Travel Tips & Adventures

Yellowstone, the first National Park in what later became a National Park System, is an incredible place to explore.  Sometimes, just driving can give you amazing views of the wildlife and natural wonders available.  The 2.2 million acres of Yellowstone are located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with some of its land spilling into Idaho and Montana.

Yellowstone National Park southern entrance

Getting there

Entering Yellowstone from the south via Grand Tetons (more on that park another week) we drove in on Route 89/191/297.  We had paid for a park pass at Grand Teton that was good for both parks for seven days.  ($25 in our case, an annual pass is $50)

In late May, as we headed past Lewis Lake, the water was still frozen and it was still cold outside, as evidenced by our need to use the car’s defroster.  According to the map, the road on which we entered was actually closed until mid-May.  Apparently, only the two east and one north entrances are open year round.

First stop: Old Faithful and more

Everyone has heard about Old Faithful, (more…)

Just when you thought you’d never see another blog from Travel Tips and Adventures…well, here we are again!

Some other business activities have been keeping me busy – which I’ll share with you all soon. We also had the infamous “technical difficulties.”

In the meanwhile, we’ve been traveling and will, over the weeks to come, be offering our accounts of our visits to Yellowstone National Park, Southern Idaho and travel eats and accommodations along the way.

We’re getting very close to having traveled to every state in the United States – especially my husband – and on this particular trip, we were in five different states – Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.

In the Western United States, spaces seem more spacious.  Although places may look close on a map, you can drive for many miles before seeing another town or any humans. Other than car occupants, what we saw more of than anything in our travels were buffalo – or bison – at Yellowstone National Park.

We also saw one lone buffalo that had strayed out of Yellowstone and was munching placidly on grass in the small resort town, West Yellowstone, adjacent to the Park.  The buffalo was now legendary, as he had been in West Yellowstone for a week.  Turning up behind a restaurant, behind someone’s home and in various other parts of town, no one seemed too concerned about their new inhabitant.  The theory seemed to be, “let it be.”

Tune in next week and we’ll share more about our trip to the 2.2 million acres!! (we didn’t get to all of them, but many amazing locations) of Yellowstone National Park.

And the travel winner is…

(Okay, we have not been blogging recently.  Our internet connection was very iffy, but now we seem to have resolved those issues.)

After reviewing travel options for our nine-day excursion, we have decided to choose -   ta da da da dah da!-

IDAHO!

Our choice of Idaho was for the following reasons:

1. We have never been there.
2. They sent us information very quickly – we like responsiveness!
3. We know images can be enhanced, but the stunning views of mountains and lakes were irresistible.
4. After living in the Arizona desert, an abundance of lakes, waterfalls and rivers will be a welcome change.
5. The scenic byways sound entrancing and the diversity of climates is always a great idea if you want to see a lot in very little time.
6. Boise sounds like our idea of a great city to visit.  A university town, that always seems to add something special to the life of a community.   “A vibrant downtown bordered by a 25-mile greenbelt and seven grand parks, line the city’s waterfront.” (Although there is a punctuation/grammatical error there, we get the point.)
7. My husband wants to get some golfing in.  Idaho has an abundance of that.
8. Towns with names like “Bliss,” “Eden” and “Cascade” are so evocative we can’t resist.
9. We once met a Coeur d’Alene resident who couldn’t say enough great things about the city.  We want to see Coeur d’Alene – scenery, culture and golf – sounds almost too good to be true!

10.  After looking randomly at the Idaho Web site, I was hooked! www.visitidaho.org

More to come as we refine our travel adventure!

NO, we’re not robbing a bank!  When it gets to this time of year in Phoenix, people start leaving.  The weather begins to be warmer and the snowbirds start flocking up north.

We have thoughts of migrating ourselves.  We have a short trip to LA coming up, but we’re also planning a longer stay.

But, where to go?  We have nine days and we want a new place –“somewhere where we’ve never been before.”

We had several ideas.  First, we’ll stay stateside since we’re not in the mood for customs and dealing with currency conversions.

Also, we don’t want an enormous plane ride.  We’re open to the possibility of a drive, but we don’t want to spend most of the vacation getting there.

I voted for open spaces, but I need to see water.  My husband also likes open spaces, but he likes mountains.

California?  Been there, done a lot of it.

Colorado?  Maybe.  I keep hearing about Durango and picturesque mountains.

Wyoming?  Certainly, it has the open spaces!

Idaho?  The scenery looks great in the brochures!

Washington (the state)?  We drove through on our way to Vancouver.  I’d get my water and my husband his mountains.

We’ve sent for new brochures.  Yes, I know, the mountains and natural features don’t change too much in a few years.  But, hotels and manmade items do change.

With visions of exploration and open vistas dancing in my head, I will sign off for now.

Come back next week, and we’ll share more about our plans.  Out west for sure!

Tucson is old.  On this blog previously we’ve featured centuries-old churches and other architectural sites.  Today, we’re highlighting some of the “modern” – 100 years or less – sights, plus scenery. (more…)

Traveling to Spooky Jerome, Arizona

A few miles and up the hillside – a very steep hillside/mountain – from Clarkdale and Cottonwood, Arizona is the historic town of Jerome, Arizona.  The fact that residents pride themselves on their probable insanity is based on the location of the former mental asylum and the fact that the town is perched precariously on hillsides.  Ironically, you drive through “Deception Gulch” to reach Jerome.

Sign in shop window - the mental state of Jerome

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Near the picturesquely named Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood, Arizona, the Blazin’ M Ranch – and Dinner Theatre- conveys a feeling of the Old West, both its hospitality and its rambunctious good times. (more…)

We took a trip on the Verde Canyon Railroad.  Starting from a depot in the little town of Clarkdale, Arizona, the Verde Canyon Railroad offers a chance to relax and watch the scenery.  The four-hour adventure takes you through open areas with wildlife and scenic vistas to a little depot with only one family in the even tinier town of Perkinsville. (more…)

San Felipe travel can be whatever you want it to be – A laid back vacation, a longer stay, a spring break, a retirement haven.  At an orientation we attended for potential homebuyers in San Felipe, they said, “You go to Florida to die, Mexico to live.”

Beach at sunrise

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San Felipe has become quite the hang-out for American and Canadian ex-patriots – or just, sometimes, visitors.  Although Rocky Point has a following, the name says a lot.  Rocky Point (Puerto Peñasco) has rocky beaches, but a lively repeat crowd. (more…)