Tetons


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Can't seem to figure out this saddle thing!



To the Tetons - oh yes!  I can't even remember seeing pictures of these mountains before.  I was really impressedd.  More so than seeing Yellowstone.  It took most of the day to travel south out of Yellowstone through Teton National Park.  I can't put into words how to describe this area, it's just awesome.  We made reservations in Jackson Hole for the night.  We new on night/one day was not going to be enough for this area, so we went ahead and book for 2 nights.

A fairly early rise and we took off in the Jeep back towards the Tetons on a dirt road this time.  This was great.  Found the moose's near the water on the back road.  Funny, the little area at the end of the road was called Moose.  Imagine that!  We actually just made a circle and headed into Jackson.  Love the old west atmosphere.  We toured the town by foot and visited many saloons and shops.  The famous saloon in the area is called Million Dollar Saloon.  The bar stools are saddles.  Hee Haw!  Enjoyed this one as well as the Silver Dollar Saloon.  This bar was covered in about 4 thousand silver dollars.  You get the idea that someone in the group likes its cold beverages. LOL

The Wilderness

We have arrived in the wilderness!  We drove in to the KOA Campground in Yellowstone around 9 pm.  Very cold.  It was interesting setting up at night especially since we had been warned of the bear sightings earlier.  I just did my thing in the camper while Buddy got us settled.  We were both anxious to get going on a day trip of the park, so off to bed we went.  I have to say, that during this entire trip we have not used a GPS.  We have collected state maps along the way and have done our own navigation.  I finally got it that if heading West that North is on my right.

Early to rise to snow covered caps around us, we unhooked the Jeep and gathered our maps, literature and jackets and ventured out.  We entered the park on the West side and immediately was stopped by the Bisons roaming in the road.  Have to wait on these guys....what else could you do!  On further through the park was many, many herds of Elk.  Actually got to stop and watch two males (bulls) fighting over the females (cows).  Pretty awesome to watch them go at it.  We could tell this would go on for hours so we left.  Wonder which one won! 

Of course we saw Ole Faithful and spent sometime with her.  Had to watch her show.  I never new that there were so many geysers in this area.  If took most of the day just to do part of the big loop and we were tired.  Headed back to camp for the evening.

We were suppose to check our the next morning, but in order to continue the loop we had to book another night.   Not so easy, they were booked but would have something available in the afternoon.  We just can't sit all afternoon waiting on the site to come open so we broke down camp and move the RV to a holding area for the day so we could continue our site seeing. 

We back tracked a little bit and caught the loop going North to Mammoth.  More bison's, elks and we saw a coyote stalking something.  Beautiful waterfalls and rivers to take in.  We dined at the old Hotel in town and got to talking to our waiter.  We, mostly me, was wanting to find a natural hot spring to sit in.  Glad we asked because he directed us just a little bit down the road to a hot spring.  I was prepared, bathing suit and all.  I didn't want to offend anyone.  LOL  It was the greatest thing to actual sit in the river while the hot water came rushing in.  Didn't want to leave here, but we had to continue the loop.  Arrived back at our base to re-set up for the night and guess what - our new site was right next to the old one.  Go figure!  But we had an wonderful day.

Updates

Boy, this blog thing is harder than I thought it would be.  Just can't find the time to write - it's go, go, go.  I've been keeping some notes so here is an update since Oregon.  We've had the best weather possible in Oregon.  No rain at all.  That's pretty rare in these parts (according to the locals).  Instead of heading south to California to see the Red Woods, we decided that it would be awesome to see Yellowstone and the Tetons.  So our travels the first day we followed the Columbia River on I-84 then veered north to Washington.  We stayed in a very cool town know as Walla Walla.  The campground was small but very clean and quite.  Had a great meal at a local steak house.  Lovin these steaks.....guess it will be ground beef when we get back home.

Next am, we followed the Lewis and Clark Trail (Hwy 12) to Missoula, Montana and camped the night in another nice place.  We had planned on visiting more here, but Buddy had a friend in Bozeman, Montana that we had arranged to meet for a late lunch.  We had rain most of today and even saw what looked like to us a funnel.  Kind of spookie, but it disapeared within a few minutes.  We caught up to Pat at a rest area and she gave us a brief tour of Bozeman and had a nice lunch at a local bar.  It was getting rather late and we still had 4 more hours to drive to reach Yellowstone.

Oregon Wine County

Oregon - the BEST!  We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and immediately turn to the Willamette Valley Wine maps.  It is just a wonderful state with just so much to see and do.  Stayed at a near by RV campground so I would be close to the vineyards.  We headed out early in the am and went to my favorite vineyard first - Domine Serene.  The absolute best in wine makers.  I think I purchased aleast a case here.  On ward from there to Adelsheim Vinyards and Winery and not far away to visit Erath.  What an experience! 

