Hey BooBoo

We're in Yogi Bear land ~ Yellowstone! But we haven't seen hide nor hair of Yogi or BooBoo. Hmmm, maybe we need to carry a 'pic-a-nic-a' basket and they'll come out. We did see quite a few buffalo roaming around today though. And up at one of the waterfalls, we saw a beaver.

We left Jackson around 8:30-ish and stopped back at OxBow to see if my moose came out but once again, she decided to play hide and seek. And she won! We couldn't find her anywhere. VacationGirl is pretty sure the moose are still hanging out at the lake we couldn't find ~ wondering where we are.

I also just found out that we missed seeing the world's largest ball of barbed wire in Jackson. I almost feel like we should drive back there to see it. Almost!

One of our first main stops in Yellowstone was to see Old Faithful. We were in luck - we got there about 15 minutes before it erupted. It's definately a touristy thing to do but if you're here, you have to see it. It was actually pretty cool.

There are so very many little sights to see as you're driving! And I think we pulled off at everyone of them and trugged up hills, down hills, up stairs, down stairs, all around to see the various sights. Most were well worth it - great waterfalls, cool thermal pools, beautiful mountain views. But, it makes for a long day!

Our plan was to drive the Beartooth scenic road today ~ "America's Most Beautiful Road" according to Charles Kuralt. But as we neared the end of Yellowstone, in a lovely little city called Cooke City, we realized that we'd end up driving most of the scenic route in the dark. So rather than do that, we decided to stay in the Super 8 (whoo hoo) in Cooke City, Montana. It's a one street, no stop light little town just outside the NorthEast gate to Yellowstone. We'll get up early in the morning when it's light out and then drive down the scenic route. After that, we'll probably head up to I94 and start the trek home. Should take a few days.

No pictures tonight. The 19 year old had no phone signal most of the day and none of us can get a signal still so he's been going through text-message withdrawal. He confiscated my laptop that has all the pictures. So I'll upload some tomorrow night.

Until then...

Who Let The Moose Out?

Moose are elusive little suckers! And don't let anyone tell you any differently.

VacationGirl, Dear Husband, and 19 year old got to bed a little later than normal Tuesday night. If you remember, we had gone to the Jackson Hole Playhouse to see 'The Ballad of Cat Ballou" ~ and we're still laughing about the show. It was great! But we got to bed around midnight which isn't late in the grand scheme of things. BUT, moose-trackers Eextraordinaire have to get up mighty early to outwit the moose.

So the alarm went off at 5:00. It was still dark out and Dear Husband and 19 year old weren't moving. The funniest thing happened, though. VacationGirl made lots of noise getting dressed this morning. I have no idea why that happened.

Eventually, the other 2 stirred and we got on the road at 5:30. It was still dark. Interestingly enough, they have large lighted signs at different intervals to let you know that there is wildlife on the roadways. I was expecting to see huge parties of animals out having a good old time but it must have their night off.

We finally got up to Oxbow Turnout and surprise! We were NOT the first ones to arrive. There are actually others as crazy as us. Well, actually, many of the people were photographers, waiting for the sunrise. I couldn't figure out why until I walked down to where they were all set up ~ and then it became clear. One of the mountains was beautifully reflected in the Snake River. I got some cool pictures. None are edited yet (too tired tonight again) but even unedited, they are pretty. And surprisinly enough, not one of them contains a moose.

So, after freezing our collective rear ends off (32 degrees in the morning), we headed down to find a lake where the moose hang out. One of the actresses in the show had told us about it. We drove down dirt roads and never did find the lake ~ or any moose ~ but there were signs all over the place telling us that it was a great place for them. Sure wish someone had told the moose. But the vacation is not over yet - there is still hope for a real, live moose.

Wildlife spottings were not completely a loss ~ we did see a herd of elk and got a few pictures of them. They were pretty, but not moose.

After the moose hunting expedition, we went back to the hotel to sleep some more. You'll love this - we had the "Do Not Disturb" sign on our room door. So around noon, we got a phone call from the front desk asking if we really didn't want to be disturbed and if we really didn't want our room made up. Well duh! We got a chuckle from it.

Since we were all awake, we decided to walk down to town and check out the stores. I'm pretty sure that Dear Husband and 19 year old went in every store in Jackson. Two hours later, I bailed and walked back to the room and started doing some laundry. (fun times, I know).

Dinner was good - expensive - but good. We're finding that there is no cheap meal in Jackson. and I mean NO cheap meal. After the meal we headed to the local rodeo. It could have been a lot of fun but we had some horribly annoying people right behind us. After about 45 minutes, we decided to bail and head back to the room.

