After staying up until two something writing in the blog and looking out the window to see the snow still coming down, I decided to see if I could actually fall asleep. After turning out the light and settling under the covers I began to recapture all the moments that I had something to be grateful for, over the course of the day. Lying there, doing this, I eventually succumbed to my physical tiredness that had been multiplied by the energy expended participating in the adventure previously noted and not quite yet over (but we were seemingly on the back side of it, sliding, excuse the pun, easily down hill) and drifted off to sleep. (I found out the next morning that it had snowed until approximately 4 AM.)
I find this, gratefulness focus, an unusually good way to fall asleep. I started out writing them down quite a while ago (last January) but found that there were so many things to take into account that it took quite a bit of time (this was obviously before we embarked on this trip) and that it took too much time from all the other things I had going on during my awake hours. So, I decided that I more enjoyed the process of falling asleep recalling them instead. Since I have been doing this regularly I have also found that my focus has shifted during the awake hours to seeing or seeking them during the course of my days. This practice has made my days much more enjoyable as well but, the real gift here is the fact that the practice itself seems to create the things to be grateful for regardless of me or any other circumstances. That's the really great part, however it may sound, it is a profound experience. Oh, I can surely still try to see the negative almost every day, but, the practice has really uprooted that pretty successfully. We, as a family, also do this during supper together. We recall and express the highlights of the day and what we are grateful for. It has become a real nice ritual when we are all sitting together.
My rest during the night was somewhat restful, but weird at the same time. I don't really sleep well ever, the first night in a new bed and space. Second night fine, first night not so good. Plus, the electric heat baseboard that was used to warm the room, although appreciated, became way to hot for sleeping somewhere into the dark hours. Great for drying Jasper's wet socks (from playing in the snow) but to much dry heat for my comfort, even though we turned in down before we went to sleep.
Getting up to turn down the thermostat, in the dark, was a treat and a little painful, as I bounced into furniture and got my feet caught up in the top covers that had been thrown off the bed sometime earlier, before my thermostat expedition, in attempt to get comfortable within the rising room temperature. I tried to get all motions complete in the dark but had to turn on the bathroom light, which I really didn't want to do for fear of waking Jasper at the same time I was trying to accomplish this seemingly minor maneuver and get back to sleep before it was time to get up again. But, alas, it seems I had to go in to the bathroom anyway, being 50 plus and already up (oh yeah, that's unfortunately the other thing I think about when I am trying to go back to sleep once awakened for any reason) so might as well make use of the already up and moving thing facts and be effective, to boot. Besides, I was really parched and needed water to douse my throat and lower my body temperature. After my wee hours (this pun intended) tour of unknown spaces, I let myself ease back into the bed and off to sleep for the rest of the night.
I woke promptly at 7:30 and got started making the room organized and ready for us to get out and down to the registration desk by 8 AM as the manager had requested the night before. I woke Megan moments later and we both, without a discussed plan as usual, effectively ordered the room and our belongings, ready to exit. As she helped Jazz get ready for going outside, I began to grab up a couple of arm fulls of stuff and headed outside to get the car warm and put our stuff in for the trip back to the Tetons park (hopefully). As I got outside I realized that it was a little above freezing although the storm did drop about 4-5 inches total and the sidewalks had a layer of compacted snow on the walk paths and ice in other places. But it was clear and definitely warmer than when we had entered our personal oasis hours earlier. I had hope and faith that we would be able to move on down the road this morning and back to the RV so that we could make it ready to move South , quickly, from this beautiful place.
When I got out to the car the only male of the Spanish speaking group was already outside and was standing next to their car, apparently and best I could tell, warming it up. They must do it differently in Arizona then we do in the cold climates. For, although the car was running, all of the doors were open. Perhaps, he was attempting to make sure that the heat from his car melted any remaining snow and ice from the roads so that they could continue north through Yellowstone Park. When I approached our cars , which were parked next to each other from the night before, I succeeded in saying good morning in Spanish and that was about the extent of my morning conversation. Before turning to go back in, looking around, I noticed that our other team mate, the guy with the pick up truck pulling the trailer, had already pulled out. Obviously, at this point, I did not know if he beat us to the mess hall or if he had just hit the road, but my inclination was to think that he had just beat it and that breakfast was the last thing on his racing mind.
I went back in to help move things along. We all seemed pretty tired still, but, the hope of the ability to move along down the road was calling us on. As I walked back into the lobby of the building we were staying in, the Spanish woman driver was standing there looking sort of dazed and half asleep but we managed to have a conversation, in English, where I told her that we were getting ready to go to the reception desk and then on to cafeteria to have breakfast. She understood and headed down the hall to get the last person of their group ready to go, I thought. Megan and I finished collecting the rest of our things and putting them out in the car and still the two women had not come out of the building and now the guy had gone back in as well. Not knowing exactly why the manager asked us to be at the reception desk promptly at 8 AM and seeing that it was now 8:10, Meg and I walked back in and went to their room to see what was happening and get them moving for good this time. (We soon found out that the manager had only suggested this, generously, so that so we could make it in time to have breakfast at the employees cafeteria before they closed for the morning, which they had already done by the time we actually made it there). When we got to their door and knocked. The driver woman came to the door and looked at us as if she did not know what we came to the door for. Megan asked, in Spanish, if they were ready because we had to go, now. She said yes and turned to tell everyone it was time to go, as if they were waiting in the room for the real signal or a fire alarm or possibly some Divine intervention illustrating that it was really time to leave the room. Anyway, we all went out together and headed towards our cars. While we were walking out, I noticed that the second woman in their group had a blanket wrapped around her that looked a lot like ours, that we keep on the rear seat of the Prius as a material protector from the likes of Mr. Jasper and his eating habits (which resembles a food fight with himself). When I asked Megan about the blanket, she confirmed that it was ours or rather used to be and that she had given it to her because she really had nothing to wear that was warm. (She was wearing spike heels and those tight jean pants that hug the hips and land only 1/2 way down the leg at mid calf and to complete the ensemble she also had a "belly shirt". You know, the kind that women , I think over twenty wear and usually, are tugging down on to make sure it is covering what they bought it to expose! All real nice in Phoenix, but not so good in 34 degree or snowy weather. Regardless, I have learned in our time together, that the fastest way to stop the flow of abundance and gifted-ness, is to go against what Megan has deemed required as her part in the play. We work real well as a team until I forget that important fact. When I do, it's like the guy who is in the physical midst of and living inside the magic spell of the Holy Grail and then doubts that this can be happening to him... poof...it all disappears and fades to grey. I enjoy the magical spin way too much to ever want to choose out of it so.... my next thought was, wouldn't a Pendelton Indian design blanket look good on the back seat and be very durable, cleanable and unique as well?
Smart, huh!
When we all arrived, minutes later, at the reception desk, Shauna was already behind the desk and in full operation. She had been joined by her assistant, Kathy and another woman who was seemingly there to assist both of them. Shauna came to the front to talk with us and process us out of her facility. She was all smiles and glad to be of assistance and glad to see us well and mostly rested. After handing back our keys and talking for a few moments, at my prompting, she went behind again to her desk and got the chits for us to have a meal at the cafe. I was not all that interested in eating but would love a cup of decaf coffee but, I could not speak for all of us and certainly thought that we should continue, for the next short period of time, taking care of our other group members. Kathy asked Shauna if she would like her to escort us to the cafe. She agreed. As people turned to make their way to the door to leave, I reached over the counter and took Shauna's hand in mine and pulled it gently up to my lips and kissed the back of it. I raised my head from her hand and looked her in the eyes and thanked her, from my heart, for her and Mark being our angel's in the storm last night. As I did this everyone in the room had turned to watch the interaction. As Shauna stood there, silently, with deep attention, taking in our appreciation, her eyes became misty and she smiled the most beautiful smile you could imagine. You know the kind, the ones that you just can't stop. We all knew in that moment, regardless of the language we spoke, that my acknowledgement had touched her heart and that she completely understood our gratefulness.
Kathy then walked us out to the parking lot and soon we were back in the cars for the short ride to another corner of the complex. On the way, we filled Kathy in on some of the details of our sorted evening affair that she had not been brought up to speed on and she told us what her position was in the scheme of things and how long she had been doing this type of job for this company and the like. She was just so chipper and friendly and understanding and immediately became part of the entire whole operation that seemed to feel it was their calling to see to it that we were just completely satisfied and taken care of to the last moment of our being there. It was also really clear that she was totally in the right profession for her. She loved doing her job. She told us on the way over that she had checked and read the report that all roads were back open for the time being. This meant that we could hit the road as soonas we wanted and now of course after we had had something to eat. When we arrived at the cafe she brought us in and made sure that the front line people knew that we were there and to be taken care of. We found that Shauna had already called ahead and notified the staff of our ensuing arrival.
Unfortunately, they had mostly already broken down the serving line and cleaned the grill from the shift of employees eating there. I felt weird about having them ramp back up for our little party but for the most part they (the obvious line chef in charge, Quinn, but not necessarily his assistant) were extremely happy to do it and as a matter of fact he overtly, with abundant politeness, insisted that we wait just a few minutes while they put it all back together so that he could cook us our eggs to order and make sure that all else that we wanted could be handled for us. (I cannot remember having been in a hotel or for that matter and especially a restaurant, regardless of the supposed quality or esteem of the place, where I felt so well taken care of. Moreover where the folks doing the taking care of go out of their way to manage their care with complete genuine joy and satisfaction, without exception). I was taken by their devotion to our well being and remember that we had not even paid a cent for this service. It was very distinctly the way they do business. For me this was very refreshing and restored hope that not every service person on the planet hated what they were doing.
Quinn, the front line chef, had taken over and we were in his charge. He could not find enough to do for us. He spent the next 1/2 hour preparing food for us, making sure we had all that we wanted or needed, insisting that we not do anything to help and allow him to serve us. He had placed home fries back into the fryer (not my choice of preparation methods, but the way they do it there) and because someone had already turned it off, unbeknownst to him, they were not going to be ready for us at the same time the eggs were. This was a minor issue for him, as it broke his flow, but it meant very little to us who were thrilled to have a bite before we headed out. He asked us to be patient and apologized and told us he would bring them out as soon as they were done. Minutes later, he did just that. Serving each of us a huge helping of hash brown potatoes in individual bowls. When we were all settled in and eating he slipped away and allowed us time to eat talk a little among ourselves. About five minutes later he return with an unopened box of fruit pastry and insisted that we have some sweets with our meal. After completing this action of generous offering he asked if he could make us sandwiches for our trip out for lunch. Declining more out of deference to allowing him to get off duty and the facts that we only had 70 total miles to go to the park and not really wanting to explain the offer to our Spanish friends who I am certain, having made it this far, could certainly get lunch handled for themselves. Okay with our refusal of sandwiches but not completely ready to allow us to leave empty handed he came back some five minutes later with bunches of chocolate chip cookies, wrapped in plastic wrap for us to take with us on the next leg of our collective journeys.
