The Traditional visit to The Big Texan

Fixing the flapping panel

Watching TV after dinner

Buggy Windshield

We saw lots of bee houses out in the fields of Montana. \240The ones that weren’t safely in their bee houses, landed on the front of our windshield. We had to get them cleaned off before the sun baked them on.

We had dinner at Firestone. I had Chicken Oscar with a lobster, shrimp cream sauce and Jeff had a grilled cheese bacon burger. The flowery drink made me think of Matt when we were looking for event centers for their wedding.

Bridgeview RV Resort Lethbridge, Alberta

Canola Fields

Sheep Herders MotorHome

Taking a carriage ride

When you pull the reins you see what the riders would see while taking a ride through the woods mostly the horses’ hind end,

We headed back to Lethbridge, decided to forgo Frank Slide because it was another hour and a half drive away. It is a town that was nearly wiped out due to a rock slide.

We had dinner at Brown Social House. I had a curried butter chicken and Jeff had a spicy chicken sandwich.

The evening show was awesome. Fireworks and show were outstanding. Johnny Reid performed.

Drones coming out of nowhere. Kind of creepy.

“BELL” all done with drones

Drones

Let the fireworks begin.

Grand Finale

Dog show - Border collies chasing three sheep to guide them into a fenced area.

Dog herding sheep

Relative perhaps?

Love those horses

Calf roping

We shopped in the rain right before closing at a little gift shop in downtown Cochrane. The owner was impressed when she heard we were from Texas. She said Cochrane likes to consider themselves “Little Texas”. She recommended our restaurant, Fence and Post Restaurant for dinner. Jeff had pastrami stroganoff and Michelle had elk short ribs, pea risotto and fennel salad.

Bob Willis as Gabriel Dumont

Richard Popovich

Beaver Boardwalk

This was after driving up to the Athabaska Look out trailhead and saw no cars up there and no clearly defined map to know where we were going so we decided to forgo that. No bear spray, and did not know if there were or were not bears.

We ate dinner at the Steakout Steak House in Hinton. I had ribs and chicken and Jeff had ribs.

Boy, do I love this guy!

We had lunch at the Ice Fields Cafe then took off for Athabaska Falls. We sat upstairs by the window. Jeff had a burger and fries. I had a cheeseburger.

Skywalk

Awesome Athabaska Falls

We tried Maligne Canyon a couple of different ways but settled with crossing 5th bridge and watching the river. We ate in Jasper, a really neat town similar to Breckenridge. I had salmon, vegetables and quinoa with a creamy dill sauce. Jeff had a Prime Rib sandwich and fries. We tried the post office to mail Chandlers birthday card but it was closed. We will have to try Kamloops or Whistler.

Saw this guy from the road

Jeff bought a Jasper t-shirt for himself and we bought a t-shirt for Matt for his birthday, a “Moosetang” t-shirt.

We arrived at our campground, had to take the car off to back in to our spot but had a very secluded spot. No septic at this campground and only 30 amp but for one night it was no big deal. We were surprised at the 90° temperatures. We ate pork chops off the grill outside. Even though it was hot, we had shade from the motor home awning and a nice breeze. We scoped out where the breaker box was in case we blew the breaker. Me, turning on my hair dryer popped our internal breaker… one air conditioner at a time. \240We continued watching the second season of The Lincoln Lawyer before bed.

Our campground looked down over the lake

Thunderstorm on the water

We had tacos at The Mexican Corner in Whistler. They were very good. The waitress there told me about bone marrow and how much she loved it. I might have to try it sometime. I enjoy trying new things. We picked up watching the Lincoln Lawyer on this trip. We started the second season tonight.

Our little aggressive visitor

It included a ski lift ride to the top of Whistler and a walk across the suspension bridge. Not sure which was scarier, the chair lift or the swaying, bouncing, suspension bridge.

The walk back up the hill was a little steep and tough. Jeff did better than I did. \240Shopping, t-shirt for Jeff, mug for Michelle and dinner at La Boca Italian restaurant in the Whistler Village area. \240Jeff had spaghetti bolognese and I had lamb ragout with gf penne. We sat outside and asked to be moved by the rail to watch passerby’s. When the sun went down we got warm as the awnings weren’t protecting us anymore.

