Another Drive to Idaho Falls

Once again, the forecast drove us to consider another drive to Idaho Falls which we did early in the AM. It's kind of like the weather - except for the extreme heat and violent dust storms - as AZ during the monsoon season. The mornings are usually nice and clear but the afternoons see the clouds roll in and the winds and rain arrive. Yesterday was no different.

Our morning drive provided a peek at the Tetons as we drove through Wilson to the Teton Pass:

We always enjoy the drive to Idaho Falls as it takes us through some pretty country and gives us a view of the different topography in this area.

The main reason for the trip was to stop at the Joann's store where we have not stopped on any previous trip. Josie had a list of yarn colors that she was trying to locate, and Idaho Falls, in addition to Joann's, has a Michael's store that also carries yarn. There is also yarn available at the Walmart store and we went to all of those stores. Josie found some of her yarn, but did not find some others. We also did some other shopping while there and I got a much needed haircut.

The clouds started rolling in in the afternoon and we left Idaho Falls before the storms hit. Rather than taking the usual route home, we went the longer way to the south which takes us through some pretty country along the Palisades Reservoir. It represents about a 20 mile detour from our usual route home, but we avoid the Teton Pass - not one of Josie's favorite drives - and takes us through Alpine and the canyon along the Snake River.

The Reservoir was exceptionally low, and we got some good shots of this body of water that is not so far from us:

The low water level was especially noticeable at the end of the reservoir where it meets the outskirts of Alpine, and is totally dry:

It was an opportunity for us to also have dinner at a nice cafe in Alpine - The Yankee Doodle Cafe - where we have eaten previously and enjoy the food.

This drive also takes us along the Snake River in the canyon that connects Alpine with Hoback Junction, and is the area where we had our rafting trip and also spend a lot of time enjoying the scenery. You've seen many pictures of this stretch of highway, but here are a few more:

The storms had already gone through this area, but when we got home we saw that we were just behind the big storm. The winds were fierce - 30 mph according to my gauge - and we had nearly .4 inches of rain. Josie's plants were all blown over and the water was still running down the road at the RV park.

There was more rain this morning, but not nearly as violent as yesterday. It is also unusual to get the rain so early in the day. We start our new week today at 3 PM, so it likes like another morning of doing inside stuff...

New Phones

We took our trip to the Verizon Store down the street from the RV Park and traded in our phones for new Smartphones. I had done lots of investigating into the new phones and decided that the Samsung Galaxy S4's were the right choice for us. Almost all of the reviews I read rated these ahead of the iPhones from Apple. Our needs are more than satisfied with these phones and we should be set for at least another two years with these. Actually, these new phones almost remove the need for laptop computers as just about everything can be done on these devices. So, we spent a good part of the day playing with our phones and tweaking the settings. Josie got a white phone with a nice hot pink case, and I got the standard black phone with a bright orange-trimmed camo case that is sure to make it easy to spot in any room. That pretty much takes care of our budget for the month of September. Actually, with our rebates and trade-ins, we only spent about $400 for the new phones and accessories. They retail for almost $600 each and time will tell if we made the right choice.

There were off and on ugly clouds during the day, but it never actually rained - at least not in our area. We heard about severe weather warnings in central and southern Idaho, but none of that reached us here in Jackson. The sun is shining again this morning and we are probably going to take the trip to Idaho Falls to visit the Joann's store for Josie. She is really into her afghans now, and the urge to try other color yarns and techniques has consumed her free time. She is turning out some nice work as her creative juices flow, so it's nice to see. We also have a short list of other needs, so the trip should be worthwhile.

We will leave early for Idaho Falls, so it's time to get things together and head out, so that's about it for now...

Still in Wet Pattern

It is definitely a wetter season than last year. The rain has come many more days in the last two weeks than we have had in any period since we have started coming here last year. The clouds look ugly outside this morning, and it looks like more wet stuff is on the way.

It did stay clear and dry enough yesterday morning for us to get the grass mowed. We pick up the mower and edger at the RV office shed and we walk it back when the job is completed. Following our mowing yesterday, we spent a little time talking with Lynn, the wife of the RV Park Manager and the lady that had a scare about a month ago when she collapsed from stress and exhaustion. They are a nice couple that own lots of toys - trailers, boat, ATV's, etc. - and go back to AZ every winter to stay in an RV park near Goodyear, AZ. She was telling us about their schedule to close sections of the RV park each week, beginning next week, and continuing until the 15th of October when the park closes entirely. She was also telling us that they are going to sell their boat next summer as they didn't use it once this year. It is a 24 foot boat that they keep moored at the Jackson Lake Marina in the Tetons and leave here all winter. We sometimes wish we had a boat to cruise around the beautiful Jackson Lake at the base of the Tetons.

