Yellowstone or Bust! Day 5

Wednesday, June 26, 2013. We didn’t have to pack everything up when we left this morning. Since we are staying in the same cabin another day, all we had to do was load up what we would need for lunch and get on the road. That doesn’t sound very exciting, but after being in a new place each day it’s a relief to stay put – even if it is just for one day.

Dan treated us all to a hearty mountain man breakfast at a restaurant in Gardiner. It was a nice break from the cold cereal and yogurt we’ve been eating every morning. We made a quick stop at the market for ice, and headed back to Yellowstone. (Gardiner is just outside the park.) At the north entrance, the road passes through an enormous stone archway, the Roosevelt Arch. This is the first major entrance for Yellowstone and was designed for horse-drawn coaches to travel through on their way into the park. President Theodore Roosevelt placed the cornerstone for the arch in 1903. Our group stood in the center of the road beneath the Roosevelt Arch for a photo, which turned into a hilarious choreography of setting the timer on the camera, getting into position while dodging traffic, and Dane racing to join us after tripping the camera. (Gin tried to but couldn’t run fast enough to join us before the camera took the picture!) Laughter is a great way to start the day!

Our first stop was Mammoth Hot Springs. A combination of active and extinct hot springs have built large travertine terraces and mounds. These terraces are like living sculptures, and change constantly. Colors on active springs are caused by algae and bacteria that flourish in the hot water, and are a beautiful contrast to the brilliant white of new travertine deposits. We strolled the boardwalks, enjoying the unusual formations and flowing water. It was surprising to see sections of paved walkways torn up and blocked off to visitors due to hot spring activity overtaking the trail. It was disturbing to see the callous disregard some park visitors show for staying on the designated paths. One of our group (not mentioning any names) yelled at some of these outlaws to get back on the trails. I pretended I didn’t know Ranger Nazi.

While leaving Mammoth Hot Springs, someone spotted a cemetery. An old cemetery! I had to see that! Tim slammed on the brakes and turned around. The Fort Yellowstone Army Cemetery is located adjacent to the present-day horse stables. This tiny graveyard was the site of 57 or 58 burials, from 1888 to 1957.  They are U.S. Army soldiers, civilian employees of the U.S. Army, and members of their families. The cemetery is overgrown and surrounded by a strong elk and bison-proof fence. Deb and I were the only ones interested, so we scaled the fence and looked around. The old stones are mostly marble, but one was just a thin plank inscribed with the barely legible name “Frank Welch” and a date of 1916. I took quite a few photos of tombstones, including one of a 14-month old boy who died in 1893 that has a little lamb on the top. Deb and my conversation: Deb, “I want my photo taken by one of the stones because I’m a sexton.” Me, “I want mine taken by a stone because I’m a ghoul!” Photos taken, we rejoined the others patiently waiting for me and my weird obsession.

The next two stops were for waterfalls: Undine Falls on Lava Creek and Wraith Falls on Lupine Creek. Undine was visible from the turn-out but Wraith was an easy ½ mile hike.  It felt good to get out and walk a little. It wasn’t long after leaving the falls that we spotted a group of cars pulled over to the roadside. That means a wildlife sighting! We pulled over too, and found all the excitement was for a black bear. He was in a grassy meadow, just strolling around and enjoying his day. Everyone got to see him play, and we were all grinning as we piled back in the van. Two bear sightings in two days! How great is that!

Petrified Tree was a must-see on our list. Grandma Alice Belshause visited Yellowstone in 1932, and took a picture of this fossilized tree. We stood in the same place as Grandma had, and took the same photo she took so many years ago. We all agreed Grandma would have loved to make a return trip here with all of us, and we would love to still have her with us to do it. Miss you, Grandma!

We had another of our picnic lunches near Roosevelt Lodge, a rustic log lodge built in 1920 and named for the president who did so much for the cause of conservation and national parks. Another waterfall was next on the agenda, and we planned to hike down to the base of the Tower Falls. However, erosion had damaged the path and it was closed, so we had to settle for the view at the top. It was spectacular anyway, and with the free time we did a little shopping in the gift shop.

