Fishing

We took a fly fishing lesson this morning. A young man from Cleveland (the fly fishing capital of the world) was our teacher. We went to a pond nearby that has been previously stocked. Yours truly caught 3 Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout. The last one was about 20 inches. That's big, I'm told. Unfortunately, Rick, the fisherman, only hooked one in the tail, so that doesn't count. Really entertaining and fun.

Yellowstone Again

Just when you think the scenery can't get any more beautiful, it does. Took a long scenic drive up to Yellowstone and Old Faithful yesterday, and what a drive. First we took in the Mesa Falls...lower and upper. The upper has a continuous rainbow over the falls.

Slow trip thru Yellowstone because of all the animal watching. First saw a bald eagle in it's nest then an elk. The best part was on the way home when we saw a newborn elk on wobbly legs nursing. Got some video.

Old Faithful was worth waiting for. Even with the huge crowds and new construction going on around it, it was spectacular. Ate lunch in the Old Faithful Lodge. Beautiful old structure.

Jackson Hole

It's more that a ski town. Quaint little downtown area with lots of art galleries. We had lunch in the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar where Clint Eastwood filmed "Every Which Way but Loose."

Bar stools are saddles. Town square has arches made of elk horns.

Yellowstone & Tetons

Rick's comment this morning was, "It was worth driving for 4 straight days just to do this drive today." It was absolutely spectacular. Thanks goodness for digital cameras and instant gratification. The photos may not be great, but remember that they're taken in the RV going 60mph. Will we fit???

We stopped by Custer Lake to take in the vistas. Breathtaking!!!

Stopped by Yellowstone Lake for another beautiful view.

I wish the photos could show half of the beauty. We had a rather harrowing drive thru the mountains from Jackson to Victor, Id, but we made it.

Greybull

We had an exciting ride from Rushmore over to Greybull this morning. It was a little drizzly and there were some quite steep grades. At one point Rick said, "I can't believe the speed limit is 65 and the runawy truck ramp is 5 miles away. You'd be going over 100 by the time you get there." I'm thinking, "Let's slow down so we don't find out."

Greybull is a small cowboy town about half way to Yellowstone. We'll be staying outside of Jackson for 4 days. It'll be nice to be in one place for awhile.

Crazy Horse

We took long drive around the Black Hills today. Started with the Crazy Horse Museum. The statue in the front is the model for the mountain in the background. It has been under constuction since the late '40s. Quite an undertaking.

We then took a drive on the Needles Highway...one of the 10 most beautiful byways in the country. Many spires and rock formations with tunnels thru the rocks.

Onto Custer State Park where we had lunch at the Game Lodge which was the Western White House for Calvin Coolidge.

Continued back to the park thru more tunnels with great views of Rushmore. Also, got to see the buffalo roam.

Rushmore

Drove thru the Badlands this morning and over to Rushmore. Unfortunately, I didn't read our confirmation email from the Rushmore KOA that said not to follow the online or the gps directions. They sent us thru these little backroads that Rick wasn't very happy about. We did pass the memorial and what a sight. (Gail & Norm: it may have taken me 60 years, but I finally made it.) The country store is one we passed in Interior, SD, but not too different than many others we have seen.

The Badlands

Not quite sure why they call this BADlands. It's really not that bad. Actually beautiful. Amazing what our country has to offer. We drove thru some horrific storms outside Sioux Falls....but then it got better. I took some video of the storm but not quite sure how to send that. These pics are from here. Learned about prarie grasses and they do have prarie dogs. Really beautiful country. Headed for Rushmore tomorrow. Can hardly wait.

We made it to SD.

After crossing the Mississippi and crossing Iowa, we made it to Sioux City. Interestingly, Sioux City is in Iowa, South Sioux City is in Nebraska, and North Sioux City is in South Dakota. So we were in 3 states in a matter of minutes. Went to one of the many Casinos.....not much action. Gail, we passed the Winnebago reservation.

Still Movin'

The headwinds thru West Virginia were considerable....30 to 40 mph. Farmland in the midwest is flat but beautiful. Long days, but we're making progress. We're in Rock Island, Il. tonight and heading for South Dakota tomorrow.

We're traveling

I just figured out that I can blog from my blackberry. Ain't technology great. We're driving in a slight drizzle but nothing terrible. Just got onto I68. I can also keep up with the US Open as we drive on the blackberry. How cool is that?

We're leaving.

Well, tomorrow's the big day. Hopefully we haven't forgotten anything, but if we did, we'll find it somewhere. We have about a 500 mile drive to Dayton. We've chosen to stay south of Chicago to avoid some traffic. Still a little concerned about the wild weather in the mid-west. We probably won't have many photos until we get to Mt. Rushmore. Early to bed, early to rise!!!!!

6/17/09

Mr. Clean and Mrs. Organizer make preparations for departure.