Almost immediately after we received the cookies, a guy dressed in the management companies managerial outfit, khaki's and an Izod type sport shirt, popped in all smiling and chatty. he completely knew our saga and where we were and came to make sure that we were all set from our stay and breakfast and ready to go at our convenience. He sat down at our table and began asking us if we were good and where we were from and about the roads last night and such. ( At this point, I was beginning to think that there was either something in the water therer in the park or that the management company had a policy of giving out Prozac as a company perk to it's employees. I have not met such a happy, willing to please group of people in my lifetime. I don't mean this is any nasty way but even the mentally challenged man that the company had hired to work at the dish clearing station, prior to sending them into the dishwasher, never stopped smiling).
Soon, another one of the chefs came out from the back kitchen and seeing that he was there, joined us all in the conversation and stayed for the next five or so minutes telling us about his experience with Wyoming and in particular this past winter. At this point with all conversations coming to a natural completion, all of us finished eating, all thanks and gratefulness expressed many times over, chocolate chips in hand we headed out and back to our cars to get ready for the trip out.
We walked out next to our Spanish friends, knowing that our odd circumstance but very family like time together was about to come to a close. We took pictures of them as they stood together in the cool Western Wyoming morning air, with their new blanket wrapped around them. They were about to head into not only the remaining,unknown to them, parts of beautiful Yellowstone Park but as we had found out during breakfast, they were going to Washington to move there permanently, relecating from Arizona. Or at least that's what we think they said and meant.
We hugged each other and said Adios and Asta Luego and turned to get in our respective vehicles and begin to reminisce about the strange events that brought us together. AS we got to our car, the driver woman, never did get her name, called to us. As we turned to face her, she cocked her head a little and raised one arm in a gesture to embrace us from a distance and said, "Thank you very much."
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Miracles in a Wyoming Snow Storm
Following behind the pick up truck trying to put a little distance between us to let the air clear, we rounded the corner from the closed road onto the only open Easterly road. Jasper expressed his anxiety about our situation with matching concern in his voice and his face. We did our best to console him with the thoughts that we were having about all things working out for the best, not to worry.
As I stood there at the closed station with my new found friend who needed fuel, ever more curious about meeting him here under these conditions, with a boat on the back of his truck, I realize now that I probably responded more abruptly then I should have to his "going to the ocean remark." But at this point, standing in the dark in front of a guy I don't know, having just inserted my credit card into the automatic gas/diesel pump, after searching feebly in the dark for the card slot of a pump at that closed gas station, in the midst of a minor Wyoming style snow storm at 10:20 PM with know where to go, I went for it anyway and I blurted with a slanted, sharp vocal attack, "What ocean, this is Wyoming, and it's 28 degrees." (for christ's sake, or are you f'in nuts - should have been added here but at least I thankfully had some refrain remaining in me at that moment, although I don't understand why.)
He responded to my query, with a completely straight and honest face..., "The Pacific Ocean!" and he looked straight at me. I could see that his faced matched the simple authenticity of his words, as if there was another choice of oceans from where we stood.
I then asked where he was coming from and he then told me that they had left from somewhere North Dakota at 9 AM that morning and had been driving ever since. To make the drama complete he then said that he had also just recently had a flat tire and that he believed he had driven over something in the road that was covered in the snow so he never saw it before it cut into and blew out his right front tire out. He had changed the tire on a dark snowy road (which come on now you got to give this dud a lot of credit here. Changing a flat tire out in the daylight and finding and having everything you need to do it is simply amazing but in a snow storm on a dark road... This guy was on a mission) and was now about to run out of fuel in his truck, just as he finds out he can't go any further on the road south, which by the way is nowhere even close to the Pacific Ocean. (I wondered silently if he had even one, tiny, thought, that this trip was not going well and that just maybe, they should just turn the hell around and go home to where ever North Dakota or if this was just the way things went for them and that this whole episode was nothing out of the ordinary.) He seemed a little uneasy standing there with me but ultimately unaffected by the current events. As if surely, he would find someone at this hour, where he was to put fuel into his truck for him and then everything would be back on track and off he would go headlong towards the deep blue Pacific Ocean (in a 16' boat). Maybe sensing my surprise at the circumstances he was enduring or his path to get to the West coast, he informed me that it was 70 degrees when he left home that morning and that he was real surprised to find it so cold and snowing here. (not checking the weather before heading into northern Wyoming in May with your boat on the back of your truck.... Priceless)
Wondering about or, Okay, maybe doubting the validity of most everything that was happening at this very moment, I leaned over and looked into the back of the pick up and saw no blown out tire. So I asked him what he did with the damaged tire. For some unknown reason, I should have known, but he had to tell me that he had thrown it into the boat. What I did see in the back of his pickup upon my gander, was their luggage and other miscellaneous personal items completely covered with a thin layer of new crusting snow.
By this time he was completing his fuel pumping and we both silently stared, watching the pump come up to $50, like two guys in an elevator watching the lighted floor indicator. There evidently was nothing of any value left to say ,I guess, except for the thank you he offered and the your welcome and good bye I offered. He opened his driver side door, reached into the truck and took something from the woman in the front seat and turned back out towards me. About to hand me a fifty dollar bill, he grabbed it on each end with both hands and snapping it straight as he did as if in some attempt to prove it was real or to conclude the deal with such a motion. Either way our meeting was complete and as he got back in the truck and began to pull out of the station, I pulled up to the pump to fill up the Prius for our yet unknown destination and possible long night ride. As I stepped out of the car again and watched him leave, I noticed he was headed out into the dark night in the same direction he was not supposed to be going because everything was closed off. I never saw him again and did not here about him until the next morning.
After filling up the Prius (which we lovingly and yet jokingly refer to as the 4 wheel drive Prius for all of the ridiculous terrain we have traveled over and through since embarking on this trip with our little safari vehicle and for right now because of the current weather and road conditions which we would really be much better suited in a four wheel drive vehicle, we will continue to refer to it as our gas miser SUV) we pulled out and headed a just a little ways east and into the very next parking lot we came to, less than a half mile away. It was the entrance of a large closed up lodge building that oddly had cars in the parking lot and lights on in some of the hallways of the building. As I drove slowly through the lot looking at the buildings, I silently considered my options. The main consideration of the moment was, and I am not kidding here, breaking into the building and sleeping inside for the night. The thought of the three of us trying to sleep in out Prius (SUV/safari vehicle) was enough to make me consider breaking in and dealing with the consequences, if any, later. As I continued to drive through the lots and consider what seemed best at the moment and how I would do this deed, I rounded a U-shaped corner at the end of one lot that was leading to the next continuous lot. At the far end of this lot was a vehicle that was obviously occupied, or at least running, as the lights were on, vapor was coming from the exhaust pipe and it was stopped in the middle of the driving lane of the lot, not where you would normally park. Jasper excitedly exclaimed, " I think it's the police!" He was obviously tuned in hoping for his own miracle to get us out of this strange situation.
As we got closer to and began to pull around the running, real SUV, vehicle on the drivers side, we saw that it was not a police vehicle but a running occupied vehicle with the drivers side window open. As we pulled along side, the woman driver stuck part of her upper body out of the open window and used her arms to signal us to stop and talk to her. To our surprise, I think we were surprised, she spoke mostly Spanish and some broken English. Why this should surprise me at all, that we should meet a Spanish speaking group of people in the deep of western Wyoming at 10:30 at night in a snow storm, I am not real sure but it did catch me just a little off guard. I spoke to her first in my terrible Spanish and then in somewhat of a frustrated manner explained to her that Megan speaks Spanish and that the two of them should continue the conversation. It turns out that they too were prevented from traveling any further due to the closed roads and continually, worsening storm. I added in a few comments as we went along and after 4 or 5 minutes finally realized that we were solving nothing by sitting here talking in a weird configuration of two languages and decided that we should head back up the road a bit to where we had seen a building with lights on with a couple of park service police cars parked in front. At this point in the conversation she suggested, asked or insisted, I was not sure which she was doing, that they (three adults in her much larger SUV) get in with us in our car as we go frolicking around trying to find away to safety for the night. I looked somewhat puzzled into the back of our vehicle, I guess trying to figure out how that would work and immediately came to my senses and told her to just follow us. She agreed and off we went, as a mini winter caravan, to see if we could talk to anyone about our dilemma and determine a good course of action, now for two families. As we pulled back onto the open main road, I noticed a police car and a passenger van turning onto the entrance to the lodge building road that we had previously been on. I flashed my lights and blew the horn but neither one of them stopped for us and they continued down the path they were on. So, I continued straight on, instead of following them for some unknown reason, towards the lighted building we saw earlier.
As we got to the, what turned out to be a, park fire/police station with lights shining out from inside, Jasper and I got out of the car and walked through the now 4 inches of snow on the ground to the front door and began banging loudly on the door. Megan headed over to the Spanish speaking families car to continue to make understandable conversation with them. After a few seconds of no response at the front door, I headed around to the side of the building to the large overhead doors and peered into the window openings in the doors. I noticed that Jasper's concern to a second position to his interest in the new fallen snow on the ground and its perfect consistency for making snowballs. This boy loves snow, he never gets enough. Looking in, I saw that there was a truck missing from its spot and that lights were on but, unfortunately, no one was in the building. Trudging back to the car, I decided to now head back to the road to the lodge that we just saw the two vehicles heading down just minutes earlier. Brilliant, EH?
Megan and I both now intrinsically felt somewhat responsible for our new additional, stranded and lost group members, because that is what we do, so we translated my latest plan into Spanglish and once again, our little wayward group, headed down the road, close to where we had started.
