Fraught With DANGER!

“Fraught with danger” – yes, that pretty much describes our recent road trip to Yellowstone.  There were not only warning signs at Yellowstone, but we received cautions and rules to follow all along the way.   We were both struck (figuratively, not literally) with just how many signs there were.  Here’s a little sampling of the warnings that we received:

Some signs had more than just one warning:

Here’s yet more warning:

Even the VA medical facility in Sheridan had safety on its agenda:

This sign didn’t even have a warning, leaving us to wonder just what might be lurking ahead:

On the drive from Yellowstone to Sheridan, Wyoming (via Cody), we ended up going through the Big Horn Mountains.  I would put that drive up against all of the roller coasters in the world…I have never gripped a steering wheel so hard.  As if navigating the steep angle and switch backs were not enough, there was a sign warning us to watch for loose livestock.  Sure enough, there were cattle on the road:

Since there was a little pull-off area and we were both feeling a little queasy, my sister and I took a little break and hung out with those cows for a while.  This little honey watched us from across the road quite intently the entire time:

Later on in that mountain pass, we were surrounded by sheep (and I do mean surrounded, even though the view in the picture doesn’t fully show that).  A group of them decided to cross the road just in front of us:

My sister just fell in love with the little “black sheep” and it was fun to see it scurry to the other side:

I’m feeling pretty lucky that my sister and I were able to make it to Yellowstone and back without incident!

Making Tracks - Day 6 of Our Trip

There are no pictures to post since we are going home the same way that we came. Yep, everything looks pretty much the same.

Dee Dee and I made it to Hays, Kansas, which is where we spent the first night on the way to Yellowstone. We are ready to get home; hotels and eating out are fun for the first couple of nights, but it gets a little old after awhile. We are ready for our own beds, a bologna sandwich, and there are several little fuzzy creatures at my house that probably need kissing by now. Also, Dee Dee has had trouble breathing almost everywhere that we've been (except Bozeman, Montana).

I just read Alan's first blog entry from Yellowstone, and it made me so happy! It looks like he's having a good time so far, and that's all any old mother wants.

More Yellowstone Adventures: Days 4 and 5

Bozeman, Montana, was our destination (a bus would be picking up Alan and other workers and taking them to Gardiner, Montana, where they would spend a couple of days in training). The drive from Sheridan to Bozeman went fairly quickly, and we were at Bozeman before we knew it:

We arrived in Bozeman a day before Alan was scheduled to leave, so we had some time to drive around. There are all kinds of businesses in cute facilities:



And more cute houses to see:


Even the Wal-Mart was scenic, and we went in to get Dee Dee some more pajamas. There was a “Montana gifts” shop in the front of the Wal-Mart and it had the cutest things. I got a T-shirt for Pod (I can’t wait until she’s big enough to wear it), plus there was a little more shopping that occurred. The clerk in the shop was very sweet and I learned a lot about Bozeman from her.


We eventually got tired, so we headed back to the motel, where I took a picture of Alan:


We watched the local news on television, and I’ve always said that if you really want to know about an area, just watch their late news or buy a paper. Back home, at the time that we left, one of the top stories was about a man who had beheaded his wife with a chain saw (while she was still alive) and then had thrown her body into the street. The lead story on the news in Bozeman was about the fact that Montana’s governor was happy that Montana is one of the very few states that still has money in the bank (about $400 million). There were also stories about an exercise program for some school children and another about some important legislation that passed to help veterans (apparently some Montana Senators/Congressmen had helped to work on it). On Thursday morning, the top news on the radio was about two grizzly bears being relocated because they had become too comfortable around people. What a contrast!

It had started to snow late in the day, and Dee Dee took this picture while looking out of our room:


On D-Day (Day 5), Alan woke up bright and early, and was ready to go:


The bus station was directly across the street, and there was already a little flock of people waiting to begin their summer work season at Yellowstone. The bus finally arrived and everyone huddled close to listen to the instructions:



Before I knew what was happening, I heard someone say that they wanted the workers who were going to Old Faithful to load up first. Alan helped heft his bags into the baggage compartment, and then disappeared into the bus. I didn’t even get to hug him good-bye and embarrass him to death!


It didn’t take long at all, and pretty soon, the bus pulled out of the station, and my baby boy was gone:


I had told myself that I wasn’t going to cry, but I ended up breaking that promise!

Dee Dee and I waited for awhile to leave, because it had been snowing all night, and it was still snowing. There were reports that the mountain passes were cause for concern, and since we knew that there was a mountain pass between Bozeman and Billings (if it is technically a "mountain pass" by Montana standards, I don't know -- but there was a stretch of road that sure felt like one), we actually had considered staying another night. However, there was some kind of graduation in town, and our room was already spoken for; the clerk told Dee Dee that most likely ALL of the hotels in town would be booked, so the decision to leave was made for us.

Snow was coming down when we left:





Even once the snow let up, the roads were somewhat curvey:


With a little bit of “ups” and “downs”:


At one point, we had trouble seeing a truck that we KNEW was just ahead of us:


Want to know the exciting thing? We did it! We actually drove through the snow and sludge and wind. Maybe those who live with this all the time will roll your eyes and think, “Whatever!”, but it was pretty exciting for this Texas girl to know that she could get around if she had to.

