Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Wonder and Wander Together!!


April 2016 was our 30th anniversary!! Several things crossed our minds to celebrate the event. I brought up the crazy idea to purchase a used pickup camper, pull the motorcycle on a trailer and travel to great riding places. After some thought, Loren agreed and searched Craigslist to make Terri's new adventure come true!!

What follows is a little peek into our Yellowstone Adventure and how it inspired the quilt blocks I designed and entered into AccuQuilt's Barn Block contest.
Click the link here to see all the contest blocks. Or click the name under the block on this post to take you directly to the voting page for that block!! You can vote for more than one block--but only once a day.


Here we are all loaded up and ready to hit the road!! The sun was just coming up. The colors of God's paintbrush that morning were just exquisite!!


Watch for those colors.....


At the East gate into Yellowstone we go...along with lots of other motorcycles. We had been here over 15 years ago with the kids. I remember them saying--there was just too many trees and can't we see something different--so that is what I was expecting to see again--but there had been a fire, so lots of the trees were gone. But out of the ashes comes beauty!! There were so many wild flowers and the smell was intoxicating!! Red, blue, purple, pink, yellow, and white.


Most of my photos are taken while riding--so pretend you are riding the back of a motorcycle with me!!


Wildflower Meadows


There is just nothing quite like enjoying God's great big beautiful world from the back of a motorcycle. The smells and sounds are intensified and just too amazing for words.



We rode back to the Big Horn mountains the next day--up Highway 14 through Shell Canyon and back down Highway 14A. Most of the time I am just soaking in all the sights that I forget to take out the camera.
The towering red rocks of Shell Canyon were gorgeous. The green irrigated fields of hay had such a sweet smell. The fast running creek along side the road made me smile. All of it is stored on the memory card in my mind!! Along with coming down 14 A with 13 miles of 12% grade curves!!


Free range cattle!! Who knew that was a real thing?!?! No fences!! There were 2 young calves on the road right along a curve--interesting event on a cycle!! They let us pass without incident.


Shell Canyon Road


Bear Tooth pass is considered one of the top 5 riding roads, so we had to go!!


I kept the kids informed along the way--love the ways technology can keep us all connected!!



Saw lots of snow and these curve signs!!!



The views were 360 degrees around--I didn't know where to look first. Since I wasn't driving I could look anywhere!! Loren on the other hand--had to keep his eyes on the road--as looking out to the sides messed with his depth perception when he looked back to the road--so best I take pictures for him!!


The classic photo op!! We had made the kids take this photo years ago--so we did it this time!!!


Such gorgeous color!!


Vacation selfie!!!


Our rides in Yellowstone and surrounding areas of Wyoming far exceeded what we imagined!! Just beautiful!! We LOVED the pickup camper--like a little home away from home! I have a tendency to get homesick--even with all my family around, I can still miss my home. This trip that never happened!! I was so relaxed and enjoying the adventure of it all that I was so not ready for it to end. All was well with my soul!!!



We stayed a night in Spearfish, SD on the way home--beautiful place too--next's year's plan--Sturgis here we come!! Heading east on I-90 to home, we stopped at the Chamberlain rest stop. There is a giant stainless steel statue that I wanted to see.


Dignity is the name of this Native American woman wrapped in a Lone Star quilt. It was as inspiring as I had hoped it would be!! Well worth the turn off and drive up the hill.




Wonder.

Wander.

Repeat.

19 comments:

Vicki in MN said...

Love seeing it through your camera! We were in Yellowstone 11 days last summer, loved it all so much!! But we saw enough bison to last a lifetime, LOL I want to go back to Big Horn Mts as we didn't get to see much there.

barbtaz said...

Great post! Is there a link so we can vote for your block(s)?

lizardcreekquilter said...

Barb. Click the blue words under the quilt block.

Joyce Carter said...

OOOH! WOW, WOW, WOW! Those pictures you shared are amazing. I really loved them. And the blocks you created are so awesome. Thank you for sharing. I am glad I got to visit your blog.

BarefootThunder said...

Love the dignity block and statue, what a wonderful adventure you had.

Quilting Tangent said...

Thanks for the great pictures.

Linda Williamson said...

Gorgeous pictures. That must have been a wonderful adventure. Hope to get back to Yellowstone one day. Thanks for sharing. grinnie1961 at gmail dot com

works4me said...

Good for you. What a great adventure. And those blocks are wonderful.

Angie said...

Congratulations on 30 years! So awesome!! Oh the Native American statue with the quilt is awesome!!

OhioLori said...

Was great seeing all the Awesome pictures!! What a great Heart Memories Trip!! Thank you for sharing with all of us!! :)

Dawn F said...

I am quite jealous of the views from the Beartooth Highway. My husband and I drove it in June about a week after it opened for the year and it was quite foggy, so about halfway up we lost all visibility. Glad you enjoyed your trip!

vivoaks said...

Love your Yellowstone photos, especially the love Indian maiden with the beautiful quilt blanket! I've never been out west, but hopefully someday I'll make it. In the meantime, I'll enjoy pictures like yours!! Thanks! Vivian wvoaks at comcast dot net.

Lelia said...

thank you for sharing. wonderful photos.

Tammy Miller said...

great pictures !! thanks for sharing !

Donna W said...

Looks like a fantastic trip. Thanks for sharing with us.

Danette said...

Loved your post. I have a motorhome and want to travel the country. I am a quilter, too, but I have never designed a block. I did not know about the AcuQuilt contest and only found your site through the Island Batik Back to School Blog Hop. Sorry, I would have voted for one of your blocks, for sure!

Victoria M. said...

Great trip photos, and I loved the quilt blocks interspersed here and there.

Mom C said...

Brought back memories of Yellowstone. We were there in early June, rained a lot but still had an amazing time. Thanks.

Kathleen said...

Awesome photos!!