Redwood National Park

6/28/2010
Left the KOA at Klamath Falls, around 9:20am.  Had an uneventful drive to Medford by way of crater Lake Highway.  Luckily, this route did not include the rim drive around Crater Lake.Stopped along the highway for lunch.  I drove in the morning and Esther took over after lunch.  We stopped on Us199 coming into Crescent City because there were a bunch of cars already pulled to the side.  Esther was able to find a spot long enough to hold the truck and 5th Wheel.  We stopped at a trail head which had a self-directed tour of an old growth Redwood forest.  The trees where huge.  Some were 320ft high and I saw one fallen tree that was greater than 20 feet  in diameter.  The trees seemed to go up forever.  We walked about half of the 1/2 mile tour.  Most of the ground was covered by ferns that grow readily at the base of redwood trees.  It was very cool in the forest.

Root System of Fallen Redwood

 Esther standing in a crevice of an "old growth" Redwood

We then drove into Crescent City, CA where we found an RV park to stay the night.  While setting up, we both got cold.  Must have been down to 62.  We then drove through the Redwood National and State Park.  This route follows Us101 along the coast of the Pacific Ocean.  Esther wanted to stop every 300 feet to look at the Ocean.  I finally had to tell her that while the ocean was pretty, it was not one of the things we planned to see.  It just wasn't on the list.  We were both disappointed by the Redwood National Park after seeing the "old growth" forest on Us199.  We drove through Prairie Creek National and State forest.  There were a lot of big trees  but none compared to the "old growth" forest we had seen earlier.  When we got back to Crescent City it was down to 56F.  We ate at the Grotto on the Pacific Ocean.  Food was good, service was adequate,and the bill was high.

Esther wanted a Romantic walk on the beach.  Here is a picture of me being romantic at 56F.Esther and I both about broke our legs getting down to the beach.  Romance  must have a different meaning when your over 60.  We did laugh a lot and at our age those endorphins help.

6/29/2010
Esther took a picture of our campsite next to a large Redwood.  We got away early about 7:40am, but the drive back through Redwood National Park was tedious and took an extremely long time because clouds had rolled in from the ocean and covered most of the road so you could only see about 20 feet in front of you.  Since I was driving it wasn't that big a handicap for me, as I can only see a little further than that anyway.  But it did take us almost 3 hours to cover about 100 miles.  After lunch Esther took the wheel and had curvy roads that went either up or down, never straight or flat.  We stopped at "Big Foot" Gift Shop (spell that tourist trap".  We opted to not take the road that parallels US 101 which contains the Avenue of the Giants, but at times the road re-joins 101 and we got to see the trees that were actually on 101.  About five Esther convinced me that we had traveled enough even though we are still 255 miles from Yosemite.  We stopped at the KOA at Petaluma, CA which is about 30 miles north of San Francisco.  Hopefully we will make Yosemite tomorrow and can stay Wednesday and Thursday nights.  Would love to stay Friday, but with the 4th of July holiday starting then, I doubt we will be able to find accommodations.

Crater Lake National Park

6/23/2010
Left Glacier KOA around 10am.  Drove down Hwy 93 until we reached the Hwy28 junction.  This 41 mile stretch of road was terrible with lots of road construction the entire stretch.  It took us 4 hours to complete  about 100 miles.  Drove for nine hours until we reached Pasco, WA.  Gained an hour at the Idaho state line.  Drive thru Idaho was pretty but continuous steep climbs to steep declines.  Beautiful lake by the road surrounded by heavily forested mountains.  Really hills when you compare them to the Teton's.  Stopped for lunch by the side of the road on Hwy 395.  Pretty uneventful day except for all the delays due to road construction.  Checked in to the Pasco KOA around 6pm pdt  Had dinner and then headed for the Hot tub.  It was inside and not nearly as enjoyable as the sitting in the one at Glacier KOA


6/24/2010
We left Pasco, WA around 9:45am.  We had a routine but enjoyable drive through southern Washington and down thru Central Oregon.  We drove a long way beside the Columbia River.  We stopped alongside the road for a quick sandwich and then Esther made us a Sundae using the last of the Vanilla Bean ice cream, fresh strawberries, sliced banana's and Hershey's chocolate syrup.  Yum. Yum.

