We left Desoto Caverns Campground at 12:30 pm (GA Time... 11:30 am CT). The heaviest traffic was around Phenix City Alabama and Columbus Georgia. Heavy, but nothing at all like Denver :-D
The closer we got to Phenix City Alabama the more kudzu vines there were. Then south of Columbus Georgia... cotton, peanut and corn fields, peach, pecan and (lob lolly and slash) pine tree groves... even a grove of long-leaf pines. Georgia is beautiful!
We either arrived at home at 12:30 pm or 1:30 pm... it doesn't matter. We had a great trip and arrived home safely.
We unpacked clothing and most of the food. I started laundry. I still have the quilt and the rugs to wash... then time to start on the regular laundry again. Next is cleaning the trailer and truck inside and out.
There is lots of mail to go through. Frank picked up another batch at the post office. I think I threw away most of the junk... filled a kitchen garbage can almost full with it.
The car wouldn't start... the battery is dead. A new one will bought tomorrow.
It is strange to be home. The sinks are much BIGGER. The refrigerator is HUGE. The refrigerator makes ICE . There is a DIFFERENT WAY to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night. The bathroom door closes with a KNOB and doesn't slide. There are NO COINS needed for the washer and dryer.
We traveled 181 miles today.
Our total miles traveled over 78 days was 10,190 miles.
The bestest part of the trip was experiencing it together :-D
Monday, July 21, 2008
We left Tupelo Mississippi around 9 am (GA Time... 8 am CT)
We traveled through the rolling hills of Alabama for most of the day. Traffic was pretty heavy most of the way. Around Birmingham Alabama the traffic was horrible... made worse by all the red lights.... still nothing like Denver :-D
We got gas in Hamilton Alabama at $4.73 a gallon and Westover Alabama at $4.69 a gallon.
We arrived at Desoto Cavern Campground, Childersburg Alabama at about 12:30 pm (GA Time... 11:30 am CT).
We had our leftover hamburger steakettes in gravy, baked potato and mixed veggies for dinner. The tv station said the high today was 101 degrees. It felt much hotter. It was cooler in the trailer than outside, but still hot enough to sweat in the trailer.
After dinner we watched more of the Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin and Rex (a black arabian horse). I'm sure in its day it was a great series.
We then went over and took a look at the Desoto Caverns. It cost us $15.99 a piece to take a look... it was worth about $5 at the very most. It was cooler in there.
We came back and finished watching the Rin-Tin-Tin series. Then we took our showers... Frank organized his paperwork and I copied pictures to a dvd. Frank is watching snow on the tv... most of the picture is snow :-)
We traveled 181 miles today.
We traveled through the rolling hills of Alabama for most of the day. Traffic was pretty heavy most of the way. Around Birmingham Alabama the traffic was horrible... made worse by all the red lights.... still nothing like Denver :-D
We got gas in Hamilton Alabama at $4.73 a gallon and Westover Alabama at $4.69 a gallon.
We arrived at Desoto Cavern Campground, Childersburg Alabama at about 12:30 pm (GA Time... 11:30 am CT).
We had our leftover hamburger steakettes in gravy, baked potato and mixed veggies for dinner. The tv station said the high today was 101 degrees. It felt much hotter. It was cooler in the trailer than outside, but still hot enough to sweat in the trailer.
After dinner we watched more of the Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin and Rex (a black arabian horse). I'm sure in its day it was a great series.
We then went over and took a look at the Desoto Caverns. It cost us $15.99 a piece to take a look... it was worth about $5 at the very most. It was cooler in there.
We came back and finished watching the Rin-Tin-Tin series. Then we took our showers... Frank organized his paperwork and I copied pictures to a dvd. Frank is watching snow on the tv... most of the picture is snow :-)
We traveled 181 miles today.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
We left Bull Shoals at 9:51 am (GA Time... 8:51 am CT) this morning. We had to stop by and talk with the fishermen down at the Trout Dock before leaving, so a few minutes later leaving this morning... no one was having any luck with the fish .
We stopped at Mountain Home Arkansas at the Wal-Mart to exchange the Jack Benny dvd... don't know yet if the replacement works.
I've had a sinus headache most of the day. I took antihistimine and tylenol this morning, but all it did was make me sleepy. I slept off and on all day.
We left the Ozark Mountains and crossed into the land of Kudzu vines. We passed pastures and acres of corn, millet, rice, beans and cotton. There was a lot of traffic.... even more around Memphis Tennessee. It was nothing like Denver Colorado though.
We stopped at a Wal-Mart in Trumann Arkansas for gas at $4.60 a gallon with shopping card. We stopped somewhere after that for dinner at Wendy's. Neither one of us can remember the name of the town.
Our arrival time at Campground at Barnes Crossing, Tupelo Mississippi was 5:30 pm (GA Time... 4:30 pm CT).
We got set up and while the ac was cooling the trailer down we went to take our showers. The shower eased my headache. During my shower I thought I spotted a tick on my thigh, but without my glasses I couldn't tell for sure. Back at the trailer I got my glasses on and got the magnifying glass out... yep, a tiny tick. I thought all that itching with my legs might have been chiggers... but the culprits were tiny seed ticks. I had Frank inspect me and he found a few more ticks and I got a few off of him. Some of them were so tiny that you could only tell they were a tick with the magnifying glass.
A ham sandwich was eaten and we've watched a bit of cable tv.
We traveled 320 miles today.
We stopped at Mountain Home Arkansas at the Wal-Mart to exchange the Jack Benny dvd... don't know yet if the replacement works.
I've had a sinus headache most of the day. I took antihistimine and tylenol this morning, but all it did was make me sleepy. I slept off and on all day.
We left the Ozark Mountains and crossed into the land of Kudzu vines. We passed pastures and acres of corn, millet, rice, beans and cotton. There was a lot of traffic.... even more around Memphis Tennessee. It was nothing like Denver Colorado though.
We stopped at a Wal-Mart in Trumann Arkansas for gas at $4.60 a gallon with shopping card. We stopped somewhere after that for dinner at Wendy's. Neither one of us can remember the name of the town.
Our arrival time at Campground at Barnes Crossing, Tupelo Mississippi was 5:30 pm (GA Time... 4:30 pm CT).
We got set up and while the ac was cooling the trailer down we went to take our showers. The shower eased my headache. During my shower I thought I spotted a tick on my thigh, but without my glasses I couldn't tell for sure. Back at the trailer I got my glasses on and got the magnifying glass out... yep, a tiny tick. I thought all that itching with my legs might have been chiggers... but the culprits were tiny seed ticks. I had Frank inspect me and he found a few more ticks and I got a few off of him. Some of them were so tiny that you could only tell they were a tick with the magnifying glass.
A ham sandwich was eaten and we've watched a bit of cable tv.
We traveled 320 miles today.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
This morning I woke up.. grabbed a cup of coffee and went down to the Trout Dock. The young man.. of the cute couple ( I think he said his name was Lee Sterling... maybe Brown was his last name.. the III) was down there fishing. He said he and his wife, Amanda, didn't make the cruise last night. She fell and sprang her ankle before they boarded. He said they were tied at 5 fish each.. I think that was for there whole stay. They left for home, Houston Texas, today.
Slim.. the fishing guide was down there fishing too. He told me a bunch of stories.... it is hard to get a word in when he is talking. The man that works at the Trout Dock was knocking down the spider webs off the side of the building. So Slim had to tell me how his girlfriend, Nancy, takes spider webs and tranfers them to paper and then to gourds and vases and sells them. It sounds like a neat craft. I heard how terantulus lay eggs and such. He is a colorful character.
We fished a while with no luck. Then I cooked dinner of hamburger steakettes and rice.
We watched more of a Jack Benny dvd after dinner. I think the set has four disc... and only one of them worked.
After watching the show Frank straighten the truck up some and I swept the floors of the trailer and wiped over them.
Frank called his folks... I don't really know what they talked about. I had walked down to the dock area and there were some beautiful swallowtail butterflies down there. I came back to get my camera... when I got down to the dock I realized I didn't have a card in the camera... so back to the trailer. When I got back down to the dock only one of the male butterflies was there.. the female and other male had flown away. A smaller butterfly lit nearby and I took pictures of it too. I think it was a type of hairstreak. There was another butterfly species too, but I can't think of the species name.
It was very hot out and I almost got overheated going back and forth. I edited a few pictures when I came back to the trailer. Then Frank and I went for a drive video taping the park.
We tried to watch more Jack Benny, but the dvd didn't work. We watched a bit of Rin-Tin-Tin.... this one was a bit before our time. It was designed for the weekly series at the theater.
Frank then updated some of his paperwork and I transferred pictures to the computer and to a dvd.
At about 6:30 pm we went back over to the Trout Dock area and fished. I called Mama. She seemed to be doing okay. She said the therapist was working with her on getting up and down the steps of the house.
My line got tangled in with Frank's while I was talking with Mama, so Frank took my line out the water. The mist started covering the river while I was talking to Mama. It felt cool.
After talking with Mama I fished for a while. All we caught was more of the green, green weed. Frank had another fish given to him.
This trip I caught one fish and Frank got 4 fish given to him... hmm... seems like his way was a lot easier :-D
Showers are taken and we are tired. It will be a long day tomorrow, so time to say good night.
Slim.. the fishing guide was down there fishing too. He told me a bunch of stories.... it is hard to get a word in when he is talking. The man that works at the Trout Dock was knocking down the spider webs off the side of the building. So Slim had to tell me how his girlfriend, Nancy, takes spider webs and tranfers them to paper and then to gourds and vases and sells them. It sounds like a neat craft. I heard how terantulus lay eggs and such. He is a colorful character.
We fished a while with no luck. Then I cooked dinner of hamburger steakettes and rice.