Tomorrow is another moose expedition on our way out of Jackson ~ heading towards Old Faithful. Yeh, yeh, yeh - typical tourist - but it's here and we have to see it once in our lifetime (or twice for Dear Husband). Then it's on up to Montana.

See ya then,

Enjoy the pics...

Moose Patrol

Watch out, Moose! VacationGirl are looking for you. Of course, we hear you have to get up early and I'm guessing leaving the hotel at 8:00 isn't really early, is it? However, we did get some great pictures today.

We went to Jenny Lake and Jackson Lake. Jenny Lake was by far the prettier view but wow - was it windy. Then we drove to find OxBow turnout where the moose hang out only we went past it - by about an hour. We were all the way out of Grand Teton National Park and almost into Yellowstone and give up. We finally realized the error of our ways and turned around. And after an hour back the right way, we found it. But no moose were hanging out at that time.

So we stopped for a very expensive 'chuckwagon' lunch at Moose turnout because we were starving and didn't want to wait the 30 minutes it would have taken to drive into town to get something both good and inexpensive.

Tonight, we went to the Jackson Playhouse dinner theater to see 'The Ballad of Cat Ballou". It was really good - we enjoyed it thoroughly. I particularly enjoyed it when all of a sudden, during dinner, the waiters/waitresses started singing. Of course, they play up to the crowd and the girls were having fun with the 19 year old. The theater itself is very old and had the most incredibly uncomfortable seats you could imagine. But the show was great. Most of the cast are college students working a summer job from around the country but they were all very good. The show had us all laughing.

So, now, we're back at the hotel and I'm setting the alarm for 5:00 to find those moose. and since it's 11:40 now, I'm not posting pictures tonight - but I'll some tomorrow.

see ya then,

No Moose...YET!

We stopped, and stopped, and stopped along the road but not one single moose made its way up to say 'hi' and welcome us to Wyoming. As the ultimate VacationGirl, I am sorely disappointed. However, the trip is young yet so one may come out of hiding yet.

We finally made it to Jackson around 6:30 p.m. We came by way of Thermopolis and Cody which then routes you through Yellowstone. It's beautiful country but when you want to get somewhere fast, it is not the route to take. We have plans to visit Yellowstone on our way out ~and we still will but now we know what we're in for.

Some buffalo were vegging near the road so everyone had to stop and take pictures (us included). But people never cease to amaze VacationGirl and family. There were 3 girls - probably early 20's and each one had stand as close as possible to the one buffalo that had singled himself out from the herd while another girl took a picture. Fortunately, there was a ranger sitting there to made sure that no dummies got too close. We just sat and laughed. It would have been funnier if he had moved and freaked them out.

We did finally see mountains - but with the typical family curse ~ dark clouds. It's either fog or dark clouds. This time it was particulary amusing, because the sky all around was the most beautiful blue with stikingly white fluffly clouds. You know ~ the ones that you could spend hours 'seeing' things in them. yeh, well, that beautiful sky and fluffly clouds existed everywhere except over the ONE mountain that VacationGirl wanted a picture of. But pictures were snapped anyway - dark clouds or not.

Not quite sure what's on tap for Tuesday...I guess we'll figure it out in the morning. Until then...

Still Not There

It's Day 3 and we are not in Jackson ~ much to VacationGirl's dismay. We did get a little bit of a late start today but we also gained an hour so I'm not sure what happened. We did, however, get to see a little more than corn, corn, corn, corn, and cows.

After leaving North Platte, NE, our first stop of the day was at Chimney Rock. This unually shaped rock marked the end of the prairies for the pioneers. Apparently, the Native Americans named the rock "Elk Penis" but that name just didn't fly with the Anglo-Americans that made the trek through on the Oregon-California trail so it got renamed.

After that, we drove up the road about 20 miles to Scott's Bluff. Scott's Bluff was another popular landmark for the people on the trail from the East to the West. You can hike to the top or you can drive up. Guess which one we chose! :) The view from the top is beautiful. On a clear day, you can see about 90 miles in each direction.

After Scott's Bluff, it was off for more driving. We pretty much decided not to try to make Jackson - it would take too long and we were all tired. But VacationGirl did drive to Riverton, Wy. After scouring the AAA book, she found that it was the only city that had a hotel between Casper & Jackson. Ok, maybe that's a slight exageration but not by much. We we pulled up to the very nice Holiday Inn only to find that 'there was no room at the inn'. Fortunately for us, a brand new Comfort Inn had just been built down the road.

So that's where we are tonight - ready to sleep and head out early for Jackson and the Grand Tetons.

See you there!

