Bug wash

Here we are in a carwash in Riverside - we made it! If you look closely, you can see Joe is scrubbing all the bugs and dirt off of the car before they bake on in the Southern California heat. Another adventure successfully completed. Can't wait to go back and spend time in the Teton National Park! I love to travel and observe with our awesome family!

108

Hey everyone! Here I am about 40 mikes north of Las Vegas with the dashboard - 108 degrees and 1,883 miles so far. It is so very hot here! And windy on I-15. Quite a contrast from when I went to Wisconsin last December. Good thing we have good air conditioning! I much prefer the hot, thunderstormy weather in the mid-west.

80 mph, part II

Got it! LT is going to love this blog entry! Go like hell...

Safely, of course.

80 mph

Hi everyone! Stayed in Provo, UT last night. Got there at 2:30 am local (mountain) time or 1:30 PST. Traffic really slowed us down. Didn't drive through Teton National Park like we wanted to. Will have to go back for a special trip for that. As you can see from the picture, the speed limit is 75, but it was 80 mph for a stretch as a test. I missed getting a good shot of the 80 mph sign, but it sure looked awesome! I like making good time.

Fountain Paint Pots

Here I am at the Fountain Paint Pots stop in Yellowstone. We walked the boardwalk around and checked all the features out. Here are a few features all in one picture, including a cool geyser. This is my favorite part of the park!

Beryl Springs, part II

Thought I'd send a still picture of Beryl Springs, too. Awesome!

Beryl Spring

Here I am at a little turn off for Beryl Springs. It is such a neat thing, we took a video to capture the movement of the water and steam. I like this place.

Buffalo

Here I am on the northeast portion of the main loop road going around Yellowstone. Traffic has been stopped/slow for hours in this place. Half the time, it is due to road construction, but the other half of the time, it is due to drivers slowing/stopping to look at creatures. This is an instance of drivers looking at creatures, in this case a buffalo. Since we were going so slow, we snapped this picture. He reminds me of the creature up on the hill off the 60 freeway just past riverside. I like him.

Mud pots

Here I am with some cool mud pots in the background. What a blogable place this is!

Road construction

Here I am, within a mile of the eastern entrance of yellowstone. We have been stopped for road construction for quite some time now - we really are getting anxious and want to get in the park! We are moving now and behind a big dust cloud from the bus in front of us. I do not like road construction when it is not very organized.

Buffalo Bill Dam

Here I am at the Buffalo Bill Dam! This is sure a cool one...it is 340' high and was completed in January 1910. It was fifteen below zero when the last load of concrete was placed. At the time, it was the highest dam in the world. It is a very narrow canyon, perfect for a dam, 70' wide at the bottom and 200' wide at the top. 25% of the dam is made with the nearby local pink granite as there wasn't a lot of sand and gravel around the site. There is a cool walkway that you can walk across the top of the dam. Joe thinks the Hungry Horse Dam is a bit cooler, but Anne thinks it is tied for coolness. I love dams!

Descent

Here we are on the descent on the west side if the Bighorns. So interesting how the sides of the steep canyon come together. Awesome colors and shapes in the rock. I love rocks!

Dead Swede

In the middle of the bighorns now. There is a campground down this road named Dead Swede. I wonder how that got it's name?

Bighorn mountains

Here I am on the exit ramp from I-90 to US-14 just outside of Sheridan. About to cross over the Bighorn Mountains and head to Yellowstone and Teton parks. I am really looking forward to today's adventure!

Welcome to Wyoming

Need I say more? It is me and the welcome sign. The sun is in the southwest, so the picture is a bit dark, but it captures the big blue sky.

Devils Tower

Here I am at Devils Tower. It is super cool! It is like Devils
Postpile, only a big mountain of it's own. If you look carefully, you
will see Joe in a blue shirt taking another picture. Devils Tower
rules!

Sturgis

Back on I-90, passing through Sturgis now. Behind me on the bluff is the name of the town. If you zoom in, you can read it. Unfortunately, the sun went behind the clouds when we snapped this one. On the way to Devil's Tower now.

