Three Days in the Grand Tetons

Still raining most every day. Saturday we did the scenic drive through Grand Teton National park. Lots of scenic views and bison and antelope and elk along the road. No bear's as yet. Had a great lunch at the Signal Inn Lodge on Lake Jackson. They have boat rentals for fishing and sailing, so maybe next trip. Some short hikes to the views and we are back home. We stayed in tonight and snacked for dinner and did a Redbox movie.....not a bad deal, a movie for a buck. We watch them on the laptop either in the van or a motel room. Drop them off in the morning on the way out.

Sunday Jim did a bike ride thru the Tetons, starting at Menors Ferry, a historic ferry and general store that are renovated and the cashier is dressed in period clothes. Just up the road I saw a cow moose by the side of the road and stopped to take her picture with my cell phone as I left the camera behind due to rain. When I pointed the phone, her ears went up, she snorted repeatedly and started to gallop toward me.....so.....I took off and called Suzanne to drive by for some pictures . Saw Elk and maybe a bear on the side of the mountain, but he was too far away to be sure. Rode about 20 miles in the park at the base of the mountains, then met up with Suzanne and Beau for a short walk then we drove up to Jackson Lodge for lunch, another great lunch and a beautiful lodge. The restaurant has large picture windows that look out on the plains and mountains. There were herds of bison and elk on the grasslands while we had a great lunch in a beautifully decorated mountain theme dining room. Again we stayed in our cabin at night for a movie and a snack for dinner.

Monday we did breakfast at the Bunnery here in Jackson. A great and very big mountain breakfast at this bakery and breakfast stop. Great food , then we went river rafting down the Snake river. It was impressive being out on the fast moving river winding through forest and meadow at the base of the mountains. No large animal sitings, but we did see two eagle nests with eagles and lots of small mammals. Interesting thing on the raft is the popping sound you hear from the rocks being tumbled along the fast moving river as we float down at different speeds depending on the elevation drop. After the raft ride we went into town to explore and shop. Lots and lots of stores with stuffed animals , tee shirts and cowboy clothes and the sort. We had another great lunch at the Silver Dollar Grill at the historic Wort Hotel in downtown Jackson. We were so full from lunch that we skipped dinner again and saved up for tomorrows breakfast.

Tuesday we had breakfast at Jedadia's Sourdough Pancakes, another great and huge breakfast then went hiking up at Jenny Lake in the Grand Teton Park. We hiked up to "Hidden Falls" about 3 miles around the lake and then up the mountain at the end. Beautiful hike , so we did about 6 miles round trip at about 8ooo feet, so we got our exercise today. Back to town and we will cook in the cabin tonight as it will be our last " home cooked " meal . We'll wash Beau, do Laundry and set up the van for camping again. Wed we'll drive across Idaho and into Oregon on our way to Oregons Dune Beaches, then on to Seaside Or to start the trans america bike ride.

Stay tuned, I'll try to keep a daily log of the bike ride if we have internet each day as well as a written log and of course pictures.

Jim, Suzane and Beau

Yellowstone National Park

Today we parked Beau at the doggy day care and drove up to Yellowstone so that we could do some hiking around the park and not have to worry about leaving him in a hot car. Well the temperatures did not get out of the 40's and 50's the entire day and there was snow in most places among the pine trees. We would have had to put on his sweater not worry about him overheating!

Lots of scenic views and canyons on the way up to Old Faithful. It took us 2.5 hours to drive there due to road conditions and construction. Still, the roads in the park are in better shape than most of the interstates we have driven, especially those in New York.

We did see some Buffalo and Elk by the roadsides but no bear or other wild animals. There were plenty of signs to not approach animals, they say more people are injured by being gored by buffalo than anything else. Second was people falling down the canyons, and yes we did see a bunch of idiot's hanging off rock outcropping taking pictures, only about a half mile straight down.

Old Faithful was right on schedule and show hot water and steam up about a hundred feet. There were about a thousand people surrounding the geyser and when she was done, there was a human stampede in all directions! So much for the buffalo warnings, should post the warning that more people are stepped on around old faithful than anywhere else in the park.

We went for a hike just before a rain storm about a half mile up to an overlook . Not too winded but the elevation here is around 9000 feet so you do huff and puff a little more.

Tonight we will explore Jackson Hole and be typical tourists.

I may try to fly fish but the guides are expensive here and I may just wait until I learn to fly fish on Sanibel and fish the Snake river another time.

Tomorrow we plan to visit Grand Teton National Park, but will take Beau with us this time and just do short hikes and view stops.

Jim, Suz and Beau

Whoa Two days of the rain train

We left Custer SD in the RAIN, after walking Beau at 4 am in the RAIN and having our last free breakfast of English muffins and coffee at the Bavarian Inn. We drove up to Deadwood and it was certainly DEAD at 10 am in the RAIN, mostly we saw casinos, and since it was RAINING we did not stop. There were no restaurants, gas stations or fast food stops here so we had to hold it quite a while longer and did not see any historic stops as we saw no signs for anything, so looks like Deadwood is a gamblers town and does not come alive until twilight.........

We drove up to Devils Tower National Monument in the RAIN , which was quite a way off our route to Jackson . When we got there in a heavy RAIN , the monument ( a flat top mountain aka Close Encounters of the Third Kind) was shrouded in fog. Looked like a giant white cotton candy on top of a stout rock handle. Thats all we could see. The Nat'l Park service wanted $ 10 to drive up and see the fog up close, but we took a pass. Then we took a pee at the local junk shop and headed for Jackson Hold, in the RAIN.

Roads here in Wyoming are good except on the interstates. In the RAIN the water stands in ruts that have been worn in the road and the van hydroplanes in those deep ruts, so you have to try to straddle the line to find a semi dry part of the road. We just love driving in the RAIN. These roads are still not as bad as the interstate roads in upstate New York which are full of pot holes and ruts and are terrible to drive in the RAIN.

Have to be careful on both the interstate and State roads here as the prong horn antelope come up right beside the road. Speed limit is 75 and they can be hard to see in the RAIN. We have also seen some bison and mule deer but they keep a distance from the road. We did have a stop in the RAIN when a rancher's gray horse was loose and running all over the road in the RAIN.

We stopped in Buffalo Wy for the night and had a good room at a motel six that was both new and affordable. They recommended the WinchesterSteak House accross the street which was both expensive and terrible. Bad food, bad service and Suzy was sick most of the night barffing her expensive ribs. This was our very first bad experience in food in six+ weeks on the road, it was bound to happen.

We left next morning after a short stop at Duffys Breakfast stop. Another mistake. This was a place that Larry the Cable Guy would not eat at.....everyone of those rednecks turned to look at Suz when we walked in the front door, none had any front teeth and a few were drooling, maybe they had strokes? We got a coffee at the next stop McD's and rolled on to Shoshoni crossroads. This was a dead town where the only food was at the local gas station, so we just got gas, had a sandwich from the cooler and kept driving .

We arrived in Jackson in the early evening and our motel is great. It is really a little cabin with a large living space and full kitchen complete with dishwasher and garbage dispo. We will be here for 5 days as home base for Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Jackson Hole so this is great headquarters. The pet hotel is right next door so we can walk Beau over for a day stay. The grocery is across the street and there is a honky tonk rock'n roll bar also across the street. So far the RAIN has let up in the evening, but I know for sure Beau will wake at 5 am for his walk and there will be RAIN.

Glad to be in Jackson after two days of driving in the RAIN. Gee hope it doesn't RAIN the next five days. We'll see. I really do love the Rain except when I have to drive, bike or hike in the RAIN.

Jim , Suz Beau and le RAIN!

Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park

Today the weather improved and it is actually sunny but cool in the 40's. We left early for Mount Rushmore as Beau is an early riser ( 5am this morning) and we want to beat the crowds. The last few days have seen rain and fog, so you can't see the monuments clearly, so I expect a rush today. We did get there early after our continental cuisine breakfast and the weather cleared nicely to a high pressure blue sky with white wispy clouds, but the wind chill stung my Florida ears and gave me a runny nose.

Mount Rushmore monument is very impressive. I was also impressed by the many granite needle outcroppings on the mountains around the statues. We hiked up the trail to get as close as possible to the carvings and saw them from lots of angles, I think we have about 47 different views on the camera. Saw some big horn mountain sheep just below the monument.

Went to the museum and theater and found it very interesting how they did the granite carving back in the 20's and 30's, a real accomplishment that took 14 years to complete.

After Mount Rushmore we took the scenic Iron Mountain Road ride through Custer Park . Lots of very narrow one lane road and one lane tunnels. One tunnel was so small I was afraid the van would not make it through without scraping the sides and top! Lots of hairpin curves going down 9% switchbacks and no guardrails in some spots. One oops and you can go straight down, until you hit a 200 year old ponderosa pine that is.

The weather was perfect and we encountered a few heard of wild bison feeding with their young calves along the road. There were a few scenic turnouts inhabited by wild burros that came right up to your window for a handout. They had the begging routine down pretty good, almost as good a Beau but we had nothing to give them. They would wait about 10 seconds and if they didn't get a treat would trot down to the next car .

Lots of antelope, white tail and mule deer in the fields on the drive. The rolling hills are carpeted in green and look like a vast golf course, without the sand traps and golf carts that is. We were constantly pulling over to view antelope, bison and in one area prairie dogs had established an entire community on both sides of the road. One sentry per mound, each mound a mini-volcano in the grassy fields among the hills.

Ended the day with an excellent sandwich at a little gourmet shop in Custer City washed down with a local dark ale called Moose drool......appetizing!

Tomorrow is supposed to rain all day, so we will probably stay at the motel complex and swim in the indoor pool, shoot some pool and maybe play some drizzle tennis or basketball.

The parking lot last night looked like a Harley Motorcycle Dealership and I had to restrain beau from peeing on the bikes, probably not healthy for either of us.

We leave for Jackson Hole after tomorrow and I hope it warms up for hiking in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.

Jim, Suz and Beau

Rainy day at Bear Country USA

Today it is raining and foggy and the temperature is dropping into the low forties. Not a good day for sightseeing mountain monuments so we went to the Bear Country USA open zoo travel park. You drive through the park in your car and the animals are in the open. Of course the wolves and elk and big horn sheep are separated by high electric fence, but they still sit over there and dream of filets. Lots of mammals here and it is impressive as the animals walk all around and up to your car. Got to keep the windows up in the bear and timber wolf paddocks! They have artic wolves , timber wolves, elk, big horn sheep, deer, mountain lion and lots and lots of bears!They have over 100 bears and have two grizzlies in a separate area. The grizzlys are easily 3-4 times as big as the black bears. One of larger black bears must have smelled something in the rear bed of the pickup truck in front of us, he was half in and the driver started moving and the bear ran along the side of the truck for awhile holding on to the bed liner. At the end they have a baby animal section with small mammals and baby bears which are pretty feisty, running and wrestling . Went to the cattleman restaurant in town for lunch after and had buffalo chili.....guaranteed to create enough gas to power all propane vehicles withing 100 miles for a week! But tasted reallllly good! Tomorrow is supposed to be nicer, but colder, they are calling for record lows in the 30's. If clear we will go to Mount Rushmore .

See you tomorrow if we don't freeze tonight.

VolksMarch 2009

Last night we arrived at the Bavarian Inn near Custer SD. A great little motel with a lot of ammenities such as restraunt, breakfast included, wifi, tennis, indoor outdoor pool, pool tables, basketball and a fitness vitacourse. The motel has a German mountain decor both inside and out and it fits in the black hills here with granite crags and rock faced moutain spires. In the info packet at the office was an entry form for the local VOLKSMARCH ( peoples walk) at the Crazy Horse monument. So we did it Saturday morning.

