West or Bust '15
Summer is quickly approaching and I'm sure most of you already have your vacations planned. If you don't and you're still wondering what to do, or if your planning a "BIG" trip in the years to come, allow me to make some suggestions. Almost 3 years ago, as some of you know, we embarked on a month long trip out West to see some of our beautiful country. Now I know that not many people can take a month off from their jobs to do this, and believe me when I say that we were abundantly blessed to be able to pull it off. I must mention that our fur baby, Gracie, whose a sweet old gal, traveled with us, so the trip was a little challenging finding places that would accept her. Keep that in mind as you plan your adventures. For us it was a no brainer. We couldn't.... well... wouldn't leave her behind. She started out a little stressed, not understanding what the tent camper was and why we were living in it, but she quickly adjusted. I will try to mention the "pet friendly" locations and restrictions as I go.
Bright and early on Saturday, July 4th, 2015, we started out here at our home in Ohio and headed West. We didn't stop until we hit Marshalltown, Iowa and spent our first night there in a hotel, not wanting to set up camp after a long, 9 hour drive the first day. The next morning, we ventured on to the very small and pretty town of Liscomb, to join very dear friends, a former pastor and his wife, for church, had a delicious lunch prepared by my friend Chris (the pastors wife), and then off we went. One thing to prepare for as you're traveling through Illinois and Iowa.... CORN. Make sure you take lots of things to occupy your time visually as well as mentally. Unfortunately the games of finding the letters of the alphabet or I Spy will prove to be somewhat disappointing and almost impossible, as you will travel through nothing but corn and soybean fields much of the time. Even the bajillions of massive windmills that start out as an impressive site, quickly turn into... "oh look...more windmills." This part of the country is in fact a beautiful part of America and as corny as you may think this it..I remember suddenly breaking into "America The Beautiful", starting with "...amber waves of grain...", and actually getting slightly teary-eyed as I realized that this was my country, and it was so beautiful, even with it's seemingly endless rows of corn. FYI.... You can click on any of the pics and they will enlarge! :) Also, please forgive the amateur blogging layout. I haven't figured it all out yet.
Our Little House Pilgrimage
Much like today, when
they were given or bought a tract of land, they had to turn their plans
in to whom ever required it and they are still on file today. One of the things that makes this an ideal family vacation stop is that this whole experience is hand's on! As you can see in the picture here to your right, my daughter is learning how to mow the grass with a primitive mower! There are
even a few hookup sites for campers/Rv's and covered wagon's you can
stay in, or you can pop your tent in the spacious yard! You will also find a cool interactive one room school house as well as a church on the property. There is a ton
of history there to make it a MUCH worth while trip! Even for
"non-LHOTP" people! If you were to ask my daughter what her favorite part of our whole vacation was... The Little House pilgrimage would be at the top of her list. Oh my goodness... there is so much more I could tell you but here's a link to the website.... http://www.ingallshomestead.com/
Exact replica of the Ingalls' home on approximately the same spot. In the 1980's, Laura Ingals Wilder visited the site and pointed out the remaining cottonwood trees (about 5-6) that Pa had planted, and are still there today. They do allow dogs on the property as long as you take care of "messes", but they're not allowed in the buildings.
Let me just say that this trip to the "Prairie" has been long awaited for this sweet girl. My daughter and I are ginormous fans of LHOTP, as I already mentioned, and it brought me to tears from such incredible joy to see her experience this!! I love you baby girl and I know you will never forget it!
Corn Palace, Mitchell, SD
This was cool place, but honestly, not one of my favorites. The town of Michell is filled with tourist..y things but the main attraction is the Corn Palace. I'm not sure what they use it for exactly, but when we were there it was basically a souvenir shop that must have been a small sporting arena at one time. They DO have great concessions inside that have ... you guessed it.... pop corn products. Different flavors, shapes and sizes. What makes this cool is that the entire front facade is made of corn. Please check out their web site and don't go by my mini review. It's was nice, and I'm glad I got to see it. I think any place you stop on your journey, no matter how quirky it is, is a wonderful opportunity to make beautiful memories. The corn palace is dog friendly as long as they are well behaved. http://cornpalace.org/ I know this isn't probably going to be a big deal to everyone else but me and family, but that's understandable and ok. This, to us, was our "gateway" to the West. A guy at a restaurant in Mitchell, I think it was Mitchell, told us that past this bridge, we'd start to see the mountains. Not immediately, but it would start looking like the West.
