Arches National Park

We spent the day at Arches National Park. near Moab, Utah. It is a very large park with some interesting steep grades. It is a beautiful park. Then in the evening we took a jet boat ride on the Colorado River. There were petroglyphs and arches all along the river. We then had dinner afterwards as part of the package. On the 31st we are planning on doing very little until after supper when we take a 4-wheel drive tour of the area at sunset. On the 1st we plan to spend the day at Canyonlands National Park which is also near Moab.

Aug. 27-29,2010

Hi again, After leaving the KOA in Arco, ID we stopped at Craters of the Moon National Monument; It is really huge. See photo of Beth, ' It covers many thousands of acres. We stopped in Hagerman, ID to see the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument. Because of fires, it was closed. We did stop at the visitor center though. We camped along the Snake River that night. Many waterfalls across the river from us. Then we saw Shoshone Falls near Twin Falls, ID. We then drove to see the Golden Spike National Historic site in northern Utah. The wind was terrible as it gusted up to the 50;s mph while we drove. We stopped at Willard State Park, Willard, Utah which is on the Great Salt Lake on Sat. night. Bill waded in the lake. The last picture was taken on the shoreline as a storm was coming in. On Sunday morning we headed for Green River, Utah. One has to drive through the Salt Lake area to get anywhere in Utah. The drive was beautiful but fought high winds again. We learned while driving there was a high wind warning. Of course we were in the middle of nowhere when we learned that so couldn;t do anything bu keep driving. Tomorrow we hpe to visit the Arches National Park.

Mary trying not to see the scary Beartooth Pass

Latest News: Mary watching the scenery of the Bear Tooth Pass

Aug. 24th-Trip West

We camped at the Missouri Headwaters State Park near Three Forks, MT after dropping off the Hagedorns in Billings. As I reflect on the first 9 days of the trip, we had perfect weather. Probably that happend because we had our own meteorologist (Mary) along. The great weather continues. There were moose warning signs at the campground this night. Beth anxiously watched but no moose appeared. We then drove to Bannack State Park near Dillon, MT. on the 25th. This is the best preserved ghost town in Montana. The 3 pictures show the drug store, the Meade Hotel (which was the first capital building of the Montana Territory, and the Bannack jail with a well known prisoner in it.
Then we drove on to camp at Clark Canyon reservoir, south of Dillon, MT. On the morning of the 26th we drove to a KOA in Arco, Idaho. It is near the Craters of Moon National Monument in central Idaho. Also, we are able to bring this blog up tp date and watch the Packer game tonight.

This is Beth & Bill at the top of Bear Tooth Pass, 10,400 ft.

Aug. 22, 2010, Teton Raft Trip

Aug. 22nd, we all boarded a raft and floated down the Snake River in the Tetons for almost 4 hours. The scenery of the Tetons. in amazing. The trip was fine until the rains and high winds arrived in the last third of the trip.Fortunately, the guide has rain ponchos for us. We were all pretty happy to reach the end of the trip at Deadman's bar on the Snake. We then had a great dinner at the Jackson Lake Lodge. They have a huge window so you get a full view of the Tetons. As we ate a great dinner, a storm sytem moved in, which changed the view of the mountains and of course, Mary, the meteorologist was really excited about that.
On the 23rd we headed north from Colter Bay, through all of Yellowstone and onto the Bear Tooth Pass. For those of you who haved driven on the Bear Tooth Pass, there is a warning of vehicles of 40ft or longer not to drive it. At the start of it, the towns of Silvergate and Cook City, Wyoming are located. The 2 federal forest campgrounds are closed there because of recent grizzly attacks. We didn't see any bears there but were told by a ranger that a brown speck seen along the northeast part of Yellowstone, was a grizzly.
Anyway, Mary was really worried on this trip as I drove up a narrow road up and over the 10,400 ft. mark. It was snow flurrying there. The picture of Beth & I was taken there. The temperature was down in the low 40's or upper 30's.
We then camped in Red Lodge , MT. One tuesday, the 24th, we drove to Billings, MT where Todd, Mary, Sam & Will boarded an airplane and flew back to Wausau. After being with them in our motorhome for 9 days, the quiet was really strange. We sure had fun with them and miss them as we continue our trip west. I miss my helpers, Sam & Will, as they were very important in setting up and taking down the campsite each day.

