Wednesday July 28,2010

We arrived back in Iowa Falls on Monday, July 26 after 16 great days of travel. On this last day we drove the 650 miles from Spearfish, SD which completed our 4350 mile trek.

I noticed that Marilyn liked to use the binoculars, but they were not very good ones. While in Boise we went to Cabela's and had her pick out a new pair and she really uses them. You might want to keep your window shades closed!!!

Marilyn's favorite spot on the trip was Old Faithful in Yellowstone and mine was Logan's Pass in Glacier. All spots were beautiful and full of wild everything from flowers to animals, we tried to photograph them all.

Hope everyone enjoyed this trip segment. We will be taking off next week to Philadelphia and on to an area north of Boston. See you on the blog next week!!!

Sunday July 25, 2010

We started off in Montana yesterday, drove through Glacier National Park, then to Helena where we spent the night. Today we drove southeast, only stopping at the Big Horn Battlefield and did not get out of Montana until almost 6:00 PM. Montana is a big, big state!!!

The drive from Helena took us through the Elkhorn Mountains, by Canyon Ferry Lake and the Missouri River where fishermen were floating their crafts downstream in the morning before the heat of the day caught up with them. We passed the headwaters of the Missouri River and crossed the famous Madison River, drove through Bozeman and Livingston before meeting up with the Yellowstone River that guided us eastward toward Billings. From Billings we drove to Hardin, had a quick lunch and pulled into the Little Bighorn National Battlefield.

The last visit we had there the temperature was over 100 degrees. Today, it was 97 degrees and there was more greenery than before. The park is changing as the Native American side of the story is better represented than before. There is a beautiful monument to the Indians and they are beginning to place markers where the warriors fell in battle. I actually did get a photo of the Little Big Horn River!

All day long we saw countless pronghorn antelope, cattle, hay fields and hay bales, irrigation equipment and beautiful mountain ranges. Our travel through the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations was a bit eye opening. We finished the day by driving into Spearfish South Dakota and seeing the Black Hills again off in the distance.

Will be doing our best to drive back home to Iowa Falls tomorrow. Hopefully, we have kept the blog interesting. In a day or two I will post the best of the best pictures of the trip then we will pick start up the blog again in a week or so when we head east to Philadelphia and Boston.

Saturday July 24, 2010

We followed our biker buddies' advice and left Kalispell early and arrived at Glacier National Park at 8:00 AM and beat the Saturday crowd. We entered on the West Entrance off US Highway 2 (our friend). Getting in early was good also as the sun was in the right spot and the wind was still calm so I was able to get some photos with good reflections of the mountain in Lake McDonald.

We took the Going to the Sun Road along the lake and made numerous stops to see many of the sights. The temperature was 50 degrees as we entered the park and dropped to a low of 46 degrees as we climed. We were surprised as we were able to get close enough to get a good photo of a mama mountain goat and her kid!! We saw numerous waterfalls and patches of snow were everywhere.

We reached the visitor center at the top of Logan Pass at 6646 feet before the huge crowd arrived. The hour spent here was well worth the time and we could have spent the whole day. Not only did we see Marmots, Columbian Ground Squirrels, Mule Deer, and 11 male Big Horn Sheep but we were able to see Glacier Lillies and many other beautiful flowers. There were short hikes, intermediate hikes and longer hikes of 12 miles available. We saw skiers and snowboarders leave the area and climb to snow we could see that they were going to slide on down the hill!!!! Next time we will plan on at least 4 hours at the summit or longer. So much to see and so little time.

We left the visitor center and headed down passing the Continental Divide once more. The road was narrow and the views astonishing. We saw a yearling grizzly cross the road in front of us as we were stopped looking at a waterfall. We passed Saint Mary's Lake and exited on the east entrance at Saint Mary. We stopped for lunch and then headed off toward Great Falls.

Just after leaving the park area after lunch we saw a grizzly that gave us a show but was difficult to photgraph. He moved and somehow we were able to move closer to him and get some great photos. The only animal we had hoped to see that we didn't was a moose. Guess we will have to go back!!

We stopped for gas in the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and then headed south. We changed our destination from Great Falls to Helena and saw more great country along the Missouri River. Will probably head more or less straight home from here as we have been gone for two weeks and need to see grandchildren and pay bills.

Friday July 23, 2010

We left Spokane on US Highway 2 to the north on a swing almost to Canada in the northernmost stretches of the Idaho panhandle. Just before we began to move eastward into Montana, we passed through Bonners Ferry. We took a side trip to Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge; 3600 acres of reclaimed farmland that harbors waterfowl, moose and over 250 species of birds at different times of the year. There was a very nice drive-through and we enjoyed the time there very much.