As we first turned into the lodge road, I was a little disappointed to find that there was not an immediate siting of those two vehicles but, in just another 100 feet or so I saw one of them, the passenger van, sitting in a loading area of the lodge with the vehicle running. I don't remember what time it was at this point of the evenings festivities but it had to be near 11 PM if not later. I pulled up next to him with my drivers window adjacent to his and rolled mine down to speak to him. He politely joined me in a conversation that began with me explaining what the hell we were doing here and how it came to be. It was immediately obvious to me that I had just given this poor guy way to much information to ask him to process and furthermore for me to be sitting there expecting the proper response, like, I'll take care of everything, began to seem absurd if not out of the realm of possibility for him. (But, you know I stand in the quality of my intentions to create my life) When he had considered briefly what I had just said to him, his only response was to tell me that the park service had closed all the roads. Being very patient and friendly I told him again that that was why we were here and explained that we had picked up this other family on the way who was also stranded here in this snow storm. This reiteration of mine allowed enough time to pass for him to recollect himself, digest what I was saying and to take in the direness of my voice and expression or at least for him to realize, that he could not handle this alone. So he very nicely asked me to follow him around the corner to another parking lot and he would call his boss on the radio and tell him what was going on for us so that they could figure out how they could help us out. This was the first sign of light in the situation. He actually had said, "To see how we can help you out." This was also the first of many soon to come and continually following expressions of generosity and kindness from everyone we met from this point forward. I asked him his name (Chuck) and told him mine and thanked him for taking an interest and taking on trying to find a solution for our issue. He smiled and said, "Sure, your welcome. Now just hang on here while I get in touch with my boss" and rolled up the window to make his radio contact.
Within a minute he rolled the window down again and told us to follow him to the other side of the building as his boss was no on the way down to the lodge to see what he could do for us. As we were talking about this next move another guy pulled into the parking lot where we were. He was driving a large scale, heavy duty, extended pickup truck, pulling a trailer that had a huge piece of equipment on it. (I found out later that he had been driving all day as well from the other side of Wyoming with this piece of well drilling equipment, trying to get back to California via his GPS which had led him through here as the shortest route but also unfortunately into a blinding snowstorm for the last five hours, only to get here and find the roads closed.) As he approached me and Chuck, with a curious, frustrated and befuddled look on his face, he had his cell phone open, poised near his face. We would soon come to find out that it was on speaker and connected with his girlfriend in California. They had obviously been on the phone for most of the hours he had been driving. Although she was silent when he started talking me, she soon spoke up and it was easy to here the frustration and worry in her voice about her bo's issue. I assured him that we were well into handling the situation and that Chuck's boss was on the way down to talk with us and see if he could help us out. I mentioned that he was welcome to join our little group and to wait and see what was about to happen. He was very visibly uptight, like too much caffeine and way to long behind the wheel of this hard to handle rig in the midst of this storm can make you, and he paced as he spoke. He told me of his desire to throw his GPS out the window just before he got to us and to smash his phone on the ground right there were he stood. I instinctively offered that there was no sense in letting the anger get to him and that it was gonna work out the way it would regardless of his anger or some such zen filled mutterings. He looked at me in disbelief of or caught off by my words and mumbled something but also smiled and laughed a little as he turned to go back to his vehicle and wait. I told him that we were going to drive to the other side of the building and to follow us there. So now our enlarging group meandered our way around the snow covered lot, around the building to the original spot of finding our Spanish friends. As we drove around to our new holding spot, Megan told me that she had learned that the Spanish speaking folks were heading for Washington state and that they had come from Phoenix, AZ and had already been driving for twenty two hours at this point when they got caught up here. Our situation of site seeing in Yellowstone for the day was taking a major back seat in regards to all of the unfolding stories of our enlarging group of traveling companions. Also the caring of others and generosity of good people was about to unfold as we found ourselves in the company of people who were in the business of hospitality but who would extended themselves way beyond the call of duty for people they had never met but obviously needed their assistance.
When the boss man arrived, Mark, we found out that he was the Location Manager, which means he is the general manager for the lodge and all of its services and stores and the like. He asked us to stand by as he took at few moments to gather some info and see what he could do to assist us. He told us that the facility was not open yet but that all of the staff that would operate the facility for the summer season was already on site and put up in staff housing, as they were opening for the season for the first day on Friday. During all of this, searching, waiting and talking we had slipped into early Thursday morning and everyone one of us was tired and ready to do anything to get to lie down and rest until the morning.
When Mark came back to us after only five minutes, he told us that he had rooms for us to stay in for the night. He reminded us that they were not open for business yet and that we were about to stay in a hotel lodge that was not fully prepared to have guests. We were so comforted and overjoyed to not have to drive any more and not to have to think about what to do next that I know we would have stayed on the floor in any heated area of the lodge.
We explained the new found solution to our problem to the Spanish speakers and assured then they were OK for the night. They were happy and relieved as well. They were quite the site standing there in the snow storm with their Arizona clothes on (high heels and Capri pants and no coats or jackets of any kind.)
Mark asked us to go into the registration area with the front desk manager (Shauna)that accompanied him and fill out guest registration cards while he went over to the building with the rooms in it and made sure that they were at all ready for us to stay in. We all went and filled out our cards and began to make light conversation now that the pressure was off and shared some of our travel issues as we waited for Mark to return to lead us to our, whatever their condition, luxurious sleeping quarters for the night. We were all much more content then just minutes before but now the tiredness of the day was seeping in and we all could hardly wait to get to the rooms.
When he came back, he led us to our spaces and told us that we were on the first floor and that all of the soon to be staff was on the second floor, so we may here a bit of noise from them but just so we knew that people were supposed to be there and not to worry. I made several acknowledgements to him and Shauna about how great they were being to us and how awesome it was to be treated so well by them in the middle of the night. I also added a request for and a couple of comments about how great it would be if they could just get us some beers as well as the rooms. I mean they are in the hotel business, right? Whats a six pack of two?
Thankfully everyone got the humor, laughed out loud and in seconds, all continued on course. Mark explained that they would not be charging us for the rooms for the night based on the situation we found ourselves in and that if we would just show up at the front desk at 8 AM that he would have chits for us to take to the dining hall for the employees so that we could have complimentary breakfast before we headed on our way, provided we could get on our way. We were all very grateful for their thoughtfulness and way of being with us. None of us had had any supper the night before as a result of being on the road for so long and although we were not really hungry the knowing that breakfast was available put every ones mind at ease. There was certainly no way we could have figured that this would have worked out the way it did. They showed us to our rooms and asked us to check around and see if there was anything we thought we needed. Well we needed soap, shampoo and oh, yeah, sorry to have to ask for this but do you have shower curtains for the showers by any chance? They found everything that we needed. We got little Bear shaped soaps and small complimentary bottles of shampoo and shower curtains that were made for tubs to hang on the shower stall. Man, I'll tell you the nerve of some places! As Shauna handed us the new packages of shower curtains, Mark said, "Did you notice if there were curtain hooks on the poles?" Thankfully there were and except for going to the munchy machine in the lobby of the building we were in, we all went about trying to get settled in for the night. I made a comment to mark before he left us thatthere was a couple out there in a pick up truck and towing a boat that headed backout on to the road and that if they could keep a look out for them and offer then the same kindness it would be greatly appreciated. He assured me that he had told the park police that if they found anyone else to bring them in and that he would put them up for the night. What a great guy he was. So as we lie in bed, coming to rest, Megans last outloud thought, before drifting off to sleep was, I sure wish we had asked the German couple to come with us. They would now also be sleeping indoors and comfortable. I agreed and at that moment could not figure out why I had not made that offer to them.
After that, the only final concern I had left, personally, was that the freezing temperatures put the RV at risk to a small degree. We carry water in a fixed tank and charge the lines that run to the various fixtures in the unit. I was just a little worried about what we would have to deal with the next day if something froze or broke overnight but I easily put it out of mind, to be dealt with as necessary, the following day upon our arrival back to the Tetons campsite with hopefully enough time to get packed up and moved out of the site before our 11 AM vacate time. I spent an hour plus into the night capturing the details of the day in the first blog of this story and then put the computer down at 2:45 AM and attempted to get quite and enjoy the warmth and spaciousness of the room and the comfort of the bed. I was still amazed about the story and looked forward to thanking the kind people of the night again in the AM at breakfast.
As I stood there at the closed station with my new found friend who needed fuel, ever more curious about meeting him here under these conditions, with a boat on the back of his truck, I realize now that I probably responded more abruptly then I should have to his "going to the ocean remark." But at this point, standing in the dark in front of a guy I don't know, having just inserted my credit card into the automatic gas/diesel pump, after searching feebly in the dark for the card slot of a pump at that closed gas station, in the midst of a minor Wyoming style snow storm at 10:20 PM with know where to go, I went for it anyway and I blurted with a slanted, sharp vocal attack, "What ocean, this is Wyoming, and it's 28 degrees." (for christ's sake, or are you f'in nuts - should have been added here but at least I thankfully had some refrain remaining in me at that moment, although I don't understand why.)
He responded to my query, with a completely straight and honest face..., "The Pacific Ocean!" and he looked straight at me. I could see that his faced matched the simple authenticity of his words, as if there was another choice of oceans from where we stood.
I then asked where he was coming from and he then told me that they had left from somewhere North Dakota at 9 AM that morning and had been driving ever since. To make the drama complete he then said that he had also just recently had a flat tire and that he believed he had driven over something in the road that was covered in the snow so he never saw it before it cut into and blew out his right front tire out. He had changed the tire on a dark snowy road (which come on now you got to give this dud a lot of credit here. Changing a flat tire out in the daylight and finding and having everything you need to do it is simply amazing but in a snow storm on a dark road... This guy was on a mission) and was now about to run out of fuel in his truck, just as he finds out he can't go any further on the road south, which by the way is nowhere even close to the Pacific Ocean. (I wondered silently if he had even one, tiny, thought, that this trip was not going well and that just maybe, they should just turn the hell around and go home to where ever North Dakota or if this was just the way things went for them and that this whole episode was nothing out of the ordinary.) He seemed a little uneasy standing there with me but ultimately unaffected by the current events. As if surely, he would find someone at this hour, where he was to put fuel into his truck for him and then everything would be back on track and off he would go headlong towards the deep blue Pacific Ocean (in a 16' boat). Maybe sensing my surprise at the circumstances he was enduring or his path to get to the West coast, he informed me that it was 70 degrees when he left home that morning and that he was real surprised to find it so cold and snowing here. (not checking the weather before heading into northern Wyoming in May with your boat on the back of your truck.... Priceless)
Wondering about or, Okay, maybe doubting the validity of most everything that was happening at this very moment, I leaned over and looked into the back of the pick up and saw no blown out tire. So I asked him what he did with the damaged tire. For some unknown reason, I should have known, but he had to tell me that he had thrown it into the boat. What I did see in the back of his pickup upon my gander, was their luggage and other miscellaneous personal items completely covered with a thin layer of new crusting snow.
