Utah to Wyoming

How to load a small dog
into a raft!!  :-)

Friday was our stay at home day, and time to start getting things ready for our trip to Wyoming. We had 5 loads of laundry, between doing sheets, rags and rugs and everything else we could think of. We got the extra propane tank disconnected, cleaned up some of the underneath storage bins, defrosted the refrigerator/freezer, changed the A/C filter , finished and posted the blog and both of us made a couple of phone calls. That took us all day and we were exhausted by the end of it. Of course Jim stopped over and we had a simple dinner of burgers and chips, but Brad and Jim talked until about 9:00. I headed in a little early, got the dishes done, coffee made and the crock pot ready for tomorrows meal. After that we headed to bed by 10:00.

Saturday was a work day so up and out of here by 6:30. It was a very slow start, but by 8:30 the crowds were rolling in. We had a little reprieve for about 11:30 for about an hour, but then the rush

Long Horn Sheep
in  our CG

started again and we ended up not getting out of there until 2:00. We are on the way home and Brad must have been in a hurry to get Rudy, so guess what happened….yep, Brad got pulled over for speeding. I laughed so hard that he actually had to fuss at me to stop…..but that just made me laugh more. The cop walked back to the car and ended up only give Brad a warning, and I giggled. We started back home, in silence for a while, then when the talking started the warning was not discussed. We get home and there are 5 sheep in the drive way, so Rudy got about a 5 min. break then back inside. We had a quick lunch, then Brad and Rudy headed in for their nap, while I transferred pictures and worked on the blog. After they got up they headed out for a little walk, while I pulled pork for sandwiches tonight.  Jim joined us for a drink and then dinner, which turned out pretty good.  We have to work Sunday and then Monday morning we are heading to Wyoming to the Grand Tetons, so Jim offered to make us dinner Sunday evening so we could pack and get ready for our trip, how nice.

 

Sunday ended up being a strange day, it started out slow, got busy, slow again and busy again.  Chris stopped down twice, once to see how things were going and tell us we can leave early if it stayed this slow, then the next time to take a picture.  Jake was with Chris, so Jake took over the booth and Chris

Sunday morning greeting
committee

and I headed down to the launch site area.  He picked out a place and took a picture of Brad and I.....not sure why and after some of his stories, I'm a little nervous about what his plans are, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.  We actually ended up working until 1:00, then headed home and the packing started.  It is amazing what you get out and how things get rearranged when you are parked for 2 months.  I did one more load of laundry, so that our uniforms are clean when we get back, and we packed, packed, and packed some more.  We finally got finished about 5:30, just as Jim stopped over with a beer.  We chatted for a while, then he started dinner, steak and sweet corn, a very nice, delicious treat.  We sat and talked until about 8:30, then Jim headed home and we headed back inside to finish dishes, packing and headed to bed by 10:00. 

 

Monday morning, much to the surprise of both of us we were up and on the road by 8:00.  We stopped, hooked up the car, double checking everything (we forgot the routine) and we were still moving by 8:15.  We made a couple of stops on the way, each one lasting about 30 min, and we still got to Jackson, WY by 3:00.  What a difference from what we have been used to.  Our volunteer CG is on a side road with only 4 sites and wildlife all around, now we are in a CG with over 100 sites and it feels like you can touch your neighbors RV.  There is no place for Rudy to run so we have done and lot of walks, and Brad has even found a short hiking trail not that far from the camp ground.....oh well, we will survive.  We just had burgers for dinner with many short walks around the CG, remembering what it is like to people watch, interesting.  I called Dad and talked with him for a short time, then it's off for another walk.  We made a plan for Tuesday and are all in bed by 10:00, hoping to get up early and head out to hit the sites. 

Tuesday morning we were up early and I was showered and ready to head out by 7:30, so we head out to a bagel shop....it was ok, don't need to go back.  Back home, a shower for Brad, pack some snacks and water, load up Rudy and we are on our way.  Our first stop is the Elk Refuge Visitor Center, we spent about 30-45 min. there, then head up Route 89.  We turn off at the Gros Ventre

Foggy Grand Tetons
Beautiful!!

