We woke up to a snow covered landscape - some time during the night the rain changed to snow and two inches covered the ground. Plenty of elk were in the campground nosing around the RVs and tents.
As we left White Sulphur Springs going North on US 89, the snow started coming down. We were crossing the Little Belt Mountains. The snow was wet and sticking but not to the roadway. We also encountered foggy conditions. Leaving Monarch at the foot of the mount range, not a snowflake in sight, none in the air or on the ground. But it started raining in spurts. We arrived in Great Falls, following the map and written directions, we still couldn't find the library so we got on I-15 north bound and stopped for the night outside Shelby about 60 miles south of the border crossing.
I can understand why Montana is Big Sky Country - miles and miles of nothing but blue sky and praire land as far as you can see
Monday, May 19, 2008
Leaving Yellowstone National Park
We were told that a mama bear with three cubs were in the Ox Bow Bend area and could be seen from the pullout. We couldn't find them! Early that morning we saw herds of elk and bison in the fields on the way out of Teton. Since arriving in Yellowstone, we've seen bison everywhere. I walked around one of the geyser fields on the raised walkway and came upon about six or seven bison just to the left, up close and way too personal! We then went to see Old Faithful. What a sight! The parking lot was only partically cleared and pile of snow were everywhere. It started drizzling while we were waiting for the 'show'. The forecast is for a low of 15 and high of 31 with a 70% chance of snow for tomorrow. These parks have plenty of pullouts to stop and see wildlife or visit the bubbling mud holes or small dormant geysers which are still hot enough to take your skin off or melt your boots.
We spend the night in the Mammoth Hot Springs Campground where there was plenty of evidence of wildlife activity. We had to be very, very careful where we stepped.
We spend the night in the Mammoth Hot Springs Campground where there was plenty of evidence of wildlife activity. We had to be very, very careful where we stepped.
Grand Tetons and Yellowstone
We left Rock Springs for Grand Teton National Park this morning. Our first stop was at the Jackson visitor center then we took the road to Kelly which loped around and back to US 191. After leaving the Moose Visitor Center, taking Teton Park Road, and arriving at the Signal Mountain Campground, we decided to back track to the Gros Ventre Campground for the night then take US 191 north to Yellowstone. When we register at the campground, we were told to be very, very careful as both a mountain lion and a bear had been hanging around the area. We saw plenty of tracks and calling cards but no wildlife.
We had been seeing patches of snow since leaving Cheyenne. Here in Grand Teton, there are fields of snow from a couple inches to several feet deep. I took photos. The wind finally died down this evening. So far we have seen elk far in the distance, mule deer near the fences and bison coming toward us.
We had been seeing patches of snow since leaving Cheyenne. Here in Grand Teton, there are fields of snow from a couple inches to several feet deep. I took photos. The wind finally died down this evening. So far we have seen elk far in the distance, mule deer near the fences and bison coming toward us.
Way Out West
We had spent the night expecting to visit Buffalo Bill's Scout's Rest Ranch just outside N. Platte, NE, only to find out it wasn't going to open til 10 a.m., so we continued west on I-80.
When we arrived in Cheyenne, we followed the Internet directions to the visitor center but couldn't fin it so we stopped at the Museum of the Old West and got directions to the Cheyenne Depot in downtown where it's now located. From there we took the trolley ride around the town. Cheyenne is a community planned by the railroad which then sold building lots to any churches for $1 to encourage them to come to town. We returned to the museum to see the history of the Frontier Days Rodeo that is held the last ten days of July which is worked entirely by volunteers. Wyoming had the first woman governor and had already given women the right to vote in order to get enough voters to qualify for statehood. That worked against the state as it took over 20 years for the rest of the country to catch up!
We continued on to Laramie where we had enough time to see the Wyoming Territorial Prison where Butch Cassidy was a guest for a time. The locals believe it was for a crime he in fact did not commit. The History Channel is funding an excavation of the area that is being worked by middle school students. They have made some very interesting discoveries which are on display.
