Rodeo Night in Cody, WY

Cody Night Rodeo! When we started making our plans for this trip, see a rodeo was on the list of things to do. Now we can check "Rodeo" off the list. Every night during the summer months there is a rodeo in Cody, WY. What fun we had...it did rain just a little, but we are tough when it comes to weather! It was a great family evening--as you can see from the pictures, there were participants of all ages, boys and girls,...and clowns! While in Cody, we also visited the Buffalo Bill Cody Historical Museum and learned a lot about this amazing man. He did it all and certainly deserves to be remebered in history. He was quite a guy. Goggle him and refresh your memory! Randy especially enjoyed the firearms collection that was part of the museum.
We head to Rapid City next...Mt. Rushmore, Badlands and, of course, Wall Drug Store!
We are heading east! Enjoy the pictures...

Jackson, WY and the Grand Tetons

OK...can you believe it? Two posts in 1 evening/late night! But I was anxious to tell the story of today's adventure on the Snake River. We were so fortunate the sun was on our side of the mountains today! We booked ourselves on a calm float trip - we thought! Turns out the water is at it's highest level in 13 years and it is moving very fast...something like 18,000 cubic feet per second. (Don't hold me to that, but that's what I understood! All was going pretty well as our guide, Eric, worked hard to keep us smoothly floating...a tree fell near us but he managed to keep us clear of it as it floated down river with us! But...as we approached the area we were to "land" he gave us the run down of how we were going to get to shore. But...the river had a different idea! As we swiftly went past the spot we were supposed to land, Eric paddled like crazy and yelled to his partner on shore to come down stream a little and help us...as we were just about to go by our 2nd option for landing, Eric yelled to Zack..."Get in the water, Dude!" and he came in up to his waist and caught our rope to pull us to safety. If he had missed, we would have traveled at least another 8 miles before we would have had an opportunity to "land." And the water would have been faster and rougher we were told! But, we are safe and really had the ride of our lives. It usually takes about 2 1/2 hours to make the float...we did it in 1 hour 40 minites! Fast, huh?!
The rest of the day was calm and beautiful as we drove around the Grand Teton National Park. The pictures tell the rest of the story. Jenny Lake was serene and we enjoyed just sitting on a log watching the water falls. Click and enjoy!

Yellowstone National Park

The past week has presented us with lots of rain and drizzle but fear not...neither rain nor snow will stop this crew from enjoying the next chapter in the "Great Road Trip Adventure!" As we made our way to Yellowstone, the weather took a "wet" turn. So we just got our the rain jackets and long johns and away we went. We spent 3 days exploring Yellowstone National Park. Our home campground was in West Yellowstone, MT, while the park is in WY. We were able to do the 2 loops through the park and see quite a few animals and lots of beautiful scenery. And thanks to many of you, Randy had a nice birthday surprise, reading all the emails. He was really surprised and sends a big "Thank You" to all of you. His day was the sunny day of our 3 days at YNP. I do think it's a birthday he'll long remember! Hope you enjoy the photos...it was a wonderful experience. The park is about 2.2 million acres, so there is no way to share the whole story. And the next chapter should be ready very soon...The Grand Tetons. Love to all and thanks for your comments and emails. We really enjoy hearing from you. We will start our eastern movement in 2-3 days.
Click on the picture--enjoy the animals!

