Day 9: The Bison and Old Faithful

Within three minutes of entering the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park, we were startled to see a big bison strolling down the two-lane road toward us!  I was able to quickly pull out my phone and start recording.  Wow!  We were so psyched!  We saw a bison!  We felt so lucky to have received such a welcome to Yellowstone. 

After we settled into our campsite, we set out to check the first item off our list -- Old Faithful.  Apparently, the first reports that came back from the very early white visitors to Yellowstone told of waterfalls that flowed up hill.  They were trying to describe the geysers.

Yellowstone is located on top of a very large volcano.  That's why there are geysers and awesome thermal areas.  This one below shows the deposits that form around a crystal clear, hot pool.

If you look closely at this picture, you can see that the water is boiling.

The gold colored tendrils below are beautiful, aren't they?

Day 8: History lessons

Most of our drive from Cheyenne to Cody, Wyoming, was marked by my obsession with getting a good picture of antelope.  (Obviously, that didn't happen.)  I kept thinking of the words to a song that my dad would sing.  He really had a beautiful voice (in my opinion).

Home, home on the range

Where the deer and the antelope roam.

Where seldom is heard

a discouraging word, 

And skies are not cloudy all day.

We stopped for gas in a town along the way and I got a closer look at one of the signs I had seen along the interstate.  Unfamiliar with the Sand Creek Massacre, I looked it up on the iPad and read aloud to Charlie an article published in Smithsonian Magazine.  O.M.G.  It wasn't enough that in 1864 we were killing our own countrymen in a bloody civil war over the expansion of slavery into new territories, but in the west we were slaughtering American Indians -- women and children and elderly -- who our government had promised to protect.  Both Africans and Indians were too often seen as savages whose lives and dignity were at best inconvenient to the enrichment of white Americans.  Horrifying and very sad.  But there were brave soldiers who told the truth about what had really happened and who paid for their courage and honesty with their lives. 

After that history lesson, I noticed that the rocky mountains that made for a steep and winding interstate were in fact part of an Indian reservation.  Coincidentally (?), the reservation ended where the land became level and fertile.  We owe these people.















After arriving in Cody, we went into town for dinner at the Hotel Irma that Buffalo Bill Cody built and named for his daughter.  Cody seems like a fun little town with pubs, rodeos, restaurants, coffee shops, clothing stores, galleries and the like.  It's definitely worth a stop on the way to Yellowstone.

Day 7+: Ghosts and Myths

On our way to Cheyenne we took an unplanned side trip to the the historic Oregon Trail Ruts.  It was phenomenal.  These ruts were worn into the sand stone by the wheels of Conestoga wagons riding the trail.  It was interesting how the highest point of the hill had the deepest ruts.  You could see places were pioneers maneuvered their wagons just to one side so their wagons didn't go into the deepest ruts.  I imagine that by the later years the risk of grounding the wagon bottoms would have been pretty high.

Nearby the trail was a monument referred to as Register Cliffs.  The same sandstone that recorded the passage of wagon wheels formed a wall adjoining a flat meadow well suited for stopping to rest during the journey west.  The sand stone wall provided a canvas for travelers to carve their names and the date of their passage.  Visiting these historical spots really brought to life the men and woman who bet it all on the promise of a better future in the west.








As we continued west on I-80 we thoroughly enjoyed spotting the sculptures that were randomly positioned on the hilltops.  My favorite was definitely the mythical jackalope!  So funny.

Day 7: Cheyenne

A sign in the Nebraska KOA said, "Once the breeze stopped blowing in Nebraska and everyone fell
over."  After I washed my hair this morning, I stood out in that Nebraska breeze and remembered letting my hair dry in the breeze that seemed to always blow on my dad's porch.  It felt wonderful and gave me an opportunity to have a nice conversation with a woman from Ontario.  She and her husband had been traveling since mid-June to Seattle, Oregon, and several California cities.  It was comforting to hear that they were able to avoid the northwestern fires and see all the sites they had planned.

Before we got on our way, we drove to my-least-favorite-store Walmart where Charlie had bought a virtually inedible couldn't-cut-it-with-a-sharp-knife steak last night.  (I know, but it was close by.)  Although the receipt was missing, I was encouraged because right on the package it says 100% money back guarantee.  Apparently in an effort to combat food stamp fraud, they only allow food refunds in the form of food.  Grrrr.

