On a Non-Hurricaine Note

Some of you may recall my adventures in attending the US Grand Prix in Indianapolis, IN this summer. For others, a brief recap. Michelin showed up to the race with the wrong tires and declared that they would not run the race unless the course was changed (this was the morning of the race). This is against the rules set forth by the FIA. So, Michelin withdrew its teams from the race and only six cars (out of 24) competed.

Ok, onto the cool news. I received a refund check from Michelin for the price of my race tickets on the day before Rita hit. I sent the check back in exchange for tickets for next year's race. So I guess my vacation plans are set for next year now. I am bound and determined to see a real F1 race. Also, things are looking good that I will have the money set aside to get my van fixed for the trip and subsequent camping at the race track.

Infield camping? Or do they allow that anymore? That would seem to me to be a great way to spend a weekend -- race people are loads of fun! Bob

They have a tent city set up across the street from the race track. Still better than the Motel 6 a 20 minute drive from the racetrack where I stayed last year.

I was checking the status of my tickets for the USGP next year and ordering my parking, etc. when I noticed that I had 2 extra tickets on my account, yet they did not show me owing a balance. So, I called the ticket office and it seems that Michelin has purchased 2 extra tickets for everyone that renewed their 2005 USGP tickets. My dad is having a fit trying to figure out if he can fly up there and meet us at the racetrack (my sister and I are heading to Wyoming and other parts west the week before).

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Originally Posted by lhuff

.. So, I called the ticket office and it seems that Michelin has purchased 2 extra tickets for everyone that renewed their 2005 USGP tickets. My dad is having a fit trying to figure out if he can fly up there and meet us at the racetrack (my sister and I are heading to Wyoming and other parts west the week before).

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That is a funny bonus! I wonder how many of these tickets will go unused since most folks won't even realize they have them? What area of Wyoming are you headed for?

Mark

We haven't decided any specifics yet. I've ordered travel books from Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and South Dakota. I figured we could make a sort of loop through there on the way to Indiana (I always order too many books). As soon as my sister returns from college for Christmas break we're going to sit down and plan a general route with details to be filled in as we go.

If anybody has any suggestions I am open to them. I'll probably be bugging the board once I get things straightened out a little more.

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Originally Posted by lhuff

If anybody has any suggestions I am open to them. I'll probably be bugging the board once I get things straightened out a little more.

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Here are a couple of books I used while traveling around Wyoming and Montana this year.

We held a roadtrip rendezvous in southeastern Wyoming last May, click here for some more information about what we saw.

Bob Brown is a long-time RTA contributor and knows the area around Cody quite well if you get up there.

mark

The books look great - I'll see if I can pick them up at my local bookstore that allows 10-15 ladies (including me) to camp out once a week and knit. I try to give them as much business as I can.

The roadtrip rendezvous in Wyoming is what made me start looking at that area of the country. I'm so jealous of the Kinetic sculpture meet, but there is just no way I can get there from Louisiana and then turn around and go to Wyoming. When New Orleans gets hopping again there should be a rendezvous there.

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Originally Posted by lhuff

The roadtrip rendezvous in Wyoming is what made me start looking at that area of the country. I'm so jealous of the Kinetic sculpture meet, but there is just no way I can get there from Louisiana and then turn around and go to Wyoming. When New Orleans gets hopping again there should be a rendezvous there.

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Well, maybe a chance to roadtrip in the redwoods, enjoy the zany behavior of the KSR and a visit to the north coast of California would be enough to postpone the Wyoming trip???

Megan and I thought seriously about traveling to NO for mardi gras this year -- but we can't make the logistics work.

Mark

Wyoming is GREAT! You are going to love it. Big blue sky and everything from waving shoulder high grass at the Pawnee Grassland on the eastern edge, to the startling beauty of the Tetons on the west. The question is not what to see, but what you're going to have to miss this time. >sigh<

Of course, Yellowstone is a must-see, but let me recommend starting your stay at the NORTH end, at the Roosevelt Lodge (as historic and picturesque as it sounds) or the nearby RV campground. The drive in is long but wow, what terrain. Cattle lands and red rocks abruptly falling into dense, dense forest around Cooke City, MT. The neat thing about the road system in Yellowstone is that it allows for circular touring. Start early to beat the crowds and see bears, pack a lunch and hit the road all the way south in the park on tour day 1, catch the waterfalls and the regrowth wonders in the Big Fire area. Day 2, stick to the middle of the park with the geyser basins and mud pots, and a little stop at the Fishing Bridge. Day 3 you might like to do the hike up Mt. Washburn, then finish off the day with the north loop tours. Whatever you do at Yellowstone, you'll be enthralled, except for affordable eating. Unless you dine at the Roosevelt Lodge Grand Lodge, pricey but worth it, you're stuck with some of the worst food in the States. If you get time, drive into Montana through Gardner and up to Chico. It's the cutest hot springs resort you'll ever see and attracts a nice bunch of people.

Other Wyoming attractions: the Wind River area (central WY). Thermopolis has a nice hot spring pool at the Fountain of Youth - gotta love that name. There's also Hot Springs State Park in the same town, with trails, hot springs, warm pool, water slides and beautiful grounds. It's very reasonable. Look for the oversize turtles and fish living in the Wind River near there. Amazing.

Jackson Hole is picturesque and great shopping, as to be expected from a tourist area like that.

Do you like off the wall places? Try Hell's Half Acre. It's on a two lane highway between Casper and Thermopolis. It is a faded beauty road stop from days gone by, but has a kitschy funkiness that complements the mini-Grand Canyon look of the place. Camping in the park there, you'll hear plenty of coyotes and owls overnight. Once again, marginal dining. Or, south from Jackson Hole you can camp in the national forest at Granite Spring and enjoy their rustic pool while listening to boulders roll off the pink granite buttes across the creek.

A real off the beaten path tour is to wind down from Yellowstone via US 89, skirting Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and Utah. You'll see small towns and rolling open range you didn't think could exist any more and don't forget to visit the cheese factory in Afton! This will take you to Vernal, Utah, a poorer cousin of Jackson Hole, thus in my mind much more entertaining. Flaming Gorge Dam, nearby, offers tours of the dam and stratified red rock views. BUT this route leaves you to cross the desert of southern Wyoming (eerily empty until Rawlins or so). I personally dislike Rock Springs and consider it America's armpit. Otherwise, it's crawl across northern Colorado, which isn't much different.

Anyway, there was no organization to this. You can see on a map that a big loop is easy to achieve in Wyoming. Roads are open and people are friendly.