Wyoming is really big...and beautiful!

In the past couple of days we have driven from far north east Wyoming across the state to the far north west then down to the south central and are now in far south east. It is a facinating state with some amazing terrain. These few pics cannot do it justice. Today, we drove through a section where we were surrounded on three sides with huge, beautiful mountains but we were in a sagebrush plain - from Jackson to Laramie - 400 miles - there were only 7 or 8 towns, total. Really. I am being extremely generous with the description of town - some were incorporated with a population of less than 100, one less than 10.

Bison & Eagles & Moose, oh my...

Okay, one eagle but it was a real live bald eagle! Just as we came around the top of Yellowstone Lake, there it was, flying over the road then perching on the top of a lodge pole pine - posing for us - looking fierce. And only one moose but a larger number of bison than I’ve ever seen in one place. Yellowstone is amazing, beautiful, awe-inspiring but so crowded. We waited in line to get into the park, we waiting in line to pass the road construction, we waited in line to pull into a store parking lot then, I waited in line for the only working women’s toilet. Bah!

But, once we were out on the park road, again, spectacular. Sad, too, because of the scars from the fire - the big one was in 1988. Waterfalls, beautiful river valleys, geysers, and bubbling mud - quite a sight.

The one main “attraction” we wanted to see was Old Faithful. It only erupts about once every 90 minutes so we waited until the end of the day, hoping we wouldn’t have to wait too long. I popped into a store to shop (of course) while Matt walked down to the viewing area. When he arrived at the viewing area, there were probably 300 people all waiting in bleachers. He set up his camera, figuring he’d be in for a wait. Then, the people starting counting down 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... Fwoosh! Old Faithful spewed water and mud over 100 feet into the air! Amazing. I had only been in the shop for 5 minutes… oh well, I look at the pics along with everyone else.

On our way down to the south entrance, it began to rain. Along the road down to Lewis Lake, the Miata turned over 3000 miles. But, by the time we entered Grand Teton National Park, the rain had stopped and the sun came out. We were driving through some of the most beautiful country I’d ever seen and, smelling the fragrance of rain and pine listening to Haydn on the radio - thanks XM.

We are staying tonight at Jackson Lake Lodge - truly the highlight of our trip. The Tetons are breathtaking - in fact the tag line on a brochure is “Grand Teton National Park - Plenty of space to breathe, once you catch your breath.

Tomorrow, the Tetons!

PS: I am sitting in the lounge of the lodge, listening to a live band and looking out over the lake at the mountains...beautiful! Still can't upload pics but here's a link to go to... Jackson Lake Lodge

We're on Holiday

I am going to try to catch this blog up to today's events. We've been having a great time. On Monday morning we went to Mt. Rushmore - I have tried to up load pics but the signal here is very weak. Once I have a good strong connection, I will try again. Though we've all seen pictures and films depicting the mountain, it is still startling and exciting to see it in real life. The faces are carved into a granite mountain in the Black Hills. The sculture is almost white compared to the rest of the stone. Amazing, really.


We then took a long drive thru the Black Hills. Beautiful! And the Mazda is more than happy to sail around the hairpin curves. There were several tunnels on this drive - all were one lane tunnels, very narrow. You had to come around the curve and honk before you entered the tunnel. Again, we have pics, but...

We then went to the Crazy Horse Monument. Such conflict - but, once the mountain is finished, it will be spectacular. All the faces of Rushmore could fit in the face of Crazy Horse.

Because we had only visited the Badlands briefly, we went back to finish the drive - again I cannot describe the desolate beauty.

Today, we drove to Sturgis (of course) then to Devil's Tower. We actually hiked completely around the base. Beautiful. We drove on to Buffalo, WY then crossed the BigHorn Mountains. Wyoming is an amazing place - we saw terrain I've never seen anywhere else, or at least not on such a large scale. Snow-capped mountains, deep canyons with sheer cliffs, tall badland dunes, grasslands as far as the eye can see...

