Jump Start of Trip

The snow arrived early in the day yesterday and we decided not to wait for today to leave Jackson. The forecast was ugly, and the radar showed that there would be no improvement throughout the day. The temperatures were hovering around 26-27 and the high for the day was projected to be in the low 40's. This shot was taken of the Elk Refuge and the hills outside of our RV at around 10 AM:

It made no sense to stay at 6200 feet in Jackson when we could escape to a town south of Jackson that would provide some relief. We packed up, hitched the trailer and headed to Thayne, WY, which was only 50 miles away at a lower elevation (only a few hundred feet lower, but enough to make a difference) and gave us a head start toward Utah where we will spend the night tonight.

The drive was in and out of rain, sleet and snow almost the entire way to Thayne at 2 PM yesterday afternoon. I couldn't get many photos of the beauty of the Snake River Canyon as a result of driving and trying to stay focused through the weather, but did get these to give you an idea of the beauty:

On a better day, we would have gotten more photos.

This morning, we see that we received a dusting of snow during the night, but the traffic appears to be moving normally on the highway. Our plan is to get ready and hit the road for Heber City, UT between 8-9 AM.

We'll (hopefully) see you tomorrow from Deer Creek State Park in Utah...

Another Season Ends

The season ended yesterday for us. There definitely was a sign that the winter season is here as business was down and the last couple of hours were very boring. We said our farewells to more of the folks we worked with and some left right from work to head out to their winter destinations. It rained most of the day but there was no snow. The forecast was for rain and snow, so we are grateful for that.

We have discussed packing and heading out sometime today which may still happen. We will go the store this morning to pick up some traveling food, gas up the car and then get everything that is outside all put away and hitch up the trailer. Maybe we will get a couple hours head start and stay somewhere between here and our scheduled first stop in Heber, UT, tomorrow night. We want to get away from this high elevation asap to remove the snow possibilities. We'll see how the weather treats us today.

Patty and her family went to the opening game of the MAC schedule for Western Michigan University and saw a terrific start to the Conference opener as WMU beat Ball State University 55-3. Here is a shot that was taken of Patty and the boys at the tailgating party before the game:

We are anxious to get to Chicago next week and see everybody again.

There was an inquiry and a telephone discussion with a prospective employer yesterday. We were approached by the management of the Shorewood RV Park which is located on the beach in Rockaway, OR, to come and work this winter season. It sounded like a nice opportunity in a great location, but the details were not suitable for us. It was a situation that could have worked with the right combination of hours and pay that was proposed. You never know when a good offer will present itself and we are constantly evaluating opportunities. Right now, it is time to get into gear and get things moving for our trip to AZ...

Season Ends Today

Well, we made it to the end of the season. Today will be our final day at the Visitor Center for the 2017 summer season. We said our farewells yesterday to the folks that are not working today, including our manager. It will be a long and mostly boring day today if it is anything like yesterday. We only had a handful of customers between about 5 PM and the closing time at 7 PM. It has been a more difficult year than last, but we made many new friends and enjoyed the area, as usual. We will wait to see what changes are going to be made before totally committing to return again next year.

We must get everything together and packed away beginning tonight for our departure on Monday. The weather will not cooperate based on the current forecast, but we will have to somehow get it done anyway. Once we get south of the Jackson area, it should clear and we hope to have good weather for the rest of the trip.

I have to make a trip to the post office this morning to try and find out what happened to a medication delivery I should have received yesterday. I made a mistake in ordering my medication so close to our departure but I didn't see any potential problems with the delivery that was promised yesterday. It turns out that no mail is delivered to our business address and only UPS and FedEx packages are delivered. The real mistake I made was not finding out, up front, how the delivery was going be made. I assumed it would be UPS or FedEx. Bad assumption. I'm sure it will work out ok.

It looks like some of our neighbors are all hitched up and ready to leave today. We wish we were one of them as those folks will beat the bad weather. Maybe next year - if we return -  we will only work until September 15 which was the original end of season scheduled for us before we changed it to September 30...

Season Ending Farewells

It is that time of the season when our coworkers begin leaving for their winter locations. Yesterday was the beginning of the farewells and our manager, Angelica, brought in a big cake to celebrate the end of the season. The volunteers will be leaving first and we will miss most of them as we have grown closer to them during the season. The same people keep coming back year after year and they have become a close family to us during our time in Jackson this year. There are some changes rumored during the off season and we hope that none of them will create a negative environment at the Visitor Center. Right now, we plan to return next season unless there are negative changes that result in our going in a different direction. Two work days remain for us and we will head out to AZ on Monday.

The forecast for the weekend is not good. Rain and snow is in the forecast for the entire weekend and the temperatures will dip into the 20's each night. Our only concern is that we get packed and out of the area before any of the forecasted snow creates problems on the road. It's a shame we couldn't leave earlier as the last couple days - and again today - would be clear for travel, even though it is still cold (28) this morning.

Most of the visitor attractions are closing down now for the season and we expect the crowds to be smaller on each of the last two days for us. We close each of the last two nights and today will be our final working day with our manager. There will be some emotional goodbyes over the next two days...

Farewell Party

First of all, it is 25 outside again this morning. Enough of this already!

We had a short day at the Visitor Center yesterday as we closed at 5 PM so that all the employees could attend the farewell party being held at the Elks Club in Jackson. We started at 8:45 AM, so we still got in our full working day.

The party was very nice and all the folks - paid employees and volunteers - were invited. These shots were taken at the party before sitting down for dinner. The first shot is of our manager, Angelica, who came with her 18 month old son::

These shots were taken of our group:

Following dinner, recognition was given to the volunteers and staff by our Elk Refuge Director who said some very nice words about Josie and I and our contribution to the Elk Refuge during a trying and sometimes stressful summer season. It was a nice way to end the season.

With only three work days left, we are watching the weather forecasts and holding our breath for some decent weather this weekend. Right now, it still looks like some rain and snow for Sunday with possible clearing on Monday - the day we are scheduled to leave. We thought about trying to leave  on Sunday to get away from this area as quickly as possible, but with the forecast not looking so good for Sunday, we will stick with the original plan...

25 and Falling

It is 25 degrees outside as I write this entry this morning. Aside from the very cold temperatures, the forecast for the weekend - our last - is for rain and snow. It doesn't appear that we will get out of town without experiencing more cold and wet weather. We even considered leaving on Sunday following our final work day, but it isn't going to be any better than Monday which is our scheduled departure day. Ho hum.

While taking a photo of the sunrise yesterday AM I captured this shot of a moose walking across the Elk Refuge:

This is the shot of the sunrise with the mountains covered with snow in the distance:

We start at 8:45 AM this morning as the Visitor Center will close early at 5 PM today. There is a farewell dinner scheduled for all the employees and volunteers for tonight at the Elks Club in Jackson. We are thinking that, if we return again next season, we will leave on September 15 which was our original quitting date this year before we changed it to September 30.

There was some bad news yesterday from Pioneer RV Resort where we will be staying again this winter. They gave up our space - #90 - to a full time customer and reassigned us to space #185 for this season. That means I have to change our address again - everywhere - so that we will get all our mail at the new location. We knew about that possibility before we left in May, but didn't want to spend money for the space when we would not be using it during the summer months.

We did get a head start yesterday in packing away some outside stuff - like the grill and chairs. We are limping to the finish line this season...

Final Drive of Season to Idaho Falls

We decided in mid morning - at about 9:30 AM - to take our final drive to Idaho Falls for the season. There was still some snow in the area and our car and the hills looked like this:

The forecast was for clearing skies, so we took the chance.

As we approached the Teton Pass outside of the town of Wilson, we began to have some second thoughts as the snow on the pass, although very pretty, was a bit scary as the clouds had not disappeared. These shots show the beauty of the pass on our drive to Idaho Falls from Wyoming into Idaho:

The sun eventually came out and the drive was stress free.

I got a haircut at SmartStyle in Walmart and we also stopped at Sam's Club and picked up some much needed vitamins and other items that we will need over the next month or so. The drive home was also pretty coming back over the pass and we got some nice shots of that drive:

That last shot shows Jackson Hole at the bottom of the pass. The Teton Pass is very treacherous - even without weather considerations - as it is a winding pass with a 10% grade. It is, however, the shortest route from Jackson to Idaho Falls. It is our final trip there until next season.

We ended the day at home with a shot of the sunset and the hills across from us at the Elk Refuge: