Day 18 - Oregon and Yellowstone Trip

2014/10/06

Leave extra early to drive through the parks (Yellowstone and Tetons) as we are airport bound.

We see a coyote on the road!  Being that it was full dark, there was no possibility of a photo.

 

 

It is lovely to observe the sky change with sunrise and light reflecting from the river and streams.

What may have been 5 bison bedded down for the night were glimpsed in the headlights.

We saw a herd of Elk in a field, others sleeping in, while a few were getting an early breakfast.

We see a lot of elk along this drive.  Even crossing a waterway, brrrrrrr!


Flight from Jackson to Denver uneventful, the pilot came on to explain mountain air currents and the need to pay attention to the safety belt lights.  :)


The people who work in the Jackson Whole airport are kind and helpful.  Very different compared to a typical IAH experience.

One of the gals shared with me (after I queried) that very few people have never flown before.  She more commonly runs into discomfort with the kiosks, especially among older passengers.


Our flight to Houston is delayed by 2 hours.  My ability to get my pups tonight is dwindling.  I want my babies!!!

Our plane arrived from Narita, Japan which arrived from LA.  Both flights were delayed by 2 hours.  They have known for well over a day that delays were inevitable, but United chose not to share with or prepare their customers.  Very poor information dissemination on their part!  This irks me.


Arrive home, and head out to lovely pup sitter to retrieve my furry children.  Time to plan our next trip.  :)

Day 17 - Oregon and Yellowstone Trip

2014/10/05
The Mud Volcano area is our main goal today.  Not all the vents are recordable from the trails, so some are just observed or heard; never to be shared in photographs or video.
We were discussing channel widths and how the water volume must change with time.  I said, "And remember, there's no telling how many Spring springs spring up with snow melt."

How's that for three different meanings of the same word in the same sentence!  :)  Yes, I patted myself upon the back.

Lunch stop at Nez Perce Picnic Area, easily the nicest stop we've made due to distance from the road.  For a while, we felt like the only people in the park.

My Asolo Athena hiking boots seem to have a tread pattern that encourages self-cleaning.  While Himself's Lowa Hiking Boots with super aggressive treads pick up mud with ease, my Athena's do not appear to have the same mud attraction.  Whether this is due to tread, weight, or something else entirely keeps my thoughts occupied for a time.

People lose all brain power while driving along and seeing large animals OR seeing two or more cars pulled over and assuming there's large critters nearby so they slow down to look ... and back up traffic.

And we joined the queue because ... 

 
We saw a Grizzly Bear!  He was so incredibly cute!  And he had two ravens hanging out with him.  Definitely a highlight of the trip!  Awesome!!!

I got a bit teary-eyed.  I basked in his presence.

A slightly hysterical woman hanging with a photographer went racing back to her car to get her bear spray because, "They can run fast and they are hungry."

I agree they can run fast, but only for a sprint.  And they aren't hungry, not yet.  They are packing on poundage anticipating winter.

Finally, Mr. Grizzly (sex is a guess) was rolling in the grass, digging up roots, and stretching out in the sun.  And he had two raven buddies hanging out close by.  In other words, we had no reason to fear him and needed only to respectfully observe his quiet afternoon from a distance.

I think the park has successfully instilled "bear fear" into the visiting population.  

I share the opinion with himself that bears are very like big dogs.  

Head to miniaturized "Grand Canton of Yellowstone" ... we would not make a specific drive for it, but since we are in the area ...

The upper and lower falls, as well as the canyon are more interesting than we anticipated.  And the light is such that all our photos of the area look like paintings.

A common call in the vehicle is "buffalo butt," since, well, this is the vast majority of photo opportunities.


It has been neat to see the fire affected areas, noting the dense growth of young pines.  I'm impressed by what I see if park mgmt.  However, we did overhear one park employee, whom we dubbed Ranger Rick, having a bit of a meltdown at the entrance (I believe it was our second or third day).  When we ran into him again at the historical center, I had to hide my grin.

