This land is my land, this land is your land.............

Monday.....the road to Cody......beautiful scenery
I am fortunate to have a friend Carol Bittner, art teacher in Des Moines for 30 years, now retired, and lives half the year in Cody. Great house, great company. What better way to see Yellowstone than with someone who has spent 16 years there as a child.
Tuesday....relaxing, just hanging out.
Wednesday.....day spent in Yellowstone. So beautiful, wet spring, so lots of beautiful waterfalls and wildflowers. No bear sightings but lots of other wildlife. An amazing day.
Thursday....Caught up on rest, a few errands then the Buffalo Bill Museum. Fantastic, a must if traveling across the country. Beautiful western art exhibit.
Friday.....On the road again. 500 miles ahead to get to Kalispell, Montana.

Travel

When I got up on Monday morning ready to hit the road again, I looked at the van and sighed. All I could think of was how much I wanted to zoom across the mountains and there it was loaded down. It felt like how my life has been these past few months. I just wanted to dump it all. It has felt good to get rid of all the things from my house, scarey but now I know I will be doing more sorting etc. on the other end. It does feel good to simplify.
And so I hit the road, fearful of the mountains ahead, would Scarlet Too(the van...and faithful friend) make it with this big load? I just took a deep breath and started the climb over the Big Horn Mountains. We chugged a little but made it to the top then zoomed down the other side. The fear left and I have felt pretty confident that I could overcome any obstacle I would encounter. 1100 miles later we are still going strong. Hopefully this will be how the rest of my adventure will be.

Alive and kicking in Montana

I have had several emails as to why I have not been keeping up with my blog. No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth and no, I am not in Portland yet. I am ambling across America. The past week I have not had access to WiFI so the blog has had to wait, but I drove all day yesterday and made it to Kalispell WY and am back on the air.
WOW.....is all I can say. I have taken lots of pictures, reminiscent of the old time slide show when I look at the all, so I will just share my favorites with you.
So far 1500 miles and have one leg left after this to get to Portland. I feel I have been on the road forever but have enjoyed every minute. I am extremely fortunate to have friends and family who live in wonderful places and have been experiencing America the Beautiful, that is for sure. So bear with me getting this updated. I will be posting lots of photos while I am here.

A new home?

As I travel across the country I am open to all kinds of possibilites for a new home. Hmmmm...maybe a teepee is the answer. And in a wooded setting, communal potties and showers. What more could one want!

For Billy Bubba..Sylvan Lake

Okay Jeff, I was here, couldn't take a photo on the spot......wedding going on. Great to be able to picture Matt's wedding.

America at it's best

I finally have remembered how it feels to relax. Perfect weather, no humidity. Slept late, lazed around, then off for a drive in the Black Hills. As often as I have been here over the years, my mouth still drops at the sight of Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and George. What amazing feats. And to be seeing them from a convertible made it even better.

And to think they are made using corn

Across South Dakota

Every American should make the trip across South Dakota. Yes, long boring stretches but where else could you see such amazing sights as the Corn Palace in Mitchell or Wall Drug. I have seen the Corn Palace so many times but I happen to be one of those people that am amazed by it. Where else could you see a building covered with corn. Today when I went there they were adding corn, I watched for awhile, quite fascinated.Next stop Wall Drug, America at it's best

Finally on the road.

After many sad good byes I made the final departure from Des Moines yesterday. The last few weeks have most certainly been a challenge but thanks to many hands, my van was loaded my neighbors garage is empty and I have begun this new adventure. I am finally in a place with wireless so can actually try and get this blog up and running.

The last drama was the van, it is really LOADED. I was unsure I could even get it over the mountains, but after two days of driving I am feeling much better.
Yesterday morning I hit the road about 6am and had a nice leisurely drive to Sioux Falls. I had to drive north to Albert Lea then across 90 because of the flooding on 29. It took a little longer but was a great drive, I just love to get behind the wheel and drive always feel like a grand adventure.

By George, I think she got it!

Step one, blog created. Needs a lot of tweaking but for now at least I have something . Just one step at a time.

Virgin blogger

So.....here goes. I am in my usual rush to get things done before hitting the road and making an attempt at learning another NEW thing. Blogging. This is a trial run so we shall see.......