2 Girls and a Dog

April 24^th – April 25^th, 2026

Albuquerque!  We so love being here, it’s like coming home every time we visit.  Friday is all about the Gathering of Nations festival.  This is the 43^rd gathering and the last year for the festival which is why this year’s gathering is called “The Last Dance”.  We haven’t been able to get a clear answer as to why it is ending.  The “official” reason is that the gathering has become too large and has intense logistical, financial and planning challenges.  While we’re sure that’s the major reason, we heard rumblings that there may have been other factors as well.  For now, we will just have to take them at their word.

We can tell you that there were far too many people trying to get into the gathering this year.  We arrived at the end of a very long line of cars waiting to get into the parking lot a full hour before the doors opened.  A number of people decided that going to the end of the line wasn’t for them and tried to cut in line.  Ronni, being of kind heart, let one car in and then they proceeded to let another car in front of them who paid $10 for that privilege!  After an hour in line, we finally managed to get in and park the car.  Ronni happened to see the driver of the car she allowed in and asked for her ‘piece of the action’ for the car he was paid to cut in line.  He gave her $5.  It’s an interesting world.  We then walked to the end of another very, very long line of people waiting to get their bags and purses inspected and finally made it into the fairgrounds after another hour.  Yikes!  Lastly, we waited to get into the arena and, amazingly, we found really good seats!  Now, Tingley Coliseum was built in 1957 so it is quite old and people back then must have been considerably smaller because the seats are teeny tiny and the rows are extremely close together.  Think sardines or vacuum sealed humans.  The poor man behind Michelle had his knees melding with the back of her chair. However, one thing that can be said for Tingley, the sound system is certainly working well.  The announcers were super loud; in fact, it was a bit ear-splitting.

I can’t hear it. But who cares?

However, when all is said and done, all the waiting, squishing and ear splitting were well worth it once the Grand Entry of Dancers began.  The dancers come from the U.S., Canada and Mexico and represent 1,000+ tribes. The entry starts out slowly with the female and male head dancers leading the dancers into the floor of the arena accompanied by these incredible drum circles.  The drum circle performers come from all over the U.S. and Canada and their drumming and singing is spine tingling.  As more and more tribal members come onto the floor, dancing in a perfect counterclockwise direction, it becomes a riot of color and rhythmic dancing.  Twenty minutes later there are over 1500 dancers celebrating tribal culture, honoring their ancestors and basking in the shared experience and the diversity of Tribal life.  The dancers come out by age group – golden age, young adults, tiny tots as young as 4 or 5 (they are SO adorable) or by categories – jingle, fancy, traditional or hoop dancers.  A note about the costumes, they are beautifully made and some of the more ornate costumes can weigh up to 60 pounds!

After the Grand Entry finished, we all needed a break from the noise and the crowds, so we left the arena with the hope of visiting the native crafts area and maybe getting something to eat or drink.  That was not to be because as crowded and noisy as the arena was, it was nothing compared to the outside areas.  After a bathroom break, Michelle and Ronni tried to buy t-shirts and after standing in a non-moving line for 15 minutes, Michelle found a Gathering of Nations online store and ordered t-shirts.  Whew!  We all agreed it was time to make a break for it and headed back to the car and back to our VRBO.  Laura and Ronni opted for a nap and Michelle and Sandy went to the University of New Mexico campus.  A visit to UNM is a pilgrimage that Michelle makes pretty much every trip to Albuquerque.  After a shopping experience at the bookstore, t-shirts in hand, Michelle and Sandy returned to the VRBO. 

You know, I can understand your tiny stadium seating.  I’ve been stuck in a one-by-one foot box under a heat lamp for the last few days.

Good grief Eddie.  You were in your crate for just a few hours.  No heat lamp.  You got to play with Laura and Ronnie afterwards.

Well, felt like it.

We had reservations at El Pinto, a classic New Mexico restaurant with excellent food and margaritas with a very New Mexico feel.  We sat on the patio, so Eddie was able to join us.  We all enjoyed our food.  Michelle and Sandy were so happy to be in the land of green chile and blue corn tortillas.  El Pinto has several chairs outside near the entrance of the restaurant that are always occupied because of the charming beauty of the displayed ristras and the surrounding cottonwood trees.  As we walked by on our way out, Ronni heard someone mention Staten Island and, being a New Yorker herself, stopped to visit.  One of the other women asked if she could pet Eddie and of course, we said yes.  While Ronni chatted, Eddie entertained with her tricks and winning personality.  It was a very New Mexican moment. 

I was at my best.  As usual.  I danced, I played dead, I did quite a number of tricks from my repertoire.  How could anyone not be impressed?

Eddie, tone down the bragging.

Saturday, we had dinner reservations at Campo at Los Poblanos, a wonderful farm to table restaurant in Los Rancho de Albuquerque with our dear friends Soozi and Bruce.  But before that, there was shopping to be done!!  Mama’s Minerals is a place that, as rockhounds, Sandy and I adore.  Ronni is also a rockhound and Laura’s been known to appreciate a crystal or two herself so off we went to Mama’s.  We spent an hour or more marveling at all the amazing specimen rocks and minerals and each of us found a few to come home with us.  From there we went to Old Town, shopped at a few of the stores and because we had dinner plans later, we shared a plate of nachos (covered with green chile, of course).  Back at the VRBO, we rested and got ready for our dinner at Campo. 

Moms are diabolical.  They took me outside to do my business and then stuffed me into that jail again.  I thought I was going.  The only good thing was, while I was outside, I saw a SQUIRREL!  It was in the yard, and I got to chase it.  Albu-whatever should have more Squirrels!

As mentioned above, Campo at Los Poblanos is a farm-to-table restaurant that is known for it’s “Rio Grande Valley Cuisine”.  They use organic, seasonal ingredients from the Los Poblanos ranch and other local organic producers.  The food is, in a word, sublime.  The daily special was scallops and Laura, Ronni, Sandy and Soozi choose them as their main.  To a person, they loved them, as Sandy describes them, they were large, perfectly seared and totally delicious.  Michelle and Bruce had pork confit, and it was also incredible.  The pork confit was fork tender and surrounded with bits of house made sausage, perfectly crisp roasted potatoes, squash and blistered black beans.  It was truly a gastronomic experience.  Back at the VRBO, we all slept well after that meal! 

I had kibble when they finally came home.

The next Blog post will wrap up our Albuquerque adventure and then be all about hunting aliens in Roswell. 

April 23^rd – April 24^th, 2026

I was right! I was right! I was right!  I know, because I am now an official BARK RANGER!  Moms said that they weren’t National Dog Parks.  They were soooo wrong. Ranger Lex Shane made me OFFICIAL!  Moms said they will post photos of my certification for all to see and admire.  Yippee!

Yes, Eddie, you are now official as Lex, the park ranger you met at the Petrified Forrest National Park, certified you after we showed him your tricks and how well behaved you are.

Well, of course Moms.  I’m perfect. 

The two-legged members of our trip and Eddie got on the road early on Wednesday morning and headed to our overnight destination of Holbrook, AZ.  But first we stopped to get Sandy a soda and Michelle a chai tea.  We got Michelle’s tea at Starbucks (natch), and Eddie got her first ever “pup cup”! 

Moms, moms, moms!  We should always stop at Starbucks!  That was yummy!

Eddie, it’s only an occasional treat as we need to watch your girlish figure.

