On our quest to find new and interesting things in our area to see, we found the Lucky Cat Museum, in the Clifton area. It is one woman’s personal collection of lucky cats. She has been an avid collector for years and has a large variety of Japanese Lucky Cats. The museum is free, although donations are welcome. There is also a gift shop where you can buy your own lucky cat themed items, ranging from postcards to lucky cats.
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One of my favorite pieces was a disco ball cat. The poor cat has been broken 3 times! The cat had been loaned out and broken. Micha glued it back together, painted it, and then covered it in the disco ball mirrors. The medallion and coins were left bare. The second time the cat broke, the medallion and coins were repaired and covered in mirrors and crystals. The last time it broke, the cat was glued together, filled with expanding foam, and the mirrors replaced.
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There were a few interactive pieces as well, including the slot machines (tokens provided).
We were finally able to get our bathroom fan repaired. MaxxAir had sent us a computer board and a motor, as either one of those items could have broken. We were able to find a mobile RV Tech who came out and replaced the computer board for us. As we were talking, he recommended a RV shop that he thought we might like: Sands RV.
We stopped in a couple of days later. This store was really neat! It had a little bit of everything: curtains, furniture, toilets, fenders…
The store was owned by Bob, who also worked on the Ungers RVs. The picture below was 1968 and Bob is the one on the far right.
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As we were leaving, they also gave us a flame color changing stick for the fire. The boys got a big kick out of it at our next camp fire. It did work really well and lasted a long time (much better than the packet we had bought at a campground store).
We had a great time exploring the store. Everyone was very friendly. If you are in the area, I would definitely check out this store. It was like a RV treasure chest with something for everyone! We did a quick video walk through of the store (link here).
Philly was about a 1 1/4 hours from our campground (with using the toll roads). Almost everywhere is paid parking in the downtown area, and it was hard to find parking where the truck would fit. Our first parking spot was close to the Liberty Bell area, but was limited to 2 hours, so we had to rush through the area.
LIBERTY BELL:
We stopped at the Liberty Visitor Center for the Independence National Historical Park first and the boys got a Junior Ranger Program booklet. The NPS booth also had passport stamps available in a really nice display.
The Independence National Park Service was limiting the number of visitors allowed in the buildings due to COVID restrictions. They were not selling entrance tickets/reservations while we were there, but they were limiting the amount of people in the buildings, so there were some long lines. (*NOTE: The website states starting 5/6/21, they will be doing timed entrance tickets to Independence Hall.) Due to our parking meter, we had a very limited time of 2 hours. The line to see the Liberty Bell was 90 minutes, and the line for Independence Hall was 60 minutes. Luckily, you can view the Liberty Bell from outside the building through glass windows. You cannot see the crack from the windows, but you can at least still see the bell.
We walked to Independence Hall and talked to one of the employees to see what was offered, as it was a 60 minute wait. He told us that it was a 20 minute guided tour, but you wait about 60 minutes outside, then inside can be another 60 minute wait. He said he did not recommend it if we were short on time (or during the pandemic in general). He recommended walking around the outside of Independence Hall to be able to see the buildings, going to Second Bank and Carpenter’s Hall as they had no real lines.
Top left: Independence Hall. Rest: Second Bank
Second Bank currently houses portraits. Carpenter’s Hall has the history of the Carpenter’s Company, a trade guild that was founded in 1724. There are still current members of the Company today!
We drove around and saw the Chinatown and Italian districts. It really is a big city.
CHEESE STEAKS:
We wanted to experience an authentic cheesesteak while in Philadelphia. There are a lot of options to choose from. We first stopped at Campo’s Deli and tried a cheesesteak with cheese, onions, and mushrooms. We got a second one with peppers as well. We then drove to Pat’s King Of Steaks to try theirs. We got it with the Cheese Whiz and an order of fries. I think next time, I would order sliced cheese as well, as it wasn’t as cheesy as I thought it would be.
ROCKY STAIRS:
The Independence Visitor Center had a Rocky Balboa statue to pose next to. However, there was another (metal…brass?) statue near the famous steps that he ran up during training in the movie. The parking over there was packed and expensive $15 for the closest lot, so we ended up only driving by.
We really enjoyed spending time in Philadelphia and would like to explore it even more.
Final note: It was funny to compare the recommendations on what to see on a 2 hour window. The city Visitor booth recommended a variety of city and historic based items. The National Park Service booth was all historic sites. Both had good recommendations.
DETAILS Independence NHP:*
TICKETS: Free (except for Benjamin Franklin Museum, which is currently closed for COVID. National Constitution Center also charges a fee.) COVID Restrictions: masks required, limited items open, limited attendance (The website states starting 5/6/21, they will be doing timed entrance tickets to Independence Hall.)
HOURS: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Second Bank 10:00 am -5:00 pm, Carpenter’s Hall 10-4 select days
PARKING: Pay parking on street or nearby lots
BATHROOM: Yes, Visitors Center
TIME RECOMMENDED: 2-5 hours
*Details correct at the time of posting, but please double check before you go.
