The words for Day 3 of the tour are Zoo and Iowa

The Henry Doorly Zoo is repeatedly proclaimed to be one of the very best zoos in the country, and I have to say that I think they (whoever "they" are) are right. I arrived within 30 minutes of opening, and I spent the next 2.5 hours enjoying the zoo and aquarium.  

Those of you who know me won't be surprised to hear that my first stop was the aquarium! 😎

This sculpture and fountain are just outside of the aquarium building.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the penguins.  There were at least four species, including king penguins - the second largest species of penguins next to emperor penguins!  I never imagined that I'd ever see a live king penguin in person, but there they were!

Considering the fact that there isn't an ocean within a 1000 miles of this aquarium, the various habitat exhibits were very good.  I have, of course, been ruined for most other aquaria by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but this one, for a zoo, is actually quite outstanding.

There is also a clear walk-through tunnel where many large fishes are kept and swim around you, including leopard sharks - my first time seeing them as well.  

Here are some other favorite sightings from the zoo:

This is the only side the pigmy hippos were willing to share. 

Otters are always a crowd pleaser.

There were lots of reptiles and amphibians.

And I think this was the first time I ever saw an aardvark in person.  I wish I could have gotten a better view of the head, but sometimes all you can see is all you get to see,

There were also large animals that many zoos have - rhinos, elephants, zebras, lions, tiger, snow leopard, cheetahs (though I looked and looked at this exhibit, but they weren't out while I was there), orangs, gorillas and other primates, etc.  

If you ever find yourself in Omaha, treat yourself to the Henry Doorly Zoo.  It is well laid out and can be walked, or you can take a sky tram or ground tram to get around.  I did the entire zoo as a solo walker in under three hours.  The paths are wide, and there is lots of shade and tree cover, as well as misting stations for when you get too hot.  There are also food and snack kiosks and restrooms conveniently located around the facility.  Oh, there's a theater too, but I didn't watch any shows during my visit.  You could easily spend an entire day at this zoo.  

Oh, it also has amazing walk-through desert, jungle, butterfly, etc. houses.

Haha...I planned ahead.  I bought an year-long membership at my local zoo (IF Zoo) for just over $50.  Since my zoo is part of the AZA, it has reciprocal agreements with many other zoos and aquaria across the country, and if my entire trip plan happens, it will pay for itself by the time I get home.

I was hot and getting sweaty by the time I left, so the Mud Dragons and I hopped back in the car and off we went.  Where to?  IOWA.

Though I spent the previous night just across the Missouri River in Iowa, I once again crossed that bridge and entered Iowa with a purpose...to drive and drive.  

Iowa is a gorgeous state, with lots of low rolling hills, and more and more trees, the farther east you go.  

If you live somewhere like the mountain west, southwest, or southern California, your eyes will not believe how green Iowa is.  It's not quite what I'd imagine Ireland to look like, but it's green, green, green!

One other thing...my favorite gas station chain is Maverik.  I used to think that they were found primarily in Utah and Idaho, but I now know that they have expanded and now have stations all along I-80, all the way across Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa.

I didn't know how far I was going to drive after the zoo...maybe Des Moines, maybe Iowa City, maybe Davenport.  But, I surprised myself by driving all the way to Peoria, IL.  

The drive from Davenport to Peoria was the most relaxing and enjoyable stretch of my entire trip so far.  Compared to I-80, the number of semis on I-74 were few and far between.  The traffic was light, and the scenery was largely open, beautiful farmland.

Stay tuned for the further adventures of Big Al and the Mud Dragons! 

And I would drive 500 miles, and I would drive 500 more!

Like the old camp song goes, second verse, same as the first, a little bit louder and a little bit worse.  

Seriously though, day 2 of the tour was another day on the road, and another beautiful 500 miles of the USA, starting in Cheyenne, WY, and ending at Council Bluffs, IA, on the banks of the Missouri River. 

To some people, states like Nebraska, Iowa, etc., are just fly-over-states, but they are truly beautiful.  Over the years, I've lived in America's Deep South, Great Plains, Pacific Northwest, California (which is it's own thing), Hawaii, Midwest and Mountain West, and I visited the rest.  America is unbelievably large, and unimaginably beautiful.  Its deserts, mountains, plains, forests and coastlines each have their own beauty.  And on day two of the tour, I left the Mountain West and entered the Great Plains - Nebraska!

Western Nebraska shifts from the short-grass prairies of eastern Wyoming into the gently rolling plains and farmland of the midwest.  I traveled west to east across the entire state along I-80, much of which parallels the Platte River - about which, I am told, explorers and pioneers used to say, "It's too shallow to navigate, and too wet to plow."  That's about right.

Just to whet your appetite for this great state, here is a shot of what western Nebraska is will treat you to:

As the day went on, I passed some interesting icons.

This is the Great Platte River Road Gateway Monument. And this is what Wikipedia has to say about it:

"The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument is a monument on Interstate 80 located three miles east of Kearney, Nebraska, United States. Originally proposed in 1997 and opened in July 2000, it houses a historical experience that tells the story of Nebraska and the Platte River Valley in the development of America."

If you are driving along I-80, you might be tempted to think that Nebraska is covered entirely by trees, but in the Great Plains, trees are found where there is water, and its riverbanks are almost entirely lined by them.  The rest of the state is gently rolling hills and agricultural fields.

Nebraska's primary crops are corn, soybeans and wheat.  And this is what a typical rural Nebraska skyline looks like.

The eastern end of Nebraska is defined by the Missouri River, which has its headwaters hundreds of miles away in the mountains of Montana, and joins the Mississippi just north of St. Louis, MO.

I was surprised and delighted to discover the vistas above when I opened the curtains in my hotel room.  The place I stayed in Council Bluffs, IA, was right on the bank of the Missouri River.

The plan for day 3?  The Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, Omaha, NE.  

Stay tuned!

Big Al and the Mud Dragons are Back on Tour!

After a 4-year hiatus, Big Al and the Mud Dragons are back on tour!  We'll be on the road from at least 6 July through 7 August, and maybe even longer than that (if we don't get too road weary 😎)!   

Welcome to the Wild Things Tour!  

This cross-country tour includes the following stops:

• Cheyenne, WY
• Omaha, NE 
• North Manchester, IN
• Dayton, OH 
• Washington, DC
• Baltimore, MD

And, if the crew is still ready to rock, then...

• Gettysburg, PA
• Columbus, OH
• Cincinnati, OH
• Indianapolis, IN
• St. Louis, MO
• Kansas City, MO
• and who knows what's next after this?

During this tour, Big Al and The Mud Dragons will be rocking out at zoos and aquaria, including some of the very best ones in the country, with museums and natural and historic sites along the way.

On the outbound leg of the tour, watch for stops at the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha, the USAF National Museum in Dayton, Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo in DC, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, and more, much more... 

Day one was 100% driving.  But the route passed The Grand Tetons, Jackson, WY, Hoback Junction, many glimpses of the  South Fork of the Snake River, and Rock Springs, WY, to name a few.

The Grand Tetons - western slope - from Driggs, ID - photo by ARH

So, stay tuned for more of our adventures!

Day 26 - Oct 31 - Logan to Rexburg - Home again

After a great visit and some golf and other R&R in Logan, the Dragons and I loaded into the tour bus for the last leg of our tour.  Compared to several other travel days, this 180 mile hop felt like a cinch!  

Before leaving Cache Valley, we made one more stop at the Pepperidge Farm outlet store in Richmond, UT.  If you are ever in the area, and you like things like goldfish crackers, Milano cookies, etc., then treat yourself right, drop in and pick up a snack or two.  But, there are no guarantees about what will be on the shelves day to day.  So, it's kind of a treasure hunt.  And the prices are great!  The main reason I stopped in was to pick up some of their chocolate chip cookies - I got some the previous Friday - but when I got there, that shelf was bare!  :-(.   Oh well.  I consoled myself with some chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies instead, and some X-treme Cheddar goldfish crackers.  

A few miles later, we crossed that last state border for the tour...and I knew I was on the glide path that leads home.  Ah, home, what a great word!  HOME.  

Once over the border, it's not long before you reach Preston, ID, hometown of that great American Napoleon Dynamite!  

If you are interested, there are websites you can visit that will help you find sites that appeared in the movie: Napoleon's house, Pedro's House, the Cuttin' Corral, Pop n Pins bowling alley, the site of Rex Kwando's dojo,, etc.  This movie is now a piece of Americana, and the film makers totally nailed life in a small Idaho town - my wife should know, she graduated from a small Idaho HS herself (not Preston's though). 

I wanted to stop and grab a bite to eat at Big J's in Preston, but, alas, I went through town before it opened.  I'll be back!

Anyway, there was one more scheduled stop that I want to tell you about before I wrap up the last driving day.  

Have you ever heard of Red Rock Pass?  It's a cool place, geologically speaking, between Preston, ID, and I-15.  It's worth a stop because something both amazing and catastrophic happened there sometime around 11,000 years ago.  This is where ancient Lake Bonneville flooded out.

OK, so what's the big deal about Red Rock Pass?  Well, I'll tell you.  The image above shows the ancient, massive Lake Bonneville during the last ice age, and Red Rock Pass is where the lake finally spilled over and flooded out.  Geologists estimate that once the flood was going, it probably reached a peak discharge flow rate of 1,000,000 cubic METERS of water per SECOND!!!  That flowing water contributed to gouging out the Snake River Canyon and created other cool features.  

I climbed to the top of the small hill shown in the photo above and took a photo looking towards the south - where the lake used to be (upper image below) and to the south (lower image below) where the flood waters went.  

Lake Bonneville has since dwindled down to the present day Great Salt Lake.

OK, once we were back on the road, it was a straight shot to IF where the Dragons demanded that we stop at prominent Idaho Falls locations, including Costco and Winco...they were hungry :-D.

