Last night in Vegas

Friday, July 27, 2007

We went to Las Vegas again last night. We drove in about 6:00PM. The traffic was heavier at that time, but we wanted to have dinner, then walk around after the sun went down.
Murtle and Taco stayed home again. Poor kids! Today I think we will take them out on the town. Murtle wants to see the sights. Taco is just “steer” crazy sitting in the camper.

Dinner was fabulous last night. We decided to splurge a tad. We were going to eat at one of the restaurants that had an outside café, but couldn’t find just the right one. We walked through a few of the hotels thinking that we would just settle for a nice place, but they seemed crowded and some of the items of the menu we couldn’t read (if I can’t identify what is in the food, I don’t want to chance it having seafood) so we didn’t stop.

On our search for a nice place to eat, we wandered into a shopping area that boasted “fine shops and restaurants”. It was a whole Mall in itself. (Bet it was as large as the Mall of New Hampshire used to be!) We walked and walked until we came to an open area. It was like we walked through to the back of the building. As we continued we saw five or six different places to eat. It was lovely! We chose an Italian restaurant (you know how much we like the Italian Oasis in Littleton, NH!)

We sat “outside” the main building. The atmosphere was wonderful, the sights were “interesting” (remember, we were in Las Vegas). The wait staff was dressed to the hilt! Very attentive! People were milling all around. I noticed the beautiful sky! Bright blue with just a few puffy clouds! (hehe) I said to Brad, “Look at the beautiful sky!” He looked up and, “Oh, my goodness!” It really looked like we were outside! (Illusions are terrific!) There was a dome over us. The clouds even moved!

After dinner we walked around the rest of the “mall”. On the other side there was an actual rain storm. The sky got gray, the sun disappeared and it rained over the pond! (How fascinating! Glad we ducked into a shop before we got wet!)

Back out on the strip again we went. Hot, oh, so hot! We must have walked another 5 miles tonight. We started in the same place (the Forum Shops) and headed the opposite direction from last night. We went by the Flamingo, the New York, Caesar’s Palace, the MGM, the Bellagio, and many others. We did get a chance to see the water show at the Bellagio. It was choreographed to music. The colors on the hotel changed to a lush purple (which was the background for the show). The water danced, spouted, sprayed, and splashed! (I am with you, Sydney, the water is the best part). The show must have lasted about 10 minutes.

We ventured into a few of the casinos. Walked in, looked around, looked at each other and said, “No, not really for us!” When we went into Caesar’s Palace, we decided to try our luck. (Or lack of luck, no we are not coming home with a new camper!) We put our “bucks” into the machines, pulled the levers and DIDN’T WIN a thing! Both of us were Big Losers with Big L’s on our foreheads!

Again, we walked back into the MGM casino, looked at each other and just said, “No!” (We are such big time spenders! Neither one of us wants to turn out like Murtle!)

Back out on the strip again. Oh, the sights we saw. Ladies, and gents everywhere. Some of them were dressed to a tee. Short skirts, makeup, heels! (I have no idea how they could walk up and down the streets in such high, high heels.) Then we saw a lot of people just like us in shorts and tee shirts. A lot of people bumped into me. I don’t understand why. I just kept stopping for a photo opportunity and someone would run right into me. (Maybe I should have stopped, looked, and waved!)

We kept seeing a truck drive by with a huge billboard on the side. For the life of me, I could not get a picture of the advertisement on the side. We stood around for about ten minutes waiting for it to go by, but being so dark and the lights so bright, I just couldn’t get the shot I wanted. (You’ll have to use your imagination as to what was on the side of the billboard!)

As we were standing there, waiting for the truck to go by, the temperature was 95 degrees at 10:45. The sweat was just running down my whole body. Both of us remembered to drink plenty of water, and we had more at dinner. When we got back to the truck around 10:55 we were both thirsty and consumed almost a whole bottle of water each.

The drive out of the city was easy again. (We are just party poopers and if we had stayed till after 3, the traffic would have been horrific.) We missed Britney Spears. She was at the Wynn (we had been there the night before). Apparently there was an altercation and she was on the news this morning. Except for that, nothing out of the ordinary happened. (As ordinary as can be for Las Vegas! That is.)

We slept in this morning and will take Murtle and Taco out for a drive later. We need to pick up a few supplies before we head for the Grand Canyon area tomorrow.

Las Vegas

Thursday, July 26, 2007
Last night we did go to Vegas! It was amazing! All those lights, all that glitter, all those people, all those casinos! My, my, my what a place. We saw a lot, we walked around with our eyes wide open. We didn’t even walk half the strip. Just too much to see, and to much to do.
We waited until after dark to go, but the temperature was still 97 degrees, but we did not have to contend with the sun. Brad got a little dehydrated, and we needed to get him some water fast and sit for a bit. (He gets a tad grumpy, just like I do! If we don’t have enough to eat or drink. Especially in this heat.) Note to self, and Brad: DRINK LOTS OF WATER, more than you think you need. After he sat and had a bottle and a half of water, he was fine.


We extended our stay here at this campground for one more night. That will give us another night to visit Vegas. I snapped a lot of pictures last night. There were so many lights! The pictures are dark, but show the neon lights really well.
Oh, I am sure that all of you would like to know how much we lost at gambling. Well, I have to admit that we won! Yes, we (I) won some money! (But I turned right around and spent it.) So you can call me a loser with a Big L on my forehead. Actually, Brad spent more than I did. I won more than he. (But since I spent what I won, then, OK, I am the bigger loser!) Last night’s losses were a total of 3 (hehe) dollars not thousands. (We are really big time spenders!)
Tonight we plan to go back and have dinner. (We were surprised when we saw some of the menus, for meals around $9.00 a piece.) Can’t beat that. I want to take pictures of the other end of the strip. I don’t know if we will even get to the whole strip. There is so much to see, so much to do, and such little time to do it in. (I suppose we could extend out trip here for another three months, then make a fast trip back, but I don’t think so.) One more night will do it for us.

Even McDonald's is up in lights. This was an interesting picture. As we were walking up the stip, Circus Circus is behind McDonalds. The clown seems to change places as you walk along the strip. I thought this was a great shot.

Like I said the other day, driving in Vegas is not a problem. I do have to admit that there were a lot more people, and the traffic was really heavy at 10:30 last night compared to 1:30 PM. When we first got to the strip around 7:30 PM, there did not seem to be very many people around, but by 10:00PM the place was packed.
The shows (the outside ones, water, fire, etc.) were so packed that we could not get close to the sights. People will start lining up for them 45 minutes before they start. We hung around for the fire show at Treasure Island. Thought it would be a long show, (there was so much hype around). It was a wonderful display of fire on top of the waterfall, but it must have lasted a total of 8.7 minutes. Don’t get me wrong, it was spectacular, but short. (Just look at all the people!)
There are a few others that we would like to see tonight, so we will have to get moving if we are going to see them all. (Oh well, if we don’t make it, it will just give us an excuse to come back.)
Parking was easy too. We were told that there is valet parking everywhere. That was a correct statement. We happened to pick the only place that the lot closed at 11:00PM. Go figure. That was OK, though, we are not night owls. Tonight we will find a different place in case we want/need to stay later. (If I am winning, I may not want to leave.)
Murtle told me, that is how her gambling problem started. She just couldn’t get herself out of the chair. It’s so funny about last night, because on the way in to Vegas, Brad and I had a conversation about winning. You, know, “You only have so much money to spend on gambling. When that is gone, you are done. BUT, if you win anything, you take out your initial investment, then bank half of the leftover, then gamble the rest. Well, that theory went out the window rather quickly. It’s so easy to just keep pulling that lever.
I will have to contain myself tonight. (Think I’ll go with a little more than a buck, maybe $5.00 tonight. Hey, we all have to live a little!)
Today was laundry day. I checked out the laundry facility and discovered that it would not cost half as much as it had at the last campground that we did laundry. (Oh, boy, more money for Vegas!) So we did everything that was dirty, sheets, towels, clothes, everything. Only 4 loads. It certainly does not take half the time when you use 4 washers at the same time, and 4 dryers at the same time. (We had plenty of quarters!)
Today was also the camper cleaning day. (But the laundry in, had lunch, switched the laundry to the dryers, cleaned the camper, brought Brad with me to fold the clothes, and the laundry was done in less than 2 hours.) Yea! Murtle and Taco, stayed out of the way. Since they don’t wear clothes, they didn’t think that they had to help!
Remember I stated that this is monsoon weather? Well, here it is late afternoon and the sky is just black! Yesterday, it did the same thing. We did get some rain, but it wasn’t even enough to cover the ground. It left spots all over the truck, though. Looks like it is going to open up and dump on us again today, but time will tell. There are places that it rains so hard and so fast that there are flash floods. Luckily we have not been caught in one of those.
There have been some horrific thunderstorms, with lighting and thunder. But no rain, or so little it didn’t count.
We made reservations for a campground in Williams Arizona for Saturday night, and will be there for 3 nights. That will give us an opportunity to explore the Grand Canyon. We will be near the Old Route 66 so that should be fun. Both of us hate to think of heading EAST, but that is what we will be doing on Saturday.
We aren’t sure where our journey will take us from there. The options are limitless… (ok, maybe not limitless, but we have many.) Maybe Colorado, maybe Alabama. Not really sure. (Guess you will have to stay tuned to find out where in the US we are.)

Hoover Dam

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

(Duplicate picture, sorry, couldn't erase it.!) Hover Dam

Today we took a drive to Las Vegas. We drove down the strip. Saw all the huge hotels. How interesting. This is just like a playground. There are amusement rides, gardens, show places, and of course Casinos! (I think I’ll take a quarter with me haha.) I just want to walk the strip at night. It was amazing during the day, but should be dazzling at night. I want to see the water shows! (I’m with Sydney! I like the water.)

I could not believe how easy it was to get around in Las Vegas. The roads are easy to find. The airport is right on the strip. We are just two towns away from Vegas, and only about 19 miles away. We saw all the RV parks right on the strip, but think we made a wise choice by being 19 miles away. (The sirens were terrible.)



I took a nap today so I can stay up late. Hope Brad makes it, he hasn’t taken a nap yet. Bet we (he) sleeps in tomorrow morning. Will have to cover the windows, the sun is up here about quarter of 6 in the morning.



Can’t really go for a walk in the early morning. It is way too hot after the sun comes up. Stifling! So for the last three weeks we haven’t gotten much exercise. Tonight we plan to walk the Strip, so that should be good for about a 5 mile walk.



Murtle and Taco will have to stay here. I am afraid that Murtle has a gambling problem. Taco will have to stay with her to make sure she doesn’t sneak out to the Casino around the corner from our campground.



Will let you know if we will be back or not. (It depends on how much I can win with a quarter!) Hmm, I need to do laundry, so do I actually win quarters from the machine? Hopefully, I’ll win enough to do the laundry! (I think my odds are better by putting quarters into the washing machine. At least I’ll get something for the quarters! - Clean clothes!)



Tuesday, July 24, 2007



Today we went to Hoover Dam. We had seen a documentary on the History channel and it is even more awesome than it showed on TV. The way it was built was fascinating. It took them quite a while to build. Now that 9/11 happened, most suspicious vehicles need to be checked before driving across the top of the dam. (No tractor trailers are allowed on the dam.)










There is a new highway that is being built to go around the dam. (That is another huge story!) I got some great pictures (hope they will upload today.) As you can see the crane with the "tram" it is full of workers being taken back up from the workplace. Still kind of scary work for these guys. The bridge is going to be extremely high up. I think it would be fascinating to see the work on the road progress.



We were right inside the dam!!! (We were told that we could take all the dam pictures that we wanted to. I had to chuckle…) One side of the

dam is in Nevada, the other is in Arizona. Funny thing is on the Nevada side there is a clock and the time reads one time, then you drive across the other side and the time is one hour different. (The time line between Mountain and Pacific changes at the Colorado River and that is where the dam is.)


This picture is taken looking down from the dam. This is the water that comes out of the dam after it has gone through the turbines to make electricity. (The other side is a huge lake!)


Again, it is so hot. We make sure that we take the “kids” (Murtle and Taco) out of the window. We don’t want them to melt. The temperature only goes down to about 86 at night. During the day it is usually over 100.



Tomorrow is Vegas.

Dad, these are for you (oh, Denny, too)

This is a white tail deer that we saw (ok, Brad spotted it first!) He grabbed the camera, jumped out of the truck and ran up to it to get its picture. (If you click on the picture hopefully it will enlarge for you. The rack on this deer was huge!)

We have a few other shots, but this one showed the rack the best. Bet you wish you would see one like this in New England! Not only was the rack huge, but the deer itself was big. Up until this trip to Zion, we had not seen many big deer. We saw a lot of the mule deer. (They just look odd after seeing so many white tails).



We had been looking for a long horn sheep since we hit South Dakota...finally a few days ago we saw one way up on the top of a mountain in a silouette. But today right in the middle of town, in a ball field, (the greenest place in town) we saw six of them. They had walked right through an open gate, and started munching.

As we drove by, Brad spotted them (he is good at that), so we did a U turn and went into the park, got out of the truck and walked to the field. They finally became aware that we were there and decided to walk out.


