Blues Skies Smiling at Me

Blue skies smiling at me, nothin' but blue skies do I see - you remember that old big band song by Irving Berlin? Well, that's just what I see. I can't believe the intensity of the blue of the sky at these high elevations. We're in the Tetons with the campground at 8,000 feet. And we're both impressed by the intense blue of the sky. Remember, we're Flatlanders; we live at just over 900 feet, so the atmosphere gets pretty thick there.

We had a pretty uneventful trip with the exception that we almost got bicycle rider smattered all over the front of our RV. It never ceases to amaze me how cocky some bike riders can be in giving up "their share" of the highway. We were traveling on a very narrow two-lane highway, which had a nice asphalted shoulder on it, with a semi-truck and several cars oncoming. We had nowhere to go other than straight ahead. In front of us was a bicycle rider. Ole stepped on the brakes hard, sounded the air horn the the bike rider looked over his shoulder at us and had the audacity to give us the finger and then try to wave us by without moving off onto the shoulder of the road. Ole stepped on the brakes as hard as he could, which of course caused EVERYTHING is the cabinets to shift (I could hear it all crashing and banging), and finally when we were about even with his back tire he moved off onto the shoulder.

Maybe I'm really crass, but I opened by window, stuck my arm out and flipped him the bird!! Now, Folks, I just don't do that normally - but this bast--d made me SO ANGRY I just couldn't help myself. Anyway we got through that one by the skin of our teeth with no human flesh embedded on the bumper.

So, it's five o'clock somewhere - right here as a matter of fact - it's toddy time - then Ole will make me some kind of elegant dinner and then we'll sit outside and enjoy the cool temperatures. Tomorrow we'll hop on the Harley and tour the Tetons.

You guys just go ahead and envy me. I can handle it.

Love Lena

Oh, BTW, the first three bloggers to leave a comment on my yesterday's entry were Art, Mountain Mama, and Poolie. So sometime within the next 365 days you can expect a very special custom made gift in the Pay It Forward thingie that's going around. Lovely Daughter wrote me and asked if she could be included even if she was my daughter and she wasn't one of the first three to comment. Of course she can, she's always included in special things, but that means she has to start writing in her diary much more frequently than what she's been doing recently (hint, hint). HI LOVELY DAUGHTER!!

Pay it forward and Rain

What a wonderful idea, and I want to join in the fun.

Pay It Forward! I will send a handmade gift to the first three people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. I know exactly what that gift will be, and I guarantee you won't receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise cuz' what I have in mind is going to take a bit of time. The only thing you have to do in return is Pay It Forward by making the same promise on your blog.

So be one of the first three to comment and you'll get a surprise in the mail sometime within the next 365 days.

I have nothing fun to report today because it's been raining all day. The forecast predicted that it would break up by noon, but guess what, they lied. It's now 5:15 p.m. and it just quit. The sun is starting to come out so we may go visit the Hot Springs State Park this evening. I wanted to go to the dinosaur museum this afternoon, but it was raining heavy enough that we didn't venture out, and now it's closed. And we have to leave here tomorrow morning as we have reservations in the Teton National Park.

So it was an afternoon of watching movies, reading and napping. But then that's not bad either, is it? I bought the DVD of Roots a while back when it came out. I got through the first two-sided disc this afternoon. Very entertaining to me, but not Ole's kind of thing, so he's reading one of the books that Lovely Daughter sent along. She reads constantly and anything that she thinks he might like she sends over to our house. So she sent a supply along for both of us just for this kind of day. Thanks, Lovely Daughter.

So I've spent the afternoon crocheting on an afghan I started before we left home and watching Roots.

