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.

Butterscotch's Second Visit to the Vet

Butterscotch

Almost exactly a month after I had to take Butterscotch to the veterinarian in Livingston to fix an abscess that she got from a cat fight, I had to take Butterscotch to the vet again.  July 8 Butterscotch started vomiting at least five times during the day.  The next day, since I knew she wasn't eating, and she was still vomiting, I decided to take her on the torturous one-hour journey to Livingston to see the vet.  That day, they figured that she probably had some kind of obstruction in her stomach because her blood work was good, and they didn't feel any other obstructions insider her.  They gave her a lubricant to see if that would allow whatever was blocking the passage to go through.  It seemed to work, and by the next day she wasn't vomiting anymore.

However, she hadn't started eating again.  The vet kept her for a second day while they administered medicine to induce her appetite.  Cats get into this vicious cycle that when they stop eating, it's hard to jump start them to eat again sometimes.  This can lead to jaundice, and that's how Andrew died years ago.  On the third day, she wasn't eating as well as she could, but at least she was eating.  Butterscotch was very excited to see me at the vet's office.  Of course she hated being in the car for the drive home, but she made it alright.

Once she got home, I administered some of the same medicine for a few days because the vet was really concerned about jump-starting her appetite, but it was really unnecessary.  Once she was back home where she was comfortable, she ate like a champ.  She lost a little bit of weight while she had this misadventure, but it looks like she's gained it all back again.

I just hope this is the last time I have to take her to the vet for a very long time!

A Little Good, A Little Bad

This past week has been so eventful, but as they say, every rose has its thorns.  This spring has been a struggle for me, and it seems as if for every step I go forward, something keeps putting me back a step.

I guess the most interesting things started happening on June 11.  I was driving home from Bozeman that morning on my way to work in Gardiner.  I was almost at Emigrant when this big truck hauling a large construction machine (presumably working in Yellowstone Park), drove past me going north.  In its wake a large rock about three inches in diameter came flying at my windshield!  I had just enough time to cover my face with my hand, and then it impacted my windshield.  Fortunately it didn't shatter the windshield, but it made a pretty big pock mark on it in the lower driver's side corner.

The pock mark is about three inches in diameter.

I was upset for the rest of the day.  I mean, I wasn't upset at the driver, but more upset about having something else go wrong with the car.  I tell you, I'm ready to trade this one in and get another.  I need to make some money first though.  In the meantime, I'm just going to have to put up with this car and deal with something going wrong or bad on it every time I turn around.

Later on June 13, I saw Storm trot down my driveway with a snake in his mouth.  My kitties have this nasty little habit of bringing their treasures and gifts to me, inside the house.  Fortunately he didn't bring there, just to the house garage where he played with it and ate its head.  He didn't eat anything else on the snake, but I thought it was unusual.  At first I thought this was a garter snake, but on closer inspection, I realized it didn't have any stripes on it.

I'll tell you what, Montana has some good information for snake identification.  You should check out the poster I found.

The snake Storm caught was actually an eastern racer.  It was about 26" long without the head, and was about 5/8" in diameter.  Eastern racers are known to be constrictors, but Storm definitely had the advantage on this snake.  It didn't stand a chance!  I found out that this was an unusual observation for this part of Montana, so I offered it to the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, & Parks.  By the way, if you live in Montana and want to offer an animal observation, you can give it on the MT.gov Animal Observation Form.

That afternoon, I had to work in Gardiner.  When I drove home at about 10:00 pm, I couldn't turn into my driveway because there were two RVs blocking it!  They were driven by a group of South Korean tourists who had broken down.  Since they didn't have any cell service, they didn't know what to do.  They felt very fortunate I had come along.  I called their RV company which arranged for towing, and they went on their way.  During our conversation, one of the men told me that he was a Christian and that he loved Jesus with all his heart.  I told him that it made us brothers since I did too.  Even though it was something bad for them, God allowed it to happen in a place where they would get help.

