Headed South

We know it is too soon to escape the heat but it is time to start south.  We will be stopping to visit our son on the way.  We should be home in a couple of weeks.  I got a call from my buddy, Tom.  He was wondering where we were.  I hadn't posted anything on here in a few days.  It is nice to be missed.  We miss everyone too.

Today we drove through the central part of Pennsylvania from north to south.  The hills and valleys were very green.  Picturesque farms lie along valley streams.  Cornfields stretch across hillsides.  Amish, in their horse and buggies, trot along the roadside.   Some of the steep mountain climbs brought back memories of the mighty Rockies.  I will never forget the thrill and the sheer terror of some of those roads.

As we neared Washington, DC the traffic got heavy.  We thought making the trip on Sunday would help us avoid some of the traffic in the capital area.  We traveled more than thirty miles starting and stopping four and five lanes wide.  It made Darlie so nervous she went to lie down until we were clear of the area.
It was the worst traffic we have face on the entire trip.

There are very few campgrounds in this area.  We called some and found them to be full.  We ended up stopping for gas at a Flying J.  There were dozens of RVs parked in the lot.  Everyone had the same problem.  No place to stay.  We are camped in the lot with everyone else.  The generator is running so Darlie can have the air on.  I hate the noise but this is a noisy place anyhow.

I did pay for internet through Flying J.  They offer a day's service for $4.79.  A bit pricey but I haven't been able to get online for several days.  It was worth the price to catch up on everything.

I can't find Darlie's camera so I can't download the photos she took today.  Maybe in the morning I will have time to add some here before we hit the road.

New York Visit

The old bread truck hasn’t moved in over a week except to go empty the holding tanks one time.  It has been very comfortable having our own home along with us as we visit with family.  We have our own bed.  There is no need to rummage through a suitcase looking for a missing sock.  You can stay up as late as you like or get up early without keeping everyone else awake. 

Without boring you with all the details, we are having a splendid time visiting with everyone.  Our home base has been Darlie’s parents home.  Her sisters come by to visit almost daily.  We sit out on the porch where humming birds whiz around the feeder stopping for a quick drink of the sweet liquid it holds.  Robins bounce around the lawn searching for a juicy bug or an earthworm.  Doves coo from the blue spruce nearby where they have a nest of young.  Black eyed susan,  raspberry cone flowers and the sweet rose of sharon illuminate the grounds with a dazzling display of color.  Except for one very hot humid day, the weather has been pleasant. 

Debby, Mom and Etta

We stopped by the cottage at Keuka Lake to have dinner with my brother and his wife.  The old place looks much the same as it did years ago when we spent our summers there as kids.  The atmosphere around the lake has changed greatly over the years.  Most cottages were owned by local families who came up for the weekend or for a few weeks in the summer.  Today it is a major tourist attraction.  The little town of Hammondsport is alive with tourist.  Most of the little stores that once housed a drug store, clothing shop, book store and the like now are little restaurants or gift shops.  Like so many other little towns that have become tourist havens, Hammondsport has lost its character.  

The lake area has been noted for its vineyards and wineries for years.  All the large wineries are gone now.   Many vineyards remain, however.  Small wineries have sprung up to keep the wine tradition alive.  

We visited Bully Hill Winery which sits high on top of a hill across the lake from our cottage.  It was started by Walter Taylor the son of Fred and Harriet Taylor. 

I remember Walter as a young man who lived the life of a free spirit.  One weekend we arrived at the cottage to find it a total mess.  There were empty wine bottles, dirty dishes and the remains of food items everywhere.  On the table was a case of champagne with a note from Walter.  He apologized for the mess and hoped the champagne would pay for the inconvenience.   

Walter visited my Mom and Dad in Florida a few times over the years.  He became victim of a serious accident which left him paralyzed.  

Today Walter is gone but his legacy lives on at Bully Hill Winery.  It has become a beautiful tourist attraction with a restaurant, art gallery, winery tour, gift shop and visitor’s center where wine tastings are held daily.  Adjacent to the wine tasting area is the retail store where you can stock up on any of the many varieties of wines produced there.

