The end of 2016, already?

Posted on December 31, 2016 by liv2rv

Wow, another year has ended. Time to finish up 2016, so I can start with a clean slate for 2017!

We are currently in Florida, for the next three months. Then we will make our way somewhere, before starting up work again in May at Luton’s Cabins in Wyoming. This is our ‘vacation’ time, and we always budget this in. It is our own reward for this lifestyle. But to be honest, I get really bored around mid-March. I don’t think I could ever be fully retired.

We enjoyed our time helping Mike with remodeling his new tavern and eatery in Wisconsin. While we made a lot of progress, there is still much work to be done before opening in February. We were able to fill five 30 yard dumpsters with demolition materials, get new window’s and doors installed, the metal ceiling in place, some of the electrical work done, and the bar built.

We did the frame of the bar, and then added in a step and two layers of plywood for the top. It will still need the final top, which will come from a bowling alley, as well as the sides and tile on the step. We did the same for the bar in the basement.

Mike and Dan had the ceremonial ‘first beer’ the day we completed all the framing.

Mike was able to obtain galvanized metal roofing pieces from a barn in Illinois that was used for the ceiling.

I was a bit skeptical at first of the ceiling material, but it turned out very well.

Doing the demolition and remodeling work was a nice change of pace from Amazon. And based on what I have been hearing from others who worked at the Campbellsville KY location this year, they were either not as busy, or hired too many Camperforce, because they got very little overtime this year. We do plan on going back to Amazon next fall, unless another new opportunity comes our way.

The nice weather in Wisconsin allowed us to stay much longer to help out. But once the temperature dropped, we new it was time to move on. We have a portable space heater in our bedroom, and an electric fireplace in the main living space of our fifth wheel. Just running both (on a 50 amp circuit) we can keep the inside temperature about 35 degrees above the exterior temperature. This is fine when it is above 30 degrees outside. But when the high for the day is 20, it gets a little chilly inside the RV unless we turn on the propane furnace.

It was also great to spend Thanksgiving with our families for the first time in three years. Although we both missed being able to walk 10 plus miles the next day (as we did at Amazon) to burn off all the delicious food.

We had a nice time catching up with everyone. First up, dinner with my family at my brother Brian’s house. I’m not sure what is up with my brothers hands on hips posing though!

Then it was off to Dan’s sister, Lindas house (aka Camp Meyer), for additional turkey dinners.

We continued our ‘food fest’ with dinners with good friends Dave and Angie, along with Angie’s family.

Since we were working in Menomonee Falls, Robin and Mary, friends since our college days, had us over for dinner as well. Mary also sent us off to Florida with a container of delicious homemade Christmas cookies! Cheers!

We had a nice time getting together with our former neighbors and their children. It was great catching up with Kyle and Jolie, and Brenda and Darren. Their kids are getting bigger and really doing well.

Our time in Wisconsin came to an end two weeks ago, when we got blasted with 10 inches of snow, followed by bitter cold temperatures. We put our slides in on the fifth wheel before the snow started. So we had several “cozy” days before we left.

I thought the days of scrapping the truck were over, but… The fifth wheel next to us is staying for the winter. They installed insulation around their fifth wheel.

We had a great time getting together with family and friends, and we are grateful for the opportunity to work for our friend Mike. There is still a lot of work to be done before the business opens. As such, Dan will be flying back to Wisconsin next week, and working for an additional two weeks. Makena and I will be staying with the fifth wheel in Florida. Dan will drive back down with his parents (if they can fit him in their car!) the last week of January. It is a win-win-win situation. Mike gets more help from Dan, Dan’s dad will not have to worry about driving, and I get several weeks to myself!

Before we left, we did pick up Makena. She was very happy to see us and get back on the road to warmer weather. We are very grateful that Dan’s parents kept her for the two months while we were working. She was in good hands!

We hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year! Remember, 2017 is a clean slate. Put those fears aside, and make those goals happen! For those of you we didn’t get a chance to see this year, we hope 2017 will find a slice of time for us to spend with you…

Quote for the day: “What the New Year brings to you depends a great deal on what you bring to the New Year.” – Vern McLellan

The ‘dog blog’ is back!

