White House Tennessee to East Glacier Montana

 White House, Tennessee to East Glacier, Montana

Arrow Rock State Park- Nelson, MO

Arrow Rock State park was our first stop along the Lewis and Clark trail.  We are going to follow the trail for the majority of our trip to Glacier National Park.

We spotted this blue bird on a post at the campground. His feathers were the exact color of the sky.

We visited the Merci Train in Sedalia, MO, which celebrated its 75th Anniversary on Aug 24, 2024. 

At the end of WW2, American citizens donated 270 boxcars full of much needed supplies of food, clothing and other supplies valued at over 40 million dollars to the people in the countries of Europe, most of which went to the people of France.  This was known as the 1947 Freedom Train. In response, 49 boxcars of gifts from the citizens of France, known as the Gratitude or Merci Train, arrived in New York Harbor on February 3, 1949. One boxcar full of gifts was intended for each of the 48 states and one for combined Washington D. C. and Hawaii.

This is one of the 43 Merci Train boxcars still remaining in the United States. Unfortunately, the others have been lost for various reasons. One of our goals is to visit all of the remaining Merci Trains as we travel across the US.

On Ur Way Campground- Onawa, Iowa

This campground is almost exclusively used as a pit stop for people heading out west to Glacier and Yellowstone, hence its name. 

In August 1804, the Corps of Discovery moved up the Missouri River along what is today western Iowa and eastern Nebraska.  The party camped on August 9 in a broad, wooded area where the river made a tight bend.  The Loess Hills could be spotted to the east whenever there were gaps in the trees. 

Lisa was inspecting a replica of the keelboats as used by the Lewis and Clark expedition. 

Prairie Breeze RV Park- Menoken, ND

These mounds are known to be buried Indian artifacts, remnants of the early Indian settlements of the area. After many sites were excavated and the history identified, respect was paid to the Indian culture and many sites were left intact and excavation ceased.

This site, first excavated in the 1930s, was thought for many years to be that of a Mandan village visited by the French explorer La Verendrye, but archaeological investigations in the 1990s and early 2000s have revealed evidence that the site is actually somewhat older, and that the site was probably occupied by ancestors of one of the region's major tribal groups, with an occupation period c. 1100-1300. It was probably used as a semi-permanent settlement, from which the occupants would hunt bison and other wildlife. Extensive finds exist here of stone tools, predominantly quarried in the Lynch Quarry vicinity to the west, as well as ceramic pottery fragments and bone tools.

We (Mark) spotted this Red Tailed Hawk on a hay bale.

This rather large prairie dog was outside a Chinese restaurant we visited in Bismarck, ND. We watched him from the window by our table as we ate. The cars and people in the parking lot did not seem to distract this fella from doing his business. He was fairly hefty, so it appears he found a great picnic location, even if he was dining solo.

Red Trail Campground- Medora, ND

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

When Theodore Roosevelt came to the Dakota Territory to hunt bison in 1883, he was a skinny, well educated, young, spectacled dude from New York. He had almost nothing in common with the local cowboys. He could not have imagined how his adventure in this remote and unfamiliar place would forever alter the course of the nation. The rugged landscape and strenuous life that TR experienced here would help shape a conservation policy that we still benefit from today.

Lisa was off rockhounding, as usual. She rarely even knows I capture these pics of her while she is so immersed in the local rocks. Typically, when she finally gives up and returns, it is because her pockets are weighted down and bulging and her hands are full. She has even started wearing pants with more and bigger pockets when she suspects some good rock hunting may occur. Neither of us would have ever suspected she would buy clothes based on their rock carrying capacity, but she does. I have stopped asking (out loud) what she plans to do with all these rocks. Currently, we just keep buying more and bigger rock tumblers in an attempt to keep up with the volume of rocks she collects. We currently have 4 jumbo tumblers that each hold 17lb of rock. We started off with one 3 pound tumbler. She wore out several of those pretty quickly. She has worn out several dremel tools as well. She shops for rocks tools more than most men shop for tools. We have also acquired several types of saws to slice the rocks with as well. She burns off a lot of energy busting rocks with her rock hammers. The bruises on her shins reflect a few of her rock mishaps. She talks about her quest to find joy in the simple things in our lives. We aren't really sure why, but this hobby with her rocks brings her great joy. She typically returns dirty and exhausted, but happy and smiling. So..... she collects rocks and I help tote them across the country.

