Life on the High Plains

Another great day in the Teton National Park on Sunday. Taggart Lake...a 3.5 mile loop. Stunning views as can only be expected here. We initially thought we might have to turn back because of some ominous looking clouds.  As you can see, the storm passed by quickly so we carried on. This was the gift waiting for us about midway through the loop.  Stunning, quiet, serene, only a handful of other people. After a few minutes of admiring God's handiwork we continued on the loop.  Please note the above picture...clipped on Irv's shoulder is the bear spray.  We remembered it this time.  After the hike we stopped by the Moose Visitor Center and I sat in on a ranger talk about the proper use of bear spray.  It's information that I hope I never have to put to use. We came upon another small lake. Beautifully maintained trail. A view from the top of the hill. Beautiful meadow. Another great hike...

I'm back at my happy place...the Tetons in Wyoming.  My dad gave us his timeshare in Jackson Hole and this is our week.  I've been coming to Jackson Hole for as long as I can remember.  My uncle used to have a pharmacy here right on the Town Square.  I love it! Our first day included a trip to Jackson Lake.  We were hoping to see the Super Scooper dipping into the lake to fill up the tanker.  There is a huge forest fire in the Tetons right now. Irv and I know the best way to see things in these national parks is to park the car, put on the hiking shoes, and hit the trails.  Most people don't venture too far from there cars as they drive from spot to spot in the park.  These signs are at all the trailheads.  We did have bear spray with us--back in the car. We took the Lakeshore Trail which went out onto an island and onto the "beach". The air was really smoky which made for not so good pictures.  There were lots o...

If you came across this wooden box what would you think of it? Before my dad moved into assisted living this summer we had a talk about what needed to be saved from his house before we cleared it out.  He told me about this wooden box that has been sitting on the shelves in the storage room for the last 33 years.  Actually, this box has been around since before I was born. I hope I get this story right--I'm not quite sure of the years.  My parents were up in South Dakota in the 1950s.  The egg market was in a slump at the time and eggs were only 15 cents per dozen.  Mom and Dad wanted to take some eggs back home to Coyote, New Mexico.  How to transport them? This is an old egg crate that belonged to my dad's grandparents--my great grandparents.  They filled it with eggs and drove them all the way home to New Mexico without any breakage. It was fun digging through the layers in the bottom of the box.  They don't make thing...

This was our destination:  Ptarmigan Lake (do you know how to pronounce Ptarmigan?) 6.6 mile out and back hike starting at an elevation of 10,770 feet.  Trail was rated moderate. This was the first of two huge boulder fields that we had to cross. I will tell you this is one of the most spectacular sights I have ever seen.  I was just hoping and praying that a earthquake wouldn't occur while we were out in the middle of the field. The picture might give you a little better perspective of the size of the second boulder field we crossed.  > Up, up, up we went.  It took almost three hours to reach the summit, mainly because we had to stop and breathe every few feet because the oxygen was mighty scarce. This was the lower lake.  I thought it was quite beautiful, but we had another half mile and the steepest part of the hike to go before we reached Lake Ptarmigan. There's always time to stop and smell the ...

Finally! We got to take the new camper on its first "real" camping trip. To me, real camping is done in a picturesque, quiet, remote location.  Forest Service campgrounds are the best.  I don't care for camping in those huge, commercialized campgrounds where your camper is five feet from the neighbor.  We loaded up and drove about 2 1/2 hours west of Colorado Springs to the Buena Vista/Collegiate Peaks area.  Lucky for Irv that I reserved us a pull-through site so he didn't have to back the beast into a spot. We even did a great job of getting the beast level, both front to back and side to side. Notice the trees and seclusion?  I was in heaven! Plenty of room for the slide-out. Okay, now for the real truth.  As much as I like seclusion, I also like to have a little electricity for the essentials--microwave, hair dryer, but mainly to charge the battery.  Why do we need a battery?  Mainly to keep the hea...