September, 2006 - Bridge Coast to Coast Saga

September 4-10
Monday, Sept. 4. We were up at 5:00 and I didn�??t sleep well during the night, probably excited about the trip to Florence. Andy drove us to the train in Baden, which we took to Zurich, then to Florence, an 8-hour ride.

Because we were arriving later in the day, we decided to have our dinner on the train, another new experience for Mike and I. We had wine, pasta (1st course), veal, turkey, potato, carrots and mushroom for the 2nd course, and cake for dessert. On arrival, we walked to our hotel, Nuova Italia, located in the historic center of Florence and checked in. Our rooms are very nice, beautiful tiles, and nice paintings throughout the place.

We then walked to the dome at the Santa Maria del Fiore and the Battistero, did some window shopping, had a bite to eat, and retired for a good night sleep.

Tuesday, Sept. 5. We were up early to take a guided tour of the city. The tour took us for a drive thru residential area (Tuscany) on roads named Leonardo, Galileo, and Michelangelo, to an overlook and view of the city. We then took a walking tour to see the statues of David, Hercules, several by Michelangelo, and many others. Our tour included a nice lunch of bread, wine, and pasta.

In the afternoon, we boarded another bus to see the area of Fiesole on the hillside and another overview of the city. We walked to the largest gallery in Florence where we saw the tombs of Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Machiavelli, Galileo, and Dante. We also got an art education by our wonderful tour guide who spoke excellent English and knew so much about the collections. The building had so many paintings, sculptures, works of Leonardo Da Vinci, that is was sort of information overload. Once again, it could take several days to absorb everything.

After the tour, we walked to the Ponte Vecchio (an enclosed bridge that houses mostly jewelry stores, had dinner at an outdoor restaurant, and then met our train for an overnight trip in a sleeping berth (slept the 4 of us)back to Zurich.

Wednesday, Sept. 6. We actually had a fair night sleep on the train, although it was noisy, and they were adding cars during the night. A boxed breakfast was served to us in the morning.

Peter was there to take us back to his home where we were served a nice brunch and took showers. He and Christa are both jewelers, so we got to see their creations on display in their in-home shop and also pictures of the items that they have created through the years. Their works are beautiful.

Today�??s destination was to the home of Sonja�??s daughter Denise and her husband Markus. On our way there, we stopped at Schaffhausen to see the Rhine falls and the town that was Rudy�??s birthplace.

During World War II, Schaffhausen was the only Swiss town to be bombed by Allied aircraft: about 100 civilians were killed during a raid by American bombers on April 1, 1944. The US claimed that pilots had mistakenly identified Schaffhausen �?? the only sizeable chunk of Swiss territory on the north bank of the Rhine �?? as a German target. They apologized profusely and paid out compensation �?� only to make the same mistake again on February 22, 1945, this time killing sixteen in Schaffhausen and nine in Stein-am-Rhein (also on the �??wrong�?� side of the river). Records that could possibly throw light onto the allegation that the bombings were in fact an Allied response to Schaffhausen�??s munitions industries supplying arms to the Nazis in breach of Swiss neutrality are, as yet, still classified.

We stopped at Munot, a medieval fortress that was built in 1045 to protect the city. It was designed to enter by horseback. It is currently a local gathering place where events are held. After that, we stopped at the central shopping district for a glass of Falkenbier and a pretzel. The city is clean and tidy, has cobblestone streets, and is noted for the ornate oriel (bay) windows on most buildings. Most of the buildings have a name instead of a number and many have beautiful paintings on their walls.

To Denise and Markus�??s house in Neftenbach, near Winterthur. We had cheese Raclette for dinner, a grill that had that held small trays of cheese that melted and was scraped from the tray and eaten with boiled potatoes. Various meats were cooked on the grill. We met their friends Tommy and Christa and had lively conversation, good wine and food.

Thursday, September 7. After rising, we left Denise and Markus�?? home by 8:15 and drove to see the abbey of Einsiedeln, monastery that dates back to 828. The baroque style, sandstone building is immense, has a 4,000 pipe organ, and the ceilings are covered with fresco paintings and ornate gold throughout.

We then crossed the Lake of Zurich and traveled toward Luzerne through pre-Alps, the sky was bright blue and beautiful against the green hills with the Alps in background, the area of Wilhelm Tell. Most of the route through Luzerne was tunnel, so we didn�??t see much of the city.

