Awe Inspiring Scenery Part 2

Last week I posted some photos from the first part of my
family vacation to Yellowstone.

After leaving Yellowstone,
we drove east through Wyoming and stopped in
Cody and Sheridan, each for one night.

 

 While in Cody,
I visited this quilt shop I had seen
advertised in the back of a quilting magazine.

It was filled to the brim with fabrics,
notions, patterns and books.
A few things were purchased from the
very friendly staff and owner.

 



This was taped to the cash register in
the quilt shop.
I think this applies to me!

We could not get over the sizes of the rock formations
along the highways.
Doesn't the piece jutting out look like a face?

These deer stopped to say hello!
Well... all but one anyway.

Buffalo Bill formed the town of Cody, WY.

We didn't have time to visit the museum there,

but the town was quaint and had a western feel to it.

 

We were standing with the Big Horn Basin behind us,
heading up and over the mountains going east.
It was very hazy while were there and were told
it was because of the wild fires further west and north.

Once again, the landscape is totally different

and just as beautiful.

 

Gorgeous sky!

We stayed in Rapid City, SD for several Days and visited different
sights there.

This is the Crazy Horse Memorial.
 It has been in progress since 1948 and is being carved
on sacred land.

The statue in the front is a 1/30 scale of what the mountain memorial
will look like when finished.

There was an excellent museum at the sight, as well
as Native American dancing and talks.

Not far from the Crazy Horse Memorial is
Mount Rushmore.
It was impressive to see this in person.
While driving after leaving the park,
we saw the profile of George coming around a corner in the road.

 

This WONDERFUL quilt shop is in Rapid City.
Let me just say....
I could have used another couple of hours here.
There was a basement that I didn't even get to see!
The owner and staff were super friendly and so helpful.

We passed this winery on one of our travel days in SD and the name

of the wine sure caught our eyes.

In we went, had a tasting

and ordered a case!

Rhubarb wine is delicious!

The last day of our time in Rapid City was spent in the
Bad Lands National Park.
Let me just say...
I can totally understand why this area was given the name
The Bad Lands.

This land is so rugged, isolated
and fierce looking.
It was so totally different than any other land we saw
and so beautiful.

After visiting the Bad lands,
we drove to the sight of the Massacre of Wounded Knee.

This memorial is on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
While there, we spoke with several Native Americans
who were there making and selling their crafted goods.

The Memorial is a sacred place.
Smudge pots of sage were burning to keep
evil spirits away.

On our way back to Rapid City,
we passed through a deserted "western town".
The buildings were all abandoned
and in various stages of disrepair.

I could hear the wagons and horses passing in my mind. :)

This sunset ended our trip perfectly.

On Ringo Lake Finish

It is finished!

While I am really pleased with the outcome,

the process was not that enjoyable at times.

I'm really glad "On Ringo Lake" is checked off of my list

and will be gracing a bed sometime soon.

It's a rainy, dreary day here,

so indoor photos will have to do.

This color combination is beautiful,

especially since turquoise is one of my favorite colors.

 

I'm not sure where this one will end up,

but it will keep someone warm this winter.

 

On Ringo Lake

The Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt for 2017.

 

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday today.

Happy Quilting!

Almost Finished Mystery Quilt

There was a time earlier this year

when I thought this Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt

would never get finished.

I had made a mistake in measuring the borders

and had to rip both borders off,

find the error and fix it.

It took me months to get myself in the mood

to spend several hours with my seam ripper.

I ripped and ripped,

the borders were fixed

and I picked it up from my long arm quilter today.

Woohoo!!

I really like the colors in this quilt,

but the design was just too busy for me.

Those chevron blocks were not my favorite to make,

so I was determined to use them.

 

It's ready for binding and then can be checked off of my list.

 

It was quilted with a modern feather design and aqua thread.

 

The backing is one of my favorites...

Grunge spots!

The binding may not be done for a while,

but it will be here waiting for me.

Happy Quilting!

Being Awed By Beautiful Sights

For the last couple of weeks

my husband, Doodlebug, middle brother, his wife and I

took our mom on a trip to a part of the country none of us

had ever visited.

