Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Grand Ole RV Park

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It was a long day driving from Alton to Nashville. After about 6 hours, we arrived at the Grand Ole RV Park. I chose this park due to its low price. It was located about 15 miles north of Nashville in a suburb called Goodlettsville. The park was adequate with full hook ups and other amenities. The owners also had free entertainment under a large party tent, with local musicians and gospel singers performing and hoping get their name out there. The owners were very friendly and helpful. The only real down side was that the night before a horrendous storm went through the area and there was flooding in some of the low lying parts of town. This RV Park was very wet and muddy, despite the gravel roads and grassy areas. We found our site and got setup in the rain and wet ground. At this point, I just gave up trying to get my clan to not track mud and water into the RV. Oh well, it will get really cleaned up when we get home. We were very tired from driving so long and stayed inside the rest of the evening to have dinner and relax. It rained lightly most of the evening and night, so we really had no choice.

We had planned to only stay one night, but after looking into the activities that we wanted to do (we were able to get tickets to the Grand Old Opry), so we would have to stay one more night. That was fine, as it would be impossible to see most of the things we wanted to in one day. Kurt had never attended the Grand Ole Opry, so I wanted him to experience this. Back in the mid-1990’s, I was able to attend this event while in Nashville on business. However; when I went, the show was at the Ryman Theatre, which is the original auditorium for the Opry. A new Opry House had been built later and the Ryman is only used in performances during the winter. Anyway, I was excited that we were able to get the tickets; the main performers for the evening were Larry Gatlin, Craig Campbell and lastly Carrie Underwood. The tickets were selling fast, so we had to get two seats that were not together, but they were one row and four seats apart. The second night we would attend the Opry.

The next morning, we headed into Nashville to look around and see downtown and the special places. We went down to the riverfront and saw that the Cumberland River was several feet higher than normal. The main street area was filled with bars, souvenir shops, retail stores and restaurants. We also saw the Ryman Theatre, but did not take the inside tour (which cost more money). We scoped out the Honky Tonk Row and decided to come back later in the evening when it was really hopping. After leaving downtown, we drove to “Music Valley”, where the Opry house is and the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.  I had also visited the hotel when I was there on business, but I wanted Kurt to see the amazing interior, which is a huge atrium filled with fountains, gardens, streams, waterfalls and a shopping village. It’s so beautiful to walk through, you feel like you are outside. When I went there years ago, it was three weeks before Christmas and the whole place was decked out in Christmas lights and flowers like I have never seen in my life. It was truly amazing. After touring the hotel, we stopped by the Opry auditorium to pick up the tickets I had ordered online. We didn’t want to have to wait in line the next night to get them (turned out to be the best idea). We then headed back to the RV to get some dinner and change for the evening in downtown. We drove back downtown and found a city parking garage that was reasonably priced. We headed down Honky Tonk Row and visited four different bars. They all have country music playing all day and night. There was no cover charge, but the pricey drinks made up for that. We really had a great time and the music was really good. There are so many talented musicians in Nashville looking for their big break. The places were packed, as it was Friday night and there were many visitors and locals. We finally left downtown around 11pm to get some rest for the next day.

We awoke early the next morning to get ready to head to Lynchburg, Tennessee. This was an 85 mile one-way trip, but it was worth it to us. The Jack Daniel’s Distillery offers a free, full tour of the distillery. We chose to take the Sampling Tour, which cost $10 and we were able to sample the Old No.7 and Gentleman Jack spirits. It was an amazing tour and the tour guide was quite knowledgeable and humorous too. He showed us the whole process in producing Jack Daniel’s whiskey. Jack Daniel uses an uncommon process of filtering the liquor through charcoal. This mellows the flavor and enhances the oak and vanilla flavors. Jack Daniel’s is still made with the same process used since the beginning, over 100 years ago. It’s so hard to believe that all Jack Daniel’s whiskey is made right in Lynchburg Tennessee and it distributed throughout the whole world! After the tour, we visited Lynchburg Square and shopped. Kurt bought a Jack Daniel t-shirt. There were so many amazing JD souvenirs, but most of them were very expensive. For example, there were Adirondack chairs made with the used whiskey barrels, so many cool items made with repurposed materials. (They only use the whiskey barrels once, and then they are sold for many other purposes.) After the trip back to the campground, we relaxed for awhile and then got ready to go to the Opry.

We made our way to the Opry theatre. The parking lot was very full, as there was a 7pm show before ours. After finally getting into the theatre, the show started about 20 minutes late and the Opry began. This program has always been broadcast on live radio and is more like a variety show. There are commercial breaks and emcees change every 30 minutes or so. We saw several classic country artists, who also emceed. A newer artist, Craig Campbell, sang a couple of his songs that are becoming big hits. Then Larry Gatlin hosted the next segment. The classic singer/artists are quite amazing, some well into their 70’s and 80’s. Then finally Carrie Underwood performed. There were a lot of very young ladies in the audience who really got into her performance. But they seemed to be disappointed that she only sang three songs. But that is the Opry! It was a very enjoyable evening and it was a great way to spend our last night in Nashville. I would love to go back there again someday and spend some more time; would love to see some of the museums and learn more about the history of the city.

The next morning we prepared to leave in the rain and drove out through rain storms. It was another long day of driving to get to the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina.

