From MN to CA and return, started on 8/30/10

[DanTheMan]

some maps as promised...

some maps as promised...

You are right Chris, this is a tightly knit community. I've enjoyed it since I joined it.
Here are the maps from the first two days of my "epic journey" (good catchphrase).

Map 1 from Pine River to Fargo

Map 2 and 3 from Fargo to the first night's lodging in Bismarck and a little beyond, the big buffalo is in Jamestown, ND.

Map 4 has New Salem with the world's Largest Holstein, and the Enchanted Highway, as well as the trip through the road reconstruction of Rt 12 which continues on Map 5.

Marmarth is the "boomtown" where the new ADA accessible sidewalks are going in. I'm sure there's a huge business opportunity there.....map 6 is the city of Marmarth itself, it looks like it should be quite a thriving town, doesn't it? The closed and shuttered business buildings are all on the railroad side of things.

Map 7 and 8 end my second day on the road. I stayed the night in Forsyth, MT, the town map is the bottom one where Hotel Howdy is across the tracks and the Montana Inn where I stayed is on the business route through town. Miles City is at the junction of 12 and I-94. I guess I didn't blow the map up large enough to print its name out.

More to come later, don't really know why I doing the maps other than someone might find an interesting short trip among them.

 

[DanTheMan]

more maps to the end of my 4th day on the road...

more maps to the end of my 4th day on the road...

From Forsyth to around Billings on the first map, then on to Red Lodge on the next one. If Beartooth Pass had been open
I would've been on Hwy 212 into Yellowstone through the NE gate instead of detouring down thru Cody and back up to the
East gate.

The next map is the only part of Yellowstone that I was able to visit, and up to the top and right of the circle is where the campground is at.

The next series of maps takes me to my daughter's house where I stayed for 3 nights (arrived at 1130 pm) and had a lot of fun spending money and spoiling my grandkids. Note total mileage for the first part of my trip, 1419.95 miles.

I knew I was in smokinapankake's home territory, but I was so busy with my grandkids I didn't try to contact him, sorry man!. It was Labor Day weekend anyway, so I wasn't going to disturb someone else's holiday weekend.

 

[Big T]

I see you went down thru Star Valley on Hwy 89, one of my favorite spots, especially since my wife's HS BFF lives in a beautiful spot there outside Etna.

Also, next time take a detour and hit Lava Hot springs on US 30 just inside Idaho, off I-15.

 

[DanTheMan]

I see you went down thru Star Valley on Hwy 89, one of my favorite spots, especially since my wife's HS BFF lives in a beautiful spot there outside Etna.

Also, next time take a detour and hit Lava Hot springs on US 30 just inside Idaho, off I-15.

When I was crossing US30 on my way south in idaho, the sun was already setting. Taking 89 down the side of the mountain in the dark was pretty sphincter clenching as it was, there was a continuous stream of vehicles heading east up the mountain, and for the most part just me heading southwest going down. I couldn't afford the time for the side trip otherwise I would've. My grandkids were waiting up for me, i had to get there.

 

[shirazdrum]

I don't see the Oregon and California Maps. Am i missing something? Todd is one hell of a navigator though, he got me out of few map pickles while in Oregon.

 

[DanTheMan]

I don't see the Oregon and California Maps. Am i missing something? Todd is one hell of a navigator though, he got me out of few map pickles while in Oregon.

I didn't do any of Oregon, and so far all I've posted is the first leg of my trip in maps. The next round of maps will get me into California. I've kind of broken it up into segments for posting purposes and the time I have to do it in.