Well it’s been awhile since I have written anything in the blog. I just want everyone to know that we both are doing fine and are enjoying the warm weather we are having here in Arizona. The move from Montana to Arizona has been quite a change for us. First of all we were pretty well spoiled when we were at Lonesomehurst. To have all the things to see and do within our reach was quite rewarding. We found our adventure to Arizona being more of a challenge. There are many things to see and do around here but we are waiting for some cooler weather to arrive.
We did make a short trip over to San Diego last week and spent a couple of days on the west coast then came back to Yuma and spent a night there. While in San Diego we went to the coast and enjoyed the beaches and the beauty of the ocean. For those of you who know me, I’m the type of person that is not too impressed with big cities and big buildings. Not to say there isn’t things out there in the architectural world that I would not like to see, I’m just not into the big cities. We visited Coronado Island and toured the hotel “del Coronado”. This hotel pictured in the slide show was built in 1888 and was at that time, the worlds largest resort/hotel and the first to use electrical lighting. The only thing that I saw that I did not care for was the $18 for a 1/2lb hamburger!! Give me the rivers, mountains, lakes, even the valleys and I can enjoy them all day long. We had a good time there and it was real nice to see green grass and trees. We had the chance to stop and see Bob and Agnes ( from West Yellowstone) and enjoyed our visit with them.
We’re starting to get some people coming into the park for winter but it is still early for most of the snowbirds. We’re told that most people will start showing up around the end of November and December. We have several places we hope to visit during the upcoming months and are looking forward to seeing them. We’ve met several people coming down this way from Canada to escape the cold winter there. For now most of the people that are coming into the park are just stopping for a day or two and are heading to Texas or other parts of Arizona.
We hope everyone back home will have a nice Thanksgiving and make every effort to visit with each other, if you can’t visit give a phone call. Family and friends are very precious to have so enjoy the opportunity to be with each other.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Back In Indiana !
Wednesday, September 16th, we went into Phoenix and spent the night. Thursday we flew back to Indiana to visit family and friends. My sister Debbie was kind enough to come to the airport and pick us up. We ended up spending the night at home and got to visit with Jim & Tasha. Over the next few days we had the opportunity to visit Cindy’s father and brothers, David & Andrea Rowe (with soon to be a "little David"). Debbie had us over Sunday evening for pizza and all of my brothers and sisters came over to visit with us. For those of you who have moved away from family and friends, there is nothing quite as nice as being able to see all of them again. Monday we went to Sunset Funeral Home and had the chance to visit with the people I have worked with over the past few years. Jim and Nancy went out to eat with us on Tuesday, then back to Carmel to spend the night with Cindy’s father.
The whole purpose of flying back was to pick up our car, drive it back to Arizona so we would have it to visit various places out here. Sometime while at home I must have picked up a bug because I got sick on Tuesday night. Nothing worse than having 2000 miles to drive and having a case of stomach cramps to do it with. Thankfully we were driving the car and not towing the camper so Cindy got the chance to do a lot of the driving while I lay over in the passenger seat holding my gut. We stopped by David’s house and got a chance to spend a couple of days with him before heading back to Arizona. Our goal was to drive to David’s then head over to Denver and visit with Randy and family, but felt it wise not to take whatever it was I had and share it with them. My apologies to them for not making it this trip, but I’m sure they were healthier for it.
We decided to take the southern route back and went down to Oklahoma City and came across I-40 to I-25 then south to I-10. We figured while we were that close to Tombstone, AZ we might take in the town. For those of you who are wondering what is in Tombstone, Arizona, there is a lot of history there. Wyatt Earp, Boot Hill, The Birdcage Theater, Doc Holiday, The O.K Corral, etc, the only thing we did not like about it, you had to pay $5-10 to see any of it. With the exception of Boot Hill, most everything in the town cost (what a rip). We can add it to the list of “been there, done it”, but would I recommend it or go back NO WAY!
The past couple of weeks we have pretty much just been hanging around and writing down things we want to see in the area. I will tell you that we did visit one of the local attractions. It is called “Desert Sweet Shrimp” farm. Now I know what you all are thinking, no way is there shrimp in the desert, (exactly what we thought). Well without boring you with all the details basically they have these large ponds, add salt to the water, add the shrimp, which have just hatched, and wait for the hot dry desert temps to grow the shrimp. They claim that the shrimp is sweeter than you get out of the ocean, no antioxidants, no chemicals, and therefore are healthier for you. We haven’t tried them yet but the first week of November they put on a “shrimp fest” in town, so we figured we would give it a shot. If your interested in learning more and would like to order some they have a web address. Just type in Desert Sweet Shrimp and look for the link to the one located in Gila Bend Arizona. As of the writing I will say that we are adjusting to the heat, learning about the desert, and so far, NO RATTLESNAKES or SCORPIONS!!
The whole purpose of flying back was to pick up our car, drive it back to Arizona so we would have it to visit various places out here. Sometime while at home I must have picked up a bug because I got sick on Tuesday night. Nothing worse than having 2000 miles to drive and having a case of stomach cramps to do it with. Thankfully we were driving the car and not towing the camper so Cindy got the chance to do a lot of the driving while I lay over in the passenger seat holding my gut. We stopped by David’s house and got a chance to spend a couple of days with him before heading back to Arizona. Our goal was to drive to David’s then head over to Denver and visit with Randy and family, but felt it wise not to take whatever it was I had and share it with them. My apologies to them for not making it this trip, but I’m sure they were healthier for it.
We decided to take the southern route back and went down to Oklahoma City and came across I-40 to I-25 then south to I-10. We figured while we were that close to Tombstone, AZ we might take in the town. For those of you who are wondering what is in Tombstone, Arizona, there is a lot of history there. Wyatt Earp, Boot Hill, The Birdcage Theater, Doc Holiday, The O.K Corral, etc, the only thing we did not like about it, you had to pay $5-10 to see any of it. With the exception of Boot Hill, most everything in the town cost (what a rip). We can add it to the list of “been there, done it”, but would I recommend it or go back NO WAY!
The past couple of weeks we have pretty much just been hanging around and writing down things we want to see in the area. I will tell you that we did visit one of the local attractions. It is called “Desert Sweet Shrimp” farm. Now I know what you all are thinking, no way is there shrimp in the desert, (exactly what we thought). Well without boring you with all the details basically they have these large ponds, add salt to the water, add the shrimp, which have just hatched, and wait for the hot dry desert temps to grow the shrimp. They claim that the shrimp is sweeter than you get out of the ocean, no antioxidants, no chemicals, and therefore are healthier for you. We haven’t tried them yet but the first week of November they put on a “shrimp fest” in town, so we figured we would give it a shot. If your interested in learning more and would like to order some they have a web address. Just type in Desert Sweet Shrimp and look for the link to the one located in Gila Bend Arizona. As of the writing I will say that we are adjusting to the heat, learning about the desert, and so far, NO RATTLESNAKES or SCORPIONS!!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Out of the freezer, into the fire!
Saturday, September 12th, we headed for some sunshine and warm weather. The drive through Idaho was a nice drive, the drive through northern Utah, not so interesting. Actually the southern part of Utah was a very nice drive. One of the things we enjoy most about Utah is the “red rock’ formations. Instead of taking the Interstate all the way to Vegas and cut over ,we decided to take some state highways. On a positive note, taking these types of roads usually takes more time (which we have) and you get the opportunity to visit small towns dotted along them. On the negative side, when the roads were built I believe no one considered the fact of towing RV’s on them. I will admit after the first several miles I was asking myself if maybe the Interstate would have been a wiser choice. The first night we stayed at one of the famous WalMart Resorts. The next day took us into Arizona ( by far a totally different look than the mountains of Montana). We arrived in the Phoenix area later that day and decided to stop for the night, as we figured there were a few things we needed to pick up before our arrival at Augie’s Quail Trail RV Park.
Now for those of you who have done camping in your past years one pretty much knows what to expect when arriving at your destination. Since Cindy and I have never done any “desert camping” we were not quite sure what to expect. We both knew that it was going to be a total reverse of camping in Montana on the water. Lonesomehurst taught us things like looking over our shoulders for bears, making sure our food was not left out for “Yogi” , catching very nice size fish, knowing that on June 12th you can wake up and find 2 inches of snow on the ground, spotting Eagles, without much of an effort, as they fly over, those types of things we have learned to handle over the past 5 months. The last week we were at Lonesomehurst our water line froze, temps down to 26 degrees. Upon our arrival in the Phoenix area our thermometer showed around 105 degrees, ( yes I typed it right).
In leaving we would like to share with you something we have never experienced in all of our years camping. The first night at Augie’s we turned on the water heater to take showers. Cindy went first and when she finished she informed me that she did not need to use the hot water. I thought yeah right, well what she said was true. Never in my years of camping have I ever ( and I mean ever) been able to take a cold water only shower and enjoy the warmth of the “cold” water. But then again I guess when the temps outside hit 105+ degrees, and heats up the sand, I can understand why “cold water” in Arizona, actually is “warm enough for a shower”.
Now for those of you who have done camping in your past years one pretty much knows what to expect when arriving at your destination. Since Cindy and I have never done any “desert camping” we were not quite sure what to expect. We both knew that it was going to be a total reverse of camping in Montana on the water. Lonesomehurst taught us things like looking over our shoulders for bears, making sure our food was not left out for “Yogi” , catching very nice size fish, knowing that on June 12th you can wake up and find 2 inches of snow on the ground, spotting Eagles, without much of an effort, as they fly over, those types of things we have learned to handle over the past 5 months. The last week we were at Lonesomehurst our water line froze, temps down to 26 degrees. Upon our arrival in the Phoenix area our thermometer showed around 105 degrees, ( yes I typed it right).
In leaving we would like to share with you something we have never experienced in all of our years camping. The first night at Augie’s we turned on the water heater to take showers. Cindy went first and when she finished she informed me that she did not need to use the hot water. I thought yeah right, well what she said was true. Never in my years of camping have I ever ( and I mean ever) been able to take a cold water only shower and enjoy the warmth of the “cold” water. But then again I guess when the temps outside hit 105+ degrees, and heats up the sand, I can understand why “cold water” in Arizona, actually is “warm enough for a shower”.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Reflecting Back (double click pics for full size)
Well today is Thursday, September 10 and I’m sitting here warming up. The temp is around 45, better than yesterday’s 26 degrees when our water hose froze. Today we start packing things up to prepare for our trip to Arizona. I went fishing yesterday evening with Ed and caught 2 real nice rainbows, 18 inches, 2+ lbs. The summer sure has flown past here. It seems like it was only a few weeks ago Cindy and I pulled into Bakers Hole campground to start out the summer.
I reflect back over the past 5 months and realize how blessed we have been. We have experienced so many things over the summer. I think of the first time pulling into Bakers Hole and reading the sign “Grizzly Bears Frequent This Area, Store Food And Coolers In Your Vehicle”, we looked at each other and I’m sure the thoughts were the same “what have we’ve gotten into”. I remember waking up to 6 inches of snow on the ground in May, and telling Jimi about it. His reply was “ I thought you went there to get away from the cold”. I remember sitting in the camper and Cindy saying she heard something outside, only to look out and see a half dozen Buffalo walking right past our truck and camper, the excitement of seeing such a large animal walking within a few feet from you is nothing one can describe. The first night we decided to park the truck by the river in hopes of seeing wildlife, only to be rewarded by Cindy spotting a Grizzly in the river. Watching Eagles fly over the campground, sitting by the river listening to nothing but the sound of the Madison River flowing past us, watching newborn “Red Dogs “ buffalo walking in the campground trying to keep up with their mother, nothing like this have we ever experienced before.
The arrival of Rodney and Diana brought us some new friends to be able to share our time with. Working with them cutting firewood and cleaning up the campground to prepare for opening, was one of the most enjoyable times we had at the start. Throughout the summer we have become very goods friends and have spent hours together sightseeing. They will be a couple that will be sorely missed by both Cindy and I when we leave this week.
I think of all the other people we have met here at Lonesomehurst, Wayne & Rae (who taught me all about trout fishing), Bob Stone, (the catch and release guy who fished for the “big Ones”) Kevin & Shelly (Shelly, who took us Huckleberry picking) Kevin who took us fishing, Bill and Kathy, whom we spent hours in the boat fishing together, Ed & Katie, (our summer residents) whom Ed and I only wished we would have started fishing together earlier in the season, Bob & Agnes (we didn’t catch a lot of fish together, but I enjoyed talking to a man that is 85 years old and listening to him share his experiences in life), and all of the other people we met and enjoyed their company. From the bottom of our hearts we want to thank each and every one of you who made our stay a Lonesomehurst an experience that we will never forget.