Another thing that was neat for me was an observation that Dee Dee made when we stopped at Big Timber to stretch our legs. There was snow all around, and the wind was just slightly blowing, and as she got out of the car she said, "It doesn't really feel cold at all! It should, but it doesn't." This is something that I had told my family members after our trip to Yellowstone, only to have them look at me as though I had totally lost it. Now my mother was learning what a dry cold feels like for herself.

Mom was intrigued with all of the houses nestled among the trees and hills:



And she also loved all of the interesting rock formations:


At the end of Day 5, we seem to be out of the snow and hope to make lots of progress tomorrow. I hope my boy is having a good time! I thought of him all day.

Day 3 – Sheridan, Wyoming

We had made good time on our trip and decided to cool our heels for the day in Sheridan, Wyoming. I had wanted to see Sheridan for quite some time. Three years ago, while performing a job search for the Old Coot for jobs in Wyoming, several jobs in Sheridan popped up. Sheridan? Where on earth was Sheridan? Luckily for me, they have a website with tons of information, and they even have a webcam on certain parts of town, so I was able to learn a little bit about this "Sheridan". When I decided to let “Tom Tom” plan my trip for me, I was delighted to learn that Sheridan was on the route, and I would at last have the chance to check it out.

Although it is not a sprawling metroplex by any stretch, I was surprised to find that it was a little bigger than I had imagined. Their webcam does not do justice to the amount of traffic that goes down Main Street (which is very, very LONG). Luckily we were able to settle in for the night when we got here without having an accident, and we rested up before plotting our adventures for Day 3 of our trip. Dee Dee seems to have a little trouble breathing here, and she has been hitting her inhaler pretty regularly since we have been here. Still, she was ready to check out some things on our driving tour this morning.

When we went outside this morning, we were surprised to find a little snow on the car:


We drove out to see what the airport was like (small, but it works), and were tickled to see that the UPS facility was directly across from the airport (Hello, QVC!):



Although you see the mountains from almost anywhere in town, we wanted to get a little closer:



How cool would it be to be one of the houses nestled down nearby:



Obligatory wildlife shot: Was this taken up in the mountains? No! These little sweeties were actually snacking and frolicking in someone’s yard:


I have always thought that a log cabin was my dream house, but this little “story book” cottage would make me pretty happy, too:




There are lots of “vintage” style houses for sale in town, for those who don’t want to hobby farm:


And of course, I had to visit at least one quilt shop (I even bought something!):



I had wanted to get some pictures of all of the shops on Main Street, but not getting hit by oncoming traffic seemed more important at the time. If you would like to learn more about Sheridan, I would encourage you to visit their website:

http://www.sheridanwyoming.org/

Day 2: Making Progress – From Kansas to Wyoming!

Dee Dee felt much better on the second day of our trip; there had been something in the air that had made her almost cough up a lung all the way from Wichita to Salina. But today was better, and she seemed to enjoy the journey a little more.

Somewhere along the way, before we reached Denver, we caught a glimpse of our first snowy “peak”, and I started to squeal like a pig:

I must say, though, that moving to Denver may not be for me. Traffic is one of the things from which I am wanting to escape, and Denver to Fort Collins was definitely some two-handed driving.

I saw something in Colorado that I had never seen before: it looks almost like what Texans would call a double-wide, but instead of leaving it on its wheels and putting skirting around it, it is mounted on top of what looks like a basement. Neat! I want a basement!


Outside of Wyoming, we saw our first silhouette on a hillside, the first of many:


We wanted to get the Wyoming sign, but there wasn’t a safe spot to pull off of the road, so Alan snapped what he could while I blew down the road at 75 mph (75 mph! – the legal limit!):


This picture is kind of interesting; you almost had to be there to really appreciate it. Driving down the road, the snow that was still in the crevices of the hills gave an optical illusion of making it look like it was a bridge going over the hill, or an overpass, or something. But the “gaps” aren’t really gaps at all -- it’s just one solid hunk filled with snow:


We stopped at a little town that I really wanted to see. When I had been bitten by the Wyoming bug about three years ago, I had talked to an extension agent in Wyoming. She told me that Wheatland, Wyoming, is in what they call the “banana belt” of Wyoming, and that if I wanted to do some hobby farming that would be a good place for growing things. We mostly just pulled off of the road for some fuel and stretching, so I took a picture of the little drag that was down the street. I also was tickled to see mountains/hills just across the way:






I thought it might be “the place” until Dee Dee tried to open her car door – the wind was blowing so hard that she could barely get the door open. Once she got out and tried to make it to the store, it almost knocked her over. I guess all of those stories about Wyoming being windy really are true!

After seeing a silhouette of a “jackalope”, we stopped at a truck stop in Casper, where once again, the wind nearly took Dee Dee’s breath away:




There was another of those interesting home concepts:


We decided to really push the day and try to make it to Sheridan on Day 2; it meant travelling over 700 miles, but we can spend two nights there before taking Alan to his destination, and I will have the chance to really check out Sheridan. Here’s what it looks like as you are getting closer:

Tomorrow: Adventures in Sheridan!