"Recommend" Cody

This past week the owners of YVI allowed most of the staff to participate in a 3-hour trolley tour of Cody called "Recommend Cody." This tour is designed to educate those of us who are the 'faces' of our respective businesses to be able to tell our clients what to 'see and do' while vacationing in the Cody area.

It was a beautiful, sunny day and the trolley company owners, Margie & Mike do a great job. I had hoped we were getting their 'historical tour' of Cody, but instead we did see some pretty cool stuff and because we were part of the tour, we get the opportunity to return to all the places we visited (9 minutes each stop) either for free or at a reduced rate.

We started at the magnificent Buffalo Bill Historical Center (which I joined earlier in the week), then made stops at the BB Damn & Reservoir, the preserved Old Trail Town, a collection of original structures from as early as 1883, that have been moved and reassembled on the outskirts of Cody (includes the Hole-in-the-Wall gang's bar and mountain-man Jeremiah Johnson's cabin), the sculpture gallery of Vic Payne, who creates all the massive, bronze pieces for Cabala's Sporting Goods stores, the Murals of Mormon History at their Visitor's Center, the Miniature Village where they have created the entire history of the Indians vs. the white settlers in miniature, a couple of songs by Dan Miller and his crew at the Cowboy Music Review, the Dug Up Gun Museum and of course, the Cody Rodeo. We also stopped briefly at the Irma Hotel, named for Buffalo Bill's daughter and ran by BB and his family for many years. And then there are these huge piles of antlers that you see all over the area. People use them for decoration, incorporate them into lamps and all types of home-decor and since there are so many deer, moose and elk hanging round, lots of antlers!

I now feel I could recommend what I feel would be the most fun and interesting venues when visitors only have a limited amount of vacation-time to spend in Cody before heading into Yellowstone.

Today is Sunday and the weather has turned cold and rainy. I was planning to go into town to attend church, but had the fore site to call and make sure that service-times that were posted on their website were correct. Learned that today was the first day of their summer-service schedule and church started in 15 minutes! Since I was still in my jammies and it's 20-minute drive into town, there went that idea.

So today turned into a good day to update this blog and clean house. I will head into town later to spend a few hours walking around and enjoying the museum and return a vacuum that doesn't do the job. I have all day today and tomorrow off - yippee - and don't have to put my smiling face behind the front desk at YVI until Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. Hopefully the weather will clear tomorrow and I can spend tomorrow driving around and do some sightseeing.

Until next time......take care of each other.

ReAnn

Yellowstone National Park

RVing




Yellowstone was the world's first national park, established by Congress in 1872. It is over a 1000 miles in all and the heart of the park continues to be it's past, present and future volcanism that today fuels the eruptions that power the park's geysers (Old Faithful which is only one of 100's), hot springs, fumaroles and mudpots. The Park is the free-range home of buffalo, elk, grizzly and black bears, trumpeter swans, moose, bighorn sheep, wolves, coyote, pronghorn, yellow-belly marmot, pika, American white pelicans, and Yellowstone cut-throat trout.

My first trip into the park yesterday was hosted by John Hamilton, a semi-retired actual cowboy, ranch owner and now Wyoming resident and lodge owner who volunteered to be my tour guide for the day. John has driven and ridden both his motorcycle and horses through many miles of Yellowstone and the surrounding area and I couldn't have gotten a better guide.

As you can see from the pictures, Yellowstone is located at a higher elevation than Cody's 5,300 ft. and the snow still clings to the roadsides, mountaintops and grasslands. The huge Yellowstone Lake is still ice-locked and not expected to thaw until mid-June. Just the day before the East entrance was closed because of snowfall and snow removal. Going over Sylvan Pass the snow level was much higher than John's big truck!

After touring all morning, we stopped for lunch at the Old Faithfull Inn, one of the original inns built by the U.S. Park Service in 1903. What a wonderful and totally unique structure. After just missing Old Faithful's eruption, we headed back toward Cody with snow flurries and fog sitting in. We covered over 200 miles yesterday and only saw a very small portion of the park. I can't wait to return.

