Cody Trip on Hold

As we started to put together our agenda for the Cody trip yesterday, we realized that it was such an aggressive schedule that we should stay two days instead of one. Then, the costs for staying an extra night were much higher than we anticipated, so we decided to think more about the plan and to try to get a real good schedule that would work for us. So, we will delay the trip for a week or two until we get a good schedule put together.

In place of the Cody trip we have another plan set up to enjoy the next couple days in this area. We started last night by celebrating Josie's birthday at a new restaurant (for us) called The Bird. It is located about two miles south of town:

It is the kind of place that really reminds us of the "cowboy" bars in Arizona and the kind of place that is a perfect "after work" hangout. It is mostly a burger place although the menu includes steaks and other choices. Here is a shot of the bar area from our booth:

Josie and I each ordered one of their burgers and a beer. We enjoyed the meal although the style of service is different from the normal restaurant - they operate in teams instead of individual servers/waiters. The only real negative was the long time for service. The price was very reasonable and the food was good. Here is a shot of Josie while waiting for our meal to be served:

Our plan for today is to take a drive to an area where we have never been. It is a long road that is close to the south entrance of Yellowstone and is a connection with Idaho near Ashton - the drive is about 40 miles through some beautiful country. We'll take some photos along the way and have some for tomorrow. We also plan to take a dinner cruise on Jackson Lake which is something we have heard about with rave reviews. That will, hopefully, happen tomorrow or Friday...

Decision on Planned Trip to Cody

We have been going back and forth about whether to go to Cody this week or wait and go next week. The weather forecast is actually better for Cody this week than next. But... a lot can change in the forecast between now and next week. Also, we thought it would be better to spend two nights in Cody in order to see and do the things we planned. In a nutshell, the decision is go with our original plan and take the trip this week. We will leave early in the AM and return in the afternoon on Friday. That doesn't leave much time for the remainder of our weekend as we start back to work at 10:45 AM on Saturday.

The trip to Cody will also be a nice way to celebrate Josie's birthday which is today. There are some neat places that we are anxious to revisit on the trip so we will get busy during the day today and put it all together. Hopefully, we will have enough time during the day to finalize our plans.

I picked up my cross stitch from the Fair yesterday and had it in the office at the Visitor Center all day yesterday. Our coworkers all appreciated the opportunity to see the piece and I was happy to receive all the accolades for the 6th winning piece in the last 6 years. I am going to investigate opportunities over the next several weeks to sell my work somewhere in Jackson. That should be interesting.

Our fingers are crossed that we will get some great summer weather for our trip to Cody...

UPDATE! Our plan to travel to Cody this week is now on hold. Initial efforts to put together reservations has been disappointing, so hold on!!

Looking Like Better Weather

It now appears that the rain we are having now will pass through before our weekend begins on Wednesday. If that is the case, we will again schedule our Cody trip for this week. Both of us are anxious to revisit Cody where we haven't been for probably 5 or 6 years. We look forward to seeing the town again and renewing memories of some great times there. The final decision on whether we go this week will be made tomorrow.

This morning, I have to pick up my cross stitch at the Fair. We start work at 10 AM, so I will make the stop at the Fair on the way into the Visitor Center. There are several folks that want to see it so I will have it in the office all day today and bring it home tonight. Folks that have seen all the pieces that I have entered and won with over the last six years have encouraged me to sell them. With all the art and $$$ in Jackson, they believe I could get some very good prices for the work. That's food for thought. There are many opportunities in Jackson to sell art and the money is no object in many cases.

I'm glad that the rain is here earlier than the forecast. The planning for our trip to Cody will be fun and it gives us a lot to look forward to this week...

Following Forecasts Closely

Even though we are only in our second day of our four day work week, we are watching the forecasts closely for our days off beginning on Wednesday. We want to celebrate Josie's birthday with a trip to Cody, but will not go if the rain stays in the forecast. Right now, there is a 40% chance of thunderstorms for each of our three days this week. If for some reason we don't go this week, we will try for next week.

We are just past the halfway point in our season and we are still having doubts about our commitment here. Almost every day we experience something that has turned us off this year. With all of the other negative changes, we are not seeing wildlife in the numbers that we are used to seeing in the Jackson area. Someday soon I will list all the negative changes that we have experienced. Maybe, by some unforeseen force, our opinions will change and we will hope that the summer never ends. The beauty of the area will never change...

