Colorado National Park

Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to move to Colorado. My infatuation with John Denver only made the desire that much more. So, what better way to wrap things up than to return to this beautiful amazing state. Even the drive here was breathtaking. We left South Dakota at dusk and drove through Wyoming for a good part of the night. Stopped at a rest stop near a train depot and all night listened to the whistling of the trains as they went by. Very cool and mesmerizing. These trains are amazingly long and such an efficient method of transportation in this part of the country. We arrived in Estes Park....home of Colorado National Park. I was having a bit of a time adjusting to the altitude once again. A little nauseous and tired, so increasing the water intake and a little nap certainly helped. After securing a campsite for the night, we were off for some exploration. We drove up Trail Ridge, the highest paved road in North America to an elevation of 12, 290 feet. As you can imagine, the scenery was breathtaking above tree line. At times, we were in the clouds, which presented a beauty all in its own. Upon reaching the peak, a storm rolled in, so we waited it out in the RV as death from lightening strikes are very common at this altitude. The sun began peaking over the mountain tops and we were quickly out for a hike. One has to take it slow though, the thin air leaves you breathless.
The alpine tundra and the many wild flowers are stunning. The clean crisp air is invigorating. It was actually a bit cool....guessing low 50's. Quite a change from the weather we had been experiencing in the Southwest. We hiked a bit and climbed a few rocks to get some beautiful pictures. Upon leaving, Guy slipped on one of the rocks (they were slippery after the rain) and dislocated his ring finger. Even being a nurse, it was tough to look at. We made it down the mountain in about 90 minutes and found a medical clinic in Grand. After x-rays, it was determined he also broke his middle finger. Long story short, his finger was re-aligned and both finger splinted. He tore his medial ligaments in his ring finger and will need surgery to have this repaired. He was a real trooper through it all and fortunately, this happened toward the end of our vacation. I treated him to a wonderful steak dinner and we found a beautiful campsite right along Grand Lake and retired for the night. Pictured left is our view from the RV.
The next morning, up bright and early, we drove Southwest to Breckenridge Ski Area for some alpine fun! Because of Guy's injury, we wanted to lay low so he could re-adjust to his activity level. Plans for golf, bike riding, whitewater rafting were out, so we took a gondola ride to the top and did a little hiking, sightseeing and an alpine ride down the flume.



As always, this is great fun and a first for Guy, who seemed to enjoy it immensely. We then took a nice stroll down main street with the dogs and enjoyed the quaint shops and sights to see. Late afternoon, we jumped back in the RV and drove to Vail, Colorado. I had been there almost 20 years ago and would never have recognized the place today. It has grown 4 times in size! It is a very "posh" area and has a very European feel.
At times, I felt I was back in Switzerland. We had dinner out on the deck in a cozy little Italian restaurant with the best pizza I have EVER had. Did a little souvenir shopping and headed back out late evening to find a campsite. Once again, we were blessed and found an amazing sight overlooking the Colorado Rockies and a clear mountain lake. Life is Good!! Today we plan to do some hiking as Guy's fingers are feeling much better. I want to take in as much of Colorado as I can for we head out tomorrow. :((((

South Dakota

Leaving Wyoming was tough for me....such beautiful scenery and wonderful folk. We drove through the night to South Dakota and was pleasantly surprised at the beauty although the weather is a bit crazy here. Hail storm in August leaving snow on the ground! Our first stop was the Battle of Little Big Horn, where Custer met his demise where pictured above, the dark tombstone is his grave site although his remains were later moved to West Point. The National Park is run by 3 different tribes of Indians. It was very interesting to walk the grounds and learn of the stories of the Red man and their fight to keep their way of life. Next stop,
Lead, South Dakota....home of one of the biggest gold mines in the country. We took a tour and panned for some gold and came up with a few nuggets. Them thar' gold in thar' hills!! After deciding we were not going to get rich from our little nuggets, we ventured on to the Crazy Horse memorial and to Mount Rushmore. It was amazing and I felt like I was back in Washington DC visiting the memorials. We stayed for the evening presentation and the lighting of the monument. Spectacular and very patriotic. All the military in the audience were brought up on stage while the color guard lowered the flag. Very touching....and heartfelt.
We camped in a secluded campground called "horse thief" camp ground. Since we are in Indian country, we decided to give the dogs Indian names as well. Cosette is now called "poops while walking" and Story is appropriately named "long tongue" although they don't really respond to their new names :) After a hearty breakfast, we were on our way to Rapid City, SD for daily life needs that a city would offer.....ie, hair cut, pedicure, dog food, alignment on the RV, etc....which took most of the day. Late afternoon we headed to The Badlands.
We certainly felt like we were in a different planet.....the craters and mountains resembled being on the moon!
It was nice to be able to "get close and personal" with these formations as hiking trails cut right through them.
With only an inch of rainfall per year in these parts, the ground was completely parched and made for some slippery hiking as the ground crumbled beneath our feet. The Badlands are known for the most prehistoric fossils on the earth as this was the breeding grounds for dinosaurs and such. As dusk fell upon us, it was time to move on.....Colorado or bust......

