Devils Tower, Wyoming

Oscar started to form his dog food into strange mounds and chant "Take me there . . . they are coming . . . take me there . . . they are coming . . . take me there . . . they are coming . . ."   So I did . . . and they didn't . . .    He was looking forward to sitting on some alien laps.   He's so sad now, how will I ever cheer him up?

Emblem, Wyoming . . . Don't Blink, or You'll Miss It!

Made us smile . . .

Yellowstone!

 Hi, folks, Oscar here.  Since we were "in the neighborhood" Pete & I thought we'd stop in at Yellowstone National Park and soak up some of the beauty sprinkled about the area.  Hope you enjoy the pics.

 Yellowstone River

 Lower Falls

 Cool water stream adjacent to steaming hole

 Crystal clear deep pool of steaming hot water

 Boiling pot of mud with strong, stinking sulfur smell!

!

 Dragon Mouth Spring that actually roared...LOL

 Surrealist landscape at Mammoth Springs

 Elk in camp . . . hide the foodstuff!

Momma elk grazing in green meadow

 Munching Moose

 King of the Road

 I hopped up on Pete's lap to say hello to The King of the Road, and what does Pete do? He rolls up the window to stop me from jumping out and saying "HI!"  What a spoil sport . . .

And now, time for my new BFFs

 Here's Jean.  She and her husband, Bill, road in on a cool Harley!

 Kevin and his wife, Robin, work in Yellowstone for the summer and asked us to stop in to see them.  So we DID!

A great family from Billings, Montana.  Patty, Scott, and their awesome kids, Grant & Eva

 I laughed when I first saw this sign.  I thought it said "Old Faithful Geezer" and told Pete it described him perfectly.   Hahahahahahahahahahaahahaha...

 We went to see what all the excitement was about with this Old Faithful Geyser.  We sat, and sat, and suddenly . . . .

WHOOSH!!

Pete said "Wow! That was pretty cool, right Oscar?"  I said "That ain't nuthin', Pete.  I'll show you MY old-faithful over by the car.  Here it is!  Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh . . ."
 

Pete & I sure have enjoyed our summer in the mountains.  Now its time to start heading east to see our friends in the "Little Camper World", 'cause it's RALLY TIME, Wooohoooo!

I had one more chance to say goodbye to my Bison Buddy on the way out of the park.

BYE BISON BUDDY!!!!!!!!!!!

Pinnacle Campground - a Slice of Heaven

On the way to our next campsite, Oscar stopped to speak with an old time cowboy and his horse about our adventures and to get some insight into the local wildlife.  The horse warned his new little buddy about grizzly bears and a marauding giant buffalo seen wandering about these parts.  The cowboy told Oscar about the wild Wyoming Jackalopes that are "just about this high."  Oscar looked his new bronco buddy in the eye, spit out a chew of tobacco and said "I ain't askeered."

The 5 mile gravel road to Pinnacle Campground had plenty of nice scenery

After looking at the sites, we chose #6, for its view of the lake and mountains across the way

Oscar liked watching the sunrise out of the Wonder Egg, but his most enjoyable moments came as he enjoyed his daily "Coffee With a View"

The morning stillness displays a mirror image of The Pinnacles across Brooks Lake.  Looking  from the other side towards our campsite, you can make out the small, bright white dot of the Wonder Egg with spectacular mountains for a backdrop.

Oscar never saw any grizzly bears, but he did see some jackalopes . . . here's a sculptured one used for photo ops by traveling dogs.

Here's "Jack" the live jackalope Oscar used to go buffalo hunting .  Oscar saved the town from the marauding giant buffalo by roping it, bringing it down, skinning it, and donating the meat to a local food shelter.  Oscar then donated the skull to the town and posed with it as a warning to any other giant marauding buffallo.  Everyone yelled "All hail, Oscar the Wonder Dog!"

What am I gonna do with the insufferable little dog now?

Rocky Mountain High

As the spring weather morphed into summer, our goal has been to stay cool, and for the most part we've been very successful.   In order to accomplish this feat, we resorted to climbing high into the Rocky Mountains to avail ourselves of the cool, rareified air which resides in the heights, above the boiling cauldron of this summer's lowlands.  We've been camped above 9000' elevation for the better part of the last 6 weeks.

Here's a taste of what we've enjoyed so far, since leaving our Southern Utah Caravan friends . . .

North Rim of the Grand Canyon . . . out of the way, quiet

Angel's Window - Look close and you'll see the Colorado River in the window

I loved the contrast of water fun amongst the desert mountains at Wahweap Bay Marina, Lake Powell

Four Corners, been there, seen that . . .

Camping by the river at Cayton Campground, south of Telluride, CO

Lindsay & Katelyn, Oscar's new biking pals

Trout Lake

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Sunset at Crawford State Park, Co

Oscar, laughing at what he calls "Pete's hysterical tan line"

Rocky Mountain National Park

We found a Big Foot crossing on the way to Pike's Peak - Oscar wanted another chance to whump-up on Big foot like he did back in the fall of 2008

Oscar didn't believe we made it to the top until he read it for himself

A little egg amongst tall trees at the Meadows Campground in the mountains east of Steamboat Springs, CO

We found this wonderful stream in Wyoming west of Riverton.  We'll be camping in the Shoshone National Forest for the next week or so . . . near Yellowstone National Park.