We Have Found the Way

Fort Laramie

theparsons — Mon, 5 Jun 2017 08:00:00 GMT

As we are working our way home, we scouted out a few places to stop. We found the interesting Fort Laramie National History Park in Wyoming. Bobby and I both love history, and Bobby particularly likes American Western history (he still loves to watch Gunsmoke! Here is some additional information on the fort.

Located at confluence of the Laramie and North Platte Rivers in southeast Wyoming, this famed outpost - first as a fur trade post and then as a military garrison played a strategic role in transforming the United States. Here, for 56 years successive waves of trappers, traders, Native Americans, missionaries, emigrants, soldiers, miners, ranchers and homesteaders interacted and left their mark on a place that would become famous in the history of the American west - Fort Lar

Tens of thousands of emigrants bound for Oregon, California, and the Salt Lake Valley would eventually stop at the fort. The traders at Fort John did a brisk seasonal business catering to the needs of emigrants.

In 1849, the U.S. Army offered to purchase Fort John as part of a plan to establish a military presence along the emigrant trails. The owners of the Fort agreed to the sale, and on June 26, the post was officially renamed Fort Laramie, and it began its tenure as a military post. The Army quickly constructed new buildings for stables, officers' and soldiers' quarters, a bakery, a guardhouse, and a powder magazine to house and support the fort garrison.

As the years went by, the post continued to grow in size and importance. Fort Laramie soon became the principal military outpost on the Northern Plains. Fort Laramie also became the primary hub for transportation and communication through the central Rocky Mountain region as emigrant trails, stage lines, the Pony Express, and the transcontinental telegraph all passed through the post.

Fort Laramie played an important role hosting several treaty negotiations with the Northern Plains Indian Nations, the most famous of which were the Horse Creek Treaty of 1851 and the still controversial and contested Treaty of 1868.

Sadly, relations that began amicably between Native Americans and the Army began to change as the number of emigrants using the overland trails swelled. As conflicts grew, major military campaigns were launched from the fort against the Northern Plains tribes, who fiercely defended their homeland against further encroachment by a nation moving west.

As the Indian Wars came to a close Fort Laramie's importance diminished. The post was abandoned and sold at public auction in 1890. Over the next 48 years, it nearly succumbed to the ravages of time. Preservation of the site was secured, however, in 1938 when Fort Laramie became part of the National Park System.

Photos: Fort Laramie

theparsons — Mon, 5 Jun 2017 07:00:00 GMT

They are called the Mountains of Imagination - the Grand Tetons

theparsons — Sun, 4 Jun 2017 08:00:00 GMT

Mountains of Imagination is a very fitting name for the Tetons mountains. The national park was established in 1920 and then again in 1950. The park now consists of 310,000 acres. The Tetons mountain range is the youngest mountains of the Rocky Mountains and in fact the whole world. Eight peaks towering above 12,000 feet exist within the park. The highest peak, the Grand Teton, rises 13,770 feet above sea level. We have now seen the park in the fall and in the spring. I would like to come one time in the winter to see all of the snow! They get over 175 inches in the valley and 400+ in the mountains!

Jackson/Jackson Hole is the valley and town between the mountains and the river. It is a great place for wildlife, skiing, and the Elk Refuge. The town is really interesting to see ,and we even took time to go to the Jackson Hole rodeo!

Photos: Grand Tetons

theparsons — Sun, 4 Jun 2017 07:00:00 GMT

Yellowstone - Part 2

theparsons — Sat, 3 Jun 2017 14:00:00 GMT

Yellowstone in Spring is definitely something to see. There is still snow in the higher elevations, but the lower fields are turning green. There was a lot of wildflowers beginning to bloom too. One of the best things for me was seeing all of the babies of the wildlife. They were everywhere. The baby bison look like small orange dots in the fields. The rivers were raging with the snow melt, and seeing the lakes with the snow topped mountains in the background was beautiful.

The crowd was not as bad as we expected. We didn't have any problems moving around.

Photos: Yellowstone - Part 2

theparsons — Sat, 3 Jun 2017 13:00:00 GMT

Yellowstone - Part 1

theparsons — Fri, 2 Jun 2017 14:33:00 GMT

Yellowstone is such an amazing place. I still don't really understand how so much to see is in one location. I thought you might enjoy some interesting facts and photos:

Yellowstone was established on March 1, 1872.
It is the world’s first national park.
The park is 96% in Wyoming, 3% in Montana, and 1% in Idaho.
Yellowstone is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined.
Yellowstone has 1000 to 3000 earthquakes annually.
There are more than 300 active geysers
There are more than 290 waterfalls.
Yellowstone is home to 67 species of mammals, 285 species of birds, 16 species of fish, 6 species of reptiles, 5 species of amphibians, and more than 7 aquatic nuisance species.
There are 5 park entrances and 466 miles of roads.
In 2015, Yellowstone National Park had 4,097,710 visits – a park record.
Old Faithful, a geyser, erupts every 92 minutes on average.

Photos: Yellowstone - Part 1

theparsons — Fri, 2 Jun 2017 13:00:00 GMT

Change in Plans - Heading to Yellowstone National Park

theparsons — Fri, 2 Jun 2017 08:36:00 GMT

The best thing about not making formal plans is that plans can change. Our goal had been to visit Glacier National Park in Montana after we visited the Canadian Rockies. What we found out after further investigation, the roads in Glacier are not yet open – too early in the season. So, we decided to do the next best thing – head to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons. We visited both parks two years ago in the fall, and we have always wondered what they would look like in the Spring. Therefore, we headed in that direction. This is probably our second-best place that we have ever been (after Alaska). We entered Yellowstone from the Gardiner entrance. It was a beautiful drive through the mountains.