When we arrived in Cheyenne, we followed the Internet directions to the visitor center but couldn't fin it so we stopped at the Museum of the Old West and got directions to the Cheyenne Depot in downtown where it's now located. From there we took the trolley ride around the town. Cheyenne is a community planned by the railroad which then sold building lots to any churches for $1 to encourage them to come to town. We returned to the museum to see the history of the Frontier Days Rodeo that is held the last ten days of July which is worked entirely by volunteers. Wyoming had the first woman governor and had already given women the right to vote in order to get enough voters to qualify for statehood. That worked against the state as it took over 20 years for the rest of the country to catch up!
We continued on to Laramie where we had enough time to see the Wyoming Territorial Prison where Butch Cassidy was a guest for a time. The locals believe it was for a crime he in fact did not commit. The History Channel is funding an excavation of the area that is being worked by middle school students. They have made some very interesting discoveries which are on display.
Wide Open Spaces
As we continued west on I-80, we encountered snowy rain which lasted about ten minutes. So far today, it has rained off and on and is getting colder. The only weather report we could get on the raio was that the high was to be 30 tomorrow with snowy rain and warm and sunny on Sunday but we don't know where that was for! We also started seeing herds of ponghorn antelope grazing alongside cattle in vast fields with not a building in site. We arrived in Rock Springs about noon and, because of bad weather, decided to stay put for the rest of the day by visiting the library, getting gas and propane. We will leave for the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone tomorrow morning. They are about 185 miles north of here.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Northwest to Alaska
A week ago, we were at home in Titusville. The first day was uneventful, then on Friday, heading northwest out of Tupelo, MS, on US 78 toward Memphis, we rant into really bad weather with a lot of rain and really hard, gusting crosswinds. Going down a hill, with abridge over a large creek, the wind started pushing us to the right toward the bridge railing – Frank is pulling the wheel to the left, we’re still going toward the bridge railing – like sliding on ice except you cannot steer into the slide – after some seconds (eternity), the wind let up enough for us to cross the bridge and go up the next hill.
SUNDAY:
When we arrived in St. Louis, MO, to see the Gateway Arch, AKA Jefferson Memorial National Park, we found that RV parking was along Leonor Street which is right on the Mississippi River which had flooded a couple weeks ago. Although the signs said reserved for RV/Bus parking, the spaces were filled by cars. We had to walk a little over ½ mile to the foot of the steps to the Arch. The entrances are at the ends of the legs of the Arch and everything is underground between the legs. We rode to the top in a five-person pod/tram car each of which had tractor-style seats and we sat knee-to-knee for the two minutes trip up and three minute ride back down. We stayed at the top for about ten minutes. The viewing windows were about four feet wide and twelve inches high with views to the east and west which were spectacular! When we got back down, Frank went outside to people watch and I went to see the movie about the construction of the Arch. Several times I thought I would have to leave because the movie was showing the workers outside the Arch with absolutely no safety equipment! The view from each stage of construction was sickeningly straight down. They didn’t even have on any safety gear while setting the keystone at 630 feet. Meanwhile outside, Frank was watching a driver who got ticked off because someone had blocked him in so he called the police who arrived, issued a ticket, then had the vehicle towed away. As we were walking back to our RV, we saw another officer writing tickets for every car parked on that part of the street where the NO PARKING signs were (about four blocks). To the north of the Arch is a parking garage for cars!
WEDNESDAY:
Now heading west through Nebraska on I-80. We were still experiencing very stiff crosswinds. Our cell phone locked up last night at 9:45: no LED light and none of the buttons worked. When I took it into a WalMart, the guy looked at it, turned it over, took the battery out, put it back in, and it worked!!! I thought it was toast and I would have to buy a pay-as-you-go phone for the duration of this trip! I didn’t think to ask him what “oo” meant on the display. After searching through the Nokia book, I found that this meant I have messages. DUH!!!! It was Hannah and Hope singing “Happy Birthday” to Grandpa.
THURDAY:
Today we got off I-80 to go about 20 miles south to the Harold Warp Pioneer Village in Minden, NE. This is over 20 acres of the most amazing collection of collections! Some exhibits were hands on so you could see how they functioned. The broom maker demonstrated his craft, the lace maker show how she made the lace items; another woman was stripping denim pieces for the rug weaver while another woman was spinning the yard used to hold it all together. All the items they made are sold in the gift shop to help fund this museum.
