Welcome to our
Web site!
Here are descriptions and pictures of the places we've been in 2002.
For fellow King of the Road owners, we'll be in Amana, Iowa
for the National King on the Road Rally from
Sept. 28, 2002 to
October 6, 2002.
Contact us at:
Kathy & Ron Goodman
Last updated 08/28/2002
Our Time in Wyoming
Rawlings (June 28 - July 4, 2002)
Lander (July 5 - 7, 2002)
Cody and Yellowstone (July 8 - 15, 2002)
Rawlings, Wyoming
June 28 - July 4, 2002
| Western Hills Campground is flat as a flitter and has no shade.
It does have nice wide flat sites, cable TV, instant phones, and enough
electricity to run the AC (unlike some parks we've been in). The
facilities are clean and the management was friendly and helpful. The
phone service was essential since I had two contract jobs to complete. I
use the Internet to receive and return the files I edit and format.
While here we got bad news, my beloved Aunt Aletha passed away at age 71. She lived in northwestern PA, which is where I grew up. I will miss her terribly. We toured the old Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins. It was opened in 1888 and didn’t close until 1981. What a horrible place to be. Some of the cells were small (5 x 7 and at times having two occupants) and most weren’t heated. We toured the cellblocks, exercise yard, and cafeteria. We also saw where they hanged people and the old gas chamber. They hanged 9 and gassed 5 people during all those years. At one time, they had a few women inmates, but they were transferred to another prison because it was too difficult to care for both men and women. It was a dark dreary place and I sure wouldn’t want to go to prison. |
| Then, we drove up to the Devil’s Gate,
Martin’s Cove, and Independence Rock. They are all along the old
trails to the West: Mormon, Oregon Trail, and Pony Express.
Independence Rock marked the halfway point of a 2,000 mile trip.
It is hard to imagine walking that far. What hardy people they
were – although, one in ten died on the trip.
This is a stop over park, amazingly, by 10 a.m., the park was almost empty and then about 3 p.m. the rigs started rolling in. By dark, the park was nearly full. They do a good nightly business there. At noon one day, there were only two other rigs in the park besides us. Many are on their way to Yellowstone. |
 Devil's Gate on the emmigrant trail. Click this thumbnail to see a larger picture, and then click the Back button to return to this topic. |
Lander, Wyoming
July 5 - 7, 2002
| Hart Ranch Hideaway is a Coast to Coast Park. We arrived at 10 a.m. after passing through some awesome scenery. The road climbed to about 7,000 ft. and then went down a 6% grade for 5 miles. However, it wasn’t difficult. The valleys here have green grass and the mountains surround us. After getting set up, we drove to Lander and then to Sinks Canyon State Park. |
| The Popo Agie (pronounced “Popo Shew”)
river drops into the ground in the canyon and then rises out about half
a mile down the road. At the rise, you can look out over the pool
that formed where the water comes back out of the ground. It is
filled with huge brown and rainbow trout. No fishing is allowed,
although you can buy food to feed them. It was amazing to watch
the fish. A sign said that the biggest were probably 8 lbs., but
they looked bigger.
This part of Wyoming is in the Shoshone National Forest and is just gorgeous and well worth spending time. |
 The Popo Agie river sinks below ground at this point. Click this thumbnail to see a larger picture, and then click the Back button to return to this topic. |
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On Saturday, we toured Atlantic City and the South Pass City Historic Site. Both were started in the gold mining era of the 1860s. Today, Atlantic City has about 30 residents. We stopped at a restaurant there and had coffee and pancakes. When I asked for decaf, the waitress said, “We don’t drink that here.” I asked her why and she said, “I think they consider it sissified.” Well, we didn’t want to be sissies, so we got the leaded kind. We had some of the best pancakes I’ve ever had in a restaurant and the ambiance was priceless. We looked out a picture window at a mountain. On the way to Atlantic City, we drove through the Red Canyon and it was a beautiful view from the highway at the top of the climb. The color of the orange and red sandstone formations come from concentrations of ferrous oxide, or iron, in the soil and stone. The trail along the creek was a wagon road and stagecoach route from South Pass City to Lander and Fort Washakie. |
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| On Sunday, we visited the town of Thermopolis
which boasts the world’s largest hot springs – an amazing yet
odiferous place. About four pools hold water till it cools from
135 degrees to a useable temperature.
A small suspension bridge crossed the river and the river’s cliff was coated with calcium, sulfur, and other chemicals from the runoff of the hot springs. The thermal pool was a beautiful blue green. On the way to Thermopolis, we passed through the Wind River Canyon which is on the Wind River Indian Reservation. Interestingly, nearby rivers have forbidding names: Poison Creek, Bad Water Creek, and Tough Water Creek. The canyon is gorgeous. The road follows the river and the sides reminded me of the Grand Canyon as it might look from the bottom – on a less grand scale, but none the less awe inspiring. Cody, Wyoming
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 The mineral deposits at Thermopolis.
Click the thumbnail to see a larger picture, and then click the Back button to return to this topic. |
July 9, 2002Tuesday – We got a whirlwind van tour of the southern portion of Yellowstone. The stop for Old Faithful was the longest. We ate lunch and walked around looking at the geothermal wonders while waiting for Old Faithful to erupt. The eruptions occur about every 80 minutes. With hundreds of people seated around, it quietly spewed billowing clouds of pure white steam and water high into the air. We both had expected a little more noise with the eruption. In the park, we saw all sorts of geothermal activity, including little fumaroles that seemed to smoke, hot springs with edges that came out over the flat surface of the water, and mudpots that looked like boiling oatmeal. The guide said that there are a thousand such occurrences in the park. In the afternoon, we saw the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the Lower Falls. The guide pointed out an eagle’s nest with a baby. A flat scattering of sticks was perched on the top of a column of rock that was about 5 ft. across.The wildflowers were in full bloom and one meadow was a solid mass of purple flowers. A small lake in the background had several Canada geese on it. |
 Old Faithful erupts about every 80 minutes. Click the thumbnail to see a larger picture, and then click the Back button to return to this topic. |
| The buildings in the park were amazing. We stopped at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel to see its 1920s style interior. Beautiful thick carved (not acid etched) glass with pictures of elk divided the dining room from the lobby. A large sunroom lined with windows on three sides gave a panoramic view of Lake Yellowstone. If you had time, you could relax in wicker furniture while gazing over the lake. What a tough life that would be. | |
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Even more amazing was the Old Faithful Lodge with its European feel. Made entirely of huge logs and metal pieces that were forged and fashioned on site, the lodge is three stories high. A huge fireplace stretches to the ceiling of the lobby with outlets that were designed to heat the entire lodge. The architect built a tree house to the roof of the lobby. Amazing pieces of misshapen wood were used as accent pieces and logs hewn in half were used as stair steps. The bar area also had carved glass with scenes of dressed bears engaged in human activities. If you want to stay in the original portion of either of these sites, you’ll be shelling out from $150 to $400 a night; however, both of these places offer cabins at more affordable prices ($69 to $83 per night). Staying in the cabins would be a wonderful vacation for anyone and you’d still have access to the wonderful lobbies. On the way into the park, we stopped at Buffalo Bill’s hunting lodge (called Pahaskee Tepee) and that would also be a beautiful place to stay. The original lodge is still there, although the owners have added cabins. They offer tours by horseback. I think that would be so much fun. |
 Old Faithful Lodge has a European look. More Yellowstone Pictures |
