h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A fantabulous time!!

Bob, daughter Mandey and her husband Stuart and I are back from our vacation to Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming. It was a fun trip, but a lot of hours in the car. We each took turns driving, though, so it wasn't too bad. We visited many sites on the way out there and back. We stopped at a Lakota Sioux Museum, the Badlands, The Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, Keystone, the Little Bighorn Battlefield, Devil's Tower, & Yellowstone National Park.

At the Badlands we took a short helicopter ride (FUN!!), and did a field walk with a naturalist. Stuart, who has a horror of snakes, saw a diamond-back rattler slithering across some mud right beneath the raised walkway he was standing on. He did not like that at all, and we had been teasing him too about being scared of snakes. Poor Stewy! The Black Hills are called that because they are thickly covered in pine trees. We saw many animals on our trip; deer, prong-horned antelope, elk, wild donkeys, prarie dogs, herds of bison and even a black bear in Yellowstone! Yellowstone was incredible. We drove for 142 miles through the park, and hit as many of the highlights as possible. The whole of the park is a volcanic caldera so that's why there are geysers and hot springs. In 1988 a third of the park burned and the skeletons of the trees are still very evident. Happily there are new trees coming up to take their place on the mountain slopes. It was difficult to imagine what it must have been like when those fires were burning, because when I say a third of the park I am talking about 793,880 acres!! 25,000 people were involved with fighting the fires. Seeing the enormous devastation was more impressive than the geysers. Devil's Tower was also interesting. It is the mountain featured in the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It looks like a stupendously large tree stump, but is actually the core of an old volcano. There were many times during our trip that I wished our daughter-in-law, Aradhna was with us. Aradhna is a paleontologist and has studied geology.

We saw lots and lots of older couples (my generation!!) traveling cross country on motorcycles. Usually with either a sidecar, a small trailer, or both. Their helmets were equipped with headsets so they could talk with one another. I thought that was interesting.

Its good to be back home!

This all sounds so wonderful. I looked on the map and at pictures from the web page you put up somewhere else. You've managed to see so much. The scenery looks stunning. It's hard for someone from UK to imagine any place as large as Yellowstone.
I expect there is much to do at home now. How did your sister get on?
NB When I rode regularly rode pillion on a bike we had headsets to chat through, and this was 15 years ago or more. Bit noisy on fast roads but ideal for the kind of trip you've just done.

Sally did a fantastic job, with the help of her children. I bought her a silver necklace, hand-made by a native american man we met. Also, some packets of seasonings, vinegarettes, and recipes all home-made by our reunion hostess. Helen, who takes riding lessons, got a tee shirt with horses on it and the legend 'Black Hills', and George got a rain stick. Its a stick that makes soft noise when its turned. I think it must have beans or something inside it. They were all happy to receive their souveniers, and happy that we came back home too!!

Coely, the immense landscapes we drove through amazed us. We kept thinking of the Horse Cultures of the Plains tribes who used to follow the bison herds, and of the first white pioneers who crossed that great distance in wagons. Fantastic!

Wow!
I have read all the "Little House" Books and they must have travelled alone through that kind of immense scenery too, not knowing what to expect.
There are rain sticks in special shops here so I understand what they sound like. Please can you stop playing with it - we've so much rain in UK atm that we don't know what to do with it
I'm glad the farm was in safe hands while you were away. This meant you could really enjoy the vacation. Did the animals miss you? I bet the baby goats grew a lot. Any more new arrivals?

No new critters atm! I understand while we were gone Green Bay got 5 to 7 inches of rain in one day! Its gorgeous out now.

The dog and the house cats are behaving very affectionately to us since our return. It's nice to be missed!

You say 'house cats'. Do you have working ones too for pest control etc?
I have an elderly ginger tom who is always by my side. Right now he is sleeping at my feet. I am moving soon, and I'm not sure how he will take the 100 mile journey. I may get a sedative from the vet, but he is old. (The cat, not the vet, who is a bit of a dish ) What do you think?

Hi Mari-rae, Hi Coely. I just got the chance to read about your journey. It sounds fantastic. There is so much of this world that I'd like to see. Coely's giving me a chance to see some of England, with her wonderful webcams. See you on Deimos.

Ali*

Hi Ali! Webcams of England?? Where, please?

We have 2 indoor/outdoor cats and 9 or so barn cats. What is your ginger cat called? Talk to your vet about sedation for the move. How is he in the car? Does it stress him? If not, I wouldn't sedate him. I would think he would settle down after a while and be fine. How old is he?

Hr is called RUFUS which is an old English nickname for someone with Ginger hair (We had a king once called William II known as 'Rufus'. In 1100 he was shot him with an arrow whilst hunting for deer in the New Forest. His brother became king, and there are those who claim he ordered the 'accident'. There is a stone on the spot called the Rufus Stone.
History lesson over (your history too I suppose) .
My Rufus is 16 and really hates the car. He is a very nervous cat after being mistreated as a kitten, and has never really got over it I think. He is fine near me, and is as daft and cuddly as you could ever want a cat to be. He sits on my shoulder sometimes, despite being huge and fat now. I've just tipped him off the keyboard, and he is now sleeping at my feet. I would rather not do 100 miles of motorway listening to the distress it will cause him, but as a poor old boy, will he be able to take medication without ill effects? Actually, he's a very healthy cat indeed, but lives a sedate old age. I envy him!
Mari-Rae, please join alicats webcam tour on her page. I'll add another link in a mo.

http://www.h2g2.com/F30347?thread=60981 June 25th entry. ><>

I like your Rufus! The history of British royals sounds a lot like the Romans, but more refined.

Excepting Henry VIII, of course!!

LOL. I was going to post the link to the webcam forum, but Coely has already obliged. It's a wonderful tour.
Coely, your vet will be able to tell you of any ill effects a tranquilizer might cause. 16 is a nice old age. Our family cat, Shadow, when I was growing up, lived to be 20. I wish dogs would live as long, in good health.

He's a nice old cat. He came to me by chance, and I think he knows he's been lucky.
He's not that keen on the vets actually! I'm sure he remembers the day when he left there with a little less than he went in with
I'll add a chat to the vet on my growing 'list of things to do before I move'.
Glad you like the web cams. More there soon.

Thank you, Coely. I don't think I've told you enough how much I enjoy them.

I wish that with the restructuring of DNA 'they' would find a way to extend dog's lives (80 or 90 years would be good!)

Amen to that. Iwish I could grow old with all my 'babies'.

Coely, what will your new home be like? Will you have a garden?

Well, nothing is really certain until the day you move in the UK, but the place I -hope- to be in is much smaller all round. There is a little garden but it drops down onto a river bank with lots of space for an elderly cat to sleep and watch ducks.

It sounds very lovely and tranquil. Will you post pictures?