"Fletch!"

Well, I got no comments on the name change choices, so I picked FLETCH. I picked up my little man on Saturday morning and we drove straight to SLC to visit Cynthia & Donald again. They welcomed us with open arms, and they already love Fletch too. (In fact, I'm keeping my eye on Don because he seems way too tickled spending time with MY cat! I already warned him that if Fletch disappears, I will know to look in his Man Cave downstairs. 27 years of investgating at least gave me that!)

He YEOWLED in the car for the first hour of our drive. He finally settled down and found a few places to curl up, but none of those places were the beds I specifically bought for him - go figure. We stopped twice along the way and stretched our legs (all 6 of them). and got to SLC around 2:30.

Our first night together was interesting. 3 times, Fletch got up and wanted loving and face-rubbing: at 2am, 4am and again @ 7am. We're going to have to work on sleeping habits! We'er also going to have to work on his walking on kitchen cabinets & tables. I don't mind personally, but if we are going to visit other peoples' houses, we (he) will have to learn some manners. We're chilling out in SLC until Monday. Cynthia & Don had to go to a family function today, so I've go the house to myself. Fletch and I are doing laundry and cooking dinner for the household tonight. I love rummaging through a kitchen and making something out of whatever I find.

I'm still getting used to this retirement paycheck program, which is not only different, but LESS. So I have to learn to adjust to that- I know, budgeting has never been my strong point, but I can live on very little when I need to do so. I still wouldn't trade this retirement/traveling for anything! I miss my friends in B'ham, but not the job at all. I wasn't unhappy, really, just finished.

Here are Buddy & Daisy, forced to sit outside their OWN HOUSE while the interloper gets to march around freely like he runs the place. They didn't stay out long, just occasionally. Daisy didn't care one way or the other, but Buddy (the face) was convinced he was going to 'play' with the furry interloper (Fletch).

That's Fletch hiding behind a baby gate while Buddy, who was recently allowed back in the house, searches for him! Actually the gates are not even secured in place, but Buddy doesn't know that...

Backtrack (a little)

Left Idaho Falls this morning, which was not easy! Came back to Kanab, with a short lunch break in SLC for lunch with Cynthia. Arrived after 7pm and can't call anyone to let them know I made it safely because, once again, the ATT service SUCKS here. I'm in another one of those little Bate's Motel looking places, which actually looks a lot nicer inside than it does outside (thank goodness).

I'm picking up my little man (my new nickname for Brighton). I keep flipping back and forth about his new name. MAYBE YOU CAN COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW YOUR OPINION. I want to name him after one of my favorite book characters: there's Harry Bosch, but Harry is kind of plain; there's Charlie from John Steinbeck's Travels with Charlie, but Charlie's kind of simple; there's Keller from the Hitman/Lawrence Block series, but I'd probably have to explain it to everyone because they've never heard of him (but it's a cool name and different); and then there's Fletch, which is short for Irwin Maurice Fletcher, from the Chevy Chase movie fame AND no less than 11 books about the very sharp-witted, sharp-tongued, and way-too-charming-for-his-own-good newspaper reporter. I need help. Please let me know your opinion...

I will have a bunch of photos tomorrow of the animals of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary when I blog next time - please do tune it!

Idaho Falls!

Wow! I've spent almost a week in Idaho Falls with my very good friends from SoCal, Debbie and Allen. We spent most of the time gabbing about the old days of Cub Scouts (don't laugh; I was a Cub Scout Leader) and Boy Scouts and Food Share. Today, we drove up to Mesa Falls, in the Targhee National Park. I got some photos on the way up, as Idaho Falls are on the other side of the Grand Tetons as Jackson Hole, WY, where I was last week (a little geography lesson).

(This last one was a little house I fell in love with, right next to another one Debbie fell in love with, with a GIANT green house set up perfectly between the two houses!)

We continued on, up to Lower Mesa Falls. Gorgeous up here and very crisp, with brushings of snow on the ground all around, and lots of snow up high.

We then headed up to the Upper Mesa Falls which part of the Henry's Fork of the Snake River. It's approx 114 feet high and 200 feet wide. The average volume of water that flows over it is between 600 and 1500 cubic feet per second:

That's Debbie and Allen in front of the falls!

On the way back home (their home) we stopped by the falls which gave Idaho Falls its name. The town was originally called Eagle Rock. The Mormans came in and put a lot of money into the town, building roads, establishing a bunch of the town politics, then changed the name to Idaho Falls. The falls are downtown and are partially natural, plus some manmade additions that helped the falls become a hydroelectric power plant. If you look closely, you can see the natural level AND the manmade level of the falls:

The downtown was adorable and I love little downtowns like that, with lofts right over the bottom floor businesses. We ate at a wonderful little downtown cafe - The Snakebite! I had a fabulous cioppino (but they called it something else) in beer broth instead of tomato base. It was so good that after I ate all the seafood out of it, I took the broth home in a cup. I highly recommend it. They also have upscale sandwiches and gourmet salads, all in a very charming loft-style, brick-walled, pipes-showing, open room.

