11-25-08 Tuesday (Toothless Heads)

Jim called 2 places this morning looking for the oven part we need. So far, no hits. If we confirm the part is correct, we can get it overnighted for tomorrow from an Internet based store. Since the mobile RV guy came within the first 45 minutes of our call, hopefully we'd have the same luck for tomorrow once the part arrives. So many variables. I wonder if turkey hotdogs would be tasty?

Confirmation of the part has been achieved. Confirmation of it being in stock on a website vendor is also complete. Jim has placed the order for the part. $85.00 for the part + $35.00 to overnight. Still cheaper than a new oven.

We just came home from a trip to Grand Teton National Forest.... in Wyoming. Yes, we came to Idaho to go to Wyoming. It was a great roadtrip though. We were gone for about 7 hours today. We loved the scenic roads! We couldn't go deep inside Grand Teton because the roads were closed for the season. Jackson, Wyoming was a tourist trap town, but still looked fun to shop around in. We didn't shop, it was too cold for that and we don't need anymore junk. We did eat at a great restaurant. I'm not sure how the locals pronounce it. It was called "Taco Bell". After lunch, we drove to Moran, WY. We were about 10 miles away from Yellowstone's South Entrance.

While these 2 pictures are included in the slide show, they came out so beautifully, I had to feature them. They look great in the slideshow when I zoom on them.

I've been getting too fancy with my video slideshow creations. The files they are creating are enormous. I have to convert them to a small size and lower resolution which defeats the purpose of seeing nice photos. Even after conversion, they're large enough to lag behind on your Internet connection. I'll have to go back to regular ole slideshows or just posting them individually. Opinions please! Any problems with the video below?

09-25-08 Thursday (Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz)

On the road again, to Denver. Actually the outskirts of Denver to Aurora. I’m happy to report that the hydraulic jacks behaved this time. I knew you’d wonder. It was a fairly uneventful day. I know, you’re disappointed. No emergency Cherokee disconnects either.

We arrived at Cherry State Park, the office was closed. We looked at the board of available spaces, chose one, and set up. Hey, it can't ALL be exciting.

09-24-08 Wednesday (3 Nuns and a Baby)

Awaking to 32 degrees yesterday, sucked. Waking to 24 degrees today royally sucked. As I reeled in the slide, a large chunk of something fell on the outside and crashed. I thought it was a sheet of ice, Jim thought it was something horrific like, I dunno, 3 nuns and a baby falling down. Upon investigation, he called me outside…. brrrrrrr, and with camera in hand, I snapped a photo of the great plate of ice that had met its demise on the ground below. We worked quickly to get on the road at a decent hour. We were so proud of ourselves. BUT THEN, the jacks wouldn’t register as being retracted. It was time to add some more ATF to the reservoir. (Remember, they leak). I have to update you to the fact that a week or so ago, we bought an oil can of sorts to reach up into the fender and squirt the fluid into the reservoir since a funnel won’t even reach it. Where was I? Oh, so Jim squirts it up in there but he needs more. He can’t get the cap off the oiler. I grab one end, he twists the other. The damn thing won’t budge. Too cold? Jim uses a cut up plastic cup to get it in, or messily get it in there. Finally! 45 minutes later, it worked. Now we can hit the road. Onward to Casper, Wyoming again.

µPictured above is the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming.

We drove through the same area again. Boysen State Park, Wind River Canyon, Thermopolis, etc. It was a pleasure driving the same route because it’s so pretty. We arrived at the same campground as the last time and even the same site number.

09-23-08 Tuesday (Slow Down Carl)

Awaking to 32 degrees sucks. Frigidly, we drove the last leg of Yellowstone and of course stopped at all the different features. There were so many more mud pots (boiling mud springs) in addition to many more hot springs. I didn’t even take any pictures. Don’t get me wrong; I was still intrigued with them but we had seen so many over the week, that I’m not sure if anyone would ever know if it was the same pictures, only recycled. Our final destination was Old Faithful again. We didn’t go to see it erupt again, but rather catch all the other stuff around, from the other direction. At this point, it was getting late and we still had roughly an hour and a half drive back to the camp site. Yes, it does take a long time. I told you that Yellowstone is big. Pay attention. I’m sure Carl could have made it back in 45 minutes but I wonder how many animals he may have displaced. We ate at the Geyser Grill. It’s kinda like a fast food joint. It did the job.

09-22-08 Monday (Hot & Sweaty Springs)

There’s still another leg of the park we wanted to see so a day trip to Montana was in order. The target area is known to have bears in the area. We never saw one but the drive was still worth it. On the way out of the park in the Mammoth Hot Springs area (still within Yellowstone) was Elk O’Plenty. They were all over the place. I asked a park ranger if this was typical for them, and he said that this particular group of Elk liked to “hang out” here. It was amazing.

We skipped the Hot Springs for now; we were low on gas. We did stop to see “The Petrified Tree”. I took a photo, but we weren’t all that excited.

Once out of Yellowstone, we ventured into a small town called “Gardiner” where we stopped for fuel, then to the “Two Bit Saloon” for burgers. After lunch, we hit a souvenir shop, and a grocery store. At the grocery store was this reward sign. Read it, I thought it to be amusing.

Jim drove us up this dirt trail around a small residential neighborhood called “Jardin”. It almost became scary at times, as I felt like any minute, I’d hear dueling banjos. Some sights were pretty and some not so pretty. Here’s something you don’t see everyday; checkout the home made RV. This qualifies as one of those redneck motorhome photos similar to the one at the top of my blog that I rotate out on the title. I really thought some of this was just bogus on the internet but now I’ve seen one with my own eyes. Scary.


Back into Yellowstone we go. We stopped at the Mammoth Hot Springs and toured those. Well, they rock just like the others, only this set has created terraces. This area varies on active and inactive hot springs. The white stuff in these pictures isn’t snow. Checkout the warning signs they always have posted at the various hot springs. I love the illustration of the boy getting toasted.

As usual throughout the park are many hot springs. One roadside set struck me as very unique as there wasn’t much water but rather the entire soil area bubbled and made sizzling noises.

A coyote sighting! Look below, we were so close to it but stayed inside the Cherokee. The people outside and up close to this thing are stupid.

2 Coyote videos below:







During the remainder of the drive, it began to rain. Rain then turned to snow. We pulled over to document our first snow. While I was raised in NY and dealt with snow more times than I’d care to remember, this was cool for Jim. We eventually drove out of the snowing area, so we don’t know if it stuck.



Wait! There's more!

Slideshow

Montana Drive (above)

Montana Stream (above)

Yellowstone River (above)

4 scenes from Yellowstone Mammoth Springs below

9-21-08 Sunday (Thar' She Blows)

This park goes on for miles and miles and yet every turn offers a view or trail. The park is split up into sections, almost like townships. Most sections offer campgrounds, fuel, general stores, lodging etc. On our way to Old Faithful (an hour drive), we again witnessed Bison and Deer here and there. We stopped at West Thumb Geyser Basin which was amazing. Hot springs were all over the place. Some offered clear water views and some were cloudy. Not as hard to see as the mud pots which was basically boiling mud. A lot of the springs in this section were overflowing into West Thumb Lake which connected to Yellowstone Lake. Some springs were in the middle of the lake. Some were crystal clear, other than steam. We spotted one that had coral reef type life at the bottom and I’m sure could have sustained tropical fish. Spectacular. All of it. The temperatures at most of these were about 167.

Cool picture slideshow below:

We made it to Old Faithful and decided to catch some lunch before watching the eruption. Old Faithful Inn sounded good for some burgers. After we ate we made our way toward the famous geyser; we apparently missed the eruption by 20 minutes or so. We stopped into a cafeteria for hot chocolate and soda, and parked our asses on a porch with rockers overlooking the geyser. A 45 minute wait well worth the time. Old Faithful blew and it was grand. Just as a note, there are many other small erupting geysers around Old Faithful with small eruptions. (Video Below)