Our Little Baby Girl

RV View

We made it to Capilano River RV Resort early and they let us check in early. We washed 3/4 of the motorhome after getting set up. The other 1/4 was in the sun so it can wait until tomorrow. We called BC Ferries to inquire about the \240possibility of cancellations for our trip on Saturday. They really didn’t know anything yet. The “Coastal Celebrations” line is having mechanical issues as well as staffing issues. \240We ran to Costco in Vancouver, what a mess with traffic!! We got the car washed and drove back to The Blaze Pizza near our RV Park for dinner. \240We bought our tickets for The Lost Souls of Vancouver for tomorrow night and tickets for Capilano Suspension Bridge Park at 9:00 am. We’re up to date on the Lincoln Lawyer so we started “Suits”, pretty intriguing.

Capilano Suspension Bridge

I see how Monet was inspired!

The walk we were just on

We ate dinner at Cocina Mexicana. I tried my first bone marrow here. Our waitress told us she was from Houston and missed Texas very much. Her husband was a fire fighter. She met him while he was training in Houston then married and moved with him to Vancouver. She said it was very difficult to make friends there.

Bone Marrow

After dinner, we went on a Lost Souls of Vancouver tour with this gentleman. It was very interesting. He told us of a woman who died in a well trying to save herself and her child from a fire. They both ended up dying. He told about the big fire that burned down almost all of Vancouver.

We had dinner at Carmelo’s in North Vancouver, Michelle had salmon and vegetables, Jeff had chicken Parmesan and spaghetti. It was a wonderful small restaurant with a very friendly waitress. She kind of reminded me of Dixie. We had a flourless chocolate cake with ice cream for dessert.

Carmelo’s, The table we sat at with the window open - very nice dinner

We went to a bank for more Canadian $$ before returning back to the motor home to watch more “Suits”.

I hated to miss Chandler’s baby #2 shower but Christine is taking my gifts for me. Chandler sent us pictures of baby Pope from her 3D ultrasound this week. \240Our little one is so sweet. Can’t wait to meet her.

Nia, Short for Shania

We ate at the Butchart Gardens Cafe called The Blue Poppy. \240Jeff had a burger and fries and I had a salad. For dinner we went to the Med Grill on Saniich Rd. in Saniich. We parked and then had to walk up a stairway to enter the restaurant. Jeff had the short rib beef dip and Michelle had seafood fettuccine. It was a very relaxed dinner. \240Michelle saw something drop off the back of the MotorHome when we pulled in yesterday. \240Jeff figured out where it went at the back of the MotorHome. We had to buy a bolt for the other side but he was able to fix it.

We went back to the motor home and rested then went back to Sidney for dinner at the Chinese Restaurant. They were very busy but the service was good. I had fried rice and egg drop soup. Jeff had beef with broccoli, chicken chow mein, and a fried chicken patty. We continued watching “Suits” before bed. I finished cutting out the quilt pieces for the rattle quilt for our little granddaughter.

We had dinner at Frankie’s Diner. I had Roasted beet and arugula salad and Jeff had pizza. We continued watching the second season of “Suits” and I finished cutting the fabric for Baby Bowron.

My favorite mural

We walked to the Water Wheel and saw down to the water. It was a beautiful picture. We walked down that sidewalk all the way to the water. It was very pretty.

I ventured in to a small book store in Chemainus and found a book authored by Penny Astley, a local resident, entitled “There are No Fridays”. It’s about a retired couple traveling to Canada from England and getting shipwrecked on a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Duncan - City of Totems

We stopped at Michell‘s farm market and picked up corn on the cob and tomato, and went home and made salmon with the corn.

On the Ferry

Our GPS went out on us in Truck Map and RV Wizard as we were driving. Fortunately I had the directions in Google Maps also so we were able to find our campground. \240We’re eating dinner in tonight as there is NOTHING in Sunshine Valley. They cautioned us on leaving any food or trash out due to cougars and bears. They said a cougar took away three dogs in the spring. \240Jeff made hamburgers on the grill, I made apple salad and warmed up potato casserole. We took a walk with mountains on every side of us. It is a beautiful place.

I loved the still Reflection in the pond.

Kids, jumping off the bridge reminding me of our kids, jumping off the cliffs on Table Rock

On the road to our hike

Today we went to Manning Park and hiked 5 miles around Lightning Lake.

The water was so clear

Beginning of our walk around Lightning Lake

Up the Tree Root Stairs

The Leader finds the loose boards for his wife.🥰

The water looks turquoise

Love the Reflection

I cringe when I think of our kids jumping off the Cliffs at Table Rock

Reflections

After lunch on the patio from Pinewoods Dining Room

I had beets and arugula salad. Jeff had a French dip and fries. It was a beautiful day to sit out with the Cascade mountains surrounding us.

We drove to Hope, BC for grocery shopping at Sav-On. A sweet girl in line, Kimberly, let us use her Savon number so we could save $32. Groceries are crazy expensive here.

