Theodore Roosevelt National Park Day 1 & 2

As usual we slept great and it was awesome having a bathroom close by for a midnight run. :) If you ever wondered what time cows get up I can tell you that at our campsite it is 5:20 am! Anyway we ended up sleeping on and off until about 7 which is super late for us. Today we are going to try to drive to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. It would be about 7.5 hours to get there and we hoped to get a campsite but knew we would not get there til around 5. Anyway most of the drive was 80 MPH and not too busy so we were making good time. We wanted to stop at a Wal-mart on the way but every time we saw one we had already passed it. Because we are in the middle of nowhere we have no Data so we cannot lookup anything. Lyn text my daughter Chelsea and she found out that Miles City was our next stop that we could find a Wal-mart at. How appropriate. We stopped at walmart and did a quick grocery and ice run. Tomorrow was Lyn's Birthday and we would not be by a store where we were camping so I got a few birthday items as well. Lyn requested that I make her french toast for breakfast and fried chicken for dinner so i bought the appropriate supplies. After driving another two hours we arrived at the gate at about 5:15. The ranger said the campground was full and that we could camp in the town of Medora and try in the morning for a site. I asked if we could just look at the campground and of course he said sure. The campground was about 5 miles into the park which would mean a 10 mile round trip if we were unsuccessful. We did have great scenery all the way there and even passed a large prairie dog town. Finally we arrived at the campground at about 5:40 and the sign said full. Dang it! Anyway I decided to talk to the camp host just for fun. He said if we could wait until 6:30 he may have a site available. He had one handicap site left and he had to leave it open until 6:30 before he could rent it out just in case a disabled person showed up. We were excited to take a chance and went to a beautiful picnic area to wait. We were in a super shady spot sitting at a picnic table when a three foot snake crawled slowly across the path. It did not have a rattle so we were thankful for that but it was unnerving to say the least. Anyway at 6:30 we went back and as luck would have it we got the site. He said we could only have it one night but we could easily get another site in the morning when people started leaving. No problem Mr. camp host guy….we will take it! We drove to the site and it was huge with its own water and trash can. It happened to be right next to the site that we stayed at 3 years ago. We set up camp and Lyn fixed dinner. Cheeseburgers baked beans and salad. Yum yum! Even Jasper had a small hamburger. While we were cleaning up our next door neighbor came over and introduced himself. He looked like a skinny Santa Claus with a big white beard and flowing white hair. He had noticed our NC sign. (Thanks Rheagan!) As it turns out he and his wife were from Raleigh NC and had started living in an RV full time about 3 years ago with Raleigh as their home base. He called his wife over to meet us and we found out that he was 86 and was retired but did mission work in Haiti. His wife was a retired school teacher and also did mission work in Haiti. They met online and on this day were celebrating their 6th wedding anniversary! How cool! While we were talking to them a big suburban drove buy and yelled out “Hey NC you made it! You remember us from San Francisco?!?! They were our next door neighbors at the campground way back when we camped back at the KOA north of San Francisco. It was two moms and 4 kids doing the same thing we were doing just a different route. I love it out here can you tell! Anyway after that we went to the Ranger show at the amphitheatre and learned all about how the National Parks got started and their history to date. Very interesting. We are very lucky that people had the foresight to save these lands for future generations. After the show we hit the bed about 10. It was a little warm but by 11 it had cooled off just right. Tomorrow we plan to snag a new site and then tour the park and the town of Medora!

