Cody, Wyoming

Welcome to the rodeo capital of the world!

Next we were off east to Cody, Wyoming through the Shoshone National Forest over the Shoshone River. The location was neat in light of the three disk audiobook titled Naya Nuki by Kenneth Thomasma that we listened to about Sacagawea’s childhood friend and her escape from captors at age 11. We settled into the KOA in Cody for our need of internet and a clean-up and also enjoyed the laundry, pool, bounce pad, playground, and promise of a pancake breakfast.

Off to the rodeo!

Two clowns

Checking out the livestock!

Horses everywhere!

The big score though was that we got tickets for that evening for the Cody Rodeo and could hop the rodeo bus from the campground office!  Arriving in time to watch the mechanical bull and check out boot and hat sales, Addy got her face painted by a rodeo clown and we all went to admire the horses in the corrals around the arena. Cody is touted as the rodeo capital of the world and riders compete here and at other locations on the rodeo circuit for points which they accrue to gain ratings in their various skills. We learned a ton by watching bull riding, calf roping, barrel racing, jr. barrel racing (complete with a 5 year old girl riding), rodeo clowns, and a calf chase involving 40+ kids trying to pull ribbons off two calves’ tails for a prize.

Honest to goodness cowboys!

The great calf chase!

With lemonade and popcorn and a red sunset over the mountains and corralled horses, the warm evening was perfect. As we rode the packed old rodeo bus home at 10pm and headed towards sleep it was idyllic to see the stars twinkling overhead through the tent window and hear the horses whinnying in the KOA corrals behind our tent. We’ll all certainly remember Cody, Wyoming for a long time to come.

The sun sets on Cody!

Yellowstone IV

Jud and I awoke on our last Yellowstone day to an odd huffing sound, looked at each other silently and questioningly and peered out the back window of the tent to  find ourselves three feet from a bison as it munched and huffed its way through a breakfast of campground grass. So much for staying 100 feet away from wildlife!

Our escort!

Not long after; a small herd of bison with calves ushered us out of the Norris area by walking alongside the car. Driving east we checked out Artists’ Point along the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and took in the expansive views of the falls in sparkling sunshine. The place was swarming with tour busses and though it was beautiful, it was crowded, so off we went along the Yellowstone River to check out the Mud Volcano and other nearby features which were interesting but not nearly as cool as the spots we’d already seen.

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Out through the Fishing Bridge area and over the high ridges at 8000+ feet, the terrain seemed so different and so engaging. It seemed there must be hundreds of wild animals roaming free just beyond where we could see them.  We did manage to see one grizzly bear sow with three cubs up a hillside in the sagebrush and bison everywhere with calves.  The views went on forever with crystal streams and here and there some visitors just starting their Yellowstone adventures and popping out of cars to get photos of wildlife. It’s hard to get bad photos in this park, but it must be amazing to be a trained photographer and have this kind of material to work with!

So long Yellowstone!

Yellowstone III

“Wildlife”

Travertine Terraces

When we explored the northern area of Mammoth Hot Springs on Day 3 we saw the most elk so far, as they lounged on ranger housing lawns, office building green spaces and within a few feet of traffic and pedestrians. The travertine terraces glistened in the bright heat of the day, a four foot bull snake slithered down the hillside to squeals of delight from Addy, and we all cooled off with an ice cream after an internet work session on the porch at park headquarters.  Isa and Addy earned yet another Jr. Ranger badge and did their oath with an effusive ranger from New Orleans.

“Raise your right hand and repeat after me!”

Teddy must have stood just about here…

…or maybe here?

For the sake of bagging another state we drove a couple miles from the park headquarters and into Gardiner, Montana.  With a gorgeous blue sky and the Gallatin Mountain Range as a backdrop with peaks at 10,000+ feet, I was sure we were driving in a travel brochure. We posed at Roosevelt Arch, standing where our dear president Teddy once stood, and contemplated the value and wonder of our national park system on this, its 100th year, then headed back toward camp to cook supper and do some schoolwork before bed.  And like usual, things never are quite as streamlined as planned, because on the drive back, we saw lots of cars pulled over so took a chance and joined them and managed to see a black bear with two cubs up a tree. They were way in the distance and hard to point out, but eventually we all got a good look and then continued back to camp.

Communing with nature and a glass of wine!

That evening two bison roamed into camp after supper and while chatting with other observers we heard there was a moose just down the road. Being from Maine, a state known for moose, Jud and I have seen plenty, but the girls never have, so we quickly finished cleaning up dinner things and drove around the corner for a lovely evening moose watch. Back at camp, the bison were thankfully a few tents away so we reminisced about our action-packed day, reviewed our next day plans, sang a few songs and went to sleep.

Look a moose!

The reality of nature!

Yellowstone II

Old Faithful

Another geyser over here!

Our time in Yellowstone continued to offer up grandeur and excitement while we explored Old Faithful (seeing it erupt four times over the course of the day), saw a white coyote amble across the open land and boardwalks, braved the crowds to view the rainbow colored splendor of the Grand Prismatic Spring, and hid out at the Jr. Ranger building during a thunderstorm doing cool nature activities.

