Family Time!

Posted on July 15, 2021 by liv2rv

We continue to be super busy at Luton’s Teton Cabins this summer, and have been taking many reservations already for 2022. It is nice that families are able to get out and enjoy our wonderful national parks again. Both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks here in Wyoming have been setting records each month for visitors. This past week my brother Brian, his wife Annette and daughter Breanna, along with my sister LuAnn and her daughter Alicia were able to spend a week in the cabins visiting with us. Annette had to fly home after a few days to go back to work, but she was able to see the “highlights” of the Tetons, and get some hiking in with my sister. They also got to see one of our spectacular sunsets over the Tetons from the front porch of their cabin.

Brian, LuAnn and Annette were able to get a little hiking in while we were working.

My niece Alicia (LuAnn’s daughter) has been enjoying learning photography, and she took the “money shot” below, at Schwabacher Landing in Grand Teton, a very popular spot for photographers. It’s always nice when a moose shows up!

We did several hikes in the Tetons, including our favorite trail, out to Taggert Lake. (Dan had to work, so he missed out on our 9 miles of hiking! And Alicia got bit by the altitude sickness bug and took the day off) We quickly learned not to let my niece Bre (Brian’s daughter) take the lead….I was able to keep up for a while, but my “older” siblings needed to stop and rest!

Everyone seemed to agree that Taggert Lake is a beautiful spot!

After our first hike of the day, we drove up to the top of Signal Mountain, where a young man was just finishing a marriage proposal – she said yes! It’s a spectacular spot for a proposal.

My brother just retired, and to prove that he is still “young” he decided to stop and do a handstand on our second hike of the day, around the shore of Jackson Lake.

Then next day, when Dan and I were both off. We drove up to Yellowstone with everyone, and did the highlights of the lower loop.

The upper falls

The park service is testing out these new shuttle busses in Yellowstone, at the Canyon Visitors area. They only work a few hours at a time, and then have to recharge. We did not get to see them in action. The busses are called “TEDDY” for The Electric Driverless Demonstration in Yellowstone.

We did a short hike up to the overview for the Grand Prismatic, one of my favorite spots.

Dan, LuAnn, Jonell, Brian. Alicia and Bre in front

And no visit to Yellowstone would be complete without a stop at Old Faithful, which erupts about 20 times a day.

It was a great week spent with family, and I am happy that two of my siblings were able to make it out here (finally!)

Quote of the day: “To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were, we know each other’s hearts, we share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys.” – Clara Ortega

Back to Work…for now

Posted on May 14, 2020 by liv2rv

With temperatures staying above 100 degrees for an extended time, it was finally time to leave Yuma, Arizona, and head to cooler weather, while we wait for the Canadian border to open. Our air conditioner on our truck camper was running all day, trying to keep up with the heat. Yes, it’s a dry heat, but it’s still hot!

This forecast looked much better to us, so off we went to Moran, Wyoming.

We left on May 2nd, and planned on taking a few days to get to Moran, but at our first stop in Utah, we discovered that our refrigerator would not work on the propane setting. So we continued on, planning on staying at a campground for the night, with hook-ups, so we could try to run the refrigerator on electric. As we approached the town, we noticed lightning to the West. After checking the radar, which was a big red blob, and reading the special weather bulletin indicating 40 mph winds and pea size hail were coming, we just decided to continue North to get ahead of the storm. Dan ended up driving around 600 miles that day, and we stayed overnight at a Wal-Mart for the first time ever. With the store closing at 9 pm, it was very quiet. Since it would be in the 30’s at night, we were not too concerned about the refrigerator getting too warm.

We were able to participate in a Zoom call with my brothers and sisters while we were driving. It was a lot of fun catching up with everyone, and hopefully my brother Jerry will be able to attend the next one.

We have also been doing Zoom calls with Dan’s family as well.

When we arrived at Luton’s Teton Cabins in Moran, Wyoming, Brad and Joanne (the owners) had a cabin all set for us. We have worked for them the past four summers, and they graciously offered us a cabin to stay in, so we didn’t have to spend so much time in our tiny camper. It’s not as well insulated as our fifth wheel was. We were able to park and unload our stuff. Makena was absolutely thrilled to have a big space to run around in, and I’m enjoying having a dishwasher!

