4/28/15 - KOA Campground in Billings.

4/28/15 - Today we took it easy & checked out the campground. The campground is situated along the Yellowstone River with a backdrop of some of the Yellowstone National Forest. 

We took a walk over to the River & this is what we saw. 

The River bed is not as full of water as it once was. Where these rocks are there  used to be water. The water has receeded quite a bit. 

The water was rushing down river at a fast pace. 

Carp enjoying the sights. 

Me too!  

Carp carved our names in the sand!  

Took it easy for the rest of the day & met some new folks in the campground. 

Good to have a down day!  

4/29/15 - Pictograph Cave State Park, Billings, MT

4/29/15 - Pictograph Cave State Park

Today we took a trip up to the Pictograph Cave State Park in Billings. Unfortunately, were not able to go into the cave due to the fact that some large boulders had recently fallen down & they don't want anyone to get injured. 

A pictograph is a painting on a stone surface & petroglyphs are carved on stone. 

The Pictograph Cave and the areas around it were once the living quarters of prehistoric hunters and gatherers. This site provided many of the basic needs of early travelers through the Yellowstone River Valley. 

Fresh water, reliable shelter, edible and medicinal plants were all located here and in great variety. 

The Pictograph Cave area an early crossroads for some of the first people on the northern plains. 

Although this area is near the Crow Indian Reservation, the earliest people who camped here may not have been related to the Crow. 

However, these historic tribes, including the Blackfoot and Crow, may have used this site for ceremonial purposes. 

The hole under the sign in the mountain is the Cave. 

These are copies of some of the pictographs that are in the cave. They had these on the walls of the welcome center. 

Here is what the surrounding area looks like near the cave. 

We were told that the Crow Indians refuse to go into the cave because of the spirits.  They believe that the spirits are the ones who made the pictographs on the walls inside the Cave. 

4/27/15 - On the Road to Billings, Montana

4/27/15 - On the road to Billings, Montana. 

This sign was at the state line going into Montana then we went down a steep mountain. Thank goodness there was a rest area at the bottom to pull into. 

Driving down route I-90 we saw so many beautiful sites. This was a mountain range with clouds hanging low over the mountains. 

Cows grazing at the bottom of a mountain.  

Each bend we went around on the highway we would see such beautiful sites as this off in the distance.

The mountains in the next pictures are the Anaconda Mountains.

Not sure of this mountain range but absolutely beautiful. 

These mountains are on the East side of

Yellowstone. 

Beautiful!  

We finally arrived at the campground at 1:00 am on the 28th.  

4/26/15 - World Wind Travel Day.

4/26/15 - Today we left Spokane Valley & traveled through three (3) states. 

We slide out of Washington into Idaho & ended up in Missoula, Montana all in one day. 

It was a long & tiring ride through the mountains. As we approached Missoula, it began to rain &  the sun was still out so I knew there had to be a rainbow somewhere. 

I looked over to the left & saw a beautiful rainbow. It was over a mountain, but you could see that the rainbow was touching the ground and extending up over a mountain.  By the time Carp could safely pull over the colors of the rainbow were not a vibrant, however, we were able to get a few pics before we continued our trip. 

As we traveled just a little further down the highway there was another rainbow

Up in front of us.  

So magnificent!  Then as we were setting up in the campground, yet another rainbow. Things happen in threes! 

The third rainbow was a full arch rainbow.

Unfortunately, I was not able to get a good picture to share.  

After the rain stopped this is what we saw. 

Yet another beautiful sunset. How lucky can two people be?  

Each day we think of our day & realize that we are given so many gifts each day!  

We love this country!  

4/24/15 - Coeur d'Alene, WA

4/24/15 - We were only 18 miles from the Idaho border so we took a ride over to the town of Coeur d'Alene which is the second largest metropolitan area in the state of Idaho. This city is situated on a beautiful lake named after the town. 

The city is named after the Coeur d'Alene people, a tribe of Native Americans who lived along the rivers and lakes of the region and were first encountered by French fur traders in the late 18th  and early 19th century. 

