Going Up the Country

[05ModPod]

WOW Love the Boni and Clyde Car!!!! What a great set up that is.

Nice to see you semi back Carol - Big Kudos to little Orrie we have seen first hand how he can almost fly that one

[wheel interested]

Hi Gals! I have some back tracking and catching up to do. I'll do my best. I have been off grid too long, darn, darn.

My stay at Fairmont Montana was next to a beautiful pasture and surrounded by mountains with plenty of big sky and interesting sights.

Most of these were taken right at my site...until the 5 day bicycle event filled the area with hundreds of tents last evening. I came home from a scenic drive and was amazed at the transformation! This was my spot for several days before moving on to Bozeman for the rally. The palm trees were at a gas station in Deer Lodge and the sign was in town at the end of my drive.

[wheel interested]

tent city...so much for peace and quiet...perfect precursor for Bozeman's tight quarters.

[wheel interested]

on campus

[wheel interested]

Get Acquainted Party... Red 2, Row 2 hosted by Kate, (3rd picture with Tuney.) Part of the excitement and enrichment of Internationals is to park among new friends and have new encounters. Don Williams of Sierra Nevada atop WBCCI CB headquarters, last pictured.

[wheel interested]

Last but not least Kate and I remain in our section until the end of the rally. We fashion a scheme to head out to Jackson Hole together.



The drive is gorgeous and we take a break for coffee and photo ops at Norris.





We arrive at our destination. I am Kate's guest in her thousand trails membership.



Orie and Tuney become fast friends.



Our park has a wonderful view, swimming pool, sauna, hot tubs, laundry, wi-fi, recreation center and activities.



We take time for R&R and sightseeing.

[wheel interested]

Our National Park passes expedict entry to Grand Tetons and have paid for themselves already. A local points out the Sleeping Indian formation to Kate.

***funny story...at the rally, one morning Kate found a nest and an giant egg on her site, the next morning the egg was gone and a flamingo sat in the nest...too funny!!! We never did find out who was behind that.

[wheel interested]

After 5 days outside the park we move into the Tetons and have to rely on our self contained systems. Kate spies a fox and a grissley has just been removed 3 days ago from this campground and put down.

[wheel interested]

Yellowstone next.

[safari62]

Fantasic photos and story, Carol. Thanks for taking the time to do this and sharing it with us.

[Minnie's Mate]

Great photos and, I'm sure, great memories.

[wheel interested]

Thanks! This trip has become a sabatical of dreams and experiences I shall never forget. I am amazed at the magnitude and beauty of all this open land. While I can't put it into words I am just exuberant and am awestruck by the living geography.

Here is a picture of the Continental Divide in Yellowstone.



9:00 p.m. Old Faithful



"I'm walking here!"



Kate and I being "buffaloed."




Parting after a wonderful post rally caravan together.

[wheel interested]

Leaving Yellowstone by the East Entrance takes you past Fishing Bridge and then through the Sylvan Pass. Sylvan Pass is located in the Absaroka Range and has an elevation of 8530 feet. It was named after nearby Sylvan Lake (god of the woods, from silva, forest), and was formed by frost action breaking the rocks. The park road through the pass is closed in winter and avalanches and mud slides are a common seasonal danger.

[wheel interested]

Just West of Cody Wyoming is Buffalo Bill State Park. The history of Buffalo Bill Reservoir and "Cody Country" is rooted in the rich lore of the old West. Buffalo Bill State Park was named for Colonel William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, famous as a wild west showman, promoter and developer. He first came to the region in the 1870s as a guide for a survey expedition and spent the next 20 years guiding and sponsoring hunting parties in the area.

If I had not run my batteries down dry camping the past several days I would have loved to stay right here. Orie and I would have had the campground to ourselves.

[wheel interested]

Time to recharge and clean up. The drive ahead is long so I laid low at the KOA in Greybull Wyoming. I was pleasantly surprised with gourmet food and a stellar pet playground. Took a dip in the pool, dined on strip steak with mushroom sauce one night and then Weiner Schnitzel the next. It was fabulous. And wi-fi of course...life is good. Those patio leaves wave and bob in the breeze and a mister offered cooling. Dogs are welcome on the patio. The management could not have been nicer or more accommodating.

[wheel interested]

Out to cover some miles and heading towards Wall Drug, (stay tuned...) Are you as excited as I am? Gotta love Wall Drug!! Yup, a big kid at heart, and hoping to hold onto that as long as I can. I passed Crazy Woman Canyon and would have loved to have taken a self portrait at the sign.



