Thursday, July 15, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Homeward Bound
We woke Friday morning and all scurried about to make sure the house was clean for the next arrival. We were surprised to see that it started to rain just before we packed the cars. It wasn't a heavy rain but enough to get us wet if we stayed out too long. After everything was in the cars, it not only slowed down but eventually stopped. Just as we drove off, we could see a spot of blue in the sky south of us. The rest of the day had good weather.
Other than the beauty of the forest there aren't many historic stops until Auburn. At the intersection of route 50 we made a left and went about a mile, followed the signs and arrived at the Gold Bug Mine. This was an actual working mine many years ago and is now set up for visitors to actually walk inside and learn about it. There was also a stamp mill on premises. For so little money, it was well worth the cost and our time. We all learned something.
Back in the car and off we went back on 49 south. It is so interesting how the scenery changes as the altitude changes. Because we had a later than expected start, we missed visiting the Moaning caves and the live historic town of Columbia. I have been there many decades ago when you could actually drive down the street of the historic town. About 15 years ago when our family visited, the town was closed to drive through. All of the shops were open and the towns people actually dressed in the old dress of the time period when gold was found. We stopped anyway and walked on the old boardwalks to a family saloon that was still open. Most of the other shops had steel doors preventing us to look in. One day we will come back on a 4-day weekend.
After we ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we were all back in the cars and off again. It was now nearing the sunset and the hills were beautiful. We were so blessed to drive at this time of night. When it was time to go through the barren and usually hot land, it was dark except for the full moon and cooler. We stopped at one of our favorite places to eat a real dinner. That's Applebee's for those who don't know us.
It was a long drive after this. We had decided to go all the way home instead of stopping at another motel. My angels kept me going, fer sure! We arrived home at my house at 3:30 am. (Steve and family still had to drive to Nipomo, ten minutes away) After we unpacked the car, I got into my pj's and was out, asleep, dead to the world.
Saturday I did my best to sleep in. I did very little Saturday as well as today. Although I have tried to catch up on everything, I've only managed to read and respond to my emails, go through my mail, eat, and only put away any food we had. My receipts are still on desk waiting for me to enter them into my finance program. And my bag is still packed! I am going slow but the trip was worth feeling like I do.
Our friend had gathered our mail from our post office boxes for the past two weeks. That was one of the reasons Steve stopped here first before going home. He picked up all of his mail. Well, Steve came over this morning to exchange a piece of mail that wasn't his. He said something that I had also felt. He said that he had stayed up for quite some time when he got home. He cleaned out old clothing and organized his desk area. I too came back feeling that life was too short to live with unnecessary items in my life. I can't explain it but it was as if this trip was an epiphany for some of us. It truly was an adventure. Go out and make your own!
It has been interesting in the challenge to blog, but worth it.
C
Other than the beauty of the forest there aren't many historic stops until Auburn. At the intersection of route 50 we made a left and went about a mile, followed the signs and arrived at the Gold Bug Mine. This was an actual working mine many years ago and is now set up for visitors to actually walk inside and learn about it. There was also a stamp mill on premises. For so little money, it was well worth the cost and our time. We all learned something.
Back in the car and off we went back on 49 south. It is so interesting how the scenery changes as the altitude changes. Because we had a later than expected start, we missed visiting the Moaning caves and the live historic town of Columbia. I have been there many decades ago when you could actually drive down the street of the historic town. About 15 years ago when our family visited, the town was closed to drive through. All of the shops were open and the towns people actually dressed in the old dress of the time period when gold was found. We stopped anyway and walked on the old boardwalks to a family saloon that was still open. Most of the other shops had steel doors preventing us to look in. One day we will come back on a 4-day weekend.
After we ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we were all back in the cars and off again. It was now nearing the sunset and the hills were beautiful. We were so blessed to drive at this time of night. When it was time to go through the barren and usually hot land, it was dark except for the full moon and cooler. We stopped at one of our favorite places to eat a real dinner. That's Applebee's for those who don't know us.
It was a long drive after this. We had decided to go all the way home instead of stopping at another motel. My angels kept me going, fer sure! We arrived home at my house at 3:30 am. (Steve and family still had to drive to Nipomo, ten minutes away) After we unpacked the car, I got into my pj's and was out, asleep, dead to the world.
Saturday I did my best to sleep in. I did very little Saturday as well as today. Although I have tried to catch up on everything, I've only managed to read and respond to my emails, go through my mail, eat, and only put away any food we had. My receipts are still on desk waiting for me to enter them into my finance program. And my bag is still packed! I am going slow but the trip was worth feeling like I do.
Our friend had gathered our mail from our post office boxes for the past two weeks. That was one of the reasons Steve stopped here first before going home. He picked up all of his mail. Well, Steve came over this morning to exchange a piece of mail that wasn't his. He said something that I had also felt. He said that he had stayed up for quite some time when he got home. He cleaned out old clothing and organized his desk area. I too came back feeling that life was too short to live with unnecessary items in my life. I can't explain it but it was as if this trip was an epiphany for some of us. It truly was an adventure. Go out and make your own!
It has been interesting in the challenge to blog, but worth it.
C
Thursday, June 24th
We arrived home Saturday at 3:30 AM. I have not had the chance to fill you in on our last try at fishing. I will be brief.
We decided to go back to the same area and stay all day. What a day. Lizz bought a 1-day fishing permit. She has always wanted to go fishing and it wasn't dad's thing. When we saw the otter again and the snake, we knew the fish were still there and plenty for sharing with the creatures of nature.
To make a long story short, Lizz caught several fish. Amy caught the biggest! Jeffery had no real desire to fish but was having fun netting every fish caught. Steve and Salome caught several fish. Twelve fish were caught for the day. Every on looker shared in our joy. It was an interesting day from sun then clouds to clouds with sprinkles, and ending with clouds and cool.
For lunch we had calzones Steve had been bragging about. The Gallows Pizza place makes them big and good. Lizz and I shared the ranch sauce with chicken and garlic. Steve and Jeffery shared a pepperoni with stuff. And Salome, Amy, and Destiny shared the double cheese. They were well worth the cost. Not sure what Christopher and Diana ate because they chose to stay at the house.
At the house Steve cooked off some of the trout for anyone who wanted. Amy and Lizz shared making the mashed potatoes. And I steamed the broccoli. It was a long day for me and I was tired.
Before bed we cleaned up, washed clothes, and packed. Tomorrow, Friday, we would drive home through the 49'er, gold rush, route.
C
We decided to go back to the same area and stay all day. What a day. Lizz bought a 1-day fishing permit. She has always wanted to go fishing and it wasn't dad's thing. When we saw the otter again and the snake, we knew the fish were still there and plenty for sharing with the creatures of nature.
To make a long story short, Lizz caught several fish. Amy caught the biggest! Jeffery had no real desire to fish but was having fun netting every fish caught. Steve and Salome caught several fish. Twelve fish were caught for the day. Every on looker shared in our joy. It was an interesting day from sun then clouds to clouds with sprinkles, and ending with clouds and cool.
For lunch we had calzones Steve had been bragging about. The Gallows Pizza place makes them big and good. Lizz and I shared the ranch sauce with chicken and garlic. Steve and Jeffery shared a pepperoni with stuff. And Salome, Amy, and Destiny shared the double cheese. They were well worth the cost. Not sure what Christopher and Diana ate because they chose to stay at the house.
At the house Steve cooked off some of the trout for anyone who wanted. Amy and Lizz shared making the mashed potatoes. And I steamed the broccoli. It was a long day for me and I was tired.
Before bed we cleaned up, washed clothes, and packed. Tomorrow, Friday, we would drive home through the 49'er, gold rush, route.
C
Thursday, June 24, 2010
A Fishing We Will Go…
Woke early with a new pain. About one week before our trip started, my left knee was giving me problems. I have arthritis, Rheumatoid, with a capital R for sure. I don’t know why it decided to flare up in my knee. In the knees is Osteoarthritis. It has not made this vacation pleasant at times. But I have had this disease going on 38-39 years. It doesn’t keep me down. It does, however, remind me I am not as physically fit as in my teen years. Anyway, after a busy Tuesday, I woke with a new distraction, hip pain. Don’t know what I did but that’s how RA works.
Typical me, it can’t keep a good woman down. I got up earlier then everyone as usual. It was overcast for the morning so I put my long pants and jacket on. I had been wanting to walk the road to the left of the driveway. So this morning I grabbed my walking stick, sun hat, glasses, and walked. It was so pretty and quiet except for the river rushing next to me and a car or truck across the river whooshing by on the highway. I took a couple of pictures but used an actual film camera. I know, antique way but it’s all I had to capture the moments.
When I arrived home it was still quiet on the western front. Steve had made sausages, the kind form CostCo filled with apple and chicken stuff. Before I knew it, everyone showed up in the living room. It was one of those “fend for yourself” breakfast. Everyone had something different to eat.
Steve, Salome, Christopher, Lizz and I headed off to town for Internet access, cell phone service and empty the trash. We don’t have a trash can so we carry it to the dump. We actually had recycle saved up, but it turns out they can only accept glass, plastic, and plain cardboard only. Lizz was not too happy. In her class last time, she learned all the proper recycling information. I tried to explain that even though this was just a transfer site, at least they were recycling something. It takes time for people to catch on. We all need to catch on so our generations ahead of us will still have beautiful places like this to vacation to. (bad grammar, but you know what I mean)
While in town, Steve and Lizz made appointments for a massage. Steve had promised Lizz that we’d go to Reno for her birthday. She’s been wanting to go to Reno or Lost Wages (Las Vegas) to see a show for her 21st birthday. Since we are here, LV was out but Reno is only 1-2 hours away. They checked the Internet to find only one show and it was not the show type she was looking for. I’ve been to at least one dinner show where there were comedians and fan dancing women. It was very classy. But the kind that was available were the burlesque, show everything ya got type. When Lizz saw the massage therapy sign she decided she’d rather have that. Right now she could use it. The appointment is for 10 am today, Thursday. (I am writing this at 7:30 am.)
We walked through town, which isn’t that far, got ice cream and sat on the bench next to the grocery store. Across the small two lane road, up on the second floor balcony, sits a parrot in it’s cage. They told me of this bird a few days ago. Sure enough, as we sat there enjoying our treats, the bird talked, “Hi. Hello. I’m only a bird.” He says several simple phrases. There was one that Lizz couldn’t understand. Ya have to understand, as Lizz hears creatures talk, she mimics them back. So when she didn’t understand the phrase she couldn’t repeat it. Having years under my belt I figured out that it was saying, “in a gilded cage”. How cute is that! I’m only a bird in a gilded cage. We sat there for some time and then decided since the fishing gear was already in the van, they’d try some fishing by the bridge.
We tried one spot behind town. Lizz and I aren’t avid fisherwomen so we after about an hour we decided to walk through the town again for something to do. As we crossed the bridge, I looked down into the river. Holy Moly, there they were, shiny things swimming around. We ran back to get Steve & Salome. We didn’t want to yell, “Hey, there’s fish here” just in case others were thinking the same. After we moved to the new location, tackle boxes and all, nothing. In fact, they kept catching snakes, water snakes! As we are sitting on the shady rocks either fishing or resting, a guy across the river holds up a fish and boasts of his catch. We politely nod and congratulate him over the noise of the river. He reloads his bait, tosses the line in and within a few minutes he’s caught another. How rude! After about the 3rd, he is kind enough to tell us the bait he is using. Turns out Steve and Salome are using the same kind. After the fourth fish, Salome and Christopher head over the bridge to the other side. After the 5th fish Steve, Lizz and I head over to the other side of the bridge.
At first, we caught another snake. Now mind you, it’s not with the fishing line and hook. They catch them by grabbing the tail. After they play with it awhile, it gets tossed back in the water but not where we are fishing.
Salome’s line was in the water when the nice gent told them about the bait he was using. It was the same as they were using but pink. I didn’t know the fish could see color. Off she went to the tackle shop leaving Lizz to hold her pole until she got back. She was gone a few minutes when there was a tug on the line. Our first fish caught! We stayed there for quite some time and only caught one more fish and another snake or two. Steve taught Lizz how to gut the fish.
What would the day be like without someone doing something silly. Today was my turn. The gent and his family had left after catching 8 trout and we only had our puny two. Salome had arrived back from the store with different but fresh goop (bait), Lizz played in the water, Christopher was checking out the rocks, looking for gold I think, Steve was in the water up to his knees fishing while I was just hanging around watching and taking it all in. I looked over at the water to see what I yelled out, “there’s a creature in there!” I didn’t realize how funny it sounded funny at the time and they made fun of me. I saw a larger body than the snakes we had seen but I only saw part of it and it’s tail diving back into the depths of the water. I backed up further onto the shore while they laughed until they saw it too. It turned out to be a fresh water otter. Along with the snakes, these are enemies of the fish. No wonder they weren’t catching any. It was later in the evening and these “creatures” were now coming out to feed for themselves. I guess they didn’t realize we had a family of 9 to feed. How selfish of the otter!
So now Lizz knows how to gut a fish and is excited to get a day permit. We got back to the house, unpacked, showered, and at dinner. No, leftover spaghetti. Today, Thursday, they will catch more. I left Steve, Salome, Jeffery, Amy & Destiny parked by the fishing hole. I drove Lizz to her massage appointment and parked in front of the Yuba Theatre, where at least 2 other cars are parked with their laptops open and checking internet. Besides the sheriff station and a hotel these are the Internet hot spots. If we go to the sheriff station we can also get cell phone service. So we aren’t totally away from our real lives.
I’m looking forward to our last day here with a fish fry dinner to end it. Hope you are catching your fish and eating it too.
