As usual, I had a big dilemma. We had plans to leisurely go to Minnesota, leaving sometime at the end of May, early June so we could meet Rosie and Fred at the FMCA Rally. Nakia was supposed to be out of the duplex by the 6th of May giving us plenty of time to clean it and rent it before our vacation. Well, she didn’t get out until the 28th; we got it cleaned and rented by June 6th and headed out a couple of weeks late. Then…Chris will be home June 22nd and I won’t so I’m sad. He said “go have fun Mom, I’ll be here when you get back”. I only hope I can survive.
We left Hayward at 9:00 am leaving Cynthia court in the able hands of Monica and all of our neighbors. We had planned to stop in Winnemucca as our first stop, but there were no more Coast to Coast spaces left at our RV park, so, just a mere 200 miles up the long, flat, straight highway 80, we stopped as Crossroads RV Park in Wells,Nevada. It was perfect for an overnighter. Poor Hattie and Chado, every time we stopped for a break, they said “are we there yet????”
We took turns driving. I slept while Carl drove and Carl clenched his teeth, fists and used his own brake while I drove.
We had chili and leftover Subway for dinner, and it rained. We were exhausted after our 11 hour drive and went to bed early.
We could hear the clackety-clack and whoo whoo of a nearby train during the night. I incorporated it into my dream; Carl got up.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009 – East Canyon Resort, Henefer, Utah
Carl was already in the showers when I awoke and me soon thereafter. We ate, cleaned up and headed out around 9:00. There is an hour time change, so I’m not so sure of the time.
Driving through Utah on the Bonneville Salt Flats was like driving on the ocean. You could see nothing but the faint outline of mountains for miles around. I took a nap.
The leg between Wells and Henefer was around 4 hours, settling in our campground around 2:00. It’s a very nice Coast to Coast around 12 miles from highway 80. The weather was on and off rain, mostly on so we decided to drive into the town of Henefer, even though we drove through it going to the campground. Well, we soon found out there was no town, what we saw is all there was. The campground is close to a lake but there is no access to it, so… no swimming for Hattie. The little river behind our campsite was too swift to even think of letting Hattie in. We took the downtime to watch the movie “Australia”. It was 3 hours and we never had time to watch it at home.
We did not have reservations today, so our goal was to go half way between Henefer Utah and Friday’s campground in Rapid City, South Dakota, quite a haul, but we made it. It rained/poured most of the way, as it has most of the trip. Rosie called and I’m so excited to see her, so excited that I cancelled our last reservations in Kimball SD so we could get to Albert Lea on Sunday. It will be a long drive, like 7 hours, instead of 3 hours, but what would we do in Kimball???
We stopped in Casper Wyoming for the night. Casper is a city made of Tuff Sheds; the stores, the churches, the KOA campground. We bit the bullet and stayed at a KOA because there was nothing else in the area. They did have free WiFi and cable. Yeah! I made a Cornish hen for dinner with mashed faux potatoes and peas. Delicious. I’ve been pretty lazy and let Carl do a lot of the cooking.
Friday, June 12, 2009 – Rushmore Shadows, Rapid City South Dakota (RPI)
We got off to an early start this morning. Carl was up at his usual crack of dawn and I got up at 6:15. AM. We left the park at 8:00, clean and fed.
Well, we know where the deer and the antelope play – highway 90 in Wyoming and South Dakota. But I wonder where the buffalo roam? Carl’s quest was to get a picture of a herd of antelope but they were too far off the highway. The deer, on the other hand, were “sleeping” on the side of the road.
The drive on highway 90 was very pleasant. There were lush green hills as far as you could see. And the dirt was brick red. Beautiful.
We arrived at our campground around 2:00. We had a little snack and headed to a point of interest. We planned on stopping at the wildlife drive thru park, but there was an accident in front of the park, so we instead we ventured off to the Reptile Gardens just down the road. After our visit, we headed to a town we saw on the map, Hayward. How cute is that? We found it but it was only a sign…but behind the sign was the Rushmore Caves, so we went there.