Badlands National Park & Alton Illinois

Badlands National Park & Ft. Thompson, S. Dakota
Army Corps of Engineers C.G. – Missouri River

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South Dakota is 380 miles from west to east. The Black Hills are on the west side, so our drive through the state would take more hours than we wanted to drive in one day. We decided to stop about half-way across the state and rest for a couple of days. I had found an Army Corps of Engineers campground right on the Missouri River, a little over half way across the state. Along the way, we took the scenic drive through The Badlands National Park. We knew this would take a couple of hours, so our plan would work out great. The Badlands is located in southwestern South Dakota and includes 242,756 acres of eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires blended with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States. It’s so odd to see extreme desert lands and lush grasslands side by side. The 42 mile Hwy 240 is The Badlands Loop Road and the best way to see The Badlands by vehicle. There were several lookouts and parking areas. These were great opportunities to take awesome pictures of the scenery. Kirby and Kody were able to get out of the truck at many of the stops. We even had lunch at one of the picnic areas. The weather was good that day, so we enjoyed the ride.

After driving about 150 more miles, we arrived at the campground. This campground is at the dam on the Big Bend area of the Missouri River and the nearest town is about 17 miles away. A large part of the area north of the river is an Indian Reservation. The campground was very nice, as has been our experience with ACOE facilities. It was right on the water, downstream of the dam. The sites were spacious and very well designed. There was nice grass around each site, which the dogs enjoyed, since many places we have stayed were dirt or gravel. There was a concrete slab for the picnic table and a wind-break on the windward side of the table. We stayed there two nights, to relax and rest up a little. The second day we drove north along a scenic drive that followed the Missouri River. It also went through the Indian Reservation. We also both completed some maintenance chores and were ready to move on. Other than that, there was not much to do at this campground, unless you had a fishing boat. Otherwise, we enjoyed our time there and were able to relax (even Kurt).

Alton, Illinois

Pere Marquette State Park

We left the next morning to head toward my former home of Alton, Illinois. It would be a long drive, so we decided to do a Walmart stop over for one night to get us half way there. We stayed in the parking lot of a Walmart in Nebraska City, Nebraska. It was a little noisy, as we have found at 24 hour Walmarts, but worth the price (free).

The next day we drove along the Missouri River and followed a scenic drive. The road went through mostly farmlands, where there were enormous fields of corn and soy beans. We later found out that these crops are grown mostly for ethanol and bio-diesel fuels. We finally arrived at Pere Marquette State Park in Grafton, Illinois. My family used to camp at this park, as it was near the Army Missile Base where my father worked during our time there. The RV campground was very nice and spacious. We were able to pick our site and got setup quickly. It was later in the day, so we relaxed and prepared dinner.

The next morning we drove into Alton, first through the town of Grafton along the Mississippi River. Grafton used to be a tiny town with only some homes and a few restaurants/bars. It was a hangout for the soldiers that worked at the Nike Hercules Missile Base on the State Park property. The convergence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers is just at the south end of Grafton. We noticed right away that this little town was now a riverside, tourist resort area. We later found out that in 1994, there was a major flood of the Mississippi River that destroyed the Grafton riverfront, pretty much everything in the lower two roads was flooded. The town picked up, dried off and reinvented itself. Grafton is now a riverfront getaway tourist community. There are new restaurants, wineries, breweries, shops, antique stores, marinas, vacation rentals and bed & breakfasts. It doesn’t look the same. Some of the original buildings are still there (if there were brick or stone) and have been remodeled. We went to a marina bar/restaurant on the last night we were there for drinks and appetizers. It was quiet, but they told us that on the weekends, the town is filled with mostly people from St.Louis there for the weekend.

We continued our drive into Alton to see how the city had changed and also to look at my out stomping grounds; where we went to school and the house we lived in. We spent most of the day driving around Alton and Godfrey. In Godfrey we went by what used to be North Junior High School (my former junior high school), which is now North Elementary School. Also, Alton High School (where I spent my sophomore year and part of my junior year) is now Alton Middle School. Downtown Alton looks much the same, but the riverfront has been revamped with a beautiful park, amphitheater and a casino boat. The old bridge has been replaced with a modern suspension bridge. That part looks so different. Next we drove north through Godfrey. There is a new major highway crossing through town just south of where our neighborhood was. Our old house looks the same, other than the trees are large and overgrown. The whole neighborhood looks very nice; it seems that everyone has kept up their property. There are several new neighborhoods nearby our old one, and also some newer industrial areas. The Steiner family farm that was on the Godfrey road is now part of the Lewis & Clark Community College. I remember I dated one of the Steiner boys (Regan) that lived on the farm. It was wonderful to see one of the places that I lived, as we moved around the country following my Father’s Army career. My Father, Bruce, worked in the Nike Hercules Missile Systems during most of his time in the Army. During the time we lived in Alton, he was part of the team that was dismantling the bases, as the missile was being replaced by the Patriot Missile anti-ballistic system. He was very proud of the work that he did to help protect our country.

What a difference 45 years makes! This is the only former home that I have ever visited, other than those that are in Florida. It was worth the time to relive some old memories and share them with my sisters. The last night there, we went into Grafton for drinks and some food. The nostalgia tour of this area was over and it was wonderful to see it all.

Black Hills - Custer, S. Dakota

Black Hills S. Dakota

Custer’s Gulch RV Park

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The drive from Keyhole State Park to the Black Hills area was mostly on I-90, until we got to Spearfish, S. Dakota. This town is on the northern edge of the Black Hills National Forest. We stopped there for our Walmart shopping, then headed south on the Spearfish Canyon scenic byway. This road traversed through a canyon area, with many rocky outcroppings.

