Halperin & Christ

no big blogs tonight. just wanted to let everyone know we survived the walmart lot. we ended the day at the opera in bloomington, indiana. we can say with certainty that we are most likely the only people in that parking lot that made it to the opera this evening and we were probably the only people in the opera that slept at walmarts last night. not that either has much relevance in the scheme of things……

great opera, susannah, a modern piece based on the story of susannah and the elders……very tragic

we know friends do not let friends shop at walmart but do they let them camp overnight in the parking lot? we’ll let you know tomorrow morning. by the way, there are at least 4 other rv’s, (no vw’s) in this same lot.

a few things we need to clarify before we go on in response to comments made (which by the way we love, thank you, thank you, thank you!)

1. we are not changing the font on purpose, we are novices in the blogging world and have no idea what we are doing

2. the only reason we went out of our way to see mt. rushmore is the inspiration we received from the movie “team america”. thanks again bk, not only did you house and befriend us, you also educated us and exposed us to the finer arts.

3. we are very sorry to say we sped through wisconsin (ja hey) with not a stop for bratwurst! sorry laura. it’s that darn schedule thing….we had to see a play in minneapolis with our friend steve yoakam in it (the clean house at the mixed blood theatre, excellent, we highly recommend it!) and we have to be in bloomington, indiana for the opera tomorrow evening. that left no time for wisconsin.¬† we will have to make another trip……

4. we think we have said this before but in case we forgot: we are now in love with a certain blond curly headed canine of goldendoodle descent. no we are not becoming dog people, she is just the most wonderful creature and she captured our hearts! we miss you glorious dorious (and of course your family too!) get better sammy and mo!

anyhow, we just spent a fabulous day and a half in minneapolis with eric’s high school friend steve, his lovely wife shawn and their wonderful daughter senait.¬† they have remodeled the interior of their house¬†with color and cool finishes and great cabinets, all which met with our approval! we toured the guthrie which was just finished last year. it’s a very modern and fascinating building by jean nouvel which truly captures the spirit of the river and the industrial buildings which surround it. we got the insiders tour as steve has performed there regularly over many years. every other person we ran into knew him! we lunched at the mill city museum and viewed the weisman museum (an old work of frank gehry’s), saw the collapsed bridge and got a great tour of the college area. afterwards we took a bike ride around the grand rounds. the grand rounds are a series of bike and pedestrian paths, a 50 mile loop, that connects several lakes, parks and waterways. the path has a very slight roller coaster rise and fall, just enough to give you momentum and wanders through wonderful neighborhoods and has gorgeous vistas. the day was sunny and beautiful and several people were out enjoying the rounds. that evening we saw steve perform in ” the clean house” a great play by sarah ruhl which we had seen earlier this year at the cinnabar in petaluma. our dear friend laura performed in the petaluma play.

anyhow, minneapolis is great, steve, shawn and senait were fabulous hosts and we could have stayed longer but hank did not break down and as we previously noted we have a schedule to adhere to!

South Dakota has moved far up on our list of states to visit. Of all the places we have visited so far the Badlands have been the most otherworldly, awe inspiring and altogether magical.  It is one of those places you have to visit in person. You must get out of your car and walk well into the formations to get a true sense of scale, detail and overall effect. Millennia are exhibited before your very eyes. Colored layers of sediment track horizontally over miles of unearthly formations. Cracks roller coaster up and down peaks and traverse formations that have long since been split apart. It is almost as if an ancient city with spires, skyscrapers, statues and minarets was all covered in layers of sediment over millions of years and these are the ghosts that remain.

.Driving through the park we saw prairie dog communities, antelope, rabbits, mule deer and hawks. The place was practically empty which added an eeriness not altogether inappropriate for the location. We could have spent days there walking around but alas had to move on.

This morning as we spoke to our dear friend steph whose whole family has been evacuated from the

We drove on to Mitchell, South Dakota in anticipation of visiting the corn palace the next morning. For dinner we took a triple a recommendation and landed at chef louies along with about 200 drunk pheasant hunters. (An even nattier dressed crowd than your average golfer). Mitchell is famous for two things: pheasant hunting (which began this weekend) and the corn palace. It would not be an exaggeration to say that we were probably the only people in the whole restaurant in Mitchell to see the corn palace. After a late end to dinner we couldn’t find a campground and decided it was a waste to pay for a hotel room so we parked outside a hotel and spent the night undisturbed inside hank.

This morning we once again were surrounded by the hunters at breakfast. Scintillating crowd!

The corn palace is quite an amazing ongoing work in progress. Since 1892 the building has been decorated each year with crops from the region: corn, wheat, rye and various other grasses. Each ear of corn (special colored corn is grown locally) is cut in half transversely and nailed up to plywood panels that encase the entire building. Local artists come up with the designs. This year’s theme was “ordinary heroes”. Quite impressive!

