Home at Last

We made it home with three big hops from Junction City on Wednesday and met the Manes in Canyon City, at the Seven Feathers Casino and Resort. Spent the night and left early the next morning for Red Bluff, Ca. Spent the night and had a good dinner out. Pat and Elmon got to spend some time visiting with their friends. The next morning we left early to travel in the heat to Southern California, almost Bakersfield, its called Lost Hills RV. Kind of a dump but a place to spend the night. Saturday was the magic day, we got home about noon with the temperatures in the 100's. Should have stayed out longer. This ends our Summer trip for 09. We have lots of plans for the fall and are looking forward to our niece's wedding in San Francisco at the end of the month. We are praying that our state don't completely burn up. We hope we have not bored you with our travels. LOL, John & Virginia

Making the turn for home!

We left Scott and Doreen's yesterday, and drove to Corvallis, Oregon. About 190 miles. We have friends here that we wanted to see before we headed home. Today we are taking the coach in for some work 0n the tile floor. I hope they can take care of the problem. 

We have had a wonderful trip and have seen many new things and have had great experiences. The weather is starting to change in the north West, you can feel it in the air. It is time for us to start heading home. Depending on how much work the tile guy has to do, will determined when we leave for home. I expect in the next day or two. JVP

Spokane and beyond

Stayed in a Koa which was really crowded-good thing we stopped early. We did hear the trains though. Had dinner at Outback and John finally got his blooming onion. We had a beautiful ride through the canyon out of Glacier. We saw a MOOSE! Check that one off for this trip-just leaves us not seeing a wolf and since we are in cities now so not much chance.  We drove by a really marshy area with lilly pads and he was just eating away.  No time for a picture either or to see if he had horns.  Pat & Elmon went to see their friends and we are off to Goldendale to see our friends and will try to meet  back up on Oregon coast.  Arrived here to 103 temps which was way too hot for us. Today has cooled off thank goodness.  We are just relaxing here-John & Scott are busy shooting and adjusting guns and Doreen and I are looking at recipes and knitting.  Today we are going to go to Klickitack Fair and than to Mary Hill to get peaches and see what else is in season.  Their 4 dogs and our 2 have had fun playing and wondering around.  Took Buddy to vet here and he still has a sore eye and now has different medicine so hope we can get it cleared up before we get home.  It has cooled off here and is really nice but so many wasps outside you can't sit out.  JVP

Glacier National Park

Our good friends Bob & Laurel Martin and 2 great grand kids (Neil & Ali) met us here in Glacier on Sunday.  Monday we headed off to see the Park.  Drove the Going To The Sun Highway and that is a great name for the road that hangs on the mountain edge and winds up to the top of Logan Pass. We saw so many beautiful tree covered mountains, waterfalls and as we got to the top it was alpine country with rugged mountains, short trees and the wild flowers were at their peak and covered the ground. When we got to the top of the pass it was 49 degrees, windy and covered in fog.  We occasionally got to see the glaciers through the fog.  They are working on the road so a lot of it is one lane and of course takes a while.  We got to see some mountain goats along side the road but no time for pictures.  We have all eaten together at night and enjoyed our visiting and catching up on family news.  Today was our nicest day with sunshine at camp anyway all day.  We took a drive, walked a path through the woods and had lunch tailgate style.  Afternoon was spent just resting and than went for dinner in the next town-had ribs and chicken and way too much good food.  Tomorrow we head for Spokane, Washington, warmer weather and headed on home.  Glacier is a beautiful park.  Today on our way home we got to see a Mother Bear and her 2 cubs cross the highway in front of us.  How Fun!  We didn't get to see our moose or wolf on this trip but have seen alot of wild life.  Won't have much to write about since most days will be travel with a few stops to see friends along the way and have a few things checked on motorhome. JVP

Bozeman, Montana

We met up with Sonny & Gloria (Family) here.  They pulled in a short while before us.  We all went to the Museum of the Rockies.  They have so much stuff on the dinosaurs and what has been found in the area.  Also so a movie in the planetarium about the Hubble telescope and what they have discovered.  I enjoyed the farm in the back.  The house was great and had ladies cooking a meal for the volunteers on the wood stove and using food they grow in the gardens in the back of the house. Smelled so good but very hot in  there.  There was a lady upstairs spinning wool on a loom.  We were able to have a BBQ together at night and had their grandson come over.  Nice visiting with them.  Funny how you have to  go across country to see somebody when they live close at home.  We all are enjoying our time out in this  part of the country. JVP

