Our Dream Vacation, part 2

 

After our day spent in the Buffalo Bill museum in Cody, we headed back into Yellowstone for two more days.  We pretty much made the whole "north loop" that first day.  By the time we got to the northeast entrance, it was getting late, so we decided to go back to Cody through Montana to save time.  It turned out to be a gorgeous drive.  We chose to return the next day by the same route, so we could enter the Lamar Valley (in the upper northeast corner of the park) in the morning...hoping to have a better chance at seeing wildlife.  That turned into our "perfect last day" (see previous post).  We'd also been told where to go for the best chance of seeing wolves, but we didn't have any luck there.  They are still in their dens with their cubs this time of year, so sightings are few and far between.  During those last two days we visited the Mammoth Springs and Tower Falls and viewed Yellowstone Falls from a different vantage point.  We weren't too impressed with Mammoth Springs until we reached one certain area...which was beautiful!  Tower Falls was gorgeous, and Yellowstone Falls are amazing from any angle!  The Memorial Day crowd was starting to show up in the park, so it was time to say good-bye to Yellowstone.  We had dreamed of going there our whole lives, and it didn't disappoint!

On our last day in Cody, we decided to sleep in and then do our souvenir shopping.  When we arrived at our regular breakfast café, they were packed.  So our waitress asked another couple if we could share their table.  That made for some very interesting conversation.  We discussed what all we'd seen in the park, and they shared some of their stories.  Then they told us how to find the herd of wild mustangs east of town.  That evening, after we finished our shopping, we drove out looking for them.  We got off on a ROUGH dirt road where we thought they would be, but we never found them (although we did come across a nice pronghorn buck resting beside the road).  We could see a rain coming, so we decided it would be a good idea to head back to town and rest up before our long drive the next day.

We got up early Sunday morning, worshipped in our room, and then loaded up and headed south.  It was about a 9 hour drive to Denver, where we had our next reservation.  We saw a LOT of antelope on our drive, plus we passed through a beautiful canyon.  We had to go through 3 tunnels in quick succession, to get to the other side of the mountain.  There was a cool, old railroad tunnel running along the other side of the river...very scenic.

Getting into Denver wasn't very pleasant.  Traffic was awful, and then a hail storm hit!  We were very glad to get into our room that evening.  We rested up a bit, went to Pappadeaux for some amazing shrimp, and turned in early to get ready for another hard day of driving. 

We had originally planned to drive through New Mexico, stopping half way home for the night.  We discovered a shorter route, so we changed plans and drove through the ugly part of Colorado, through the panhandle of Oklahoma and stopped in Childress for the night.  That left us with just a 3 hour trip the next morning and we were HOME!!! 

Geese taking flight at the LeHardy rapids

Yellowstone Falls (again)

Mammoth Springs

Tower Falls

Black bear getting a good back scratch!

Prismatic pool

                                                                     


Nice pronghorn on side of road

I think this was the 2nd of 3 tunnels we passed through on this stretch.

 

Old railroad tunnel

Home!

A Perfect Day!

Friday, Day 163:  Well, we finished up our visit to Yellowstone today.  We entered the park this morning still hoping to see a moose and get a closer look at a bear.  We were able to do both!  We came upon a momma moose and her two calves just across the river from us.  We watched them for a good while and got some good pictures.  We then headed up to a part of the park that had been closed yesterday, to see if they had opened it today.  On the way, we saw a large number of people with binoculars and large cameras set up gazing into a small valley.  We found a place to park and joined them.  There was a cinnamon colored black bear snoozing behind a log on the mountainside.  You could just see the hair on her back above the log (using binoculars or telephoto lens).  We watched her for a while and every once in a while she’d lift her head up and pose for us.  Then people started getting really excited and pointed a little further down.  A big black bear was ambling down the hill.  He was right out in the open and about 125-150 yards away!  We were able to watch him for a long time and get some great pictures.  The park ranger was there and telling everyone that if he came to a certain point (100 yards) that we would all have to scramble to our cars, but he never came that close.  It was very exciting and fun to watch!  We also saw our grizzly again…even got to see him stand up on his hind legs a couple of times.  He was huge (and about 400 yards away)!  Then we caught a quick glimpse of another grizzly that was only about 175 yards away (and moving away from our direction).  THEN we saw one cross the road in front of us (about 50-100 yards away) and stay close enough for us to get some GOOD pictures!  SO EXCITING!!!  After we left the park, on our way to Cody, we came up on a group of about 7 large rams on the side of the road.  So today I am thankful that we were able to see everything that we’d hoped to on this amazing trip and for a perfect final day.

Moose family

Grizzly!

Cinnamon colored black bear
 

black bear
 

Our Dream Vacation: the first 11 days

Sitting here in our motel room, resting up from the day.  This vacation has been wonderful, but I'm plumb tuckered out!

