July 24th 2010

After looking at the map last night we realized we have a whole lot of ground to cover to get in to Kentucky by tomorrow night.  We were suppose to stay in Iowa and I am going to miss out on that all together, but I am still going to see it ... Winterset, and the Bridges of Madison County. It's 9:00AM and we are ready to go.

I love this land, we had breakfast at a Denny's in Sioux Falls, SD, and were talking with the people next to us, who were also traveling and had just come from the falls, they wrote on a napkin how to get there and we went.  I can't tell you how breath taking they were, pictures never do them justice.  We could walk all over this huge rock formation that they were falling over, and look down in crevasses and see water.   It was great, but back to the car.... we have to make the miles.

Elk Horn, Iowa Windmill

We went east until Sioux Falls, then traveled South on Hwy 29 to Omaha, Nebraska, crossed over the Mississippi and went into Iowa, we weren't planning on our next stop but we read that there was the largest windmill in the United States in a small Scandinavian town just a little north, so we went for it.

Holliwell Bridge, Winterset, Iowa

So I've decided I am going to drive through the night, we are in Elk Horn Iowa, and have a few hours until dark to find the covered bridges.  I'm not going to give up on that, I want to see Madison County, so the only solution is to see what we came here for and drive on.  I just cancelled my reservation for tonight in Des Moine.  I'll take a little nap here and there if needed.

July 23rd, 2010

Right after we left the KOA at Hardin we made the 2,000 miles mark of our trip. I love this country. We entered South Dakota hoping to camp now at a KOA near Mt. Rushmore. It is very close to Sturgis, and the motorcycles were everywhere due to the Sturgis Annual Rally coming up on the weekend. There was NO camping anywhere.
We took a few side trips today and did some good sightseeing, we saw the badlands where Wild Bill Hickcock, and Annie Oakley used to run. The Battle of Big Horn happened there too. A lot of history in these hills, we saw where they had the long hard cattle drive to Texas. We went into a Danish community with a huge historic windmill. The barns were beautiful; the Danish barns have an extra little fancy thing at the peak.
We were enjoying this drive so much when the lightening started up everywhere and the wind, rain and thunder was very strong. All of a sudden, Kate and I noticed that we were the only ones on the road…very eerie feeling, we were scared. We went off all the exits and every place had signs out No Vacancy. Finally, at 9:30 and a lot further away from Sturgis and all the motorcycles we stopped in Mitchell, SD and we got a last room, she said it was a conference room…and she charged me a fortune. They call the conference room "Murphy's Room" because it has a Murphy bed. When we got in the room it just took Katelynn's breath away and certainly surprised me, the Murphy bed was down and was King size, it had the biggest flat screen TV I've seen, it had a kitchen and a refrigerator, and a bar, in the bathroom it had a two person Jacuzzi, it had a dining table and a couch and a coffee table and wing chairs, it was SUPER nice. We are gonna sleep real well here, I can tell. Check out is at noon and we have to be in Kentucky on the 25^th, and we have 953 miles to go. Goodnight,

July 22, 2010

We got up fast and ready to roll in no time, adrenaline is an amazing thing when you're excited you can get it together so fast. We are headed for a couple of days in Yellowstone. We made great time, and saw wonderful countryside, the Mountains of the Rockies…Beautiful. When we got to the Gate they were just opening and my Golden Access Pass got us in for free, sure beats $50. The traffic inside was unbelievable, we went to the first campground we saw because w just wanted to set up and then get out and see the sights. It was full.

We drove on disappointed, with the traffic, but surrounded by the most beautiful country I have seen, just about beats Yosemite. There were steam holes all over, they smelled like rotten eggs, we saw people taking picture so we would pull over to see what they were shooting, they must have had telescopic lenses because the buffalo we saw were so far away they looked like a pack of dogs. We went to the next camp, and it was full, we drove on, we went to some famous grazing sights to find out that we just missed them. We were getting a little discouraged. We pulled into another campground and talked with the park ranger. We were told if we didn't get here by 10 am that all the site were taken, and ours that was reserved was probably given up since we didn't call again to confirm, their website said nothing about this, I'm getting really irritated now and this lady was too nice to bestow my wrath upon her. She called all around for me to try to help. But the bottom line is that we didn't get to stay in Yosemite, but we sure did get to see the sights, somehow we got turned around, when I thought I was going East we were really going North. And by complete luck we got to pull over and see this most beautiful huge waterfall.

