Five National Parks in Five Days (Days Three-Four)
Day Three: Black Canyon of the Gunnison Although Wednesday’s drive to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park was the shortest of all, it would begin the longest stretches of the marathon trip. I checked out early, then cleaned and reorganized SB’s inside so that I could more easily find and access supplies. Beyond the visitors center, there was some limited scenic driving and a steady stream of vehicles taking advantage of it. However, this was a park that had more to offer for the hiker. Fortunately, the weather was sunny and warm enough to wear one of my national park shirts, the one with each park printed on the front that allows me to use a magic marker to check off a park as I visit. I viewed the visitors center exhibit and did my usual purchase of a hiker’s medallion and park-themed refrigerator magnet before taking the scenic…
A Quick Trip–South Dakota (Day One)
Since this was supposed to be a mini-vacation (and I wanted to wait for delivery of a package from Amazon), I didn’t set the alarm for an early wake-up. Still, between awakening early on my own and the early arrival of my package, I was able to begin my journey at 9:30 a.m. As it worked out, this was a good thing because my destination was the famous Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota. I wanted a cowboy hat and knew they would have a wide selection of the genuine article in stock. The Silver Bullet’s odometer read 33,650 when I started. The Mapquest route indicated an 8.5 hour drive covering some 625 miles. With my departure time, I would only have about an hour to shop, but I tend to be the type of shopper who goes with a goal and a get-in-get-out attitude, so that should be plenty…
A Three-Day Tour… of National Parks
I’ve been back from my three-day tour of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Voyageurs National Park for two days at the point I created this post, and both parks are still on my mind. What an impression each made on me in such a short time! Folks crowd onto Yellowstone, Yosemite and other big parks–and with good reason. But they miss out on the various wonders of the small- to mid-size parks. Below is the map of the entire 2,235 mile trip: More about each park in separate posts, but I wanted to briefly update the complete list of national parks to include the ones I recently visited. I’ve bolded those that I have visited as of today and added links to the blogs where I’ve described the visits. Acadia Arches Badlands Big Bend Biscayne Black Canyon of the Gunnison Bryce Canyon Canyonlands Capitol Reef Carlsbad Caverns Channel Islands Congaree…
Home, Home from the Range
The night’s storm died away, but that Tuesday morning afterwards began still cloudy and was the coolest of the extended holiday weekend. Fortunately, it wasn’t so cool that I changed my mind about visiting Evans Plunge Mineral Springs in Hot Springs. I entered the small town around 7:30 a.m. and was able to get enough of a Wi-fi signal from my phone to find the direct route to the facilities. My timing was perfect because there weren’t many people there. I actually had the sauna to myself for several minutes. There were also few swimmers using the indoor swimming pool as I approached. I again reminded myself as I slowly walked down the steps into the shallow end that it had been decades since I swam, and what my body could do then was not the same as where things stood now. Those words of warning faded as…
A Day in the Black Hills of South Dakota
Memorial Day started partly sunny and cooler after the heavy thunderstorms of the night before. The forecast was for more stormy weather; the question was whether it would come during the day or later in the evening. The down side of a mostly outdoors activity is that one is affected by weather conditions. Fortunately, the sun came out, and daylight hours warmed up enough where folks were able to shed their jackets by mid-morning. My niece and I went on this same bus tour ten years ago. I wanted to go again because I’d very much enjoyed the tour and appreciated not having to drive myself from one stop to another. The Fort Hays Mount Rushmore Sightseeing Tour began with breakfast of pancakes and sausage, wound through the mountainous roadways of the Black Hills from Mount Rushmore to Crazy Horse. Most of my pictures are, as usual, available on my…
Oh, the Rocks and the Mountains
Ten years ago, I decided to bypass the Badlands National Park. Bad decision, but fortunately, I had the opportunity to see it this time. The route along I-90 regularly passes by several South Dakota historical sites. I made a quick drive through of this one: I got off to an early Sunday morning start because I know popular national parks fill quickly, especially during holiday weekends. Although I had about a half tank of gas, I also had learned from past experience that stations were rarely available once one entered the park. So when I saw a sign reminding me of this, I decided to stop at the station and add more gas to RB’s tank. (BTW, gas prices are, not surprisingly, higher because of the station’s isolated location, so fill up beforehand.) For a second day, the weather was wonderful, cooler than yesterday, although I wasn’t sure it would…
… And We’re Off!
First of all, let me say that the weather was gorgeous! I’d been looking at the forecast all week, but I’ve been in the Midwest long enough now to not completely trust it to match up with reality. The reality, as it worked out, was even warmer than I expected for Memorial Day weekend, almost like the weather I’d expect at home. One of the things I appreciate about driving solo is that I can leave when I’m durn well ready to go and take as much sh** as I want without being concerned about handling it or paying extra for it. I didn’t say, however, there weren’t potential consequences to this. RB and I didn’t hit the road until early Saturday afternoon. The holiday weekend traffic was, unsurprisingly, rather heavy for Iowa and didn’t really lighten until we reached the South Dakota side of I-29. The timing worked because…
The More Things Change…
A lot has happened since I last posted. Most significantly, my mother passed away in March, and I admit I’m still touchy about her loss. Still, I’m very grateful we had the last chances we got to spend time together, including the drive through North Carolina to see the Outer Banks last July. As for the plans I mentioned in my last blog message, they are still on, just a little condensed. I’m set to spend Memorial Day weekend in the Black Hills of South Dakota with a brief crossing into Wyoming to visit Devil’s Tower, but I expect the trip to be shorter in duration than I’d originally planned. I’m under deadline to finish a book I’m writing by the publisher’s due date, and any thoughts that I’ll do much writing while on that trip would only serve as an effort to fool myself. A colleague suggested I add…
Black Hills Revisit
It's hard to believe that next summer marks the ten year anniversary of : //www.randyejones.com/GoinWest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">my first big trip since I moved to Iowa "four score and seven years ago." So, instead of making the Utah national parks trip I missed last summer, I've decided to retrace most of the route one of my nieces and I took to the Black Hills of South Dakota.
My hope is not only once again to see Mt. Rushmore, which I'd finally been able to strike off my bucket list, and Crazy Horse--and find out how much closer it is to being finished, but to take RB into the Badlands National Park and to see what we can see at Devil's Tower. Plus, there's now a new site, a sculpture entitled, "Dignity," that I'm looking forward to seeing. Besides, who can drive through South Dakota and resist a stop by Wall Drug? I'm always on the lookout for a great cowboy hat. Since I only have a week, I'm not adding more until I actually know how much time I have to take it in. For now, all I know is that I want to return using a route different than I've taken before.This is route as it currently stands:
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BTW, this still allows me another week later in 2018 to visit Utah. Crossing my fingers!