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29 May ‘08

Friday

We finally arrived back at River Walk, “our” campground in Coeur d’Alene.  Just a year ago we were here for Amy’s graduation, our oldest granddaughter, and now we are here for the Trev’s, our oldest grandson.  It’s amazing how fast time has passed and the grandkids are already graduating from high school. 

Leaving the campground in Rapid City was almost more exciting than we had wanted.  The last 2 days while we were there were rained like hell and unfortunately made the soil all around our motor home really soft.  We had no more than started our turn out of the site and the right rear duels started to sink into the grass.  You could immediately feel that things weren’t looking so good.  Fortunately for us, I was able to back out of the hole and get another start forward.  It was a go slow and as straight as possible until we got up enough momentum to carry us forward and out of the trouble area.  We stopped by the office to apologize only to find out that it was an “expected” happening after a rain…hell, they could have warned us…  Oh well, we made it.  The rest of the trip West through the remainder of South Dakota, Northeastern Wyoming, and across Montana was uneventful. 

_We did have a fair amount of rain to travel though and of course a head wind.  Isn’t it amazing how as soon as you get out on the road, the wind direction changes and decides that it has to blow directly in your face???  Our first stop after leaving Mt. Rushmore Shadows was the parking lot of Toys or Us in Billings.  We were heading to the Wal-Mart parking lot, but found that it was completely covered with “shoppers”…what the hell happened so that there wasn’t any room for those of us that want to park our “big motor homes” in OUR Wal-Mart parking lot???  It just happened that Toys or Us were right next door and their parking lot was empty, save about 4 cars in a lot that would hold well over 2 or 300.  It was about 6pm when we arrived and I went into the store to ask the manager if it would be possible to park around back or on the side of the store for the night.  Her reply was “the store policy is no overnight parking”, but…I think it would be OK.  The next stop was in Missoula.  There is a large dirt area in front of “The Largest RV Dealership In Montana” that we had thought before would work for a night of dry camping.  After checking at the office and getting their approval, we set up for the night.  There has been something bothering me lately, with the fuel prices climbing like they have, that the “un-locked” fuel doors on the motor home could be too inviting to the unscrupulous.  Well Britz RV had the perfect locks so we bought and installed them right there in the dirt…just kidding, it was great of them to open the lot for a night.  The total ride from South Dakota to Coeur d’Alene was beautiful.  We couldn’t see the snowy mountains because the rain clouds were so low, but the green rolling hills, the wild and the cultivated flowers, and of course the swollen rivers were outstanding. 

_The unfortunate thing of course was the flooding that was accruing because of the rain and heaving melting of the snow in the mountains.  We went pass the Wolf Lodge Campground that is located about 10 miles east of Coeur d’Alene and found that it was about 5 or 6 feet under water.  We were there last year to visit and camp with Bruce and Peggy who were doing a stint of “work camping”.  We were given a grand tour of the campground and saw all the work that they had accomplished to get it looking so good and now...well it just isn’t the same. 

_21 May ‘08 Wednesday

Tuesday was going to be our last fully sunny day for the next couple of weeks so we jumped into the car and headed over to see the Badlands National Park.

_We were about 75 miles west of them so making this drive was going to be an all day affair. 

_Badlands National Park consists of nearly 240,000 acres and made up of some of the most beautifully eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires that blend with the largest mixed grass prairie in the country. 

