Today we drove from Yellowstone to Elko, Nevada. We drove through Idaho and found a Bosnian café to eat lunch, where my parents sang Bosnian and Macedonian songs and the people working there joined in! They loved it and were so happy and grateful to share some of their culture. It was an amazing, unexpected experience. I can always count on my family to bring their music wherever we go.
This park is stunning! Stunning, I tell you! Highlights for me were amazing views of rivers and lakes, mountains, waterfalls, steaming and spurting pools and geysers all over the place, and the great variety of flora and fauna. I love the park’s policy of forbidding visitors to pick the wildflowers. I also appreciated the sustainable, earth-friendly policies of the parks, lodges, and local businesses. We even had a divided garbage receptacle in our lodge room, separating recyclables from compostables from landfill things.
Being this close to nature reminds us how fragile the ecology is. Signs posted near some of the sulphurous mud volcanoes told how they used to spurt out high streams like Old Faithful, but because of recent earthquakes, they only burble and boil. When we were in the Badlands of South Dakota, we were told that they didn’t exist 500,000 years ago and probably won’t exist in another 500,000–they are eroded at the rate of about one inch every year. In Yellowstone, we saw majestic forests of different sorts of pine trees, then whole fields that had been burnt, as well as combinations thereof, where new growth was regenerating among old and burnt trees.
We entered Yellowstone from Montana – the northeast entry. The mountains were gorgeous with snow beside the road at Beartooth pass at just under 11,000 feet. We were delayed by a herd of bison lazily crossing – got to see them up close. We stayed two nights in a beautiful lodge in Canyon Villlage at about 8,000 feet. Everyone is healthy and very impressed by the geology, wildlife, and wildness here. No cell or wifi service in much of the park, roads are narrow without guardrails, max speed limit 45.
Yestrday we explored the southern loop (rivers, lakes, geyser fields, mud pots, paint pots, wildflowers, and views of the Tetons and the Apsarora mountains. In Yellowstone we’ve seen bison, deer, elk chipmunks, some interesting birds, but no bears so far. Previously we saw prairie dogs, bighorn sheep, and longhorn cattle. The weather here has cooperated with just a few showers and beautiful cool temps. Saw Old Faithful erupt at 7:08 pm as predicted, in the rain along with a small crowd of 200 or so, then went on to view sunset just before 9pm at Norris geyser field. Great day!!!
This morning we depart West via Idaho a stopover in Elko. NV, on the way to Portola, CA. Today’s drive is 450 miles or well over 8 hours.
If we don’t post Yellowstone pix right away we beg your understanding – we’re focused on great days packed with sightseeing plus no wifi and limited cell phone service.
[wpvideo H0L2Qufq]
-Dalia
Mount Rushmore
Devils Tower
Badlands
Sunset at the Rodeo in Interior, South Dakota
Rock Shop in Hill City, SD
Crazy Horse
Yesterday was action-packed! We left the beautiful Badlands of South Dakota and visited Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Devils Tower. All three monuments were so spectacular, I have never seen such big amazing sculptures and rock formations. After a walk at Devils Tower we stopped at the Arbuckle Lodge in Gillette, Wyoming. Our next stop is two exciting days in Yellowstone! I’m really looking forward to seeing the geysers like Old Faithful!
-Dalia
Enjoying a very peaceful, hot (right around 100F) and relatively flat and green trip through South Dakota on our way to camping in the Badlands tonight.
Noel says that the Badlands are supposed to look like Mars. We’ll see. 🙂
Meanwhile, in a move completely out of character for this risk-averse mom, we bought some fireworks as soon as we crossed into SD. We were assisted by some personable young women who seemed very excited about helping some firework-virgins from NY. You know, for Sophie’s 18th birthday and all. We don’t even know if we will be allowed set them off in the park. Hopefully we will come out unscathed from this whole experience.
Cool, just changed time zones again…
We have arrived in the Badlands, which remind me more of the Sinai than Mars, actually–this place is crazy beautiful. We are going to see fireworks in a nearby town soon.
Update: so not only did we see fireworks [and haven’t yet used our own], but we attended our first-ever rodeo, for the complete South Dakota experience. We were also lucky enough to witness a spectacular sunset over the Badlands, and then watched the fireworks with the rest of Interior, SD, pop. 390. People seem very nice and friendly here. (Not very diverse, but you can’t have everything. 😁). One young rider even let Sophie hop onto her horse for a ride!
Anyway, the temp had decreased from max of about 100F during the day to a very comfortable 76F or so in the evening, perfect for rodeo watching, fireworks, and for sleeping in tents. I think this was a pretty fantastic way to celebrate Sophie’s 18th birthday. She’s not a fan of camping, but it all turned out okay.
Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse were amazing. We walked around both centers, saw a film at Rushmore, and at Crazy Horse watched a demo of Lakota hoop dance which I participated in. (I know, surprise!). Finally, we drove to Wyoming to hike at Devil’s Tower, and we are staying in Wyoming tonight. What a day!!!
Yesterday we crossed the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, crossed Iowa, gained an hour into CDT, and arrived in Omaha NE. Saw lots of corn and wind turbines.
Last night Our dear friends Keith, Pat and my Colorado ski buddies “the bagel boys” (and spouses) feted us and helped celebrate Sophie’ 18th birthday in grand style. There was great food at Biaggi’s followed by a party at Tom and Sue’s beautiful home, complete with epic sing-along with piano, guitars and ukes. I’ll add pix to this post as soon as time permits. Suffice it to say that the 4 of us had a grand time. I think the girls want to join our next ski trip. Thanks so much Keith et al!!!
Happy Birthday Sophie!!!
Hi, everyone! Relaxing by the pool and finally starting to feel like myself again after an absolutely gorgeous and wonderfully exhausting Csipke Tabor, a little annual nirvana of Hungarian friends, folk music, and folk dance near Brooklyn, Michigan. I’m starting to get caught up on sleep and energy after having stayed up until 2-4am most nights for a week, and dancing and singing all day to boot. Even my aching knees are almost back to normal.
The pics below are in reverse order–I’ll fix everything later from a larger screen and with an internet connection
Chicago was great, as Noel reported. Very fun city just to walk around in. The architecture is amazing: such a contrast between the old buildings and the new architecture, beautiful parks, flowers, and monuments, great food, and crazy drivers and pedestrians. (Yes, crazier than the ones in NYC. And New York pizza is still the best.) We walked down to the beach at Lake Michigan, right in the city, which was completely weird for us. It feels just like an ocean, with sand, birds, etc., but of course, without the stickiness of salt water. Sophie especially was blown away by the fresh water.
We stayed at the beautiful James Hotel in the middle of the city, which was quite a treat after being at camp all week.
Another highlight of our visit was the amazing and incomparable Art Institute of Chicago. I have a minor in Art History, and it was amazing seeing so many original works of art that I had studied about over 30 yrs ago.
Now we are staying in an absolutely sweet place (Stoney Creek Hotel) in Moline, and we plan to leave soon across Iowa, heading to Omaha for dining, making music, and hanging with friends tonight. I hope there will be fireworks somewhere to start celebrating Sophie’s 18th bday (7/4). After that, we head for the Badlands in SD!