Posted on November 21, 2016 by liv2rv

Hello everyone! It’s me, your favorite blogging dog, back from a long absence! For my long-time followers, you will note that I have a new photo of me blogging. Currently, I am at my Grandparents house, while my parents are busy making money so they can afford more treats and toys for me. My grandma just purchased her very first laptop, so I am trying to figure things out.I would have blogged sooner, but my grandma’s desktop computer is older than I am, and I just couldn’t figure it out! My parents have come up to visit me a few times, especially now that grandma has her new computer. Grandma called them 5 times the first night after getting the laptop, so they decided to come up and visit the next day, because getting tech support over the telephone was cutting into my playing time. I was starting to feel neglected.

My parents were trying to set up grandma’s laptop in person, but even that was becoming a process. Apparently grandma handed them some things she called “floppy discs” and wanted them installed on her laptop. A long discussion took place, and soon my dad was cutting up the discs. They are older than me!

who still uses these?

Mom then set up her iTunes account on the laptop and was transferring some music for grandma. More discussion occurred…

uhmmm, no grandma!

But enough about that, time to get back to me! I had a great summer at Luton’s Teton Cabins. It was a great place to be a dog with working parents. No late nights, always home on time for lunch so I never had to “cross my paws” with their long workdays. And having 100 acres to run around, off leash, was just icing on the cake. Who can beat this view?

my summer home

I was excited to arrive back in Wisconsin, but not so much when I found out we are staying in a glorified parking lot. Not big green space to play, and I always have to be on a leash. And, I was back to crossing my paws as my parents were gone all day…no thanks!

So after a few days, they realized I was not a happy camper, and took me up to my grandparents house. Now I am back to being the Queen Bee! As any grandchild knows, whether you have 2 legs or 4, grandparents homes are the place to be! I spend most of my days sitting by their back door, trying to convince them that I need to go out and play with my football.

Let’s go play!

They are easy to convince, so I have been getting a lot of play time in their back yard.

I try to keep my grandpa’s chair warm when he is away (usually golfing). I am so grateful that he is feeling good and fully recovered from his scary ordeal with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (you can read about it here). We go for daily walks, which I really enjoy.

When my parents brought me up here, they packed up all my toys and treats. Beggin’ Strips are a special treat for me, and a bag usually lasts about 2 months, because I only get a couple of them every week. Milkbones are my regular treat. My parents were a bit shocked when grandma called after three weeks and said they were out of Beggin’ Strips! Well I am special, so I convinced my grandparents to give me my special treat every day! Yay!

I also discovered I don’t even need to do anything special to get a treat. If I stare at my treat jar for a long time, they just get up and give me a treat! Here’s a photo of my grandparents watching television. Notice me in the corner?

It looks like I was put in the “time-out” corner, but upon closer inspection, you will see I am staring at my treat jar on the counter Yes, I have them well trained!

I also figured out where grandma hid my new 12 squeaker toy. She put it up on top of a dresser in a bedroom. So I sat and stared at that for a while, and she eventually gave in, and I was able to destroy my new toy!

My grandparents did take me to see my cousins at Camp Meyer! I really enjoyed having even more people play with me, and snuggle up with me.

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It’s better than snuggling up with “mini me”. This is the stuffed animal my parents sent to my grandparents so they won’t forget about me when I’m not there. Hey, it’s cute, but not quite as good as the real me!

The weather is starting to get a little too cold for me. Hopefully my parents remember to come and get me before they leave for Florida. I could use some warm weather, as I don’t have much hair. When my parents come to visit, my mom brings up their laundry. I crawled in a basket of sheets just out of the dryer. My parents aren’t sure if I was just cold, or if I wanted to make sure they don’t forget about me.

I’m not sure how much longer I will be staying here, but now that I have mastered grandma’s new laptop, I will try and not go so long between blogs.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving! Hopefully the ‘turkey fairy’ will drop a few pieces in my dish!

Quote for the Day: “An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.” – Irv Kupcinet

Have sledgehammer, will demolish!

Posted on November 11, 2016 by liv2rv

We are currently back in Wisconsin, and have been very busy with a new work camping opportunity. As such, we will not be working at Amazon this fall. We will miss seeing all of our friends that we have worked with for the past three years, but we will be back there next fall. And even though the broken bone in my foot has healed, I was hesitant to walk 13 plus miles each day on concrete. For those interested in learning more about Amazon, just put ‘Amazon’ in the search box on our website, and you will see dozens of our prior blogs.