We ended the day in Cody, Wy just outside Yellowstone. For Matt's B-day, we ate at the Irma Hotel. This hotel was built by Buffalo Bill (he paid to have it constructed) and named it after his daughter. Inside there is a huge cherrywood bar given to Buffalo Bill by Queen Victoria of England. After dinner, we walked around and Matt took photos. I went into a little coffee shop to get us something warm to drink (it's a little chilly). In the course of visiting with the girls there (imagine me conversing with strangers), I mentioned it was Matt's B-day. They asked if I would give him a brownie from them as a gift. Sweet, huh!

BTW - we received a few voicemails wishing Matt a happy birthday but not until after 10 this evening. Apparently, Wyoming has one cell tower in the entire state and we were nowhere close to it at any point today. He wants me to say thank you for calling!

Running behind on the blogging...

Wow, so much to tell, so little time to type. We are in Rapid City, SD. We actually drove here on Sunday - but we were not planning to. We made good time across Kansas and Nebraska. When I can connect to the Internet, I’ll download some pics. When we pulled into Valentine, NE, we realized it was still early. So, we figured we’d drive on for a while longer. It was only about 90 miles to I-90 - surely there’d be some place to stay along the way. When we reached the Interstate, we decided to drive a little farther to reach the entrance to the Badlands - another 60 miles. Once we arrived, the Badlands took our breath away. We had to spend some time taking pics in the evening light. In the park, every cabin and hotel was filled. Drive to Wall, we were told. So, was did. (Keep in mind, we had been up since 5am Central Time - we had driven out of Woodward at 6am.) 20 miles to Wall. We stopped and ate dinner at about 9pm - Mountain time. Plenty of hotels, right? Wrong. No vacancy in the entire town. Probably need to drive to Rapid City, we were told - another 70 miles. We left Wall at 10pm Mountain time and drove to Rapid City. Apparently, there are way too few hotel rooms in Rapid City. We thought we’d be sleeping in our little two-seater but, we finally found what was probably the last hotel room in Rapid City - Super 8 for $105 a night at 11:30 Mountain time. Let’s see, that is 17 ½ hours. A little more driving than we had planned for Sunday…

Other than the crowds everywhere, it’s been glorious so far.

And, we're off...

First night out- with a few little missteps, we finally were on the rode. Made it to the next town when I realized I had forgotten our laptop. So, a quick trip back and off we went. What a beautiful evening! No wind, temperature around 85, a few fluffy clouds.

We headed up Governor George Nigh’s Northwest Passage - NW Expressway - Oklahoma Highway 3. Actually, the time to retrieve the forgotten laptop was time well spent because the first trip out we got on I-40. Bah! Instead of bouncing along the interstate with the grumpy crowd, we drove among the fields with only a few other vehicles to keep us company. The sunset was spectacular! And, with XM, we had great music.

We had made a decision to try to avoid national chains - hotels and restaurants. By the time we drove into Woodward, all the local places were closed so to Pizza Hut we went. Not a good choice. Usually we like Pizza Hut but this was not a good visit. I think the manager must have taken the evening off. Anyway, we survived. We are staying in a little mom & pop motel - the Red Country Inn. For $46 we get a kingsize bed (non-smoking room), microwave fridge, HBO, Internet access, newly remodeled. The family running it (probably owners) were busy about the business - cleaning rooms, straightening the foyer, looking at the guests with big brown eyes. So far, so good.

Zoom, Zoom!

Hello all. I am writing this morning as the precursor to our vacation. Those who have been reading this blog for a time know it has many faces, one of which is travel-blogging. We have been traveling on our motorcycles but have changed directions now. For sometime we have been debating selling the bikes and buying a convertible. The title of this post gives you the result. We bought a Mazda MX-5 and are selling the bikes. Why? Several reasons - each bike gets great gas mileage but two bikes going the same place are about the same as one car. The weather is a much larger factor when on two wheels. One cannot travel as far, as fast on a bike - we've taken about as many one-day trips as we can and it is beginning to get a bit boring. And, the safety issue is one every biker should be thinking about. Riding a motorcycle is not incredibly dangerous in and of itself. The skill and attitude of the rider can make a ride safe and enjoyable or an exercise in stupidity. But, when you add in the rest of the motorists on the road, the danger becomes extreme. True, we bikers, as a rule, are very safe and considerate. True, we have a right to share the road. True, the law is on our side in most accidents. But it is hard to fight for your rights when you are severely injured or dead.

