Camping and Other Adventures with Adam

I have been so busy this past July that I haven't had time to really reflect on what's happened!  I decided that today I needed to just do nothing and catch up with friends on what's been going on.  That's why I've made four blog posts today.

I still haven't forgotten to finish up on my Hawaii vacation!  I'll finish telling about that later once I've done more editing.  Video editing takes so much more time than photos, and I haven't had any time to work on that, with all the company and projects going on this summer.  I promise I'll get back to that though! :)

After Adam got squared away in his new house in Helena, he made a trip to see me in Gardiner because he still had a week left before he actually had to start working.  He was still technically on vacation, and had spent two of the three weeks moving.  What a great opportunity to come down to Yellowstone!

I have to say that I really enjoy having him around.  A lot of times I don't realize how by myself I am all the time.  My closest friends all live out of town.  Living in the dorms during college when friends were only across the hall is a distant memory.

On the other hand, I have had quite a bit of company while Jean has been out of town.  I haven't been in the house by myself any more than normal.  The company I've had has been great.  It's been a long time since I've seen Jalane and Adam.

Adam came out to Gardiner on July 25 and went back to Helena on the 31st.  A lot of our time at the house was spent eating, working or communicating on computers, and playing video games.  When Adam arrived on that Monday, I still had to work the rest of that evening and then again on Tuesday in the evening.  Regardless we made it work out.

Of course, Adam brought Douglas with him.  I was interested to see how my cats would fare with a dog actually living inside the house.  I was pretty amazed because Douglas was actually afraid of the cats.  In one incident, Lightning felt a little trapped and wanted to run out of the living room where Douglas was with her.  Douglas was unintentionally blocking the way.  She tried to dart into the hall and he yelped as he rolled on his side!  She didn't even touch him or try to attack him!  Adam and I had a great laugh with that.  Thunder was intently curious of this new animal in the house and kept following Douglas everywhere.  Storm generally stayed out of the way but touched Douglas' nose once to sniff.  Butterscotch was the real crank.  She'd swat Douglas if given a chance, but generally her claws were retracted, so there was no harm done except to Douglas' peace of mind.  Lightning was really wary of Douglas and didn't want to be near him at all.

Thunder and Douglas watch each other.

On Tuesday, July 26, Adam I attempted to hike to Apron Falls in the morning before I had to go to work.  We never made it there, but we did get to see a lot of Yellowstone.  Adam hadn't ever seen the Suspension Bridge before, so we hiked to it first.

I'm standing on the Suspension Bridge in Yellowstone Park.

From the Suspension Bridge, we hiked west along the Yellowstone River to the first ravine.  That's where we made our mistake.  We should have passed that ravine and went on to the next one to find Apron Falls.  Regardless, we followed the ravine south to see a pond and a small creek which we mistook for Garnet Creek.  We did find a very small waterfall, but it was nothing like the book had shown.  At the time I supposed that we saw Luxuriant Falls because it wasn't very tall, but like I mentioned, we were along the wrong ravine.  Unfortunately Apron Falls isn't on any trails and isn't listed on any conventional maps.  At least I know where to go next time!

This is the butte and the small ravine we hiked to.

When we were about to go down into the ravine, we were spotted by a pair of red-tailed hawks.  They weren't impressed with us, and this one cries above our heads.

We still had a great time in the Park and got to see some wilderness that we hadn't seen before.  I hadn't gotten into the Park very much this year, so this was a nice opportunity.

Adam and I went camping at Tom Miner Campground July 27-28.  When we got to the camp site we were amazed that we were the only people there!  There were a couple trucks in the lot near the fence, but they were getting ready to leave.  That night we got a fire going with green wood (yeah, I'll remember to bring my own saw and hatchet next time I'm camping) and made dinner.  Later that evening some other campers occupied one other site.

Afterward we hiked up part of the Interpretive Trail at Tom Miner.  I had been on it before with Jean a couple years ago, but we definitely missed the petrified tree that was embedded in the cliff side.  I'm pretty sure that it was an amethyst petrified tree:

Here are some other good photos from that short hike:

Adam and Douglas on the Interpretive Trail

The interpretive trail goes up to those rocks.

Daisies

Indian Paintbrushes and Daisies

We got to spend a lot of time talking that night about everything under the sun.  Good times!  It was another one of those times that I'll remember for a long time.

The next morning we ate breakfast before hiking.

Adam makes breakfast

After eating, we hiked for about six hours to the Gallatin Petrified Forest along the trail toward the top of Ramshorn Peak.  It was uphill all the way, and the end was more treacherous than any other part.  The end, however, was the most rewarding.  We did get to see quite a bit of petrified wood.  The entire trail was absolutely beautiful with some spectacular views.

Adam and Douglas on the trail to Ramshorn Peak

A field of daisies

I had no idea that orchids grew out here, but apparently they do!

Looking back where we had already walked

The trail goes around the hill on the right toward the middle of the photo.

Adam and I reach the crossroad trails.  We're going right toward Ramshorn Peak.

Sphinx Mountain in the far distance

Lone Mountain in the far distance

Can you spot Sphinx Mountain from where we're standing?