Corn, Corn, Corn, Corn, Cow

The title pretty much sums it up - corn, corn, corn, corn, cow. VacationGirl and family made it to North Platte, NE last night. But thinking about using the internet made my eyes cross ~ I was way too tired.

We drove from about 8:00 CST to 8:00 CST. And yes, it was as mind-numbingly boring as we anticipated.

We did make a discover, however, that will make us RICH beyond belief. We found the Loch Ness Monster! Yep, we sure did. As VacationGirl was driving and Dear Husband was sleeping, the eagle-eyed 19-year old found dear old 'Lochie'. I drove on up the road until I could turn around and go back and sure enough, there it was! Right in the middle of a pond on Rt 2 in Nebraska. See for yourself...

Oh - that's not enough proof? Well, Lochie was kind enough to let us get a closer picture.

In addition to finding Lochie, we did actually see something worthwhile. We visited the original Pony Express Station in Gothenburg, Nebraska. It was actually rather interesting. There was a nice gentleman working at the station that told us the history.

So, today brings us to Wyoming - not sure which route to take but as long as we see mountains eventually, I don't care!

So until tonight...

go Go GO

On the road again

Just can't wait to get on the road again.....

Whoo hoo ~ we're on the road again. Left Ohio at 2:33 EST after lunching at Taco Bell. Now there's something you want to eat just before riding in a car for endless hours!

VacationGirl drove since Dear Husband only got about 1 hour of sleep before hitting the road. The route was selected - I70 through St. Louis to Kansas then up 29 to I80. We missed the mind-numbing cornfields of Iowa but trust us - Indiana, Illinois and Missouri aren't much better. And tomorrow brings Kansas and Nebraska. Whoo hoo!

We did get to see the Arch in a background of a beautiful, pink sunset! It would have made a beautiful picture. But the sky would have lost the color by the time we got down to a place where we could take a picture. However, I was lucky enough to get some pictures of the fine restaurant where VacationGirl, Dear Husband, and 19-year old relaxed for a quiet, relaxing dinner in a wonderful setting. See for yourself...

This was such a high class place, they even had signs for those less fortunate that were forced to take their food to a place without the atmosphere that VacationGirl and family experienced.

This wonderful meal was eaten in Vandalia, Illinois - home of the oldest state capitol building. It served as the state capitol from 1836 - 1839. Abraham Lincoln started his political career in this building.

The evening ended for us in Warrenton, Missouri. One of us is sleeping already, the other is in bed and watching TV, and VacationGirl is heading towards the pillow too...

See ya tomorrow.

Vacation-Get Set!

In less than 24 hours, VacationGirl and family will be on the road again. The packing has begun but the route is not planned. Should we go to Kansas City and then up to I80 or go up first and then over? Regardless of the route, we'll still spend a full day of corn, corn, corn, cows, corn, corn, corn, cows.

The plan is to be on the road as soon as VacationGirl gets home on Friday - and hopefully that will be earlier than normal. And then we'll drive until we don't feel like driving any longer. (Sure hope that's not before Indy!)

I had big plans for being able to come home to a clean house - but that's not happening. I'm falling asleep now as I write and I still have to pack. Guess I need to stop typing and start packing.

Next update should find us somewhere in Indiana, Illinois, or Iowa. Or maybe Missouri. Guess it will be a surprise!

See ya then.

Vacation-On Your Mark

Ten days to go until VacationGirl and family hit the road. Too much to do and little time to do it!

The countdown list begins - get oil changed, make a list of things to bring, take out a 2nd mortgage to pay for gas, check route....hey, wait a minute. What's up with the mortgage? We're hoping someone will strike a new oil reserve and prices will fall back to the < $2.00 range for our vacation.

Ok - if VacationGirl can dream, she might as well dream big!

The driving route is just about nailed down. Instead of enjoying the thrill of traffic and other fun stuff in Denver at the Democratic National Convention, VacationGirl, Dear Husband, and 19-year old will be taking the alternate corn field route. Yep - good 'ole Iowa and Nebraska. Can you say 'YAWN'? We're hoping for another green dinosaur in the middle of nowhere or something else to break up the seemingly endless rows of corn, corn, corn, and more corn.

Add another thing-to-do to the already long list - check the handy, dandy AAA book to see if there is anything worth seeing on the planned route. Not meaning to offend anyone in those lovely states, but seriously, are there even any hills in those states?

VacationGirl is a little sad that the route has been changed. She was hoping to find an excuse to visit the OZ musuem in Kansas. But alas, that will have to wait for another place and time ~ maybe when Utah moves up on the vacation plan list.

I'm sure, though, that between the 3 of us, we'll be able to find something odd or unusual to see while we're driving. We usually do!

And that's the fun of it all...