There is so many of things we have had the opportunity to experience this summer I cannot list them all (nor do I wish to bore you with all of them). We would like to take this last paragraph and thank the person that made all of this possible. From the first phone call I made to her back in November, to the final day that we will say our goodbyes, Vickie Barta has been nothing but the “Perfect Boss”. She has made us feel welcomed from the first time we talked about taking this job to the last time of having us over for a cookout on our final day. How this lady does it is beyond what I can comprehend. She has a family of 3 children to take care of, 5 campgrounds and 13 camp hosts to manage, and she will be the first to pull up her sleeves and start to work. From the first day of cleaning up brush and hauling fire wood, to the last day we were here, she has been non-stop in making our lives and work easier for us. To Vickie we give our most sincere thanks and love for allowing us to enjoy this “workamping experience” and wish her nothing but the best in life.
I reflect back over the past 5 months and realize how blessed we have been. We have experienced so many things over the summer. I think of the first time pulling into Bakers Hole and reading the sign “Grizzly Bears Frequent This Area, Store Food And Coolers In Your Vehicle”, we looked at each other and I’m sure the thoughts were the same “what have we’ve gotten into”. I remember waking up to 6 inches of snow on the ground in May, and telling Jimi about it. His reply was “ I thought you went there to get away from the cold”. I remember sitting in the camper and Cindy saying she heard something outside, only to look out and see a half dozen Buffalo walking right past our truck and camper, the excitement of seeing such a large animal walking within a few feet from you is nothing one can describe. The first night we decided to park the truck by the river in hopes of seeing wildlife, only to be rewarded by Cindy spotting a Grizzly in the river. Watching Eagles fly over the campground, sitting by the river listening to nothing but the sound of the Madison River flowing past us, watching newborn “Red Dogs “ buffalo walking in the campground trying to keep up with their mother, nothing like this have we ever experienced before.
The arrival of Rodney and Diana brought us some new friends to be able to share our time with. Working with them cutting firewood and cleaning up the campground to prepare for opening, was one of the most enjoyable times we had at the start. Throughout the summer we have become very goods friends and have spent hours together sightseeing. They will be a couple that will be sorely missed by both Cindy and I when we leave this week.
I think of all the other people we have met here at Lonesomehurst, Wayne & Rae (who taught me all about trout fishing), Bob Stone, (the catch and release guy who fished for the “big Ones”) Kevin & Shelly (Shelly, who took us Huckleberry picking) Kevin who took us fishing, Bill and Kathy, whom we spent hours in the boat fishing together, Ed & Katie, (our summer residents) whom Ed and I only wished we would have started fishing together earlier in the season, Bob & Agnes (we didn’t catch a lot of fish together, but I enjoyed talking to a man that is 85 years old and listening to him share his experiences in life), and all of the other people we met and enjoyed their company. From the bottom of our hearts we want to thank each and every one of you who made our stay a Lonesomehurst an experience that we will never forget.
There is so many of things we have had the opportunity to experience this summer I cannot list them all (nor do I wish to bore you with all of them). We would like to take this last paragraph and thank the person that made all of this possible. From the first phone call I made to her back in November, to the final day that we will say our goodbyes, Vickie Barta has been nothing but the “Perfect Boss”. She has made us feel welcomed from the first time we talked about taking this job to the last time of having us over for a cookout on our final day. How this lady does it is beyond what I can comprehend. She has a family of 3 children to take care of, 5 campgrounds and 13 camp hosts to manage, and she will be the first to pull up her sleeves and start to work. From the first day of cleaning up brush and hauling fire wood, to the last day we were here, she has been non-stop in making our lives and work easier for us. To Vickie we give our most sincere thanks and love for allowing us to enjoy this “workamping experience” and wish her nothing but the best in life.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Aaron & Laura Visit!
Well the summer is winding down and we had our last visitors. Our son Aaron, and his fiancée Laura (yes I typed it right, his fiancé) came to visit this last week. For those of you who haven’t heard, he proposed to her a couple of weeks ago. I’ll have to say he’s defiantly a romantic when it comes to this stuff. Actually he was in New Orleans on business and he had Laura to fly down to spend a few days with him. I’ll let you read his blog so you can get all the details.
We’ve had a great visit with them the past 5 days. They wanted to see some of Yellowstone and do some hiking so our first day in the park we took a hike on a trail called Purple Mountain Trail at Madison Junction, elevation at trailhead 6830ft. The trail was 3 miles up and 3 miles back with an elevation rise of 1500 feet, 8300 ft at the top. It was rated as moderate strenuous and the part of strenuous was correct. The hike took Cindy and I 2 hours to make it to the top (I think Laura could have done it in 1 hour or less). We did appreciate the fact they waited on the old people during the hike. Had it not been for the fact of Laura going ahead and finding the end of the trail, I think the I was ready to call it quits. She came back with great news we were only 15 minutes or less from the top and let me say I’m sure glad we continued on. The view from there was just outstanding.
The next day we done the hike up the Contour Road and climbed to the highest point there, again the view was outstanding and the hike back down took it’s toll on my legs, I actually felt pretty good after the Purple Mt. hike, but the short hike up Contour Road sure did cause me some leg cramps and aches and pain. We went fishing with Kevin and Aaron caught him a nice one. Monday we took a hike to Mystic Falls, beautiful walk and falls. Came back set around the campground and visited. Tuesday morning Aaron and I went fishing and caught a couple of nice ones. Tuesday evening we went out again and had the best evening yet, caught 3 real nice fish within 45 minutes. Came back to the campsite, ate some food and Laura got a call from her dad. Someone had broken into their home early on Sunday morning (along with 4 other homes in the area); thankfully all they took was a couple of computers and some loose change Laura had been saving up. We got up Wednesday morning and headed to the airport for them to head back to Wisconsin. We came back home and I went out fishing with Ed Iverson and we finally caught our first fish together, real nice 18-inch rainbows.
We’ve had a great visit with them the past 5 days. They wanted to see some of Yellowstone and do some hiking so our first day in the park we took a hike on a trail called Purple Mountain Trail at Madison Junction, elevation at trailhead 6830ft. The trail was 3 miles up and 3 miles back with an elevation rise of 1500 feet, 8300 ft at the top. It was rated as moderate strenuous and the part of strenuous was correct. The hike took Cindy and I 2 hours to make it to the top (I think Laura could have done it in 1 hour or less). We did appreciate the fact they waited on the old people during the hike. Had it not been for the fact of Laura going ahead and finding the end of the trail, I think the I was ready to call it quits. She came back with great news we were only 15 minutes or less from the top and let me say I’m sure glad we continued on. The view from there was just outstanding.
The next day we done the hike up the Contour Road and climbed to the highest point there, again the view was outstanding and the hike back down took it’s toll on my legs, I actually felt pretty good after the Purple Mt. hike, but the short hike up Contour Road sure did cause me some leg cramps and aches and pain. We went fishing with Kevin and Aaron caught him a nice one. Monday we took a hike to Mystic Falls, beautiful walk and falls. Came back set around the campground and visited. Tuesday morning Aaron and I went fishing and caught a couple of nice ones. Tuesday evening we went out again and had the best evening yet, caught 3 real nice fish within 45 minutes. Came back to the campsite, ate some food and Laura got a call from her dad. Someone had broken into their home early on Sunday morning (along with 4 other homes in the area); thankfully all they took was a couple of computers and some loose change Laura had been saving up. We got up Wednesday morning and headed to the airport for them to head back to Wisconsin. We came back home and I went out fishing with Ed Iverson and we finally caught our first fish together, real nice 18-inch rainbows.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
FINALLY, THE KING IS ON THE THRONE !!!
The picture of the berries that you see are the result of Cindy and I picking Huckleberries. Out here in the west huckleberries are the big thing. To me they kind of taste like a blueberry but are smaller in size. The one thing I do know is this, to buy anything with huckleberries in it is very expensive. They say the going rate for a pound of berries is around 40 dollars, yes you read it right, $40. They only grow at altitudes of 6000 ft. so I guess this is why they cost so much. I will say they are very tasty in pancakes and oatmeal. The only thing you have to be careful about when picking them is that YOGI the bear is not close, bears do not appreciate you stealing their berries.
The past few weeks we have pretty much just hung around the campground. We did take a hike (5 miles total) to view Fairy Falls in the park. I suppose it was by chance that we picked one of the hottest days this summer to do this hike and needless to say the heat was no fun. The total hike was 5 miles and we kept asking people on the way back to the falls “ is it worth the walk” and everyone said yes. I guess after seeing Yosemite Falls in California and Multnomah Falls in Oregon, our expectations were too big. The falls was ok and it was refreshing sitting by it, but was it worth the 5 mile hike? Come out and try it and you tell me!
We have continued to catch some nice fish the past week although one has to really go out and find them. The fishing from the shore has slowed tremendously but people are still catching nice ones by trolling or fly-fishing. The picture of the man and myself in the boat was taken when we went out for an evening of fishing. This man is 85 years young and quite the storyteller. I have enjoyed spending numerous trips on the water with him and listening to stories he has to tell. He told me one day to start using his boat so Cindy and I could go fishing so we listened to him and have been doing such.
Now for the BIG NEWS !!!! I have knocked the Queen from the throne!!! Yes you read it right; I have finally caught one bigger than Cindy. I’m quite proud to say I landed one a couple of days ago that weighed in at 3.5 lbs.,(on a cheap Zebco scale. Maybe 4lbs on a digital scale) talk about someone having a s**t eating grin on his face, well I will be the first to tell you I did. Not only was this my biggest catch of the season, the color of the fish was absolutely beautiful. It was a male brown trout and his color was outstanding. Had the fish been 5 lbs. I would have had him mounted and hanging on our living room wall, but instead I chose to have him lying in our freezer. We still have about three more weeks so it is still possible for the KING to lose his seat, but until then I get to claim the biggest. I must also give credit where credit is due and if not for Cindy taking the rod and bringing it closer to the boat so I could net it, I’m not sure I could have done it alone. (No I’m positive I could not have done it by myself) so a big thanks for her in helping me ( TEAMWORK ) Till next time enjoy the pictures and feel free to leave a message.
The past few weeks we have pretty much just hung around the campground. We did take a hike (5 miles total) to view Fairy Falls in the park. I suppose it was by chance that we picked one of the hottest days this summer to do this hike and needless to say the heat was no fun. The total hike was 5 miles and we kept asking people on the way back to the falls “ is it worth the walk” and everyone said yes. I guess after seeing Yosemite Falls in California and Multnomah Falls in Oregon, our expectations were too big. The falls was ok and it was refreshing sitting by it, but was it worth the 5 mile hike? Come out and try it and you tell me!
We have continued to catch some nice fish the past week although one has to really go out and find them. The fishing from the shore has slowed tremendously but people are still catching nice ones by trolling or fly-fishing. The picture of the man and myself in the boat was taken when we went out for an evening of fishing. This man is 85 years young and quite the storyteller. I have enjoyed spending numerous trips on the water with him and listening to stories he has to tell. He told me one day to start using his boat so Cindy and I could go fishing so we listened to him and have been doing such.
Now for the BIG NEWS !!!! I have knocked the Queen from the throne!!! Yes you read it right; I have finally caught one bigger than Cindy. I’m quite proud to say I landed one a couple of days ago that weighed in at 3.5 lbs.,(on a cheap Zebco scale. Maybe 4lbs on a digital scale) talk about someone having a s**t eating grin on his face, well I will be the first to tell you I did. Not only was this my biggest catch of the season, the color of the fish was absolutely beautiful. It was a male brown trout and his color was outstanding. Had the fish been 5 lbs. I would have had him mounted and hanging on our living room wall, but instead I chose to have him lying in our freezer. We still have about three more weeks so it is still possible for the KING to lose his seat, but until then I get to claim the biggest. I must also give credit where credit is due and if not for Cindy taking the rod and bringing it closer to the boat so I could net it, I’m not sure I could have done it alone. (No I’m positive I could not have done it by myself) so a big thanks for her in helping me ( TEAMWORK ) Till next time enjoy the pictures and feel free to leave a message.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Tuesday, August 4th, we decided to take a trip up to Red Lodge Montana. The drive up there is by way of “Beartooth Pass”, US Hwy.212 which runs between Red Lodge and Cooke City Montana, (the northeast entrance to the park). The Beartooth Pass is opened from Memorial Day through Labor Day (weather permitting). As one can tell by the pictures taken on this day , the snow was still in abundance up there. The hightest point of elevation on the Pass is just under 11,000 ft., 10,974 to be exact. The one picture taken by me, standing at the edge of the top of a large hole in the ground, with lakes in the bottom, is actually around 200 feet to the bottom. The crazy people that ride snowmobiles up there, actually start sking from a higher spot and go out over the edge and land somewhere between the rim and the bottom.
