at our midnight ceremony on the Las Vegas strip due to being too tired when she was only 46 years old.

Michigan

I wish I was here with Caroline as there would be no doubt that we’d walk out to the Manistique East Breakwater Lighthouse there in the distance. Instead, I have to put it in the catalog of places to return to.

Michigan

I did have the opportunity to visit the Seul Choix Point Lighthouse in Mueller Township, and while I got a panorama from up the tower, it didn’t turn out as nicely as I’d hoped, so there’s this view.

Michigan

It took us until late afternoon to pass from the north of the Upper Peninsula to the south and over to St. Ignace, Michigan, where we are now. It’s too late in the day for the ferry to Mackinac Island, which we feel won’t give us enough time to visit, with the last ferry returning to the mainland at 9:00 p.m.

Michigan

Putting off Mackinac until tomorrow we decide to head down the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. Over the 5-mile-long bridge to the mainland, let’s see what we can find.

A tip earlier in the day suggested we stop to eat at the Legs Inn Restaurant in Cross Village if we were in the area. Things didn’t work out timing-wise to do so, but it certainly becomes a place to bring Caroline. Another recommendation just beyond Cross Village suggested we drive the M-119 scenic road. It was about to deliver a week’s worth of oohs and aahs.

Michigan

The road is a single lane with barely enough room for two cars to pass. Even a separating line wouldn’t fit on this narrow path as nobody could stay on their side of the road. This is the Tunnel of Trees road. It twists and turns, shaded by the canopy of leaves that blot out the sky. As we enter clearings, we have the feeling of having left a movie theatre with our eyes needing to adjust to the bright light.

Off to our right and occasionally visible through the thicket is Lake Michigan. On our left are some incredibly gorgeous homes buried in the woods. The sun is getting low in the sky, with an amber glow developing over the lake. Neither Mom nor I can believe we almost changed the itinerary to skip this part of the trip with the idea we could instead make it all the way to Maine. We are both mesmerized by the incredible place in which we have found ourselves.

Michigan

And then it gets even better. The town of Harbor Springs sits on Little Traverse Bay and must be one of the most beautiful towns my mother, and I have ever seen in America. We agree that Telluride, Colorado; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Pt Reyes or Big Sur, California; Ketchum, Idaho, and Bar Harbor, Maine, can’t hold a candle to the extraordinary combination of elements that make this a top location for both of us.

Michigan

We drive right through Petoskey on the hunt for a motel, though we take a quick pause at a scenic overlook to grab a shot of the sunset. I should point out that this far north, the sun doesn’t actually set until after 9:30 p.m., so we know if we putz around looking at sunsets, it will be 11:30 before we check into a motel.

Drats, turned around, a wrong turn, and finally, we are in Charlevoix but not able to find a quaint waterside room. It is 10:30 when we open our door. Charlevoix in the dark, looks to hold a lot of promise for the morning, so it’s time for me to close this chapter and get to sleep. It’s midnight.

Jutta On The Road – Day 7

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Disclaimer: This blog entry wasn’t written until 15 years after the trip. It should be noted that this was a huge mistake to have not written it way back when. Sometimes, after writing so much about other days, it happens that at the time directly after the trip (or even during), I convince myself that the details are not that important. Years later, these details are that important, and pulling them out of foggy memories is difficult. The photos help and often leave clues, and then Caroline’s memories are usually far clearer than mine. With that said, here goes.

Thinking about the dearth of photos I posted back then due to bandwidth limitations, I’d nearly forgotten just how difficult it was handling the images we were shooting back in the day. First off, we had a brand new Canon Digital Rebel XT sporting 8 megapixels of resolution. Whatever we shot, we had to wait until we got home to work with the images, even if we’d had a notebook: dealing with the images would have been too slow. Once home, they were transferred to a spinning hard disk using Windows XP and Photoshop CS2. Adjusting images was slow and cumbersome compared to these days when I can assemble panoramas made of 10 photos in under a minute, and I can use presets to get a quick idea of what color corrections will look like. Exporting a couple dozen images also takes less than a minute.

But here we are in 2021 and the biggest conundrum I face is not using too many images as I’m the one who’s attempting to write something to each image. The photo above is from Cape Lookout and was taken as we left the state park with the same name. We were out here to have another night in a yurt.

Tillamook means cheese and ice cream here in Oregon, and that means COWS!

We did some backtracking here by driving through Pacific City past the Cape Kiwanda Haystack rock. Last night, we took the drive out past Tillamook Bay, and so today, we are mixing things up by approaching from the southeast back towards Tillamook.

Ice cream stop in Tillamook.

We’re not making a lot of stops as we have quite a few miles to cover today, like most days we were traveling with Jutta. This is Crab Rock, just north of Garibaldi.

The views of things I couldn’t imagine my mother-in-law ever having seen with her own eyes is what drove me to plan these trips and then where to stop. Sometimes, the inspiration for stopping came from the backseat as Jutta would exclaim how beautiful something was. Coastal woods and an overwater cabin reflecting in a large, quiet pond were just one such sight.

