NW USA

October 9 Since this is an impromptu trip and Randy got recommendations for Silverton and Durango, we headed West from Denver to the Black Canyon National Park. It was pretty amazing with deep drops that made you dizzy as you peered over the spectacular canyons.  The million dollar highway was next. Wow! Such views that took your breath away.  We ate a lovely dinner of salmon for me and meatloaf for Randy. Here are the pics. The pic aren’t uploading. I’ll try again later. The Aspens were beautiful along the way This could be a painting Black Canyon Very scary looking down into Black Canyon The camera just couldn’t capture the beauty

Oct 8 we headed for Denver today to visit a friend who just moved there. Along the way we saw a Moose, but again I missed the shot.    The sunrise was beautiful as we started out   Even though I missed getting a shot of the moose, we did see this. Poor elk. We had a great time with Jason, Shannon, Barbara, and Sophie in Denver. They fixed us a wonderful steak and shrimp dinner and we chatted the night away. 

 October 7 10/07 Randy got a ticket going 80 in a 65 mile zone. Baaad Randy. After failing to talk the officer out of the ticket, we went to the  Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon and artist point.  Ate lunch at lovely picnic spot. Shortly after departing from lunch we were stopped by about 24 bison being herded by a park ranger’s horn/Sieren through the traffic on both sides of the street. They were so close to my car they brushed the sides. And they meandered around both sides. Luckily none of them scraped the car with their horns!! Fun/ Scary. Then we went to Jackson Hole, Wy and strolled around there. Since neither of us have been to Idaho we decided to spend the night there. Now we have been to every state except Alaska. Next trip, Alaska! Yellowstone Grand Canyon A lovely lunch setting Lots of Bison Too close for comfort A nice stroll in Jackson Hole I even got to sit with Amelia  Then off to Idaho, a state we have never been to where we had a great dinner just before...

 October 6  As we entered Yellowstone park we noticed we were off the grid. Our wonderful hot spot in the car that got me through GAL’s web changes     and two contractors I had to deal with for rental repairs was no use to me now.   Norris Canyon was cool with lots of geysers coming out of turquoise water. Our next stop was Gibbon Falls followed by an hour and half wait for Old Faithful. The pics should speak for themselves. Randy and I just had a German meal with a lot of beer. I’m exhausted.  Norris Canyon Travertine  The colors were so much more spectacular It was such a beautiful day Gibbons Falls The water was much more turquoise  Waiting for Old Faithful  Ugh my video of Old Faithful was too big to load so you will just have to believe me!

Monday October 5.  Today we travelled to North Dakota, and went to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We went through some rain, and heard it was going to snow in Yellowstone on Saturday. By the time we got to the park the weather was beautiful, but windy. A portion of the scenic drive was closed due to road construction, but we were able  to do two hikes at Skyline Vista and Wind Canyon. We ate lunch in Medora. I tried several times to get money wired to a new contractor for one of our rentals without much luck—very frustrating. I think we were a bit off the grid. On the road again with more beautiful landscapes. The wind did a number on this rock A tired old Bison The little Missouri River at Skyline Vista Little Missouri River Randy Chatting with a Bison who is giving him the silent treatment. Wind Canyon, aptly named. It was very Windy. After lunch we headed West to Billings Montana. The last leg of the trip was straight into the sun, making the drive almost unbearable. Onc...

October 4 We started the day with Mount Rushmore, sculpted by Gutzon Borglum. He first did a model out of plaster of Paris that was 1/12 the finished size and transferred to the mountain with a giant 3 dimensional pantograph which works through a system of hinged and joint rods. This is similar to how painters have  use the grid system or Art projector today. That was the easy part. Then they used dynamite to blast the granite. Amazing. Noses are about 20’ long, eyes about 11’ wide and mouths about 18’ wide! Below is the Artist model carved by the artist. Devils Tower was equally amazing. Created when the molten magma was forced into sedimentary rock above and cooled underground. Cooling caused fractures forming columns and erosion exposed the Devils tower over millions of years. The 1.3 mile hike around the tower was quite exhausting at a mile high. I thought my 2-5 mile walks a day would prepare me for it, but I was quite winded. Then we wen to Sturgis, a big motorcycle town. Not...