Yellowstone - Day 1

Yellowstone National Park's roads form two large loops. Today we took the lower loop. We crossed the continental divide a few times, saw a multitude of geysers of all sizes, shapes and descriptions (including Old Faithful shown here), many bison (some up close and personal), springs (Grand Prismatic Spring shown with whirlwind of steam - notice the effects of the devastating fire of 1988 in the background), lakes, rivers, waterfalls, a mud volcano, a sulfur cauldron, and an eagle in its nest. Just when we thought we'd seen everything, there was another surprise waiting around the corner. The temperature was 82 degrees as we watched Old Faithful erupt and it dropped down to 52 degrees within an hour as a front passed by. That's the northwest for you. Tomorrow, we'll tackle the upper loop (and we'll have jackets with us this time).

West Yellowstone, Montana

Well, we've done it....we finally arrived at the westernmost part of our trip. Today we traveled through parts of Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park to get to our campground for the next four days. Amazingly, we only stopped one time to see Kepler Cascades in Yellowstone (see picture). We drove right past Old Faithful and many other scenic spots only because we're going to go see them over the next few days without having to park the RV in the process. Stay tuned...

Grand Teton Park, WY

Another scenic drive and we arrive at Grand Teton National Park. We can sum it up in very few words: Oh My God!! Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll let these pictures tell the story for us.



'nuff said...

Making Plans in Riverton, WY

Another travel day with some awesome scenery. We are still in the flatlands of Wyoming but are beginning to get into the mountains. We've seen lots of deer and prairie dog mounds but not much else other than horses and cattle. As we relax in Riverton with WiFi access, we're making plans for the next week or so. So far, it looks like this: Sat in Grand Teton Park; Sun-Wed in West Yellowstone, MT; Thur-Sat in Cody, WY. This way we'll get to see Yellowstone from all sides. Can't wait...

Casper, WY or Bust

Today was another travel day as we headed north on US-25 into Wyoming. When we drove through Kansas into Colorado, I thought I'd seen treeless terrain. Well, was I ever wrong! No trees but what an awesome sight! Plains, mountains, cliffs...as far as the eyes can see. At this time, our I-Pod started playing the theme song to Paint Your Wagon. We turned up the volume and sang along...

Where am I goin'?
I don't know
Where am I headin'?
I ain't certain
All I know is I am on my way.

When will I be there?
I don't know
When will I get there?
I ain't certain
All that I know is I am on my way.

The emotion of the views and the meaning of the words put tears in my eyes as I sang along. We are on our way and living our dream... Where are we goin'?...stay tuned.

Last Day in Denver

Our last day in the Denver area was a busy one. We started off by going to the US Mint in downtown Denver for a tour. Unfortunately, even though their website says reservations aren't necessary, they were necessary so we didn't get in. Bummer! As we walked back to our car, we spotted the Denver Fire Department Museum so we paid it a visit. It contained a wide variety of vintage fire equipment and was a most interesting tour. Next, we were joined in Thornton for lunch by Donna Byers who moved to this area about three years ago after working many years with Susan at Grant Thornton in Raleigh.

After lunch, we headed northwest to the Rocky Mountain National Park to visit Estes Park, a quaint little town with lots of interesting shops and, as is fairly common in Colorado, lots of unique statuary and architecture. While we didn't do any window shopping there, we did take the cable tram to the top of the mountain and enjoyed breathtaking views from 8,900 feet of the Estes Park valley and the surrounding snow-capped mountains. Wow!

From there, it was back to Thornton for a final evening with Ken, Ceil and her mother, Vi, before heading back to the RV for a night's rest. Tomorrow we hit the road to Wyoming.

Golden and Boulder, CO

On Tuesday, we headed out to Golden, CO to tour the Coors Brewery headquartered there only to discover that they no longer offer tours on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Bummer! Oh well, we walked around the interesting downtown area and did a lot of window shopping.

Then we headed north about 20 miles back to Boulder, CO where we previously took the Celestial Seasonings tour. This time, we went to an area called the Pearl Street Mall, about a six block long walking mall. This mall was decorated with interesting sculptures and fountains and was nicely landscaped as well. A few hours of window shopping resulted in some good chocolate and a few other nice mementos.

