Our Big Trip of 2011 Eastbound

 

At the end of May, we left Canyon Country behind and headed east.  We stayed in Las Vegas the first night and then went on to Utah.  We attempted to make reservations at a campground on Lake Utah but were turned down because 1/3 of the property was under water.  That was our first taste of the flooding that was widespread in the spring.  2010 and 2011 brought record snow to the western side of the Rockies and Sierras.

These Chinese Cresteds were our neighbors in the Las Vegas campground.  Duffy kept staring out the window at them.  One of my friends said they look like strippers and that black one must be the bouncer.  Duffy says,  “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!”

 

The water was very high at our campsite on the Provo River.  This was taken directly across the lane from our space.  The white patch is not snow…..it is sandbags to hold back the river.  We had planned to go on to Yellowstone from here for Memorial Day weekend but when we checked the weather forecast we found that the high was to be 35 degrees and it was to snow 4 out of the 5 days we had reserved.  Needless to say, we cancelled our reservation and headed for Idaho Falls.

 At the campsite next door there was a very brave squirrel eating nuts from the picnic table.  I wonder if he ever knew that the only thing between him and disaster was the window of our coach.

 

There was so much snow melt that the falls at Idaho Falls almost disappeared.  This was taken from the bridge downtown.  Because we wanted to stay off the roads during Memorial Day Weekend we stayed here for several days and were able to see the exhibit “Bodies” at the Museum of Idaho in town.

 

We took this photo at a rest stop on Highway I-90 in Montana east of Bozeman.  We were so surprised to see this much snow still on the hills on May 31st!!!!  The scary part is where is all that melt going to go?  Every waterway is so high already.

 

This was our site at Bear Canyon Campground outside of Bozeman.  We fell in love with the area and ended up staying for a few days.  We went to the Museum of the Rockies in town.  They have a wonderful exhibition on dinosaurs.

 

Couldn’t resist another rest area photo.  We tucked in here to have lunch……between the big boys!

 

For those of you, like me, who have wondered where ”Home On The Range” is, our question is now answered…….it’s on I 94, Exit 7, in western North Dakota!!!!!  If not for I 90 being closed for 70 miles because of flooding of the Little Bighorn River, we would not have been on I 94 and we still would not know “where the buffalo roam”!

 

Duffy is smelling for Buffalo pies.  On I 94 in Montana we passed through Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  There are signs warning people to avoid the buffalo.  We only saw the remains.  Did you know that buffalo pies have no smell????

 

Everywhere we went there was too much water.  Here they were trying to protect the bridge and doing a darn good job.

 As we crossed that bridge over the Missouri River we saw this beautiful little park.  Look how much is underwater.  What a shame.

 

Graduate from East Ridge High School in Woodbury, Minnesota, our granddaughter, Kirsten King!!!

 

We had a wonderful week visiting with our son-in-law Matt, grandchildren Kirsten and Tim and our daughter Debbie. 

 

We are such proud grandparents!  And this is only one of our three brilliant grandchildren!!!!

 

“I did it!!!!”  “Yes you did!!!”

 

I’m not sure what they are serving here but if you are ever on Highway 2 in Wakefield, Michigan you might want to check it out!

 

Trains come through the campground at Michigamee Shores.  The engineer gives plenty of notice and goes really slow.  All the kids turn out to put pennies on the track.  The children are much braver around trains than Duffy is.

 

The lake at Michigamee Shores is very pretty but as the afternoon wore on the mosquitoes came out.  They were many, big, and hungry!  We stopped and bought a zapper before moving on.

 

While still in the UP  (Upper Peninsula of Michigan) we followed along the shore of Lake Michigan on Highway 2.  We spotted this lighthouse.  The Upper Peninsula is bordered on the north by Lake Superior and on the south by Lake Michigan.  Did you know that Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state?

 

The sign says it all.  This area was a lovely rest stop along Highway 2.

 

Duffy of course had to see what was so Great about Lake Michigan!!!

 

We crossed the Mackinac Bridge from the UP into lower Michigan.  Boy that is one long bridge!  That would be Lake Huron on the left and Lake Michigan on the right.

 

In Harrison, Michigan we found this beautiful site at  Hidden Hills Campground.  The grounds and staff were really wonderful.  The only trouble was the tornado warnings we endured while there.  We got lucky in that there was no tornado but the sky opened up.  The owner of the campground, which is at the top of a hill, said it was the first time since he opened that there was standing water.

 

Next time someone says “Where’s Waldo?” you tell them, “On Highway 10 in Midland, Michigan.”

 

We arrived in Algonac, Michigan and stayed at the state park there.  It is right across from the St. Claire River and large ships pass several times a day.  I took this photo from the front of our campsite.

 

We went to Algonac to visit with our friends Mike and Sharon Fetter.  We always have a great time with them.

 

Ruthie and Ken Walker were also there so we got to visit with them also.  They were staying at the same park as Mike and Sharon.

 

A little nail brought things to a standstill.  Luckily we were still in the campground as the tire lost air.  We were able to get a truck out to take care of it for us in a very short time.