Snow in August!!!



Traffic Hazard, you hit
them you pay for them!!

Monday and Tuesday were pretty slow days here at the ramp.  Monday after work we headed into Dutch John to talk with Nan for a little and Tuesday we left about 11:30 but decided not to stop for lunch and headed home to eat the rest of the grilled chicken on salad from the night before.  On Monday it was our normal routine, lunch a short nap for Brad and Rudy and then their daily walk. Tuesday we watch a movie staring Robert Redford, called 'All is Lost'.  It was a good movie, but a little strange at the same time.  We have not seen much of Jim lately, he hadn't  been feeling well and spent most of his time resting.  But, each evening we would watch Freida for about an hour so her and Rudy could run and tire themselves out. 

 

Wednesday was a gray day, so a quick breakfast and off we go to Vernal for our weekly shopping trip.  No Elk on this trip, but just as we were finishing our 8th stop, the thunder started rolling around

Our daily Long Horn Sheep

again.  We got home to a light drizzle, but managed to get all the stuff inside before the real rain hit.  Brad and Rudy managed to get a short walk in and ended up seeing Fred and CJ on their evening walk.  It seems that even though we are getting some rain, the worst of it has been in Vernal.  Fred usually golfs every week, but he called and the golf course is flooded, the back 9 were already closed and it was raining really hard and they didn't even think the front 9 would be open tomorrow.....poor Fred.  I made dirty rice for dinner and we all just stayed inside for the night.   

 

Thursday morning we awake to more rain.....I thought we were in the desert, but maybe they lied to us!!  We are having another volunteer dinner and I am making pulled beef BBQ and Judy, Jan and Jim are bring the sides, so everything was mixed and in the crock pot by 8:00 AM.  Brad and Rudy went for a short walk, then Brad actually managed to get breakfast made on the grill in between the rain showers.  We managed to get the laundry done and finished the 2 month puzzle.  That was a tough one, 4 of us working on it and it still took us 2 months to finish, made me think of mom!!  About 3:00, Brad pulled the beef apart and we put it in a pan with some of the BBQ sauce to keep warm, then 4:00 I headed over to the duplex, swept up the moths and got our little electric heaters to warm the place up before we all headed over there for dinner.  Judy just about followed me in the door, bringing her BBQ baked beans, and turned on the oven for pre-heat (or just to warm up the kitchen, I'm not sure which).  I finished bring the plates and things about 4:30, Judy and Fred showed up for cocktail hour, with Jim following about 15 min. later.  We all sat and talked for about an hour waiting for Don and Jan, and Fred and Judy warned us that a mountain lion was seen on Wednesday morning near the CG across the road from us.  Don and Jan got there about 6:00, just in time to sit down and eat with us......another good meal, with home made ice cream for dessert.  And again, the mountain lion/cougar was spotted Thursday morning chasing a young long horn sheep.  We all hung out at the duplex until about 8:00, then we each headed home for the night. 

 

The 2 month puzzle!!

Friday we had hoped to take a ride to Spirit Lake, but with all the rain, we decided the dirt roads were a place to avoid.  So first thing in the morning I threw all the rugs in the washer, and ran it twice, then hung them on the line to dry......no rain today.  Brad made breakfast on the grill again, and this time we got to eat sitting outside, yea.  After breakfast Brad and Rudy headed out for about a 2 mile walk, while I cleaned up the Moho.  About 11:00 we headed down to the Visitor Center to make a few phone calls and do some internet banking, finally finishing that up about 1:30 (I hate being off the grid).  Back home a little lunch. then some picking and cleaning around the Moho.  I gathered up uniforms while Brad cleaned his grill and swept out some more of his outside bins.  A nice supper on the grill and an early night inside, it's pretty chilly outside. 