We are staying at State Fair RV Park, in West Allis, which is surprisingly busy for this time of the year. The manager said in 20 years, they have never had this many RV’s here this late in the year (it is open year round). It is nothing more than a very expensive parking lot with full hook-ups. At first we were told our water would be shut off on November 1, but with the large number of people, and the unseasonably warm weather, we should have water until at least November 25th. They do have one section with heated water pipes, but that is full until December.

We dropped Makena off at Dan’s parents, so she is not home alone all day and she gets to chase her football around in a big yard. This gives us more flexibility in our work schedule. Makena hinted that she is working on a blog, so stay tuned for her post!

WORK

This summer our friends Mike and Karlyn contacted us to see if we could help them out with some remodeling work.

Karlyn, Mike, Jonell & Dan

They currently run a successful bar and grill in New Berlin, The Varsity Club, and found a space to lease in Menomonee Falls to open a second tavern and eatery. Dan helped out with the remodeling for their first place, and they wanted us to help out again. We arrived back in WI on October 4th, and started work right away in the 5th. With the exception of going up to visit Makena and Dan’s parents, and seeing two Packer games, we have been working every day.

The building is old, but has great potential, so there is a lot of work to do. The local building inspector is excited with the changes. We are still in the deconstruction phase. Give me a sledgehammer and I’m a happy camper! Mike has two young guys that have been helping out, and they had done a lot of work before we arrived. So I do not have any ‘before’ photos. This is what the place currently looks like. Dan and I have started building the bar, which is shown in some of the photos.

That bar stool was left over from the prior occupant. There will be a full kitchen, and it will be walled back in. The guys had to open up the wall to get all the old equipment out.

When they were taking off the drywall, an old air conditioner was discovered (the wiring was still “live”). There are also old windows, that have been covered up and bricked over on the outside of the building. The guys spent a lot of time working on busting out the old air conditioner, which was quite heavy. And yes, the old ceiling was painted blue, yellow, red and green in various parts!

There is also a basement that we are fixing up as well, for party rentals. the guys spent 3 days breaking up the concrete and hauling it out. This will allow the plumbers to bring all the plumbing up to code, and we will be adding a bathroom in the basement. It was a lot of hard work, but the prior tenants had pipes running all over the place.

This is a better shot of the basement, and the area we are building for a bathroom. We will drywall the ceiling, and use knotty pine on the walls. The tile floor is in good shape, one of the few things in this old building.

As of right now, we are planning on staying here until December 6th. They are planning on opening up the bar, called The Alumni Club Tavern and Eatery in late January. Mike and Karlyn want us to stay longer, and our fifth wheel is designed for ‘four season’ living, but we are hesitant stay in the snow. So far, temperatures have been above normal. So we will see how things go. Our Florida reservations start 12/28.

For the time being, it is just eat, sleep, work! Similar to Amazon! Hopefully we will be able to have some time to see some of our friends, relatives and former co-workers before we leave the state.

PACKER GAMES

We have been Green Bay Packer season ticket holders for many years, and try to get to at least one game each season. This year, we made it to two, both in the same week. The Dallas Cowboys game was not a good game for the Packers. Prior to the game, we attended the Jack Link’s Protein Snacks party. Good food, great people, and perfect weather all combined to make for a good time, despite the poor performance of the Packers.

Lambeau Field

Ellen, Mary Jo (Mrs. Jack Link) and I. We have sat together for over 20 years! It is always good to get together with everyone!

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We even ran into Sasquatch at the party!

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The game against the Chicago Bears on Thursday night was much better, although the weather was about 40 degrees colder!

Lambeau at night

We had some ‘spiritual’ fans stop by our tailgate party!

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Quote for the day: “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu

From Wyoming to Wisconsin

Posted on October 31, 2016 by liv2rv

Shortly after we finished our last day of work at Luton’s Teton Cabins, we finished our packing, hitched up and headed to the Wind River Casino in Riverton, Wyoming, about a 2 hour drive. The casino allows RV’s to overnight for free in their parking lot. (I like free!) The main reason for our fast departure was to get over the Togwotee Pas during the afternoon. At 9600 feet, it is not unusual for it to have snow or fog early in the morning, so we wanted to get ahead of the weather. We drove through snow in May, and we did not want to repeat that on our way out.

On our last day, we received another $10 in tip money, so we decided to use that as our “play money” at the casino. I enjoy playing the video poker machines, and put the $10 in a machine, and happily cashed out $200.16 after getting 4 aces! It was a nice casino, and the only one we have been to that does not serve alcohol (which was probably why it was so quiet in the casino!).