This is a picture of them leaving the field. As you can see in the background, they were headed for the deserty area. Murtle thought they were pretty smart to find an easy place to get a meal. Taco thought they should just go to the restaurant next door.

Either way, it was great to see them, up close and personal.

This is just one of the many "rock" formations that we saw. The mountains are so different. Do you see the ground in front of the mountain? It is all sandy, dessert like. The little bushes are sage, (I think). They aren't green, the mountains are rock color or sometimes (as the next picture will show...RED.

As we were driving through Overton, Nevada, yesterday, we came to an area called Redstone. We really could see why it was called Redstone. Many rock formations were just plopped everywhere. I bet some of the out of space films have been filmed in this area. We would drive around a mound and another one would crop up.

In places there were red layers in the moutains. It is just so interesting to see the different places. One area had red on the hill and then at the base it had a tourquoise color. (I didn't get that shot, darn.)

(Internet seems to be working a little better tonight, I'll see how many more pictures I can post.)

This one shows the difference in the colors in the mountain. (Now, I am not sure if I should call this a mountain or not! They are big, but they are (or look like) just land formations.) Tall, big, towering, but mountains, not sure what they are.) I have to say that they are beautiful, whatever they are.

This rock formation was also red. Looks like the wind and the rain may have whittled the earth right away from the sides of this one. Lots of these this are everywhere. Many of this type of formation was seen when we where in the Badlands in South Dakota.

The road looks sloped, because we were climbing up. This was a newly paved section of the road. Thank goodness, the first 10 miles were just terrible. Don't know if you can see the cement portion on this picture. (The part of the road that is lighter), well we figured this is a spillway for the water. They didn't seem to put in culverts, but instead made dips in the road and it looked like the water would go right over the road. In a few of the places there were foot markers placed on either side so those driving on the road would be able to see how deep the water was.

At the time that we went through, ALL of the spillways, creeks, streams, rivers, etc. were dry as a bone. As we were told, this area is in a seven year drought.

OK, these are now random pictures, this was taken at the Beartooth Pass in Wyoming going into Yellowstone Park. Just wanted to show you the depth, and the height of this and we were at the top looking down.

If you look real close you will see the little tiny white lines in the notch...that is the road. I have other pictures that show the switchbacks all the way up the mountain. Murtle did not like this one little bit. Taco, just kept telling her she was a chicken not a turtle.

Here is just one of the MANY Casinos that we saw as we crossed the Nevada State Line. (Not that there weren't Casinos in South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah, but...this one was right after the State Line.

I thought it was great with the palm trees. Why did I think that Palm trees only grew in the tropics???? I knew they were in California, I knew they were in Jamaica, but Nevada??

Tomorrow maybe we will find out what the inside of a Casino looks like. We are going to Las Vegas! Send us luck!

A new business for Brad

This is what Brad thinks would be a great business! He won't even have to change the name. Murtle and Taco think he's crazy, but they wanted their picture taken with him.

We didn't go in. Brad thought he would just start barking orders, (or eating the profits) so we didn't go in.

This was in Cedar Rapids, where the Southern Utah University is.

Zion Canyon

Here is Brad at the top of the Canyon! Yes, he is the one who talked me into going on a HIKE! The temperature was only in the 90's that day. Murtle and Taco decided not to go with us. Remember Murtle is afraid of heights, and Taco's attitude is the same as Brad's, "if you can't burn fuel to get there, don't go."

This was beautiful. See all the switchbacks? This was a climb with the truck. On the back side of the rock formation is the mile long tunnel that we took the truck through. (See Brad hanging on? He hates heights, too.)

Hey, Christi, this one is for you. Here is the unusual sign. How can it be both?

Sorry can't do pictures again

I have been trying for the last half hour to get picture to upload. Just can't do it. I will have to see if I can log on to a faster internet service.

I would love to have you see all the pictures that we took (ok, maybe not all of them, but specific ones would be good.

In the next few days we will be going to Las Vegas. I know you will want to see all the lights of the "Strip". That is why we are going, NOT for the gambling, but ok, maybe a quarter or two...

Hot, Hot, Hot

Monday, July 23, 2007

Before we left the Campground in Cedar Rapids, Utah, we had to go get a picture of Brad’s new business! (Ha,ha) Murtle and Taco like the idea of a business, but not in Cedar Rapids! It is a growing area! Lots of opportunities, a university is right there, but no, not the spot for us.

On our trip today, we drove south on Route 15. We went through Arizona, (for about 31 miles) it was the very northwest tip of Arizona. We crossed right into Nevada. What people say about the differing terrain is so true. Nevada was different. Lots of Red rocks, hills, mountains (out of nowhere) and dessert. I just can’t believe how dry it is here. I have been drinking gallons of water. My skin is so dry. No oils stay in/on me at all.

Once we were in Nevada, we veered off Route 15 onto Route 169 and took the back way into Boulder City, Nevada. We went right by Mead Lake (the lake that Hoover Dam holds back). (We had stopped just as we crossed into Nevada at a visitor center and asked if that route would be advisable for a camper.) They told us, “ Yes, it was. And, oh by the way…the speed limit through Overton is 25, this is your last warning.” Needless to say, we paid attention and watched our speed through Overton. Most of the roads here have a speed limit of 75! (I am still amazed at that.) But the roads are straight and you can see forever. The only thing would be the wildlife, that might get in the way.

At the beginning of the trip, we were doing a deer count. Then we started seeing too many to keep count, then we saw, buffalo, then prairie dogs, now we have only seen dead animals. I think it is just to HOT for any wildlife to exist.

Again, we saw lots of land formations. BEAUTIFUL, AWSOME, and so unique! We took lots more pictures and will try to post some more with this writing. BUT…the internet connection is very slow here at the campground.

Murtle and Taco decided that it is too hot here. They didn’t even want to get out of the truck for pictures. I think the hottest that it got today was 101. I don’t care what anyone says about the air is low humidity so 101 doesn’t feel as hot as it does at 80 in New England. Don’t believe them! 101 is extremely HOT! The air conditioned truck is a good place to be, an air conditioned store is a good place to be, and the air conditioned camper is a good place to be. Anywhere else is just too HOT.

Oh, when we stopped at the visitor center, we were also told that this area is in a 7 year drought. The water level at the Hoover Dam is dropping 1 foot a day right now. Hard to believe that the monsoon season has just started. We were also warned about the rain (if it does happen to rain). If and when it does it will dump inches of rain at a time. When that happens, GO TO HIGHER GROUND! The water does not get absorbed into the ground, it just runs off. (Las Vegas just had a storm and water was running through the streets.)