Junction to check out their CG, then continued onto Kelly where we stopped for a cup of coffee.  We continued on from there, getting a look at a large herd of buffalo, then back out to Route 89.  From there we went to the Jackson Lake Lodge, getting gas for the car and then lunch for Brad and I.  By now it's after 1:00 and the rain has started, about 65 degrees, a bit damp and chilly, at least compared to what we are used to.  We then headed down the 'inside loop' towards Jenny Lake, taking the Jenny Lake Loop from there (beautiful, but a bit foggy) then continued on to the 'Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center'.  We left there not going in and planning on going back another day, when Alice texted for us to meet them there.  I had texted her to see where they were on their whorl wind tour of the west, only to find out that they are about an hour north of us, heading our direction.  Nothing like traveling 2000 miles to meet your family from PA, it was a short visit, but nice to see them, and then they were off again!!  We looked around a bit more, then headed home.  We sat inside about 20 min. then did about 3 loops around the CG with Rudy, then headed inside for dinner.  After dinner Brad played a few computer games while I worked on the blog, then he did dishes and made coffee while I finished the blog.  Now he just needs to review and publish....hope you enjoy. 

Diane and Brad
 

July in Utah

Sunday was another work day, not to bad about 300 people going down the river.  Brad did manage to get a picture of  'how not to pack your raft'.  I am still amazed at the amount of people who camp

Can you say 'FULL'

on the river.  We left at 1:00, heading home, only to find the long horn sheep in the middle of the road, they seem to be residents of our hill top.  After that it's a light lunch, nap and then off to the Greendale Overlook to make some phone calls.  I talked to Dad and Lynne, while Brad and Rudy headed out on their 4 mile hike back to the CG.  When I pulled in there is a Travel Trailer blocking the road, friends of Fred and Judy's came up for a visit.  I park, head inside and clean the lettuce we have for dinner, then as Brad and Rudy head in, everyone is outside to meet, including the new dog in the neighborhood.  Brad and Rudy have some water, then Jim stops over for our evening happy hour.  We are planning on salad with left over steak for dinner, but the wind started to pick up, so we packed up all of our salad fixin's and headed to Jim's 5-wheel for dinner.  We had a wonderful meal, with ice cream topped with fruit soaked in Rum and Bourbon, wow, that was delicious.  After that the wind died down, so out for a camp fire, I did dishes, then joined the Brad and Jim.  We did all wonder what might have happened to the CG host at the Red Canyon CG, he was there Saturday evening and the next morning he was gone.  Fred stopped over to share some stories, then he headed in, with Brad and I following about 9:00.  Jim stayed out for a while, then put the fire out before he headed in.  Another nice day. 

Monday and Tuesday were work days. We had a gotten a Trail Mix that we didn’t care for, so Monday when we went to work I put it on a shelf that was set up to put bird seed on. It did entertain me for the day as the Blue Jays came in and cleaned it up. Chris stopped by in the morning to pick up the weekend money, then he left us know that Jim was going to be the only one working on Thursday (Pioneer Day, a state holiday) and he was worried about how busy the boat ramp area would be. Somehow they managed to schedule 4 of the regular Forest Service guys for training that day, so what do we do, we offer to help them out and work on Thursday. We left about 12:30, headed into Dutch John to drop off our time sheets, but the office building was locked. OK we’ll do that another day, so we headed home, let Rudy out, eat lunch and take our daily naps. After that Brad and Rudy went for their daily walk, while I ran the sweeper and cleaned up inside. Then we had a nice evening with Jim, he made chicken and broccoli for dinner, a nice chat after that, then off to bed for us all. 