The boys and I took it easy this morning and explored the town of Gardiner, MT a little bit.
We found an amazing T-shirt shop (OutWest T’s) that carried socks, t-shirts, pajamas, hoodies, hats… I bought a keychain and a small jar of Huckleberry jam. There is a T-Shirt there that I may go back and buy for Nick. They had so many funny designs. They were really nice and explained huckleberries to the boys. Huckleberries are similar in shape to blueberries, but a little smaller. They grow wild, cannot be cultivated, and do not last long once picked. Which is why you see more products with huckleberry in them, than fresh huckleberries for sale. We tried a hard candy and ice cream sandwiches for the boys. Both were a big success.
We mailed some postcards, stopped at a bookstore/coffee shop, and got some groceries before heading home. The bookstore looked like it had nice breakfast sandwiches and they had a frozen coffee (they call it blended). Not a lot of kid books for the boys though, mostly adult and some little kid books.
We grabbed bison burgers for dinner, which the kids enjoyed trying. After cleaning up dinner, we headed back into Yellowstone. Ben drove so I could get pictures out the window! Yay for awesome husbands! 🙂
We went to Old Faithful and it was the most congested with cars we had seen so far. There had also been a wreck and construction, which slowed down the drive to a snail’s pace at times. We rushed through the parking lot to get to the geyser and saw a few small spurts and a lot of steam. We waited maybe 10 minutes or so, until the big eruption. It was great! The wind was blowing towards us, so we did get a few misty drops on us.
Ben’s photo of the boys and I. He caught me taking video and photos. 🙂
Next stop was the Grand Prismatic Spring. This was what I had been looking forward to. It was amazing. The colors are just amazing to think that nature can produce such vibrant colors. We parked at Fairy Falls Trail and took the trail over to Prismatic Spring. There is a fork in the trail: straight goes to Fairy Falls Trail, left goes up a hill to Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook. Take the extra 1/4 mile and go up the hill. It gives you a greater vantage point to look down on the colorful spring. There were a lot less people up there too!
We stopped at a waterfall and a few more hot springs on the way back.
The boys began the morning with riding their bikes. It’s been nice and cool in the mornings, low 50’s! We even turned the fireplace on. When we bought the RV, we thought we would never use it.
Will is not used to riding on gravel yet, or switching from grass to gravel, or something, because he took a rather large fall. He scrapped off a bunch of skin from his elbow, some from his hands. It’s rather large and took awhile to stop bleeding. Second day of new bikes. Seriously?! He is healing rather well, although the largest scrape is going to take awhile.
I applied window tint to the passenger window in the truck. The goal was to do both the driver and passenger because the sun can be intense when you are driving all day. After 4 attempts and out of tint film, I only got the passenger side done. It was extremely frustrating. The wind kept blowing, the film ripped twice while I was trying to smooth it out, and I couldn’t get rid of all the air bubbles. I’m done. Not doing the other window. It took hours, and it doesn’t even look good. It will keep Ben from burning in that seat, but that’s about all the positive I can say for it. It took the whole morning.
Before and After
So, after Ben was done with work, we were all ready to do something fun. Now, if you know Ben, you know he has horrible taste in movies and loves any kind of Western. (Just kidding, kind of. He really will watch almost any Western.) We decided to go see Deadwood. It was about an hour from our campsite.
I think we all had high expectations for poor Deadwood. It did not really live up to them. It was very touristy, not very kid friendly, and definitely relied on the famous names of the time to label everything. Main Street was cobblestone and there were a few historic buildings: the Franklin Hotel (great upper balcony), Salon No. 10 where Wild Bill Hickok was shot, and a few others seemed like they were older/original buildings. Most of the attractions seemed to be mini casinos and bars. There is a free gun show on Main Street daily (not Sunday) that was fun to see. The boys got a kick out of it. There is another show of the capture of Jack McCall, but you need to buy tickets for that one.
A lot of places seemed to close at 5:00pm. We missed seeing the Adams Museum, which included Potato Creek Johnny’s gold nugget that we had heard about at Buffalo Ridge 1880 Cowboy Town. There are trolley and horse drawn wagon rides as well.
One of my favorite finds in Deadwood was the Pump House. It is an old gas station that has been converted into a coffee house and glass blowing studio. The pieces on display were amazing. We arrived five minutes before closing (also 5:00pm), but they made us coffee anyway. She was extremely nice. We sat on the patio and enjoyed our drinks. I would definitely check this place out! The coffee and scone were tasty and the building is unique and adorable. I loved it and wished we could have spent more time there. It looks like you would be able to watch the glass blowing, which would be interesting to see.
There is a ton of history there, which I hope they incorporate more. Ben I think was very disappointed. He loves watching crappy Westerns and had high hopes for Deadwood. I would love for it be more historical and less cheesy/easy road. I love Gatlinburg for a lot of reasons, but Deadwood reminded me of a small Gatlinburg main street: a lot of bling, but not a lot of substance.