During this drive we began to notice the abundance of motorcycle riders. It was then that we realized that the Sturgis Rally was coming up later in the week. The next area we drove through was the towns of Lead (site of the huge gold mine that started the rush in S. Dakota) and then Hill City and finally Custer City. The RV campground was just east of Custer City right before the entrance to Custer State Park. The town of Custer was another one of the typical western towns, with many historic buildings and nestled in a valley. When we arrived at Custer’s Gulch RV Park, we found a very spacious campground that had all the amenities that we would want. This RV park was in a valley that was the site of Custer’s 1874 Expedition camp. This whole area is just filled with historical significance. The valley was beautiful and surrounded by Custer State Park on the east side, the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve and the Black Hills National Forest.  After getting the RV setup, we relaxed for the evening. Kurt took the dogs for a walk back into the woods surrounding the park. There were small, rocky hills right behind our campsite. The boys loved it.

The next morning, we drove north through the Black Hills on the “Needles Highway”. This is a winding, narrow mountain road, with many tight switchbacks. The views of the rocky Needles were amazing! We stopped at many overlooks to get great pictures. Also, there were motorcycles everywhere. They were really enjoying the mountain roads, but many of them drive way too close to the center line! Here we are in a large pickup truck and had to dodge them many times, almost running our tires off the road. We really don’t understand this mentality, since they are much smaller vehicles and should keep in the center of their lane. Anyway, most of them drove safely; it was just the minority that “hogged” the road. During this drive, there were two tunnels that we had to drive through. The tunnels were very narrow and low height, one being only 8’4” wide and 12’ high. We had to roll in our side mirrors so they didn’t touch the rock walls. The traffic had to take turns going though the one lane, rocky tunnels. It was fun and exciting!

At one point, we came to Sylvan Lake. We had found a hike there that we wanted to do. It was called Sunday Gulch, a 4 mile loop trail. The trail began in rocky outcroppings, headed down to a meadow valley, then back up into a rocky canyon. Wow, this part of the trail was so difficult that they installed some areas with concrete stairs and then metal handrails through some big, rocky climbs. It was a real challenge, but we really enjoyed this hike.

On the northern part of the drive, we came across Mt. Rushmore and pulled into that park to view the “heads”. The park was free entry, but the parking pass was $11.00, which was good until the end of the year. Upon entering the monument, there was a large visitors center and the amphitheater. There were some trails around the base of the Presidential carvings, but we chose not to hike them as the day was getting late. We went through the museum to view the historical story of this monument. After gazing and picture taking, we proceeded on our way. We then headed south through the “Iron Mountain” road. We drove most of this road and it was getting late, so we took a short cut road back to our campground. This was our 19^th anniversary and we had decided to go out for dinner in Custer City. I had found a nice restaurant online that had excellent reviews. We got ready and dressed for dinner then headed into town. After walking around awhile and taking some pictures, we went into the Sage Creek Grill. Wow! The dinner was wonderful, and the service was excellent! We truly had a nice anniversary dinner and enjoyed the evening.

The third morning, we headed back up to the Iron Mountain road, to complete that drive southward. This area of the road was more rocky outcroppings, but not like the Needles. There were also spectacular views. There were three more of the rocky tunnels that we had to pass through along this drive. One was particularly narrow; we could barely get the truck through this one. After completing this drive, we headed back to camp to get the dogs. We had another hike we wanted to do and take the dogs. We packed a picnic lunch, grabbed the dogs and headed to  Lovers Leap trail. This trail inside Custer State Park was supposed to be 3.2 miles, but ended up really being 4.5 miles. We found that in this park, the trail length estimates were always more than what they quoted. The trail headed up a fairly steep path until it reached the peak. This is where legend says that a young Indian couple leaped to their deaths from the cliffs. Not sure why though. The trail then went back downhill through more rocky areas, then into a small valley along a creek. As we ended the trail, it passed through a campground, where we came upon a lone bison sitting in a dirt volleyball court. It was very weird, and Kody ran right up to the bison before we even saw it. He backed off quickly when Kurt called him off. The bison just sat there calmly looking at the little dog! Wow, I startled us but not the animals. We continued back to the truck. From that point, we headed south in Custer S.P. to drive the large wildlife loop. It was very scenic, but we saw no wildlife, other than the wild donkeys that are in the park. We stopped at a couple of places and took some pictures. The donkeys were very tame and had obviously been given food by visitors! It always amazes me that people feed the wildlife, even with signs right there that says it’s unlawful. As we have seen, it’s usually children feeding them with their parents watching! After the drive, we headed back to camp. The dogs and I relaxed while Kurt took his kayak to nearby Stockade Lake and did an evening paddle. When he returned, we headed into Custer City to have some drinks and experience the local bars. One bar we went into, the lady owner offered me a “special” drink, as I was looking for a lemonade type of drive. When she brought it to me, I tasted it and it was yummy. She then told me it was Raspberry moonshine mixed with Sprite. Awesome! And quite strong. We headed back to camp to have some dinner and relax for the evening.

On the fourth day, we took our bicycles into Custer and parked near the Mickelson Trail. This is a 109 mile rail trail that ends in Custer City. We rode north about 5 miles, and then turned to go back. It was a nice paved trail that went through some industrial areas near town and also through rural properties and farmlands. On the way back, Kurt wanted to ride the spur trail that went out right past our campground. I drove back to camp and he called me a short while later to say he didn’t know where he was. I looked at the trail map and discovered he had not turned off on the spur trail, but was heading north.  I told him I would come and pick him up, as the weather was looking nasty and was beginning to rain. He said he could make it back, so he rode back in the rain. After he returned and got dried out, we took off to drive back to Mt. Rushmore for the night lighting program. We stopped and picked up some to-go Mexican food. We stopped along the road at a lake picnic area and ate our dinner. We arrived at Mt. Rushmore about an hour before dark, so we picked our seats in the amphitheater and relaxed until the show started. The program began with a ranger telling the story of the carvings, the history of the development and history of the Presidents involved. They played patriotic music and the whole program was very emotional. At dark, the lights came on to illuminate the faces. It was pretty spectacular and moving. We enjoyed this presentation and the history behind the mountain. As we drove home, a major rain storm started and involved horrible lightning and thunder. We made it back safely, but at about 3 am all hell broke loose! The storms got worse, the lightning went on constantly for about 30 minutes, and then it began to hail. We nervously laid in bed wondering what kind of damage we would find the next morning. When dawn finally came, we went outside to find large piles of hail, about moth ball sized. It looked like we had snowfall. Fortunately, there was no damage to our truck or RV. That was the most frightening nights we’ve spent in the RV.