Saturday morning is rainy and cold, so we waited until about 6:45 to leave for work and were glad we did.  Just up the road about 1/4 mile from our camp site a bull Elk crossed the road in front of us.  Brad did his best to get a picture, but you can only make out the outline of the animal in the

Snow capped mountains
August 24!

fog, darn.  We got to work and as you would expect it was a very, very slow day.  We had more guides go down the river than we normally would have on a Saturday, but I think with the cloudy weather the fishing is supposed to be a little better, and of course very few public launches.  About 10:30 Jake came around and was sending everybody home, so we closed up shop and were out of there by 11:00.  We headed home had lunch, then loaded Rudy into the car so we could head up to the visitors center to get a picture of the snow covered mountain, yes, snow!!  We walked around there for a while and took some pictures, then headed up towards West Green Lake and just before we got to the lake about 30 Elk ran across the road in front of us.  I didn't get a picture of them on the road, but I did get one of them running through the woods, the bull Elk was with them, but of course you can't see him on the picture.  After that we headed down Eagle Ranch Road hoping to see the herd again, but no luck. After that we headed back to the Moho and Brad pulled out the batteries to check the water levels....etc. and I headed out to call Lynne.  We talked about 45 min, then back home to see what else needed done, so we went for a short walk then headed home to get dinner ready.  We planned on burgers for dinner, but as we were sitting with a glass of wine, Jim came home and invited us to have dinner with him and his visiting relatives.  What a nice time, we had lots of cheese, crackers, and other snack foods, then brauts and baked beans (right out of the can) for dinner.  After that we had a camp fire which we all enjoyed, I left about 8:30 to get dishes done and the rest of my nightly chores and  Brad headed in about 9:00 and we were in bed by 10:00, 5:30 still comes early.

The Elk running through the woods!!

Sunday was a bit cool, but sunny so we actually had some river launches for the day....not a lot, but it was nice to have the people come through.  We were packed up and heading out about noon, when Chris stopped in to see how things were going and was headed down to the ramp to do some work.  Back home a little lunch and quick nap for Brad and Rudy, then off to the Greendale Overlook to drop them off for their 4 mile hike.  As I was leaving the overlook I spotted a couple of mule deer across the road, trying to cross to my side, but each time they tried coming down the hill a car came by.  I then stopped at the 3 campgrounds on my way home, trying to reach Brad on the walkie-talkie

Mule deer being chased
back up the hill!

and finally got a hold of him at the 3rd one I stopped at, but it ended up taking me about an hour to get home. Brad and Rudy got home about 5:30, a little glass of wine and a bark from Jim's camper. Most of the time Freida is with Jim, so we were all surprised, so Brad started dinner and I headed over to let Freida out to play with Rudy.  Jim got home about 30-45 min. later and thanked us for letting Freida out, 5 people and a dog in his car all day just wouldn't have worked.  His family was back over for dinner, but we stayed home for steak, mushrooms and garlic bread, yum.  After that we headed in to get our nightly chores done and get ready for our last Monday of work. 

Thanks,
Diane and Brad

We finally see some Elk

Monday 8-11 we saw about 20 turkeys on our way to work.  It ended up being a pretty slow day, but it was interesting watching 8 rafters prepare for a 9 day river trip, the amount of stuff that they must take is just amazing.  They prepped for about 2 hours up top, then headed down to the ramp and probably spent another 3 hours making sure everything was ready.  We left about 12:30 and headed into the Rec. Center Lunch counter for something to eat.  After that a quick stop to see Nan and drop off the register money and then we headed for home.  It was a beautiful day, but we headed up to the laundry area and worked on the puzzle, again.  After that Jim came over for a drink and dinner, Burgers, chips and water melon for dessert. 

Tuesday was another slow day, but about 9:00 about 50-60 students from the Utah Valley University showed up to do some volunteer work.  What a zoo, they were painting the lines in the parking lot,

Lola, the biker dog!!

picking up trash and a lot of them just got to stand around and watch the others work.....a bit crazy, but they did managed to get some things accomplished.  Sturgis Bike Week is over, so we have had a lot of bikers stopping in just to take a look at the place, but the one guy really got my attention.  He had a very small Chihuahua tucked in his vest, her name is Lola and she has over 25,000 miles racked up from traveling with him.  We didn't get out of here until 1:00, headed home for a quick lunch, a little nap, walk for Rudy and more puzzle work.  Jim came over for his nightly visit and then he stayed for a spaghetti dinner.  It ended up being a bit cool, so we all headed home by 8:00.

