How many miles we drove: 669 miles -all we did is drive today!

States/places we drove through:  NY, NJ, Pennsylvania and Ohio.  Resting spot for the night:  Mary Jane Thurston Park in Grand Rapids, Ohio. 

Weather: Spots of rain on and off all day, poured on us overnight into Sunday

Highlight of the day:  For Andrea:  Seeing the "Welcome to Ohio" sign (as Pennsylvania is a long, long state).  For Brad it was seeing a pack of fox (?) on the shoulder of the highway. 

Further Notes/Comments:  6:20 am  we left home.  We drove until 7:00 pm and camped at a little state campground in Grand Rapids, Ohio. The mosquitoes were out, so we were in.  We actually cooked dinner inside this bus for the first time.  Besides stopping at gas stations and rest areas, we stopped at a flea market.  It was a good flea market- like an antique store at garage sale prices.  On the highway shoulder/grassy area there was a pack of fox- or coyotes?  We are not sure, as we don't have fox that were this big on Long Island.  Will have to look into this more.  At 70 miles an hour we were not able to snap a picture.  Note:  The drive through Pennsylvania was long. 

How many miles we drove: 210 miles.  About 90 in the morning to the show, and about 120 after the show to the campground.

States/places we drove through:  From Ohio into Indiana.  We went to the NEIN VW Club "Volks Fair" VW show today.  Weather: Mostly sunny and warm.  Nice day

Highlight of the day:  Winning the "Longest Distance Award" at the VW show.  Seeing all the livestock at the 4H fair that was going on in conjunction with VW show.

Further Notes/Comments: We left camp about 8:30 am to get to Bluffton, Indiana for a VW show.  Note: A lot of dead skunks on the roads.  The show was awesome.  It was the first show for the NEIN VW Club (North Eastern Indiana VW Club).  We were entered as "Special Interest" as the show was an air-cooled event.  While we did not place, we were very happy to have won the "Longest Distance Traveled Award".  They gave framed 4x6 pictures to every entrant.  Note:  Everyone is very outgoing and friendly.  We met so many new people.  There was a 4H livestock show going on.  It was quite an interesting event for us Long Islanders to experience.  We saw (and smelled) pigs, and sheep and goats, horses, rabbits and chickens.  Everyone was out shaving their sheep for the big event.  After the show, we traveled about 2 hours to the Tippecanoe State Park Campground in Winamac, Indiana.  The mosquitoes are out, but not as bad as last night.  We made a fire this evening with a Duraflame log.

How many miles we drove:  Approx. 530

States/places we drove through: Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota.  Camped at Myre-Big Island State Park in Alberta Lea, Minnesota.

Weather:  Sunny and warm

Highlights of the day:  (1) Crossing the Mississippi River.  (2) Meeting Bob and Ana from Virginia at the campground.  They were traveling in a Ford van they converted into a camper using the pop-top and interior of an early 80's Westfalia.

Pitfall of the day:  We were attacked at the campground by mosquitoes all night long.  They were out in FULL FORCE. 

Further Notes/Comments: Today was not a real eventful day, as all we did was drive.  We are now in Central Time Zone.  Crossing the Mississippi River was neat.  I-90 follows along it for a few miles once you are in Minnesota.  The terrain along the river on the Minnesota side was very hilly/rocky/mountainous and different from the never ending farms and plains that we've been seeing all day long.  While we did not stop in to visit the museum, there were many billboard signs for the "Spam Museum" in Austin, Minnesota.  From I-90 we could see a huge Hormel Plant.  Is Spam made by Hormel?  This would make sense if it were.  So sorry, no one gets Spam as a souvenir.  Being the Cheese State, we did purchase some local cheese at a gas/convenience store. 

We stopped at a campground for the night around 7pm.  Myre-Big Island State Park.  It was in Albert Lea, Minnesota.  The campground was pretty nice except for the mosquitoes.  They started attacking from the second we got out of the van.  We had to move from the heavily wooded/secluded camp area to the "grove" area.  This was much better, but still bad (in terms of mosquitoes that is).  We spent an hour or so talking with a Bob and Ana  from Virginia.  We would have probably spent more time except for the mosquito problem.  They too were out on a 4 week vacation- heading to Glacier, then on to Canada.  They were cruising in a early 80's Ford van which they converted into a camper using an early 80's Westy interior and pop-top.  Sleeping was not too sound, as Brad was "mosquito hunting" all night with the bug zapper racket (looks like a tennis racket) and flashlight.  Don't know where those buggers were getting in from, but they managed to somehow. 

States/places we drove through:  Minnesota, and South Dakota.  We ended the day at Badlands National Park Cedar Pass Campground. 

Weather:  All day as we drove it was hot, over 100 degrees. A/C not working either :( 

However, all that changed in the "Badlands"...we drove into a wind/rain/lightning storm. It was soooo cool. 

Highlight of the day:  THE BADLANDS...TOO COOL.  The formations are nothing like you've seen before.  The storm was so cool too...we entered the park/campground in the eye of the storm to see people's tents and canopy's get blown away.  The lightning was intense for hours off into the distance. 

Pitfall of the day:  Just the long drive  across South Dakota to get to the Badlands in the heat.  But it was so worth it. 

The day was long as it was hotter than heck with temps over 100 degrees.  Our air conditioner is not working...so we have the windows open, and the warm wind keeping us cool (?).  A bee flew in the window and slammed into my shoulder leaving his stinger in me...Anyway, we stopped at Cabela's Outfitters in Mitchell, South Dakota along with an Antique Mall in the same town  We bought some buffalo burgers at Cabela's (in South Dakota, one must buy buffalo burgers). We drove on, passing into Mountain Time Zone and driving on until we finally made it into the Black Hills and the Badlands...This is what we have been waiting for.  The terrain, the vistas, the scenery is too cool for words.  It is like going to Howe Caverns, but it all being on the outside...  We drove into the park, right into the coolest wind/rain/lightning storm.  As we drove into the campground, we saw several people chasing their tents and awnings around.  I mean this was a real intense storm. It was wicked cool though.  We just hung out in the van and watched for over an hour as the lightning kept up in the distance behind the neat jutting formations.  The night is cool and crisp and we predict good sleeping weather.  A few house flies, but ABSOLUTELY NO MOSQUITOES. 