The highway consist of numerous twist, curves, steep drop offs on the side of the road, and “switchbacks” that seem to last forever. For those of you who are wondering what a “switchback” is, it is noting more than a road that allows you to travel the side of a mountain. You might travel 1 mile east, make a turn, head back west 1 mile, turn and head east 1mile, so on and so on, just to travel ½ mile down the side of the mountain. The entire road between Red Lodge and Cooke City is around 70 miles and one can figure on 2 hours to make the trip, providing you are not caught in a snow storm or high winds at the top of the pass. Yes, I said snow storms in the middle of the summer!! (not uncommon on the top of the Pass.
All in all the road is a “Must See & Do” if you ever get out this way. You will notice I have 2 sets of pictures on the page, Cindy uses her camera and I use mine. Sometimes I like to get the the “edge” of things and look at the scenery from a little different view point, ( which makes Cindy ask “can you get any closer without going over the edge”?. So before you stop looking at both sets because you think they are the same ones, please take the extra time and enjoy the views taken from a safe distance and one's taken from the “just a little closer dear, I’m not going to fall over the edge” view.
The highway consist of numerous twist, curves, steep drop offs on the side of the road, and “switchbacks” that seem to last forever. For those of you who are wondering what a “switchback” is, it is noting more than a road that allows you to travel the side of a mountain. You might travel 1 mile east, make a turn, head back west 1 mile, turn and head east 1mile, so on and so on, just to travel ½ mile down the side of the mountain. The entire road between Red Lodge and Cooke City is around 70 miles and one can figure on 2 hours to make the trip, providing you are not caught in a snow storm or high winds at the top of the pass. Yes, I said snow storms in the middle of the summer!! (not uncommon on the top of the Pass.
All in all the road is a “Must See & Do” if you ever get out this way. You will notice I have 2 sets of pictures on the page, Cindy uses her camera and I use mine. Sometimes I like to get the the “edge” of things and look at the scenery from a little different view point, ( which makes Cindy ask “can you get any closer without going over the edge”?. So before you stop looking at both sets because you think they are the same ones, please take the extra time and enjoy the views taken from a safe distance and one's taken from the “just a little closer dear, I’m not going to fall over the edge” view.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Cindy Cleans Her First Fish !
The past week or so things have slowed down a little bit. The campers are not coming in filling the campsites, the fishing has slowed down a bit, you just have to work a little harder to get them. The only thing that we have not seen a slow down in is the pesky little blood suckers. For some reason they still want to hang around. The temperature dropped to the high 30’s the other night and we were hoping it would slow things down, but no such luck. We still are catching some nice fish and after Cindy brought home a few the other night she said she was ready and try her luck at cleaning them. As you can tell by the pictures she done a very good job. I know all you real fishermen want to know what’s with the gloves she has on, well to be honest they sure help in holding on to the fish while cleaning (not because she didn’t want to get her hand smelling like fish.)
The pictures of the water falls were taken in Mesa Falls Park which is located close the “potato seed capital of the world” Ashton, Idaho. The past week we have been enjoying warm days and cool nights, plenty of sunshine, and lots of mosquitoes. Tuesday, the 4th, we are planning a trip with another couple and head up to Beartooth Pass and Red Lodge Montana. The weeks are flying by and we both are amazed at how fast the summer had passed. Until next time I hope all are enjoying the pictures we are posting on line and hope to be able to share some more with you.
The pictures of the water falls were taken in Mesa Falls Park which is located close the “potato seed capital of the world” Ashton, Idaho. The past week we have been enjoying warm days and cool nights, plenty of sunshine, and lots of mosquitoes. Tuesday, the 4th, we are planning a trip with another couple and head up to Beartooth Pass and Red Lodge Montana. The weeks are flying by and we both are amazed at how fast the summer had passed. Until next time I hope all are enjoying the pictures we are posting on line and hope to be able to share some more with you.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tetons, Connor Reeling Big One, Hoosiers Visit
I think that summer finally has arrived at Lonesomehurst !. Since the 4th of July the temperature has finally hit the 80’s. We’ve actually had some very nice days the past few weeks. The only problem with nice warm weather arriving is that the mosquitoes also have arrived here by the multitudes. I failed to include a few of the pictures that I’m sure you will enjoy. I’m not sure how I forgot to include the one of Connor reeling in his BIG Fish but I did so here they are.
Cindy and I spent of couple of day visiting Yellowstone Lake and some other beautiful places in the park. We also went over to Idaho and visited an area called Mesa Falls. One of the first couples we met here were Rodney and Dianna Gurell. They invited us to take a trip down to Jackson Hole, Wyoming with them. The day turned out to be a perfect day, clear skies, warm temperatures. We spent some time in Jackson Hole and I have forgotten since our first time out there just how many people visit that place. We ate lunch then drove up into the Teton Mountains. I have to say that next to Glacier Park the Tetons are right up there in the top two of my favorite places. The size of the mountains is just unreal and the water in the lakes look like something that is in a swimming pool.
After leaving the Tetons we headed back through the park and visited some other places. I’m totally convinced after the drive through the park that Cindy and I chose the best time to come here back in April. The amount of cars going through the park is amazing. The month of June the park was visited by over 600,000 people, a record for that month. I must say when we finally returned home to our little campground of 27 sites, that I felt that I was “home”. For anyone who might be thinking of coming to Yellowstone I would highly recommend the month of May or early June. People have told us the past week that the line of cars waiting to get into the park extended forever.
We also had the pleasure of spending a day with Tim and Linda Buckley. Tim decided after a number of years of telling Linda that he came out west to hunt, maybe it was time to show her he actually did come out here to hunt. We showed them around the campground and went into town to get something to eat. We gave them a tour around Hebgen Lake and ended up taking them to Earthquake Lake and around Henry’s Lake sightseeing. It was a nice to see some Hoosiers after being here for the past 3 months. A big thank you to Tim and Linda for stopping by.
Cindy and I spent of couple of day visiting Yellowstone Lake and some other beautiful places in the park. We also went over to Idaho and visited an area called Mesa Falls. One of the first couples we met here were Rodney and Dianna Gurell. They invited us to take a trip down to Jackson Hole, Wyoming with them. The day turned out to be a perfect day, clear skies, warm temperatures. We spent some time in Jackson Hole and I have forgotten since our first time out there just how many people visit that place. We ate lunch then drove up into the Teton Mountains. I have to say that next to Glacier Park the Tetons are right up there in the top two of my favorite places. The size of the mountains is just unreal and the water in the lakes look like something that is in a swimming pool.
After leaving the Tetons we headed back through the park and visited some other places. I’m totally convinced after the drive through the park that Cindy and I chose the best time to come here back in April. The amount of cars going through the park is amazing. The month of June the park was visited by over 600,000 people, a record for that month. I must say when we finally returned home to our little campground of 27 sites, that I felt that I was “home”. For anyone who might be thinking of coming to Yellowstone I would highly recommend the month of May or early June. People have told us the past week that the line of cars waiting to get into the park extended forever.
We also had the pleasure of spending a day with Tim and Linda Buckley. Tim decided after a number of years of telling Linda that he came out west to hunt, maybe it was time to show her he actually did come out here to hunt. We showed them around the campground and went into town to get something to eat. We gave them a tour around Hebgen Lake and ended up taking them to Earthquake Lake and around Henry’s Lake sightseeing. It was a nice to see some Hoosiers after being here for the past 3 months. A big thank you to Tim and Linda for stopping by.
Friday, July 10, 2009
July 4th weekend
July 4th weekend was a weekend we were not expecting. Randy emailed me at the beginning of the week and asked what I thought about them coming up for the holiday. Needless to say I’m sure that you have already figured out what my answer was. They arrived Thursday evening and we pretty much stayed around the campground. Friday we decided to go into the park and visit Old Faithful. The way into the park we were able to see 3 nice size bull elk and a large group of buffalo. As one would expect Old Faithful was once again faithful and we got to see here erupt. On the way back out we stopped and ate a picnic lunch before coming back to the campground. Randy and the boys wanted to go fishing so we baited up the hooks and walked down to the lake in front of the camper. Grandpa explained to the boys that sometimes fishing is slow and we might only catch one but it is always a nice keeper. Randy and Dylan were fishing and I decided to come into the camper to get something when all of a sudden I heard this yelling outside. Dylan had got one on his pole and was bringing it in. The munchkin ended up bring in a rainbow trout that measured 19 ½ inches. Needless to say grandpa’s day was made when he got it in.
The gentleman I have spoken of before named Wayne offered to let us use his boat so Randy, Connor, Dylan and I decided to go fishing later on in the evening. Now I failed to mentioned the boat we are using is about a 12ft fishing boat, not the bigger yachts that one can walk around on. The weather here can change in a heartbeat so after a small rain shower had passed the skies opened up and we had a fairly decent evening ahead of us( or so we thought). We head out in the boat and I was going to show everyone how we trolled with lures. The water was a little choppy but all in all not too bad. We headed to the larger part of the lake close to the shoreline and was not having much luck. Out of nowhere the skies started turning cloudy and the wind picked up a bit. We turned the boat around and started heading back to the campground when Randy “got one on”. By the time he reeled it in the wind had picked up considerably and the water started getting pretty rough. We pointed the boat to the shore line but needless to say the wind pretty much decided where our final destination was to be. We were greeted by some campers that looked at us like what in the world are we doing out here. I called back to the camper to let Cindy and April know that we were on land, not capsized out in the lake, and to come and pick up the boys. We were only about ½ mile from our campground ( by water) 2 miles by land. Randy and I being the macho men we are decided to wait it out and bring the boat back when the waves stopped looking like the Pacific Ocean. We finally got back on the water and headed to the campground, by then it was back to fishing and just enjoying an evening on the water with my son.
Saturday we took the boys into the Grizzly Center and enjoyed watching the bears and wolves there. We headed back to the camper and took up fishing some more but to have luck stay away from us in catching any. We then talked to Wayne and borrowed his boat once more. This time the water was fairly calm, clear skies, and little wind. The only thing missing on this trip out was Dylan, who decided that after the first adventure he would keep his feet anchored to solid ground. Out on the water Randy, Connor and Grandpa headed. We went to the part of the lake where Cindy and I had a successful trip before (well at least Cindy). I tried to explain to Connor that when trolling sometimes the going is pretty slow and then,” wham” you get a hit. Not too long into finding the hot spot did Connor get one on. The boy done a very fine job in bringing it in, Randy told him ”you hook it you bring it in”. Well he did and the result was a 18 ½ rainbow. There’s no greater joy then watching your grandson land a fish of this size. After putting the prize on the stringer Connor said he was ready for his 2nd one, and that’s just what he did. The next one he hauled in was a 17 ¼ rainbow. Now by this time I starting to feel kind of bad for Randy because Connor was kicking his butt in fishing ( gee,sounds kind of familiar with Cindy and I ). After the wind started picking up a little we decided we would turn around and make one more pass before calling it a day. Now there is nothing more a father wants than for his son to catch a nice size fish after driving 12 hours to get here. I began to think it wasn’t going to happen this time around. I had Randy let a little more line out and I sped the boat up a little to put the lure deeper into the water. Right after making these changes I look back and Randy has one on. The rod he was using was a small light weight so the fight was a little more than a stiffer rod. By the time he brings it in it's a nice rainbow 17inches. If there is anything that puts more of a smile on my face and a bigger tug on my heart than watching Cindy catch a nice one, it is watching my son and grandson bring one in on the same trip out. Way to go guys!!!
Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and Sunday morning was the end of another “Making Our Dreams Come True”. Randy and family packed it up and headed back toward Denver leaving Grandpa & Grandma more memories to enjoy in the coming years.
The gentleman I have spoken of before named Wayne offered to let us use his boat so Randy, Connor, Dylan and I decided to go fishing later on in the evening. Now I failed to mentioned the boat we are using is about a 12ft fishing boat, not the bigger yachts that one can walk around on. The weather here can change in a heartbeat so after a small rain shower had passed the skies opened up and we had a fairly decent evening ahead of us( or so we thought). We head out in the boat and I was going to show everyone how we trolled with lures. The water was a little choppy but all in all not too bad. We headed to the larger part of the lake close to the shoreline and was not having much luck. Out of nowhere the skies started turning cloudy and the wind picked up a bit. We turned the boat around and started heading back to the campground when Randy “got one on”. By the time he reeled it in the wind had picked up considerably and the water started getting pretty rough. We pointed the boat to the shore line but needless to say the wind pretty much decided where our final destination was to be. We were greeted by some campers that looked at us like what in the world are we doing out here. I called back to the camper to let Cindy and April know that we were on land, not capsized out in the lake, and to come and pick up the boys. We were only about ½ mile from our campground ( by water) 2 miles by land. Randy and I being the macho men we are decided to wait it out and bring the boat back when the waves stopped looking like the Pacific Ocean. We finally got back on the water and headed to the campground, by then it was back to fishing and just enjoying an evening on the water with my son.
