Halfway Through Already!

As the card says, Greetings from Seattle! Actually we are in Everett which is the next larger city north. We'd been here for about two weeks now and in another two, we'll be gone. Time flies.

We have visited family and friends, completed doctor appointments, attended the Evergreen State Fair, spent a few hours each Tuesday at the Tulalip Casino (seniors get 30% off the buffet!), bought new computer equipment, washed and waxed our lovely (fusion orange) car, and attended a camera club meeting. The next two weeks will be just as busy.

We are well and happy and today is not only the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina hitting New Orleans but also the first anniversary of when Joyce and Ron met.

Onward toward Everett

Joyce was going to change the photo in the profile of our blog to this one. She thought we would make millions in product placements from Coke, Nikon, and Manfrotto (that's the tripod) but she can't figure out how to do it yet! The picture was taken along Firehole Drive in Yellowstone.

We spent two nights in Butte, Montana, and now we're in Post Falls, Idaho, for two nights. Two nights per place is pretty much a forced march rate of travel for us. It will be really bad on Saturday: We're only staying one night in Ellensburg, Washington, before heading into Everett on Saunday. We'll be in Everett for weeks though, so we'll recover.

It turns out there is a pretty big casino about 38 miles from here in Post Falls so you know where we were last night! Ron only lost a few dollars and Joyce made 9 cents! They have lots of Rich Little Piggies games (our favorite) and other good ol' games we know and enjoy.

August 5 to 8: Billings, Montana

We are here for three nights. Joyce reserved two nights but Ron finagled one more. We’re shopping mostly for the fun of walking through air-conditioned stores, resting, and doing some paperwork and planning chores. One of us, and we won’t mention his name, hasn’t finished his income taxes yet!

August 2 to 4: Devil's Tower

We spent two nights here enjoying easy visits to the First National Monument, which is celebrating its centennial this year. The entrance booth was literally right outside the KOA Campground’s exit. We went into the park three times a day. We also visited Sundance, Wyoming, but I don’t think it’s THE Sundance. We had lunch at ARO Restaurant where the men wear their cowboy hats, boots, snug jeans, and snap front shirts.

Sunset at Devil's Tower.

July 26 - August 2: Visiting Sharon & Dave

We met up with Joyce's sister Sharon and brother-in-law Dave for eight days. This is last of Joyce’s relatives to meet Ron. We toured around, talked, organized cupboards, talked, watched DVDs, and talked (the talking part may be mostly Joyce and Sharon). We went out for dinner that first evening together.

Our first day together we drove through Custer State Park, marveling at all the bison and the begging burros. We had lunch at a lodge in the park.

The smaller creatures were on the wild flowers next to a lake.

The next day we drove up to Spearfish and toured a delightful tourist trap that involved all the presidents’ heads. We skipped Deadwood as it turned out to be some festival and there were two parades that we thought would make the road impassable.

Joyce took lots of “partial head” photographs and this is her favorite.

Now it had been hot up to now (over a 100 degrees) but the weekend was 111 and 113. Sharon helped Joyce reorganize some cupboards and shop for needed doodads (such as bookends and a stool).

Monday we toured the Badlands and Wall Drug.

The Badlands are pretty bad, one can’t help but think of the despair the pioneers experienced after walking across so much prairie and then finding such apparently impassable terrain.

As is typical, Ron was out at Wall Drug trying to pick up some floozy while Joyce stayed home with the baby, Little Joy Rhonda.

Tuesday it was a visit to Wind Cave and more scenic drives. The Wind Cave, which inhales and exhales depending on the barometric pressure, is riddled with openings and interesting formations. It’s also pleasantly cool on a hot day.

Wednesday we drove the Iron Mountain Road which features views of Mt. Rushmore through tunnels. Everywhere there are motorcycles. And more and more coming. The big Sturgis Rally was to start soon and the early arrivers were everywhere. The rates on campgrounds skyrockets during the Rally so we departed after the last cheap night.

This is just a few bikers as they make the turn in front of Mt. Rushmore.

This is a profile view of Mt. Rushmore visible from a rest stop. It's a shock if you don't know the profile is there!

Ron was particularly interested in photographing this particular young blonde biker who was in the rest stop for a bit -- maybe 25 photos?

Ron's Birthday

Then it was off to Billings, Montana, for two nights. Ron's birthday was celebrated in Billings but no dinner theater. He did get to go to Golden Corral Restaurant and the Barnes & Noble store three times in about 26 hours so that was good!

We stayed in Gillette, Wyoming, for one night at Crazy Woman Campground. Ron won’t repeat it but Joyce thinks he said something about how she should get a camping discount what with her being a crazy woman and all. Our goal is Hermosa, South Dakota (about 15 miles south of Rapid City).