One things is for certain.... from this point on, the landscape change is like a light switched off and on from the flat plains of the Mid West to hills and mountains of the WILD West.
1880's Town: Our First Taste of the Wild West!
This was a really cool place to visit! Simply called "1880's Town". This is a pet friendly place and is loaded with history as well. The main part of the attraction is the town itself. It's NOT an actual town that survived as it stood from the 1880's in it's current state. The buildings are a collection of actual buildings, yes, but from all over, donated and moved to this location, including a jail. We struggled with the thought of leaving the kids there...but decided against it. We'd had enough of the whining and thought a little time in the slammer was needed. One of the draws to this town is the many, many actual props and memorabilia from the movie "Dances With Wolves". Our Gracie was welcome through most of everything except the buildings. Only one would let her in and it was the main, round building/welcome center at the entrance where the Dances with Wolves attraction is. The rest of the time, she walked through the streets of the town with us, and we'd just take turns going in the town buildings. 
Yes..this is Cisco from the movie. No...it's not ACTUALLY Cisco. The real Cisco is dead, so that would be a little creepy. This is a very lifelike replica. John Dunbar's noble steed passed away in 2008. He is buried here, however, and there is a memorial. Here's the link...http://www.1880town.com/
The Badlands
As with most of the National Parks, pictures just can't seem to do these places justice. Not by a long shot. So if you think the pictures are beautiful, it's nothing compared to actually being there obviously and that's why my husband and I are bound and determined, God willing, to retire traveling America full time. The Badlands do not disappoint. I can still say this even though we just drove through them without stopping, that's how beautiful it is, but there are plenty of things to do, including camping. https://www.nps.gov/badl/index.htm 
"You HAVE to see Wall Drug!"
We heard this from just about everyone we told about the trip! So,we went to Wall Drug. I do highly recommend it, but due to me wanting to save my camera battery and space after leaving the Badlands, I didn't take too many pics. This place was really cool! Wall is a small town that seems to have an even smaller town within it. We stayed at a quaint little graveled campground and thought we were missing something because it was so quiet. The next morning we woke up and headed out looking for this famous, "must-see" place. We had no idea that right across the tracks and grain silos from where we had stayed was the main attraction. We turned the corner from 4th onto Main St and BAM, there is was! It's a definite must see for souvenirs and really nice...not so souveniry gifts. Lots of photo ops as you can see. Gracie was allowed almost everywhere. She could even go in the gift shops. The only no no was the restaurants, and we understood why. This will tell you more...http://www.walldrug.com/
Mt. Rushmore
You have to understand my anticipation in seeing Mt. Rushmore. I was 47 at the time of our trip and had never seen it. I didn't know at what point we would catch a glimpse of the massive carving in mountain.. but was like a child seeing Disney World for the first time.... and we weren't even there yet. I could sense we were close. Beautiful little sites prepared us as we got closer to the park. Like this...
Then the tourist places like this started to appear...
Then the mountains....
Finally! There you are Mr. Presidents....
Its a steep climb up the the mountain to the monument. I should mention that pets are NOT allowed into the park. They can stay outside of the entrance. We had to take turns because we weren't going to leave our sweet girl in the car.
The pics can't compare to the view as you're standing there in person. It was a beautiful July mid-morning. Not too hot, probably because of the elevation, but not too cold. Still, it was very crowded, yet it had a nice calm flow to it. It seemed very peaceful. I imagine that thoughts were going through everyone's (including foreigners) minds about the times that these gentlemen, and I say that word "gentlemen" with emphasis, lead this country. Oh how we have changed... in some good ways, but in some very bad ways that seem to, at time, overshadow the good. It was so humbling to stand and look at them. As I'm typing this, my eyes are welling up with small tears because it reminded me of, as I stood there, how proud I am to be an American despite all of the problems we face today.
All of the 50 states were represented by their flags. My kids really, truly enjoyed this as much my husband and I. We felt so tiny beneath them.
O-H!
