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This log is current through June 18, 2006 It will seem strange not frequently taking the turn into Mexico, after many It has been a productive time in Arizona. Don has completed 650 pages of the Al Simpson biography -- although hundreds of interviews and a great deal of work remains before a draft will be ready to send to a publisher. We loved being able to run across the As temperatures reach 105 in Yuma, we are packing up. Before we are settled in Red Lodge, we will have moved tons of personal items from Yuma, Belle Fourche, South Dakota, and Livingston, Montana -- and will have spent two glorious weeks with friends in Jackson, Wyoming. The first adventure May 28, 2006 on the road Once again we loaded our stuff and moved on. It’s the Gypsy lifestyle! This move is different. We’re going to gather things we’ve left at numerous locations and take them all to Red Lodge, The move will involve nearly 3,000 miles of travel before we land in Red Lodge, Montana June 15. It was difficult to believe the temperatures were were driving June 5, 2006 in Jackson, Wyoming: We picked up more possessions in Livingston, Montana and were were soon off to Belle Fourche, South Dakota to gather still more items, those not We found renting trucks from Budget more pleasant and less expensive than from UHaul -- and we learned the impact of $3.00 gasoline at 12 MPG! When we approached our new home town, Red Lodge, Montana, Mother Nature threw a welcoming (rain) shower. It was like finally coming home again. Don was born in Montana. His grandparents (maternal) were married in Montana in 1917 and his Red Lodge lies northeast of Yellowstone National Park at an altitude of 5,600 feet. The mountains above reach nearly 13,000 feet, and the highway at Beartooth Pass hits almost 11,000 feet. Last year a landslide closed the highway for the season. The road reopened in late May, and on June 4 some of the plowed snow alongside the highway was about 15 feet deep. Because the people from whom we bought our new home and Expedition Headquarters in Red Lodge will not depart until mid June, we headed for Jackson, Wyoming to spend time with friends at their incredible house near the magnificent Teton Mountains (see the Wyoming photo gallery) -- and continue work on the Simpson biography. We have traveled, collectively, in more than sixty countries, and yet we have never seen mountains and valleys more beautiful than these, even in Nepal. We are pleased to be able to stage future domestic and international adventures from here. Pe The drive from Red Lodge climbs what may be the most dramatic highway (Beartooth, U.S. Highway 212) in the lower 48 states. The highway is closed in winter, or whenever landslides or snow avalanches wipe out sections. The rest of the time, people traversing it for the first time -- or the hundredth -- find it dramatic beyond compare. The town stands near the foot of Index Peak. Turning our attention, and our hearts, back to the horrific situation in Burma in SE Asia, we have received news that the Burma Army has recently launched new attacks on Karen villagers. Many people have been killed and many others In this photo, Army soldiers are shown with guns, forcing villagers to porter. Yesterday we received word that two of the numerous children captured by the Burma Army have escaped and are safe in a hiding place. We post these reports from the Free Burma Rangers, who risk their lives trying to help these innocent people, As long term readers of this site know, earlier in our adventures we were volunteers at a mission hospital on the Thailand side of the Thai/Burma border. Once we are reorganized in Montana, we hope to find more ways to June 12, 2006 in Jackson, Wyoming It seemed like an omen, t It’s more than a move for Don, it’s a return home. He was born in Montana, as were his parents. His grandfather, Herman Utermohle, came to Montana from Germany in 1889 and married Don’s grandmother in Red Lodge in 1917. It’s a long, rich family history. You’ll find two new photos in the Wyoming 2 Photo Gallery. Now that we are finally under Montana’s Big Sky, we invite you to our next log: BIG Sky. |
months living within sight of the border at Yuma, Arizona.
border to the dentist and to pick up supplies. We are in a month-long transition, moving ourselves and our Expedition headquarters to Montana.
of our expedition began in early January 2000 when we camped, and nearly froze, in Arizona. Since then we have traveled more than a quarter million miles all over the world, many of them in Asia. After moving and exploring our new home area, we will plan new overseas adventures.
Montana, where we’ll establish our new expedition headquarters.
through were suddenly more than sixty degrees cooler than daily highs in Yuma. We loved the change.
seen since we stored them upon departing Washington, DC in 1999.
parents were born there in 1919. Becky was born just across the Montana/South Dakota line in Belle Fourche.
temperatures in Yuma, which we departed only a few days ago, have topped 112 degrees. It is a stunning change.
ople who have never traveled in the high mountains would be surprised to find lakes still frozen in June. What a change from the Mexican border.
Lodge toward Yellowstone Park, one comes across the town of Cooke City, near the park entrance. This town only 65 miles from Red Lodge often finds its hearty souls totally isolated in winter. 
captured and forced to porter the materials that are used by the Army to kill their families and destroy their villages. This terrible situation continues to be ignored by the mainstream media.
in the hope that worldwide attention to these largely overlooked atrocities will pressure the brutal Burma government into more responsible behavior. Photos such as these the children who escaped are secreted out of Burma, some via satellite phone, at grave risk. We found today that a young nurse was sentenced to eight years in prison for helping villagers under attack by the Army.
help people such as these. Our sponsorship of 14 blind students in Nepal is a start.
he rainbow that spread across the sky just before we left Jackson. It seemed to be pointing us toward Montana.