Trip to Oregon

It's been a long time since I've written in my blog, hasn't it?  To be honest, I've had my mind on other things than writing lately, and I'm just now getting to editing my photos from more than a month ago.

I don't know if you're aware of it or not, but I now have an Instagram account.  You should follow me and see the photos I upload!

Reminiscing on Old Times

It's been five years since I was last in Oregon.  Back in August of 2008, Adam, Annie, John, and I went to Oregon when Adam was planning to drive across the US on his bicycle.  That plan never turned out, but the trip was one of the best times I've had in my life.  In life we seldom have what any of us would call a perfect day, but it seemed as if the second day of that trip was just that.  The following excerpt comes from my MySpace blog back then:

First I took my car over to the Lube Express to give it an oil change.  We went to Dairy Queen while we waited.  Anna hadn't ever eaten there and really thought that this was a really cool place to have breakfast/lunch.  When we got back to the Lube Express, they told me that they had discovered a dead mouse in the air filter of the engine.  The thing looked like a piece of leather with whiskers!  Anyway, on their advice, I had my air filter replaced and area cleaned out, and since my automatic transmission fluid hadn't been flushed for about 30,000 miles, I had them flush and replace that too.  While we waited on them to do that, we walked around the park that was nearby.

Afterward, we drove to Newport, Oregon.  Once we got there, we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.  We met my good friend from college Jessie, who is now married.  I didn't get to meet her new husband, but it was great to see her again.  It has been more than four years since I've seen her.  Jessie had to get ready for her new husband to get home (she was going to make dinner for him! ), so we parted ways.

We drove to the bay and ate at a nice restaurant called Mo's.  It's a well-known historical restaurant.  While we were in there, I thought to myself that this would be one of the restaurants that my mom would've liked to take me to, and then I realized that she wasn't there anymore.  We all had a lot of fun there too.

Later we drove to the South Beach State Park in Newport.  We stayed there for the rest of the afternoon and all evening.  Anna and Adam went into the water, even though it was absolutely freezing.  Deuce thought about it but I think it was a bit too cold for him too.  John and I pretty much stayed on the water's edge for a little while because we didn't really want to get that cold.  After that, then John built a campfire on the beach and we stayed until about 10:00 p.m.  Then we drove back to Albany, Oregon.

John, Adam, and I played Uno until about three in the morning once we got back to where we were staying.

While we were there in 2008, I also visited some aunts, uncles, and cousins.  We had this absolutely amazing salmon barbecue at my Aunt Lolly's house.  In all I really had a good time back then.

My New Adventure

I didn't really plan my trip to Oregon.  I made last-minute preparations since I planned on surprising Adam, who lives in Albany, OR at this point in time.  I got in the car on November 2, 2013 and drove from Gardiner to Twin Falls, ID, and stayed at the Days Inn just off the Interstate at Twin Falls.  It's a pretty nice hotel, and I'd go there again.

 

The next day I drove the rest of the way to Salem, OR.  Right before I got to Portland, I almost had an accident with a two-car pile-up in the left lane of the Interstate.  It was raining, the road had a lot of curves, and everyone was driving about 65 mph.  All of a sudden, I saw these two cars stopped in the lane in front of me.  I tried to slow down, but I wasn't going to make it.  I was able to move enough into the right lane to avoid the accident on the left by mere inches.  The adrenaline was pumping pretty good by then.  Fortunately, the cars on my right let me get in a bit to avoid that mess!

I met my college friend Little Jess in Salem and stayed the night at her friend's house.  It's been a really long time since I've seen her.  She's no longer married, but she's still the same Little Jess.

So On November 4, Jess and I headed to Albany where I surprised Adam at the Starbucks.  He wasn't expecting me, so she called him to tell him that a package to him was accidentally sent to her, and she wanted to meet him in a public place to give it to him.  He circled the building in his car a couple times, and was just about ready to leave without coming inside the store when she explained that a friend of his was there.  He finally came inside, reluctantly.  Of course he was shocked to see me.  He realized after all this time that I had previously been fishing for information about his work schedule and whatnot.

