If you don't want to read and just want to see the pictures, go to this site: https://picasaweb.google.com/103487700054521552182/WLAlumniCollegeNatLParks?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMqh8Z29tZfBigE&feat=directlink
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Begin in Rapid City, South Dakota. Bus to Badlands
National Park, Visitor Center then to Yellow Mounds and the Pinnacles.
Lunch in the town of Wall, at Wall Drug (named after the
wall of the Badlands which we followed). Wall Drug has signs every few yards
along the interstate, similar to South of the Border. After lunch 2 hour bus
ride into Black Hills to Custer State Park and the Custer State Game Lodge,
summer White House for Calvin Coolidge, who would come to fish and to check on
Mount Rushmore.
After getting settled at the hotel, we went on an open
jeep game finding ride which ended with a cowboy cookout. We saw wild turkeys,
mule deer, white tail, pronghorn, prairie dog towns, bighorn sheep,
night hawks, and a large herd of buffalo up very close, and lots of motor
cyclists here in huge numbers for the Sturgis rally.
Days begin about 60 degrees, temp goes up to the 90s with
very high winds, then it cools off at night. The night we arrived we flew in
with clear skies above (Big Dipper and the full moon) and then a layer of storm
clouds with active lightning under them- very unusual, to me at least.
Monday, August 6
I took a cool level hike along Cal Coolidge's trout
stream (much less flow now) while Connie did the more strenuous Lover's Leap
trail early in the morning. The first group activity was a trip to the mammoth
site- basically a sink hole where the mammoths got stuck and couldn't get out
and so they got trapped and then fossilized. The display was very informative
about the animals and the geology.
Next we went to the Crazy Horse monument. This was truly
amazing for 2 reasons- one was the number of bikers on hand especially to see the
dynamite blast as part of the sculpture on the mountain, and second, the size
of the sculpture and the story of the family making the sculpture.
In the late afternoon we went to the Custer State Park to see the buffalo, up very close. They don't like Harleys and some even try to upend them. South Dakota has a yearly round up of the buffalo in September- some are sold to other herds, some become burger. See this link from the Richmond paper October 7, after we were long back:
http://timesdispatch.com/ar/2255545/
In the late afternoon we went to the Custer State Park to see the buffalo, up very close. They don't like Harleys and some even try to upend them. South Dakota has a yearly round up of the buffalo in September- some are sold to other herds, some become burger. See this link from the Richmond paper October 7, after we were long back:
http://timesdispatch.com/ar/2255545/
Back to the Game Lodge after a cowboy cookout.
Tuesday, August 7
Today was the day for Mount Rushmore. It was smaller than
I thought it would be, especially after visiting the Crazy Horse Memorial. We
went for a short hike to get closer to the monument and then we went into the
sculptor's workshop where we saw the model for the monument once completed (it
won't be) and the model for the storage vault.
Next we went to the Tatanke memorial to the bison- a
place owned by Kevin Costner, who wanted to build a high end resort complex in
the Black Hills but could not get the backing. Instead he commissioned a woman
to make a huge bronze sculpture of bison and Indians and a buffalo jump, and
then he built a center dedicated to the Lakota heritage to go with it. We had a
great orientation to Lakota life by a native of the Burned Thigh group and
learned about the 4 Lakota values- generosity, fortitude, courage or bravery,
and wisdom.
We made a brief stop in Deadwood where we could see the
tailings of the Homestake mine and Saloon No. 10, where Jack McCall shot Wild
Bill Hickok in the back. Full of Harley's.
This was a full day- we wrapped it up by pulling into our
hotel for the night- the Spearfish Lodge in Spearfish Canyon- and then going on
two hikes to see two different waterfalls.
On to Cody tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 8
This was the day for the long drive across Wyoming. We
had a distant view of Devil's Tower, a rest stop in Moorcraft, a look at the
open pit coal mine near Gillette, and occasional wildlife, especially wild
turkeys. The best part was the long winding crossing over the Bighorn Mountains
and then the view of Shell Creek Falls.
After arriving in Cody, we skipped the rodeo and went to
dinner at the Irma Hotel, named after BB Cody's daughter, with a wooden bar
built for BB and placed in service in 1902.
Thursday, August 9
We began the day at the Buffalo Bill Cody Historical
Center and Museum. We only had 2 hours at the museum so we had to be selective.
We visited the extensive western art section which was loaded with familiar
names and artworks- Remington, Russell, Schreyvogel, Bama, Borein, Sharp (ours
is better than their few), Proctor, NC Wyeth and many more. There were 2 very
different pictures about Custer's Last Stand (aka the Battle of Greasy Grass),
including the very crowded but iconic one used on book covers.
Then we went to the natural history section and concluded
with a fast pass thru the historical section about BB. Connie learned that
prairie dogs that know each other well greet each other by touching incisors.
We needed a whole day at least to do this museum justice.
The passage along the Shoshone River into Yellowstone was
beautiful. We had lunch at the Lake Lodge cafeteria then took a ride up the
Hayden Valley to the 2 falls of the Y River. We saw many buffalo on the
roadside and in the meadows, and at the Upper Falls saw a male elk up very
close.
Evening in the Lake Lodge annex.
Friday, August 10
Today we drove around most of the park, saw a lot of
buffaloes, and ended the day at the Old Faithful Lodge. When we were at the
paint pots with lots of bubbling mud, steam and geysers, a thunder storm came
up. We were on the plank walkway with a lot of close lightning around- not very
comfortable.
As we got to the Inn, Connie and I immediately went on a
fascinating tour of the hotel- famous guests, where they got the wood, cost of
construction, old room fixtures, close call with the big fire in 1988, and the
precedent setting architecture. Instead of making the guest feel like home, it
continued the park experience. Set the pattern for the Ahwahnee in Yosemite.
Saturday, August 11
Out of Yellowstone, into Grand Teton Park. Evening (2
nights) at the Rustic Inn in Jackson. Lunch at the Rockefeller resort on
Jackson Lake, a visit to Jenny Lake. We had only a hazy view of the Tetons due
to fires over in Idaho.
Sunday, August 12
Scenic 13 mile float trip followed by a ride to R Lazy S
Ranch. We saw a couple of bull moose right at the launch, then several eagles.
Our paddler and guide is a wolf biologist during the winter and she graced us
with an eerie series of wolf calls which she says work.
At the R Lazy S we met the manager who says she
remembered us from 20 years ago and stopped by our old cabin- Teewinot. There
is a family of Gotwalds from York, Penn who have been coming for 25 years.
In the evening we had a farewell party at the home of A C
Hubbard, right on the Snake on Hunters Lane on the road to Teton Village.
Monday, August 13
Sick as a dog- chills, fever, achy back, terrible
headache. No idea where this came from. Had to cancel fishing trip.
We shifted over to Phil's house. At night we could hear coyotes- very cool.
Tuesday, August 14
I was feeling better. We met Phil in town for lunch and a
tour of his office. Later we met Betsy and kids and friends at Teton Village
for a Thai dinner. On the way back to Phil's we saw more bull moose in the
driveway to Dick Cheney's house.
Wednesday, August 15
Quiet, on time trip home through Chicago.
If this works here is the link to our naturalist guide's photos: http://photos.orbridge.com/event/NP-8-4-12/jAJXlmSO1OtXA
Sent from my iPad
