Day 19 - Old Faithful - September 5, 2017

Day 19 - Visiting Old Faithful

   Today, we headed out once again from our humble little camper to venture out into the world to visit the site of Old Faithful.  People have been coming here since it's discovery in 1870.  Old Faithful discharges approximately 4000-8000 gallons of water, shooting an average of 130 ft. into the air.

   Old Faithful is not the tallest geyser in the park.  That award goes to the Steamboat Geyser located in Norris.  We'll see that one, later, hopefully.  I thought we might get to see this geyser, but I learned that even though it has the title of tallest, it hasn't erupted for some 2 years and 6-8 months ago.  So, they don't really know when it will erupt again.

   Below are a few of the pictures we took along the way.  The atmosphere was much clearer, today.  We woke up to blue skies and a bright sunshine that we haven't seen for a few days.  The sun has been appearing red the last few days due to the ash and smoke in the air.

The viewers are gathering.  We were too late to get a front row seat, but I really think we got better pictures where we were.

Dinah watching Old Faithful at about the height of its eruption.

   We watched the eruption along with a few hundred of our new buddies.  There might have been more, but I don't think there were thousands.  We got to have lunch in the Old Faithful Inn, which took some time, but overlooked the geyser and the food wasn't too bad, either.

   On our way back to the campsite, we stopped at a few attractions along the way.  One was Kepler Cascades which was just off the road.  There was an elevated platform which reached out over the gulch for us to use to view the cascades.  Again, a few pictures below.

   We were getting a little tired at this point, so we decided to just enjoy the rest of the afternoon and the beautiful weather driving slowly home.  So we did just that.  There was almost no traffic after lunch and it was like having own park to view.  Glorious!!

I had to include this picture of Dinah on the way back from Old Faithful.

We have really been effected by the altitude here.  We both thought we were in pretty good shape for our age, etc., but there have been several occasions where we have had to stop what we were doing and wait for our lungs to get enough oxygen for us to continue.  But, we are having a great time!  Dinah and I are very thankful that we have been able to check off the sites and scenery on our trip.

   One other thing and then, I'll sign off for today.  These pictures don't really do the subject justice.  The scenery and the models included are much better in person than they are being captured in a photo.  The panoramic vistas that you are subjected to are beyond capture.  They are bigger than anything that can be conveyed in print, photo or textual descriptions.  I know it is beyond my meager vocabulary to describe what I am seeing.  If you can, you must see it to appreciate how beautiful it is.

Link to the rest of the pictures of the trip to Old Faithful and our first foray into the park, here.

LUV 2 U ALL!  Until our next post!  God Bless you all and keep praying for usl  We are on our way home and it won't be long before we are reunited with our family and friends.  We miss you all!

Monty & Dinah

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Day 18 - Drive to Yellowstone, Labor Day, September 4, 2017

Drive to Yellowstone from 7th Ranch RV Park, Montana

   I know this post is a few days over due, but we have been out of contact with good WIFI signals since we entered Yellowstone and have not been able to post to the site.  Please bare with me as I attempt to catch up to current time line.

   Today, we started out once again after a pretty leisurely morning.  After cleaning up and packing up and walking the dogs, we hit the road about 9 AM, heading for Yellowstone.

   We have had smoke in the atmosphere the last couple of days and today was getting worse.  Many of the wide panoramic views that we have been seeing are muted by the haze form the smoke.  Western Montana, specifically, Lola, Montana is having a very bad time of it and we pray for them as we deal with the results of their fires.

   We had good weather, otherwise.  The traffic is fairly light, considering that it is Labor Day, September 4th.  We know that no matter what, it will be crowded at the exhibits in the park, but we are hoping moving around the park won't be too difficult.

   I will post some pictures of the scenery we witnessed along the way.  It is educational to see the change in scenery from each and every state that we have been visiting.  Montana reminded Dinah of Oklahoma in a way.  "It's even flatter that Oklahoma." according to Dinah.  There aren't many trees and the ones they do have are very small.  Mostly prairie grass and sage brush and other vegetation which baffles me to be honest.

