Day 19 - On the Oregon Trail

It was sunny and in the 50's leaving Idaho this morning about 9:00 a.m. We're headed to Oregon! It's the only state we've never visited and one of three we've never pulled the camper through!

Since there are lots of cattle here, David has decided there must be a lot of meat and potatoes people here. Grow potatoes and grow cattle! Because the cattle can wander on the roads, you cross a lot of cattle crossing areas. They feature pipe set a few inches apart across a road. The cattle can't cross them. Today we ran across some that were fake! The "pipe" was stripes painted on the road. Guess the cattle can't tell the difference. We've also seen a lot of stockyards. Don't want to think where my steak comes from!

We got to Oregon at 10:15 MDT. We crossed the Snake River here for the millionth time. We've crossed it so much I'm considering getting a python.....not really!

At Huntington, we crossed into the Pacific Daylight Time. The time change really is tough getting used to! It's 10:15 a.m., and my stomach thinks it's lunch time. Not sure what time we'll think we need to turn in for the night.

We saw a lot of 3 blade windmills on the hills. They weren't turning today. Speaking of hills, we saw huge hills with cattle on them everywhere! We can't figure out how the cattle owner knows where to find them.

Trucks here pull 2 and 3 trailers behind them. I thought if they could do that, I could try driving the RV. It's fairly open and you can see a long way ahead. David just looked at me like I was crazy. He wanted to know why I'd drive here and not a home. I told him I could see far ahead, but then we ran into the mountains. Then I changed my mind. I'd never pass anyone because I can't tell when to pull back over. David says it's safe when you don't hear horns....

It's still spring here...lilacs are in bloom all over the place. The lilacs here are huge...not like my little one at home. It's been planted for years and has finally started blooming, but it's only about 2' high.

We've been following the Oregon Trail. It was so nice of the pioneers to design such a great route!

Tonight at the campground it's free movie and sloppy joe night. They're showing "Enchanted" which I also have on board with us. Don't think we'll make movie night.

Tomorrow we move to Portland for several days. The Rose Festival is going on this weekend and I'm really looking forward to that!

Still reading "Mary Queen of Scots."

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)

Day 18 - Where in Idaho are we?

When we left Heise Hot Springs this morning, it was in the 50's and partly cloudy. We pulled out about 8:30 a.m. Shortly down the road in Idaho Falls it began to sprinkle. We're getting used to that!

We picked up the interstate in Idaho Falls and stayed on it all day until we got to Boise. Along the way the landscape changed dramatically....mountains, valleys, deserts, potato fields, nothing for miles! The Snake River was crossed several times. It's high water time for it.

We saw cattle, goats, sheep, llamas, and a couple from York, Alabama. They stopped at a truck stop to take a shower and were planning to spend the night at WalMart. Not my idea of camping!

We finally got off the interstate at Boise and wound around and wound around and wound around. Sir Garmin sent us all through town with tons of turns. I really thought he'd lost his mind when it told us to turn right into the campground. Right turn was into a cemetery! RV park is on the left! It's a nice park...good wi-fi, cell phone reception, and cable TV. YEA! I can watch the episode of LOST I missed last week and the 2 hour season finale.

David's cooking dinner...leftover steak and herb/butter rice, and chocolate/raspbery lava cake! Sun is shining, fan is on, and it's not raining or snowing.....

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)

Day 17 - Heise Hot Springs, ID

Heise Hot Springs is kind of out of the way, but we'd been here before and wanted to visit again. The RV Park is part of a resort that's over 100 years old. It features mineral baths and pools.

After a quick trip into town, we headed back to swim! It's in the 50's-60's outside, but the temperature in the main pool is 95 degrees to 105 degrees. It felt heavenly! Stayed in that pool for awhile and moved to the cooler pool for a bit. It was great.

We met a young lady named Gwen at the pool. She was great to talk to and we hope she finds a great place to live!

Just one problem with the pool...I stayed in too long and ran my blood pressure up. Face was red and had a terrific headache. Finally felt better and was ready for dinner. Don't miss toooo many meals! LOL

David washed some clothes and we spent some time cleaning and mopping in the RV. Not the most fun you can have here.... LOL

Early evening and still reading "Mary Queen of Scots."