C
Typical me, it can’t keep a good woman down. I got up earlier then everyone as usual. It was overcast for the morning so I put my long pants and jacket on. I had been wanting to walk the road to the left of the driveway. So this morning I grabbed my walking stick, sun hat, glasses, and walked. It was so pretty and quiet except for the river rushing next to me and a car or truck across the river whooshing by on the highway. I took a couple of pictures but used an actual film camera. I know, antique way but it’s all I had to capture the moments.
When I arrived home it was still quiet on the western front. Steve had made sausages, the kind form CostCo filled with apple and chicken stuff. Before I knew it, everyone showed up in the living room. It was one of those “fend for yourself” breakfast. Everyone had something different to eat.
Steve, Salome, Christopher, Lizz and I headed off to town for Internet access, cell phone service and empty the trash. We don’t have a trash can so we carry it to the dump. We actually had recycle saved up, but it turns out they can only accept glass, plastic, and plain cardboard only. Lizz was not too happy. In her class last time, she learned all the proper recycling information. I tried to explain that even though this was just a transfer site, at least they were recycling something. It takes time for people to catch on. We all need to catch on so our generations ahead of us will still have beautiful places like this to vacation to. (bad grammar, but you know what I mean)
While in town, Steve and Lizz made appointments for a massage. Steve had promised Lizz that we’d go to Reno for her birthday. She’s been wanting to go to Reno or Lost Wages (Las Vegas) to see a show for her 21st birthday. Since we are here, LV was out but Reno is only 1-2 hours away. They checked the Internet to find only one show and it was not the show type she was looking for. I’ve been to at least one dinner show where there were comedians and fan dancing women. It was very classy. But the kind that was available were the burlesque, show everything ya got type. When Lizz saw the massage therapy sign she decided she’d rather have that. Right now she could use it. The appointment is for 10 am today, Thursday. (I am writing this at 7:30 am.)
We walked through town, which isn’t that far, got ice cream and sat on the bench next to the grocery store. Across the small two lane road, up on the second floor balcony, sits a parrot in it’s cage. They told me of this bird a few days ago. Sure enough, as we sat there enjoying our treats, the bird talked, “Hi. Hello. I’m only a bird.” He says several simple phrases. There was one that Lizz couldn’t understand. Ya have to understand, as Lizz hears creatures talk, she mimics them back. So when she didn’t understand the phrase she couldn’t repeat it. Having years under my belt I figured out that it was saying, “in a gilded cage”. How cute is that! I’m only a bird in a gilded cage. We sat there for some time and then decided since the fishing gear was already in the van, they’d try some fishing by the bridge.
We tried one spot behind town. Lizz and I aren’t avid fisherwomen so we after about an hour we decided to walk through the town again for something to do. As we crossed the bridge, I looked down into the river. Holy Moly, there they were, shiny things swimming around. We ran back to get Steve & Salome. We didn’t want to yell, “Hey, there’s fish here” just in case others were thinking the same. After we moved to the new location, tackle boxes and all, nothing. In fact, they kept catching snakes, water snakes! As we are sitting on the shady rocks either fishing or resting, a guy across the river holds up a fish and boasts of his catch. We politely nod and congratulate him over the noise of the river. He reloads his bait, tosses the line in and within a few minutes he’s caught another. How rude! After about the 3rd, he is kind enough to tell us the bait he is using. Turns out Steve and Salome are using the same kind. After the fourth fish, Salome and Christopher head over the bridge to the other side. After the 5th fish Steve, Lizz and I head over to the other side of the bridge.
At first, we caught another snake. Now mind you, it’s not with the fishing line and hook. They catch them by grabbing the tail. After they play with it awhile, it gets tossed back in the water but not where we are fishing.
Salome’s line was in the water when the nice gent told them about the bait he was using. It was the same as they were using but pink. I didn’t know the fish could see color. Off she went to the tackle shop leaving Lizz to hold her pole until she got back. She was gone a few minutes when there was a tug on the line. Our first fish caught! We stayed there for quite some time and only caught one more fish and another snake or two. Steve taught Lizz how to gut the fish.
What would the day be like without someone doing something silly. Today was my turn. The gent and his family had left after catching 8 trout and we only had our puny two. Salome had arrived back from the store with different but fresh goop (bait), Lizz played in the water, Christopher was checking out the rocks, looking for gold I think, Steve was in the water up to his knees fishing while I was just hanging around watching and taking it all in. I looked over at the water to see what I yelled out, “there’s a creature in there!” I didn’t realize how funny it sounded funny at the time and they made fun of me. I saw a larger body than the snakes we had seen but I only saw part of it and it’s tail diving back into the depths of the water. I backed up further onto the shore while they laughed until they saw it too. It turned out to be a fresh water otter. Along with the snakes, these are enemies of the fish. No wonder they weren’t catching any. It was later in the evening and these “creatures” were now coming out to feed for themselves. I guess they didn’t realize we had a family of 9 to feed. How selfish of the otter!
So now Lizz knows how to gut a fish and is excited to get a day permit. We got back to the house, unpacked, showered, and at dinner. No, leftover spaghetti. Today, Thursday, they will catch more. I left Steve, Salome, Jeffery, Amy & Destiny parked by the fishing hole. I drove Lizz to her massage appointment and parked in front of the Yuba Theatre, where at least 2 other cars are parked with their laptops open and checking internet. Besides the sheriff station and a hotel these are the Internet hot spots. If we go to the sheriff station we can also get cell phone service. So we aren’t totally away from our real lives.
I’m looking forward to our last day here with a fish fry dinner to end it. Hope you are catching your fish and eating it too.
C
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tuesday in Downieville..
Woke early, again. Wish I could sleep in. I sat at the table and prepared my blog for yesterday. I also prepared the counter for making the matzoh brie. It is so relaxing here, we all get up at different times. Steve’s kids are teenagers so they are on their own; Jeffery is 19, Christopher is 18, and Amy is 15. As each woke they ate, except Amy and Diana who got up after noon time.
We watched a movie and then off to the river for a dunk. Well, they dunked. I took my time and only went in up to my knees. The water is cold. I made an area with the large rocks hoping that tomorrow it would be a little warmer then the rest of the river water. I’m not keeping my hopes up too much.
Back to the house where we changed into street clothes again, watched a movie, and planned dinner. Amy and I got bored enough to organize all the VHS tapes they have here, then we made spaghetti, warmed up the sauce, and baked the garlic bread. Steve, Salome, Destiny and Lizz went into town to check emails and publish my yesterday’s blog.
I am preparing today’s blog tonight. They are watching a movie, again. We don’t have cable or any television service. You can sit outside for just so long in the day. We do play table games as well. It is slow going and quite restful. Nothing exciting today, just the birds making noise along with the whooshing sound of the river. The rushing river is why they can’t catch fish. Usually they just stay by the house and fish. It is usually calmer and lower than this, that’s why they have been trying to find other spots to fish in. For swimming it’s okay because there is an area away from the rapid parts. I stay at the shore area as the older kids, and Steve, have their fun in that cold water. I’m hoping the sun will warm the area I put rocks around so I can sit! Hope you are getting some sun too. Go out and listen to nature whereever you are at. God created them for our pleasure. Enjoy!
C
We watched a movie and then off to the river for a dunk. Well, they dunked. I took my time and only went in up to my knees. The water is cold. I made an area with the large rocks hoping that tomorrow it would be a little warmer then the rest of the river water. I’m not keeping my hopes up too much.
Back to the house where we changed into street clothes again, watched a movie, and planned dinner. Amy and I got bored enough to organize all the VHS tapes they have here, then we made spaghetti, warmed up the sauce, and baked the garlic bread. Steve, Salome, Destiny and Lizz went into town to check emails and publish my yesterday’s blog.
I am preparing today’s blog tonight. They are watching a movie, again. We don’t have cable or any television service. You can sit outside for just so long in the day. We do play table games as well. It is slow going and quite restful. Nothing exciting today, just the birds making noise along with the whooshing sound of the river. The rushing river is why they can’t catch fish. Usually they just stay by the house and fish. It is usually calmer and lower than this, that’s why they have been trying to find other spots to fish in. For swimming it’s okay because there is an area away from the rapid parts. I stay at the shore area as the older kids, and Steve, have their fun in that cold water. I’m hoping the sun will warm the area I put rocks around so I can sit! Hope you are getting some sun too. Go out and listen to nature whereever you are at. God created them for our pleasure. Enjoy!
C
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Monday Monday
I always wake to the light hitting my window. At home I’d be up and “doing” but here I take a breath, smile, and turnover to sleep again, but not this morning. It was 8:30 am. I woke to hearing men talking. And they were not happy men. I almost opened the window and yelled. Good thing my hearing is off and trusted that I could be wrong. Turns out Steve got up early and was watching a VHS or “A Few Good Men”! Steve and I are usually the first to walk around. Then slowly, as the morning gets older, the others arrive. The kids sleep upstairs, except Destiny. She’s only four. It’s kind of funny but a good thing that they show up one by one. They let each other sleep. When it’s time to eat, it’s easier to feed everyone if we aren’t all crowed around waiting. Did I mention there are 9 of us?
For Sunday morning, Steve made breakfast of chicken apple sausages. I cut up potatoes with onion and seasonings. As people showed up Steve made eggs to everyone’s liking. Yesterday, Monday, I made creamy oatmeal with brown sugar and lightly buttered. Missed my walnuts! Today I will make matzoh brie, pronounced “br – i”. I dip crumbled matzoh into the scrambled egg mixture. Since I am cutting back on salt I use a dash of vanilla in the mixture. Hmmm, I’ll have to see if there is any here. After the pan is hot I pour this into a nice hot pan that has some melted butter. As soon as I have it all smoothed out, a sprinkle of cinnamon tops the pancake looking thing. After one side is firmly cooked I turn it over and when the other side is cooked thoroughly, I slide it out of the pan onto a plate. I make mine cooked through yet soft enough not to need syrup.
So that’s breakfast for today. I wrote about that because yesterday, Monday, was a nice slow day. We all woke at different time and slowly. It was a good sleep in day. By 2 pm Steve, Salome, Christopher, Destiny, Lizz and I were off in the van to find a place to fish. We went into Downievielle and found our spot on the rocks, which is on the bank of the Yuba River. Lizz and Destiny played in the water while I tried to keep shaded and read a magazine.
While Salome, Steve and Christopher continued to fish, Lizz, Destiny and I walked up the bank of the river, down the street to a bench, and made our stop there. Lizz did her internet thing, and I too checked email. Destiny and I had fun just roaming around on the boardwalk sidewalk. It’s a very small town. We walked down the street and through the parking lot. We ended up looking over the river seeing dad and mom. They had now moved to a closer spot to fish.
It was getting toward evening and still no fish. We all piled up back into the car and drove back to the cabin, which is in Goodyears Bar. Yes that’s really the name of the town. We decided that we’d try Goodyears Bar creek or take a drive down the street which would put us on the other side of the Yuba River. But that is for today.
Steve made dinner of asparagus, mashed potatoes, and sliced tri-tip. Delish! I finally walked up the street with Steve, Lizz, and Destiny where we found a spot, laid down in the street and looked up at the sky. It’s very dark and no traffic at 10 pm. The night skies are dark enough to enjoy sparkling stars even though the moon is growing bigger again. They usually see falling stars. They also usually catch fish! I think I’m not a good luck charm. Everything Steve has come here for hasn’t happened the way it usually does. Don’t misunderstand, he is still very happy to be here. It is so beautiful here.
It was 11:15 when we got back. Destiny was already asleep in Steve’s arms. I yawned several times. Next thing I remember, lights were out and the sound of a bear could be heard, from me! Hopefully it will be another lazy, hazy, crazy day of summer today. Hope you are enjoying the world around you too.
C
For Sunday morning, Steve made breakfast of chicken apple sausages. I cut up potatoes with onion and seasonings. As people showed up Steve made eggs to everyone’s liking. Yesterday, Monday, I made creamy oatmeal with brown sugar and lightly buttered. Missed my walnuts! Today I will make matzoh brie, pronounced “br – i”. I dip crumbled matzoh into the scrambled egg mixture. Since I am cutting back on salt I use a dash of vanilla in the mixture. Hmmm, I’ll have to see if there is any here. After the pan is hot I pour this into a nice hot pan that has some melted butter. As soon as I have it all smoothed out, a sprinkle of cinnamon tops the pancake looking thing. After one side is firmly cooked I turn it over and when the other side is cooked thoroughly, I slide it out of the pan onto a plate. I make mine cooked through yet soft enough not to need syrup.
So that’s breakfast for today. I wrote about that because yesterday, Monday, was a nice slow day. We all woke at different time and slowly. It was a good sleep in day. By 2 pm Steve, Salome, Christopher, Destiny, Lizz and I were off in the van to find a place to fish. We went into Downievielle and found our spot on the rocks, which is on the bank of the Yuba River. Lizz and Destiny played in the water while I tried to keep shaded and read a magazine.
While Salome, Steve and Christopher continued to fish, Lizz, Destiny and I walked up the bank of the river, down the street to a bench, and made our stop there. Lizz did her internet thing, and I too checked email. Destiny and I had fun just roaming around on the boardwalk sidewalk. It’s a very small town. We walked down the street and through the parking lot. We ended up looking over the river seeing dad and mom. They had now moved to a closer spot to fish.
It was getting toward evening and still no fish. We all piled up back into the car and drove back to the cabin, which is in Goodyears Bar. Yes that’s really the name of the town. We decided that we’d try Goodyears Bar creek or take a drive down the street which would put us on the other side of the Yuba River. But that is for today.
Steve made dinner of asparagus, mashed potatoes, and sliced tri-tip. Delish! I finally walked up the street with Steve, Lizz, and Destiny where we found a spot, laid down in the street and looked up at the sky. It’s very dark and no traffic at 10 pm. The night skies are dark enough to enjoy sparkling stars even though the moon is growing bigger again. They usually see falling stars. They also usually catch fish! I think I’m not a good luck charm. Everything Steve has come here for hasn’t happened the way it usually does. Don’t misunderstand, he is still very happy to be here. It is so beautiful here.
