In this final part of our 2019 Heading West series, I take you along on our last three stops before heading home after 3 weeks. It all started in the Wind River Range of Wyoming and you can read Part I here, Part II here, Part III here and Part IV here. Recognize this face? I mentioned before that my youngest two children, now adults, had never seen Yellowstone National Park before this trip. They also had never seen Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, so we made a point to stop by. It was an overcast day but it didn't dampen the amazing sight of Borglum's artistry. Gutzon Borglum chose this mountain due to its height (5700' above sea level), the soft grainy consistency of the granite, and the fact that it catches the sun for the greatest part of the day. Did you know the original plan was to … [Read more...] about Heading West Part V
Summer
Heading West Part III
Our family primitive camped in the Wind River Range of western Wyoming in June 2019. You can read Part I here and Part II here. Exploring We took a 4 mile hike on the Continental Divide Trail right out of camp in the Wind River Range. 4 miles was less than a drop in the bucket of the total 3,100 mile trail running between Canada and Mexico. First we had to cross the Green River on a well made and well worn bridge. Both Forest Service and private horsepack groups use this trail as well as hikers and backpackers. The horse shoes have worn down the center of this bridge. Life Slows Down Photo credit: LBS I'm usually in the back of our group, stopping to take pictures of course. You can't rush a photographer. ;) Photo Credit: LBS This hike did not gain much elevation until … [Read more...] about Heading West Part III
Heading West Part II
A Little Bit of Heaven Our family took a much needed break on the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains recently ~ read Part I here if you missed it! We started our trip with 8 days at the headwaters of the Green River in the northern part of the Wind River Range of WY. Bridger Wilderness was a stone's throw away, just on the other side of the river. We learned that this area was "home" to the earliest trappers and the Shoshone Indians (Sacajewea, who led Lewis & Clark through the mountains, was Shoshone). The Mountain Man Fur Trade Rendezvous was held 4 times in the 1830's along the Green River near this spot. As it was then, it is still a grizzly and black bear habitat area and visitors must be extremely cautious. Grizzlies or not, this was THE best primitive campsite we've ever had in … [Read more...] about Heading West Part II
Heading West Part I
Curve balls My apologies to readers of this blog for being absentee the last 3 months. I never envisioned having to lay this new venture of blogging aside so soon, albeit temporarily. Yet life brings the unexpected curve ball on occasion and more urgent needs do take priority. We've had 2 immediate family members with serious but not life-threatening injuries involving many doctor visits, PT appts, MRI's and an upcoming surgery in August, multiple trips out of state (one to sit by the hospital bed of a beloved mother/mother-in-law for 4 days), conference calls, out of state real estate problems, and the pressing task of used truck shopping under a time crunch. As it would turn out, we bought a "new" used truck the day before our current truck's transmission gave out. We call that a God-thing. "Normal … [Read more...] about Heading West Part I