We still had so much we wanted to do; so we decided to stay another night. So on our last day here, Kurt went on a hike that was on the Needles Highway, called Cathedral Spires, which also connected to another trail which lead up to Harney Peak. This peak is the highest peak in the US, east of the Rockies. The hike was beautiful, even in the early morning when there was still fog. The views were wonderful and the trail was challenging. While he was hiking, I had my usual “down day” of laundry and housekeeping. At the end of the day, we prepared for our move eastward in S. Dakota. We were going to make a short overnight stop as we make our way across S. Dakota.

Devil's Tower, Wyoming

Devil’s Tower Wyoming
Keyhole State Park

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The drive from Cheyenne to the Devil’s Tower area was non-eventful. The landscape in this part of Wyoming was pretty much desert. Other than that, while driving through Gillette Wyoming, we noticed miles and miles of some kind of mining activity. Kurt said it looked like coal strip mines. I Googled this and found that this area of Wyoming has major coal mines and produces 40% of all coal in the US. Wow, we were shocked, had no idea that there was coal in Wyoming. Also, the coal here is cleaner coal that doesn’t have to be washed prior to burning. The land is so vast up here; it seems that the mining doesn’t seem to impact any towns, other than Gillette, which has grown due to the jobs created by the mining. We proceeded to the small town of Pine Haven, where Keyhole State Park is located. This park is on a reservoir of the Belle Fourche river. The reservoir is very large and there are several campgrounds along the lake front. We paid for two nights and was able to pick our site in the Pronghorn Campground. We found a site that faces the lakefront on a small bay called Cottonwood. It was an awesome site, looking down to the water. We were able to park our kayaks on the lake front and go on an evening paddle.

The next day we drove up to Devil’s Tower. It was a pretty drive, as there were rolling hills with lots of grass and trees. The closer we go to the Tower, there were even more hills. We could actually see the very top of the Tower from the reservoir, when we stood on a high rocky point. The drive was about 45 miles away. As we got closer, the Tower was even more impressive!

Devils’ Tower is America’s first National Monument. President Theodore Roosevelt used the 1906 Antiquities Act to create the monument based on natural rather than cultural features. The site is considered Sacred to the Lakota and other tribes that have a connection to the area.

Viewing the Tower up close is very spectacular. The park is surrounded by lush green hills with many trees. There is a campground on the property, but it has no hookups and is first come, first serve. There is a main trail around the base of the Tower, called the Tower Trail. It is paved and very easy to hike, with some minor elevation changes. As we hiked around the Tower, we noticed two separate groups of rock climbers. With binoculars, we were able to watch them moving up the rock wall. This is understandably a popular place for climbers. After we rounded the main trail, we then hiked the Red Bed Trail. This was a 3.2 mile hike that went out farther beyond the Tower and followed some small canyons with red sandstone walls. This was a fun hike, as it also provided some great views of the surrounding valleys and ranches. There were rocky outcroppings and red canyon walls. During this hike, we saw two rock climbers on the top of the Tower, high-fiving and hollering, they made it! After the hike, we drove out of the Tower park and stopped to look at the prairie dog town. They are so cute and we have seen them all around Wyoming. Then we headed back to camp. The drive was worth it to see such an unusual rock formation. When we got back, Kurt put his kayak in the lake and went for an evening paddle. Later, he made one of his roaring campfires, which was nice as it cooled down considerably at night.

Since we really loved the lake and the campground, we decided to stay another night and paid for the third night. The last day we took our kayaks out on the lake. It was Sunday and there were quite a few boats out. The lake is a popular place for water skiing and wake boarding. The weather was beautiful and we paddled back into a few coves. We beached the kayaks and walked around, and also enjoyed some beverages! After a couple of hours, the weather started clouding up and it looked like a storm was coming. We began to paddle back across the lake toward our little cove. Well, we were then paddling into the wind and also had boat wake to deal with. It was a struggle getting across, but we finally made it. After getting back to camp, we were tired. We relaxed awhile and prepared dinner. Later, Kurt built a nice campfire.

The next morning we packed and prepared to head out. Our next stop is the Black Hills of South Dakota. Mt. Rushmore is one of the attractions in the area, along with the mountain roads with amazing views and tight switchbacks. We are looking forward to visiting this area and seeing all the special sights.

Cheyenne Wyoming - Frontier Days

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Cheyenne Frontier Days

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Next on our agenda was Cheyenne Frontier Days. This was our ultimate destination that everything else was scheduled around. This is an annual festival that started in 1896, to celebrate rodeo and the western culture. In 1968, I attended this festival with my high school band from Alton, Illinois.  Our school sent us to enter the marching band competition in the main parade. Believe it or not, the ”Marching 100” from Alton, Illinois won first place! It was a great experience for a teenager and I vowed to return one day. And here we are!

