December

We haven't done anything new and exciting this month. Just the usual stuff - coffee break, Senior lunches, Senior bus to Cody.

We did attend some of the activities for Christmas in Meeteetse. We had lunch at Lucille's for the chicken strip special, then went next door to the Elkhorn to hear a lady sing. That was our after dinner drink. If you wanted a special request there was a $3.00 donation as that is the price of a Senior meal and all the money she took in went to the Seniors. Then we went home for the rest of the afternoon and came back at 5:00 for the lighting of the tree. They reinstituted purchasing a string of lights in someone's memory to decorate a tree in Riverside Park. It was a brief ceremony and to the point. They read the names for the memorials and while one lady plugged in the tree lights the one from the Elkhorn sang "O Holy Night". Very appropriate. Then the names for the raffle items were drawn and the winners of the photo contest and house decorations were announced. After that there was soup and chili at the Senior Center and oyster stew and spaghetti dinner at the Community Church. So we did the Seniors first, then to the church for the rest. Lots of good food.

During the day they had a craft fair all day at the Senior Center, Santa was there from 2 - 4, and there were hay rides all afternoon. We didn't do any of that. I understand that it was all quite successful though. Santa had quite a lot of little kids and the hay ride wagon was nearly full for most of its runs around town. The ride lasted about 20 minutes, but I didn't find out where it went. The crafters seemed to do well.

It wasn't snowing that day, but was kinda cold and windy. There was also a basketball tournament going on. Guess the Museum was busy with people and kids waiting for their teams to play.

I have cleaned house so we can put up decorations. And we made some little fruit cakes one day. Still have to do some baking for our goodie plates, but can't do that until closer to time to give them out. Sunday is our Church Christmas dinner and we are bringing cheesey cauliflower.

We got our cards and letters out before the 10th, so we feel we are really organized this year.

We're Celebrities!!!

The U S Capitol Christmas Tree came through Meeteetse on its way from Thermopolis to Cody on Sunday, Nov 14th. Local papers reported that it was to be in those two towns on its way to Washington DC. Those were the only two towns in the basin that had scheduled stops. We wondered why it was coming way up here when they cut it near Jackson. The Park is closed so it couldn't go that way and going all the way around and back up here seemed strange.

Well, as more news reports were unveiled we learned it was crisscrossing all across Wyoming. Since this is the first time in history that a tree has been chosen from Wyoming it was a big deal. Kids from all over the state have been making decorations to send with it, as well as other groups of people. The towns selected for the scheduled stops were all having special events in honor of the tree. Thermop was having Mr & Mrs Santa Claus there, the Jr Hi band to play, and many other events. Cody was having the Hi School Choir sing, stores open for the event, the first 500 people would have their picture taken with the tree wearing Buffalo Bill goatees and mustaches, plus other stuff too.

The paper published a web site for the tree tour and I bookmarked it. This really is a Big Deal! Its kinda exciting to follow it along. They even have links to facebook and twitter. There is a tracking link. It tells where it is, but doesn't give the highway numbers.

We figured if it went from Thermop to Cody it would have to go through Meeteetse. Thought if I parked in front of the Museum I should be able to get a picture as it went whipping down the hill through town. It should go through around 2:00 p.m. as it was to leave Thermop at 1:00pm and be in Cody by 3:00pm. I guess it could have gone through Worland, Basin & Greybull to Cody, but that would be a longer trip and they only had two hours to get from one to the other. It would take approximately one and a half hours to get there, or a little less. Its a big truck and probably wouldn't be whipping down the road terribly fast. There was also quite a caravan of vehicles as they had law enforcement and another semi full of decorations, plus forest service people.

So Gma and I went down about 1:45 and its a good thing we went a bit early as there was a crowd starting to gather. We got the choice parking spot. The Museum was open so people could go in there to warm up. Was 37 degrees. Ann said the Fire Department went out to meet them. Her husband works there. They reported the caravan left Thermop at 1:08pm, so it would be awhile. Pretty soon three State Trooper cars came. The caravan was about 10 minutes behind them. They talked to Ann and she told them about this 102 year old that came to see the tree. They said they couldn't actually stop here, but they would "pause" for a brief time and the officers would escort Gma across the street. Wow! Great!!