7/21

How many miles we drove:  Approx 230- a lot of slow mountainous driving (no highway driving today).

States/places we drove through:  Just South Dakota today.  Did a lot of sightseeing. We toured the Badlands in the morning, then drove through Custer State Park Wildlife Loop, onto Mt. Rushmore, and then past Crazy Horse monument.  Stopped for the night in a campground in the Black Hills National Forest- Roubaix Campground.

Highlight of the Day: Watching the sunrise over the Badland's landscape. 

Buzzkill of the day:  Only seeing one measly buffalo at Custer Park. There are about 1400 in the park. 

Further Notes/Comments: We awoke in the morning to watch the sunrise from out the poptop screen of the van.  The morning was spent driving through and walking around the Badlands Park.  We chatted for a while with Jen and Martin from Canada/Toronto area who were traveling in a Brown Westy.  After leaving the Badlands, we drove through Custer State Forest. There is a huge Wildlife Loop you can drive through.  We were anticipating seeing many of the 1400 Buffalo that are in the park.  We only saw 1 Buffalo right in the beginning.  We did not even stop to get a picture as we obviously thought there would be more.  We did see several different kinds of deer, burros, and prairie dogs. 

We drove the van  to a 6000 ft tower station atop a mountain to do a geo-cache.  We finally found it after a park employee shouted down from the tower that I was getting closer.  I guess they enjoy watching people hunt for the treasure box. 

After Custer Park, we went onto Mt. Rushmore Memorial.  It seemed like a very commercialized area, to our dismay.  For miles along the highway there were signs for this "Wall Drug Store" signs, similar to the  "South of the Border" signs.  We did not bother to stop where here was a pull off on the side of the road to take pictures without going into the park ($8 fee).  The memorial itself was very cool, but not as majestic as anticipated.  After that, we did a "drive by" the Crazy Horse Memorial...Here we did just pull off and take a few pictures.  From there, we continued to drive a bit more until we came to the Roubaix Lake Campground, part of the Black Hills National Forest.  (but first a wild turkey decided to give us a scare by walking on the road in front of the van.  Brad had to stop short). At the campground,  I went swimming in the lake- tried to snorkel in one foot of water, but the sun was not beaming right down on the lake, so visibility was bad.  Brad watched from the beach and laughed.  The night was so cool and comfortable, no mosquitoes.  We bought some wood and made a real campfire tonight .  There were a million stars out as we went to sleep.  Surprisingly, it poured in the overnight.  But sleeping weather was the most comfortable so far. 

How many miles we drove: Approx: 500

States/places we drove through: South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana.  We saw Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming, and campout out at Otter Lake campground, in Timber Lake, Montana

Highlight of the Day: The Devil's Tower Monument.  Very cool formation. 

Further Notes/Comments: We started the morning off, with a quick stop off at a t-shirt shop in Sturgis before getting back onto the highway.  In the Black Hills area where we were yesterday, and this morning, a few things are noted.  A lot of people ride motorcycles around here.  Don't know if they are all early for the Sturgis rally in later August, but shops everywhere in the surrounding area have Sturgis shirts and souvenirs.  Also, there is a campground practically every 3-5 minutes.  Most are just off the highways and roadways. 

Today, we did a lot of driving.  The only real diversion was going to Devil's Tower Monument in Wyoming.  It was very cool to see.  We saw it for about a half an hour as we drove down the road towards it.  Went to a few gift shops near the park, but other than that only stopped for gas.  Wyoming has a lot of rolling hills, with scrub bushes and cattle.  We saw a few oil pumps off in the distance.  Wyoming has exits few and far between...very desolate feeling. 

We camped out a few miles off I-90 in a town called Timber Lake.  The area is a fishing access park with free camping (for up to 7 days).  We are parked on a bluff overlooking the Yellowstone River.  It is very windy, and cool...and again, no mosquitoes. 

How many  miles we drove: 505 miles

States/places we drove through:  Montana only.  Final destination: Glacier National Park

Highlight of the Day:  Finally getting to Glacier Park and hanging out at camp.  It is awesome, spectacular, and of such grandeur.  Will take pics tomorrow. 

Buzzkill of the day:  The clunking noise that the rear started making, and the long wait in Helena for the VW mechanic to look at the van.

Further Notes/Comments:  Well, today we woke up bright and early, in anticipation of an early arrival at Glacier Park.  Unfortunately as we neared Bozeman, our van started acting funny; making clunking noises out of the rear.  Brad donned his tyvek suit (as seen in yahoo pic) to take a look underneath, but nothing could be found.  We continued driving, but when we got to the next big city, we found a local VW mechanic (great guy) who asked us to come back at 3:00 pm.  It was now 11:00.  So we went to Wal-Mart, did some laundry at a Laundromat, ate Dairy Queen, went to a thrift store and went to Auto Zone for some fuses.  After the mechanic took a look, he could not find anything.  We wiggled the axles around and funny as it sounds, the van did not act up.  So we got back on the road much later than thought.  Got to Glacier at about 8pm or so.  Did not get dark till 10 pm.  The van did make some intermittent clunking noises.  We believe it is the axle getting stuck or hung up.  Will let you know how this one pans out. 

At Glacier National Park, Montana for a few days now.  Minimal miles driven.