We did see grizzly bears (a mom and 2, 2-year-old cubs). But they were so far from the road that my camera didn't take really good pictures - sorry. John had powerful binoculars along so we sat and watched these very dangerous and huge (12-1500 lbs.)creatures frolic and lumber through the grass for quite some time. To be honest, I wasn't the least bit upset they were so far away. As you can see from the pictures, the buffalo think they own the roads and think nothing of walking alongside a moving vehicle!

Today I'm waiting for the Dish TV man to arrive and install my service. A much quieter day than yesterday!

Until next time.....take care of each other.

ReAnk

The Views from my Campsite

Thought you would enjoy - and envy - the views I see from front, back and sides of Winnie.

Casper to Cody!

What a way to spend Mother's Day - calls from both my boys to wish me a great day and a drive that took me through some of the most beautiful, desolate, mind-blowingly beautiful, rugged, magnificent country I have ever seen. I can't begin to describe in words what I experienced - a feeling of being insignificant in such a wide-open spaces, under an azure sky, with hardly any other vehicle sharing the road with me so early on a Sunday morning.

I made my way slowly, and in some instances, just barely crawling along, stopping at every opportunity to take pictures which don't begin to do Wyoming justice. You just must see it for yourself.

I arrived at my 'home', the Yellowstone Valley Inn and RV Resort, located between Cody and the east gate of the Park at 12:30 p.m. They were packed with over 300 guests enjoying the season opening Mother's Day brunch. I just jumped in and started cleaning tables, greeting guests and answering phones. Got to meet quite of few of the folks I'll be working and living with and all seem quite nice. Tomorrow I'll get Willie off the trailer and return it to UHaul then find the Direct TV serviceman, as my antenna only picks up 3 very fuzzy stations. Wyoming isn't going HD in June, like the rest of the country. Seems that things happen a lot slower here in the West.

Until next time - enjoy the pictures and take care of each other!

ReAnn

A Chilly Farewell to the Black Hills

The owner of Rancher J Bar RV resort came by on Friday night to say that the weather gurus were predicting 27-28 degrees overnight and they were planning on turning off the water so the lines wouldn't freeze. Well, they were right and I forgot to unhook my hose - which of course froze. No damage but sure was nippy when I got up and went outside to get ready to head to Wyoming.

Huddled under my tire was this very adorable little bird. It wasn't afraid of me and just sat and wandered around. Looked like a grouse, but couldn't find it online - so all you with the Audubon Bird books, please let me know what this little feller is.

Saturday I drove over the back roads of South Dakota into Wyoming. Now was the time that I really got to see what 'big sky country' really meant. The horizon is never-ending, the spaces are vast and the size of the ranches run into the hundred of thousands of acres. Winnie and Willie handled the hills just fine (now that I knew about overdrive!).

I came in a little south of Casper, where I had reservations at the Ft. Casper Campground, located right on the banks of the Plate River. The campground was founded by the Izack Walton League and the Ft. Casper Museum and original homestead are right on the premises. A friend picked me up and gave me a wonderful tour of the Casper area and enjoyed a great dinner downtown at the bar that Ernest Hemingway used to frequent.

Sunday, Mother's Day, will see me drive the last leg on my cross-country journey and will arrive at the Yellowstone Valley Inn and RV Resort ready to start my job working the front desk for the summer season.

Until tomorrow....take care of each other.

Re

The Residents of Custer State Park & Crazy Horse Memorial

The Black Hills of South Dakota

Winnie, Willy & Me - On the road together - Cond.

As Winnie really struggled to climb the Black Hills and I struggled to remember what both Sean and Eric had told me about how to downshift, when to take off the overdrive and more, I was so relieved to see a small RV repair shop, which also sold gas and propane, on my side of the road. I pulled in and had a long talk with a very nice young man who was kind enough to do a class for me on "How to Drive on Steep Grades 101." When I pulled out, I had full tanks of both gas and propane, and a much better understanding of what to do driving through the Black Hills and those to come.

