CHASING OUR DREAMS
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
JUNE 26, 2012
Today was a lazy day. We were awakened by a large thunder and lighting storm with heavy rain and 1/4 inch hail and it sure came down. Why does thunder sound twice as loud than at home????
It stormed for most of the morning and at times raining with the sun bright in the sky. Montana is the "Big Sky Country" and it surely seems that way. This afternoon the wind picked up and is whipping around at 40mph + according to the National Weather Service. So we used the time to fix our pictures and catch-up on the blog. The campground here has a restaurant and I guess we will go over for there famous Huckleberry Ice Cream Pie. We had their cinnamon buns this morning. Like our granddaughter Meaghan says "YUM":
PS: It is now 7:15 pm and the wind is still howling and still raining, it is not going to subside until after midnight.
I guess it's going to be a long night.!!!!!!!!!
JUN 25, 2012
Today we left the campground and went to the Glacier National Park Visitor Center in St. Mary, Mt. to get info on the park. Our campground is right outside the visitor center. We toured the park driving on "Going To The Sun Road" which is the main road in the park.
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| Welcome to Glacier National Park |
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| Just Gorgeous. St. Mary Lake |
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| waterfalls everywhere |
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| More beautiful waterfalls |
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| Tunnel under the rocks |
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| Just magnificent |
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| beautiful waterfalls |
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| Snow still left at Logan Pass |
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| At the top of Going To The Sun Road |
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| waterfalls on the side of the road |
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| The Weeping Wall on side of the road |
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This is us at Glacier National Park
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JUNE 23, 2012
Left Medora and headed to the northern unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. (there is a north and south unit of the park). They are approximately 70 miles apart. We washed the motorhome and car yesterday so it is now nice and clean for the rest of our journey.
The northern unit rock formations are very different than the south unit. They are sharper and more defined. We could only drive 6 miles into the park because part of the road washed out. It was nice but not as nice as the south unit. Since we were heading right by there we had to stop.
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| Large buffalo alongside the road |
The northwestern part of No. Dakota is where they recently found oil. Lots of farmers are now instant millionaires. They drill a new oil well about every 3 weeks. The roads are loaded with trucks and there is dust everywhere. We hit a rainstorm driving through there and our motorhome and car are now filthy. So much for washing them.
We then moved on up to another National Historic Site called Fort Union Trading Post right on the border of No. Dakota and Montana. Got another stamp. This fort was never attacked. From 1828-1867 Fort Union was the most important fur trading post on the Upper Missouri. Here, seven Northern Plains Indian Tribes, including the Assiniboine, traded buffalo robes and other furs for goods such as cloth, guns, blankets and beads. This fort was a bastion of peaceful coexistence, annually trading over 25,000 buffalo robes and $100,000 of merchandise.
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| Leaving Fort Union Trading Post parking lot |
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| Entering Fort Union Trading Post Parking Lot |
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| Officers Quarters at Fort Union Trading Post |
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| Office of the Trading Post where all the trading was done. Clerk in period dress
Not a very big Fort but again it was interesting. They had a working blacksmith there. You could go into a large teepee and see what it looked like inside.
After this we drove on Rte 2, (must be the worst road in the state)....we drove over loose peastone gravel for miles and miles and miles. At least 10-15 miles. Our windshield on our car has lots of nicks in it and a small crack. We haven't even gotten to Alaska yet. The pocket where our windshield wipers are was full of gravel.
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| This is the condition of our car. No car washes around here and most campgrounds do not allow you to wash your vehicles. Our motorhome looks just as bad. Jesse is not a happy camper...ha-ha.
Tonight we stayed in a VFW parking lot. After that terrible road, we settled in and went in and had a few BEERS!!!!!!!!!!
JUNE 24, 2012
Left this morning to head to Glacier National Park, St. Mary, Montana. We had the longest day driving so far. We arrived at Glacier around 6:30PM. Glad to be here and settled in. Our site overlooks Glacier National Park and the mountains. It's beautiful.
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JUNE 21, 2012
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| Badlands of North Dakota (Theodore Roosevelt National Park) |
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| Little Missouri River running through the National Park |
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| Prairie Dog |
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| Buffalo Herd |
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| Maltese Cross Cabin. Theodore Roosevelts first cabin on his first ranch. |
After touring the National Park we went back to the motorhome to get ready for tonights Steak Pitchfork Fondue supper and Medora Musical.
At the Fondue they put steaks on an actual pitchfork and deep fry them. They were delicious. It was served with a buffet of beans, baked potatoes, vegetables and dessert.
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| Putting Steaks on Pitchforks |
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| Steaks lined up on pitchforks ready to be fried |
After dinner we went next door to the Medora Musical. It is set in an outdoor amphitheater. The singers and actors were great. Part of the show was a portrayal of Roosevelt and part of it was a western musical. It was 3 hrs long and fantastic. The weather was beautiful. Sun doesn't set here until close to 10PM.
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| Medora Musical left side of stage |
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| Medora Musical right side of stage |
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| Center Stage |
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| After Dark |
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| Elk climbing up the mountain in back of stage. Cowboys on horses finally had to come to move him along. |
Another great day.
JUNE 22, 2012
Today we walked into town and visited a few shops, Very small western town. Not much to do here other than the National Park and the Musical.
Ready to move on tomorrow.
JUNE 18, 2012
We left Duluth, Mn this morning heading for North Dakota. We drove through a town named Akeley, Mn. which is the birthplace of Paul Bunyan. Stopped to take a picture of him in front of the Paul Bunyan Museum.
