Route 66 8/3, 8/4 & 8/5

Because we were in a hotel that password protected their network we had problems with our laptop hooking up to it. Vista and networks that are password protected are not always compatible. Enough said.

We drove from Cody to Keystone South Dakota which is about a mile from the sculptures of the presidents. We had some difficulty finding the hotel as neither my Garmin or the maps identified the street but the Roosevelt Inn was in plain sight if you were headed north and not south. The misery was worth it though as the hotel was comfortable and reasonably priced considering it was Biker Rally week in Sturgis. The number of bikes estimated to be around 500,000 for the week made our jaws drop. We drove by Sturgis to see way too many bikes for us to stop. The drive occupied 8/3.

Getting a late start on 8/4 we first went to Hill City to see a friends mother who runs the Dairy Queen. What a sight as we drove by the presidents on the way to Hill City. When we got to Hill City we were not able to go on the main street as it was reserved for the bikers. 3 or 4 blocks of solid bikes. We walked in from 2 blocks away to gaze and have lunch.

After lunch we drove to Custer State park. This park is huge and we spent at least 4 hours driving through several tunnels, going up mountains and traveling through the prairies. As we entered the park we asked if w could get off on the side roads and look for Buffalo and the told us OK. She told us what roads to check and imagine our joy when we popped over the hill to see a whole heard of Buffalo that we had to drive between. We also saw a mountain goat that we would not have seen if we had stayed on the main roads.

On 8/5 we had to start our trek home. We had decided to stop at Bear Country USA. Ainslie had been disappointed that she had not seen any bears on our trip but that was soon taken care of. Among other animals she also got to see wolves all in their habitat where you drive through in your car with your windows up tightly. After stopping at WalMart for a book that was released the day before we took off for home. At about 5:30 or 6:00 we were both interested in getting home so we kept driving getting home about midnight. The only regret on the last day that I have is that i did not see the turn off for the badlands so she really did not get to see those.

Route 66 8/2

Last night was completed with a visit to the Yellowstone Rodeo. If you have never seen one this would suffice but it was very low budget.

We got up early eating breakfast at The Timberline Cafe in West Yellowstone and it was good food with fast service at a reasonable price. What more could you ask for? We then gassed up as I did not know how many miles we would travel in the park but I knew it would be a fair amount. This mountain air must be enjoyed by the 4 Runner as the gauge says that I got over 30 miles to a gallon and only used less than a 1/4 tank from West Yellowstone and through the park to Cody WY. WOW what a good deal. Although I did see that gas is under $4 a gallon here in Cody.

Yellowstone was all I remembered and more. We saw Geysers and Old Faithful has not lost her charm. We saw two incredible waterfalls. Nice meadows and forests and Bison up close and personal. The streams running through the park and the big lake are beyond description. Then couple that with the drive to the east going to Cody and it appears that we saw the 2nd Grand Canyon. If you have not been here it should be a must do.

Only one down side that we saw today was a fire in Yellowstone and also a big fire in the mountains down close to where we were driving on our way to Cody. We could see the flames and that my friends is not comfortable.

After having supper we went to the Cody Rodeo which proved to be much better than the one we saw last night.

Route 66 8/1

It is hard to believe that it is August 1st already.

Today was a sad day as we left all our friends from the Jerome, Shoshone and Twin Falls area and drove to west Yellowstone. We went to Craters of the Moon National Park. A couple of my friends in the area really recommended that we stop and see. We are glad we did as the Park Center had a very informative display and the park was very different than what I imagined. There was the smoothness of the mountain where pea sized deposits of lava where, to piles of rocks that were sprayed into columns and everything in between. This should be a must see if you are in the area.

We hope to take in a rodeo tonight as Ainslie has not seen one and possibly the IMAX about the park before going to Yellowstone.