There are two Ghost Towns located about 20 miles from Stanley. Bonanza City was the first gold mining town to raise up of the two in 1877 and by 1881 it had a population of 600. Fires in 1889 and 1897 gutted much of the town and most of them moved to Custer City which was only about 2 miles away. I was intrigued by Bonanza because my favorite TV show as a young girl was Bonanza. Now the ghost town has absolutely nothing to do with the TV show but I still wanted to go because of the name. All I needed was to see Little Joe ride up on his horse J Most of the buildings at Bonanza are in decay but several miles up a bumpy dirt road was the Bonanza Cemetery. We ... read more

Sunday May 2, 2021 Idaho is most assuredly the most beautiful state we have ever visited. Amazing mountains, canyons, rivers, waterfalls, deserts and did I mention mountains!!!! It might be the most windy as well at least in southern Idaho. This morning I had trouble opening the door to the hotel because the wind was so strong. Oh and did I mention the mountains J We drove the scenic 2 hour drive to Craters of Moon National Monument in Carey Idaho. This is where the Apollo 11 astronauts trained for their mission because the terrain resembled the moon. There is not one certain volcano that created this lava landscape but it is a part of the Great Rift which is a series of deep fissures that crossed the Snake River Plain. Sometimes these fissures would spout ... read more

Friday April 30, 2021 The drive from Green River, WY to Twin Falls, ID. The area around Green River to Evanston Wyoming was so beautiful. The rock formations and canyons were stunning. It was an enjoyable ride and the elevation around 6000 ft. From the time we left Green River the skies were clear and we had long distance views of the snow capped Utah mountains. So very majestic… We crossed over into Utah and drove through Ogden then north to Twin Falls. Mountain views graced us the entire way. We did pass the Devil’s Slide in Utah. These are two parallel vertical limestone layers 40 feet high and 25 feet apart. Erosion has exposed these layers over many years. It is quite the geological sight. Our next stop was Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, ID. ... read more

Let the adventure begin!!! The first official day of the trip starting at my brother Jeff’s house in Carmel, IN and driving to York, NE. We feel like the first pioneers riding west in their covered wagons, except that we have a comfortable truck with all the luxuries, sleeping in hotels and eating in restaurants. Ok so we are nothing like the first pioneers except enjoying the scenery. I have always felt that the journey to our destination is as exciting as the destination itself. There is so much to see in our beautiful country and you just need to slow down to see. Once while traveling to Alabama, Kevin, Nathan (my cousin) and I stopped at a rest area in Elkmont. They have a Saturn rocket, lots of info about space travel and a Korean ... read more