We went back to the motor home and relaxed, did laundry, and had a light left overs dinner and watched Suits. I worked on SSP Chase CC reconciliation. It went a lot faster than I anticipated.

I responded to Jill regarding my lab tests (ANA and thyroid).

The Sunshine Valley RV resort was a beautiful place to stay surrounded by Cascade mountains. This morning was bright and sunny with a cool breeze. Absolutely perfect! We’re headed into some 90 plus degree days so makes the 70’s even more wonderful!

Highway 3 was the curviest up and down Highway we’ve been on so far. We checked into Nk’Mip campground, got settled, and researched wineries. We made a reservation for 3:30 at Moon Cursor today, La Stella winery at noon tomorrow, and Nk’MIP winery at 3:30 tomorrow for a tour and tasting. Later canceling the last two due to the fire. On our way to the wine tasting, we saw what looks like a wild fire just south of us.

We met Sharon at the Moon Cursor Winery and she told us about how it got its name. There was a gold mine at the border, and in the middle of the night people would come in and get gold and try to smuggle it across the border. When the moon would shine, the border agents would catch them and not allow them to cross. So they cursed the moon. So comes the name Moon Curser.

Jeff bought a bottle of Syrah and a bottle of Malbec, both 2021’s.

We went to dinner at Campo Italian restaurant. They would not allow last minute reservations so we had a drink in the lounge while we waited 45 minutes. I had Salmon with tomato tampenade and rice with arugula. Jeff had chicken Parmesan with spaghetti and garlic butter sauce. We both had Caesar salad. When we left the restaurant, the fire looked much worse.

We returned to the motor home and went on a 2.5 mile walk. This is probably the biggest campground/resort we have been to on this trip. It has at least 416 sites. We walked down to the beach and got more pictures of the spreading fire. We ended the walk perhaps a bit early due to Michelle having digestive issues. Later that evening, Jeff had the same issues. Don’t know if it was something we ate or just coincidence that we both experienced the same symptoms.

Spreading Fire named Lone Pine Creek Fire. Later referred to as EAGLE BLUFF WILDFIRE

Blue dot is us, red circle is approximate area of the fire

Down the street from the front of our motor home

Area evacuated.

In the middle of the night they sent another alert saying that everything west of the Osoyoos Lake was put on alert to be ready to evacuate. Needless to say, neither one of us got much sleep.

Roxanne enjoyed her two new little friends she met at our house

We didn’t see many flames this morning, and fortunately the wind switched directions and blew the smoke \240back towards itself. We did see a few planes going in and out, assuming with buckets of water or retardant to stop the fire.

Fire Fighting

Our next campground said they could take us a day early so we headed up that way.

We stopped on the way up at a roadside rest stop to eat lunch and had left over sausage, watermelon and grapes then back on the road.

We pulled into Canyon Farms and got in the wrong site. I didn’t know it till after I had the slide outs out, the rugs down, and everything put out. Jeff was out talking with the owner and realized we were in the wrong site. So we put it all back and moved one site over. Jeff and I took a short walk out of the park down the road to Scenic Canyon. It was closed due to some flood damage so we walked back.

Canyon Farms has chickens, fresh eggs and produce

We ate dinner at Memphis Blues Barbecue. I had chicken and pork with coleslaw and Jeff had a beef brisket sandwich with french fries, of course I helped with the french fries \240We walked through the city park for about 1.8 miles. It was a great city park with water inflatable’s for kids and families. We saw a parasailor. The Osoyoos smoke started showing up over Kelowna.

Walk around City Park Lake

Parasailor

Representing Sails

Jeff’s only disappointment was he didn’t stop at DQ. Lol.

We went back to the MotorHome and watched 1832 and FBI International.

From Leslie’s garden

We talked to her about recommendations for wineries, and attractions in the town. Unfortunately the goat farm, lavender farm and bee/lavender farm that I was looking forward to seeing, were all closed.

We drove into Kelowna and walked through town again and down to the lakeside walk going north this time. As I was on the phone with Christine, a deer suddenly came out of the bushes right beside me. I was so surprised as this is such a city atmosphere. \240Later down the walk, two deer crossed the road. We saw the condo neighborhood on one side of the locks where people parked their boats right outside their homes/condos.

My walking buddy

These were designed by the RV park’s owner, Leslie’s dad

Designed by Leslie’s dad

We went to Summerhill Pyramid Winery for a tasting and bought two different wines. Then sat in the pyramid for a few minutes before heading off to DunnEnzies Pizza. We had chips with two salsas and queso as well as each of us had our own pizza. The tree in the backyard was huge and provided shade for the entire backyard.

Inside Pyramid

Summerhill Pyramid Winery

DunnEnzines Pizza Mission

Train Trestle behind us

One of eighteen trestles we crossed

Beautiful wooded area on our trail

Little hungry friend

One of two tunnels on our trail

We walked in the tunnel to get a closer look

We rode our bikes across the trestle in the distance

After our bike ride, we stopped at McCullouch’s Station Pub for lunch. We sat out on the patio. I had a chef salad with Honey Mustard dressing and Jeff had a Reuben sandwich and fries.

We stopped at a few different produce markets along the road side for peaches and a tomato on the first stop, leaf lettuce and pattypans (new to me) on the second stop and corn and blueberries on the last stop. At the second stop, the lady told me she just cut up the pattypans into chunks and air fried them with avocado or olive oil and seasonings. I am anxious to try them. I also got zucchini, cucumber and garlic from Leslie, our resort owners, garden.

Dinner tonight

Chicken Feed

Mr. Rooster

Chickens are picky creatures but they don’t mind eating dirty corncobs

Sculptor R. Down Reid, Leslie’s 90+ year old dad

Grapes just like I grew up with

Owners garden

From her garden

We went back to the motorhome and did paper work out on the picnic table under a shade tree.

We had left over smoked sausage, corn on the cob and pattypan and zucchini in the air fryer for dinner. After dinner, we washed dishes and took our organics to the chickens for feed. They are funny creatures.

We went back to the motorhome and I air fried another batch of veggies for tomorrow. We continued watching Suits and I worked on cutting material for Marcia’s grand baby quilt until bedtime.

On our way to Malakwa

We got set up and then bought tickets for the hot pools and suspension bridge. We walked across the bridge over the highway, then walked about a third of a mile to the suspension bridge. You could see the waterfall from the bridge. We got ice cream and sat out on the patio. After we returned, we took a long walk around the park and then headed over to the pools. We started out in the 104° pool, then went to the 89.6° then decided we would try the cold water plunge at 44°. We climbed down the ladder, got in past our shoulders and got out immediately. We then got in the 99.6° pool to warm up. I have heard that a cold water plunge is supposed to rev up your metabolism.

Crazy Creek Suspension Bridge

I don’t know if it was because there were less people or if we are now accustomed to suspension bridges but it didn’t feel very scary. It was shorter than some of the others so that could have been why as well.

To God be all the Glory in Jesus Christ!

Bridge across Highway

We came back and had pork chops, smashed potatoes, corn and zucchini for dinner. We ate outside on the picnic table and enjoyed the view.

Watching the sun set.

After dinner we watched 1882 and Michelle worked on reconciliations for SSP. It was Chandlers birthday today. We tried to reach her but she wasn’t feeling well and rested during Suttons nap.

On our way home we stopped for dinner at Reposados and had tacos. I had a cauliflower, matcha mushroom taco, a barbaco taco and an al pastor taco. Jeff had three tacos as well, barbacoa, brisket and one other.

We walked \240around the park to see the best way out on Saturday and watched Suits and Michelle cut quilt squares for Marcia’s grandbabies.

Gondola Ride

Glaciers in the background

Flowers on the Mountainside

Flowers that come up after fires. Bears love them.

We couldn’t find parking near Lake Louise so Jeff happened to find a spot 25 minutes walking distance down the road. \240We walked along the roadside and on a path with a steep hill. My lungs and heartbeat had issues and I had to stop before we got to the top.. Heart rate got to 143. We wondered if it could be due to the abundance of smoke from the wildfires.

Lake Louise and its turquoise water

We had dinner at Bear and Bone in Golden. I had ribs and vegetables with a salad. Jeff had a chicken sandwich and a salad.

We all welcomed little Lainy into this world.

Lainey Kaye- Precious Little Angel

We took a long walk in the national forest campground. We had a great lot with beautiful trees.

We cooked out and had salmon, air-fried vegetables, and sweet potato. We took another walk after dinner so Michelle could get her 10,000 steps in.

Our Private Special Site

\240 \240 \240 \240 \240 Smoke On The Mountain

We had lunch at TooLooLoo’s, both of us had French toast with cinnamon apples and bacon. Then we walked around town and bought a couple t-shirts.

A Bridge for Animals to cross. Deer took to it pretty quickly. Bears took 7 years to start using it regularly.

Banff

Banff

Steaks on the grill

We researched some hikes and I found a supposedly easy hike in Invermere. Jeff and I gave it a try, not so easy. \240It had a lot of ups and downs, not sure how but it seemed to be more ups than downs.

