Original starbucks, seattle, WA

We got to see the original Starbucks or as I call "Mecca" when we spent a couple of hrs. in Seattle. Any Seattle sightseeing was cut short because of the repairs that had to be made, leaving us to dwell in S. Tacoma for a few days.. Oh well, There's always next summer.....

s. Tacoma, WA

Not much to report today, the last couple of days we've been staying i (in a motel) waiting for the RV to have some repairs. We missed visiting friends on Whidbey Island near Seattle :O( The cats are not happy either. <:O(

Digging in the mud and clay

John shot a pic. of me in a mud pit digging for garnets. I was pretty much covered in mud and clay when we hiked back to our truck.

me at the sluicer

Showing off my bag of garnets. A few of them are real keepers....

John at the sluicer

After two loads of mud, clay and rock, John had about enough but found one or two decent garnets. Somehow, he managed to stay cleaner than I did. I think he really did have fun.

Garnets in the rough

Some of the garnets we found today when gem mining in Clarkia, ID. They've been washed but not scrubbed.

Kimiak Park, WA

Hiking along a trail in Kimiak state park, Pullman, WA

bird in his house. WA

Unidentified bird coming out of his home. He was not too happy with me standing nearby and takng his picture.

Deer watch

Along our ascent, there was a doe about 50 yards checking us out from the safety of the heavy brush. We just quiety stared at each other while I took this pic. We were both just as curious about each other.

stopping to check me out

this mt. chipmunk wasn't too sure of my presence and why I would take residence on one of "his rocks". He soon warmed up to me.

lunch with a chipmunk

at the top of the ridge i stopped for lunch mr. chipmunk decided to join me.

Coeur d'Alene Lake, ID

Lake Coeur d'Alene in Idaho is very beautiful.. This is just one of the many trails we walked. The sun was out and it got to the low 60's, so took advantage of the nice day.

Entering Idaho

Yeah! we crossed over from MT to Idaho! Got a slight headache from going up quickly in elevation. We passed the continental divide.

Feeling hungry in Idaho

This is me when I get hungry. We were walking around looking for a place to eat.

Driving in the clouds in Idaho

Driving along I-90 in Idaho. Literally driving among the clouds. Lots of rain since we hit MT. Suppose to have sun most of the day tomorrow. We will walk around a large lake, very nice town here called Coure d' Alene (sp?). Will have better pics. tomorrow.

Montana's signature

This is the view from our campsite in Bozeman, MT. We are off to the museum of the Rockies today and then to visit some old friends who happen to have moved from New England to MT.

The Crow

We passed thru part of Crow country (reservation) upon entering Montana. The Crow called themselves the Apsaalooke, which was translated by French interpreters as "People of the Crows". The Crow were originally given the name "Children of the large beaked bird", by a neighboring tribe, the Hidatsa.

Upon seeing this sign, it reminded me of a crow I once knew. Perhaps his spirit has gone on to soar free in this land.

Welcome to Montana!

Entering Montana on I-90 from WY.

MT is 147,139 sq.mi. and has just less than 1 million people! After seeing it, it is believable.

Bluffs of WY

Just one of the many bluffs and plateaus we witnessed driving thru eastern WY.

Wyoming

Entering Wyoming on Rte. 90, had to follow rte. 90

from Rapid City, SD, since a shorter way, rte. 212 was closed due to flooding. Was worth it though! Beautiful state!

Yogi!

We're here at Jellystone Park in Sioux Falls, SD where yogi, boo boo and cindy bear live! Cute place. Pretty country, rolling hills. Having a heat wave today, 101 degrees. Thank goodness for AC.

South Dakota

Yeah! finally got thru part of MN! Ok, where's this famous mountain I keep hearing about?

Taz, the navigator

Taz likes to help navigate across the prairie, such a smart cat ... she's thinking "are we there yet"?

More farmland

More farmland!, still in MN and very windy ... they should rename the song from Oklahoma where the wind comes sweeping off the plain to Minnesota!

Minnesota

Finally thru Iowa and into Minnesota. Very windy and small rolling hills.

Iowa farm land

More flat farm land in Iowa, it goes on for a while...

Yeah! Iowa, finally!

Crossing into Iowa, thought we'd never

get thru IL... But the people of IA welcome us!

Crossing the MS River

Crossing the mighty Mississippi from IL to Iowa... I had to recite that old way of spelling mississppi that we were taught in grade school... Miss_iss_ippi.

Windmills in Illinois

Lots of flat land in Illinois and this stretch

had a multitude of windmills. Pretty... This was taken driving between the border of IN and Peoria, IL. BTW, don't ever come close to running out of gas if you are on I-74 W near Peoria.. It can quickly ruin your trip, good luck finding a gas station and one that offers diesel!

Clarksville, IN

Clarksville, IN where we stayed for a couple of days... It was friendly and clean but not much to write about the place :O(

June 3rd, 2011

Arriving in Kentucky over the Ohio river, next stop is Indiana.

A pic. before we left Newport News, VA. We arrived in Beckley, WV on Wed. eve, June 1st. On June 2nd, we have been staying in Clarksville, IN and traveling back and forth to Louisville, KY. Nice area, Louisville is a beautiful city. We're off tomorrow (monday) to Iowa for the nite.. Will post more (with pics.) later..

The two cats, Loca & Taz are adapting each in their own way, Taz is more laid back about traveling. We thought we lost Loca the morning we woke up in WV. Couldn't find her anywhere in the RV, we even looked thru the parking lot of the Walmart we stayed in the nite before. Finally, she emerged from someplace behind the bed, weird... Houdini cat,,,, I wasn't leaving without her! All is ok now.

Before We Left Virginia

In the driveway, waiting to haul ...