Travels with Stargazer

Prior to arriving in Minneapolis, Stargazer found shelter from the winds at Palisades State Park outside Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Many of the state parks have unique stories to tell; PSP was once a town with three stores, blacksmith shop, hotel, and more. A railroad passed through Palisades, but now there are limited remnants; although the Balancing Rock where the town mill was located was very cool. BTW: Another great hike with Otto, but when I told him it was…

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Stargazer Update Told by Stargazer: Wow, what a trip! Neither rain, hail, snow nor winds has delayed our trip. With Melinda or Greg at the wheel and Otto on lookout, our team has done an amazing job and visited many new and incredible locations. I am averaging 16 miles per gallon and will end up covering 12,000 road miles. Most nights we have rested at incredible state parks, and I enjoy listening to Melinda and Greg brag about my performance….

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To help us keep our legs from falling asleep and Otto happy, sometimes during a long drive we will stop at a state park for a hike/walk and lunch. On the way to Hardin, Montana we stopped at Lake Elmo State Park in Billings. Our respect for state parks grows after each park we visit. What incredible resources. From there we headed to Little Big Horn Battlefield and National Monument. We learned a lot (and were warned to watch out…

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We left Yogi and Sandy early Thursday morning and within 45 minutes the HI Oil Light was back on. Same light/problem we encountered at the start of our trip from Jackson. Now that we understood the problem, we contacted a Valvoline Shop in Wood River, along the Columbia Gorge, and within 10 minutes the problem was resolved – one half quart (not two quarts like last time) had to be drained. The drive up the Columbia Gorge and ultimately to…

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Over 30 days during the trip from Jackson, NH to Portland, OR we had one rainy day. Upon our arrival in Portland, the weather changed to unsettled, wet and cold. As we pack up Stargazer tonight, the skies are clearing and Portland will soon be experiencing nice spring weather! Even with rain and cold our time in Portland with Paul, alias Yogi, and Sandy has been exceptional. Just spending time together talking is so wonderful; the bonus being amazing meals,…

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We started by indulging in delicious donuts from Heavenly Donuts. The drive from Red Bluff, CA to South Beach, OR was incredible, but required Stargazer to be able to handle curves, falling rocks, steep hills, and much more. Melinda and I fully share the driving and each day we were exhausted, as full concentration was critical. Today we have been on the road for 30 days and we have been blessed with amazing weather. The only rain we experienced was…

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We traveled from Boulder, UT to Baker, NV. Lots of long straight lonely roads with very few cars (no trucks) but continued outstanding views. Baker is a town of 86 people at the base of the Great Basin National Park. We were able to walk around the Park some, but overall the Park was closed. Locals report having three times the snow of normal years and on the mountains the snow will not completely melt until July. While in Baker…

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Utah is quite spectacular and the drive from Canyonlands National Park to Boulder, Utah took us from warmer weather and desert conditions, to lots of snow, to no snow, but cooler temperatures. On the way we stopped at Goblin Valley State Park where we were amazed by incredible sandstone goblin formations. We then headed to Boulder, but first stopped at Stan’s Burger Shake for a very thick shake. Then over Boulder Mountain where we ran into many feet of snow….

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After a final photo shoot, we left Tracy and Eric and headed to Utah. Along the way we traveled through Rio Grande National Forest, over Wolf Creek Pass (where we practiced downshifting), through Durango, and into Moab. Upon arriving in Moab we learned it was the beginning of the Moab Jeep Rally 2023! Our first day in Moab we were up early and headed to Dead Horse Point State Park where Melinda and I took a six mile hike following…

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Our Crestone, CO visit has been a blast. Being with Tracy and Eric is always fun. I have known Tracy since 1978 when we and many others worked together positioning LERN to become the leading association in lifelong learning. We so much enjoy sharing what we have been up to and what its going on in our friends’ lives. Besides time together, the highlight of the visit was our time at the Great Sands National Park. The Park includes the…

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