We decided to go “news free” for our ride and turned on SirrusXM Classic Vinyl.  Since that is all music of our era, we sang along to Dobie Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, and, honoring a musical giant, Dave Mason.   The songs of our youth.  All three of us were so happy to be on the road and we were grinning ear to ear.  Michelle loves being on the road on her birthday and Sandy and Eddie just love being on the road. 

We planned to visit the Painted Desert on the way to Holbrook, so we confidently plugged “Painted Desert” into our Wyze app and off we went.  However, we neglected to account for the time change because we wrongly assumed that the Navajo and Hopi Nations in Arizona would follow the state of Arizona’s lead and not do daylight savings time.  Alas, they ARE on DST so it was hour later than we realized so suddenly, as we entered tribal land, our GPS indicated we were due to arrive just as the ‘park’ was closing.  But the real and most critical problem was that our trusty Wyze app was not so trustworthy and led us to the middle of nowhere.  Don’t get us wrong, the painted desert was all around us – it just wasn’t part of the National Park.  In fact, it was at least 30 minutes away from the park.  Oh well, we loved the scenery and that’s part of the joy of traveling so we turned around and continued on to Holbrook.  Apparently, we were not meant to see the National Park until Thursday. 

National DOG Park, Mom.

We checked into our usual hotel In Holbrook and had a lovely dinner at Mesa Italiana Restaurant, our go-to place in Holbrook.

Moms took me too, but forgot me in the car.  I think there are drugs to help them with that.  Oh well, I just took a nap.

Thursday we are up and out the door at 7 AM and on our way to the real National Park.  We stopped at the Painted Desert Inn which serves as the park headquarters while the official visitor center undergoes a massive renovation.  This is where we met Lex and he certified Ms. Eddie as a Bark Ranger.  As usual, she utterly charmed him so it’s no surprise she aced the “test”. 

There is no possible way to do justice to the amazing landscapes and colors of the painted desert and to the incredible sight of prehistoric, petrified trees just tumbled all over the hills and valleys of the desert.  If you ever go, Newspaper Rock is a must. It is full of ancient petroglyphs and can be viewed with binoculars at the overlook.  An antelope also visited us from the side of the road, that was pretty cool. All of the amazing scenery was like traveling back in time.  We’ll post a few pictures, but they in no way can convey the grandeur and vastness of the space.  We plan to return and spend a couple of days without the canine just exploring the many, many hiking trails. We’ll add a couple of pictures below.

What?  Say that again?

Alas, after about three hours we left the park and resumed our trip to Albuquerque to meet up with sister Laura and her friend Roni.  In our next blog installment, we will tell you all about the Gathering of Nations and our further adventures in Albuquerque with Laura and Roni!

Mom, mom, mom! I hear we’re going on the road to visit National Dog Parks!

Eddie, they are just National Parks, not dog parks.

But I do get to go, right?

Yes, most of them allow dogs so you get to go.

Well then, they are dog parks, I was right!! Let’s go!!

Eddie, just say hello to all our BLOG friends and family.

Hello, we’re off! Let’s go!!

I don’t remember a drunken goat, but I do recall…

Eddie, shush.

Facts and figures from this year’s trip:

We traveled 6500 miles, which is surprising considering we went 6800 miles last year and crossed the entire country!  We were on the road for 30 days and drove through 10 states (as opposed to 20 states last year) and visited 10 cities.  We stayed in 10 hotels and 3 Airbnbs.  If you followed the blog, you’ll remember that the Santa Fe Airbnb was not a success, so we spent an extra night in Arizona.

I liked the Airbnbs.  They have yards and Moms have fun playing with me and the ball.  I liked all of the beds.    

Last year, we traveled directly east to the east coast and then directly west on the return trip.  This time, we touched Nevada twice and Idaho and Wyoming three times.  And we lost count of how many times we drove through Montana!  Hence, the Drunken Goat Tour.

I get it.  I did get a bit woozy zipping back and forth.  I still don’t recall the goat.

We had a wonderful private tour in Yellowstone National Park and an amazing guide and night of stargazing in Boulder, CO, and had a great time on a tour of the Denver mint.  Exploring on our own worked really well for most of the National Parks and Monuments, but we would probably still go on city tours when visiting more populated areas.  It gives us a sense of the city and where we want to send our usually limited time.

Seems like I got stuck in a crate every time you went to a park.  I like to ride in the car. 

A few shout outs to family and friends new and old:

We loved starting our trip off with a visit with our friends Doug and Cindy Nelson.  Thanks so much for spending time with us.  We may not see each other often but we picked up right where we left off and the time apart just melted away.  That’s a sign of true and lasting friendship.

I like them and their doggie.  She’s big but really nice.  We both got left when they went to dinner.  We thought about a jail break but the Moms and Dad came back too soon.

Thanks to Steve Delavan for flying to the Boise area, showing us where you grew up and introducing us to your family.  Sister Tammy and brother-in-law Bryan hosted a killer make-your-own pizza party, and we so enjoyed getting to know them.  We also got to meet Steve’s brother Frankie and sister-in-law Jamie and were able to spend time with Steve’s father Frank. 

I had lots of fun!  Their doggie is really nice too.  We chased squirrels and birds.  I snuck a bite of pizza.  Jamie played with me lots and everyone gave me scruffles.  It was really fun.

And you all know we are foodies so a special shout out and thanks to all the wonderful people we met in restaurants.  From the talented and entertaining people who served us and made our meals so much better to the other customers who visited with us – we thank you all. 

Lastly, thanks to Michelle’s sister Laura for taking time out of her very busy day to have lunch with us as we traveled back to the desert.  We always love spending time with you. 

I love my Auntie Laura.  I missed Uncle Al.  We had fun at the restaurant staring down Grackles.  I got a martini.

Water, Eddie, water.  You got water.

Lessons learned:

We did much better than last year with the amount of clothes we packed.  However, it really didn’t help because the weather was SO different than we anticipated.  We had lots of warm clothes and no place to wear them other than a couple of days in Yellowstone. 

We need to be a little more discriminating in our Airbnb selections.  We need to inquire about the beds and if they list stairs, we need to explore that in more detail. 

Lastly, after experiencing the food deserts in and near the National Parks and Monuments, we will look for larger towns close to the parks and other sites to stay in, so we have access to better restaurants and food choices.  We’ll always carry peanut butter and jelly.

I really agree with that last part.

Last thoughts:

We do love traveling around this country by car with Eddie and we are already starting to plan next year’s trip.  Our initial thoughts are a week to 10 day trip in the early spring to visit Death Valley and the surrounding area and a longer trip in the fall to focus on a number of the National Parks in the Southwest.  We may change our minds as time goes on, but that’s the beauty of having the freedom of the time and opportunity to travel this amazing country.  We realize we will have to fly to visit some places (Hawaii springs to mind) but we will continue to take road trips whenever possible and as long as we are able. 

There’s lots of places I still haven’t seen.  I like road trips and restaurants and meeting new people and meeting new dogs and restaurants.

You said restaurants twice, Eddie

So?  They are double the fun!  I like martinis.

Until next time, love to all,

2 Girls and a Dog

The Drunken Goat Tour

As usual, Eddie gets the last word.

I love to travel but being home is pretty wonderful too!

October 10th – 15th

We picked Eddie up and headed for one of our very favorite places, Santa Fe, NM. 

