Desired Future South Dakota visits - August 26th - Revised

[If future circumstances allow ...]

Wall Drug Store was one of the sites we had to pass up this time.  Our "must return home by August 31 deadline" had started to "loom large" in importance.  While we were gone from home, my sister-in-law had been there taking care of her 91-year-old Mom (which is what my wife and I usually do).  [My wife-to-be advised me of this responsibility when we became serious about our dating in 2017.] 

Between her jobs on the West Coast, while returning home, her sister is looking for her next job.  Sometimes a positive response from a prospective employer forces a change in personal schedules, so we needed to return home a day earlier than expected.  Not a big deal, but we did have to adjust our schedule by a day.  

Actually, I was unfamiliar with it and my wife hadn't said much about her 1972 family visit to Wall Drug Store when she was 15 years old.  From an FB comment, I think one of my long-time college friends may have visited there as well.  

So, if circumstances permit a future trip, Wall Drug Store will be in our South Dakota plans.

Badlands National Park was nearby, as well.  But as our plans involved spending a couple of days in Nebraska, we had to bypass The Badlands of South Dakota.

The photos below were taken by my Dad in 1980, while he and Mom were on their final vacation together (he passed away in November 1980).  [I wonder if he sensed that something was wrong and just wanted to spend a little more time together with Mom?]

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Some U.S. National Park Service Badlands Geology is recounted here.  A bit more about Badlands National Park, South Dakota.

Something else discovered after we returned to Georgia:

Shortly after we returned, I found this book in a local bookstore and since I had my recent memories of the Black Hills of South Dakota, I was highly interested in the history and concepts behind what is now known as The Wild Idea Buffalo Company.

The follow-up book is (which I am reading now):

As "luck" would have it, the office for Wild Idea Buffalo Company was about 1,000 feet or so from the Black Hills/Rapid City KOA, where we stayed the afternoon and night of August 27th.  (If only I had found that book before we hit the road.  It would have been a great idea to grill some ultra-fresh bison burgers, while in Rapid City.)

#11 MT RUSHMORE | IRON MOUNTAIN ROAD | NEEDLES HWY

We didn't have time to explore the Black Hills as much as we wanted.  Among other things, as presented in this video, "The Needles" are absolutely awesome.  (I think my camera is crying because it didn't get to photograph those stunning natural spires.)

Rapid City/Deadwood - South Dakota

This was my first visit to the Dakotas (my wife had vacationed with her parents when she was a teenager).  I hope to get back this way, soon and fill in some of the gaps.

One Day at Badlands National Park: Notch Trail, Badlands Loop Road, & vi...

Driftless Area Mystery

Glacial Drift is a general term for Glacial Deposits.  "Driftless area" = 24,000 sq. miles

Metasequoia Forests of North Dakota

The proprietor of this Youtube channel is a bit rough in style, but he is entertaining and informative once you become acclimated to his style and methods.

Originally, our travel plans included a quick southward traverse of eastern North Dakota and South Dakota, and not taking the time to visit the western side of the state.  This video was posted to promote a greater general understanding of the region.

BEST OF THE KEWEENAW!

Mining the Keweenaw

Discovering - Keweenaw Geology

KEWEENAW GEOMYSTERY - Why Is Native Copper Here?

I wanted to spend some time exploring Michigan's "Copper District", but time just didn't allow.

Iron Mountain Vintage (1870-1945) Iron Mine Tour

[Posted after the fact.]  

I wish we had seen this video before we visited Iron Mountain, MI, though as it was, we didn't have time to do the total tour.  (And my wife is partially disabled, i.e., she has to use a walker.)  Despite the schedule restrictions and other considerations, having a better understanding is a good thing, plus she loves to learn new things, as do I.

