Cowboy Beans

Just a quick note to say I am way behind on my daily recaps, hope to catch up soon.


Saturday
Six Word Saturday

We were in Denver CO at the funky hotel The Curtis.

Click here for photos of some of their themed floors.

We each had an "Irish" breakfast $14 US each (had complimentary coupons) it looks better than it tasted, the white and black pudding were inedible.

A quick stroll around the Performing Arts Center which is stunning.

Dancers Sculpture by Jonathan Borofsky

Click here for our drive from Denver CO to Rapid City SD

We cross into Wyoming and make a stop in Cheyenne. They have these Big Boots scattered around town, it would have been fun to track them all down.

Click here for Frontier Days West Museum. three parts.

We  visited the Frontier Days Museum which was fun and informative.

There wasn't really much to see after that, so we just made gas/bathroom breaks.

In Rapid City we were booked for two nights at a Home2 Hilton, a new addition to the Hilton family.
It is a suite with a fridge, dishwasher, microwave, seating area, but no stove or cooktop, odd.

The lobby.

Outdoor area with BBQs.

Dinner was cold cuts and fresh bread.

Sunday
Shadow Shot Sunday
inSPIREd Sunday

The hotel provides a breakfast of fruit, cereal, oatmeal and hardboiled eggs. I took a couple of eggs for a salad the next day. We had bananas and muffins.

We are here for two nights so no moving today!

On the way to Mount Rushmore, so exicted as I have always wanted to go there.

WOO HOO bucket item completed Mount Rushmore!

BTW the temperature reached 34 C today!

Keystone, a tourist town that lures in the Mount Rushmore visitors.

We had some fun at this amazing woodcraving place.

Click here for our day out in Rapid City. This is a fun area.

We headed into Rapid City for lunch and happen upon the Firehouse which we had seen billboards for in our travels.


John had the ribs, which he said were ok but mine are better 😍😍😍😍

I had, surprise, surprise, ahi tuna salad with a good wasabi dressing.

We set out to explore the City of Presidents. Obama is commissioned.
42 of the presidents are portrayed life-size and give some insight into the personality and the presidency of its subject. I will eventually do a post on all the presidents.

As we were looking at JFK we started chatting to a couple from Quebec, now living in Gaspe, who were doing the same trip as we are but in the opposite direction.

In Art Alley.

Love her dressing blowing over the real air conditioner.

Time to relax and have rotisserie chicken and potato salad for dinner.

Monday
Monday Mural
Foto Tunes
Good Random Fun

Click here for our drive from Rapid City SD to Billings MT with Crazy Horse and Little Big Horn on the way.

We should have done Crazy Horse yesterday after Mount Rushmore, not sure what we were thinking but no worries we head that way this morning.
We pass through Custer a smaller version of Keystone.

Miner Brewing Company Hill City.

This would have been a great train museum to visit.

Crazy Horse as we enter. Fee was $22. The two other cars going in were Canadian, Alberta and Ontario.

You really need to take the optional bus $4 per person to get up close and personal.

The Nature Gates were spectacular!

Time to get this show on the road, paraphrasing Robert Frost:
We have promises to keep and miles to go before we sleep.

We're back in Wyoming and stop for a picnic lunch of hard boiled eggs, cold cuts and biscuits.

We reach Montana and decide we will stop at the Little Big Horn Monument which turns out to be a $20 National Park worth every penny.

This area memorializes the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry and the Sioux and Cheyenne in one of the Indian's last armed efforts to preserve their way of life. Here on June 25 and 26 of 1876, 263 soldiers, including Lt. Col. George A. Custer and attached personnel of the U.S. Army, died fighting several thousand Lakota, and Cheyenne warriors.

We check in to a Homewood Suites, also Hilton around 6:30.
According to their blurb:
Suites feature separate living and sleeping areas. Each has a fully equipped kitchen with full size refrigerator, microwave, two burner stove and dishwasher. All the comforts of home including two remote control TVs, complimentary internet access and two phones with voice mail. Enjoy a complimentary hot full breakfast seven days a week and evening social served Monday through Thursday.

Perfect! I head down to the evening social and get cheeses, strawberries and sliced vegetables with dip for our lunch tomorrow and send John back for another plate.

There were a variety of food dleivery options and we chose Dominoes pizza as they offered a gluten free. John said it was too cardboardy.

Tuesday
Tuesday Treasures
Wordless

Day 8 Billings MT to Driggs ID

Up at 6:30 and we had a hot breakfast at the Homewood Suites, I also took some fruit and hard boiled eggs to go along with the cheeses and vegetables from last night. Lunch!

I really like driving through Montana. The golden colours are inspiring.

We are now in Idaho!
We stop for lunch in a park in Ennis. What a great town, known for its great fly fishing.

Lunch spot, not bad!

Then we strolled along Main St.

Next stop Driggs ID for three nights in a condo!

We  pick up the keys and drive to our condo after getting groceries.

Dinner was easy peasy chips, eggs and beans.

The unit is a little dated but very comfortable and well equiped.

Wednesday


We decide to be lazy and plan out our couple of days.
We headed out at 11 for lunch in Jackson Hole and wow the traffic!

For lunch we decided on the Wort Hotel's Silver Dollar.



The Wort Hotel was built by brothers John and Jess Wort, who were significant figures in the transformation of the economy of Jackson Hole from ranching to tourism. The somewhat Tudor-style building was the first luxury hotel in Jackson.

The hotel was built on property that had been bought by Charles Wort, father of John and Jess, who operated a livery stable on the site from 1915 to 1932. From 1932 to 1940 the Wort Family operated what is now Signal Mountain Lodge in Grand Teton National Park, until the Wort Hotel was opened in 1941. In 1950 the Silver Dollar Bar was added, with 2032 uncirculated silver dollars embedded in the surface of the bar.

I had the elk sliders.

Burger for John.

As we head into the Teton National Park.

Again traffic to get through Jackson Hole. We decide we will find another way to Yellowstone tomorrow to avoid this town.

Dinner was chili and enough for leftovers tomorrow night. Lunches made for tomorrow and coffee ready.

Thursday
Thursday Doors

Up bright and early at 6AM and on the road in a chilly 7 C at 7 AM.
Yup the sky as we left, gorgeous.

It was a two hour drive to the west entrance to Yellowstone.

The park had many signs warning us of animals but as John said we saw more road kill on our drive. So here's some animals outside of the park.

Geysers! More to come!

John spotting bison!

Waiting for Old Faithful!

It is cold and raining out but we are cosy in a window seat in the lodge.

Time to continue in the park, which is spectacular. AND there are live animals.

A very long day, 13 hours in the car (partly due to bad signage in Yellowstone) rain, sunshine, 300+ km drive within the park.

Home and glad to have leftovers as we pack up and make lunch for tomorrow. I am NOT taking this can of tuna back to Canada.

Friday
Friday Green
Weekend Reflections Mount Rushmore
Friday Finds Mount Rushmore


After a breakfast of fried eggs and beans we head out in the rain and a temperature of 7 C.
It is raining and it quickly turns to snow!

This continued for a few hours with John gassing up in flip flops while others are the pumps are saying where did this snow come from??? We are at 6,200 feet and the snow was forecasted.

We had lunch in the car and continued through Montana whcih doesn't seem to end.

And then we needed something sweet.

We crossed into Idaho, which surprised us until we remembered that Coeur D'Alene is in Idaho.

We made a couple of stops once the snow/rain stopped.

Checked into the DoubleTree Hilton (points) and ordered room sevice (steak sandwiches) after this sunset.