Life on the High Plains

 My church has become very divided.  The maskers versus the anti-maskers.  With the spike in Covid in our community, the Board decided the best thing to do was to move the services online. I concur.  I haven't been to our church for months, but I believe that I can worship my God in any location including from my couch.  He's always with me wherever I might be. Something to ponder during this time of year: For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' (Matthew 25:35-36) The King will answer and say to them, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me". (Matthew 25: 40) During this Thanksgiving week let's do what we can to care of those who are less fortunate than ourselves.  Ther...

 My husband complained that I haven't blogged in weeks.  It's true, but there's a good reason why. Two weeks ago I had surgery on my foot...a plantar fasciectomy to be precise.  After a summer of having to keep my hiking to 3 1/2 miles or less while working in Yellowstone, I finally agreed to have the surgery.  I had been trying conservative methods of treatment for a year and a half with little to no success.   I had to have a Covid test and self-isolate one week before the procedure.  Since then I've left the house once and that was for a post-op check.  I'm following the doctor's orders to the letter because I know how important it is for my foot to heal properly. Anyway, I've been stuck at home for three weeks so I've not had inspiration to blog about anything.  We did have a couple exciting things happen at the farmstead this week though. In September 2019 my husband put up a  raptor roost in our pasture.  (Click here to read a...

 We were in Durango a couple weeks ago and got to the ride the narrow gauge train. Due to some track damage the train leaves from a depot about 18 miles north of town and only goes into Cascade Canyon and back for about a 2 1/2 hour ride. The views were amazing.  The train runs alongside the Animas River in the San Juan National Forest. We stopped for several minutes and this helicopter kept making runs back and forth through the canyon.  We decided they must be making a new promotional video or something. The fall colors weren't quite at peak yet, but they were still amazing. The color of the river was a beautiful turquoise.  My first thought was that it was glacier water, but after thinking about it awhile I remembered a mine spill that affected the Animas River a few years ago.  Initially the water was orange due to the high metal count in the waste water.  There's still a lot of orange along the river bank.  Perhaps that explains why the river is s...

 We had a mini family reunion in Durango after leaving Yellowstone. Mini because two of our family members weren't able to join us. Jillian and Brian made us some lasagna in the Dutch over over charcoals.  Colorado has a state wide burn ban so no campfires were allowed. My dad was an expert with the Dutch oven.  He could could biscuits to perfect golden brown.  I've had a Dutch oven for years and I'm so happy Jillian is continuing the tradition.  The lasagna was delicious and every morsel was eaten. There was lots of chatting, drinking, and even some.... ...debate watching.  Jillian and Brian have an outdoor TV jack on their trailer so we got to watch the debacle live.  Best part of the evening..."would you shut up, man?" Most of us would like the opportunity to say the same thing to the orange man. It wasn't a vacation for everyone.  Little Miss G had to keep up with her online studies.  Yes, even kindergarteners have distance learning. Dana...

 It has been 17 days since I left Yellowstone.  What a whirlwind it has been.  My last day was September 27th.  It snowed that morning, but that didn't deter people.  The plan was to close my booth around lunchtime then I'd do my final money drop and we'd be out of here.  The only problem was that the park was packed.  When it came time to close my booth, the line to enter the park was literally a mile long so there was no way I could close my booth. Anyway, my supervisor got someone to come in a work for me so we got on the road about 2:00. Luckily, we had planned a short day and had reservations at a Utah State Park campground.  It was nice to sit around the fire and enjoy the beautiful evening and each other's company. We even had a "cheers" to the end of summer.  Me with my sangria and Irv with a coke that one of my visitors gave me. We even cooked our dinner over the fire.  Potatoes with shrimp and tilapia.  It was especially y...

 Something quite extraordinary happened in Yellowstone last week.  A grizzly brought down a magnificent bull elk in the Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley. **Full Disclosure:  The pictures below were taken by friends, not me. The bear has not left the elk since he killed it.  He has partially buried it to cache it.  When he's not eating on it, he's sleeping on it. Some other inhabitants of the valley think it's time he shared. I wish I were going to be around longer to see when and if the grizz decides to share the carcass. Survival of the fittest!

My time in Yellowstone is drawing to end.  I've got eight more days here.  I have mixed feelings about leaving.  Of course I want to go home, but I greatly enjoy living in my little Yellowstone "bubble".  My co-workers are all like minded individuals who care about the park and believe in science and global warming.  I'm going back to a rural, conservative area that has different opinions.   The passing of RBG had a profound effect on me.  As a woman I have so much to be grateful for because of her.  Seeing what's happening to this country in the 24 hours since her passing has left me disgusted. Enough of that, let's get to my most recent hike in Yellowstone. I like to hike on the trails that are on the outskirts of Yellowstone.   One of my favorites is the Fawn Pass/Bighorn Pass trail. In the spring the meadows are filled with wildflowers.  It's especially beautiful now because of the autumn colors. In the summer, however, I a...