2006 DVC Member Cruise - SSMC06 - October 22, 2006

[#1Mouse]

Thanks for the birthday wishes for Cameron. I can't believe he's 13 now. Time sure does go fast.

Welcome back Julie & Matt as well as Steve & Coleen. Glad you had fun trips.



Oh My Goodness! It is sneaking up on me. We best start packing! We are still talking about doing the Falls, however, we'd probably be fine just hanging out on the ship too.

The Falls were a lot of fun. John and I did the climb on our honeymoon and then most of our group did it on our trip in Feb 05. Only 34 days till we leave and 38 until we get on the ship!

If there hasn't been alot of rain just before we get there, I would recommend doing the Falls. (Remember to bring water shoes) You can get to the Falls first thing in the morning and then come back to Margaritaville or the ship.

 

[fireplug]

Sun Sept. 23rd, the first day, Coleen and I drove to Fargo N. Dakota. We stopped at a rest area in Wisconsin and as luck would have it, there was a historical marker about a fire. A picture was required

We drove through the 93 degree weather into Fargo where we went to HOOTERS. We met Frozenfingers wife, Deb, there. She was at her first ever visit it is our 82nd.

The next day we drove west to Theodore Roosevelt Nat. Park. It is just west of Dickinson N.D. where we spent the night. Neither Coleen nor I had ever been here before and we found it to be a very fascinating place.

It is kind of an odd mixture of desolate badlands and canyons, to green forests and valleys.

There were some very cool rock formations

We saw limited wildlife

but the skies were overcast and the wind was ferocious.

Teddy Roosevelt is a two section park. We did the south unit one day then got up and hit the road to the north unit. We saw deer as we entered the park and drove only a couple miles before we saw a HUGE old bull bison

One of my favorite animals is buffalo. I wanted very much to see as many as possible on this trip. When I had been out this way as a child 36 years ago, we saw a few but they seemed very scarce. So we made a point of taking lots of buffalo pictures.

 

[fireplug]

We also saw more beautiful scenery along the way.

After we left T.R.N.P. we drove north to catch a highway to go west on. We went this way for a specific reason. Just across the border into Montana is a tiny town called McCabe. Now it may seem a little silly BUT that being our last name we wanted to stop there. I had done as much research as I could about it and found out that it had been founded “by miners” back in the late 1800’s. My great grandfathers brothers were”miners out west”, so we wanted to check it out. We drove 12 miles or so of gravel roads to get there and well let’s just say the heyday of McCabe Montana has come and gone.

The stretch of road across the state of Montana was LONG and straight Coleen was a real trooper and drove most of the way to Shelby, Mt. where we spent the night.

The next morning we woke up and went to a grocery store, stocked up on sandwich supplies and then headed further west.

We drove up to Waterton National park in Canada this park adjoins Glacier in the USA and together they are known as the International Peace Park. The road north was beautiful and although sunny the wind was once again ferocious.

After stopping at a few scenic vistas we went to the small tourist village in the park. This part of the park is different from USA National parks. They allow limited private enterprise inside their boundaries. So there are hotels, restaurants, gift shops and some residences there.

We stopped alongside the lake and had a picnic INSIDE the truck. This was a lot warmer than outside in the wind.

After lunch we drove up to a smaller lake, this is where we saw our first moose. There was a cow feeding in the shallows up near the shore

and a huge bull, just behind the gift shack.

This was the one we showed you all earlier. He stood right there and let us take pics for about 10 minutes.

Then he slowly turned back towards the lake. I and one other guy were on the sidewalk and took a few steps to try and get some pics of him in the lake (that’s where we thought he was headed) Well Coleen thought she should be polite and ask him for just a few more pictures. Mr. Moose apparently had had enough of it though. He dropped that big rack of antlers and took a few fast steps right at us. We scattered like leaves in the wind. This was the end of taking his picture!

After we returned to the village we snapped a few pics of the Prince of Wales Hotel which has an amazing view in a gorgeous location.

We then drove south along another scenic highway (narrow, sharp turns, close steep drop-offs etc.) Since the Going to the Sun Road was closed in the middle, this was as close as we could get to the same effect. It was very pretty. We also saw some Big Horn Sheep.