One more day to go in Denver before we head north. Stay tuned...

Pike's Peak

On Monday, we took a two-hour drive south and arrived at the Cog Railway Depot in Manitou Springs at the base of Pikes Peak - see http://www.cograilway.com for details. There we met up with Kathi Waind, an old friend of Susan's from high school. We boarded the cog railroad train (BTW, we had the best seats on the train in the front row right next to the engineer) and rode up the steep (up to 26% grade) mountainside for about 1.5 hours before arriving at the top of Pikes Peak. Just as we were arriving it started to snow! It stopped as we got off the train. Needless to say, it was COLD, the scenery was breathtaking and, at over 14,000 feet above sea level, we were suffering from mild altitude sickness. It didn't take long to see the views and head indoors for lunch before descending back down the mountain. This time, we had a beautiful view out the back of the train. It was so nice to breathe normally again when we got back to the station. What a wonderful day and certainly one of the highlights of our trip so far.

Sunday around Denver

At the end of my last post, I mentioned the delicious BBQ ribs made by my son, Ken. Well, here he is making those ribs. At the risk of repeating myself...yum, yum! BTW, the Denver area is not at all what we expected. We imagined that we'd be in the mountains as soon as we got into Colorado. Au contraire Pierre. Everything (including most of Denver) is flat. The mountains start just west of Denver and are visible everywhere. Pretty cool indeed.

Sunday was a 50/50 day. We spent 50% of the day doing all the laundry that we've accumulated and visiting with the family and 50% driving to Boulder, CO and touring the Celestial Seasonings factory. This was on Susan's "must do" list. Her eyes opened real wide when we got there because they were having a tea tent sale. The bad news was they didn't have her favorite blend on sale so she just bought a bunch of it in their store.

Colby, KS to Denver, CO

Today was basically a 'get there' day for us. With all the books Susan has about things to do and see, there wasn't anything we found that we (or, to be more accurate, Susan) found worth stopping for...and I really wanted to see the World's Largest Prairie Dog. Oh well...

As we left the campground, we passed by the Colby Visitor's Center and I slowed the RV down enough to get a picture as we drove by. Nice use of a silo, I thought. We ambled along I-70 for about four hours, passing into Mountain Standard Time and eventually into Colorado. When we got to Denver, Jill (our GPS tour guide) directed us to take highway E-470 - without a doubt the most expensive toll road we've ever driven - $12 to go 9 miles! We set up camp at Barr Lake RV Park and my son, Ken, came out and brought us to his home where he and his wonderful wife, Ceil, treated us to a delicious BBQ rib dinner. Don't wake me 'til morning...

Topeka to Colby, KS

Before I comment on today's activities, I first have to tell you where all the railroad trains have gone - the mid-west! On top of that, they seem to run all night long and they love to blow their whistles. We know this for a fact...we've heard them every night for the past week. At least America's products are moving...

This morning we visited the Eisenhower Center about three blocks from the campground. We first toured the home where Dwight D. Eisenhower was born and raised (see picture). Then we spent hours at the Museum where his life was covered in detail. There was also a section on all of our presidents with pictures and memorabilia from many of them. A most interesting and informative place indeed.

Then we hit the road and traveled to Colby, KS where we will spend the night. Tomorrow, we're off to Denver.

Topeka, KS and beyond

We started the day with a relatively short drive (1.5 hours) to Topeka, KS where we took our first factory tour of the trip at Hallmark Cards. The factory was conveniently located next to I-70 and, since our tour was scheduled for 12:30, we sat in their parking lot and watched TV for an hour. I said this was a rough life. ;-)

At 12:30, we were met in the lobby by our tour guide, Charlie, who is a long-time employee. He was as gracious as he was informed while he showed us the entire operation from printing, embossing, applying flitter (made from plastic - not glitter which is made from glass), applying foil, cutting, folding, making envelopes, packaging and shipping. What a neat operation. They employ about 650 workers and turn out billions of cards each year. The big product being made now is Christmas cards. A smooth operation and a fun tour.