We stopped at the Gasthaus Kuhm Restaurant in Brunigpass for a local meal of deer and venison served with spaetzle, red cabbage, chestnuts, Brussels, garnished with baked apple and cranberry and a peach slice with cream. We ate outdoors on a patio overlooking a beautiful canyon with several waterfalls.

To Frutigen and Kandersteg to the train where we drove the car onto the train that took us through a tunnel in the mountain, about a 25 minute ride to Goppenstein. If we had driven around the mountain, it would have taken 2.5 hours. We were back in Nendaz by about 4:30.

Friday, Sept. 8. This morning, we all slept in until 8:00, then helped prepare for a trip to the country for a weekend celebration of Rudy�??s birthday with 45 family and friends. We went to Sion to shop for groceries at Migro, a store similar to Sam�??s club. Mike and I stocked up on chocolates to bring home with us. In the afternoon, we drove to Mezieres to a farmhouse called Les Chardouilles. Old farmhouse that was converted to a gathering place that can sleep 44 people, it had a large kitchen, 6 bathrooms, and 3 showers.

The families of Peter, Andy, Thomas, and Pierre Michel, and Rudy�??s friend Fritz arrived on today. We all decorated the dining room with balloons and banners for the party. Dinner consisted of wine, breads, cold meats, cheeses, and desserts.

Saturday, Sept 9. The remaining guests arrived by 10:30 and we all boarded a huge tour bus by 11:00. We traveled to the top of a mountain at Dent de Vaulion, the last mile was so narrow that they had to stop other vehicles from coming down the hill as we were going up. We got off the bus and walked to the top of the mountain where you could see a view of several lakes, the last village in Switzerland before crossing into France, and a beautiful panorama of the countryside. After walking around the mountain top, we were served wine, cheese, meats and breads at the restaurant. With full bellies, several of us women decided to walk down the hill for some exercise the bus picked us up.

Back on the bus, we drove on to the vineyards of Mont Sur Rolle, to a wine cellar where we were able to taste some of the area wines, and bread and meats were served. The building is an emergency shelter that can hold 10,000 people. It was built during the cold war. Before leaving, we were all given a bag of fresh picked Doral grapes.

The bus took us back to farm and we hung around the yard where some of the folks played volleyball and other games. The evening�??s dinner started with a beautiful tray of salmon, shimp, and lobster. Rudy�??s family all served the dinner of lamb, pork, potatoes, beans, carrots, and assorted desserts. We sat at the table with Marcel and Nichole, and were both given gifts of Swiss Army knives. Christa, Ingrid, Nina, and Brian performed a musical skit about Rudy�??s last 10 years. It brought lots of laughs.

Sunday, Sept. 10. After breakfast, we cleaned up the place, said goodbyes and drove back to Nendaz, where we spent the afternoon quietly reading and relaxing.

September 11 - 17
Monday, Sept. 11. Mike and I helped with some of the house-cleaning and chores, then did a bit of shopping. We went to see Lac souterrain, the largest underground lake of Europe and took a boat tour. We then drove on to the historic village of Evolene, a quaint little town of narrow streets and old buildings. A few years back, several people were killed in an avalanche in the village.

Tuesday, Sept. 12. The weather was predicted to be beautiful today, so we drove to Le Bouveret, took a steam paddleboat to Montreax, then took a train across the continental divide to Rochers de Naye summit. We saw a marmot (similar to a groundhog) and a reindeer in captivity. From the summit, we got another beautiful view of Lake Geneva.

On our return to Montreaux, we strolled along Lake Geneva and stopped at a restaurant and gift shop. There was a sculpture of Smoke on the Water and Deep Purple. In 1971, the band setup to record an album using the Rolling Stones mobile studio at the Montreaux Casino. That night, during a concert by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, a fire broke out caused by a Swiss fan shooting a flare gun in the ceiling. Title referred to the smoke seen from their hotel across the lake.

Wednesday, Sept 13. Today was spent packing, house cleaning, organizing, and sharing 500+ photos each. We had a nice lunch of cold carrot soup. In the afternoon, we took a nice drive to Ut Nendaz, rode the ski lift to the top of the mountain and took a nice walk around a small lake. Sonja treated us to a White Mountain ice cream treat at a restaurant. We then went back to the chalet and spent the afternoon gardening, doing a few chores, and viewing pictures and Rudy�??s video. Sonja�??s fixed spaghetti for dinner.

