As advertised, we made the drive from Delta, UT to here in Ely, Nevada yesterday. The drive was uneventful again - just like we like 'em. We did have a couple of 2 thousand foot climbs up some mountains and then back down again but Winne did the job with little complaint. The only complaining was from me - whining about the poor fuel mileage when climbing to those almost 8,000 foot summits in third gear!
Ely is a small town by most standards with a population of around 4,000 folks. But it's the biggest town around these parts of Nevada! Ely was founded as a stagecoach station along the Pony Express and Overland Route and became a mining boom town in the 1900s. The mining industry faded in the 1990s but has more recently been revived as copper has become a scarce commodity.
Our trip to Ely was along U.S. Hwy 50 which winds its way through the high desert of Utah and across central Nevada. Hwy 50 from here in Ely westward to Fallon, NV was part of the original Lincoln Highway - the nations first transcontinental improved highway for automobiles.
Peggy and I are taking a Zero Day today - catching up on some laundry chores and tinkering with a couple of items here on Winne. The weather has been nice enough temperature wise over these past few days but windy each afternoon. It looks like we will be experiencing some mid 70s high temps in Minden - but the lows are going to be down in the low 30s to high 20s. So far on this trip I haven't needed to use our propane fired heater but it looks like it will get a work out while we are in Minden. Winne's heat pump only works down into the mid 30s and we wouldn't be able to use Winne's heat pump in Minden anyway as we will be limited to about 15 Amps of electricity at best. Unfortunately the blower motor for the propane heater was making a noise I didn't like when I tested it the other day so I will need to take a look at that as soon as we settle in Minden.
So here we are. One 330 mile travel day from our westward travel destination in Minden and looking forward to several weeks of sitting relatively still, visiting with Nan and assorted other relatives, and readying Winne for the trip back home. Winne definitely needs a good washing and perhaps even an oil change before we head back east!
The Federal Government may shutdown at midnight, the Stock Market may take a big negative hit tomorrow, the Obamacare Exchanges may be open for business tomorrow ... but who cares? I got miles to drive and visiting to do!
As I recall - we went over the last fiscal cliff and things didn't turn out all that bad. We'll deal with this one too! Hopefully we'll all be better off in the long run because of all the teeth gnashing now.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Saturday, September 28, 2013
More Utah
Tonight we find ourselves in Delta, Utah on U.S. Hwy 50. Delta is about 85 miles south of Salt Lake City and about 85 miles from the Utah - Nevada border. It is also near the middle of nowhere. Our drive today from Moab was mostly along I-70. From near 4,000 feet to near 8,000 feet - back down again - back up again - and then back down. Needless to say - Winne had her work cut out for her today.
We finished up our visit to Moab yesterday with a drive through Canyonlands National Park. Actually we only visited the "Islands In The Sky" portion of the Park. Canyonlands is a huge place that would take at least 3-4 days to see on the paved roads - not to mention all the 4 wheel drive paths. The Islands In The Sky portion of the park offers some pretty amazing views of the surrounding countryside.
And a nice view of yet another arch after a short mile or so walk-about through the desert.
Tomorrow we plan on a relatively short drive to Pacific Daylight Time in Ely, NV. We will probably take another Zero Day in Ely before our final planned drive west to Minden, NV - just south of Carson City. The drive from Ely to Minden is mostly along U.S. 50 - the portion known as the "Lonliest Road In America." We have made this drive before - and it is pretty lonely - but interesting in its own way.
See ya next time from Ely.
We finished up our visit to Moab yesterday with a drive through Canyonlands National Park. Actually we only visited the "Islands In The Sky" portion of the Park. Canyonlands is a huge place that would take at least 3-4 days to see on the paved roads - not to mention all the 4 wheel drive paths. The Islands In The Sky portion of the park offers some pretty amazing views of the surrounding countryside.
And a nice view of yet another arch after a short mile or so walk-about through the desert.
Tomorrow we plan on a relatively short drive to Pacific Daylight Time in Ely, NV. We will probably take another Zero Day in Ely before our final planned drive west to Minden, NV - just south of Carson City. The drive from Ely to Minden is mostly along U.S. 50 - the portion known as the "Lonliest Road In America." We have made this drive before - and it is pretty lonely - but interesting in its own way.
See ya next time from Ely.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Arches National Park
After our windy day of rest here in Moab we took off yesterday for a windy day of exploring in Arches National Park. I have been looking forward to visiting Arches NP for many years now as I've heard lots of great reviews and seen lots of great pictures. Now that I've been there I can definitively say that it is an awesome place to visit. The views are unique, beautiful, inspiring ... and lots of other adjectives. Peggy and I both took lots of pictures and I'm going to include a bunch in this post - but the grandeur of the place is hard to capture in a picture.
There is lots to see in Arches and lots of trails to walk. During our visit we drove all the roads and walked a few of the shorter trails to view the various attractions but left the longer trails for another visit. Even that took us about 4 hours.
After leaving the park we came back here to Winne to rest up and clean up a bit before heading into Moab for dinner. On the recommendation of an RV friend - Norm Payne, we found the Moab Brewery in town. Peggy had the BBQ Tri-Tip and I went all-in and had the BBQ Sampler that included the Tri-Tip, a huge smoked sausage and about a half rack of ribs. I can tell you the Tri-Tip was wonderful and the sausage was really good - especially with a little of their house BBQ sauce. As for the ribs - that review will have to wait until later since I just couldn't eat it all last night!