This is close to our camp site in Montana

   As we progressed out of Montana and into Wyoming, we could see the gradual change from wide open plains of Montana to the hills and mountains ranges of Wyoming.  In between the mountain ranges were beautiful valleys with lush horse and farming land.  As we progressed West through Montana, the mountains became much more pronounced and prominent.  After a while the only passages were through the valleys.  It is really a beautiful country that we have inherited (or taken in some cases) ah-hum.  Of course, I speak of the Native Americans who used to revere and honor these lands that no one could own and should be for all to use and share.  That's just my observation, I'm sure you have your own opinion and mine is probably pretty naive.  So, that's that.

This is a shot a little further south.  

   The last pictures I'll show you are the shots of the only wildlife that we have seen so far since we have been in the park.  This buffalo was lazily grazing along the side of the road, as you can see.  The truck in front of us, of course, stopped; violating all the rules that the Rangers give everyone who comes through the gates of the park.  Anyway, there's always one or more in these crowds who thinks they know best.  And, of course, they really don't.  <(;-o)

   Tomorrow, we head out to Old Faithful.  We are really looking forward to this.  It's one of the main reasons we have trekked across the beautiful country.  We'll be sharing again, tomorrow.
LUV 2 ALL!  Dinah and I hope you are enjoying a little bit of our trip.

Link to many more pictures of the trip to Yellowstone, here.

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Day 17 -- Battle of the Little Big Horn!

   Today, we had a leisurely morning and took care of the puppies.  They have been great travelers!  No messes in the camper and no bad behaviors with the neighbors.  After getting all of our morning chores done, we headed out to Garryowen, Montana first to the Custer Museum.  It was almost more tourist trap than museum.  They did have a tomb of an unknown soldier there along with many artifacts.  The artifacts included a set of gauntlets that they said had been verified to be the ones taken from Custer's body after the battle.  They had many letters and documents and period pictures, etc.  It was very interesting, but not what we drove all this way to see.

   Our next stop was the Little Big Horn Battlefield Memorial and graveyard.  We were quite impressed with the facilities and the personnel who manned the Battlefield Memorial.  There was a short orientation video and a talk by the park Ranger every hour.  We decided to take a bus tour provided by the Apsalooke (Crow) Indians.  They provided a very good native american guide and an air conditioned bus which drove us along the road which traced the path of the main battles and the grave stone markers in the battle field.  This battle field is unique in one aspect.  Almost all of the deaths are identified with grave stones marking the location of all the 7th Cavalry soldiers and Indian warriors who were killed during the battles.  The Cavalry are marked with white grave stones and the Indians were marked with Red grave stones.  There weren't many Indian markers because the families of  the dead Indians had come and removed the bodies for burial and spiritual ceremonies.  The only way we know where some of the prominent Indians died is their families would erect stone cairns to mark where their brave family members had died to protect their family.

   It was really interesting listening to the native american Indian versions of battles and then hearing the white man's version of events.  I can't detail all of the differences, but suffice it to say, that their were hints of differences that the white men didn't believe, until 1983 when there was a major fire in the battle field.  After the fire, investigators petitioned the government to use metal detectors in the battle field to get better forensic information about where parts of the battle occurred and who actually participated in those battles.  Well, long story short, they collected thousands of artifacts and info and after correlating all the data with the stories of the native Indians and the white men, it turns out the native Indians had been telling the truth all along.  All of a sudden, their version of the battles started taking front seat in the telling.

   Great park, great story.  The native Indians wanted nothing more that "Peace thru Unity".  The white man wanted the gold and all the other resources.  So, the white man broke all of the treaties that they signed with the native Indians and the native Indians revolted.  But, they could only fight for so long and they didn't have enough people or resources to continue the fight.  So, once again, the white man prevailed.