By this time he was completing his fuel pumping and we both silently stared, watching the pump come up to $50, like two guys in an elevator watching the lighted floor indicator. There evidently was nothing of any value left to say ,I guess, except for the thank you he offered and the your welcome and good bye I offered. He opened his driver side door, reached into the truck and took something from the woman in the front seat and turned back out towards me. About to hand me a fifty dollar bill, he grabbed it on each end with both hands and snapping it straight as he did as if in some attempt to prove it was real or to conclude the deal with such a motion. Either way our meeting was complete and as he got back in the truck and began to pull out of the station, I pulled up to the pump to fill up the Prius for our yet unknown destination and possible long night ride. As I stepped out of the car again and watched him leave, I noticed he was headed out into the dark night in the same direction he was not supposed to be going because everything was closed off. I never saw him again and did not here about him until the next morning.
After filling up the Prius (which we lovingly and yet jokingly refer to as the 4 wheel drive Prius for all of the ridiculous terrain we have traveled over and through since embarking on this trip with our little safari vehicle and for right now because of the current weather and road conditions which we would really be much better suited in a four wheel drive vehicle, we will continue to refer to it as our gas miser SUV) we pulled out and headed a just a little ways east and into the very next parking lot we came to, less than a half mile away. It was the entrance of a large closed up lodge building that oddly had cars in the parking lot and lights on in some of the hallways of the building. As I drove slowly through the lot looking at the buildings, I silently considered my options. The main consideration of the moment was, and I am not kidding here, breaking into the building and sleeping inside for the night. The thought of the three of us trying to sleep in out Prius (SUV/safari vehicle) was enough to make me consider breaking in and dealing with the consequences, if any, later. As I continued to drive through the lots and consider what seemed best at the moment and how I would do this deed, I rounded a U-shaped corner at the end of one lot that was leading to the next continuous lot. At the far end of this lot was a vehicle that was obviously occupied, or at least running, as the lights were on, vapor was coming from the exhaust pipe and it was stopped in the middle of the driving lane of the lot, not where you would normally park. Jasper excitedly exclaimed, " I think it's the police!" He was obviously tuned in hoping for his own miracle to get us out of this strange situation.
As we got closer to and began to pull around the running, real SUV, vehicle on the drivers side, we saw that it was not a police vehicle but a running occupied vehicle with the drivers side window open. As we pulled along side, the woman driver stuck part of her upper body out of the open window and used her arms to signal us to stop and talk to her. To our surprise, I think we were surprised, she spoke mostly Spanish and some broken English. Why this should surprise me at all, that we should meet a Spanish speaking group of people in the deep of western Wyoming at 10:30 at night in a snow storm, I am not real sure but it did catch me just a little off guard. I spoke to her first in my terrible Spanish and then in somewhat of a frustrated manner explained to her that Megan speaks Spanish and that the two of them should continue the conversation. It turns out that they too were prevented from traveling any further due to the closed roads and continually, worsening storm. I added in a few comments as we went along and after 4 or 5 minutes finally realized that we were solving nothing by sitting here talking in a weird configuration of two languages and decided that we should head back up the road a bit to where we had seen a building with lights on with a couple of park service police cars parked in front. At this point in the conversation she suggested, asked or insisted, I was not sure which she was doing, that they (three adults in her much larger SUV) get in with us in our car as we go frolicking around trying to find away to safety for the night. I looked somewhat puzzled into the back of our vehicle, I guess trying to figure out how that would work and immediately came to my senses and told her to just follow us. She agreed and off we went, as a mini winter caravan, to see if we could talk to anyone about our dilemma and determine a good course of action, now for two families. As we pulled back onto the open main road, I noticed a police car and a passenger van turning onto the entrance to the lodge building road that we had previously been on. I flashed my lights and blew the horn but neither one of them stopped for us and they continued down the path they were on. So, I continued straight on, instead of following them for some unknown reason, towards the lighted building we saw earlier.
As we got to the, what turned out to be a, park fire/police station with lights shining out from inside, Jasper and I got out of the car and walked through the now 4 inches of snow on the ground to the front door and began banging loudly on the door. Megan headed over to the Spanish speaking families car to continue to make understandable conversation with them. After a few seconds of no response at the front door, I headed around to the side of the building to the large overhead doors and peered into the window openings in the doors. I noticed that Jasper's concern to a second position to his interest in the new fallen snow on the ground and its perfect consistency for making snowballs. This boy loves snow, he never gets enough. Looking in, I saw that there was a truck missing from its spot and that lights were on but, unfortunately, no one was in the building. Trudging back to the car, I decided to now head back to the road to the lodge that we just saw the two vehicles heading down just minutes earlier. Brilliant, EH?
Megan and I both now intrinsically felt somewhat responsible for our new additional, stranded and lost group members, because that is what we do, so we translated my latest plan into Spanglish and once again, our little wayward group, headed down the road, close to where we had started.
As we first turned into the lodge road, I was a little disappointed to find that there was not an immediate siting of those two vehicles but, in just another 100 feet or so I saw one of them, the passenger van, sitting in a loading area of the lodge with the vehicle running. I don't remember what time it was at this point of the evenings festivities but it had to be near 11 PM if not later. I pulled up next to him with my drivers window adjacent to his and rolled mine down to speak to him. He politely joined me in a conversation that began with me explaining what the hell we were doing here and how it came to be. It was immediately obvious to me that I had just given this poor guy way to much information to ask him to process and furthermore for me to be sitting there expecting the proper response, like, I'll take care of everything, began to seem absurd if not out of the realm of possibility for him. (But, you know I stand in the quality of my intentions to create my life) When he had considered briefly what I had just said to him, his only response was to tell me that the park service had closed all the roads. Being very patient and friendly I told him again that that was why we were here and explained that we had picked up this other family on the way who was also stranded here in this snow storm. This reiteration of mine allowed enough time to pass for him to recollect himself, digest what I was saying and to take in the direness of my voice and expression or at least for him to realize, that he could not handle this alone. So he very nicely asked me to follow him around the corner to another parking lot and he would call his boss on the radio and tell him what was going on for us so that they could figure out how they could help us out. This was the first sign of light in the situation. He actually had said, "To see how we can help you out." This was also the first of many soon to come and continually following expressions of generosity and kindness from everyone we met from this point forward. I asked him his name (Chuck) and told him mine and thanked him for taking an interest and taking on trying to find a solution for our issue. He smiled and said, "Sure, your welcome. Now just hang on here while I get in touch with my boss" and rolled up the window to make his radio contact.
Within a minute he rolled the window down again and told us to follow him to the other side of the building as his boss was no on the way down to the lodge to see what he could do for us. As we were talking about this next move another guy pulled into the parking lot where we were. He was driving a large scale, heavy duty, extended pickup truck, pulling a trailer that had a huge piece of equipment on it. (I found out later that he had been driving all day as well from the other side of Wyoming with this piece of well drilling equipment, trying to get back to California via his GPS which had led him through here as the shortest route but also unfortunately into a blinding snowstorm for the last five hours, only to get here and find the roads closed.) As he approached me and Chuck, with a curious, frustrated and befuddled look on his face, he had his cell phone open, poised near his face. We would soon come to find out that it was on speaker and connected with his girlfriend in California. They had obviously been on the phone for most of the hours he had been driving. Although she was silent when he started talking me, she soon spoke up and it was easy to here the frustration and worry in her voice about her bo's issue. I assured him that we were well into handling the situation and that Chuck's boss was on the way down to talk with us and see if he could help us out. I mentioned that he was welcome to join our little group and to wait and see what was about to happen. He was very visibly uptight, like too much caffeine and way to long behind the wheel of this hard to handle rig in the midst of this storm can make you, and he paced as he spoke. He told me of his desire to throw his GPS out the window just before he got to us and to smash his phone on the ground right there were he stood. I instinctively offered that there was no sense in letting the anger get to him and that it was gonna work out the way it would regardless of his anger or some such zen filled mutterings. He looked at me in disbelief of or caught off by my words and mumbled something but also smiled and laughed a little as he turned to go back to his vehicle and wait. I told him that we were going to drive to the other side of the building and to follow us there. So now our enlarging group meandered our way around the snow covered lot, around the building to the original spot of finding our Spanish friends. As we drove around to our new holding spot, Megan told me that she had learned that the Spanish speaking folks were heading for Washington state and that they had come from Phoenix, AZ and had already been driving for twenty two hours at this point when they got caught up here. Our situation of site seeing in Yellowstone for the day was taking a major back seat in regards to all of the unfolding stories of our enlarging group of traveling companions. Also the caring of others and generosity of good people was about to unfold as we found ourselves in the company of people who were in the business of hospitality but who would extended themselves way beyond the call of duty for people they had never met but obviously needed their assistance.
When the boss man arrived, Mark, we found out that he was the Location Manager, which means he is the general manager for the lodge and all of its services and stores and the like. He asked us to stand by as he took at few moments to gather some info and see what he could do to assist us. He told us that the facility was not open yet but that all of the staff that would operate the facility for the summer season was already on site and put up in staff housing, as they were opening for the season for the first day on Friday. During all of this, searching, waiting and talking we had slipped into early Thursday morning and everyone one of us was tired and ready to do anything to get to lie down and rest until the morning.
When Mark came back to us after only five minutes, he told us that he had rooms for us to stay in for the night. He reminded us that they were not open for business yet and that we were about to stay in a hotel lodge that was not fully prepared to have guests. We were so comforted and overjoyed to not have to drive any more and not to have to think about what to do next that I know we would have stayed on the floor in any heated area of the lodge.
We explained the new found solution to our problem to the Spanish speakers and assured then they were OK for the night. They were happy and relieved as well. They were quite the site standing there in the snow storm with their Arizona clothes on (high heels and Capri pants and no coats or jackets of any kind.)
Mark asked us to go into the registration area with the front desk manager (Shauna)that accompanied him and fill out guest registration cards while he went over to the building with the rooms in it and made sure that they were at all ready for us to stay in. We all went and filled out our cards and began to make light conversation now that the pressure was off and shared some of our travel issues as we waited for Mark to return to lead us to our, whatever their condition, luxurious sleeping quarters for the night. We were all much more content then just minutes before but now the tiredness of the day was seeping in and we all could hardly wait to get to the rooms.
When he came back, he led us to our spaces and told us that we were on the first floor and that all of the soon to be staff was on the second floor, so we may here a bit of noise from them but just so we knew that people were supposed to be there and not to worry. I made several acknowledgements to him and Shauna about how great they were being to us and how awesome it was to be treated so well by them in the middle of the night. I also added a request for and a couple of comments about how great it would be if they could just get us some beers as well as the rooms. I mean they are in the hotel business, right? Whats a six pack of two?