I took my first clients hiking in Yellowstone National Park on Saturday,  June 15.  They were a nice Swiss couple who were staying at one of the local hotels.  The hotel owner also came along since I was offering hotel workers a free trip.  We walked through the Hoodoos in Yellowstone, which aren't Hoodoos at all, but none-the-less super cool.  The hotel owner even got to see pika for the first time since he's been here, and he's lived here for about nine years.  I made my first money on this hike, and I was super excited that I was already off and running.

On Sunday, June 16, I received a call for a second client and I needed to do some hiking research for a custom private hike.  I drove to the Yellowstone River Picnic Area and walked on that loop for the afternoon.  It was a very enjoyable hike with a lot of scenic beauty.  The trail rides the edge of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and then goes into the western portion of Lamar Valley.  When I was walking down from the ridge into the valley, I saw an animal I don't usually see on my hikes.  I literally almost stepped in its den!



Soon, a bison started walking toward me.  I didn't want to get caught between it and the badger so, I decided to go on my way.

WispWest had come over to my place on June 12 to install new hardware for my WiFi.  I hadn't connected my underground wire to their stuff yet and still have been using an above-ground wire that I have to move whenever I want to mow the lawn.  It's been like this for two or three years, and I decided that I only had a couple hours more of work to be done on it and it would be done (most of the work was ditch digging).  On the 16th I messed with the wires and the connectors that evening and got it all connected.  But in order to put some of the housing on the hardware back on, I had to strip some of the CAT5.  Well, I was using a dull box cutter, and cut the end of my left index finger.  Just great.  It's still healing, but at least it doesn't hurt anymore.

That night when I got my cats inside the house for the evening, Butterscotch came a little late.  I didn't think too much of it since that sometimes happens.  The next morning, she didn't come to eat as soon as I got up!  This is unusual behavior, and I tried looking for her in the house.  An hour later I found her in a corner in the living room, and she still wouldn't eat.  I eventually found that she was limping.  One of her back paws was wounded.  Well, I immediately went to Colmey Veterinary Hospital in Livingston with her and dropped her off since I had to be at my part-time job by the time she had her appointment scheduled.  When cats don't eat, the situation is life-threatening, and they should go see a vet.

The vet told me that apparently she had been in a cat fight the night before and the wound got infected from the other cat.  This made a lot of sense to me because she wasn't limping when she came in on the 16th.  At first I thought I was negligent in observing, but I really wasn't since the infection took time to fester.

When I took her home from the vet on the 17th, she was terribly stressed out from driving and being in an unfamiliar place for about 24 hours, as cats don't travel very well.  Once she got home, she was fine.  She wasn't even limping!  The vet did give me some antibiotics which I've had to give her twice a day since then, but she only has one more day to be on the meds.  I'm thankful that they're liquid.  It's a whole lot easier to force feed liquid to a cat than it is to give them a pill.  Since then she's loved on me quite a bit more than she normally does.  She's definitely glad to be back home.

Butterscotch's infection at the wound is doing much better now.

I had my second client on the 19th.  I'm glad that I'm starting to get business. I still have a lot of work to do to market my service, but at least I'm making a little money.

Yesterday I was so exhausted from all the work I've been doing that I didn't do a darn thing.  I would have stayed in my house the whole day except I had to drive to pick up my pizza (we don't get delivery out here).  Today I'm catching up on all the miscellaneous things around the house that I haven't had time for lately.  Hopefully I can get them all done before I have to be busy again.

Visiting with Family and Attending a Conference

The past couple weeks have been pretty good.  I got to visit a little with my grandmother's cousin Jalane and I took a trip with my church to Pocatello, Idaho to attend a missions conference.  While I was in Pocatello, I had lunch with my cousin and her two kids.

Grandma's cousin was traveling from North Dakota to Washington.  Jalane lives in Washington, but every summer she goes out to North Dakota to stay with some of her family.  She was on her way back home and was able to see me.  Of course she came with her yellow lab Shammy.

