Cranes symbolizing peace in the World Trade Center memorial.

Kenny headed out to Alaska to watch the annual Iditarod sled race.

Each year, there is a Reindeer Run during the Opening Ceremonies at the Iditarod in Alaska.

Frozen ocean along the scenic Seward Highway in Alaska.

We watched them peel off the decal for Super Bowl XLV at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

The aftermath of the Super Bowl. The stadium the day after the Packers won.

Kenny went to the LA Dodgers Spring Training in Arizona. Here’s a peek at Matt Kemp.

Ethier signing autographs for the fans during Spring Training.

We watched VCU upset Kansas to make it to the Final Four.

The face of Kentucky during their Final Four game against UCONN.

We watched UCONN beat Kentucky and head to the finals where they took the championship!

We were in Vancouver to watch them celebrate a Canucks win (before the riots after their final loss!)

Ken’s last night working at Uchi in Austin.

Our first real stop on the trip was Zion National Park in Utah.

Dog jumping contest at Soldier Hollow in Midway, UT.

Beautiful wolves in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

Our drive through Wyoming and Montana was filled with beautiful American bison.

Insane Clown Posse comes to Missoula, Montana.

Peaceful fly fishing in Glacier National Park in Montana.

Kenny played the famed floating green at the course at the Coeur d’Alene Resort in Idaho.

Beautiful Japanese Gardens in Portland, OR.

Outstanding sunset at Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast.

Kenny played one of the top public golf courses in the U.S., Bandon Dunes in Oregon

Enjoying fresh crab on the Oregon coast.

Enjoying the Redwoods Forest.

Kenny taking in the majestic Redwoods.

Julie showing the sheer size of the Redwood trees.

We were lucky enough to enjoy lots of sunsets along the N. California coast.

Happy New Year Everyone! Thank you for following our journey!

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1. Free RV Camping (with electricity!)

It was an RVer’s dream come true. We really appreciated a safe spot to stay for the night, with a store to buy some things, and a restaurant to grab some food – and did I mention FREE electricity!

2. Right on the highway

There’s no driving around looking for this place. All signs point to the Silver Dollar Bar and you can literally see it from the interstate.

3. Walls lined with silver dollars

It’s dubbed the 50,000 Silver Dollar Bar and Casino because the walls of the bar are lined with over 50,000 silver dollars collected from over the years.

4. Crazy souvenirs

The shop is filled with crazy souvenirs. From stuffed animals, weird painted wood pieces, to scary-looking wine bottle holders, if someone’s made it, they’ve got it. You can also find some things that someone may actually want, too – for a good price.

5. ‘Friends’

Personally, I enjoyed the friends that I met there. Sitting at one of the bar tables, was a Native American mannequin man donned in Western attire waiting to have a drink with you. We sat and chatted for a bit. Then, in the corner of the bar is a carved statue of the one and only Honest Abraham Lincoln. Stop by and say hello to my friends!

6. Food

The Silver Dollar Bar and Casino also offered up some diner-style roadside trucker food. Perfect for a stop on your way somewhere or for your dinner for an overnight stop.

How to get there:

Exit 16 on I-90
90 miles West of Missoula, MT
110 miles East of Spokane, WA
406-678-4242

National Bison Range Annual Round-up

The American bison at the National Bison Range in Montana spend most of the year minding their business, roaming the 19,000 acres of rolling hills. But not during the first week of October.

Every year at the beginning of October, the National Bison Range in Montana wrangle all of the bison for the Annual Round-up.

The first step involves horse-mounted wranglers surveying the entire land of the wildlife refuge and getting the 350+ bison over to one corner of the property near the corral complex set up for the round-up. The next step has one mounted wrangler and one Jeep Wrangler getting the bison into a large holding area before getting them into the corral pen. The Jeep then slowly begins ‘suggesting’ the bison start making their way down to the corral area, where they finally enter the complex.

They start out in a wide, spacious area, then a smaller holding area, then a pen where they’re pushed around until they can get them into the weighing chamber. They close them in and get them weighed. Then, the bison come back out into the pen, get tagged with a microchip (if they’re not tagged already), then are sent down one of the chutes. One for the adults, one for the calves.

In the midst of the poking and prodding of the day, one of the older bison collapsed in one of the chutes and couldn’t get up. The entire round-up process had been too exhausting for the poor guy and he just wanted to rest. The other bison were starting to pile up behind him and it was getting dangerous. The workers had to disassemble the chute just to get the senior buffalo out of there safely. Mercifully, they let him be and rest for awhile before sending him back out to pasture. (And they didn’t euthanize him, thankfully!)

At the end of the chute there were these contraptions that literally trapped the bison in place. This allowed the veterinarians to administer the bloodwork or vaccinations that were necessary for that particular animal. Their tags carry their personal information, so they know which vaccinations they’ve had/need, if they should check for pregnancy, and take blood to see the overall health of the bison.

I have to admit, it looks pretty brutal, because these metal arms slam down on the animals, but you know that what they’re doing is helping the animals in the end. The bison that live on the range are known to be the healthiest group in the U.S.

After their ‘doctor’s appointment’, they’re sent back out to pasture and won’t be called back to the poking and prodding for another year. I wonder if any of the bison smarten up and try to avoid the wranglers after going through the wringer like this every year?

Have you ever experienced a livestock check-up like this before? What was it like? Do you feel like this at the doctors sometimes? Let us know in the comments below.
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