Today, we woke up from our camp at St. Mary's campground in Glacier National Park and drove about a quarter of a mile to the visitor's center. Here we signed up to do a backcountry trip for 7/25.  We had to watch a 14 minute video on the dangers of backcountry camping.  We also found a nice hike to do today.  We had to first find another  campground in the park for the night, as the St. Mary's did not have any vacancies (St. Mary's is a reservable campground).  We drove to the Many Glacier campground (which was near the trail head of the hike we are going to do on Sunday.  While securing a site on the "first come first serve system" we met up with another couple Fred and Nancy from Northern Mass. who have an Orly Blue (same as ours) Vanagon Carat.  We chatted with them for about an hour or so while in the Many Glacier Camp.  Before leaving this park entrance to drive back to the other, we stopped off at the ranger /entrance booth to chat for a few minutes with Helen, as her 90 Orly Blue Westy (identical to ours) was parked near the booth.  Afterwards, we went off back onto the main road (Going to the Sun Road) of the park to do our 6 mile round trip hike.  It was a mellow hike that went past 4 waterfalls.  People of all shapes, sizes, and ages were visiting the waterfalls.   

Highlight of the day: At one of the waterfalls (Baring Falls) , people were jumping off of the rocks approx. 15 into the water.  Brad, wearing nylon shorts, had to do this as well.  Afterwards, we went back to camp and relaxed for the rest of the evening. 

Buzzkill of the day:  Along the trails there was a beach type area where I swam.  Unfortunately, there were what I refer to as "hurty rocks".  Very similar  to the North shore of Long Island, where you best wear some water shoes or sandals, of hw9ich I had none.  I went swimming too, at this locale, but not without my little feet hurting. 

The day the Lance Armstrong makes Global History as he now holds the record for most consecutive wins in the Tour De France

Still at Glacier National Park

We woke up and prepared for our wilderness campout  expedition.  Only drove out of the campground about 3 miles down the road the trailhead parking.  This was a 6.1 mile venture to what is known as Cracker Lake.  There are only three designated campsites at this lake.  At first we were disappointed because the trail was sheared by horses. and with horses comes poop and flies. After the first mile and a half, though, the horse trails veered off.  We passed a few guys who claimed to have seen a "yearling" (young bear) about 20 yard off the path.  We did not see this bear.  The area we finally camped in was spectacular.  We were in the middle of surrounding glaciered mountains.  We did not see any bear, but we did see a moose.  The color of the water is so cool.  It is a vivid, light blue, in color...from the mineral content of the water.  The water was ice cold as it is runoff from the glaciers, but we had to go under, even for a moment.  And we did.  COLD...but refreshing after a long, sweaty day of hiking.  There is one other couple camping out. Jen and Jason from the Minneapolis area.  Due to the danger of bears, there is designated pit toilet (about a 5 minute walk from where our tent is), food preparation area, place to hang your food, as well as the camp area.  There are "yellow belied Marmots" all over...(these are our version of a squirrel).  After getting to camp, we just hung out (after our frigid swim).  since it gets dark after 10 pm, we had gone to sleep , but awoke in the middle to distant lightning, and thunder. But it never got to us... in fact our skies were so clear that we peered out of the the tent to the incredible skies filled with more stars than you could imagine. 

The only "Buzzkill" was the mounds of poop and flies in the beginning of our hike to Cracker Lake. 
 

Still At Glacier National Park

Today we hiked the 6.1 miles out of the Cracker Lake camp area to our van.  It was a long morning, as I already had a blister on my foot from yesterday, and both our legs were achy, and our shoulders sore from our packs.  But the views are so incredible the whole way back. 

We finally got back to the van and decided to go the 3 miles back to the Many Glacier Camp to "kick back" for the night.  The weather has been incredible so far.  We are (as I type) hanging out at the campground. None of the park campgrounds have showers.  Regulations are so tight with the bears.  We took some stealth showers with our Solar Shower water jug/ and enclosure. this beats the last three showers I have taken with really only consisted of "lake swimming".  I actually used shampoo today.  After a few well deserved cocktails, and are just relaxing after two long days of hiking. 

Buzzkill for the day:   The black flies that seemed to be following us all day.  As the evening is progressing, they seem to be going "home". 

Miles we drove today:  440

Still in Montana- leaving Glacier, but heading towards a new adventure in Yellowstone.

Note about VW's:  We see them all over the parks and highways out here.  Mostly Vanagons, and Eurovans.  It is apparent that many other VW owners are not as excited to pass each other on the road as we are.  I was taking pics and documenting each time I saw one. I have since given up.  We wave to those who seem to look our way, and talk to those that we conveniently come upon, but many drivers do not seem to go out of their way to look for other VW owners. 

This morning was very cool as we drove the entire "Going to the Sun" Road in Glacier Park.  There was quite a difference in temps from the lower altitudes at the outskirts of the park to the middle of Logan's Pass (highest elevation and Continental Divide)  where it got down to the 60's.  When I got out to get the picture of that Mountain Goat  at the Logan's Pass area (pic on yahoo photos) another couple was taking pics too, but were fully dressed in winter coats, hats, and gloves (guess they were hiking in the area).  We were in shorts, as you can see from the pic of Brad and the van in the same area.  Also saw a Bald Eagle down in the valley. 

It is really amazing how steep and big and massive these mountains and peaks are.  To think that the snow (glaciers) never melts in some of the crevices.  When we were on our hike yesterday, as well as driving on the main park road, there are so many different wildflowers too, so it is not just the mountains, and the glaciers, it is also the flowers, the wildlife, the waterfalls, the difference in terrain from the below the tree line and above.

Highlight of the Day:  For Brad it was seeing the magnificent wingspan of the eagle.  We were way above it, as it was in the valley below at Logan's Pass area.  It was cool to look down upon it in flight.  For Andrea it was seeing the mountain goat.  He(?) was easier to get a pic of. 

