Sacramento, Yosemite, Tetons, Yellowstone, MT, WY, & CO with the Stocks

skyking4ar2 said:

FedEx'ing ours shortly....we saw elks with water wings last night in Yellowstone...

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WHAT A HOOT!  You gave me something to LOL about.  Your sentence made a picture in my mind that I will think of every time I see animals in the rain.  Thanks.

Lorna said:

Be careful what you ask for!  Someone in Texas must have wanted the rain to stop last spring and since last Sept Comal county has had less than 1" of rain.  We are afraid to ask for rain because then we get 7" of rain in two days like last Sept.  :-[

Last night we had lots of rain and high winds go through Milwaukee and south of here all the way down to Chicago.  Lots of damage in southeastern Wisconsin.

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Are you in Milwaukee?  I thought of you when I heard about the terrible fires this spring in TX.  We would have been there if Dean hadn't broken his kneecap in January and then celebrated his release from physical therapy by diving off the top of a ladder while waxing the motorhome, preparing to leave. 

Now we are planning our return trip for 2013, so I hope you get just the right amount of rain between now and then.

Betty Brewer said:

Linda,

I am so enjoying your trip reports.  Your topics are so real.  We too have had  our fair share of repairs and we both know there are not enough Wal Marts in the  world to make up for the expenses.  We too in Northern Idaho are sick of rain but  have had some doozie lightening shows.  We are watching Clark Fork River  rise and rise right in front of us. I am content just to hunker down so your adventures are a  daily thrill to read.

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Good to hear from you, Betty!  I was hoping for a great lightning show, and I think there may have been one out our back window.  Oh, yeah, we don't have a back window--and it was too wet to go out.  We did hear the crack of the lightning and roar of thunder two different nights, and we would have loved to see it.

  The first night Sherlock scrambled up into the dashboard--our most un-favorite place for him to be because of all the wires and connections.  The second night, which was just a couple of nights ago, at the first crack of lightning, Dean grabbed Sherlock, handed him off to me, grabbed our dirty clothes bags and put them over the brake pedal and accelerator, thereby thwarting the cat's access to the dashboard.  Unfortunately, however, the whole reason we were in an RV park was because we needed to wash clothes, so we wanted the FHU.  We left the next day with dashboard wiring intact, and one more day of dirty clothes to add to the bags.

June 9, 2011 Day 33 Cody, WY

We knew it would be a full day, so we started early.  We stopped at the RV Park?s office (which opens at 8:30) to get brochures, directions, and tickets for the Nite Rodeo ($18 each).  The Nite Rodeo features bull-riding, bull fighting, barrel racing, and roping by cowboys competing nightly for points toward becoming professional and cash prizes.

  Then we were off to the Jeep dealer. On US 14 N=E, so we turned the wrong way.  Fortunately, Cody isn?t a big town, and we soon knew we must be headed away from town.  When we did get to the Jeep dealer, we found out that our part had to be ordered, and it won?t be in until mid-day tomorrow.  So, we added another day at the RV park.

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is an A+ venue, on a par with the Smithsonian.  It has 5 museums, and we spent all day there until 6:00, and we only saw 3 of them.  Thank goodness the admission, $16 each, is good for two days.  So the extra day because of the Jeep would have happened anyway, even if they?d had the part.  No way we are going to miss the other 2 museums. 

The first museum was of the Plains Indians, and they had real, beautiful artifacts that were over 200 years ago.  Plains Indians were one of  the units I taught in social studies, and I?ve read a lot of books and articles about them, as well as attending more than a dozen pow-wows.  I didn?t know 10% of the information they presented.

Then Dean and I split up?he went his way and I went mine.  I like art, and Dean doesn?t.  He likes seeing guns, and I don?t.  One of my students shot a friend of his in the head accidentally, and I?ve been  repulsed by guns ever since.

The Western Art Museum was amazing.  We?ve been to the Remington Museum, but the bronze Remington statues here were more impressive by far.  Most of the art was bronzes and oils.  The quality of the works was so good that I felt I was seeing the real scene.  I?ve been to the Getty, the Huntington Library, and art museums in Europe, and this is my all-time favorite art museum.