Photos: Change in Plans - Headed to Yellowstone

theparsons — Fri, 2 Jun 2017 07:18:00 GMT

Canadian Rockies - Icefields Parkway Part 2

theparsons — Thu, 1 Jun 2017 08:00:00 GMT

Here are the rest of the photos of our trip through the Icefields Parkway. We went from Banff to Jasper and back. It is truly one of the most rewarding drives we have done. The weather was beautiful - blue skies and warm. The mountains were unreal and the waterfalls were beatuiful.

Photos: Canadian Rockies - Icefields Parkway Part 2

theparsons — Thu, 1 Jun 2017 07:49:00 GMT

Wildlife in the Canadian Rockies

theparsons — Wed, 31 May 2017 08:15:00 GMT

The Canadian Rockies is famous for wildlife viewing – and I love to see wildlife. This makes a great combination. In addition, I have one of the best spotters of wildlife with me. I joke Bobby and tell him it is like hunting (which he loves to do). He gets to find them, and I get to shoot them (with my camera). In fact, he is pretty good a photography too. The Canadian Rockies again lived up to our hopes. We got to see a lot. We may have seen more bears in Alaska but not as close as the ones we saw here.

Canadian Rockies - Icefields Parkway Part 1

theparsons — Tue, 30 May 2017 10:03:00 GMT

The Icefields Parkway is ranked as one of the best drives in the world. It lived up to its reputation for us. It was amazing! In fact, one writer said – it’s a life-changing alpine journey into the very soul of Mother Nature. That statement sums it up pretty good. It is a drive that is in the Canadian Rockies between the towns for Banff and Jasper. It is comprised of a wildlife, mountains, glaciers, and falls. I don’t know how many hundreds of photos that I have taken this week.

When we decided to make the trip, we knew were coming early in the season. The peak season is late June, July and August. We knew that it was probably going to still be cool/cold and that things could still be frozen. However, the view of the mountains with the snowcaps was something that we wanted to experience and what an experience it has been. It is hard to describe in words. I think my camera does a much better job than me. Check out the photos that are with the blog and posted on facebook.

Photos: Canadian Rockies - Icefields Parkway Part 1

theparsons — Tue, 30 May 2017 09:05:00 GMT

Farmland and Wind

theparsons — Tue, 30 May 2017 06:00:00 GMT

I have a new appreciation of farms in the USA. Before this trip, I had only been in South Dakota to get to Yellowstone. On this trip, we have driven a lot of miles in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana. I have never seen so much farmland - mile after mile all you see is farmland. Wheat is definitely the crop of choice in the areas we have travelled. Even the towns are mostly grain towns with bins everywhere. The equipment it takes to run these farms is amazing too - huge tractors, the amount of implements and even tractor and trailers.

Another new learning for me has been the wind. On a side note, the wind makes a difference in this big camper. It will blow it around and it makes fuel mileage low. I have again appreciated Bobby’s driving experience. The wind has been 30+ miles per hour in North Dakota, South Dakota and even Montana. South Dakota and North Dakota are ranked 3 and 4 for wind in the USA!

My hat is off to the farmers, and I will say an extra prayer for them because I truly have a new appreciation of what they do to provide for us in the good old USA!

Photos: Farmland and Wind

theparsons — Tue, 30 May 2017 05:00:00 GMT

From Montana to the Canadian Rockies

theparsons — Sun, 28 May 2017 14:11:00 GMT

We drove from Montana into Canada at the Wild Horse border. The last part of Montana was mostly just farm land. It was mile after mile of farms - wheat, wheat and more wheat. Once we arrived in Canada, it was again mostly farmland - with few houses along the way. We arrived in Calgary. Calgary was a pretty big city. We turned and headed toward the Canadian Rockies. Once we made the turn in Calgary you could begin to see the snow on the mountains. It was a beautiful drive to Bannf.

From South Dakota to North Dakota to Montana

theparsons — Sat, 27 May 2017 20:40:00 GMT

Today has been a history lesson for us (and now you). We left Belle Fourche, South Dakota this morning and drove through the rolling hills. It was beautiful. I bet we saw 1,000’s of antelope and a few mule deer this morning. It was green and the hills just roll. We arrived in North Dakota about lunchtime and drove to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park (another one we have not visited and a check mark on our bucket list to see as many National Parks and Historic Sites that we can). We had visited the badlands in South Dakota a couple of years ago, but these are different.

Here is the history lesson on the park and the badlands. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a United States National Park comprised of three geographically separated areas of badlands in western North Dakota. The park was named for Theodore Roosevelt. The park covers 70,446 acres of land in three sections: the North Unit, the South Unit, and the Elkhorn Ranch Unit. The largest part of the park lies near Medora, ND. President Roosevelt found 5 national parks and the U.S. Forrest Service. He is the president that did more for the national parks before or after his presidency.

What are Badlands - The formation of badlands is a result of two processes: deposition and erosion. The process of deposition describes the accumulation, over time, of layers of mineral material. Different environments such as seas, rivers, or tropical zones, deposit different sorts of clays, silts, and sand.

We are now headed toward Montana and hope to make it into Canada tomorrow morning. Canadian Rockies here we come!

Photos: Canadian Rockies - Day 3

theparsons — Sat, 27 May 2017 18:29:00 GMT

South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana