Epic road trip, Days 16 and 17

Our last stop on our epic road trip was the Badlands!  I was feeling a little sick and run down this day, so you don't want to see any pictures of me, I promise.  In most of them I could barely muster a smile.    Ha.  

Mr. GV was enchanted by the Badlands, and I can't blame him.  

The prairie dog town was an adorable sight to see too. I even saw a ferret running around out there (looking for dinner of course.)  

We took this opportunity to unload all our recyclables.  We tried our best to be as eco-friendly as we could on this trip, and wound up carting around our recyclables for a long time.  

Mr. GV took this picture just for my benefit.  I promise you, I was not getting out of the car after that sign!  Not only were there rattlesnake warnings, there were also signs reminding you that prairie dogs carry bubonic plague!!

We stopped off at Whole Foods that evening and stocked up on some food to help us get home.  This was our first time with any of Upton's prepared foods, and wow were they good.  

And here we are.....Day 17 and the last picture from our Epic Road Trip.  We took this in our garage, right before we walked in to see our puppies after a couple weeks away.  We had a great time being together, and the best part of the trip was that we still like each other after that much time together!  Here's to (at least) another 20 years of marriage!  I love you, Mr. GV!!  

Epic road trip, Day 15

Day 15 of our road trip saw us visiting two monuments:  Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore.  

But first, we drove through Upton, Wyoming.  Nothing notable here except apparently if you are looking for the best place EVER, this town is really sure of itself.  

The road on the way to Crazy Horse is pretty much nonexistent in some places, and downright scary to be driving.

I'm going to be completely honest about the Crazy Horse monument:  It is underwhelming.  It is honorable that there is a family and other workers so dedicated to seeing this project through, but there's just not a lot to see in regards to the memorial.  Some day there will be though, and I look forward to visiting again.  

Next it was off to Mt. Rushmore.  We had a great visit there, and were glad to have the chance to visit such an historical landmark.  

We stopped off at Everest Cuisine in Rapid City, South Dakota that evening.  We got the authentic Indian food we had been wanting for a few days.  It was delicious!  The only thing to be careful of, fellow vegans, is getting a truly vegan meal.  The waiter understood we were vegan, and instructed the kitchen to make us vegan bread.  And then the same man brought out sauces to go with our samosas, and we thought we were in the clear.  Mr. GV asked if the green sauce was vegan and our waiter replied that well, there was just a little bit of yogurt in there.  "Just a little bit."  As if that made it OK. That is, of course, infuriating, because he clearly understood what being vegan meant and thought he would just slip it by us.   

I know, being this picky makes me sound like a cranky pants.  But when you have heard great reviews of a restaurant and are told they can accommodate you, it's so disappointing to find out the staff is trying to sneak something past you while you were trusting them.  

Epic road trip, day 14

Sadly, we had to leave Glacier the next morning and drive to Buffalo, Wyoming for our next stop.  But we had what was probably the very best experience of our trip on this day:  Montana Grizzly Encounter.  As a vegan, I am obviously not a fan of animals in captive situations.  However, these bears are rescued bears from bad situations, or ones that were found as orphaned cubs and would not survive in the wild, and being in this rescue situation is the only humane option for them.  They are obviously treated very well and are much loved by their human family, who dedicate their lives to the well being of these bears and  to educating the public about bear safety and what a gift these animals are to our world.  

This is Brutus.  He is the star of the place.  The other bear who comes out at the same time as Brutus, a female named Sheena, decided not to come out of her den that day.  It was raining, and Sheena is not a fan.  I don't mind telling you that I had tears in my eyes as I watched Brutus enjoying his life.     

On a completely different topic, this was a sign as we drove through Montana and Wyoming.  I found it very fitting that the "Gusty Crossing" sign is bent by, I am sure, gusty winds.  

Epic road trip, day 13

We spend a second day at Glacier, and Mr. GV had an awesome bike ride that morning.  Bikers were allowed to go quite a bit further than other traffic.  

While he was riding, I hung out at our favorite spot from the day before, just enjoying the scenery and reading.  

I could have sat there all day long on the moss-covered logs, looking at the water and the mountains.  

Eventually it was time for Mr. GV's bike ride to be over, so I met him and we had a picnic lunch.  While we were there, we were joined by a Stellar's Jay, a bird that we do not have at home.  

That afternoon we took a boat tour on Lake McDonald.  We saw land that had been decimated by fire several years ago.  It is coming back to life though, slowly.  

We both had a great time on the boat.  

This picture just cannot do the reality of Glacier any justice.  

Eventually we had to leave the park and head to dinner.  We chose to try out Hu Hot.  The food was good, and the fact that there was tofu and plenty of vegetables was so nice.  

Epic road trip, Day 12

Our first day at Glacier National Park!  Unfortunately there was still snow being cleared on the Going to the Sun road so we could only drive a few miles into the park.  But oh!  The scenery!  We fell in love with this place.  

Look!  A vegan out in the wild!  Luckily I was able to throw some tofu and granola over to the side to distract him!  (Or as I like to call this #perpetuatingveganstereotypes.) 

We found some vegan snacks in the camp store.  We tried the hazelnut cookies, and they were delicious.  

