One Small Step...

It was another brisk morning in the Tetons when we woke up, ate some muffins and packed up. Originally we planned on heading south towards Utah and Colorado but noticed a large National Monument about four hours away - Craters of the Moon. We headed through Jackson, Wyoming over the Teton Gap and into Idaho (a state so exciting that they mention tubers on the license plate).

After a few hours of changing landscapes we found ourselves at Craters of the Moon National Monument. It was an expansive black lava rock field in the center of Idaho. We stopped into the visitor center for a map and started to explore the area. It was HOT - 88 degrees outside with convection heat emanating from the black rocks below your feet.



We climbed the Inferno Cone Overlook which was a huge pile of volcanic cinder. The view from the top showed volcanic rocks into the horizon. It turns out that the park was the result of cracks in the Earth’s crust and lava oozing out instead of a violent eruption.



Lisa at the summit:



We explored some of the caves but noticed black clouds with lightning quickly heading for us. We ran for the car with the storm blowing cinder and spitting big rain drops and decided that it was a good time to watch the video at the visitor center - it seemed to be a popular decision with many other people at the park.



The storm passed through and we headed south into Pocatello, Idaho for the night. Lisa passed up the opportunity to see the World Potato Museum on the way - I don’t know why...

We just had a pint of Ben and Jerry’s (a taste of home) and now it’s sugar crash time.

These Tetons are GRAND!

Another brisk morning with dew on the tent - it was sunny though and would warm up quickly. We were up early to finish some leftover meat-loaf for breakfast so that we could head to the “ecology meets geology” stroll on the shore of Jackson Lake. The tour guide was a soft-spoken man who connected the growth of trees and plant life to the volcanic and glacial activity that historically ran through the area. We couldn’t help getting some lake shots while the light was perfect:



After the leisurely walk, we decided that we NEEDED to get on Jackson Lake. We went to the marina and found that we could rent a tandem kayak. Lunch was packed and we jumped onboard to paddle out for an island picnic. The best part about the boat is that we couldn’t hit paddles - I was happy to have a foot-operated rudder to play with. Much fancier digs than the crash-around kayaks we have at home...

Store bought sandwiches and goldfish crackers always taste better when you’re sitting on an island looking at the mountains. We sat for quite a while and decided to paddle back. Our tour only showed us a fraction of the the large glacial lake but we had other plans for the afternoon.



After an hour long video on the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone NP and a visit to the Indian Art Museum in Colter Bay, we headed south - to String Lake and Jenny Lake. We sat on the beach at String Lake, gathering the energy to hike. We followed the loop trail around Jenny Lake towards Hidden Falls - a beautiful waterfall that is set back in the woods on the Teton side of the lake. The falls was far from hidden through, the place was pretty crowded. Just standing near the cold mountain water was refreshing on a hot summer day.



Hungry from the hike, we headed to a picnic area on the southern part of Jackson Lake where we had imitation Kraft Mac & Cheese. It tasted pretty good. Nighttime was laundry night (BORING!) but we’ll be heading south again tomorrow towards Fossil Butte National Monument.

Saddle Up!

Yellowstone to Grand Teton:

After a brisk night of sleeping, we woke up to a tent covered in condensation. We had an appointment so we had to pack up the wet tent, finish our smoked salmon for breakfast and head towards Canyon Village. The previous day we reserved a horseback tour of the back-country just south of there. Neither of us had ever been on a horse before but I think we looked pretty natural:



Lisa didn't even look nervous:



The tour followed a path through fields, woods and even next to a cliff (Lisa got sweaty palms). The exciting part of the trip was when the guides went to scare a bull bison away from the trail and one of their horses got spooked. It kept backing up and finally moved back enough that the rider fell off. (She was fine, but it certainly looked dramatic!) Our horses were both old and fat though, their names were Casper (the friendly horse) and Biscuit.

After our epic tour (which lasted WAY longer than the hour advertised) I had my oil changed in Yellowstone! A boring thing to do, but I was impressed that I could actually have that done there.

After figuring out how to reset the oil service display on the car, we drove south and had a picnic at Lewis Lake picnic area. Spaghetti-O’s with meatballs! There was a group there from Australia eating sandwiches that were jealous of our lunch - I would have traded them even...

We headed south into Grand Teton National Park where we were in awe of the jagged snow-capped peaks and bright blue water below them. We stopped at a picnic area to admire the view:



When we got into Colter Bay we grabbed a campsite for the night and decided to drive to the top of Signal Mountain. The panoramic view was clear with the bright blue sky and we snapped many more pictures.