My cats didn't approve of the dog very much but they put up with her.  Butterscotch, surprisingly, did the best around the dog.  Eventually, Butterscotch was willing to watch Shammy at near eye-level (instead of from her perch on top of the piano).

While she was here October 9, Jalane and I talked about some family history.  She has a very clear mind still and is able to tell stories.  Although I didn't record her voice, I wrote notes about things I didn't already have.  We discussed some notes that were written about her half-brother who was adopted and about our family.  Our debate was who the authors were (since we could both tell that the documents were written by two separate individuals), and when they were written.  I know that doesn't sound very exciting to many people, but I enjoy research.  Jalane and I decided that the first two pages were written by Betty, Grandma's sister in 1997.

Since I've had time to go to Bozeman on a more regular basis lately, I have been going to Calvary Chapel Bozeman.  I've enjoyed being part of a church for the first time in many years.  Yes, I'm taking a long time driving twice a week, but it's been a good experience.  It's been great meeting new people and fellowshipping with believers again.

A missions conference was being held at Calvary Chapel Pocatello October 19-20.  I definitely see things from a different perspective after my mission trip to Angola this year.  I looked forward to going with a few people from our church.

It ended up being a guys' road trip.  I drove from Gardiner to West Yellowstone through the Park, where I met up with the rest of the crew.  It just so happened that they arrived in West Yellowstone at the exact time that I did and I turned right behind them.  After leaving my vehicle near West, I traveled with Pastor Ted and his son Stephen, Josh, Pat, and Robert.

Once we arrived in Pocatello, we registered at the Best Western Cotton Tree Inn, which is only a block away from Calvary Chapel Pocatello, where we registered immediately afterward.  That night we did get started into the conference.

The next day we listened to speakers for most of the day.  I enjoyed hearing some of the stories, especially from John Michaels, who had quite a bit of experience on the field.  (We truly live insulated lives in the United States.)  The conference covered several topics but the speakers used Joshua 1-10 as a basis for their talks.

For lunch, I separated from our group a little bit so that I could eat with my first cousin Kim and her two kids.  She's a store manager in Pocatello and seems to be pretty successful.  It was great getting to know Ashley and Mark.  I haven't seen them since 2000 when we all went to a family reunion at Silver Falls, Oregon.  I hope I can see Kim's mom/my aunt Sue soon.  I really have been wanting to visit with Sue and George for awhile now.

My cousin Kim is pictured with her children, Mark, Ashley, and Brandon at Silver Falls State Park on June 17, 2000.

Mark, Ashley, and Kim in Pocatello October 20, 2012

We had to leave at the Question/Answer portion of the conference on Saturday so that we could get back to Montana for church the next morning.  We got to my car, and I drove the rest of the way through Yellowstone Park in the dark.  Fortunately I didn't have any problems with animals on the road; I only saw a mule deer near Gardiner.

As I write this blog, it's snowing outside--the second or third snow of the season in Gardiner.  I think winter has arrived in Montana!

The Beginning of the End

This past week has been really difficult, but it's had its blessings too.  The prospect of selling Grandma's house has weighed pretty heavily on me.  At the same time, Adam came over from Helena to see me.

Our real estate agent came to the house to look it over Tuesday, February 28.  That was fairly easy because I've always enjoyed showing off this place, plus our real estate agent is a friend.

Adam arrived Saturday, March 3 and stayed until Monday.  He just bought a new Ford Escape and wanted to take a trip.  We hadn't seen each other for a couple months, and this has really been the first opportunity he's had to come to Gardiner since July.  On his first night here, we barbecued a couple steaks, and I made some baked potatoes and asparagus for dinner.  We were able to catch up on things that evening.  I showed him the DVD I just produced about Grandpa's photo album from the 1940s.

