"Do what you love...Love what you do!"

         One of the things we had to do before we started our adventure, last Spring, was to get full physicals from our family doctor.  He was thrilled with our plans but told us he didn't see any reason to live after retirement so he preferred to go quietly in a few years.   I could not believe my ears!   My reaction stunned him as I went on about how I had so much to see and do and that I would only go kicking and screaming!! He explained that all he sees are people who have nothing left...no hobbies...no interests...no purpose... and sometimes no family.   BUMMER !!

      One of the really cool things about our lifestyle now are the people we meet.   An example...an older couple came in to register.  She was thin and small, had short gray hair, was wearing a floral muu-muu and sported a cane. She had just celebrated her 85th birthday.  Hubby was taller, balding, pretty typical except he had that mischievious look in his eyes.   I watched as they entered the building and  greeted them with "Hi kids, how can I help you?"   From then on they were a handful!  They really did act like they were youngsters taking on the world !   They have so many plans to go here and do this and write that...I was exhausted !  Speaking of that, the old guy said he didn't sleep well last night kept dreaming he was a muffler !!    "A muffler?",  I asked.   "Yes," he said, "I woke up exhausted!"   This is what I deal with everyday!  WHEW!

      My point is, Fulltime RV'ers have such a different view of everything. ( My doctor needs to get out and see these folks.)   We see many people on hiking trails carrying oxygen in their backpacks.  They go slow but...they go.  

      A question we get asked all the time is "Was it hard to give up your house?"   No, we still have a house it's just on wheels.  It may only be  360 sq ft.  but, it is more efficient than a big house and much easier and faster to clean and heat/cool.  It's amazing how much 'stuff' we accumulate and don't really need.  It's equally amazing how much it free's up our time and reduces our stress.  People seem to loose weight, look happier and are more active.  

      That being said, Norm has finally been able to get out and fly-fish.  (His passion)  His attitude about everything has improved so much.   He has lost 45lbs. looks fabulous and is pretty happy most of the time.  Retirement has been a good thing!  His last trip on the Firehole River was a bit interesting, though.  He couldn't figure out why these two men on the shoreline were yelling at him.   Nothing weird was around him so he kept fishing.   Finally, he was able to see that a large bear was coming around the bend towards him !  The brush hid the bear from him but the men on shore could see!   WHOA!!  Norm waded into the middle of the river and stood there very quietly...Bear Spray at the ready!   The bear just walked by, more concerned about eating the flower bulbs than chasing a fisherman.   Close call !  ( He did get some great close-up pic's.) 

      Tomorrow is another full day of fishing for Norm.   I love it because he's gone all day so I get a chance to do what I want.   Usually entails some cleaning but I also make time to work on my card making and quilting.  Doesn't get much better than this ! :)
     

    

     

     

     

SUMMER !!

     4th of July came with all the parades, candy & kids, barbeques and fireworks anyone could ever hope for !   We had ring side seats to all the festivities in town and the fireworks were shot in a field right next to our park.   The booms and crackle of the rockets went on for well over an hour.  One of the best displays we've seen in a long while.

    The Company Barbeque was held out of our conference room, here, at Grizzly Park.  Lots of good food and laughter.  We did get a bit of a downpour just after dinner but before the fireworks.  The thunder and lightning  continued to light up the sky  all night !  Really cool !!  :)

      Temperatures have warmed considerably.   This last week it was in the high 70's.  Just perfect !  Even the mosquitoes are enjoying it.  They are large, aggressive and hungry.  We have a hunt before we go to bed evey night !  (We just love to have those little buggers dive bomb us and do that zzzzzzzzz thing right in your ear just as you almost fall asleep ! )

      The other night after a long day at work, as we finally started to doze off ,  some very bright lights woke us.  It was 1:30AM and a huge 5th wheel trailer came in and backed into the open site next to us.   This guy was a jerk !   It took him 7 trys to get that  thing backed in square and another hour to get all his hoses etc. connected.  Doesn't he know that campground etiquite dictates whenever you arrive after 10 pm you always come in quiet and do just enough to get off the road, shut that #$%^&!  thing off and wait till morning !!  GOOD GRIEF, MAN !!

     My work in the office has been a bit easier this week.  The Park is  full every night so we don't have to do much on the phones except give out phone numbers to other parks in the area. ( I am surprised at how many reservations are being made for next year, already.)   I like to tease my guests when they register....it keeps them from being grumpy and I get a real kick out of it !!

     The guys have settled in to whatever work they feel comfortable doing.  Norm 's  favorite is to pretend he is raking  the sites as they vacate so they look pretty.  This way  he ends up talking with the people in the neighboring sites, finds out all kinds of neat stuff and he gets paid for it !!  Tough job. 

     The best part of our week is our day's off !  (Big surprise!)    Yesterday we had  thunder, lightning and big, big rain.  Stayed in and vegged.  Today, however, the sun came out and it was incredible !  The air smelled so clean and sweet.  The meadows in YNP are covered with bright flowers of yellow, hot pink and blues.  I wish there was a way of sending their fragrance to you.  The animals have moved into the higher fields to beat the heat so not much activity lately. 

      All in all, we are still here and determined to stick it out till the end of September.  Seeing the changes from the snow, when we got here, till now has been quite amazing.  I'm anxious to see how things change from now until  Labor Day, when the kids & families go home for the start of school.

    

    

      

    
    

Casualties

      This week has been a tough one for the Yellowstone Park.   We've had so much snow melt and that makes the rivers run high and fast !   As a result a pipeline that runs under the Yellowstone River was undermined and ruptured causing an oil leak.  It happened 150 miles downriver from the Park and doesn't  affect anything here.   It does affect some farmland and tributaries though downstream.

      On Wednesday, the road into Artist Point near Canyon was closed.   Apparently a couple was hiking into Wapiti Lake (Norm & I have hiked this trail several times) and came across a Grizzly Bear sow with two cubs.  Instead of retreating they continued into the lake.  On their way back, they surprised the sow and got between her and her cubs.  She perceived it as a threat and charged the couple.  The man screamed at his wife to run !  He was mauled, to death, and the wife dropped to the ground.  The Grizzly grabbed her by the backpack, shaking her violently,  then turned and left with her cubs.   Another group of hikers heard the wifes screams and called Park Rangers.  Within a very short time the Rangers were there and secured the area, closing all the trails in that part of the Park. 

       This was such a tragedy.  It was the hikers fault for continuing to the lake and not leaving the area.  They knew the bear was around and had cubs but disreguarded all the precautions.  All the books and pamphlets, about the Park hikes, give detailed instructions about bear sightings.  These people didn't adhere to any of them and unfortunately paid the ultimate price. 

      Just to let you know the momma and her cubs are being moved to a remote spot in the Park.  The Rangers said she was doing her job and didn't want to destroy them. 

      Last night,  about 1:00am we had a Black Bear come into our park.   We keep telling folks to put their coolers and barbeques inside their vehicles but not everyone did.  As a result the smell of all those barbequed burgers and hot-dogs was too much for this hungry bear to resist.  Two coolers and a grill  were destroyed!  It wondered around the park, here, for over an hour before dissappearing into the forest.

     Today, we had a weird storm roll in for about two hours.  The skies went dark, the temps dropped from 85* to 59* in just a few minutes and the rain came down !  Thunder and lightning was so loud we could hardly hear and we watched, as the lightning struck the nearby mountains!  The power to everything went out for about 45 minutes, even the computers and phones in the office were down.  Was nice to have a few minutes to get caught up but when things came back on line the phones and messages went crazy !  WHEW !

      Never a dull moment this week !  Hope the rest of you are enjoying calmer weather.