How very cavalier of you to say.  It was a mad house there!  A MAD house, I say!

When arriving, we experienced one of the challenges of traveling and using Airbnb, which is you’re never exactly sure what you are getting yourself into until you get there.  In this case, the Airbnb itself was fine, but the parking was a bit weird as you parked outside the unit on an oddly shaped ‘driveway’ that put you right up against a very busy road.  But we decided we could live with that.  We unpacked and went looking for some authentic New Mexican food.  We found it at Café Castro on Cerrillos. 

They were really, really nice!  They let me sit inside with Moms.  I bet they don’t board their dog.

The food was great and covered with delicious green chile (of course).  We were in the mood for a margarita and Castro’s only had a beer and wine license, so we drove to the old Santa Fe Plaza and found a great margarita at Joe’s Tequila Bar located at the Inn at Alameda.  With a name like that, it better have a great margarita! And it did, Michelle had a Cadillac with a reposado tequila and Sandy had a jalapeno infused margarita that had a very nice kick to it.  Eddie, of course, went with us and enjoyed watching all the people as it was a perfect night to be sitting out on a beautiful patio drinking Margaritas. 

I had a martini on ice.  It was very good.

Eddie, sweetie, that was iced water.  Don’t give people the wrong impression.

You say potato…..

The bar is at the Inn at Alameda and is as beautiful and as refined as the Inn.  We arrived back at the Airbnb and expected to have a good night’s sleep.  Our plan was to explore Santa Fe the next day and then take off for AZ the day after that.  As they say, the best laid plans…the bed was a memory foam mattress that had seen better days and was terrible for Sandy’s back.  She tried to sleep on the ‘couch’, which was more of a love seat, to no avail.  So, in the morning, we scratched our plan to stay in Santa Fe another night and booked a room in Holbrook instead.  We did have a wonderful breakfast in Santa Fe at the ‘Tune Up’ restaurant just down the street from our Airbnb.  The food was great, the service was interesting (the people taking our order were surly, but the person delivering our food was delightful) and the outdoor patio serene and relaxing.  Sandy got her diet coke, Michelle had English Breakfast tea, and all was once again good in the world.  We high tailed it for Holbrook and stayed at an Econo Lodge we usually stop at when traveling though AZ.  It is a little long in the tooth, but nostalgic for us.  We also ate at ‘Mesa Italian’ the only restaurant we’ve found in that part of Holbrook that is dog friendly and has really good food.  Even though the patio wasn’t technically open, they opened it for us, so we were able to eat with Ms. Eddie in tow.  Eddie was happy to no longer be incarcerated, we were happy to have a decent mattress, so off to sleep we went in preparation for our Grand Canyon Railway Adventure. 

We go to that Mesa place every time we are there.  They also bring me martini’s and they let me roam around.  It’s fun.

We arrived in Williams, AZ in the early afternoon and after a bit of a struggle, found the kennel where Eddie was to be boarded.  You can imagine how horrified she was to be boarded just two days after we picked her up in Boulder.  Adding to her horror, was the fact that this boarding facility was a series of 4×4 indoor cages and a 6×4 outdoor dog run for each boarder and to get her into it and we had to run a gauntlet of very loud barking dogs to get to her cage.  The look on her face was of abject disbelief that we were leaving her there.  However, if we kept her while in Williams, she would be trapped in a crate for hours while we took the train to the Grand Canyon, so we knew it was best for her in the long run.  We’re quite certain she did not agree. 

You are right!  I do not agree.  It was BEDLAM!  The inmates screamed and cried and dragged their bowls across the cage bars all day and night. It was full of DOGS!   I really hope you slept well.

We then checked into the ‘Grand Canyon Railroad Hotel’ – the lobby is beautiful with original oil paintings of the surrounding area and the Grand Canyon and a large fireplace with inviting couches in front of it. On either side of the fireplace were original Remington bronzes of the west.  That evening, we ate in the ‘Fred Harvey’ historic restaurant and then went to Spenser’s, the pub in the lodge house.  At the pub, we started taking to the two women sitting next to us.  They were both originally from England, but Heather currently lives outside of Las Vegas NV and has for quite a while.  Heather is Irene’s sister-in-law, lives in Bristol and is spending 3 weeks in the US with Heather.  We so enjoyed our conversation with them!  One of the true joys of traveling is meeting interesting people who share a love of traveling. Thank you Irene and Heather for a great conversation. A few words on the restaurant and the pub.  For those of you who don’t know, the Fred Harvey Company was founded by Fred Harvey in 1876 in an effort to improve the hospitality offerings alongside the railroads in the western part of the United States.  Until then, the food was truly horrible and no ‘nice’ hotels existed for the growing number of railway passengers.  He is credited with creating the first restaurant chain in the United States and promoting tourism in the American Southwest.  He hired educated, single young women who wanted a more adventurous life than what was typically on offer for refined young women in the late 19th century.  If the Harvey House or the story of the Harvey girls interests you, there is a great book called “The Harvey Girls” by Lesley Poling-Kempes.  We both highly recommend it.

Are they still around?  Do they take well educated doggies who love to travel?

The next morning, we were up early to have breakfast at the Harvey House and be ready for our departure on the train to the Grand Canyon.  A word about the food at the Harvey House.  Full disclosure, neither of us really enjoy buffets, so our opinion may be tainted, but we found the food just OK.  Typical buffet food for both dinner and breakfast that was not quite the right temperature and somewhat mushy in consistency.  Regardless, it was filling and prepared us for our train trip.  The first part of the trip is an endearingly hokey gun fight with the requisite bad jokes and puns and, of course, a shootout where the sheriff wins.  Then we all boarded the train for the 2+ hour ride to the canyon.  We splurged and bought the ‘bubble seats’ so we were at the top of the train and had clear 360-degree views all around.  We were on the “Mary Colter’ car.  Mary Colter was an architect and designer (one of the very few in her day) and designed many landmark buildings for Paul Harvey and in the Grand Canyon National Park so we were in good company.  Nancy, our tour guide and host, was amazingly knowledgeable about the surrounding landscapes, the area and the Grand Canyon and regaled us with stories about the people and places in Williams and the National Park.  We also had music from a ‘traveling’ singer/guitar player who was very talented and did songs from Johnny Cash to Lynyrd Skynyrd.  When we arrived at the Grand Canyon, we opted not to take the bus tour and (buffet) lunch that came with our package and went our own way.  We had been told that the ‘El Tovar’ had the best food in Grand Canyon Village, so we ate there and loved it.  Great food, super service. 

I’m very happy for you.  I, on the other hand, happen to love bread and water. No expectations.

Afterwards we visited some of the buildings and exhibits in the village and happened upon a Native American artist who was demonstrating his jewelry making techniques.  Well, those of you who know us well can guess what happened next.  Sandy fell in love with one of his bracelets and so we are now the proud owners of a new silver and turquoise bracelet complete with a picture with the artist, Al Joe.  The Joe family has been making jewelry for generations and the craftmanship, attention to detail and quality materials shows in every piece they produce. 

I have a very lovely collar.

