Salt River

The Salt River

A pretty fishing river along thr Idaho/Wyoming border. 

Watch this space as travel is coming soon.

Little Flower

No matter what the terrain, a flower will try to bloom and brighten your day. A lesson we need to keep in mind!

Memorial Day

It's Memorial Day...a day to remember all of those who fought in wars to ensure our freedom and independence. These are real heros...not athletes or show business folks. Today my hat is off and my prayers are for the unsung American Veteran. Thank you for your sacrifice. 

Chocolate RIver

Today we took a drive to Jackson. The scenery was spectacular. Last week there were fields upon fields of yellow dandelions...this week the flowers are gone. They were replaced by greenery and snowy topped mountains.

We had a rainy day this past week, and more snow fell on the mountains. Nevertheless it was just the right temperature. The most surprising sight was the Snake River.   

I've never seen it so muddy! It looked like a river of chocolate. At the confluence of the Snake and Grays Rivers, near Alpine we noticed the muddy Snake River merge with the relatively clear Grays River. Twenty miles away, at the confluence of the Snake and Hoback Rivers, we saw the source of the mud. The Hoback was super muddy and the Snake was relativelyclear. The run off into the Hoback is causing the mud. 

The water level has risen since last week too. We could see the walls of the canyon last week, this week, they were underwater. 

The high country is pretty this time of year.

 

White Day

White Day and Other Signs of Spring Today was "white day" which is not a racist comment, but a comment on the berry blossoms. Today is the day when the majority of the berry bushes send out tons of white blossoms. White Day is pretty spectacular as it's rare to see so many flowers bloom at exactly the same time.Tomorrow most of the blooms will be gone. It's a very short natural event.

I like to see White Day, but we are not always here when it happens. This summer we arrived a bit early.

There are other signs of spring. 

You might call this a dandelion and therefore a weed...but up here it's a bright flower of spring.

About 16 years ago we planted a bunch of vinca with the idea they would spread all over the garden. Now it's years later...and they are in exactly the same spots we planted them. 

One more sign of spring are the nests...this robin's nest has already been abadoned. In a good year, mama robin will raise 4 or 5 broods of chicks.  

 

 

 

 

 

Snowy Mountains

 

The local valleys are ringed by snowy mountains. 

Caribou Mountain

Elk Horn (mountain with 2 peaks)

Bridger Tetons ... see the yellow flowers...those are dandelions! This time of year we call them wildflowers. In a few days the yellow will turn to white puff balls and the field will look "snowy."

The mountains near Jackson

Given the fact that there is snow in the mountains, the valley floor is dry. 

 

Back in Wyoming

We are back to our "home" state of Wyoming. We went from sea level and late spring to over 6000 feet and early spring. The valley is ringed by snow-covered mountains. When we left CA the days were warming up to 90. I don't think we'll see 90 here all summer! 

The Snake River is flowing swiftly and the water level is high. 

The mountain west had a wet winter and spring might be slow in coming.

 

No matter what the kids are playing soccer...and it's cold!

 

More...

I sent a picture of the GTX to my friend Earl….here’s what he said about it… “I think it is a Challenger with the 440 cubic inch engine and a ‘six-pack’, i.e., three two-barrel carburetors, hopefully installed with progressive linkage.   That means that around town in ‘normal’ driving conditions only the middle two-barrel carburetor is providing the air-gas mixture to the intake manifold.   Then, when the driver pushes his foot down on the accelerator, when the middle carburetor is three-quarters of the way toward wide open, the two end two-barrel carburetors start to open.   As the middle carburetor goes from three-quarters open to fully open, the two end two-barrel carburetors go from fully closed to wide open.    As you may imagine, the owner of such a car is not interested in the miles-per-gallon of fuel consumption.” I know that’s more than you wanted to know…but that’s what the 440–6 stands for. A true gas guzzling beast.

BTW, he's writing about the "sister car" to the Plymouth GTX...the Dodge Challenger...they were virtually twins except for the brand. 

Plymouth GTX

You know how I like old cars...and today I saw a 46 year old beauty --- A 1971 Plymouth GTX.

The GTX was manufactured by Plymouth between 1967 and 1971. This is the third "iteration" of the car, and less than 4000 were made. I wonder how many are still around? This beast can move with her huge 440-6 engine turning  a whomping 385 horsepower. A hemi was made that was even more powerful. One of the last of the "Muscle Cars" what was built for fun. 

She definitely does not look like the modern "refrigerator" car ... she has personality and attitude! You should hear her roar!

How about that spoiler? And the back louvers. 

The name plate is gone

But the car is still alive and well. 

 

Going East

It's that time of year when we pack up the RV and go east. 

This year we are more heavily packed as we have stuff for a European cruise and another big camping trip. Watch this space for pictures.

Our first stop was Reno. That's Mt. Rose in the background and she has more snow on her than I've seen in a long time. The big tall building in the mid-ground is the Atlantis Casino which is about 20 stories tall...that gives a good idea how tall Mt. Rose is as she looms behind the city.

Today we climbed the two big passes...Golconda and Emigrant on I-80. It felt like we were on the top of the world, but it was only 6,114 feet. Given that, the snow level was down to 6,000 feet. We have driven this route for many many years, and it's rare to see this much snow. The west had a wet winter. The rivers are swollen but we have not seen signs of recent flooding. 

I wonder what is in store once we get into Idaho?

 

Number 8

The blanket that took forever! I started it right after Easter and 3 weeks later it's done! Rarely does it take me that long to mke a blanket! As a consolation it's pretty and very cosy. A Project Linus child will like it a lot.

SouthWest

This past weekend I flew to LAX on SouthWest. The airline industry has received bad press recently, and rightly so, yet I only have praise to report. On Friday morning, I was part of a group of 3 women, 2 in wheelchairs. The nice folks at the airport bent over backwards to help my wheeled companions. Upon arrival in LAX, the reception was exactly the same. On Sunday, my wheelchair group increased to three. Again, the folks treated us as valued clients as we were wheeled thru a myriad of lines and airport construction. A clot of 3 wheelchairs is very awkward to work around...yet the nice folks at SouthWest helped us with a cheerful smile. Back at our home airport, we received the same treatment.  SouthWest Airlines personnel were courteous, friendly, and helpful. Kudos to them for a job well done. United--American--please look to the low cost leader for a good flying experience.  Thank you SouthWest!