Thursday, September 1, 2016 Exploring then Bullwinkletta and calf

Thursday, September 1, 2016

I am Thunderpaws!  King of the morning!  I run, I fly, I chase inanimate objects.  Ok, sometimes I knock things over.  Sorry about that.  But I AM THUNDERPAWS!

I wake up to the smell of smoke.  I guess the wind has shifted.  I look outside.  Are those clouds?  It starts to rain... all of 362 drops.  I am sure that will help the fire in Yellowstone.  As we enjoy our morning coffee, we get another 196 drops of rain.  It is cool, but not cold.  We get another 206 drops of rain before the sun comes up over the trees.  On my morning walk, I headed over to the visitor area and read about the fire. The smoke was thick, making it hard to breathe.  The fire was started by lightening, and they are letting it run its natural course.  It may burn into the winter, and the firefighters will do what they can to protect any structures and such, but that is it.  There are firefighter camps all over the place with helicopters and tents.  Hopefully, the wind will shift again.

Today we are going to explore some 4wd roads.  We saw a road out of Antelope Flats that ends up near Moran Junction, so we figure we would try and start at the Moran point.  One small problem... there is no sign on the road, so which one is it?  We had some rangers redirect us from one road.  We follow the meager map we have and hit a fork in the road.  Ok, we should turn left.

Now, to be clear, there are several types of 4wd roads. 

-One is just a plain dirt road.  Even cars can drive on those. 

-The next level up is a dirt road that you have to go real slow on because it is somewhat rough.  Cars can drive these roads, but slowly. 

-Then, there is the road that cars shouldn't drive on as you need high clearance otherwise you tear out your undercarriage.  'Jack' is still good at this level.

-Then the next level is a narrow road, with major ruts.  Not only is your undercarriage at risk, your paint job is at risk. 

The road we were looking at was the 4wd road of the highest caliber.  We took it for about a half mile.  Are we on the right road?  Jack's alarms are going off telling us we are getting too close to things.  Naw... we draw the line at this.  Let's go over to the Antelope Flats side and see if this is easier.  When you are crossing the Antelope Flats, imagine what you see... antelope, but of course!  We stop for lunch by sitting on the tailgate of Jack, watching rain on the horizon.  We hear thunder.  We get a few drops of rain, but that is it.  It doesn't look like it is raining on Yellowstone.  Too bad.

There are lots of forks in this road - not on our map - and the road it looks like we want to take is the big bad 4wd road...  Ok, we will pass on this.  There are plenty of other roads to explore...

Back into the GT National Park, we explore the Pacific Creek Trail.  It is a decent dirt road back through meadows and valleys.  Plenty of pines, and aspens that are turning yellow.  Add a stream and you have a stunning landscape.  This road actually takes you out of the national park, into the national forest... where hunting is allowed.  There is an outfitter way back there promising a trophy elk.  The campgrounds have structures that allow you to hang your kills.  We hiked a little down one of the trails.  Is it hunting season????  Let's get out of here!

Over to Two Ocean Lake.  What a gorgeous ride.  Looks like we may hike here tomorrow.  This is way too pretty to let slide.  On our way back to Hannah, we see people with cameras on the side of the road. 

 

What animal do we have here?  A she moose and her calf... awwwww.

Back to Hannah and Rudy, as we settle in... the action started.  RAIN!  POURING RAIN, and thunder!  A real life storm!  Rudy wanted no part of being outside.  He wasn't real keen listening to Hannah getting pelted.  He stayed right next to his humans till the storm passed.  Then he wanted out again!  Fair weather cat...  Oh, and no chance of a campfire tonite...

I have noticed a phenomena specifically related to this neck of the woods.  It is 'OHS' - Oblivious Humanoid Syndrome.  It seems humans are struck with awe at the beauty of the area that they forget how to drive.  They will go 25 mph in a 55 mph zone, oblivious to the fact that the entire state of Wyoming is backed up behind them.  Now, I totally understand wanting to enjoy the beauty... BUT PULL OVER!  How hard is that?  And make your turn when there is no traffic.  Are you waiting for an engraved invitation?  MOVE IT or PULL OVER!  Sheesh... Yeah, I am talking to you towing the Airstream.  And you, that little pickup...

 

Wednesday, August 31, 2016 Golfing the Tetons

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

I really like this new place we are staying.  My humans took me for a long walk.  I got to roll in the dirt.  But then, my maternal human patted all the dirt off of me.  Why did she do that?  I was feeling pretty good till then.

