We woke up around 4 due to the noise, laid around until around 6 and gave it up to get anymore sleep. So we packed and left. Stopping at Denny's for breakfast and then we hit the road. The mountains are behind us. Not to be seen again until our next vacation. Its sad.
The weather is rainy and deary. The road.... very long, boring and not a bathroom to be seen for miles. Our coffee was a mistake. Finally we saw a roadside stop. Rick stopped and as he walked to the outhouse a huge swarm of mosquitoes flew up in a cloud. Bad side. They landed on the windows and were huge. Gee maybe I don't have to go that bad after all. Rick returned looking pale. You don't want to use that restroom he gasped. It is the worse yet. You wouldn't be able to sit, or breath, or maybe even live through it. Hummmm, sounds grim.
Off we go toward town looking for a McDonald's. Right outside of the town I see a park. With a new restroom. Would it be clean? We had been having terrible luck in Colorado with the rest stops. Was it a teenagers nationals past time to trash the pit stops? Kind of like tipping cows or Tee peeing houses in other towns? Still, I had had the endless pot of coffee at Denny's. Me with the bladder of a gnat. 100 miles ago. So we pulled in and I went in. Heaven. Clean, sparkling clean, smelled good. Working faucets. Toilets that flush. Paper towels. Yippy. It really is the little things in life, LOL.
On our travels we hadn't seen many highway patrol. Maybe 3 in 3000 miles. No one drives the speed limit. That all changed when we hit Nebraska. All of a sudden about every 15 miles there was a highway patrolman with a speeder pulled over. We slowed down and stopped following the flow. What a bummer to end our trip with a ticket. So crawling along at 75 we worked our way home. The sun started peaking out and we were making good time. At this rate we should make it to town around 3:30 and could eat at our favorite restaurant before going home. I called my son to tell him the good news where he proceeded to remind me we were out of mountain time now and it was a hour later then we thought. Bummer. That meant we would be hitting Omaha at rush hour. Bigger Bummer. That would put it closer to 6 or 7 if we didn't get stuck in traffic behind a accident like happened to us last time.
Why is it once you decide to go home you just want it to be over. Blink your eyes and be there. For the first time I was cramped in our van. Our tempers were short. And we did hit rush hour traffic from Lincoln Nebraska on. But no accidents. So we crept along and finally at 6:45 we pulled up at Sweet Fannies for supper and then home. Heaven.
We got home and Zoey glued herself to us. We visited with our son and both talked at once about our trip. It had been wonderful. Expensive but wonderful. We put on a little over 4000 miles. 4000 miles of beautiful country. By the next day we are already planning the next trip. We can't wait.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Leaving Vernal we hit HWY 40. It is a long straight road that the Halaburton oil trucks use. Littered along side the road on both sides are bottles, beer and water like they just drive and toss it out of the windows. There antelope on both side of the highway and it was just a lovely day to travel. The speed limit seems to be whatever your comfortable driving in this state and everyone was over the speed limit. On the straights though it was fine. This is dinosaur country. We took pictures often. To Cache dey Poudre National Forest and Canyon. It was weird. So many of the tall trees are dying. In places more dead then living. Here is this beautiful forest with brown trees all over. I know in the black hills they say they have gotten a beatle that is killing the trees. I wonder if they are here also.
This is another very very tall mountain where they seem to delight in letting cattle run loose. Going around a hairpin it isn't unusual to have a cow in the road. We went to through high mountain aspen groves and saw deer all over. Again trout streams all over. We drove through Cameron Pass which was at 10,600 ft. Rick was checking out the altimeter on his watch like crazy all the way down. Next to the road runs a stream that is a favorite of fisherman. They were all over. Small water falls, rapids, it was just beautiful. The deeper in the canyon you get the higher the wall around you. Winding road which one crazy woman tried to pass on the outside with a double yellow and almost gave us a heart attack. She made it back to her side. Why do people do that?
We stopped in Steamboat Springs to use the park restroom. Getting out of the car we were struck by this rotten egg type smell. The park had a hot spring hole and it was steaming and smelling us a storm. Going to the restroom I found it had been totally trashed and was unusable. That seemed to be true most of the way through Colorado. Now a woman likes a nice clean spot to stop. Yellowstone was a dream come true. I travel with disinfectant wipes and gloves, hand sanitizer and my own tissue. But nothing could fix the filthy rest stops in Steamboat. Either the door didn't work, they were trashed or people had smeared the unmentionable on the walls. Why do people do that? I finally stopped a McDonalds. They always have clean restrooms.