   Custer wasn't as bad a commander as many have made him out to be and the native Indians were fighting to protect their families and lands and way of life.  And they won the battle, but lost the war.

   I have purchased a book that was recommended by the native guide from our bus tour called "The  Terrible Glory" by James Donovan.  Mr. Donovan has taken all of the latest research, forensics and eye witness stories and compiled this book.  Our guide says and the reviews say that it is probably the best accounting of what happened at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.  If you are interested, you can check it out yourself.

  Below are some pictures we took while visiting the Memorial.  You can see more, here.

The site of the last stand.

Custer's place of death.  His remains are at West Point, I believe.

National Park Cemetery.

Native Indian Memorial

     Tomorrow, we head to Hardin, again for some general site seeing and antique hunting.  LUV 2 U All!

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Day 16 - Driving to 7th Ranch RV Camp, Montana

Today, we had a little rain to start the day, but it didn't last very long and just cooled down the air for the packing.  This part of the country has been a pleasant surprise to us both.  Neither one of us has been to this part of the country.  We thought we had seen mountains until we hit the road and got into Wyoming.  Most of the day was spent traveling through Wyoming to get to Montana and the 7th Ranch RV Park.  We had a very good day and a very uneventful trip.  Some of the pictures of the scenery are below.  You can see many more, here.

That's all for today.  We are setting up and resting the rest of the day.  Oh, here is a picture of our new campsite.  7th Ranch is not very crowded at all, but the weekend is not here, yet.

Til tomorrow!!  I know this is a little late, but we had trouble with our computer connecting to the WIFI here.  But, I think we have corrected that issue.  LUV 2 U All!

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Day 15 - Shootin' Buffalo

Yesterday, we told you that we were going to shoot Buffalo today and that's what we did!  But, first, I have to take care of business that I forgot to do yesterday.

   Our dear friend, Bob Mead called us yesterday, after we had visited Mt. Rushmore and notified us that his likeness was on the back side of the mountain, so we went to the back side of the mountain, because I had to see this!  Well here is the picture, below.  What do you think?  Those of you who know Bob, do you see the likeness?  I recognize a few of the lumps...  What do you think?  Huh?

Bob Mead

Does this look like Bob Mead to you?  <(;-o)

  OK, Bob, we Love you!  Wish you could be here with us!

   So, Buffalo Shooting?  Actually, we were taking pictures of Buffalo statues in the town of Custer, S.D.  We didn't get all of them, but we got enough to give you a good idea of the atmosphere on the corners and in front of some of the businesses in town.  Below are a couple of the ones I like.

These were commissioned by the Custer Community Arts Council as a fund raising project for the Arts.  Every year they would ask for donations and commission a work based on the number and amount of the donations.  It turns out that almost all of the Buffalo are due to one woman's donations.  We couldn't get her name.  Evidently, she wants to remain anonymous.  Anyway, we thought they were worth the time to document and pass on to our friends.  What do you think?  Which ones do you like the best?

The Dignity Star Quilt pattern

This one is my favorite.

More Buffalo Pictures, here.

   One more fun item that Dinah just loved, so we had to take some pictures and share with you.  It is below.

   Bob, we thought about you when we saw this.  You probably saw these when you used to drive Winston in the old days!  It's just like the old Motor Courts that you used to see on the side of the two lane roads that crisscrossed the States once upon a time.  Isn't it great!

Tomorrow, we become gypsies again and travel to our next destination in Montana.  We visit the Battle of the Little Big Horn Territory!

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Day 14 - 1880 Train Ride / Train Museum

   Well, here we go!  I know this is getting to be repetitive for those who have been reading this blog, but today's weather was awesome, again!  We have been so blessed on this trip.  Now is truly a good time to be here in this territory.

   Today, we went to Hill City, to visit the Train Museum and to ride the 1880 Train to Keystone, S.D. and back.  The train museum was first and it was small, but very informative.  I saw a few things I have never seen or noticed, before today.

