Highams Hit the Road

Highams Out West 2017

Fred and Cheryl are siblings and this is a second generation adventure. In the 80s, our dad bought an RV and traveled cross-country. We and our families would pop out for visits when we could. We had some remarkable adventures. This trip will repeat some of those locations and add many more. Generation three and four (Zack, Katy, husband Mike, and grands Claire and Ella) will hop aboard for Yellowstone and Seattle adventures. We left on July 1st, and will return in late October. Our friends want to know where the heck are we -- so here you go. Greetings from Fred, Judy, Cheryl and Bob and Sophie the dog. Join us as we explore the western United States and Canada.

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What a trip!

...over 14,000 miles, 23 states + Canada, 45 campgrounds, two hotels, one AirB&B, boat tours, ferry rides, an eclipse, some harrowing drives, spectacular scenery, so much wildlife, several thousand pictures, and lots of laughs. We hope you enjoyed the blog. I'd love to hear from you. [email protected]

State and National Parks
Badlands NP, SD
Mount Rushmore NP, SD
Custer SP, SD
Yellowstone NP, WY
Grand Teton NP, WY
Glacier NP, MT
Bay View SP, WA
Olympic NP, WA
Humbolt Redwoods SP, CA
Morro Bay SP, CA
Zion NP, UT
Bryce Canyon NP, UT
Grand Canyon NP, AZ
Carlsbad Caverns NP, NM

Museums
The Hermitage, TN
National Blues Museum, MO
WWI Museum and Memorial, MO
Buffalo Bill Center of the West, WY
Montana Historical Society, MT
Museum of Pop Culture, WA
Columbia River Maritime Museum, OR
Angel Island Immigration Center, CA
Hearst Castle, WA
Musical Instrument Museum, AZ
International UFO Museum, NM
6th Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, TX
World War II Museum, LA

Other Attractions
St. Louis Arch, MO
Dred Scott Courthouse, MO
Missouri Botanical Gardens, MO
Minuteman Missile Site, SD
Gates of the Mountains River Tour, MT
Libby Dam Tour, MT
Boat rental on Lake Koocanusa, MT
Pike's Market, WA
Underground Seattle Tour, WA
Seattle Aquarium, WA
Chiluly Garden and Glass, WA
Bloedel Garden Reserve,WA
Butchart Gardens, Victoria, BC
Sail boat rental on San Francisco Bay, CA

Largo, FL -- The trailer has landed

Our RV trip ended at Fred and Judy's house in Largo, FL. We did a mighty tidy and put the trailer in storage. It will come out for some quick trips in the next few months, and an extended east coast adventure next summer.

Old Town, FL -- Camping near the Suwannee River

We spent our last night at a lovely rustic campground in Old Town, FL; aptly named because this was a little corner of "Old Florida." A serene pond reminded me of an Impressionist painting. A 1500' boardwalk carried us over a swamp to a dock on the Suwannee River.

De Funiak Springs, FL

Who knew that some of our coldest mornings in October would be in FL? We spent a night at a beautiful lake-side campground in De Funiak Springs. We awoke to 36 degrees and a steamy lake.

Marthaville and New Orleans

Eager to get home, we'd decided to hot-foot it with some long drive-days ranging from five to seven hours. We expected a long, flat, and easy drive across AZ, NM, and TX. Wrong! 15 to 20 mph cross-winds set a top speed of 55 mph, and even then we had several scary moments when the active braking system locked up the trailer tires. Phew!
We spent one night at a peaceful lakeside campground in Marthaville, LA, and then headed to New Orleans. Our NO waterfront campground was at a full service marina including a restaurant and bar -- very convenient. The best amenity was a downtown shuttle. Fred and Judy visited some old haunts, ate beignets at Café du Mond and toured The Garden District.
Bob and Cheryl spent six hours at the National WWII Museum which features huge, artifact-filled galleries devoted to the Home Front, The European Theater, and the Pacific Theater. The many rooms of the European Theater were dark simulations of European forests, ruined towns, North African battlefields, and concentration-camp liberations. Powerful mages and videos were projected on ragged screens hung over the artifacts. The entrance to the Pacific Theater looked like a battleship. Galleries told the harrowing tale of island-hopping, ferocious combat, and the toll of infection and disease. This is a must see for any WWII scholar or history buff. Follow these links to see excellent photo galleries: Home Front, Road to Berlin, and Road to Tokyo.
The next day was a real treat -- we got to hang around our campsite and watch an air show sponsored by the WWII Museum. We were a about a half-mile away from the flight field and watched from the dock. The "show" was scheduled for a couple hours, but with arrivals and departures, we saw an all-day event of WWII planes, acrobatic flying, dog-fight simulations and some modern military aircraft.

