June 14 - Capital Reef, Anasazi Village, Escalante

June 14, 2008 - Hanksville, UT to Cannonville, UT
Capital Reef National Park, Anasazi Village, Escalante Steeps

I wonder which state has the most scenic byways? If Utah isn't the top of the list it has got to be close. Every turn, the land changes, there are federal, state parks and little jewels of towns everywhere.

Left Hanksville, UT headed down I-24 towards Capital Reef National Park. This park is in a narrow valley with the Fremont River running through it. It's been home to many settlements of Puebloan people, early western settlers, Mormons and other folk. These civilizations have come and gone with the climate and how much water is in the
river. Enough comes in now to have fruit orchards and cottonwood trees along the river. We wanted to come to this park to see the petroglyphs(carved or pecked into the rock, not painted) and other remnants of the Freemont culture from 700 to 1300 AD.



The visitor center was very good even having pots from the period. One thing the National Park Service does right is visitor center personnel and information. A ranger told us not to miss the Grand Wash Trail off of the Scenic Drive Road. Most people don't attempt it except serious hikers) as it looks too rough to drive in. But we are Truck Camper people right? Any other type of RV would have had a hard time turning at the end or on the Grand Wash Trail. We finally got to see the real Utah wild canyons, eagles and hiking trails. Did we fully walk the trail marked "extreme" into the Butch Cassidy Arch all the way to the end? No but we started it and sweated about a quart of water each. Magnificent scenery - no way do descriptions or pictures do it justice. Trailhead started at N38 15.82 W111 12.97. Echo Cliff was just that with the crows calling and echoing like a chorus.





Continued on to the end of the Scenic Drive, across many areas that get flash floods when it rains in the hills. Dry, hot and about 85 degrees today but you could see what would happen when it rained. This road is about 8 miles long and covers about every type of rock in Utah. Both of these drives/hikes are musts if you are anywhere nearby.

At Torrey, Route 12 heads south towards Dixie National Forest, Escalante National Monument and Bryce Canyon. Route 12 is among the best scenic byways we've been on. The road rises through five different life zones from high desert to coniferous forests at 7,800 feet. MANY 14% grades with jackknife turns keep you on your tow-haul
toes. I pity anyone with an RV without tow-haul and good brakes up on this road.

On the downside of Escalante is Boulder, UT, a small, very neat town with the We wandered the exhibits including the dig of an actual village. Didn't spend as much time as we wanted to because a huge bus full of screaming teenagers pulled in and overran the place. Onward!

Quite the drive through more of the Dixie National Forest to Cannonville. At one place the road had about 3 feet on each side until a sheer drop off into canyons on both sides. Would not be a fun winter road.



We chose to stop at a commercial campground tonight to do laundry, catch up on family emails and (of course!) RV.NET. Need to spend some time shaking out the dust and road debris and ready ourselves for Bryce, Zion and the north rim of the Grand Canyon. A couple we talked to today had major snow on the north rim just a few days ago. Thought the strong sewer smell was from our camper and that we had a leak
problem until we heard the horses neighing in the pasture next to us

It's 87 degrees, dry as a bone and we're going to take advantage of the 30 amp power and turn on the AC tonight to at least cool down the camper. Stiff breeze so it should cool off later. Bryce is supposed to be 100F tomorrow but Grand Canyon is supposed to be in the high 80s later this week. Keep thinking about our truck camper friend FlyFisher Dave and his trip to Alaska and wondering if he has his parka on yet.

Along the Colorado River and Arches National Park

June 12 - Along the Colorado River and Arches National Park

Tonight we are on BLM land along the Colorado River. Thought it would be pretty rowdy
when a whole pack of bicylists rolled in but once their tents were set up - they crashed!