Part of the Elk Herd

Wednesday was breakfast on the grill, a quick walk for Rudy then about 10:30 we headed out.  First towards the Visitor Center to drop off the recycle, but on the way we did find a black bear, headed towards the one CG.  We stopped for a pic and away he ran, they just don't stick around for the photo-ops.  We then headed towards Vernal, but at the Cart Creek

Overlook we spied an Elk, then we noticed the herd of 20-30 of them behind a row a pine trees, what magnificent animals.  Thank goodness there was very little traffic, since there was no place to  pull over, Brad was creeping down the road, trying to find a break in the trees where I could get a picture or two.  Back on the road, we were going through the last of the big curves, when 2 mule deer stepped into the middle of the road and played the 'headlight in the eyes' stare with us, having to stop before the one deer moved, what a day for animals.  We finally get into town, complete our 7 stops and managed to get home before 4:00, our fastest trip ever.  Brad managed a short walk for Rudy, then about 6:00 we all headed to the duplex for a baked potato dinner, with all the toppings, including chili, Brownies and home-made blue berry ice cream for dessert. 

 

Thursday is our work at home day, first the Bedroom blind came down, 2 loads of laundry in and then breakfast on the grill.  After that laundry in the dry, check out a couple of switches not working right, boil eggs for tomorrows get together, cleaned all the fruit bought yesterday and made iced tea.  Brad and Rudy did an hour long walk, then we paid the taxes and worked on the puzzle.  Not a very exciting day, but the stuff needed done.  After that we had our nightly get together with Jim, then brauts on the grill.  A nice evening so we were all sitting out 'til about 9:00.

 

Friday we were going to do the museums in town, but the first priority was to get the bedroom blind fixed since our neighbors were coming home Friday.  We had breakfast on the grill again, 1 more load of laundry and then the better part of 3 hours to restring the blind, get it back together and hung up again.....ugh.  In between that, Brad started cleaning out the outside bins and getting the reorganized again, cleaned out the fire pit and did some bush trimming.  We re-leveled the RV, worked on the puzzle, made deviled eggs and a cheesy potato casserole to take to Nan's for dinner tonight.  She is the boss of all the volunteers and seasonal foresters, and had a Rib dinner for us all at her home.  The meal was great and her and her husband, Troy, were gracious hosts.  There were about 20 people at the meal and the Forest Service had a nice gift package for each of the volunteers, including a picture of each at their work place.  We stayed until about 9:00, but then headed home as 5:00 AM comes very early. 

 

Saturday was another busy day with over 700 people going down the river.  We had a lot of big

One of the young Sheep

groups, with one having about 70 people and we think the youngest of them was about 78 years old.  The Dam was having their 50th Anniversary celebration, so between the people launching and the workers from the dam coming down, the cars on the road pretty much non stop all day.  It was well after 1:00 when we headed out, and on the way home, the long horned sheep were in the middle of the road.  A quick lunch, little nap, walk for Rudy and Brad while I took out the trash and then worked on the puzzle.  For dinner we just had burgers and Jim brought over the Watergate salad left over from the night before.  It was an early night for us all, we all worked and had were tired from a busy day. 

Sunday was a pretty slow day, only about 200 people. but instead of working on the blog, I was trying to plan our trip home.  We managed to get out of here right at 1:00, then headed home for our daily routine of lunch and a nap.  Some time while we were resting the electric went out, and then

An Osprey coming into fish

never came back on until about 7:00 PM, I managed to call dad, but I couldn't finish the blog at the Visitor Center.  Brad and Rudy went for their daily walk while I stayed home and cleaned lettuce and got the salad stuff ready for dinner.  When Brad came home, he grilled up some chicken, but Jim didn't have dinner with us, his throat has been bothering him, so he headed home for some scrambled eggs, while we enjoyed a grilled chicken salad.  Not much happening this evening, Brad headed to bed about 9:00 and I followed about 10:00. 

 

Not much more to come from Utah,

we will be back on the road September 2.

 

Diane and Brad

Utah again.

Well, Sunday August 3, was pretty quiet, we only had about 260 people go down the river.  Now when we first started here, that would have been a busy day for us, but I guess you just get used to the crowds.  One vehicle stopped to get a pass and noticed my name tag, 'McCurdy', they were from Vernal and their last name is McCurdy.  The women's name was actually Shari McCurdy, kind of unique.  We headed home about 1:00 and I managed to get 2 loads of laundry done, trying to play catch up from the week before, then we had chicken on the grill and made an early night of it. 

