July 11, The Badlands Nat'l Park

Well folks, Today was our last park. We arrived at the Badlands around 12:00. We set out for the loop drive and saw a lot. It is very different, but beautiful. This park was completely formed by water. The pinnacles and towers are all made of dirt. It is eroding one inch a year. But it will still take 100,000 up to 500,000 years to completely erode. But it will definitely be flat someday. There are a lot of hills for kids to play on. Not our favorite park but we are glad we came. After our long drive, we went to famous Wall Drug. I thought it was interesting that a couple started this store in 1931 and for 5 years they struggled to keep it open. Then one day Mrs. Wall, or whatever her name is thought of advertising free ice water to drink. As people drove by, they stopped and soon there were thousands of people visiting this store. What a story!. Well, this is it. We have visited many beautiful parks and monuments and enjoyed every minute of it. We have an education that college could never teach us. We are so grateful to have had this beaufiful trip and are so happy you were all with us. We love you and will see you soon. George and Sylvia Kline.

July 10, Mt. Rushmore

Oh my gosh, what a sight Mt. Rushmore is! And how proud I feel to be an American! When we arrived there, we were led by this very well educated ranger on a trail and she told us all about the artist who sculpted this magnificent mountain and also a little history of each of the presidents. This memorial sure put S. Dakota on the map. A couple of interesting facts. The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum created a model of the four presidents on a 1 to 12 scale, meaning an inch on the model represented a foot on the cliff. A monumental task to dynamite all the rock and then drill the heads. So much work was involved. It took 400 workers to complete this project. Work was started in 1927 and completed in l941. So interesting. It surely is a great American icon.
After viewing the memorial, we bought a pass for Custer State Park. This is quite a park. We had lunch at a very nice lodge. Then we drove the 37 mile wildlife loop. Beautiful rolling hills and wildlife. We drove on needles road and viewed numerous pinnacles and spires. Lastly, we took a nice drive around Legion lake. This afternoon was lovely, quiet and serene. We feel so grateful to have all of these gifts. Love you

Mount Rushmore

July 9, Wind Cave Nat'l Park, South Dakota

Hi folks, I didn't mean we were on our way home. I meant that we made the turn East on 90 and we are going in that direction. We have a few more stops. Today we went to Wind Cave and took a tour of the cave. It was nice but not nearly as grand as Carlsbad. We saw a ton of Bison and Pronghorn. They are all over. An interesting story about the Bison. About 75 years ago they were all but wiped out of extinction. They soon became an endangered species and they have recovered about 50%. It takes a long time. They are giant, beautiful beasts. The scenery here is spectacular. Love you.

July 8, Devils Tower

Hi everyone, We stayed at Devils Tower Campground and we never expected what we saw. A rock so bold and towering above the earth is a phenomenon that is so interesting and fun. There are many Indian stories about this tower. It was a sacred place for the Kiowa Indians. There are many stories about this beautiful tower and we stayed busy reading them. Many people were climbing when we arrived there and we were mesmerized. The very first climb was done by William Rogers and Willard Ripley, using a wooden ladder. Approximately 5,000 climbers come here from all over the world. It is in a beautiful forest and we hiked around the base. A very fun and interesting day. Take care. Tomorrow Wind Cave Nat't Park

July 7, on our way home

Hi everyone, We made the turn East on 90, but not before going up a 10,000 ft. summit called Big Horn mountain. It took us 6 1/2 hours to go 200 miles. But beautiful scenery all the way. We are staying in a Wal Mart tonight and leaving early in the morning. Sweet dreams everyone. We love you and will see you soon.

July 6, Still at Yellowston

Hi everyone, Second day here and I know it won't be enough. We packed a lunch and set out around 8:00. We drove the whole upper loop from beginning to end. We saw so many things! Beautiful water falls, many geysers, lovely mountains, and my favorite mud volcano. Imagine a caldron of chocolate boiling and steaming in a pot about 10 ft. in diameter. Don't I have an imagination? I must be craving chocolate. It was awesome! Then we off-roaded a great dirt road leading up to a summit. That was fun. We got home around 4:00 exhausted, but happy. This is quite a park. No one could have prepared me for this amazing geologic wonder. Tomorrow we are on our way to Wind Cave Nat'l Park. See you then.

