And Then We Got Pie (A Compilation of Mini-Adventures)

 After leaving Crater Lake, we also went to the nearby Newberry National Volcanic Monument, although it was nearly five of the clock (What the abbreviation o'clock stands for), and the visitor's center closed at five.  However, we could go out on the trails, Timber could come!

The mountain of lava rocks

Timber liked these ground squirrels which perched themselves on rock outcroppings!

The view from Phil Brogan Overlook. (Phil Brogan was a distinguished Oregon journalist and author)
It overlooks about half of the glaciers in Oregon.  

Sagebrush and other small plants in the lava rocks. 

Once we headed out of our campsite (Eastbound :( ) in the morning, we were launched right back into our expanses of nothing.  But this expanse of nothing was accompanied by the cruel twist that we were running out of gas, and had no cell service, but there was a gas truck in front of us.  

It's hard to tell from this picture, but the low fuel light is on, and the needle is right by the "E"

The stars aligned! We did make it to a gas station, and after we got fuel, we drove into the parking lot of the neighboring diner, and Dad went out to get forks from the storage under Karen's bed.  While he was out, a man who worked in the diner was changing the sign and asked Dad if we were coming in for lunch.  (Despite the fact that Karen and I were just eating breakfast at this point, we had gone through a change in time zone, and it was almost lunchtime.)  Dad said that we were just passing through, but the man said that they had homemade pie.  That was enough to get us in! 

Decisions, Decisions! Look at all that pie!

The pie is made by the owner of the diner every morning as As it ended up, we each got a serving of pie ala mode (Ala mode literally translates to "in the style" or "in the usual manner" and could mean anything, It could even mean pie served with pickles on top.  However, it typically means pie with a scoop of ice cream, which it was!)  I had peanut butter and chocolate pie, Mom and Dad had caramel apple nut pie, and Karen had pecan pie.  It was really good! We (Dad) then decided it was a long drive, and that we needed pie.  We then bought a Marionberry pie.  Marionberry is a cross between two blackberry types and counts for much of the blackberry production in Oregon.  (If you can't tell by now, we like to keep Harvey filled up with all sorts of good food!)

The last time we went Cross Country, Dad recounted that the best steak and potatoes he has had was in Idaho.  So, last trip, we got steak in Idaho.  This trip, after leaving Oregon, we headed into Idaho, and we picked a city, Pocatello, which we would reach just in time for an early dinner, and using the wonders of the great google, Karen chose a restaurant.  On our way there, I grilled (pardon my pun) Dad more about the steak he had, and asked him if he knew what restaurant he was in, and to my surprise (it has been over 30 years since his trip out west when he was 19) he was able to quickly state, Sandpiper Beef and Spirits in American Falls saying that the steak was that good. As if by fate, the restaurant that Karen picked was called Sandpiper Restaurant.  We wondered if they were somehow connected or if Dad got the city wrong, as American Falls was only a few towns over from Pocatello.  We had a really good meal, and we asked the waiter if there were any other Sandpiper Restaurants anywhere, and he said there was one in American Falls and there used to be one in Boise.  A couple and their friend opened the Sandpiper as business partners a long time ago, and they still exist.  

The sign

As we were driving through Idaho, we actually passed the little diner we stopped at last trip as well as the Oregon Trail Museum, or Sasquatch Museum as Dad called it due to the large exhibit on Sasquatch that we saw when we visited.  

Driving through Wyoming, (we were actually close to Yellowstone), we stopped at Fossil Butte National Monument, but as Mom and Dad had gotten an early start, we arrived before the Visitor's Center was open, we drove down the road and let Timber out to run, and then we had a breakfast of pie!  Driving up the road to the Visitor's Center, they had a timeline which went from the time of the ancient Archea bacteria, to the small (only a couple of centimeters) expanse of recorded human history. We were amazed by the insignificant blip of time which makes up human history, while the earth itself has been around for billions of years.  Inside the visitors center, there were fossils on display.  Fossil Butte is part of the remains of a 50 million year old lakebed which we now call Fossil Lake.  Within the bounds of the lake are some of the best preserved fossils, giving the area the nickname of Wyoming's aquarium in stone.  Fossils are not excavated from within the bounds of the park, although they are from some of the surrounding areas.  These fossils have given a good insight into the history of the lake and have been used in the study of evolution and finding the closest living relative to the species found. The fossils as well as the rock itself have given proof to both freshwater and saltwater phases of the lake.  We didn't go up to the butte because of time constraints, but you could see it from the road and the visitor's center.  

The butte and the sign, neatly wrapped into one picture

Around noontime, we decided we could take a detour into Colorado and only add three hours (of driving time).  So we headed South into Colorado, complete with another gas scare and one of the first rainstorms we had seen all trip, which we would drive through, and then it would catch up with us again, and then we would drive through it, and the cycle just kept repeating.   We stopped in the Moffat County museum,  (which didn't allow pictures) and got to enjoy exhibits on regional history, the railroad, and cowboys.  This was supposed to be a short compilation of mini-adventures so I won't go into any more detail.  

We drove on 40 through Colorado, towards Steamboat Springs, where we ultimately stopped for dinner, but first, we drove through the town of… HAYDEN!

Just for you Hayden! Your own town in Colorado!

The sunset outside of Steamboat.

One of my favorite pictures of the trip.  

Driving into a storm

Currently, I am back into our own Eastern Time-Zone, driving through Ohio, but, I have one more Grand adventure to share before I get home! I'll leave you with the cliff-hanger, because I should go take a nap before my late night (early morning?) shift as co-pilot.

Ciao!
Amy