We stopped at the restaurant for lunch.  We had a table outside overlooking the lake and our cottage below.  There was a line of people waiting to be seated.   The food was excellent and the view was better.

We spent one evening at Mike and Cindy’s home.  They are Darlie’s brother and sister in law.  Their two daughters came down to have dinner with us.  The ladies talked about whatever it is ladies talk about.  Mike and I talked about our trips to Haiti and the missionary work taking place there.   The following evening we were guests at Shirley and Clair’s home.  They are Darlie’s sister and brother in law.  Shirley made a huckleberry pie for us from the frozen huckleberries Tine gave us out in Oregon.  It was delicious beyond description.  We will have to find huckleberry pie filling now.  It is already one of my favorites.  

We will leave here on Sunday.  Our next stop will be in Havelock, NC to visit our son Tony at the Cherry Point air station.  From there we will head home.  We miss our dog and our friends.  We will miss living in the bread truck though.  We have all we need at an arms length.  We can do our housecleaning in minutes.  It moves when we get bored and want new scenery.  Getting back into a real house has its advantages also.  There will be a time of adjustment as there was when we started out on this trip.  

Indiana to New York State

Our travels are in high gear now.  Our days of leisurely plodding along on mountain highways are behind us.  We are in visitation mode now.   Having spent a few days with our son’s family, it was time to move on to our next stop.  Avoca, N.Y., my wife’s hometown is a small village in western New York State.  Her parents and all but one of her siblings live there.

It was over 30 years ago that I dragged her away from the nest, kicking and screaming.

I took her to the place she calls hell, Florida.  She hates heat with a passion.  She missed being near her family seeing new nieces and nephews growing, graduating, marrying.   I have the utmost respect for her for going where her husband went and making it work.  It was a selfless act of love on her part.  I fear I could never measure up to that level of personal commitment.  It is for this reason that I also relish our pilgrimages to the homeland.  I know it gives her great joy and happiness.  

We traveled on interstate highways from point A to point B.  I hate interstates.  There is nothing to see in most areas.  Somehow they seem to pick the very worst scenic areas to route these things.  Drive ten miles off the interstate and you enter a different land.  All who have made such ventures know what I say is true.

After a couple of hours behind the wheel, Darlie agreed to take over.  I feel confident enough of her ability to drive the old bread truck that I can actually take a nap.  There is a sense of power sitting behind that wheel.  I see it come over her face as she drives.  You are big.  People let you in when you decide to move over.  Begrudgingly, perhaps, but they let you move.

Most of our trip was on busy congested highway.  Turning onto I-86 in western Pennsylvania takes you into the very sparsely populated area along the New York/Pennsylvania border.  The rolling hills are covered with various hardwoods giving them a soft bushy appearance.  For a moment I realized those who live in the northwest would be as fascinated with this terrain as I was with the mountains whose slopes were covered in conifers.  

Neat little farms surrounded with cultivated fields are scattered here and there along the way.  Years ago farming was a major occupation in this area.  Today many farms are no longer worked.  Barns and old buildings stand in disrepair or have collapsed completely.  The land has reverted to its former state.  You can imagine smoke rising from an Indian village three or four centuries ago.  Deer and game are plentiful.  Steams run sparkling clear.  This is a beautiful place.

Our plan had been to stop at a campground a couple of hours from Avoca.  We would rest and arrive fresh in the morning.  A call to one of the few campgrounds in the area put that plan in the trash can.  They were filled for the weekend.  Two other campgrounds on Chautauqua Lake were also filled.  We decided to press on and surprise Darlie’s parents.  They didn’t know when we were to arrive.  

We have had an enjoyable weekend.  The weather is very pleasant with sunny warm days and cool nights.  Darlie’s sisters and brother have stopped by to gab and nibble at the endless supply of snacks Darlie’s mom supplies.  

We visited Wallace Westlian Church for sunday service.  They are a very mission minded church.  They support several missionaries.  They send groups to work in Haiti on rebuilding projects for the Westlyan Church.  Along with taking pledges from the congregation for missions, they tithe the offerings that come into the church each service and designate it for missions.  That is something we did when we pastored a church years ago.  I felt if you want to teach the people tithing then the church ought to tithe also.  We never fell short of meeting our expenses.  