We watched more of a Jack Benny dvd after dinner. I think the set has four disc... and only one of them worked.
After watching the show Frank straighten the truck up some and I swept the floors of the trailer and wiped over them.
Frank called his folks... I don't really know what they talked about. I had walked down to the dock area and there were some beautiful swallowtail butterflies down there. I came back to get my camera... when I got down to the dock I realized I didn't have a card in the camera... so back to the trailer. When I got back down to the dock only one of the male butterflies was there.. the female and other male had flown away. A smaller butterfly lit nearby and I took pictures of it too. I think it was a type of hairstreak. There was another butterfly species too, but I can't think of the species name.
It was very hot out and I almost got overheated going back and forth. I edited a few pictures when I came back to the trailer. Then Frank and I went for a drive video taping the park.
We tried to watch more Jack Benny, but the dvd didn't work. We watched a bit of Rin-Tin-Tin.... this one was a bit before our time. It was designed for the weekly series at the theater.
Frank then updated some of his paperwork and I transferred pictures to the computer and to a dvd.
At about 6:30 pm we went back over to the Trout Dock area and fished. I called Mama. She seemed to be doing okay. She said the therapist was working with her on getting up and down the steps of the house.
My line got tangled in with Frank's while I was talking with Mama, so Frank took my line out the water. The mist started covering the river while I was talking to Mama. It felt cool.
After talking with Mama I fished for a while. All we caught was more of the green, green weed. Frank had another fish given to him.
This trip I caught one fish and Frank got 4 fish given to him... hmm... seems like his way was a lot easier :-D
Showers are taken and we are tired. It will be a long day tomorrow, so time to say good night.
Friday, July 18, 2008
We went walking on one of the trails at around 9 am this morning.. about too late to do so. It was warm and humid. We lost our green trail markers... and followed the blue markers for a bit and then turn around and went back the direction we came when the trail started getting too steep.
There are lots of beautiful rocks along the trail. There were also lots of spider webs in the midst of the trail. We walked around a lot, but Frank also walked into a lot of them that just couldn't be seen.
There were Turkey Vultures sunning on the power lines. We saw a couple of deer in the same area. On the blue trail we saw a pair of fawns.. they still had their spots. I brought the pocket camera along, but the battery was dying and the pictures didn't turn out. How I wish I had brought the Sony A700 and the long lens. They were so beautiful.
The forest was pretty quiet. There were a few crickets chirping and something sounded a bit like a cicada. There was a very loud woodpecker for a couple of minutes... pecking at a dead tree. Maybe it was a pileated woodpecker or the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker.... I'd like it to be the latter one :-D
We took a shower after our walk. I then put some butter beans on to go with the roast chicken. While they cooked we watched a Jack Benny tape... bought at Wal-Mart from the $5 bin. All of it won't play, so we will probably exchange it next Wal-Mart visit. Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny and other voices) was in a couple of the shows... he sure was funny.
After dinner I took a walk around the Trout Dock area and then up to the Dew Springs area of the park. The sign there said that the water temperature of the spring runs from 46 to 74 degrees depending on the season. The temperature of the water of the river year-round is from 48 to 52 degrees. Much colder than the springs around home.
We were lazy in the afternoon. Around 6:30 pm we took our cameras over to the river's edge. We both took photos. I tried out the b&w feature on my camera and some of them turned out pretty good.
We talked with a man that has been a guide on the river for a while. He was interesting to listen to. He gave us two rainbow trout. So we have enough for a meal now.... probably after we get back home. We might do a little fishing in the morning.
Another shower was taken and it is time to rest again.
There are lots of beautiful rocks along the trail. There were also lots of spider webs in the midst of the trail. We walked around a lot, but Frank also walked into a lot of them that just couldn't be seen.
There were Turkey Vultures sunning on the power lines. We saw a couple of deer in the same area. On the blue trail we saw a pair of fawns.. they still had their spots. I brought the pocket camera along, but the battery was dying and the pictures didn't turn out. How I wish I had brought the Sony A700 and the long lens. They were so beautiful.
The forest was pretty quiet. There were a few crickets chirping and something sounded a bit like a cicada. There was a very loud woodpecker for a couple of minutes... pecking at a dead tree. Maybe it was a pileated woodpecker or the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker.... I'd like it to be the latter one :-D
We took a shower after our walk. I then put some butter beans on to go with the roast chicken. While they cooked we watched a Jack Benny tape... bought at Wal-Mart from the $5 bin. All of it won't play, so we will probably exchange it next Wal-Mart visit. Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny and other voices) was in a couple of the shows... he sure was funny.
After dinner I took a walk around the Trout Dock area and then up to the Dew Springs area of the park. The sign there said that the water temperature of the spring runs from 46 to 74 degrees depending on the season. The temperature of the water of the river year-round is from 48 to 52 degrees. Much colder than the springs around home.
We were lazy in the afternoon. Around 6:30 pm we took our cameras over to the river's edge. We both took photos. I tried out the b&w feature on my camera and some of them turned out pretty good.
We talked with a man that has been a guide on the river for a while. He was interesting to listen to. He gave us two rainbow trout. So we have enough for a meal now.... probably after we get back home. We might do a little fishing in the morning.
Another shower was taken and it is time to rest again.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
We bought our permits to trout fish this morning. We fished a while, but no luck. I lost my hook.. caught it on the jetty.
For lunch today I cooked scalloped potatoes with brocolli. There was suppose to be ham in it, but I forgot about chopping the ham and by time I remembered I decided I was too lazy to chop it and added a little real cheese for extra protein. We ate the last of the apple salad.
After dinner we went exploring. We saw several deer in the park and outside of the park. We drove up to the visitor's center. It is a very nice visitor's center.
We drove around the Bull Shoals area and went into Flippin for gas at Wal-Mart. With card the gas was $4.63 a gallon. While at the vistor's center I broke my sunglasses. So we bought me a pair in Wal-Mart. We bought a roast chicken for tomorrow.
When we got back there was no one in the "good" fishing spot. Yesterday we watched a couple catch fish there... they are so cute. This is her first camping trip. He caught a Walleye and didn't have a stringer. He sent her to the car to look for one and she couldn't find it. He then told her to watch the fish while he looked. She held a small bucket in front of it. He couldn't find the stringer either, but found a plastic bag to put the fish in... he needed the bucket for water and then she put her foot on the fish.. grimacing the whole time. He got the walleye in the plastic bag and put it in the cold water. This was her first expeience with trout fishing and had caught a couple.. usually catching a fish soon after he caught one.
We hurried up and put things away and got our gear together and fished in the "good" fishing spot. The sun was shining good and hot when we started fishing... that is why no one was in the "good" fishing spot. I think get started fishing a little bit after 6 pm (CT). At about a quarter after 7 pm I caught a little rainbow trout. It sure took a lot of throwing and reeling to finally catch one and I honestly thought to start with that I had hung my hook on the grass (in the water) for about the thousanth time. I did a lot of hanging my hook on the grass and on the rocks (that were in the water) and on the one bush that is on the shoreline in that area.
We stayed until about 8:30.. the fog had already started rolling in. The river we are fishing on is called the White River and they say that is how if got its name. The fog is very white and lays close to the river. Sometimes your can hear the fishing boats out there, but can't see them. When the fog hits you it is like walking into an icy cold air conditioned room. The water is clear and cold.
The couple that was there last night took our spot. They are from Texas and she has folks around Jacksonville Florida. He is a school teacher. He teaches inner city children that are members of gangs. He says they are members of gangs because it isn't safe at home... even with two parents at home. He tries to make a difference in their lives.
The trout is in the freezer and we've had our showers and we checked on the cute couple.... he caught a nice rainbow trout. They are renting a boat tomorrow and touring the lake.
A Jack Benny tape is playing and my hair is almost dry enough to go to bed.
For lunch today I cooked scalloped potatoes with brocolli. There was suppose to be ham in it, but I forgot about chopping the ham and by time I remembered I decided I was too lazy to chop it and added a little real cheese for extra protein. We ate the last of the apple salad.
After dinner we went exploring. We saw several deer in the park and outside of the park. We drove up to the visitor's center. It is a very nice visitor's center.
We drove around the Bull Shoals area and went into Flippin for gas at Wal-Mart. With card the gas was $4.63 a gallon. While at the vistor's center I broke my sunglasses. So we bought me a pair in Wal-Mart. We bought a roast chicken for tomorrow.
When we got back there was no one in the "good" fishing spot. Yesterday we watched a couple catch fish there... they are so cute. This is her first camping trip. He caught a Walleye and didn't have a stringer. He sent her to the car to look for one and she couldn't find it. He then told her to watch the fish while he looked. She held a small bucket in front of it. He couldn't find the stringer either, but found a plastic bag to put the fish in... he needed the bucket for water and then she put her foot on the fish.. grimacing the whole time. He got the walleye in the plastic bag and put it in the cold water. This was her first expeience with trout fishing and had caught a couple.. usually catching a fish soon after he caught one.
We hurried up and put things away and got our gear together and fished in the "good" fishing spot. The sun was shining good and hot when we started fishing... that is why no one was in the "good" fishing spot. I think get started fishing a little bit after 6 pm (CT). At about a quarter after 7 pm I caught a little rainbow trout. It sure took a lot of throwing and reeling to finally catch one and I honestly thought to start with that I had hung my hook on the grass (in the water) for about the thousanth time. I did a lot of hanging my hook on the grass and on the rocks (that were in the water) and on the one bush that is on the shoreline in that area.
We stayed until about 8:30.. the fog had already started rolling in. The river we are fishing on is called the White River and they say that is how if got its name. The fog is very white and lays close to the river. Sometimes your can hear the fishing boats out there, but can't see them. When the fog hits you it is like walking into an icy cold air conditioned room. The water is clear and cold.
