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statman
07-07-2011, 10:49 PM
Last week my brother, Mike, his wife Bonnie and I went on a road trip to some places that I've always wanted to visit. We flew from San Antonio to Denver and rented a car. From there we drove to South Dakota, and to get there, we had to drive through a portion of Wyoming and ran across some passing thunderstorms...

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/statman71/Wyomingt-stormWeb.jpg

I thought it was cool the way the sun, peeking through the clouds lit up the falling rain as well as producing a small rainbow.

While in SD, we took a bus tour that visited several places in the Black Hills. Here we are at the first stop...the Mount Rushmore National Memoria (http://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm)...

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/statman71/UsatMtRushmoreWeb.jpg
Me, Mike and Bonnie.

Then we toured through Custer State Park (http://gfp.sd.gov/state-parks/directory/custer/default.aspx) hoping to see some buffalo. Much to our disappointment, we didn't catch glimpse of any bison, but we did see a few deer and a few of these guys...
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/statman71/Custer_ChipmunkWeb.jpg

While in the park, we also visited Sylvan Lake. It's a beautiful place and also where part of the film National Treasure: Book of Secrets was filmed. This is a panorama of the lake stitched together from four separate shots...
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/statman71/slvan_lake_Panorama1Web.jpg

We also visited the Crazy Horse Memorial, but by that time the weather was starting to turn bad, so I don't have any pics. :(

The next day we stopped in at the Bear Country USA (http://www.bearcountryusa.com/) drive through wildlife park. They have variety of animals in several enclosures in the drive through portion including elk, reindeer, wolves, buffalo, mountain lions, big horn sheep and bears. Lots of black and brown bears... :) The only two grizzly bears they had were in the walk around portion of the park. Here's a pic of one of them...

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/statman71/GrizzleyWeb.jpg

The next day, we visited Deadwood, an old gold rush town that is now a gambling destination of sorts. It's also the place where Wild Bill Hickock was killed whilst holding the "deadman's hand"... aces and eights. We also hit Sturgis, home of the world's largest biker rally, that day.

The following day, we began our trek further west, stopping in at the Devil's Tower National Monument (http://www.nps.gov/deto/index.htm). It is quite a site to behold. It's monolithic appearance is unique in the somewhat hilly terrain surrounding it. I can see why Spielberg chose this area as a setting in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Very picturesque!

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/statman71/DevilsTowerNationalMonumentWeb.jpg

While in the park we came across a prairie dog town and I snapped off this shot...

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/statman71/Prarie_dogWeb.jpg

Heading further west we passed through the Bighorn Mountains. I took this picture from a scenic overlook off the highway that winds through them...

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/statman71/BighornMtnsScenicBywayWeb.jpg

Our next destination was the one I was most excited about... Yellowstone National Park!

statman
07-07-2011, 10:49 PM
Yellowstone National Park (http://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm) is a fantastic place to visit if you love outdoor scenery as do I. There are so many things to see...

The Yellowstone River Lower Falls is an awesome sight to behold. The thunderous sound sound if the water of the river pounding the rocks at the base of the falls is thrilling. A natural wonder indeed!

This shot was taken from the north rim of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. In order to get to this spot during the "golden hour" (almost) we got up at 4 AM and drove into the park from our cabin outside of Cody, WY. It was well worth the effort.

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/statman71/YellowstoneRiverLowerFallsWeb.jpg

The scene you see here is a panoramic shot of the Grand Prismatic Springs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Prismatic_Spring). One of the many thermal features (hot springs/geysers) in Yellowstone.

This panorama is stitched together in PS CS4 from three separate shots.

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/statman71/Grand_prismatic_spring_Panorama2aWeb.jpg

The Excelsior Geyser is another thermal feature of Yellowstone National Park. It is located near the Grand Prismatic Spring in the Midway Geyser Basin. It's beautiful turquoise waters look inviting, but at nearly 200 degrees, I would advise against jumping in.

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/statman71/ExcelsiorGeyserWeb.jpg

The Old Faithful Geyser is probably the most famous feature of Yellowstone, but I felt it was a bit of a letdown compared to some of the other sights in the park. Still, it's quite impressive and worth seeing.