On our way back to the campground we stopped at a cute town called Keystone. We walked around visiting the shops and stopped for a hot dog for dinner.
Saturday, June 13, 2009 Rushmore Shadows, Rapid City, South Dakota
We awoke to warmth and sunshine. After breakfast we headed to Mt. Rushmore. It was very enjoyable, well worth the trip, since we were in the neighborhood anyway.We stopped at Keystone on the way back to the campground so I could buy a charm and some fudge. The charm is great, the fudge, no so.
We decided to eat lunch at the RV, grab Hattie and find a lake so she could go for a swim. Then, some ominous clouds appeared and within a half an hour we were being plummeted with golf ball size hail. The noise was deafening. Hattie hid under her pillow, Chado hid under the couch, I plugged my ears and Carl took videos and generally enjoyed it. I was worried about dings in the RV and car and broken windows. When it was over, the ground was white with hail. Then it rained/hailed, then rain. Needless to say, we did not take Hattie swimming.
Sunday, June 14, 2009 – Albert Lea Minnesota
Happy birthday Heidi. Today was the most beautiful, clear morning we’ve had. I got up early, excited to get to Rosie’s.
We left Rapid City SD at 9:00. Our plan was to make a direct shot to Albert Lea, but all along Route 90 was advertisements of all the fascinating things Wall Drug has to offer. Well, we/I just had to stop. Wall Drug has been showcased on different TV shows, so it just has to be worth the stop. We stopped. I wanted the free donut for Viet Nam Vets that they advertised o
n the highway, but we couldn’t find the donut shop. Was it worth the stop? Yes. Will I ever go again? Probably not.We stopped for gas a couple of times and made it to Albert Lea at around 8 pm. Quite a haul.
Yeah! Our first sight was Rosie meeting us on her bike, at the wrong gate. We un-hooked the Saturn, turned around and followed her to the correct entrance. We were lucky to have a very coveted spot, one of the few with electricity and water. I wonder how many people were “mad” at us for our good fortune? Tough!!
The four of us headed out to dinner at Trumbles, but they were closed so we ate at Pizza Hut. Whatever. I was just happy to be with my sister.
Monday, June 15, 2009 – FMCA Rally, Albert Lea, MN
It was a little rough sleeping last night, I guess from all the excitement from yesterday. Rosie and Fred were up bright and early, clean and showered.
All I could think about on our way to Albert Lea was I would find a RV/Car wash and wash our vehicles. Well, low and behold, Fred cleaned the bugs and grit off of our RV, by hand. What a sweety.
Rosie transported us to the Fairground showers then we headed to town for breakfast. We were able to eat at Trumbles.
Carl and I were officially volunteers so Rosie quickly put us to work, not doing much of anything.
We, along with some of the other volunteers, caravanned to the new golf course for a pre-show dinner. The food was questionable, but it was nice meeting the FMCA gang. After dinner, some of us took a pleasure cruise on Albert Lea Lake onboard the Pelican Breeze II.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 – FMCA Rally, Albert Lea, MN
This time Carl and I were up bright and early and drove over to the showers. I didn’t want to chance walking because I wasn’t sure of where it was.
We were invited for smoothies for breakfast at Rosie & Fred’s. Delicious! After some running around “volunteering”, Rosie, Carl and I went to the SPAM museum in Austin, MN. The town smelled like spam. It was a fun museum and I bought a can of Spam. I could probably get it at the dollar store, but what the heck, we’re on vacation.
We were hoping for Spam samples at the museum. I guess they only have samples during the height of Spam Season. We were told by the cashier that “Jerry’s Other Restaurant” has the best Spam sandwiches, so that’s where we had lunch.
When we got back to the campground, Rosie busied herself with volunteer duties and I baked cookies. I thought it would be nice to bring them to the hard worker’s at the Info booth. Rosie was so excited with the idea, made a pot of coffee and we made mucho brownies points with the folks at the Info booth.
Party’s over. Back to volunteer work. Carl, Rosie and I put table “cloths” on the craft tables. Now we can officially go to the volunteer dinner.