Teton's, Aug. 21, 2010

On Aug. 21st we drove from Yellowstone to the Grand Tetons National Park. We stopped at Moose falls at the south end of Yellowstone. Since Mary's nick name is Moose we decided to rename the falls as Mary Falls or Mariweather Falls. We then checked in at the campground at Colter Bay on Jackson Lake in the Tetons. The campground there had all the hookups. After all of us bought some reall neat t-shirts we took a boat ride on Jackson Lake. The scenery is awesome (to use Will's adjective). Large Moutnains and no foothills. One of the largest mountains in Mt. Moran (over 13,000 feet). I wonder if it was really named after Gib Moran. The largest is the Grad Teton at almost 14,000 ft. Both have numerous glaciars on them. Sam & Will were given the chance to run the boat and we all survived. Our camping consists of jubilant card games called War, Ladder ball and Foxtail. Willwins at cards and Sam is the Ladderball and foxtail champ.

Yellowstone, Aug. 20, 2010

On the 20th, we saw Old Faithful, a rare eruption by Castle Geyser and little Vixen Geyser. The boys were pretty impressed by the geysers (or goisers, mate as our Aussie friends pronounced them. We then drove down to the West Thumb geyser field near the Grant Village, where we camped. The weather is still great. 60's in the daytime and 40's at night. Todd and I love the weather. There was a sighting of a grizzly bear in the area so everyone is on the lookout. An elk walked into the campground at Grant's village. Mary doesn't like the roads as they are at high altitude and have no shoulders or fencing. We have a lot of Bison in the Yellowstone area. Beth is disappointed in that she hasn't seen a moose yet.

Yellowstone

Mary, Sam, Will and Todd at the lower falls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Later Todd, Sam & Will kied down 308 steps to the base of the falls. This reminds me of when Bill Bauer, Matt Bauer, Meredith Bauer and myself hiked down that same set of steps in 1996.

Big Horn National Forest

August 18.2010
This is beautiful Shell Falls we saw while traveling through the Bighorn Mts. in northern Wyoming on our way to Yellowstone.

August 17, 2010-Mount Rushmore Visit

Hi, On our way to Mount Rushmore we were detained by these Bison at Wind Cave National Park in the Black Hills. We had just visited the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs S.D. We had stayed a night in a KOA there and the pool was so cold none of us could swim. much to the disappointment of Sam & Will Hagedorn. Mount Rushmore was really neat. Even Beth & I have seen it before, it is an amazing place. Next stop will be a campground in Buffalo, Wyoming then on to the Bighorn National Rec. Area.

Aug.16,2010, Badlands

Todd, Mary, Sam , Will, Beth & Bill visited the Badland's National Park. The boys thought the park is awesome as they climbed all over the place.They really didn't know what to expect as we tried to describe The Badlands. When we arrived at the park, they couldn't wait to climb the hills, etc. It is really fun to view a place we had visited many times, through the eyes of a 9 year old and 6 year old. Beth & Bill even climbed all over the place.
We camped in a Yogi Bear campground in Sioux Falls, SD last night. They had a really nice pool and showers. The weather had cooled enough to make it comfortable. Today, we stopped at the Lewis & Clark visitor center in Chamberlain, SD. Also, later we stopped at the Badlands. Tonight we are camping at a KOA near Hot Springs, SD. The pool water was so cold that the 4 guys didn't stay in it very long. Tomorrow, we visit the Black Hills then head for Yellowstone.

50th Reunion and Yellowstone Trip, Aug. 2010

We Left Merv & Kay's Yogi Campground early in the morning,Sunday, Aug. 15th and headed for Sioux Falls, SD. We bid a goodbye to our great friends Merv & Kay Schlesinger in Mendota, IL. They not only entertained us but also, Todd, Mary, Sam & Will on Saturday night. Merv & Kay were very active in the organization of the MHS class of 1960, 50th reunion. Thanks again.