Steamboat springs would be a nice town if your under 30, have no body fat and like to do sports. It was very busy. We stopped and watch some children in their kayaking class. That was fun. After stretching for awhile we drove on.
Past Walden we saw a huge bull moose crossing the road. I jumped out of the car to get pictures. It was just huge. It stopped briefly in the middle of the road to look at me and then jumped the fence like it was nothing. It was my first bull moose and I was thrilled.
Finally after driving through the canyon for hours and hours we drove to Ft. Collins Colorado. Another college town. Very busy. After all the hours on lonely long highways I am anxious in crowded towns. We checked into a motel and went to Old Chicago for supper. I think it was the first meal and we were hungry. Tomorrow we start home. The motel was OK. A large motel with lots of empty rooms they insisted on giving us a room next to someone who had a grill and cooler set outside his room. He was up the entire night talking outside the window with people who came and went. Drug dealers? Who knows but of all the rooms, why stick us there. We weren't as lucky with our motel rooms as we were getting tables at restaurants.
This is another very very tall mountain where they seem to delight in letting cattle run loose. Going around a hairpin it isn't unusual to have a cow in the road. We went to through high mountain aspen groves and saw deer all over. Again trout streams all over. We drove through Cameron Pass which was at 10,600 ft. Rick was checking out the altimeter on his watch like crazy all the way down. Next to the road runs a stream that is a favorite of fisherman. They were all over. Small water falls, rapids, it was just beautiful. The deeper in the canyon you get the higher the wall around you. Winding road which one crazy woman tried to pass on the outside with a double yellow and almost gave us a heart attack. She made it back to her side. Why do people do that?
We stopped in Steamboat Springs to use the park restroom. Getting out of the car we were struck by this rotten egg type smell. The park had a hot spring hole and it was steaming and smelling us a storm. Going to the restroom I found it had been totally trashed and was unusable. That seemed to be true most of the way through Colorado. Now a woman likes a nice clean spot to stop. Yellowstone was a dream come true. I travel with disinfectant wipes and gloves, hand sanitizer and my own tissue. But nothing could fix the filthy rest stops in Steamboat. Either the door didn't work, they were trashed or people had smeared the unmentionable on the walls. Why do people do that? I finally stopped a McDonalds. They always have clean restrooms.
Steamboat springs would be a nice town if your under 30, have no body fat and like to do sports. It was very busy. We stopped and watch some children in their kayaking class. That was fun. After stretching for awhile we drove on.
Past Walden we saw a huge bull moose crossing the road. I jumped out of the car to get pictures. It was just huge. It stopped briefly in the middle of the road to look at me and then jumped the fence like it was nothing. It was my first bull moose and I was thrilled.
Finally after driving through the canyon for hours and hours we drove to Ft. Collins Colorado. Another college town. Very busy. After all the hours on lonely long highways I am anxious in crowded towns. We checked into a motel and went to Old Chicago for supper. I think it was the first meal and we were hungry. Tomorrow we start home. The motel was OK. A large motel with lots of empty rooms they insisted on giving us a room next to someone who had a grill and cooler set outside his room. He was up the entire night talking outside the window with people who came and went. Drug dealers? Who knows but of all the rooms, why stick us there. We weren't as lucky with our motel rooms as we were getting tables at restaurants.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
9/06/08
I slept great again, thank goodness for sleeping pills. We went to the Teton Steak house for breakfast. They had a breakfast buffet which was good, great service and dark coffee. Yummy and the price was great. Then off to the Tetons for more pictures. They are just stunning. Neither camera, actually photographer could do them justice.
See the glacier on the mountain.
We drove to the lakes and passed streams were people were fly fishing again.
I stopped to get pictures and sat on this old bridge to get a better shot. Well it turned out to be a dirty bridge and I got grease all over my pants. But it was worth it as I think the shot looks pretty.
We did some hiking but not much as we still had a long way to go. The every present warning about grizzle bears makes you nervous also but it must not make the regulars nervous as there were many people backpacking. I wish we had more times.
