Lonesome Dove Baptist Church

Love this cross with dove…aptly fits name

Original church structure burned and was rebuilt. Used now as youth room.

Cemetery still used…

…but some graves go back to the 1800’s and nice security guy said include some civil war vets

Fort Worth, TX - Hell’s Acre

Hell’s Half Acre historical marker - notorious site in wild and wooly Fort Worth after arrival of railroad

Located near what’s now the Fort Worrh Convention Center and next to the Water Gardens

Fort Worth, TX - Historic Stockyards

Always forget how cool the Stockyards are!

White Elephant Saloon was moved here from Hell’s Half Acre

White Elephant Saloon

Went into the Cowboy Channel Bar and watched some rodeo over a “cool one”

Cowboy Channel Bar

Roy Rogers mural

Hotel Drover is newer addition to The Stockyards. Beautiful!!!

Happened to be MLB All Star Weekend with the MLB Draft so extra goings on!

Had to do a little shopping at the King ranch store!

Inspecting hand-stamped monogram on Dopp kit bag

Think he likes it!

Yep! He did.

Perfect end to long hot Day 1 — dinner at The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro. It was delicious!

Lots of options - we both had a filet, burnt carrots and roasted mushrooms. Yum!

Blue corn lobster hushpuppy - don’t worry it’s bigger that looks in pic, plus we had 3. Lol

Oklahoma City, TX - National Western Heritage Museum

So much history preserved here. Old west cowboy paraphernalia. Modern rodeo cowboy trophies and awards. Movie and TV cowboy and cowgirl stars clothing, hats and boots donated by their families. Didn’t take that many pics…you just need to go. 😀

Oklahoma City, OK - Oklahoma City National Memorial

Gates of Time

9:01 represents the minute before bomb went off

9:03 represents the minute after the bombing

Portion of wall still standing

Survivor’s Tree

Until got to hotel, and owner said there are a bunch of feedlots around. Biggest is about an hour away and has 300,000 head. He said 1/4 of all beef produced in US each day is in 100 mile radius of Dodge City.

Dodge City Stockyard Cafe

So, you’d think Papa would want steak at Stockyard \240Cafe for lunch, right? Nope. Tacos! 🌮

Stockyard Cafe menu - oops lunch on back

Stockyard Cafe foyer

The Stockyard Cafe is literally in the middle of some stockyards. A truck and trailer were pulling in with a load of yearling as we were leaving and began unloading. One got away. Papa was about to have to cowboy up when they cornered him. 🤠

Santa Fe Trail Tracks - Dodge City Ruts

Hard to see in my pics, so I stole this online aerial view of the remaining wagon tracks located about 10 miles outside of Dodge City. The tracks closer to Dodge City are now covered by the highway and railroad tracks. Still amazing that they’ve survived at all after almost 200 years of wind, rain and erosion.

For 60 years in the 1800s, wagons traveled across this land, often 4 wide for protection. So multiple parallel ruts following a slight ridge.

Aerial view “stolen” from online showing parallel ruts

Long Branch Saloon (Boot Hill Museum)

Yes, there really was a Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City. Original is long gone but you can still belly up to the bar for a cool one.

No sign yet of the Marshal or Miss Kitty, but these 3 outlaws showed up.

Gotta have some saloon girls…

Then here comes trouble….

But the Marshal, as always, got the bad guys and retrieved the stolen dough.

Papa decided he fit right in, so joined the cast. 🤠 Not sure if as a deputy or an outlaw? 😉

So we just had to stick around for the dinner show. And lo and behold, who showed up but Miss Kitty and her girls.

Dodge City paid \240homage to its history and the Gunsmoke TV show by recreating Front Street, now Gunsmoke Road in a city block called Boot Hill.

Finally, we found the real Marshal. James Arness, in statue form at least.

And LOTS of crop lands for as far as you can see.

Tri-Trails Park

The Chisholm Trail from Texas, the Oregon Trail from Missouri, and the Pony Express converged at Ogallala, thanks to the Platte River and Union Pacific Railway. Saw a quote saying that back in the cattle drive days, Ogallala was said to be too tough for Texans.

