Complete Slowdown

You've seen the ads on TV over the years for Maytag products that have made the phrase " busy as a Maytag repairman" famous. That's us. Except for about an hour last night, we sat and did practically nothing the whole night. Here are a couple shots that we took of each other during our busy night at the front desk:

Now that the last, big event - the Youth Soccer Tournament - is done, it has become super boring at work. Today would normally be our official last working day and end of the season. As we agreed to stay over a week to help out, we will work four more days.

The rain continued yesterday and we have had over 1.75" since it started early in the weekend. There is one more day (today) until clearing weather takes over and it begins to warm up a little. Just so the weather cooperates on the 6th and 7th of October when we pack up and leave.

Between now and then, it will be a challenge to make the time at the front desk go fast. Josie is considering taking her crochet project, and I will look through some of the back reading material I have to take along to work. All we need to concentrate on now is preparing everything for our trip south...

Tough Weekend

We are really happy to see this weekend end. Between the non-stop rain all weekend - over 1.5" total, and still accumulating - the soccer tournament, several unique and tough check-in situations and the Asian Tour bus problems, it was good to get home last night. The next-to-last weekend wasn't expected to be so tough.

Our housekeeping crew had a very difficult time getting all the rooms cleaned and turned around for last night. The normal check-in time for guests is 4 PM, but last night, there were rooms still not released for check-in at 6 PM. Evidently, the combination of all the kids and all the rain created unique problems for them. We had an unusually large number of Asians checking in and most of them could barely speak English. There were problems with their reservations and communicating was more than a challenge. One of the two buses that we had check-in last night was Joy Holiday Tours - all Asians. They filled our lobby between 10 - 11PM with their noodle concoctions that use all the hot water in our containers that are used to make tea, hot chocolate and hot apple cider. We made several trips back to the kitchen area in the lodge to refill the containers. The normal refill schedule is (maybe) once per shift. All of these situations contributed to a tougher than normal weekend.

Thank goodness we are looking at only 6 more working days before calling it quits for the year. This is the time of year when we look forward to moving on to our next chapter in AZ and to visiting family in Chicago. If we are lucky, it will clear up and get warm enough to begin our preparation for departure. Josie is doing our laundry this morning - probably for the last time. I will at least begin the preparations by calling our mail forwarding service in FL to have our mail sent to AZ beginning this week. That also involves calling the Resort at Lake Pleasant to have them hold our mail, beginning now, for our return on October 11. The light at the end of the tunnel is growing larger...

Soccer Madness

The main story yesterday was the Youth Soccer Tournament taking place in Jackson. Josie worked the whole day and evening - 16 hours total - and she was in the middle of the madness of all these kids between their games. It rained all day - almost a full inch - and we wondered how any games could be held, but they did play. That meant a lot more work in the evening as they all congregated in the lobby, filling up cups with hot chocolate and making lots of noise. I took this shot of a moment in time when it seemed like all the kids were in the lobby at the same time:

This is the last hurrah each year as the season pretty much ends with this event. There was also a gun show at the lodge, so there was lots of activity and, of course, we were sold out for the nights on Friday and Saturday.

The rain continues this morning, non-stop, and we already have about .25" today. The forecast is for several more days of rain before clearing in the middle of the week. As I said before, we'll take the rain as long as it isn't the frozen variety and the white stuff. There are seven more work days before it ends for us and the rest of the way should be easy going...

Truck Ready

The main chore for me to complete while Josie worked yesterday was to get the truck all gassed and ready to go for our trip south. Along with that, I did some shopping for a few groceries to build up our fuel credits. The timing was pretty good for the gas fill as the gas prices went down $.06 per gallon yesterday morning making the price, without discount, $3.89 per gallon. We had 500 points carried over from August which meant the first fill attempt (35 gallons) would cost us $3.39 per gallon. There were 200 points carried over from August which gave us another 35 gallons at $3.69 per gallon. It was topped off at full price. It ended up costing us $273 to fill both tanks on the truck. It sounds like a lot, and it is, but it would have been over $300 without the discounts. At any rate, the truck is ready to go.