It looks likes all that wind of the last few days will finally subside as a cold front moved through last night. So today we are supposed to have partially cloudy skies with less wind but much cooler temps with a high around 63 degrees. After taking care of a few errands this morning we plan on heading out this afternoon for another adventure ... this time touring some of Canyonlands National Park and perhaps Dead Horse Point State Park while we're at it.
Looks to be another busy day.
While at dinner last night Peggy and I were talking about our favorite spots we have seen/been since we started RVing about 9 years ago. From my perspective it's pretty hard to put them in order. In the past 9 years we have now been to 14 National Parks, 15 National Monuments/Historic Places, and probably a dozen or so state parks. But if I had to rank them for overall awesomeness... here are my top 5 so far:
1. Grand Canyon National Park ... Huge Awesome Factor!
2. Yellowstone National Park ... Mountains, Lakes, Wildlife, Geological Wonders ... It has it all in one place!
3. Acadia National Park ... I'm probably biased - but nothing beats the ocean views and overall beauty of Acadia - especially in the fall.
4. A Tie between Mesa Verde, Monument Valley, and Arches ... they are similar places with similar views and similar ancient history. Very High on the Awesome Scale.
5. Crater Lake National Park ... Peaceful, Beautiful, Unique - I dunno - I just like it!
I'll reassess my list in 9 more years - we still have a lot more to see!
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| Three Gossips, Tower of Babel, The Organ |
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| Balanced Rock |
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| North Window |
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| North Window |
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| Peggy In North Window |
There is lots to see in Arches and lots of trails to walk. During our visit we drove all the roads and walked a few of the shorter trails to view the various attractions but left the longer trails for another visit. Even that took us about 4 hours.
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| South Window |
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| Turret Arch |
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| Delicate Arch |
After leaving the park we came back here to Winne to rest up and clean up a bit before heading into Moab for dinner. On the recommendation of an RV friend - Norm Payne, we found the Moab Brewery in town. Peggy had the BBQ Tri-Tip and I went all-in and had the BBQ Sampler that included the Tri-Tip, a huge smoked sausage and about a half rack of ribs. I can tell you the Tri-Tip was wonderful and the sausage was really good - especially with a little of their house BBQ sauce. As for the ribs - that review will have to wait until later since I just couldn't eat it all last night!
It looks likes all that wind of the last few days will finally subside as a cold front moved through last night. So today we are supposed to have partially cloudy skies with less wind but much cooler temps with a high around 63 degrees. After taking care of a few errands this morning we plan on heading out this afternoon for another adventure ... this time touring some of Canyonlands National Park and perhaps Dead Horse Point State Park while we're at it.
Looks to be another busy day.
While at dinner last night Peggy and I were talking about our favorite spots we have seen/been since we started RVing about 9 years ago. From my perspective it's pretty hard to put them in order. In the past 9 years we have now been to 14 National Parks, 15 National Monuments/Historic Places, and probably a dozen or so state parks. But if I had to rank them for overall awesomeness... here are my top 5 so far:
1. Grand Canyon National Park ... Huge Awesome Factor!
2. Yellowstone National Park ... Mountains, Lakes, Wildlife, Geological Wonders ... It has it all in one place!
3. Acadia National Park ... I'm probably biased - but nothing beats the ocean views and overall beauty of Acadia - especially in the fall.
4. A Tie between Mesa Verde, Monument Valley, and Arches ... they are similar places with similar views and similar ancient history. Very High on the Awesome Scale.
5. Crater Lake National Park ... Peaceful, Beautiful, Unique - I dunno - I just like it!
I'll reassess my list in 9 more years - we still have a lot more to see!
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
R&R in Utah
For the first time this trip Peggy and I traveled for three days in a row. Although the park where we were staying in Craig was nice enough - it was certainly pricey. That - and the forecast for windy weather yesterday but even windy-er weather today help make our decision to push on to Moab, UT.
The first 100 miles of our trip yesterday was along more two-lane "red" roads from Craig down to Rifle, CO. That drive was through some really pretty mountain canyons but it made for some "intense" driving as I really had to pay attention to keep Winne pointed in the right direction. Once we merged onto I-70 at Rifle the driving became much easier. Much of the drive from Rifle to the Utah border was through the Colorado River Canyon - following the river much of the way. The river sure was high for this time of year and you could see plenty of evidence of some minor flooding from all that rain the Rockies got last week. I know it was worse on the eastern slope but it looks like the western slope got more than its share as well.
The landscape changed pretty dramatically as we reached the Colorado/Utah border. Out of the mountains and into the high desert. As we turned off I-70 onto Utah 191 to drive the 30 miles south to Moab the landscape changed again as we made it further and further into red rock country.
Sorry about the blurry pictures. My Chief Photographer has been complaining about her tough working conditions - trying to take decent pictures while I bounce her down the highway. Once again - she just may be right!
During this trip I have tried to stay at "Passport America" RV parks as much as possible to keep our costs down. With my membership in Passport America I save about 50% on the "normal" fee. When I pulled in to the Spanish Train RV Park yesterday afternoon I found out that they are having a rally there this week and that I could only get the 50% discount for one night and that all other nights would be over $50 per night. We took them up on the one night but had to find another park for the remainder of our stay. So this morning was moving day as we relocated from a few miles south of Moab to several miles north of Moab. Now that that little task is complete we plan on settling in here for a few days. Today we plan a "Zero" or "Do Nothing" day. Tomorrow and Friday we plan on spending time in nearby Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. I guess we better get in our sightseeing before the big government shutdown on the 1st of October. After that - who knows? We'll have to see how the next few days unfold.