Headed to Dunraven Pass there was another traffic jam. Guess what? Another black bear! This one was sleeping next to a pine tree, oblivious to the commotion she was causing. The rangers shooed everyone along, and we continued our drive up and over Dunraven Pass. At 8,859 feet, there was still snow and the air was windy and cold. We saw some major fire damage from the fires of 1988, and some beautiful alpine wildflowers showing off their spring colors. Our last stop was the Washburn Hot Springs Overlook, where you could see the thermal area off in the distance. There are no trails to Washburn Hot Springs. The ground there is very unstable – geologists have fallen through the crust and suffered serious burns. Sulfuric acid in the area can burn through clothing. But there is a spectacular view of two mountain ranges, including the Tetons which we will visit later in this trip.

It was time to head home for a dinner of brats, macaroni and cheese, and baked beans. Sierra and Dane played mini golf while dinner cooked, and as soon as we were finished most of us suited up for a soak in the Boiling River. On the short drive there we spotted some mountain goats high up on a slope above the road. Stop, look, take photos, move on. We ended our day in the rushing Gardner River, where underground discharge from Mammoth Hot Springs enters the river. The mix of cold snowmelt and hot spring water creates a tiny area where it is possible – and allowed – to sit in the warm water. The river runs fast and cold, and the rushing hot water is scalding, so you must find just the right place where the mix is comfortable. You have to keep rotating and moving around, warming or cooling your back or front as needed. Just a few inches too far one way and you’re scorching – or freezing! The strong current threatens to pull you downstream, and boulders and rocks provide very unstable footing. Still, it was the high point of our day. Totally awesome!

Yellowstone is one of my happy places. It’s so good to be here!

Yellowstone or Bust! Day 4

Tuesday, June 25, 2013. We are getting very good at getting up early, packing our gear, eating a quick breakfast and loading everything into the right places in the van in order to get on the road. Once again it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day - especially when we saw a rainbow just outside of Greybull. I’m not sure where the rainbow came from since very little rain occurs in this semi-arid climate. The average annual rainfall here is only 7 inches! This is seriously some desolate country. The color palette of the landscape is tan, beige, gray and sage. The only real green occurs where there is irrigation, or along the infrequent stream beds. Scrubby vegetation covers the plateaus, and there are very few trees. There is very little of anything actually. After leaving town, there was nothing. Seriously. No houses. No telephone poles. No animals. Well, wait. We did see a pronghorn antelope. One. One lonely antelope. And the twin ribbons of highway stretching ahead of us. What do people do out here? Somewhere nearby is a mine. A bentonite mine. You know what bentonite is? Freaking cat litter! And crops? Sugar beets, if they irrigate. We saw a huge tank that said ‘Sugar’ at an abandoned factory site, so that must be where the beets went once upon a time. Did I say desolate? This region is desolate!

We were headed north, and soon in Montana. We were gaining elevation all the time, and left the plateau behind for the mountains. Still climbing, we dropped into a narrow hidden valley containing the town of Red Lodge. Just a few streets wide, Red Lodge is best know for its outdoor recreational opportunities: skiing, mountain biking, and backpacking. We were there for the shopping, however. Unfortunately, the entire main street was torn up and under construction. Some businesses weren’t even open, and we couldn’t seem to find anything we had to have in the ones that were. So we settled for coffee and pastries at a bakery, and headed out of town along the Beartooth Highway.

