USA Travelogues

The Frenchy Ptitmousseduweb in USA WEST

ptitmousseduweb — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 16:36:54 GMT

I love USA then I want to share with you my 4 travel's in your marvelous country

I have think about american too ... I have made a "You are Welcome" section to show you my country ...

http://ptitmousseduweb.chez-alice.fr/

Nos travelblogs

Les Frenchies — Sun, 10 May 2009 15:21:15 GMT

Nous avons fait deux circuits de 4 semaines en 2006 et 2008.

En 2006, nous avons fait l'est USA et une partie canada québec

Voici le lien vers le blog http://estusa.blogspot.com/

Et en 2008, un circuit dans l'ouest américain http://www.louestamericain.blogspot.com/

Bonne lecture

Les frenchies

Chicago, Chicago!

Mike Leco — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:30:59 GMT

I recently spent a few days in that metropolis of the Midwest, the "windy city", Chicago Illinois. I have been there many times before, and I do not enjoy the frigid days of mid winter, but this time the autumn weather was wonderful. We had blue skies and warm sunshine every day. The lakefront beaches were still populated with joggers, sunbathers, and folks tossing frisbees to their dogs. No one was swimming, as the waters of Lake Michigan are already quite cold, but not yet caked with the ice chunks that will come in January.

I had a chance to sample some of the Chicago cuisine. Steakhouses are the favorite Chicago fare. Once the center of the Midwestern meat packing industry, Chicago originally became famous for its production of beef, pork and other meat products. Good quality corn-fed Midwestern steak was long a specialty in Chicago restaurants. Today, steakhouses featuring quality prime steaks are numerous in the windy city. There are at least twenty or thirty top quality sreakhouses featuring high-quality prime beef in the downtown Chicago area. There are also hundreds of other restaurants featuring good quality but less expensive steaks.

For older folks that grew up in the USA when the original Saturday Night Live Comedy Hour featured the late John Belushi and Dan Akroyd in their ongoing skits about a Chicago diner with the Greek cooks who sold only "Cheezborgers, Koks and Cheeps", I can report that the original cheeseburger dive that it was based upon is still in existence. The Billy Goat Tavern is located in the dim recesses of lower Michigan Avenue under the steel ramps. It is down a set of steps in the basement, and it still features Cheeseburgers, Cokes and Chips. I can't say that the food is great, but the atmosphere is thick with the nostalgia created in the old days of SNL.

In the Gold Coast area just north of the river from downtown Chicago, the entertainment district features a lot of nightclubs, blues bars and restaurants. Here, you can find authentic purveyors of "Chicago Deep Dish Pizza". Pizzaria UNO, Pizzaria DUE, and Gino's East are all located within a few blocks of each other. They all feature delicious authentic versions of that famous deep dish pizza.

Across the street from Gino's East, Al's Italian Beef features another Chicao specialty. The Italian beef sandwich. Chipped roast beef is served on a roll with hot peppers and Italian sauce. If you get it "dipped", they submerge the entire sandwich in the beef juice and serve this somewhat sloppy but delicious concoction with plenty of napkins.

You have to leave the downtown area and take a bus or taxi to visit Hot Doug's emporium of encased meet. This hot dog and sausage shop features no less than 28 varieties of sausage on a bun. The best way to eat any of them is "Chicago Style" loaded with mustard, relish, pickles onions, tomatoes and hot peppers. It is worth the trip.

Travelogue: The American West

Damien — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 09:34:35 GMT

Hi, Let us share our trip to the United States with you. Here you will find a guided tour of each town with its photo album, giving you a good idea what to expect, and preparing you for the conquest of the West. Have a good visit on carnet2voyages.com url: http://www.carnet2voyages.com

Keep It Up Guys !!!

MarkGerrard — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 09:44:55 GMT

Hi friends on recommendation of one of my friend I just went through the forum. Its good that the members are acting positively and helping out some of the travelers. I am here just to share my experiences and help out some of the travelers. I think you guys are doing a great job, so keep it up guys.

My Cross Country Road Trip - Part 3

Michelle Leco — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 16:03:31 GMT

Here is the 3rd and final installment of emails that I sent while on my cross country road trip from Pitttsburgh to Seattle in 1999.

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(¸.Michelle ¸.·
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Hello Everyone!

Well, I finally reached Seattle today. Yahoo! So I have a lot of catching up to do in my notes here.

The last time I wrote, I left off at the Black Hills of SD. From there I crossed into Wyoming to see Devil's Tower. The tower really is a spectacular sight. It seems to stand above the rest of the landscape, even though it is surrounded by other large hills.