I figure we need a Zero Day (even if we did have to drive 10 miles!). We have been gone now for three weeks and have spent every day either traveling or sightseeing - sometimes both. Winne has performed well for the last 3,400 miles and she deserves a few days of rest as well.
We plan on making it to our western destination in Minden, NV sometime next week. We may even make it a day earlier than originally planned! Look out Marcie - you may have company next Tuesday!
Yep - time to just kick back and relax.
The first 100 miles of our trip yesterday was along more two-lane "red" roads from Craig down to Rifle, CO. That drive was through some really pretty mountain canyons but it made for some "intense" driving as I really had to pay attention to keep Winne pointed in the right direction. Once we merged onto I-70 at Rifle the driving became much easier. Much of the drive from Rifle to the Utah border was through the Colorado River Canyon - following the river much of the way. The river sure was high for this time of year and you could see plenty of evidence of some minor flooding from all that rain the Rockies got last week. I know it was worse on the eastern slope but it looks like the western slope got more than its share as well.
The landscape changed pretty dramatically as we reached the Colorado/Utah border. Out of the mountains and into the high desert. As we turned off I-70 onto Utah 191 to drive the 30 miles south to Moab the landscape changed again as we made it further and further into red rock country.
Sorry about the blurry pictures. My Chief Photographer has been complaining about her tough working conditions - trying to take decent pictures while I bounce her down the highway. Once again - she just may be right!
During this trip I have tried to stay at "Passport America" RV parks as much as possible to keep our costs down. With my membership in Passport America I save about 50% on the "normal" fee. When I pulled in to the Spanish Train RV Park yesterday afternoon I found out that they are having a rally there this week and that I could only get the 50% discount for one night and that all other nights would be over $50 per night. We took them up on the one night but had to find another park for the remainder of our stay. So this morning was moving day as we relocated from a few miles south of Moab to several miles north of Moab. Now that that little task is complete we plan on settling in here for a few days. Today we plan a "Zero" or "Do Nothing" day. Tomorrow and Friday we plan on spending time in nearby Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. I guess we better get in our sightseeing before the big government shutdown on the 1st of October. After that - who knows? We'll have to see how the next few days unfold.
I figure we need a Zero Day (even if we did have to drive 10 miles!). We have been gone now for three weeks and have spent every day either traveling or sightseeing - sometimes both. Winne has performed well for the last 3,400 miles and she deserves a few days of rest as well.
We plan on making it to our western destination in Minden, NV sometime next week. We may even make it a day earlier than originally planned! Look out Marcie - you may have company next Tuesday!
Yep - time to just kick back and relax.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Windy Wyoming and Independence Rock
Here we are - some 500 plus miles later - spending our evening in the lovely community of Craig, Colorado.
Yesterday we backtracked south through Sheridan and Buffalo, Wyoming and continued south along I-25 - finally stopping for the evening in Casper, WY. Most of our drive was through the high plains of Wyoming and as always seems the case in this country -- into the wind. We didn't see too much of Casper as we (read "I") was ready to quit for the day and was just happy to get set up before a relatively nasty storm front moved through. Fortunately we avoided the hail but we did get some high wind gusts and rain for about a half hour as the front moved through. Casper is located on the North Platte River and was a major crossing point along the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails used by thousands of emigrants in the late 1800s.
Today's drive was pretty much along "red roads" through central Wyoming as we continued south. The first hundred miles of our trip pretty much followed those emigrant trails and within an hour we drove right to Independence Rock. Independence Rock is a huge piece of granite rising from the prairie and was an important waypoint on the trip west for many pioneers. Most of the emigrant wagon trails left the Missouri River in early spring with the goal of reaching their destinations along the Pacific before the snows arrived in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. In order to make it on time they needed to make it this far (about half way) by early July ... or Independence Day.
After arriving here many emigrants carved their names into the granite rock and some even left messages for those who were to follow. We stopped at the rest area at the base of the Rock and took a morning walkabout. You can't really see evidence of carvings of that day - most have been eroded away by the constant and sometimes harsh weather of this region. We did see some carvings from the more recent 1930s.
We crossed I-80 at Rawlins, WY around lunch time and took our lunch break and fueling stop at the always windy Flying-J just west of town. We have been through here many times in the past and it has always been windy. Today it was Really Windy!! Fortunately we turned south again after driving into the teeth of the wind for about 20 miles on I-80. It was still windy but not as bad - I think I even stayed in my own lane for much of the remainder of the drive.
I see the weather forecast for tomorrow calls for more wind - can't wait!
Yesterday we backtracked south through Sheridan and Buffalo, Wyoming and continued south along I-25 - finally stopping for the evening in Casper, WY. Most of our drive was through the high plains of Wyoming and as always seems the case in this country -- into the wind. We didn't see too much of Casper as we (read "I") was ready to quit for the day and was just happy to get set up before a relatively nasty storm front moved through. Fortunately we avoided the hail but we did get some high wind gusts and rain for about a half hour as the front moved through. Casper is located on the North Platte River and was a major crossing point along the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails used by thousands of emigrants in the late 1800s.