Crazy Horse Memorial
This was an interesting place. It's neat to read about Crazy Horse and see the dream that will probably not be completed in my generations lifetime. Not impossible... but improbable. This is not a government funded project. It's privately funded. This is the reason it's taking so long. The project started with sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski back in 1948 and the photos I'm posting were of our vacation in 2015. So as you can tell...not much progress has been made. The U.S. government has offered to help, from what I understand, but is being refused by the Ziolkowski family or whom ever is the executor of the project. They don't want the government to intervene out of fear of them monopolizing the whole project. Can you blame them?? I sure can't. The visitors center does allow pets, but they can't go to the monument. You can also take a decent size piece of the granite mountain with you for a small donation amount of your choice. We took one for each kid. Doesn't our furry girl look happy?! She loves being with us as much as we love being with her. This is what it's going to look like completed, including the poem behind Crazy Horse...
https://crazyhorsememorial.org/
Devils Tower
We arrived at night and there was no moon to light up the the sky. We couldn't see the tower until the next morning and when we walked out of our camper at the Devils Tower KOA... this was what greeted us....
It was like opening a present. We had no idea where it was and were gifted this spectacular view as we stepped out of the camper. It was a beautiful morning. We made pancakes and coffee and relaxed. I wish we would've stayed longer. You can climb the tower with a permit if you want. Yeah.. knock yourself out.
https://www.nps.gov/deto/index.htm
It must have looked odd to the locals... that we'd just stop along side the road to sit along the creek and take pics. We do have creeks in Ohio, but....
Usually I have to make the offspring smile. Not this time.
And here's something we don't see everyday ....
We weren't in any hurry anyway.
If we didn't realize we were out "West" before, we did now....
You can see the stress of everyday life has melted away.
Bighorn National Forest
Driving through the Bighorn NF, I quickly realized we weren't in Ohio anymore. The natural landscape is breathtaking and it's just the beginning. I'll just let the pics do the talking. Here's the link to the park/forest...... https://www.fs.usda.gov/bighorn
It must have looked odd to the locals... that we'd just stop along side the road to sit along the creek and take pics. We do have creeks in Ohio, but....Usually I have to make the offspring smile. Not this time.
And here's something we don't see everyday ....
We weren't in any hurry anyway.
If we didn't realize we were out "West" before, we did now....
Yellowstone
Be prepared, because there will be quite a few pics. It IS Yellowstone after all. We spent the night in Cody and as we were getting closer to the East entrance of Yellowstone, we pulled off at a roadside rest area. I wish Ohio rest areas looked like this...
Here's the Yellowstone NP link..... https://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm
Our first glimpse of Yellowstone wild life.... Elk butts.
Our crazy girl decided she HAD to get out and have her pic taken in front of Yellowstone Lake. It was really cold and soooo windy. .....In July!
This next photo is taken from our campsite at our first overnight in Yellowstone. You're seeing the majestic Yellowstone Lake from our spot at Bridge Bay Campground in the North Western corner of the lake. It's one of the few campgrounds in Yellowstone that allow soft sided campers......
Something to do with bears.....??
I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but all of Yellowstone is free range. That means the wildlife have free roam and we, as the human species, need to yield. This beautiful beast was right along side of the road. No cares about the vehicles that were driving by. There was no zoom on my lens when I took this.
There are no bad views in Yellowstone. Not even the elk butts. Every time you look in your camera, it's snap worthy. Oh how I wish you could just click on the pics to enlarge them. I made this one large as I could....
Can you see them??? Beyond the trees.... Do you know what they are???
.........Tetons!!
So here's what happened.... We went to the Bridge Bay Campground in Yellowstone, (the photos just 4-5 up with the tents and Yellowstone Lake peaking through the trees), where we spent one night. We would've stayed longer, but despite the fact that it was July, it was reeeeeally cold! The campground was around the 7-8k ft elevation mark, so that was why, but we really weren't prepared. Neither were other campers apparently, because when we woke up in the morning, it was quite early.. still dark actually.. and a tent camping family of about 4-5 were loading up the kids that were still sleeping, into their running SUV. Apparently they had the same opinion of the bitter cold at the higher elevations that we did. We decided to head down into lower country by heading to what ended up being the most beautiful place we stayed. Signal Mountain campground was simply amazing. It's a beautiful, completely wooded campground on the shore of Jackson Lake, nestled in between Signal Mountain, on the East, and the Grand Tetons on the West. I could've stayed there forever. I'm getting ahead of myself! Let me show you a few more photos of the journey on the way to the Tetons first. These photos below are of a roadside scenic spot on the Lewis River.
and the other side.......
