Westward Ho… Days 16,17,18,19,20, and 21 (Cody and Yellowstone)

August 16 (continued)…. We all (Ralph, Barth, Joan and I) experienced our first Rodeo. I enjoyed it…especially the barrel races that the "little cowgirls" did. One little girl didn't look like she was more than 6 years old. The "little cowboys" rode the steers… and Joan and I thought this was almost like child abuse…even the rodeo clown made the comments that "you can't smack your child in Wal-Mart without someone getting upset, but you can bring them to the rodeo and strap them to a steer!"

August 17… The plan today is to go to the Buffalo Bill Museums… the firearms collections is supposedly larger than any other firearms collection. I've been dizzy today and I do believe it's because of the altitude… I'm not sure I would want to live at 7500'.

August 18… Left Cody and started to Yellowstone. It's only 76 miles to Fishing Bridge. This is where we have camping reservations. It's the only campground in the park that has full hookups. We had another MDA (Mountain Directory Advisory) today as we came into Yellowstone on US 16 and US 25. We went through Sylvan Pass (elevations 8559'). The drive from Cody to the park entrance was beautiful. We saw a firefighters' camp set up before we got into the park. There are fires burning now and we can see smoke from them. The campground is nice… lots are small as this was built in the 1960s before campers and motor homes got so big. We have full hookups but no radio (except weather), no TV, no cell service and no WiFi… Joan and Barth have a friend who is a fishing guide here…he's originally from Chattanooga and is staying in one of the dorms this summer. I asked him if he had any of the above and he said no; however some areas do have Verizon wireless service. He works 3 ½ days and then is off 3 ½ days. He's coming to Tennessee in October and may come to Townsend to see what lots are for sale. He's interested in buying something in the Tennessee or North Carolina.

Our first afternoon in Yellowstone, we drove around the lake area and Fishing Bridge… we had an early dinner and then off to find the Bison…and did we ever find Bison! They're everywhere and they are really moving (this is their rutting season)… we pulled over on the shoulder of the road and were watching a herd below us when a big bull came walking down the road and seems to say…"hey you're in my way and I'm going down that bank." Ralph pulled out fast and we let him go wherever he wanted to go… Driving through Cades Cove to see deer seems tame to watching Bison. Ralph's favorite expression when he sees cars stopped in the middle of the road, "Well we must have a Buffalo Jam ahead."

August 19… We left Fishing Bridge for Old Faithful, the world's most famous Geyer with plans to make the Grand Loop which we did. Old Faithful was just as faithful as ever… the predicted time for eruption was 11:52 a.m. and it occurred within a minute of that time. After the eruption we walked over to the Inn which is undergoing a major renovation. We also saw the yellow touring cars that have been in Yellowstone since the 1930s. After leaving Old Faithful we went on to the Canyon Area which was one of my favorites…it had the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the two major waterfalls, the Upper and Lower falls… they were absolutely spectacular. When the Native Americans described the falls, they said it was "the place the water made thunder." After the Canyon area, more Bison… this time we got some great pictures of two bulls fighting.

August 20… Ralph and I took off for the Tetons and Jackson with Joan and Barth going to Gardiner, MT to visit friends (Thousand Trails Members) they met at Peace River who are working in a private campground just outside the park in Montana. They also did the Lamar Valley which takes you to the north east entrance of the park. After our trip to Jackson, we've decided that we will leave the park via the south entrance because it doesn't have a MDA like the east entrance. Also, it will allow us to see another part of Wyoming that we haven't seen.

August 21… Ralph and I went to West Yellowstone and did some of the tourist attractions… IMAX Theatre and the Grizzly and wolf Discovery Center. At the IMAX we saw the Yellowstone movie which was very informative and the scenery was great. We did get to see live (even though they were in captivity) Grizzlies and Wolves. The Grizzlies all were bears that were rescued because of being orphaned or because they had been habituated to human foods, which usually results in one of two outcomes… being taken into captivity or being destroyed. They are beautiful creatures. The wolves were all born in captivity. We rode up toward Big Sky but decided not to go all of the way and we did get into Idaho …three states in one day! On our way back to Fishing Bridge, we came through the Madison area of the park and saw a herd of Elk.

Joan and Barth went to the Lake Area and guess what… the Bison had arrived. They were on the lawn of the hotel at the lake…so far none in our campground.

August 22… We're leaving Yellowstone today… I guess Ralph's afraid it will snow! It was 27 degrees this morning and we had ice on our car windshield. This morning when we crossed Fishing Bridge (over the Yellowstone River), there was a big bull bison on the bridge so it does look like they will get to the campground. Ralph had to stop for him. It looked like he was leading us out of Yellowstone and when Ralph tried to pass him; he moved over in the other lane and wouldn't let us go around. We followed him across the bridge and when he moved off of the bridge, he turned around and looked at us as if to say "Now that I'm across the bridge you can go on your way."