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)

Day 16 - We had to cross the mountain sometime...

Sir Garmin (the GPS) and AAA all gave us the same route. WY 22 over to Idaho and to the campground – 84 miles. No big deal, right? WRONG!

We left Jackson Hole about 9:45 a.m. It’s cloudy and in the 50’s.

The first sign something might be amiss was a sign showing WY 22, no vehicles over 60,000 pounds. Next sign was 10% grade doing downhill!

We slowly worked our way up the mountain. It began raining. Some traffic passed us as we were doing 20-25 mph. Now it’s raining…now it’s SNOWING! We’re almost to the top and David’s cell phone rings. It’s Eddie. He and Susan got in late and had a hard time getting up this morning. It’s a good time to stop and take the call as the transmission is beginning to overheat and it’s time to think about going down the hill.

We topped the mountain pass at 8,440’ in the snow. There’s a new sign – 10% grade for the next 3 miles. Three miles? Visions of Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado were running through my mind! Not sure what David’s thinking…I’m afraid to ask!

He keeps the truck in first gear as much as possible and brakes as necessary. Suddenly it levels out and we were in Idaho! Then were going up another pass! This one was easier – only 6,764’!

Sir Garmin sends us on to Ryrie, but we’re coming into Heise Hot Springs from a different direction. Last time we came through Idaho Falls, but not this time. Suddenly Sir Garmin comes to life and tells us to turn right. We did. It looks somewhat familiar. Then he tells us to turn again, but this time it doesn’t look familiar! We end up on a flooded dirt road with a dam/bridge/road that says a limit of 3 tons can cross. Way more than we weigh with the truck and RV. Two young men were fishing there, so we ask for better directions. He told us to go across that bridge and the campground was right there! David asked if there wasn’t another way as we couldn’t cross there. Fortunately they knew all the right turns.

We got back on the road and Sir Garmin now tells us we’re on a good route! Why didn’t he take us that way the first time? LOL We finally got to the campground and we’re almost in the same spot as we were the last time. It’s grassy and warmer here – 50’s. We planned to cookout (finally), so David set out some steaks. Into Idaho Falls to check email and update the blog.

We had gone to Barnes and Noble previously to use the wi-fi, but now they charge a minimum of $25 to access it for three sessions. We did learn that Schlotsky’s Deli across the parking lot had free internet. We were there so long, I thought they would put us to work. I checked all 400+ emails and got some of the blog done, but not caught up.

David talked to a man inside the deli who had made a quick stop. They talked about places to visit. When he left, he let his big dog out of the truck and the dog hopped right into the back of the truck! A good visit!

We have passed some new signs here that confused us:

GAME CROSSING – Monopoly? Scrabble?

WATCH FOR STOCK – IBM? Coca-Cola?

We also keep seeing a beautiful bird here. It’s black and white and has a very long tail on it. It’s stunning!

Finished “Though the Gates of Splendor.” David’s reading Apocalypse 2012 (it’s kind of out there!). I’m reading a biography of Mary – Queen of Scots.

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)

Day 15 - A memorable Memorial Day

It’s Memorial Day and back to Jackson Hole for one last day. Eddie and Susan are flying back to Raleigh about noon. We have now driven 3,100 miles since leaving home two weeks ago. Rather, DAVID has driven 3,100 miles.

As we leave Yellowstone, light snow is falling. Strange – snow on Memorial Day! As we’ve always left Yellowstone through different entrances, this marks the first time we’ve left through the South Entrance. We normally come in that way. Lake Lewis is still covered with ice and there is a LOT of snow on the ground. We were rewarded with the sight of a rare Trumpeter Swan taking flight from the Yellowstone River.

Chrissy almost went to “dog heaven” again! Once in awhile, we give her a small rawhide bone to chew while we’re driving. We don’t give it to her when we’re not there to watch as she sometimes gets choked. Well, she swallowed one whole end of it and began to choke. David couldn’t find a place to pull over with the truck and RV and she’s still choking! Just as I decide to “go in after it,” she coughed it up. NO MORE BONES FOR CHRISSY!