Adam and I at Starbucks in Albany, Oregon (photo by Little Jess)

That night arrangements were made for me to stay at Adam's grandaunt's and granduncle's house.  By the way, they're siblings, and not married.  Anyway, that day, Jess and I found out that Adam's granduncle Hank was one of the 52 veterans who protested at the Washington Memorial in October.  It was amazing hearing his side of the story after hearing things from the media.  The guy is more than 90 years old [correction 12/21/2013 - he's 89 years old.], and is still able to travel across the country.  He truly is spry for his age!

I hung out with Adam that evening at his and his mother's house in a nearby neighborhood.  We watched a movie before I went back to his grandaunt's and granduncle's place for the night.

Tuesday November 5 was pretty mellow.  That evening, Adam came to the house, and so did his grandmother Dorothy.  Arlene, his grandaunt, made some wonderful pork chops, and after dinner, we laughed a bit and played Skip-Bo.  It was good to see my buddy laugh.
 

Adam, his grandmother Dorothy, and myself (photo by Dorothy)

Adam didn't have to work on November 7, so we went to the Oregon Zoo in Portland.  We went to the zoo with a little boy named Wyatt, and another new friend named Caitie.  The weather was drizzling for most of the day, but it was tolerable.

I hadn't been there since 1990 when I went there with my parents and brothers.  I even remember going to the the Enchanted Forest back then.
 

Wyatt takes his cotton candy seriously.

A Speke's gazelle at the Oregon Zoo

That night we ate at Five Guys in Salem.  I hadn't eaten there and I liked it a lot.

It was time for me to head back to Montana November 8, so I had lunch with my Little Friend Jess at Red Robin in Salem, and then drove to Boise for the night where I stayed at the Super 8.

 

On November 9, my mom's birthday, I drove from Boise to Gardiner and made it safely home.  If my mom was alive today, she would be 60 years old.

On my way home, I made a stop in Pocatello to visit with my cousin Kim.  I haven't seen her in about a year.  I enjoyed catching up with her, but she was the only relative I got to see on this trip.

This trip to see Adam was a bit more relaxed, but it was good to see old friends.  I hope I can see them again soon!  It was too bad that I couldn't hook up with more of my relatives in the Salem area, but maybe some other time it will work out.

Lightning's Gone

In 2008, Jean came to live with me and brought with her Princess, Boo, Lightning, and Pebbles.  Of those four cats, only Princess still lives now.  When Lightning and Princess were here at the house, they didn't get along together, and there were some terrible cat wars.  Lightning would pee in corners in response, and it made for some interesting times.  Jean had a condo in Belgrade and took Princess there so that she didn't have to compete with any other cats, and Lightning lived peaceably at my house ever since.  Still, Lightning would occasionally pee in a corner for no reason, even if I was right there to deal with her.

Lightning always had minor health problems.  Jean adopted her as a kitten in poor health.  She had lost her meow as a kitten somehow and only squeaked when she wanted attention.  Even while I had her, she had problems tearing, and also with eczima.  In January the veterinarian diagnosed her with kidney disease.  At the time, I took her there for a bladder infection.

Generally she got along really well with other cats in the house and only wanted a peaceable life.

I couldn't allow her inside my bedroom at night because she would nuzzle me until I fed her wet cat food, even though there was dry cat food everywhere in the house.  I wanted my sleep, so I closed the door.  She clawed and squeaked at the door until her demands were met.  I wanted my sleep, so I put her in the garage at night.  She didn't like this, and evidenced this to me on a few occasions, but I got my sleep.  She reminded me of another cat:

She and I weren't terribly close since she basically only asked for my attention when she wanted wet cat food.  She could be annoying about it too.

Regardless, I felt pretty bad for her when her kidney disease was getting the best of her recently.  Her behavior changed a bit.  She started peeing in the bathtub, and would hover over the water bowl without drinking from it.  At some point she stopped eating, and I could tell that she wasn't feeling very well.  On September 28, I took her to the vet to be euthanized because after I got home from working at Super 8, I found that she was in great discomfort and was seriously dehydrated.  On the drive to Livingston, she didn't even get agitated, and it takes an hour to drive from Gardiner there.  She mostly stayed quiet.  I felt more bad for her in her condition than anything else, and I was glad that the vet could make a quick end of it.  She wasn't terribly old—maybe 10.