This is our view from the cabin.

When we arrived on Sunday the 3rd, the State of Wyoming was still requiring all visitors to do a 14-day self quarantine. That order expired the next day, but with the parks and almost all stores closed, there was really nowhere to go.

When we did venture out on Wednesday, we had to be very careful of the Elk. Without visitors bothering them, the Elk have taken over! We have never, in four years, seen so many Elk. The park closures have been good for the wildlife.

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Of course, this was a little too close!

We took Makena for her annual veterinarian visit in Jackson. You are not allowed into the building. You have to call them, and then they come out to get your pet. Everything went well, and once you give them your credit card over the phone, they return your pet. I felt like she was being held hostage! You give us “X” amount of money, and we’ll bring your dog out to the car!

After her visit, we went to the grocery store. Last year the city of Jackson banned plastic bags, so we were curious to see if that ban was still in place, as we had heard some grocery stores were not allowing people to bring in their own bags anymore. But the ban is still in place, and you need to bring in your own bags, as well as bag your own groceries. They have stopped bagging them for you.

We were also happy to see that close to 100% of the people in the store (employees and customers) were wearing a mask. In Yuma, it was about 80%, so it’s nice to see everyone doing their part to keep others safe. Our friend Ellen made us some masks, and we have been wearing those when shopping. We needed to go to three other stores before finding two bus fuses for our RV refrigerator. Our fridge is now running again!

Over the past week, the non-essential stores in Jackson have started to re-open, as the Wyoming closure orders have gradually been lifted this week. As of today, you can now have a gathering of up to 25 people, with churches, funeral homes and livestock auctions exempted. That limit is set to expire at the end of the month. The two bookstores and a toy store have both stated they will remain closed (online orders only) as they are a “high touch” store and haven’t come up with a plan to keep everything sanitized. And a shoe store said they will only allow two people in at a time, so they can sanitize the shoes that people try on, but don’t purchase. Other stores and restaurants said they are going to wait until the summer before re-opening.

BACK TO WORK

We have just been hanging out in the cabin, watching movies through Amazon Prime on our iPad. But then everything changed on the afternoon of the 13th, when they announced that Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park would be re-opening, on a limited basis, starting Monday, May 18th at noon.

Brad and Joanne knocked on our cabin door, and Brad said we need you to start work in the office tomorrow, and work every day for the next week! Apparently as soon as word got out about the parks, the telephone was ringing off the hook! Up until then, he had been getting nothing but cancellations for this summer. Some people did reschedule for next year. Although we are still getting some cancellations, we are now getting a lot of new bookings.

With Yellowstone, the only entrances that will be opened up initially are the two in Wyoming. The other three entrances are in Montana, and they still have a 14-day quarantine for visitors (as well as Idaho, which is only a few miles from the West entrance.)

Dan has also gone back to work in housekeeping. Mitch and Amanda, who we have worked with the past two summers, have returned again. They did spring cleaning on a few cabins so they will be ready for visitors next week. As with all businesses, Brad and Joanne are starting to implement a lot of changes as a result of the virus. It’s going to be an interesting summer for everyone.

UPDATE ON ALASKA

We are trying to remain optimistic that we will be able to go to Alaska. Canada and the United States first agreed to shut the border around March 21 for 30 days. They extended the closure in April for an additional 30 days. That closure is set to expire on May 21, but from what we have been reading, Canada is pushing for another 30 day extension. Canada has done a good job in controlling the spread of Covid-19 with extensive shutdowns, testing, and contract tracing. It’s certainly understandable that they want to keep their people safe. And we want all of our Canadian friends to stay safe!

So for now, we wait. Al and Karen should be arriving here next week, and then we will decide on our plans. If we don’t end up going to Alaska, Brad asked if we could stay and work for the summer, and we may decide to do that. But we would rather be headed North.