Finally - a hot, dry, sunny day with not a taste of snow. After pouring over possible ways to get to Arches National Park from Green River, UT, we chose to go across I-70 to Cisco and take Route 128 south along the Colorado River. We try to find Scenic Byways if we can and this one was particularly scenic. The land along
I-70 has that blasted look of desert with almost no greenery, lots of sage brush,
rabbits and probably a lot of snakes but I wasn't going looking for them. A sign on the highway said "Eagles in Highway". They must pick up the road kill but we didn't see any - eagles or road kill.

We sort of looked at each other when we turned down Route 128 because it was a small road leading off forever. On we drove and suddenly you turn a corner and there in the distance is a low, long line of red. Not sure what it is until you get closer and see that it is a wall of red rock, buttes, boulders, and finally greenery in a string along the Colorado River.





This is part of the west we came looking for. We stopped over and over to stand awestruck in front of a wall or canyon of red rock. We walked a ways into a canyon but didn't lose sight of the road. Figured it would be pretty embarrassing to get rescued as "Two tourists from Maine who were too dumb to find the road again". We watched the rafters put in on the river and saw some ride over the rapids. The river rides are a huge business in this part of the country. About every other shop we saw in Moab had something to do with rafting, pack trips, canyon trips, Jeep excursions or "rent a Hummer excursions".



The National Park Service visitor center at Arches National Park did a very good job on explaining the geology of what you would see up in Arches. School is out in the west and there were a lot more people around than we had anticipated. The campground at the top of Arches was already full. We took the main road and all the side roads up to the top of Arches National Park and just could not believe our eyes. No way to explain how vast this land is and how red the earth is, with arches, spires, knobs, and canyons. We walked up to some of the arches but didn't do as many as we wanted due to the heat and altitude.





A ranger took quite a bit of time with us and helped us plot our course from Arches to Canyonland top and bottom to Natural Bridge to Capitol Reef to Bryce to Zion to north rim of the Grand Canyon to south rim. He asked if were planning on a two week trip to do this!! Hopefully we will be able to camp in some of the national parks in Utah but since we don't' know where we will be when, hard to make reservations. Tonight we are on BLM lands on the Colorado River just north of Moab. We were going into Moab to a recommended restaurant for authentic Mexican food but too nice to just sit by the river and eat left over steak and salad.

4163 miles $1,692.49 in diesel, 370 gallons for overall 11.25 miles per gallon. Not that horrible considering all the mountain driving we have been doing plus the stopping constantly.

Tomorrow we head off to Canyonlands National Park. Weather is supposed to be high 80s and sunny.

June 11 - Manila, UT to Green River, Utah

June 11 - Manila, UT to Green River, Utah

Today started with (what else) snow and freezing rain in Manila, Utah. We dieseled up for $4.72 and headed down Route 44 to Forest Road 218 which is known as Sheep Creek Road. This road is through part of the Ashley National Forest and is a real treasure of geology.



At every turn the rock formations change, in both form and color. We took a very leisurely drive never seeing another vehicle or person. Lots of rabbits, cattle, deer and raptors but only one small ranch but no one around. This is less than a 15 mile drive around the loop but took us over an hour and a half as we kept stopping to climb a bit and take pictures.



We next stopped at the Red Canyon Visitor Center which hangs over the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. The weather was just perfect by then, bright sun, clear sky, up to 36F degrees but no wind. You could see forever. We walked the trails around the rim, keeping carefully back from about a 1700 foot drop to the rocks and water below.



Followed on to the dam at the base of the reservoir but the walkway to the backside to see the dam was closed for renovation. Interesting posters gave the history of how the dam was built. Backtracked up the grade from the dam and continued on Route 191. There is 7 miles of 8% grade with ten switchbacks going up and over a mountain range. Interesting driving especially pulling into the turnouts so the locals could fly by.



We passed phosphate mine operations and about a bazillion cattle ranches way back in the mountains. The houses had no electric poles to them so they either run off of solar or generator. Would hate to be back in there in the winter.

