Yellowstone, part 1

Yes, we knew from the beginning that two days in Yellowstone wouldn't be enough.  But it was sitting right there, in the middle of the road, so to speak, so we couldn't very well just ignore it.

Even our barnstorming tour was worth it.  We arrived through the Eastern entrance, which led us to Sylvan Lake as one of the first "Oh, wow!" moments.  Though the ride from Cody, WY had been quite short, it was still well worth a quick stop to stretch the legs and some big gulps of fresh Yellowstone air.





Yellowstone Post Fire

In 1988, 36% of Yellowstone forest burned.  Today, thirty years later, you can see both the burned forest remains, and the beginnings of new forest. The once-blackened trees have been bleached by 30 years of weather.  Driving through this recovering area now feels somewhat like driving through an area that is experiencing winter and summer simultaneously.

Steamboat Point, Yellowstone Lake

"Oh, wow!" moments abound, from thermal features to wildlife.  It's hard to keep track, since virtually every bend in the road brings another breathtaking scene.

Bison by the side of the road. Cool.

Bridge Bay campground is huge.  The campground was completely full, but our site at the end of loop D still retained a good bit of privacy.  The kids were quite ambitious about searching the woods just around our site for signs of wildlife.  Tree rubbings and scat were proud finds, indeed, and an excellent reminder to use the bear locker provided.  (Note: in Yosemite NP you must take everything out of car.  In Yellowstone, you can leave smelly stuff in the car.  Guess the Yosemite bears attended some kind of how-to-rip-open-a-car seminar.)

Immediately after we had our site set, a thunderstorm rolled in.  We weren't sure what to expect, so we headed over to the shelter of Fishing Bridge.  The diner at the back of the enormous gift shop was awesome.  And we were greated with a rainbow over Yellowstone lake on our way back home.  The rest of the night was dry, but COLD!

Wild Rides

Driving across Wyoming involved the expected: cattle, ranch land, small towns, and a great deal of the unexpected.

We pulled out of our South Dakota campsite around 8 a.m. with the goal of grabbing coffee and second breakfast on the road.  Miles and miles and MILES later, still no coffee.  The people of Wyoming seem to be kind, big-hearted folk, but apparently there's a THING about making your own coffee at home, not buying it like some slacker. 

Finally, after 82 MILES, Remy's cafe in Upton Wyoming came to the rescue.  Huge cups of coffee, very friendly waitress.  Oh, and Julia really enjoyed the special pancake.  She buttered it (liberally) and ate the whole thing!

Our drive continued along WY 16 amid considerable traffic--cyclists and pedestrians!  We probably passed 50+ cyclists along the route.  We never found out what event caused all the traffic, so if you know why cyclists stormed Wyoming on July 4, let us know!

It was a good thing we fueled up on a huge meal, because the Bighorn Mountains were coming up.  The research I had done on the Bighorns suggested that the area was beautiful, but didn't even scratch the surface.  Highway 16 parallels the mountains (south to north) for several miles, before turning west and tackling them head-on. The road snakes back and forth, up and up and up.  At the top of the first peak, the view is breathtaking.  The view point here is very large, with plenty of room for eastbound and westbound traffic.  There is also a hang-glider launch pad, and we were lucky enough to watch flyers prep and take off.

The landscape is striking. The eastern slopes are blanketed with wildflowers and forest.  The western slopes lead down to the Western Wyoming high desert.  We crossed through several thousand feet and 35 degrees of temperature within an hour.

Descending into western Wyoming, our next stop was Cody.  Named for Wild Bill Cody, it seemed a fitting roost for the Motorcade for Independence Day. We celebrated by attending the Cody Stampede Rodeo.  Rodeos move very quickly through several events and everyone had a fun time.  Just like I did when I was a kid, Jason cheered primarily for the livestock.

As you can see from the rodeo video, the weather in Cody was rather ominous. Mother Nature provided some nice fireworks, but the scheduled Cody pyrotechnics show was a bit of a bust.  Locals filled the gap with a wide variety of colorful bangs, pops, and zooms.

All in all, Independence Day 2013 was an amazing adventure and a chance to glimpse a side of the USA we often miss.

The Black Hills

We spent a couple of days camping in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  We arrived fairly late in the evening. The road to Horsethief Lake winds around Mount Rushmore, giving us a nice sneak peak of the monument for the next day.  We managed to set up camp just before dark-- a real accomplishment for us!

The Huge Tent at Horsethief Lake, SD

Mt. Rushmore on the Fourth of July is a rather busy place.  It can be difficult to take a picture of those four famous heads, plus any additional people you want to include.  Joe managed to find a way, though.

Things that surprised us about Mt. Rushmore:

1) The Orientation:  It looks very panoramic in many photos.  Though huge, it's not as "wide" as you might think.

2) Ice Cream:  The servings are HUGE!  Guess because one of the huge heads is given credit.

3) There are 250 steps on the Presidential Trail.  You go down almost as many as up, so you don't gain much in elevation, but you feel the climb nonetheless.

4) It's unfinished.  John thinks Lincoln appears to be talking on an old-fashioned cell phone.  The scale model in the artist's studio helps to underscore the differences from model to final product. 

After Rushmore, there was still a lot to see and do.  The town of Keystone seems to exist solely for the purpose of separating Rushmore viewers from their cash.  After spending the afternoon amid it all, I came to the realization that spending time in a tourist trap is like trying on swim suits under those bad lights at the store. Eventually you look up and think, "Yikes, is that me?"  Despite that ringing endorsement, we did find a couple of worthy adventures in town. The Alpine Slide was a blast,  both the trip up and the slide down. The food at the top was pretty good, too. And the men folk all yukked it up at the fake gun fight at the Scarlet Garter Saloon.