We were also warned about the snakes, and spiders. Told us not to put our feet anyplace that we can’t see the ground. I guess that means that we watch every step that we take. I thought that the rattle snake was the big one to be aware of, but there is another snake that is worse in this area.

We started seeing cacti today for the first time. They were all out away from the road so 1) I didn’t want to get off the beaten path to take a picture, and 2) it was just too hot to be that far away from the truck. I noticed that there are some cactus just at the entrance to the campground. Early in the morning Murtle wants to have her picture taken with one. I told her that she can’t pose on one, because they are picky, but she is determined that she wants to climb right up there. (Taco knows about cactus, maybe he can talk some sense into Murtle.)
We decided that we would eat out tonight. Again, just too hot to cook outside. Taco Bell tonight! (Taco talked us into it.) Not too many large restaurants here in Boulder City, but 12 miles away in Las Vegas there are plenty.

We heard on the news that on Route 15 (just after we arrived here) there was a large traffic jam. Yippee, we made the right choice to take the back road here. We would not have seen the sights that we did. Oh, did I mention that we got a picture of the lake (or what is left of it). You can actually see the water level marks on the shore. I looks like it is down about 50 to 100 feet! No kidding! When we visit the Hoover Dam tomorrow, we will get a better idea exactly how much it is down.

We were told that the marina was closed. When we drove by, we could see where the boats were “docked” and where the water level was, and it was a long, long way away. Some of the picnic areas (along the water) were so funny. The Picnic tables were WAY up on shore and the beach was about a quarter of a mile beyond. So far away that people were taking their cars down to the beach.

Again, the Beartooth Pass

(Brad is so good, I was having trouble uploading pictures and he suggested I try it a different way. Seems to be working, so far...)

This is looking down on the switchbacks that we came up. Can you see the roads? We are about at the top. It was awesome! Murtle and Taco shivered and shook. Brad kept his eyes on the road and did not look down, or over.

Wonderful trip! Sure glad we had the brakes repaired before we started this part of our journey.

Top of Bear Tooth Pass Wyoming

This was at the top of the Beartooh Pass in Wyoming. We took the truck and camper up this mountain. See the road below? There were plenty of switchbacks to get here.

Sunday, July 2, 2007

Yesterday we did go to Zion National Park. It was just beautiful. The temperature was not as hot as it had been. Still in the high 80’s. We didn’t get going until after lunch. We took the highway there, because we were told that the scenic road had been closed the day before. It was a nice trip there. It was only about 40 miles away.

The views were wonderful. There is a lot of red in the rocks here. Rolling “bigger hills” then MOUNTAINS! Yes, these are mountains. Where we are staying in Cedar City, Utah is on the flat side, but our tip to Zion took us up over a pass that was 9,950 feet.

When we got to Zion we stopped at the gate and the ranger suggested that we park the truck and take a shuttle. (We were not allowed to drive up into the Canyon.) So, we parked our truck and took the shuttle. What an amazing ride. I just could not take pictures very well, because I was too close to the mountains. They were wonderful. How amazing it is to have Mother Nature present such wonderful, magnificent rock formations. As we were riding in the shuttle, the roof had skylights, and at times we were looking straight up and still could not see the top of the “mountains”. I tried to take some pictures as we were riding along, but it didn’t work very well.
(I really wish the internet here at this KOA would work better. I keep trying to upload pictures, but after about 5 minutes of uploading, I get kicked off. One of these days, I will just upload a bunch of pictures.)

Before we entered the park, we found some land for sale. We took a picture of the sign and the area. Just outside of Zion National Park. (A growing area!) Brad would like to move right in, but I have my doubts.

We did find a job for Brad. We don’t even have to change the sign. Brad’s Food Hut! It’s for sale and I bet we could open the doors right up. Might take a little work, but here in Cedar City, the Southern Utah University resides, and I bet we could cater to the college crowd.

We went through the town of Virgin, Utah. They had a Virgin Jail, a Virgin Trading Post, and the neatest thing that we saw was the Virgin Used Book Store. (Christi, this is one for your collection of unusual signs!) The Virgin River runs from Zion Park.

While we were in the Zion Park, we saw the Virgin (rock formation that has a story to go along with it, and the sacrificial alter rock). So I guess the town is rightly named.

After we left the park, we decided to take the scenic route, (and if the road was closed, we would just have to turn around and go back). But the road was not closed, and we could get through. What a great trip. Part of the road was still in the park and if your vehicle was too big (like a bus or a huge camper) you needed to pay a fee to go on the road. At first we couldn’t figure out why they called it an escort fee. (Thought maybe this was some kind of special service.) But when we got to the tunnel (which was a mile long) we figured it out. The tunnel was a two way tunnel, but anything larger, such as a bus or huge camper, had to be escorted through the tunnel, and all the other cars had to wait until it got through.

Before we got to the tunnel we noticed an archway right in the side of the mountain. “What the heck happened? Did they whoops when they were trying to find a passage way through the rock?” Soon to discover (plaques are great, and they are placed all over at the viewing spots) that there were a few of these “arches to nowhere” which were used to get rid of the excess rock and debris, and also used as vents for the tunnel. (As we drove through this unlit tunnel, I tried to take a picture, on Brad’s side of the truck, through his driver’s window, but I only got a great profile of his face!) It was way to dark in the tunnel for any picture to come out.
Once through the tunnel, we stopped at the other side, and Brad (yes, Brad was the one, that wanted to) take a walk UP to the Canyon lookout). The temperature was only 88 at the time, (much better than it had been) so we started our HIKE! Up, Up, UPPPPP we went. Murtle and Taco stayed in the truck. (Hiking is not their thing.)

When we got to the lookout, it was just splendid! We could look over the canyon where we climbed up with the truck. We couldn’t see the beginning or end of the tunnel, only the “arch to nowhere”. We could see all the switchbacks that it took for our truck to get to the top. (Now we were looking DOWN at where the trucks and cars were, so you can tell that we HIKED up quite a ways.) The hike was really well worth it. Again, pictures just do not do it justice.

I have to mention the construction and growth in this area. On one side of Zion National Park, there were resorts, camping areas, hotels, lodging, Bed and Breakfasts, new homes, etc. Then on the other side of the park, no new homes, no open resorts, no camping available (sort of like a ghost area, and these places had been closed for quite a while).

As we continued on our scenic route, we smelled, and saw smoke from the wild fires. Some places received rain in the afternoon, but of course it only sprinkled on us. (It doesn’t rain on a Presby parade! …much). The trip that we made to Zion National Park, was a loop, and it was within this loop where the fires were burning. We went up to Cedar Creek (which was way up on a mountain top) and we saw where the fire crews had a command center. Trucks, rangers, heavy equipment and much more. We tuned into the local radio station and got the news on what areas were closed to the public.