July 5, Yellowstone

Hi folks, We left the Tetons this morning and drove into Yellowstone. We missed our turn to Fishing Bridge campground and it took us 52 miles away from camp. But it turned out well because we got to see the lower loop of the park. We had planned on jeeping it, but we had to make do with our motor home. Yellowstone is a geologic smoking gun that illustrates how violent our earth can be. One event overshadows all others: Some 600,000 years ago, an area many miles square at what is now the center of the park suddenly exploded. In minutes the landscape was devastated. Fast-moving ash flows covered thousands of square miles. At the center only a smoldering caldera remained, a collapsed crater 45 by 30 miles. At least two other cataclysmic events preceded this one. Boiling hot springs, fumaroles, mud spots and geysers serve as reminders that another could occur. I never stopped thinking about that either. Such wild activity under the earth! Unbelievable! We visited Old Faithful and saw it erupt. What a sight! That was enough for one day. Tomorrow the upper loop. Love

Yellowstone

Yellowstone

July 4, Jackson Hole

Hi, We left early and explored an off-road area leading to Two Ocean Lake. Don't ask why it is named that. I couldn't find any information about it, but is is a lovely lake. We drove the Southern end of the park and visited Jenny Lake. You will see the pictures. It is a gorgeous lake. The scenery is spectacular! We had lunch at a cafe outside the park on a terrace with a beautiful view of the mountains. Then we drove to famous Jackson Hole. It is a perfect ski resort town with all the cute shops and restaurants. Horse drawn carriages

July 3, Grand Teton Nat'l Park

Hi everyone, We had a nice drive out of Rocky Mtn. and got into Teton around 12:00. It is a different feeling here even though it is still the Rockies. We drove into the park and visited Jackson Lake. It is a natural lake that was enlarged by a dam built before the park was established. When you see the lake, the background is the snow-capped Rockies and in front of those are the green mountains. It is a majestic sight! The prettiest scene we saw today. Then we drove to the Visitors Center and watched a movie describing the history of the park. A brief history, and I hope I don't bore you with all of this. The Teton range stands 7,000 ft. tall, above the valley floor making it one of the boldest geologic statements in the Rockies. The park itself is 465 square miles. It encompasses most of the Teton range and Jackson Hole. The Tetons rise through steep coniferous forest into alphine meadows. We saw so many wildflowers and wildlife. Moose, elk, deer were some of the wildlife. I was looking for bears but didn't find one. The Grand, Middle and South Tetons form the heart of the range. We drove to the King Ranch from the Southern entrance to Yellowstone, but didn't go through the entrance to Yellowstone. We will do that on Sunday. Of course we had to off-road a bit and found 3 roads to explore. It is wild in the forest and I mean wilderness. It was lovely and so fresh and piney. Tomorrow we will explore Jackson Hole. See you tomorrow

Grand Teton Nat'l Park

July 1, Still in the Rockies

Hi friends and family, We are here for another day and studied some of the history of the Park and did some exploring. George is in withdrawal because there are no off-road roads to explore so we explored the little town of Grand Lake where we had dinner last night. You will see the lake in the pictures. We are glad we were able to see the ridge of the park. It is 11,000 ft. for 10 miles. 78 of the summits exceed 12,000 ft. We saw the Alphine lakes on the way. They reflect the grandeur of the region. The first summits protruded as islands above a shallow sea more than 135 million years ago, when the dinosaurs reigned. Another range grew out of a later sea some 75 million years ago. Over the eons these summits eroded to rolling hills, which rose again, although unevenly. Some portions sank along fault lines, helping create the texture of the scenery. Rock as old as that at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, nearly 2 billion years ago, caps the Rockies summits. Within the last million years, glaciers, grinding boulders beneath them, carved deep canyons. Erosion later scoured the more jagged summits into their present profiles. I wish we could be here a million years from now to see the changes that may occur over time. It is amazing to me that geologists have all this information for us. It is a miracle of nature. To top off our trip here, our volunteer friends had a progressive dinner for us and we had a great time with them. All 8 of us played dominoes after dinner. They are staying at the Holzworth Historic Site. It used to be a fishing camp and the owners donated it to the Park. They live in the sweetest cabins. We are leaving for The Grand Tetons in Wy. tomorrow. Love you all.

July 2, Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park