Jiggety Jig

Monday, September 22, 2008 Road Junkies 0 Comments

MELLOW YELLOW, Chapter 17: 
IN WHICH WE GO HOME TO ROOST

Day 17: Millry, AL to Peachtree City, GA.  We've had a great trip and learned a considerable amount about the American West, coming home with a list of places we missed and still want to visit. We also found out some things about ourselves and our limitations and how they should influence future travels. Weary and a bit road-worn, we were delighted to see the state welcome sign.
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Georgia was indeed on our minds and we were glad to get home and regroup after 5,893 miles in 17 days. But make no mistake... we're looking forward to our next adventure.

MONDAY, 22 SEPTEMBER 2008

Feelin' the Love

Sunday, September 21, 2008 Road Junkies 0 Comments

MELLOW YELLOW, Chapter 16:  
IN WHICH WE REVISIT FAMILIAR TERRITORY

Day 16: Laurel, MS, to Millry, AL.  Before leaving Laurel, MS, this morning, we visited Morris (Dianne's stepdad) at the hospital and were very glad to find him doing better.  We also had the chance to meet Morris' great granddaughters, the adorable McKenzie and Karlie.

Near Laurel, we did some letterboxing with Nanamama (Dianne's mother), who turned out to be an adept searcher. In short order, we found five letterboxes around Ellisville, MS.
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She found another one!
After our search, we drove to Alabama, where we visited some of Nanamama's friends. The gracious and irrepressible Emma and her charming husband Paul are gifted hosts, ensuring that all their guests enjoy a little love, an absorbing story or two, and a good dose of laughter before leaving with something from Emma's kitchen or garden.
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Petchers' cozy kitchen
Uncle Jim and Aunt Jo are always on the list of "must-sees" when we visit Alabama. They are ever generous with their time and love and are kind and warmhearted hosts. Alas, we did not have the opportunity to see our cousin Sport, J & J's winsome dachshund. Sport is an avid Auburn football fan and was in a bit of a snit over Saturday's loss to LSU.
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We just missed Uncle Jim's birthday by a few days.
This was a warm place for our last stop on this trip, with lots of love extended our way.
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SUNDAY, 21 SEPTEMBER 2008

Bonnie & Clyde and Other Notorious Lovers

Saturday, September 20, 2008 Road Junkies 0 Comments

MELLOW YELLOW, Chapter 15:
IN WHICH WE FIND MORE THAN WE BARGAINED FOR

Day 15: Tyler, TX, to Laurel, MS.  Another day of moving east. We did some letterboxing in Kilgore, TX, this morning, locating three letterboxes in a city park. In the process, Dianne managed to lose her magnetic clip-on sunglasses. Then we faced the real test. Do we really have any talent for finding things?? Eureka! Found under a fallen pine limb.
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Didn't even have a clue to guide the search
Letterboxing has taken us to some interesting spots we wouldn't have known about otherwise. Today we visited Gibsland, Louisiana, where the infamous Bonnie and Clyde were killed in an ambush May 23, 1934, on a desolate road near their Bienville Parish hideout.
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Bonnie and Clyde were shot by a posse of Texas and Louisiana officers. According to deputies who were part of the posse: "Each of us six officers had a shotgun and an automatic rifle and pistols. We opened fire with the automatic rifles. They were emptied before the car got even with us. Then we used shotguns ... There was smoke coming from the car, and it looked like it was on fire. After shooting the shotguns, we emptied the pistols at the car... We kept shooting at the car even after it stopped. We weren't taking any chances."
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Historic marker at ambush site 
The stone marker, which looks as if many, many rounds have been fired at it also, stands at the site of the ambush. Each year the hamlet of Gibsland holds a Bonnie and Clyde festival. The town (population 1,119) has two Bonnie and Clyde museums, one of which formerly housed the restaurant where the pair ate their last meal.
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Just like the outlaws themselves, the "Ambush of Bonnie and Clyde" letterbox was challenging to find and a bit of a struggle to retrieve. No shots were fired, however, in the detection and retrieval of this letterbox.
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Nabbed Bonnie and Clyde...the letterbox
Although we haven't been plagued by flies again, we encountered a different breed of insect when we entered Louisiana today--Plecia nearctica, also known as the lovebug. The bane of the Gulf Coast, the lovebug is a member of the march fly family. Most of the year these critters are beneficial little larvae, living in grassy areas and feeding on dead vegetation within the thatch left after grass is cut. Thus they help to release nutrients back into the soil and reduce excessive thatch. However, in their adult stage, they are a bit of a nuisance, flying in groups so large they look like clouds. Millions of these "double-headed bugs" lose their lives in late summer, ambushed by autos, trucks, and other vehicles across the South.
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You know you're on the Gulf Coast.
We finished the day in Laurel, Mississippi, enjoying dinner at the new Sweet Peppers restaurant (owned by stepdad Morris' grandson) and visiting Morris at the hospital.
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Ken and Nanamama try the new cuisine.
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 SATURDAY, 20 SEPTEMBER 2008