_In 1939, the government designated this area as the Badlands National Monument, and then in 1978 it was established as a National Park.  The Badlands are a type of “arid terrain” where softer rocks and clay rich soils have been extensively eroded by wind and water.  Fact is, these softer rock/clay soils on the buttes, pinnacles and spires, lose about an inch of soil each year.  Louise and I have had a chance to hike a number of canyons, ravines, gullies, and hoodoos in the last few months, but the canyons and all here are very difficult to navigate by foot.  The soils just will not hold…it’s just like hiking on a soft sponge while on flat surfaces and the sides they just crumble at the touch.  The Badlands don’t have the colors of those down south, but they definitely are mesmerizing as they stand there before you.  They have their own beauty…  Today we spent the day searching out and finding the DMV Office so that we could apply and pick up our new drivers license.  It took no longer than 40 minutes and $8 a piece and we were officially licensed for the state of South Dakota.  Next stop was the courthouse.  There we were directed to the 2nd floor and the vehicle licensing department.  Just like the first stop this morning, we were in and out in 30+ minutes and had written a $180 check for the motor home and the “toad” registration and plates.  OK, time left over so what do we do now???  Geesss, a movie…  we took in Baby Mamma.  It was just “good”, you know, a movie that you would pick up at Safeway or someplace like that for the night.

The rain has finally caught us…I mean REALLY caught us…  We are just about ready to pull up stakes, but with the water rushing all around us, we just might put up “sail” and hope for a trailing winds.  Now it’s onto Coeur d’Alene, Idaho for Trev’s graduation.

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18 May ‘08

Sunday

Our stay here in the Rapid City area has given us a little time to stay close to the coach.  After our travels through Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah in which we seemed to be on the go 24/7, it feels pretty good.  Now that’s not to say that we haven’t been out.  As I wrote the other day, we saw Mt. Rushmore, the Needles, and Custer the city and the State Park which we totally enjoyed even though it was our second visit in 2 years.  We have spent more time close to the “couch” but just about every other day we also found ourselves heading down the road as well.  Most of those trips were to Safeway, Wal-Mart, or Lowes, and with quick stopover at Starbucks (yes I know, I’m selfish and want my coffee…).  Well with the weather being so wonderful, we decided today was going to be a great day for a “Sunday Drive”…  Our route took us west to the end of Hwy 16 and then a large circle route back to Rapid City via. Hwy 44.  One thing that we have found that really has surprised us…they, South Dakota, have a lot of water.  That is, water as in lakes, rivers, ponds, and large reservoirs.  One of those bodies of water that we saw Sunday was Pactola Reservoir.  This reservoir seemed to go on forever and the fishing must have been pretty good as there were fisherman all over it.  The setting was pretty nice with Pine trees lining the shoreline, covering the rolling hills and continuing all the way up the surrounding mountain sides.  Further down Hwy 44 we came across a site that we had been reading about…”Chapel In The Hills”.  The chapel is an exact replica of the 12th century Borgund Stavkirke (stave church) in Laerdal, Norway.  It is adorned with intricate woodcarvings, beautifully hand split cedar shake roofing, and clear cedar siding that we all would love to have surrounding our home.  A beautiful piece of architecture, a copy or not… 

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15 May ‘08

Thursday

Yesterday we got right at the reason that we came to Rapid City.  We are here to establish “residency”.  We’ve lived most of our married lives in Washington, set up an LLC in Montana, and feel that this is the best route for us…South Dakota.  Actually I was born here, but that was many, many years ago.  We met with the people that will help us establish our needs and then spent the rest of the day checking out Rapid City.  Rapid City is very clean, has a good selection of stores for all our shopping needs, and is easy to get around in.  It also offers a ton of options for those wanting to explore hiking trails, kayaking, or sightseeing some fantastic sites, natural or man-made.  Today we went exploring…  a couple of years ago, we were here but we still wanted to re-visit a site or two and visit some new.  As we left this morning we had in mind to do a little hiking, but as the day went on, hiking soon became something we would be putting off for another day.  Our drive took us on one of the most twisting and winding roads we have been on.  At a couple of the curves, we found ourselves facing a single lane tunnel that had been carved out of solid rock.  Directly through and at the other end were the faces of Mt. Rushmore in the distance. 

_Over the next 20 miles of hills and dales, we saw Mt. Rushmore from 6 or 7 different angles. 

