Our 46th Wedding Anniversary Trip

May 29th through June 16, 2011

Denver - The First Three Days

May 29, 30, and 31st.

 

The first three days: As written

We woke up at 4AM and were on the road by 4:30. The miles seemed to fly by and we listened to a Tony Hillerman book –The People of Darkness- and enjoyed each other’s company. We saw no antelope but had nice pleasant weather once we left the Wichita area.  We arrived at the Drury Inn on Dry Creek Road around noon Denver time, had lunch at Bono’s BBQ where we got a 15% discount because of where we were staying. By the way, our room was a beautiful 2 room suite on the 6^th floor and we were very well received by the staff.  We then headed to one of our favorite places, the Denver Theatre Center where we purchased half price tickets, because we are old, you know, and went to see Billy Elliot.

 

 

The show was wonderful with incredible dancing and pretty fair music. It was an incredible way to begin this wonderful journey. We finished this first day by stopping at Whole Foods and picking up a decedent desert which we should have felt guilty about except we didn’t. It was scrumptious! The evening meal at the motel was just adequate but Linda had two fairly stout drinks, a Margarita, and a Tequila Sunrise, the “best” part of the dinner meal provided free to guests at the motel.

Sunday morning we got up, had a nice breakfast at the motel and went to the Mile High Flea Market where all we spent was the money to get in and a soda pop. Then we hurried down to Coors Field where we got Pavilion Tickets and saw a very good ballgame. The Rockies lost 4-3 to the ST. Louis Cardinals, but the company was superb and the time was well spent. Parking was $15 and we forgot our hats.  We met a very nice family who offered to send their teenage son and friends to our car to get our hats for us and, they did just that. It was so nice and such a nice way to spend the day. It was Armed forces day at the ballpark and there were many military present and special ceremonies before and during the game. We sat behind a young couple about to embark on a journey to Senegal for a year. After the game we were rather wiped out and simply came back to the motel and crashed.

This morning we got up and had another motel breakfast which was filling and went on a drive to Mt. Evans.  We got to about mile 4 and decided the wind was blowing so hard and the road was so very narrow that we did not want to risk going any higher. The sheep and goats hide behind rocks when the wind is so bad so we probably did not miss them.  We took a new route back to Denver and it was a most pleasant drive through Squaw Pass.

We spent several hours at the Denver Botanical Gardens where we walked and took many pictures of all the beautiful flowers. This is one of the places we most enjoy going and we missed seeing last year. Since today is Memorial Day, “Le Central”, our restaurant of choice was closed so we ended back at Bono’s and it was really good. If we feel up to it we are going to a movie tonight but not certain yet.

 

 - In Retrospect:

I suppose in retrospect I would say Billy Elliot was the highlight although turning around half way up on Mt. Evans was the best decision. In turning around we exercised not only good judgment but also found a nice alternative drive through the scenic mountains of Colorado. We established a nice leisurely pace that for us was new. We tried not to go constantly and we tried to slow down and not hurry anywhere. The pace we were to keep on this trip for us was nice and easy even when we were worn out. For others it might have seemed that as always we tried to do too much but for us, well, we really slowed down and it was nice. The entire trip cost us less than $3200 and we did not need help from anyone to make it. We were under budget as we actually budgeted $3300. Our oldest daughter provided us with a room for three days at the beginning of the trip and at the end and used accumulated points to pay for it. We had found a similar hotel on Hotwire for about $275 so this savings was really appreciated. It also did not cost her anything as she felt she would never use the points for that hotel. Our youngest daughter and her husband took care of our dog and that was a nice gift that saved us about $225 of kennel cost. The only other gift we received from anyone for our anniversary was from wonderful strangers in Moab who were camped next to us and gave us two really nice camp chairs. We were really touched by their generosity and the fact they cared so much in such a short time.

We went to a Rockies Ballgame and sat in a new section where we also talked with very nice young couple.  We paid for us an almost unheard of price of $30 each for seats that were only interesting and not superb. A visit to the Botanical Gardens where we got in free because we are members of our Wichita Gardens was another highlight and a way to slow us down. It was a very nice way to find some peace we wanted as we began this trip.

An interesting note is that we planned for a 2500 mile trip and about 1000 miles of "fun" driving. We actually drove a little over 4732 miles.  We figured 24 miles to a gallon of gas and we actually did 25.4. We had budgeted about $750 for gas on much less mileage and we spent $749 -our most expensive cost.

