Chuckwagon

When we checked in last week, we asked about places to eat and asked about the Chuckwagon. The woman at the desk said, " You want to eat at the Chuckwagon?" like it was a stupid thing to do. But we found Dornan's chuckwagon down by the tackle shop we use. Although it was expensive, it was neat because they cooked everything over a charcoal fire in big pots.

They served beef stew, barbeque short ribs, steak, baked beans, mashed potatoes, salad, blackberry cobbler. They also had a choice of barbeque chicken as well. The chuckwagon had beautiful views of the Tetons in the background.

After dinner, we drove down Wilson Road which is a narrow winding road through the woods. We saw a cinnamon colored bear (ran like a black bear and not a grizzly) that ran across the road in front of us. We also saw 3 swamp donkeys (moose) that were in the pond. It was getting dark so the picture is dark. We also saw herds of elk driving back into the park.

The fish are running

We decided to start doing some fishing. After going to angler store at the park entrance and buying our licenses, we decided to go down to the Snake River below the dam and do some fishing. Tim was able to bring in 4-5 lake trout that were all about 15 inches plus. My fly rod did not work well there because of the wind but we used spinnning rods. Today, I was skunked.... ok, I did have one on the hook but lost him right at the shore.

We fish right below the dam and watch a bald eagle and osprey soar over us. The pelican likes to float down the river waiting for fish, and the uinta (ground squirrel) in the family of the prairie dog playing on the rocks near us. The fish bite most of the day but it does vary with how much water is coming out of the dam. There is alot of water in the lake right now and they are letting about 8000 gallons out a day (normal is 2000). The fishing in Wyoming is wonderful!!!!!! Will try Yellowstone again next week.

Yellowstone or bust

On Thursday, we decided to drive up into Yellowstone before the holiday weekend started and the park was packed. Yellowstone has an amazing diversity of land, mountains, rivers, and lakes, as well as geysers, hot springs and a sulfer cauldron. It even has its own Grand Canyon. Yellowstone Lake is the biggest lake measuring 20 miles long, 14 miles wide, and 460 feet deep.

Yellowstone is a huge park that has 2 loops. To go around both loops and stopping occasionally, it takes a good 8 hours to see the park, and I think we put on 150 miles on the car. Most of the trees in the picture above are Lodgepole pines (a.k.a.Norweigan Pine) These make up 80% of the trees in the park. We first went to Old Faithful to watch the geyser shoot off. It is quite interesting to think about the amount of volcanic activity that is evidenced in that park. Old Faithful supposedly goes off every 92 minutes but the times can vary. On this day, it was 3 minutes late but well worth the wait.

We then headed for Hot Mammoth Springs in the northern area of the park near Montana. It was really funny and cool to see a herd of bison walking down the road. They certainly held up traffic.

We were able to see quite a few animals including elk, bison, pronghorn deer, mule deer, and 3 bear. I guess I thought we'd see thousands of animals in the plains but considering the millions of acres there are, I can understand why the sightings are a little more obscure.

We also enjoyed looking at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It has a wonderful waterfall that I think I've seen on an old stamp. It also has a deep canyon with lots of colors.

The driving could be treacherous as the cliffs were sometimes 2000 feet down. And then there were times where there were miles of fields. We plan to go back one more time before we leave. It was clear to us that most of the animals were in the northern part of the park so looks like we'll be doing the long drive again. Definitely a place we'd recommend seeing.

Feel like I've died and gone to heaven

I'm not sure heaven will have mountains but it is breathtaking here and I feel so priviledged to experience this beauty every day here. The weather has been gorgeous... 85 ish and 50 at night. The mountains still have snow and matched with the blue sky and blue lake, it is breathtaking. The peaks of the Tetons are so rugged they command the landscape. This picture was taken this morning and it is the view we get from our lakefront retreat. Our room has a bathroom, bedroom, sitting room, and small kitchen with a table. We eat breakfast and lunch there (or take a picnic lunch) and eat dinner out.

At night, the lake reminds me of the coast when the sun is going down. It gets light at 6 a.m. and dark at 10 p.m. People were fishing at dusk the other night and caught 18" cutt-throat trout. Can't wait to get my license so I can use my fly rod. Oh, by the way, they were catching them on worms. The Grand Tetons are truly beautiful! Tim was not feeling well initially but I think he is over it and enjoying this trip. He's already asking when we're coming back to this rotten place.

Wyoming is mostly flat!

Yes, after driving through it for 8 hours, I can guarantee that it is prarie lands and seems desolate. There is something eerie about the land. We saw wind mills that generate electricity, lots of oil, lots of cattle and horses, some pronghorn deer, and a few snow capped mountains in the background. We drove through indian reservations. Tim was not impressed with the houses that seemed dumpy and splattered here and there. You can truly live in the middle of nowhere. It is also easy to see how there can be more cattle than people, and how tornadoes can form so easily. The picture above is one taken coming out of Laramie, WY and shows the Snowy Mountain Range. There was one place where there were horses that came right up to the fence near the road. Really looks western to me.

It wasn't until we got to the area just east of the Grand Tetons that we saw the beautiful mountains called the Cathedral Group or the Teton Range. They were gorgeous. I didn't include a picture because it was hazy but I'll include some with my next blog. Needless to say, we were glad to get to our destination.

What is it about the clouds?

Flying from Albuquerque to Denver to meet my family, I saw the most amazing cloud formation. I began to think about the fact that a cloud is sometimes like an iceberg. You never know how big it is from the limited view you get. I think people are like this too. You never know all the things people are trying to cope with on a daily basis. The cloud is a good reminder.

Conference in Albuquerque

This was the first time I've been to Albuquerque and the first national school nurses'conference I've been to. The picture above is the New Hampshire delegation. Pam Murphy, next to me, is from Peterborough, Mary Jo Reed is from Canterbury, and Gerri Harvey is from Gilmanton.

First, I must say that I am not fond of the area of Albuquerque, but I've never met nicer people. Those who live there go out of their way to make sure we got off on the right bus stop, ate at the right places, and told us about their culture. The conference gave me perspective on what is happening in the rest of the country. I'm thankful for my state which has a school nurse ratio of 1:376 unlike those in the west with an average of 2500 on their case load. I sat through some interesting seminars on evidence based practice, prescription drub abuse, media and school age children and more. I enjoyed the presidents luncheon with all the presidents of the various states... did you know that Arnold Schwartzenagger is only 5'9" and dyes his hair? I also enjoyed (and I can't believe I'm saying this) the annual business meeting. There is alot of pomp with the roll call. I met school nurses working in Sudan and Morocco who came over to learn more about their specialty. This morning, however, I had my favorite moment when I met the assistant surgeon general of the U.S. who told me that I should come to work with the national public health service. :)

I had to spend my birthday in Albuquerque and that day was a hard one for me to be away from my family. In the afternoon, my friend Pam called and we went to a section of town called Old Town. There were markets everywhere and the indians (Navahoo) were selling jewlery in an open air market. (They were SOOO nice) After, we ate at a Brazilian restuarant that all the nurses were raving about. They sang to me in Portugese. Didn't sound like Happy Birthday though. The food was delish.

Albuquerque is at 5000 feet and breathing was difficult with exertion. The temp was around 90 he whole time but the air is so dry. If I didn't use conditioner, my hair was unruly. It was sunny every day with 1 storm while we were there. They have an average of 310 days of sunshine per year. There is one mountain range that comes out of nowhere. Its called the Sandia range and the tallest mountain is 10000 feet. I hear there is a tram ride up that is wonderful. I had altitude sickness one day only and I learned my lesson really fast about keeping hydrated.

Above is a picture of the Sandia Range.