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It's been a very busy week since we performed in Delaware! We've had a combination of travel, performances in North Carolina, more travel, and a show this morning in Jacksonville, Florida. Asheville NC is a great place. We spent four days there! I had private shows on three of those days, and we got to check out the town on the fourth. Back in 2017, on our 50 shows-50 states-50 days tour, we had absolutely zero days off- which meant that we didn't have time to really see any local sights. Ordinarily, though, we try to schedule our travel so that we have a little time off. That's the case this time. We've seen so much! We also were able to reacquire Silas. He went to summer camp just before our show in Mooresville, Indiana. Paula's brother picked him up and drove him all the way to Hocking Hills, Ohio, for camp (thanks Jason!). After a week at Camp Wyandot, Jason brought him back to us in North Carolina (thanks again!). So, Silas wasn't there for shows in 4 states. We were able to make adjustments and the shows went great, but it just isn't the same with a cast member gone- not to mention the fact that we missed him a lot! We're glad he's back! After North Carolina, it was on to Jacksonville. We arrived at our hotel and . . . well, the adventure began! Now, I am not one to complain when things aren't perfect. But here's the list from last night: The hotel advertised that they accepted a certain type of payment, only to switch when we got there. The air conditioner in the hotel leaked water so bad that there was a puddle which covered a significant portion of the carpet (discovered, of course, after we were settled in). The coin laundry turned out to not accept coins (credit cards only- seriously, credit cards to run a washer and dryer?). After Paula washed a load of laundry, the dryer gave an "offline" error and wouldn't run (dryers now need to be online???). Then, when we ordered pizza for dinner, it literally took almost two hours to arrive- and when the driver got to the hotel, he called his manager (and had his phone on speaker, so we heard the manager insult us)! Again, though, I'm not one to complain. These things rarely happen, and when they do, you just have to laugh. You know that the next day will be better. Today certainly was! We arrived to set up for our show in Jacksonville. It was a morning show at University church. Pastor Jake met us and showed us the stage- it was perfect! They also had double doors with no divider, and a straight shot into the performance area- again, perfect! We had plenty of space for this one, with a nice backstage:  The audience was great! We later found out that many folks today were visitors from another country, and spoke very little English. This proves what I've always said- the great thing about magic is that it's visual, so it'll be fun even if you don't speak the same language! After the show, Pastor Mark offered to take our family out for lunch. As we were leaving the parking lot of the church, we were reminded of a place we saw years ago when we were last here. Now, before I show you this picture, understand that all I'm doing is showing you a picture. No comment from me- just showing you an image of a restaurant in Jacksonville. The food here is probably amazing.  Ever seen a business name like that? We sure hadn't. I don't know the story, but I do know that the place has been there for more than 30 years. Looks like the owner has a sense of humor- and is perhaps a brilliant businessman, because he gets everyone talking! We didn't eat there, though. When in Florida, we always try to hit "Whataburger". It's a restaurant that we don't have in Ohio. It's funny- when you ask the average kid what their favorite restaurant is, they'll usually tell you someplace local to them. But with our kids, they'll say "Well, in Chattanooga, I like _____, and in Seattle, it's _____- but in Honolulu, I like _____". There are also the places that we used to have in Cincinnati, but are now gone- such as Friendly's. We know where in the country to find those and always try to do so when we're there. So, we have a few days until our show in Orlando. We're in Daytona Beach tonight:  I'll say it again- we are incredibly blessed to get to do what we do! We've been on the road less than two months, and we've been able to visit 26 states so far. We're going to enjoy a few days here before our Orlando show, after which we head to Leesburg (a new city for us). The kids always look forward to Florida shows- and so do we!