This morning, we loaded up the golf clubs and headed to the Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis Club. It is situated in the valley near the airport, north of the elk refuge.  The Tetons tower over the course making for a scenic wonderland.

It is expensive to play here.  Just like Jackson - if it should cost $90, they will charge you double.  My thoughts are that it is a one time experience and just enjoy it.  I am not sure Spouse ever got over the sticker shock... He quit taking his score on the third hole!   The course is in immaculate condition.  The fairways are perfect, the first cut of rough is a bit challenging, and the second cut of rough can put you in the emergency room when you try to swing through it.  Surprisingly, being this close to the mountains, it is not very hilly at all.  But there are water hazards and chaparral hazards that make the course interesting.  And there are bunkers.   Spouse struggled all day.  I was ok for the most part, but my evil twin made a few appearances, and when she was there, she was REALLY evil.  The weather was perfect, maybe around 80 with white puffy clouds.  The fall colors are starting to splash in.  Pops of yellow on the aspens, and the undergrowths are starting to show the reds.  It made for a very pleasant day for me.   I still don't think Spouse is over the sticker shock.  To put it in perspective, we played golf in Banff which really sets the bar for beauty.  We played there at twilight, and it cost a bit less then here.  This wasn't quite in the Banff class, but every bit as expensive.  And alas... another round without  a hole in one...

Afterwards, we had our '19th hole' at a tavern in town.  We struck up all sorts of conversations with people from all over.  yakity yak yak yak!  And the best is yet to come... Thai food!  YUMMY!  As we were getting in 'Jack' ready to leave, the streets came to life with a staged shootout.  The Jackson Hole Playhouse had their cowboys and saloon girls doing their thing.

We finally made it back to Hannah with our own hungry beast awaiting his meal.  He missed his humans!

Tuesday, August 30, 2016 Back to the Grand Tetons

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Last night, my paternal human was purring really loud.  My maternal human went and slept on the little bed in the other room.  It is small, but there is just enough room for me to snuggle in.  But I have to do double duty snuggling with both humans in different spots.

This morning's walk took me into the town of Victor.  Little stores, a bank, some fishing shops.  It is not yet 8am, and lots of traffic.  Many fire service trucks pass me by.  Well, we are not going in that direction today, so hopefully, we won't have any issues.

We both get back to Hannah, shower, and get her ready to go.  We will eat later, but let's get on the road.  The pass over to Jackson, Wyoming goes over a mountain pass through the Targhee National Forest.  It is quite gentle going up, but a 10% grade going down for several miles.  Our truck (I have decided to name our truck 'Jack' after Jack Lemmon.  We got it on the lemon law, so it seemed appropriate).  Anyway, Jack has some great breaking abilities so we could handle the grade with no problem.  But about 3 miles down, there is a truck braking ramp.  Now, let's think about that... You are going down a killer grade with no brakes, and you have to make it 3 miles around sharp curves, then you have to cross the road - hoping there is no traffic coming the other way - to get to the brake ramp.  Really?  Sounds like a horror flick to me!

We have to head through the heart of Jackson to get on the road to the Tetons.  It isn't even 10 am and it is crowded with cars!  Is something going on? 

Once on 191, we pass the elk refuge and miles of beauty.  The Grand Tetons are rugged mountains carved by glaciers.  They tower over rivers and meadows.  There is a hint of smoke in the air from a fire in Yellowstone.  Supposedly, they just opened the southern road into Yellowstone today.  We check out a couple of the campgrounds, but find the one we stayed in 3 years ago.  It is the Coulter Bay Campground.  There is a full service RV park, but we don't even try to get into that.  Last time we checked, it was booked a year in advance.  The sites are nice there, woodsy, and you have a little room.  But there are lots of rigs.

We prefer the campground over the RV park because they have a loop of sites that are huge, and they have electricity.  We had to fenagle a site in the J loop because there are fire evacuees there.  They also save a couple of sites in case a disabled person shows up.  But, there were some people scheduled for late checkouts, so they gave us one of the sites scheduled for the disabled, knowing that others would be available later today.  I doubt the ones they save for the disabled are used too frequently, so I am sure they know what they are doing.

For us, we can deal without water and sewer.  We filled Hannah to the brim with water which should last a while.  We are right next to a bathroom, so we can use that to some extent.  When we were in North Fork, we used water and the toilet frivolously for 5 days and didn't have to drain the tanks, so we ought to be ok being a little conservative.