We drove down some secondary highway roads to get back onto I-90 as our next stop is Yellowstone tomorrow.  Stopped at a stand and bought some buffalo jerky and local cherries.  Saw another bald eagle as were driving.  We hit some antique shops.  Bought a few items. 

We are going the distance, and headed for the Wal-Mart at Bozeman for the evening.  Free camping!

Miles driven Today: Approx 200 miles

States driven through:  Out of Montana, into Wyoming

Highlight of the day: Seeing the geysers, thermal pools, and wildlife

Buzzkill of the day: Not as "grand" of a park as Glacier

Well the free camping at Wal-Mart was an experience.  Around the I-90 route, many if not all of the campgrounds are right off of the exits of the highway (overlooking the highway no less) and are nothing more than a glorified parking lot filled with RV's.  I guess it is easy on easy off for the most part.  With this in mind, we had thought of the Bozeman Wal-Mart, as we had stopped at the exit for gas before we had even gone to Glacier.  We noticed how many campers were in the parking lot. 

So we awoke after a restless night with the parking lot lights shining all night long.  Train whistles sounded all night long too.  We had gone into the store last night for some food, and Brad went back again to get some Freon to see if the unit needed a recharge (as you recall from earlier on, our AC does not work).  Anyway, that did not seem to do anything. 

Our first stop this morning is to NAPA.  We ordered the axle that we seem to need.  Karl Bloss as well as others had helped us figure out that this is most likely the cause of the problem.  It is going to be shipped to the Cody Wyoming store for us to get tomorrow.  At this point the sound acts up periodically.  We don't know yet if we are going to change the axle now, or wait until something actually goes wrong.  This of course, is up to Brad.  He purchased the necessary tool at NAPA to do the job...Will let you know.

So off to Yellowstone we go.  We check into the Madison Campground.  We then cruise the park.  We see many mule deer, 2 bison, a bald eagle, and a few Pika (squirrel like rodents).  We see Old Faithful, as well as other geysers, and thermal pools (which are so neat).  We drive past the Continental Divide again- which is also so cool. 

Note:  This park is so very different from Glacier.  We are enjoying the experience, but overall, the "majestic grandness" and awe that Glacier provided is not here.  People seem to be more touristy and not as outdoorsy.  Not as many VW's either.  Many "Rent an RV" campers around as well as just typical cars and sport utilities.  I think it was Rick (Brown Westy from Seaford) who explained how developed it was around Old Faithful.  Hotels, restaurants, shops, etc.  We know understand what he was talking about.

A strange and unexpected turn of events...all worked out. 

We drove around the park in the morning.  Our eventual plan is to get to Cody to pick up the axle at NAPA.  We see an elk, close up bison, and several herds of bison off in the distance.  There are many cool formations in the park besides geysers.  There are also fumurals (thermal pools that just throw off this stinky sulfury smelling vapor), paint pots (boiling mud pits).  The thermal pools are so neat as you can look through the clear blue aqua water down into this deep crevice of a hole. 

The east entrance road out of Yellowstone that leads to Cody  is beautiful.  The only problem is that the park had these big mud slides last week and they close the road from 8pm till 8am every night.  When we get to Cody, we decide we are going to have to stay the evening.  We found a mechanic who is willing to do the work tomorrow at 8am.  We once again decide that Wal-Mart is the place to sleep.

After leaving the NAPA store and securing our appt. with the mechanic, we go to The Sierra Trading Post outlet store.  After that we went to Bubba's BBQ Restaurant.  My brother in law Jason, would absolutely love this restaurant.  We ate a meal for two.  It had bbq pork, ribs, beef, chicken that all melted in your mouth.  We ate like kings and had some Buttermilk Pie for dessert.  All for $24.

After that we went to a rodeo.  Cody has a rodeo every night in the summer.  It is a big thing in this town.  We had to go, and it was fun.

This town is cool, named after Buffalo Bill Cody who established it.  Very touristy, but very historical. 

This time at Wal-Mart, we had a much better night. It was quieter, and we put up extra towels and sheets over the curtains to keep the parking lot lights out.

Places we drove:  Just from Cody, Wyoming, back to Yellowstone Park

At Joe's Automotive shop as we speak.  This is at 8:30 in the morning.

Well that first line was written about 10 minutes before the day's events changed.  This is where our "Buzzkill" comes into play.  Seems NAPA sent the wrong axle.  An automatic tranny has a different one for each side.  Joe the mechanic made a few calls and was able to get one delivered at 2:00 pm. 

Joe drove us into town, where now had to spend the next 5 hours entertaining ourselves.  We shopped.  We chatted with some local store owners/workers.  One of the pics is of a VW Beetle that was in the front window of a shop.  The car was actually used as a clown car in the Cody Rodeo. 

We watched girls in bikinis at the "motorcycle wash" across from the coffee shop we went to.  There are a lot of motorcycles in town for some pre-Sturgis rally.  They all seemed to be staying at the Irma.  This is a famous hotel established by Buffalo Bill. 

We ate lunch at "La Comida" Mexican restaurant.  It had some outdoor street corner seating.  The food was good.  We ordered a pitcher of Margaritas.  After running out of stores to go into, we just hung out on a corner bench until Joe came to pick us back up at about 3:00 with the van all fixed.  One of the funniest sights was seeing this old Caddy (see pic) that kept cruising up and down the strip with the driver on the loudspeaker advertising for the rodeo.  Something us Long Islander's just don't get to see. 

We were so happy and relieved to be back on the road again.  We went back to NAPA and returned the original shaft.  After that we headed back to Yellowstone for our last night.  The best part of the day was our "Highlight".  We saw two elk (in pic) just sitting in the field.  The size of their racks was unbelievable. 

