Fort Collins, Colorado & Douglas, Wyoming

After a terrific week in Rocky Mountain National Park, we're taking our time meandering up to Grand Teton & Yellowstone. On our trip last Summer, we tried to see as much as possible; while we fit in a lot of sights, the pace was a little breakneck; this Summer is a bit slower.

Fort Collins is a college town East of the Rockies. I'm not very good at geography, but I think it is on the high plains (same as Douglas). Because of the altitude, and the fact that it is close to the mountains, the weather can be a little dramatic. In both towns, we saw afternoon thunderstorms that were short but fierce, and it can be very windy and a little hot. Nice and cool at night and in the morning, though.

We stopped in Douglas for one night last year; we thought there might be a little more to it than a quick drive-through would show, so we stayed two nights this Summer. Douglas was voted one of the best small towns in America, but it still feels cowboy-like. It was along the Oregon and a couple of other pioneer trails, so there is a lot of history around that. It also had a POW camp during World War II. We didn't check out the museum, but apparently it has memorabilia related to Butch Cassidy and Sundance as well as props from Dances With Wolves.

There are a lot of jobs in energy around here: wind, gas and oil. There is not enough housing to accomodate the energy workers; quite a few seem to be living in trailers thrown up around the area. (Including some in the campground where we stayed).

Above is a picture of a playground in state park outside Douglas. (Isn't the bottom of a redrock canyon a nice place for a swingset?) The real draw to the park is a natural stone bridge and a stone wall with names etched on it of people who passed there through the decades. We saw names going back to the 1920s, but I believe there were even older names, going back to pioneer days.

A little bit of kitsch: Douglas is also the birthplace of the Jackalope, first sighted in the 1890s and then patented in the 1930s. There are statues all around town.

More on Rocky Mountain: The People

One of the best things about camping is that you meet the nicest people! Grace & Lucy met two little girls from Boulder, Colorado, (Delaney & Teagan) who they quickly became firm friends with. Here's a photo of the girls together.

While hiking early on in our trip, Grace lost her camera (she left it on a rock after taking some pictures of some ducks). We filled out a lost and found form at the ranger station, where we were told to keep checking in each day; it might be returned. We seriously doubted that, but on our last day in the park, our camera was brought in! The men who found it left their photo on the camera (see above). What a great way to end our camping trip; thank you, fellows.

When talking abut the nice people of the park, we can't forget the people who work there; the volunteers and the park rangers. Grace and Lucy became junior rangers and attended a ranger program at least once a day while we were there. The rangers give talks and guided walks, and their enthusiasm really shines through. They also work really hard on their various presentations; our campsite was next to the campground amphitheatre; the rangers always arrived an hour to an hour-and-a-half early to prepare for their nightly presentations.

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Where to Start? Mike says his favorite national park is the one he happens to be in when asked the question. This is true for us right now about Rocky Mountain National Park; after camping there for a week, it's definitely one of our favorite parks at this point.

We camped for a week at Moraine Park campground on the East side of the Park. Above is a picture of the view from our campsite. The weather was terrific: sunny and in the 60s and 70s most days; cool at night (down to the low 40s, high 30s). Wildflowers were blooming all over the place and we saw lots of wildlife: elk, coyote, marmots and mule deer.

What struck us most about the park is how accessible it is. The Park Service takes its mandate very seriously to both preserve our wild and historic places and to make them accessible to the people and to the generations that come after us This is almost an impossible charge when you think about it: to preserve and to make accessible! The Park Service does a good job of it, though. We were in Rocky Mountain 4th of July weekend; the park was packed with people, but we were able to get to places that still felt like wilderness.

In addition to plenty of back country hikes, there are also a number of nature trails in the Park for people who are mobility impaired. We took our girls for a walk on a handicap accessible trail around a beautiful mountain lake. A couple of hundred yards off the lake, was a handicap accessible back country campsite! Photo above.

Kearney, Nebraska

After a night in Hastings, Nebraska, the birthplace of Kool Aid, we visited a major Nebraska Roadside attraction: The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument in Kearney. (Though it's technically not roadside, since it is built over I-80.) This interactive exhibit is a tribute to westward mobility: starting with the pioneers along the various trails that converge at the Platte River (Mormon, Oregon, California), on to the transcontinental railroad, followed by the Lincoln Highway, and culminating in the current day I-80. It sounds hokey, but it works; we all really enjoyed it. This attraction is mentioned, usually with affection, in Roadside America, Roadtrip USA and other guidebooks. If that's not enough to reel you in, a scene from "About Schmidt" starring Jack Nicholson was filmed here.

We then headed on to Colorado, where we're spending the night in Brush. Brush is in the Eastern Plains, not too far from Yuma, the town which served as the inspiration for Plainsong by Kent Haruf. (If you haven't alreadyread the book, do! Or rent the movie by the same name). The weather here is pretty brutal: hot (97 today) with high winds and often fierce storms: tornadoes, hailstorms, you name it. It will be good to go into the mountain tomorrow.

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, West Branch, Iowa

Tonight we're staying near West Liberty, Iowa, in a very affordable Econolodge surrounded by nothing but cornfields. This afternoon, we visited the Herbert Hoover National Historic site, in West Branch,Iowa, the town where President Hoover was born and where he lived until he was 9. Above is the two room cottage where Hoover was born and lived with his parents and his brother and sister. President Hoover and his wife are also buried there; above is a photo of the gravesite. In addition to the Hoover cottage, there are also a collection of historic homes, the schoolhouse Hoover attended and the Friends Meetinghouse where he worshiped, along with a reconstruction of his father's blacksmith shop. Also on site is the presidential library and museum.

I think it is really interesting where Presidents' choose to be buried and where they build their libraries. Hoover left here when he was 9 and never lived here again, but chose this spot for his library and burial site. He must have had great affection for his hometown; the town, in turn, is very proud of its President.

Indiana Amish Country

We're taking I-80 out to Colorado and trying to find interesting places to stay along the route. Yesterday, we spent the morning in Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. (Photo Above) This is one of the 10 most visited national parks in the U.S and a lovely place to spend a few hours or a couple of days. There are a number of trails and walking paths, including a towpath along the Cuyahoga River, once part of the Ohio-Erie Canal System. There is also a scenic railroad, some historic sites, and a really pretty small town nearby, Peninsula, Ohio. If we have time, we'll spend a couple of days here on the way home.

We stayed the night in Indiana Amish Country, in a town called Shipshewana. Like Lancaster County, this is a big tourist area, for the same reasons Lancaster is popular. We had a very nice Amish-style dinner at the Blue Gate restaurant, which was a welcome break from road food.

Camp Tweedale, Oxford, PA

We dropped off Grace & Lucy yesterday for five nights at Girl Scout Camp Tweedale. This is Lucy's first year at sleepaway camp! (Grace's 5th). With the girls enjoying themselves at camp, it gives us a few days to pack up and prepare for our trip.