Tuesday was a pretty slow day at the spillway, only about 150 people headed down the river. The most interesting thing of the day was a marmot that was running around the parking lot all morning. At one point he was sitting on the jersey barriers when a car went by, he just flopped down and played dead, when the car moved on, he got up, but then it backed up again, and he went back to playing dead…how funny. Brad took a picture of one of the dory’s as the guide attached a camera on



Not sure if they'll catch fish
but they'll get photos



the front and the back of the boat thinking that might take some interesting picture. We also had a couple from the Utah State University, coming down to do some water and bug samples, better them than me. We ended up closing about 12:00 and headed back into Dutch John. This time the office was open so we headed inside to drop off our time sheets and talk with Nan for a few minutes, it seems that 3 of the guys got done with their training early, so we don’t have to work on Thursday….yea. We headed home and decided to do my birthday dinner tonight, so a nap for both of us, then we got cleaned up and headed out to the Red Canyon Lodge. The meal was fabulous and you have to buy wine by the bottle, so they corked what we didn’t drink and we headed out. First we did the drive around the lake, back to check out Mark’s ranch, and then we turned around and headed for the overlook. We walked around there until dark, finishing the wine and had a great evening. Back home, a short walk or two for Rudy then off to bed.   

 Wednesday was our run to Vernal day, Thursday there are parades in town, so we didn’t want to try to do our shopping then. First stop was Patty’s Salon but she is too busy so she can’t cut my hair, then one or two other stops before we headed to the ‘Quarry Brewery’ for lunch (very good). I ended up at another place for a haircut, while Brad did some shopping for himself. After that Brad dropped me off at the grocery store and headed off first to Ace Hardware to get some light bulbs and second to wash the car. He got back just as I was checking out, so we loaded up the car and headed home. We got home, let Rudy out, put all the groceries away and were just pouring a glass of wine when Jim and Freida came out side. It seemed like we all had late lunches and nobody was really hungry, so we ended up with Camembert Cheese, Crackers and grapes for dinner, not bad for a light meal. We all chatted for a while more and headed in about 8:30, Jim has to work again tomorrow and we are making plans for Thursday and our trip to Wyoming. 

 

 Thursday was my birthday, and I want to thank everyone for the birthday text and facebook wishes. And today, Friday, I’ll go to the visitor’s center and see what Melanie bought me for my Birthday using Facebook. Continuing on with the story, we headed out about 8:30, stopping at the Flaming

Gorge Resort for to go breakfast burritos, then down the road to the Red Fleet State Park Dinosaur Trackway. It’s a 3 mile round trip, moderate to strenuous hike to see the dinosaur tracks in the rocks at the edge of the Red Fleet Reservoir. The hike was a little tough, nothing like scaling up and down rocks, walking through soft sand to see a couple of old dinosaur prints in the rocks. We stopped on the way out for a much needed water and carrot break, but the skies were getting darker so we cut the break short and headed back out. It took us about 3 hours to do the whole trip, never getting rained on, so we took another break when we got back to the car. After that we headed further out the road finding a couple of ranches, interesting and beautiful view and a couple of dispersed camping sites. We then headed home, had a light lunch and the three of us took a nap. We don’t have to make dinner tonight, Don and Jan are making a stew and corn bread for us all, so I made brownies, and we waited for dinner to be ready. Judy and Fred have friends up visiting, John and Sylvia, so about 5:30, the four of them came out with cheese and crackers for an appetizer and about 6:00 it was time for dinner. The stew was good, kind of like vegetable soup with sausage instead of beef, not too bad. After dinner we had brownies and the rest of Jim’s homemade ice cream for dessert, then Brad and Jim started a campfire and all nine of us stayed out for a while. It was a fun day and nice evening, I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday.