Day 4 Yellowstone National Park

Northern Yellowstone....home of the grizzly! Although we did see a mama and her two cubs, she was at a good distance and hiding in the sage, so a picture I could not get. However, this 2 year old male pictured at left was about 20 feet away! However, he showed no interest in us as he scoured for food. We spent the majority of the day at Mammoth Springs and Towers and ended up seeing a total of 6 bears. Very exciting!! We also drove over to Norris to examine more of the hot springs and thermal areas.



Some of these springs are so hot and so acidic their spray is similar to battery acid. There have been several deaths here over the years from people falling in or even jumping in. Yes, back in 1986, one man jumped in to save his friends dog.....he quickly pulled himself out but left his skin in the water. With 100% of his body covered in third degree burns, his fate was sealed and he became another statistic in the parks' fatalities. After a long day of taking in all the sights we stumbled upon a remote camping area in the northeast area...very close to where a grizzly had killed one man and mauled two other people while sleeping in their tents. But the beauty of this site right along the river, outweighed the fear of another attack. Besides, the camp rangers had trapped and killed the bear responsible. Slough campground which is located in Lamar Valley is where the wolf has been re-introduced to the park. Several onlookers with high powered cameras and binoculars camp out in the evening/dusk hours in hope of catching a glimpse of these haunting animals. We watched with the others for awhile, but were not lucky enough to see any wolf activity. We returned to our campsite and had a wonderful campfire and enjoyed the clear night and abundance of stars to gaze at.
We awoke early the next morning for some wildlife searching and did see some elk, antelope and of course more bison which roam the park freely.
we departed from the park through the north entrance which adorns the beautiful Roosevelt arch and enters in the town of Gardnier, Montana where we enjoyed a quick lunch and stumbled upon a whitewhater rafting outfit. Of course, we slammed on the breaks and another adventure was at hand.



We traveled 8 miles down the yellowstone river through some grade 2 and 3 rapids. It was great fun and came to an end much to quickly. We worked up an appetite and dined on Elk burgers before heading out to South Dakota. I am going to miss this place....Wyoming felt like home to me.

Yellowstone National Park

Can't believe we have been on the road for over a month....the time has flown by quickly. Fortunately, we still have another two weeks ahead! We left the Grand Tetons early and arrived in Yellowstone National Park early afternoon. Once again, bluebird skies and temps in the high 70's. Perfect! The park encompasses 2.2 million acres. 96% is in Wyoming, 3% in Montana and 1% in Idaho. Wildlife is abundant and the grizzlies have made this their home. First stop, Old Faithful Gyser....just in time to see her spout her glory.

The thermal areas that surround this part of the park are amazing.....the different colors, sizes, shapes and water temps make for a variety of beauty. Some of the water temps are as high as 263 degrees! We enjoyed strolling around the boardwalk which brings you to each gyeser to enjoy. Some spout regularly.....others haven't gone off for years. Resting on a volcanic plateau, it is just a matter of time before this whole place erupts.....not in our lifetime though. The evening was spent exploring the Lake Area. Yellowstone Lake is the largest lake in North America at 7733 altitude. The lake encompasses Fishing Bridge, Bridge Bay and Grant Village area. We biked the hills and took in the scenery. Since our campground was more like a parking lot, we decided to park the RV along a secluded part of the lake for a very romantic dinner as we watched the sunset....the ending to a perfect day.
We awoke early and after a hearty breakfast, headed to The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone to Uncle Tom's Trail on the North Rim to see Lower Falls and Artist Point. This is the sight of some of the most photographed areas in the park. The scenery was breathtaking and the 332 stair climb back up was quite strenous in the thin air. The lower falls are almost twice as high as Niagra Falls at 308 feet! After a quick lunch, we headed to Hayden Valley for some wildlife sightings. Many Bison were seen along with a pretty large black bear. We felt very comfortable viewing from the comfort and safety of the RV.
Later in the afternoon, we decided to hike Mount Washburn, elevation 10,243 feet! (of course, we are already at 7900 feet) The 90 minute climb took us to some of the most beautiful and scerene places in the park. The wildflowers were abudant and adorned most of the hillside. We spotted several big horn sheep as well as yellow bellied marmot; a friendly mamal that resembles the ground hog. No bear were to be seen, but I had my bells on my backpack and pepper spray in hand! By nightfall, we were exhausted after a total hike of about 10 miles throughout the day.
We camped in Canyonland and heard the call of the wolves during the night. Spectacular! Today we head to the northern area of the park......grizzly territory!!