The Beartooth Highway is the section of U.S. Highway 212 between Red Lodge and Cooke City, Montana.  It has been called the most beautiful drive in America, tracing a series of steep zigzags and switchbacks, along the Montana-Wyoming border to the 10,947 foot high Beartooth Pass. Because of heavy snowfall at the top, the pass is usually open each year only from mid May through mid October, weather conditions permitting. We made quite a few photostops along this spectacular route: for waterfalls, hiking to overlooks for panoramic views and feeding the chipmunks, throwing rocks into alpine lakes, watching extreme skiers, photo bombing each other and creating Vines, and playing in the snow. We took out a bag of chips to see when it would explode (somewhere around 9,500 feet) and took silly photos of the kids doing handstands and Dane with his bison scrotum bag. An odd thing has been happening on this trip. The maturity level is declining and the goofiness escalating on a daily basis. I’m not sure why, but for some reason we are all acting about 12 years old. Maybe we just needed to act like kids again!

We stopped along a rushing stream in the Gallatin National Forest to have lunch. We were hungry earlier but it was just too cold to be outside! We had to wait until we descended in elevation a little for it to be warm enough for our picnic. We love these impromptu stops at lunchtime. A simple sandwich tastes great when eaten outdoors, surrounded by incredible scenery. Everyone got a chance to stretch their legs and play in the water as well.

We have entered an area where wild animals rule, as evidenced by the signs we are now seeing. “Food Storage Required.” “No Tents.” “This Is Grizzly Bear Country.” And finally, we are in Yellowstone National Park! Just minutes into the park, we have our first wildlife sighting. A small herd of bison are resting near Soda Butte Creek. And then, grizzlies! A mother and baby bear were high on a slope above the creek valley, and a generous bear watcher let us look through his scope to see them. We had hoped to see bears, but to see them this quickly seems a huge stroke of luck. Maybe that rainbow this morning brought us some today.

At Soda Butte, we found dozens of mud nests full of white-throated swifts. These birds reminded everyone of barn swallows, as they swooped in and out of their nests. We were headed to Gardiner, just outside Yellowstone’s north entrance, and on the way there our wildlife sightings included many more bison in the Lamar Valley, pronghorn antelopes, a coyote, and some elk (all does). It was a great start to our park visit!

Tonight and tomorrow we are staying in cabins in Gardiner. We made Italian Beef and coleslaw for dinner, and relaxed on the front porch watching black storm clouds over the mountains. They brought a huge gust of wind and a few raindrops, but nothing more. All of us are tired tonight, and are going to allow ourselves to sleep in until 7:00 in the morning. But the wonders of Yellowstone are waiting, and we can’t wait to explore them! Goodnight!

Yellowstone or Bust! Day 3

Monday, June 24, 2013. The girls’ cabin was awake and organized by the time the men arrived at 6:30. We were sitting on the deck of the cabin breathing in the lovely fragrance of pines and enjoying the beauty of the mountains surrounding us. The temperature was a little brisk so we were wearing jackets, but the sky was clear and blue and the sun promised a gorgeous day ahead. All the tubs of food and supplies had been organized before bed last night, and our luggage was packed and waiting the van’s arrival.

South Dakota must have more money than Illinois because Custer State Park is simply wonderful. The scenery is spectacular, the cabins are roomy and clean, the beds are comfortable, the showers and bathrooms are immaculate, and everything looks brand new. When the men arrived, they said at their campground (French Creek Horse Camp) each cluster of cabins has its own horse corral for guests’ ponies. It is so nice we want to stay a few more days! But our chauffeurs arrived, breakfast was quickly eaten and we were on the road for our next adventure.

We began our day in Custer for gas and coffee, but quickly headed back to the park to drive the Needles Highway. There is actually a rock formation that has a hole through it like the eye of a needle, a favorite with rock climbers. We had a fun photo shoot in front of a tunnel, did a little rock climbing, and spotted some more wildlife (mule deer, wild turkeys, and marmots) as we drove and enjoyed the scenery. Many of the Ponderosa Pines are dead or dying because of pine beetles, and as the rangers clear the dead trees out they are assembled into log teepees awaiting the right burn conditions. There are hundreds of these teepees throughout the forest, and entire slopes of pines turning red or brown as they succumb to the beetles.

