Doing Projects at Home

During March and this part of April I've been working on a few projects here at the house in Gardiner.  I currently have enough time to work on a few projects each day.

I've been working on one of my great grandfather's photo albums.  I scanned the photos a long time ago and hadn't found the time to keyword tag, caption and edit the photos until now.  I'm about halfway finished with this album from 1955.  Typically, I've been working on about 10 photos per day.  Most of the photos are of his road trip from Denver to see my grandparents who were living in Mammoth, Yellowstone National Park.  In general my Great Grandpa George was awesome about captioning his own photos for location and people, and so most of the time I don't have to research whether his captions are accurate or not.  Besides, I know Yellowstone pretty well myself, and even if its 60 years ago, many things are very similar.

Jerry Harris, my 1st cousin 1x removed; Eloise and George Bolt, my great grandparents.  This is in Denver, Colorado, right before they started the road trip.

Jerry swims at Star Plunge in Thermopolis, Wyoming.

George labeled this Eleanor Lake, between Lake Butte and the East Entrance of Yellowstone Park.  Today Eleanor Lake looks pretty different.  Perhaps road construction made those differences.

Eloise holds my uncle Dan who was just a newborn, in Mammoth, Yellowstone Park.

This is a photo of the highway near my house, before it was built!  On the left, the bacon strip shaped thing is the Devil's Slide.

George, Jerry, my Dad, my Grandfather Lyford, my Grandmother May, and Eloise holds Dan.  This is a photo of a picnic at the Island Drive In at Livingston, Montana, a restaurant that has since been demolished.  Today Sleeping Giant Middle School is in its place.

In 1955, it was legal to dump trash in the park.  This is the dump near Mammoth.  As you can see, a black bear peruses the refuse.

May, Eloise, Jerry, George, and Lyford talk at Lyford's trailer in Mammoth, Yellowstone Park.

Lyford catches a fish in one of the small (I think unnamed) lakes south of Mammoth near Bunsen Peak.

Once upon a time, my dad was a cute little kid.  This photo was taken either at Black Sands Basin or near Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park.

Before the 1959 earthquake, Sapphire Pool at Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone Park, used to erupt onto the boardwalk.  This is a picture right before one of those eruptions.  Today the pool is calm.

Black bears on Grand Loop Road.  This is even a common occurance today!

George stands next to Mud Geyser at the Mud Volcano area.  You can't walk that close to the geyser today!

Jerry watches Black Dragon Caldron at the Mud Volcano area.  At that time, it was a very active mud pot.  Today it's much quieter.

Now that my grandmother has passed away, I've been going through this house little by little.  At this point, most of the garbage like empty toilet paper rolls and tin foil have been thrown away a long time ago.  I think the most important part about this is to decide whether people in the family want to keep what's here or not, and whether or not it's in sellable condition for a garage or estate sale.  I'm throwing away broken, incomplete, and ruined items with a few exceptions.  Eventually I'll have a list of what the family wants me to keep, although I have a general idea already of what is special to everyone.  I've cleaned out two bedrooms so far.

I have to admit that some of my cleaning is for my own purposes.  I've slept in the basement bedroom for almost nine years.  Since Grandma's house has been taken off the real estate market for at least the summer, I decided to move into Grandma's old bedroom.  It's good to stop living out of boxes like I have for the past year.  I plan on using my old bedroom as a storage place for all the family information—which is extensive.

Another reason for cleaning out one of the bedrooms is that now I have a new roommate.  I've gotten a little bit of ribbing from this—especially from all those hoping I've found a girlfriend.  Nope, I'm still single, and my roommate is a guy.  Besides, I don't intend to live with any future girlfriend until we're married.  It'll be nice having some company this summer.  Bills are reasonable here, but most of the responsibilities with this house revolve around keeping up this house.  Older houses need more attention.  Besides, the yard takes a lot of maintenance during the summer.  This yard is so beautiful during the summer!

Change is slow, but this summer promises a lot of change.