We rose at 7am to try and make an 8am departure from West Yellowstone. We had drained all the water from the camper so we had to brush our teeth and wash our faces in the campground bathroom. This is not a big deal as it is a very nice facility, but it put me way behind on my duties as the official putter-upper of the inside of the camper. I have my set ways of doing things to coincide with Tony's ways of doing the outside. He did the outside without me and it completely messed up my inside duties! This put us on the road at 8:15am. Not too bad of a start, but still not what we had hoped, but then again, we are planners and when things don't go as planned, we tend to fret.
Fretting aside, we moved on. Our entire trip minus 30 miles was all 2 lane highway through the foothills of the Rockies. Montana is full of these rolling hills with snow capped mountains in the back ground. One thing we noticed about Montana is there are very few homes between the ranches and lots and lots of cows! Cows everywhere that they even have their own cow crossing the roadway sign! We were worried about hitting a deer or a dog, but I think we should have been more worried about hitting a cow instead! Luckily, non of the above was hit, but all were seen!
After a stop in Butte to one of the friendliest Walmarts I have ever been in, we continued to head north. Tony's truck temp gauge was reading 93 degrees. I do remember him saying it was going to be in the mid 60s for the high and high 20s for the low. Once we got cell service I went to the weather channels app only to find out that those numbers were for Glacier National Park's highest point at 10,140 ft! The town we are staying in is just west of Glacier Natl. Park at just above 4,000 ft and the temps this week are to be in the high 80s for the day and high 50s at night! So of course we stocked up on RV Antifreeze and bottled water, neither of which we need right now! I'm so glad, because going a week without running water was not going to be fun! And I still get to have my french vanilla DD coffee! Yippee!!!!
We arrived at the West Glacier KOA at about 5pm. It is one of the most beautiful campgrounds we have been in thus far. I feel a little out of place because we are surrounded by multi-million dollar, and yes that is million with a capitol M, Class A buses. About 95% are Prevost models that start at $1.75 million for their simple RV, but these here have trailers to haul their motorcycles and cars. We feel we are in the low rent district looking at these gorgeous and huge RVs. One good thing about the park being full of these big rigs is most of these people are of the 55 and older crowd, so hardly any kids to keep us up at night. The last campground I think was 50% kids under 10 and boy were they loud and unsupervised! Google Prevost if you can. I tried to put in the link, but the internet here is worthless. Sorry!
Our power went out about 30 minutes into our set up. We needed ice so Tony and I headed to the camp store and found out the entire campground was without power (except for the Prevost owners who have built in generators of course!) It was over an hour before it came back on. Luckily it's very nice out, so we hung out under the awning and chilled. The girls swam a little, but with the power out, it became crowded with people trying to cool off.
We are not sure of tomorrows plan yet. I think we will sleep in a little and then make our way into Glacier Natl Park. It's a small park with huge peaks of 10,000 ft and more! We have a nice view of the foothills of these mountains and I cannot complain! I hope we get to do more hiking with this trip, but of course we have the dogs so it all depends on what we can time out. It's okay if we don't do too much. Just being up here is enough to make us happy!
We miss you all and even though we are having a great time, we are all starting to get a little home sick. We will be back soon!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Day 12 - Horseback Riding In Montana
Tony surprised us last night by booking a 3 hour horseback ride through the hills and mountains of Montana! How exciting! The landscape is gorgeous and seeing it without an automobile would be magnificent.
We arrived 20 minutes early like we were told. Unfortunately not everyone took that information seriously. After waiting 30 minutes for everyone to arrive we were saddled up. These were very mild mannered horses so there was no worry about any one of them deciding to take off, but Layla's kept wanting to wander over and see his girlfriend in the coral. Layla was already very nervous and not really being able to keep her horse still sent her over the edge. I offered to trade horses, as mine was the mildest one there, but at this point she was just way to scared having never been on a horse by herself. Since this was a 3 hour ride it was not recommended to double up. We made the decision that Layla and I would stay back while Tony and Maya went ahead. Poor Layla was very upset at this point, but the ranch hands were so good with her. It was very comforting to see. I felt so bad for her because she was so excited and she said she felt bad for me because she knew I really wanted to do this. It's what we Moms (and Dads) do. We sacrifice things for our children. There was no way I was going to make her be on a horse she was terrified of riding for 3 hours. I may get my chance in Glacier, but I'm not going to worry about it. I've seen some beautiful things already and I feel the best is yet to come!
At this point, Layla and I headed back to the camper. It was 1/2 mile down the road and we watched movies and I read a little. We picked up Tony and Maya at 4:30 then went into town to get gas and some food. We are now chilling watching another movie. We have the camper all ready to head out tomorrow. We have an 8 hour drive to Glacier with a stop in Butte, Montana to yet another Walmart, oh fun! We have to winterize our camper and Wally World sells what we need as well as some other things. I'm going to have to buy instant coffee because we won't be able to do dishes. I'm so sad. I bought some french vanilla DD coffee and have very much enjoyed it. Oh well, life gives you ups and downs and you deal with it, right? Actually, I'm sure they have a place to do dishes so ti
One thing I keep forgetting to mention is how diverse this place is. I bet half the people in this campground are from another country outside of North America. There is a lot of French speaking people I'm assuming are from Quebec, but I hear Italian, maybe Dutch, and Asian languages. I tend to say hello to people when passing them. It's so interesting to realize that some don't understand me. I asked a couple if they were using a laundry basket in the laundry room here and they looked at me, then looked at each other, then looked at me, never saying a word. I later heard them talking and couldn't understand them at all. Yellowstone does accompany this because the visitor centers have the main things in English, then written in 3 or 4 other languages! It's quite interesting!And you can tell certain people are not from here because they are all dressed up to hike a trail!
