Day 7 - Casper, WY

We didn't sleep very late today. We took a few photos, shopped for groceries, and washed clothes. Our campground is right next to Ft. Caspar, which is not as impressive as Ft. Laramie. I took some photos around the campground and of Ft. Caspar, though. When we wake up our view of the mountains with some snow dotting them is super nice. Tomorrow we go to Custer State Park for four nights. We will go to Mt. Rushmore one day while we are there. We went there 26 years ago, and it will be nice to go again. When we went before the huge Chief Crazy Horse was just a shape. Now the chief's face is done, so that will be good to see. Of our trip, we now have reservations for these times (except the Tetons where we cannot get reservations):
June 6 - 13 Tetons
July 15 - 22 - Kalispell, Montana
Banff - Aug. 8 - 18
The rest of the time we will camp around Idaho and Montana and maybe some more time in Wyoming around West Yellowstone.
Last night was COLD! It was a two quilt, spooning night. We slept great and cozy! I think the low tonight is supposed to be 40, a few degrees warmer. Still, good sleeping!

We slept until about 9:30 this morning! That is very late for me. It was lovely to wake up and look out the window at the mountains. There is still a bit of snow on them. The big activities for the day were going to Walmart and then to the mall here in Casper. The campground is located right at the N. Platte River and is beside Ft. Caspar (yes with an a). We will probably visit Ft. Caspar tomorrow and grocery shop for our stay at Custer State Park. I'm getting out the second quilt for tonight. It is going to be in the upper 30's. Good sleepin'!

Day 5

We packed up, hooked up, and left Cheyenne and headed to Casper this morning. On the way, we left the interstate and went to Register Cliff National Historical Site. It is a cliff where travelers on the Oregon Trail carved their names and dates in the cliff. There is now a chainlink fence protecting it since a lot of modern day people have added their names and dates. Go figure. Then we went from there a few miles down the road to the Oregon Trail Wagon Ruts Historical Site. You can see the ruts worn through the stone surface and even the path from the people who walked. It was really neat. Then we went to Ft. Laramie, which is owned by the National Park system. We watched a video and walked around looking at the restored buildings and ruins. Photos will be posted. After that, we headed to Casper and got to the campground around 4:30, set up, ate Kraft Mac and Cheese and half a leftover sub from yesterday and called it a gourmet meal! We were just too tired to go out to eat. We enjoyed the scenery on the way and saw quite a few pronghorn antelope. What photos I do not post here, I will post on FB. We will be here three nights and then head to Custer State Park for four nights.

Day 4

Dear GUSSY! What a day!!!!! It was awesome! We left Cheyenne about 9:15 this morning and headed to Estes Park, CO. Cheyenne is not in the mountains. When we hit Loveland, CO, you could see the Rockies. It looked like a mural. The ride from Loveland to Estes Park was a spiritual experience. Going through Big Thompson Canyon, along the Big Thompson River with the awesome geology changing constantly made us think of God and how he must have smiled as he thought all of these features into being. Then we burst out of the Big Thompson and wowzers!!! There they were, the ROCKIES. Boom!

I'll post some photos that have little fuzzy things on them. Those are smushed bugs on the windshield that yesterday's rain did not wash off. Phil could not possibly stop every time I wanted a photo, thus the reflection and bug smudges. Oh well, what's a girl supposed to do? We stopped at the Visitor's Center and walked a bit in Estes Park. Then we ate lunch and headed into Rocky Mt. National Park. Because there is still a lot of snow and ice on the roads, we were only able to go up to Rainbow Curve turnaround (11 miles), but we were able to go on a lot of other roads. We saw things we never saw on the last trip. Going up one road, I saw some swirls in the snow. I told Phil it looked like snow board trails. We could not imagine how a snowboarder could get up there, unless a helicopter dropped them off. I took a photo. Shortly we saw a skiier. I am not kidding. I took a photo. He was climbing up that snow bank in his skiies. Our jaws dropped. We were huffing and puffing just walking to the visitor's center and the museum. Also, there was still snow up to 10 feet deep. I took a photo! We then started making our way back to Cheyenne. The sunset is beautiful. I had to stop the blog to go take a photo. It may not get in today's blog, but if any turned out, I'll post tomorrow. Tomorrow will probably be dull because it is a day of travel to Casper for Memorial Day Weekend, and it is supposed to rain all day Sat. Stay tuned! I am going to post some photos on Facebook, so check those if you like looking at the photos. I can comment on FB, and I can't here (or don't know how).

Day 3

Day 3 - We are in Cheyenne, WY. I actually took some photos today, not of the scenery, though. We were going down I-80 and saw this thing across the Interstate. We had to check that out. I have photos below. I also took some photos outside and INSIDE Cabelas in Sidney, NE. My good friend Barbara told me to take my camera inside. Of course, I was the only person with a camera inside, but I took some photos. Very interesting place! We did not buy a thing. Then we go up the road and I check the weather as we were getting closer to Cheyenne because the sky is looking rather funky. Well, Cheyenne was under a tornado watch(still are for another hour and a half). The sky looked worse and worse, so we got off an exit at a truck stop where a lot of trucks had also gotten off the interstate and waited for the clouds to move past the area where we would be traveling. I will post a couple of photos of what we saw. THEN, we get to Cheyenne and to our campground. It just happens to be at the same exit as the Sierra Traders Outlet. So we hurriedly got set up and rushed to Sierra Traders. We did find some bargains there. I got a pair of $90 Keen shoes for $22. Phil got a $135 pair of shoes (can't remember kind - in truck - too tired and lazy to go see) for $28. We also got a real bamboo shade long enough to replace a worn-out, drooping miniblind in one of the bedrooms back home for $6. We could not find a shade long enough at Lowe's, Home Depot, Walmart, or Target. We were going to have to get a custom made one, so I was thrilled to get the bamboo roman shade. I am beginning to hate mini-blinds....goes along with my extreme dislike of dusting them. So, here I am sitting on the sofa with my feet up, and Phil is on the other one. Both of us using our laptops. The campground sells BBQ, so we ate a sandwich for supper. It was quite decent. Oh, we have the nine nights planned and reserved!!!!! NINE!!!!! We will be here for two nights. We'll head to Estes Park and the Rocky Mt. National Park for the day tomorrow. Friday we will head to Casper for three nights. Then we will go to Custer State Park for four nights. Helen and Barbara, if you are reading this, we will stay at Grace Coolidge Campground. It is so wonderful to be staying in one place for longer than one night!!!! Phil looked at me a minute ago, and said, "You know, we have come a long way in three days." LOL! He is too cute! I am so blessed! Now, let me go see if I can remember how to post some photos. OK, loaded. Weather report just said a storm should hit between 8:30 and 9:00 with one inch hail. We are praying it stays west and north of us! Denver had six to twelve inches of hail today!!!!! They were using snow shovels to remove it! Can you imagine????

Day 2 - We arrived at the campground in Lincoln, Nebraska, at about 4:15 p.m. We left Eureka this morning about 8:00. Yesterday we drove through four states (TN, KY, IL, and MO). Today only three: MO, IO, and NE. It was a nice, uneventful drive. The most interesting things we saw were the stadiums in Kansas City, MO. We could imagine on a game day riding down the interstate and seeing into the stadium. It must be quite a site (and distracting to drivers!!!!). We are less tired today. We haven't done the math to see how many miles we drove today, but it was a lot less than the 540 miles we drove yesterday. The last time we came across the country, we rode through Kansas and it was flat, flat, flat. Riding through Missouri was mainly gentle rolling hills. We are really enjoying our morning rituals of praying together and me reading the Bible as we ride. We also listened to a good sermon by Charles Stanley we found on a radio station. At home, we mainly do our own private praying and Bible reading. We are enjoying this time with the Father together. There is something uniquely intimate about worshipping together as a couple. I hope we will continue when we get back home (with some private study, too). This evening we will study the map and decide where our adventure will take us tomorrow and hopefully for the Memorial Day Weekend. Stay tuned....

Day 1
We left Townsend at 8:15 a.m. and drove 10 hours today. We are camping at the KOA in Eureka, MO. It was a safe trip. (short, choppy sentences -- hmmmm, can you tell I am tired???)
The most interesting thing I saw was a group of Amish young men (looked about 16) walking down the right-of-way of the interstate facing traffic. Also, seeing the arch in St. Louis is a treat. We talked about our last trip out West with the children and how very different it is with just the two of us. Twenty-six summers ago we spent eight-and-a-half weeks going out West and back with our three children. Those are some of my favorite memories ever!
It is hot here. On the road, the car said it was 94 degrees. I saw the weather forecast for West Yellowstone. The expected three to five inches of snow last night and today. By the weekend, though, it will be in the low 60's for highs. We are still trying to decide where to spend Memorial Day Weekend.
It was good to know I would not run in to anyone I knew today, now that I have some hair on my head that is shorter than my eyelashes..... LOL! Grow, hair, GROW!!!!