August 25, 2010 Leaving Bruneau Dunes State Park in the morning, we had about 145 miles to drive to reach Farwell Bend State Park in southern Oregon. We’ve been on Mountain Time for most of the trip, an hour ahead of Pacific Daylight Time. Some of the clocks/watches/cell phones were on one time and others on the other time, making it interesting when we tried to figure out what time it was, but the general answer was “vacation time”. The drive was full of more fields of crops and rolling hills, and the temperature was warm and getting warmer. We stopped for gas at a station called “Stinky’s” that also had a cafe next door. We had lunch that was really good, surprisingly. It really shouldn’t have been a surprise since there were multiple trucks parked right outside. We even went so far as to have deserts, pies! Left there and continued on to Farewell and arrived at around 3pm. Setup of camp did not take much time anymore, we have had a little experience and everyone had their own “chores” to get things plugged in and hooked up.It was really hot, over 95 and we were grateful for any breeze. Our campground did not have much shade. It did have a great view of the Snake River as it made it’s way around the bend. Farewell got it’s name from the Oregon Trail pioneers who had followed the Snake River for 330 miles and after they rested above the bend in the river, they said farewell to the Snake river and continued on their journey. Wagon ruts can still be seen north of the park.  The camp host came by, her name was Stormy. We found out that her sisters’ names were, Misty and Summer and Uncle Harold had to ask if their last name was Weather! It wasn’t, but it was a fun to think it might have been. She stopped in to welcome us to Farewell. We were still full from our great lunch so we had a snack for dinner and tried to cool down enough to go to sleep, that was a challenge. The stars and moon were shinning bright and the clear skies promised another great day was just ahead. ...<< MORE >>

August 24, 2010 It’s really warm here, desert area. There are very few campers, so we feel as if we have the whole park to ourselves. There are several sand dunes that surround the area, they look so out of place among the rolling hills of wheat, alfalfa and corn fields. The tallest single-structured sand dune in North America is located here. It rises 470 feet high above the lakes.  We went to explore the park area. Stopped at one of the two lakes, the banks are sandy but have lots of weeds in them, not an inviting lake to just jump in and swim. At  the dunes, Uncle Harold and Kim decided to take a hike or rather a climb. Up they went, and climbed up the dune. Aunt Reva and Bonnie stayed below and provided encouragement. They reached the top and looked like ants on top of an anthill. The climb down took much less time. The next stop was at the other lake, called Little Lake, and yes, it was. It was just below the observatory center, unfortunately closed (only open on weekends). It would have been great to take a look at the stars there, the skies are so clear and there are so many stars to be seen. Walking back, we stopped at the restroom, well, we kind of did. Bonnie had her hand on the door, and saw movement out of the corner of her eye. It was a snake, about 4.5 feet long and right at the door. Bonnie managed to do some type of rap dance, jumping up and down while Kim yelled “snake” and Uncle Harold said, “I believe that’s a bull snake”, so calm…total opposite of Bonnie at that moment. Other folks stopped by who had been at the lake fishing and shared the experience of a snake. We headed out of the campground to the city of Bruneau, don’t blink or you’ll miss it. We stopped at a small grocery store and Uncle Harold bought a Mr. Goodbar that we believe was over a year old, should have said “Mr. Goodbar Senior”, oh well, chocolate is chocolate, kind of. We got directions to find Bruneau Canyon, but we never did find it. We did go past a wildfire that was being mopped up by the local fire department. We saw lots of corn fields and did a quick stop for four ears of corn that Kim harvested/gleaned. It was time to head back to camp, still sunny skies and warm. It was a perfect night for a campfire, hot dogs over the fire, noodles and fresh corn. The only problem with this great dinner was the fact the corn was field corn, or rather corn meant to feed livestock. It was starchy, tough and caused us all to laugh and joke about our fresh corn, we had a total different expectation, maybe later on in the trip. The moon was full and casted shadows,  the skies full of ...<< MORE >>