Oct. 20th thru 23rd -- Sweetwater and Dallas, TX

We've stayed at over forty campgrounds. They ranged from the gravel parking lot in downtown St. Louis to the spectacular views at Zion. We mostly used the campground restrooms and showers. Most facilities were fine, some were "rustic," and a few were funky. We came to appreciate every one of them after visiting Sweetwater, Texas. This was not a stop on our original itinerary. We chose it based on driving time. Fred made a reservation at a park that was really hard to find. Oh my, what a place! It was seriously neglected and Bob reported on the weirdest restroom he had seen -- a fly-blown room with one unenclosed toilet, three open showers, a sink, and no soap or paper towels. Hmmmm -- Texas Chain-saw massacre? We rejected that place and visited a couple more that were as bad or worse. One was so scary that the Psycho sound track played in my head. We then backtracked 15 miles to a place that had a web site but didn't exist. We FINALLY found a place that was really nice and ironically, had country-club facilities. We are lucky that we had only one bad afternoon in search of a decent place to stay. I wish we had taken pictures, but we were too anxious to burn rubber outta there.
We spent three nights in the Dallas area. We had a lovely brunch with Sandi and Steve Dominy and family: Joe, Mary Lou, and Chris. Judy's sister Deborah spent an evening with us, and Fred and Judy dined with cousins Alicia, Conrad, Jennifer, and John.
The 6th Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza commemorates President Kennedy's assassination. It was fascinating, beautifully arranged, and very moving. It was chilling to see Oswald's sixth floor sniper's nest. We were surprised at how compact the Plaza area was. A tight turn clearly illustrated why the motorcade slowed. The distance from the 6th floor window to the motorcade is shorter that we expected. Green Xs mark the still used road where the two shots reached the President. Photos were not allowed, hence no slide show pics.

Oct. 16th thru 19th. -- Carlsbad Caverns and Roswell, NM

We're headed east, and that means long drives. We had a one-nighter in Demming, NM and a couple nights in our destination of Artesia, NM. Artesia was our launching point for Carlsbad Caverns and UFO investigation in Roswell, NM. We suited up for 57 degrees, grabbed our flashlights and headed out to Carlsbad Caverns. An elevator took us 750 feet below the surface to a subterranean wonderland. We took he "Big Room" self guided tour, on a mile and a quarter-long paved path. The caves were dim, but spotlights highlighted remarkable features that were described by our audio tour. It was like a concentrated underground tour Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon and Mammoth Hot Springs. Pictures cannot do it justice.
We prepared for our Roswell expedition by making tin-foil hats --- Just in case. The International UFO Museum did not disappoint. It was deliciously tacky and rife with conspiratorial theories including extra-terrestrial autopsies and spaceships. We barely escaped probing.
We dined at Big D's Downtown Dive -- guacamole, burgers, and chicken taco soup.
We wanted to buy tee-shirts that said SOFA-KING-GOOD, but they were sold out.

Oct. 12th thru 15th -- Phoenix, AZ

We spent four nights in Phoenix. We kicked around Scottsdale, visited an old mission, several art galleries, and ate some fantastic southwestern meals -- especially memorable were table made guacamole and a variety of blistered peppers. The Musical Instrument Museum was an unexpected surprise. The collection includes over 6,500 instruments. The Artist Gallery features videos and instruments of over 40 American musicians and bands. The Geographic Galleries provide a trip around the world with classic and modern instruments, as well as videos featuring traditional music, costumes, and cultural events. The Steinway and Martin Guitar exhibits showed production steps and videos.