Looking back down the coast as we’re about to leave Oregon.

With the addition of the state of Washington to Jutta’s list of places she’s visited, bragging rights to having traveled the entirety of the Pacific coast of the United States is now in the bag for her.

Off in the distance is our next stop on this major road trip.

This is Mount St. Helens seen from the Johnston Ridge Observatory in Washington. On a previous visit, Caroline and I visited the Windy Ridge Viewpoint, which, in my opinion, is the most interesting location to visit in this park. Johnston Ridge offers a great view of the blast zone from the perspective of being in it, while Windy Ridge offers an overview of looking into the direction the blast traveled and getting a great view into Spirit Lake. Windy Ridge also offers a closer view of the Crater at the cost of a more isolated backcountry drive.

World’s Largest Egg in Winlock, Washington. Admit it, you’d have stopped, too.

Mt. Rainier in the distance.

There was no way we were going to let Jutta be this far north on the coast of the western United States and not have her walk barefoot in the sand and surf. Sometimes, I thought she was a bit reluctant but the enthusiasm of her daughter pulled her along.

Speaking of her daughter Caroline.

Staying the night in Forks, Washington, at the Town Motel, so we are well-positioned in the morning to visit the rainforest and Olympic National Park.

Jutta On The Road – Day 6

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Disclaimer: This blog entry wasn’t written until 15 years after the trip. It should be noted that it was a huge mistake to have not written it way back when. Sometimes, after writing so much about other days, it happens that at the time directly after the trip (or even during), I convince myself that the details are not that important. Years later, these details are that important, and pulling them out of foggy memories is difficult. The photos help and often leave clues, and then Caroline’s memories are usually far clearer than mine. With that said, here goes.

As I look back at these photos and consider how it sufficed so many years ago to have a single photo representing an entire day, I cannot believe how far we’ve come regarding bandwidth and storage. Pages were slow to load when overloaded with images, and so in light of that, it seemed perfectly fine to choose a favorite and go with it. Those days were pre-Instagram and social media, even photography had not caught back up in popularity as it had been in the decades before. Now, here I am in 2021, filling in some blanks, and I find it difficult to only choose the 15 images that will now accompany this day spent visiting the Oregon Coast. This was Jutta’s first night sleeping in a yurt, and it wasn’t going to be her last. She loved her “camping experience.” When she needed to visit the loo at night, she nudged Caroline to help her find the facilities, and on the way, they enjoyed the starlit sky.

By the way, it’s been fortunate that I kept nearly all the itineraries I made for these trips. So, in this instance, we were staying at Sunset Bay State Park in Charleston for the bargain price of only $33.

Waking up next to the ocean, it was obligatory that we went for some sightseeing before continuing our trek north.

Our first encounter with the bridges of Oregon had us falling in love with these beautiful structures that add so much character to the coastal drive. This particular one is the McCullough Memorial Bridge in North Bend.

Just this past November 2020, Caroline and I took a tour of this lighthouse once more. We are at the Umpqua River Lighthouse, where we have stopped on every trip we’ve made over the years, and on more than a few occasions, we also stayed in the state park just around the corner.

We’ll never tire of looking through Fresnel lenses, ever. This particular lens has an intriguing pattern of white and red flashes in the dark, a spectacle we are drawn to on every visit.

We finally gave in and visited the Sea Lion Caves, though we had a bit of trepidation that it might be more hype than an amazing spectacle.

Well, two sea lions down in the cave qualified the place as living up to its name, but still, it was just two.

The view from down in the cave, though, is spectacular, even offering a great view of Heceta Head Lighthouse.

Yeah, I know another lighthouse today would have been off the chart, but we had places to be with limited amounts of time. This is the Alsea Bay Bridge in Waldport.

There was no way we’d skip out on a stop at the Blue Heron Cheese Factory in Tillamook for some smoked brie sandwiches, followed by ice cream cones at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I’d guess by now, you can recognize that we’re having a perfect day.

Did some backtracking so we could take Jutta up the hill to another lighthouse. By the way, this view of Bayocean Peninsula Park from the road is now gone as a landslide stopped vehicle traffic. As of 2021, the word is that the road will once again be open.

Cape Meares Lighthouse near Tillamook, Oregon

One lighthouse a day isn’t enough when it’s possible to visit a second. This is the Cape Meares Lighthouse near Tillamook, which is no longer in service. This photo became very special to us this past year as we’d learned that some drunk young men decided to shoot at the Fresnel lens and damage it forever. This image is of the formerly complete and intact lens that had been standing sentry here for more than 120 years.

Three Arch Rocks in Oceanside.

This is my likely very tired and in need of a nap mother-in-law, Jutta. Time is precious to spend with our families, and there will be plenty of time to sleep when she returns to Germany, so my motto was, “Shake a leg, Jutta, we’ve got places to be.”

Our second night in a yurt was at the Cape Lookout State Park for only $33. Over the years, they’ve become more popular and were $57 a night in the off-season last time we stayed in one back in 2019. Tomorrow, we’ll head up to Washington as we continue on this crazy 5,000-mile road trip into the entirety of the western United States.

