Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Crazy Horse




We visited the Crazy Horse Monument which is Ginormous. They have Crazy Horses face done and have a nice museum and video we watched explaining the whole concept:

Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear officially started Crazy Horse Memorial June 3, 1948. The Memorial's mission is to honor the culture, tradition and living heritage of North American Indians.


Kind of strange they had a Polish guy doing the sculpture. (Joke here somewhere) We thought its great the sculpters family has taken up the project with no goverment help. (they have been offered money but refuse it) They have 10 kids I think and only 3 arent involved anymore.

Casper Wyoming



Went to Casper Wyoming to meet Carrie biological father, Randy Brown. We arrived at his house with much anticipation. We walked up through the well manicured lawn to the house rang the bell and waited. Carrie looked confident but I knew she was feeling uneasy,  we rang again... Nobody answered.

We sat in the car for a bit out front. Kind of depressed about how anti-climatic the whole this is turning out. But we had heard of the world famous BearTrap Bluegrass Festival high up in Bear Trap meadow on Casper Mountain aking place that day. It would be the days savior. We took off in Sweet Love to the mountain pass. It was the perfect day for music. We asked everyone we met if they knew Randy Brown and we met several who did. One man sitting right next to us said Randy is a really nice guy who had mounted a fish for him. (I thought- wow what a kinky place this is) Randy was known for his taxidermy shop and his Outfitter/hunting guide skills. His wife Sharon is also in the business. I have traded emails with her and she seems to be quite a scamp. We returned to Randy Brown's house one more time and he was not home after the festival.

We stayed at the Park Plaza Hotel which is connected to the Convention center. Really crappy place. But the festival had a deal for a rooms so we took them up on it. The 60 dollar room was worth $14.50. We both looked forward to getting back to our home the tent.

We left the next morning sad we didnt get to see Randy Brown but happy to be leaving Casper. We did see the Dick Cheney Federal Building though and a building which sign said, ASS.

The brown gentleman is Mike's new walking buddy, "Beartrap Bob."  He's a terrific companion.

(the pictures of Randy Brown's house were lost in the hard drive collapse)



Where not to take a Animal Lover (Thermopolis WY)














































Safari Club Restaurant & Lounge

For a truly unique and enjoyable hotel experience, dine and drink
amongst our collection of big game trophies. This private collection
contains trophies from Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada
and the United States.


Carrie was horrified when we went to the only restaurant near our hotel. I have never seen so many dead animals in my life. They even had a Hippo.




Hotels





Carrie has been having a good time taking pictures of Hotel Motel signs all over the place.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Thermopolis Wyoming













If there is one thing we have enjoyed on this trip its Hot Springs. We stopped in this little stinky town and our hotel had the HotSprings right in it. We soaked in the Hot Springs and Mike met a man from the deep south who told him all about racism and how Teddy Roosevelt was really an ass.

Photos lost :(

In the last 3 days we lost a bunch of our photos we took. Very sad.

Mike hit a button on his small digital camera and reformatted the disk by mistake deleted whole bunch of candids form the last few days. One particular one will be missed greatly. It was Mike and Carrie in a Giant Wooden Chair. It probably would have ended up in the Smithsonian.

Also the pictures of the well manicured house of Randy Brown and Carrie peeking through the windows of the house in Casper Wy.

To top it off this morning we awoke to blog and the external Western Digital hard drive we had put all our pictures on suddenly became corrupt. So all the photos are lost. We have a mish mash of photos but both things has been a blow.

We plan to drink wine and try and forget our loss tonight.

:(

Advise: Don't buy Western Digital products.

Cody Dam













We stopped and saw the Cody Dam. Damn fine piece of work.

In 1897 and 1899 Colonel William F. (Buffalo Bill) Cody and his associates acquired from the State of Wyoming the right to take water from the Shoshone River to irrigate about 169,000 acres of land in the Big Horn Basin. They began developing a canal to carry water diverted from the river, but their plans did not include a water storage reservoir. Colonel Cody and his associates were unable to raise sufficient capital to complete their plan. Early in 1903 they joined with the Wyoming Board of Land Commissioners in urging the federal government to step in and help with irrigation development in the valley.