While returning home from the store, I snapped this shot of three gliders getting ready to fly off the edge of the hill across the street:

Today is the start of the youth soccer tournament and the lodge is filled to capacity. Josie worked yesterday AM and the front desk is ready to handle the kids that will be running in and out - and through - the lobby , mostly to get hot chocolate which is available 24 hours a day in the lobby. Every year, the kids make a run on our hot chocolate and almost always create spills all over the counter. It keeps us busy wiping up spills the whole weekend.

The rain that was in the forecast has already started this morning so I'm guessing that some of the games might be postponed - not good news for the front desk staff. It is difficult enough handling the crowd on a nice day. Unfortunately, Josie works the full day today - 16 hours - for the last time. She may be a basket case by the end of the day...

Banner Day at Schwabacher Landing

Before getting into our wonderful day hiking at the Schwabacher Landing in the Tetons, I wanted to show this photo of the lodge courtyard that was taken by Josie the same day we published the photo of the campground this week:

The beautiful hanging plants have all been removed and the Fall colors have replaced their beauty.

We left home at around 9:30 AM to take our final trip to Schwabacher Landing in the Tetons. Our arrival was a bit different than the last time we were here when a cement truck met us at the entrance to this side road, and the view was a lot different with the Fall colors:

 

Our walk along the section of the Landing where we spotted the moose this summer looked very different as you can see from these shots:

 



The sun was shining and the temperature reached 80 degrees. The blue sky was a nice contrast to the colors of the trees and mountains. The water was so still it looked like the mountains and trees were reflecting in a mirror:

We hiked along the section of this Landing that we hadn't walked before. We took some shots of each other while walking along this tributary of the Snake River:

 

and we even met a young couple on the path that we chatted with for awhile and took photos of each other. Here is the shot they took of the two of us:

In all, we hiked about 4 miles and enjoyed the hike about as much as any hike we have taken this year. It was such a nice day, we drove to another turnout along the highway going back to town and snapped this photo:

One last drive around the loop road to the town of Kelly and where the barns are located produced this final shot of the mountains from one of the barns on Mormon Row:

Our only full day off together this week was terrific. The day was beautiful in all respects, and was an appropriate ending to our hiking season at Jackson Hole for 2014.

Josie is back to work this morning for her next-to-last overtime shift of the season. I will do some shopping and get the truck gassed up while she is at work and maybe even get some outside cleaning done on the rig. There aren't many more nice days ahead before we hit the road in about 10 days...

Crabapple Woes

The last couple days have seen some changes in our scheduled activities. Josie's project to make crabapple jelly ran into a snag as the jelly would not "gel" and she tried several solutions, none of which worked. She concluded that either the crabapples are the problem, the elevation is a problem, or both. She has now reached the point where she will try a different recipe and start from scratch. That project resulted in delaying our trip to the store to shop and to gas up the truck - and a few other chores we had planned to begin our preparation for our departure.

Our final, full work week ended last night and we had planned a trip to the Tetons this morning. We want to take one last walk through this new area that we discovered this year and where we spotted the moose that resulted in our best photos of the summer. We'll still take the trip, but it looks like a later start than we originally planned. One thing is for sure, and that is we will take advantage of what looks like the last day of temperatures in the 80's for the season. It is sunny and already warming up, so it's time to get ready to head out for Schwabacher Landing...

Idle Time at Work

The pace at work - at least for this week - has reached a snail's pace. There were only about 30 reservations that checked in last night and we have close to the same number for tonight. Except for this weekend when there is the youth soccer tournament and a gun show, the rest of the time we have will be spent at the same slow pace. There are only eight more days of work scheduled - including the four additional that we are staying over to work - before heading out for AZ.

Our only full day off this week (tomorrow) is expected to be warm and sunny. The forecast for the foreseeable future is for nice weather for the next three days and then some rain with cooling temps. As long as there is no snow in the forecast, we're fine.

We are taking the truck to the store today to get some groceries and to gas up for the trip. Our points from the store that we have been accumulating for fuel discounts runs out at the end of this month and we want to use the remaining points for diesel fuel which will give us a $.60 per gallon discount. With the diesel price currently at $3.95 per gallon, the discount will be welcome.