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Unfortunately, we had a dead battery after just a few hours of being parked. We had put the refrigerator on propane, and that is all we were running. We think the cooling fans must draw a lot of power, because we also ended up with a high temperature alarm on the refrigerator. We were hitched up and our front hydraulic levelers were down, so we couldn’t detactch to jump start our battery. We decided to call Coach Net (the RV roadside assistance that we subscribe too) and waited for them to send a service technician. After a 90 minute wait, the technician arrived and jump-started our battery, and we were on our way. This was all free (remember, I like free!) under their service. We highly recommend that anyone with an RV, get an appropriate roadside assistance program. We use Coach Net, but have also heard good things about the Good Sam’s Roadside Assistance as well.

Once we were back on the road, we headed to Custer, South Dakota for two nights. Dan was able to reset the error code on the Norcold refrigerator, using a magnet on the back side of the refrigerator. A service technician showed him this trick when we had this error code once before.

We stopped in Custer to visit with our friends and former co-workers at Crazy Horse Memorial. We met Rudee and Margaret for dinner on Saturday night, and spent a very enjoyable 2 hours getting caught up on their lives. Rudee’s husband Phil, had to work late, so he was not able to join us. We missed seeing several other couples, who had already departed for the season. Hopefully we can catch up with them in Florida!

Dan Jonell Rudee & Margaret

On Sunday, we got up early to do the 10K Volksmarch at Crazy Horse. This was my second time doing this very popular hike, and Dan’s first time. It is the only time that you can walk to the top of the mountain carving. This is a bucket list item for many people, and it is definitely worth it. It was a beautiful day, and they had over 4400 people doing the hike. Admission to Crazy Horse is waived if you bring in three cans of food for the local food pantry, and the cost of the hike itself is just $3.00. There are port-a-potties, snacks for sale and water refill stations along the route. Wouldn’t it be nice if all hikes had this along the way?!

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On the way down, we ran into Adam, one of the son’s of Korczak Ziolkowski, the original sculptor of Crazy Horse. He was guarding “the armpit” as he put it. We were impressed by the progress since our last visit in 2013.

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Both Phil and Rudee were working that day, so we met them later at the restaurant for dinner. We also saw Monique, one of Korczak’s daughters, and talked briefly with her about the progress over the last 3 years. It was a wonderful visit, and it was great to see many of our friends and co-workers that were still there. Monday morning we hitched up and continued on our trip back to Wisconsin.

We stopped for the night in Blue Earth, MN. The town has a nice fairground with a campground. And the cost for one night? Free! (are you detecting a theme here?). Blue Earth is a nice small town, that is home to a famous roadside attraction. The Jolly Green Giant Statue! The town is home to the Green Giant/Seneca Company. The statue is 47.5 feet, and sits on an 8 foot base. His feet are 6 feet in length, which equates to a shoe size of 78!

Ho, Ho, Ho….Green Giant!

I am not sure why they put the viewing platform right under his legs, but we will leave the comment at that!!

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But Blue Earth has a few other pieces of history. In 1917, a local man applied for a patent for his “Chocolate Dream Bar”, which was a square of ice cream, dipped in chocolate, wrapped in foil and frozen. Two men from Iowa, however, also had similar patents filed and everything ended up in litigation. After several years, the MN man sold his company to the two other men. One of the men changed the name of the bar to the “Eskimo Pie”, and the other man, Russell Stover, used his proceeds to start his own candy company. Seems both men from Iowa did very well!

Blue Earth is also the mid-point of America’s longest highway, I-90. When the interstate was completed, the East and West portions were joined together at Blue Earth. At one point, the road was paved in gold, to commemorate the occasion. These little towns hold a lot of our history!

We are currently in Wisconsin, at a surprisingly busy State Fair Park Campground. I will have a post soon (I promise it won’t take a month!) on what we are currently up to. Note: it does not involve Amazon this year!

Quote for the Day: “Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.” – Auguste Rodin

Summer work wrap-up

Posted on October 12, 2016 by liv2rv

Our summer work camping job at Luton’s Teton Cabins has officially come to an end, and I will do a brief wrap-up for those readers interested in work camping. For those who just like pictures, I put a few of those in as well! Our view when we arrived in May.