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/statman71/OldFaithfulWeb.jpg

We saw a variety of wildlife in the park including elk, buffalo, bighorn sheep, a timber wolf, and a badger. We were really hoping to see some bears in the wild, and we did, just not very many. We saw a black bear on the side of the road and one (a cub) in a tree. We also were fortunate enough to see some grizzly bears too. Unfortunately, the only decent picture I got is not very good, as the bears were several hundred yards away from the road. There are actually three bears in this pic, but you can only see one clearly...

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/statman71/GrizzliesinthewildWeb.jpg

Funny thing about traveling through Yellowstone: if you see a bunch of cars pulled over to the side of the road with people standing around pointing, you better stop too. It's most likely a bear that they are gawking at! LOL

Yellowstone is such a wonderful place to visit... everyone should do so at least once in their lifetime. I spent only one short day in the area, but I definitely plan on visiting again!

The last picture I have for you is one I took while in Denver(actually it was in Georgetown near Denver) on the last day of our vacation. We took a train ride on the Georgetown Loop Railroad (http://www.georgetownlooprr.com/)that took us from Georgetown, CO to Silver Plume, Co and back. It is a historic railway from the old silver mining days of Colorado. On one of the stops, we were able to tour an old silver mine. Quite interesting...

Anywho... here's a pic of the train...

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/statman71/GeorgetownLoopRRWeb.jpg


Thanks for looking! I hope you folks like the pics. :)

mwf6171
07-07-2011, 11:20 PM
Sweet pics Paulie!

Alex655321
07-07-2011, 11:22 PM
Great pics Paul !

Man that Devils tower is so cool looking !

That friggin bear needs some teeth whitening big time ! lol

JadeGiant
07-07-2011, 11:24 PM
as I posted on DA - these are awesome pics - really makes me want to make that trip!! Thanks for posting Paul!

statman
07-07-2011, 11:32 PM
Sweet pics Paulie!

Thanks Mikey!

Great pics Paul !

Man that Devils tower is so cool looking !

That friggin bear needs some teeth whitening big time ! lol

Thanks Lou!

Cleaning the bear's teeth can be your job. :eek:

:laugh:

as I posted on DA - these are awesome pics - really makes me want to make that trip!! Thanks for posting Paul!

Thanks again Dave!

I will definitely make a trip back up to Yellowstone one day, but this time, I'm spending more than a day in the park. BTW, there is lodging in the park, but you better reserve it EARLY if you want to get in. We stayed at a nice, kinda rustic, place about 32 miles from the east entrance because we couldn't get a room in Yellowstone.

JadeGiant
07-07-2011, 11:34 PM
wasn't someone just killed by a grizzly at Yellowstone?

statman
07-07-2011, 11:40 PM
wasn't someone just killed by a grizzly at Yellowstone?

Yup. wasn't me though...:confused2







Seriously though... it was a hiker who, along with his wife happened upon a mamma grizz and her cubs and apparently the bear attacked him while protecting the babies.

JadeGiant
07-07-2011, 11:41 PM
Yup. wasn't me though...:confused2







Seriously though... it was a hiker who, along with his wife happened upon a mamma grizz and her cubs and apparently the bear attacked him while protecting the babies.

glad to hear it wasn't you :laugh:

Tragic story ... but you have to know it is possible when you hike where wild grizzlies live.

Rocket
07-07-2011, 11:44 PM
Paul, mate, thank you SO much for the pics and info!! LOVED looking through this and Steph and I will definitely have to hit this part of the US when we return!

Oh and love the shirt ;)

Quest99
07-07-2011, 11:49 PM
Amazing pictures...thanks for sharing! :D

ansel39
07-07-2011, 11:54 PM
Pics-awesome!!!!!
Shirt-sucks!!!!!!!!!

statman
07-07-2011, 11:54 PM
glad to hear it wasn't you :laugh:

Tragic story ... but you have to know it is possible when you hike where wild grizzlies live.

Kind of a funny story about that pic of the grizzlies above: we were heading out of the park when we saw a big group of cars pulled off the road next to a meadowy valley. We see all these people outside of there vehicles and kind of creeping down the hill into pointing off into the distance. We get out of our Tahoe to see what the hubub was and, of course, they were pointing at the bears. So as I and a few other guys were trying to get pictures, we creeped even further down the hill until we were about 50 yards from the road. About that time a lady park ranger(attractive too) shows up and started hollering at everyone to get back up to the road. We all complied and as I was passing her, because i wasn't sure, I asked what kind of bears they were. "She said it's a gizzly...wait did you say bears? how many were down there?" I held up three fingers. Her eyes got big and she says " oh my god..." then she yelled "everyone... back in your vehicles!!! You can't stand on the road any more!"

