American Wanderer Summer Camp: Exploring the National Parks

Shoshone Trail Day 5 - 6 - 7

2010-07-29T17:47:00Z

Day 5

On our way to Jackson we stopped in Afton Wyoming to see largest antler arch and drink from the only cold water geyser in North America.

Tubing on the Snake River that ended at our KOA.

Day 6
Pancakes and bacon before we leave for the Tetons.

The majestic Tetons

We took a nice afternoon walk around Jenny Lake. Half took the boat back and the other half hiked the full 6 miles.

Hidden Falls on Jenny Lake

Day 7
One group went on a hike around Coulter Bay to Swan Lake and Heron Pond, both covered with water lily pads as far as you could sees.

Gregory and Dillon enjoyed seeing the pelicans take flight and land on the pond.

The other group hiked to Surprise Lake, 3,100 foot elevation gain in 5 miles. All for a dip in the 34 degree lake.

Amphitheater Lake another .2 miles and 100ft. 9698 ft above sea level on Grand Teton

Nothing better than a snow ball fight in July.

A quick dip in 34 degree water. Surprise! Lake

The Girls Turn!

Shoshone Trail Day 4

2010-07-25T01:36:00Z

Day 4 - We woke up this morning and everyone put on sweatpants & sweatshirts because it was approximately 40 degrees. We told the campers to keep their warm clothes on because we were heading below ground to explore Minnetonka Cave which is just a short distance from our campground. We saw stalactites, stalagmites, columns and all different rock formations in many looked familiar like strips of bacon, gold coins, the 7 dwarfs of Snow White fame, Miss Piggy's curly tail and lots more.

The three columns below are called "the three sisters".

After visiting the cave and walking 888 steps we climbed out ot the cold cave and walked back into the warmth of the sun. Across the street we went to play at North Bear Lake Beach...it felt like a cwestern version of a cross between Corny Island and Daytona Beach. We swam, ate lunch and made sand castles. A great time was had by all.

Afternoon at the Beach

Lake Dance

Shoshone Trail Day 2 - 3

2010-07-25T00:37:00Z

Day 2 - We met "Ranger Rick" at the Golden Spike NHS who told the campers the story about the historical significance of May 10th, 1863 where the President of the Central Pacific RR Leland Stanford and the Vice President of the Union Pacific RR Thomas Durant met to drive in the spikes where East and West were joined.

Down the road from the Golden Spike we brought the campers back to present day and they climbed in and on the rockets at the ATK Rock Garden. It shows the history of rocket propulsion since the 1950's. The boosters from today's space program are all made there.

The campers help to prepare meals too as you can see the boys are shucking fresh locally grown corn-on-the-cob for dinner!

A stop to stretch their legs and take pictures of the beautiful wildflowers that grow at the Bear Lake Overlook. The lake is known as the Caribbean of the West...as you can see by the aquamarine colored water in the background.

An old western backdrop in front off the Oregon Trail Center in Montpelier, Idaho.

Apricot Pancakes

Chinese Arch

The Oregon Trail Center

Shoshone Trail Day 1 Part 2

2010-07-22T05:27:00Z

Day 1 - While awaiting the arrival of the second group the campers visited the Church of the Latter-Day Saints Mormon Tabernacle, Brigham Young's house and the beautiful grounds in downtown Salt Lake City.

After our fun swimming and floating in the Great Salt Lake we came back to the campground for our first dinner together.

On the menu for a typical camp dinner...steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, peas and iced cold ice tea and not a drop of food was left.

The campers had a once in a lifetime experience enjoying the Great Salt Lake. Did you know the world's oceans have a 3% salinity level compared to the GSL which is at 4-28%!

The Great Salt Lake

SL 2

Shoshone Trail Day 1

2010-07-21T18:09:00Z

Day 1

Our Second group for the Shoshone Trail Session are currently over Wyoming. The others are exploring the Mormon Tabernacle with Steve. After a quick lunch we will drop all of the campers into the Great Salt Lake....Check back for pictures tonight.

UTE Route Day 13

2010-07-20T08:25:00Z

Salt Lake City
Another Dance Video!

UTE Route Day 11 - 12

2010-07-20T05:28:00Z

Day 11 Zion National Park - Virgin River Walk - We've done this hike when the water has looked like mud, we survived this in a flash flood and this is the clearest we've ever seen the river you could see the bottom. We hiked for four hours an amazing aerobic exercise.

The Narrows is where the canyon walls are only 20 feet across and in spots when you look up you can't even see the sky.

Day 12 - Kimberly Ghost Town no kidding that's the real name. The largest gold mining town in Utah at the turn of the last century. A four-wheel drive excursion to explore for artifacts from the Annie Laurie Mine (at 9,000 feet elevation).

The view from Upper Kimberly.

Mining structure and equipment.

The campers found a claim and the start of a mine which only went in 6 feet before they gave up..

Off to Salt Lake City tomorrow.

River Walk

Float

Narrows

UTE Route Day 9 - 10

2010-07-20T05:28:00Z

Day 9 - Grand Canyon - After a late evening the night before we slept in until 10 a.m. and got off to a leisurely start. Angels Window you can just make out the mighty Colorado River as it carves it's way through the canyon (almost 10 miles away).

Cape Final (above Angels Window) is a pleasant hike out for a different view.

Day 10 - The North Kaibab Trail - Our annual pilgrimage below the rim into the canyon.

First stop the Supai Tunnel 2 miles and 1400 feet down into the "Big Ditch".

A view down from the tunnel enticed Rachel, Steve and Chris to continue down to Redwall Bridge another .6 miles and 700 feet farther down into the heat (100+ degrees at 8:30 a.m.).

2100 feet below the rim of the Grand Canyon.

Our 5th trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and our first time we've ever seen the Buffalo here.

Steve after climbing back up 700 vertical feet from the Redwall Bridge.

The decision.

100+ degrees and 2100 vertical feet later

UTE Route Day 7 - 8

2010-07-15T17:00:00Z

Day Seven – Bryce Canyon NP

We hiked below the rim into the canyon on Peekaboo Trail to Navajo Loop and up visiting with our other alien rock friends the hoodoos and spotted the “fire hydrant” but “Porky Pig” eluded us…maybe next year.

Day Eight – The North Rim of the Grand Canyon

We hiked out to Bright Angel Point searching for seashell fossils on the walls of the trail (it’s hard to imagine that 8,000 feet up you’re standing on what was once the floor of the ocean). We continued on to Transept Point for the magnificent vistas and climbed up to the Grand Canyon Lodge.

We enjoyed a Ranger Talk on the back porch learning all about bringing the California Condors back from near extinction.

We dined on the back porch overlooking the canyon watching the sun set over the Grand Canyon.

Then back to the Jacob Lake Campground where we nestled in our beds and slept with the windows open and loved the 43 degree temperature.

Bryce Canyon

UTE Route Day 5 - 6

2010-07-15T16:29:00Z

Day Five – Goblin Valley

A playground for aliens.

Sunset at Capitol Reef to see the water pocket fold.

Day Six

A pretty morning hike into Hickman Bridge.

A trip up and down Grand Staircase Escalante to Cannonville nestled below the hoodoo of Bryce

We think they Glow at night to attract aliens.

This high, rugged, and remote region, where bold plateaus and multi-hued cliffs run for distances that defy human perspective, was the last place in the continental United States to be mapped.

UTE Route Day 3 - 4

2010-07-15T04:45:00Z

Day Three – Moab, Utah

Arches National Park - A beautiful morning hike into Delicate Arch (of Utah license plate fame). And a noon hike in the shade of the Fiery Furnace where met two new potential campers and their Park Ranger Dad from all the way from Houston, Texas.

They tagged along for a new route out of the maze. We look forward to meeting up with them in the future.

The afternoon was spent lazily floating on Ken’s Lake.

Day Four – Canyonlands NP

Island in the Sky – First stop the pine trees from the boreal forests of Canada (the only place you’ll find them in the lower 48 states) that hitched a ride on a glacier and found a new home on a ledge near a spring in the middle of the desert.

A hike out to the White Rim Overlook for views of the river 2100 feet below. No day would be complete without an inner tube float down the Colorado River.

Air is a little thin up here!

UTE Route Day 1 - 2

2010-07-15T04:25:00Z

Camp Day One – Grand Mesa

Largest Mesa in the World. First time there and what a pleasant surprise 62 degrees while back in Connecticut it was 104. It was more like northern Canada than the hot southwest.

Day Two – Colorado National Monument

A great introduction to global climate change, weather and sea level change. It has only been like this for the last 10,000 years prior to that it was a desert, swamp and the bottom of 2,000 feet of water and now it’s dry as a bone. The remnants of this ocean can be found at the bottom of the Great Salt Lake.

AW Summer 2010

2010-07-14T20:15:00Z

Drive Across America…We were fortunate to have one of our campers ride along the 1,800 miles to Colorado Springs where we store the RollingCabins.

Cabelas one of our old favorite spots to stop to stretch our legs and grab a bite to eat. It’s always fun for the kids because of the museum hidden within the store. This will probably be the last time we stop for a meal because the breakfast buffet was a big disappointment.

A stop at Steve’s farm in Indiana is always a highlight of the trip to see what new exotic animals Steve’s brother John has collected. Brother Tracy and his wife Lydia treated us to the first campfire of the season and stargazing out at the sawmill.

A quick stop at Erna and Lowell’s, our companion’s Grandparents, whom provided a nice way station amidst the 750 miles we traveled that day.

Colby, Kansas our last stop before reaching Colorado Springs to see the Museum of the Prairie. On the grounds is the largest barn in all of Kansas.

15 minutes after reaching our RollingCabins we were hit by a golf ball size hail storm which broke 3 roof hatches and 1 skylight. The ice covered hailstones dimpled the Expeditions with dents that look like we parked next to a golf driving range. Thank God it happened while we were there!

More later tonight. Heading into the Big Ditch now

Relive Your American Wanderer Summer

2010-02-05T13:13:00Z

The best way to get over the WINTER BLUES! 5 minutes and you'll think you're back at CAMP.

Ken Burns - The National Parks: America's Best Idea - on air and online beginning Wed. Jan. 27th

2010-01-27T02:39:00Z

The National Parks: America's Best Idea is a six-episode series directed by Ken Burns and written and co-produced by Dayton Duncan. Filmed over the course of more than six years at some of nature's most spectacular locales – from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades of Florida to the Gates of the Arctic in Alaska - The National Parks: America's Best Idea is nonetheless a story of people: people from every conceivable background – rich and poor; famous and unknown; soldiers and scientists; natives and newcomers; idealists, artists and entrepreneurs; people who were willing to devote themselves to saving some precious portion of the land they loved, and in doing so reminded their fellow citizens of the full meaning of democracy.

See it again on-air and online
Wednesday nights beginning January 27

Experience the Wonders of our National Parks first hand on an American Wanderer Adventure.

Session IV - Days 10-14

2009-08-21T16:23:00Z

What a Great Summer!!!!

We cleaned and stored the equipment in Colorado and made it back home to Connecticut. Two days of sleep and now we can finish the blog.

Custer State Park
South Dakota’s premier State Park comprises 71,000 acres. One of the nation’s largest state parks,Custer State Park has been home to diverse cultural heritages for thousands of years and has provided an array of scenic beauty and outdoor recreation for visitors since the early 1900s. Today, Custer State Park is famous for its bison herds, other wildlife, scenic drives, historic sites, fishing lakes, and interpretive programs.

Narrow tunnels blasted in the mountain.

Big Horn Sheep

Harney Peak
A nice hike up to 7,244 feet. The peak is the highest point in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains.

Sylvan Lake
is considered the “Crown Jewel” of Custer State Park in the Black Hills of western South Dakota .The mountain lake sits at the base of Harney Peak. The lake was featured in the 2007 movie National Treasure: Book of Secrets.

Mount Rushmore

Fort Laramie

Making bread using the original military recipe.

Register Cliff. This popular campsite was approximately one day's travel west of Fort Laramie. The soft sandstone cliff invited emigrants to leave a record of their passing, which many, many did. The cliff is covered with the names of emigrants heading to California, Oregon, and Utah. Many signatures include not only a date but a hometown as well.

Oregon Trail Ruts National Historic Site. Here, the terrain forced the emigrants to cross a ridge of soft sandstone and the track created by the steady wear of the wagon wheels is worn to a depth of five feet at places. Visitors can still see wheel ruts, places where wheel hubs rubbed against the rut walls.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Opened in 1920, Old Fall River Road earned the distinction of being thefirst auto route in Rocky Mountain National Park offering access to thepark's high country.

near Fall River Pass, 12,304 feet above sea level.

Mills Lake
9,940 feet above sea level
Mills Lake is named for Enos Mills, Father of Rocky Mountain National Park. Mills wrote many articles and books (some still in print) and gave many lectures urging the establishment of a national park around Longs Peak. Six years of concentrated effort resulted in the park’s creation in 1915. Many hikers consider Mills Lake the prettiest lake in the park. M

Nothing like a cave to wait out a hail storm. 30 minutes later the sky was blue without a cloud...

Session IV leave from Denver airport.

Now the real fun begins...I get to put the 8,000+ pictures and video together for the 2009 Camper Yearbook. It should be done by the middle of September.

Enjoy the rest of the summer and remember "if you're not having fun you're doing something WRONG"

Session IV Start - Days 6-9

2009-08-13T14:52:00Z

Devils Tower National Monument - America's First National Monument

Devils Tower rises 1267 feet above the Belle Fourche River. Once hidden, erosion has revealed Devils Tower. This 1347 acre park is covered with pine forests, woodlands, and grasslands. Deer, prairie dogs, and other wildlife are seen.

Also known as Bears Lodge, it is a sacred site for many American Indians.

President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower the first national monument in 1906.

An afternoon hike around the base of the Tower.

A visit to the Prairie Dog Town, these highly social animals are not really dogs, but rodents. They are members of the Sciuridae or squirrel family, closely related to ground squirrels, chipmunks, woodchucks and marmots. There are five different species of prairie dogs, but only the black-tailed prairie dog inhabits Devils Tower National Monument.

Prairie dogs are small, short-tailed animals with eyes and small ears set far back on their heads. Their light-brown fur blends well with the dirt of their mounds except when the animal has been blackened by burrowing into coal seams. Named for their bark-like warning call and black-tipped tail, prairie dogs average 14 to 17 inches in total length and weigh 1 to 3 pounds. With short, muscular legs and long-nailed toes on their front and hind feet, they are well equipped for a burrowing lifestyle.

Historic Deadwood

In 1876, the gold camp of Deadwood in Dakota Territory was a rough and tumble gambling town where Wild West legends were made. Today, the entire Black Hills’ town is a National Historic Landmark and is still known for its wild ways. From its gold rush history its history is as rich and diverse as the miners, pioneers and fortune seekers that went there over a century ago. We walked in the footsteps of legends—like Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and Seth Bullock.

Mount Moriah Cemetery
Deadwood's historic cemetery includes such notables at Wild Bill Hickcok and Calamity Jane.

Saloon No. 10 where Wild Bill Hickcok was shot in the back by Bill McCall.

Homestake Mine tour of the historic town of Lead and Homestake's underground surface operation. We followed the mining process including hoisting, crushing and milling of the underground ore and views Homestake Gold Mine's state-of-the-art Waste Water Treatment Plant and open pit mine.

Dinner "with a view of the Tower" back at camp.

Badlands National Park containing the world’s richest Oligocene epoch fossil beds, dating 37-28 million years old, the evolutionary stories of mammals such as the horse and rhinoceros arise from the 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires. Bison, bighorn sheep, endangered black-footed ferrets, and swift fox roam one of the largest, protected mixed-grass prairies in the United States.

Can you spot the Bighorn Sheep and her baby?

Wall Drug Store - America's Favorite Roadside Attraction!
A stop for a homemade ice cream milk shake.

Wind Cave National Park
One of the world's longest and most complex caves and 28,295 acres of mixed-grass prairie, ponderosa pine forest, and associated wildlife are the main features of the park. The cave is well known for its outstanding display of boxwork, an unusual cave formation composed of thin calcite fins resembling honeycombs. The park's mixed-grass prairie is one of the few remaining and is home to native wildlife such as bison, elk, pronghorn, mule deer, coyotes, and prairie dogs.

Lunch on the lawn before the cave tour.

Three types of rock features are seen in the cave (boxwork - pictured here), frostwork and popcorn.

The natural entrance to the cave...a cool breeze flows out of the cave...feels like air conditioning.

Filling our water bottles with water from the Hot Springs "Kidney" spring fountain.

Cooling off in the Hot Springs waterfall before heading back for a swim in the camp pool.

Our next blog will include Mount Rushmore and more of the Black Hills. We're off to Ft. Laramie, Wyoming and neat sites to see from the Oregon Trail.

Session IV - Days 1 - 5

2009-08-07T19:03:00Z

Session IV Start - Days 1-5

Wow Session IV got off to such a fast start we haven't had time to blog.
As you can see the kids are all having a great time!
Greetings from the KOA Billings, Montana (our first Camp Site).

