And the journey continues--------------

Entered Minnesota on Tues, 27 September. Had our hardest time finding a campsite yet as a lot have closed down for the season. We finally decided on Lake Bemidji State Park. It was great and the weather was warm.



Wednesday we drove to Lake Itasca which is the headwaters for the Mississippi River.






Thursday we pulled out and headed to Duluth. Stayed at Indian Point Campground. We found a really neat old Brewery, Fitger's, that is still active but has converted some of it's building into neat shops. Right on the shore of Lake Superior.

Great meal and Bob enjoyed his beer and even found a new favorite Bourbon. The Brewery contracts with Woodford to make their own style bourbon. Only down side --- you can't buy it anywhere else but Fitgers and only by the glass (shot). Great Evening.

Next stop was LaCrosse, WI. The State of Wisconsin was another "have to do" on our adventure as we had never been before. Great Drive following the Mississippi River through lots of neat little towns. Arrived at our campground "Pettibone Resort and Campground" late. So we just set up, fixed a quick dinner and relaxed.




Saturday we went into LaCrosse and enjoyed the last day of their week long OctoberFest. Had some good beer and a great lunch.




Spent the afternoon checking out some of the local cheese producers.



Sunday we headed South East to Brodhead, WI. Stayed along a river at the Crazy Horse Campground just outside town. Chose this one so we could do a beer, wine, cheese loop the next day.




Bob really enjoyed the New Glauris Brewery



Just a little cheese shopping, and I found some great wine to go with it. Guess I need to have a party now. Humm-----







We can now say we are headed back to Kansas. Stopped in Iowa City at Colony Country RV park for two nights.




Both of us got haircuts, and did some minor shopping. Bob washed the camper.





Had lunch at a neat place - Hamburger Inn #2. Local favorite and has had some famous visitors like Martin Sheen, President Clinton, and President Reagan. Reminded us of Cozy Inn but seated more and had a bigger menu. They had a sign to remind you that there was limited seating. So eat and then give up your seat if people waiting.

We headed out to Omaha so we could visit Old Market in downtown. With all the flooding this summer there wasn't a lot of campground choices so we did something we never figured we'd do--- We stayed at the Horseshoe Casino RV Park. Camper parking spaces with water and electric in a parking lot, along a major interstate. But we did enjoy downtown and the Casino. I lost a little and Bob won some.




We crossed the Kansas State Line around 11am on Saturday (Oct. 8). It was very comforting to drive across the Kansas State Line.




So after 7630 miles our adventure, at least travel wise, ended around 2pm on Saturday-- 8 October, when we pulled into Jellystone Park Campground in Lawrence. We are now at our temporary home in their long term area of the park until we decide where we go next.




We had a wonderful journey and wouldn't have changed anything.

Found out that although the sights of New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota, are amazing we prefer mountains, trees, green. We loved Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin.

We met many wonderful people. Most of our trip was on backroads and little towns. We only got on the interstate when there was no other option. We figure less than 500 miles was on interstate.

Now we are set up and going to see Carolyn, LouAnn, Kirk, and Rob for some Family Time.

We explored downtown Steamboat Springs and enjoyed lunch at a mexican restaurant on their rooftop.



It was a beautiful sunny day.






After lunch and some shopping we drove up to Strawberry Hot Springs and spent a couple hours soaking in the natural hot pools. Great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.



On the way back down into Steamboat we saw our first moose:









We had seen some pronghorns a few days ago. We also saw other wildlife it was a great afternoon.












Monday Bob went to try his luck at fishing again and this time caught a 15" trout. What a beauty.










And it was very good!











We drove into Wyoming on Tuesday 20 September and spent the night at Rawlins KOA. Not much out there but the sky was very pretty at sunset:







We then drove to Thermopolis,WY. Great view on the way there.








We stayed at a campground that had Natural Hot Spring Pools. We enjoyed the Hot Springs but nothing special about the campground.

Next on to Sheriden, WY. We stopped here to be able to go visit Little Big Horn National Monument. There didn't seem to be any campgrounds near the monument area.




We really enjoyed following the story as we drove through the National Monument. Bob was in military thinking mode and had a great time. This was one of the have to do things on our to do list when we planned this trip










Another thing was to visit the state of North Dakota. Drove into the state on Sunday, September 25th.



On the way to Spend the night at Lewis & Clark State Park we stopped to see the area where the Yellowstone joins the Missouri river:



Quite the veiw. This was the area that was the start of the flooding all the way down the Missouri.