I arrived in the afternoon and decided to hike the Red Beds Trail. It is only a couple of miles long, but it loops the tower. From the trail, there are some nice views of the monument. But there are also some sections where there aren't any views of the tower. Instead there are some wonderful vistas of the surrounding area. The red beds trail is named for an area where the soil is entirely a rich shade of red! Other sections of the trail go through some wooded areas. Last year the park service had a prescribed fire in this area. While hiking, I could smell the smoke and ash long before I could see the charred landscape. It was interesting to see the regrowth and the scars that resulted from a fire that had happened some time ago.

The next morning, I hiked the Joyner Trail. This is another short loop hike that is north of the monument. Again, there are nice views with and without the tower. When I arrived at the trail head, I briefly spoke to a ranger who was there. She had told me that the next day they were going to have a prescribed fire in the Joyner area! It was interesting to look at the plants while walking the trail and know thate they would all be gone or charred the very next day!

From Devil's Tower, I drove down to Grand Teton NP. At this time of the year, the elk migrate from the National Refuge in Jackson up into Grand Teton and Yellowstone. And they were everywhere!

During my stay, the weather continually changed between rain, snow and brief moments of sunshine. The snow in the park had only begun to melt. So before heading out to a trail, I inquired at the visitor center about trail conditions. The ranger had said that all of the trails were open. And that I would encounter some snow and mud. As he said, it was "typical spring conditions".

I felt pretty confident. So I decided to attempt to hike around Jenny Lake and up to Inspiration Point. The trail was snow covered, but from all of the previous hikers, the snow was pretty packed...at least at the beginning. After a short distance, the snow began to give way. Although I was occaisionally sinking upto my knees, I persevered. I had the right clothing and gear. But soon afterwards I came to an area where I could no longer distinguish between land and lake. So I reluctantly gave up.

Although my Jenny Lake conquest was unsuccessful, I decided to attempt another trail. I had driven past the Taggert Lake trail head a couple of times. Each time, there were several cars parked in the area. So I assumed that it was a fairly popular trail and more likely to be in better hiking condition.

The start of the trail went well. But after about half a mile, I again came to an area where the snow was up to my knees. Since old footprints made the trail easy to follow, I continued the hike. The day was warmer than usual and the sun was out. I had to take advantage of the good weather!

For a while I did have the trail to myself. The only sounds were the whistling of the wind, the crunch of the snow under my feet. And the occaisional ker-plunk when I fell through. The scenery was very pristine. And at times I mistook the sound of the wind for birds cawing or wolves howling.

Eventually I did catch up to another hiker. Jennifer was also traveling across the US by herself. When we met, the trail was a little less distinct. So we decided to hike together.

If you decide to hike in Grand Teton while there's still a lot of snow, make sure you or someone in your group is familiar with the trail. This was the first time that both Jennifer and I had hiked the Taggert Lake. With the snow, we could not actually see the trail. And the trail blazes were very hard to spot.

After hiking for a bit, we came to an area where the trail appeared to turn sharply to the right. After consulting our map, we agreed that it appeared to be a different trail that branched off of the Taggert Lake. So we headed in the direction that we thought the trail would be. We were wrong. We could not find any trail markers. And we began to fall into the snow up to our hips.

We ended up walking in big circles trying to find the trail. And although the weather was nice when we began the hike, we soon encountered near blizzard conditions. But just as soon as the snow began, it would soon stop and the sun would return. In Jackson, they say that if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change.

We were walking in circles in the deep snow for some time. The only prints in the snow were from elk. And I admit that I did worry a bit. We knew the general direction to where the road was. But we couldn't see the road and we didn't know how far we were from our cars.

After two heavy snowfalls, we did suddenly come upon a single pair of human prints. They appeared as if from nowhere. Relieved, we followed the tracks out of the mountains. But when we reached the lower elevation, we hit another blizzard and could not see far in front of us. And we could no longer see the tracks. We did decide to stop and wait for the sun. But this time the weather did not seem like it wanted to change. So we started walking again...in the wrong direction. But eventually I did spot a familiar sight in the distance. And after a very long and difficult hike, we did make it back to the cars. I can't even describe how relieved I was. Never again will I hike a trail that I am not familiar with in winter conditions.

After that hike I decided that I had seen enough of the park. The next day I headed north to Yellowstone. I had hoped that there would be less snow. The south entrance into Yellowstone was not scheduled to open for another two days. But I detoured through Idaho to enter from the west. Even though the drive was much longer, it was worth it.

