Yellowstone, Glacier and the Devil's Tower

We have been in five national parks over the last week: Devil's Tower, Yellowstone, Glacier (US), Banff and Jasper (Canadian); each one continued to outdo the last in majestic beauty.  In Yellowstone, we explored the surreal setting of Old Faithful.  It is something to behold, tons of hot water shooting in the air and cascading down upon sightseers in a mist of cooled delight - and doing so every 50 minutes (plus or minus 10).

Although Old Faithful might be the most popular of the Geysers, there are many available to discover (from wooden planked boardwalks - it's literally a hot, steamy place) and even more bizarre and intriguing are the hot pools that bubble up in sulfuric ecstasy.

My favorite pool was called Paint Pot - the sulfur causing the outer shores to turn a copper color, while the interior shown a rich blue, similar to the color of the Caribbean Ocean.  And the heat... it's intense.  The geothermal forces that take place below ground are readily apparent here, in stark difference to the lack of thought we'd pay them in Pennsylvania.  It's wild!

To be continued (when I can next get wifi access)...

Going to the Four Faces

Since she was two, Kyra has wanted to see the "monument with four faces" aka Mt. Rushmore - today was her lucky day!  We started the morning at Wall Drug for some tasty maple doughnuts and a Sunday Brunch of campfire bacon, peppers, onions and eggs.  Our first destination was Wind Cave - 

A massive underground cavern known specifically as housing the largest concentration of limestone rock formations called Box Work (named by early explorers for their resemblance to a network of cardboard boxes)

The Lakota Indians view the cave as a spiritual place - the place from which their people left the underground and entered the land.  Its only natural entrance in the side of a mountain both inhales and exhales a continual just of air, making the mountain seem to breath - a glorious earthly being enjoying the pristine air of the Black Hills.

The cave remains a constant temperature of 54 degrees Fahrenheit and only a portion of its 128 miles of passages have been explored.  It's the 7th largest cave in the world (and may become the 6th as more passages are discovered).

Our park ranger was a young woman who only recently started her position.  It's obvious that she has a passion for her work, as do all the rangers whom we've met this far.  This is the sort of work I could see myself doing in the future - dedicating my life to preservation and sharing that love with others.  I think many educators are excited by the same notion... (Janet - yes?)

After Wind Cave, we hit the road once again to see find the four heads.  Because the Wind Cave tour was so long  (and wonderful) we did not have time to stop at the Crazy Horse monument.  It's a massive sculpture-in-progress that celebrates the American Indians and their way of life, encapsulated in the figure of one of their greatest warriors.  You can see the monument from the road.  The face of Crazy Horse has been completed and they have started on his horse.  It's slow, tedious and exacting work, but the result is stunning.  We wondered if you'd be able to see Mt. Rushmore from the road, as well, but soon found that such was not the case.  Chosen for its particular attributes, the rock face of Mt. Rushmore is sheilded from the road until you come directly upon it.

It was suggested that Mt. Rushmore is most interesting to see at sunset (thanks, Kathy!). The park service offers a 30 minute presentation to share the history of the monument and the reason those specific four presidents were chosen - Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln - to be commemorated.  

The sculptor Gutzon Borglum was especially enamored with Lincoln, and believed this sculpture would be an inspirational reminder of a young nation's tenacity and grit.  It certainly is amazing, and Kyra was not disappointed in finally seeing the site she had wanted to see 'since she was little' (as compared to being the ripe old age of nearly 8).

Once again, a fantastic day - and what a majestic way to end it!

Tornados, Badlands and Deadwood, oh my!

The first three days of our trip were merely put in place to get us out to our first true destination - Wall, South Dakota - to visit Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands and Wind Cave National Park.  With a total of about 1650 miles driven through states, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska (almost cheating, here - just wanted to hop into Nebraska to add to my visited-states count) we found ourselves in South Dakota.  Arriving around 7:00, Mountain Time, we popped up the camper, set up camp and decided to hit Wall Drug (a story in itself http://www.walldrug.com) for dinner. To our horror, the weather turned poor and we were stuck in the middle of an intense storm.  It was beautiful, at first; a patchwork of fireworks illuminated  the sky, and then the sirens went off!  We were ushered to the basement with 20 or so other patrons where we spent about two hours waiting out the storm - scary and thrilling at the same time.  Luckily, no one was hurt, but our tent (which we also brought for this trip) bit the dust, so to speak. 

The next day, we decided to hike the Badlands.  It was stunning!

The juxtaposition of lush prairie grasslands and barren, cavernous sedimentary rock made for an awe inspiring view.  Before hiking, we visited the prairie dog town in northern part of the park.

