Last Blast

Gary and I are home wrapping up our westward travels this Monday after spending a few days with his family. As we were departing the resort, some of the group were off on a bike ride while others were going fishing, swimming and any number of activities. A good time was had by all.

Just a few things to remember, items that are impossible to capture in stills which I will try to articulate as best I can. The little things that will last in my memory are some of the sensory experiences like the sound of the wind as it finds your hiding spot deep in the lodge pole pine forest. It was a new sound for me. The smell as we walked through the forest, crushing needles under foot, releasing the pine scent so often attempted by candles but never quite as subtle. And the sound of geysers exploding or paint pots burping, these are some of the little things I take away from this trip that will hopefully last a lifetime.

It is nice to be home, but a little sad to put the RV away until the next trip. Door County? The UP? We'll see.

Lake Belle Taine

July 10

Today finds us in our home state of Minnesota at lake Belle Taine between Park Rapids and Nevis. We arrived a day ahead of Gary’s sister Linda and brother Don and look forward to a day or two with them and their children that might also show up. Don invited us to stop by a few weeks back and as we were in the area we thought, why not, we are retired! The resort has one space just for vagabonds such as us and the rest of the family will be in cabins.
Belle Shores is a beautiful little resort that Linda's clan have been going to for years. Even after a few short hours, I can see why. The hosts are very polite and helpful. The resort is clean and well attended with all of the amenities you want to entertain a family with children. And yet, it’s small and unpretentious. I’ve already spotted the Purple Martins near the beach, a family of Loons just off shore, hummingbirds stormed me as I sat on the porch checking my e-mail and as we took a short walked, a deer ran alongside the road. Tomorrow I will snap some shots of everyone and post the images for all to enjoy.

On our way home

Well we are on our way home and seeing the northern most Dakota. Before we go, we took one last trip through Yellowstone. We compiled a great list of wildlife sightings, adding a beautiful little gold fox to the list, but no wolves. The hot springs were a wonderful supprise and the campground found us waking to elk walking past our rig.

As we travel through ND we missed nothing. We have seen the worlds largest buffalo, the worlds largest holstein, the worlds largest sand hill crane and tonight we stopped for an Oscar Meyer Weiner in Jamestown. Just a few more days on the road and I can tell you that Tigger has this traveling thing down. as soon as we stop, he takes care of business and hits the cat nap hard.

Grand Tetons

July 4, 2009
July started with a magnificent view of Jackson Hole and the Grand Tetons as we drove out of Yellowstone, breath taking! And the campground at Colter Bay is much nicer than the one in Yellowstone. It is missing the hookups but we are near the restrooms and the rest of the Colter Bay facility is fantastic. I had an opportunity to ride the horses for an hour and we have taken many long hikes. Best of all, the views just across the bay of the mountains.
After resting up the first day, we took the scenic drive down to Jackson. A quite little cowboy town in the shadows of two ski resorts. On the way back we traveled through the Elk Refuge, no sightings but as we turned into the Colter Bay area, we had our first Grizz sighting. One to go and I hope we see a wolf as we pass through Yellowstone heading home. I love this area with the majestic mountains, wildlife, glacier carved prairies and lodge pole pine forests.
Our last night in GT we enjoyed fresh Lake Trout, complements of our neighbors who keep a boat on the lake. We have met many nice people on our first big trip, a sign of good time ahead.

Yellowstone

06/29/09
After a night in the NFS between Coty and the Yellowstone entrance (we had a mother moose and baby in the camp near us) we headed into Yellowstone for 3 nights in the Fishing Bridge RV campground. I must say that the parks in the National Forest Service (NFS) are much nicer than those in Yellowstone and a whole lot cheaper. You can have a fire and your neighbors are not so close. They have showers in Yellowstone but they are $3.25 per person. We used the shower in our RV for the first time and it worked great. Very European with a hand held shower head that can be left in the stand or removed to reach your feet and back. It is small but welcome after a day of hiking the dusty trails.
Our first full day included a trip on the lower loop also known as the geyser basin. We watched Old Faithful blow its top twice and walked the park and lucked out when Beehive also blew, something that usually happens at night. After stops at Fountain pots and Artist Paint pots we had seen enough of the volcanic activities and headed for the Canyon. We hiked down a steep slope with 10 switchbacks to the top of the lower falls. One of two spectacular falls that cut the canyon, the lower falls is higher then Niagra and with recent rains running very fast.
After a daylong tour we headed back to camp with a quick stop to count the Elk and Buffalo herds in the valley near Yellowstone River. The weather was beautiful and I received a burn. The evenings have been cool with traces of snow in the woods. We have had great luck with our wildlife and hope to include Wolf and Bear before we leave the area.
My list of wild life include:
· Moose
· Mule Deer
· Antelope
· Elk
· Buffalo
· Northern Jay
· White Pelican
· Bald Eagle
· Big Horn Sheep
· One unidentified duck
And Tigger has had a wonderful time watching all the Chip monks and Red Squirrels running around the campsites. He is becoming a seasoned traveler with several favorite spots, like the dash, under the skirt of my seat, in the closet and the occasional cat nap under the quilt. OK he cat naps as often as he can.
Today we took a break from the traveling to stay in camp, get some house chores down and ride our bikes. We will drive to the Grand Tetons tomorrow.

Custer State Park

06/26/09
Our trip through Custer State Park was fantastic with wonderful weather and the scenic drive that dreams are made of. The campgrounds are as nice as ours in MN and the cost is often under $20. And unlike my childhood experience, where my mother and I toured the entire park seeing only 1 Bison, we saw several (but not the large herd of 1500) up close and personal. We also spotted several Big Horned Sheep, Antelope, deer and wild turkey. In our campground at Center Lake, we thought the neighboring campers were practicing their turkey calling skills when all along, there was a herd just outside of camp.
We drove most of the day through the Black Hills stopping at Mount Rushmore and on to Deadwood, Spearfish and into Wyoming. We camped the following evening in Sundance and in the morning took a trip to Devils Tower, truly amazing. Had we known that our plans would change and we would hit DT, we would have stayed at the campground at the base of the tower.
Tonight we are staying in the Bighorn National Forest at Sibley Lake camping facility. No water or electric but that is not a problem for us. We talked to a man fishing off a floating pier at the end of the lake and he showed us his days catch. Brookies around 10-12 inches. Yum, wish we had a liscense, the lake is so clear, I’m sure we could take the kayak out and spot the fish. Tomorrow we are on to Cody and Wapiti Campground, another NF facility.