I spent about five days in Yellowstone. And I was able to explore most of the roads. Some stretches of the road are not scheduled to open until June. Most of the trails were closed either due to the snow or bears. There was much less snow in the northern area of the park. So I was able to hike a couple of trails.

If you visit Yellowstone, be sure to do at least one hike to get away from the roads. It's very different to experience the park in the backcountry.

I did camp out two nights in the park. My camping gear was occupying about a fourth of the space in my trunk. And I was determined to use it during this trip! The first night I camped in the Mammoth campground, near the north entrance. It wasn't the best place to camp with a tent. And I arrived at camp a little late. I was able to set up my tent and cook my dinner just before dark. It did get very cold that night. But as I was falling asleep, I could hear the wolves howling in the distance!

The second night I camped at the Madison campground, which is closer to the center of the park. This was a much nicer campground overall. And I did make sure that I arrived early enough to set up before dark. Both nights there was not a cloud in the sky. And I saw more stars that I'd seen in years!

I was at a higher elevation the second night. And I think it may have been even colder. I broke camp very early the next morning. The frost and ice on my tent made packing very difficult. I had to take many breaks to warm my numb fingers.

Spring in Yellowstone is an excellent time to spot wildlife. During my visit, I had seen a bald eagle, coyote, two grizzlys (one eating a bison, both from a distance), many elk, and numerous bison.

The bison go anywhere and everywhere in the park. And they clearly have no regard for man's laws. They walk on the delicate ground in the geyser areas. And not only do they walk in the wrong side of the road, but they also disregard the signs that tell slower traffic to use the pullouts. They don't seem to care how many cars are backed up behind them!

Yellowstone is an amazing park. Five days wasn't nearly enough to really explore the area. But after so much traveling, I had a momentum going. And I was eager to discover new things in Glacier National Park. So I headed north, knowing that I would return to Yellowstone sometime soon.

I wasn't sure how much of Glacier I would be able to see. Most of the Going to the Sun road was not scheduled to open until June. In some areas of the road, the crews have to plow through forty feet of snow! And there aren't any other roads that cut through the park.

But when I did arrive, I found that the areas that were accessible were enough to keep me spellbound! And there was actually very little snow. Not only are there rugged mountain peaks, but there are also many lakes and rivers. The water in Glacier appears to be blue or green. And the rocks on the water shores are the most amazing colors: browns, golds, greys, blues, reds and purples. The colors are all mixed together. And in the clear water, the colors are even more brilliant. It almost looked as if nature had created a mosaic.

While at the park, I stayed in a hostel in Whitefish. Whitefish is a very nice town in it's own right. Even though it's near Glacier and a popular ski resort, it's not touristy. There are some nice shops, good restaurants, and the people are all very friendly. I think it was the nicest town I had been in since leaving Pittsburgh.

Again, I was the only person staying in the hostel. It was actually very nice. The hostel is a quaint house, which was recently remodeled. For only $15 a night, I had the entire house to myself!

Wayne and Marisa, the proprietors, were very friendly and helpful. I had many enjoyable conversations with them. And I expect to keep in touch with them. I'm looking forward to returning to the park to visit them again. And if you're ever in Whitefish, stop by the bunkhouse and say hi! Tell them I sent you.

I did take one hike in Glacier. I was told by many people that Avalanche Lake was not to be missed. The trail is one of the most popular in the park. And I had encountered more people on this hike than any others during my entire trip.

The hike was very nice. Most of the trail is in the forest, but it ends at the lake. In the spring you can hear and see the avalanches on the opposite side of the lake. And on the rocky cliffs, you can see the mountain goats balancing narrow ledges a hundred feet up.

I was a little worried about bears, especially while hiking in the wooded areas. Although Wayne and Marisa were trying to reassure me, they had told me some stories that worried me even more. But grizzlys rarely attack unless they feel startled or threatened. So it's a good idea to notify the bears of your presence by making noise when hiking, especially when alone. When in Yellowstone, I had done this by singing or talking to myself. But to be honest, I became tired of listening to myself. So in Whitefish I bought a bell to hang from my backpack. The constant jingling wasn't much better.

After my hike, I drove on the sections of the Going to the Sun road that were open. I also drove to Many Glacier, which is on the east side of the park. The road is a dead ends at a tourist shop. The shop wasn't open. While turning my car around in the parking lot, I saw another grizzly. The was standing on a snow pile at the end of the lot. Although he was only about thirty feet away, I felt pretty safe in my car. And he didn't seem to mind my taking his photo.

