July 2017 - Canada to USA

31 July 2017 Monday - Davenport IA/Rock Island IL (111 miles)
Morning visit to Bishop Hill and Galva Illinois. In 1846 a group of Swedish immigrants sought religious freedom from oppression in Sweden under their charismatic spiritual leader Erik Jansson (known as the Wheat Flour Messiah) in Bishop Hill. Peaceful village with beautifully restored brick buildings and many trees....a bit of a break from the neverending fields of soybeans and corn and wind machines! Afternoon visit to the Davenport public library....downtown Davenport looked like it was once a very thriving town but like most towns, it looks a bit sad and forgotten......both Moline and Davenport are right on the Mississippi!

30 July 2017 Sunday - Mt Pleasant IA to Davenport IA/Rock Island IL (117 miles)
This area is known as the Quad Cities (four counties at confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers).

29 July 2017 Saturday - Quincy IL to Swedesburg IA via Missouri (104 miles)
Crossed the Mississippi River back to Missouri to fill up with cheaper petrol than Illinois! Then on the Avenue of the Saints (route 61 north which goes from St Louis to St Paul 563 miles) to visit the Swedesburg Heritage Museum...great morning with Glenda and Helen learning the Swedish history of the area.

28 July 2017 Friday - Quincy Illinois
Heaps of walking today, first to Woodland Cemetery where Eric helped me find my ancestors gravesites overlooking the Mississippi, then to Quincy Herald Whig newspaper office but no obituaries here and they sent me back to the library where I found more information and then they recommended the Adams County Historical Society where Jean was a tremendous help and connected me with another descendant of the family who had recently written a book on their history....so a great day!

27 July 2017 Thursday - Atchison KS through Missouri to Quincy IL (220 miles)
Crossed the Missouri River into Missouri then crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois.....heavy rain which only brought higher humidity!
My ancestors spent time in both Hancock and Adams counties Illinois and two years ago I explored Carthage Hancock IL and now to explore Adams county. Quincy has some beautiful architecture old homes and I spent time at the library and courthouse and visitors center.

26 July 2017 Wednesday - Fort Leavenworth to Atchison KS (107 miles)
A very rainy overcast day.....nice break from the hot sunshine!
Atchison is only about 25 miles from Leavenworth  but wanted to spend time here researching another ancestor. Atchison is the birthplace of Amelia Earhart and they just had the Amelia Earhart festival. I spent time at the courthouse and library reviewing records then drove to the Brush Creek Cemetery (25 miles on country roads, some gravel) to visit the gravesite of Leonard Rogers Baker and his wife Lucy Pratt. Leonard died from being kicked by a horse in 1879.....wonderful old quiet cemetery out in the country.  I then stopped at Muscotah where Leonard lived and visited the Mercantile. Next weekend is the Jim Tinker festival because he was born here in 1880. Tinker was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946 and he played for the Cubs and Reds. He died on his birth date 68 years old.

25 July 2017 Tuesday - Fort Leavenworth Kansas
Visited the Frontier Museum (it is closed on Mondays so could not visit yesterday) and a walkabout of the fort learning more of its history and bluff view of the Missouri River and then decided to take a break from research and have another swim at the outdoor pool (all previous hotel pools have been indoors). It has been interesting being on an active military post with everyone in military uniform.

24 July 2017 Monday - Fort Leavenworth Kansas
A bit cooler today with a high of 90 instead of 110.
This hotel is a bit of a maze with over 300 rooms, and besides the free breakfast and free wifi, there is free laundry and outdoor pool and fitness center and big computer lab with printers!
Spent the morning at the CARL (Ike Skelton Combined Arms Research Library) working with Elizabeth perusing microfilm but did not find much new on my Charles Kohl....then a bit of pool time to work on my tan and a swim. Afternoon walk to the Commissary and Exchange but I cannot buy without a military id!

23 July 2017 Sunday - Mulvane to Fort Leavenworth Kansas (197 miles)
In looking for a place to stay, I found a Holiday Inn at Hoge Hall on the military base with a good price but could not book through the IHG website because it is part of the Army.....so I rang and booked a room but had to spend about fifteen minutes at the Visitor Center first to get security clearance for entry! IHG Army Hotels has taken over management of all military base accommodation (since 2011). Hoge Hall is a former barracks now renovated although it does look a bit old......but almost like small apartment!
Fort Leavenworth is the oldest continuously active fort west of the Appalachian Mountains founded in 1827. My gg grandfather was here in 1869 before he moved on to Fort Wallace Kansas. Walked to the Eisenhower Hall library with a stop at the Buffalo Soldier Monument.

22 July 2017 Saturday - Mulvane Kansas
Morning drive to Wichita and visited the Midwest Historical and Genealogical Society located in a very old house with some wonderful people who know so much about the history of this area and this building houses so much material......old newspapers and marriage records and family memoirs, many records that you would only find at a courthouse! And then a visit to Whole Foods (I saw on FB that there is a large group of folks trying to get a Trader Joes here) and hair highlights (not blonde enough for me though) at Super Cuts in Derby. The heat is so strong that it melted the glue on one of my wooden cabinet doors and it had fallen apart while I was getting my hairs done....fixed with duct tape for now!

