Amy's Rear View Mirror

Phoenix to OZ7 to Wyoming

June 2004

On Friday I left Phoenix and drove to LaVerkin UT to visit a friend for the holiday weekend. I took I-17 to Flagstaff, US89 to just south of Page, and then 89A past the Vermillion Cliffs and through North Kaibab. I arrived around 11 PM and stayed in a campground in Hurricane UT.

Johnson Farm Dinosaur Track Site has tracks from the Jurassic Period. The land here was near sea level with many streams and lakes. When the water began to receed, footprints were naturally preserved in the mud. There are 5 different types of footprints with tentative identification still awaiting concensus by experts.

Snow Canyon State Park was formed by lava flows from local volcanoes and Navajo sandstone cliffs leaving petrified dunes. The land was originally inhabited by the Anasazi Indians, Paiute Indians and later by Mormon pioneers. The canyon has been used in various movies such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Electric Horseman, and Jeremiah Johnson.

Cedar Breaks National Monument has a 5 mile scenic drive with four overlooks of the amphitheater. It's shaped like a huge coliseum and is more than 2000 ft deep, 3 miles across. Iron and manganese give the rocks various shades of red, yellow and purple. Local Indians called this the Circle of Painted Cliffs. Settlers named it Cedar Breaks, meaning Cedar Badlands. It had just snowed the day before we arrived and was still bitter cold and windy on the ridge.

We went back to Zion National Park. (We went there last summer when I visited) Because of growing traffic, travel on Zion's Scenic Drive is now by shuttle from April through October with nine stops along the way. The scenic drive is along the floor of the canyon following the Virgin River with towering cliffs above at 2000 - 3000 ft. The Virgin River formed this canyon starting more than 13 million yrs ago. We took the Riverside Walk which is 2 miles long from Temple of Sinawava following the Virgin River to the Narrows.

I left the LaVerkin area and headed up I-15, across I-70 towards CO. I stopped at Arches National Park since it was so close to my route. Water and ice, extreme temperatures and underground salt movement formed this park. More than 2000 arches are recorded from a 3 ft opening (the minimum to be considered an arch) to 306 ft across the base. Each day winds help to form new arches and destroy existing ones. Pueblo, Fremont and Ute Indians once inhabited this area. After walking around for a several hours, I drove on down the road where I spent the night at a roadside parking area.

The next morning I drove the final hour to Glenwood Springs where I stopped to soak in the hot springs for a few hours. They have RV parking at one end of their parking lot. I had to unhook the car, but a small price to pay for soaking in the hot springs. I had lunch at their deli before continuing to Loveland CO for the night. I arrived around 4 PM and went to my brother's house for supper and an evening of visiting.

I left CO continuing up I-25 into Cheyenne WY where I got off the interstate and traveled US85. I took US18 across to SD and used several skinny roads to come into Rapid City the back way (from the south).

I started my sightseeing with the Wounded Knee Museum, I-90 exit 110. I spent some time going through the museum before touring the park. Then after touring the park, I drove through Pine Ridge Reservation to see the Wounded Knee Monument.

From exit 110 I headed south into the Badlands National Park. I rode the Badlands Loop Road. The Lakota called it 'Mako Sica' which means 'Bad Lands'. The park consists of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires blended with the largest, protected mixed grass prairie in the United States. The Stronghold Unit is co-managed with the Oglala Sioux Tribe and includes sites of 1890s Ghost Dances. Badlands National Park contains the world's richest Oligocene epoch fossil beds, dating 23 to 35 million years old. Scientists can study the evolution of mammal species such as the horse, sheep, rhinoceros and pig in the Badlands formations.

The Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890 (which was originally referred to by the United States army as the Battle of Wounded Knee -- a descriptive moniker that remains highly contested by the Native American community) is known as the event that ended the last of the Indian wars in America. Although it did bring an end to the Ghost Dance religion, it did not, however, represent the demise of the Lakota culture.

The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs is the world's largest research facility where you tour an active dig site and view Ice Age Mammoths. Two species of mammoths, the Columbian and woolly, were trapped in the Hot Springs Mammoth Site pond. Scientists believe that huge glaciers, advancing from the north and east, forced the woolly mammoths to the western area of what is now the state of South Dakota. Three woolly mammoths have been discovered in the Hot Springs sinkhole.

The four figures carved in stone on Mount Rushmore represent the first 150 years of American history. The birth of our nation was guided by the vision and courage of George Washington. Thomas Jefferson always had dreams of something bigger, first in the words of the Declaration of Independence and later in the expansion of our nation through the Louisiana Purchase. Preservation of the union was paramount to Abraham Lincoln but a nation where all men were free and equal was destined to be. At the turn of the Twentieth Century Theodore Roosevelt saw that in our nation was the possibility for greatness.