Places we drove:  From Yellowstone Park, to Grand Teton Park- all in Wyoming

Today we set off for the Grand Teton National Park which is just below Yellowstone.  After securing a campsite at the Lizard Creek Campground we headed off to drive the loop around the park.  We booked a lazy river trip with a rafting company for Monday morning.  It is a "dawn" trip for 2 hours.  The best time to view wildlife around these parks is dawn and dusk.  We don't have to meet until 7:30 am...will let you know how that goes.  We saw a few buffalo in the park, but nothing up close. 

Highlight of the day would definitely be the landscape of the mountains.  The Tetons are so cool looking.  Many glaciers sitting atop the mountains.  They jut out of the flat landscape with jagged edges. 

We had a temporary "Buzzkill" today.  As I explain it, some of you  may already be figuring out what occurred.  We were almost back at our campsite after ding the park loop, when Brad wanted to stop at an overlook.  The van would not start back up.  After about 10 minutes Brad pulled out the Bentley's manual and from the pics saw how the starter was right up against the passengers axle (the one that had been changed).  We believed (and hoped) that a wire had just come loose...after donning the "Fonzi" tyvek suit, he was under the van and "Voila" indeed a wire was loose. 

The evening was spent relaxing and enjoying the solitude as this campground is so peaceful and tranquil. It is one of the less popular and crowded of the campgrounds here at Teton.

Still in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

We only did a little bit of driving today.  Went to to a hike in the park around Two-Medicine Lake.  It was a 6.1 mile hike (elevation change 80 feet).  We did not see much wildlife except for squirrels.  The meadows of wildflowers, however were really quite scenic.  Of course it takes a "sissy" hike for the Buzzkill: Me tripping on a little rut in the path and twisting my ankle pretty bad about 2 miles into the hike.  I Was still able to walk on it, so we continued our hike (a bit more slowley). After the hike we went to String Lake in the park to swim (this was on recommendation of two college girls who work in the park who we met last night).  As soon as we got to the parking lot it began to rain a bit.  Thunder and lightning could be heard/seen off in the distance, but the blunt of the storm did not come in our direction.  We hung out in the van for about 20 minutes until the rain stopped and the sun came back out.  The Highlight was being able to snorkel. I've been waiting for a good opportunity the whole trip.  We went down to the lake and by this time, everyone else had gone, and we were the only ones in the lake swimming.  I obviously took my snorkel (as you can see in the pic) and took turns.  There were only these tiny little "bait sized" fish- but we still had fun.  After the crowds began to emerge again, we left. 

Back at the site we cooked up some dinner and hung out in the van, as a nasty wind storm began to brew and it looked like rain was impending.  Besides 30 seconds of rain, it never happened.

Places we Drove:  Out of Wyoming, through a little corner of Idaho, and into Utah

Miles we drove: Approx 220

Highlight:  The rafting trip we took in the morning at Grand Teton Park.  We cruised down the Snake River on a 10 mile scenic, calm trip.  There were 13 people plus the tour guide/rower.  We saw a beaver, mommy deer and two fawns, and eagles.  It was a great trip and the Jeremy, the tour guide was very cute too. 

After the raft tour, we headed out of the park on our way to our next destination- Zion National Park (with a side trip to Salt Lake City).  We stopped at Jackson (Hole), Wyoming and had some lunch.  A very touristy town. 

After that we drove on and hit a few antique shops along the "secondary highway" roads.  We also did a Geo-Cache near Afton, Wyoming.  It was a cool spot in the Bridger National Forest.  Left off the second of our four travel bugs we plan to place (visit www.geocaching.com if you want to know what this is).   A spectacular site we saw near the Idaho/Utah border was Bear Lake.  This lake is the most spectacular color blue.  There is a pic I've uploaded of our bus at an overlook, but you just can't see how rich the color really is.  A very pretty site. 

We called it a day at the Guinavah-Malibu campground in the Cache National Forest about 10 miles east of Logan.  Our site is right on a stream and it is very pretty- and we have been lucky with lately, still no mosquitoes.  

FYI: Our plan is to do Zion, Bryce, Canyon Land, Capital Reef and Rocky Mountain National Park before heading up to Ohio for the Dixie Bus campout.  We had thought about going all the way to the west coast.  If we had one more week, I think it could had worked. 

Approx Miles Driven: 420 miles

Places Traveled Through:  Out of Wyoming, a quick dash through bottom right corner of Idaho, and into Utah.  Stopped at Great Salt Lake, and camped out right outside of Zion Park.

Highlight of the Day: Swimming in Great Salt Lake

Buzzkill:  I burned my arm on the Coleman stove after making dinner. 

Today was a day of driving.  We detoured a bit off the highway in Salt Lake City to go to the State Park/Marina.  Great Salt Lake is the second most salt concentrated lake in the world- next to the Dead Sea in  Israel (learned that at the park).  Swimming was interesting- something we had to experience.  The shore line is salt flats, that lead right into the water.  The shore was very stinky in spots (but we overlooked this minor setback) , and was very full of little flies (they don't bother you, however).  The water is filled with tons of brine shrimp (Sea Monkeys).  While there is nothing on the lake bottom except sand, we did test the snorkel out too.  Overall the water is quite clear, and shallow.  We kept walking out and still did not get up to our knees.  Yes, floating was such a cinch compared to the ocean.  We took showers before leaving at the park.  We felt as if we had been spray painted in salt.  Again, quite a different phenomenon than ocean/bay swimming that we are used to.

We did a quick geocache in the area too.  Released another travel bug. 

We finally made it to the town (Springdale) just outside of Zion.  We went to explore a tourist site- a supposed ghost town (abandoned in late 1800's) in the area- a bit of a disappointment.  It has been somewhat restored and is up well kept up.  Only a handful of homes, a church/school and a cemetery.  The cemetery was the coolest part.  Again, very well maintained..  We actually did two geocaches that were right near the cemetery.  We released our last travel bug. 