Here is Jackson Hole (the eastward view from Signal Mountain):




Here is the view of the Tetons (the westward view from Signal Mountain):



On our trip back to Colter Bay we stopped and showered in the “village” - it was well needed after four days without. We then went to John Colter’s Ranch House for bacon wrapped meat-loaf, a real meal!

Yellowstone

Yellowstone - Day One:

After driving most of the day through Montana, we were starting to get tired. We weren’t sure if the campgrounds in Yellowstone would be full on a Thursday night and at that point we didn’t want to take our chances so we started looking for campgrounds on the road. We almost turned into an RV park but stayed on the highway, hoping for something more interesting. Like a mirage, the Canyon Campground of the Gallatin National Forest appeared! It was nestled within a thin craggy canyon and the sites were littered with boulders - it was perfect (and only seven dollars per night).

We slept well despite the fact that the moon was incredibly bright (I woke up at two and thought it was daylight) and got up early. With granola bars for breakfast in the car - we headed into Yellowstone park and drove through the famous Roosevelt arch:



Mammoth Hot Springs was our first stop and at 7:45 visitors were sparse. We hiked around the boardwalks and admired the mineral formations while noticing the sulfur smell in the air that we have since nicknamed “the yellowstench.” The oranges, yellows, pinks and whites that appear in the spring melded into each other like watercolors.



After a stop at the visitors center in Mammoth Springs, we headed south to look for a campsite for the weekend. We passed by two campgrounds before we found ourselves at Norris, a good central location for whatever we would find ourselves doing around the park. After picking out a site, we made a genius lunch that involved mixing some leftover Arby’s sauce with canned chicken and putting it on a kaiser roll - YUM! We stopped at the Museum of the National Park Ranger on our way out.

Our next destination was the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. On the south rim, we hiked down many stairs on the Uncle Tom’s Trail to get a view of the lower falls. The canyon has been painted by many of the same colors as the hot springs. We hiked out and towards Artist Point to get another vantage of the canyon.

Falls on Yellowstone River:


Canyon Wall:



We went to the north rim and stopped at every overlook for more pictures. I pulled out the pocket trumpet to play some jazz into the canyon.



Heading north towards took us through Dunraven Pass and near Mount Washburn. We saw beautiful scenery and many animals including bison, coyotes, elk and black bear. Most importantly we ate banana split ice cream when we looped back to Mammoth Hot Springs.



In the evening we went to a campfire ranger talk that focused on the connection between the national parks system and other parks around the world. Then it was time for early bed so we could explore more of the park before everyone was awake in the morning!


Yellowstone - Day Two:

After three separate and powerful lightning and hail storms last night (we slept in the car) we got up and packed quickly to drive the grand loop and enjoy scenery and walks along the way. Our day was filled with splurps, burps, splats, bubbles, steam and “the yellowstench” since we were touring many of the thermal features of Yellowstone Park. After seeing these, we’ve decided that the park is a National Oddity.

The Firehole Canyon Drive took us around the Firehole River to a set of waterfalls. The surrounding area showed many types of volcanic rock left from a cataclysmic explosion 640,000 years ago.

We made stops along the way at the Fountain Paint Pot which bubbled mud and contrasted with the Grand Prismatic Spring and Excelsior Crater which contained mineral and bacterial deposits with aquamarine pools of steaming water. Since the morning was cold (about forty-five degrees) the steam in the air was intense!

Fountain Paint Pot:



Grand Prismatic Spring:



Black Sand Basin:



Our destination for the morning was Old Faithful, the famously predictable geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin - we timed it well and showed up about twenty-five minutes before the next eruption. It was just enough time to grab some hot chocolate in the lodge and grab a front row seat. We then walked the loop around the Upper Basin and shot pictures of many of the other thermal pools and geysers.



Hungry, we got back on the loop road and looked for a picnic area. We cooked up some REALLY sloppy joes (hormel chili on a bun) at the Scaup Lake Picnic Area. It was empty when we drove in but a few people followed us in there.

Continuing on, we drove over the continental divide twice and followed the shore of Yellowstone Lake with the Absaroka mountain range in the background. By that time it was a beautiful sunny day with those snow-covered mountains in the background.



We stopped briefly at the Mud Volcano to see more bubbling mud pools. One girl said it best on the boardwalk when she remarked: “they should name this the smelliest geyser ever.”

Our last stop on the oddity tour was at the Norris Geyser Basin (right back near our campsite) where we took a walking tour with a ranger. He focused his talk on the constant change that occurs with the thermal features within the park, pointing out holes and pools that didn’t exist weeks ago!