It was 11:15 when we got back. Destiny was already asleep in Steve’s arms. I yawned several times. Next thing I remember, lights were out and the sound of a bear could be heard, from me! Hopefully it will be another lazy, hazy, crazy day of summer today. Hope you are enjoying the world around you too.
C
Monday, June 21, 2010
The First Day of Summer!
Monday, June 21st!
This morning, I totally slept in! Til 2pm! I haven't done that in... forever! And it will probably be the last time, too. No, I didn't have a hangover... I still haven't had more than a sip of alcohol.
At midnight on June 19th, Steve gave me a swig of his Fuzzy Peach Wine Cooler. It just tasted like peach juice with an alcohol after-taste. So, i guess if I ever want to build up my tolerance, that's the way to do it. But alas, I am still not interested in getting drunk or anything, so for now, a sip was fine.
When I finally got up, everyone had eaten breakfast and lunch, so I snacked and then played some "Stratego" with Amy. I lost of course, because those were my first two games ever.
And now Mom, Steve, Salome, Chris, Destiny and I are in town. Steve and Salome wanted to fish, but they aren't catching anything. They told me not to get even a one or two-day license though, in case even they didn't catch any. So, I'm sitting here now, pretty much wet from playing with Destiny in the cold - below 40 degrees - water, writing a blog. Sounds fun, no?
Yesterday was fun too. Steve, Mom, Destiny, Amy and I went down to the river by our cabin and we played in the water. Well, dipped then got out, then dipped again, til we could stand the cold. it was freezing! And at the very end, I floated all the way down the river from our cabin to the bridge we had played at the day before. At one point I thought "Wow, this was stupid" because the current was so strong, but I just kept my feet up, head out of the water and prayed I'd get there safely. I did! It was fun. And now I feel like, if someone fell in, I wouldn't even hesitate jumping in to save them.
That's all for now. I'm running out of battery power and Mom has to check her email.
Lizz
This morning, I totally slept in! Til 2pm! I haven't done that in... forever! And it will probably be the last time, too. No, I didn't have a hangover... I still haven't had more than a sip of alcohol.
At midnight on June 19th, Steve gave me a swig of his Fuzzy Peach Wine Cooler. It just tasted like peach juice with an alcohol after-taste. So, i guess if I ever want to build up my tolerance, that's the way to do it. But alas, I am still not interested in getting drunk or anything, so for now, a sip was fine.
When I finally got up, everyone had eaten breakfast and lunch, so I snacked and then played some "Stratego" with Amy. I lost of course, because those were my first two games ever.
And now Mom, Steve, Salome, Chris, Destiny and I are in town. Steve and Salome wanted to fish, but they aren't catching anything. They told me not to get even a one or two-day license though, in case even they didn't catch any. So, I'm sitting here now, pretty much wet from playing with Destiny in the cold - below 40 degrees - water, writing a blog. Sounds fun, no?
Yesterday was fun too. Steve, Mom, Destiny, Amy and I went down to the river by our cabin and we played in the water. Well, dipped then got out, then dipped again, til we could stand the cold. it was freezing! And at the very end, I floated all the way down the river from our cabin to the bridge we had played at the day before. At one point I thought "Wow, this was stupid" because the current was so strong, but I just kept my feet up, head out of the water and prayed I'd get there safely. I did! It was fun. And now I feel like, if someone fell in, I wouldn't even hesitate jumping in to save them.
That's all for now. I'm running out of battery power and Mom has to check her email.
Lizz
Sunday, June 20, 2010
At the Cabin, -June 19th
We ended up staying up later than expected, I wished Lizz a happy 21st at midnight. We finished the movie, VHS, and then all scrambled off to bed. It wasn’t too hard to fall asleep with such a long day yesterday.
I awoke several times in the morning. My eyes open as soon as the sun shines through. But this morning I chose to close them again and try to sleep a little more. Every time my eyes opened I could hear a soft bang or two. When I finally rose out of bed and did the morning thing, I saw Steve in the kitchen. He was cooking bacon, cutting potatoes with onions and those colorful bell peppers, and getting things ready for a very filling breakfast. What a treat to not have to cook! After every one meandered in and filled their bellies, I didn’t mind taking over and washing dishes. I should wear a sign, “will work for food”!
Christopher and Jeffery were in the living room watching a movie (kids), Grandma Diana was in her room with Destiny doing a puzzle, Don’t remember what Lizz and Amy was doing but before I knew it Steve and Salome were ready to take us too town for a tour. All but Diana, Jeffery, and Christopher went.
On the road was a turnoff where we got out to see an old cannon. It’s sitting on a hill facing the oncoming southbound traffic. It’s quite a historic town. They have an historic gallow still standing. It was built but only used once. The gent that got hung had a trial that lasted almost a year. I guess from 1851 when Juanita was lynched to 1854 when this man was hung laws changed.
The other lynching the museum guide told us about was for the only woman who was ever hung. Here name was Juanita. She was a… a…. a woman of the night. When sleeping one night, yes sleeping, her door was unlocked. A drunk came into her room and scared her so she stabbed him. Guess the “self defense” rule didn’t work for women because they found her guilty and hung her within a few days, but not from the gallow. Which means in 1851 they didn’t have the gallow yet. Juanita was lynched from the local bridge. Ewww, what a claim to fame for this town. But then again, it is history. And this little town is full of it, history that is. But when you read the brochure it turns out Juanita’s name was really Josefa. The man she was with was her husband. The gent she stabbed was a drunken Scottsman who broke into their home. They didn’t realize when he returned the next night it was to ask for forgiveness for breaking in and damaging their home. When she saw him that night, she was frightened and was defending her property. Because of her unusual strength for such a petite woman, the town’s people had no mercy. The town was so up in arms they actually hurt her attorney. After the quick trial, they hung her immediately from the top of the Jersey Bridge. Years later her husband filed a claim with the US government under the conventions of 1868, 1871, & 1876 between Mexico and the US. He was wanting to return to Downieville to reclaim his property, but was denied. People from all over heard about it. The London times wrote a severe article on the subject. They might not have let the husband back and received no apologies but life certainly changed. I’m glad the brochure clarified the event but that’s interesting how the museum lady had it wrong!
The town is quaint but the tourist aren’t. We walked around town and actually found a spot that Lizz’ cell phone would work. She needed to make a call but when she turned her phone on, she had several texts to wish her a happy birthday. That was a pleasant surprise for her. We caravanned around the town and then drove back to the cabin.
When we got back Jeffery had restarted the movie because he knew we liked it. We all sat around watching while Grandma Diana finished her puzzle and Salome was out on the porch preparing the fish bate.
Movie was over, tackle was ready, kids and Steve ready for a swim, and off they went through the neighbors yard to the edge of the Yuba river, about 50 feet away. We are so close to the river we hear it rushing by when ever we are quiet in the daytime or sleeping at night. How restful to wake to the greenery around, the sun light gently peeking into my window in the morning, and the sound of the water flowing by.
Steve wanted to do something special for Lizz’ birthday. Steve, Salome, Amy, Lizz and I drove into town to eat at a steakhouse Steve had been boasting about all trip long. He couldn’t wait to treat us. And Amy told us of the fabulous food she remembered when she ate there last. I am so thankful we are flexible people. We drove up to the restaurant and it looked dark inside. A waitress from the Mexican restaurant was sitting on a bench so we stopped to ask her about the steakhouse. Turns out the owner had health issues this past year and could no longer work it. Unfortunately the waitress was sitting on the bench because she was done for the day and so was the restaurant. It was 8 pm and every one rolled up their carpets and all were closed. We happen to see a sheriff and asked him about a restaurant the waitress had suggested, but it was in Sierra City about 12 miles away. He wasn’t sure if the restaurant there would be open because it is the start of the summer season and tourism isn’t busy enough for businesses to stay open after 8 pm. What a thoughtful man, he called ahead for us.
Back home to the cabin where Amy and Lizz made tacos for dinner. I am so blessed that Lizz doesn’t mind not making a big deal of her birthday. I know she would like to do something really special but she understands it doesn’t have to be on the actual date. We will do a day in Reno but during the week. The weekend is for staying close to home and not mixing with the tourists.
We watched a movie Lizz chose, “While you were sleeping”. I started to nod off but managed to hold on ‘til the end. All scattered off to bed and her birthday was over.
Today we plan on driving to Loyalton to a bazaar/farmer’s market. After we hope to find a nice restaurant to celebrate Lizz’ birthday. Steve was looking forward to the staff singing happy birthday to her. But that will be for another time, or maybe later today. I am writing this Sunday, June 20th. We’ll bring our laptops along so we can upload our blog. We type it out in word and then do the ol’ copy and paste onto the internet, when we get it.
Happy Pappy’s Day!
C
I awoke several times in the morning. My eyes open as soon as the sun shines through. But this morning I chose to close them again and try to sleep a little more. Every time my eyes opened I could hear a soft bang or two. When I finally rose out of bed and did the morning thing, I saw Steve in the kitchen. He was cooking bacon, cutting potatoes with onions and those colorful bell peppers, and getting things ready for a very filling breakfast. What a treat to not have to cook! After every one meandered in and filled their bellies, I didn’t mind taking over and washing dishes. I should wear a sign, “will work for food”!
Christopher and Jeffery were in the living room watching a movie (kids), Grandma Diana was in her room with Destiny doing a puzzle, Don’t remember what Lizz and Amy was doing but before I knew it Steve and Salome were ready to take us too town for a tour. All but Diana, Jeffery, and Christopher went.
On the road was a turnoff where we got out to see an old cannon. It’s sitting on a hill facing the oncoming southbound traffic. It’s quite a historic town. They have an historic gallow still standing. It was built but only used once. The gent that got hung had a trial that lasted almost a year. I guess from 1851 when Juanita was lynched to 1854 when this man was hung laws changed.
The other lynching the museum guide told us about was for the only woman who was ever hung. Here name was Juanita. She was a… a…. a woman of the night. When sleeping one night, yes sleeping, her door was unlocked. A drunk came into her room and scared her so she stabbed him. Guess the “self defense” rule didn’t work for women because they found her guilty and hung her within a few days, but not from the gallow. Which means in 1851 they didn’t have the gallow yet. Juanita was lynched from the local bridge. Ewww, what a claim to fame for this town. But then again, it is history. And this little town is full of it, history that is. But when you read the brochure it turns out Juanita’s name was really Josefa. The man she was with was her husband. The gent she stabbed was a drunken Scottsman who broke into their home. They didn’t realize when he returned the next night it was to ask for forgiveness for breaking in and damaging their home. When she saw him that night, she was frightened and was defending her property. Because of her unusual strength for such a petite woman, the town’s people had no mercy. The town was so up in arms they actually hurt her attorney. After the quick trial, they hung her immediately from the top of the Jersey Bridge. Years later her husband filed a claim with the US government under the conventions of 1868, 1871, & 1876 between Mexico and the US. He was wanting to return to Downieville to reclaim his property, but was denied. People from all over heard about it. The London times wrote a severe article on the subject. They might not have let the husband back and received no apologies but life certainly changed. I’m glad the brochure clarified the event but that’s interesting how the museum lady had it wrong!
The town is quaint but the tourist aren’t. We walked around town and actually found a spot that Lizz’ cell phone would work. She needed to make a call but when she turned her phone on, she had several texts to wish her a happy birthday. That was a pleasant surprise for her. We caravanned around the town and then drove back to the cabin.
When we got back Jeffery had restarted the movie because he knew we liked it. We all sat around watching while Grandma Diana finished her puzzle and Salome was out on the porch preparing the fish bate.
Movie was over, tackle was ready, kids and Steve ready for a swim, and off they went through the neighbors yard to the edge of the Yuba river, about 50 feet away. We are so close to the river we hear it rushing by when ever we are quiet in the daytime or sleeping at night. How restful to wake to the greenery around, the sun light gently peeking into my window in the morning, and the sound of the water flowing by.
Steve wanted to do something special for Lizz’ birthday. Steve, Salome, Amy, Lizz and I drove into town to eat at a steakhouse Steve had been boasting about all trip long. He couldn’t wait to treat us. And Amy told us of the fabulous food she remembered when she ate there last. I am so thankful we are flexible people. We drove up to the restaurant and it looked dark inside. A waitress from the Mexican restaurant was sitting on a bench so we stopped to ask her about the steakhouse. Turns out the owner had health issues this past year and could no longer work it. Unfortunately the waitress was sitting on the bench because she was done for the day and so was the restaurant. It was 8 pm and every one rolled up their carpets and all were closed. We happen to see a sheriff and asked him about a restaurant the waitress had suggested, but it was in Sierra City about 12 miles away. He wasn’t sure if the restaurant there would be open because it is the start of the summer season and tourism isn’t busy enough for businesses to stay open after 8 pm. What a thoughtful man, he called ahead for us.
Back home to the cabin where Amy and Lizz made tacos for dinner. I am so blessed that Lizz doesn’t mind not making a big deal of her birthday. I know she would like to do something really special but she understands it doesn’t have to be on the actual date. We will do a day in Reno but during the week. The weekend is for staying close to home and not mixing with the tourists.
We watched a movie Lizz chose, “While you were sleeping”. I started to nod off but managed to hold on ‘til the end. All scattered off to bed and her birthday was over.
Today we plan on driving to Loyalton to a bazaar/farmer’s market. After we hope to find a nice restaurant to celebrate Lizz’ birthday. Steve was looking forward to the staff singing happy birthday to her. But that will be for another time, or maybe later today. I am writing this Sunday, June 20th. We’ll bring our laptops along so we can upload our blog. We type it out in word and then do the ol’ copy and paste onto the internet, when we get it.