Are We Dead Yet...er, There Yet?

Friday, September 19, 2008 Road Junkies 0 Comments

MELLOW YELLOW, Chapter 14:
IN WHICH WE TWO-STEP ACROSS TEXAS

Day 14:  Amarillo, TX to Tyler, TX.  Today was another day of logging miles as we head back east. Thankfully we traveled alone today without our little flying friends. We zipped through three letterboxes in Bowie, Texas, and Decatur, Texas.
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Final resting place in Bowie, TX
Ken is very persistent and usually successful when it comes to searching for well-hidden letterboxes. As we were about to give up on this one, he found it in a crevice in this old cedar tree.
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Oops, lost track of our cemetery etiquette
Unfortunately, we arrived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area just in time for rush hour. We thought we knew traffic from living in Atlanta. We learned differently. We were wishing we knew how to get to Kyle & Carrie's so we could meet the famous little button, Laura Kate. It wasn't meant to be, and we ended the day in Tyler, Texas (east of Dallas), headed for Laurel, Mississippi, tomorrow. In light of Hurricane Gustav's recent visit to New Orleans, we've decided to postpone our visit to this favorite city.
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Scenic I-20 through the DFW corridor


FRIDAY, 19 SEPTEMBER 2008

Fly Me to the Moon... or Anywhere with No Insects!

Thursday, September 18, 2008 Road Junkies 0 Comments

MELLOW YELLOW, Chapter 13: 
IN WHICH WE GRAB THE PAN HANDLE

Day 13:  Cañon City, CO, to Amarillo, TX.  We were definitely in warmer weather today. In fact, from the time we left Cañon City, CO, this morning, we were constantly beset by would-be hitchhikers. We finally realized that every time we opened a door or window to chase one of the little fellows out, three or four of his buddies would come in. We battled the pesky rascals all day.
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Mostly, we and the flies just logged miles on our way back east today. We're hoping to leave the flies out here somewhere. We did stop at Capulin Volcano National Monument as we cut across the corner of New Mexico and found a couple of letterboxes including one at a vintage movie theater in Dalhart, Texas.
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We came across another wind farm today outside Amarillo. In fact, this one is so large, it's called the Wildorado Wind Ranch—16,000 acres with 71 wind turbines, generating enough power to meet the needs of 50,000 homes. As you may have guessed, we are fascinated by these huge windmills, especially Ken.
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Hey, we thought we weren't in Kansas anymore.
As the sun set over Amarillo, TX, we checked in to our hotel, ready to rest up for another day on the road tomorrow. We're hoping to be traveling alone when we head across Texas toward Georgia.
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Sun setting over Amarillo

