LaCrosse, Wisconsin

Hi All,
Just made it into Wisconsin......Here in Wisconsin they make bleu, gorgonzola, gouda, fontina, asiago, havarti--you name it they make it! You'd think that with Wisconsin's proximity to the rest of the Mid-West that you'd be able to find something other than the Big Three (American, Swiss and cheddar)!!!!!!!!!!! Go figure!

Brian......(wishing for a good pepper jack)

Update from Pipestone, MN

We have made it most of the way across the Plains (I certainly hope!). The wind has been pretty bad--about a 30 mph cross wind......it gives real meaning to "amber waves of grain". Pipestone, MN is just into Minnesota from South Dakota and we figure we are about 2 days from Chicago. Looking at the AAA Tourbook, just about the "only" thing to stop for is Hormel's Spam Museum.... I guess that since we missed the South Dakota Corn Palace we are obligated.....

Sorry we have no pics, but there is not much to take pictures of but Sylvia.

Brian

Hallo-o-o-o-o-o-o from Rapid City, SD

Here we are in Rapid City, SD after visiting Mt Rushmore and driving the Needles Highway. Tomorrow we will be out of the eye-candy (mountains, lakes, streams and trees) we set out to see and will be out on the Prairie for real.

Yesterday we saw Devil's Tower and last night we camped in the Black Hills at a campground with 10 sites and still less than half full, a creek just a few yards away, nearly a full moon and spectacular scenery.

Tomorrow the Badlands and -- prairie.

Howdy from Sheridan, WY

Sorry for the delay in posting, but wireless connections in Yellowstone and the Tetons are kinda few and far between. We've been feasting on buffalo and also had some elk. The fall colors in the Rockies is spectacular and we've even seen some bears from afar. The Wyoming scenery has been some of the best. We're headed onto the Plains after a visit to Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands today via a "close encounter" with Devil's Tower.

Bozeman, Montana

Howdy! The Big Sky Country is beautiful. As we were driving from the Lewis and Clark State Park Caverns this afternoon we saw three cowboys driving their cattle toward the river. What a great sight...cowboy hats, chaps, et al. The caverns were unlike anything I had seen before. The tour took two hours through limestone caverns where we needed to slide through small openings and avoid very low "ceilings". The tour guide was a retired 5th grade teacher and sure made the afternoon fun and extremely informative. As far as the food... Brian and I have been enjoying bison burgers and bison chili here in Bozeman. Tomorrow we are off to Yellowstone via the North Entrance from Gardiner and plan to visit the park for about three days. Sure looking forward to what is to come. Best to you all...Love, Sylvia (Please excuse the brief descriptions... just a little tired.)

Sept. 18

Great day of driving through northeastern WA, the Panhandle of Idaho and now spending the night in Thompson Falls, MT. Driving the scenic routes has definitely been awe inspiring. Check out the pictures! Hope to make it to Glacier tomorrow. Love to all...

September 17, 2010

Hi all. Greetings from the East Side of the Cascades.

Today is the first day of relatively clear weather. Since leaving my sister, Glenna's in Olympia on Wednesday, we traveled west on US-101 through Aberdeen, WA to visit Olympic National Park.... particularly the Rain Forests. Took a great 3 mile hike near Lake Quinault. Started out in "dry" conditions, but 15 minutes in it began to drizzle and became officially light rain in about an hour. I think most Washingtonians call it "North West Sunshine". It rained most of the day but by the time we drove into the Hoh Visitor Center the sun came out weakly. Was raining again when we got the the beaches on the North side of the Peninsula. Spent the night in Port Angeles. Next morning we headed for Hurricane Ridge with some great views of the peaks of the Olympic Mtns..... then, you guessed it--more rain.

We drove to Port Townsend yesterday and as we were boarding the ferry to Whidby Island, it started raining -- again -- and kept it up all night. Luckily, our friends Phil and Judy in La Conner let us in out of the rain. Today we headed up Hwy 20 to North Cascades National Park and spent the late morning hiking in Rockport State Park even climbing over a 5' recently fallen red cedar.

We are in Omak now and tomorrow we head out for Glacier NP.

Hi Friends,
Hope this finds you all well and taking great care of yourselves. Many friends have asked that I create a blog, so I am going to challenge myself to learn how to do it and discipline myself to make regular posts.

After a wonderful visit with the Baileys in Portland, we set off to see Mount St Helen's but she did not want to be seen that day so we will have to return another time. It was very exciting purchasing our National Parks Pass, though! The clouds did lift yesterday here in Washington as we were driving from our friends' daughter's wedding to the reception allowing us to see beautiful Mt. Ranier. The wedding was spectacular as well! Those Colellas know how to throw a party.

We will head up the Olympic Peninsula to visit Olympic National Park. I am just so excited to have this Parks' Pass in hand... We revamped our packing system in the Mini and we'll be off and running.

Love to all... Sylvia