Saturday we took the boys into the Grizzly Center and enjoyed watching the bears and wolves there. We headed back to the camper and took up fishing some more but to have luck stay away from us in catching any. We then talked to Wayne and borrowed his boat once more. This time the water was fairly calm, clear skies, and little wind. The only thing missing on this trip out was Dylan, who decided that after the first adventure he would keep his feet anchored to solid ground. Out on the water Randy, Connor and Grandpa headed. We went to the part of the lake where Cindy and I had a successful trip before (well at least Cindy). I tried to explain to Connor that when trolling sometimes the going is pretty slow and then,” wham” you get a hit. Not too long into finding the hot spot did Connor get one on. The boy done a very fine job in bringing it in, Randy told him ”you hook it you bring it in”. Well he did and the result was a 18 ½ rainbow. There’s no greater joy then watching your grandson land a fish of this size. After putting the prize on the stringer Connor said he was ready for his 2nd one, and that’s just what he did. The next one he hauled in was a 17 ¼ rainbow. Now by this time I starting to feel kind of bad for Randy because Connor was kicking his butt in fishing ( gee,sounds kind of familiar with Cindy and I ). After the wind started picking up a little we decided we would turn around and make one more pass before calling it a day. Now there is nothing more a father wants than for his son to catch a nice size fish after driving 12 hours to get here. I began to think it wasn’t going to happen this time around. I had Randy let a little more line out and I sped the boat up a little to put the lure deeper into the water. Right after making these changes I look back and Randy has one on. The rod he was using was a small light weight so the fight was a little more than a stiffer rod. By the time he brings it in it's a nice rainbow 17inches. If there is anything that puts more of a smile on my face and a bigger tug on my heart than watching Cindy catch a nice one, it is watching my son and grandson bring one in on the same trip out. Way to go guys!!!
Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and Sunday morning was the end of another “Making Our Dreams Come True”. Randy and family packed it up and headed back toward Denver leaving Grandpa & Grandma more memories to enjoy in the coming years.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Making Friends
One of the most rewarding things we have experienced doing this workamping thing is the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life. We have a man named Wayne and his wife Rae here that have been with us the past 26 out of 31 days. They are from southern California and he is a WW2 vet. The gentleman will turn 88 years young on July 9th and he has been coming to this area the last 50 years. He has taken me out fishing several times in his fishing boat and I have had the pleasure not only of hearing his life experiences but also of catching some very nice fish with him. He had to leave the campground for 5 days due to his 16 day stay, here you can stay 16 days, leave 5 and come back 16 more. He offered me his boat to use while he went to another campground, so Cindy and I got to see the lake and campground from a different view. There is nothing more relaxing and peaceful than fishing in his boat and taking in the beauty of the eagles, the pelicans sweeping down and chasing the seagulls until they drop whatever reward they have in their mouth, or the snow covered mountains off in the distance. For this I would like to thank Rae for giving up her seat and giving me the opportunity to go with Wayne, and to let Wayne know how much I have enjoyed his company while fishing.
There is another gentleman here who is Wayne’s friend named Bob. He has taken Cindy and I out fishing in his boat. Bob is a catch and release person who enjoys hunting for the “big ones”. The pictures I have on the blog are some of the “big ones” we found. Cindy and Bob both hooked one at the same time and brought them in at the same time. The picture is a little hard to tell, but both of the fish were around 23-25 inches and both were rainbow trout. Now I know that some of you are wondering where my fish is. Well I must confess that I got my butt kicked again by my loving wife when it came to the big one(or anything at all that day). But I will say that watching her catch one and trying to reel it in was every bit as rewarding as if I had caught it myself ( well almost). Some of the other pictures here are from our time spent fishing with another couple named Bill & Cathy Allen. The picture with the fish on the table was taken after we had an excellent evening out with them. All of the fish we caught were 17-20 inches in length. Thanks Bill for sharing your boat with us and allowing us the chance to catch some real nice fish!
The opportunity to meet the people above, and have them share some of their life experiences with us, have been some of the most rewarding things about this job. My hope for them is they will continue to have more experiences to share with other people such as Cindy and I.
The other pictures here are of Virginia City which was at one time a very prosperous mining town.
There is a quote I read that said, “life is not about how many breaths you take, but about the moments that take your breath away. Well I must say that Cindy and I are enjoying the “moments that take our breath away”.
There is another gentleman here who is Wayne’s friend named Bob. He has taken Cindy and I out fishing in his boat. Bob is a catch and release person who enjoys hunting for the “big ones”. The pictures I have on the blog are some of the “big ones” we found. Cindy and Bob both hooked one at the same time and brought them in at the same time. The picture is a little hard to tell, but both of the fish were around 23-25 inches and both were rainbow trout. Now I know that some of you are wondering where my fish is. Well I must confess that I got my butt kicked again by my loving wife when it came to the big one(or anything at all that day). But I will say that watching her catch one and trying to reel it in was every bit as rewarding as if I had caught it myself ( well almost). Some of the other pictures here are from our time spent fishing with another couple named Bill & Cathy Allen. The picture with the fish on the table was taken after we had an excellent evening out with them. All of the fish we caught were 17-20 inches in length. Thanks Bill for sharing your boat with us and allowing us the chance to catch some real nice fish!
The opportunity to meet the people above, and have them share some of their life experiences with us, have been some of the most rewarding things about this job. My hope for them is they will continue to have more experiences to share with other people such as Cindy and I.
The other pictures here are of Virginia City which was at one time a very prosperous mining town.
There is a quote I read that said, “life is not about how many breaths you take, but about the moments that take your breath away. Well I must say that Cindy and I are enjoying the “moments that take our breath away”.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Winter in June ??
For any of you that read this blog and would like to view more pictures, sometimes I do not put everything here, let me know by email and I would be happy to share all of the photos we have taken. For those of you who are still wondering, no we are not ready to come back to Indiana,(although we do miss family and friends) and yes we are having the time of our life.
Today, Friday the 5th we took a drive up to Horse Butte overlook. The drive up to the top is now something we have learned to expect, rocky, bumpy, dirty, hole infested, narrow, you get the picture. The rewards of going to the top was nothing short of what we expected. As you can tell by the signs up there, elevation is 7077 ft, but the views were breath taking. We were even able, using the binoculars, to located our camper clear across the lake. I remember my sister MaryAnn had a favorite saying in her year book ( I believe it was the yearbook, if not I apologize to her ) which read something like this, “anything worth having, is worth working for”. Well if one wants to see the beauty that the good lord has created, sometimes you have to put forth a little work or extra effort to accomplish it. Today we did that and the rewards were great!
Sunday morning we woke to find 2 inches of snow on the ground. Vickie said she told Todd not to answer the phone because she was afraid her workampers were calling in to quit. After all the snow we have seen since leaving Indiana we figured 2 inches was nothing, even though it was in June.
Tuesday, June 8th, we took a drive over to Idaho to a place called Big Springs. The name of the town is called Island Park and it prides itself of having the longest “Main Street” in America, about 33 miles long. The owners of the many lodges and resorts there incorporated the town in 1947. The town is only 500 ft wide in most places and 33 miles long. The reason for incorporating the town was to get around Idaho’s laws that said alcohol could not be sold outside the city limits. Pretty smart huh? Big Springs has a log cabin that is listed on the National Historical Registry. The cabin was built by a German immigrant who stood a whooping 4”11 inches. Unfortunately the cabin is closed until July 4th, but to see the craftsmanship that went into it is something else. To give the cabin a finished look, he left the bark on the logs and used this as a decorative finish. The place is really remarkable to see and we only regret it was not open at the time, but we’ll go back in July and see the interior. The drive there was less than 30 miles from the campsite and well worth the trip.
This past week, June 15th through today, we learned some new meaning to the words “cow bells” and “wedding rings”. A couple from Michigan is camping here this week and invited us to go fishing on their boat. They do a lot of trolling and rigged us up some rods with cow bells and wedding rings. It was an experience we have never encountered before, sitting back on a nice soft seat, shooting the breeze and waiting for the fish to hit. We’re happy to say the cow bells, which is a collection of different colored blades from 2-5 inches , attached to a line, a wedding ring, which is some smaller beads and a wedding ring located in the middle of the beads, and a hook with a night crawler, done very well for us. We ended up bring back 8 trout, all between 16 and 19 inches. The rest of the week pretty much was routine, fishing, driving around looking at some new places, and just good of relaxing.
Today, Friday the 5th we took a drive up to Horse Butte overlook. The drive up to the top is now something we have learned to expect, rocky, bumpy, dirty, hole infested, narrow, you get the picture. The rewards of going to the top was nothing short of what we expected. As you can tell by the signs up there, elevation is 7077 ft, but the views were breath taking. We were even able, using the binoculars, to located our camper clear across the lake. I remember my sister MaryAnn had a favorite saying in her year book ( I believe it was the yearbook, if not I apologize to her ) which read something like this, “anything worth having, is worth working for”. Well if one wants to see the beauty that the good lord has created, sometimes you have to put forth a little work or extra effort to accomplish it. Today we did that and the rewards were great!
Sunday morning we woke to find 2 inches of snow on the ground. Vickie said she told Todd not to answer the phone because she was afraid her workampers were calling in to quit. After all the snow we have seen since leaving Indiana we figured 2 inches was nothing, even though it was in June.
Tuesday, June 8th, we took a drive over to Idaho to a place called Big Springs. The name of the town is called Island Park and it prides itself of having the longest “Main Street” in America, about 33 miles long. The owners of the many lodges and resorts there incorporated the town in 1947. The town is only 500 ft wide in most places and 33 miles long. The reason for incorporating the town was to get around Idaho’s laws that said alcohol could not be sold outside the city limits. Pretty smart huh? Big Springs has a log cabin that is listed on the National Historical Registry. The cabin was built by a German immigrant who stood a whooping 4”11 inches. Unfortunately the cabin is closed until July 4th, but to see the craftsmanship that went into it is something else. To give the cabin a finished look, he left the bark on the logs and used this as a decorative finish. The place is really remarkable to see and we only regret it was not open at the time, but we’ll go back in July and see the interior. The drive there was less than 30 miles from the campsite and well worth the trip.
This past week, June 15th through today, we learned some new meaning to the words “cow bells” and “wedding rings”. A couple from Michigan is camping here this week and invited us to go fishing on their boat. They do a lot of trolling and rigged us up some rods with cow bells and wedding rings. It was an experience we have never encountered before, sitting back on a nice soft seat, shooting the breeze and waiting for the fish to hit. We’re happy to say the cow bells, which is a collection of different colored blades from 2-5 inches , attached to a line, a wedding ring, which is some smaller beads and a wedding ring located in the middle of the beads, and a hook with a night crawler, done very well for us. We ended up bring back 8 trout, all between 16 and 19 inches. The rest of the week pretty much was routine, fishing, driving around looking at some new places, and just good of relaxing.
Monday, June 15, 2009
End of the road !
Thursday , June 4th, we decided to just hang around the area. The road that we use to get into the campground is about 4 miles off the highway but continues another 12 miles up into the forest. Today we decided to drive to the “end of the road”. By now most of you should know by the pictures we have sent, that the county roads in Montana are not quite like the one’s in Tipton County. The only thing I can say is this time the road was a heck of lot better than before due to the fact they graded the road, or at least half way there. We did manage to see some deer and elk. The only difference between here and in the park is that out here you have to look fast, due to the fact they are not people friendly. You do not get the chance to walk upon them to take their picture like some of the wildlife in the park.
The drive proved to be a shaking experience. The road reminded me of looking at a vanishing point where two lines meet. The road kept getting narrow and narrow the higher we went. We were quite surprised to find several summer homes that were located off of the main road. I’m not sure why someone would want to build a home 16 miles from the highway and have to drive this type of road to get there, but I will say I have to believe that once there, they have all the peace and quite one would want. As you can tell by the signs we did make it to the top. My thinking on taking this kind of drive is this, “why climb to the top of the mountain without seeing what is on the other side”. Back down we came and we ended up watching sand cranes, courting one another with their dancing around. Oh, love is in the air!
The drive proved to be a shaking experience. The road reminded me of looking at a vanishing point where two lines meet. The road kept getting narrow and narrow the higher we went. We were quite surprised to find several summer homes that were located off of the main road. I’m not sure why someone would want to build a home 16 miles from the highway and have to drive this type of road to get there, but I will say I have to believe that once there, they have all the peace and quite one would want. As you can tell by the signs we did make it to the top. My thinking on taking this kind of drive is this, “why climb to the top of the mountain without seeing what is on the other side”. Back down we came and we ended up watching sand cranes, courting one another with their dancing around. Oh, love is in the air!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Old Faithful
This past week we went into Yellowstone Park and decided to take in some of the beautiful views. Our last trip here was in 1994 and we only were able to visit the highlights of the park. This time we decided to take some of the not so traveled routes to Old Faithful and see what we could find. Our first road we came upon was Fire Hole Canyon drive. This is the area that everyone that fly fishes end up going to. The drive proved to be quite spectacular. The Fire Hole Canyon was cut out many many years ago by hot lava from an erupting volcano. For those of you that are not aware of it, Yellowstone Park and its 2 million acres, actually sits on an active volcano area. The pictures posted below (as most all pictures) cannot began to show the actual beauty of the area.
