Wonderful Wild Wyoming

We came to Jackson, Wyoming, so Rob could paraglide. We met our host, Walt Kirby, while we were in Villa Grove, Colorado, last year for a fly-in event, which was also the catalyst that propelled us onto life on the road in a motorhome. Walt is both a paraglider pilot and a hang glider pilot. We now count Walt as a good and dear friend. He was a great host, calling Rob every morning with the weather and wind reports, coming to pick him up and showing him several places to fly. He is an easy person to be around and we enjoyed his company immensely. We look forward to visiting him again.

The first week was focused on Rob, but he never did get to fly. Conditions just weren't right. The second week was to be focused on me with trips out early in the morning to photograph the amazing Grand Tetons. Conditions just weren't right. As it turned out, the first week should've been focused on photography and the second week on paragliding. Rob did get to fly yesterday, thank goodness, but my sunrise photos never materialized. I was hoping for an opportunity Saturday morning, but we had an unexpected thunder storm during the night and the morning sky was clouded over. With how the sky looked at 7 a.m., however, I think I should've gone anyway. It would've cost me nothing but a couple hours sleep and some gasoline—and the reward may have been a few superior photographs. The wildflowers here have been abundant and beautiful, though, and I photographed many of them. I especially loved the thistles.

The daughter of our friend and fellow paraglider pilot, Susan Kent, lives in Jackson, so we went to the knife store where she works to surprise her. Rob told Kim that her mother asked us to check up on her. Susan never said to do that, but it did get a bit of a rise out of Kim to Rob's delight. Stinker. But he came clean and told her the truth. 

The day after we arrived in Jackson, Rob and I made a grocery run to the local Albertson's. Rob posted about this on Facebook so many people already know that he recognized Dick Cheney, approached him, shook hands and had a quick conversation with the ex-vice president. (I know many of you don't think that's very impressive, but I think he's a man of far superior character and has far more integrity than who we've got in the White House right now, hands down). Dick Cheney was there all by himself, no Secret Service detail, choosing vegetables in the produce isle and consulting his grocery list as he pushed his cart up and down isles just like I was doing. I chose not to approach him. I thought he'd rather be left alone.

We made friends with a family who hail from Minnesota. They spent a few nights next to our campsite. Nick is the Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division and a member of the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force in Superior, Wisconsin, which is just across a bridge not far from their home outside Duluth, Minnesota. Jamie teaches first grade. Nice couple, and they have two boys, Daniel and Lincoln. Daniel is just a few months younger than my grandson, Jaydon, and Lincoln is the same age as my grandsons Jack and Leo. They offered to let us park our motorhome at their house when we come to Minnesota, will fill us in on the best places to visit and at which lakes would be best to camp for a summer. We will take them up on it because we'd enjoy seeing this sweet family again.

Although they stayed only two nights, we enjoyed meeting Walter (I hope I remembered his name), and Linda (couldn't forget that name). Their last name is Campbell. We laughed that Linda's and my initials are the same, so I asked her what her middle initial was. Yup, you got it, we have the same initials: LMC. Go figure! What brought us together was my desire to meet their dogs, Maggie and Sadie. Maggie is a black lab/golden retriever mix and Sadie is purebred black lab. Those who know Rob and I know that we have a soft spot in our hearts for black labs. In fact, a photo of our black lab, Belle, is the only photo we brought with us out of all the many pets we've had over the years. (Please, Linda, if you are reading this blog, please do shoot me an email. We'd like to see you as we pass through Oregon in the future).

Then there were Henri and Martine, the french couple who Rob and Walt met coming off the mountain above Teton Village while awaiting the gondola. In their 60s, this couple had just finished a near 6 day backpacking trek through the upper ridges and backcountry of the Grand Tetons. Talk about fortitude, eh? Rob and Walt gave them a lift, first stopping by to drop off Rob at our campsite, so I, too, had the pleasure of meeting them. Very nice folks.

DeAnna, Curtis, and their three sons stayed in the campground in their fifth-wheel. They are from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. DeAnna is a country singer who just finished recording with Jason Aldean's producers in Nashville. She's been working a gig at the famous Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in Jackson. Rob and I went to watch her perform the other evening. Live music is always way too loud in places like that and it makes it hard to know if the performers really have talent or not. But, I think DeAnna does. If you're interested, you can hear some of her music at www.deannaofficial.com. You can find her on iTunes as well under, I believe, DeAnna, Luckiest Woman.