Oct. 9th thru 11th -- Grand Canyon

Grand indeed! We stayed in the park on the South Rim. The views were remarkable. We walked along the rim trail at several points. The Trail of Time was a two mile-long ridge walk that features a chronology of rock samples covering millions of years. One side of each rock is cut and polished -- a splendid art gallery. The park shuttle was ideal. The Hermit's Rest shuttle carried us as far as old knees could travel to enjoy the views and the silence! The gift shop, commissioned in 1914 has a beautiful room-sized fireplace.

Oct 8th -- Lake Powell, AZ

We needed a convenient one night stop and landed at a treasure - a campsite at Wahweap Campground overlooking Lake Powell. Since we missed visiting Crater Lake due to freezing temperatures, Lake Powell was our deepest and bluest lake. Glen Canyon Dam created this huge lake which took 17 years to fill. The lake level is considerably lower than previous years. A mighty wind howled that night, rocking the trailer. We awoke wondering if we were sailing on City Lights.

Oct 6th thru 7th -- Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon isn't really a canyon. A canyon is a gorge cut by water. Bryce was created by erosion resulting in the largest collection of hoodoos in the world. A hoodoo forms when soft stone erodes beneath more dense stone resulting in a remarkable forest of rock pillars. It was very different from Zion, both in formation and observation. We were at the bottom of Zion, but at the top of Bryce. You will notice all views are looking downward at a landscape that reminded us of drip-mud-sand-castles.

Weeping Rock, Zion National Park

October 3rd thru 5th -- Zion National Park

Zion National Park was spectacular. We stayed at the BEST campground ever! Our large and private campsite was surrounded by towering peaks. The park was breath-taking. Every turn delivered a new wonder. We walked up the Virgin River to the start of the Narrows, a challenging but popular water hike for hardy souls. I met a man who told me that he carried his pack overhead as he waded in chest-deep, 50 degree water. We hiked up to Weeping Rock (see video) and drove through the Zion Mount Carmel Tunnel . We continue to marvel at the engineering and construction feats of the mountain-side roads we have enjoyed throughout this trip.

October 1st and 2nd -- From ocean to desert

We made two unremarkable overnight stops as we traveled from ocean to desert. We drove past oil wells, huge wind farms, many solar arrays, a few "Mad Max" vehicles, and lots of scrub, tumble weeds and Joshua Trees. As we approached Zion, we saw our first fall foliage.

Sept. 29th and 30th -- Morro Bay, CA. Goodbye Pacific Ocean

Our campsite was steps away from Morro Bay where we slept below fragrant eucalyptus trees. Our big outing was to Hearst Castle which was remarkable. We parked at the visitors center and took a large bus to and from the castle. The ride was 5 miles with an elevation increase of 1,600 feet. We thought the uphill ride was harrowing until we took the downhill ride at which point we redefined our concept of harrowing. The Castle, set high above the Pacific is a marvel of engineering. The landscaping is beautiful, the castle is breath-taking, and the art collection is world-class. I finally understand why the Vanderbilts referred to The Breakers as a "cottage." Add Hearst Castle to your bucket list. In the evening, we watched our last Pacific sunset over Murro Bay. Tomorrow we head east.

Sept. 25th thru 28th -- San Francisco Bay Area

We stayed in Marin County. The campground was typical urban camping, but we were just steps away from an estuary preserve, with views of wildlife and San Quentin. It was really convenient -- close to Sausalito and ferries. We chartered an afternoon sail with Capt. Marc and cruised San Francisco Bay from Sausalito, under the Golden Bay Bridge, past Alcatraz, and along the SF city shoreline. The seals you see were at Pier 39. It was hot (way hot by SF standards) and calm when we set out, but the wind picked up on the way back. It was a highlight of our trip. Afterwards, we dined on the waterfront in Sausalito with a view of the San Francisco skyline. On Wednesday, we took the ferry into the city where we explored Chinatown (woof -- steep walk!), lunched, meant to get a drink at the Top of the Mark (damn, didn't open for another two hours), did the tourist thing at Pier 39, and walked back to the ferry. On Thursday, we took the ferry to Angel Island where we traveled on the tram around the island, and then explored the Angel Island Immigration Center. After teaching about Angel Island for 25 years, I was grateful for the opportunity to visit the site. Several buildings were restored enough for entry, there were some buildings awaiting restoration, and a number of buildings were in ruins. The compound was far smaller than Ellis Island, and we saw only a dozen other visitors. It is now a peaceful, reflective space. A feature I didn't know about was the poetic calligraphy. The slide show includes a sample and translation.

