June 30,2008 Old Faithful,Geyser Basin and Mammoth Hot Springs

On our way to Old Faithful today we came across this falls and stopped to take a photo. No trip toYellowstone would be complete without seeing the famous geyser "Old Faithful." It erupts about every 90 minutes and shoots water into the air at about 135 feet.There is a walking trail around Old Faithful and you can view the Upper Geyser Basin.

This is called the Beehive Geyser as it resembles a beehive. When active it erupts once or twice a day.

Along the trail we came to the Anemone,the water is drained and then fills back up and starts bubbling before erupting.

This is Crested Pool with it's clear blue water.

I believe this is Grand Geyser. It erupts 9 to 12 minutes
with bursts reaching 200 ft.

This is Morning Glory Pool,it was named after the flower. The blue pool has become vandalized by people throwing things into the hole.Now bacteria grows and dominaters the pool. What a shame for people to destroy the natural beauty of places like this.

After spending time at the geysers it was time to move up the road to Mammoth Hot Springs. The drive continues to be beautiful.This is Orange Spring Mound. The striking colors come from the thermophiles living in the water.

This is one of the main terraces in Mammouth Hot Springs.It is terraced down and has so many beautiful colors.This one of my favorites.

Here we have Liberty Cap. It was created by a hot spring that was active for many years.It is estimated to be over 2500 years old.

There were a herd of Elk at the lodge and tried to get some photos when they were on the move.

After viewing the springs area we took a tour of Ft. Yellowstone.In 1886 the military became a presence in Yellowstone that lasted for 32 years.They built Officer's quarters,guardhouse,barracks,and other buildings.

This was the Field Officer's Building.

Double Officer's Quarters.

We were readt to head back home after a long day. We were going to head around a make a full circle but they had a fire in the canyon area so we had to return back the way we came.

June 29,2008 Escapade

Today was the opening ceremonies of Escapade and we were ready after parking over 1000 rigs. We were tired but ready for the fun to begin.Here's the opening ceremonies. Here's our leaders on stage.Brenda Neil,Greg and Angie Carr,Bud and Cathie Carr and #1 Kay and Joe Peterson.

Since this is the 30 th Anniversary of Escapees RV Club all were given ice cream and cake. Celebration time. This was a timen for caring and sharing.

Standing in line for cake and ice cream.

We were busy going to seminars and visiting with friends. Some of the seminars I went to was on photography and digital cameras. Sam went to more technical stuff. They had some great entertainment and we had a great time. On the 4th of July the city put on fireworks and we had a front row seat from where we were parked.They went on for a long time and was one of the best we've seen.

We stayed the weekend and went to Sheridan after Escapade was over.

June 23,2008 Gillette Cam- Plex

Today we arrived at the Cam Plex for Escapade and will be on the Parking Team. We met all the crew some new faces and some old. We all got introduced and had a pot luck to start off with.We will be parking about 1000 rigs. Here's our feerless leaders.

Here's Bob with his big tie and hat given to him by Kelly.

Everyone wear's orange so people know who we are and can see us when we park them.Here's a photo of all of us together.
We're ready for them to start rolling in to Escapade.Here's some rv's we parked.

June 21,2008 Devils Tower

Today we arrived at Devil's Tower and will be staying overnight in the campground. We went to the visitor's center to get information on this monument. Here's a picture of the Tower. They have a nice walking path around the base of the monument and there were many people doing just that. You can see a different perspective from the bottom.

They have a lot of rock climbers that climb this large rock.

The American Indians consider this a sacred place for prayer and renewal. Every year in June they come and place ribbons on trees. While we were in the campground they gave a program on there native dance that was very good.

The little boy did his dance and he was so cute in his costume.

Here's a photo of the whole group.
Tomorrow we're off to Gillette,Wy. for the Escapees Escapade Rally.

June19,2008 North Unit

We were only going to stay a couple of days,but ended up staying a few more.Bill and Toni wanted us to see the north side of the park so we got up early and headed out. The North Unit scenic drive is a 28 mile road trip. First stop on our way was at a Ukraine Church. This was very small but had beautiful grounds and the inside of the church was very nice.

The Little Missouri River.

Along the way you can see Cannonball concreations.

Ox bend overlook.

This is the River Bend Shelter and overlook built by the CCC.

Here's a picture of Sam,Bill , Toni and me in the shelter.

This an overview of the clay.
We enjoyed our stay at Roosevelt National Park but it wasn't one of our favorites. Everyone should see it at least once. Then you can decide.

June 18,2008 Maltese Cabin

Roosevelt came to the badlands in 1883and before going back to N.Y. he became interested in the cattle business. He formed a partnership in the Maltese Cross Ranch. This cabin is where he stayed while here. He was the President and was a big conservationist.He established the U.S Forest Service in 1906 and got approval for 5 national parks. He said if it wasn't for time in N. Dakota and his experiences there he would have never been President.

This park is in the town of Medora.It has several shops and museums and eating places. They also have a show called Medora Musical. This shows depicts Roosevelt as he was in his days in N.dakota. We went and enjoyed the show. They had singers and dancers and cowboys on horses. While in Medora go see the Medora Musical.

June 17, 2008 Roosevelt National Park

We arrived yesterday at the park campground and met fellow escapees Bill and Toni Goff (campground Hosts). We decided to get up early this morning and take the 36 mile scenic loop drive. The drive takes about 2 hours and we were hoping to see lots of wildlife.Here's some of what we saw on our drive. Lots of Buffalo.

This one was laying down and wallowing in the dirt. Not a very good photo,I wanted to get him laying down with his feet in the air.

We got some pics of the wild horses.

Then we stopped at Prarie Dog town. These critters are so cute and entertaining we could watch them for hours.

The drive was nice and we enjoyed the wildlife and the scenery.

Tomorrow we"ll do some more exploring.