Heading home

Hi Folks, Well we made it to Devils Tower. Stayed at a small Rv park about 3 miles. from the tower. The next morning Tom and I ran to the tower that was fun . than we left for Deadwood South Dakota. Well I don't know were to begin. yes it is bike week at Sturgis, If anyone is aware what that means you can imagine what it is like. Motor cycles every where. Words cannot discribe this place. We seen sights that we will never forget and we did have alot of laughs. anyway we will post some pictures tomarrow. We left today to head home went to the Bad Lands first. We made it to Sioux Falls at 8 pm had to stop to rest. hope to be home by Friday or Saturday. See you all soon. Karen and Tom

East Glacier National Park

Hi Again - we spent two days at East Glacier. Its a lot less traveled than the west side. On the way into the park we had a bear cross the road in front of us. I had to stop the truck so I would not hit it and I didn't get a good picture. Ugly bear. It appeared to be loosing it fur ?????? Then after we arrived and set up the trailer we went exploring. We ran into a Ranger, Kelly Lynch, we ended up doing a 5 mile hike with her. We also seen a cow moose. The next day we did a 10 miler with her. We saw a cow and calf Elk and 1 deer. But what views and beautiful fields of flowers. It stormed the last night there. The first rain we have seen in weeks. We are officially on our way home as of yesterday. We should be home around the 10th ??. We arrived at Devils Tower in Wyoming. Do any of you remember the movie ?
I'm not telling. We are going to run around the Tower in the morning. Then head towards the Bad Lands in South Dakota. We want to stop in Deadwood...but..its bike week in Sturgist. We'll see.
I will post pictures of the Tower on the next posting.
Take Care Tom & Karen

9 Days at Thompson Falls - Beginning of Glacier NP

We spent 9 days in Thompson Falls. We loved it. If it just wasn't that far away ???
Birdland Bay RV Park is the place to stay - tell Julie we said Hey. Clean, Quite & Beautiful. We met a gentleman that is a logger and does excavating. He also owns mining claims on the Vermilion River. What a great guy. He took Karen and I prospecting, 3 days. One of the pictures I am going to post is 2 days of "his" work on the river. We had a blast and made another friend. We finally left on Monday, drove 150 miles and ended up at Glacier National Park. It beautiful, but I think we are getting tired of traveling. Its time to come home or just throw the anchor out for a while. We did a boat cruise on Lake McDonald. Prior to the ride we sat on their porch and just watched the beauty and had a drink. The next day Karen went for a two hour horse ride. I didn't go - horses and I have an agreement. I ventured through out the park. We did several small hikes and took a few pictures. We are at West Glacier now. We are heading over to the east side tomorrow. We may stay there a day or two. Then we will be off for the Dakota's. After that we will be heading home.
See Ya All SOON. Tom & Karen

Thompson Falls Montana

Hi Everyone - Well we are still in Thompson Falls Montana. We were to be here just a few days. Today is day 7 and I know we are staying 2 more days. We have Kayaked on the Clark Fork River. We have cooled off there and washed the truck there also. This place is just peaceful. We have a 5.5 mile loop we run, some of it is trail the rest is rural road. We were at a thrift shop the other day, its what we do. I bought a nice fishing lure collection. That's what Karen said. "You need that". And I said "Yes I do". At the same shop I asked the usual question about a gold. I was given a man's name and number. I called and he returned my call that evening. What a GREAT man. He owns claims along the Vermilion River. He has taken us panning and we were told we could go back without him. Which we have. Today he told us he was going to dig some test holes tomorrow - "wish you could be here to help". We are staying another day now, maybe two. We have found gold - not a lot - but it is pretty. We also purchased a few nice nuggets from Jim.
Everyone take Care
Tom & Karen

Coeur d' Alene's Idaho and Thompson Falls Mt Golf

Well we made it to Thompson Falls Montana. We set up the trailer and headed to Idaho to meet friends Bill and Jan. We had met them last year in N.M. We met in a resort town of Coeur d' Alene's. What a beautiful little town, oh - don't forget your wallet. Wait till you see the pictures. We stayed there a few days with Bill and Jan then we came back to Thompson Falls Montana. We were going to leave here but have decided to stick around a week or so. It is very peaceful and beautiful. I just got back from visiting the golf course up the road. I hit a small bucket of balls - I am playing after I run tomorrow morning. Again, the pictures we have taken don't do justice to the places we have visited.

