The Wild West with a side of Vegas

Thanks for following along. The sad thing about the fuel situation is, the tank only holds 9 gallons (I figured this out when I put in 8.5 gal with the light on), so it only takes twenty bucks to fill the car up!

 

Life styles of the rich and famous.

 

Day 3 report.

Started out at 7am today with two bottles of iced tea, a cup of ice and a FULL TANK OF GAS!

My first stop. If you cant read the sign (I took a terrible picture) it says Beartooth Highway.
A few pictures on the drive up the Mountain.

Just getting started.

 

Not sure if you can tell or not, but the concrete walkway in the earlier picture is overrun with chipmunks. They come right up to you looking for food.
When I got to the top of the mountain...I was greeting by this crew.

This guy gave me the stink eye.

 

Here a few more. ull]129964[/ATTACH]

This guy said hi!


On to Yellowstone.

 

Buffalo are everywhere in Yellowstone. I gave this family a piece of my mind for not using a Buffalo crossing.


I think the family above called this guy and he came looking for me.
Yes...those are pictures from inside my car.

More to come.

 

Sorry for the poor grammar. I am posting from my phone and my laptop.

The following pictures are from Gramd Teton NP.
Thats it for now.

 

Wonderful pictures, great adventure!

 

Loving your TR!

I was scanning your pics from CH, MR, and Sturgis to see if you crossed paths with my BIL and SIL. Doesn't look like it.

Yellowstone and Grand Teton have long been on my list of places to visit. Beautiful pics!

 

Beautiful scenery.

 

Good stuff! Love the pictures.

 

Don't poo poo the Town House Motel. What sort of play did you have to give them to cover the resort fee? You get so many things for staying there:

• Wireless Internet - Stay connected while on the road with our high-speed, wireless Internet connection.
• Complimentary Continental Breakfast - Provided seasonally from Memorial Day through to the end of Labor Day weekend, we offer an assortment of donuts, muffins, rolls, cereal, juice, coffee, and milk available fresh to you each morning!
• Pets Welcome! - pets can stay in designated rooms, including non smoking rooms, for a $5.00 charge.
• Extended Cable in Every Room - Have to catch the latest episode of your favorite show? Keep up on the news shaping the events of today? We've got you covered!
• T.V.'s with Remotes - Not only will you receive extended cable service in your room, a remote control will allow you to change channels without having to get up.
• 11:00 a.m. Check-Out Time - Gives you more than enough time to wake up before leaving!
• Microwaves & Refridgerators - All of our rooms have refridgerators and most have microwaves for your convenience.
• Barbecue Grills - There are four barbecue grills available for guest use, one on each balcony. These are especially handy for long-term guests who would rather grill their own food rather than eat out every meal.
• Outdoor Seating - Tables and lawn chairs are provided so that guests and sit back and enjoy themselves outside.
• Guest Laundry & Vending Machine - Wash your clothes in our guest laundry, or get a quick snack from the vending machine.

Now I grew up in West Virginia this place gets me. I still see little mom/pop hotels there that brag about Cable in Every Room or Now Has HBO!

Just a gentle ribbing friend. Hope the trip goes well.

 

To all those following along and all the great comments...thank you and I appreciate it.

One more thing about yesterday before I move on to today. If you ever find yourself in the middle of Wyoming, I highly suggest staying in Dubois. It truly feels like a old western town. I stayed at the Stagecoach Inn, which turned out to be a clean, somewhat updated, motel in the center of town. Next down to the motel is a saloon.
Next door to the Saloon is the Cowboy Cafe where sat outside at a table on the sidewalk. I had the Wyoming Wild, Elk and Buffalo sausage...it was very good (very similar to andouille). Just a delight evening. 4.5 forks.


Today is pretty much a travel and rest day. I left Dubois around 7:30. Stopped at Whiskey Mountain and a fishery on my way to Casper.


Not sure of you can tell the size of the fish in each tank...but they range from hatchlings to 6-8 inches.
I arrived in Casper just in time for lunch, so started off downtown hoping to find a cool mom and pop type place. Unfortuantely i could not find a place that had sit down service and looked inviting. So I headed to the highway and ended up at a local mexican joint, food wasnt bad but the service was slooow. 3 forks.

As for the city of Casper, I was taught if you cant say something nice, dont say anything at all. To be fair, I did no research and had no idea what I was looking for, but, its probably not a place I would look to visit in the future.

Leaving Casper it was on to Cheyenne. I arrived in town around 4:30. After checking into my hotel, I headed downtown and found a funky bar called Sanfords, where I currently sit quaffing local brews.

Tomorrow its on to Denver where I plan to hit Blackhawk and hopefully Rocky Mountain National Park.

Thanks again to all of you following along.

 

Yeah the gate is outdoors and I believe it's near those sculptures. I thought it was very cool.

 

Great report. Thank you so much.
Visited a lot of your trip points many years ago, too. And now -

I have a dream...... !(for the time after we will have defeated the corona virus).

 

Today turned out to be a bit of a bummer.

A month or two back when I was researching places I wanted to visit I saw a message on the Rocky Mtn NP website indicating reservations were required. Ay the time I wasnt sure what day I would be visiting, so i didnt make one. Fast forward to today...when I was approaching the park i see roadway signs displaying the message "reservations required". Oh yea, I remember that...shit, i never made one. This was my second Chevy Chase - Vacation moment.


This was as close as I got.

Here are a few pics from the town of Estes Park, which is located at the NW entrance to the park.


I will post part two of the disappointing day a little later.

 

From RMNP I headed south to Boulder. I am a big college football fan and I love checking out college stadiums ( I prefer it be for a game, but that doesn't always work out) and CU's stadium was on my list. I have to say Folsom Field has the most beatiful exterior of any stadium I have ever been to. It was hard to get a good picture, but here are a couple.

I spent a little time checking out downtown Boulder.


I had lunch (Margherita pizza and a beer) at this place. Food 3 forks, vibe 4 forks


After lunch it was on to Black Hawk and a little gambling.

This is where disappointment shows up for a second time today.

Black Hawk casino seen was depressing. I drove around town and all of the Casinos are nice looking building and the town looks cool, but there was nobody walking around, it was like a ghost town. I decided to visit Ameristar first. When you enter the casino they ask for ID and scan your temp. The first thing I notice, no table games...none. Bars were closed and i am not sure they were serving alcohol. I never saw a cocktail waitress during my 30 minutes of VP and slot play. The place was so depressing. I decided at that point I had enough and headed back to Denver. I am guessing the place is totally different on a Saturday night during a non pandemic summer.

Finally, I am staying near the airport and all of the food options near me are Applbees, Outback, etc., so I did a quick search and found this place just 2 miles down the road. I forgot to take pictures of my dinner, but I had a gyro and sweet potatoes fried along with a IPA from a Boulder Brewery. 4 forks.

That is it for tonight...tomorrow I will be live from Las Vegas.

 

Thanks for sharing. You have visited some of my favorite places. Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain Park, and Beartooth Pass is one of my favorite drives. If you have never been on the Million Dollar Highway from Durango to Ouray that is a magnificent drive worth going on too.

Good luck in Vegas.

 

I'm really hoping for / expecting a Vegas Vacation type report when you go from this idyllic scenery into Vegas as it is today.. (it's hot)