Our plans for our two days off are unsettled. We do know that this morning we are going to go to the Verizon store down the street and upgrade our phones. Josie's is totally dead now as the battery in her phone will not hold a charge. We both have gotten more smartphone savvy while using my Motorola RAZR and talking to other folks about their new devices. We have rebates and trade in value to be able to upgrade both phones at a reasonable cost, and now is as good a time as any to start a new 2 year term with Verizon. We have talked about switching carriers, but with all the traveling we do, Verizon has the best coverage across the whole country, so we will stay with them. Even though we have had some problems with them over the last two years, they are still the best for our needs.

We have also talked about another trip to Idaho Falls to visit the Joann's store so Josie can get some more yarn, and we may combine that with a stop at the casino that is in Blackfoot which is down the road from Idaho Falls and where we visited last year. Although we didn't have any luck at that casino, we feel it might be worth one more visit with a small stake.

There is also a section of the bike trail - south of Jackson - that we are hoping to try, but the weather is the main consideration for our activities today and tomorrow. If it would only clear up with no threat of rain...

Handling the Rain

It was another day yesterday of threatening rain, which did arrive late in the afternoon. I did squeeze in a trip to the bike shop to pick up Josie's bike that was getting an adjustment to the gearshift, but the rain threat prevented any other outdoor activity. The grass has grown beyond the height for cutting, so we somehow have to get that done very soon - maybe this morning if it stays dry long enough.

One thing that we do get a chance to do, and that is our needlework projects. Josie finished another afghan yesterday and she gets better and better at designing them. Here is a shot of her latest afghan:

She has much more yarn to use but is anxious to take another trip to Idaho Falls to visit the Joann's store and pick up more colors for her next project. I guess that trip will be scheduled sooner than later.

More signs of the slowing season appeared yesterday. There is no longer the wild west shootout at the town center as a result of the Playhouse closing for the season. The cast for the shootout was the actors and actresses for the Footloose presentation and some of them have left Jackson to go to various other jobs and locations.

This is the last week for a few of the working couples at the RV park as they cut back the hours for the remainder of the staff. We get a chance to meet and talk with some of these couples as they bring in the cash drop at the end of each day to the safe behind our front desk. The couple that asked us to stop and visit them on the way through Branson, MO in October is one of these couples that we have come to know and like. They are not going to return here next year as they plan to take the year off to travel that will include a one month stay in Sequim, WA as part of their travel itinerary. Of course, that is fairly familiar territory to us and we had a good time discussing areas in that part of WA that would be interesting for them to visit.

Today is our Friday this week and we are just hoping for some nice weather so we can get out and do something in this beautiful area. It is about time we take another trip to Yellowstone to catch up on what is happening there - if we can only get some sunshine...

A First for the Summer

For the first time this summer season, we had rain, off and on, all day long. It only rained .3 inches here, but there was rain all around us and the mountains probably held back much of the accumulation in Jackson. We didn't hear about any flash flooding in the area, but I'm sure there was some as the radar showed lots of heavy rain in the surrounding areas. The extra rain had to have helped with the wildfire situation and the air should be clear once again when it all moves out.

Another milestone was reached in our weight control efforts this year. I broke through the 200 pounds barrier at 199 this morning, while Josie also set a new low for herself. It has been at least 20 years since I was less than 200 and we both are enjoying our new eating habits and diet lifestyle since we started on January 1. We are determined to make the weight loss permanent, and the fact we are losing it slowly is a good sign that we can make that happen. Getting a lot of exercise doesn't hurt either.

It's getting tougher to suggest the popular activities in town to guests with all of the downsizing for the season. The Rodeo is now over for the season - it was held every Wednesday and Saturday during June and July, and every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday during August. The playhouse has also closed and we are thankful that we made one of the final presentations of Footloose before it ended this weekend. Our restaurant has discontinued the dinner service for Sunday and Monday nights. It used to be closed for Sunday night only. Float trips and horse back riding options have also been cut back with the slowing season. The RV park is sending 2 couples home this week so their hours are being cut back for the season. Except for two upcoming weekends in September, our lodge will be dealing with almost as many walk-ins as reservations. We will have an average of about 60 - 70 rooms vacant and available to sell for most nights in September. That represents more than a third of the total rooms (170) in the lodge. It translates into slow, and long nights behind the front desk.