We pulled into a Shell station for diesel this afternoon.  To get to the correct pump I had to make a sharp turn.  I got the truck next to the spout and the trailer out of the street, but I could see I was going to have trouble getting out.  The station had an attendant which should have been my first clue.  Once filled, I paid inside to find I bought diesel at $3.29/gallon.  The highest we had paid prior to today was $3.18.  Gulping a lot, I pried out the discover card and paid what was due, the first fill up costing more than $100.  I then had to maneuver out of the tight spot I got myself in.  With some help from the attendant, I finally got out and then Esther took over the driving for the rest of the day.  We stopped outside of Madras, OR where we viewed a 300'  gorge and an old wooden train bridge.

I sure wouldn't want to be in the train that went over that bridge.  However, the mountains behind the bridge were snow covered and almost white all the way down.  A beautiful range of mountains that I think we will be in when we get to Crater Lake National Park.



We stopped at the Sisters BendKOA near Bend, OR.  Drove through Redmond, OR on the way, but didn't get a chance to stop and say Hello to Bill Gates.  The KOA is beautiful with flat paved sights and paved interior roads.  It has a beautiful pond and we hope to use the Hot Tub in a few minutes.

6/25/2010
After trying to find camping sites in Klamath Falls, OR in order to stay somewhat near Crater Lake, we decided to take a maintenance day at the KOA in Bend/Sisters, OR.  This KOA is the most beautiful I have ever seen or stayed in.

  Since we couldn't get reservations in Klamath Falls tonight, we decided to restock our pantries and do laundry.  However, though the KOA had a site for us to stay in, we could not stay in our original site 59.  We moved from the original site to site 46.  The site was about the same, but they had reserved the site we were originally in to be next to another RV coming in so they could be together.  We actually had a great view of the lake in the new site.  We drove into Bend OR to discover a thriving community of 80,000.  We drove all the way through town to get to the one and only Walmart.  Once inside, we learned this was not a super center, but was scheduled to become one.  As it was, it had limited food items and we soon decided to complete our purchases at Albertson's.
We went to the Pizza Hut for lunch then went to Alberstons.  "Never could find single-serve coffee pods at Walmart, Albertson's, or Safeway.  Guess Esther will have to dilute the Columbian.

I dropped off Esther at the laundry so she could get a start, then went to the trailer to put away the provisions.  Especially the ice cream.  I switched to a swim suit and found Esther's and went back to the laundry.  We finished up the laundry and then went to the hot tub for half an hour.  It was back to the trailer for dinner and a relaxing rest in the loungers.   We then got back into swim suites and went back to the Hot Tub for a final dip.  We then came back to the trailer, watched a little TV, and went to bed.

 6/26/2010
We left the KOA Bend/Sisters, OR at 9:15 this morning and arrived at the KOA in Klamath Falls, OR about noon.  We set up camp, ate lunch, then were off to see Crater Lake National Park, which is about 70 miles away.  Esther saw me at my worst today.  It was a very scary drive both up and down, however I maintained my cool on the way up.  We saw a doe eating beside the road on the way up.  Seeing Crater Lake was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.  I have seen pictures of this lake for ever, and I am here to tell you, they don't hold a candle to actually seeing this sapphire blue lake.  The color is amazing as is the surrounding mountain tops along the rim.  It is just too beautiful to describe and I can only hope the pictures will come close to doing it justice.  Only the west rim was open, but we were told that the west rim is the most scenic.  We drove up to the Watchman's Overlook, stopping at several of the scenic outlooks on the way.  I had a pretty rough time, because of the steep drop offs, but made it to the top without driving Esther crazy, though I did make her back the truck away from the rim before I would get in.  The pictures speak for themselves.

The trip down was quite different.  I learned what it was like to be overcome by a phobia  And "Esther learned what it was like to drive down a narrow, steep, winding road with a passenger very near to a full-fledged panic attack.  I could not look out toward to the solid side of the mountain, I could not look down the steep cliffs on my side of the truck.  I could not shut my eyes, because I imagined worse than was actually happening to me.  Esther tried to cope with my incessant demands to get the truck further from my side of the truck (the drop off side) and go slower.  "When we were basically through the bad part, she pulled over a turnout to let the other cars go by her.  It was here that a park ranger informed her she was riding with her wheels over the yellow line.  I didn't tell him so, but I thought that if the Park Service would make the roads twice as wide, he wouldn't have that problem. .

