Home, sweet, home!

Dragon's Mouth at the Mud Volcano - hot steam that smells really nasty - rotten eggs anyone?

The Magnuson 4 at Mammoth Hot Springs.

Here we are again on the float trip down the Snake River!

The endless plains of Kansas or Missouri or Illinois!!

Well, we got home last night about 9:15. It was good to drive in, but still sad to see the trip come to an end. It is hard to believe that we were gone a month and it is already time to get back to work! We were certainly blessed with all things good on this trip. We had pristine blue skies for most of the journey, no one got sick or was injured, no traffic issues - except for those bison at Yellowstone - and the truck ran like a charm! It was definitly the trip of a lifetime!! We will treasure these memories forever! Now I have to get going on the scrapbook before all of the little things fly out of my head!! I am going to try and get the kids to contribute their part.

We did not make the stop to see the Lincoln Library. Melissa felt that she was good to go with her Mt. Rushmore adventure. I did forget to mention that we stopped in Cody, WY one night between Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore to see the rodeo. We sat in the Buzzard's Roost. This allowed us to see the cowboys and girls get ready for their event, saddle up and move out into the arena. It was fun, but a little strange because we did not know the rules, scoring, etc. Definitely worth the stop!

We want to thank you all for your support and best wishes thru this journey! Thanks to Will and Katherine for all that they did to look after the house and the kitties! We could not have done it without you!

Winding down!

Blue Lupine - grows in abundance in the higher elevations.

May be very familiar shot. This is the Lower Falls in Yellowstone. It is the most photographed scene in Yellowstone.

Mount Rushmore in the evening. Very awe inspiring. Seems somewhat unrealistic when you are there. Something that you have seen for years and never thought you would have the opportunity to see in person.

Rick, Stephen and Melissa in the snow at the base of Avalanche Cliff in Eastern Yellowstone!

Missy and Missy after a very fun weekend. Little Missy was very sad to see big Missy leave!! We all were!

Auntie Missy came with us to Yellowstone, as I stated before. We walked all through the Mammoth Hot Springs area. Very spectacular despite the fact that is was a "dry" year. That night we came back and made dinner followed by smores! This was our first smore episode of the trip! We have actually eaten very well and kept the junk to a minimum - I even think I have dropped a couple of pounds!! Sunday morning we just hung out with Marissa and she left around 12. We were all sad to see her go and camp was very quiet after she left. Melissa retreated to the camper for a while to cry and think about Auntie Missy. She slept with her pillow that night!

Monday we packed up and headed for East Yellowstone and out of the park. We felt that East Yellowstone was the most beautiful of the areas that we explored. I think I talked about our trip thru the Bighorns in my "Reflections" message.

Rick and Melissa enjoyed their trail ride. Rick was a little sore as he has never been on a horse before. We headed over to Wind Cave NP that afternoon. Spent a couple of hours 200-300 feet below the surface touring the cave. The tour was 1/2 mile while the explored part of the cave is 125 miles. They have no idea how far it actually goes. It is the 4th largest cave in the world. Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is #1.

Then we made our way to Mount Rushmore. We spent a couple of hours looking around before the lighting ceremony. Ronica - it was named Mt. Rushmore before they decided on the location. Tin was discovered in Keystone in the late 1800's. The company from NY sent their attorney to find out all he could about the area. A local took him around and answered all of his questions. Apparently, he was relentless in his questioning and the guide got very tired of him. When he asked, "What is the name of that mountian?" The guide said, "Well, I guess we'll just name it after you!" So, unofficially, it was Mount Rushmore(attorney's last name) until 1930 when it became official. When they decided to start work on the sculpture, they wrote to him and asked if he would like to make a donation. He donated $5000 and became the largest private donor to the project! Probably way more info than you wanted!!!!

The lighting ceremony was very emotional. They had a ranger program, a movie, some music and then a flag ceremony after the mountain was illuminated. They asked all active military and all veterans to come up front. They passed the flag from person to person! There had to be 200 military folks up there!

Packed up the camper for the last time on the trip this morning and headed out. Very mixed emotions! We made it as far as Sioux City, SD. These midwest states are quite large!! We may stop in Springfield. IL tomorrow and check out the Lincoln Librabry, etc. Melissa said she wanted to do this early on. Now she says she feels satisfied with seeing everything about Lincoln last night. So, we'll play it by ear. Now that we are on the way home, I think everyone is ready to be done driving. Almost 5,000 miles so far.

