South Dakota, if you’re wondering. I can only assume the town was named for acting great and original Felix Unger, Jack Lemmon. Prove me wrong.
There’s not a lot to say about this place and so I won’t.
That’s a torrential snow storm off in the distance.
The next few blog entries won’t have much. I’m currently racing across the northern states to get positioned for my annual trip to Vermont. But please enjoy these pictures of mountainy Helena.
Two feet of snow got dumped on Glacier so alternate plans were required. I was told there were a few wineries around Walla Walla, and by a few I mean 170ish. Thus a change of plans to Walla Walla was obvious.
And I am so glad this change was made as I had one of the best meals I’ve had in 2019 at Hattaway’s. If you ever go, eat at the bar and have bartender Chad be your guide.
And a fine Penicillin at Marcy’s
And a great tasting from a very friendly owner at Isenhower.
Firsts
The first time I traveled to Glacier NP, I drove along US 2 and after passing my namesake Steven’s Pass, encountered this Bavarian mountain village. I didn’t stop that time, but I have every time ever since.
Leavenworth is adorable and fun. Ok, maybe it’s not the most authentic Teutonic experience, but it’s still fun.
I love Seattle. It is easily my favorite city in North America. And the funny thing is people always complain about the rainy weather there. But whenever I’m there, it’s nothing but sunshine. I must bring the great weather and I await the Seattle City Council’s invitation to move there.
No trip to Seattle is complete without requisite trips to Elliot’s, The Brooklyn, and Top Pot. I was extremely relieved to see that Top Pot was still good. The Top Pot in Dallas is shit and are ruining the fine name of Top Pot.
Time for more wine tasting.
This time, except for the great De Ponte, I looked for wineries that had something else to offer other than my beloved Pinot Noir. For my efforts I was 1 for 2. Brooks Winery had some very nice and aromatic whites with a very special nod to their Gewürztraminer. I seriously wish I had bought more than just a half a case. Also, their tasting room was pretty hoppin’. Most of the tasting rooms in the WV are pretty small and quiet, but not Brooks.
Elk Cove on the other hand. Well, their wines were ok. And the road to their winery was rather rough on Stevie Ray. So I wasn’t in the greatest mood going into this tasting. But, especially compared to Brooks, the whites were just ok – better than average but not great. They did have a beautiful estate, though.
And whenever I’m in McMinnville, I have to have the schnitzel at the Golden Valley Brewpub. It is one of the best schnitzel I can get in the US and also the 4th and not final schitz of the trip.
It was my original plan to camp in East Yosemite on day 5 and somewhere west of Yosemite on day 6. But when I got to the day 5 campsite there was no cell service. So I couldn’t work. I decided just to blow though Yosemite and find an RV Park and hang out for a couple of days to relax and not drive. Thus I found this place in Angels Camp.
Cool story, huh?
This was a long day of driving. But I did get to check off a bucket list item, seeing the Hoover Dam. I wish I would have had more time there, but I needed to get to the next campsite before it got dark.
If your ever in Edgewood NM and need a place to park your RV overnight, I highly recommend the Walmart there. This has got to be one of the friendliest Walmarts I’ve ever been in. But that’s admittedly a very short list.
The whole point of staying in ABQ overnight was to go to my beloved Gruet Winery. But, according to Google, it didn’t open until noon, so I headed over to the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History. Cool place, check it out.
I finally got to Gruet and it had been opened for an hour. Thanks Mountain Time. Regardless, this was a great tasting. So great I may have purchased more than a case.
The day ended at Sunset Crater just north of Flagstaff. This was the first of two nights i went to sleep before 9pm just because that’s all there was to do.
Seriously, moment for moment, one of the best trips I’ve ever taken. I got to eat at not one but two iconic NYC eateries; Katz’s Deli and Peter Luger’s. And I got to bask in the beauty of Vermont while drinking some of the best beer the world has to offer.
Not a whole lot of pictures taken after Leavenworth since I was going to places I’ve been many times before. So here are a handful of phone pix taken.
Whoa!?!? What happened to day 9?
Well, that was spent driving from West Glacier to Leavenworth. Not wanting to stop, I didn’t take any pictures.
I heard there was a tasty schweinehaxe here, so I had to stop.
That was a terrible day. It rained almost the whole day, so not many pictures. I did finally get to use my weBoost that turned no 4gLTE into just enough to be reconnected with society, but not enough to post these last three galleries.
Maybe tomorrow.
Well, that may have been the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.
Five years ago I hike the Grinnell Glacier trail ( a 6 mile trail each way with a 1200ft elevation climb) with no water, no food and no bear spray. Well I wasn’t going to be that stupid again this year. I brought water. I brought bison bars. And I brought bear spray.
So I thought I was all prepared to hike the equally long and difficult Iceberg Lake trail. Except it didn’t occur to me that, although all the snow had melted at camp, 1200 feet up, there will still be substantial snow. And so, the last half mile of the trial was covered in snow. I couldn’t turn back. I was almost there. Actual experienced winter hikers kept passing me with their hiking sticks and snow chains on their shoes.
Somehow I didn’t slip off the mountain or break a leg/arm/skull/other wrist. 34,000 steps later I am able to share the amazing pictures I took.
Still South Dakota. Found a cute campground that most of the year is a hopping family holiday retreat. But it’s cold and snowy and latish Oc...