Jutta On The Road – Day 5

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Disclaimer: This blog entry wasn’t written until 15 years after the trip. It should be noted that it was a huge mistake to have not written it way back when. Sometimes, after writing so much about other days, it happens that at the time directly after the trip (or even during), I convince myself that the details are not that important. Years later, these details are that important, and pulling them out of foggy memories is difficult. The photos help and often leave clues, and then Caroline’s memories are usually far clearer than mine. With that said, here goes.

As often as we can, we’ll stop for animals and greet them. On occasion, they’ll come over to show their interest in us, too, and while we cannot judge their level of appreciation, I can say that we are always delighted.

Of course, we feel the same about stopping for trees, and like horses at fence lines, who wouldn’t love a forest of giants that are encroaching on the road?

The ghostly memory of my mother-in-law will forever be present with Caroline and me across America in all the places she visited with us and expressed her awe, even when she’s no longer in the picture.

I’ve written many words about these two women, but not one of them compares to what these smiles say.

Maybe with enough searching, we might one day find this old bleached-out tree trunk, but will it ever again look so captivating?

This was the color of May 2005; it was exquisite.

The goal for this leg of the trip was to bring Jutta out to Fern Canyon so she, too, could see something very few people will ever have the opportunity to see with their own eyes.

We were not going to leave Fern Canyon, right next to the beach, without Caroline and her mom dipping their toes in the water of the Pacific Ocean.

While the cheese factor is high with Paul Bunyan and Babe standing roadside for Trees Of Mystery, we’ll always find this worthy of some cheap entertainment. As for Jutta and her sense of it? She is German and sometimes a bit too pragmatic for such silliness.

The first-ever kiss I planted on my mother-in-law’s cheek. Hopefully, I never forget how sweet she thought that was.

One of the very few times outside of November that Caroline and I have visited the Oregon Coast. While it’s certainly beautiful, it’s easy enough to reach the northern coast of the western United States even in winter, and so when springtime rolls around, we typically opt to visit the places where heavy cold weather hampers our ease of getting there and exploring.

Looking back at these, I’m inclined to consider the idea that we should make an effort to visit every month of the year to properly decide which is the absolute best time to be here.

This is Face Rock in Bandon, but our destination is a little further north at Sunset Bay State Park near Charleston, as we are introducing Jutta to sleeping in a yurt.

Western United States – 16 Days

JWise Travels

On the road through the Redwoods National Park in California

After giving Jutta a week to recuperate from jet lag, we packed my mother-in-law into the rental car and pointed the car west for a 16-day road trip, her fourth trip to America. Our visit to Death Valley was a high point for Jutta, as it was a dream destination she’d wished to see for many years. From there, we drove north over the coast, pausing to visit the elephant seals near San Simeon, and a little further north, we watched two of the rare California Condors that have been released back into the wild. Slowly, we went north, stopping at Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey, taking photos of the Golden Gate Bridge, taking a walk in the Muir Woods National Monument, visiting Point Reyes, and then the Redwoods National Park.

Sunset over the Three Capes near Tillamook, Oregon

In Oregon, we camped for two nights in Yurts at the Sunset Bay and Cape Lookout State Parks. After years of trying, we finally were able to visit the Sea Lion Caves. We visited lighthouses, the Blue Heron Cheese Company, and stopped for ice cream at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Our next stop was Washington.

The most reflective beach we have ever visited at Pacific Beach in Washington

After going to Mount St. Helens Volcanic National Monument, we cut west to the coast, stopping at Pacific Beach and then continued north for a visit to the rainforest of the Olympic National Park. Northeast, we stop in on the scenic North Cascades National Park before slicing across Idaho to Glacier National Park.

Descending out of Glacier National Park from the east of the park you enter the Great Plains in Northern Montana

This was Caroline and my second visit to Glacier, and this time, we were greeted with sunny skies. It is our intention to one day continue north up the Rocky Mountains to Banff, Yoho, and Jasper National Parks in Canada. Leaving Glacier from the east side of the park, we head out onto the Great Plains, where a few Bison can still be seen.

Monument dedicated to the Blackfeet Nation in Montana

The Great Plains never fail to amaze me. They have their own unique beauty that lends contrast to the coastal anchors on their east and western sides. We drive along the eastern front of the Rockies on our way south to Wyoming for a return visit to our favorite national park in the United States, the mighty Yellowstone.

A Bsion also known as the American Buffalo walking through Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming

Only a day and a half have been planned for Jutta’s second visit to Yellowstone, but a pleasant reminder it was. Soon, we would be going south through the Tetons National Park on our way to Dinosaur National Monument before driving into Colorado for a ride on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Steam Train.

Steam rising from grasses in a barren forest at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming

Up the Mokee Dugway from Mexican Hat, we drove around Lake Powell to Capitol Reef National Park, then Bryce National Park, and finally, an overnight at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Sixteen days on the road with your mother-in-law is not the easiest thing in the world to do, but we did it.