_Taking another route that would take us through the Needles we came upon the Lodge at Sylvan Lake.  The original lodge was built in the early 20’s, but with a little remodeling and enlarging, it has still maintained its true character.  It sits above Sylvan Lake and is shadowed by the highest peak in America east of the Rockies.  We were hoping for a place to have lunch, so having the lodge in front of us we ventured in.  As we walked into the entry of the lodge, we were met by the General Manger.  Now it was either that we looked like we were VP’s or maybe it was that they haven’t started their “season” yet, but he was there to take care of us PERSONALLY. 

_He gave us a lot of information on the area and answered all of our questions like we were family.  When it came time to head into the dining room, he escorted us to the entrance and introduced us to the hostess…nice huh???  Yep, we had a very nice lunch and will go back again.  Following lunch, we headed for the Needles. 

_These rock formations are really unbelievable and have been worth our while to make it back again.

_We ended our drive with a coffee break at a restaurant/bakery in Custer.  It was a very full day and when we got back to the coach we were more than ready to just crash…

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13 May ‘08

Tuesday

Leaving Moab, Arches and Canyon National Parks behind, we headed north.  The roadway north was on secondary roads but we found that they had less traffic and the scenery was wonderful.  We left with the sun shining and ended the day with the sun setting.  Our first stop north was actually east (of Moab that is).  We stopped at Grand Junction, Colorado.  We had been camping without hook-ups for over 8 days and we just wanted to “plug-in” for a night.  In doing that, we were able to charge the batteries, do some laundry, and find some reasonably (I hate to use that term) priced diesel fuel at $4.12 p/g.  Just after 10am the next morning we pulled out and headed north again.  We took 10 east to Rifle and then turned due north up 13.  About the time we passed Craig we encountered rain mixed with snow and carried that with us all the way into Wyoming.  About Rock Springs, the weather changed to heavy clouds so we decided to hit Rawlins and stay the night.  We knew the night temp was going to get into the 20’s so again we opted for plug-ins again.  When we woke the next morning we were somewhat surprised to find 3 to 4 inches of fresh snow covering the cars and trucks around us.  We were fortunate to have cable at this campground so we got the local weather stations.  They told us that the weather pattern was going to be more of the same, but as we looked north on their map, it showed that we would most likely have it better traveling north than if we were to stay another day…so off we went.  What we saw was it was even better than “advertized”.  Again the roadway was a nice 2 lane road, but we also found that this was a passage way for the big trucks…oh well.  Our route was to take us to Casper and from there to Rapid City, South Dakota.  We normally don’t travel the long distances, but we decided if we were going to stop in our “normal” day of travel time, we would only be 60 miles from our next day and final day destination of Rapid City.  Fortunately it wasn’t dark yet when we got to our campground, but they had already closed the office.  We had a great drive, although a little longer than I like, but traveling the roads and scenery to get here were great.

_11 May ‘08 Sunday

This morning we were out on the trails by 8.  We wanted to hike out to see the Landscape Arch in Arches National Park before we were to meet the ranger at 10am for our hike through the Fiery Furnace.  We’ve really been fortunate, the weather has been great for hiking and we’ve sure been doing a lot of that in the past weeks.  The fact is, when we missed a couple of days on the trails we really feel the difference, and that isn’t a good difference.  We had heard that yesterday a hiker came across a pigmy rattlesnake while hiking the trail to Landscape, so we kept our eyes and ears open while out there.  Well we still haven’t seen our rattler, but we did see the Landscape Arch and it was as advertized, amazing.

_In 1991 a rock slab 60 feet long, 11 feet wide, and four feet thick fell from the underside of Landscape Arch leaving behind an even thinner ribbon of rock.  Even before reading about the slab coming off of Landscape, I’ve wondered if another arch might “calf” some rock while we’re walking across or under one of them…we pray a lot.  Ok, it’s 10am and we’re meeting 23 other hikers to meet and another hike to make.  The hike through Fiery Furnace isn’t for everyone.  If you are bothered by small tight places,

_or drop-offs, this may not be for you.  Louise joined more than half of the group by squeezing through one of the smallest “arches” in the Furnace…we saw a lot of butts while doing it.

