6/30/08: The Wild West gold rush town of Deadwood

We are in a Wild West town that is an entire historic district. This town grew out of the last great gold rush in the USA – the gold rush to the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1876. It has a very colorful wild west past with such notables as Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and others. It’s most famous cold blooded murder was that of Wild Bill (notorious for his sharp shooting) by a sore looser. He was shot while playing poker with a hand of 2 black aces and 2 black 8s, now known as “dead man’s hand.”

6/29/08: Home Sweet Home, Our Humble Abode

Since I’ve had a couple requests for pics of our humble abode, I decided to invite you all in. As you step inside our home sweet home, imagine the background music… “Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home…” With that we welcome you…

6/28/08: Traffic Jams in Yellowstone?

Those of you who’ve been here know exactly what I’m talking about. While it may be hard to imagine rush hour traffic in a National Park, try picturing a meandering Bison who would rather walk the length of the road than cross it! And, if you think this is a rare occurrence, think again. We have been stopped by Bison sometimes a couple times in a day, and up to 45 minutes (though we shouldn’t complain, we met some who had to wait 1 ½ hours). Well, all I have to say is they have no regard for traffic laws – imagine that!

6/27/08: Happy Hiking

Today we went on a great hike through canyon, past waterfalls, through forest, past two lakes, through meadows and various hydrothermal features. It had it all! We saw much of the varied beauty of Yellowstone and got some refreshing exercise while we were at it.

6/26/08: A Rainy Day and a Boat Ride

Ah…a lovely, quiet day enjoying some rain and some r&r. In the afternoon, when the rain cleared we rented a motor boat on Yellowstone Lake. We definitely scored some points with the kids on this one. They each took turns driving the boat wherever they so desired. They actually rated it equal to the go-cart racing they did a couple weeks ago.

6/25/08: A Room with a View

Well, I should say, a motor home with a view. I think this may rate as the best mountain view from a camp site we’ve ever had. In fact, we loved it so much we made a slight adjustment in plans and will be in Yellowstone 2 days longer to enjoy our temporary lake front home.

6/24/08: More Yellowstone hydrothermal features

You know you’ve seen many amazing hydrothermal features when your child starts chanting, “geysers, and hot springs, and mudpots, oh my!” Oh, and don’t forget the fumaroles and hot spring travertine terraces as well as the colorful microbes living the hot water run off. It’s been very interesting to see these wonders of nature that we rarely have the opportunity to see.

6/23/08: Yellowstone - the largest concentration of hydrothermal activity in the world!

…And it contains 2/3 of all the geysers in the world! Today was my first time seeing Old Faithful in person! And since the girls did the young scientist program, which is done in the Old Faithful area, we saw it erupt three times! (It erupts every 1 ½ hours!). Even though 2 of the 3 oldest girls objected to this required “school” assignment, it turned out to be interesting and we enjoyed seeing all the many geysers in the 3 ½ mile loop around Old Faithful. It was amazing to see so many active geysers in one small area, especially when you consider how few geysers there are in the world. We were fortunate to see the largest predictable geyser in the world erupt. The Grand Geyser only erupts once a day. I have to note that I prayed we’d be able to see it erupt – no easy thing considering the 3 hour window in which they can predict its eruption – and it erupted right as we approached!!

6/22/08: The Grand Teton is so…well…Grand!

Today we took another hike in the Tetons – this time to Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point and on into Cascade Canyon. We still can’t get over how striking the mountains are here. We loved this hike for the awesome, majestic beauty! In fact, if it weren’t for the hard to come by Yellowstone reservations, we would have stayed here another day to enjoy its awesome beauty on another hike.

6/21/08: My first wild Bison and Moose sighting!

Today we explored the Grand Teton National Park. Paul and I were in awe of their dramatic beauty and the lovely snow covered peaks. We took a hike and ran into a moose. I feel pretty sure that was the first time I ever saw a moose close and personal in the wild. That was definitely cool. Then we took a side road to some historic buildings and were surprised to see at least several hundred Bison, including many with calves. Ten to twenty passed just 10 feet in front of our motor home. It looked like there could have been a thousand Bison grazing unhurriedly in the wide expanse. It caused me to ponder…this must have been what it was like when the Native Americans hunted the Bison (minus my motor home and the paved road!).

6/20/08: A Dinosaur Dig

We stopped at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center which until a couple weeks ago was the most recent site in the States where dinosaur bones have been found since 1945. The museum is fairly small but the center’s primary objectives are study and education. They offer all day digs for visitors as well as various educational programs. We took a tour of one of their dig sites. We actually watched the Paleontologists digging. They explained what they were doing and took time to answer our many questions. We saw dinosaur tracks and bones that had been partially unearthed. It was very interesting to see them working at uncovering real dinosaur bones and casting them for transport to the lab (which we also got to see).

6/19/08: A Five Star Field Trip

If any of you ever find yourself near Casper, WY and would like a fun and educational experience for yourself and the kids, check out Historic Trails Interpretive Center. This exhibit was informative and fun. Even my museum fatigued children liked it. Among other things, we took a simulated covered wagon river crossing across the North Platte River, a simulated Wells Fargo Stage Coach ride, and carried the heavy carts that the European Mormon converts pushed all those long, hard miles because they couldn’t afford to outfit a covered wagon. Check out their web site at http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/NHTIC.html if you plan to be in the area.

6/18/08: Stepping Back in Time

Today we stood on the very spot (in Guernsey, WY) where approximately 500,000 emigrants passed on their way to settle the west, search for gold, and follow their religious pursuits. Regardless of where they started or where they were going, all the emigrants passed by this portion of the trail – so much so that it wore down the rock here. Later when the Pony Express was in operation, it passed here and so did the Wells Fargo Stage Coach. We also toured Fort Laramie. It started out as a fur trading post but the army bought it to protect all the masses of emigrants headed for Oregon, California and Utah. This was the last place the emigrants could get supplies for at least 350+ miles (or more depending on which trail they were headed). It’s also where 2 significant treaties with the Plains Indians were signed (which were later broken by the US).

6/17/08: Five Week Check Up on the Meity Adventure

I can hardly believe it’s been 5 weeks already!!! We feel like we have so much we still want to see. So, in case you are wondering how we are feeling about this crazy RVing dream now that it’s been 5 weeks…as of right now, we are loving it.
It definitely took time to adjust to life in a small space, and as time has passed we have all gotten more flexible. And, I really miss my loving parents and our dear friends. But, rarely a day passes where I don’t thank God for the awesome opportunity He has given us. In fact, I often feel overwhelmed with gratitude at His gift to us. ("Every good and perfect gift comes from above..." James 1:17)
Even with its lumps and bumps I’m so thankful to be able to have this time to see and experience our country with my family. I see His creative handiwork in the diverse and magnificent natural wonders we’ve seen as well as His perfect plan in HIStory at various historical sites. Even when I’ve been lonely for friends He’s brought along old friends and even “new friends” to help fill my need for people.
One of my favorite ongoing lessons and continued wonders is how little one needs to live with to be comfortable. I moved out of almost 3100 sq.ft. into something like 250 sq.ft.; all six of us share a closet that is smaller than any Paul and I have ever shared, and guess what? It’s totally fine!!! Wow! Who knew?!

6/16/08: Rocky Mountain Wildlife

We definitely enjoyed some of God's creatures that we don't get to see in Southern California...