Dean was equally impressed with the Firearms Museum.  I made a quick spin through the gallery, but I was so saddened by the beautiful polar bear that was stuffed and a room full of trophy animals? heads that I left. Dean had made his way through the weapons museum and had discovered that they had arrangements of weapons not on display down in the basement.  He only left the basement because they were closing.

Each of the museums is very large and has spectacular exhibits.  The explanations are short, yet complete and meaningful.  Their gift shop also has high quality merchandise.

The museum closed at 6 PM, and the rodeo started at 8, so we decided to try the RV park manager?s recommendation of the Sunset Room for dinner.  We had a very good dinner, and asked our waitress how to get to the Nite Rodeo, only to find that it wasn?t going to happen tonight because all the rain had made it too muddy and slippery.  The RV park manager refunded our money.

Staying at Absaroka Bay RV Park?thank you for the recommendation, RVForumer Marsha?FHU, 50 amps, WiFi, cable, $29.  It is very nice and right-priced.

Weather?High of 54?F, with convenient rain.  It poured like crazy, but when we needed to enter or exit somewhere, it would conveniently stop?just long enough for us to get to the car or wherever.  I?m sure we got a few inches of rain today, and we didn?t get wet once.

Surprised you missed the fact that the Dicks and I are at Yellowstone at Old Faithful, thereby missing saying hello.  One of our perks working where we do is a freebie at the museum, looks like I'll have to be sure to take advantage this year, last year we missed the free window. 

Enjloy your trip!

PancakeBill said:

Surprised you missed the fact that the Dicks and I are at Yellowstone at Old Faithful, thereby missing saying hello.  One of our perks working where we do is a freebie at the museum, looks like I'll have to be sure to take advantage this year, last year we missed the free window. 

Enjloy your trip!

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How late are you staying in YS?  We may be back through before your contract is over.  We missed so much of YS because of weather and road closures that we are planning on coming back through at the end of August on our way to Glacier NP and our fall trip to Michigan/Wisconsin.  Maybe we can put together a Mini-Rally.  We'd love to meet y'all (I learned to say that last spring in Texas).

We missed you because our internet was not working, in fact it still isn't, but we've been fortunate enough to find WiFi recently.  However, in YS, we didn't have any Internet, and the e-mail telling us that y'all were there came in after we lost our ability to get e-mails.  If we chose to spend a day working on it, we might be able to resolve it with the help of Motosat.  But, there is so much we want to see that we hate to miss out on anything, and we have to be home by July 2.  We actually had planned to work on it today, but the Buffalo Bill Museum was so spectacular that we spent a second day there instead.  Play is so much more fun than work!  You have the best of both worlds--working at a "playground"!

We will be here long after you...  Me until beginning of November, Jim & Pat, mid October,  hope you can come back through!

June 10, 2011 Day 34 Cody, WY

We headed out for the Buffalo Bill Museum?s last two museums and to try to get some pictures of the birds in their statuary garden (Picture 1).  Any birder who reads this, help me become a better birder.  I think the brown one (Picture 2) is a House Sparrow and that the red one (Picture 3) is a House Finch or a Common Redpoll (my choice because his top red feathers sometimes looked like a little fluffy fur cap).  I study my book, but I am still a rank novice.

The Buffalo Bill Museum, one of the 5 museums in the bigger Buffalo Bill Museum,  and they did an excellent presentation with lots of memoirs of his life and artifacts, interestingly displayed.  I especially liked his buffalo fur coat and his buffalo skin coat.  No one could ever get cold in the fur coat.  Dean?s favorite artifact was this ?sheep wagon?, which he thinks of as the first ever RV (Picture 4).  The sheepherder had a good bed, a stove, and all his supplies (but no indoor plumbing!).

Each museum is unique in its approach to displaying information.  The Yellowstone Museum is very sensory.  This whimsical bear greeted us as we entered, which is so counter to the factual concrete of the other museums.  By carefully looking at the bear (Picture 5), I could see a representation of all the wildlife in Yellowstone.