Our Trip Back East

July 11 we moved the RV to the vacant property owned by Grizzly RV Park. They are developing more of the park area but haven't gotten to that part yet so we were able to leave our rig there. We then drove down to Salt Lake City where we stayed at the Microtel near the airport. It was a good deal. We got a queen suite and parking for up to 14 days for about $75. While we were there, we drove through Joyce’s old neighborhood and marveled (at least Joyce did) at how big the trees are now. You can't even see Mt.Olympus anymore! We dropped in on Joyce’s old neighbors John and Gladys and had a nice visit.

The next morning we boarded a flight to Hartford, Connecticut. We stopped at Chicago Midway and Baltimore but didn't get off the plane in either place. After arriving we picked up the rental car. We had gone for the intermediate size vehicle because eight days’ rental was so little more for an intermediate than that for an economy car. Imagine our surprise and delight when our rental car was a Saturn SUV! It was just like driving our own car (except not as lovely because it wasn't orange and didn’t have the extra luxurious after-market thick leather on the seats). We drove to South Deerfield, Mass., where we stayed for seven nights at the Red Roof Inn (the last five of those nights in a King room that was a little suite).

While we were there we attended the New England Camera Club Convention at the University of Mass, Amherst -- two and a half days of sessions and exhibits. Very interesting and enjoyable. Cynthia, a friend of Ron's, met us each day and we went to many of the sessions together. We also visited with other friends of Ron's (Joyce has been thoroughly vetted now).

The highlight of the visit was meeting (for Joyce) Ron's son Aaron and his wife Becky and meeting (for both) Ron's granddaughter Abigail. What a cutie!

Ron thinks Abigail is good enough to eat!

We also visited the Bridge of Flowers. This foot bridge is heavily planted on both sides with beautiful flowers. It more-or-less parallels the auto bridge across the river. It was a very attractive stop while we traveled through a number of states for lunch with one group and dinner with another.

This sunrise brought to you by McDonalds (check the logo in the sky!).

Then it was back to Hartford where we spent the night at a Days Inn before our flight back to Salt Lake via Nashville (stayed on the plane) and Phoenix (got off for several hours and changed to another plane). That night we were again at the Microtel in Salt Lake.

The next morning we drove back to West Yellowstone and checked back into a site at Grizzly. We only stayed for two nights -- just long enough for laundry and making sure the RV was okay (it was fine).

In Between Times

We continued to hang around West Yellowstone (we were at Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park for 22 days) and hung around town eating at our favorite places: Pete's Pizza and Pasta and Buckaroo Bob's BBQ and several other places. As we walked around town we spotted this sign that we expect will appeal to the sheep lovers in our audience, even though ewelery sounds vaguely like a eulogy for a dear, departed, female sheep.

Back for More Rainbows

We returned to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, but this time to Artists Point, for more rainbow pictures. We’ll tell you right now, one can take a lot (and we mean a lot) of rainbow pictures when one knows the opportunity is coming and is prepared for it!

Grand Prismatic Spring

Grand Prismatic Spring is amazing. The mist rising from the water glows in vibrant colors.

The pool is large and best be photographed in pieces, unless you have a helicopter at your disposal.

Other visitors are reflected in the water of the spring.

We encountered some bison enjoying the undoubtedly health-giving beautifying steam from this bison spa. They looked pretty rugged with patches of their winter coats still hanging on so they really needed a day at the spa.

Joyce's Birthday

To celebrate Joyce's birthday, we went to Idaho. We’re sure you would go to Idaho for your birthday, too, if you thought of it! First we went for a ride to Mesa Falls along a scenic byway.

Then to the dinner theater in Mack Inn, Idaho. What a deal -- $21 for prime rib dinner and a performance of the Pirates of Penzance. Ron wants to point out that Joyce really enjoyed watching the Pirate King, although he doesn’t get the attraction.

The Fourth West Yellowstone Style

We celebrated the Fourth in West Yellowstone. There was the Garage Sale at the city park where we bought stuff we don’t really need but it was only $5 for whatever you could put in a bag and the proceeds supported Big Brothers and Big Sisters. We got videos, books, and a couple of knick-knacks. That afternoon was the big parade. We walked to the parade site but were a tad late (paraders are punctual and speedy in West Yellowstone) so we saw the parade from the middle to the end and then walked over a block and saw it again from the beginning as it came back around. Joyce especially enjoyed the Smoke Jumpers’ RV they had changed into an airplane. That evening there was a great fireworks show -- and we didn’t have to leave the RV park. We just moved our chairs (and our electric bug swatters) to the edge of the park and enjoyed a great display.

Rainbow Falls and Elk

This grab shot of the eagle was taken with a little camera while driving down the road (not bad, huh?). We saw these eagles every time we entered or left the park. There was a no stopping zone along this stretch of the road to give them a little peace.

Our main target for the day was the Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Ron knew that if we were there at just the right time we would see a rainbow in the spray.

This elk kindly posed for us while grazing on wildflowers (we weren’t grazing on wildflowers, the elk was).