Tuesday, August 20, 2013

RV Living

What happened in the RV?  Lots o' driving (1513  miles), lots of BS (the card game), and lots of Archie hanging around.




The End of the Road

We got in last night at 3:30.  Tired?  Ummm ... yes.  It was a great trip - 3,513 miles full of fun, smiles, smelly feet, close quarters, BS in the RV, amazing sites of natural beauty, and good old fashioned family fun.  No TV, little internet contact (hence the spottiness of the blog), and a lot of fresh air make for a great end of the summer!


Sunday, August 18, 2013

Rodeo Nite!

It's a new experience for the Tafts - the rodeo.  We hit Rodeo Nite in awesome Cody last night, sitting in the Buzzards Nest and rooting for the cows.  It was very entertaining, especially the bull riding (only one guy lasted the 8 seconds, like the Luke Perry movie) and the barrel racing.  Caroline and Charlie tried to pull a ribbon off a calf but demonstrated their suburban upbringing.   Overall, We think the animals won.


Saturday, August 17, 2013

Upper Falls in Yellowstone

Boy do I love waterfalls.
So does Charlie
 



Back on service

Unfortunately, we have left the beautiful borders of Yellowstone and the Tetons.  However ... We now have some cell access, so some posts are a bit late.  Once we get wifi, I will add more pics and video, as the thousands of followers are certainly waiting with baited breath ...
Where are we? Cody, getting ready to hit the rodeo.  We just saw the gunfight downtown.  Buffalo Bill won again.

Firehole Canyon

The kids wanted to swim, so we went to a little place called Firehole Canyon.  Getting there was a treat on the big rig, because the sign said "RVs not advised" - but who reads those signs anyways?  We saw the beautiful Firehole Falls (I do like those waterfalls) before getting wet.
The swimming was one of the more challenging tasks of the trip - but a huge adventure for the brave ladies.  Rocks, currents, and the unknown made for crazy fun!




Firehole Canyon

The kids wanted to swim, so we went to a little place called Firehole Canyon.  Getting there was a treat on the big rig, because the sign said "RVs not advised" - but who reads those signs anyways?  We saw the beautiful Firehole Falls (I do like those waterfalls) before getting wet.
The swimming was one of the more challenging tasks of the trip - but a huge adventure for the brave ladies.  Rocks, currents, and the unknown made for crazy fun!




Geysers are hot ... and cool

So, perhaps you have heard about all of these geothermal things at Yellowstone - geysers, hot springs, flumes, pools to name a few.  We checked out a lot of them today, including the famous Old Faithful. 
The legendary geyser was cool (and erupted on the dot at the predicted time of 3:52), but the show stopper was the Castle Geyser - it blew away the competition (get it?  Geothermal humor). This baby blew for 40+ minutes!  

We also visited various other hot spots (too numerous to name) with  otherworldly appearances.  Charlie called it "insane", while I just thought if looked like another planet.  Way cool stuff!

Jenny Lake

After a long hike yesterday, the kids (and Cathy and me) were ready for a more leisurely stroll ... So why not two miles uphill/downhill to see some of the best sights of the trip?  The Jenny Lake hike came highly recommended by everyone I had talked to ahead of time, and it lived up to the publicity.  We tried to hit it yesterday afternoon, but there was no place to park the big rig - so we got there at 7:30 this morning to take a ranger led hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point.
We hopped in a boat to make the trek shorter, and then proceeded uphill.  We followed the Cascade Creek uphill, watching it twist, turn, and roll through a beautiful canyon.  Hidden Falls were indescribable - I hope my pictures and video will do it justice (coming soon). The next half mile up to Inspiration Point was pretty vertical, but worth every step.  

We didn't continue on to any of the longer trails, but there are so many - next time!

A Marathon of a Hike

Our short stroll turned into a 4.5 mile trek through forest and foothill as we checked out two lakes in the Tetons - Bradley and Taggart.  The views were spectacular, but the hike was looooooonnnnng.  I did see a new furry friend - a marmot (not a beaver) - and Charlie had a wardrobe change midhike.  
We celebrated at the worlds longest operated countertop at the Jackson Lake Lodge.