Yellowstone Museum is one of the two newest museums and has only been open for 2 years.  It covered geology, wildlife, and environmental issues with the aid of film clips.  They showed what grows and lives at  the highest elevations first, and then as we walked down a ramp,  we discovered what lives at each progressively lower elevation.  There were lots of mounts, which allowed me to confirm the labels I?ve been putting on animals.  When we got to the fire-fighting section, there was the subtle smell of smoke in the air.

We went downstairs to the laboratory for a raptor talk.  The museum continues to expand, and its latest project is to become a raptor center by the end of summer.  The lady who is building that program was very enthusiastic and  interesting because  she related her facts by comparing them with things with which we were familiar.  She showed us skulls of raptors, and compared their eye socket with that of a person (they are very similar).  No wonder they can see a mouse 2 miles away!  Their eye socket is over half of their skull.  But what?s left for the brain?  I knew an owl could look over his back, but I didn?t know he can turn 270? both left and right because he has twice as many neckbones as I do.  Mammals have 7, and he has 13-16.  Peregrine falcons fly at 65-75 mph in a straight line, but can go 240 mph in a dive. 

I enjoys snakes, and I always had snakes in my classroom.  I knew they provided many benefits to people, (like having principals visit your classroom less often?right, Betty?) especially in pest control.  However, I didn?t know that 1 pair of rats in just 2 years could be responsible for producing 350,000,000 rats?yes, 350 million! Would we have any crops at all if we  didn?t have snakes to decrease the number of rats?

We stopped at this little roadside BBQ wagon next to Walmart in Cody (Picture 6).  We have had good success with these little smokers in Alaska and Texas.  We were even more certain the food would be good when locals started arriving.  The owner?s daughter was holding down the fort while mom made a delivery, and these people in line waited for over 20 minutes in the 50? weather.  While it wasn?t the best we?ve ever had, it was mighty good!

Staying at Absaroka Bay RV Park?thank you for the recommendation, RVForumer Marsha?FHU, 50 amps, WiFi, cable, $29.  It is very nice and right-priced.

June 11, 2011 Day 35 Laramie, WY

Today was a travel day, and other than some construction, it was a good drive.  It was amazing how the landscape changed from lush green valleys to totally barren alkali beds to short and tall grass prairie.  It rained off and on, but the winds were the biggest weather phenomenon.  Some of the gusts were really strong.  At some places along the freeway, we saw antelope grazing.  We stopped at the Wind River Casino for lunch.  Dean said his hamburger was fine, but my salad was inferior.  They are building a new hotel, and their slot machines were shiny new, so I suspect their food will improve with time, also.

Miles Traveled:  390

Stayed at Walmart.

June 12, 2011 Day 36 Cheyenne, WY

We made the short 1-hour drive to Cheyenne on beautiful roads.  Dean worked on our internet, and I cleaned.  Then we went into Cheyenne to check out parking the RV at the capitol tomorrow (there isn?t any RV parking) and see the ?Big Boy?, a rare special articulated train.  We had seen a beauty in the Railroad Museum in Sacramento, but this one is in a park and exposed to the elements?enough said.  However, the park had lots of different kinds of geese and 6 little balls of fluff.  Luckily, I had some cracked corn in the car, and they totally enjoyed it.  Unfortunately, we hadn?t brought the camera, a mistake we will not make again.

Stayed at Terry Bison Ranch?FHU, 50 amps, WiFi that doesn?t work, lots of neat playground activities for little ones.  They also have pony rides ($8), buffalo tours, meat for sale, and buffalo hunting.

Dean & Linda Stock said:

 

I enjoys snakes, and I always had snakes in my classroom.  I knew they provided many benefits to people, (like having principals visit your classroom less often?right, Betty?) especially in pest control.  However, I didn?t know that 1 pair of rats in just 2 years could be responsible for producing 350,000,000 rats?yes, 350 million! Would we have any crops at all if we  didn?t have snakes to decrease the number of rats?

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Linda,
I can honestly say I cannot recall snakes in your classroom.  But if they were there in  cages ( or whatever you call a snake habitat in  a classroom ) they would not have kept me away/  VBG
BB

Linda,

It appears, to us, that both birds would be purple finches. At least that's what we call them back in CT. We have tickets to the Buffalo Bill Museum. Hope we get a chance to use them.

June 13, 2011 Day 37 Golden, CO

This has been the most fantastic day of our trip!  We started off at the capitol in Cheyenne.  They are doing a little modernization and todat the bronze statue of Chief Washakie was being moved from the Capitol lobby outdoors so he and the bronze statue of  Esther Morris can greet people as they enter the building.  He was surrounded by scaffolding, so there?s no picture.  The unique thing about this sculpture was the variety of muted colors that were used.  Each state gets to put two statues at the Statuary Hall in U. S. Capitol, and these are the same two they use there because these two people were so admired.

Chief Washakie got to be a chief by being brave in battles with other Native Americans.  He also was smart.  He devised a large rattle by placing stones in an inflated and dried balloon of buffalo hide which he tied on a stick  He used this rattle in battles to frighten enemy horses.  Washakie translates into ?Shoots-on-the-Run.,?  He was a strong leader who united many Shoshone tribes so they could deal more effectively with the U.S.  He was also a peacemaker, wise, and generous.  He liked the white pioneers, helping them ford streams and recover strayed cattle.  He was also a scout for the U. S. Army and assisted the Army in fighting hostile tribes, like the Sioux and Cheyenne.  He granted a right-of-way through Shoshone land to the Union Pacific Railroad, helping them finish the trans-continental line.  He also got good things for his people, like his preferred site for the reservation in the Wind River Valley (a place he said he loved), and he got schools, churches, and hospitals built on the Shoshone land.  He ceded lands within his reservation at Thermopolis for public use, requesting that a portion of the waters be set aside for free use by people of all races.  He was 102 when he died, and he was buried with full military honors.  He is loved by the people of Wyoming to this day.

Esther Morris (Picture 1)was a crusader who worked very hard to get women equal suffrage.  In 1869, Wyoming was the first government IN THE WORLD to grant women suffrage.  They also voted to let women run for office and sign legal documents.  A year later, Mrs. Morris was appointed the first woman Justice of the Peace.  Wyoming had the first female governor, but they?ve never had another one since.  I have to wonder if she was really awful.

Unfortunately, it wasn?t until 1924 that Wyoming enacted a law to allow Native Americans to vote.  Arizona was the last state to let them vote.

As the guide finished telling us about the statues, the secretary of state who is also the lieutenant governor, Max Maxfield, came out to the lobby to watch over the moving of Chief Washakie.  He was so enthusiastic about Wyoming, the Chief, and the state of the state.  I asked him in this time of economic distress how they could afford to remodel the front of the capitol. He explained that they are a balanced-budget state, and so far this year they already have $40 surplus.  He loves it when gas prices go up because it means more revenue.  Wyoming has a wide variety of minerals that they mine, especially low-sulfur coal, which meets EPA standards.  They sell it to China.  He said that the goal now is to diversify because they are so dependent on mining.  If they lose one company, he doesn?t want the economy here to tank.  One of the first steps is that they have built the world?s largest computer to study weather patterns, and scientists from all over the world are coming here to study.  Wyoming has the ability to produce lots of electricity, but they can?t figure out a good way to ship it out.

Secretary of State Maxfield introduced himself as ?Max?; he was full of common sense.  Later, the guide told us that he dressed up as The Cat in the Hat for Read Across America Day, and he wore the costume all day.  He said Wyoming has legislated really strict environmental laws.  When they drill for oil or mine in a wilderness area, they have to remove the rig ASAP.  When the mine is depleted or oil deposit runs out, the company has to make sure the wilderness area is better than it was when they started.

He also gave us a history lesson.  All of Wyoming?s big cities were major railroad centers.  That is why Helena is the capitol, even though it is in the corner of the state, only 40 miles from Nebraska and 9 miles from Colorado.

He said that Lincoln is the most-loved president here because it was his dream to build a trans-continental railroad to unite the states.  The major highway town is the Lincoln Highway, and as we entered Helena, we passed this humongous statue of Lincoln by the freeway.

He told us that there is no income tax and property taxes are low, too.  He  said his house is worth about $325,000 dollars, and he only pays $1900 in taxes.  Wyoming is the lowest population state, and maybe that is why the government feels so real and right.  The governor, auditor, and treasurer also have their offices surrounding the Capitol Rotunda on the first floor, really accessible to the people.