We then continued on to an area called Fire Hole Flats where we found more buffalo in one place than we have seen almost anywhere else. When one is traveling in the park and comes upon traffic blocking the roads, it is a good bet you are going to see something out of the ordinary. Well this traffic jam came to a halt to view a bull elk with the start of a nice looking rack on it. On to Old Faithful we continued.
We entered into the Old Faithful area from a different direction than we had when we were out here in the 90’s. We kept looking at each other like we were in the wrong place, until we came around a bend in the road and saw the hundreds of cars. The light came on and we now knew we were in the right place. We walked around and visited the Old Faithful Inn, which by the way, is one of the most beautiful Inns we have ever seen. Again the pictures here do not begin to show the beauty of the craftsmanship that went into building this Inn. Our goal in sharing these photos is to give you the “itch” to someday come and see the beautiful sites that are here.
We then continued on to an area called Fire Hole Flats where we found more buffalo in one place than we have seen almost anywhere else. When one is traveling in the park and comes upon traffic blocking the roads, it is a good bet you are going to see something out of the ordinary. Well this traffic jam came to a halt to view a bull elk with the start of a nice looking rack on it. On to Old Faithful we continued.
We entered into the Old Faithful area from a different direction than we had when we were out here in the 90’s. We kept looking at each other like we were in the wrong place, until we came around a bend in the road and saw the hundreds of cars. The light came on and we now knew we were in the right place. We walked around and visited the Old Faithful Inn, which by the way, is one of the most beautiful Inns we have ever seen. Again the pictures here do not begin to show the beauty of the craftsmanship that went into building this Inn. Our goal in sharing these photos is to give you the “itch” to someday come and see the beautiful sites that are here.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Time For A Change !
Well the holiday weekend came and went and we both survived it. Actually we had a very good group of campers this weekend, with the exception of a couple of people, the holiday went smooth.
This week also has seen a few changes. Cindy got her hair cut short, I lost a friend of the past 37 years (Dylan calls it my "stach" ) I shaved it off. I also had to go and buy a hat, not a cowboy hat, but something to cover my bald head and tops of my ears. I found out the sun and the tops of my head and ears do not get along. Yea I know you all want to see pictures of us, well I guess I might as well put them out there
.
This past week has been pretty much doing the usual, fishing, taking care of the campers that come in and spending a night in Bozeman. Let me back up and start from the beginning. While we were in Wichita visiting David, the last day there it got pretty warm out so I decided to turn on the ac in the truck. The only problem was it did not want to cooperate and cool the truck down. Now our truck only had 69,500 miles on it, short 500 miles of the warranty expiring. I called a Dodge dealer, told him the problem and he got us in the next day. He found out the ac compressor was broken and would need a new one. Thankfully the warranty covered it and the only cost to us was the $100 deductible.
Well sometimes it pays to listen to your gut and sometimes it doesn’t. We knew the warranty was going to expire by the time we got to Denver so we talked and decided that maybe we should extend the current warranty while we were still within the 70,000 miles. Long story short we purchased a new 2year, unlimited miles warranty and felt we had done the right thing. We felt if we were going to be towing the camper and driving more miles than normal, maybe this was the thing to do. So we bought it, and hoped we would never have to use it. Which brings us up the night in Bozeman.
The previous week we drove up to the big city to stock up on food and other necessities, (one could not afford to buy all of their groceries in West Yellowstone) beer ( my essentials), fruit and veggies (Cindy’s essentials), small gas grill that we could stow away, ( to keep Yogi from wanting to come and enjoy our leftovers that were clinging to the wire grill), these kinds of things. We went to a Costco, bought some stuff and started toward Wal-Mart (Randy McKay’s favorite store) and the truck did not want to accelerate properly. Got to Wal-Mart, done our shopping and started back to West. Well the whole 90 miles the truck ran like an old farm truck I used to drive working for Don & MaryAnn, no power what-so-ever. I could not get any rpm’s out of it unless I turned off the Overdrive. We got back home and had no other problem with it. I called Jimi and told him I saw on the net a topic about error codes. He told me how to bring up any codes stored and I found 2 error codes, (thank heaven for smart sons). The first being a fuel injection pump, the 2nd excessive turbo boost. Called the dealer in Bozeman and set up any appointment to have them look at it. Long story short, bad lift fuel pump, and bad fuel injection pump.
Now this is where listening to your gut sometimes pays off. Our “new warranty” we just purchased, covered a rental for 5 days if needed and more importantly it covered the above-mentioned items. Dealer had both items in stock; we took the rental and hung around Bozeman for the day. The only problem that came up was the new fuel injection pump leaked and the dealer did not have another one. We decided instead of driving back to West Yellowstone and turning around the next day and drive back we would go all out, celebrate my birthday early, and eat a nice meal, stay in a nice cheap hotel and get the truck the next day. Unfortunely not all plans go as planned. The dealer called the next day after our evening of staying in Bozeman, and explained he could not get a new pump until ????. So for now as bad as I hate to tell anyone, we are left driving a KIA minivan around. In defense of KIA, I will have to say it is a very nice riding van (nothing compared to a Chrysler) but all in all a nice van.
Hopefully Monday morning will bring us some good news and we will be able to get our truck back then. Until then I just want everyone to know that I have not abandoned the American Made vehicle, just that I have no other choice in the matter!
This week also has seen a few changes. Cindy got her hair cut short, I lost a friend of the past 37 years (Dylan calls it my "stach" ) I shaved it off. I also had to go and buy a hat, not a cowboy hat, but something to cover my bald head and tops of my ears. I found out the sun and the tops of my head and ears do not get along. Yea I know you all want to see pictures of us, well I guess I might as well put them out there
.
This past week has been pretty much doing the usual, fishing, taking care of the campers that come in and spending a night in Bozeman. Let me back up and start from the beginning. While we were in Wichita visiting David, the last day there it got pretty warm out so I decided to turn on the ac in the truck. The only problem was it did not want to cooperate and cool the truck down. Now our truck only had 69,500 miles on it, short 500 miles of the warranty expiring. I called a Dodge dealer, told him the problem and he got us in the next day. He found out the ac compressor was broken and would need a new one. Thankfully the warranty covered it and the only cost to us was the $100 deductible.
Well sometimes it pays to listen to your gut and sometimes it doesn’t. We knew the warranty was going to expire by the time we got to Denver so we talked and decided that maybe we should extend the current warranty while we were still within the 70,000 miles. Long story short we purchased a new 2year, unlimited miles warranty and felt we had done the right thing. We felt if we were going to be towing the camper and driving more miles than normal, maybe this was the thing to do. So we bought it, and hoped we would never have to use it. Which brings us up the night in Bozeman.
The previous week we drove up to the big city to stock up on food and other necessities, (one could not afford to buy all of their groceries in West Yellowstone) beer ( my essentials), fruit and veggies (Cindy’s essentials), small gas grill that we could stow away, ( to keep Yogi from wanting to come and enjoy our leftovers that were clinging to the wire grill), these kinds of things. We went to a Costco, bought some stuff and started toward Wal-Mart (Randy McKay’s favorite store) and the truck did not want to accelerate properly. Got to Wal-Mart, done our shopping and started back to West. Well the whole 90 miles the truck ran like an old farm truck I used to drive working for Don & MaryAnn, no power what-so-ever. I could not get any rpm’s out of it unless I turned off the Overdrive. We got back home and had no other problem with it. I called Jimi and told him I saw on the net a topic about error codes. He told me how to bring up any codes stored and I found 2 error codes, (thank heaven for smart sons). The first being a fuel injection pump, the 2nd excessive turbo boost. Called the dealer in Bozeman and set up any appointment to have them look at it. Long story short, bad lift fuel pump, and bad fuel injection pump.
Now this is where listening to your gut sometimes pays off. Our “new warranty” we just purchased, covered a rental for 5 days if needed and more importantly it covered the above-mentioned items. Dealer had both items in stock; we took the rental and hung around Bozeman for the day. The only problem that came up was the new fuel injection pump leaked and the dealer did not have another one. We decided instead of driving back to West Yellowstone and turning around the next day and drive back we would go all out, celebrate my birthday early, and eat a nice meal, stay in a nice cheap hotel and get the truck the next day. Unfortunely not all plans go as planned. The dealer called the next day after our evening of staying in Bozeman, and explained he could not get a new pump until ????. So for now as bad as I hate to tell anyone, we are left driving a KIA minivan around. In defense of KIA, I will have to say it is a very nice riding van (nothing compared to a Chrysler) but all in all a nice van.
Hopefully Monday morning will bring us some good news and we will be able to get our truck back then. Until then I just want everyone to know that I have not abandoned the American Made vehicle, just that I have no other choice in the matter!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Memorial Day Weekend
Goods news, we finally got our internet hooked up here which means I no longer have to drive into town and update the blog. Net not working too good tonight, upload pics another day.
The weekend came around and we had around 7-10 campers here with us. One of the pleasures of this work is you get to meet people from around the area. Most of the people that come here have been doing so for years, some came with their parents when they were little and now they bring their children with them. Another nice thing about Lonesomehurst is that we do not get the younger age party people.Yea I know some of you are saying that I did the same things when I was young (and you might be a little right) but it’s nice to have the older, more mature, wiser and somewhat responsible people here.
What we learned real quickly is that here in Montana they take the food storage laws very serious. By this I mean if one is caught leaving a camp site unattended with any kind of food or drink outside, it can cost them a hefty little fine of anywhere between 100-500 dollars. Part of our job is to make people aware of the “bear situation” here. We had two groups of campers that knew all of the laws; they grew up here, they knew if all. Well guess who left food, dirty cookware, beer bottles, dog food, etc, out? Yea, you guessed it, the know- everything people. We ended up having to call the Vickie, which in turn called the local law enforcement. We ended up packing up everything left out and was just getting ready to haul it off and lock it up when they came back, (about 9:30 or 10:00 pm). Vickie explained that if the forest service ranger would have come through and saw it; the cost would have been $500. The next night guess what, (yea they had it all put away), This has been a very educational week for us in how to live among the bears. I had no idea that the critters would take a 12 pack of beer and consume it if it was left out on a table, and I’m sure not sharing my beer with any bears.
The next week was pretty much routine, performed our duties as host, fished, ate, and done some site seeing. I did catch my first brown trout, he was about 19 inches and put up a real good fight getting him in. We cooked it over the fire the next night and had our first brown trout meal. We also got to see a couple of Moose come in from the lake and walk between the camper and the lake. You notice in the sentence about the brown trout I mentioned it was about 19 inches in length; I did not take an accurate measurement so officially Cindy is still the “fishing queen” with the largest fish taken.
This is Saturday night, the 23rd and we have been very busy today. We only have 4 sites left out of 25, so this weekend is keeping us very busy. Tomorrow I’m going fishing and try and knock Cindy from the throne with a 21 inch or better trout. If not, I’ve still got all summer to get the job done
The weekend came around and we had around 7-10 campers here with us. One of the pleasures of this work is you get to meet people from around the area. Most of the people that come here have been doing so for years, some came with their parents when they were little and now they bring their children with them. Another nice thing about Lonesomehurst is that we do not get the younger age party people.Yea I know some of you are saying that I did the same things when I was young (and you might be a little right) but it’s nice to have the older, more mature, wiser and somewhat responsible people here.
What we learned real quickly is that here in Montana they take the food storage laws very serious. By this I mean if one is caught leaving a camp site unattended with any kind of food or drink outside, it can cost them a hefty little fine of anywhere between 100-500 dollars. Part of our job is to make people aware of the “bear situation” here. We had two groups of campers that knew all of the laws; they grew up here, they knew if all. Well guess who left food, dirty cookware, beer bottles, dog food, etc, out? Yea, you guessed it, the know- everything people. We ended up having to call the Vickie, which in turn called the local law enforcement. We ended up packing up everything left out and was just getting ready to haul it off and lock it up when they came back, (about 9:30 or 10:00 pm). Vickie explained that if the forest service ranger would have come through and saw it; the cost would have been $500. The next night guess what, (yea they had it all put away), This has been a very educational week for us in how to live among the bears. I had no idea that the critters would take a 12 pack of beer and consume it if it was left out on a table, and I’m sure not sharing my beer with any bears.
The next week was pretty much routine, performed our duties as host, fished, ate, and done some site seeing. I did catch my first brown trout, he was about 19 inches and put up a real good fight getting him in. We cooked it over the fire the next night and had our first brown trout meal. We also got to see a couple of Moose come in from the lake and walk between the camper and the lake. You notice in the sentence about the brown trout I mentioned it was about 19 inches in length; I did not take an accurate measurement so officially Cindy is still the “fishing queen” with the largest fish taken.