Also, it was colder than we anticipated so Michelle now owns another sweatshirt. It’s just not a road trip if at least one piece of clothing isn’t purchased because Michelle got cold.  We caught the train back to the hotel mid-afternoon and once again, Nancy provided entertaining stories, another musician (who yodeled!) provided great music, and the all-important train robbery took place right before we got back to the depot.  Nancy let us know the best way to avoid the robbers was to roll up a dollar bill and inset it into the air vents above us because that will distract them from looking for better loot.  So, we were only “robbed” of a couple of dollars.  We talked to several of our fellow travels and enjoyed those conversations immensely.  Since our lunch was so good and very filling, we skipped dinner and just had bar food at Spenser’s instead of dinner at the Harvey House.  The next morning, we had a fabulous breakfast at a local diner, Anna’s Cafe, and just wandered around Williams for the day.  We think we will come back to Williams at some point and maybe even take the train trip again – we really enjoyed the entire experience!

The morning found us rescuing Eddie from prison (her definition, not ours) and taking off for Lake Havasu City for lunch with sister Laura.

I bet prisons are nicer.  This was a MAD HOUSE!  Hey, did you say we’re on the way to see Auntie Laura?  I like her and she likes me!

In Lake Havasu City we went to a restaurant called ‘The Red Onion’ that we’ve been to before.  The food was good but getting to see Laura after more than a year was the highlight.  Eddie approves of the restaurant because it has lots of people to watch and fawn over her and grackles to think about chasing.  We said goodbye to Laura and set out on the last leg of our journey.  The traffic was good until we hit some traffic because of asphalt road work just before we got home.  However, as we said to each other, it was still faster than following the bison in Yellowstone.  Not nearly as entertaining, but still faster.  We arrived home in the late afternoon, a bit exhausted, but so jazzed by our experiences on our trip that we are already planning the next one.  We will post one more blog with a summary in a couple of days.  Until then, we hope you enjoyed journeying along with us in the remarkable and beautiful country we all call home. 

Ok, I did have a good time.  It’s true I don’t like prisons, but I really LOVE hotels.  Zoomies and rollies always make me happy.  I like seeing those giant dogs in those parks (Bison) and lots of restaurants were fun.  I also enjoy sharing burgers and fries with the Moms in the car.  All in all, I had fun.  Where to next?

Great authentic New Mexican food!

Beautiful patio at Joe’s tequila bar.

I’ve been liberated from Colorado prison and now I’m having a martini at Joe’s tequila bar.

OMG – SO good!

The famous Paul Harvey restaurant at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel. Definitely historic but we’re not sure about the ‘inspired’ part.

Nancy, our fabulous tour guide and hostess. She told great stories!

The Mary Colter car

No picture does the Grand Canyon justice but one must try.

And another view – we could post 100 pictures, but we’ll resist.

Sandy wearing our new bracelet and Al Joe, the very talented artist who created it.

Train robbery!! It’s hard to see, but there is a rolled up dollar bill in the air vent above Lucky’s (the robber) head.

Michelle and sister Laura in Lake Havasu City.

Where to next, mom? Let’s go!!

October 7^th – 9^th, 2024

We decided to take a couple of relaxing days in Boulder so on Monday we read most of the day while waiting for our astronomy tour later in the evening.  We found the tour through an email Marriott sent us with suggestions for what to do while in Boulder.

The astronomy tour looked interesting, so we signed up for a Monday night tour.

Wow.  That really sounds like fun.  Here I am taking the ‘Run the Dog Gauntlet’ tour every day.  Let’s compare notes later.

 We were instructed to drive to a local trailhead where the skies were darker than closer to the city.  We found it quite easily at the end of a dirt road.  There were six of us as well as our guide, Aislynn.  She gave us an astronomy 101 lesson as we waited for it to get darker and for our eyes to adjust so we could see better through the 4 inch, 8-inch and 16-inch telescopes Aislynn brought with her.  Sandy is the backyard astronomer so we won’t bore you with her details, but just image seeing the Ring Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy through a 16 in Dobsonian telescope or a huge Globular Cluster of stars so close together they look like a sprinkling of salt.  Truly amazing.  We also saw what appeared to be the Aurora Borealis for a short period of time.  It wasn’t predicted, but it had all the markings.  Again, truly amazing.

I can’t see it inside you know.

Tuesday morning, we were quite hungry, and Sandy found a breakfast place not too far from the hotel called the ‘Village Coffee Shop’.  As we drove up to it, Michelle remembered reading something about it on some website about the best diners in each state and lo and behold, a copy of the article was on the door! It is as their tag line says “890 sq. ft. of reality surrounded by Boulder.”  The article goes on to say “Village Coffee Shop is an oasis of Formica and bad lighting…with superb sausage gravy, oversized orders of French toast, and other things you don’t normally associate with one of America’s healthiest cities.  It’s like finding a smoking lounge tucked into a destination spa.”  Sorry we couldn’t get a good picture of the article, the sun and people trying to get in and out of the door as we were taking the picture worked against us. 

So, Monday was about Sandy’s love of stargazing and Tuesday was about a massage for Michelle.  Michelle talked to the front desk at the Marriott, and they suggested a place called ‘Boulder Therapeutics’ and Michelle was so glad she took their recommendation because her massage was amazing!  Zoe, her massage therapist, has 15 years’ experience and is also a licensed chiropractor so she really knows how to get into knots and work them out.  After getting home and a quick shower for Michelle, dinner was on our minds.  We picked an Italian place in Boulder called “Sforno Trattoria Romana”, situated on the promenade part of Pearl Street.  The food was good and Peyton, our food server, was charming if a bit distracted.  Michelle’s trout was delicious, and Sandy enjoyed her seafood pasta.  We splurged on chocolate mousse that was made in-house and consisted of scoops of super chocolaty mousse alternating with fresh whipped cream and drizzled with caramel sauce.  A heavenly desert!  We headed back to our hotel and early to bed as we had a very early wake up the next day. 

The alarm went off at 5:30 AM because we wanted to go to the Denver Mint, and you can only get tickets at the ticket office which opened at 7 AM and closed as soon as all the tickets for the day are issued.  So, off to Denver we went.  It will surprise no one who knows us that we were one of the first in line and got tickets for the first tour at 7:30 AM.  The tour was really interesting and Derrick, our tour guide really knew his subject.  We were allowed to see the production of pennies – I think most people are fascinated by how things are manufactured with the production of money being especially enthralling.  Did you know that $50,000 of quarters weights 2,500 pounds?  We saw a container holding that amount and it became obvious why our purses/pants pockets become so heavy if we accumulate too many coins.  We also learned that Denver makes all the new coins for the Western part of the country and the Philadelphia mint makes all the coins for the East.  There were displays of money through the ages and the ubiquitous gift shop.  During the tour, Derrick openly admitted one of the aims of the tour is to turn all of us into coins collectors (called numismatists) because that helps creates the demand for more coins.  We’re sure some of you have heard it takes more than a penny to manufacture a penny and more than a nickel to manufacture a nickel.  That is true (3 cents for a penny and 8 cents for a nickel) but the production of the higher value coins can be made at a profit. The mint sells the coins to the Federal Reserve for face value who sell the coins for face value to banks and other financial institutions, so the mint is one of the very few departments in the government that makes a profit.  What do they do with that profit?  It is used to pay down the national debt.  Last year the profit came to about 3.5 billion. Yes, a drop in the bucket for the debt, but nevertheless, it is something.  We’re still not convinced we still need pennies, but it takes an act of congress to get rid of pennies (literally), so that’s a remote possibility.  We also don’t have any pictures from inside the mint because it is prohibited. They made us turn off our phones before we were allowed to enter After the tour, we went looking for breakfast and through the help of a local, found a great breakfast place called ‘Dozens” and yes, the eggs were very good!  We then returned to our car and picked up our purses that were not allowed in the Mint. Then it was off to the capital building.  It was very quiet as the Colorado congress is not in session, but it is a very impressive and beautiful building.  We almost had to hike back to the car (in an all-day lot for $18) because we realized Sandy had a very nice pocketknife in her purse.  The parking lot was a fair distance, so we hid her knife outside the capital building with the squirrels and confidently went through the security checkpoint. 

