That is their motto and they do. The number of motor cycles is amazing and the air of freedom rides with them. The rolling hills and quiet beauty of the land is peaceful and invites you to drive and enjoy your day in the sun and cool breeze.
Many young men have long black braids down their backs, because the Indian heritage here is alive and well and it is refreshing to see young people so proud of who they are. The Indian culture is very evident and visible here.
The spirit of the West is here also, but in a more laid back way than in Wyoming.
It is more about the beauty of the land and not the mystique of the rodeo and the cowboy. It is more a reflection of the reverance the first Americans have for the Black Hills and for the suffering their ancestors indured to survive here.
The buffalo roam in large numbers in Custer State Park and the deer are everywhere. The towns are small but reflect the history of the area and have many historic buildings which are preserved and still used.
Rapid City is a bustling growing area and is much changed from our visit in 1999. There is so much more tourism and it shows in the new motels and campgrounds which abound.
We are thrilled with our unique campgound, which has a covered pavillon for each two sites. The roof over each concrete pad gives us an area to eat together and spend time outside even in the rain. There is a road between each two sites and it is an easy in and out and all are pull throughs. What a great concept.
We have enjoyed Mount Rushmore , Crazy Horse, Deadwood and of course, Wall Drugs. It has been a great place to end our adventure with a very relaxed last few days and we have had the opportunity to rest up, clean out the R V's and get restocked for the long drive home.
It will be an adjustment traveling on alone, but we are all anxious to see loved ones and get to our family connections, which are scattered in the mid west and east .
Tonight we will have our last dinner together and say our goodbyes. The adventure has been awesome and some day we will relax, drag out the box of photos and brochures and relive it, then we will realize just what an amazing journey it has been.
When you are living it you don't have time to absorb the reality of it all. We lived together and traveled together for 80 plus days and we are all so blessed to have done it without major illness or an accident. We have learned alot about
each other and ourselves. We have experienced the most thrilling sights and most harrowing drives and have bonded with the adventures.
I am ready to go again....anytime...anywhere...it was fantastic and I am sorry to see it end......maybe next year?
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Cody the real WEST
We all loved Cody and this area of Wyoming. It is beautiful and wild and wonderful. We have seen wild mustangs, been white water rafting, seen a gunfight in front of the Irma Hotel, which was built by Buffalo Bill, and gone horse back riding up Cedar Mountain.
The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is a world class museum of Smithsonian quality. We loved the Indian relics housed there and the hundreds of Wild West Show artifacts from Buffalo Bill's estate.
He was a remarkable man and entrepreneur of incomparable achievements.
He not only settled the town, but brought water to the valley and was instrumental in the building of the first dam in the area. It was to become the highest arch dam in the nation and a fore runner to Hoover. Built in the early 1900's in the winter months in daily temperatures below zero, it was a massive achievement.
The streets of the town are four lanes because he wanted to be able to turn his show wagons around. The auditions for the show were held in a lot next to the hotel and cowboys and Indians came from all over the West for a chance to travel the world with Cody.
He performed before the crowned heads of Europe and Queen Victoria sent him a cherry bar for his hotel as a thank you for his show for her. We were thrilled to have dinner in that room right in front of that bar. The hotel is a must for any
visit here.
The group enjoyed horse rides, water rafting, a very entertaining cowboy musical show, and a wild mustang tour. We also visited a local thrift shop and purchased many pieces of Western clothing.
We are leaving this morning for Buffalo and will cross over our last mountain range. The Big Horn Mountains are in the 8,9, and 10,000 ft range, so we will have a great day of adventure.
Wyoming was a huge surprise. It is gorgeous, it is friendly, it is an adventure,
and we love it and I would like to see more of the state. Maybe next year.
Tonight, we just had the best meal of the whole trip in Buffalo, the Winchester.It was a great day of driving through some awesome mountains. Highway 16 was wonderful and we had a short day and very scenic.
The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is a world class museum of Smithsonian quality. We loved the Indian relics housed there and the hundreds of Wild West Show artifacts from Buffalo Bill's estate.
He was a remarkable man and entrepreneur of incomparable achievements.
He not only settled the town, but brought water to the valley and was instrumental in the building of the first dam in the area. It was to become the highest arch dam in the nation and a fore runner to Hoover. Built in the early 1900's in the winter months in daily temperatures below zero, it was a massive achievement.