Another County Fair

We went to our second county fair in two weeks.  This fair is one of the largest county fairs in the country. There is a large Amish population here.  They are very involved in all phases of agriculture.  Consequently, the fair has very large livestock, craft, and project shows.

We went with the intent of taking the kids to kiddie day.  However, the lines were so long you couldn't get a ticket for any ride.  The place was a mob scene.  The day was also one of the hotter ones they have had here.  The kids were spent from the heat pretty early on.

Deacon could have sat on this tractor all day.

Jason and his partner showed up for awhile.  They are recruiters for the Marine Corps in this area.  Their job involves many hours per day.  Recruiting, transporting applicants to tests, paperwork and working out with the new recruits to help them get ready for boot camp takes about 18 hours each day.

Jason and Beth live on the Saint Joseph River that runs through the center of Elkhart.  It is very relaxing to sit there and watch the river go by.  The fishing is also very good.  John caught about ten fish in just a few minutes.

John escaping the Florida heat here in Indiana.

We have been having fun with the grandkids.  They like to sleep in the MH with us.  They are very well behaved and very good natured.  They also very lovable.  They love to be held, hugged, kissed and played with all the time.  They tell you they love you a dozen times a day.  It makes a grandparent feel pretty good.

We took the MH in for the appointment to have the windshield replaced.  They had to keep it overnight to allow the glue time to dry.  They have a campground at the repair facility.  We spent the night there last night.  Elkhart has always been the center of RV construction and maintenance.  Many companies have gone out of business because of the recession.  Elkhart still remains the center for getting things fixed on an RV, however.   We met people at the campground from all around the country.  They come here to get warranty work done and other more extensive repairs.  Few places are as well equipped to meet the maintenance needs of RVs like this place.

We will set out tomorrow for New York State.  Our next stop will be at Darlie's parents.  It will take us a couple of days to get there.  It is over 500 miles.  We seldom travel 400 per day.   We are starting to look forward to getting home.  There was a time when we didn't want to go home but as you get closer you start to look forward to home.  Darlie wants to do this again next year.  She usually gets her way so we will probably be on the road again.

Elkhart, IN

We picked up our son, John, at the Indianapolis airport.  He decided to take a week off and fly in to see his brother and family.  We were coming through the area so it worked out well for him.

John, Sarah and Deacon

We are staying a few days here.  We only get to see the grandkids once or twice a year.  This is a treat for us.  The kids are so lovable and friendly.  They have been looking forward to Big Grandma and Pop Pop coming to visit them.  They stayed overnight in the motorhome with us.  It was a big deal.

Tomorrow the old bread truck goes in for a new windshield.  We made arrangements last week to have it done.  Elkhart is where many of the camping vehicles are built.  I knew someone would have the windshield in stock.  I didn't want to have to wait to have it ordered.

We will also go to the county fair.  The kids are excited about riding all the rides.  It is forecast to rain.  I hope it holds off until we wear the kids out.

Beth fixing dinner.

The boys were out fishing last night.  They caught a couple of small bass which they released.  There are many young ducks swimming around on the waterfront.  One of them got tangled in the fishline.  They had to bring him in the house to safely remove the line from its wing.  It was tightly wrapped around a large feather.  After they got him free the kids pet him for a few minutes.  The duck seemed as interested in them as they were in him.  Of course they wanted to keep him as a pet.  We told them he would miss his family and needed to go back to the river.  They agreed.  The duck happily jointed his brothers and sisters on the water minutes later.

Expenses for Week 11

Gas:  $502.92    Gallons:  185
Campgrounds:  $85.78
Misc:  $26.43
Groceries:  $91.82
Total Expenses:  $706.95
Total Miles:  1508

If you could get the gas bill down this would be really cheap travel.   It is still a bargain when you figure the minimum you can travel in a car with gas, meals and motels is about $200.00 per day.  We have the advantage of our own bed and our stuff doesn't need to be packed and unpacked.   The MH really begins to feel like home.  In fact, we call it home when we are away from it.  I am going to miss it when we get back to that other home.  We like the small area we have to take care of.  We use fewer of everything.  The biggest advantage is being so close to each other all day long.  I know that might drive some people nuts but it is what we really enjoy.... each other.