The first view of the outside from the parking lot.

Dinah viewing a period dress and the Velocimobile to the left.

   I did not show a picture of it here, but there was a timeline shown on the wall all the way around the museum with the history of the steam engine and train transportation.  There was a period caboose, along with other memorabilia.  The trains that are being used in service and some on display on the grounds were used in some very famous movies.  Too many to list here.

  They had an impressive display of miniature trains with dioramas to scale that were quite impressive.  There were at least three trains that were operating as Dinah discovered.  You press a magic button and everything comes to life for five minutes.  Really neat.  I can't help it.  I'm like many men who are frustrated train enthusiasts.  I've always loved toy trains!

Dinah discovered the magic button for us to watch the trains!

A couple of the trains.

  One little note that we learned about from the custodian of the museum had to do with signals used on the railroad.  When we were leaving the caboose, Dinah noticed that the box over the door had a label that read "Fussee" on the left and "Torpedoes" on the right.  Our curiosity got the better of us and we called the curator to help us out.  He explained that the "FUSSEE" was like a little flare that they would use to warn any oncoming train of danger or something on the track.  But, "TORPEDOES"?  He explained that those were like little charges of dynamite that they would lay on the track so that when the engine rolled over them it would make a huge bang and alert the engineer to trouble ahead!  He politely explained that he couldn't have any examples laying around as it would invite mischief!  You think?  Great guy, great story.  It was a very interesting museum.  You can see more pictures, here.

If you look over the door, you'll see a little box labeled fusees and torpedoes!!

   The next item was the main event.  We picked up our tickets at the office and since we had an hour before the train left, we went and had lunch and the depot snack shop.  I had a pulled pork sandwich (Sorry, no pics!) and Dinah has a chili cheese dog (her favorite).

   We took a few pics of the grounds and got in line and boarded when they gave us the go ahead.  We sat in one of the open air cars.  No windows, just open sides.  A few pictures are below.

Leaving the station!  What a day!

The open air cars.  They had cars with windows that were more period correct, but we opted for this car.

We saw probably a dozen or so deer and fawns along the way.  All white tail.  They said we might see mule deer, but we didn't.

These are original telegraph poles from the 1800's that still have old wire and insulators on them, but not in use anymore.

   Below is a good shot of the engine swapping ends of the train for the return trip to Hill City.  The engineer sat on the window sill all the way back to Hill City.  Dinah thought this was really something and kept trying to get a shot of him with the train moving, but we didn't get one, so this is the best we have.

Engine that took us to Keystone and back to Hill City.

Well, that's about it.  We were tired again when we got back to Hill City, so we took our time with a nice quiet ride back to the campground and a quick nap!  I'm getting used to these afternoon naps!!!

   More Train Ride Pictures, here.

   Tomorrow, we are going to go into town and shoot some buffalo!!  I'll explain tomorrow! 

LUV 2 U All!!  Until tomorrow!

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Day 13 - Mt. Rushmore

   Today, we once again had excellent weather for our day at Mt. Rushmore.  It's a beautiful drive up the mountain to the memorial.  The terrain and scenery are really breath taking to us.  We parked and started our walk up to the entrance to the memorial.

This is the first view of the memorial from the parking garage.

   I was impressed with the walk up to the closest view of the memorial.  There were these massive walls which defined separate areas of the entrance without walling them in.  The initial wall held the information center and welcome center.  The next wall housed the gift shops and restaurants and ice cream shops.  The third and final wall housed the display halls and viewing area and amphitheater.  There was a nice museum which detailed the people and tools that built the monument and history of the development.  The pictures don't do it justice and I'm glad we came to check this off our bucket list.

We had lunch at the restaurant at the memorial and met some very nice people who were visiting from Missouri.  We kind of ran out of steam and decided to head back to the camper.  You can see the rest of the pictures I took here.

LUV 2 U All!  Until later!

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