Chisholm Trail marker

Chisholm Trail marker closeup

Oregon Trail marker

Pony Express marker

Boot Hill Cemetery

Cemetery dating back to early settlers and cattle drive days.

Ole’s Big Game Steakhouse

One guess what Papa had for dinner. 😉

We walked all the way to the top of The Very Steep Hill. \240Some idiot left the binoculars case at the top Nd had to make a 2nd trip. 😅 \240Did I mention that it was steep? Lol

Chimney Rock, NE

The detour also meant that we got to go by Chimney Rock. This unique rock formation is visible for miles (we saw it at 6+ miles) and was a significant landmark for measuring the settlers’ progress on the Oregon Trail.

Carhenge - Alliance, NE

Another cool find on our detour was Carhenge. . . Nebraska’s answer to Texas’s Cadillac Ranch outside of Amarillo. A man from England wanted to bring a bit of his homeland to his new home. So he constructed a replica of the Stonehenge stone circle using cars!

The Badlands, South Dakota

Whew! After all we’d see, more spectacular sights were in store. Pictures just don’t do it justice.

Walked up about 500 steps to get close view.

Crazy Horse

Of course, had to also go see Crazy Horse since it’s only about 15 minutes from Mount Rushmore. It’s still a work in progress. Crazy Horse is gargantuan compared to Mt Rushmore and is privately funded. So won’t be completed for decades.

1/34th scale model

Custer State Park / Needles Highway, Iron Mountain Road, and Wildlife Loop

Not much wildlife seen on the Wildlife Loop,, but we made about 1,586 hairpin turns on Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road!! Actually, per online info:

• Needles Highway, 14 miles, 360 curves and \24012 switchbacks
• Iron Mountain Road: 17 miles, 314 curves, 14 switchbacks, 3 pigtails, 3 tunnels (2 framing views of Mount Rushmore)

Aerial of pigtail..was too busy driving to take a pic! 😬

Cathedral Spires

Wildlife Loop

Deadwood,SD

Super cute historic town.

Spearfish Canyon, SD

Made me wish I could fly fish!

Devils Tower, WY

Sheridan, WY

Another town with a strong rodeo culture. \240Missed it by a week.

Aberdeen, MT

Sheridan WY is within 25 miles of Montana, so why not? 😳

Lunch at Buffalo Bill’s Irma Hotel

Hotel is 122 years old and is still very grand.

I had the Annie Oakley. Delicious! 😋

Original bar, gifted by Queen Victoria of England to Colonel Cody in appreciation of his command performance. Made in France, shipped by steamer to New York, then by rail to Montana, and finally brought to Cody on horse-drawn freight wagon. Massive and beautiful.

Amazing small dining room, originally the hotel lobby.

So, when the opportunity popped up, Joe had to express his admiration of the hotel to the Colonel himself. 😉

No visit to Cost is complete without seeing a couple of statues on honor of its founder and namesake - Buffalo Bill Cody.

Cody Nights Rodeo

Old Trail Town

This is a collection of real log cabins relocated to Cody’s original town site. They are fully furnished with period items…some if not most are original. \240Like walking back in time.

1st Buffalo/Bison Sighting

Our Yellowstone home for next few days - Old Faithful Inn. Architecture and log work is breathtaking.

Checked in, then hit the road to look. 😍

Drove almost the entire Grand Loop and saw some beautiful scenery but only 2 buffalo and 1 muskrat. Not quite what Joe expected for wildlife. But I told him to just wait. 😉

First Look at Old Faithful

Watch video to see Old Faithful in action

Hayden Valley Buffalo Bulls

Began with a buffalo encounter of the close kind. Don’t panic—they started farther away and I moved behind my car as they got closer. 😳

Lamar Valley Buffalo Cows and Calves

Huge herd

Roosevelt Old West Cookout

Drive Back to Old Faithful through Mammoth Springs

Black Bear

Black Wolves

Elk

Elk herd

Play video to see it bubble!

Yellowstone River and Yellowstone Canyon

One of my favs in the Park is seeing how \240the Yellowstone River winds its way in the Park and seeing how it changes along the way.