A large piece of petrified wood

More petrified wood

This piece of petrified wood looks like a large knot.

A petrified tree stump

A petrified tree stump in the middle of the trail

Can you spot the two petrified tree logs in this cliff?

I'm standing next to a petrified tree stump about 2 1/2 - 3 feet tall

Adam next to the petrified tree stump

Adam and Fortress Mountain

Adam and Douglas

Huge landscape

Over there!

Douglas takes five in the shade of Adam's pack.

Hiking back to the campsite

One of the cliffs on Ramshorn Peak

We got to the camp site safely and then drove back to my house near Gardiner.

Saturday, July 30 was Adam's last night at my house.  That afternoon we shot off rounds on a couple rifles.  I wanted to sight in my new 30-30 especially, but we also shot a semi-automatic .22 rifle.  We discovered that the stock wiggled on my new gun, and I was going to have to take it back to the dealer to get it fixed.

That evening I treated Adam to a steak feast.  We ate rib eye steaks with baked potatoes, Caesar salad, and steak rolls.  There was so much food that we had to put it all on two plates apiece.

Sunday he drove back to Helena.  It will be nice that one of my close friends isn't too far away to have some fun excursions occasionally. :)

And They All Lived Together in a Little Crooked House

Adam was moving from Fairfax, Virginia to Helena Montana last month.  He had received a transfer from his job out there to one in Helena.  I was glad to see that he was able to come back to Montana for my own selfish reasons.  He's one of my best friends and I haven't seen him since he moved out there at the end of 2008.  He got to Helena July 19 and had to find housing really quick.  Adam asked me to come to Helena to help him move his stuff from the truck to his new home, and I was coming out on July 21.  He barely got a house to rent in time for me coming that was within his budget.

I drove to Helena that Thursday.  I mistakenly drove through all that horrible construction on US Highway 287.  There was one part where I had to drive on a very narrow section of bridge, being led by a pilot car.  I can only imagine what Adam had to go through to get through that in his rented moving truck.  When I got there Adam and I ate dinner at Applebee's and caught up a little.  It's been forever since we've seen each other.  After dinner he took me to his "house."

There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile.
He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile.
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

It was dark, so I really couldn't tell what the house was like on the outside.  Lighting on that street wasn't very good.  Once I got inside, though, that was another matter.  Everything in the house was crooked.  The floor was crooked; the corners were crooked; the ceiling was crooked; the walls were crooked; the doors were crooked.  Probably the only thing straight in the whole place was the hot water tank.  But when you looked at it, even it looked crooked because everything around was so crooked everywhere.

How does a house like this not get condemned?  It's because of a little plaque placed on the house that reads:

Friday, July 22 Adam and I had a late breakfast at IHOP (one of my favorite restaurants) and then got started moving into his new place.  When I saw the outside of the house in the daylight, it was just as crooked as the inside!  I couldn't help but laugh; it even has a crooked stile.  The stairs that went into the house were crooked.  The back half of the house was mostly underground.

Adam's Little Crooked House

Coat hooks are appropriately placed next to the gas stove.

The floor is obviously crooked.

Midgets used to live in Helena.  Adam poses in his new house.

Only the hot water tank was straight, but it looked crooked!

Douglass poses in front of Adam's crooked stile.  Six cents are on the third step.

I make this sound so bad, but actually I thought it was hilarious.  Adam was the crooked man, and he had a little crooked dog.  He lived in a little crooked house and had a crooked stile.  We found a place near the bathtub for mice to get in, so maybe Douglas will catch a crooked mouse!

Really this house will do for the moment.  It doesn't look like there are any current leaks.  Heating could be a problem in the winter though, but at least it's present.  When he finds a better situation, I'm sure he'll get that when he can.  The bathroom is probably the nicest room in the house and looks pretty cool.  It was built far after the house was originally built, since back in the day, bathrooms weren't inside houses.  It is his home until he finds better, and he didn't have much time to do house hunting until he got here.  I'm glad that he found something in such a short time.

I went home in the evening on July 22.  I avoided the horrid traffic on 287 by driving down I-15 to Boulder, and then taking State Highway 69 to I-90.

Now what should I give Adam for a housewarming present...

Oh, did I mention that one of his neighbors are pirates?

Finishing the Doors and Windows

Nevin's Glass replaced all of our doors and windows last month.  It was a process of a few days.  I already explained how they installed all of our windows on July 6.  The next day they came to our house to do touch-up work on our windows, and then installed three doors.  On July 12 they installed our last door - the one in the dining room.  We ordered a storm door for the dining room door, and I think that is going to complete the doors and windows part of this huge project.

Jean and I have come across a pretty big set-back in our home renovation project.  After the bathroom is completed we have to re-evaluate our project.  I know it sounds cryptic, but let's just say that living in Gardiner puts us out of the way to get help.

Here are some pictures of our new doors and some of our windows:

Our new dining room door

Our new main garage door

Jean's and Grandma's bedroom windows

The south living room window

The west living room window

The living room door to the backyard

The back garage door

The dining room window.  Don't worry, the curtains are going to go eventually.

The dining room door

The west living room window

The south living room window

The pink bedroom window