After stuffing the trailer freezer and frig with steaks, halibut, and crab legs left from the restaurant, we finally made our escape at 10:40 PM—the first time. I remembered my wedding ring by the time we reached the stake center on 1000 W. So much for Bert Butter’s advice about if you forget it, you can buy it on the road. Next departure from home was 11:00 PM.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
We drove all night and reached Steve and Joni Weaver’s cabin in Island Park, Idaho at about 4:30 AM. The birds were chirping when we went to bed about 5:00 AM.
After sleeping in the cool, quiet forest for a few hours, we ventured out for a walk down to the river—Henry’s Fork of the Snake. What a beautiful landscape! Truly, a testament that all things testify of Him. Lodge pole pines and wildflowers everywhere (and some icky sagebrush that I’m allergic to in the fall). I’m not really up on my wildflowers, but I think there were yarrow, aster, and buttercups just to name a few. That was enough exertion for the day so we had a peaceful afternoon nap.
Jack Parson had told Randy that the Island Park ward had sacrament services at 9 AM, 1 PM, and 7 PM so we dressed up for Church and headed out for the 7 PM meeting. After stopping to ask where the LDS Church was, we arrived just in time for the meeting except the sign on the door said the services were at: 9 AM, 1 PM, and 9 PM! Maybe Randy heard wrong. Anyway, we drove back to the trailer and had our crab leg dinner. Do you know how hard it is to crack crab and not get any on you or anyone else? Randy took off his suit and shirt and I took off my skirt and used a large napkin as a bib. Ummm yummy!!!
We made it back for sacrament at 9 PM. The Church was beautiful. The chapel had a big rock wall at the front—I kept expecting to see a fireplace in it. Bishop Kelly and his wife were the speakers—we kept them up past their bedtime, but they gave very edifying talks.
onday, July 13, 2009
The next day we slept in and then drove up to Big Spring. The water is so clear and you can see it bubbling up out of the ground so Randy took our water bottles down and filled them. Although his efforts were heroic, I wasn’t impressed with the flavor of the water—nothing to write home about!On the way back, we stopped and bought ice cream cones at Mack’s Inn—good ice cream, but little, dinky scoops. I noticed a brochure about the Mack’s Inn Playhouse. After convincing Randy that I really was serious about going to the play, I called and made reservations for the dinner and show. The prime-rib dinner was ok for the money and we visited with the other diners around us. One elderly lady lived in Pleasant View too—next door to Karen Phillip’s mom on 1000 W. I think she said her name was Mrs. Wells—what a small world we live in.
The play was entitled: Hillbillies 90120. It was pretty cute and
Randy did enjoy it in spite of himself.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
We spent the day driving around some of Yellowstone that we hadn’t seen before. Lots of construction delays and lots of stupid people that stop in the middle of the road backing up traffic just to see an elk—pretty frustrating. It rained most of the day and even hailed. Pretty cold too--we’ve had to have the furnace on every night.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Time to move on! Packed up the trailer and drove into the Park. Randy fished for a few hours along the fire hole river. I did some research on the book—I watched the “Plague” and took two pages of notes. We drove out the east entrance of the park into Cody Wyoming. Neither of us had ever been there before. The east side of Yellowstone Lake is breathtaking but the steep grade out was e
ven more breathtaking—scary with a 27’ trailer behind you. 
We spent our first night of Wal-Mart RVing in Cody. Pretty popular thing to do as you can see. Although some kids (I guess) drove through late at night and backfired their vehicle just to wake everyone up—scared me to death!—the little #$%&s.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
We went to see the Buffalo Bill Cody Historical Center. It houses five museums—Firearms, Plains Indians, Buffalo Bill and his Wild West show, Western Art, and Natural History. It is very well done and you can spend days there.
Of course, the chef has to see what’s cooking!When it closed, we went to an LDS church where they had the Cody Murals. Missionary couples are called to staff this exhibit. The church has a room with a domed ceiling on which an artist has painted the history of the Church. The missionaries explain the mural to visitors and then there is a room with the history of the area surrounding Cody and the involvement of the Mormons especially in constructing an irrigation canal.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Randy went back to the museum for a couple of hours (I had seen enough guns and Indians). We went to a little museum that the missionaries told us about. It’s a private collection that a man has on display and he has built a diorama with different historical scenes of the surrounding area. At each scene, you can push a button and a recording tells you about the scene and the history behind it. After the railroad came to the West, he has electric trains that you can run around the scene. It was really well done and I’m glad the missionaries told us about it. The museum is free, but we left a donation and bought me a polar fleece jacket in the gift shop.