I carry a Samurai Sword and no one ever stops me.

We spent an hour wandering around the building and admiring the art, architecture and trappings of power and then recaptured Sandy’s knife and walked back to the car.  Once in the car, we realized we were only about 30 minutes away from the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater!  We both have always wanted to see it so off we went, and we are SO glad we did!  It is set amongst stunningly beautiful red rock formations and drop-dead gorgeous landscapes. We only had a few minutes to see the amphitheater because a show was scheduled for that evening and the artist (Still Woozy – I looked him up, he is an indie singer/songwriter) needed to start his sound check.  However, there is a gift shop (nach) and a Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame so we spent some time examining the displays.  There are listings of every act who has been there by year – back as far as 1941 regularly and the early 1900s for sporadic concerts.  We were very tickled to find Joe Bonamassa’s name on a few of the years.  We also went to the trading post just down the way from the amphitheater.  It is just a much bigger version of the gift shop, but they did have better t-shirts and post cards.  For anyone who loves music and rock n roll specifically, this is a must-not-miss experience.  We were able to mark this off our bucket list, though we would still love to actually see a show there – preferably Joe Bonamassa! 

By the way, on the way there we stopped at the Matthew Winters State Park.  This is an extremely beautiful place just outside of the Red Rock Amphitheater.  Our visit there is a shout out to our friends whose namesake donated the land to the state.  A most wonderful gift of conservatory!

The drive back to Boulder was quick and uneventful.  For our last dinner in Boulder, we decided to sample the local sushi.  We picked a place called ‘Hapa Sushi Grill and Sake Bar”.  Wow!  The food was fantastic and Charlotte, our very talented and helpful food server made the experience ever better!  She suggested the Pacific Isle Roll, which contains spicy tuna, tempura asparagus and jalapeno rolled in rice and topped with albacore tuna, cilantro and chili ponzu.  It was amazing, so amazing we ordered another one after we finished the first one.  Back to the hotel to pack up for our journey to Santa Fe tomorrow.  We also get to pick up our little Eddie tomorrow!  We miss her so much!

Really?

As noted above….

The tour was SO cool – we wish we could show you pictures.

Part of the Colorado Capital building rotunda.

More of the rotunda – it’s really impressive.

The view from outside the capital building. This is looking away from the capital. We believe the white building in the background is the state court house.

The aforementioned Matthews/Winters Park right outside the Red Rocks park.

Some of you may recognize this from our Facebook post. One of the magnificent red rock formations in the park.

The amphitheater is surrounded by majestic rock formations. Seeing a musical act here must be akin to seeing opera in Santa Fe. Surrounded by nature’s beauty.

The amphitheater as seen from above.

Just the two of us…

Yummy, yummy sushi!

October 3^rd – 6^th, 2014

As mentioned in our last blog, Thursday was a ‘regroup’ day for us.  But before we attacked our chores, as we also mentioned in our last blog post, we went back to Rembrandt’s for breakfast.  Lisa was our food server this time and bless her she was VERY concerned when we told her about Michelle’s nut allergy.  We managed to convince her it was OK to feed us, and we had another delicious breakfast and enjoyed visiting about our road trip with Lisa.  Since we were at an Airbnb and had access to a washer and dryer, we did loads of laundry and repacked our suitcases for the next few stops.  We also reorganized the car because after 18 days on the road, it had become somewhat chaotic.  A few additional words about our Airbnb in Boise.  It was a perfect place for us to stay.  It is very close to Tammy and Byran’s and has lots of room for Eddie to run.  Michelle even played ball with her on our last full day there.  She loved being on squirrel patrol and proudly chased them off when they dared to appear in ‘her’ yard.  She also met Louie, the very friendly neighbor Lab who visited with her through the fence. 

I like this yard.  Playing ball is really fun, but Louie looked really big to me.  He was nice and all, but I’m really happy there was a fence between us. 

We spent some time creating and posting another blog entry and filled out more postcards.  We decided we wanted one last nice dinner in Boise and, to our delight, found they had a ‘Land Ocean’ restaurant not far from us!  It is one of our favorite restaurants in Folsom. CA and we always make it a point to go there when we are visiting family in that area.  Thoroughly sated, we headed home and to bed to be rested for the drive to Oden, UT for an overnight stay.

Hmmm.  I don’t recall going to that nice restaurant.  Hmmm.  I don’t remember going to one in that Folsom place either.  What are you talking about?

Our departure from Idaho the next morning included one last breakfast at Rembrandt’s because when you’ve found the perfect breakfast burrito, (for Sandy) and the perfect cup of tea (for Michelle), why go anywhere else?  Our food server that morning was Heidi, and she was just as fun and friendly as Lisa.  In fact, Lisa came over to visit with us and wish us safe travels.  Good wishes are always welcome.  A big shout out to Lisa and Heidi all the staff there! We finished breakfast and were on the road by 8:30 AM.  Our plan was to stop at the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument and the visitor center which is reportedly in the town Hagerman.  I say, reportedly because we never found the visitor center!  We did drive out to the marker for the national monument and took a picture of it to prove we were there.  However, it was not a total bust, because we saw the prettiest small waterfall at Salmon Falls on the scenic bypass you take to get to the fossil beds.  Lemonade out of lemons and all that… 

We didn’t find that place they talked about.  I don’t know why you want to see old rocks anyway.  We drove back and forth trying to find it.  The Drunken Goat Tour continues with the Moms.

We arrived at our Comfort Inn and found that there was a Mexican restaurant connected to it called ‘Cactus Red’s’.  We were quite happy we could just get takeout there for dinner as we needed to be up at “oh dark thirty” the next morning to get sure we could drop Eddie off at the dog hotel in Boulder by 5PM.    

Sorry, what did you say?  Dog hotel?  You didn’t mention that when you were feeding me chips.  Do you really think I wouldn’t figure it out?

The next morning, we left before sunrise, so we got to experience it as we were driving east toward Cheyenne WY.  As it grew light, we noticed that the main crop for that part of the world appeared to be snow fences.  Dozens of them line the fields on either side of the highway.  The secondary crop seemed to be wind turbines which is no surprise at all given how blessedly windy it can be there.  If you read our blog from last year, you may remember how Eddie practically became a kite the day we left Cheyenne!  

I remember.  Mom nearly lost me.  Flying poodles.  That’s just not right.

We stopped at the Summit rest stop just outside of Cheyenne, and to our delight, realized we were once again on the Lincoln Highway as was evidenced by the giant bust of President Lincoln at said rest stop.  We stopped at this same place last year and marveled at the sight of a giant Lincoln head in Wyoming.  We eventually made our way into Colorado and drove through many, many acres of agriculture that we ‘think’ were potatoes.  Of course, Idaho has bragging rights about potato production, but Colorado claims to be the second largest fresh potato growing region in the United States.  We can only believe it’s true as we read it on coloradopotato.org website.  We dropped Eddie off at The Pet Spot (we’re sure you’ll hear more on that from Eddie later) and made it to the Boulder Marriott just in time to check in, have a drink and dinner in the Canyons restaurant at the hotel and get to bed after a very long day.

