Happy Birthday, Rachel. Have a great day.
Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there.
Today was a R and R. Day for us and preparing to get on the road in the morning.
We went out to dinner for Father's Day and were surprised about the quality of food we received from the establishment we went to for dinner.It was a little log house on a side road about a mile from the park we were parked. We were the second car in the parking lot, so we went in the door and it was a little dining room with white linen tablecloths and pretty little vases of flowers on the center of the rustic wood tables. When we saw the menu we knew we were in for a special meal.
Each dish was made for you with wonderful spices and herbs. I had pasta with chicken and mushrooms in a cream sauce. They also served artison breads. The salad was great. They used sauteed portabello mushrooms and homemade pasta. Our bread was a sweet bear bread. Walt had a meatloaf with a hard boiled egg inside. The meal was wonderful.
That was a nice surprise in a back country rustic log cabin. Surprise---Surprise.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
June 18, 2011---PowPow-Cody, Wyoming
June 18, 2011---PowPow in Cody, Wyoming
On Saturday we went to Cody for the 35th Annual PowPow. It is the best PowPow in the nation according to some spectators who we talked with while waiting for the Ceremonial Entrance at Noon. We were there about 1 ½ hours early, so we had some time to visit with other people. We took our canvas chairs with us and set them up behind the small tents for the participants. There were Indian groups from all over the United States and one group was from Canada.
The participants formed line for the opening ceremonies. They had some veterans carry the flags. The participants were in very colorful attire and ready for the drums and singing while they danced. They slowly danced to the beat of the drums in a circle It took a long time to get around the circle and then they wound into the circle and danced for a good 45 minutes. It was amazing to see all of the costumes which were hand made with ribbons, feathers, bells, beads, shells and anything else which would make them bright and cheerful.
Here are a group of pictures of the entrance procession and dance.
This was a fantastic experience.. At about 3 pm we left the PowPow and went to the Catholic Church for Mass while we were in Cody. After Mass we went to a restaurant for dinner. As we walked into the door we met a couple from Iowa. We asked them to join us and we had a lovely meal together.
You know Walt has never met a stranger.
See you soon.
June 23, 2011---Ames, Iowa
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: This is Thursday and we are leaving Welcome, MN and driving east on 90. The weather is very overcast and we are in a very heavy mist,( not rain) but, enough to get wet. We have a short pull of 185 miles. I pray everything goes well.
I was working on the computer so I did not see everything, but I did notice some fields which were flooded in the low areas. We also had some very dark clouds and rain racing from the north to the south. The crops which were not under water looked very good but about 3 -4 weeks behind the usual year. There will be no knee high corn by the 4th of July in this area in 2011.
We were moving right along when Walt decided to stop for a break. We were at the Iowa Welcome Center. It always was a neat place to stop but it has changed dramatically. There is a Burger King, Casino, and 2 motels. In the welcome center they have always had a gift shop on the second floor but now it is fantastic. They have many handmade items, in fact, 90% of the items are made in Iowa.
The Iowa scenery was becoming more and more familiar as we drove south on 35. We saw more wind farms on the horizon. The wind turbines are so beautiful dancing across the horizon. It just makes good sense to use these for alternative energy.
When we took the Story City exit we were back in a very familiar area. The town is a small Norwegian community with all of its order and cleanliness. Ames is about 12 miles south of Story City. We got parked quickly even though we had to get our “lego blocks” out and raise one set of wheels. It still is very dark and on the verge of raining.
When we got settled I made lunch quickly and then Walt left to go to his old workplace to visit with friends. I took a nap and then worked on the computer.
We will be here until Monday morning and then we will travel for 2 days to Howe, Indiana to get our RV checked and repaired for another year of travel.
Talk to you soon.
June 17, 2011---Cody, Wyoming
We started the day by stopping at the Buffalo Bill Dam on our way to Cody. We had driven past it many times but had never stopped to take pictures. The Dam is a part of the system that controls the water and melted snow that comes from the mountains in this area.
This is one of 3 tunnels we went through when we went to Cody.
After leaving the dam we went to the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody. It was a good museum with a natural history museum, Indian museum, a Bill Cody museum and an Art museum. They had a large amount of bronze statues and cowboy art, which was very interesting.
Sage Grouse
Just for you, Max
Prairie Madonna
Then at 7 pm we were at the rodeo so we could get our special seat before the rodeo started at 8 pm. It was a race to get to the best seats in the house . They had a fairly full stadium but t was cold and windy. We brought our Ohio State Blanket and started many conversations with the emblem of OSU. The couple sitting next to me were foreigners and did not speak any English. They were very interested in the rodeo and seemed to laugh and yell at the appropriate times, so they must have understood English. 