Thankfully everyone got the humor, laughed out loud and in seconds, all continued on course. Mark explained that they would not be charging us for the rooms for the night based on the situation we found ourselves in and that if we would just show up at the front desk at 8 AM that he would have chits for us to take to the dining hall for the employees so that we could have complimentary breakfast before we headed on our way, provided we could get on our way. We were all very grateful for their thoughtfulness and way of being with us. None of us had had any supper the night before as a result of being on the road for so long and although we were not really hungry the knowing that breakfast was available put every ones mind at ease. There was certainly no way we could have figured that this would have worked out the way it did. They showed us to our rooms and asked us to check around and see if there was anything we thought we needed. Well we needed soap, shampoo and oh, yeah, sorry to have to ask for this but do you have shower curtains for the showers by any chance? They found everything that we needed. We got little Bear shaped soaps and small complimentary bottles of shampoo and shower curtains that were made for tubs to hang on the shower stall. Man, I'll tell you the nerve of some places! As Shauna handed us the new packages of shower curtains, Mark said, "Did you notice if there were curtain hooks on the poles?" Thankfully there were and except for going to the munchy machine in the lobby of the building we were in, we all went about trying to get settled in for the night. I made a comment to mark before he left us thatthere was a couple out there in a pick up truck and towing a boat that headed backout on to the road and that if they could keep a look out for them and offer then the same kindness it would be greatly appreciated. He assured me that he had told the park police that if they found anyone else to bring them in and that he would put them up for the night. What a great guy he was. So as we lie in bed, coming to rest, Megans last outloud thought, before drifting off to sleep was, I sure wish we had asked the German couple to come with us. They would now also be sleeping indoors and comfortable. I agreed and at that moment could not figure out why I had not made that offer to them.
After that, the only final concern I had left, personally, was that the freezing temperatures put the RV at risk to a small degree. We carry water in a fixed tank and charge the lines that run to the various fixtures in the unit. I was just a little worried about what we would have to deal with the next day if something froze or broke overnight but I easily put it out of mind, to be dealt with as necessary, the following day upon our arrival back to the Tetons campsite with hopefully enough time to get packed up and moved out of the site before our 11 AM vacate time. I spent an hour plus into the night capturing the details of the day in the first blog of this story and then put the computer down at 2:45 AM and attempted to get quite and enjoy the warmth and spaciousness of the room and the comfort of the bed. I was still amazed about the story and looked forward to thanking the kind people of the night again in the AM at breakfast.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The Good Life, in Wyoming
We arrived in Lander, Wyoming on Sunday evening (before dark, intentionally) after a really long and interesting ride from Casper where we just had a ball (particularly at the annual High School Rodeo). This was a hoot and Jasper was in his element.
We rode the way of the Oregon, California, Mormon and Pony Express trail from Casper to Lander. This was really cool to be on the trail that led us as Americans from the east to the west. What it really meant for us, aside from the amazing history lesson that we received along the way, was that the 3 hour trip took us over 9 hours to accomplish. The trail is marked with innumerable historical locations and overlooks that simply felt wrong to ignore, so we didn't.
We spent additional time at a couple of the really significant and interesting historical locations such as the Mormons ranch and memorial to a specific hand cart group who suffered a costly and fateful loss of a large number people during one very early winter storm for a couple of days on their way to Salt Lake City in 1856. This ordeal cost the lives of over 190 people in that group who either froze to death or succumb to exhaustion, starvation or illness, all while help was on the way from Salt Lake.
Another location is called Independence Rock. This very large rock formation stands independent from the rest of the mountains around it but it also had a second significance in that if the wagon trainers made it to the rock by July 4th (Independence Day) they were almost assured of making it through the Rocky Mountains before winter set in. Marking this high point of their journeys they chiseled their names and dates of their arrivals into the rock, all over the rock, but especially on the top. Which we climbed to, took pictures of the names and took a look at the view those hearty and certainly weary travelers experienced from 1841 thru the 1869. Some 500,000 people passed by this rock on their way west and most of them carved their names in.
From Lander we were headed to the Grand Teton National Park. We arrived there on Tuesday afternoon after another wonderfully, beautiful ride and the customary bunch of stops along the way to glean more western history and meet some really nice folk.
Upon arrival at the park we met the guy on duty who sees to it that we are registered in the camp site. These are hired hands for the season thru a hospitality group who gets the contract from the government to run the place. His name was Joey and he was an experienced host in his late twenties who does this work because he loves people but really because he loves traveling and this gig gets him all over the planet in different parks for 6 months at a time. Once in his location he works, but focuses on hiking the area he is in. He is real good with folks and was just super with us, helping us to find a location that would work for our unit. As a result we asked him to stop over for late margaritas and burritos when his shift was over. He showed up at about 10:45 PM and we drank, ate and talked travel stories and philosophy for a couple of hours.
That was fun and all but the most delightful part of the getting situated for RV camping at this park was that there were only two possible sights left where our RV would fit. One was OK but not great, the other was better but a tight fit and.... I had to shovel 14" of snow on the back 1/4 of the space to allow us to get the Rv into the slot. Now, didn't I leave CT to get away from the snow?????. We have headed into the north country again, way to fast. Anyway I did it and we got it in and situated and after having drinks and supper with the girl next to us also sporting license plates from CT and then with Joey later, we headed off to sleep in this springtime, winter wonderland.
Wednesday morning, Jasper spent the entire morning playing in the snow and although it rained thruout the night it started snowing again in the morning. Although it wasn't sticking then, it did not quit, ever, all day and into the night. This was just a gift from heaven for Jasper and you can probably imagine my enthusiasm as well. Well, while he was playing out doors I spent time plotting my immediate course south so we could beat it out of there as soon as humanly possible. Or so I thought!
When I had finished that exercise, I felt a strange gravitational pull to run north, up the street just another 70 miles or so to get into Yellowstone National Park which borders Grand Teton. We had come this far and I really wanted to leave to go south the next morning, having already paid for Wednesday nights stay in advance, but not without seeing the geysers. So at about 1:30 PM we convinced Jasper that there would be more snow on the ground up in Yellowstone and he begrudgingly got in the car and off we went. 28 miles to the park entrance and 45 miles to the site of Old Faithful. Yellowstone, by the way, has the most geysers of anywhere on the planet.
We also saw lots of wildlife on the way; Buffalo, Grizzly, Elk, Moose, just wild and wonderful. When we got to the longish entrance road to the parking area for the Old Faithful site and as we rounded the first corner, from a bit of a distance, I guess you could say we were lucky in that we could see that Old faithful was going off. Intrinsically knowing that that was what we were witnessing, we each snapped a picture or two from the car to catch the moment.
What this really means is that you have to wait approximately 90 minutes more if you want to see it up close and personal, and we did, probably shouldn't have, but we did. The shouldn't have relates specifically to the underwhelming sense I had standing there watching it spew water vapor into the sky. Now this may sound crazy or unpatriotic since this is one of the natural wonders of the world, but it just didn't seem all that exciting in person. I am real glad that we went to Yellowstone. The wilderness is awe inspiring. This is the first designated national park in our country and it set the model in place for the preservation of great open spaces here and it is spectacular in most every sense. Including the amount of snow still on the ground in late May. The park was established during the presidency (1869-1877) of Ulysses S. Grant in 1872.
Speaking of snow, it was still coming down and getting colder, as it was now a little after 5 PM. We would have to wait to 6:49 or so to watch Old Faithful blow from the grand stands. So we meandered around, went to the gift shop, went to the bathroom, went to the cafeteria, met some nice folks from Germany and talked to them until 6:40. We found out that they were visiting for the thrid time to the US and each time they have come they head to our western states and visit another national park or two. They were tent camping and were worried about the weather and the falling temps as they were, by their own admission, under prepared with just the tent and three season sleeping bags and not so much as an additional blanket or pad to sleep on. We were concerned for them but they seemed to be set on trying to find a way to manage for them selves. He, I guess, seemed more set on handleing it or at least more confident then she was. She was asking it we thought they would be OK or if we thought they should sleep in their rental car. We said our goodbyes and parted ways. Us to stay and watch the geyser and they to do what they were going to do about staying in the park for the night. We went to go outside to get up as close as you can to watch the event. But it was still snowing and blowing and cold so I decided to watch it from indoors thru the windows of the cafeteria. Megan followed me back indoors and as we stood there quitely waiting, both of us were still consumed by thoughts of the couple and their adventure of sleeping out of doors in the park. I spoke first and asked Meg if she happened to have any of our business cards on her. I at least wanted to offer them our numbers to call us, minimally if they came back to the states and wanted a personally guided tour of the Eastern states. She did happen to have a card in her wallet. As she handed it to me she remarked that she felt that we should ask them to come back to ther RV and sleep there for the night. I quietly considered this proposal but couldn't really see how it would work andwondered if they would even consider this from people they just met. I guess with that I just dismissed it and set off looking for them throughout the quite large building. After looking in several areas I spotted them at the reception desk of the lodge we were standing inside of, presumably checking to see if they could get a room for the night. I gave them the card and asked them to make sure they called us the next time they were in the US. They we very glad to take the card and to have made the connection and we shook hands again and I parted never asking them if they wanted to come and sleep in the RV for the night. I took off back to where I had left Meg and Jazz and met up with them again inside in the same place, moments before the geyser actually began shooting up. When it actually started spouting I ran out to snap a picture or two. I don't think it was really worth the wait but there I was and I was gonna have a picture of it.
After that sighting we headed out to our car in the parking lot. As we were sitting there warming up the car and getting ready to roll the same German couple came right in front of our car again and noticing it was us began laughing at the peculularity of seeing us yet again in the parking lot. They came over and he seemed serious minded and ready to get to their car but she wanted to ask our opinion once more about what we thought they should do regarding their sleeping situation. We made a few more suggestions but again did not ask them to come to the RV for the night. As you can tell we were feeling real weird about not asking them because this is most normally what we would do. I seem to be the one who shys away from it so it is most likely my lack of asking that had them not following us to our site that evening. But everything workis out as it should. Once out of the Old Faithful site and onto the main road, we began heading south towards our home. But 50 feet or so down the road we decided to turn around and head north again for another 16 miles to see if we could see some wolves where they are said to haunt. Welll 16 turned into 30 miles as we got caught up in the wilderness and the vistas. Along the way there are spectacular sites to be seen in the way of bubbling pools and spouts, just all over the place ,of boiling hot water pushing up thru the ground and bringing with it all sorts of highly colored minerals (and their accompanying odors) and reactions of every sort imaginable as this water comes in contact with the air and cooler water running by in streams. We encountered more wild life, including a Buffalo herd on the road and another posing Elk, but no wolves. As we reached 30 miles further north at about 8:30 PM or so I thought it was really time we headed back as we were now about 2.5 hours from our camp. Again, it was still snowing and looking more serious and the temp was now 32 degrees and falling. The minimal traffic had slowed to mostly 30 but at times 20 or less miles per hour and this was going to make the journey that much longer. So I settled in for the ride, declared a 10 min no talking meditation and focused on the road and managing the now freezing up roads gathering depth and slippage.