Made a stop at the Red Fleet State Park to see three big red rock formations that look like ships under sail. Then on to Vernal to the Utah Museum of Natural History. Had to make a decision to get a bit of rest off the road or push on a bit closer to Arches and Canyonland National Parks. LONG drive down Route 6 which is the fastest road we've been on in the west. It's flat, 70 mile an hour posted and interesting seeing the buttes and sand dunes on the east side of the road. Not too many people in the west go the speed limit and I don't mean slow. We made it to Green River to a small campground. Tomorrow we start our Grand Circle of the National Parks.

Getting close to time for a rest and relax day with no driving. We'll try to find a space within one of the parks and just relax and enjoy the west.

Victor, Idaho to Flaming Gorge Reservoir

Tuesday, June 10

Today ended our second week on the road. Doesn't seem that long and in another way it seems forever. We fought the wind and weather all day today in addition to walking a LOT at 7,000+ feet so we are a bit tired tonight. As a treat, we baked potatoes and grilled a steak in the TC convection oven, the first time we'd tried that. Worked great until the smoke alarm went off.

We left Victor,Idaho in thick snow and travel led up through the Targhee National Forest Reserve into what can only be described as wilderness. The Reserve is split by a level, fertile valley called Swan Valley, filled with herds of horses and cattle. Many outfitters take pack trains out of the valley and up into the wilderness for both scenic rides and for hunting. There were also row after row of snowmobiles for rent. Asked the young clerk at a diesel stop how much snow they got last winter and he said over 18'.

From Alpine, WY south, Tiny town after town are spread out down Route 89 with nothing in between but prairie and distant snow covered mountains. This is what Route 89 looks like.



It is a stark land with almost no cattle, wildlife or houses. Took us a long time to figure out that the big storage tanks inside of chair link fences were not part of an oil pipe line but were natural gas. Looks empty but wealthy underneath.

Across the main street of Afton, WY is an elk antler arch with two fighting elk on top. Raining too hard to get out and examine it a bit closer but sure catches your eye!



We switched over to Route 30 and headed for Fossil Butte National Monument just past Sage, WY. Both of us have a high interest in geology and paleontology. The education center is in a beautiful wooden building nestled into the side of a hill and heated/run with solar. Why nestled? because of the almost constant fierce wind. This area was once an inland sea/lake and the fish and other life was preserved in very thin layers that will break apart in thin sheets. Really amazing to seethe actual preparation of a fish for exhibit. We drove a long, dirt road up to the top of one of the buttes to picnic and then walked up the rest of the road to see the view. We chickened out on taking the TC up a 17% grade but walked part of it. Ouch!




Tonight we are camped at the end of Anvil Draw Road in Flaming Gorge Reservoir. There is no sight of any human habitation or structure, only a long dirt road, fiercely howling wind and three pronghorns who just walked by. I've never in my life been in such a remote place. The TC is working perfectly, generator to run the oven to cook a steak for supper as it is too windy to even think about cooking outside. Finally broke down and got an air card and it worked here so can upload tonight. Pitch black dark outside, raining and windy. You got to love a TC. This is what it looked like when we set up with legs firmly down to keep from rocking in the wind.



Tomorrow we head to the southern end of Flaming Gorge Reservoir to see the story of how it was created and to see the dam. Then back roads to Arches National Park and Canyonland to start our Great Circle route of the National Parks in UT, AZ and CO.

The Tetons - and getting there

Monday, June 9

Tonight we are in Victor, Idaho, a tiny little town set deep in a broad mountain valley. Very small campground but it has wi-fi and a laundry which we sorely needed. Getting here was an adventure as we went up the 10% grade of the Teton Pass on route 22 and down the other side. No way to explain how much we love tow haul and the ease of not having to stand on your brakes at all. First time on a 10% grade and it wasn't as hairy as we expected.



We bid a fond farewell to Flyfisher Dave last night as knew he would get an earlier start than we did. Heard his diesel fire up at 6AM so he's back on the road to Alaska. It was pretty special being able to spend time with a TC friend and we wish him well on his trip. Thanks Dave for fixing the kitchen cabinet door and the antenna tip. No telling how long that had been bent up or where it got caught.