Today's drive was pretty much along "red roads" through central Wyoming as we continued south. The first hundred miles of our trip pretty much followed those emigrant trails and within an hour we drove right to Independence Rock. Independence Rock is a huge piece of granite rising from the prairie and was an important waypoint on the trip west for many pioneers. Most of the emigrant wagon trails left the Missouri River in early spring with the goal of reaching their destinations along the Pacific before the snows arrived in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. In order to make it on time they needed to make it this far (about half way) by early July ... or Independence Day.
After arriving here many emigrants carved their names into the granite rock and some even left messages for those who were to follow. We stopped at the rest area at the base of the Rock and took a morning walkabout. You can't really see evidence of carvings of that day - most have been eroded away by the constant and sometimes harsh weather of this region. We did see some carvings from the more recent 1930s.
We crossed I-80 at Rawlins, WY around lunch time and took our lunch break and fueling stop at the always windy Flying-J just west of town. We have been through here many times in the past and it has always been windy. Today it was Really Windy!! Fortunately we turned south again after driving into the teeth of the wind for about 20 miles on I-80. It was still windy but not as bad - I think I even stayed in my own lane for much of the remainder of the drive.
I see the weather forecast for tomorrow calls for more wind - can't wait!
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Custer, Coal, and a Change (in plans)
As advertised in my earlier post - we continued our trip west along I-90 on Friday. Through Gillette, WY, Buffalo, WY, Sheridan, WY, and then here to the very small town of Garryowen, MT. It is actually hard to call Garryowen a town - but I guess it is. We are staying here at the 7th Ranch RV Camp - a pretty nice place to hang out - even if we are right next to the middle of nowhere.
For those of you not "in the know" "Garryowen" is the name of the official marching tune for the 7th Cavalry. The tune is originally of Irish origin and I'm sure you would recognize it if you ever watched any old westerns involving the cavalry. It was always playing in the background as the cavalry was marching through the countryside. I suppose the name of this town makes sense if you know that it is situated at the south end of the Little Bighorn Battlefield - the site of Custer's Last Stand against several thousand angry Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Native Americans in June of 1876.
Apparently - after General Custer violated the 1868 Treaty of Laramie by marching into the Black Hills he was then sent by the US Government to round up the "Indians" in this area who where legally allowed to be here - hunting the buffalo as they had done for generations before. Well ... it seems the Lakota didn't take kindly to the idea of being told what to do and where to do it and decided to fight back when Custer and the 7th showed up to "escort" them back to the reservation. One of the famous Lakota leaders was a fellow named Sitting Bull who, when speaking to his people about life on the government reservation was quoted as stating:
"You are fools to make yourselves slaves to a piece of bacon, some hard-tack, and a little sugar and coffee."
When Custer and his several hundred soldiers showed up to take Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and several thousand of their close friends back to the RES - they were summarily trounced and most of Custer's 7th Cavalry was killed. It seems Sitting Bull and his "Tea Party" buddies decided to Just Say No.
The battle here at the Little Bighorn is famous for two things. 1) General Custer was killed and 2) it marked the beginning of the end for the Plains Indians and their way of life.
Peggy and I spent the morning viewing a few museums in the area and visiting the National Historical Park. We learned a lot about how the battle unfolded and how it ended. I've heard and read these stories before - but seeing it from the rolling hills of the vast prairie where it took place was really something special!
The Historical Park contains headstones marking the spot where various cavalrymen fell and were buried - as well as where Sioux Warriors of note fell as well. As for General Custer - he was buried here for a few years before his body was moved and reburied at West Point. The Little Bighorn may have made him famous - but his bones rest back in New York.
If you are interested in history and happen to find yourself in southeast Montana - this is an interesting place to visit.
Our original itinerary for this trip called for us to continue along I-90 for another couple of hundred miles and then drop down into Yellowstone National Park for a short visit before continuing south into Utah. But we changed the plan today.
Since we want to spend a little extra time seeing the sights in Utah before continuing on to western Nevada, and since the weather in Yellowstone is forecast to be below freezing with "showers" over the next few days, and since we have been to Yellowstone several times in the past - we decided to head south from here instead. It looks like we will head to Casper, WY and then into Colorado on the Western slopes of the Rocky Mountains before continuing west into Utah.
That's one of the nice things about being a "Maineiac In Motion" - if you want to change "the plan" - you can.
On a side note:
As you travel through this "Powder River" region of the country you will see several large coal mines and many, many long trains of coal cars traveling west and east. I understand that this Powder River Coal is some of the best stuff there is for burning in power plants since it is low in sulfur and relatively cheap to mine.
I see that our President and his EPA have decided to make the burning of coal in power plants unprofitable in the United States by proposing unreasonable new regulations -- without the need to get Congressional approval. They do this in the name of cleaner air for our planet.
So here is how it all plays out as I see it. We stop burning coal in US power plants - driving up the cost of power - making just about everything more expensive - while shipping this perfectly good Powder River Coal to China - where they will burn it to produce cheap energy with little to no emissions controls - thus making their country stronger and the earth's air less healthy.
Once again - I don't think the President and his minions have thought this one all the way through!
For those of you not "in the know" "Garryowen" is the name of the official marching tune for the 7th Cavalry. The tune is originally of Irish origin and I'm sure you would recognize it if you ever watched any old westerns involving the cavalry. It was always playing in the background as the cavalry was marching through the countryside. I suppose the name of this town makes sense if you know that it is situated at the south end of the Little Bighorn Battlefield - the site of Custer's Last Stand against several thousand angry Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Native Americans in June of 1876.
Apparently - after General Custer violated the 1868 Treaty of Laramie by marching into the Black Hills he was then sent by the US Government to round up the "Indians" in this area who where legally allowed to be here - hunting the buffalo as they had done for generations before. Well ... it seems the Lakota didn't take kindly to the idea of being told what to do and where to do it and decided to fight back when Custer and the 7th showed up to "escort" them back to the reservation. One of the famous Lakota leaders was a fellow named Sitting Bull who, when speaking to his people about life on the government reservation was quoted as stating:
"You are fools to make yourselves slaves to a piece of bacon, some hard-tack, and a little sugar and coffee."
When Custer and his several hundred soldiers showed up to take Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and several thousand of their close friends back to the RES - they were summarily trounced and most of Custer's 7th Cavalry was killed. It seems Sitting Bull and his "Tea Party" buddies decided to Just Say No.
The battle here at the Little Bighorn is famous for two things. 1) General Custer was killed and 2) it marked the beginning of the end for the Plains Indians and their way of life.
Peggy and I spent the morning viewing a few museums in the area and visiting the National Historical Park. We learned a lot about how the battle unfolded and how it ended. I've heard and read these stories before - but seeing it from the rolling hills of the vast prairie where it took place was really something special!
The Historical Park contains headstones marking the spot where various cavalrymen fell and were buried - as well as where Sioux Warriors of note fell as well. As for General Custer - he was buried here for a few years before his body was moved and reburied at West Point. The Little Bighorn may have made him famous - but his bones rest back in New York.
If you are interested in history and happen to find yourself in southeast Montana - this is an interesting place to visit.
Our original itinerary for this trip called for us to continue along I-90 for another couple of hundred miles and then drop down into Yellowstone National Park for a short visit before continuing south into Utah. But we changed the plan today.
Since we want to spend a little extra time seeing the sights in Utah before continuing on to western Nevada, and since the weather in Yellowstone is forecast to be below freezing with "showers" over the next few days, and since we have been to Yellowstone several times in the past - we decided to head south from here instead. It looks like we will head to Casper, WY and then into Colorado on the Western slopes of the Rocky Mountains before continuing west into Utah.
That's one of the nice things about being a "Maineiac In Motion" - if you want to change "the plan" - you can.
On a side note:
As you travel through this "Powder River" region of the country you will see several large coal mines and many, many long trains of coal cars traveling west and east. I understand that this Powder River Coal is some of the best stuff there is for burning in power plants since it is low in sulfur and relatively cheap to mine.
I see that our President and his EPA have decided to make the burning of coal in power plants unprofitable in the United States by proposing unreasonable new regulations -- without the need to get Congressional approval. They do this in the name of cleaner air for our planet.
So here is how it all plays out as I see it. We stop burning coal in US power plants - driving up the cost of power - making just about everything more expensive - while shipping this perfectly good Powder River Coal to China - where they will burn it to produce cheap energy with little to no emissions controls - thus making their country stronger and the earth's air less healthy.
Once again - I don't think the President and his minions have thought this one all the way through!
Thursday, September 19, 2013
A Devilish Day
We continued our trip west today ... although we only moved about 100 miles. Today we landed in Sundance, Wyoming - the town that gave its name to the Sundance Kid - A.K.A Henry Alonzo Longabaugh. After settling in here in Sundance we mounted the Vue and pointed her nose about 30 miles northwest to the Devil's Tower National Monument. Devil's Tower was our first National Monument - retaining that status in 1906.
Our drive was through the rolling hills of eastern Wyoming - some really beautiful country. Once we got to within about 10 miles of the Tower - it started to come into view.
It's easy to see why the Native Americans thought this place was special. The different tribes had different names for this place but most called it some variation of "Bears Lodge."
After we arrived at the entrance to the National Monument we flashed my Old Geezers Pass and continued on towards the monument. Just a short distance from the entrance gate we drove through a large open area dotted with Prairie Dog mounds. There were hundreds of these little mounds and just as many cute little varmints running all over the place.
We left Prairie Dog town and finished our drive up to the Visitors Center at the base of Devil's Tower. After a quick tour of the displays at the Visitor's Center we walked a couple hundred yards along a paved trail further up to the base of the tower.
After catching our breath - this place is over a mile high afterall! - we took the rim trail off to the right and began our 1.3 mile walk around the Tower. The views were pretty incredible and I'll let the pictures do the talking:
We saw several groups of crazy people in the process of climbing the tower. If you click on the above pictures and look closely you will see some of them! They were definitely crazy ... but the view from the top must be fantastic considering the view from the base is pretty nice itself.
We completed our walk, returned to the Visitor's Center, and made the drive back here to Sundance for a quiet afternoon of relaxing. The views are pretty nice from the RV park as well!
Tomorrow we plan on heading further west and a bit north - following the path of Custer's 7th Cavalry on their way to a meeting with several thousand Lakota and Cheyenne in June of 1876.
I hope our day turns out better than theirs.
Our drive was through the rolling hills of eastern Wyoming - some really beautiful country. Once we got to within about 10 miles of the Tower - it started to come into view.