When do the bison get out of the road way? When they are darn good and ready....

The bison show the drivers of the vehicles who is in in charge (hint- it is not the vehicles or the drivers).

They can be pretty nosey critters. It is not uncommon for them to come up to your car and look in the windows or use your bumper as a scratching post.

Why do male buffalo roll around in the dirt? Well, A) because they want to...When you weigh 1,000-2,000lb, you can pretty much do what you want, when you want. B) During the rut season, the bulls will urinate in the dirt then roll in it.  It  is his own buffalo cologne to attract as many females as he can. The females find this highly attractive and a display of their strength. It also helps him shed his thick winter fur and deters biting insects. 

These pictures of the Badlands just do not do justice to the true colors and the beauty of the area. It is simply stunning.

This was one of the many prairie dog towns in the area. There may be thousands of prairie dogs in each of these towns. Many of them are right on the edge of the roads. They are obviously used to the many tourists because they typically appear fairly oblivious unless the folks get too close. There are signs everywhere reminding the tourists to please leave the wildlife alone. It is amazing how many idiot tourists will ignore all common sense and posted signs about the dangers of trying to take selfies with the grizzly bears and buffalo..... Every time some idiot chases down a mama bear and her cubs to get a selfie, they seem surprised when mama bear gets upset and chases down the idiot. Mama bear typically is going to win that contest every time. Death by prairie dog attack may be unlikely, but is possible from grizzly bear, buffalo or moose, for example. The national parks have amazing videos that capture many of these idiots doing some really, really stupid stuff. If you get bored, check out some of the YouTube videos posted, you will be amazed how stupid folks can be. 

These were some views from our hike in Sully Creek State Park, which is the starting point of the Maah Daah Hey Trail.

These metal sculptures are in a farmers pasture west of Medora, ND.

Karma and Apollo are sitting by a metal dragon sculpture in Saco, Montana. Neither seem overly impressed by the local art work scattered randomly in the area, but daddy told them to go sit by the dragon, so they did. They know the drill for these side of the road photo ops. They also know mama has a bowl of treats she gives good boys for minding daddy.

Hanson Family Campground-Havre, Montana

HAVRE BENEATH THE STREETS

The flourishing business community in Havre got its start in the community's early days. Many of the businesses were located in what we, today, might call an underground mall. This was a result of a fire in 1904 that burned most of the downtown area to the ground.  The merchants simply moved their stores to their basements and life went on until the town could be rebuilt.

The streets beneath Havre included an opium den (one of three known to have existed in the early days), a Chinese laundry, an ethnic restaurant, and of course, a bordello. The bordello's business did not appear to have been too negatively impacted by the neighboring church gatherings in the adjacent space. From the locations, it appears both amens and "oh Gods" could have come from either gathering at the same time.

Today, the city gives guided tours of the underground community to keep the history of the area alive. It was actually a very well spent admission fee and few hours time. It was with great ingenuity that this community not only survived, but thrived despite the hardships they endured. (These folks showed a lot more common sense than the idiot tourists chasing down grizzly bears.... just saying...)

This was our last stop before Glacier National Park.

Spring /Early Summer Nashville

Spring /Early Summer Nashville, TN 

  While playing pickleball in Texas, Mark tore the meniscus in his right knee. We put our plans for the spring/summer on hold and headed towards Nashville for his surgery and recovery instead.  While in Nashville, we decided to make even more changes to our travel plans. We both have loved the adventure of being on the road and all the places we got to visit. Lisa was struggling being away from the kids and grandbaby for such long periods. She needed a home base. The nonstop travel was taking a toll on her and she was getting tired. We had a health scare that made us rethink our plans. It actually stopped us dead in our tracks for a few months.  Instead of being full time RV'ers, we would purchase a home and travel part time.  Finding a home was a harder task than we expected. The market is nuts- prices are sky high and the interest rates are sinful.  We finally did find a home that met our needs. It is located about 5 miles from both Ryan and Megan in White House and about 2 hours from Sid.  We spent a week at Rickwood Caverns in Alabama near Sid and Emma before the big move. Everything we owned was in the RV- we literally needed everything to make a house our home. We had a big task in front of us.

