by Annie | Jun 2, 2010 | Travel
A dozen or so days of driving and a couple thousand miles later, we are within hours of our final destination. Today’s been a long day of driving and road sign reading. Here are a few of the most interesting sounding places we’ve passed within the last several days: Salt Lick, KY Effingham, IL Ho-Chunk Casino, WI Blue Earth, MN Crazy Woman Creek, WY Tensleep, WY Wisdom, MT Opportunity, WA Who knew that crazy women originated in Wyoming, that wisdom could be obtained in Montana (right along the banks of the Wise River, of course), and that opportunity could be found in Washington? Oh, the things you learn on a...
by Annie | Jun 1, 2010 | Travel
After arriving in Grand Teton National Park around noon, we pitched our tent in a spot with a gorgeous mountain view and set out on a wonderful 5-mile hike. Well, wonderful in retrospect, now that my toes aren’t throbbing anymore and I’ve made it out without a major fall. Starting out on the trail, everything looked great. There weren’t any signs of my usual hiking archnemeses: mosquitoes and poison ivy. I could walk with confidence. However, I soon found out that other unforeseen obstacles were awaiting me. My non-hiking shoes had to contend with jagged rocks, gooey mud, and slippery ice and snow patches. Don’t get me wrong – the view was breathtaking, when I could look up from the treacherous trail to enjoy it, anyway. We spotted numerous marmots along the trail, and some seemed very eager to pose for pictures, perhaps in exchange for a spare crumb or two. When we finally reached Inspiration Point, a hilltop spot with an amazing view, we were greeted by a chipmunk host, who seemed very excited to see us. As soon as we sat down with our afternoon snacks, Alvin promptly scurried over, circling the perimeter at first. Before I took a single bite out of my Nutrigrain bar, he was already hopping back and forth on the branches behind me, getting uncomfortably close. Once I opened and peeled back the wrapper, all bets were off. He ran to my feet, sat up, and put his little paws on my leg. Now, if it’s illegal for humans to approach wildlife, the opposite should also apply. As soon as I shook...
by Annie | May 31, 2010 | Travel
The weather in Yellowstone is bipolar, at best. We drove in through snow, then rain, then sun, then hail, then snow again, all within the course of 20 minutes or so. After passing up a campground at a higher altitude, we went with Madison Campground, at 6800 feet, below freezing temperatures, and whose 250+ campsites would all be full for the night. Sandwiched between two RVs, we had a less than quiet dinner, to say the least. After soaking up as much warmth as possible in the heated bathrooms with flushable toilets (a luxury, I’ve learned), we pajamaed in layers and mummified ourselves in our sleeping bags. By 7am, light started creeping into our tent, and we woke up to several unexpected and unwelcome puddles of water inside our tent. Among other things, the icy water infiltrated Sofie’s bed and Joe’s jacket and gloves and soaked my mittens. Not funny, Nature. Not funny. On our morning drive, we promptly made a reservation for a heated, pet-friendly cabin complete with hot shower, mattresses, and non-battery-powered light sources. The cabin even had hangers, carpet, clean towels, and, dare I mention it, a blowdryer. Sheer extravagance. On our way back to the campsite to pick up our wet tent, we came across droves of people parked by the side of the road. Being the obedient tourists we are, we pulled up behind them and soon realized that everyone was pointing their binoculars and telephoto lenses at a grizzly bear well over a thousand yards away. That means that through our amateur binoculars, the bear was a mere speck. Here’s what I don’t...
by Annie | May 30, 2010 | Travel
The Earth sure can tell time. Well, relative time, anyway. Old Faithful shoots scalding hot water dozens of feet into the air every hour and a half or so. It’s the “or so” part that makes people antsy. After treading through snow and slush on the boardwalk in freezing temperatures to the Old Faithful viewing arena, we stood around anxiously anticipating the legendary spout as the sun came out, turning the slush into fat water droplets an prompting us to unzip our coats and remove our hats and gloves. We stood next to an old couple, likely visiting Yellowstone on a long-awaited retirement trip. The poor old man kept raising and lowering his camera, hoping to capture the first sprays of the geyser. He must have lifted and lowered that camera over seventeen times, sometimes eagerly, and always awkwardly. Meanwhile, Old Faithful trudged along, huffing and puffing with billows of hot steam. Occasionally, it would spew a false alarm spray, to the oohs and ahhs and then consequent disappointment of the several hundred onlookers. At last, a shy little squirt, followed by a full blast, at which time the old man proceeded to snap several photos, first landscape, then portrait as the water rose higher, then back to landscape again. Ah, sweet...
by Annie | May 29, 2010 | Travel
After cruising through the gorgeous Big Horn Mountains yesterday afternoon, we pitched our tent less than ten feet away from the roaring Leigh Creek. Any closer and our tent would have been floating in the rapids. I would easily have categorized Leigh Creek as a river, but apparently things are on a different scale out here. Call it nature’s white noise machine. A few chili cheese dogs and a quick game of Scrabble later, we retired to the tent. At 9pm, it was still light outside, but we were beat. Joe and Sofie were both snoozing soundly within seconds, while I lay tossing and turning for a bit, no doubt the result of my repeated car napping throughout the day. By 7am, nature had called, and we emerged from our mountain dew-covered tent. Next, we’re off to...
by Annie | May 28, 2010 | Travel
It was the best of naps, it was the worst of naps. You can never tell if a car nap is going to be a glorious one, in which you wake up refreshed hours later in a different state with gorgeous vistas to enjoy while you rub the remainders of sleep from your eyes, or a terrible nap, in which bits of radio commercials creep into weird dreams as you nod uncontrollably like a kid being offered a giant ice cream cone. Well abreast of the odds, I always make sure to take multiple naps to ensure I can get in at least one good nap. After waking up at 4:45am to take in the sweet sounds of a prairie creature symphony, we watched the sun rise over the Badlands. As soon as I settled into the passenger seat, I started nap number one. After a few of the more violent nods, I looked up to catch some views of deer and the awesome terrain of the big Badlands. Before I knew it, I woke up as we were parking in front of Wall Drug. After a quick round of tchotchke shopping and with bellies full of homemade donuts and 5-cent coffee, we headed out on the interstate again. Several mini naps later, I woke up on Main Street in Deadwood, SD. After a snack and some more tchotchke browsing, we returned to the car. This time, I dozed off without even realizing it and awoke to Joe shaking me vigorously to ask for directions out of the tourist trap town. We’re currently headed toward Big Horn, WY, for some...