Grand Prismatic Spring

Excelsior Geyser

This one goes here…

TaDa!

Yellowstone!

What a great park!

There’s just a small space of land named the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway which fills the gap between Tetons National Park ending and Yellowstone National Park beginning. It’s a great example of a wildlife corridor created to join what would otherwise be isolated patches of preserved land.  So leaving the Tetons we were just rolling from one park to the next, and though we were sad to see the high mountains slip into the distance, the wildlife allure of Yellowstone with its geysers, paint pots and fumaroles pulled us in.

Incredible scenery!

I’d prepped the kids for not seeing many of the big animals, just in case they weren’t as plentiful as the media pumps things up to be. And I’d remembered a lot of wildlife when I was 6, but we all know how time changes one’s memories.  So that said, it was like magic, that we drove towards Norris Campground, our chosen campground (based on 40 minutes of cross referencing magazines, maps and guides), and encountered a bison standing next to the entry road, not more than 4 feet from the car. Yikes, they’re big!  

Norris Campground welcoming committee

We decided to stay in Yellowstone three nights – a big splurge for us, and we’re glad we did.  After setting up camp and having lunch we determined to explore the nearby area for the remainder of the day and the Norris area with the hottest geysers does not disappoint.  There were great boardwalk trails where we could see paint pots, hot springs, steam vents, bubbling mud pots (my favorite) and the hoof prints of elks and bison in the silica infused surface next to and beyond the boardwalks. Much of Yellowstone is in the caldera of an ancient volcano, so things are constantly steaming, spouting, bubbling, splashing everywhere.  We could even see steam clouds rising in the distance over the trees while we were at our campsite.  

Look mom! A geyser!

Grand Teton National Park

What a view!

Small is beautiful too!

Moving further east, we drove through the town of Arco and not far from Atomic City, and towards the grandeur of Wyoming and the Grand Tetons.  I wish we’d taken time to stop in Jackson, Wyoming, but we’d noticed that lately the girls were less interested in random stops and more destination oriented.  Besides, we needed to find a campsite for the night. As we drove through and past the throngs of visitors and the numerous antler arches on the square, I snapped a photo for fun and we plowed on through. In the Tetons National Park it was hard to tell which campgrounds were run by the National Park and which were run by the concessionaire, but as it turned out we were in Signal Mountain Lodge Campground which was run by the concessionaire for the park. It was fine, but expensive and packed with people and pets.  Just outside of the campground though, the views were fantastic.  The snowcapped Teton Range off in the distance with Jackson Lake in the foreground were a great backdrop for exploring butterflies, looking for bears, and sighting elk way off in the distance.  One remarkable thing about the Tetons was the flocking behavior of photographers with huge lenses and tripods.  There were often congested roadways and traffic jams where we too were lured to stop and try to see whatever “it” was, only to find out a bear had walked through hours before and folks were still waiting for it to come back.  When I found myself rooting for the wildlife, it seemed a good time to go back to camp for the night.

There was a bear here…hours ago!

Craters of the Moon

Awakening to another gorgeous day, but one that promised to be hot, we drove east into Idaho, and as is our tradition, we looked up Idaho state facts and looked on Youtube for a rendition of the Idaho State Song.  The one we found (“Jedediah and Hank sing the Idaho State Song) was by far the best state song entertainment so far! We mimicked them as they mimicked others and we drove happily along in almost no Memorial Day traffic. In fact, at the highway rest area there was an Odd Fellows and Rebekahs group giving out free coffee and cookies!  We put a donation in their cup and had a great time chatting about where we’d been and where we are going and what suggestions they had for us.  Free snacks and great people…such fun!  And on we drove towards the Moon via Route 20!  

Camping at Craters

 

 

Exploring

 

A trail of cinders

Snow lingering on the mountains

Demo on plate tectonics

Wildflowers

I was last at Craters of the Moon when I was 6 years old, and so I didn’t remember much.  I will say this, it’s gorgeous!!! The wildflowers were in bloom and the stark beauty of the delicate and brightly colored blooms against the black cinders, the late snow high in the mountains, the warm breezes and bird songs made me want to just stop the trip right here and move in.  Maybe it was something about the solar capabilities of being surrounded by so much black surface area and knowing I’d be warm that made it seem so cozy. And maybe it helped that we could see for so far as the trees were mostly low and scrubby, and that the campground was pretty quiet and there weren’t many folks in the park.  Anyway, Craters was delightful and we stayed for two nights. At the visitor center we learned about how astronauts have come here for training, how the area formed and was last active only 2000 years ago, and we took on the trails seeing cinder cones, spatter cones, and completing the Jr. Ranger program (all four of us). We got a permit for cave exploration too and went through an 800 meter cave. The whole area is technically dormant, but who knows when the fun might start up again! Camping on the moon was the best!

Lava tubes!

