Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park

This may have been one of the most beautiful and serene places we visited on this journey. Estes Park is a beautiful place at the foothills of the Rocky Mountain National Park. Bonanza and The Shining was all filmed from this area. Estes Lake adds to the beauty of the town. A whole day was spent in the Rocky Mountain National Park. The ride to Alpine Visitors Center at the top was breathtaking and sometimes on the edge. Total elevation was at 14,000 ft. At the very top was still ice and quite a view; You did not have to go to Alaska to visit the Tundra.
It was a good day, just needed more time to explore the area. A place that we will definitely come back to visit.

July 24-FRONTIER DAYS RODEO

Frontier Days the "Granddaddy of them all"

The parade began at 9:30 am in downtown Cheyenne, Wyoming and the Rodeo began at 1 pm in Frontier Park. Needless to say we spent the day at Frontier Days. There were 2 cowboys competing from Alabama. A Reynolds from Pike Road and another individual from Enterprise, Al. It was a fun day and a good day.

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Terry Bison Ranch

Linda ready to Ride

We arrived at the Terry Bison Ranch in Cheyenne, Wy on July 21 and will be staying until July 25. This is a working ranch that raises buffalo and cattle. They are big into what we call Agri-tourism but out here it is probably called Western tourism. Paul, Jerry, Linda and I went on a two hour trail ride yesterday through the range crossing the mountains where we saw prarie dogs, an elk herd with a huge bull elk and a cayote. Along the trail, there were plenty of rabbits to be seen also. Tomorrow, we will be going to the Frontier Days parade and the opening session of the rodeo.

July 18-19 -- Yellowstone & the Grand Tetons

We spent a full day traveling in Yellowstone and a day traveling through yellowstone to the Grand Tetons at Jackson, Wyoming. From sunrise to sunset, from the mountains to the valleys , and all the inhabitants that live there. The beauty of the area says all that needs to be said. Enjoy!

July 17 - From Cody, Wy to West Yellowstone, Mt.

Today was a beautiful drive through the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone Park to the Northwest entrance. We traveled by yellowstone lake and the glacier fields as well as old faithful. Old faithful was going off at 10:45 am as we drove by. We arrived in West Yellowstone by noon and visited around the town that day. We have the next day to travel more extensively in the park.

July 16-Chief Joseph Scenic Drive and the Beartooth Mtns

Cody, Wyoming was founded by Buffalo Bill Cody. It is located in the Bighorn Basin on the east side of Yellowstone south of the Bear Tooth Mountains. Today we visited the Cody Museum and had lunch at the hotel that Buffalo Bill built for his daughter Irma. It is called Irma's Hotel. In the afternoon Linda and I rode the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway towards the Beartooth Mountains. Tomorrow we will go into Yellowstone to the West side.

July 15th - Travel over the Big Horn Mtns into Cody, Wy

We left this morning at 6:15 am to travel approximately 450 miles to Cody, Wy. Our plans were to stop at the Devil's Tower in Wy en route to Cody. As the Pictures show the tower was fantastic. In the National Park was a prarie dog village that we enjoyed watching and listening to the barking of the prarie dogs. We traveled I-90 to Buffalo, Wy where we took 16 over the Big Horn Mountains. On the south side of the mountains we traveled through the Tensleep Canyon where we stopped to take some pictures. We then crossed the Mountains into the Big Horn Basin which is largely a desert. Cody, Wyoming is on the North end of the Basin enroute to the Bear Tooth Mountain pass into Yellowstone.

July 14 - Nemo valley & Deadwood, SD

Today we drove to Nemo, SD where I worked one summer with the US Forest Service. The shop of the workcenter was still present but the bunkhouse was no longer present. The roads where paved and the town had grown, but the Valley was still beautiful. Of course it has been 44 years since I was there. We then traveled to Deadwood, saw Hickcock and Calamity Jane's Grave. Deadwood still has the world's most active gold mine in operation. Various pictures depict the town . It was a good day.

July 13, Mount Rushmore & Custer State Park

Today is our first full day in the Black Hills. Mount Rushmore will be our first stop. Locals refer to this monument as "the Faces." The Presidents carved out of the mountain are, Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Lincoln. It took 17 years and over 400 men to complete the monument. Our day will be spent in the lower foothills of the Black Hills on scenic drive 16A. This will take us on Iron Mountain Road with tunnels that framed the faces as a picture frame would. We would enter Custer State Park and travel Wildlife Loop Road. Sightings of Buffalo, Bighorn Sheep, Antelope, Whitetail Deer, and groundhogs happened throughout the drive. We then went to the town of Custer which is where the first gold was found in the Black Hills before the discovery in Deadwood Gulch. We traveled on to Jewel Cave, but it was too late to obtain a tour. These Caves are the 2nd largest caverns in North America. Tomorrow we will travel north through the Black Hills to Nemo, Deadwood, and the Devil's Tower.