Sept. 23rd and 24th -- Kelseyville, CA

We wanted to stay in Guerneville, Healdsburg, or Santa Rosa, but could not get a site. We ended up far off the beaten path, beside a peaceful lake in Kelseyville, where we vacationed from our vacation.

Sept 21st and 22nd -- Redcrest, CA -- Life in the Redwoods

We spent a couple days sleeping amidst the Humboldt Redwoods. Our campground was on the Avenue of the Giants, the "old Route 101" that runs through old growth redwood forest. John Steinbeck said it best in Travels with Charlie: “The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe. It's not only their unbelievable stature, nor the color which seems to shift and vary under your eyes, no, they are not like any trees we know, they are ambassadors from another time.”

Sept 14th thru 20th -- Headed south on Route 101 in WA and OR

We decided to skip Mt. St. Helen and Lake Tahoe because low temperatures were going to be in the 30s. Plan B had us driving down Route 101 that follows the coast through WA and OR. First stop was lakeside in Silver Creek, WA where we passed the evening with some lovely neighbors. We spent several cloudy days in Cannon Beach where we walked by the ocean, admired the stone stacks, drove south to Tillamook and Rockaway, and thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Columbia River Maritime Museum . The northern section of 101 reminded me of California's Pacific Coast Highway, except it was less of a pucker because it had guardrails. We watched the first storm of the fall season as 9' waves crashed against the rugged and foggy coastline. We overnighted in Florence, OR, and spent a couple nights in Crescent City, OR, the U.S. tsunami capitol, where we lunched, laundered, and provisioned.

More Seattle pictures

Hurricane Irma led us to spend a few extra days in Seattle. Zack's flight was delayed from Sunday until Wednesday. Katy and family stayed at Mike's office for a day, and then stayed at Fred & Judy's house for several days until Katy's power was restored to their St. Pete neighborhood. Zack had power when he got home. During our last days in Seattle, we visited the Museum of Pop Culture and Woodland Zoo. MoPop is essentially Microsoft's Paul Allen's public venue for his remarkable collection of musical and sci-fi memorabilia. Special exhibits included early David Bowie pics, and an extensive gallery of Jim Henson images and artifacts.

Sept. 4th thru Sept. 13th -- Seattle, WA

Special guest Zack flew in from Tampa to visit a friend, camp with us, and attend a University of Washington football game...and...coincidentally he avoided the hurricane and got an unexpected three day vacation extension. We kicked around Pike Place Market, took the Underground tour, visited the Aquarium and dined at Elliott's. Chihuly Garden and Glass was a Seattle highlight. We took the ferry to Bainbridge Island for a day where we toured beautiful and serene Bloedel Reserve (watch the video) We drove to the western side of Mount Rainier, which was a bit of a disappointment. The more dramatic eastern side was closed due to wild fires. We saw a lot of smoke and ash when we first arrived in Seattle, but it has cleared in the last few days. There are huge fires in both Washington and Oregon, so we are skipping Mount St. Helen and Portland and heading toward the Oregon coast.