We're going through the Tetons again and will leave Joan and Barth in the Jackson Area. They're going into Idaho and on to Utah to Mt. Pleasant… to visit their Coast to Coast home park and then back through Colorado before going south to Santa Fe. For the most part, we're on our way home. The trip from Jackson took us through the Hoback Canyon, a very scenic drive with virtually no traffic. We made it to Rawlins, WY today and are at Western Hills Campground for the night. The man checking in before me requested cable because he's interested in seeing if Obama selects a running mate tonight. I told him I hadn't seen or heard any news in a week!

Westward Ho…days 14 and 15 (Big Horn Mountains and Cody, WY)

August 15…. We left Buffalo heading for Cody and had our first MDA (Mountain Directory Advisory) ahead of us. This book is a life saver when crossing mountains. We crossed the Big Horn Mountains at Powder River Pass (elevation 9666'). This is probably the most scenic highway we've driven… rocks that are 500 million years old…Joan and I are like Jan… who has been around to do the counting???? I know this elevation is the highest we've ever taken the motor home. We were behind Joan and Barth and an eighteen wheeler going off of the mountain.

Arrived at Cody early and had a sandwich before going to the see the lady at our campground for information…we're right in town about a mile from Wal-Mart. Can you tell we measure everything by where a Wal-Mart is located?

The afternoon was spent downtown walking around before going to the nightly gunfight at the Irma Hotel. Joan and I told Barth and Ralph that if they got shoved into the gun fight that this "was their sign."

The Historic Irma Hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Hotels. Buffalo Bill Cody built the hotel in 1902, naming it after his youngest daughter. In the hotel's main dining room we saw the famous cherry wood bar given to Buffalo Bill by Queen Victoria. The cherry wood bar was shipped from Europe by boat and then by Train to Cheyenne or Casper and from there on to Cody by wagon. More about Buffalo Bill will follow when we've been through the museums. After the gunfight we had dinner at the Irma. Dinner was delicious and the atmosphere was great. The characters from the gunfight were milling around talking to the guests. Driving Distance 180 miles

August 16… First stop of the day was Buffalo Bill Dam on the Shoshone River. This dam was completed in the early 1900s was the model for Hoover Dam; although on a much smaller scale. The visitors' center had a movie about the construction of the dam. The amazing part was that the work had to be done in the winter months as the spring and summer flood water prevented any work being done during this time. The winter months were cruel. The day the last concrete was poured finishing the dam the temperature was 15 degrees below zero!!!

Next we went to Old Town. a group of historic building that were from this area that have been moved and formed into an old Western town. They have a really nice museum and lots of western and Indian artifacts. Ralph's only complaint was that he didn't get to read all of the old newspapers! In the town was a small cemetery with Jeremiah Johnson being the most famous person that has been re-buried there. He body was brought back here in the 1970's with Robert Redford being one of the pallbearers.

We went to Tecumseh's Trading Post and saw the large collection of Native American artifacts and also a huge "Old West Miniature Village "that depicts the historical events of Wyoming and Montana from 1600s to 1800s including scenes of… Indians, Buffalo, Settlers, Wagon Trains, Trains, etc…a very interesting collection and the gentleman that ran the trading post said this was "a work of a lifetime…his." He was from Harrisburg, PA. Some of the Native American bead work was absolutely beautiful. We found out that the Indians didn't have any beads until the Europeans brought them into the country. Most of the beads came from Venice.

We're going to the Rodeo tonight and I'll write about it tomorrow.

Westward Ho…days 11, 12, 13 (Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse Memorial and Rapid City)

August 12…. Before I write anymore, let me correct two things… first, Cabela's did not originate in Rapid City, SD. they started in Nebraska in 1961 and second, the motorcycle gang from Seattle that had the altercation with the Hell's Angels in Sturgis was not the "Iron Pipes" but the "Iron Pigs."

Agenda for today was Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park and Crazy Horse Memorial. We left at 9:00 a.m. with Joan doing the chauffeuring. Mt. Rushmore was very impressive. We went into the museum and saw a film about the four presidents that are carved into the granite…Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt. The drive to Custer State Park was a very pretty drive, the tunnels that were carved into the rock were narrow and some of the vehicles we saw going through would make you shudder… We did the wildlife loop and saw:

Burros, which are not native to the Black Hills. They are descendants from the herd that once hauled visitors to the top of Harney Peak. The rides were discontinued years ago and the burros were released into the park. They are very friendly and I thought Ralph was going to be kissed by one!

