Day Tripper
Posted 21 May 2013 - 08:47 PM
Not focused on a single road or destination. 13 states, 4045 miles, 70+ geocaches, and 3 national parks in 11 days.
Intersected or drove on parts of; Lewis and Clark trail, Santa Fe trail, Oregon Trail, Lincoln Highway, and the Overland Stage route.
Had a great trip. Made this route;
King of the Road
Posted 21 May 2013 - 11:22 PM
That's a fair amount of driving. It looks like a lot of it was on the interstates. 4000 + miles in 11 days is a pretty good clip, given that you did some sight seeing along the way. What were the highlights?
Dave
Keep the Show on the Road!
Day Tripper
Posted 22 May 2013 - 02:10 PM
Normally we avoid the 4 lane stuff. But in this case we had some serious distance between stops. #1 highlight was 2 days in Yellowstone. Had a great time there. Photographed; a grizzly w/ cubs, 2 black bears, big horn sheep, moose, coyote, and prong horn deer. #2 highlight was stopping at Cheyenne for "Depot Days". Got to tour the old Union Pacific depot and they opened the steam engine shop for tours so we got to tour the facility where they keep their steam excursion train. Only open to the public two days a year. Also went by the park to see engine 4004, a "Bigboy", the most powerful class of steam engines ever made. #3 highlight was the Little Bighorn battlefield. Really helps to see a place to understand the history behind it. Also spent about a day and a half around Mt Rushmore. Spent time in Lead and exploring around old mining areas. Stopped to see the steam train but did not get to ride it. Explored around Sioux Falls / Council Bluffs area and went to the train museum there as well. The old warehouse destrict in Omaha was really nice and has plenty of places to eat. Thanks to a geocache we found the site of an Overland Stage route stop off I-80. Got to see the original location of the Lincoln Highway memorial, again, a geocache spot.
We are working on finding a geocache in all 50 states. Next major trip will be New England. Then Oregon / Washington with a cruise to Alaska.
This trip did get me more interested in traveling more of the Lincoln Highway. Much like 66 it had a number of vintage bridges on its older alignments. We love to find old bridges. We drove US 60 all the way to the east coast 2 years ago. I think we need to do the same with Lincoln.
Edited by black85vette, 22 May 2013 - 02:13 PM.
King of the Road
Posted 22 May 2013 - 07:33 PM
Now that sounds good! The opportunity to see a Bigboy would be a sure highlight for me. That was real “heavy metal!” Do they get her under steam, or it a static exhibit?
I had an uncle who was a blacksmith in the Spokane Hillyard facility of the Great Northern. Too bad I didn't consider him the great resource he would have been, but I was too young to appreciate his experience.
You sound like a steam fan....hard not to be once you have been up close to one of those magnificent machines! I go back far enough to remember Dad boarding the Daylight for a trip between Glendale and San Francisco, but alas, I wasn't going along!!
I understand your growing affection for the Lincoln. My favorites are the National Parks Highway and the Yellowstone Trail, probably because they crossed my state of Washington and I have studied each “on the ground.” But I have enjoyed following the Lincoln in Nebraska, Wyoming, and Nevada.
Thanks for the details!
Dave
Keep the Show on the Road!
Day Tripper
Posted 22 May 2013 - 10:56 PM
As far as I know there are only 8 remaining Bigboys and all are static displays. They were 4-8-8-4 configuration. In the shop in Cheyenne was also Challenger class number 3985. It is the most powerful steam engine still running. It is a 4-6-6-4 and like the Bigboy both sets of drive wheels have their own pistons so it like two engines under one boiler. Both the Challenger and Bigboy are articulated. The front wheels pivot under the engine to be able to go around corners.
Engine 844 will be going out this summer on a couple of runs. It was the last steam engine that UP bought. I felt so fortunate to be there for one of the two days the shop was open to the public.
Doesn't get much better for me and my wife than to combine a road trip with geocaching and steam engines!!
Roadie
Posted 23 May 2013 - 05:08 PM
What a great road trip! Yellowstone, steam engines, and a battlefield. What more could you want in an 11 day trip?
The only thing I might have added was a trip to the Aerial Firefighting Museum at the airport on US 14 outside of Greybull, Wyoming, but last I heard it had been closed. At least while passing through I would stop and listen to the ghosts of Hawkins and Powers. I'll bet if you listen real close you can hear the sounds of the radials still reverberating off the nearby hills and through the canyons.
UP 844 passed through California a few years back and I took the opportunity to follow it. What a gorgeous piece of machinery to see in action. I hope to make it up to Cheyenne one of these days for Depot Days. Sounds like the place to be if you like trains.
UP 844 on a siding in Oroville, California.
More pics of 844 HERE
Roadhound
Day Tripper
Posted Yesterday, 07:28 AM
Yeah, radial engines also get my attention. We just recently had B-29, B-25 and B-17 bombers at an airport near here. Love to hear them flying over.
Wow! the photos of 844 are awesome. Thanks for posting the link. It is going out on a run in July from Denver to Cheyenne and tickets are on sale.
Roadie
Posted Yesterday, 11:36 AM
Sounds like the Confederate, er, Commemerative Air Force (got to be PC) was in town. It's been 15 years since I was able to see Fifi (the B-29) fly. It doesn't make it to the west coast that often. Hope you got a chance to see it in the air. You would have enjoyed Greybull when Hawkins and Powers was still operating there. Lots of big planes with radial engines.
We have the Collings Foundation making its annual stop this weekend. Always a thrill to see and hear a B-24, B-17, and B-25 in the air. I was fortunate enough to do an air-to-air photoshoot with them a few years ago. Story is HERE
Are you going to try to catch 844 while its out on the rails? If so, be careful. Train spotters have a level of fanaticism that is hard to match. They will do just about anything to get the pic or video.
Roadhound
Day Tripper
Posted Yesterday, 01:10 PM
Some more really nice pics. BTW; I used to actually work on a plane with radial engines. I worked Comm/Nav on Marine Corps aircraft and had 4 C47s in our squadron at Cherry Point NC.
Still thinking about making the run back up to see 844. It is about 12 solid hours to Denver from here. I would really like a couple of days to scout the route and find the best locations. Yeah, from what I have seen, when a rare train is out on the rails it is like a shark feeding frensy.
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