July 2003 Road Trip

Below are posts from when I first started this blog, over at imagesafari.com for a road trip out west. It remains one of my favorite vacations, and I hope you enjoy the photos. You can view the posts individually here.

  • Off We Go (7/5/2003)
    Today we left for our trip. First stop, Annawan, Illinois.. annawan
  • Field of Dreams (7/6/2003)

    We left Illinois and headed for Iowa..

    iowa farm

    First time I’ve crossed the Mississippi driving..

    mississippi

    We decided to detour a bit and check out the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa..

    Ike’s cheering on the kids playing baseball..

    ..actually it’s a yawn, but i still like the photo. Here’s the house from Field of Dreams..

    On the way to Sioux Falls, SD we came across this huge wind farm in Clear Lake, IA..

    wind farm

    ..with these massive wind turbines..

    wind turbine

    We arrived in Sioux Falls, SD just as the sun was setting..

    sioux falls sunset

    Tomorrow, Rapid City.

  • Long Day (7/7/2003)

    It started innocently in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We headed west, and stopped to see the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD:

    corn palace

    Then, about 10 miles outside of Chamberlain, SD there were these guys sandblasting the closed lane of an overpass in a work zone.. Why they were sandblasting, I don’t know.. but I spent the next 2 hours or so hanging out there dealing with this:

    broken window

    How fun.

    At least I got to see one of the ‘real’ General Lees at a museum in Murdo, SD:

    general lee

    ..and I got to meet some nice new faces.. or maybe they’re old faces..

    studebaker

    tractor

    and then we drove through the Badlands..

    badlands

    ..and stopped by Wall Drug in Wall, SD:

    wall drug

    So now my window looks like this..

    garbage bag

    ..and I get to spend several hours tomorrow getting the window replaced in Rapid City, SD instead of spending it at Mt. Rushmore. Oh well. Nobody got hurt.

    More tomorrow.. maybe.

  • Mt. Rushmore (7/8/2003)

    So today we got our window fixed in Rapid City, SD. I didn’t take a photo of the glass place, sorry.

    With new glass, we headed down to Keystone, SD to see Mt. Rushmore..

    mt rushmore daytime

    Then we headed toward Custer, SD to see the Crazy Horse Memorial..

    crazy horse

    We ended up skipping it since they wanted $18 to see it, and it’s not even done yet. 🙂 We got the above photo as we turned around and headed for the hotel.

    When we got there, this cool little helicopter was taking folks for scenic views of the area right across the street (i didn’t go for a ride)..

    helicopter

    After resting a bit in the hotel and grabbing some dinner, we headed back up to Mt Rushmore for their lighting ceremony. While we waited, this really nifty thunderhead showed up to the north..

    thunderhead

    ..and as the sun began to set..

    thunderhead orange

    As it started to get dark, we listened to a park ranger give a talk about Teddy Roosevelt, watched a short movie and sang the Star Spangled Banner as they began to turn on the lights..

    mt rushmore night

    And as our day of glass fixing and colossal sculpture gazing came to a close, we decided to end it properly..

    dq

    Tomorrow it’s on to Wyoming.

  • Deadwood (7/9/2003)

    This morning we woke up and made our way to Deadwood, SD..

    deadwood

    ..had breakfast and did some shopping. There was a shootout at high noon..

    shootout

    ..with some ladies watching on..

    lady

    After the shootout, we did a little more shopping and climbed up to check out the grave of Wild Bill..

    wild bill

    Then we headed out of town towards Devils Tower..

    devils tower

    devils tower 2

    On the way out of the park, we ran into these guys..

    prairie dog

    prairie dog 2

    Then it was time to head west for Wyoming..

    wyoming sunset

    About an hour after sunset, we rolled in to Cody, WY. Time to sleep.

    Tomorrow, Yellowstone.

  • Yellowstone (7/11/2003)

    I didn’t have net access last night in Yellowstone, so this entry covers both 7/10 and 7/11..

    Woke up this morning in Cody. Had a few bugs on the front of the car..

    bugs

    From Cody it was off to Yellowstone. What a beautiful place. We saw all kinds of things, like bison..

    bison

    .. including on the road ..

    buffalo on the road

    At least he was in the correct lane.

    The roads here are pretty wild..

    mountain road

    I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for waterfalls. This place is full of them..

    waterfall

    waterfall

    waterfall

    waterfall

    waterfall

    waterfall

    waterfall

    waterfall

    waterfall

    waterfall

    It’s not all waterfalls and bison, however.. There are elk..

    elk

    ..and hot springs..

    hot spring

    mammoth hot springs

    hot spring

    ..and waterfalls running from hot springs..

    hot spring waterfall

    ..and geysers..

    geyser

    ..including, of course, the most famous geyser, Old Faithful..

    old faithful

    old faithful

    It’s Friday night, and we’re now in Grand Teton..

    jackson lake

    jackson lake

    We’re here tomorrow night too, so more from Grand Teton then.