Dinner was very good, catered by HyVee. We had Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, beans, salad & dessert. And we were able to meet many of Rosie and Fred’s Pioneer friends. Rosie reminds me so much of Mommy.
The rain has been non-stop today. It is a pleasant rain, as rain goes; not cold, no wind.
Later on in the evening Rosie and I took Hattie for a walk. Fred wanted to go to Super Walmart when we got back, so we all joined him, and it was after 9. It was a 24 hour Walmart. Sweet.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 – FMCA Rally, Albert Lea, MN
Today is the first official day of the rally so things are buzzing, mostly Rosie.
Today was “Show and Tell” where members showed off their hobbies, collectables and crafts. Rosie showed her coffee roasting beans. Well, I didn’t actually bring one of my hobbies or collectables so my new iron-on Hattie t-shirt was going to be it. Then, around an hour before the show, I decided to go around the campground, Carl taking pictures and make a slide show video. I did it. And it turned out great, if I do say so myself.
Then a little excitement started. There was a severe thunder storm warning announcement over the PA system, everyone was to go under the grandstand. We kind of waited for the storm to start and it didn’t so we went back to our activities.
Carl made pork loin, mashed potatoes, green beans and coleslaw for dinner for the 4 of us. It was delicious. It was warm so we ate outside by Rosie and Fred’s rig.
At 6:30 we headed to the “Swine” barn for the evenings entertainment. There was a distant siren heard, then an announcement that there was a tornado warning in the area and to proceed to the grandstand. We did, but the tornado did not come to Albert Lea, although it did land in Austin, just a few miles away. After the all clear, we headed back to the hot, sticky barn to be entertained by the Spamettes. Rosie gave me and her friend Mary, a piece of paper to use as a fan; then she started giving them out to the entire gathering, me being her lovely assistant.
They were darling, singing songs and blam! The electricity went out. Too bad. They were very entertaining, so we went to our RV and had ice cream.
Thursday, June 18, 2009 – FMCA Rally Albert Lea, MN
Today was very busy. We started by a 7:00 am shower call, then breakfast at the main dining room. Carl and I attended the First Timers meeting. It was boring, uninformative and a waste of our time, but we were the monitors of the seminar aka Rosie’s lackeys.
Next, Carl and I each had a seminar, Computer Safety for me and Fire & Life Safety for Carl. After our monitoring, we had a quick lunch on the run and headed to catch the bus to the Winnebago factory. The Factory tour was kind of boring but I was able to get a good nap on the bus ride back to the fairgrounds.
We were then hurried off to dinner at the Elk’s club. We went there for their fish fry, but I opted for a hamburger. It was delicious.
Back at the ranch . . . we went to attend the nightly entertainment. Carl and I stayed for only a while. I wanted get back to call Heidi and Chris. I was able to talk to Heidi, but not Chris. Boo hoo.
Rosie is so funny. She is just like mommy. I can hear her on her golf cart laughing and being silly from almost anywhere in the park.
Friday, June 19, 2009 – FMCA Rally Albert Lea, MN
Carl and I both had monitoring duties at 9:00 so we hurried to the showers and then to b-fast. At my seminar, the instructor was late so I entertained the ladies in waiting. Rosie let us off early for good behavior so we had no more seminars to monitor so we were able to check out the vendors. We also ran to the post office to pick up a letter from Monica, but it has not arrived yet. Today the Ice Cream Social, an ice cream sandwich from the Schwann’s truck. It was great. I’ve always wanted something from the Schwann’s truck. We were also given a bag of waffles, some kind of promo, I guess.
I attended the “RV Blog” seminar. They use the BlogSpot website, so I already knew most of the stuff. I now want to start blogging again, as soon as I get WiFi, of course.
Carl and I had bbq from one of the vendors for dinner; Rosie and Fred went to Subway. The entertainment for the evening was The Odyssey. They were great.
I bought Rosie a flash drive and necklace to put our FMCA video on. Good idea if I do say so myself. It will be her birthday and Christmas present for the last 10 years and the next 10 years. I also made her a video of our travels out to Minnesota, the background music is “The Stripper”. It’s so cute.
