THE JEEP HUNTER

Garden of the Gods

2010-06-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

Garden of the Gods is located in Manitou Springs just outside of Colorado Springs. It has unique rock formations in a beautiful green mountain setting. The picture below is of "Balanced Rock" which is one of the major attractions within the park.

US Air Force Academy

2010-06-24T10:44:00.001-07:00

The US Air Force Academy is located a few miles north of Colorado Springs. It is hundreds of acres of lush green land at the foothills of mountains. It is a beautiful setting that Americans can be proud of. The building with spirals on top is the Cadet Chapel which is beautiful inside. Unfortunately, I was unable to walk up the steep walking trail to the Chapel area this year due to the altitude. From the Chapel area, you can see the cadet quarters and often see cadets marching to class or lunch. Last time I was here, a fighter jet buzzed us and gave us a sonic boom while we were standing in front of the Chapel! It was exciting.

Rocky Mountain National Park

2010-06-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Rocky Mountain National Park is a beautiful place to visit. My pictures do not do it justice in its beauty. The picture within the city shows how close Estes Park is to the snow-capped mountains in the park. Another picture is of two bull elk in one of the meadows inside the park. The other picture (not good) is of a huge bull elk that was beside the sidewalk of a restaurant. People were watching the elk from the wood terrace. Elk are often found almost anywhere within the city.

Estes Park, Colorado

2010-06-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Estes Park yesterday afternoon. I took these two pictures on a brief trip around town to get the "lay of the land." I will get other pictures of Rocky Mountain National Park and the immediate area in the next couple of days. There is wildlife abound in this mountain area. Elk and deer walk around the town and cross the streets. This elk was right by my car. I had forgotten how beautiful this area of Colorado is. It has been at least 30 years since I have been to Estes Park.

Black Hills National Forest

2010-06-19T13:53:00.001-07:00

The Black Hills of South Dakota is a very beautiful place. The forest is made up of pine and aspen trees with large granite rock formations. I am not sure why this region is called the "black hills", but I suppose it is because of the darker color ground and rocks. Today, I went back to Mount Rushmore since it is so close and I had a pass. On the way back to the campground, there was a profile turnout. I stopped the car, looked up and there was a profile of George Washington from Mount Rushmore.

Custer State Park

2010-06-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

Some of the people in the KOA recommended that I take Needles Highway to Custer State Park to take the 31 mile wildlife loop. Needles Highway was supposed to be a very scenic drive. While it was, the 14 mile highway was very narrow, hairpin turns, and there was hardly able for two cars to pass each other. There were several one car tunnels, this one was the tightest and narrowest. The things I do to see wildlife!! On the loop, I saw 8 deer, 21 antelope, 3 buffalo, and 26 burros. As you can see, the burros were on the loop pavement and this buffalo was on the side of the road.

Crazy Horse Memorial

2010-06-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

The Crazy Horse Memorial was another interesting sightseeing place. This is the world's largest mountain carving now in progress. The picture on the right is what it will look like when it is completed. The head of Crazy Horse is 88 feet high. On the site is also a very large Indian Museum of North America. There are several exhibit halls in the Native American Cultural Center with 25-30 different exhibitors selling paintings, crafts, and other various Native American wear.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

2010-06-18T18:13:00.000-07:00

Visiting Mount Rushmore was one of my primary stops on my 2010 summer trip. In 1927, sculptor Gutzon Borglum began his work with the help of more than 400 workers and several influential politicians. Borglum began carving a memorial to the history of America. The granite portraits are of four presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The picture with the flags lined on the walkway are of all the state flags which lead up to the observation area. The whole memorial was quite impressive!

Hill City, South Dakota

2010-06-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

Today, I drove about 400 miles from Bismarck, ND to Hill City, SD. I am staying at the Mt. Rushmore KOA which is about 5 miles from Mt. Rushmore. While driving in ND, this dreamcatcher was on the side of the interstate. The picture doesn't really show how large it was. If I had been in my car, I would have driven up to it. The road to the top was named Enchanted Highway. The picture on the right is just another view of the North Dakota landscape. I liked this farm because it was "red", my favorite color. Tomorrow, I will begin my sightseeing of the area.

