Wyoming-Big Horn Highway, South Dakota Mt Rushmore and Custer Wildlife Loop

Another postcard-perfect day for a scenic drive over the Big Horn Mountains, named for the big-horned sheep that are supposed to hangout there.  

Despite keeping my eyes peeled-we saw no bighorn sheep.  However, I am told that they are quite difficult to see until you "train" your eyes to pick them out of the landscapel

We pulled over at a turnout with a pretty lake view, and while Frank fixed lunch, Sue took off up the hill to get her Big Pic.  

It was a lot of work hiking far up and away from the RV to capture it AND the beauty of the mountains but--to me--it was worth it!

Shortly after finishing lunch, a rig pulled up behind us.  We always welcome opportunities to meet other RV'ers and compare notes so I kept an eye out for people-movement as I was walking Cassie.

A lady emerged from the brand-new fifth wheel with a small white puppy.  Cassie was immediately overjoyed to see another dog, which turned out to be a 3-month old westie with a need to play! 

Since Cassie had cabin fever, and the puppy was...well...a PUPPY,  the two immediately sniffed each other and began to negotiate a mutually-agreeable play style.  (By the way, Cassie is not usually so filthy but she had been outdoors a lot and I was waiting for a full-service campground to give her a much-needed bath.) 

As the two dogs sniffed and explored each other, we took pictures, chatted and giggled.  After the pups had their fill, we both continued on our respective journeys.

Coming DOWN the mountain, the grade was so extreme that we smelled burning brakes and then Frank experienced brake fade so we stopped the rig to let the brakes cool.   The mist near the tire is not a dirt cloud--it is burning rubber from brakes that are too hot!  

While parked there waiting for the brakes to cool, I heard a stream and suggested we go find it, so we hiked down the mountain toward the sound.

At the bottom was a pretty, shallow creek where we let Cassie play in the water. 

After the romp in the creek, Cassie was REALLY dirty, wet and muddy.  Sue would not allow her back inside the RV until she was thoroughly hosed off.

Imagine my surprise when the lady I had met a couple hours previously popped her head into the Registration Office at our next campground!  She had recognized our rig entering the campground and came up to say Hi!  We agreed to meet up later with our doggies and let them play and wear each other out!

The pup's name was "Baby"--her humans were Diane and Gary.  They were recent full-timers and had just bought the big fifth wheel to launch their new lifestyle on wheels.  Cassie and "Baby" romped and wrestled and chewed on each other's parts and generally entertained us for the next hour, while we got acquainted with Diane & Gary and hoisted a few brews. 


We learned that they were enroute to Sundance, WY to visit the Devil's Tower.  We had never been there and, since it was generally on our way, we decided to change our route slightly and go there too!  Not only that, Diane & Gary had planned to continue on to the same RV resort (Hart Ranch) that we had scheduled for a 3-day visit!

At Sundance, we parked next to each other and our new friends treated us to a drive over to the Devil's Tower, a rare treat for Frank who rarely enjoys "time off" from driving! 

On the way back, we lunched at the only open restaurant in Sundance, operated by a pimply teenaged cook and his hyperkinetic girlfriend/waitress.  

Frank and I left the next day for Hart Ranch near Rapid City in South Dakota.  I surreptitiously took this photo from a mousepad souvenir that the Gift Shop had for sale.

We "reserved" a nearby spot for Diane & Gary and settled down for an extended rest in a beautiful working ranch outside of Rapid City.   We had picnics and cocktails and related our adventures of the road, while the dogs amused themselves.

I had good intentions to accomplish a myriad of chores while settled down, and had been accumulating a list of "HoneyDo's" for a couple weeks.  The mantra was "..we'll do that at Hart Ranch!"

But, it turned out that we were just having too much fun to WORK!

This is the Puppy PlayPen for Cassie and Baby. 

By this time, we were ALL playing nice together and  went to see

Mt Rushmore and rode the Wildlife Loop at Custer State Park.  Wildlife roams freely inside the park and is quite tame, approaching motorists for food.   

Look what an amazing mountain formation I saw near Mt Rushmore!  (Yes, it's photoshopped)

We encountered a bighorn mountain goat along the roadway.  

The roadway through the tunnels inside Custer SP was barely large enough for a car!

The pronghorn antelope, normally too elusive for photo-taking, hung out at roadside, 

as did the bison and the donkeys. 

The donkeys were especially insistent and completely engulfed stopped motorists, 

shoving their heads inside car windows and snorting around for food inside.  

Diane and I perched inside the truck's open bed to view and photo the wildlife.

Frank & I got virtually nothing done on our HoneyDo list, but we sure had a good time!

During our time together, we learned that Diane and Gary planned to spend the winter in Florida, near where they used to live in Del Tura, a North Ft Myers community just around the corner from Cape Coral.  This was surprising and added to our delight in meeting them--knowing that we could continue our friendship in a few months!   In the meantime, we have very special memories and, of course, email!