Grand Teton Range

Of the 9 work campers (4 couples, one single) we were the last couple left, so we had some very busy days. I was working both in the office, and housekeeping. We ended up working 8 days in a row (our choice). Brad was excited when he found out Dan had done commercial steam carpet cleaning before we were married. The carpeting in the cabins are cleaned every fall, as the cabins start to open up after the guests depart. Dan was able to get 12 of the 14 cabins done before we left. Two were still occupied into October, so Brad will take care of those after the guests depart. The cabins officially closed for the season on October 7.

At 4 1/2 months, this was the longest we have stayed at a work camping job. The time went by very quickly though, and we never had that “how many weeks to go” count down that we have at Amazon! Because of the length of our stay, it was also the most profitable job we have had. Our total combined gross for the summer was $19,159.25. This includes an unexpected bonus at the end of $500.00 each. Our pay agreement did not include an end of season bonus, so we were pleasantly surprised when we opened up our envelope and discovered 4 paychecks!

ADDITIONAL PERKS

We had a free 50 amp full-hookup site, excellent high speed internet, a few hundred dollars in tip money (tips are split 9 ways), a great location for exploring (5 miles East of the entrance to Grand Teton National Park), free laundry including the use of a large commercial washer/dryer, and probably my favorite perk was the food lottery.

When guest leave food behind (usually those that are flying), all the food is put into a refrigerator in the housekeeping garage. The work campers rotate in picking items each day from the refrigerator. We had items ranging from eggs, ketchup, mustard, beer, bottled water, salad dressing, wine, butter, coffee, olive oil and ice cream. I think we have 4 bottles of olive oil in our pantry! During the busy summer season, we had a lot of leftover items from the families. In September, when it was mostly couples, we had very little food, as most of the couples went out to dinner.

NEXT SUMMER

Our original goal when we started our full-time RV life was to always work in a new location every summer. We have decided to return to Luton’s Teton Cabins next summer, however, for several reasons. We have had a wonderful summer, and Brad and Joanne are two wonderful people to work for. They gave us a nice bump in pay for next year, as an incentive to return.

With my broken foot this summer, there were many things that we did not do, such as bicycling in the park, and hikes longer than 4 miles. So we have many things to do next summer. And Dan and Al (yes, Karen and Al are coming back for their 4th summer) can keep catching dinner, as they were quite successful fishing this summer. This picture shows six nice sized cut-throat trout which are native to this area.

We managed to eat at one of the restaurants featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Nora’s Fish Creek Inn for breakfast, with Karen and Al. I had the recommended banana bread French toast, which was excellent. We did not get to try Pinky G’s Pizza, the other featured restaurant in the area, so that is on our list for next summer.

Makena has also given her approval for returning, as she enjoyed the acres of land for her to play on.

img_0878-1 Our view at the end of summer, with the moon over Mount Moran.

So if any of our readers has plans to visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks for next summer, let us know! Just don’t try coming on or around August 21, 2017. Everything is booked solid due to a solar eclipse!

Quote for the day: “The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office.” – Robert Frost

Close Encounters of the Moose Kind!

Posted on October 7, 2016 by liv2rv

I have a lot to catch up on with the blogs. We have been very busy the last few weeks, with visitors, wildlife sightings, packing up the rig, working 8 days in a row, and driving back to Wisconsin. I will split this up into several posts. First up: visitors and wildlife.

September is a beautiful time to visit Grand Teton National Park, as the colors are changing, and the wildlife are very active. It is the third busiest month in the park, and the weather can be hit or miss. We had some visitors of our own, Mike and Sue, friends since college, drove out from Wisconsin to visit. Mike was going elk hunting in Idaho, so he was only able to stay for one night, but Sue was able to spend several days hanging out with us.

We managed to give them a brief tour of GTNP, including a stop at the now peaceful String Lake. During the summer months, this is a very popular area for swimming, kayaking and stand-up paddle boards.

Dan, Jonell, Sue & Mike

We went up by Jackson Lake, and were shocked by how much the lake has dropped since we saw it a month ago. It should be a good crop of potatoes this year, as Idaho has taken plenty of water from the lake! Idaho has water rights to remove water from the top of Jackson Lake and due to the lack of rain they took a considerable amount this year.

dsc03956-1 A short drive north of Jackson Lake brought us to the Berry Creek Fire area. It was sad to see acres of burned forest land, but it will be interesting to watch this area rejuvenate over time.

dsc03959-1 During our drive through the park, we spotted a lone female moose.

dsc03972-1 Along with a large heard of pronghorns, including a mama with two hungry babies!

