I am sure they would. Though you may think Yellowstone National Park exists for the enjoyment of Americans and visitors from far and wide. My recent trip there, however, revealed that instead the park is opposed to the interference of human beings.
Why do I conclude thusly?
Well, it started with the $25 entrance fee. This seems outrageous to me as Mt. Rushmore was $10 and Custer National Park was $12. The outrage doesn’t stop here, friends.
The hotel room which was almost double what we generally pay for a night. Even though we are at a resort, there isn’t any air-conditioning, TV, or wi-fi.
The eco-friendly restaurant boasted sustainably harvested meats, and other “kind” jargon that I don’t put much salt in. The final straw, however, was laid when the bill arrived. We were charged a 4% “Utility Fee.” Allow me to share with you the text from the brochure they furnished upon my inquiry:
To help you fully enjoy this area’s recreation and beautiy, Xanterra Parks and Resorts works in partnership with the National Parks Service to improve facilities. We are deeply committed to environmental stewardship, and to help with the rising costs of servicing our numerous guest facilities, an energy surcharge (wter, sewer, and electricity) of 4.0% is added to your meal.
Further research at the bar (hey, I must be thorough, right?) and guest reception revealed that this charge is added to all purchases at the park.
I leave it to my reader to decide their opinion on this, but to me it smacks of Communism. Thus, after every bill I wrote boldly: “SAY NO TO COMMUNISM.”
I’m sure they leftists pushing this ridiculous hyper-environmentalism would rather just feed people to the bears, whales, wolves etc. One by one, there would be less carbon footprints for the greenies to worry about.
After all, the animals were here first.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
I can't make this stuff up!*
In this journey I have encountered some very interesting phrases and overheard some hilarious conversations. Allow me to share a few with you.
In Jamesport, Missouri:
(Man 1 and Man 2 sit outside antique store while the wives were inside shopping)
Man 1: "I hope my wife doesn't spend any money in there, because we don't have any."
(Man 1 gets up to spit in street, returns to original bench near Man 2)
Man 1: "Is there enough room for me?" (Although Man 2 has not moved an inch)
Man 2 shuffles to one side and says, "I think so"
Unique saying from Lineville, Iowa: "Crazier than a pet coon"
A new noun encountered in Missouri and Iowa: "stool," another name for the toilet
Corydon, Iowa: boasts one hotel named Nodyroc. The Nodyroc hotel is the town's name spelled backwards.
See folks, I can't make this stuff up. I hope it gave you a chuckle.
*Without the help of an additive.
In Jamesport, Missouri:
(Man 1 and Man 2 sit outside antique store while the wives were inside shopping)
Man 1: "I hope my wife doesn't spend any money in there, because we don't have any."
(Man 1 gets up to spit in street, returns to original bench near Man 2)
Man 1: "Is there enough room for me?" (Although Man 2 has not moved an inch)
Man 2 shuffles to one side and says, "I think so"
Unique saying from Lineville, Iowa: "Crazier than a pet coon"
A new noun encountered in Missouri and Iowa: "stool," another name for the toilet
Corydon, Iowa: boasts one hotel named Nodyroc. The Nodyroc hotel is the town's name spelled backwards.
See folks, I can't make this stuff up. I hope it gave you a chuckle.
*Without the help of an additive.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Tourist traps
Corn Palace. Wall Drug. Mt. Rushmore.
There's just not a lot to say about the great American tourist trap. I'd love to thrill you with amazing photos of Mt. Rushmore, but the clouds and rain block the view.
One striking aspect Mt. Rushmore is the amount of foreigners working here. Most of the employees here are Indian or European. Yes, that also means they don't speak English. I guess it is too early in the season.
There's just not a lot to say about the great American tourist trap. I'd love to thrill you with amazing photos of Mt. Rushmore, but the clouds and rain block the view.
One striking aspect Mt. Rushmore is the amount of foreigners working here. Most of the employees here are Indian or European. Yes, that also means they don't speak English. I guess it is too early in the season.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Sunshine and shadow
“It was a long story, filled with sunshine and shadow.”
Today I unexpectedly fulfilled a childhood dream: visiting Laura Ingalls Wilder’s home. De Smet, Iowa is located 55 miles off I-80 but well worth the trip. At the site, $8 allows the visitor to drive a Conestoga wagon, make your own corncob doll, and see the home Laura lived in as a child.