Pictograph CaveState Park
In Billings, Montana along the continuation of asandstone cliff line that forms an impressive natural boundary and characterizesthe valley. Two of the three caves that define the site complex contain evidenceof habitation dating back over 4500 years ago. The pictographs that give thepark its name date from over 2200 years ago.

Pompeys Pillar National Monument
is one of the most famous sandstone buttes inAmerica. It bears the only remaining physical evidence of the Lewis andClark Expedition, which appears on the trail today as it did 200 yearsago. On the face of the 150-foot butte, Captain William Clark carvedhis name on July 25, 1806, during his return to the United Statesthrough the beautiful Yellowstone Valley.

Captain Clark named the pillar "Pompeys Tower" in honor ofSacagawea's son Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, whom he had nicknamed"Pomp." Nicholas Biddle, first editor of Lewis and Clark's journals,changed the name to "Pompeys Pillar."

Little Bighorn National Monument
This area memorializes one of the last armed efforts of the NorthernPlains Indians to preserve their way of life. Here in 1876, 263soldiers and attached personnel of the U.S. Army, including Lt. Col.George A. Custer, met death at the hands of several thousand Lakota andCheyenne warriors.

Custer's stone marking the place he died in battle. He was later moved to West Point.

Trail End Historic Site
was home to the John B. Kendrick family. One of Wyoming's most successful rancher/politicians, Kendrick was a self-educated Texan who began his career as a penniless cowboy and ended it as a United States Senator. In between, he was a rancher, banker, land developer, entrepreneur and Wyoming Governor.

Although Trail End is not Wyoming's only historic house museum, it is by far the largest and most authentically furnished. Nearly everything on exhibit at Trail End is original to the home or the Kendrick family, and our four-acre grounds contain many of the same trees planted by the Kendrick family when the original landscaping was done in 1914.

The Sheridan Inn
was built across from the old train station and was mark as, The Sheridan Inn called itself "The Finest Hotel between Chicago and San Francisco." The Sheridan Inn had one infamous owner--Colonel William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody. He was known to frequent the Inn and audition acts for his Wild West Shows in the Inn's front yard.

On top of the Bighorn Mountains

Sledding in August!

The 192 foot Porcupine Falls drops in a horsetail in three or four steps (depending upon the flow) into a large pool at the head of Diablo Canyon.

Cool dip under the falls. The water is 50 degrees!

Can you find the Moose and her calf?

One of their smaller trucks.....

385 foot water slide

We're now in Devils Tower, Wyoming...off for an afternoon hike.
We'll next update the blog from Rapid City, South Dakota in a few days!

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Session III day 12-14

2009-08-03T04:22:00Z

River rafting down the Yellowstone River in Cody, Wy

They all needed to get in the hot tub to warm up after the rafting trip.

You could spend days in this Museum....

On the way back to camp we stopped at the Erma Hotel for Gun Fight.

A little gun fight at the Erma Hotel!

Pictograph CaveState Park
In Billings, Montana along the continuation of asandstone cliff line that forms an impressive natural boundary and characterizesthe valley. Two of the three caves that define the site complex contain evidenceof habitation dating back over 4500 years ago

Miniature Golf at America's First KOA.

Well needed relaxation......

Our new Friends from France are on there way home.....

Bon Voyage

Just passing Greenland on the way to France. The rest of our clan will depart in the morning thanks to Frontier Airline...(Long Story)

New Campers will be joining us tomorrow for Session III....................

Session III day 9-11

2009-08-03T03:54:00Z

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
is the primary geologic feature in the Canyon District. It is roughly 20 miles long, measured from the Upper Falls to the Tower Fall area. Depth is 800 to 1,200 ft.; width is 1,500 to 4,000 ft.

Upper Falls

Artist Point

Lower Falls

Natural Bridge
The Natural Bridge was formed by erosion of this rhyolite outcrop by Bridge Creek. The top of the bridge is approximately 51 ft. above the creek.

A Cool dip in Yellowstone Lake
The first few feet is 60 degrees, a few degrees warmer than the air, and under that it stays a constant 42degrees

Then we all needed to warm up in the sun on the asphalt.

Cody Wyoming the Rodeo Capital of the World

A Night at the Rodeo

On our way out of Yellowstone we encountered a real Yellowstone Roadblock!