That's about it for today. We are off to sleep! Good Night!
We arrived 20 minutes early like we were told. Unfortunately not everyone took that information seriously. After waiting 30 minutes for everyone to arrive we were saddled up. These were very mild mannered horses so there was no worry about any one of them deciding to take off, but Layla's kept wanting to wander over and see his girlfriend in the coral. Layla was already very nervous and not really being able to keep her horse still sent her over the edge. I offered to trade horses, as mine was the mildest one there, but at this point she was just way to scared having never been on a horse by herself. Since this was a 3 hour ride it was not recommended to double up. We made the decision that Layla and I would stay back while Tony and Maya went ahead. Poor Layla was very upset at this point, but the ranch hands were so good with her. It was very comforting to see. I felt so bad for her because she was so excited and she said she felt bad for me because she knew I really wanted to do this. It's what we Moms (and Dads) do. We sacrifice things for our children. There was no way I was going to make her be on a horse she was terrified of riding for 3 hours. I may get my chance in Glacier, but I'm not going to worry about it. I've seen some beautiful things already and I feel the best is yet to come!
At this point, Layla and I headed back to the camper. It was 1/2 mile down the road and we watched movies and I read a little. We picked up Tony and Maya at 4:30 then went into town to get gas and some food. We are now chilling watching another movie. We have the camper all ready to head out tomorrow. We have an 8 hour drive to Glacier with a stop in Butte, Montana to yet another Walmart, oh fun! We have to winterize our camper and Wally World sells what we need as well as some other things. I'm going to have to buy instant coffee because we won't be able to do dishes. I'm so sad. I bought some french vanilla DD coffee and have very much enjoyed it. Oh well, life gives you ups and downs and you deal with it, right? Actually, I'm sure they have a place to do dishes so ti
One thing I keep forgetting to mention is how diverse this place is. I bet half the people in this campground are from another country outside of North America. There is a lot of French speaking people I'm assuming are from Quebec, but I hear Italian, maybe Dutch, and Asian languages. I tend to say hello to people when passing them. It's so interesting to realize that some don't understand me. I asked a couple if they were using a laundry basket in the laundry room here and they looked at me, then looked at each other, then looked at me, never saying a word. I later heard them talking and couldn't understand them at all. Yellowstone does accompany this because the visitor centers have the main things in English, then written in 3 or 4 other languages! It's quite interesting!And you can tell certain people are not from here because they are all dressed up to hike a trail!
That's about it for today. We are off to sleep! Good Night!
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Dat 10 & 11 Grizzlies, Wolves, & Old Faithful.....Oh My!
Day 10 - Friday, ended up being a recovery day for us. We slept in until almost 10:30, well, the kids and Tony did. I was up about 8. Once we decided not to head to Yellowstone we just took our time getting up and going. We have been on the go for so long now that is was nice to just putz around. I was able to clean the camper and the girls were able to sleep as well as Tony. Let's just say that the 4 of us and 2 dogs living in 200 square feet can get quite, um, cozy. That's not true, it is cramped! When traveling for more than 3 weeks it can get rather claustrophobic! Everything must be put up when done and when you have a 10 & 11 year old, that chore NEVER happens! NEVER!
Moving on, we decided to go to a place called Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. A sanctuary for grizzlies and wolves who cannot live in the wild. It has some interesting points, but not what we were expecting. Everyone has their opinions about things, but most of them about things to do here have differed quite a bit. I think it may have boiled down to timing of course, but for the money, it was just not worth it!
Day 11 - Saturday we went back to Yellowstone to finish the south and southeast part of the park. In other words, see Old Faithful! We arrived very early since it is Saturday and we had no idea what to expect as far as crowds go. We were able to get a front row seat. Yes, we had to wait for almost an hour to see her go, but the temps are great here today and the seating was quite comfortable. She teased us for about 10 minutes then bam! It was spectacular! It brought me to tears I must admit (can you tell I'm lacking sleep lately with all my waterworks?) But think about it. You hear about it, you learn about it in school, you see pictures of it in books and papers and magazines, then to witness it first had makes it almost like a dream come true! What I also like it we are giving our kids an advance on their education. When they go to school and learn about Mt. Rushmore, or Yellowstone and Old Faithful, they can know that they have been there to experience it. Nothing like that can be taught from a book in a class room!
As the crowd dispersed we decided we were hungry, then we also wanted to shop! A picnic lunch in the woods was had by all along with a sign on every table say bears are attracted to food so be careful! Lovely! We also had to take the pups for a walk so we did that. After some shopping, there were some other stops, but by this time both girls were done and to be honest, after Old Faithful, what else is there to see? We saw all the animals on Thursday except a wolf and elk. We stopped at a gas station and got some treats and then headed back to the camper.
On our way back we passed several heards of buffalo as well as a few single ones traveling the road. It was quite a sight. Tillie, our small 36 pound pup was all gung ho on kicking some buffalo butt until one passed us on the road. All of a sudden she started shaking and climbed into my lap into the front and tried to hide under our jackets on the floor! That big bad buffalo scared her something awful! Poor thing! It was quite funny!
The bad thing about Yellowstone is that even though it was only 28 miles until we were out of the park it took us 2 hours to get there with all the people stopping to look and the curvy roads and of course the odd buffalo deciding to go for a Saturday stroll to get away from the wife and kids enjoy the fresh air. And my neck hurts from looking out my window for 2 day, 8 hours straight, straining to see that grizzly or black bear or wolf. I'm going to have to see my chiropractor every day for the next 3 weeks just to readjust!