We cross back into an area where we have cell phone service and both our phones are alerting us that we have voicemail. We’ve had no cell phone service or internet service since we’ve been in Yellowstone. I check my messages first and both messages are from Stephanie. She tells us our son, Adam, has been hurt at work on FRIDAY (it’s Monday now). He caught his right hand in a conveyer belt. His fingers are attached and not broken, but seriously injured. David’s call was from Adam telling us the same thing. We got Adam on the phone and learned he’d pulled his index finger and middle finger out of socket and torn ligaments and tendons. The skin on his fingers was also damaged. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital and was taken care of promptly. His hand is bandaged and he was told to take care of the fingers as they could still be damaged further. He did say he was feeling better. Scary to learn all that!

When we get back to the Tetons, a light rain is falling and the temperature is in the 40’s. You can’t see the mountains because of cloud cover and rain. We drive on to Jackson Hole and back to the Snake River KOA. It’s right on the banks of the river and the river is swift and full.

We drop the trailer, have some lunch and head out to the park again. First stop is Schwabacker’s Landing. On my screen saver on my work computer, I have a picture of this place, but have never visited here. You drive down a winding dirt road that leads to the Snake River landing and a picnic area. Weddings are done here frequently. We saw a small trail and followed it. There had been signs warning about bears in the area, but the ranger that was there said they had not had a recent sighting of one.

I took some pictures at the lake there and it was beginning to rain, so we walked back up the trail. David stopped to talk to a man who was there in the parking lot. He had been looking at the wedding site for his daughter’s wedding. He is a professional photographer, but was not planning to photograph his daughter’s wedding. He suggested we walk on to the beaver ponds, so we went back down the trail.

We passed the small lake where I had been taking pictures, and there was a HUGE beaver pond. The water is clear and you can see round rocks and algae in the bottom. You can see where the beaver have dammed up the pond. Across the pond was another beaver dam. It began to rain lightly, and in my picture of Schwabacker’s Landing, you can see the ripples from the rain on the pond. The mountain is not clearly seen behind it, but I know it’s there!

On to Cunningham Cabin. The photographer at Yellowstone told me to try shooting here. I found it hard to believe it was really a home place for a family. The home has a sod roof, but made of wood. It has two small rooms joined by a dogtrot.

A few more stops for photos and off to the campground. It’s raining and cold, so David decides to do laundry. Second time for laundry on the road. I read and he washes laundry!

I’m reading the last of Teddy Roosevelt’s biography by McCullough. David’s almost finished The Shack. Finished watching “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.” Next up is “Through the Gates of Splendor,” the story of the five missionaries killed in Ecuador.

Up early to head out to Idaho in the morning!

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)

Day 14 - Stampede!

Another of those cold, snowy mornings. Is it really the end of May? Almost summer? I didn’t pack enough clothes for this type of weather!

Today we’re visiting West Yellowstone, MT. It’s one of our favorite drives because of all the animals we normally see. There is also an eagle’s nest along the route. We usually see lots of anglers in the Yellowstone River.

We started out about 9:30 a.m. and drove toward the West Yellowstone Loop. One of the main roads is closed (Canyon to Tower) because of heavy snow. It was supposed to open on May 23, but they don’t have an idea of when it might open because it keeps snowing there. Because it’s closed we can’t get to Lamar Valley to see the buffalo and wolves. Maybe next time…..

Since the roads along Firehole were open and Eddie and Susan hadn’t seen these roads, we took some time to drive them again. My favorite geyser in the whole park is along one road. It’s small, but goes off every 20 minutes. It puts up a huge steam plume and continues about one minute. If you miss it, just wait or if you want to see it again, jut wait. It’s always every 20 minutes.

We spent a good bit of time seeing each road and it was getting close to lunchtime and we were still 15 miles from West Yellowstone. That may not sound like a lot, but by the time you pull off or over for animals, it can be hours! We decided to drive straight into West Yellowstone unless animals prohibited us doing so. We finally got there about 2:00 p.m.

We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Food was good, but I think there were more of us (4) than were employed there! We talked a bit and decided to head back out. Since we were in two different vehicles, we decided to split up going back.

