9-4 thru 9-9, 2014 -- Celebrating Jerry and Libby Teitsma's 50th Wedding Anniversary

We left Jean and Bills's place at a leisurely pace and ended up at a Walmart Parking lot in Rock Springs, WY.  Scenery was beautiful and roads were good. It's great to not be in a rush. 

We went thru part of Idaho, Wyoming and dinosaur terrain in Utah - and it's an amazing area though we had been there before and we were anxious to get to Jerry and Lib's place the day before their celebration.

We did the usual visit to Estes Park and saw some elk but no Moose yet. 

Here's the view from Jer and Lib's house, up in the clouds at Granby. 

We did the Trail Ridge Route into Estes and visited the Stanley Hotel with a friend. It has hosted a myriad of famous people including presidents.  Also, novelist Stephen King stayed there and it inspired him to write "The Shining."  They claim to have hauntings and Ghost Hunters has been there (if you care.) http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stanley_Hotel

It was built by the gentelman that was part inventor to the Stanley Steamer car.  They say this still runs and is used on special occasions.

Then on Sat, 9-6 was the celebration of Jer and Lib's 50th. Libby got to help with cutting flowers from her garden for the centerpieces -- but everything else was planned, handled and cooked for by daughters Laurie Hedgecock and Susie Damon and their spouses and chilldren.

The celebration was held at the Drowsy Water Ranch. I can't think of a better place that they could have chosen. Absolutely fantastic!

I was told about about 125 people would be enjoying the celebration with us. 

Libby and Jerry Teitsma's 50th Wedding Anniversary

Carl and Susie Damon, their daughter

Libby, granddaughter Kaity Hedgecock, grandson Ben Damon and Jerry 

Sister Jone and Jay Kuiper

Brother Homer and Laurie Hedgecock, their daughter

Kath and Jean

Laurie, Jean, Susie and Jone

Niece Amanda Kuiper and granddaughter Sophie Damon

Congratulations to Laurie for our fine dining experience. Food was fantastic!

Introductions by daughter Susie with an ongoing slideshow in the background.  It was a fantastic montage of 50 years worth of Jer and Lib family pictures and a great music selection including Johnny Cash.  I can't imagine the work they put into this.  Gee -- all Homer and I had to do was show up. :-)

Let's not forget behind the scenes -- all the work that was done by grandson Kiffer and Laurie's husband Paul.

After all the people were fed, Laurie takes a breather to nuture the goats. She is amazing with all animals and Laurie and Paul own Carousel Aussies, breeding Toy and Mini Aussies. Check out her link: Carouselaussies.com. They just had a litter of six I'm told. 

The Grand Finale was Square and Line Dancing.  I wish I could load some video, but my I-Pad won't let me, or the blog site limits the memory use.

A great time was had by all. I've never been to a better anniversary celebration and I'm sure people will remember this forever. It was great to get together with family and friends again. 

Homer and I will hang out here a couple more days of just relaxing before being "On the Road Again."  Sing it Willie!

9-1 thru 9-4, 2014 at Jean and Bills

We routed thru Yellowstone Park from the east end -- looping north and out the west end and on to daughter Jean and Bill's home near Ennis, MT.  We had never been there and finally can envision all that she had been describing to us. Their place is beautiful, much larger than we had expected.  Beautiful mountains everywhere and a development here is like 6-10 acre plots or much more, nothing like the city. 

They have pigs named Breakfast, Lunch and supper. Hmmmmm? There's chickens too, but none named that I know of except I heard reference to Henpecked. 

The Madison River meanders all around here and is Nationally known for fly fishing, but I just don't get the idea of catch and release. I'd rather catch and eat. 

We had supper at the Blue Moon Restaurant 2 nights and I can attest to some of the best macaroni and cheese ever and fantastic ribs. Mexican is great too!  Their salsa is ALMOST as good as Homer's and the best of any restaurant made ever. 

Homer and I browsed Virginia and Nevada City on Tues. A very interesting and historic area that I would highly recommend if you're in the area.  The first ever female black woman owned a utility company - or water company at Virginia City. She originally had been a slave and came west after the Civil War. She ended up owning a building where 5 "alleged" criminals previously were hung on her rafter.  I like how they used the word alleged. :-(

We took the "adventurous" 2 track road back to Jean's. I wanted Homer to turn around at one point, but we kept going and made it.  There had been some rain days previous and the washboard and potholes were nasty in spots, but beautiful scenery everywhere. 

On Wednesday we visited the Earthquake Lake Visitor Center near Gallatin Nat'l Forest and saw a short movie about the history of how 28 people lost their lives on Aug. 17th of 1959 when an earthquake made the earth crack and drop and made part of the mountain avalanche on top of campers below. The wind gust was 100 mph due to the dropping of land and air pressure and is said to have ripped the clothes off many survivors. Just can't imagine this. It also created the lake. There are several good books on this and I'd like to read up on it. 