Day 16 - Oregon and Yellowstone Trip

2014/10/04
Himself slept in this morning, so I went downstairs, made some oatmeal, and read on my eReader.  While washing my hands at the kitchen sink, I thrilled to watch a fox trotting by, focused on fox business!  How cool.  This is what I want to see every morning!!!  (No photo, unfortunately ... that fox was through the yard quickly and silently.)

He or she had a beautiful red coat and a full, healthy tail.  Now I just need a wolf sighting to make my canid Yellowstone experience complete!

The trip is wearing on himself, who naps for much of the morning.  I've gotten by with naps between Yellowstone sites.  He's done all the driving.

We are going to see Guardians of the Galaxy and Titans of the Ice Age at the IMAX theater.  There's is not much else in West Yellowstone to tempt us.

 

Visit Yellowstone Historic Center, it tells the story of the development of travel to and from Yellowstone, as well as opening up mail service and winter activities.  I appreciated this little museum, and had my picture taken with the bears.  Taxidermied animals always make me sad, I acknowledge their usefulness as a teaching tool, but my first impression is always of waste.  (I dislike fur coats, etc. for the same reason.)

I suppose this is our second and third bear sighting of our Yellowstone trip?  :)

However, I support law abiding, non-poaching hunters.  

Day 15 - Oregon and Yellowstone Trip

2014/10/03
19 degrees this morning

Goals for day:
Mud Volcano Area
Fountain Paint Pot


Start with:
Biscuit Basin including the Sapphire Pool

Midway Geyser Basin and Grand Prismatic Spring

Firehole Lake Drive - we really like this drive because buses are not allowed.  There are plenty of people driving by, but you can still get a geyser to yourself if you will wait around for the lulls.

Some of the panoramas we've made give you just the barest hint of the vast amounts of space Yellowstone occupies.  This visit makes me wonder what the Crater Lake region of Oregon looks like, and whether it is part of volcanic ancestors of this system (upon further research, the answer is no).  We will experience it ourselves one day.  I want to compare the regions.

White Cone fountains just as we are ready to head out, we'd been waiting for an hour because we had seen it erupt previously from Great Fountain Geyser.  I noticed it first, himself was so excited about his Great Fountain Geyser photos, I had to point out White Cone Fountain in the distance. 

We had an hour long relationship with an awesome raven at Nez Perce Picnic Area.  Such an amazing experience to bask in their presence.   These are some incredibly smart birds!

They are very used to being fed, which is sad.  How much harder do we make winter for them?

 

 

 

On to Fountain Paint Pots - 
Lovely mudpots.  We will probably return tomorrow for more video.

I made video of a buffalo loving upon a small pine tree ... the tree will never be the same again.  I wonder if he was scent marking?  In my mind predators scent mark, but buffalo have a size that belies their typical characterization in the animal kingdom.  (Granted, he could have been marking in anticipation of mating, but this is the wrong time of the year ... maybe he was just scratching an itch.)

Day 14 - Oregon and Yellowstone

2014/10/02
Wake up early to begin our clock reset before arriving home.

Plan for the day, visit these areas:
Old Faithful
Mud Volcano Area
Grand Prismatic Spring in Midway Geyser Basin
Sapphire Pool in Biscuit Basin
Fountain Paint Pot


Go dump trash out of bag in dumpster a couple blocks away as indicated in our very old directions in the rental ... it has not been updated in a while.  Keep bag.

Pass a massive herd of buffalo on our way to Old Faithful!  A bunch of calves with their mothers.  So incredibly cool.  And it was great to see traffic slowing waaaaay down for them.

And the rangers really seem to keep a close eye on their charges, protecting them from thoughtless humans.  Great job ladies and gents!

We arrive at Old Faithful some 30 minutes after the last eruption.  It is cold (in the 30s) and windy.  We seek shelter to await the next eruption.  Himself is so sweet to play windbreak for me.  I'm hopping around in an attempt to keep warm, but this was probably the chilliest experience on vacation.  It was the wind.