On To the Black Hills

On to the Black Hills - July 12, 2010





Today we left the Badlands for the Black Hills, of South Dakota, less than a 100 miles to travel. As we drove out of the Badlands National Park, we made one last stop for pictures that can be viewed above. We traveled I-90, continuing throught the South Dakota Plains. The topography changed as we neared Rapid City. We arrived at the Holy Smoke RV Resort in Keystone after lunch, grabbed a sandwich, and headed to the Crazy Horse Monument. When I was here in 1966, the man had just started blasting the mountain and you could see nothing of an Indian. He is now dead and 7 of his children and his wife is continuing the monument. We then traveled the Needles highway back to Keystone. The rock formations are very un;usual and beautif;ul to the human eye. Tomorrow we will visit Mount Rushmore (the Faces) and Custer State Park

The Badlands

THE DAKOTA BADLANDS

July 11, 2010

240,000 acres make up the South Dakota Badlands. For centuries humans have viewed them with a mix of dread and fascination. The Lakota knew the place as 'mako sica'. Early French Trappers called the area 'les mauvaises sterres a traverser'. Both mean "bad lands". The region is breathtaking, peaks and valleys of delicately banded colors - colors that shift in the sunshine....and a thousand tints that color charts to not show. We spend this Lord's day enjoying the creation that our Lord put together. It was truly magnificent! The video and pictures do not do justice to the area. About 75 million years ago the Earth's climate was warmer than it is now, and a shallow sea covered the region called the Great Plains. Stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada and from western Iowa to western Wyoming. In todays badlands the bottom of that sea appears as a grayish-black sedimentation rock called Pierre shale. The layer is rich in fossils from the animals that sank to the bottom of the sea when they died.

Linda and Mike standing before the Badlands.

July 10th - Heading to the Badlands, Interior, SD

After spending the night in Presho, SD at the Frontier RV Park, we continued on I-90 west to Interior, SD for a two night stop in the Badlands National Park.


We stopped at the 1880 Town. This is the location where the majority of Dances with Wolves was filmed.

After a full day of travel we arriv ed in the Badlands. It is a sight to behold! On to the Badlands/White River KOA for a couple of nights.

June 9, 2010

From Sloan, Iowa to Mitchell, South Dakota

This trip could have been an Agricultural tour. On the interstates from Kentucky, to Illinois, to Missouri, to Iowa and now in South Dakota, we have seen some of the most beautiful farms and crops. Corn is definitely King in this area and that is why the locals each year since 1892 have built a Corn Palace to say corn is King. Several pictures are attached of the palace and you can learn more about the history at http://www.cornpalace.org/. The building is redesigned each year with ears of corn attached to plywood and then attached to the building. It is truly a work of art. Scenes above cannot do justice to the beauty of a sunrise this morning over an Iowa corn field or the morning mist rising from the field on the other side of the area where we spent the night in Sloan, Iowa. I am thankful that I am an early riser and able to see the beauty of the day beginning and the change in lights as the sun covers the new day. The Cabelas store was much like the Bass Pro Shop in Prattville. We parked our coaches there until leaving and moving on towards the Badlands. As we neared Chamberland, SD we went over a hill and there was a sight that no artist could put on canvass, the Missouri River!! A few pictures above tried (but failed) to capture the awe of driving into the valley to the Missouri. Tomorrow.....the badlands

Gateway to the West - First Day

Gateway Arch - St. Louis, Mo., Our first Travel Day

June 7, 2010

At 5:45 am on Wednesday, July 7, 2010 Linda and I pulled out of our driveway beginning on our westward trip. The Martin s and Graces had left the day before and stayed overnight just south of the Tennessee State line. We caught up with the Graces south of Nashville and traveled with them on to St. Louis. Over 6oo miles and 12 hours later, we arrived at 6 pm. After setting up our RVs and having supper, we went to the Gateway Arch. This is the highest National Monument in the US. It is made of stainless steel and concrete. Above, are pictures of the Arch, called the Gateway to the West, taken after night with views of St. Louis from the top of the Arch. Tomorrow we continue our trip to South Dakota.

Getting Ready for our Westward Trip

1-Tire

2-Brannon @ Custom Rv

3-Service @ Bay Diesel

The last four days, we have been in North Alabama getting our Allegro Bus ready for the 4500 mile trip that we along with the Graces and Martins will be taking out west. We are to leave around July 7 or 8 and driving straight to the Badlands in South Dakota, but that will be discussed at a later time.

I had been having problems with drive in the front end ever since purchasing the Bus in November so Paul Martin had suggested making a trip to Simmons tire in Sheffield. Man, did that pay off! I will not take it anywhere else for tire work. The previous owner had put a new tire on to help with the ride before I purchased and that tire was completely worn on the inside and ruined (picture above). As Mike Simmons stated, " riding on borrowed time". Simmons put my coach on the rack at 5:45 am and worked on it until 2 pm that afternoon. The difference is unreal in the ride and handling. One thing that helped is that I went up a tire size (as Paul recommended) on the front. Next year will be a return trip to change out the remaining tires on the rear.

Going to Sheffield also gave me a chance to make an overnight visit with my Cousin, Jimmy Kilgore. Jimmy and his two brothers operate a building supply business. He and his wife, Sandra, treated us royally. Linda and I both enjoyed our time with them.