Cheyenne is the largest city in Wyoming and has the land to spread out into the countryside. This area is pretty much a high desert landscape, with small hills surrounding the area. It seems that the city is still growing, with many new neighborhoods outside the city limits. Warren Air Force Base is located in the area. Along with that, the Air National Guard resides at the air base. We also found everyone there to be so friendly and welcoming.

When we arrived at the RV park east of town, we found a spacious site with full hookups. This location was nice since it was not on a highway (noise) and was very quiet. The park was about 6 miles from the event. We were setup and felt at home, but ready to party at Frontier Days.  We then drove into town to Frontier Park to get information and get oriented on the location and the best route. The information personnel were very friendly and helpful. The CFD schedule brochure allowed us to plan the next four days and the events we wanted to attend. We purchased tickets to the rodeo and the Championship Bull Riding events. We had already purchased tickets online a few months ago to attend the Luke Bryan country music concert. So, we now had our four day schedule lined up. We returned to camp and prepared some dinner, and get rested up for the next four days.

The next morning, we awoke by 6 am to go into town for the free pancake breakfast. This event is held for 3 separate mornings and is free to everyone. It was held at the depot square downtown, which is adjacent to the large railroad yards. It’s amazing how fast they can move thousands of people through the lines; we were only in line for about 5 minutes before we got our food. That day there were over 5000 people served! It’s just one of the CFD experiences. We didn’t expect the breakfast to be so delicious; each person got 4 pancakes, butter, syrup, 2 slices of ham and coffee! Everything was yummy and we hung around and listened to some of the live country music. What a hoot! After walking around downtown for awhile, we headed back to camp to relax and get ready to go to the rodeo. The rodeo began at noon, so we changed and got to Frontier Park by 10 am. We had some lunch there (fair food), walked around looking at the vendors booths. Kurt was in search of his ultimate cowboy hat. He’s so picky (Kurt picky?), so he looked around and tried on many hats. Nothing was just right. Close to noon, we entered the rodeo arena. It was so exciting to finally be there! We had been looking forward to this for a few months. This rodeo is the “Daddy of ‘em All”. One of the longest running rodeos, since 1879. There was a grand entrance with all the CFD dignitaries, rodeo managers, beauty queens, local politicians, etc. Then the rodeo proceeded with the bull riding, bronc riding (saddled and bare back), steer wrestling, team steer roping, barrel racing and the finale, wild horse racing. The wild horse racing is s such a hoot; they bring in actual wild horses and there are a few teams each with 3 cowboys. They have to catch the horse, get a bridle and saddle on it and then race it around the track. These horses didn’t want to cooperate, but the cowboys did their best. There were about 4 of the 10 horses that actually made the complete ride. It was so much fun to watch. This rodeo lasted for over three hours. We will never be able to see another rodeo like this one. Guess we will have to come back someday!

After the rodeo, we went back downtown to check out some bars. We walked around awhile and found that most of the businesses were closed, except for a few bars and restaurants. We did stop in one bar for a drink, and then headed back to camp for the evening.

The next morning, we were back downtown for the 9 am parade. CFD has three separate parades during the festival. The parades are pretty much the same, with the majority of the participants being horses. There were several marching bands, many horse groups, antique stage coaches and wagons of all sorts, antique tractors, antique cars and trucks, military groups, Indian dancers and various local clubs. The parade was about 1 ½ miles long. It was very enjoyable and also very patriotic. This parade is so well organized, which makes it a great event for all the visitors. After the parade ended, we headed back to camp to take the dogs out for a walk and have some lunch. We relaxed for awhile and got ready to go to the bull riding championships that evening. The CBR started at 8pm, so we went early to go see the Indian village, where we watched a group of Indian dancers and then ate Indian Tacos. We also walked through the vendor’s exhibits and Kurt was able to find the perfect cowboy hat.

The CBR bull riding event was very exciting. We got to our seats early and settled in for the big event. The arena was setup in a smaller area, since it was only bull riding. The chutes were setup closer to the seating area, which made it much easier to see. This was a big event, the national finals! The cowboys that qualified for competition were the best 20 in the nation. The arena also has two large screens to see the action up close. The competition was fierce and amazing. These cowboys and the bulls were top notch. The event lasted about 1 ½ hours, until the final cowboy was named the best bull rider in the country. A young cowboy named Wesley Silcox from Utah won the competition and a nice check for $275,000. Not bad for a few 8 second rides! Wow, what an exciting night and a full moon to boot! After the event, we went over to the Buckin A Saloon for a couple of drinks. The band was awesome and the drinks were ice cold.

Our last day at CFD began with the pancake breakfast again! We just couldn’t resist as it was so much fun the first time. It was tough getting Kurt out of bed that morning, as the night before was a real party event. We went back to camp after breakfast to relax and get ready for the night’s concert. We had tickets to see Luke Bryan and Thompson Square. We headed to downtown before 5pm to hang out and then go out for Mexican food. I really wanted to get to Frontier Park early, since the concert started at 8, and Luke is a very popular country music star. We had dinner around 6pm, but at that point we knew we were running late. We drove to the park and was not able to find any parking space, all lots were full and even the surrounding neighborhood’s street parking was full. By this time it was close to 7pm, so Kurt dropped me off at the front gates and decided to go to a “park and ride” lot. He drove to the parking area and waited for the bus to arrive. In the meantime, I was waiting outside the gates for him to get there. It began raining and I was able to find a dry spot under the eve of a building. Kurt called me and said that the ½ hour bus had not arrived. The bus finally arrived at 8pm, so we missed the opening band, Thompson Square, who we really wanted to see. Kurt finally arrived just before 9pm, and Luke’s band was just setting up. We finally got to our seats, as the rain was coming down. The only good thing was our seats were under the roof, so we could stay fairly dry. Luke finally took the stage around 9:20, which was late due to the rain. We were totally underwhelmed! We had seen him in West Palm Beach when he opened up for Jason Aldean, and he was much better then. I guess success doesn’t always mean you get better. Anyway, the night was pretty disappointing. That’s too bad because we paid a lot for the tickets. Oh well, I guess we couldn’t have every night being perfect.

