Sunday, June 4, 2006

In the morning we went on a guided tour at Moraine Park. Mori means between 7,000-9,000 feet.  So the Moraine Park is at the 7,000-9,000 foot range.  Kaitlyn and Kaleb had been working on their Jr. Ranger workbooks and they had them finished.  The Ranger went over them with the kids and then awarded them with their Jr. Ranger Badges.  The Ranges make such a big deal out of it that the kids feel really important.

Then we drove out to Horseshoe Park.  We saw the Alluvial Fan.  The Alluvial Fan was created in 1982 when the dam on a lake at the top to the mountain failed.  Millions of gallons of water poured down the valley knocking down trees and carrying large boulders  and rock with it, creating a huge flood.  Three people were killed.  The rocks and boulders  were left laying on the side of the mountain, changing the landscape forever. It is funny to see boulders in this area because this is a Mori area and the boulders belong in the Alpine Tundra.   Today, Fall River runs down the side of the hill creating a very nice waterfall.  We also spent some time at Sheep Lake trying to get a glimpse of a Long Horn Sheep, but they did not decide to grace us with their presence.  The sheep come down out of the mountain to eat the mud at the side of the lake.

Monday, June 5, 2006

We went out to sheep Lake again to listen to a talk about the Big Horn Sheep.  They still did not want to come out to play.  We did however see two coyote.  One was very far away and could only be seen with high powered binoculars, but the other one came pretty close to us while we were listening to the program.  After the program, we left Rocky Mountain National Park.  We drove into Wyoming.  We are spending the night in a little campground in a very small town called Guernsey.  The campground is really small, not much to talk about, but it has power, water and a bath house with really hot water for a shower!  We will be leaving in the morning anyway.

Tuesday, June 6, 2006

Drove from Guernsey Wyoming to Custer South Dakota.  Found a speed trap in Laramie Wyoming, $69.  Stopped at Ft Laramie.  This was once a major trading post between the white man and the Indians.  It latter became a military base.  The only battle ever fought was a battle that started the war between the Indians that ended with Custards last stand.

Wednesday, June 7, 2006

Visited nearby Jewel and Wind caves.  Jewel is the 2nd longest cave in the world and Wind is the 4th.  The longest is Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.

Thursday, June 8, 2006

Spent the day at Custer State Park.  We saw a heard of bison with over 100 head, mountain goats, elk, antelope, prairie dogs, deer & even some wild burrows.

In the afternoon we went out to Mount Rushmore.  It is awesome.  We stayed until dark to watch to nighttime ceremony's.  At 9:00 they have a speech to honor the veterans and active military.  Then they show a 20 minute movie about the making of the sculpture and about the presidents that are shown there.  At the end of the movie, they slowly start bring up lights on the sculpture until it is entirely lit up.  It is really spectacular.  

Friday, June 9, 2006

It rained most of the day.  We went to the Custer County Courthouse Museum in the morning, hoping that it would stop raining so we could go to Crazy Horse.   It was still raining at noon so we went back to the campground and ate lunch.  We hung around there until late afternoon when the rain stopped.  We drove out to Crazy Horse but then it started raining again.  We stayed there anyway to watch the laser light show.  It did stop raining shortly before the show but it was very cold.  The light show is really something to see.   That was by far the best laser light show I have ever seen.  I don't think there is anywhere else that has anything like it.  I tried to get pictures, but they did not come out very well.

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Made one last stop at Crazy Horse on the way out.  The rain had stopped and I wanted to get some better pictures.

We left South Dakota and headed across the top of Wyoming.  We decided to stop at Devil's Tower.  Awesome!!!  We were quite pleased when we got there to find that they have a campground there.  We got the trailer set up and then went up to the base of the tower to check it out.  There is a hiking tail that goes around the base of the tower.  On the hike we saw rabbits and deer.  In the evening the sun shines on the west side of the tower and make it almost glow. 

At 8:00 they had a Western singing group that did a concert.  "The Prickly Pair"  It was really a fun time.  They sang some old western songs.  Some funny, some sad.  They  yodeled in several songs.  We really enjoyed the concert.  The funniest song was called "Were all part of the big food chain".  It is a comical answer to the vegetarian argument.