After leaving the Bonners Ferry area, we kept following highway 2 looking for a lunch place. We crossed into Montana and returned to mountain time but our hunger still lingered. We finally found a real "biker bar" in Troy, Montana and had a hamburger and chips prepared in front of us while we sat outside and enjoyed the 7o degree temperature. There were some real characters there but they were friendly and one gave Marilyn a rose and welcomed her to the "Home Bar".

After a late lunch we contined east and south toward Kalispell, gateway to Flathead Lake and Glacier National Park. We got to our motel around 5:00 PM, had an early dinner and settled in for the evening. Our biker brothers advised us to start early tomorrow to avoid the huge crowds, so we are turning in early. The goal tomorrow is Glacier National Park and then drive to Great Falls for the evening.

Thursday July 22, 2010

We left Boise at 8:00 AM after saying goodbye to Tiffany and Cory. We had a great few days with them and could have stayed longer but needed to start the trip back toward Iowa. We headed north with the goal of driving the scenic route to Cour D' Lene and over to Spokane, WA for the evening. We drove along the Payette River and saw untold beautiful wonders along this route. We followed this great river to McCall, ID where we lunched overlooking the clear, cold Payette Lake and watched sailboats and pleasure boats enjoy the clear skies and mid 70's temperatures.

We continued working north and met with the wild and beautiful Salmon River that has many, many miles of white water and great rafting. We were able to shoot some photos of some lucky people who were rafting down this beautiful stretch of river. We saw bald eagles and osprey along the way.

After leaving the wild rivers at Lewiston, we continued northward to the Camas Prairie where agriculture is king. We drove by wheat fields, hay and cattle for over an hour. Some wheat had already been harvested and the ground worked for the next crop. We dropped into Moscow, home of The University of Idaho Vandals and got fuel and a snack.

















As we approached Coeur D' Alene we stopped at the monument honoring this Indian tribe and their contribution to the US Armed Forces. This sculpture captured the essence of their warrior behavior in their culture and as a supporter of the United States.



After a quick glimpse of Lake Coeur D' Alene, we went west into Washington and found our motel in Spokane. On the way in we passed Gonzaga University and the Spokane campus of Washington State University. We had a great dinner in downtown along the riverwalk. Early to bed as we had just inched into Pacific time and would move back into Mountain early tomorrow.

Wednesday July 21, 2010

After the busy weekend with Cory and Tiffany, we just stayed close and hung out on Monday and Tuesday. We had BBQ ribs on Monday and spaghetti on Tuesday evening with great desserts of pound cake, ice cream and fresh berries both nights.

On Wednesday we did a day trip; a loop from Boise to Stanley to Ketchum and back in time for dinner. This little jaunt goes through mining country on very rugged terrain and through beautiful wild river areas along the Boise River as well as the Payette. Then up through 7000 feet and many, many easily accessable camp grounds into the great Stanley Basin. We stopped at Lake Stanley and photographed the snow spotted peak overlooking the cold clear lake. We had a great burger at Luce's in Stanley and headed toward Ketchum and Sun Valley.

This beautiful drive from Stanley to Ketchum is 61 miles and stretches along the Sawtooth Range with great vistas along the way. It is also the site of a Stanley to Ketchum foot race that Cory and friends competed in two weeks ago. Cory ran two 6 mile legs but one of the ladies ran the leg across the Galena Summit at well over 8000 feet.

Ketchum is a beautiful town as is Hailey, the next town south. After Hailey, we picked up good old US 20 and headed for Mountain Home. Along the way we saw "Castle Rock" and other outcroppings that were landmarks for the travelers on the Oregon Trail.

We arrived back in Boise to have dinner out with the kids and try out a new mountain bike with Cory. The short ride was great and we went home tired but had room for dessert. Early to bed to rest for the trip back to the midwest. Heading north tomorrow to northern Idaho.

Sunday July 18, 2010

Friday morning we left Idaho Falls headed for Boise early as we were excited to see the kids. Our first stop was Massacre Rocks, an area along the Snake River that was very picturesque because of the lava deposited here millions of years ago. Next was a state park along the Oregon Trail that was very beautiful and had great views of the Snake River.

Following the Snake River along I84 we saw great expanses of irrigated farmland bursting with alfalfa hay, some potatoes, sugar beets, corn and wheat. We stopped in Jerome and had lunch at a new Mexican restaurant with Matt Jones, a salesman I worked with at Ivesco. I got to see Tim Harberd, another salesperson that I had worked with also. From there we drove straight to Cory and Tiffany's home in Boise.

Friday night we grilled some great beef and ate very well. On Saturday we brunched in downtown Boise and walked through a very large and diverse farmers market. Cory and I rode cruiser bicycles to downtown and back (uphill both ways) which made some of my muscles scream. (Don't tell Cory, he thinks I had no pain at all.)

