Well, I'm off: down I-84 to the town of Bliss, ID, then US 26 to the Craters.

 

And lunch the following day going into Monterrey.

There's Monterrey, Mexico, and then there's Monterey, California ... to which of the two are you referring?

 

There's Monterrey, Mexico, and then there's Monterey, California ... to which of the two are you referring?

Well since I stayed in Half Moon Bay two nights before and I was traveling by bicycle and it is almost 3000Km to Monterrey, Mexico......

 

Evening, all. Just got back from dinner at the Celt Pub & Grill in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Had the Cottage Pie, which was fantastic. So was the gorgeous waitress, who had a balcony you could read Shakespeare from (obscure Firesign Theater reference, there). Got balsted on Nekkid Scotsman Amber ale, which is why I'm WAYYYYY too far gone to post anything else right now. More in the morning...

 

Evening, all. Just got back from dinner at the Celt Pub & Grill in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Had the Cottage Pie, which was fantastic. So was the gorgeous waitress, who had a balcony you could read Shakespeare from (obscure Firesign Theater reference, there). Got balsted on Nekkid Scotsman Amber ale, which is why I'm WAYYYYY too far gone to post anything else right now. More in the morning...

Sweet dreams, my friend.

 

Good morning. I'm now sober. And well-caffeinated. And breakfasted.

And after yesterday afternoon's visit to the Craters of the Moon National Monument, my appetite for lava and volcanoes has now been sated. Jeez, what a mess. As one signboard explained, "Volcanic eruptions ranging from gentle to explosive created the landscape before you. Deep cracks in the earth allowed lava to blast, plop and flow above and below the surface to create cinder cones, spatter cones and lava tube caves."

It rained off and on while I was there, so there was much that I missed seeing and didn't get pictures of. One of the few shots I took during brief periods of sunshine was of this vast field of broken lava from one of the flows that occurred 2,100 years ago:



Overall, except for the volcano stuff I didn't find Idaho terribly interesting or picturesque, at least along the route I took. It is definitely Big Sky Country, though; you can see for miles and miles:



In a little while I'll hit the trail again and head up to Billings, Montana via I-15 and I-90. Not sure if I'll see anything interesting or awe-inspiring along the way, but even if I see nothing at all it'll still be a "new" nothing instead of a nothing I've seen half a dozen times before on my trips West.

@wayneh: One possible modification to my plans: instead if overnighting in Madison, Wisconsin on June 3 and meeting you for breakfast the following morning, it looks like there's good accommodations in South Beloit just a few miles from you. If I stopped there for the night, that would allow us to meet for dinner on the 3rd instead of breakfast on the 4th. Would that be better?

All righty, it's time for me to make like a bakery van and haul my buns outta here. Til tonight, then...

 

Would that be better?

Yes! We’d have more options and without a long drive ahead of you, we could chill and grab a beer if the mood hits.

 

vast field of broken lava from one of the flows that occurred 2,100 years ago

wow... geologically speaking, that happened just yesterday! ... what are the chances of it happening again?

 

wow... geologically speaking, that happened just yesterday! ... what are the chances of it happening again?

If it makes you feel any better:

The U.S. Geological Survey, University of Utah and National Park Service scientists with the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory maintain that they "see no evidence that another such cataclysmic eruption will occur at Yellowstone in the foreseeable future.

And in these case of the flood basalts you were looking at, you may be able to out run then. Enjoy.

 

The U.S. Geological Survey, University of Utah and National Park Service scientists with the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory maintain that they "see no evidence that another such cataclysmic eruption will occur at Yellowstone in the foreseeable future.

Well excuuuuuse me.... but I just so happened to come across information that directly contradicts that statement, and that's from a very reliable source ...

​

 

i’m pretty sure I was working in that city in 2012. Never noticed anything. But, you know...

 

The U.S. Geological Survey, University of Utah and National Park Service scientists with the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory maintain that they "see no evidence that another such cataclysmic eruption will occur at Yellowstone in the foreseeable future.

Yeah but that's Yellowstone, in NW Wyoming; this is Craters of the Moon, in central Idaho, some 200+ miles away. Yellowstone last erupted some 600,000+ years ago while CotM erupted only 2,100 years ago. I've no idea whether it's extinct, or dormant, or still active; but my WAG would be extinct since I saw absolutely no evidence of steam or gasses being emitted.

And in these case of the flood basalts you were looking at, you may be able to out run then. Enjoy.

Or even out-crawl.

 

Greetings from Billings, Montana! The drive yesterday was pretty ho-hum, mostly past potato or alfalfa fields or through desert scrubland. Today's north on I-15 and east on I-90 was a LOT more enjoyable, with plenty of mountains; I crossed the Continental Divide three times this morning. Sad to say, no pictures, as the only scenes that I thought would make a good pic didn't offer any convenient (or safe) place to stop. But western Montana sure is a lot prettier than the portion of Idaho I saw.

Right now I'm debating whether to go out to dinner. I'm not particularly hungry, but on the other hand there's a Texas Roadhouse nearby...

 

Right now I'm debating whether to go out to dinner. I'm not particularly hungry, but on the other hand there's a Texas Roadhouse nearby...

If you go to the restaurant ... you'll get hungry ... I guarantee it

 

If you go to the restaurant ... you'll get hungry ... I guarantee it

I walked across the street to a restaurant. Regrettably. Shoulda stayed hungry...

 

I walked across the street to a restaurant. Regrettably. Shoulda stayed hungry...

I like reading your travels, you word it so well. I've been working on the house and in the morning my wife sleeps in while I have to cater to the cat, it has an internal wake up alarm, she needs attention every 24 hrs or so. Every morning same ritual, a few rubs on the head, then lays down to look at me type on the computer, then waits till I'm done, then begs me to take out the Laser pen so she can chase it around a bit, then gets back on the bed and fall asleep. Now I'm up and can't go back to sleep. Today it was 5:45am

At least I have something to read in the morning as I wake up.

kv

 

Ha! This morning, our cat meowed until I got up and cleared the cat flap (we cover it up at night) she just then looked at it. I even held the flap open, but she did not go through it. So, I had to go and open the back door for her to exit.
Now I see she is back inside, via the cat flap!
I am enjoying the travelog too

 

Greetings from Fargo, North Dakota!

Jeez, am I beat. 610 miles today. Eastern Montana and western North Dakota were pretty-- lots of hills and scenery. This first pic is typical:



Further on there was the North Dakota Badlands:



Not as big nor quite as colorful as the badlands in South Dakota, where I snapped this shot back in 2007:



Still, very pretty.

And that's where the fun stopped. ND abruptly flattened out into hundreds of miles of featureless prairie, a real drag to drive through.

I'm hungry. Going out to a burger and brew place a few blocks from here, will be back later. Cheers...

 

Today's north on I-15 and east on I-90 was a LOT more enjoyable, with plenty of mountains.

Did you know that I-90 is the longest interstate? It ends in Seattle and starts at Logan International Airport in Boston, MA.

 

Make sure you rest if you get tired please.
You sure are going through a range of scenery