The couple that was there last night took our spot. They are from Texas and she has folks around Jacksonville Florida. He is a school teacher. He teaches inner city children that are members of gangs. He says they are members of gangs because it isn't safe at home... even with two parents at home. He tries to make a difference in their lives.
The trout is in the freezer and we've had our showers and we checked on the cute couple.... he caught a nice rainbow trout. They are renting a boat tomorrow and touring the lake.
A Jack Benny tape is playing and my hair is almost dry enough to go to bed.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Last night the fee collectors came by a little before 9:30 pm (CT). Of course we had already gone to bed. The fee collectors gave up before Frank dressed and made it to the door. Frank managed to catch up with them. The fee collectors thought we were out for a walk and were going to come back later.
Frank couldn't wake me up this morning. I took an antihistimine along with my other meds... so I was out like a light :-) I think it was around 6:45 am (CT) before I woke up.
We left Keystone State Park at about 9:30 am (GA Time... 8:30 am CT). The day's scenery changed drastically from yesterday. We went from rolling hills to foothills... or what we used to call mountains :-D The mountains are about the size of those around Atlanta. We passed farms with cattle, horse and donkeys. The crops seemed to be mostly hay... probably alfalfa.
There were lots of sycamore trees today along with oak and pine trees. There were also mimosa and crepe myrtles. Black-eyed susans were growing along the roadways.
As we left the campground we saw 6 cottontail rabbits. Later into Arkansas we saw a deer. The birds have changed to the familiar ones.... mockingbirds, catbirds, blue jays and even a northern cardinal.
We stopped in Sand Springs Oklahoma at Wal-Mart. Frank found out last night while paying the fee collectors that we have a day running light on the truck out... they didn't have the light bulb in Wal-Mart... but they did have cookies :-D (we decided the missing cookies weren't missing.. we just didn't buy them, we had only bought the ginger snaps). There was an Advance Auto Parts in front of Wal-Mart and they had the bulb.
In Inola Oklahoma we bought gas at $4.59 a gallon.
We stopped at the Arkansas Welcome Center for a little break. Helen and Betty were very nice to us. It was great to hear Southern voices again. Oh.. at the welcome center there are a set of doors in the lobby to go through to the restrooms... the door on the right states: "use other door" and on the left door it has a sign stating: "this is the other door" :-D
We ran into a lot of road construction in Arkansas today... I think we had to stop three times for flagmen. Arkansas has better roads than Oklahoma. The worst roads we traveled in Arkansas today were much better than the toll road we traveled on in Oklahoma.... we paid $4.50 to travel on a real crappy road.
We arrived at Bull Shoals State Park, Bull Shoals Arkansas at 4:00 pm (GA Time... 3 pm CT). The ladies in the office were very nice.
We are in site #64. Our lunchupper was soup and sandwiches. Our snack today was Ritz Chips that we bought during our Wal-Mart walk this morning.
After our meal we went for a walk... we stopped by the Trout Dock and Frank found out all they require to go trout fishing. We may do a bit of fishing tomorrow. After our walk we got some things out of the truck and now it appears the daylight bulb on the truck is now working... another head scratcher.
This is a very nice park.... we have a shady site by the water. We enjoyed our showers a bit ago. Frank is reading and I'm writing. I've caught up on pictures for now. No internet connection to load them up with.
We traveled 248 miles today.
Frank couldn't wake me up this morning. I took an antihistimine along with my other meds... so I was out like a light :-) I think it was around 6:45 am (CT) before I woke up.
We left Keystone State Park at about 9:30 am (GA Time... 8:30 am CT). The day's scenery changed drastically from yesterday. We went from rolling hills to foothills... or what we used to call mountains :-D The mountains are about the size of those around Atlanta. We passed farms with cattle, horse and donkeys. The crops seemed to be mostly hay... probably alfalfa.
There were lots of sycamore trees today along with oak and pine trees. There were also mimosa and crepe myrtles. Black-eyed susans were growing along the roadways.
As we left the campground we saw 6 cottontail rabbits. Later into Arkansas we saw a deer. The birds have changed to the familiar ones.... mockingbirds, catbirds, blue jays and even a northern cardinal.
We stopped in Sand Springs Oklahoma at Wal-Mart. Frank found out last night while paying the fee collectors that we have a day running light on the truck out... they didn't have the light bulb in Wal-Mart... but they did have cookies :-D (we decided the missing cookies weren't missing.. we just didn't buy them, we had only bought the ginger snaps). There was an Advance Auto Parts in front of Wal-Mart and they had the bulb.
In Inola Oklahoma we bought gas at $4.59 a gallon.
We stopped at the Arkansas Welcome Center for a little break. Helen and Betty were very nice to us. It was great to hear Southern voices again. Oh.. at the welcome center there are a set of doors in the lobby to go through to the restrooms... the door on the right states: "use other door" and on the left door it has a sign stating: "this is the other door" :-D
We ran into a lot of road construction in Arkansas today... I think we had to stop three times for flagmen. Arkansas has better roads than Oklahoma. The worst roads we traveled in Arkansas today were much better than the toll road we traveled on in Oklahoma.... we paid $4.50 to travel on a real crappy road.
We arrived at Bull Shoals State Park, Bull Shoals Arkansas at 4:00 pm (GA Time... 3 pm CT). The ladies in the office were very nice.
We are in site #64. Our lunchupper was soup and sandwiches. Our snack today was Ritz Chips that we bought during our Wal-Mart walk this morning.
After our meal we went for a walk... we stopped by the Trout Dock and Frank found out all they require to go trout fishing. We may do a bit of fishing tomorrow. After our walk we got some things out of the truck and now it appears the daylight bulb on the truck is now working... another head scratcher.
This is a very nice park.... we have a shady site by the water. We enjoyed our showers a bit ago. Frank is reading and I'm writing. I've caught up on pictures for now. No internet connection to load them up with.
We traveled 248 miles today.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
We left Ft. Supply at 8:45 am ( GA Time... 7:45 am CT). Our view changed today. We now have rolling hills with trees, cattle, horses, goats and oil pumps. The biggest change is the trees and humidity... yep my hair looks like Bozo The Clown's.
We stopped in Hennessey Oklahoma for gas at $4.60 a gallon.
We arrived at Keystone State Park just west of Tulsa Oklahoma at 2 pm (GA Time... 1 pm CT). It is a "find your campsite and go to the camp/grocery store to register" campground. We picked a site and went to the store to register, but the two women were more interested in their conversation than registering us... when one of the women finally turned her attention to us it was a rude: " you must leave something at the campsite to register" and us "we don't wish to unhook"... then woman: "we'll send a fee collector around".
This isn't a very pretty state park... it feels dirty. It could be a beautiful park with the right management and an update to restrooms and showers... showers will be in the trailer tonight... a couple of employee changes would benefit the park too.
Our dinner was pork chops, corn muffins, apple salad and some micro-steamed veggies. The steamed veggies were beans and carrots and weren't that good... something not to buy again.
I've had a headache today. I laid down for a while and it let up. Frank figured out our route for tomorrow while I napped.
Frank is reading Mark Twain short stories and I'll edit a few more pictures.
There is a pack of cookies hiding somewhere... or the Cookie Monster visited us :-D
We traveled 209 miles today.
We stopped in Hennessey Oklahoma for gas at $4.60 a gallon.
We arrived at Keystone State Park just west of Tulsa Oklahoma at 2 pm (GA Time... 1 pm CT). It is a "find your campsite and go to the camp/grocery store to register" campground. We picked a site and went to the store to register, but the two women were more interested in their conversation than registering us... when one of the women finally turned her attention to us it was a rude: " you must leave something at the campsite to register" and us "we don't wish to unhook"... then woman: "we'll send a fee collector around".
This isn't a very pretty state park... it feels dirty. It could be a beautiful park with the right management and an update to restrooms and showers... showers will be in the trailer tonight... a couple of employee changes would benefit the park too.
Our dinner was pork chops, corn muffins, apple salad and some micro-steamed veggies. The steamed veggies were beans and carrots and weren't that good... something not to buy again.
I've had a headache today. I laid down for a while and it let up. Frank figured out our route for tomorrow while I napped.
Frank is reading Mark Twain short stories and I'll edit a few more pictures.
There is a pack of cookies hiding somewhere... or the Cookie Monster visited us :-D
We traveled 209 miles today.
Monday, July 14, 2008
The phone rang at about 2 am this morning... a wrong number.... grrrr.
Frank had a rabbit run between his feet this morning while walking back from the restroom. Two cottontail rabbits were playing. He got pictures of them later.
We left Oakley Kansas at about 8:45 am (GA time... 7:45 CT).
Pretty much just a travel day. Corn and wheat fields... cattle and horses grazing on the rolling hills and flat plains. To the southwest there was a haze maybe from the California fires. We passed a lot of cattle feed lots... poor things, but I will still eat beef... I'm a horrible person :-(
We stopped in Scott City Kansas for gas at $4.82 a gallon. A stop into a Wal-Mart (in Liberal Kansas) was needed for Mylanta... Frank is having trouble with an acid stomach again. He seemed to not have much acid while we were on the west coast.
We stopped in May Oklahoma for gas at $4.60 a gallon. In the middle of nowhere gas is cheaper than in a good-size town.
We arrived at the Corp of Engineers Campground, Ft. Supply Oklahoma at about 2:40 pm (GA Time... 1:40 pm CT) We're in site 19 again. We set up and Frank went to register... took him forever and I'm starving. There wasn't a picnic area that we could get in and out of along the way. We ate ginger snaps for a snack. The host here told Frank of a better way to get to Tulsa... so worth starving for :-)
We had sandwiches and vegetable soup for dinner. I'm going to make an apple salad for tomorrow.