 

Pictures from our hike and the drive after that:

  https://picasaweb.google.com/115574168101787483704/DinoTrackAdventure?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJ_i8Nqjj7_zXw&feat=directlink

 Diane and Brad

 

Barge Ride



An exhausted Rudy

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were work days. Sunday and  Monday were pretty slow, but Tuesday we had over 200 people go down the river, that was surprising.  I did call dad on Monday and had a nice chat with him, but never got to talk with the guy from IRV-2, maybe another day.  Brad and Rudy went with me to the Greendale overlook, but then took the 4 mile trail back to the campground…..not to shabby for a work day. Tuesday we headed into Dutch John after work to talk with Nan about when we are leaving.  We have decided we would stay until the end of August (our replacement volunteers cancelled) if we can have July 28 and 29^th off, so we can head up to Wyoming.  She was glad we had decided to stay, so the 2 days off were an easy trade.  We then had our regular afternoon ritual, nap for Brad and Rudy, and me I made deviled eggs for Wednesday.  We had dinner with Jim and as we were heading in for the night, we threw our lawn chairs in his car for Wednesday, the Forest Service is taking us all on a barge ride on the Green River above the dam.   I almost forgot, Sunday or Monday Jim made dinner for us, we had Pork Chops with a Raspberry BBQ sauce, baked potatoes and a veggie......not to shabby of a meal. 

Wednesday morning was a bit disorganized, but we were on the road at 8:30 heading for the Lucerne Marina.  We did managed to fit our shrimp and deviled eggs in Fred and Jim’s cooler, so we only needed our little cooler for water and drinks, and of course our bag is misc sun screen, tissues, camera, etc.   It was about an hour drive there, and our 3 cars pulled in only to find out we were the first to arrive.  We unloaded our cars by the dock and slowly but surely the rest of the crew started to show up.  Now we were told we are going on a barge ride, and they weren’t kidding, the Forest Service’s working barge pulled in to pick us up.  There ended up being a total of 15 people, Fred, Judy, Don, Jan, Jim, Chris, Adam, Jake, Patti, Terri, Ben, Brad, me and of course our Captain and co-captain.  We pulled out from the dock about 10:00 and headed down the river towards the visitors center.  What a beautiful trip, we all were surprised by the amount of boat in campgrounds and day use areas.  About 11:30, we pulled into an area called ‘The Hideout’ dropped off the grill, Chris and his cooler, then headed further down the river.  We got to the Visitors center and the captain had to point it out to us, as large as it at ground level, you could hardly see it from the river.  We then headed back to the ‘Hideout’ where burgers, hot dogs and sausages were already cooking and we all brought sides, shrimp, deviled eggs, potato salad, fresh fruit, macaroni salad with shrimp and many other sides, if anybody left hungry, it was their own fault.  We all hung out for about 1.5 hours, and then we loaded everything on the boat and headed back.  We actually were running early enough we did a little side trip through an area called ‘Horseshoe Curve’, it was beautiful and as it turned out, was the original area where the river flowed.  We got through there then headed for the dock, unloaded and we were on the road heading home by 3:00, a great day was had by one and all.  We got back, left the three dogs out, then Jim, Don, Jan, Brad and I were outside and talked for about an hour, discussing the trip among other things.  We headed in early, cheese and pretzels for dinner and off to bed early for everyone. 

Barge Ride Pics:  https://picasaweb.google.com/115574168101787483704/GreenRiverBargeRide?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJSusdjq_bHpMw&feat=directlink



Rudy and Freida
Playing tug-o-war

Thursday was shopping day.  We left about 10:00 to head into Vernal with the first stop being Wal-Greens, then off to Wal-Mart.  We stopped for lunch at ‘Wingers’ (guess what we had), then a few more stops before pulling into a shaded campground to use our phones and computer.  I looked up cameras, while Brad made about 5 phone calls.  An added surprise was when my phone rang and it was Mel, what a pleasant surprise, we actually got to talk for about half an hour.  After that we headed to the grocery store, spent our normal $150.00 for next to nothing, then headed home, and it was still 5:00 until we got there.  We got the groceries put away and then Jim came over for sausages on the grill.....another great evening.