The center also explains the Ingalls’ many travels. Now that I am nine days into my trip, it is a little less fun. My moderate frustrations, however, pales in comparison to the arduous journey a family travelling in the 1800’s faced. I breeze along the highway at 85/mph while they travelled 15-20 miles per day. At night, I have a comfy hotel room, rather than sleeping under the wagon.
Anyways, it was great to have a taste of pioneer life. If you ever find yourself on the way to the Corn Palace, do stop at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Styx at first glance
I really don’t know where to begin. I have been in Iowa since Friday and there is much to recount.
I stayed in a little town called Lineville, named for its proximity to the Iowa-Missouri border. No cell phone reception, no internet, no Wall Street Journal – not even any Fox News.
Lineville, however, was not my original destination. I had planned to stay at the Nodyroc Hotel in Corydon, IA. After a brief but horrid encounter with insects in the bed, I decided to stay with our friend in Lineville, IA. Population: 300.
It is interesting to see what a town boils down to: a church, cemetery, school, gas station/convenience store, saloon, and diner. And that’s what I’d like to focus on in this post: what a teeny town in the sticks has to offer.
Though initially convinced I was in the Styx, a little humility took me a long way. The people are decidedly simple. They use cash instead of credit, own modest homes, and live day by day. In the restaurants, they don’t have TV’s. Instead, people sit and talk after dinner.
Though I am a confirmed city girl, it was refreshing to see this unique and simple lifestyle.
I stayed in a little town called Lineville, named for its proximity to the Iowa-Missouri border. No cell phone reception, no internet, no Wall Street Journal – not even any Fox News.
Lineville, however, was not my original destination. I had planned to stay at the Nodyroc Hotel in Corydon, IA. After a brief but horrid encounter with insects in the bed, I decided to stay with our friend in Lineville, IA. Population: 300.
It is interesting to see what a town boils down to: a church, cemetery, school, gas station/convenience store, saloon, and diner. And that’s what I’d like to focus on in this post: what a teeny town in the sticks has to offer.
Though initially convinced I was in the Styx, a little humility took me a long way. The people are decidedly simple. They use cash instead of credit, own modest homes, and live day by day. In the restaurants, they don’t have TV’s. Instead, people sit and talk after dinner.
Though I am a confirmed city girl, it was refreshing to see this unique and simple lifestyle.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wordsworth
Welcome to the Dairyland. For the past three days in Wisconsin, I have enjoyed a moment at the hearth with old family friends.
Today's westward journey included a visit to an antique store where I purchased an East Lake vanity seat, two claw-footed piano stools, a bird claw and ruby glass lighter, a sterling silver Viking ship and a few other items.
All this leaves me tired, so I will share a poem with you. Enjoy!
Stepping Westward by William Wordsworth
"What, you are stepping westward?"--"Yea."
---'T would be a wildish destiny,
If we, who thus together roam
In a strange land, and far from home,
Were in this place the guests of Chance:
Yet who would stop, or fear to advance,
Though home or shelter he had none,
With such a sky to lead him on?
The dewy ground was dark and cold;
Behind, all gloomy to behold;
And stepping westward seemed to be
A kind of heavenly destiny:
I liked the greeting; 't was a sound
Of something without place or bound;
And seemed to give me spiritual right
To travel through that region bright.
The voice was soft, and she who spake
Was walking by her native lake:
The salutation had to me
The very sound of courtesy:
Its power was felt; and while my eye
Was fixed upon the glowing sky,
The echo of the voice enwrought
A human sweetness with the thought
Of travelling through the world that lay
Before me in my endless way.
Today's westward journey included a visit to an antique store where I purchased an East Lake vanity seat, two claw-footed piano stools, a bird claw and ruby glass lighter, a sterling silver Viking ship and a few other items.
All this leaves me tired, so I will share a poem with you. Enjoy!
Stepping Westward by William Wordsworth
"What, you are stepping westward?"--"Yea."
---'T would be a wildish destiny,
If we, who thus together roam
In a strange land, and far from home,
Were in this place the guests of Chance:
Yet who would stop, or fear to advance,
Though home or shelter he had none,
With such a sky to lead him on?
