SALT LAKE CITY

yesterday we all went into salt lake city by train...marci and Katie had done this trip before so they knew what trains to take and then transfer over to another one...to get the best deal we caught the 10;10 train...which was about an hr then a transfer then another transfer and we ended up at UTEP where Katie will be starting college in a couple of weeks...got a tour of the campus and it is up hill just like cornell...a lot of the campus was built for the 2002 winter Olympics ..so all the dorms--football stadium--rec buildings are only a few yrs old....what a great way to get some new buildings... then back downtown for lunch--and then off to the morman and their HUGE complex...lots of beautiful flowers planted all around...huge buildings...we also went into the tabernacle where the choir sings of course they weren't singing while we were there and we were surprised about the size...we thought that the building would be very big oh it was big but not as huge as we thought it might have been...the morman influence is sure all around...

we also toured some of the Olympic sites..wanted to go to a Olympic museum but guess what it has been moved to park city, ut

GOLDEN SPIKE NATIONAL MOUNMENT

arrived in ogden late on sat got our rv all set up and tony and caroline dsaughter and family came over to the campground for a visit..they have recently moved here but tim has been working here for a couple of yrs or more..marci just moved when their daughter just graduated from HS and will now be going to college in salt lake city... so we had some tour guide with us today..forst started with breakfast here in the campground then it was on to the golden spike national monument...now if you recall from your us history it is where the last spike was driven into the rails for a train to go across country...most interesting there was some trains that were built like the ones that made the run on the tracks back then...they are operational and we got there just in time to listen to the ranger talk about the rails.. after that it was on to the an art thing called the spiral thing...it was done by some man who took rocks and built them in a spiral on the banks of salt lake..when the lake is high you can't see it but they water is very low so it is visible and you can go walk around it if you want...not sure what the art was or is but it was interesting..lots of pelicans in the lake as they feed on the brine shrimp that is in the water.. after that we went a few miles to the rocket display.. back to marci and tim's for dinner back to rig exhausted as another good day comes to a close...

HAGERMAN FOSSIL BED

we have been very busy with sight seeing..made a stop at the Hagerman fossil beds and Japanese interment national aprk....right now there is no visitors center for the camp so it is included with the fossil beds...all most interesting.. on our way to ogden we went thru twin falls,ut and of course had to stop for pictures..the snake river flows right thru the city and it is used for many recreations activities--kayaking-boating--fishing--who knows what else..

LAST COUPLE OF DAYS

the las t couple of days we have been traveling around without Wi-Fi...we have spent a night at Wal-Mart in butte , mt...today we went to a couple of national parks one was big hole where the Indians were over come by the army troups....not a good picture of what the white man did to the Indians..taking their land with contracts that were never kept.... then on to craters of the moon national monument...arrived around 4:30 so we saw a movie and checked out the museum..checked to see if there were any sites available in the park...nothing so we headed on to Hagerman where tomorrow we will check out the Hagerman fossil national park..and there is the Japanese intetment camp we want to also check out....sure has been a busy couple of days.. the temps have also been right up there into the 90's....glad we have some a/c... alls well and trip is going well..... as we have traveled thru the country side both in Montana and Idaho we have seen lots of irragiation going on miles and miles of it..not sure where the water is coming from but they sure do irragiate ...we can tell by the gree n lush fields we see along the drive...lots of hay fields which appear are going some where for sale...corn--sugar beets..silos for wheat storage...anyway it is big crop farming going on..

GREAT FALLS, MT

great falls is a wonderful place to learn all about lewis and clark....started off the morning with lar getting his monthly blood work done then on the sam's club to check it out for tony..so why not have lunch there so we all did..then on to the center...the books say plan on 2 hrs so we did wanting to go to another museum this afternoon...not a good plan..we spent over 3 1/2 hrs there and ran out of time to go to the other museum..so that is on for tomorrow...I must say the lewis and clark was very well done and I would recommend it to any one who is in great fall ,mt.....very well done..we went to a couple of movies and ranger talks...worth while...it may just affect our travel plans when heading east and follow more of the lewis and clark trail ending up in st Louis..Remains to be discussed... we saw 4 of the falls that they had to go around...althou 1 was under water due to a dam but we saw where it had been and the other was on a long dirt road so we decided not to go look at it...must give those guys credit for going on the adventure they did...