Doug, Adam's Miniature Pinscher, did pretty well with my cats, considering they hadn't seen each other for several months.  Storm and Thunder especially stared at him.  By Monday, the cats seemed to be pretty well used to having a small dog in the house.  Even still, Butterscotch liked her respite in my bedroom at night.  Lightning didn't really care about Doug and just stayed out of his way!  She's an odd cat.

Sunday while I was at work, our real estate agent came by the house and put up the sign.  Adam was at the house so she could take some photos.  Honestly I'm glad I wasn't able to be there for all that.  Just thinking about the sign on the property made me sick.  I dreaded coming home and seeing the sign.  That also meant that the house was already listed, and I found the online listing.

Adam and I were already planning on going to Chico Sunday, but it was a good thing I went anyway because I was upset.  Going to Chico with a friend helped relieve some of the stress of the day.  It was a pretty nice day too.

Adam drove to Chico, so I got to see how his new ride was.  It's a pretty decent vehicle.  I'd consider getting one too if I were in the market.  I was impressed that his Sirius radio didn't drop while we were in Yankee Jim Canyon.  It still had the new car smell, too!

Yesterday after work we had enough time before he had to go back to Helena to barbecue the other two steaks.  While I was getting things ready, I got a call from Kevin in Germany.  It's been a few weeks since I've heard from him, so I was glad.

It seems that my family is in the midst of pivotal changes.  At least Adam was here this weekend; his visit was inadvertently well-timed.  My changes were easier to deal with having a friend around since Jean had to work this weekend.

My Birthday and Thanksgiving

Well, we finally got our first decent snow here in Montana.  With that cold air came some beautiful scenery and sunsets.

Sunset at Emigrant and Chico Peaks

Thunder and Storm got to experience their first snow.  That was pretty funny, but I couldn't capture it very well with photos.  The cats would put their paws in the snow, then shake them, and lick their paws.  They tried licking the snow on the ground.  Watching them walk through the snow was amusing; they'd stop often to shake their paws.

My Aunt Anita came over to the house for the week of November 13.  She had come from Deer Lodge to go to a conference in Mammoth regarding outside contracting.  She didn't really know that my birthday was that week, but I didn't get an opportunity to explain to her that I had plans for my birthday.

My birthday was eventful.  I drove to Bozeman to have lunch with my aunts Jean and Zana.  Jean only had one day off that week, so I decided that I would go see her.  We met at Walmart.  Dad, Bonnie, and Wilma happened to be in Walmart at the same time, though Dad and Bonnie had forgotten that I would be in town.  They'd already eaten because they took Steve to the airport that day, so Jean and I walked to Santa Fe Red's.  It's been a long time since I've seen Zana, so I was happy to visit with her.

Zana had to go home because the kids were going to get out of school soon, so Jean and I spent the rest of the afternoon together.  We walked around Gallatin Valley Mall and then had to say our farewells.  I don't get to see Jean often enough.  On our previous schedules we both had quite a bit of time with each other, but lately it's been kind of tight.

We had a quiet but fun Thanksgiving at my house this year.  Jean came over from Bozeman, and Dad and Bonnie came from Livingston.  Dad and Bonnie provided the turkey, stuffing, and gravy.  Jean baked the pumpkin pie, and of course, made her famous dinner rolls.  I made the vegetables: carrots with lemon dill butter, asparagus with Parmesan, and green beans with bacon and onions.  We had riced potatoes and cranberry sauce too.  Scott and Amanda Skyped us that afternoon.  That was Dad's first time using Skype to video chat.  He got to see what Scott's and Amanda's place looked like.  After feasting, Jean and Bonnie helped with cleaning.  I taught Dad how to play Phase 10, another first for him.  That afternoon we watched NCIS and ate pumpkin pie à la mode.  Jean commented that this was the first Thanksgiving that she has had at the house since she graduated from high school.