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2008

Phantom of the Mountains

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 Road Junkies 0 Comments

MELLOW YELLOW, Chapter 12:
IN WHICH WE HOLD OUR BREATH FOR 30 MILES

Day 12:  Castle Rock, CO, to Cañon City, CO.  We started the day determined that we would not push ourselves so hard as we have for the last 10 days or so. We slowed things down, didn't leave the hotel until 10 a.m. and started moseying through the Colorado backroads.
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It was another gorgeous day. We drove out to Mueller State Park (pictured above), missed the turn for Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, and we didn't care. We followed the road we found ourselves on through some twists and turns and aspen gold.
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Prepare to swerve.
Eventually made our way to the town of Cripple Creek.  One of the richest gold claims in American history was filed in Cripple Creek in 1890. At the height of its boom, Cripple Creek was a city of 16,000, an important financial center with three stock exchanges. Today it is a gambling mecca for senior citizens, some of whom were snorting O2 through their oxygen tanks in casinos where other gamblers were smoking.
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One of Cripple Creek's numerous casinos, the Brass Ass 
We left Cripple Creek, headed to its twin mining town of Victor, and made our way to Phantom Canyon Road. This gravel/dirt road follows the old railroad grade that was once the Florence & Cripple Creek Railroad. Through the floor of the canyon, the narrow road was quaint and fascinating.  Along the edge of the canyon rim, it triggered nail biting and white knuckles.
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The Phantom is part of the Gold Belt Byway, a network of narrow unpaved roads that run through canyons and other geological features.  The route has two tunnels and numerous high wooden bridges.  Its placement along slender ledges with steep unguarded drop-offs inspires a dread of approaching vehicles.
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No room for error
The road passes through the original (1890-1910) railroad tunnels.
As we left the Phantom Canyon Road behind, Ken finally found some horses near the roadway. He had brought some apples on the trip, remnants of treats he doles out to three horses who live on the trail he hikes for three miles daily at home. 
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These two were glad to share Ken's snacks.
We actually made it into our hotel for the night by 5 p.m. We're spending the night in Cañon City, Colorado. Tomorrow we'll head east on the way home. Not sure how far we'll get... but we're going where the flow takes us. No stress!
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WEDNESDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2008

Rocky Mountain High

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 Road Junkies 0 Comments

MELLOW YELLOW, Chapter 11:  
IN WHICH WE SEEK TREASURE

Day 11:  Loveland, CO, to Castle Rock, CO.  We started the day today in the scenic Rocky Mountain National Park in northern Colorado. We were eager to drive the famous Trail Ridge Road, often called the highway to the sky. Built in 1931, the road ascends to 12,183 feet. The views are magnificent, and, as you can see here, there are no guardrails to mar the view.
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This was a little bit disconcerting if you thought too much about it or if you looked out the passenger window when riding on the cliff side of the road and saw the sheer descent next to the road's edge.
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Rocky Mountain National Park
We visited the park's Alpine Visitor Center perched more than two miles above sea level. No utility or phone lines connect it to the outside world. Electricity is supplied by a diesel generator and water comes from snowmelt. The latticework of massive logs bolted to the roof hold it in place during hurricane-force winter storms.
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Alpine Visitor Center at RMNP
We took a brief hike at Milner Pass, where fresh snow was on the ground. At an elevation of 10,758, we didn't complete the entire one-mile trail, which included a significant amount of climbing.
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Got oxygen?
We've seen lots of aspens on the trip and finally today saw some moving toward their beautiful fall yellow.  Aspen trees grow in cold areas with cool summers.  They tend to prefer regions where most other trees are coniferous and there's little competition from other deciduous trees.
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Aspen leaves are flat and flutter in the wind, which some describe as "quaking."
After leaving the park, we visited the mountain village of Grand Lake.  Named for the lake on whose shores it sits, the town was founded in 1881 and served as a supply station for nearby mining settlements.  Today tourism is its primary economic force.
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Grand Lake is the largest natural lake in Colorado.
Our primary mission in Grand Lake was letterboxing. We succeeded in finding a series of six letterboxes. Along the way, we encountered this very unusual wildflower growing near the lake's edge. Known colloquially as fireweed, t is a pioneer species that quickly colonizes open areas with little competition, such as the sites of forest fires and forest clearings.  Plants grow and flower as long as there is open space and plenty of light. 
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Fireweed
The letterboxes we found today were all devised by the same person and had some beautiful hand-carved stamps.  Clues for the boxes told interesting tales of the town's history and colorful residents.
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Stamping in
We ended the day in Castle Rock, CO, exhausted and determined to slow things down tomorrow. We're adjusting our schedule and moving some events from "things to do tomorrow" to "what to do on our next trip to Colorado."
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TUESDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2008

