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We have now visited several of the crown jewels of the national park system, but I think my favorite will always be Rocky Mountain National Park.  While in Estes Park I had the opportunity to meet up with Cynthia and escape from the RV for a couple of nights.  We stayed at the Allenspark Lodge while Joseph and Amber were in the RV.  It is a wonderful lodge.  Cynthia and I have stayed there many times over the years.

The reason I like Rocky s much is because of the wonderful hiking.  Cynthia and I attempted to hike Deer Mountain for the second time, and for the second time we had to turn back because of thunder storms. 

The views from the top are supposed to be wonderful, but I am not sure I will ever see them.  On our first day, Joseph, Cynthia and I hiked along a mountain stream.

After Cynthia left, Joseph and I hiked around a lake and to a waterfall.

More views from Rocky hikes.

And you can't visit Estes Park and not see an elk wandering around town.

We are currently in Angel Fire, NM and will move on to Santa Fe before heading back to Texas.  Has it cooled down yet?

A Little Montana and A Little Colorado

After we left Glacier National Park, we spent several days in Helena, MT. which is the state capital.  Mountana has many charming cities.  Thought Missoula was our favorite, Helena is also a great place.  The highligh for me was the hike to the top of Mount Helena which is basically, right in the middle of town.  Several trails go to the top.  Joseph make it about half way before turning back, but I went all the way to the top. 

I had to take this picture of myself since there was no one to take if for me.  The scenery was wonderful on the trail going up the mountain,

and especially from the top.

A highlight of the stay in Helena was our boat trip to the Gates of the Rockies.  When Lewis and Clark were searching for the headwaters of the Missouri River, they encountered a section of the river which seemed to offer no way to continue, the cliffs seemed to create a gate.  But as the party neared the gate, it appeared to open and allow them to continue up the river.

 After Helena, we had planned to go to Bozeman, but had to return to Missoula because we lost the back brakes on the motorcycle and Joseph felt that they were important.  We stayed in a lovely RV park there.  The abundant sunshine and mild temperatures produce beautiful flowers.

We were on our way again and headed for Fort Collins, CO.  Of course it took a couple of days to drive through Montana and Wyoming, but our stay in Buffalo, WY made it worth it.  There is a steak house there which we ate at on our way to Montana and on our way back south which is positively the best.

 One of the reasons to stop at Fort Collins is to ride down the Poudre Canyon - another great motorcycle ride. 

And who can resist stopping to sit by a mountain stream.

Of course, Joseph was happy that day!

Glacier National Park

We have just spent a week in Glacier National Park.  At first I was worried that a week would be too long.  What a silly thought.  There is so much beauty here, you could stay much longer.

There are huge lakes, beautiful mountains and wonderful mountain streams.  We went on several hikes.  One was in East Glacier in the Twin Lakes area.

We also hiked along a mountain stream...

to Avalanche Lake.

But the highlight of every motorcycle riders trip to Glacier is Going to the Sun Road.  This Road was complteted in 1933.  Rather than build a road with multiple switchbacks, the engineers designed a road which would showcase the scenery.  It is 50 miles of wonderful views. 

At the top is a pass where you can take a hike to a viewpoint.  Joseph and I decided to try the hike.  After waking on a boardwalk for about half a mile, we encountered snow.  In fact, the remainder of the trail was covered in snow.  After slipping and sliding for a while, we headed back.  I guess I am just not comfortable hiking in snow!

However, the mountain goat was not having any problems.

But it was fun hiking in the snow in August.

Going to the Sun Road was such a treat that we rode it twice.

We are currently staying in an RV Park at Fort Harrison in Helena, MT.  But we are both already talking about when we can take another trip to Glacier.

Yellowstone Park

Yellowstone National Park is a remarkable place.  It was established in 1872 and is the country's oldest national park.  It contains two third's of the worlds geysers, many hot springs and other thermal features.

And, of course, the most famous of all - Old Faithful.  Most of the geysers are unpredictable, but Old Faithful continues to erupt on schedule - that is within 10 minutes give or take. 

Yellowstone also has a Grand Canyon.

It was carved by the Yellowstone River.  One of the best things about it is its accessibility.  There are numerous places to view the canyon and also get down into the canyon, and here right next to one of the waterfalls.

The Yellowstone River as it approaches the falls.

And of course, if you have ever traveled through Yellowstone, you have been tied up in traffic as the tourists take pictures of the wild animals.  There are the buffalo, with which you have to share the road...

I have pictures of the hundreds of buffalo in the valleys, but it is hard for these to accruately depict the scene.  You feel that you are in a movie.  There are also numerous elk.

We saw this elk when we were hiking to a waterfall.  Joseph was fascinated by it. 

