Youth RV Park, Thermopolis,Wy.

Aug 11,Tuesday, To day we also made a historical stop. 20 years ago when I joined the airstream club, I read about a couple that traveled in their Airstream around the world. They were Oscar & Etta Payne from Thermopolis,WY. I knew I was going thru their town, so I stopped at a museum at the beginning of town to inquire. I met a nice lady,Donna, who looked up the info and told me where they used to live. I knew they owned a campground with Hot Mineral Water Spa on the grounds.

So off we went to the Youth RV Campground at the edge of town. I pulled in and was greeted by a host, Jim, He showed us around the camp and told us the Paynes had traveled 64 countries in their 15' airstream. He wishes he could do that!! When they were home they would soak everyday in the hot mineral water, would you believe Oscar lived to age of 103 and Etta live to almost 100..WOW!! I was hoping to see their old airstream but was told it is in Casper somewhere. I did touch the hot water( It was 103* in the first part then down to 92* in the third part of the pool..all natural heat.) and it felt inviting but we wanted to keep moving. The camp charges $33.00 a day for full hookups and the hot springs swimming is included. Jim did tell me that the whole place ..buildings is heated by the hot springs.

20 years ago I did write to Etta and she sent me a book, one of several she wrote about their trips around the world. I still have that book, I guess I will have to get it out and read it again. I did call Pee Wee Schamborn to tell him where I was, and I could tell in his voice he was delighted to hear that, he was the advance scout for that Caravan.He said they were very little people about 5' tall and were very adventuress for their age, Oscar was in his 70-80's when they did the Cape Town to Cairo Caravan then continued on the Around the World Caravan. Wow, to do that today would be fun, but so much red tape is required today. So any ways, I was part of a historical venture today by being in their campground and learning new info on the Paynes!!! http://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/CodyToNebraska#
God Bless AirstreamHobo & Carol

Old West Town ......Cody,Wy.

Aug 10,Monday, We decided to stay one more day in Cody..ain't retirement full of decisions? Time to catch up on laundry, we are lucky that that the laundry is right across from the camper in the campground. So we fill our time this am doing the necessaries.

After lunch. we drive over to see the Old Town West...old buildings of the West. It was Ok ? same as 1880 Old Town, but we liked 1880 Old Town better. After the short tour, the lady here said don't miss the Trading Post across the street. We stopped in to see the "Trading Post Gift Shop" but in the back half there was a giant room filled with Old West stuff and a Minature Old West Layout behind glass. There were buttons along the glass to push to give us a short explaination of the layout. Wow..this was great!! And Free Too/ Donation Box at the end...of course I left a donation!! In the room had Cowboy & Indian outfits that were displayed all along the outside wall around the room. The layout was about 40 wide and 75 feet long for the minatures. They even had trains running.

Then back to camp for a snooze...at 5:30 we went downtown for the daily Gunfight Shoot-out with real cowboys at the Irma Hotel (Buffalo Bill's Hotel)... We got to see them enact a shoot-out and do their funny stunts. They sold Posters with their pictures on for Charity. After the show they all autographed the poster. Then Carol & I went to a resturant across the street for a good old west meal. The cowboy bar/resturant was full of patrons but we got a table right away. I had Roast beef hoagie..Carol had a Bacon/burger, Very Good!! After the meal we walked around and poked in several gift shops, cowboy stuff is very expensive!! zzzzzz
God Bless...AirstreamHobo & Carol

Buffalo Bill Historical Museum, Cody,Wy.

Aug 9, Sunday, Carol needs a rest today, so I go downtown to the Buffalo Bill Museum for a look. This the Museum of the West, if you want to see alot of interesting facts of the West! Admission is only $15.00/adults and is good for 2 days if you need it. The Building is huge, 300,000 square feet, but is pleasure to walk around and see all the displays.

There is many different wings for each part of history, Buffalo Bills' Wild West Show artifacts, Indians, Art Gallery of Western Art, Hands on Nature & workshops of the outdoors, Guns...lots of guns...1,500 here then 1,200 on the second floor if you didn't see enough(I did and skipped the second floor!), Buffalo Bill's family history and his personal collectables. This Museum is a must see for everyone. I thoughly enjoyed this afternoon of Western History Lesson.

