NV,WY,SD 20.06.2003 - 10.07.2003

20 jun 2003

We start in Cincinnati at 5 pm. We want to drive the distance to Las Vegas in 4 days. Today is our bonus day.
What we can make today will reduce the driving time for the following 4 days. Its a beautiful day when we
started. Nacide is driving. After cruising through the rush hour traffic in Cincinnati we have no further delays.
We keep on driving until 11 pm. The 1 hour special we got from passing the 1st timezone was nice to add.
We stopped right after Nashville, TN.

21 jun 2003

Denis wanted to go on as soon as possible. He was already sitting in the car when I wake up. So I had to hurry up.
The 200 Mi to Memphis took us 3 hours. We have planned to stop at Graceland. There was a lot of people there
visiting Elvis home. Its a good advice to buy the full programme for 25 $ a person, so you can go to the car and
airplane museum first. There is a 1 and a half hour waiting time for the main tour. You go to Elvis house by a tour bus.
The busses are scheduled so you know exactly how much time there is for the other activities.
Finally we got on the bus. After touring the house, you are allowed to see the 1st floor and the basement. The 2nd floor
is not open to the public. The tour procceds to the garden. As Denis saw Elvis kids playground we could not stop him.
He climed the fence and was sitting on the swing. Nacide had to bring him back. Fortunately there was no guard watching

the scene. In the garden Denis was chasing with other kids. After a guard said that the children are not allowed to play
on a garden table, he fell off this table and hit his head a little bit. He was crying not because it hurt but more that he was upset not to be allowed on the table. When we reentered the bus a guard stopped us and told me that he needs to write an
accident report just in case. So I had to fill out some paperwork to fulfill the law. Late afternoon we went on. Because I
wanted to see downtown we took I-240 instead of I-55. This was not the best idea, because there was road works and
we got stuck in a traffic jam. After loosing half an hour there not seeing much of interest we went on on I-40 west.
We entered Arkansas and crossed it almost. We stopped right at the border to Oklahoma. The landscape is still unchanged from what we are used in Ohio. Trees and grassland.

22 jun 2003

We made a break at the Oklahoma wellcome center. In Oklahoma City the odometer turned over, we had our 1st 1000 Mi completed. We made very good progress today. We crossed the border to Texas. Its still green but trees are getting smaller and smaller. Finally its only grassland. You can see grassland now till the horizon and no buildings. We stopped in Amarillo to get something to eat. It was very hot there close to 100 F. After the break we saw a very nice sunset. We did not want to drive too much in the dark therefore we stopped in Tucumcari right after sunset.

23 jun 2003

New Mexico is very dry. There are some cows on the grassland. The landscape turns relatively fast to a more desert like shape. We stop in Gallup and visit an Indian Museum. There is a gusty wind blowing from the south releaving the heat a little bit. Entering Arizona we were just in time to visit the Petrified Forest NP. The gates are open til 7pm. We had 3 hours

left to visit. We made a small walk through the stomps. Denis was enjoying the strong wind. I was wondering that this stomps are only in this place. However its very scenic and its a nice NP. We needed all 3 hours. We left the park at the south entrance and took a backroad back to I-40. Because there are not a lot places to stay overnite, because there are no towns, we went on til Flagstaff. It was relatively cold that evening so we searched for our jackets. While we have been looking for a Motel, Denis saw a place with gocarts. He wanted to go there. After we found some place to stay we went back to the

carts. There have been ordinary carts and family carts with a baby seat. First Denis was afraid to climb in, but after Nacide started the engine and went on her first lap he was excited. Denis wanted to go for more laps. So I took him a second time and Nacide a third. He still wanted more and he cried when we left. Its my third time in Flagstaff and I never had time to go to the Museums Club, therefore I decided to take a beer there while Nacide and Denis went to the Motel. Its a nice bar, but because it was Monday evening there where not a lot of people.

24 jun

Its a chilly morning. The elevation of more than 6000 feet may be the reason. Denis was impressed by the railway. About noon we reached Boulder City. There is one Casino right at the border of Nevada. We made a short brake there. Of course Denis wanted to play with the slot machines, he could not understand that he is not allowed to and whats the difference to the video games he is used to. We finally convinced him that he has to wait another 18 years for gambling. We reached Vegas after 2150 Mi. We went to our hotel Gold Coast which we booked with hotels.com. The rate was cheaper than the Motels we had so far but the standard is much higher. We new the hotel from a business trip we made in 1999. Unfortunately the childcare was not as we expected. They accepted toilet trained kids only. So we had to gamble on a time sharing basis. The advantage is that this is of course cheaper. We knew about the Adventure Dome at Circus Circus and went with Denis there. He had a good time although he could not do all of the rides he wanted to because of his age.
Vegas did not change a lot since we have been here in 1999. Some construction is going on on the strip, but we could not remember which casino hotel we are missing. Cesars palace is extending its Forum shops and has therefore a construction zone. We saw the man at work in the nighttime. They did not need any additional light.