There are lots of things that we need to do in the next week or so. The time is running out and we will schedule everything as best as we can...

Eye on the End

Our eyes are getting focused on the end of the ride for this season. One week from today would normally be our last work day but we will have four more working days beyond that before we call it quits for another season. We are closely watching the weather and even though it looks good for the next several days, there is a cold front approaching at the end of the week. Just so it doesn't snow.

Our campground is showing lighter crowds each day and here is a shot of the campground as it appeared yesterday:

It sure is nice with the Fall colors.

Josie is diligently working on canning her crabapple jelly. She made the first batch yesterday and has lots left to do. This is how it looks so far:

We'll have a good supply when it's all done.

I'm waiting for a nice, warm morning, so I can begin getting the fifth wheel ready for our trip. I want to clean the outside but the weather hasn't cooperated during the days I wanted to tackle that project. This Thursday is suppose to be nice, so it may be the only chance we will have...

Forecast Right On

The 80% chance of rain forecast for today actually did become a 100% certainty. It has been raining since last night - .30 " worth - and continues this morning. We have lots of inside work to do so it's not a wasted morning before going to work.

Prior to going to work yesterday, we drove over to Wilson where a new park was opening which included a new pathway for bikes to cross the Snake River and is one that we hope to use in the future. The festivities were to be held between 11 AM and 4 PM, so we wanted to arrive right at 11 AM. There were people walking everywhere and the traffic was already causing tie-ups in the area so we bagged the attempt and turned around to go back home. There was no need to waste the short amount of time we had before heading to work at 3 PM. We did get a couple shots of some interesting stuff on the way back home. Starting with the mountains that are just about bare of snow at this time of the year:

It also shows the nice contrast of Fall colors that the trees provide. Josie loves horses and likes to take pictures of them on any good opportunity she gets. Below are a couple shots of some horses that were grazing in a pasture on the other side of the street from where I snapped the above picture. There was one of these horses that was fascinated by our presence on the side of the road:

It was a ho-hum kind of morning which is very common at this time of the year.

Hopefully, we will get some parting shots on our day off this week that will carry us over to next year. We'll give it our best shot...

Good Forecast

The forecast for the next seven days is for sunshine and very little chance of rain - except for one day, which shows an 80% chance of rain on Monday. That seems pretty certain to me, but we are happy to see all the sunshine for the other days. It looks like our full day off on Thursday will be nice - 78 for a high and no chance for rain. Of course, all forecasts can change, but we hope to take advantage of some of these nice days.

The construction in the parks has created much frustration in our guests. Many are checking into the lodge late as a result of delays in construction areas. Especially in Yellowstone. The saying in this area is that Jackson Hole only has two seasons - Winter and road construction. Unfortunately, all road construction has to be done during the warmer months as once it freezes, it's all over until the next summer. It's just another sign that the season is winding down.

We weren't able to copy yesterday's game that was televised on ESPN3 at Western Michigan University, but they won again, 45-14 over Murray State. That makes them 2-1 this season which is twice as many wins as all of last year. Austin is still playing on special teams and we hope he doesn't get too frustrated. The Freshman that is doing the running chores for them is having a fantastic year, so there is good cause for frustration. No matter what happens, he is getting a free education.

It has reached the "let's get it over with" stage at work. Every year at this time we get anxious to move on and plan for the new season. Josie is also going to be happy to see all her overtime days end and get back to some kind of normal schedule. It looks like about 12 more working days, depending on the days we are scheduled in early October, before we pack up and head on out...

Onward to the Finish

The extra week that we are staying this year has delayed some of the preparation that we normally do at this time. Josie is busy working overtime days and I am spending some time with my cross stitch that I have ignored all summer long.  I have to transfer the bike rack from the Jeep to the fifth wheel but am holding off in case we decide to take one more bike ride someplace. Last year, we made our final trip to Yellowstone for the season at this time, but this year, with all the construction and road closures in the Park, it looks like we are done.

