Miami and Orlando

From Houston we went straight to Miami for a wedding. Normally this is a two day trip since it's about a 20 hour drive. But we needed to get there so we drove all night. This is a trip both Hina and I have done several times since we both grew up in Miami and have driven to Houston from there a few times. The last time we drove there was to Orlando and then to Miami for a short stay. Before that we drove from Miami to Houston after our wedding.

After a couple days in Miami we set off again. Visited Orlando again for the 100th time. But this time we went to Disney's Animal Kingdom. It was supposed to be a great park. But it wasn't even better than some of the zoos we've been to. They had just opened their newest ride, a roller coaster called Yeti or something. 2 hour wait for a 2 minute ride. Didn't do much more than give me a headache. The best attraction of the park is supposed to be a safari type trip through acres of land modeled to look like Africa with live animals. While the ride was pretty long, that was the worst part. I couldn't wait to get off. Instead of seeing hundreds of animals what you see are about 3-4 animals in each area and like 10 other tour busses driving around. We saw more people on this ride than animals. Overall, this park sucked. Hina wanted to skip it but I had to go. "Who knows when we will come back to Orlando", I said. Hard to admit, but she was right, as usual.

Back to Houston

From Rushmore we had to take a detour back to Houston. Not much to report about this part of the trip. Dry land, nothing very pretty to look at.

Mount Rushmore

It took a day to get to South Dakota and the Mount Rushmore area. And it was hot here too! But the enterprising people that live in these parts really know how to entertain tourists. There are dozens of tourist attraction all around the area. And a short distance away is Sturgis, where they hold the big motorcycle rally every year.

A short distance from Mount Rushmore is a new monument they are building for Crazy Horse the Native American chief. That sculpture, if they ever finish it, will be even more amazing than Rushmore. Right now they are still raising money for it.

YellowStone National Park

After making some adjustments to our travel schedule because of skipping Glacier National Park we made it to Yellowstone.

Man, was it hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are talking about end of July, beginning of August. It was over 100 degrees everyday we were there. Tour guides kept trying to comfort us by saying, it had never been that hot before. Not much consolation since that is the same thing they said in Palo Alto, Vancouver, Banff, and now here.

After hearing about Yellowstone since I was little, I guess I was expecting too much. I am not much an outdoors kind of guy. But the collection of never before seen natural oddities made it a worthwhile trip. The hot springs were something else. Old Faithful and the other geysers were nice. But after the dancing fountains of the Bellagio, it wasn't as entertaining. Everyone sits around the geyser, and it starts to erupt. Kind of like a small volcano of water. After 2-3 minutes it stops. And then it repeats about every 45 minutes or so. You can watch it maybe once or twice and then you find it loses its charm.

The amazing part to me was the hundreds of buffalo or bison as they are properly called, roaming around the park. We drove all around the main roads of the park two or three times. One time at night, on the way back to our lodge, we got stuck in a bison jam. Hundreds of buffalo were crossing the only road. They were literally three feet away from our car. I wanted to take a picture, but opening the windows or sunroof meant exposing yourself to the huge mosquitoes and other swarming bugs.

On our way out of the park, we happened to get lucky and see a couple cars on the side of the road. We stopped to see what it was and there in plain site were a couple of brown bears: a mama and her cub. Soon there were dozens of cars and about a hundred people gawking and taking pictures. Luckily the park rangers were there to keep order. Those guys and gals do a great job!

The route we took to leave the park was the NorthEast exit. This road is only for the brave of heart and firm hands on the wheel. DO NOT take this road with any snow or rain. We actually climbed up and down the sides of mountains with no guard rails, barely enough room for one car much less two, (it was a two way road), and more twists and turns then in California.

The park is so huge that it even has its own canyon. It's called The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Not as big as the real Grand Canyon but it was still very impressive.

Yellowstone is a great place to take the kids. There is so much to learn, see and do that they will remember it for the rest of their lives. But if you can come in any season besides summer, do it. The park is open everyday of the year and gets covered with snow in winter. That is when visitors get full access to the entire park by snow mobile.

Here you see some of the sulphur pits that the park is famous for.

On To Yellowstone

As we left Banff, we headed to Calgary, took a right and went straight down to the border. Had to drive through Montana before we stopped for the night. Now I know why it's called the Big Sky state. There is nothing around for miles and miles. All you see is prairie and sky. Lots and lots of sky. There is nothing to block your gaze. It's funny, but I felt as though I could feel the spirits of the Native Americans watching us as we drove through, as if they were still protecting their territory.

We were supposed to stay at the lodge at Glacier National Park. But the lodge was overbooked and the only other places to stay were little run down motels run by Native Americans. It's sad to see the state of what was once such a proud people. After checking out there was to do in the park, we decided to keep driving and skip the park altogether.

Columbia Ice Field

A short drive from Banff National Park is another national park, that holds the Columbia Ice Fields. These are a series of interconnected glaciers. The major attraction is the ability to actually take a large bus onto the glacier itself and walk around on it!

Ever been on a glacier before? It's awesome. I am running out of adjectives to describe how beautiful and extraordinary this part of Canada is. The buses actually have 8 feet tall wheels. You have heard of Monster Trucks? These were Monster Buses.

Some smart visitors brought empty water bottles with them, which they filled up with melting water at the top of the glacier when we got off the bus. I have never tasted water so pure and refreshing. Better than any bottled water in the market. If someone could find a way to bottle glacier water, they would make a fortune. Maybe they already have.

Banff

Out of the whole trip, we loved Banff the most. Simply breathtaking natural beauty. Banff is actually a Canadian national park. But it is also a city inside the park. The city was first built on the outskirts of the park, but the government decided to make the park larger and so now the town is inside the park. But no one can build anything new there.

If you want to live near Banff, the best place is a booming little city called Canmore, just out side the park. Homes and condos are going up like crazy here and the prices are going through the roof. It's as close to living in heaven as you can get. I love the beach and oceans too, but living at the foot of mountains and rivers is a whole other ball game.

I wish we had spent more time here. The lakes are a sky blue color. The animals are wild, and the mountains have glaciers on them, even in summer. But the glaciers are receding every year. In a few years, they won't be there anymore.

The most famous part of Banff is Lake Louis. The lake is gorgeous and the hotel on the bank is amazing as well. Look out your window and see the lake in front of you with mountains to the left, right, and behind the lake.

The water of the lake is an aqua blue. Not regular blue like rivers or the ocean. It's something you have to see with your own eyes.