Last September we drove to the Badlands, Yellowstone, Arches, and Canyonlands National Parks. This year we planned to do a September drive to the New England area but excessive rain from late summer hurricanes would have made the camping soggy while many of the motels of the area have closed due to rising water. So we went west again.
We camped in the Badlands of South Dakota. We had heard that driving through the park at night under a full moon was like driving
on the moon. We had a full moon so we did it. We even got out of the van and walked on the lunar surface. Awsome. Sorry, the pictures didn't turn out.
We stopped in Rapid City where a statue of a famous person stands on every corner. I think this was Thomas Jefferson.
Instead of going to Mt Rushmore again, we drove the Iron Mountain Road which is 17 miles long and has 314 curves, 14 switchbacks, 3 pigtails (270 turn over an underpass), and 3 tunnels (which frame the four presidents on Rushmore as you drive through). The presidents were visible as I took this picture which bleached out on the photo. (I need to resurrect my 35mm)
If you enlarge this, you can see the four presidents as seen from the iron Mountain Road.
In Custer State Park, we saw hundreds of Bison (same as buffalo). We were able to get close to them in relative safety because we were separated from them by a cattle guard (look it up).
We made it to Yellowstone but this year we went to different parts of the park. We found this water falls on the eastern part of the lower loop.
We visited Old Faithful but I took this photo of "The Bee Hive" geyser which is next to Old Faithful and steals the show these days.
In the upper loop, we visited the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
After the long drive from Yellowstone through a corner of Montana and Idaho, we spent the night in Salt Lake City. We saw the tabernacle but didn't bother with a photo. The next day we drove through Brice Canyon. The totem pole like structures are called "who-doos".
The afternoon light penetrates some of the thinner who-doos. The scene is very cathedral-like.
After Brice Canyon, we continued on to Zion National Park where petrified sand dunes, so large that we couldn't see the tops of many of them, dominate the view.
We spent a night in Las Vegas right on the strip. We walked to the Encore hotel where we had a drink in the Sinatra Lounge. ($33 for one martini and one scotch). We only lost $10 which we won back in New Mexico.
Then we buzzed down to Kingman, Arizona where we picked up old Route 66.
After dozens of twists and turns on 66's norrow mountain pass with no guard rails, we reached the ghost town of Oatman. Years later, artists squatted on the abandoned properties and is now a thriving tourist trap.This is the Oatman Hotel.
In Williams Arizona, also on 66, we stopped to see the Gas Station Museum.
From William we drove to the real Grand Canyon in northern Arizona.
We continued on to the old west town of Durango Colorado. Above is the Strater Hotel.
East of Durango we found the Sand Dunes National Park. They are hundreds of feet high. If you enlarge the photo, you might be able to see tiny specs on the dunes. Those are people.
We made a stop in Gallup New Mexico where the whisky flows and Indians who can't handle it drink in copious amounts.
This old hotel (no longer in operation) on route 66 was built entirely of stone from the nearby petrified forest.
Mandy is sitting next to a tree that was turned to stone 225 million years ago by the invasion of sediment materials that flowed over it after it fell.
One of the many painted deserts of the West are near the petrified forest.
We finally reached Arkansas where we camped next to the Arkansa River. The following morning, we enjoyed a visit from a couple local fellows, Billy Bob Thornton (look-alike) and his drinking pal, Stacy. They started drinking at 6:00 am.
BillyBob told us stories about his life on the river. He told us that he had jumped off of the Arkansas River Bridge (visible in the background) four times and dove off of it once. The time he dove from it was a Sunday and he needed some liquid encouragement. The liquor stores were closed so he stole a bottle from the judge's house. Stacy asked, "why didn't you go down to the evidence room at the police station? They have everything there."
"Because if I walked into the police station they wouldn't let me walk out."
Below are elk in Yellowstone
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