Seeing this part of the country had been on her bucket list

for years and she was thrilled to finally see it.

What a trip it was!

We started in Salt Lake City, Utah

and visited the Great Salt Lake.

It was somewhere my mom had wanted to see,

so we headed to Antelope Island State Park.

It did not disappoint!

The water level recedes in the summer months

and as the snow melts and rains fall,

it fills back up. You can see how much the lake has receded here.

 

The colors were so different from what we see on the East Coast.

So were the animals!

 

This antelope ran along side the car for a bit.

 

We saw a lot of bison on the island.

This was a large herd on the dry lake bed.

The next day we drove from Salt Lake City, UT

to Jackson, Wy.

We took a 13 hour tour of Yellowstone

and could not get over the beauty in this park.

 

 Mt. Moran in the Teton Mountains just after sunrise.

The reflections in the water were just gorgeous.

It's hazy from all of the wildfires in the north west,

but the colors were still beautiful.

 

This canyon is what gave Yellowstone it's name.

The fur trappers came up the canyon and saw the 

yellow stone. These waterfalls, the Lower Yellowstone Falls,

are the tallest in the park.

 

The number of different geothermal and hydrothermal events in the park

were fascinating.  Here is a large pot of boiling mud.

It gurgled and bubbled and popped and stunk!

 

This is Clepsydra Geyser.

There were several areas spouting and spewing water...

very, very hot water... like 170 degrees!

 

This geothermal event is called Grand Prismatic Spring.

The different colors are from the different bacteria living in the spring.

Again, the water is very hot.

We were able to see Old Faithful, 

but arrived just after it started spewing.

It was impressive none the less.

The one disappointment was we didn't' see a lot of wildlife. 

This elk did not like us stopping and taking his picture at all.

Back to the Teton Mountains.

Those are glaciers at the top.

 

We were at Jenny Lake at the base of the Tetons at sunset and

it was gorgeous.

So quiet and peaceful.

 One day in Jackson,

We took a gondola up to the top of one of the ski mountains.

We were 10,450 feet up the mountain.

The ski runs were unbelievable. 

I'm not a skier,

but why anyone would want to go down a mountain like that

on skis is beyond me.  :)

It was very hazy, but this is the Snake River valley.

 

The tallest peak is the Grand Teton Peak.

We moved on from Jackson and headed east in Wyoming.

The tour will continue later.

I was able to visit a cute little quilt shop in Salt Lake City

and brought a couple of little treasures home with me.

To be continued....

Happy Day!

Pilot Stocking Front Finish

My son in law is an Air Force Pilot.

When I saw this new stocking kit from

Merry Stockings

you know I had to buy it!

(No affiliation.)

 

When I ordered this kit, I thought it was a Bucilla kit,

which I have made a number of,

but it was a kit by Merry Stockings.

 

It was so easy to make from their kit!

The directions were clear and concise,

the felt was stamped clearly

and was nice felt.

 

I would definitely make another one of these kits.

 

There are a couple of things I do differently when making these stockings.

Instead of using the polyfil to stuff the various pieces,

I use batting scraps.

I, also, do not use the felt piece for the backing.

I will make a quilted stocking and will stitch this front to the stocking.

This way it is much sturdier and can actually be used as a stocking.

When I make the quilted stocking, I'll take photos to share.

I will see if I can find some cute pilot or plane fabric for the stocking

and get this one in the finish pile.

Happy Quilting!

Paper Pieced Star Finish

After having this star kit in my cabinet for at least 2 years,

it is finally made.

The kit called for the four stars to be placemats,

but 12" placemats are too small.

My original plan was to make the stars into a baby quilt,

but making four of these was more than enough!

It became a table runner.

This is a large table runner,

or could be a bed runner if one was so inclined.

It still amazes me how perfectly the border fabric goes with the stars.

I had to piece the backing and used the fat quarters

from the kit that were supposed to be the placemat backings.

For the binding, I used the extra fabric along the edge

and left the solids in place.

It adds a little pop of color along the edges.

This is ready to place on my table,

since my husband told me I can't give this one away.

:)

**Edit**
I'm linking to Design Wall Monday.

Happy Quilting!