There are lots of trails in the Many Glacier area. But after my grizzly sighting, I decided that hiking in that area wasn't the best option.

When driving out of Many Glacier, I stopped to take a picture of a waterfall. I was so concentrated on my photo, that I hadn't noticed my keys in the ignition. I locked myself out! And I locked my extra set of keys (which I had to prevent such an incident) in! Fortunately I was a short walk from a hotel. And some men working to prepare the hotel for the season were kind enough to break into my car for me.

Before departing the Glacier area on Friday, I made one last stop. A couple of days before, Barbara (our USATourist Artistic Director) had sent an e-mail telling me that her husband has family in nearby Columbia Falls. Carroll and Myrna Wright had bought about 1,000 acres of land near Glacier many years ago before the land prices skyrocketed. They built a large log house by hand on the land. At first, it didn't have any of the modern conveniences. Still, the house was magnificent. They had sold the house and some of their land. The house is now a B&B, which has been featured in several magazines.

Although Carroll and Myrna no longer live in that log house, they do live in another beautiful home near their land. They were very gracious to welcome me into their home and I enjoyed the opportunity to meet them. They were very interesting to talk with, and I look forward to visiting them again someday.

After departing the Wrights residence, I continued west. I spent last night in Spokane in the east side of Washington. And early this evening, I finally arrived in Seattle!

So my travel adventures have come to an end. And although I am rather exhausted, I know I will miss the road. But now I have a new adventure ahead of me...finding a home!

Thanks to all of you for keeping in touch with me while I was out in the "wilds" of the USA.

Michelle

My Cross Country Road Trip - Part 2

Michelle Leco — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 16:00:21 GMT

Hello,

This is the 2nd of 3 emails I had sent to friends and family describing my trip from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Seattle, Washington in 1999.

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(¸.Michelle ¸.·
(¸.·´ (¸.·* (¸.·*

Greetings from Whitefish, Montana!

Well, here is a bit more of what had happened since the last time I wrote.

After Badlands NP, I headed over to Wind Cave National Park. Unfortunately, I was rainy and the cave tours were cancelled due to elevator repairs. So Wind Cave didn't have much to offer.

I was planning on camping in the park, but decided to head over to Jewel Cave instead. Camping in the rain just wasn't what I had in mind. Every time I had camped last year, it rained. And to be honest, I'd rather not subject myself to that if I have other alternatives.

It was still rainy when I arrived at Jewel Cave. But they were offering tours! So I did take the hour & 20 minute tour. This cave was named Jewel because many of the formations in the cave resemble jewels. The colors of the delicate formations were amazing. And the park ranger was able to give a lot of information about the cave system and it's history.

Jewel Cave is the second largest cave formation in the US. It is currently a little over one hundred miles long. I say currently because it is still being explored. Imagine that! The people who are exploring the cave are the first humans to see the formations. The light from their headlamps are the first light those rocks have seen in possibly millions of years. And no one knows how long the cave is, or what is left to be discovered! It was enough to make me consider becoming a caver.

From Jewel Cave I went to see Crazy Horse. The monument is a long way from being completed. I believe that they had just completed the head last summer. When completed, the monument will be the largest of it's type in the world. All four heads at Mt. Rushmore could fit inside Crazy Horse's head!

Because of it's size, the visitor center is located fairly far from the monument. It was another overcast day, so I was unable to see any of the monument. I must admit that I was very disappointed. I think that it would be very interesting to visit Crazy Horse during various stages of it's completion.

Even though the monument wasn't visible, the visitor center was worth seeing. They have a Native American museum with artifacts from various tribes across the US. They also have a nice shop and other works by Korczak Ziolkowski, the carver.

Ziolkowski was asked to carve the monument by Chief Standing Bear. The Lakota Chief had said that "My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know the red man has great heroes, too." The carving of the monument is funded entirely by private donations and admission fees. The federal government had offered to fund the carving with a very large grant. But Korczak wanted the monument to remain a private project. So if you ever find yourself in the Black Hills area of South Dakota, be sure to stop to see Crazy Horse.

After Crazy Horse, I went to see Mt. Rushmore. Because I was able to go much closer to this monument, I was able to see it.

At this point I was running about a day ahead of schedule. So I decided to make an unplanned stop in Deadwood...that infamous town! In the 1980's, the town had legalized gambling. Now the main street is lined with casinos. Fortunately, a portion of the funds received from this business venture go towards the restoration of many of the towns historical buildings. (The buildings, of course, have casinos in them!) The amount of income far exceeded their expectations. As a result, the restoration projects were completed many years sooner than projected.