Pronghorns, which we first thought were antelope. They were lying down and we were not able to get photos.

Buffalo, which are really North American Bison. The herd we saw we estimated to be approximately 200 head. They can grow to 6 feet tall and weigh more than 2000 lbs. It is estimated that the total number in the Custer State Park's herd is 1500.

After Custer State Park we drove into the town of Custer and had lunch at the Dairy Queen. Jim and Jan, we did see the Mangy Moose somewhere along the way! Left over Sturgis Bikers are everywhere. Next on to the Crazy Horse Memorial which we viewed from the highway before arriving back at Hart Ranch. Estimated Driving Distance in the car 98 miles

August 13…We drove around Rapid City and visited Cabela's…they had a wonderful display of animals… big record setting animals. Ralph enjoyed looking at their display and he also enjoyed the Jeff Foxworthy Beef Jerky that he bought there. I bought both of the National Treasure movies in Rapid City and plan on watching them tomorrow. The second one was filmed in and around Rapid City and Mt. Rushmore.

August 14… Today we drove from Rapid City to Buffalo, WY. This is just a stop over until we cross the mountains into Cody. We're at Deer Park Campground on Highway 16 and the only wild life we've seen are turkeys. They had lunch with us and we found that they like shrimp tails. For those of you who know who Mark was (our oldest, deceased son), today is his birthday and he would have been 45. Driving Distance 222 miles

Westward Ho…Days 8, 9, 10 (Sturgis and Deadwood)

August 9… We left Estes Park and the 7500' altitude. Ralph, Joan and I all could tell a difference in the oxygen at the higher altitudes. Rocky Mountain National Park has several peaks that are 14,000' or higher. The trip back to I-25 was through a beautiful canyon. At one point it looked like a miniature Grand Canyon. We stopped in Cheyenne, WY to buy fuel and propane. The guy that filled our propane tank said he had spent a wonderful week or so in Tennessee at Dale Hollow Dam and that he wanted to go back sometime. Joan and Barth have been there with other Sundown people (Charlie and Betsy Mangrum and Earl and Billie Wray). We arrived at the KOA Douglas early and decided to cook our big meal at lunch time. We all took a nap and then went to the Wyoming State Fair and Rodeo which opened last night. Tonight the main attraction was a true Wyoming demolition derby which was fun and enjoyed by all. I think I've been taken by some of the Wyomingians (if that is what they are called)… I'd been looking for a Jackalope and was told that you have to get up about 4 a.m. to see them and you can only find them in Converse County, which is the county we are now in… Joan told me it was like "snipe hunting" but I thought differently until I Googled it… I probably would have been up at 4 a.m. in the morning looking for one to "hop or lope" through the campground. Driving Distance 220 miles

August 10… The day started by leaving the quiet KOA of Douglas headed for Rapid City, SD. We were in no big hurry because today is only a 200 mile day. We let Google and Garmin route us and it was a beautiful route. Since today is the end of the 68^th Sturgis Motor Cycle Rally, we wished we had started counting the motorcycle we met going to Rapid City… I bet it was close to 5,000! A young man in our campground said their crowd was off this year, only about 400,000 instead of the normal 500,000. I heard on the news that the arrests were down this year only about 200; however, they did have one shooting which was an altercation between the "Hell's Angels" and the "Iron Pipes" (a group of firefighters and police officers from Seattle). If I were betting, I would bet the "Iron Pipes" fired first! Please remember I live with an "old policeman" and they are always right and know everything!!!

Arrived at Hart Ranch RV Resort just south of Rapid City which is one of our RPI Parks and found it to be one of the nicest parks we've ever stayed in and I know it's the nicest RPI…They have everything in the Park, including a gas station. We're going to be here until Thursday. Driving Distance 195 miles

August 11… Today was set aside for Sturgis and Deadwood. On the way to Sturgis, we passed Cabela's… I believe Rapid City is their headquarters. Sturgis has a lot of old building and a few permanent establishments, but for the most part one week a year is when everything happens in Sturgis. They do have a motorcycle museum which is closed on Monday and Tuesday so I only got a picture of it and I also got a picture of the Loud American Roadhouse (where the shooting occurred earlier in the week). After Ralph did his "shirt shopping" and he was not slighted with tee shirts and denim (no leather for him), we just browsed through the few shops that were open… most of the vendors had already pulled out. Joan did buy some leather… luggage that attaches to back of her bike… so now she's ready for a road trip AND Barth is now an official member of the Sturgis Motor Cycle Club. Barth's flea market negotiating skills kicked in on the luggage and this was one time being a retired teacher paid off for Joan as it got them an additional 10%, plus Barth's 10% for being a Sturgis Club Member added to the original 25%.. While all of this was going on, Ralph and I watched the sidewalks being pressure washed. I can just imagine the mess after a week of 400,000 motorcyclists being there (probably like Bourbon Street in July).