_But I think it is one of the greatest adventures I have ever been on.  Besides the beauty and the fantastic colors, it is a great challenge to get through.

_I watched many people doing things that they had never done before and being very proud that they accomplished them. 

_Hike finished and our last day in the area, we decided to head into Moab, do a little window shopping, and have lunch.  Where we decided to have lunch happened to be the hot spot for bikers (the peddle type of bike).  The micro-brewery, Moab Brewery, was a good choice.  Both of us happen to like a good IPA and they had one, and besides they also had a good Ruben...  

_10 May ‘08

Saturday

Yesterday we had planned to take a couple of hikes in the Canyonlands, but that didn’t work out.  Just as we pulled into the visitors center, we were met at the door by one of the “newbie” Park Rangers.  She was telling us that she was just about ready to put on an half-hour seminar and wanted us to join her.  I think she was afraid that she wasn’t going to have much of a crowd to talk too.  Well we couldn’t disappoint her so we walked across the street with her and found a rock to sit on.  Her talk was on how the different animals and insects adapt to the season changes in the high deserts of Utah.  The time taken with her was well worth it as we really learned a lot.  Now back across the street, we took the time to watch the movie on Canyonlands and pick up the information sheet for the area.  This area is still part of the Colorado Plateau.  The Colorado River runs down one side of the Canyonlands and meets up with the Green River that runs down the other side.  Where they meet is deep in the canyon and make up one of the most incredible “white water” areas for floaters and kayakers.  We gave a thought of taking our kayak down there but immediately came to our senses…  This is the same water that has created the hundred of canyons, mesas, buttes, fins, arches, and spires thought out Canyonlands.  At the far end of the road through Canyonlands, we ended up at the Mesa Arch.  After taking our picture under the Mesa Arch,

_we decided to take time out and enjoy the view of the valley and ridges below us.  We could follow the Green River as it twisted its way through the jagged edges of the “new” canyons below.

_After a couple of short one mile hikes, and stopping a couple dozen more times to see some different views, we headed back to the coach to rest up for tomorrows hike into the Fiery Furnace of the Arches.  Oh, by the way, yesterday evening Lou and I were out for a walk around our campground.  This campground is semi-primitive, as it is in the middle of no-where, has no hook ups, and is spread out so that just about every site is not within view of an other.  Well, on this hike we came upon a fox den. 

_At the time we were walking by, there were up to 8 pups and 2 adult fox.  The pups were jumping and running around each other and having a great time and the other two were being aware of all that was around and being watchful...what a great find !!!

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8 May ‘08

Thursday

We’re camped at the top of a plateau, just outside of the Canyon Lands National Park.  We tried to get into Arches National Park but they were all filled for the weekend.  About 20 miles from here is the town of Moab, Utah which we toured this afternoon while looking for the best price on gasoline…the toad was getting a little low, so if we are to do a little exploring around here, we’ll just have to pay the $3.87 a gallon and get over it.  After filling with the gas, we headed up to the Arches Visitor Center to see if there was still room for us to join the guided hike through “The Fiery Furnace” in the next couple of days.  Fortunately we were able to join them on Saturday at 10am for the 2 hour hike.  This is one of those “must do’s” when you get close to Arches National Park.  To fill in the rest of the day, we continued from the visitor center and drove the 24 miles to the end of the park. 

_Along the way we were entertained with more “arches”

_than we had seen in total for the last month and of course some other spectacular natural rock and mud formations throughout the park.