Check this link:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quake_Lake

Below is a picture of part of the earth avalanche.  I believe the quake was 7 plus on the Richter Scale. Huge boulders had dropped on many tents and cars and campers near this area and the roads were ripped to shreds. Helicopters had to come to the rescue the next day. 

The survivors were injured and confused and made it up to a high point now known as Refuge Point, as they were told the dam burst - but luckily it held. This is where Jean took Homer and I for a hike - 2.4 miles and I did the whole thing as it was not steep or Rocky. 

Jean gave me training on bear spray as we were both prepared. Homer was not obliging so we would have protected him I'm sure. Ha!  See my spray canister hanging on my belt. 

Then returning home, of course we snaked around and went past some talc mines, or is it talcum?  Think twice next time you powder your nose (or feet) or it's used in a myriad of other concoctions. 

En route home we saw three Golden Eagles. Sooo cool, but my phone wouldn't pick them up, but Jean had her telescopic lens - so I hope she got some good ones. 

I hate heights and wouldn't back up any further!

There's free roaming cattle everywhere. and we hear that cattle rustling is gaining popularity with the price of meat. So sad. 

As of now, we 're camped at Wally World (Walmart) in Rock Springs, Wyoming and I always sleep great in their lots. We can't remember seeing so many campers at a Walmart.  I always amaze Homer that I can sleep thru the rumbling of engines and refrig systems, but can 't tolerate a fly buzzing or a clock ticking.  Excuse typos as spell check can make up some crazy words. Night!

8-29-14 thru 8-31 at Custer State Park

We got to Custer State Park and tied in with our Sparta friends - John and Marianne Blaauw. They are park volunteers and managed to get us a site near them. The Park is 7,100 acres and the 7th largest State Park.  John and Marianne are a wealth of information and we are so lucky to have them as personal guides. Also, we have deer outside our site daily with a nice buck. 

We went to Rapid City Firehouse Brewing for supper. What a nice town, old fashioned, neat, clean, mining college area.  I'd highly recommend a visit if you're in the area. 

On Saturday Homer and I hiked the Cathedral Spires Trailhead. Homer did about 2.5 miles and I only did one as I thought my heart would jump out of my chest and my lungs would explode! Homer could have done more. We forgot our walking sticks and my bifocals don't help. I'm just out of shape and making excuses but never was good at breathing well with elevation. 

We went for a ride and thru some neat one lane tunnels at what they call "The Needles."

Yes, you hope there's no oncoming traffic when you go thru. 

In a little picnic area there was this big boy just laying around doing nothing.  You don't want to get too close as people have lost their life by being gored.  

Unfortunately, there is a female buffalo down the road that is old and skinny and just can't seem to get up anymore. They know she's very old and at the end of her life cycle and her calf was very small we were told - probably due to mom's poor health and/or milk. They took her calf recently to be cared for somewhere and then let nature take it's course.  (We drove by later about 8:15 pm and it looks like she has joined the big buffalo herd in the sky.)

Later we drove with John and Marianne as our guides to  Buffalo Gap, then Hot Springs (had a beer at the American Legion to cool off ha ha) and Wind Cave (gravel roads) which is a National Park. Saw lots of buffalo along the way and we were held up in a traffic jam. 

Prairie dogs are in abundance and a hoot to watch. 

You know the difference between a donkey and a Burro?  A Burro speaks Spanish!  :-)

They are the only animals you're allowed to feed and they don't seem to care for potatoes. 

On Saturday we went to Custer to see the Studebaker Car Show.  Very interesting if you like old cars, but I can always shop when I've seen enough.  I have to admit, I really enjoyed this show and Homer ALWAYS love the cars, boats, trains and planes stuff. 

Below is how someone had their travel trailer rigged up. Very interesting!

These guys were by the Lodge Store parking lot this afternoon. 

So we'll be out for pizza or a burger tonight and back on the road tomorrow, maybe to Yellowstone or wherever else the road takes us, hopefully to daughter Jean's by Tues. 

8-28-14 Headed West

Got up at 3:10 a.m. to head out early and beat Chicago rush hour.  We had grand kids for several days as my son Nick just married a sweetheart of a gal (Lisa) on Sat.  We ended up with his son (Corey) and Kate's kids ( Trinity and Jed) for several days. 

We dropped Corey off at 4 sharp and hit the road. The past week was hectic but we are headed to see friends at Custer St. Park in SD, then Homer's daughter Jean in Montana,  then brother and sister-in- law's 50th wedding anniversary at Granby, Co.  

After hours of driving and lots of rain, Homer suggested pulling off at a casino in Clear Lake, Iowa area so he could rest and I could get my exercise. :-).  Long story short, I turned a 20 into 398!  I think I had a defective machine, it just kept giving me bonus round after round. Then they called my name for a birthday drawing and I won 25 free play.  Needless to say, I bought supper!

We are now parked at Hotel Walmart in Sioux Falls, SD and it is still raining. Homer drove 830 miles, so it's time to rest.  Will try to update if we have coverage. 

Excuse any typos, this is off my cell.