I was so happy to pull into Raffers-J-Bar RV resort and find packed just in front of my spot my friends John & Susanne, whom I had met at the campground in Carlock, IL. We had kept in touch with each other as we divided out travels near Chicago and decided how fun it would be to see the Black Hills area together. And that's what we have done for the past 2 days!

Susanne had a delicious dinner prepared when I arrived and we got reacquainted. That evening we went to Mt. Rushmore to see the awe-inspiring carvings of the 4 presidents lite at night by giant floods. Because it's not 'high season' yet, we were allowed to enter the park without paying and without 1000's of other people jostling us for space. It was just beautiful and amazing, and though the next 2 days, I photographed the faces from many different angles through-out the area, it never ceased to be a jaw-dropping sight.

Along with both of their dogs, yesterday we all piled into John's big truck and off we went to Custer State Park and the Crazy Horse Memorial for a photo safari. We saw buffalo, burros, deer, wild turkey all up close - even sticking their noses in the truck windows! Though most of the day was overcast, the scenery was just magnificent. We stopped many times and just listened to the quiet, realizing that if you removed the roads and park signs, this massive piece of land would be just as it was when Custer was losing to Sitting Bull and the buffalo roamed by the 100 of thousands. We enjoyed a great lunch at the Blue Bell Lodge in the park and last night we went into Hill City for dinner at the Alpine Inn (they only have one item on their menu).

Unfortunately, for me at least, John and Suzanne are starting their trip back to their home in South Tahoe today, so we have to say good-bye. We've agreed to meet at the Burning Man happening in September and will certainly keep in touch throughout the summer. What these wonderful people have taught me is that there are many fun, interesting and great folks traveling our highways in RVs right along with me. If I'm lucky, I'll meet many of them along the way.

Hope you enjoy just a few of the pictures I've taken of the area in the past 2 days! Until next time...take care of each other.

ReAnn

Winnie, Willy & Me - On the road together!

I left Lake Elmo at 9 a.m. with new family member Willy in tow and headed down I-35 to Albert Lea. Once past the sprawl of the Twin Cities, you remember that this country is fed by the local farmer.

Black cows and red barns, newly turned black earth and enormous, green John Deere's dot the landscape. Turning due west of I-90 the land is fertile and flat and nothing much changes until you get to about Sioux Falls, SD. Then the subtle differences that you have crossed an invisible line into another state start to show.

Not only does South Dakota maintain it's portion of I-90 better than MN, it is somehow flatter, more windswept and desolate. Where MN is dotted along the way with small farming communities, SD has few towns and they are far between. The land is given over to horses that stand on small rises and gaze at a distant horizon, long fences enclosing acre upon acre of land, and the ever-present and overwhelming amount of road signs advertising everything from not-to-be-missed Reptile Gardens to the 1000's of "See Wall Drug" signs!

Winne, Willy and I are speeding down the highway at the great pace of 60MPH when into view comes a large ribbon of river - the mighty Missouri is now to be crossed. With that crossing, the land begins to undulate, Winnie grinds down into a lower gear as we head up the first meaningful grade we have faced and behold we are at the very tip of the Badlands. As far as the eye can see is grass waving in the wind, small hills rolling across the prairie and to the left, jagged rocks as if a large claw had reached down and grabbed a piece of earth and ripped it away. It's like you are alone in a deserted corner of the world - and many times I was. The roads had very little traffic - I would sometimes go several miles before a semi or car would come rushing past. Early May is certainly a good time to vacation in this area if you don't want to be crushed by tourists.


My stop of the day was the world-famous Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD and then overnight at the Family n' Fun Campground on the west side of town.

I was leery about pulling Winnie (with Willy attached) into town, any town, but without the tourists, Mitchell is a quite little town and directions to the Corn Palace are very well marked. They even have parking just for RV's. It was after 4 p.m. when I arrived and walked around front to take in this very weird edifice. The building is totally decorated with corn cobs, corn stalks, corn tassels-well and grains which are grown locally. As you can see in the pictures, is quite a site. I don't know what I thought it was going to be, but it wasn't what I expected.

First, it's free. It was originally built in 1892 as a way to draw migrants farmers and their families to the area to settle. Every year a new theme is chosen and the outside of the Corn Palace is stripped and redecorated with fresh corn and grains. My tour guide, a lovely lady of at least 85, informed me it was the largest 'bird feeder' in the entire world! Inside are pictures of every year's decorations and in the middle a large gym/stage where local events are held. For more detailed info you can click on http://www.cornpalace.com.

I was up early and on the road by 7:30 a.m. ready to make my way into actual Badlands and from there into the Black Hills to see the sites! But before reaching Hill City, where I had reservations for 3 nights, I just had to stop and actually see Wall Drug. (Advertising does pay!) What a disappointment. It's just a big, commercial building in downtown Wall that has grown from a tiny, little drug store into the purveyor of lots of tacky tourist junk. Not worth your time if traveling this way. I snapped a couple of pictures and was on my way!

Between Wall and Rapid City you again notice the change in the landscape and the grades on the road getting steeper. Tall mountains are now part of the horizon and I saw patches of snow still caught in the deep crevices along the side of the road. Though the temperature was almost hitting 70, winter hasn't completely let go of this portion of the country.

I turned off I-90 and headed south on US 16 to the Rafter-J-Bar RV resort just outside of Hill city. I had chosen this place specifically because of it's very close proximity to Mt. Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial and Custer State Park, none of which are further than 8 miles. And they also offered rental cars, which I thought I would need, before I decided to purchase Willy.

Once you are off the interstate, the hills become higher, the grades steeper and driving becomes much harder when towing so much extra weight. I had to stop and get help and advice!

To Be Continued......

Winnie Had a Baby!

Meet Little Willie, so named by previous owner's Eric & Eileen of St. Paul, MN. This wonderful young couple are the long-time, best friends of my youngest son, and Eric is the best car mechanic ever! So when they asked if I would please stop by on my way West, it was so very easy to say yes! They live in Lake Elmo, the Scott family home for many, many years. It has been so much fun to visit and be welcomed by a couple who I have know since they were teenagers, and tour the old neighborhood on the back of Eric's new toy Harley.

Sometime during the one of our conversations the fact that at some point in the near future I was going to have to purchase a little car which I could tow and use getting around to places where it is just impossible to take Winnie. Sightseeing is limited because of her width and girth and so is getting in and out of shopping centers!

Eric said that he was interested in selling the cute little, black, 2001 Jeep Wrangler Safari he had sitting in the drive (known as 'little Willie). A few telephone calls and 2 hours later, off we went to the DMV to sign the papers. We picked up a trailer from UHaul, as no one had the exact trailer that would haul a Jeep in stock, got it all hooked up and then took a test drive around the lake and then out on the interstate. Everything worked just fine, drove perfectly.

Tomorrow morning Winnie and I will head off to South Dakota and a visit to the Cow Palance with a new member of the family literally in tow!

Until later...take care of each other.

ReAnn

Hello from "Up North"

I've just enjoyed 2 wonderful days in Minong, WI - population 352 - gas $2.15 a gallon! Good friends Don & Carrie have their summer cabin here on lovely Pokegama Lake. They leave their winter home in Ft. Myers to come back up North in the early Spring to late Fall. I just seem to have followed them this year.

As I left Carlock I had planned to stop about half-way and overnight in central Wisconsin. But I forgot that I'm back where the Spring is just now starting to happen and campgrounds don't officially open until May 1st. I had to forgo the overnight and drive a straight 10-hours, to arrive before sunset. My back and my butt were really hurtin'.

Don was home when I arrived, but this being fishing opener for Wisconsin, he headed off to meet his 2 sons and grandson to catch whatever was biting. Carrie and I had just a totally relaxing day on Friday and did nothing more strenuous than walking to the mailbox and taking some photos of the local moose who hangs out at the pond down the road. We did find the energy to go to Grandma Links and enjoy a really great fish fry - a must if you're ever in Wisconsin on a Friday night.