Everyone I know has been really nice about Lightning's death, and I appreciate it very much.  It's good to know that people care for their animals and are sensitive to others who own them also.

Lightning basks in the sun.

Lightning rolled in some catnip.

Lightning takes a nap with Thunder as a kitten.

There are some remarkable similarities here.

Lightning didn't go outside very often, and this was pretty far from the house for her.

Lightning sits on the outdoor swinging chair.

Hiking, and Hiking, and Hiking Some More

I have never hiked for so far ever before.  Will I ever be the same?  September 14 a friend and I hiked on the Fairy Falls Trail from the Fairy Falls trailhead to Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone Park, and then hiked on the road back to our vehicle.  It was kind of a stormy day, so we were glad to have our rain gear with us.  Personally, I was still dealing with the residual effects of the long hike we had the week before up Sheep Mountain.

Along the trail, we saw Grand Prismatic Spring from above on the hill next to it, Fairy Falls, Imperial Geyser, and Mystic Falls.  Previously, I had used the closer trails from the road to see all these features.  If you don't remember about my adventures then, you should read Adventures in Wonderland (Part 1) and Adventures in Wonderland (Part 2).  I've been to the area several times, but because MySpace hasn't created a way for me to access those blogs, I can't post links to those adventures at this time.

Outside of what I've previously seen in the area, the Fairy Falls Trail was loaded with obsidian rocks and boulders.  There are a couple kinds of obsidian forms (not counting colors) in the Yellowstone area.  There are shards of it which were perfect for making arrowheads by the native population ages ago, and there are chips of it.  These chips resemble a broken windshield.  Many of the boulders along the Fairy Falls area are made of these kinds of chips.

Obsidian rocks along Fairy Falls Trail

Little Firehole Meadows

Little Firehole River

We finally arrived back at our vehicle after dark, even though we tried to start in the morning.  Unfortunately, driving time to this location was a little while and made for a longer day.  While we walked along the road, bull elk bugling could be heard nearby.  At my house, I often hear the same sounds.  In all, we hiked for about 8.25 hours.

Making Tracks on Sheep Mountain

I've hiked to the top of Electric Peak a couple times since I've lived in Gardiner, but I hadn't hiked to the top of Sheep Mountain yet.  They have similar altitudes: Electric Peak is 10,969 feet above sea level, and Sheep Mountain is 10,547.  They're both mountains that neighbor me in quite the literal sense.  Both mountains used to be volcanoes at some point in ancient history.  Electric Peak is definitely the favorite mountain to hike in this area for many people, but no one realizes that Sheep Mountain is just about as challenging.

On September 7, Jaret, Tony, and I hiked to the top of Sheep Mountain.  We started about 9:50 am and got back to the car about 8:30 pm that evening and hiked about 9 miles.  That sounds like a slow hike, but you have to remember that we were climbing about 4,500 feet in altitude to get to the top.

We hadn't hiked for more than ten minutes before we were surprised by a bull snake.  Everyone jumped out of the way since it was pretty angry.  Fortunately these guys aren't poisonous, but I still didn't feel like getting bitten by it.

A bull snake coils and hisses at us.

The trail meandered along Little Trail Creek, crossing it at least five times on our way up to the summit.  Sometimes we could go across on rocks, and other times we had to carefully cross downed logs.

Little Trail Creek

Tony and Wayne cross a log across the creek.

Sheep Mountain's forest is really beautiful, surpassing that of much of Yellowstone because it didn't get burned.  However, there is extensive pine beetle kill in the area, but it looks like the worst of it is over.

Jaret hikes through the thick forest on Sheep Mountain.

Once we got close to the top, we were able to see for a really long way.  Nearby was Monitor Peak, Ash Mountain, Emigrant Peak, and Electric Peak.  In the distance we could Index and Pilot Peaks, all the way at Cooke City.  We couldn't see the Tetons from our vantage point, but maybe on some days it might be possible.

