Sunday

After that great breakfast we headed to Taos. The drive over from Pagosa Springs was beautiful! Lots of valley's with farms, ponds, etc. We did see some fall foliage although we could tell it was not at its peak. Right as we were coming into Taos we stopped at the Rio Grande River Gorge and walked on a trail they have there. I think it is a long trail, but we just walked a couple of miles. After that we went to Taos and looked around. We had a great meal at a local restaurant (enchilada with green chili...yes, we are trying to get our fill of green chili in one day). Shopped a little, but this place is terribly overpriced. It is a major tourist trap. We drove out to see the Taos Pueblo on the Indian Reservation (the Rez). We had never visited this landmark and it was interesting. Only took about 45 minutes to see all that we wanted to see. Some of the Pueblos were homes and some were shops. I purchased a pair of turquoise earrings that were handmade by a local Indian woman.

After the Pueblos we headed East on Hwy 64 again towards Angel Fire and then Eagle's Nest. We are staying this evening at Eagle's Nest Lake State Park in New Mexico. Nice State Park, but no amenities - only vaulted toilets - but also only $10 for the night.

The wind is really blowing tonight so getting our shower was a challenge. After being at the Pueblos where it is very sandy and windy, we had to get the grit washed off :). Clean and cozied up in our little camper tonight.

Sent from my iPad

Sunday Morning report

Yesterday we traveled the Highway of Legends which is a beautiful scenic route. The leaves have changed a little early this year due to dry conditions and cold weather in the higher elevations, so we are not hitting the colors during their prime. There is still a lot of color and we are enjoying the scenery. We stopped at the Dog Bar & Grill in Cuchara Colorado. We have stopped here before. It is a small community in an otherwise remote area. We made several off-road side trips today. One was to Big Meadows Reservoir on Hwy 160 about 10 miles West of Southfork (the turnoff for Creede). This is a place that Jerry and Jeanette had taken Phillip when he visited them in fall of 2000. The camping area was closed so we will have to find another place to camp. We enjoyed a walk across the dam to view a waterfall before getting back in the truck and heading west on 160. We found another spot behind the parking lot for Wolf Creek Ski area. It was on a Forest Service road which was really just a good log road according to Phillip. At the end of the 2 mile road was Alberta Park Reservoir. Again, a beautiful area, but no camping spots....just the road that dead-ended at the small lake. It was a little too remote for just the two of us, so back on Hwy 160. We finally stopped at the Riverside RV just East of Pagosa Springs. A quiet, pretty little spot right on the San Juan River. After a walk around the property and down the river a way, we watched the end of the AR/OleMiss game. This is the coldest night we have had so far...down to about 36. We were fine during the night, but it sure was nice to have our little "fireplace" to take the chill out of the air!

Breakfast this morning in Pagosa Springs!

Sent from my iPad

Headed West for Fall Foliage

We left Fayetteville right after my Thursday class (3:30). I left my car in Harmon Garage and walked down to Dickson Street for Phillip to pick me up. We drove as far as Enid on this day and stayed at a campground in town.

Friday morning we were up early and headed to a Starbucks just down the street. We are traveling Hwy 412 all the way across Oklahoma. We were on another highway for a short time to access I-25. We arrived in Trinidad at Dinner time and found BlackJack's Steakhouse and Saloon right on Main street. It was a typical Western Diner and did not disappoint. After a steak, salad and baked potato we were ready to set up camp. We stayed on Lake Trinidad at the Carpios Ridge State Park campground ($31). This was a very nice campground with modern, clean showers. We definitely should stay here again if in the area. We enjoyed an absolutely beautiful sunset last night and a beautiful sunrise this morning. One of the things I like about taking the Wonderlust is that it forces us to go outside and enjoy nature. We just bundled up, grabbed our coffee and sat outside to enjoy the sunrise and watch the wildlife wake up (birds and rabbits).

We are having a great time!

Sent from my iPad

Worst travel day ever....so far

I naively thought that because I booked on a flight that was non-stop to XNA that things would go smoothly....no worrying about connecting flights, etc. Was I ever wrong! Boarded our plane at 2:00 (on time) and headed out to the runway....and sat....and sat. The sun was shining at LaGuardia and in NWA so I'm not sure what the problem was. At a little before 5 we started moving and everyone was excited. Then the pilot says "we have to go to the gate so that we can gas up. You should go ahead and de-plane and stretch your legs....and take all of your belongings....and everyone must leave the plane....he was lying. He knew that the flight was canceled, but wanted to avoid a riot. So I scrambled around, called Miranda for advise and called AA to get another flight.

"Lucky" me there was another flight at 5:45 but it had been delayed so I might be able to make it. Problem is that it was at another concourse and at LaGuardia you can't move from one concourse to another - you have to take a shuttle. Make it to that flight to find that it was delayed a little more, but they assured us the pilot could make up some time in the air and with the change it time it looked like I might make it to Chicago to catch my flight to NWA. Repeat above (the part where we sit out on the runway for hours!). We finally got in the air around 9 pm. And that flight to XNA....those that made that flight were already home....

Another couple of hours at the airport trying to get my tickets situated so that I could get on the early morning flight, finding a hotel, and then trying to find my luggage.

Thank goodness I got a hotel, but my luggage is still at LaGuardia.

Friday morning, 7:04 flight, status is "On Time." Say a little prayer.....

Sent from my iPad

No more NYC taxis!

Wednesday night dinner stop. Yummy

Spider-Man on Trump Towers

Halal Guys

Grand Central station

Tuesday evening in NYC

I'll take my Starbucks in NYC this morning!

NYC here I come!

Interesting flight out of XNA. Sat with Joey who is a magician. He is putting himself through law school at U of A by performing about 100 shows a year.

