Buffalo Bill Country....and it is glorious!

We spent two nights in Cody, Wyoming, so that we could have a break from driving and to visit the Buffalo Bill Museum (Buffalo Bill Center of the West, to be exact) in Cody.   Frankly, I was initially a somewhat reluctant participant in this venture, expecting some major kitsch displayed in a small-town down-at-the-heels museum.  Boy, was I WRONG!   This museum contains several beautifully executed permanent exhibits, as well as some temporary ones.  One wing is dedicated to the history of "Buffalo Bill" Cody, and presents a very balanced and interesting overview of his life and that of his compatriots.  Another wing presents the natural history of this area - primarily of Yellowstone National Park - and seamlessly blends information about geology and biology of this area in a manner that is intriguing for all ages.  Yet another wing contains Western art covering a broad range of form, styles, and time of execution - this exhibit includes an incredible number of original Remington pieces as well as many well-recognized Western artists and many who are less known, but provide a rich foil for those we do recognize. There is also a Western research library, with books and documents as well as computers.  But wait, wait...... there's more!
Yet another wing contains a rich exhibit about the plains Indians, both from a historical and modern perspective.  A side-exhibit in one of the open courtyards presented an up-close-and-personal introduction to raptors (birds of prey) - all of which have been injured and cannot be re-introduced to the wild, but at the same time are housed now in a remarkable setting here at the museum and are used to educate the public about the power and the grace of these magnificent birds, as well as the dangers they face at the hands of man.  
And ...... wait for it......wait for it......wait for it......what would a Wild West Museum be without a GUN exhibit!?!  This museum offers one that is so rich, that husband John said: "It's more than I can take in, in a single day!" Apparently it is considered one of the most extensive gun collections in the world.  I did not visit the gun exhibit, but John said that in addition to all the historic guns (US and the world) , the exhibit also included guns of many of the major Western movies and television shows: Gunsmoke (Marshal Dillion);  Lone Ranger; Bonanza - (the whole clan); Have Gun will Travel - Paladin....and more.  History, but also fun!

Frederick Remington Sculpture

A room full of Remington's paintings and sculptures

The Indian as Warrior

Sculpture representing the death of the American Indian race

Amazingly detailed Plains Indian Beadwork Blanket

The lap blanket and silver jewelry of this plains Indian was reminiscent of Latvian ethnic costumes

Remarkably detailed quill-work

Peregrine Falcon

Kestral

Golden Eagle

Fall Travel - Westward Bound

We have seen a magnificent  variety of countryside on this trip so far, and met a few interesting people.  We've had remarkably good weather so far, with nights in the 50's in days in the 70's, and breathtakingly beautiful skies.

Iowa Campground

We've stayed in a variety of beautiful campgrounds, as well as a few practical ones (occasionally these are necessary).

Badlands Campground

Custer State Park Campground

  

We've driven through mile after mile of sameness, such as the corn fields of Iowa and prairies of South Dakota. 

We've driven places of breathtaking and unusual beauty and/or wildlife, which no photograph can really do justice, such as the South Dakota Badlands, Custer State Park in SD, and more. 

Here are a few photos from the Badlands:

Sunset view of Badlands rock formation from our camper

Matterhorn Wannabe... :)

While driving the designated wildlife-viewing road in Custer State Park, we kept talking about how this old tune aptly describes this magnificent area:

"Oh, give me a home where the Buffalo roam

Where the deer and the Antelope play;

Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,

And the sky is not cloudy all day."  (Song: Home on the Range)
The animals in the park are remarkably tame, in that they don't mind very close proximity of vehicles, but the good thing is that it allows us to see them "up-close and personal" in a way otherwise only available in Zoos, and it is a much happier experience to see that they are free to live in such beautiful surroundings.

Buffalo

Bighorn Sheep

Prairie Dog

Wild Burros

A Different Kind of Gardening

One of my favorite gardening bloggers headed his post a few days ago: "A Funny Thing Called Parenting" - HUH?  What does parenting have to do with gardening?  He proceeded to say: "The garden, our children, they must all find their own ways in life, and we are not as much in control as we think." 

And so YOU may wonder what gardening has to do with traveling.  My garden has gone to weed this year, and I've failed to keep up with this blog despite a great many travels since the last post - it feels like I've been lazy when I look at the list of things NOT done.

But that posting in The Garden Interior blog awakened an awareness in me of what I HAD been doing instead of what I had NOT been doing; simply put, we've been "gardening" in the "family garden".  Instead of pulling weeds and fertilizing roses, we've been reconnecting with neglected family and friends, and growing relationships through wonderful times of togetherness, some of it spent in travel to distant family (distant in the sense of geographical separation), some in visits to us by family and friends far and near.  And that, as Robert Frost so famously said, "has made all the difference".