 

Monday was a fairly busy day, usually we only have about 50-60 people but we ended up with about 160 people...wow.  We stopped at Dutch John and talked with Nan for a while, then headed home a little snack, a nap and then a nice walk with Rudy.  Jim and Julie came back to camp, just in time for our normal social hour and in the process of our talk, decided we were going to eat dinner together.  They had pork chops and we had a ham steak, but when we pulled out the ham steak, we all decided it was large enough to feed the 4 of us, so ham steak, veggies and water melon was what we enjoyed for dinner.  We ate in Jim RV as it was a bit chilly and breezy, but the wind stop so we all went outside and sat and talked for a while. 

 

Tuesday was rather windy, but sunny and warm, but I think the wind kept the people away.  We left about 12:30, and Brad was complaining about his back, but we stopped for lunch at the Flaming Gorge Lodge, then headed home for a little nap.  When Brad went to get up, his back was rather stiff and tight so out comes the back brace and a lazy evening at home.  We just had sausages for dinner, I think we were both still full from lunch and I cleaned up, making coffee etc. while Brad took some pills and headed to bed about 7:30-8:00.  I sat up until about 10:00 then headed in, hoping to get a decent nights sleep. 

 

The good nights sleep didn't happen, Brad tossed and turned, moaning and groaning most of the night getting up about 5:30 and I slept in until about 7:00.  We just had yogurt for breakfast, then I headed out to Vernal.  There is no sense in both of us sitting at home, so I went and did the shopping.  What an interesting ride, I got behind an over sized load going about 10-20 mph and had to follow them about 6 miles until there was room enough for them to pull over.  My first stop was Wal-Mart, which wasn't as easy at it should have been, all but one road entrance was closed, so twice around the block until I could find the open entrance.  Done there, so off to Sonics for lunch and a quick phone call to Melanie, then the grocery store, gas station, wine store and then the trip back home.  Not too bad, but Brad texted and said to be careful there were storms on the hill top.   I ended up not hitting any rain until I was about 5 miles from the CG, but it was just a drizzle when I pulled in, so I unloaded the car and got all the stuff put away.  After that, since the weather wasn't cooperating, we just had tuna melts for dinner, not a bad meal on a chilly evening, and once again, Brad headed into bed early, this time about 8:00-8:30. 

 

Thursday morning wasn't bad, Brad slept much better throughout the night, but still isn't moving very well.  Since the weather didn't look bad, I threw the sheets and towels in the washers, so I could hang them out to dry.  Brad managed to make breakfast on the grill, but shortly after that, the storms were blowing in, so down with the sheets and towels, with only the towels needing to be put in the dryer.  We both sat and did some paper work that needed done, then I headed into the Dutch John Heading Post Office.  I got about 4 miles from the CG when the rain and hail started and the temps dropped to 48 degrees, but as I traveled down the hill into Dutch John, the storm stayed on the hill top and the temperature warmed up the whole way down the hill.  Heading back home I ran into the storm again and the temperature was down to 55 by the time I reached the RV, brr cold.  We sat around for a while, then headed up to work on the puzzle, we might even get it finished before we leave in September.  Jan was making soup for dinner for the volunteers tonight, so I made brownies, again, and Judy brought rolls for everyone, a pretty good meal on a drizzly, cool evening.  We all visited for a while then head to our appropriate RV about 8:00.  Brad actually stayed up until 9:00 before heading off to bed, I stayed up 'til about 10:00 then headed that way myself. 

Friday morning, Brad was good enough to make breakfast on the grill again, while I did the rest of the laundry.  The weather just won't clear up, cool with a drizzle every now and again, but I did manage to complete the laundry without getting rained on.  Now this is strange, Jim is coming home from work at 11:00 AM....something must be wrong.  We were sitting inside when Don and Jan came home and the water company truck pulled in, when we notice about 25 long horn sheep in the middle of the CG, so I headed outside with the camera.   I hope this works, I am attaching a small video of the little rams playing on the gravel pile, when the 3 bigger ones came over and chased them off.  It was really fun to watch.  After hanging out for the day, I headed to the 'phone booth' and  tried calling dad again with no luck while Brad did some computer work, not having computer/phone service at the RV really is a pain in the butt!!  After that we settled on  Jambalaya for dinner and then spent some time outside so Rudy and Freida could entertain each other, it seems that Jim isn't feeling well, so we watched the dogs for a while, then Brad took Freida home and we settled in for the rest of the night. 