  • Jackson Hole (7/12/2003)

    We woke up in Grand Teton National Park, in Jackson Hole, WY.

    Ike slept well. He got his own bed..

    We spent the night in a cabin pretty much on Jackson Lake, with a good view of the mountains.

    We ate breakfast in the lodge and then drove south through the park towards Jackson, WY for lunch.

    Along the way both down and back, there were almost as many different places to capture images of the mountains as there were waterfalls in Yellowstone..

    mountains

    mountains

    mountains

    mountains

    mountains

    mountains

    mountains

    mountains

    mountains

    mountains

    mountains

    There were more bison, too..

    buffalo

    buffalo

    bison

    ..and of course, bison and mountains..

    bison and mountains

    bison and mountains

    ..and some other beautiful scenery..

    sagebrush

    big sky

    rocky beach

    After dinner, I made good on my promise to Ike and took him down to the lake for a swim..

    swimming dog

    As the sun sets, we’re enjoying the view from our cabin..

    setting sun

    Tomorrow it’s off to Casper, WY.

  • Early Morning (7/13/2003)

    This morning we decided to get up at 0445hrs and try and get some photos of the mountains at first light. We weren’t disappointed..

    mountain at dawn

    mountain at dawn

    mountain at dawn

    Then, after going back to sleep for a few hours we headed out for Casper, WY.

    We stopped for lunch in Dubois (doo-boys, not doo-bwah), WY..

    bernies

    We went a little out of our way to see the hot springs in Thermopolis, WY..

    hot springs

    hot springs

    It was ok.. difficult to photograph.

    Then we continued on towards Casper.. What a pretty drive..

    butte

    Except for the road construction.. and in Wyoming, when they say road work, they mean it..

    road work

    So tonight we’re in Casper (no photos, sorry). Tomorrow it’s on to Cheyenne.

  • Cheyenne (7/14/2003)

    This morning we woke up in Casper, WY. We slept in a little later than the past several days.. driving around two large national parks for 4 days wore us out a bit. Happily we only had a relatively short drive today from Casper to Cheyenne.

    We stopped a few times along the way to snap some photos of the scenery..

    high plains

    wildflower

    Ike is becoming quite the well-travelled puppy dog..

    ike

    Once we got to Cheyenne, we found out there wasn’t much to do. There’s an Air Force base here that was home to one of the first ballistic missle groups, but they don’t give tours anymore.

    There’s also a big Union Pacific railroad depot in town..

    union pacific

    union pacific engine

    union pacific engine

    ..but they’re renovating the museum, so that’s closed too.

    In a park near our hotel, they have a Union Pacific Big Boy on display..

    big boy

    big boy

    ..said to be one of the largest steam locomotives ever built.

    They had an old west shootout in downtown Cheyenne..

    shootout

    shootout

    Tonight we’re at the Hitching Post..

    hitching post

    Another city, another sunset..

    cheyenne sunset

    ..tomorrow, Estes Park, Colorado.

  • Colorado (7/15/2003)

    Nothing too exciting today. We drove from Cheyenne to Estes Park, Colorado.

    We stopped in Ft. Collins for breakfast..

    waffle house

    Once we got to Estes, we walked around the town looking in the shops and admiring the scenery..

    estes park

    estes park

    estes park

    estes park

    Again, another city, another sunset..

    sunset

    Tomorrow we head into Rocky Mountain National Park.

  • Rocky Mountain (7/16/2003)

    Today we woke up in Estes Park, CO. We spent most of the day in Rocky Mountain National Park.

    The skies were overcast, but I was still able to get some interesting shots.

    Once again, my penchant for all things flowing water is evident..

    waterfall

    flowing water

    cascade

    waterfall

    waterfall

    As we made our way up into the mountains..

    altitude

    ..there were many opportunities for nice shots of the mountains..

    mountains

    alpine flowers

    alpine valley

    mountains

    mountains

    ..and some wildlife..

    mallard

    chipmunk?

    blue jay?

    I wish this one came out better.. she was about 8 feet from me.. oh well..

    doe

    It was quite scenic at Sprague Lake..

    dock

    After a long day in the park, we headed down out of the mountains back into town for dinner..

    estes flowers

    And located the doggie park so Ike could run around like an idiot with other dogs for awhile.. (sorry, no photo)

    Another day, another sunset…which we tried to capture back up in the park, but the clouds didn’t cooperate..

    sprague lake sunset

    ..not too bad. Tomorrow, we start the trek back east. First stop, North Platte, NE.