The streets of the town are four lanes because he wanted to be able to turn his show wagons around. The auditions for the show were held in a lot next to the hotel and cowboys and Indians came from all over the West for a chance to travel the world with Cody.
He performed before the crowned heads of Europe and Queen Victoria sent him a cherry bar for his hotel as a thank you for his show for her. We were thrilled to have dinner in that room right in front of that bar. The hotel is a must for any
visit here.
The group enjoyed horse rides, water rafting, a very entertaining cowboy musical show, and a wild mustang tour. We also visited a local thrift shop and purchased many pieces of Western clothing.
We are leaving this morning for Buffalo and will cross over our last mountain range. The Big Horn Mountains are in the 8,9, and 10,000 ft range, so we will have a great day of adventure.
Wyoming was a huge surprise. It is gorgeous, it is friendly, it is an adventure,
and we love it and I would like to see more of the state. Maybe next year.
Tonight, we just had the best meal of the whole trip in Buffalo, the Winchester.It was a great day of driving through some awesome mountains. Highway 16 was wonderful and we had a short day and very scenic.
Tomorrow we leave for Rapid City and the Rushmore leg of our trek. It is almost impossible to believe our adventure is almost over and all the planning and dreaming has come and almost gone. How sad we will be to say goodbye to each other and to the day to day family we have forged in this two and half months.
We have already started thinking about next year and if we will be able to do this again. It would be wonderful but there are so many factors we have no control over and at our age one never knows about health problems. To want to replicate something so perfect is only human.
We were lucky to have had this great adventure and can only pray that we someday can repeat it ,but you never know. Something to think about in the those mundane days at home when we are reliving our adventures with the pictures we have taken. Scrapbooks are coming........and I will love doing them.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Yellowstone National Park
It is the oldest national park and is the icon for the American park service. Over two million acres of rugged mountains, waterfalls, trees, and many animals. The last of the true natural wonders of our great land.
The bison roam free and the antelope and elk are ever present in large numbers.
Wolves have been reintroduced to the park ten year ago and now roam in packs bringing a needed wheel spoke back to the circle of life of the forest.
The fires of 1988 are still visible with over 700 acres of damaged large pole pines and hundreds of dead trees lying on the forest floor. It is a sad and depressing sight to see our majestic forest destroyed. The tour guides all say that it was a natural thing and a must to keep the area healthy, but to me it was very upsetting.
The surprise to all of our little gypsy band was upon check in to find there was no TV, no wifi, and no cell phone reception. I felt as though I was in an alien land of stick trees. The only civilization we could enjoy was at the hotel and store, which were close by, because the towns at the edge of the park took hours to reach because of the terrain, roads, and dangers of driving after dark and the animals on the roads.
It was a first for me to feel as the old pioneers must have felt in the dark of the night ......alone,cutoff,and vulnerable. It was a helpless feeling of not being in control should one need medical attention or want to contact a loved one. A feeling we never experience now in the age of instant communication.
I enjoyed seeing the geysers and Old Faithful did not disappoint. The Old Faithful Inn was a highlight for me. A historic and magnificent log structure and the massive stone fireplace which is at the center of a four story lobby is intriguing. I had wanted to see it, as it is the inspiration for Disney's Wilderness Lodge, one of our favorite places in the world, and I was excited to have the opportunity.
I saw the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the upper and lower falls. I saw Tower Falls and the Mammoth Hot Springs. I saw the animals and we drove in a bison herd.
So why did I feel that of all the parks which we have visited on this adventure, Yellowstone is my least favorite. I can't explain it. It did not ring my chimes.
I know it is unpatriotic to even think this, but that is my feeling.
So when we talked it over with the group, we all felt we wanted to leave early. We wanted to get back to civilization. I did not want to see another tree, unless it was a Dollar Tree. So we packed up our little rigs and headed for Cody Wy. and hopefully a Wal Mart.
In our 63 days on the road we have seen so many of the most famous national parks. Each has been so spectacular in it's own way, we might be jaded. Or it might be that, we can't give up our familiar comforts and want to get back to an every day routine of EASY.
I am glad we saw it and I am glad we left early and I am happy to be in Cody and I am thrilled to have had an opportunity to have some fast food for lunch and to go to a Wal Mart for a few things I have needed for a week.