We stopped a few times coming back toward the Canyon Loop. Several animals were along and in the river….mostly elk. When we got close to the turn at Canyon Loop, I saw a “dog” crossing the field in the snow. All of a sudden it dawned on me it wasn’t a dog. It was too large for a coyote, so we decided it was a wolf. As we turned the corner, we saw LOTS of people with cameras filming the wolf. Of course, we did the same. It was then I noticed a second wolf. The pack was traveling through the snow toward Canyon Village. I wish I’d put the telephoto lens on the camera. You can see the wolf, but not as clearly as I could have gotten it.

When we finally got back to Fishing Bridge where we’re camped, I asked David to drive on past the entrance and a little way down the road. It was closed last time we were here. If you wanted to go to Cody, WY, you had to find another loop to get there. We drove down the road and didn’t see a lot, so we turned around to head back to the RV. Just before we got to the entrance of the RV park, we got into a “buffalo jam” – lots of people stopped because the buffalo take over the road. Most people take it in stride and wait for the buffalo to move. This buffalo was a single male taking his time walking up the middle of the road. We were about ¼ mile from him as he approached us. There was no other vehicle in our lane, so the buffalo had a clear “shot” to finish coming down the road. EXCEPT…..one “visitor” decided to blow his horn! What a change happened!

I shoot pictures with a Nikon D50 and it has a feature I really like. When I bought the camera, the salesman told me if I held down the shutter button while a bear was running toward me, the bear would remain in focus the entire time until he got to me! I was sold!

Well…..I started to shoot and held the button down. You can see the buffalo walking a few steps, but when the horn blows, he starts running! You can see that his feet are off the ground! I’m still shooting and not thinking anything more about the buffalo. Then I realize he’s getting closer, but I’m still shooting! He gets closer and closer and he puts his head down like he’s going to ram the truck! I’m still shooting! At the very last second, he turned from my side of the truck and just missed the outside mirror! All David could think of was we’re going to need a new radiator! All I could think of was how to get these pictures posted! LOL LOL LOL I’ll see if I can get them on Flicker so you can see this big boy charging the truck!

It’s our last day here at Yellowstone, so we went to visit Eddie and Susan at their hotel. We ended up having dinner from the deli and had some great conversation about what all we’d seen that day. After hugs, we went back to the RV to pack up for the move to Jackson Hole on Monday.

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)

Day 13 - Hamburger Heaven!

Steph’s grandmother Dean had told us about a place she and her family had eaten at MANY years ago when they visited Yellowstone. It was “on the left going out of Gardiner, Mt.” We were going out that entrance so we took off to find it.

Still snowing and cold here, but just beautiful. When you go out the entrance at Gardiner, you climb up into the mountains and then drop into a valley. There isn’t as much snow on this side of the park. It’s quite warm (almost 60 degrees) and the sun comes out now and then.

We’ve passed a sign marking the 45^th Parallel – Halfway between the Equator and the North Pole.

We stopped to take pictures of the Roosevelt Arch and headed into Gardiner. It’s a long row of tourist shops, a left turn over the river, and 2 long rows of more shops leading out of town. We drove through town (didn’t take long), but didn’t see the hamburger place. We turned around and headed back through town. There on the right was a sign for Helen’s Corral Drive-In – Home of the Montana Hateful Burger since 1960! Had to be the place! David pulled in and we got out to order. You can see from the photos how large the burger was! I ate around the outside and David ate what was left which was still a LOT!

Coming back into the park we came back down the Old Faithful loop road. This time our two favorite drives were open. We turned into Firehole Geyser Road and immediately saw several carcasses. Could have been deer or elk, but didn’t know for sure. Didn’t take pictures of them, either! There were also some trees that were cut right at the road. It appeared they’d just opened the road that day.

We saw a lot of buffalo and elk and had a great time!

See ya down the road!

Jenny J

Day 12 - Off to Yellowstone!

We’re moving to Fishing Bridge at Yellowstone today. Cold, snowy, same as before! LOL

We’re entering Yellowstone National Park from the South Entrance. It looks like the frozen Artic! Snow drifts on the side of the road over 12’ high! Lake Lewis is frozen as is Lake Yellowstone. There is snow everywhere. I don’t believe I ever seen this much snow. James Spann asked to have his picture taken in the snow drift!

