TravelStream™ news feed for member 2knightsabroad on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/2knightsabroad en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:24:13 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/2knightsabroad/2/1253499026/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/2knightsabroad/2/1253499026/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/2knightsabroad/2/1253499026/tpod.html Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:24:13 -0400 Rushmore to Yellowstone

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Denver, Colorado, United States

We had a nice dinner at the bar in Paradise at the Denver airport. Watched some football and got the last draft local beers. Skinny Dip Ale for me. Boston made Sam Adams for John, of course.

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Orlando, Florida, United States

We had a great trip! Loved ever minute of our 1,107 mile drive from Rapid City, South Dakota to Mount Rushmore and all around through the southern side of South Dakota and Wyoming, up through Yellowstone National Park, exiting east to Billings, Montana.

Crossing Wyoming was flat on the south, not until very western Wyoming to the Rocky's come into sight. We stayed to the east of the mountains and entered Yellowstone at the southern entrance.

We exited Yellowstone at the north eastern exit and drove Bear Tooth Highway into Montana.


Recommendations:

Eat when you're hungry, you'll never know when your next chance will be.
Drive Safe.
Take plenty of firewood if camping.
Get gas when possible.


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Billings, Montana, United States

The Hampton was nice, new and comfortable. We woke this morning, enjoyed the hotel breakfast. We organized our bags and cleaned out the car; tossed out our cooler, food, drinks and utensils then headed for the airport. Billings is another extremely small airport. It was easy to park the rental car and walk to the gate.

Let the all day journey home begin....

We're delayed to Denver, 20 minutes.

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Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States

It was chilly overnight at 6,806 ft altitude. Down to 30 degrees or less. We were prepared with enclosed sleeping bags and thermarests in our tent. Breakfast was cereal and smores, but the chocolate was frozen so as soon as we placed our hot, gooey marshmallow on the smore it froze too.

We packed up the campsite and headed to Grand Prismatic hot spring. As we drove through Yellowstone, just north of Old Faithful the earth is breathing. Hot springs and small geysers are everywhere. The morning dew shows them off better then in the sunny afternoons.
A large group of sightseers was gathered on the road; Coyote playing with this prey in the hay.

We made our way to the trail by the Grand Prismatic spring. We were delayed by a buffalo crossing the trail grazing on the grass. Once past him I could take in the sights of the GP. Its the prettiest one in the park with lots of colors bleeding out of the water. The morning mist made more steam so earlier was not exactly better, but higher was! It was the perfect place, to see the earth breathe, as we took a moment to remember 9/11.

Making our way back down the hill was not easy. It wasn't an established trail, although others had gone up before us, so sand slid and tree branches tripped us. Back on the paved trail was a sigh of relief, until...we walked around a blind corner to come 20 ft face to face with a buffalo. We skirried up a small hill behind a patch of trees. The buffalo came right for us. I was scared and John was snapping photos. The buffalo head butted one of the trees between us and began to scratch it with his horns. After a few moments he was on his way. Looking right at us hiding as he walked by.

We're leaving Yellowstone today. Heading for Billings, MT to fly home tomorrow. Going north east out of Yellowstone on the Bear Tooth Highway.

We pass the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and admire it's waterfalls, we find wildlife drives on the map and see lots of animals. We picked up lunch on the way from one of the stations in the park. It was a good thing we did because the next one was already closed for the season. Italian packaged sandwiches and Bugles, and Bitch Creek beer - a local brew. On one of the wildlife trails we find a parking spot near a stream. Sitting on a fallen tree by the shallow stream in the warm sun made for a perfect lunch on the road.

It took us about 5 hours to get out of Yellowstone with all our exploring and the slow, curvy roads. We were climbing to cross the mountains. The Bear Tooth Highway climbed to just under 11,000 feet altitude. John was driving, carefully. There aren't many barriers and the drop is deadly. Construction exists along the way making it even more scary to navigate the mountain roads with large semis and motor homes. As we get to the top, the highest point we could be, John stops. I'm dizzy, my head is pounding and stomach full of butterflies. He jumps out and climbs some rocks to get to 11,031 feet elevation exactly. Walking near permafrost on the side of a huge drop. His head is spinning and he gets dizzy. He makes it back to the car and after a little bit to gather ourselves we make our way down the mountain.

Once out of the park there were small towns, few and far between. Once we get into Billings we find a restaurant for steak and potatoes and our Hampton Inn to pass out. The night was cozy and relaxing. A perfect end to a quick sightseeing road trip.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/2knightsabroad/2/1252882550/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/2knightsabroad/2/1252882550/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/2knightsabroad/2/1252882550/tpod.html Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:51:36 -0400 Rushmore to Yellowstone

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Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States

We finally made it to Yellowstone, just 24 hours after we left Rapid City.