I asked what was wrong and she basically said that was because one of the bears was a female in heat and the other two were probably males looking to hook up. Apparently, a VERY dangerous situation... especially for knuckleheads like me who were down the hill taking pictures. :eek:

statman
07-08-2011, 12:01 AM
Paul, mate, thank you SO much for the pics and info!! LOVED looking through this and Steph and I will definitely have to hit this part of the US when we return!

Oh and love the shirt ;)

You're welcome my friend! Definitely beautiful country up in that area. I would consider moving up there if not for all of the snow in the winter.

As for the shirt, that was one of two Cowboys shirts I wore on this trip. A fan has to represent! :thumbs2:

Amazing pictures...thanks for sharing! :D

You're quite welcome. It is my pleasure to share them.

Pics-awesome!!!!!
Shirt-sucks!!!!!!!!!

Thanks and :tounge:

LOL

abarron
07-08-2011, 03:23 AM
:jawd:

Wow

Some fantastic pictures Paul

I would love to do something similar at some point

How long was the drive??

DRL
07-08-2011, 03:31 AM
Awesome pictures!!

statman
07-08-2011, 07:54 AM
:jawd:

Wow

Some fantastic pictures Paul

I would love to do something similar at some point

How long was the drive??


Thanks Ash!

We put about 1900 miles on the rental car.

abarron
07-08-2011, 08:09 AM
Thanks Ash!

We put about 1900 miles on the rental car.

Wow

How long did that take.

I only use my car to go to work and back and do about 100 miles in a week

statman
07-08-2011, 08:29 AM
We flew into Denver on Saturday, June 25th and came back home on Friday, July 1st. It was a lot of driving, but it wasn't too bad. We stayed in South Dakota for 3 nights, Wyoming (near Yellowstone) for two nights and Colorado one night.

Hell, the drive through Yellowstone park alone was over 200 miles. It's a BIG park. :D

abarron
07-08-2011, 08:33 AM
We flew into Denver on Saturday, June 25th and came back home on Friday, July 1st. It was a lot of driving, but it wasn't too bad. We stayed in South Dakota for 3 nights, Wyoming (near Yellowstone) for two nights and Colorado one night.

Hell, the drive through Yellowstone park alone was over 200 miles. It's a BIG park. :D

Yellowstone is one of my "to visit" places.

Would love to do i fly drive across america

nbr3bagshotrow
07-08-2011, 08:39 AM
We flew into Denver on Saturday, June 25th and came back home on Friday, July 1st. It was a lot of driving, but it wasn't too bad. We stayed in South Dakota for 3 nights, Wyoming (near Yellowstone) for two nights and Colorado one night.

Hell, the drive through Yellowstone park alone was over 200 miles. It's a BIG park. :D

And you didn't look me up?:rant:

abarron
07-08-2011, 08:42 AM
And you didn't look me up?:rant:

He didn't mention anything about The Shire did he??

nbr3bagshotrow
07-08-2011, 08:44 AM
He didn't mention anything about The Shire did he??

LOL. Denver is the Shire of the real world! I live where there is some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Love it here.

Collection King 13
07-08-2011, 08:46 AM
Amazing Pics!

abarron
07-08-2011, 08:48 AM
LOL. Denver is the Shire of the real world! I live where there is some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Love it here.

I think the thing that amazes me about the US is the variation in lanscapes. There are just some fantastic looking places

nbr3bagshotrow
07-08-2011, 08:59 AM
I think the thing that amazes me about the US is the variation in lanscapes. There are just some fantastic looking places

From my office I can see 3 fourteeners. Pikes Peak, Mount Evans, and Longs Peak. The Rocky Mountains are just a short 20 minute ride.

abarron
07-08-2011, 09:04 AM
From my office I can see 3 fourteeners. Pikes Peak, Mount Evans, and Longs Peak. The Rocky Mountains are just a short 20 minute ride.

That sounds like a great place to work

The coast is about 2 hours from us and dales are about an hour and a half.