Thursday, Sept. 14. Our last day here. We went to Ut Nendaz again and drove a little narrow road up the mountain. We walked a path that took us to another interesting view of the Mona Lisa (see photo) and some hieroglyphics on the walls along the path. We drove further up the mountain to a dam and walked across the dam, where there was a herd of the fighting cows and two of them were butting each other. Dinner tonight was rice, curry chicken, pineapple and apricots. We all retired early since we had to rise early in the morning for our trip back to the US.

Friday, September 15. Up at 3:15 for drive from Nendaz to the airport in Geneva, arriving by 5:15. We had some breakfast and Rudy and Sonja stayed with us until we had to go through the passport check & then we were on our way. Saying goodbye was difficult, since we had become even better friends after the last 21 days together. All flights were on time and uneventful until Chicago where our flight was delayed for a short time, but arrived in Madison on time. Rob and Rachel picked us up at the airport. We're both very tired, so it was an early to bed night.

Saturday, September 16. After refreshing showers, I headed to Best Buy to pick up my laptop (disappointed because they didn't repair everything on the list), then to Becky's to get Lucy. She seemed to have a good 3 weeks, not overly excited to see me. Mike did some maintenance on Rob and Rachel's computer, then we met at Dan's house in Portage. Brooke and Elizabeth were with us for the evening, so we were kept in motion throughout the day. In the evening, we sat around a campfire and were joined by Becky and Ron.

Sunday, September 17. After viewing our vacation video, we headed for Stoughton to see Pat, Tracey, and Savana and spent the afternoon with them. It was another early to bed night because we were all exhausted.

September 18-22
Monday, September 18. Mike, Dan, Lucy, and I went for a 2 mile walk along the levee in Portage. It was a cool morning and the walk was refreshing. We then went to visit Mom for a while. She wasn't feeling too good but was happy to see us.

In the afternoon, Mike took the Suzuki in for an oil change and I did laundry and stocked up on groceries. Sharon fixed lasagna for dinner and it was another early night. The temps were to drop to the low 50s tonight, so the electric blanket was put back on the bed and Lucy's fleece was put on her.

Wednesday, September 19. The motorhome was dropped off at Graham's for an oil change and overall check. While that was being done, we visited with Mom, then drove to Madison to gather our medical records and ran some other errands. When the motorhome was finished, we drove to Stoughton to be with Pat and his family for the next few days.

Thursday, September 21. We both worked on our computers today, since we haven't had good internet connections for a while. I started to update the website with stories and photos from the trip. In the afternoon, I stopped by Fran's house and was lucky to see her 2 grandchildren, Amy and her daughter Kate and 11 day old son, Kyle, and Erin with her 11 week old son, Jack. We had a nice visit.

Friday, September 22. Pat didn't work today because it was raining, so it was nice hanging out with him for the day. I did laundry and cleaned the motorhome up a bit. Mike hooked up the Suzuki, so it would be ready to roll in the morning when we start our trip west to San Francisco.

In the evening, we went to Springer's Restaurant on the north side of Lake Kegonsa for dinner and had the local fish fry.

September 23 -
Saturday, September 23. Pat and Tracey both left early this mornign, so we were on the road by 8:00. It is the 1st day of Autumn and it looks and feels like it. It was cloudy and cool and there are blotches of fall color along the roadsides. We arrived at our 1st stop at Des Moines, the same resort we stayed at on our trip to KC in June. We have a much nicer site today, overlooking a small lake.

Sunday, September 24. An uneventful day, after getting started at 10:00. We had hoped for an earlier start, but it just didn't happen. We arrived at our destination at the Sunny Meadow RV Park in Elm Creek, Nebraska, just a parking lot off the interstate. We did get to watch a beautiful sunset before retiring for the night.

Monday, September 25. Started driving at 9:00 this morning and arrived at our destination at Horsetooth Reservoir outside of Fort Collings, CO at about 3:30. The terrain changed quite a bit throughout the day, from flatlands, then to moderate hills west of Sidney, and to large rocky ledges as we got into Colorado, with the Rocky Mountains in the distance. We saw several herds of antelope and mule deer along the way, and Mike spotted a coyote along the roadside.

After getting setup, we called our friend Pat's son AJ, who lives nearby. It was his recommendation that brought us here and we certainly don't have any regrets. It is a beautiful campground overlooking the reservoir and there is not another camper in the place. AJ and his dog Mia joined us about 15 minutes after setting up camp. We had some beers and some dinner. We're looking forward to spending the next few days in this quiet, serene place.