In 1985, a group of second graders lobbied to make the bison the state mammal.  (Picture 2  Bison can jump high fences and run 30-35 mph.  They were called buffalo incorrectly because in Europe people had seen water buffalo, and these new animals reminded them of the water buffalo. 

The golden eagle is the state bird.  He can fly 150 mph.  Golden eagles control the rodent population, and occasionally they may take a fawn or lamb.  Sometimes, like the state bird on display, they will lose a claw if they try to lift something that is too heavy.

The capitol is modest, but very interesting. State troopers provide security, but we didn?t have to pass through metal detectors, as in most capitols.  The floor is made of Italian marble with fossils.  The dome was made of copper, but it corroded so they covered it with ONE OUNCE of gold leaf and put a protector over it.  The inner come is made of stained glass that sparkles with blue and green hues from underneath, but the upper side glistens with red, orange, and yellow shades.  (Picture 3)

There are 30 senators who serve 4-year terms and must be 25 years of age.  There are 60 representatives who serve 2-year terms and must be 21 years of age.  They currently have one who is 22.  I think it?s ironic that only 20% of them are women.  All legislators get $150/day and $109 per diem.  They meet for 40 days in odd-numbered years, and 20-days in even-numbered years.  They have no retirement or insurance program.  In both the Senate and House, there are pretty stained glass ceilings with the state seal (Picture 4).  There are several impressive murals, but the most intriguing was in the meeting room.  The artist made it kind of like a ?Where?s Waldo??  There are all kinds of hidden pictures within it? of famous people, historical events, and state symbols. (Picture 5)

I loved the simplicity of the flag.  It is just a red border, which symbolizes the Red Men and the blood the pioneers shed in trying to settle here.  The center is a white buffalo, which is the emblem of purity and uprightness.  Blue is the color of the sky and mountains and symbolic of fidelity, justice, and virility.  These are also the colors of the American flag.

I have really enjoyed Wyoming and was thrilled to have shaken the hand of the Secretary of State/Lt. Governor.  It is tied with Alaska as my second-favorite state, right behind Texas.

We hurried back to the RV park to be out before noon, and drove 2 hours to Golden.  There are no RV parks in Denver, and I?m so glad there aren?t, because we might have missed out on a gem.

We had enough time to go out  to The Wildlife Animal Sanctuary ($10).  It was about an hour away, and the last two county roads are dirt roads.  All the animals are ?rescued large animals?.  This place has been featured on ?Animal Planet? several times and serves a really important purpose.  It is not a zoo. It s purpose is to give a good life to large animals who otherwise would be euthanized and to educate people.  There are only 3500 big cats left in the wild throughout the world.  But there are twice that many (Yes, over 7000) being kept as pets in Texas alone.  Keeping exotic animals is governed by state laws.

Most of the animals have been abused, but they are so happy here.  They show 3 films about how the director has raised a panther from a newborn to teenager in his home, then moving him out to the pens.  As we drove up, we saw many black bears on one side of the road and grizzlies on the other.  They were in large pasture areas with toys like balls scattered around and pipes that are large enough to serve as dens.  (Picture 1?from afar)  You aren?t allowed to stop, so pictures have to be taken from an elevated walkway.  We really enjoyed watching the tigers up playing in the grass (Picture 2), rolling in the grass (Picture 3) and I laughed out loud  when one played in a waterfall and another played in a tub of water. (Picture 4)  It takes a long time for the tigers to calm down and socialize sufficiently to be moved out to the pasture area.  They are so well fed that they don?t chase the many bunnies in the grass. (Picture 5)  The tigers did some vocalizing.  It was good that two of them were in separate pens, as they really challenged each other.  The lions also appeared happy, as they strolled and rolled. (Picture 7)  As we left, we talked to people who were parked next to us.  They are from Denver, so I was asking them what they thought of several venues, when all of a sudden a chorus of wolf howling arose from right in front of our car.  They howled for several minutes. (Picture 7)  However, a couple of wolves didn?t join in.  I used my I-phone to look up information about wolf howling, and subservient members aren?t allowed to howl or they will be attacked.  I had never heard wolves howl before.