Washington-Chillin' Out

This was a chill-out stop and one of our 1000 trails preserves.  Since we are traveling "off season", we were lucky to get a primo spot.

 

The weather was drop-dead gorgeous and we spent a lot of time lounging by the river.

These photos show one of the reasons we like traveling by RV; there is just no other way to enjoy places like this!

 View from our bedroom inside the RV

 Call it a beautiful day!

Washington--Coulee Dam

It so happened that our pals, Rick and Carol, were planning a visit to her father's house in a vicinity "near our route" so we planned to meet up with them to visit the Coulee Dam together.

We arrived ahead on a somewhat dreary day and stopped at the dam site.

 All the gates were opened which is unusual!

Checked into our "spot" in the campground, which looked out onto the river.  It was kinda rainy and we were glad the parking surface was gravel.

  
Sorry, Cassie -you have to stay inside until the ground dries off a little bit.














 Finally, our friends Rick and Carol arrived. 

After going uptown to a small bar for some belly-bustin' tacos, we departed for the nightly FREE laser show at the dam

These two always look like they're "up to something".

The dam was an unworldly display all lit up at night.  The gates remained "all open" which made for an even more exciting sight!

The laser show was awesome; good thing we had plenty of beverages to keep us warm!

Washington-Blaine, Victoria BC and the Fam

We LOVE the Pacific Northwest but ya better put yer mudflaps down while here!  The ground never seems to dry out completely and remains a semi-solid mud machine that injects brown matter into puppy paws and tennis shoe treads.  It then drys gradually, leaving remnants indoors on light colored surfaces.  Oh well, that should be our worst problem...eh? (We're near Canada now-gotta say a lot of "ehs")



Next adventure is the arrival of Sue's family in Blaine, WA at a 1000 trails preserve, 

Birch Bay, where two rentals were ready for Sharon (sis) and Norm and Phil (bro).  All arrived on time without mishap or delay and we celebrated our reunion with a special bottle of wine provided by a friend of my sister (Thanks, James!)

Since the sunshine is so fickle in this area, we wasted no time in scheduling our ferry ride through the San Juan Islands into Victoria, BC.  

The 3-hour ride passed quickly with animated conversation on the Topic du Jour, which can be any subject in which there is an opposing position.  This was taken by my brother, Phil, who is from DC and a Beltway Boy and wannabe political pundit.  

To the relief of our fellow passengers, we disembarked for a Customs Clearance at the inner harbor and proceeded to hang out in Victoria.  

We did some touristy stuff in the city of Victoria 

Weather was "Chamber of Commerce" perfect.  Photos say it all.

Then we got on a bus (gas-powered!) to Buchart Gardens

Next day we headed for Vancouver, BC and had to go through the Border crossing and Peace Arch.  

They seemed to have no hesitation letting us in but the US side was a bit more hesitant.  By that time, my brother's moratorium on shaving during his vacation was taking a toll and he might have seemed a bit scruffy, as if hiding in sand tunnels for awhile.  However, he was the only one who actually had a passport so they waved us back into the US.  (I guess that's one of the perks of living in DC and working for lawyers.)

Vancouver is an awesome city.  There is no one there over 30 years old--just young Asian children on skateboards and bikes with electronics plugged in their ears.

We got lost and took a nice scenic drive along the coast on the Sea to Sky Highway while trying to find the Suspension Bridge.  

This is a swingy bridge over a big gorge and river that moves while you are crossing and makes many people sick.  And people actually PAY to be terrorized in this manner.

It was fun.  Frank got a photo of some the Asian children mid-bridge.  He likes to make the young girls giggle while he aims their camera and says "Look Sexy".  

Afterward, we hung out in GasTown and went to a place on the waterfront called Steamworks Brewery.  It was near the tourist SteamClock and right under the huge Observation Tower.

Next day was totally rainy so we all hung out in the Muthaship and ate a wonderful pork loin dinner, ate junk food, drank everything alcoholic, watched movies, discussed the Topic du Jour and played Scrabble.  

Cassie got a LOT of attention that day! 

 Cassie learned quickly how to make the command "Sit Pretty" work for her.

A wonderful time was had by all. 

Frank & Norm investigated an RV issue outside between showers.

During our stay, Frank barbequed burgers and brats one night, and chicken and FRESH asparagus another night.  Here is Frank organizing the grill orders.

He did his usual excellent job of manning the grill and cooking everything to perfection.

Our last day we went to Lynden, a charming German/Swiss theme town.  We had an amazing huge pancake-like confection for breakfast.

 Mural on a town building.

 














That identifies the silly pic of Frank and me behind a cardboard rendering of a dutch boy and girl.

We had a wonderful family reunion and look forward to many more!  Everyone took off in different directions--Eureka, CA, Washington DC and Frank and I went enroute to meet friends in Grand Coulee Dam.