After Sturgis we went on to Deadwood and ate lunch at "The Buffalo Steakhouse and Saloon." They had live entertainment and he was great… he did a good job with Johnny Horton's hits i.e. North to Alaska, Whispering Pines, etc. Lunch was very tasty… we all had burgers (Barth's was a Buffalo burger). Deadwood is where Will Bill Hickok was killed (he only spent a short time in Deadwood); however, he and Calamity Jane are buried nearby in the Mt. Moriah Cemetery.

Left over Bikers had spilled over into Deadwood and Ralph enjoyed watching them drive by. He had bought himself a Cuban Cigar (from before the embargo) and sat on a bench watching the people and cycles go by. Deadwood has 86 gaming establishments. I wasn't as lucky at the slots as I was previously at Bingo. However, when you are playing penny and nickel slots, you can play a lot longer. We found out that Joan really knows her way around at the "Black Jack tables."

We let Garmin bring us back and when we came upon the cattle crossing signs and livestock gaps in the road Ralph thought we were lost for sure. Driving Distance today in the car 125 miles

Westward Ho...Days 5, 6, 7 (Rocky Mountain National Park)

August 6 (continued)…We picked up our motor home and left Rush Truck Center around 1:15 heading for Estes Park. It took us about 1 ½ hours to get there. The road into Estes Park is windy and the elevation at Estes Park is a little more than 7500 feet above sea level. Garmin did a good job of getting us there; however, she brought us in the back way. Estes Park is a lot like Gatlinburg but not as big. We are next to Joan and Barth and after all of the problems with the motor home we decided to stay here until Saturday and cut one day off of our Douglas, WY visit. Looking out the motor home window, we see a mountain that looks a lot like Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. Tonight was Bingo and I knew my luck was going to have to change. Joan won one game with 2 other people and I won the last game which was a cover all for a grand prize of $11.50. Driving Distance 78 miles

August 7… We took a day trip, starting in Estes Park on The Highway to the Sky which covers 48 miles between Estes Park on Rocky Mountain National Park's east side, and Grand Lake on the west side. Trail Ridge Road is also US Highway 34. Today was a pretty good day for wildlife; we saw Yellow-bellied marmots, one bull elk and several cows, and our first moose (4 or 5). The highest elevation today on the Trail Ridge Road was 12, 183 feet. Between Joan, Ralph and me, I think we got some pretty good pictures. Hopefully, I'll get my pictures downloaded before we get home. I 've had some problems with my e-mail and can't seem to get the link to Flickr to work. Grand Lake was was the little town just outside the park with a lake that had sand, people swimming, and mountains in the background with snow on them… a very pretty setting. We had to purchase gas in Grand Lake and all they had was 91 octane @ $4.519 per gallon. Driving Distance today in the car 98 miles

August 8… Today was set aside for Bear Lake. We drove to the parking lot and caught a shuttle to Bear Lake. This was probably the prettiest scenery we've seen so far… we hiked around the lake (about ½ mile and got some really pretty pictures of wildflowers. The wildlife we saw today was two ducks and a squirrel. We drove in the area the Big Horn Sheep are usually seen, but one of the volunteers at the Ranger's Station told Ralph that they don't come down until it gets cooler. On the way back we drove back into Estes Park and went to a grocery store. Joan and I went back to town to shop and then took Ralph to Mary's Lake (Barth had already seen it). Rain is in the forecast for tonight so Ralph let the awning in and packed up the car for our departure tomorrow to Douglas, WY. We're watching the Olympic Opening Ceremonies tonight. Driving Distance today in the car approximately 30 miles

Westward Ho… Days 1, 2, 3, and 4 (Traveling and Breakdown)

The question is not "Are we there yet?" it's "Are we having fun yet?"