Wyoming and Salt Lake City, Utah

Here's an update of our travels since we left Woodland Park, CO. First stop...Cheyenne, WY and our first sighting of Bison...at the RV Park/The Terry Bison Ranch. The plan was to take a walk around the ranch, but hail and torando warnings kept us in the RV! We are keeping a weather log to see what's left that we haven't experience. On we went across Wyoming via I-80, formally known as the Lincoln Highway. The road goes coast to coast from NYC to San Francisco. Our next over-night was at the Walmart parking lot in Rock Springs, WY. There were 24 other RV's with us! When we parked at about 4 pm there were 3-4 other units parked. It was amazing to watch everyone come in from the interstate! Then we made our way to Salt Lake City, UT. We think Utah is our favorite state...so clean and friendly. Our visit to Temple Square was informative. We met 2 young women who are on their mission for 1 1/2years, serving there in SLC. We attended a pipe organ concert in the Tabernacle and on Sunday we had hope to see the choir, but the crowds were so large, we had to watch on a movie screen in the conference center. This was all due to the special muscic and recognitions for memorial day. It was still worth it. It was indeed a special day. Our other adventures around Salt Lake included a visit to the Kennecutt Mine. Copper is mined there (along with gold and silver mined as copper by-products). The pit is huge and so are the trucks!! On Memorial Day we made our way to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. What a treat that was! The island was site of the farming operation of the Morman settlers to produce food for the group called Fielding Gal Ranch. As we drove around the island, we watched a herd of bison graze freely on the open range. Neat! At the ranch we found a Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival. The musicans, storytellers and poets were fun and really good at their art!
We had a "cowboy" lunch...cooked in iron Dutch ovens, yummy! It was relaxing and lots of fun. And today, we finally had to leave Utah and make our way to Idaho Falls, ID. We are parked at the Elks Club with electric for our RV's provided. We enjoyed cocktail time in the club and met a couple nice folks who gave us advice about our next destinations: Yellowstone and the Grand Teton Mountains! So tomorrow we'll be on our way again, cameras poised. Weather forcast: rain...grrrrr. But, it just might change for us! Enjoy your days...check the pictures...click, click!

Pike's Peak and Our Last Night in Woodland Park

Pike's Peak or Bust...that's what the pioneers said...and the car racers...and the motorcylce racers...and the 1/2 marathon and marathon racers! I can't even imagine any of these! "The Assent" is the local race up the mountain. The last leg doesn't even seem to be on a trail. Crazy.
The 13 mile one-way run best time is just over 2 hours! Now that's amazing...but the same guy ran the 26 mile round-trip the next day in less than 4 hours! (You'll have to look up the exact times!)
Our assent on board the cog railway took us 1 hour 15 minutes! It was another wonderful experience. We've included a few pictures from our last evening with Liz and Cord...our time together has been great and we surely won't let 17 more years pass without seeing each other. Thanks for a fabulous stay, Liz and Cord! We have certainly had lots of laughs and good times on the road...
You know the drill...click on the picture and see the rest of the story!

Around Woodland Park, CO

We have enjoyed having a semi-permanent home in Woodland Park, CO over the past 5 days, while our travel partners make a quick trip back to FL. My college friend, Lizzie, (we haven't seen each other for about 17 years, we think) and her husband, Cord, have been extroidenary hosts during our stay.
The pictures will give you a glimpse of our fairly calm stay in the area. The food and fellowship have just been a blessing to us. Randy is even off getting a message this morning...thanks to Cord's connection! It is hard to say what "experience" of the stay here was the highlight...but maybe, just maybe the wolf kisses are at the top. I wasn't even nervous...LOL. We'll pick up Rick & Betty from Denver tonight and make the assent, as they say here, up Pike's Peak tomorrow morning via the cog railway. And the evening tomorrow will find us watching American Idol and eating homemade pizza with our friends! What could be better? There are a lot of pictures, so I hope it doesn't take too long to load for you. Remember to click on the picture here, then on slideshow to view. We sure do enjoy any comments you'd like to post.

The Colorado Rockies...woo hoo!

What a day this has been...After spending last night in Glenwood Springs, Co, we set out for Woodland Park, near Colorado Springs. The decision was made to travel on a "primary" road rather than a "secondary" road, which began our adventure for today! Quickly we started climbing the Rockies via US 24 heading toward Leadville. Well...up, up and around we went! And then that blue sign said, "Top of the Rockies" and the elevation sign was something over 13,000 feet! And it rained, snowed, hailed and finally sunshine! The ride was -- shall we say...an experience! The good news was the snow plow was in front of us (just in case) and I think he had some salt on board, too. But, after we got down off the mountains, it was a nice ride on in to Woodland Park. When we arrived at the RV park, we were welcomed with flowers from my friends, Liz & Cord, as well as a package from Cameron with new pictures of Nathan. That made the day just about perfect! Tomorrow we're off to the Air Force Academy and down to Cripple Creek. We dare not sit still too long! Click on the picture to see more and on slideshow to move through them. We love reading your comments.