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Have I mentioned how much we love to see the fun things all over the country? On this leg of the tour, we got to cross off two of the items on the list of "gotta see that sometime"! This blog is actually delayed one day because we got to our hotel after 2 AM last night. We began our day in New Jersey and only had a short drive to get to Delaware. The route had us passing through Pennsylvania as well- right through Philadelphia. What have we always wanted to see in Philly? Well, do you recognize this famous scene?  That's from the classic footage where Rocky runs up the steps of the Philadelphia art museum. Look very carefully at his surroundings- then look at this:  That's Faith, Clay, and Lydia in the exact same spot! They say that these steps are the second most famous filming location in the world. Judging by the number of people there, I believe it. Everyone knows that classic scene, so if you're ever in Philadelphia, you have to run the Rocky steps! There's also a famous Rocky statue nearby:  That statue appears in the films. Sylvester Stallone donated it to the city. So, after that pit stop, we were back on the road to Delaware. Our show was at Bible Fellowship Church in Newark:  The church sure did a great job letting everyone know about the show! They know how to pack the house!  Pastor Bill (and everyone else!) made us feel very welcome. They cleared off their stage, gave us dinner, and just so many other things that they didn't have to do. They are great people. After the show, we spoke to a number of folks who had seen us in Delaware in previous years. We're so grateful that not only do people come out to see what we're up to, but they actually come back! I'll say it again- we are truly blessed. Thanks Delaware! We had a blast! We packed up and drove on. Sometimes we stay near the show, but often we have to be somewhere far away the next day- so we drive for a few hours at night. That was the case last night. Now, in this case we had an extra day to travel, but we wanted to get down the road because there was another item we wanted to see along the way. This one was a lot more historical than a movie location. We wanted to see Appomattox, the Civil war city in Virginia. Appomattox is where General Lee finally surrendered to General Grant. It's really neat to see! They have tons of artifacts on display. You can walk through Appomattox village and go through the buildings from the 1800s, including the McLean house- it's where the actual surrender took place:   It's always amazing to see history up close!
So, tonight we're in Asheville, North Carolina. We do a series of shows for downtown Asheville over the days surrounding July 4th, then it's on to sunny Florida. It's wild to think that in less than two months, we've visited 24 states, with several more to come. We've had a great time so far! What a CRAZY few days we've had! Since the last show, it's been an adventure, to say the least! I can almost hear the announcer saying "In this episode- Cincinnati, custom made parts, unsuspecting travelers, major car explosion, detective work beside the highway, cheap motel, turtle, serious auto repair bill, frantic all-night-drive, and ultimate success in Connecticut"! Our last show on the western leg of our tour was Mooresville, Indiana. We stopped in Cincinnati for a couple of days, then we were off to Willimantic, Connecticut for today's show. Sounds routine, right? At first, yes. While in Cincinnati, we were able to take care of a couple of important items, such as fixing the AC in the car (essential because we'll be in Florida) and fixing some props that needed maintenance. One big illusion needed new wheels. If you're in Cincinnati and you need wheels for anything, I highly recommend Midwest Caster. I build 99% of our props and almost all of them need wheels. Midwest Caster is the only place I go- they know their stuff and they have literally everything. Here's a small corner of their back warehouse:  . . . and here are my wheels being custom assembled to match the specs for the prop:  If you ever go there, tell them Phil the Magician sent you. They'll make you a great deal. Thanks Midwest! So, here's where the 'adventure' begins. We left Thursday morning, planning to drive through Ohio and across most of Pennsylvania. We then planned to drive on to Connecticut Friday, to be ready for our show Saturday (today). Thursday started fine. We drove through Ohio as planned, then crossed into Pennsylvania. Roughly 36 miles in, we heard a noise that sounded like something thumping the bottom of our vehicle, followed by MASSIVE amounts of thick smoke pouring from beneath the hood! What? Not good! We pulled over immediately and opened the hood to find all types of fluid spraying out from everywhere, including the radiator. What on earth? Well, here's what had happened (and this was a new one for me)- the fan somehow shattered:  See those broken fragments? There are supposed to be fan blades there. When it shattered at high speed, it was like a grenade detonating under the hood, sending broken shrapnel into everything it could reach. So there we were on the side of the interstate. We couldn't see any mile markers so we didn't really even know exactly where we were. We called AAA, which will cover a short tow- but they wouldn't tow our trailer. Then we've got the issue of our entire family being in the car, and a tow truck driver typically has room for only one passenger. So, we had to pass on AAA. We made some calls to figure out where we were and ended up speaking with a local tow/auto repair guy. He came out, pulled the car up onto the flatbed, and hitched up our trailer to his truck. As for the issue of too many people to fit in his cab for the ride to town? Well, common sense to the rescue- the family simply rode in the car on the flatbed! Paula and Faith were terrified- Clay and Eli thought it was the coolest thing they'd ever experienced. We arrived at Tom's repair shop and he gave us a ride to the only motel in town. The nerve wracking part was that we were supposed to be on the other side of Pennsylvania at that point, and we still had to wait for Tom to make the major repairs the next day- and that was if he could even find the parts in time. Friday came and what could we do but hang out at the motel? We walked around a bit and Lydia made friends with a turtle that was found in the parking lot:  Tom began work early and did an amazing job. As it turns out, the exploding fan had destroyed the radiator, sliced the transmission fluid lines, and punctured the oil filter. We literally