We pay our $25 entrance fee (you have to pay this even if you are just driving through the state on this road) and we're in a pile of tourists. It always feels so weird to us to be tourists. I guess it's from living in Orlando and going to Disney and the parks so frequently that make us look at tourists different then we see ourselves. It's just what we are on this sightseeing trip!

Entering Yellowstone we immediately are driving along rivers and forests, climbing the mountain with each bend in the road. We climb to 8,391 feet in elevation and we're standing on the Continental Divide. A large waterfall is tumbling down the mountain, the most beautiful sight and sound.

We drive through Yellowstone directly to Old Faithful. The sun is still shining making for a nice walk around the geysers. Old Faithful is the largest resort in the park and one of the only still open this season. We check on the Old Faithful estimated schedule and see we have 90 minutes until it should be going off. We decide to eat lunch here and go into the resort. This place is old, one of the first vacation spots in the park and built with solid trees. We wait 30 minutes for a buffet with BBQ chicken, Rocky Mountain trout and Buffalo chili, just to name a few things. My favorite part was the first fountain Coke of the trip! This is Pepsi country up here, and no sweet tea...I'm sick of water.

Lunch was good and it was nice to talk with the waiter. He's from Tennessee and here on a college work retreat. We had wondered who would make the drive to work in the park each day. There isn't anything for hours so if you work in Yellowstone, you live in Yellowstone.

Old Faithful was awesome. She shot up water for about 5 minutes, going as high as a hundred feet or so (hard to tell). A pretty large group gathered to watch and then everywhere else in the area they were spread out walking the boardwalks between all the springs and geysers. It looks like this place is on fire. The ground is boiling, smoking, dripping down the hills. It smells of sulfur in some areas and of buffalo poo in others. You can see animal tracks but we didn't see any animals here. This water is too hot for the animals to drink but they still get curious they say.

We leave the Old Faithful area and drive north to other geyser and spring spots. We pass more waterfalls and rivers through thick forests on windy roads. We stop at Midway Basin to see the Grand Prismatic before making our way to our campground. We want to setup camp in the daylight and then venture back out for more exploring. At Madison Junction we're 6,806 feet in elevation. We pay $27 for our campsite and get a quick review of the rules for bears. We've got a tent site by the bathrooms with it's own table and fire pit. The ranger tells us it was 27 degrees last night and sells us another box of firewood. Thank goodness!

We, ok John setup camp and we were back in the truck ready to get some final sights in before dark. We haven't seen any animals in Yellowstone yet - we're off to find them!

We follow a wildlife trail running along the Firehole River. John gets to swim in the "hot spring" one of the only two places you can swim in Yellowstone. I brought my swimsuit but whoever named this a "hot spring" wasn't from Florida, because it wasn't nearly "hot"....not even warm. Luckily there were some others there that were looking to swim as well and they all went in together. They climbed up the hill a little ways and got in so they could float down stream. The river was flowing fast and had a little whirlpool about it. John said the undertow was fierce but he wasn't scared. ;)

It's starting to cool down as the sun is slowing setting behind the mountains. We drive through the park to find another waterfall and once we find one we stop to snack on our cheese and crackers we bought at Wal-Mart in Rapid City and the local beers we bought at the Old Faithful General Store. The sound of the waterfall was so relaxing...or maybe it is the 12.8% alcohol beer. Either way, this is awesome.

As we make our way back to camp we see our first Yellowstone animal sighting - ELK! We're super excited and pull over to watch them graze with the rest of the tourists. There is one male, full of antlers elk and 6 elk ladies and babies on one side of the river and a lone buffalo on the other, everyone eating the hay. We watch the animals until the sun gets close to the horizon and the alpha elk herds up his harem getting them to cross the river and keep going down the hillside. Nature is so cool!

Back at the campsite John starts to get the fire going, I bundle up since it's getting cold and strap on my headlamp. On the campfire menu tonight are hot dogs, corn on the cob and potatoes. I chop the potatoes and put them in foil packets with butter and wrap the corn the same. That goes on the fire, we put the dogs on the fire forks and take a seat by the fire.

Dinner was great, even though we couldn't find the salt. The campground is quiet and the sky is filled with stars. We take a walk away from the campfire and gaze into the sky. We point out the constellations; Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, the Great Square. WOW! The Milky Way is in full effect stretching all the way across the sky. This place is amazing!