6/27/2010
We went to First United Methodist Church of Klamath Falls, OR. This is a beautiful old downtown church build in 1929.  It is suffering many of the same problems of First of Bartlesville, no Parking, an entrance which is hard to find, and an aging congregation.  The folks there were very friendly.  The congregation takes it upon itself to introduce visitors to the rest of the congregation during the worship service so we had several ask about Esther and I so they would be able to introduce us.  The Sanctuary was filled with stained glass windows.  When we went back into it after the service to take pictures, one of the men came up to us and told us his mother was on the committee which chose the windows.  When I commented he must have been brought up in the church, he smiled and said he couldn't ever get away from it.  All the people we talked with displayed pride in their church.

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We went to Walmart after the service and bought some 4th of July shirts and shorts, picked up coffee pods (finally found them and bought lots), some eggs and bacon.  We came home where Esther fixed us a light lunch of fruit and cheese.  A glass of Zinfandel really hit the spot.  The rest of the afternoon was filled with getting this blog up-to-date and pictures loaded.  Thank goodness we finally found a KOA with good WiFi.

Glacier National Park

 6/21/2010
We were in the truck getting ready to pull out of Missoula, MT this morning when Randy appeared at Esther's window to give her a hug and kiss goodbye.  He had just finished his first job and was on his way to the next.  We got last minute advice on what roads to take into Glacier National Park.  We left in rain and overcast weather much like we had all yesterday afternoon.  It continued until we reached the KOA at Whitefish, MT.  We stopped for lunch at a scenic outlook that displayed low hanging clouds which covered Flathead Lake and the surrounding hillside.  Flathead Lake is the largest lake west of the Mississippi.  We checked into the KOA and though they advertise WiFi, it sure doesn't work very well.  The site is nestled in a pine and fir woods.

It is very level and long enough to stay connected if we had wanted.  We took an hours nap and then went to 5Guys Burgers and Fries for dinner.  Way too much food.  Need to order the mini burger and small fries to share next time.  And should order small drinks as well.  We went from there to Walmart to re-supply our food and snack stocks.  Came home and unloaded the pictures and then wrote in this journal.  We are going to update our finances next and then head to the hot tub.  It is open 24x7 as long as we are quiet.  We might even take a dip in the pool as it is inside/outside.

6/22/2010
Ate breakfast at the KOA at 7:15am this morning.  Eggs were a lot better than the Missoula breakfast, but only had biscuits, gravy, scrambled eggs, and toast.  No Meat.  We then left for the west entrance of Glacier National Park.  Though it wasn't raining, the skies were overcast and low hanging clouds hid the mountain tops.  We decided to take one of the "Red Bus" tours to the top of the "Road to the Sun".

  However the road was only opened to the Weeping wall.  The last 28 miles were still covered with snow and declared impassible by the National Park Service, so we could not get to the east side without driving around the base of the mountains.  Even though most of the mountains were obscured by the low hanging clouds, it was still an awesome sight.  We saw three long horned rams at the top.

  Coming down we saw a mule deer.  Once we got to the top, the driver removed the canvas top of the bus.  The buses have been in operation since 1936.  We were in a seventeen passenger bus, but we only had eleven, so Esther and I had a whole seat that holds four for ourselves.  When the driver took the top off, she also distributed Pendleton wool blankets for each seat.  And we needed them.  We left from the Apgar Village.  There was already one person on the bus when they picked us up.  We then stopped at the Lake McDonald Lodge and picked up 6 more passengers.  When the lodge was first built, the only way to get to it was by boat.  Consequently, the front of the lodge faces the lake and there is a nice boat dock on that side.  We were able to get coffee to go for the trip up there.  The ride up confirmed our decision, that neither one of us wanted to drive up to the top.  Even just sitting on the right hand side was scary.  The drop must of been a couple of thousand feet.  At almost every turn there was another waterfall or cascade coming down from the top of the mountain.

  Even going thru the tunnel, water poured down on the top of the car.  If we had the top down then we definitely would have gotten wet.  Might be refreshing in August, but it would have been really cold today.  One of the prettiest falls was the haystack falls.  Off in the distance we were able to see the "Bird Women" falls.  Most of the pictures show overcast skies and low hanging clouds.  One day we will need to come back when the sun is shining as I believe the view would be spectacular. Our guide, Colleen, spent last year driving a shuttle in Antarctica.  She was well trained and a competent driver and guide.  She was very knowledgeable when you consider this is her first year at Glacier National Park.

