End of an Era

It’s hard to believe that a hotel restaurant, in continuous operation since the Civil War, has closed, and the Garner family reunion was its last event. The historic Stagecoach Inn Restaurant, billed as “The Oldest Operating Restaurant in the State of Texas,” closed its doors behind the last of the Garner clan to leave, with…

Starry, Starry Night

At the end of a particularly demanding work week, we were eager to get away. We set our sights on Salado, a tiny Texas town that was established in 1867 for the sole pupose of building a bridge across Salado Creek. Cliff’s Garner family was hosting its annual reunion at the Stagecoach Inn, a Salado…

Texas Hospitality

Day 8 of our Yellowstone Adventure found us overnighting at the Amarillo KOA, our third overnight there. Among other things, Amarillo is known for its meatpacking industry, one of the largest in the nation, and was once called the “Helium Capitol of the World,” for having one of the country’s most active helium fields. The…

Homeward Bound!

Day 7 of our Yellowstone Adventure found us headed for Pueblo, Colorado, as we continued to make our way back home. We had been advised to skirt Denver via the E-470 tollway rather than stay on I-25 through the city. The combination of construction work and rush-hour traffic seemed to make the $50 in tolls…

Best in Snow!

We left Yellowstone National Park two hours ahead of plan, thanks to an unexpected snowstorm. Heavy, wet flakes fell at about an inch an hour, quickly covering everything in a blanket of wintery white. To complicate matters, we learned that our intended route out the East Entrance to Cody had to change because a rock…

Old Faithful, at Last

Day 6 of our Yellowstone Adventure found us at the most popular tourist attraction in the park: Old Faithful. Because most of Yellowstone is an active volcano (one of only about 35 in the world), molten rock lies just beneath the surface, causing geysers to shoot jets of water, mud pots to form, and fumaroles…

A Day at the Canyon

We decided to spend Day 5 of our Yellowstone Adventure at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, one of the park’s most picturesque spots. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is a relatively young formation, perhaps having between 10,000 and 14,000 years old. Although few geologic studies have been done, it’s generally agreed that the canyon…

A Memorable Memorial Day

Unlike many Americans, who wake up on Memorial Day thinking about backyard barbecues and family gatherings, we awoke to the sights and sounds of Buffalo Valley, east of the Teton Range. Thought to be some of the youngest mountains in the world, the Tetons were formed when earthquakes caused the mountains to rise and the…

Ain’t Life Grand!

Today’s road trip took us from Custer, South Dakota, to Moran, Wyoming. In between, we experienced nearly everything Mother Nature had to offer: Wind, rain, lightning, thunder, hail, snow, sun…you get the picture. Speaking of pictures, we shot this one right outside of Douglas, Wyoming. We loved the railroad bridge set against the distant windmill,…