We have plans to enjoy all that Buffalo Bill's town in the West can offer. The mosquito bites which cover us will soon fade and stop itching. The grocery shopping will be done and the TV news shows will bring us back to the reality
we have missed over the passed two weeks.
But the memories we have of the Tetons, Arches, Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Zion, and Yellowstone will always be with us. Some of the mental images will be stronger in the impact which they have made on our souls,
and it will be up to all of us to assimilate these memories into our psyche.
I know that for me the Tetons will always be the memory I will recall first and will always be my favorite. What I have learned on this trip is a simple definite, you must see it for yourself to know what truly moves you and you must follow your own instincts and trust your feelings. Uniqueness is our gift to ourselves.
The bison roam free and the antelope and elk are ever present in large numbers.
Wolves have been reintroduced to the park ten year ago and now roam in packs bringing a needed wheel spoke back to the circle of life of the forest.
The fires of 1988 are still visible with over 700 acres of damaged large pole pines and hundreds of dead trees lying on the forest floor. It is a sad and depressing sight to see our majestic forest destroyed. The tour guides all say that it was a natural thing and a must to keep the area healthy, but to me it was very upsetting.
The surprise to all of our little gypsy band was upon check in to find there was no TV, no wifi, and no cell phone reception. I felt as though I was in an alien land of stick trees. The only civilization we could enjoy was at the hotel and store, which were close by, because the towns at the edge of the park took hours to reach because of the terrain, roads, and dangers of driving after dark and the animals on the roads.
It was a first for me to feel as the old pioneers must have felt in the dark of the night ......alone,cutoff,and vulnerable. It was a helpless feeling of not being in control should one need medical attention or want to contact a loved one. A feeling we never experience now in the age of instant communication.
I enjoyed seeing the geysers and Old Faithful did not disappoint. The Old Faithful Inn was a highlight for me. A historic and magnificent log structure and the massive stone fireplace which is at the center of a four story lobby is intriguing. I had wanted to see it, as it is the inspiration for Disney's Wilderness Lodge, one of our favorite places in the world, and I was excited to have the opportunity.
I saw the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the upper and lower falls. I saw Tower Falls and the Mammoth Hot Springs. I saw the animals and we drove in a bison herd.
So why did I feel that of all the parks which we have visited on this adventure, Yellowstone is my least favorite. I can't explain it. It did not ring my chimes.
I know it is unpatriotic to even think this, but that is my feeling.
So when we talked it over with the group, we all felt we wanted to leave early. We wanted to get back to civilization. I did not want to see another tree, unless it was a Dollar Tree. So we packed up our little rigs and headed for Cody Wy. and hopefully a Wal Mart.
In our 63 days on the road we have seen so many of the most famous national parks. Each has been so spectacular in it's own way, we might be jaded. Or it might be that, we can't give up our familiar comforts and want to get back to an every day routine of EASY.
I am glad we saw it and I am glad we left early and I am happy to be in Cody and I am thrilled to have had an opportunity to have some fast food for lunch and to go to a Wal Mart for a few things I have needed for a week.
We have plans to enjoy all that Buffalo Bill's town in the West can offer. The mosquito bites which cover us will soon fade and stop itching. The grocery shopping will be done and the TV news shows will bring us back to the reality
we have missed over the passed two weeks.
But the memories we have of the Tetons, Arches, Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Zion, and Yellowstone will always be with us. Some of the mental images will be stronger in the impact which they have made on our souls,
and it will be up to all of us to assimilate these memories into our psyche.
I know that for me the Tetons will always be the memory I will recall first and will always be my favorite. What I have learned on this trip is a simple definite, you must see it for yourself to know what truly moves you and you must follow your own instincts and trust your feelings. Uniqueness is our gift to ourselves.
Tetons are fabulous
Here we go again...it's awesome, beautiful, majestic, unbelievable, wonderful, and fantastic. I have used up all my words and I can't even come close but just let me say., if this was the only place we had visited it would have been worth the trip to me.
Our travel day out of Salt Lake City was the longest, most frustrating, and tiring of all the days so far and one of the most beautiful. We drove mountains on a two lane road up to 7000 feet...construction delays...off road R Ving ( no pavement at all), the rushing Snake River on one side and stone walls on the other...trucks and tour buses coming at us and no shoulders...it was a long, long day.