Long Horn Sheep:
https://picasaweb.google.com/115574168101787483704/LongHornSheep?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOaK1bzlup7YsQE&feat=directlink

Saturday morning, 8-10, Brad stayed home from work, Chris had heard he hurt his back and gave him Saturday and Sunday off, so I headed in by myself.  Chris stopped by about 8:00 with day passes, change for the register and to let me know that Adam and Ben would be working the ramp for the day.  The day started out slow but steady, but by 1:00 we had had over 850 people go down the river....wow.  Adam and Ben left just before 1:00 and I managed to get out of there by 1:30 then headed into the Dutch John PO, again.  As I headed home I noticed the temperature dropped about 10 degrees, but it was still pretty nice on the hill top.  I had a quick bite to eat, then we headed up to work on the puzzle again, this time making some pretty good progress.  A quick call to Dad, and this time I actually got to talk with him then we headed back home to get dinner ready.  Jim came home and joined us for a drink, then joined us for a meal of chicken and snap peas, and he brought water melon for dessert...not a bad meal.   Jim and Brad started a fire, while I cleaned up from dinner.  I joined them for about an hour then headed into get ready for bed, since I had to work the next day and they are both off.

Sunday Brad is off again, so I was dodging all the animals myself in the morning, about 6 turkeys, 9 mule deer and 50 cattle (we are on the open range) were all standing at the edge of the road.  It ended up being a pretty quiet day, so I got to start the blog, but I didn't get it finished for some reason the boaters and rafters just kept interrupting me....imagine that.  I was done at one, back to the post office, again, then headed home and watched the temperature drop about 10 degrees.  It was a cool 70 degrees and a little cloudy, but all in all, not a bad day.  Jake was there so Jim and Brad were out talking with him and filling up his pressure washer, but he left shortly after I got there.   A quick lunch then back to the puzzle, this time only about 10 pieces made it in, then I headed out to talk with Lynne for a while.  We chatted for about an hour, then I headed home to see what Jim was making us for dinner, chicken sausages and broccoli, another good meal.  They decide on no fire tonight, but to sit a shoot the bull for a while.  I was tired so about 8:30 I headed over to RV to unwind a little and get ready for bed and Brad followed a little after 9:00.

 Its hard to believe that the summer is almost over and we only have a few more work days, but I think we'll both be ready to head back home and see everyone. 

I hope the video works so you can enjoy,
Diane and Brad
 

Grand Tetons, WY and back again

Wednesday, I was ready by 7:30, but until Brad got ready we didn't leave until 10:00.  Rudy stayed at home today, hoping we could get the shuttle boat over Jenny Lake, but after a stop or two on the way, when we got there, there was no place to park and the lines were unbelievable.  We just pulled out....not much fun.  We stopped at a couple of the pull outs and checked out what they had to offer, stopped at the Craig Thomas Visitor Center.  From there we turned around and headed up to the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve but it was a 20-30 min wait to park....what the heck, we left and headed up the road to Teton Village.  Not a bad ride, we stumbled upon a moose that was right beside

Yes, the moose was close!

the road, snapped a few pics and moved on so the next car could get a picture. We finally get to Teton Village, or what they call Jackson Hole and did some strolling around, checking out the shops and then looking for a place for lunch.  I ended up picking the Mangy Moose, since it was on the food channel, we didn't think the food was bad, just not as great as some of the places they have recommended. After lunch we walked around for awhile, checking out all the gondola rides up to the top of the mountains, the zip lines (rather short and not much of a ride), the downhill bike rides and some of the other things they had to offer.  We hung out there until about 3:30 then headed home to rescue Rudy and give him a chance to walk.  We did a couple of loops around the park with Rudy and since we had a late lunch we had a light dinner, just a grilled sausage for each of us.  Off to bed for us, wishing we had more than one more day.

