September 2004
*** Monday August 16th, we traveled south to Grand Teton Nat’l Park and stayed at Colter Bay Campground. The Tetons are breathtaking. We took the car and drove down to Jackson, WY. This is a really neat town. It has a lot of touristy things, but is very clean and the shops very nice and everything is well kept and tasteful. On the way down we couldn’t get done looking at and taking pictures of the mountains and lakes. While in Jackson we did some shopping and looked around town. On the way back to Colter Bay we saw two cow moose and three elk. I still haven’t seen a bull moose or a grizzly. When we got back to the campground we sat around the fire with our neighbors, which was real nice. We sure meet a lot of nice people in our travels.
Tuesday we did more sightseeing; on this trip we did see more wildlife. More moose, a black bear and a coyote. We ended up back in Jackson and went in more shops and had lunch. On the way back it started raining, so we returned to the campground for a couple of hours. About 7:00 PM the rain slowed down, so we took a ride down to where we saw the cow moose and sure enough there were two bulls out close to the road along the river. Just down the road on the opposite side there was a black bear which really had traffic tied up. That takes care of the bull moose, now we still want to see a grizzly and a mountain lion.
Wednesday we left Colter Bay and went back up through Yellowstone and headed east toward Cody. I joked with Sandy to keep the camera handy because we were going to see a Grizzly. Sure enough about 15 miles before we got to the east gate we saw traffic stopped so we pulled over and there was a grizzly sow and one cub. She left us take a couple of pictures and we were on our way. We traveled on to Wapiti, WY where we stopped for the day. ( Guess we’ll have to wait for the mountain lion.)
Thursday, August 19th we moved in to Cody WY and the Ponderosa Camp Ground which is located right in town within walking distance to most of the attractions.
One of the main attractions is the Buffalo Bill museum complex which takes at least two days to digest, especially if you look closely at the immense gun collection. We were there both Friday and part of Saturday. Another big attraction and the focal point of Cody is the Irma Hotel which Buffalo Bill built in 1902 and named for his youngest daughter. The hotel is still a full service hotel with rooms, bar and good restaurant. There are many more attractions around the area. After we left the museum on Saturday we took the car to Jiffy Lube for service. The miles sure add up.
Saturday night we went to the Cody Rodeo which was very entertaining, they put it on nightly and it’s a real good show. The scenery and wildlife around Cody is unbelievable. We have deer in the campground every morning and we’re right in town.
Sunday we did laundry and housecleaning in the morning and more sightseeing in the afternoon.
Monday was more shopping and sightseeing while we wait for our mail to arrive.
Cody is a nice place to wait.
Tuesday August 24th our mail arrived and we were off for Billings MT. where we arrived at 1:00 PM. As soon as we got set up we went in town and looked the Billings area over and stopped at Wal-Mart to get some necessities.
Wednesday we traveled I-90 down to Buffalo WY. where we went up into the Bighorn Mountains. The drive from Billings to Buffalo was beautiful with the mountains to the west and plains to the east, we saw lots of antelope. We stayed at a nice campground in Buffalo where there was another ice cream social. You sure meet a lot of nice people in these campgrounds.
Thursday August 26th we traveled east to Sundance WY. In the afternoon we took the car and went to Devils Tower Nat’l Monument which is about 30 miles north of Sundance. Devils Tower is a Hugh rock formation that was named the first Nat’l Monument in the US. We also stopped at the museum in town. Sundance is where the Sundance Kid got his name.
Friday August 27th we moved on to Rapid City SD. We stayed at Hart Ranch Resort south of town. This is the nicest campground we have been in to date. All roads and site pads are paved, Sites are very spacious, there is a restaurant, store and gas station and the overall property is immaculate. Friday afternoon we stopped over at a neighboring campground and visited with Gary and Peggy Jo Nelson who are work camping there for the summer. We met the Nelsons in Monument, Colorado when we were there in the spring.
Saturday we went to Mt. Rushmore and did the tourist thing. It’s very impressive.
After Rushmore we went over to The Crazy Horse monument which is a work in progress and is interesting, but they charge $9.00 per person and I don’t think I would go back. You can’t see much more of the memorial from the center than you can from the highway. I would take a picture from the road and drive on.
From Crazy Horse we took what is called the wildlife loop through Custer State Park which is very scenic and there is lots of wildlife. We saw antelope, whitetails, buffalo, wild burros, a coyote, wild turkeys and lots of prairie dogs. After returning from the loop drive we ended up back at Mt. Rushmore and watched the evening lighting of the monument, which was real nice.
Sunday I washed the motorhome and car while Sandy cleaned the inside. In the afternoon we took a ride into Rapid City. This is a nice area, but is building up very rapidly. It’s very touristy.
Monday August 30th we took a ride up to Deadwood and toured the town. This is the town where Wild Bill Hickock was shot in the back of the head and killed while playing poker. He always sat at the poker table with his back to the wall, (except that day.) We went to the cemetery where he is buried. Calamity Jane is buried beside him. There is much history in Deadwood and this area in general. They have done a remarkable job restoring Deadwood. The saloon where Hickock was killed is still there. Kevin Costner also has a saloon, restaurant, museum complex on Main St. It’s a real interesting town.
Tuesday I had the motorhome serviced at the Hart Ranch maintenance shop in the morning and in the afternoon we went back to Custer State Park to see more wildlife and some other areas of the park we missed when we were there before.
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