So we ended up in Montana, unexpected, BOZEMAN, MT. Now on interstate 90 we just wanted to camp somewhere nice. Tomorrow we will be seeing Mt Rushmore in S. Dakota. Montana was a lot more beautiful than I ever expected we kept stopping and taking pictures, it was the big sky and huge mountains, and acres of grassland. We saw so much, we ended up staying at the KOA in Hardin, MT…and it had everything we could need. We paid the extra $20 to be members because we know we are staying at more of them, they have showers, laundry rooms, pool, hot tub, grass sight for your tent and a continental breakfast in the AM. I started on the laundry right away then bought hotdogs for dinner and Katelynn built the fire and started the soup and hotdogs, after eating I switched the laundry around and took a shower…..and

So can a really bad day get so much worse? YES, That night we were in the middle of dinner when we started getting a little sprinkle, no biggy we decided to put out the tarps and rain flies on the tent. But by midnight, we were right in the middle of the biggest thunder and lightening storm, monstrous rainfall and 70 mile an hour winds. Kate was so scared, we could hear all kinds of things breaking and blowing around, I have to admit I didn't know what to expect. It was crazy, the tent was blowing right across us sideways. We slept and in the morning with just our bottom sleeping bag a tiny bit damp. We had survived!!!

I took the blanket to the laundry room and put it in the dryer. The sun was out so we laid out our tarp and tent to dry. We weren't able to leave until 12 noon, but we left clean and dry.

July 21st

Boohoo we had to leave the haven in the town of Cascade. The drive out was just as beautiful as the trip coming from the other direction. But wait… before we left John made us a tasty breakfast. It started out with a parfait, a layer of strawberries and layer of fruit yogurt and granola on top. Then he came out with omelets, just perfect – one filled with all the right things. I ate the whole thing.


So today we are heading to Yellowstone, we stopped in Boise to shop at a book store, I wanted to buy a kindle so bad so I could read in the tent as the screen lights up. But while we were in Boarders, I was looking at the travel information for Yellowstone, and I got to talking to this man about our trip and that we were headed there today. He said that he was so sad to inform me but if I didn't get there at 10am when the gates open I wouldn't be able to find a camping spot. We needed to sit somewhere and look things over and make a decision. So after Kate got her books we stop at a Starbucks and talked for a while about what we should do, after calculating how far we were from Yellowstone, we wouldn't even get there until 6pm. I don't want to miss out on anything. So we will drive on until 5 or 6 then set up camp closer to the park entrance.


We pulled off at 5:30 in Pocatello Idaho, very close to Idaho Falls still an hour and ½ to Yellowstone…and it's raining like crazy, looked for camping nearby because KOA has some good covered sites at times. No luck. We ended up in a hostel, right across the street from Applebee's, and it was very close to a big airport. So in the morning we pack up early and head out, we can't wait to see the buffalo, Old Faithful and the Sulfa Ponds.


After eating at Applebee's Kate and I came back to our place and were able to go for a swim at the hostel's indoor pool. As I'm writing, I'm falling asleep. Got to get up and rolling early.

July 20th 2010 Cascade, Idaho

Today was filled with excitement, we have been waiting for this day for months. We made our reservations to stay at the Dutch Oven Bed & Breakfast in Cascade Idaho. Oh wait! The drive up here through big rocky mountains, with the snake river along side the road, the 78 miles up from Boise was perfect! So beautiful to drive, we stopped and smelled the roses on our way and took a lot of pictures it was just overwhelming. We talked with people in this lazy little town called Horseshoe bend, took more pictures of steeples, barns, and a huge one lane old bridge. The little town was so cute, back in time, very old west like. Everyone sitting out in rocking chairs and enjoying the day, the river goes around the town in the shape of a hoseshoe, hence that's how it got it's name. We had such a good time on this drive singing and talking, I'm just so happy Katelynn is enjoying thia as much as I am, I remember driving across the states when I was younger with my parents and was so bored, I couldn't wait to get off the road. We arrived shortly after 12 noon and passed the B&B to take a look at the lake first. Small town....slow and very comfortable. The owner of the B&B greeted us, his name is John Warner, he is a chef. He showed us around and then we unpacked in our room, "the fishing room" it was decorated real authentic western...our room has twin beds and a rocking chair, dresser and we love it!!! John announces that dinner will be at 7pm. Katelynn and I decide to dress for dinner, and I'm glad we did because John made a formal meal and wore his chef coat and hat. We had blackened chicken with a tequila chutney sauce, fresh green beans with a little bacon and almonds, then Kate had roasted red potatoes and I had the garlic mashed, I took pictures:
Doesn't it look so yummy? It was the best, I practically licked my plate. John was so nice, he sat and talked with us as we ate, we welcomed it or I'm sure he wouldn't have, he was so polite and careful to make sure we had everything we needed. I loved his place, one of my favorite spots was on the front porch.