A Great Visit With Great Friends

Hotdogs, cotton candy, sno cones, candied apples, funnel cakes, country music and goat milking contests.  Can you guess where we have been?  We went to the Montgomery County Fair with our good friends, Russ and Sue Winters of Bellflower, MO.   We had an extraordinary time.  We have not been to a county fair in years.

Sue, Russ, Darlie and Lady

Russ and Sue are our winter neighbors in Florida.  We made it a point to swing by here to see their farm. We have heard so much about it and farming.  We were looking forward to stopping by to see them.  They have a beautiful farm in a quiet, serene area an hour or so west of St. Louis.

We took a ride around the farm in the "mule".  An ATV type vehicle used to bop around the fields checking on things like crops and irrigators.  They have a 10 acre lake that provides irrigation water to the fields.  The irrigators are those big long things with pipes and wheels you may have seen in agricultural areas.  They are put together in sections like tinker toys to create what length is needed for the size of the area to be watered.  They creep around in a circle putting down the amount of water needed.

The crops and fields look green and healthy.  The sweet smell of corn in tassel fills the air.  Large ears are forming on each stalk.  If the weather holds, it should be a good year.  I have enjoyed talking with Russ about his business.  Farmers are probably the best managers of an economy there are.  To be successful requires diligence, financial judiciousness, knowledge of soil, seed, weather, machinery, mechanics, hard work and a ton of other aptitudes.  Russ clearly knows his business.  I wish we had people like him running the country instead of the long line of goof balls that get elected.

Sue has a beautiful backyard garden with vegetables and fruit trees.  She blessed us with some of the bounty including green peppers, huge tomatoes, onions, peaches and a couple of slices of homemade blackberry pie made from her own blackberries.

Sue got some wacky cucumber seeds this year.

Sue also drove a school bus for thirty five years for the area school system.  She has some good stories to tell about all the kids she drove to school over the years.  About everyone around knows her.  Probably because they all rode her bus at sometime.   She has also worked the farm with Russ, worked at all kinds of church benefits and community functions.  They also raised three daughters, all of whom she says were perfect little angels.  :-)

Sue and her daughter who lives at the site of the old homestead.

It was difficult to have to leave today.  We had so much fun listening to and telling stories about a whole array of topics.  We sat outside last evening in the warm evening air counting airplanes, stars and satellites.  Sometimes it is the little things you do in life that make lasting memories.  Our stop in Missouri will be one of those things.

We got on the road at about 9:00 AM.  We gassed up before getting on the interstate.  We paid the least for gas of anywhere on the trip, $2.49.9.   We paid a dollar a gallon more in much of the west.

Our son, John, is flying into Indianapolis in the morning.  We will go by and pick him up on our way to our son Jason's house in Elkhart, IN.  We will stay there visiting and making some repairs to the bread truck.  We will have a cracked windshield replaced and do some other minor fixes of things that wear or break along the way.  We also look forward to seeing our two grandchildren, Sarah and Deacon.

We made reservations for a campground in Indianapolis.  It is a good thing we did as there is a NASCAR race here this weekend.  We may not have found a spot with all the race fans in town.
Darlie is in for a nap.  I will go rustle around in the refrigerator and find something to make for dinner.

Horsefly Heaven

When we pulled into Graham’s Cave State Park yesterday, I remarked to the camp host how empty the place was.  His excuse was the park has no swimming.  He lied.  The truth is many small children have been hauled off to the cave by horseflies the size of F-18s.   They have an arrangement with the troll that lives there to provide fresh meat.  The troll, in turn, who is a leather smith, provides new bridles and saddles for the peepers that ride them.

Now if all that sounds a bit bazaar, let me explain.  We tried to take a walk down to the cave last evening.  We were attacked by huge horseflies and other nondescript bugs.  We had to make a hasty retreat back to the MH while being buzzed and zoomed by these huge pests.

Once inside the MH, a squadron of kamikaze horseflies bombarded the windows in an attempt to break through for the whole regiment.  The sound was something like hail hitting the glass.  I went for the hornet spray just in case there was a breakthrough.