But I would have to be starving to spend $5.59 on a box of Wheat Thins!  

I just had to have my picture at the Continental Divide!  

Apparently they have hovercrafts near the Continental Divide?  This is what happens when a car goes by during your panoramic shot.  

We drove to the other side of the park, to Two Medicine.  It was chilly enough to have a fire going in the park store.  

Epic road trip, days 10 and 11

The following morning we started out on the next leg of our adventure.  We had a rainy day of driving, going through Idaho, and some chilly temperatures.  

We arrived at our room in Kalispell, Montana in the later evening and headed out to the local WalMart for a few provisions.  

I love okra if it's fried.  I've never seen it in this form before though, and not sure I would like it.

The next day we had to take care of the task of getting the oil changed in the car.  Afterward we went for lunch at A Fresh Start in Kalispell.  It was good, although the portions were small and we found out there was honey in the slaw.  

Mr. GV went for a bike ride that afternoon while I enjoyed some time at Goodwill.  When he came back to the room he told me he had lost his room key, driver's license, and credit card.  Oh I was upset and worried, because that is how I react to those kind of things sometimes.  The room key was no big deal, and the credit card could be cancelled and other than leaving us short one method of payment for the next week, would be OK.  The driver's license is what I was most worried about.  He was going to have to drive without one, and just hope he never got stopped, because I could not drive cross country by myself.  

We retraced his route, and what do you know?  On a way, way back mountain road outside of town, we found all three of them laying in the road!  We were both so relieved.  

We just hung out at the room for the rest of the evening, and enjoyed the fact that the sky still looked like this at 10:00.  

Epic road trip, Day 9

The next day we headed to Proper Eats.  We could order both breakfast and lunch and so we did!  We had a Reuben (of course) and breakfast scramble.  

Proper Eats has a market on the other end of the building.  I would swoon if we had a market full of organic goodies like this near our home.  I love the old fashioned cases.  It reminds me of the grocery stores in my small hometown when I was growing up.  

Afterward we headed out to wash clothes.  Laundries are one of those places that can be dicey, in my experience, so I looked for one that had good reviews online as to cleanliness and safety.  This one was both clean and felt very safe.  Well, except for the VIPER hanging out of the bathroom ceiling.  Have I mentioned before that snakes are my biggest phobia?  That if I see one in a magazine or on TV there's a very good chance I will have a nightmare about it that night?  We had been in the building maybe 2 minutes when somebody announced the snake was peering out of the bathroom ceiling. 

 Did we stay?  Yes we did, but I had to suck up all my courage just to put the clothes in the washers and dryers. I spent most of my time either outside or positioned near the emergency exit door.  I would consider it a definite emergency if that snake came out of the bathroom.  The manager was called, and he came and took a look.  Then he called animal control and they were working on getting it out of the ceiling when we left.

Tumble dry, thankfully with no snakes inside.

After THAT experience, we headed to Ikea.  That place is completely overwhelming, but I did decide to buy a couple of things.  I bought a lamp, lampshade, and rug for J's room at my house.  We also picked up a lamp that attaches to the headboard for reading, and a dimmer switch to attach to my lamp so I can read after Mr. GV goes to sleep.  

And of course Mr. GV stocked up on multiple jams.  These are all varieties you cannot get anywhere near home.  

As it was our last night in Portland, we headed to Blossoming Lotus, which had been our favorite place to eat so far.  First up--pierogis!  I could have just had unlimited plates of this and been happy all evening long.  

Chana waffles with curried chick peas, cauliflower pakora, cilantro-mint chutney, and cashew sour cream.  

BBQ bowl:  soy curls in a whisky ginger bbq sauce, mac and cheese, smokey potato salad, green apple slaw.  

Cheesecake

I had one more thing on my Portland bucket list:  Voodoo Donuts.  Naturally we waited in line, but it wasn't that long.

They were out of some of the vegan varieties, so we just got the Voodoo Vegan Dozen, a variety that were picked for us.  I was disappointed that it was heavy on the cake donuts, which are not my favorite.  But in the end I was pleasantly surprised because the cake donuts were actually very good.  Was I glad we stood in line for these donuts?  Yes.  Vegan donuts are not very common, and it was a treat to have a whole box of them.  Were they extra delicious, unlike any other donut?  No.  They were decorated in an unusual way, but in the end they tasted like any other donut.  

And then it was time to pack up after 6 days in anticipation of leaving Portland the next day.  Or, as the sign below suggests, "Do the Hustle!"  

We enjoyed our time in Portland.  Yes, there are tons of places for vegans to eat, and places that aren't  exclusively vegetarian or vegan often at least know what the word vegan means and even list a few items on their menus.  Would I visit again?  Sure.  Am I yearning to go back, and dreaming of another visit?   No.  

This trip was partly to determine if Portland would be somewhere we might think about retiring in 20 years or so.  The verdict?  Portland is not right for us.  The traffic is crazy, and it's a large, busy city just like any other city. We never felt truly comfortable anywhere we went. I am certainly not running down Portland.  I know it is a perfect fit for so many people, vegan and otherwise.  It's just not a perfect fit for us.