No, it's not Halloween, and no, Dad and Bonnie don't drink! lol

Adventures in Wonderland (Part 1)

This summer I became friends with some of the girls from Taiwan who are working in Gardiner.  This past couple months we've had a fun time.  We met back in July when Adam came to visit me while he was moving to Helena.  They made a dinner at Absaroka Lodge.  I reciprocated August 11 by inviting them to dinner at my house.  We had a great picnic in my backyard.

At that point I found out that they hadn't had a very good opportunity to see Yellowstone Park yet.  They had been on the Yellowstone In A Day tour, but it's really abbreviated, and there was a guy on a bus-wide intercom that they couldn't understand very well.

For the sake of my English-speaking readers, I'll simply just use the girls' nicknames that everyone in Gardiner knew them by: Annie, Tina, Emma, Pearl, and Sue.

They weren't the only Taiwanese workers in Gardiner.  There were others from that country working in town too.  Gardiner has quite a few international workers during the summer months to help accommodate all the people that visit Yellowstone Park.

On August 23, I took Emma and Pearl around the north loop of Yellowstone Park.  We started early in the morning (for me) at 8:00 am, and saw Undine Falls, Wraith Falls, Petrified Tree, Tower Falls, Mount Washburn and Dunraven Pass, Upper and Lower Falls, and about half of Norris Geyser Basin.  We had a picnic lunch at the Norris Picnic area.  Since it was a Tuesday, I had to be back at work by 2:00 p.m., so I felt pretty proud that we got all that done.  They both had tennis shoes on, so I was glad that we didn't do anything that was too far away from the road.

A Uinta ground squirrel near the Wraith Falls trail

Pearl and Emma in front of Mount Washburn

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Emma and Pearl stand at the brink of Lower Falls.

Emma and Pearl stand in front of Crackling Lake, Norris Geyser Basin.

I wanted to give all the girls different experiences so that they could share their special moments with the friends they were bunking with.  I figured that they would enjoy doing different things.

I found that Annie and Tina were probably the most adventurous.  Having scaled cliff walls in Taiwan, Yellowstone would probably be a walk in the park... so to speak.

Also, I found that they had an interesting perspective on Yellowstone's beauty.  They said that whereas Taiwan has a feminine sort of beauty, Yellowstone is more masculine.  The Yellowstone area tends to be very rugged and sharp, but Taiwan is very smooth.

I took Annie and Tina on an adventure August 31.  First we went to the Fountain Paint Pots because none of the girls had ever seen any of the mud pots.  While we were there, Twig Geyser and Jet Geyser went off.  Whenever I've been there, Clepsydra Geyser has always been erupting, but this time, Surge Geyser was spouting instead.

The Fountain Paint Pots

Jet Geyser

Surge Geyser

After visiting there, we drove to the Fairy Falls trail head.  We walked along the trail and then off-trail up the hill next to Midway Geyser Basin where we could clearly see Grand Prismatic Spring.  On the way up the hill, both girls ripped their jeans.  Isn't it amazing that they actually earned the tears in their pants and didn't have to buy them that way?

Grand Prismatic Spring

I was surprised to see how many people were actually trying to climb the steep hill.  I think it's time that a new trail be made that goes up the hill to where people can see the largest hydrothermal spring in the park.

From there, we hiked to Fairy Falls.  The falls area was pretty cold, but survivable.  Though it was a warm day, they were both glad that they brought their jackets.  We then hiked to Imperial Geyser, which is probably my favorite geyser in Yellowstone.  I noticed that the geyser wasn't shooting as high as I saw it shooting a few years ago.  Maybe it's just the difference between July and the end of August.  We ate and then went back to Gardiner because Tina had to work that evening.  On our way back on the trail, I noticed that there was a rock with mahogany and black obsidian in it!

Tina and Annie in front of Fairy Falls

Annie and Tina cross a log at Fairy Falls.

I walk around Imperial Geyser.

Tina and Annie give the Taiwan sign in front of Twin Buttes.