The main thing for us now is to keep an eye on the long term weather forecast. The weather has been strange all over the country this year and we hope it doesn't decide to begin an early winter in this area. I'm not sure what difference it makes anyway as we are committed to staying the extra week. I'm sure it will all be fine.

Today begins what normally would be our final full week working at the lodge. The RV park has already begun cutting back their workforce and we will begin seeing some cutbacks in areas of the lodge. The restaurant has already discontinued dinner service for the season as most of the dinner staff returned to school or left for their winter locations. It makes our job a little tougher when we have to suggest alternatives for dinner to the guests. Fortunately, there are many good restaurants in the area.

Josie has gathered a couple buckets of crabapples from the trees in the RV park and has begun making jelly. She picked up some small canning jars from Kmart and is ready to go. I can't wait to taste the jelly as the smell of them cooking sure is good...

Expensive Trip

Our trip to Idaho Falls yesterday was a beautiful ride, and an expensive trip.

The Fall colors are just about at their peak right now and the hills were as colorful as we've ever seen them. Josie snapped lots of pictures as we drove over the Teton Pass into Idaho, and below are some of the views of the pretty foliage:

The trip also ended up costing us more than we planned to spend. I dropped Josie off at Walmart to do some shopping and to get her hair done while I took the truck to the dealership for the oil change. As I expected to spend about $100 for the tune up - diesel's cost a lot more than regular gas engines - I didn't anticipate replacing the air filter at $65. It didn't stop there. We have been running for seven years on the original batteries and they were getting to the point where they were about to fail. The truck has dual batteries, so it meant replacing both with high performance batteries - another $300. The total for the day was $480 for what started out to be an oil change. I shouldn't complain though, as the truck has been, for the most part, very dependable. It is now ready for the trip back to AZ except for a full tank of gas.

We made a side trip to Sam's Club to pick up a few items and we headed home at about 4 PM. There were severe weather alerts for eastern Idaho and the Jackson WY area. We drove through lots of rain and thunderstorms on the way home and our rain total at home was almost .5" for the night.

It is again expected to rain today, and this morning is very foggy as Josie goes into work for her first shift of overtime this week. We would like to take another drive through the canyon that we drove through last week, but we may not have enough free time to catch the peak Fall colors this week. What a beautiful time of the year in this area...

Cool and Wet Summer Confirmed

It was confirmed yesterday - this summer (2014) was the second coolest and wettest summer on record. There was an article in the Jackson Hole Daily newspaper that summarized what has been the coolest and wettest summer since 1993. Below are the statistics:

                                            

                                                 2014      1993        Norm

                                                _____    _____     _______

 

Average High Temperature       73           72          78

 

Average Low Temperature        41           38          39

 

    Precipitation                             4.40"      8.49"       3.77"

It also seems to like to rain more on Thursdays and Fridays - our days off - than any other days of the week. We had another thunderstorm yesterday and Josie got this shot of the double rainbow during the storm:

Our only full day off together for the week is today and there is more rain expected. Maybe we shouldn't have bothered to clean both the Jeep and truck yesterday as it is only going to get dirty again today. No matter what the weather is here, we are thankful we aren't getting the heavy rains that AZ is getting from the leftover effects of hurricane Odile.

Our plan is to leave shortly for Idaho Falls to get the truck serviced and to pay our final visit to the Sam's Club and Walmart. There are about three weeks remaining for us, including the extra time we will stay over to help out, so we are beginning to get things organized for our departure...

Consolidating Spaces

As the RV Park is beginning to thin out with the late season departures, I asked if it would be OK if we moved our truck into the recently vacated space next to us. It was no problem, so I moved the truck from the spot at the lodge to the space next to us:

It feels better having the truck next to us where we can keep a close eye on it and there wouldn't be any parked vehicles next to it to create dings in the paint.

We also scheduled the oil change for the truck for Thursday at 10:30 AM at the Ford dealership in Idaho Falls. It is overdue for that service and we don't want to travel to AZ without having the current service performed.

