2002 Tom and Daddy Trip
To Denver and Back Again
This year's trip is our most ambitious yet. It features two special guests:
Mommy and Julie! Tom and I drive to Denver, with stops in South Bend, Chicago, and the Black Hills.
In Denver we are joined by Kathy and Julie, who flew out to spend four days with
us in the Denver area. The girls then fly home, while we hit the
road for the long drive back, featuring a game in Kansas City, the Gateway Arch, and a stop
at the Air Force museum in Dayton Ohio.
This trip was carefully planned. That was half the fun. Check out our
Plans.
Diary
Wednesday,
July 31:
Since we are ready, we leave a day earlier than planned. We
drive straight to Milan, Ohio, but reach the Edison birthplace museum about 10
minutes after it closes. No problem - its right off the Ohio turnpike and we
figure we'll have plenty of other chances to visit (see 2004?). Instead, we spend a
relaxing hour checking out the small town of Milan. Pushing on, we check into
the Ramada Inn in South Bend, a day early. Tom enjoys the pool and hot tub - and
I'm guessing he enjoyed sharing the hotel with three girls softball teams, in
town for the 14 and older championship.
Thursday,
August 1:
A relaxing day, without any driving - except on the new
Warren
Golf Course at ND. I enjoy driving the ball and Tom enjoys driving the cart.
Afterward, I gave Tom a long tour of campus: the sports facilities, classroom
buildings, admin building, dining halls, grotto, church, huddle - we even sneek
into the basement door of
Zahm Hall and looked around the dorm for awhile. Feeling
brassy, I stopped at Father Ted's office high in the library and announced "Hi.
Dan Joyce, class of 73. I wanted Father to meet my son Tom." Too bad he wasn't in .. I have a feeling he
and Tom would have hit it off. Father Hesburg's secretary apoligized that he
wasn't in, and invited us to spend some time looking around his office and trophy room. Tom was most impressed with the
various jet
airplane models, and the info that Father had flown many of their real
counterparts. Here is a picture of the office that appeared in ND Magazine.
Dinner at the Mishawaka Brewery and back to the hot tub.
Friday,
August 2:
After the "free" breakfast at the Ramada we head to Chicago.
It only takes about two hours to get to the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum
on South Lake Shore Drive. We sing songs from The Music Man as we drive through
beautiful Gary, Indiana. Not Louisiana, Paris France, New York or Rome. The
weather is gorgeous and we enjoy the lakeside, outside the museum, as much as
the exhibits inside. By 1 PM we arrive at Information Security Corporation and
after a short tour are taken
out to lunch by Gabes and several of his cohorts. Halfway through lunch Gabes
wants to know if Tom is available for consulting work. I explain that my son really
doesn't understand half of what he appears to, although I admit that he can be
scary sometimes. Heading west after lunch, we got
stuck in the Friday afternoon Chicago traffic, as Tom tries to connect with
local people using his wireless Cybiko. We spend a little time at Wisconsin Dells, entertaining
ourselves by looking at all the touristy stuff from the car. Pushing on, we stop
for the night just short of the Minnesota border.
Saturday,
August 3:
This will be a long day in the car as we consume Minnesota and
most of South Dakota. Up and out, we cross the Mississippi River early in the
morning, and the Missouri later in the day. We are well into our book on tape,
Michael Crichton's "Timeline" and spend a lot of time with the book on this
day .. "quantum foam makes us roam". The first 400 miles flies by as we
anxiously head for the amaizing Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. The
entire outside and inside of this building is decorated (and redecorated each
year) with corn. We spend about 30 minutes wandering around the inside of the
building, admiring the corn murals and marveling at all the touristy junk stands.
Before leaving Mitchell we visit a Cabela's Retail Showroom
- a most impressive collection of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear. We get back
into the car under ominously threatening skies and minutes later we are being
pelted with sheets of rain, hail and high winds. We've been traveling on Route
90 since mid-Ohio; as we cross over route 37 the radio announces "beware of
tornadoes in the area of routes 90 and 37". At least the car got a good
cleaning.