25 jun

Nacide took Denis to the childrens museum. It took us some time to find it because it is in N833 Las Vegas Blvd. You need to go beyond Downtown. I have never been so far up the strip before. I drove back to the Stratosphere tower. At 3 pm I looked after them, but Denis was so excited that he wanted to stay until closing time at 5pm. I tried the El Cortez Casino. I won a Mini jackpot of 8 Dollars with 5 cent. In the evening we went to the strip. The Gold Coast hotel is approx 1 mile west of Cesars palace. We went into the Forum shops at Cesars Palace. We came in time to see the fountain in action. The laser show is nice when you think about which complicated figures like horses they throw on the wall.
Denis was sleeping, he wake up from the noise of the volcano at La Mirage. My feet hurt because of blisters when we arrived back at our hotel. At midnight I always went down to gamble a little bit, mainly to get a free beer.

26 jun

It is a very hot day above 100. I decided to stay at the pool with Denis. In the evening we went to Fremont street. I wanted to see the Fremont expirience which I missed when I was last time in Vegas. The street is covered with 6 million light bulps. I

first thought its not switched on because this is much energie even for Vegas, but it turned out that its started always on top of the hour until midnight. The show lasts approx 10 minutes. Its very impressing. The parking for the expirience was fairly expensive compared to the free parking of the casinos because we have become victims to a trick. The price for the parkhouse was stated as follows:

1st half hour, 1$
4th and 5th hour free
any additional half hour 1$.

We stayed 2 and a half hours which costed us 5$. Reading the sign again it seems to be correct although we have been wondering.

27 jun

We stayed the whole day in Vegas, I at the pool with Denis, Nacide in the much cooler Casinos. Because it was so hot (my first 104 F, 40 C ever) Denis could not bear it at the pool in the afternoon and we went inside. Denis has bought a remote controlled car earlier and I thought its nice to play with in one of the aisles to the park desks. We had great fun.
In the evening we took off north. We took I-15, actually there is not a lot of choice and went til Cedar City. It was much cooler there. Only in the 70s. Nacide found a nice Motel for just 34$ on Main Street which is actually a little bit away from The interstate and therefor less frequented.

28 jun

We avoided interstates from now on. We took exit 95 to a sideroad #20. At the 1st possibility we went north. We drove along a small river. It was a little green along the river but desert elsewhere. We always needed to be careful to have enaugh gas and water. At a gasstation Nacide bought some food for a picnic. There was a small lake coming soon. We stopped at

Otter state park, a nice lake suitable for boating fishing and swimming. I went for a swim with Denis. It was pretty cool water just right in the heat. Further north we crossed I-70. In a city nearby Nacide saw a playground. Denis had much fun because it seemed that the whole inhabitants of this small town have been in this park. We took 89 north and later on 31. 31 led directly into the mountains. It was called skyride road. We have seen why. The locals had some sort of motorscooter to ride on small mountain paths. When we descended the mountain we passed another lake. We took US191 to reach US40. It was a very lonesome road through a unpopulated canyon. The speedlimit was 65 but nobody cared. Soon after entering US40 we stopped at a very nice motel in Roosevelt. Frontier motel had everything at a low price.

29 jun

The US40 is a very nice road. No Services and no traffic for miles. You just have to take care not running out of gas. The

landscape is dry almost desert like. At Dinosour Monument we took a detour to the mountain top. We did not see the sign at the entrance: No fossile bones found in this area. So we did of course not see anything except for a nice green landcscape. Its always green as soon you exceed 7000 feet in the Rockies. Another phenomenon we saw. Thousands of grasshoppers on the road. Back on the mainroad we went on, of course of no traffic we made very good progress. Soon we reached Craig. Because of a river there and fairly high elevation its nice and green. Some sort of an oasis. This oases extends til Steamboat Springs. We then took over a 9426 feet pass. There was still a little snow there and we saw deer. On the backside of the pass there was again no civilication. It was fairly dry area again. We drove an hour with almost no sign of human beings. Finally at the entance of Rocky Mountain NP we stopped.