We got into the campground and got set up. When we checked in, the man who registered us asked if we had any pets. We said we had Chrissy. He reminded us to keep her on her leash and to keep her close. A bear had been spotted in our campground and Chrissy would just be a “snack on a leash.” Guess who won’t be walking the dog!

We caught up with Eddie and Susan and started touring. We headed out to see Old Faithful. It’s funny, but you cross the Continental Divide twice before you get there!

We got to Old Faithful in time to see it go off. We were a bit chilly at that point and headed to the Lodge to get something warm to drink. While we were inside, there was a book signing going on. A young man who photographs the Tetons and Yellowstone was signing two or three of his books and some of his prints. He gave me some pointers and some of his favorite shooting spots that most “tourists” don’t know about or won’t take the time to visit.

Some of our favorite roads and drives were still not opened, so we didn’t get to see some of our favorite parts of the park. We did see a lot of animals, though. NO BEARS!

We decided to make it an early evening. Tomorrow Eddie and Susan are going off on their own and we’ll head to West Yellowstone, MT. After they’d left for the hotel and David had gone to read, I was sitting at the dining table. I heard a funny noise. I looked up at the door window and noticed what looked like a snowball sliding down it! The glass in the door is frosted so I opened it to find 1” to 2” snowflakes! I have never seen any that large before! The snow piled behind our camper is quite high!

See ya down the road!

Jenny J

Day 11 - "Hell's Kitchen"

We didn't get up too early this morning. Just another lazy day in the snow!

I forgot you haven't met Eddie and Susan so that's them in the picture at the church.

We decided to meet Eddie and Susan as their hotel and get some lunch. We decided we'd eat at the Sidewinder Restaurant in Jackson Hole. It was a little before noon when we got there and the young lady asked us how many. Before we could tell her "four," some guy comes running through and telling her to hold up putting people at the table. We could easily see the kitchen area and he's ran in there ranting and raving! It was like an episode of "Hell's Kitchen!" He's yelling at the cooks and the servers! Another woman tried to seat us and he yelled at her! He finally got every one's attention and yelled out, "I've got 50 people in another room who haven't ordered yet so you can leave or stay. I don't care." We decided to stay to see what happened next!

We finally got a table and ordered. Susan and Eddie ordered sweet potato fries, but got regular fries. Otherwise our orders were correct and good! At some point in the meal, we noticed that "sneaker guy" wasn't wandering around yelling anymore. Not sure where he went. Everyone kept their cool except him.


Off to the park again! We drove through many of the loops and roads as it was our last full day here until Monday. We spotted three moose at Gross Ventures Junction - pronounced "Grow Vahnt" by most.

We spotted lots of elk, buffalo/bison (David and I still disagree on this term - I say buffalo....he says bison!), and snow melt. Some roads are closed because of high water.

Headed back for reading time and movie: Reading a biography on Teddy Roosevelt and watching "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee."

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)

Day 10 - Another day in the Tetons

Didn't get up quite as early this morning as we were going out to take early morning pictures. It's still snowing/raining here! It's cold, wet, and windy!

Off we go! Into the Tetons for sight-seeing even though it's raining/snowing. We stopped at the visitor's center. There were geese everywhere! Look closely at the picture with the goose on the edge of the roof. There is an egg behind her! It started snowing here.

We went on to a Museum for Animal Art. They had a water sculpture inside of a moose. Oh Don...it's real title is "Swamp Donkey." No kidding!

It's at this point we almost lost Chrissy! We had stopped in the Park to take some photos and she was with David who had her on the leash. We got back in the truck and she started to throw up and rub her face on the pavement once we stopped. She had blisters coming up on her nose and face. We quickly got her back into the truck to drive to Dornan's store for peanut butter and benadryl. Her little face continued to swell until her lips looked as if they turned inside out. Her eyes also started to swell shut and she was developing blisters everywhere on her face. She gave one huge sigh and stopped moving. I was afraid she was gone and screamed at David to drive faster. It was still 10 minutes to Dornan's. He flew inside and got the benadryl and peanut butter. We gave it to her and within minutes the swelling was going down.

