ON THE ROAD AGAIN - DESTINATION, MARITIMES

We're on the road again - on a BIG trip this time, probably 10,000 miles before we see home again. We're heading across the US to the Maritime Provinces of Canada, then through New England and down the East Coast to Washington DC, then down the Blue Ridge Parkway to Ashville, NC, then Nashville, then ??? . . .maybe head for home . . .We're doing all this in our new motorhome, our first diesel! We got it for the Roadcats - they needed a little more room . . . .Hope they like it!

Palouse Country

We drove through the Palouse country of Eastern Washington, then into Idaho to visit sister Carolyn, then a stop in Boise to see brother Bob and Darlene. Our new coach performed well on the long, steep, downhill grade called the Whitebird Hill - it's a real brake-burner!

Whitebird Hill

We met Mark and Penny in Pocatello, Idaho, then drove to Jackson, Wyoming in beautiful weather. We stayed in a park near the Grand Tetons National Park with a great view of the mountains, and spent a couple of days exploring there and in nearby Yellowstone Park.

Teton Mountains from Oxbow Bend

Teton Mountains from Jackson Lake Lodge

One day we drove into Yellowstone Park - saw Yellowstone Falls and Old Faithful, and lots of people! Yellowstone in July is a carnival of families on vacation - crowded and chaotic, but everyone's in a good mood and having fun.

Yellowstone Falls

Old Faithful

Back in Grand Teton Park we saw this young female moose having her dinner in a small lake. She seemed very unconcerned with our presence, only looking up occasionally to make sure no one got too close . . .

Sunset in the Tetons

The Yellowstone River

On a perfect day we took a boat ride across Jenny Lake, then hiked up to Inspiration Point and on into Cascade Canyon. We were in the shadow of the mighty Tetons, with songbirds, pikas, marmots and wildflowers. Doesn't get much better than this!!

Mount Tewinott

Saying goodbye to the Tetons was difficult, but we had more beauty to look forward to in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. Our park in the small town of Dubois was right on the Wind River in a gorgeous valley.

Penny and I hiked up to sparkling Lake Louise at the base of a snowy mountain. The trail was steep in spots, and the weather very warm, but we had a great time.

Lake Louise

Moshi and Kibo weren't too sure they liked the new motorhome at first - they hid under the couch for the first couple of days. By now, though, they feel at home . . . .but they really don't like the heat! Moshi thinks she has too much fur for Midwest heat . . .

Moshi Trying to Stay Cool

Leaving Wyoming we drove into Nebraska - a new state for us . . . only 4 more states to visit to finish them all (except Hawaii) - Iowa, Wisconsin, Delaware and Oklahoma.

Storm Clouds on the Horizon

We were very impressed, and surprised, with how beautiful Nebraska is - lots of ranches and wheat farms, with rolling hills and even some trees! The small windmills in the fields are used to pump water for stock . . .

Some of the farm houses look like they were homesteaded back in the 1800's, many abandoned with barn doors hanging open and fences fallen down . . .

Farther east in Nebraska the ranches and wheat fields turned into corn fields - miles and miles of corn! More rolling hills, and everything very green . . . And the best, biggest, most impressive John Deere stores you've ever seen!

On to Iowa, another new state . . .more rolling hills, more trees, and more corn - corn everywhere . . .a mind-boggling, incredible amount of corn! And very pretty . . .

It's still very hot! And beginning to get humid too . . . Kittens are not happy with this . . .

Kibo Expressing his Opinion of the Heat

More Corn!!! Iowa Corn . . .

In Forest City, Iowa, our park was in the middle of a corn field!! On a lake . . .we loved it! Literally we were surrounded by corn fields, where songbirds live and fireflies dance at night - it was magical.

Forest City is the home of Winnebago Industries, the maker of our last motorhome and Mark and Penny's current motorhome. It just so happened that our visit here coincided with the big national Winnebago Rally, where Winnebago owners from all over the country come to gather for a big party - thousands of them! We decided to check it out - it was our first rally, and maybe our last, but it was fun. There were 1400 Winnebago motorhomes parked side by side in a huge field, with decorations and contests and games and entertainment and informational seminars.

Winnebago Grand National Rally