It wasn't until we arrived at the park at 6 p.m. and all of us took a deep breath, we realized how stressed we were and yelled at each other.."let's eat out" and we unhooked and headed for the park restaurant without even setting up. There we all let out a collective sigh of relief and started reliving our nail biting adventure.
We didn't realize Colter Bay was the farthest northern area of the Tetons and we would only be 23 miles from the Yellowstone entrance when we booked, but we love the park and it's facilities, right on the water with the mountains rising up on the other shore, we have a gorgeous view.
The Tetons, unlike most ranges, have no foothills, so you see Jackson Lake and then there they are rising straight up out of the water to 13,000 feet. The lake is manmade and holds the run off of over 600 inches of annual snowfall and is a source of water for Idaho. They paid for the construction of the dam and lake and receive 39 feet of water per year.
The lake is over 500 feet deep in the middle. It freezes over each year with a 6 foot ice cap and affords the animals an opportunity to migrate to the other side of the park.
We took a lake cruise yesterday and got right up to the mountains for some wonderful photo ops. Then last night after dinner, we loaded into cars and we went in search of wild life ,the four legged kind, and we were not disappointed. We saw three herds of elk in great numbers, bison, antelope,and the sunset over the Tetons.
Early in the morning, Norm and I went moose hunting and we actually found one. A female eating her breakfast in a river in the moose habitat and we took lots of pictures. Our first moose. Then on the way back to camp, two wolves ran right in front of the car and I was thrilled. My first wolf. So seeing animals is easy.
The group plans to go horseback riding and then to Jackson shopping. The town is alive with many summer tourists and shops and a town square which has an elk antler arch on each corner. The perfect photo op.
We also plan to enjoy an evening chuckwagon dinner and performance of a western band,which has been highly recommended as a must while in the area.
A trip to the National Elk Refuge is also on tap. We love this area and our time will go much too fast.
We feel we have probably saved the best for last on this adventure. The Tetons, Yellowstone,and Rushmore. It is going to be a great JULY.
Our travel day out of Salt Lake City was the longest, most frustrating, and tiring of all the days so far and one of the most beautiful. We drove mountains on a two lane road up to 7000 feet...construction delays...off road R Ving ( no pavement at all), the rushing Snake River on one side and stone walls on the other...trucks and tour buses coming at us and no shoulders...it was a long, long day.
It wasn't until we arrived at the park at 6 p.m. and all of us took a deep breath, we realized how stressed we were and yelled at each other.."let's eat out" and we unhooked and headed for the park restaurant without even setting up. There we all let out a collective sigh of relief and started reliving our nail biting adventure.
We didn't realize Colter Bay was the farthest northern area of the Tetons and we would only be 23 miles from the Yellowstone entrance when we booked, but we love the park and it's facilities, right on the water with the mountains rising up on the other shore, we have a gorgeous view.
The Tetons, unlike most ranges, have no foothills, so you see Jackson Lake and then there they are rising straight up out of the water to 13,000 feet. The lake is manmade and holds the run off of over 600 inches of annual snowfall and is a source of water for Idaho. They paid for the construction of the dam and lake and receive 39 feet of water per year.
The lake is over 500 feet deep in the middle. It freezes over each year with a 6 foot ice cap and affords the animals an opportunity to migrate to the other side of the park.
We took a lake cruise yesterday and got right up to the mountains for some wonderful photo ops. Then last night after dinner, we loaded into cars and we went in search of wild life ,the four legged kind, and we were not disappointed. We saw three herds of elk in great numbers, bison, antelope,and the sunset over the Tetons.
Early in the morning, Norm and I went moose hunting and we actually found one. A female eating her breakfast in a river in the moose habitat and we took lots of pictures. Our first moose. Then on the way back to camp, two wolves ran right in front of the car and I was thrilled. My first wolf. So seeing animals is easy.
The group plans to go horseback riding and then to Jackson shopping. The town is alive with many summer tourists and shops and a town square which has an elk antler arch on each corner. The perfect photo op.
We also plan to enjoy an evening chuckwagon dinner and performance of a western band,which has been highly recommended as a must while in the area.
A trip to the National Elk Refuge is also on tap. We love this area and our time will go much too fast.
We feel we have probably saved the best for last on this adventure. The Tetons, Yellowstone,and Rushmore. It is going to be a great JULY.
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