Wyoming - where wilderness is all encompassing

Wyoming is the most sparsely populated state and wilderness is its major draw card.  Its northwestern corner is home to the two magnificent national parks of Yellowstone and Grand Teton.  The Bighorn Mountains in the north-central of Wyoming are also pretty awesome.  We free camped at the spot below with many other local resident campers who came for the weekend.

Andrew took these photos below on his 20km hike in the Bighorn Mountains.

The Devil’s Tower in the Black Hills rises a dramatic 1,267 ft above the Belle Fourche River Valley.  It is a nearly vertical monolith.  We saw a similar, much smaller version of such an igneous (hardened magna) intrusion back in California, the Devil's Postpile.  

Close Encounters of the Third Kind was filmed here in 1978.

The giant vertical columns.

It is a popular rock climbing site with numerous hardy climbers up its sheer gigantic columns.   

More South Dakotan pleasures

Pactola Reservoir was recommended to us as a national forest camping spot and it was a good recommendation.  Here is a photo of the lake in the evening dusk.

Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills of South Dakota is one of the scenic byways of America.  Waterfalls and high rock walls make this a picturesque drive.  Below is another fabulous little lake.

We finally saw bison.

There are many places called prairie dog towns where these cute creatures run all over the field. Although there are signs around not to feed them, this one like his companions. is a fat little creature, not afraid of humans and obviously being fed on handouts other than grass.

Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial

I have always wanted to see those giant faces carved out of granite at Mt Rushmore.  By selecting four great presidential figures for carving at Mt Rushmore, the aim was to create an eternal reminder of the birth, growth and preservation of a nation dedicated to democracy and the preservation of individual liberty.  The carvings in granite were started in 1927 and finished in 1941.  Mt Rushmore has a southern exposure giving it direct sunlight most of the day.  Washington’s head is 60ft tall, with a 20ft nose and an 18ft wide mouth and each eye 11ft across.

The granite faces seen through a tunnel which is a great frame specifically chosen by the road planner.  Many of the tunnels in the area are narrow and one lane access only.  There are some roads we could not get through due of the height and width of our rv.




The Crazy Horse Memorial is a work in progress having been started in 1948 with only the face completed to date.  The body on a horse with the left hand pointing to the ancient land of the Lakota is still to be carved.  It is mankind's largest art project in progress - 641 ft long and 563 ft high with a 219 ft high horse's head.  Lakota elders commissioned the work hoping that it would balance the presidential focus of Mt Rushmore.  The Lakota wanted the white men to recognise that the Indians had heroes too.  The artist chosen was Korczak Ziolkowski and his large family have continued the work since his death in 1982. The face was dedicated in 1998.  

The model of the intended memorial.

South Dakota - there is much to see

Driving through middle America’s Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota is a long way and pretty dull.  The countryside is verdant and pretty but there is very little that is scenically exciting.  When you arrive in South Dakota all that changes.  

Sioux Falls is the first city you come to as you cross the border from the long drive across Minnesota. Another city with a wonderful waterfall in the middle. The bedrock is quarzite (jasper).

Next on our journey across South Dakota was the Badlands National Park.  The Badlands’ unusual rock formations reminded us of a combination of Utah, Cappadoccia in Turkey and the Bungle Bungles in OZ. 

Though seemingly inhospitable at first glance, the Badlands have supported humans for more than 11,000 years.  The ancient mammoth hunters were the first.  By the mid 18^th century they were replaced by the Sioux/Lakota, who adopted the use of horses from the Spaniards and came to dominate the region for 100 years.  Their way of life depended on bison hunting but the bison were eliminated by the arrival of non-Indian buffalo hunters.  After 40 years of struggle culminating in the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890 the Lakota were confined to reservations.  Only their paintings, drawings and artistic crafts remain as tangible memories of their lost homelands and natural environment. 

Lookouts and vistas over the geological wonders abound on the Highway 240 loop road going through the Badlands National Park.  You can drive through in an hour if you are in a hurry but we spent a whole day and two nights there.  We stayed first at Cedar Park campground (above) with hot showers for $19 and then at Sage Creek campground (below) for free.  Both were delightful places with wonderful views and ambiance.

Along the banks of the Mississippi

After spending almost two weeks in Chicago receiving medical treatment for our various skin cancers, we drove northwest towards the Mississippi.  The Mississippi Palisades State Park, where we camped, is a large scenic one with very pleasant shaded and open camp sites and lofty steep cliffs overlooking the river.  Palisades is the word used to describe a line of lofty, steep cliffs usually seen along a river.  Here we are fancy free and travelling again.

These photos of the mighty Mississippi River bring to mind the favourite stories of Mark Twain who so aptly captured the spirit of this large river stretching over numerous states.  I have seen the Colorado and now the Mississippi, two of America’s great rivers.

Galena, northwest of Chicago near the Mississippi, is a town with perfectly preserved Civil War-era streets and the victorious general at the Civil War’s end, Ulysses S. Grant’s hometown, before he became president.  Lincoln delivered a speech here too at Desoto House.

Red brick mansions in Greek Revival, Gothic Revival and Queen Anne styles fill the streets.  The town once supplied most of the lead in the US and was back then larger than Chicago. 