These guys were the advance group for crowd control. They stopped traffic at the top of the hill and at the bridge. Said we'd have about 5 minutes. When the truck rolled to a stop the officers were right there to get Gma's arm. They really visited with her and she met all the truck drivers. The publicity girl asked it they could get a picture and post it on their blog. I said "sure". So they did. I even got in one. I did get lots of pics of them escorting Gma and of the crowd. The 5 minutes turned into 15 or 20, but everyone got to look in the one opening to see a few branches on the tree. And lots of people signed the banner on the side of the truck. The Forest Service lady gave Gma a complimentary gift. The bag had several things in it and Gma thought she was just to pick one, but the whole bag and contents were for her.

We found out lots of info about the tree and how much fun the "Tree Team" was having just because the people were so enthusiastic. They would stop anywhere along the route where there were people out to greet them. The couldn't officially stop, but they would "pause". Worked for us. They did put Gma's pic on their blog and on their facebook. It really was a fun and exciting thing. Glad we were able to be part of it.

Senior bus to Cody

What an adventure we had last Thursday. I wondered why I didn't see the little white rec bus anywhere and since it was getting late, I thought maybe I had missed it. I was quite surprised when a big yellow school bus picked me up at my parking spot. John said he'd sure be glad when we got our new bus. It's been ordered for over a year and is supposed to be delivered in Oct. This is Oct. Seems the little bus had a blow out when he came down the hill and he didn't have time to deal with it. Thought about calling all of us and cancelling, but then decided to take the ski bus. It's a big 30 passenger school bus, for 6 of us.

I didn't go all the way to the back row as I wouldn't have been able to visit or hear. He told us we could buy lots of stuff as we had plenty of room. Since this was such a bigger bus it was harder to maneuver around the parking lots. We took the wider street routes and the parking was farther away than usual. We got our exercise walking to the bus. He would have come and picked us up at the door, but everyone wanted to walk the extra miles. (Maybe not quite miles, but you get the idea)

The steps are much higher than we are used to, so one lady couldn't go with us as she just couldn't manage them. At the lunch place he parked by a curb so we didn't have to step so high for the first step. Didn't do much for steps 2 and 3. They were higher than the first one anyway. Besides by the time we finished lunch the parking lot was full and he would have had quite a time maneuvering that big monster around the parked cars. Not a lot of room.

On our way to Albertson's we just missed a bad accident at the intersection. It had just happened so we were stuck there until fire department, police, and ambulance arrived and took care of things before traffic could get moving again. By the time we finished our shopping the street was cleared, but there were still cop cars with their light flashing at the corner there. They must have been measuring and figuring out which one was at fault. Have to check the paper on this one.

Riding the Senior bus is always an adventure.

Castle Gardens & Murphy Draw

Tuesday we went back to Ten Sleep to Castle Gardens. Went in my subaru this time so I could use air conditioning. Took our water jug too. Got more pics of the Gardens than the first time as we weren't in a hurry and knew where we were going this time. There was another car there looking around. Then we took the Two Mile Road as we heard there were more rock formations on around the hill. Well there weren't any of those kinds of rocks, but after about 6 miles we did run into some pretty bad lands with interesting formations and a bit of color. It was actually 10 miles from the Two Mile junction back to the highway. Don't know who names their roads.

Had lunch in Worland and I took pics of the big mammoth in front of the new Museum. He's quite impressive.

Then on our way back down Gooseberry, Gma asked if I wanted to go down Murphy Draw and come out at Little Buffalo Basin. Well, sure! She said she didn't know how the road would be as its been many many years since she was on it. But it looked good and it does get used quite a bit. So away we went. It was really pretty back in there. She told me about a reservoir that used to be out there somewhere and an old cabin. They went ice skating there one time and kept warm in the cabin. Had to chip the snow off before they could skate. Anyway we didn't see it because she didn't remember exactly where it was and its not there anymore anyway. ok. There were several junctions out there so I can see how one could get lost out in there, if you didn't know where you were going. There is oil activity out there and I suppose hunting too. The roads look well gravelled and we didn't have any trouble getting around. The pics are on picasa. There was traffic on that road too. We met one pickup.