What did we like most about riding? The feeling of freedom, the openess of vehicle, the connection with the road. What did we like least? Needing to wear the gear to be safe - it is constricting and hot. The weather concerns - a hail storm on a bike is no fun. In fact, even a very light rain can create a very hazardous condition - the rain causes the oil that has soaked into the road to rise to the top again - very slick. But what we hated most of all were the stupid, stupid, people who don't know or don't care that they cut off a biker or pulled out in front of one or stopped short. We tried to make ourselves as visable as possible. We always allowed an appropriate number of car lengths between us and the car in front until a car would squeeze into the gap.

My sweet husband and I have both been on the wrong end of a game of chicken with some thick-headed idiot. For instance, when we rode to Corpus last year, we were run into the shoulder and almost off the road by a group of cars who thought the 45 mph speed limit really meant 70. They didn't want to wait for a passing opportunty. They just took our lane.

So, here we are - getting ready for another trip. We are keeping the same travel mode - not a lot of trunk space but we'll be able to carry more than we could on our bikes. We'll check the weather report on Thursday to see in what direction we will head on Saturday evening. I'm thinking West. The mountains, the quaking aspens, the wide open spaces. But, it could be East to the ocean and family...



Or, possibly North...


It won't be South, that was last year...


***please note, all over these images are from the internet - they are not ours but only representations of where we may go. The pic of the car is accurate - ours is the smoky gray...

And, again...

I wanted to, again, express myself on some of the arguments. Okiecynic said, "As to defending your off spring, that I would expect of a mother,..." Interesting, really, when I said nothing in my post about defending anyone. I simply stated that a rejoiner of "You're too [young,old,fat,skinny,rich,old,tall,short] is not a valid argument but only an attempt at an insult. One misguided individual once told the world not to trust anyone over 30. There are those out there whose sole view point is based on a physical trait an if anyone disagrees with their positions it must be because of that one thing.

Another interesting thing here is that apparently being related to someone is reason for disqualification in a discussion. Am I to be disqualified if I defend your position because it is disclosed you are my friend? I would ask those who read my blog to find a time when I have defended my daughter's position simply because she is my daughter. You will not find it.

Now, I will blog more succiently - it is an incredible show of misplaced arrogance to slap away an argument as invalid because of the youth of the presenter. Conversely, it is the same thing to do so predicated on the advanced age, or the color, or the ethnicity, or the size, or anything along those lines. Not only is it arrogant, but it is foolish. "...don't close your mind to others' ideas because you can't force yourself to acknowledge the possibility of an error in your thinking. You do a person an injustice when you encourage intellectual arrogance." I choose not to encourage your intellectual arrogance.

You will notice, if you take the time to read my entries, I actually have not taken a position at all. I have not addressed any of the arguments Ms B&W has written nor have I addressed yours. Only those of John and Canoe - I know the relative ages of these men but I never brought it up - immaterial, really. So, before you make a statement about my defending my daughter at all, check your facts. To frame an argument without facts might encourage others to think your other points are baseless as well.

Now...talk amongst yourselves, I'll give you a topic - Al Gore - actor or future president, discuss...

My Kingdom for a Passport Clerk

everything I go to a US Post Office, I am stunned by the inefficient and unprofessional behavior. And, I usually leave in less than a positive frame of mind. The advertising jingle is incorrect - Fly and Eagle do not belong in the same sentence as USPS. Fly like a sloth, maybe.

A few questions:
Why does every post office have at least three times as many service windows as clerks? Is it in the blueprints?
Why do the clerks walk so slowly?
Why does every transaction take approximately 28 years?
Why does everyone within a 3 miles radius get in line right in front of me?
Why are there no passport clerks in the post office between the hours of 9 am and 3:30 pm Monday thru Friday even though the sign at the post office says the passport desk hours are Monday thru Friday 9am to 3:30 pm?
Why do we still put up with it? fly like an eagle, my ass...