Again, on this trip, we were at an elevation of around 10,000 feet. I didn’t notice much difference in the air, or breathing as long as I wasn’t exerting myself. After walking about 10 steps, you wonder if your lungs are failing or if OLD AGE really did sneak up on you to fast. Everything had to be done in slow motion. Brad stopped to take a picture of a huge white tail deer and walked about 50 feet to get a better shot. When he returned to the truck, (huffing and puffing) he said that he thought he was out of shape, but I believe that the elevation was around 9,500 at that time.

We were so fortunate to see the one thing that we missed in Yellowstone. We saw a long horn sheep, standing in a silhouette high atop a rock formation. Brad did some tricky driving, pulled over on the opposite side of the road, I jumped out of the truck with camera loaded, pulled up and got some wonderful shots of it. Of course my camera is just a baby bed bug and does not have a gigantic zoom lens, but I got some great pictures of it anyway.

We found some interesting rocks along the way. We thought at first that maybe while the road was being made, the crew had dumped black rocks into the woods and beside the road. But there was way to much of it for that. We tried to find a place to pull over and take a picture of it, but of course we had a native that wanted to get home, and we were in the way. When we did find a place, lo and behold there was a plaque explaining that the rock came from a lava flow billions of years ago! (Hmmm, we didn’t pick any up and bring back with us, I wonder if the same tale is true here inland as it is in Hawaii where Pele, the god, gets upset if you remove lava from Hawaii???)

We did find ATV heaven! At Cedar Creek, US Forest Land, there were ATV’s all over the place. (Actually on the radio, remember the station that I mentioned? They said that some of the trails were closed to ATV’s because of the fires.) Some of the riders were covered in mud. Some place it rained on this mountain and things were wet. We came across come mountain bikers also, and they were covered in mud from head to toe.

Down the other side of the mountain, the Creek was brown, and had a lot of swift water in it. (Most of the creeks, in other areas, were dry as a bone. Oh, at the top when we stopped to read the plaque about the lava, the temperature was 57 degrees. Brad thought it was cold, but I actually enjoyed the coolness. (It is just way too hot out here for me. I know what people say about it being dry and a different kind of heat, but in the humidity, my body is often cold, but here, I am just HOT and unbearable.)

We extended out stay here at the KOA for another night. We thought that we would go to Bryce Canyon tomorrow, but the weather is not promising. We opted to stay around the campground. We did some shopping, and sight seeing here in Cedar City. We saw the Southern Utah University, the industrial area (lots of big companies), the new housing developments. (Thad, you should see it here! You would need to hire extra crews just to keep up!) Big houses, too. We drove into a new development and picked up a flyer for a new home under construction. 3 bedroom, 2 bath, lots of room, for a mere $399,999.99! Beautiful view, you can see for miles.

The area has grown so much in the past few years, Wal-Mart changed into a super center, Home Depot, fast food chains, etc. that NUVI didn’t even have the new roads on the map. We were driving in never-never land. She kept telling us to make a U turn, make a U turn, and we were on a four lane road. (Nici, you would have laughed at her. She sounded angry with us!)

As we were driving around today, it did rain, and it rained hard for a short period of time. Hopefully it was hard and long enough (and in the right places) to help with the fires that continue to burn out here. This was the first real rain that we had fall on us since we left the 28th of June! Not to bad for the Presby Parade!

Tomorrow I think we head for Boulder City, Nevada. It is located just outside of Las Vegas (no, we don’t want to gamble, we want to walk the strip! CSI fans that we are, maybe we can find a film crew!) Hoover Dam is also very near to Boulder City. It will be up in the air where we go from there. Maybe California, maybe the Grand Canyon. We aren’t sure yet.

So until next time, Murtle and Taco are having a ball. Will post pictures when I can. (Oh, if we do put a quarter in the slot machine in Vegas, and win… you might not see us for quite some time. We are having the time of our lives. But if you do see us with a brand new camper, you will know that we won!)

Sorry no pictures, will send later.

Saturday, July 21, 2007


Today is a catch up day. We are planning on going to Zion National Park or Bryce National Park today. This is the first day that the sun has not shone! (Oh, it pops out once in a while, but is mostly overcast!) We will have breakfast soon and get started, but for now, I type. (Can’t keep all of you in suspense!) I did get some terrific pictures that need to be shared.


We did go by some of the wild fires. Some were still burning. I would say that we were within about 3 miles of a burning one. We drove right by a place that had to have burned just yesterday. What devastation it causes. We saw places where they would take a bull dozer and just plow over the (scrawny trees) to make a brake so the rest wouldn’t burn. It is interesting where the fields had been irrigated, it did not burn, but all around it was charred. We saw some tractors just out in the field making dust clouds. He must have been going just as fast as he could digging up the ground. Then about 5 miles down the road we saw the smoke. All of the fields that had irrigation had them going at that time. Must be pretty scary to know that the fire is coming your way. We did not see many homes that looked like they would be affected by the fire, but I am sure there were plenty.


The day before we came through that section, they had closed the road. We just saw the smoke off in the distance, and were not bothered by it at all. (One rest area got burned along the highway, and of course we needed to stop!)


More later.


Friday, July 20, 2007


We took off from the campground a tad later than usual. (Around 11:00) We had been getting started much earlier, but today, we chatted with our neighbors for a while. They had some good ideas on which way to get through Salt Lake City. We decided (for now) that we are going to head for Las Vegas. (Maybe we’ll see a filming of CSI…but I really doubt it. The temperature in Vegas is around 120 degrees! That sounds a bit hot for me. But we will see.)


We talked about campgrounds again, and which ones to stay at and where. Our neighbor told us to stay in Beaver at the KOA, but when we called, they were booked. We tried a few others in that area, but it was a no stay. So we looked a little further south and found one in Cedar City. So that is where we headed.


Let me see if I can remember the route. We started on I-80 through the rest of Wyoming, then 80 until we got to Route 40 in Utah. Made our way to I-15, then into Cedar City.


What a spectacular drive. We went through a canyon! What a sight, again, pictures just do not do it justice. We went through some great tunnels. Now, the tunnels were blasted through solid rock. In one place there were three tunnels, one right after the other. The train tracks beside the road, had its own tunnel! Amazing what had to happen to get the road through.


The other day, we stopped at the Buffalo Bill Dam, and took a tour of it. The dam was built to use the water as irrigation! It was built in 1907, then renovated in 1984. But what they accomplished in 1907 was unbelievable. (There were copies of letters that were written from family members to the “engineer” of the project. The letters were written by children and very interesting to read!)