It is getting tight in here!

 

Oregon Trail

Scenic rest stop in Oregon

Now that’s a big wagon!

Our next educational Oregon stop was Baker City where the girls got out their need to stretch and climb at the city playground. Even at the playground there were educational signs about the Oregon Trail as this was a major stop on the trail and the location of the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. We hit it right and arrived in time for an afternoon of hands-on activities including making hand-dipped candles and constructing rag dolls from strips of sheets. Addy also took advantage of the dress-up area, packing a wagon for the trail, and playing the Oregon Trail game.  I really enjoyed how interactive the exhibits were and the wagon encampment out on the ridge overlooking the rolling hills was incredibly scenic.

Addy gets into the western spirit

Loading the wagon

Something else could go here!

Another great hands on activity!

Before driving on to camp we checked out the actual ruts of the Oregon Trail where we stood in the ruts and imagined what it must have been like to travel in a bumpy covered wagon for months over this terrain and worse. It was a perfect cap on the day to find a site at Farewell Bend State Park. Farewell Bend is where travelers on the Oregon Trail said farewell to the Snake River that they had been traveling along for many weeks and where they would start overland and not have such dependable water.  This was our last stop in Oregon, so farewell to a great state and on to another!  

Wagon encampment

Ruts on the Oregon Trail

Farewell Bend Campground

Mystery Day!

Touring the alpaca farm

Addy the alpaca whisperer!

Barbara Pieper explains how rugs are made

This is soft!

Our last full day in Sisters was dubbed “Mystery Day” mostly so the girls couldn’t worry about any of the logistics ahead of time.  Chris went above and beyond cousin duty and scheduled us a morning at an alpaca ranch, and afternoon riding lessons for the girls.  A day of learning about ranches and horses made us feel like we were really immersed in a major part of the culture and economics of the area.

The alpacas were like walking stuffed animals, and they let us feed them and stand quite close.  Addy particularly had a gift with them, patiently standing with food, such that even more skittish animals approached her.  We learned all about farming alpacas and processing wool, right through to making rugs.  Thank you to Barbara Pieper for the fantastic tour!

 

Isa and Fiesta

Addy and Snickers

Riding around obstacles

Barrels of fun!

After a 20 minute speed lunch it was off to the horse ranch for riding lessons where Isa saddled up Fiesta and Addy held Snicker’s reigns like a professional.  After leading the horses outside, the girls were helped into the saddle and rode into the indoor arena to learn commands.  Once they knew how to control their horses they followed their instructor out on the grounds to go over a bridge, around a barrel, stop and start enough to get a stuffed animal out of a high mailbox and then put it back in another one, and enter the outdoor corral to learn how to control speed.  Soon they were off around the property for a trail ride.  It’s amazing what a one hour lesson can do. It was odd to have both girls off out of sight somewhere on the property while Jud and I chatted with Chris, and also liberating to see them conquer new things and get excited about the possibilities that exist.  At the end of the hour, both girls helped put equipment away, and professed the need to do lessons again someday soon.  Good job Chris, they’re hooked!

 

Warren and the girls!

Sending us off with CDs for the road, hugs and waves, we left Sisters to strike further east with stops at the Painted Hills (gorgeous views and fun to think this whole area was once a jungle where dinosaurs roamed) and then John Day Fossil Beds National Monument  Paleontology Center at the Sheep Rock Unit. It was amazing. The museum was full of dioramas of the different dinosaurs and plants that lived in this area in the past and we could even watch scientists in the lab working on fossils brought in from the field. We camped near a stream in Malheur National Forest, a campsite Jud really liked and we all had a great night of sleep after ball games and frisbee.

The Painted Hills

John Day Fossil Beds

Learning about fossils

Sisters II

Smith Rock State Park, Oregon

Another day based out of Sisters, Oregon, we took Isa and Addy to Smith Rock State Park to hike and do some bouldering. The hike was pretty extreme and slippery and the whole area was so majestic it begged us to stay and hike for days. I’m quite sure I’m going to see this park in my dreams after I get home.  We talked to some rock climbers there to get suggestions on good bouldering and really enjoyed the “flake” and trying out new holds as the girls attacked the surfaces with their climbing shoes. Jud and I were mostly coaches and spotters, and at times I wished for a pair of climbing shoes of my own, but it is amazing how far you can get in a good pair of Teva sandals!

Climbing on the flake!

Watching the climbing on the flake!

Oishi in Redmond, a wonderful Japanese restaurant squeezed us in just before closing for a yummy bento box lunch before we went to explore the newly redone one million dollar Sam Johnson Park for a couple hours of bouldering and ziplines. This playground is highly accessible and made for folks of all ages to play.  The evening family reunion dinner with folks I’ve never met or haven’t seen since middle school was a delight. It felt so good to be surrounded by a crew of fun people that I often hear about but rarely see.  We reminisced about my grandparents, visits to Southwest Harbor, Maine, and watched all the kids play in the yard.

Awesome playground!

Family get together