We travelled through Yellowstone again today, stopping first at Firehole Canyon to see the falls. Dave and many others have told us that there is not usually this volumn of water in Yellowstone and it is pretty rare to see the rivers and streams so full. We were pleased since the waterfalls have been roaring!

Next we drove the Fountain Flat Drive and spent quite a bit of time watching an osprey catch fish....hover, hover, hover, flutter, dive and up it would come with a fish. Fly away and a few minutes back, do it over again. This is a broad river valley with fat buffalo everywhere. Eight huge bison walking in a straight line like a group of schoolchildren on a rope passed by the TC right towards a group of fly fishermen. Neither group paid any attention to each other but just continued their own business. Didn't see anyone catch a fish except the osprey.



We passed back and forth over the Continental Divide quite a few times which was confusing as we thought we were driving in a straight line.



Leaving Yellowstone we passed into Teton National Park with the Rockefeller loop in the middle. Instead of continuing on route 89 we went over into the interior Teton Park Road. Here there aren't buffalo jams but moose jams. Saw about a dozen, quite a few with calves. Going towards Jenny Lake, we stopped at the Visitor Center and went through the exhibit of Indian handwork and artifacts. Left fairly quickly as two buses of school kids were there and it was pretty hard to get anywhere close to an exhibit case. Kids were having a good time though.

The Tetons are much bigger mountains then in Yellowstone and wear a deeper and lower crown of snow. Unfortunately for us, it had gotten cloudly by the time we got to the Tetons. I can imagine how bright they would be in the sun.



We then passed through Moose, WY and noticed that the tallest building was two stories. Many of the small western towns have escaped having large buildings and they feel friendlier that way.

We decided to pass up on going through Jackson Hole. I'm not a shopper and have heard that it is a real tourist town/trap, not what we came on this trip for. We did go through Jackson which had it's share of tourist stores but we got to see the antler arches made from shed antlers. The valley going into Jackson is broad, flat and the winter home for the elk herds living in the mountains. Didn't spot any elk as
they are probably all off at summer camp already.



We wanted to set foot into as many western states as we could so decided to camp in Idaho tonight. Up and over (gulp) the Teton Pass and down to Victor. Picked up a local micro-brew called "Sweetgrass", Jackson Hole's Original India Pale Ale from the Grand Teton Brewing Co. Wish I'd had that last night to share with Dave as it is some good.

3,424 miles travelled, $1398.19 spent on 307 gallons of diesel for an average mpg of 11.11 which is better than I thought since we are doing so much mountain driving. Is it worth it?

YES YES YES and a lot more to come....

June 8 - Yellowstone

June 8th - Snow again with a mix of rain and sleet but another day in Yellowstone was worth wearing the winter parka. At least we had parkas with us and not just t-shirts and flip flops like a lot of folks we saw today.

Today was a water day and not just from the ski. We left West Yellowstone and travel led back into the park via the NorthWest entrance. Our goal today was to see some of the incredible waterfalls in the park. Everyone who has seen the park before has commented on how green and lush the flora is this year due to the rain. Usually this part of the park is not green and the rivers are much smaller and crystal clear rather than the raging torrents they are now.

We started at Canyon Village and went to the Upper and Lower Falls which is a stretch known as the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.








It's a bit of a hike to get to where you can see the falls especially the long view but worth every wet and slippery step. I've never seen the Grand Canyon (yet) but this will sure act as a preview. The canyon walls are many vivid colors from the leaching of the chemicals through the rocks. A lot of early American paint artists have done this scene in famous paintings - but nothing matches seeing it for yourself.

We just missed a pack of wolves chasing an elk. The ranger said they had crossed the road maybe five minutes before we got there. This was a whole day of five minutes late as you will see later. Buffalo here are as common as songbirds in Maine and are just about every where you look. The rangers call the tourists looking at the bison "buffalo jams" as people just come to a dead stop in the middle of the road to
take photos. At Canyon Village we had watched an introductory film about the Park in which they showed what happened when you got too close to a bison. Child got tossed about pretty good when she approached a bull bison. Not killed but pretty ugly to see in film. Funny were the pictures of an full antlered elk charging into stopped cars. Bet that was fun to explain to an insurance company on how the damage to the car got there.