We got back to the hotel where Eddie and Susan were staying and the hotel staff found a vet we could talk to. The vet told us that something had probably bitten or stung her and that we had acted correctly. She told us to continue giving her the PB and benadryl during the night. We did and she's much better now! I really thought she was gone at one point!

David and I celebrated our 21st anniversary on May 9, but waited to celebrate until we got to the Tetons. David made reservations for us in the Mural Room at the Lake Jackson Hotel in the Park. You go to the second floor and get a stunning view of the mountains - unless it's snowing! It was 39 degrees and snowing!

Before we ordered, they brought out bread and butter. The butter pats were moose shaped! I had wrack of lamb and David had elk. I tasted it and it was good, but don't think I would ever order that!

It was snowing heavily and it was cold so we headed back to town! What a great day in the park!

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)

Day 9 - Sunrise at the Tetons

I woke up about 3:30 a.m. with my "friend" the kidney stone. Managed to go back to sleep until the 4:00 a.m. wakeup call. Pain got unbearable, so I took the drugs I was supposed to and got dressed to leave for Jackson Hole and the Tetons. We picked up Eddie and Susan and headed out.

We decided to go to Mormon Row to shoot pictures. The temperature was in the 30's and it was quite chilly!

Sun wasn't hitting the mountains yet and there were lots of people there already. We meet Gene and Susan from Gadsden there! Small world.

Once the sun came up and hit the mountains, all you could hear was serious picture taking. Lenses being changed, clicking of shutters, etc. Normally the mountains turn pink at sunrise, but not today. Instead we had a golden light that caused the barn to glow. The barn was built over 100 years ago by the Mormons and several of them are still in the park.

Since the morning light was still good, we moved over to the beaver ponds. It's as close to the point I really wanted to shoot, but couldn't because of high water. There isn't as much snow on this side of the mountain.

After a few more shots at a different spots, we headed back to Jackson Hole. It was time for breakfast! Some friends had recommended eating at The Bunnery. The food was terrific. We spent a little time in Jackson Hole and then headed back to the campground for a quick nap before lunch.

We spent some time viewing the park. Pulled into Colter Bay and found the Bay clogged with ice. It looked more like Antarctica than the Tetons!

We made a stop before heading back into town and that's where the trouble started. Chrissy began to get sick in the truck and she never does that. We got her outside and noticed she had blisters on her nose and over her eyes. Within minutes, her eyes were almost swelled shut. We got back in the truck and made a 15 minute run to Dornan's Trading Post for benadryl and peanut butter. Her lips swelled so that they were almost inside out looking. She gave one huge sigh and didn't move again. I thought she was gone and wouldn't tell David. I just told him to drive faster. We got the benadryl and peanut butter and in a matter of minutes, most of the swelling and blisters were gone. We talked to a local vet who told us we did the right thing. She believes that something stung Chrissy and it was a bad allergic reaction. She's better now, but we're keeping benadryl in the truck just in case.

After we determined she was going to be okay, we met Eddie and Susan for dinner at the Teton Steakhouse and a couple from Alabama was seated behind us. We've run into a lot of people for Alabama! It was a tiring day for all of us, so we called it an early evening and headed back to our RV.

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)



We met Eddie and Susan for dinner at

Day 8 - On to the Tetons

Got up early and it was great outside: 50's, sunny, and best of all...no wind! That meant David could cook bacon for breakfast outside. He uses an electric skillet outside so the inside of the RV doesn't smell like bacon for days.

We begin the morning with a mileage reading of 72920. We are a long way from home now.

We crossed into Teton County. Also crossed the Continental Divide at 9658. Truck was struggling up some of the inclines. Thought we'd have to get out and push to make it over the top.

There is snow everywhere here. Not just a little depth to it, but enough for snowmobiles to still be running and to find out that Crocs won't work as snowshoes. James said he wanted to get out and measure the snow, so he and I walked to the edge where he could measure. I was almost past my knees before I stopped. I just knew my snowshoes (Crocs) would work better than that.