August  23, 2010 Left Lake Walcott and said goodbye to the bugs as we headed to Bruneau Dunes. Sunny skies and little breeze. We stopped in Glenns Ferry for lunch and found a laundromat that we used while we had lunch at the Derailed Cafe, which was located right across from the railroad tracks. The Cafe had great food with huge hamburgers and extra large amount of french fries.While we were eating, Bonnie and Reva ran back to the laundry to put them in the drier, this is when Bonnie’s quarters for the dryer disappeared, but she made it work. When we ran back to the Cafe, the amount of fries had tripled that were on her plate, hmmm something suspicious was a foot! Laundry done, great lunch and back on the road. We drove through desert like surroundings with brown rolling hills with small amounts of sagebrush. Arrived around 3:00pm to Bruneau and the weather is clear and blue and \war m, 80 degrees. We were in a section of the campground all by ourselves. Spaghetti dinner with garlic bread. We had a campfire complete with s’mores. The moon is out and is just about full, casting shadows on the trees. You could almost read by the light of the …..:::humming:::: silvery moon…….! Just prior to dark, the Common Night Hawk emerges from out of nowhere and eats the bugs. The campground has mature trees and they provide some shade during the day. The other camping area has very little shade. We called it a night and are looking forward to spending the day in the desert tomorrow. ...<< MORE >>

August 22, 2010 There was a great deal of wind last night, which is a blessing and there is still a slight breeze which is keeping the bugs at bay. We must have arrived during a hatch (we believe they were lacewings). There were so many bugs that you could not walk and talk without getting a bug in your mouth, nose and ears!! Getting pretty good at spitting and doing a “snot rocket” to rid bugs out of one’s nose, we are such a classy group. Most of the campers have left today, in fact, a lot were gone early in the morning. The campground is basically empty. Uncle Harold found a treasure of wood that had been left by previous campers. While chopping the larger pieces of wood, the handle on the axe broke so we are going to have to keep an eye out for an opportunity for a handle. For tonight, we are set for a nice campfire if the bugs stay away.  Today was a day off, stay in camp and jut relax. Kim and Uncle Harold worked on the fly fishing lanyards and we mostly spent time in the trailer, hiding from the bugs We have been going and going every day and today is a just take it easy and enjoy the day! Kim and Uncle Harold went down to the dock to “test cast”, not out to try and catch a fish, just to test the fly casting skills.We talked with two other folks who were “birders”. Paul and Karen were heading to Sequim to visit family and wanted advice re the traveling in that area. We learned from them that the reason the air was so full of smoke last night was because of the wildfires in Northern Utah. There were only four rigs in the campground including our two, so basically, the campground was ours. The campground is located on Lake Walcott which was created by the Minidoka Dam on the Snake River. There is fishing and boating at the campground as well as Folf – frisbee golf, complete with a course. Uncle Harold had to hose off the screen door due to the infestation of bugs that had been trying to spend the evening with Auntie Reva and Uncle Harold, they were being “bugged”. Ha! Dinner was wonderful, steak and champagne! We celebrated our trip.The bug population has diminished and the day has been relaxing.  Overall, nice campground, but not some place we’d recommend. Tomorrow we drive to Bruneau Dunes State Park in Mountain Home Idaho. ...<< MORE >>