We haven't seen too much of wildlife here, unfortunately, even though there are electronic signs warning of moose in the area and that three had been killed along the stretch of road on which our campground and Teton Village are located. We have had an abundance of crows and magpies, however, and they are always entertaining to watch.

We also met a larger-than-life character while in Jackson. This person is audacious, sociable, gregarious, outgoing, confident, optimistic and good-looking, too—downright cute. This person made friends with everyone and made sure the neighbors were rounded up and engaged. I guessed, correctly, that this person is an Aquarian. Her name is Ella and she is five years old. 

As I think I've mentioned before, Rob makes conversation with everyone (he's also an Aquarian). He stopped by the campsite two over from us and chatted with Ella's grandmother. Then he chatted with the folks right next to us, who had a couple of kids a little older than Ella. That's when he met Ella for the first time. She wasted no time making friends with them and, I think, they'd all just arrived a couple of hours beforehand.

That evening was so nice that we decided to have a campfire and as we sat around the fire, Ella charged into our campsite for a visit dressed in a cute denim skirt, quilted vest, pink cowgirl hat and pink cowgirl boots. She walked by one of our open basements, and before we even had a chance to say hello, she informed Rob (being he's who she knew), that "you have popcorn!" I was watching her, but I hadn't noticed her even glance into the basement. Then she spied Rob's electric Razor scooter and said it was "really cool" and began climbing on it. Rob asked her if she'd like a ride, to which she announced that she'd "have to get her helmet." Good girl! Rob went over to check with Ella's mother or grandmother to make sure it would be alright to take her on a quick ride. So Ella got to ride on the scooter. It wasn't far, but she seemed quite satisfied. Next thing we knew, Ella was back over and asking about Ollie, who she saw in his cage on the dash. Rob asked if she wanted to go in and see Ollie. That was affirmative. To make sure there would be no misunderstanding, Rob motioned to me to take her in, which I did, and when Ella saw one of the cats, she had eyes only for them. After I told her that Louis was probably sleeping in the closet, she headed right back there to see him. Not a thought in the world that she could be anything other than welcome to do so. Then we heard her mom calling for her, so out we went. I told her mom that Ella just had to see the kitties, to which she replied that Ella probably missed her own kitties. At that point Ella invited us "to come over to their place anytime!" Ella's mom and I shared a giggle over her audacity.

A while later, as it was getting darker, Ella came back with the two kids next-door. They parked themselves at our picnic table. Ella had skinny glow sticks and was explaining the rules to whatever game she had in mind for everyone to play. On the other side of us, another family had arrived earlier. They had three daughters, one whom was about 6 years old, named Ryan, and just a bit bashful about making friends. Well, Ella wanted to make sure everyone was included so she headed over to her camp and returned with a couple more glow sticks for Ryan. Ryan took them, but was still behaving bashfully and seemed unwilling to engage. None of which phased Ella in the least. It was just expected that everyone would play and get along.

Rob and I laughed a lot over our little, friend Ella. She was something else. As long as nobody makes the mistake of reining her in or breaking her spirit, and her mom makes sure she has positive outlets such as sports or wherever her talents take her, that girl will go far in life. Ella's mom certainly has a big job keeping tabs on her daughter, for safety's sake, of course. Because she is very trusting and everyone is a friend, I pray the child never meets anyone who would take advantage. I wanted to ask her mom if I could photograph her, but they were gone before I had the chance. I don't think we'll ever forget Ella.

Thanks mostly to the great people we've met and our friend, Walt, we've had a really good time in Jackson. It's pricey, though. Our campsite is costing us almost $90 per night, we're pretty much packed in like sardines and there isn't much in the way of amenities, either. They call it a resort, which is an oxymoron to say the least, but the up side is there's word of improvements to come. I just hope they don't increase the price. It could not be justified. Nonetheless, we'll be back.

Some photos of Jackson and vicinity:

The Magpies of Jackson Hole Campground and Fireside Resort

Meet Cayenne, guard dog extraordinaire, at Dali's Jewelry store.

Rob at one of the entrances to the Town Square

Busy Bee on a Thistle.

A backroad by one of the paragliding launches.

Determining, once again, that the conditions weren't good for flying.

Just can't beat the view.