lost all of the fluids that were supposed to be in the car! We got back on the road at 6 PM Friday, knowing that we were facing an all night drive to be in Willimantic for our show today. We arrived about 3:30 A.M. The good news was that we already had a place to stay- and it's a great one. Here's a photo of the house they provided for us in 2017:  They've graciously provided that house again! It's an amazing 4 bedroom house that was built in the 1870s. It's located in the Willimantic Camp Meeting Association. Miss Sara had everything ready for our arrival, including food in the fridge! Nobody does that- but they do here! Today's show took place roughly 2 miles from where we're staying. The event was called "Praisefest" and was supposed to be outdoors in a big park. Weather threatened to turn ugly, though, so they moved the event inside. Here's the crew getting ready to hit the stage:  As well as Eli:  There was a band that went on first, then we were up. The crowd was awesome! We've had great experiences each time we've performed in Connecticut. We can't wait to return (and the event organizer spoke with us tonight regarding a bigger event for next season- time to get booking)! By the time we got everything loaded back up, it was close to 7 P.M. Having only eaten breakfast, we were hungry! Once again, Sara took great care of us. She invited us to the picnic area for a grill-out. We ate and talked with a number of the folks who had attended the show. There's a huge pond nearby, which the kids loved:  . . . and it even has it's own mini-beach:  After all the craziness with the car, it really has been nice to relax here. Tomorrow we head out toward Delaware. Our show is Monday in Newark- and we met some great people last time we were there. We can't wait to see them again!
Aaaaand . . . our show has completed another circle! What does that mean? Well, we are based in Cincinnati, Ohio. We left for this leg of the tour in May, and started out on a giant circle around most of the western USA. We performed a bunch of shows in Kansas, Utah, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Iowa, and Indiana. That basically drops us right back off in Cincinnati. We've checked in briefly at home (to make sure our house hasn't washed away with all the rain that's hit Cincinnati lately). We'll only be here for a couple of days, though, because we have to head out for a long trip to Willimantic, Connecticut for our next performance. That leg of the tour takes us down the east coast all the way to Florida, then through Alabama and Tennessee, then Kentucky, and once again back to Cincinnati. So, our final show for the state of Indiana was last night in Mooresville. These folks were lots of fun! We arrived at Gasburg Baptist Church and were greeted by Pastor Jack. They have a giant stage which meant that we were able to set up all of our curtains and really make the show look right. Here's a look at the packed house!  Thanks again Pastor Jack and everyone at Gasburg Baptist!
In a couple of days, we're off to Connecticut! How would this sound to you . . . we've just driven all around the nation, for a month, through 15 states. We're two days away from hitting the road for a 784 mile trip (and that's only to that first show in the east). We won't see home again until just before August. Would that sound unpleasant? For us, we truly can't wait. We love it. We get to see the country and we get to show the kids so many things that they would never see otherwise! As long as our family is together, we have what matters. Everything else is just "stuff". Even two year old Eli always has fun. Lately he's been asking when we're going to arrive at the hotel in the next city- "Go- our- room"? Also, I can tell you firsthand that the country really isn't that big. It seems like last night we were in Oregon. That's 2,164 miles from here, but it honestly feels like it's just right next door. To our friends in Connecticut- we can't wait to return to your beautiful area. See you in a few days! Yesterday was a travel day- we had a day between our shows in Waterloo, Iowa and Elkhart, Indiana. That's always nice when you have a long distance to cover. We stopped last night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. That stop was planned, though- See, the kids have been so good this trip. We wanted to surprise them with something fun! Before we left Cincinnati, Paula discovered that our Cincinnati Reds were scheduled to play in Milwaukee the day we'd be there. So, last night we saw the Reds DESTROY the Brewers!  Only one of us had ever been to a major league ballpark outside of Cincinnati. I'm really not used to cheering when the home crowd boos. We had a great time! This morning we left for our show in Elkhart, Indiana. Word to the wise- if you have to drive through Chicago, it will take some time (ignore your GPS if it says otherwise). There are a zillion toll roads which you have to take if you want the fastest route- and I'm sure there's a trick that locals use to get around. . . we don't know what it is. Chicago is a neat city, but it's congested and always takes us a long time to drive through. So, we arrived at Adamsville Road Church of God considerably later than we wanted to. Thank goodness we've gotten really fast at setting up! Everyone has their own tasks for load-in and we were able to set up in record time. The church folks provided a home cooked meal for us as well. Now, we survive quite well on McDonald's and other on-the-road food, but wow, this meal was GOOD! Clay was able to sneak this photo from the back as the audience began to file in for the show:  The show was even more fun than the last time we were here! We do a number of illusions which involve volunteers from the audience, and all of the folks were great! I normally try to get a photo with the audience, and I did that tonight, but it didn't turn out to be usable. Sorry to those who were smiling for the photo. Just know that we had a great time and can't wait to return! We loaded out quickly thanks to all the help that was waiting. Something happened that made me laugh (as the kids were playing on this wooden Jeep that the church had set up as a display for their upcoming VBS):  See how the steering wheel is disconnected? That had apparently happened a while ago. The hole in the wood was stripped, leaving the lag screw with little to grip. So, as we were leaving, Clay says "Dad, I fixed the steering wheel- I went and got your socket set and put the screw back in, and I tightened the hole with that wood splinter trick you taught me". Proud Father moment there- that's my boy!