Mt. Rushmore

Here I am at Mt. Rushmore! You can see the mountain behind me and the cool entryway with all the state flags. Blue sky and a nice breeze here - around 90 degrees. Took some nice photos. If you look closely, you can see Joe in a blue shirt to my left taking a picture with his awesome camera. I can't believe this was created - very awesome!

Rest area

Just a bit outside of Rapid City and saw this cool tee pee rest stop. Misses the westbound, but got the eastbound out Joe's window just in time! A small area with bathrooms and a cool, simple sculpture outside - now that's a rest stop! Even grandpa Al would agree...

Missouri river

Here I am in Chamberlain, South Dakota going over the Missouri River. Stayed in Worthington, Minnesota last night. Had planned to stay in Sioux City, but all the hotels within about 100 miles were full! We got the last room! There are no doggie hotels in Coty, so we are planning to stay in Sheridan, WY tonight. Hopefully, we will stop by Mt. Rushmore and Devil's Tower today. I love road trips!

Goodbye for now!

Here I am on the top of the hill one last time on our way out of town. After all the rain over the last few days, the sun is out and the beautiful blue sky and white puffy clouds are in the sky again. I will sure miss this place as we head back to brown and hot California.

Rustic Mill

Here I am at the Rustic Mill, a restaurant about four miles from our property near Black River Falls. As you can see, the building is in both the floodway and the floodplain. I wonder what the Village of Merrillan would say about that? This restaurant just opened back up again on July 1st. The food was very good but the service was not great. Seemed like a lot of servers that hadn't done that sort of work before. We will have to stop back after that get the service dialed in. I still like mill buildings.

Picnic!

Here I am at the top of the hill. The architect has met us here and brought an awesome picnic with him! We had wine and cheese and grapes. I love picnics, especially here!

Firey Sunser

Here I am, about 30 miles from black river falls, and an amazing fiery sunset! The whole sky is beautiful! I love it here.

Sunshine and Clouds

Here I am on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It has been very hot here in Chicagoland with storms brewing off and on. The clouds here are just whiter and fluffier - and the sky is bluer and crisper. Even though it us hot, it isn't as hot as California! I like it here

Goodbye 880 - Hello Chicago!

We made it! Not only were the bags rolling out onto the luggage carrier when we walked up (perfect timing), but the public storage lock opened in one second, our car was there, AND it started! Much different from when Anne and I came in December! And it is almost 90 degrees outside! It was around 0 when we came in December. What an awesome trip! The doggies were great travelers, too!

John Wayne!

Need I saw more? Awesome picture of me with the cool John Wayne statue at the airport. Too bad we couldn't fit the whole huge American flag in the background. I like John Wayne.

Pee break

Here I am at John Wayne airport in orange county. We already checked in and got our boarding passes. Stopped by the tiny, AstroTurf doggie relief area before we get on the plane. Orion likes the fake fire hydrant. Yeah! We made it!

Rain!

It has not rained here in southern California for so long! There is some monsoonal moisture in the region right now and it is sprinkling! Here I am in the backyard. If you look closely behind me, you can see the large raindrops. I love rain!

Santa Rosa Plateau

Here I am by the vernal pools at the Santa Rosa Plateau. The clouds that kept us from going to use our telescope the last two days are still hanging around and made for this awesome HDR photo of me and the scenery. I love to come up here and observe while Anne and Joe trail run!

Yard Full of Bunnies!

Here I am in front of a yard full of bunnies! Joe and Anne and I were driving around today and decided to check out the houses in the neighborhood just above our condo. The views looked like they would be awesome up there. We came across some awesome views, but no modern homes. Some were actually pretty dumpy. Too bad, it should be the most awesome place in riverside! As we were driving around the neighborhood, we came across this home with all kinds of white bunnies in various poses. Bunnies are always cool.

Mu

Hi everyone! Here I am at the Mu restaurant in Redlands. Joe took Anne here after she got her hair cut. Joe and Anne used to go here frequently in the past, back when it was called the Rama Garden. Still a great Thai place! I liked the centerpiece with fresh flowers!

Jammin' Bread

Here I am in Riverside's canyon crest towncenter at Jammin' Bread. We came here for a birthday lunch for Anne. We are having a great time! When I say "we," I mean me, Joe, Astro, and Orion! What a fun family outing!