Happy Pappy’s Day!
C
The Road to Downieville
We had a yummy continental breakfast then we drove down the road to gas up at the Flying J. Afterward I pulled up to the front of the store to wait for Lizz. I found 2 quarters in my wallet and played the slot machine. I won 5 quarters! Of course I spent the next 5 minutes playing those back in! That’s my fun.
As we drove out of the gas station I realized it would be an air conditioning day in the car. Most of the morning drive was monotonous, until we saw a sign in Winnemucca for Taco Time. LUNCH! It was our last chance to enjoy those crispy fried burritos. After rolling out of the store we drove to Reno where we gassed up and shopped for a weeks worth of food at CostCo. And I thought I was going to lose weight on this trip. Not.
Lizz asked to drive from Reno to the cabin. I know she is a good driver and trust her skills but didn’t realize there would be so much traffic. It was rush hour. I sat in the back seat because I didn’t want Diana to have to move. She has bad legs and I didn’t feel right making her change. We got of the freeway at route 89 toward Sierraville where we changed to route 49. I have driven this route many years ago but starting at Auburn down to Oakhurst. It’s called the 49’er route and hope to be going home this way next Friday.
Route 89 is beautiful and that’s why they called it the scenic round. As we got to higher elevation there was snow on the ground. The sun was setting and all was so majestic. Lizz, Jeffery and I were talking so much I don’t think Lizz realized how she was driving. I’m not sure she has ever driven windy roads like these and was coming pretty close to the edges on my side of the car (back passenger side). I wasn’t too worried because it wasn’t a down embankment but rather the rock walls that I kept seeing as the car went around corners.
It was now getting darker and the road wasn’t lit with any lights except our own headlights. When Lizz had her learners permit, she had driving experience in rain and night because we were apart of a show at SLO Little theatre and she drove the back road to all of the rehearsals. She had more “weather” driving than daylight driving experience before she got her full license. But she hadn’t had this type of windy road experience. I was prepared for her to need lessons on this road. I hope I never grow so old or crabby that I stop learning.
I realized I wasn’t as comfortable about her driving as usual and tried to sit back and let her drive. The lane looked like it was getting smaller and she was driving slower and trying very hard to keep the car in the center of the lane. Steve knew the roads here and had no problem keeping up. He kept up until there was this SUV who wanted to pass him. On the walkie-talkie he called and said, “let this guy go ahead. Pull over to let him go”. Steve slowed down, that car passed, and got between us. Well, she finally found a spot to pull over. We didn’t know at the time she was stopping until we saw the lights, but the guy who got between us was the sheriff!
As he was walking toward her window, I got out of the back seat. I know, I know, you aren’t suppose to do anything but show your license, insurance and registration. But being the mama bear, I wasn’t going to let my baby cub go down without a fight. I started to talk and told him this was her first time to drive mountain roads. He asked Lizz a question after she showed her license and insurance card. He barked at me and said, “I’m talking to her.” Oops. I apologized and leaned into the glove box to get the registration.
He took her license to check it out. When he came back, I was still outside by my back door and explained to me why he really stopped her. It turns out he was concerned because she was only doing 35 mph in a 55 mph zone and was going back and forth from one line to the other. He explained he sees allot of drunk driving with the second car following close. The second car either has an angry driver trying to pass or they follow the drunk car off the road. After he realized she wasn’t drunk, he leaned down and gave her a lesson on how to drive these roads at night. Again, I believe we all need to keep learning. It’s apart of life. I too learned how to drive these kinds of roads for future reference.
He asked if that was my husband in the other car. I don’t know why. I told him it was my son and that our walkie-talkies weren’t working so well her. When he was finished talking with me he said he wanted to tell her why he stopped her. He leaned into her window and told her the same thing. We were now on good terms and let her go. After she calmed down, we decided that we would tell Steve the sheriff wanted to give him a ticket like he gave Lizz.
When we got to the cabin all in my car acted like we were angry at Steve for driving away. But the joke was on us. The sheriff knew we couldn’t communicate with Steve so when he saw Steve’s car pulled over at an opening he drove over and told Steve what had happened and why. We all had a good laugh, even through the tears. Tomorrow Lizz will be 21. This was not a way to start her 21st year or our week of relaxation. I’m sure Lizz’ version will remember it differently.
We arrived at the cabin in the dark. We used the headlights of Steve’s car to light the way until he turned the electricity on. It was rather interesting to see everyone get out, taking anything and everything with them. They’ve done this before. We were all unpacked we went for a walk down the street to the bridge. Because it’s s dark here, the night sky was full of white glimmering dots. The air was cool and crisp even though it’s a June night. I was too tired to continue but Steve and Christopher went on with their tradition of laying down on the street and looking up at the sky. Tomorrow I’ll try that but tonight I’m tired and off to bed I go.
C
As we drove out of the gas station I realized it would be an air conditioning day in the car. Most of the morning drive was monotonous, until we saw a sign in Winnemucca for Taco Time. LUNCH! It was our last chance to enjoy those crispy fried burritos. After rolling out of the store we drove to Reno where we gassed up and shopped for a weeks worth of food at CostCo. And I thought I was going to lose weight on this trip. Not.
Lizz asked to drive from Reno to the cabin. I know she is a good driver and trust her skills but didn’t realize there would be so much traffic. It was rush hour. I sat in the back seat because I didn’t want Diana to have to move. She has bad legs and I didn’t feel right making her change. We got of the freeway at route 89 toward Sierraville where we changed to route 49. I have driven this route many years ago but starting at Auburn down to Oakhurst. It’s called the 49’er route and hope to be going home this way next Friday.
Route 89 is beautiful and that’s why they called it the scenic round. As we got to higher elevation there was snow on the ground. The sun was setting and all was so majestic. Lizz, Jeffery and I were talking so much I don’t think Lizz realized how she was driving. I’m not sure she has ever driven windy roads like these and was coming pretty close to the edges on my side of the car (back passenger side). I wasn’t too worried because it wasn’t a down embankment but rather the rock walls that I kept seeing as the car went around corners.
It was now getting darker and the road wasn’t lit with any lights except our own headlights. When Lizz had her learners permit, she had driving experience in rain and night because we were apart of a show at SLO Little theatre and she drove the back road to all of the rehearsals. She had more “weather” driving than daylight driving experience before she got her full license. But she hadn’t had this type of windy road experience. I was prepared for her to need lessons on this road. I hope I never grow so old or crabby that I stop learning.
I realized I wasn’t as comfortable about her driving as usual and tried to sit back and let her drive. The lane looked like it was getting smaller and she was driving slower and trying very hard to keep the car in the center of the lane. Steve knew the roads here and had no problem keeping up. He kept up until there was this SUV who wanted to pass him. On the walkie-talkie he called and said, “let this guy go ahead. Pull over to let him go”. Steve slowed down, that car passed, and got between us. Well, she finally found a spot to pull over. We didn’t know at the time she was stopping until we saw the lights, but the guy who got between us was the sheriff!
As he was walking toward her window, I got out of the back seat. I know, I know, you aren’t suppose to do anything but show your license, insurance and registration. But being the mama bear, I wasn’t going to let my baby cub go down without a fight. I started to talk and told him this was her first time to drive mountain roads. He asked Lizz a question after she showed her license and insurance card. He barked at me and said, “I’m talking to her.” Oops. I apologized and leaned into the glove box to get the registration.
He took her license to check it out. When he came back, I was still outside by my back door and explained to me why he really stopped her. It turns out he was concerned because she was only doing 35 mph in a 55 mph zone and was going back and forth from one line to the other. He explained he sees allot of drunk driving with the second car following close. The second car either has an angry driver trying to pass or they follow the drunk car off the road. After he realized she wasn’t drunk, he leaned down and gave her a lesson on how to drive these roads at night. Again, I believe we all need to keep learning. It’s apart of life. I too learned how to drive these kinds of roads for future reference.
He asked if that was my husband in the other car. I don’t know why. I told him it was my son and that our walkie-talkies weren’t working so well her. When he was finished talking with me he said he wanted to tell her why he stopped her. He leaned into her window and told her the same thing. We were now on good terms and let her go. After she calmed down, we decided that we would tell Steve the sheriff wanted to give him a ticket like he gave Lizz.
When we got to the cabin all in my car acted like we were angry at Steve for driving away. But the joke was on us. The sheriff knew we couldn’t communicate with Steve so when he saw Steve’s car pulled over at an opening he drove over and told Steve what had happened and why. We all had a good laugh, even through the tears. Tomorrow Lizz will be 21. This was not a way to start her 21st year or our week of relaxation. I’m sure Lizz’ version will remember it differently.
We arrived at the cabin in the dark. We used the headlights of Steve’s car to light the way until he turned the electricity on. It was rather interesting to see everyone get out, taking anything and everything with them. They’ve done this before. We were all unpacked we went for a walk down the street to the bridge. Because it’s s dark here, the night sky was full of white glimmering dots. The air was cool and crisp even though it’s a June night. I was too tired to continue but Steve and Christopher went on with their tradition of laying down on the street and looking up at the sky. Tomorrow I’ll try that but tonight I’m tired and off to bed I go.
C
Friday, June 18, 2010
And we are off to the cabin...
There we were stopped at the construction site and the flagger guy comes up to the passenger window and asks, "Why so glum? It'll only be a 45 minute wait". He was the comic relief. Oy! I think they chose the right guy for the job because we kibbutzed for at least 10 minutes. Then the traffic from the opposite side showed up. We were back to driving 70 mpg. Well, it's posted you can but we cruised at 60-65. Then I got the call. I had set up an account that allows people like Stan to call on a cell phone. We pulled over and everyone got a chance to hear his voice. Last Thursday before we left I got a call from the main doctor who said they took Stan to a Retina specialist right in SLO! Finally, after 15 weeks of his right eye going blind someone listened and took action. He is hoping this will reverse it but only time will tell. Please keep this in your prayers as it would be very difficult for him to see if it doesn't. They didn't take care of his left eye and he can only see minimally out of the edges.
We got back on the cloudy and cold road heading south. We could see the Grand Teton's to our left. My original plans were to drive back that way, but God steered me differently weeks before the trip. The mountains were now all covered with snow. I'm not sure we would have been able to drive through at all. Ain't God awesome! There was snow on some of the houses of the towns we were passing. But it was starting to be sunny and everything was turning to water. The trees to our right looked cool with just the powder of snow on their branches yet dripping. The drive was mostly straight and plain until we got to the 93 turn off.
After stopping in Pocatello, ID at an Artic Circle and Arby's, we continued down route 93 to Twin Falls. We stopped at the visitor center because we thought we missed the turn off to see Shoshone Falls. I kept walkie-talkie'ing to Steve, "How can there be a falls within 7 miles like the sign says if the mountains are at least 25 miles away"? It was flat all around us. I've been to Lone Pine to camp many decades ago and learned that when you see the mountains from the flat land they are not as close as they appear.
We got the map from the nice gent in the visitor center who also pointed out how to get to thee Twin Falls as well as Shoshone Falls. It's interesting that there were Shoshonie Indians who lived there but the spelling is different. Anyone know why? I don't but didn't think to ask the nice gent in the visitor center. As Steve and I came out we saw Salome taking pictures. I failed to realize we had crossed the Perrine Bridge. We got to walk under it and ..... I forgot to tell you. As we turned off the 93 and drove about 3 miles into the town of Twin Falls we crossed over a bridge to find a huge canyon, Snake canyon. You know, the one Evel Kneivel jumped back in the 70's. So there we were under the bridge with the cars driving over us. And looking down into the canyon was scarry but beautiful. The walls of the canyon are huge and sharp edged rocks.
We drove to Shoshone Falls and stayed there mesmerized for a while. Part of the falls are used for electricity. They boast of these falls being higher than Niagra Falls. Since the water is low they didn't have as much flowing as in the pictures. But there was enough to still be picturesque. We drove on to the Twin Falls but was disappointed to see them dry. But all around was gorgeous. The canyon was still breath taking as were the hawks. Yes, making lazy circles in the sky! It was getting dark so those little knats and/or mosquitoes showed up. It was a beautiful sunset as we drove back up the hill to the 93 again. It was now dark and almost 10 pm, time had gotten away from us. I didn't reserve a motel because I wasn't sure how this part of the trip would go. So off we went on 93, as the Rug Rats would say, "we're on a adventure"! Yes they don't got good english skills cause they be rug rats.
And what an adventure. It was dark. We had passed places to eat and thought there would be some in Hollister. But alas, we be wrong. Then into the dark again, mind you this is back road and now street lights. We finally hit Jackpot, NV. It wasn't! But the time changed and we gained an hour. Of course we were still on the old time of 11 pm. We wearily got into Wells, NV 11:15 the new time. We got a motel first and then went back out to a restaurant. There really isn't much. It's a hole in the wall but thank God for truckers and their restaurants. We ate at the Flying J. It was like last night, they close soon but this guy let us in and we ate.
Bellies full and brains tired off we went to our rooms. It didn't take long and we were all sleeping (and snoring). I got up this morning and looked at the clock. From my angle it was 8:12 am. After I got out of the bathroom and while picking up Lizz' laptop to blog, I saw the clock close up. It was only 6 am, not 8! But it gave me this time to write while Amy, Lizz and Grandma Diana slept.
It's now 9 am. Lizz is up and soon the other two will be. This motel has breakfast until 10 am but I'm not waiting. It's time to eat. After all are awake, fed, and the cars packed we will finish our trek to the cabin in Downieville. Since we pass Reno, I'm sure we will be stopping. Well, we will stop to load up on food for the week but who knows where else we will stop. I am also sure we will come down from Downieville on Saturday or Sunday to celebrate Lizz' 21st Birthday.