We are back at the campground now hanging out at the office waiting for our laundry and enjoying the access to the internet. It is a gorgeous evening with temps about 75 and low humidity! We are researching the Grand Tetons to see if that is where we want to head on Sunday. It's a 2 hour drive from our campsite. We are also finding out that it is going to fall below freezing in Glacier. That wouldn't be a problem except we can't have water in the camper when it gets below freezing. We are looking at dry camping for 5 days! If we were tent camping this wouldn't be concern except sleeping in the cold, but that is why I have a camper. So I don't have to walk to the bathroom in the middle of the night! Looks like I'm going to have to do that. Oh well! I can't complain! We will be seeing some beautiful country! I can't wait! Don't worry if we don't come back!
So for now, we will enjoy water and a toilet IN our camper as well as comfortable nights and of course the 2 pounds of fudge we bought at the KOA camp store!
Jealous?
Moving on, we decided to go to a place called Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. A sanctuary for grizzlies and wolves who cannot live in the wild. It has some interesting points, but not what we were expecting. Everyone has their opinions about things, but most of them about things to do here have differed quite a bit. I think it may have boiled down to timing of course, but for the money, it was just not worth it!
Day 11 - Saturday we went back to Yellowstone to finish the south and southeast part of the park. In other words, see Old Faithful! We arrived very early since it is Saturday and we had no idea what to expect as far as crowds go. We were able to get a front row seat. Yes, we had to wait for almost an hour to see her go, but the temps are great here today and the seating was quite comfortable. She teased us for about 10 minutes then bam! It was spectacular! It brought me to tears I must admit (can you tell I'm lacking sleep lately with all my waterworks?) But think about it. You hear about it, you learn about it in school, you see pictures of it in books and papers and magazines, then to witness it first had makes it almost like a dream come true! What I also like it we are giving our kids an advance on their education. When they go to school and learn about Mt. Rushmore, or Yellowstone and Old Faithful, they can know that they have been there to experience it. Nothing like that can be taught from a book in a class room!
As the crowd dispersed we decided we were hungry, then we also wanted to shop! A picnic lunch in the woods was had by all along with a sign on every table say bears are attracted to food so be careful! Lovely! We also had to take the pups for a walk so we did that. After some shopping, there were some other stops, but by this time both girls were done and to be honest, after Old Faithful, what else is there to see? We saw all the animals on Thursday except a wolf and elk. We stopped at a gas station and got some treats and then headed back to the camper.
On our way back we passed several heards of buffalo as well as a few single ones traveling the road. It was quite a sight. Tillie, our small 36 pound pup was all gung ho on kicking some buffalo butt until one passed us on the road. All of a sudden she started shaking and climbed into my lap into the front and tried to hide under our jackets on the floor! That big bad buffalo scared her something awful! Poor thing! It was quite funny!
The bad thing about Yellowstone is that even though it was only 28 miles until we were out of the park it took us 2 hours to get there with all the people stopping to look and the curvy roads and of course the odd buffalo deciding to go for a Saturday stroll to get away from the wife and kids enjoy the fresh air. And my neck hurts from looking out my window for 2 day, 8 hours straight, straining to see that grizzly or black bear or wolf. I'm going to have to see my chiropractor every day for the next 3 weeks just to readjust!
We are back at the campground now hanging out at the office waiting for our laundry and enjoying the access to the internet. It is a gorgeous evening with temps about 75 and low humidity! We are researching the Grand Tetons to see if that is where we want to head on Sunday. It's a 2 hour drive from our campsite. We are also finding out that it is going to fall below freezing in Glacier. That wouldn't be a problem except we can't have water in the camper when it gets below freezing. We are looking at dry camping for 5 days! If we were tent camping this wouldn't be concern except sleeping in the cold, but that is why I have a camper. So I don't have to walk to the bathroom in the middle of the night! Looks like I'm going to have to do that. Oh well! I can't complain! We will be seeing some beautiful country! I can't wait! Don't worry if we don't come back!
So for now, we will enjoy water and a toilet IN our camper as well as comfortable nights and of course the 2 pounds of fudge we bought at the KOA camp store!
Jealous?
Friday, July 27, 2012
Day 9 - Yellowstone Here We Come!
I decided to go ahead with the blog sans pictures and video instead of email.
The day started out good. We were able
to rise early and get going early. Maya is finally feeling good minus
a nagging cough. I believe the cold has moved to her lungs and we are
at about 8000+ feet above sea level so the air is thinner here. We
arrived at the West Entrance to Yellowstone at about 9am to find very
little crowds and beautiful sunny skies.
This turned out to be more of an
emotional moment, entering Yellowstone, than I imagined. The girls
just couldn't understand it. I explained how I have wanted to come
here most of my life and wasn't sure that would happen because of the
fire so many years ago. As you enter the park, the fire is still very
evident as you drive by thousands of acres with with empty skeletons
of trees that used to cover this vast land. Some have born new life
with pine trees about 10-15 feet tall, but the memories of the others
are scattered throughout these little trees. These dead reminders
tower over the new life letting us know we have long to go to return
back to where Yellowstone once was.
When you enter you are given a map with
the more popular animals to see. Our first one was a pup coyote
digging in the grassland, our guess is for a mouse or prairie dog.
Next we saw a buffalo snoozing just a few hundred feet from the side
of the road.