The Needles Highway loop brought us back to Custer for a little shopping. Do you remember the ‘Cows on Parade’ in Chicago? Well, Custer has something similar with decorated bison statues on their street corners. Dane purchased a bison scrotum bag, and he found many uses for it throughout the day: water bottle holder, I-pod stand, man purse. He was extremely pleased with his bison ball sac, and we giggled about it all day.

Devil’s Tower was next on our agenda, so we had to get on the road and put some miles behind us. It wasn’t long before the scenery changed and we were passing through wide meadows ringed by mountains. Soon the terrain transformed again into bright red soil rock formations reminiscent of the Badlands. And then, thrusting high into the blue sky, appeared Devil’s Tower. This volcanic rock tower stands over 1,200 feet above the plains. Huge tumbled boulders at the foot of the tower beg to be climbed, and we weren’t the only ones taking photos among the stones. After our short hike and photo shoot, we found a shady spot a short distance from the monument with some convenient boulders for seating and had lunch. What an incredible backdrop for a picnic! We topped off lunch with ice cream cones from a shop at the park entrance, then began our long drive to Greybull, Wyoming.

The landscape changed over and over as we headed west; from colorless, arid eroded hills with only sagebrush for cover, to snow capped mountains with meadows full of fragrant purple lupines. In the Bighorn Mountains, snow was still heaped along snow fences and at the base of the pines. We went from hot, to crisp and cool, and back again to hot weather as we traveled. Interesting road signs were spotted along the way: “Open Range. Expect Cows On The Road”, “Runaway Truck Ramp”, and a personal favorite, “Road Closed When Flashing.” I love how when there’s too much snow, the gates come down and the roads just close down. Place names also seem more colorful out here: Crazy Woman Canyon. Sourdough Road. Ten Sleep Creek. Interesting indeed!

Eventually we arrived at our KOA in Greybull. More cute little cabins, a nice pool for the kids, clean (if small) bathrooms and showers, and laundry facilities. We had polish sausage cooked with potatoes, onions and peppers for dinner and s’mores for dessert again. Deb took over laundry duty and had to contend with a washer/dryer hog. We were getting lots of updates from the Quad Cities about today’s storms; there was a lot of damage and power may be out for days for some customers. We are oblivious to any other news that may be happening and have no idea what is going on in the world. For now, we are in our vacation bubble and it is sweet! TTYL!

                    

Yellowstone or Bust! Day 2

Sunday, June 23, 2013. I’m really too tired to be writing this but we did so much today if I don’t get it on record I’ll never remember it all! And if this doesn’t make a lot of sense it’s because I am so dang tired I can barely form a coherent thought. It’s hard to believe this is only the second day of vacation. Somehow it seems we’ve been gone much longer. Sleep last night wasn’t the most restful because the beds were really hard! How hard were they? They were so hard I’d wake up and my arm would be asleep on the side I was lying on. It stormed most of the night too, with high winds, a lot of rain and some hail. Between the thunder and lightning and the planks for beds, I didn’t wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. (‘Cause I’m normally such a morning person, you know. Not!)

Anyway, we ate a quick breakfast of cereal and loaded up the van. Well, except for me who was busy searching high and low for Dane’s wallet. The wallet he had entrusted to me last night and is now nowhere to be found. I never did find it, although everyone seems to think it will turn up. I’m so glad most of his cash is in my wallet. Anyway, we finally got on the road only to find there was a huge nail in one of the tires. So off we went in search of a town big enough to have a store like Farm King to get it repaired.  Luckily enough, at the gas station where we stopped for directions in Chamberlain Dan and Tim bonded with some local characters who happened to be able to repair it right away. First we had them drop us off at a local flea market. After all the wind and rain (which was between 2.9 and 8 inches depending on who you asked), the grounds were muddy and the merchandise wet. Still, we were able to find a few goodies and the men got to look around too since the tire repair went so quickly. I bought a really cute pair of shoes with Dios de los Muertes skulls on them!