After our bus ride, we drove back to the KOA, stopping only to refuel and to pick up a bottle of Cabernet and Zinfandel.  We ate a quick lunch then headed for the hot tub.  After 30 minutes we were both pretty warm and came back to the trailer for a nap.  Got up around 6:00pm, cooked a steak on the new grill, and ate dinner.  We uploaded our pictures, checked email, and wrote this journal.  "We plan to return to the hot tub after dark I plan to put away the hoses, hookup the truck and get ready to depart for Crater Lake Oregon tomorrow morning.

Missoula, MT

6/18/2010
Left the Grand Teton Park RV about 8:35.

Drove through Grand Teton National Park en route to Missoula, Mt.  Sky was clear and blue.  Not a cloud in the skies.  The snow-covered Grand Teton's against the deep blue sky was breath-taking.  We stopped to shoot pictures on the way from the campground to the entrance of the Grand Teton's, and then again over Jackson Lake, and then again beside the road to Yellowstone.  We then drove from the south entrance of Yellowstone to the West entrance to Yellowstone.  Saw a bunch of cars beside the road looking at what I think was a coyote. We then took highway 191 to 287.  This took us to Montana via a beautiful two lane road which followed Ice Lake and then Earthquake Lake.  Both of the Lakes had a backdrop of snow covered mountains and green prairies.

Earthquake Lake

  Beautiful ranches sparely populated with mostly Angus cattle.  We crossed many cold trout streams and saw fisherman fly fishing in the streams.  Once Us287 got us to I90, we had an easy drive to Missoula KOA arriving around 6:30pm.  Once settled in, Esther was able to reach Randy and we made arrangements to meet him in the Barnes &; Noble Parking lot where he was selling the last three chihuahua's of a litter of seven.  We then went to eat a supreme thin crust pizza at Pizza Hut.  One of the best pizza's we have had in a long time.  Came back home to the 5th wheel and crashed for the evening.

6/19/2010
Slept in till about 7:30am.  Got up and went to do laundry.  While the clothes were washing we ate the breakfast buffet at the KOA.  The cost was $7.95 per person and was the worst breakfast we have ever had.  The scrambled eggs were cold and rubbery.  We then went to move the clothes to the dryers.  Everything worked fine until we got to the last washer which was full of jeans.  The washer did not spin out the final rinse.  Esther tried wringing them out by hand, but we decided that there was too much soap and water left so we re-washed them.  The second washer also refused to spin out the final rinse.  We wrung them out the best we could and put them in the dryer.  It took two cycles  $$ to get them dry but we finally got the laundry done.  We then went to find Randy and found him in the parking lot near the road which went by the shopping center.  He had sold one dog and still had two to go. He had several interested parties come by while we were there, but no takers.  He left with us at 2pm and came to the trailer where we had a nice visit

.  He then took us to the Carousel Park and a tour of the downtown area.  We then went to eat at The Silk Road , a restaurant specializing in international cuisine served European style.  That is small portions were brought to the table of each dish ordered and shared.  Randy ordered for us and we had a Japanese Beef dish, sockeye salmon, a fantastic crab dish, sautéed mushrooms, and a chocolate calzone.  We went there as he works there six days a week.  In fact we even got a $10 employee discount which made the meal cost just over $10 per person.

After the meal we went back to the 5th wheel and we had another nice visit.  He stayed until about 10pm and left because he needed to be at work by 8:30 Sunday morning.  We crashed shortly after he left.

6/20/2010
We got up and got ready for church and went to breakfast after checking on the time church started at First United Methodist church (10:30am).  We then went to Paul's Pancake Parlor  for breakfast based on Randy's recommendation.  They had Eggs Benedict on special this morning so we both ordered that.  We should have split the breakfast as it was at least twice the amount of food we needed.  I was a little disappointed in the dish as they had added cheese to the Hollandaise sauce.  But the eggs were cooked perfectly, so i enjoyed it anyway.  We then had about an hour before we needed to be at the church so we went to Walmart to pick up soap, toothpaste, etc.  We then could not find the First United Methodist Church in the GPS so decided to go to Grace United Methodist church.  When we arrived at 10;20am we discovered there service began at 10:00am.  So we had a short but enjoyable church service led by a lady minister who gave a very good sermon.  So far we have worshiped with lady ministers two weeks in a row.  Just before going into church, Esther reminded me to put my phone on vibrate.  I had already had calls from Shawn and JJ and did not expect to hear from Jeanie until later in the day, but I attempted to put the phone on vibrate anyway.  However in the middle of the service my phone started ringing.  I finally got it silenced after the whole church had turned to stare at me.  You must remember that Grace is a small neighborhood congregation and everyone knows everyone.  It was pretty obvious we were outsiders who were both late and noisy.