As we moved on, our plan was to hit Old
Faithful, but we decided to do the north part of the park first. Tony
has done excellent research on the best things to see and do.
Our first big stop was Norris Geyser.
Once you get over the rotten egg smell from the sulfur it is a
beautiful and colorful place.
Second was Canyon Valley. The Grand
Canyon of Yellowstone. There are two water falls Upper and Lower
Falls, both majestic and colorful.
From there we were heading to Lamar
Valley where Tony has read has the most wildlife. At this point, our
animal spotting was some Mule Deer, Pronghorn Deer, Coyote, and 1
single buffalo, as well as an Osprey, Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, and a
Violet Swift. We were hoping Lamar Valley would not disappoint and we
were right.
As we came into the valley we saw 3
buffalo grazing. There were several people off to the side of the
road on both side watching them, taking pictures, oohing and ahhing.
2 decided they wanted on the other side of the road. Boy can they
run. As I ran to my car to avoid being run over (and I'm not joking),
2 came right up to the driver side window, went around the back of
the truck and moved on. I was within 20 feet of them as I got back
into the car. There was 1 more that decided to follow. A woman was up
on a rock taking pictures with her back turned. Someone yelled at her
that a buffalo was heading her way. They passed each other! The
buffalo stopped and turned to look at her! She was a short stocky
woman and I don't think her feet ever touched the ground! I so wish
we had gotten video of it. We laughed for a while about the close
call. I joked that hopefully she had a clean pair of shorts in her
van because I know, being withing 2 feet of a gigantic buffalo
RUNNING towards you would have made me beyond scared! Being 20 feet
away was scary enough!
From there we wound around and through
the mountains. Picture of course, just don't do it justice. As we
worked our way back to our campground, we came upon a black bear
yearling, and a grizzly. I got out of the car for the black bear, it
was far enough away, but the grizzly was too close for comfort so I
just took pictures from the truck! We were so excited to see both of
those!
Our last stop was Mammoth Hot Spring,
but by this time Maya was really not feeling well so we made it
quick, got a bite to eat and headed out. Our entire trek on just the
north side of the park took 11 hours!
Tomorrow, we will do the south side
with Old Faithful and the Mud Volcano. It's going to be a short day.
We've decided 2 days is enough. We will then head to the Grand Tetons
National Park on Saturday! So far we have yet to kill each other, but we still have about 14 days to go! Only time will tell!
Hope all is well!
Day 5 - Mt. Rushmore and Deadwood
Today was sightseeing day. Our first stop was Mt. Rushmore. We arrived when they opened, at 8am to very little crowds and overcast skies with temps in the low 70s. We took the pups with us thinking they could go in, but pets are not allowed in, but they do have pet walks. Since we were early, they told us to park in the basement level and it would stay cool enough for the dogs. We have never left them alone in the car let alone together so we were a little apprehensive. It was cool so that wasn't a concern, but them scratching at the interior or trying to bust out the window was the concern. We were only gone an hour and everything was fine upon our return. Mt. Rushmore is interesting and huge, but it's one of those things that you look at, read a little about, and then you are done. You can get great photos of it from the road leading up to it. Yes you can get better ones if you hike the trail up, but really that's about it. The girls didn't want to go, but we really wanted them to see some of the sight and walk the trail they have to see the blown up mountain bits. They did find that cool!
After Rushmore we headed into Deadwood. What a disappointment. It would be a great town if you were 1)over 21 and into gambling 2)over 21 and into saloons, or 3) over 21 and into motorcycles or Sturgis. Do you see the pattern here? Half of our party is no where near 1,2,or 3. Plus we had the dogs. We found an outside cafe called Mustang Sally's with your typical burgers and dogs. The outside seating was a plus for the pups and I was even able to enjoy a meal. Of course it was a hot dog, but it was really good and huge! After eating we thought we would be walking around the bend to a mining for gold site that was thought to be in an actual creek. It was neither just around the bend nor a creek.After walking uphill for who knows how far, we said forget it and went back to our truck, we took the truck up to the hill where the mining took place and it was a 10 foot trough on the side of the road. No thanks! A quick trip to Wild Bill Hickock's grave site for me and then home to our camper. Deadwood is a cute old town with history, but still holds it's rough and tumble ways with the gambling and the clothing shops trying to get you to dress, well, not really dress, more like somewhat cover up with sky high heels and rhinestone jewelry. I felt I should have covered my girls' eyes when passing these shops!
We dropped off the dogs after Deadwood and went into Custer to Scott's Rock Shop to satisfy Maya's rock obsession and for Layla to spend her money also. It's a cute shop with some really interesting stuff, but very similar to most of the gift shops we have visited. Layla bought a really pretty wind chime made from pink polished geode slices. Something she can hang in her room. Maya walked out with some pretty earrings and a matching necklace made with Tiger's Eye stones.
After shopping we decided to hit this placed called Cosmos Mystery Area, a typical tourist attraction, but with our other plans not panning out like we thought, we figured, what the heck. It turned out to be lot of fun and cheap! The kids were free! It's basically all optical illusions, but it was fun to experience non-the-less.
On our way home we saw some spectacular lightning and some pretty intense storm clouds. It started to down pour just as we got into our camper! The lightning was really bad and close which at home is not biggie, but in our camper, I'm not a fan! It looks like it has knock out some of the power to some camp sites as we have been seeing the power company drive by a few times. We lost power last night, but only briefly. Unfortunately, last night's storm started a forest fire near Wind Cave State Park, and area we planned on visiting tomorrow, and knocked out the power and has closed some roads. We don't know at this point if we will be able to go to Wind Cave at all on this trip, but my thought go out to the people affected by all these fires and the poor animals also.