Today we drove over to Hayward, a town of 2192 and also the home of the one-and-only Muskie museum, the 40' tall, 1/2 city block long 'Shrine to Anglers'. You can walk out to the end of the mouth to the observation deck and have your picture taken. Carrie & I wandered the quaint downtown and had a great lunch at the Angry Minnow. Right now we're sitting in front of a roaring fire, enjoying a glass of wine and getting ready to enjoy one of Carrie's delicious dinners.

Tomorrow I head down to the Twin Cities. Another short driving day and lots of special time with old friends.

Until next time....tkae care of each other.

Re

Good Morning from Carlock , IL

And what a wet, gloomy, LOUD, morning it is. But I get to that later.

After leaving Mt. Airy, NC, I spent the next night at the Bean Pot Campground in Crossville, TN. What a lovely campground. The folks were wonderful and helpful and the park lovely, with RV sites nestled amongst freshly-budding dogwood trees. But what actually amazed me was when a huge RV came in towing (well, look at the picture!) a car and a boat, stacked double-decker style! And I'm still scared of the thought of towing a little car behind Winnie.

Next I spent 2 lovely days in Metropolis, IL (the hometown of Clark Kent) where a gaggle of my cousins live and surround. If you don't have a map, Metropolis, known as the hometown of Superman (see photo for proof) is located at the very tip of southern Illinois, just across the Ohio River from Paduach, KY.

I parked Winnie in cousin Robbie's drive and soon cousins Mary, Gae, Sherry, Rex and Max, along with their spouses, and even some of their children and in-laws arrived to say hello and catch up. It's been 9 years since I have seen the majority and 40 years since Mary and I were last together.

These are folks I grew up with and we had a ball telling stories about all the fun we had running barefoot across the farm pastures (warm cow poop), chigger bites dotted with bright red fingernail polish covering our legs, fishing in the creek, throwing rotten eggs at each other, jumping out of the hay loft, and locking each other in the corn crib! And we remembered all the wonderful food our mother's made - hand-churned, homemade ice cream, crimped-edged, fresh-fruit pies, cobblers, fresh-baked rolls and bread, and real cream right from the cow - who's name we knew! Relatives are wonderful - even if you don't see them often. They remind you of the person you were and have almost forgotten.

After leaving Metropolis, I drove north on I-24, but for the first time, my GPS took me off the interstate and onto US 51. It winds directly through Decatur, where I stopped to see more relatives. Had a wonderful lunch with my cousin Gary and his parents, the last of my uncles and aunts, Doris and Nobel.

From there, just another hour to Carlock, IL where I had a reservation at the Kozy Kampground. It sounded so nice in the campground book - but it's not! It isn't that the sites are bad - they're fine. It's just that it's right next to the freeway where trucks rumble by 24/7 and there's the railway track that borders the south side and trains run throughout the night (they don't tell you those little details). And to top off an almost sleepless night, the rain started about 2:30 a.m. and pounded Winnie's roof.

But I did meet a lovely couple from South Tahoe, CA who pulled in towing an Airstream Flying Cloud. Of course I had to say hello as I still covet one of these wonderful trailers. John and Susanne are new RVers and are traveling Route 66 across the country. John is an artist and a muralist and Susanne a retired school counselor. We enjoyed a few glasses of wine while I gave them ideas of what to see and do during their visit to downtown Chicago. They are heading off through the Badlands to see Mt. Rushmore as well, so we might be lucky enough to meet-up again. They also told me all about the Burning Man festival which is held annually in desert outside of Reno each year. John does body-painting during the festival and they invited me to join them this coming September. Take a look - http://www.burningman.com/.

Well, must think about getting out in the rain, unhooking and getting on the road. Today I want to get into the middle of Wisconsin - Osseo hopefully. Then to Minong for a few days with Don & Carrie, into the Twin Cities to visit with Eric & Eileen, Albert Lea to say hey to Dave & Theresa and from there - straight west across South Dakota!

Until next time...take care of each other.

ReAnn

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