Further west, the weather clears. We make it to Badlands
National Park, on the far side of the state, just in time to enjoy a
beautiful sunset while I down a few beers, sitting on the edge of a small
cliff, and Tom climbs around the desert mounds. Heavy deja vu for me, as I did
essentially the same thing 25 years earlier .. this time is even better since
I'm with Tom. We finish our drive through the park in the twilight and get a
room in Wall, South Dakota. Dinner, at the famous Wall Drug Store complex, caps
off a great day.
Sunday,
August 4:
We spend another hour
looking around Wall Drug Store in the morning and then drive to the Black Hills.
The Hills are one of our major destinations and we are excited to arrive. In
addition to all of the standard attractions we will be sharing the area with
400,000 motorcyclists, who are attending the
Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
Yes, I really do mean four hundred thousand. Motorcycles are everywhere. Driving around we start to count how many cycles we
see in a row coming the other way: one, two, three, ... fifty four, fifty five,
oh, there's a car. The cyclists add quite a bit of "fun" to the whole
adventure of visiting the Black Hills.
On this first day we drive the Needles Highway,
therefore seeing Mt. Rushmore from several distant viewpoints before actually
arriving at the site itself. Once on site, we hike the trail to directly under the carvings,
and also visit the museum. The photo at left of Tom standing near the entrance
to the museum area is a bit misleading .. for example, Tom could actually
standup inside the eyeball of Washington, if he could climb up that high. In
addition to spending time at Rushmore, we take a tour of the Big Thunder Gold
Mine that culminates with Tom panning for gold in a trough on their porch ...
and he finds some! Finally, we head a little south to Custer and our first of
two nights at the Dakota Cowboy Inn. We cap the day off with big steaks at the
Dakota's restaurant. Life is good!
Monday, August 5:
Lots of Black Hill's
attractions to visit today. Our tours of Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns and the
Petrified Forest of the Black Hills are fun but somewhat standard. A little more
exciting is the drive up to Sturgis, the center of the motorcycle rally, and
stopping in nearby Deadwood for dinner. Sturgis is packed, bumper to bumper
(except the bikes don't really have bumpers) with motorcycles. We find a parking
space and wander around for about an hour. On to Deadwood, which provides a chance to play a
little blackjack .. Tom is finally allowed in a casino, as long as he doesn't
get too close to the tables. After the busy day, the 60 mile drive from Deadwood
back to Custer on the mountain roads seems much longer. That evening we are
treated to an extremely heavy thunderstorm .. rain pelting the side of the hotel
and seeping in under the door to our room even though it is protected by a large
roof.
Sturgis:
Tom took the above photo from out the car window as we were
moving. I wanted him to get a photo of the "Bike Wash" sign, but when we looked
at what he captured we were happy with the combination of the biker with the
cigarette passing us, the bike wash sign, the gentleman selling biker pictures
being aided by the young lady in the swim suit .. all wearing shades of course
... captures the spirit of the place very well.
Deadwood:
Tuesday,
August 6:
Check out of the Dakota Inn
and head back to Rushmore for one more look. Yup, its still there. Heading south
again, we finally stop for a closer peak at the Crazy Horse Monument, a
work-in-progress. This site is near
Custer and we have driven past it many times now.
I manage to squeeze nine holes of golf in at a lovely
mountain course. Our visit to the National Woodcarving Museum is short and
disappointing - but no problem since its really the first dud attraction that
we've experienced. The afternoon is capped off at a neat swimming attraction in
Hot Springs, called Evans Plunge. This
place features a huge indoor pool fed by natural spring water and a smaller
outdoor pool of the chlorinated variety - lots of slides and inner tubes and
swinging ropes. We spend about two hours swimming, swinging, sliding and
gliding. I think it is also on this day that we briefly drive onto the Warren
Air Force Missile Base. Spend the night at a hotel in Lusk, Wyoming. Even though
we are almost 100 miles from Sturgis, hotel prices are still inflated because of
"the rally".
Wednesday,
August 7:
The brief 230 mile drive to Denver
is broken up, towards the end, by a stop at the Anheisier Busch Brewery. After
the free tour, I get selected for a taste test contest, and am one of the few who
spot the fact that one of the beers is much "fresher" than the other.