Still in Chamberlain, we stopped at the St. Joseph Indian School and Museum. It contained a wealth of information and artifacts from native American culture. It also had movie props from “Dances With Wolves”, some very fragrant Linden trees, and a pretty nice gift shop. Well, except for the two incompetent clerks who couldn’t figure out how to exchange an item for Gin and frankly, didn’t care much if they ever got it right. I hope they are teaching the students better skills!

We set out for the Badlands, but first made a stop at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. I needed my National Park Passport book stamped, and everyone else wanted to buy a passport too. Unfortunately, they were fresh out of passports but I got mine stamped. I am not going to gloat, however, that I have one more stamp than anyone else.

Finally, the Badlands! A nice temperature and bright blue sky made it a perfect day to hike around these incredible eroded formations. We got a little silly, photo bombing each other and generally acting foolish and having a great time. We saw a whole herd of mountain goats, which looked kind of scraggly by the way. We were having so much fun we forgot to have lunch so decided to drive the half-hour to Wall and eat there. A trip to Wall isn’t complete until you stop at Wall Drug so we did, of course, and actually could have skipped it. It really is just a giant gift shop. We ended up eating lunch in a shady spot in the Wall Drug parking lot next to the railroad tracks and then it was back on the road for Mt. Rushmore.

It was late afternoon before we arrived at Mt. Rushmore, and the setting sun behind the mountain didn’t make for the best photo opportunities. But the grandeur of those immense granite faces is something everyone needs to witness personally. It is truly magnificent (even if it does spark silly arguments such as whether or not snow would cling to Washington’s nose). I think we are a little punchy by this point, actually.

Into the Black Hills National Forest we drove, up and down winding switchbacks, through tunnels and over log bridges. We drove along roads that clung to the side of a mountain, with sheer drop-offs on the other side. We were on our way to Custer State Park where we are spending the night. The pine-covered mountains had a lot of logging done, clearing the trees dead from insect damage. Since it was dusk, the mule deer were out and about and we saw a lot of them. Well, the men did anyway and made the women feel inferior since they could spot them more frequently than we could. (It could have been due to the fact that they could look out the front windows and all we had were tinted side windows but whatever.) Somehow I think we got turned the wrong way because we were on the road an awfully long time, so long in fact we decided to eat in the town of Custer instead of cooking at the cabins. A good, hearty meal at the Cowboy Café disappeared in record time. Dane ate an entire 1/3 pound buffalo burger and fries with not a crumb left over!

We finally arrived at our cabins in Custer State Park. Ours was really nice, but the men’s was in a different campground area so we haven’t heard how theirs looked. It is so peaceful and quiet, and the supermoon is big and bright over the pines. At this altitude, it is much cooler so I had to get out a hoodie. All in all, a good day. I hear quiet snores all around me as I finish this blog. There is no Internet connection here so it will get uploaded when I can find a connection. Goodnight!

Yellowstone or Bust! Day 1

Saturday, June 22, 2013. Our first day of vacation has come to an end, and an exhausted group has retired for the night! My sisters, Deb and Gin, their husbands, Dan and Tim, Tim’s daughter Sierra and my grandson Dane and I all set off for our wild west adventure at 7:00 AM. We were not a lively crew, to say the least. None of us girls got much sleep preparing for the trip. At my house, Dane rolled in at 1:45 AM after seeing a movie with his mom so it was 2:00 before we went to bed. The alarm went off at 5:00, which was WAY too soon! I started filling bags with the perishable items from the refrigerator and freezer and loading the car. The back seat was full as well as the trunk and I was a little nervous that all my stuff, along with everyone else’s, would fit into the van we rented. We admitted later we all had the same worry, but with the rear seat out we had tons of room!