Until next time, hope your days are as awesome, and exciting as ours.
C
We got back on the cloudy and cold road heading south. We could see the Grand Teton's to our left. My original plans were to drive back that way, but God steered me differently weeks before the trip. The mountains were now all covered with snow. I'm not sure we would have been able to drive through at all. Ain't God awesome! There was snow on some of the houses of the towns we were passing. But it was starting to be sunny and everything was turning to water. The trees to our right looked cool with just the powder of snow on their branches yet dripping. The drive was mostly straight and plain until we got to the 93 turn off.
After stopping in Pocatello, ID at an Artic Circle and Arby's, we continued down route 93 to Twin Falls. We stopped at the visitor center because we thought we missed the turn off to see Shoshone Falls. I kept walkie-talkie'ing to Steve, "How can there be a falls within 7 miles like the sign says if the mountains are at least 25 miles away"? It was flat all around us. I've been to Lone Pine to camp many decades ago and learned that when you see the mountains from the flat land they are not as close as they appear.
We got the map from the nice gent in the visitor center who also pointed out how to get to thee Twin Falls as well as Shoshone Falls. It's interesting that there were Shoshonie Indians who lived there but the spelling is different. Anyone know why? I don't but didn't think to ask the nice gent in the visitor center. As Steve and I came out we saw Salome taking pictures. I failed to realize we had crossed the Perrine Bridge. We got to walk under it and ..... I forgot to tell you. As we turned off the 93 and drove about 3 miles into the town of Twin Falls we crossed over a bridge to find a huge canyon, Snake canyon. You know, the one Evel Kneivel jumped back in the 70's. So there we were under the bridge with the cars driving over us. And looking down into the canyon was scarry but beautiful. The walls of the canyon are huge and sharp edged rocks.
We drove to Shoshone Falls and stayed there mesmerized for a while. Part of the falls are used for electricity. They boast of these falls being higher than Niagra Falls. Since the water is low they didn't have as much flowing as in the pictures. But there was enough to still be picturesque. We drove on to the Twin Falls but was disappointed to see them dry. But all around was gorgeous. The canyon was still breath taking as were the hawks. Yes, making lazy circles in the sky! It was getting dark so those little knats and/or mosquitoes showed up. It was a beautiful sunset as we drove back up the hill to the 93 again. It was now dark and almost 10 pm, time had gotten away from us. I didn't reserve a motel because I wasn't sure how this part of the trip would go. So off we went on 93, as the Rug Rats would say, "we're on a adventure"! Yes they don't got good english skills cause they be rug rats.
And what an adventure. It was dark. We had passed places to eat and thought there would be some in Hollister. But alas, we be wrong. Then into the dark again, mind you this is back road and now street lights. We finally hit Jackpot, NV. It wasn't! But the time changed and we gained an hour. Of course we were still on the old time of 11 pm. We wearily got into Wells, NV 11:15 the new time. We got a motel first and then went back out to a restaurant. There really isn't much. It's a hole in the wall but thank God for truckers and their restaurants. We ate at the Flying J. It was like last night, they close soon but this guy let us in and we ate.
Bellies full and brains tired off we went to our rooms. It didn't take long and we were all sleeping (and snoring). I got up this morning and looked at the clock. From my angle it was 8:12 am. After I got out of the bathroom and while picking up Lizz' laptop to blog, I saw the clock close up. It was only 6 am, not 8! But it gave me this time to write while Amy, Lizz and Grandma Diana slept.
It's now 9 am. Lizz is up and soon the other two will be. This motel has breakfast until 10 am but I'm not waiting. It's time to eat. After all are awake, fed, and the cars packed we will finish our trek to the cabin in Downieville. Since we pass Reno, I'm sure we will be stopping. Well, we will stop to load up on food for the week but who knows where else we will stop. I am also sure we will come down from Downieville on Saturday or Sunday to celebrate Lizz' 21st Birthday.
Until next time, hope your days are as awesome, and exciting as ours.
C
My Turn -Last Day in Yellowstone.....
Our last full day to view Yellowstone. We were doing the upper loop today. There were signs that remind us that an area of the road will be closed after 10pm for construction. But in the daytime it's open and a one lane road. They are rebuilding a bridge. It will look awesome when it's complete.
We drove past this area to Norris Geyser Basin area. I figured what the "Basin" means in the titles. It's an area that has lots and lots of active stuff happening and it's all in one area, no matter how big the area is. In this area there is Porcelain Basin and Back Basin. We walked on a tiny pebbled walkway to the information area. There are a few steps in either direction, both basins, but most is with boardwalks. Before you head to either of the basins we could look down at the whole area of the Porcelain Basin. So beautiful. We decided to start with this one. Of course the clouds were over head but the dark ones were in the distance. We were fortunate not to have any sprinkling on this trail as it would be a long distance to return. There were many different small geysers and springs here. You can read facts about them at the nps.gov website. All I can say is it is all fascinating to see. Such a wonder and a curiosity as well. God allowed these things to occur only here, in this area of the world. And we get to see enjoy His beauty as long as we take care of it!
By time we got back to the top again we decided not to do the Back Basin. We were hungry for lunch. So back to the cars for cold cut sandwiches and chocolate animal crackers. It started to sprinkle just a little but not enough to stop us from eating. Just as we finished, the dots got a little bigger. As we started to drive we realize these dots were small dots of ice. It was hailing, or is it sleet. I don't know the difference but I know when water turns to ice. It didn't stay long and back on the road we went.
When you come out of the Norris Geyser Basin we could turn left to go north first or straight ahead to the Canyon village area. If you look at a map you will see that the roads are in a loop, both the north area and the south area. Going toward Old Faithful was the south. Today was the north loop.
We chose to go left. We knew there would be construction but again, we were not on a timeline and figured "we'd be bahk"! There is so much to see there is no way anyone can get the full impact of this splendid area in just 3 days. The maps and other blogs don't give this place enough emphasis on how you really need to take your time. Each place is not the destination. The driving is the journey and the areas to stop at is the cherry on top, for a lack of better words. As we drove we saw a different view of things. In this area it reminded us of forests. The roads were windier and more up and down. Not only were their more trees around us but large boulders as well. Around one bend Salome looked back and saw a hugh waterfall we didn't expect to see. I don't remember reading about it. Just before we got back in the car the rains and the wind came. As we drove we finally got to a flatter area. Pow, right in front of us were mountains with dark clouds and white lightening. What a sight. We had gone from sunny to cloudy, to some sun, to sprinkles, to hail/sleet, to cloudy, and now cloudy with lightening. Okay, so I'm easy to be entertained. But it's God's beauty I am awed with.
We stayed the course and got near Mammoth Hot Springs. We turned left on a one way road. It's kind of funny to see all the cars driving like we were amusement park cars, all lined up an moving at the same pace. I can just imagine in 200 or so years from now, in the middle of the road will be a metal gripping chain like at a car wash. You pull into the area and your car hooks up to it and then drags all the cars around each loop instead of driving. Well, that's what it feels like but every now and then a car pulls over to view something that draw their attention. We pulled over allot to let others zoom by. Still can't figure why they would be here when they are driving so fast.
In this area there were many different rock formations with spouting or seeping water. My favorite was the Orange Mound. The water slowly boils up at this little opening and the water just flows down the side. It has done this for so long that it has made a round mound that is about 15-20 feet high and round. The sediment causes the orange look. After this loop we got back on the main road toward the Yellowstone Fort. This is the area the army lived in to protect the park before it became a national park. All the old buildings are here with lots of memories. The Albright Visitor center is here. To get to the actual North entrance we had to drive 5 more miles, which we did.
Even before the PBS National Parks 6-part series I was always in awe about the archway that welcomes you into the park. It is a one lane'r. I had to get out and touch, read, and soak it in. I was really here! Roosevelt said, "The Yellowstone Park is something absolutely unique in the world...This Park was created and is now administered for the benefit and enjoyment of the people...it is the property of Uncle Sam and therefore of us all." when he dedicated it in 1903. On the top of the arch are the words: for the benefit and enjoyment of the people. And we did and had more to enjoy before leaving.
After we drove through, there is a town called Gardiner. It started to sprinkle but that didn't deter us from stopping at a local shop to enjoy ice cream. About 5 minutes after we parked and were in the store, it poured down! Then like a faucet turning off, it stopped. It was wet but we walked around just a little to another shop. We got back in our cars and off again through the arch, through the North gate, and back to the Albright center in Fort Yellowstone. On the way to and from the North gate and Fort Yellow stone is a marker for the 45th Parallel. It is the latitude between the Equator and the North Pole. Let me know if this is correct.
After our potty stop at the center we made a left and back onto the loop toward the east we went. Again, this area didn't have as many springs or geysers but it was majestic. Trees, rocks, and waterfalls was the theme of this area. We drove on toward the Tower Falls but it took us a little longer than expected. You need to be prepared to stop for the Bison when ever they feel like crossing the road. We didn't mind at all. We also stopped to view a fox just 1 foot to the right of us sitting with his/her back to us watching something in the grass. It seemed to not care we were there observing! As we started to slowly drive forward, it walked parallel with us for about 10-12 feet. Hope Lizz posts a picture of that. Off again at 35 mph because it's easy to stop for viewing, and we were on our way to the Tower Falls, or so we thought.
Another thing that has always intrigued me is petrified trees. So we pulled onto a road with the sign, Petrified Tree. It was referring to only 1 but I wanted to see it. Before we got there we saw a bunch of cars pulled over so we parked too. Ya just never know what's there but if there are cars stopped you know something is up. What a treat. There were 2 bears! One was a cinnamon brown bear the other was a black. We stayed to watch for awhile. I didn't know the different bears would "wrestle" with each other. Wouldn't that mix their breed? If you haven't figured it out, since Destiny is only 4, we called it "wrestling"! The adults who were viewing had a real good laugh as they heard us telling her. And with Steve's sense of humor there was more verbal entertaining words on the subject. Nothing vulgar but saying what everyone was thinking. We eventually drove the rest of the quarter mile to the petrified tree. It's surrounded by metal bars to protect it and all the pieces that fall from it's sides.
We continued our drive through this area as it got a little darker and colder. The landscape went to looking like the hills near Santa Maria, CA then while gaining altitude, to the trees of mountain areas. We saw more bison and an interesting looking bird, who also was just off the road sitting and not bothered by the onlookers. As we drove up and up and up we realized it was getting colder, darker, and there was snow on the side of the road. We managed to be at Dunraven Pass, 8,859 feet up. We stopped at one of the rest areas and played in the bank of stow. Lizz made a small snowman while others were throwing snow balls. Can you imagine going from sun, to sprinkles, to hail, then thunder & lightening, clouds but no rain, and now darkness setting in and snow on the ground. Fortunately it wasn't snowing. After we got back on the main road we started downhill drive. We came to the stop sign where we could chose to go to the Canyon Village or make a right back to Norris and then the road out of the park. Of course we chose the road to the right! It was too dark to drive the canyon rim and not light enough from the cloudy sky to see like we did at Old Faithful.
We got back to the Norris junction with minutes to spare. As we made the left turn there was the truck and gent putting up the "road closed" sign. I looked down at my car clock to see it was 9:52! They let our 2 vehicles through. We didn't realize until we got to the other side, the 3rd vehicle was one of the government vans. It was interesting to drive through the construction site while they were preparing to construct. This was the dirt road before and after the new bridge. We got to the other side where there were barriers up to prevent cars from going to where we just came from. We made our right at Madison junction and drove without any stops through the west gate into West Yellowstone.
It was now 11:15. Would anything be open? Well, yes and no. We went into one restaurant that had a big OPEN sign. But when the waitress saw our huge group at this late hour she said they were closed. There was one pizza place open until midnight where we had plain cheese pizza and a specialty, shredded pork with onions and bbq sauce. Kind of like Mo's BBQ meets Italian Pizza. It was goood (the way Andy Griffith would say in the Ritz crackers commercial) Back to our room with full bellies but no swimming tonight.
I got up and blogged. It takes me awhile to write because I have to think as well as type on Lizz' Mac laptop. Not as easy as having a keyboard only. Well, I got carried away with time. See, I got up early enough to organize my things, get dressed, and blog. The time got away and before I knew it, Steve was knocking on the door. It was 9:30 am, breakfast was over, and it was snowing! For fear we'd be stuck there we packed, checked out, and got McDonald's by drive thru. The gal was very helpful to keep our cost down, but it is still a resort town and the dollar menu is more than $1. Our chance to have a free breakfast was gone and so was $40!
It was now Thursday, June 17th. We were finished at Yellowstone and some of us were sad to leave, even though it was snowing. By time we got down the road it had stopped. But so did we at construction in the road. I'll save the rest for the next blog.
C
We drove past this area to Norris Geyser Basin area. I figured what the "Basin" means in the titles. It's an area that has lots and lots of active stuff happening and it's all in one area, no matter how big the area is. In this area there is Porcelain Basin and Back Basin. We walked on a tiny pebbled walkway to the information area. There are a few steps in either direction, both basins, but most is with boardwalks. Before you head to either of the basins we could look down at the whole area of the Porcelain Basin. So beautiful. We decided to start with this one. Of course the clouds were over head but the dark ones were in the distance. We were fortunate not to have any sprinkling on this trail as it would be a long distance to return. There were many different small geysers and springs here. You can read facts about them at the nps.gov website. All I can say is it is all fascinating to see. Such a wonder and a curiosity as well. God allowed these things to occur only here, in this area of the world. And we get to see enjoy His beauty as long as we take care of it!