With some advance planning, she usually is good with working on some of her artwork, while I go "play with the rocks" (as long as I bring something back for her to see).  Plus, it may give her some art ideas.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

WHY IS NATIVE COPPER HERE? - Dr. Bill Rose

Lake Superior and the Midcontinent Rift: the billion year story

Lake Superior's Lava Legacy: An Introduction

Fire and Ice The Geologic Story of Lake Superior with Jim Miller - Webinar

The Geology of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

In the early stages of "geo-learning" about a particular place or area, I guess one needs a bit of skepticism until one can cross-reference different information sources.  On the Pictured Rocks cruise, I am pretty sure we were told that the exposed rocks were all Pre-Cambrian, while this narration says Cambro-Ordovician.  Hmm.

The Legend of the Sleeping Bear

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore | Bushcraft Backpacking, Hiking, ...

Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive in the Sleeping Bear Dunes

[As a reminder, these videos belong to someone else.  I will tell you if and when I post one of mine.]

We were getting a bit tired in the latter part of the day's explorations of the Leelanau Peninsula (along the Lake Michigan Coast, northwest of Grand Traverse Bay).  (It feels a bit weird to say "Lake Michigan Coast".)  Anyway, I regret not getting as many photos as I should have.

It is fascinating how many different Ecosystems (and Sub-Ecosystems) are "built upon the foundation" of these huge sand dunes.  Pierce Stocking Drive is a good place to see at least parts of some of these local Ecosystems. 

Traverse City Road Trip - Discover the top things to see and do!

2021 Northern Adventure Day 4

After the van's "transmission mechanical adventures" in Cincinnati afternoon traffic (caused by low fluid levels) on Day 2, we had to stop in Sharonville, OH, and our van was towed to a AAA shop in nearby Forest Park, OH.   After the (fortunately minor) repairs on the morning of Day 3 in Forest Park, OH, we left the area in the early afternoon.  

Thus, the subsequent Day 3 travel schedule was a bit "altered".  Instead of Frankenmuth, MI being an afternoon stop on Day 3, it became the destination stop on Day 3 (which actually worked out better as far as the Frankenmuth Brewing Co. was "just around the corner" from the motel, i.e., "crawling distance").

My wife was "wiped out" from the hours of riding and after a snack, she "hit the sack", after giving me "permission" to visit the brewery (just to the left of the silos in Figure 1.)

Figure 1.  Looking upstream at the Cass River.  At the lower left corner, you can see the hotel large back patio, which was a fine place to enjoy a "Friday the 13th" breakfast.

Figure 2.  Center of the photograph is an Eastern White Pine tree (Pinus strobus).

A quick look at the "Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees - Eastern Region" offers information on the present range of the tree, which does include extreme northeast Georgia (probably the mountains of Rabun County) and its status as the largest conifer in the northeastern United States.  Prior to overharvesting, due to its usually straight trunk, Eastern White Pines were used for the masts of large sailing ships during the colonial period.  

Figure 3.  Limbs and cones of the Eastern White Pine tree.

After breakfast at the hotel, packing the van, and purchasing a Marv Herzog Oktoberfest CD I dropped my wife off at the Christmas Store (I didn't go in, but it looks more like a mall.)  While she was entertained getting a few Christmas presents, I made a quick stop at a local boutique beer store to grab a few local and regional samples to later share with Georgia friends.

Then we visited the famous Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn, where I had lunch some 40 years earlier.

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

The first planned noteworthy stop of the day was Hartwick Pines State Park, one of Michigan's last stands of old-growth pine forest, before proceeding to Traverse City.  Well, perhaps next time.

By early afternoon, it was time for us to leave out for Traverse City, the destination of the all-important "first leg" of our journey. 

Valles Caldera Geology Tour (Part 6 of 6): Summary and Myths

2021 Northern Adventure Day 3 - Revised

[The added and more significantly revised portions are in italics.]

The 3rd day of the "Northern Adventure" was when planned activities were to "ramp up".  There's a certain feeling of freedom once you are "too far from home to make it back in one day", i.e., there is no turning around unless things are really bad on the home front.  Otherwise, those "holding down the fort" would have to be resourceful without our help.

