Being Tourists on Another Trip Out West

Our kids are scattered about, out west, so from time to time we go see them.  So this time, when it was time to get started on the trip, we hopped in the car and saw something we'd never seen from this car before. Since the car won't start without a working remote, this was something we had to address right away.

We already had a spare battery but we needed to get it installed. Fortunately, we have a son who works at an auto parts store and knows all about changing batteries in fobs. It only took a minute for him to make the change and we were on our way 

Anyway, sometimes we slip in a little sight-seeing while we're on these trips out west.  Or on the way to or from.  Anyway, we did some of that this time. When we originally talked to our kids out there about coming out for a visit, we learned that the time we had in mind fell right on a break in the school schedule and Moosbeere's family invited us to go with them on vacation.  They had been thinking of going up to Yellowstone Park and we hadn't been there since 1988, the year to whole place nearly burned down, so we decided to tag along. We went in with them on a rental place a bit outside the park and spent two days exploring and seeing what there was to see. 

Yellowstone is a big national park, almost 3,500 square miles. That's around 2.2 million acres. It's the oldest national park in the United States. It contains about 290 waterfalls and over 10,000 hydrothermal features (geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles). There are over 500 active geysers, which is more than half the active geysers in the world. Old Faithful is the most famous. It is also home to the largest concentration of mammals in the lower 48 states. And there are about 1,000 miles of hiking tails in the park.  We, of course, did not hike all those trails but we did do some hiking just in the course of seeing all the amazing stuff there is to see there. There's also lots of mountains in the park, the highest if which is Eagle Peak, at 11,372 feet.  We also did not climb to that, or any other peak.  The average elevation within the park is about 8,000 feet. That's about 7,000 feet higher than where we live so we felt it, especially as we hiked around the park. The geothermal activity currently active in and around Yellowstone National Park is all part of the same system of activity that has been moving in an arc over the past several millennia, moving from Nevada, through Idaho (forming what is now the Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho), and is currently in the northwest corner of Wyoming. As a result, it's a very seismically active area; Yellowstone experiences an average of around 1,500 to 2,000 earthquakes a year, most of which are too small to be noticed by humans. Yeah, I find this kind of stuff very interesting.

Anyway, we stayed in a cabin Moosbeere found that was a ways outside of the park, like an hour away because anything closer was pretty expensive and most of the lodging within the park had already closed down for the season.  

But it was a very nice place, all the comforts of home.  Way better than the last accommodations we stayed at while vacationing. It was big enough for all of us and it came with a fully equipped kitchen so all we had to do was bring our food. It was a good, comfortable place to stay.  We arrived the first afternoon of the trip so we just settled in, had some dinner there at the cabin, and just relaxed that first day.  

The park is divided into two "loops" that allow you to travel to the easiest sights within the park, the North Loop and the South Loop.  The first day we decided to do the North Loop. And we decided to begin with a waterfall, Gibbon Falls to be specific.

This water fall is on the Gibbon River and is located in the central area of the park.  I liked it because it was an easy walk from the parking area.  It wasn't the biggest waterfall in the park but it was still a really beautiful little waterfall. 

The next stop was just a little ways up the road, at Beryl Spring, a "hot pot". It is one of the hottest springs in the park and creates some spectacular frost formations on the trees and rocks around it in the winter as the hot steam rises off the water and hits the cold, winter air.  Alas, we were there when it was too warm for that kind of stuff.  But it was still quite a sight.

The next stop was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Not only does this one have a nice waterfall but it is also set in a real beautiful canyon the water has carved out of the mountains. 

There is actually an upper falls and a lower falls to this canyon.  The lower falls is a bit farther way from the viewing area but still a very impressive waterfall.

Our next stop, a little father away from the things we had stopped to see so far, was Tower Falls. There was a short hike down to a viewing area but there was also a trail down to see the falls from the bottom.  We opted not to take that hike.  It was getting late in the day and we wanted to make our last stop before it got dark.

We wanted to end the first day looking for wildlife so we had planned the trip to end at a place called Lamar Valley, on the North Loop.  We saw more buffalo than anything else in the two days we were in the park. We also saw a few deer, much scruffier looking than the deer we see all the time at home.  And we saw several antelope.  Alas, no bear or moose.  But it was still fun to see all the critters we did see.

Some of the animals were quite comfortable around people, as long as you kept a healthy distance.  We made two pit stops during the afternoon and evening.  At the first some buffalo wandered into the area while we were there so we took the a different way out.

Later, on our way out of the park, we made another stop and had to run between the elk that were grazing all round the place we stopped. They seemed totally unconcerned with the people walking around the same area.