Animals in Yellowstone

Animals in Yellowstone for Evan

Bison

4 adult black bears and 4 cubs

Elk

Pronghorn

Mountain goats

Pica

Mule deer

Yellow bellied marmot

Red squirrel

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

Least chipmunk

Rabbits

White pelican

Owl and 3 owlets

Raven

Canadian geese and goslings

Clark' nutcracker

Magpie

Favorite Animal:  Bison!

What a wonderful trip this has been!

We headed out on the final leg of our trip on May 29.  We are traveling from Mt. Rushmore to Farmington, AR, which is 964.5 miles (about 14 hours).  Evan ate, slept, and watched movies the entire time. 

 It has been such a wonderful trip with Evan!  I love his excitement when viewing wildlife and just enjoying the beauty of nature all around us.  Evan is a great traveling companion - easy going and ready to take on the next adventure!

Mt. Rushmore

 Mount Rushmore!  Since Evan missed out on the Snake River float trip and the Rodeo in Cody (because it is too early), we decided to go to Mt. Rushmore.  It is about a 3.5 hour drive from Buffalo, WY to Mt. Rushmore, SD, so Evan settled in to his travel mode as we drove over.

We made it!

This is the RV "Resort" that we stayed at:

Lake Yellowstone and then on to Cody, WY

Last night we stayed at Fishing bridge campground and awoke to rain this morning.  However, it did not last long and we have had sunny skies most of the day.  We headed over to the Visitor's center which is right on Lake Yellowstone.  

Evan really enjoyed all of the hands-on exhibits...bison horns, elk and moose antlers, etc.  Today was the first day of "ranger-lead programs" at the park - and our last day. I was glad that Evan got to experience a program and it was very interesting.  He had a bear and a wolf pelt and allowed Evan to touch it.  During the presentation, it was evident that Evan was the only one to know ALL of the answers...studying for his Junior Ranger status is paying off.  The ranger brought Evan to the front - which wasn't far since Evan wanted to sit on the front row - for a demonstration.  

After the program we headed out the East entrance to the park towards Cody, looking for wildlife.  We did see several young mountain goats on the side of the road outside of the park.  We did not see a wolf or a Moose, so I guess he will have to come back :)

We stopped at a Walmart in Cody to stock up on food and a then headed to the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum of Natural History.  They have really improved this since Phillip and I first went in 2002.  Lots of hands on activities which Evan seemed to really enjoy.  They have one section with animals (Evan's Favorite), a dinosaur section, and a Bill Cody/Cowboy section. 

About 3:30 we got back on the road towards Sheridan, WY.  We have not driven on this road before and it was beautiful, but very slow going.  We drove through the Big Horn National forest/canyon following the Big Horn River.  Lots of very steep roads and beautiful views.  We arrived at the KOA in Buffalo, WY about 8 and Evan headed directly to the playground.  He LOVES KOAs! He is very excited about the KOA "Resort" that we have reservations for tomorrow night...heated pool, hot tub, bounce house, rock climbing wall and more. He bought a movie at Wal Mart, Open Season 4 (this week we have watched 1, 2, and 3).  So he is looking forward to movie time tonight.

Another great day!

I went out for a walk this morning and was greeted with this beautiful sight!  It's going to be another great day!

Evan spotted this guy near the camper:

We headed over to Chico Hot Springs for a dip first, then had lunch at the restaurant next to the pool. 

Next we headed back to Mammoth so Evan can be sworn in as a junior ranger, entering the park through the Northwest entrance. 

The Northwest entrance "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People."

We headed toward Cooke city to Lamar valley and we saw three owlets that a nice group of people from Montana showed us.  People are so nice and seem to enjoy showing kids what they have spotted.  They had a really powerful telescope pointed to the birds and were nice enough to lower the scope so that Evan could look in.  After that we saw another couple with a big telescope so we stopped.  They were focused on some bison, but turned it around and focused on some Elk so that Evan could take a look.   We saw some elk right next to the road and got some pics.

Bear sighting shortly before making the turnoff to Lamar Valley. Momma bear and two cubs!

We turned around before getting into the mountains after Lamar Valley to head back towards Fishing Bridge Campground where we will stay the night.  Not long after turning at Norris, we saw a group of people with cameras and binoculars...a good sign that wildlife is around :). We did not have a place to pull over the motorhome, so we drove down the road a bit  and found a pull out.  Evan and I jumped out and headed up a big hill to check it out.  It was at least half a mile uphill!  We were rewarded with another Momma bear and her two cubs!  We got pictures of this one too.  

Still on the road to the campground we stopped at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and hiked down to the lower falls right at the brink of the falls.  It was beautiful!!!  However, Evan was a little fussy about the long hike :). I must admit, the hike back up was tough.

We also saw Bison at several points along the road, including a Bison traffic jam.

At the turn at Canyon Village we saw another group of people (which usually means a wildlife sighting).  This time it was a male bear and he was huge.  I was really surprised by how much bigger he was than the female.  This brings our count up to 8 bears today....one that Evan and I saw, but did not get picture evidence...then the first mother and 2 cubs, the second mother and two cubs and then the male...pretty good for one day.

This has been a really long day.  Although Evan was tired and ready to get to the campground, we stopped at the Dragon's breath thermal feature before going to the campground.  

We arrived at the campground around 7:30, stopped at the grocery store, set up camp, cooked dinner, and watched Wild Hogs for our nightly entertainment.

It has rained this afternoon.  Snow in the higher elevations, light rain lower elevations.  By the time we got to the campground it was raining pretty hard.  It has been much wetter this trip than trips later in the summer.  However, we have not let it slow us down.