Visit to Gros Ventre Slide

It looked like rain most of the morning yesterday so we took a local drive to stay close to home. This is a place we visit each time we are here as the spectacle of such a natural geological event is fascinating. It s the Gros Ventre Slide:

I can't imagine witnessing such an event. There were some eyewitnesses and some barely escaped with their lives. The end result of the slide is that the town of Kelly - 3.5 miles away - was nearly totally wiped out by the flooding Gros Ventre River.

Here are shots of the area as it appears today:

We took a short walk along the Geology Trail that was near the information turnout and saw these huckleberries that were in early bloom:

As they attract bears, we decided to end our short walk. :)

Finally, on the drive home we took this shot of a view that was on the road to the Slide:

On a nicer day we would driven along this road for another several miles as the views were terrific all along the way.

That wrapped up our three day weekend. It's back to work today at 10:45 AM and we close at 7 PM tonight. If we can be blessed with more great weather we will plan another great three day weekend next week...

Another Winner

The tradition of submitting the winning cross stitch at the Teton County Fair is intact. We went to the Fair yesterday morning to see the results of the judging that was held on Wednesday. My piece was standing alone on a platform with the winning ribbon attached:

I was sorry that I didn't complete the intended entry in time but this winning piece (Peacock Tapestry) was also a winner at another Fair in Washington State many years ago. This makes six wins with six entries in Jackson.

We spent some time walking around the Fair and went to the 4H competition in the animal building. These shots were taken of some of the animals and of the competition:

Starting with this shot of the pigs/hogs competition:

then, this shot of a huge turkey (Jake) that weighed 38 pounds:

Of course, there were also steers, chickens, goats, rabbits and just about every other animal you find on a farm. The Fair had not opened for the weekend yet but we got this shot of the grounds:

Our next activity of the day was a hike that we took in town. It was one that we had taken on occasion while working at the Virginian Lodge and is a very scenic and not too strenuous hike. These shots are of that hike:

It was a perfect day for a hike and it did the job of tiring us out. The next stop was home where we sat outside for awhile, enjoying the perfect day. There was a stray cat that walked up to us while we were sitting outside that we hadn't seen before. He was very friendly and left after checking us out:

It would be nice if he stuck around and took care of some of our mice.

Finally, our day ended with the BBQ at the GTA headquarters. We brought our own dishes and booze and had an excellent meal that included pulled pork, barbecue chicken, coleslaw, salad and dessert:

It was a great ending to a fine day. I don't think there was a single cloud in the sky the entire day...

Good Day in Spite of Early Rain

The early rain yesterday morning forced us to change plans for the day. Instead of taking a hike, we took care of some other business and enjoyed a nice afternoon in the sunshine.

We started with a visit from our RV tech who came to repair the tiny hole in our new awning fabric that he was responsible for creating. He came at 10 AM and left at around 10:30.

Both of us had lost a screw in our eyeglasses during the week so we took care of that project by going into town to the eyeglass store which is located next to our grocery store. For $10, we had both of our glasses fixed and went on our way. After picking up a few items at the grocery store, we headed home.

By now, it was sunny and warming up for us to wash the truck. It has been a real challenge to keep it clean in this area. This is how it looks today, but it may not stay this way too long:

It was then time for us to relax and enjoy the sunshine. This view of the mountains kind of says it all:

I forgot to mention the other day that every Tuesday and Saturday our Visitor Center holds a presentation and discussion of local birds, including raptors, eagles, hawks and other large birds. I get pictures when I can and these two are from the session that was held this Tuesday:

These are very popular sessions that are conducted right outside our door in the grassy area.

We will try to schedule a hike today along with checking out the Fair to see if the judging has taken place. Tonight, at 6 PM, we have the BBQ that is being held at the offices of the GTA (Grand Teton Association). It looks like another fun day today.

Maybe we have caught all the mice as we have now gone two days without catching one. I hope so....

Rain to Start our Weekend

It figures that we would get rain to start our three days off this week. The day we thought would be "hike day" is going to have be another kind of day.

Our RV tech contacted us last night to tell us he received the repair kit to patch a small hole in our new awning. He is now scheduled to come out this morning to perform the fix. This will be a no charge visit as the small hole was (inadvertently) caused by him.

Josie and I each lost a screw from our glasses this week. It is an unbelievable coincidence that we both should have that problem at the same time. We have to go the glasses store in town this morning to get that fix taken care of.