Ash Mountain

Cutoff Mountain, Index Peak, and Piolot Peak

Mammoth Hot Springs

Emigrant Peak

At the top of the mountain, we could see down into the crater of the volcano at Five Lakes.  It wasn't as apparent from the top of the mountain as it was after I looked at Google Earth that Sheep Mountain used to be a volcano.  From where we were, we simply saw ridge lines around us.

Five Lakes

Jaret and Tony relax at the top of Sheep Mountain.

The way back down the mountain was quite the adventure.  I saw that we were about to get rained on very soon, and so we tried to hump it back to the bottom.  We were suddenly hailed on.  It felt like we were losing at paintball since the hail was about pea-sized.  Strangely, the hail lasted for at least fifteen minutes, which is pretty long for a hailstorm in this part of the country.

We continued to hike down the mountain as carefully as we could since everything was now wet.  We went down the steep side of ridge through a rock bed as gingerly as possible, and got back down to Little Trail Creek.  From there we were able to keep a fast pace back to the truck, making it there just about at dark.

We were all a bit sore from the hike that day as it was a very strenuous hike, but we felt very accomplished.  Jaret had come from Livingston to hike, but he didn't feel up to going back to Livingston that night, so he stayed at my place until the next day.

It was an amazing hike, and I'd enjoy doing it again.  I want to take advantage of everything around me, and the reasonably good weather to do it in.  It generally means that everything gets crammed into each summer, but what summers!

Remembering Back and Straining Forward

On Friday, August 23, Greg and I hiked up Reese Creek.  We started at the northern border to Yellowstone National Park on Old Yellowstone Trail.  That's where there's a road there that goes up Electric Peak to Malcolm Forbe's old cabin.

The hike was very enjoyable, and Greg and I hiked 3.8 miles up the creek into Yellowstone Park and returned the same way we came.  We saw a lot of evidence of bear activity, and enjoyed the wandering stream.

A pronghorn buck watches Greg and I as we hike toward Reese Creek.

This is an old wheel from a cart or wagon near Reese Creek inside Yellowstone Park.  It's probably from the old coal mining days.

Electric Creek, a creek that runs into Reese Creek

A very tall cottonwood tree near Electric Creek

A flame skimmer dragonfly near Reese Creek

Along the hike, I was brought back to a time about 30 years ago.  Back when I was a little kid, I remember dad and mom taking us up to Forbes Cabin along that old road that Greg and I started our hike from.  Dad was the caretaker for the cabin before it was purchased by Royal Teton Ranch (Church Universal and Triumphant).

Myself and my brother Scott sit on the porch at Forbes Cabin in July 1984. (Photo by Sam)

Forbes Cabin in August 1984 (Photo by Sam)

Going through dad's old photo albums, I occasionally see a picture of billionaire Malcolm Forbes.  I never met him, but my dad did.

Malcolm Forbes (publisher of Forbes Magazine) and my Dad in front of Mr. Forbes' private airplane on August 11, 1983 (Photo taken on Sam's camera, unknown photographer)

Apparently, Mr. Forbes went to that cabin about once a year, sometimes with motorcycles.  When I was a boy, my dad or our family would go up to the cabin about once a week and cut wood, have picnics, and take care of the cabin.  The cabin is only a short hike from the Yellowstone National Park border, which is clearly marked.

Since Royal Teton Ranch has owned the property, I have been up to the place once, in 2008 when I hiked up to the summit of Electric Peak for my second time.  I went with Adam and Aleŝ, two really good buddies.  Forbes Cabin was the starting point for our hike.  We had to park the car about a quarter of a mile away from the cabin.

If you remember from the blog I wrote on MySpace that long ago, we got stuck up there because my car battery died.  We were rescued by a forest ranger, and then a couple days later my family went up to get my Blazer.

I would put up a link to that blog, but since MySpace has so dramatically changed, I no longer have access to the blog until they provide some sort of download tool.