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After Mike left the next morning, the three of us headed out to a short 4 mile hike to Taggert Lake. GTNP has so many excellent hiking trails, and the views never get old.

dsc03990-1 After our hike, we starting driving around and noticed a number of cars pulled off the road, but we could not see what they were looking at, so we pulled over and walked about 100 yards to where the crowd was standing. And we were glad we did! At first, we just saw a head of a moose pop out of the willows. But then mama came into full view, followed by a pretty good sized baby. We watched them for a while until they walked back out of view.

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Dan and Sue spotted a bull moose on the way to the airport the next morning, but it was too dark to get a good picture. So on our next day off from work, we left early in the morning to see if we could spot him again, and we were in luck. He was still hanging out down by the airport. The pictures are not the best, as it was early morning, and he was pretty far away.

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I did remember to turn around and take one shot of the mountains while we were watching the moose. You can see the airport on the left. Jackson Hole Airport is the only airport located within a National Park.

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We drove over to the same spot we saw mama and baby moose the prior week, and there was no one around (people that is), so we pulled over and started walking along the river. Dan was about 30 yards ahead of me, when I saw him jump up and quickly start walking backwards. Turns out he practically ran right into mama and baby moose, as they were on the opposite side of the river! Dan was less than 10 yards from the mama moose as she looked right up at him as she was eating some vegetation. Did you know more people are killed by moose than bears? I managed to take a quick picture of mama moose peering up at me, before we both walked away to a safe viewing distance. I just love the expression on her face!

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We walked away from the moose to a safe viewing distance, and both of them got up and started grazing. The baby was very curious, and would look over at us.

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We capped off our moose-filled day by having lunch with our friends Tom and Ellen. Ellen’s daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter were visiting with them up in Yellowstone, and came down hiking for the day in the Tetons. It was a great way to end a wonderful day!

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It was a busy, but great week with visitors. We started packing up the fifth wheel and getting ready for our last stretch of work. (that will be for the next blog)

Quote for the day: “We do not remember days, we remember moments.” – Cesare Pavese

Fall Colors in Grand Teton National Park

Posted on September 24, 2016 by liv2rv

Fall has arrived, and although the weather has been hit or miss lately, the view continues to be spectacular. Now we know why September is the third busiest month at Grand Teton National Park. The colors are amazing. The photos simply do not do justice to the colors.

As I was typing up this blog, I received a notification from Word Press, which is the site that I blog from. It said today is the third anniversary of this blog! I was not aware of that. Amazing how time flies. And thank you to those who have been following along on our journey. September 30th will be our last day at Luton’s Teton Cabins. It has been a great summer, and I will have more next week, wrapping up all of our recent activities and animal sightings.

This will just be a quick, picture filled blog, so enjoy!

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Quote for the day: “Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.” – Lauren DeStefano

Fire update, tourist time and graduation!

Posted on September 5, 2016 by liv2rv

The road to Yellowstone National Park (South Entrance) from Grand Teton National Park has re-opened, thanks to the brave efforts of over two hundred fire fighters. They spent a week battling the Berry Creek fire that had jumped over Jackson Lake and Highway 191/89. The fire is still burning, but has been contained enough to keep the highway open.

We had a brief scare last week when a new fire started just 3 miles East of Luton’s Teton Cabins, on US Forest land. It is believed someone had an illegal campfire which quickly grew out of control. Because this fire was so close to homes and businesses, they worked to quickly extinguish this fire. We watched several helicopters dump water on the fire, and they had it out in a few hours. It made a few of our cabin guests very nervous though! You can see the smoke and one of the helicopters in the photo below.

Just 3 miles away

BOAT/DINNER CRUISE TRIP

Brad and Joanne, the owners of the cabins, surprised all of us with tickets on the Jackson Lake Dinner Cruise. We only had a week to book the dinner though, as they were shutting down the cruise for the season. The State of Idaho actually owns the water rights to Jackson Lake. With it being so dry, the potato farmers have been requesting a lot of water this summer. Apparently it was the farmers that paid for the dam on the lake many years ago, and in return they received the water rights. They have been drawing down the lake at a rate of 1 foot every 5 days. So we booked a Wednesday night cruise with Karen, Al and Jane. If you look at the far left on the photo below, the water level is normally up to the trees.

Jackson Lake marina

The boat leaves the marina and docks on an island close to Mount Moran. The buffet dinner consisted of steak and trout. The salad bar is served out of the canoe!

a beautiful setting

We all enjoyed the boat ride over, as well as dinner. I think Dan was still chewing in this photo!