So nothing too close

statman
07-08-2011, 09:48 AM
And you didn't look me up?:rant:

You know, I was thinking about it, but on the first day, we flew in, rented a car a split immediately. We stayed Thursday night in Blackhawk ,CO and by the time we got in, it was already getting late. The next day was filled with a trip to Georgetown and traveling back home, so I just did not have time to visit with anyone, unfortunately.

I do plan on going back to the Denver/Blackhawk area maybe next year. When I do, I'll be sure to look you up and throw back a beer or three with ya.

LOL. Denver is the Shire of the real world! I live where there is some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Love it here.

I agree that it is quite beautiful in your neck of the woods!

Amazing Pics!

Thanks CK!

I think the thing that amazes me about the US is the variation in lanscapes. There are just some fantastic looking places

Absolutely true! There is so much to see here in the USA. I hope to be able to enjoy much more of it in my lifetime.

From my office I can see 3 fourteeners. Pikes Peak, Mount Evans, and Longs Peak. The Rocky Mountains are just a short 20 minute ride.

Lucky dog!

JadeGiant
07-09-2011, 10:15 PM
Kind of a funny story about that pic of the grizzlies above: we were heading out of the park when we saw a big group of cars pulled off the road next to a meadowy valley. We see all these people outside of there vehicles and kind of creeping down the hill into pointing off into the distance. We get out of our Tahoe to see what the hubub was and, of course, they were pointing at the bears. So as I and a few other guys were trying to get pictures, we creeped even further down the hill until we were about 50 yards from the road. About that time a lady park ranger(attractive too) shows up and started hollering at everyone to get back up to the road. We all complied and as I was passing her, because i wasn't sure, I asked what kind of bears they were. "She said it's a gizzly...wait did you say bears? how many were down there?" I held up three fingers. Her eyes got big and she says " oh my god..." then she yelled "everyone... back in your vehicles!!! You can't stand on the road any more!"

I asked what was wrong and she basically said that was because one of the bears was a female in heat and the other two were probably males looking to hook up. Apparently, a VERY dangerous situation... especially for knuckleheads like me who were down the hill taking pictures. :eek:

awesome story!

so did you get her digits?

statman
07-09-2011, 10:18 PM
awesome story!

so did you get her digits?

I would have liked to, but besides the fact that she lives 1200 miles away, she was too busy trying to get everyone back in their vehicles... I wish I would have at least gotten a picture of her. Oh well! LOL

RichBamf
07-09-2011, 10:21 PM
stunning pics Paul! Absolutely breathtaking!

statman
07-09-2011, 10:22 PM
stunning pics Paul! Absolutely breathtaking!


Thanks bud! Definitely a trip I'll remember forever.

ansel39
07-10-2011, 12:58 AM
stunning pics Paul! Absolutely breathtaking!

Agreed but the shirt still sux!!!

Kane009
07-17-2011, 02:43 PM
Amazing pics!!!

statman
07-21-2011, 04:44 PM
Amazing pics!!!

Thanks!

statman
07-25-2011, 05:50 PM
If anyone is interested to see the photo book I made of the trip, which includes the pictures in this thread as well as several others, check out this link...

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0BasWrhy1ZNHEA

Click on "view photobook" and then "view full screen".

herofan
11-02-2011, 10:43 AM
Spent 5 great holidays over there. I have looked at and been to many of the places you photographed. Great photo's brought back good memories. thanks.

Argonus
11-02-2011, 11:10 AM
I think the really cool thing we're all overlooking is.. these pictures were all in black & white or Sepia originally; Paul colored them all digitally. :laugh:

Crap.. now I have no butter left for my toast. :bawling:

statman
11-02-2011, 12:47 PM
Spent 5 great holidays over there. I have looked at and been to many of the places you photographed. Great photo's brought back good memories. thanks.

My pleasure! I'm thinking about going back to the area in 2012 or 2013. Really looking forward to that! :)

statman
11-02-2011, 12:51 PM
I think the really cool thing we're all overlooking is.. these pictures were all in black & white or Sepia originally; Paul colored them all digitally. :laugh:

Crap.. now I have no butter left for my toast. :bawling:

Original pics by Ansel Adams, colors by Statman... ;)















Yeah right! I wish these pics were as good as what Mr. Adams did... :o

greatwall
11-07-2011, 11:46 AM
Awesome pictures with full of info. Thanks for sharing.

statman
11-11-2011, 04:56 PM
Awesome pictures with full of info. Thanks for sharing.

My pleasure! I'm glad you enjoyed them.:)