Aug. 28 thru Sept. 3rd -- Centralia, WA and Olympic National Forest, WA

We spent two days in Centralia, WA which is mid-way between Anacortes and Olympic National Park. It was basically a provisioning point. We needed to clean our clothes, ourselves, and charge-up since Kalaloch Campground in Olympic National Park had no electrical or sewer hook-ups. (there were public toilets, but no showers.) Kalaloch Campground was fabulous. We camped beneath 100' cedars, on a bluff overlooking the Pacific. Gnarly stumps morphed into eerie creatures amid campfire shadows. Ocean winds were steady and it was mighty chilly. Gigantic driftwood cluttered the beach at the winter high water mark. On our first day, we watched Grey Whales for hours. The whales remained in the area in the following days, but in smaller numbers. Gorgeous sunsets backlit whale sprays. We spent an afternoon at the Hoh Rain Forest which was about an hour away and 30 degrees warmer.

ROSS FOUNTAIN in Butchart Gardens
The 100 year old Sunken Garden was once a limestone quarry. After the quarry played out, Jenny Butchart reclaimed the land and designed a beautiful garden. This spectacular fountain is illuminated with colored lights at night.

Aug. 26th - 27th -- Victoria, BC -- More to come

The beautiful ferry ride from Anacortes, WA to Sidney, BC took about an hour and a half. We bopped around town a bit and ate lunch (mmm...smoked salmon.) Our drive to Victoria was less than an hour. Fred found a great 2BR, 1 bath apartment on Air b&b. It is comfortable, beautifully decorated, and OH, THE SPACE! Each of us found our own nap spot. Second floor, big windows, no screens, no bugs. Heaven! We explored and then returned to our fabulous digs, dined on take out pizza, and played games. On Sunday, we drove around Victoria and dined by the harbour-side. Tomorrow -- Butchart Gardens and return ferry to Anacortes.

Aug. 24th - 25th -- San Juan Island, WA

The ferry trip from Anacortes to San Juan Island took about an hour and a half. We booked a couple nights at the at The Orca Inn. This choice was based on a bit of confusion with another hotel. Had we looked more carefully at the web site, we would have seen the image of an orca demonstrating room size. It as like dorm life. We laughed when we opened the door, and so did everyone else who checked in. It was tiny, but clean. While on the Island, we visited the McMillin Mausoleum, a sculpture park, and alpaca farm, a lavender farm, an English Camp settled during the Pig War, and Lime Kiln Park (an Orca sighting lookout -- we saw none.)

Aug 22nd - ... Anacortes, WA -- More to Come

We're staying in a state park near Anacortes. Two days there, leaving for four days, and returning for another couple days. We are close to a shallow bay. As you can see from our campsite, the area is very dry. The ferry from Anacortes takes us to San Juan Island. ...More pictures to come from Anacortes.

August 19th - 21st -- Leavenworth, WA

Leavenworth is a little Bavarian themed town. All the buildings, even the McDonald's, is decorative. It was mighty touristy, but did have some nice restaurants and we had some excellent goulash. Icicle River RV Park was the finest campground we have visited. It is next to the Icicle River and is surrounded by tall mountains. We watched the 95% eclipse alongside the river. I used a colander as my pinhole device and it worked like a charm. A neighbor turned us on to The Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort which was right next door. The resort was founded by a Seattle woman (now 90 years old) who made her fortune in publishing. The public is welcome to wander the grounds and enjoy the sculptures in the woods.

Aug 17th and 18th -- Coeur d'Alene, ID

This was a quick and very pleasant stop. A huge downtown park graces the waterfront. It features large open areas, walking and bike paths, a water park, a dog park, sculptures, a marina and large floating dock, restaurants, and a library. We wandered around town and had a tasty lunch at a Italian restaurant. In the evening, we attended a really fine community sponsored Big Band concert.

August 15th thru 17 -- Libby, MT

We chose Libby (pop. 2628) because of drive time. We were delightfully surprised with the area. The town is known for both live and sculpted eagles. Fred, Bob and Cheryl hiked to Kootenai Falls. (Sophie couldn't walk down the scary metal-nubbed stairs at the outset.) The falls are the longest free-flowing cascades in MT. The men crossed the swinging bridge. Cheryl chickened out. The next stop was Ross Creek Cedars, a grove of ancient giants. We were surprised to see a dry creek sculpture garden. On the following day, we toured Libby Dam and went boating on Koocanusa Lake.