Tomorrow we travel to the location of our show near Indianapolis. We perform Sunday, then it's a stop in Cincinnati for a couple of days before we head east to Connecticut. One more show in this part of the country- then east coast and Florida, here we come! It's 12:09 A.M. as I write this . . . it's been a long but fun day! We stayed last night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We found the hotel late at night and it was a bargain- almost too good. Ever heard the old saying about when something's too good to be true? Well, our room was proof of that (after we had already paid, of course). There were curly fries on the floor (courtesy of the previous inhabitant) that hadn't been swept up by housekeeping. If it wasn't so late at night, we might have considered going elsewhere! In the morning, as we loaded our luggage into the trailer, we heard a strange animal squealing nearby. The kids walked to the fence and discovered that the neighbor must really like birds. He had lots of big ones- turkeys, peacocks (that's what we'd heard), and two of these guys:  That's a giant Emu! It seemed friendly enough, but I do wonder if it ever scares late night travelers. Can you imagine arriving at a hotel at 2 A.M. and seeing an Emu staring at you over a tall fence? We drove 300 miles to Waterloo, Iowa. The show today was at River's Edge Christian church. This church is known all over the community for the giant steel cross outside their building. As it turns out, that's actually a cell tower. The church agreed to have the tower built there but only if they would build it in the shape of a cross. Apparently the city said OK. They served hot dogs to the community before the show- we love when churches do that! Our load-in wasn't too bad because they had nice wide doors:  We got set up quickly which was good, because I had to drive around to find some supplies. We needed a potato (yes, we use a potato in every show), as well as a piece of rope to fix a worn out piece. It's really strange to drive around an unfamiliar city in search of a grocery store and hardware store. Thank goodness for GPS! We've performed here before and we remembered the audience being great. Well, we remembered correctly, because these folks were AMAZING! We have fun at every single show but there are some that just really stand out because the audience is wonderful. That was tonight! Here's one section of the crowd:  After the show, the church sent us with a cooler full of cold drinks. AND- they provided us a hotel room at Country Inn and Suites! This room is quite the opposite from last night. It's gigantic and they pay attention to every little detail. River's Edge church sure took good care of us. Thanks again to Pat and everyone there!  Tomorrow we have a travel day before our show Friday in Elkhart, Indiana. We've been to Elkhart before- that one is also a fun crowd. If you're anywhere near, come on out and see some of our new illusions!
Today was incredibly scenic! We've been all over the country and we've performed in every state- but we still find new amazing things every time we're out on the road. Before today's show, we got to see the South Dakota Badlands! First though, we made the obligatory stop at Wall-Drug. What's that? Well, if you drive into South Dakota, you'll begin to see LOTS of billboards advertising Wall-Drug. You're still hundreds of miles away, and you're seeing these billboards every mile or so! When you finally reach the exit, your curiosity has gotten the better of you, so you stop to see what it's all about. Basically, imagine a mammoth-sized multi-shop building that has a gift shop, toy store, clothing store, restaurant, ice cream parlor, shooting gallery, and so much more. That's Wall-Drug. It began in the 1930s, and their attraction back then was that they offered free ice water! They have a zillion photo-op spots:  You could spend a long time seeing everything. It's a neat place! We then drove through a new spot for us- the famous BADLANDS! We've seen all the mountains from Colorado to Vermont- but these are just different:   It's an area unlike anything you've ever seen. I could really spend some time exploring here. They also have this sign that we don't see in Cincinnati:  It's funny- people often tell you to watch out for rattlesnakes, but when you tell them that you'd actually like to see one, well, suddenly there aren't so many around! We found the Badlands to be quite a scenic spot for one of our favorite photos:  Again, that's a real photo. This is exactly what you would have seen if you were there! So, it was on to Lower Brule for our show tonight. Lower Brule is Sioux Tribal land. The folks there were so nice! They had an awesome stage ready for us. We had to set up in a very short amount of time, but it was relatively easy with the folks who helped us load in. Here's what the stage looks like as we're getting everything in place:  . . . and backstage:   The show was great! We were told that this area has had nothing like this in a very long time. In fact, most residents said they had never seen a live magic show. We were honored to be the family that brought magical entertainment to town. Thank for the fun time Lower Brule!
