Great looking house Ian and congrats to you and yours!

 

The last time we were out there, was in '94.
We flew into Salt Lake City, UT, picked up a mini-van for the 5 of us, then stayed with my B-I-L, in Evanston, WY, for a week.
While in Evanston, we took a day trip to "Flaming Gorge Reservoir".
Incredibly beautiful lake!!! The water was so clear, you could see the bottom of the lake, when you were in 40' of water!!!! (Can't do that in Maryland. I'll guarantee that!)
Rainbow trout! Wow!!! We caught several, and had lunch on a little island, there.

Then, we set out on our journey to see the West.

We drove across Wyoming, and up to South Dakota, to see Mt. Rushmore.
We made a stop at "Independence Rock", where the people heading west needed to be by Independence Day, so they could make it across the Rockies before winter set in.
This rock is HUGE!!!!! If memory serves me, it's ONE ACRE in size!
My oldest son and daughter climbed this rock. (My oldest son left a momento on top of Independence Rock.)

Then, back to Wyoming, from Mt. Rushmore, to Devil's Tower.

Then, to Custer Battlefield Park.
What a site!!!!! You get an eery, quiet sensation while there. The 'markers' show where Custer and his troops all died. Amazing place!
After that, we drove across Montana, to Billings, then down to Red Lodge, MT.

From there, across "Beartooth Pass", into Yellowstone National Park.
The drive up (and back down) Beartooth Pass was awesome!!!!
We saw lakes (huge ponds to us Marylanders) that I guarantee that NO MAN had ever set his feet into!!!
It was July 14th when we crossed Beartooth Pass, and the road crews were setting 8 foot high 'markers' on the sides of the road (with reflectors at 4' and 8') because they were expecting 4 FEET of snow that night, on the Pass!!!!

From Yellowstone, to Jackson Hole, and spent several days, there.

From Jackson Hole, to Evanston, WY, then back to Salt Lake City, and our flight back home.

What a wonderful journey!!!

 

Thank you Everyone for the well wishes for the house!
I feel like I have hijacked this thread a little, soory.

ICELAND! Iceland is a great place to visit! I have spent some vacations there before and it really is nice and for for all. I have not been in a long time but now that their Krona (money) has taken a dive, it may be very inexspenive now. Just a thought if you are a international vacationer.

 

WOW...you too?!

We drove down the road that leads to Reno Hill, got out of the car. I was instantly overcome by a weird sensation.

Never experienced it before, not at Pearl Harbor, Berlin, London or dozens of CW and other Indian battlefields.

My sister (an **** Amerind history nut) also was overcome. "She, who must be obeyed" said we both were nuts!

After my sister did hours of research, she discovered we are related to Mark Kellogg, a Chicago reporter posting his stories thru a Bismarck DT newspaper, that accompanied Custer and died SW of Custer Hill.

By myself, toured Devils Tower, MT Rushmore, Bear Butte, Lead, Deadwood and Badlands (and Wall Drug) in 1989. Flew in/out of Rapid City.

 

We went to NHRA racing to TN in June, and going Camping on Labor day weekend

 

I'm currently in Washington state on a sort of working vacation. My band is performing on the weekends at the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire in Bonny Lake, and during this week in between we're camping and touring around checking out the sights. Haven't been up here since I was 15, just spent the night at my cousin's place on Harstien Island after spending yesterday digging clams, and gathering mussels and oysters for a fantastic shellfish feast. More explorations are on the agenda for today, tomorrow and Friday...

 

Honeymooned in GAtlinburg, TN. It was the week before the heavy Christmas touris time, so we had much of the place to ourselves. It froze the night before we were going to go to Dollywood (they tell me the Christmas lights at Dollywood are second to none), so the park was closed. We had a condo rented for the entire week (using Armed Forces Vacation Club to get the condo for $300- for the whole week ) and really enjoyed the place. Friendly people and salt water taffy everywhere! I was mesmerized by the taffy machines. I'd watch them for a few minutes and my wife would say, "C'mon! Let's go!"

Geeze, what a show off! (Lucky...)

OK, now that I have a civil service job, I can properly plan (and budget for) my next vacation. There are a lot of things I want to do around the country. I'd like to take my wife to see the Grand Canyon, for instance. I'd also like to go to Wyoming and Montana to visit some of those old west sites. I've always wanted to see the Canadian Rockies and maybe get back up to Alaska. We'll see.

 

Here is another place for our international travelers to visit in Germany:
http://sinsheim.technik-museum.de/en
I know we have folks over there and I highly recomend this museum ALLO sorts of cool stuff there...including the Blue Flame. It is a day trip from K-town or Wiesbaden/Ramstein

 

I'd love to go there Ian. Just looking through the pictures on the slideshow is amazing.

 

I'm putting that on my list of places to see!

 

It really is a VERY cool place. Get there early ....you will be there all day. The website really doesn't do it justice. It is HUGE. It is a very "hands on" place. The Concord they have there, you can walk all through it...and on a windy day...will make you grow hair on your 8@ll$ It takes some guts on a windy day. but it hasn't come down yet. You will have fun, I assure you.

 

You guys are crazy. I'm at 1.43 I either need to step my game up or you guys need to take a break.

As for vacations I've really been wanting to go back to Disney World. I have a soft spot for that place only problem being its so darn expensive.

 

Well, boss what are you waiting for?

That's the way to think right there.

.

Congrats on the house, Ian!