We disconnected Hannah, and went back down to Jackson to walk around.  We pass a heard of buffalo.  Looking behind, we see the smoke from the fire at Yellowstone.  It doesn't look good. 

 Jackson is a western town run amok.  It has fine art galleries, exclusive furniture and, of course, souvenirs.  If something is worth $25, it will certainly cost $40 or more in Jackson.  It is a cute town, with nice restaurants and taverns.  They have a real grocery store with great selections of foods.  It is a fun place to walk around, but not a place to actually buy something.

After we left  Jackson and headed towards Hannah, we noticed the smoke from Yellowstone was even worse.  We are planning to be here for 6 days... I wonder if that will really happen???

Monday, August 29, 2016 Trading the cush of North Fork for the tush of Victor

Monday, August 29, 2016

I want some loving.  I don't care that it is dark and you are sleeping.  You are my humans and you must pet me.  You are so easily manipulated.

This morning we are faced with leaving this paradise.  Spouse went fishing and I did my walk in this land of inspiration.  If I could paint this, it would look fake.  Of course, everything I paint looks fake.  Ok, so if somebody with talent could paint this, it would still look fake!  But alas, it is time to move on.  It is probably a good thing, since today starts the bighorn sheep season, and the guy that came in last night is on the hunt.  Only the males can be taken.  Maybe that explains why we saw only females the other day, but I can't imagine taking one of these beautiful creatures.  The meat is not anything special, so it is only for the trophy, which just doesn't sit well with me.  But I am not a hunter so I just don't understand.  Hell, I can't even put live bait on my fishing hook...

We head south down 93 to Salmon.  After a grocery shop, we start south on 28, leaving the Salmon-Challis National Forest.  We are in a valley flanked with cerritos on the inside, then rugged mountains beyond.  And of course, there is the riparian corridor.  The Lemhi River meanders around the valley.  There are alfalfa farms and horse meadows.  After about 70 miles, the cerritos fade away and we are driving in a high desert prairie.  My turn to drive, Spouse will navigate.  Poor guy, it took him forever to figure out where we were.  I was vibrating in place.  But, we all got on the same page... eventually... after about 40 miles...

Now, I could drag this out and make it some kind of adventure, but bottom line, we took 28 to 33 east, to I15 south, to  48 east (thank you GPS Samantha for taking us on this stupid road.  Yes, it may be the shortest route, but DEFINITELY not the quickest!), then to 26 east.  For all intents and purposes, we could have just as easily been in Iowa as Idaho.  Flat farmland, with a creek here and there.  It is pretty, but relatively non-descript. 

When we get to 26, we head east.  We start coming back into mountain territory as we approach Swan Valley.  There is a forest fire with several burn spots going in the Targhee forest.  Then turning north on 31, we head towards Victor.  Lots of fire activity going on, but so far, our road is still open.  We are on a gentle mountain road curving through the forest.  We have been here in the winter to ski Grand Targhee, but it looks a lot different without the snow.  That snow would sure come in handy for the wildfires, but at 85 degrees, I don't think that is going to happen!  We were hoping to find a small campground, but alas, it is after 4 and we stop at an RV park in Victor.  It is pretty, but too close of quarters for my taste. 

We follow a man in a golf cart into our site.  He has to direct us in so we don't take up too much room.  The people next to us bring in their shade awning so we will fit.  When we open our sliders, we are practically in our neighbor's living room.  Please don't bring someone else in next to us...

It is only for one night so I guess I will get over it.  And talk about a slow internet...  I was spoiled up in North Folk!  We are campers that happen to have an RV.  This is an RV park where this is what people do.  They like being in close quarters and they like big rigs.  I doubt any of these people have EVER been in a campground off the grid.  We talked to one couple with a 41 foot rig and the wife would NEVER consider an RV park without full services.  They will certainly miss out on some beautiful experiences.  Oh well, to each their own.

The smoke from the fire is on the horizon, as are the helicopters with the big water buckets making run after run. 

Rudy wants to explore.  He actually made a verbal cry to go outside!  Normally, he mimes it!

Note to Spouse:  Low fat does not translate to being healthy! 

Tomorrow, we will head into Jackson, and most likely park ourselves in the Grand Tetons through the holiday weekend.

Sunday, August 28, 2016 And Sunday we rest? Not exactly...