We got to the Jackson Hole Airport (which is located in Grand Teton National Park) about the time our friends plane landed. We were glad to see Eddie and Susan. We went with them to their hotel to make plans for the rest of the day. A man in an Alabama shirt walked by and asked David if we were from Georgia since he had on a Georgia Tech cap. At that point, David and the other man realized they knew each other. Tom Wilson! Small world! They had just finished talking when another man walked up to David and asked him when he graduated. This man was a EE 1964 grad of Georgia Tech.

We were all starving by now, so we went to Bubba's BBQ in Jackson Hole for lunch. When we got to dessert, we order 4 different pies because we couldn't decide which ones to get: buttermilk, chocolate buttermilk, pecan, and fudge pecan. For me it was a toss-up between the buttermilk pie and the fudge pecan pie. They were all good!

We got the RV set up and headed back into town to pick up Eddie and Susan. We did an overview of the park, showing them where to go and how to get around in the park. We then made plans to meet at 5:00 a.m. to go shooting sunrise pictures of the Tetons.

We didn't eat dinner, but had a couple of snacks and went to bed early so we could get up before dark...does that make sense? LOL

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)

Day 7 - I'm in a fog!

Weather is sunny, cool, in the 40's and no wind this morning. However, I'm in a fog! We left the campsite about 8:15 a.m.

The pain from the kidney stone returned so I took my Phenegren and Percoset. I don't remember much about the trip here to Riverton. I know we're about 3 hours from Grand Tetons! YEA!

Wyoming - 9:45 a.m.!

We can see the Rockies and they have snow on them. We also passed a double stacked train. So strange looking!

We spotted lots of antelope and tumbleweeds.

Tomorrow we meet our friends in Grand Tetons!

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)

Day 6 - Part Two - I'm Walking The Floor Over You

We must have passed about 100 deer on the 13 miles to the ER in Casper. It was just about dusk, so there were plenty of them. We have deer whistles on the truck and they ran every time we drove close. Thank goodness.

The hospital in Custer has 10 rooms. The ER is in a separate building. They have 3 nurses on duty and one doctor. There had been two ladies in a car wreck before I got there and they kept apologizing for making us wait. I think we waited 15 minutes before I was seen!

I had a wonderful nurse named Charlene. She was an angel! She took my history and said the doctor would be in shortly. They determined I had a kidney stone (my 3rd or 4th, I forget). My blood pressure was 186/93! The pain was horrible! Probably a 7-8 on a scale of 1-10. I couldn't sit and couldn't stand. Ended up walking around the room a lot. The doctor suggested a CT to see where the stone was and how large. It was about to reach the bladder and was 3 mm. OUCH! Good pain meds and nausea medicine helped. She offered to give me morphine, but I opted for something not so strong! David would have had to pour me into the truck if I'd had that. When the IV was gone, I got to go home. We got back to the RV about 11:30 p.m. I slept so good!

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)

Day 6 - Part One - Reason for visiting Hill City

We headed out about 7:45 a.m. Skies with sunny with a light win and temp in the 50's. A great day!

We saw snow on the side of the road outside Rapid City, SD. They had a MAJOR blizzard on May 1 of this year. In fact, some people had just gotten their power restored yesterday. We also saw snow on the side of the road in Custer State Park.

Strange sign of the day: Wildlife at Large. Does that mean they escaped? Strange street sign: Dead Broke Street.

We are staying at the Horse Thief Campground outside Hill City. It's a beautiful campground in the woods. It's still off season here, so it's not crowded here. There is a huge pasture in front of our campsite. Last night before we left to go out (Part Two), there were deer everywhere!

We drove into Hill City to the Alpine Inn. It's a German restaurant that has terrific food. The last time we were here, David ordered bread pudding which he loves! He swears up and down it's the best bread pudding ever. It's described as a traditional bread pudding with no raisins or nuts covered with a caramel sauce. Since I don't care for "wet bread," I had a white chocolate raspberry mousse. It was terrific. The actual meal I had was weinerschnitzel and David had the German plate (sausages, kraut, potato salad, etc.). WONDERFUL! James enjoyed the bread pudding, too.