This is the campground that had all the geese with chicks in May. The chicks are now the size of their parents. Geese poop is everywhere, so shoes come off before our stepping into the trailer.
We traveled 262 miles today.
Frank had a rabbit run between his feet this morning while walking back from the restroom. Two cottontail rabbits were playing. He got pictures of them later.
We left Oakley Kansas at about 8:45 am (GA time... 7:45 CT).
Pretty much just a travel day. Corn and wheat fields... cattle and horses grazing on the rolling hills and flat plains. To the southwest there was a haze maybe from the California fires. We passed a lot of cattle feed lots... poor things, but I will still eat beef... I'm a horrible person :-(
We stopped in Scott City Kansas for gas at $4.82 a gallon. A stop into a Wal-Mart (in Liberal Kansas) was needed for Mylanta... Frank is having trouble with an acid stomach again. He seemed to not have much acid while we were on the west coast.
We stopped in May Oklahoma for gas at $4.60 a gallon. In the middle of nowhere gas is cheaper than in a good-size town.
We arrived at the Corp of Engineers Campground, Ft. Supply Oklahoma at about 2:40 pm (GA Time... 1:40 pm CT) We're in site 19 again. We set up and Frank went to register... took him forever and I'm starving. There wasn't a picnic area that we could get in and out of along the way. We ate ginger snaps for a snack. The host here told Frank of a better way to get to Tulsa... so worth starving for :-)
We had sandwiches and vegetable soup for dinner. I'm going to make an apple salad for tomorrow.
This is the campground that had all the geese with chicks in May. The chicks are now the size of their parents. Geese poop is everywhere, so shoes come off before our stepping into the trailer.
We traveled 262 miles today.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
We departed USAF Academy at Colorado Springs Colorado at about 10:30 am (GA time... 8:30 am MT).
A day of rolling prairie scenery with cattle and horses... then farmlands of corn and wheat. We saw a coyote just past Silma Colorado.
We bought gas in Stratton Colorado at $4.86 a gallon.
We stopped at the welcome center of Kansas for a break and a cup of coffee. Pretty good coffee, but not as good as what Zarone gave us.. I think I'm spoiled with that coffee. We snacked on ginger snaps with the coffee... only 63 more miles before our stop for the night.
We arrived at High Plains Campground in Oakley Kansas at about 3:40 (GA time... 2:40 CT)... changed time zones again.
After setting up the trailer I heated up the leftover stew from last night. I poured some Crystal Hot Sauce in it before heating... almost put too much for me.
Then shower time. The water here is very soft and I'm not sure I got all the shampoo out of my hair.... I didn't even use a dime's spot of shampoo.
Now it is time for rest.... tomorrow we'll be heading towards Ft. Supply Oklahoma.
We traveled 242 miles today.
A day of rolling prairie scenery with cattle and horses... then farmlands of corn and wheat. We saw a coyote just past Silma Colorado.
We bought gas in Stratton Colorado at $4.86 a gallon.
We stopped at the welcome center of Kansas for a break and a cup of coffee. Pretty good coffee, but not as good as what Zarone gave us.. I think I'm spoiled with that coffee. We snacked on ginger snaps with the coffee... only 63 more miles before our stop for the night.
We arrived at High Plains Campground in Oakley Kansas at about 3:40 (GA time... 2:40 CT)... changed time zones again.
After setting up the trailer I heated up the leftover stew from last night. I poured some Crystal Hot Sauce in it before heating... almost put too much for me.
Then shower time. The water here is very soft and I'm not sure I got all the shampoo out of my hair.... I didn't even use a dime's spot of shampoo.
Now it is time for rest.... tomorrow we'll be heading towards Ft. Supply Oklahoma.
We traveled 242 miles today.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
This morning we started the laundry off at about 6:15... beat everyone to it. There are four washers and dryers here and they seem to stay running most of the time. We utilized all washers and dryers.
I started a beef stew off in between the washing and drying. Frank cooked a lot more than I... he broiled a couple of pork chops and patty sausage. Then he baked biscuits and cornbread muffins. Everything but the stew and enough sausage and biscuit for the morning went in the freezer... a couple of the biscuits went with the stew.
While the stew was cooking I edited some pictures.
The stew turned out pretty good for dinner with a couple of the biscuits. I forgot to put the Crystal Hot Sauce in the stew while cooking it.. but it was okay adding it afterward.
Then more editing pictures for me. Frank went and air in the spare tire... the slow leak tire. I took a break from pictures and cleaned the inside of the trailer some.
In between cooking, cleaning and straightening we both took pictures of a ground squirrel and a couple of tassel eared (Abert) squirrels. They were fun to watch.
I called Mama this afternoon and she seemed to be doing okay.
I started a beef stew off in between the washing and drying. Frank cooked a lot more than I... he broiled a couple of pork chops and patty sausage. Then he baked biscuits and cornbread muffins. Everything but the stew and enough sausage and biscuit for the morning went in the freezer... a couple of the biscuits went with the stew.
While the stew was cooking I edited some pictures.
The stew turned out pretty good for dinner with a couple of the biscuits. I forgot to put the Crystal Hot Sauce in the stew while cooking it.. but it was okay adding it afterward.
Then more editing pictures for me. Frank went and air in the spare tire... the slow leak tire. I took a break from pictures and cleaned the inside of the trailer some.
In between cooking, cleaning and straightening we both took pictures of a ground squirrel and a couple of tassel eared (Abert) squirrels. They were fun to watch.
I called Mama this afternoon and she seemed to be doing okay.
Friday, July 11, 2008
We got up early enough to make it over to the Garden of the Gods a little after 8 am. There were quite a few people there, but none were crawling on the Balanced Rock. So we got our pictures and then made it over to the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument by a little after 9 am.
The ranger that greeted us really gave us a good over view of the monument. He answered a lot of questions... we had our own private lecture with him. Then we went on the one mile hike. It was amazing to see redwood tree stumps petrified. They had been huge trees at one time. The story of this monument is very interesting.
After our walk Frank purchased a book about Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Finally a good souvenir for him. I promised him I would read it too. Then we had a picnic lunch.
We had planned going into to Ft. Carson, but we were both tired.... I guess all the sight-seeing and mountain air finally caught up with us.
We dropped by Wal-Mart for bread and luncheon meat. We can't buy much bread at a time... it just seems to dry out quickly. We had hoped to find a small bouquet of flowers in a vase or a small planter of house plants at Wal-Mart as a "thank you" for the lady (Linda) that has been so helpful here at the campground... but they didn't have anything suitable. We stopped at a grocery store on the way back... can't remember the name of it and it had a nice minature rose. Linda really has been helpful beyond the call of duty.
Much appreciated long showers were taken this afternoon. This is the first campground / rv park that has furnished body shampoo... melon is the flavor, but it doesn't really smell like a melon to either of us.
We sorted the laundry so we can get an early start at it.... we have either 4 or 5 loads depending on the size of the washers here.
I copied the pictures to a dvd this afternoon and then Frank helped make sure I used the external hard drive correctly and I copied them to it. It worked fine. So now... three copies of the pictures... oh and some are copied to the internet too. So maybe we can keep these memories for a long time.
The ranger that greeted us really gave us a good over view of the monument. He answered a lot of questions... we had our own private lecture with him. Then we went on the one mile hike. It was amazing to see redwood tree stumps petrified. They had been huge trees at one time. The story of this monument is very interesting.
After our walk Frank purchased a book about Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Finally a good souvenir for him. I promised him I would read it too. Then we had a picnic lunch.
We had planned going into to Ft. Carson, but we were both tired.... I guess all the sight-seeing and mountain air finally caught up with us.
We dropped by Wal-Mart for bread and luncheon meat. We can't buy much bread at a time... it just seems to dry out quickly. We had hoped to find a small bouquet of flowers in a vase or a small planter of house plants at Wal-Mart as a "thank you" for the lady (Linda) that has been so helpful here at the campground... but they didn't have anything suitable. We stopped at a grocery store on the way back... can't remember the name of it and it had a nice minature rose. Linda really has been helpful beyond the call of duty.
Much appreciated long showers were taken this afternoon. This is the first campground / rv park that has furnished body shampoo... melon is the flavor, but it doesn't really smell like a melon to either of us.
We sorted the laundry so we can get an early start at it.... we have either 4 or 5 loads depending on the size of the washers here.
I copied the pictures to a dvd this afternoon and then Frank helped make sure I used the external hard drive correctly and I copied them to it. It worked fine. So now... three copies of the pictures... oh and some are copied to the internet too. So maybe we can keep these memories for a long time.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Today we went to Royal Gorge. It was a very hot day there... about 90 degrees and probably 40% humidity... of course not much shade. We stayed about two and a half hours there. We rode the aerial tram twice. We took pictures on the first ride over. Frank ran out of film his last click on the first trip over... so back out to the parking lot to the truck to reload and get some water too. Today I glistened a lot... so there was humidity :-)
We walked around the animal part of the park and took pictures of the animals. They had elk, bison and long horn sheep. Some of the elk had very big racks. Three of the bison were white... not albinos. One of the sheep had some very nice horns.
They had a little western town and we walked through that. A toothless cowboy was riding a long horn steer. Him and some other cowboys had a little gun fight.
We then walked across the bridge. It was hard walking up the hill just beyond the bridge. I had to sit down and catch my breath. Then we hit the gift shop. They had hats and shirts on special for $5... so we just had to have them :-D I also added to my bell collection.
We stopped at a Denny's restaurant in Canon. We had a very good meal of grilled tilapia, rice pilaf, salad and mixed veggies (squash, beans and broccoli).
We were talking so much on the way back home that we missed our turn onto highway 115. When you don't recognize the miles and miles of nothingness you are passing... you know you missed your turn :-) We picked up I-25 in Pueblo.... around there the thermometer on the truck said 101 degrees... the clouds weren't there, so probably not the humidity.