Cowboy preparing for bull ride
Bulls waiting in bull pen
Cowboys getting bulls ready to ride
Rodeo Master of Ceremonies
Riding the Bucking Bronco
Calf Roping
Wranglers getting a bucking bronco under control
This bronc is hard to get under control
The Rodeo clown it telling the kids from the audience how to pull a ribbon off of a calfs tail to win prizes
Roping a calf
Not a good way to get off a bulls back
Well all good things must come to an end. See you soon
June16, 2011---Cody, Wyoming
This is Thursday and we did not leave home until about 1 pm. We drove to Cody and on the way I took some pictures of the scenery we see when we drive east to Cody.
When we left the dam we drove to a quilt shop in Cody. It was in an industrial area in a wood sided shop. It had been in the quilt magazine that picks 10 best shops a year. Well, it had so much fabric and quilts I was overwhelmed. I spent an hour just meandering through the many little rooms. I did find 2 unusual patterns. I will have to do them up this summer.
When we left the quilt shop we drove to downtown Cody and parked near some shops that looked interesting. The first shop was great. It had furnishings and accessories for western homes. It was called the Reindeer Ranch. I will have to look on line to see how their web site is designed. It could be interesting. I went to 2 more nice shops and then I met Walt and we ate supper and waited for the rodeo to begin at 8 pm. Well, when 7 pm came and it was raining and cold we decided to use our tickets on Friday night. We were able to do that so we went home early .
Tomorrow in another day. Goodnight.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
June 15, 2011--- Grand Teton National Park
We left the house at 9:15---a little later than normal. I was working on an empty tank (my description of a no energy day-chronic fatigue has kicked in) so I was taking notes and doing pictures most of the day.
We did not take Bart with us because we did not think we would be gone very long and he needed some space from us.
As entered the Yellowstone National Park it was 59 degrees and clear skies. When we passed on the northern side of Yellowstone Lake we noticed a change. The ice was gone. My, what a change. We continued onto Fishing Bridge. Remember, on Monday Walt said we would be stopping her again, so today is the day. We went inside the large gift shop and I started browsing while Walt found the bathroom. After browsing a little while I went to look for him. I found him at the diner drinking a cup of coffee. After ordering a cup of hot tea we enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. When the tea came she also brought us a sweet roll which Walt had ordered earlier. We enjoyed the treat and then we browsed the store. Eventually when we connected again he told me I needed to go up to the upper level. They really had some great items. Very nice. He then said I should pick out some pottery which was 50% off the regular price. I picked out a small vase and a covered dish. They were made by the local Indians.
After we left the parking area at Fishing Bridge we noticed a traffic jam at the intersection of the roads that go either north or south. Well, it was a bear sighting that caused the jam. There were about 6 rangers there managing the people who were all out of their cars using cameras to catch the moment. Some of them had cameras on tripods with at least a foot of lens. One of the rangers had a long gun with an ammunition on the belt he was wearing. We did not know if the gun was to control the crowd or the bears. After passing the bear sighting event we continued south on the main highway to the Tetons. It was a 40 mile drive.
We passed Lewis Lake at 8000 feet and the temperature was 48 degrees, blue skies and puffy white clouds over the ice covered lake.
 |
| Check out the snow. We continued on our trip to the Teton National Park and found a place for a stop to get a Teton map. Well, we found a map at the visitors center and found lunch at their restaurant. This is the Flagg Ranch exit and it was a nice place to stop for a break. At 1:40 pm we went into the Teton National Park. We bought a National Park Pass many years ago, so we are making good use of it and saving us a lot of money. Our next picture opportunity was the Jackson Lake overlook.   Pilgrim Creek We continued to travel on the east side of Jackson Lake with the Teton Range in the background. These are very beautiful mountains. They are a close second to the mountains in the state of Alaska.    The Grand Teton Mountain is 13,773 ft high The Mt. Moran is 12,805 ft high  The following pictures were taken at the Elk Ranch Flats.  We continued on Grand Teton Road to Route 26 and then turned north east on 26 to Moran Junction were we turned south east to Dubois. After leaving Dubois we continued south east to Riverton and then continued on north east to Shoshoni. After Shoshoni we traveled north to Thermopolis were we turned north west to Meeteetse and then Coty. After Coty we traveled 28 miles to our home. A few pictures on our trip to Coty. There was some beautful areas to enjoy.     Well, when we got home we had enjoyed a great day and Bart was fine. |
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