From there it was off to Red Bay, to Bay Diesel for a service job. The coach is 4 years old and there was no service records, so we had the complete workup. Chris Morrow, the owner, and his staff did a superb job and went through a complete M-3 and M-2 service. It was noticeable that the air pressure and leveling also helped the ride. Power did not diminish going up the hills. If cruise was set, it maintained that speed going up the hills. This will be a distinct help out west. This stop was another good suggestion by Paul Martin, since this was my first service.

Next we went to Custom RV, Brannon Hutcheson, to have new MCD shades and interior lighting changed to a more up to date look. I thought these would be strictly a looks thing that Linda wanted without any real value other than eye appeal. Again I was wrong. The weather has been extremely hot, mid to high 90's, and riding in the bus means a warm ride or running with the generator so that the roof AC's can operate. This is what we did going up to Sheffield but on the return trip we never had to turn on the generator with the day shades down in the bus. They definitely block out the sun's rays and heat.

Well, I think we are set and ready to go. Now before leaving our family will celebrate our great country's birthday, along with our son Rylan (July 7), our grandson Samuel (July 5) and mine which is today July 2

Dream Weaver

Retirement Trip, January, 2010

St. Augustine, Key West, Everglades, & Suawnee

It has always been our dream to purchase a motor home, travel with a group of people who love Auburn University to see the our favorite team and our Alma mater play on a beautiful fall Saturday. Also after Mike retired, we have dreamed of traveling this great country of ours onthe back roads and not the freeways, a Charles Ca rote type of adventure, weaving our dreams

along each route that we would travel.

On January 29, 2010, we began our first journey. This was the last day that Mike worked at the Alabama Farmers Federation (Alfa) and we planned to be in St. Augustine, Florida by night. We made it and spent 3 days there. St. Augustine is one of the oldest towns in America. It was discovered by Ponce de Leon who thought he had found the mystical Fountain of Youth. We drank water from the fountain that he thought would spring eternal youth. It did not work for him or for us. After visiting around the town and seeing the sights for a couple of days, we traveled to Key West via Miami. Mike made a wrong turn and we circled the stadium while hundreds of thousands of people were trying to enter the Pro Bowl, one week prior to the Super Bowl. After this, I realized that I could maneuver the 42 ft bus around most any place and my confidence level was increased. We spent 5 days in Key West and then went to the Everglades National Park for 3 days. We then traveled up the west coast of Florida to the yellow jacket RV park on the Suwanee River. This place was beautiful and we could have stayed longer than the 2 nights allowed. Afterwards it was back to Alabama to visit with parents in Foley and Nauvoo.

HAPPY TRAILS!

Shuttle Launch, April 5, 2010

Approximately three weeks prior to Easter Sunday, 2010, I received an email from Paul Martin saying the next shuttle launch was on Monday, April 5 which was the Monday after Easter. Paul had always wanted to see a launch and he had heard me state that was on my bucket list, along with a few other things that I wanted to experience. To digress briefly at this time, it has been my firm belief that Television has cost us to keep from experiencing things on a first hand basis. People stay at home and watch whatever they desire but miss the emotion of witnessing the event first hand. It is like watching a ballgame on TV verses being in the stands with the decibels so intense that your ears ring for hours after the game, It is nothing like being there! I have seen many launches replayed on TV but can truthfully say that there is nothing like being there in person. Several years ago, Al Hammond (a good friend and co-worker at Alfa) and I played golf with a NASA employee that invited us to personally see a launch. Due to work, children, personal schedules, I never did and had always regretted not making this a priority. Paul Martin's email gave me a second chance and I was not going to miss this opportunity. Paul and I both had one problem, Easter Sunday and the launch was at 5:21 am the morning after. My son in law, Tommy Treadwell, was to sing at First Baptist Church in Montgomery on Easter Sunday. With Linda being a willing partner we were able to go to the early service at 8:30 am, hear Tommy sing, leave by 10:30 am, drive to our home, transfer to our Motor Coach and head out by 11:30 am. The Martin's left from Auburn at 9:30 am. We had an 8 hour drive ahead of us but we were in Titusville, Fl. at 8 pm setting up our Rv on US 1 in the JC Penny parking lot. People kept coming in all hours of the night from everywhere. There were to be only 3more launches after this one. From here we a short walk at 4:00 am across the highway to the water that separates Merritt Island from Titusville. The night view of the shuttle was spectacular, like the time I viewed the Statue of Liberty at night. The space program symbolizes the technological superiority of my beloved country, that we were the best and that we could achieve whatever we determined as a country with the proper leadership. I was proud to be an American. The next morning was filled with excitement as people began to fill up the vacant lot that we had set up in earlier. When the launch began, people began the countdown and then the sky lit up like a bomb had gone off. It took several minutes for the roar to reach us. As day broke you could see the gaseous tail of the rockets and magnificent colors. Scratch this one off my bucket list. It was worth the wait! Thanks to Tommy Standard and Paul Martin for making this one possible.