Sunday, August 28, 2016

My maternal human had a critter crawling up her foreleg.  She called me.  I sniffed it.  She flinched and it fell onto the bed.  I pounced.  It moved.  I pawed at it and it ran under the covers.  Then my paternal human snatched it and killed it!  I wasn't even done with it!  It would have been so much fun getting it out from under the covers but he ruined it for me.  Why is that?

Today was a series of vignettes.

Early morning vignette:  Ok, 'early' does not really apply.  We should not be on mountain time.  It is almost 8am before we get out of bed, which is unheard of back home.  We enjoy coffee and get on the stupid phones for some emails and game time.  How dumb is that?

Get moving vignette:

We readied the bikes for another ride down 'our' road, only farther.  My goal is to pedal to Indianola, which is 11 miles down the road.  There is an abandoned fire station there and a memorial to two firefighters that died in the line of duty in 2003.

Will we have enough 'gas' in our engines?  We are used to the first five miles since we have done it before by bike, but now we are going into to unfamiliar territory as far as biking goes  I scouted it out on our way back yesterday and it looked ok, but will it BE ok?  Oh!  Wait - There is a bald eagle!  He is looking at us...  Hmmm, look at that fishing hole...  You know, this is going downhill for a really long time.  You know what that means, don't you?  We weave along the road.  There are some cars coming through.  It is Sunday and lots of rafting going on.  Trucks either with rafts, or with empty raft trailers come by, as do a few cars.  We have owned the road up till now, but it is pretty easy sharing it.

Spouse is starting to worry about the ride back.  When we get to the turnoff for Sage Creek, he turns around.  I continue on to the memorial, which was about 2 miles more.  It is a shame that the property is abandoned.  This memorial will fade away I guess.  These were 2 men just about 24 years old that were heli-firefighters.  It is a touching memorial that obviously cost some money.  It is sad to see the property degrade.

Now comes the daunting ride back.  It really is not that bad.  Yes it is a little uphill, but I am not even using my easy gears.  It is so easy to pedal when you have so much eye candy to look at.  I pedal.  I pedal.  I pedal.  Ok, it is getting a little long here.  Oh wait, I am coming to the abandoned mine.  This was our turnaound point the other morning.  I pedal.  I pedal.  I pedal.  The bald eagle is still there.  I thank it for watching over me on my ride and tell him he can go fly now if he wants, and darned if he didn't take off!  I pedal.  I am at the Newland Ranch now and I am pedaling, and pedaling.  Only about a mile to go... Up the last hill... and down the last hill.  As I ride past the general store, there is my spouse fidgeting with his phone after he enjoyed his post exercise ice cream.  It seemed a little longer coming back but it really wasn't all that bad.  Back to Hannah we go.

Afternoon vignette: 

Rest. There is nothing like a good shower after a good workout.  The bikes are now loaded onto Hannah and ready to go.  Tomorrow we move on.  We weren't planning on coming to North Fork, but we are so glad we did.  It was so easy to spend 5 days here, but we think we will head to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and maybe the Grand Tetons.  We shall see...

Vodka tonic.  Make dinner.  Eat dinner.

Nighttime vignette: 

There are a bunch of little gnats or something flying around as we are reading in bed.  Then this bigger critter lands on my arm.  Naw, we are not gonna do that!  Rudy, come here!  He comes, he sniffs.  I flinch and it jumps onto the bed.  Rudy paws.  It moves.  Rudy paws some more and moves it under the covers.  Oh, we are NOT going to do that!  Spouse grabs it and smashes it.  Rudy looks like he has been crushed by his paternal human!  Tough...

Our laptop is acting a little weird.  I sure hope it lasts through this trip.

Saturday, August 27, 2016 Panther Creek and the 'mountain lion'

Saturday,  August 27, 2016

I know how to make my humans let me out.  I climb on the door.  They yell some words like roodyno or something, but in  a minute, they let me out.  They don't yell at me when I do that to come in.  I wonder why that is.

Woke up to a herd of deer on the shoal behind us.  Wait a second, those aren't deer, they are elk!  Look at the racks on those two guys.  Wow!

After the morning walk (Spouse did a bike ride), we packed a lunch and headed up 'the' road past our morning beauty and beyond.  All sorts of rivers and creeks run through the area.  There are miles upon miles of dirt roads weaving through the back country.  Our road is paved, although as you go along, it is not as nicely paved.  There are no lines but there is just enough room for 2 cars to pass if needed.  We pass through the town of Shoup.  Actually, I am not sure it is a town, although it is on the map.  It is a couple of buildings that are shut down and for sale.  Last year, the little store had some homemade cookies.  This year, nada.  I don't know if somebody actually expects to make a living off of something out here in the boondocks.