We settled in for the evening around dark at Zion Canyon Campground in Springdale (our first private campground the whole trip so far).  We were hanging out on the picnic table seat "star gazing" after dinner, when I accidentally burned myself on the Coleman stove still sitting on the table.  : (

Approx Miles Driven: 80

Places Traveled Through- From Zion National Park to Bryce National Park- All in Utah

Highlight of the Day: Walking through the Narrows- (see pic).  A river trail between the canyons.

We got up early as Zion gets hot and crowded in the afternoon.  We drove to the visitors center and rode the free shuttle through out the park.  We did a hike through the Narrows (as seen in pic).  Most people wore their Teva's or other water shoes.  We were unaware of this hike until we got there, and just did it barefoot.  Some people did wear their hiking boots or regular shoes.  My foot was feeling better as you may recall I badly sprained it the other day.  We only hiked about  3/4 of a mile round trip while the trail is a full 12 miles round trip. 

We went to a few more overlooks.  We were going to do another hike but it was very hot, and sunny and the entire trail was along a ridgeline.  We decided to go back to the van, have some lunch and leave the park.  We left the park via the east route which affords incredible views.  We drove through a 1.1 mile tunnel blasted out of the rock. 

We are now at Bryce Canyon National Park.  Took about an hour and a half to get here.  We decided to set up camp and kick back and relax.  Will explore the park tomorrow.

Places traveled through:  Still Southern Utah- Bryce Canyon National Park, and on closer to Capital Reef National Park.  Drove through Escalante Staircase National Monument (Scenic Route 12). 

Highlight of the Day:  Seeing all the "Hoodoos".  Hoodoos are the eroded column like structures very abundant at this park.

Today we drove around Bryce Park.  The park is long and narrow, and quite different from Zion in landscape.  At Zion, you are down at the base of the canyon looking up the whole time.  Here, you go to the overlooks, and look down into the canyon valleys.  We started on the southern most lookout and backtracked north.  The lower end of the park was so empty.  As we got up to the more "central viewpoints" there was a lot of traffic/people.  The views, however at the popular locations were incredible.  The "hoodoos" which are the eroded columns that are the park's signature are so bizarre and mesmerizing.  You can just stare at them.  Of the two pics today, one is of Brad and me at the Bryce Lookout.  The other landscape picture is at a location called "Inspiration Point".  The sheer number of these "hoodoos" is just so overwhelming here. 

We left the park in early afternoon, and headed along the Escalante Staircase Scenic Byway.  This area made us feel like we were on another planet.  As far as the eyes could see was canyons, and rocky plateaus, and such an incredible vista that at points provided a view of over sixty miles away.  We went slowly along the highway at times, as we hit a point on the road of 9400 feet (as per the sign, although my GPS said 9500). 

We decided to camp at a small campground (Oak Creek) in the Dixie National Forest about 30 miles outside of Capital Reef National Park where we are headed tomorrow.  There are only about 10 sites at this locale.  Our site is right on a stream.  A $9 camping fee for tonight.

Interesting, and entertaining  pastime observed by fellow campers:  A group of campers in the campground were playing continual rounds of "musical hats".  They were all walking in a big circle, each taking the hat from the person in front of them and placing it on their heads, only to be taken by the person behind them- with one less hat then participants.  When the music stopped, the one without a hat was eliminated. 

FYI:  This whole trip, we have had varying costs for camping in the National Parks, as well as the National Forests from free, to $8 -$22.  Our most expensive camping was $22 (in both Tippecanoe Park back on 7/18 and the "private" campground two nights ago in Springdale).  This is all besides the "free camping" at Wal-Mart and the one Fishing Access spot on 7/22. 

Places driven/sights seen:  Utah- Capital Reef National Park and town of Moab

Miles driven:  approx: 215

This morning we left the campground and headed to Captial Reef National Park.  This being our third "Canyon Park", had some different aspects that made it a cool park. Except for the heat, which it was hot in the desert. It is a small park, and not as crowded.  We drove through the park on the scenic byway, and went "off roading" on two unpaved trails.  The Highlights of the day was driving down the unpaved Grand Wash Road which brought you in-between some narrow, high canyon walls.  This was very cool (as pic shows).  The other cool thing about this park were the petroglyphs (shown in pic).  While there were not an abundance of them, it was so unique, and signature of the park, I think.  

After leaving the park, we stopped for lunch in a town called Hanksville.  We were unaware that we were close to Lake Powell, and we kept seeing people pulling boats.  Being in the desert as we were, this was a funny sight, until we stopped in a store that had shirts, and postcards and such of Lake Powel, then saw it on a map.  The grill we had lunch at was rustic and cheap.  The burger platters were huge.  Free soda refills too.  We then stopped in a town called Green River to do laundry.  Afterwards, we continued to drive towards the area of Arches National Park and Moab, (next town over).  We wanted to be close to Arches so we could get an early start on it tomorrow.  We drove past Arches Park and down a road that bordered its canyons and Colorado River flowing below.  Note: In this part of the river, it is not a normal watery color, it is murky clay red in color. 

There are primitive campsites for $5 all along this road, right on the river.  We picked ours out, and headed down to the town of Moab for some groceries.  Brad really likes Moab.  There are rental shops for mountain bikes, jeeps, and white water rafting.  If it weren't for the heat, this would be his spot. 

While in the liquor store learned that in Utah, unless you buy beer from the liquor store, you don't get the full proof.  They nickname it "near beer" -that is beer with less alcohol content that is sold in grocery and convenience stores.  After obtaining grub and firewater, we walked down the neato main street and perused the gift shops. 

After getting back to our camp we were disappointed (Buzzkill) as it began to rain and get very gusty for a while.  This caused us to stay indoors instead of having a fire and star gazing as we had hoped. 

Note about rain:  So far we have really experienced great weather.  It has rained a few times at night, thus not ruining any plans of sightseeing.  Many people out west have mentioned that there is a drought this year, and this is the 6th year of drought. 

