"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.

Life is a Journey...

      Grizzly RV Park is full almost every night for July and  August.   Norm and I talk to many of the campers and a question we often hear is, "How long does it take to see everything in the Park?"  Our answer is, we have been coming to Yellowstone for almost 35 years and we haven't seen everything, yet.  They respond with,  "Well, we drove the entire Park in a day (or two) and we've seen it all."       Okay...

       Last night we took one of our favorite drives to see animals.  A pair of binoculars and a camera is a must.  We started at Tower Falls, which is a beautiful waterfall cascading between very large pinnacles.  Each area has its own village/campground, gift store and anomoly.  For the last couple years we have observed a pair of osprey soaring around the canyon feeding their chicks and repairing the nest.  It is quite a sight to sit and watch. 

      Continuing down the winding road we are surprised to see cars, trucks and motorhomes pulled onto the shoulders.  A by-stander pointed out a large Grizzly Bear sleeping in the sage.  Apparently he had killed a baby elk that morning and after a big meal laid on top of the carcass for a little power nap !  A carload of people sped by not even seeing the bear.  So sad...

        Roosevelt is the next lodge we pass.  (They have the best chuckwagon dinner out in the meadow here!  We have reservations the end of August so I'll save that for another day.)  More cars are pulled over, and sure enough a momma Black Bear is trying to keep tabs on her very mischevious twins.  They are romping over logs, chasing each other and even nursing.   Something you don't see everyday!  Another vehicle races by missing this event.

       Mammoth is the home of Minerva Terrace, a large formation of alkaline water flowing down a step like hillside.   It also is home to a  small herd of elk.  They love munching on the manicured lawns and having their photos taken.  A super way to spend some time.  If we leave this area around 8:00 pm our chances of seeing more animals on our way to Norris increases.  There were elk, buffalo and even antelope that were close enough to photograph.  The scenery is also gorgeous.

      Norm thought he saw something so we pulled over to 'glass' the area.  Yup... another Grizzly !  It was  fairly young but still a BIG BEAR !  He got close enough for us to see his paws and the nails on that big boy were humungous!  We watched him till it got too dark. I can't begin to tell you what an incredible experience that was!  Another group of cars slowed down and maybe got a pic or two, but missed so much.

     So to the lady who said she had been here four times and never saw a bear,  I say...Chill...Take time to smell the flowers...Look and listen to what and who is right in front of you...Remember that life is a Journey.. .Enjoy your time here.

      I read a great card - ADVICE FROM A RIVER
                                     Go with the Flow
                                        Slow down and meander
                                     Delight in life's adventures
                                           around every bend
                                      Go around obstacles
                                         Stay Current
                                       The beauty is in the Journey !

Vacationers vs RVers

      Well, my friends, this has been a very long work week for us !  (All four days of it!)   School is now out and everyone is in the vacation mode.   The managers here at Grizzly RV Park have been telling us for weeks that the "Peak Season" will hit soon.  This week it hit and the park is full every night.  (We have 220 sites.)    

      On my first day this week we had a group camping in 3 tent sites and 1 cabin.  There were 4 adults 2 older boys and 9 little kids.  The parents enjoyed the camping and the kids all headed to our conference room, drinking and spilling 3 pots of hot chocolate and to our game room which they thoroughly trashed.  Each had to be closed early for cleaning and to keep the damage minimal.  A young lady came to the front desk with a toddler and said she found the child standing in the street .  The parents didn't seem at all upset about it and later that day the same child was again standing in the street with no one around.  I guess when some folks go on vacation they think baby sitting is the Park's job!  

      There have been some very amusing incidents, too.  For those of you who are not familiar with RVing I'll try to explain some do's and don'ts.  We have had alot of guests who are new to camping and rented RV's for a week or so.  One of the first questions is,  "Do we have hot showers ?"  and the second is, "How do we dump the sewer?".    One fellow didn't want to appear ignorant so he tried the sewer 'dump' by himself.  If you have ever seen the movie "RV" with Robin Williams this was not far off.  There is a specific hose to use with specific end attachments.  One end is hooked onto the pipe of the coach and the other is fit into the sewer drain pipe located on the ground of the designated 'dump'  site.  When the "black water" (icky sewage) valve is pulled,  the tank empties and all is successfully and neatly drained.   This gentleman didn't connect to the ground pipe and......well, you can only imagine the mess!   An RVer has probably had this happen once, but, I can guarantee it never happens again!  Vacationers do it over and over.  Needless to say this man did ask and found the hot showers!

       In parks that have wildlife and scenery, RVers have a tow car that gets them around all the sights.  We often sit in pull-outs to 'glass' or 'scope' the area.  Vacationers show up in the rental RV and park on the scenic side blocking the view totally unaware they are in everyone's way.   We have watched many an argument between the two!  Nobody wins! 

     Parents have planned the perfect trip all year are trying so hard to show their children all there is to see and do.  Meanwhile the kids are really not  'into' the nature thing and would rather be playing video games.   Vacation lasts about 2 weeks so the entire trip is planned to the minute.  The family is together 24/7,  on the go all day.  Mom and dad are exhausted , no one is on their usual schedule, the food is different  and being around one another is driving them nuts.  When they arrive to check-in,  the kids want to buy everything in sight and Dad goes bullistic!  The room goes completely quiet except for Dad's tirade.  The look on his face when he realizes everyone is looking at him in amazement is unbelieveable. 

      RVers are usually retired and not on a strict schedule. Their only schedule usually revolves around lunch and the next RV Park.  Driving  the coach is kept to just a couple of hours to the next destination.  Lots of  "down" time and  alot of their entertainment comes from watching the new guys. 

      It's fun to see a newly arriving RV backing into their site.  The wife is behind the coach trying to direct hubby.  He can't see her (she's directly behind) and she can't see him.  They also cannot hear each other!  The frustration of both is unreal.  She's yelling at the top of her lungs and he's just hit the utility post causing a dent in the fender. Yikes!   As soon as they realize they have an audience we all run and hide! 

      My personal favorite is the white hose vs. the green hose.  When taking on water the usual procedure is, the white hose is used for drinking water and the green hose is for rinsing  the sewer hose and to keep coiled outside in the event of fire.   On one particular trip a man had just emptied his 'black water' (sewer) tank.  He had his vinyl gloves on  for sanitary purposes and was being careful not to get anything on himself.  The  fresh water tank, with the white hose, was full so he disconnected it and then shoved it inside the sewer hose to rinse it out.   YUK !!! :(      But...he did have on his gloves!       (We see this all the time!)   Or...the couple that put non-potable water in their fresh water tank.  Lots of trips to the commode tonight for those two!!

      As you can see we really are easily amused.  The nice thing is,  we will never lack for entertainment.  This lifestyle is not for everyone....and for that we are grateful !