Bismarck, North Dakota

2010-06-16T14:14:00.000-07:00

I am staying in Bismarck, North Dakota tonight. Bismarck is the capital of North Dakota.

This afternoon, I drove to Fort Abraham Lincoln which was a calvary post built in 1873. It was built overlooking the banks of the Missouri River to protect the area land. Lt. Col. George Custer and the 7th Calvary lived there for almost 3 years. In 1876, Custer and his men left and rode out on their ill-fated campaign against the Plains Indians which ended in Montana with the deaths of Custer and most of his men at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

The picture on the top is of the officer's quarters (Custer's home). I was surprised at how large and nice it was. The picture at the bottom is a more distant view which includes one of the six barracks for enlisted men of the Calvary. The picture on the right is what the scenery in North Dakota looks like!! It is open, desolate land, but green.

Moorhead, Minnesota

2010-06-15T16:03:00.000-07:00

I am staying at the Moorhead/Fargo KOA in Minnesota. The campground is east on I-94 just across the Red River which separates North Dakota and Minnesota. Since I had never been to Minnesota, I am able to add a new state to my US camping map.

This afternoon, I went to the Roger Maris Museum in Fargo. Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's home run record of 60. In those days, nobody thought anyone would ever break Ruth's record which stood for 43 years. However, in 1961, Maris hit 61 home runs to break Ruth's record. It was very interesting to visit the museum and refresh my memory of this special baseball accomplishment.

Tomorrow, I drive to Bismarck, North Dakota before travelling to the Mount Rushmore area.

Onawa, Iowa

2010-06-14T12:51:00.001-07:00

I am staying at the Onawa/Blue Lake KOA in Onawa, Iowa. I had never camped in Iowa so I was able to add a new state to my United States travel map. The picture is of Blue Lake which was taken in front of my camp site. I only travelled 87 miles today............my kind of travel day! However, I have a long travel day tomorrow to the Fargo, North Dakota/Moorhead, Minnesota area.

Omaha, Nebraska

2010-06-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

I had planned to drive from St. Louis to Odessa, Missouri outside of Kansas City for the next two days. The Coast to Coast campground was very bad and I decided to leave and travel toward my next destination. I ended up driving all the way to Omaha, Nebraska. This area of Nebraska is very pretty with green rolling hills. I will stay in Iowa tomorrow night. Because of my travels today, I have gained two days on my planned trip.

St. Louis, Missouri

2010-06-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

On the left is the Gateway Arch in downtown St. Louis along the banks of the Mississippi River. On the right is a picture atop the Arch. If you look closely on the left, you can see Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. Above, is one of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery buildings along I-55 N. The first stop on the brewery tour was their famous Clydesdale horses. The picture is of Jake, the world's tallest horse......7 1/2 feet tall!

Memphis, Tennessee

2010-06-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

Today, we drove from Sevierville, Tennessee to Memphis, Tennessee. It rained on us almost the entire day. We had an enjoyable lunch with Andy Jones (Nancy's son) in Nashville. He met us at a restaurant just off I-40 as we were passing through the city.

We are staying at the Audobon Point RV Resort just across the state line in Mississippi. Nancy leaves tomorrow afternoon to fly back to Phoenix. I will stay here tomorrow night before leaving for St. Louis, MO on Friday morning.

Great Smoky Mountains

2010-06-07T19:28:00.001-07:00

Today, we drove up into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. On the left is a picture from Newfoundland's Gap on the summit of the mountains. On the right is a picture from Cades Cove in the national park. The middle picture (not good) is of a black bear with a cub. Actually, there were two cubs, but only one is in this picture.

This evening, we saw 3 bears, 44 deer, and 22 turkeys as we drove around Cades Cove.

Sevierville, Tennessee

2010-06-06T17:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we drove from Columbus, Mississippi to Sevierville, Tennessee which is at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Our drive was so beautiful, especially between Chattanooga and Sevierville. This morning, we went to First Baptist Church in Sevierville. It was a wonderful worship service. At the conclusion of the service, the pastor, Dr. Randy Davis read his resignation. He has accepted a call as the Executive Director of the Tennessee Southern Baptist Convention.