Rafting the Snake

"I don't have words to describe it!" Caroline 
"Fun - and wet!" Ellie
"Fun, fun, fun ... and cold!" Charlie

We had an awesome experience rafting the Snake River with Jeb and Sands Whitewater.  The trip was a combination of incredible scenery, excitement, and laughs - especially when Caroline rode "the bull"!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Yellowstone

Ok ... Maybe there are places as beautiful as Devils Canyon. Yellowstone is jaw dropping.  We took the scenic route through the Chief Joseph byway so I could get my history fix and tell my stories  - nobody else listened, so it's like I was preparing for school to start.  We entered Yellowstone through the northeast gate and met our first huge her of bison in about 10 minutes.  The sights through the north part of the park are amazing, and the RV handled the curves well.  After a few traffic jams due to animals, construction, and stupid drivers, we stopped at a few points by the upper and lower falls.  I love waterfalls.  A lot.  Even in the rain.
We met a bear as we were driving toward the Tetons - s/he was about 30 feet from the RV and Caroline got some good shots (I think).  Throw in a full rainbow and the journey through Yellowstone was worth the time and effort.  The best news is we return there on Friday after some time in the Tetons.

Photos are coming ...


Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Devils Canyon

I've been lucky to visit some amazing sights in my life, but it may be tough to beat Devils Canyon in the Bighorn.  We spent an hour at this awesome location, climbing a "mountain" (or hill), taking on the beauty, and hanging with a family of local residents.  It's a little off the beaten path, but so worth every mile and minute.


Tuesday, August 13, 2013

5547 N Bay Ridge on Wheels


Living in style for the next week, as this 30 foot monster will be our home.  It sure came in handy the first night, as we ran late all day and couldn't make it across the Bighorn Mountains. 

 An overnight stop on a highway turnout made things easy. 


Spelunking


It took a gazillion years to get there, but the morning trek to Jewel Cave was worth the time ... for some of us.  It's the third longest cave system in the world, and its pretty amazing to go 300+ feet underground and see the amazing features of the cave.

Ellie will probably enjoy other parts of trip more ... Actually, all other parts.  If you do go, get ready for 732 stair steps and no bathrooms - just ask Charlie.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Those Four Presidential Guys

Charlie says "cool!" Caroline says "super cool"! Ellie says "large".  Three in depth descriptions of Mt. Rushmore.  
You gotta love the place, especially taking the presidential trail and getting close enough to look up Washington's nose. 
 We checked out the museum, saw the lighting ceremony, and talked with our WFB friends (the Desings). 
 It was a great way to end our weekend.  Tomorrow is RV time.

Across the Plains


600 miles across the flattest part of the upper Midwest is a pretty easy drive, especially once the speed limit ratchets up to 75 in SD.  We played some side splitting car games, enjoyed the scenery (the kids were on screenery most of the morning), and hit the two spots all humans must visit when driving through South Dakota - the Corn Cob Palace and Wall Drug.

 We also counted a bazillion motorcycles coming past us from Sturgis and nailed 37 state license plates (and 4 provinces, including Friendly Manitoba.). One of the coolest sights was crossing the Missouri - pretty awesome.



Saturday, August 10, 2013

Minnesota

CrazyAugust 2013 started with a trip to Chaska (it's Chaskarific) to hang with four of our favorites - John, Jen, Janie, and Claire.  We played about 40 innings of whiffle ball, were introduced to pizza on the grill, and Resi, Archie's new best friend. John also made up some new words in bananagrams.  Tons of fun in the land of 10,000 lakes.


Friday, August 9, 2013

On the road

          We are going to try out this blog thing as we head out to the west.  We hope the kids do some of the posting, but it will probably be Cathy and me.    We have the van full with our matching black luggage and a loaded car top carrier, ready to hit the Black Hills, Yellowstone, and Grand Tetons.  If cell and wifi service works, we should be able to share a little of the trip!