I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles
Tuesday – 7/1
I’m a little behind on my postings. Internet access at the last 3 KOA’s has been very spotty for me. The kids don’t seem to be having problems, and if I just limit myself to web browsing, I am OK too. But each time I try to connect to a remote desktop or sync my Outlook mail, it drops my connection. Add this to the fact that the ports for my VPN client seem to be blocked and I really have not been able to get anything done. No uploading pictures and even posting my blog drops my connection. I tried doing these same things on Charlotte’s laptop, and it dropped for me again. Seems they do not want me on the internet while at the campgrounds.
Charlotte woke up this morning with a nasty cough and bad headache. Wendy decided to stay home with her while I took the other two on a hike. They were all not happy about Mom staying home. Not sure how much of it was that Mom was left behind, or how much was that they just wanted to hang and not be on the run.
Anyway, I wanted to do some exploring and off we went. First stop was lunch in West Yellowstone. I figured it would be late afternoon if we hiked first and that would put us off on dinner time again. With the kids not getting out of bed until after 9 each morning, it has thrown off our eating schedules. So, we drove through West Yellowstone and I gave the a few options. They both said that they were not hungry and did not want to stop to eat. I told them that we were going to stop, so if they did not want to eat, which place did they "not" want to eat at.
We settled for a spot called Beartooth Barbecue. I ordered a Moose Drool Ale and we looked over the menu. Very limited kids menu: corn dog and chicken strips. Jackson still would not order, Georgia got the corn dog. They had many mounted elk skulls and we talked about how many points were on the antlers.
I ordered the Big Dog Plate (Italian sausage w/ pulled pork BBQ) with a side of tabouli salad. I had never had tabouli salad and it was a real treat. It is a Mediterranean dish made with cracked wheat and fresh tomatoes and herbs.
I also ordered the fried pickles as they were the only appetizer that looked non-spicy, thinking that Jackson might budge. He tried one, but the pickles were very spicy so those did not fly. Fortunately, Georgia’s meal came with a lot of fries, so he ate half of those.
Next stop was the fly fishing outfitter next door. Wendy and the kids have been making fun of me. Every time I see someone fly fishing (and there are hundreds everywhere along the streams we pass), I say that I can’t wait to get out there and give it a try. I wanted to get some info, and talked to the woman who worked there about the best way to get started. She explained to us how to pick a fly, how to find a good guide, etc. I now understand why there are hundreds of flies to pick from. You want to find something close to what is currently spawning in the local waters. She also explained that most of the steams are currently not fishable as the runoff is still running very high and clouding the waters.
On to the Ranger station to find a hike for the kids. We talked to the ranger and he asked Jackson what he would like to do. Jackson said that he wanted to climb to the top of a mountain. Georgia said that she would like to see wildlife. He gave us two options. Once was a hike up Purple Mountain. 2.5 miles round trip with 2000 feet elevation climb. There would be some rocks to climb at the top, and it would offer up views of the Tetons to the south and you could see the entire park from this location. I am looking forward to being able to see for miles. He also offered a very short hike to Hayden Lake where we could get up close and personal with some beavers. He told us about a spot a couple hundred yards off trail where the beavers were busy at work.
We opted for the mountain climb and figured we could do the other if we still had a little energy left.
We got started on the climb and about 45 minutes into the trek we were half way up the trail and a third of the way up the mountain. The clouds started rolling in fast and they were very dark. I kept my eye on the sky and then we heard thunder. Although we could not see where the lightning was, I knew that being on the top of a mountain was not the right place to be during a thunderstorm, so we turned and made our way quickly back to the car. We watched the storm roll around the mountain and decided that we would not be able to finish either of the two hikes.
I decided to drive back to West Yellowstone and take the kids to a bear and wolf exhibit that was there. On my way out of the park, I got a cell service for a couple minutes, and noticed that I had a voicemail. Turns out that we had a small leak in the basement. When I got back into town, I called our plumber and he said he would get there first thing in the morning. Our contractor made his way over to the house and shut off the water which stopped the leak, so we are good for now. I’m glad that we had someone working at the house, and that he called Wendy’s sister to let her know that there was a problem. That got ball rolling to get the problem fixed. Nice to know that we have people watching out for us while we are gone.
The exhibit was very neat. A lot of facts about bears in the area, their habitat and the interaction between humans and wildlife. They also have some grizzly bears and grey wolves in a couple habitats behind the exhibit. These are all animals that had been rescued when they had become problems in the area that they live. Black bears can usually be successfully relocated, but grizzlies can’t.
Back at the camp, we got dinner, went down for some ice cream and watched a movie. Another try for an early bedtime as we wanted Charlotte to get some much needed rest.