One of the nice things about traveling in the motor home is that Ole does the majority of the cooking. I just do the cleanup, which I don't mind. When we started traveling in the RV I bought a fairly expensive set of cookware to keep in here. He was so happy with it and wanted the same kind for the house (since he retired he's taken over more of the meal prep which is fine with me.) He loves to experiment and I never complain - just eat what he puts in front of me as long as I don't have to cook it. Anyway, awhile back I was out rummaging saling with a friend one Saturday morning and came across a complete set of Emeril cookware for $40. At the time I only purchased two of the pans of the set thinking Ole might like them because he watches Emeril all the time. When I brought them home he stuffed me back in the pickup and we went back to the rummage sale and purchased the remainder of the set. He was so thrilled - but now he wants Emeril cookware for the RV also. I told him only if I come across another deal like previously. Now all of a sudden the cookware we have in the RV doesn't measure up. Go figure.

I wonder what delectable delight he's going to fix for supper tonight? Last night we had mushrooms stuffed with crab - mmmm - good.

Well, sorry I don't have anything more interesting to write about, but then there are those kinds of days you know.

Remember, if you want to receive a handmade surprise from me within the next year be one of the first three to comment!

Wind River Canyon

Exciting day today. Both good things and bad things, but the bad things ended up good. So even though I was shaking from fright and sick to my stomach in fear, it all ended okay.

We started out this morning heading south to ride through the Wind River Canyon, a stretch of beautiful road about 30 miles long ending up in a wide spot in the road called Shoshoni. And yes, that's spelled correctly. Here are some pictures taken in the Wind River Canyon. Mind you, they aren't great because everything is shot from the back of the bike while it's moving.

Above are some of the beautiful red cliffs coming out of the canyon. We stopped in Shoshoni looking for lunch, and after talking to the owner of a small gift shop we stopped in we decided this town wasn't dying, it was already dead. Other than the gift shop and a gas station the only business that we could find that looked even a bit viable was the drug store below. And all it consisted of was an old fashioned soda fountain - no pharmaceuticals.

`
So, needless to say we didn't stay long and headed back north toward Thermopolis. Someone had told us that there was a marina by the lake one the way back that had a pretty good restaurant so we decided to stop there for lunch. I went into the bathroom to use the facilities and took my "biker chick bag" off. It's a pouch-like affair that has two heavy-duty clasps on it that attach to the belt loops of my jeans. And it's just easier to drop your drawers without that hanging on you. So I proceeded to set it on a chair that was in the ladies room. After pulling up my jeans, buckling my belt and washing my hands I walked out of the ladies room.

Ole paid the bill and we motored on down the road back to Thermopolis where we stopped at a little bar for a club soda and a beer. The bartender handed me something to read and I reached for my bag to get my reading glasses out but MY BAG WASN'T THERE! My heart sank as the first thought was that it had come unclasped from my jeans, and then it hit my like a ton of bricks. I had left it lying on the chair in the bathroom at the Marina. I just about gagged and puked right there. I had just gone to the ATM so I had several hundred dollars in cash in it, along with all my credit cards, my debit card, my check book and all my medical ID cards.

First thing, of course, was to try to call the Marina, but of course the line was busy. I tried for about fifteen minutes to no avail, so we hopped on the bike and went back 15 miles, all the time my heart was doing flip flops and I was having a hard time keeping my stomach down.

I walked into the restaurant, asked about the bag and the owner told me that no one had turned it in. I made a dash for the bathroom and what do you suppose - there is was, on the same chair I had put it. All the cash and cards intact. The waitress said there had only been one little old lady that used the facilities since I had been there and apparently she hadn't spotted it. Phew!!!

So what could have turned a wonderful vacation into chaos ended on a very positive note.

Sorry I screwed up on the video yesterday

We Spent the Day Getting High

Today was a long day on the back of the bike that just may have developed some saddle sores. But getting high was somewhat exhilarating, so the saddle sores were worth it.

We left the RV this morning bright and early about 10 a.m. - Senior Citizen Simon was somewhat distraught with the fact that we were going to be gone all day. See picture below.

We headed north out of Cody and worked our way up toward Dead Indian Pass.

When we reached the summit this is what we saw. Pictures can in no way do it justice.

