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Safely home again and doing laundry, unpacking, cleaning the Trek, sorting through piles of mail! Good to be here. Stayed tuned to the January-February Texas to Florida adventure. 

Altoona, PA

Another great train viewing site in Altoona, PA but much more secret than the famous Horseshoe Curve.  This is the Brickyard, where bricks used to be made and where there are bits of brick around; still an active train crossing, the same trains that go up and around the Curve.  We spent some time there before church.  Bob waited for trains and I walked about to get more steps on my pedometer.  More John Deere travelling east. Yesterday, we saw a very long train carrying exclusively John Deere equipment.

St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Altoona. This is a church that is facing many problems.  They are seeking an interim having had one who caused a lot of divisiveness in the parish. This morning they had Morning Prayer led by a lay reader as they only have a supply priest twice a month.  Beautiful building and welcoming people but only a handful in attendance.  This handful are committed to moving forward with success. 

Getting Closer to Home

 

(1) Nan and hiking pal Mary on Mt Pleasant, Lancaster, Ohio.  I met Mary and Lisa on my very first AT hike in 1998.  They have not been able to shake me loose yet. 

 

(2,3)  The most fabulous glass made by the Youghiogheny Glass factory in Connellsville, PA.  The first photo is just a very few of the product in the factory outlet store.  Really overwhelming.  The second is a gorgeous piece place on a light board to show colors. I only spent $47, too many choices, but I have their number and can find them on-line also. 

 

(4) Happy, happy Bob at the Horseshoe Curve, Altoona, PA.  There seemed to be more trains than usual.  One long train had freight flat bed cars with huge John Deere equipment on them, many cars with John Deere.  We do come here every couple of years, and, Oh happy discovery, it's only a few hours from the glass factory. 

Bob and Eddy and Freddy

The KOA in Indianapolis has a couple of horse, Eddy and Freddy.  The owners have $1 baggies of treats in the office so we bought two.  We were warned that Eddy, with Bob, is a bully.  So I went down the fence a bit with Freddy and my baggie of my treats.  Talk about horse lips! but how could we resist those sweet faces. Well worth the two dollars.

South Dakota Images

St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in Deadwood, SD.  It's considered historic having been built in 1876.  Friendly greetings from Fr. Mike and parishioners.

Badlands stark scenery.  Not so stark when you spend a few extra minutes looking for subtle colors and unusual shapes. The reds were more vivid in real life. The prairie dog town was an enjoyable roadside stop in a grassy flat area.  Love the antics and the pop up, run away, stand up behaviors (None in the photo).

Nan and Bob and buffalo at Wall Drug, Wall, SD thanks to the 10 second timer on the camera.

Mt Rushmore

Mt. Rushmore was worth the trip to see.  With binocs, you can see the marks from carving and the shiny new caulk being put into weaker cracks.  Unlike the poor old Man in the Mountain, these are not in danger of falling at this time.  There is a large, I assume new, visitor center with 50 state flags, cafeteria, gift shop, parking garage, and an eleven dollar parking fee (!*!*##*).  So much for National Parks being free for seniors with the Golden Age card. The parking fee is collected by a concessionaire.  Today we go to St John's Episcopal Church in Deadwood, then stroll about Sturgis and on to Badlands. 

Thanks for all the great comments and sharing bits of your own adventures. 

Devil's Tower

Devil's Tower is a wonderful place to experience and it only takes a day as it's all right there.  There is a paved path around the base of DT which is 1.3 miles long with a few hilly places.  With the heat and altitude, I was huffing and puffing a bit.  Climbers love DT as it is a challenge but can be completed in one long day. The photo was with my zoom as these two were just little specks from the ground. We could see DT from our site at the KOA Devil's Tower Campground. I looked up just after dark and saw two little lights almost at the top!  Night climbers.  The complication was that there was a severe weather watch in the area.  The lightning behind DT was stunning and a bit alarming. Fortunately. the storms went parallel to our location.  I kept checking with binocs on the climbers and said prayers for their safety, but adventurers like to push limits, and they got a up close and personal view of the storm. By the way, the KOA Kampground shows Close Encounters of a Third Kind every evening!

More Geology

Shoshone River Gorge looking down from the walkway along the top of the Buffalo Bill Dam in Cody, WY.  Finished in 1910 it was the highest at the time, 350 feet high.  It was also expensive in terms of cost in funds, injuries, lives.  I still can get the buzzy legs just thinking about looking down over the edge.  The workers had to mix batches of cement with no modern machinery and dump the contents into the base. The dam provides irrigation, flood control and electricity.