So much had changed up there since I was a little kid!  Between the 1990s and 2008, there was a forest fire which destroyed the forest around the cabin.  At this point there are only a bunch of stumps and dead trees surrounding the area.  At least the cabin, the guest cabin, and the stable were protected from the fire.  At the time I wished that Royal Teton Ranch had done a better job taking care of the cabin.  There were some glaring maintenance issues that my family and I noticed when we were there.

Regardless, I experienced a lot of nostalgia when I went up there with Adam and Aleŝ back in 2008.

Aleŝ takes a photo of the stable from Forbes Cabin. (Photo by Adam 7/25/2008)

Forbes Cabin (Photo by Jean 7/27/2008)

The tool shed and barbecue grill at Forbes Cabin (Photo by Jean 7/27/2008)

Behind the guest cabin the burned forest is so visible.  (Photo by Jean 7/27/2008)

The stable and corral below Forbes Cabin (photo by Jean 7/27/2008)

By the way, I'd like to congratulate Aleŝ and his bride on their recent wedding!  I'm very happy for the two of them and wish them all of life's best.

Today the cabin is called Eagle's Nest and is a nice vacation rental.  Last time I spoke with Royal Teton Ranch about the property last year, they were very concerned about the possibility of another wildfire being started by vehicles with catalytic converters and so they wouldn't let me up there to see the outside of the property.  They didn't ask what model, make, or year my vehicle was (that actually makes a difference with wildfires caused by catalytic converters, by the way).  Apparently, they even required fire prevention methods when guests went up to the cabin.  They seemed a bit paranoid, but experiences like this from Church Universal and Triumphant aren't unusual, and I should have expected it.

So when I was hiking with Greg a month ago, I remembered my experiences on Electric Peak.  My family would hike to the two lakes (ponds, really) in the area occasionally.  We always walked to the spring that fed the cabin its ice cold fresh water when we went to the cabin.  The views from the balcony of the cabin were magnificent, giving a full view of Gardiner Basin.  Wildlife was prevalent there, with most of the animals that I enjoy to see in Yellowstone Park.  Dad or one of us boys would check for dead mice in our extensive mouse trap line under the cabin.  I remember playing in the yard in front of the cabin, looking for bugs near the trees next to the cabin and looking over the cliff nearby when my parents would supervise.

There have been so many changes between then and now.  Sometimes it feels like I can almost grasp those "good old days," and wonder what happened.

I grew up.

Those simple pleasures back then occurred because a good opportunity was presented to my dad.  How, in general, opportunities come isn't always so simple, or even predictable.  Even revisiting those days at the cabin has proven to be not so simple.

That opportunity was temporal.  Life is constantly changing, and so are our opportunities.  But when we find a good one, isn't it our way to hold on to it for as long as we can?  When those opportunities finally die out, it's only then when we think about those being "the good old days."  I think this applies to a whole range of things: a beloved spouse or mother who's passed away, a good job, or living in a certain place for example.

We kind of turn nostalgia on its head when we face bad or difficult times.  We say, "I wish we were back then when..." not even thinking about the troubles we faced during those times.  Much of the time, our troubles push us to the next big opportunity that we don't even see yet.  We can't even imagine what that opportunity would look like because we seem to be in the shadow of our troubles.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. (Php 3:12-16 NIV)

I'm looking forward to finding the next good opportunity.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

D's Day Off

This summer I made friends with a girl from Jamaica.  She, like many other people who come to work in Gardiner for the summer, is part of a college program that allows her to come to the United States to work during the summer.  D worked really hard this summer at four or five different jobs without a day off for about three months.

Being in this town for nine years, I've seen how foreign workers get burned out from working when they don't give any time to themselves.  I really encouraged D to take a day off and see Yellowstone Park before she left for Jamaica.  Many people come to Yellowstone for three or four days with their families on a vacation, and for those people, it is usually the only time during their lives that they actually see the world's first national park.  She was working here for an entire summer, and still hadn't seen it!

On September 1, D and I drove in Yellowstone Park and saw all the main places before she had to fly back to Jamaica on September 6.  It was her first real day off for the whole summer.  We saw Liberty Cap in Mammoth, Petrified Tree near Tower Junction, Dunraven Pass, Lower Falls, Mud Volcano (which recently had opened after recent fires), Yellowstone Lake, Old Faithful, and Midway Geyser Basin.  The day was very full, but we had a lot of fun together.

A really beautiful formation at Palette Springs in Mammoth

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, seen from the brink of Lower Falls

Three trumpeter swans float along the Yellowstone River.

Beautiful colors stream from Excelsior Geyser Crater.

D at Grand Prismatic Spring

I was impressed with a blog I recently read, which was written by a friend who went to Angola with me.  She wrote about singleness and relationships, and made this bold statement about committed Christian men: "I don’t just mean that he wears a 'true love waits' purity ring.. I mean that this guy FIGHTS for your purity."  I think that statement applies to both people in romantic relationships and those who are completely single like myself.

This summer, D and I hung out a bit and worked together.  In this small town of Gardiner, I could tell that there were people who questioned my integrity, but I felt obligated to protect D's purity.  She's engaged to a man back in Jamaica she loves with all her heart, and yet she still came to Montana, separated from the one she loves.  If I were in her position, I would want the same sort of respect for my relationship that I was committed to giving D.  During her adventure in the US, she knew I would fight for her purity, and for that of her fiancé's as well!

So many people get caught up in romantic relationships that they forget that friendship is important too!  So many people of the world say, "A guy and a girl can't be friends without having sex."  I say that if you love Jesus with all your heart, you better be able to answer, "Yes, they can!"  Regardless of whatever situation we are in, we ought to protect the purity of relationships that we are in, and relationships that other people are in.

I had a lot of fun with D this summer, and it was a real pleasure to get to know her.  I even got to chat a little with her fiancé!  Even better, they both got to see Jesus in me, and I sent her back with a couple Bibles—one for herself, and one for a friend of her's in Jamaica.  She's going to always have memories of a quirky Godly friend who made sure she saw Yellowstone before she went back home to the arms of the guy she dreams of.

Solfatara Trail

That's kind of a funny name for a trail, isn't it?  According to Merriam-Webster, solfatara is "a volcanic area or vent that yields only hot vapors and sulfurous gas."  The beginning of Solfatara Trail tended to have only fumaroles, and it started on the north side of Roaring Mountain, an area well-known to be solfatara.

Solfatara along the Solfatara Trail

Amphitheater Springs has a lot of solfatara too.

Tony and I hiked on that trail for about 15 miles on August 24.  Along the trail, we saw the fumaroles near the beginning, but then soon we saw that the trail followed a power line for several miles.  The area was heavily burned during the 1988 fire and many of the trees are less than 25 years old.  Being that young, the forest tended to be pretty thick too.  Along the trail, obsidian was strewn everywhere.  Jean would have been in heaven just seeing all that volcanic glass.  As well, geyserite was very common in the area.

Eventually we got the the Whiterock Springs area.  It seemed like a funny name since the volcanic landscape was actually reddish in color.  I guess that speaks to the constantly changing nature of Yellowstone Park's thermal features.  The hot pools of water smelled very similar to those in the Mud Volcano Area.  We had to cross some wood across a thermal runoff area that was bubbling from underground.  It didn't appear to be very dangerous, but I didn't really want to see how far down the mud in the runoff went down.

The Whiterock Springs area

The thermal runoff that went between hot springs

While hiking, Tony and I didn't see very much wildlife.  We saw four sandhill cranes, and a coyote who didn't want to stick around the area.

If you look closely, you can see a sandhill crane walking at the base of the trees.

After walking through a big, beautiful meadow, we got to the opposite end of the Solfatara Trail, at the Norris campground.  We ate lunch there and headed back the same way we came.  On the way back, we walked off-trail to Lake of Woods, a nice little lake with a lot of lily pads.

The hill behind Lake of the Woods is called The Landmark.

I hadn't ever hiked this far before, and I felt pretty proud of myself.  Besides that, I didn't even feel sore the next day!  I guess I'm in decent shape for hiking!