Saturday, June 20, 2009 – FMCA Rally Albert Lea, MN
The campground showers only had cold water so I took a shower at Rosie & Fred’s. Our tanks are full, the dark tank is up to the tippy-top.
After breakfast at the clubhouse, waffles, Rosie and I had our beauty makeover at the Mary Kay booth. We had so much fun, laughing with Sondra, the MK lady. Chris called me during my makeover. I was so happy to hear from him.
After our beautification, we headed to the Ladies Tea. I won a very nice painted vase and Rosie won a demitasse cup set in the raffle. We both “won” a melted record with fake flowers centerpiece. Fixed!
Carl and I went to the post office again and I got my letter from Monica. Whew! Then I made some brownies for the Pioneer’s Potluck.
2:00 sharp was the Pet Promenade. I didn’t think Hattie would be able to cope, but she was wonderful. So many butts, so little time. She made the loop in the parade and actually hung around with the other dogs as Rosie awarded every dog with their First Place prize.
I made a video for Rosie’s flash drive of the pet promenade, “Hound Dog” is the music background.
We headed to the Beer Garden for the potluck. If I lived here, I would so be a Pioneer!
Sunday, June 21, 2009 – FMCA Rally last day
Happy Father’s Day.
Everybody is heading out today. We dumped last night, after the entertainment, but will do it again today.
We left Albert Lea at around 10:00, closely following Fred. Our first stop was Cabalas. Now that we’ve been there, we never have to go back. It was nice, had an aquarium. We had lunch at Famous Dave’s, close to Cabalas, then went to the candy outlet for free dessert samples.
Ah. We arrived at Rosie and Fred’s house. It’s an old “barn” subdivided into 6 apartments. Rosie has it decorated so cute. We have a great spot to park, with electricity!
James and his girlfriend Janessa came by. It was so nice to see James. We had a slide show for them, then watched some of James’ strong man challenges on YouTube. We all went to RJ’s for dinner.
Monday, June 22, 2009 – Rosie & Fred’s
Rosie had to go back to work. Boo hoo hoo. I slept until 8:30 then took a shower at the house. Carl, Fred and I had breakfast then I did the laundry, 5 loads. We met Rosie for lunch then went to the post office and the store. We decided to have salmon for dinner, so we went back to Sam’s club later on.
Rosie had an animal control call about some turtle eggs at a boy’s home, so Carl, Rosie and I went to dig them up. We first thought it was a hoax, but viola! There they were, 7 turtle eggs. Carl and Rosie gently removed them from the dirt and placed them in a dirt lined box.
After dinner (salmon, salad after ahi tuna appetizers) we all headed to the pond in the back yard, a death defying trek under a chain link fence, but we all made it, where Fred and Carl relocated the turtle eggs. Keep your fingers crossed.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 – Rosie and Fred’s/ Mille Lac
We called Rosie this morning to meet us for breakfast. Lucky for us, she has a cushy job and was able to meet us. Her friend Carol, who I’ve “known” for years, joined us. It was nice to meet her. When we got back to the barn, Fred washed my car. Fred. You’re spoiling me. Then we headed to Camper’s World and a few other spots to browse.
Carl and I headed to Mille Lac Island Resort and arrived around 6pm. Greeting us was a 6” to 8” turtle. Carl stopped the RV and told me to pick it up but I was too scared. And it could walk pretty fast.
We picked site 180 and 179 is still open. I hope it stays open ‘til Friday.
We took a walk to the lake in the evening and came upon a snapping turtle laying her eggs. This must be the season.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 Mille Lac Island Resort
We’re back to cereal for b’fast. No more eats at the Rally. Carl and I went for a ride around the Lake. We stopped in Aitkin so Carl could get a hair cut. I WiFi’d at a nearby café. I wanted to put my “Visiting my Sister” video on Facebook for the world to see. There are all sorts of little towns and smaller lakes surrounding Mille Lac Lake. We’re waiting until Rosie and Fred get here to do any deep exploring.
Carl hung the bird feeder from a limb of a tree outside the RV. The birds are slowly coming by to eat.