After the fortunately minor transmission issues in Sharon, OH (just north of Cincinnati), when we pulled away from the AAA garage about Noon, August 12th was "that day" when we felt "really free" from home's responsibilities.    

Not to over-dramatize, but as we are not "spring chickens" ourselves, in-home caring 24/7 for an aging relative with mild to moderate dementia (my 91-year-old mother-in-law) is quite taxing.  

Add to that the adventures of having three indoor dogs (two rescues and the dog I inherited when my daughter's family moved to Phoenix in mid-2015), home life can be tedious, but not boring.  (But it's much better than living alone.)  I am just glad that we don't have to travel with a dog.  (I grew up with dogs and cats, but when we vacationed, they stayed at home, with neighbors checking up on them.) 

With a few exceptions for Northeastern trips (beyond the Mason-Dixon Line) in 1977, 1981, 1983, 2009, 2010, and 2019; since my parent's 1973 Western Vacation, the vast majority of my road trips have been westward from my native Atlanta, Georgia area.  (I lived in El Paso from early-1977 to early-1991, thus the travel patterns were reversed.)  If all goes according to plan, this was to be the most extensive northern Midwest travels I have experienced. 

[Due to the schedule alterations of the "Cincinnati adventures", as the day progressed and my wife's back was hurting from riding without regular stops, the Lima, Ohio KOA destination was scrapped.  As we swung west to avoid the afternoon traffic of Detroit and Flint, it became evident that the planned Lake Erie stop in Monroe, MI would not work, either.]    

The plan was, after leaving the Lake Erie shoreline, to angle westward to U.S. Hwy 23 (which also passes through my hometown, outside of Atlanta) and then north to Frankenmuth for lunch at the Bavarian Inn (where I lunched 40 years ago). 

In 1981, my "new" Datsun pickup - with a camper shell - was a cheap way for a bachelor to travel.  With beer can collecting being a part of my life since 1974, I went to Frankenmuth to visit the G. Heileman and Geyer Brothers breweries.  

After G. Heileman closed, the site was demolished and became the River Place Shops.  However, what was Geyer Brothers in 1981 - with some changes - became the current Frankenmuth Brewing Company around 10 (+/-) years ago.  

From there, the original plan was to continue north to Roscommon, Michigan for the night.  Tomorrow's original plans included visiting Hartwick Pines State Park, one of Michigan's last stands of old-growth pine forest before proceeding to Traverse City.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.  Our van was a little too tall to safely fit in the underground parking garage, thus I had to use public parking across the street.  Not an issue, except when traffic was more active (I'm not as spry as I once was).

[We didn't originally plan to stay at the Marv Herzog Hotel (named after a locally famous polka band leader).  Ideally to save money a campsite would be preferable, but as it was mid-August, keeping the van comfortably cool at night and thereby conducive to sleeping was something we hadn't yet properly addressed.  Also, as my wife's back was hurting, though it was a little pricey, we preferred the comfort and amenities.  If we make it back there, if the budget allows, we will consider staying there again.

After settling in, the hotel was really nice and the staff was very helpful, though some of the amenities may have been scaled back because of the Pandemic.  In addition to the morning continental breakfast, in the later afternoon, they had a spread of luncheon meats, veggies, and dips. 

I wanted to get to the brewery on that Thursday night before it got horribly crowded.  The hotel staff was getting ready to close up the food spread, and I couldn't do the hotel buffet and the brewery at the same time.  They actually had some bottles of beer for sale along with the free buffet, but none of which were from the Frankenmuth brewery (and I was on a mission!).

One of the ladies at the front desk made up a couple of plates of food and delivered them to our room while I was at the brewery.  What a pleasant surprise!]  

Figure 3.  Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) in the center of the photograph.