A website shows 10:53 and 12:33 estimated eruptions for Old Faithful.  I think it is pretty interesting that they have created a calculation that uses the time and duration of Old Faithful's eruptions to guesstimate the next two (as far out as their calculation carries them).

We were present for the 10:53 eruption, and it was neat to watch Old Faithful erupt with a couple hundred other visitors.  What was sad is how many turned away to look at pictures they had taken even before the geyser finished!  :(

We did not take any photos of Old Faithful, we simply experienced the show.

We wander through the visitor's center, grab a snack at the car (a local raven kept us thoroughly entertained!), and then return for OF's 12:33-ish eruption.  This one had a lot more teasers before it finally erupted, and we viewed the spectacle from a different direction.

I grab another quick snack and we head to several other geyser basins within driving distance.  

 

Somewhere between 3 and 4 miles walked today, and a bunch of Popsicle mimicry.  Ei yay yay.  I need warmer clothing for standing around in 30 degree weather.  Something with greater bum coverage preferable.  

We saw a coyote on one of our walks, both as we were coming and returning along a bike path.  He/She was so fun to watch.  On our return walk, we saw hunting behavior.  Fox-like jumping and pouncing occurred way off in the distance.  I could have watched all day.

Some people do not understand the concept "pull off the road to look at wildlife."  A couple in-duh-viduals will stop dead in the middle of the road.  Even a bus!

On the return drive we observe a raven grasping a mushroom in its beak.  Too early for nesting material, maybe food?  Himself mentions a shamanic ritual, so further discussion devolves into anthropomorphic hilarity.

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!

Day 12 - Oregon and Yellowstone Trip

2014/09/30
No scrubber for kitchen.

No oil for cooking.

No counter cleaner.

No bleach, no cleaning supplies besides soap: dish and hand.  This is ridiculous. I wonder how dangerous and disgusting are the counters and floors?  What nasty bugs lurk in this uncleanable place.  If we go out and buy a cleaner, I have little doubt it will be removed before the next tenant.

There's a mop for the floor but no cleaning liquid to accompany the implement.  We lay down towels to dry up the leaking toilet and sink, no telling what's on that mop.

No cutting board, please ruin our counters instead.  (I later found one hidden behind the coffee maker, blender, and bread toaster.)

No clips for open bags.

Only one trash bag for your entire visit.

No storage containers for making and packing food into the parks or forests.

Curtains washed, but not ironed.

TV controls locked out to anything beyond kids viewing.

We have come to the conclusion that the more touristy the area, the less comfortable and stocked the rental as far as amenities are concerned.  Additionally, this place is run by a mgmt co., and I believe that eliminates the personal touch and personal responsibility to the tenants.  Failure maintenance is the name of the game with mgmt companies.  The only other toilet problem we have ever had was a VRBO in San Francisco. Run by, you guessed it, a property mgmt co.

The bathroom, much like the kitchen, is either efficient, cramped, or tight.

No aluminum foil, no wax paper, no plastic baggies.  No left over food or supplies from previous tenants: no pasta, no oatmeal, no coffee, no tea, no spices but salt and pepper, no sugar.  This place is completely cleared out ... Or rented so rarely that expiration concerns present themselves.

No visiting tourist data: no pamphlets, no maps, no store or restaurant suggestions. Needless to write, I am not impressed.

Into Yellowstone for Mammoth Springs and Norris Geyser.  We saw quite a bit of Mammoth Springs while the rain came down.  My SmartWool SmartLoft jacket worked well.  While it did soak up some moisture from the rain, it never got cold or heavy.  The moisture stayed superficial in the jacket, never reaching my body core.  It dried on my body following a couple hours warming in the vehicle.  My light wool scarf has come in very useful, again.  It got rather wet, but dried quickly draped across my lap, and even though still damp, kept my neck warm on our jaunt through Norris.

We only made half the trails at Norris as the day was darkening, and we'd rather get back to our rental in daylight hours.