We decided to be brave and take a hot air balloon ride over the valley.  Had to get up at 5 am the next morning and only drive 20 mins.  Wow......this was the most fascinating trip ever.  Wasn't scared a bit.  Flew about 7 miles and reached to 1400 feet.  The pilot made this an unforgettable trip.  Even dipped us in the Willamette River.  Afterwards, the staff treated everyone to Mimosa's and brunch.  Can't ask for anything better than that.

This was at least a half day adventure so we went back to the RV and pack an overnight bag and headed to the coast.  I can't say enough about this area.  We stopped at about every day use park we came across (they are within 10 miles of each other)  along Hwy 101 to walk the beach and stopped at many pubs/marinas as we could find.  I definitely would love to come back to the coast.  Our final designation on the coast was at Cannon Beach.  A must see!

David's Wedding

David is one of Jeremy's friends which we usually see every time we visited him.  David's wedding day was Saturday in his hometown of Leadville.  About 10,000 feet up.  David and Jessica were married in a meadow just on the out skirts of town.  So many people and we all sat on hay bales.  The wedding party was dressing in black western wear and the brides worn pink and green gowns.  The wedding arch was beautifully done with elk horns and flowers.  At the end of the ceremony, David and Jessica shot their bow and arrows off into the sky.

The afternoon wedding reception was at the local community center.  We danced and ate and dranked catus juice continuously.  Such a blast!

Tomorrow we'll be on the road headed to Oregon.

Where does time go....

Haven't blogged in a few days, so I'll try to catch up. We've been on the go continuously and hanging out with Jeremy. His ranch that he works for had the big welcome party for prospective investors, their family and employees. First time I've ever seen draft horses. We watch the wranglers put on all their gear and rigged them up to the carriage. It was a nice ride through the ranch. The wranglers had been cooking the BBQ most of the day and by sunset we enjoyed the treat.

We left early in the evening to get plenty of shut eye so we could catch back up to Jeremy in the am for a rafting trip on the Colorado River. Jeremy was our guide for the mini trip and we were able to get the feel of a few rapids. Later in the afternoon we went back to Jeremy's place for a four-wheeling adventure around the area. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. And to our surprise, Jeremy cooked us a fabulous elk meatloaf with his special mashed potatoes and corn. Yum!

A Restful Day....for me

August 25th, Buddy was up and running. We'll not really running but getting his act together to go help Jeremy with some work on his ranch. I stayed back and caught up on some business work and of course, played on the internet. When we first arrived at this camp, my wireless air card would not pick up a signal so I had to buy a monthly membership to access the internet. Well, after only using it for a day or so, they cut me off. Said I used it to much. Whatever! Guess they will plug me back in after 48 hours. Ever heard of such a thing? Anyway, I tried my air card again at a different location in the RV, and it worked. Great! Don't need the other connection anymore. Hope they call to see why I'm not using their service anymore - would love to tell them what I think.

This RV Park has a really nice setup. Laundry facilites and all. Soooo that means I also had a laundry wash day. Buddy arrived back sooner than I expected, so we just relaxed for a bit until dinner time. Jeremy couldn't join us tonight (late day working) so we went in Eagle and found a cool Itailian restaurant. The owners we're very nice and talked to us for awhile. Decided to go to the local saloon afterwards for a nightcap. NEVER order a glass of wine at a saloon!

Tomorrow, will be a big day. Going into town to site see and then off to another ranch with Jeremy for a big shendig (sp?).

Jeremy's Place

After a little work in am, and trying to get the internet mail working, final off to get fixin's for dinner at Jeremy's. We arrived a while before Jeremy got off from work and had a peaceful afternoon watching the hummingbirds and the deer grazing in his meadow. They were not to skiddish either. Got some good pictures. Jeremy's friend, Jamie, joined us and she is so delightful. They seem to get along great. Had a late evening.

The following morning we headed into Eagle. Did a little shopping and went to the saloon. More groceries to buy for an "Low Country Boil Dinner" at the camper later. Yum! Tried two other recipes from the "Hudson Seafood Cookbook" that Pam had given me for my birthday. I made their 7 day cold slaw and hushpuppies. Don't know why they didn't turn out the way Hudson's makes them! I was disapointed, but the Coach's Low Country Boil was great. Tried a new wine, its called " Bully Hill Love My Goat". Funny name for a red wine and not dry like the usual ones I like.

It's really nice to relax in this part of the country and not do much of anything for awhile.

Colorado

We decided to take a more rural route to Colorado. Got an early start today,8ish. Our route took us over the Rabbit Ears Pass in Arapaho National Forest. Highest elevation was 9426 feet. RV did very well. Such a beautiful drive. By-passed Steamboat Springs and headed way off the beaten path to Gypsum. Saw antoples jumping fences and had to stop once to let the loose cattle get out of the way. Arrived at River Dance Campground around 2. NO TV reception, but oh well, we brought plenty of movies. And no septic at site so that means using the little portable dump. Yuck! It's a nice setting right on the Colorado River.