We stopped at a canyon that we drove through to get to our campground.

We considered the hot springs but decided we would go to an early dinner at Smokehouse 93 back in Invermere but they were all out of bbq by the time we got there at 3:30 so we went to Horsethief Creek Pub and Eatery. I had a curry dish with chicken, shrimp, vegetables and rice. \240Jeff had a beef French dip and fries.

While we were eating, we noticed something on the hill behind us. We checked it out after dinner and it was the Stations of the Cross.

Border Crossing

Back in the USA

I called Jessica to make plans with she and her family for Thursday. We had no problems at the USA border.

We washed our car on the way to dinner. We ate at Three Forks Grill. Jeff had Bison Alfredo and I had salmon with sweet potato hash. We shared a Caesar salad, and was surprised that it had anchovies.

We walked through historic downtown, Columbia Falls after dinner. it was mostly restaurants, but fun. One building was painted completely with murals.

Historic Downtown

Downtown Columbia Falls, Montana

Trail of the Cedars. Looks like a little animal.

We stopped at one pull off and had our bananas and peanut butter, almond butter and nuts.

Unfortunately, Logan’s Pass was too crowded to park, as like last time, so we were unable to see it. Jeff drove around while I got out and took videos of a bear off in the distance. We knew he was there because of a group of people taking pictures, and pointing.

BEAR!!

Bear

We did find a parking space at the trail head for Trail of the Cedars. It was about a one mile hike, and we did just a little less than a half a mile hike up to see the waterfalls from that trail. It was very nice and had a boardwalk through part of it and red gravel through the rest of it.

Trail of the Cedars

Trail up to Avalanche Lake

Trail of the Cedars

Our car after last nights car wash and today in Glacier

After Trail of the Cedars

We sat on a log and looked at rocks. We found some pretty ones.

We were in the park for about 6 hours. We returned to the motorhome and researched places to eat. We changed clothes because it was raining and the temperature dropped. We drove into Columbia Falls and ate at Vaquero’s. Jeff had a fajita quesadilla and I had fajitas. We both had medium, STRONG margaritas. Note to self, order a small one next time. 😳 After dinner, we walked around town. We stopped off at some Huckleberry roadside shops. Jeff got 3 t-shirts and Michelle got huckleberry jam for Sharon and a \240purse for me. We went home, watched Suits and went to bed.

Page taped to the wall at one of the huckleberry stops we made.

We met Jessica, Manolo, Tristan and Ethan at the White Mountain Resort Base Lodge. We bought lift tickets for $25 each. \240I went with Jessica, Jeff and Ethan up the lift and then we took a gondola up to the top. We took some pictures, and hiked down a hill, just a short distance to a great spot for huckleberry picking. The hill to climb for the huckleberries was pretty steep. I had to pull on tree branches to get leverage to get up there and held on to Jeff’s shoulder to get down.

Huckleberry Juice on our fingers

Jeff and I went to Murdochs to pick up DEF and another can of Freon for our air conditioner.

We went to Jessica and Manolo’s house to see Manolo’s handiwork. He is quite a craftsman. They have four horses, one cat?, and three dogs. He built a beautiful two bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1300 sf cabin. They will be renting it out after they build their home on the same 4 acre property. They have also built a shop for Manolo and are starting a barn for the horses.

The boys each had their own twin bed with a lamp, book shelf, window and a privacy curtain.

Two of their pups

We met them for dinner at Gunsight Saloon. Jeff scoped out the only picnic table available right by the band speakers. We got dinner for Victor’s as we so appreciated \240them spending the day with us. I had ribs and sweet potato fries. Jeff had a burger and fries. I shared some of my ribs with Ethan and Manolo and sweet potato fries with Jessica. After dinner, we walked down the street to a market and shopped. Jessica bought some huckleberry whiskey honey and earrings. I bought some plain honey. They also had honey mixed with canola oil. We bought a small watermelon with yellow flesh and a cantaloupe out of the back of a pickup at the market.

At the Local Market

Gunsight Saloon

When we got went home, I washed our huckleberries and put them in the freezer. We watched a couple of episodes of Suits, did a few loads of laundry and Jeff got the car ready to tow for the next day before we went to bed.

Hard Earned Huckleberries

The huckleberries I saw at the roadside shop were selling for $24/1.25 lbs. $80/gallon. I guess they charge that much due to the risk of encountering bears.

Marcia sent pictures of her visit to Monet’s garden.

We stopped for lunch at a truckstop and had Smokies in the MotorHome. Jeff had a leftover blueberry pancake, and I had cherries and a yogurt.