As darkness fell, the aerial attack ceased.  Peepers, that must be the size of your hand, took over with an attempt to use loud acoustics to force us out into the open.  The sound was deafening.  Fortunately, I am nearly deaf so the tactic had no effect on me.  Darlie, however, was ready to open the door to investigate the noise.  Though I couldn’t hear them, I knew full well what they were attempting.  I hollered, “NOOOOOOO!”  as she reached for the door handle.  Had she opened the door hordes of horseflies would have rushed in and the troll would have had some tough steaks for dinner.  

I convinced her the best tactic was to turn out the lights and go to bed.  Don’t let them know their psychological attack was working.  Let them think we are so secure in the MH that we are going to sleep.  We laid awake listening to things crawling around on the metal roof.  The peepers kept up their acoustic attack.  With pillows over our heads, we finally drifted off to sleep.

Nebraska to Missouri July 20-21, 2010

After a stormy night in the Fishberry Campground, we awoke to a beautiful sunny day.  We are in the part of Nebraska known as the Sandhills region.  The land is marked by small rolling hills of sand covered with green vegetation.  

We stopped in a local IGA store for some supplies.  Everyone was very friendly.  Typical small town atmosphere.   The store owner visited with us for a while.   He was pleased to hear we travel the back roads instead of the interstate.  He said most people miss what the area has to offer.  He went on to tell us about the various sights and area amenities available to the traveler.  

We traveled Routes 20 and 275 across Nebraska to Omaha City.  The fields were sown in corn, soybeans and alfalfa.  Everything was very green.  For much of the way the land was very flat.  At times I found myself drifting off to thoughts of Florida and home.  The flat land and straight roads that disappear into infinity are a familiar sight back home.  

Though the scenery is not the kind that brought out the camera every few minutes, it was still very pleasant to the eye.  We saw families of wild turkeys, various livestock and a flock of sheep stopping traffic oblivious to the danger they were facing.  Blowing the horn had no effect whatsoever.  They were busy munching weeds along the pavement and bounding around on the road.  They were like kids that got out of the fenced yard, experiencing freedom for the first time.  Several cars and trucks waited patiently for their frolic to move off the highway.  Such patience would not be found where we call home.

We stopped for gas in a small country village.  Trucks filled with cattle loaded for market were parked all around.  The rich smell of manure greeted me as I stepped from the MH.  I noticed the poor cows with big brown eyes peering out the slots in the trailer, totally ignorant of their fate.  I thought of my dog.  I miss her very much.  She must have wondered for a time where I went.  By now her life has gone on without me forgotten in her immediate memory.  Dogs are like that.  They don’t reason or reflect back on things.  They just live for now.  Like these poor cows.  Their days are numbered but they don’t have a clue.

While pumping gas, a young woman pulled into the pump next to me.  Rap music was pounding out its message from the radio.  She was covered with piercings and tattoos. 

She was wearing a pair sweat pants that said, “Dream On”, on the rump.  Believe me that wouldn’t be a dream.  It would be a nightmare.  It seems the ways of the city have effected the ways of the country.   I thought all the girls our here listened to country music, rode horses, wore tight jeans and cowboy hats.  Stereotypes often fail.

Something else I have noticed across the west is the many grades of gasoline and pricing.  Utah had the highest prices.  They, along with other states out west sell 85 octane as regular.  87 octane is the middle grade.  I had to buy the middle grade to meet the manufacturer requirement for my engine.  That added cost to my travels.  Also here in Nebraska, the plus grade is cheaper by a dime than the regular grade.  I asked someone about it.  The regular is more expensive because it has no ethanol in it.  The plus grade has 10%.  They also sell E-85.  Some stations have were you can select how much ethanol you want and it is priced accordingly.  E-85 was about a dollar a gallon less than regular gasoline.  I am told it gets about half the mileage though.

As we crossed over the Missouri River, we noticed it was very high.   We had looked up several state parks along the river for possible campsites.  When we exited for one, the road was closed.  I asked a man how I could get to the park.  He told me I couldn’t.  It was under many feet of water.  He said his home has been under several feet of water for a month.  They have had more rain than normal for this time of year.

