The Road... NORAD to Wolf Creek Pass

Day 4 sent us across another border into Colorado - we both thought that seeing the NORAD/Strategic Air Command base might be pretty cool, but various threatening signs about 'No Access' and 'authorized vehicles only' sent us to the neighboring State Park for a few photos of the top of Cheyenne Mountain.

Towards sundown, we reached Wolf Creek Pass, a treacherous winding road that David had been aching to drive through since hearing the humourous 1974 C.W. McCall song about it in which a chicken truck lost its brakes & had to survive the downhill switchback turns, ending up in Pagosa Springs at the bottom.

We didn't have any chickens, but we did survive a heck of a trek in blizzard-ish conditions - thanks to the guy who invented 4-wheel-drive!

A cheap hotel gave us a needed rest before we set off the next day eastward to northern Texas... and somehow we managed to go westward to Arizona... but that's a story for another day.

The Road... Jackalopes and Such

Day 3 found us looking for NORAD souvenirs, but signage & guard gates suggested it wise to give the mountain a wide berth, so we had to make do with a long-range photo of the antennae on the mountain's top.

We then stopped in Douglas, WY to see the world's largest Jackalope (yes, I questioned David when he told me what he wanted to see there), but there were a few old train cars & an engine at the small local railroad museum as well.

A few blocks away is the World's 2nd-largest Jackalope, but it wasn't half as exciting as the big one...

In the small, nay, TINY town of Chugwater, we found Wyoming's oldest working soda fountain. David went in to snap a few photos & grab a couple of milkshakes before we rolled on through to continue the adventure.

We stopped for the night in Casper, WY - no friendly ghosts here, but nice people, nevertheless.

The Road... Montana

Day 2: Montana is called Big Sky Country for a reason - large expanses of landscape and sky, with a sprinkling of snow at this time of year.  Lots of good photo opportunities, yet we didn't take as many as we might have - perhaps the conversation was still fresh (typically, Day 4 is when we start to harp at each other...).

Along our route, David had planned a number of roadside oddities to stop & photograph - like this wooden Medusa in Hobson, MT, a leftover from a local 2012 hay sculpture competition...

...and a skeleton riding a motorcycle...

David's odd like that.

The weather was nice for a drive - yet for a while, it seemed like the mountains in the distance were floating above the clouds - an interesting visual.

We only left the water bottles in the car overnight once...

The Road To Louisiana, Day 1.

GUEST BLOGGER: David

Calgary.  February. Time to get out of town & see a brother or two.

David & I decided to drive to Lake Charles to visit my brother Adam, and stop at a number of places on the way down (and on the way back).  So one Saturday we loaded the truck with chairs, ramps & loads of clothing, and started south.

We decided to aim for the Sip'n'Dip Lounge in Great Falls, MT to see the mermaids who swim behind the bar during Happy Hour.  Alas, the motel in which the 'maids are housed is quite poorly accessible, and Saturday night is when all the high school kids fake their I.D.s at the same time.
So we decided to call it a night at the Hilton Garden Inn, where the ice-water dispenser didn't care for our visit.