We had decided to stay an extra day just to get rested and ready to continue on our journey. We slept in late, then had a nice breakfast. This was a down day, where I was able to laundry and get some housekeeping done. Kurt went on a bicycle ride around the Cheyenne greenway. He also took the dogs for a truck ride to get them out of the RV for awhile. He then made the Walmart provisioning trip and we were ready to move on down the road. Next stop, Devil’s Tower in northeast Wyoming!

Cheyenne Frontier Days was such a wonderful experience and we truly enjoyed our time there and in the city. The western life style is awesome. We have found Wyoming to be such a friendly state; everywhere we went the locals were so helpful and welcoming. We hope to come back again one day and spend more time in the state; there is so much to see.

Thermopolis & Casper Wyoming

Thermopolis

Fountain of Youth RV Park

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The drive to Thermopolis was mostly through high desert, with some areas of rocky outcropping formations and cliffs. We stopped about halfway through the drive at a rest area out in the middle of nowhere. It was nestled into a very small canyon like area, which was beautiful.  Before arriving in Thermopolis, there was another major road construction area. For about 2 miles there was no asphalt, only gravel on the road. This really slowed down our drive time and was very frustrating. We finally arrived in Thermopolis and headed through town to the north side, where Fountain of Youth RV Park was located. We had chosen this one because it had availability. We had read reviews that it wasn’t such a great place. When we arrived, the owner greeted us in his golf cart, wearing only ratty looking shorts and no shirt. That would make any city person a little creeped out. It was not so bad, as we’ve seen much worse. But the facilities were adequate with full hook ups. However, there could have been some basic maintenance and it would have looked so much better (like some paint on the picnic tables). It was named Fountain of Youth, as they had their own hot springs pool on the property, but based on the general maintenance, I decided that I would not be getting in their pool!  We didn’t settle in too much, as we were only going to be there for two nights, so we just made the best of it.

We then drove back into town to go to the visitor center. We were able to get information that we needed on our intended activities for the next day. Kurt wanted to do a kayak float on the Big Horn River, which flows right through town and along the Hot Springs Park. We then drove south through town along the river to find where a put in would be. We did find a boat ramp upstream of town where he could launch. He would end at the Hot Springs SP and take out at the boat ramp there. We drove a little south into the Wind River Canyon, which was amazing. We turned back as we would be driving through there on our way out of town.

The next morning, we drove Kurt to the put in boat ramp. This park was named Wedding of the Waters. The surrounding lands in this area were once inhabited by the Arapahoe Indians. After the land changed hands to the US government, there was a treaty that was signed between the US and the Indians. The river was named Wind River and the US named it Big Horn. The treaty allowed the river within the reservation to continue to be called Wind River; but outside the reservation, it would be known as the Big Horn River. Kurt took off and merely floated downstream, as the river was running very fast. The boys and I headed back to camp so I could drop them off at the RV. I then headed to the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. WOW, I couldn’t believe how many dinos were there and the extensive exhibits. In the Hall of Dinosaurs lies "The Thermopolis Specimen" the only Archaeopteryx in North America, "Jimbo" a Supersaurus, one of the largest dinosaurs ever mounted, and "Stan" a 35-foot T-Rex and a Triceratops, the Wyoming state dinosaur. They even had a working laboratory inside. Visitors could watch the archaeologists working on cleaning rocks to expose the fossils. My sister Terrie would love this! They sponsor several digs in Wyoming to get their specimens. This museum has been named one of the top ten in the US. Kurt called me and he had arrived at the take out boat ramp. I went to pick him up and we went back to the RV for lunch. After lunch, we headed north about 15 miles to a tiny town called Kirby. There we took a tour of the Wyoming Whiskey Distillery. This is a fairly new whiskey plant, started in 2009 by a family from Jackson, Wyoming. They are in their third year of releasing the whiskey for distribution. We then were able to have a taste testing and it was very good (however, I am not a big whiskey drinker) but it seemed very smooth for sipping. At this time, it is only available in Wyoming, so we purchased one bottle to take home and share with our friends at Christmastime! Can’t wait for everyone to taste it.

After the tour, we went back to the RV and picked up the dogs, then headed to the Hot Springs Park. We walked around the hot springs on the boardwalks and also across the swinging bridge, which goes over the Big Horn River. After our walk, I headed to the State Bath House to soak in the mineral waters. Kurt took the boys to the river so they could get in and cool off.  It was a nice way to end the afternoon.

For dinner, we had decided to go try out a Mexican restaurant in town. Prior to that, we visited a local bar called Macs. While we were in Flaming Gorge Rec Area, we met a couple that was from Thermopolis and they told us to make sure and go to this bar. It was very nice and there were a lot of locals in there. And they had a pool table, so Kurt had to put his quarters on the table and challenge the players. They were all very nice and I spoke with some of the ladies while the guys played pool. We stayed there until about 9pm, then headed out to eat. Well, this is a small town and by the time we got to the restaurant, they were closing. Bummer, we really wanted to eat there. At this late hour, our only choice was McDonalds or Pizza Hut. Kurt went into Pizza Hut and we ordered a takeout pizza and wings, then went back to eat at our RV. After dinner, we began preparing to leave the next morning.