By time we got back to the top again we decided not to do the Back Basin. We were hungry for lunch. So back to the cars for cold cut sandwiches and chocolate animal crackers. It started to sprinkle just a little but not enough to stop us from eating. Just as we finished, the dots got a little bigger. As we started to drive we realize these dots were small dots of ice. It was hailing, or is it sleet. I don't know the difference but I know when water turns to ice. It didn't stay long and back on the road we went.
When you come out of the Norris Geyser Basin we could turn left to go north first or straight ahead to the Canyon village area. If you look at a map you will see that the roads are in a loop, both the north area and the south area. Going toward Old Faithful was the south. Today was the north loop.
We chose to go left. We knew there would be construction but again, we were not on a timeline and figured "we'd be bahk"! There is so much to see there is no way anyone can get the full impact of this splendid area in just 3 days. The maps and other blogs don't give this place enough emphasis on how you really need to take your time. Each place is not the destination. The driving is the journey and the areas to stop at is the cherry on top, for a lack of better words. As we drove we saw a different view of things. In this area it reminded us of forests. The roads were windier and more up and down. Not only were their more trees around us but large boulders as well. Around one bend Salome looked back and saw a hugh waterfall we didn't expect to see. I don't remember reading about it. Just before we got back in the car the rains and the wind came. As we drove we finally got to a flatter area. Pow, right in front of us were mountains with dark clouds and white lightening. What a sight. We had gone from sunny to cloudy, to some sun, to sprinkles, to hail/sleet, to cloudy, and now cloudy with lightening. Okay, so I'm easy to be entertained. But it's God's beauty I am awed with.
We stayed the course and got near Mammoth Hot Springs. We turned left on a one way road. It's kind of funny to see all the cars driving like we were amusement park cars, all lined up an moving at the same pace. I can just imagine in 200 or so years from now, in the middle of the road will be a metal gripping chain like at a car wash. You pull into the area and your car hooks up to it and then drags all the cars around each loop instead of driving. Well, that's what it feels like but every now and then a car pulls over to view something that draw their attention. We pulled over allot to let others zoom by. Still can't figure why they would be here when they are driving so fast.
In this area there were many different rock formations with spouting or seeping water. My favorite was the Orange Mound. The water slowly boils up at this little opening and the water just flows down the side. It has done this for so long that it has made a round mound that is about 15-20 feet high and round. The sediment causes the orange look. After this loop we got back on the main road toward the Yellowstone Fort. This is the area the army lived in to protect the park before it became a national park. All the old buildings are here with lots of memories. The Albright Visitor center is here. To get to the actual North entrance we had to drive 5 more miles, which we did.
Even before the PBS National Parks 6-part series I was always in awe about the archway that welcomes you into the park. It is a one lane'r. I had to get out and touch, read, and soak it in. I was really here! Roosevelt said, "The Yellowstone Park is something absolutely unique in the world...This Park was created and is now administered for the benefit and enjoyment of the people...it is the property of Uncle Sam and therefore of us all." when he dedicated it in 1903. On the top of the arch are the words: for the benefit and enjoyment of the people. And we did and had more to enjoy before leaving.
After we drove through, there is a town called Gardiner. It started to sprinkle but that didn't deter us from stopping at a local shop to enjoy ice cream. About 5 minutes after we parked and were in the store, it poured down! Then like a faucet turning off, it stopped. It was wet but we walked around just a little to another shop. We got back in our cars and off again through the arch, through the North gate, and back to the Albright center in Fort Yellowstone. On the way to and from the North gate and Fort Yellow stone is a marker for the 45th Parallel. It is the latitude between the Equator and the North Pole. Let me know if this is correct.
After our potty stop at the center we made a left and back onto the loop toward the east we went. Again, this area didn't have as many springs or geysers but it was majestic. Trees, rocks, and waterfalls was the theme of this area. We drove on toward the Tower Falls but it took us a little longer than expected. You need to be prepared to stop for the Bison when ever they feel like crossing the road. We didn't mind at all. We also stopped to view a fox just 1 foot to the right of us sitting with his/her back to us watching something in the grass. It seemed to not care we were there observing! As we started to slowly drive forward, it walked parallel with us for about 10-12 feet. Hope Lizz posts a picture of that. Off again at 35 mph because it's easy to stop for viewing, and we were on our way to the Tower Falls, or so we thought.
Another thing that has always intrigued me is petrified trees. So we pulled onto a road with the sign, Petrified Tree. It was referring to only 1 but I wanted to see it. Before we got there we saw a bunch of cars pulled over so we parked too. Ya just never know what's there but if there are cars stopped you know something is up. What a treat. There were 2 bears! One was a cinnamon brown bear the other was a black. We stayed to watch for awhile. I didn't know the different bears would "wrestle" with each other. Wouldn't that mix their breed? If you haven't figured it out, since Destiny is only 4, we called it "wrestling"! The adults who were viewing had a real good laugh as they heard us telling her. And with Steve's sense of humor there was more verbal entertaining words on the subject. Nothing vulgar but saying what everyone was thinking. We eventually drove the rest of the quarter mile to the petrified tree. It's surrounded by metal bars to protect it and all the pieces that fall from it's sides.
We continued our drive through this area as it got a little darker and colder. The landscape went to looking like the hills near Santa Maria, CA then while gaining altitude, to the trees of mountain areas. We saw more bison and an interesting looking bird, who also was just off the road sitting and not bothered by the onlookers. As we drove up and up and up we realized it was getting colder, darker, and there was snow on the side of the road. We managed to be at Dunraven Pass, 8,859 feet up. We stopped at one of the rest areas and played in the bank of stow. Lizz made a small snowman while others were throwing snow balls. Can you imagine going from sun, to sprinkles, to hail, then thunder & lightening, clouds but no rain, and now darkness setting in and snow on the ground. Fortunately it wasn't snowing. After we got back on the main road we started downhill drive. We came to the stop sign where we could chose to go to the Canyon Village or make a right back to Norris and then the road out of the park. Of course we chose the road to the right! It was too dark to drive the canyon rim and not light enough from the cloudy sky to see like we did at Old Faithful.
We got back to the Norris junction with minutes to spare. As we made the left turn there was the truck and gent putting up the "road closed" sign. I looked down at my car clock to see it was 9:52! They let our 2 vehicles through. We didn't realize until we got to the other side, the 3rd vehicle was one of the government vans. It was interesting to drive through the construction site while they were preparing to construct. This was the dirt road before and after the new bridge. We got to the other side where there were barriers up to prevent cars from going to where we just came from. We made our right at Madison junction and drove without any stops through the west gate into West Yellowstone.
It was now 11:15. Would anything be open? Well, yes and no. We went into one restaurant that had a big OPEN sign. But when the waitress saw our huge group at this late hour she said they were closed. There was one pizza place open until midnight where we had plain cheese pizza and a specialty, shredded pork with onions and bbq sauce. Kind of like Mo's BBQ meets Italian Pizza. It was goood (the way Andy Griffith would say in the Ritz crackers commercial) Back to our room with full bellies but no swimming tonight.
I got up and blogged. It takes me awhile to write because I have to think as well as type on Lizz' Mac laptop. Not as easy as having a keyboard only. Well, I got carried away with time. See, I got up early enough to organize my things, get dressed, and blog. The time got away and before I knew it, Steve was knocking on the door. It was 9:30 am, breakfast was over, and it was snowing! For fear we'd be stuck there we packed, checked out, and got McDonald's by drive thru. The gal was very helpful to keep our cost down, but it is still a resort town and the dollar menu is more than $1. Our chance to have a free breakfast was gone and so was $40!
It was now Thursday, June 17th. We were finished at Yellowstone and some of us were sad to leave, even though it was snowing. By time we got down the road it had stopped. But so did we at construction in the road. I'll save the rest for the next blog.
C
Thursday, June 17, 2010
My Turn too Continued....
Okay, so we got to Yellowstone a little later than expected but we weren't on a time line. Getting in is easy because I show my driver's license and Lifetime card. Our goal today was to see Old Faithful in the daytime, see the springs, pools, and geysers in that area, and then travel around to and through West Thumb, around the lake, and to the Canyon area.
We drove into the Lodge parking lot instead of the regular lot. Got a close spot but had to walk further to the visitors center. Lesson learned. Because my knee was acting up I decided it didn't matter the cost, I would get a wheel chair. Turns out I only had to loan them my credit card and they would loan me their wheel chair. What a blessing. This way I wouldn''t drag us down and rest my knee at the same time.
Backing up, by time we got parked we had just missed a gush of Old Faithful. It is one of the most regulated geysers but not the biggest. After we got the wheel chair and did our potty break we were on the boardwalk. They have boardwalks all around this area so it is easy for us wheel chair'ers as well as it keeps people on the right path. It's supposed to anyway.
I can picture our walk in my mind now even though it was 2 days ago. We not only saw spectacular visions but we also had a blast as a family. We decided not to wait an hour for the next Old Faithful gush. As we walked along the boardwalk, we could still see where Old Faithful was. I am sure most of you could do the boardwalk to see all the beauty quicker than us but we were so awestruck we took longer than most. As we rounded an area we heard the gush and turned around. We weren't close up but we could still see and hear Old Faithful. We thought we'd get back in time to see the next one, 65 - 90 minutes later, but we missed that one too. But nothing will be as spectacular than the first time we saw it the night before!
The springs had all different colors and we learned what they all meant. There were little geysers and big geysers. We walked further down the boardwalk and found the Grand Geyser. It sits next to 2 others, the Vent and the Turan. The Turan goes off every 15-20 mins or so. We waited but must have just missed that one too. I was starting to feel that we'd miss the boat on all of them. But we walked further down and arrived in time to see Riverside Geyser. Imagine seeing one of those fireworks that is in the round canister shooting up the continuous gold stream of color. Well, this was water continually spewing up in he air for at least 10 minutes. And it was shooting out from a rock formation. Spectacular. God gave us true enjoyment. We walked further seeing other smaller, very smaller, gurgling geysers until we came to the end of the pathway.
At the end of the boardwalk is a spring called Morning Glory Pool. The pictures are so colorful. But it's sad to say, my friend Mary would be disappointed to know it is now called Fading Glory Pool. Seems people have tossed stuff in there in the past. These items change the color because of the reaction with the actual minerals in the water. Don't get me wrong, the colors were off but the pool itself is amazing. It is not round inside. You have to view it from different angles to get the full vision of this beauty. The water is still clear because it is hot. The hotter the water, the clearer it is. So not only is there color because of the minerals or algae it contains but the color of the water is produced because of the level of how hot or cool the water is.
By time we finished the rounds at Old Faithful, we were done for the day. The clouds were still above and it was now getting dark, which tells you we had a looonnngggg day. With the traffic in the morning, stopping at all of the sites along the way, and the time we spent at Old Faithful we were tired! Back to the motel we went. Well, we stopped off at KFC first and then to the room. After that we hit the indoor pool and hot tub.
It's Thursday morning. I was too tired last night to blog what I just wrote. I will catch up with yesterday's either later today. I didn't realize it was late. Everyone has been sleeping and Steve just knocked on the door. It is now 9:40 am and we need to get on the road to leave the area. It's snowing!! God is so good he waited for us to be leaving for it snow. Yesterday was very interesting, weather wise. Other than snow, we experienced it all. But that will be in the next blog. For now we need to go. Everyone in my room is now up and scrambling. We'll have to do breakfast on the road after check out.
C
We drove into the Lodge parking lot instead of the regular lot. Got a close spot but had to walk further to the visitors center. Lesson learned. Because my knee was acting up I decided it didn't matter the cost, I would get a wheel chair. Turns out I only had to loan them my credit card and they would loan me their wheel chair. What a blessing. This way I wouldn''t drag us down and rest my knee at the same time.
Backing up, by time we got parked we had just missed a gush of Old Faithful. It is one of the most regulated geysers but not the biggest. After we got the wheel chair and did our potty break we were on the boardwalk. They have boardwalks all around this area so it is easy for us wheel chair'ers as well as it keeps people on the right path. It's supposed to anyway.
I can picture our walk in my mind now even though it was 2 days ago. We not only saw spectacular visions but we also had a blast as a family. We decided not to wait an hour for the next Old Faithful gush. As we walked along the boardwalk, we could still see where Old Faithful was. I am sure most of you could do the boardwalk to see all the beauty quicker than us but we were so awestruck we took longer than most. As we rounded an area we heard the gush and turned around. We weren't close up but we could still see and hear Old Faithful. We thought we'd get back in time to see the next one, 65 - 90 minutes later, but we missed that one too. But nothing will be as spectacular than the first time we saw it the night before!
The springs had all different colors and we learned what they all meant. There were little geysers and big geysers. We walked further down the boardwalk and found the Grand Geyser. It sits next to 2 others, the Vent and the Turan. The Turan goes off every 15-20 mins or so. We waited but must have just missed that one too. I was starting to feel that we'd miss the boat on all of them. But we walked further down and arrived in time to see Riverside Geyser. Imagine seeing one of those fireworks that is in the round canister shooting up the continuous gold stream of color. Well, this was water continually spewing up in he air for at least 10 minutes. And it was shooting out from a rock formation. Spectacular. God gave us true enjoyment. We walked further seeing other smaller, very smaller, gurgling geysers until we came to the end of the pathway.
At the end of the boardwalk is a spring called Morning Glory Pool. The pictures are so colorful. But it's sad to say, my friend Mary would be disappointed to know it is now called Fading Glory Pool. Seems people have tossed stuff in there in the past. These items change the color because of the reaction with the actual minerals in the water. Don't get me wrong, the colors were off but the pool itself is amazing. It is not round inside. You have to view it from different angles to get the full vision of this beauty. The water is still clear because it is hot. The hotter the water, the clearer it is. So not only is there color because of the minerals or algae it contains but the color of the water is produced because of the level of how hot or cool the water is.
