LAB on the road

We drove another 500 miles today.   We bypassed St. Louis but we could still see the arches in the city.   We also got through Nashville before rush hour and stopped at Countryside Resort for the night.   We unhooked the toad and drive a couple miles for dinner at Outback.   Back home we went to bed early, both ready to leave early for home tomorrow.

Friday morning we got up early and blasted off towards home.  It was only 140 miles and we got there around 1100, after stopping in Dayton to fill up the bus with fuel.   It sure is good to be home.   We had a trip of a lifetime.   Now we have lots of pics and videos to go thru and label and edit on some rainy days, but that will be great too.   We traveled 5883 miles in the bus, 4449 in the Tahoe, and another 3215 on the ferry!   We were gone 61 days from home.  Wonder what will be next!

We left around 830 and headed east on I-90.   We made it about 25 miles and pulled off to drive though the Badlands NP.   It was not crowded at all and we enjoyed the sights and pulled off often to look around and take pics.   We even saw a mama Big Horn Sheep and her little baby ( is it called a lamb)/   We saw Pronghorns and lots and lots of Prairie Dogs and Buffalos.   Back on I-90 we headed east again.   I will have to say, South Dakota is pretty boring, and long, and boring, and long, and boring.   And to make it worse, the roads were pretty r0ugh.   We still made 375 miles to Tea, Iowa and stopped at the Red Barn RV Park for the night around 530 pm.

This morning. we left around 830 again and headed east on I-90 to Sioux Falls, then took I-29 south towards Omaha.   We crossed the Missouri River three times, entering Nebraska for a short time.   At Kansas City we picked up I-70 east towards St Louis.   The roads were just as bad today and the wind was bad too.  Also, it was extremely hot heading into the sun most of the day.  We had to run the generator and the roof air and were still uncomfortably warm all afternoon.   We made nearly 500 miles to Columbia, Mo and stopped in a grocery store parking lot while we ate supper at Longhorns and cooled off.  Then we drove a couple miles to the Cottonwood RV  Park at the same exit.   This is a really nice park.   We have a huge pull through so once again we don’t have to unhook the toad.   We went for a swim in the pool and cooled off.   When we got back to the bus the inside was nice and cool.   Now we are sitting here watching TV.   We are back on central time zone so we feel closer to home.   We only have about 600 miles left so we will not have as long a drive tomorrow and then a short drive home on Friday!

We got up and went to Walmart for a few supplies and two hair cuts.  Actually I got a haircut and Angie just got her bangs cut.   Then we headed out for Rapid City.   We mainly drove along I-90 and exited to go see Devils Tower.   It was about 3o miles over, and we really had a good time looking at the tower.   We walked up to the bottom of the tower and looked around a few minutes, then went down to the fields below and parked and watched prarie dogs for what seemed an hour.   They are really neat to watch and these were not afraid to get close to you ( I think they have been fed often).

Then we headed to Black Hawk, SD, a little east of Rapid City, to Three Flags RV Park and checked in.  Our GPS said to get off at exit 52.   There was no exit 52.   After some creative driving, we found it and checked in.   Although it was by the interstate and had no trees, we had lots of room and good neighbors, so we liked it just fine.  We stayed in camp for the night and watched “The Book of Eli” on DVD and slept like big babies.

This morning we had a slow morning ( again) and headed out to see Mt Rushmore first.  We were both impressed with Mt Rushmore.  Even though the area around it was pretty developed for tourists, it was well done and we would both go again.   Next we headed into the local town of  Keystone for a great pizza and a Russian beer for lunch.   Then off to Crazy Horse memorial, about 11 miles away.   Since the project is still in the making, we could not get too close, but close enough to see it is enormous ( Mt Rushmore would fit in Crazy Horse’s head).   I hope we live long enough to see it completed, although I doubt that will ever help.

