Another 1,000 miles down

I crossed the 20,000 mile mark today after reaching my 48th state on the trip. The last 1,000 miles have taken me from Maine through New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Conntecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, DC, West Virginia, and finally to Virginia. This has been a crowded area of the country and I’ve ridden more big roads than I like.

Today I started the 100 mile Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park which connects to the 460 mile Blue Ridge Parkway, so at least half of the next thousand miles will be twisty, two-lane, truck free roads. Plus the next thousand should put me very close to home.

Another 1,000 miles down

19,000 miles came and went on my trip out to the tip of Maine. I drove through the beautiful Adirondack National Forest, stopped in Burlington to see Neil, and added a couple more states to my list.

Another 1,000 miles down

I passed 18,000 miles on my way east in New York after visiting Niagara Falls. This thousand miles took me through Chicago and along the Great Lakes. I went from the open plains into the densely populated North East.

Another 1,000 miles down

Near the Minnesota-Wisconsin border I passed 17,000 miles. The last thousand covered the flat middle of the country from the Colorado mountains to Mississippi River. Eastern Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, the western side of Iowa were all flat or slightly rolling and devoid of trees. It wasn’t until I stopped in Estherville, Iowa that I noticed trees and lakes, two things that often go together. I guess the Plains have enough water for farming, either natural from the sky or from underground, but not enough to support a forest. That is to say I can only speak for the part I drove through, I imagine there’s a forest hiding out there somewhere. Riding across the arid middle of the country I found it very interesting to see that both trees and people appeared more frequently as I headed East.

Another 1,000 miles down

After I left Aspen I passed the 16,000 mile mark. The last thousand miles took me all over the middle of Colorado, one of my favorite states. Even after driving a thousand miles there, all I did was uncover more roads I want to drive, more passes I want to cross, and more vistas I want to see.

Another 1,000 miles down

Driving through Wyoming I reached the next thousand mile mark, 15,000 total.

Before leaving South Dakota I visited several National Parks and Monuments; Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, and Mount Rushmore. I didn’t go into either cave because the tours were sold out for hours. But the visitors center at each told stories about their discovery and geology. Mount Rushmore was great to see in person. This giant American creation captures the visages of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt, and Lincoln. While the scale is enormous, a man is much smaller than a nose, it seems smaller in person because the normal shots are always zoomed way in, just on the faces.

I also stopped to see the gigantic Crazy Horse Memorial where for more than 60 years a sculpture of the Native American Crazy Horse is being carved into a mountain. This colossal sculpture is the largest in the world at several hundred feet tall. The project is completely self funded by donations which makes the progress slow. The sculptor who started the project died in the 80s but his family continues it. There is no completion date set, and no one sees this ending anytime soon. Only the head, which is larger than all of Mount Rushmore, is complete. The body of the rider and horse still remain to roughed out with dynamite and then carved to completion.

Once I reached Wyoming I headed for the igneous Devil’s Tower, which is a logo for the state, appearing on many license plates. There are many different guesses at how this several hundred feet tall tower formed all based on its volcanic nature.

Another 1,000 miles down

I broke 14,000 miles as I drove from Glacier National Park (Montana) to Teddy Roosevelt NP (North Dakota) and then on to Badlands NP. Most of this thousand was covered as part of my Iron Butt ride. After the mountains in Montana I spent the rest of the time in gently rolling hills, most without trees.

Another 1,000 miles down

After crossing the border into Idaho I crossed the 13,000 mile threshold. From Prince George to Idaho I drove through British Columbia and part of western Alberta. There were barely any straight sections of road as the hill and mountains deformed the terrain.

At on point on the Trans Canadian 1 from Banff to Vancouver I drove under a very large new bridge. This bridge obviously made the road much straighter and easier to drive. It was at least 100 feet high towering above the narrow river valley below. I would have taken a picture if not for the signs saying "Do Not Stop" (right before one that said "Prepare to Stop"). After looking up at this brand new advancemenr I glanced down to see the remnants of the old road, smaller than the one I was on. When I saw this I imagined my grandparents on their honeymoon in 1949 traveling the same route, certainly on the smaller old road. I wonder if they looked up to see the construction of my section and thought, next time this'll be a faster and easier road. Because that's certainly what I thought as I gazed up at the 3rd visible incarnation of this road. I've had the thought all over, I wonder how this looked 60 years ago. I imagine the trees and mountains are indistinguishable whereas the buildings, towns, and roads have certainly aged. While progress may seem like a continuum, change happens in steps, sometimes in leaps, others at a snails pace. I hope that my pictures and stories will give me a basis to compare the change when I do this again.

Another 1,000 miles down

This has been the quickest thousand miles so far (now 10,000 miles since April). In the last three days I've ridden 1400 miles through scenic British Columbia from Alaska to Alberta almost exclusively following the Trans-Canada rail lines. Early sunrises and late sunsets have made these long days easy.

British Columbia is a covers a vast area. When I heard in Vancouver that forestry was its main industry, ahead of tourism, I was a little surprised. Tourism in Florida, my reference point, is way bigger than trees. After more than a thousand miles of forest, I can see that it's going to be a very long time before tourism catches up.

On the way to Alaska I drove through the Lakes District which was covered with, you guessed it, lakes, rivers, and streams. Unlike the arid Colorado Plateau and California, BC gets its share of rain and snow. I heard on the radio a couple days ago here that there was a chance of flooding, so I was on the lookout. The above average heat seems to have accelerated the melting of the snowpack swelling streams and rivers. While no river I passed had completely breeched its banks, most were close. Several still sections had glacial blue or perfectly clear parts, but the majority I noticed were brown. The high sediment load gave most of the water a chocolate milk color.

I passed many stands of trees that obviously weren't born underwater yet were in enough to look like they magically floated upright. I imagine the trees along the banks and islands in the middle normally enjoy some space from the water. Many islands and sandbars were submerged and the water on the banks was up to the grass. The normal buffer zone was definitely in use. A number of fallen trees bobbed up and down whole with roots creating a prow.

The railroad seems to have cut a relatively straight path across following valleys cut by streams and rivers. The road, the 16, the Yellowhead Highway, that follows this route is in places built on elevated earth, showing that high water has happened before. I drove two 100 mile sections of road with nothing, no lights, no gas, no billboards, and almost no traffic. Anyone who's worried about running out of space should pick something else to worry about, like watersheds and pollution. I was glad to have a full tank when I passed a sign that said "No services for 202km" (120 miles).

For the most part where I drove was hilly at the most, but as I approached the coast the mountains grew first like on the horizon and then along the road. The road bent north after Smithers to find an opening. The real drama came when I got on the beginning of the Alaska Highway, the road to Hyder. It was 40 miles from the turn off passing between mountains that had the steepness of the Alps or Rockies down to the Portland Canal, the start of the Canada-US border.

Another 1,000 miles down

I've now passed 11,000 miles for the year. This thousand mile stretch covered my ride through Washington and southern British Columbia. I rode around the Olympic Peninsula, visited Seattle, Vancouver, and Whistler.