And of course, then we had to go down. Dead Indian Pass is at 8,000 feet. The air felt so cool and fresh. Note all the switchbacks going down into the Sunlight Basin.

At the top of Dead Indian Pass we found this little creature. Both Mom and Dad were there with a litter of three babies that were scurrying all over. But they just would not agree to pose all together for me so I had to take what I could get.

The story has it that the Nez Pearce Indians along with 2000 horses were being chased by the US Cavalry. They hoped that by crossing over this pass they could either join up with their allies the Crows or make it into Canada. They had been on the run for 60 days at this point and were exhausted, but still trying to help all their sick and wounded. They knew that winter was closing in and if they could make it over this mountain fast enough they might be safe. History says that they left a wounded warrior on this mountain who was discovered by the Army scouts and was killed. Thus the name Dead Indian Pass.

Then we reached the Top of the World Store. This is located just below the summit of Beartooth Pass. The highway going over Beartooth is closed from October to the end of May, but the people who operate the store stay through the winter.

Now, would you like to take a ride over the summit of Beartooth? It's hard to breath at 11,000 feet. Take 6 steps, stop and catch your breath, take 6 more steps, stop and catch your breath. Remember, Ole and I are Flatlanders - our elevation at home is just a tish over 900 feet so we're definitely oxygen deprived up there. Hope you enjoyed that. There's more coming.

Meeteetse and the Ghosts

Today we headed out at the bright and early hour of 12 noon. It was great to sleep in, eat breakfast at a slow pace and just sit and relax for a while and visit a bit. Seems like at home things like that don't happen because we've both got "places to go and things to do."

We aimed the bike in a southerly direction and drove the 30 miles from Cody to Meeteetse, one of our favorite places. We discovered it several years ago. It's currently just a wide spot in the road, but has a tremendous amount of history. It previously was a mining town, and hosted some pretty famous criminals at one time, among them Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. In fact, they were both arrested just outside the Cowboy Bar.

The Cowboy Bar began its existence in 1893, and looks pretty much the same today as it did back then. There are bullet holes in the walls in a number of places, and the original bar is still in use. At one point in time there was a rather dasterdly cowboy killed outside on the street, shot through the head. He was brought into the Cowboy Bar, laid out on the bar, and the remainder of the community held a big celebration over his body because they were so glad to see him done in. When the local doctor came in to view the body he poked his finger in the bullet hole, pronounced him dead, and the, dead man's brains began to ooze out all over. See - I told you this place has quite a history.

There are also three ghosts that frequent the place - seen by a majority of the citizens of Meeteetse. One of them is named Belle, a lady of the evening. There's also one with a peg leg, whose presence they can feel when he's around, and also hear him dragging his foot. Then there's a group of cowboys who play pool. I guess it's quite an evening when the balls start rolling across the table and there's no one standing by the pool table. They can even hear the whack of the cue hitting the ball.

The picture below is of Ole standing in front of the bar that was originally ordered from France, brought to the USA by ship, went by train to Omaha, Nebraska and the remainder of the route by freight wagon. That in itself was quite an accomplishment. Look at how ornate it is.

Here's a shot of Ole's Harley outside the Cowboy Bar.

So we spent the better part of the afternoon visiting with Big Jim, the owner of the bar. Then took off back to Cody and stopped at the Irma Hotel, built by Buffalo Bill back around the turn of the century. It's THE place to be in Cody. There's a huge porch on the front with lots of tables and big comfy chairs, but it was too hot to sit out there, so we went in and had something cold.

Here's a picture of the bar at the Irma Hotel - also very ornate - and made from cherry wood.

Then it was back to the motorhome for a little R & R. And that included Simon the Senior Citizen. Doesnt' he look comfy? He behaved better last night - he didn't start prancing across me until about 4 o'clock, so I managed to get a few hours of sleep.

Tomorrow the plan is to head over Dead Indian Pass (8000 feet +) go through the Sunlight Basin, which is absolutely beautiful, and then go over Bear Tooth Pass (11,000 feet). That should be a full day.

Tomorrow, then.