Wyyyyooooooooming

Monday, September 15, 2008 Road Junkies 0 Comments

MELLOW YELLOW, Chapter 10:
IN WHICH WE TAKE THE SCENIC ROUTE

Day 10:  Evanston, WY, to Loveland, CO.  We have been fascinated by what we call "private exits" off the interstate highways in Wyoming. This particular exit led to a ranch, as do others. Some lead only to a Wyoming DOT facility. There are so few cities in this state, which is more than twice the size of Tennessee but has barely half a million in population.
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Our primary mission today was to get across Wyoming and into eastern Colorado for our drive through Rocky Mountain National Park tomorrow. Mostly we just logged miles on I-80. In the afternoon we decided to try the Snowy Range Scenic Byway.
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Snowy Range Scenic Byway
It was a nice scenic alternative to I-80, taking us through the Snowy Range Mountains.  Originally a wagon road built in the 1870s, it was widened and smoothed in the 1920s using horse-drawn equipment.  Paved in the 1930s, the road was declared a scenic byway in 1988, only the second highway in the nation to receive that designation.
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Snowy Range rock formations
Known as the "Great Skyroad" the Snowy Range byway is the second highest mountain pass in Wyoming.  Near the top, the glacially fed Mirror Lake at 9,600 ft elevation was a little too ripply to show its best reflective qualities today.
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Mirror Lake
At Libby Flats we learned about "tree islands." In this transition area between subalpine and alpine meadow, summers are short and cool with a good chance of freezing temperatures occurring even in July. The alpine climate prevents tree growth by reducing the length of the growing season and by snow-blasting in winter.
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Easy to identify the "flag trees"
The scattered trees--mostly spruce and fir-- are much smaller than trees at lower elevations, even though they may be the same age. At the timberline, you can see "tree islands." Blowing ice and snow damage the needles and new twigs on the windward side of the trunks, leaving branches to form only on the leeward side of the tree.
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At the base of these "flag trees" is a mass of branches, which is more dense because it is protected during the winter by snow cover. During the mid-winter, only the "flags" are visible above the snow.
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As the photos indicate, we had another beautiful blue-sky day. Temps ranged from the mid-50's to 70 and above. Tomorrow we'll check out the Trail Ridge Road scenic byway through Rocky Mountain National Park.
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MONDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER 2008

Off the Beaten Path...and Back On

Sunday, September 14, 2008 Road Junkies 0 Comments

MELLOW YELLOW, Chapter 9:
IN WHICH WE CAN HEAR A PIN DROP

Day 9:  Idaho Falls, ID, to Evanston, WY.  Since we traveled to Idaho Falls yesterday after finding Jackson Hole such a disappointment, we needed to head back east and south today to make it to Loveland, CO, tomorrow evening. We didn't have any sightseeing to do in this area, so we decided to do some letterboxing along the way.

After we laid out our itinerary, we visited AtlasQuest.com and identified some letterboxes on that route. We chose some that would take us off the beaten path. Today letterboxing took us to some places we might otherwise have missed.  (Pictured above:  A recreation area on the Snake River near Blackfoot, ID)
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A hiking trail in Pocatello, ID

And to a cemetery in Honeyville, UT. We were intrigued with the practice—common in this little cemetery—of including marriage dates on headstones and children's names on the back side. What a prize for future genealogical researchers! And most markers in this little graveyard were for husband and wife. We saw very few single markers.
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Family information on marker in Honeyville, UT cemetery