It is cloudy here in the campground, but so far no rain. The campground is very nice... my only complaint is the trains that run constantly. The tracks are just past the rim of the campground. Last night they didn't keep us awake and I don't think they will tonight.
We walked around the animal part of the park and took pictures of the animals. They had elk, bison and long horn sheep. Some of the elk had very big racks. Three of the bison were white... not albinos. One of the sheep had some very nice horns.
They had a little western town and we walked through that. A toothless cowboy was riding a long horn steer. Him and some other cowboys had a little gun fight.
We then walked across the bridge. It was hard walking up the hill just beyond the bridge. I had to sit down and catch my breath. Then we hit the gift shop. They had hats and shirts on special for $5... so we just had to have them :-D I also added to my bell collection.
We stopped at a Denny's restaurant in Canon. We had a very good meal of grilled tilapia, rice pilaf, salad and mixed veggies (squash, beans and broccoli).
We were talking so much on the way back home that we missed our turn onto highway 115. When you don't recognize the miles and miles of nothingness you are passing... you know you missed your turn :-) We picked up I-25 in Pueblo.... around there the thermometer on the truck said 101 degrees... the clouds weren't there, so probably not the humidity.
It is cloudy here in the campground, but so far no rain. The campground is very nice... my only complaint is the trains that run constantly. The tracks are just past the rim of the campground. Last night they didn't keep us awake and I don't think they will tonight.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
We left early this morning and dropped by Burger King for a sausage biscuit and orange juice.... well, it was suppose to be just a sausage patty and a biscuit, but eggs and cheese were in there too. We ate it anyway... no time to complain when you are not sure how long it will take you to get somewhere. There was suppose to be construction on I-25, but we didn't run into any.
At Pike's Peak Cog Rail they had Frank parallel park.... only a small car in front of us and nothing behind, so no problem. The truck took up a parking space and a quarter of another parking space :-) We picked up our tickets... Frank called and got us reservations last evening. I visited the restroom... none on the train and it is an hour and a half ride up the mountain. We waited a bit... watching hummingbirds at the feeder up above our heads. The lighting wasn't good enough to get the camera speed up... so no pictures.
Soon the train arrived and we got seated. The conductor, Mary, stressed a few times before our departure to use the restroom :-) We rode facing another couple.. we were on the three seat side and we were fortunate to not have anyone else in the third seat. Frank had the window seat so he could do the video taping. I didn't take any pictures from the train. It would have required standing up and my balance isn't the greatest in the higher altitudes.
The train ride was interesting and beautiful. Frank had wondered why there were so many dead trees. Pine beetles had destroyed them. There was one area that looked like a scene from The Sound of Music... beautiful green.
We had hoped to see some of the long-horn sheep, but we didn't. We did see some yellow-bellied marmot.. hopefully the pictures turned out okay.
At the summit we stopped for a while and we got out and took pictures. One elderly lady was so dizzy I thought she might fall down. I told her to drink some water... she did and stood still for a few minutes and she was all right. I told her to walk real slow and keep drinking a little water and she would be fine.. and she was. The altitude bothered both of us too. It was very hard to breathe up there.
I stopped by the restroom before we left... Frank hit it just after we arrived at the summit. I wouldn't have gotten any photos if I had waited in line for the restroom after we got there. Frank bought me a souvenir bell.
We had a pleasant trip down the mountain..... good conversation with our seat mates who were from Texas.
A little bit hard getting out of the parking area.... so many people and more cars coming in to find a parking space.
We went over to Garden of the Gods and visited the trading post there. I needed the restroom again. We bought a bell and a plate. Then off to eat lunch at the picnic grounds. We found a nice shady spot with a view of Pike's Peak. We took a few pictures of Pike's Peak after lunch. A dark cloud rolled over the summit for a while. We then drove over to the visitor's center... nothing much really there. Most of the unique rocks in the garden had people crawling or hiking on them, so not great photo opportunities.
On the way home we bought gas in Colorado Springs for $4.69 a gallon.
We came home and have pretty much crashed. There is a train tracks near by... can't see them, but we can hear them very well. The trains are frequent day and night. The ac fan doesn't drown them out. Frank put ear plugs in.... me I just tried to shut the noise out because I really hate ear plugs.
We have done a little bird watching while resting. Getting pictures is proving difficult. The lighting just sucks. There have been cow birds, house finches, steller jays, a nuthatch, a type of grosbeak and a yellow and black colored bird that may be an oriole of some type.... even a hummingbird investigated the feeders.
Tomorrow we head over to Royal Gorge Bridge.
At Pike's Peak Cog Rail they had Frank parallel park.... only a small car in front of us and nothing behind, so no problem. The truck took up a parking space and a quarter of another parking space :-) We picked up our tickets... Frank called and got us reservations last evening. I visited the restroom... none on the train and it is an hour and a half ride up the mountain. We waited a bit... watching hummingbirds at the feeder up above our heads. The lighting wasn't good enough to get the camera speed up... so no pictures.
Soon the train arrived and we got seated. The conductor, Mary, stressed a few times before our departure to use the restroom :-) We rode facing another couple.. we were on the three seat side and we were fortunate to not have anyone else in the third seat. Frank had the window seat so he could do the video taping. I didn't take any pictures from the train. It would have required standing up and my balance isn't the greatest in the higher altitudes.
The train ride was interesting and beautiful. Frank had wondered why there were so many dead trees. Pine beetles had destroyed them. There was one area that looked like a scene from The Sound of Music... beautiful green.
We had hoped to see some of the long-horn sheep, but we didn't. We did see some yellow-bellied marmot.. hopefully the pictures turned out okay.
At the summit we stopped for a while and we got out and took pictures. One elderly lady was so dizzy I thought she might fall down. I told her to drink some water... she did and stood still for a few minutes and she was all right. I told her to walk real slow and keep drinking a little water and she would be fine.. and she was. The altitude bothered both of us too. It was very hard to breathe up there.
I stopped by the restroom before we left... Frank hit it just after we arrived at the summit. I wouldn't have gotten any photos if I had waited in line for the restroom after we got there. Frank bought me a souvenir bell.
We had a pleasant trip down the mountain..... good conversation with our seat mates who were from Texas.
A little bit hard getting out of the parking area.... so many people and more cars coming in to find a parking space.
We went over to Garden of the Gods and visited the trading post there. I needed the restroom again. We bought a bell and a plate. Then off to eat lunch at the picnic grounds. We found a nice shady spot with a view of Pike's Peak. We took a few pictures of Pike's Peak after lunch. A dark cloud rolled over the summit for a while. We then drove over to the visitor's center... nothing much really there. Most of the unique rocks in the garden had people crawling or hiking on them, so not great photo opportunities.
On the way home we bought gas in Colorado Springs for $4.69 a gallon.
We came home and have pretty much crashed. There is a train tracks near by... can't see them, but we can hear them very well. The trains are frequent day and night. The ac fan doesn't drown them out. Frank put ear plugs in.... me I just tried to shut the noise out because I really hate ear plugs.
We have done a little bird watching while resting. Getting pictures is proving difficult. The lighting just sucks. There have been cow birds, house finches, steller jays, a nuthatch, a type of grosbeak and a yellow and black colored bird that may be an oriole of some type.... even a hummingbird investigated the feeders.
Tomorrow we head over to Royal Gorge Bridge.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
We left Steamboat Springs Colorado around 10:15 am (Ga Time... 8:15 am MT). Before leaving Frank chased some magpies around the campground trying to get a good picture... I think he probably got a good one. He said he is going to have to put a cot in the dark room so he can get all these rolls of film developed :-D
For a while a pleasant trip. The ride along highway 40 was beautiful. The mountain desert scene kept changing... then we climbed high mountains. We traveled along the Colorada River for a while.
We stopped in Kremmling Colorado for gas at $4.91 a gallon. We could have gotten gas a bit cheaper in a couple of other places, but there was not an easy in/out.
We almost ran over Alvin (chipmunk). We saw several more chipmunks along the way... they really liked the highway today. We also saw two coyotes doing some hunting in the grassland near the river (creek or stream... not sure exactly what waterway it was along there). Later on a coyote crossed the road right in front of us. Sadly to say one chipmunk and one antelope didn't make it across the highway. From Frank: We didn't hit them! They were hit when we saw 'em.
The unpleasant part of the trip was I-70 and I-25... just as bad as driving in Atlanta. We hit a little bit of rain just just past Idaho Springs Colorado for a few miles. We stopped at a Wendy's in Castle Rock Colorado to calm our nerves a bit and get a bite to eat. It wasn't easy finding a place to park in the shopping center behind Wendy's.
The rest of the way on I-25 to Peregrine Pines FamCamp at the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs Colorado was not too bad. We arrived at 4:00 pm (Ga Time... 2:00 pm MT). We thought we might get caught in a thunderstorm setting up, but it skirted around us.
We had never seen a black squirrel and took a couple of pictures of one before setting up. Then I spotted a weird critter that I couldn't get a good look at (darn thundering.. had to hurry up and set up)... it is a ground squirrel of some type. I'm sure during our stay we'll get a better look at it. Our neighbors have bird feeders out and it is feeding on the seed on the ground. There are a few Steller's Jays that feed on the ground too. Hopefully we will get a good picture of one of them too. I also saw some type of grosbeaks feeding at the feeder, but with the overcast skies there was not enough light for me to even make a guess at which one.
After setting up we went to the commissary here to see if there were any bargains. It is much like the one at home... things are cheaper at Wal-Mart.
Tomorrow morning we ride the train up Pike's Peak... we have to be there by 7:15. So early to bed early to rise.
We traveled 242 miles today.