By the time we had driven about a hour south we came upon a park police who had closed the gate across the north bound side of the road not allowing any one further into the park. Another 1/4 hour south we came across a park police car that had closed the gate on our side of the road preventing us from traveling the last 30 miles or so to our RV and bed for the night.
I parked in front of his car that was facing north in the southbound lane. Jasper and I got out to have a conversation with him. As I got to his car at what is now 9:45 PM and asked him the obvious questions including the most pertinent, "how the hell do I get to the campsite with my RV in the Tetons National Park", he very politely and way to quickly explained to me that they had closed the road south due to how bad the road was further south and that they were about to close the only other road out of the park to the east but they were patiently waiting for guys like me to get out. I was a bit stunned and again asked him how then, if this road is closed, I could get back to the Tetons park. As I politely listened to the directions he was kind enough to offer me as a route around to my campsite and tried to make mental notes of rights and lefts and road names and numbers in what has been called one of the most remote places in the US, without really understanding what he had just told me, I asked the only logical question I could think of at that point, "How long will it take me to do this side journey back to my roving home?" He again politely responded with, "Oh, at least 5 hours." I was dumb struck. It was almost 10 PM, I was only 30 miles form the camp site straight down the road and now I was supposed to drive till 3 in the morning to get there, in the snow and not knowing where in the hell I am in the first place. Holy Crap!!!! The police guy hurriedly excused himself saying that he had to respond to a possible heart attack up the north road. I figure some other cop had just told that guy the same thing I had just learned, there's no way out of here with out driving to Nebraska.
Keeping my head, as I have so aptly learned and absorbed on this trip, I decided to do what I know works best.... Wait for the miracle. As I swung around to head towards that only remaining open road, the train of events that would lead to said miracle began. The very next thing we saw was an older pick up truck pulling a 16 foot boat. The driver pulls up next to me heading south towards the closed road gate. I stopped to tell him that it is closed and he responded with, "Well, I got one better than that, I'm about to run out of gas and I don't have any money." His wife or whatever is yelling something to me from the passenger seat but with the loud muffler on the old truck and the guy still talking to me, I can't hear what she's saying. I told him that I would give him money for gas but asked him where the hell as gas station was that was open at this time around here. He pointed to the only road out of the park and said the station was down the road a bit and closed but they leave the pumps on. I told him I would follow him there and pay for gas for him. This was a slight mistake as his truck was pouring diesel fumes out of the obviously disconnected exhaust pipe and damn near asphyxiated us on the short ride to the station. Choking and gagging we made it to the pumps and I pulled up behind him. I headed up to the one next to his truck and pulled out my credit card figuring to give him 20 bucks or so to get him to wherever the hell he thought he was going. He simultaneously jumped out of his cab, with his t-shirt poking out of and tightly zipped up to the top of his zipper on his jeans and says, "my wife only has fifties and hundreds and we don't have a credit card." So I insert my card and he starts pumping fifty dollars worth of diesel, at $4.99 a gallon, (don't buy gas or fuel in national parks if you can help it) into his pickup. This gives me the opportunity to find out where in the hell he is going with a boat in the middle of a snow storm in frigging northwest Wyoming. (This entire experience is turning into one of those, what the hell is going on here moments, but I am doing fine, starting to feel the fun and just waiting for the sunshine in the blizzard) He answers with, of course, an answer that is just as obscured as it should be. He says, "I am going to the ocean."
We rode the way of the Oregon, California, Mormon and Pony Express trail from Casper to Lander. This was really cool to be on the trail that led us as Americans from the east to the west. What it really meant for us, aside from the amazing history lesson that we received along the way, was that the 3 hour trip took us over 9 hours to accomplish. The trail is marked with innumerable historical locations and overlooks that simply felt wrong to ignore, so we didn't.
We spent additional time at a couple of the really significant and interesting historical locations such as the Mormons ranch and memorial to a specific hand cart group who suffered a costly and fateful loss of a large number people during one very early winter storm for a couple of days on their way to Salt Lake City in 1856. This ordeal cost the lives of over 190 people in that group who either froze to death or succumb to exhaustion, starvation or illness, all while help was on the way from Salt Lake.
Another location is called Independence Rock. This very large rock formation stands independent from the rest of the mountains around it but it also had a second significance in that if the wagon trainers made it to the rock by July 4th (Independence Day) they were almost assured of making it through the Rocky Mountains before winter set in. Marking this high point of their journeys they chiseled their names and dates of their arrivals into the rock, all over the rock, but especially on the top. Which we climbed to, took pictures of the names and took a look at the view those hearty and certainly weary travelers experienced from 1841 thru the 1869. Some 500,000 people passed by this rock on their way west and most of them carved their names in.
From Lander we were headed to the Grand Teton National Park. We arrived there on Tuesday afternoon after another wonderfully, beautiful ride and the customary bunch of stops along the way to glean more western history and meet some really nice folk.
Upon arrival at the park we met the guy on duty who sees to it that we are registered in the camp site. These are hired hands for the season thru a hospitality group who gets the contract from the government to run the place. His name was Joey and he was an experienced host in his late twenties who does this work because he loves people but really because he loves traveling and this gig gets him all over the planet in different parks for 6 months at a time. Once in his location he works, but focuses on hiking the area he is in. He is real good with folks and was just super with us, helping us to find a location that would work for our unit. As a result we asked him to stop over for late margaritas and burritos when his shift was over. He showed up at about 10:45 PM and we drank, ate and talked travel stories and philosophy for a couple of hours.
That was fun and all but the most delightful part of the getting situated for RV camping at this park was that there were only two possible sights left where our RV would fit. One was OK but not great, the other was better but a tight fit and.... I had to shovel 14" of snow on the back 1/4 of the space to allow us to get the Rv into the slot. Now, didn't I leave CT to get away from the snow?????. We have headed into the north country again, way to fast. Anyway I did it and we got it in and situated and after having drinks and supper with the girl next to us also sporting license plates from CT and then with Joey later, we headed off to sleep in this springtime, winter wonderland.
Wednesday morning, Jasper spent the entire morning playing in the snow and although it rained thruout the night it started snowing again in the morning. Although it wasn't sticking then, it did not quit, ever, all day and into the night. This was just a gift from heaven for Jasper and you can probably imagine my enthusiasm as well. Well, while he was playing out doors I spent time plotting my immediate course south so we could beat it out of there as soon as humanly possible. Or so I thought!
When I had finished that exercise, I felt a strange gravitational pull to run north, up the street just another 70 miles or so to get into Yellowstone National Park which borders Grand Teton. We had come this far and I really wanted to leave to go south the next morning, having already paid for Wednesday nights stay in advance, but not without seeing the geysers. So at about 1:30 PM we convinced Jasper that there would be more snow on the ground up in Yellowstone and he begrudgingly got in the car and off we went. 28 miles to the park entrance and 45 miles to the site of Old Faithful. Yellowstone, by the way, has the most geysers of anywhere on the planet.
We also saw lots of wildlife on the way; Buffalo, Grizzly, Elk, Moose, just wild and wonderful. When we got to the longish entrance road to the parking area for the Old Faithful site and as we rounded the first corner, from a bit of a distance, I guess you could say we were lucky in that we could see that Old faithful was going off. Intrinsically knowing that that was what we were witnessing, we each snapped a picture or two from the car to catch the moment.
What this really means is that you have to wait approximately 90 minutes more if you want to see it up close and personal, and we did, probably shouldn't have, but we did. The shouldn't have relates specifically to the underwhelming sense I had standing there watching it spew water vapor into the sky. Now this may sound crazy or unpatriotic since this is one of the natural wonders of the world, but it just didn't seem all that exciting in person. I am real glad that we went to Yellowstone. The wilderness is awe inspiring. This is the first designated national park in our country and it set the model in place for the preservation of great open spaces here and it is spectacular in most every sense. Including the amount of snow still on the ground in late May. The park was established during the presidency (1869-1877) of Ulysses S. Grant in 1872.
Speaking of snow, it was still coming down and getting colder, as it was now a little after 5 PM. We would have to wait to 6:49 or so to watch Old Faithful blow from the grand stands. So we meandered around, went to the gift shop, went to the bathroom, went to the cafeteria, met some nice folks from Germany and talked to them until 6:40. We found out that they were visiting for the thrid time to the US and each time they have come they head to our western states and visit another national park or two. They were tent camping and were worried about the weather and the falling temps as they were, by their own admission, under prepared with just the tent and three season sleeping bags and not so much as an additional blanket or pad to sleep on. We were concerned for them but they seemed to be set on trying to find a way to manage for them selves. He, I guess, seemed more set on handleing it or at least more confident then she was. She was asking it we thought they would be OK or if we thought they should sleep in their rental car. We said our goodbyes and parted ways. Us to stay and watch the geyser and they to do what they were going to do about staying in the park for the night. We went to go outside to get up as close as you can to watch the event. But it was still snowing and blowing and cold so I decided to watch it from indoors thru the windows of the cafeteria. Megan followed me back indoors and as we stood there quitely waiting, both of us were still consumed by thoughts of the couple and their adventure of sleeping out of doors in the park. I spoke first and asked Meg if she happened to have any of our business cards on her. I at least wanted to offer them our numbers to call us, minimally if they came back to the states and wanted a personally guided tour of the Eastern states. She did happen to have a card in her wallet. As she handed it to me she remarked that she felt that we should ask them to come back to ther RV and sleep there for the night. I quietly considered this proposal but couldn't really see how it would work andwondered if they would even consider this from people they just met. I guess with that I just dismissed it and set off looking for them throughout the quite large building. After looking in several areas I spotted them at the reception desk of the lodge we were standing inside of, presumably checking to see if they could get a room for the night. I gave them the card and asked them to make sure they called us the next time they were in the US. They we very glad to take the card and to have made the connection and we shook hands again and I parted never asking them if they wanted to come and sleep in the RV for the night. I took off back to where I had left Meg and Jazz and met up with them again inside in the same place, moments before the geyser actually began shooting up. When it actually started spouting I ran out to snap a picture or two. I don't think it was really worth the wait but there I was and I was gonna have a picture of it.