Take Care Tom & Karen

North Yellowstone Gardner Montana

Hi Everyone - All is well. Yesterday we spent the Day visiting sights in North Yellowstone. We left in the a.m. 30 miles into the drive we saw a sign that said petrified tree. We made the right and there was a Grizzly. We left that spot and traveled another 5 miles or so and there was a Black Bear with two cubs. We saw more buffalo and hiked around the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. WOW - what beauty.
Oh we also saw a huge Elk Bull. But two far away for a picture - he was just laying down and watching the tourist go by. When we arrived back at the camp ground we got a big surprise. A Very Large Bus - marked ROTEL Tours USA. All I can say is LOOK THEM UP (NO A/C in what you are viewing). Just read about them. We are heading for Bozeman Montana in the morning.
Take Care
Tom & Karen
P.S. I forgot - Today I fished the Yellowstone River at the Camp Ground. I caught 3 nice Browns on worms. I tried spinners and spoons - they would hit them but I could not hook them.

mammoth Hot Springs and White Water Raft Trip

Hi Everyone - Its those people again. We visited Mammoth Hot Springs - I wasn't impressed. We hiked the Beaver pond Trail. That was 5 miles out and back. It was nice. Elk were walking the streets the day we arrived. We didn't take pictures - we should have. Went White Water Rafting on the Yellowstone River. That was tons of fun. Twice our raft was completely in water. Once the water settled down a little the guide told we could get out a while. I was the first one out - the water was really cold. After that trip we were told about a place called Chico hot Springs.
We drove 30 miles to check it out. Check out the pictures. The place was really nice. Two pools - one warmer than the other - with views of the mountains. We enjoyed the day. We are going back into Yellowstone tomorrow.

Take Care Tom & Karen

Hi Folks - Where do I start. We just spent 7 days in the Tetons. What Beauty. We Kayaked in Jackson Lake, String and Leigh Lake. We also paddled in Yellowstone Lake.
We fished in Jackson, I caught a White Fish and Karen caught something (It got away).
We got caught in a storm on Jackson Lake. Between the large boats and wind I managed to upset my kayak. I drowned the camera and binoculars. The next day we drove to Jackson Hole to replace them. That was one expensive trip. We padded string lake then portaged our gear to Leigh Lake. Again, what beauty. The waters are crystal clear and COLD. See I forgot - Our first evening at camp we drove up on everyone out of their vehicles with cameras - Grizzly. These people were out of their vehicles taking pictures. Stupid. We hiked to a place called Inspiration Point and some water falls. That was on Jenny Lake. We did a 15 mile hike to Surprise Lake. I am going to guess we climbed to about 10500. We watched a helicopter flying beneath us. Anyway, then we ran into spotty snow then the last 300 yards we were in snow that was still feet deep. Again, just beautiful.
We did a day trip to Old Faithful and Geyser Basin. Some of the Geysers back up against Yellowstone Lake. We kayaked there also. We have seen Elk, Bison, Mule Deer.
We are now in Gardner Montana, just outside of Yellowstone. We will stay here till wed seeing this end of the park.
I hope this finds everyone well.
Tom and Karen