 

 

 

The Drive to Mesa Verde National Park and of course the stay at Mesa Verde

 

 

June 1, 2, 3,

Actual Journal

Today is June 1^st and we are taking the time to update our journal of this marvelous trip. Monday night to end our first Denver stay this trip, we went to the Mayan Theatre and saw “Queen to play” starring Kevin Kline and it was gentle and moving and fun. We climbed the three flights of stairs and sat down front because it was a big crowd for this movie. We returned to the motel and fell asleep after some needed personal time. We watched Lady Gaga and to our pleasant surprise we really liked her Madison Square Garden Monster Ball show.

We got up on Tuesday morning and drove to Mesa Verde where we got a nice camp site and the weather was very nice.  Somewhere just before we got to Del Norte on 160, a huge rock came and imploded on our windshield. We were extremely fortunate no one was killed as it left a softball sized circle of cracks on the passenger side of the window.  We drove past chimney Rock and up the Mesa later that night and enjoyed the rest of the day.

Today we got up early after a nice night and drove to the Spruce Tree House where we walked the very steep walk down and back. It was especially gratifying and enjoyable more so b because we had tried to do this same walk a little over 2 years ago without being able to.  We had a very nice time and a Ranger named Tamara took our pictures and in general helped make this a highlight of this vacation day.  I climbed down into a pit and Linda took my picture as I climbed out of it.  Then we went on a drive to the Wetherill area where we took a tram ride and visited even more sites. We saw what appeared to be a wild horse and in many ways was a wild horse but also was the property of an Indian Tribe that wandered freely and had just ended up there. We received a call telling us our daughter Jamie had been in a rather serious accident and this caused us much concern however it seems she is fine and it was not her fault. We drove into Cortez and had a nice dinner and picked up some allergy medicine for me as my eyes were watering fiercely from smoke in the air from a fire hundreds of miles away. We decided to spend a rather quiet night at our campsite and just relax before our trip to Moab tomorrow.

 

 

We are thankful to our God for protecting us yesterday and our daughter Jamie today. We are also thankful for the nice time we are having.

 

 

In Retrospect:

 

Near Del Norte, we took a huge rock that was so big it left a softball sized circle on Linda's side of the car on the front window. We were very terrified. I thought we had blown a tire. We stopped and had it checked and found that no one would have the glass to replace the window and that it could not be sealed to prevent the crack spreading. We made the obvious decision to continue and deal with it as needed. We called and informed our agent and went on. This too proved to be a good decision. We drove past Chimney Rock and also past a totally unexpected large statue of Christ in the Rockies. It was pretty and we took pictures, of course.  For me Mesa Verde was a special visit to a very spiritual place. I wonder where the people went and who they were and how they survived on the Mesa. The walk down to Spruce Tree House was difficult yet I really appreciated the fact that Linda decided to try to walk it and succeeded. This was an effort that she would make many times during this trip. She stretched herself often and I was aware she did this both for herself but more especially because of her love for me and our desire to have a great trip which we did. The altitude was difficult for both of us. Walking was not especially easy. The campsite was among the most quiet campsites we have ever been in. We had deer in the campsite and again it was a good start to this trip.

Treasure Falls just out of Pagosa springs was full as were all the water falls we saw and just as beautiful. Mesa Verde remains a very special place for me even if I am not certain why and we probably may not get to visit again. I am not certain why but I will always treasure this visit here.

 

 

Moab -Canyon lands and Arches National Parks

June 3, 4, 5

 

 

 

Actual:

June 3^rd

We left Mesa Verde and drove to Moab. At first the land was somewhat barren but the closer came to Moab the more spectacular and beautiful the land became. Tall singular rocks framed by beautiful snowcapped mountains and wonderful ancient red rock cliffs lined the drive. We got a tent camping site close to showers in Moab and the nice people at Tag A Long tours gave us 20% off on three trips which we will begin tomorrow morning –actually this morning as I am writing about yesterday, today. We ended the day by going to Deadhorse Point where you have the most scenic overlook and an incredible sunset view. We met a couple who had been married 47 years and one who had been married 59 years which made us seem like newlyweds. It was a nice romantic if crowded evening. We shared our tent site with the most interesting Utah people le – one of whom was married to Nicole Jordan a somewhat famous romantic novelist. All in all it was a very nice day!

