When we take the grands, we don’t usually do many “amusement” activities. We try to introduce them to new ideas and give them an appreciation for their country.  This is the grave of Rebecca Burdick Winters near Scottsbluff, Nebraska. She died on the Oregon Trail. Rebecca was about 52. She came down with cholera about noon one day and by evening she was gone. A friend chiseled her name into a steel wagon wheel rim and used it for a marker. (You can see it near the marble headstone).  When the railroad was surveying for the transcontinental tracks, they came across her marker and rerouted the tracks slightly to miss her grave. Later, her remains were moved near Scottsbluff. Rebecca Winters is the grandchildren’s first cousin, 8 times removed. 

We got to see dozens — probably hundreds of bison wandering around in Yellowstone and several other places. This one was close to the truck and just ambling along. 

As you leave Yellowstone via the north entrance, you pass the 45th parallel which is halfway between the north pole and the equator. Two days after we left the park, this road was washed out, a bridge was destroyed and staff houses were swept away by torrential rains (a once in 1,000 year rain). The park was closed and thousands were evacuated. 

There are two falls on the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park. The falls in the distance is the lower falls which is about 300 feet high. The water levels were high due to melting snow. Alice is the grandchild who struggled with leukemia several years ago. We are very grateful she has been clear at her annual checks. 

Ben spotted “Cinnamon”, a light brown black (as opposed to grizzly) bear who liked to hang out near the road in Mesa Verde National Park. 

We stopped by the Petrified Forest in Arizona and hiked around a bit. The number of petrified logs there is amazing. There is also a small building made of petrified logs. 

The Grand Canyon is an amazing place. We spent a night on the  North Rim and then drove around to the South Rim to spend another night. Ben (center) wanted to see the Grand Canyon, so he chose the second leg of our trips. 

We drove along sections of old Route 66. This is a bridge built over the Querino Canyon in Arizona. It was built in the 1930s for Route 66.  We also stopped at a Route 66 museum in Elk City, Oklahoma. If you are ever in the area, check it out. They have put together a number of buildings (16?) that you might have seen on Route 66. 

The television show, Longmire, was a popular modern western a few years ago. Although it was set in Wyoming, it was filmed in New Mexico (for tax reasons). We stopped in Las Vegas, New Mexico to see the entrance to Sheriff Longmire’s office. The door is still painted like it was when they were filming. Josh is with me.