To Wyoming via Louisville: 3/27 - 6/1

Our travel back to the Louisville area, our home base, took us through Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee on I-75. We had scheduled our annual maintenance for the motorhome at Buddy Gregg Motorhomes near Knoxville. From there we headed westward spending a night at the Bowling Green KOA before heading into the Louisville area. While in Bowling Green we visited with friends from nearby Scottsville while eating at Cracker Barrel. Another friend, Pat Stewart of Bowling Green, visited us at the KOA.

Since the tolls were in place on the bridges crossing the Ohio River (the new Lincoln Bridge as well as the Kennedy Bridge), we decided to cross into Clarksville by way of the I-64 bridge (Sherman-Minton). Since this was to be our fifth time to stay at Add-More Campground in Clarksville it sure felt like we were “coming home.” The difference is that we were a couple of weeks ahead of other schedules in returning from Kissimmee. Still, it felt good to be back in Kentuckiana where things were starting to bloom and the trees starting to leaf out.

Springtime in Kentucky. For us, it offers more beauty than can

be seen any spring in Florida because dogwoods and redbud

trees don’t exist there in addition to the expanse of grassy areas.

While in Louisville we visited with Candice and Jeremy and Jody as well as spent time with a few other friends. On Sundays we attended our home church, St. Matthews Baptist, and Highland Baptist (known as Louisville’s liturgical Baptist church) where we were married 13 years ago by Joe Phelps, the church’s pastor. We also had medical appointments and took care of other business. One of the appointments was to the veterinarian to have Redford, our male English cocker, checked. We had him to the vet four times fighting some type of infection. As it turned out, the infection led to the determination that he was dealing with a cancerous growth as well as prostate cancer, which is really rare for a neutered dog. We decided to give him some medication to keep the cancer at a distance so we could enjoy our summer commitment. He has tolerated it well and seems to act like normal.

<-- This is Redford sitting proudly

in the captain’s chair on the driver side

of the motorhome. He’s showing off

the new seat pads made by Martha

coordinating with the seat pad

for our couch and new,

rocking recliner we got before

leaving Kissimmee.

We headed for Jackson, Wyoming at the end of April so we could be in the Jackson Hole area by the first of May ready to start our summer engagement at the Snake River Park KOA. Our plan was to drive it in six days and visit with our son-in-law’s parents in Jefferson City, Missouri. While we did make it to Jefferson City but the plan changed two days later because of the weather in the Jackson area. We wanted to beat the predicted snow and icy roads on one of the passes through which we’d have to drive between I-80 and Jackson.

  --> While traveling on I-80 east through southern
Wyoming we were quite surprised to find
this monument of Abraham Lincoln at
Summit Pass. The monument sits at
an elevation of 8,640 feet in the
Laramie Range between Cheyenne
and Laramie, Wyoming.

You can imagine our surprise at finding anything related to Lincoln in this part of the USA. Following is the reason why. In 1912, construction began on the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway. Since Lincoln was engaged in the effort to build a transcontinental railroad, it only made sense to name the highway in honor of Abraham Lincoln. Long stretches of the highway ran alongside the first transcontinental railroad route and which was later designated as US Highway 30.

In 1958, philanthropist Dr. Charles E. Jeffrey sponsored a project to erect a Lincoln memorial on top of Sherman Hill – the highest point of the highway. It was for the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth. The 13 1/2 foot bronze bust was designed and created by Robert I. Russin of the University of Wyoming.

By the way, it isn’t unusual to view long trains passing in opposing directions on the rail line in this part of Wyoming or western Nebraska. By “view,” one can see either end of the trains in the distance. That is a sight the can’t be seen in any other section of the country through which we have traveled.

Snake River Park KOA is 12 miles south of Jackson on the Snake River. It is at the northern end of the Snake River Canyon that cuts between the Gros Ventre and the Snake River ranges. The owner of the campground also owns a company that offers whitewater rafting through the canyon. The campground, itself, is a bit different than the typical KOA in that this one has many more cabins than it does RV sites. In fact, there are 53 cabins and only 18 RV sites in addition to the five sites for workers. The campground also has 10 tent sites along Horse Creek on the southern edge of the property and eight tent sites along the Snake on the western border.

Tent sites along Horse Creek which flows from the Gros Ventre

range into the Snake River by the campground.

In preparation for opening the campground we worked on cleaning

the recreation room. This photo was taken when we had completed

cleaning the hanging lights, dusting the timbers, cleaning the floors,

and arranging the furniture. The room is in traditional mountain design.

When we arrived the runoff from the snow melt was just beginning though the flow was yet to reach the peak stage. Evidence of how much there was to go could be seen anywhere along the Teton, Snake River or Gros Ventre ranges. Seeing all the snow became typical as we made our first trips on our days off.

In early May we journeyed through Jackson Hole to Jackson Lake, the man-made reservoir that is the first in line on the Snake River. This photo was taken from the dam on the southeastern edge of the lake with Mount Moran to the fight of center (it's peak almost touches the clouds) and the highest peak of the Grand Tetons on the left side (it’s peak is covered by clouds). As can be seen, snow exists from nearly the base of the mountains (valley floor) all the way to the peaks.

The same afternoon we drove around to Jenny Lake which is fed

by one of the glaciers. Jenny is always so peaceful looking. This is looking

northwest from the southeastern shore nearest the observation deck.

There is a new deck and walkway being constructed so getting

to this point meant going around a temporary path that

had hardly been used. That changed in a month when

foot traffic picked up along with park attendance.

One of the most photographed barns in America is the Moulton Barn

in Jackson Hole. What make it so photogenic is that the Grand Tetons

are the backdrop as witnessed in this photo. The eastern side of the

Tetons have no foothills. This is why they seem so majestic since the

rise more than 6,000 feet from the median elevation of the Hole

(the valley between Jackson and the south entrance of Yellowstone).

Each year the elk, mule deer, and moose loose their antlers (horns are

permanent, antlers grow new each year). Jackson Hole houses

the National Elk Refuge where thousands of elk spend the winter.

In the spring, Boy Scouts in the area gather the shed antlers

and make them available for sale at the annual Antler Festival.

Antlers are sold by the pound, in general, except for the very fine sets that match well. Elk antlers and moose paddles may bring as much as $3,000 if they match well. An attached skull can even add to the value. Of course, a skull with antlers means an elk perished some time during the winter. By the way, did you know that elk have canine teeth? They do. They, like elephants tusks, are of ivory, are extracted and sold separately. The more than one-half of the proceeds the Boy Scouts receive go to some designated charities in the region. The remaining funds are retained for use by the Scouts.

This blog covers nearly nine weeks of activity on our part. The next report will cover a six-week period so be sure and check back.