We were about the first ones out the door after the service.  The minister was most gracious to her noisy visitors.  We then went back to Walmart to pickup a steak and corn for dinner tonight.  We then went back to The Silk Road so Esther could get a picture of the restaurant.  When we got back to the 5th wheel we found Randy sitting at the picnic table by our site, reading a book.  We had another nice visit with him in between the jobs he needed to work today.  During the visit it rained hard and we had about 15 minutes of pea sized hail.  My neighbor came in the middle of the hail and rain to tell me I had left the driver's window of my truck down.  A quick trip to the truck in the hail left me with a few bruises on the head.  Randy left at 5:00pm and we went to fill up the truck with diesel.  We then came back, filled the fresh water tank, hooked up the truck, put away the water hoses, and caught up on our financial s and journal entries. "We intended to go to the hot tub as soon we got our chores done, but we would have had to sit in the hot tub in a light rain and decided to forgo until another time.  Tomorrow morning we will empty the gray water tanks, put away the electric cord and be on our way to Glacier National Park.

Yellowstone National Park

6/16/2010
Left for Yellowstone at 8:30.  Stopped at Jackson Lake in the Grand Teton National Park.  Beautiful Lake and it might be the lake that is in so many pictures of the Grand Tetons instead of Jenny's lake.  Left thru the north exit of the Tetons on Us191 and arrived at the south entrance of Yellowstone.  They are only about 26 miles apart.  However, before leaving the Grand Tetons, we had to go over the top of a mountain whose road had eroded.  They were working on it, so only one lane was available.  Had to wait about 20 minutes so our lane could use the one lane remaining.  Got into Yellowstone around 10:30 and arrived at "Old Faithful" about noon.  It had just finished going off and that was good because everyone was leaving and we found a great parking space.  Found a seat on the front row of the observation area and ate the  picnic lunch Esther had made for us this morning.  Sat next to a British couple who had recently been to Mount Rushmore.  The clouds were so bad they weren't able to see the monument.  Another couple from Indiana was telling everyone that a group of students had been struck by lightning last week while watching the geyser erupt.  Of course this was when the clouds started dropping rain and rumbling with thunder.  I think they just wanted our seats.   It was to erupt at 1:17pm but really started about 1:22.

Old Faithful Erupting



We then went to the gift shop so Esther could buy three bears for Kenzee, Katie, and Jolee.  Bread was four dollars but Esther wouldn't buy it.  I couldn't because I had left my billfold in the car.  Otherwise, I would have spent the money.  As it turned out we stopped at a convenience store later on and bought the type of bread we like for $4.79.  Of course I had my billfold and could buy it then.

We took the grand loop at least the southern half from Old Faithful to the south entrance.  We stopped once at the Artist paint pots.  I drove all morning and to this point, but it was really overcast and beginning to drizzle, so Esther volunteered to drive us back to our campground.  Smart move on her part or we would still be coming back to camp.  After stopping at the convenience store for bread, we also picked up chips pretzels, and a diet coke for Esther and a coffee for me.  Guess which drink cost the most.  We then filled with diesel and came home to tv dinners, a salad and ice cream and cookies.  We then downloaded the pictures from today, picked the ones to be put into the blog and then wrote this journal together.  We will see if we can see Esther's bank account and then call it an evening.  Plan to go back to Yellowstone tomorrow.  Not sure what we want to see other than the Yellowstone waterfall.

6/17/2010
Slept in this morning.  We were both very tired.  Had to refill propane before we took off for Yellowstone.  Propane was very high - 4.35/gal.  But it was cold this morning and neither one of us wanted to chance running out of heat tonight.  Esther packed us lunch again, only more food and more junk food this time.  We left for Yellowstone at about 11:30am.  Our first stop was for coffee at a Colter Bay convenience store.  We stopped there for coffee last night and it is really good strong coffee.  We didn't have a 20 minute wait with the flagman this time as we did yesterday.  We drove up as our side got to go.  I drove again this morning.  Eyes must be getting better.  There was fresh snow on the top of the south entrance and we saw light snow flakes as we went over. The pickup registered an outside temperature of 36F.  Our next stop was to see the Lewis Falls.  It is only a 30 ft falls, but very pretty.  We ate our picnic lunch by the Yelllowstone river, but we ate it in the car as it was 40F by then and much to cold to eat by a roaring river out in the open.  The next stop was to view the lower Yellowstone river falls at Artist Point.  At first we went to a lookout point that is really a climb and very scary for someone like me.  We then went down to Artist Point where you have a great view of the lower falls.  The lower falls drop 308 ft, which is twice the height of Niagra Falls, but consists of much less water.