Jane, Karen, Al and Dan

After dinner we did a short hike up a steep hill and ha a great view of Mount Moran and the boat ramp on the island below.

Mount Moran

FLOAT TRIP

A very popular “touristy to-do” in Grand Teton National Park is a float trip down the Snake River. There are many companies that offer trips. Barker-Ewing is the company that we recommend to our guests, as they will give them a discounted trip. To reciprocate, Barker-Ewing gives all of the work campers a free trip. We finally made time to book an evening float trip, and had a great time. We would definitely recommend a float trip to anyone coming to the area. Unlike whitewater rafting, this is more of a “lazy float” down an 8 mile stretch of the river.

the boat launched ahead of ours

having a good time!

We had good views of the evening sky over the Grand Tetons.

Grand Tetons

And beautiful views down the Snake River.

Snake River

We were fortunate to see plenty of wildlife along the way as well.

a giant beaver home

Along with several beavers in the area.

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This beaver was busy carrying a tree branch!

busy, busy, busy!

We saw quite a few bald eagles, and I was able to get a photo of one of them.

a majestic bird

The highlight of our trip was seeing a mama and two baby moose. Unfortunately, I was only able to capture a photo of one of the babies. Mama and the other baby were too hidden from my view.

Hello!

GRADUATION!

Back in June, when I was still wearing the boot on my foot, we were looking for things to do in the park that did not involve a lot of walking. Karen suggested a ranger led talk on Menor’s Ferry. During the talk, Ranger Casey mentioned the Junior Ranger program that they offer in the park (almost all of the national parks have programs). When the Ranger mentioned the program was not just for young kids, but anyone “young at heart”, well that caught my attention! One of the requirements of the program is to attend a Ranger led program in the park. Check!

Ranger Casey

The booklet that you have to complete has various activities, geared to different age groups. All Junior Rangers have to complete various activities, from a hike in the park, to viewing some of the historical structures. For the older kids (and the “young at heart”) there are additional math and science related activities. (it’s always about math!)

After our ranger led program, I was reading the booklet and commented to Karen, Al and Dan that one of my activities is to pick up litter in the park. So they all obliged and threw trash down on the ground for me to pick up! (ummm….thanks?!) So I studied up on the booklet, and worked on it over the summer.

Enter a caption

Once I got my boot off and was able to do more in the park, I continued on the program. Last Wednesday I finally “graduated” and went back to the visitors center for my Junior Ranger oath and badge ceremony! Al played the ‘pomp and circumstance’ graduation march on his Apple watch!

an official Junior Ranger

taking the oath

my “official” badges

I would highly recommend this program to anyone. It really forces you to take the time to learn a lot more about the park that you are visiting.

Quote for the day: “You don’t stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.” – George Bernard Shaw

Visitors and Fires

Posted on August 23, 2016 by liv2rv

For the past 6 weeks, fires have been burning all around us, but have not had much impact on us. Things changed yesterday, after 20-25 mph winds started in the afternoon. A small fire that was burning in a remote area of Grand Teton National Park jumped across Jackson Lake and spread over 5 miles. The main highway from GTNP to Yellowstone National Park is now closed. They had an emergency evacuation of Flagg Ranch and Lizard Creek Campground this morning. The fire is about 20 miles from our location, and it is not headed our way. However, with another afternoon of high winds expected, who knows what will happen. I think the most popular website in the state of Wyoming right now is Incident Information. You can click on that if you want to keep up with the fires in the area.

Work continues, but at a little slower pace this week. This is a “transition time”, as we switch over from families with school-age children, to couples and families with toddlers. By September 1st, we are back to full occupancy, for almost the entire month. So we are enjoying our ‘calm before the storm’ which hopefully won’t involve any fire related issues!

FAMILY VISITS!

Our door is always open for visits from friends and family, and we have had two visits this month. Our nieces, Carmen and Jasmine, were passing through on the way to Tacoma, Washington, and stayed overnight. Jasmine, who graduated from Pharmacy School in May, has accepted a pharmacy position in Tacoma, Washington, and they were moving her stuff out west. Makena was excited to have visitors!