The kids delighted in seeing tons of these curious creatures, perched on their dirt mounds calling in chirp-like fashion to one another announcing their human spectators. http://www.npr.org/2011/01/20/132650631/new-language-discovered-prairiedogese 

For this part of the trip, we've been joined by our friends, Stacey and Andy Mowrer, whose daughter Bella is pictured here with Kyra pointing out one of the adorable critters.

After leaving the prairie dogs, we catch sight of several bison and big-horned sheep from the safety of our car as we meander 20+ miles through the Badlands National Park.  From the visitor's center, we choose to do a shorter hike that leaves you in the middle of an easily-hiked, marked section of popular buttes.

The area was magestic, offering original vistas with each conquered area.  It was easy to imagine oneself as an early American explorer, being struck by the austere beauty of this area.

Such an ambitious day of being pioneers called for a hearty evening meal, which came in the shape of a Dakota specialty pheasant dish (it's the SD state bird) in Deadwood, SD.  We dined at the Deadwood Social Club, situated atop the Saloon no. 10, which had been thrust into legendary status as the place Wild Bill Hickok was killed - shot in the back of the head still holding his Poker cards.  His hand, a pair of eights and a pair of aces 'Aces and Eights' is now referred to as the Dead Man's Hand.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Bill_Hickok

An excellent end to an incredibly eventful day, and a wonderful way to celebrate our romance with the West.

 Voted one of the most scenic islands in the world by Conde Nast,
Cape Breton Island offered incredible beauty to the sightseer.  We drove along the Cabot Trail, named after explorer John Cabot, stopping along the way to take pictures and play on the pebble/rock beaches.  Although the day was overcast, the drive was still amazing.  I think my views on Cape Breton are best summed up by a quote I read by Alexander Graham Bell (who had a summer residence on Cape Breton) "I have travelled around the globe. I have seen the Canadian and American Rockies, the Andes, the Alps and the Highlands of Scotland, but for simple beauty, Cape Breton outrivals them all!"

In Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, one of the places Fodor's guide calls "wacky and wild," is the scarecrow site where the owner has placed over 100 scarecrows to delight and frighten.  So, yes, I made Kevin stop.  Kev, in the Philly Folk Fest sweatshirt, and Kyra, in matching raincoat and umbrella, partake in the fun with an especially freaky looking scarecrow...

Last Day in the ADK MTS.

On our last day in the mountains, we took our nephews Stephen and Hunter hiking.  Kev and I carried Kyra and Hunter in baby backpacks,  and Stephen walked on his own.  This hike was great -about 2.5 miles around Moss Lake.  During much of the hike, you'd only catch a glimpse of the lake itself - dashing between trees and getting great views where the woods would open for small waterways cascading down the mountain.  On Wednesday, we left the park for Bangor Maine.  While driving, we stopped in Montpelier, VT,  the capital, for lunch.  While walking down the street after a fantastic lunch at a trendy little bistro, I nearly walked head first into a woman.  That woman was none other than Karen Sciarillo, my fellow teacher from PA!  She and her husband were just coming out for lunch, as well!  How serendipitous!  I knew Karen was planning to go to Vermont for vacation, but what are the odds?  Tonight, we are camping in Nova Scotia right below the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton.  Tomorrow, we plan to drive the scenic Cabot Trail (considered to be one of the most beautiful drives in North America) and do some hiking before we catch the over-night ferry to Newfoundland (13 1/2 hours).  So far, Kyra has really enjoyed camping... other than fighting off mosquitoes.  Kev is sitting next to me enjoying a cigar - it seems to keep the little buggers at bay.  Looking forward to some amazing pictures tomorrow!

You know hiking will be fantastic when a family on their way back says, "the trail ahead is impassable; you will need to turn around..."  Undaunted, we continued and slid through mud, gunk and watery passes in order to see this - the Cascade Falls.  Brilliant!  Six miles round trip, and in addition to the falls, we found a prime viewing spot for Cascade Lake.  Like many lakes in the Adirondack Mountains, this one can only be reached by hiking the trail - there is no motor access.  While there, we saw a loon (too far away from us to get a decent picture) and heard his mournful cry (Hoo - whoo - hoo or http://www.ns.ec.gc.ca/wildlife/loons/sounds/wail.au to hear for yourself).  The sound echoed around the mountains...  Beautiful and somber at the same time...just breathtaking (or was that the hike?).  In any case, Kyra fell asleep in the baby-backpack on Kevin's back for the last mile.  A fantastic day had by all!