Interstate 29 is about the only north south highway to take us into Missouri through Iowa.  A check of Woodall’s, our campground directory, had no listings for the entire stretch of highway down to Saint Joseph, Missouri.  This did pose a problem.  I had been driving for hours.   It was 6:30 PM and I was tired.  We ended up parking at a truck stop where they had an area for overnight parking.  We drove way off to one side and parked for the night.  The lot was large.  No trucks parked near us.  We had a quiet nights sleep.

In the morning rain was threatening.  Dark clouds hung low on the horizon.  It looked as though we were in for our first rainy day of traveling.  We got off the interstate at St Joseph and took Rt 36 across to Macon where we picked up Rt 63.  This was a very lovely highway along green fields and woodlands.  

Darlie was driving this morning.  When it came time to get gas, she pulled into a station.  All the lines were filled except the one next to the building which had a very narrow entry.  She thought she could make it in there.  I told her to try it.  I had a vision of her getting stuck, unable to go forward or back.  She maneuvered like a pro watching her mirrors and the clearance between the roof of the building and the top of the MH.  She made me proud.  Several people were watching.  You could see the look of amazement on their faces.  She was quite satisfied with herself too.

The rain we had expected seemed to be moving along ahead of us.  The road was wet in places but we never ran into the rain.  The rivers and fields are flooded everywhere along our route.  One stream we went over was up to the bottom of the bridge.  It didn’t look like it would be long before it was up on the road.

We had found an interesting state park on the map along I-70.  It is Graham’s Cave State Park.  We were surprised to find the place empty except for one other camper.  We had our choice of sites.  We thought about walking down to the cave but we were chased back inside by mammoth horse flies that buzzed and zoomed around us.

We are tired from a couple of days of long drives.  We will rest and go to bed early.  In the morning we will go over to our wintertime Florida neighbors house to visit.  They live near the small town of Bellflower, Missouri.  

Mount Rushmore July 19, 2010

We drove along Rt 34 and 24 leaving Devil's Tower.  It was a very pleasant drive.  Rolling hills, green fields and the smell of freshly cut hay made a very pleasing mix.  Hay seems to be a major agricultural product in the west.  Everywhere we have gone we see fields filled with large round bales.

We have been held up at many construction projects in our travels.  When we are first in line we always call the flagger over for a conversation.  They are more than eager to visit with you.  They have said they appreciate it because it breaks up their monotonous day.  Some of these stops have been for as long as twenty minutes.  We get to know our flaggers pretty well in that time.

On young woman we talked with today said she and her husband have a cattle ranch.  She said it takes all the hay you see to feed the stock during the long winter.  She works this flagging job in the summer to help make ends meet.  Raising stock is not that profitable for the small rancher.  It is the life they love and grew up with and will continue to do it.

We got to the Mount Rushmore area around noon.  The place is a huge tourist trap.  Miles before we got to the monument, there were all kinds of attractions.  The parking lots were packed.  There are water parks, gold mines, zoos, restaurants and shops of all kinds.  The little village of Keystone was packed to the walls.  You could hardly drive through town.  This is not our kind of place, as I have said many times.  However, for those who like this kind of thing for a vacation, you should put this on your list of places to go.

My first look at Mount Rushmore was moderately disappointing.  The heads looked much smaller than I imagined from photos I have seen.  Once in the park, you could clearly see what an endeavor this had been.  They have movies and displays that explain how the project was designed and sculpted.  One of the original drillers was on hand signing a book he had written about his days working on the project.

The park was packed with visitors.  Mothers with kids clinging to their shorts,  Dad's carrying screaming little ones, Grandmas and Grandpas, foreigners and natives, all shapes and sizes made up the crowd.  If each photo removed a little portion of the rock, there would be nothing left to photograph today.  How many photos can you take of the same thing?  I would have to go to Darlie for that answer.

Once we made the rounds we were on our way.  The crowd and traffic doesn't suit us.

We drove along Rt 44 east out of Rapid City, SD.  Green hills and valleys, covered with freshly baled hay, seemed to go on into infinity.  Then quite abruptly we entered the bad lands of South Dakota.   The land is indeed very bad but we found it to be very beautiful at the same time.  The sandy soil has eroded away leaving odd shaped hills and formations.  Had there been no green plant life, you would assume you were on the moon.