We pull over to a nice rock to eat.  Wow, look at those tiny fish!  Are they the salmon or trout of the future?  They are about an inch long and there are a gazillion of them.  Oooh, and look beyond them... those are bigger fish!  We grabbed our poles.  Spouse is wormifying my line, but I don't want to push my luck.

I cannot pick up a pole without the line getting tangled at some point.  I have this incredible ability to mess things up, almost like a caricature of a cartoon character!  But, I do manage to catch fish.  We both do and we let them go to live on and go for someone else's bait!  The one thing about fishing in shorts:  bugs really like legs.  I am holding the pole and flinching like I am one of Jerry's kids, if you know what I mean.

We drive on, when Spouse yells that he sees a mountain lion...  Really?  Kind of like those 'cows' that were really bears?  Sure enough, it was a herd of mountain sheep.  Female bighorns based on their racks.  It is amazing how they can climb the side of a hill.  They were leery of us but not too bothered.  We let them have their space, even though I wanted to kiss them!  Not exactly mountain lions though...

We turned left at Panther Creek.  It quickly turns into a dirt road barely wide enough for two cars.  Once again, we are flanked by rugged mountains and a beautiful creek.  We were told there is a good fishing hole a few miles up, so we went until we saw a few good pools then pulled out our gear.  We are standing on huge boulders of stunning beauty that could easily become kitchen counters for all of southern California.  It is so hard for me to stay focused.  Look at that piece of driftwood... into the truck it goes.  And that rock...  it will make it to the lapidary shop for sure.  Oh yeah, the fishing... Easy as pie; drop in a line, catch a fish.  I am liking this!  Until my friggin line tangles.  Spouse tried to fix it, big mistake.  He pulled, tightening it...  So after a while of total frustration, he cut the line and retied it.  Thanks Spouse!  After a bit, he went into the truck to read, while I casted a few more times.  Dammit!  The friggin line is tangled.  It is so difficult to see this thin line with rushing water in the background.  The worm is resting on my leg.  Gotta thread him through here, now there.  How the heck can it get so tangled when all I did was reel it in?  I am done fishing, but I can't leave till I get this untangled... move the hook around this way, then through here...  There got it!  Now just stand up.  Dammit!  The pole flinched and it is all tangled again!  How can that be?  And so it goes... I am the great tangler, but I am also a good untangler...

Retreating our steps through the scenic valley, we notice signs posted that the hiking trails are closed due to fire activity.  We can see a bit of smoke, but it isn't too bad.  We also see some kayakers and rafters.  It is the weekend after all, so it is nice to see some people actually using the wilderness.

We arrived at Hannah for the cocktail hour, and a fish dinner.

 

Friday, August 26, 2016 Salmon gets the truck washed

Friday, August 26, 2016

I want off my leash.  I sometimes walk around things to get all tangled so my humans will get frustrated and turn me loose.  They have to untangle me.  It hasn't worked yet, but I will keep trying.

Another sunny and clear morning.  It is not too cold.  After a bit of coffee, I was able to don shorts and go for my walk up the beauty road.  Ahhhh, obviously walking, you can't get as far as biking, but I love it just the same.

Today, we are going into the town of Salmon, about 20 miles south.  It is the birthplace of Sacajawea and there is all sorts of Lewis and Clark history.  It is a decent sized town with a Chevy dealer so we can get our oil changed under the warranty. The best part of that is that they wash the truck, and after all the dirt roads we have been on, that is a really good thing!  Spouse gets a part for our leaky faucet at Ace Hardware, then we walk the main street.  Little stores and restaurants line both sides of the street.  Oh we need one of those, and one of these too.  We stop at the Mexican restaurant for lunch.  Spouse then pretty much dumped my leftovers in the truck... he was none too pleased...  Neither was I!  There is a rodeo in town this weekend.  We went to it last year.  I am not fond of rodeos.  To me, it is basically torturing animals for human entertainment.  Not my thing.

Here he is being one of 'those' smart phone people...

When we got back from the beautiful ride back, Spouse did the repair job on the faucet.  The new part is in, but the thing still leaks...  He will have to deal with this when we get home.

Now is time to enjoy my vodka tonic and the scenic river...and let Rudy tangle himself on the stairs or the chairs or Hannah's legs, or...

Oh look, there are some deer...