We washed off the dust of Keystone and consumerism with a dip in the lake. Brr! Uh, I mean refreshing!

The next morning, we managed a quick look at the Crazy Horse memorial, in progress.  

Model of Crazy Horse, and actual memorial in distance

The similarities and differences between the two works are striking.  Dynamite is a huge component of the story of both.  Rushmore was relatively fast (14 years) and Crazy Horse might never be completed. 

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play

South Dakota

On this trip, we are constantly reminded that this country is full of surprises.  For example, who knew that there were zombies in Iowa (see previous post) or fabulous beaches in South Dakota.  It's all true, my friend.  Just takes a bit of looking around.

Our hosts in Yankton, South Dakota were our wonderful friends Paul and Cora Van Olson and their family.  We picked up pizzas at Charlie's Pizza House and took them to Lewis and Clark lake.  A regular beach picnic, SD style.

John at Lewis & Clark Lake.  The bluffs on the opposite shore are Nebraska.

Joyce, Anders (aka Captain America), Cora and Paul Van Olson

But where do our feet go?

Once we hit the road, we had to prepare for days of camping ahead.  The Motorcade was a bit more crowded with full provisions on-board.

The South Dakota Corn Palace
(John! Look, John! Corn! Corn!)

I don't care how many miles you have to drive to get to the campsite in the Black Hills. There is no way you can miss the Corn Palace in SD. We will spare you the corny jokes.

Ladies of Crafty Night, this entire building is redone every year using corn and other grains.  I believe the gauntlet has been thrown...

Granted, we got to the campsite at Mt. Rushmore rather late, but the view was spectacular when we got there. We got the tent pitched and dinner cooked in the near-darkness. We also discovered that when you let the kids use the electric lantern for backyard camping (way back in Iowa), chances are that it will not be functioning when you drag it back out a couple states later...

Naturally, all was well with the world the next morning...

Sunrise over Horse Thief Lake, South Dakota

x

Zombie Burger. No, really!

So, this is a thing in Des Moines, Iowa. A zombie-themed burger joint that is usually too packed to attempt a visit on a long car ride...but if you are running late for lunch and get there after 1:30 - no worries. Here is where the adage a picture being worth a thousand words is an understatement.

Brits will appreciate this cheery sign greeting the diners.
British zombies will, anyway.

Think the murals are interesting? The establishment seems to have a
tattoo/piercing requirement for all employees. Might be how the zombie plague starts...

Clearly, this is a non-standard directional sign....

Y'know, the movies these parodies depict seem a bit more interesting than the actual flicks. "Breakfast is Tiffany"? "Horde of Dead Things"? Awesooooome!

Actual creation at Zombie Burger....Undead Elvis. Google it, if you dare.

Your milage may vary, but here is what one of our party looked
like coming out of Zombie Burger. 

Iowa

Iowa was our first "New State" on this trip (fun fact...we will hit all the I states).  We knew we were in for something special when we crossed the Mississippi river.  Then it was a series of small highways, roads, a dirt road, and then another dirt road. When we topped a rise on one of the last roads we saw road kill number 100+, but this one came specially supplied with a trio of huuuge vultures that lazily flapped away as we approached...the last one swooped right at our onrushing van. We were hoping for a rural Iowa experience, and we got it!

We received a very warm welcome from the Gentrys, proud parents of our wonderful neighbor Tara Lewis. This is perhaps the furthest ranging play date we've ever set up for Julia...guess we just couldn't have the summer go by without a chance to play with her great friends down the street who are spending the summer in Kansas City. 

The kids eyes were immediately drawn to the pond out back, complete with dock and swinging rope. Undeterred by the cold water or the annoyance factor of our having to dig out their swim suits, all three plunged right in.

John was particularly fearless...

But everyone had a great time.

There was then much feasting.  We certainly could have (and should have) run a 10K or done some hard-core farm chores after a delicious meal of pork chops, baked beans, green beans, potato casserole, Asian crunch salad, watermelon, etc., etc., topped off by dessert of homemade texas sheet cake, homemade ice cream, and homemade chocolate sauce.  I really hope there aren't any weight limits on the bridges to come.  

All of this was then followed by a bonfire, tenting in the yard for the big kids, and a sleepover for the middle kids.  More than once we heard: "This is the best day ever!"

The next day, we used the tourist excuse to drag the Lewis family to the American Gothic House, made famous in Grant Wood's painting.  The Iowa Historical Society has put a lot of funding into this landmark, and it's all worthwhile.  The interpreter at the information center saw us coming and opened early--2 hours early--so we could come look around.  That also meant learning a great deal about the painting and Grant Wood.  But best of all, and Joe's absolute favorite thing, the photo op:

It was REALLY hard not to crack up.

Off to South Dakota, but first a remarkable lunch stop...

Rest Stop

Most of us along the I-95 corridor probably associate rest stops with huge parking lots, lots of noise, lots of smells, and fast food.  But leave that corridor and you find state-funded parks along the highways.  These rest stops all have the usual parking, rest rooms, and maps.

In addition, they often have picnic facilities that you would actually use, playgrounds, and other amenities.  In Illinois, we stopped for lunch at the Mackinaw Dells rest stop.

Sandwiches and some time out of the car.

Dad's It!

There was a lovely trail winding through a prairie preservation area.

This 45-minute stop recharged our batteries and helped us through the next several hours in the car.