For a while a pleasant trip. The ride along highway 40 was beautiful. The mountain desert scene kept changing... then we climbed high mountains. We traveled along the Colorada River for a while.
We stopped in Kremmling Colorado for gas at $4.91 a gallon. We could have gotten gas a bit cheaper in a couple of other places, but there was not an easy in/out.
We almost ran over Alvin (chipmunk). We saw several more chipmunks along the way... they really liked the highway today. We also saw two coyotes doing some hunting in the grassland near the river (creek or stream... not sure exactly what waterway it was along there). Later on a coyote crossed the road right in front of us. Sadly to say one chipmunk and one antelope didn't make it across the highway. From Frank: We didn't hit them! They were hit when we saw 'em.
The unpleasant part of the trip was I-70 and I-25... just as bad as driving in Atlanta. We hit a little bit of rain just just past Idaho Springs Colorado for a few miles. We stopped at a Wendy's in Castle Rock Colorado to calm our nerves a bit and get a bite to eat. It wasn't easy finding a place to park in the shopping center behind Wendy's.
The rest of the way on I-25 to Peregrine Pines FamCamp at the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs Colorado was not too bad. We arrived at 4:00 pm (Ga Time... 2:00 pm MT). We thought we might get caught in a thunderstorm setting up, but it skirted around us.
We had never seen a black squirrel and took a couple of pictures of one before setting up. Then I spotted a weird critter that I couldn't get a good look at (darn thundering.. had to hurry up and set up)... it is a ground squirrel of some type. I'm sure during our stay we'll get a better look at it. Our neighbors have bird feeders out and it is feeding on the seed on the ground. There are a few Steller's Jays that feed on the ground too. Hopefully we will get a good picture of one of them too. I also saw some type of grosbeaks feeding at the feeder, but with the overcast skies there was not enough light for me to even make a guess at which one.
After setting up we went to the commissary here to see if there were any bargains. It is much like the one at home... things are cheaper at Wal-Mart.
Tomorrow morning we ride the train up Pike's Peak... we have to be there by 7:15. So early to bed early to rise.
We traveled 242 miles today.
Monday, July 07, 2008
We left Vernal Utah at about 10:45 am (Ga Time... 8:45 am MT). We drove past the Dinosaur National Monument entrance again.
The desert mountain scene changed many times today... I can't really describe any of them, except they were all beautiful in their own way.
We traveled past many Prairie Dog towns today... and not a picture of any, just no place to pull over in time. Antelope and Elk were also seen today.. and sadly no pictures of the large antlers of the Elk.
We arrived at the Steamboat Campground in Steamboat Springs, Colorado at 2:15 pm (Ga Time... 12:15 MT) .
There was some thunder after we got set up and a few sprinkles of rain drops.
After dinner we walked along the bank of the Yampa river... not a very wide river here. We picked up a few more rocks :-)
Frank researched us a place to stay at while taking a peek at Pike's Peak and I took my shower. Frank came up with Peregrine Pines FamCamp at the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs Colorado. We'll stay Tuesday and Wednesday night there.
It is now Frank's turn for the shower. I'm updating the blog and then will transfer some pictures to a disc.
We traveled 161 miles today.
The desert mountain scene changed many times today... I can't really describe any of them, except they were all beautiful in their own way.
We traveled past many Prairie Dog towns today... and not a picture of any, just no place to pull over in time. Antelope and Elk were also seen today.. and sadly no pictures of the large antlers of the Elk.
We arrived at the Steamboat Campground in Steamboat Springs, Colorado at 2:15 pm (Ga Time... 12:15 MT) .
There was some thunder after we got set up and a few sprinkles of rain drops.
After dinner we walked along the bank of the Yampa river... not a very wide river here. We picked up a few more rocks :-)
Frank researched us a place to stay at while taking a peek at Pike's Peak and I took my shower. Frank came up with Peregrine Pines FamCamp at the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs Colorado. We'll stay Tuesday and Wednesday night there.
It is now Frank's turn for the shower. I'm updating the blog and then will transfer some pictures to a disc.
We traveled 161 miles today.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
We left Salt Lake City at 10:30 am ( Ga Time... 8:30 am MT). The traffic was a little bit hectic at times... and as most days there were construction areas to go through.
A lot of varing scenery today of desert and mountains. We saw 7 deer and one small moose lying dead on the sides of the road between Heber Utah and Vernal Utah. I wish they had been alive... especially the moose.
We arrived at the KOA Campground in Vernal Utah at about 2:30 pm (Ga Time... 12:30 pm MT). We were going to stay at a different campground, but it looked like it might be too difficult to get out of in the morning.
After dinner we went to Dinosaur National Monument. The quarry was not open so decided to go on the auto tour. It was a pretty good tour. There is a lot of beauty in the park. It amazes me how the mountains can be so many different colors and shapes.
Along the tour there are rocks that take on the look of a turtle and one of elephant toes or maybe "apatosaurus toes". There were also petroglyphs (drawings) on some walls of the rocks. Some drawings were of people, sheep and lizards.
We passed the Chew family ranch. The family has lived on the site since the early 1900s. They raise alfalfa, corn and other crops, as well as sheep and cattle.
At the end of the tour is Josie Bassett Morris' old homestead. She chose this beautiful spot to live in 1914. The last cabin she built with the help of her grandson and his friend was built in 1935. In 1964 she broke her hip on slippery ground while feeding her horses. She died of complications of this injury at the age of 90.
It was a nice day with clouds coming in the late afternoon. We bought gas in Vernal at $4.77 a gallon. Then we went to Wal-Mart to buy a couple of things. As we left it started to sprinkle a little rain. We were out of it by time we got home. After our showers it started to rain a bit harder.
We traveled 177 miles today plus another 60 or so on our sight-seeing tour.
A lot of varing scenery today of desert and mountains. We saw 7 deer and one small moose lying dead on the sides of the road between Heber Utah and Vernal Utah. I wish they had been alive... especially the moose.
We arrived at the KOA Campground in Vernal Utah at about 2:30 pm (Ga Time... 12:30 pm MT). We were going to stay at a different campground, but it looked like it might be too difficult to get out of in the morning.
After dinner we went to Dinosaur National Monument. The quarry was not open so decided to go on the auto tour. It was a pretty good tour. There is a lot of beauty in the park. It amazes me how the mountains can be so many different colors and shapes.
Along the tour there are rocks that take on the look of a turtle and one of elephant toes or maybe "apatosaurus toes". There were also petroglyphs (drawings) on some walls of the rocks. Some drawings were of people, sheep and lizards.
We passed the Chew family ranch. The family has lived on the site since the early 1900s. They raise alfalfa, corn and other crops, as well as sheep and cattle.
At the end of the tour is Josie Bassett Morris' old homestead. She chose this beautiful spot to live in 1914. The last cabin she built with the help of her grandson and his friend was built in 1935. In 1964 she broke her hip on slippery ground while feeding her horses. She died of complications of this injury at the age of 90.
It was a nice day with clouds coming in the late afternoon. We bought gas in Vernal at $4.77 a gallon. Then we went to Wal-Mart to buy a couple of things. As we left it started to sprinkle a little rain. We were out of it by time we got home. After our showers it started to rain a bit harder.
We traveled 177 miles today plus another 60 or so on our sight-seeing tour.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
I started us off a variation of Brunswick Stew in the slow cooker this morning.... variation was I didn't have but one can of tomatoes, so I substituted tomato soup.
We caught our shuttle van to Temple Square a few minutes after 9 am. We went on a couple of the tours. They were interesting. Two lady missionaries led our first tour which was through the vistor's center and the Tabernacle. One was from Nepal and one was from Ukraine. They spoke English very well and gave a good presentation. We got to see the beautiful organ in the Tabernacle.
Our second tour was of the Conference Center. A beautiful building with many beautiful paintings and sculptures. One of the Elders led our tour. We walked on the roof of the Conference Center. There is a garden there. We understand that it was planted in only three hours... that took quite a work force.
We then walked around the square to the front of the temple. A beautiful building. The Joesph Smith Memorial Building we passed had beautiful architecture. While walking we came across a man that works maintenance? on the square. He asked if we would like to get a picture of the temple with the water fountain spewing in front and we said yes and he got on his walkie talkie and told someone to turn the water fountain on. In just a view minutes the water gushed upward... as beautiful as Old Faithful. He also offered to take a picture of us in front of the fountain... we said yes.
We dropped by one of the cafes for a soda and made our way back to the shuttle stop. We were home a little after 2 pm and our stew was ready to eat. I dipped it out into our bowls and we sat for a few minutes with our feet up.... soon the stew was cool enough to eat. It sure was good. There is some left over for tomorrow.
Earlier at the Conference Center Frank asked the lady at the information counter where we might buy some buckets of wheat. She was kind enough to look in the phone book and call a store. She gave us the address, phone number and very good directions to the store. So after dinner Frank called and inquired of the price and we found our way there and bought some wheat. Bread sure taste better with freshly ground wheat.
On the way home we bought gas for $4.67 a gallon.
Afterward Frank dropped me back home and he went to wash the truck. When I got back inside the trailer it was a warm 78 degrees. A lot of sun was shining in the window of the door so I taped a piece of tin foil over it and then I went and took my shower. When I got back it was two degrees cooler in the trailer. The poor ac is working as hard as it can. I think it was in the upper 90s today.
Frank came back and tried calling his folks, but no answer. He watched a bit of tv while I copied pictures to a dvd. I haven't tried the portable backup drive yet. Maybe tomorrow.
Frank tried his folks again and reached them. All is fine. Then I called Mama and she is doing better.
Time to get things ready for tomorrow's adventure.
We caught our shuttle van to Temple Square a few minutes after 9 am. We went on a couple of the tours. They were interesting. Two lady missionaries led our first tour which was through the vistor's center and the Tabernacle. One was from Nepal and one was from Ukraine. They spoke English very well and gave a good presentation. We got to see the beautiful organ in the Tabernacle.