30 jun

The weather was blue skies as always since we started in Cincinnati. Its was pretty hot. Even on 12000 feet you just needed a Tshirt. We climbed the street up to a little lake. We made a short walk there. We saw some of the mountain sheep there in a snow field. We then went on to the Alpine center. Its a little different than in Austria. There is more souvenirs than to eat and drink. You are now at the top of the mountain and the street reaches an elevation of 12183 feet (3713 m). Its an easy walk to

a 12466 feet (3800m) mountain top. We could take the stroller with us. Denis did his first 3000er. Its a little cooler now because some clouds went in. We drove down the mountain and stopped in Estes Park. This is a nice touristic village. We decided to stop there for dinner. We found a nice mexican restaurant, which had outside sitting on the roof. Later in the evening we drove til Ft Collins where we took accomodation.

1 jul

We took US287 north. We will stay on this highway the whole day. The green turns again into dry plains. A short distance we took the I-80 til Rawlins. We stopped for food and gas there. It was very hot, temperature has been close to 100. Unbelievible few people there in Wyoming. We drove miles without service. We saw some bicyclists on their way too Yellowstone. Hard job in this heat against the strong winds with no place for a rest. I wanted to stop in Lander for the night but Nacide convinced me to go on a little bit. It was a nice drive in the evening sun. The valley becomes more a canyon now.

We came through Dubois. This town looked so nice that we decided to stop here. Its almost like wild west. Most of the buildings are in the original stil. You think John Wayne will appear soon. We took a Motel that rents cabins. Just at the neighbourhut they did a commercial for a news paper. A lot of effort for a foto. Lights and assessories were needed. We went for a beer. We entered a saloon. Unfortunately Denis was not allowed in the bar. So we had to carry our beer and longdrink to the adjacent restaurant. Denis always wanted to reenter the bar because he saw pooltables, which he likes.

2 jul

We got up early. We got a cupon for breakfast coffee in Cowboy Cafe. Because it was such a nice morning we sat outside. I talked to a bicyclist who was on his way around USA, which will take him a year. It was still approx 100 miles to Yellowstone. The drive is very scenic. The way goes up a pass over 9000 feet. Before entering Yellowstone we cross Teton NP. The mount Teton is one of the rare mountains in the Rockies who have a sharp summit. The range looks really

impressive. The Teton is 13770 feet (4197 m) high and covered with snow. Now the landscape turns more to the hilly type again when entering Yellowstone. We drove down to the Yellowstone Lake.
When reaching the lake we saw the first thermal fields. We left them for the next day and went on along the shore to the north end of the lake. We went on the campground on the marina. We got a nice shady site. Because we were hungry we

immediately started the campfire. We made some hot dogs. After relaxing for a while we decided to visit the mud volcanoes near by. These volcanoes errupted 1948. There is a nice board walk to watch them. Some buffalos have been along the

boardwalk. Denis had great fun running along the wooden path. Close to sunset we went back to the campground. It was fairly cool now so we decided to creep into our sleeping bags.

3 jul

We have been thinking about what would be the best direction to do the scinic drive. After a mile anticlockwise I let Nacide turn around because I thought its better to go clockwise and start the tour with Old Faithful Gaisyr. Later it will turn out that this was I good idea. So if you are coming from the south entrance its the best to go to Old Faithful first. We had to wait almost an hour till he errupted. When we have been there the average interval was 64 minutes. There is some sort of

amphitheatre to watch the event. There is a pathway around the gaisyr. Because it was getting crowded at the benches we went on to the other side of the gaisyr. That was an even better place. We sat down at the bridge where the water leaves after the erruption. After the erruption we walked on to see the other thermal active sights around. We went on the street. A lot of thermal lakes are along the way. There is a river in the valley where all the hot water goes into

finally. The river heats up with each thermal lake. I tested the water temperature several times. After a few influxes the river would be suitable for swimming. I estimate the temperature to about 80 deg F. Unfortunately swimming is not allowed. But there is a picnic area at the end of all the thermal fields where the river gets wide. Its allowed to dive into the river there I think because there are no signs disallowing it. I tried it, but you can only walk through it because the river is very shallow on this place. Compaired to a ordinary river at this elevation it was a warm foot path. We drove the street along and
reached the mud volcanoes we visited yesterday. Because we did not want to stay another cold night in the tent we made our way to the east entrance. There was not a lot of traffic leaving the park at this daytime. The valley at the east entrance is very nice too. All the way till Cody is very scenic. We reached Cody in the evening. It was difficult to find accomodation although there are plenty of motels. Finally we had not a lot of choice and had too take what was left. It was of course fairly expensive compared to the standard it offered us.