After some shuffling and rearranging, the van was ready to roll with the “Yellowstone or Bust” magnet Deb custom ordered proudly displayed on the back door. No one will wonder where we’re headed! Dane quickly made a bed on the cooler in back, and it wasn’t long before Sierra had a nest of her own among the luggage and sleeping bags. With the boys chatting it up in front and the kids sound asleep in back, us girls had some time to catch up a little. We made it a full hour and a half on the road before we broke out the cookies! Since I am currently unemployed (ugly story) I had some time to bake so we have an assortment of homemade Snickerdoodles, Peanut Butter cookies, Gingersnaps, Oatmeal Raisin cookies and Scotcheroos to snack on – over 15 dozen packed in those ubiquitous tins that everyone has at their yard sales and no one wants. Everyone except me, that is. They are the perfect disposable containers for vacation.

Now we faced the long drive across Iowa. Here is what we saw in Iowa: corn, corn, corn, Des Moines, corn, corn, road construction, corn, corn, windmills, corn, corn. We had a nice picnic lunch at mile marker 13 where there is a lookout tower with a sweeping view of the Missouri River valley. It was so windy at the top of the tower you could feel it swaying (as Dane and Sierra pitched their apple cores over the rail)! We all decided there needs to be an informational sign or placard there so you know what you’re looking at. No it’s not enough that it’s a beautiful view! Information, please!

We gassed up in Onawa, Iowa and Dan talked someone at the gas station (it may have been a customer) out of a cement block for Deb to climb onto to get into the van more easily. It is a tall step, and had been causing some giggles as Deb tried to get her short legs up high enough to maneuver into the seat. Problem solved – except now we are hauling a concrete block around. I’m sure Dan will talk someone out of a milk crate soon and we can ditch the cement. If not, it is the first souvenir we picked up on the trip!

Next stop, the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. Since we’ve been looking at corn all day, it seems like an appropriate destination. We watched the movie (see, we like information!), tried some corn snacks, shopped at the gift shop and watched the pigeons eat the corn off the building. We all found photos of the Corn Palace the year we were born, and we took lots of corny pictures. I love the onion domes on top of the building – if I had lots of money I’d have an onion dome or two on top of my house. But then you already know what a monstrosity my house would be if I were a rich person. It would be very…eccentric. Yeah, that’s it – eccentric!

Our lodging for the night is the KOA in Mitchell where we have 2 cute little cabins – one for the boys and one for the girls. Dinner was hot dogs, potato salad, chips and s’mores of course. After dinner, Sierra and Dane swam and played putt-putt golf until the thunder rumbled and the rain sent us into the cabins. Now I am sitting in bed listening to the soothing sound of rain on the roof (especially soothing since we aren’t in tents!) and a surprise spattering of hail. I am surrounded by my electronics on their chargers, and since I’m in the top bunk I’m not really sure how I’m going to untangle myself and get down. Ah, the challenges of life on the road! Goodnight all!

Germany Day 16

Sept. 25, 2011. My last day in Germany had a decidedly different tone than the rest of the trip. This day was for education, for reflection, and for paying respects to Holocaust victims. Today we visited Dachau concentration camp.

We arrived by train at the city of Dachau, and planned to take the bus to the memorial site. However, it was full and could only hold part of our group. If the rest of our group had waited for the next bus, we would have been late for our scheduled tour. So Jens and some volunteers elected to walk, which would take approximately 1/2 hour. We set out briskly, watching for signs, asking directions, and checking our watches often. We had to keep moving fast in order to arrive on time, and we made the 2-mile walk in just under 30 minutes. The rest of our group was waiting with a young lady named Antje who would be our guide, and she began to tell us the story of Dachau Concentration Camp.

The first thing we learned was that those of us who had walked were treading in the very footsteps of the prisoners. Like us, they arrived in the city of Dachau by train and had to walk to the camp. Today, it is known as the "Path of Remembrance" and very few visitors arrive on foot as the prisoners did, and as we did. Anjte said this gave us a small insight into what the prisoners felt as they marched to this place. I felt tears threaten for the first time, and it would not be the last time this day. The jokes made last night about our 'death march' suddenly seemed in poor taste; we would not use that term again to describe the minor discomfort we felt from walking too long.