By the way, while we waited for the eruption, I text messaged those of you I thought would have text messaging abilities with “Waiting on Old Faithful to erupt”. With some humorous replies mixed in from some of you, Laurie & Pearl wanted to know where we were to find us on a webcam. I called them and found that Nancy had come up with the idea. The eruption was already complete by this time but it was fun to figure out where the cam was based on what Pearl described she was seeing. Like “OK, a guy in a blue jacket just stood up…” We found the cam (Pictured on the left), which updated every 45 seconds (I think she said) and we were able to wave to them! It was so fun; I called Dave and had him look. Between everyone, here’s some pictures of Jim and I at the webcam. I think that was the most fun. Makes one really appreciate technology. Nancy says there’s one at the Grand Canyon so maybe we’ll do it again.

Below are some screen captures from the Old Faithful Webcam, compliments of Dave Ward. (We're the ones waving!)

An end to the day with some old recorded TV shows (last night we watched a DVD) and yummy hot chocolate. After all, it is about 36 degrees out!

More videos:





Kepler Cascade (above)

Geyser Basin 1 (above)

Geyser Basin 2 (above)

Geyser Basin 3 (above)

Geyser Basin 4 (above)

Thanks to Pearl for texting "Thar she blows".... it made a great title!

09-20-08 Saturday (Getting Our $ Worth)

Well, today made the visit to Yellowstone worthwhile. Apparently the old man at the rest area that Jim spoke to, was a coot. It’s very difficult to remember where we saw different things. Yellowstone is very large. We saw Yellowstone’s Mud Volcano, Canyon and Waterfall today. Along the way to each of these attractions was endless beauty. We were fortunate to watch a buffalo walking along the roadside. Bison are actually very dangerous according to various signs posted throughout the park. We spotted a Coyote and I took the best picture I could. Deer were roadside here and there. A visitor center taught us some things we never knew. I wasn’t aware that most of Yellowstone is on an active volcano. I just thought Old Faithful is. I guess that would explain why there are so many awesome attractions featuring hot springs and bubbling mud.

Slideshow below:

It's difficult to capture the beauty of a geyser, mud volcano, etc without seeing it in motion so I've included a link to today's videos. (Right click on the picture below to open a new window)

2008-09-20 Videos

Although it rained today, and even some hail, it didn’t affect our sightseeing. I’m sure tomorrow will be just as spectacular.

09-19-08 Friday (Gun Fight?)

Here’s some photos of the view from the campground in Casper, WY. I have to tell you that their dog walk was in a fenced area in sand. I felt like I was in a giant litter box, which of course it basically is. I looked to the sky for a giant cat poop scoop. Fortunately, none was found.

Should we downsize to this?

Departing Casper Wyoming was a drive chock full of beautiful scenery. The balance of mountains, trees, and streams were perfect. We stopped at a rest area and Jim took Dasher to the fenced dog run. I stood by the coach and viewed the scenery. Just then, a Wal-Mart truck pulled right beside our coach. Photo opportunity. I guess the caption is “We haven’t been to Wal-Mart lately, so they came to us.” As I snapped the photo, Jim called my cell phone for me to hurry over to the dog run with the camera. It looked like deer or something in the distance. It was hard to see and the binoculars weren’t conveniently located. Can anyone tell what they are?







Unfortunately I’m confusing the different routes and parks where we spotted different features so I’ve rewritten this entry several times and at last edit, I have left out specifics. Some of it was Boysen State Park and others were from Wind River Canyon.

We drove through Boysen State Park and marveled at its beauty. We encountered an interesting sight. In the distance, were cowboys and cowgirls, herding cattle on the side of the road. That was something I don’t see very often, or uh, never, so I scurried for the camera again.

Video Below

Even more beautiful countryside drenched our senses. (Wow, creative writing). We approached a sign that read “3 tunnels ahead”; I was able to get the camera out for the last one. Railroad tracks nestled the other side of the stream and had a tunnel of its own. Further down was a large lake which was man-made according to the sign but beautiful nonetheless. The entire view was postcard worthy. All of these roads had pull-offs for stopping or allowing people to pass or whatever. In our case, we used one as a place to stop for lunch. No Pilot gas station lunch, no moth in the mayo, just an awesome, relaxing lunch. We then drove through a tunnel, once again.