On the way out, I purchased a mixed six-pack of bottles (five Oktoberfest and one Bavarian Lager) and a t-shirt to commemorate the occasion.  Part 1 of the Frankenmuth Revisitation was complete.

The BIOGEOGRAPHY of the Ice Age

Valles Caldera Geology Tour (Part 5 of 6): Lakes and Volcanoes

The Geography of the Ice Age

I have added this video and the one for tomorrow, for if all has gone accordingly, we will be within the geographic area covered by the Quaternary Laurentide continental glaciers when we crossed the Ohio River at Cincinnati. 

I have been in such areas before, from Michigan (1981), Wisconsin & Minnesota (1982) eastward to New Hampshire and Maine (1977, 1981, 1983) and NYC (2009, and 2010). During most of those times, I was distracted by other things and only devoted photographic time to glacial features in Wisconsin (1982), and Central Park, NYC (2009 & 2010).

Sadly, after devoting time to finding and photographing glacial features in Wisconsin, e.g., Drumlins, Eskers, and such, I lost all of my "glacier" 35 mm slides.  I stopped in a highway rest stop to change film in my Pentax MX camera and somehow, I forgot to reel in the exposed film back into its cartridge before opening the back of the camera.  The photos from most of the Wisconsin breweries (on other rolls) were OK, but the glacial geology images were all gone.  (It wasn't the first time I could have used a reserve camera to have a few duplicate images.)

As for the 2009 & 2010 Central Park photos, those are of "Glacial Erratics" and some "Bedrock Grooving" on the exposed metamorphic outcrops.  (Some other evidence might be present in the diverse rocks and minerals within the sand samples collected from the NJ side of the Hudson River.

So I am hoping to get glacial-feature photos from around Traverse City, MI as we will be there for several days.

Valles Caldera Geology Tour (Part 4 of 6): The Eruption

2021 Northern Adventure Day 1 - Revised

We got a bit of a late start because my sister-in-law had to have some much-needed dental work done this morning.  With this abbreviated schedule, we got as far as Caryville, TN, northwest of Knoxville.  (Just a little north of Rocky Top, Tennessee.  )

As we wanted to avoid the North Atlanta Perimeter traffic and the westward angling of I-75 towards Chattanooga before it angles northeast between Chattanooga and Knoxville, we went northeast towards Greenville, SC on I-85 then on towards Asheville by way of I-26.  From there, I-40 west took us to Knoxville and the connection to I-75.

As we don't yet have a satisfactory way to cool the van at night, aside from an 18-inch "pedestal" fan, if Summer nighttime temps are in the mid-70s or more, it is hard to sleep.  So we sometimes have to get a motel.

[As a side note, when I doing geological fieldwork in grad school in West Texas and New Mexico, in my 20s, I was capable of taking an after-lunch siesta in my camper in 100-degree temps.  I won't say I went into a deep sleep, but I did manage to take a one or two-hour nap, as it was just too hot to do much work between 1 and 3 PM.]

Hampton Inn, the particular motel chosen by my wife overlooked Cove Lake State Park and in the morning light, it was quite pretty.

Figure 1 (Looking roughly NW over Cove Lake State Park, Caryville, TN.)

Figure 2 (Looking to the left of Figure 1.)

Figure 3 (After more of the fog and low-hanging clouds had "burned off", we had a better view of Cove Lake State Park.)

A few yards to the right Hampton Inn had installed three or four steel swings, suitable for allowing couples the opportunity to overlook the lake.

Tomorrow, the goal is to cover about 350 miles to get to the Lima, Ohio area, while still getting into the rhythm of traveling.  I have been this way before, 40 years ago when I went to Frankenmuth, MI to visit the two breweries there, Geyer Brothers and G. Heileman.  Along the way, I stopped to visit the now-demolished Hudepohl brewery in Cincinnati.

The local Caryville, TN geology is quite interesting and might be touched upon in a later post.  As we had a specific reason for getting to Traverse City, MI before Saturday, August 14, time did not allow for more photography in the Caryville area.