Good Wine with our steak dinner

Friday is our stay at home day, and since we are planning on taking the Moho to Wyoming, we had a little maintenance to do.  First off the out side temperature gauge came loose, easy fix.  The next thing was the refrigerator door broke yesterday while I was putting away groceries.....it got fixed, but not so easy and about 3-4 hours worth of work, most of that was trying to find the right parts to fix the door.  In the mean time, I got the laundry done, worked on the puzzle and did my best to stay out of Brad's way!!  After that it was clean-up time and get ready for dinner.  I sliced up some potatoes and onion in foil for on the grill, we had 2 steaks and Jim brought one over for himself.  When everything was about done, Jim headed over to make some sautéed green beans, what a great meal.  All of a sudden the Robins were on the ground yelling and hopping around so Rudy and Freida headed over to see what all the commotion was about.  Brad walked over and there on the ground was a Gopher Snake....I guess the birds don't like them too much.  Later, while we are still talking, Rudy headed over the rock wall behind the trailer and as we all looked in the direction, a wolf went trotting off...wow, what a night.  Brad and Jim sat out and talked for a while, while I cleaned up and got dishes done.  After that I think we all headed inside and off to bed about 10:00.

Saturday was another work day, so we were out of the house by 6:30.  The morning started out slow, but by 9:30 or so, things changed.  We had over 800 people go down the river with over 200 launches, I never had a chance for a break.  It was 1:30 until we got out of there and we were both exhausted.  We headed home a quick lunch, then a nap for all.  After that Brad and Rudy headed out for a walk while I worked on the blog.  When they got back from their walk, Jim came over to talk, so we were planning on a salad for dinner with the left over steak on top, but it was already 7:00, so it ended up being one sausage for each of us....salad tomorrow for dinner, I'll clean the lettuce as soon as we get home.  We talked for a while, then I headed in to clean up and do dishes.  Brad came in shortly behind me, got showered and headed to bed about 9:15, with me following him before 10:00.  Busy days just seem to tire us all.  We'll see what tomorrow brings. 


 There is a rust colored humming bird in this tree.  I tried to get a picture on the feeder but with the sun the color wouldn't show.


Diane and Brad

 

 

Stormy weather

Monday July 7, as we were heading to work, a tiny bear cub ran across the road in front of us, how cute.  We then looked for its mom and there she was up the hill, having already crossed the road, both were moving to fast to snap a picture, so we continued on our way to work.  It ended up being a pretty slow day, but we were still there until 1:00, every time we talked about leaving, another group of rafters showed up.  We get out of there, head home for the normal quick lunch and nap for Brad and Rudy; I even laid on the sofa and rested.  After that a long walk for Brad and Rudy, then Jim came over for his normal  visit and to let us know, he had dinner, Macaroni salad with smoked salmon in it…..ok, we’ll give it a try.  As we were sitting outside talking, the Smith’s came home from work, got changed and decided to join us for happy hour.  We all talked until about 7:00, then I heated up our leftover BBQ Beef and Jim got his salad, Jan grabbed the dessert and we had a nice throw together dinner for the 5 of us.  What a great evening.  The party broke up about 8:30, we all headed inside and proceeded with our nightly chores and then off to bed.

Tuesday was another somewhat slow day, busier than Monday, but I do think I like the 600-700

You can get anything
for your raft

count days.  We were still there until 1:00 then headed home for our normal mid afternoon routine, but I wasn’t in the best of moods, so I just loafed the rest of the day. Brad and Rudy headed out for their walk and very shortly after that, Brad radioed for me to let Fred and Judy know the sheep were in the CG next door, in case their son, Dave, wanted to head over to see them.  After about 5 min., Jim headed out with Dave and Freida, first to see the sheep and then up to the visitor center so Patti could get a look at Freida.  She maybe a standard poodle but there is nothing fancy about her, including the way she likes to run and rough house with Rudy as well as the hair cut Jim gave her.  Brad and Rudy got back and Jim and Dave were shortly behind him, so Jim came over to join us for a drink, and then stayed for burgers and chips for dinner.  Not much of a meal, but it way too hot to really cook anything more.  A bit more of a visit, then back inside to get ready for the next day….yea we are off, but now Jim has to be a work at 7:00 AM.