 

[fireplug]

We spent that night in Essex Montana at the Izaak Walton Inn. The inn is a romantic little hotel originally built to house railroad workers. It was made into a hotel and it is listed as one of the 1000 things to do in North America.

It sits right next to the tracks and trains are coming and going but they don’t make a lot of noise So on our 21st anniversary we had a lovely dinner and strolled the grounds.

More to follow tomorrow

SQuid

 

[#1Mouse]

WOW! Steve your pictures are amazing, absolutely beautiful!

 

[Diana Lyn]

Wow Steve, awesome pics!! I'd love to make a trip like that some day.

 

[cgcw]

Awesome pictures, Steve!

 

[fireplug]

The next morning we got up, had breakfast in the hotel, and then drove to the St. Mary’s entrance to Glacier.

The ranger told us that the scenery was much better on this side of the park than the west side so we changed our plans and spent the day there.

We again had lunch in the truck (man it was windy up there) after leaving there we made a stop at St. Mary’s Falls. The trail markers up here are a little shy of accurate though. This one said .8 mile we went part way and passed one that said .6 to the falls and .3 back to the parking area. That seems to be .9 to me but cest la vie. Of course this was straight down which means we had to come back up. But the falls were pretty.

After that we went up to Many Glaciers. That park entrance was open but all the resources were closed for the season. We drove to the big hotel and took a few pics. As we were leaving we saw a “bear jam” so we asked where she was seen last and a guy pointed up the hill a little. There was not much room so we asked if we might be able to see her from the opposite side. He assured us she would not be there. BUT we drove the ¼ mile, turned around and drove about halfway back. ”STOP THE TRUCK she’s right here” said my cute bear spotter and there she was.

After the bear we drove back to the Izaak Walton. Along the way we passed “range cattle” loose along side the road. They don’t seem the least bit concerned with traffic either.

After a small shopping spree in the Inn gift shop, we had another lovely dinner.
We tool a few pics in the morning before leaving including some with Jolly.

We drove west a few miles and then headed south, toward Wyoming. Lots of two lane highway (scenic) and then some interstate but not a bad trip. We made a short cut that took us through a corner of Idaho and then down to the west entrance to Yellowstone. Not far into the park we saw another “jam” however no critters were spotted until we went another few miles. There we came upon a herd of elk One big male and his harem. They were right along the road and careless as could be.

After them we saw some buffalo. Once again close by the road so more pics were snapped.

SQuid

 

[fireplug]

Since it was getting dark and we wanted to check in we headed to the Old Faithful Inn.

SIDEBAR. When I was younger and we visited Yellowstone I wanted to stay at Old Faithful Inn, it didn’t happen. 36 yrs later it was happening. I was pretty excited.
It is an incredible old rustic building that is just awe inspiring.

The architecture is really amazing.

Old Faithful was spouting off just as we drove up. We checked in and were told we were given an upgrade. Usually this is a good thing so we trudged up to our room. It was an okay room but NOT what we had in mind when we booked the lodge. The beds were AWFUL felt like 50 yr old mattresses. The only real good thing was we were able to watch Old Faithful erupt out our window under a gorgeous full moon. When Coleen mentioned our concerns the next morning though, Ms Personality at the desk couldn’t care less. (This garnered a Coleen response to the Xanterra survey email we received) We did have a very nice meal in the dining room though.

SQuid

 

[cgcw]

More awesome pictures, Steve!

All that wildlife would do me in though.

 

[Stitch#1]

Amazing pictures Steve!!!
The closest we have come to anything like that is watching it on the travel channel. I can only imagine how gorgeous your scrapbook pages will be!

 

[rsschneck]

Funny! We live in Oregon and I grew up in Montana and Idaho and have never been to Old Faithful or Glacier National Park. Might have to do a road trip someday!

Beautiful pictures!

 

[fireplug]

Thank you very much I hope I dont overload you all though SO if I post too many smack me one!


SQuid

 

[fireplug]

The next morning we went back to the Old Faithful Inn to check and make sure we were given the right type of room. We watched the geysers and then went exploring.

We drove along the Grand Loop road. Breathtaking may not even go far enough.. This is an incredible place to see. We stopped at different places and saw hot springs, buffalo, geysers, mud pots,

the gate dedicated by Teddy Roosevelt himself,

a herd of elk at a visitor’s center (with morons walking up towards till a ranger caught them),

a canyon, white water, and much, much more.