We next stopped at the mud pots area to see bubbling fields of mud spattering everywhere. These did not have the sulfur smell from the steam vents yesterday but would be pretty torturous to any animal that wandered in.



For lunch we stopped at Yellowstone Lake at a rest stop and raided the fridge. Pretty good to travel with your own kitchen isn't it. Lake had whitecaps on it today as, in addition the rain and snow, there was a pretty stiff wind. We found a sheltered spot on a little path at West Thumb. Nice to have a vehicle that will go just about anywhere.



Won't bore everyone with photos of Old Faithful. Beside we missed the blow by five minutes and didn't want to hand around for another 2 +/- hours to see it. Pretty cold driving rain then so we went over to the Old Faithful Lodge to dry off and enjoy the old building. It really is a marvel of early building engineering as it is at least four stories tall with an inner lobby with open balconies built out of logs. Very dark inside so no photos came out.

We stopped at the midway geyser basin and walked what seemed like miles of boardwalks out into the basin. Buffalo scat is everywhere and it was a balancing act to stay on the boardwalk and not slide through the scat!

Finally back at the campground to spend the evening with FlyFisher. He leaves tomorrow to head even further on his trip to Alaska. We shared supper and he gave us some more tips on places within the park to go tomorrow on our way down to the Tetons. We wish him great adventure on his travels.

So tomorrow we head south towards the Tetons not even having scratched a millimeter of what there is to see in Yellowstone. I know we will be back for longer next time.

June 7th - Snow in Yellowstone

6/7 Saturday - SNOW!!!

After checking the web and talking to the campground folk, we decided to not go on the Chief Joseph Highway to Yellowstone but to take Route 14 through Wapiti which is a lower route. Much to our suprise, this road was posted closed 50 miles ahead at Yellowstone. Called the Wyoming DOT and was told the CJH was dry and clear. Go figure ! This was one of the roads we wanted to drive the most on our trip so we lucked out.



It was astonishingly beautiful with very high mountain peaks, deep valleys, vast plains filled with cattle, elk and many hawks. This is a true corkscrew road and thankfully tow haul handled it well. Almost no traffic and what there was, we were able to let by us as we were going slow and enjoying the views. This road crosses over into Cooke City, MT and then dives back down into WY. There were many snowmobiles being used in MT as the snow is still deep. Looked like they were the prime way for some people to get into town.

We passed back into Wyoming and into Yellowstone at the northeast gate. One of the best birthday presents I ever gave Joe was his senior pass into national parks. Nice payback to get into these parks for $00 but he paid his due in the armed services. We had planned on taking the Grand Loop Road at Tower Junction and head down to cross the park at the Norris Canyon road. Wrong! About three miles in, the road was
closed due to snow and heavy ice. Back we went to the Grand Loop Road and on to Mammoth Hot Springs. Walked the wooded walkways up into the hot springs but it was very crowded and we didn't go far.



We continued down 89 to the Norris Geyser Basin and Museum after stopping along the way to see many buffalo, elk, mule deer and big fat squirrels who seemed to want to wait to cross until you got right next to them. Fortunately, nothing went squish. At Norris Geyser there was no one else walking the boardwalks and we had a super time talking with the ranger and learning a lot about hot springs. No geyser went off while we were there and the ranger said they were getting more and more erratic since the last earthquake. We stopped at several other hot pots and thermal vents some of which had strong sulfur vapor clouds. We stopped at Gibbon Falls but didn't walk down to the bottom of the canyon because it would have been a very long way back up!

