National Parks II & III

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Dear Californians, We apologize for having been out of touch. The reality is that you can't blog from just anywhere; you need connections. So, to update you all you will notice that from Glacier we traveled through Yellowstone. We took some hikes into geothermal areas; those are the other kind of hot spots. Couldn't go into the visitor's center at the rangers had blocked the street off as a large herd of elk were passing by (and they do have the right a way). Saw many bison as well, including right on the road, antelope, deer, wild turkeys, and fewer homo sapiens due to the time of year. We did experience our 1st road mishap in Yellowstone. A woman in a red SUV came across the double line and broke the glass on the side mirror, driver's side. She didn't even stop. Poor Dave had to drive for 2 more days minus his ability to see behind him (very important in a 26' vehicle). When he had to change lanes, I had to take off my seatbelt, climb over the dog, and run to our bed in back so I could tell him if anything was approaching. Exciting, but not the way we had planned. We knew we had to get to a sizable town before the weekend, so we headed for 1 night at Colter Bay, Grand Tetons. Grand Tetons are surely their grandest in the fall. Words can not describe the beauty that surrounded us...jagged high peaks, lovely reflective lakes, and yellow aspen trees dotting the pine forest. We "dry" camped for those of you who are not familiar with the RV lingo, no hook ups. Big deal! Who needs electricity, sewage, and cell phone when you have scenic beauty!
Lots of road work being done as they are limited by weather and must lay asphalt while the sun shines. We pushed onto Riverton, WY and found a glass repairman, but he was out to lunch. We did the same and came back at 1 hoping he wasn't the TGIF sort of guy. He couldn't have been nicer and more helpful. For $35 (and no tip wanted) we were on our way again with eyes in the back of our vehicle. Since we have been on small 2 lane roads it wasn't as bad as it couldn't have been. We spent the night in Buffalo and saw the locals in Wrangler jeans, cowboy shirts tucked in over a big buckle belt, boots, 10 gal Stetson, and all were in pickups! This eastern part of Wyoming is stark & barren. Lots of oil wells and coal. In fact when we stopped at a park in Newcastle for lunch, we didn't realize that we were a few yards from the RR tracks. Soon a 100+ freight train come roaring along .with every gondola car filled with coal. Naturally, Dave had to mention "Isn't this like bringing coal to Newcastle?" A few minutes later another train carrying the same load came by. We arrived at Custer, South Dakota...a 1st visit to this state. We took some time to see the Crazy Horse monument. A work still in progress, it is absolutely amazing. It is the largest sculpture in the world. The plans are very ambitious and come without any government money. We had been told by Bill & Em to stay at Rafter J Campground and we were delighted with the location, just outside Mt. Rushmore. Another suggestion was to eat at the Alpine Inn in Hill City. All you can order is filet mignon your only choice is 6oz ($8.95) or 10 oz ($10.95). People were lined up all over the place. I asked our unharried waitress how many dinners they would serve tonight; she replied, "Tonight we'll do about 400." There's a lot of beef in Wyoming. You also got a wedge of lettuce, Texas toast, and a baked potato. Yes, Dylan, Nana does eat meat sometimes. They also had a 30 item dessert menu (for an extra $3.75). We shared homemade bread pudding a la mode with carmel sauce. And, everyone knows we do eat desserts. Too full and tired to write anymore. Good-bye from South Dakota.

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