Will probably do one last post after we get home. I hope you guys have enjoyed reading about the trip as much as we have enjoyed sharing it!

Reflections

As our last days of the trip approach, Rick and I have spent a lot of time talking about the great diversity in our country and the open areas that are still left. When you live in suburbia, you tend to forget the tranquility that is out there for us to enjoy. President Roosevelt certainly had a great vision for future generations!

We have seen everything from the mountains of Virginia, to the plains of Kansas and Missouri, to the rocks of Zion, the Grand Canyon, the red rocks of Lake Powell and the glorious blue waters that she has to show. Then we hit the Tetons and Yellowstone with all of their beauty. The Tetons showed us mountains as well as lakes and meadows full of the most gorgeous wold flowers. They had a record breaking 600" of snow this year. As a result, they have had many more flowers and they have lasted a lot longer than normal!

Yellowstone was a mixture of emotions. They had a fire in '88 that burned over half of the park. You can still see the ravages of that destruction. But beneath is all, there is lush vegetation springing up. Maybe when the kids come back someday wtih their kids, it will be a full forrest once again! When we got to the Eastern side of the park, the trees were huge with no evidence of the fire. There were herds and herds of bison as well as coyote, deer, and elk. No bears for us on this trip!! Once we were out of the park, we were able to see the absolute splendor that is Wyoming! Ali, you never told us how amazing it would be! I think Wyoming was my favorite state, so far! The Big Horns were unbelieveable! What an awesome drive! Then to see the open ranges and the real cowboys out there rounding up the cattle...it gave me chills. The terrain looks so flat, but there are all sorts of hidden ravines and small canyons. Kind of brought some of the books I have read in the past to life.

The other big change that we have experienced is the weather. Hot and humid in Virginia to the dry heat of the southwest! Then in Yellowstone we had temps below freezing one night - Auntie Missy's washcloth froze!!!! Last night we had some gentle winds come thru the valley and change things from chilly to downright balmy in a matter of a few minutes! Hard to believe that we are in the same country all of the time. Melissa says she feels like she is living a dream!

We are now in the Black Hills. Rick and Melissa are currently on a trial ride. When they get back, we will do Wind Cave and then do Mt. Rushmore tonite for the lighting ceremony. It is hard to believe that we will be finishing up our trip in a few days and be back at it! Rick and I have decided that we were born to vacation/travel. Now how can we make that work?

Tomorrow I will send some more pictures. Need to sign off for now. Thanks for hanging in there with my rambling!

Pictures

At Mammoth Hot Springs

Terraces at Mammoth!

Bison in the park

Auntie Missy and Stephen on the Float Trip
Old Faithful in all of her glory!!

Auntie Missy is here!!!

OK...I was chastised today for waiting too long in between blogs! Sorry about that. Poor internet at the last campground and then the arrival of Auntie Missy have put me behind in my work!!

Anyway, Auntie Missy arrived safely on Thursday afternoon around 4:30. We weren't expecting her until much later, so it was a wonderful to have her here a little sooner. We just hung out and visited that evening.

Friday morning, we got everyone up early, showed Auntie Missy how to put the camper down and headed out. We took a scenic float trip down the Snake River thru the Teton Valley. It was a glorious morning and our guide was very informative. We saw some bald eagle and a couple of other things - deer, crane, etc. No big wildlife! We really enjoyed being on the water. After the trip we headed out to Yellowstone. When we came into the park we stopped at Old Faithful. We were lucky and got there about 20 minutes before she was predicted to errupt. It was beautiful. Melissa said that she felt like she was living a dream! On our drive to the campsite, we were in a little traffic jam because there was a herd of Bison on the road. Despite all of the warnings, people were out of their cars and trying to get up close and personnal! Idiots!

Once we got to the campsite and got set up, Auntie Missy pulled out the Carne Asada, fresh avocadoes, raw tortillas, etc. ! We were definitely happy campers at dinner!!! Tthen this morning she made breakfast burritoes with the leftover tortillas. YUM!!! Were have been very spoiled!

Today we went up to Mammoth Hot Springs and did a little site seeing. It was a walk up and down the terraces, thru the springs, pools, etc. It is a dry year, but we still saw lots of color and formations. After a picnic and a walk thru the Visitor's Center, we went to Norris Geyser Basin. We saw some steam vents and a couple of active geysers. All in all a great day! The pictures do not do it justice, but we tried.

God's awesome beauty!