Quote for the Day: “Have patience. All things are difficult before they come easy.” – Saadi

Winding down for the season…not yet!

Posted on September 5, 2019 by liv2rv

We have started our last month here at Luton’s Teton Cabins, but instead of winding down, we are full speed ahead. September is the third busiest month in the park, and we are at full occupancy until the third week of September, and then half full for the remainder of the month. Many of our guests this month are repeat visitors, and it’s always fun catching up with them. By the middle of the month, Dan will switch over from housekeeping to steam cleaning the carpets in all the cabins and the lodge. He enjoys the change of pace. Karen and I continue to be busy in the office, booking many reservations for next year.

I haven’t been faithfully posting this summer, but with this being our fourth year here, I just haven’t been that motivated. We are very excited about going to Alaska next summer. Our friends and co-workers Karen and Al have done a fabulous job planning out an itinerary and looking into fishing and sightseeing opportunities. We have already made a few campground reservations, but have a loose enough schedule to make changes, if need be.

Dan and Al have have gone fishing multiple times this summer, including one successful outing on Jackson Lake in the park. I think it’s the “here fishy, fishy” hat that draws them in!

All those fish led to a wonderful employee pot-luck for everyone. Dan and Al grilled the fish.

This has been a good summer for visitors! A former co-worker of mine, Laura, came out here with her family, and we were able to spend a little bit of time with them! Makena especially loved meeting her kids, and suckered them into some belly rubs! Ironically, it was six years to the day that I left work when Laura and her family came to visit. We had a great time catching up on the past six years, and I’m so happy she stopped by!

Dan’s brother Gary and his wife Julia also came out to the Teton’s. Julia’s father John was celebrating his 90th birthday, and their entire family flew out to the Teton’s, and took a bus trip for the next week visiting many national parks and historic sites. They were only here two days in this location, but we enjoyed our brief visit, and took Gary and Julia out for a hike along String Lake, one of our many favorite places here.

Jean, Julia, birthday boy John and Gary

We met up with friends Jack and Ruth Ann, and Ruth Ann’s sister Jean. We first met them working at Amazon in 2013. Jack and Ruth Ann, as well as our friends Tom and Ellen, took us “under their wings” when we first started. We all ate lunch together at Amazon, and learned so much from them about RV’ing. Jack and Ruth Ann have been full-time since 2005. They have volunteered several times at the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, and we talked about doing that in the next year or two with them.

Jean, Jack, Ruth Ann, Jonell and Dan

And speaking of Tom and Ellen, we did make it up one night to West Yellowstone, Montana, to surprise Tom for his birthday! We will be seeing them again next week when they stop through for their last visit to the Teton’s. They will be joining us this winter in Yuma, and next summer they will be working in Skagway, Alaska.

Happy Birthday Tom!

Friends Dan and Nancy from Wisconsin also stopped in for a visit. Dan just retired from teaching in June, and they were visiting their son in Idaho, and stopped on the way back. We had a long discussion on full-time RV’ing, and on their way back home, they stopped in South Dakota and changed their residency. They will be working on transitioning to this wonderful lifestyle! We wish them all the best!

Dan, Nancy, Jonell and Dan

We always enjoy playing ‘tour guide’ and giving out suggestions to our guests on things to see and do in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. We have enjoyed our four summers in this area, but we are also ready to move on to new adventures!

Quote for the day: “Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Wildlife in the Tetons

Posted on October 8, 2018 by liv2rv

As we continue on our journey to our winter job, I thought I would share some final photos from the Tetons, of our animal sightings this summer.

We have had good success this summer in seeing many birds and animals in Grand Teton National Park. I wasn’t able to get pictures of everything, as I did not always have my camera with me.

Our first trip into the park, May 14, resulted in success when we spotted a black bear, and then saw two very small cubs running several yards behind her. The cubs were hard to see, as they kept darting in and out of the woods. One was brown in color, and one was black in color.

Mama Bear

Wait for me, mama!

Another cub

Brad and Joanne, the owners of Luton’s Teton Cabins, own several horses. One day on my walk around the property, I sensed something behind me, and turned around to see the horses sneaking up behind me. Maybe they thought I had carrots or something in my pocket. Sorry guys, no food!