Wednesday we make our shopping list, which includes sandals, sun glasses and a hair cut for Brad.  We left about 11:30, got to Vernal and stopped for lunch….ugh; we still need to find a decent restaurant.  After that we hit 4 different stores looking for sandals, he had to break down and spend the money for a good pair of sandals, but we did find decent sunglasses at the same place, and he even found a place that gave him a nice hair cut, short, but it is a summer doo.  Again, this seems to be the normal, Brad drops me off at the grocery store and heads out to rinse off the car (it did look like crap), but he was back in about 5 minutes.  While in Smith’s grocery store, we ran into Jan and Don Smith, our volunteer neighbors, but they were just about finished with their shopping and we were just getting started. We got done shopping, stopped at MacDonald’s for an iced tea then headed

Duck Family

up the mountain towards our summer home.  To back up a little, Saturday a forest fire had started outside of Vernal, and has burned over 4000 acres, and on our way back home, we could see smoke off in the distance, the fire is still burning.  We didn’t get home until about 5:30, and it looked like they were having a volunteer meeting without us or Rudy.  We said our hellos; let Rudy out, put groceries away and then Jim met us, ready to have a drink.  We were just having brats for dinner, so he stayed, invited us to the campfire he planned on having for Dave that night.  Being from Boston, Dave doesn’t get many campfires, so Brad, Jim and Dave enjoyed the fire, while I did dishes, washed grapes, cut up watermelon and got some other things done.  I went out to join them for a few minutes then headed back inside to finish my chores.  It ended up being an early evening though, with Jim working tomorrow, the fire was out by 9:30 and all were inside.

Thursday we planned on rafting the river, or kayaking on Greens Lake, but the weather doesn’t seem to want to cooperate.  Brad and Rudy went for a good 2.5 mile walk this morning, then we had

Storm rolling in!!

Smoked Salmon Omelets for breakfast, a little strong for me, but Brad enjoyed it.  We watched the dark clouds roll around for a while then decided what the heck; off we went to Greens Lake to do a little Kayaking.  We started out getting two kayaks but settled for one as they were rather bulky.  We got launched and paddled around for about an hour, but then the thunder started rumbling and the dark clouds rolled in, we decided it was time to get off the lake.  We did manage to get rained on, but we did get out before the absolute down pour started.  We headed home, got showered, and had a little lunch(we scratched going to the Marina for lunch, not much fun in the rain).  We were trying to decide if there was something else to do, but with gravel/dirt roads and rain, we just hung out, played some

Cabins on the Green Lake

backgammon, did a little cleaning and then Jim joined us for rice and sausage for dinner.  With the bad weather, we all headed inside by 8:00 day

Friday is another drizzly day, but it’s a stay at home/laundry day and it gave Brad the opportunity to build a fire about 9:30 and keep it burning all day.  I managed to get 3 loads of laundry done, while Brad played in the fire.  Dave came out about 11:00, when the drizzle quit, and stood by the fire for about an hour then Dave and Brad headed out to use the phone.  Back home a little lunch and more fire playing for Brad.  When Fred and Judy came home we asked if they would be interested in having hot dogs, cooked over the fire for dinner…..as long as the weather holds out, it’s a plan.  Jim finally got home about 5:00, so we had our nightly drink and then the food started coming out.  Judy brought some chips and salsa, while I brought out a Crenshaw Melon….it actually turned out to be pretty good.  We finally started the hot dogs, as it was starting to look a little nasty behind us.  We did manage to eat and get everything back inside before the downpour hit, so Brad, Dave and I headed over to Jims for some more of his homemade ice cream, and we took some fresh blueberries and chocolate along for toppings, yum.  The rain didn’t last long, so the 4 of us headed back out to the camp fire, we weren’t there long, but it was a nice way for Dave to end his visit. 