WATERTON/GLACIER

yesterday we adventured into Canada to the park the neighbors glacier ...and as we were pulling away fro the Canadian check station we look out and there right along the side of the road was bear just a grazing away...so of course we watched it for quite some time and NO we did not get out of the car....then off we went to see the sights..took a ride to red rock canyon or red creek or red something and saw 4 dessert goats...so a fine day it was..i now think I am all caught up on our travels so far... oh you might think it is the same bear but check the dates on the pictures...different bear--different day..

GLACIER

ok we are now back in the states and have spent 4 days at glacier exploring the park...when we arrived at the campground who do we see in front of us but our friends tony and caroline if we had had a plan as to when we both would have arrived it probally would not had worked out...so I guess no plan worked out just like if we had planned it... it has been great catching up with them and have done and seen a lot...lots of wild life--black bears--grizzley--mountain goats --dall sheep--desert goats---wonderful scenery--more scenery and then guess what more scenery...

BUFFALO JUMP

after Calgary lar and I made our way down to the us but stopped in a small campground as we wanted to go to the indian buffalo jump heritage site...it is just what it says...many yrs ago the indian had an idea why not round up the buffalo and have them jump off a cliff then get them..so that is exactly what they did ..it took them a lot of planning to do it and have the weather just right...they hoped to get enough for their winter use..they used every part of the buffalo either to eat of for warmth and evden made tools out of the bones...they used everything ..

STAMPEDE

we have been without Wi-Fi or very good service for some time..now we are in great falls, mtand have some service ...the stampede was fun and it was like the NYState fair..lots of vendors a mid-way with rides galore but the main draw was of course the stampede which was exciting...saw a couple of cowboys get hurt and had to be taken away in an ambulance and a horse who we think died of an heart attack... we also went to Banff and rode the gondola up the mountain--saw flood damage (mainly rock slides) so going to the stampede can now we taken off the bucket list...

CALAGRY

ok with spotty Wi-Fi I will try to post something... arrived here in calagry on tues around noon..got set up then off to a welcome gathering and to get our schedule of events that will be going on and by the sounds of things we are going to be busy... yesterday we boarded the bus at 8am to go off for free breakfast..the stampeded committee does a pancake breakfast every morning for everyone who wants it..they serve pancakes with a piece of bacon cooked in it served on some very fine china (napkin)..must say they were good pancakes.. then off to the Calgary tower to see the city from high up--then glenbow museum for a few hrs and didn't have enough time to see it all... now it is on the Canada Olympic village and and their hall of fame..again not enough time to see it all but we sure tried..then on to dinner and back to the rig at 7 and to bed shortly after 9..it is still light out so when I go to bed it is almost liking taking a nap in the afternoon as it is so light out... as e drove up here we saw field after field of very bright yellow flowers and come to find out it is canola (oil)...weather has been good and there are very few sights of any flooding...the city sure went to work cleaning up the city after the flooding..understand they took all the dirt out of the stampeded grounds dried it and put it bvack...sure understand that this is a real money maker for the city...lots and lots of people all over and streets are closed for activities... no pictures going this morning I will try again at another time..

ARRIVING IN CANADA

this morning we left Kalispell, mt about 9 and we knew we would have to travel over some slower roads so we wanted a early start but first we had to have coffee and a cinnamon bun with tom before we left.. got on the road about 9am which was good but first lar wanted to change one the spare tire with one on those on the rig that looked like It was showing some wear...so he did before coffee..so that done we now have changed tires on three of the four tires on the rig.. then on our way..as we were approaching Canada the really dark clouds started to appear so we knew we were going to be in for some weather ugh...no problem going thru customs we were only asked a few questions like where we were from da...did we have any fire arms NO to that and a couple of more..so the young lady sent us on our way and said have a good time... the travel was thru some mountain passes and then the rain started coming down and I mean down it was some of the hardest rain we have ever driven in along with hail...we drove in the hard rain for at least a couple of hrs even pulling over a couple of times when it got harder..couldn't see your foot in front of your hand it was so hard... in one town we stopped for lunch we saw a couple of bucks cross t he street and i am serious when I say they crossed in the cross walks...but by the time I got the camera out and set to go they were gone we are now about a couple of hrs outside Calgary and will make the final p

ush tomorrow..besides we aren't suppose to arrive till tomorrow then the fun begins hahahaha... so hopefully we will have Wi-Fi there and will have time to post some pictures of the stampede and the tours we take..