I’m a little behind on my postings. Internet access at the last 3 KOA’s has been very spotty for me. The kids don’t seem to be having problems, and if I just limit myself to web browsing, I am OK too. But each time I try to connect to a remote desktop or sync my Outlook mail, it drops my connection. Add this to the fact that the ports for my VPN client seem to be blocked and I really have not been able to get anything done. No uploading pictures and even posting my blog drops my connection. I tried doing these same things on Charlotte’s laptop, and it dropped for me again. Seems they do not want me on the internet while at the campgrounds.
Charlotte woke up this morning with a nasty cough and bad headache. Wendy decided to stay home with her while I took the other two on a hike. They were all not happy about Mom staying home. Not sure how much of it was that Mom was left behind, or how much was that they just wanted to hang and not be on the run.
Anyway, I wanted to do some exploring and off we went. First stop was lunch in West Yellowstone. I figured it would be late afternoon if we hiked first and that would put us off on dinner time again. With the kids not getting out of bed until after 9 each morning, it has thrown off our eating schedules. So, we drove through West Yellowstone and I gave the a few options. They both said that they were not hungry and did not want to stop to eat. I told them that we were going to stop, so if they did not want to eat, which place did they "not" want to eat at.
We settled for a spot called Beartooth Barbecue. I ordered a Moose Drool Ale and we looked over the menu. Very limited kids menu: corn dog and chicken strips. Jackson still would not order, Georgia got the corn dog. They had many mounted elk skulls and we talked about how many points were on the antlers.
I ordered the Big Dog Plate (Italian sausage w/ pulled pork BBQ) with a side of tabouli salad. I had never had tabouli salad and it was a real treat. It is a Mediterranean dish made with cracked wheat and fresh tomatoes and herbs.
I also ordered the fried pickles as they were the only appetizer that looked non-spicy, thinking that Jackson might budge. He tried one, but the pickles were very spicy so those did not fly. Fortunately, Georgia’s meal came with a lot of fries, so he ate half of those.
Next stop was the fly fishing outfitter next door. Wendy and the kids have been making fun of me. Every time I see someone fly fishing (and there are hundreds everywhere along the streams we pass), I say that I can’t wait to get out there and give it a try. I wanted to get some info, and talked to the woman who worked there about the best way to get started. She explained to us how to pick a fly, how to find a good guide, etc. I now understand why there are hundreds of flies to pick from. You want to find something close to what is currently spawning in the local waters. She also explained that most of the steams are currently not fishable as the runoff is still running very high and clouding the waters.
On to the Ranger station to find a hike for the kids. We talked to the ranger and he asked Jackson what he would like to do. Jackson said that he wanted to climb to the top of a mountain. Georgia said that she would like to see wildlife. He gave us two options. Once was a hike up Purple Mountain. 2.5 miles round trip with 2000 feet elevation climb. There would be some rocks to climb at the top, and it would offer up views of the Tetons to the south and you could see the entire park from this location. I am looking forward to being able to see for miles. He also offered a very short hike to Hayden Lake where we could get up close and personal with some beavers. He told us about a spot a couple hundred yards off trail where the beavers were busy at work.
We opted for the mountain climb and figured we could do the other if we still had a little energy left.
We got started on the climb and about 45 minutes into the trek we were half way up the trail and a third of the way up the mountain. The clouds started rolling in fast and they were very dark. I kept my eye on the sky and then we heard thunder. Although we could not see where the lightning was, I knew that being on the top of a mountain was not the right place to be during a thunderstorm, so we turned and made our way quickly back to the car. We watched the storm roll around the mountain and decided that we would not be able to finish either of the two hikes.
I decided to drive back to West Yellowstone and take the kids to a bear and wolf exhibit that was there. On my way out of the park, I got a cell service for a couple minutes, and noticed that I had a voicemail. Turns out that we had a small leak in the basement. When I got back into town, I called our plumber and he said he would get there first thing in the morning. Our contractor made his way over to the house and shut off the water which stopped the leak, so we are good for now. I’m glad that we had someone working at the house, and that he called Wendy’s sister to let her know that there was a problem. That got ball rolling to get the problem fixed. Nice to know that we have people watching out for us while we are gone.
The exhibit was very neat. A lot of facts about bears in the area, their habitat and the interaction between humans and wildlife. They also have some grizzly bears and grey wolves in a couple habitats behind the exhibit. These are all animals that had been rescued when they had become problems in the area that they live. Black bears can usually be successfully relocated, but grizzlies can’t.
Back at the camp, we got dinner, went down for some ice cream and watched a movie. Another try for an early bedtime as we wanted Charlotte to get some much needed rest.