In 1940 Boston-born Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski visits the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in SD to meet Chief Henry Standing Bear. When Korczak (who worked on Mt Rushmore) accepted the Native American's invitation to carve a mountain memorial he determined that it would be a humanitarian project; Crazy Horse would be much more than "just" a colossal mountain carving. It would also tell present and future generations the story of Native American peoples by collecting and preserving outstanding examples of Indian culture and heritage -- both yesterday and today -- and, ultimately, the Memorial would also create a formal educational institution. The museum has grown with the project. Each year tribal members and others contribute Native American art and artifacts to enhance the collection and make it more comprehensively represent all North American tribes. The Crazy Horse Memorial mountain crew uses precision explosive engineering to carefully remove and shape the rock of the mountain. Since the dedication of the face of Crazy Horse in 1998, the work has been focused on blocking out the horse's head. The primary source of funding for the work of carving Crazy Horse comes from visitor admission fees. Generous contributions and donations of equipment from corporations provide critical additional resources to make continued work on the mountain carving possible. In 1982 Korczak died unexpectedly at the age of 74. His wife, Ruth, and all 10 of their sons and daughters were with him as he was laid to rest in the tomb he and his sons built near the mountain. Ruth and their large family express their dedication and determination to carry on his Crazy Horse dream according to his detailed plans. Korczak's Crazy Horse dream continues. Mrs. Ziolkowski assumes supervision of all activities on the mountain and off.

Custer State Park

The centerpiece of Tatanka: Story of the Bison is a larger-than-life bronze sculpture featuring 14 bison being pursued by 3 Native American riders. An Educational Center depicts the story of bison and man through interactive exhibits along with a traditional Lakota Encampment where everything from tipis to live Lakota demonstrations will offer a unique snapshot of Indian life as it was during the height of the Buffalo Culture around the year 1840.

I took a car trip to WY to see Devil's Tower. That's the rock mountain used in the film Close Encounters.

Several Indian nations share similar legends on the origin of this butte and one name they have for it is Bear Lodge.

"Eight children were there at play, seven sisters and their brother. Suddenly the boy was struck dumb; he trembled and began to run upon his hands and feet. His fingers became claws, and his body was covered with fur. Directly there was a bear where the boy had been. The sisters were terrified; they ran, and the bear after them. They came to the stump of a great tree, and the tree spoke to them. It bade them climb upon it, and as they did so it began to rise into the air. The bear came to kill them, but they were just beyond its reach. It reared against the tree and scored the bark all around with its claws. The seven sisters were borne into the sky, and they became the stars of the Big Dipper."

Many people have been climbing the tower with records kept since 1937 on more than 220 routes. There is a voluntary climbing closure during the month of June out of respect for Native American beliefs since this is sacred ground.

I drove to OZ by taking I-90 across SD to Sioux Falls where I took I-29 south to Kansas City, then I-35 to Melvern.

Louise, Elita and Jane were sitting in the truckstop to download email, the waitress comes over, and Jane asked about the driver from last year.  The real man (see my webpage about the OZ GTG last year) ...  the black leather hat, vest and chaps with the spurs on his boots!!!!!!  The story as told by them on their return to the campground: The waitress got a funny look on her face and says, "Oh s***!!!!!!"  Jane asked if he frequents the place or rarely shows up.  The waitress said she knows him.  They got talking about him and the laugh he gave us last year.  She is laughing just as hard.  They asked what he does for a living ... well, he is a bull hauler.  That sent them on another laughing gig. They could hardly keep a straight face. He used to pick up bald tires for a living. She was telling them how he is full of himself.  We had such a good laugh at his expense!!!!!!!!  They tried using Elita's computer to find his picture on the website so that they could show her but it was no longer there!!!!!!! I guess they forgot it's on my webpage.

As to the winds ... well, we didn't blow away. It was windy enough that no one put their awning out. There are enough trees on most sites that there is plenty of shade so that we weren't sitting in the sun.

We met all the first-time OZers ... Delores Lamb and her new husband, the Metcalfs, the Palmers, Jack White, Pat Gorsuch & Bill Kukes. All real nice people. Everyone got to tour the new rigs ... the Bakers' new Bounder, DeLores' new Winnebago, my new Alpine Coach and Jane's new Allegro. All are very nice.

We decided that since we had the Biscuit & Gravy breakfast Saturday morning and the potluck Saturday evening, that 3 big meals would be too much. So we moved the lunch to Sunday and invited the guys ... but they had to sit at their own table, not with us ladies. The ladies still wore their purple/red outfits. Severals people had plans to leave on Sunday so it worked out well to have a farewell lunch with everyone who could attend.