As a result of the rain yesterday, we postponed the scheduled pick up of Josie's bike at the shop. That will be accomplished today - if the rain stops long enough. Right now, it is foggy and cool, so we will wait until around 10 AM to get that done. It is our Thursday today, so we are looking forward to ending another work week in a couple days...

Flash Flood Warnings

Whatever happened yesterday morning to make me forget about posting the blog entry is a mystery. I always get that done in the AM before doing anything else, and yesterday's was no different - except I didn't get it physically posted until after Josie reminded me that it wasn't posted at 2 PM - just before getting ready for work.

The day wasn't that busy and we only went to the grocery store as we were expecting a call from the bike shop telling us that Josie's bike was ready for pickup. That call came last night, so we will pick it up this morning. That is, if it doesn't pour rain all morning. It is beginning to rain as I write this, and we have severe weather warnings for this morning in all of western Wyoming. There is up to 1 inch of rain expected and there is a chance that flash flooding will create problems in low lying areas. That is a first for us in the two years we have been here. This summer has seen much more in the way of rain forecast for this area.

I neglected to mention that during our bike ride a few days ago, Josie complained that her gears were difficult shifting. You may recall that we took our bikes into the shop to get our "free" tuneup a few weeks ago. Evidently, adjustments were made to Josie's that resulted in a tighter cable on the one gear shift. We stopped by the shop following our ride in the Park on Friday, and the owner said he would re-adjust the gear shift to make it easier for Josie. So far, this owner has been a delight to deal with and we are happy we purchased our bikes from him earlier this summer.

We are having some problems with our TV that we can't seem to fix. The picture gets "wobbly" and distorted on some broadcasts. It only happens on TV shows, and not on movies that we watch from DVD's. That would indicate to me that the problem isn't the TV, but rather the receiver that is provided by DirecTV. I will call DirecTV tomorrow following the holiday weekend to try and schedule a technician to come out and do a check on the receiver.

That's about it for now, as we watch the steady rain outside...

Almost Sold Out

We came within just a few rooms of selling out at the lodge last night. Since it's the holiday weekend for Labor Day and the last big weekend of the season, it was probably what we should have expected. It's been relatively slow for the last week or so, so we were kept "jumping" for a change. There are only a couple more events at the lodge that will create a near sell out condition for us at work. This is the time where we get a little anxious to move on as the RV park is already losing some of their seasonal workers due to a slow down in their business. The first of the departing workers is scheduled for early next week.

August was a stellar month at the lodge. We finished the month with 250 more guests than the same period last year. That's averaging almost 10 more guests each night of the month versus last year. The biggest difference for us is the fact that our daily tour bus from Caravan Tours has eliminated the nightly trip to the Bar-J Chuckwagon which they included each night last year on their tour schedule. That means that all of those people from the tours are forced to "hang out" at the lodge and that creates a lot more work for us. They are always asking for help to locate a spot to have dinner, call for a cab to go somewhere, or just sit around the lobby asking questions and taking away from our normal duties. I guess it can be argued that their requests are part of our job, which is true, but last year we didn't have all those distractions to deal with while handling all the requests of the other guests. As I said before, the busier we get, the faster the time goes by at work, so we shouldn't complain.

We had an unusual happening at work last night. At about 5:30 PM, a Jackson police officer came in with an elderly gentleman from Montana and asked us if we could get a room for this man. It turns out that this individual is in the early stages of Alzheimers disease and the police picked him up at some location where his truck broke down. Evidently, he put regular gas in his diesel truck and the engine quit. We checked him into a room for a few days while the police locate family and have someone come to rescue him. Our concern is that he will walk out of his room during the night without any knowledge of where he is or where he is going. It's sad to see the effects of this disease on a person and we all felt sorry for him.

There are some new wildfires reported in Idaho and we expect more smoke and haze to arrive sometime soon. We hope it doesn't get too bad as we have more outside activities planned before the end of our last month. We'll keep our fingers crossed...