I got great up close shots of a buffalo (they were so cool)!  We saw close to a dozen buffalo in total throughout our drive.  On the return trip we also caught a glimpse of an Elk, sporting a properly elegant rack.

We dropped by a supermarket in West Yellowstone to buy a scrubber for the kitchen.  

Upon our return, the toilet was fixed and the lightbulb I emailed about earlier was removed from the fixture.  However, I still have no email responses from the company.

I also found a pair of sunglasses in our rental vehicle ... leftover from some previous renter.

Day 11 - Oregon and Yellowstone Trip

2014/09/29
Up at 3:15 am to prep for a 4 am shuttle to the airport for a 6 am flight.  Reno did not even have the security lines open when we arrived.
My other half likes to be early, and über prepared.  He says he cannot get used to travel destinations that have anything he needs at fingertip access (he traveled extensively to bush type camps out in the middle of nowhere for years!  And, hence, carries the kitchen sink along with him.)

Snack on plane.  Arrive at Denver International Airport (DIA) and himself gets his typical Wolfgang Puck pizza.  He will be so distraught when it moves out of the airport one day.  Change is inevitable after all, but he is not adjusting well.  :) It us a good thing he has me to keep him tracking and trucking.

Call Grandma and Mom with updates.  Grandma lives two hours north of Denver.  If only she were closer ...

Flight to Jackson Whole airport, walk down "gangplank," and get luggage from the front of the airport.  Get on rental company van and take a nap for the drive.  Long distance.

Get car, go to sports stores to find fuel canister for micro stove, get yelled at by some idiot who cannot drive (he wanted to back out of his space, and we passed by ... apparently in his universe all traffic stops for him ... not in any other place I have ever been, fool), and head to Jackson Whole Grocers to stock up for the week.  

On the way out of town, we notice a horrendous shaking in the back end of the vehicle, and return it to exchange.  We figure the gobs of mud attached to the tires may have caused the problem, but it could have been something else.  Go turn in the Toyota and pick up a Kia.

The front desk guys at National are rude and unwilling to work with their customers until one starts to throw a fit. Then suddenly they are goosed into action.  

The Kia does not have a very powerful engine.

I find the toothpicks stuck in the headliner, disgusting.  And the floor mats are not properly hooked on their supports to keep from dancing around during the drive.

Finally headed to our destination.  2 hour drive.

The rain begins in earnest 20 minutes after we leave town the second time.  It is dark by the time we reach the cabin, and it takes us a bit to find it.

The cabin has over large furniture that makes me feel like Goldilocks visiting the Bears.  As a result, the cabin feels tight, with little room to move about.  I really dislike this kind of futon and how the mattress slides down to stick out at the seat portion.

The kitchen in cozy, efficient, or just downright tight depending on your POV.

And the fridge, being old and drawer-ful, is hard to pack for a vacation trip.

The toilet is leaking badly, I call their "contact us" number and the recording directs me to a second number.  I leave a message and receive a return call within 10 minutes.

Our conversation goes like this," yes, I know all about the toilet problem, it was supposed to be looked at before you arrived yesterday.  Just turn off the toilet between uses and someone will be out tomorrow evening to look at it."

Me,"Ooooookay."

I've sent them two emails since I arrived, no response as of 10 a.m. The next day.

Day 10 - Oregon and Yellowstone Trip

2014/09/28
Up early.  Banana from hotel for breakfast, added to yogurt, berries, granola, and peanut butter.  

Pack, walk to Subway for sandwich and salad, and check out.  Head across street to Amtrak station.  Sacramento station is in the midst of an overhaul and update.  It should be quite impressive one day.

The train is cushy and comfortable, but the restrooms do leave something to be desired.

We enjoy the changing scenery as we head east over Donner's Pass into Reno.  A stranded train up ahead halts our progress.

We finally make it to our destination city 2.5 hours late, grab luggage, and call for hotel pickup.  