I had a wonder almost-week here and was again taken care of very well by loving friends! I have promised to come back, with Fletch, when I finally get an RV. Thank you so much Debbie & Allen!

Heading south tomorrow morning to pick up my little man, Fletch.

Idaho

Just found out that I will need to pick up Brighton the cat (soon to be Fletch) this weekend instead of  next month. I'm still continuing with my (our) travels after the weekend. That means that I will be detouring back to Best Friends before heading onto the north again. I'll have to get the car outfitted for him by the time I pick him up. I'm thinking one of those fleece box-type things that either hangs off of the front of the passenger seat or a small cat bed sitting on top of a box-type thing sitting on the front seat and secured by the seat belt. That way, he can be jacked up in the seat a bit and watch the world go by out of the car windows. I'm thinking a smaller litter box on the floor of the back seat and maybe another, larger, more comfortable bed in the back seat, in case he wants to get out of the front seat. I'll need a small harness and leash for when he wants to get out of the car. I was looking at one of those (front-loading) back packs to carry him around with me - is that too much, ya think? If this blog takes off, he might even become famous!

Yellow Stone National Park

Wow! Things are a little more brown this time of year, but it's still stunning. Drove through from the east side, all the way to Old Faithful. Had to go through the Tetons (again) first to get to Yellow Stone. First, I saw more of the Snake River, which winds through the whole area. Plus, I love the layers of rocks along the sides.

(This one is looking straight down from a cliff.)

A little deeper into the park was Lewis Lake:

As I got deeper into the park, I was seeing more of the snow tipped mountains. The park ranger at the first gate said there might be new snow that day, but it didn't come while I was up there. Reached the top around 2:30pm.

I'd always heard about the Continental Divide, but this was the first time I had ever experienced it. Then, the roads started going down (relatively, of course) until I came to the Old Faithful geiser. There was actually a 13 minute video in the ranger/information building. They did a really good job of showing how this all happens, with the heat and the mud thousands of feet below the surface, heating the water and going from a large space into such a small space so that it relieves itself by shooting up through the holes. The display area was excellent, as was the video. I still don't understand the part about how they can predict the spews, but they were right on time - 3:35pm.

It was pretty awesome. I bought a few trinkets for my girls and a cool shot glass for my collection and headed back to Jackson. I passed another set of falls that had a cool wooden walkway that stuck out from the rocks, just so people could get a straight on photo:

I wrote the name of these falls on a scrap of paper which, of course, I can not find now. They were either Shoshone Falls or Heart Falls, but I wouldn't bet money on it now. The sight on the 'balcony' over the river was a really nice idea. On the drive back, still in Yellow Stone, a few cars full of people and I came across some guys trying to cross the road. Have you ever noticed how some people can't seem to just cross the dang road, but have to do it on such an angle as to take as long as possible, if for no other reason than to irritate you? Well, these guys did that, but they were forgiven immediately because they were very entertaining:

On the way out, I had to stop at a spot overlooking Lewis Lake again because the colors of the sunset and the snowy sky coming our way were just gorgeous, almost poetic.

It was a long day going all the way in and then back out again, but it was totally worth it. Once again, HE completely impressed me and made me smile.  What more can you ask for, huh?

Until next time...

Historic Site

Forgot about this cool house that was still standing just off the main highway on my way back to town. The Cunningham Ranch (Bar Flying U Ranch) was established in the 1880s. The location was chosen because of the surrounding soil and the near-by Snake River. It was the first structure Cunningham built. It's a "dogtrot" style, consisting of 2 small cabins joined by an open, covered breezeway.

Logs were secured and joined at the corners with saddle notches.

It's not pretty but it's still standing strong, which is more than I can say for some of the crap that's built today. Land was $1.25 an acre at the time, and Cunningham eventually had over 300 acres. In 1928, Cunningham sold his property to the Snake River Land Company, which was responsible for establishing (in 1926) the Grand Teton National Park. Soon after, John D. Rockefeller purchased the rest of the area (32,000 acres) and later donated that land to the government for the park.

That's your history lesson for the week!

Jackson/Tetons

Relaxing in Jackson Hole, WY, in a tiny motel (I swear) used to be called the Bates Motel at some point. Not surprised after my drive up here from SLC. I noticed that I entered Wyoming at 11am. Then, I noticed that I entered WY again around 12:30. Somehow, I entered WY again around 1:30. I half expected to see Rod Serling standing on the side of the road. I even found myself looking in the mirror to see if I suddenly looked like Ingar Stevens. (Old people like me will get that story.)