The name Coeur d'Alene translated into English means Heart of an Awl, a reflection of the perception of the tribe's 

Traders as very tough businessmen. 

There were nice little shops & restaurants along the Main Street. We stopped for a bite to eat at the Moose Lounge. 

It was very cold & windy so we did not do too much walking due to the weather. 

Lake Coeur d'Alene from the highway. 

4/22/15 - Spokane Valley, WA

4/22/15 - We arrived in Spokane Valley, WA at yet another campground with a train which passed by the edge of the campground. 

We keep referring to our adventure as, Trains, Planes & Automobiles just like the movie. All we can do is laugh. 😃

On the 23rd we took a trip to the local Camping World store for some supplies & when we came out of the store this is what we saw.

 

Dark stormy sky off in the distance. 

I have never seen such dark skies with a storm. 

At the end if the day there was a beautiful sunset. 

This shot looks like the earth is on fire. 

This campground was located on the boarder between Washington & Idaho. 

4/20/15 - Historic Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Cascade Locks, OR

Today we began our travels by stopping at the Bonneville Lock & Dam. What a fantastic place. 

It was amazing to see how much water was passing through the locks. 

This is a guard station that was used during the war to ensure that no infiltrators would go in & try to blow up the dam. 

Actually, when we were going into the dam a guard stopped us & asked us if we had guns & or weapons of any kind. He even look through the back window of the Jeep to see if we had anything.

Explaination of the guard stand. 

Inside of the visitors center they had an area where we could sit in front these glass windows to the fish ladders that they have there. There is a women who actually sits in front of these windows each day & counts how many fish swim up stream & keeps count of the number of fish per day. 

They told us that there were over  ten thousand fish yesterday alone. 

These are the fish ladders looking down from the observation level. 

Carp up on the observation level with the fish ladders below & the 

Cascade Mountains in the background.

Me too! 😊

We went to the Fish Hatchery where Carp was feeding the Sockeye Salmon. 

Ok now our waterfall adventure begins. 

The first waterfall we came upon was the Horsetail Falls. 

Along our way we saw this open tunnel in the side if the mountain where they made it just for walkers to get around the narrow road. 

Heading over to our next waterfall this was this bridge over a creek. It was so peacefull. 

This was our second waterfall. The Multnomag Falls is King. It is the tallest waterfull in Oregon.  It is 620 feet. Only three falls in the nation are taller, but none are as majestic as Multnomah Falls. 

See the bridge - Carp & I climbed up the side of the mountain to this bridge. It was awesome. See next pictures. 

A nice lady took our picture up on the bridge. Good exercise. 

This is a picture of the falls through the opening of the bridge while we were up there. 

Mountain alongside the waterfall. 

Carp up on the bridge at this fantastic waterfall. 

Me too. It was cold up there but beautiful. 

This waterfall was quite different from the previous ones. This one was not as large & it was flowing over rocks as it came down the mountain

Another view of this waterfall. 

Latourell Falls. This was a state park.  When we came upon this waterfall we thought we would only see it from a distance & not see the end of it, however we were mistaken. 

We hiked down this narrow walkway going downhill as we progressed & to our surprise we saw the falls in its entirety. 

This was the first viewing of this waterfall. 

As we got closer,we could see the falls with the runof looking like a creek...

It was magnificent. We could feel the splash from the waterfall hitting the water at the bottom. So awesome!!! 

Carp in his glory. 

So awesome!

Two ladies came along & offered to take our picture & we reciprocated. 

At the top of the mountain towards the end if our drive down Rt. 30 we came upon the Vistor House.  Unfortunately it had just closed.  

This Vistor House overlooks the Columbia River. See the following pictures. 

Overlooking the Columbua River. 

Hope you enjoyed our perfect day. Such a Beautiful country we live in!  

Here is the backdrop of our camping space in Cascade Locks, Oregon. 

This is the same mountain as the previous picture from a different view.