August 12th thru 14th -- Whitefish, MT

We originally planned to travel to Banff, B.C., but changed our plans due to wildfires and smoky skies. We decided to wing it as we made our way west. Our first destination was Whitefish, MT. The most direct route would have been Going to the Sun Road, but that is impossible with a trailer. The alternative required that we drive out and around the park. It took over five hours and it was gorgeous. Whitefish is a lovely little town, like Jackson Hole, but funkier. Sophie went to the best dog park evah -- five acres with several enclosures and lots of canine friends. We provisioned, ate crepes for brunch (mine was smoked salmon, spinach and Thai green chili paste. yum.) and went to an art show. The weather was rather drippy, so we don't have many pictures.

August 7th thru 11th -- Glacier National Park

We camped in an open field with mountain views all around. Smaze from the MT and BC fires we evident everywhere we went. Narrow, two lane, Going to the Sun Road (check out the map) is often called the most beautiful drive in America. One direction of the road hugs the mountainside while the other direction teeters on the edge of the cliff. Fred did a wonderful job navigating the uncounted switch-backs while Judy and I occasionally leaned in and closed our eyes. Logan Pass crosses the Continental Divide at 6646 feet. Along the way we saw dozens of waterfalls. The southern end of the road brought us to McDonald Creek and Lake McDonald, both of which sparkle with rainbow colored rocks. Other pictures here show St Mary's Lake and Many Glacier area.

Aug, 6th -- Hello Glacier National Park

It was a five hour drive through high plains from Helena to Glacier National Park. There were a few tiny towns along the way. We refueled at an unattended gas station -- kind of odd. Is that how they normally operate, or did someone forget to turn off the pumps? Much of the drive was on a curvy two-lane mountain road, with some long gravel stretches. The drive was gorgeous, but the most stunning site was a miles-long field of sunflowers.

Aug. 2 thru Aug. 5th -- Helena, Montana

Helena, MT is a fantastic little city. We chose it as a provision site on the way to Glacier and were pleasantly surprised. The valley is beautiful and surrounded by mountains. Unfortunately, smoky haze from distant wild fires obscure the view. Fortunately, we cannot smell the smoke. We spent a couple hours at the Montana Historical Society which had an excellent art collection, natural history displays (including mastodon bones), and extensive galleries of Native American and settler's artifacts. We ended the day with a really tasty dinner at the Mediterranean Grill. On a cloudy Saturday morning, we took a spectacular two hour boat ride through the Gates of the Mountains, a significant location on the Lewis and Clark Expedition -- on 19 July 1805, Lewis and his party entered a canyon between "the most remarkable clifts that we have yet seen." Our captain/historian quoted, from memory, extensive selections of the Lewis and Clark journals. Here are some of our pictures. You should also look a this gallery by the tour company. We leave tomorrow for Glacier for a week in the wild -- no electricity and likely no internet. We stocked up with 72 tubes of Starbuck's instant coffee! Not sure when we will next post, after Glacier, we head to Banff, Canada.

July 20 thru Aug 3 Yellowstone. See also Cooke City & Lamar Valley below

Katy and family arrived after spending a couple days in Vegas, Zion, Bryce, Salt Lake City and Grand Tetons. We drank some Happy Camper wine (thanks Denise!) to celebrate. Katy, Mike and Bob took a sunrise photo tour. In the afternoon we explored some thermal sites.

July 23 thru 28 -- Cheryl & Bob in Cooke City and Lamar Valley -- updates below

Cooke City is just a few miles from the NE park entrance. In its heyday, it was a hard-scrabble mining town with a population of about a thousand. Now the summer residents number 300 and the winter residents number 100. The short main street includes a handful of lodges, restaurants, shops, and an old general store. Highway 212 runs through the spectacular Beartooth Mountains and Beartooth Pass which is nearly 11,000 feet high! There were lots of steep-drop-offs, but the road was in really great condition. In the small world department, we met two people from CT. We ran into Jess at the little Cooke City Museum. She was raised in Trumbull and her brother was good friends with our out-front neighbors. We met Josh, a Yale PhD student, at a restaurant as a cold rain started to fall. We invited him to join us. He is a biologist studying the impact of civil strife on wildlife. He has traveled extensively and was a great conversationalist. We will post more pics in the coming days.
Tuesday July 25th: We met Fred and clan in the Lamar Valley for a picnic and wildlife viewing. I added Bob's pictures. We will add Katy and Judy's shots when we reunite at Fishing Bridge. Bob's best picture so far is the full rainbow taken just outside the park in Silver Gate. It lasted for at least 15 minutes. As good as the picture is, it hardly conveys the rich colors. The most amazing thing was seeing the colors in front of the forest.
Wednesday July 26th: We had a delightful breakfast encounter. The tiny bakery was crowded. Jack and Wendy invited us to join them. Her family has owned property here since the 1930's. They live in TX, and summer here. We were joined by Preacher Don, Ranger John, and Gary, a regular camper from Oregon. They spoke of local history, the 1988 fire that nearly destroyed the town, community spirit, a late-last-night auto accident that brought out the ranger and the preacher, and advice about local exploration. We drove up Chief Joseph Scenic Byway which connects Cooke City to Cody, WY. We marveled at a rushing river below a narrow hundred-foot-deep canyon at Sunlight Bridge. We continued up a remarkable switch-back road to Dead Indian Pass for more photos. After that, we returned to Hwy 212 to the Clay Butte Lookout, a former fire tower site at almost 9,000 feet.
Friday July 27th: We drove up the Bear Tooth Highway and off on a dirt road to Lulu Pass -- site of a January 2017 avalanche which covered Lulu Pass roads with up to 20' of debris that slid down one mountain and climbed up another. The narrow dirt road had been cleared, but splintered mature growth pines were tangled on either side. Later, we went back into the park and hiked up and around Trout Lake.

July 20th -- The drive from Cody to Yellowstone. Yay Fred, 6% and 7% grades!

July 18th and 19th -- Buffalo and Cody, WY

Buffalo was a quick overnight stop. The campsite was long enough that we didn't have to unhook, which made for a fast get-away the next morning. The drive to Cody was about six hours and passed by Devil's Tower. It was mighty crowded so we kept on truckin. Our one night stop in Cody was very productive, we major-shopped in preparation for Yellowstone. We also visited The Buffalo Bill Center of the West, which touts itself to be "The Smithsonian of the West." There were five museums: The Buffalo Bill Museum (that guy got around!), The Cody Firearms Museum, The Draper Natural History Museum, The Whitney Western Art Museum, and The Plains Indian Museum. Sophie is vacationing in a Cody Spa while we're in Yellowstone.

July 15th thru 17th -- Rapid City SD

An hour and a half drive brought us to a shady campground near downtown Rapid City. Again, the temps hovered near 100, so shade is very much appreciated. The campground borders a lovely lake and park. On Saturday, we visited Mt. Rushmore and Custer State Park. Rushmore was quite crowded. We popped in long enough to admire the heads and get some pictures. We didn't stay to visit the museum because Sophie was with us. The drive to our next stop was along a narrow hilly road with lots of switchbacks. It had several single lane tunnels, each situated to frame Mt Rushmore -- more brilliant planning by sculptor Gutzon Borglum and his team. We took the wildlife loop through Custer State Park where we saw bison, deer, pronghorn, burros, and prairie dogs. Some of the bison were huge, and there were a lot of calves. A herd passed right in front of us with the elders rounding up and nudging the calves along. The burros were friendly beggars who came right up to greet people.
On Sunday, we visited Sturgis and Deadwood. Sturgis was sleeping-in on this morning. Even if people were awake, there wasn't much there to interest us. We did a quick drive through and headed outta town. As you might expect, Deadwood was really touristy, but the historic architecture was beautiful. We had lunch at the bar where Wild Bill Hickok was allegedly gunned down. The decor was superior to the food -- big surprise. In the afternoon we drove through Spearfish Canyon, a narrow deep gorge that runs along Spearfish Creek The steep canyon walls are mostly covered in Ponderosa Pines that are interrupted by spectacular rock outcroppings and pinnacles.