_One thing’s for sure, if it’s going to be a spire or plateau of red, white, burgundy, or chocolate, you’re traveling in one of the 4 corner states.  While traveling today, we even came through a large area of black/gray plateaus and of course the rains and winds created their own spires, this was the first for our trip.  In some areas they were so black, that when the sun hit them straight on, they turned gold…unbelievable.  Well, we’re getting up early again in the morning.  We want to hike another canyon here in Canyon Lands.  Fact is, if we get it done early enough we will go for a second.  I have to get on-line and order some new hiking shoes/boots, I just about worn those that I have completely out. 

_07 May ‘08 Wednesday

We started the day with a little cloud cover but by the time we got back to the coach the weather had deteriated (I can’t find how this is to be spelled, even in “spell-check”).  About 4 miles down the road, and into the “water fold” area, we approached the days hike.  It was to take us up to the top of the Cassidy Arch.  The Cassidy Arch was named after Butch Cassidy, the infamous bad guy of the West.  Our trail was to take us up 1600 feet in about a mile and a half, and then level off the rest of the ¾ remainder.  I’ll tell you what, those hiking sticks that we bought back in Indio this last December have really shown themselves to be a great asset…  We bombed up the hill…

_I can’t say that we didn’t huff a little, but we really did get up there quick.  Unfortunately, we did miss our trail marker once we got up to the “Y” and we ended up climbing another ¾ mile before turning around and looking for the right trail.  Once we found our mistake we couldn’t have been happier.  The Cassidy Arch was more than we had expected, the size, the placement, and the beauty of the structure were really outstanding.  We were there when 2 young women and a guy started their repel from the top.  The young man was a little nervous,

_but in the end he dropped off the side with his companions.  To make it all the way down to the road, they had 4 more repels to make.  As for Louise and me, we had to hike allll the way back to our car.  I don’t know, but why is it easier to go up than to have to go down those steep inclines???  Well tomorrow we are out of here early.  Our next destination is Arches National Park….see you tomorrow.

_5 May ‘08

Monday

Again, there is soooo much to see in this area that we decided to stay over one more night.  Heading southeast from Boulder, the Burr Trail Scenic Backway crosses some of the most stunning wilderness in the southwest. 

_We were asked to “envision being on a cattle drive in the Old West and retrace the path of John Atlantic Burr, a rancher for whom the road was named”.  Our drive took us 66 miles, from the start of the Burr Trail in Boulder to our final destination of Ticaboo and the Bullfrog Marina on the shores of Lake Powell. 

_Our ride took us through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Capitol Reef national Park, and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.  We had “improved roads” on both ends, but just over 10 miles inside Capitol Reef and 11 miles of BLM land were graded “dust”…The Burr Trail took us through some striking scenery.  We were blown away by the drive, especially through the Glen Canyon and then down the switch-back of the Burr Trail.  We made dozens of photo stops along the way and one stop to examine the Deer Creek Campground.  The shear rocks that towered above us by 100’s of feet,

_and all with the most dramatic coloring you could imagine.  Driving down the Burr Trail was just a tad more exciting than Louise had wanted…  The road was dusty dirt, wide enough for one car at a time, either up or down, with a very few pullouts.  The drop was from the side of the roadway, the switchbacks, were “amazing”.  When we pulled into the park at Bullfrog, Arizona, they told us that the best place to launch the kayak was in their “primitive” campground.  We found the entrance to the campground and headed toward the water.  The “roadway” was nothing but 2 tracks that lead off into hundreds of different directions.  We tried a couple of them out before finding that each of them led to areas around the water that was of “high bank”.  There was a place that we wanted to find, as there were a few campers already there and they were right at the water’s edge.  What we finally found was a sign that said “For 4 Wheel Drive Vehicles Only”…Yep, that’s us…  We did find a place to park, get the kayak ready, and head out into Lake Powell again.

_This time we were right across the bay from the ferry terminal.  There were quite a few houseboats out on the water this time around.  The water has warmed up considerable, although we didn’t get in ourselves to really test it.  I did put my hands and feet into it, but stopped at that.