We cooked up some pasta and smoked salmon for dinner (thanks Kenlans!) and we finished our day with a ranger-led grizzly bear talk. It was an informative speech about the history of bears and their treatment within Yellowstone. We’re still happy not to see a grizzly bear. Happy to know they are there... far away... Apparently, the black bears and grizzlies don’t get along very well.

We’re going to try to ride horses in the morning...giddy up!

Custer's Last Post for a while...

We started to get sleepy around 8:00 last night and decided to call it quits in Sheridan, Wyoming. We pulled off the interstate and found a KOA campground and pitched our tent. It was fairly loud though with the interstate and train noise.

Showers this morning (again for us - not from the sky), and we headed for the Little Bighorn National Battlefield in Montana. Since neither of us knew much about the battle, we learned quite a bit about both sides of the conflict (Lakota Sioux and the U.S. Cavalry). We saw the site of Custer’s Last Stand and heard an impassioned speech from a park ranger who is also a scholar on the subject (he also teaches at Temple University).

Here’s a picture of “Last Stand Hill,”:




Next stop was north of Billings, Montana at Pompey’s Pillar National Monument. It was a stop for William Clark on the return trip of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Located right next to the Yellowstone river, it is a Limestone formation that overlooks the surrounding landscape. We hiked to the top and saw the spot where William Clark carved his name into the rock.



After a stop for delicious Italian food (at Bruno's Italian Palace - their sauce tasted like mushroom stew; I think they have your recipe, Ma), we’re in Columbus, Montana now stocking up on food before we head into Yellowstone National Park. We’ll probably be out of WiFi range for the next few days, but expect a few days of updates soon!

A Cool Breeze...

We made it to Mount Rushmore and decided to pay the ten dollar parking fee. The parking lot turned out to be the most cutthroat and savage part of the experience. After we found a spot in the garage we entered the pavilion and amphitheater that sits directly under the monument. We found the most interesting parts of the mountain to be the fourteen year process of creating the sculpture and the changes that had to take place as they learned about the rocks themselves (they had to dynamite the original Jefferson - he was initially on the other side of Washington, sad for him!)



After a scenic mountain road through the black hills that gave Lisa sweaty palms we found ourselves in Custer, South Dakota where we got HUGE sandwiches at a bakery. On the way out we saw that the bakery was the site of a saloon in the 19th century where a man was shot. We didn’t want to take our chances any longer and hopped in the car.

Wind Cave National Park was our destination and was located about twenty miles southeast of Custer. Since it was relatively late, we made a beeline for the cave tours. We got tickets for the 4:20 Fairgrounds tour and in the meantime, went to reserve our campsite next door and change into warmer clothes (the cave is at 53 degrees all year long).

The cave tour took us through narrow passageways and featured mostly smooth surfaces and small holes connecting the tapered rooms. The cave was formed during the uplift of the black hills by acidic water entering limestone through cracks in the Earth. The water then slowly eroded the rooms and left intricate boxwork (a type of calcite deposit that represents the negative impression of the cracks in the limestone). We both managed to survive the hour and thirty minutes without hitting our head.

Here is a picture of boxwork (the formations for which wind cave is best known):



We went back to our campsite intending to make supper but noticed some black clouds heading directly for us. We scrambled to quickly get everything in the car and played gin rummy. The storm didn’t pass quickly, so we ended up falling asleep before we could make dinner (neither of us were that hungry anyway because of the aforementioned huge sandwiches).

The weather was much better the next morning and we headed towards the Rankin Ridge trail which overlooks a portion of the prairie and mountain sections of the park. Lisa pulled the car over at every prairie dog town to take pictures. When we got to the entrance to the trail there were about eight bison blocking the road. We enjoyed watching the wildlife and turned into the trail about ten minutes later.



The panoramic view from the fire tower was gorgeous.



We headed back towards the visitor center because we hadn’t yet felt the wind coming from the natural entrance to the cave. Following the path led us to a small hole in the ground with a cool breeze coming out (the wind is caused by the variation in barometric pressure from the vast cave and the outside air). It wasn’t blasting out of the hole today, but it was certainly noticeable.

On our way out we again went through Custer to get a view of the Crazy Horse monument which is in progress. It is being carved into the top of a mountain and the head is finished but eventually the long section in front will be his horse.



This afternoon we headed to Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming (new state for me!). It is a sacred spot to many Native-American tribes and is also a geologic oddity. Devils Tower is some sort of igneous intrusion that was initally over a mile underground. Over time the soft sedimentary depositions eroded away and exposed the tower. Geologists are unsure of its original shape, but what is there today is pretty cool!