If you stop in deadwood, be sure to stop in the information center and the Adams Museum. You'll learn that the town has a history that goes beyond bawdy saloons and gun slinging cowboys.

In the town of Deadwood, everything seems to be covered with gritty dust. In my hotel room I could feel a film of dirt. My car was covered with the dirt. I think even I had a film on me. And when walking through the town, I could see whirlwinds of dirt swirl through the streets. The roads are paved now. But imagine what the town was like during the frontier days! That dirt would be in your clothes, your hair, your homes, even the air you breathe!

Even though the weather in the Black Hills was uncooperative most days. I did have a wonderful time. There is really a lot to see and do in the SW of South Dakota. And I'm sure I would have discovered many more things if I had had more time.

Well, that's it for this chapter of notes from the road. Hopefully I'll have the time tomorrow to write about my experiences at Devil's Tower, Grand Teton NP, and Yellowstone NP.

Talk to you all soon!

Michelle

My Cross Country Road Trip

Michelle Leco — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 23:29:34 GMT

In the spring of 1999 I drove from Pittsburgh, PA to Seattle, WA. I took 3 weeks for this solo road trip. Along the way I stopped in national parks, historic towns and roadside attractions. I also met some interesting folks along the way.

While I was on the road I had sent some emails to friends and family to share my experiences. Below is the first email I had sent.

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(¸.Michelle ¸.·
(¸.·´ (¸.·* (¸.·*

_______________________________________________________________

Date: Friday, April 30, 1999 12:22 AM
Subject: Notes from the road...

I left on my journey west on Sunday morning. The first day I drove almost 500 miles to Portage, Indiana. Day two was about 400 miles to Preston, Minnesota. And day 3 took me over 500 miles to Badlands National Park.

When you drive this far, you notice a lot of variances between the states. Almost as soon as you cross the state lines you notice a change in the landscape and the roads. This has certainly given me a new perspective of this country. Even though these first three days were just driving, I have seen a lot of the land and the way that people live.

In Minnesota, I had stayed in a hostel. They called themselves a resort. I didn't expect the place to have many other hostelers. But it turns out that I was the ONLY person staying there! It was my first ever experience staying in a hostel...anywhere. And it'll be my first of about 4. By the end I should be able to give good information on what visitors to the USATourist site can expect from US hostels.

In Badlands I stayed in the Cedar Pass Lodge, the only lodging inside the park. The lodge is operated by the Oglala Lakota (Souix) tribe. And, once again, I was the only person there!

The weather was perfect and I was able to hike most of the trails. (There aren't many). On one of the t rails I spotted a coyote. He was using the trail also, heading towards me. He spotted me too. I think he was a little shy because he decided to take a detour across the prairie. I was able to get a good view of him through the binoculars though!

There were very few other tourists in the park. In fact, I didn't see another person on any of the trails. I almost literally had the park to myself. All I could hear were the crickets, birds and the wind whipping through the grass.

I decided to take a drive on the Cedar Pass Rim Road. It's a gravel road that the rangers close after rainstorms. This road takes you past a Prairie Dog Town. So of course I was able to see (and hear) many of the cute creatures. While I was standing in the pull off next to the town, I noticed that I was standing in the middle of bison tracks. Then in the distance I noticed two groups of bison. I wasn't able to get a good look at them, but I felt rewarded anyway.

As I continued down the road, I stopped next to a big dark shape in the tall grass. About 50 feet from the road were two bison sitting in the tall grass! And even further down the road I came upon another bison. He was also 50 feet away, grazing next to one of the few trees in the plains.

At the end of the road I found myself near a town called "Scenic". I followed the sign that said "business district". This business district was actually about 100 feet long and was made up of about maybe 5 businesses: A small gas station. A closed shop, an open oddities shop, and "The Longhorn Saloon". The buildings were all made of wood that was so weathered, it was almost white. I don't think that they were replicas because the homes were also run-down. And the church even had holes in the walls. The Saloon's roof was covered with the skulls of long horns. This town was certainly a unique experience!

That evening, I decided to go up the I-90 to Kadoka for dinner. I had seen almost every other small town in the area. (Joane, if I got your e-mail before I was there, I could have mentioned your name!) It was dark when I drove back into the park. And when it's dark in South Dakota, it is really dark! As I was driving, I saw an animal running across the road in front of me. Being from Pennsylvania, my first reaction was that it must be a deer. But when I stopped next to where i saw the creature, I realized that I was looking at two antelope!