Took the scenic drive through Big Horn Forest and then Powder River Pass and the gas engine is really starting to chaff. Grades are steep up and down but it is a beautiful drive. Also took a short side trip to Deadwood.

[cameront120]

Wonderful pictures and experience! Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

[airedale]

Looks like Orie had a nice time with Tuni! Nice pictures Carol!

[wheel interested]

Thanks Cameron and Laura. Kate and I also caught a couple of runaway labs on one of our stops as they ran to the highway. We parked the Airstreams and coaxed them into a short "visit" (after a merry chase of some distance) while we called the tag number, the redirected number, the police and then the owners finally surfaced. We just couldn't go on our way wondering if they might get hit by traffic. Nice dogs too. Afterall dogs are the nicest people. I am rather anxious to get home and meet our new puppy Koa (brave, bold, fearless.) He's a 3 month old German Shepherd that Brad traveled from Michigan to Wisconsin to pick up while I have been gone. We lost our dear 6 year old Baron unexpectedly to cancer several weeks ago. I think Koa will make a fine addition to the family, whatever you might hear the cat say to the contrary... Pictures upon homecoming, I promise.

Just a couple of short posts and I am finally caught up to date.

Last night I stayed at Spearfish South Dakota at a relatively new RV Park called Elkhorn Ridge RV Resort. I highly recommend it, it's top notch and has an upscale store, swimming pool, tennis courts and beautiful surroundings. I loved their sculptures and there were many many more on the grounds. Check out is a civilized noonish and they are flexible.

It really stormed last night, the trailer shook and I thought we would be blown away but it stopped just as abruptly as it started to my relief.

[wheel interested]

Wall Drug has been featured as one of the largest tourist attractions in the North. They have over 500 miles of bill boards on Interstate 90, stretching from Minnesota to Billings, Montana. There must have been no less than 50 signs in the last 40 miles approaching it, from "almost there" to free water, 5 cent coffee, home made pies, free donuts and coffee to veterans or even honeymooners.

America's most famous roadside business for half a century, and it all began with free ice water.

Ted Hustead bought this tiny South Dakota town's pharmacy in 1931, the depths of the Depression. For five years Ted and his wife Dorothy struggled to survive until Dorothy's brainstorm.

Hundreds of people drove past Wall every day on U.S. 16, the main route across South Dakota, battling the dusty dirt road and 90-degree summer heat. Why not give them an excuse to stop? Once in the store, maybe they'd buy ice cream, or aspirin. In the summer of 1936, Ted Hustead erected the first set of roadside signs:


GET A SODA
GET ROOT BEER
TURN THE CORNER
JUST AS NEAR
TO HIGHWAY 16 AND 14
FREE ICE WATER
WALL DRUG

Before he could return to the store, the tourists were arriving. They're still coming: 20,000 per day in the summer, over a million a year.

The Husteads spent the next three decades erecting more signs. By the 1960s, Wall Drug touted its free ice water on 3,000 billboards in all 50 states. Ever since World War II, proud South Dakotans have covered foreign landscapes with signs proclaiming the mileage to Wall Drug and the Husteads themselves have advertised in Kenyan train stations, London buses, Amsterdam canals, and French bistros. Highway "beautification" has left only about 250 signs along America's roads, but Wall Drug will still send a small, free "mileage" sign to anyone who asks. (I'm a mere 1,684 miles from Wall Drug.)

But what's waiting at the end of all those billboards? Originally, not much; in 1952, South Dakota's WPA Guide described Wall Drug as "one of the most advertised attractions in the State and, for many, one of the biggest disappointments." No longer. Today's 50,000 square-foot Wall Drug can feed, clothe and entertain the entire family for hours: photo opportunities with the 6' fiberglass jackalope and Mt. Rushmore replica, an animated "Chuck Wagon Quartet" performing every 20 minutes, a gallery of Western art, a 520-seat cafe, and shops for everything from postcards to cowboy boots...not to mention a veterinary-supplies department and pharmacy for the locals. The ice water's still free, the coffee still costs a nickel. Drop in sometime!

The new animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex is animated every 12 minutes, yes I waited right along with the kids, booming with threatening sound, smoke, lights and stretching and snarling. Cool.

OK so it's a tourist trap, but adjacent to the Badlands the kiddies may just be ready for some diversion, or maybe even the grown-ups. I fed money into these machines and they talked and moved, played music and drew a crowd.

And if all else fails to amuse try one of these margaritas.