Jiggety Jog.

I'm home. With all that the term conveys -- home, home, home. Yay!

What a great trip. 8,800 miles. My head and my memories are spinning. It will take a while to decompress and really bring some of my time back into focus. For now, here is a list of some things I learned and felt and remember (in no particular order):

1. The Amazon Kindle is simply fantastic. A must have for travel. Someone somewhere said the great thing about it is the Kindle makes you want to read, read, read and they were right. I was resistant to it, but got one for Mother's Day (thank you Family) and LOVE IT!

2. Branson, MO sucks. Trust me on this.

3. It is possible to travel for 5 1/2 weeks and actually lose 1 pound. Amazing! Three meals out every day for 37 days and I end up losing one pound! Just goes to show you what walking and hiking will do for you!!

4. Every where I went over the 8,800 miles I met really nice people. What are the odds?

5. There is no 5.

6. Writing is even harder to do than normal if you don't make at least an hour of quiet time to unwind the images. No matter how gorgeous the scene, how hilarious the overheard conversation, how stimulating the idea -- sitting one's butt in a chair and being quiet is the single most important factor.

7. Kids grow up and are amazingly funny and wonderful. Even when they are adults and don't have to hang out with you.

8. This is a good country to live in, to travel in, and to be part of. I'm proud of our President and I felt pretty patriotic for some reason as I drove around. I was glad to see signs announcing that "This road project is funded by The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" -- Yes We Can!

9. Tipping someone $5.00 for a $10.00 lunch actually makes a waiter smile. Stimulus can be small and nice.

10. Driving does not cause jet lag. Duh. But I never felt any strange acclimation problem to the various time zones. I know there probably isn't enough fuel in the world for people to drive like we did, and maybe that is really terribly un-green, but I really loved it. FWIW, we did see wind farms in many of the midwestern states.

To anyone who read my travel-blogs - thanks! And this little piggy is so glad to be home!

The Nadir

nadir |ˈnādər; ˈnādi(ə)r|
noun [in sing. ] the lowest point in the fortunes of a person.

Without trying to sound like the GOP and their ridiculous equivalences, I have to say I have reached the nadir of my wonderful trip.

And I don't mean elevation wise.

I am in Branson, MO and can I just say this town is godawful. I imagine that at one time there was a wild, natural beauty. You can tell because of the mountains and there are even some trees.

But jaysis - they have filled every corner with white-bread motels and silly chain restaurants and goofy activities and shops that sell I can't even imagine what. It gives me the shudders.

From here we dip into Arkansas and drive through "The Ozarks" - please GOD don't let it all be like this!

I feel like I have dropped in to an overpopulated combination of all the worst parts of Las Vegas, the Poconos, Gatlinburg and Kissimmee.

GROSS!!!

I'm going to bed and will get up early (hopefully before the sun rises) and haul ass.

Grand Tetons

What an extraordinary thing to drive south out of Yellowstone and be greeted by this magnificent range of mountains - The Grand Tetons!

We hit our first "bad" weather -- misty and cold, some rain -- and so the mountains emerged slowly out of the fog. One had the impression of their presence and then slowly you could see them. Takes your breath away!

It is a much wilder park, not as many roads and not as many people. The mountains predominate - they force you to look.

We stopped at Jackson Lake and were mesmerized. This is basically the end of our trip and we planned to stay four days in Jackson Hole at The Four Seasons. Resting from the driving, exploring Grand Teton and perhaps getting a massage or two as well as some great food.

We have not been disappointed. The resort is magnificent and our room is comfortable beyond measure! The staff is friendly and accomodating, the food is superb. The Spa is a dream come true!

The town of Jackson is a mixture of real old-west town and cutesy vacation spot, but it's not offensive somehow. Perhaps because it is filled with people of all type and color. There are also things like Thai restaurants and well ... we've just had more beef on this trip than we've eaten in YEARS! So a heaping helping of Pad Thai noodles came at just the right time!

We tooled around in the National Park and came upon Jenny Lake. So beautiful. The clouds were low and seemed to sweep and dance with the surrounding peaks. There was a kind of meditative play with clarity and height as the thick fog covered and revealed the jagged cliffs.

It was a cold morning, around 46 degrees so we tried to get in a number of brisk walks. The trails are well marked and good for getting the blood flowing!

We took a great drive to the summit of Signal Mountain and you can see the Snake River as it bisects "the Hole" as the large valley between three ranges is known. (Thus the name "Jackson Hole") ... what a spectacular site ...and the weather was starting to clear.

The day turned out to be gorgeous and we enjoyed the rest of our touring. My car is actually very comfortable and now that we've put about 6,400 miles on it that is really saying something!

We have both had great visits to the Spa with excellent massages (I'm going back this afternoon) and the chef has fed us well! It's a good thing we're doing a lot of walking and hiking or we'd be big as balloons!


If it doesn't rain this morning then I think I'll go on a trail ride. The horses are so numerous and they just delight me!

Tomorrow we head to Salt Lake City. We'll meet up with two of our daughters and one will head out with her Dad to Berlin for a week...the other will join me on a cross-country trek home.

We'll stop in Cheyenne, WY and in Lincoln, NE and how can one possibly drive across the middle of the country and NOT go to Lambert's Cafe in Sikeston, MO? Perhaps we'll stop in Robbinsville, NC and have a lovely night in the Smoky Mountains.

And then its home -- wow, what a trip!