We talked with the ranger at Lewis and Clark State Park and they said the lake was still being lowered to try and forstall more flooding next spring. What a mess.

We saw lots of oil pipeline being laid through the farmlands of North Dakota and lots of camper parks set up to accomodate those workers and flood repair crews as well as families that were displaced by the flooding.

Stopped at the geographical center of the United States as we drove through Rugby, North Dakota.















We are now in Minnesota:












Bob is off fishing hoping for a walleye. More soon as we head out tomorrow for Wisconsin.

Spent Sunday, Sept 11th working around the camper. Laundry and other housekeeping activities. In the afternoon we went out to dinner at a local Brewery, Kannah Creek. Bob found his perfect beer, at least up to this point, of the trip. We then went to the movies and saw "The Help". Good movie. Glad I read the book although it never is the same as what you read.

Monday we left Grand Junction and went back up into the mountains. Our Goal was Taylor Lake, near Gunnison, CO. As we drove along we passed Colorado Gold Distillery in Cedaredge, CO. Had to stop and they gave us a tour. Bob tested their bourbon and found it very good so picked up a bottle. Haven't opened it yet but if it stays chilly it won't be long.

As we continued on we reached the top of Grand Mesa (10,800+ elevation). Bob spotted a group of lakes in the Grand Mesa National Forest. So......even though there was some snow on the ground at the visitors center (from over the weekend) we found a campsite on Island Lake and spent the night.









We had arrived early enough that we put the canoe in the water and went out fishing for several hours.





Bob caught a rainbow trout which ended up on his dinner plate that evening. It was very chilly overnight but the camper heater works great.


We left there Tuesday morning heading again for Taylor Lake and decided to stay in Gunnison rather than up higher at the lake. Very nice KOA in Gunnison.


Bob went up to the lake to fish for the morning. It turned rainy and cold just as he got back. So we walked around the downtown and had lunch at a little cafe. Went back into town to check out the local brewery and a wine bar/cafe for the evening.



Departed Gunnison and heading in the direction of Steamboat Springs. Rainy and cold on the whole trip. Stopped at Monarch Pass and the Great Divide:










We could see snow on the mountain tops:














Arrived at Kremmling, CO and decided to spend a couple days here before going on to Steamboat. Quiet little town.











We went exploring and Bob found a great place to fish along the Colorado River. Didn't catch anything but had several hits.











Headed on up to Steamboat so we could take part in OctoberWest. What a great place to spend a few days. We had a great time at OctoberWest. It was combined with a lamb cookoff. We had tickets to partake in both. We would get a sample of beer, walk up to the cookoff and get a couple plates of lamb. We did this several times until we had sampled all the lamb and many of the beers that Bob liked. (They had wine and soda for me, I'm not a beer fan).





Everytime we sat down we were joined by other taste testers. We met two young ladies from Steamboat area. We met a family from Steamboat. We met a ski instructor. We then sat down and were joined by a couple that has a ranch in Wyoming and a couple from Colorado near Vail. We spent a great hour just enjoying the conversations. We even got invited to the ranch in Wyoming as we work our way up to Montana. Wow!!!

Today we will explore downtown Steamboat Springs and Tomorrow Bob will check out some fishing spots. We plan on visiting one of the Hot Springs here. We are having a wonderful time.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

We left Monument Valley on Tuesday and nature gave us one more beautiful evening. A storm over the valley made the monuments we could view from the campsite to disappear. Then a rainbow appeared.













We headed out and found a wonderful campground about 40 miles south of Telluride,CO. We were given a campsite right along the Delores River. Bob was in heaven:

Bob wrote:

I had a text book perfect day. What does a text book perfect day look like? I’ll try to describe it.

I awoke early and fished the upper Delores River…right outside the door of my camper. The trout rose to powerbait but nothing to reel in.

After breakfast, Jan and I spent the afternoon in Telluride, CO. We selected a micro-brew. Jan had a buffalo chicken sandwich. I had great food value in the three beers that I sampled. One was a Steam Ale, another was a pale ale. The third was an IPA. On the side, I had a burger with bacon, pickle, and onion with French fries.





Jan had an hour hair cut a block away from the microbrew. I’ll let Jan tell you how much a hair cut costs in Telluride (just know you don't want to get a haircut in Telluride $$$ it was a good haircut but.....). I shopped for some craft beer while I waited. Brought home two bottles to try at another time.