From there we drove through the more boring parts of south Dakota, miles and miles of flat dry plains, then into Minnesota, more miles and miles of flat not so dry plains, sprinkled with pristine farmhouses, barns, silos and thrashing machines.

We finally landed in Minneapolis at an old friend of Eric’s. We had a lovely dinner with Steve and his wife Shawn at a very cool restaurant called Maude. Very

spent the last two days in the black hills of south dakota. the mantra seems to be “closed for the season”. as a result we haven’t been camping too much lately. last night was the closing night of the hotel we stayed at. maybe it has something to do with the fact that it is freezing cold this time of year? we woke up to a light cover of snow on everything this morning…….made the 49 degree interior of jewel cave feel quite toasty. what an incredible journey into the bowels of the earth. maybe just the esophagus. the second longest mapped cave in the world. most of the mapping was done by a very ambitious couple, the conns in the 60’s and 70’s. they had started as rock climbers and after one trip down were hooked. one trip down was enough for us. fabulous but hard to imagine going down day after day with out the benefit of aluminum stairs, concrete walkways, pre wired lighting and an elevator. apparently mapping is still going on and there is a passage (called the miseries) that is 200′ long and only 7.5″ high! jewel cave is definitely worth the visit if you are ever in this part of the world. there is some semblance to the kind of landscape you see underwater, corral like bumbs¬†hugging the walls, stalagtites and stalagmites abound…..dripping candlewax¬†like¬†shapes¬†throughout.

yesterday we drove through custer state park. we saw long horn sheep, bison, mule deer, wild turkeys and even a fox!  the park is gorgeous with interesting protruding rock formations everywhere. we hiked around bismark lake and saw some of the most amazing natural bonzai clinging to the barest pockets in massive stone outcroppings.

today we made our obligatory pilgrimage to mt. rushmore. it was much more impressive and awe inspiring that either of us had imagined. we spent quite a while there (in the blistering cold) trying to imagine what it would have been like to carve those faces out of the sheer cliffs of stone. the scale is what you really don’t appreciate until you are actually there. extensive exhibits and movies helped explain the fabrication process and the whole vision that created the sculpture. it is hard to imagine anyone today with that kind of vision.¬†

we also visited deadwood, a town first formed in the rush of gold and later revived with gambling…..a monument to greed? what a counry.

the black hills of south dakota have a lot to offer. it is easy to imagine how crowded this area must be in the height of summer. campgrounds, lodges, restaurants, tourist attractions abound but have all shut down. it must be tough making a living around here in the tourist industry with only 3 or 4 good months of income.

so what’s with the pink highway in wyoming? it comes and goes but it certainly is pink…….makes for a gorgeous palate with the grey blue skies and golden green hills and valleys

saw the site of the battle of little big horn, custer’s last stand…..strange to see something you have heard about your whole life….it does make you aware of the injustices that occurred not so very long ago. the metal wire sculpture commissioned by the indian tribes that fought there is beautiful and poignant (see picture above).

we are definitely in cowboy and indian country. stopped for lunch at the sheridan inn, house of 69 gables, former hang out of buffalo bill cody. his girlfriend’s ghost apparently still lives there. didn’t see her.

drove through vast arid landscape……late afternoon¬† sun cast long beautiful shafts of light on the rugged landscape.¬†

 

 eric giving pool lessons - moira & the kids-  saying goodbye-   josephines crossing, billings, montana

hank is all fixed up and we are rolling down the road. it was with mixed emotions that we said goodbye to our new found friends, the keshishians. they had put us up (and up with us) while we waited for autostop to fix hank. we were actually quite happy to be “stuck” with them. they are a wonderful family and couldn’t have been nicer to us. it was also great to get a taste of family life after 4 weeks on the road…..we will miss them but have vowed to return. it was a serendipidous series of events that has left us with fabulous new friends!

yesterday as we waited for hank’s repairs to be completed and since it was cold and rainy we checked out the museum of the rockies in bozeman. they have an incredible collection of dinosaur remains. we are definitely in dinosaur country, as we were driving today it was¬†fun to imagine what the terrain must have been like with those huge beasts lumbering about.¬† there are two full dinosaur skeletons at the museum, big al and big mike. one feels like a midget when standing next to either of the two beasts. there was plenty of interesting information about the dinosaur’s life, their demise and their physical structure. montana is full of¬†fascinating history and has been a pathway for a variety of groups from the dinosaurs to the native americans. as we putter along at 60mph (hank doesn’t like speed) it is hard to imagine what it would have been like trekking across this land by foot or even on a horse.

heading towards¬†custer’s last stand we made a side trip to josephine’s crossing in billings montana (thank you toby) to check out a new “green” development. that is the picture you see above. let’s just say at least they are trying. it was certainly more interesting than the housing across the street and the grouping of the houses around a common green with parking at the rear was a nice touch. we briefly chatted with one of the carpenters on the job. their goal is to make the houses as energy efficient as possible with good caulking and sealing plates and preventing infiltration in a cold windy area. we are happy to see that green is happening in montana.