Places driven:  From Arches National Park, to Canyon Lands National Park (Utah), to just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.

Approx miles driven: 530

This morning we decided that we would do a lot today.  After leaving the Moab Camp (as seen in pic) we drove 15 minutes to The Arches National Park, and after that 45 minutes to the Island in the Sky portion of Canyonlands.  Arches was another quiet, uncrowned and small park- making it the Highlight of the day.   It was quite hot again, so we only drove to the parking lots where we had to walk small amounts to the overlooks.  We were very disappointed with "Delicate Arch" viewpoint.  Unless you hiked the trail right up to it, the view point did not afford a  close up view of this arch.  This is the signature arch for the park as well as the state license plate. 

After shooting pictures of every arch we saw (only sharing one pic of an arch today), we then headed out and to Canyonlands park which was about 40 miles or so away.  At this point we were really saw our fair share of canyons, but wanted to give this park a quick run through for the heck of it.  A very different park altogether, as it is very desolate and the main road in the park is actually a plateau.  So that when you get to the end of the road, you can look out in all directions and see vast amount of miles of canyons far below,  which reminded me of the Grand Canyon, but on a smaller scale.   Today's pic of Brad and me is at Canyonlands.

We decided to go the distance today and drive out of the desert and to the Rocky Mountains.  Around the Vail, Colorado area is where we began to notice the lush green evergreen trees again, and not so much of plateau top to the mountains, but peaks again.  A more familiar site.  With this familiarity came the elevation, and crossing the continental divide a few times, and driving slow with the flashers on again. 

This is also were the big Buzzkill comes in.  We could not find a vacant campground.  All around Vail and the ski resort areas, everything was booked.  We even got off at a town called St. George a few exits afterwards and drove on a switchbacks inclining road to a supposed campground-that we found out was no more.  By now it is dark and I mean dark.  No street lights...nothing but switchbacks.  After getting back on the highway, our exit to get to Rocky Mtn. Park was a few miles more.  We took it and started to head north.  Again, a very dark, dark, and I mean dark, with tons of switchbacks, and increasing in elevation until hitting yet another continental divide.  The first national forest campground was full.  Finally the next national forest campground had one site #7 available.  A big, long, and dark site.  After setting up we realized there was a tent set up on the site in the back- but no one registered to the site. At 11 pm, we did not care.  We finished dinner, and went to sleep.

Note:  It is very cold.  Big difference from a few hours before in the desert.

Places driven through:  Just to Rocky Mountain National Park and Timber Creek Campground- 8 miles in.

This morning we drove from the Robber's Roost campground to the Rocky Mtn. National Park.  Left early- too early to talk to the campground host and see who's tent was on site #7.  We drove about a half an hour or so to the park, and early enough to settle into the first campground in the park- Timber Creek.  We did absolutely nothing all day except hang out at our campsite.  Relaxing and recouping from all the stress of last night...Only have one picture to show, of us at the campfire.  Hanging loose...and being cold. That's all there is today.  Nothing exciting at al (at least that I can mention- wink wink- as our friend Johnny Cannondale says, even if you are a mile up on land, you are still considered to be in the "mile high club").

Today we woke to Highlight: three moose that were hanging out behind our campsite in the swamps.  Many people from the campground gathered on our site to watch the three (pic shows two- there was another male too).  It was a very cool site to see.  We watched them for about 45 minutes. 

Our day consisted of driving the main road throughout the park and stopping at all the view points.  At over 12,000 feet in some parts, it was a cold, windy morning up on the park road.  We saw many elk too hanging out in the mountain meadows.  We eventually descended into warmer elevations and made our way out of the park.  Very pretty park.  Again, vanagon was very slooooowww going uphill, fine on the downhills.

We did some "window shopping" at the town of Estes on the east side.  We drove about a half an hour past into Loveland to the Horsetooth Reservoir Campground.  We are going to go white water rafting tomorrow and need to be at the location at early...it is only 10 minutes from where we are camped now.  Very cool spot. Hope to star gaze tonight, as we are in open field..

Update to the star gazing:  completely overcast...no star gazing tonight.

Highlight- White water rafting. This was the first time for both Brad and myself.

Miles drove: 390

States/places driven through:  Out of Colorado, into Kansas

Today we drove to the A-1 Wildwater Rafting place in Ft. Collins, Co, and went on our fun rafting trip down the Cache La Poudre River.  Again, (like the scenic raft ride at Tetons) we had a cute guide, "Nelson". 

Being the only other male on board besides the guide, Brad was asked to sit in the front, so I also got to sit in front.  This was the best place to be.  Brad thought I would be the one to fall out of the raft- if anyone did, but it was not me.  There was a group of four girls (college age) besides us on the raft, and over the "4" rapid, she went out.  Brad (and I) had to pull her in.  It was a tough thing to do, with the swift current.  Made Brad realize the importance of wearing the silly helmets as at one point the girl's head was squished between the raft and a big rock.  Because of being late in the season, and the water level down, we did two runs of the same 3.5 mile stretch.  The rapids were from mostly 2's and 3's with the one section of that 4 (which the girl went over on the second run through the river). 

Brad liked having a boat full of girls

After rafting, we heading for the highway to "go the distance"  We decided to travel I-70.  Before getting on the highway, we passed a VW shop (as seen in pic).  We stopped for Brad to just peek around at all the vintage VW's this guy had on his lot.  We finally calling it a night at a KOA on the service road of the highway in WaKeeney, Kansas.  It was a windy, overcast evening.  No stargazing tonight. 

States/ places driven:  Out of Kansas, into Missouri.  From mountain to central time zone.

