Some lovin' in Lava

I've taken to checking weather.com for the hour by hour forecast. It's been raining for a couple of weeks now and when we find out it will be clear for a few hours - we are on our way!

This is our RV spot. Even when the weather is horrible, I love it here.

We are near Palisades Reservoir on the Snake River

My favorite day trip is going to Jackson. When did it stop being called Jackson Hole?

The town square has 4 beautiful antler arches

There should be a truck - or horse - parked in front of a Cowboy Bar, not a VW Beetle

Another beautiful afternoon we biked along the path to Teton Village Ski Resort. 

We had a delay on the road today - cowboys were driving their cattle to open range

Today is our 11th wedding anniversary. 

Our good friend Becky treated us to a wonderful night at Greystone B&B in Lava Hot Springs

We had a gourmet meal ...

... prepared just for us 

Later that evening we went to Lava's famous spring fed hot pools

We tried all the pools; from 102 to 112 degrees

Friday is date night so it was pretty busy.

(I had to post this picture that kept popping into my head)

What a wonderful, unexpected treat for us. Living on the road in a small space and to have this special experience was greatly appreciated. Thank you my friend for starting a new tradition for Tim and I to carry on every year for many years to come.

Rush Hour in Yellowstone

We are settled in to our new location in Swan Valley, Idaho. We are west of Jackson, Wyoming and south of Yellowstone National Park. Our campground is located on the Snake River, is lush, and beautiful. I've burned out on the desert for the season and once again, I can't tell you how happy I am to be where it's green. I love listening to the rain and sleep so well at night with the cool air. Ahhh

In the couple of days we've been here we've seen lots of buffalo, deer, elk, foxes, fish, chipmunks, and several species of birds including eagles and pelicans. No bear yet. We have our bear spray out of the package and ready for action if the need arises.

This huckleberry cheesecake ice cream was really good and is served from a square shaped scoop. This was a small. I ate it all.

Our first day we took a long drive looping into Yellowstone from the south entrance and exiting through the west entrance. We got a lay of the land driving 375 miles in 11 hours. We know exactly where we want to go back to further explore.

This is the Grand Tetons from the Wyoming side

Yellowstone Lake

Thermal Pools - some stink of sulfur, but not all.

Here you can see the staircase on the south rim

This herd of about 25 buffalo were causing a traffic jam. We were the 3rd car behind them. Some of the buffalo would act like they were going to charge into a car; then back off. It was pretty interesting for a while but after about 30 minutes it was getting old.

Tim finally said - screw this - and we went around the car in front of us and moved on. 

Turns out our timing was perfect for Old Faithful

We will return for a guided tour of the Lodge.

This is a view of the Tetons on our return trip through Idaho. They rise right up from the pasture land

Happy 90th Birthday Mom!!!!

I love you - see you soon

PS: What large earrings you have ;)

Change of Plans: Mesquite, NV

Our plan was to go to Bryce Canyon but the forecast was low 50's for a high and low in the 20's with wind and rain/snow. This does not work well with our flip flop philosophy. We are really disappointed but we know we will have many other opportunities especially because the western states are our playground for years to come. Also, we are travelling with Steve and Becky and their toys so what a perfect decision we made to go to Mesquite Nevada. 

We drove less than 60 miles and went from Utah through the northwestern corner of Arizona and over the border two miles into Nevada. There isn't much here: a few casinos; some nice newer chain stores and lots and lots of off-road trails. The first day we went out we didn't find the "numbered" trails until we had road several miles over rocks, rocks, and more rocks. We finally found a nice trail and this:

The next day we packed a lunch, lots of water, jackets, took a picture of a map,and went exploring

Tim holds on for dear life when I drive

You can ride the trails to the Grand Canyon or Lake Mead

We climbed from 1600' elevation to 7200' and back

We found an abandoned stone house

And this crazy property with a maze 

(which I walked of course)

a two-seat outhouse,

what looked like a sacrificial altar (use a little imagination),

and amazing views.

While riding through the canyons we heard something coming towards us overhead. We were surprised by two military fighter planes (Warthogs) practicing low altitude maneuvers. They suddenly appeared twisting between the canyon walls; twisting and turning; it looked like a skyscraper was going to crash right into us. Either that or start shooting - just like in a war movie. They obviously spotted us because they turned around did it again. You can't help but duck your head. Then they went up over the canyon, flipped, and were out of view. We sat there for a quite awhile with hearts pounding. It all happened so quickly. These planes would make the enemy crap their pants before killing them. It was amazing and very very cool.