We didn't wander far. The area was pitch black and seeing those animals earlier so close to our camp kept from doing down by the river. We warmed up by the fire until it smoldered itself almost out then we changed into night time, freezing weather wear and climbed into our sleeping bags in the tent.


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Dubois, Wyoming, United States

We landed in Dubois, WY about 9:30 PM last night - talk about spooky - it is one of the most isolated in America- about 75 miles in each direction to the next highway, no hospital either. Our info source (very nice lady who checked us in at Twin Pine Lodge) told us she was delivered in a car driving to that next town. She has been here for 50 years!

The cabin hotel was so cute and cozy. We hadn't made reservations but found it along the way. Our cabin was small, but very clean, comfy and warm. We watched a little bit of satellite TV and passed out.

The morning came quick but we were excited like kids to get to Yellowstone. After a hot shower and some complimentary breakfast, we're off!

Leaving Dubois was much of the same sights as Central Wyoming. Not much out there, lots of rolling hills going up to the mountains and lots of animals. Dear, horses, cows, antelope...

We make it to Teton County and can see the first sight of the Rocky Mountains. We pull over at a lake for some pictures (and John wanted to see how cold it was) and then we pull back on the road. We were looking for fallen trees or branches to pick up for firewood. We saw a logger and stopped to chat. He told us there was a beetle destroying the forest and that we could take some wood, but probably better not incase there were beetles in it. No questions there. We're not putting some bug infested wood in the truck or taking it to Yellowstone.

It wasn't but a few more miles up the road and we came upon a road closure for road construction. It was about 20 minutes we sat there, waiting for the lady to turn the sign around. Huge construction trucks are passing us, their tires as big as the Armada. Finally a pilot truck comes and they tell us to follow him down the road. As we drive through the construction site we can see they are drilling to blast the mountain and carve out more road. The asphalt ends and we kick it into 4-wheel drive. It's bumpy and rocky, dirt in the air. I can't imagine how the motorcyclists and bicyclists do this! Yes, we saw bicyclists! About 20 minutes go by and we're finally seeing asphalt again. The pilot truck pulls over and waves us by. A long line of cars is behind us.

We're driving on the eastern side of the Tetons, snow on top. It's beautiful outside, the sun shining bright on the snow topped mountains. A large river parallels the road and finally we see the sign we've been waiting for....Yellowstone National Park!



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Douglas, Wyoming, United States

We were beyond hungry when we finally got to I-25 in Southern Wyoming. We stopped at the first town and the first eatery, Clementines Cattle Company. We chowed on burgers and fries, chatted with the waitress and got some info from the locals. Then it was back to driving. Our goal was to get as close as we could to Yellowstone so we could spend the most time there.

We drove and drove and drove and drove and drove some more. This area is awesome. The wildlife is spectacular and the hillsides are beautiful. Wyoming is big, expansive land with few people. Where we thought we'd stop for food or socialization there was no one....for approx 6-8 hours, just antelope and hay/straw. The hills are everywhere but not many trees. Once we got to Western Wyoming we saw red rock and that makes the hill so pretty, like the Grand Canyon.

Along the way from Douglas to Dubois we followed a similar and nearby path as the Americans did in the mid-1800's on the Oregon Trail. It was like playing the computer game all over again, crossing rivers and passing little shanty towns. We cannot imagine how they did it, how they walked and walked and walked across this expansive land not knowing if they could get across the next hill or mountain and what would lie beyond that. It was really neat to see the countryside.

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Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, United States

This is just a quick update while V showers- I actually got locked out of the room so I came over to the lodge to use the 'puter.
V here - inputting more details

So we left Rapid city yesterday morning and drove through Custer State Park on our way to Wind Cave Nat Park.

I got on a Fire Line :) Saw some choppers flying with water buckets
and followed their direction. We came up on wildfire training and stopped to take a pic and talk. I was wearing my prescribed burn shirt - Thanks Wil and Alaina!

Not too long after the fire line the road ended and an open grass land was loaded with buffalo. This was our first sighting of a herd of buffalo and boy were there alot of them. We thought how cool it would be to see that many buffalo up close and continued on our journey.

A few miles up the road we started seeing buffalo using the car path. We weaved our way through them smiling from cheek to cheek and then the best part....we got stuck in a buffalo stampede! Well at first they were just
walking on the road with the cars, but then the buffalo charged this dude on a motorcycle right
behind us and the whole heard took off, maybe about 30 or so. That was
crazy! Being so close to the buffalo for about 20 minutes we saw all kinds of stuff. They'd just stare right at us, eat grass, nurse babies, poop, pee - oh, the wonders of nature!

After "running with the buffalo" we drove through low grasslands of South Dakota which are home to prairie dogs! They are so, so cute on their little mounds of dirt looking around. They look kinda like squirrels but bigger. I wanted to take one home for it to be my peanut eating buddy but since they don't drink water that's probably not a good idea.

Once we made it to the wind cave it was 10:28; not quite in time for the 9:00 tour we had planned on making. We slept in and the drive took us longer then expected stopping for all the animals. We ran in to catch the 10:30 tour so we wouldn't have to wait another hour and a half. We were the last people on the tour, making it just in the nick of time.

Wind cave, it was a cave, and it had some wind- uhhhhhhhhhh it was pretty neat.

No stalagmites but this frosted flakes looking stuff that isn't found in many other places in the world. The cave has a lot of history and much to be discovered. It was found by a 16 year old boy who crawled through a 14" hole in his yard that had wind coming out of it. Brave man! He spent 4 years discovering the cave and then was killed by the flu epidemic when visiting the Worlds Fair in Chicago. The walk was nice, about 300 stairs, mostly doing down. Some areas were tight, we had to duck most of the way but it wasn't that cold and not wet like other caves we've been in.

Then we drove. Man WY is big and empty. We went like 50 miles between towns- one town on the map (we thought we would eat lunch at) had a sign that said Population 1. WOW- how the
heck does that happen? We stopped at the next real town (some were abandoned) 2 hours later for a late lunch.

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Denver, Colorado, United States

We made it to Denver after a long, full flight on United from Orlando. I am reminded yet again why I don't like to fly United. Hopefully we won't be delayed long here in Denver. Although the airport is nice, we're on a tight schedule to see so much over the next 5 days.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/2knightsabroad/2/1252470586/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/2knightsabroad/2/1252470586/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/2knightsabroad/2/1252470586/tpod.html Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:43:33 -0400 Rushmore to Yellowstone

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Rapid City, SD, South Dakota, United States



The flight on into Rapid City was bumpy but good. Rapid City Airport is easily one of the smallest in the country. Watch out Portland & Key West! Our backpacks came out on the conveyor belt running next to the Hertz counter. That made it easy to make up a little time. Hertz provided us with a large, gas guzzling SUV, just like we ordered. A Nissan Armada that fits all our stuff and we can definitely camp in it if needed.

We left the airport and went directly to Mt Rushmore. Seeing the Presidents peaking over the tree tops from the windy roads down below was break taking! As we got closer their noses and lips were so defined. We stopped at Mt Rushmore Park ($10 per car) and got as close as we could. The binoculars helped see the details in the creation. Teddy's mustache and glasses are my favorite features.

After gazing at 60' heads for a while we jumped back on the road for an adventure through Custer State Park. We were on the lookout for animals and boy did we get what we hoped for! After stopping off at Crazy Horse, the barely finished sculpture of Geronimo, paying $20 entry for the car (waste) and walking through an Indian gift shop...we starting seeing our first signs of wildlife.

As we wound our way through the park we drove past some doe in high grass feeding, around a few more bends on the mountainside we have to stop for a bunch of turkeys. The wildlife is getting good when we come down a steep hillside road right up on prong horn antelopes grazing in the grass. The best part of today's adventure through the woods was when we came around a high banked bend headlights to butt of a buffalo! Yes, buffalo walking on the road down the hill. We drove right up to it and took pictures and video. It was so exhilarating we went down the hill to a turn around and went back to see it again...then another turn around and again. We were looking eye to eye; Amazing!

John and I are giddy and although I'm starting to get motion sick from all the turns and altitude we truck onto Needles Highway so we can finish our drive and get back to Mt Rushmore for the night show. On our way there we pass another bunch of turkeys and a pack of jackasses. Babies, moms and dads walking down the side of the hill together. Our guess is they were wild from the days the Indians and Anglos were transient through this area. Wild animals are so cool!

We made it back down to Keystone 3-4 hours after we were there the first time today and stopped at Peggy's Home Cookin' for some country fried chicken with gravy and a buffalo sirloin. Both were awesome! Cheers to Peggy and her all female staff.

Once our bellies were full and we put on some additional layers (and sneakers) we went back to Mt Rushmore Park to see the night show. It started with the story of the making of Mt Rushmore and then into why each of the four Presidents were selected to be carved from the mass of granite rock. Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln all revolutionary leaders the shaped America. God Bless the USA!

The show was awesome, but it was dark and we're exhausted. We found a Wal-Mart picked up a cooler, Tupperware, food, etc and checked into the hotel. Early morning down to Wind Cave for a 9am tour.

Night Night
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