Life on the High Plains

We got to take Miss G to the Idaho Falls Zoo last week (without her parents).  Idaho Falls has a very nice zoo, it's small but well maintained.   Here she is with Pappy at the penguin exhibit.   The river otters thought she was pretty cute too. She was up close and personal with this big cat.     I think they had fun looking at each other.   This is awesome Aunt Heather!   Of course Grammy is her favorite!   The lion water fountain was a big hit.  After she saw it all she wanted to do was get drinks. Mean old Pappy finally had to tell her "no more".  That's why Grammy is her favorite.   Here's cousin Logan.  I'm not sure what he thought about his 2 year old cousin.   A trip to the zoo is always refreshing.  This trip was especially needed.

I'm having some trouble getting into the "blogging" routine again.  I'm a little disgusted with social media lately--you know, the stalkers and the haters.  My blog is my life journal though so I'm going to keep going. Today we're going to talk about getting older.  Both my parents are gone now so my brothers and I are the older generation .  Irv even called me the "Matriarch of the family".  Yikes!! How did that happen?  I'm so happy to be getting older--it's certainly better than the alternative.  I'm doing everything I can to be a heathy "older" person.  I read an article last week about mobility as we age.  It said people who watch five or more hours of TV per day have lots more mobility issues.  I believe that is so true.  I was almost at the 100 mile mark in the Yellowstone Employee Hiking Club this summer when I unexpectedly had to drop out.  Even though my left foot hurt like crazy this summer following a hike, I di...

This is my favorite spot on earth.  What a gift it was to spend the summer in Yellowstone and the Tetons.  I am a lucky woman! Goodbye until next year! Happy Skywatch Friday!

It has been a month since my last post and what a month it has been.  I never imagined that my summer in Yellowstone would end with my father's death.  I honestly thought my dad would outlive all of us.  Yes, he had Parkinson's Disease, but other than that he seemed healthy. The decision to quit my job and spend the summer in Yellowstone close to my dad turned out to be more of a blessing than I ever imagined it could be.  On many of my days off I made the drive to Idaho Falls to spend time with dad.  All during this time, however, I didn't realize that my dad's health was declining. My brother and I talked dad into moving to Colorado Springs.  My darling husband and daughter went out and found him a new assisted living place, my brother found a company that could transport him and we were all euphoric at the thought of having him close by.  Dad seemed excited about it too, he told everyone he met that he was moving to Colorado.  After figurin...

Yellowstone is an amazing place with all the geothermal features, rivers, lakes, critters, etc., etc.  This year nature has outdone itself with the amazing display of wild flowers. Every week there are new flowers blooming in every color you can imagine. My camera does not begin to do justice to the colors in Pelican Valley.  I don't know anything about flowers--I have no idea what their names are, but I love the display that Mother Nature is putting on this year. You'll even find them in the forests that are recovering from fire.  I am in awe of this place. Happy Skywatch Friday from Yellowstone!

I had planned a couple hikes during my two days off this week, but I woke up on Wednesday with a very sore throat and some chest congestion so I decided to take a day off before hitting the trails. On Thursday morning I met Elizabeth and Diane at Fishing Bridge then we carpooled over to the Pelican Valley trail head.  As you can see from the sign above, this is a bear management area.  There is no tent camping allowed in this area and it is recommended that hikers be in a group of four or more.  We hung around the trail head until another group showed up. This other warning was posted at the trail head.  Bears on a carcass 1/3rd mile off the trail somewhere along the way.     I'll always remember this hike as "fields of wildflowers".  It was spectacular and my camera does not begin to do it justice.   The hike started through a field of sagebrush, but we quickly entered a wooded area.  This was in a burnt out area as e...

Irv and I have been wanting to hike to Inspiration Point in the Tetons for a couple years.  Last week when he was here we finally did it. You can park at the Jenny Lake Visitor's Center and hike the 3 miles to the trail head or you can cheat and take the boat across the lake.  We cheated.   Jenny Lake is a glacier lake and it is cold and clear.   The trail was nicely maintained and it is well traveled.  This is one of the more popular hikes in the Tetons.     There's Irv with is hiking stick and bear spray--we both carry bear spray on these hikes. Of course I can't do a blog without including a shot of wildflowers.   Here's my attempt at an artistic shot of this very long downed tree.   A glimpse of the Grand Teton along the way.   We got to the turnoff for Inspiration Point but decided to hike to Cascade Canyon and then come back to Inspiration Point.    ...