To the ends of the 48

Here are the furthest most points in the 48 contiguous states. From top to bottom: The Geographic Center near Lebanon, Kansas (2009); South- Key West, Florida (2004); East- West Quaoddy Head Lighthouse, Maine (2008); West - Cape Flattery, Washington State (2005) ; and North-Northwest Angle, Minnesota (2009).

Mackiac Bridge

Knife River Indian Villages NHS

This is a replica of a Hidatsa earth lodge from the time Lewis & Clark first visited.

Fort Mandan

This is an impressive replica of Lewis ' Clark's winter quarters in 1804-1805.

Theodore Roosevelt NP

This photo is from the parks less-visited North Unit. I saw Bison later but they were too far away to get a picture on my phone camera.

Fort Union Trading Post NHS

This was the first in a series of forts built near the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers.

Why do they call Montana 'Big Sky Country'?

Yellowtail Dam

This impressive power producer for 8 states is located in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in Southeastern Montana.

Anaconda Smoke Stack

This unique state park preserves this gigantic Copper Smelter smoke stack. It is still under development, and will focus on the importance of copper mining to the area.

Big Hole National Battlefield

This picturesque valley was the site of a bloody battle between the US Army and the Nez Perce Indians in August of 1877.

Craters of the Moon NM

Here's a picture from up top of Inferno Cone. It almost killed me, but I did make it up!

Unbelievabear

Erik says he climbed that cinder cone behind me. I don't really believe him, but I guess the next picture proves me wrong.

My mobile apartment

I'm traveling in my parents van. I've removed both bench seat and brought a single mattress so that I can camp right out of it. This set up is also ideal because when I was traveling with my dad (he flew home from Salt Lake City yesterday) one could drive while the other one got some rest in back. This was especially helpful on the first two days when we drove almost 1400 miles.

Hagerman Fossil Beds NM

This site along the Snake River in Southern Idaho protects a large number of fossils in bluffs along the river.

Minidoka Internment NM

This site is the remnants of a World War II Japanese Internment camp near Twin Falls, Idaho. Not much remains today, and the site is still under development by the NPS.

Big Storm

This storm set in at Dinosaur National Park and convinced us we wouldn't be camping tonight.

Petey says...

Ugh, this is just embarrassing...

Colorado National Monument

This is a series of amazing canyons outside Grand Junction, Colorado.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP

This spectacular canyon is located in Central Colorado.

Molas Pass

This is the view from 10,910 foot Molas Pass, on the Million Dollar Highway in Central Colorado.

Silverton, Colorado

This is a view of the very touristy, yet cute, old silver mining town of Silverton.

Bear-y sick of Indian ruins

Petey's become a bit worn out on all the Indian ruins we've seen the last couple of days.

Mesa Verde National Park

This is the Spruce Tree House ruin. It dates from 1200 B.C.

Priceless

This is at our campground in Cortez, Colorado.

This is getting old...

Ugh!

Four Corner Bear

Ok- he was in all four states at once, but the wind was blowing so hard, I couldn't keep him there long enough to take the picture!

Aztec Ruins NM

This is a reconstructed kiva. A kiva was a place of ceremony and worship in Puebloan cultures. The name of the park, Aztec Ruins, is misleading, since the Aztecs never lived in this part of the continent. It was given by early settlers who were mistaken.

Tricks of the trade

I've gotten some questions about why there are so many pictures of my dad and I using the same angle. Well, here's the answer. My brother and sister-in-law got me the apparatus that allows me to hold the camera at a distance and get a picture of us (or me) without needing to carry a tripod or asking someone else to take a picture for you. I'm told the inspiration for this gift was the 'idiot' photos I take at each place. If you don't know what an idiot photo is- check out the trip page at www.eriksmith.com/OutWest2009/Idiotp1.htm .

Chaco Culture National Historical Park

This park preserves a number of 'great houses' of the ancestral Puebloan people. This canyon was the hub of their activity from 800 B.C. through 1200 B.C.

Another One of Great Sand Dunes

Great Sand Dunes NP & Preserve

This is another really cool place. It is a park that offers a tremendous amount of recreational opportunities, from hiking and swimming to off-roading and wildlife viewing.

Collegiate Peaks

This range contains many of Colorado's famous 14,000 foot mountains

Florissant Fossil Beds NM

This is a gigantic petrified redwood stump from the late Eocene Era, some 34 million years ago. This is another great park, and we enjoyed our time talking with the passionate and informative Ranger Jeff.'

Amazing scenery

This picture is from this morning. Trail Ridge Road has the most amazing vistas.

Elevation

Petey is enjoying the views, just not the snow!

Copeland Falls

This is Copeland Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Nicodemus NHS

Nicodemus, Kansas was settled by more than 400 former slaves and was a thriving community for a few decades until the railroad passed it. Today it is a town of 30, and a National Historic Site honoring those early settlers.

In the Center

This is the marker at the geographic center of the 48 contiguous states, just north of Lebanon, Kansas.