We got to Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park at about 4 PM. Jeff was not happy with our site as there is a lumberyard right behind us.

We walked into town for dinner at Bullwinkles, Luis was our waiter and we talked with him about Gabriel, the self-proclaimed a-hole who was our waiter four years ago. He said that Gabriel was still there and has been for 25 years and was proud of the fact that he was known as an a-hole. He said he can be found on google, trip advisor, etc. Michelle had short ribs with mashed potatoes and gravy with broccoli. Jeff had bison ravioli. They had a train that goes around the top of the room along the walls at the restaurant. Jeff bought a couple of t-shirts.

We stopped at a store at the last minute and bought some Vortex binoculars in hopes to see animals at the park the next day. Chris sold us the binoculars and Cheryl put the straps on for us and brought out a map of the park. She wrote on it where we should see all the animals. She says she leaves at 4:30 in the morning to get to Lamar Valley in time to see the animals.

Map with Animal Sightings by Cheryl

We went home and watched Suits while I got breakfast (yogurt and snacks) ready for the next day.

Mule Deer

Bison

We headed for Lamar Valley. On our way, we had to stop for construction for about a half hour there and a half hour on the return. While there we saw tons of bison, white spots on a mountainside, supposedly mountain goats, and some sort of antelope. \240After leaving Lamar Valley, on the north side of the park, we saw a Mama Bear and her two cubs. We saw tons of bison, just walking along the roadside and taking their time to cross the road whenever they wanted to.

Supposedly Mountain Goats

We talked with a couple who evidently frequented Yellowstone often and knew what to look for. They pointed out the white dots they claimed to be mountain goats.

goats goats.

Pronghorn

Our walk on the boardwalk

We stopped to see the Artist Pots. In the spring it’s waterier and more like soup. Later in the year it’s more like stew (mud).

We parked on the road right before the Grand Prismatic Spring. The line to get into the parking lot was crazy busy. They were very pretty but what we remember from last time is you get such a better view from the upper outlook so we will do that tomorrow

We went straight into town for dinner and ate at Beartooth BBQ. Jeff had brisket with baked beans and I had pulled pork with coleslaw. We both had creamed corn with jalapeños. They brought huge portions of meat. Jeff’s brisket was wonderful and Michelle’s pork was good but a little dry. We bought the grandkids Yellowstone t-shirts, and baby Pope a onesie. \240 We did some more shopping around town, and bought Jeff a t-shirt. We shared a huckleberry ice cream. We ordered two scoops and the server was very generous and really gave us more like four scoops. We didn’t complain and ate every bit of it. We went back to the motorhome and watched Suits and Michelle made up breakfasts for the next day before going to bed.

Bison on the roadside. People and cars don’t seem to bother them much

Geysers everywhere after turning south off the main entrance road from the west

Biscuit Basin

Black Sand Geyser Basin

Old Faithful

We stopped at Old \240Faithful Lodge snack shop. Jeff got a blueberry muffin and coffee. I got a Kevita Pineapple Peach kombucha and a gf Prairie hunger buster oatmeal chocolate cookie-10 grams of protein. Both were very good.

Jeff talked to Russ about the yard turning brown by the barn and between the two buildings. \240The valves aren’t staying on. While he did that, I listened and read my devotions on Building Healthy Habits.

We sat outside and waited for Old Faithful to go off. It’s supposed to happen at 9:56 am but didn’t happen till about eight after ten. It lasted for about a minute and a half.

Old Faithful 12 minutes late

We went to the gift shop and bought postcards for the kids, grandkids, Mike and Ellen and Marcia, and a hat and mug for Jeff.

West Thumb Geyser Basin is about 32 minutes from Old Faithful. Then we will turn around and head back north.

West Thumb Lake

West Thumb Lake

West Thumb Lake

Fairy Falls and Grand Prismatic Overlook

Grand Prismatic Spring

Another traffic jam caused by a sleeping buffalo oblivious to all who pull over to take a picture.

Sleeping Buffalo

We had dinner at Madison Crossing in West Yellowstone.

Rest Stop Views

Memorial at the Rest Stop

Our campground was very nice. It might be the first place that has been fully paved. The mountains surround us with the snake River on one side.

We had a grocery store right next door to us so we bought a steak for dinner \240along with other groceries. Jeff asked the girl in front of us if we could use her phone number to get the store discount. She was very nice and allowed us to do that. It saved us $18.

We had rib-eyes, roasted sweet potatoes from the air fryer and a green salad.

After we cleaned up dinner dishes we walked about a mile and a half around the park. The river views were especially beautiful.