It's a shame that our first day off is being rained out. We do have a BBQ to go to tomorrow at 6 PM which is a celebration of the halfway point to the season and will put on by the GTA (Grand Teton Association) management at the headquarters in Moose. We hope that doesn't get rained out.

Oh, I dropped off my cross stitch at the Fair yesterday during our lunch so that is something we will follow up on - probably on Friday.

Just an FYI - There were no mice caught yesterday or last night, so we are holding steady at 7...

And Yet Another

Yep. We caught number seven during the night last night. They seem to be coming in at the same spot as this latest one was caught in the same location as number six. We set the trap again, so the battle continues.

Today is the day I take the cross stitch entry to the Fair in Jackson. It has to be submitted between 11 AM and 6 PM, so I will most likely take it during my lunch time today. The Fair is only about ten minutes away, so it should not be a problem. My fingers are crossed for another successful year.

Today is our "Friday" and we are looking forward to our three day weekend beginning tomorrow. This weekend, we hope to schedule the hike that we missed last weekend. Wherever it is, we will make sure that it is not a strenuous one. We have gotten out of shape as a result of our lack of physical activity and departures from our diet plan. It's time to get back on track...

Another Mouse Caught

Yes, we set two traps last night and we got another one to make it six total so far. There seems to be no end to the mice problem and all we can do is keep setting the traps and hope that we can keep control of the situation. Maybe, on our days off, we can do more outside to try to stop their entry under and around the RV. There are so many places that they can enter that it seems like a monumental task.

The days seem longer now that we are working a full 8 hour day and the crowds are down from previous years. We spend a lot of time trying to find things to do to stay busy. We keep hoping that something breaks and the crowds increase soon. As we have two months to go, it has to happen or we will go crazy. Our friends at work also see the drop in traffic and are also concerned. There is no question that the management has over-hired for staffing this year.

Tomorrow is the day I take the cross stitch to the Fair. I am anxious to get that done and to see how the Fair has changed - if at all. Everything else this year has been somewhat of a disappointment. I hope all goes well this week at the Fair and we can share some cheer...

Suspecting More Mice

It appears that we have another battle ahead to eliminate more mice. We have spotted the tell-tale sign of "droppings" in several different places. The soap may be working in our basement, but we have signs in our kitchen and in the bedroom. We also found out yesterday that several people in our old location in the Elk Refuge are having similar experiences. The grass grows high and if it isn't cut it is an invitation for the mice. I guess I will perform the next step and set more traps.

We are on today from 9 AM until 5:30 PM. Our days are extended a little bit to meet the 8 hours per day that we requested. Our schedule had been all over the place before with just 6 - 7.5 hour days before we pointed it out to our manager. In some ways, we liked the shorter days, but we are here to make some extra money and the only way to meet our goals is to work full days. We are certainly tired at the end of each day.

Summer is in full force and we will be looking forward to our off days...

Busy Week Ahead

We start another work week today and are scheduled for the next 4 days. I have to drop off my cross stitch entry at the Fair on Tuesday the 23rd and pick it up on Monday, July 29th. I expect to win some money on my entry and also win the Best of Show for the 5th year. I hope I am not disappointed, as the entry is one I completed years ago because I couldn't complete the Native American entry I wanted to enter this year. We'll see how it goes.

There is also a BBQ and gathering on Thursday evening the 25th at the GTA (Grand Teton Association) headquarters in Moose. All of the GTA workers are invited and it promises to be a fun event. This is held each year about this time to thank the people working at the Visitor Centers and to boost morale for the remainder of the season.

Our schedules are beginning to stabilize as we seem to have the same days scheduled now each week. It sure helps in planning when you know which days will be available each week.

We didn't do the hike this week that we had hoped to schedule yesterday. Josie had laundry to do and I watched the British Open golf tournament. We sure did have a nice week though with our two day trip to Riverton...

Wrapping Up Riverton Trip

We wound down our trip to Riverton yesterday with a huge, free breakfast in the hotel restaurant - courtesy of Josie's birthday in July. There was a $20 food credit given to her to celebrate her birthday and it more than covered the total cost for our breakfast. We then decided to give the casino one last try before heading out for home. Normally, we don't go back the next morning in a casino and play the same machines that we won on the previous day. It was a practice that we probably should have followed. Josie lost her stake for the morning and I broke even. We still left Riverton with enough to pay for our total trip.