Helena, Montana

We have been here in Helena for 3 days parked at Jim and Mary's Print shop. John's and my friends from the Navy.  First day here John finally got to do his hunting=they are gophers not prairie dogs which made us feel better and they do cause alot of cows and horses to break their legs.  They were gone most of the day and had a good shoot.  Pat & Elmon were off to do laundry and then do the boat tour on the Missouri River called Gates of the Mountain.  John & I had done the tour last year but it is the same route Lewis & Clarke took.  I shopped at Wal-mart and was hoping to get my nails done but that didn't happen.  We had pizza at our friends' house and then went for a drive up to see their mountain top home that is for sale. Yesterday, Friday Aug 14th we did a few shopping errands-Sporting Goods store and Costco and had breakfast at a tiny place with real good food.  It was packed and had to wait for a table. We played a new card game called golf and also tried spades but don't have that one down real good yet.  Jim &Mary were able to do some touring with us on Friday afternoon.  We went to the museum first and while we were in there in started to rain-actually it poured. It just flooded the streets and water was over the curbs.  We were suppose to go on the little train for a tour of the city but seats were soaked and it is an open car.  Thank goodness they had a bus available so we had a good tour of Helena and than of the Capital Building.  We had dinner at a restaurant down town and had the best prime rib and salad with celery dressing.  It has been cool and so haven't had to use the air at all-even though Jim had put in 50amp plugs for us. We got home late, and straight to bed. Tomorrow, we are off to Great Falls. JVP

Next Days at Yellowstone

Today we visited Old Faithful and Beehive geysers.  We had lunch in the Lodge with Pat & Elmon's family.  It is a beautiful old building and pretty good food.  There is road construction in the park so we have stayed away from that area.  Everywhere you look there is steam coming up from the ground and holes with beautiful  blue water, milky colored ones, and some are mud.  The ground around these holes is beautifully colored too.  We took a lunch most days and spent the days exploring. Went by the visitor's centers in each area so Joy could have her National Park stamps, get post cards, use our cell phones, and do some gift shopping not to mention the occasional ice cream stops. The lakes and streams through out the park are crystal clear and we see a few guys fly fishing.  Ate in most nights since there isn't anything close to our camp.  The last day we fixed breakfast of Buffalo sausage and biscuits and gravy and all ate in our motorhome.  We also had dinner together at the Yellowstone Lodge and listened to some chamber music in the sun room before heading off to bed.  We've had a great time here in Yellowstone and fun traveling together.  Joy leaves us tomorrow to head back home and we are off to other parts of Montana. JVP

Yellowstone

We have been out of touch since entering Yellowstone Park.  We haven't had cell phone or e=mail.  Will try to bring you up on our adventures.  We have nice RV spots inside Yellowstone with full hook ups but kind of hard to back in to.  We have been out every day to see a different parts of the park which is just huge and you have to travel alot to see it all.  It rained every day in the late afternoon and one night.  Was nice to lay in bed and hear the rain.  We didn't spend much time outside with the rain and mosquitoes.  Yellowstone Lake is very big and beautiful.  We went to Lake Yellowstone Lodge, the big yellow place and had a nice glass of wine in the sun room.  We visited what is called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  We are at the Falls-we saw both the upper and lower falls and they are beautiful with LOTS of water going over them.  We saw an osprey bird in her nest while we were there.  We have seen lots of buffalo and elk and a few deer.  One day the buffalo was just walking down the road on the yellow line with cars just stopped on the highway taking pictures and waiting for him to go one way or the other-he was just not in any hurry and had to wait quite a while.  Also saw a buffalo cross the river and he wasn't even wet when he got out. They are such big creatures and we loved seeing them and have movies of them.

