Spoffords Travel

Day 3 April 15, 2026 Yerevan Armenia

We got to our room about 5:00 am. The get aquatinted meeting is set for 10:00 am on the third floor. Getting to our room was a bit challenging. We are staying at a Marriott on the main square. The hotel was originally multiple buildings and we are in the second one. That means duck under one staircase and look for the correct elevator. Watch your step because there are ramps and steps along the way.

We got two hours of sleep before getting up for breakfast and our meeting. The guide met us going into breakfast and said she would start slowly to let us catch up. We were the last to arrive in the meeting room. There are 17 of us all together. Everyone is from the US and well travelled. We will have a short break before heading out for the day.

Our first stop is the Matenadaran Manuscript Museum. Quite sure we have never been to something quite like it. The statues on the outside are of various scholars throughout Armenian history. The largest in front is Mesrop Mashtots who developed the current alphabet. The original alphabet had 36 characters and was developed in 405 AD. In the Middle Ages two more characters were added to accommodate European sounds. Numbers were not originally in existence so letters were used to represent them. The main exhibition displays manuscripts of all kinds and ages. Some on animal skin as well as those on some form of paper. The facility also researches all kinds and sources of manuscripts. To really see this facility would require at least a couple of hours. Our guide Nana gave us so much information that our minds couldn’t retain it all.

From here we walked down the street a few blocks and around the corner to see the Cascade. The idea for the Cascade first appeared in the master plan for Yerevan, developed by architect Alexander Tamanian in the 1920s. He envisioned connecting the city center with the northern hills of Kanaker through a system of terraces, waterfalls, and flower beds. However, at the time, the project was deemed too ambitious and did not receive funding. It is still not totally completed but is a very popular place to visit. There are 600 steps to reach the top. Thank goodness we took the seven escalators instead. The view at the top was beautiful. The city stretches out before you with Mount Ararat in the distance. We were very fortunate to see it today. It is often in the clouds. The mountain is actually in Turkey. It is most known as the mountain where Noah’s Ark landed. The mountain actually consists of a very large peak and a smaller one to the side. Both are snow covered. The mountain is very important to the Armenian people so they are not happy it is now a part of Turkey.

We now had about an hour to do as we pleased to include lunch on our own. Lots of restaurants line the park area leading up to the Cascade. Some very interesting statues are on display in the park. We weren’t very hungry so we just had dessert and a coke. Very tasty for sure.

We drove some through the city and up the hill to the statue of Mother Armenia. The roads are mostly very small. Intersections have streets coming from multiple directions. Cars park along the sides making the roads even smaller. The drivers are crazy. They drive all over the road. Hard to believe there aren’t more wrecks. We got to the top with another view of the city. An eternal flame burns here commemorating lives lost during World War II. The statue was originally of Stalin. That statue was removed in 1962. In 1967 the Mother Armenia statue was erected. The statue is 72 feet tall and the pedestal is 95 feet for a total of 167 feet.

We returned to the hotel where that evening we had our welcome dinner. These are usually well worth attending. This one didn’t disappoint. We had all local dishes the names of which we don’t know. The meal included bread (no butter), salads, meat dishes, dessert, wine, coffee and tea. Way more food than we could possibly eat.

Day 1-2 April 13-14 Boise to Yerevan Armenia

We had to be up at 3:00 am to be ready for pickup at 4:00 am. Rob was late getting to bed because our flights from JFK onward were changed at the last minute. Our pickup ride didn’t arrive so we ended up taking our car to the Economy Lot. We had never done this before so not sure how it works. We did get a spot very near the entrance. A light rain is falling but luckily the shuttle pickup is close. The shuttle drives around the lot picking up at various stops. By the time we left the lot the shuttle was full.

We made good time to the airport arrival area. So upstairs to check in our luggage. We made it with time to spare. We flew Alaska Airlines to JFK via Portland Oregon. The layover in Portland was about 40 minutes so we got to the connecting gate only a few minutes before boarding. Of course the flights were from the far end of one concourse to the far end of the other concourse.

At JFK we had a 6.5 hour layover. We gathered our luggage and rode the air train all around to the international terminal. We found the check in counter but it won’t open for a couple of hours. We found two empty chairs and camped there. We are now flying Austrian rather than Luftswansa because they are on strike for two days.

The plane was full and we weren’t seated together. The flight was fine but the food was terrible. We expected better. The evening meal was pasta with a bland sauce. The roll was so dry it crumbled when split. The dessert was a mild flavored pudding. The best thing was your drink. Breakfast was worse. It was some kind of breakfast sandwich that had shifted in flight so it was stuck to the wrapper. The orange juice wasn’t that great either.

