Moving Around with Glenn, Linda and the Girls: July 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Day 56 - July 30, 2011 - Yellowstone National Park

Boy...are we tired! We drove the "big loop" today...140 miles! We knew it would be a long day but there are so many things we want to see at Yellowstone we knew at the end of the day we would be glad we did it. And we are! In addition to stops at Gibbon Falls, Artist Point (Lower Falls), Upper Falls, Canyon Village, Dunraven Pass (elevation 8,859), Mt. Washburn (elevation 10,243), Tower Falls, Calcite Springs Overlook, Undine Falls, Petrified Tree, and Mammoth Hot Spring, we saw bison, black bears, and elk...on more than one occasion! Now, to put this in perspective, it takes about 1 1/2 hour to drive 50 miles in Yellowstone...that's straight drive with no stops, no heavy traffic, and no wildlife in the road stopping traffic! And at the stops we made, we hiked over 6 miles! Did I say we are tired?

Before I call it an evening, I want to say a little about the drive and places we stopped. Several of the books we read indicated that of all the memories from visits to Yellowstone, few will be more satisfying than those of the 23 mile long Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, which is the drive from Canyon Village to Tower-Roosevelt, which was a portion of our drive. And the books were not wrong! The scenery was amazing and the wildflowers were so beautiful! I want to say more about the scenery...really magnificent... but I think the pictures will say it all! I have not put the pictures on the computer yet, but will do it tomorrow. Really can't wait to see them...and I will...tomorrow!

Click on the two links to see the pictures we took today. Remember to be patient and give them a chance to load!

https://picasaweb.google.com/104959812223133937279/July302011YellowstoneNationalPark?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCK2D9duB8tq7Hg&feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/104959812223133937279/July302011YellowstoneGlenn?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMDx3Metk-3mVA&feat=directlink

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Day 55 - July 29, 2011 - Yellowstone National Park

Wow! What a day!!! Glenn got a haircut at 9:00 and then we left the motorhome at 10:30 to tour one of the loops at Yellowstone...about 110 miles. We only got as far as Old Faithful but saw it erupt twice (we were on the wrong side the first time so our pictures weren't as good)! We left there at 8:30 and got home at 9:30! What magnificant scenery...the geysers...wildlife...Yellowstone in general! We walked over 8 miles and broke out photo record...both of us took about 800 photos each for a total of 1600! What in the world are we going to do when we get to the Grand Canyon!!! Anyway, we have just finished editing and deleting photos...don't know how many are left but at least it's not 1600! Obviously, it's late so they won't be posted tonight...probably tomorrow. We are planning to leave earlier tomorrow to pick up where we left off at Old Faithful...there's so much more we want to see and do before we leave for the Grand Tetons Monday!

It's tomorrow! Am getting the pictures posted before we leave for today's "adventure"!

This time you have 2 links to click on...one album is the pictures that I (Linda) took and one album is the pictures Glenn took. Remember to be patient when you click on the links...it takes a few minutes for the albums to load.

https://picasaweb.google.com/104959812223133937279/July292011WestYellowstoneMTLinda?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNTC5O3RsODbqgE&feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/104959812223133937279/July292011WestYellowstoneMTGlenn?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCITpi_ew1dfGOA&feat=directlink

Friday, July 29, 2011

Day 54 - July 28, 2011 - West Yellowstone MT

What beautiful weather here! High today...74! Low tonight...46! We decided to save Yellowstone for tomorrow, since it will be a lot of driving again. Gives Glenn a chance to catch his breath after driving the motor home for several hours yesterday.

Our first stop was Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center where we observed grizzlies and gray wolves in their naturalistic habitat. A lot of fun and educational too!

The Yellowstone Historic Center Museum was next on our list. It is in the old Union Pacific Train Depot, the oldest building in town. The museum includes interactive exhibits and artifacts that explore the complete history of the area...from the time the Plains Indians and bison roamed the land to the days the fires of 1988 swept through Yellowstone. I guess you have figured it out...we love museums!

Then on to the movie "Yellowstone" at IMAX Theatre. It was good (lots of scenes of geysers, grizzlies and other "wonders" of the park) but not quite what we expected. Nevertheless, we were glad we went.

After we went home to take the "girls" out for a walk and feed them, we walked back to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center to see the "High Country Wolf Feeding and Enrichment" since we missed it earlier in the day. It's nice that the tickets are good for two days so that visitors can go in and out and only see the scheduled activities that they want to see. And the location of our campground is so perfect. Right downtown with everything within walking distance...including the west entrance to Yellowstone!

I hate to say that you will have to wait again for pictures...but I have to say it. As I post this I am uploading pictures from yesterday to a Picasa Web Album and then I will do the same for the day before yesterday and then today. Obviously, we are taking too many pictures but, from the feedback we are getting, many of you are enjoying them, which makes us happy!