It's easy to see why the Native Americans thought this place was special. The different tribes had different names for this place but most called it some variation of "Bears Lodge."
After we arrived at the entrance to the National Monument we flashed my Old Geezers Pass and continued on towards the monument. Just a short distance from the entrance gate we drove through a large open area dotted with Prairie Dog mounds. There were hundreds of these little mounds and just as many cute little varmints running all over the place.
We left Prairie Dog town and finished our drive up to the Visitors Center at the base of Devil's Tower. After a quick tour of the displays at the Visitor's Center we walked a couple hundred yards along a paved trail further up to the base of the tower.
After catching our breath - this place is over a mile high afterall! - we took the rim trail off to the right and began our 1.3 mile walk around the Tower. The views were pretty incredible and I'll let the pictures do the talking:
We saw several groups of crazy people in the process of climbing the tower. If you click on the above pictures and look closely you will see some of them! They were definitely crazy ... but the view from the top must be fantastic considering the view from the base is pretty nice itself.
We completed our walk, returned to the Visitor's Center, and made the drive back here to Sundance for a quiet afternoon of relaxing. The views are pretty nice from the RV park as well!
Tomorrow we plan on heading further west and a bit north - following the path of Custer's 7th Cavalry on their way to a meeting with several thousand Lakota and Cheyenne in June of 1876.
I hope our day turns out better than theirs.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Birthday in Deadwood
Today was a beautiful day here in the Black Hills. Not only that ... it was Peggy's birthday so she was in charge of what we did and where we went.
We started the day with breakfast out at the Slate Creek Grill in downtown Hill City. We both rated it as good - but not quite up to Kopper Kettle quality. With our bellies and the Vue's gas tank both full - we headed north through the Black Hills - destination Deadwood, South Dakota. The 40 mile drive to Deadwood was absolutely beautiful as we drove past alpine lakes, beautiful meadows, and stately ponderosa pines. I can see why these roads are favorites for all the bikers in the nation. Great Cruising - but I wonder what it looks like in February? I heard today that they get about 100 inches of snow each winter.
Way back in about 1874 George Armstrong Custer led a group of about 1000 soldiers into the Black Hills. Unfortunately (for George later and the Sioux Nation after that) this incursion into the Black Hills was a violation of the Treaty of 1868 with the Sioux Nation. George and his men discovered gold in the area in 1875/1876 and thousands of miners flooded into the area - also in violation of that same Treaty. One of the gold strikes was in the Deadwood Gulch - home of today's town of Deadwood. Deadwood was famous for gold and in-fact the Famous Homestead mine operated in nearby Lead up until 2001 when they couldn't make it work any longer when gold was about $300 per ounce. I think it was down near $1,300 per ounce today!
Deadwood was also famous for brothels, gambling, and shootouts. Wild Bill Hickok contributed to Deadwood's fame by managing to be murdered here. Shot in the back of the head by Jack McCall on August 2, 1876 while playing poker - holding a pair of aces - and a pair of eights.
Then there were other famous folks from back in those days - like Poker Alice (I was sitting next to her likeness in a previous blog photo), Calamity Jane (much uglier than the likeness portrayed by Doris Day in the movies), and Potato Creek Johnny. There are some great stories that go with each of these icons of the old west ... but our story must continue.
After we arrived in Deadwood we got our bearings at the local visitors center and then took a narrated tour bus trip around town. We passed the "Badlands" of Deadwood where the Chinese gathered in "Chinatown", passed the Main Street location of the saloons and brothels of the 1870s, passed the saloon location where Wild Bill was shot,
and the location where Jack McCall was caught - just down the street.
Today - Main Street Deadwood is full of Casinos and other gambling establishments as gaming was legalized here in 1989 as an economic development tool. It must have worked because Deadwood certainly isn't dead today!
We also traveled up to Mt. Moriah Cemetery - the present resting place for Wild Bill, Calamity Jane, Potato Creek Johnny, and a host of others.
After completing our tourist tour of Deadwood we decided to walk the streets of Deadwood for awhile. Since it was Peggy's birthday, and since I really wasn't going to limit her birthday present to a campsite with full hookups, she found herself a nice Black Hills Gold ring to go with her other Black Hills Gold ring. Where else should you buy Black Hills gold -- but in Deadwood, South Dakota.
We finished our birthday fun with a dinner out at Desperado's Cowboy Restaurant in Hill City. Peggy enjoyed her steak - I enjoyed my ribs - and a local brew called Pile-O-Dirt Porter.
Actually - it was pretty good! I'll forgo any further comment about alcoholic beverages consumed at dinner - other than to say that Peggy was Happy - Happy - Happy.
We both have really enjoyed our time here in the Black Hills and want to come back again someday ... but we've decided to continue our trek west tomorrow.
More things to see - more things to do ...
We started the day with breakfast out at the Slate Creek Grill in downtown Hill City. We both rated it as good - but not quite up to Kopper Kettle quality. With our bellies and the Vue's gas tank both full - we headed north through the Black Hills - destination Deadwood, South Dakota. The 40 mile drive to Deadwood was absolutely beautiful as we drove past alpine lakes, beautiful meadows, and stately ponderosa pines. I can see why these roads are favorites for all the bikers in the nation. Great Cruising - but I wonder what it looks like in February? I heard today that they get about 100 inches of snow each winter.