Rob, wishing he could fly.

Magpies making a mess of someone's campsite. The crows joined in later.

A place called home.

Our Minnesota family from left: Jamie, Daniel, Lincoln and Nick.

Rob and Kim Kent throwing tomahawks.

The Grand Tetons.

Part of the Teton range and moon.

Ride 'em Elkboy!

Local Draft Horses. They pull the sleighs in winter.

Sweet, friendly horses and almost as big as Clydesdales.

I loved the local flora.

Justin, the Naturalist from Pennsylvania, and Rob, at Jenny Lake.

Jenny Lake

I was amazed how red this wood was.

Tatanka

Montana Amusement

Rob and I spent our first two nights in Montana in the Bitterroot National Forest outside Sula. We had looked forward to sitting outside to enjoy the pines towering over our campsite, but it was not to be. There was a plethora of annoying flies of different sizes and varieties, as well as an abundance of mosquitoes. We were thankful to have our Benadryl stick to stave off the subsequent itch and scratches. We did learn, however, that the dryer sheet method of insect repellent does work. You must rub the dryer sheet on all exposed skin. I got bit in the areas where I hadn't rubbed, like between my fingers, on my knuckles, my face and the heels of my feet. Everywhere else was bite free. Nonetheless, it was annoying enough that we took short walks in the early evening and spent the rest of the time indoors. I photographed several wildflowers and made a short video of a lovely, little, brook located just feet from our campsite, but I'm not sure I'll be able to upload it to this blog.

We arrived in Bigfork, Montana on Friday, July 5th, settled in and headed down to the Tall Pine Lounge, a bar and casino owned by our friend, and one-time neighbor, Tom Beaubien. As is typical for a business owner, Tom was busy stamping out fires, but still he gave us a bit of his time while we had a bite to eat. We looked forward to meeting Tom's wife, Janine, and a bar-be-que planned for Sunday afternoon at their house.

Our friend, Teresa Beaubien, drove down from Kalispell on Saturday to spend a couple of hours with us. We thought we'd see her again by stopping by the shop where she works on our way to Glacier National Park. We never did go as you'll soon find out why.

On Sunday afternoon, Rob and I drove over to Tom and Janine's, which is a house the two of them bought together prior to their marriage seven years ago. It is a lovely home situated in a park-like setting. As beautiful and nicely laid out as it is, I am so grateful to have my tiny, little, mobile home to clean. I remember a time when I would've loved to own a 3700 square foot home, but not now. No way, no how. The yard, however, is another story. If I could roll out Tom and Janine's yard around the Beast wherever we went, I'd be in heaven. I wish I had taken more photographs featuring the yard, but I was too busy drinking margaritas, catching up with Tom and getting to know Janine, who is a delight. I'm hoping we can visit them again on our way back to the lower 48 from Alaska next summer.

Tom and Janine were really sweet to think up a way for us to spend time together as well as have some fun. They suggested tubing down the Swan River, to which we responded with a resounding yes! So Tuesday afternoon we met with swimsuits on and sunscreen in hand, but we forgot our towels. Thank you, Janine, for providing them for us. No cameras, though. They told us not to bring anything we didn't want to get wet. A friend of theirs, Kathleen, also joined us for the trip downstream. 

Tom tied rope from one river tube to the next (like an inner tube but meant for river tubing), attached the floating ice chest filled with beer and Mike's hard drinks and off we went after plopping our butts down in the middle of the tubes. We drifted down the river slowly and, at some points, more quickly over the shallow rapids. We had to keep a watch out for rocks in the shallows so we could lift our bottoms to avoid hitting them. I managed to connect with two such rocks during the float, one of which left a bruise. I kept finding myself with my back to everyone, so I kept adjusting myself in the tube so I could contribute to the conversations without shouting over my shoulder. As soon as I did, the river would turn me right around again. I finally gave up. I just stared at all the large, rustic homes and cabins that lined the river—and shouted over my shoulder.