Hey!  This isn’t right.  There are DOGS here.  Where’s my one phone call.  This is all wrong.  How can they do this to me?

Sunday morning found us up and searching for breakfast.  We didn’t feel like eating at the hotel restaurant again, so we headed for the restaurant right next door called “The Buff”.  Their clever and somewhat risqué tag line is “eat in the buff”.  The University of Colorado, Boulder is located here, and the mascot is Ralphie the buffalo and this is a huge football town.  Hence, the name of the restaurant.  The food was pretty good, and the service was great.  We then headed to the Rocky Mountain National Park.  It was about an hour away on a winding road.  The landscape alternated between golden plains and dense forest with the winding mountain road occasionally veering into the scary for Michelle.  We noticed very tall brown, thin towers all along the remote sections of the path and wondered about their purpose.  Certainly not earthquake, hurricane or tornado warnings, right?  Given we were in the mountains, maybe avalanche warnings?  When we got to the visitor center, we asked, and we weren’t even close.  They are fiber optic cell towers.  Apparently, there are lots of accidents on that particular stretch of road and there was no cell service, so a private company completed the installations in 2022.  The things you learn while traveling.  As we were nearing the Beaver Meadows visitor center, we started seeing thicker and thicker smoke.  We also noticed there were SO MANY PEOPLE!  It was a bit of a culture shock having been in the Dakotas. Montana, Wyoming and Idaho for the last two and a half weeks.  Even in Yellowstone, the crowds were not as heavy as they were once we hit Estes Park.  Yowzah!  They were everywhere…for that reason and the smoke (coming from fires in Wyoming and Utah) we decided to forgo the 39-mile loop around the park and saw what we could on the drive to and from the park.  We’re very glad we went and not at all surprised it is one of the most visited National Parks in the country.  We were a bit concerned that we’d taken a wrong turn and ended up in the Great Smokey Mountains rather than the Rocky Mountains.

Hello?  All alone am I…..

After getting back to our room, Michelle was jonesing for a steak and found a very highly rated steak restaurant called ‘Steakhouse No. 316’. 

I like steak.  I’m on bread and water.

It was rated as the best steakhouse in the area, so we made reservations for later that evening.  What we didn’t know, and anyone who plans to visit should know, is that the parking is a bit of a mess in Boulder.  We will be taking Lyfts if we go out to dinner and it’s not walking distance.  The restaurant is truly one of the best dining experiences we’re had – and not just for this trip, but in general.  Our food server, Stephanie, was impeccable and super friendly and fun.  We made use of Josh, the sommelier and he introduced us to an incredible Greek (I know!) wine that was so delicious.  We had oysters, halibut crudo (OMG, heaven), Sandy had amazing crab cakes and Michelle was tempted by the Dover Sole on the bone (so hard to find in the US) but eventually gave into her steak craving and had a Kansas City Strip that was truly perfect in every way.  For dessert, Michelle had blood orange sorbet and we each had a glass of Chateau Closiot, a White Boudreaux that Josh selected for us.  Again, an amazing glass of wine that was a good compliment to the Greek Hatzidakis Santorini Cuvee.  Completely stuffed, we drove back to the hotel for a sound night’s sleep. 

Really loved this Place! Special shout out to Lisa and Heidi and to Steve D. for suggesting it!

A happy surprise in Boise. IA!

Driving through beautiful landscapes right after sunrise.

The elusive Hagerman Fossil Beds – never did find the visitor center.

View of the Rocky Mountains from our hotel.

Topography map of Rocky Mountain NP.

The smoke from the WY and UT fires.

Two happy campers at Steakhouse No. 316.

September 29^th and 30^th 2024

We left from Medora in the morning and once again entered Montana on our way to Billings where we spent the night.  As many times as we weaved around Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, Sandy said that instead of calling this our Yellowstone trip (as we crafted all the dates around Yellowstone) we should call it the “Drunken Goat” trip.  She’s not wrong. 

Even I am getting a little woozie with the drive.  I think I could have planned this better.

Eddie, if you aren’t having fun, we can let you out.

No, no, no!  I’m kidding.  I like goin’ round n round.  I might have missed something the first few times.

Sigh.

On our way to Billings, we stopped at Pompey’s Pillar, a large rock formation in south central Montana.  It was designated a national monument in 2001and is only 51 acres making it one of the smallest national monuments in the country.  It’s 150 feet tall, about one acre in circumstance and is known for the Native American petroglyphs as well as William Clark’s signature (of the Lewis and Clark expedition).  Clark climbed the sandstone structure to get a view of the surrounding area and then signed his name.  He named the pillar after the nickname he gave to the son of Sacagawea who was a valued member of the Lewis and Clark expedition.  Sacagawea traveled thousands of miles with them, interpreting the natural landscape and smoothing the way with the native tribes.  After our visit to Pompey’s Pillar, we arrived at the Quality Inn in Billings in the late afternoon and decided to forego dinner out and just had PB&J sandwiches in our room.  We posted on our blog and hit the hay.  A note about this Quality Inn: it is by far one of the nicest Choice Hotels we’ve ever booked.  The rooms were super clean, the beds were wonderful, and the breakfast was fantastic!  A nice woman named Mary made our breakfast to order and it was delicious.  Most “breakfast included with your stay” are reconstituted eggs, greasy sausage or limp bacon, rock hard muffins or biscuits and mushy potatoes.  This was fresh with perfectly cooked to order eggs.  If you ever find yourself in need of a hotel room in Billings, you can’t go wrong with the Quality Inn. 

I don’t remember any eggs.  Oh, yeah.  I sat out that meal in the car.  Specism.

The next day’s drive to Pocatello, ID was truly breathtaking!  We’d been driving along the Yellowstone River, along the Lewis and Clark trail for days and it was drop dead gorgeous.  We were using Waze as our GPS navigator and as we got to Bozeman, it turned us south and took us all through farm and ranch country.  It was very rural, and it seemed like there must have been a more direct route but who are we to argue? 

No one listens, anyway.

It was quite pretty so we just enjoyed the ride although Eddie seemed a bit uncertain about this part of the journey.

Da da da da da da da da dah…

Eddie, quit humming Dueling Banjos.  You’re creeping me out.

I’m sure everything is fine. 

Once we reconnected with the highway, we were paralleling the Gallatin River, and it was so beautiful!  We couldn’t resist stopping to take pictures of the river, the dense pine trees and the occasional pop of fall colors.  In the drive from Billing MT to Pocatello ID, we went from farmland to dense forests to hills and cliff formations to rolling hills and ended up back at the western most part of Yellowstone.  We continued to Pocatello and arrived in the late afternoon.  Breakfast felt like it was a long time ago and we were quite hungry.  A side note: Last year on our road trip we didn’t have much trouble finding places we could eat outside with Eddie.  This trip, it seems we are just past the point when they close their patios for the season. 

Oh, really? I hadn’t noticed. 