And of course the views from the motorcycle are wonderful.

As you can see, we loved our time in Yellowstone.  We are now in Missoula with a broken motorcycle.  Not to be tied down, we drove the RV into town.  Joseph had a wonderful time driving through the old downtown area looking for a parking place!  Missoula is a wonderful city.  Hopefully the bike will be fixed today (Saturday), and we can leave for Glacier National Park tomorrow (Sunday).

Wyoming

Lets rodeo!

Cody is considered the rodeo capital of the United States. Every night during the summer they stage a rodeo. Joseph wanted to participate, but the bull was a little docile.  But, he was one of only two cowboys who rode (okay, maybe his was sitting) the bull for 8 seconds!

Wyoming is a full of beautiful views. It seems that every road should be designated a scenic highway. But, one of the best, is the Beartooth Highway, considered one of the most scenic in the US. The road goes over the Beartooth Mountains from Red Lodge, MT. to Cooke City, WY.

 The views are spectacular. The highway celebrated its 75^th anniversary this year.

　
We spent three days in Cody, WY. It is a great town and has one of the best museum complexes I have ever seen. It contains museums dedicated to Buffalo Bill Cody, Western Art, the Plains Indians and the largest gun museum in the US. I guess I don’t have to tell you where Joseph spent most of his time.

While in Cody, we went rafting, but I have no pictures since I do not have a waterproof camera. It was a great trip though. One of the highlights was seeing several Sand Hill Cranes. Maybe I will take up bird watching.

We also visited the Irma Hotel which was built by Buffalo Bill Cody and named after his daughter.  This is a picture of the bar which was given to him by Queen Victoria after his Wild West Show toured England.

Each evening the Cody gunfighters perform in front of the hotel. 

I also do not have any pictures of our time in Buffalo, WY as I lost my camera on the road one day.

We have moved on from Cody to Yellowstone National Park.  This is one stop on the trip which I have been looking forward to for some time.  I should have some great pictures for you soon.

The Black Hills

The Black Hills of South Dakota are really beautiful and deserve their reputation as a great place to ride a motorcycle. We have ridden the scenic roads and visited the monuments and loved it all.

My favorite place was Custer State Park. This is one of the largest state parks and has many diverse regions. In the south is the prairie with a herd of more than 500 buffalo. They also have elk (which we did not see), wild burros and, of course, prairie dogs. But the buffalo are my favorite. It is so fun to see them up close.
　

　

The riding in the park is exceptional. The roads were built in the 1920’s when cars were smaller. There are about 6 tunnels. The smallest is only 8 feet wide! The roads are famous for the “pig tail” bridges. Okay, you say. What is a pig tail bridge. It is a short bridge followed by a hair-pin curve which places you under the bridge you just crossed. Some of the turns are so tight that the suggested speed is only 10 mph. It is an amazing ride. In one of the tunnels, as you exit the opening frames Mount Rushmore.
　

　
We also rode to Deadwood and Sturgis. Deadwood is an old mining town which was resurrected using profits from the gambling casinos. It is famous as the location where Wild Bill Hickok was murdered. His grave, as well as Calamity Jane’s, is in the town’s cemetery.

　
　
Sturgis is a rather dull town of a little over 6,000. I cannot imagine what it must be like when half a million bikers descend upon it during Bike Week.

Or course, the one attraction which the Black Hills is most famous for is Mount Rushmore. Over three million persons visit Mount Rushmore each year. It was originally suggested that giant sculptures be carved on the peaks in order to attract tourists to the area. Gutzon Borglum was invited to be the sculptor for this project, and he chose Mount Rushmore and changed the plan to carve four U.S. presidents. It took 14 years to complete. Most of the “carving” was actually done by dynamite.

The other famous carving in the area is Crazy Horse. Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear wanted the white man to know that “the red man has great heroes” and invited Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to carve Crazy Horse. Work was started in 1948, and, as you can see, there is still much more work to be done. Korczak believed that the sculpture should be built without public funds. Korczak died in 1982, but the project has continued through the efforts of his wife and children.

Of all the things we did, I think our favorite was the visit to the mammoth site in Hot Springs.  While preparing the land for a housing development, a bull dozer happened to uncover mammoth bones.  Upon further examination, it was determined that this was the location of a pond created by a sinkhole over 25,000 years ago.  Many animals ventured close to the pond, fell in and were not able to get out.  This is one of the most important paentology sites in the state.  The bones are displayed as they were found.  The Columbian Mammoth, the wooley mammoth and many other animals have been found at the site.  During the month of July, excavation is performed by volunteers. 

Today we have left South Dakota and traveled to Wyoming. We are staying the next couple of days in Buffalo and will then travel to Cody and Yellowstone. We still have a lot to see!