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.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
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”.
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