By time we finished the rounds at Old Faithful, we were done for the day. The clouds were still above and it was now getting dark, which tells you we had a looonnngggg day. With the traffic in the morning, stopping at all of the sites along the way, and the time we spent at Old Faithful we were tired! Back to the motel we went. Well, we stopped off at KFC first and then to the room. After that we hit the indoor pool and hot tub.
It's Thursday morning. I was too tired last night to blog what I just wrote. I will catch up with yesterday's either later today. I didn't realize it was late. Everyone has been sleeping and Steve just knocked on the door. It is now 9:40 am and we need to get on the road to leave the area. It's snowing!! God is so good he waited for us to be leaving for it snow. Yesterday was very interesting, weather wise. Other than snow, we experienced it all. But that will be in the next blog. For now we need to go. Everyone in my room is now up and scrambling. We'll have to do breakfast on the road after check out.
C
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Days 2 and 4 ... (I know today is Day 6)
DAY 2
Our second day, when we drove through A LOT! And I slept A LOT too! :) As did Amy. ;)
As mom said, we stopped at Taco Time and it started raining!
I think Mom forgot to write, though, that we stopped at a car show! It was pretty awesome! My favourites are the Pontiac Trans Am and the Chevy Nova! I have to confess, I really don't know anything about cars any more than what I see on Overhaulin' but I can certainly appreciate the beauty of it all.
And they even had the Hannibal Lector of cars!
It was a beautiful drive!
________________________________________
DAY 4
We left Uncle Phil's house and traveled to a nearby Copper Mining area called Kennecott Utah Copper's Bingham Canyon Mine.
It's pretty incredible that this is even possible, let alone has been done for more than one hundred years!
The way they describe it is this:
In 1906, the copper mine was a mountain. It started in 1903, but the first steam shovels came to Bingham Canyon in 1906 and began stripping waste rock from the sides of a mountain to reach deposits of low-grade copper ore. It is the largest man-made excavation on earth! Today, the mine is 3/4 mile deep and about two and a half miles from the widest points at the top of the pit. The whole thing can be seen by astronauts from space!
Mom had taken Steve here when he was a little boy - they used to live in Utah - and I guess she has a picture of him next to the very large tire on display so I got an updated picture for them. This tire is one of the tires used on the giant rigs used to mine the canyon! It's huge!
I like this picture below!
After that, we went to the Great Salt Lake! It was ... great.
And of course after we looked for a Taco Time or Costco, because what is a trip without Costco pizza?
It really is breathtakingly beautiful here. All the places we've been really.
That's all for now. And I just realized... I didn't blog Day 3!! Ugh! Which was the whole point of this trip! But, you know what, I'm being summoned to the car right now because we were supposed to leave for Yellowstone again this morning at 8Aam! But that didn't happen. (Others weren't ready.) But it's a good thing we were only planning on doing driving things in Yellowstone today because it's RAINING HARD! I even heard a little thunder!
Day 3 to come later tonight.
Lizz
Our second day, when we drove through A LOT! And I slept A LOT too! :) As did Amy. ;)
As mom said, we stopped at Taco Time and it started raining!
I think Mom forgot to write, though, that we stopped at a car show! It was pretty awesome! My favourites are the Pontiac Trans Am and the Chevy Nova! I have to confess, I really don't know anything about cars any more than what I see on Overhaulin' but I can certainly appreciate the beauty of it all.
And they even had the Hannibal Lector of cars!
It was a beautiful drive!
________________________________________
DAY 4
We left Uncle Phil's house and traveled to a nearby Copper Mining area called Kennecott Utah Copper's Bingham Canyon Mine.
It's pretty incredible that this is even possible, let alone has been done for more than one hundred years!
The way they describe it is this:
In 1906, the copper mine was a mountain. It started in 1903, but the first steam shovels came to Bingham Canyon in 1906 and began stripping waste rock from the sides of a mountain to reach deposits of low-grade copper ore. It is the largest man-made excavation on earth! Today, the mine is 3/4 mile deep and about two and a half miles from the widest points at the top of the pit. The whole thing can be seen by astronauts from space!
Mom had taken Steve here when he was a little boy - they used to live in Utah - and I guess she has a picture of him next to the very large tire on display so I got an updated picture for them. This tire is one of the tires used on the giant rigs used to mine the canyon! It's huge!
I like this picture below!
After that, we went to the Great Salt Lake! It was ... great.
And of course after we looked for a Taco Time or Costco, because what is a trip without Costco pizza?
It really is breathtakingly beautiful here. All the places we've been really.
That's all for now. And I just realized... I didn't blog Day 3!! Ugh! Which was the whole point of this trip! But, you know what, I'm being summoned to the car right now because we were supposed to leave for Yellowstone again this morning at 8Aam! But that didn't happen. (Others weren't ready.) But it's a good thing we were only planning on doing driving things in Yellowstone today because it's RAINING HARD! I even heard a little thunder!
Day 3 to come later tonight.
Lizz
My Turn, too.....
Tuesday, June 15th:
Wow, what a day. We were too tired to start as early as we wanted. Amy and I got up on time and took all the clothes to the laudramat, came back to eat breakfast, and went back to dry them. All this while everyone else was still getting up and dressed. (You go Amy!)
We all got loaded up after we made our P&J sandwiches for lunch. The hotel has a good breakfast, we make our own lunches and then we can afford dinner out. Proves you can still travel and save. Must be in my blood. LOL Anyway, we all piled up into the cars. We changed our normal seating arrangement. Usually in my car I am driving, Diana is in the passenger seat, and Amy and Lizz are in the back seat. In Steve's car Steve drove, Salome was in the shotgun seat and in the back was Jeffery, the carseat in the middle with Destiny and then Christopher. But to get into the park, Grandma Diana had to switch seats with Salome because Diana has a Lifetime Eagle Pass like me. The normal cost is $25 per car for 7 days. We do not have to pay at all to get in. It's the advantage of being either older or disabled.
Since it was 10:30am the roads were more packed than it was the night before. It was disconcerting that people wanted to drive fast to get to their different sites that they wanted to see but as soon as the saw a Bison they, errrrrrrr, stopped right there on the road to watch them. Some pulled over, others didn't care. Such a mixture of people. We did stop but by pulling over. As Steve, Lizz, Salome, and Destiny walked down closer with the other humans, I stayed by the back of my car watching the habits of the driving humans. I think I'm waving in at least 5 home movies. I'm a movie star!
Back on the road and still traffic. Understand this is only a short distance setback but it takes awhile. The distance to get to Madison Junction is only 14 miles but still takes while at 45 mpg whether there is traffic or not. At the Junction is where you chose to go left to the north area or right to the south area. We chose a right turn to go to Old Faithful area again only this time to actually walk the path to see all the pools, springs, and geysers. Just as we were turning there was a huge deer. At first we thought it was one of those statues but it wasn't.
As we drove along the road we went slower than the speed limit. We wanted to soak everything in. We turned off into almost every opportunity to view something spectacular. Our first turn off was for Firehole Canyon Drive. It was beautiful. It is a one way so there were places to stop to take it in. It's trees with the raging river below, Firehole River. Very picturesque. Almost looks like it doesn't belong here with all the geysers & hot springs.
This road turns back onto the main road. We drove to the next turn off to Fountain Flats Drive. Nothing spectacular. It's really for fly fishers to go. Back on the main road to Fountain Paint Pot. We got out to look and the weather started to change. This place has a boardwalk to walk and roll a wheelchair on. Mudpts, springs, and bubbling geysers. Quite interesting to find one mudpot was formed after a 1959 earthquake. Before it was a grassy spot! As we walked around it started to sprinkle. Not too bad but we did move a little faster. But I have to say, it doesn't stop people or us from viewing the spectacular beauty of what God has given for us to enjoy.
Back on the road to Midway Geyser Basin. We thought we had seen beauty already. Oy! This was also a boardwalked place so all could enjoy. Of course it rained as we got out of the car. We decided to get back into our cars. We talked on our walkie-talkies and decided to just get back into the car, drive, and come back later. We sat for a few more moments when, wow, the clouds opened up! We now got out and walked to see the rest of the beauty that we could see from the road. Worth every drip that occurred after we were 3/4 the way through. We also made memories.
On the road toward Old Faithful again. Bisquit Basin and Black Sand Basin were closed for repairs to their boardwalks. So we continued to Old Faithful Village. This time we turned into the Lodge Inn parking, which put us on the opposite side from last night. We had just missed a spouting so we took it easy. We went to the visitors center and the potty's. I decided my left leg was not going to make the rounds on this site so I decided to get a wheel chair. I was prepared to pay but they have a wonderful policy, leave a credit card and you can borrow (not pay for) a wheel chair. We all gathered up and decided which direction we'd go to first.
Well, it's 8:19 am this Wednesday morning. All have finally awakened and ready to eat breakfast. I couldn't write this last night because we were tired. I'll explain later. For now I'm stopping to eat breakfast or they will all be waiting for me. And that's not good. My next blog will be of our day, yes DAY, at the Old Faithful area. I don't understand how anyone can do this in a few hours. It was so breathtaking.
C
Wow, what a day. We were too tired to start as early as we wanted. Amy and I got up on time and took all the clothes to the laudramat, came back to eat breakfast, and went back to dry them. All this while everyone else was still getting up and dressed. (You go Amy!)
We all got loaded up after we made our P&J sandwiches for lunch. The hotel has a good breakfast, we make our own lunches and then we can afford dinner out. Proves you can still travel and save. Must be in my blood. LOL Anyway, we all piled up into the cars. We changed our normal seating arrangement. Usually in my car I am driving, Diana is in the passenger seat, and Amy and Lizz are in the back seat. In Steve's car Steve drove, Salome was in the shotgun seat and in the back was Jeffery, the carseat in the middle with Destiny and then Christopher. But to get into the park, Grandma Diana had to switch seats with Salome because Diana has a Lifetime Eagle Pass like me. The normal cost is $25 per car for 7 days. We do not have to pay at all to get in. It's the advantage of being either older or disabled.
Since it was 10:30am the roads were more packed than it was the night before. It was disconcerting that people wanted to drive fast to get to their different sites that they wanted to see but as soon as the saw a Bison they, errrrrrrr, stopped right there on the road to watch them. Some pulled over, others didn't care. Such a mixture of people. We did stop but by pulling over. As Steve, Lizz, Salome, and Destiny walked down closer with the other humans, I stayed by the back of my car watching the habits of the driving humans. I think I'm waving in at least 5 home movies. I'm a movie star!
Back on the road and still traffic. Understand this is only a short distance setback but it takes awhile. The distance to get to Madison Junction is only 14 miles but still takes while at 45 mpg whether there is traffic or not. At the Junction is where you chose to go left to the north area or right to the south area. We chose a right turn to go to Old Faithful area again only this time to actually walk the path to see all the pools, springs, and geysers. Just as we were turning there was a huge deer. At first we thought it was one of those statues but it wasn't.
As we drove along the road we went slower than the speed limit. We wanted to soak everything in. We turned off into almost every opportunity to view something spectacular. Our first turn off was for Firehole Canyon Drive. It was beautiful. It is a one way so there were places to stop to take it in. It's trees with the raging river below, Firehole River. Very picturesque. Almost looks like it doesn't belong here with all the geysers & hot springs.
This road turns back onto the main road. We drove to the next turn off to Fountain Flats Drive. Nothing spectacular. It's really for fly fishers to go. Back on the main road to Fountain Paint Pot. We got out to look and the weather started to change. This place has a boardwalk to walk and roll a wheelchair on. Mudpts, springs, and bubbling geysers. Quite interesting to find one mudpot was formed after a 1959 earthquake. Before it was a grassy spot! As we walked around it started to sprinkle. Not too bad but we did move a little faster. But I have to say, it doesn't stop people or us from viewing the spectacular beauty of what God has given for us to enjoy.
Back on the road to Midway Geyser Basin. We thought we had seen beauty already. Oy! This was also a boardwalked place so all could enjoy. Of course it rained as we got out of the car. We decided to get back into our cars. We talked on our walkie-talkies and decided to just get back into the car, drive, and come back later. We sat for a few more moments when, wow, the clouds opened up! We now got out and walked to see the rest of the beauty that we could see from the road. Worth every drip that occurred after we were 3/4 the way through. We also made memories.
On the road toward Old Faithful again. Bisquit Basin and Black Sand Basin were closed for repairs to their boardwalks. So we continued to Old Faithful Village. This time we turned into the Lodge Inn parking, which put us on the opposite side from last night. We had just missed a spouting so we took it easy. We went to the visitors center and the potty's. I decided my left leg was not going to make the rounds on this site so I decided to get a wheel chair. I was prepared to pay but they have a wonderful policy, leave a credit card and you can borrow (not pay for) a wheel chair. We all gathered up and decided which direction we'd go to first.
Well, it's 8:19 am this Wednesday morning. All have finally awakened and ready to eat breakfast. I couldn't write this last night because we were tired. I'll explain later. For now I'm stopping to eat breakfast or they will all be waiting for me. And that's not good. My next blog will be of our day, yes DAY, at the Old Faithful area. I don't understand how anyone can do this in a few hours. It was so breathtaking.
C
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Day 5: Yellowstone
We went into Yellowstone last night and waited around to see Old Faithful erupt while eating our turkey and ham sandwiches and it was awesome. But we were also planning on going back today, so we did!
Mom said in her post that it's only a few miles, but it takes longer when you have to drive at 35 mph, but this morning when we got to Yellowstone, we ended up driving about 6 mph, no joke! There was sooo much traffic when we first started out. Turns out it was because people were stopping to see the ONE bison on the right side of the road! Ugh... people were passing, stopping, cutting others off - all in the middle of the road! Of course, we also had to stop - but I promise we were not rude or in anyone's way!
