The McAuliffe's Second Honeymoon

Alyce and I were married in 1970 and camped across the USA in a VW bug for two month on our honeymoon. You really get to know someone in a pup tent. Last July we decided to rekindle the flame and flew to Denver, CO., rented an economy car and headed for Boulder and took a scenic walk on Pearl Street. We did not camp, but should have. We stayed at a Rodeway Inn and I expected Anthony Perkins to peek in on me in the shower. Did you ever sleep with your jack knife open under your pillow and were afraid to turn over because you might slit your own throat?

Next day we drove through the Big Horn National Forest, Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park to Cheyenne, WY. This road has to be one of the best scenic highways in America, BUT, if you get wheezey driving on hilly, winding, narrow roads on the side of a mountain where the sign that says" Falling Rocks" means it, stay on the interstate. This is where I wished that I rented a hopped up Mustang, stick shift, convertible.

We landed in Cheyenne for 'Frontier Days', a carnival, old time parade (horse drawn wagons, old tractors, horses), rodeo, concert (Toby Keith and Eric Church) with a great mix of people: the cowgirl ih her tight jeans, high boots, tank top, funky sun glasses and the cowgirl hat; the cowboy in construction boots, jeans with a truck buckle, cut off flannel shirt and the cowboy hat; the 300 lb. tatoo sitting on his Harley with a leather vest, no shirt, his 'doorag' and a Coors; and finally the tourist with Reebok sneakers, Nike shorts, 'vacation shirt' and baseballl cap with his favorite pro-tean or college.

Headed for Yellowstone National Park and stopped in Cody for the night. You have to spend at least a half a day at the Buffalo Bill Museum to get a feeling what is was like to live in the 'wild west'. You need two days to drive through Yellowstone. We stayed in a cabin with a bathroom, very nice and cozy. As you drive through the park, bear, deer, buffalo, elk and coyote walk across the street and in the street and don't give a s--- that you're there.

As you drive from Yellowstone to Jackson Hole, you pass through the Grand Teton National Park. You need to take some of the cutoffs to get beside the waterfalls and enjoy the snow-covered mountains. I can't remember the nane of the hotel in Jackson Hole, but as we pulled in there were two bikers having a Coors, so when I got out of the car I said, "You started without me". They apologized and one of them ran in to their room and came out with two Coors for Alyce and I. I told them that Alyce only drinks hard liquor, so he yelled into the room to have his woman pour Alyce a 'tall Jack Daniels'. Everywhere we went the people were very friendly.

The ride from Jackson Hole to Laramie is 6 hrs at 80 mph with a constant change of landscape. Get Gas, because the next station is two days away. You can see what an exhausting trip it must have been to cross this area in a covered wagon. There are some places on the road where you see no life in a 360 circle, then one cow walks by. It is a short jump from Laramie to Denver and the Zoo, with a great collection of animals and infomation.

The second honeymoon was great, but it ended with the flight back to Bean Town.

Paul & Alyce McAuliffe