Cornhusker

Ever wonder what exactly a Cornhusker was? This should help.

Homestead National Monument

Homestead National Monument preserves the site of the first homestead claimed via The Homestead Act of 1862. This park is really amazing, one of the more underrated parks I have been to. I was particularly pleased to see that while praising the success of the Homestead Act, the horrible toll it took on the Native Americans in these areas was not glossed over. The picture is of the old one room schoolhouse which served the area.

Matt & Lisa Stueber, Noah and Leah

These are my friends, Matt & Lisa Stueber and their kids Noah and Leah. We visited them in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Gas in Iowa

This picture will probably make everyone living in Michigan jealous. I asked the attendant at the gas station why the mid-grade was cheaper than regular. She said it was because the mid-grade was about 10 percent ethanol and was locally produced, and wasn't taxed for that reason.

Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home NHS

This was Ronald Reagan's boyhood home from ages 9-12. It is located on Hennepin Street in the Northwestern Illinois town of Dixon. Reagan himself was present for the dedication of this home as a National Historic Site in 1984, eating lunch in the dining room before heading into Dixon for his birthday celebration. We're off across Iowa, heading for my friends, Matt ' Lisa Stueber's home in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Petey the Panda

This is my trip mascot for this year's trip. His name is Petey. We left around 530 this morning and are currently passing through Cereal City USA, Battle Creek. We hope to get to the Ronald Reagan Birthplace in Dixon, Illinois in about 3.5 hours. I'll check back then.

Week Two- Proposed Itinerary

This post details the proposed itinerary for the second week of my trip. On Friday, June 12th, I'll be dropping my Dad off at the airport in Salt Lake City for his flight home. We were really lucky to find this cheap flight. It only cost a little over $100! I will head north to Idaho, stopping at City of Rocks National Reserve before camping in Twin Falls for the evening.
Saturday, I will start by visiting Minidoka, one of the National Park Service's newest sites, a World War II era internment camp. From there it I head to Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, before spending the whole afternoon exploring Craters of the Moon National Monument. I am excited about my campground for Saturday evening, Challis Hot Springs, deep in the heart of the Bitteroot Mountains, which has pool heated by natural thermal springs.
Sunday should be one of the busiest days of the trip. The morning will be occupied with Big Hole National Monument, and two Montana State Parks, Anaconda Smoke Stack and Granite Ghost Town. In the afternoon, I'll visit the Grant-Kohrs National Historical Site, a famous ranch south of Missoula, Montana. On my way to my campsite for the evening, I'll make brief stops at Missouri Headwaters State Park and Madison Buffalo Jump State Park.
I'll be honest about Monday by saying that the sites I'm visiting are not high on my list, but need to be visited because they are National Park Sites and it's unlikely that I'll be back this way during the rest of my National Parks conquest. The first is Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. I hope to get some pictures of the park's Yellowtail Dam. In the afternoon, I'll be making a return visit to Little Bighorn Canyon National Monument, the site of Custer's Last Stand. I visited in 2002, but didn't do a very good job photographing it. I'll be staying in Miles City, Montana for the evening.
I'll be rising early again on Tuesday, heading Northeast into Western North Dakota and two frontier forts, Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site and Fort Buford State Park. After a brief stop at the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park (another park I visited in 2002), I'll visit my third fort of the day, Fort Clark, and Knife River Indian Villages, the remains of Mandan Villages. I'm staying at Lake Sakakawea State park that evening.
Wednesday is 'Best of North Dakota' day. I start in the morning with the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center near Washburn, and the replica of Fort Mandan, Lewis & Clark's winter home in 1804-1805. A long,what is sure to be flat and boring drive of 200 miles takes me to Fort Totten, another plains fort. Gingras Trading Post is a North Dakota State Park, a reconstruction of a settlement era fur trading post near the Canadian border. That evening I will be camping just South of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Exploring Winnipeg is how Thursday morning will be spent. Near noon I'll be heading for Lower Fort Garry, a Canadian National Historic Site North of Winnipeg. After that, I'll driving to the Northwest Angle, the Northernmost point in the 48 contiguous states, and an anomaly in that it can not be reached from road from anywhere in the U.S. After many days of camping, I'll be staying at a motel just across the American border in Warroad, Minnesota.
Friday is the last full day of this trip. In the morning, I am scheduled to do the North Canoe Tour in Voyagers National Park. From there I will be re-entering Canada for the long drive to Thunder Bay, then South to Grand Portage National Monument. I hope to be able to reach Grand Portage before the visitor's center closes at 5 P.M. so I can start the 900 mile drive home in the evening, rather than having to wait until after seeing Grand Portage on Saturday morning. If I get started home on Friday night, I should be back around 6 Saturday night, if not it will be 1 A.M or maybe not until Sunday before I get home.

Anyway it goes, the trip will probably be about 8000 miles. I hope gas stays around $2.75 a gallon, although I have been budgeting for $3.00 a gallon. This will my last post before hitting the road on Friday.