Tetons, here we come......
And we aren't even in the Tetons Park range yet!!
We're here! Grand Teton NP link.... https://www.nps.gov/grte/index.htm
Ok... what? Hold up. We did NOT just drive all this way from Ohio to see this. Thank heavens the clouds didn't stick around long. I was almost ready to have a conniption.
Then.....
THIS is what I was waiting for! Does anyone know how the Tetons got their name? Any one who followed me on my Facebook group Ramblings and Reveries of a Hopeful Camping Queen should know! If you'd like to be invited to the group to see more pics, just comment on this blog. Hopefully I'll have them all downloaded soon.
Two possible explanations for the name......
Origins
The name "Grand Teton" does not come without
historical controversy. Grand Teton may come from early French Canadian
explorers of the Northwest Company, who, upon seeing the three peaks of
the range, called them "Les Trois Tetons," or "The Three Breasts." .....I can hear you snickering.
Other Ideas
Many historians believe, however, that the name
Teton comes from the Teton Sioux Native Americans who inhabited the
plains west of Missouri. The Teton Sioux are a principle division of
seven related Sioux tribes, whose leaders include Sitting Bull and Crazy
Horse.
.....Source: Trails.com (https://www.trails.com/facts_12490_what-were-grand-tetons-named.html
If I made my husband pull over every time I wanted to snap a pic, we'd still be there right now......almost 3 years later! Here's more......
A lot of these were taken with my window down as we were moving.... as you can tell by the blurry trees.
Tired of the Tetons yet? Sorry.. I'll move on. Oh wait! One more of Mount Moran.....
One more....
I can't seem to stop posting. Just scroll past if you'd like...
We finally arrived at Signal Mountain Campground. We ended up staying here for 3 nights and it was my favorite part of the trip. It was smack dab in the middle of Yellowstone and Jackson Hole, WY, it allowed us to camp, do more sightseeing! The only 2 negatives about this campground, but similar in others I'm sure, were that you have to pay for your shower time, and grocery store prices are astronomical!
There were little critters who paid us a visit to our campsite.
More Tetons.....
After the first night at the campground, we went back up into Yellowstone. One of the first stops was at Keplar Cascades. This place took my breath away! It's on the way to Old Faithful and I highly recommend you making the stop. This was another site that made my eyes leak.
The cascades are right off of the road.
You even follow the river as you drive.
Firehole River, which the Keplar Cascades are apart of, escorts you to Old Faithful. Let me just warn you that I'm really not an expert photographer, so my timing wasn't the greatest. Since Old Faithful erupts between 35 and 120 minutes... you're at her mercy when it comes to timed family photos. It was just erupting as we were first arriving so we figured we may as well stay and look around until the next eruption. Instead of shopping for souvenirs, we should've been practicing with the timer on the camera.... you'll see why.
This was the eruption that happened as we approached, so the two fastest runners got their picture taken. Well... 3 fastest if you count Gracie.
Ok THIS one... was one of those, "It's erupting! Hurry! ....wait, no it's not!" moments.
Ok, I think this is it!!!!
........... Nope.
This is it, I can just feel it, I'm hittin' the button and heading over.
Nope.
Great...... I'm not running just to fall so the camera snaps just as I face plant into the grass.
Oh for the love of Pete... just turn around and look. We aren't going to spend all day trying to NOT get the perfect shot of my caboose. ....Moving right along!
When you are driving along in Yellowstone, or probably any National Park for that matter, and you see a bunch of cars parked along side of the road, you can be certain that 1 of 2 things have occurred. Multiple car pileup or wild animal crossing/sighting.
This beautiful, big boy was enjoying his lunch whilst ignorant humans were hopping out their cars wanting to take pictures.
That horn looks rather sharp. This was snapped right before he looked up and saw a lady starting down the embankment. I'll let you guess what happened next. I didn't get a pic of him charging up the hill at her because people were flying by our car (that we were STILL IN!) and were blocking any shots. She made it safely to her vehicle, but not with out a stern reprimand from Mr. Bison and the park rangers.