We perform in Waterloo, Iowa tomorrow. It's a long way out so we drove on to Sioux Falls tonight. Tomorrow we'll pass through Minnesota and then on to Iowa- we're hoping to see all of our friends from the area! Today we were blessed to perform once again in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. It's been a couple of years since we last brought the show to this area. Time flies! We had a couple days off since performing in Montana, which gave us the opportunity to see what was in this area. If you're ever in Rapid City, you're only minutes away from Reptile Gardens:  This big zoo holds the Guinness record for the largest collection of reptiles in the world. Eli was having fun making friends with snakes through the glass:  Reptile Gardens has three live presentations that you can see throughout the day. Here's a handler wrestling an alligator (in the rain!):  . . . and this was at the end of a bird presentation where, if you donate a dollar to the zoo, a cockatoo will personally take it from you:  BUT- the most amazing thing, by far, was this:  That's "Tank", the giant Aldabra tortoise. Reptile Gardens has an area where these guys run free, and you're encouraged to come in and interact with them. They love to have their necks rubbed!  It was truly incredible to see the kids playing with these gentle giants. Where else can you do this? Everyone loved it!  One of those tortoises is 113 years old! I can't describe how incredible it is to walk in and play with these guys. Thanks Reptile Gardens! After our visit, we went to the same Taco Bell where we ate two years ago. This one had something that truly made me laugh. We were curious as to whether it was still there. It was! Take a look at this garbage can- first, in the regular position:  . . . and with the door open:  I've always wondered how many places collect both trash and recycling in one giant can. There's at least one confirmed! So, today, we headed to First Baptist Church of Belle Fourche for our show. We've been there before and we were eagerly anticipating it. let me tell you, this church really took care of us! First, there was the load-in. It takes a while (and quite a bit of muscle) to load all of our heavy cases into the venue so that we can assemble everything on the stage. Today, though, we had assistance from Pastor Tim and a local friend named Jason (and his boys). If something heavy has to be moved, have you ever met one of those people who just pick it up and move it, even if it weighs a ton? That's Jason. I have never seen anyone who can lift our cases and move them like he can. Thanks Jason! Now, there have been several instances across the country where the church will offer to provide us with dinner before the show. This church did that. But, here's a new one- Tim's wife Sandy provided tacos (one of our favorite things), with chicken quesadillas (another of our favorite things), and ROOT BEER FLOATS to drink (we all love that, but it's Paula's favorite thing in the world). Who does that? Amazing! Showtime arrived. We had a great time! This really was a fun crowd. An interesting thing happened- we've added the straitjacket escape to the touring show this year, and the two volunteers really made it a challenge. I always tell the volunteers to secure the straitjacket as tightly as they can, but as the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for! Load-out went just as smoothly. Jason and his boys helped us get everything in the trailer and Pastor Tim's keen eye caught an important piece of equipment that we almost left behind. Thanks again FBC Belle Fourche for really making us feel welcome! We're really enjoying this tour- especially Eli:   Tomorrow we perform in Lower Brule, South Dakota. It's a part of the state that we've never seen. We're excited! Today's show was in beautiful Bozeman, Montana. Our drive from last night's hotel was only 29 miles! We're used to driving hundreds of miles per day, so this one almost felt like cheating! The show was at Gallatin Valley Mall:  This is a great place! We arrived early so we had a chance to look around. This mall has quite a few unique stores. They also have fun things to do, such as this giant Candyland game that the kids absolutely LOVED:   Isn't that great? You move around the giant pieces as you actually walk through the game. We had never seen that before! As for our two shows today, the mall did an amazing job of advertising. There were signs everywhere, both large and small:   This was our performance spot before the stage was assembled:  . . . and after, complete with our show ready to go:  If you'd called the mall's phone number today, you would have heard an ad for our show. They also made announcements throughout the mall 5 minutes before showtime. The actual shows were fun!   Thanks to everyone at Gallatin Valley Mall! We had a blast! After each show, we have a fairly extensive load out. Here's what that looks like:  We have it down to a science, though, so it really doesn't take too long. For the load out, we're no longer dressed like performers, of course, but here's Paula with the show hair still going on (kinda looks like knobs on a giraffe's head- but looks great on stage!):  We're staying the night 137 miles away in Billings, Montana. Tomorrow we head for one of our favorite states- South Dakota. We have a couple of days off before our show in Belle Fourche. If you're in the area, come see a great show with some new magic!