Well, (Reta) we will be back, but we found the most ideal place to move to! We had to call Kathy as we were going through and let her know that we found the spot. It is in Utah, just outside of Salt Lake City! What a gorgeous place. Not to far from Brigham Young University. The mountains (green, which we hadn’t seen), lawns, agriculture, not too busy, not too big (well, bigger than Bethlehem). It just felt like home.


We had seen some pretty depressed areas, stores closed, abandoned places, run down areas, but we have also seen plenty of growth! Gainsville/Warrenton, Virginia, Billings, Montana, Orem, Utah, all are growing places. Some of the growth in the South Dakota area and the Billings, Montana area were modest homes being built, some businesses, but modest. Now, in the other areas, Virginia, and Utah, there are McMansions being built! Huge homes, on the sides of mountains! Our home would fit 5 times into some of these homes! The amazing part is that there aren’t any trees around, just dirt. At least here in Utah, there is greenery!


We are in a city called Cedar City, Utah. The Main Street has to be about five miles long. Any kind of fast food that you want, any kind of shopping that you can imagine (boy, and have we seen some interesting places). Our campground in on Main Street! By far the most expensive place we have stayed, but still not too bad.


Today’s driving was more than usual, we did not arrive until almost 7:30 (our time, 9:30 your time). So we went out for Pizza. (Again, NUVI works wonders! We needed gas desperately, so I punched in fuel. NUVI started us out on our mission. We made a right turn, then she told us to make a left. We did! Brad started to doubt her…then, lo and behold we came to a pump! It was a card only, open 24 hours a day and discounted! Yea, NUVI!)


We discovered why we were having a hard time finding a place to stay around the area. Appears that Monday is a holiday out here. It is the anniversary of the Mormons making the jaunt to the west and settling in this area. (And, Kayty and Nici, there was a youth Rodeo in Lyman, and we though of you!)


Thursday, July 19, 2007


We left Thermopolis and headed south on Route 20, to 789, then US 287 on to WY 28,then US 191. From there onto I-80 West. We found a KOA campground in Lyman. (Yes, Lyman! Wyoming, that is.)


We went past lots of dry barren country (again). It is so dry out this way. When we did come across some green, it was because they had irrigated. The irrigation systems that they have here are unbelievable! Way up high on a hill, they must have pumping systems. There are irrigation ditches everywhere. Not sure just where the water comes from. We are (and have been) at an elevation of about 5,000 feet. But the mountains are even higher.


It is true about what they say that, “ You will see flat ground right up to the base of the mountains!” Hard to believe, but true. Oh, there are some rolling hills, (no trees!) just rolling hills covered with sage brush. Then all of a sudden you will see a field of green, out of nowhere, with an irrigation system next to it.


We went through some more mountain passes. The scenes are just wonderful. I tried to grab lots of pictures, and will share all with those who would like to see them when we get back.
This was the first time that we had a somewhat difficult time finding a place to camp. Cell service was sparse, and campgrounds far and few between. The first three that I called were booked. The KOA in Lyman had only water and electricity so we grabbed it. Small campground. We thought we would take in the sights around the town. We needed some eggs and a few other things, but no luck here. There was a big beautiful school and a very nice new town office, but no convenience store, no grocery store, one gas station, etc. (We felt right at home!)

Lots to see

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

We headed for Cody, WY. We needed some supplies so we took a side trip to Wal-Mart. We toured Cody for a bit, then headed south to Thermopolis. On the stretch of road from Cody to Thermopolis there wasn’t anything. I mean there wasn’t a home, a store, an animal, nothing!

There must have been about 40 miles of that. (Glad we filled up with gas earlier.) We called ahead for a campsite at the Country Campin’ Campground. Nice place, (they have internet service), and are also part of the Passport America. We took lots of pictures of “the countryside”. It was very interesting. It looked so dry and barren. I can understand why there wasn’t anything around.

Murtle, Taco and I will take a walk tomorrow for photo opportunities. Tonight Brad and I went to the Hot Springs in Thermopolis. It was very interesting. It smelled just like sulfur. The pictures that I took will not do it justice.

While at the Hot springs, we met a young couple that were a joy to chat with. They were traveling from Virginia just like we are. They had gone to the Badlands, Custer State Park, and were on their way to Yellowstone. We told them of our experience in Yellowstone. We told them where we were staying and they were looking for a place to camp. They did come to the campground, but wanted our contact information for the future. What a nice couple.

Murtle and Taco are ready for more adventures, so I guess we will have to find some place to head tomorrow. We are off tomorrow for parts unknown. (Haven’t decided which direction we are going in.)

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

This morning we packed up the camper and got ready to go. Sad to have to say good bye, but ready to head out. We decided to go through the Beartooth Pass into Yellowstone National Park. We were only about 110 miles from Yellowstone, so we thought we would have lots of time.

We headed west on 212 and took that right through to Yellowstone. Once we got to the Beartooth Pass, we started to climb up the Rockies. I mean CLIMB. The road was up, up, up. Brad hates heights, and without many guardrails, it was a hair raising experience. The views were awesome!! I must have taken at least 200 pictures just up the pass. There were switch backs, after switch backs. At times we (I) could see five rows of road below us. Just amazing.
We climbed, and climbed, and climbed to an elevation of 11,000 feet. The air was thin. I can’t believe that they would plow this road in the winter, but they do. At the top, we found a ski lift. There was also snow at the top in places. Murtle and Taco sat in the snow. Brad tried to start a snowball fight, but there weren’t any takers.

Then we started DOWN! I think I liked going up much better. Oh, the views were just as spectacular but not quite as scary going up. There were lakes at the top. We could see for miles, and miles. On the other side of the pass, we were in Yellowstone National Park.

Once in the park, we kept driving past some wonderful sights. Still up and down. We drove for about 50 miles in the park and saw geysers, and wild animals. The further we drove, the more people we saw. The traffic was outrageous. At one time we waited for an hour in a traffic jam. We found a pull off and decided to barbeque our dinner. (We had something simple…hot dogs!) I think we could have made a mint if we wanted to sell them to the parked cars waiting to get through.

Once we got moving again, we started looking for a campsite. All the campsites were full. We did find a gas station in the park, so we filled up. (Didn’t know when we would have the opportunity to fill up again!) We decided to drive out of the park and find a campground, so out the West Entrance. It was only 27 miles out of the park, but there was 7 miles of construction and it was all DOWNHILL. We had to wait for another hour just to get out of the park.

Just outside of the park is the Shoshone National Forest. Thank goodness they had campgrounds. We had to dry camp, but we were prepared. Another good thing was that the temperature was around 70 (this was the first time that we would not have to use the air conditioner). Some of the sites had electricity, but they were all taken when we got there around 8:30PM. (It was a long day of driving.) When I told Brad that if we drove for about 1 ½ hours more we could be back at Rod & Penny’s, he just about flipped!