Construction of the Shoshone Dam (later called Buffalo Bill Dam) started in 1905, a year after the Shoshone Project was authorized. Engineers were faced with seemingly insurmountable physical challenges, among them deep granite canyon which made the work difficult and the remote location which made it hard to secure and keep construction workers. Another constant challenge was the Shoshone River which did not always schedule its flows to coincide with work on the dam. One year half the annual runoff occurred during a 30-day period, making work almost impossible. At one point the river cascaded over the top of the unfinished dam at the depth of 17 feet.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Buffalo Bill Museum -Cody Wyoming


























We went to the Buffalo Bill Museum which is huge. Five museums in one. Firearms, Nature, Plains Indians, Western Art and of course Buffalo Bill portion. We have so much western culture we now talk funny. I have taken to talking like John Wayne and Carrie curiously sounds like MA Kettle.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Meeting the Artist George Bumann (oops more from Jackson Hole)




Across from the national Elk refuge in Jackson WY sits the National Museum of Wildlife Art which Carri and I walked through. Fantastic place http://www.wildlifeart.org/. We also talked with George Bumann a Naturalist-Sculptor who showed us how he creates his art. www.georgebumann.com He is a great guy and does some amazing work.















The also have Marmonts!

Visit to Jackson Hole and the Amangani Hotel (oops more from Jackson Hole)









While we were in the Grand Tetons we visited the town of Jackson or the Jackson Hole area. Lots of shops and restaurants aad massive houses surrounding the town. It must be a great place in the winter with the Ski runs visible right above the town. We went to Mountain High Pizza which was a delicious break from the usual beans, corn mash and small game Carrie has been catching.

We also drove over to Teton Village which is a smaller area but it looks like it is being built up quick. It is a mass of construction.

Another stop we made was to check out the famous Amangani Hotel in Jackson. Its a luxurious and beautifully designs hotel. 40 rooms and 150 people on staff. Talk about service. Our good friends Aaron and Casey Hiester got engaged here.

We had a really great visit drinking some wine and talking to the staff. The website is www.amanresorts.com.

Here is the view from the pool and restaurant area.




We contemplated getting a room but our tent would be mad at us.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Our Anniversary is today!!!


We spent our anniversary today in Cody Wyoming. We went on a trolley tour, saw a gunfight, ate at a really nice restaurant and now we are in our hotel room which is a treat from tent living.









Those amazing animals

This is one of my favorite shots we took. I would like to say we crawled on our bellies into the coyotes domain and waited for hours to get this shot but frankly he/she was next to the road. He seemed to be as interested in us as we were in him. Carrie nabbed this shot. It was around 6am.


Thats not a bike lane

Driving from the Tetons through Yellowstone to Cody, Wyoming we passed this Buffalo who knew to use the bike path. Or is it a Bison path in Yellowstone? Such a huge animal, in fact the largest land animal in North America. We saw so many but the sheer size is just awe inspiring. (They are also faster than horses in a sprint.) He looked us in the eye as he passed.
































MOOSE on the loose!




































These Moose were found in totally different habitats. One was seen in a swampy bog chewing on grass yesterday. The other has been seen with a glass of wine and a book in its hand usually by a campfire in the past few weeks.

New Friends


The one thing about traveling is the interesting people you meet and the discussions you find yourself in with complete strangers.

Turpin Meadows Dude Ranch

When Mike was a kid he visited this Dude Ranch, Turpin Meadows with Loren and Jane Williams and their three kids Atelsfice (Heidi), Brett and Amy Jane. It was one of the best trips he can remember as a kid and it was fun to see the place again. It has fallen in new management, but the place looks the same.

Mike asked if they still sent kids on Snipe hunts like the one he and Brett went on.

We used a burlap bag and a flashlight. Stayed out that night for a few hours. :( Mike reembered walking into the breakfast room the next morning totally embarrassed.

The man at the counter didn't know what a snipe hunt was.

Oh how times have changed.






Do not harass or feed the animals

There are signs all over the place in The Grand Tetons that say:

Do not feed or harass animals! They are dangerous etc....
















This child obviously cannot read.

Blogging in nature





















As we sat in the Lake Lodge in the Grand Tetons borrowing internet and blogging the day before yesterday, we noticed the huge herd of Elk running fast in the field which is very unusual. We didn't have any scope or binoculars but I did snap a quick picture. (above)
The other folks there could saw a big Grizzly Bear run out of the bushes and grab a baby elk and kill it and drag it back in the bushes. Scary stuff. Once again we realized that the parks we are visiting; Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Glacier are wild places. It's not a Mutual Of Omahas Wild Kingdom where the prey gets away every time. It was particularly crazy for the kids watching. (well everyone)










After the excitement of this raw nature somehow the horror ws broken up when the sun broke through the clouds gave us some amazing views of the Grand Tetons.

(any haze in these pictures comes from the fires in California - which is also amazing)