Sheridan Wyoming

We have had a pleasant stay here at the KOA Campground in Sheridan, WY.  We are separated from one another and the park is full with people coming and going and lots of motorcycles( Sturgis) the biggest motorcycle rally in the country is going on in South Dakota and they are coming from all around.  We did a trolley tour of the town and the museum which told of Sheridan's history.  John & Elmon went to see a museum full of saddles, bridles and ropes and John bought a lariat.  We ate lunch at the historic Inn where Buffalo Bill stayed.  It has a beautiful porch where we ate.  They have alot of work to do to finish it.  Joy and I enjoyed shopping at Super Walmart & Big K.  I had my hair cut and Joy got her nails done.  We enjoyed the best ice cream at a little stand in the park and saw a wedding going on  there. We drove to Custer's battlefield, the Little Big Horn, and did the museum there.  It was quite a battle and we saw a new movie on it.  Funny how times see the battle differently. I am including a picture of Shell Falls in the Big Horn Mountains on the way to Cody, WY. I have also included our newest addition to our traveling group, Riley. Pat and Elmon's Kitty. He is looking out of his cage here for anything that moves.  JVP

Buffalo,Wyoming

We stopped on the way here at Devil's Tower.   It is a huge rock sticking out of the land that you can see for a long ways away.  We parked  the RV's and took the car into the park.  Pat & Elmon took Riley with them in their truck as it was a warm day.  Hard to find parking at the visitor center.  What an awesome sight.  It is 867 ft from the base and 1200 ft above the river.  John & I walked around it a little bit.  Went back to RV's and had lunch and then drove around 130 miles to our camp here in Buffalo.  We are at a nice park in the trees.  Last night the wind really blew and  it has only been in the 60's here today.  We went to a museum today, had lunch in town and saw a old hotel and the town buildings.  Just had a relaxing day.  Here is a picture of Devils tower.  We went to a museum in Buffalo and visited the downtown area. The local hotel is from the late 1800's, and still has the flavor from the times. JVP

Last days of South Dakota

Mon July 27th We headed out for a drive around the Black Hills.  We drove through the Custer State Park and we got to see the herd of buffalo along side the road again.  We are all just awed at them and love to see them every time.  We stopped at Sylvan Lake which has beautiful rocks around it and water is so dark.  We also saw the Lodge again where we had lunch 2 years ago (it was the summer home of President Coolidge. From there we took the Needles Highway where the rocks are just spires high in the sky.  We saw some people climbing a few.  We went through about 10 tunnels on our ride most are only room for one car at a time.  We remember the last time going through in a bus.  We saw so many animals on our ride.  We saw some prong horn antelope, wild donkeys, and mountain sheep.  They thought they were going to get fed and came right up to the car windows.  We had lunch at a picnic stop.  We got to see Mt Rushmore in the rain.  The statues look so different when they are wet. We had some good thunderstorms with lots of rain and even some hail.  Stopped in Custer and had pie and coffee again at Purple Pie Place and did some shopping. All the corners have a buffalo statue on them and each one is painted differently.  We finished our story tape on the way back home and enjoyed the great scenery and rain along the way.  We had dinner at a little restaurant  here in Hot Springs.  Tomorrow is a long driving day so up early.

Sunday #2

Well I just don't know what day it is.  Sun was a kick back day.  I did laundry and John & I had pancake breakfast by the staff here at the park.  We went into town and had lunch at Dairy Queen and than went to Mammoth Site.  It is a geological wonder.  It is a real dig and they are still finding more and more bones.  They covered the sink hole that had water in it from eons ago, that trapped so many Mammoth's is inside a building. the animals slipped in and couldn't get out, water disappeared and layers of silt covered them up.  We saw the remains of mammoths and other prehistoric animals.  It is hard to believe it is real.  We were going to take a dip in the Hot Springs Pool but it is more a family pool and today is filled with kids and a strong odor of chlorine and it is too hot to get into hot water.  We drove up to the Veteran's Hospital and cemetery.  It is a beautiful old building and the graves of Veterans were interesting to see=some from World War I and even Spanish American War.  Drove around and saw some old  buildings and homes.  We had grilled our Dinner at the trailers and rested up. JVP

Badlands

Sat we drove the loop around the Badlands.  We put in a story to listen to along the way as it took us over an hour and a half to get to the Badlands Park.  We had a great movie in the vistor's center and then drove around the loop.  We did get out of the car and climb up on the rocks to look out (Virginia's legs have been really sore from that) but most of the time we were driving.  It is a desolute area but colors in rocks can be pretty.  Filled up car and it was $2.34 a gallon which is about the same price we pay for diesel.  We had dinner here at camp. Afterwards we played a game of Spinners.  Buddy likes it here as there are lots of grasshoppers for him to chase, and lots of grass for the dogs, and cat to wander around in. JVP