We made it to Vienna where the layover was 10.5 hours. The gate number won’t be assigned until about 2 hours before departure. We do know it will be in concourse G. So we began the 2 mile walk to concourse G. Lots of shops and eateries but no moving sidewalks. When we got to the G concourse we saw it had 70 gates.

We stopped to buy water. Rob got caught by the clerk who was not a fan of Trump. He talked for 10-15 minutes about how far the American image had fallen and how much more the Austrians were paying for gas because of Trump’s stupidity.

After drinking some water we returned to the nearby food court to share a pretzel and a small baguette. Then we found a quiet gate to wait. We bought chicken sandwiches a couple of hours before the flight. The gate was now posted and surprisingly it was just across the hall.

Day 25 September 22, 2025 Arco Idaho to home 200 miles

Not the best place we stayed. The bathroom light puts out about the same amount of light as a small taper candle. That lasts about 10 minutes. Then the light goes into strobe mode. The amount of light is more however. That soon runs out and it’s back to dim. The faucet for the shower is extremely difficult to turn on. Once it was on the hot water was barely luke warm.

The rain fell last night so the hood of the car is very wet. Not a good sign for starting the car. Today we were lucky. It started on the third try.

We stopped at a rest stop and Rob added more oil. The car does have a small leak.

The highway is being resurfaced for a few miles. We waited a short time for the pilot car. As we passed the flagger she blew bubbles.

We did see a small herd of antelope and some roadkill.

The remainder of the trip was uneventful thankfully. We managed to avoid gravel roads other than in the construction.

In summary

25 days on the road

277 gallons of gas used

$3.34 average price per gallon

5,365 miles driven

$924.05 spent on fuel

19.59 average miles per gallon

214.6 average miles driven per day

0 flat tires

0 small rock chips in the windshield

0 rock hits in the radiator

1 broken headlight bulb socket

Day 24 September 21, 2025 Dubois Wyoming to Arco Idaho 238 miles

The cabin where we stayed last night is at an elevation of over 8,500 feet. The air this morning is cool. Fall is in the air. The office has a continental breakfast for $5.00 each. We had sausage, egg and cheese croissants in the cabin for $1.50 each. Bought those in the frozen food section of a grocery store.

The drive back to the highway this morning was beautiful. Almost as if the trees changed color overnight. We saw a doe and two fawn on the road. They were gone before we got a good picture Or hit them with the car.

The logs used to build some of these homes are huge. They have incredible views. Glad I don’t have to go on their driveway however.

The sun is shining so the trees look like gold. A few are orange or red.

After we got on the highway a small herd of deer crossed the road. By the time we got there they were in the trees and invisible.

The closer we got to the entrance to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons the worse the traffic got. Lots of RVs going both directions. Everyone must be trying to take advantage of possibly the last good weekend.

In one location traffic was really backed up in both directions. Cars were parked solid on both sides of the road. We never saw what they were looking at but we guessed a moose. Oh well we must save something for the next trip.

The skies are looking very ominous. The forecast is for rain this afternoon. Well they got it right. As we started down the Teton Pass the rain started falling. It was good to have the windshield wiper working.

The drive from Idaho Falls to Arco was not very interesting. Not long after getting in the motel room the thunder, lightning and rain began. Just before sunset the sun came out.

Day 23 September 20, 2025 Douglas Wyoming to Dubois Wyoming 272 miles

Shortly after leaving town we saw a rather large herd of animals in the distance. They didn’t look like cows, deer, antelope or elk. Much further down the road we saw a smaller herd of the same animal. They were domestic sheep! A ram had its head up. He had large curled horns.

We also saw a lone antelope and later a couple of small herds. They don’t seem too bothered by the traffic.

More of the 307 metal work was along the way. A couple were on fences of private property and others were out in the open. Remember 307 is the area code for Wyoming.

We stopped for lunch in Shoshoni Wyoming at the gas station. That is the only place to eat in town. They do pizzas, burgers, subs, salads and other goodies. We split a foot long sub. While we were eating a lady came in with a pet raccoon on her shoulders. Another lady came up to her and petted the raccoon. That was a first.

The terrain is much more colorful and interesting. Finally got out of the corn and soy beans. No more sand hills either.