Day 2

We woke up at 5 AM and it was already light outside. We laid around and decided to get up at 6. Today was Lyn’s Birthday. As you probably know by now this woman means the world to me and I wanted this day to be special. While she slept in a little longer I went out and got a few presents for her from the car and wrapped them up with supplies I got from Walmart. I had managed to hide them from her the entire trip which was not exactly easy to do in a Prius that you have lived in for 4 weeks. Anyway I set up the presents in a festive manner complete with a birthday balloon and started to fix breakfast. Today's menu would be coffee, french toast and sausage. I had our part of the campground smelling great in a matter of minutes! Lyn got up just in time to eat breakfast and see her presents. I told her she could wait til dinner to open the presents but she would have none of that. She opened them right after breakfast. Ha Ha! Just about that time we heard a loud sound from the campsite across from us. A family of Bison was wandering right through their camp site. It was awesome to see these creatures close up. After breakfast we walked the entire campsite to see if any sites had opened up. We ran across a site that had shade but also had great views looking over the park. It was also site number 72 which is Lyn’s birth year! We quickly filed out the paperwork and put our $14 dollars in the box. We went back to our campsite and broke camp and moved to the new site in about 30 minutes. After that we headed to the Visitor center so Lyn could get her Park Passport stamped. Then we headed to Medora which is literally right outside the gate. The ranger said they had WiFi in the town and we wanted to walk around the town as well. We were there in about 3 minutes. We found a bench in the shade and caught up on the Internet. I walked around town while Lyn replied to birthday messages. This town is very small and unique and I enjoyed just walking around. Jasper enjoyed all of the attention. By now it was noon and we found a place to have lunch that Jasper could join us. After lunch the clouds rolled in and it looked like rain so we headed back to camp to close the windows on the camper. As we drove back the storm got worse and the temperature dropped from 90 to 70 degrees. It was raining lightly when we arrived so we zipped the windows up about half way and took advantage of the 70 degree temperature and took a nap. I think all three of us needed the downtime and we slept a full two hours before any one of us moved. After our nap we did the 38 mile park loop which takes several hours because of the speed and the fact that you stop every now and then just to take it all in. We saw wild horses, bison and Lyn’s favorite prairie dogs! By the time we got home it was time to start dinner. I cooked baked beans and fried chicken and Lyn made slaw. It was delicious and we even had blueberry pie for dessert. After that we just sat in our chairs and looked out over the park. We could see a lone bison on a hilltop in the distance. While we were relaxing a ranger came by and reminded us about the program at 9 in the amphitheater. It was going to be about bison. Alright count us in. We were camped just two sites from the amphitheater and we went about 9 to see the show. It was very informative and we really enjoyed it. Finally we went to bed around 10:30. Tomorrow we have no destination in mind. we just plan to drive about 7 hours and see what happens. We have officially been on the road for 4 weeks and a day. Greensboro is starting to have a pull on us. We are about 29 hrs away and heading in that direction every day. Still enjoying the trip but looking forward to being home as well.

Leaving the Livingston KOA

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Birthday Shenanigans

Our camper in our 2nd campsite!

Wild horses!

Prairie Dog!

Birthday Shenanigans

Birthday breakfast!

Birthday Lunch

Medora

Medora

Birthday dinner!

Ranger talk first night!

Ranger talk night 2!

Wow! Another great night of sleep! It got chilly but not cold. We decided we would go ahead and pack up and drive the loop in the Craters of the Moon park and then set our sights on West Yellowstone city. The closed camper in the cooler make a great table and chairs and so we decided to have breakfast out on the loop. The first scenic view looked perfect and I fixed breakfast while Lyn took pictures. Today's breakfast was unconventional but delicious all the same. PB&J and chips for me and Lyn had Vienna sausages and left over corn on the cob. It was delicious and the view could not be beat. After that we continued the drive and just admired everything about this unusual place. After about 45 minutes we were on our way with a big day of driving ahead of us. Most of the driving was easy on small highways without anyone around. We arrived at West Yellowstone city at around 2. It is pretty cool looking but super touristy and lots of people moving about. We thought about camping there but decided to go into the park and try our luck. Right when we passed all the gates we saw a sign showing each campground and the fact that they were full. Now Yellowstone is a huge place and some of these campgrounds where over 60 miles away. We decided to drive the North loop which would takes us past three campgrounds and out the North gate. (One of my favorites by the way.) We came to the first campground and it was full as expected then the second which was full. Then we saw a spot that looked over Nymph lake. It was beautiful and was complete with bubbling pools of water and the blue and gold colors that seem only to be found at Yellowstone since it was not a picnic area it was not crowded and since we are pulling our own picnic table we decided to have lunch there. We had pork chop sandwichs and chips. Leftovers are always good but with this view and the company I keep it was the perfect place to take a break and get rejuvenated. We only had one campsite to try in the park and if we had no luck we were going to head north and exit the park and find something there. There was lots of construction with one way roads so traveling was slow but hey we were in Yellowstone not a bad place to take your time going through. We made it to the last campground and it was full. Since we had been here twice before we headed north through the Roosevelt gate. and decided to stay at a KOA about 45 miles north of the park. This would put us closer to our next destination which is Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. We were really hoping that they had a space and we tried to call but could never get an answer. Finally we made it and after going down a 1 mile road we turned into this beautiful little KOA. I went inside and asked the lady behind the counter if they had a site and she said they did. What a relief! She also noticed my North Carolina plates and said her Granddaughter was here for two weeks from Mayodan NC and that she was going to Rockingham community college that was an actual program at her high school. I said that I knew that program well since I worked at a High School that had the same program. Small world again. :) Anyway we drove to our site and it was perfect and had electricity! We also had the bathrooms near by with cows for next door neighbors. This place is just what we needed. It had been raining for the last 30 minutes so we set the camper up fast and in about 20 minutes the sun came out and Lyn fixed chicken menudo for dinner and it was awesome as usual. Then we sat around and got caught up on the blog and other internet things. While we were hanging out the campground owner brought her granddaughter down to meet me and we had a fun talk about her plans for the future and how her high school program is giving her the chance to get a two year degree with no debt. Awesome! You are doing it right! After that we took much needed showers and then did laundry. The laundry room was crazy. It had pinball machines and electronic games from the 70's and a big screen TV. We called it a night about ten and the nights temperatures were supposed to get down to about 50. We covered Jasper and went to sleep. To morrow we head to North Dakota! Still looking forward to each day!