Valles Caldera Geology Tour (Part 3 of 6): The Bandelier Tuff

A Few Notes About Our Upcoming "Van Go" Adventure

The concept of daily geo-travel blogging came to me while traveling between Phoenix and Atlanta - in 2015.  (More about that in a bit.)

[For the purpose of clarity, some of my posts were started and/or finished before and/or after the posted date.  There is no intent of deception in my endeavors here.  As for sudden changes in font size, I don't know why this happens.]

First the "backstory" (blame the coffee and forgive the length):

To recap significant events during the first half of 2015, the most significant was the passing of my first wife Marla on May 1, after an extended decline in her health.  Transpiring during this time also was the preparation of moving to Phoenix by my daughter's family, due to my son-in-law having gotten a job there.

As it was, my wife, son, and I lived in the basement apartment of my daughter's home, in the "mother-in-law suite" (as it is usually called).  Aside from being with her Mom during her final health decline - though we didn't consciously know it - my daughter and her husband wanted to let their older son finish the school year in our church's pre-Kindergarten before this momentous move. 

Meanwhile, my son-in-law had gone ahead to Phoenix a couple of months earlier to begin his job and to find a rental home (he would fly back to Atlanta on most weekends).  Aside from her other duties, my daughter also had to supervise the moving process.  They intended to keep the home, as the Phoenix move was not intended to be permanent.  The home had been in our family since about 1969 or so.

After Marla's passing - we think from a stroke - home events shifted to the final moving preparations for my "upstairs family members" and their older dog, who was better with the kids.  And after a few days off, my son-in-law had to return to his job.  With that concentration of events, my daughter didn't even have time to properly grieve over her Mom's passing and that had an extended effect on her, even after they moved.

During a "kitchen table discussion" with my daughter and her in-laws, plans were revealed that included shipping her SUV and their dog to Phoenix, so the family could fly, instead of enduring a cross-country drive with their two young sons. 

Feeling my own sense of apprehension of the coming changes, while my son had a measure of autonomy with a car and his job, I was the one who faced the prospect of being alone.  After searching for a way to temporarily forego the expected emotional vacuum. 

Because of an at-home back injury, I had given up my part-time job as a Land Survey Assistant in March of 2015.  [I suppose "someone" intended for me to be available to take care of Marla during her last couple of months.  As I like working outdoors, I regretted giving up the job, but "life had other plans".]

With not much else to do, I volunteered to drive the SUV and ferry the dog for the almost 2,000-mile trip, rather than their going through the hassles of shipping the dog and SUV.  The idea was accepted, though as our family had not taken any cross-country vacations in a few years, I wasn't keen on doing it alone.

My son wasn't interested in the idea of a road trip with his Dad (so it goes), so I started asking close friends.  Due to their own work and/or family responsibilities, most of my friends were unavailable.  The only affirmative reply was from my long-time (since 1988 or so) beer can-collecting friend, Neal. 

Because my daughter needed the SUV for her and the kids in Phoenix, Neal and I needed to get cross-country fairly quickly.  And summertime traveling with a dog is a challenge, especially with the heat during gas and food stops.

So the basics of "2015 Arizona Trip #1" were;

1) Get to Phoenix quickly - which we did in about 2 and a half days;
2) Chill out and recharge with the family in Phoenix for a few days and visit some breweries, go to a local beer can show, and see some sites; and
3) Rent a car for the return trip, with plans for visiting and photographing interesting places along the way and visiting some of my wife's relatives.

For a variety of reasons, including my own "disquieted" frame-of-mind and traveling with someone, AND leaving my small laptop at home, the task of daily "progress reports from the road on this blog" just didn't work.  Unlike previous road trips and vacations, I did keep some notes on a legal pad, then transferred them to an inexpensive "composition notebook".  