Thermopolis was very interesting, but for us, it is not a “go back” destination. We were ready to move on to Casper, Wyoming the next day.

Casper, Wyoming

Fort Caspar Campground

Our drive toward Casper took us through the Wind River Canyon. The Wind River/Big Horn River created this amazing canyon, as the river flows northward toward Thermopolis. The highway is very near the bottom of the canyon, with the railroad running on the opposite side of the river. At some points, the canyon can be up to 2500’ high. It’s very strange; while driving on the highway, it appears that it is a downward slope, but the river is running upward in the opposite direction. The canyon was beautiful with high rocky walls and formations.

We arrived in Casper and checked into Fort Caspar RV Campground. This is on the grounds of the historic Fort Caspar (it is spelled with an A, unlike the city’s name). There are some historic buildings still on the site and a museum with historic information. This campground was pretty much a large gravel parking lot with full hookups. It was adequate and we were glad to have full hookups. The North Platte River flowed around the park, which was on a large peninsula. The back half of the property was left as a preserve and there was a nature walk along the river. After we were setup, we took the dogs on this trail and they loved it, as we let them off leash. Later in the evening we had dinner and relaxed watching some TV.

After dinner I received a very sad email from my sister Cindy, who lives in North Carolina. Her husband Tommy had been battling pancreatic cancer for almost four years. He had been doing remarkably well with chemo and was living a very good quality of life. He was in the hospital in ICU, as he had contracted pneumonia. By the next morning, he was quickly losing the battle and passed away peacefully just before noon. This was very painful and sad news for our family and we were shocked that he went so quickly. At least now he is with God and no longer has any suffering or pain. Tommy was one of the most kind, laid back and caring persons that I’ve ever known. He will be missed so much.

The second day in Casper, I was not able to go out and do anything after hearing the news about Tommy. I just stayed in the RV and had a very sad down day. I prayed for Tommy, my sister and his family. My sister had insisted that we not come to N. Carolina; she wanted us to continue our journey and not change our plans. Tommy would have wanted that for us.

While I stayed at camp, Kurt decided to drive around town and check out Casper. He went to the visitor center to check on kayaking and mountain biking. No one there was able to give him any detailed information on mountain biking, but he did find out about kayaking. The N. Platte River runs right through the city and is mostly used by locals to float in tubes downstream. Along the River is an 11 mile paved trail that travels along the river, the Platte River Parkway. This trail links downtown with other areas of Casper and several parks. Kurt took the bike and rode most of the trail, which ran just nearby the campground. Later he came back, got the dogs and took them for a ride to look for kayak put-ins and take-outs. This determined his plan to go kayaking the next day.

On the third day, I decided I needed to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. Tommy would want us to be happy. So, Kurt and I took the dogs for a hike on Casper Mountain. This was an awesome trail called Garden Creek Falls. The trail went back up the creek to a beautiful waterfall. The boys enjoyed getting in the water and playing. After the short hike, we took another trail that led up the mountain on one side of the waterfall, back down to the creek, then back up to the mountain on the other side of the falls. It was pretty steep in some places, and ended up being about 2.5 miles. Along the way were wonderful rock formations and great views of the plains. Also, the view of the city was awesome. The dogs were getting hot and tired, but we all survived and enjoyed the hike. The dogs had been stuck in the RV for the last couple of days, so it was great exercise and they needed to get outside.

After the hike, we went back to the RV for lunch. Next, Kurt wanted to kayak the N. Platte. I agreed to run shuttle for him, as I wanted to get some shopping and laundry done. His paddle on the Platte River was about 9 miles, but only took him a little over 2 hours. He did enjoy it, mostly watching the young people who were tubing on the river and having a fun time. I picked him up at the take out, which was at a large river park called Whitewater Park. At this park, the city had built a series of 5 artificial rapids to allow kayakers to learn to paddle these white water rapids. It looked like so much fun and was such an unusual feature for the city to create. While Kurt was paddling, I was able to get our shopping and laundry completed.

When we got back to camp, we began preparing for our departure the next day. We were excited to head to Cheyenne, which was our ultimate destination on this trip. We were going to be there for 5 days of Cheyenne Frontier Days celebration.

Cody, Wyoming

Cody, Wyoming

Buffalo Bill State Park

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The drive out of Yellowstone was amazing as expected. The road to Cody is through the east entrance of the park. The road passed through the Absaroka Mountain range and canyons, with beautiful rocky formations and following the Shoshone River. After leaving the park, Cody was 53 more miles ahead. We were then driving through the Shoshone National Forest. There were numerous recreation areas along the way, most offering camping. As we got closer to Cody, we entered Buffalo Bill State Park, where we were able to get a campsite. Our only choice was a non-hookup site, but we were okay with that. We now have the dry camping process down to a science. The site we chose faced the reservoir lake and was awesome! The dogs had a nice place to run off leash. Even though the campground rules required pets on leash, it seemed that no one was really enforcing this as other dogs were running free. We setup our living space there and sat back to enjoy the lake and the surrounding mountains. What a beautiful place, we felt lucky we were able to get a space here. After filling our water tank and getting setup¸ we discovered our water pump in the RV was not working. It seemed to be pumping, but no water came out. Kurt called Camping World service techs to help him diagnose the problem. The tech helped him locate the water pump and get to it by removing the cover. He was then able to determine that there was air in the water lines and then he worked on getting the air out. Whew! It was kind of nerve racking at first, as we would not have been able to camp there without a water pump. Anyway, as usual MacGyver pulled off this fix to save the day!