Next we headed counterclockwise around the Needles Highway and through Custer State Park.   We liked the scenery but we LOVED the tunnels and switchbacks.   The 6 or 7 tunnels were small; all were one lane, and most were barely big enough for the Tahoe to fit through.   We saw at least one RV’er backing up at the first tunnel!    Back at camp, we made some great chicken-ka-bobs and grilled them for supper while we got the bus and toad ready for the big trip back to Tennessee.   We had originally planned to stay another night here and get back home on Saturday, but we are both ready to be home so we are going to forego Deadwood and Sturgis and pick them up another time in favor of Dayton Tn and our family and friends.

We left camp pretty early, about 800.   We were up at 630, anxious to move on, like we are most travel days.   However, we were in no hurry since we were just going to stop at a Walmart somewhere between here and Rapid City.   It was not raining this morning, which made breaking camp and hooking up the Tahoe a lot easier.   We pulled out of camp after making coffee and planning our route for the day.  We chose to go back thru Yellowstone and out the east entrance towards Cody.  We stopped in Cody for fuel and some antlers to hang on the barn.  Then we headed north on 14A along a scenic highway route through Powell, Lovell, Burgess Junction, and Dayton ( yes Dayton) where we picked up I-90 for the 25 mile drive south to Sheridan Wyoming and our Walmart  destination.  However, there is a lot in the middle I need to fill in.   The landscape along this route is mostly plains and mountains.   Roads were either very straight and flat or very curvy and steep.   We did notice a lot of huge equipment in empty lots around Powell and Lovell that looked like something you would find at a cement plant, with hoppers and conveyers.  There were also electrical boxes spread out across the huge lots they were parked on.   Also  lot of irrigation canals and fields of what we think may be sugar beets.   Have to check that out some time.  If you look on the map, you will see a 58 mile stretch of scenic highway 14A between Lovell and Burgess Junction that goes across the Bighorn Mountain range.   Usually the map will have a “pass” named where these roads cross mountain ranges, but this one oddly did not have such a designation.   Well, we found out when we got to the mountain why not.   There was not a pass thru the mountain, the road actually went OVER the top of the mountain!   I mean, steeper and longer than any grade we have been on.   It was 8% for the first 10 miles, then 10% for the next 14 miles to the top.   Non stop, no breaks in grade along the way.   One of the RVs in front of us turned around at the end of the 8% stretch and went back.  We even talked about it, because we were unsure of how the motorhome would not and there was no place to turn around once you started the 10% run, but we are not much for turning back  ( thanks dad!).  I just put the transmission in 2nd gear and took our time.  The engine never got over 199F  all the way up.   You can read more about it at http://www.aaroads.com/west/us-014alt_wy.html.  We stopped at the top, the summit at Hunt Mountain where we crossed was 10,162 feet!   The views were awesome, but they probably wont look as good in the pictures because it was a little hazy.   As if that were not enough, we turned left to climb the 3.5 mile one lane gravel road to the Medicine Wheel site, not knowing if there was a place to turn around at the top.  We had to stop several times as oncoming cars sought a wide enough place to let us pass.   We were pleased to find the parking lot had room for us to park and also a place to turn around without unhooking the toad.  The trail to the Medicine Wheel is a 1.5 mile hike, one way, from the parking lot.  We met a ranger there from Norris TN who went to UTK that explained the Medicine Wheel is believed to have been constructed on top of the Bighorn Mountain Range around 1600 AD by an unknown tribe of Indians for spiritual purposes.   It is a gathering of limestones placed in a 80ft diameter circle with “spokes” and  ”hub” in the center.   At the summer solstice, the sun rises thru through a gap in one of the eastern mountains and strikes one of the four major spokes and aligns directly with the center hub!   Although they dont know who built it, over 81 American Indian Tribes still travel to the Medicine Wheel for ceremonies.  It was odd, but neither Angie nor I wanted to take pictures once we were there.  There was a spiritual feeling to the place and we were very happy to make the three mile hike and the uncertain drive to get to see it.   You can read more about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine_wheel.