Then we started on for the next part of our day. We always like traveling by the old highways instead of interstate.
We chose wisely today. We decided to take the old Flaming Gorge highway. HWY 43, 44 and then 191. Climbing up and down mountains. We saw numerous deer. Very pretty country. Cattle on steep mountain corners. Rick has this man thing of checking his watches altimeter at every mountain top. Finally he gets to use this function on this watch. Here we are going around 15 steep hairpin turns on the tops of mountains with 7800 ft drops and he's checking his watch to see if it the same as on the sign. Yikes. Keep your eyes on the road I grip. Who cares how far we have to fall if you drive off the edge. It still scares me on those turns. One steep hill was a 8.5 downhill grade with hairpin turns. 2 semi' cautiously making their way behind us. One the signs along side the road it says, only 6 more left, only 5 more left.... Ears popping every few thousand feet.
But what a beautiful road. Flaming Gorge with its red canyon walls and sapphire blue water. At the top of a mountain we stopped at the lookout to get a couple of pictures.
Rick is as happy as a lark standing at the edge of the world.
Have I mentioned before this is a beautiful country?
Tonight we only made it to Vernal, Utah Those mountain roads take forever to drive. The downtown is lovely with large baskets of petunia lining the entire main street. We got a so so room and had a so so meal and then hit the hay. We had hoped to make Steamboat Springs but were about 150 miles short. Still it was such a lovely day it didn't matter. We are slowly working our way back to home.
See the glacier on the mountain.
We drove to the lakes and passed streams were people were fly fishing again.
I stopped to get pictures and sat on this old bridge to get a better shot. Well it turned out to be a dirty bridge and I got grease all over my pants. But it was worth it as I think the shot looks pretty.
We did some hiking but not much as we still had a long way to go. The every present warning about grizzle bears makes you nervous also but it must not make the regulars nervous as there were many people backpacking. I wish we had more times.
Then we started on for the next part of our day. We always like traveling by the old highways instead of interstate.
We chose wisely today. We decided to take the old Flaming Gorge highway. HWY 43, 44 and then 191. Climbing up and down mountains. We saw numerous deer. Very pretty country. Cattle on steep mountain corners. Rick has this man thing of checking his watches altimeter at every mountain top. Finally he gets to use this function on this watch. Here we are going around 15 steep hairpin turns on the tops of mountains with 7800 ft drops and he's checking his watch to see if it the same as on the sign. Yikes. Keep your eyes on the road I grip. Who cares how far we have to fall if you drive off the edge. It still scares me on those turns. One steep hill was a 8.5 downhill grade with hairpin turns. 2 semi' cautiously making their way behind us. One the signs along side the road it says, only 6 more left, only 5 more left.... Ears popping every few thousand feet.
But what a beautiful road. Flaming Gorge with its red canyon walls and sapphire blue water. At the top of a mountain we stopped at the lookout to get a couple of pictures.
Rick is as happy as a lark standing at the edge of the world.
Have I mentioned before this is a beautiful country?
Tonight we only made it to Vernal, Utah Those mountain roads take forever to drive. The downtown is lovely with large baskets of petunia lining the entire main street. We got a so so room and had a so so meal and then hit the hay. We had hoped to make Steamboat Springs but were about 150 miles short. Still it was such a lovely day it didn't matter. We are slowly working our way back to home.
9/05/08
We didn't get the free breakfast after all as we decided to go back to Grannies. It was very good. Our timing was once again perfect. We got seated right before the pack filled the place up and from there on there was a waiting list. Now back to Yellowstone.
Today the weather was sunny and just beautiful. The pictures should turn out better.
Driving in we saw a female moose and her calf eating along side the road.
Then on to the park.
You really need at least 4 days to do the park and more to hike and see it all. Even with so much of it burned it is beautiful.
The fire area's are even interesting as you see how a forest recovers from a fire throughout the years. The first one from 10 years ago has new growth taller then me and the ones from this week just look sad. Wildflowers all over. There is a controlled burn going on so occasionally you get a whiff of smoke. Which smells much better then the mud pots by the way.
Today we saw sandhill cranes which are migrating through the park right now.
We saw mud flats, steam vents, waterfalls, lakes and mountains.