Although we weren't in search of a letterbox, we just had to take a little time to explore the rugged terrain of southwestern Idaho, so we drove out to the Goodenough Creek Campground operated by the Bureau of Land Management.
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Road to Goodenough Creek
The scenery was spectacular, and Dianne once again fired up her rendition of "Don't Fence Me In." Unfortunately, the performance hasn't improved since last week.
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Gorgeous blue skies over the amber fields
On the way up to the campground, we had a good look at some of the circular fields we've been seeing which have the center pivot irrigation system in use.  These systems are able to optimize a farm's yields by using water more efficiently on large fields.
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Center pivot fields are easy to recognize, even from an airplane.
We drove all the way up to the mile-high North Ogden Divide near Ogden, UT, looking for a letterbox, only to discover that it had been kidnapped--er, boxnapped. We didn't mind, though, because the view from the top was incredible.
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We wouldn't have enjoyed this view if we hadn't been seeking hidden treasure.
Jeanne persuaded us to drop in on the Mormons' Temple Square in Salt Lake City as we went through the Utah capital.  It is indeed a striking compound, dominated by the Salt Lake Temple, which took 40 years to build—from 1853 to 1893. The interior is said to be very impressive, but no tours of the temple are permitted.
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Salt Lake Temple, the largest Mormon temple by floor area
Visitors are permitted at the tabernacle, home of the famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Although the choir was not in residence when we were there, having performed earlier in the day, we were able to go into the tabernacle and observe a demonstration of its renown acoustics when a young lady spoke from the pulpit with no microphone. We had no difficulty hearing her in the back row. She also dropped a straight pin onto a wooden table and we could hear it clearly. Amazing!
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The incredible acoustics are real.
Ken checks out the Great Salt Lake.
Finally we drove out to the Great Salt Lake beaches. It was a long way across the sand to the water.The sand had a distinctively salty appearance. Dianne was tempted to taste to see how salty it was but was very relieved later that she resisted this urge. We learned that this oolitic sand is actually made up of the waste of brine shrimp (yes, fecal matter) and the calcium carbonate from the rocks all around. Yuck!
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Do not taste the salt!
Driving through the Wasatch Mountains toward Evanston, Wyoming, we were treated to the beautiful sight of a bright full moon rising over the mountains... a fitting end for a very pleasant day.
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SUNDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2008

Where the Buffalo Roam

Saturday, September 13, 2008 Road Junkies 0 Comments

MELLOW YELLOW, Chapter 8:
IN WHICH WE HAVE A CHANGE OF PLANS

Day 8:  Lake Yellowstone, MT, to Idaho Falls, ID.  Even though we have learned that these animals are not buffalo at all but American bison, the writer of "Home on the Range" surely had Yellowstone National Park in mind when he wrote this song. Again today we saw a large herd of bison--around 300-- grazing on either side of the Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley (pictured above).
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Though we observed this group from a distance, we also had numerous close encounters with bison today. While driving on Corkscrew Bridge toward the eastern entrance to the park, we saw two bison who were walking along the bridge. This bridge hangs off the side of a mountain and at the point where we saw the bison, there was a fairly steep cliff to one side of the bridge and a sheer drop on the other side.
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How did this guy end up here?
After we reached the eastern entrance, we backtracked into the park, and one of the bison actually was in the lane we were traveling in and walking straight toward our van. We weren't sure what he had in mind, but fortunately at the last moment, he veered off and walked past us.
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Don't play chicken with a bison bull!
Later we had the same experience with another bull bison in Hayden Valley.
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Bison's going to win the standoff every time.
We went searching for a letterbox again today and had better luck. This letterbox was hidden near a campground between Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. (It's actually discouraged to hide letterboxes in national parks.)
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Something under these rocks
Our plan was to stay in Jackson, Wyoming tonight...the famous Jackson Hole that we had heard so much about. What a disappointment! The town reminded us of Gatlinburg on steroids. Tourists were crowding the streets and the myriad of gift and souvenir shops. After we had unresolvable problems with the hotel we had booked, we decided to "cut bait" and move on.

The closest decent hotel was two hours away in Idaho Falls, ID, so that's where we're laying our heads tonight. Tomorrow we'll mosey down to Salt Lake City and spend the night in Evanston, WY, just over the border. Then we'll be back on schedule in Loveland, CO, on Monday.
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SATURDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2008