Yellowstone Lower Falls

We then drove to the upper falls.  There is a nice lookout point for these falls as well.  These only drop 109 feet, but were still impressive.  Our book said that not many visitors see the upper falls because it is so close to the lower falls and is only one third the height.  We then drove to Canyon Visitor center and turned around to take the same route back.  During the day, we saw a bull moose, bison, ducks,swans, elk, and deer.  No bears.  Esther thinks they are still sleeping because it is so cold.  On the way back we stopped at the South Entrance and took pictures of another couple and they returned the favor.

  We stopped at Colter Bay again for coffee.  The Grand Tetons were beautiful as we got to see them in sunlight again.  We got home around 7:30pm.  We then dumped, filled with fresh water, and put all water and sewer hoses away.  I connected the truck, and raised the legs.  We are ready to drive away tomorrow morning once the electric cord is put away and we get everything stowed away inside.  Our goal is to leave by 9am, but knowing Esther and me, we won't make it.  We have reservations at the Missoula KOA for the next three nights.  Esther hopes to visit with Randy, her oldest son both Saturday and Sunday.  We also plan catching up on laundry and going to church.

Grand Teton National Park

6/14/2010
Left Estes Park at 8:45 after dumping gray water and refilling fresh.  One of the tips on the sewer hose broke and I ended up dumping a couple of gallons of kitchen sink water on the ground.  Glad it wasn't the black water.  After getting everything cleaned up we drove to the office, dropped off some postcards and Esther took us back to I25.  About a 30 mile trip that took two hours because I was on Esther's case to slow down all the time.  She kept looking at me saying "I'm only going 25, and I kept saying I don't care, it's still too fast.  She did slow down.  I know it is not at 39% grade, but it sure felt like it to a guy who can't stand heights.  I only smelled the breaks once the entire trip down, which is a whole lot less that I smelled them when i drove the same route 30 years ago. 

Once on I-25, I settled down and enjoyed the vista through upper Colorado and southern Wyoming.  We took I-80 across Wyoming until we reached Rawlings, Wy.  There we took Us287 to Landers.  Road was a good 2 lane with good shoulders.  There is one 6% grade down for about 3 miles, but it seemed much less dangerous to me.  However, Esther did pamper me by slowing down to a top speed of 35mph.  Luckily there was little traffic behind us and they were able to find plenty of opportunities to pass.  (She really does love me).
That evening we spent  writing this journal.  I also finally made reservations for Belle Starr at site C44.
6/15/2010
Left Lander around 9:15am.  I drove on US 287 from there to Moran, Wy.  Beautiful scenery.  Went over a mountain pass with snow all around us.  After we were over the pass we got our first sight on the Grand Tetons.  Majestic doesn't quite cover the awe we experienced when we first saw them.  Seemed like every mile we had to take a scenic turnoff to take pictures as the scenery just got better and better.

We arrived at the Grand Teton Park RV and were assigned a pull thru site that was to have had a great view of the Tetons.  The view was actually blocked by trees, but the space next too ours had a clear view.  I called to see if we could change and when they arrived to see what the problem was, they informed us that we could not only not have the one next to us, but that the space they put us in was only good for one night.  They assigned us to another site which had no view of the Tetons at all.  We settled in and then went to drive around the Grand Teton National Park.  Stopped at the Church of the Transfiguration which is an Episcopal church built in 1925.  It has a great view behind the altar of the Tetons.  We then drove to Jenny's lake and got some pictures of the Tetons behind the lake.  This is the location where most of the Grand Tetons across a lake are taken.  From there we drove down to Jackson, Wy.  Downtown sidewalks are still made of wood.  A real tourist trap with very expensive goods for sale.  I looked at a brown sheep leather sports coat for $995.  I did say looked at, not bought.  Though Esther thought I looked good in it.  We then had $7 coffee and latte.  Watched the gunfight between Buffalo Bill and Pawnee Bill.  Pretty fake.   We looked for a place to eat and after seeing the prices ($12 sandwiches), found a Dairy Queen.  I'm almost as cheap as Howard.  It was getting near dusk so Esther took over the driving duties and drove us back to the campground.  We caught up data and uploaded pictures into photoshop.  Tried to put together a blog where we could share our pictures, but wireless service was less than desired, so we caught up on the journal.  We are both tired so I bet it won't be long before we go to bed.  Our plans are to go to Yellowstone by truck  tomorrow morning and spend the day there.  We will come back to this campsite again and then go to Yellowstone a second day.  Yellowstone is only about 30-40 miles from our current campsite.

 Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton's looking over Jackson Lake

Larry at the Grand Teton National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park

June 11, 2010

We left Enid around 10:00am.  Stopped for lunch just north of Great Bend, KS on the side of the road.  Esther did real well pulling the 5th wheel.  In the afternoon, it got real overcast.  Driving into Colorado on I-70, we ran into a wall cloud.  You could really see the rotation in the cloud.  We saw a funnel come down and almost touch the ground and then go back up into the cloud.  We kept driving toward it until we went under  the rotating parts of the cloud.  Wind was heavy and blew the trailer around a lot.  Esther held on fine and got us to Limon.  We checked into the KOA there just after they blew the all clear sirens.  Heavy winds during the night and light rain.  Ate in the camper for the evening meal.  Had Bertoulli's steak and mushrooms.  Very good.  Went to bed at 9:00pm.  We woke up around 3:30  because of the wind but went back to sleep and got up at 7am

June 12, 2010
Left Limon at 8:30am.  Arrived in Estes Park after driving in light rain most of the day.  Clouds were hanging very low.  Never did really see mountains, but we could sure tell we were going up. We are staying at Elk Meadows RV on CO-66.  A little expensive.  $99+ for two nights.  Propane was 2.88 per gallon.  Arrived about 1:30pm and finished setting up around 2:30pm when we drove into Rocky Mountain National Park.  Took the shuttle from Morraine Visitor Center to Park and Ride.  Then took the Bear Lake Shuttle from there to Bear Lake.  Walked up to Bear Lake.  Could see the other side of the lake, but clouds were so low could not see the mountains.  Light rain all afternoon.  Caught shuttles back to Morraine Visitor Center and then drove back to camp.  We then drove into Estes Park and walked around.  Ate at Orlando's Steak house within the Wheel Bar based on a recommendation from one of the shuttle drivers.  Her husband works as the chef there.  Esther had a fillet and I had grilled tuna with Avocado butter.  Esther said her steak was good though a little dry and my tuna was a little rare for me.  We still enjoyed the meal.  Romantic with a great view of  Prospect mountain.  Came home and caught our journals up to date.  Esther totaled up expenses so far.  A little over 400 but that covers our camping fees through tomorrow night.

Trail to Bear Lake

Esther at the bridge which leads to Bear Lake

 

The almost overflowing river that runs through Estes Park

June 13, 2010

Woke up early around 5:30.  We got up around 6:30.  Esther made pancakes.  No syrup so we used peanut butter and black raspberry jelly.  Decided to go to church at the Estes Park United Methodist Church.  I offered Lutheran, but Esther chose Methodist.  Hooray!  Service led by Donna Patterson, their pastor.  Church was beautiful, though it was two story and the sanctuary was on the 2nd level.  Lots of stairs but they did have an elevator if you needed it.  You looked out a huge glass window with a cross on it that looked out onto the mountains.  However, we had rain this morning and low hanging clouds.  It was still beautiful.  Parking lot is across the highway next to the creek which is about to overflow due to the rain and snow melt.

We went to Smokin' Dave's BBQ for lunch.  We both had the pulled pork sandwich with fries and coleslaw, though I had the sweet potato fries.  Shopped for a shirt for Esther and then found a Safeway to re-supply our bread and sandwich meat.  Came home and napped the rest of the afternoon.  Rained all afternoon.  Went to fill up with diesel around 7:30pm and the clouds were beginning to breakup.  Saw a little sunshine and could see part of Long's Peak.  Saw the first snow on the mountains since we have been here, except for a little around Bear Lake. .

First United Methodist Church of Estes Park, CO