Day 2 Grand Tetons

I thought my eyes could see no more beauty......but it just keeps getting better! Today, another gorgeous bluebird sky day with temps in the high 70's.....perfect! We headed out to Colter Bay for some boating on Jackson Lake. The water was a bit chilly for me (64 degrees) but Guy found it quite refreshing and jumped from the boat several times to the clean cool mountain lake.
I navigated the waters with ease in our little Jon boat.
We spotted a golden bald eagle near the bird sanctuary which according to the park ranger, is a rarity to see. We felt very fortunate to have such a sighting. After a wonderful day on the lake, we headed back to the convertible for some more wildlife sightseeing. About 50 yards away, we spotted a mama brown bear tearing up logs looking for grubs. The power in her claws made it look like child's play as she lifted these huge stumps with ease. We felt very brave watching as the car was just steps away. Driving down the road, we were abruptly stopped for the crossing of the Bison. The force and size of these animals are very intimidating. We also came across a herd
of Elk with about 100 in the group. It was an amazing sight to behold! After 3 days in the Tetons, taking in all the beautiful sights, we were ready to head an hour north to Yellowstone National Park!!

The Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole Wyoming

Our drive here was breathtaking and eventful. I spotted a little fawn lying on the side of the road that had apparently been hit but not injured...just scared. So we picked it up and placed it in the shade near a stream hoping her mama would come to her aid. A prayer to St. Francis for her protection and we were on our way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.



Wow, wow, wow....this place is amazing! We arrived late afternoon. Just in time for a stroll around the quaint shops and a nice dinner outside on the deck overlooking the ski area. A couple games of pool after dinner and we were on our way to The Grand Tetons. Arriving after dark, we fumbled our way through the camp ground and luckily found some availability. In fact, this whole trip we have found sites without making reservations. Luck has certainly been on our side. Amazingly, we had landed on a beautiful site at a remote campground on the south end of the park. We were right next to a stream which the pups quickly adopted as their own private swimming area.
First thing in the morning, we headed to the nearby airport where we rented a convertible and quickly scouted out the area. It was nice to get out of the RV and manuever much more easily in the car. Loaded up with sunscreen, as one can easily burn in this high altitude, we were on our way for some wild life sightseeing. We were amazed at the abundance of wild life right along the road. We spotted Bison, Elk, Deer, Bear, Otter, moose and a Golden Bald Eagle. Being in the convertible made the visibility to spot things so much easier too. We then headed to the ferry which took us across Jenny Lake to a trail head for some hiking. Inspiration point, elevation 7300 feet showed us some wonderful panoramic views. Just below that was Hidden Falls which boasted a powerful waterfall with a drop of about 300 feet. We then headed to Jackson Lodge where we dined on fresh Bison and Elk....yummy! Bellies full, we headed back to the camp where it started to rain. Falling asleep with the rain hitting the RV was a very peaceful way to end this wonderful day.

Bear Lake Mountain, Idaho

Leaving the beauty of Salt Lake City we headed North West to the border of Utah and Idaho to Bear Mountain Lake. A beautiful clear clean and 64 degree mountain lake....brrrrrr. The water is aquamarine and one can see 20 feet deep easily. Our camp site was right on the water and the views were serene. We set up camp, had a lovely dinner on the grill and sat and watched the sunset over the mountains.

The next morning we played 9 holes of golf on a long and narrow mountain course. Only lost 2 balls, so all is good! After going back to the RV and check on the dogs and have a quick lunch, we were off to the lake on the Ski-doo. 60 mph on a glass lake....priceless! It was so much fun to jump and skip over the wakes of the other boaters! This was an unplanned and fun stop to break up the 5 hour drive from Salt Lake City to Jackson Hole Wyoming.