Back in the RV for another 1.5 hours to Abilene, KS where we will spend the night. In the morning, we'll visit the Eisenhower Center (looks like we're on the Dead Presidents Tour, doesn't it?) before venturing further west on I-70.

Independence, MO

Another 240+ miles on the old odometer and we find ourselves in Independence, MO. Of course, we had to go to the Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum & Library - our first presidential library visit. This place covered in detail the life of President Truman and his family. The top floor was dedicated to his years as president and all of the many historical decisions he made. The lower floor was devoted to his life out of office from childhood until his death. In the center of the building was a beautiful memorial garden (see picture) where Harry and Bess Truman are interred in a bed of blue flowers. A most interesting visit. To cap off the day, we gorged ourselves on some delicious Kansas City style beef barbecue - and there was even enough left over for lunch tomorrow. Yum, yum!

St Louis, MO

Another 340+ miles and 6-hour drive under our belt and we arrived in St Louis. The land sure is a lot flatter out here but I suspect the flattest is yet to come. ;-) The cool thing is that we gained an hour since we entered the Central Time Zone, so we even had time to play tourist once we got the RV parked. And play we did...with a short drive to where else but the awesome Gateway Arch. We had fun getting there because of some minor flooding along the Mississippi that closed the normal access road...but get there we did. BTW, I think St Louis has the roughest, but most scenic, brick roads we've ever driven on. But what a glorious site! The Arch is surrounded by a nicely landscaped park and the mighty Mississippi River was flowing alongside (albeit a little closer than normal). We took the tram ride to the top of the arch. A bit confining but well worth it for the fabulous views once we reached the top. Access to the tram was underground below the arch. There is also a large and unique history museum and several stores in that basement area. A most enjoyable experience indeed.

Tomorrow, we'll be heading further west to parts as yet unknown (to us). We'll let you know where when we get there.

Lexington, Kentucky

After a 340+ mile drive through mountainous West Virginia, we arrived at the Kentucky Horse Park Campground in Lexington, KY. What a neat place! On Monday morning, after a heavy rain, we toured the Kentucky Horse Park itself. First, we watched the Parade of Breeds, which included seven different breeds of horses including a Quarter horse, an Arabian, an Andalusian and a Morgan. Then we toured the grounds and saw a variety of carriages and tack. Last, but not least, we gawked at their museum which has some of the many trophies won by Calumet Farms including multiple trophies from the Triple Crown races. That's a lot of silver!! Outside, there were life-sized statues commemorating famous champions of the past including Secretariat and Man O War.

After lunch, we headed out to the Keeneland horse track where we met up with our old friend, Sterling duVall, who has worked there for many years. He gave us a very interesting tour of the beautiful stadium and track, the auction barn, the surrounding grounds and capped it off with a stop at the Keeneland Library where the history of horse racing is kept. I was surprised that it only costs $3.00 to enter the track and watch the races. Of course, the betting costs a little more...

Back to the RV for a night's rest, then we're off to St Louis, MO.

Our Last Day in Galax

Our week in Galax is almost over. We spent our last day in Galax in two different ways. I took my fiddle and banjo and went into town and spent most of the day playing old-time music at the Leaf and String Festival. Susan stayed at the RV to do some housekeeping and read more of her latest book. Tomorrow is a big travel day for us. We plan to drive some 340 miles north through West Virginia and then head west to Lexington, KY where we plan to stay for a few days at the Kentucky Horse Park Campground. I don't think they have WiFi so it may be a while until our next post. Until then...

More Galax, VA

On Wednesday, we sat around and took life easy. We even played a little par-3 golf. That evening, I drove to Independence, VA for the weekly old-time jam at the city courthouse. We played outside in a gazebo and had about 14 musicians playing. There was one young man named Marlon who was a real whiz on the fiddle. I had a fun time!

