Sun and Sand Travelers

Mormon barn in Grand Teton NP

After spending almost a month camping in Grand Teton NP with almost no cell phone coverage or wi-fi we have finally emerged and reconnected with the world, thus this late blog entry.  We initially dry camped for 2 weeks at Gros Ventre Campground at the south end of Grand Teton NP.  This is high desert and we had a wonderful site overlooking the mountains and sagebrush.   Nearby are the unbelievably picturesque Mormon barns built by early settlers to the area.  These barns are some of the most photographed in the world and early birds are rewarded with golden light hitting the barns and lighting up the mountains.  We went twice and it was very chilly (low 40’s) but fun talking with the other small group of photographers that had gathered. Continue reading →

We’re just finishing a two-week stay in the very small town of Dubois, WY situated at an elevation of 7200 ft on the Wind River east of Grand Teton NP.  Dubois,  with a population of only 900, most of whom are ranchers, has yet to be discovered by the masses and is sometimes referred to as an ’embryonic’ Jackson (that tourist mecca just outside Grand Teton NP).   The high desert climate has the most ideal weather we have encountered on our trip, high’s in the low 80’s and low’s down into the 40’s at night with an occassional afternoon thunderstorm. Continue reading →

Cody Stampede

Cody, WY, that quintessential western town.  Home of Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley and stomping grounds of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.  Where else can you still see cowboys riding horses down main street?   From the veranda of the historic Irma Hotel, built by Buffalo Bill for his daughter Irma, we watched a shoot-out in the street, we also attended the famous Cody Stampede, did our usual back country exploring and then met up with our good friends Will and Allie, now living in Australia.
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We spent our last few days in Red Lodge exploring some nearby towns and some of the 4 wheel drive roads up into the mountains.   Here are a few photos of some of the sights along the way. Continue reading →

We’ve relocated to Red Lodge, Montana, a darling little town located at the foot of the Beartooth Mountains.  From here we are able to do some exploring into the mountains and travel the famous Beartooth Highway, considered to be one of the most scenic highways in America.   The 64 mile highway starts in Montana, then crosses into Wyoming connecting to the eastern entrance of Yellowstone NP at Cooke City.  Continue reading →

Grand Prismatic at Midway Geyser Basin.

We made a couple of more forays into Yellowstone with our good friends Steve and Diana who spent the week at the same RV park as us.   We hit it hard the last couple of days and it was well worth it for we saw some incredible sights and the weather was perfect. Here are some more images of the wonders of Yellowstone.     Continue reading →

We headed down into Yellowstone again, this time toward the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, which is a region we had not previously explored.    We were able to watch a black bear and her cub meander through a field of flowers looking for tidbits, totally unperturbed by the hordes of onlookers.   Continue reading →

We’re spending a whole week at Yellowstone’s Edge RV Park which is about 30 miles north of the North Entrance to Yellowstone NP.  We’ve made two forays into the park so far, once to explore the Mammoth Hot Springs area and the next day to cross the Lamar Valley and on to Cooke City outside of the park for lunch and then back. Continue reading →

Palisades State Park, S Dakota

Our journey west takes us on I-90 across southern Minnesota and into S. Dakota.  We’ve travelled this route before at this time of year and encountered strong winds which tore the cover off our air conditioner, so we were a little apprehensive about what would be in store for us this time.  We were pleasantly surprised though, it was smooth sailing as we passed from Minnesota into S. Dakota although the huge wind farms all across southern Minnesota attest to the fact that this truly is a wind corridor. Continue reading →

The pilot, co-pilot and navigator are all ready!

Our 2017 summer travel plans had us leaving Florida just as the heat was nearing triple digits in late May.   Florida was in a severe drought when we left and there were wildfires all across the state.   Eventually the rains will come and with them the stifling humidity so our plans are fairly loose – head to the Rocky Mountains, primarily Montana, Wyoming and Colorado seeking cool mountain air and fresh cold streams. Continue reading →