It was around noon when we finally got on the road for Jackson and, as promised, we got some photos of this beautiful drive:

Starting with a photo of the hotel/casino entrance as we were leaving:

The drive from Riverton to Jackson was through Dubois again and there were many nice shots of that area which is about halfway between Riverton and Jackson:

 From Dubois, we drove along the Togwotee Pass:

which also provides a drop-dead view of the Tetons as you approach the Grand Teton National Park.

Our trip was terrific and we are glad we made the decision to go.

Our original plan was to schedule a hike for today but Josie has to get caught up on laundry before doing anything else. We may still schedule something for this afternoon, but, for now, it is laundry time...

Riverton Trip

We left home at 9 AM and after a couple stops in Jackson for gas and a truck wash, we traveled to Riverton, WY. The destination was the Wind River Hotel and Casino. The trip was very good with excellent weather the whole way and only one stop - in Dubois - at the Cowboy Café for lunch. You will recall that the Cowboy Café was the place we stopped in Dubois with our friends, Ed and Eileen a few weeks ago. We had the same delicious burger and pie alamode. I have to confess that I didn't take as many photos as I planned and these are all of Josie in the situations where I remembered to take photos. This first one was taken at the Cowboy Café:

That was the only stop and we arrived at the hotel at around 2 PM. Of course, check-in wasn't until 4 PM so we walked around the casino and stopped at the club desk to pick up our cards and any "freebies" that we were eligible for. It turns out that we got $25 in free slot play and Josie - because her birthday is in July - received several more goodies - $20 in food credit, room credits and extra free play credits.

We checked into our room and then went to the casino.  It was a great time with luck being on our side. I won almost $200 over my original stake and Josie won $80. Our trip is paid for with our winnings. Here is another shot of Josie at her "prize" machine:

We stopped playing to take a dinner break at 7 PM and all we felt like eating - following the huge lunch in Dubois - was a BLT and chips from the café in the casino. This is a shot of our dinner that we took back to the room:

This morning, we are going to have a good breakfast and play a little bit more on the slots before heading out for Jackson. We plan to sort out hiking options for tomorrow when we get home and, I promise, the photos will be better today...

Plans in Place for our Weekend

OK. We are planning a busy weekend for us over the next three days. This morning, we will have breakfast, go into town to fill up the truck and to get it washed, then travel to Riverton, WY where we will spend the night at the Wind River Hotel and Casino. We have stayed there before and have had some success in the casino along with enjoying the area. If we have the time, we will drive up the road to Thermopolis to visit the hot springs and perhaps see some of the dinosaur attractions in the area. The plan is to drive home tomorrow night and get ready for a hike on Friday.

We decided that we owed it to ourselves to have a break from the area and from the Visitor Center with some favorite activities. It should be a fun weekend and we hope to be refreshed for the next week and beyond. I'm sure that we will get some photos to share from the weekend.

We'll see you tomorrow from Riverton....

TGIF for Us

Ditto the photo from yesterday morning.

We have reached another "Friday" on our schedule. We aren't crazy about the crew that works with us today but, being our Friday softens the disappointment. The crowds continue to be less than we are used to during the summer at the Visitor Center and it makes for some longer days. There are no real reasons for the smaller crowds that are obvious. The economy appears to be good which should result in the opposite effect - more people traveling. We are almost half-way there for the season so maybe the second half will show improvement.

Our plans for the three days off for us this week will definitely include a hike - somewhere. We will do some planning tonight following our day at 5 PM. We are also looking at a couple of drives that are through some beautiful countryside and always produce some neat photos.

That's about it for today. See you in the morning....

Just Another Day

Happy Monday morning everybody:

Not a bad way to start the day.

We begin work at 7:45 AM today as we open the Visitor Center. The hours will go slowly until we get off at 4:15. Only two more days to go until we start our weekend. Our plan is to do some hiking sometime during this upcoming weekend. Our bodies are screaming for some exercise. Both of us are eating stuff that is not helping our weight control. It's time to start managing our diets again.

Our workday will not be too bad with the folks we are scheduled with today. The day tomorrow is one we would like to skip as the crew tomorrow is not who we like to be with on our final day of our work week. We take the bad with the good and just move on.

The weather has been very good lately - not great, but much better than we have been getting recently. The days are in the high 70's and low 80's with just a little bit of rain in the form of scattered thundershowers. I spoke with a guy yesterday from AZ and he indicated that the Monsoon season is late this year and they have had very little, or no rain. It would be nice if the Monsoon season is short so it would give our house a break....