We took Hattie for a swim at the Lake and she was in her glory. There is not much beach area, just mucky shoreline, but we found a suitable spot, actually right by the turtle eggs.
It’s nice to have water, electricity and a dump right at our site, but I wish we had cable. We get one station, PBS, and it’s pretty good. There is WiFi up by the office. It’s a weak signal but I was able to re-check my email. Lot’s of comments on my video. I’m such a dip.
Thursday, June 25, 2009 – Mille Lac Island Resort
We headed to the town of Onamia this morning to go to the grocery store; we’re out of ice cream. We stopped at a very cute store called “Water and Woods” and I bought a cute pair of thongs (shoe type). We took Hattie swimming at the lake.
It’s very sad today. Michael Jackson and Farrah Faucet died.
Friday, June 26, 2009 – Mille Lac Island Resort
Rosie and Fred are coming up today, so we stayed close to home. Carl and Hattie went swimming in the Lake. I think Carl had more fun than Hattie.
Rosie and Fred arrived at 1:30ish. We had PBJ sandwiches and smoothies for lunch on our finely decorated table. Rosie brought the two centerpieces we “won” at the Ladies Tea. I hope she remembers to bring them home.
We walked around the campground, showing R&F all the exciting hot spots. Then we drove to the farmer’s market in Isle. Rosie picked up some honey and strawberries. We also went to the Meat store. I got some beef jerky & sausage, planning on bringing some jerky home, we’ll see. Rosie got steak dinner for tomorrow.
Carl made chicken, rice and broccoli for dinner tonight and we had well travelled ice cream for dessert.
Saturday, June 27, 2009 – Mille Lac Island Resort
We slept in today, my usual 8:30, Carl’s usual 2:30, and Rosie & Fred’s unusual 8:00. After breakfast we headed to the Mille Lac History Fest and Rendezvous. It was a group of people in 1850ish period attire. We drove around the lake and stopped at Kosie’s for lunch. Then we stopped at the Grand Casino for a pop. It was so smoky-stinky, we didn’t stay long. We went to the grocery store next door and picked up stuff for dinner. Our last stop of the day was the Indian Museum right across the street from the casino.
Dinner was bbq’d steak, corn on the cob, potato salad and garlic bread. Then we went for a nice walk around the park. Our evening entertainment was playing Mexican Train Dominoes. We had so much fun!
Sunday, June 28, 2009 – Mille Lac Island Resort
It seems like we do a lot of eating. . . it’s such a social thing. I made pancakes for breakfast. We hung around the campground – took Hattie for a walk/swim at the lake. I’m glad Rosie and Fred could see her in her element.
We decided to go to “town” for lunch. Our first stop was Walleye Dundee, they close at 2:00; it was 2:30. Everything we saw, closed. We came upon the Sunrise Coffee Shop in Isle. It looked open but when we came to the door, the lady said they were closed. Along came her husband and said they were open. He made cappuccinos, she made the sandwiches. It was great.
Rosie and Fred left for home when we got back from lunch. I’m so sad. Now I want to BE home. I only hope I can enjoy the rest of our vacation.
I talked to Chris and Heidi, so that made me happy.
Monday, June 29, 2009 – Golden Eagle Vacationland, Perham, MN
Carl got on the phone and made some reservations for our trip home. Our first stop was only 100 miles away. It is a very nice park, so I want to tell Rosie and Fred about it. According to our itinerary, we won’t get home for quite a while, this weekend or early next week.
I did a load of laundry and we walked around the park. The park is on Big Pine Lake. All the parks are on lakes in Minnesota
We drove to town after our nap. It’s such a cute slice of Americana, nothing like we see at home.
I made a poster for Rosie so she’ll know how popular the centerpieces are!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 -Frontier Fort Campground, Jamestown, North Dakota
We had a shortish drive from Perham Minnesota, relatively speaking. We were battling winds the entire way, so there goes our gas mileage, like it matters.