We were on the big "kiss cam" screen at the Nashville Kats game, the local arena football team. Megan had won tickets but could not attend, so we went in their place. Neither of us had ever attended an arena football game. We had a good time and a good night out. Date nights are always a good thing for us. Every couple needs to make time for each other. Parking, food and drinks at any arena event are always sinful, but we still had to have some "game food"- it is just not the same without standing in long lines for bad, overpriced junk food. (I have to have popcorn and a coke at the movies also, it is not the same without it!)

We were able to attend Zack and Bettina's wedding near their home outside Atlanta, GA. We tried to get them to do a destination wedding, but Bettina wanted something local so her mom could attend.  Her mom is battling some major health issues and is unable to travel. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding and they were both obviously so happy and in love. Luckily, Bettina's mom was well enough to attend and seemed to enjoy herself. It was a huge gift for Bettina to have her mom present. Those are memories she will cherish. They requested the guests all wear black formal wear, so we dressed as requested. We felt blessed to be able to attend and share this with them.

We had a great time together before and after the wedding spending some time with Brooke (Mark's niece). We always try to manage a visit with her when we can.

 It was on our way home from the wedding that we had our big health scare that changed everything for us. After the onset of some stroke like symptoms, the hospital told us Lisa had a brain tumor. We hurried home to find a house and start an even bigger medical workup. After we bought a house and got settled in it, they decided it was not a tumor after all. Talk about a whirlwind!!! For two months, we faced a lot of change and uncertainty. 

We have already planned a garden under a huge maple tree in our back yard. Some lawn furniture was one of the first things we got for the new house. This section of the yard is fenced, which will be great for the dogs. 

Karma and Apollo love lounging lazily on the back deck and playing in the fenced in back yard. Neither are very fond of this summertime TN heat and humidity though. We quickly agreed we need a much bigger deck and it needs to be covered. The deck overlooks the area where we want to plant our gardens.  I am expecting us both to spend lots of time outside our new house on the deck or in the yard. The yard was a blank slate when we bought it. Both of us are looking so forward to creating an oasis in our home and yard.  Luckily, it is something we both enjoy and will benefit from for years to come. Building it together and creating something uniquely ours means so much to us.

We had our first trip to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. We had tickets to see the Little River Band perform. We love live music and date nights, so it was the perfect way to spend a very hot summer evening (inside where it was air conditioned!) We really enjoy doing things that are firsts for both of us. Surprisingly, there are many more firsts for us to share than we expected. We both spent so much of our working years working way too hard for way too many hours, so we both missed out on a lot of things.

Little River Band has been performing since 1975. None of the current members are the original band members, but they still play the music that made them famous that we enjoy. It is always nice to have a little throw back to our past/youth. We were both very different people 50 years ago.

This was our second trip to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. This time we saw a Neil Diamond tribute band.

This Neil Diamond impersonator, Jay White, has been performing tribute concerts since the 1980's. He was actually really good and the venue was great.  Luckily, he sings better than he dresses.

Rickwood Caverns, Warrior, Alabama

We have stayed at the campground a few times previously when we have gone to visit Sid and Emma, but this was our first visit to tour the caves. They came and spent some time at the campground with us but we spent most of our time visiting with them at their house.

Rickwood Caverns State Park is a public recreation area and natural history preserve located 7 miles  north of Warrior, Alabama. The 380-acre state park offers tours of caverns with illuminated limestone formations estimated to be 260 million years old, blind cave fish, and an underground pool.

The caverns were brought to public attention by Eddie Rickles and Sonny Arwood who combined their own names to create the name "Rickwood." Rickles had come across the caves in the early 1950s as the leader of a Boy Scout troop exploring the area. Rickwood Caverns operated as a commercial entity from 1954 to 1974, when the property was acquired by the state and reopened as a state park.

 Lisa and Bella having some snuggle time before we head back to White House.