Saturday evening Cory and Tiffany went to an 80's theme party and dressed up very well for the occasion. We tagged along for a couple of hours and met many of their friends and enjoyed ourselves hanging out with a younger crowd. We left early and went back to Cory and Tiffany's and had a nice quiet evening watching movies in HD!!!!!

On Sunday we went to the Birds of Prey Museum and then to the Birds of Prey area near the Owyhee Mountains and along the Snake River near Kuna, ID just south of Boise. We saw some great birds at the museum and beautiful scenes of the Snake River along the cliffs. Afterward, we went to a great Mexican restaurant in Kuna, went to COSTCO for ribs to grill tomorrow and back to Cory's and Tiffany's for a visit with Lee and Debbie Svangstu and their two kids, Ella and Colton.

Thursday July 15, 2010

After a quiet night in Gardiner, MT, we had the free breakfast at the Comfort Inn, got an early start and saw some elk mothers and their young lounging in the square in Mammoth Hot Springs, just inside the park. Temperatures were in the low 50's all morning so the wildlife were actively feeding as we saw more elk, buffalo, deer and antelope but no bears today. We were able to get a good shot of the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River as it roared down near Canyon Village.

After a beautiful morning we finished up our time in Yellowstone, exited the South Gate and stopped for lunch at Flagg Ranch just outside the park. We were treated to a great BLT and Ruben Sandwich in a grand log lodge with excellent and speedy service.

We then entered the Grand Teton National Park and were quickly blown away by the mountain and lake scenery. Each mile seemed to be more beautiful than the last and each picture was better than the previous one. We drove by Jackson Lake, admiring the cold clear water and the bold mountains seemingly rising from the depths of the lake. We dropped off post cards at the Moose Post Office and continued south along the snake river.

Near the south end we saw jets leaving the Jackson Hole airport reminding us of the life outside the wilderness. Soon after we left the park and arrived in Jackson Hole. As we still had some miles to cover, we kept driving along the scenic Snake River canyon to the southwest and then east into Idaho. As we crossed into Idaho, Palisades Lake greeted us and showed us several miles of beautiful water and shoreline. Soon the lake was behind us and we were led eastward toward Idaho Falls by the Snake River.

Twenty five miles or so east of Idaho Falls, we stopped at a rest stop along US Highway 26 and shot pictures of the Snake from above and as a bonus were able to get this picture of a turkey vulture perched above the river overlooking its mate guarding a nest. We marveled at the fertile river valley and saw potato fields and other rich agricultural crops of hay and wheat. Our day ended with a car wash and dinner at the Olive Garden. Tomorrow we are off to Boise and whatever adventure we encounter between here and there.

Wednesday July 14, 2010

After spending the evening in Cody, WY, we got up early and headed west toward Yellowstone. Along the way we stopped for gas and had some pound cake and breakfast bars as we got no free breakfast at the Holiday Inn. After an hour's drive we arrived at the northeast gate and our National Park Senior Pass got us in free. Thanks to Kent Neveu for letting us know about this little $10 investment. Just after entering the Park we crossed Sylvan Pass at 8530 feet and the temperature fell to 46 degrees. The first major sight for us was Yellowstone Lake which was very blue and very large. A good part of the first leg going southwest on the lower loop stays by the lake and early on we saw two deer in velvet grazing near the lake.

We saw our first large burn and later saw where after only 21 years after a major fire in 1989, the trees had been naturally re-seeded from the effects of the fire and the trees had grown to heights of 15-20 feet. We later saw two buffalo and a female elk. We crossed the continental divide twice with one crossing at altitude of 8391 feet and a temperature of 55 degrees.

After seeing numerous sights of geese, white pelicans, ducks and cormorants, we pulled into the Old Faithful geyser area. After a hearty lunch of bison meat loaf, mashed potatos and gravy, we watched Old Faithful blow at precisely 1:00 PM, right on time, 90 minutes from her last eruption. We walked the area and saw other geysers and many, many hot water pools bubbling up from the earth. The weather was 66 degrees with no clouds which helped make the day spectacular. We continued north on the southern loop and continued to see beautiful vistas of mountains, trees, cliffs, rivers and open meadows.













We took the short loop over to the eastern side and continued north on the east side of the north loop. We crossed the Yellowstone River and continued to see more of the Park. The road was very winding, narrow and full of more exciting vistas. We stopped to see the petrified tree briefly and other un-named spots. When we ended the day we found ourselves in Gardiner, MT about 2 miles from the north gate of the Park. Plans for tomorrow include seeing the remaining parts of the north and south loops and head towards Grand Teton National Park.