Way back in about 1874 George Armstrong Custer led a group of about 1000 soldiers into the Black Hills. Unfortunately (for George later and the Sioux Nation after that) this incursion into the Black Hills was a violation of the Treaty of 1868 with the Sioux Nation. George and his men discovered gold in the area in 1875/1876 and thousands of miners flooded into the area - also in violation of that same Treaty. One of the gold strikes was in the Deadwood Gulch - home of today's town of Deadwood. Deadwood was famous for gold and in-fact the Famous Homestead mine operated in nearby Lead up until 2001 when they couldn't make it work any longer when gold was about $300 per ounce. I think it was down near $1,300 per ounce today!
Deadwood was also famous for brothels, gambling, and shootouts. Wild Bill Hickok contributed to Deadwood's fame by managing to be murdered here. Shot in the back of the head by Jack McCall on August 2, 1876 while playing poker - holding a pair of aces - and a pair of eights.
Then there were other famous folks from back in those days - like Poker Alice (I was sitting next to her likeness in a previous blog photo), Calamity Jane (much uglier than the likeness portrayed by Doris Day in the movies), and Potato Creek Johnny. There are some great stories that go with each of these icons of the old west ... but our story must continue.
After we arrived in Deadwood we got our bearings at the local visitors center and then took a narrated tour bus trip around town. We passed the "Badlands" of Deadwood where the Chinese gathered in "Chinatown", passed the Main Street location of the saloons and brothels of the 1870s, passed the saloon location where Wild Bill was shot,
and the location where Jack McCall was caught - just down the street.
Today - Main Street Deadwood is full of Casinos and other gambling establishments as gaming was legalized here in 1989 as an economic development tool. It must have worked because Deadwood certainly isn't dead today!
We also traveled up to Mt. Moriah Cemetery - the present resting place for Wild Bill, Calamity Jane, Potato Creek Johnny, and a host of others.
After completing our tourist tour of Deadwood we decided to walk the streets of Deadwood for awhile. Since it was Peggy's birthday, and since I really wasn't going to limit her birthday present to a campsite with full hookups, she found herself a nice Black Hills Gold ring to go with her other Black Hills Gold ring. Where else should you buy Black Hills gold -- but in Deadwood, South Dakota.
We finished our birthday fun with a dinner out at Desperado's Cowboy Restaurant in Hill City. Peggy enjoyed her steak - I enjoyed my ribs - and a local brew called Pile-O-Dirt Porter.
Actually - it was pretty good! I'll forgo any further comment about alcoholic beverages consumed at dinner - other than to say that Peggy was Happy - Happy - Happy.
We both have really enjoyed our time here in the Black Hills and want to come back again someday ... but we've decided to continue our trek west tomorrow.
More things to see - more things to do ...
Chillin' In The Black Hills
OK - time to get caught up.
Peggy and I left Mitchell on Monday - heading west once again along I-90. We had a smooth travel day and arrived at the Badlands National Park around 2 PM Central Daylight Time. Unfortunately we passed into Mountain Daylight Time so it was really only around 1 PM. I don't do well with time changes - it takes my body several days to catch up to what time it is. Which explains why I'm awake at 5 AM catching up on my Blog posting!
Anywaay - we decided to stay overnight inside the park so we pulled in to the Cedar Pass Campground near the east entrance to the National Park and set up for the evening. The facilities at Cedar Pass are limited to electric service, although we were not complaining since they provided 50 Amp service. The camping spots are really just overly wide areas in the loop roads but we found a nice enough spot that allowed us an easy electric hookup and got us far enough out of the road so we could extend our bedroom slide with no problem. The best thing about this camping spot was the fantastic views of the unique Badlands countryside.
Sunset and Sunrise were especially dramatic.
The worse thing about our camping spot was the lack of phone and internet access. I was able to send a couple of emails for the 5 minutes or so that we had a connection - but that was about it!
After getting set up in our spot we drove over to the Visitors Center to check out the displays and watch the informative movie about the area and its history. The last time we visited this park it was July of 2005 and the temperature was about 104 degrees in the shade. Although we enjoyed the scenery while driving along the loop road - we didn't venture too far from the air conditioned Winnebago. The weather was much nicer on this trip so after leaving the Visitors Center we stopped at a few of the observation/hiking points and checked out some of the sights a little more up close and personal.
We did do a little hiking - but didn't venture too far of the beaten path!
As we turned off I-90 to drive into the park I noticed a sign for the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. That sounded pretty interesting so we drove back there to check it out. Back during the early Cold War days of the 1950s and 1960s this area of South Dakota became one of the locations for underground launch sites for solid fuel ballistic missiles known as the "Minuteman." These missiles could be launched relatively rapidly and could be on-target in the Soviet Union (or China) in about 30 minutes. Like the idea - or hate it - the threat of a bunch of 1.2 megaton nuclear warheads raining down went a long way to keeping both sides from doing anything stupid during those turbulent years. Although these Minuteman launch sites were decommissioned back in the early 90s as part of the START treaty - we still have a bunch of Minuteman III fixed position launch sites scattered about the northern plains - not to mention having those pesky submarines filled with their own brand of missiles out in the oceans. We may have less launch vehicles now but you can bet the accuracy and deadliness of those missiles has only gotten "better."
I'm glad a couple of these sites have been set aside as a national monument. We shouldn't forget our history and why/how we got where we are - even as we continue to strive to eliminate the threat of nuclear war. Unfortunately they weren't offering a below ground tour of the launch facility since their elevator was broken - so Peggy and I just toured the small Visitors Center - but it was interesting nonetheless.