In hindsight, this should have been obvious, since their big thing is the fact
that they put "born" dates on their beers. We check
into the Red Lion Hotel, somewhat close to the Denver Airport, and settle in.
Looking forward to seeing the girls tomorrow.
Thursday, August 8:
Kathy and Julie should get here
about mid-afternoon. To help pass the time, we head down to downtown Denver,
figuring to visit the state capital and a shopping area. Tom is acting listless
and I figure he is just anxious to see his Mom and sister. We take a tour of the
capitol building but drop out halfway through. We stand on the step of the
capital building that is marked as being exactly 1 mile above sea level. We walk
around the shopping area a little. Throughout, Tom doesn't seem into it and when
he announces he doesn't feel like having lunch we head back to the hotel. He
feels even sicker in the car, so I finally begin to pay attention (this kid is
never sick). Back at the hotel, it finally hits me .. its altitude sickness.
Classic symptoms. He takes a nap and although a little listless the rest of the
day, is fine, and is completely recovered by the next morning. Kathy arrives
just in time to take care of him properly. In the late afternoon, the four of us
head over to the west side of Denver, to tour the beautiful Mother Cabrini
shrine. Kathy heads up the long trail to the top of the shrine by herself, as I
nurse the two kids, both who are quickly short of breath. I'm not breathing so
well myself!
Friday, August 9:
Spend the day driving up to, and
through, and back from Rocky Mountain
National Park. We enjoy the small entry village of Estes Park, the visitors'
centers, the short hiking trails, the views of glaciers, moving above the tree
line into the tundra, seeing elk and deer, and the mountain scenery. We stand on
the continental divide .. if a drop of rain falls over to the left it heads to
the Pacific .. over to the right, it heads to the Atlantic. And, we spend
essentially the entire day in the car together without strangling each other!
Saturday, August 10:
We drive to nearby Golden and
tour the Coors brewery. The tour is very well organized and we enjoy it ... an
especially nice tasting room tops it off. We stop again at the Mother Cabrini
shrine again, since the gift shop and museum is now open. I'm not sure if it is
this day or another, but we also visit a local candy making company for a tour
.. at this small Hammonds candy factory we see how the candy is made and get to
taste some free samples. Since we are moving around in the live working areas,
we must wear hair nets -- have to keep the candy clean and pure.
Our
plans to take in a Rockies game are thwarted .. from what we are told they are
sold out since there are many local fans of the visiting Cubs. Go figure!
Instead, we spend some time in the downtown shopping area, the 16th Street Mall.
Sunday, August 11:
According to my notes, the girls
spent the morning at the zoo. I don't know what Tom and I did. I know that one
day the two of us went to the Eagle Claw Fishing Tackle company that we spotted
near the candy factory. Maybe it was Sunday morning? More probably it was
Tuesday morning .. but whatever. They had a nice exhibit of fishing tackle and
flies and things. We bought a few "grab bags" of hooks etc. for just a couple
dollars each.
In the afternoon we all attended the Music
Man, at the Buehl Theater in the Denver Performing Arts Center. The Center
itself was unusual, interesting. And the show was great. Although there was
Trouble. In River City. With a capitol T.
Monday, August 12:
We drive down to Colorado Springs. Lots of attractions in the area. We drive
and hike through the interesting rock formations of the Garden of the Gods.
We visit the Cave of
the Winds, which is where Tom and Julie get goofy, clowning around on the kiddy
rides in the cafeteria as shown below.
This is the third time this trip that Tom and I have headed
under ground! To cap the day off, we tackle the long drive up to the top of
Pike's Peak. America's Mountain.
As the brochure says " you'll encounter some of the most beautiful views in the
world as you wind your way past mountain reservoirs, panoramic vistas and
treasured wildlife habitat". Its a 19 mile drive. Its 14,110 feet high. That's
approaching three miles. We all felt the altitude. Even the car felt it as it
continually stalled near the top. At one point Kathy and the kids got out and
walked a little, to give the car a break. Paradoxically as it might sound, we
were quite exhilarated dispite our listlessness at the top. Beautiful views,
fresh cool air, but don't walk too fast. They had oxygen tanks in the visitors
center, if needed.