We picked up Chrissy at the campground and headed to Custer State Park. It was open house weekend, so it was free entrance and camping and the place was crowded. We passed Sylvan Lake as we came in. If you saw "National Treasure," this is the lake that Nicolas Cage stuck his hand into the rock and screamed. The wind was blowing so hard, the fish were stacking up along the bank where the wind blew them out! LOL

We took the wildlife tour through the park. We'd done this before and knew to bring carrots for the donkeys. About halfway through the loop, they hang out around the road looking for "handouts." We had two pounds of carrots. The picture you see of me screaming was the only one David took of me feeding them. Good thing, too! The van you see became a drive-in when David started handing out carrots to other people. The donkeys get quite "pushy" trying to get more carrots and we both were almost knocked over by them. They didn't bite, though! One came up to the truck window and the donkey and Chrissy had a meeting there. She didn't growl or bite, but let the donkey sniff her!

I wasn't feeling well when we got to the end of the loop and decided to head back. David asked what I wanted for dinner, and the thought of food was more than I could take. I'd been queasy most of the day and the thought of food was horrible.

When I finally admitted my right side was killing me, he found out where the nearest hospital was and headed out.

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)

Day 5 - WIND!

David got up early to fix breakfast. He cooked bacon outside as they wind had "died" to about a steady 10 mph. It was sunny and cool and a great day to cook out. Then he asked me for the eggs....what eggs? I couldn't find them in the fridge and the fridge isn't that big. We realized we left them in our fridge at home! George and Deborah - PLEASE take our eggs home with you and use them! LOL

James is feeling better after a trip to Wall Drug. Yesterday he took a nasty fall from the truck. His feet came off the base! A little super glue later and a nice rest in the RV today and he'll be back on the road with us tomorrow.

Headed to the Wounded Knee Museum - wasn't open. Decided we try to post office - wasn't open. Most of the stores in the Wall Drug area were open. We visited most of the shops and found a few items. We got some homemade donuts and David got the $.05 coffee. We each got two donuts, but I only ate one. I wrapped the other in the paper they came in and then wrapped a paper napkin around it. It went into my purse for later.

By now the post office was open so we got more stamps, mailed a package, and some bills. Off again!

This time the Wounded Knee Museum was open. It was interesting. I'm reading "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee." They also had the DVD, so we'll probably watch it tonight. We talked to one of the locals who "fought" in the Wounded Knee battle in the 1970's. He's not impressed with what they do.

By now we've learned something the hard way. The wind here is blowing at a steady 30 mph with higher gusts. They don't consider this windy! We found if you open both truck doors at the same time, all the paper in the truck begins to swirl like a tornado! Now we get in one at a time!

We tried to visit the Missile Museum yesterday, but they were booked for the day. Went back today and got our name on the standby list for the afternoon. They had room for one of us...not both. David let me take the underground tour. You tour the control center which looks from the outside like a regular ranch house except for the "stuff" around it - radar, poles, wire, etc.

You tour the upstairs area first and then taken an elevator 31' down to the control center. David missed this part, but they did let him tour upstairs twice! He actually got two different tours. We learned that these sights used to cover South Dakota, but they don't have any live ones here anymore. These places were "hidden" in plain sight! The missile silo we visited was a 1/2 mile from the interstate.

We met a guy carrying a gnome. Seems he "appropriated" it from a neighbor's yard. It's going on a trip from Arizona to Bermuda! See, I'm not the only one who likes friends to vacation.

We came back and settle down to get ready for dinner. It was really quiet with Chrissy so I thought I'd see what she was doing. She was very quietly and calmly eating my donut. She'd gotten it out of my purse, unwrapped it, and half of it was gone when I noticed it! I only hope that donut looks better on her than it would on me.

I just learned on the local weather that the winds are Chinook winds. It's warmed up to 80 degrees here with 40-50 mph gusts. The trailer moves with the wind.

David has taken laundry to be done. Running low on towels and other unmentionables. They have 3 washers here and it's $1.25 per load. Not too bad.

Tomorrow we're back on the road and headed for Hill City, SD.

Reading: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and The Chili Queen (Sandra Dallas).

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)