4 jul

The landscape turns to dry plain again. Because there was a parade in Cody we had first to find the right way. We wanted to take Alt14. Finally we found our street. It starts in a dry valley and climbs up to 9500 feet later on. The climb is very step and gives great views down to the valley. On top of the mountain everything is almost flat as usual, but green and with trees

now. The temperatures are very pleasent and you hope the street will stay on top of the mountains for a while. And it does. After 30 miles the street goes down on the other side of the mountain range. You notice that the landscape is a little greener on this side. We hit the I-90 and follow it til the exit to Devils Tower. We follow the signs to the mountain. We were surprised that the environment around the tower is nearly untouched. There is only a nice campground with swimming pool and playground on foot of the tower. The office and a souvenir shop complete the scene. We decided to stay at the campground because the weather was nice and warm and the outlook was great. Denis had a lot of fun at the playground.
There was some music at the entrance and a barbeque. Because it was Independance Day a firework started slowly. It was ongoing until it was dark. Then it improved and was everlasting. The cows nearby have been very scared and screemed. The bombs produced a lot of banging in the canyon and from the tower.

5 jul

We started slowly. I took first a swim in the pool with Denis. Nacide did some laundry. At 11 we climbed the road to the tower. There was a lot of people this day. We made a picnic and then started for the tour around the tower (1 1/2 mile).

Denis saw some kids and grabbed the hand of a boy. The boy let him go side by side. We parents found it very funny how nice Denis walked with this boy. We stayed together with this family for the whole walk. Denis climbed rocks with the boys. The family was from Gilette which is nearby (1 h). We left the tower going on on US24. It takes us back south. We cross I-90 at Spearfish and go on until Leads. We search the landscape for a river to do some panning. We were not very succussful to find the right place. We wanted to stay close to Leads because we wanted to tour the gold mine in the morning. We entered the city of Deadwood. This is a very remarkable city. Its a mini Las Vegas. Gambling took over. Probably it developed because of the near gold mine. Every bar, hotel and even stores have slots. The city was almost booked out.
We could not get cheap accomodation, so we asked for the ones left which probably nobody dears to ask. In the Fredderick Hotel there was the suite left for about 160$. But we have been more lucky the Celebrity Hotel had still one of its appartments for rent for 107$. The appartment was worth its money. In the heart of the city with look down to the street we had 2 bedrooms furnished with luxury furniture. Nacide started gambling and I went with Denis to the family fun park.

Unfortunately this park closes at 10 pm which is fairly early. They made no exception for the weekend. Actually they started closing at 9.30. So I could not buy a ticket for a ride for Denis. Denis cried and waited with wet eyes infront of the railway. One of the staff members saw this and gave Denis a free ride with the train. Because he saved me I wanted to give him some tip but he said they are not allowed to take it. So I went back to town. There was not much more to do with Denis so I climbed the stairs to our appartment. We watched a little bit TV till Nacide came. I was now too tired to go down to the bars.

6 jul

The Celebrity offered a small breakfast in the bar. We took some coffee and after this Nacide said I should go to the slots a little bit. I said I will risk 20$ and then we will take off. I played with a video slot featuring dragons. My money was almost gone when I came to the bonus round. The bonus paid me 72$. So I left the town as a winner. We went to the Homestake mine to take part in the tour. The mine is situated in Leads "the 1 mile high city with a heart of gold".
We learned that the heart has been torne out because the mine was shut down in 2002 because production became too expensive. A lot of buildings have been already destroyed and from the former 10000 inhabitants only 3000 are left. The more interesting buildings remain as museum. We asked the tour guide if she knows a river to do some panning. She gave us an address near Hills Mill where there is still a small family owned gold mine who offers panning lessons. So we searched

for this address. It was a interresting location. A old woman sold us 2 panning lessons for 6$ each. Included is a small glas with gold in it to show how it should work. After we found the gold which we can keep as souvenir we took some dirt from the mine into our pans and went down to the river. We tried to wash out our gold now. There is the chance to find some but its not very likely because it takes several tons of material for 1 ounce of gold. So after half an hour washing we had
no gold in our pans but some nice red stones which we kept. We went on to Mt Rushmore, we bought a ticket but decided to enter the monument in the morning because Denis was asleep. We searched accomodation in Keystone which is not the cheapest place to stay but with the presidents in sight. We took a room in Miners Resort. We went for Diner in Creekside restaurant because we got a 5$ coupon. The food was very good there although my steak could have been a little warmer. I drank Australian wine which tasted so good that I wanted to take a bottle to our room. Because it was Sunday I was not allowed to carry out a bottle. I could not convince the staff to break the law.