Caught up with Jeremy and his friends, Jamie and Stretch and dined at one of the local steak houses. A early evening so we can go to the ranch tomorrow.

Cheyenne, WY

Arrived in Cheyenne Friday late afternoon.  Not quite the set up I was hoping for.  On the Woodall's camp rating, it was a 3 star.  They go up to a 5 star.  It was clean and diffently a working ranch.  Not that I mean, we WORKED, after all we're on vacation.  But it was a ranch where they raise Bisons and do hunts and tours.  We enjoyed a nice dinner there and I actually tried the Bison Steak.  It was sweeter and did not have a gamey taste.  An early bed time tonight so we can tour Cheyenne tomorrow.

So it's Saturday and we have our map of Cheyenne.  We're off to explore.  We headed downtown to the historic district and wow.  So much history and saw where the Union Pacific Depot is.  We parked and begin to walk, and walk. Loved the old building. Went to the main Wrangler store as well.   Locals were having a market day and we experienced the roasted sweet corn and roasted peppers.  The mild peppers were fantastic until I got back to camp and tried one.  Why did it turn hot on me?  It was still good and the aroma when you open the refrigerator is to died for.  We found several pubs/saloons on our walk and of course, enjoyed those.  Several locals, thought Buddy was either Charlie Daniels or ZZ Top - especially wearing his cowboy hat.  On to venture the State Museum.  Saw all kinds of cool stuff but mostly how the true west was.  We really enjoyed that.

After a long day, we drove a bit to one of the oldest saloons in town.  Of course, there was a country band.  Okay for what they were, but then they played some good ole beach music - so we danced.

I would love to come back to Cheyenne again and explore some more.  We only had a full day, and that's not enough.  We did go to the local race track that evening.  It was pretty comical. They can diffentely ride horses and bulls out here but they can't drive a race car.

Traveling through Nebraska

Friday, August 20

Had a small thunder shower last night.  I love it when it rains during the evening.  There's nothing like rain patterning down on a tin roof.  Buddy finally got his Cable connection last night.  All though you have to go through the entire setup to get it.  Well, he's happy.  I just enjoy watching the am news in bed with my coffee.  Oh yeah, I've been cooking him breakfast every morning.  He likes my blueberry pancakes, even better that Sister's Restaurant, Ha Ha! 

We're still traveling on 80 West and soon will be following the Oregon Trail along the Platte River.  Hope to get some pics and be able to figure out how to post them.  We have plans to stay the evening or two at a working ranch.  Oh, boy!  It's called Terry Bison Ranch in Cheyenne.  Looking forward to seeing the Bisons, Llamas, Ostriches and Camels they have.  And of course, eating the Bison Steaks.

You would think it would be easy to type on a computer on a stright road, but it's bumpy and my curser goes all over the place.  So if I'm not making any since, it's the roads fault.

Still on the way......

So we're still traveling and have reach the West.  It has been a long haul traveling through Illinois and Nebraska.  We've had to keep moving in order to reach our final desingnation to Colorado for a week.  Who knows were we'll end up from there.  Wednesday we stayed in Peoria, IL.  Just a regular campground called Yogi Bear.  Not to interesting but a nice restful evening with pork chops on the grill and a nice wine.  Left mid-morning (that's are usual time) and headed to Lincoln, Nebraska.  Wonderful campground and lots of shade.  The staff was so friendly, but had to know where we were from.  Guess with our southern accent they new we were not from their part of the country.  Had the BEST steak ever, so far, at a place called Misty's.  A rustic but elegant atmosphere and had one of my favorite wines (Erath Pinot Noir from Oregon, of course).  The weather for the past two days have been mostly sunny.  70's in am and pm but reaching in the upper 80-90's during the day.  Will get a good night sleep-got another long haul tomorrow to reach Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Day 1 Didn't even get 15 miles away

A slow start, as usual.  But an eventful one that prepared us for our first day on the road.  Our RV is now ready and we're off on Tuesday, August 17th.  Our first stop, after many, many rest areas and welcome stations to collect state maps, landed us in Berea, KY.  A slow but overall a pleasant day.  We stayed at a campground called Walnut Meadow arriving around 5 pm.  To our surprise, our camp neighbors happened to live in Keowee Key (our hometown neighborhood) and had also stayed at the Crooked Creek RV Resort where we orginally left from.  What a small world.  A pleasant evening wondering around Berea where we enjoy a nice Tavern.  I never heard of a Tavern that didn't sell the "good stuff".  Oh well, I had a nice bottle waiting back at the RV.  Nice college town and the students work at the local Tavern and pay no tuition for their education.  Off to bed early.....NO TV.  We didn't know how to re-set it without a cable connection.  Boy, Buddy sure did rag me about not getting the Direct TV thing!