Our second tour was of the Conference Center. A beautiful building with many beautiful paintings and sculptures. One of the Elders led our tour. We walked on the roof of the Conference Center. There is a garden there. We understand that it was planted in only three hours... that took quite a work force.
We then walked around the square to the front of the temple. A beautiful building. The Joesph Smith Memorial Building we passed had beautiful architecture. While walking we came across a man that works maintenance? on the square. He asked if we would like to get a picture of the temple with the water fountain spewing in front and we said yes and he got on his walkie talkie and told someone to turn the water fountain on. In just a view minutes the water gushed upward... as beautiful as Old Faithful. He also offered to take a picture of us in front of the fountain... we said yes.
We dropped by one of the cafes for a soda and made our way back to the shuttle stop. We were home a little after 2 pm and our stew was ready to eat. I dipped it out into our bowls and we sat for a few minutes with our feet up.... soon the stew was cool enough to eat. It sure was good. There is some left over for tomorrow.
Earlier at the Conference Center Frank asked the lady at the information counter where we might buy some buckets of wheat. She was kind enough to look in the phone book and call a store. She gave us the address, phone number and very good directions to the store. So after dinner Frank called and inquired of the price and we found our way there and bought some wheat. Bread sure taste better with freshly ground wheat.
On the way home we bought gas for $4.67 a gallon.
Afterward Frank dropped me back home and he went to wash the truck. When I got back inside the trailer it was a warm 78 degrees. A lot of sun was shining in the window of the door so I taped a piece of tin foil over it and then I went and took my shower. When I got back it was two degrees cooler in the trailer. The poor ac is working as hard as it can. I think it was in the upper 90s today.
Frank came back and tried calling his folks, but no answer. He watched a bit of tv while I copied pictures to a dvd. I haven't tried the portable backup drive yet. Maybe tomorrow.
Frank tried his folks again and reached them. All is fine. Then I called Mama and she is doing better.
Time to get things ready for tomorrow's adventure.
Friday, July 04, 2008
We went to McDonald's for breakfast this morning and then we did laundry.
We lazed around for a while and we left for a tour at 2:30 pm. We stopped at the Salt Lake Marina. The driver captured some brine shrimp in a bottle for us to look at. I couldn't get a good picture of them.. they are too quick. I did get pictures of some pretty spiders :-). Frank was nice enough to get me a bottle of water... he knows how this climate dehydrates me. We then drove to the Kennecott Copper Mine... passing its smeltering section and other processing facilities on the way. The pit where they are mining was amazing. The humongous trucks looked so small from where we were at the visitor's center. The trucks are as big as house and the drivers sit about two stories high. It is was fascinating watching the scoops fill the trucks. We didn't get to look around the museum... we watched the movie. Then we went into the gift shop... I got another bell :-)
On the way back the mini tour bus we were on stopped in the entry way of a service station... the bus was out of gas and didn't make it to the pumps. He called for another bus. I think we made it back home between 6 and 6:30.
We took our showers and rested for a while. We didn't go to bed until about 10:30. Fireworks were still being set off. They didn't disturb our sleep.
We lazed around for a while and we left for a tour at 2:30 pm. We stopped at the Salt Lake Marina. The driver captured some brine shrimp in a bottle for us to look at. I couldn't get a good picture of them.. they are too quick. I did get pictures of some pretty spiders :-). Frank was nice enough to get me a bottle of water... he knows how this climate dehydrates me. We then drove to the Kennecott Copper Mine... passing its smeltering section and other processing facilities on the way. The pit where they are mining was amazing. The humongous trucks looked so small from where we were at the visitor's center. The trucks are as big as house and the drivers sit about two stories high. It is was fascinating watching the scoops fill the trucks. We didn't get to look around the museum... we watched the movie. Then we went into the gift shop... I got another bell :-)
On the way back the mini tour bus we were on stopped in the entry way of a service station... the bus was out of gas and didn't make it to the pumps. He called for another bus. I think we made it back home between 6 and 6:30.
We took our showers and rested for a while. We didn't go to bed until about 10:30. Fireworks were still being set off. They didn't disturb our sleep.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
We left at10:30 am (GA Time... 8:30 am MT). We arrived at the KOA Campground in Salt Lake City Utah at 2 pm (GA Time... 12 pm MT)
We purchased tickets for a tour tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully we won't die from the heat... can't make us happy... hate the cold and hate the dry heat. We went out to a Wal-Mart this afternoon and when we got back around 5:30 pm (MT) it was 107 degrees in the shade... it is about 80 degrees in the trailer. The ac just doesn't seem to work as well in the dry heat. We needed the basics of milk, cereal and bread. We also needed to get a tire that seemed to have a slow leak checked out. When the mechanic put the tire in the water tub, Frank saw the small bubbles before the mechanic did. The hole in the tire was at the tread close to the sidewall. Wal-mart could not fix it and did not have a tire like it so Frank had them put the spare on and put it where the spare was. It is a very slow leak so if we cannot find another one Frank will keep an eye on the air pressure so it might still be used in an emergency. Milk is cheaper here at $2.75 a gallon for 2%. We also stopped by the pumps at Wal-Mart and got gas at $4.68 a gallon.
Back home and we took a shower... the ac doesn't work in the bathhouse. The cool water felt nice though. The rest of the evening will be spent staying cool.
We traveled 142 miles today.
We purchased tickets for a tour tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully we won't die from the heat... can't make us happy... hate the cold and hate the dry heat. We went out to a Wal-Mart this afternoon and when we got back around 5:30 pm (MT) it was 107 degrees in the shade... it is about 80 degrees in the trailer. The ac just doesn't seem to work as well in the dry heat. We needed the basics of milk, cereal and bread. We also needed to get a tire that seemed to have a slow leak checked out. When the mechanic put the tire in the water tub, Frank saw the small bubbles before the mechanic did. The hole in the tire was at the tread close to the sidewall. Wal-mart could not fix it and did not have a tire like it so Frank had them put the spare on and put it where the spare was. It is a very slow leak so if we cannot find another one Frank will keep an eye on the air pressure so it might still be used in an emergency. Milk is cheaper here at $2.75 a gallon for 2%. We also stopped by the pumps at Wal-Mart and got gas at $4.68 a gallon.
Back home and we took a shower... the ac doesn't work in the bathhouse. The cool water felt nice though. The rest of the evening will be spent staying cool.
We traveled 142 miles today.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
We left out at 10:30 am (GA Time... 8:30 am MT). We arrived at McCammon RV Park, McCammon Idaho at 1:30 pm (GA Time...11:30 am MT). I cooked us up some spaghetti for dinner. I do cook ever once in a while :-D
The rv park was just off I-15. The most noise was from the trains that passed on the nearby tracks. I called Mama and there were two trains passing each other as we talked. Mama seemed to be in good spirits. She said that a physical therapist had came out on the day before and a nurse.
Frank and I walked over to the Chevron that had an A&W Root Beer store.... a couple of root beer floats were ordered. They were larger than we thought they would be and I got a bit of a tummy ache.
We got gas at $4.69 a gallon in McCammon Idaho.
We traveled 134 miles today.
The rv park was just off I-15. The most noise was from the trains that passed on the nearby tracks. I called Mama and there were two trains passing each other as we talked. Mama seemed to be in good spirits. She said that a physical therapist had came out on the day before and a nurse.
Frank and I walked over to the Chevron that had an A&W Root Beer store.... a couple of root beer floats were ordered. They were larger than we thought they would be and I got a bit of a tummy ache.
We got gas at $4.69 a gallon in McCammon Idaho.
We traveled 134 miles today.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
We left at 10 am (GA Time... 8 am MT). We thought we would miss a lot of the heavy traffic, but it was heavy most of the way through the park. A mule deer crossed in front of us as we pulled out from the campground
(Big Grin) We saw a Grizzly Bear! It was from a good distance... too far for our camera lenses, but we got it on video and you can tell it is a Grizzly Bear. We got a good look through the lookers (binoculars) at him. He looked right at us a few times. We wondered if he could see us at that distance... probably a half mile. He was crossing Alum Creek and then he seem to play in the water along the edge... jumping and splashing. Of course he could have been fishing. He was beautiful to watch.
We never got a good picture of the white pelicans with our cameras... other than the video. Frank took some more video of one before we left the area where the bear was.
The traffic was slow going out of the park... we looked at some of the video a while ago and it looked like we were going fast. We got slowed down by one bison walking right next to the truck. Then later there were three bison walking in the other lane of traffic... the one taking up the rear looked to be younger than the other two... it was smaller in size. The leader looked like it might charge us.
Then there were elk in a meadow that had traffic slowed. Then traffic got thicker and thicker as we neared the west entrance of the park. The oncoming traffic was at a stand still for a bit... nothing more than a curve slowed the traffic for them.
We arrived at Aspen RV Park... and golf course at 1:15pm (GA Time 11:15 am MT). The campground is a bit off highway 20. We passed a few farms. We were beginning to think that we would reach the mountains before we reached the campground. We drove through the golf course to get to camp site #29. Two men directed Frank into the site... I never could have directed him.
There are aspen trees all around us... and lots of BIG mosquitoes. All these trees around us and we aren't very shaded... there just aren't any sprawling limbs on the trees.
We took a walk in the evening on the edge of the golf course. We stopped at one of the campsites and took pictures of swallowtails on a flower... of course the wind was blowing about 30 mph. I managed to get a couple of shots that weren't too bad. We took pictures of an old building in a field with the Teton Mts. in the background. The mountains were a little hazy though. It was a nice walk.
We traveled 132 miles today.
.
