Summer Through the Northwest

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We started planning our new adventure. We needed to get our driver's licenses renewed in South Dakota. Drive through Nebraska and Kansas during tornado season? Or, go through the Rocky Mountains where the high elevations would challenge Tom's lung disease? We headed out from Arizona towards the Rockies.

We first stopped in Meteor City, Arizona to see the largest meteor crater in North America, elevation 4,000'. Tom's portable oxygen weighed 15 pounds and we found out in that visit it wasn't a good travel companion...too heavy. Oh well, we got to see the meteor. On to Los Lunas, NM where our friend Nancy said we could find an ancient ruin of the 10 Commandments. We found Los Lunas but we were not equipped to hike the 2 miles back to the Stone, dated to about 1000 B.C. Time to move on. It took us 8 days to traverse the Rockies as Tom had to be on oxygen 24/7 at those elevations. It made breaking camp and setting up a real struggle.

We were excited to see Hart Ranch in Rapid City, SD, where many of our friends have said "you gotta go there!" We arrived there with a 2-week reservation. However, they could only accommodate us for a week. Elevation 3,300'. Tom was able to untether himself from oxygen except for nighttime. Great!

We made the most of the week visiting Deadwood (Wild Bill Hickok) and Custer State Park (bison and wild donkeys.) We got our licenses renewed with no problem. Tom had to strip down to his skivvies to pass through the guards since his shorts had a metal buckle. After providing marriage licenses, social security and birth certificates, two papers with our address on it, and promise to send our first born to them ...sorry Mike ;-( we are now bona-fide South Dakotans.

To cap the week off, friends Barb and Sam whom we met in Texas were there. Sandy and Bruce, who we traveled with one summer through Yellowstone, Tetons, Glacier and more, found out our location via Facebook so we hooked up outside Custer State Park for a couple hour visit.

We are now at Crescent Bar Thousand Trails Resort in Washington, elevation 650'. This area has dramatic basalt cliffs formed millions of years ago. With the Columbia River Basin water it has the most diverse farmland we've seen. Spearmint, canola, potatoes, wheat, grape and cherry orchards and more. So we are eating healthy and just taking our time to get to the Monaco factory in Oregon where we have an appointment to have a seam on the motorhome repaired. Meanwhile, we hope you are having a great summer. Enjoy!

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Photos

Buffalo Roaming
Custer State Park

Wild Bill Hickok's Grave
Deadwood, SD

Calamity Jane's Grave
Deadwood, SD

Crescent Bar, WA
Thousand Trails Park

4th of July
Crescent Bar

Comments

[Bob and Sandy Lopez]

What Goes Around
Well, we see your back where we first met, in Custer country. Sandy and I are in New York. We will take a tour of NYC tomorrow and West Point on Sunday. From there we are heading for Cape Cod then tour Boston for a week. We will then head to Maine and see where we go from there. Best to both of you.

[Mullibear]

Thanks for your comment
You two are far from home! West Point is very impressive. Enjoy your trip. Much to inspire in this country.