Of course, once you get to the top of the mountain, you have to come down, which was “just” an 8% grade.   The exhaust brake did its job and we made it easily down without riding the brakes and got to enjoy more breathtaking views.  Once on the flatlands again we set our sites on Sheridan Wyoming and the goodness of the Walmart campground.   Once again, there were about 10 RVs here when we arrived at 730 pm.  We were too tired to cook and walked across the parking lot to Scooters Grill and had a good meal and played trivia games there before coming back for the night.   Tomorrow, we have to do a little shopping at Walmart and then head across I-90 east to Rapid City.  We plan to stop at Devils Tower and drive thru Sturgis SD on the way.   It is only a 270 mile drive via Devils Tower; a piece of cake although I am not a big fan if interstate driving.

We had our normal slow morning after staying up late last night playing Scrabble.   I think our bodies are still on Alaska time at night.   We headed out about 1000 to explore the south end of  Teton NP.  We must have stopped a hundred times to take pictures.   There was one place along the edge of Lake Jackson where the water was still and the reflection of the mountains upon the water was perfect.   We met a couple from Alabama and we took each others pictures there.  I hope they turn out good.   We drove up Signal Mountain road to an observation point and took more pics.   Then down along the river road that takes you along Lake Jackson, across the Lake Jackson dam on the Snake River, and eventually down to Jenny Lake.   There is an excellent bike trail that starts near Jenny Lake and runs to Moose Junction, about 29 miles, along mostly flat land.  Of course, we did not have our bikes with us but we plan to do this again in the future.  We drove on into Jackson Hole and ate lunch at the Cadillac Grill, then headed back into the park.   Jackson Hole has become very developed and we were ready to get back to the park as soon as we finished lunch.   Of course, it started pouring down rain while we were at lunch and we got a little wet going back to the car.   We went back to the park and turned right onto Gros Ventre Drive, which borders another creek and the National Elk Refuge.  By now, the rain had turned to sleet and we pulled off the road to look for wildlife.  In just a few minutes Angie spotted a bull and cow moose running on the other side of the creek, apparently heading for cover from the sleet.   Next we turned north on Mormon Row, a gravel road that cuts between homesteads that about 20 Mormon families had in years past.   All that remains are a few barns and one house.   We got a picture of the Tetons with the barn in the foreground that I hope looks good.   We got some good pics of a pair of hawks sitting on fenceposts, a caribou, bison, and a brave little squirrel on the way back to camp.    Back at camp we sat and talked with other campers beside us and had a good visit.   One couple was from New Orleans and another lived on a sailboat in Martinez most of the year.   It was threatening rain again by this time so we closed up camp as much as we could so if we have to leave in the rain in the morning it won’t be too bad.  We just finished our Scrabble game and are going to try and work on labeling pictures.   We are having some problems uploading them to Zenfolio and may have to wait till we get back home for that part.   I think it is because of the internet service at the places we are staying.   We are missing everyone and talked today about trying to get home a week from today on the 16th, a day early so we can see everyone on Saturday.   Tomorrow we head back thru Yellowstone and out the east entrance and on to Cody and beyond.  We have reservations at Rapid City, SD starting Sunday night so we will spend tomorrow night somewhere between Cody and there.   Glad to be heading back towards Tennessee.

We split chores this morning and Angie did the laundry while I broke camp ( I got the better end of the deal).  Of course, we had to wait to start until after brother Mark did his thing on live NASA TV.  We were so proud of him!   It was a beautiful morning to be outside; about 38 when we work up but up to 60 when we pulled out at 1100.  We took the longer scenic route back thru the West NP entrance, past Old Faithful and Yellowstone Lake, and out the South NP entrance.   You go directly out of Yellowstone and into Grand Teton NP.  It was less than 100 mile drive to Coulter Bay Village where we had reservations for the next two nights.   The drive between the north GT entrance and Coulter Bay was once again breathtaking with the backdrop of the Grand Tetons rising over 10,000 feet directly out of Jackson Lake.

The man that checked us in here at the campground was named Dave Bryant.  We got to talking and found out he lives in Whitwell and is a retired high school teacher from the Jasper area.   He has worked out here the last 11 summers and we have two mutual friends!!   His best friend worked with us at Sequoyah for many years.

