The summit team for Estes Cone, 11,006 ft.






A short but steep climb up this conical formation rewards hikers with panoramic views of Longs Peak, 14,259 feet and the Continental Divide.





A day early but a good excuse for a birthday party, cake and ice cream.

Up, Old Fall River Road, opened in 1920, the first auto route in Rocky Mountain National Park and down Trail Ridge Road, which is well known for being the highest continuous paved road in the nation.



Lunch on the top of Marmot Point, 11,909 ft











Andrew got to play in snow for the first time.







The top of Trail Ridge Mountain 12,304 ft.

Now we know where Elk Meadows Campground got it's name.




Hiking up to the Loch in Rocky Mountain National Park






lunch at the lake, 10,180 ft above sea level.


35 degree water!



Warming up after her 3rd dip.


The Loch is a perennial favorite - many consider it the most beautiful lake in the park.



Andrews Glacier above the Loch.





Dinner in the cabin thanks to a quick rain.

Fort Laramie was a significant 19th century trading post and diplomatic site located at the confluence of the Laramie River and the North Platte River in the upper Platte River Valley in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Wyoming. Founded in the 1830s to service the overland fur trade during the middle 19th century, it sat at the bottom of the long climb leading to the best and lowest crossing point at South Pass into western descending valleys and so was a primary stopping point on the Oregon Trail.
















The sandstone rocks near Guernsey tell the story of the wagon trains of emigrants headed west in the mid-1800s. Register Cliff on the Oregon Trail.



Pioneers scratched their names in the sandstone cliff.



Oregon Trail wagon ruts.



Oregon Trail Ruts is a preserved site of wagon ruts of the Oregon Trail on the North Platte River. The Oregon Trail here was winding up towards South Pass. Wagon wheels, draft animals, and people wore down the trail about two to six feet into a sandstone ridge here. The half-mile stretch is "unsurpassed" and is the best-preserved set of Oregon Trail ruts anywhere along its former length



Our annual rocky mountain oyster fest.



Guernsey Reservoir





We had the whole point to ourselves!

The cave is notable for its displays of the calcite formation known as boxwork. Approximately 95 percent of the world's discovered boxwork formations are found in Wind Cave. Wind Cave is also known for its frostwork. The cave is also considered a three-dimensional maze cave, recognized as the densest (most passage volume per cubic mile) cave system in the world. The cave is currently the fifth-longest in the world with 137.02 miles













The discovery of the entrance to Wind Cave is shrouded in mystery. Lakota Indian legends speak of a hole in the Black Hills that blows air. There are teepee rings near the present day elevator building. Lakota Indians traveling and living in the Black Hills were probably the first people to actually notice the entrance to the cave. There is no evidence that any of them actually entered the cave.
Natural entrance-

The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota, is the world’s largest mammoth research facility.



Travel back to the time when Ice Age mammoth, camel, and giant short-faced bear roamed the Great Plains of North America. Imagine a sudden collapse of a 60 foot deep karst sinkhole. Bubbling from the bottom, a warm spring percolates through the layers of limestone, now creating a large steep-sided pond. Picture thirsty animals venturing down to the water below...then, after drinking, animals unable to gain a foothold to escape. The sinkhole was a deathtrap.









Cascade Falls, the clean, clear water of the falls originates about two miles upstream at Cascade Springs, where a series of six artesian springs feed ever-warm, 67-degree water into Cascade Creek












2 hours of jumping.

The Badlands National Park






We filmed our own soap opera. 








1/4 hike up from the lower prairie to the upper prairie.  Its harder coming down than going up. The soft stone, mud and volcanic ash crumble under your feet making for a very slippery trip down.








Bighorn Sheep



We always stop a Wall Drug, the largest drug store in the world, on the way back to camp and buy everyone a milkshake.  The Wild Blackberry shake is the best!

Vore Buffalo Jump



One of the most important archaeological sites of the Late-Prehistoric Plains Indians.

The Vore site is a natural sinkhole that was used as a bison trap from about 1500 to 1800 A.D.

Buffalo were driven over the edge of the sink hole as a method for the Native American tribes to procure the large quantities of meat and hides needed to survive the harsh prairie winters.






Mount Rushmore. 





From the trail at the base of the mountain looking up.



A new batch of tree sniffers. Vanilla or Butterscotch?



The hike to Sylvan Lake.





Sylvan Lake, known as the "crown jewel" of Custer State Park. The lake was featured in the film National Treasure: Book of Secrets. The film made the lake appear to be located directly behind Mount Rushmore when in reality it is actually five miles southwest of Mount Rushmore.



Where Nicholas Cage stuck his hand in the rock and opened the secret door the Cibola.

Little Bighorn Battle Field


As one of the Native American Rangers said "this didn't need to happen, both sides had the opportunity to avoid the battle".  Gen. Custer's grave stone has the black plaque on it.









A room with a View.



On the trail around Devils Tower we ran into a ranger who was an expert on prairie dogs.  It was a great opportunity to learn about them from an expert.












Dinner with a view.





Can you spot the climbers on the tower.



One of the prairie dogs at the base of Devils Tower.