We had a nice relaxing evening camping in the Badlands. Beautiful moon and bright stars out in the prairie.
Yesterday we left the Badlands and drove about 100 miles west to here near Hill City, South Dakota in the middle of the Black Hills. On our way we stopped in Wall, SD for a couple of hours to wander the streets and check out the famous Wall Drug Store. Just as with our last time here - we bought nothing but had a fun visit checking out the "stuff."
After setting up here with our "full hookups" (Happy Birthday Peggy!) we took a drive into Hill City for a walk-about their downtown. They have a number of shops selling the typical touristy tee shirts, some nice Black Hills gold jewelry, and some antiques. After buying nothing but a small bowl of ice cream at the ice cream shop - we continued with a driving tour of the Black Hills. About 60 miles or so later of driving through some beautiful country and parts of Custer State Park - we found our way back here to Winne for the evening. Whew - busy day!!
We did get to see several nice deer during our drive and this group of mountain goats.
Since today is Peggy's birthday we'll do whatever she wants to do. It looks to be another pretty nice day with a forecast high of about 85 degrees - but it may be the last day for shorts for a few days as the high for tomorrow is expected to be closer to 65 degrees.
Just "Chillin" for now in the Black Hills.
Peggy and I left Mitchell on Monday - heading west once again along I-90. We had a smooth travel day and arrived at the Badlands National Park around 2 PM Central Daylight Time. Unfortunately we passed into Mountain Daylight Time so it was really only around 1 PM. I don't do well with time changes - it takes my body several days to catch up to what time it is. Which explains why I'm awake at 5 AM catching up on my Blog posting!
Anywaay - we decided to stay overnight inside the park so we pulled in to the Cedar Pass Campground near the east entrance to the National Park and set up for the evening. The facilities at Cedar Pass are limited to electric service, although we were not complaining since they provided 50 Amp service. The camping spots are really just overly wide areas in the loop roads but we found a nice enough spot that allowed us an easy electric hookup and got us far enough out of the road so we could extend our bedroom slide with no problem. The best thing about this camping spot was the fantastic views of the unique Badlands countryside.
Sunset and Sunrise were especially dramatic.
The worse thing about our camping spot was the lack of phone and internet access. I was able to send a couple of emails for the 5 minutes or so that we had a connection - but that was about it!
After getting set up in our spot we drove over to the Visitors Center to check out the displays and watch the informative movie about the area and its history. The last time we visited this park it was July of 2005 and the temperature was about 104 degrees in the shade. Although we enjoyed the scenery while driving along the loop road - we didn't venture too far from the air conditioned Winnebago. The weather was much nicer on this trip so after leaving the Visitors Center we stopped at a few of the observation/hiking points and checked out some of the sights a little more up close and personal.
We did do a little hiking - but didn't venture too far of the beaten path!
As we turned off I-90 to drive into the park I noticed a sign for the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. That sounded pretty interesting so we drove back there to check it out. Back during the early Cold War days of the 1950s and 1960s this area of South Dakota became one of the locations for underground launch sites for solid fuel ballistic missiles known as the "Minuteman." These missiles could be launched relatively rapidly and could be on-target in the Soviet Union (or China) in about 30 minutes. Like the idea - or hate it - the threat of a bunch of 1.2 megaton nuclear warheads raining down went a long way to keeping both sides from doing anything stupid during those turbulent years. Although these Minuteman launch sites were decommissioned back in the early 90s as part of the START treaty - we still have a bunch of Minuteman III fixed position launch sites scattered about the northern plains - not to mention having those pesky submarines filled with their own brand of missiles out in the oceans. We may have less launch vehicles now but you can bet the accuracy and deadliness of those missiles has only gotten "better."
I'm glad a couple of these sites have been set aside as a national monument. We shouldn't forget our history and why/how we got where we are - even as we continue to strive to eliminate the threat of nuclear war. Unfortunately they weren't offering a below ground tour of the launch facility since their elevator was broken - so Peggy and I just toured the small Visitors Center - but it was interesting nonetheless.
We had a nice relaxing evening camping in the Badlands. Beautiful moon and bright stars out in the prairie.
Yesterday we left the Badlands and drove about 100 miles west to here near Hill City, South Dakota in the middle of the Black Hills. On our way we stopped in Wall, SD for a couple of hours to wander the streets and check out the famous Wall Drug Store. Just as with our last time here - we bought nothing but had a fun visit checking out the "stuff."
After setting up here with our "full hookups" (Happy Birthday Peggy!) we took a drive into Hill City for a walk-about their downtown. They have a number of shops selling the typical touristy tee shirts, some nice Black Hills gold jewelry, and some antiques. After buying nothing but a small bowl of ice cream at the ice cream shop - we continued with a driving tour of the Black Hills. About 60 miles or so later of driving through some beautiful country and parts of Custer State Park - we found our way back here to Winne for the evening. Whew - busy day!!
We did get to see several nice deer during our drive and this group of mountain goats.
Since today is Peggy's birthday we'll do whatever she wants to do. It looks to be another pretty nice day with a forecast high of about 85 degrees - but it may be the last day for shorts for a few days as the high for tomorrow is expected to be closer to 65 degrees.
Just "Chillin" for now in the Black Hills.
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