Craters of the Moon

Breakfast at Craters of the Moon

Montana

Lunch in Yellowstone

Along the way

Yellowstone

Yellowstone

Yellowstone

Roosevelt Entrance

Along the way

Along the way

KOA home for the Night

Dinner Time

Retro Laundry Room

Craters of the Moon

So we woke up from our hotel totally refreshed and ready to go. We ate a complementary breakfast and were on our way by 8:00 AM. We were headed to Craters of the moon. We had never heard of this but saw it on a map as we looked for a place to stay on the way to Yellowstone! I did some quick research the night before and decided it was way worthy of at least a one night stop. It was about 7.5 hours away and you could not reserve a site, you just had to show up and try to snag one. We would not be getting there until 4 so we had no idea if we could pull it off. The campground had just been redone and had about 42 sites total. We drove through some beautiful country and Lyn actually made lunch while we are driving down the highway. We always take our time on these trips but this time we really wanted a site so we pushed through to increase our chances. After a few pit stops we arrived the Craters of the Moon sign and with no one around to take our picture. We did the best we could but could not get a group shot. After about 10 more minutes we pulled into the campground and the ranger said they had sites still available. They told us to go in pick a site leave something at the site to claim it and then come back down and pay. We drove in and there were many sites available! We were totally excited because the next campground was 20 more miles down the road. The sites were very unique. They were close together yet do to the big volcanic rocks you had privacy as well. There were so many to choose from and they were so unique that it was actually hard to choose. We ended up with a big site and we set up camp. This has to be one of our favorite campgrounds so far. It is virtually new since it has been redone and has a very laid back vibe. After we set up we went to the visitor center and learned that there would be a show at the amphitheater at 9:30. When we arrived it was about 88 but was already in the high 70's by dinner time. In other words perfect. When we set up camp we put all of ours signs up and the camp host said that it looked like we planned to stay awhile. The host was a husband and wife who had been living in their RV for 4 years and had hosted at many of the campgrounds. They loved it and said that this one was one of the best. They got to camp for free in exchange for hosting. Anyway we decided to just chill out and enjoy the evening and drive the scenic loop the next morning. The night got cooler and finally about 9:30 it was time to go to the amphitheater and see the show. Earlier the ranger told us that the show was going to be on Pika's! I said great without even knowing what she was talking about. Anyway when we got there a couple was in front of us and the lady turned around and asked Lyn if she was a Filipina. She said that she had seen our "Mabuhay" flag when we were out. Of course Lyn said yes and they invited us back to their site after the show for wine. The show was very interesting and the Pika turned out to be a cute animal that lived in and around the rocks that was in the rabbit family. We learned all kind of facts about this animal and everyone agreed that they were super cute. The ranger said they had one peculiar thing. There eating habits. As it turns out to get the nutrients out of their food they have to eat there food twice. Wait what?!?!? Please explain Ms. ranger lady. So she did. She said that the Pika ate its own poop and that's how it was able to get the nutrients from the food. While we were taking this in as a group some guy in the audience asked how did they know it was there own poop and not some other Pika's poop. The ranger said oh that would never happen because they ate their own poop right as it was coming out. Well there was an audible gasp from the audience and me and another guy just bust out laughing. Well any way after that question people started leaving the show. The Pika's went from being cute and adorable to disgusting in about 5 minutes. Ha Ha! Anyway you look at it the Pika's have been dealt a tough hand. After the show we went back to Charlene and Charlies site and joined them for a glass of wine. It turns out they are both from Canada and were enjoying a vacation here and seeing National Parks as well. Charlene had worked in Hong Kong before coming to Canada. We stayed for about an hour and about 11:30 we called it a night. On our walk back top our site we noticed how bright all of the stars where. There are almost no lights in the campground and no cities nearby so it was really something to see.  Finally we fell asleep in the cool night air looking forward to the next day. Tomorrow we head to the West entrance of Yellowstone and hope to get a camp site in the park.