Finally figured how to put one "card" from my new camera into another, slightly larger "card", in order to put that one into my laptop and show you photos straight from my camera. Told you I'm electronically challenged! Anyway, I found some more photos from SLC:

Couldn't resist the gorgeous leaf and shadow. The second photo is Cynthia and me, holding Buddy.

This is a photo of Ruth and her dog - Ruth was the gal that started Ruth's Diner, where I ate lunch on Monday. That's the place that had the huge bisquits and took place in a trolley car...

The morning I left SLC was the first time I saw frost, right there on the top of my car.

But, now I'm Jackson and it's beautiful here. I was still wearing my 'uniform' of short sleeve t-shirts and shorts/skorts and slip on sneakers when I got here. I cruised around town on foot the first 2 days and fell in love with the town. Friday was the first day I broke out the long/warmer clothes from the far recesses of the car trunk.

Yesterday, I drove through the valley approaching the Teton National Park. There is actually a lot to see before you even have to pay to get into the park:

I happened upon the last guy just after he had crossed the road. He was cool as a cucumber and just crossed while about 5 cars were trying to photograph him, including me.

I came back into town and stopped for a hot chocolate and cinnamon roll at a little cafe, wrote some postcards, and contintued walking around town and to the post office to mail my latest pile of cards.

Got some sleep so I could spend all Saturday back in the Tetons and into Yellowstone National Park. Had to prepare my picanic basket...

I'll have more on that tomorrow!

Heading North/SLC

Last Sunday, Oct 17th, I left Kanab and headed up to Salt Lake City, where my friend Cynthia and her husband (of many years), Donald live. You must understand that I'm impressed by anyone who makes it past 4 years, which is my personal best! Anyway, it was a pretty, yet rather sparse drive. And to make matters worse, the day being a Sunday, there were even fewer businesses open than there might have otherwise been. There were actually 3 'towns' I went through that had NOT ONE business open (except one of the towns had a modern gas station and mart to it). One town did have a military memorial in the middle of the town which was nice:

The rest of the scenery was kind of cool - I was driving through Bryce Canyon and it seemed to never end, but in a nice way. There were some ranches dotted all along the way. They looked really nice and I admired them, but I could never live like that...

The first town I came to that had a restaurant open was Marysvale. I had lunch at the Prospector Cafe. At first there was only one other person in there, but people started to show up as I ate. I'm not a burger person but I tried the bacon cheese burger, which was pretty darn good. What was better were the sweet potato fries! They were awesome. Also awesome were the people who started arriving for a late lunch. One couple drove all the way from St. George just for the burgers at the Prospector. For California readers, that's like driving from Northern San Diego to Laguna Niguel; and for Alabama people, that's like going from B'ham to Anniston, just for a burger! That should tell you something right there! I also met the owner, Jerry, and his son/the cook, Sean. Very nice and sincere people. I recommend it, should you find yourself in Marysvale, UT...

Arrived at Cynthia's in the afternoon and they took me out to dinner. Cynthia and I went to school together from 7th grade all the way to graduation. We were also Debutantes together for the annual San Diego Symphony Ball (1978) - alright, I heard the snickering all the way up here in WY, people...

On Monday, Cynthia and I went to a famous place in SLC called Ruth's Diner. First, they give you these bisquits that are bigger than your 2 hands together, free. The BLT was KILLER! And you have to read the story of Ruth - the story is very funny and she must have been a hoot. I highly recommend the place, which is partially situated in a trolley car, up in the hills.

Had a wonderful time in SLC. It's kind of strange being in a big city AND have nature right there with you also, but gorgeous. The day before I left we went hiking up in Mill Creek. This was a lovely picnic/creek area that followed a winding road up into the mountains.

Hated to leave Cynthia's because we could have talked more (I know, I know).

On Wednesday the 20th, I drove north again towards Jackson, WY. For 3 hours, I could not find any restaurants open. I stopped at this cowboy lounge that was open, but the restaurant part was closed. When I say this place was in the middle of nowhere, I'm serious! The owner, Ralph, told me that if I drive about 30 more minutes on that road I would come to Afton, where I would find a restaurant called the Savannah. Ralph said it had the best food and smiling, helpful service. Well, I drove to Afton and tried the Savannah. Ralph, you're a freaking liar! It wasn't a restaurant so much as a cafe/old timey diner. The BLT was okay. But the gals who worked inside wouldn't know a smile if it smacked them in the face. (Maybe that's what they needed, just saying.) Finally gave up on getting any more water or service, so I paid and left. I can say, however that it was cheap. As Rex used to say, "oh comma well".

Got to Jackson late in the afternoon and it was stunning. Remind me later to tell you about the motel I'm staying in - I think it was formerly known as the Bates Motel...