14 December 2014

Day 13 - Oregon and Yellowstone Trip





2014/10/01
The pans are pretty torn up.


The drive into the "Lazy Acres ranch," Bear Rd, and Bull Elk is pretty torn up, so prepare for a rough road if you plan to rent "Aspen House."  In fact, prepare for a pothole minefield.

I would not take a small car or any vehicle you love through it.


Cut up carrots, an apple, and an orange for eating today.

We arrive to hike the remainder of Norris Geyser trails.  There are snow flurries falling as we head out, the temp is 35.

People cannot park.  What do you mean park parallel between the white lines?  Nonsense!


Snow falls pretty constantly on our hike.  We get to watch and photograph some awesome thermal features.  2 miles of trails at Norris today.


On our way back, we once again run into who we will dub as "the world's biggest raven."  This little dude appears VERY well fed!  He is so fat, I wonder whether he can still fly.  Ha!!!


The temp is 40 when we return to the car.

Himself pulls up to Gibbons Meadow for lunch.  At 38 degrees (3.3 C) I just do not have the clothing to handle lunch in the out of doors.  Especially since this consists of not moving much.  If lunch consisted of hiking while eating, I would be fine temperature wise.

I return to the truck while he cooks soup.  

On to Artists Paintpots, probably another mile of hiking.


This is a fun area, complete with burbling mudpots to charm the kids.  It snows/sleets upon us at we watch in fascination.


I take of video of himself photographing pots.


Then to Monument Geyser Basin Trail.  Supposed to be moderate to challenging and 0.9 to 1.0 miles one way.  In reality, 800 ft elevation change, and 2.5 miles round trip.  Not to mention a starting elevation of around 8000 ft.  This one wore us out, my hip flexors are going to feel it tomorrow.  Again, another snow/sleet combo came down upon us.


  

Upon seeing a bear etched into the sand on the Monument trail, I excitedly text family about our "bear sighting."  Of course, I did not send the picture until after sending the text.  Of course.

Then to Gibbon Falls, since we will not be back this direction.  We see another large raven, but not as big as the dude at Norris.


5 pm we start heading back, so much for my request that we head back earlier tonight than last night.

We saw more elk, buffalo, and birds in the park today.


Clothes washing ahead.

We have stayed in a bunch of VRBO rentals and a few AirBnB places.  We have never run into a home with amenities so minimally included.  It appears more like a hunting cabin you use a couple times a year rather than a welcoming rental you want renters to enjoy.  

No good place to hang clothes, a dinky little waiter holder area is not large enough. 

Outside light is dinky and practically useless.  It illuminated the loft much more than the outside. (There is a flood light, but it is not working.)

The shower wand and holder are not matched, so the wand is precariously placed in the holder.

The detergent used on towels and sheets is STRONGLY perfumed and will irritate anyone with chemical sensitivities.  

The TV is crippled at TV14, parental lockout active. Anything higher than labeled "children programming 14 and under" will not play.  This does not make for very interesting viewing.  I've emailed twice, no response.  How many channels do not work?  

Over 75 attempts have been made to clear this lockout.

There are no local channels available.


Like over 50% of the properties we've stayed at, the non-stick pans are non-stick in name only.  My other half says, "Come on property owners/managers, would you want to utilize these?"

The wall clock does not hold the appropriate time.  Is the battery dying?

There's a DVD player, but no DVDs to play.

The sliding glass door screen does not move freely, but is rather stuck.  We fear damaging the screen should we attempt movement.

The sink drips, and the pedestal sink in the bathroom is constantly surrounded by a ring of water.  Is this left over from the leaking toilet?  Or something else entirely?  I never find the source of the water.


The good: Plenty of toilet paper.
Two bedside tables for loft master.
The towels are nice.
The beds are fairly comfortable.
Great location.
On demand hit water heater gets a thumbs up!

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