It was foggy while we were there, but the mountains are still beautiful.  Below are Pictures of our trip to Jackson, the Mountains, Lake Jenny, 'The Miller Farm', Teton Village (Jackson Hole) and a couple from Jackson.

 

Grand Teton Trip and picture: 

 https://picasaweb.google.com/115574168101787483704/GrandTeton?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP2Y-s_K4s77QA&feat=directlink

 

 

Thursday I slept in until 7:30, got cleaned up then headed into town for breakfast.  We walked around for a while then over heard somebody talking about the 'Bunnery', so off we go for breakfast.  The food was great and we bought pastries for breakfast for tomorrow and a loaf of the 'OSM' Bread, "oat, sunflower seeds and millet" are the ingredients, not bad.  After breakfast we walked around for about an hour then headed home to get Rudy.  We packed up some waters and then headed out to the Elk Preserve.  Right after you enter the preserve there is a historic farm 'The Miller Farm' so we stopped there and got our overload of information, then headed out again to drive through the preserve.  No elk, but it was a nice ride with some beautiful views of the Tetons.  After that we headed home, dropped off Rudy then off again to the UPS store to send back the camera we bought....the monitor screen stopped working after 4 days, then to the grocery store...another $150.00 bucks and we have a little food in the refrigerator. :-(   We got home put the groceries away then decided on the 'Pizza Artisan' for dinner, another good choice.  The food was great, Brad tried the beer special, from a Snake River Brewery and I had the house wine, from a Jackson Hole Winery, both were pretty good.  After that we headed back home, got Rudy did some walking and now I am working on the blog while Brad is in control of the remote.....I can't keep up with the channel changing.  We are about ready to head back to Utah tomorrow, not looking forward to work but Brad is looking forward to the quiet and lack of people!!

Friday morning we didn't move a quick as we did when we were heading up to the Tetons, so it was 9:30 until we finally got on the road heading home.  It was a sad to be leaving as there was still so much we wanted to see and do, but now we know we'll be back.....maybe work there next year  :-)  It was an uneventful ride home, taking 191 the whole way and the scenery wasn't near as nice as the ride up.  We pulled in about 4:00, got hooked up, said 'Hi' to Don and Jan and then Jim came over for a drink, bringing his friend Julie and her dog Rosie.  We had a nice little chat, then they headed back to Jim's for dinner and we just had burgers and sweet corn, not a bad meal.  We finished cleaning up and opened our box of mail (full of chips, thanks Lynne) and were off to bed by 10:00. 

 Saturday 5:00 AM seemed to come awfully early, but we made it to work.  The morning started out slow, only about 140 people by 11:00 AM.  I kept checking the calendar to make sure it was Saturday and we didn't have our days mixed up, but right after we double checked the day, all heck broke loose.  Between 11:00 and 12:00 we had about 400 people head down the river....can you say 'over run'!!  It was busy and a bit crazy, but we survived and until we left at 1:30 the count was over 650 people....I'll never fuss about a quiet morning again.  We headed home, took Rudy for a short walk, grabbed a quick bite to eat then headed back to the spillway, this time we are headed down the river.

Mule deer on the river bank

  Adam was doing a trip down and invited us to go along, so about 3:00 we launched, this time in a Dory instead of a raft.  The water level is lower today and so the trip lasted about 2 hours, a beautiful sunny day and it felt good to get wet with the cool water.  Adam took us back to our car, then it was a rush home to rescue Rudy....the poor thing has been in his kennel since 6:30 this morning with about a 20 min. break in-between.  We got back and Jim came over to invite us out to dinner with him and Julie, but we had to decline, first off we were exhausted and didn't want to fall asleep in our plates and second, that would not have been fair to Rudy.  Brad cooked chicken on the grill and I made a veggie, after that Brad and Rudy went for their nightly walk while I cleaned up, did dishes, made coffee...etc.  Back home Brad gets ready for bed and crawls in about 9:30, with me following by 10:00. 

Sunday morning we are still tired, but we are at work.  The crowds are pretty slow yet today, so I am taking advantage of this time to work on the blog. 

 

Thank,

Diane and Brad