Had a great suprise when we arrived at the campground. Who was parked next to our space but Flyfisher Dave! He is on his way to Alaska and caught up with us. We shared our supper and picked his knowledge of places not to miss in Yellowstone. He's been here many times and fishes a lot of the way back country. Tomorrow we'll tour, he'll fish and we'll get together in the evening. We'll go to the Lodge, Old
Faithful, yellowstone Lake, the mud volcano and several places up in Canyon Village Dave said not to miss.

Cody, WY and Buffalo Bill Historical Center

June 6, 2008 - Cody, Wyoming

Last night we had a great time chatting and trading places to see with two other TCs camped behind us. The couple from Alberta lives in the middle of nowhere and has to travel over 50 miles to get groceries. When they travel, they go to busy places instead of the solitude most of us seek. Fun to talk to others and see why they travel and where they go.

We spent 8 hours today at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, which is a complex of 5 museums. It was the highlight of the trip so far for indoor places. It really presents lessons in the ecology and geology of this part of Wyoming plus the story of the Plains Indians, Buffalo Bill and early ranching. There is also a museum of firearms. The place is immense and the galleries wind around floor to floor through art galleries, Remington bronze sculptures and paintings, actual photos from the 1800s and exhibits of Indian women's needlecraft. The $15 per person ticket is good for two days and we are tempted to go back tomorrow AM and re-view the natural history museum. I'm sure we missed a lot the first time through.





We got a great laugh out of the photo of the four sheep wagons parked on the plains serving as living quarters for the shepherds. They looked like four TCs at a rally.



Tomorrow we head off to Yellowstone. We hope to see elk, bear and wolves but know we will have to be lucky to do so. Of course we forgot the binoculars. We've put the TC back on the camper tonight as there is a fierce wind. Rather have it tied back down to the truck then drift off the legs. It was rocking hard in this wind and 43F temperature makes it feel like a snow storm is coming. Enough with the snow!

June 5 - Buffalo, WY to Cody, WY

June 5th - Buffalo, WY to Cody, WY via Thermopolis

It SNOWED hard today, enough to be glad for tow haul and a very empty road. At one point we got passed by a snowplow with the blade down moving right along. Nice to follow in a plowed path.






We were on the Powder River Pass Scenic Byway in Big Horn National Forest, . Route 16 from Buffalo,WY to Worland, WY. This route up and over the mountain is a true picture of what this country must have looked like prior to any human living there. There are a few small ranches within the borders of the forest but mostly wilderness with abundant deer and antelope. At the base of the mountain there was a lake which still had ice covering about half of it. Winter dies hard in Wyoming!

The land turned spectacular again around Ten Sleep, WY with layers on layers of ever changing rock layers. It was like having a geology lesson. The size of some of the boulders beside the road was a bit scary as some were bigger than the truck and TC.





We took a short hike down into one of the canyons to see the river, railroad bed and to look back at the rather daunting climb back up. Hiking at 6,000 feet is a bit different then at sea level which we are used to. Great to have the TC to come back to for a cold drink and a hot lunch. A lot of cold rain today but no big thunderstorms.

Our goal today was to go to the Wyoming Dinosaur Center in Thermopolis. Small, well laid out museum that walked you from microbe to T-Rex with examples of each.



I rarely read all the info panels at each exhibit but did at this one. Almost ran over two rabbits sitting by the wheels when we left. Looked around the dirt parking area and counted about 20 large rabbits. Wonder why?

From Thermopolis, we headed down to Wind River Canyon just to see the layers of rock as you descend deeper and deeper into a canyon that runs 20+ miles.



We turned around at Boysen Reservoir and headed for Cody, driving through vast stretches of empty land. I keep wondering where are all the cattle? The land is empty of ranches, people, any sign of our so called modern life, just mile after mile of sagebrush with the occasional small oil pump rig.

We are staying two nights at the Ponderosa Campground in Cody. We will be able to walk to the Buffalo Bill Museum complex in the morning. All the folks camping around us say it takes a full two days to get through the five museums. We are back to back with a 20 year old excellent shape Vanguard TC from Alberta, Canada and a brand new
SnowRiver TC from Spokane, WA. We had a great time trading places to go and see. Seeing a TC is so unusual, you just have to talk to them!