It is a touristy place with hordes of Chicagoans, and also visitors from nearby Iowa, Winsconsin and Minnesota coming here in the weekend.  The shops are nice with good wares.  

We visited a very nice shop on the main street, Maggie Black which had all sorts of crafty things, many of which I wanted to buy but Andrew resisted.  We already have far too much to take back home.

Different from our mode of travel but interesting.  I call it a motor cycle RV.  Comfortable and plenty of storage.

Chicago revisited

We have been to Chicago several times and we love the city.  My daughter and son-in-law live here overlooking Lake Michigan.  We have only been here in the warm weather mind you, not in the winter months when the "Windy City" gets slapped by icy blasts across Lake Michigan.   In summer, all Chicago dwellers dash out for the outdoor concerts, festivals, lakefront beaches and other outdoor activities that abound in the summer months.  

The view from Tonja and Matt's apartment at North Lakeshore Drive.  The top photo is of the beach and Navy Pier, then the beach and on the right are the boats out on the lake on a sunny weekend. 

When you come to Chicago you must see the following:  Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate sculpture at Millenium Park, the Willis Tower which is tallest building in the US or the Hancock Tower which is the third tallest but offers an even better view over the city as it is nearer the lake, the Pritzker Pavillion at Millenium Park for its free summer concerts at lunchtime and 6:30pm and then, Oak Park where Frank Lloyd Wright lived from 1889-1909 and where he designed many houses and lastly but most importantly, the informative architecture tour on the river.

In order to see photos of all the above,  see our previous blog of two years ago at: www.andrewnikkiusa.blogspot.com  We decided not to duplicate our photos and comments for this Chicago trip.  We are only posting a very few photos here.  There are many other photos showing off Chicago on our previous blog, for those interested.

We are sitting on the grass with hundreds of others at the Pritzker Pavillion enjoying a picnic and a free concert.  It is quite awesome with the Chicago skyscrapers in the background.

Cloud Gate sculpture which is just fascinating.  You can stand beneath and see your own reflection and take a photo of that.  We took countless shots on our last visit.

The Chicago River flowing.  Taking the architecture tour on the river is a must.  Very interesting and very informative.  The volunteers are all former experts and they tell you about the history of the city buildings and explain why Chicago is quite unique in how these buildings came to be built.

How about this for a delicatessen?  All the hams you can wish for.  This is the new trendy supermarket-cum-kitchen shop-cum eatery called Eataly.  All Italian and the in place to be.  The iced soy coffee in the downstairs cafe is to die for.

Lots of more modern buildings to photograph but I was taken by Bloomingdale's which is an older traditional style structure.  Imposing on the corner.

Coffee with Tonja at one of the numerous and popular courtyard Chicago cafes.  American coffee is either weak or strong and bitter.  It is difficult to get a really good cup of coffee anywhere.  But the ambiance at most cafes is very nice.  The US does comfort, homeliness and ambiance well.  And there is always a plethora of yummie things to eat too.

Michigan sights - back in the US

Arrived back in the US and a suspicious US Immigration official renewed our visas for a further six months after giving us the third degree.  Of course we want to return to Australia, you bozo, but we want to finish our year's road trip!!!!!

Perhaps starting off with another, lesser waterfall after the mighty Niagara Falls, is inappropriate but we like them both big and small and Michigan has plenty of them as well as numerous lakes, like Canada.

People can bathe in these falls at Tahquamenon Falls State Park.  The lower falls are shown above. Below are photos of the upper falls in the park.

These tea-stained amber-coloured falls are a major attraction and the upper falls are 50 ft tall and 200 ft wide.  The unique colouration of the water  is due to the presence of tannic acid in the river which leeches naturally from the dead trees and plants within the watershed.

Below is a photo of a moose head at the park entrance.  As it seems unlikely that we are going to come across a live one (though we did see one crossing the road but too late for a camera capture) I thought I would use this one.

The cliffs below the sandstone outcrop are known as the Painted Rocks due to the minerals staining them.








Miners Castle is what remains of a sandstone cliff rising 75 ft above Lake Superior.  The lake is the largest of the Great Lakes by surface area and second largest lake on earth by volume.  When we reached its shores, it was a pretty hot day and we tried to go for a swim in it but recoiled from the coldness of the water.  And this, after swimming in hilltop lakes and rivers all over the world.  This was THE coldest water we came across.  Since then, we read that except for shallow areas, Lake Superior's temperatures rarely reach above 17 degrees and hypothermia can occur in less than 15 minutes if one falls in while kayaking.

Camping at Baraga State Park in Upper Michigan.  It is one of the nicest parks and very reasonably priced camping with great facilities.  The campground is rapidly getting filled up as 4 July approaches and people set out to camp and enjoy the sunshine.  Lake Superior is across the road.  If only the water was more inviting for a swim :-)

The Pine Mountain Ski Jump is the largest artificial ski jumping hill in the world and home to the longest running competitive ski jumping tournaments in North America.  Jumpers travel over 55 mph at take off and fly over 400 ft to their landing place.  What puzzled us is how the skiers get up there as there is no lift.  We were told they had to carry their skis and walk up?????

As you can see, in summer people like to climb up it.  Guess what?  Andrew did as well.