August 21 and 22, 2010 We have to say goodbye to Yellowstone and drive to Lake Walcott Idaho, approximately 268 miles (about 4.5 hours) which is our next stop for two days. Yellowstone provided another glorious morning to send us off, cool, sunny with blue skies greeted us as we packed up and said our goodbyes to our home for the last four days. We had seen a lot in four days and have spent every day driving to the major areas that are a must see. All in all, have covered most of Yellowstone and have seen over 250 animals, mostly bison, have seen amazing landscapes, huge grazing plains, wandering rivers, waterfalls, a spectacular grand canyon, brand new forests and gorgeous lakes.  What wonderful memories we have and will cherish for a lifetime. Would recommend to all, take the time and plan a trip to Yellowstone, but be sure to plan on spending at least 5-7 days here, there is so much to see and do! We knew we had a long drive ahead so up, out and on the road early. Our drive took us south so we would be able to go through the southern part of Yellowstone (which we had not visited yet) and that would exit us directly into the Grand Teton National Park. What an amazing mountain range, the Grand Tetons! Rugged and some areas still with snow, they rose up at the valley and stood majestic with the bright blue skies behind them. We found out later that they are not always visible due to weather, but today we were the most fortunate, they were gorgeous and awe inspiring. We did stop a few times for photos, and then on the advice of a man we met at Old Faithful, we made a stop at the Jackson Lodge, so glad we did! The lodge was built so the main lobby area frames the Grand Tetons as if the scene was a painting, larger than life and so amazing. The lodge itself was gorgeous, twin fireplaces in the main lobby were huge and the mandrills (the thing that holds the firewood), were carved as if they were two moose heads complete with antlers! The lobby had large over stuffed chairs and framed artwork of the early years of the area and lodge. They also had a grizzly bear in the lobby – no worries, it was in a glass case, but it was very large (glad it was in the glass case and not  seen earlier roaming around outside our campsites). We spent about an hour absorbing the view and walking around the lodge before getting in the rigs and heading out again. We continued heading south and needed to fuel up, so stopped in Jackson Hole. Cute town, but of course we were there during a festival of sorts and the roads were filled with cars and pedestrians. We got gas and had lunch, time to continue on. We had ...<< MORE >>

August 20, 2010 Our last full day at Yellowstone, still sunshine and blue skies. We wanted to make sure we did a few things on our last day, so up and out by 10:00am. We headed towards Fishing Bridge (North East of our camp ground). Stopped in at the marina in Bridge Bay. Yellowstone Lake is huge, almost like Puget Sound. You can rent a boat and go out into the lake and sightsee or fish. Lots of private boats in the marina too. Left there and headed further North to see Fishing Bridge. This is another small visitor center with camping. The major campgrounds all have a small general store, gas station, food service and an informational center. Some of the areas have larger stores and museums as well as informational centers. We wandered around the general store and headed out to Canyon Village, one of the larger areas. We went the wrong way, actually started to head to Cody. Glad we did. We ran into a traffic jam, a bison traffic jam. There must have been over 25 bison crossing the road, recrossing, walking down the middle, sniffing vehicles and taking their time wandering down the street. Traffic was stopped. We were about 4 cars away from the main event and had a great view. There was a vehicle towing a large boat, and one of the bison crossed/jumped over the trailer hitch between the vehicle and the boat. That could have been a huge problem, but it managed to clear the hitch and the trailer. The motorcyclists were a bit fearful of crossing through this herd, they would be stopped in the middle and let’s face it, most of the bison were twice as big as the motorcycles. One bison actually went up to one of the smaller vehicles and was licking the bugs off the front of the car! We finally made it through and then realized about 5 miles down the road that we were headed in the wrong direction…time to turn around and hope that the bison traffic jam was cleared.  It was. We had many single sightings of bison along the ride to Canyon Village where we stopped and had lunch. Uncle Harold and Bonnie bought fishing licenses to try their hands at fly fishing. While buying the licenses, a young man told of a hot spot along the Yosemite River, just pass the Mud Volcano. We took a tour of the campgrounds and saw two mule deer relaxing in the shade at the campgrounds.We started to head back to Grant Village, there were more geysers to see, paint pots, and the Mud Volcano before fly fishing. The geysers were smelly, sulfur and hot. The mud pots blurped and slurped up hot mud. Driving towards a fishing spot, more bison were seen in the hills. We had been counting the up close and personal experiences and were at about 125 for today, that’s bison that were 50 feet or less away! Found ...<< MORE >>