The buffalo pretty much took no notice of the people and cars.  If they were grazing along and came to a road, the cars waited while the buffalo crossed.  It's not wise to try to work your way through a group of buffalo crossing the road, even if they crossed one at a time.  They come and go as they please.

The next morning the plan was to check out a few sights along the South Loop.  We had spent the whole first day on the North Loop but there were some things on the South Loop we also wanted to see.

As we were headed to our first stop we saw the iconic Yellowstone picture, a buffalo in front of some steaming hot springs so we had to stop for yet another buffalo picture.  But it was a good one.

The intended first stop of the morning was a feature called Fountain Paint Pot.  This was a large field of pools and steam vents, an area the wildlife like to hang out near in the winter because it stays a little warmer than the rest of the park.

The next stop around the loop was the Grand Prismatic Spring, a very big spring of steaming water bubbling up from underground.

No trip to Yellowstone would be complete without a stop at the Old Faithful geyser.  So we did.  It's predictable to the point that in the big lodge they post the time of the next eruption.  We got there with about a half an hour to go so we joined the growing crowd waiting for the eruption. It was good.  Old Faithful was one of the main things I remember from our visit in 1988.  All the development around the geyser burned down the day we were there, with the exception of the main lodge, but it had all been replaced in the 35 years since then. But what was there now was better than what I remember from 35 years ago, less commercial and more informative.  It was a good stop.

By this time it was getting into the afternoon and was time to start thinking about heading back to the cabin.  But we wanted to make one more stop.  So we drove back into the North Loop and stopped at the Black Hermit Cauldron, a mud pot. That was an interesting spot to stop and see.  Then it was time to go.

The drive out of the park took an hour and then it was another hour back to the cabin.  We did  make one more stop on the way, in West Yellowstone, a little community right outside the west gate to the park.  Since much of the shops inside the park had already closed for the summer season we stopped at a little store in West Yellowstone for some ice cream and a few souvenirs. Then it was back to the cabin and, the next day, back on the trip home.

This trip out we also played the license plate game (we always do), where you keep track of how many states you see license plates from.  We got the most we've ever gotten on this trip, a total of 47 states.  I think spending two days in Yellowstone helped a lot with that.  We saw all but Rhode Island, Massecuites, and New Hampshire. Those are pretty hard states to get, I guess maybe being among the smaller states has something to do with that.

Miles and miles later, we pulled into our own driveway and the trip was done. Once again, we put a lot of miles on our little car.  It is definitely what would be considered a "high mileage" vehicle.

It was a good time, some happy memories made.  This is certainly something we will want to do again.  It was a good time.

This Year's Garden

Each year how the garden will do is an unknown.  Some years turn out better than others.  This year, actually, was better than the last couple of years.

There had been a lot going on so we were a little late getting the garden in this year.  Blaubeere, who is  much more into gardening that we are, had given us a number of things that she's had success with and we put them in.  It was looking good.

We were only a couple of days later than normal.  By mid-June it was all in and growing nicely.  Couldn't be too late because our growing season is not terribly long in this part of the county.

But by the end of June things were coming along quite well.

We were getting more blossoms on more plants, always a good sign.

We were getting enough rain that we didn't have to go out and water so often.  Rain seems to be better for gardens that watering.  Maybe its the more natural distribution of the water.  I dunno.

By mid-August we began getting stuff, produce type stuff.  Blaubeere had given us some blackberry bushes that put out fruit this year.  That was nice.  Not a lot but it was promising.

We also began getting tomatoes and zucchini, which Brombeere really likes.

As the summer progressed the blossoms continued to grow and turn into stuff.  More and more tomatoes.

Pretty soon we were getting enough tomatoes that Brombeere was beginning to feel hard pressed to keep up with them.  She likes tomatoes but didn't want to have to can any, summer was already busy enough without adding that to the mix. 

We even got a few currents from the current bush Blaubeere had given us.

And the rains kept coming.  Not too much, but at a good, steady pace that was good for the garden.

Every couple of days Brombeeree went out and brought in more tomatoes.

They were the star producer this year.

Then it was getting close to the time that we were leaving for a couple of weeks.  We had checked the long range weather forecast and knew that it would probably freeze before we got back so she went out and picked everything that was far enough along to ripen in the house.  That turned out to be a lot.  Since Schwartzbeere was going to be home while we were gone, Brombeere charged him to eat enough tomatoes that none spoiled.

Unfortunately, Schwartzbeere is not as big a fan of tomatoes as Brombeere and when we got back there were a few spoiled ones in the boxes.

But there were still a lot of good ones left, plenty enough to keep Brombeere happy and feeling like she'd done really well with the garden this year.

So by late October it was time to trim everything back and get the garden space ready for winter and all the snow that we usually get.