Miles we drove:  Approx 500

Today was not very eventful, as we are "going the distance" to get to Dixie Bus gathering by Thursday evening.  We drive, we stop for gas...sometimes hit an antique mall.  Our day ended at a wonderful little state park in Montgomery, Missouri called Graham Cave State Park.  The campground host told us that a VW club actually  meets every year in October for a campout.  It was only $8 a night, and there were showers...free ones too.  While it may not have been mentioned thoroughly in this journal, showers are just not common at national park, and national forest campgrounds. 

Since today was not real eventful, I've decided to take a few pictures of the bus, and share with you some of its "outfitting" for the month long trip that we've been on.  The picture that I've included for today of the interior may be "visual overload", but I'll explain what I think is of interest.  First off in the forefront on the floor are two books and a computer program.  These items were my "references- the three that I used the most.  Microsoft Streets and Trips on my laptop which was connected to a gps receiver, so we could always track ourselves.  It also listed a lot of gas stations and campgrounds along the way.  You can also find stores, restaurants etc.  The two books I bought were Fodor's National parks of the West.  This was a great book too, as we would up visiting 10 parks.  The other was the "Free Camping (or camping under $12).  I used this book a lot too. 

Brad built me a computer table prototype.  It needs to be "tweaked" for future trips, as it had some minor faults, but besides the computer, it made a great paper towel holder. 

You will also notice a bungee cord around the potty.  This is so if you make a very sharp turn, the potty does not fall over as it has done in the past...luckily no spillage occurrence.  We bought a shower caddy with suction cups for the t.p. holder.  This worked out great. 

Our friend Nevin convinced us to get the Vector cooler..worked great for storing a few sodas and sandwiches.  Pulled of the carrying straps in front and back and replaced with little plastic trash bins from Wal-Mart as "junk collecting" bins (pens, notepads, camera etc.).  We have a Pep Boys auto store chain by us, and the bins that are in the dash on each side of the shifter are really meant to stick in between the window glass and weather stripping as cup holders. Well that plastic facer on the dash comes off easily and we affixed the holders to the back with Velcro, and clipped the facer back in place...more great "junk collecting bins". 

While on the road we bought the "behind the seat" organizer.  I am not overly fond of its dimensions, it is a great place to store the front curtain.  This is something we never had a good "permanent" place to store. 

Okay, so that is all I wanted to point out in the picture.  Tomorrow a few more pics of bus outfitting. 

States/places driven: Out of Missouri, through Illinois, Indiana, and into Ohio- to the Rustic Knolls Campground for the Dixie Bus Campout.  From central into eastern time zone.

Approx miles driven: 580

Another day of driving.  We drove through the city of St. Louis, past the Gateway Arch.  We also hit a few antique malls.  No real eventful happenings, so I figure I'll explain two more pictures of the bus - one interior, and one exterior.  The green bin you see on the side table is a $10 item from the Coleman outlet.  I put an appropriate size laundry basket inside for support.  I also put non stick rubber down, as things seem to fall/slide off the table in the event you have to stop short/ make bank turn or switchback.  This bin served as a portable "cabinet" for kitchen and household items such as Wet ones, Ziploc bags, dish soap, and my "espresso pot". 

I decided to put Jerry in the picture as he has traveled with us for the past month.  He is wearing the VW Mardi Gras beads that I received at the Indiana VW show at the beginning of our trip. 

The next picture of the day is the cargo trunk.  We have a Swing away model, made by Stowaway.  Swing away model, allows us to swing the trunk away far enough to open the hatch.  You do need a class three hitch for this item.  We stored items such as our folding chairs, camp wood, leveling blocks, bbq/stove, and fold up picnic table, pots and pans, astro turf carpet and some other odds and ends...a great item to have.   If you want more info, visit the website at www.stowaway1.com.  If you wish to actually buy one through their website, please reference me:   Andrea Rasso, with my stowaway # A060604. 

Also having a "grey" water collapsible jug to contain sink water has been a necessity on this trip as all the national parks are so careful about attracting animals, that it is a faux pas to have your grey water drain onto the ground.  Disposing properly is very important. 

.......Finally after two days of driving

...at midnight we arrive at our destination.  We sit up for about an hour and a half with Frank and Duane by the fire.  2am, we wearily go go bed.

We are not driving anywhere today.  Hanging around camp, meeting new people.  That is the business of the day. 

It is overcast and chilly. 

Brad is washing the van, as there is a show near Columbus that we plan to attend tomorrow. 

Highlight: The day was awesome, and we meet around the campfire at night to listen to some guitar strumming.  A great day of meeting new friends from the Ohio Valley Tribe. 

8/14

Miles traveled: About 230

Places visited/driven through:  Out of Ohio, a quick stint in West Virginia, and into Pennsylvania

We get up early to caravan to the Central Ohio show.  An awesome show. I can not say enough.  A lot of sponsorship from the local VW dealer too.   Highlight: Brad and I take 1st in the Vanagon category. 

We see Dave Parsons from Delaware, and Troy Thrasher from Pennsylvania.  

We meet so many people.  This show is huge.  Big spectator showing as well.  Everyone is very social and friendly.  There were over 400 registered cars..and mostly air cooled.  Large Karmann Ghia showing.  Large Splitty showing.  So many vendors, so many representation form VW Trends, Mid Atlantic Motor Works.  So it is 600 miles away, but a show to think about in conjunction with the Dixie Bus Campout for next year.  After the show, we debate whether to go back to camp for pot luck, or to start heading home...Buzzkill: reality- we decide to start heading home. 

We travel for about 200 miles and campout in western PA at Donegal's campground.  A nice little wooded campground right off the service road of the highway.  Make the "last supper", have a few cocktails and reside for a long day of driving tomorrow.

Miles driven:  About 400

Places driven through:  Through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York (Staten Island to Long Island).

Last picture of us just before leaving camp. 

Traffic is not too bad over the bridges and on the highways either.  We get home at about 4pm.  That is the end. 

Only memories from here in out.