GRAND TETONS NATIONAL PARK

After we left The Craters of the Moon National Park and Preserve, we turned our sights to the Grand Teton National Park with an elevation of 6,200 ft.  

We stayed two nights at Gros Ventre Campground where we had a visitor.  Make that four visitors!                                   The campground was nice enough. Parking spaces were not too close to one another.  No hook-ups.  Dump station and water at the entrance.  With our pass, the cost was $10.50 each night.   

At the Visitor's Center, a representative of the Jackson Hole Association suggested places to visit and she even knew of an organic vegetarian/vegan restaurant.  

We walked about four blocks to the Lotus Cafe and were not disappointed. 

Saturday was farmer's market.  It was the best farmer's market we have shopped in a long time. We stocked up on some much needed fresh fruits and vegetables.  

This was the final market of the season and the  businesses in the City Square also had  their sale merchandise on racks and tables on the sidewalks in front of their stores. We did some Christmas shopping.

 

We spent the rest of the day and Sunday taking in the sights of Jackson Hole and Teton National Park.  

Glaciers remaining in the Tetons on the right quarter of the photo above and a close up below.
 

Photos were difficult to capture due to the distance between our location and the mountains.  

The elevation of the Grand Teton is 13,700 ft. or four thousand, two hundred meters.  

The middle Teton tops out at  twelve thousand eight hundred and four feet or three thousand, nine hundred three meters.








The shortest of the range, Static Peak is eleven thousand three hundred three feet. 

  

Along the road was a huge herd of Bison.  Those beasties are huge!  The hair from the Buffalo can be spun into yarn and made into sweaters, scarves, gloves and more.  

The Snake River flows nearby providing fly fishermen and Anglers their chance to harvest Trout.   

Ansel Adams used this site to photograph the Tetons.  It was his work that generated U.S. citizen's support for national parks.

Ansel Adams, I am not!  

Do you see how much the trees have grown to obscure much of the Snake River?  


I believe that this photograph of Adams was taken in 1902 by standing on the roof of his station wagon.  

Photo borrowed from the Internet

The wild horses looked well fed. 

Some were content to stay far from the fence.  

Others were happy to come to the fence to mooch.  








This horse was not so wild that he learned to come to the fence and bat his long eyelashes and gaze at you with those beautiful eyes to convince someone to pick the grass located outside the fenced area and feed him. 

When I did not provide a treat for him, he was content to walk away and forage on his own.

And this wild man is trying to satisfy his appetite for unusual rocks.

I cannot take this man anywhere!  He is always  bent over looking for that "special" rock.  

Following our tour of lower elevations, we drove up signal mountain.  There was a trail head that led to the peak. 

We needed exercise, so up we went....slowly.  

The elevation changed to 7,720 ft.  John needed to stop and rest, but the altitude did not seem to bother him.  Me?  I was having a bit trouble breathing.  Go figure.  


This was our view from atop Signal Mountain.  

Breathtaking!  In more ways than one.  

This hike ended our day.  We returned to the motorhome in anticipation of sighting more wildlife and proceeding to Yellowstone the next morning.

God bless and safe travels.  

"TO THE MOON, ALICE!"

When John and I discussed going to the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, we had no idea what to expect.  It just sounded interesting. Off we went to the area in the Snake River plane between Barry and Arco, Idaho. 

Interesting, it was.  I imagined that it would be similar to Amboy Crater in southern California that we visited in 2011.  It was not the same.  Amboy is a postage stamp compared to the five counties containing 750,000 acres of Craters of the Moon.  

Someone described it as "weird and scenic."  Had I not been there, I would have called it unbelievable. There is no way to grasp the concept of the power that would erupt from the core of the earth and cover over so many acres inside and out of the Monument area.

The diverse multitude of volcanic features displayed include rifts, cinder cones, splatter cones, lava tube caves that can be explored with a permit and shield volcanoes. 

The Visitor's Center is one of the best educational centers that we have visited.   If you have the opportunity, take a few hours and visit the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.

 

Pahoehoe

Lava Tubes

Lava Tube Interior

 

 Cinder Crags

 Cinder crag with lichen growing on it - close up

Tree Molds

As the lava struck and knocked a tree and to the ground, the lava made a mold of the bark.  

How deep this crack was before the wind filled it with debris?

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Black soil on  Inferno Cone

Splatter Cone

Our hike up a Splatter Cone

Looking inside the Splatter Cone filling with debris after 2000 years.