 

In Retrospect:

We began the stay here by visiting Deadhorse Point which was a beautiful sunset and vista area. We saw a narrow road at the bottom of the point that two days later we were to travel in a 4 wheel drive vehicle up. This was to be one of the most exciting drives we have ever taken but more later about this. At Deadhorse Point we met other people celebrating as we were and in fact we met a nice couple that had been married 13 years longer than us and one that had been married a year less. It was the most beautiful place we visited during our stay in Moab. The next morning we went "white watering on the Colorado" and it was a very nice trip although the white watering part was really just a very pleasant ride. That afternoon we drove up into Arches and tried to walk to

Landscape Arch but we had started too late in the day and simply could not do it. We drove to a point where we could clearly see and took pictures of Delicate Arch which was pretty.

 

 

 

 The next morning we went off roading into Arches NP with a French couple and had a really good trip. We saw mostly desert and red rock and a couple of rarer not often seen arches. That afternoon we went back and walked to Landscape Arch. On the walk Linda needed her spay once and she did just fine. While we have pictures of this famous Arch, I am not so sure we would do this walk again as the reward is mostly in the doing of the walk which is very much up and down. The next morning, our anniversary, we got up and went 4 wheeling on the Rim road. We started at the bottom of Canyon lands and drove the most narrow of roads to the top along sheer drop offs that were very exciting to say the least. We visited the famous Thelma and Louise movie site and had our pictures taken there. The drive down from the top of Deadhorse Point was as exciting as the drive up the rim had been. 

 

 

This drive was easily the highlight of the stay here in Moab, which was a town that saw money each time a visitor showed up. Moab was easily the most tourist town on our trip. We were treated very well by the Tag A Long Company which booked all three of our trips and gave us great guides and a 20% discount which was very much appreciated. We liked the guides so much we left each of them a small tip of about $10 each. It wasn't much but we hoped it said thank you! Our camp grounds were sort of expensive but had very nice showers and we had great neighbours. The location was perfect. We ate at a very good Mexican Restaurant and a so so diner. We left on our anniversary day and drove to Vernal Utah another huge touristy town. We stayed in a motel where we overpaid and were glad to leave the next morning.

 

While we probably will not do the Arches-Canyon lands thing again, we enjoyed what we did and are glad we did it.

 

The Drive through flaming gorge National Recreation Area to Jenny Lake

June 6, 2011

 

Actual

June 6

Today we got up and drove through the Flaming George National Recreation Area on our way to Jackson and the Tetons. We had never been this way before and it was a beautiful drive. We drove across the Dam at Flaming Gorge and took pictures. We then drove the opposite side to see the wonderful panoramic views of the Gorge. We drove into Jackson and were amazed at the level of snow and the high water of the Snake River. We got our favorite camping spot at Jenny Lake –site 50 and left in the rain to explore. We saw moose and went to Jackson where we bought cheap -$10 a piece – sweat suits. We returned to find our tent had been flattened by a 50 mile an hour wind and the rain. We reset our tent in the rain and actually sleep pretty well.  Again a very nice day!

 

 

In Retrospect:

This was a very pretty drive and an easy drive from Vernal. Something you would want to do once.

 

 

Jenny Lake

June 6, 7, 8

 

Actual:

June 7

We spent the day looking at and for animals. We found them. We found a mother moose and a very young calf on the road to Moose Junction. We got a picture of the calf being swept down a rapidly flowing river.  The calf was fine.

We drove Antelope flats road and took pictures of buffalo and the small but beautiful calves. It rained on and off all day.

 

 

We saw a bull moose on the road to the Teton Village – this was clearly our best moose sighting day.

 

 

June 8- Day three in the Tetons- Our Bear Day

We got up and visited the National Elk refuge driving out behind the actual refuge looking for Big Horn sheep but did not see any.

Then…..

We drove out Pacific Creek road and enjoyed the view but saw no animals.  We then drove up toward Coulter Bay and found a “bear jam”. We stopped and took a long blurry picture of the rear end of a beautiful blond grizzly bear. We waited for everyone including the Rangers to leave the scene. Only a young photographer, an older photographer and us were left. I got tired of waiting and after about 20 minutes or so I started to pull out…..”Linda yelled, Oh my God! John, Stop!” I slammed on the brakes and looked up and saw the huge Beautiful Blond Grizzly was standing less than twenty feet from our car.

