Grand "Tetons" , Quakes, Devils & getting "Bad" in S.D.

Today, we found ourselves getting bad in the Badlands National Park....(Don't we look BAD ????)

IN Custer State Park, blocking the road were wild Burros.... here are a couple checking out Ilea and our car.

A Big Horn Sheep right by the roadside in Custer State Park.

Taking a ride in the Black Hills, SD, we went thru Custer State Park. This is Needles Highway - note the narrow tunnel (glad we did not take the RV!)

Mount Rushmore, S.D., while the faces were impressive, they were not as large as we thought they would be.

It seemed to be appropriate to eye up a new and exciting face on the rocks of Rushmore.

There were 100's of these prairie dogs around Devils Tower.

Had to leave Wyoming, go into Montana, and re-enter Wyoming on route to South Dakota - destination, Mount Rushmore and vicinity...... NOTE sign shows cowboy and also DEVILS TOWER (locatied in WY.)


After realizing that Devils Tower was sort of on the way to Mt Rushmore, we were literally 'on the fence' as to whether we should sinfully negotiate, and deviate our trip in the direction of said evil grounds.......

Could not resist the temptation - here we are at the Devil's Tower. This is the FIRST designated US NATIONAL MONUMENT! Legend had it that one kid in a family of many turned into a bear, chased his siblings onto this big tree stump, and the stump magically rose to the sky (with kids on top) saving the kids; the bear tried its best to claw at them (reason why the sides of the tower have what appears to be scratch marks!)

Bill does the daily offering to the tower ....


This is a shot from the top of RT 212 which leaves Yellowstone Park in the North east corner .... photo does not capture the scene AT ALL. This road climbs and climbs, with hairpin turns and drop-offs the edge of the road that rival ANYTHING we have ever seen ( and - as you may know, we have seen quite a few extreme roads.) It was the drive of a lifetime!

The day we left Yellowstone, we encountered this coyote only a 100 ft off the road... viewed him snacking on rodents.

At the entrance to Yellowstone, this is the closest and best shot we got of a grizzly.... after this shot, he swam across river toward us!

A day trip south of Yellowstone takes us to the Grand "Tetons" National park.... FYI- French Canadian fur trappers named these mountains TETONS which in French mean BREASTS ( fellows must have missed their women while hunting!) Pic shows Tetons, and Jenny Lake.

Site where the 1959 quake destroyed one of many houses and resorts near Yellowstone.

Did some kayaking in Hebgen Lake near Yellowstone...a gorgeous day- saw eagles, river otter. This is the vicinity of a huge 1959 earthquake which wreaked havoc, and created another nearby lake "Earthquake Lake."

Attempting to re-enact the 1959 earthquake, Bill utilizes an outhouse, and successfully "ends" the life of a toilet!

Celebrating the TESTICLE en ro route to BUTTE and Yellowstone....

Exceptionally intelligent (like ourselves) this Raven was one of probably THOUSANDS which we have seen thru Canada, Alaska, and the Northwest states..... speaking of intelligent critters, we have had a pet spider for months! Fellow is BRILLIANT, as its home is within a crevice of our wiper arm - well protected, and he doesn't need to spin any webs to catch a meal b/c he simply hops onto the windshield (when we're stopped) and has the best bug buffet ever to feed from!

Around the park, there were countless opportunities to view waterfalls

Called Morning Glory, after the flower... the color in this hot spring pool can not be appreciated in a mere photo.

Our favorite geyser at the park was Not Old Faithful, but one called Riverside, shown here, at the edge of a river.

Huh- and I was always told that the "HORSE knows the way!"

Look carefully at this FUNNY SIGN! These are all over the park, and as you should be able to make out, there is a boy of Asian descent making the mistake of standing on a geyser - much to his mother's horror (as the father casually walks away!)

These are found at Mammoth Hot Springs... the colors here were extraordinary, and note that there is NO SNOW .... any white you see is from the minerals. Sadly we can not reproduce on this blogspot the strong smell of sulfur we experienced.

Riding roads thru the park, there are many spots where the geysers and hot springs are just off the road - the best ones require you to park and walk from a few hundred feet , up to 4 or 5 miles

Yellowstone Park.... Note the broken sign- Although this park is absolutely naturally stunning in most respects, it was sad to see the lack of upkeep (Thank you Bush)

At the Parking lot of Walmart in BUTTE ,MT , we quickly learned how the town got its name- ewwwwww!

First impressions are the strongest and upon entering Montana, we came upon several of these signs along the main interstate! Other billboards offered up restaurants which served the delicacy ROCKY MOUNTAIN OYSTERS (please don't ask if we tried any!)

Thru the Yukon, Vancouver - British Columbia and back to the states!!!

In Coeur D'Alene (which , by the way means Heart of Awl, named after the shrewd Indian fur traders.... this was a complimentary name given to them because they were tough negotiators)... we are standing on supposedly "the worlds longest floating dock"

A day in IDAHO .... this is your typical Idaho Yacht. We toured the charming city of Couer D'Alene in Idaho, located off rt 90 in the extreme north tip of the state. Guess what? When you go to the supermarket, they have potatoes from California and Oregon - BUT NONE FROM IDAHO!!!!

Bet you never heard of this place..... Coulee Dam ..... we had not, although it is three times the size of the Hoover Dam and produces 3 X the power!!! It' in Washington about an hour west of Spokane, and it is a MILE LONG! They do a nightly elaborate laser light show right on the dam. A controled release of water on the dam's wall provides a spectacular 'screen' for the show. Who Knew???

We took a lenghty hike into the mountains within North Cascades Nat. Park ..... this shot was taken at Lake Ann, after we had seen a bunch of marmosets, and wolverine, among other things....Notice the JACKETS ! While most of the US was being hit with 90 plus temps, we were barely getting out of the 60's! It is so terrific to be back in the lower 48 where the sun sets and rises around a normal time ....... no more need for the special room darkening fabrics on the bedroom windows.

Traveling thru Washington states North Cascades National Park, this was one of many terrific viewponts.

In 'Gastown' area of Vancouver, (named after a guy called 'Gassy Jack' because he talked alot), they had a rare STEAM POWERED CLOCK! Town had a steam leak many years ago coming out of the roadway and paid someone to invent a clock that could be powered by this leaking steam. It actually lets off steam continuously, but really lets it out with a whistle at the top of the hour.

In Vancouver, BC we checked out Stanley Park.... it had about the best bike path we have ever seen, which went around the perimeter of the park - on the edge of the water. This is a shot of Bill on a bench while we took a break from biking. Vancouver was a very clean city, and relatively 'new' .... great restaurants!

In many areas, one could see these humongous hay roles- as far as the eye could see! They measure about 8 foot diameter....

For entertainment at the end of a days drive, we often would sit and watch the numerous BEES eat the bug splats off the windshield ..... they devoured the goo with much enthusiasm.

While traveling south thru Yukon, we encountered many DOZENS of buffalo roaming the main highways...

Skagway....Alaska

In Juneau, Alaska ... this is the last glacier we visited.

We tried to get down and dirty to take a uniquely powered tour of the area.... (Does anyone out there know what they call this transportation device?)

"Bustling downtown " Skagway ... during the daytime, these streets are packed full of cruise ship peoples, but at night, they all disappear!

Ilea in the midst of some of the incredible flower gardens....