Back on I-80W, which generally follows the original Oregon Trail and where would-be drivers are warned that farm equipment is not allowed on the interstate, we enjoyed listening to the music mix that Vanessa had recorded for our road trip.  So far we've traveled 1800 or so miles and are getting 10.3 mpg.  Can't wait til we get to the mountains! 

Speaking of mountains, the change in the landscape leaving Nebraska was pretty dramatic.  Goodbye corn fields, hello hay fields and livestock.  And suddenly instead of flat horizons only interrupted by grain elevators, there were hills then bluffs.  But there are still beautiful yellow flowers lining the highway.











 It inspired us to sing the theme songs of our childhood's cowboy shows.  Showing our age!

Cheyenne,Cheyenne, 

Where will you be camping tonight?

or

Daniel Boone was a man, Was a big man.

Day 6: Nebraska by way of Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa

We got an early start to a long day.  But we did make time to stop in York, Nebraska, to visit The Quilt Basket.


Looking at their Row by Row design online, I wasn't sure how I would like it.  But I love it.  The 2015 RXR theme is water, which can be a challenge for states that are not known for their rivers, oceans, and lakes.  But as soon as we exited the interstate, I knew their design was perfect.  And I especially like the corn!

Day 5: Where in the world is Kansas?

As I've mentioned, the 2015 Row by Row (RXR) has provided a fun break in the sometimes monotonous drive across the midlands.  To find a participating quilt shop to visit, I first need to know where they are located along our route.  The shops are listed by state, so you just look at the state list as you travel to pick shops that are close by.  And that process would be really easy IF I know what state I was in!!!  Since so many states have rivers as a border and since rivers curve back and forth while roads are built in generally straight lines, you may find yourself passing in and out of adjourning states to the point that you are no longer certain what state you are in anymore!!  Which state list should I be using??  And by the way, why are the same town names reused in adjourning states?  Really?  O'Fallon, Missouri, is about 45 minutes or so from O'Fallon, Kansas.  Why?  And I was excited when I found on my navigator what looked like a match for a town named Forest City in Iowa, only to realize that the Iowa town was located about three hours away from our route.  I had been looking at a Nebraska town also named Forest City, but I already had a quilt row from Nebraska.  So, no, I will not score a RXR quilt row from Iowa.  Of course, it would make my juggling of lists and maps easier if my navigator would show state lines and I didn't try to do it on the fly.

And speaking of Iowa, I just don't get their highway signs.  What do these mean??











For those of you who have never driven through this part of the country, this picture sums up the view that you will enjoy from the interstate.  It's pretty, don't get me wrong, but you will see this view virtually the whole ride.  Bring good music or books on tape.

Day 4: Good Deeds and the Arch

We slept amazingly well last night owing to our decision not to open the camper's canvas-walled bump-out in this KOA's noisy urban industrial setting.  As snug as three bugs in a rug.  But we didn't want to hang around any longer than necessary, so first thing in the morning we just got our coffee and headed out on the road to our next stop -- St. Louis.

After a couple of hours of driving we stopped for gas and food.  While pumping gas I had a nice conversation with a man who asked where we were heading.  Turns out that he has family in Montana and he spends the winter months there.  He pulls a trailer and car behind his coach when he travels.  Quite a bit bigger than our 20 ft camper!  But he was very nice and gave us a suggested route to Cody, WY, that he thinks is shorter than our planned route.  It's tempting since we're averaging 10.4 mpg!

After getting gas, we stopped in Poseyville, IN, at The Red Wagon.  Breakfast was not fast but the service was friendly and the food freshly prepared and delicious.  Charlie added a half order of sausage biscuits to his breakfast which turned out to fill an entire plate itself!  The portion sizes are perfect for their clientele that work on the surrounding farms.  But we'll be having salad for dinner. 

We hopped back into the truck to leave and the battery was dead!  I guess we'd better start unplugging the camper from the truck's battery when we stop for more than 15 to 20 minutes so we don't risk draining power to cool the refrigerator.  Seems like it should last longer than that; need to get that checked.  But the excellent news is that a young man in a truck was at the bank next store.  He readily agreed to pull his truck over to the restaurant and give us a jump, so we were delayed by little more than five minutes.  Thank you, Eric Bender, for helping us out in a pinch!

We took a short rest at our campsite before heading into St. Louis.  By the time we arrived it was pouring rain.  But still we were able to catch a glimpse of the Arch and that was good enough for this trip.