Our main issue now is not only all the fires and storms, but Maya is running a fever and has a sore throat. She is a lot like Tony in that it takes a lot to get her down and she is down. Poor thing. Hopefully some sleep and some cough drops will help her. It's hard to get used to the time difference so we find ourselves going to bed at 8:30-9 and getting up at 5-6am.
Our laundry is almost done and I'm really out of things to say! I know, I know, that's hard to believe, but I am!
After Rushmore we headed into Deadwood. What a disappointment. It would be a great town if you were 1)over 21 and into gambling 2)over 21 and into saloons, or 3) over 21 and into motorcycles or Sturgis. Do you see the pattern here? Half of our party is no where near 1,2,or 3. Plus we had the dogs. We found an outside cafe called Mustang Sally's with your typical burgers and dogs. The outside seating was a plus for the pups and I was even able to enjoy a meal. Of course it was a hot dog, but it was really good and huge! After eating we thought we would be walking around the bend to a mining for gold site that was thought to be in an actual creek. It was neither just around the bend nor a creek.After walking uphill for who knows how far, we said forget it and went back to our truck, we took the truck up to the hill where the mining took place and it was a 10 foot trough on the side of the road. No thanks! A quick trip to Wild Bill Hickock's grave site for me and then home to our camper. Deadwood is a cute old town with history, but still holds it's rough and tumble ways with the gambling and the clothing shops trying to get you to dress, well, not really dress, more like somewhat cover up with sky high heels and rhinestone jewelry. I felt I should have covered my girls' eyes when passing these shops!
We dropped off the dogs after Deadwood and went into Custer to Scott's Rock Shop to satisfy Maya's rock obsession and for Layla to spend her money also. It's a cute shop with some really interesting stuff, but very similar to most of the gift shops we have visited. Layla bought a really pretty wind chime made from pink polished geode slices. Something she can hang in her room. Maya walked out with some pretty earrings and a matching necklace made with Tiger's Eye stones.
After shopping we decided to hit this placed called Cosmos Mystery Area, a typical tourist attraction, but with our other plans not panning out like we thought, we figured, what the heck. It turned out to be lot of fun and cheap! The kids were free! It's basically all optical illusions, but it was fun to experience non-the-less.
On our way home we saw some spectacular lightning and some pretty intense storm clouds. It started to down pour just as we got into our camper! The lightning was really bad and close which at home is not biggie, but in our camper, I'm not a fan! It looks like it has knock out some of the power to some camp sites as we have been seeing the power company drive by a few times. We lost power last night, but only briefly. Unfortunately, last night's storm started a forest fire near Wind Cave State Park, and area we planned on visiting tomorrow, and knocked out the power and has closed some roads. We don't know at this point if we will be able to go to Wind Cave at all on this trip, but my thought go out to the people affected by all these fires and the poor animals also.
Our main issue now is not only all the fires and storms, but Maya is running a fever and has a sore throat. She is a lot like Tony in that it takes a lot to get her down and she is down. Poor thing. Hopefully some sleep and some cough drops will help her. It's hard to get used to the time difference so we find ourselves going to bed at 8:30-9 and getting up at 5-6am.
Our laundry is almost done and I'm really out of things to say! I know, I know, that's hard to believe, but I am!
Day 4- Sight Seeing and Being Tourists
Today we slept in a little. I didn't but that's okay, every one else was able to enjoy a little more rest. The sun was rising at 4:45 am SD time which meant by 5am Tillie was ready for me to be up! That was okay, it was a beautiful quiet morning.
We decided to take Iron Mountain Road, a scenic route through the Black Hills to Mt. Rushmore. This route is known for the tunnels that frame Mt. Rushmore as you travel through them. It was a very beautiful winding drive. One that our back seat companions had some issue with. Layla gets car sick very easily. We put the windows down and that was able to give her some relief. This drive took us longer than expected so we decided to put Mt. Rushmore off until tomorrow. Our plan now was to see Bear Country USA and Reptile Gardens.
Bear Country U.S.A. is a drive through wildlife park with the main attraction being black beasr that roam around you while you are in your car. It was quite a site. We figured maybe 50 black bears were wandering around at a given time. Then we went to another part of the park where we could see bear cubs playing and other animals. It was fun!
Our next stop was Reptile Gardens. Um, what a waste of time! It was mainly gardens, which were beautiful, but not what we were expecting. I actually didn't know what I was to expect, but for the entrance fee, I was sure expecting more than what we got! Nuff Said!
After these stops we needed to get back to the puppies and rest. Once back a pretty decent storm rolled in with lightning and hail, and of course much needed rain! The hail was no more the size of peas, but it lasted a lot longer than most hail storms I've witnessed.
That's really about it! Tomorrow brings an actual tour of Mt. Rushmore and a trip to Deadwood! The pups can go with us on this trip. Something I'm sure they will like! Oh, Tony, Maya, and Layla are going to try and satisfy their obsessive rock collecting and visit Scott's Rock Store in Custer. Oh joy! Luckily someone has to stay in the truck with the dogs and that lucky person is me!
We decided to take Iron Mountain Road, a scenic route through the Black Hills to Mt. Rushmore. This route is known for the tunnels that frame Mt. Rushmore as you travel through them. It was a very beautiful winding drive. One that our back seat companions had some issue with. Layla gets car sick very easily. We put the windows down and that was able to give her some relief. This drive took us longer than expected so we decided to put Mt. Rushmore off until tomorrow. Our plan now was to see Bear Country USA and Reptile Gardens.
Bear Country U.S.A. is a drive through wildlife park with the main attraction being black beasr that roam around you while you are in your car. It was quite a site. We figured maybe 50 black bears were wandering around at a given time. Then we went to another part of the park where we could see bear cubs playing and other animals. It was fun!
Our next stop was Reptile Gardens. Um, what a waste of time! It was mainly gardens, which were beautiful, but not what we were expecting. I actually didn't know what I was to expect, but for the entrance fee, I was sure expecting more than what we got! Nuff Said!
After these stops we needed to get back to the puppies and rest. Once back a pretty decent storm rolled in with lightning and hail, and of course much needed rain! The hail was no more the size of peas, but it lasted a lot longer than most hail storms I've witnessed.
That's really about it! Tomorrow brings an actual tour of Mt. Rushmore and a trip to Deadwood! The pups can go with us on this trip. Something I'm sure they will like! Oh, Tony, Maya, and Layla are going to try and satisfy their obsessive rock collecting and visit Scott's Rock Store in Custer. Oh joy! Luckily someone has to stay in the truck with the dogs and that lucky person is me!
Day 3 - Badlands and Black Hills Here We Come!
We woke early, about O'Dark Thirty to get out of Mitchel and to Badlands National Park by lunch time or just after. After a few stops we decided we were hungry and hit a rest area. We were welcomed by thousands of grasshoppers. When you walked they jumped and sometimes they hit you and it stung!
Another stop was to the Badlands Petrified Forrest Museum. It's a little shack on the side of the road that has been in business since 1956. I remember visiting this place when I was 12 and our family made this very similar trek across county. Since I'm not ashamed of my age, that was just shy of 25 years ago! It was exactly as I remembered! The girls liked it, but it was hot, so we didn't stay long. Tony hung out in the truck with the dogs since they were not allowed.
We arrived In the Badlands right on time to 103 degrees and rising and some pretty decent wind gust. Turns out the high today in the Badlands was 110 degrees. When we left the park our temp gauge read 108 degrees! Good times. We first visited the spot of my trip I mentioned above. It is a fancy tickler that is for sure! One wrong move and you can say adios!It was too hot on the puppies feet so I sat in the truck since I have been there before. Layla didn't take well to the heat, poor thing. We moved on to some other trails and then Maya and Tony did a nature trail to see if they could find any birds. Layla and I hung back in the truck with the pups. I did get out and video some of the scenery. Just breathtaking! As we entered the park we noticed what looked to be a small fire in the distance. As we left we noticed how big it had become. 5 tanker trucks past us in the park. As we left the park it was huge. I think we witnessed our first grass/wildfire.Upon recent a recent internet search, I found that it is a grassland fire and as of 3pm this evening 1,500 acres had burned and was threatening structures. No word on how it started.
After the Badlands the end of the road was Wall, SD and the famous Wall Drug. By this time Layla and Maya were both feeling the effects of the heat and probably some elevation. And then we couldn't take or leave the dogs so we decided that this is one tourist stop we would have to pass on and moved on. After a quick stop at a gas station and a quick bite from McD's, everyone was feeling much better.
Our final route took us through Mt. Rushmore and by the Crazy Horse monument, but we were more interested in the huge plum of smoke billowing in front of us. Mt. Rushmore was breathtaking and we will be going back to get a closer look, but the drive was beautiful. This smoke seemed to be in the direction of our campground and had us somewhat concerned. As we got closer we realized it was not near our campground. I was able to do a quick search and found out that a lightning strike occurred last night (7/18) and 57 acres and some of Custer State Park had burned because of it and as of last night 70% of the fire was contained. Upon further internet searching I have found that the fire in CSP is fully contained and is in the "mop up" stage.
We are now in our "home" for the next 5 nights and 6 days and it is good to be in one spot for more than one night. I was able to officially unpack. Our first night we didn't even unhook from the truck! We are finding that the camper is holding so much heat on our travels that we blow through ice like crazy and the locals know it. Charging $2 for a very small bag of ice that will last maybe a few hours is highway robbery, but, that is what we have to do! Our campground is very pretty and pretty quiet compared to the others. There is a huge pool with a few big water slides I'm sure we will venture too this week. The temps are suppose to back down with a chance of rain most days, but only a chance. Just as long as the lightning strikes hold off we should be good. This part of SD is also in severe drought conditions. No campfires allowed. We are not big into those anyway, but the girls are begging for S'mores. I have perfected doing them over the gas stove in the camper so I may have to do that one day this week. Another thing this campground has is bunnies. There are signs everywhere saying do not pick up the bunnies and they even have a playground just for the bunnies. We think they are cute, but the dogs won't. They will take one look and think LUNCH!
Another stop was to the Badlands Petrified Forrest Museum. It's a little shack on the side of the road that has been in business since 1956. I remember visiting this place when I was 12 and our family made this very similar trek across county. Since I'm not ashamed of my age, that was just shy of 25 years ago! It was exactly as I remembered! The girls liked it, but it was hot, so we didn't stay long. Tony hung out in the truck with the dogs since they were not allowed.