Tunnel Videos Below:

Closer to Yellowstone, was a really neat town called Thermopolis which boasted information and tours and such on the Hotsprings. Reading online I discovered the natural hotsprings provide 120 degree water which is cooled down and then provided to various spas and bathhouses in the area.

The last town before hitting Yellowstone was Cody. Cody seemed like a great place to sightsee. We’ll probably stop there on our departure from Yellowstone.


Here's a slideshow of the awesome scenery:


Before entering the Yellowstone guard gate, we saw about 6 cars parked with people looking over a guard rail with cameras and such. We figured something interesting is down below so we pulled the RV over and investigated. Apparently they were watching a Grisly that was now out of sight. We gave up and went on our way. We entered Yellowstone, paid $25 to enter. Eh gads. We were told we had 27 miles more before the campground. Internet and cell phone service at this point were non-existent except for a few spots we drove past. 27 miles of uphill climbing sure took a long time. On the way, we saw people doing a similar bear watching thing but we had no place for the RV to pull over. I was able to see a couple of beavers down below. I couldn’t take any pictures; hopefully we’ll see them again.

We reached the campsite (Fishing Bridge) and it barely fit the RV. The site isn’t really deep enough. We also have no internet and fear we might perish of boredom here. After we see Old Faithful, we’ll decide if it’s worth sticking around here. Sitting outside tonight revealed pretty scary sounds in the woods. Howling and roaring. Not very comforting. Later in the evening we heard what sounded like a gunshot. Guns are illegal here so we wondered if something has attacked and a Ranger put it down?

09-18-08 Thursday (New Holiday?)

Today is Journey-To-Wyoming-Day. While this may not be a National Holiday, it sure was a smooth going day for us. I think it may deserve to be a National Holiday.

Jim wasn’t pleased with the drive through Denver. It was 10 lanes, then 6 lanes, HOV lanes, etc. There was a lot of traffic but with it being a wide highway, vehicles were not bumper to bumper which was nice. Jim’s main bitch was that it seemed never-ending.

As we drove through Wyoming, various cut out figures were at different hilltops. One was a cowboy, another buffalo, etc. I snapped a photo of one, but it wasn’t really that interesting to get into the “Collect ‘em all” mentality.

The night before Jim had filled the fresh water tank to the top. With the weather being so cold, it’s hard to coil up the hoses. He had hoped that we’d be able to shower and such off the tank’s supply and that in the morning, we’d have one less thing to do before hitting the road. We had plenty of water, and in fact, too much. The excess water creates weight. It’s like 8.3 pounds = 1 gallon of water. We probably had 30-50 gallons too much. At the first rest area, we figured we’d dump some, but of course there was a sign prohibiting the dumping of water and/or waste. What’s the frickin’ chances? Of all the traveling we’ve done so far, this is the first time I’ve seen such a sign that specifically named water. We spent some time while smoking on the possible reasoning. It ices? Too muddy? Someone who made the sign is a crack-smoker? Dunno.

At another rest area, Jim pulled up to a dump station/water station where he removed the bugs from the windshield. He spoke with a neighboring dumper about Yellowstone. The old guy told Jim there isn’t much to do there. We’ll see once we get there. We may reorganize our schedule if 4 days is too much.





With much anticipation we arrived to the KOA in Casper, WY (Barr Nunn). In other words, there isn’t much to do there. We quickly setup the pure basics and then headed into town where we went to the mall which had the usual department stores as well as Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and some others. Jim needed to get some hiking boots. Next we were to have dinner at “On The Border”. They weren’t open yet (new place) but next door was this awesome place called “Sanford’s Grub and Pub”. They have about 8 locations. It’s mostly car themed but has so much to look at inside. The food was good too. Interesting menu of fried pickles, strange burger combinations, etc. I didn’t have my camera with me. I was glad that “On The Border” wasn’t yet opened.

Miscellaneous photos I thought were interesting:

Costco fuel pump. I loved the picture of the woman about to burst into flames!

The population count was fun.