The camp's history is well-known and documented, so if you are interested in facts and figures do a Google search and it is all there. I will tell you what I saw and felt and experienced, but nothing I can say will begin to properly describe the emotions I felt or do justice to those who lived and died here. No one who enters those gates will leave without being changed in some way.

Dachau was chosen as the site for a concentration camp because there was an old abandoned WWI munitions factory outside the city which provided ample room and some buildings ready for occupation. Dachau was just a normal German city in 1933, but the name would later become synonymous for the concentration camp, a fact the citizens have had to deal with for decades. It took many years for the city to acknowledge the camp with signposts and story boards along the Path of Remembrance; everyone wanted to forget it had existed. It has been a long, difficult journey for Germans in general, and an even more difficult one for those who lived in the shadow of a concentration camp. Their pain is our pain as well, for how many of us have looked the other way when a wrong was being done? Would we - could we - have done anything differently? There will always be more questions than answers about this horrible time.

To walk through the iron gate with the ironic sign that states, "Arbeit Macht Frie" or "Work Will Make You Free" is a sobering experience. All prisoners passed through this gate, and you could somehow feel their sorrow and fear. The vast grounds spread out before me, and for the second time I choked back tears as I saw the frightening, desolate area where so many spent their last days. The long barracks buildings were on the left; the maintenance building to the right was where cooking, laundry and other work were done. Between stretched an immense gravel field called the roll call area. It was here, morning and evening, that prisoners had to stand for roll call so that the prison guards could take count of the healthy, the sick, and the dead. Prisoners were often forced to stand for hours in the cold winds and pouring rain if a SS officer decided it was necessary. My throat constricted and my chest tightened as I looked at that field, imagining those thousands of human beings standing at attention and having to ignore those that fell or face certain death themselves. That field haunted me; I can still see it in my mind and when I think of the camp this is the image I see.

The concentration camp had a prison, as if being there weren't bad enough to begin with. Prisoners were tortured, and punishments and executions conducted in the courtyard next to the prison. Cells line both sides of this enormously long building, and though they are all alike - a small concrete room with a thick wooden door - I couldn't help peering through the bars into cell after cell. It was a terrible place where I could almost feel the prisoners' fear, and it was with relief that I stepped out of the building and into the sunshine.

We passed guard towers and a section of perimeter fencing to visit the most horrifying place of all - the crematorium. The brick building with a large, square chimney had rooms for disrobing, a gas chamber, incinerator room and execution site, and 2 rooms where the bodies were stored prior to cremation. This is place of unimaginable terror, and I found it hard to wrap my mind around what had occurred there. It felt surreal, like something from a bad horror movie. This, however was all too real.

I fear today's journal is turning out to be much longer than I originally thought it would. Dachau was an emotional experience, and it seems disrespectful to jot a few lines and be done with it. There will likely be a lot more added at a later date, but I wanted to get these first impressions down while they are still fresh in my memory.

We watched a documentary after our walking tour, and you could have heard a pin drop in the theater. Graphic movies and images captured by the American army upon entering Dachau portrayed some of the atrocities that had occurred, and I don't believe there was a dry eye in the house. History became real before our very eyes today, and it was a sobering experience.

The only picture I will post is of the memorial sculpture; it somehow feels disrespectful to post anything else here. The bronze sculpture was dedicated in 1968, and looks like strands of barbed wire on which skeletons are hanging with their heads dangling. On either side of the sculpture are concrete fence posts which resemble the ones actually used to support the barbed wire fence around the camp. The hands of the skeletons resemble the barbs on a barbed wire fence. It is a fitting monument for all to remember what occurred on this spot. Dachau International Memorial Sculpture

We ate dinner together on this last night as a group. Two weeks ago we barely knew each other; today we have become friends. We discussed our reunion meeting, where we will exchange photos and enjoy each others' company once again. Jens and Judy brought together a diverse group of individuals and shared some of their favorite places with us. Now they are our favorite places too, and maybe someday we can come back and share these wonderful places with our friends and family. Thank you, Jens and Judy, for the memories!