Back to camp for supper, Carol is feeling better, so I take her out for supper at "Bubbas Bar-B-Que" What a tasty meal Chicken & Ribs & Salad Bar. Then we watched the sunset at the west end of town, seeing the sun go down behind the mountain range, last night the sun was bright Red!! zzzzzz God Bless..AirstreamHobo & Carol

View from the Top of Beartooth Highway Scenic Drive

Aug 8, Saturday, Off we go for a drive of a lifetime...We have the map in hand of loops to follow for scenic drives, We pick the Beartooth Highway..right choice!! About 15 miles from Cody, we hit the mountain range...here we go!! Up..Up..surprises around each curve, more beautiful scenery, pictures don't copy what we are about to see.

We pulled off alot of scenic overlooks, even the big burly motorcycle riders said .."Wow..Gee..what do we tell the folks back home, how do you describe this awesome nature that abounds Us...Yes there is a God!!" Only he could make this wonder of the world. This was the quote that we heard all day as we followed the cyclists and other tourist also on this tour.

We arrived in Cooke City,Montana, here is a city that lost it's blacktop road this spring and have been dealing with a hard dirt road with a few bumps for 8 miles of constuction all the way to Yellowstone. I think it added to the mystery of a mountain town. We stopped in the historical general store for a look, there were old fashion counters, display cases, cash register, scales, and a display of old grocery items on the top shelf for display. Then we walked around the other buildings in town, it was a one block town on both sides with all dirt road in between. Then back on the road into,Silver Gate,then Yellowstone north east entrance, now we have been to all 4 sides of Yellowstone. After a short drive in Lamar Valley, we turn around to head for Beartooth Highway.

We hit the Beartooth and here we are amazed by the beautiful drive, Up..switchbacks..up..stopping everywhere to just gaze down into the valleys and to see the cloud cover moving in. We did drive above the clouds for a few miles, we hit rain...hail..sleet..then it began to snow( yes I said snow!! on August 8th, can you believe this?).We got up 10,000 feet in elevation among the snow banks along the road, stopping to walk on snow. I just had to make a snowball and fired one off to Carol..then the fight started...Brrr our hands are cold!

Then we started down the drive..stopping along the way, pulloffs are at every turn, a different view at each one. The cyclists pull in , they have ski masks ,gloves,all leathers on and they are frozen bodies shivering looking for warmth by stopping to rest up. We desended about 10 miles .switch backs all the time..20mph is top speed most of the time!! I didn't touch the gas pedal for 10 miles just coasted down. My pictures don't do the drive justice, you have to see it for yourself. We arrive back at camp at 7:30 pm , a total of 275 miles of all scenic drive. zzzzzzzzz

New pictures posted.. http://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/CodyWYBeartooth#
God Bless...AirstreamHobo & Carol

Balloon Lift-off at Cody,Wy.

Aug 8, Saturday, would you believe I got up at 5:30 am again?? The weather was great for a balloon launch this morning. I went to the park and most had their balloons laid out on the yard, time to fill them with air then hot air for lift off. The colors are so vivid on each balloon. It wasn't long before the first lifted, then another, the sunrise was awesome too. About a dozen balloons were off into the sunrise before the hour was up. Click..click.. lots of colorful and into the sun shots. All this before 7:30 am, can you believe this ? I went back to get Carol for a long drive today on the Beartooth Highway scenic drive...off we go!! More later!! God Bless AirstreamHobo & Carol

Beautiful Drive from Yellowstone to Cody!!!

Aug 6, Thursday, We leave Yellowstone after a week/8 Days of Fun enjoying the area. I know we have missed some parts of the park, so we will have to come back some day. We leave at 9 am head to West Yellowstone at an RV park to dump and fill up with water. We enter the park to head for the east entrance. We pass the Eagles'nest one more time, traffic is always backed up for 2-3 miles and takes 1/2 hour to pass. Then onto Yellowstone Lake for a pull-off for a short lunch break,boy I love the scenery here. Water splashing against the shoreline for a bit of natures' musical beat. Click..click more pictures.