Since the process of uploading them and then posting them takes so long I think I am going to start putting a link to the album on the blog instead of posting the pictures. I think this will work better for all of us...the blog should upload faster for you and it will take less time for me.

Anyway, I'm going to try it tonight with yesterday's pictures...really a must see! It was such a beautiful drive through Yellowstone...even with the devastation of the remains from the fire of 1988 (23 years ago!) which burned 1,000,000 acres. Email me (davi slfgt@hotmail.com) if you have problems seeing the pictures.

Be Patient! After you click on the link it will take a few minutes to load!

https://picasaweb.google.com/104959812223133937279/July282011WestYellowstoneMT?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJPNvYac5rOKvwE&feat=directlink

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Day 53 - July 27,2011 - West Yellowstone MT

Well...we are back in Montana! We left Cody WY this morning and had the most most glorious day driving "the most scenic 52 miles in America" from Cody to Yellowstone. The scenery was magnificent, even the area destroyed by the 1988 fire 23 years ago. We were very pleased with the pictures...particularly considering they were taken from inside a moving motor home!

We arrived late this afternoon at Yellowstone/Grizzly RV Park...very nice! It's right downtown and probably no more than 1/4 of a mile from the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park. How convenient! Dinner followed and then we walked around town visiting some of the shops. Our final "hurrah" of the day was enjoying some huckleberry ice cream...yum! Now it's time for bed...until tomorrow!

Leaving Cody for Yellowstone...what a drive!!!

Click on the link below to see today's pictures. Be patient and give the pictures a minute to load. Then you can either view them in a slide show or individually. I just tried it and it seems to work.

https://picasaweb.google.com/104959812223133937279/July272011WestYellowstoneMT?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOHa84KurqvsLA&feat=directlink

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Day 52 - July 26, 2011 - Cody, Wyoming

The hardest thing about taking a trip like this is that there is so much to see that we don't want to allow any time to rest and just relax around the campground. Today was no different except that we did sleep later than we intended again...yes, even Glenn! We had lunch at maybe the best Mexican Restaurant that I have eaten ate! We sat outside and watched the people go by! Fun! Cody is the perfect kind of town for that!

Then we went back to Buffalo Bill's Historical Museum and spent the afternoon there. It is such a large and diverse museum...remember, 5 buildings...that we really had to rush today. One more day would have been perfect!

We left the museum right before it closed at 6:00 and just in time to get over to The Irma Hotel for the daily gunfight in the street. They even set up reserved seating outside the hotel ($2.00 a seat)! It was fun and different, but not something we have to do again! Well, maybe if we get a seat next time!

Back at the motorhome Glenn washed the windshield...yeah! Tomorrow we leave for Yellowstone and "the most scenic 52 miles in America" and, you know I will be taking pictures! I headed over to the laundramat...this campground has a really nice one with 10 washers and 10 dryers! Big time!

I am posting a link to the pictures, which are in a Picasa Web Album. These have not been edited or deleted and remember, we are both taking pictures with 2 cameras. As a result, there are two sets of pictures in one album. I hope that this will be easier for you to view either in a slide show or individually, and it will save me time posting them.

Click on the link below and, be patient...it will take a minute or two to load the album.

https://picasaweb.google.com/104959812223133937279/July262011CodyWyoming?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMriopSMovSpHw&feat=directlink

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Day 51 - July 25, 2011 - Cody, Wyoming

Well, I now know why cowboys (and cowgirls) wear cowboy hats all the time...the sun out here is so bright cowboy hats are a necessity!

Today we got another late start...yes...both of us slept late again...but finally left the motorhome around noon. We went downtown to do a little shopping...Glenn is collecting decals for the little trailer he pulls behind the jeep when we are home. Then we went to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. It is huge...five museums celebrating the spirit of the American West... Buffalo Bill, westward expansion, ranching and the mythology of the West; Firearms and their influence on life in the West and around the world; Man, wildlife, wilderness and the natural history of the Greater Yellowstone region; The art, culture and lives of the Plains Indian peoples; and Western art and its impact on our understanding of the West. We only got through the Buffalo Bill section and some of the Plains Indian peoples and Western Art sections. We will go back tomorrow to finish going through the Center.

We had THE MOST FUN tonight! We went to Cody Nite Rodeo! I think I mentioned in an earlier blog that Cody is considered to be the Rodeo Capital of the World and Buffalo Bill is considered to be the "father" of the rodeo! Well, it was a continuous two hours of excitement and entertainment. I think it brought back feelings of when we were kids. To open the program the announcer asked everyone to stand and said a heartfelt prayer and then asked everyone to salute the flag during the singing of the National Anthem. And it was obviously a family event with many teenagers and pre-teens participating as well as adults! The rodeo is held every night June-August with hundreds attending each night. You are going to be blown away (or should be) by our pictures...at least we were! Hopefully they will show you a little of the excitement that we experienced!