This is grizzley country! They have cute containers for your food. Murtle thought that maybe she should sleep in one of them for the night, but I convinced her that she would be safe with us in the camper.

Needless to say, we did have a wonderful time. The views were terrific, and we did see many geysers, but we did decide to NOT go back into Yellowstone at this time.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Well, you will never believe where we went for dinner last night! Penny and Rod took us to Red Lodge, Montana and we attended the Pig Races. What a great place! We had a ball. Murtle went too. Penny said she would have a great time, and she did.

Now, I have to introduce you to a new addition to our journey. Nici won a pair of steers at the Rodeo that we went to. She said that she only needed one, so she gave “Taco” to us to travel with Murtle. So now we have Taco (the steer with an attitude). You will see both of them from now on in our pictures.

Taco came to the Pig Races also. The way the pig races worked were, you place bets, you fill your name in on a square, the roll of the dice determines the boxes, if you win you get half the money, the other half goes to a scholarship fund. (So far $73,000 have been awarded to local students!) What a fun thing. Those little pigs run around the track for weeds (not Oreo’s like other pigs race for).

There were two other couples that came for fun and entertainment. What a blast! Murtle won one of the bets. The pigs ran fast, the drinks went down smooth. We just had so much fun.

We decided that we should have our brakes checked on the truck before we went through Beartooth Pass in the Rockies. So today, we made an appointment in Billings, MT to have them fixed. Thank goodness we did because the truck did need new rotors and pads. While our truck was in the shop, Penny let us use her vehicle to get around in. We took Nici with us, she was in charge of NUVI (so we would not get lost) and we went to the Olive Garden for lunch, then Baskin and Robbin’s for dessert, then we found the garage again, and then got back to Penny and Rod’s office in Laurel.

Our truck is fixed and ready to head for the mountains. We are looking forward to continuing our journey. We have had a wonderful time here in Montana. What wonderful country, beautiful sights, outstanding people! It will be sad to leave, but we are anxious to continue. (I am sure we will be back for another visit.)

Tonight Uncle Lynn was back from Idaho. He bought a shirt for Brad, and gave Brad a cowboy hat. He kept asking Brad if he had been to the boot store to get his boots yet, but I told him that we had to buy new breaks for the truck and Brad had to wait for boots.

We did get a picture of the “Three Amigos”. All decked out in their new duds. Ride m’ Cowboy! (Do you see Brad’s feet? No, because he was in his white socks!!!)

We took our good bye pictures and said our good byes, gave hugs, and said we would be back. We will be leaving in the morning for the Beartooth Pass.

Hi Everyone!

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Last night Uncle Lynn flew in with Heather (she was on her way to visit an old friend who had moved to Idaho). We thought that we would surprise Lynn by hiding the truck (with our name on the plate), but when he drove in, saw our camper, he knew exactly who was here. This morning we had a pancake breakfast (with syrup that we brought from NH, which we will leave for Penny!) Lynn continued his trip with Heather.

Murtle went out with the girls this morning for a ride. She loved it. She is used to crawling on the ground, but being so high up on a horse was quite a treat.

It has been a day of rest and relaxation so far today. It’s hot again. (I am sitting on the porch outside in the shade and starting to sweat, so I am going in soon.) We have dinner reservations again for tonight, but not until late, so it’s nap time for Rod and Brad!) (Too hot to do much.)

The girls went out riding this morning before it got too hot. If the temperature were 20 degrees cooler, this place would be perfect!

I have already had lots of liquids to drink, but still feel as though I should go drink a gallon of water. I just can’t believe how hot and dry this area is. Penny was saying that last year in August, there was a wild fire just across the road from them. (There is a ridge with some trees on it that burned.) The fires just burn hot and fast round here. I don’t think I want to experience any of them.

The forecast for the next 10 days is for temperatures over 100 each day. I think Glacier National Park sounds like a cooler place to head.

I think we will head south on Tuesday. Our next portion of this journey will take us into the Rockies. Before we left NH we had the truck all gone through for safety reasons. Brad was concerned about the brakes and asked to have them checked. The mechanic assured us that the brakes were fine and would make the trip without a problem, but …we have experienced shaking and just to be on the safe side will have them checked at a garage here before we start through the Rockies.

Tonight we are going out as I stated earlier. Penny wants Murtle to come. Said this will be something that Murtle will not want to miss. I can’t imagine what it might be.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

What a fabulous day! We woke up with the sun, and headed out of the camper to the barn, where Rod was working with the horses. Chores! Many of them, when you have 10 horses, two dogs, two cats (oh, and five kittens), and a goat! (I wondered why they had a goat, but I’ll explain later.)

We had breakfast, then packed for a day at the rodeo. What do you take to a Rodeo? Well, on a day that you hear the temperature is going to be close to 100, you pack lots of water, sunscreen, a hat, etc. It started at noon, but we needed to be there earlier. (You just can’t unload a horse and be ready!) There is a lot to do. We got there about 10:30 and the generator to the horse trailer was all set and ready. (Now, the horse trailer isn’t an ordinary trailer! It was a fifth wheel with a camper living quarters then stalls for four horses!) The horse trailer dwarfed our little Coleman Caravan!) The air conditioner was for the girls to get cooled off between events.

There were some wonderful people (who frequent the Rodeo circuit) that had set up shade tents, packed coolers with water, food, snacks, etc. for the close knit family of Rodeo spectators. I must admit that I was thrilled to be welcomed into their “family” of spectators, because the shade and drinks were a necessity to make it through the heat. (I don’t think I ever drank that much water in one day in my life before!) Just sitting there I sweat like a pig.

Well, on to the Rodeo! What a great treat! The horses are full size horses, not ponies, not short horses, FULL size. Now Kayty and Nici are 10 and 12. Under 5 feet and can’t weigh more than 55 pounds soaking wet. (Some of the other girls in the Rodeo were even smaller!) But to watch those little girls, mount those horses and go through the “barrels”, the “poles” , “rope a calf” and “capture a goat” was just remarkable. Remember: the temperature was near 100 if not over! They did such a great job.

I had never been, and I did not know what to expect. I took lots of pictures! What a sport. They do this all the time. Rodeo is a way of life out here. Spare time is used by riding, roping, tying, all the things that they do to perfect their skills at the rodeo. No mall shopping for these kids! That is the last thing that they want to do.

There are boy events and girl events. The girls don’t ride steer, and the boys don’t do the poles. One little boy rode a steer for the first time. He wasn’t on it very long and actually did get stepped on. He took a minute to get up, but he was fine. He couldn’t wait to try it again at the next Rodeo.