August 19, 2010 So much to see and so little time to do it in, so once again, up and out by 9:00am. Today we headed to Mammoth Hot Springs, about 60 miles one way. The skies are blue with clouds and about 70 outside. As soon as we left our campsite we spotted our first wildlife, a bunny. Shortly after, elk were sighted just off the side of the road. We stopped at the top of Mammoth terrace and walked over the hot springs along boardwalks. There were some sulfur gases along with bright orange and neon green pools. The area is mostly white, like snow but this ground is very porous and would be extremely dangerous to walk on, you could fall through the crust and fall into boiling hot springs. We wandered through the museum, the Mammoth Lodge, and the general store. There aren’t as many people in the area today, when we first drove through it was wall to wall people. We stopped at the post office and mailed off a few postcards. Talked with the woman at the counter. When asked about her job, she beamed. “It’s the best job with the best scenery at lunch and I live right above the post office”. Wow, talk about no commute time! We had lunch in one of the cafes and then headed out to explore on the way back. There was a large area with multiple geysers, steam vents and springs called the Porcelain Basin. It’s about 1.5 miles around the area, mostly walking on boardwalks built on top of the earth. Saw the Constant Geyser, yes that was it’s name, it was constant all right, never saw any action out of this geyser. Yellowstone has the largest active volcanic activity in the world. It seems around every corner, you see a steam vent. The last eruption was 640,000 years ago. The volcano covers almost the entire park. We took a side road along Firehole River and saw where the official swimming hole is in the park. The water is warm but not so warm as to boil you to well done. Still working our way back to camp, but made another stop along a wide area on the river. Kim pulled out her fly fishing rod and walked down to the river to try her luck. There were lots of fish activity, it was around 7:00pm, but they were really small fish. She had a strike, but nothing to land. After about 45min, we were on our way again, only to come to a complete stop. Couldn’t figure out why, and as we got a little closer, saw a bison wandering down the middle of the road. Kim started to pass, and said “get the picture!” As we pulled up along side the bison, he took up the entire window and you could have easily reached out and tapped him on the head! We saw a few more bison along the way, and then ...<< MORE >>

8/18/2010 Sleeping in just isn’t happening on this vacation for some of us. Harold was up early and the rest of us were up and ready to go by 10:00am. We drove through the park heading towards Old Faithful, a must see. After a half hour on the road, we arrived at Old Faithful. We found out that the timing on the geyser was about 90min apart from the “show”. We wandered through a lodge and then waited on Mother Nature. Harold and Kim walked along the boardwalk that encompasses the geyser and Reva and Bonnie found a bench in the shade and enjoyed the company of two cocker spaniels and their owners, and a couple of motorcycle riders in complete leathers. There were some very interesting conversations that happened at that bench, something along the lines of a wedding during a garage sale and more. Old Faithful teased with little puffs of steam and water and then boom….it went off. There were a lot of oohs and ahhhs and as is always the case, over too soon. We headed out to take another route back to camp and along the way saw bison and their calfs, a coyote, elk, Canadian geese, a white hawk, lots of Douglas Squirrels, chipmunks, a deer standing in the Yellowstone River and a beaver. That’s not bad for our first outing. You always knew when there was a “sighting”. Cars would be pulled off the side of the road and folks with cameras at eye level, snapping shots…sometimes, the cars weren’t off the side of the road, but just stopped in the middle of the road due to bison walking in front of the cars. The countryside is gorgeous, lots of water from the rivers flowing through the massive meadows and the wildlife playing in the mud and water. The lake is huge and had whitecaps due to the winds. We saw the grand canyon of Yellowstone, very impressive and the rock formations have a yellow tinge to them, also large waterfalls that were shooting out from the side of the rocky mountainside. There were plenty of sulfur laden hot springs with multiple colors (artist paint pots) steaming up the area, boiling water that was incredible to see. We got back to camp around 5:30pm, tired but extremely pleased with what we had seen today. Time for a quick dinner over the campfire, hotdogs, beans, watermelon and Aunt Reva’s famous cookies. We will head back up to Mammoth tomorrow and keep track of our wildlife sightings. The weather has been perfect, sun and wind burned today. Reva talked with our neighbors and found out about the hot fishing holes and Reva tried to sell them some fishing lanyards that Kim makes. We have seen at least 50 fly fishing folks out in the rivers, both men and women. In fact, there are a lot of areas that state “fly fishing only”. It’s time to get to bed so we can do it all ...<< MORE >>