Our campsite is great.   Lots of shade and close to the visitor center/ lodges/ restaurants/ etc.   We sat around for several hours being lazy, soaking up the fresh air and aromas of pine needles and campfires and outside cooking that brings back such good memories of my childhood.  We took an evening bike ride to the visitor center and the lake and back to camp to grill steaks ( well a steak for me and a turkey burger for Ang)  and veggies.  Tomorrow we are planning a tour around most of the Grand Teton NP.  If we get back in time for a sunset boat ride on lake Jackson that will be great too.   For now, we are very happy to be here and have had a relaxing day.   Tomorrow, we are wide open again!

It is hard to believe this is day 52 of  our journey.   We were both so tired from kinda overdoing it yesterday that we had a slow morning.  Don’t get me wrong, we would do it again.   Ranks right up there with our best days in Alaska.   We lit off for Mammoth Springs which is near the the North entrance to Yellowstone.   We had to go thru Madison and Norris, through the construction zone, ect that we have travelled the last three days.  It is sad but we already know where to look for elk, bison, and traffic jams and when they are letting traffic thru the one-way stretch near Norris!

Mammoth Springs is about 50 miles from West Yellowstone, and it takes about 90 minutes to get there if you time the construction traffic right.   We saw the normal elk and bison on the way and we enjoyed an extrodinary show of stupidity when a big buffalo stopped near the road.   I almost lost my cool.   Mammoth Springs was worth the trip for sure.   It is a completely different geological zone, with more limestone base than Old Faithful area, which tends to build up bigger flows and smells more like sulfur.   We had to park about a quarter mile away to get a spot; it was way crazy near the normal parking lot.   The walk was worth is as we saw completely different thermologic displays.   You will have to see the pics to understand what I am trying to say.

We pretty much came straight back except for stops along the way to take pics of the scenery; mostly the sky and clouds today as they were on their best behavior.  The temp got up to 68 on the way back and we even turned on the AC at one point; the first time since we left Tennessee 52 days ago.   We made it back to camp around 430pm and are in for the evening.   Dinner plans are leftovers and lots of sitting outside under the awning and talking about the days to come and the days past.   Hopefully we will feel like labeling some pics and posting them too.   Tomorrow is laundry in the morning, breaking camp, and the 90 mile drive south to Grand Teton NP.

Today was a long and glorious day.  We drove 393 miles and were gone 13 hours.  We left at 830 and headed towards the little used northeast entrance to the Park.  We went it thru the West Entrance again and saw more wildlife this time than yesterday.  We made one stop barely in the park at a picnic area by the water and saw 5 or 6 Elk cows bedded down by the water and two babies.   Up on the steep hill behind was a big male.  We got some good pics of them.  We headed back thru Norris and Madison and the Canyon,  and then stopped at Tower Falls and walked out to the observation point.    The falls was spectacular and we were so glad we stopped there.   We spotted a mama black bear with two cubs in the bushes.  We got some pics of the mom, but they were thru bush.  We started to go get a better look after coming back from the falls but by then the masses had emerged and were blocking the road and running around and we wanted no part of it.  We headed north and picked up the Northeast Entrance Road that passes thru Lamar Valley.  The valley is called the ‘Serengeti of North America” as it is the winter feeding grounds to most of the wildlife of Yellowstone.   It is a large fertile green valley, similar to Cades Cove but much much bigger.  We saw large herds of bison, elk, deer, and even a single moose cow.  We saw two black bear along the way too.   Once out of the park, we picked up Hwy 212 and headed north to Beartooth Pass.   It is about 90 miles from the park exit, thru the pass, to Redlodge Montana.   We have heard about this drive from friends and also read about it when planning this trip.  It was on our short list of what to do here.   The two lane road winds mercilessly through the rugged mountain terrain, often doubling back on itself  time and again, climbing to the 10, 320 foot Summit.   The views were breathtaking and dramatic.  It had apparenty snowed last night as the trees and ground were covered.  Near the summit, with temperatures between 31 and 34, it sleeted and snowed lightly on us along the way.   We got some good pictures along the way.   We also saw little ground squirrels and Marmots when we stopped along the way.  Some of them had already become accustomed to the tourists and would come near the car for a handout!  We arrived in Redlodge, Montana about 5pm, excited about what we had just done, but weary of the long drive back.  We didnt want to chance going back through the pass ( as they dont maintain it after 430 and it is subject to frequent closings), so we drove north and picked up I-90 back west to Bozeman, and then drove 191 south to West Yellowstone.   It was still daylight all the way back.   We spotted lots of deer, an Eagle, and one small coyote with supper in his mouth hurrying home along the roadside.    Angie read to us about the one part of the park we have not explored yet ( Mammoth Hot Springs) up in the northwest corner and also about Grand Teton National Park where we will spend Thursday and Friday night at Coulter Bay.  We made it back about 930, and the odometer told the tale of the 393 miles we had clocked off in 13 hours.  We started downloading pictures to the laptop with plans to label some so we can put up on the internet, but our bodies were ready for bed and that’s what we did.