We have seen some of the most beautiful country I could ever imagine on this trip.  From the wheat fields of Nebraska and the Black Hills of South Dakota, to the vast rolling hills of Montana and the heavily forested mountains of Idaho.  Then finally to the awesome peaks of the Tetons and the snowy wonderland of Yellowstone.  The colors found in Yellowstone are so incredibly vivid:  the blues of the rivers and the dark green of the pines against the white backdrop of the snow.  I am looking forward to seeing more over the next few days!

The wildlife has been outstanding!  Dennis and I have always enjoyed viewing animals in the wild.  Being able to see critters that aren't found in our neck of the woods is such a thrilling experience for us!  Even seeing the little chipmunks and birds are a treat.  We love seeing the wildflowers and blooming trees, too.  Then the waterfalls are breathtaking!  I've seen things that I'd thought I'd never see outside of books and photographs.  I am so incredibly thankful for this amazing opportunity!

We've also met a lot of interesting people along the way.  The Lakota flag lady in South Dakota.  The gas station attendant in Montana who was stationed in San Antonio during basic training.  The professional photographer in Jackson who shared with us the location of "the most photographed barn in the world" and his wife, who was from Midland.  The helpful rangers who told us where to go to have the best chance of seeing wildlife.  Plus many, many more that we've encountered in the various places that we've been. 


The first snow we saw was in Nebraska.

We've seen prairie dogs all over!

These cute little guys were in S. Dakota.

We've seen whitetail in every state we've been in except Oklahoma.

We started seeing snow topped mountains in Montana.

Idaho had gorgeous rivers and forested mountains.

We fell in love with the Tetons (but not the wind!)

We were SO excited to see these big boys!

Of course, no trip to Yellowstone is complete without seeing Old Faithful.

You have to be fast to get a picture of these little guys!

I'd seen hot springs before, but these were BOILING!

The power of Yellowstone Falls was awesome!

 

We met an owl today.

...and a peregrine falcon.

...and saw the most beautiful cherry trees!

Exploring South Dakota

Wednesday, Day 154:  As we were entering South Dakota on Monday, we came to an area where they were doing road construction.  We had just missed the “lead car”, so we had to sit for 10-15 minutes until it returned.  The flag lady came over to talk to us, and we visited the whole time with her.  She was Lokata and lived in Rapid City.  We were telling her our plans, so she started giving us some advice on where to go.  She told us the best route to take into the Badlands to see wildlife, as well as what kind of animals we could expect to see.  She was a very interesting lady.

This morning, we were afraid that we’d run out of time and not get to visit the Badlands.  We went to see the Crazy Horse Monument first.  The museum and cultural center were as interesting as we’d been told to expect.  After that we went to Mount Rushmore.  It was really cool to see and learn about the construction of it.  The visitor’s center was very informative.  I’d never understood exactly why those 4 presidents had been chosen.  When I read the reasoning behind it, I had chills run up my spine and tears fill my eyes.  We finished up there around 2:00, so we decided we still had time to drive to the Badlands.  I’m not sure we would have, if we hadn’t had the conversation that we’d had with our Lakota flag lady (it was about an hour and a half drive to the entrance of the park).  It turned out being WELL worth the trip!  Not only were the Badlands gorgeous and worth viewing, but we ended up seeing wild bighorn sheep!  Our whole married life (over 36 years), we have always wanted to travel to where we could see wild bighorn.  Of all the wild game animals that we have enjoyed reading about and seeing pictures of, the bighorn sheep has always been at the top of our “want to see” list.  We were able to see 15 sheep!  We had the opportunity to approach close enough to get some great pictures, too.  What a treat!  It made for a very long day (we were gone sightseeing from about 7:30 am until about 10:00 pm), but it was one that we will NEVER forget!  So today, I am thankful for having to stop for road work and meeting our friendly South Dakota flag lady!

Ezekiel 34:11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

Day 149: My Willow Tree collection

I've mentioned before that I am NOT a collector.  I do, however, own one collection...my Willow Trees.  It started many years ago when Sheila presented me with a wall plaque depicting a mother and daughter hugging.  I loved it!  In the years since, she has given me figurines of a mother & daughter, mother & sons, husband & wife, and one depicting each of my children (and their individual personalities).  I've also been given one depicting hospitality by Dennis; a couple from Anita depicting friendship; a couple from Jessica depicting her feelings; and one from my cousin, Gwen.  Yesterday, I received my newest one from Stephen, Mandy and Jesse...probably my favorite...of a grandma rocking her grandbaby. 

Although I love the simple beauty of the Willow Tree figurines, the thing I love the most about them is the emotion that each depicts.  They aren't just a "pretty" on a shelf...they symbolize the relationship between the giver and myself.  Each one was a gift from the heart.  Each one makes me think of the loved one who gave it to me.  Each one is very special!  So today, I am thankful for my Willow Tree collection...but most of all, for what it represents.

Philippians 1:3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,