  • North Platte (7/17/2003)

    Today we left Estes Park and headed for North Platte, Nebraska. Nothing too exciting to photograph.

    We stopped in Greeley, CO and saw a neat old Union Station train depot..

    union station

    greeley, co

    Once we got to North Platte, we headed into town for dinner. On the way we passed a Nebraska hobby shop..

    hobby shop

    We decided to eat at the A+W.. We don’t have these around us at home..

    a&w

    The interior decor is pretty nifty..

    gas pump

    bar stools

    Here’s tonight’s sunset over North Platte..

    north platte sunset

    Tomorrow it’s on to Lincoln.

  • Kearney (7/18/2003)

    We woke up in North Platte, Nebraska.

    As I gassed up the van, I noticed a sign hanging at the gas station..

    nowhere

    Indeed.

    We headed east from North Platte towards Kearney. The view from lunch at Applebee’s was a bit different than we’re used to..

    combine

    After lunch, we headed over to a train and trail museum. They had a neat old locomotive and caboose..

    locomotive

    boiler

    caboose

    engineer's view

    windmill pump

    Then it was off to the archway museum..

    archway

    museum

    museum

    highway view

    drive in

    jukebox

    From Kearney it was on to Lincoln..

    nebraska capital building

    Another city, another sunset..

    lincoln sunset

    Tomorrow we head towards St. Louis.

  • Missouri (7/19/2003)

    Today we woke up in Lincoln, Nebraska. After breakfast, we headed up to the Strategic Air and Space Museum. .

    SAC Museum

    They had some pretty nifty stuff, like this SR-71..

    Blackbird

    ..and a B-17..

    Flying Fortress

    Tail Gunner

    ..and a B-52, including a cockpit you could climb into..

    Stratofortress Cockpit

    Stratofortress Cockpit

    They also had some nifty old SAC comm and missile silo launch-control consoles..

    SAC Comm Console

    SAC Comm Console

    SAC Missile Silo Launch Console

    SAC GHFS Comm Console

    ..and some other nifty stuff..

    M*A*S*H Jeep

    Quilted Flag

    U2

    After the museum, we headed for Missouri, but we had to cross this toll bridge from Nebraska first..

    $1.25

    We drove completely across Missouri..

    field

    old barn

    ..to Hannibal, the home of Mark Twain.

    Sorry, no sunset photo tonight.

  • St Louis (7/20/2003)

    Today we woke up in Hannibal, Missouri.

    hannibal mailbox

    hannibal

    We went and visited some Mark Twain historical sites. Then it was off to
    St Louis to see the Gateway Arch.

    gateway arch

    gateway arch

    As the sun sets over Indy..

    bad sunset photo

    ..we get ready to head home tomorrow.

  • 4,761 Miles & 12 States (7/21/2003)

    Today we woke up in Indianapolis to this wonderful weather..

    stormy

    On the way home, we stopped for lunch in Springfield, Ohio..

    big boy

    It continued to storm most of the way home.

    stormy flag

    Pulling in the driveway, we drove 4,761.1 miles and hit 12 states.

    Ohio:

    ohio

    Indiana:

    indiana

    Illinois:

    illinois

    Iowa:

    iowa

    Minnesota (no photo)

    South Dakota:

    south dakota

    Wyoming:

    wyoming

    Montana:

    montana

    Colorado:

    colorado

    Nebraska:

    nebraska

    Missouri:

    missouri

    Kansas:

    kansas

    It was hard to judge color and sharpness on the laptop I had with me on the trip. Over the next few days I plan to go through the photos and re-edit them at home. Once I’ve got my favorites from the whole batch, I’ll post them.

  • 4,761 Miles & 12 States (7/21/2003)

    Today we woke up in Indianapolis to this wonderful weather..
    stormy
    On the way home, we stopped for lunch in Springfield, Ohio..
    big boy
    It continued to storm most of the way home.
    stormy flag
    Pulling in the driveway, we drove 4,761.1 miles and hit 12 states.
    Ohio:
    ohio
    Indiana:
    indiana
    Illinois:
    illinois
    Iowa:
    iowa
    Minnesota (no photo)
    South Dakota:
    south dakota
    Wyoming:
    wyoming
    Montana:
    montana
    Colorado:
    colorado
    Nebraska:
    nebraska
    Missouri:
    missouri
    Kansas:
    kansas
    It was hard to judge color and sharpness on the laptop I had with me on the trip. Over the next few days I plan to go through the photos and re-edit them at home. Once I’ve got my favorites from the whole batch, I’ll post them.

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