Some unusual things we have noted in Wyoming:
There are drive in liquor stores just like a drive in fast food place.
Real cowboys don't lose their hats in the wind. Dudes do.
Pickups out number cars probably two to one.
Do not stop with your window rolled down next to a cattle feed lot.

Custer South Dakota to Buffalo Wyoming

June 4th - Custer State Park to Buffalo, Wyoming

We left Custer State Park early this morning headed west - of course. Early morning is a great time to see the wildlife and we counted many more buffalo and pronghorn antelope as we drove along. Leaving the park at Custer, SD, we crossed into Wyoming near Newcastle on Route 16. In the east we can see the western forest fires and sort of understand the destruction but you cannot imagine how vast the areas are that burn. Mountain after mountain had huge patches of trees gone, black spars and broken trunks. However, in some areas there was already new growth and timber companies are now allowed to harvest many of the trees.

The country really begins to open up into vast horizons and we stayed amazed at how far you could see. The ranches are very far apart and we kept thinking how many hours a day children must spend riding school buses. We also don't understand why there is so little livestock on those huge expanses.



We reached Devil's Tower, Wyoming about noon on a cool day with part sun. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is one of my favorite science fiction movies and the tower was well represented in the movie. It rises up out of a relatively flat plain and has many colors and layers in the rock. An Indian legend says the deep scar
like columns down the tower are bear claw marks trying to reach Indian maidens on the top of the tower. We walked the 1-1/2 mile perimeter path and the tower has different faces depending on how it faces the weather. Once again our old codger pass as Joe calls it (National Park Senior Pass) got us in free. We parked beside yet another pop up truck camper but never saw the people. A quick lunch in the camper, a change out of wet clothing from the walk and off we went.



Moorcroft, WY was an interesting small town and did not have the hype of a tourist trap like so much of what we have seen. I know small towns have a limited time/way of capturing tourist dollars but some sure do it better than others!

We hopped on I-90 to start over to Thermopolis, WY, our next destination. Finally in the distance we could see a BIG mountain range. Bighorn National Forest is just the other side of Buffalo, WY. A pretty cold rain started as we were approaching Buffalo and we decided to stop for the night, get a dinner out, catch up on internet
mail and not push it. A delightful older lady at the town tourist information center told us where to go to dinner to get good beef. She was right! We are hoping that the rain at this 4,500 feet doesn't translate into snow on the mountain passes at 9,500 feet. We'll see tomorrow!

Sioux City, Iowa to Buffalo, Wyoming

Tonight is June 4th and we are in Buffalo, Wyoming. Decided to stay at a KOA campground overnight to catch up on internet, laundry and to get off the road a bit earlier than we usually do. There is a cold, driving rain and we are hopeing that this rain at 4,500 feet elevation is not snow at the 9,000 feet elevation we will be tomorrow. Here's a catch up on where we've been.

June 1st
What a truly amazing country the USA is. Neither of us has ever traveled west and it is quite the journey. Today we left Iowa and took Route 20 from Sioux City over into Nebraska. Talk about the heartland of farming - mile after mile of huge farms, cornfields, and cattle feed lots which you could smell a long time after you passed them.

North we then went on I-81 to 18 to 281 to finally I-90. In Chamberlain, IA we stopped at an Iowa Information Center which also was an interpretive center for part of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Good artifacts and a lot of decorative panels added to the interest.



All along I-90 there are places where the earth just drops away in the distance and all you see is a curve with sky and a thin line where the land just stops. We'd never been in a place that you couldn't see something in the distance. We're very curious as to where all the cattle are that should be grazing the pastures. Yes there are a lot of beef cattle but the land is so vast there surely could be more.