 A Lava field as far as we could see

Natures Art 

Holes in the lava

Can anyone identify this white mountain on the road to Arco Betty Graffis is the first to identify these as the Twin Butes. These are also sleeping volcanoes. Thanks so much Betty.

Was there rain or a pot of gold waiting in Idaho Falls?

Thanks for stopping by.  Next ? Grand Teton National Park.

God bless 

DANDY DAYS WITH THE DIXON'S

Friday the 13th was a good day at Stanton Crossing campground.  Jim and Sandie Dixon came for a visit.  We had a great time catching up on news, playing games and a trip into Bellevue and Sun Valley, ID.  

Saturday, we were off to a cute restaurant in Bellevue called the Giddy Up .

Breakfast was delish and the hot Chai was better than Starbuck's!  

Sandie's Photo

It is humorous that we took photos of the restaurant from the opposite sides.                                   See the American flag that looks faded?  The faded red stripes on it were printed in red ink with the names of firefighters who had given their lives fighting fires in Idaho. 

When did you last purchase fuel for the amount on these antique pumps?                                                               I wish I didn't remember the time, but I surely do.  It was a loooooong time ago.

We also took a drive to Sun Valley.  I really do not think I would enjoy skiing these slopes, would you?

Jim and John  then worked on a couple of problems with Tiffin.  I got ahead of myself and blogged about that previously.  That's what I get for not keeping up to date on my blogging.  

When we came home I fixed a pot of vegan chili and then we played games.  What a fun two days we had with our friends.  

Suddenly, it was time for Jim and Sandy to leave.  As they left, the campground was empty, except for us and we got the urge to move on.  So, we did.  

Until next time.  God Bless you all, whether you are on the road or in our homes thinking about hitting the road.  

HOME SWEET HOME

Last November when we purchased our new to us Tiffin Allegro Bus, we were thrilled with it.  We still are a year later. 

It was not much later when we decided that the brass nobs on the cabinetry looked dated.  We purchased just under one hundred dollars worth of knobs.  Those nobs, as some of you will remember made a huge difference.

Last Thursday John set to work to finish the task of making all light fixtures and rings around the lights match the cabinet nobs.                                               All rings and light fixtures had to come down.  Some wires were harder to get at than others.

See the brass at the bottom of the light fixture....and all the parts?   The fixture had to be completely dismantled to gain access to the brass portions. 
 



Do you think he will remember how to put all those parts back together? 

Yep he did, but had two extra parts left over, but all the lights work.  

And here they are:

Then we hung some artwork that we purchased at the Mission gift shop.  I blogged about that trip earlier.  

I retrieved a ceramic jack-o-lantern that my mom and dad made back in the late 1980's. Ole Jack rides on the dashboard. In September, he rides with his face facing inward.  Then in October, we fill him with little lights and turn him outward.  

We are missing our straw scarecrow. We cannot remember where we stored it.  How, can we misplace something in such a small space? 



Saturday, Jim and Sandie Dixon came to share our campground here at Stanton Crossing BLM on the Big Wood River
.  
Jim and John put a new part on our awning.  Good work guys.  And thank you Jim.  
 

 While Jim was  on the top of the motorhome, he checked out our search light.  We now know how to open the light and what kind of sealed beam we need.  


Jim also found a spot that needed caulking removed and re-caulked.  We had a small water spot in one of our cabinets last week.  Those two items John will take care of just as soon as we get the necessary equipment.

When we visited the Guajome Ranchhouse in Vista, California, I found this artwork for our kitchen.  Finally, we hung them.  More and more, this motorhome feels like home.  These personal touches make such a difference.  

When we leave Stanton Crossing BLM, we will be driving to the Craters of the Moon National Monument then on to Yellowstone National Park.

Every stop is taking us a bit closer to Indianapolis and Doctor appointments, check up and best of all F.A.M.I.L.Y.  I talked to grandchildren Lucy and Ross yesterday and told them we are on our way and will be there in a few weeks.  

I am looking forward to going to gymnastic competitions where Lucy will compete. And then there is grandparents day the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  

Daughter Karen is having a birthday October seventeenth. Granddaughter Megan is pregnant with our second great-granddaughter.  Big sister, Harper had hardly any hair when we left and was not talking.  Now she has long blond hair and is talking up a storm.  Oh, my, I can hardly wait.  

I have rambled a bit too much, but family is on my heart this evening.  

John has made a campfire and I am going to go sit with my honey and dream of family.  

God bless .....till next time.