Posted by Les
Thanks for being patient with this blog site, since it's been dormant for 30 days now and has collected a few cobwebs and a little dust. (Not because we were inactive though). We just went on what has become our annual tradition for the last six or seven years - celebrating our June 5th anniversary by taking a wonderful vacation. It started in 2009 when we flew to Puerto Vallarta where we experienced mountain forest zip lining for the first time.
In 2010 we flew to eastern California and stayed in Yosemite National Park. Never have our eyes seen anything so majestic as the indescribable Yosemite Valley with its Half Dome Rock, El Capitan, dozens of waterfalls. And of course, the unforgettable Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia Trees. Then we scooted westward across the state to Napa Valley, down Highway #1 across the Golden Gate Bridge through San Francisco, and further southward along the Pacific coastline through the Big Sur National Park.
In 2011 we flew back to Central America to Costa Rica for a week, where we hiked six miles through the dense mountain rain forest. The highlight of this trip was zip lining Costa Rica's most extreme course which is much higher and faster, and its last cable was 1/4 mile long crossing a valley 300 feet deep. They hitched us on the back so our hands were free and we could fly like Superman at 60 MPH.
2012 was sort of tame compared to previous years as we took a road trip to see cousins on both sides. We went through the hills of Arkansas, over to Louisville, Kentucky, and looped back through Memphis, Tennessee where we stayed a night in the historic Peabody Hotel. That was indeed special.
This year was our 42nd anniversary, and we flew to Denver, rented a car and drove northwest to stay a night in the luscious town of Estes Park. While there we drove up on the snow capped mountain peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park, where we enjoyed a cup of coffee and the panoramic views at 12,500 feet elevation. Simply stunning. Leaving Estes Park, we drove for about 20 miles along a canyon river road strewn with little fishing cabins that have been there since the 1930's and 40's. They brought back vivid memories of passing through there in 1954 when I was 5 years old. I nearly cried with joy seeing this.
Continuing on, we drove northwestward into Wyoming and stayed two nights in Jackson Hole. We did some mountain hiking near our hotel, and another first: WHITE WATER RAFTING. Jeannette has wanted to do that for years. It was expensive but a lot of fun indeed. Next we drove north through the Grand Teton National Park which was everything we ever heard it to be, and into the south entrance of Yellowstone National Park. My only previous trip there was the same 1954 trip mentioned earlier. Jeannette had never been, and was almost giddy about finally making it.
The park is bigger than some north eastern states, and as you enter the park the road splits, dividing it into eastern and western halves. We chose to go up the eastern half first as we made our way north around the Yellowstone Lake region, and the spectacular Yellowstone Canyon area. Our destination was just outside the north gate in a little mining town called Gardner, Montana. This was the original gateway to the park back in 1903, and the Roosevelt Arch still stands as a tribute to the past and welcoming visitors each day. At a glance, Gardner looks like it hasn't changed much since the Gold Rush years of the late 1800's. We stayed three nights in a cute little cabin the size of a single car garage that sat on the bank of a ferocious river tumbling with rapids from the snow melt.
We saw hundreds if not thousands of bison, several elk, a moose, deer, antelope, a bear sleeping across the branches of a tree, and various small wildlife. Old Faithful did her usual thing spewing off every 90 minutes, as well as the hundreds of boiling mud pits, multi-colored sulpher cauldrons and hot springs, which all tend to look the same after a while. But the highlight of this trip was a 12.5 mile round-trip mountain hiking adventure, all in one afternoon . . . of which 9.6 miles were extreme to say the least, as we made our way along a steep 1500 feet canyon wall, down treacherous goat trails 10 inches wide, to a cascading river and eventually to the 180 foot waterfall. It's the tallest waterfall in the park, the least publicized and the least seen due to the strain and risk you take to see it for yourselves. For three hours we had the canyon and the falls completely to ourselves, and we ate lunch on a big rock at the water's edge, being refreshed by the mist of the frigid water. As the MasterCard commercials say . . . PRICELESS!
The last day in the park we had a nice breakfast at the historic Roosevelt Lodge, and the road to the northeast gate veered off there. So leaving Yellowstone, the road took us up to Montana's famous Beartooth Scenic Highway, reputed to be the most scenic road in the USA. It was indeed, with almost 360 degree views of snow capped mountains in 4 states, staggering overlooks, frozen lakes and glaciers. The last leg of the journey back down to Denver was along the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway, with its winding rock canyon edifices, narrow mountain tunnels, historic wooden railroad tunnels and trestles, etc. For a hundred miles we were driving downhill, but the water in the river was flowing uphill. I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it.
We passed through the three C's of Wyoming - Cody, Casper and Cheyene, and made it back to Denver with a few hours to kill before our flight home. So, we toured a couple of historic mansions, including the Unsinkable Molly Brown mansion, and the Colorado Governor's mansion. After a wonderful late afternoon meal at a subterranean Italian bistro, we checked in at the airport. Once we got home and hit the ground, we got back to work on the house immediately and have hardly come up for air.
So, there you have it - the last 30 days in a nutshell. I promise to post some pictures and comments later to prove that all this actually happened. :)
