Photo by The Joneses Here's the breathtaking view as we're driving through the Powder River pass near the Big Horn Mountains. — — — SLIDE SHOW: Some beautiful scenery out west! — — — E-mail Gisela! Got a comment for Gisela about their trip? Sent her an e-mail, giselaontheroad@yahoo.com — — — View Larger Map
ARCHIVES: You wouldn't believe how beautiful Canada is! Wouldn't change a thing Who knew there was so much to see in South Dakota? Time is flying by — but at least we're having fun! I (heart) Hart Ranch, South Dakota Rallyin' in Goshen, Indiana A special day From friends to work to warmer temps, we're still having fun in Florida Traveling to Texas Finally, we're in Alaska! On the way to Canada Boise sure has changed a lot Escapees Rally in Wyoming Bittersweet trip through the southeast From Boy Scouts to ‘Stars on Ice’ Michigan is full of treasures Arriving in Florida Earning our ears Celebrating Christmas and New Year's in Florida and the Disney Parks Down in the Lowcountry Making our way through Minn., Wisc. and Ill. The holidays in Florida Our time in Lakeland has come to an end Couldn't have had a better time in Omaha! Arriving in Charleston A day with friends from Frederick 'Life is good' in Lakeland, Fla. Leaving Florida, and heading north Our final days in Kentucky Into the Keys Out of Charleston and off to Indiana Dreams come true in Vermont You never know what you'll see or who you'll meet in Alaska Leaving Indiana, but not before taking some of the state's best sites Idaho is full of natural treasures — and moon-like craters, too It's all about the theme parks From prairie country to beautiful views to grand 'ol Yellowstone Thunderstorms, flooding, tornados and a visit with the 'Duke' And so it begins ... Moving days for Greg and his family The gang's all here! Happy to be in Florida again Strawberries, and more strawberries 'The RV Capital of the World' From the beautiful Maine coastline down to southern Connecticut Training for our jobs at Disney World Chillin' out at 'Camp Monaco' Under the weather Back in Florida At long last, back in the area Lots to see in the 'Show Me' state With family and spectacular sights in Hailey, Idaho Look back, look ahead Back in the Lower 48 The cold weather is hitting Florida From Dallas to devastation Back on the road again Leaving Idaho and heading east Beautiful Alaska A memorable visit to Alaska's Kenai Peninsula Watch out for flying dinner rolls

I remember these areas when I came to this country 47 years ago and we (my first husband, 18-month-old son and I) drove from New York City to Boise, Idaho. Seeing these vast areas with almost no population and vegetation for miles and miles was a big shock to me.

Everything in Germany is so small and populated, more so even than the Washington, D.C. area. After Nebraska the countryside became more and more deserted and uninhabited; I felt like this must be the end of the world. Now driving through these areas again I can see the beauty in this untouched and natural land.

Once we left the prairie we started climbing the Big Horn Mountains and crossing the Powder River Pass with an elevation of over 9,000 feet. The scenery, while still very unpopulated, was absolutely beautiful. Tall pine trees and in some area there were patches of snow. Some of the curves, especially going down the mountain, were pretty scary, but our motor-home did great and we had no problems either up or down. This was our first experience with "real" mountains.

Cody is situated about 50 miles from the east entrance to Yellowstone Park. The town was founded by Col. William F. Cody, better know as Buffalo Bill, in 1896.

Buffalo Bill was a very colorful person in the Wild West. He was an Army Scout, Pony Express Rider and Showman. He is most famous for his Wild West Show and toured Europe and the United States for almost thirty years. Other famous Western people, like Annie Oakley and Wild Bill Hickok, also performed in his show.

We visited the Buffalo Bill Historical Center comprised of five different museums — the Buffalo Bill Museum, Whitney Gallery of Western Art, Plains Indian Museum, Cody Firearms Museum, and Draper Museum of Natural History. The Center is dedicated to the arts, cultures and tradition of the American West.

I liked the Buffalo Bill Museum the best. It had so many interesting items from the "Wild West" times, many of Cody’s clothes and outfits from his shows, suits and boots worn by Annie Oakley, authentic covered wagons, etc. There were also abundant pictures of Cody’s family and a lot of history of his life. I can’t remember half of it, there was so much and one display more interesting than the next.

The Indian Museum was also wonderful, about as nice as the one we saw at Crazy Horse Memorial.

I have learned so many fascinating things about the Indians and their customs from these museums. I didn’t go into the Firearms Museum; for one, guns don’t really interest me and also, I was feeling a bit strange and needed to get some water into me.

So I sat down for a while and drank and drank water. The air here is very thin and dry and it is important to drink lots of fluids to not get dehydrated. Ralph said the Firearms Museum was OK, but after seeing a couple of hundred guns he lost interest.

The Art Gallery had some wonderful paintings and sculptures of Western artists. The Natural History Museum was nice and had a lot of information of the Yellowstone ecosystem and animals in this region.

There seemed to be many interactive and educational programs, but we just didn’t have enough time to participate in any of them.

The next day we toured Yellowstone Park. What a wonderful drive through this breathtaking scenery!

The Park is the first National Park and was established in 1872. We saw wildlife, bison, deer, elk, lot of birds and even one black bear. I really don’t have enough words in my vocabulary to describe the beauty of this park.

There is a large lake; there are snow-covered mountains, small streams, waterfalls and large forest areas. However, there are some sad-looking areas because recent fires have burned acres and acres of land and all there is now are white stalks of wood. The park ranger told us that many of these fires are not manmade but nature-made due to dry lightning and the park being in a draught for the last 10 years. But even those have a certain type of beauty.

Unfortunately we did not get to see the Lower Falls, because the way to them was under construction and we missed the lookout from where one could see the falls.

But we did stop to see the Tower Fall, many of the geysers and hot springs, and of course, the most famous geyser "Old Faithful." To see this geyser erupt into an approximately 120 feet water tower is just awesome. Driving through the park was a wonderful experience.