This is Saturday night, the 23rd and we have been very busy today. We only have 4 sites left out of 25, so this weekend is keeping us very busy. Tomorrow I’m going fishing and try and knock Cindy from the throne with a 21 inch or better trout. If not, I’ve still got all summer to get the job done
Saturday, May 16, 2009
For those of you new to the blog please double click on the slideshow to view pictures in a new window full size. We also like to read any comments you would like to leave. Yes we are having a wonderful time and no we are not ready to come back to Indiana.
The past week we have just been hanging around Bakers Hole and cleaning up the sites, cutting wood, and just plain getting tired. We used muscles we haven’t used for a while, but even so it felt good to be doing something productive. We drove up to Mammoth Hot Springs and over to Lamar Valley and enjoyed the day and all of the beautiful country that is out here.
Wednesday the 13th we decided to do a little adventure seeking. Vickie’s husband told us of a drive which is around 60 miles round trip. We went to the north side of Hebgen Lake and headed west. He told us of a couple of “hidden lakes”, one being Wade Lake and the other Cliff Lake. Well if you look at the slide show you will see the county road we took to get there. The entrance off the highway to the lake was around 3 miles and I can tell you we should appreciate the county roads we have in Indiana. The first 3 miles was pretty much rocks, not the kind you find on our roads but we’re talking large ones that are coming up through the ground. I’m sure Randy can relate to the kind of roads I’m talking about. Unfortunately my Ram does not quite ride as smooth as a Jeep with nice balloon tires, but it does get us where we want to go. The two lakes were nothing short of being some of the clearest water I have ever seen. The pictures I have here can not begin to tell what it really looked like. We headed out again and had to decide to take the 3 miles back or the 6 miles the other way. Well you can guess which way I chose. The 6 miles out was just a little better than the 3miles in, due to the fact it was nothing but dirt and there hardly any rocks. We did get to see 3 Eagles flying over the meadows and stopped and watched them for a while. Finally we saw actual homes and realized we were getting close to an actual highway. The total drive took considerable time but it sure was worth the bouncing and shaking around we received, I do think we lost a few pounds on the entire trip.
Well we finally made it “home” today, the 14th of May. We headed out to Lonesomehurst before noon and got everything set up (well most everything), not the hammock or the lawn chairs, but we did get the camper set up. The water is down about 8 feet but it is expected to be back to summer fill in 2 or 3 weeks. It sure was nice to finally get here. We were only 15 miles away but we knew we still had one more move to make, so it now feels we are finally here. I even had some time to pull out the fly rod and try some fishing this evening, no luck but still it was nice. You know my motto, “a bad day fishing is still better than a good day at work”. We have excellent cell phone service here, 6 bars on the phone, so feel free to call us anytime.. Friday the plans are to finish getting the campground ready and trying to catch some nice size trout.
Well I got my first catch in Montana, a nice 18 inch rainbow trout. Not to be out done Cindy got up Saturday and went to the lake and pulled out a 20 inch, 2lb rainbow trout. She now is the “fishing queen” until I get one bigger. This was our 27th anniversary gift to one another, I catch a nice one, she catches a bigger one. The war is on !!!!!!
The past week we have just been hanging around Bakers Hole and cleaning up the sites, cutting wood, and just plain getting tired. We used muscles we haven’t used for a while, but even so it felt good to be doing something productive. We drove up to Mammoth Hot Springs and over to Lamar Valley and enjoyed the day and all of the beautiful country that is out here.
Wednesday the 13th we decided to do a little adventure seeking. Vickie’s husband told us of a drive which is around 60 miles round trip. We went to the north side of Hebgen Lake and headed west. He told us of a couple of “hidden lakes”, one being Wade Lake and the other Cliff Lake. Well if you look at the slide show you will see the county road we took to get there. The entrance off the highway to the lake was around 3 miles and I can tell you we should appreciate the county roads we have in Indiana. The first 3 miles was pretty much rocks, not the kind you find on our roads but we’re talking large ones that are coming up through the ground. I’m sure Randy can relate to the kind of roads I’m talking about. Unfortunately my Ram does not quite ride as smooth as a Jeep with nice balloon tires, but it does get us where we want to go. The two lakes were nothing short of being some of the clearest water I have ever seen. The pictures I have here can not begin to tell what it really looked like. We headed out again and had to decide to take the 3 miles back or the 6 miles the other way. Well you can guess which way I chose. The 6 miles out was just a little better than the 3miles in, due to the fact it was nothing but dirt and there hardly any rocks. We did get to see 3 Eagles flying over the meadows and stopped and watched them for a while. Finally we saw actual homes and realized we were getting close to an actual highway. The total drive took considerable time but it sure was worth the bouncing and shaking around we received, I do think we lost a few pounds on the entire trip.
Well we finally made it “home” today, the 14th of May. We headed out to Lonesomehurst before noon and got everything set up (well most everything), not the hammock or the lawn chairs, but we did get the camper set up. The water is down about 8 feet but it is expected to be back to summer fill in 2 or 3 weeks. It sure was nice to finally get here. We were only 15 miles away but we knew we still had one more move to make, so it now feels we are finally here. I even had some time to pull out the fly rod and try some fishing this evening, no luck but still it was nice. You know my motto, “a bad day fishing is still better than a good day at work”. We have excellent cell phone service here, 6 bars on the phone, so feel free to call us anytime.. Friday the plans are to finish getting the campground ready and trying to catch some nice size trout.
Well I got my first catch in Montana, a nice 18 inch rainbow trout. Not to be out done Cindy got up Saturday and went to the lake and pulled out a 20 inch, 2lb rainbow trout. She now is the “fishing queen” until I get one bigger. This was our 27th anniversary gift to one another, I catch a nice one, she catches a bigger one. The war is on !!!!!!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The weekend of 2nd & 3rd we pretty much just stayed around the campground and started getting it ready to open. We’re still here at Bakers Hole and probably will be until the second week of May. The host for this site came in Friday and we introduced ourselves to them. This is the first time for them to host a campground as well as us. Sunday was spent cutting down dead trees and hauling it to the site where we will split it later. When we had finished cutting wood and were standing around talking, a herd of Buffalo cows came right in front of us (as in no more than 10 or 15 feet). A new calf is called a “red dog” and we were again fortunate to see one. Vickie told us it was no more than a day or two old. She was trying to keep up with the other “cows” and her legs were wobbling everywhere. When the red dog and cows were past us and headed away, we then decided to take some pictures ( not smart to take them when they are approaching).
Monday we went into town and did some errands. We thought we would drive out to Lonesomehurst and see if the road was opened. Well not to our surprise it was still covered in deep snow. The road back to the campground is 4 miles and we were able to go about ½ mile before the road ended in snow. It was obvious we were not going to get into the campground for several more days. Because the land is National forest, and is recreational sites, there is no plowing of the roads by state or county. The only way to get the road opened is for hunters to drive 4x4’s through it and hope the sun will start melting it away.
Tuesday we finished some cleaning up in the campground and Vickie decided to open it for use. The first campers to come in were a couple that have been “full timing” for the past 17 years. They told us they bought their motor home 17 years ago, sold their house, and have been living on the road since. We also experienced a first today, “Buffalo hazing”. There are a lot of controversies out here between the ranchers and the forest service. Vickie explained to us that every spring the ranchers will take helicopters and drive the Buffalo back into the park. This is called Buffalo hazing. The ranchers say the Buffalo carry a disease that infects the calves being born, so it is an on-going battle between them and the forest service. Well one of the main areas for “hazing” is right through the campground. We were alerted and we all took a nice safe place to watch from. Sometimes the Buffalo will run right through the middle of the campground. Thankfully today they headed into the north end of the cg. We were able to see several herds being pushed across the river and back into the park.
NEWSFLASH !!!! Well it’s about 8:30 pm and we get a knock on the door. The new host just told us a game warden came to their camper and told them a Grizzly had just entered the campground and for all of us to stay inside. What a way to finish the day!
Monday we went into town and did some errands. We thought we would drive out to Lonesomehurst and see if the road was opened. Well not to our surprise it was still covered in deep snow. The road back to the campground is 4 miles and we were able to go about ½ mile before the road ended in snow. It was obvious we were not going to get into the campground for several more days. Because the land is National forest, and is recreational sites, there is no plowing of the roads by state or county. The only way to get the road opened is for hunters to drive 4x4’s through it and hope the sun will start melting it away.
Tuesday we finished some cleaning up in the campground and Vickie decided to open it for use. The first campers to come in were a couple that have been “full timing” for the past 17 years. They told us they bought their motor home 17 years ago, sold their house, and have been living on the road since. We also experienced a first today, “Buffalo hazing”. There are a lot of controversies out here between the ranchers and the forest service. Vickie explained to us that every spring the ranchers will take helicopters and drive the Buffalo back into the park. This is called Buffalo hazing. The ranchers say the Buffalo carry a disease that infects the calves being born, so it is an on-going battle between them and the forest service. Well one of the main areas for “hazing” is right through the campground. We were alerted and we all took a nice safe place to watch from. Sometimes the Buffalo will run right through the middle of the campground. Thankfully today they headed into the north end of the cg. We were able to see several herds being pushed across the river and back into the park.
NEWSFLASH !!!! Well it’s about 8:30 pm and we get a knock on the door. The new host just told us a game warden came to their camper and told them a Grizzly had just entered the campground and for all of us to stay inside. What a way to finish the day!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Monday, the 27th we pretty much spent the day in West Yellowstone. We figured we might as well learn where things were in the town since it will be our “home” town for the next 5 months. We went to the Grizzly Bear & Wolf Center and met up with Peggy. She gave us a tour of the facilities and was very helpful in answering all of our questions. I’ve never realized how large a Grizzly could be until we met Sam. He was around 1000 lbs and stood somewhere between 9-10 ft. The pictures of him on the slide show were taken about 20 yards away. Sam is the largest Grizzly they have at the center and trust me; I would not want to meet one that size in the wild (as far as it goes I would not want to meet any size bear in the wild).
We are still here at Bakers Hole and probably will be until the 2nd week of May. Tuesday Vickie came out and took some time explaining the duties of “Campground Host” to us. We had a nice visit with her and learned just how serious it is concerning leaving things unattended. Here in the Yellowstone area all things must be put away before leaving your campsite. That includes food, drinks, toothpaste and pretty much everything. One would not think leaving a case of coke un-opened on a picnic table would be such a big deal. Here if a law enforcement office sees things such as this, and the campsite is unattended, it will result in a fine ranging from $100-500. They are very serious about keeping things put away. It is nothing for a bear to take an unopened can of pop, beer, juice, or whatever and squeeze it open and consume the contents.
Wednesday we headed up to Canyon Village. Several of the roads in the park are still closed due to the snow. We saw the usual amount of Elk, Buffalo and snow. Halfway up to Canyon, which is about 20 miles, we were again blessed to see something we haven’t seen yet. Probably less than 50 feet ahead a wolf ran across the road. We stopped and watched him climb up the hill on the side of the road and then he just stopped and looked at us. We were able to snap a couple of pictures before he headed into the trees. We continued into Canyon and found out that there was very little opened. Next week is the start of the tourist season. There are two advantages to coming to Yellowstone when the snow still has most of the roads closed. The first being, you do not have to contend with long lines of traffic (and impatient people) like you due in the summer. The second is that the snow totally changes the appearance of things here. For example, the canyon area is beautiful in the summer when all is green (that can be green) but to see the snow in the canyon is so much more beautiful than the canyon walls in the summer. We have been fortunate to see both seasons here, but I will take the trip this time and the beauty of the snow covered mountains over the green summer anytime. We pulled off of the road on a turnout and watched Elk grazing on the banks b the river. Cindy spotted another wolf and we watched him as he headed away. We weren’t close enough to take any pictures of him but we followed him with the binoculars. Came back to the cg and walked down to the river and viewed buffalo. Gonna call it a night and see what tomorrow brings (supposedly warm weather and melting snow).
Well it’s Friday and the snow is still here. Vickie said they might try and open up Bakers Hole this weekend. As far as Lonesomehurst, it is still snowed in so we will continue staying here until the snow goes away. We saw our first wolf in the campground yesterday and in the evening we decided to take the truck and drive down by the river in the cg. We parked where we could get a good view and waited to see if anything would wander by. Well we were excited to spot a Grizzly in the river. He was too far away to take any pics with the camera but I did manage to capture him on video, although not a very clear image. We used the binoculars and watched him eat what looked like to be fish. As darkness came we continued to watch him in the river, then he started swimming towards us. We were able to see him for a while then he left the river by an area of brush and Cindy knew for sure that he was headed toward the camper. We headed back to the camper and decided to call it a night. Oh by the way I guess he did not desire to visit us at the camper as there was no one there to greet us.