7 jul

We went up to the monument. Its a huge thing. It becomes even more impressive when you walk under it. Denis found friends again and run along with them the whole presidential walk. I read the stories of Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and

Roosevelt while walking. I met with Denis and Nacide at the amphitheatre viewing platform. We left the monument and drove the iron mountain road. This is a very scenic road with a lot of 270 deg turns and small tunnels. Sometimes the road divides to 2 single lanes. The road was constructed just for fun from Peter Norbeck and is certainly a highlight when you drive a motorbike. The road leads into the Custer state park. You can watch there buffalos crossing the street. Because the

road only runs along the border of the park there is no entrance fee. I planned to take US44 and than a unpaved road to the Badland NP. I could not find out if this road is ok for our Ford Focus, and because it is about 20 Miles of unpaved road I did not dare to take it. Because there is not a lot of alternative we took I-90 to the entrance of the Badland NP. I saw there that the unpaved road is #590 and in good condition. So I regret a little bit that I took the interstate instead of the certainly more scenic road. The road through the badlands is very nice to drive. A lot of spectacular views are waiting. I wanted to stay in

the campground at the east entrance of the park, but Nacide did not want to camp again, so I had to quit and we went on a little bit on I-90 until some motels appeared.

8 jul

We did not want to drive all the time on the interstate a therefore we took 83 south. We enter Nebraska. Its still prarie and
almost no trafic. Sometimes oversized load trucks are oncoming. The route changes to US20 and finally US273. We made
a picnic eating some pizza under one of the rare trees. The more southeast we get the more traffic arises. There are more
villages now on the way. I saw a park with a playground near the street and we decided to make a break. It was nice in the
shade. Because traffic was now too much we took 51 heading towards the Missouri river. We cross the toll bridge and enter
I-29 south. We stop in Omaha because it was sunset. Actually we have been in Council Bluff which is on the Iowa side
of the river. We took the Ameristar casino for overnight because its cheaper than the motels and has a lot more comfort.
This casino even has a childcare facility where Denis could play and we could take a look to the boat. Although we have
been only a mile from Omaha downtown, phone calls to Omaha are no local calls, so I could not reach the internet this time.

9 jul

Because Denis liked the childcare we stayed until 1 pm in the hotel. We then left in direction Kansas City. We passed it
in the early evening. We are on I-70 now and go on until Columbia. We left the interstate because we wanted to drive on
US94 in the Missouri valley. My highway guide describes it as a scenic route with wineries along. The road started as
broad road in Jefferson City and narrowed soon. It was nice to drive this road because it took us smoothly over the hills
along the Missouri river. In Herman we wanted to stay overnight. We could not find suitable accomodation and detoured
therefore to the near interstate.

10 jul

We went back to US94. The road continued in the same style as yesterday but wineries are starting now. Its not that much
of winieries that you could call the street a street of wine. They are very scattered maybe 5 on a distance of 50 miles.
As we almost reached St Louis, we needed to make a turn in one of the wineries. We made a good choice. The
Montelle winery lies on top of the highest hill there and has a very nice terrace. They bake their own bread and make very

good sandwiches. Its worth to spend some time on the terrace drinking wine and eat a sandwitch. I tasted some of their wines and bought a few bottles for at home. Soon after this winery the 94 ends and we took I-64 to downtown St Louis.
The I-64 takes you directly to the gateway arch. We parked at the gateway parking garage and walked to the monument.

Even tought it was thursday there was a long line. We had to wait 2 hours to get a ride with one of the trams to the top.
The trams are very neat. Because the arch is narrow at the top they have 16 escalators with each capable of 5 persons.
The escalator looks like a laundry machine and is only 4 feet high. At the top you have a nice view over the river and

downtown. Nacide saw a riverboat from the top and I knew what we are doing next. Because there was not much to do
for Denis we spent only a short time at the casino. It was 7 pm and we found from our Rand Mc Nally road atlas that
St Louis is only 330 miles from Cincinnati. So we decided just to go home. Denis was quiet even though his DVD player
had a break down. At a gas stop Denis saw an ammusement park. We could not stop him so we let him ride. After six
rides with the merry go round he was happy. I had some fun too with a mouse wheel of fortune. This was a wheel with
about 50 colored holes. You could bet on the colors which hole the mouse will take. After everybody put his quarters
on the colors the master spinned the wheel and put the mouse into the center. The mouse looked around and picked a hole.
I saw the mouse never taking a hole with a quarter on it, so I was thinking the master was putting some food always too
a hole without a quarter and therefore always winning. At 2 am we finally reached Cincinnati.