July 11, 2009

We had a busy day sightseeing, visiting two national parks, Arches and Canyonlands, and Dead Horse State Park. We drove over 400 miles today viewing the great scenery. Just when you think you have seen it all, you round a bend and there is something else to take your breath away.

The weather was much better today. It did get up to 100 degrees at one point, but we stayed in the truck most of the time. This place is suppose to get only 6 inches of precipitation per year. But, we had scattered showers on and off all day. This evening we saw a dust storm in the distance and then a real downpour here at the campground.

Everywhere we go they say they seldom have rain, but we have seen at least a little rain almost everyday.

Tomorrow we leave here. We plan to visit Monument National Park and a Navajo Reservation.

Arches National Park

One of themany arches in Arches National Park.

There are many pinnacles like these in the park. We had a great time coming up with our own names for the rock formations. The rocks were shades of red, green, gold, black, white and purple.

Canyonlands National Park and Deadhorse State Park

This is one of the beautiful views from Canyonlands National Park.

Dead Horse Canyon State Park has an interesting story. The tale goes that cowboys would drive wild horses to the top of a canyon and then block the entrance. They would then pick the best horses and lead them out. They would leave all the other horses trapped without water. The Colorado River was within thier view 2000 feet down over a cliff. They would die there from lack of water. What a cruel, sad story for such a beautiful place.

July 10, 2009

Today we travelled from Idaho to Utah. What a change in terrain ! We went from lush vegetation to almost no growth. Also, we went from pastures of horses and cattle to absolutely no animals. But, again the scenery was incredible ! The temperature changed too. When we ate dinner (inside) around 7:00 it was 117 degrees! Other than the beautiful vistas why would anyone choose tolive here?

We will stay here another night. Tomorrow we will visit Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park and the Dead Horse State Park. We planned on going to mass here, but according to the church sign Sunday mass is held on Wednesday evenings at 7:30pm. No kidding.

Windmills

We have seen many of these windmills in the west. They are certainly different than the ones we saw in Holland forty years ago. I wonder if the Dutch use these now.

Utah

Today the scenery and the weather changed as we travelled into Utah. The further we drove into Utah the less vegetation we saw. By the time we arrived at Green River, Utah, the temperature had risen to 117 degrees. I guess I will need those shorts after all.

July 9, 2009

Today we visited Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We picked up Don and Arlene Quinn at their campground. We spent most of the day shopping at the many shops there. Our first stop was a quilt shop- the guys were very patient waiting for us to browse. I bought some western charm squares for the bag I plan to make. Aunt Marie bought a quilt book and some yarn to make dishcloths.

We all bought t-shirts and postcards.

Then we went to a western dinner theater at the Bar J Ranch. They served a chuckwagon style dinner complete with tin cups and plates. The food was good and plentiful. There was a choice of meats-ribs, steak, chicken, beef. You also received a baked potato, baked beans, applesauce, biscuits, spice cake, lemonade and coffee. They served over 500 people in 20 minutes.

The show lasted over an hour with no intermissions. The group sang cowboy songs along with lots of jokes. The music was wonderful. I laughed so hard I cried- even Baba laughed. The last song was dedicated to all servicemen and women, past and present. It began with Amazing Grace and continued with other religious songs. It was the second time I needed a tissue.

It was a terrific show that everyone should try to see if they are in Wyoming.

Tomorrow we leave early and will travel most of the day.

Hugs and kisses to Lauren, Nicholas, Matthew, Jack, Carson, Makenna, Sarah, and Camille.

The Last of the Old West

Aunt Marie and Nana pose at the welcome sign for Jackson Hole.

Bald Eagle

We spotted this bald eagle and its nest on our way to pick up Don and Arlene. If you look closely, you can see that she is carrying something to the nest. We could also see an eaglelet in the nest.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Aunt Marie, Arlene Quinn, and Nana stop shopping in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, long enough to pose with a buffalo statue.

July 8, 2009

We left Montana and arrived in Idaho today. We saw huge ranches, acres and acres of potatoes (315,00 acres of potatoes planted in Idaho this year), underground barns for storing potatoes, and of course mountains.

We are meeting up with the Quinns in Jackson Hole, Wyoming tomorrow night to go to a dinner theater. It will be a western show. During the day, we will drive around Jackson Hole and maybe get some shopping done. We are hoping the Quinns will travel with us for a while.