Along the way!

Woke Jasper up from his nap for this picture.

Along the way!

Along the way!

Along the way!

Along the way!

Along the way!

Craters of the moon!

Craters of the moon Campsite!

Craters of the moon!

Craters of the moon!

Dinner time!

All set up!

Ranger show on Pika's

Pika!

Back to Crater Lake and Beyond.

So last night was the first night that I could not sleep. Not sure why but I found myself awake from about 2 AM on. Anyway I used the time to get caught up on the blog which is very easy to get behind on. The night was cool but all night long we could here elk making noises all off in the distance. It was crazy and pretty consistent. Anyway I did fall back asleep around 5 until about 6:30. The plan today was to head back to Crater Lake and do the East rim drive and head back out the north side that we came in. This whole west coast thing has been awesome but it has taken much longer than anticipated. Our original plan was to head up to Seattle and then across to Glacier National Park. We had both been there before but wanted to see it again however we are already at 3.5 weeks and felt we needed to be heading east to try to stay on track. Our original plan was for a 5 or 6 week trip and if we were to stay in that time frame something had to go. We decided to head to Yellowstone and stay on the North end if possible. Anyway once we got going we were at the visitor center in about 30 minutes. It was very quaint and after taking turns going in we headed out for the east rim drive. We had seen the crater already and knew what to expect however each view has its own unique angle and charm. Every time we were just stunned. We got picture after picture and even a few with Jasper. At one stop we went one mile up a hill to get a view and found out we were on the highest road in all of Oregon. There was also a group of Native Americans having a ceremony complete with drums. After taking it all in we headed out of the park and put the West entrance of Yellowstone in our GPS. It said 18.5 hours! Wow you know you are far from home when you have to drive 2 or 3 days towards your home just to be very far from home. Anyway by this time it was already 1 PM and we decided to head out on Highway 20 which was the most direct route but would have us crossing the badlands and dessert area of Oregon with not many places to stop for about 6 hours. We went for it and really enjoyed the unique views. Finally we ended up in a town called Hines and even though the temperatures were pleasant there was no campground to be found so we got a hotel room at Americans Best Value Inn. Not fancy but it would do. Plus it worked with our credit card points and would be free. Just the kind of price we needed to stay on budget. When I was checking in the manager was a super nice lady from India with a bit of an accent and of course there was me with a bit of a southern accent so we both ended up repeating ourselves quite a bit. When I filled out the car information she noticed I was from NC. She asked me what city and of course I said Greensboro. She said that she actually lived in Greensboro when she first moved here from India. She asked me if I had ever heard of Adams Farm. (Her sister still lives in the Adams Farm neighborhood.) Wow here we are literally in the middle of nowhere and we find someone from home via India. Somehow after this conversation I got a 10% discount on my room ha ha. Thank you former Greensboro neighbor! We got settled in and the restaurant choices were not very good so I went to Safeway and bought a few frozen dinners and we heated them up in the microwave. (Something we have not used in over 3 weeks.) We hit the bed about 10 and are excited about our new direction. Not sure how far we will get tomorrow but at least we will be heading east.

Beautiful Crater Lake

Just the three of us!

I think Jasper is now posing when a camera gets pointed at him.

On top of a huge pile of snow.

Crossing the dessert.

Crossing the dessert.

Crossing the dessert.

Crossing the dessert.