I’m not a ‘bird nerd’ so I’m not sure what these birds are. I call this one a ‘yellow bird’

And ‘purple/green bird’

I tried all summer to get a picture of the Mountain Bluebird. They are very jittery birds, and this was the best I could get.

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On an outing with Erin, one of our fantastic coworkers, we spotted a grizzly roaming around the side of the highway. I only had my cell phone with me, so it’s not a good picture.

Elk, pronghorn and buffalo roam about five miles down the road from the cabins. Some days there are just one or two, other days, a large herd of them.

Elk in foreground, Buffalo in background

Hello, Mr Buffalo!

In the spring, you will see a lot of “red dogs,” which are the baby buffalo. They like to run around and play.

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Thanks for posing for me in front of the Tetons

We always warn our guests not to stand near the fence to take pictures of the buffalo. People don’t realize that the buffalo can easily jump over fences. They may not look graceful, but stay out of their way!

Our biggest highlight, was “Moose-a-Palooza” when we found 10 moose in the Gros Ventre Campground when our friends Mike and Sue were with us.

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We were surprised to find two bull moose together.

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The one laying down on the left, had a “lady friend” hiding in the tall grass behind him.

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Eventually the one on the right laid down and started “chatting” with us.

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You’ve seen those “share the road with cyclists” signs…in Yellowstone, you have to share the road with buffalo!

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Unfortunately, the one animal that I have been specifically trying to find, continues to elude me….the porcupine! Karen and Al must have felt sorry for me, as they surprised me at our last employee potluck meal with my very own porcupine! I guess this will have to do for now. I wonder if they have them in Arizona?

Thanks Karen and Al!

Quote for the day: “I’ve never met an animal I didn’t like, and I can’t say the same thing about people.” – Doris Day

The ever changing Tetons

Posted on October 4, 2018 by liv2rv

The advantage of spending the summer in one area, is getting to watch the seasons changing. This year, I made a point of taking a picture of Mount Moran from Oxbow Bend, every few weeks while we were here in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. It’s interesting to see how the mountain changes. I took these photos with the same camera, and did not edit them. Our first view this year was on May 14, 2018. The mountains are still snow-covered and the Aspen trees are starting to bloom.

May 14, 2018

By June 6, the mountains still have snow, but everything has greened up nicely.

June 6, 2018

By the end of June, the snow has continued to melt, and the wildflowers are starting to bloom. The trees seemed to have turned a darker shade of green.

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By the end of July, a small amount of snow remains on the peaks. The skillet glacier on Mount Moran is more in view. The locals refer to it as the Jimmy Hendrix guitar.

July 25, 2018

The fires from California started to bring a haze over the mountains in August. The view is not as “sharp” as July, as a result of the haze.

August 14, 2018

We had our first winter storm watch of the season on August 28, at altitudes above 9,000 feet. So the next day, we ventured into the park to see the tops of the mountains with a fresh coat of snow! The snow cleared out a lot of the haze, which brought the mountains back into focus.

August 29, 2018 after our first snowfall of the season

On September 8, the leaves were starting to change in the park, but not yet in the Oxbow Bend area. The bushes on the right have started to turn, however. It was a late afternoon photo, with haze over the mountains, from a new fire 60 miles south of the park.

September 8, 2018

By September 19, the leaves on the Aspen trees were turning yellow, and the haze was not too visible.

September 19, 2018

Fall has arrived in the Tetons, and the park is bursting with visitors for the wildlife and colors. On September 25, the color in the bushes on the right has faded, but more trees are showing color, and with the cool nights, the mountains are clear.

September 25, 2018

On our last day of work, October 3, we made one last quick trip through the park. The final “green” trees, have turned yellow and orange. The leaves on the trees to the right, have mostly fallen off. The ducks and geese are migrating through on the way south.

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Good-bye Wyoming! See you next year….