The campground has small spaces. We were spoiled in Minnesota. There are buffalo on the campground, in a cage, that we visited, with Hattie in tow. Up the road a way, there was Frontier Village, a very cute old western town. We stopped at the village store and bought a North Dakota towel and some native jam and salsa. Down the road was an open area where the buffalo roamed free. There were three albino buffalo, White Cloud, Dakota Spirit and a baby. Something different!
We ate dinner at the restaurant at the campground. It was hamburger basket Tuesday. There was a band playing at the amphitheater at the Village, so we gathered up Hattie and headed over. By the time we got there, the band was packing up. The audience was made up of their parents, reminiscent of 9 Windz days. We took a walk on the White Cloud trail. Of course I was afraid of bears or buffalo, but the only thing that attacked was a tick.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009 – Rosebud, Montana
Driving through North Dakota, its green as far as you can see, flat and green. Is it fields of crops? Fields of fields? Whatever it is, it's very pretty.
We cleaned up, ate b-fast, and made reservations for July 2, 3, and 4 at Yellowstone. We were lucky to get a spot! We’ll wing it tonight, maybe even a Walmart. It’s all the rage here in the Midwest.
Well, there were no Wal-Mart’s to be found so we pulled off the road in Forsythe, Montana and found a Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks campground, Rosebud East Fishing Access Site. No frills, just water hook-up and mosquitoes. Their mosquito’s put Minnesota’s to shame. We drove to town, again, a quaint little slice of Americana
Thursday, July 2, 2009 – Bridge Bay Campground, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Today was a long driving day. We left Rosebud at 9:00ish and other than a few “did she say left?” on the TomTom, we made it to Yellowstone by 7:30ish. We stopped in Cody, Wyoming and checked out the Buffalo Bill Exhibit then went to the City Park where they were having a craft/crap fair. We did buy some kettle corn. We got caught in a big drop rain storm and escaped in the Chamber of Commerce and picked up some brochures.
Driving into Yellowstone, we came upon cars stopped on the road. There was a bear sighting. Does seeing people sighting bears count as sighting a bear? That was as close as we got.
Arriving at Bridge Bay, it was a like a scene out of Griswold Family Vacation. Truly, we’ve never seen anything like this in our years of camping. There was the roar of generators, a thick cloud of campfire smoke, piercing car alarms, garbage truck, with tents and RV’s squished together as far as the eye could see. We’re not in Minnesota anymore! And, unlike Yosemite, Yellowstone in a “driving” friendly park; no buses and no footpaths. You drive or you fight for your space the road with cars and RV’s.
There was a Ranger program at 9:30, that’s when it starts getting dark, so we gathered up Hattie and our kettle corn and walked up to amphitheater, dodging cars all the way up and back. The program was about Grizzly Bears in the park. Hattie was so well behaved. Actually, all the dogs were.
Friday, July 3, 2009 – Bridge Bay Campground,Yellowstone
We slept good last night. The roar of generators woke me at promptly 8:00, the legal time to crank ‘em up.
Carl made eggs and Spam for b’fast using my collector’s edition of Spam. We took Hattie for a walk to the lake. We have a view of the lake from our campsite. It’s right behind the 50’ C class, the 45’ A class, the pop-up and the 14 tents. Hattie whimpered to go in, but it was much to cold and there were Ranger’s all around, so no off leashing in Yellowstone!
We left the campground at 10ish and headed to Old Faithful. We stopped at the visitor’s center where I bought a Yellowstone towel, a charm of a moose and Old Faithful for my bracelet and a Christmas ornament. We headed to OF, and she had just blown – her next projected eruption was in one hour so we went back to the car and had our picnic lunch, more of a tail gate lunch. We got back to OF in time to see the eruption. I’m sure there are eruptions and then there are ERUPTIONS. We saw the eruption. We then walked the boardwalk around the various geyser
s, hot springs and thermal areas.There are two main loops around the park, so we did the first loop, we’ll call it the Lower Loop. It was about 100 miles. As we were cruising along, what to our wandering eyes should appear – a herd of buffalo, big ones, little ones, old ones and baby ones. There were hundreds. Carl got some great shots. Now I’m ruined on seeing anything less than a herd of buffalo. So where are the moose and bears?