There was very little traffic on Rt 44.  At times we were over a half hour without seeing another car or a human being.  This is very remote country.  We saw no houses, buildings or farms for miles.  The land was monotonous and rolling.   We went through little hamlets that had few people left in them.  The stores were closed, buildings boarded up.  Boom towns of another age, I presume.

We crossed the state line into Nebraska on RT 83.  We found a quaint little campground just north of Valentine.  Soon after our arrival some very severe weather set in.  The blackened sky fell to the ground.  Rain flew, hail hammered, wind rocked us around like we were in a washing machine.   The air smells so fresh now that it has had a good scrubbing from the rain.

We saw this thing miles from anywhere.  Why it was built is a mystery.

Devil's Tower July 18, 2010

Today would have been my Dad’s 99th birthday.  We all thought he would make it to 100.  He died peacefully six months after his 97th birthday.  He is missed and thought of often.

As we cleared the rise in the road, Darlie exclaimed, “We drove all the way out here to see that!”  That was her initial reaction to laying eyes on Devil’s Tower for the first time.  After seeing Bryce, the Oregon coast, Glacier and Tetons, it does look a bit puny.

The northeastern Wyoming landscape left much to be desired.  It is very bland and colorless.   We did see many prong horns in the fields and along the roads.  It was so lack luster that Darlie didn’t take the first photo.  

Dropping down in to the valley near the Tower, revealed a very green colorful terrain accented by red rock cliffs.   Darlie’s camera came out of hiding.  The Devil’s Tower is framed by this very beautiful topography. 

I have to wonder why so many things out here are named for the devil.  There is devil’s tower, devil’s gate, devil’s creek, devil’s canyon, and so on.  Nothing is named for the one who created all of it.  The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.   Why not the Lord’s Tower or the Lord’s Canyon?  Man refuses to acknowledge the creator. Instead he worships the creation.

Today we saw signs in the national monument asking us to respect the religious values of the Indians and others who hold this place as sacred by not walking off the path or disturb prayer cloths tied to trees.  What about the establishment clause everyone hollers about?  People would try to justify respecting the Indian values because they were here first.  Again, the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.   The Lord was here before he entrusted anything to us.  I think this is quite hypocritical of the government to protect religious values here while forcing the removal of Christian symbols that have been here since the founding of the country.  

Prayer Cloths

The Indian legend about the creation of the Tower is cute, however.   Legend has it that some girls playing in the forest were chased by a bear.  They jumped up on a rock and the rock grew higher and higher carrying them away from the bear.  The vertical lines on the Tower are the marks left by the claws of the bear.

We walked the trail around the base of the Tower.  High up on the Tower sides you could see people climbing.  A permit is required to climb the Tower.  No one is allowed to stay up there overnight, however.  

Can you spot the climbers?

We were pleased to see the rangers here enforcing the RV ONLY parking areas.  So many times we have had to move on because people parked their car in the middle of an RV spot.  One car taking up the room of a bus.  Some people just don’t give a hoot or are plain stupid.   When I parked today, I had to parallel like you would a car to wedge myself in between an RV and some idiot that parked in the middle of an RV spot.

When we came back to the RV, there was a ticket on the windshield.  That is a first for us.  What really gripes me is there are nearly always several spots open for car parking.

Sometimes I feel like doing a Smokey and the Bandit move like the trucker in the movie when he ran over all the motorcycles.  Just crunch them right up and drive away.

There was a ticket on the window.

The campground here is small having only 50 sites.   National Park campgrounds usually fill up early this time of year.  This morning before church, I prayed that the Lord would hold one open for us.  We were able to get a beautiful shaded site when we got here.  

It is warm but a cool breeze is blowing.  We sat outside.  Cooked a meal over an open fire and visited with some of our neighbors.  Very severe weather is predicted for this area tonight with winds up to 60 MPH, hail and lightening.  We already had some rain and hail.  Hopefully, we have seen the worst of it.  Once more, I feel sorry for the tent campers.  They are a hardy bunch.  They seem undaunted with everything they have sopping wet.