One building house appliances from the 1830s to the 1970s showing on two floors the evolution of labor-saving devices: ice chests to ice boxes to refrigerators. Another building was devoted to all types of collections from advertising pens and pencils to salt and pepper sets to stamps, coins, shells. Several buildings contained cars of every kind, buggies and wagons, even a 1937 Vagabond camper! Almost all the vehicles showed a copy of the original title and ad with price listed. Very few of these items on display were donated. Mr. Warp purchased all of them.
We continued west on US 30 to Holdrege to see the Nebraska Praire Museum, the highlight is a section devoted to Camp Atlanta and the other similar camps which housed German POWs from 1943 until the war was over. They were encouraged to take jobs in the area to help fill the void left by the local men in the service. They made many friends in the area during that time. We returned north to I-80 and continued west toward Cheyenne, WY.
SUNDAY:
When we arrived in St. Louis, MO, to see the Gateway Arch, AKA Jefferson Memorial National Park, we found that RV parking was along Leonor Street which is right on the Mississippi River which had flooded a couple weeks ago. Although the signs said reserved for RV/Bus parking, the spaces were filled by cars. We had to walk a little over ½ mile to the foot of the steps to the Arch. The entrances are at the ends of the legs of the Arch and everything is underground between the legs. We rode to the top in a five-person pod/tram car each of which had tractor-style seats and we sat knee-to-knee for the two minutes trip up and three minute ride back down. We stayed at the top for about ten minutes. The viewing windows were about four feet wide and twelve inches high with views to the east and west which were spectacular! When we got back down, Frank went outside to people watch and I went to see the movie about the construction of the Arch. Several times I thought I would have to leave because the movie was showing the workers outside the Arch with absolutely no safety equipment! The view from each stage of construction was sickeningly straight down. They didn’t even have on any safety gear while setting the keystone at 630 feet. Meanwhile outside, Frank was watching a driver who got ticked off because someone had blocked him in so he called the police who arrived, issued a ticket, then had the vehicle towed away. As we were walking back to our RV, we saw another officer writing tickets for every car parked on that part of the street where the NO PARKING signs were (about four blocks). To the north of the Arch is a parking garage for cars!
WEDNESDAY:
Now heading west through Nebraska on I-80. We were still experiencing very stiff crosswinds. Our cell phone locked up last night at 9:45: no LED light and none of the buttons worked. When I took it into a WalMart, the guy looked at it, turned it over, took the battery out, put it back in, and it worked!!! I thought it was toast and I would have to buy a pay-as-you-go phone for the duration of this trip! I didn’t think to ask him what “oo” meant on the display. After searching through the Nokia book, I found that this meant I have messages. DUH!!!! It was Hannah and Hope singing “Happy Birthday” to Grandpa.
THURDAY:
Today we got off I-80 to go about 20 miles south to the Harold Warp Pioneer Village in Minden, NE. This is over 20 acres of the most amazing collection of collections! Some exhibits were hands on so you could see how they functioned. The broom maker demonstrated his craft, the lace maker show how she made the lace items; another woman was stripping denim pieces for the rug weaver while another woman was spinning the yard used to hold it all together. All the items they made are sold in the gift shop to help fund this museum.
One building house appliances from the 1830s to the 1970s showing on two floors the evolution of labor-saving devices: ice chests to ice boxes to refrigerators. Another building was devoted to all types of collections from advertising pens and pencils to salt and pepper sets to stamps, coins, shells. Several buildings contained cars of every kind, buggies and wagons, even a 1937 Vagabond camper! Almost all the vehicles showed a copy of the original title and ad with price listed. Very few of these items on display were donated. Mr. Warp purchased all of them.
We continued west on US 30 to Holdrege to see the Nebraska Praire Museum, the highlight is a section devoted to Camp Atlanta and the other similar camps which housed German POWs from 1943 until the war was over. They were encouraged to take jobs in the area to help fill the void left by the local men in the service. They made many friends in the area during that time. We returned north to I-80 and continued west toward Cheyenne, WY.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Florida to Alaska 2008
Soon (around May 1) we will again be on the road! This time it is across country, through Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, and part of the Yukon into Alaska.
This trip should take about 9 weeks (maybe more?) and I've been planning it for months.
This trip should take about 9 weeks (maybe more?) and I've been planning it for months.
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