Hot Springs Well, we made it to Thermopolis and Hot Springs State Park yesterday afternoon, even tho we had to endure a few miles of dirt road to get there. It made me think of when I was a kid and my family drove the 1500 miles of dirt road that was the Alaska highway. Unthinkable! And we did it 5 times between 1959 and 1966! And, here is the scene at Hot Springs State Park. Pretty fascinating. Here is the outdoor baths where you can soak. Admission is free, but they limit you to 20 minutes. At 104 degrees, that's just fine. It felt GREAT. There is no place to camp at Hot Springs State Park. We were disappointed at first, but things always work out y'know! We found an RV park just down the road called Fountain of Youth. What a find! Now we gotta get on the road, we have miles to go before we sleep! Our friends Diane and Andy are in their motorhome resting in Missoula Montana. We've asked them to stay put until we can get there. They've been on the road since January and we can't wait to get together and compare notes. There's a link to their blog in the left column of ours - or you can click here. Check it out, they have some gorgeous pictures and lots of stories.

Happy 4th of July! 6 years ago today, Jim and I got married ... we both agree it's the best decision we've ever made! We got married on a chartered water taxi in Fort Lauderdale, and we've made sure to do something memorable each year since on our anniversary. 1st anniversary: scuba diving on Sangalaki, an island near Borneo (thanx Mom!) 2d anniversary: watching fireworks off the pier from our kayaks 3d anniversary: repeat of #2 4th anniversary: at great friends' home on mountainside near Lake Tahoe 5th anniversary: twilight scuba dive in Fort Lauderdale, then watching fireworks later from the boat, with Mom and Kayuba dive club! This year, we had hoped to be at the fireworks display at Mt. Rushmore, but the timing wasn't quite right. We woke up this morning in this beautiful site. Then took a walk in the woods. Look at the earrings Jim got me for an anniversary present. They are porcelain feathers with a buffalo painted on them. Cool. And our next stop today is Thermopolis and Hot Springs State Park. I've always loved hot springs. From Liard hot springs on the Alaska highway to Hot creek in California, I've visited a lot of them. Thought I might write a book at one point, but I never did. This will actually be the first hot springs for Jim and me together. One of our favorite places in Florida is Warm Mineral Springs, but that is less than 100 degrees, we liked to keep our hot tub at 104 - which is exactly the temperature that Hot Springs Park is supposed to be! After waking up to 42 degrees outside. We're looking forward to the hot water. Wish us luck, we have no reservations and this is the 4th. Hope you all have a great day too!

I'm getting used to this! I no longer am in awe of the fact that I have my own shower with me even though I'm in the shadow of Devil's Tower. I'm starting to take it for granted. When I took a shower this morning I didn't look up at the skylight and marvel at the fact that the magical Devil's Tower was right outside. No, I looked at the crevices on the floor and noticed how dirty they were, promising to clean the shower when I was finished. In other words, I've moved in. This IS home. I'm comfortable with the fact that I live in a home that moves. I no longer do a mental review when I wake up of where we are so that I'll be properly oriented when I open the door. I just get up, open the door and take whatever view I find there. When we're driving down the road and I feel the need to visit a bathroom, the thought 'we'd better start looking for a rest stop' doesn't even flash thru my mind before I simply get up and use our own bathroom. This was the view this morning. I just can't get enough of it. But we did have to leave. Highway 90 is a great road. Look at this view ... Mountains ahead! Real mountains! Another thing I've gotten used to is that all our stuff is with us as we drive. We're pretty good at securing everything. You learn real quick that ANYTHING left out will be on the floor soon. Driving on the highway is NO problem. But today, we drove UP and DOWN and lots of curves, and some dirt roads. I think Jim actually enjoyed it. Seeing how the motorhome handled, trying out 2d and even first gear! I think this is another guy thing. Me? I'm holding on tight. Watching some items in the coach come flying out of their heretofore secure places. Wondering if the brakes are going to work good enough for us to make that turn at the bottom of the hill. This is new .. I'm not sure I like this. But, everything did work fine. Oh Boy (that's what we call the motorhome) made it up the mountains without even breaking a sweat. And the brakes with the brake assist in the toad (that's short for towed vehicle) got us slowed down just fine. Jim had a grin from ear to ear. And I took some pictures! Here we are at the top of a 9,666 foot pass. Yep, that's like 9000 times higher than we're acustomed to in Florida! Hey Dad ... notice the camper in front of us?!? Looks just like yours! And here's our camp for the night. It's a national forest, so no electrical hookups. We're running the generator in order to put up the satellite dish and use the computers on the Internet. Too bad we don't have a good battery bank and an Inverter - we could have electricity without the noise and smell. Well, that's one of the main things we plan to learn about at the conference we're going to: RV Life On Wheels. Bye for now. Gotta turn this generator off and go for a walk!

Spirit of the Mountain

We took a guided hike around Devil's Tower this morning. Way Cool! *note* added 12/27/06 a Google place marker Here was our guide, Chris, who is a Lakota Sioux Indian. He is also part Cheyenne, Italian and Irish! He told us lots of stories surrounding Devil's Tower, or Bear Lodge as the Lakota call it. They have no word for Devil. Devil's Tower is a major symbol of Wyoming by the way - even more than Yellowstone! It truly is magnificent. And we had such a gorgeous blue sky to offset it this morning. This place is considered sacred to at least 7 Indian tribes. Here's Chris trying to absorb some of the spirit of the stone: Legend has it that 7 girls were playing near here one day when a giant bear appeared. The girls prayed to the earth to save them. The earth responded by raising them up beyond the reach of the bear. The earth just kept rising as the bear clawed his way to try to reach the girls. The bear's claws created the columns we see today and the girls reached the sky and became the star system know as the Pleiades or the 7 sisters. When we got back 'home' we had a relaxing afternoon, basking in the power of this monolith. Gaze at our majestic dog! Some stormy weather moved in late in the afternoon and cancelled the Lakota storyteller we were hoping to hear tonight. But, I found this website with lots of Lakota stories as well as other tribes. And the storm was beautiful too. I really like this place. I could stay for a few more days. But, we gotta get going. Talk to you later.

Close Encounters Look where we are! We're staying in the KOA here because our friends Lynne and John (who have been living in their RV fulltime for a few years) said it was one of their special memories. It does have a real nice, friendly feel to it. They have a group bonfire every night. AND, they have an outdoor showing of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' every night. Cool!! Unfortunately, we were just too tired. We only made it thru the first half hour or so. Maybe tonight. Our 'Close Encounter' was with George!! Yes, George from the famous Vagabonders Supreme Team of Tioga and George. We've been reading his Blog about the Adventures of Tioga and George for over a year now. It was SO much fun to meet someone for the first time who you know so well! You Rock George! We're off to hike around the Tower. Later