Tuesday, September 26. What a nice, relaxing day we have had. I woke up earlier than expected and when I looked at my watch it was 7:30, although I hadn't adjusted it for mountain time so it was really 6:30. As I sat reading the news online, several mule deer strolled through our campsite.

We headed out to go for a walk but Lucy was real sluggish, so it was much more a stroll. I was wondering the whole time if she would make it. After a short nap in the afternoon, we went for a drive to check out the area. It is beautiful and we can understand why people like to live here. There are lots of people hiking, biking, and rock climbing.

In the evening, we were invited for a cookout to AJ's home where we met his roommates Shannon, Jason, and Mia and some of their friends. They have a beautiful view of the reservoir from their deck.

Wednesday, September 27. AJ showed us around Fort Collins today, stopping for a coffee at the Starry Night Cafe in old town, not far from the Colorado State University campus. From there we shopped a bit at Jax, an outdoor outfitter and went to the New Belgium brewery for a self guided tour and sampled some of their beers. We were each given a list of available beers and could choose 4 to sample. Coincidentally, AJ and I chose all 4 of the same beers and Mike chose none of those that we had selected.

On return to our campsite, AJ loaded us up with firewood and we sat around the campfire although it was real windy and cool. Once the sun went down, the wind let up a little bit. Mike made Old Fashioneds, we had some sandwiches, and Shannon and Mia joined us for a while.

Thursday, September 28. It was cold when I woke up this morning, 36° and I got the heat running quickly. It�??s a bright, sunny morning and I got my grocery list ready and headed in to Fort Collins to the Safeway store. When I returned, Mike and I took a drive through the Poudre River Canyon northwest of our campsite. It was a beautiful drive with spectacular views on every turn.

Friday, September 29 - October 1
Friday, September 29. When I woke up this morning, I could hear a strange sound, so I opened the window shades and saw that water was flowing into the reservoir, making it sound like a very fast moving river. Until this morning, the riverbed was completely dry. Apparently the dam was opened and the water was allowed to flow again. AJ told us that it takes about 12 hours after opening the dam for it to get to this area.

We packed up, went to say goodbye to AJ and were on the road by 10:15. We decided to make a stop in Cheyenne at the Sierra Trading Company outlet store and managed to spend a few $$$ and an hour and a half in time. By 1:00, we were headed back down Interstate 80 going west. Wyoming is a huge state with not much variation in the scenery. Its pretty but really is wide open space. At one point, we drove for twenty miles and didn�??t see a house or anything else along the sage covered hillsides. Herds of of painted pronghorn antelope and some elk were seen and at one point we saw 2 trains heading directly toward each other but on separate tracks.

Tonight�??s destination was the Walmart parking lot in Rock Springs, Wyoming. There were 12 other RVs in the lot with us just before I went to bed.

Saturday, September 30. We got up early and hit the road by 7:30 with Wells, NV as our destination. The terrain was barren sage green hills, desolate, and rather homely between Rock Springs and Evanston, WY. Along the riverbeds, you could spot groups of cottonwood trees and could see the Uinta Mountains in the distance to the south.

It was pretty as we drove through Park City, Utah but the Great Salt Lake was not much to talk about. There were a few boats and sailboats. Driving through the salt flats was hours of endless white, probably looking a lot like it does when the snow is on the ground. One thing of interest that we saw along the way was where people made small structures out of stone, beer bottles, and cans in the salt along the roadside; initials, names, hearts. There were not car tracks or people seen, so we're not sure when they are created but they were there for miles on end.

We also saw a very odd sculpture in the middle of nowhere, about 25 miles east of the Wyoming border; a tall center pole with very large balls resembling pool balls attached to the top. From a distance, it looked like a communication tower but as we got closer it wasn't that. We also spotted a train with 14 cars that was burning and several of the cars in the middle were completely burned. What a wonder!

The Mountain Shadows RV Park in Wells, Nevada (Coast to Coast rate of $13) was our destination and we checked in at about 3:30. We were all messed up on the time because of the change to Pacific Time Zone. The park is very nice, spotless bathrooms and laundry. Because it is so nice, we decided to stay one more day.

Sunday, October 1. It was a beautiful day, starting out a bit cloudy but it warmed to about 80 degrees as the day went on. I did our laundry and we both took Lucy for a walk around the neighborhood. I was in a cooking mood, so made a nice pot of chili and also an apple crisp. Other than that, it was a pretty relaxing day.

Fort Collins, CO to Wells, NV, 665 miles

Created on 09/19/2006 08:01 AM by bridge
Updated on 11/27/2011 07:03 PM by bridge