Quote for the Day: “You are not in the mountains. The mountains are in you.” – John Muir

Another week to go in Wyoming

Posted on September 28, 2018 by liv2rv

I would like to say that it’s hard to believe the summer season here at Luton’s Teton Cabins is almost over but when you wake and it is a brisk 17 degrees outside, it just slaps you in the face and reminds you to start packing up the 5th wheel! This has been a very busy month, as the cabins are full of guests, enjoying the active wildlife and fall colors in the park.

We have also had our own visitors as well, which we always enjoy. Mike and Sue, our good friends from college, drove out from Wisconsin for a short visit. Makena enjoyed showing them her favorite off-leash walking trail!

Gary and Julia, Dan’s brother and sister-in-law, also flew in for a few days to visit. It was Gary’s 60th birthday! He informed us that we have to stop referring to this time of the year as the “newlyweds and nearly-deads” and add in the “empty nesters” as well! We scheduled a float trip down the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park, and they both enjoyed the relaxing 8-mile evening float.

60 and still going strong!!

With both Mike and Sue, and Gary and Julia, we did our best to play tour guides of both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park. With only limited time to explore, we did hit the high points.

Jenny Lake at GTNP

Grand Prismatic Hot Spring at YNP

Lower Falls and the Grand Canyon at Yellowstone

Old Faithful at YNP

Of course, it is Wyoming, and late September, so it’s not unusual to encounter a quick snow storm at Yellowstone!

Both Mike and Sue, as well as Gary and Julia, took some time to enjoy the beautiful sunsets that we get to watch right here at Luton’s Cabins. With the cooler nights, we have been getting a lot of colorful ones.

We always enjoy having visitors, and are more than happy to show off “our parks” to others. We have already committed to coming back to Luton’s next year, as well as everyone else that works here. Brad and Joanne said this is the first time that all their employees will be returning the following season. They are such wonderful people to work for. So if you will be out in Wyoming next summer, let us know!!

Dan and Al have been busy fishing this summer, and have caught their limit many times. We have had two potluck meals with everyone where they grilled the fish. These are native cutthroat trout – they look like a rainbow trout with the exception of an orange line under their mouth.

I had a bit of an adventure with a wasp nest. Makena was out on her leash and got stuck under one of the jacks on the fifth wheel. When I crawled under to get her unstuck, I came face to face with this bowling ball sized nest!! Dan has had an allergic reaction to bees in the past, so it was my job to get rid of this thing. I waited until the morning when it was in the 30’s, so the wasps were less active, and used an entire can of wasp spray, plus I had a shovel to scoop up the nest and throw it into the creek behind our 5th wheel. Now we look under the slides every week to make sure they don’t rebuild! It’s one of the disadvantages of being in the same place for a long period of time.

We are ready for new adventures, and look forward to hitching up and heading south next week. We will have about 10 days to get to Yuma, Arizona, where we will be working at Westwind RV and Golf Resort. It will be our first time working at a campground. With all new adventures, I will have more to blog about.

The other morning, the moon was setting West behind the Tetons, as the sun was rising in East. It made for a colorful morning photo.

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Quote for the Day: “Perfect happiness is a beautiful sunset, the giggle of a grandchild, the first snowfall. It’s the little things that make happy moments, not the grand events. Joy comes in sips, not gulps.” – Sharon Draper

Exploring the national forests

Posted on August 15, 2018 by liv2rv

While Grand Teton National Park offers many excellent hiking trails for all levels of abilities, we have decided this summer to spend more time away from the crowds on the trails of the US Forest Service. The trails, while still being well-maintained and most have vault toilets near the trail head (something that I prefer), are seldom used by the tourists. If you only have a limited amount of time in the park, most visitors will do the “popular” park trails. But if you have more time in an area, or want a more “serene” experience, then check out the forest service trails.

Our first hike, with our co-workers Shawn and Erin, was a trailhead behind Togwotee Mountain Lodge, at an elevation of 8654 feet. Brad, our boss and life-long resident in this area, recommended this trail to us, and said it’s “about 6 miles,” and “all downhill.” Since this was going to be a one-way, downhill hike, we left one vehicle down near Turpin Meadows, and took the other car up to Togwotee.