MONTANA

we have been in Montana for a few days and seen some sights and also visited with lar's friend tom from way back to the western union days...have had a good visit and tom had a hip replacement ab out 4 weeks ago and seems to be doing well...haven't been to any museums nor tourists sights ..but we sure have seen some beautiful scenery...

pictures are of a sunset outside Missoula, mt--scenery along the way..lar meeting the bull he thinks he might like to ride..

JULY 4TH

so todays is july 4th when we celebrate our countries freedom..amen to that...so last night we were treated to some fire works and didn't even have to leave the campground--the city of butte was doing their display and we are overlooking the city so we could stay put..oh we could have gone into butte then we would have had to fight the traffic getting back...easier to stay where we were.. and a nice display it was..but you know what it doesn't get dark here until 11 so it was a late night going to bed...so we slept in this morning till 7..such a treat.. we decided we would go to a couple of museums only to find out that they had closed for the holiday..so we went to the site of the largest mine fire in Montana on top of a mountain overlooking butte...nice views of the city...and interesting info about the fire.. then off to the Chinese museum of the settlers who settled here in butte..we had our own private guide as it wasn't busy at all... lunch had been decided to go find a pastie for lunch as we had had one in the UP and wanted to compare them....guess because it is the 4th of july most everything is closed even the pastie shops..we were told that Wal-Mart also makes them--so we looked at each other and said we could buy some and bring them back to the rig...guess what Wal-Mart was all sold out..so had to settle for a sub-way..which is always tastie...glad that people close up their shops to enjoy the holiday with their families so I guess we may just have to wiat till we get home and I'll try to make some...

MONTANA

this morning we were on the road by 9 heading toward butte, mt where the plan if to spend 2 nights...it was an uneventful day of travel..NO tire change amen...we just spent most of the time looking at he scenery..the only way to really get the most out it is to see it with your own eyes..just beautiful... we traveled along the Yellowstone river for some time and it sure looks like a great river to take a canoe/kayak trip on.....at the campground we the might at said that the river has few festivals with the river in mind..lots of people come out to help celebrate it..it is onoe of the rivers that lewis and clark explored... arrived in butte around 2 or so found our campground got settled..then we find out that there is a really big display of fireworks tonight and we don't even have to leave the campground as we can see from here...

DRIVING ALONG

left Worland, wy this morning around 9 or so heading toward Montana...and it was suppose to be a leisurely ride ...we thought...but guess what we stopped at a rest area a and when I came out of the bathroom I heard a swosshing noise..oh what is that I thought someone in the house over there working on something or maybe I should walk over to the rig/truck to see if maybe the sound was coming from there...yep..one of the tires on the rig ..when I got down to check it out further I noticed it was coming from the tire stem...I called lar who just came out of the jon to come o0ver and not ready the info...yep he says guess I need to change the tire...so he did...the only ones who asked us if we needed help were a couple of bikers (motor) by then wee were all done..so we talked to them for awhile and they were from ohio and w.v on their way to Yellowstone...told us not to go to cody as there was a big something going on there and the streets were all blocked and this was tko go on for a week..guess we won't go to cody... then we had lunch..and as we were beginning to pull out I noticed a van with it's hood up and the young man was pouring water into his radiator..said to lar should we offer to help...ao wedid..and of course they had a story --traveling with three young kids and we had just bought some ice cream sandwiches when the ice cream maker at mcdonalds was broken so we gave the kinds the sandwiches..got them all set and they took off heading to Kansas... arrived at the campground a wee bit later than planned cause we also had to stop at another tire store to have them replace the tire stem...as lar's says he is tires of tires... so the adventure goes on and on but we are having a good time enjoying the scenery..