April 27, 2018

Note that big white area West of Montana.  That denotes "dry."  Hopefully that pattern will continue.
Source: http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/qpf/qpf2.shtml

Patience is not a virtue in ample supply here at US 89 Team HQ in Idaho Falls.  We'd like to be on The Road again but the weather on the north end of US 89 has been pretty testy lately.  We simply won't drive into potentially icy roads.  Nope.

So, we've set a "date range" to resume The Drive on US 89 from Alpine, Wyoming, to Piegan, Montana.  We'll leave no earlier than May 4 and no later than May 7.  Chances are pretty good that it's going to be May 7, a Monday.

We'd like to meet with one or more history experts in Jackson, Wyoming and/or Grand Teton National Park on May 7. Gros Ventre Campground will have been open since Friday, May 4, so we know all the normal kinks will be worked out of the campground systems by Monday.

Plus, the weather pattern might FINALLY be turning clear and dry by then.  It's shaping up that way as of NOAA's long range forecasts today.

We continue to make slow progress assembling contact for interviews.  We have, however, found many more online resources regarding US 89 in Montana.

We also have been working on researching the Life & Legacy of Paul J. Erickson who died in an air ambulance plane crash February 6, 2007.  An 18-mile stretch of US 89 south of Belt, Montana, was designated in 2008 to Memorialize Mr. Erickson.  We hope to post an article about  Mr. Erickson and the Memorial Highway prior to our departure.

We're waiting on the new tires we ordered to arrive.  Can't leave without those, either.  Meanwhile, we're getting lots of home owner chores finished here in Idaho Falls.

And, on the whimsical side, we dug out yet another piece of cast iron from our collection and are dusting off our cornbread recipes for the upcoming trip.

See: https://www.facebook.com/johnrandyparsons/posts/1000548926775040