21 July 2017 Friday - Mulvane Kansas
Spending time where we lived when I was about three! Visited Wellington where my sister was born but the hospital in which she was born has been torn down.....and there was a heat wave then in July as there is now. My mother recalls that there was no air conditioning in the hospital and the temperatures were over 100 like today!

20 July 2017 Thursday - Oakley to Mulvane KS (276 miles)
I had considered visiting the "famous" Monument Rocks or Pyramids, chalk formations located about 26 miles south of here but not keen on driving on a dirt road! So another early start for an all interstate route and now staying at the largest Hampton Inn in the world at the Kansas Star Casino!

19 July 2017 Wednesday - Goodland to Oakley KS (89 miles)
Another very hot day! Early morning drive to the Fort Wallace Cemetery to visit the gravesite of my great grandmother's brother who died at ten months of age of chronic diarrhea (maybe cholera?).....a very peaceful location in the middle of the Kansas farmland! His marker is of wood with the others that died in the 1800's....many of them soldiers that had been killed during the Indian wars. I then visited Patty at the Fort Wallace museum......a big extensive museum in the middle of nowhere! She has been quite helpful with my research. My great great grandfather Charles Kohl was at Fort Leavenworth KS May 1869 then Fort Wallace KS June 1869-April 1870 then Camp Brown/Fort Washakie WY May 1871-October 1872 as a hospital steward. Fort Wallace was closed and then dismantled by the early settlers so that they may build their homes.
With the hot weather and the late start and the time change (lost an hour) and the high winds, I did not go much further today.

18 July 2017 Tuesday - Fort Collins CO via Nebraska to Goodland KS (227 miles)
Early start because today is predicted in high 90's! Route 14 east out of Fort Collins then south on route 85 then east on route 34 then route 27 south. Stopped at cute small village of Haigler Nebraska which is known as the cornerstone of NE then visit to museum in St Francis KS. And the time zone line does a bit of a squiggle in northwest Kansas so I was in mountain time then central then back in mountain!

17 July 2017 Monday - Fort Collins Colorado
I had rung the Super Cuts here a few days ago to confirm that I could get a color on Monday morning at 9am and they confirmed that I could but when I arrived at 9am, the woman told me that she is the only one working and cannot do me until noon....so it is not to be!
I had purchased what I thought were regular beets at Whole Foods but when I cut them today to cook, they looked more like turnips.....googled it to find that they are chiogga beets......what a great find! Great visit with my cousin!

16 July 2017 Sunday - Cheyenne Wyoming to Fort Collins CO (54 miles)
Short drive to Ft Collins Colorado to visit my cousin and to visit Trader Joes and Whole Foods and Supercuts for hair blonding (which did not work because even though I had called three days prior to confirm they could do this at 9am, when I arrive there was only one person working and they would not take me until the afternoon) and Jiffy Lube for oil change and a pedicure....first major city in my three weeks of travel that has all of these brand name amenities!
Yvette and I walked around old town of Fortt Collins then delicious Mexican food at Rio Grande Restaurant.

15 July 2017 Saturday - Cheyenne Wyoming
Everyone here is preparing for 121st year of Frontier Days, the world's largest rodeo and western celebration, where attendance last year was close to 300,000....and I am so happy not to be here with all these people! A cattle drive will happen tomorrow Sunday when 550 head of Corriente steers will be driven from the pastures north of town through the city streets into Frontier Park.

14 July 2017 Friday - Cheyenne Wyoming
Return visit to Wyoming Archives then to the library to meet Tom who volunteers in the Special Collections/Genealogy section and then visit to Olivet Cemetery for photos of gravesites of Katy's ancestors. The cemetery is not well marked and there is no map so found a worker person Chris who was a tremendous help!

13 July 2017 Thursday - Laramie to Cheyenne Wyoming (65 miles)
Early morning drive from Laramie to Cheyenne via the backroad of route 210 with a visit to the Lincoln Statue at exit 323 then visit to Curt Gowdy State Park. Spent time at the Wyoming Archives researching Fort Washakie and the ancestors of my friend Katy. Evening dinner at Outback with my Juneau friend Katy's newly found distant cousin, learning more about her family.

12 July 2017 Wednesday - Laramie Wyoming
Spent most of the day doing research at the American Heritage Center on the University of WY campus.....they have such an extensive collection! I did not find anything specific for my gg grandfather at Camp Brown but found heaps of photos of the fort and diaries of life at the fort from a surgeon who arrived the year that my guy left.....even his notes on doing plastic surgery with photos! A cooler overcast day today.

11 July 2017 Tuesday - Lander to Laramie WY (215 miles)
Following the route of the emigrants of the 1800's...stopped to visit Sweetwater Station and the Sixth Crossing .....beautiful views of the valley at Split Rock.....then through the Rawlins uplift prehistoric geologic site.....back on the Interstate east to Laramie where I will spend time tomorrow at the American Heritage Center on the University campus. The days have been sunny then a storm arrives every afternoon....but not much rain ever falls!