I gave Rick the Soni and I took the canon so we both have shots and Rick got some great ones. The colors are just beautiful also.
We did some backtracking to see things we didn't getto see the day before and then drove on through the park to the Grand Tetons. Coming around a corner 8 hours later, framed in a V in the road with trees on each side was our first view of the Tetons.
I have always wanted to see them and they were just as impressive and breathtaking as I had hoped. I snapped away as we drove by them but it was now dark and misty and we didn't stop
Years before my in laws had taken a trip for the summer and visited all the parks with my sons. My FIL kept saying, another beautiful panoramic view. We teased him but now I now why. Each corner brings a new wonder to view. These are the most impressive mountains I have ever seen. Snow capped and dark rugged peaks. We drive by a large lake with them on the other side for miles. We didn't get to linger long as we wanted to get to Jackson Hole before dark and we will be coming back tomorrow so we drove on.
Finally we made it to Jackson Hole and got a room at the Flat Creek inn. Very overpriced room just like one we had gotten for half that price in every other town. Jackson Hole is a rich persons tourist trap type place with lots of extremely overpriced items for sell and very very busy. People walking all over and right out in front of you if you weren't careful. The decor is neat, all log buildings. Lots of Eddie Bauer type clothing here. People are dressed like rich hunters or rich fly fisherman. College kids all over. Not my type of town. I like Cody better but still a pretty town and truthfully we weren't there long enough to know.
We went to Snake River Brewing to eat and when we first walked in I was dismayed to see how busy and noisy it was. I was tired and just wanted a beer and meal and then sleep in that order. However. The beer was tasty, the foodwas great and I relaxed once we were seated. Once again getting the last table in the room. Rick had the Green Chili Burritoand I had this great spiced chicken on linguine. It was just yummy. Huge portion again and my diet is definitely shot.
Today the weather was sunny and just beautiful. The pictures should turn out better.
Driving in we saw a female moose and her calf eating along side the road.
Then on to the park.
You really need at least 4 days to do the park and more to hike and see it all. Even with so much of it burned it is beautiful.
The fire area's are even interesting as you see how a forest recovers from a fire throughout the years. The first one from 10 years ago has new growth taller then me and the ones from this week just look sad. Wildflowers all over. There is a controlled burn going on so occasionally you get a whiff of smoke. Which smells much better then the mud pots by the way.
Today we saw sandhill cranes which are migrating through the park right now.
We saw mud flats, steam vents, waterfalls, lakes and mountains.
I gave Rick the Soni and I took the canon so we both have shots and Rick got some great ones. The colors are just beautiful also.
We did some backtracking to see things we didn't getto see the day before and then drove on through the park to the Grand Tetons. Coming around a corner 8 hours later, framed in a V in the road with trees on each side was our first view of the Tetons.
I have always wanted to see them and they were just as impressive and breathtaking as I had hoped. I snapped away as we drove by them but it was now dark and misty and we didn't stop
Years before my in laws had taken a trip for the summer and visited all the parks with my sons. My FIL kept saying, another beautiful panoramic view. We teased him but now I now why. Each corner brings a new wonder to view. These are the most impressive mountains I have ever seen. Snow capped and dark rugged peaks. We drive by a large lake with them on the other side for miles. We didn't get to linger long as we wanted to get to Jackson Hole before dark and we will be coming back tomorrow so we drove on.
Finally we made it to Jackson Hole and got a room at the Flat Creek inn. Very overpriced room just like one we had gotten for half that price in every other town. Jackson Hole is a rich persons tourist trap type place with lots of extremely overpriced items for sell and very very busy. People walking all over and right out in front of you if you weren't careful. The decor is neat, all log buildings. Lots of Eddie Bauer type clothing here. People are dressed like rich hunters or rich fly fisherman. College kids all over. Not my type of town. I like Cody better but still a pretty town and truthfully we weren't there long enough to know.
We went to Snake River Brewing to eat and when we first walked in I was dismayed to see how busy and noisy it was. I was tired and just wanted a beer and meal and then sleep in that order. However. The beer was tasty, the foodwas great and I relaxed once we were seated. Once again getting the last table in the room. Rick had the Green Chili Burritoand I had this great spiced chicken on linguine. It was just yummy. Huge portion again and my diet is definitely shot.
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