We then drove the couple of miles into Cody to check out the visitor’s center. As we headed to Cody, we drove through Shoshone Canyon, where the dam is located. This canyon was even more spectacular than any we had seen that day. There was a series of 3 tunnels that went through the mountain to get through the canyon. The city of Cody was wonderful and the visitor’s center was one of the best we’ve been to. While there, we collected brochures on activities in the area. We also purchased tickets to the Cody Nite Rodeo. The tickets were good for any night, as they only offered general admission. We were excited to see this rodeo.  After this we then went to Walmart to get our food for the week. When we returned to camp, the wind had picked up and was very strong. We were not able to keep our awning open or even build a campfire! Bummer, Kurt renamed this state Windoming! We ran our generators to charge the batteries and to be able to run the microwave and TV. After a long day we were tired and headed to bed.

The next day, we decided to visit the dam and learn about the history of this amazing engineering wonder. We were able to walk across the dam and look down at the river and canyon. There was a small museum that explained the history of the dam, how it was built and how Buffalo Bill was the first to create irrigation from the river to the local ranch lands. After this tour, we headed to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Museum. WOW, we have never seen anything like this museum. It was mostly centered on the history and artifacts of Buffalo Bill (Col. William Cody). He was an amazing man; after homesteading in this area of Wyoming, he became a Pony Express Rider, then a scout for the US Cavalry and later became an officer. He was the founder of the town of Cody and later started his road show, the “Buffalo Bill Wild West Show”. His purpose was to take the “western” culture back to the east to entice people to come out to visit or live. He was an entrepreneur involved in the oil industry, hotels and tourism. He was a very interesting person with so many talents, especially for his time. The museum also had three other sections; American Indian Heritage, Natural History of Yellowstone, and a MAJOR gun collection (2700 guns dating back to the 1400’s, up to modern guns), which was amazing in itself.  This whole museum was so well done and was such a pleasure to visit. Even Kurt truly enjoyed it! We spent three hours in there, but could have stayed for at least a couple more. Amazing!

After the museum, we drove around Cody to check out the area. We needed propane gas for the RV and regular gas for the generators. We made those stops and also picked up some more provisions that we needed. We then headed back to camp for dinner and a wonderful campfire. It was so relaxing hanging out by the fire and having such an awesome view of the lake and the surrounding mountains. BTW, Kurt got a talking to about his campfire. The campground host came over and advised him that he should not have any logs hanging over the edge of the campfire ring! This was ridiculous, as the whole campsite was gravel! So much for Kurt’s cracker fires and I suppose he’s on another violator list in the Wyoming State Parks!

The following day, we had decided to head north of Cody for a scenic byway drive. This road went through the Shoshone National Forest and had some historical significance for the American Indians, which they originally used as a major trail. After driving an hour or so, we headed back to Cody. We went to a local sporting goods store to shop. I was looking for a backpack that sits around the waist and on the hips. I found one there that I loved. It is camo color (Mossy Oaks) and also had detachable shoulder straps if needed. It’s so nice to have a real backpack now. After that, we had found a city park with a bike trail along the Shoshone River. This trail ride was not too long, about 1 mile, but was gravel and had small hills. The best part was the river view, where we saw rafters riding the rapids.  After the ride, we had our lunch at one of the picnic tables in the park. It was a nice afternoon and we enjoyed the exercise. We then went back to camp to relax awhile. Later, we took the dogs and drove over the bridge to the other side of the lake to check out some hiking trails for the next day. We decided to go do the hike the next morning, and we would be able to take the dogs. Back to camp for the evening, dinner and a campfire!

The next morning, we drove back to Sheep Mountain, parked the truck and headed up the trail. The boys went with us and they really enjoyed the hike. This trail went up through the foothills into a small green valley. As we approached the valley area, there was a large water trough used for horse riders on the trail. Both boys enjoyed drinking the water and Kurt even put Kirby in the trough to cool him off. I’m not so sure he really enjoyed being in it, but I know he did feel much cooler. We continued up the trail for another couple of miles, when Kirby was beginning to huff and puff and the trail was getting really steep. He was getting tired and it was getting hotter. I decided to head back to the truck with Kirby, and Kurt was taking Kody. Well, Kody decided he was going back with me and Kirby. Kurt continued on the trail and we went back to the truck. We all drank some water and sat in the truck shade until Kurt returned. When Kurt returned, we headed back to camp for some lunch. We relaxed awhile and later got ready to go to the rodeo.  We headed into town and had an early dinner at the Irma Hotel. This is the historic hotel that was built by Buffalo Bill and named after one of his daughters. We ate outside on the patio and had buffalo burgers. It was wonderful! The Cody Nite Rodeo was next, as we headed to the rodeo arena. We truly enjoyed this rodeo; the participants are all “working cowboys”, not professionals. The events included bronco riding, bull riding, calf roping, ladies barrel racing, steer wrestling, and team steer roping. We really enjoyed this exciting rodeo. Just another great Wyoming experience!

Our last day in Cody was spent with Kurt doing some mountain biking and I was able to find a nice laundromat. I dropped Kurt off at the trailhead, which was just on the south side of town. He was able to ride his bike right back to the laundry, just when I was finishing the job. We drove through Cody back to the camp for lunch. The weather was warm, so we all wanted to get into the lake and cool off. The water was very chilly, but we all enjoyed our dip in the lake. Kurt wanted to go on another hike, which he had found on our way into the State Park. He took Kody and they had a nice hike on Four Bear Trail Creek, inside the Shoshone National Forest. Later, we began preparing for our departure the next morning.

We truly enjoyed our time in Cody and Buffalo Bill State Park. The campground was wonderful and was one of the best and biggest sites we’ve ever camped in, plus it was right on the lake. We felt so comfortable here and didn’t really want to leave, but on to Thermopolis!