We are still here at Bakers Hole and probably will be until the 2nd week of May. Tuesday Vickie came out and took some time explaining the duties of “Campground Host” to us. We had a nice visit with her and learned just how serious it is concerning leaving things unattended. Here in the Yellowstone area all things must be put away before leaving your campsite. That includes food, drinks, toothpaste and pretty much everything. One would not think leaving a case of coke un-opened on a picnic table would be such a big deal. Here if a law enforcement office sees things such as this, and the campsite is unattended, it will result in a fine ranging from $100-500. They are very serious about keeping things put away. It is nothing for a bear to take an unopened can of pop, beer, juice, or whatever and squeeze it open and consume the contents.
Wednesday we headed up to Canyon Village. Several of the roads in the park are still closed due to the snow. We saw the usual amount of Elk, Buffalo and snow. Halfway up to Canyon, which is about 20 miles, we were again blessed to see something we haven’t seen yet. Probably less than 50 feet ahead a wolf ran across the road. We stopped and watched him climb up the hill on the side of the road and then he just stopped and looked at us. We were able to snap a couple of pictures before he headed into the trees. We continued into Canyon and found out that there was very little opened. Next week is the start of the tourist season. There are two advantages to coming to Yellowstone when the snow still has most of the roads closed. The first being, you do not have to contend with long lines of traffic (and impatient people) like you due in the summer. The second is that the snow totally changes the appearance of things here. For example, the canyon area is beautiful in the summer when all is green (that can be green) but to see the snow in the canyon is so much more beautiful than the canyon walls in the summer. We have been fortunate to see both seasons here, but I will take the trip this time and the beauty of the snow covered mountains over the green summer anytime. We pulled off of the road on a turnout and watched Elk grazing on the banks b the river. Cindy spotted another wolf and we watched him as he headed away. We weren’t close enough to take any pictures of him but we followed him with the binoculars. Came back to the cg and walked down to the river and viewed buffalo. Gonna call it a night and see what tomorrow brings (supposedly warm weather and melting snow).
Well it’s Friday and the snow is still here. Vickie said they might try and open up Bakers Hole this weekend. As far as Lonesomehurst, it is still snowed in so we will continue staying here until the snow goes away. We saw our first wolf in the campground yesterday and in the evening we decided to take the truck and drive down by the river in the cg. We parked where we could get a good view and waited to see if anything would wander by. Well we were excited to spot a Grizzly in the river. He was too far away to take any pics with the camera but I did manage to capture him on video, although not a very clear image. We used the binoculars and watched him eat what looked like to be fish. As darkness came we continued to watch him in the river, then he started swimming towards us. We were able to see him for a while then he left the river by an area of brush and Cindy knew for sure that he was headed toward the camper. We headed back to the camper and decided to call it a night. Oh by the way I guess he did not desire to visit us at the camper as there was no one there to greet us.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
FYI if you double click on the slideshow pictures it will open the pics up in a new window so you may view full page. This is for those of you who haven't already figured it out. Thanks for taking time to view our blog, our desire is that you enjoy viewing as much as we have enjoyed taking them. Please feel free to leave us comments, we enjoy hearing from all of you. Jerry & Cindy
Sunday, the 26th we decided to go to West Yellowstone and check out the town. The town reminds me of a scaled down Gatlinburg, TN. There were a lot of small shops, several eating places, and numerous motels. We headed up to Yellowstone Park to see if we could see the Grizzly. There was one spotted about seven miles into the park eating on a buffalo carcass. The bear had been there several days and you could see it from the highway. Unfortunately we did not see it but we were able to see several elk and buffalo within a few miles after entering the park.
This is the birthing season for the buffalo and we were blessed to be able to watch a buffalo in the process of giving birth. She would stand up, walk around some, push some and then lie back down. We waited for quite a while for the newborn to come, but I told Cindy buffalo are just like women, when they decide it’s time they will have it, and there’s nothing that can be done to speed up the process. Had it not been so cold and snowing so hard we would have waited, but a woman who works in the park told us it could take up to 2 more hours for the birth to take place. She explained to us that when a female is giving birth all of the other buffalo will lie on the ground close to her and will remain lying down until the mother gives birth. Cindy did spot a newborn lying in front of her mother and we were told it was about a day or two old.
We headed back into town due to the snow and the visibility. We headed back to the camper and decided to stay put for the day. By the time we returned we had accumulated another 4 inches or more of snow. While eating supper Cindy spotted something out the window and we were excited to see some buffalo walking through the campground. By the time they came around they passed by right in front of the camper. We counted 14 plus a couple of young ones. For those of you who know how much I do not enjoy snow, I will have to say that there is nothing as peaceful and rewarding as sitting in a camper in the middle of nowhere, (with several feet of snow on the ground) watching buffalo walk right in front of your face.
Sunday, the 26th we decided to go to West Yellowstone and check out the town. The town reminds me of a scaled down Gatlinburg, TN. There were a lot of small shops, several eating places, and numerous motels. We headed up to Yellowstone Park to see if we could see the Grizzly. There was one spotted about seven miles into the park eating on a buffalo carcass. The bear had been there several days and you could see it from the highway. Unfortunately we did not see it but we were able to see several elk and buffalo within a few miles after entering the park.
This is the birthing season for the buffalo and we were blessed to be able to watch a buffalo in the process of giving birth. She would stand up, walk around some, push some and then lie back down. We waited for quite a while for the newborn to come, but I told Cindy buffalo are just like women, when they decide it’s time they will have it, and there’s nothing that can be done to speed up the process. Had it not been so cold and snowing so hard we would have waited, but a woman who works in the park told us it could take up to 2 more hours for the birth to take place. She explained to us that when a female is giving birth all of the other buffalo will lie on the ground close to her and will remain lying down until the mother gives birth. Cindy did spot a newborn lying in front of her mother and we were told it was about a day or two old.
We headed back into town due to the snow and the visibility. We headed back to the camper and decided to stay put for the day. By the time we returned we had accumulated another 4 inches or more of snow. While eating supper Cindy spotted something out the window and we were excited to see some buffalo walking through the campground. By the time they came around they passed by right in front of the camper. We counted 14 plus a couple of young ones. For those of you who know how much I do not enjoy snow, I will have to say that there is nothing as peaceful and rewarding as sitting in a camper in the middle of nowhere, (with several feet of snow on the ground) watching buffalo walk right in front of your face.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Yellowstone
Friday we took a drive on the highway leading into the north entrance to Yellowstone. The rest of the day we just hung out in Livingston. Saturday morning we packed up and after cleaning ice off of the slide out (with a borrowed ladder) and headed to Bozeman. You know no matter how much time you spend planning things sometimes you forget the essentials. Take for example the ladder mentioned above, we had snow boots laying by the door, naw don’t need them it’s gonna be summer time. If you have read the blogs you know that 15 inches of snow in Denver one should have boots, 10 inches in Montana one definitely should have them. We did go buy some before we left Livingston. Thought we would buy snow shovel (just in case it decided to snow again) SOLD OUT at Walmart. Ice scrappers SOLD OUT ! We did however manage to buy a ladder so I can brush off the snow and ice (just in case it snows) with my hands.
We left Bozeman and headed down to West Yellowstone to meet up with Vickie, our new boss. The campground we are hosting is still buried under snow but Vickie’s husband plowed out the one at Bakers Hole, located just 3 miles from West Yellowstone. They asked if we would mind staying there until they were able to open Lonesomehurst . We said that was fine for us that I was kind of a hermit anyway and this is right up my alley. Now if you look at the pictures included you will notice the roads going through the campground. We will have the place to ourselves for the next week; I say to ourselves but let me explain our other guests here. Currently the Buffalo are birthing and they will be roaming through the campground as they please. Next we will have the pleasure of accommodating any Grizzly’s that feel free to enter in. The picture of the sign taken at the entrance pretty much explains that. Now the only other guest that might cause some concern is the wolf. After setting up camp, we took a walk around the cg with Vickie. I noticed some footprints in the snow (not old prints but fresh prints) and asked what they were. Well, she tells us that it is the print of a very large wolf, the print was around 3-4 inches in diameter (maybe bigger), but for us that was large enough to be concerned.
We opened up the curtains to have a nice view and are really anxious to see some of the wildlife (from a nice safe distance). It’s now dark and we are getting ready to call it a day. One other thing I forgot, the relative we have out here, Peggy, we happened to mention her to Vickie and she tells us that she not only knows her but they are friends, how about that for a small world! Hope everyone is enjoying the blog and we are looking forward to posting some nice photos of this beautiful country that we are blessed to see.
We left Bozeman and headed down to West Yellowstone to meet up with Vickie, our new boss. The campground we are hosting is still buried under snow but Vickie’s husband plowed out the one at Bakers Hole, located just 3 miles from West Yellowstone. They asked if we would mind staying there until they were able to open Lonesomehurst . We said that was fine for us that I was kind of a hermit anyway and this is right up my alley. Now if you look at the pictures included you will notice the roads going through the campground. We will have the place to ourselves for the next week; I say to ourselves but let me explain our other guests here. Currently the Buffalo are birthing and they will be roaming through the campground as they please. Next we will have the pleasure of accommodating any Grizzly’s that feel free to enter in. The picture of the sign taken at the entrance pretty much explains that. Now the only other guest that might cause some concern is the wolf. After setting up camp, we took a walk around the cg with Vickie. I noticed some footprints in the snow (not old prints but fresh prints) and asked what they were. Well, she tells us that it is the print of a very large wolf, the print was around 3-4 inches in diameter (maybe bigger), but for us that was large enough to be concerned.
We opened up the curtains to have a nice view and are really anxious to see some of the wildlife (from a nice safe distance). It’s now dark and we are getting ready to call it a day. One other thing I forgot, the relative we have out here, Peggy, we happened to mention her to Vickie and she tells us that she not only knows her but they are friends, how about that for a small world! Hope everyone is enjoying the blog and we are looking forward to posting some nice photos of this beautiful country that we are blessed to see.
Friday, April 24, 2009
We took off from Chatfield campground on Wednesday morning headed to Buffalo, Wyoming. I found out that pulling 11,000 lbs plus with a Ram truck is fine when you’re in Indiana. When one pulls the same unit thru northern Colorado and Wyoming it is a totally different story. We were doing pretty good coming out of Colorado, but when we hit Wyoming we also hit head winds that played a major role in me stopping for fuel more often than I wanted to. I was able to run the 60mph I was planning on till I hit the wind. Boy what a difference a little wind makes. I was able to run 50+ with overdrive off till I hit one of many long steep grades, then down to 45+. I was beginning to think the ole Ram was dying on me. We really had no idea how strong the wind was until we stopped for fuel and the dust bowl kept us from seeing each other. We spent the night in a cg between Casper and Buffalo.
Next morning was a totally different story. No wind we ran 65 most of the way with the cruise on. Everything was fine till we got into the Big Horn Mts. Area. Leaving Sheridan Wyoming heading west to Bozeman, Montana we had good times and we had some bad times. There were a lot more steep grades with head winds really hitting us hard. We got as far as Livingston, Mt and decided to stop. We stopped not because of the wind but a major snow storm decided to greet us 30 miles before we got to Bozeman. We got the camper pulled in, opened it up and came inside. The last time I went out to the truck there was at least 3-4 inches of snow on the ground. For now we’re staying put and will wait and see what the next few days brings our way. Everything is going great and we’re having a great time. Even camping in 3-4 inches of snow can be an adventure. One thing is for sure, we aren’t going to change it. It’s Thursday night about 8:30 and I was going to put this online except it’s snowing so hard I can’t get a wifi signal. Maybe tomorrow!
Well its tomorrow and we woke up to 8-10 inches of snow. Went to the library , which is where I’m at now. Gonna send my pics and update the blog. Be here for a few days then heading to West Yellowstone.
Next morning was a totally different story. No wind we ran 65 most of the way with the cruise on. Everything was fine till we got into the Big Horn Mts. Area. Leaving Sheridan Wyoming heading west to Bozeman, Montana we had good times and we had some bad times. There were a lot more steep grades with head winds really hitting us hard. We got as far as Livingston, Mt and decided to stop. We stopped not because of the wind but a major snow storm decided to greet us 30 miles before we got to Bozeman. We got the camper pulled in, opened it up and came inside. The last time I went out to the truck there was at least 3-4 inches of snow on the ground. For now we’re staying put and will wait and see what the next few days brings our way. Everything is going great and we’re having a great time. Even camping in 3-4 inches of snow can be an adventure. One thing is for sure, we aren’t going to change it. It’s Thursday night about 8:30 and I was going to put this online except it’s snowing so hard I can’t get a wifi signal. Maybe tomorrow!
Well its tomorrow and we woke up to 8-10 inches of snow. Went to the library , which is where I’m at now. Gonna send my pics and update the blog. Be here for a few days then heading to West Yellowstone.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Well we get up on Friday to find snow, not 10 inches but a good covering. Actually it’s quite beautiful looking out over the snow covered mountains the first thing in the morning. We hang around the campground then head into Randy and April’s house in the afternoon. The weather forecast is now calling for anywhere from 10-20 inches of snow between Friday morning and Saturday night.