August 2…Ralph and I left Maryville at 6:10 a.m. on our way to meet Joan and Barth in the Nashville area. We were within 6 miles of each other when we reached I-24. We stopped at the Tennessee/Kentucky rest area and waited about 5 minutes for them to get there. Gas was $3.559 in Ft. Campbell, KY… cheapest we have seen in a long time. We had planned on staying at a Wal-Mart in Mount Vernon, Illinois but arrived there early in the afternoon and decided to see if we could make it through St. Louis and it was really too hot to stay without hookups… After stopping at a rest area just East of East St. Louis, Ralph and I heard this loud pop and then a really bad noise so we pulled over. To make a long story short, we had blown a plug. I called Good Sam's Emergency Road Service and they sent out a mechanic who put the plug back in and got us off of the interstate (after two hours of 18 wheelers whizzing by and making us think we were going to turn over) into a Sam's parking lot. He needed a part to go with the plug so he went to Auto Zone and found it, came back and installed it and we were on our way. Joan had already found a RV Park in East St. Louis. The Casino Queen was very convenient for stopping for the night and we could see the Arch from our motor homes. After the afternoon of dealing with the motor home, we ate dinner and went to bed, didn't even visit the Casino. Driving Distance 482

August 3… Left East St. Louis about 10:00 a.m. and drove all across Missouri and into Kansas. We stopped at the Mill Creek Campground in Paxico and this was one of our planned stops. This was a very nice campground located between I-70 and a railroad track, with a creek running through it. Joan and Barth were right on the creek. There were several old building scattered through the campground (train depot, school, little cabins and even a storm shelter. Pictures of this storm shelter will be posted later. This would have been a nice place to spend the day going through the little town. It reminded me of a previous trip we took to Whistle Stop, Georgia back in the spring. Driving Distance 336

August 4…Left Paxico about 8:30 a.m. and had planned to drive to Limon, Co, but because of the heat decided to stop at a campground in Siebert, CO. We stopped at a rest area in Kansas and Ralph walked back to see Joan and Barth and noticed that water was coming out from the front compartment where the water heater and water pump are. A hose had blown off… Barth was able to get it back on and had to fill up their fresh water tank before we could go on.

I've been checking gas prices all along for the past week or so and knew we needed to have a full tank before we left Kansas. We filled up about 10 miles from the Kansas / Colorado state lines. Price was $3.609. The most we've paid so far is $3.759.

Again, plans are always subject to change. We were within 16 – 18 miles of our destination, when Ralph and I again heard the now familiar pop and noise that is associated with a blown plug. This time Ralph said he was going to drive to the next exit and luckily there was a campground at the exit. We tried to get this plug put back in to no avail. After calling Ford Motor Company's RV Hotline I finally found someone who works on the Triton V-10 engine in Denver. Again, we called Good Sam's Emergency Road Service and told them we wanted to be towed to Denver… they told me they would tow us to the nearest repair facility, so they proceeded to try and find one near Stratton, CO and would call me back on Tuesday at 7:00 a.m. Needless to say, this was not a very pleasant evening with all the worry about the motor home and wondering what else can go wrong. Driving Distance 348

August 5…Didn't sleep much last night partly because of the time change, we are now on Mountain Time, but mostly because of the unknowns about our motor home. After talking with Good Sam's they have agreed to tow us to Denver (I think they found out like I did this was the nearest Ford facility – Rush Truck Center) ; however, they will only pay for 85 miles and we pay the rest. I also called our extended warranty company and started the process of filing a claim. They will pick up most of the amount that Good Sam's will not pay. Joan and Barth are going on to Estes Park and we will join them just as soon as the motor home is ready. Jack with JR's towing (LARGEST wrecker I've ever seen arrived at 11:00 a.m. and had us in Denver at 2:15 p.m. When Jack drove up his shirt had a motorcycle, race car and tractor on the front of it… I knew then he was Ralph's kind of man. The speed limit on I-70 in Colorado is 75 and Jack made sure he didn't get cited for going too slow. Ralph had a hard time keeping up with him and looking at the Colorado scenery. I believe he was re-living his "Cowboy and Indians" days because he kept referring to how long it would take you to ride a horse to various places in the scenery! We met Carl and Howard (service writers at Rush Truck/Ford) that we'd been talking with about the motor home and its ailment. Both were very helpful. As soon as Carl got our VIN number he contacted Ford about the extended engine warranty (which we didn't know we still had). He also contacted the company that we purchased the bumper to bumper warranty from… ironically, they are located in Denver. We were pleasantly surprised to find out they will start working on the MH in the morning and we should be ready to roll after lunch…. We'll go on to Estes Park and meet back up with Joan and Barth. Joan said they have a nick in their windshield from a rock being thrown up on the drive to Estes Park. We decided to stay in Denver tonight in a hotel although Joan and Barth invited us to stay with them. My bill was going to be free, but Barth hadn't decided what he was going to charge Ralph! Driving Distance 145 (in the car with the MH being towed). Driving Distance for Joan and Barth 198

August 6…I'm ready to post this to our blog and I did get a good night's sleep last night. I know today is going to be better after seeing who we left our motor home with. Hopefully, I'll have pictures with the next "Edition."