8/17/2010 Up early for a long drive to Yellowstone, left at 8am with blue skies and warm sunshine. Major pass to go over, Pipestone Pass just outside of Butte, Montana. Harold’s truck pulled like a champ up and over the top.Stopped at Livingstone off of I90 which was our turn south towards Yellowstone Park. for fuel. Cheap fuel here, $2.59 a gallon. Drove along rolling green hills and ragged rock formations looking for a place to stop and make lunch. We pulled off along side the Madison River for lunch. Folks fishing along the river, wanted to stay but Yellowstone calls. Along the way saw groups of rafters floating down the river and taking the rapids head on. We drove through the Roosevelt Arch that leads you into the official park entrance from the North side. We made it!! Continued on through Mammoth where we saw an elk cow greeting us in all her majesty. It was if this was her shift and she was waiting for the next elk to take her place.  This area is tourist crazy, no place to pull off and look around, probably just as well as we still had a couple of hours to go to our campsite. Loads of rental RVs have been spotted from all over the country. We passed major meadows, rivers that wandered through out the drive, areas with new Lodge Pole Pines which have naturally reseeded after the major fires in 1988. Pulled into the Grant Village Campground and talked with two great ranger/host folks. We did not have assigned spots, but did have reservations. The hosts must have liked us because we got two spots next to each other at the very end of a loop and perfect area with a view of the west thumb of the Yellowstone Lake. We got set up and Kim bbqd a salmon, Reva made salad and a few other additives to round out our first meal in Yellowstone. Long drive, lots to see and we’re all tired and ready to call it an evening, but had a campfire anyway to end the day. Will play tourist tomorrow. ...<< MORE >>

August 16, 2010 We had a quiet evening at the KOA and in the morning Uncle Harold took his Dodge truck up to the Dodge dealership to see if they would be able to diagnose and fix the problem. A shuttle brought him back to the campground while they took a look at it. Some of us had breakfast at the KOA buffet, pretty good fixings. The weather outside is looks to a start of another  warm (about 88) day. We took a small tour around Missoula checking out a RV store, made a couple of stops to get Bonnie her Dr. Pepper (who would have thought it would be a problem to find Dr. Pepper) , picked up cherries for Kim, got a load of laundry done, and relaxed. We got the call from Dodge and they had diagnosed the problem as a fuel injector pump had failed. Keeping fingers crossed, they were able to find the part they needed locally, and work begun. We negotiated with the KOA on checkout time, allowing us to extend our checkout to 5:00pm, and if we were not able to get the truck by then, we would then pay for another night. We lucked out, and Uncle Harold got the call around 3:15pm that the truck would be ready by 4:00pm. We were jumping for joy and had all rigs ready to go as soon as the truck arrived back to camp. Off we go! We headed to Drummond just about 36 miles down the road. We saw advertising along the way on billboards, that caught our eyes - a festival we just missed by a week, get your calendars out and reserve the week of August 2 – 8 for the Testicle Festival in Rock Creek, Montana. For those of you interested, the website advertised is:  www.testyfesty.com – rated pg. Talking with a neighbor at the Drummond camp, we were told that there were thousands in attendance and it was almost as big as Sturgis (complete with optional clothing). Since this festival was held on private property, the local authorities would sit at the overpass in multiples of 30-40 and make arrests/ticket as drunk participants exited the festival. We arrived into Drummond and have been sitting around the table, just enjoying the cool breeze and relaxing. The only other rigs here are the men who are working construction on the highway. There are about seven other rigs besides our two. One of the men came over to swap stories.  Tonight it’s meatloaf sandwiches for dinner and an early night. We have a long drive tomorrow and will be in Yellowstone for the next four days. And….an important announcement for today --- Happy Birthday wishes to Kim!!! Kim was surprised at dinner with a lemon meringue pie complete with candles – the numbered kind, so only two were needed. Kim received a great gift, one she had been shopping for over the last couple of months. Uncle Harold ...<< MORE >>