I don't think this was the point when he saw her, but looking at that face head on..... yikes!
Beautiful, peaceful Yellowstone
On our way to Mammoth Hot Springs! Look at this landscape!
So this is the start of the Mammoth Hot Springs
Elk butts.....
.....elk butt.....
and more elk butts. I don't think I ever did get a front shot.
Then there's this magnificent chap......
Now, turning around from snapping the pic of Big Boy (aka..the bison)...you see the Mammoth Hot Springs. VIF .... Mammoth Hot Springs is one of those geothermal features I spoke of earlier! There are paved paths you MUST take and not stray off of them as you are observing the springs. The consequences of not following the paths would be fatal. The ground is very brittle in a lot of areas and could collapse from your weight and the water temps are well above boiling and well... need I say more. Yes, the animals are at risk, but since these National Parks are free range, it's considered part of the balance of nature. I personally think the animals have a sense about these sensitive spots, but that's just me.
Here's Big Boy next to Liberty Cap... and old dormant hot spring cone.
More of the Springs....
Here's a photo from the top of Mammoth Springs
Another view from the top!
Guess what???????
......Elk butt.
Seriously... they were everywhere at Mammoth Springs!
And on our way out. Spectacular place! There are shops and even hotels and places to eat just at Mammoth Hot Springs alone.
Ok.. back to the Tetons. We were headed back to camp at this point, but so much beauty around, you just can't NOT stop when you see something. Unfortunately, I was taking pics from my cell phone because the battery in my Nikon died. Little did I know, my storage on my phone was full and I was recording our visit to Grand Prismatic Spring and all of it's breathtaking pools that surround it in vain.
***Now this is NOT my photo, but it's exactly what we saw only my pics would've been closer because we walked on the catwalk surrounding the pool. Up close... I've never seen anything like it.
Back at Signal Mtn Campground at the rocky beach with the Teton Mtn Range in the distance.
Views like this make you forget that a small bag of ice is $5 at the general store.
I know it's hard to see... but as we were leaving Signal Mtn Camp there was an alert issued to the campers regarding a mama bear and cub. All we were able to see was the baby, but I'm sure mama wasn't far. And yes... that black blob due North of that dead grey stump... is his furry, you guessed it.....baby bear butt.
Soaking it all in as we were leaving the Yellowstone/Teton region. I really hated to leave this glorious place. I'm talking hated to the point of tears. Don't judge me.
Are you sick of Teton pics? Ok..one more.
Now we're on our way to Utah to see Arches.....
....and soaking up some beautiful scenery along the way.
Utah is a beautifully strange place! One minute you're in dry, brown land ....
Then lush green the next.
Down...down.... down..........
Just more beautiful America....
This one is really cool!
Arches National Park
Now we arrived at Archview Campground. Very dry, very hot, but the panoramic view of Arches National park was breathtaking. I'm sorry for using this word a lot, if I have. There is really no other way to describe the beauty of this country. They had a pool, but a storm was a brewin' and blew sand into the pool. The storm was pretty impressive. We thought that we were going to blow away a few times in our little tent camper (seen to your right, beside our blue minivan), but we made it through the night. We had all gotten up in the middle of the night to use the restroom (the next pic will explain why we ALL went together), and were treated to the most beautiful starry sky we had ever seen. It was one of those skies were you could see the Milky Way streak and every single star in the Heavens!! I'm not a professional photog... so I didn't get a chance to capture it. No words can describe it if you haven't seen it. This was why we decided to go the the bathrooms together in the middle of the night. Not quite sure what kind this is... but I really don't care. A snake is a snake is a snake.
Now onto Arches National Park... but first, some of the scenery along the route there!
Arches Nat'l Park.... Looks like something out of Roadrunner/Coyote cartoon!!
Crazy beautiful!
That little grouping of 3, what appears to be heads in the middle of the photo, is the formation 'The Three Gossips". 
The next couple of photos is of the formation 'Tower of Babel".
Not sure why they named some of these what they did... but they're amazing sights!
Not sure what the name of this one is,
but it almost looks like the Sphynx!
but it almost looks like the Sphynx!
'Balancing Rock'
Parade of Elephants
'North Window Arch'..... Yes, that's me.