And then it snowed.  But the garden was really good while it lasted.  This year was much better than many of the other summers we've tried to keep a garden.  Brombeere was happy with it.

The Pump Cover

When we bought our present house it had an underground sprinkling system already installed.  That was nice.  And it had its own outdoor pump so it didn't run on city water.  That was real nice as it kept the cost of watering the yard down.  The pump was out in the backyard, way in the back corner of the yard, under a little "dog house" cover.  We had no idea how old the system was, or the cover, but they were obviously not new when we moved in.

But it was out there, in the corner of the yard, out in the weather, rain or shine, winter, summer, fall, and spring, faithfully covering the pump, not getting much attention at all.

I don't know if the previous owners ever painted it, I know we never did.  It didn't get any attention at all except twice a year when it was time to either start up or shut down the system.  Then the lid would get moved off while the service people did what they needed to do to either prime the pump and get it started in the spring or shut it off and blow the lines for winter.  When they were done the lid went back on and it would sit again until next time.  

So it sat there, exposed to the elements year-round, aging and deteriorating, year after year.  It would occasionally get bumped while mowing the lawn, but otherwise it got left alone. 

Several years ago it began attracting attention because it was gradually rotting, moving closer and closer to just collapsing as it aged. A couple of years ago Himbeere offered to rebuild it but I didn't want to trouble him because I knew it would be at least a day's work, if not more.  There was also the expense of getting the material to rebuild it, which, even though it wouldn't be a lot, it would be time consuming to figure out what we needed and actually get the stuff.  

But then one day Himbeere went out and made a simple drawing of the cover and got some rough  measurements, the first step.  So, figuring we'd try to get all the materials before the next time Himbeere visited, Schwartzbeere and I finished out the drawing and measurements and went and got all the stuff.

By the time Himbeere came back, a couple of weeks later, we had everything ready to start construction.  Schwartzbeere was home that day so the two of them got started.  We had been figuring to build a cover that was a little more sturdy than the old one.  The two of them put in about three hours work and got as far as getting the bottom half pretty much done before Himbeere ran out of time and had to leave.  As he left he commented that he was surprised it was taking so long but I wasn't surprised.  I had done this kind of thing before and knew it was going to take a while.

But they had made good progress and got the bottom part pretty much done.  So during the following week I took the bottom out to to the pump and tried putting it in place, just to make sure it would fit.  The bad news was it was too small.  It wouldn't quite fit over the pump and all the pipes that go with the system.  Later, when Schwartzbeere was home, we went back out and did some more measuring.  Then we looked at the material we had and how we could enlarge it with the least amount of waste, using as much as possible of what we had already.  

On a Saturday when we had plenty of time, the two of us did the work of taking the bottom part apart and rebuilding it a little bigger. It was still a bit of work and took us all the time Schwartzbeere had that day before he had to go to work. But we got it far enough along that we were able to get to a good stopping place.  We had the bottom part all done again and the lid framed up. It was a good place to stop.

During the next week I went out one day and finished the lid, as far as getting it ready to put the shingles on.  Then the next Saturday Schwartzbeere and I put the shingles on and finished it all up.  

Then, a few days later, I took both parts out back and put them in place.  It fit this time, a very happy thing. Brombeere decided she wanted to paint it so it would last a little better so she went and got some nice, forest green paint and began painting.  She even put on primer, which was a good thing, the wood we had used was pretty thirsty. 

But two coats of primer and two coats of paint later, it was all done.  A much better looking little dog house now, ready to keep the pump out of the weather for years to come.  I suspect this cover will last much longer than the last one.

It took us quite a bit longer to do than Himbeere ever imagined it would take but we have a very nice little pump cover now.  The guy will be here in another week or so to shut the system down for the winter.  I wonder if he'll notice.  I suspect he will, if only because it's a bit heavier than the old cover. It will take a little bit more effort to get the lid off.

A Time to Relax

Things got a little intense recently so we decided to run away and relax for a bit. So run away we did.

We made a reservation for a place to stay, loaded up the bikes and some stuff we'd need for a couple of days, and took off.

We picked a place on a small lake.  After putting our stuff in our room we went down to a dock on the lake and sat out on a bench there and just enjoyed the solitude and stillness.  

It was evening by this time so we just stayed there on the dock  and at the lake's edge and watched the sun set. There were birds chirping and flying around.  It was real nice. Very relaxing.

This was also the night of the full moon, a super moon. And what's  more, it was the second full moon of the month so it was what is called a "Blue Moon", a phenomena that only happens once in a great while. So it was a nice way to pass the evening.

We took the next morning slow and easy. It was mid-morning before we got to the place we were starting our bike ride from. We were riding a stretch of the Bearskin State Trail. So we got to our starting place, unloaded the bikes, and pretty soon we were ready to go.