Victor and Cripple Creek Colorado

Hi Folks. Well we left Mueller this morning. What a beautiful state park. We will miss the area plus our friends Mike and Judy. We hung out in Victor and Cripple Creek. Both are gold mining towns. Google the towns and read about them. We ran with Mike and hiked with Judy. Some of the sites we've seen. We fished one day at Bison Lake. A beautiful Lake with lots of fish that would not bite. Lets see, I snagged a Golden Trout, I chased a nice rainbow up a creek and caught it with my bare hands. An hour later I snagged another nice rainbow, lost it and then somehow managed to get it in the landing net. Then I managed to catch another trout, Brook Trout, in the landing net. Who needs rods and reels and bait??? We gambled in Cripple Creek. Karen and I both left there with some of their money. We love blackjack. Each day, late afternoon, it would storm. After one of those I took a picture of a double rainbow. One day we hiked to 11000, ?, Some views - what beauty. The beauty this country has to offer. On the way to Cripple Creek one afternoon we say a nice buck sitting on top of a 30 foot boulder just watching traffic and the beautiful view. One evening going back to Mueller we saw two huge Bull Elk, non-typical, book end racks, just standing along the road watching traffic. Sorry no picture...that one wil stay in my memory forever.
Well we left Mueller this morning. Right now we are are sitting in Ralines Wyoming. We will arrive at Flagg Ranch tomorrow - Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons are next on the list. Take Care. I will try to update this site in 4 or 5 days.
Tom and Karen

mueller state park

Hi folks, Tom and I are still in Colorado at Mueller State Park visiting with our friends Mike and Judy, it has been a very busy day, we have lots of pictures and stories which I wil leave to Tom to write, he is the better story teller, but he is very tired tonight after a very busy day, but I wanted to write some news that we received today from my daugher Ashley, which Tom and I are very excited about we are going to be grandparents, Ashley gave me the news today so I told her I was going to put the news are our blog. Looking forward to the rest of our trip but I can't wait to see her. Tom will post more about our day later. Love to all Karen and Tom

Victor Colorado

Hi Folks. We are really starting to enjoy the trip. It takes a few days to get back into the groove. The satellite system went out. We had a repairman meet us along Rt 25 to repair it. We stopped outside the USAF Academy and watched the troops parachute and fly. It was a simple fix then we were on our way. It was hot in the Springs, 94. As we headed out of the Springs up 24 the temp dropped to 52 degrees. Our reservations at Mueller was to start the 28th. We tried to check in early - full. So we parked the rig in front of Mike and Judy's. The local police stopped to visit (they know Mike and Judy). We have run some beautiful trails and also did a long hike. Some of the views we have seen are just beautiful. Judy has several Fox that come for dinner every night. They were cute. We have been at altitude since we arrived. Fighting slight headaches. 9600 to 10600. We plan on hiking to 12500 on Tuesday. We are going to fish and Kayak tomorrow. We finally arrived Mueller. Our site is wonderful. Check out the view from our door. Anyway. You guys take care. Tom & Karen

Finally in Colorado

Hi Folks......It was a long drive. But well worth it. The greeting you receive entering Colorado from Kansas is kinda blah. When you enter the state from N.M its a large WOW - HOWDY.
Anyway we are here. Last night in Columbia is was to hot to go outside. We arrived at this remote park in Colorado, Bonny Lake. We got out of the truck and were eaten by mosquitoes. But the wildlife we viewed was worth the bites. Whitetail's, western wild turkey's, a family of raccoons, rabbits & big foot. We'll go to Colorado Springs in the morning. We will stay there one day. The next five days will be spent in Cripple Creek and Victor. Check them out on the web.

wheres Tom and Karen

Hi Folks,
It's been a while, but were back on the road again. After one year tom and I are back traveling with our home on wheels. It feels really good to be traveling again. We both missed it very much . We left Monday morning June. 22nd. We are headed for Colorado Springs Co. first than onto Wyoming, Montana and any where else we feel inclined to explore. Our first day out we made it just outside of Dayton, Ohio, we stayed the night in an RV park called Enon beach, that was a joke but it was a place to stay for 1 night, If you like listening to trains and trucks all night it was a great place to stay, we did manage to get some sleep. Day 2 we made it to Columbia Missouri, we stayed in a state park called Fingers Lakes State Park , very nice especially the quite, it was hot as *%^%$ 108 degree's with the heat index, thank goodness we have AC in the trailer, so we did get a good nights sleeps. That brings us to today, June 24th we got up early and got about a 4 mile run in before we headed down the road again. As I write this we just stoped for some lunch, we are almost to Topeka Kansas.