Yellowstone

We entered Yellowstone today from the West Entrance. What an experience! First of all, its probably the most people we've seen since we left St. Louis! It took a while to get used to the cars on the road. By the way - I took this picture! I really did - with my crappy little camera!

The wildness is what grabbed me. Even with all the cars. I know that sounds weird, but there is something incredibly rugged and wild. Even with all the people. I suppose that is what excellent Park Management is all about. We drove along sort of open-jawed ... within moments we had seen Elk, Deer, Yellow-Bellied Marmoset (looks a bit like a fat prairie dog) and two different Bald Eagles. One on a nest ... well, that was a HUGE nest and the other soaring. I was not up to speed with the camera so, trust me. The wildlife like Yellowstone!

Then we began driving through the area with all the geysers! Good heavens. I guess I never really looked at a lot of pictures of Yellowstone because this took me by surprise! There was a basin of dozens of hot spots, and it was really amazing.

(But again - there seemed to be hundreds of people! Argh!) We took a lot of walks and some back roads, and found our way to Old Faithful. Luck was with us because thousands of people were gathered and sitting around with cameras up so we knew we arrived at the right spot at the right time. And sure enough:



It was pretty amazing to see it gush way up in the air. Lots of oohing and aaaahing. And then we got coffee at the Inn and high tailed it before they all got in their cars.

We wound our way along the Terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs.
These were pretty neat formations and there were some beautiful flowers as well as lots of birds.

Oh. And Elk. Lots of Elk.


Lots of mamas and babies and maybe some of the younger boys too. I'm not too up on my Elk biology. There were no antlers -- so I'm guessing they were young and/or female.


Then when we were driving to our hotel ------------>
that was taken from inside the car.

Come on - are we sure Disney doesn't run this National Park?

Lots more where this all comes from -- we have so much more to see and I know we won't get it all in. But the weather is gorgeous - we got all the way up to 63 degrees this afternoon around 4:30 pm. Yeah. I like that in June!

Idaho

Did you have any idea that THIS is what Idaho looks like? I didn't!

I admit it. I was extremely prejudiced. I thought Idaho was nothing but white supremacists and potatoes. I also figured they had some forests and some mountains near Sun Valley but that other than that it was just a state on my placemat that needed checking off.

Well, it's pretty white, I admit that. I have not seen a black person in three days. That is just plain weird. But the people seem nice enough, the scenery is gorgeous and in both towns we've stayed (Sandpoint and Lewiston) they have Democratic Headquarters with large display signs that one can see from the main road! So that was a relief.

I have other pictures of our trek today - but it's too late and I have to go to bed. I'll upload them later. But what a surprise! These are views from our hotel in Sandpoint and I have to say I was shocked to see sailing masts!


Idaho also has some incredibly gorgeous mountains and one hell of a pass road in the Lolo Pass -- Highway 12 from Lewiston to Missoula ... an absolute MUST SEE for anyone in the area.

And then today we went to Arco -- and took a tour of the first Nuclear Breeding Reactor EBR-1.

Very cool. Terrific job for the guy who gave us our tour -- he was knowledgeable and friendly and seemed happy to talk about nuclear fission, the history of nuclear science and all things associated forever!!



Life is good and this trip has been fantastic! Tomorrow we make it to Yellowstone ...and then for the next five days its back to nature with all of our energies inside Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park.

Glacier & Beyond

We're having this terrific trip and I have been amazed and yes, over whelmed by the grandeur of Glacier National Park. I'm not photographer, nor am I a historian or geologist. But I am thrilled to be able to hike, walk, meditate and take in this glorious place. There is no way I can be here and not feel the presence of the native people who were here first - who lived in such harmony with the land and the wildlife. I feel like I've been given such a gift.
To be able to come and drive and
find accomodation and walk among the trees,
and followthe creeks and rivers. It has been
phenomenal - and worth every single second
of the driving and the planning to get here.


We started at East Glacier and spent two nights there. I saw an amazing array of birds -- new to me coming from such a tropical clime. Tree swallows, Mountain Bluebirds, Northern Flickers, Killdeer, Meadowlarks, and a Long-Billed Curlew. These are just to name a few. I am terrible with the camera unless the subjects sits still - like a mountain - so I don't have any pictures of the birds. But they're gorgeous.

I also continued to see deer, antelope and all kinds of forest animals like chipmunks. Hoping to see a moose before we leave Montana. After all, this is moose country, and that is one of my lifelong dreams. Weird, I know. We have been listening to Joseph Marshall read about Crazy Horse and so I keep feeling the importance of the mountains, the falls, the various lakes. They are more than just pretty scenery. And it appeals to my creative side - to imagine what life was like here hundreds of years ago.

Then I come back to reality, get hungry and go to on of the many wonderful diners and cafes for a great cup of soup and a salad. I didn't take pictures of the food.

We did see a moose on our way up to Troy, MT and that made me quite happy! We also went into Canada and I got to see both a Black-Billed Magpie and a Roufous Hummingbird so I was thrilled.

Now we're in Sandpoint, ID and what an amazing thing these glacial lakes are!

If anyone wants to see more pictures, I'm happy share my Facebook album - that seems to be the easiest way to upload pictures. Or email. I really suck at Blogging and this seems to take forever. If you know how to do this blogging with pictures thing in an easier way let me know. This short on here has taken me about 45 minutes. I have lake to watch, fledgling geese are grazing outside my room and there is a change in the light as it moves toward 4 pm and the mountains are deepening to a dark, navy blue. So I have to go outside and be part of it. :)