We arrived In the Badlands right on time to 103 degrees and rising and some pretty decent wind gust. Turns out the high today in the Badlands was 110 degrees. When we left the park our temp gauge read 108 degrees! Good times. We first visited the spot of my trip I mentioned above. It is a fancy tickler that is for sure! One wrong move and you can say adios!It was too hot on the puppies feet so I sat in the truck since I have been there before. Layla didn't take well to the heat, poor thing. We moved on to some other trails and then Maya and Tony did a nature trail to see if they could find any birds. Layla and I hung back in the truck with the pups. I did get out and video some of the scenery. Just breathtaking! As we entered the park we noticed what looked to be a small fire in the distance. As we left we noticed how big it had become. 5 tanker trucks past us in the park. As we left the park it was huge. I think we witnessed our first grass/wildfire.Upon recent a recent internet search, I found that it is a grassland fire and as of 3pm this evening 1,500 acres had burned and was threatening structures. No word on how it started.
After the Badlands the end of the road was Wall, SD and the famous Wall Drug. By this time Layla and Maya were both feeling the effects of the heat and probably some elevation. And then we couldn't take or leave the dogs so we decided that this is one tourist stop we would have to pass on and moved on. After a quick stop at a gas station and a quick bite from McD's, everyone was feeling much better.
Our final route took us through Mt. Rushmore and by the Crazy Horse monument, but we were more interested in the huge plum of smoke billowing in front of us. Mt. Rushmore was breathtaking and we will be going back to get a closer look, but the drive was beautiful. This smoke seemed to be in the direction of our campground and had us somewhat concerned. As we got closer we realized it was not near our campground. I was able to do a quick search and found out that a lightning strike occurred last night (7/18) and 57 acres and some of Custer State Park had burned because of it and as of last night 70% of the fire was contained. Upon further internet searching I have found that the fire in CSP is fully contained and is in the "mop up" stage.
We are now in our "home" for the next 5 nights and 6 days and it is good to be in one spot for more than one night. I was able to officially unpack. Our first night we didn't even unhook from the truck! We are finding that the camper is holding so much heat on our travels that we blow through ice like crazy and the locals know it. Charging $2 for a very small bag of ice that will last maybe a few hours is highway robbery, but, that is what we have to do! Our campground is very pretty and pretty quiet compared to the others. There is a huge pool with a few big water slides I'm sure we will venture too this week. The temps are suppose to back down with a chance of rain most days, but only a chance. Just as long as the lightning strikes hold off we should be good. This part of SD is also in severe drought conditions. No campfires allowed. We are not big into those anyway, but the girls are begging for S'mores. I have perfected doing them over the gas stove in the camper so I may have to do that one day this week. Another thing this campground has is bunnies. There are signs everywhere saying do not pick up the bunnies and they even have a playground just for the bunnies. We think they are cute, but the dogs won't. They will take one look and think LUNCH!
Day 6 & 7 - Rest & Moving Day
On Sunday and Monday we stayed in the camper. Maya has been battling a fever, sore throat, coughing, and the like. She was feeling better Sunday evening but Monday morning she was back down with a 102.5 degree fever that she just can't get over. She's also been battling bad headaches and stomach upset. It's not bad enough to see a doctor, I just think she is battling a bad cold based on her symptoms, but it's really taking it's time leaving. She has good and bad times during the day.
Tuesday, today, we left The Badlands to move to Devil's Tower for the night. She was feeling okay when we woke, but now is battling a 102 degree fever and fatigue and nausea. We've been giving her Ibuprofen and Sudafed, which has been helping greatly with the fever and headache. Our plan was to arrive, set up camp, and hike the small loop around the tower. She just doesn't feel good so Maya and I are staying put and Tony and Layla went to hike the tower loop. Tony has wanted to see Devil's Tower since he was about Maya's age when he watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I've been here before when I was Maya's age so I felt it necessary that Tony and Layla go. We figured that we will go back this evening with Maya and me if she feels up to it.
It was a beautiful drive here. We didn't really experience anything special. The campground is nice. It is hot, but windy. You can hear the hawks screeching in the air and the view of the tower is just spectacular!
Actually, on the way here we saw a storm cloud that look like something right out of a movie. It looks as if someone took a paint brush and smeared a streak right through the middle. Just gorgeous!
On a side note, with all the down time, I was able to finish a book called "The Book Thief" by Mark Zusak. It is written by Death about a girl during Nazi German starting 1939-1943. Very interesting read. I do recommend it.
Tomorrow we head to Yellowstone.
Good night!
Tuesday, today, we left The Badlands to move to Devil's Tower for the night. She was feeling okay when we woke, but now is battling a 102 degree fever and fatigue and nausea. We've been giving her Ibuprofen and Sudafed, which has been helping greatly with the fever and headache. Our plan was to arrive, set up camp, and hike the small loop around the tower. She just doesn't feel good so Maya and I are staying put and Tony and Layla went to hike the tower loop. Tony has wanted to see Devil's Tower since he was about Maya's age when he watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I've been here before when I was Maya's age so I felt it necessary that Tony and Layla go. We figured that we will go back this evening with Maya and me if she feels up to it.
It was a beautiful drive here. We didn't really experience anything special. The campground is nice. It is hot, but windy. You can hear the hawks screeching in the air and the view of the tower is just spectacular!
Actually, on the way here we saw a storm cloud that look like something right out of a movie. It looks as if someone took a paint brush and smeared a streak right through the middle. Just gorgeous!
On a side note, with all the down time, I was able to finish a book called "The Book Thief" by Mark Zusak. It is written by Death about a girl during Nazi German starting 1939-1943. Very interesting read. I do recommend it.
Tomorrow we head to Yellowstone.
Good night!
Day 8 - Hello From West Yellowstone
It looks like I'm not going to
get the blog to work, so I will be sending emails with no pictures,
sorry. I will try and do daily, but I have to come to the main office at
this campground to get the internet to work. This place KOA is huge and
very crowded!