On the way to our first destination, we saw a bald eagle nest! With the bald eagle IN IT! You can't really see the eagle very well in the picture, but you can definitely see the nest!
Since the beginning of the family trip, my car has been occupied by my mom and Salome's mom in the front seats and Amy and I in the back. However, since both Mom and Salome's mom have lifetime passes to all National parks, Salome's mom stayed in Steve's car today and last night, and when we go back into Yellowstone again tomorrow morning - 8:30AM ... eew!
So in my car for the Yellowstone journeys, Mom has been driving - I drove a little - I sat in the front seat and Chris and Jeffery sat in the back. I really like this emo picture I took of Chris in the back. ... Listening to his iPod too! Instead of the beautiful sounds of nature! Kids today!
We also saw tons of bison later! Steve and I got out to go take pictures and some others followed us out later.
I tried to take some pix through a pair of binoculars Kris leant us before we left CA. I think it came out pretty darned cool!
Further on still, we saw an awesome water fall in the Firehole Road Loop. And there was an unofficial trail going down to the water, so Steve, Chris and I ventured down.
We stopped again later for a potty break; by that time we had taken a separate road that was a one-way road so we were planning on going straight through and then making it back to the regular road and back to Old Faithful and of course, the other Geyser Basins on the way.
The sky was beautiful all day! It ended up raining later in the day, but even then it was pretty!
We drove through Fountain Flat Drive.
Then we drove over to and stopped at the Lower Geyser Basin, which contains such geysers as the Celestine Pool, Jet Geyser (which erupted a little on our way back to the car later), Spasm Geyser (which appropriately for its name never stopped erupting), the Fountain Paint Pot (which consisted entirely of mud), among many others!
At the Lower Geyser Basin, one of the first little springs/things [:) was the Red Spouter. As it turns out, the geysers like Red Spouter were non-existent prior to a great earthquake in 1959! The earthquake caused so much dislocation, that it forced a tiny spring into existence which over time became the Red Spouter.
This is the Spasm Geyser. It looked like this pretty much the WHOLE time. Ever-erupting!
The colours really are gorgeous. My battery died when we went to the Upper Geyser Basin, but we found out later that the colours of the rocks and water coincide with the temperature! Blue and clear water is the hottest possible at more than 160 degrees! And it goes on from there for the coolest temperature as orange and orangish browns, and sometimes so dark it looks black!
When we stopped at the Midway Geyser Basin, it was raining pretty hard, but God is sooo good and within ten minutes of sitting in our cars deciding what to do, the rain subsided and the first real SUN of the day appeared! Of course, it didn't help that as soon as we walked by the steam produced by the geysers, we were pretty much moistened to the point of soaking by time we got back to the car!
The Upper Geyser Basin contained Grotto Geyser - which is AWESOME! I wish I had a picture to show you! Sawmill Geyser - which we saw erupt and basically had to rush passed so we didn't get scalded; Grand Geyser - which we waiting to erupt, but it never did, although we did see Marmots which look a lot like a mix between giant beavers and large, furry chipmunks; Giant Geyser; Riverside Geyser - which had been erupting 15 minutes prior to when we arrived and it stayed consistent for about 5 more minutes! and Old Faithful - which we missed up-close today :( we saw it from far away while treking to the other geysers. One of my favourite geysers was Chromatic Geyser, so named because it contains almost every colour in the spectrum! Vibrant too! The point was to go the farthest on their wooden tracks all the way to Morning Glory - which they now call Fading Glory. A friend from work told Mom it was the must-see geyser of the whole trip. It is actually very sad. It is beautifully brilliant but since it was showcased a few decades ago, people have discarded their trash into the geyser - why??? Don't ask me! The geyser itself is much like Chromatic Geyser, except that the whole is much deeper and wider, but it gets more and more narrow as you look down, which is where all of the trash usually gathers, clogging it and requiring the park keepers to clean it. That can be easy seeing as it's clear and blue in the center, which if you remember from what I said earlier, is the hottest the water can get.
On the way back from Old Faithful, we saw bison in the road. At the stop sign and way later! Traffic was stopped again, except this time there were babies! They were jumping around and head-butting each other. And, of course, running into traffic!
We stopped again on the way back into town when a geyser off the side of the road was erupting! I can't remember what it was called, but there were tons of people waiting around to see it. My camera battery let me take one or two last pictures before it died again! - I really need to get another battery just to have on-hand. Ugh.
That's all for tonight.
Mom's turn! :)
Lizz
Mom said in her post that it's only a few miles, but it takes longer when you have to drive at 35 mph, but this morning when we got to Yellowstone, we ended up driving about 6 mph, no joke! There was sooo much traffic when we first started out. Turns out it was because people were stopping to see the ONE bison on the right side of the road! Ugh... people were passing, stopping, cutting others off - all in the middle of the road! Of course, we also had to stop - but I promise we were not rude or in anyone's way!
On the way to our first destination, we saw a bald eagle nest! With the bald eagle IN IT! You can't really see the eagle very well in the picture, but you can definitely see the nest!
Since the beginning of the family trip, my car has been occupied by my mom and Salome's mom in the front seats and Amy and I in the back. However, since both Mom and Salome's mom have lifetime passes to all National parks, Salome's mom stayed in Steve's car today and last night, and when we go back into Yellowstone again tomorrow morning - 8:30AM ... eew!
So in my car for the Yellowstone journeys, Mom has been driving - I drove a little - I sat in the front seat and Chris and Jeffery sat in the back. I really like this emo picture I took of Chris in the back. ... Listening to his iPod too! Instead of the beautiful sounds of nature! Kids today!
We also saw tons of bison later! Steve and I got out to go take pictures and some others followed us out later.
I tried to take some pix through a pair of binoculars Kris leant us before we left CA. I think it came out pretty darned cool!
Further on still, we saw an awesome water fall in the Firehole Road Loop. And there was an unofficial trail going down to the water, so Steve, Chris and I ventured down.
We stopped again later for a potty break; by that time we had taken a separate road that was a one-way road so we were planning on going straight through and then making it back to the regular road and back to Old Faithful and of course, the other Geyser Basins on the way.
The sky was beautiful all day! It ended up raining later in the day, but even then it was pretty!
We drove through Fountain Flat Drive.
Then we drove over to and stopped at the Lower Geyser Basin, which contains such geysers as the Celestine Pool, Jet Geyser (which erupted a little on our way back to the car later), Spasm Geyser (which appropriately for its name never stopped erupting), the Fountain Paint Pot (which consisted entirely of mud), among many others!
At the Lower Geyser Basin, one of the first little springs/things [:) was the Red Spouter. As it turns out, the geysers like Red Spouter were non-existent prior to a great earthquake in 1959! The earthquake caused so much dislocation, that it forced a tiny spring into existence which over time became the Red Spouter.
This is the Spasm Geyser. It looked like this pretty much the WHOLE time. Ever-erupting!
The colours really are gorgeous. My battery died when we went to the Upper Geyser Basin, but we found out later that the colours of the rocks and water coincide with the temperature! Blue and clear water is the hottest possible at more than 160 degrees! And it goes on from there for the coolest temperature as orange and orangish browns, and sometimes so dark it looks black!
When we stopped at the Midway Geyser Basin, it was raining pretty hard, but God is sooo good and within ten minutes of sitting in our cars deciding what to do, the rain subsided and the first real SUN of the day appeared! Of course, it didn't help that as soon as we walked by the steam produced by the geysers, we were pretty much moistened to the point of soaking by time we got back to the car!
The Upper Geyser Basin contained Grotto Geyser - which is AWESOME! I wish I had a picture to show you! Sawmill Geyser - which we saw erupt and basically had to rush passed so we didn't get scalded; Grand Geyser - which we waiting to erupt, but it never did, although we did see Marmots which look a lot like a mix between giant beavers and large, furry chipmunks; Giant Geyser; Riverside Geyser - which had been erupting 15 minutes prior to when we arrived and it stayed consistent for about 5 more minutes! and Old Faithful - which we missed up-close today :( we saw it from far away while treking to the other geysers. One of my favourite geysers was Chromatic Geyser, so named because it contains almost every colour in the spectrum! Vibrant too! The point was to go the farthest on their wooden tracks all the way to Morning Glory - which they now call Fading Glory. A friend from work told Mom it was the must-see geyser of the whole trip. It is actually very sad. It is beautifully brilliant but since it was showcased a few decades ago, people have discarded their trash into the geyser - why??? Don't ask me! The geyser itself is much like Chromatic Geyser, except that the whole is much deeper and wider, but it gets more and more narrow as you look down, which is where all of the trash usually gathers, clogging it and requiring the park keepers to clean it. That can be easy seeing as it's clear and blue in the center, which if you remember from what I said earlier, is the hottest the water can get.
On the way back from Old Faithful, we saw bison in the road. At the stop sign and way later! Traffic was stopped again, except this time there were babies! They were jumping around and head-butting each other. And, of course, running into traffic!
We stopped again on the way back into town when a geyser off the side of the road was erupting! I can't remember what it was called, but there were tons of people waiting around to see it. My camera battery let me take one or two last pictures before it died again! - I really need to get another battery just to have on-hand. Ugh.
That's all for tonight.
Mom's turn! :)
Lizz
Finally!... Day 1
Day 1 Finally!
I know Mom already posted for Day 1, but I had this written out first... and it's from my perspective. AND... different pictures! Although I still took them all. (Except for the ones with fingers in them of course.) :)
For those of you who don’t know my family…
The Hamilton clan.
Steve and Salome
Destiny and Christopher
Amy
And Grandma - Salome's mom.
For me, it really felt like all I did was sleep and eat and eat and sleep. ☺ Probably because that’s all I did.
We left early yesterday morning and headed straight for Mesquite, Nevada. Some of us were more tired than others. (Cough - Jeff - cough.)
And Jeffery.
And the Premer Clan!
Momma Charlene.
And me, Lizz.
On the way we stopped in Boron to visit the Saxon Aerospace Museum. Outside was a real, no longer in use, U.S. Air Force plane that we took pictures on and by. The museum was tiny but fun. They had actual aircraft set up and displays of pictures of pilots and plane parts.
On one wall was a computer for a flying simulation that Jeffery, Amy, Steve and I used. They all had to land in the lake bed, but not me ☺ I landed on the strip. Hehe. It was a fun experience though.
Furthering our journey, we stopped at Peggy Sue’s 50s Diner for some milkshakes and pie. They have a back area that is pretty cool, with giant statues of dinosaurs and a gorilla with a little pond with huge poi fish and some ducks!
One of the ducks had an awesome Mohawk! Apparently, we’re not supposed to touch the turtles, but they were swarming to us! They were red-eared sliders and I used to have one, so I felt comfortable with them. Ah, turtles.
Across the street from the restaurant were some kind of tanks. Jeffery seemed to know what they are; I’m still unsure. But they look pretty cool.
For the next few hours, I slept! Woot! Felt good, too. I won’t lie. I woke up to Mom on the walkie talkie with Steve in the other car being confused as to whether or not we’re in Vegas. We were in Slone, but I guess it’s changed a lot.
Mom used to come here when she and her mom traveled, so we decided to take the “Fremont Experience” too. We at at Magnolia’s in the Four Queens. After Magnolia’s and a trip up and down the strip, we headed for the hotel in Mesquite where we crashed! Into our beds, of course. (I'm glad I re-read this before I posted it; that could have been confusing!) I know we were all tired, so it was nice to have a bed to sleep on, instead of the cramped backseat.
More later today. Maybe I'll actually get up-to-date. :)
Lizz
I know Mom already posted for Day 1, but I had this written out first... and it's from my perspective. AND... different pictures! Although I still took them all. (Except for the ones with fingers in them of course.) :)
For those of you who don’t know my family…
The Hamilton clan.
Steve and Salome
Destiny and Christopher
Amy
And Grandma - Salome's mom.
For me, it really felt like all I did was sleep and eat and eat and sleep. ☺ Probably because that’s all I did.
We left early yesterday morning and headed straight for Mesquite, Nevada. Some of us were more tired than others. (Cough - Jeff - cough.)
And Jeffery.
And the Premer Clan!
Momma Charlene.
And me, Lizz.
On the way we stopped in Boron to visit the Saxon Aerospace Museum. Outside was a real, no longer in use, U.S. Air Force plane that we took pictures on and by. The museum was tiny but fun. They had actual aircraft set up and displays of pictures of pilots and plane parts.
On one wall was a computer for a flying simulation that Jeffery, Amy, Steve and I used. They all had to land in the lake bed, but not me ☺ I landed on the strip. Hehe. It was a fun experience though.
Furthering our journey, we stopped at Peggy Sue’s 50s Diner for some milkshakes and pie. They have a back area that is pretty cool, with giant statues of dinosaurs and a gorilla with a little pond with huge poi fish and some ducks!
One of the ducks had an awesome Mohawk! Apparently, we’re not supposed to touch the turtles, but they were swarming to us! They were red-eared sliders and I used to have one, so I felt comfortable with them. Ah, turtles.
Across the street from the restaurant were some kind of tanks. Jeffery seemed to know what they are; I’m still unsure. But they look pretty cool.
For the next few hours, I slept! Woot! Felt good, too. I won’t lie. I woke up to Mom on the walkie talkie with Steve in the other car being confused as to whether or not we’re in Vegas. We were in Slone, but I guess it’s changed a lot.
Mom used to come here when she and her mom traveled, so we decided to take the “Fremont Experience” too. We at at Magnolia’s in the Four Queens. After Magnolia’s and a trip up and down the strip, we headed for the hotel in Mesquite where we crashed! Into our beds, of course. (I'm glad I re-read this before I posted it; that could have been confusing!) I know we were all tired, so it was nice to have a bed to sleep on, instead of the cramped backseat.
More later today. Maybe I'll actually get up-to-date. :)
Lizz
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