As we arrived in Pocatello, we REALLY wanted some good food because as you’ve no doubt read in our past blogs, the food choices were limited and not very good in Yellowstone and the Dakotas.  It took some perseverance, but we finally found a place called The Yellowstone Restaurant (yes, the irony is noted) that still had outside seating.  The food was really great!  Michelle had trout, Sandy had salmon, and Eddie was able to join us.  A round of huzzahs! from all three of us.

I told them to keep looking.  I got to sit outside and have my martini.  The cars are fun to watch as they go by and there were 2 old dogs across the street I got to watch.

Eddie, make sure your audience knows that “martini” for you means water.

If you say so.

 An interesting note about this Quality Inn, it was certainly longer in the tooth than the Billings QI and not nearly as nice, but it did have one feature the Billings location didn’t…a colony of mice was living right outside the front door in a somewhat neglected flower bed.  Eddie was fascinated with it, and we were amused.  We settled in for the night to prepare of our journey to Boise and visiting with Steve D and family.

Mouses houses!  No one ran so I just watched…

October 1^st and 2^nd 2024

The drive to Boise/Eagle again provided interesting and arresting scenery.  We passed both fallow and productive fields of hay and other crops and arrived at our Airbnb in the late afternoon.  We unpacked and called Steve to let him know we were in town.  We had dinner plans in the evening with Steve and Tammy (Steve’s sister) and Bryan (his BIL).  So, we drove to Tammy and Bryan’s beautiful home in Eagle (Eagle is a suburb of Boise).  Eddie came with and met Maui their adorable Cockapoo.  The two of them got along great.  We crated Eddie and took off for a local restaurant called “Crave”. 

I’m pretty sure I was invited, but you just left me to watch Maui through the bars of my jail cell.

The food and drink were truly incredible, and the company was fantastic, and our food server, Emily, was so much fun!  She really added to the experience.  After dinner we picked up Eddie and headed back to our Airbnb and a good night’s rest.  The next morning, at Steve’s suggestion, we had breakfast at ‘Rembrandt’s’ a local eatery.  The food was so good, we went back for breakfast the next day as well.  Afterwards, we headed for Tammy and Bryan’s, crated Eddie and the five of us drove into Boise.

I’m seeing a pattern here.  I want to see Boise, too.  I’ll just drag my water dish across the jail cell bars until they remember me and come home.

We spent a couple of very enjoyable hours at the Idaho State Museum.  It is really well done and super informative about the state’s history, agriculture and geology.  We then had lunch at ‘13^th Street Pub and Grill’ in an older, quaint part of Boise – again, really good food.  The Boise area is certainly making up for the food desert of the prior two weeks!  We drove back to Tammy and Bryan’s place and had a wonderful visit while Bryan started prepping his hand-built pizza oven for our evening meal of handmade pizzas with homemade dough, freshly made marinara sauce and all kinds of other wonderful fixings.  Steve’s brother, Frankie, sister-in-law, Jamie, and father Frank, arrived, and we all set about creating our own Tuscan (or maybe Scillian or Napolitan) masterpieces.  So, so good! 

Hey!  I don’t remember getting any pizza bones!

Eddie, sweetie, you had lots and lots of treats and you managed to play with every one of Maui’s toys.  You also got lots of loving.  I don’t think you suffered.

Your viewpoint.

Eventually it was time to say goodbye and head back to our Airbnb for the night.  We loved seeing Steve in the place that shaped him and enjoyed his stories of living here during high school and college.  We loved meeting his family and, not surprisingly, we loved all of them.  Like Steve, they are warm, funny, interested in the world, great conversationalists and just super good company.  We hope they will come to the Coachella Valley to visit Steve soon so we can spend some more time with them.  They were so welcoming to us in their hometown, and we’d love to return the favor.  Tomorrow is a regroup day as we prepare to travel to Boulder, CO by way of Odgen UT. 

So much hay in this part of the country.

You have to wonder why he felt the need to sign his name. Regardless, it is now a National Monument.

The Beauty of the Gallatin River.

Dense forests as we were traveling along the river.

And, because this is the drunken goat tour. here we are back at Yellowstone National Park (the western end)

Our amazing dinner at Crave, with Steve’s sister, Tammy, and brother-in-law, Bryan. the conversation was lively and entertaining. Emily, our food server extraordinaire took this picture.

Thank you to Steve, Tammy and Bryan for a great time in Eagle/Boise, Idaho. Here’s to many more times in the future!

September 26, 2024

We headed for North Dakota up highway 90 through truly beautiful pine and oak trees and drove through Sturgis.  As many of you know, Sturgis is the home of the gi-normous motorcycle rally held here every year in August.  You may also remember that the organizers of the rally decided to hold it in August of 2020 despite the COVID pandemic and it turned into a super spreader event.  I’ll just leave it at that.  The town has motorcycle themed businesses and restaurants and seems like a nice town regardless of 2020.  From there we drove through Deadwood and stopped at the visitor center.  The town retains some of the pioneer theme but certainly is no longer the rough and tumble place it was when Wild Bill Hickok was killed over a card game in August of 1876 after living there for only a few weeks.  Eddie seemed to be really interested in Deadwood as she looked out the windows the entire time we were in the town.  Typically, she lays down in her bed after just a couple of minutes, but she was sightseeing the entire time we were driving through the town. 

I’m a prairie doggie, a ‘get along little doggie’, a tourist doggie.  I saw lots of people in the streets.  Lots of them looked dog tired. 

Another note on the weather we are experiencing.  In Yellowstone (less than a week ago) we had to scrape ice off the windows of the car in the mornings although it did warm up to high 60s/low 70s by the afternoon so the weather was very pleasant for these two desert rats.  In South and North Dakota, it’s been in the middle to upper 90s the entire time we’ve been here!  It’s about 20 degrees above normal for this time of year.  But don’t worry, there’s no climate change.  At any rate, we eventually arrived in Medora ND after driving through mile after mile of grasslands and cultivated hay fields.  Side note: there were hundreds if not thousands of very large hay rolls in field after field.  We learned these are called “ton bales” and can weigh up to 1500 pounds.  Most of the hay grown in this part of the country is alfalfa and is used to feed cattle.  OK, end of the educational part of the program.  We grabbed a quick take-out dinner from one of the local eateries and settled in for our North Dakota adventure.

September 27, 2024

Medora is really small (pop. 121 by the 2020 census) so we decided to drive the 30 or so miles to Dickinson because we desperately needed a car wash, and it just so happened they have a Starbucks.  We’re not saying Michelle is willing to go 30 miles for a Vente black tea, but we’re not saying she isn’t either. 

I’ll say it.  Mommy Michelle will go anywhere for tea.  I don’t think it smells very good.

After stopping at a car wash, a gas station, and the Starbucks, we went to the local grocery store and bought peanut butter, jam and bread.  The offerings in Medora were not as bad as in Yellowstone, but all the patios were closed for the season so dining with dog was not an option.  So, PB&J it was.  Refreshed and provisioned, we headed for the north unit of Teddy Roosevelt National Park.  Some notes on the park.  It is the only national park named for a person and it is to honor the president who was our greatest conservationist.  He was passionate about preserving the great beauty and the unique wild places in our country.  The north and south parts of the park are 70 miles apart and most people opt to only do the south unit of the park.  Michelle read in the Nat Geo book that the north was in some ways more amazing than the south park, and we had two days to explore so we decided to do the north one day and the south the next.  We’re so glad we did because the north park was truly stunning.  There are so many beautiful formations carved into arresting shapes and layered with sandstone, siltstone, mudstone and volcanic ash.  Some of the volcanic minerals turn into bentonite clay which, bizarrely is now all the rage in some circles in use to detoxify the body.  Just a note, the FDA warns this is not necessarily safe as it can contain heavy metals harmful to humans. 