It was a typical September night at work with many walk-ins and lots of reservations. We came within 4 rooms of being sold out again. Tonight will be a repeat and we may sell out tonight for what will be one of the last sell-outs for the season. Except for a soccer tournament the last weekend in September, we expect to have many rooms left over each night.

The rain has returned and, of course, it is forecast for both Thursday and Friday which shoots any hiking or biking on our full day off tomorrow. With Josie working the Friday each week this month, it removes that day for those activities anyway. It has reached the point this year where we have gotten "hitch-itch" and look forward to the day we can pack up and head south...

Lunch at Cutty's

We wanted to have lunch  at a local restaurant to break up the pattern of eating the same foods at home each day. There are a couple of really good Philly Cheese Steak restaurants in town, and one of them is Cutty's Grill. It is the same place where we met Terry and Roxie for lunch when they left the Jackson Hole area about a month ago:

The only negative is the cost of having one of our favorite lunches. We spent $35 (including tip) for a couple cheese steaks and Bud Light drafts. Mmm, were they good.

We came within two rooms of selling out last night. The number of walk-ins has increased dramatically, and it involves more work for us to check them in versus checking in folks with reservations. We have to gather all the information on walk-ins that we already have for the reservations. The total of reservations and walk-ins last night exceeded 100 which is a large number for this time of the year. It will most likely be the norm for the rest of the way.

Another couple left this morning from the staff at the RV Park. That leaves the space empty that is next to ours and we will see if we can move our truck into the vacant space for the remainder of our stay. We now park the truck at the lodge parking lot in a place where we can see it all the time from our rig. Speaking of the truck, I'm trying to schedule an oil change at the Ford Dealer that is located in Idaho Falls for this Thursday. The truck needs some "exercise" and we would like to make one final trip to that town before we leave, so we can combine the trip.

Finally, the weather forecast is for rain to arrive on Thursday and Friday - our days off - which is disappointing as we were hoping to get some nice weather for the few "off" days we have remaining to schedule some outdoor activities. We'll see how it goes...

Quiet and Casual Morning

We spent the morning yesterday before going to work just hangin' out and getting some work done on our craft projects. Josie is about finished the wreath she made from pine cones and she also is pumping out crocheted scarves to give to people for various occasions. I picked up my cross stitch project for the first time since we arrived in May and started the final phase of that project to be completed by next year for the 2015 Teton County Fair. The mornings have been too cool to go outside and do any hiking or biking.

I also caught the final round of the PGA Tour Championship and FedEx Cup competition and enjoyed watching a relatively new, young golfer - Billy Horschel - win the $11.4 million prize for winning both championships. Not bad for a day's work.

As the days are warming up again - 70's forecast for the highs over the next week - we should get out to enjoy some last minute activities before leaving. The only problem is that the mornings are still in the low 40's and high 30's, so a late start would be required for any outdoor stuff. I also hope to wipe down the outside of our fifth wheel before we leave as the dust and dirt has accumulated over the last four months.

Folks are beginning to leave their summer assignments at the RV Park and that is a sure sign that the end of the year is near...

Ramblings

I forgot to mention the other day when we went for a drive to the Schwabacher Landing in the snow flurries that on the way home we spotted this small herd of pronghorn antelope in the sage field along the highway:

They were fairly close to the road which is unusual for these animals that like to keep a huge distance between themselves and any human activity. It was the only wildlife sighting of the day.

Josie worked her marathon overtime day of 16 hours yesterday. From 7 AM until 11 PM, she was at the front desk performing her duties. I joined her at 3 PM for my regular shift. She is scheduled to work each Saturday for the rest of the month on this schedule. It doesn't bother her and she wants to do it -  and the extra money comes in handy.

We see just about everything you can imagine in the RV park. While I was doing the entry this morning, I was watching the activity around this old VW bus that was camped a few spaces away:

When I saw all the equipment sitting outside on and around the picnic table that was taken from the inside, I wondered how they could do anything but sleep inside this configuration. I guess you camp and travel with whatever works for you. They have no running water, no electric appliances and no bathroom, so I was wondering what happens when they have to go to the bathroom at 3 AM (?).