Devils Tower also reminded us of a film we saw at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in which a young guy climbed the vertical formation without any equipment or ropes. We asked the ranger about him and he said that he was probably not quite right in the head. We couldn't have said it better...



We're on our way towards Billings, Montana for the evening. Two more stops tomorrow and then Yellowstone tomorrow night!

Hit the Wall

Today was a beautiful, sunny day bookmarked by clouds in the morning and evening. We started off with showers (for ourselves, not from the sky) and a delicious pancake breakfast at the KOA campground before we drove to Badlands National Park in time for a geology tour at 8:30. The tour certainly helped us understand why all these buttes, pinnacles, peaks and other formations are sitting in the middle of the South Dakota prairie. We then took some of the hiking trails (Door, Window and Notch trails) to cliffs and lookouts.



After a morning snack (bananas and cherries), we left to drive the Badlands loop road at lunchtime. We stopped at more scenic overlooks along the way and took mental pictures since the camera battery was charging in the car! Lisa got really excited when we drove by our first prairie dog village with the little pups sticking their heads out of their holes. There was also a big-horn sheep on the side of the road but Lisa was less excited about that...



The pavement led us into Wall, South Dakota, the home of Wall Drug, where billboards had been leading us for hundreds of miles (no seriously - they own every sign in the state methinks...). Wall Drug was a glorified knick-knack store with an animated T-Rex model but they did have a soda fountain so we enjoyed some root beer floats. (We also got our cups of free ice water for which Wall Drug is so famous).



We then stopped at the Buffalo Gap National Grassland office right down the street where Lisa got to read about the importance of prairie dogs. The prairie dog is the most important critter on the landscape; its healthy population allows predators to survive, as well as creating burrows for owls, ferrets and bunnies. Yes, Lisa made me explain WHY the prairie dog is important, not just fun to watch.



Armed with our newly attained Wall Drug sign and bumper sticker (they give them to any sucker willing to take them) we got on I-90 towards Interior. We found the Minuteman Missile National Monument on our way back and curiously went in. It turned out to be the office for a series of decommissioned nuclear warheads from the cold war. It looked interesting but tours were full and staffing seemed low. Maybe next time.

We got back to Cedar Pass Campground at Badlands National Park where we would be staying for the evening and cooked up some Hormel chili for supper. Afterwards we headed up to the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail where we saw a rabbit and a deer. Lisa was still less excited about them than the prairie dogs. But it didn’t stop her from taking 20 pictures.



We tried to sleep in the tent for the night but the wind got so fierce that we had to pack up the tent in the dark (comical...) and sleep in the car. It was cozy but worked fine. We woke up at the crack of dawn and took our last drive on the Badlands Loop Road with a stop at Roberts Prairie Dog Town. I had to tear Lisa away, but now we're in Rapid City, South Dakota on our way to Mount Rushmore and Wind Cave National Park.

BAD-lands

Today's three hours of driving seemed like a breeze after all the time in the car over the past four days. We left Valentine and headed up to Badlands National Park in South Dakota. We stopped at a few lookouts in the park and admired the strange eroding sandstone pillars while slowly making our way to the KOA campground in Interior (no really - that's the name of the town), South Dakota. Since there was a good chance of severe thunderstorms tonight we reserved a camping cabin for the night:



We cooked dinner on the porch while it rained and decided that we'd head back to the park for the end of the day since there was some blue sky to our west. The rain was fierce but let up quickly. We went to a few of the same outcroppings as before to find the shadows made the badlands even more beautiful.



We'll be spending tomorrow seeing the rest of the park that we didn't get to see today. Off to bed - we're two hours ahead now so it feels much later than it actually is!

My Funny Valentine...

Corn.

Corn.

More Corn...

That's pretty much our experience in Iowa. We occasionally saw some wind farms and that was it for variety. To break the monotony we stopped in Fort Dodge and found a fort museum and frontier village. It was the Shelburne Museum of Iowa with a collection of buildings from the 1800's from around the state. We also had a picnic in the parking lot with the employee giving us weird looks.

Here's our favorite cabin from the village:



We were Nebraska-bound and crossed over the Missouri River in Sioux City. Looking on the map we found a campground that looked to be about four hours away. I called and made a reservation for the night not realizing that we would be taking detours to get there since the state was flooded.

Dinner was in O'Neill, Nebraska (the self-proclaimed Irish capital of the state) at the Blarney Stone. Greasy and delicious! We headed towards Smith Falls State Park and the towns got smaller and smaller and farther between. It looked like we were REALLY driving to the middle of nowhere. It was getting dark and perhaps my choice of a podcast on Serial Killers was not the best. A little freaked out, we finally saw the sign for the park (the ONLY sign for miles).

