RonnieAdventures #0059 - Days 50-52, Las Vegas-Alaska-Las Vegas 2013 Trip

Week 8

Day 50 - Shelby (Montana), Great Falls, Helena, Boulder, Whitehall, Silver Star, Twin Bridges, Sheridan (wrong turn), Twin Bridges, Dillon, Idaho Falls (Idaho), Pocatello

A planned short stop in Great Falls turned out to be almost four hours, which included a trip to the "Great Falls of the Missouri River" and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. The falls were a disappointment, as almost all of the water was being diverted through Ryan Dam's power turbines. Apparently, due to drought conditions, this is the lowest water flow over the falls in years.

The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center was exceptionally well done and we could have spent additional time looking at the exhibits and watching the various movies available. According to the displays, it required 30 days and 18 miles to portage around all of the falls.

 

 

On the way to Helena we stopped by "Beaverhead Rock," which was a major turning point in the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery. The Corps was desperate for horses and supplies so that they could make it over the Rocky Mountains before winter, when Sacagawea recognized Beaverhead Rock where her people spent the summer months. Sacagawea was from the Lemhi Shoshone Tribe and had been taken captive as a child; thus, she was anxious to be reunited with her people that she had not seen in several years. Fortunately, her brother was now the Tribe's Chief, so he gave the Corps horses, provisions, and even supplied a guide to get them safely over the Rockies.

Day 51 Pocatello (Idaho), Ogden (Utah), Salt Lake City, Highland

At Highland (Utah) we watched young acrobats training for the Olympics, or maybe Cirque du Soleil, and even parked our trailer at their training camp for a night.

Day 52 - Interstate 15 to Las Vegas (Nevada)

Arriving in Las Vegas after 52 days and 10,080 miles, home never looked so good.

Things are now getting back to normal, although it required a lot of hard work to get all of the bugs and road tar off of the truck and trailer. (You would never know it, but I washed the truck four time while on the trip and the trailer was washed twice.) After dropping a 20 pound iron bar on my foot, my toes went from pink-to-purple, but the swelling has now decreased and the toes are returning to their normal color, even though I'll probably loose the nail on my big toe. We had the dime-size rock chip to the front windshield of the truck drilled out and repaired. After smashing my watch on a rock the first week, it continued to work for the entire trip and then quit the day after we got home. Next week I'm going to see if I can repair the TV that was damaged when it fell off of the shelf on the rough roads. Then, we will be ready for another RonnieAdventure!

 

 

 

Trip Statistics and Cost Summary:
Total Miles - 10,082
Average Miles/gallon - 10.05
Average Cost/Day - $225
Cost breakdown by Percent:
     Gas - 46%
     Camping Fees - 15%
     Eat Out - 12%
     Tours/Attractions - 11%
     Food from Store - 5%
     Souvenirs - 4%
     Supplies - 2%
     Miscellaneous - 4%