Saturday is another work day, and Brad, Rudy nor I want to get up.  But we are off by 6:40 heading to the ramp, when much to our surprise, there are already 7 rafts waiting at the launch site....another busy day.  We had around 650-700 people go down the river, but the parking lot was an absolute disaster.  We didn’t get out of there until about 1:30, so it was a bee line home to get Rudy out of his kennel and a nap for Brad.  I started cleaning, after two days of drizzly, wet weather; the front of the Moho looked a mess.  After nap time Brad and Rudy went for a walk, while I started my cleaning frenzy.  It felt good to get the place clean, and I’m sure Brad and Rudy were happy to be out of my way.  Once again, Jim stopped over and joined us for dinner, chicken on the grill with a vegetable…not a bad meal.  I cleaned up while Brad and Jim talked for a while, but they were both tired and were in by 8:30. 

More later,
Diane and Brad

4th of July in Utah

Monday June 30 was a pretty slow day, as Monday's usually are.  The most exciting thing was this

Interesting transportation

4-wheeler vehicle coming in with a raft tied to the top.  Dad and son, are in the front seat, while the dog hangs out in the back seat....we just had to get a picture.  After work we headed into town to drop off collected money, then back home for a relaxing evening.  A quick call to Dad, since I missed my phone call on Sunday, then home for dinner, a walk and the normal nightly chores, 

Tuesday was more of the same, not a busy day, but a few more people than we had on Monday, but oh my, after Saturday,  this is really boring....I like being busy.  Being so slow, we left a little early and headed up to Flaming Gorge Lodge for lunch.  After that home, a nap for Brad and Rudy, left overs for dinner and couple of walks with the dog and then our nightly visit with Jim.  I think I beat Brad to bed about 10:30, but needless to say, he headed in very shortly after that.

Wednesday we decided to go into Vernal, knowing it would be busy, but tomorrow would only  be

Under the road tunnel
at the Mine

worse.  We stopped at a couple of the overlooks on our way down, one of them being an overlook of the phosphate mine...pretty interesting.  After that we looked for a barber so Brad could get a hair cut....no luck, they are all closed down or were just closed for the day.  We then stopped at a recommended Chinese Restaurant for lunch, it was OK, but it was nice to have something different for a change.  We then stopped at a couple of the local stores (non chain stores) looking for good sandals for both of us....no luck.  Now it's about 3:00 and Brad called Shari to talk with her for a while, so I left him sitting in the shade and headed to a store that I knew had sandals.  I tried on a couple of pair, found the ones I liked, then headed out to the car and ordered them on Amazon.....$22.00 cheaper.  I headed back to pick up Brad, but he's still on the phone, so I relaxed a little, then it was time to hit the grocery store.  He dropped me off, then headed

Vernal is decorated
for the summer

out to one more place to see about a hair cut....no luck for him, they were closed and no luck for me, the grocery store was a zoo.  It actually took me about 1.5 hours to get through the store, and I had a pretty small list, but I survived and about 5:00 we headed home.  It was a pretty hurried drive home, poor Rudy has been in his kennel since about 10:30 this morning, but he survived.  We put groceries away, then had our evening happy hour with Jim and an easy but late dinner.

Thursday we had a nice breakfast and then planned on going kayaking, but just as we were about to leave, a thunder storm blew in, so we waited.  It cleared out so we headed into Dutch John to drop off our time sheets and then headed to the marina.  We were planning on lunch at the little restaurant there, but they were closed and another thunderstorm was rolling around....no kayaking here.  After that we stopped at the Flaming Gorge Lodge for lunch then decided to go up to the Red Canyon Lodge and get kayaks for the little lake up there, but the temperature went from 80 to about 65 degrees, with more storms blowing through, so we scratched the kayaking for the day.  It was too late and to stormy to head out anywhere else, so it ended up being a lazy day at home.....ugh.  We did head to the visitors center to do some bill paying and make a phone call or two, but that was about it for the day. 

