Hello from Rexburg, ID

One of the many Prevosts at the Cody campground

We knew when we checked into the campground in Cody that they were expecting a group of 30+ Prevosts there for a rally on September 7, the day we were scheduled to leave.  As last weekend progressed, more and more Prevosts began to arrive (for those of you reading this blog that aren't RVers, a Prevost is 'top of the line' BEGINNING' in the upper six figures & going up from there).  We've always joked between ourselves that we were the 'poor folk' in the campground back in our tenting/pickup camper/small 5th wheel days, but we once again felt that way amongst the Prevosts.  They are beautifully painted 'buses' with many as hummers for their tow vehicle, or as the guy next to us had, a pick up truck painted to match & then a matching motorcyle in the bed of his truck.  Oh well.....more power to them, we're happy with what we have........well, we have been thinking about getting something different as a tow vehicle.  What to do you think of this one I saw in the Walmart parking lot in Cody one day?

Unique isn't it?

Our last few days in Cody were rather quiet as we got ready to leave.  We had patronized several restaurants while there so we made sure to go back and visit them one more time....Proud Cut Saloon was probably our favorite for lunch with wonderful burgers and salads, however, we tried them for dinner our last night and had a wonderful steak so that's a must do the next time we're passing through Cody.  We also went through an old west minature village and museum, privately owned by a gentleman who spent years making and collecting the artifacts.  This is quite a collection of miniature figures tracing the history of Wyoming and Montana from the 1600s to the late 1800s and admission was 'free' which is somewhat unheard of today.  The museum is in the same building as the Tecumseh's Trading Post and you couldn't help but notice this elephant head mounted on the wall so I asked the lady about it.  She said her son hunted and shot it in Zimbabwe three years ago and then had it shipped to the states to hang in the family trading post along with all kinds of his other hunted animals.

One scene from the miniature museum(there were hundreds of these miniature buffalo)

Quite the hunt I'd say

We left Cody on Wednesday morning and went back through the east entrance of Yellowstone Park (thank goodness for the $10 National Parks Senior Passlk), out the south entrance, and into the Grand Teton National Park.  This time we didn't make any stops at either park or Jackson Hole, WY knowing that we would drive back on Friday and explore those areas.  This route took us over Teton Pass which is about 8400 ft. (I misspoke when I told someone earlier it was 10,000 ft.) but it was still windy & slow-going as we made our way up and then down and on into Rexburg, ID where we had made reservations for three nights.  Again, Dick did a great job of driving these mountainous roads and the pass and the blue toad followed close behind.  We actually had more trouble that day finding the campground in Rexburg than anything else.

I did want to point out that on the scenic highway about 15 miles from the east entrance of Yellowstone we noticed this 'interesting' structure last week but didn't know what it was.  This week I had done some research and found out it is called the Smith Mansion, a local landmark in the Wapiti Valley.   Mr. Smith started his mansion in 1973 and he died 30 years later while still working on his dream.  His daughter, the owner now, who grew up in this unfinished mansion that she called home, has started a restoration project to complete the mansion.  There are fundraisers, t-shirt sales, anything to raise money for her to complete the project.   The structure is 75 ft. tall and was/is primarily built by hand tools, handmade pulley systems and hard work.  Very interesting to say the least.

Smith Mansion in Wapiti Valley

Thursday we took an R&R day after a long driving day on Wednesday and knowing Friday we were going back to Teton National Park  (with just the car though).  We did go to WalMart on Thursday morning and it was VERY busy, and I mean BUSY.  We finally asked a clerk if there was something special going on and he told us it was the first day BYU-Idaho students could move into their dorm rooms with college starting on Monday.  Parents and kids were buying everything necessary to supply a dorm room.......it was something else to say the least and kinda fun to hear mom trying to tell her sons what they needed to make spaghetti, etc.  You saw lots of microwavable items in those baskets. We thought about leaving but we got really lucky and found a lane to check out that wasn't too long and moved quickly so we were happy.  We then took a drive over to Idaho Falls, about 30 miles away, had a nice lunch along the Snake River that runs through town and came home.  After all, Thursday night football was in a few hours and Dick had to get ready to cheer on his favorite team, the Packers.  Go Packers!

Dick had also gotten a call early Thursday morning that a very good friend from his Goulds days

had passed away suddenly Wednesday evening of a heart attack, and something like this makes you realize we can't take any day for granted.  They had been buddies for many years, same age, still talked frequently, and only 10 days separated their ages so it really hit home.  Rest in peace Ben and we hope they have lots of tabasco sauce in heaven!

Friday we left early with Murphy and a picnic lunch to explore Grand Teton National Park and a stop in Jackson Hole for a little retail therapy for me.  This part of ID is acres and acres of either wheat farms or potato fields and they go on forever.   We took the route back over Teton Pass (much easier in the car) and into Jackson Hole where we stopped at the Visitor Center to get some park info.  Between Jackson and the park is the 23,000 acre National Elk Refuge where come November, there will be between 5,000 and 10,000 elk migrating toward their winter home.  At the end of the winter, the local Boy Scouts gather and auction off the elk antlers that are naturally shed every spring and 80% of their profits will go to buy winter feed for the next year.  The top buyers are usually from Asia where antlers are considered to have medicinal value.  We thought that was very interesting.  

The Grand Tetons are spectacular to view, no doubt about it but somehow we weren't as impressed as we expected to be.  Maybe because we enjoyed Yellowstone so much, we expected more of the same, but it wasn't to us.   Granted we were just driving through the park's 43 mile scenic loop and maybe if we got out and hiked or biked (some great trails throughout the park), we'd feel differently.  The only wild animal we saw the entire day was a buffalo and he was quite a ways away.  We stopped at many overlooks, between Moran Junction and Moose Junction but the best one for a panorama view of the Tetons was at Snake River Overlook.  Unfortunately, my camera doesn't do panoramic shots but it was quite a view.  We stopped at Jenny Lake for our picnic lunch and there is a little shuttle boat that takes you across the lake to Hidden Falls but it was an hour back and forth and we couldn't take Murphy so we passed.  There are several campgrounds throughout the park so again maybe if you stayed within the park, you could explore more but the drive through didn't leave us with a feeling of 'we want to go back' at least anytime soon.

Jackson Hole was very busy but we lucked out again and found a front row parking spot.  It was a very warm day so obviously we couldn't leave Murphy in the car so Dick (with no hesitation at all) walked around and sat on a park bench with Murphy while I did a little shopping.  Jackson, it's real name, is a very popular vacation spot all year long with many hotels, restaurants and shops.   After a bit of 'therapy' I too was ready to come home so we started the trip back to Rexburg taking a different route this time that had us following alongside the Snake River for a long ways, and, of course, many more wheat and potato fields.

We had planned to leave here today (Saturday) and go to Twin Falls, ID, a short driving day for a change, but decided to hang out here a couple more days.  This is a 'no frills' park but we're comfortable here, and we just feel like 'chilling' before moving on.

The weather has been awesome this week.  Fall is definitely in the air with cool mornings (50's) and warm afternoons (80's) and as I sit here and type, I'm looking at a nice little lake beside this RV park so what more can we ask for.

Potato Field in ID

This is different........parking in downtown Victor, ID where you 'back' into your site

Grand Teton National Park Entrance

Still a little snow on the Teton Mountain Range

A very pretty mountain range

Dick & Murphy waiting for 'mom' to finish shopping in Jackson Hole

View out of the front window of motorhome here in Rexburg, ID

This is a very important weekend for all of us.  Thank you American heroes and please pray for our great nation under God this 10th anniversary of 9/11.