Our spring/early summer travels have occurred in Silver airplanes and Silver cars rather than our Silver Airstream, but still I feel that they should be represented here, if in briefer form.

FAMILY WEDDING:  Nephew James Miervaldis married Caitlin Moore in April of 2014, and we were there to wish them all the happiness possible, as were their friends and family from far and near, giving us the opportunity to also reconnect with family living in scattered geographical locations. Thanks Jim and Caitlin for this opportunity!  :)

On the way there and back we also were able to take a few interesting, tho' brief, highlights of the area:

Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, MA

Letchworth State Park

Letchworth State Park

TRIP OF A LIFETIME: I (Liga) had the incredible fortune to be able to not only travel back to my roots, but to share that trip with both immediate family and other family members.  This was such a rich experience that it deserves a telling all its own, and perhaps this (primarily) Airstream blog is not the place for it, but here are some highlights, with a possible follow-up post in the future, giving greater detail to this adventure.

NIECE KATIE'S VISIT TO US AT END OF JUNE:

NOW: We are headed west, to Vancouver, BC, to meet up with sons Mark and John, and looking forward to a month of exploring fly-fishing opportunities in British Columbia and Washington State in Sept/Oct, and even more, to spending family time with our now far-flung sons (far-flung in terms of their choice of locations: Vancouver, BC and Queenstown, NZ).

We left home on Sept. 2, planning on crossing the U.S. in a somewhat leisurely pace allowing for stops along the way, visits to areas of historical or natural history interest, friends, and appreciation of the changing geography and nature.  Our first night was spent in a really nice Army Corps of Engineers campground in Iowa City, IA, and tonight we are in a ho-hum but not-so-bad KOA campground just north of Sioux Falls, SD.  Our goal is to be able to spend some time exploring Yellowstone (weather permitting), and visiting a long-time friend in Coer d'Alene, ID along the way, before reaching Vancouver, BC.

The Old Home Calls...

"Come back to me from your pilgrim ways, from the seas and plains ye rove,Come over the meadows and up the lane to my door set open wide,…"     (Lucy Maud Montgomery, The Old Home Calls)

We're home from our wandering, our exploring, our enjoyment of places far from home.  It is a joy to be home; the mundane, the simple, the everyday aspects of being home are welcoming and heart-warming, just as our travels are stirring and exciting.  How lovely it is to be able to savor both the travel and the homecoming!


Our last three stops before coming home were in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the Makers Mark Distillery in Kentucky, and Jackson Center, Ohio.  

We visited Hot Springs National Park last year and really enjoyed it, so made a point of spending a couple of days here on our way back home. This is a brief summary of the history of the area: "The perceived healing properties of the hot spring water were discovered centuries ago, and the waters were legendary among several Native American tribes. Following federal protection in 1832, the city developed into a successful spa town. Incorporated in January 10, 1851, the city has been home to  Major League Baseball spring training, illegal gambling, speakeasies and gangsters such as Al Capone, horse racing at Oaklawn Park the  Army and Navy Hospital , and 42nd President Bill Clinton. " For more, see the link above for Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Steam rising from a hot spring in the park at the center of town

Historic Buckstaff Baths - still going strong today

The Grand Promenade in the downtown park immediately behind "Bathhouse Row"

Gulpha Gorge Campground at the Hot Springs National Park - such a pretty stream running through the campground!

The Makers Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky is just one of a number of bourbon distilleries that are part of the   Kentucky Bourbon Trail. We were there on a rainy Saturday, but it was still an interesting place to tour; hearing about the family history, the history of the region and the reasons for it being home to so many high quality distilleries, and enjoying the plain of beauty of old buildings and equipment lovingly maintained was so enjoyable.

As a last stop on the way home we scheduled a few repairs for the trailer at the Airstream Factory in Jackson Center, OH - better known to die-hard Airstreamers as "the Mother Ship" :)  

Murphy guarding the Silver Spirit at the Airstream Factory "Terraport" :)

While the trailer was in the shop, we spent a day at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. We have been here many times in the past when visiting family in Ohio when we were much younger and John and Mark young boys, but each time is different, each time we learn something new or notice something different, as the museum expands and exhibits change.  

One of the life stories represented at the museum is that of the Doolittle Raiders, and their silver goblets, which has fascinated us for years as representing the strong and lifelong ties of people who have endured extreme hardships together. 

Silver goblets of the Doolittle Raiders

Just before leaving Ohio, we had the opportunity to have a lovely lunch and visit with relatives David and Cindy Biggs; we were so pleased that they took time out to travel to meet us!

We arrived home late on Tuesday, April 1, to a relatively balmy 45 degrees.  Today we have had freezing rain - beautiful, if not exactly welcome. It's good to be home!