Connor and Dylan came home early from school due to the snow so we got to visit with them in the afternoon before Randy got home. We have supper then we all agree that maybe Cindy and I should spend the night with them due to the snow coming in. We head back to the camper, pack up some items and return to Randy’s house to spend the night. It worked out well because we get to stay up late and visit (some of them stay up late).
Saturday we wake up to find around 10 inches of “wet snow” has fallen and it’s still coming down pretty heavy. April tells us this is the first “wet snow” they have had. She said it’s normally so dry you just sweep it away, so I explain to her that we thought they might like an “Indiana snow” so we brought it with us. Went to eat at the Texas Roadhouse, then back to the house to spend another night.
Sunday morning we wake to find more snow, by the time it was all over they had received somewhere around 13-15 inches, (what’s the difference in an inch or two when it’s that much). Sunday afternoon it started warming up and by the end of the day it was around the 60’s. We learned that the snow doesn’t last long around here; it melts off very quickly when the temps start to climb. Randy drove us down town to his office and gave us a tour of where he works. We found out if you choose 17th avenue on a GPS that it will not take you to 17th street. After driving around downtown Denver I now know why Randy rides the train and is able to get off a block away from his office. Randy and April took us out to eat at a Mexican restaurant and the only problem we had was we ate toooooo much. Later that evening we went to Maggie Moo’s to eat ice cream, like we needed it. The boys came back to the campground and spent Sunday night with us.
Monday we went walking around the campground and just hanging out with the boys. The temp climbed into the 70’s and it was a very beautiful day to have with the boys. We took the boys back home and played some games. I learned that I cannot bowl on a Wii. Randy invited us to come eat lunch with him on Tuesday. We decided that we would spend the money for the train (versus driving in the mess) and ride it to within a block of his office. He emailed me the train route so we are planning on going downtown Tuesday mid-morning and walking around a while, then joining him for lunch. After all the eating the past few days, we thought a few hours walking around downtown would not hurt us.
We found our way to the train station, bought our ticket and headed downtown to meet up with Randy for lunch. The ride was interesting, or at least the people on it, and only took us about 25 minutes to reach downtown. We got to spend lunch with Randy at a corner street vendor eating “Southwest Buffalo Brats”, actually a very interesting brat. We then walked down 16th street mall, a street lined with every kind of store you would want to visit. Randy showed us the Union Station where he catches the train to return home. After a while of walking around downtown he had to go back to work so Cindy and I continued sightseeing some more. We then boarded the train back to the station and headed back to the campground. Randy and family are coming out tonight to eat hot dogs over the campfire and to say our goodbyes. We ate the dogs, smores and had a good time visiting. You would think that after all the goodbyes and see ya laters it would get easier, well guess what, it doesn’t. We said our good byes and this time instead of us driving off and shedding tears, we got to stand and watch them drive off. Yea you guessed it, the tears still came, only thing is I didn’t have to worry about filling my eyes with them and not being able to drive. We sure do love all of our family and miss being able to see them all the time, but the flip side is we sure are proud and happy that all of them are doing well in life. Tomorrow its pack em up time and head north to Wyoming. Destination: unknown!
Connor and Dylan came home early from school due to the snow so we got to visit with them in the afternoon before Randy got home. We have supper then we all agree that maybe Cindy and I should spend the night with them due to the snow coming in. We head back to the camper, pack up some items and return to Randy’s house to spend the night. It worked out well because we get to stay up late and visit (some of them stay up late).
Saturday we wake up to find around 10 inches of “wet snow” has fallen and it’s still coming down pretty heavy. April tells us this is the first “wet snow” they have had. She said it’s normally so dry you just sweep it away, so I explain to her that we thought they might like an “Indiana snow” so we brought it with us. Went to eat at the Texas Roadhouse, then back to the house to spend another night.
Sunday morning we wake to find more snow, by the time it was all over they had received somewhere around 13-15 inches, (what’s the difference in an inch or two when it’s that much). Sunday afternoon it started warming up and by the end of the day it was around the 60’s. We learned that the snow doesn’t last long around here; it melts off very quickly when the temps start to climb. Randy drove us down town to his office and gave us a tour of where he works. We found out if you choose 17th avenue on a GPS that it will not take you to 17th street. After driving around downtown Denver I now know why Randy rides the train and is able to get off a block away from his office. Randy and April took us out to eat at a Mexican restaurant and the only problem we had was we ate toooooo much. Later that evening we went to Maggie Moo’s to eat ice cream, like we needed it. The boys came back to the campground and spent Sunday night with us.
Monday we went walking around the campground and just hanging out with the boys. The temp climbed into the 70’s and it was a very beautiful day to have with the boys. We took the boys back home and played some games. I learned that I cannot bowl on a Wii. Randy invited us to come eat lunch with him on Tuesday. We decided that we would spend the money for the train (versus driving in the mess) and ride it to within a block of his office. He emailed me the train route so we are planning on going downtown Tuesday mid-morning and walking around a while, then joining him for lunch. After all the eating the past few days, we thought a few hours walking around downtown would not hurt us.
We found our way to the train station, bought our ticket and headed downtown to meet up with Randy for lunch. The ride was interesting, or at least the people on it, and only took us about 25 minutes to reach downtown. We got to spend lunch with Randy at a corner street vendor eating “Southwest Buffalo Brats”, actually a very interesting brat. We then walked down 16th street mall, a street lined with every kind of store you would want to visit. Randy showed us the Union Station where he catches the train to return home. After a while of walking around downtown he had to go back to work so Cindy and I continued sightseeing some more. We then boarded the train back to the station and headed back to the campground. Randy and family are coming out tonight to eat hot dogs over the campfire and to say our goodbyes. We ate the dogs, smores and had a good time visiting. You would think that after all the goodbyes and see ya laters it would get easier, well guess what, it doesn’t. We said our good byes and this time instead of us driving off and shedding tears, we got to stand and watch them drive off. Yea you guessed it, the tears still came, only thing is I didn’t have to worry about filling my eyes with them and not being able to drive. We sure do love all of our family and miss being able to see them all the time, but the flip side is we sure are proud and happy that all of them are doing well in life. Tomorrow its pack em up time and head north to Wyoming. Destination: unknown!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Well I was right, the next 3 weeks flew by and here we are starting our adventure. First we decided to let Aaron and Laura use some of our stuff, such as a couch and recliner that weighed in around 500 lbs combined weight. Add those items and some shop tools we had a load to take to him. All went well until the “loading part”, by the time Cindy and I loaded up everything we were ready for a week’s vacation doing absolutely nothing. We then headed to Aaron and Laura's house to visit and drop off the load of stuff. Thankfully we had two more people to help us with the unloading. By the time we finally took the couch and recliner to the basement I offered to sell everything to them on the 50 year plan, just so I would not have to go through all the back aches again. Unfortunately they did not take my offer serious or they just love to endure pain in moving furniture. After a nice but short visit we said our tearful goodbyes and headed home.
The next weekend we went and visited with Cindy’s father and brother and delivered more furniture to their homes. I know your thinking we must not have anything left in the house, well you’re pretty close in being right. We celebrated our Easter dinner with them on Sunday , April 5th, at Golden Corral. Went back to the house and had a nice visit with them and then said our goodbyes.
The following Tuesday we had the pleasure of going out to dinner with all of my brother and sisters so they could bid their farewells to us, and just to let all of you know we were very appreciative of the offer to do this. We had a very nice evening with all of them. On Wednesday the 8th the funeral home had a pitch-in lunch for us. I officially got out of the funeral home employment on Monday the 6th. I will have to say leaving the people I have worked with for the past 5 1/2 years was a lot more difficult than leaving the people at Chrysler (with the exceptions of a few). I have enjoyed working with everyone there and I can tell you that I will miss them all very much. My oldest son Jim and his family is going to move in and take care of the house for us. Well guess what, on Wednesday afternoon he came down with a Penske truck loaded with their things. Thursday morning early we got up and unloaded the truck, (and I thought I was done moving things and having a backache).
Cindy and I left home on Thursday afternoon with more tearful goodbyes and headed to Wichita to spend some time with David. We planned on visiting him Sunday thru Wednesday, his days off. Well sometimes well made plans do not always happen. He called us a day or two before we left, only to tell us his boss was transferred to Ohio and he had to manage the store for the next two weeks by himself. We arrived in Wichita on Friday and went to his apartment to see him (he took some time off to meet us there) Oh, I forgot to tell you we had one more opportunity to move furniture. We delivered his bed he left behind in Indiana, queen size mattress and box springs, headboard and rails. The next few days we spent whatever time was available for us to see him. We headed out of Wichita on Wednesday with more tearful goodbyes, bound for Denver to visit Randy and his family.
We arrived in Denver on Thursday, April 16. We got the camper set up and here we are ready to visit for a few days before leaving for Yellowstone. Oh, I forgot to tell you, Randy calls when we were just getting ready to enter Colorado. He wanted to know what our time of arrival might be. We received the good news that Denver was expecting around 10 inches of snow in the next couple of days. Well I get online and find that tonight maybe 2-4, Friday up to 10” and Friday night maybe another 4-6. I guess we get to see what its like to camp in Denver in the middle of the winter. Well its now 10:40 Denver time, gee thats 12:40 in Indian and I'm still up. Until next time its “On The Road Again”
The next weekend we went and visited with Cindy’s father and brother and delivered more furniture to their homes. I know your thinking we must not have anything left in the house, well you’re pretty close in being right. We celebrated our Easter dinner with them on Sunday , April 5th, at Golden Corral. Went back to the house and had a nice visit with them and then said our goodbyes.
The following Tuesday we had the pleasure of going out to dinner with all of my brother and sisters so they could bid their farewells to us, and just to let all of you know we were very appreciative of the offer to do this. We had a very nice evening with all of them. On Wednesday the 8th the funeral home had a pitch-in lunch for us. I officially got out of the funeral home employment on Monday the 6th. I will have to say leaving the people I have worked with for the past 5 1/2 years was a lot more difficult than leaving the people at Chrysler (with the exceptions of a few). I have enjoyed working with everyone there and I can tell you that I will miss them all very much. My oldest son Jim and his family is going to move in and take care of the house for us. Well guess what, on Wednesday afternoon he came down with a Penske truck loaded with their things. Thursday morning early we got up and unloaded the truck, (and I thought I was done moving things and having a backache).
Cindy and I left home on Thursday afternoon with more tearful goodbyes and headed to Wichita to spend some time with David. We planned on visiting him Sunday thru Wednesday, his days off. Well sometimes well made plans do not always happen. He called us a day or two before we left, only to tell us his boss was transferred to Ohio and he had to manage the store for the next two weeks by himself. We arrived in Wichita on Friday and went to his apartment to see him (he took some time off to meet us there) Oh, I forgot to tell you we had one more opportunity to move furniture. We delivered his bed he left behind in Indiana, queen size mattress and box springs, headboard and rails. The next few days we spent whatever time was available for us to see him. We headed out of Wichita on Wednesday with more tearful goodbyes, bound for Denver to visit Randy and his family.
We arrived in Denver on Thursday, April 16. We got the camper set up and here we are ready to visit for a few days before leaving for Yellowstone. Oh, I forgot to tell you, Randy calls when we were just getting ready to enter Colorado. He wanted to know what our time of arrival might be. We received the good news that Denver was expecting around 10 inches of snow in the next couple of days. Well I get online and find that tonight maybe 2-4, Friday up to 10” and Friday night maybe another 4-6. I guess we get to see what its like to camp in Denver in the middle of the winter. Well its now 10:40 Denver time, gee thats 12:40 in Indian and I'm still up. Until next time its “On The Road Again”
Saturday, March 14, 2009
A long winter
We've always had a dream to be able to do "workamping" after I retired. Well, 7 years after I retired we accepted a workamping position in West Yellowstone, Montana, at a campground called Lonesomehurst. It is located on the Hebgen Lake, approximatley 8 miles west and 4 miles north of West Yellowstone. We sold our truck camper and purchased a used 2001 Coachman 5th wheel camper from a lady in Goshen, Indiana. After a very long winter and days of asking each other, "is this the right thing to do", we started making plans to leave Sharpsville and head to Montana. I never realized the amount of decisions one has to make stepping into this kind of an adventure. It's now the middle of March and things are coming together, we're packing up the camper, making all kinds of decisions on how, when , what , where, to do the necessary things in getting ready to leave. I'm sure the next 3-4 weeks are going to fly by and we'll probably still be looking at each other and asking" is this the right thing to do", but you know what, its like I have told all four of the boys, " you have to see it in your mind, then step out and make it happen", well now comes the stepping out part. continued next month
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