 

Judy and Fred

with Freda standing behind them

Friday, July 4, all the other volunteers had to work, but we planned to have a picnic when they all returned.  I had boiled some eggs last night, so first thing I did was put brownies in the oven and make deviled eggs for the picnic this afternoon.  Brad and Rudy were out for a walk, then when they came back we had breakfast, cooked on the grill, then gathered up our 5 loads of laundry (don't ask me how we always have so much) to do and get ready for this evening.  Jan and Don had gotten brat patties and were making baked beans, Judy and Fred made Waldorf Salad and had fresh tomatoes, Jim made Sauerkraut, and I made sliced potatoes with onions wrapped in foil

Jim and Brad

for on the grill.  It was a crazy day, the temperature dropped and the wind blew, so we were thinking about having the meal in the duplex, but about 5:30-6:00, it all cleared up, warmed up and we had the picnic outside.  The food was inside the duplex so we fixed our plates, then headed out to the picnic tables to eat.  For dessert, we had brownies and home made ice cream.....not a bad picnic at all.  We all helped clean up, the Jim built a nice camp fire.  Jan, Don, Jim, Brad and I only lasted until about 9:30 until we put it out, but what a great way to end the evening.....tomorrow is another work day for the 5 of us. 

Saturday, Judy and Fred headed out about 5:30, heading to Salt Lake City to pick up family from the airport and then they were off on a mini vacation.  Saturday they were expecting a crowd since there were crafts shows, car shows and fireworks in Dutch John, so the place is usually pretty busy, and they were right.  Saturday was pretty crazy, we had about 800 people go down the river, and there were 4 of us working at the launch area all day.  There was a truck that broke down about 10:30, right in the middle of the road leaving only one lane open, but we survived until the tow truck showed up to haul him out (only 1 tow truck in the whole Dutch John area, ha ha).   Brad and I didn't get out of there until about 2:00, and we were hot and exhausted.  We stopped at the Red Canyon Lodge and got a six pack of Corona, we just needed something cool and refreshing.  We got home had 2 beers each, then we both napped, even after that we could hardly stay awake.  Don and Jan also had a busy day, they had almost 500 people come through the visitors center, so they were exhausted as well.  Jim stopped over when he got home, but I think we were all inside by 8:00 and in bed by 9:00....another early day tomorrow. 

 

Sunday we arrived at our normal 7:00 am and about 8:30, Chris and Jake showed up expecting another busy day.....no luck, we went from 800 people to about 150. When we first started here that seemed like a pretty busy day to us, but after the last two Saturday's we are just pretty bored.  It was so slow, that Brad drove up the hill picking up trash and then stopped to chat with me for a while.  Chris and Jake headed out about 10:00, they decided to go check out some of the dispersed camping sites and were glad they did as some of the camp fires hadn't been put out properly.  We got out of here at 1:00, headed home and Brad and Rudy had their normal nap while I laid on the sofa and rested.  It is about 91 here, but humidity is only about 13%, so it's very hot in the sun and pretty nice in the shade.  About 3:30 Brad and Rudy head out on the daily walk (about 2.5 miles), but Brad tried to pick a path that was pretty shady.  After they left, I packed up the I-Pad, cell phones, a cooler full of water and headed to the visitors center.  I talked with Dad and Mel for a while, and when Brad arrived he called Shawna, left a message, then actually got a hold of Shari and they got to talk for a while.  After that Brad and Rudy headed back out, while I got on the computer and paid our CC bills, then I headed home for dinner.  I had thrown a beef roast in the crock pot with some home made BBQ sauce for pulled beef sandwiches with chips, not a bad meal on a hot day.  Jim had off today, but stopped for a little chat when he got home, then we got cleaned up and Brad was off to bed about 9:30, with me shortly behind him about 10:00.