This morning I checked out of the Cedar Pass Lodge ready to depart for Wind Cave National Park. I decided to ask the Lakota there a couple of questions about his tribe. Guy Dull Knife Jr. is a soft spoken man. But I could tell that he was proud of his heritage and a little sorry about it's history. The Badlands used to be Lakota territory until they were pushed off by white settlers. Part of the park lies on the Pine Ridge Reservation. But they were pushed to the south, where the scenery is a little less spectacular. Guy expressed some disdain for this. He also commented on the use of Native Americans as mascots for athletic teams.

It turns out that Guy is an artist who has some works on display in the Smithsonain! The lodge shop has a gallery with the work of local Lakota artisans. He showed me his work and the work of his friends.

As we talked longer I found out that a book was published about Guy's family. His father, at the age of 87, at tape-recorded his family history for his children to remember. A writer had learned of this and, with the Dull Blade family's permission, wrote the book. "The Dull Knifes of the Pine Ridge" by Joe Starita covers four generations of the family. Guy's great-grandfather was a chief who, in 1878, lead his people 600 miles in mid-winter on a flight from the army. His grandfather was a wild west showman who toured Europe with Buffalo Bill Cody. Guy's father was a farmer who, at the time the book was written, was the sole living Souix WWI veteran. That's quite a family history! Needless to say, I bought the book. And it looks like the book may be made into a television show. I have Guy's address and phone #, so hopefully I'll be able to tell you all when it'll be on!

I took a long detour to Wind Cave following a route that Guy suggested. It took me down through the reservation. During the drive I listened to the reservation radio station "The Voice of the Lakota Nation!" I stopped at the site of the Battle of Wounded Knee where I met another interesting person.

The battle site is not a tourist site. All that stands is a a large sign with the battle story. Over 200 Souix and 30 soldiers died because a gun was misfired. The soldiers were mostly killed by their own fire. There is also a small grave yard with a large tomb stone for those who died.

As I was looking at the sign, I noticed a car parked nearby with a Lakota woman and man sitting in it. After a couple of minutes the woman walked towards my car. She said "Welcome to Wounded Knee"! I thought maybe she was some type of tour guide. She was a large woman wearing an ill-fitting short sleeve t-shirt with holes in it. It was about 50 degrees today. But the strong winds made it feel much colder. I felt cold just looking at her.

She pointed to an empty area where she said a museum used to stand. It had burned down along with a grocery store. I asked if they were building a new one. She pointed to a small cement building across the road with grafitti on the walls. She said they were going to use that building, but as you can see, it isn't ready. She she then told me how they have to drive to Rapid City (an hour away) or another distant town to buy food. She also pointed out a small red log house 100 feet back from the road where she lives.

At this point, I began to wonder where our conversation was going. She let me know by asking if I was interested in buying arts and crafts. I asked where they were. She said "just over there" and pointed to her car. So I walked over with her. She took out a large zip lock back and began placing various dream catchers and small drums on the hood. I decided to purchase one of the large dream catchers, which was the most expensive item at $20. I chose the one that she said had the colors of her people: black, yellow, red, white. The dream catcher isn't very large. And she thought for a few moments before telling me the price. So I think the price may have been a little high. But I didn't feel like bartering. And after I paid her, she said that she could now buy gas. I think that she may have been sitting there just waiting for a tourist to come along.

Today has been cold, rainy and foggy. And Wind Cave was closed to tours. So my adventures ended once I arrived in the park. Hopefully tomorrow will have better weather! I'm spending the night in Custer. And tomorrow I plan to go back to back to Wind Cave, then on to Jewel Cave, Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore. I hope to end the day in Deadwood where I'll spend tomorrow night.

Well, that's the news of my adventures so far. And it really has been an adventure. I think that I've had some very special experiences that not many others have had the opportunity to encounter! Hopefully I'll have more down the road. If I do, you can be sure that I'll write all about it!

Michelle

West USA PhotoGallery

Mike Leco — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 21:24:34 GMT

This was originally posted to our old Forum:

Author

Message

Mauro
Guest

Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 5:34 am Post subject: West USA PhotoGallery

From my last travel from spain http://www.fotomaf.com/thumbnails.php?album=30 I hope you will enjoy it Regards from spain

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Mike Leco
USATourist Administrator

Joined: 14 Jun 2004
Posts: 101
Location: Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA

Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2004 3:45 pm Post subject:

¡Muchas gracias! Las fotos son maravillosas.