The wildflowers were in full bloom, which made the hike extra special. Even the vault toilet at the trailhead was surrounded by flowers.

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The Grand Tetons, about 45 miles away, are peeking out over the forest, with wildflowers covering the hills.

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Erin, Shawn and Dan, on our “downhill” hike…

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We made it down to the river. You can see where we started, by the red X in the photo. Dan checked his elevation app that he has on his phone, and it said we were down to 6800 feet, from the 8600 feet when we started.

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But once we made it down to the river, we realized the trail did not follow along the river, but instead went straight up a hill. Brad and Joanne don’t go hiking, they take their horses and go riding in the forest. That should have been our clue when he said it was all downhill…..!

So off we went up a steep hill, only to realize once we were at the top, there was another one we had to climb as well! It was a bit of a struggle, as I checked my Fitbit, and we had already hiked over 6 miles. Once we made it to the top of the second hill, Dan’s app read 7800 feet. But we could finally see the end in sight. In the photo below, our car is where the red mark is. Only a few more miles…

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All together, the “6 mile, all downhill” hike that Brad recommended, was 8 1/4 miles, with 1800 feet downhill, followed by 1000 feet uphill and another 1000 feet downhill. When we mentioned to Brad about the uphill portion, he said “oh yeah, but it’s only 20 minutes,” to which we replied “if you’re on a horse!” But the spectacular views, and seeing the wildflowers in full bloom, was well worth it. And we were the only ones on this hike. We had the forest to ourselves!

BROOKS LAKE/JADE LAKE HIKE

Dan and I spent another one of our off days taking advantage of another forest service hike, at Brooks Lake, which is part of the Continental Divide Trail.

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The loop trail starts at an elevation of 9100 feet, and is relatively flat for the first 1/2 mile. Then you climb 700 feet in one mile, which may not sound like much, but when you are starting out at such a high elevation to begin with, it really gets your heart rate elevated. We had to go up and over the tree line in the photo below.

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We took it slow, and stopped several times. Dan asked if I wanted to turn around, but this time we knew that once we made it to the top, the remaining five miles would be relatively easy. After 40 minutes, we finally made it to the top. Then it was just a another mile until we got our first view of Upper Jade Lake, which was spectacular.

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The trail gradually descended down to the lake. The wildflowers were just past their peak, but still pretty.

We had to cross over the river between upper and lower Jade Lake, and the trail wound around lower Jade Lake.

The trail crossed over the river two more times, before going out into a meadow for the last mile of the trail. I managed to make three of the four river crossings without a problem. On the last crossing, one of the rocks that I stepped on moved, and down I went into the river! The water was cold, but it was so hot out, it was actually refreshing. And on a positive note, I discovered the hiking “fanny pack” that I use, is waterproof, as everything inside the bag was dry.

Since the last mile was out in the open, I was able to dry out a little on the way back to the truck. We had a nice view of Brooks Lake on the way back. Our truck was parked on the other side of the lake. I usually bring a change of shoes/socks when we hike, but from now on, it will include a complete change of clothes!

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WORK UPDATE

We continue to be busy at Luton’s Teton Cabins, at least for another week. Then we enter the “change-over” of the summer, when kids are back to school, so the family vacations end, and the “newlyweds and nearly deads” begin their vacations. We will have about one week when our occupancy is light. It will be a much appreciated break, as our cabins are full for the month of September. The downtime will give us time to clean and prepare the truck and fifth wheel for our trip to Arizona for the winter.

Quote for the Day: “Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” – John Muir

Back to work and a little fun in the Tetons

Posted on July 6, 2018 by liv2rv

First off, I just want everyone to know that Makena did gain some “freedom” on the Fourth of July! We took her out, off leash, for a walk on the 100 acre ranch where we are working for the summer, Luton’s Teton Cabins. She was ecstatic, and did very well running around. Then she spent the rest of the day napping! The next day she was walking just fine, no pain from her running around. So that is a good sign, although we do keep her in the kennel a/k/a “jail” when we go to work. Hopefully the vertebrate in her back are fusing together and she will continue to improve!!