The dewy ground was dark and cold;
Behind, all gloomy to behold;
And stepping westward seemed to be
A kind of heavenly destiny:
I liked the greeting; 't was a sound
Of something without place or bound;
And seemed to give me spiritual right
To travel through that region bright.
The voice was soft, and she who spake
Was walking by her native lake:
The salutation had to me
The very sound of courtesy:
Its power was felt; and while my eye
Was fixed upon the glowing sky,
The echo of the voice enwrought
A human sweetness with the thought
Of travelling through the world that lay
Before me in my endless way.
Monday, June 1, 2009
A broken heart?
Today I had the great pleasure of driving on a highway courtesy of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The signs were all up, and there were those charming orange cones -- but no workers. Not very stimulating.
Anyways, as goes the broken heart -- I think I am in the heartland, and it seems to be broken.
It was clear that Cleveland was one a bustling, beautiful city. It is filled with beautiful buildings, and the city square boasts a Ritz-Carlton and a gorgeous cathedral. Around the area, however, there are boarded windows, and a gang squad was positioned right outside the Ritz.
I left that deserted city in hopes something more rural would be more to my liking. Lorain. A motel there was $25/night. I take my bed without bugs.
On to the next town-- Elyria. There I found a suite for $99 and the hotel manager who also serves as the front desk person and the maid I suspect, begged us to stay there.
A quick trip to the local Wal-Mart in Elyria revealed a poor-looking family attempting to return a pair of worn shoes to a rather unapologetic associate.
What does this all mean? A brief conversation with the manager/desk person at our hotel, Elizabeth, illuminated the reason for the widespread trouble: a factory specializing in refrigeration, moved to Mexico. This cost the area 2,000 jobs. Some are still unemployed. Other Ohioans will soon face unemployment as GM plants close.
Will this same struggle be found across the U.S.?
Anyways, as goes the broken heart -- I think I am in the heartland, and it seems to be broken.
It was clear that Cleveland was one a bustling, beautiful city. It is filled with beautiful buildings, and the city square boasts a Ritz-Carlton and a gorgeous cathedral. Around the area, however, there are boarded windows, and a gang squad was positioned right outside the Ritz.
I left that deserted city in hopes something more rural would be more to my liking. Lorain. A motel there was $25/night. I take my bed without bugs.
On to the next town-- Elyria. There I found a suite for $99 and the hotel manager who also serves as the front desk person and the maid I suspect, begged us to stay there.
A quick trip to the local Wal-Mart in Elyria revealed a poor-looking family attempting to return a pair of worn shoes to a rather unapologetic associate.
What does this all mean? A brief conversation with the manager/desk person at our hotel, Elizabeth, illuminated the reason for the widespread trouble: a factory specializing in refrigeration, moved to Mexico. This cost the area 2,000 jobs. Some are still unemployed. Other Ohioans will soon face unemployment as GM plants close.
Will this same struggle be found across the U.S.?
Sunday, May 31, 2009
An overview
One flood.
Two adventurers.
A three-day ferry ride from Bellingham to Haines, Alaska.
Four new tires. (And five flat tires).
Six boxes of books.
24 days to get to Alaska.
And it all begins tomorrow.
Do wish me luck friends, and rest assured there will be more regular posts on my part from the view of one with the heart of a wanderer, on a long-awaited home-coming journey.
Two adventurers.
A three-day ferry ride from Bellingham to Haines, Alaska.
Four new tires. (And five flat tires).
Six boxes of books.
24 days to get to Alaska.
And it all begins tomorrow.
Do wish me luck friends, and rest assured there will be more regular posts on my part from the view of one with the heart of a wanderer, on a long-awaited home-coming journey.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Gearing up
The car is detailed, the belongings are dispersed, and Sir Ian McKellen's "The Odyssey" will be here Wednesday. The blog begins.
Come on back for a visit as I chronicle a trip epic in length by modern standards across America to the homeland. It will take me to New York, over to the Heartland, through Yellowstone and on up to Alaska, after a three-day ferry.
It should be interesting. I hope to avoid the lotus-eaters, and I look forward to my sweet homecoming after a five-year adventure.
Come on back for a visit as I chronicle a trip epic in length by modern standards across America to the homeland. It will take me to New York, over to the Heartland, through Yellowstone and on up to Alaska, after a three-day ferry.
It should be interesting. I hope to avoid the lotus-eaters, and I look forward to my sweet homecoming after a five-year adventure.
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