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...

Grand Canyon!

Wow! I intended to upload photos from the Grand Canyon, but when I got there, all I could think was, "no picture will ever do this justice!" But, I took photos anyway (because I promised I would). We were at the North Rim and there is a pathway that sticks out into the middle of the canyon so you can see almost all the way around from one spot.

Yes, friends and fans, that is me sitting on the absolute edge of a cliff, sticking out in the middle of the Grand Canyon! This photo comes from one of those cheap one-time use cameras which I had with me at the time, so a young couple (with a fancier camera) took some more (and better) shots of me on this and another cliff. They said they would email them to me at a later date. I can only hope they do. If/when they do, I will show you those photos also!

Amazing, right?!

That was Saturday, folks. On Sunday morning we checked out of our townhouse and went our separate ways. There was a fabulous sunrise over the hill to greet us as we packed our cars.

We made one last visit to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, and as we were driving out we saw this:

See the deer in the middle of the shot?

For those of you who don't already know, I adopted a new best friend from the sanctuary. He was found in St. George, UT, caught wrapped (stuck) in razor wire inside of a pipe. He had apparently been there for some time and was starving and scared. Some little boys found him and fetched their dad who cut him free and brought him to the sanctuary. There, they named him Brighton. He wasn't too attached to that name yet (didn't exactly answer to it) and I've been thinking of names for him. I wanted to use a name of one of my favorite novel characters from over the years. I finally settled on Irwin Maurice Fletcher. So everyone, meet my new travel companion, Fletch:

The second photo is Fletch with Sue on one of our daily walks with the cats (in Brighton/Fletch's case, it's always more of a flop in the rocks). He would flop down in the lava rocks and roll around in the sun, scratching his back and sides on the rocks. That's as far as the 'walks' ever got. I will be picking him up on my next run through the area, on my way to San Diego, in a few weeks.

I loved my week at Best Friends and I will go back! I want to go spend more time there next time and devote some time with the other animals as well, the horses, bunnies, pot-bellied pigs and birds!

Sunday, I headed north to Salt Lake City to see a dear friend from high shcool, Cynthia. I made a little stop in a small town for lunch and loved it. I will have some cool photos from that day of travel and more information about the lunch.

Bye-Bye kiddies and see you soon!

Cats and a Lake!

Finally have some good photos for you regarding my stay in Kanab, UT. I have been staying in Kanab all this week while volunteering at the BEST FRIENDS Animal Sanctuary. It's been wonderful. I work in the mornings in the "houses" of cats. Each "room" has an inside and an outside so the cats can come and go depending on what they want to do. The rooms have toys and cubbies and furniture and most of the rooms (the outside parts, at least) have open rafters and climbing shelves all over the walls (on the inside). There are 2 to 6 "rooms" in each of the "houses" and there are at least 7 "houses"!

The photos are of one of the rooms at "Vinnies Place", one of the houses. The cat is Stalker (aka "Talker") because he likes to talk a lot, as you can see. (I'm getting better at this photo loading thing, huh?)

Volunteers can do anything from helping to clean rooms, to taking cats for walks (that is not a typo) to just spending time with the critters, "socializing". I usually spent the mornings cleaning rooms, helping with laundry and dish washing, and spent the afternoons walking and socializing. The problem with socializing is that you (meaning I) fall in love, almost on a daily basis! They have different houses for regular cats (friendly and not so friendly), houses for cats with FIV (feline HIV) and with feline leukemia, cats that have just arrived and have to be tested or treated for illnesses and/or injuries, and a house for cats that are brought in just because they've been caught in the wild and need to be spayed/neutered - these are nursed back to health and then re-released. All the other are up for adoption, so COME ON DOWN!!!

Last Sunday we (Sue, Antwan and I) went to Page, AZ, the home of Lake Powell and the dam who's name now escapes me - sorry, dam. Between the dam, the canyons and the amazing colors of the rocks formed by millions of years of changes in water levels (and God's handiwork) you can find yourself staring at just walls, basically, of rocks and out croppings. We were able to climb out on one of the sides of the canyon and capture some of the layers that are really fascinating.

Gnarly, huh??? 

We have a little townhouse in Kanab, about 5 miles from the sanctuary. Antwan works with the dogs every morning and afternoon, and Sue works with dogs in the mornings and then with cats (and me) in the afternoons. I HAVE to come back here and try volunteering with the birds, horses, bunnies and pot-bellied pigs next time. AND the CATS of course! We're bone tired at the end of the day and I cook dinner for us each night, which I also love to do. After an after-dinner walk around the local canyon, we pretty much crash for the evening.

We're finished tomorrow evening (Friday) and I'm going to miss this place and a few of my favorites: Fuzzy; Stalker; Elwood; Andrew; and especially Brighton my favorite. I spend a couple of hours every afternoon with Brighton.

We're going to the north end of the Grand Canyon on Saturday and I'll have some photos of that soon after, along with one (or more) of Brighton!

Thanks for tuning in - let me know if there's anything more I can do to make this entertaining.