I left the land of OZ and headed west across I-70 to go back to CO to surprise my dad for Father's Day tomorrow. My parents were at my brother's house in Boulder.

I spent Sunday (Father's Day) at my brother's house with his family and my parents. Since everyone was there we took a family photo. We had buffalo burgers and turkey burgers cooked on the grill. I came bearing gifts ... my brother's birthday present, my parents' anniversary present and state quarters for Anna.

Monday it rained all day and I wasn't able to go to Rocky Mountain National Park, so I paid for an additional night at the campground.

Today it is dry and sunny so off to Rocky Mountain National Park. I drove Trail Ridge Road from the Fall River Visitor's Center to the Alpine Visitor's Center. This crosses the highest point on the road at 12,183 ft.

At the bottom, the park has valleys, rivers and lakes with groves of Aspens. Elk, deer and bighorn sheep can be seen.

One third of the park is above tree line where there's an alpine tundra landscape similar to arctic regions. It can take up to 100 years for the landscape to recover when plants are damaged. Yellow bellied marmot sun themselves on the rocks.

I drove north on US-287 then west on I-80 to Rock Springs WY.

I took a drive ... the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Tour located atop White Mountain on a 24 mile gravel road, requiring a high profile vehicle. It's possible to see wild horse, antelope, desert elk, deer, rabbits, coyotes, hawks, eagles and grouse. The herd of wild horses in Wyoming is approximately 6000 with 2500 of them in the Rock Springs BLM District. The BLM conducts periodic census of the horses to determine when and how many need to be removed to manage the herd. The local private land owners do not fence their land allowing the herd to wander for food and water as necessary. I didn't see any wild horses but did see several antelope.

I drove north on US-191 to Jackson WY.

Teton National Park, an active 40-mile-long mountain front known as the Teton Range, was formed by both earthquakes from continual fault action and glacial erosion creating an environment suitable for an abundance of wildlife in the area like moose, mule deer, elk, bears, coyotes, weasel and other smaller animals. The range includes eight peaks over 12,000 feet, seven morainal lakes run along the base of the range, and more than 100 alpine lakes can be found in the backcountry. The highest mountain in the Teton Range is Grand Teton at 13,770 feet.

One night while in Jackson Hole I went to the Bar-J Ranch Chuckwagon Supper and Western Show. The ranch is still a working cattle ranch. They serve a western meal based on cattle drive meals and after supper is entertainment by the Bar-J Wranglers who sing, tell poetry, stories and jokes. It was a lot of fun!

 The Rockefeller Parkway connects Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks which provides a natural link between the two parks and has characteristics of both areas.

Yellowstone - Old Faithful area gets heat from magma underground and water from rain and snowfall. The water seeps down several thousand feet where it gets heated. Cracks and fissures act like plumbing where the hot water rises to produce geysers. In a geyser, the water can exceed 199 degrees F. Old Faithful erupts more requently than the other big geysers; however, it's not the largest in the park. Giant Geyser is the largest with eruptions that can reach 250 feet.

Yellowstone - Fountain Paint Pot area are acidic hot springs with a limited water supply called mudpots. Heat loving micro-organisms, called Thermophiles, help to convert the hydrogen sulfide to sulfuric acid which breaks down rock into clay. Various gases escape through the wet clay mud and cause it to bubble and plop. The thermophiles form ribbons of color ... the color is determined by temperature, season and amount of sunlight. In early summer the mudpots are thin and watery from rain and snow melt. By late summer they are thick and can lob mud over the guard rail. The Crow Tribe used to paint their tipis with this mud.

Yellowstone - Mammoth Hot Springs area is created by heat, a natural undreground plumbing system, water and limestone. The water comes from rain and snow fall and goes through the natural plumbing system gaining heat. Hot water with dissolved carbon dioxide makes a weak solution of carbonic acid. This solution dissolves calcium carbonate, the primary mineral in the limestone. At the surface it is deposited in the form of travertine, the mineral that forms the terraces. This area also has thermophiles creating colors. The terraces are living sculptures shaped by the water flow and are constantly changing.

Yellowstone - Mud Volcano area is close to one of the major vents from which the lava flowed during the last volcanic eruption 640,000 years ago. The mud features found here are some of the most acidic in the park. Hydrogen sulfide gas is present deep in the ground in this area. Thermophiles help to convert the hydrogen sulfide to sulfuric acid which breaks down rock into clay or mud.

Images may not be reproduced without permission.