 I once heard someone say that a true performer doesn't just view their show as a job. A real performer is always thinking of ways they can improve. They would do this all the time, regardless of whether or not they got paid to do it. Truer words were never spoken! Today, as we were driving toward Yellowstone national park, Paula and I were discussing things we could do with the show this year. We have some surprises in store when we introduce brand new material this year at the Cincinnati zoo, including a major improvement on one of our favorite illusions! So, we're really looking forward to tomorrow's show (2 shows, actually) at Gallatin Valley Mall in Bozeman, Montana. We're staying tonight in Livingston, Montana, which is just over a half hour from Bozeman. That also put us in a perfect spot to check out Yellowstone today! We had never been to Yellowstone before. If you've never been. . . honestly, I could write about it for a very long time and still not fully describe all that we saw. Basically, in this huge national park, there's a driving loop that goes all the way around. Yellowstone is BIG- the loop is 142 miles long! Everywhere you go, there are pulloff areas with views like these:    I had expected Yellowstone to be flat. It isn't! You're in the mountains most of the time. You'll see tons of canyons and waterfalls. Also, look at this:  See the plumes of steam rising from the ground? That happens in a zillion different places within the park- and the steam never, ever stops. This is one of the many hot springs. The ground all around is brown because it's literally bubbling from the hot escaping gas. Much of Yellowstone sits atop hot underground activity, so it produces things like the hot springs- and this:  They call this spot "Dragon's Mouth". It's a giant cave that constantly bangs and hisses as it releases a never ending thick plume of steam. Incredible! As you drive along, you'll pass many fields and meadows that have random steaming spots pouring from the ground. Here's one area where it's becoming a problem:  This is one of the many parking lots along the loop- but in a random spot, the pavement has melted due to the extreme heat that showed up here. It now releases steam non-stop! Of course, several of these areas are famous. Do you recognize this one?  That's "Old Faithful"! It's always releasing steam, but every 90 minutes (plus or minus ten minutes), it erupts. This is one amazing thing to see:  These photos don't do it justice. The water shoots more than 100 feet high and lasts for close to three minutes! They've set up seating all around the geyser so you can get a perfect view. There are quite a few geysers in the park, and many can be predicted- but Old Faithful is the one that's known for being very accurate. It boggles my mind to think that this spot has been erupting every 60 to 90 minutes for as long as we can tell. God's handiwork is truly evident throughout this entire park! AND- what about the wildlife in Yellowstone? We saw a ton of Buffalo:  They're everywhere. You'll see them grazing right along the road, and they have no reservations about stepping right into traffic. We saw just as many Elk:  These critters are huge, and don't seem to have much fear of people. They'll be visible all through the park. For us, here was the big one we hoped to see:  We saw a grand total of TEN bears today! Yellowstone has both black and grizzly bears- at least three today were definite grizzlies (possibly four, couldn't tell with one due to the distance). This guy (or gal) is a black bear. Also, have you ever seen a cartoon where a bear will stand up and scratch it's back on a tree? They actually do that! Here's one from today:  So- if you're planning a trip to Yellowstone (and you should), make sure you allow plenty of time. We saw so many more things that I could write about, and you want to make sure you have time to see it all. God is an amazing artist, and Yellowstone is an incredible gallery of His work. You'll be amazed- we sure were!
We're now a couple of weeks into this tour and we can't wait to see what else is in store. We'll be in Montana, South Dakota, Iowa, Indiana, Florida, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Alabama, and a bunch of other places- and all within the next six weeks! Tomorrow we head to Bozeman. To our friends in Montana- we have some new exciting magic since the last time we were here. Come see us! |
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