The whole front of the house has huge round logs, log cabin style, and a porch with chairs and tables, or chair to just sit and read or to enjoy the view of the river and mountains. This place was everything we were dreaming of, we didn't go to bed very early at all, it was too nice and we wanted to enjoy. Thank you Lord, for this experience, we will never forget.

July 19, 2010

Wow, today is hot! I'm so glad we have an airconditioner. We called the B&B in Cascade Idaho, thay are full for tonight so we made a resevation for tomorrow night.

Kate and are going to head towards Boise and camp where ever we fill like stopping. Parts of Idaho are really brown but nearer the river there's a lot of lush green places. Highway 20 was not what we expected at all, we drove through miles and miles of high-plane dessert, still so much to see. After a few hours we found ourselves in the middle of huge rocky mountains carved out by a river that stayed with the road but Idaho was elusive. We went through a time zone and we kept our eyes peeled for the sign "You are now entering Idaho", we went to the Piautte Indian Reservation as a little side trip off of the main road. That was truly sad, they looked so poor and oppressed. On entering the reservation there was a sign that said it was illegal to bring any form of alcohol onto the resevation. Some of their houses looked like little card-board sheds. Back to the main road, for a couple of more hours, then to the big interstate freeway (yeah!) which we knew was in Idaho, so God knows how long we really in Idaho, then there was the sign, "Welcome to Idaho", we were exhausted, we lost an hour with the time zone, so it was ow 5PM. It was strage, it was a different world, we were just in the most desolate areas, and all of a sudden we were in busy big cities, traffic everywhere...it didn't look like we were gonna get to camp. We got out our travel books to find a place to stay and we got into a BED!!!! in a Super 8 stinky motel, in Boise by the airport.
We arrive at the motel and I go to check in and couldn't find my ID, thank God Katelynn was 18 and had ID. I searched the car, actually, unpacked it and finally after a couple of hours of dumping everything...I found it. We ordered pizza then had an excellent sleep, we even woke up too late for our continental breakfast.
So on the road again heading for the B&B at Cascade, we left as fast as we could because the B&B owner said we could come early and go to the lake and it was a beautiful day.

July 18th 2010

Whiskeytown Lake is so beautiful to wake up and see first thing in the morning. We all slept in until 8:30 in the morning, I started to hear the little ones getting dressed and exiting their tents. By the time i could get up to see them they were all down by the lake.
Katelynn is a good person to sleep with, quite the cuddle bug. However, our queen sized sleeping air bed doesn't hold air, so we decided to leave it behind. Matthew and Jenny said they would blow it up for the water.
Matthew was such a huge help packing us up so we could get out of there, but not before Jenny made us a great egg, sausage, and cheese breakfast burritos.
We hit the road by 10 headed for Bend, OR. The drive north was such a joy, the scenery was incredible, many of the mountains still have snow. We saw Lake Shasta was full to it's brim, I don't think I've ever seen that, no big red dirt beaches...the water line was up to the trees.
We saw Sister Buttes, and I handed Kate the map and had her pick out the place we would stay as there is a lot of good camping in Oregon. She picked out Tumalo State Park Campground.
This spot was just meant to be, God is taking care of us, I can feel Him. It was the last site available, it was paved in most parts for the disabled, right next to the showers, and across from the bathrooms. We registered and bought some firewood from the camp host.
I cooked dinner and Kate built the fire....we were on our own !! Now it feels real, we are fending for ourselves, and we are free!! We roasted marshmallows and read our books then went to sleep in our tent. All sooo peaceful. Sleeping on the ground isn't as bad as I thought, we have decided not to buy another air mattress.
Kate and I did wake up early (4:30) I made Kate stay in the tent and read so that we wouldn't wake up the other campers. We only managed that for one hour and were out making coffee at 5:30 on our cook stove. We are getting good at setting up and tearing down camp, the car is so small that every thing has a place and in it's place is where it has to be. We made a fire, took a shower, and had breakfast and were on the road by 9AM. Heading towards Idaho today on Highway 20.