 

[fireplug]

We both feel like this is someplace everyone should visit at least once in their lifetimes.

When we finally returned to the Inn we took a quick walk out to the Old Faithful viewing area and called our daughter she pulled up the webcam and we “waved” to the girls, Heather was able to save the pic.

That’s us down in the front. After that we went to our room. It was perfect

and the bed was comfortable.

Maybe the view wasn’t as cool as the first night but the ambiance more than made up for it. We walked out our door around the corner to an overlook and watched Old Faithful (I know AGAIN, but we just loved it)

We had another great meal in the dining room and then did some shopping in the gift shop. We went up to our room and both of us took a BATH in the CLAW FOOT TUB!

The next morning we got up posed by the buses and then hit the road.

Squid

 

[fireplug]

We drove out of the park, 2 hrs at 45 mph, this place is HUGE. Then took another scenic (you know what that means) highway. The trip across Wyoming was mixed with plains and peaks. We stopped a few times and got some cool pics.

But this made us a little late getting to the Black Hills of South Dakota. (Scenic drive in the DARK ) We made it through the deer, LOTS of deer, standing along side the road, and went to our hotel in Keystone. The next morning we struck out to see the sights of the Black Hills. We went to Mount Rushmore first. They have a real good museum at the visitor’s center and some great exhibits.

We also saw a couple Rocky Mountain Goats right near the amphitheater.

Coleen and I hiked The Presidential trail (stairs, LOTS of stairs) and were able to get up closer to the monument. This is another one of those must sees. It is somehow very moving to just sit and look up at it. Another gift shop visit and we were off to see Crazy Horse.

We went here on my first trip, 36 yrs ago remember, and they have made progress but I am afraid it may not be finished in my lifetime. It is a very interesting stop and is also highly recommended.

After Crazy Horse we drove to the Custer State park and did the wildlife loop. We saw bighorn sheep, deer, pronghorn antelope, burros, and BUFFALO. This could be one of the coolest State parks in the country. Very nice drive and a great place to relax a little.

Once we left there we went to Wind Cave National Park, This is another of the first National Parks, very historic. Unfortunately we missed the last tour and only saw the above ground areas. So we stopped in Custer and had dinner then returned to Keystone. After a quick stop in the room we went out and back up to Mount Rushmore for the evening lighting of it. Once again a MUST see.

Squid

 

[cgcw]

Steve, yet another group of beautiful pictures. I love the one of you & Coleen from the webcam!

Those scenic routes would definately keep me on the edge of my seat -- but I do want to venture West with the boys one of these days.



Cameron & Gary just left for a Boy Scout campout this morning. A bit chilly but at least it's not windy like last year when they headed to this campsite in Michigan. They are staying at the Warren Dunes and last year when I went, it was so windy that I think 4 tents broke. The one the other mom & I put up (with the help of some dad's) took off in the wind and flew about 30 feet before settling back down. This is after it was staked down. I know they will enjoy this weekend. Walker so wants to be a Boy Scout so he can join them but he still has a couple more more years before he's old enough.

So we'll head to Walker's football game today and soccer game tomorrow. A couple more weeks and October will be over and then our lives will be a little less hectic. Even Walker begs for a "free night" as between all the things he's doing, the only day we aren't on the run is every other Friday night. I won't tell Walker, but we're very glad that he's decided football is not for him, as next year, we won't have this crazy of a schedule trying to juggle two sports at once.


Happy Saturday, everyone!

 

[#1Mouse]

Steve, Great pictures! I too like the webcam picture - I bet the girls were really excited to see you there.

Mt. Rushmore is absolutely beautiful all lit up. Very impressive.

 

[fireplug]

Thank you ladies! I will post some more tomorrow IF I get time.

SQuid

 

[iluvdisney]

Steve - your pictures are absolutely gorgeous!!! We did a trip similar to some of those in your pics when my kids were young and I was blown away by how beautiful our country is!!! Thanks for sharing and I'm looking forward to all you wish to share.

By the way, I just returned today from another wonderful cruise but it was non-Disney this time, but we went to Hawaii and heard the news about the Disney-building project on the island! Had fun and hope to share a few pics when I get thru them all.