We're about halfway through September and we have about three weeks to go. It looks like the temperatures are climbing back into the 70's which is more like it for this time of the year. There is no rain in the forecast for the next 5 or so days, so we will enjoy it while we can...

October Schedule Set

While Josie was working yesterday AM, I finalized our schedule for October.

First of all, our final day of work at the Lodge will be October 5. With one full day to do final prep, we will depart on the 7th and head the 274 miles to Heber, UT, where we will spend one night at the Deer Creek State Park. Our second night will be spent at the Solstice Motorcoach Resort in Mesquite, NV which will be a 313 mile journey almost entirely on I-15 through Utah. Our trip will take us 229 miles on the 9th to Lake Havasu City, AZ, where we will spend two nights at the Havasu Falls RV Resort. Our plan takes us to Lake Pleasant in Peoria, AZ the final 186 miles to our space at Pleasant Harbor RV Resort. It will be a nice trip that provides both a quick trip through some potentially bad winter weather and a brief time in an area where we can enjoy some warm sunshine and access to casinos which we haven't enjoyed in a long time.

Our plans then turn to our scheduled trip to Chicago on the 22nd to visit Patty and her family and to attend Austin's game at Western Michigan against the Ohio Bobcats. Their team looks much better this year and we hope to see a win this time on our visit. Our return from Chicago will be on the 29th of October. Josie will work out a start date at the flower shop that will occur in early November sometime.

That sums up our schedule for the end of our summer season and we just hope we can beat the snow out of Wyoming...

First Flurries

Our full day off was affected by the cold temperatures yesterday. We had a high of 54 and this morning it is 25 outside. Brrr! The only real activity for yesterday was a trip to the Schwabacher Landing area in the Teton National Park where we spotted the moose last month. It was a real eye opener to the changing weather in the area. As soon as we arrived at the Park, we saw that the storm clouds were moving in and the snow flurries were starting to fall. Here are a couple shots of the mountains as they appeared through the clouds:

As we drove to the turnoff at the Schwabacher Landing, we were stopped for about 15 minutes while construction delays were in effect:

Once we arrived at the turnoff, there was another delay for this cement truck while he poured cement into a post hole:

At first we were going to turn around and come home, but the truck stopped pouring cement, backed up and let us go past. We started to walk the path along the water and saw this guy braving the cold and the snow flurries trying to catch fish:

He wasn't successful and told us he had been trying for a couple of hours. I still can't see braving such poor weather to try and catch a fish that you are only going to throw back anyway.

The weather wasn't improving and our walk along the water was cut short before we froze to death. This is a final shot of the mountains from Schwabacher Landing:

We left to go to town and walk around a little bit. Following another stop at the grocery store, we returned home and spent the rest of the day in front of the fireplace and watched some TV.

Josie is off to work this morning and the skies are clear, but the temperature has dropped another degree to 24. It will only be for a short time as the longer term forecast is for warmer temperatures to arrive again by tomorrow. Of course, that begins our new work week...

Signs of Winter

Our morning yesterday was filled with catching up on some chores. First, we mowed the grass and hopefully it was for the last time. While the sun was shining, we threw in a wash of the Jeep which hasn't been done for some time. Since the weather forecast is for sunshine for the next six days, it was a good bet to get it washed and to stay cleaned for at least a week.

The forecast is for sunshine, but we are getting our first cold blast of the Fall season. It is expected to drop into the 20's at night for the next couple nights and only reach into the mid 60's during the day. The cold blast is bringing some snow to northern Montana but will remain north of us. It appears to be a short term effect though, as I see that the temperatures are forecast to return to the 70's by the weekend.

Today is our Saturday and we don't have a specific plan for the day. I mentioned previously that Josie has only this one day per week to fully enjoy for each of the remaining weeks so we are trying to plan something that we wouldn't normally do on a workday morning. It will most likely include a drive to someplace nice. Another option we've kicked around is a bike ride to Jenny Lake or someplace in the Park. It might be a little too cool for that,though, as it is 41 outside right now. Whatever we decide, it is nice to know that the day doesn't include work of any kind...