Woo-Hoo!!!

We have been working at Luton’s Teton Cabins since mid-May. This is our third summer at the cabins. As we watch the rest of the country suffer with the high heat and humidity, we are happy to be running a space heater at night, when it dips into the upper 30’s, only to warm up into the 70’s during the day. Although this week it has been in the 80’s for three days now. We had to turn the air conditioner on for the first time yesterday!

I continue to split my time between the office and cleaning the cabins. Dan has added the job as “laundry guy” on to his cleaning duties. One day a week he is in charge of doing all the cabin laundry. He enjoys the variety, and has mastered the art of folding fitted sheets – Grandma Joan will be proud!

Our friends Karen and Al are back for their fifth season, and Shawn and Erin returned for their second season. We have two new couples this year and all together, we have a great, hard-working, drama-free crew. It makes for a pleasant working environment!

Since this is our third summer, I don’t plan on spending much time talking about our jobs. You can do a search on our blog, under Luton’s Teton Cabins if you want to learn more about what we do. Or you can always write a comment or send an e-mail. The owners, Brad and Joanne, are wonderful people who reward their employees for doing a good job. It makes it easy to keep coming back. (and the weather and view is nice too!)

View from the cabins

We have been trying to get out on our off days to do a little bit of hiking and sightseeing. Last fall, the park service in Yellowstone added a new overlook to the Grand Prismatic Spring, one of the prettiest and largest hot springs in the United States. We made an early trip up to Yellowstone to check it out, before the park became overrun with tourists for the summer. It was spectacular.

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We also hiked over to nearby Fairy Falls, about a four mile round trip hike from the Grand Prismatic. When we arrived, there were eight people already at the Falls. When we left, there were over three dozen people arriving, so we time it perfectly!

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We did some hiking with Karen and Al on another one of our off days. It’s hard to take “bad photos” when you are in the Tetons. Al was quite jealous of the people on the boat! The rivers are a little murky and very fast right now, so Dan and Al have only tried fishing once and they had no luck – although they say the conditions should be improving very soon.

It’s hard to believe it’s July already. This summer is going by fast.

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE

I do have a very simple piece of advice for anyone staying at a hotel/cabin/B & B, or any place where there will be housekeeping done. Do not leave your toothbrush right next to the sink! No matter how careful we are, the odds are pretty good that your toothbrush could end up with a small amount of overspray from a cleaning chemical, if you leave it uncovered near the vanity/bathroom sink. Just something to think about next time you are traveling…..!

Quote for the day: “Summer is the annual permission slip to be lazy. To do nothing and have it count for something. To lie in the grass and count the stars. To sit on a branch and study the clouds.” – Regina Brett

Summer 2017 ‘a bear-y good time’

Posted on October 19, 2017 by liv2rv

We have finished our summer work camping job at Luton’s Teton Cabins, just east of Grand Teton National Park. Dan feels the summer flew by, but I think it was just the right amount of time. There was snow when we arrived in May, and snow when we left in October…a lot of snow! We were the last ones to leave, as Dan was busy steam cleaning the carpets in the cabins. Although the weather was supposed to be 50s, we ended up with about 7 inches of snow! It was pretty though!

It did make for an interesting drive over Togowotee Pass, at 9600 feet and a steep grade! And this is after they had “cleared” the pass! Normally we like to leave early in the morning when we are in travel mode, but we had to wait until late morning for the road to improve.

We had another hard working crew this summer, and six of us will be coming back next summer. Last summer, with my broken foot, we did not get to do as much hiking as we had planned. This summer, we did many hikes, and even got our bicycles out. The Tetons and Jackson Hole are very bicycle friendly areas, with miles of paved paths.

Dan and Al had a great summer fishing (and catching!) trout. After a slow start due to the spring flooding, they were able to get enough to have a pot luck fish fry for everyone. Al brought his inflatable Sea Eagle boat, and they floated down the river many times. The boat folds up into a small bag, and is strong enough to hold both the guys, and all their gear.

