Skipping the Rat Race

Why is the weather nice all week, but as soon as the weekend approaches, the forecast turns gloomy? Despite the high likelihood of rain, Friday morning found us hooking up the camper and heading for Nye. We weren't sure we would be able to get the spot we wanted, what with all the hunters, but amazingly enough, it was wide open. We set up the camper right next to the Stillwater River. I spent some time with the camera along the river, then we drove the short distance back to Benbow to ride. We rode through a beautiful mix of pines and yellow aspens and cottonwoods. It sprinkled on us just enough to make a big, bright rainbow. As we stood on a high point overlooking the valley stretching miles and miles away below us, I thought about how much I prefer the wilderness to the rat race. 


After dinner, we took an evening ride in another direction. We rode up toward Picket Pin Mountain, stopping often to avoid (and admire) deer in the road. We saw lots of does and fawns, as well as a few small bucks. But the whole point of this ride was to get up high enough to photograph the stars without all the ambient light in the valley. We found our spot and got out the camera. As Dan was getting the tripod set up, we were treated to a couple of shooting stars and some distant lightning. Eventually though, we realized that the clouds were coming between us and the stars, so we packed up and returned to the camper. 

How many stars will we see through the clouds? 

The Big Dipper is the only constellation I can ever pick out. 

Saturday morning was misty, but our intrepid friends showed up just as scheduled. So with rain gear donned, we were back on the road to Picket Pin. When we came to a less-traveled road, I led the way into the woods. The road quickly deteriorated into a trail (more fun to ride anyway), which continued to get rougher and narrower until it dead-ended. Getting turned around was a little tricky, but we made it without incident. Back on the main road, we traveled on to the point where we stopped the night before. Cold and damp, we debated whether to continue. We went on a little farther to a more protected spot, where the guys built us a roaring campfire. Now warmer and at least somewhat dry, we called it a day. Rain or not, it was another great ride. 

Playing in the Park

Grand Tetons

 Hold on one second... did you read Part 1?

Ok, NOW you're ready....

When one makes plans to visit Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons in September, snow is not usually the first thing one adds into the equation. But as we drove home from South Dakota through the rain on Wednesday evening, it was definitely a possibility. Thursday morning, with clearing skies and nicer days in the forecast, we loaded up the camper and set out for Gardiner. We drove through sunshine, then rain, then sunshine, then snow...

The only elk we photographed all weekend

Once in Yellowstone, we skipped the Mammoth Campground in favor of the Indian Creek Campground. The only problem being that that one closed on Monday. Oops! On to Norris CG. Open, but blocked by construction. We finally got a campsite in Madison Junction. We quickly set up camp and proceeded to the Old Faithful area to hike to Mystic Falls in the Biscuit Basin. The sun low in the western sky didn't make for the best photos, but the falls were beautiful nonetheless. 

Mystic Falls

Frosty spiderweb

Friday morning found us up early and on the road to Grand Tetons NP. It was COLD, but the steam and the fog and frost made for gorgeous scenery. Eventually though, the sun burned through, and while wildlife and fall color both proved to be scarce, we did enjoy photographing the mountains and waterfalls. 

Lewis Falls

We got back to the camper just before dark and made supper. Over dinner, I continued my winning streak at the cribbage board. Until, that is, the lights faded and the fan on the furnace slowed to a stop. I am glad that Friday night was warmer than Thursday, because the battery was DEAD! But we survived, and Saturday was a beautiful day for the drive home. 

Moose Falls

This picture is just for those of you who prefer your water "soft."

Summer and Winter in South Dakota

...and we were only there for two days!

The Presidents, from Iron Mountain Road

With my anniversary date coming up at work and unused vacation time still left, Dan and I took the week off. We spent the first half of the week in Keystone, SD. 

We enjoyed clear skies and balmy temperatures all the way from home to our destination. After getting settled into our lovely cabin and eating dinner, we set out to explore. Because the famous faces are toward the East, we knew we wouldn't have good light for pictures. Therefore, we picked another direction. We ended up on Iron Mountain Road. Narrow and twisting... talk about a Pony road! Dan was having way too much fun driving my car around those hairpin curves! We came to a meadow just as the full moon was coming up. GORGEOUS!! Eventually, though, we turned around and retraced our track. 

Tuesday morning dawned damp and dreary. I felt like Rip Van Winkle - I must have slept through fall and woke up in winter! We had brought the golf clubs, so play we must. And play we did. Well, sort of... It was only a light mist, but after 18 holes, we were pretty much drenched. We retreated to our cabin for the rest of the day.  

When we awakened on Wednesday, the skies weren't much brighter, but we made up our minds to take the scenic route home anyway. Back to Iron Mountain Road, but this time I was driving. YEE-HAH!! As we approached the very first "piggy-tail" in the road, I realized that there was a tour bus on the road above us. I pulled over as much as possible and stopped to let it by, only to discover to my horror that it was going OUR way!! So much for fun driving - I was stuck averaging 15 mph (and nearly stopping in the curves) for mile after mile. FINALLY, after forming a long-enough train, the bus pulled over and we were free. We dropped down through Custer State Park and turned back north and west by way of the Needles Highway. (Another awesome road!) Then it was back to interstate driving. We met Dan's brother in Sheridan for dinner and drove the rest of the way home in the rain. 

Needles Highway... appropriately named

Check back soon to find out what we did with the second half of the week.