Canyon Drive

We had heard that the Fall colors were beginning to show their beauty in the Canyon, so we took a drive south toward Alpine and through the Hoback Canyon. It did not disappoint as the reds and oranges were almost at their peak Fall color. These are a few of the shots (out of many) that we took on this drive:

After arriving in Alpine, we chose to return via the Palisades Reservoir route that goes north to Swan Valley, Victor, ID, and over the Teton Pass to Jackson. This drive was as good as, or better than, the Canyon drive and we took many more shots of the beautiful hills with all the Fall colors:

As we were driving toward Victor, we came upon this operation where sheep were being separated to be sent to market while others were being sent into the wooded area off to the side. These photos show the operation that was almost completed by the time we arrived at the spot:

They were sending all the sheep that had "speckles" on their face into the truck in the far right in the upper photo. They told us that there had been several trucks that were already sent out.

The drive ended as we drove over the Teton Pass and we got another shot of our favorite sign overlooking Jackson Hole:

Our managers at work told us that the colors actually haven't peaked yet, and that another trip next week would be even prettier. We hope to take the drive again next week to see.

Our reservations were made this morning for our first night out of Wyoming on our trip back to AZ which will be at the Deer Creek State Park in Heber, UT, where we stayed on our trip up in May and liked so much. We also made our flight reservations for Chicago, which will be on Oct 22 with a return flight on Oct 29. We are looking forward to that trip and going to another of Austin's games at Western Michigan on the 25th.

Our Friday is today and we will only have one full day off together each week for the rest of September as Josie will work overtime shifts on Friday and Saturday AM. The end is in sight...

Propane and Laundry

The main activities for the chilly morning yesterday were to get propane and do laundry. I filled the small grilling tank and topped off the first of the two main tanks for the fifth wheel. Josie did laundry and came home frustrated again over the poor performance of the dryers in the laundry room. Every time she does laundry it requires extra cycles to get the clothes dry. She has notified the maintenance manager at the lodge several different times and nothing gets fixed, so she has threatened - again- to do the laundry someplace else.

While looking at the entry for the same day last year it looks like I could almost repeat the same status. It was also chilly and we had the same mix of guests at the lodge - almost as many walk-ins as guests with reservations. It seems to be the norm and will most likely be the pattern every year.

Our plan this morning is to take a drive through the Hoback Canyon to view the colorful changes in the landscape. Every year, the bushes along that drive turn a bright red and create a wonderful Fall scene to kick off the cold season. We also still have the grass to mow, so it may turn out to be a busy day...

Watching Seasonal Changes

We have gone down into the 30's each of the last five mornings and the leaves are beginning to turn their Fall colors. We have a small crabapple tree in our yard that has gone full cycle now - blooming in the Spring, growing apples during the summer and now the apples are turning red and beginning to fall from the tree:

Josie is going to look up some recipes for using these apples so we can see if they are worth saving.

In a short while we will be able to get some nice shots of the changing colors in the Park. As long as the temperatures are going into the 30's at night, it will speed up the effects of the Fall color changes.

There are a couple of chores that we need to get done today. We ran out of propane in our little gas tank we use for grilling and will need to get that refilled. We will probably also top off the regular tanks as we haven't had to refill any of the propane since we arrived in May. We also have the lawn to mow which we keep putting off so that it will be the final cut for the season. Everything is pointing to the season winding down...

Work and More Work

Yesterday was a 16 hour work day for Josie and a regular 8 hour day for me. She didn't complain at all about working the two shifts from 7 AM until 11PM last night, so I guess she will continue with that schedule for the rest of September. At least with this job there are occasions when you get to sit down for a short period between guests either checking out or checking in. The extra money will help toward our travel expenses in October.

Speaking of travel, I did get some plans at least tentatively made while Josie was working. We will leave here (probably) on the 7th of October, travel to Heber, UT for the first night, Mesquite, NV for the second night, Lake Havasu City in AZ for the third and fourth nights and arrive at Lake Pleasant on the 11th of October. That gives us about ten days to settle in again at our site at Pleasant Harbor before catching flights to Chicago to visit Patty and her family on the 22nd. There is a home game of Austin's at Western Michigan University in the middle of that visit. The plan is to spend a week with her and return for the winter season on October 29th. Josie should get some time off before starting work again at the flower shop sometime in November. It looks like a busy month.