The weather has been rather cool, with a splash of sunshine every once in while. We could see dark clouds and rain falling in the distance when we were at Old Faithful. When we got to that area on our drive there was a thick layer of pea-sized hail. That’s what we missed!
We did not go to the Ranger Program this evening ‘cause it was wet and cold. Instead we watched Dave and Bye Bye Birdie, two of my favorites.
Saturday, July 4, 2009 Bridge Bay Campground, Yellowstone
Another good night sleep, at least for me. I again woke to the sounds of generators, now I can incorporate them into my dreams.
We are out of water so skipped showers. After breakfast we headed to the Upper Loop of Yellowstone, this time with Hattie in tow. We stopped at the first point of interest and NO DOGS ALLOWED. I thought I saw lots of dogs yesterday. Well, I did, but not in no dog zones. Our first stop was the Mud Volcano then the Sulphur Caldron, leaving Hattie in the car. There is a distinct odor, eggish, or as I like to call it “a safety zone”. We went to a few more spots then decided to return to camp, eat lunch, dump and fill up with water, leave Hattie and resume our adventure.
We stopped at Lower Falls and Upper Falls and Artist Point in the Canyon Village area of the park. It is known as the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and is quite impressive. Quite a hike but well worth it.
We came upon more buffalo, or bison as they are called here. Is there any difference? Anyhoo, all they do is eat, sleep and mosie. I could so be a buffalo.
We drove the loop, around 100 miles, although slower than yesterday’s and stopped at various points of interest.
There was a 4th of July parade at the Bridge Bay Marina at 6:30 but shucks. We missed it. That was about the only thing happening at the park that we heard about.
After dinner, yucky salmon that we bought at Walmart, we went to the Ranger Program at the amphitheater. Hattie joined us and seemed to remember going before and all the dogs that were there.
Sunday, July 5, 2009 – Rexburg, Idaho
We both took much needed showers, cleaned up and headed out at 11:00, check out time.
We drove through Jackson Hole, Wyoming – the IT place for the skiing / rafting bunch. It looked like a nice stop, but we just drove by. I’m sure the shops had the usual gifty items I don’t need. We also drove through The Tetons. They are beautiful, 13000’ altitude. We viewed from afar.
Not having a particular place to stay this evening, we checked our books and found an Enjoy America park in Rexburg, Idaho, on the way home. It’s a real dog, no WiFi or cable. Geez.
We set up then headed to town for groceries. It looked like the town was closed for the day. We were in the parking lot of a grocery store and a woman directed us to an Albertson’s. Whew!
I made meatloaf for dinner. Not so good this time. Hum?
We took Hattie for a walk around the park. Not much to see.
Monday, July 6, 2009 – Mtn. Shadows RV, Wells, Nevada
Well, I finally saw that moose I’ve always wanted to see. He/she was in a fenced in area right by the freeway at a local attraction called “Bear Park”. Now my Christmas ornament and charm are of something I actually saw.
Today and Tuesday will be marathon drives. The wind through Idaho is rough. Hattie and Chado are hunkered down, spewing hair all over the place.
We stopped at Wells but opted for Mountain Shadows instead of Crossroads. And, yes, Mtn. Shadows was much nicer, with WiFi, although very tight spaces. I caught up on my emails and we had good phone reception so I was able to do some phone catching up. I also Skyped with Heidi.
I worked on my vacation video ‘til late at night. When I finally went to bed I was serenaded by the local trains. How Carl could sleep through that????
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 Cynthia Court, Hayward
Today started out pretty normal, except the part about me getting up early. We were going to high-tail it home. We’ve had such a carefree time up until today. Poor Carl, he had to fight with the wind to keep the RV on the road, Carl won. The hydraulics on the front slide broke and the slide started coming out. Carl got out the wench for that purpose and stabilized it, Carl won again. The pets were exceptionally stressed today, the wind, the roads, especially our own Hwy 80. Geez, haven’t they ever heard of asphalt? I spent the drive home working on the vacation video and stressing. I just don’t know why Carl doesn’t let me drive.
There’s no place like home, click-click, there’s no place like home.
The End
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