The weather radio sounded an alert just as we were getting a bit anxious of a huge thunderstorm ahead of us as we neared the Badlands. Did we feel it could be a tornado? No but what do we know! NOAA put out an alert for a severe ail/thunderstorm but fortunately it passed to our south.



and gave us a rainbow over the Badlands



We kept thinking of the pioneers walking across this land and coming upon the Badlands as a barrier to progress. Fortunately the Badlands don't go as far north/south as a big mountain range but the sinking feeling seeing that range must have been a real downer. We walked out on three separate trails in the Badlands, each quite different in geological features. Many rabbits and ground squirrels but fortunately no rattlesnakes though there were many warning signs. It is a lot
hotter than our normal New England and this is still the cool side of a western summer.



Tonight we are in a Badlands campground near Interior, SD so we can catch up on laundry, internet and a rest time. Tomorrow we go up to Rapid City to several museums and then to find a camp spot inside of Custer State Park.

June 2



Thunderstorms all night with big boomers and lightning but the TC is snug and dry. Sure glad we took the time before we left to recaulk a few questionable seams. Looks like rain for the next week but so what!

We saw pheasant, quail, what I think were partridge, rabbits, coyotes and one lone buffalo on the trip through SD so far. Gonna have a bison burger. We're headed off for an oil change and museums in Rapid City.

June 2
Sitting in the parking lot of a hotel in Hill City, SD using internet.

Oh what a day! Today made the entire trip worth every gallon of diesel. We'd stayed overnight in Interior, SD and slept through a big thunderstorm with lighting and some hail. Little blobs of hail still on the ground in the morning but the day turned into bright sun and 70+ temps. There is almost always a wind in the west but it keeps the bugs down. As we only got through a small edge of the Badlands
yesterday, we wanted to drive through more. Leaving Interior on Rte. 44 we found a one lane dirt road that cut back up to the Badlands at Conata. With the rainstorm last night, this was one slick, red mud road.



Why there is a town name I don't know as there is nothing there but an intersection. We drove over cattle grates and started towards the Badlands in the distance. Along the way there were pronghorn antelope,



herds of cattle, many hawks, prairie dogs and beautiful flowers. This 20 mile drive was one of the reasons for coming west, to see what it must have looked like before suburbia descended. We'd hoped to find such a road into scenic wonders and this was a gem.

The truck and TC however need a major bath. We stopped after reaching pavement and scrapped off pounds of red, heavy mud but need a power washer to get it back to semi-clean.



On to Rapid City to the Ford dealer for an oil change. We'd called ahead and they graciously worked us in and did the work quickly. From there we went to the Journey Museum which had geology, paleontology, early plains settler and Lakota Sioux exhibits. We spent a good deal of time here as the exhibits were well documented and interesting.



After lunch at a bodega with spicy chili and fry bread, we headed for Mt Rushmore. The drive takes you from 3,200 feet elevation in Rapid City to 5,500 feet at Mt.Rushmore. The climb is long, slow and done in tow haul for the most part. Sorry South Dakotans but your state allows billboard advertising and they got pretty thick and ugly. The tiny town of Keystone is just prior to Rushmore and is one solid tourist trap with screaming billboards. There is no way to easily avoid
Keystone unfortunately.



I was oddly moved by the rock sculpture at Mt. Rushmore. I had expected just tourist hype but it was a very patriotic display especially as you walk through a gallery of all the state flags to the main view point. We'd thought of skipping it but glad we didn't. Plus there were a total of five TCs in the parking area !!

We'd called Custer State Park to be sure the Iron Mountain Road, a portion of Rte 16 we wanted to take from Rushmore to a Park campground would take the TC. We are under 12' barely but count ourselves as 12' tall. There were three tunnels on that road, all over 12' but just barely.



The road snakes and twists back on itself in hairpin turns. FUN road to drive. We're tonight in the Game Lodge campground and have taken the Host off the truck.



Tomorrow we will drive more of the Custer State Park roads including going through the tunnels that won't take the TC. One is only 8'4" wide and the man camped next to us tonight scraped one of his dually fenders going through. Wonder if we have a steadier hand? We're most interested in driving the Wildlife Loop to see buffalo, mountain sheep and wild horses.