It was a leisurely (as in mosey) drive to St. Ignace… again beautiful colors along the way. We are spending the night at Astonishing Arda’s favorite hang-out… yes the casino. She is currently in making a deposit so we will leave for home in the AM.
We left Rhinelander this morning on our way to Gladstone MI. We woke up next to a cemetery… that is a first. The sun was shining and we only had about 3 hours to drive plus a 1 hour time difference. The colors were gorgeous. We have really been lucky in that we have hit the colors at their peak!
After church we drove the Spearfish Canyon Drive which took us through the Black Hills National Park where we saw more beautiful scenery... the pictures just don't do it justice.
They have a very nice museum there with lots of outdoor displays. The people that have put this together have done an excellent job of depicting history favorably for all those involved. Once again, man's greed prevailed when it came to the Indians and the treaties. There are markers (they resemble headstones) all over the countryside showing where different men were killed. Some markers have names but many of them just note that the person was part of the 7th Calvary. There are a lot fewer Indian Markers but they all had names... at least the ones we saw. After spending a couple of great hours looking and soaking up the history we decided to move on.
It was a nice drive as we went from the mountains to the flat lands (rolling might be more appropriate) and drove through Montana, Wyomming and South Dakota. We will spend a day or so in the Dakotas. Along the way we stopped on the side of the road for a picnic lunch. The temp was about 82 and windy with lots of sun. A beautiful day.
Astonishing Arda on the other hand went for a bike ride. She rode towards West Yellowstone where she encountered 6 Elk Cows on the road. Fortunately there were other cars around so she was able to sneak by. She also saw a Mule Deer & and Bald Eagle on her little trip. I say little trip but it was just over 20 miles which for Wrangler Dave it is too long!
First we stopped at the Yellowstone “Grand Canyon”. The falls here were spectacular especially considering this was all volcanic at one time. We saw the falls from both sides and took the South Rim Trail so we could see the gorges.
Next we saw a lot of Buffalo… the real name is Bison. Apparently the only real “buffalo” are located in Africa. The Bison are only native to the U.S. according to the Rangers here. We saw 3 Bison in particular… 2 cows and their man. Another bull came along and appeared to covet the cows. The 1st bull kept herding the cows away from the other bull. This went on for about ½ hour. They went up one hill and down another. Then they crossed the river and the road went up another big hill and then came back down across the road and swam the river. The last we saw them they were heading up another big hill. All this time the 2nd bull just kept following about 25 feet behind them. I’ll say one thing, he was persistent.
We also saw a “sulfuric caldron” which was bubbling up out of the ground. According to the write-up this was more acidic than lemon juice and a lot more dangerous as it was also heated. The signed warned that people should not breath the vapors and if they felt poorly, to quickly move away. 
Today we took the north loop from our campsite. We drove to Norris, Mammoth Hot Springs, Towner-Roosevelt, Canyon City and back to the campsite at Madison. In all it took about 7 hours with all the stops and side trips down dirt roads and out-look points. The land is a lot different to the north although it started out with more geological areas of hot springs and geysers. They soon gave way to mountains, rocks, and rivers. All of this was created either through the ice age or via a huge volcano that is 30 miles wide and 45 miles long. This volcano still exists and there are 2 domes that the scientists are watching. Fortunately they do not expect an eruption any time soon. If it and when it does erupt it will make Mt St. Helen’s eruption look like a baby volcano… not something to look forward to.
In the afternoon we went back to the Old Faithful area and took our bikes so we could see some of the other geysers in the area. One of these, Castle Geyser, was really neat… better than Old Faithful in our opinion. It was supposed to go off sometime between noon and 2:45 PM. Well it didn’t go off until about 4:00 PM and it lasted at least 20 minutes. Just when we thought it was going to end, it started up again. Here are a couple of the pictures from the Geyser – note the rainbow!
Yesterday was a "slow" day for us as we went to church in West Yellowstone. It is only 14 miles away but takes about 30 - 40 minutes to drive depending on the number of animals one sees on the side of the road or in the meadows. This church only has a priest the 1st & 3rd of the month. The other Sunday's a Nun presides over a Communion Service. In mid-October they will start having services in the basement as it is easier to heat.