The river was running a little faster than normal and we had to be careful going under two bridges. The first bridge was no big deal and we floated between the supports successfully; however, the second bridge was a different story. It seemed as though the current was being sucked into one support in particular. We were talking too much and hadn't gotten ourselves pulled tightly together enough to create a mass that would maybe bump one side of the bridge support and then allow the water to guide us past. Instead, Rob, Janine, Kathleen and I ended up on one side of the support and Tom was propelled onto the other. As the rope pulled more and more taut, the force of the current rushing over small boulders at the upstream edge of the support caused Rob's tube to flip as he was taking the brunt of the eddy. About the same time, Tom's tube dumped him into the water as well. As I was trying to get Rob's tube out of the water so he could surface, he was pushed by the current and bumped first under one of our tubes, then another. He finally decided to open his eyes so he could find sunlight and headed to the surface. The water was only about two feet deep, but it took floating downstream a bit before the current would allow him to stand. Thankfully, Rob is a strong swimmer but, even so, he was a bit unnerved from the scare and the surge of adrenaline through his bloodstream. Tom is not such a strong swimmer and he called for help as soon as he surfaced, which was probably just the thing to get others on shore to scramble to assist. We were not the only ones caught up on the bridge that day.

Janine, Kathleen and I could do nothing. I was facing the bridge support and had my feet against the center of it, which seemed to stabilize us as I pulled the rope tight to keep the three of us together. There really was nothing Janine or Kathleen could do. We were in a triangle configuration and they were behind me and away from the bridge support. I really believe we would have been dumped in the river had I loosened my grip on the rope or removed my feet from the support. We had to wait to be 'rescued' because we had no knife to cut loose the end of the rope securing Tom's tube which was flailing on the other side. 

During our float down, we were accompanied off and on by a couple of fellows who were free-floating with nothing but their bodies and snorkel gear. After a while, we saw one of them swimming toward us with a bowie knife in his mouth. He cut the rope and soon we girls were floating down the river. Rob had made it to the river bank and Tom recovered his tube. We floated about a half mile or so before we made it to the right bank and to an old dock onto which we held until the men floated to meet us. Poor Tom was especially exhausted because they got dumped in the drink again on their way down.


Janine was calling our knife-bearing savior the 'Swan River Seal.' It turns out that he was a military man after all, but Army not Navy.

Rob lost his hat, water shoes and his brand new prescription sunglasses. Rob was concerned about his head getting sunburned, so I offered him my wide brimmed hat. It was an appropriate color (kind of army green), but didn't he look so cute with the bow in back! Tom lost his prescription eyeglasses and a pair of flip-flops. In fact, Tom said after losing one of his flip-flops, he tossed the other. Then a couple minutes later, his flip-flop came floating by. If only he hadn't tossed the one, he'd still have a pair! Doh!

Also part of the Tuesday tangle was a gal who Tom has known for several years. She was there with her son and others and, I think, was also cut loose by our Army man. And, believe it or not, Jack Hanna, the famous Columbus Zoo Director, his wife, Suzi, and some of their party shared in the drama as well. All in all, it was a harrowing experience for the guys, but all's well that ends well.

That evening we enjoyed delicious burgers, fruit salad, potato chips and Janine's totally awesome garlic dip at their house. Two of Tom's neighbors joined us—a couple of retired cops from San Jose and Santa Clara. Nice people, and funny, too.

The rest of our stay in Bigfork was uneventful. Rob was pretty sore for the next couple of days, so our drive up to Glacier never happened. But I did get to see a couple beautiful horses thanks to Kathleen, who works at a stable and kindly invited me to visit.

Now we are in Butte, Montana, for a two night stopover on our way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Of course, I have a few photographs. 

Until next time…

On our way to Sula, MT.

Our campsite at Indian Trees Campground, Bitterroot National Forest.

Can you see the dust on the car?

Interesting dust pattern on the back of the Beast.

Poor Louis. Pooped out from the drive to Sula. He got carsick again.

Beautiful wildflowers.

Wild Daisies.

Always an education.

According to the sign, the indians peeled the bark from this tree sometime between 1835 and 1890.

Louis enjoying the mountain air.

We need more animal bridges in this country.

Old downtown Bigfork.

Tom and Janine's miniature Husky, Mischa.

Tom and Rob catching up. Check out the backyard!

Tom, and the glasses he lost in the river.

Beautiful Luca.

Sweet Janine. The hostess with the most-est.

We caught a woodpecker pecking by Echo Lake.

I can't remember this horse's name, but he was sweet. He snuffled my cheek a couple of times.

A picturesque scene from the stables.

The yellow is rape seed growing for making canola oil.

Meet Chloe, our campground neighbor's cat, who had herself smashed up against the window.