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| A bit cluttered but this map showcases my basic route. |
Iron Mountain Ski Jump & Pine Mountain Ski Area
First stop for hiking and exploration. A misty day in Michigan but a beautiful area to explore. Next to the ski jump is a beautifully developed memorial park celebrating veterans. There's a road on the back side of the mountain that folks can drive to get to the jump and the memorial park.
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Iron Mountain Ski Jump
Note the stairs on the far right. |
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| Staircase with Plaques |
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| Tom Izzo's plaque |
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| Izzo Family Plaque |
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| Hotel, Golf Club House |
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| Pine Mountain Ski Slopes |
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| Snack Shack at the top |
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Back stay cables. "No, Knightsie, I didn't
help grease these puppies." |
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| America Legion memorial at the base of the jump |
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Pine Mountain ski map
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Christie Mountain Ski Area, Wisconsin
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| Rock Climbing class on the mountain |
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Towers on this tow were painted to by
local artists to raise money for the ski area. |
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| Artwork |
Great Bear Ski Area, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
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| This is a ski area just on the outskirts of the city. |
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The snow pond... I wonder if the snow is green
to begin with. |
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| "...Thin Green Ice" |
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| Nice. |
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| Great Bear Lodge all run by the city |
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| After my gentle 3-mile hike. |
The Badlands National Park, South Dakota
The Burger Walk, Badlands, South Dakota
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View from "hike" :-)
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Yellowstone National Park and the Cascade Lake Trail
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Waking up in a Walmart parking lot before an early drive
up over the mountains into Yellowstone.
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Sunrise as I drove toward Yellowstone
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| Yellowstone Lake |
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| Classy license plates. |
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| Outside Yellowstone |
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota: the Wind Canyon Trail
Upper Jones Creek Trail, NoDak NP
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| Buffalo scratching his butt on the sign. |
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| Prairie Dogs... coolest little voices. |
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| A baby Prairie Dog trying to get home to mom & dad. |
Sperati Point and the Achenback Trail, NoDak NP
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The Achenback Trail had
reasonable switchbacks not unlike
the Grand Canyon but without the depth. |
Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Newberry Michigan
Copper Peak Ski Flying Hill & Mt. Zion Ski Area
Mt. Zion Ski Hill is located on the campus of Gogebic Community College in Ironwood, Michigan. The college has a ski industries program, and the students manage the ski area under the guidance of college staff members. Graduates of the program find jobs at ski areas throughout the United States. While chatting with a couple walking their three Brittanys, I learned about Copper Peak, just a short drive out of town.
With a $20 million dollar grant from the State of Michigan, Copper Peak will soon be the largest jump in the world sanctioned by the Federation International de Ski. Last used in 1994, the hill has a small, but well-appointed museum and gift shop as well as chairlift and elevator trips up to the top of the jump.
Click on photos to enlarge
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| Borrow from the Mt. Zion Ski Hill Facebook page |
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| Borrowed from the ski hill's website. |
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| Borrowed from the ski hill's website. |
The Western Trip by Words and Numbers
National Parks
–Badlands
–Yellowstone
–Theodore Roosevelt
State Parks
–Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan
Hiking
Mountains…12
Ski Areas……4
Ski Jumps….. 2
Boondocked/camped
Walmart……………………….5
Home Depot..............................2
National Park Camping.....……4
Motels…………………...…….3
Travel Data
States…………………………..11
Provinces……………………….2
Countries…………….………….2
Mileage……………..……….5197.6 miles
Gas mileage…………......…....16.6 mpg
Average speed…………….......45 mph
Time Driving………...………111 hours, 45 minutes
Lost or Misplaced……….At least 6 times
Coolest Town Name…….Good Thunder, MN
Funniest Thing…………. A buffalo scratching his
Butt on the Badland’s sign
Scariest Thing………….. Rattle Snake warning
sign & Hiking The Trail up Saddle Pass in the Badlands.
Least liked………………. Yellowstone Traffic
Worst roads…………….. Sudbury, ONT, Canada
Most Impressive………… Friendliness of people
Most Surprising……….. I didn’t read a book
although I did teach an online writing class
Dumbest………………….. Driving out of Duluth, MN at 5am––Following my Garmin only… I started
heading onto a freeway on-ramp going the wrong way. In the Garmin’s defense, Duluth has a ton of construction going on. In my defense? Zero. Nada. I was careless.
Longest day
of driving………………… 14 hours
Other Pictures
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| Bailey deserved to come. |
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Four young guys wearing similar attire
in a rainstorm looking at the Badlands.
As I took their picture, they turned their
cameras on me and my HYOY Rig... one yelled,
"We gotcha too, buddy!" |
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I ended up going to Good Thunder, MN because
of the name I saw on the map. I turned a hard
left and headed down. I met the mayor in a
convenience store; I asked about the history of
the town's name... he wasn't quite sure. |
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Fun sign at the convenience store in
Good Thunder, MN.
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Lunch outside a library in Iowa; working on
my writing class and catching up on Facebook
chats. |
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| A telephone booth in Canada... |
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I'm sure they meant stay in your car and
leave as quickly as possible... that's wha I did. |
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| The Rig outside Yellowstone. |
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Dozens upon dozens of signs along the freeways introduced the city of Wall and its humongous store, Wall Drug. |
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Coffee, Diet Coke, and high-powered
mint gum kept me awake and moving forward. |
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