TWAS really touched my heart.  I am so glad we came.  I know at times that Dean thinks I?m a little kooky because I want to go to unusual sites, but even he enjoyed this.  Words can?t sufficiently describe the feelings I have and joy I felt at TWAS.  I would mark this as  ?Don?t miss?even if it?s the only thing you see in the Denver area?, though I think Dean rate it only as ?very good.?  He prefers Wild Animal Park in San Diego, which has a totally different purpose, so I don?t think you can compare them.

Just after the wolves howled, raindrops fell from the sky.  We were right next to the car, so we didn?t even get wet.  Nature put the ?cherry on top? of this amazing day with the most spectacular lightning show for our whole drive home.  And, as we pulled into our RV home, the rain stopped?just like a faucet being turned off. 

I feel like we are staying at the Garden of Eden, but its real name is the Golden Clear RV Park.  There is a a large rushing creek, called the Clear Creek, flowing right outside my window as a I write this.  Kayakers and boogie boarders with helmets and padded wetsuits are being carried downstream, and the Golden Fire Department Water Rescue has set up a mobile post a little further down. There are lots of beautiful trees, but we are getting good Direct TV reception. We have electric and WiFi but no water or sewer for the first night.  $27

Pictures from The Wildlife Animal Sanctuary.  One more interesting fact.  I asked how they could feed and care for all these animals because there were only about a dozen people there when we were.  The greeter said that on this day they had over 300 people, and many days they have 700 people.  This place is in the middle of nowhere.  However, they have volunteers who drive from many miles to care for these animals and many sponsors who make large donations.

Pardon the lack of light on the wolves.  The skies had dark clouds, and it was about 7:00 P.M.

Jim Dick said:

Linda,

It appears, to us, that both birds would be purple finches. At least that's what we call them back in CT. We have tickets to the Buffalo Bill Museum. Hope we get a chance to use them.

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Color me really confused now.  Wouldn't purple finches be purple?  One had a red fuzzy head, and the other one was all brown with a black throat stripe. Now I will have to look longer and harder at my book and the internet.  Thanks for the tip.

I hope you can use those tickets because it is fabulous.  But, if you can't, pass them on to someone who can because it would be a crime to waste them.  It's not the money; it's the experience.

Betty Brewer said:

Linda,
I can honestly say I cannot recall snakes in your classroom.  But if they were there in  cages ( or whatever you call a snake habitat in  a classroom ) they would not have kept me away/  VBG
BB

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It's funny what we remember.  I had a king snake named Tickler, and a ball python who was named BB by my 3rd graders.  Ray Williams gave me corn snakes, but they were stinky, so I gave those back to him.  They were in cages (glass terrariums) with hot rocks.  It must have been Joanne Foland, instead of you, who was reluctant to come in because of them.  Tickler died, but BB stayed with me until retirement.  When we started traveling, I gave him to Marianne O'Quinn's daughter, and he is still thriving.  I visit him when I am home.

Linda,

Upon further investigation it does appear that the first one is a sparrow. I was confused by what appeared to be a red head. The breast certainly looks like a sparrow.

The second still looks like a purple finch. They really aren't purple but look very similar to the house finch. They are not as bright.

Remember I am not a bird expert but we have seen many purple finches.  ;D

The one with the black throat is a house sparrow. The other is probably a house finch. Both very common in our Rocky Mountain region.

Wendy

Linda,

Very interesting narrative and great pictures.  Thanks again for continuing your commentary.

We also loved the Buffalo Bill Museum.  Looks like they've added a lot since we were there.  Time for another visit!

ArdraF

ArdraF said:

Linda,

We also loved the Buffalo Bill Museum.  Looks like they've added a lot since we were there.  Time for another visit!

ArdraF

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And they are adding more.  If you decide to go in the late August-September time frame, we might be able to meet you there.  We aren't sure, but we're thinking of going to Glacier for our fall trip.

Linda,

That would be fun, but we canceled our trip east this year.  Just too many tornadoes, floods, rain, snow, everywhere we wanted to go.  Maybe another time.

ArdraF