Snake River

Baby Girl Pope

We took off for Jackson about 9:30 am.

We ate breakfast at The Bunnery after I took a call from UT Southwestern getting me into their rheumatology clinic but not until April, 2024.

After walking through town, we hiked a beautiful, dusty hike through the Tetons.

We stopped and rested by the water. Such gorgeous reflections in the water.

Butterfly

Dusty, hot walk

Most famous photographed barn in the Tetons

We ate at a BBQ restaurant on the way out of town. Nothing gluten free but salad. Oh well…

We walked to the grocery store, Broulim’s. It was right next door to the RV resort. We bought groceries and a case of water to try to cover the next six days as we don’t anticipate many restaurants at Bryce and Zion.

We made dinner, we shared a pork chop on the grill, Mac’n cheese and a salad. We watched Suits.

Suits theme song Michelle loves to sing.😊

“See the money, wanna stay for your meal,

Get another piece of pie… for your wife.

Everybody wanna know what it feel

Everybody wanna see what it’s like

I’ll even eat a bean pie, I don’t mind

Me and Missy is so busy, busy making money All right?

All step back, I’m ‘bout to dance…

The Greenback Boogie.”

We got to our campground and washed the bugs off the windows again. We chilled for awhile and looked for places to eat dinner. We went to Costa del Sol. The restaurant was empty so we were a little concerned but it wasn’t bad. Jeff had fajita quesadillas and I had shrimp enchiladas.

I talked to TJ and Christine both this evening. TJ has been sick for over a week, first the stomach bug, then cold like symptoms, Matt has shingles, Roxanne has strep and Christine is going to a sleep study tonight. Oh my gosh!!!

We went to Costco for gas, Walmart and Home Depot for DEF, then came back to the MotorHome. We watched more Suits.

Views from the Ogden Walmart

Jeff put the DEF in the MotorHome, we showered then watched TV.

We came back to watch Suits with Mike Ross in prison!

Raining in the distance

We stopped at a Maverick station to have lunch and topped off the gas in the Motorhome.

View from the road

Walking around the RV Resort

A walk to the creek from the RV park

Kind of a dirty creek

FaceTiming with our little guy

Pope Family Pictures

We had brisket from the freezer and a salad with pea and asparagus salad for dinner.

We watched Suits and went to bed.

We walked to the end of the trail, Temple of Sinawava and hiked along the river to the Narrows.

We walked along the Weeping Wall Trail.

We walked the Grotto Trail to the Zion Lodge and had lunch. It was supposed to be a mile but was only about a half mile. Jeff and I both had the salad bar. Elaine was our waitress and talked about living in Anchorage, Alaska and working at Bryce Canyon, Zion, Acadia National Park, etc.

We rode the shuttle and walked a small hill to be able to see the patriarchs better. (Abraham, Isaac on the left and Jacob on the far right) Moroni was next to Jacob. I believe he is from the Mormon religion. We walked the Par’us trail to the Zion museum. We looked around the museum and watched the movie at 2:00. Then we got back on the shuttle and went to our car. We both were tired, almost 14,000 steps.

We walked a short walk around the park, bought Michelle a T-shirt from the park store and made dinner of hamburgers, asparagus/pea salad and Jeff some Bobbie’s potatoes and Michelle a salad. Jeff grilled some sausage for tomorrow.

We watched more Suits and went to bed.

Lots of Hoodoos from different angles.

We ate at the Lodge. Both of us had the salad bar and elk chili. Jeff had peach cobbler.

Natural Bridge was breath taking.

We stopped at Agua Canyon, Ponderosa Canyon, Black Birch Canyon, Rainbow Point and Yovimpa Point. Jeff didn’t want to do the “Stupid Bristlecone Loop”. We made our 10,000 steps so we called it a day.

Looking down over the edge

Walking up the mountain

Seeing the tunnel from our scary climb

A quick picture as we drove through the tunnel

The bigger window from the tunnel

We ate dinner at Bit and Spur in Springdale outside of Zion. I had sweet potato tamales and mayocoba beans. \240Jeff had cheese, beef and chicken enchiladas and rice.

Dinner at the Palm

Caesar’s Palace - The Forum

We walked down to the Mirage

New way of gambling

Not nearly as fun as with a real dealer. \240Jeff and I both played some blackjack machines after dinner and managed to lose $20 there and $20 earlier with the fake dealer.

While he was finishing up, Jeff and I made breakfast of smoked sausage and eggs in toast.

We went to the pool again. The temperature was in the 90’s and very warm. This should help get us prepared for the Texas heat we will be going back to.

Christine texted this morning saying she was going to be spending the day with Roxanne and sent pictures.