This trail had lots of good signage, a nice thing for keeping track of where you are. While I had downloaded a map from the trail's website, we weren't far along the trail when we came across a map.  Maps and information signs along the way were typical the whole time we were on the trail.

The Bearskin trail is over twenty-one miles long but we weren't doing the whole trail, only about a third of it.  And the third we were doing was out in the middle.  We picked this portion of the trial because it would mean crossing nine bridges.

Some were short, under twenty feet.  The longest we crossed was over 250 feet.  I like bridges so nine bridges was fun, and we did each twice. Once on the way out and again on the way back.

Our turn-around point was an observation deck a little over 6.5 miles from where we started.  The satellite view of the trail made it look like a pretty big deck but when we got there we found it was much smaller.  The sign there said beavers had built a couple of dams nearby that had raised the water level enough they had cut the deck way back.  You could still see some of the pilings from where the deck had been but it was not much of an observation deck anymore.  That was fine, though.  We went far enough beyond the deck to make it an even seven miles from where we started and then headed back.

The description of the trail had said it was heavily wooded, enough so that it made tunnels over the trail in some points.  We found some of that.  A lot of the time we were in the shade, which was nice.

The trial was a challenge because it wasn't fully covered with crushed granite; there was a grass strip running down the center of the trial pretty much the whole way we were on it.  On a recumbent trike, you pretty much have to have one wheel in that grass all the time, which makes it a little harder to ride. And the only paved sections were when we'd go over a cross street and there were only a few of those. So by the time we got back we were feeling like we'd had a good workout.

It was a pleasant ride, lots of wild flowers along the way.  We saw a number of birds as well.  Unfortunately, with birds you can't always get a good picture, they can be pretty fast.  

After 14 miles, we were glad to get back to the car. All in all, though, it was a good ride.  And it allowed me to cross another trail off my list, I've wanted to ride this section of this trail for a couple of years and Brombeere was kind enough to agree to it.  So it was a good way to spend the morning.

That was the morning.  The plan for the evening was to go into Minocqua for dinner and then decide what to else to do.  We had looked at a couple of options but hadn't made firm plans when we left the trail.  What we ended up doing was going on a pontoon cruise of the lake.  Actually, several lakes.  Minocqua sits on a chain of six lakes that consist of nearly 6,000 acres of water with more than 15  miles of shoreline.  Pretty much all of the shore is owned with houses on most of the lots, some ranging from hundreds of acres down to 40 foot lots.  Our driver/tour guide was very informative, being a native of the community.  He was also very entertaining.

The Bearskin Trail has its northern trailhead in Minocqua, about 13 miles north of the closest point we got to it. We went under bridges for the trial a couple of times on the cruise.

There were some celebrity homes on the lake. Like this Frank Llyod Wright home with lots of windows, he was real big on natural lighting.  We saw homes once owned by John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson, among other famous and infamous people.  President Eisenhauer used to fish on the lake a lot, though he never owned property there.

Other homes were not necessarily celebrity homes but just interesting architecture.  The biggest home on the lake had a  miniature golf course in the yard. These were multimillion dollar homes.  Our guide figured any home on the lake would go for at least one million dollars in today's  market. Lots of money.  There were also a couple of campgrounds and a country club, complete with an 18 hole golf course, on the lake.

As interesting as all the lake front property was, we found the wildlife much more interesting.  The tour took us by an area where there were a couple of beaver homes.  Alas, none of the beaver were  out at the time.

We also saw a very large eagle's nest. The photo doesn't really convey a good sense of just how big the nest was.  It was way high in the tree, it was huge.  We know of an eagle nest several miles from where we live; this one was much, much bigger.  We actually saw a couple of eagle nests. Our guide said sometimes you can hear the baby birds asking for dinner.

The cruise was two hours long and during the course of the ride we saw lots of birds, probably more loons than anything else.  They were fun to watch.  They'd be there on the surface and then suddenly disappear beneath the water only to come back up a couple of minutes later, sometimes several yards from where they went under. The black loons were the mature ones, the dark, not quite black ones were the babies. They were getting nearly full grown by this time of year. And there were lots of geese.  The geese are beginning to gather into big flocks, getting ready to begin their migration south. That's happening where we live, too.

We had gone on the last cruise of the day so by the time we headed back to the dock the sun was beginning to set.  Sunset on a lake is a beautiful thing.  It was a great way to end the cruise.  To end the evening.

We went back to our room.  The next morning it was back to home.  But the trip was a success, despite the exertion of the trail ride, we had been able to unwind and relax.  We went back ready to face the coming week. It was a good time.