After that sighting we headed out to our car in the parking lot. As we were sitting there warming up the car and getting ready to roll the same German couple came right in front of our car again and noticing it was us began laughing at the peculularity of seeing us yet again in the parking lot. They came over and he seemed serious minded and ready to get to their car but she wanted to ask our opinion once more about what we thought they should do regarding their sleeping situation. We made a few more suggestions but again did not ask them to come to the RV for the night. As you can tell we were feeling real weird about not asking them because this is most normally what we would do. I seem to be the one who shys away from it so it is most likely my lack of asking that had them not following us to our site that evening. But everything workis out as it should. Once out of the Old Faithful site and onto the main road, we began heading south towards our home. But 50 feet or so down the road we decided to turn around and head north again for another 16 miles to see if we could see some wolves where they are said to haunt. Welll 16 turned into 30 miles as we got caught up in the wilderness and the vistas. Along the way there are spectacular sites to be seen in the way of bubbling pools and spouts, just all over the place ,of boiling hot water pushing up thru the ground and bringing with it all sorts of highly colored minerals (and their accompanying odors) and reactions of every sort imaginable as this water comes in contact with the air and cooler water running by in streams. We encountered more wild life, including a Buffalo herd on the road and another posing Elk, but no wolves. As we reached 30 miles further north at about 8:30 PM or so I thought it was really time we headed back as we were now about 2.5 hours from our camp. Again, it was still snowing and looking more serious and the temp was now 32 degrees and falling. The minimal traffic had slowed to mostly 30 but at times 20 or less miles per hour and this was going to make the journey that much longer. So I settled in for the ride, declared a 10 min no talking meditation and focused on the road and managing the now freezing up roads gathering depth and slippage.
By the time we had driven about a hour south we came upon a park police who had closed the gate across the north bound side of the road not allowing any one further into the park. Another 1/4 hour south we came across a park police car that had closed the gate on our side of the road preventing us from traveling the last 30 miles or so to our RV and bed for the night.
I parked in front of his car that was facing north in the southbound lane. Jasper and I got out to have a conversation with him. As I got to his car at what is now 9:45 PM and asked him the obvious questions including the most pertinent, "how the hell do I get to the campsite with my RV in the Tetons National Park", he very politely and way to quickly explained to me that they had closed the road south due to how bad the road was further south and that they were about to close the only other road out of the park to the east but they were patiently waiting for guys like me to get out. I was a bit stunned and again asked him how then, if this road is closed, I could get back to the Tetons park. As I politely listened to the directions he was kind enough to offer me as a route around to my campsite and tried to make mental notes of rights and lefts and road names and numbers in what has been called one of the most remote places in the US, without really understanding what he had just told me, I asked the only logical question I could think of at that point, "How long will it take me to do this side journey back to my roving home?" He again politely responded with, "Oh, at least 5 hours." I was dumb struck. It was almost 10 PM, I was only 30 miles form the camp site straight down the road and now I was supposed to drive till 3 in the morning to get there, in the snow and not knowing where in the hell I am in the first place. Holy Crap!!!! The police guy hurriedly excused himself saying that he had to respond to a possible heart attack up the north road. I figure some other cop had just told that guy the same thing I had just learned, there's no way out of here with out driving to Nebraska.
Keeping my head, as I have so aptly learned and absorbed on this trip, I decided to do what I know works best.... Wait for the miracle. As I swung around to head towards that only remaining open road, the train of events that would lead to said miracle began. The very next thing we saw was an older pick up truck pulling a 16 foot boat. The driver pulls up next to me heading south towards the closed road gate. I stopped to tell him that it is closed and he responded with, "Well, I got one better than that, I'm about to run out of gas and I don't have any money." His wife or whatever is yelling something to me from the passenger seat but with the loud muffler on the old truck and the guy still talking to me, I can't hear what she's saying. I told him that I would give him money for gas but asked him where the hell as gas station was that was open at this time around here. He pointed to the only road out of the park and said the station was down the road a bit and closed but they leave the pumps on. I told him I would follow him there and pay for gas for him. This was a slight mistake as his truck was pouring diesel fumes out of the obviously disconnected exhaust pipe and damn near asphyxiated us on the short ride to the station. Choking and gagging we made it to the pumps and I pulled up behind him. I headed up to the one next to his truck and pulled out my credit card figuring to give him 20 bucks or so to get him to wherever the hell he thought he was going. He simultaneously jumped out of his cab, with his t-shirt poking out of and tightly zipped up to the top of his zipper on his jeans and says, "my wife only has fifties and hundreds and we don't have a credit card." So I insert my card and he starts pumping fifty dollars worth of diesel, at $4.99 a gallon, (don't buy gas or fuel in national parks if you can help it) into his pickup. This gives me the opportunity to find out where in the hell he is going with a boat in the middle of a snow storm in frigging northwest Wyoming. (This entire experience is turning into one of those, what the hell is going on here moments, but I am doing fine, starting to feel the fun and just waiting for the sunshine in the blizzard) He answers with, of course, an answer that is just as obscured as it should be. He says, "I am going to the ocean."
Saturday, May 17, 2008
The Latest from HERE!
For where ever we go there we are. So here we are!
We stayed in Denver for 10 days. We had a blast there. W
e visited Colorado Springs
, some 70 miles to the south, twice. Once to go to Pikes Peak and The Garden of the Gods (the second picture shows the rock formation park with Pikes peak in the backround)
and the second time was to visit the Olympic Training
Center 
.
We also went to Golden, Colorado which is where Coors Brewing Company began its business and still operates today some 150 years later, but we did not get to do the Big Brew Company tour. Instead we visited the highly celebrated 2nd largest b
rewery in Golden, a great little micro brewery by the name of Golden City Brewery. We went there with a friend of a friend Jim who has a share of ownership in the place. This was just the finest beer I have had in a long while and the buzz was enhanced by the altitude. Much easier to get high when your already high! We had fun there and hung with some really nice folks who teach at Metro State College. (Congratulations Jim on your retirement from professorship.) and others who live in the town of Golden.
While in CO we also got the opportunity to visit with D. Picard's brother and sister in law in Boulder. We had a fun visit and great supper with them and determined that we will leave our RV with them in Boulder when we return home in early July to get ready for the family wedding later in July. They will keep it and store it in the hanger David uses for his plane but best of all, we found that they have been planning an RV trip for years and have just been putting it off for one reason or another and never got the chance to rent one and go. So this year they are going. As soon as the kids get out of school they are going to head out in our RV for a super three week traveling vacation up thru Wyoming, into Montana, Oregon and California and then back to Boulder. We are very happy to be able to make this possible for them and also real glad that we get to keep the RV indoors while we are away in CT.
We left Denver, Thursday morning. We had such a warm and wonderful stay with Jim and Mary. We ate like Kings and Queens, had hot showers everyday in a bathtub/shower (unusually spacious when you are used to shower stalls every day), did our laundry with ease and with out having to find a laundry mat and were able to hang our clothes outside to dry on the line without being white trash. (you'll have to get the distinction here... When you hang your clothes out any where when you are in an RV park, aka trailer park, first it is not allowed and second it is really ugly and moves you rapidly into white trash realm. Now if you are in Denver and hang your clothes out on the line your are part of the coveted environmentally conscious elite throwback hippie crowd), either way your clothes get dry by solar power and save the planet but you just get more credit in certain social circles.
But DRY, Denver solar power, seemingly constant May breeze and definite lack of any real humidity to speak of, drys clothes in record time. Particularly if your have the good fortune of using a high speed spin front loader machine, like we did, where the clothes come out virtually dry from the washer. No kidding, Clothes were dry on the line before the 2nd load was done. I was a washing, hanging, folding, washing fool that morning. I loved it. The ultra clean, fresh, crisp, sharp feeling and scent of sheets hung outside and the considerably extra absorbency of the towels is a pleasure to behold.
While in Denver we also got the opportunity to meet Mary's daughter Jenifier and her
children (Mary and Jim's grandchildren) and have supper in their beautiful home in a new planned progressive subdivision that was built on the previous site of the old Denver airport. In some cases they built right over the tarmac. Wild concept, nice planning, intense density and real nice houses. Great lasagna supper too. Megan, Jazz and Cooper made awesome desert that evening and had some fun doing it too as you can see. 
Poor Jasper had to be beat up just 
before supper to get him in line for the evening. Funny, he didn't really seem to mind the beating! As we were leaving for the evening, Jazz got the chance to play on and in one of the planned open space parks within the housing development. This was a real nice aspect to living in this development.
A couple of other things we got to do while in Denver was see the Imax film The Alps. Holy crap do I want to visit Switzerland. We also visited the Natural History Museum and had the rare and wonderful opportunity to see a living speciman of the rare and unusual Jazzalope, live and on the premises.
Also while in Denver......., Jim set up a visit with friends of theirs outside of Fort Collins, CO. This was intended as a special trip for Jasper because his friends there own and operate a horse farm. They own and house about 26 horses and this gave Jazz another really personal opportunity to ride and get a private lesson from their daughter that afternoon. Donna and Norm were simply awesome folks. Not only did they provide this for Jazz but also had us all for supper and warm conversation. (Even though he is not a UCONN fan)
Thanks Jim and Mary for your wonderful Denver hospitality and oasis in the high desert that you call home. I'd bet that it seemed real quite after we left.
As I mentioned previously, we left Denver this past Thursday and headed North to Wyoming. We made it to Lingle the first night about 250+ miles north of Denver and just a bit north and east of Cheyenne, WY. This entire area of southeastern and central Wyoming were so significantly important to days of old. The paths from east to west via wagon train and horseback all converged and passed on thru this country side. The pony express followed along the cart paths cut by the thousands on
emigrants and there carts as they made their way to Oregon, Utah and California from out east. It feels old and important here in WY and much of the old west flavor and memorabilia and ways of being still remain.
We left Lingle, WY and drove to Casper, WY yesterday (Friday) and plan on camping here until Sunday. There is a high school annual rodeo going on here this weekend and we specifically designed the trip so that Jazz could be here for that event. We will be leaving here tomorrow, Sunday, some time and heading northwest again into Jackson Hole and the Teton Mountains and then in
to Yellowstone Park. After viewing Old Faithful and the wildlife there in the park we will drop west into Idaho and begin trekking south again stopping in Utah at Salt Lake City for a day or so and then on into Boulder to park it, remove the car from the back of the RV and begin heading east for the month. More on that later. Great to be back writing and sharing again!