Girls day out

FOMO

We showered and prepared to go to the strip. We parked in The Mirage self park parking lot so we wouldn’t have far to walk after the show. We walked to Caesar’s Forum Shops to eat dinner at Carmine’s Italian Restaurant. Dexter, the waiter warned us that each thing you order off their menu will serve 2-4 people. Their salmon selection was 22 oz!! We had a Caesar salad which would have easily fed four people and shrimp marinara with gluten-free pasta. The pasta was made out of cornstarch and water, very different.

We gambled a little on the machines before going into the show. We stood in line for a strawberry daiquiri and a Jack and coke. The Beatles show was very entertaining. \240It was not quite what I expected, although cirque shows are usually filled with the unexpected. We loved all the songs.

A parachute type fabric was drawn over the entire audience

Breakfast Table

We went into Vegas to the Fashion Show Mall and walked around. TJ called telling me they were on the way to the hospital because Chandler was having contractions. He was pranking me, of course thinking it was funny. NOT!!!

Fashion Show Mall

We ate dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. Our waiter, Donny was 54 years old, and he looked 30. The next time we come to Vegas, Donny recommended Peppermill by Resorts World for dinner. He said it was great. He said Hard Rock was going to get rid of the volcano at The Mirage and put in a big guitar. He not only saw David Copperfield at his show, David called the police on he and his two boys because they were skateboarding outside his home. All was ok when the police arrived.

Jeff and I gambled at poker machines each with $20 and came out ahead thanks to Jeff’s awesome poker ability. Lol.

Waterfall at the Wynn

Limitless with Shin Lim

His trick worked for me but not for Jeff

Jeff got me a white Mirage zip up. Very cool! We stood in line for a cheesecake but the line was too long for people wanting gelato so we left.

We went home and had a piece of chocolate sheet cake for dessert instead while watching Suits.

As we were leaving I noticed similarities between Vegas and CT PALM TREES

Christine called with her sleep studies results. I’m praying the cardiologist can show all the results are in error.

Lake Mead on our way out of Vegas

Canal

Electricity from Hoover Dam

We set up the Motorhome and got our car washed and then went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. While we were eating, the rain came pouring down again.

Double Rainbow

Rainbow

Flooding in the Streets

Rainbow

We watched Suits and planned for the Grand Canyon tomorrow.

Bird in Flight

We ate lunch at Harvey House Cafe. I had bbq pork, fruit and cole slaw. Jeff had a cheeseburger and fries. The waiter said, “Have you heard the news? The rumors are true, we have the best dessert this side of the Mississippi.” However, we declined.

We took Highway 64 to the desert view tower. The road itself was 23 miles of not too scenic views but had a few pull offs to see the canyon.

We ate dinner at Mike and Rhonda’s Place. Jeff had chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes. I had salmon with mango salsa and sweet potato fries.

Bell Rock

Snakes are a little creepy

Jeff got a T-shirt. I got a Carmel apple and Jeff got a huckleberry ice cream before we left to go back home.

After we got home, I got caught up with Marcia after she had been in France and Mansfield, TX to help with little Lainey.

Jeff and I took a walk around the campground.

We ate a light dinner and then did laundry and watched Suits. Flagstaff KOA Holiday wasn’t our best campground. We just hope we can get out of here tomorrow.

Animal statues on top of the hill

Had a little accident pulling out of the Maverick station.

That door was a complete triangle. Jeff took the door off and stepped on it to make it flat again. And then was able to reattach it. He’s angry at himself for it happening. And I look at it like he is a miracle worker for not having an accident before now and that he’s smart enough to figure out how to reattach it to get us home. Just so thankful we are on our way home and that no one is hurt.

We got into Big Texan RV Ranch and washed the bugs off the front windshield. We took the shuttle to the Casino Thunder Road Restaurant. Jeff had prime rib and baked potato. I had filet and sweet potato. The steak was flat and didn’t look like a tenderloin but it was surprisingly good. Jeff wasn’t impressed with his prime rib. We bet our “free $5” each and lost all but 20 cents. We each put $20 in a poker machine and came out $4.25 ahead. I was $1.00 behind so Jeff won for both of us.

We walked back to the Motorhome and took a walk around the RV Park holding hands in the moonlight. So romantic.

We watched Suits till bedtime.

Walking outside the park

Signs of Texas

Cutting material

It feels good to be back in Texas especially since we just heard from Chandler saying she just went to her OB appointment, she is 3.5 cm dilated and they did a membrane sweep! Baby Pope could come anytime!!

What a fun trip this has been! \240Until next time…