I pulled into Rexburg in the mid-afternoon on the scariest day of the year - Halloween.  I celebrated by meeting up with my daughter Emily and her husband Nathan for diner at Applebee's to put the final touches on the tour.

Here are a few final stats about the trip:

• Trip length: 26 days
• Trip distance =  4537 miles (38% on interstates and 62% on other highways and roadways)
• Number of National Parks, Monuments and Sites visited = 12 (Teton NP, Devil's Tower NM, Badlands, Minuteman NHS, Carlsbad Caverns NP,  Guadalupe Mtns NP, White Sands NP, Petrified Forest NP, Bears Ears NM, Natural Bridges NM, Arches NP, Canyonlands NP)
• States visited: 10 (Idaho, Wyoming, S Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah)
• Nights in motels: 8
• Family members visited: Immediate family 12 of 13, plus my mother, and my sister and her family
• Movies purchased at thrift and used book stores: 13

Lastly, once I got rolling, I started thinking about what mementos I might want to collect to commemorate the trip, and this is what I decided on:  Postcards of National Parks and Monuments, etc.  

Man, I LOVE my senior lifetime national parks pass!  It paid for itself probably 2-3x over on this trip alone.

And so, the Mud Dragons/I am home again.

This was a wonderful, yet bittersweet trip.  Time and again when I went someplace or saw something I thought to myself, "This is beautiful/amazing/inspiring/quirky and Kat would LOVE this!"  

I enjoy a good adventure, but few things compare with the peace, stability, and comfort of home.  

Thanks for joining me on this journey.   Now it's time to start my real adventure, discovering my new reality and crafting a new life.

Cheers!

Day 25 - Oct 30 - Logan Day 4 - Halloween Eve

The Mud Dragons' 2022 tour is winding down.  It was great to have a calm, relaxing Sunday with Matt and Tess and crew.  

After a great day, including Church - yes, The Mud Dragons go to Church :-) - a nice walk, and family time, Jr Mud Dragon Finn went to bed, and the rest of us looked at the pumpkins that have been sitting on the kitchen table for a few days, and decided that, yes, we would carve them!

Halloween...it's practically here!!

My daughter Emily's Jack-o-lantern this year inspired mine.

Here's hers:

For the initiated, this is a dragon -  TROGDOR, THE BURNINATOR.  

And here's mine:

To see what this is all about, you'll need to watch the video short that it came from.  Alright, here's the link.  It's from the creators of Homestarrunner.com, and includes Strongbad and his email antics...be sure to watch the whole thing!  When you click the link, the video will open in a new window.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90X5NJleYJQ

Homestar Runner, StrongBad, King of Town, and the rest were a notable part of my kid crew's formative years.  They are a good time.  

Yep, 30 Oct 2022 is one for the books!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post!

Day 24 - Oct 29 - Logan Day 3 - Back to the links

Yep, life in Logan is certainly more calm and relaxing than when the tour bus is putting in hundreds of miles a day between gigs.  It feels great to be here for a few days!  Matt, Tess, Finn, and even Bodie (the pup) are great hosts.

The main event of Day 24 was a return to the Logan River Golf Course to play nine holes with Matt and my niece's husband Bryce.  You'd think that hitting the links when the temps were in the upper 40s might not be a good idea, but with just a sweatshirt, it was great!

So, how did it go?  Ha!

We played a 3-person scramble...everyone hits, and then we all hit from the best spot, all the way around.  And so...drum roll...we scored a 44 for nine holes.  Just in case you don't spend a lot of time around golfers or courses, par for the 9-holes is 36 strokes, and a 44 for 9 holes is 8 strokes over par...um...not that great.  Luckily, I still have my music career to fall back on when I get kicked off of the tour.  So I'm not worried. :-D.  The three of us had a great time though!  I'd do it again any time.

By the way, if you thought that 44 was kind of crummy, well, that didn't take into account all of the second shots and the balls that we lost.  Haha. 

At the end of the day, and in the spirit of Halloween, we watched Ghostbusters.  A classic!

Stay tuned for what happens tomorrow.

Day 23 - Oct 28 - Day 2 in Logan

Day 2 in Logan UT started out with breakfast with my brother-in-law at another local institution - Angie's, "Where the Locals Eat."  And that slogan is right on the money!  

This is a good old fashioned cafe.  I had two eggs over-easy, hash browns (yum!), and sourdough toast.  The food, company and conversation were all top-notch.

After breakfast, I went up to Smithfield to visit my daughter-in-law Morgann and grandson William.  William and I had a complete "reading" of Dinosaurs by Brusatte.  We turned every page and looked at every dino in the book...and, get this, William is only two and knows the names of many of the ones in this book!  This is a book we "read" daily for several weeks this past summer.  

Then William and I went on an outing to one of my favorite local places, the Pepperidge Farm Factory Outlet Store, a place where you can buy goldfish crackers and other Pepperidge Farm cookies, etc., in bulk, plus goldfish t-shirts, and so on.

Then, later on, my son Matt and I played a round of disc golf, and then we took it easy for the rest of the evening.  

What a great day!  Stay tuned for what comes next...