We stayed in Denver for 10 days. We had a blast there. W
e visited Colorado Springs
, some 70 miles to the south, twice. Once to go to Pikes Peak and The Garden of the Gods (the second picture shows the rock formation park with Pikes peak in the backround)and the second time was to visit the Olympic Training
Center 
We also went to Golden, Colorado which is where Coors Brewing Company began its business and still operates today some 150 years later, but we did not get to do the Big Brew Company tour. Instead we visited the highly celebrated 2nd largest b
rewery in Golden, a great little micro brewery by the name of Golden City Brewery. We went there with a friend of a friend Jim who has a share of ownership in the place. This was just the finest beer I have had in a long while and the buzz was enhanced by the altitude. Much easier to get high when your already high! We had fun there and hung with some really nice folks who teach at Metro State College. (Congratulations Jim on your retirement from professorship.) and others who live in the town of Golden.While in CO we also got the opportunity to visit with D. Picard's brother and sister in law in Boulder. We had a fun visit and great supper with them and determined that we will leave our RV with them in Boulder when we return home in early July to get ready for the family wedding later in July. They will keep it and store it in the hanger David uses for his plane but best of all, we found that they have been planning an RV trip for years and have just been putting it off for one reason or another and never got the chance to rent one and go. So this year they are going. As soon as the kids get out of school they are going to head out in our RV for a super three week traveling vacation up thru Wyoming, into Montana, Oregon and California and then back to Boulder. We are very happy to be able to make this possible for them and also real glad that we get to keep the RV indoors while we are away in CT.
We left Denver, Thursday morning. We had such a warm and wonderful stay with Jim and Mary. We ate like Kings and Queens, had hot showers everyday in a bathtub/shower (unusually spacious when you are used to shower stalls every day), did our laundry with ease and with out having to find a laundry mat and were able to hang our clothes outside to dry on the line without being white trash. (you'll have to get the distinction here... When you hang your clothes out any where when you are in an RV park, aka trailer park, first it is not allowed and second it is really ugly and moves you rapidly into white trash realm. Now if you are in Denver and hang your clothes out on the line your are part of the coveted environmentally conscious elite throwback hippie crowd), either way your clothes get dry by solar power and save the planet but you just get more credit in certain social circles.
But DRY, Denver solar power, seemingly constant May breeze and definite lack of any real humidity to speak of, drys clothes in record time. Particularly if your have the good fortune of using a high speed spin front loader machine, like we did, where the clothes come out virtually dry from the washer. No kidding, Clothes were dry on the line before the 2nd load was done. I was a washing, hanging, folding, washing fool that morning. I loved it. The ultra clean, fresh, crisp, sharp feeling and scent of sheets hung outside and the considerably extra absorbency of the towels is a pleasure to behold.
While in Denver we also got the opportunity to meet Mary's daughter Jenifier and her
children (Mary and Jim's grandchildren) and have supper in their beautiful home in a new planned progressive subdivision that was built on the previous site of the old Denver airport. In some cases they built right over the tarmac. Wild concept, nice planning, intense density and real nice houses. Great lasagna supper too. Megan, Jazz and Cooper made awesome desert that evening and had some fun doing it too as you can see. 
Poor Jasper had to be beat up just 
before supper to get him in line for the evening. Funny, he didn't really seem to mind the beating! As we were leaving for the evening, Jazz got the chance to play on and in one of the planned open space parks within the housing development. This was a real nice aspect to living in this development.
A couple of other things we got to do while in Denver was see the Imax film The Alps. Holy crap do I want to visit Switzerland. We also visited the Natural History Museum and had the rare and wonderful opportunity to see a living speciman of the rare and unusual Jazzalope, live and on the premises.Also while in Denver......., Jim set up a visit with friends of theirs outside of Fort Collins, CO. This was intended as a special trip for Jasper because his friends there own and operate a horse farm. They own and house about 26 horses and this gave Jazz another really personal opportunity to ride and get a private lesson from their daughter that afternoon. Donna and Norm were simply awesome folks. Not only did they provide this for Jazz but also had us all for supper and warm conversation. (Even though he is not a UCONN fan)
Thanks Jim and Mary for your wonderful Denver hospitality and oasis in the high desert that you call home. I'd bet that it seemed real quite after we left.
As I mentioned previously, we left Denver this past Thursday and headed North to Wyoming. We made it to Lingle the first night about 250+ miles north of Denver and just a bit north and east of Cheyenne, WY. This entire area of southeastern and central Wyoming were so significantly important to days of old. The paths from east to west via wagon train and horseback all converged and passed on thru this country side. The pony express followed along the cart paths cut by the thousands on
emigrants and there carts as they made their way to Oregon, Utah and California from out east. It feels old and important here in WY and much of the old west flavor and memorabilia and ways of being still remain.We left Lingle, WY and drove to Casper, WY yesterday (Friday) and plan on camping here until Sunday. There is a high school annual rodeo going on here this weekend and we specifically designed the trip so that Jazz could be here for that event. We will be leaving here tomorrow, Sunday, some time and heading northwest again into Jackson Hole and the Teton Mountains and then in
to Yellowstone Park. After viewing Old Faithful and the wildlife there in the park we will drop west into Idaho and begin trekking south again stopping in Utah at Salt Lake City for a day or so and then on into Boulder to park it, remove the car from the back of the RV and begin heading east for the month. More on that later. Great to be back writing and sharing again!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
We're in Denver (for now)
We have been having just a super time here in Denver. It is our new most favorite city.
We have been visiting with friends since last Sunday and helping out around the house but mostly eating really fine meals prepared for us here by Mary. Jim and I have been hanging together and getting silly with electrical reparations on Marion St. Jazz has truly enjoyed being in a house for a while, too.
I made some intro's of us to two local homeschooling co-ops and Megan and Jazz have attended some planned social events this past week. That has been very cool.
You may remember us trying to leave Texas after a month plus of being in that state. We headed up into Fort Davis and stayed there for almost a week helping those nice folks out there fix up the camp site then on our last two days in Texas we headed north toward New Mexico. On the way, some eighty miles north of Fort Davis, we stopped into a refreshing Texas state park called Balmorhea State Park http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/balmorhea/
Check this web place out if you have the time. In short, it has water and lots of it. A rather unusual phenomenon for the desert in Texas. We had not seen water, other than the shower in the morning for over a month as we pulled into the park and we were determined to swim and get wet, good and wet. Jasper in swimming in the roped off shallow end we started off in. Beyond the roping is the beginning of the 25 foot natural bottom section and it continues and swings around to the right for the rest of the pool where you can see Meg and jazz jumping into the very other opposi
te end of the horseshoe shape.
You can . also see Jazz jumping off of the 8' high dive board while Megan jumps off the deck adjacent to him. We just kept playing until we just had to leave.
te end of the horseshoe shape.
You can . also see Jazz jumping off of the 8' high dive board while Megan jumps off the deck adjacent to him. We just kept playing until we just had to leave.The pool is 
77,000 square feet (1 3/4 acres) and hold almost 4 million gallons of very fresh constantly cycling spring water that is constantly 72 - 74 degrees. The spring that feeds this pool (San Solomon Springs) pushes up 22 - 28 million gallons of water each day through the pool. The really cool part is that it has a deep section of 25 feet that is all natural bottom and has all natural fish species swimming right along with you in the pristine waters. All of the water travels on thru and down the guiding canels and makes its way into a Cienega that was specifically designed for the purpose of saving two endangered species of fish. It has been a very successful project and you can view the fish they saved, underwater in a special viewing area. The water then travels downstream and is utilized for irrigation.
77,000 square feet (1 3/4 acres) and hold almost 4 million gallons of very fresh constantly cycling spring water that is constantly 72 - 74 degrees. The spring that feeds this pool (San Solomon Springs) pushes up 22 - 28 million gallons of water each day through the pool. The really cool part is that it has a deep section of 25 feet that is all natural bottom and has all natural fish species swimming right along with you in the pristine waters. All of the water travels on thru and down the guiding canels and makes its way into a Cienega that was specifically designed for the purpose of saving two endangered species of fish. It has been a very successful project and you can view the fish they saved, underwater in a special viewing area. The water then travels downstream and is utilized for irrigation.We had a blast and it was very hard for us to dry off and leave but the Rest of The Wild West was calling us forth.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Next Post!
Hi,
To those of you who check on our whereabouts, thanks for checking, for caring and for being part of our lives.
We are in Denver, Colorado. We are visiting friends, getting some fine tuning and maintenance items completed on the RV and car, planning for our next leg, doing laundry, hooking Jasper up with Denver home schooled kids and attending some of their social events this week, seeing some typical and not so typical Colorado sights (including the Coors Beer Factory and a local brew guy that a friend of ours knows), finding a chiropractor for Megan, finding a masseuse for me, letting Jasper go horseback riding, cooking in a full size kitchen with full size appliances, enjoying the less dry very mild blossoming spring weather, making blog entries and in spite of all that taking it easy for a while.
We may be here for up to two weeks but one for sure while we decide what we are going to do next.
I will blog more tomorrow with pictures of some of the amazing things we have seen and done in the past week plus. There has been a lot but one of the most unusually spectacular sights was the Great Sand Dunes National Park in lower Colorado. This rare location is a geological wonder and it was just wild to stand on top of this naturally created phenomenon.
More Tomorrow!
To those of you who check on our whereabouts, thanks for checking, for caring and for being part of our lives.
We are in Denver, Colorado. We are visiting friends, getting some fine tuning and maintenance items completed on the RV and car, planning for our next leg, doing laundry, hooking Jasper up with Denver home schooled kids and attending some of their social events this week, seeing some typical and not so typical Colorado sights (including the Coors Beer Factory and a local brew guy that a friend of ours knows), finding a chiropractor for Megan, finding a masseuse for me, letting Jasper go horseback riding, cooking in a full size kitchen with full size appliances, enjoying the less dry very mild blossoming spring weather, making blog entries and in spite of all that taking it easy for a while.
We may be here for up to two weeks but one for sure while we decide what we are going to do next.
I will blog more tomorrow with pictures of some of the amazing things we have seen and done in the past week plus. There has been a lot but one of the most unusually spectacular sights was the Great Sand Dunes National Park in lower Colorado. This rare location is a geological wonder and it was just wild to stand on top of this naturally created phenomenon.
More Tomorrow!
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