OMG (Oh Marvelous Geysers)

Obligatory photo of the amazing, the wonderful, the entertaining Old Faithful Geyser.  Years ago it erupted every 45 minutes.  Then there was an earthquake in Yellowstone and now it erupts every 90 minutes. Hundreds of people gather along the outer perimeter on benches to watch, and "Oooh" with satisfaction rather like a particularly lovely fireworks.

 

Steamboat Geyser. It is very unpredictable but last erupted in July 2013.  It was spouting and hissing more vigorously than when Bob and I were here in the 90's.  I hung around for a bit ever hopeful. When it erupts, it shoots 200 feet in the air.

Roaring Mountain.  The whole side of this mountain hisses and steams with vents, hence the name. It is white with deposits.  There is so much to see and learn at this park. There is amazing bacteria which can survive in boiling and acid water color some of the cauldrons and bubbling pools with orange, turquoise, green and brown. One very large spring of boiling water pours 4000 gallons per minute into the Firehole River.  

In Old Faithful Lodge, there is an etched glass window with Old Faithful and a clock.  After each eruption, someone resets the clock for the predicted next eruption.  The one we saw was at 1:29PM.  The next will be around 3PM give or take a few minutes.  The geyser is illuminated at night, love to be there but didn't fit our schedule.  If you have a BIT of extra cash (LOL) you can book a lodge room overlooking the geyser.

We are now in Cody, WY heading for Custer State Park, Badlands, Rushmore, and other wonders. 

Yellowstone

(1) Big bull buffalo.  It is the beginning of the rut season and we suspect that the lone bulls might be grumpy younger members of the herd that are forced out by the ruling bulls.  No wonder they are grumpy.  Lamar Valley is the Yellowstone area that has the largest herds of buffalo and pronghorns, etc.  There is a wide flat plain along the Lamar River.  Sandhill cranes, buffalo, pronghorns, coyote, eagle. 

(2) Canyon Falls.  Spectacular scenery.  There is an osprey nest on one of the rocky pinnacles (not in photo) with two youngish osprey altho' full sized.  They were calling, whining, flapping their wings begging for food.  Parent brought fish. 

(3) Halfway from Poles to Equator.  When we were in Fairbanks and also Whitehorse, we were less than 200 miles from Arctic Circle.  I was wishing to go, but all reports are that the road is not in good repair. With a sturdier vehicle, I would have been there. 

State Park and View of Rainier

The first two photos are at Ike Kinswa State Park.  Stately huge trees, moss, fern, lush understory.  We saw a winter wren, we think that's a first time for us. Typical wren - cheeky, talkative, active, tiny. Our campsite was huge, and no others campers really close by.  That makes us Fuddy Duddy campers very happy.  We are going to make a sign:  "Keep away.  Fuddy Duddy Campers,"  instead of the happy signs that folks have, "Welcome. The Smiths. Tacoma, WA."

We took Route 12 through the mountains to see more of Mt. Rainier.  This was the best shot we took at a scenic outlook.  We were lucky that the day was so clear. Rainier is quite active, rumblings and grumblings, and the predictions if it erupts for the Seattle area are sobering.  With the glaciers suddenly melting, the lahar or mudflows would devastate the area. 

Our travels in this area were not originally planned as we were going to come back from AK through the Yukon and BC.  I am happy to have seen the Mt. St. Helens area.  We were planning to visit Glacier but will save it for another trip.  We are in the Spokane for the night at an RV resort. It's very nice and really seems to be resort like (indoor pool, spa, fitness room, mini golf, tennis, etc).  Mostly RV "resorts" just charge more for the same old, same old. 

We were surprised to find the area east of the mountains very arid. Of course, thinking about it, I should have realized it is in the rain shadow.  The campground we were in last night was in a temperate rain forest, but this is semi arid.  Much irrigation allows for a variety of crops and fruit trees. 

Mt. St. Helens

Two photos of Mt. St. Helens taken yesterday.  It was a bit hazy, but the area is spectacular in an awesome, hard to believe way.  The National Park has several visitor centers focusing on different aspects, but the last one, closest to the volcano is the most amazing.  The films, info panels, photos, and other displays only hint at what must have happened if you were in the area in May 1980.  I vividly remember the news reports of the bulge growing in the volcano and people waiting with great interest or fear depending on circumstances.