Germany Day 15

Sept. 24, 2011. I just left Oktoberfest and am still a little dazed and confused - total sensory overload on every level! It was followed by the Bataan Death March. I guess I am going to have to explain.

We left Salzburg this morning for the 1-1/2 hour drive to Munich. We knew it would take a little longer since we had to avoid the Austrian Autobahn on the first leg of the journey. We're on the lam from the Austrian police, you remember, due to running the toll booth when we entered the country. So instead of pedal-to-the-metal on the highway, we meandered through the bucolic setting of Bavarian farms and towns. We had misty mountains to our left, rushing streams with picturesque waterfalls, and tidy alpine farms and villages with their ubiquitous cascading flower boxes to keep us entertained while we searched for a German Autobahn entrance. Success at last, then we were actually on our way, well...except for a quick bathroom break. We finally arrived at our hotel 3 hours after leaving Salzburg.

The hotel is not within the city limits of Munich, so the next leg of our trip was by shuttle to the train station. There is only one van, so it took 3 trips to get all 18 of us there. The train was full of workers and/or partygoers headed for Oktoberfest in their festival garb of lederhosen and dirndls. We got off at the city center to meet Toni, a friend of Jens' who was kind enough to show us around Munich a bit. The city was really crowded for a number of reasons: it was Satuday, there was a soccer game, and Oktoberfest. There were entertainers and vendors and thousands of people rushing here and there and we had to watch carefully to keep our group together.

Like so many of the places we've been, Munich is an ancient city, originally settled around 1150 by an order of Benedectine monks. Much of the architecture we were seeing, Toni explained, was much newer, dating only as far back as the 1800s. More of the city was even newer than that, having been lost to bombs during WWII. However, some old buildings remained and Toni took us to St Michael's, a Jesuit church built in the 1500s with incredible Baroque architecture. The facade is under restoration, and has a false front of canvas or plastic printed with the actual design beneath. St. Micheal's

We stepped inside another magnificent church, Frauenkirche, an immense cathedral with two towers that reach 358 feet above the city! This church dates to 1468 and can hold approximately 20,000 people; Catholic Mass is held regularly. The new town hall, well, relatively new as it was built in the late 1800s, has 400 rooms and amazing Gothic architecture. The best part was all the gargoyles leering from the parapets! The building is so ornate I am at a loss for words to describe it. It boggles the mind! Gargoyles!

After sight-seeing, we stopped for dessert and to rest our weary feet from trudging over the stony streets. Once we had fortified ourselves with something sweet, it was back on the train to the next stop - Oktoberfest!

The world's most famous beer party.The largest party in the world. It was so big, so over-the-top that I think I can best describe it as a montage of images. A state fair on steroids. Carnival rides. Souvenir stands. Neon lights. Food. More food. Sausages and fries and brats and sandwiches and pretzels and sugared nuts and cookies and pork and chicken and beef and veal and weiners. Beer, More beer, Even more beer! People eating. People drinking. People falling. People vomiting. People holding hands. People walking, stumbling, running, fighting, hugging, laughing, pushing and singing. Walking on garbage. Kicking broken bottles. Running into people. Eating. Shopping. Walking. More walking. Lederhosen, short, medium and long. Gingham shirts. Wool socks, ankle length, knee length or around the calf with no foot part at all. A rainbow of dirndls and aprons. Silly hats. People, people and more people!!! What an experience! Oktoberfest!

Then the Bataan Death March. Ok maybe it's an exageration, but finding the train station meant even more walking for already exhausted Americans and someone made the comparison and...well, it somehow felt apt at the moment! Trudge, trudge, trudge. Would we ever find it? Trudge, trudge, trudge. Ask someone! Trudge, trudge, trudge. Can we take a pimped up pedicab? They were quite unique - everyone had decorated his with his own personal style: flashing lights, flowers, astroturf, fur, boom boxes. Trudge, trudge, trudge. Finally! Train, 3 shuttle runs, home! Did I say exhausted? Good night!