Getting Ready for the Fair

I have registered my entry for this year at the Teton County Fair. It is due on July 23 for the Fair which actually begins on July 19. The early days of the Fair are for all the horse and animal activities and the open class exhibits aren't until the latter part of the schedule. This year, I didn't finish my Native American piece that I was rushing to complete. Instead I will enter an older piece - the Peacock Tapestry - that was completed years ago. I hope it generates enough interest to win again this year.

Work was not a joyful experience yesterday. We received a call at 12:15 PM asking if we were on our way to work as we were "scheduled" to start at 12 noon. That was news to us. Our schedule showed 1 PM as the start time. Anyway, we rushed to get there early and arrived at 12:45. Not only were we blind-sided by the schedule change for us, there were different people working from the scheduled crew. We can't stand the unprofessional way this whole year has been going. Schedules change on the fly, people take off whenever they want and communications stink among the staff. It all points to the ineptness of our manager who took yesterday off - again - to make the second consecutive, unscheduled, three day weekend for himself. Sheesh! As difficult as it will be, we will hang in there for as long as possible.

Our schedule says we start today at 9 AM and work until 5. I hope that is accurate...

Second Trip to Idaho Falls

When the day started yesterday we weren't sure whether it would be a drive to Idaho Falls or some other activity for our third day of the weekend. The decision was to proceed with the original thought of getting a haircut for Josie and getting her watch repaired with a battery and new band. We always enjoy the drive to Idaho Falls as there are many different beautiful areas - mountain passes, lush valleys and beautiful farmland. Yesterday, it was the canola fields that were just outstanding to see:

We accomplished everything we set out do, including a stop at Sam's Club to pick up staples, and got back home at around 5 PM. The timing was perfect as it started to rain as we got close to Jackson on the way home. This morning, it is sunny once again.

Another week of work starts today at 1 PM. It will be four days before we see another day off on Wednesday….

Awning Fabric Replaced

The old, 11 year old awning fabric, is now history. The RV tech came on time (9 AM) yesterday to do the swap. I had to help with the project and he brought two ladders to accomplish the task. Believe me, it was a very physical project and I was happy to see it done. The only shots I took were at the beginning when we rolled out the new fabric:

and at the end when I took shots of the completed effort:

The only negative to the whole effort was the cost involved - the tech charged me for three hours of labor which I though was high. It cost almost as much to install it - with my help - as it did to purchase the fabric. The problem I have is that he took almost an hour of that to figure out how to "pin" one end of the awning roller. It turned out he didn't even have to pin the one end. Oh, well.

After having some lunch and recovering from the physical effort, Josie and I took a drive to the beautiful canyon along the Snake River that runs between Jackson and the city of Alpine. We caught some rafters and took these shots:

It brought back some memories of when we rafted down the Snake in the same area.

All in all, it was a terrific day for us and we have one more to go for our weekend.

I will go to the Ford dealership this morning to have a decal replaced on my truck tailgate - different story - that was knocked off in one of the car washes we used in Jackson. We have talked about going to Idaho Falls to get a haircut for Josie, a battery for her watch, and a trip to Sam's Club and Walmart to pick up some staples. We haven't decided yet on that trip.

Tune in tomorrow....

Revisiting Leeks Marina

We ended up driving north through the Park to try our luck at "bear spotting". The Pilgrim Creek road at the north end of the park is the prime area for bears. Not too far from the road is the place where we enjoyed an initial visit last week - Leeks Marina - and where we had a terrific pizza for lunch. The decision was made to try it again before bear spotting. Of course, we ordered pizza again - a smaller, different one this time - and again it was terrific. One more view of Leeks Marina with the restaurant on the right:

What a neat place!

Following our lunch, we drove the Pilgrim Creek road looking for bears. It probably was the wrong time to look for bears - midday - as we didn't see any. I'm sure it is like most other wildlife - they eat early in the day and late in the day and the rest of the time they are bedded down somewhere. We'll try again sometime down the road.

On the way home, we stopped at the post office to get our mail and then we took the back road to go to Smith's grocery to pick up some food. Along the way, we stopped at a location that is famous for seeing moose and, sure enough, there were two young cows along the side of the creek:

This is always a terrific location for spotting moose.

Today, we get our awning fabric replaced. The RV tech is arriving at 9 AM and the weather is absolutely perfect - no wind, warm and dry. I hope to have some shots of that effort for tomorrow's entry.

Have a great day....