'North Window Arch'..... Yes, that's me.
'Turret Arch'
Standing under North Arch Window, you really get an ants eye view of things.
So blessed to be able to share this experience with my family.
Delicate Arch. Not the typical shot you see of this beauty, but it's the view we had because Gracie wasn't allowed on the trails. We still saw it and hope to go back to get a closer look. Just amazing to think how these were all formed.
Queen Nefertiti Rock...quite amazing.
Balanced Rock..... the shorter one.
Grand Canyon, North and South Rims
https://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
This was such a beautiful sight as we approached the Grand Canyon.. simple, yet beautiful. The purples, greens, yellows and browns. This photo just doesn't do it justice.
https://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
This was such a beautiful sight as we approached the Grand Canyon.. simple, yet beautiful. The purples, greens, yellows and browns. This photo just doesn't do it justice.
Starting with the North Rim.....
Gracie made some friends at the North Rim! FYI...Dogs ARE allowed at the canyon... just not below the rim.
It's so hard to pick and choose which ones I want to put in here because they all are just stunning views. This is not a brag on my amateur photog abilities at all. It's all God!
Ok.. so...he will hate that I've posted this pic, but here goes. He wasn't liking himself much before or during this vacation and didn't want me taking his picture, even though I still did, but when he sat at the Grand Canyon, I asked him to turn around and this is what I got. Most all of the other pics were with him not smiling. This mama's heart was full. He says it's his favorite place. Since this vacation, he's lost 60 pounds. So buddy, I have to brag on you a bit.... you didn't like where you were, but you had the same courage and strength of the forces that made this canyon, to do what you had to do to be happier and healthier. I couldn't be more proud of you my precious son.
I just couldn't be more proud.
I could just go on and on...
Gracie really loved her time at the Grand Canyon! Isn't she beautiful!!!
Another sign you don't see in Ohio.....
In between the North and South Rim on the East side of the Canyon. Pro... breathtaking beauty. Con... 114 degrees. Another pro... air conditioner that ran like a boss.
This next grouping is of the South Rim. The South is just as spectacular as the North, but in slightly different ways. I was overwhelmed with the decision to either see the North or the South Rim after talking to folks who claimed either one or the other as their favorite. Their descriptions were dead on. We made the call to see both during the same trip. A long haul, but totally worth it. The North is more intimate, things seem closer even though you can see the canyon at it great great distance. The South Rim is dazzles with it's signature panoramic, "post card" views.
This guy was our striking South Rim greeter. Getting there early, it seemed like we were the only ones there.
Moving on to our Route 66 trip home.
Winslow, Arizona. Seems to me there was a song......
There's a girl, my Lord in a flatbed Ford.....
Cool crossroads!
So these next few pics are the wind down to the trip. Route 66 was a little hard to navigate because it's such and old, old road that a lot of it no longer exists. You can see the places where you know it at one time continued but time had it's way with the pavement and you then have to jump back on the freeway. It was nice to catch a glimpse of some of it though.. still some original buildings and signs. Some on their last days and some refurbished. Totally worth the trip though. Here's a link to a book and a set of maps that I got on Amazon to help guide us. They were OH so helpful!! https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1L61SBAPNS5DT/ref=cm_wl_huc_view
There is WAAAAAY more to see on Route 66.. but we were running out of money, if I can just be honest, and needed to get home at this point. If you want to know more about the sights we did see or have any questions, just ask. I felt like the SL Arch was the point where we realized the trip was over. I mean.. the final leg. The vacation that took us 3 weeks made John and realize we wanted to do it all over again and see even more. We had a Trip A and B planned and mapped out, and because 1/2 way through the vacation we realized we weren't going to be able afford A, which had us going all the way up to Oregon, PCH California and then Route 66, we went with the shorter plan B route.
It was a wonderful trip that taught us so much about our country, ourselves, people and places. It taught us how to slow down and take one day at a time, to not sweat the small stuff, not panic when something goes wrong, how to do things more productively and efficiently, to realize that we really don't need as much as we THINK we need, and most importantly.. those things we need more than anything are each other and God, the Creator, Sustainer, Provider, and Protector. Thank you Father, for allowing us to take this vacation! To You, we give all the glory, praise!!
Until the next adventure!!!
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