from billings we drove about 45 miles to hardin where we are camping for the night. tonight’s entertainment will be dustin hoffman in “little big man”. seems appropriate as we are visiting the little big horn site tomorrow.

  would you trust these two men to build anything?????

well the word is we will await parts that arrive tomorrow and we’ll be (the good lord willing) on the road wednesday afternoon. thanks to auto stop, bozeman montana.

billy k entertained us this afternoon with a trip to one of his more remote job sites by shields river, about an hour and a half outside of bozeman. unbelievably beautiful spot with a perfect “rustic”lodge, horses, swimming pond, hot tub, adirondack chairs on the porch….looking out on the most gorgeous view imaginable. after rescuing a horse tangled in some fencing wire (ah the life of a cowboy) and some job site supervision, he took us down to a stream on the 25,000 acre property where the owner has set up a teepee encampment for her guests to enjoy in the summertime. adjacent to the encampment is a recently constructed beaver dam and pond. the bushes around the pond have been gnawed to provide the material for the dam. gnawed isn’t quite correct as they look as if they have been cut by an axe, so sharp and clean are the edges.¬† the beavers we now know, invented the horizon pool. as we were gazing out upon the river we happened to catch site of one of the busy critters responsible for the aforementioned dam. he was cruising upstream quite unperterbed by our presence and was quite a sight!

that afternoon fran went to the hot springs with moira and the kids and eric prepared fabulous spaghetti and meatballs which went over quite well with the kids….

we are so fortunate to have landed here!!!!!

well we did make it to yellowstone for half a day. enough time to¬†hike¬†around¬†the steam vents at mammoth springs, tour the visitor center and admire the elk and walk through the artist’s paint pots. then hank¬†blew a hole in his exhaust system. he probably didn’t¬†prefer to blow the hole¬†it but it just happened. there was a loud pop and suddenly we were the noisiest car on the road. we decided to leave yellowstone and get to a town with mechanics (yellowstone is in the process of closing down for the season and not much was open). we made it to west yellowstone in time to talk to someone at a service station who said he could not deal with¬†the problem¬†but we were safe to drive for awhile…..so we decided to head back to bozeman. (the keshishians get us once again….lucky¬†them) we spent the night in the gallatin national park in some picnic area along the side of the road next to a rushing river. eric was a bit nervous about camping there but fran slept like a baby. (something new and different) we both read with our headlight lamps on, well into the night. john steinbeck says that montana is one of his favorite places in the country. (we are reading travels with charley). that is completely understandable.

anyhow, our half day in yellowstone was enoughto whet our appetite…..we will head right back there as soon as hank is better. for today we drove into bozeman, watched the kids play their last soccer game of the year and are now enjoying the warm afternoon sun with a expansive view to the mountains over golden fields dotted with yellow trees…..not a bad place to have car trouble if you have to have it at all and with a 1983 vw van we certainly expected some……

we did manage to eat a big breakfast near big sky and take a lovely hike at deer river. the trailhead was a bit ominous, there was a partial deer leg bone sitting across the base of the trail and warning signs about wildlife, hunting, etc….at this point though we are more concerned with hunters than wildlife…..luckily dick cheney does not frequent this part of the country…..(cheap shot we know)

so here we are in bozeman hoping that some vw mechanic will have the right part and be able to fix hank up for the next leg of our journey……another day with dory the goldendoodle………

here we are at the foot of yellowstone park, not more than a stone’s throw from the entrance, in an old western town mistakenly spelled gardiner not gardener…..

thank you cousin david for finally informing us on how to properly upload our pictures…..obviously photoshop is not our strong point.

today we reluctantly left our old friends, billy and alicia, our new friends, the keshishian family, and our most favorite canine, dory, to explore new territory. we were sad to see bozeman and especially gallatin gateway go.

we had a fabulous week of hiking, golfing, eating, hanging, visiting elephant builder houses and playing with dory whom we have fallen in love with and almost stole……. she is a goldendoodle by the way and the most well behaved, playful, smart and fabulous dog!!!! (this mind you, coming from confirmed cat people……don’t worry singe and mini pearl)

the week was sunny and gorgeous and the landscape was breathtaking….this is truly a different part of the country, unlike anywhere we have ever seen.¬† it felt as if we stopped in time, in fact it was hard to believe we had only arrived on monday……we did get flipped off for no reason (other than out of state plates or hippy van) by a hunter, cowboy style, pickup truck driver towing a camoflaged atv so we know we aren’t welcome back…oh well…..onto new territory.

the yellow aspens provide a most colorful accent to the blue skies, gray mountains, white snow and evergreen trees. it is a shockingly bright yellow, almost unnatural in its exuberance. fall is definitely a great time to be in montana as we were told over and over again. the people around here seem shocked that there are so many travellers this time of year.

we are debating whether to camp or hotel it in yellowstone……perhaps a combination of the two will work best……until further wireless connection…..eric and fran¬†