The girls came home with lots of prizes for the day. Belt buckles, statues, and money. A great day for both of them. (They both already have many other prizes displayed in a wonderful case!) I am sure that in the years to come they will acquire many, many more prizes.

Just as the Rodeo was coming to an end, the a thunderstorm came up and the sky got very dark. Then the hail started, the size of peas. It had been 100 degrees and all of a sudden the ground was covered with white hail! What a site. The temperature dropped about 20 degrees while it was hailing, then in the course of about 6.5 minutes the hail to melted, then the sun came back out and the temperature went back up 20 degrees.

We headed back to Penny’s for a shower, then out to eat. We went to Red Lodge and had dinner at a wonderful steakhouse. Both Brad and I love a great steak, and we definitely had a great one. We will have to come back to visit just to go back there again. (Oh, can’t go out to eat and not have dessert, so Brad and I shared a Mud “Cow” Pie. I know, I said I was going to lose weight, but I had to have sweat off 10 pounds so dessert was well worth the calories!)



Friday, July 13, 2007

Today we left the campsite in Buffalo, WY. Before we left Murtle and I went for a walk around the campsite. What adventures we had! Murtle had her picture taken with an Indian, she had a cowboy had on, and she posed with a rattle snake. She was shaking in her shell. The snake was stuffed, but Murtle was still hesitant about being next to it. After the photo opportunities, we headed toward Billings, Montana.

We called Penny in the AM and let her know that we would be in her area around 3:00PM. She gave us directions to get to her home. We had no idea where she lived. On the ride up Route 90, we were commenting on the open spaces on one side and the mountains on the other. We wondered what it would be like to live in such an area as that. Neighbors must be miles apart, if you needed to borrow a cup of sugar from a neighbor it would take you an hour for the round trip, etc.

We drove through Billings, MT (a fairly large city), then through Laurel, MT (another larger place, a Wal-Mart was being built!) There were train depots, processing plants, larger companies, etc. As we headed toward Joliet, on Route 212, we noticed that we were moving out of the populated area back into the sparse, rounded hilly area that you can see for miles in with neighbors spread out far and few between. As we made the turn off Route 212 (4 Miles from our destination) we discovered that her house must be one of the few on a hill, just like the directions said, “our driveway is about a quarter of a mile long”.

We made the turn onto Kaynic (finally figured out that it stands for Kayty and Nicole - Kaynic!) Penny’s home is a beautiful new home sitting up on top of a knoll in the middle of beautiful country. As we drove up the drive (probably more than a quarter of a mile) we saw horses in the fields. Lots of horses! Just as we drove in, Kathy called wondering where we were. (Kathy, it is beautiful! Dry, hot, hot, hot, but extremely beautiful.)

We were reintroduced to the girls, (hadn’t seen them in about five years). Had a tour of their home, (it is right out of a House Beautiful magazine! No kidding, just beautiful!) Their view is splendid! Hills, rolling, hills as far as the eye can see, then mountains! Big majestic mountains (with snow still on them)!

The girls are horseback riders and they participate in Rodeos. What a thrill when we learned that they had a Rodeo to attend on Saturday! That was something that Brad and I had never been to, so we were all excited.

We set up our camper on their back driveway, made ourselves at home, had a wonderful barbeque dinner and got geared up for the Rodeo tomorrow. Murtle will probably have to miss the Rodeo, it is supposed to be extremely warm (high 90’s) so she will stay at the camper in the air-conditioning.

In Wyoming now

This morning Murtle wanted to go to the pool. It has been hot and dry here for quite some time. We didn't take her to the hot tub last night and this morning she wanted to take a dip. She knew that we had a long hot ride, so we came to the pool. (Our camper and truck is just the to the left of the hot tub!) Nice campground! NO Trees! But that is typical for this part of the country.

I just noticed, the date is off on the pictures! This was taken on the 12th. This morning! Oh, well, just don't look at the picture dates. I'll fix that later. (Oh, Brad wants you to know that if you double click on the pictures, they get larger!) He is getting so good at the computer. Sometimes this wireless thing frustrates me, but he just works through it and makes it work.

The colors on this drive were just spectacular! We took Route 79 North to Route 90 in Rapid City, South Dakota, then Route 90 all the way to the Indian Campground in Buffalo, Wyoming. I thought that Virginia had a lot of red in the soil, but the red is in the soil out in Wyoming also. It appears different, this is more like small stones instead of clay like in Virginia. I guess you can't really see the color in this picture, but it is definitely RED!

Along the way, we saw some very interesting things. This Tee Pee was just along the side of the road. No place to stop on the highway, so I chanced it and took a shot out the window. Lo and behold, I got a good shot. We were getting close to the Indian Reservation. There were houses next to the Tee Pee, so I am not sure just what this was, but it looked like an authentic Tee Pee.

The further West we went, we started seeing Mountains. Now, that is something that we hadn't seen since we left West Virginia. These mountains cropped up out of nowhere! The terrain had been relatively flat (or, should I say rolling) for the past 600 miles. But all of a sudden, POW, Mountains! If you look really close, there is SNOW on the tops of the Mountains. I would say, that if these are not the Rockies, we are pretty darn close. Yellowstone National Park is only about 300 miles away.

We decided that our Route will take us right past Billings Montana, so we will make a stop to see Penny and Rod Korte (Brad's cousin). When we spoke with Penny this afternoon, she said that her girls will be in a Rodeo on Saturday and we were welcome to come. I think that would be terrific to see a Real Live Rodeo! Not one of those staged ones.

Murtle really wants to see a Rodeo, too! Maybe she will even take a ride. Make sure you look for her in a saddle!

Just pictures

These pictures go with the previous post. This is the bison that we saw paw the ground then roll around in the dirt.




The one below is the one that walked just behind the truck. These animals are HUGE. I don't think this picture does it justice. Murtle shivered when he walked by.




This is a picture of the fires burning in Hot Springs about 39 miles from our campground. We can't see the smoke from here, but when we were up in the Black Hills by the tower, we saw it.




This is Mount Rushmore! It is just as spectacular as it looks in the books. Because of the way the sun is, you can't see Roosevelt as well, but he is there. What an interesting place. I took about ten different shots of this all different angles!


This is one of the tunnels that we went through. This bus looks like it is being swallowed by the mountain. You have to see all six pictures that I took to get the gist of this. Pretty amazing. I thought we would be tight going through here, but this bus! The people inside must have ducked and jumped into the middle.

We are having a great time. (I think Brad is just about over his homesickness!)

Murtle is so excited about everything. She is the first one up in the morning, and the first one ready to go.

More later. We are headed to Yellowstone this morning. (Probably will not be there for a few days, no more rush rush to get anywhere.)