Also, having forgotten my small laptop, I was prevented from a daily downloading of photos from my small digital camera.  [When I began my transition from 35 mm film to digital cameras in 2002, for years, anything more than small point-and-shoot cameras was way too expensive.] 

By late Spring 2015, that was changing, but I hadn't taken the time to check out the Digital SLR cameras.  Prior to the 1st trip, a good friend had given me a Nikon DSLR that he had dropped, I got it fixed for $97.  That was a good start.]

While in Phoenix, I did try to do a "daily download" to a flash drive by way of a flash drive, using my daughter's Apple laptop.  As I am not an "Apple person", I was unfamiliar with "Apple's way to doing things". 

My daughter was too busy and frazzled to do a daily download herself and she was not yet completely familiar with Apple's "iPhoto" program.  For whatever reason, "iPhoto" has an odd way of separating photos into different categories and scattering the icons and files. 

For the non-Apple programs I use, the time-tagged photos may be separated by notable periods of time (perhaps a few hours), but they are still grouped together to allow me to separate them at will.

I don't know if it was my shortcoming or not, but for instance, during a quick visit to photograph Sunset Crater near Flagstaff, I turned around 180 degrees to photograph parts of the San Francisco Peaks.  For some unknown reason, iPhoto separated the Sunset Crater photos into a different file and "hid" the file to the point where neither my daughter nor I could find them on the laptop.

I also lost my Sedona/Oak Creek photos the same way.  Those photo losses were part of the reason for returning to Phoenix again, about a month later.  Other reasons were posted here and here.

Ice Ages & Climate Cycles

Valles Caldera Geology Tour (Part 2 of 6): Catastrophe Begins

How Ice Ages Happen: The Milankovitch Cycles

Classifying Glaciers

Valles Caldera Geology Tour (Part 1 of 6): Introduction

Prior to beginning my original Eagle Mountains Master's Thesis project in 1978, along with three fellow grad students, we had a field trip to the Valles Caldera.  This was due to its relative youth and its relative proximity to El Paso.

Aside from that, New Mexico is probably third on my Top 5 states in which I have spent time, living, working, and/or traveling & visiting. 

Georgia is far and away #1, Texas is #2, by way of estimates, New Mexico is #3, Arizona is probably #4, and Oklahoma is probably #5.  This is why I drift into periods of being obsessed with west-of-the-Mississippi geology.

Glacier Characteristics-Hommocks Earth Science Department

The Supervolcano in New Mexico; Valles Caldera

Glacial Landforms

To get into "the spirit" of Traverse City area geology (much of it glacial related), here presented are some general glacial terminologies and concepts.  The Michigan and Northern-Tier Continental Glaciers encompass some, but not all of these terms and concepts.

"New Mexico's Dynamic Geology" - W. Scott Baldridge

Ran across this New Mexico-related video.

The Supervolcano in Arizona; Turkey Creek Caldera

Valles Caldera Geology Tour (Part 1 of 6): Introduction

Cathedral Valley Road Trip in Capitol Reef

Capitol Reef is one of those Colorado Plateau locations that I have yet to visit.  (A few years ago, a couple of friends went there and they were kind enough to give me some of their choice geology-related photos.)

(Just a reminder, in a broad sense, a "reef" is an impediment to travel, whether on land or sea.)

Zion Canyon: How to Visit, What to See

Continuing to follow this "Zion National Park" thread for a bit longer.  At the time when I visited Zion National Park in 2016, this video was almost 5 years into the future.  (IOW, I wished I had seen this video.)

Lakeside Rockhunting at Huron Shores Roadside Park near Cheboygan

By my own youthful foolishness when I was traveling in 1981, 1982, and 1983 I neglected to even get within sight of any of the Great Lakes.  This being the case, an important goal of this planned adventure is to see, photograph, and dip my hand into at least 4 of the Great Lakes (Lake Ontario is too far off of our planned route).  I would also like to do some brief rockhounding in at least two of the Great Lakes.