Traveling Cherrie

Home on the range!!

Can a city slicker teddy bear like Cherrie find happiness on a Montana dude ranch?  More important, can they even begin to accommodate her special needs? Gladly the answer is a resounding yes.  To that end, here's a short report and a few photos on her recent dude ranch experience.  Look for expanded coverage in an upcoming issue of Emerging Horizons.

Candy makes a new friend at Pahaska Tee Pee, just outside the Eastern entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

After a very relaxing stay in Yellowstone, we headed east towards Cody, Wyoming. Although we saw a good chunk of the park, an automobile accident prevented us from exploring the Mammoth Hot Springs area. No worries though, as we’ll be able to swing down and take that in after we visit a few Montana dude ranches.

Cherrie on the North Crater Flow Trail at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho.

Craters of the Moon National Monument is appropriately named, as the volcanic rocks are somewhat reminiscent of a lunar landscape.  Not that I've been to the moon -- most likely there are access issues -- but it's the scenery I envision being up there. In any case, this Eastern Idaho National Monument is most definitely worth a visit.  Not only is it a little off the beaten path and pleasantly devoid of the tourist crowds, but there are also several accessible trails within the park.

Candy and Cherrie enjoying thier cruise on the Snake River Canyon.

Today we explored the Twin Falls, Idaho area, by land and by water -- with a little bit of short distance air travel thrown in, just to spice things up a tad.

Cherrie and Candy mapping out their summer Wetern States road trip.

Well Charles , Cherrie and I are on the road again - in search of more accessible destinations and activities for our readers.  This summer road trip will take a little over three weeks, and hit some of the highlights and offbeat attractions in the west.

Cherrie helping me with my presentation.

San Francisco is one of my favorite cities, largely because of its cultural diversity. So since I had a speaking engagement there Saturday morning, I thought it would be kind of fun to take in a little of that cultural diversity in the afternoon. To that end, Charles, Cherrie and I hit the road in the morning; and after my presentation we enjoyed a little taste of Asia in the afternoon. It turned out to be the perfect day.

On our last leg of our cross country journey we got the opportunity to explore a bit of the Mother Road -- also known as Historic Route 66. This Chicago to Los Angeles road bustled with activity in the 1920s to the 1970s, but it was eventually replaced by I-40 in 1978.

Today you can find remnants of the old road, and the roadside businesses along the way; but thanks to local preservationists there's a very cool 41-mile stretch that you can actually drive along in Arizona. It makes for a fun diversion, and Cherrie loved the trip. It was like going back in time.

Today we drove from Amarillo, Texas to Flagstaff, Arizona; but we saved some time to explore some of the historic roadside stops along Route 66, and had a great lunch with two friends in Albuquerque. It was a fun day.

I will say that it was very foggy while we were in Texas, but once we crossed over into New Mexico the sun came out and we opened up the sun roof and enjoyed the scenic drive into Albuquerque. Once we arrived, we found our friends Neala and Kay waiting for us at Los Cuates restaurant. There was plenty of accessible parking there, and the restaurant featured level access and some very nice accessible restrooms. It was a welcome stop after our drive through Texas and part of New Mexico.

After enjoying a yummy BBQ breakfast in Kansas City, we hit the road and headed south toward Arkansas – Northwestern Arkansas, to be specific.

Since we really don't get the fall colors at home, we thought it would be nice to get a taste of them in the Ozarks. And we weren't disappointed, as the leafs were just starting to change, and Cherrie really enjoyed the ride. We even had time to stop along the way and explore a bit. Cherrie had a fun time playing in the leafs, and learning about the different kinds of trees that grow in the Ozarks.