(Big Grin) We saw a Grizzly Bear! It was from a good distance... too far for our camera lenses, but we got it on video and you can tell it is a Grizzly Bear. We got a good look through the lookers (binoculars) at him. He looked right at us a few times. We wondered if he could see us at that distance... probably a half mile. He was crossing Alum Creek and then he seem to play in the water along the edge... jumping and splashing. Of course he could have been fishing. He was beautiful to watch.
We never got a good picture of the white pelicans with our cameras... other than the video. Frank took some more video of one before we left the area where the bear was.
The traffic was slow going out of the park... we looked at some of the video a while ago and it looked like we were going fast. We got slowed down by one bison walking right next to the truck. Then later there were three bison walking in the other lane of traffic... the one taking up the rear looked to be younger than the other two... it was smaller in size. The leader looked like it might charge us.
Then there were elk in a meadow that had traffic slowed. Then traffic got thicker and thicker as we neared the west entrance of the park. The oncoming traffic was at a stand still for a bit... nothing more than a curve slowed the traffic for them.
We arrived at Aspen RV Park... and golf course at 1:15pm (GA Time 11:15 am MT). The campground is a bit off highway 20. We passed a few farms. We were beginning to think that we would reach the mountains before we reached the campground. We drove through the golf course to get to camp site #29. Two men directed Frank into the site... I never could have directed him.
There are aspen trees all around us... and lots of BIG mosquitoes. All these trees around us and we aren't very shaded... there just aren't any sprawling limbs on the trees.
We took a walk in the evening on the edge of the golf course. We stopped at one of the campsites and took pictures of swallowtails on a flower... of course the wind was blowing about 30 mph. I managed to get a couple of shots that weren't too bad. We took pictures of an old building in a field with the Teton Mts. in the background. The mountains were a little hazy though. It was a nice walk.
We traveled 132 miles today.
.
Monday, June 30, 2008
I packed us a lunch for today of ham and cheese sandwiches, potato salad and cake. We ate breakfast and left out sight-seeing around 7:30 am (MT). We headed towards Old Faithful.
Along the way we stopped at some thermal pools at West Thumb Geyser Basin. The thermal pools are beautiful and fascinating to me. The pools are different colors, some spout water and some bubble.
We made it to Old Faithful. It isn't as "faithful" as it used to be. They say it used to spout its water every hour and now it is about 90 minutes in between spouts. It teased us a bit... spurting steam and just a bit of water.... and then 15 or 20 minutes after the time it was suppose to spout it began its show. It was beautiful!
Afterwards we took the cameras back to the truck. We went into the visitor's center, but there were too many people in there... so we left there and found a shade to stand in.... it was about 80 degrees and felt warmer in the sun. Frank called his folks. All was fine at home.. they had some rain.
Then we went on to the Black Sand Basin. The thermal pools there were very beautiful. One was opalescent. There was one that spouted water pretty high. I took a couple of pictures of the edges of the pools. One had some insects in it... including a moth. There were more basins, but the parking lots were full so we didn't stop at them... I think we saw the prettiest ones anyway.
We stopped and had our lunch at one of the picnic areas near Fairy Falls. Lot of dust kicked up by vehicles coming into the picnic area... hopefully we didn't eat too much of it. The mosquitoes liked Frank and not me... very unusual. At the picnic area a girl came out of the restroom (pit toilet) and said that it was the grossest restroom she had ever been in. Her younger brother hearing this went to the trees :-)
Not far past the picnic area I could smell that it had rained. None had hit us... but the smell of dirt that had been rained on was nice.
We saw more bison along the drive. We drove the Fountain Flat and Fire Hole Canyon Drives. Both nice little drives.... the latter had a waterfall. We couldn't stop.. the parking spaces were all full.
As we neared home we ran into rain. It was only a light rain. When we got back to the trailer it looked like it had came down hard there. The temperature had dropped to 56 degrees by 2:30 pm (MT)
A beautiful and fun day... but saw no bear :-(
Along the way we stopped at some thermal pools at West Thumb Geyser Basin. The thermal pools are beautiful and fascinating to me. The pools are different colors, some spout water and some bubble.
We made it to Old Faithful. It isn't as "faithful" as it used to be. They say it used to spout its water every hour and now it is about 90 minutes in between spouts. It teased us a bit... spurting steam and just a bit of water.... and then 15 or 20 minutes after the time it was suppose to spout it began its show. It was beautiful!
Afterwards we took the cameras back to the truck. We went into the visitor's center, but there were too many people in there... so we left there and found a shade to stand in.... it was about 80 degrees and felt warmer in the sun. Frank called his folks. All was fine at home.. they had some rain.
Then we went on to the Black Sand Basin. The thermal pools there were very beautiful. One was opalescent. There was one that spouted water pretty high. I took a couple of pictures of the edges of the pools. One had some insects in it... including a moth. There were more basins, but the parking lots were full so we didn't stop at them... I think we saw the prettiest ones anyway.
We stopped and had our lunch at one of the picnic areas near Fairy Falls. Lot of dust kicked up by vehicles coming into the picnic area... hopefully we didn't eat too much of it. The mosquitoes liked Frank and not me... very unusual. At the picnic area a girl came out of the restroom (pit toilet) and said that it was the grossest restroom she had ever been in. Her younger brother hearing this went to the trees :-)
Not far past the picnic area I could smell that it had rained. None had hit us... but the smell of dirt that had been rained on was nice.
We saw more bison along the drive. We drove the Fountain Flat and Fire Hole Canyon Drives. Both nice little drives.... the latter had a waterfall. We couldn't stop.. the parking spaces were all full.
As we neared home we ran into rain. It was only a light rain. When we got back to the trailer it looked like it had came down hard there. The temperature had dropped to 56 degrees by 2:30 pm (MT)
A beautiful and fun day... but saw no bear :-(
Sunday, June 29, 2008
A little bit of difficulty leaving today. The tongue jack went up, but wouldn't come down. A fuse fixed the problem. Just hooking up was a problem. Tent campers were across from us that weren't there when we pulled in.... but one was nice enough to move his car. Frank had to put the sway control on after we pulled out of our spot. Nothing major, but enough to make one's headache worse. We pulled out at 10:30 am (GA Time 8:30 Mt T).
The scenery was beautiful on the way to Yellowstone... mountains, farmland and blue skies.
We arrived at our campground in Yellowstone, Fishing Bridge, at around 2:15 pm (GA time... 12:15 pm Mt T) (only an approximate time of arrival...neither of us looked at a clock). A bit of squirming to get in space D 117... we fit hitch to bumper, barely. The truck parks by the trailer very close to the trailer's slide out.
After setting up we ate dinner of leftover steak, peas and the potato salad. Then off sight-seeing. We traveled back towards Canyon Village and just past Mount Washburn.
The scenery at Yellowstone is beautiful. There are still signs of the fires that ravaged the park a few years back.
We saw lots of things that steamed and some that bellowed (Mud Volcano, Sulpher Caldron and Dragon's Mouth Spring) and there were cascading waterfalls and fast running rapids (Upper and Lower Falls and Lehardy Rapids). There is still snow in some places.
There was a grizzly in the woods laying by a log.... with any luck I might have it on video camera... but there was so many people and they weren't looking where they were walking... this was when we still had the trailer hooked to the truck. We managed not to have any pedestrians run into us and none of our blood vessels broke :-)
After dinner we saw mule deer and buffalo. Yep.. the people were really too close to the animals. A boy about 10 or 12 years old was gored by a buffalo a few days ago... last I heard he was in critical condition... he was posing in front of the buffalo with family members for a picture. Signs and brochures abound telling people not to get close to the wildlife, but some people just don't seem to understand.
We saw pelicans, seagulls, canada geese and a gray jay.
We got tired and came back home. We talked to some people that own a Tundra Travel Trailer like ours.... they've had no problems with theirs.
Then we took showers in the trailer and grabbed a snack. Frank read while I put the pictures I took today on dvd. Frank is asleep now. I'm about there myself.
We traveled 129 miles today.
The scenery was beautiful on the way to Yellowstone... mountains, farmland and blue skies.
We arrived at our campground in Yellowstone, Fishing Bridge, at around 2:15 pm (GA time... 12:15 pm Mt T) (only an approximate time of arrival...neither of us looked at a clock). A bit of squirming to get in space D 117... we fit hitch to bumper, barely. The truck parks by the trailer very close to the trailer's slide out.
After setting up we ate dinner of leftover steak, peas and the potato salad. Then off sight-seeing. We traveled back towards Canyon Village and just past Mount Washburn.
The scenery at Yellowstone is beautiful. There are still signs of the fires that ravaged the park a few years back.
We saw lots of things that steamed and some that bellowed (Mud Volcano, Sulpher Caldron and Dragon's Mouth Spring) and there were cascading waterfalls and fast running rapids (Upper and Lower Falls and Lehardy Rapids). There is still snow in some places.
There was a grizzly in the woods laying by a log.... with any luck I might have it on video camera... but there was so many people and they weren't looking where they were walking... this was when we still had the trailer hooked to the truck. We managed not to have any pedestrians run into us and none of our blood vessels broke :-)
After dinner we saw mule deer and buffalo. Yep.. the people were really too close to the animals. A boy about 10 or 12 years old was gored by a buffalo a few days ago... last I heard he was in critical condition... he was posing in front of the buffalo with family members for a picture. Signs and brochures abound telling people not to get close to the wildlife, but some people just don't seem to understand.
We saw pelicans, seagulls, canada geese and a gray jay.
We got tired and came back home. We talked to some people that own a Tundra Travel Trailer like ours.... they've had no problems with theirs.
Then we took showers in the trailer and grabbed a snack. Frank read while I put the pictures I took today on dvd. Frank is asleep now. I'm about there myself.
We traveled 129 miles today.
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