Rushmore to Yellowstone

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On Monday, the 14th, we got up to find a buffalo in our campground at Custer. I guess the rangers call him Fred. Some nice neighbors volunteered to take our picture if we wanted to stand by him, I declined that offer!




Today we went to see Mt. Rushmore. Just the drive there from Custer State Park on 16 is an experience. There were 3 tunnels and the end of each framed Mt Rushmore. There was a spiral on part of the road that wound up, or down depending if you were coming or going, just like a spiral staircase.



The monument itself doesn't look real just because it is so big and seems impossible to have been chiseled out of a mountain side. We heard some people complaining because there is no charge to see the monument, however parking is $10. This charge seems pretty small to keep up the whole area. To me Roosevelt and Lincoln were the best.



We drove through the Big Horn Mtns on the way to Yellowstone. Going through the canyon there was as lovely a drive as we have ever had. The only problem with scenic drives is that they often entail long steep grades. Our camper doesn't seem to like this very much and started to overheat. So we pulled over and unhooked the Jeep and drove separately for a while. That solved the problem, but it also made us rethink some of our routes and destinations. For this trip we think we'll avoid the Tetons since there is an area there that has a 10% grade, the steepest in the US, and it was right in our line of travel.



We arrived in Yellowstone on Wednesday the 16th. It was 50 miles from the entrance just to get to our first campground, Grant Village, where we stayed one night - no electric - great phone and internet reception, but no power! Our next campground, Fishing Bridge, has full hook-ups, but no reception! We'll be in Yellowstone 4-5 nights. We have seen Old Faithful go off 2 times already and the falls in Yellowstone canyon are spectacular.

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Photos

huge pet
That's our camper in the background!!

Old Faithful Lodge
old historic lodge, perfect for a drink

500 foot climb back up
the lower falls at yellowstone

Comments

[AnnMarie]

Awesome
Hi tamara and ron, Great blog, I can almost forget my daily job and picture traveling with you guys!!! Keep up the blog, I hope you get my comment. Love, AnnMarie

[Krys]

WOW!
Very cool "pet", my goodness! What a mess he must make though, wandering through the campground. Puts a new meaning on "watch out for piles"! Quick question..... how loud is Old Faithful when it goes off? Cool pic! Keep up the blogs!

[Joan]

Wow!
I wll never understand how you can climb backup those mountains. I would die before I made it up or sweat to death! Love this blog! Keep sending them! Mom is doing okay. Went to the doctor again because her throat is still sore. They gave her a spray and said this could take up to 4 weeks to go away. She isn't whispering now - has increased volume about 50%. Talk to ya soon! xxxooo

[Car]

Awesome
Boy do we ever enjoy reading your trip. Someday maybe we can take and see of these places you are going. Mom loves it too. She is doing better. She went back to the doctor on Monday. She sounds better anyway. I will check on her tomorrow. We had a great 6 days at Tahquamenon. We camped on the lower falls and could walk all along their boardwalks. 11 miles. Holly and Wayne stayed for 3 days and we traveled around with them. Went to the Oswald Bear Ranch and held a baby cub -- she kissed me. Good laugh for everyone. Josey (the bear) was soo very soft. She was 9 months old. We could feed her Fruit Loops. The Upper Falls has an 8 mile trail which wasn't bad at all except for the 94 steps down to the bottom which was easy but we were all surprised that it wasn't bad coming back up. We had the better weather all week than we had all summer. Take Care - Car Keep the blogs coming