The Delores River called again when we returned. I caught a brown trout on one of my first dozen casts. At 5:00 at night what do you do with a brown trout that just fits inside a fry pan? I started a fire, threw on two potatoes and let the coals build. When the coals died down, Jan had bacon ready for the frying pan and I fried up the bacon for the potatoes. I threw the trout on the grill and Jan and I ate a fireside meal as the sun set.

We left the mountains and headed back out onto the western side of the Rockies and desert again. We had reservations at RV Ranch in Grand Junction and as we drove we began to wonder if we would be in the hot, dry again. However Grand Junction is right on the Colorado River and the valley is green and inviting. Lots of winerys and fruits and vegetable farms.

We drove the wine/fruit trail and stopped by several wineries to taste and buy. We picked up fruit, namely peaches and enjoyed them for dinner after grilling them. Bob found a microbrew and also a distillery. Beer was great, the distillery was out of their bourbon so he didn't get to try any. He'll keep looking.

Saturday we heading out to Lincoln Park in Grand Junction to attend the pork N hops festival. On our way we stopped by a sportsman warehouse to pick up another cooler. The electric cooler we keep in the truck (we've had it for 25 + years) gave up so we wanted a new one. When we walked up to the entrance there were two familes selling lab and retriever puppies. Bob wants a hunting dog once we get resettled and was very tempted. However he and LouAnn had an agreement that he wouldn't get one without her. They have to choose it together. But they were cute:

We passed on the puppy and only came away with the cooler.

Made it to pork n hops and enjoyed the music and the BBQ. I tried the pulled pork nachos, Bob had ribs:

Today we are catching up on laundry and camper cleaning to prepare to head back into the mountains for the next few days. Our goal for next weekend is Steamboat Springs and the OctoberWest there. Bob wants to do a little more fishing so fresh fish may be on the menu again this week. Have a great week and more soon......

Today is Sept. 5th, Labor Day. We will spend a quiet day getting things set for leaving Monument Valley in the morning. We have been here for 8 days taking side trip tours. Good thing we weren't pulling the camper on some of them. Very small, rough roads but wonderful sights to see.

We have a wonderful view from the camper and have taken many pictures of sunrise and sunsets.

Sunrise Sunset

On Tuesday, the 31st of Aug we drove back into Arizona. Our campground is just across the border in Utah and went to see Canyon de Chelley. Reminds you of the Grand Canyon but on a much smaller scale. We took a two hour hike down into the canyon and saw some old ruins built into the rock walls as well as spectacular views.

Bob at canyon rim These Ruins are called the White House ruins

We met a Native American making jewelry at the Visitors Center and had a great conversation with him. Turns out his mother was photographed holding his older brother in a cradle board and that picture is in one of Ansel Adams books and one of the National Park Service books. He grew up near the ruins shown above. Great stories to go along with our hike.

Bob tried to take a picture with the same rocks in the background as Ansel Adam's photo. To the right just out of the photo is the family's Hogan that they still use for ceremonies. Pictures were not allowed of that.

On our way back we stopped at the lodge that is part of the campground complex and had dinner. There is a trading post/museum that has photos of many of the actors that John Ford used in his western films. Many were shot on location here in monument valley. John Wayne was here often and filmed several westerns here.

Trading Post and Museum John Wayne's Quarters in the movie "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

Thursday we took a self guided driving tour around Monument Valley. It is an amazing place and sure makes you wonder how these rock formations remain here. Some look like they are hanging by a thread.



The tall monument on the right in the right picture was used in the "Eiger Sanction" movie with Clint Eastwood. I can't figure out how they made it look cold and snowy.



Friday we drove west and went to Paige, AZ. Visited Glen Canyon Dam and National Recreation Area. Stocked up on supplies, to include some beer for Bob as we have been on Navajo Reservation for several days and they don't allow alcohol. While there we rented a speed boat and toured the lake area.











Saturday we took a picnic lunch and drove out to Valley of the Gods, UT. Part of Monument Valley, just north of our campground.

We have passed B&B's in our travels, one was in a Native American Hogan and driving through the Valley of the Gods was this one:

Yesterday we drove out to the Valley of the Ancients and toured some ruins. We took a two hour hike around the canyon rim and down into the canyon at Hovenweep National Monument.
Then we drove the Trail of the Ancients.

We passed through a small wildfire that looked like they had it under control:

And had to wait for cattle to cross the road.

On the way back, in the town of Bluff, UT we found a great place for dinner. Ate outside and had great steaks and atmosphere:

We are on to Colorado in the Morning. Although beautiful we have had enough of hot, dry and bare rocks. More soon.....................................................