Hotel has a workout room, so another run for me!  2 miles before a hip hitch told me to shut it down.  I also had access to a complete weight set!!! Yay.  So narrow press, bicep curl, lateral raises, and lat pull downs (with 90 lbs on the cable), and the workout is complete.  :)

Off to bed because our first flight leaves at 6 am.

Day 9 - Oregon and Yellowstone Trip

2014/09/27
Up at 6, wait for disappointing breakfast to open at 7, I got an apple.  Woopdeedoo.

The workout room has a treadmill, step machine, bike, and weight station with 40 and 45 pound dumbbells.  All the others have been ... stolen?  (An inquiry at the front desk agrees with my assessment)

And, of course, the treadmill has been positioned to give a great ass view to anyone walking past the door!

Eat breakfast from purchased groceries: yogurt, granola, berries, and peanut butter.

We will spend the day at the California State Railroad Museum.  

Wander to the train station in preparation for tomorrow's departure for Reno.  Then to the old Sacramento area to await the museum opening.  I try some yoga poses, but I'm really not warm enough yet!  "Fall upon butt" is the resulting pose.  :)


Once inside the museum, Himself heads immediately for a particular engine, "Do you recognize it?"

Me, "It looks like a train engine."

Himself, "But it's the only cab forward steam engine we have!"

Me, "It still looks like a train engine to me!  Big, black, and rectangular."  

Apparently I do not have the eye!


Today is a free day for the museum, it is absolutely overrun with children.  Wow.

I'm sitting and listening to an audiobook while Himself photos engines.

Return to hotel for lunch, and run into a SpiderMan Movie marathon.  We'd re-watched part one a few days ago, and happily sat through most of 2 and all of 3.  And than the re-boot of "Amazing SpiderMan."  Having been thoroughly enchanted by Tobey Maguire's SpiderMan, I was prepared for disenchantment with the reboot.  Eh, I'm 50/50 about it.  The original trilogy was developing a wonderful maturity and I had been anticipating the last two movies (perhaps their development even provided a template for the rebooted Star Trek movies, to which I give two thumbs up).  As such I was disturbed by the immaturity (understandable with the characters ages) in the rebooted "Amazing SpideMan."

I felt they were a bit more fluffy (in writing) than I prefer my actors.  


A good dinner from grocery store, uh, stores.

I took advantage of the workout room and ran 2.25 miles on the treadmill before using the limited weight set.  The run felt good, and I only curbed the run due to my feet aching and concern with hotspot development.  Barefoot running on a treadmill takes a while for the feet to adapt.  The most I've ever done previously was 1 mile, so the 2.25 was a pleasant surprise.  This belt was softer and more thoroughly worn than mine at home.

So deadlifts, squats, and push-ups were the extent of my lifting.  Boo.  I do not blame the hotel, but I do wonder how long the weights have been gone?  That set was not new.

Day 8 - Oregon and Yellowstone Trip

2014/09/26
Get up early, 5 am, and out the door by 5:40.

41 F (5 C) according to auto.

Pretty neat to drive through cloud banks in Northern California.

Road work slows us down for a couple miles.

Gas $4.00/g at the Chevron in McCloud.

Reach Lassen Volcanic National Park.  Summit 8511 ft and 32 degrees.  Strange on both accounts for this southern flat lander.

  

A steep hike would have taken us to the summit.

 

 

32 F on the dash

This is the first time I have experienced geothermal activity.  Photos and videos obtained to wow and/or bore future captive audiences ...  

And walked a 3+ mile trek to Bumpass Hell and back.  I'm going to blame our heavy breathing on the altitude! We were exhausted at the apex of the climbs.  Luckily we both recovered quickly.

 

Nope, not making up the Bumpass Hell bit ...

As we were returning, the school field trippers arrived.  OMG, that many kids just should not be in that confined an area.  Their concentration is far too high.

Navigating Sacramento is a pain.  As with Seattle, we need to drop the car fast and leave the mean streets.  Yuck.

Dinner and groceries at Whole Foods, then drop the car.

A taxi cab back to the hotel, and sleep.