The site of the Golden Spike!!

This is the stream below Hidden Falls.

The pictures do not do the falls justice, but they were amazing!

The boys with a saloon gorl in the town square.

Mr. Moose!

Hi, All!



We are currently just south of Jackson Hole, WY! It is beautiful here! If it didn't snow 11 out of 12 months, I might consider extended time here! We arrived here on Monday afternoon. Just hung out for a few hours. Today we got up and went into Grand Tetons National Park. Coming around the curve in the road and seeing the snow peaked mountains known as the Tetons was unbelieveable!! Stephen and I agreed that it is as if we are in another country. How can this possibly be USA? We are so fortunate to have all of this preserved for us and our kids!



We headed to Jenny Lake, took the boat across and did the hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. I should say that Melissa and I went a bit above the falls and then watched Stephen and Rick climb the rest of the way. Again, I am height challenged and did not feel up to the part of a billy goat this afternoon. The falls were breath taking. As you neared them, you could feel the great change in temperature as the water is the snow melt coming down the mountain. The lake itself has a temperature of 60 in the top 10 inches and then who knows where it goes from there!?! The walk to the falls was probably the most beatiful thing I have seen in a very long time. I tried to take some pictures, but of course they don't do it justice.



After we finished at the lake, we meandered our way up thru the park. We got to see a moose and a white pelican near the Jackson Lake Dam. Pretty cool! After another hour or so, we headed back to Jackson for the shot out in the town square. Very entertaining. Melissa was very upset that I took a picture of her brother and dad with one of the saloon girls!!



It stays light here until almost 10:00. The sun went down a long time ago, but still have daylight. Here are a couple of pics for you. Anxiously awaiting Auntie Missy'a arrival on Thursday!! I think Melissa would sit at the camper and just wait, if I let her!

Welcome to Idaho!

Hey, All!

I guess since the last time we communicated, we had just arrived in Zion. The next day we spent at the pool...107 degrees. Not really hiking weather. We got up on the 4th and went up into the canyon early. That way we could do a few things before it got too hot. The canyon was actually nice and cool in the morning. We did 3 different hikes...Riverside Walk, Emerald Pools and Weeping Rock. By the time we finished Emerald Pools it was HOT! So, over to the Lodge for lunch and lounging in the shade. Only got up to 102 that day. We hung around for the Ranger talk on the geology of Zion and had some ice cream!! :) Came back to the pool for a while. No fireworks. Fire danger was too high - everyone had a ban.

Oh, forgot to mention that we went for a walk on the 3rd in the evening and Stephen got bit by a dog! The owners swore the dogs were sweethearts, but one of them took a dislike to Stephen. Luckily, he has quick reflexes otherwise it could have been a disaster. Just a small puncture on the front of his ankle.

On Saturday morning, we packed up and left for Salt Lake. We can honestly say that this was the first big disappointment of the trip. The campground was nasty and the lake was disgusting!!! The shoreline was littered with trash and the water was very muddy. There is a reservoir of some sort, so that the salt does not affect the "public access" areas!! So, we got up this morning, packed up and headed out. Rick has always wanted to got to Prominotory Point and the place of the Golden Spike where the railroad connected the east to the west. So, off on another adventure out into the middle of nowhere! It was a great little National Monument. They had exact replics of the two trains, did a demo, etc. We also went to a Ranger talk about expressions that we got from the railroad like being "called on the carpet", "Not a Chinaman's chance in Hell", "Red Light District", etc.

Then off we headed towards Idaho Falls. We got here this afternoon and decided to take a hotel to commemorate the half way point of the trip. We are right across from the Falls, have a bed for everyone and a real shower...no quarters necessary!! There is a little kitchen, so we BAKED dinner! Tommorow we may head west for a little bit to Crater of the Moon National Park and Arco, ID to see a nuclear plant. Then back east t0 Jackson. We called and the campground there could take us for an extra night, so that is were we will be until the 11th. Auntie Missy will arrive on Thursday sometime! YEAH!! We are very excited for her arrival and look forward to the time we will share with her! Roninca, we will be doing the Solitude river trip on the morning of the 11th, so that she can go with us! So much to do, so little time!!

Greg and Lisa, we talk more and more about moving up to the bigger pop-up with the extra storage, etc. We may need to talk when we get home !! :)

OK, I am going to go and enjoy the creature comforts that the hotel can offer!! We are enjoying our outdoor life, but a long shower is definitely a luxury!