Well, we got to see what the most visited national park looks like on a summer holiday weekend.  We have never seen so many inconsiderate people in one place.   Stopping either in the middle of the road or just pulling the nose of their motorhome off the road and leaving the remaining 22 feet sticking out in the road.  Reminded us of the shopping mall the week before Christmas.  That being said, it was a great day all in all.  We decided to drive the lower loop road and started out by stopping at the Old Faithful welcome center.  There must have been a thousand cars in the parking lot.  I don’t remember but the one lodge, the Old Faithful Inn, when we were there in 1968.   There are three giant lodges there now, complete with grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, etc.   We stayed clear of the shops and walked the ~3 mile loop around all the geysers and thermal pools.   We were there at least 5 hours walking around because we saw Old Faithful erupt at least three times while we were walking around.   There were at least two other geysers the erupted while we were there that were more spectacular than Old Faithful, but they were all excellent.   On our way out we went inside the original Old Faithful Inn and ate a light snack and drank a cold beer before heading out.

Leaving Old Faithful, we headed around the lower loop, stopping often to look at wildlife and scenery.  We went to Fishing Bridge Campground where I camped with mom and dad and brothers in 1968.   The bridge brought back memories but the area here was developed a lot more too with gas stations, lodges, stores, etc.

We drove around Yellowstone Lake and stopped next at the Upper and Lower falls that fall thru the Yellowstone Canyon.  The canyon and the falls were spectacular and we hope the pictures do them justice.

By the time we left the canyon area, it was getting late and on the drive back across to Madison and Norris we saw a lot of bison and elk.   By the time we got back, it was after 9pm and we had driven 151 miles so we stopped and ate a pizza at the Wolfpack Grill and we devoured it!!  I think we went to sleep pretty quick after we got to the camper, but we were so happy we spent the day together inside the park.

We got up pretty early.   There is a lot of noise at a Wal-mart, you know.   I was told by Bob who was staying beside us in the parking lot that Safeway had a good sale on the bone in rib-eye steaks so I drove down and bought 4 big ones, ready to eat some real meat after a month of fish and crab!   When I got back we hooked up the Tahoe to the bus.   We had a little problem when it appeared the Tahoe emergency brake would not release but fiddled with it and got hooked up and on our way.  We only had about 200 miles to West Yellowstone so we took our time and drove mostly back roads ( we had to drive on a dirt road for about 6 miles where they were widening the main road but it was fine).  The drive from Bozeman to West Yellowstone on hwy 191 was beautiful.  We followed the Gallatin River most of the way, winding in and out of Montana and Wyoming and in and out of the National Park along the way.   West Yellowstone reminded us to Gatlinburg.  It is immediately outside the west entrance to the park.  The town was pretty neat and also busy as we drove thru.  We checked into the Grizzly RV Park here.   It is a wonderful RV park with large pull thru sites, trees, level sites, grass, clean restrooms, etc, etc.   We set up camp, grilled steaks, skewers, and bacon wrapped scallops and ate them with the last of mom’s squash casserole and sourdough bread.   We must have been very hungry because we ate nearly everything!   We watched some TV and then watched a big fireworks show from our camper.  It rivaled Disneyworld’s!   We were impressed.