It was kinda fun and looks like a place to do more exploring sometime. Probably in the truck though, and with someone who knows the area. Gma says those roads are longer than they used to be. She doesn't remember going on for such a long time before getting to the highway. I figured she probably didn't use the same road that is there now. They probably took off across country on a cow path or something. That would be shorter.

Tonight we went to Cody to have dinner with several friends in honor of Fendt's 59th anniversary. They go to Michigan in a couple of weeks.

Discovered I have a headlight out again. On the passenger side this time. Hope its just a loose connection again, as that's quick and easy to fix. Too many rough roads.

Tomorrow is bus day, so will stop in and get the light fixed after I get back.

Yes! Where did September go???

Shortly after we came back from our 5 generation trip to CA we went to Mt to see hay bales. We do this nearly every year. Its always fun and interesting to see all the different things those clever people come up with year after year. That was Tuesday Sept 14th.

Wednesday the 15th was the Mtse Firemen's appreciation dinner at the fire hall, so we went to that. A yearly thing.

Thursday Sept 15 we had company from Iowa and Ten Sleep. Took them out to lunch and had a really good visit.

Friday the 17th Gma had a dr appt check up on her carpal tunnel. It is healing just great. Can't even tell where they did the surgery, but she still has some tingling in her fingers now and then. Guess it takes quit awhile for that all to go away as her nerve was pinched very tight..

Sunday the 19th we took a drive down the upper Gooseberry. Went up WoodRiver to a turn off that goes up Brackney Hill, then there is a fork in the road where the county quits maintaining. One direction goes to the head of Gooseberry and the Wall Rock. The other way goes past Renner's, Larsen's, and Dickey's LU sheep ranch. That's the way we went. When Gma went on that road before it was the only road that way. Now there are all kinds of roads branching off here and there (oil roads). But it was interesting. Bumpy, but interesting just the same. It comes out just east of the Gooseberry rest area and bridge.

Tuesday Sept 22 we went to Anchor Dam. Couldn't actually get to the dam part as they had gates across the road, but we got close. There is another road out there that I think goes to Grass Creek, but not sure. Will have to explore that one some other time. Had lunch at the Pumpernickel Cafe in Thermop and I ran into one of my classmates there, and her sister, who was in my sister's class, and their cousin, and a daughter of one of them. Then we went down Cottonwood. Another dirt road that I had never been on. Gma has, but it seemed much longer this time. She didn't remember these roads as going on so long.

Thursday, Sept 23 I took the bus to Cody since I hadn't done that for several weeks. That night we went to Senior Citizens supper.

Friday, Sept 24th we took a tour of the lower loop of Yellowstone. Couldn't get from Canyon to Roosevelt Lodge anyway as there was a fire that way. So we went from Canyon to Norris and over the new Gibbon River bridge. It wasn't quite finished and we had to wait for construction. They were putting the asphalt down, so was one way traffic for quite a way. Lots of cars being held up. While we waited for the pilot car to lead us we counted 113 vehicles that they had brought through. Couldn't tell how many in our line as I couldn't see how far they went beyond the curve. The road never did straighten out enough for me to see the end of our line in my mirror. We had our picnic lunch along the Firehole River. It was kinda cool out there with the breeze by the river. The temp wasn't all that cool though. Several other people that stopped went back to their cars for heavier jackets too.

Tuesday, Sept 28th we went to Ten Sleep to see Castle Gardens, then went into town for lunch with our Ten Sleep friends. Was a fun day, but got hot before we got home. We went in the pickup as we didn't know how the dirt road would be. Last time Gma went there it was quite rutty and we didn't want to straddle big ruts in my little subaru. It was very nicely graveled now. Will have to go back again before the weather gets bad as I lost all the pics I took. When I put my camera card in the computer I got a different kind of box and when I pushed the button it erased the card. Fortunately I had already put everything before that on the computer so just lost the ones I took that day. Grrrrrrr!!! Will have to get the lunch pics from one of the others.

Sept 29th I went to Hardin to pay bills and rake sticks. The sticks were already gone, so didn't have to do that. Went to therapy with Pat after her dental appt. Got a bunch of Spuddie pics scanned, and all the housework I intended to do is done for this trip.

Now its October already. Looking back it's no wonder Sept went so fast. We never slowed down.

California trip - 5 Generations - Whooee!!

We missed all the Meeteetse Labor Day celebrations because I went to Hardin to pay bills and when I got back to Meeteetse it was time to head to CA. Gma said she didn't care about Labor Day as she'd seen all that stuff before anyway. OK. Works for me!

We left at 6:00 a.m., had lunch at Little America, and made it to St George, Utah. It was a long day, but we got there about 6:45 p.m. which wasn't bad. Usually we make it to Cedar City around 6:00 p.m. and St George is only about an hour farther. I liked St. George. It was easy off and easy on the Interstate. We stayed at a Motel 6 which was only half a block from a Denny's. Very convenient. There were at least three other motels on that same street. Will definitely stay there again. The motel guy even called after we got into our room to see if everything was working and in good order. It was. Another reason for getting as far south as we could was so that we could get an earlier start across the desert.

Left St George shortly before 7:00 a.m. Had called Ed to let him know where we were and when we might be going through Vegas. He was already on his way to Mary's. That was good. We had cloud cover for most of the day, so wasn't too hot. It did get up to 95 at Baker, but then we went over a hill and it dropped down to the high 80s. Got to Mary's fairly early, too early to check in the motel, so just visited and got to meet Charlie. What a little cutie!! Bonnie had sent a couple of packages so Lexie had a mini shower. Got lots of goodies for her and for Charlie, too.

Wednesday was dinking around day. Went to a park to play, visited, played with Charlie, ate, and before we knew it it was time to go the Pachenga for pictures. All parties arrived at pretty much the same time. Had fun taking lots and lots of pics. Even though we had a professional photographer everyone was snapping their own pics anyway.

Paynes met us there and were waiting in the lobby for dinner. It was good. Charlie slept through the whole thing (pics, being wrassled around, dinner, the whole bit). Gracie and Libby were very good. They got lots of running time while we were doing pics so they behaved at dinner very well. I was impressed. Had a good visit with the Paynes. Sure glad they could be there. We don't see enough of them.

Thursday was visiting and relaxing. I went to Gracie's school to tell one of my stories. Did the "Little Dove" one. Then I got my picture taken with the class. They were cute. Gracie introduced me and then she introduced me again after I was finished. That worked!

We got another full day with Charlie and Lexie too. Ed fixed biscuits and gravy for breakfast for us and then he made French Dips for lunch. Very good. He made is own brand of salsa, two batches. One was supposedly mild and the other hot. You could actually taste the mild before it started to burn. I didn't even attempt the other. I'm not real keen on lots of hot stuff anyway.

Said our goodbyes Thursday night as we were leaving early Friday morning. Ed called and said he'd meet us and caravan with us to Vegas. We could have lunch there. I suggested we meet him in Jean instead of Vegas. When I started through there, I wasn't stopping. So that's what we did. Called each other at potty stops to see if we were still together. Had a good lunch at Jean and then followed Ed the rest of the way into Vegas until he turned at his exit.

We had a super good time and Gma loved every minute of it. We stayed in Nephi, Utah Friday night, then home Saturday. Gma wasn't too tired and worn out after this trip. Probably because it wasn't too hot. It never got up to 90 on our way back. Only 89 at Baker. And this trip was Gma's idea and she really wanted to to this. She was calling the shots on this one. She kept telling people what a great time she had and Charlie was sooo cute. She said for a big baby he was sure little. She got a lot of cuddle time. He was such a good baby. So cooperative. But then look at his ancestors. How can he not be beautiful and perfect??

August Happenings

Gosh, we've been busy for awhile. August was full of doing "stuff".

8-7-10 We went to Sheridan to see all the statues around the streets there. Pat had told us about them and had pics. Looked like something we'd want to see. Gma sat in the car where I managed to find shady spots to park. Then I ran around snapping pics for several blocks at a time. They had lots of statues.

8-12-10 One day we took a ride to Louis Lake. Went through Sinks Canyon out of Lander and over the mountain to the lake and came out on South Pass. So went to South Pass City and Atlantic City just because we could. Have been there before, but its been years ago. We didn't stop and look around there, but did drive through them to be sure they were still there. We had a picnic lunch at Louis Lake. I'd never been there before and its a beautiful area. All dirt and gravel roads, of course.

8-14-10 Pat called us one day and said the Patriot Guard would be bringing a flag through Cody that morning on the way to Jackson. Did we want to meet them in Cody for coffee break? Sure. Why not? So off we went and it turned out to be quite impressive to see them parade the flag down the street to the Harley place. Took pics then went to coffee at the Irma before they left on their way through the Park to Jackson. Got back in time for the Senior picnic in the park.

8-20,21,22-10 Two Steeles came for a visit and we took them all over the country in three days. Went to Joe and Joy's one day and had a scrumptious fish fry. Good visit, beautiful country, and just plain fun. Joe met us at the store and I rode with him in his "ol' truck". That wasn't a ride, it was an experience. Managed to get some decent pics of the route in spite of bouncing around.

The next day we took them down Gooseberry. That should have been a couple of hours trip, tops. Took six hours. We all got our history lessons and stopped every little whip stitch to take pics. Lots of fun. Stopped at Woody's but they weren't home. The guys checked out the back lot with all the junked cars and had a ball. Went into Worland for lunch and stopped by the cemetary where the Steele grandparents are buried. After we got back to Meeteetse I took John up to Kirwin. He really wanted to see that. We left here at 4:00pm and got up there at 6:00pm. Of course we had to take pics along the way while the light was good. Then he went into several of the buildings and a mine before the sun got too low behind the hills. Actually it was only about 45 minutes of exploring time. Got back down the hill before it got dark for which I was grateful. I really didn't want to have to be driving down that road in the dark. It's bad enough in the daytime. We made it. Then the guys and I went to the Cowboy for supper. That also happened to be the night that Craig Johnson was giving a talk about his newest book. Had forgotten about that and I wanted the book too. The Johnsons and sponsors came to the Cowboy too, so it all worked out. We got to buy his book and they even bought his first one, which he signed for them. Then photo op time. They also bought some of Big Jim's books and listened to some of Jim's stories. Great time!

Sunday they met us at Church, then lunch. After lunch Gma and I went to Griffin's 50th Anniversary. I was scheduled to take pictures for them. The Steeles went to Thermop for swimming and to see the dinosaur museum. Met them for supper at the ElkHorn, then they left early the next morning to catch their flights from Cody.

8-24-10 Went to LaBarge to eat in the New York Diner one day. Met Dawn there which was fun. She's such a good jolly person. The Diner is "Moondance" and was trucked there from New York as it was scheduled to be demolished there. These people in LaBarge heard about it and bought it to save it. Then brought it back here on a flatbed. Took over a year to get it fixed up and ready to open for business. On our way back we stopped at Fontenelle Dam, just because its there. Never been in there before. Now we have. On our way back down South Pass we took the dirt road that goes through Red Canyon there. Sure is pretty down there. Gives a whole different perspective on the red cliffs from down below.

8-26,27,28-10 The Meeteetse Trail Regulators were here for a few days. They spent a lot of time at the rifle range. We went out there for their final shoot out and watched. Took some pics, but we didn't shoot. This year their big dinner was scheduled at Trail Town in Cody with a tour and talk by Clay Gibbons. Gma didn't want to go for all that, it would have been too long a sitting for her. We did go to the Oasis for breakfast with them Saturday morning and visited. Good to see all of them every year.

Then August was over and its time to start on the September adventures.