On the drive down from the summit Julie began to exhibit
all the signs of altitude sickness that Tom had shown a few days before. Only
worse. She was one sick puppy. They made us stop halfway down at a visitor
center, saying our brakes were too hot. I think we had an ice cream treat. From
there, it was a straight shot down the mountain and north to Denver and the Red
Lion. The goal was to get Julie to bed.
Once
there, comforted by her buddies, she felt better. She got to pick the "pay for
movie" selection the next two nights! That essentially marked the end of that
stage of this trip.
Tuesday,
August 13:
The next
morning Tom and I headed out. I now remember, we did first backtrack slightly to
Eagle Claw before heading east again. The girls spent a relatively quiet day,
letting Julie recover. I think one of their highlights was watching the new
Spiderman movie on the hotel TV. They flew home early Wednesday. Meanwhile, we
left Colorado behind. By the end of the day we are ensconced in a hotel in
Hayes, Kansas, about 300 miles east of Denver.
Wednesday,
August 14:
We have to make it to Kansas
City, another 300 miles away by game time. No problem We are getting used
to this sort of schedule. We make good time and even have a chance to stop at a
very nice golf course. Before this trip, I borrowed a book from the library that
had info about interesting courses
across
the US. I don't remember the details, but as we drove up to the clubhouse, the
course looked wonderful - and also deserted. Hardly anybody was playing ..
which promises a nice quick round. But, I wasn't allowed to play -- it was
ladies day! Forget the fact that nobody was around. Wednesday was ladies day. I
told them their course looked great and that I would probably never get another
chance to play it. Thanks for stopping by, but it was ladies day. What a bunch
of crap.
But, no worries. We arrive in KC early and check into our
hotel, across from the ballpark parking lot - in time for Tom to have a swim
before the game. Terry McMahon meets us at our hotel with his son Kellen
(forgive the spelling) and we head to the game. Terry treated us to really good
seats and I bought a few beers for the two of us. The game was notable for the
important steal of home by Mike Sweeny.
Its not every day that you see that play.
Thursday,
August 15:
We drive across Missouri. Pulling
into St. Louis we are greatly entertained by the huge jetliners traveling low
over our highway to land at a nearby airport. We stop in the
historic area along the river and enjoy a
nice lunch/dinner in a pub, the parks around the Arch, the Westward Expansion
Museum and a trip in the "elevators" up to the top of the Arch. We then continue
east, making it the whole way across Illinois and to Terre Haute, Indiana.
Friday,
August 16:
We leave Terre Haute in the
morning and I'm starting to think about making it the whole way home on this
day. But Tom has other plans. He's been studying the AAA book and has discovered
the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. He can be very persuasive when he wants
to be and the next thing I know we are visiting an
incredible aviation museum. It has
dozens of interesting planes lined up on runways outside, plus several large
hangers full of even more interesting aircraft. The galleries, and exhibits, and
museum store are all first class. What a gem of a museum. The only problem is
that the most intriguing part of the museum requires a special ticket, and a
short trip to the nearby Patterson Air Force base. And at this time of the day
it is too late to get a ticket to go see the special collection of Air Force
Ones and research aircraft. As I said, Tom can be persuasive and soon we are
checking into a Red Roof Inn in Dayton, with the idea of returning to the museum
in the morning. We manage to find a nearby golf course for 9 holes of twilight
golf. And to top things off, we are right across the street from the Dayton
Nutter Center, which is hosting a big rib fest. Our dinner there is enjoyed
while listening to that evening's band: Foghat.
Looking back, this day was one of the (many) highlights of this trip - partly
because so many good things worked out, yet the whole thing was so completely
unplanned.
Saturday, August 17:
The Air Force one hanger and tour
was worth the extra night in the hotel. We saw several previous Air Force One
planes, including the one on which Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as president
after the Kennedy assassination. This museum impressed us so much that we
returned to the same place the following year for our trip.
After our morning tour we did put the petal to the metal,
and were home in time for a late dinner.
Now, that's a Tom and Daddy trip.
Photos
Ticket Stubs
Brochures
Tom's Notes: Two years after the fact, Tom
created a short list of some of the things he recalls about this trip.
End of 2002