I stood outside the car and took pictures and Linda took pictures as fast as she could from inside the car. I gently but firmly warned the young photographer that the bear was only a few feet from him. He wisely did not run but slowly walked away from the bear and started taking pictures. We three enjoyed the company of this bear for about ten minutes prior to a new bear jam developing. This was indeed a once in a lifetime event and it was fabulous.

The night was cold and rainy but no wind and we were warm and dry.

 

 

In Retrospect:

We arrived well after 4PM and to our surprise found the exact campsite we wanted at Jenny Lake -#50. We set up our tent and thought we had secured it well. Much to our surprise when we returned for the night, in the cold rain, we found our tent completely down and in the cold sleet rain we reset up the tent in only about ten minutes and did it together without any issues. Age and love won out! That night we saw a moose and her calf and went into Jackson and bought sandwich food which lasted several days and was a great idea.

 

 

The next morning we got up and went looking for animals. We found  two moose cows and calves one of which we took a picture of as the calf almost drowned in a swift stream and the other one was almost orange and nursing it's mother up at Jackson Lodge.  We simply drove and enjoyed ourselves each day we were here. The Antelope flats road drive was especially nice as we saw buffalo up close and personal.

The most important thing that has ever happened to us in the Tetons however was, is "our Blonde Bear" experience.  People ask constantly how close we got to this wonderful bear. They want to know why we got so close. The answer is simple! We did not get close to our bear.! The bear came close to us and we did NOT move - except to take as many pictures as we could.  There can be no doubt this was a once in a lifetime experience. The bear was beautiful, large, healthy, and just perfect. We never felt in danger at any moment and to be clear even though we were protected by our Mustang Convertible, the Bear could have done anything the bear wanted to with us. Our only protection was the bear seemed to be shy and calm and even had what seemed to be a gentle bearing.

Of course we went to Oxbow Bend where we want our ashes to be scattered and it was wonderful. Of course we went out Pacific Creek Road and overlook and saw no animals this time but it too was wonderful. We drove the complete circuit several times. The weather was partially rainy, partially sunny and sometimes very windy yet we found the weather perfect.

 

 

Yellowstone National Park

June 9, 10 and 11

 

Actual

We woke up at Jenny Lake to find ice crystals on our tent however we got up and broke camp and headed to Yellowstone. While it was a beautiful ride, it was raining and a little snowy when we got to the entrance to the Park. We continued on to Canyon around past Yellowstone Lake. We arrive and checked in at the Canyon Lodge.  We drove over Tower Falls to the Lamar Valley and it was a really nice drive although there were “millions” of people at Tower Falls and we did not even stop. That evening we drove to Fishing Bridge where we saw and photographed, a grizzly going over a mountain, a grizzly mom and her cub in the snow, a big grizzly behind a wood fence close to the junction of Fishing Bridge and also a coyote and a wolf.

Oh yes, Linda discovered that she had lost her two carat diamond bracelet. She was distraught to say the least and it was not a happy moment. Turned out just fine though!

 

 

June 10

We drove to Tower over the mountain road once again and this time we saw Big Horn sheep and on the way to Mammoth Hot Springs, we saw nicely racked elk. We stopped at Tower Falls and took pictures.

We stopped for an overpriced and terrible serviced lunch at an Arby’s in West Yellowstone.

We continued past all the geysers into Old Faithful where we were treated so very nice. Our room, #50, at the Old Faithful Inn was on the first floor and the windows opened to a view of Old Faithful. We had a very nice though somewhat expensive dinner at the famous dining room there. We watched Old Faithful from the veranda and then again in the very dark rainy evening. Staying at the Old Faithful Inn was a serious highlight of this trip. The Inn is wonderful and the people there treated us like we were Royalty. They even sang Happy Anniversary to us at dinner to the tune of Home on the Range.

 

 

We heard from the camp host at Jenny Lake that she had found Linda’s bracelet at our camp site. This of course made the day even better and Linda is relieved.

 

June 11, 2011

Today is Zach’s 21^st birthday and while we are glad he is in Germany, we do miss being able to call and wish him a Happy birthday.

We drove back to canyon and went looking for animals once more and again we found them. We started the day taking pictures of a nice grizzly and then a marmot and at the end of the day a huge grizzly ran across the road in front of us and we got a few of pictures.