July 13th and 14th -- Badlands National Park, SD

The drive from Sioux Falls took us past rolling hills: some green with miles of corn, some golden with grasses, and others cut and dotted with round hay bales. We are camped on a shady site just outside of the park. The daytime temps hover around 100. Night temps are in the high 60s. The place is abuzz with a mighty cicada hatch. The Badlands are other worldly. Bob and Judy took lots of pictures at sunset last night. We got up early to see the 5:20 sunrise. We bought a nifty App called Just Ahead. It uses GPS to track location and offers an on the spot travelogue. You can even listen to your own music and the App will interrupt to describe a point of interest and offer historical information. We awoke at 4:15 AM on Friday morning to see sunrise in the park. The stone is mostly white and gray. It is a canvas for light and shadow, especially at dawn and dusk. In the 102 degree heat of the afternoon, we sought indoor amusements. We went to Wall Drugs and the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

July 10th thru 12th -- Sioux Falls, SD

T'was a seven and a half hour drive from KC. Judy's sister Vicki invited us to dinner. Her husband Kevin made a fabulous Shepard's Pie. We had a fine time visiting with them, niece Sabrina and her boyfriend Chris. On Tuesday morning we went to the U.S. Geological Service Earth Resources Observation and Science Center (EROS), a huge computer complex that collects world-wide data from Landsat satellites. It was fascinating. We ate at Carnival Brazilian Grill where we consumed ridiculous amounts of meat.
That night, the area was under a severe thunderstorm watch and surrounding areas were under tornado warnings. Luckily, the storms stayed south of us. On Wednesday, Vicki and Sabrina gave us a tour of Sioux Falls, the largest city in SD. We were surprised that the total state population was just 866,000 -- about 11 people per square mile. (CT is 790 per square mile!) The city features a lot of interesting architecture, much of it from the 1800s and constructed from a pink stone called Sioux Quartzite. Sculptures are around every corner. See http://sculpturewalksiouxfalls.com/ for a slide show. We also visited the falls and the Old Courthouse Museum.

July 8th thru 9th -- Kansas City, KS

The 7th was devoted to travel and provisioning. On the 8th, we went to Union Station for a visit to the Science City interactive museum and lunch. We also visited the National World War I Museum and Memorial. The museum was beautifully executed. The gigantic memorial is at the top of the city and featured spectacular views.

July 6th thru 7th -- St. Louis, MO

Our campground was literally a parking lot in downtown. It had no trees or grass, but was really convenient as it was just a few blocks to the $2 all-day trolley. Of course, we went to the top of the Gateway Arch which required a 4 minute ride in a tiny gondola-like elevator. It was a bit of a challenge for the claustrophobic. The skies were clear and the view was fabulous. A movie about the construction showed workers confidently working in all weather conditions as they installed triangular segments to a height of 630 feet. We also visited the Old Courthouse, site of the Dred-Scott case. We ate at Sugar Fire Smokehouse and then visited the National Blues Museum. On Thursday, we went to The Missouri Botanical Garden, the oldest continuously operated garden in the U.S. A special exhibit of glassworks by Craig Mitchell Smith was created specifically for their gardens. There were also several permanent works by Dale Chihuly. The gardens were extensive and we toured the mansion of the founder. We ended our day with a fantastic Italian meal at Zia's On the Hill.

July 3rd thru 5th -- Nashville, TN

Bob and Cheryl flew in from CT. We met cousin Joe for dinner at The Diner, and wander down Broadway. Music spilled from every venue and a outdoor concert was setting up. On Tuesday, we explored an old automobile factory that now houses displays of old machines and the "American Pickers" store. The store was a disappointment. We expected it to be much larger and filled with antiques. It was tiny and essentially a tee shirt shop. On Wednesday we visited the Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson.

July 1st and 2nd -- Florida to Nashville

Fred and Judy left FL. They had a long drive ahead. The first leg is to Macon, GA. The next leg was to Nashville, These trailer pictures make it look bigger than it is. The road dimensions are 34' by 8'. There are two slides for a total of 300 square feet which includes two bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen. Cozy!