10 July 2017 Monday - Dubois to Lander Wyoming (104 miles)
Happy Wyoming Statehood Day.....77 years.
Early start for beautiful drive on route 26/287 through the red bluffs where I spotted pronghorn on the top of the rocks. Visited Fort Washakie (formerly Camp Brown), birthplace of my great grandmother and the location of the statue and gravesite of Sacajawea and gravesite of Chief Washakie on the Wind River Reservation. Sacajawea guided Lewis and Clark expedition as they made their voyage across America. Overnight in Lander with a hike at Sinks Canyon State Park and walk through downtown to the library local history room for more research.

9 July 2017 Sunday - Gardiner MT to Dubois Wyoming (173 miles)
Another morning full moon....headed southeast through Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons....heaps of critters enroute.....bison, coyote, marmot, elk. Overnight in Dubois where I thought that it would be easy to find accommodation but campgrounds and cabins are full......so opted for Super 8 (top floor (2) at end of hall around a corner with view of mountains so very quiet)! Chatted with many folks staying here that use this as a base for their visit to Tetons and Yellowstone, although it is quite a drive each day. I crossed the Continental Divide twice today and the second time at almost 10,000' and my poor little van did not like the elevation! Gorgeous views of Pinnacle Buttes at Togwotee Pass in Shoshone National Forest. Big thunderstorm with lightning and rain have moved in.

8 July 2017 Saturday - Gardiner MT
Woke up to beautiful full moon shining in my windows! Lynne and I hiked along the Gardner and Yellowstone rivers (gopher snake on the trail) and then had great lunch at Yellowstone Grill and walked about the town of Gardiner. We visited the house in which she is staying.....high on hill (Yellowstone Forever Overlook) with beautiful views of the valley.

7 July 2017 Friday - Gardiner MT
Lynne and I drove the road to the northeast entrance via Lamar Valley and had Wilcoxson ice cream cone at Silver Gate and walked the town of Cooke City. We stopped many times both going and returning to walk to waterfalls and view wildlife such as bison, pronghorn, bear, elk, fox and busy swallow nests .....and the wildflowers in the meadows are in full bloom....just beautiful! We also visited the Yosemite Forever location in the valley and Rob gave us a tour.....this is the company for whom Lynne is now working.

6 July 2017 Thursday - White Sulphur Springs to Gardiner MT (119 miles)
Continued on route 89 south to Gardiner with a stop in Livingston to visit Sacajawea statue in the park. Lynne and I drove through Yellowstone to Old Faithful for Wilcoxson ice cream (made in Billings).....we saw elk and bison and a coyote (which many thought was a wolf). Heaps of traffic and roadworks so was a long day of slow driving.

5 July 2017 Wednesday - Great Falls to White Sulphur Springs MT (94 miles)
Drove route 89 south on the Kings Hill Scenic Byway and visited Sluice Boxes State Park with remains of mines, a railroad, and historic cabins lining Belt Creek and visited the very small Inconvenience Store in Neihart and hiked to Memorial Falls. Overnight in a cabin at White Sulphur Springs.....but too hot and sunny for a soak in the hot springs........and now a thunderstorm is heading our way! Awakened after midnite to 5.8 earthquake...biggest in MT since 1964!

4 July 2017 Tuesday - Great Falls MT
Staying an extra day in Great Falls to enjoy the Fourth of July parade and fireworks on the Missouri River! About 3.5 mile walk each way to downtown and I had to cross an old railroad bridge over the Missouri River which was not fun for me who is afraid of heights......decided to return on the motorway bridge.

3 July 2017 Monday - Lethbridge Alberta Canada to Great Falls Montana (170 miles)
Early morning drive south to avoid the crowds at the border, which is the busiest port of entry in the state of Montana.....and it was very quiet at 6am! I always expect the questions on food, besides all the other ones about firearms etc......but he just looked at the passport and waved me through. Clear sky and hot temperatures here.

2 July 2017 Sunday - Banff/Canmore to Lethbridge AB Canada (183 miles)
No more back country roads.....now driving on the multi-lane highways....TransCanada 1 east to Calgary then south on route 2!

1 July 2017 Saturday - McBride BC to Banff/Canmore AB Canada (274 miles)
Happy Canada Day! Early 5am departure to hopefully avoid the big crowds and to make up for the lost hour due to time change . Drove the Icefields Parkway via Mt Robson Park and Jasper and Lake Louise and Banff....sited elk and bear and moose, all right on the side of the road....always a worry that I will hit one that early. The traffic was very heavy but mostly going north.....I hate though getting stuck behind these very large RVs! Heaps of rain most of the way but could still see the mountains......although as I headed south, it looked to get worse. The Columbia Icefield/Athabasca Glacier is disappearing quickly.....losing more than five metres of ice every year....some say it will be gone for the next generation!