 

 

In Retrospect:

Wow! Yellowstone is always a wild wonderful experience and so it was this trip for us! We had a lodge reserved at Canyon the first and last nights and a room at the Old Faithful Inn the middle night. All three rooms cost us $96 plus tax each night and fit our budget perfectly. Each staff gave us a box of chocolates for our anniversary which was very nice. Tower Falls road was only opened the day before we got there and although it was dry there was tons of snow on the sides of it. We did not see as many and as varied wildlife in the Lamar Valley as we have in previous years yet we managed to see Big Horn Sheep up on a mountain side and wolves, grizzly bear and elk and tons of buffalo.

The second day we drove over Tower and around past Mammoth through West Yellowstone into Old Faithful. The first day we saw Grizzly Bears on three different locations near or on the Fishing Bridge Road. We saw a bear eating an elk carcass, a mother bear and her cub on snow, a bear going up and over a mountain and wolves. We took a picture of a grey wolf that is wonderful. We remembered Jamie's love for the geyser ponds and Shane's enjoyment of everything. We thought of Portia and Sadie and their desire for a "bear encounter". We had so many bear encounters this trip. 

 

 

Our stay at the Old Faithful Inn was a real treat. The room was perfect and the dining experience although high for us, $77 for dinner, was really good and a fabulous experience.  On the way back to Canyon the next day, the Fire hole Road was open and it was a beautiful drive. A big bear ran out on the road directly in front of us as we were headed back to the lodge for the night. We were surprised that there were no lights around Old Faithful at night. Watched it anyway but a light or two would have been nice.

Linda was obviously distraught when she found she had lost her bracelet and then overjoyed when the campo host found it and called us. Going back to get it was an obvious and good choice.

On the way out of Yellowstone we saw beautiful racked elk, our blond bear far in the distance; several moose and then we saw the most beautiful wild horse herd near Lander Wyoming.

 

 

June 12, 2011 –Transition Day from Yellowstone

 

Actual:

We got up very early around 6:15 AM and were on our way. We drove past Fishing Bridge where we took a picture of a bison strolling across the bridge. On the way to Jenny Lake we also took pictures of racked elk and stopped to see a very long way from us our blonde grizzly.

At Jenny Lake Linda recovered her bracelet and we drove out at Moose Junction where we took a ton of pictures of two young Bull Moose. As we continued toward Dubose, we took pictures of two more moose, one at the beginning of the snow pack and the last one at the end of the snow pack.   We took several nice pictures of an Osprey which we had seen two years earlier with our children.

The snow pack was huge well over ten feet in many areas and people were still using their snowmobiles.

 

 

After we drove from Dubose a beautiful deer ran out on the road in front of us and stopped. We were driving almost 65 miles an hour and just before we would have hit the deer, he leaped away and we missed him and God saved both of us. At that point we said a second rosary of thanksgiving.

One of the highlights for me was stopping to take several beautiful photos of wild horses just outside of Lander, Wyoming.  The horses looked to be in pretty good shape and were very strikingly beautiful.

We are spending the night in Fort Collins and hope to finish our wonderful trip on a high note the next three days in Denver.

 

In Retrospect:

Linda was driving when we went past the wild horses and chose to stop for me as she knew I would really appreciate it and I do and did! The horses were obviously wild and had many visible scars. They were one of my personal trip highlights. We saw two moose as we left the Tetons and two more individual moose on the drive to Dubose. We went through more snow than is possible to describe on this drive and yet the road was totally dry and we were so thankful for that gift. It was a pleasant way to leave Yellowstone and the Tetons. We saw an Osprey that was close and beautiful.

 

 

 

Final 3 Days in Denver –June 13-15

 

Actual:

We got up and drove to Denver where our room wasn’t available so we went to the Botanical Gardens and spent time there taking many more beautiful flower pictures. What a difference two weeks made as the roses which had not even started blooming at the end of May now were in full bloom and in fact even past their peak.

We left there and went to Whole foods a place we really love for their deserts among other things. We then went to see a very provocative and interesting albeit long movie, “The Tree of Life”. We got good tickets for the Rockies Padres game for $10 each –face value $30 each and spent $15 on parking and $13 on food. The game was postponed when rain, hail and lightning came at about the 6^th inning with SD ahead 2-1.

We drove back to the Drury Inn on Dry Creek and had a nice rest of the night.

June 14, 2011

This was an easy day where we slept late and went to two movies and ended the day with an incredibly good dinner. The first movie was perhaps the most enjoyable and entertaining of the trip –Super 8- It was a mix between War Games and ET and we really liked it. The second movie was so slow in spots we both had trouble staying awake. It was beautifully filmed and probably very accurate – Meeks Cutoff starring Michelle Williams and a movie that had no resolve at all.

