yellowstone park...

you can bet i stayed on the sidewalk!!! i was kind of hoping to see one, though.
not your every day mud puddle! i love all the earthy colors of the minerals...
Mammoth Springs... totally changed from the last time i was here!! no big platform pools anymore, just many, many little ones. and it covers a much larger area than ever i have seen before!

it was so much fun to see the park with the top down on the car... much greater visibility!!
and we got to see quite a few bison herds...
they are such amazing and impressive animals!
this one was a little closer than i liked, sitting there with the top down. he could have just put his big ol' head right inside the car!! good thing he wasn't so inclined...
a large sinkhole, smoking away... VERY stinky! sulfurous, rotten egg smell.
love the rock and timber buildings.
waiting for Old Faithful to blow. praying the sun will come out from behind this cloud to make it more dramatic. meanwhile, the cloud itself was dramatic with its silver lining against the cobalt blue of the sky!
a few smaller geysers went off several times while we were waiting for Old Faithful...
and finally, it blew, in all its glory. what a fun day in the park!!! beautiful scenery, wild wildlife, strange and wonderful geological oddities and glorious sunshine. so thankful for the experience! hope you are enjoying the rare and beautiful moments in your life! get out there and see it all... and be so thankful to be back home afterwards, knowing you live in such beautiful areas of the country!

Custer State Park... S. Dakota

folk art buffalo... on the street corners.
driving the wildlife loop...
with the top down...
glad we are not traveling and living in one of these wagons!!!
a pronghorn grazing...
these guys! they are everywhere!!!!
prairie dogs popping in and out of their holes...
buffalo herd...
the one on the right looks grumpy, doesn't he?!
the south side of a north-going buffalo...
wild burros...
"if you feed me, i will move out of your way"...
a fun day in the park. gorgeous. sunny. riding with the top down... hope you are having fun too!

down on the farm...

at our brother's house in S. Dakota... this is his bird, Bird. pure entertainment, this one is!
baby turkeys...
geese on his pond...
and wonderful wildflowers...

fields and fields of sunflowers... did you know they always face east?
cats... to keep away the rodent critters...
guard geese...
be careful rustling that plastic bag... it's their signal to come running to you...
siblings, having a blast together...
we are having fun being tourists! and next post i'll show you where we've been... greetings to you all!

day 2...Montana to N. Dakota

day 2 of traveling led us into the Badlands... dry, hot, stunning.
this is what hair looks like after a day of riding in the convertible with the top down. but it was so FUN!!!
the driver: Dave; the navigator riding shotgun: Sandy (my sister).
Theodore Roosevelt Natl Park...
the Painted Canyon...

such a foreign, alien landscape to this girl from NW Washington!!
two very looong days of travel done and over. tomorrow we arrive at our brother's to visit and PLAY!! hope you find some playing time in your day! hot, sunny wishes to you all...

day 1... Washington to Montana

What a gorgeous day!! A day to put the top down...let the breeze blow through your hair, the sun shine on you, the smell of dry pine forest please your sense of smell...
Past windmills, lakes, mountains, rivers, and old west towns...
Seeing the comic humor of rural America... don't ask ME; I haven't got a clue about this motor home art!!! But it made me smile...
sightseeing along the way: the talking moose head, the giant huckleberry swirl ice cream cone, the huge gift shop full of kitchy tourist souvenir stuff...

It was a GREAT day number 1!!! Hope your day was GREAT too! cornball wishes and huckleberry love to you all...

a short journey...

a journey away from my comfy cottage... blackberries are ripening, blueberries are finishing up, tomatoes are taking way too long to redden... but it's time. time for a visit to my brother in S. Dakota... with my sister and her husband. time for a road trip.
goodbye for awhile, dear grandchild, Hanna...
goodbye for awhile, dear ocean, as we travel east and away from the shore.
goodbye to the clean marine air and the cool breeze...
and my daily view of my mountain in all its various moods. it's turning FALLish already. i know it will be full on when i return. but it's time for a visit to my brother.