The highlight of the summer, for me, was seeing (and experiencing) the Solar Eclipse. You can read about that here.

A close second was watching a grizzly and her two cubs, feasting on berries. (a special thanks to our co-workers Karen and Al for texting us when they spotted them in the park – about 2 miles from us).

We also had a bull moose run right across the road on our way back from the grocery store. I have learned to always carry my camera in September, as the wildlife is very active.

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After we left Wyoming, we had a long travel day and stopped at the Cabela’s in Rapid City, South Dakota, which lets you stay overnight in their parking lot. We were woken up very early to an alarm going off. We though it may have been our carbon monoxide detector. We both woke up in a panic, and started searching, only to discover it was our temperature gauge, which has an alarm clock. We have had this for over 8 years, and never knew it had an alarm clock! Apparently when we packed it up and put it away for travel, a button must have been pressed to set the alarm.

And 10 minutes later…we discovered it has a snooze feature!

Since we were up early, we just got on the road (it was 5 am), and watched the sunrise as we traveled east.

We are now back in Wisconsin. Originally, we planned to be here a few weeks, then head down to Amazon in Kentucky. However, our friend Mike’s bar and grill that we had helped remodel is not yet open. He was very busy this summer with his landscaping business, and did not finish the remodeling. So we are back helping him out, probably through Thanksgiving, and then we will head south for the winter.

Quote for the day: “You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind.” Joyce Meyer

Winding down in Wyoming

Posted on September 8, 2017 by liv2rv

Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by Hurricane Harvey in Texas and the flooding in the southern states afterward. And now we have been reading about Hurricane Irma, soon to be hitting Florida. Add in all the forest fires raging in California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana and it has been a devastating month for millions of Americans. Our only impact here in Wyoming has been hazy skies and poor air quality. If only there was some way for the rain in the South to make its way to the northwest, it would solve some of these problems.

Our season will be coming to a close at the end of September, but we have been keeping busy. Labor Day weekend means the end of families with school-age children. Now our visitors are what those of us in the tourism industry refer to as the “newlyweds and nearly-dead’s.” Luton’s Teton Cabins continues to be full, until the last week of September. At that time, we will start winding down, and begin fall cleaning. All the linens and curtains will be removed from the cabins and cleaned. Joanne will strip and wax the linoleum, and Dan will shampoo the carpeting. As with our Spring cleaning, it is an efficient process. The cabins are open this year until October 10, but all of us work campers will be done by October 1st. Brad and Joanne, the owners, will handle the cleaning of the few cabins that are rented after the 1st.

In the meantime, we have been out on a few hikes. Tom and Ellen, our friends working in West Yellowstone, Montana, came down for a visit. Next year, they will be working at a gift store in Skagway, Alaska. We will miss seeing them in the summer, but are looking forward to hearing about their adventures in Alaska. That is definitely on our list of states to visit…hopefully soon!

We did a short hike out to Taggart Lake with them.

Tom, Ellen and Dan

Here’s our Sound of Music photo!

The “hills are alive!”

We also went hiking on our off day with co-workers Karen and Al. Last year the trails to Hidden Falls by Jenny Lake were closed for renovation. Most of the trails have now opened, so we were finally able to do that hike.

We made the short trek over to see Hidden Falls.

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There was a group of people learning how to rock climb. It was entertaining to watch, but not something I would want to try.

Then we had a lengthy upward hike to see Inspiration Point, which overlooks Jenny Lake.

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On the way back down, we saw a two-toned bird, later identified as a Stellar’s Jay. That was our “wildlife” highlight!

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After we leave Wyoming, we will head back to Wisconsin for a few weeks, and then head down to Kentucky to work at Amazon for our fourth season. I’m not looking forward to working there again (too boring), but it is a great weight loss program for us!

Take care and stay safe everyone!

Quote for the Day: “Most anyplace one lives is essentially dangerous. There are floods in the Midwest, and tornadoes. There are hurricanes along the Gulf. In New York you get mugged.” – John Gregory Dunne

Liv2RV

Living and working around the country in a RV

Category Archives: Wyoming