Dinner at Le Central was as always perfectly prepared although I will never understand why they insist on serving French Fries with their great meals.

 

June 15 – Our final real vacation day this trip

 

 

 

We got up and after some discussion we drove to Rocky Mountain NP where we got up close and personal with 5 beautiful Big Horn rams and they were magnificent in every way. We enjoyed the drive across the mountains despite the terrifying heights and we saw moose and elk.  Because of the snow melt there were many temporary but beautiful waterfalls which we saw and took pictures of. We heard them almost more than we saw them and they were all over.

 

 

We ended the day by getting 7^th row center aisle seats to “Rock of Ages” the musical. It was wonderful and fresh and just a great fabulous way to end this day. I stood and clapped for unknown actors just as I have stood and given standing ovations to Carol Channing in Hello Dolly and so many other famous actors. It was a fine well performed show. I thought the second act was simply much more alive and had an incredible amount of energy.

 

In Retrospect:

This was a great trip not unlike Hawaii last year except this cost a little less and lasted more than twice as long. Linda and I try very hard to show love and are very careful not to act in any way that would detract from our being able to enjoy this time together. I suppose this is normal except we are so very aware that each moment could easily be our last moment.  Five Bypasses and her respiratory problems have enhanced our love and our joy in each other.  I believe we are still in love and we choose to act the way we do because of that. It was a great trip. John

 

 

 

 Our final map shows our route from Vernal, Utah to Jenny Lake in the Grand Teton NP, then to Yellowstone, back to Fort Collins and then Denver and home!

 

 

Linda's Retrospective Summary

 

As always, we got up early to leave on our anniversary trip with lots of anticipation as to how and what the trip would produce.  The first three days in Denver were lots of fun with the Broadway play, “Billy Elliot,” the baseball game, the Denver Botanical Gardens, Mile High Flea Market, Mt. Evans and, of course, art movies. We went to Mt. Evans, which has the highest paved road in North America, to see the mountain sheep.   The winds were 50 mph and it was 30 degrees out and we had out top down on the car.   The mountain sheep do not like the winds and we would probably not be able to see them, so we turned around and went back to Denver via a new route.  We like taking new roads, just to see what we can find.  I really enjoyed seeing the beautiful scenery. 

 

 

 

Our trip to Mesa Verde was made more exciting when a large rock hit our windshield.   We were very lucky that it did not shatter the window; it left a softball sized ring on the passenger side.  Wow!  It was scary.   One of the things I regretted in the past was not being able to make it down and then up the Spruce Tree House trail to the ruins.  We started early, before the heat and we made it.  I was really pleased, because last time I was not able to complete the walk. This is such an ancient sight with lots of questions that just cannot be answered. 

We got to Moab and booked tours, something we don’t normally do.  The “white water” trip was fun but not real exciting because the water was so high which covered up some of the holes on the river.  We took 4x4 tours of Arches and Canyonlands.  On our anniversary, John got down on his knees and proposed all over again.   This was sweet and very romantic.   I enjoyed our trip to Dead Horse Point, an absolutely beautifully colorful point at sunset.  Also, very romantic!  The walk to Landscape Arch was a little harder than I thought, but we made it.  It was a lot harder going because most of it was uphill; coming down took less than half the time.  Arches and Canyonlands were interesting mostly because of the colors which changed when the position of the sun changed.  It is nice to have explored it but, don’t see myself doing it again.   We left and headed to Vernal where we got a motel for the night.  One of the most surprising and funny things happened to us.  We went to our room, put the key in, opened the door to find a half clothed (half naked) women starring at us.  Boy! What a surprise for both of us.  The motel manager did not realize that she was in the room still, as her husband had asked to be moved to a different room, which the manager did.  We, of course, got a new room and lots of apologies.

We drove through a new area for us, Flaming Gorge National Recreational Area.  The views were absolutely beautiful.  We arrived at the Tetons hoping but, not expecting, to get a camping spot at our favorite place, Jenny Lake.  We actually got a spot there and it was even the spot that we like the most, camp site #50!  It was rainy but we got our tent up, only to have to reset it up later in rain and sleet after a big wind flattened it while we were out looking for animals.  For me, this area is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places of all times.  We always find animals, peaceful and beautiful views.  Oxbow Bend is probably my favorite place just to sit and see the wonder of God.  The feeling of closeness to God is everywhere you look in the Tetons and it reminds me to be excepting of whatever God sends my way.  This is where I want my ashes to be spread.

 

 

While looking for animals, one found us and it was a big, blonde, 5-6 year old male grizzly.  We were sitting in our car just watching and waiting when I happened to look out my side window and there he was.  Oh, my goodness was he stunning to see that close up.  Lots of pictures were taken before too many other people arrived.  All of the moose with their calves were wonderful to watch, even when one of the calves got swept down on side of a very fast river.  The baby made it out and the mother charge down to check on her baby.  Mothers’, human or animal, want to go and save their child when it cries or is in danger.  Nature is always great to watch.

 

We traveled on to Yellowstone and just about 50 miles from our room I discovered that I had lost my diamond bracelet which upset me more that I can say.  John took me back to a potty stop we had made but it wasn’t there.  I said a lot of prayers to St. Anthony, then I called our campground host In the Tetons and she said they would look around and call us back….No call for 2 days, then it came; her husband had found it on our tent pad.  Thank you St. Anthony!!!    

 

 

It was quite a shock to see so much snow at this time of the year.  The park has had over 200% more snow this year and it really shows.  There is so much water in the rivers that they are flowing out of their banks.  The whole area is so green and lush and there are so many animals out to be seen this year.  We stayed at both Canyon, one of our favorite because they are so close to so many animals and The Yellowstone Inn, which was a first for us.   There is much to be said about “old” elegance.  Our room, on the first floor, looked out over “Old Faithful’ and that was really something to see this year.  It had the largest spray I had ever seen, probably due to all the extra water in the park.   John surprised me with dinner at their dining room, which has such a waiting list that we were told we would not be able to get a reservation anytime soon.  Just him natural charm!!! It was a great meal and a wonderful night, even with shared bathrooms down the hall.  That is one of the things you get to experience when you stay in the old part of the Inn, just like they did 100 years ago.  We returned to Canyon for our last night in Yellowstone.  We drove everywhere we could to see what we could see.  We drove toward Cody through Silvan Pass only to hit a raging snow storm, where upon, John, turned around in a no stopping avalanche are to go back.  We decided that we were there to have fun not stress, and boy, was that raging snow a stressor.  Going back when we did we got to see a wolf, grizzly bear and a marmot all in the same area.  I call that smart.  Everywhere we went we saw some kind of animal.  Everywhere we went we met very nice people out doing the same thing as we were doing. 

 

 

As we left Yellowstone we went back by Jenny Lake in the Tetons to pick up my bracelet and stopped at a couple of our favorite places, Oxbow Bend and Pacific Creek road.  I think we took great care to enjoy these areas just in case we don’t get the opportunity to visit again.  We made our way back to Ft. Collins.  You would think that it should be an uneventful day but, it wasn’t!   We came through a really snow packed area outside of Dubois, WY.  We saw more moose and then we saw a deer, who had decided to jump out in front of our car on the road.  John was very quick to put on brakes but not turn the car to either side which was good because just as we were to hit this very bid healthy deer, he jumped and was gone.   Wow, shaky hands and beating hearts!

As we continued to drive a herd of Wild horses appeared and we stopped to take pictures.  Beautiful sight, especially, since one does not get to see them very often. 

 

 

Our last three days in Denver where just wonderful.  The roses at Botanical Gardens were really in bloom and just marvelous.  We went to a ballgame that we left due to rain, hail and lightening.  One of the things that I really enjoyed was the musical “Rock of Ages.”  It was a great way to spend an evening. It was loud, vibrant, and so full of life that I could almost see myself up there on stage with them singing and moving to the music.  We had a great meal with great desserts at Le Central, a restaurant that serves French peasant food with a different menu each day.  Superb!  We, also, had a movie day.  Out of the 3 movies that we saw, I only felt entertained by one of them.  The others were either slow or really hard to follow, even though they were film festival winners.  Oh, well.  We drove out to Rocky Mountain National Park and were fortunate enough to see some Big Horn Rams up close.  Magnificent animals to see in person.  This was a longer drive than we thought, but well worth it.

This was a wonderful, thoroughly exciting trip.  It is hard to put all my feelings and thoughts down on paper, but if I never get another trip, I will remember this trip with the love and joy that John and I shared each and every day!!!!      Linda