Just to cap off, we drove for almost 11 hours yesterday with some bumps. Halfway through we stopped at Walmart
in Billings, Montana. I made the comment that the only difference
between this walmart and the one in Indy is the accent. I really
expected an "EH" (pro:A) after people talk they have such a strong
northern accent. But the walmart clientele is still the same! I HATE
WALMART! Took me forever to shop!
Next
we stopped to get gas before hitting the 2 lane road to our campground
only to find out the fridge door had
fallen open and most of the food I had just bought, fell out and was
warm or hot! I spend the next too hours in tears because that is how the
day had gone.
The
night before we were in Devil's Tower. We had the mother of all storms
blow in with lighting striking just yards from our camper and wind and
rain to make it worse as well as several power outages. The lightning
was like flashbulbs on thousands of cameras. I don't know how the stars
on the red carpet do it. It was blinding.
It
is beautiful here! We saw our first moose on our drive to our
campground and we are about to head into the park. I must go now!
PS, maya is much better! Her fever is finally gone. She is just left with a cough!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Day 2 - Mitchel, South Dakota
Disclaimer: These photos have been unedited due to the fact I do not
have editing software and the lack of space on my hard drive to do so. Still enjoy them!
As well as some concrete gorilla statues on the side of interstate 29 that I cannot find any information about on the World Wide Web.
There was also a very interesting toilet in a rest stop in Iowa that I have yet to figure out how it was meant to be used. I took a picture with my phone, but have no way of uploading it here. A Google search has also come up empty handed. My thought was it was meant to be stood over, but that's an entirely different post!
After arriving in Mitchel our first order of business was the often talked about Corn Palace. It is a mere 10 minutes from our campground. Upon further investigation of said Palace, Tony and I, and the girls have no idea what the big attraction is. Yes, it has some interesting art and history being built in 1892, but other than that, it's a big gift shop. We even had an ear of corn each at the concession stand which was not very good and it was served with soy butter that was flavorless. I'm guessing this is one of those trips that will be just checked off our must see list and that is that. Below are some pictures of the interesting art outside and inside made entirely of ears of corn.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Day 1 - Off To A Rough Start
We are planners, but lately nothing seems to go as planned. Luckily, we are also somewhat flexible.
Our plan was to head out as soon as Tony arrived home from the firehouse, roughly 7:30 am Tuesday morning. I recieved a text from Tony at 5:15am stating he was on a fire and for me to sleep until he calls to tell me he will be heading home. I sort of went back to sleep but never fully so about 6:20 I got up and got going. 7 came and went, as well as 8 am, no call from Tony. Finally at 8:15 he said he was on his way back to the station and would be home shortly. We finally pulled out at 9am, 2 hours later than planned. All the time watching this fire he was at on the news. It turns out he had been there since 3am with only about 3 hours of sleep before this alarm. Poor guy!
Luckily, everything else has gone as planned. Our first night is in Newton, Iowa. It's pretty remote although we are next to the interstate. It's also H.O.T! Which is somewhat good because the air will run all night and drown out the highway traffic noise so we should be able to get some sleep. Dinner was quick with hotdogs and chips followed by a dip in the very warm, but very relaxing pool by girls and me. Tony has been snoozing in the camper since we left. This is the first time the girls have been in Iowa. They are excited to be in a new state even though it's pretty boring and VERY warm!
Before arriving we stopped at another "famous" stop, the worlds largest truck stop. Iowa 80, ooooooooo! It has it all, but we just used the restroom, topped off our fuel, and purchased some treats at the DQ,
Tomorrow finds us heading to Mitchel, SD with another overnight stop, then on to our first "official" stop of Custer, SD with 5 nights there where we will see the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, the Black Hills, etc. as well as a stop at the famous Wall Drug somewhere along the line.
Here are a few more pictures I took along the way. It's a pretty uneventful trip thus far that is for sure!
Our plan was to head out as soon as Tony arrived home from the firehouse, roughly 7:30 am Tuesday morning. I recieved a text from Tony at 5:15am stating he was on a fire and for me to sleep until he calls to tell me he will be heading home. I sort of went back to sleep but never fully so about 6:20 I got up and got going. 7 came and went, as well as 8 am, no call from Tony. Finally at 8:15 he said he was on his way back to the station and would be home shortly. We finally pulled out at 9am, 2 hours later than planned. All the time watching this fire he was at on the news. It turns out he had been there since 3am with only about 3 hours of sleep before this alarm. Poor guy!
Luckily, everything else has gone as planned. Our first night is in Newton, Iowa. It's pretty remote although we are next to the interstate. It's also H.O.T! Which is somewhat good because the air will run all night and drown out the highway traffic noise so we should be able to get some sleep. Dinner was quick with hotdogs and chips followed by a dip in the very warm, but very relaxing pool by girls and me. Tony has been snoozing in the camper since we left. This is the first time the girls have been in Iowa. They are excited to be in a new state even though it's pretty boring and VERY warm!
Before arriving we stopped at another "famous" stop, the worlds largest truck stop. Iowa 80, ooooooooo! It has it all, but we just used the restroom, topped off our fuel, and purchased some treats at the DQ,
Tomorrow finds us heading to Mitchel, SD with another overnight stop, then on to our first "official" stop of Custer, SD with 5 nights there where we will see the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, the Black Hills, etc. as well as a stop at the famous Wall Drug somewhere along the line.
Here are a few more pictures I took along the way. It's a pretty uneventful trip thus far that is for sure!
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