Dogs shouldn’t eat it either.  Looks like fun to play in, tho.

Regardless of whether it should be used on humans, it creates a wonderous effect and looks like it is melting down the sides of the park’s formations.  We also saw a large herd of bison in the north park as well as hundreds of Prairie Dog burrows and dozens of Prairie Dog sentries.  They are right beside the road so you can easily see them and hear their unique chirps and whistles.  We returned to Medora, ate PB&J sandwiches, sent out our South Dakota blog and settled in for the night.

Again with the prairie dogs.  You got the real thing here in the back seat.  What the fluff?

September 28, 2024

Today’s agenda was exploring the south part of TRPN (as the locals call the park) and yesterday we noticed the only gas station in town had a convenience store that purported to sell freshly made breakfast sandwiches so off we went to sample them.  They were pretty good if seriously salty (the ham must have been country ham) but they satisfied our hunger.  The landscape of the south park is still really beautiful but not nearly as dramatic as the north.  If you ever decide to wander up this way and explore the park, we highly recommend you make the effort to see both parts of the park.  It’s truly worth it.  So, what the south lacks in dramatic landscape, it makes up for it with lots of wildlife.  We saw (more) bison and wild horses supposedly descended from horses that escaped Theodore Roosevelt’s two cattle farms.  

Those big brown dogs just wander anywhere they want.  No leases or anything!

We also saw deer and antelope although they were further away and kept to the hillsides.  We drove the 22 mile road and enjoyed every minute of it.  Part of the loop is washed out so it is now an ‘up and back’ drive but will once again be a loop when they get the road repaired.  Medora literally sits right outside the gateway to the park, so it was a much shorter ride back to town than from the north.  Tomorrow we head back to Montana for a quick overnight before we head for Idaho to meet up with our dear friend Steve Delavan. 

We had Elk burgers for dinner!  Don’t tell those big animals in the park.  They were yummy!

Tons of alfalfa “ton bales”

Our Motel in Medora. No luxury or extras but it got the job done.

So, so many prairie dogs – their burrows take up 2% of the 70,000 acre park which for those of us who can do math is 1400 acres!

One of the amazing vistas of the north unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

The south unit of the park.

Wild horses right by the side of the road in the south unit.

And, of course, the ubiquitous bison strolling down the park roads.

September 23, 2024

We picked up Eddie in Livingston, MT and headed for South Dakota with a stop along the way at Devil’s Tower. 

Let me just say that missing the big yellow stone was not My plan.  It happened so fast.  We went to visit that nice Cindy lady and then I was left!  Abandoned!  I was sad.

Yes, that happened Eddie.  But you are with us now.  Try to live in the moment.  Anyway….

Devil’s Tower is SO much more impressive in person than in pictures.  It’s truly huge!  It’s nearly 900 feet tall and 11 miles in circumference.  You catch your first sight of the tower 17 miles from the monument!  It really stands out and as the road winds towards it, it appears and disappears depending on the bends in the road.  Most people know Devil’s Tower from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (Sandy keeps humming) but it is equally famous among rock climbers.  In fact, while we were there, we saw two climbers make it about halfway up to one of the ledges created by fracturing of the columns that compose the igneous intrusion that is Devil’s Tower.  If you are ever in this part of the country, it should not be missed.  We continued through Wyoming towards South Dakota and arrived at our hotel in the early evening.  We had great ambitions for the next day, so we went early to bed in preparation. 

We are back on the long road and found a giant rock.  Too big for me.  Mommy Sandy keeps humming some weird song.  Oh, well, what else is new?

September 24, 2024

Wow – what a full day!  We started with a trip to Wind Cave National Park.  Normally, the draw for the park are the miles and miles of caves in the park that can only be accessed by Park Ranger led tours.  However, since we had Eddie, that wasn’t an option for us, but we still wanted to see the park.  When we got there, we realized they tours were suspended for some elevator repairs, so nothing lost!  We drove through the park and saw antelope, prairie dogs and lots of beautiful rolling. grassland. 

What’s so special about a dog on the prairie?  I’m here and much more fun.

From Wine Cave, we continued driving through South Dakota’s Black Hills to the Crazy Horse Memorial which is the largest under construction mountain carving in the world.  It is sometimes called the 8^th wonder of the world, and it is impressive but highly commercialized.  It was started in 1948 by Korczak Ziolkowski (he was also involved in creating Mount Rushmore) who worked on it until his death in 1982.  His widow took over supervision of the work which remains unfinished to this day.  There is no estimate for its completion.  Native Americans are divided in their opinions of the monument.  Regardless of all that, it is an interesting sight, and we enjoyed all the Native American exhibits, the 1/34^th scale model of the completed carving and the information on the carving’s history.  After we left the Crazy Horse monument, we decided to take in Mount Rushmore so off we went.  It was cool to see it, but both of us were more impressed with the beautiful landscape we were driving through than the human made monuments.  The land consists of grasslands, Ponderosa pine trees and plentiful wildlife.  Our country is so beautiful and the landscape so varied, we felt blessed to be able to experience this part of the U.S.  At this point we were pleasantly tired, so we found a dog friendly restaurant called Murphy’s Pub and ate delicious burgers and jalapeno laced margaritas.  All in all, a great day!

Why wouldn’t they be dog friendly?  I entertained the entire patio!

September 25, 2024

Today’s destination was Badlands National Park, so we took off in an easterly direction towards the park.  On the way, we keep seeing signs for something called “Wall Drug”.  As soon as I had bars on my phone, I looked it up and it is indeed a drug store in Wall, South Dakota.  It started in the 1930’s as a small family run drug store and because of the depression, was struggling to survive.  So, the family that ran it came up with the idea of offering free ice water to travelers passing their way.  It worked so well, that the drug store now takes up nearly a city block and sells, almost literally, everything.  We took turns exploring the store since Eddie was not allowed.  There are many benches outside the store so we each sat there and let Eddie work her magic.  We had many people stop and ask to pet Eddie and stayed to chat.  She is such a people magnet.  Eventually we continued on our way to the Badlands.  What an incredible place!  We can’t describe it any better than our National Geographic National Park guide: “ …vast rolling grassland drops away to a fantastic landscape of pyramids, pillars, bluffs, knife-edge ridges, and narrow canyons.”  These rock layers reflect the geological history of the land which built up sentiment when it was covered with a shallow sea and thick volcanic ash once the sea was gone.  I know we keep repeating ourselves, but it really shouldn’t be missed.  On the way back, we stopped in Wall, SD again and had a late lunch and then headed back to Rapid City for a good night’s rest.  Tomorrow, we head to North Dakota. 

I don’t remember any walls in Wall.  The people were really nice, but they wouldn’t let me inside.  Their loss.

Devil’s Tower in full glory…let’s all hum along.

Halfway up the picture you’ll see a very brave rock climber. There were actually two on the tower the day we were there.

A scale model of Chief Crazy Horse when (or if) it is completed.

The current progress on the Chief Crazy Horse monument.

Mount Rushmore and you know who…

No introduction is needed.

So many Bison! Just amazing!

The end to a long but thrilling day!

Hey moms! This was a good day!