It was very foggy with a light misty rain and temps in the high forties so we could not see the monument until we got up to the top of the hike. The distance was 10k or 6 miles to the granite memorial to Chief Crazy Horse which is an ongoing carving of the indian warrior. The trail was not difficult but was a little muddy and the last mile on the way up was a dirt ( mud) access road to the statue. I finished the entire hike in less than 1.5 hours so I was moving at over 4 mph. (to stat warm) Got a nice comemerative medal at the end. I've included a picture of the Crazy horse head which is the only part finished to date after 60 years. The project is funded by donations and procedes from activities such as this hike, and some funds go to a local childrens charity.

A very impressive visitors center here made entirely from the Ponderosa Pine that cover all the black hills here. There are movies about the memorial and a full american indian museum as well as restraunt and a laser light show after dark where they project the finished statue picture on the side of the mountain as well as pictures set to music.

Later we will check out the town of Custer for a saloon to watch the Belmont horse race if there is one there. Maybe we will drive into Custer state park to take the wildlife drive. They have a herd of Bison there that is 1500 strong. You have to be careful on the drive as they sometimes stand on the road. Could crunch the car a bit as they average 2000 pounds .

Hope the weather improves so we can visit Mount Rushmore, the forecast says better by monday.

There is also the Mickelson trail here to hike and bike. It is 146 miles of converted rairoad rails to path. We may hike or maybe Jim will bike some of it if the section is paved or packed gravel.

Tommorrow if it rains as expected, we may do a drive thru a local wild animal park where the animals roam and you are the caged one in your vechicle.

Jim, Suz and Beau

Hi All,
We've been in Springboro at "Suite 101" for a week now. I'll summarize our visit......Jessie and Christine have named the converted office to bedroom as " Suite 101: Baxter's" a very comfortable and functional room. It makes our stay even more comfortable and enjoyable!

We attended Gabe's award ceremony for 8 th grade graduation, he got like 8 awards for stuff like relay for life, science fair excellence and the like....GO GABE! Gabe is grandchild # 1 of 7 and is following in grandpa's footsteps as he also got bunches of awards in his eighth grade graduation and boy scouts. Grandpa's geography medal has helped trememdously in kicking butt in trivial pursuit and Jeopardy tournaments !

Jim had fun riding on the Little Miami River trail again. Rode over 220 miles this week , mostly down to Loveland to a favorite coffee stop and back, about 60 miles roundtrip. Lots of deer, squirrels and other fauna and flora.

Had a great time at Gabe's graduation party which was "cover" for Chris's 40 th birthday party,two parties in one. He was totally suprised, but still insisted on cooking the burgers for both Gabe's freinds and all the rest of us... Christine did a great job of organizing the event and keeping it a secret. Lots of fun. Chris' brother Mike and daughter Sammy made the trip up for the event and it was good to spend more time with them.

Sunday was special......we had a great family breakfast with Jessie making her famous scrambled eggs.........then after dinner that night we had cake and suprised grandpa with cards for both his birthday and fathers day in advance as we will be somewhere out west on the acutal days. Thanks! Also the kids got grandpa a GPS for his bike for his birthday! Now he will have no excuse to not be ontime or get lost......so much for those well used paper maps! I'll have to spend the next couple of weeks learning how to use it. It has a lot of functions and maybe Suz can track my wherabouts, not sure if it can do that..........

Then........we went for a Hot Air Ballon ride which was totally awesome! Something that grandpa and grandma have wanted to do for some time.
Bella Balloons did a great job! The wind was calm but we had a great time and landed in the Dayton Mall.........too bad grandma left her purse in the chase car!! Again thanks to C&C for arranging this great ride!!

Thanks to Chris and Chris and Gabe, Trev, Jess and Tori for taking such good care of us for our visit......we are blessed. Or.....as MR. MBA would say ....we are getting a great ROI on our investments...........
We leave for Custer South Dakota Wed, 6/3......