Carmen and Jasmine

After they left, Dan’s sister and brother-in-law, Linda and Doug drove out from Wisconsin to visit with us for a few days. On their way out, they stopped in Custer, SD and met up with our friends Phil and Rudee at Crazy Horse, as well as visiting Mount Rushmore. We were able to switch days with another couple at work, so we had three full days to play tourist. We forgot how exhausting it is to be a tourist! We were able to cram as much as we could in a very limited time. There is just too much to see and do in three days.

Can you see Yellowstone in one day? No, but you can see a few of the highlights if you pack a lunch and plan on a long day visiting. We discovered an Elk happily licking the salty grass right inside the West Thumb geyser basin. It is always fun to see wildlife up close.

We have heard there has been an unusually high number of broken toilet seats in the park this year, due to visitors from countries not familiar with our bathroom protocol. So I was a bit amused to find this diagram in a porta-pottie in the park.

After our stop at the West Thumb Geyser Basin, we headed towards the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, to see the Upper and Lower Falls.

Upper Falls of Yellowstone

The Lower Falls were just as spectacular!

Dan, Linda and Doug at Lower Falls

After a quick picnic lunch, we headed over to the Midway Geyser Basin, home to the most beautiful geyser in the world, (in my opinion), the Grand Prismatic Geyser.

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And no visit would be complete without a stop at Old Faithful!

Old Faithful

We spent another day touring the Grand Tetons, seeing wildlife, and then we drove down to Jackson. We walked around the town square and stopped in at the Famous Cowboy Bar for a cold beverage.

DSC03822 (1) Since all the barstools are saddles, Doug opted to recreate the cowboy on the bar’s roof!

ride’em Doug!

Doug and Linda discovered when you are out West, anything goes for a vehicle. You never know what will be parked outside on the street.

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Although the time went by way to fast, we did enjoy having Carmen and Jasmine, as well as Doug and Linda stop in for a visit. Our door, wherever it may be parked, is always open!

Quote for the day: “Isn’t it amazing how much stuff we get done the day before vacation?” – Zig Ziglar

Going to the Chapel…

Posted on August 8, 2016 by liv2rv

Located within the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park are two chapels, both of which are open daily to the public. Both offer services on Sunday for park visitors and area residents, during the summer. And weddings are held at both chapels, with a special permit through the national park service.

CHAPEL OF THE TRANSFIGURATION

Built in 1925, this is an Episcopal Church, affiliated with St. John’s Episcopal Church in Jackson, WY. It was built to provide local ranchers and residents a place of worship without having to make the 12 mile ride into Jackson, which was a treacherous trip at that time, before automobiles and roads were commonplace.

Chapel of the Transfiguration

The cozy chapel seats 65 people, and does offer additional outdoor seating, weather permitting. They do have a Christmas service, but you need your cross country skis, or snowshoes, to make it to the chapel. The roads to the chapel are closed in the winter.

The window behind the altar offers a spectacular view of the Tetons.

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I think it might be hard to focus on the sermon, when you are staring out at this view!

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CHAPEL OF THE SACRED HEART

Built in 1937, the Chapel of the Sacred Heart is a Catholic Church, affiliated with Our Lady of the Mountains in Jackson, WY. It is right on the shore of Jackson Lake.

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Unlike the other Chapel, it does not take advantage of the views of the lake, as there are no windows overlooking the lake. My guess is the Priests want you to pay attention during Mass!

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No view out this altar!

The chapel holds 115 people for mass. The stations of the cross are very simple plaques.

stations of the cross

AND A WEDDING TOO!

Well I can’t have a post about the chapels, without putting in some wedding photos! The step-sister of our boss was getting married on Sunday, and they had the wedding on the grounds of our cabins. I was working in the office that day, and fortunately all of my check-in’s for the day had arrived. Many of our guests noticed several people all dressed up, and I mentioned there would be a wedding in the early evening. They all commented on what a beautiful setting it would be for a wedding.

Since all my office work was technically done, I decided to be a ‘wedding crasher’, and attended the small family wedding. It was a nice ceremony, and Brad gave away his step-sister.

Despite the clouds from a recent rainstorm, it was a beautiful backdrop for a wedding.

ATTENTION BIRD NERDS

One final note, when I was out watering the planter boxes by the cabins, I noticed this small bird, or a large moth, pollinating the plants. I have never seen this type of bird/moth before, so if anyone knows what it is, let me know!

Quote for the day: “Faith makes all things possible. Love makes all things easy.” – Dwight Moody

Liv2RV

Living and working around the country in a RV

Yearly Archives: 2016