JUNE 19, 2012
This was a driving day. We ended up in Fargo, ND and spent the night in a Sams Club. The next morning we drove until we reached the Knife River Indian Villages in Stanton, ND. This is a National Historic Site and I got another stamp for my Passport to National Parks book. At the Indian Village was an Earth Lodge where the Indians lived. In this lodge lived a mother and father and their family and all extended family. The extended family would be their daughters and their husbands and children. A son would live with his wife's family. It was nice and cool in there. The ranger told us that the house was always comfortable whether it was freezing or hot outside. In the middle of the lodge was a campfire. Above the fire was an opening in the top of the lodge to let out smoke. When it rained they would put an old bull boat over the top that would stop the rain from entering but would still let the smoke out.
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| Earth Lodge |
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| Interior of Earth Lodge |
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| Hole in roof to let out smoke from fire below |
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| Bull Boat (this is a boat made from tree branches and buffalo hides that they used to float their supplies down the river) When they were no longer able to use them to float they used them to cover the tops of the lodge when it rained or snowed.
This was a former site of Indian villages and they estimated there could have been up to 400 of the earth lodges here. From an aerial photo you can still see the mounds where the lodges were.
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| Aerial Photo of where the lodges stood
Until you go to a place like this you cannot begin to imagine how these people lived.
After touring the village, we went a few miles down the road to Hazen, ND where we would spend the night in the Lewis & Clark RV Park. The campground host told Jesse about an open strip coal mine in the area. He use to work there and said they give tours, so Jesse called and we got on a tour for the next day.
JUNE 20, 2012
Arrived at the Coteau Mines in Beulah, ND. We were met by our tour guide (an engineer) who has worked at the coal mine for over 30 years. We had a private tour. This was a strip mining operation where they remove the soil to get down to the coal, remove the coal and restore the land back to its original shape and use. If it was farmland before, it becomes farmland afterwards. They are under strict regulation to prove that the ground will produce the same amount and quality of crops afterwards as it did before they mined it. They have to go through 10 yrs of studies to prove that it is the same afterwards.
He took us out and showed us how the land looks before they begin digging, then took us to where we could see how they removed the soil and stored it, then onto an area where they were ready to remove the coal. Then we went to an area showing them putting the soil back in and building the land back up to exactly the way it was before they began. It was amazing to see the equipment they use and the size of it. A tire can cost $30,000.00 and they may get 2 yrs use out of it. The statistics on the material that these machines excavate and carry was unbelievable.
Jesse and I standing in a Dragline Bucket. One scoop = 130 yards of material.
After a 2 hr awesome tour we are heading out to Medora, ND.
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Monday, June 18, 2012
DULUTH, MN,,,,JUNE 17, 2012 (OUR 45TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY)
We got up this morning and went to church and then out for breakfast. Celebrating Fathers Day and our Anniversary.
We decided to spend the day in Duluth at Canal Park. This area is full of shops, restaurants and museums. It is also along the canal at the Port of Duluth. There is a lift bridge there that cars go over to get from one side of the canal to the other, when a ship is coming, all traffic is stopped and bridge lifts out of the way to let ships pass.
At one end of the canal is a lighthouse on one side and a light station on the other so that ships know exactly where they need to go to get through. We spent several hours just watching the bridge lift as ships came through.
We also went to a Marine Museum which is a free museum showing the history of shipping on Lake Superior.
Then we decided to take a Trolley Ride around the whole area. There was a very nice boardwalk which took about a 1/2 hr to walk.
The weather was beautiful. We have been very lucky with the weather with most of the rain coming at night when we are done touring for the day. Let's hope it stays that way.
DULUTH, MN...JUNE 16, 2012
We are in Duluth, Minnesota. Found a nice campground in Saginaw, Mn not too far from Duluth. Today we did the North Shore Trail of Lake Superior which goes from Duluth, Mn to Thunder Bay, Canada. The trail is 150 miles one way up the coast of Lake Superior. We only did about half of it, then it started to rain so we decided to head back to the campground. It was still a very full day. We stopped at Two Harbors and saw a beautiful lighthouse. There was also a lightstation at the end of a long pier so we decided to walk to the end of the pier to see it.
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| Two Harbors Lighthouse |
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| Two Harbors Lighthouse
Across from the lighthouse was an Iron Ore Dock. While we were there a big ship pulled up alongside of the dock and they began to load the ore from the dock to the ship. They bring the loaded railroad cars in on top of the dock and unload the cars from the bottom. There are large conveyor belts that the Iron Ore falls on and stores in the docks. On the sides of the dock they have conveyors that lower down to the cargo bays of the ships and load the ore from the dock to the ship.
Iron Ore Dock with railroad cars on top being unloaded
Iron Ore Dock. On the left side are the conveyors that drop down on the top of the ship to load .
Close up of the conveyor belts to load the ships
Ship being loaded from the Dock
After this we stopped at Gooseberry Falls State Park. There were 3 sets of falls here,,,Upper, Middle and Lower Falls. They were beautiful. We took a nice hike all the way around the Falls.
 
Upper Falls
Middle Falls
Lower Falls
Split Rock Lighthouse
Split Rock Lighthouse
We got to tour the lighthouse and go up to the top. There was also the lightkeepers house here. We got to go in it and see how he and his family lived while tending the lighthouse. It was very interesting. They manned the lighthouse from April to December then the lake freezes over and shipping stops.
Another great day.
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