We keep hearing about big storms in the Phoenix area so we are holding our breath that there has been no damage to our furniture and belongings that we left on our site. We haven't heard anything from anybody at the RV park, so we are hopeful that things are OK. It does no good to worry about it.

Services have been cut back in just about every area in town, so it is a good month to just concentrate on working and planning. The weather is turning cool - highs in the upper 60's in the near future - so most outside activities will be curtailed. We have to mow the grass - probably for the last time - either today or tomorrow. This is kind of the sad part of our summer seasons here. We hate to see the warm, sunny days disappear along with the early morning bike rides, hikes and Park visits that are part of the nice weather. That is what gives us the desire to return again each year...

Unusual Day Off

Our second day off this week was unusual in that Josie worked an overtime shift while I did some things at home. She has signed up for a couple extra shifts each week - one on Friday and another this morning (Saturday AM) to provide 16 extra hours of work each week for the rest of the way. It reminds me of the OT time we spent at Amazon and I am not anxious to use my free time for working hours. Josie doesn't mind it though, so I am glad that she wants the extra pay.

That left only a few hours at the end of the day for us to enjoy together. We took a drive back to the area where we spotted the moose on Thursday but didn't go the full route this time. The moose were not in the same spot, but we did see some elk through some bushes on a side road near Teton Village. We turned around and came back to Jackson at Teton Village as we didn't want to travel on the bad section of road that is between Teton Village and the Moose entrance to the Park. Instead, we returned to town where we tried a new place (for us) for dinner - the Café Genevieve, on Broadway in downtown Jackson:

This is a neat looking place that we've walked past on numerous occasions and always wanted to try. It was (mostly) forgettable. We arrived at around 5 PM and sat outside at one of the tables on the patio. We immediately had menu shock as the entree's were between $20 - $24 each, a-la-carte. The least expensive items were choices between four sandwiches for $15 each, including fries. That's what we ordered - Josie the burger, and I the Cuban Sandwich. Neither was spectacular by any means and certainly not worth the $44 tab, including tip, that we spent for the meal. It is an example of eating downtown in the tourist section where prices for everything are inflated. At least we will have another point of reference for guests now that are looking for eateries in town.

Today is our regular start of the new week and Josie will work a double shift. I will begin plotting our trip south and try to at least get some tentative stops outlined so we can begin planning. We will assume that it will be at least the 7th of October before we are able to leave. We are keeping our fingers crossed for good weather...

Construction and Moose

Yesterday was the only day that Josie would have off this week, so we took a drive to see one of the areas where we have been successful in sighting moose. Before that, the workers were connecting the power source behind us for the new bus barn that is being built. The electrical boxes are right up against our fifth wheel in the rear, and they created some entertainment for us as we watched the process:

That project should be just about completed - if not totally done - by the time we return next year.

We then took our drive into the edge of the Teton National Park and the loop around Moose and Teton Village. There was a short stop at Dornan's just before the turnoff onto Moose-Wilson Road. The air was clear and it was still cool in the afternoon as the high for the day was only 67. Here are a couple shots of the mountains from Dornan's:

The drive past Teton Village didn't produce anything, but as soon as we turned onto the Wilson Road to head back to Jackson, there were cars all over the sides of the road - a sure sign that wildlife has been spotted. Sure enough, there was a family of moose - a bull and a cow with her calf:

I used our high zoom camera to get a closer shot, and these are the best of what we could get from the distance we were standing and with the animals partially hidden:

These were spotted in an area very close to where we have seen others, but is still a new location for us this year. It will be on our list in the future for successful locations for moose sightings.

Following a great dinner of barbeque ribs, we watched the NFL season opener between the Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers, televised from Seattle. There wasn't anything about that start to the season that will change our opinion that the Seahawks are still the best team in football. They crushed the Packers, 36-16,  and made it look easy. It looks like a fun season ahead...