On Wednesday and Thursday, members of the Sams-O-Wake RV club arrived and set up for this month's rally at Deer Creek RV Park near Galax. Timing was perfect this year as Galax is holding it's annual Leaf and String Festival in the downtown area on Friday and Saturday. We went to town with most of the club on Friday. Lots of local artists and vendors have taken over four blocks of Main Street and there is old-time and bluegrass music being played everywhere. I had the opportunity to play with some of the locals at the old-time jam tent.

The highlight of the day for Susan was having a chance to meet P. Buckley Moss, a renowned artist, who specializes in Amish and nature related paintings. Susan bought a copy of her autobiography and she gladly autographed it to Susan. Amazingly, we found that she is taking the same Mediterranean cruise on the same ship that we are taking in September, but she's going a few months later. She asked us to send her pictures of our trip when we get back. A very nice lady.

Blacksburg, VA

One of the fun things we're looking forward to doing on our trip is to visit old friends that we haven't seen in a long time. Today, we drove north to Blacksburg, VA to visit Dave and Rita Weaver who we met and became close friends with back when we lived in Farmville, VA in the late 1970's. We haven't seen them since they relocated to Blacksburg over 25 years ago. It was so nice to see the "old man" again (Dave is a whole two days older than I am and we've always jointly celebrated our birthdays on the day in between). They took us on a tour of the beautiful campus of Virginia Tech where we visited the memorial (see picture) built to honor the students and teachers that were lost on April 16, 2007. There are 32 'Hokie Stones' - each with the name of one of the lost - arranged in a semi-circle facing the buildings where the events took place. Quite moving indeed. After seeing the rest of the VT campus, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Applebees where their daughter, Sarah, works. She was just a young teenager when we last saw her. Oh, how time flies... On the drive back 'home', we drove through a hailstorm! Thank the heavens it was small hail! At least the car is now free of pollen and dirt.

Galax, VA

We took it pretty easy today. Still hot, but we didn't let that stop us from having fun. We briefly visited downtown Galax (we'll spend more time there on Friday at their Leaf and String Festival), then walked around Hillsville but there wasn't anything worth spending $$ on there. Then Susan suggested we go to Chateau Morrisette (a mountain winery located on the Blue Ridge Parkway) for lunch. Unfortunately for us (but fortunately for our wallet), it is closed on Mondays. Oh well... We decided to drive down the Parkway back to Galax instead of the usual roads. In a few miles we stopped at Mabry Mill (see picture) and enjoyed a delicious lunch there overlooking the mountains. Well fed, we continued for an hour or so enjoying the views from the Parkway back to the campground. Then we relaxed...

Mount Airy, NC

Our big adventure begins as we arrive at the Bluegrass and Old Time Fiddler's Convention at the fairgrounds in Mount Airy on Wednesday afternoon, June 4th. We quickly got hooked up and settled in for several days of visiting with old friends, making new friends and, of course, playing lots of good ol' fiddle music until late into the night. Turnout this year seemed to be a bit less than previous years...probably due to the weather...no, not the usual rainstorms but it was just plain HOT! Most days, the high temperature hovered in the upper 90s to around 100 degrees with the humidity not far behind. Most of the jamming took place in the evenings and well into the night as the temperatures became more bearable. Regardless of the heat, I wouldn't trade these times for anything...good friends, good tunes and good laughs are what life is all about.

On Thursday afternoon, we decided to take a little side trip to see Pilot Mountain State Park for the first time. We have admired this unique mountain for many years as we've traveled back and forth on Hwy 52 between Winston-Salem NC and Mt Airy but have never taken the time to stop and view its beauty. Pilot Mountain stands 1,400 feet above the valley floor and has a 200' high knob at its peak. Am I ever happy that we weren't driving the RV up there. The road was steep and windy but the view was more than worth it (and it was only 93 degrees with a nice breeze up there...ahhh).

Sunday, June 8th. After four nights of playing music until the wee hours of the morning, we hit the road for the next leg of our adventure. We drove a whole 26 miles up to Deer Creek RV Resort in the mountains of Galax, VA. Other than a quick trip to the grocery store, we're going to relax for the rest the day before beginning a week of exploring this area. More to follow....