Then up..up..a mountain to go over Sylvan Pass over 10,000 feet up ...what a view of Yellowstone Lake..wow..wow !!! Then here we go down..down..at least 10 miles without the foot on the gas pedal...just breaks to slow down. Some guard rails are broken thru..wonder what happen?? Then thru the east gate..100 miles so far..took 3-4 hours. We pass lots of campgrounds in the wilderness before Cody.

We pass the Buffalo Bill Dam thru 3 tunnels thru solid rock mountains..beautiful tunnels with rock formations inside. We arrive into Cody, stopping 1st at Visitor Center for maps and camp info. We find the campground (Absaroka Bay RV Park) at the other end of Cody. 99 sites with all pull thru..w/e/s & wi-fi.. yeah... yeah!! We set up then drive around deciding what to do for the next 4 days. Balloon Rally, Buffalo Bill Museum, Shopping/groceries/ , Drive the Beartooth Highway, Dan Miller Cowboy Show(Great Show) , Dinner at Buffalo Bill's Hotel (great lunch buffet), oil change,haircuts, Etc.

Aug 7, Friday, I wake up at 5:30 am (yes thats right!!) and drive to the park to see the Balloons lift off..Too windy this am..one does tether for a while. Also it is stormy at 4-5 pm too so No Balloons today. Maybe tomorrow?? We ate at the hotel Buffet todays lunch, then both of us got haircuts, off to the Dam for a tour/film. Then back to rest before tonights "Dan Miller Show" in the old movie theater,great show and entertainers. Quick stop at McDonalds for a sundae treat, back to camp..zzzzzzzzzzzzz
God Bless AirstreamHobo & Carol

The Falls at Yellowstone!!

Aug 3,Monday, It's been a few days since I wrote here, but we been busy touring around the area. One day we went into Yellowstone and drove to Canyon Village. all of Yellowstone is set up about 14-16 miles apart from each highlight of the park.It is a beautiful drive to each area and we learn to stop certain places for pictures. The Canyon Area has the waterfalls to see and many turn outs to get closer. all the campgrounds have been marked full all week, this is a poplar place to camp. Only one,Fishing Bridge, has full hookups for $35.00/nite the rest are $18.00/nite with no hookups. Lots of generators are in use here.


Another day drive was to Mammoth Hot Springs with lots of thermal activity with lots of steam spouting off. Lots of colorful areas here. We did see plenty of buffalo in the park, once we were in a five mile backup. The Ranger urged everyone to keep moving..Tourists!!! Me Too!!

We did see a coyote in the woods come out to the highway, he sure looked sneaky walking around..ears up all the time listing for danger. The next backup was because of a Big Brown Bear across the river/stream with cars just stopping everywhere,me too but I did pull off the road to safety. We were there about 1/2 hour watching him walking thru the trees and come down to the water edge for a drink. But I think all the chatter on this bank scared him back further into the woods. I did get some good shots..naturally!!

We headed for the north entrance and thru the Stone Arch into Gardiner for a short look around. Back in the park we saw more antelope and then a herd of Elk at the Yellowstone Hotel just basking in the sun in the front yard,people were watching from their hotel windows.

Tonite after supper we take a dusk drive around the area that people recommended.So off we go past Quake Lake which an Earthquake struck here 50 years ago and a mountain side just slid down over a campground of 250 campers,killing 28 people and injuring 150 also. We saw the mountain and it looks like someone just sliced a layer of rock off the side. They never did find the 28 people. Then we continued down the route and thru Idaho for a few miles then back into Montanna. WOW what mountains and seeing cabins all by themselves with no neighbors. There was plenty of firewood piled up next to some. I guess they are the ones that stay all winter.

We even see a Mountain Man Display of Vendors displaying their crafts and tent city. We did but tickets to see 3 Imax movies this week at different times..Yellowstone...Alaska..And Bears, They were awesome to see on the Big Screen!!

There is so much to see and do in the park and west Yellowstone that it is hard to keep track of the daily tours. We have hit all entrances to the park except the East Entrance which we will go to when we leave on thursday to go to Cody,Wy. Here are the pictures so far!!http://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/Yellowstone2#
God Bless..AirstreamHobo & Carol