We set up our tent and despite a little stormy weather to the north, it didn't hit us!



Our site was right on the Niobrara River (a National Scenic River) and we awoke to a beautiful view! We couldn't pass up the opportunity to rent some kayaks and check it out. We hiked up to Smith Falls:



Then we got shuttled from our campsite (great service!!) a few miles north and kayaked (really floated...) the river back to the site. We paddled between beautiful sandstone cliffs, but didn't bring the camera for fear of rapids. (Two not-too-brilliant canoeists did take a spill. We would have helped but it was too funny watching them try to get back in the canoe in the middle of the river rather than going to the banks. It was pretty shallow...) The cliffs were topped with a layer of ashfall and it was easy to see eons of deposition in the striated cliffs. If we ever come back we'll have to get tubes and enjoy a lazy day on the river.

Now we're in Valentine, Nebraska about to head northwest to the Badlands. South Dakota - here we come!

We're across the Mississippi!

It turned out that the rain in Mendota didn't just quickly pass and we kept driving through some serious thunderstorms. We crossed into Iowa (a new state for Lisa - #43!) but had to pull over and play cards through some of the heavy downpours. Since it looked like Armageddon outside - we thought it probably wasn't a great night to camp.

Dubuque was the nearest city so we headed there and got a cheap room (with a broken air-conditioner discount) at the Super 8. Time to head towards Nebraska...

Here's a picture of where we crossed the Mississippi:

Oh-Hi! Oh?

After staying up and chatting with Elaine and Steve until the wee hours, we slept in and had a leisurely morning that included buckwheat blueberry pancakes and sausages. Elaine sent us off with some homegrown lemon-balm tea. Of course it LOOKS like homegrown something else, but we'll enjoy having hot tea when we’re camping.

Okie didn't want to leave Fairport (the food was TOO good):



Our first stop was at the Fairport mall, where we bought two umbrellas (for sun, not rain) and a weather radio. The radio has a crank so it doesn’t need a battery, but I’m expecting to break that within a week so the radio will need batteries after all...

The rest of the day was a blast through I-90. We got to see scenic Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland and Toledo - we only made rest stops until we reached Pokagon State Park just inside the border of Indiana.

When we got there, we noticed raccoons being naughty on our neighbors picnic table. We chased them off but they seemed to keep coming back and bringing friends. The executive decision was made that we would keep all our food in the car. Setting up camp was a breeze with our pop up tent but the mosquitoes were swarming viciously so we ate our chicken and rice soup in the tent. We chased it with some homemade sourdough bread and quickly fell asleep.

This morning was exciting because we ate cookies for breakfast (thanks Jean). They were oatmeal raisin so we figured that that must have covered breakfast well. We walked around Pokagon State Park and checked out the lake. We then got on the road intending to get through Chicago before rush hour.

This is us at the CCC lodge at Pokagon state park:



With plenty of time before gridlock, we made a stop on the shores of Lake Michigan at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. We dipped our feet into the water and got sand between our toes. It was a beautiful spot surrounded by factories in the distance.



Lisa got sweaty palms driving through Chicago but we made it! Here we are at McDonald's in Mendota, Illinois taking advantage of the free WiFi. Looks like there's a storm so it may be best if we stay and find some local cuisine for the next few minutes.

Lisa has been getting pretty bored in the car....so here's a picture of a prairie dog (Okie) dropping some phat beats:

Tour of Europe

We camped out last night at the orchard in Crown Point, NY. Although we slept off and on due to a suspected porcupine sniffing around our tent, we did wake up early, eat breakfast (fried eggs, biscuits and apples) and left by 9:00. Speaking of critters, here are the ones that Lisa brought to hitch-hike around the west:



We drove through Poland and Norway on our way to visit my Great Aunt Ruth in Chadwicks. She's 93 and still seems to have as much energy as ever. She cooked up some grilled cheese sandwiches and broke out the pickles, peaches, beans and cookies. Quite a spread!

Looking at the map, we saw that Fort Stanwix National Monument was only twenty minutes north in the center of the Rome. We met an inquisitive and informative ranger named Willie that gave us our National Parks pass. The museum was great and we briefly enjoyed the fort itself before getting caught in a downpour. We ran to the car as fast as we could but we were soaked anyway.



Drying off, we rode to Fairport, NY to end our day at my Aunt Elaine and Uncle Steve's for a wonderful evening with beef zinfandel (beef burgundy without the burgundy) and raspberry crepes. Fun and delicious. Off to bed!!!