Tonight, we went to the Dixie Stampede. It was a wonderful, exciting, and colorful show and the food was great. We had to eat our entire meal without silverwear!

Tomorrow, we are driving up the Great Smoky Mountains, shopping in Gatlinburg, and driving around the 18 mile loop of Cades Cove in the early evening. Hopefully, we will see some wildlife, including deer and black bears!

Tiffin Motorhomes Manufacturing Plant

2010-06-03T16:01:00.000-07:00

Today, we drove from Columbus, Mississippi to Red Bay, Alabama in the Jeep to take a tour of the Tiffin Motorhomes Manufacturing Plant. Tiffin motorhomes include the Allegro Bay, Phaeton, Allegro Bus, and Zephyr. Since it was no more than 90 miles away, we decided to spend the day learning and viewing how Tiffin builds motorhomes from the chassis up through the finished coach. It was a very interesting process.

Red Bay is a small town with a population of about 3,500. The two largest employers is Tiffin Motorhomes and Sunshine Dog Food. Tiffin has a little over 1,000 employees. They produce 10 coaches each day and the entire process takes about 31 days to build, after placing an order. No, we did not purchase a new motorhome, but it was very tempting!!

Columbus, Mississippi

2010-05-30T05:40:00.000-07:00

Ater travelling to Jackson, Mississippi on Friday, we drove to Columbus, Mississippi on Saturday morning. We are visiting with Nancy's sisters and extended family. We plan to be in Columbus for 7 nights before driving to the Gatlinburg, Tennessee area.

Dallas, Texas

2010-05-27T16:46:00.000-07:00

We decided to travel a little past Dallas to avoid the rush hour traffic in the morning. We are staying at an RV Park in Terrell, Texas on the east side of Dallas. In the morning, we travel to Jackson, Mississippi for a one night stay before leaving for Columbus on Saturday.

Amarillo, Texas

2010-05-26T19:08:00.000-07:00

Today, we drove from Creede, Colorado to Amarillo, Texas. The winds were not as bad, but still rather strong. Between Raton, NM to Amarillo, Texas, we saw 188 antelope. When you see wildlife, it makes the travel more interesting!

I wanted to add these two pictures from Creede, Colorado. The picture on the left is overlooking Creede from Bachelor's Loop in the nearby mountains. The one on the right are some deer just before dark. I like the picture because the deer look like a silhouette!

Creede, Colorado

2010-05-24T16:07:00.000-07:00

Today, we drove from Durango to Creede, Colorado. The high winds continued to plague driving conditions. When we went over Wolf Creek Pass, I have never seen so much snow at the Summit peak. The picture was taken at the Summit.

When we arrived at the Mountain Views at River's Edge RV Resort, I asked the office personel when it snowed last. They said "about 4 hours ago!" The high today was forecast at 45 and the low 27. There is still high wind gusts most of the time during the day. We went to Clear Creek Falls (picture) between Creede and Lake City. Before we got back to the motorhome, we saw 71 deer, 117 elk, and 19 big horn sheep (picture). Unfortunately, most of the downtown shops in Creede are closed until Memorial Day weekend.

Silverton and Durango, Colorado

2010-05-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

We went to Silverton on Sunday. The picture is of the scenery between Durango and Silverton. In the evening, we went looking for wildlife on the upper and lower loops and saw these elk along with many others.

Durango, Colorado

2010-05-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

On May 22, we drove from Flagstaff, Az to Durango, Co. The entire drive was plagued with high winds...........some over 50 mile per hour gusts. It was a hard drive in a motorcoach and took longer than planned. We also experienced sand and dust storms. Tonight, we went on the upper and lower loops to look for wildlife. We saw 11 deer, 45 elk, and 16 Canadian geese. Tomorrow, we are driving to Silverton for part of the day. We will be in Durango for 2 nights before moving to Creede.

Glendale, Arizona

2010-05-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

On Friday, May 21, my wife and I are leaving for a vacation through Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Since our furthest destination is the Smokey Mountain National Park, our goal is to see plenty of bears!!