Mahogany and Black Obsidian

September 8 Sue and I hiked to Osprey Falls and the top of Bunsen Peak.  Sue wanted to go somewhere in Yellowstone that would make her cry for it's beauty, on instruction from one of her mentors back home.  She set the bar really high so I tried showing pictures of a couple places that we could go--including the top of Bunsen Peak.  This was Sue's first hike, and I knew it was going to be a doozy, so I told her to make sure she had good shoes and lots of water.  She had to make due with the shoes she had already, though.  Little did I realize that Sue didn't feel very comfortable with walking on narrow trails on great heights!  I think she was ready to cry during our hike... but for the wrong reason!  Oh well.  She made the best of it and was a real trooper through it all.  Sue confronted her fear and took her time on the trails.  I realized at one point walking down the canyon wall to Osprey Falls that she might feel more sure-footed with a walking stick, which I looked for and found for her.  It did help her out a lot.

When we got to the top of Bunsen Peak finally, I could tell that she felt a bit tired, but very proud and accomplished.  This was going to be a story that she could take home and was never going to forget.  She had climbed a mountain for the very first time, and it was on the other side of the world from where she lived.  She had hiked down the side of a cliff to a very tall waterfall.

Sue stands in front of Osprey Falls.

Sue wanted to touch the Gardiner River near Osprey Falls.

Where's Wayno?  He's at the top of Bunsen Peak.

Sue is tired, but she's proud that she made it to the top of Bunsen Peak with her walking stick.

During our hike, we saw both sage and blue grouse on the trail.  I was amused because the description that stuck for her was "stupid chicken."  That became the name for grouse to the girls.  As well, four mule deer crossed our trail--one of them was a fawn that still had spots.

A couple "stupid chickens" by the Bunsen Peak/Osprey Falls trail

Annie, Tina, and I were up for another outing on September 14.  We had decided to hike to Natural Bridge and then go to West Thumb Geyser Basin.  After driving through inclement weather, we got to Hayden Valley.  The girls were able to see a herd of bison for the first time.  Before this, they had only seen lone bison or a couple at a time.  While we were in the valley we saw several ducks.  To the best of my knowledge, I'd say we saw females of two species: American Wigeons, and either Cinnamon or Blue-Winged Teals (the female teals are hard to tell apart).

We went on our way to the Mud Volcano area.  We saw Sulphur Caldron, Dragon's Mouth Spring, and Mud Volcano.  Since we had other things that we wanted to see that day, we didn't spend a lot of time there.

Next the girls and I stopped at Bridge Bay.  From there we hiked to Natural Bridge, which isn't too far from the road, and is a fairly easy hike.  It's the only natural bridge in Yellowstone Park, so it's a fairly unique structure.

Annie and Tina under Natural Bridge

Don't try this at home: I stand next to Natural Bridge.

After finishing our hike there, we went to West Thumb Geyser Basin so that they could see some of Yellowstone Lake and a geyser basin.  The Thumb Paint Pots were definitely one of the highlights.  I noticed that they liked seeing the thermal features that were close to the lake.  Alas, we had to cut our visit short because Tina had to work one more night at one of her jobs.

Tina and Annie by Seismograph and Bluebell Pools

Annie looks at an unnamed thermal feature at West Thumb Geyser Basin.

Also this month, I was able to take Sue and Annie to Bozeman one evening.  We watched "Crazy, Stupid, Love" while we were in town and ate dinner with Jean and Bruce at Santa Fe Red's.  Also, I think this was their first experience shopping in Wal-Mart late at night.

The girls from Taiwan have been really gracious.  They've shown so much appreciation to me for taking them in the park by making dinners for me and Jean, and all sorts of stuff.

It's now that time of year when most of the international workers either go back to their own countries or go on vacation before going back home.  Annie, Tina, and Emma have already left Gardiner, but I think Sue and Pearl both stay until the end of the month.  I've had a lot of fun with the girls and hope to see them next year if they can make it.

Sue, Jean (with Thunder), Annie, Emma, Pearl, and me.

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. :)