We filled the car with gas and stopped at the grocery store for salad mix in Dubois. Our lodging is in a cabin out of Dubois. A few miles out of town we turned off the highway onto a dirt road. We drove five miles on a good gravel road that twisted and turned its way up the mountain. Several switch back turns kept us from going very fast. Numerous big log homes are all along the road. We finally got to Crooked Creek Cabins. Quite a complex. They have a restaurant, RV park, rental cabins and rental outdoor equipment. The cabins are made of logs with metal roofs. They must have different configurations because they aren’t all the same size. The restaurant seems busy and four wheelers are driving all over.

Day 22 September 19, 2025 Thedford Nebraska to Douglas Wyoming 294 miles

The day started out very cloudy with lots of thunder and lightning. It must have rained at least some during the night because the hood of the car was very wet. The car does not like wet. Therefore it took about 15 minutes and lots of attempts to get it started.

We drove a short distance when it felt like we had a flat tire. We stopped, Rob got out and checked the tires. All were just fine. It was the road. It had a strange patch that just affected the narrow tires differently.

We continue to drive through the sand hills. The area is 23,000 square miles. A giant aquifer is under the hills. We see lots of small wind mills used to pump water. The wind mills don’t need to be very tall because the wind is so strong at ground level. Farmland has ended but some cattle roam the hills.

A flock of 20 or so wild turkeys were beside the road. They didn’t seem too concerned about the car.

Further down the road were two vultures sitting on a log. They had their wings out sunning themselves. They were the same but smaller and not so ugly ones we saw before.

A small lake was further down the road. At least three what we think we blue heron were standing in the water. One was on a dead tree limb much higher up. Must have wanted a better view.

We did have to wait a few minutes at one construction site. They were resurfacing another section of road. Amazing how many vehicles were backed up when we got to the other side. The distance was about two miles but still had a pilot car.

The road paralleled the railroad tracks most of the day. At least a dozen trains pulling coal cars went by. For a couple of miles other cars were just parked on the tracks. Seemed a strange place to park them. Wyoming produces about 40% of the nations coal so that is most likely where this is coming from. Don’’t know where it is going. Each train has at least 100 cars. One of the trains honked his horn at us.

We had a short break of flat land so the farmland was back. This time one of the main crops was sunflowers. They were a shorter variety with smaller heads but lots of them.

As we entered Wyoming some of the rock formations were interesting. The altitude was higher too. Not as much traffic.

We got to the hotel earlier than expected. We gained an hour by crossing into the mountain time zone. Also helped that the roads were mostly straight, no cities and few highway changes.

Day 21 September 18, 2025 Glenwood Iowa to Thedford Nebraska 291 miles

This morning is cooler and very cloudy. It stayed cloudy all day and did rain on us a couple of times. Once was rather hard. Luckily we saw it coming and got the side curtains on before the rain hit.

Made a mistake yesterday. Glenwood is in Iowa not Nebraska. It is very close to the border however. Very soon into our travels we crossed a river into Nebraska.

We also forgot to write yesterday that we saw three vultures eating on a road kill. These were smaller than some and not as ugly. Roadkill is pretty common. Lots of raccoons and possums with deer mixed in on occasion.

The terrain again today was farmland and rolling hills. We did see a couple of large feed lots and smelled several others. A large percentage of the semis were cattle trucks.

Only encountered one construction area. The crew was putting down new asphalt. A fairly long line of traffic accumulated on each side. The single line flow of traffic past the construction was about a mile. Will be really nice when finished. Another section further down the road needs to be done. It had a small cut in the asphalt about every ten feet. Sure got tired of the bump bump bump.

We stopped for lunch at a Subway. The sandwich of the day was a chicken bacon ranch which is one of our favorites. Then this Subway had hand dipped ice cream. We each had a small dish. Sure tasted good.

We saw three long trains pulling coal cars. We both agree that the railroad crossings in Nebraska are much smoother than the ones in Kentucky. The ones in Indiana and Illinois weren’t too good either.

We were so engrossed in the audio book we neglected to monitor the fuel level. We ran out of gas about 12 miles from the motel. The wind was really blowing and the traffic was going pretty fast. It would rock the car. No one stopped to check on us. They could probably see Rob pouring in gas from our spare can.

Several people in Thedford were interested in the car. Rob talked to several at the gas station and again at the motel.

The menu for tonight was going to be some of the microwave soup we brought. That is when we discovered that we left the two cans we brought at Shelley’s. The grocery store was already closed. Luckily a restaurant is next door. Rob bought “take out” and we ate supper in our room.