Upper Falls

Yellowstone Canyon (see River at bottom)

Closeup of River in Yellowstone Canyon

Another closeup

So many waterfalls!

Pretty view

Lower Falls

Upper Falls Artist’s Point with an artist actually painting

Grand Prismatic Spring

Doofus guide didn’t stop here — probably the most iconic site in the park. It was crowded and parking would have been tough, but when we did this tour on Coop’s 13th birthday trip to Yellowstone, the guide did stop. So…. Joe and I went back that evening.

Play video to watch it boil!

Just couldn’t see the colors well enough from ground level, so I struck out on a hike/climb. This is the view from above. 😍 you can see the ground-level boardwalk across.

Cloudy, misty and drizzly, so pics not the best. But you’ll hopefully get the idea!

Jackson Hole, WY

Famous antler entrances to Town Square

Had to go to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar for some lunch 😋

They might have spent $1M on barstools. This is one side. The opposite side is just as long with saddle barstools.

Incredible woodwork

Gorgeous flowers everywhere

On to Cheyenne!

And let me say that the town of Cheyenne was ready for some Rodeo Fans! Our humble little Comfort Inn & Suites went all out with a welcome 🤠 hat full of goodies, provided free cookout and live music \240every night. Set tone for a fun time!

And who would we run into as we wandered through the Rodeo Fairgriunds but Robert John Crowell! He took this pic of us. 😂

Youth Chuckwagon Cookoff. These guys are seriously legit campfire cookers. Super cool.

Marshal threatened to take Joe to the hoosegow if he didn’t toe the line! He had a real Colt 45 strapped on! 😳

RODEO TIME! \240We had awesome VIP \240rooftop seats with a close view of the team roping chutes, private bar AND the Cowboy Channel broadcasting the rodeo right behind us. Mell and Clint took this screenshot of the broadcast with Joe and me in the background. Were TV stars…our backsides at least. 🤣

Y’all know how shy Joe is, right? \240Not!! He and Justin are now BFFs.

The rodeo was action packed. No downtime. Started out hot and a unny but a shower came through and cooled things down considerably.

Marine Color Guard - play video

Navy Seal parachuters - play video 😍

Silly clown!

Native American Dancer - play video

another Native American dancer - play video

Lots of rodeo action!

Best of all, Tyler Wade (Terrell boy who was last year’s Team Roping World Champion) won the Team Roping!!

Tyler Wade - play video

Tyler Wade winning time - play video

Cheyenne Frontier Nights Concert with Grammy Award Winner and CMA Entertainer of the Year 🎵 🌟 LAINEY WILSON 🌟 🎵

Lainey was spectacular!

Intro - play video

“Good Wishes Come Home” - play video

“Watermelon Moonshine” - play video

“Heart Like a Truck” - play video

Pikes Peak (14,115 feet) via Cog Railway

Going up

Views from the top

What goes up must go down…. 😳

Play video

Sometimes meet another train going in opposite direction and have to switch over to secondary track temporarily.

Our trusty engineer, Caden, got us down safely!

So much better than driving to the top for Joe and me. \240😬 Here’s a “borrowed” aerial view of some of the switchbacks.

The highway is 19 miles long and ascends over 6,700 feet in elevation. \240There are about 156 turns in that 19-mile stretch, mostly with no guard rails! 🫣 \240Takes most people 2 \240hours round trip and a half tank of gas.

Spotted this nonpaying but very welcome guest flitting around. 😍

Manitou Springs stroll

Even had an Elvis sighting! 😉💙

• Balanced Rock - back view

• Steamboat

• Scotsman

• Kissing Camels

• Sleeping Giant

• Cathedral Spires

Coolhorse, Amarillo, TX

Made it back to Texas and Amarillo! Joe’s first stop? Coolhorse for some 🐴 \240tack shopping.

They have a few ropes. ;-)

Dinner at The Big Texan, Amarillo, TX

Happy camper

❤️ the truck

One more night, then Royse City here we come!!!

We made it home safe and somewhat sound!

Trip summary:

• 17 days
• 4,162 miles
• 9 states
• 21 cities/towns visited
• 10 hotels