Next we traveled to Thermopolis and went swimming in the World’s Largest Mineral Hot Spring.
I told Randy I thought the water felt “stingy”. He said he thought it felt “tingly”. In any case, my skin flaked for several days afterward. Randy said one of the things listed in the water was hydrogen sulfide. I think it was detrimental to my dry skin and I can’t tell if it helped my joints. After our swim, we called Randy’s mother, Alice, and asked her if she used to go swimming at Thermopolis since she was born in Worland, WY which is about 35 miles from Thermopolis. She said, “Oh, yes. That was our swimming hole.”Saturday, July 18, 2009
On our way to The Little Big Horn Battlefield, we drove through Worland, Wyoming where Randy’s Mother was born. But she was in the hospital again so we couldn’t ask her exactly where the family home was. We decided to stay at 7th Ranch RV Park that night and also Sunday night. It was supposed to have WIFI so I could work on the blog, but, of course, it wasn't working properly.
We went to the Hardin Branch of the LDS Church for our meetings. There were other visitors besides us so that there appeared to be as many visitors as branch members. There were eight sisters in relief society counting us two visitors, but we had a nice lesson taught by a sister of Indian heritage.
We drove through The Little Big Horn Battlefield later that afternoon and read the informational signs along the way.
Monday, July 20, 2009
We visited the Little Big Horn Battlefield visitor’s center and listened to a Ranger talk about the massacre. He was slanted toward the theory that if Reno hadn’t have retreated, Custer’s plan would have succeeded. Randy feels that Reno saw the numbers of Indians he was up against and didn’t have any choice but to retreat.
After cleaning up the syrup that fell out of the pantry in the trailer, we headed out for Devil’s Tower. Along the way, we saw some very pretty country. The Black Hills of Wyoming are beautiful. 
We camped for the night at the public campground below Devil’s Tower. It was beautiful but cold—we had to turn the furnace on again.
Tuesda
y, July 21, 2009
First thing in the morning, we went on a hike around Devil’s Tower with a trail guide named Chancy. He was really a cute kid and we enjoy
ed our hike with him. He is holding his porcupine puppet.
We learned that reason the area is called the Black Hills is because from a distance, the thick forest of ponderosa pines make the hills look like they are black.
There were climbers on the tower that morning, 
but, of course, you can’t see them.
Chancy told us about smelling the bark on the Ponderosa Pine trees. Some of them smell like butterscotch, others like vanilla or caramel—I am now a tree sniffer! 
We continued our drive through the beautiful Black Hills making our way to Mount Rushmore. We stopped at an old gold min
e and toured it.
That night, we stayed at a Cabela’s in Rapid City, South Dakota. It had a coral for horses and kennels for dogs to stay overnight—what hospitality!—except we had neither, but it did have a dumping station for trailers that we us
ed!
The first night, we were between two trailers that ran their generators all night long. Our gas generators won’t run that long to run the air conditioner, so we had to have the windows open—we didn’t get much sleep. 
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
On our drive toward Mt. Rushmore, we kept seeing billboards about surviving the mystery of the “Co
smos”.I told Randy I wanted to stop, but he didn’t think I was serious. He passed the turn and I told him it was my vacation too and I wanted to see it! He murmured and turned around. It was a slanted house sort of thing
—but it was the best I’ve ever been to.
It even made me nauseous.
We DID survive the “Cosmos”!
Mount Rushmore was awesome! We arrived before noon and the temperature was perfect all day long. I find it fascinating how sculptors can find the image inside the rock. I felt this monument was inspired and truly meant to be when I learned how the rock had to be just so to sculpt and how the rock formation changes below so they couldn’t finish the bottom. All the granite was just perfect for the four busts of the presidents though—just luck? I do
n’t think so.We took the audio tour around the monument—that’s what Randy is listening to the right.
Randy the sculptor.This is in the sculptor’s studio. See the bottom of the downsized model shows the coat of Washington and the hands of Jefferson and Lincoln which they were unable to finish
because the rock changed.
railer at Cabela’s! 
We had to go to Wall Drug after seeing all the road signs! It really is an interesting story how they got to be so famous with their road signs. They bought the drug store during the depression and after five years, they still weren’t making it. One hot summer day, Mrs. Hustead was inspired to tell her husband they should give away free ice water to the hot and thristy travelers on the highway. That was what all of them needed. The next weekend, he and a helper put up signs on the highway stating “Free Ice Water”. Well, it worked and the travelers stop
ped for a cool drink and also bought other things—so did we—couple hundred dollars worth!
Randy is quite the ladies’ man.
More fun with the ladies!
King of the hill!