Uncle Bob called today. He and Aunt Barb were back at Elkridge Campground in Deadwood. A stone hit their windshield and cracked it. After all that trouble he had getting a new windshield before we left. Baba suggested duct taping it until he gets home. Are you a redneck when you duct tape your windshield?

Oh yeah, the owners of the camp told us to put everything away tonight because bears have been known to come into camp! I want to see bears, but not so close.

Grand Teton

We took a drive this evening after dinner to see part of the Grand Tetons. We were able to drive to 8,105 feet. The temperature dropped from 75 degrees to 51 degrees. Again, beautiful scenery. We saw several skateboarders skating down the mountain road--wow, no brakes!!

Idaho

We arrived in Idaho this afternoon. This was snapped from the truck window as we crossed the stateline.

Still in Montana

July 7, 2009

Today we left the Glacier Park area and began moving south. We stopped at a roadside park and had lunch together-brats, hotdogs, chips,dip, fruit, water. This was our last meal with Uncle Bob and Aunt Barb as they needed to head home. They called this afternoon and said they were at Cousin Dave's and Anita's. They plan to spend the night and then continue their journey home, hopefully, meeting up with the Quinn's on the way.

We stopped in Dillon, Montana ,for the night. We did some grocery shopping and then had a nice meal of spaghetti, French bread, and salad. We planned on cherry pie, but everyone was stuffed.

Tomorrow we will be on the road for a short while, stopping in Idaho for at least one night.

The only sights we saw today were the beautiful mountains and pastures.

For anyone who calls or that we call, don't be surprised if we get cut off. The area we are in is not only mountainous, but sparsely populated-few cell towers.

More pictures tomorrow.

July 6,2009

We arrived at the campground outside of Glacier National Park last night after a long drive.The weather is cool and rainy. We will leave tomorrow morning and camp in Idaho just outside Wyoming. Well, they are yelling at me to go taste the huckleberry pie. So I will sign off for now.

More Scenes from Glacier National Park

Baba snapped this picture. We rode in this 1936 shuttle bus to the top of the park. The roof folded back so you could see the views better. It was so cold even though I wore a sweatshirt and a coat. On the way, back down they put up the canvas roof because of a sudden downpour.

This is just one of the beautiful cascades in the park.

Critters in Glacier National Park

This is a marmet (groundhog like animal) we spotted in Glacier National Park. He was eager to pose for pictures.

As you can see, this "critter" was cold. The further up we travelled, the colder it was, but it was worth every goosebump !

Glacier National Park

One of the fantastic views at Glacier National Park. The entire park was breathtaking.

Time with the Palmers

July 3-6,2009


We spent four nights at Dave and Anita's place. Anita met all the girls at the Backporch Quilt Shop. She is an avid quilter. She had to leave on Friday to go to California to see her sister who is ill with cancer. She lost both a brother and her mother earlier this year. She has had a rough time, but she was wonderful hostess.

We tried that elkburger David told us about. We also had a sausage made from elk-yummy!! Then we had elk steak one night. The salad fixings came from David and Anita's green house.

The weather was pleasant, but cool. I have only worn shorts once since we left Ohio.

The Quinns left us and headed to Idaho to visit a relative.

The scenery was fantastic- Crazy Woman Mountains in every direction.

We had all the comforts-full hook-ups and total use of the house if we wanted. I think there are at least 2 brothers who would move to the area if they didn't have family in Ohio.

Black Bear

This is a black bear we saw in Yellowstone Park. We also saw buffalo,elk, and deer. It caused a huge "bear jam" that backed up traffic for quite awhile.

Yellowstone Portrait

This is a picture of Aunt Barb, Cousin Dave, Uncle Bill, Aunt Marie, Baba at Yellowstone before we all got grumpy. We drove for 8 hours. The scenery was beautiful, but these old bones ached.

Scenes from the Palmers'

Picture 1:This is one of the many, many,many old vehicles at Dave's place.

Picture 2 Aunt Barb, AuntMarie, Arlene Quinn, and Nana pose in front of another truck.

Picture 3:

This is Dave and Anita's log home. It is at least 100 years old.

Picture 4:And then we see good ole Dave in his recliner.

Cousin Dave

Cousin Dave was really, really glad to see the Ohio Gang.

Happy Cousins

The cousins were very glad to see each other. Bob must have been out on the back forty shooting bear.

Beverly Hillbillies in Montana

Cousin David Palmer took the guys for a tour of his 20 acres. The said the guns were to protect them from bear.