Pictures on web and today's update

First let me see if I can get the link to the pictures from Yellowstone yesterday on here. This should be the link to those pictures. Just click on the highlighted word in the last sentence and you should be able to get all the pictures from yesterday - Let me know how this works to make sure I've done it right. (Thanks go out to my daughter Crystal - thanks for coming to your mom's rescue!)

Okay, now, what did we do today - This morning we straightened up around here - Dan has the yard so nice and clean now - he has burned all the clippings from the trees and has raked the yard. It looks so nice! I sat down and paid the bills that came in the mail on Monday (thanks Joyce!) So after all that was taken care of - we ate lunch (Dan ate leftovers, I had a bowl of cereal) then it was off to do laundry- we tried a different laundry mat - it was closer to us and it actually cost less - only $7.00 instead of $10.00, but I did have one less load of clothes. Anyway, while we were doing the laundry a huge storm came up and the temperature dropped like a rock (it was actually down to 47 degrees when we got things loaded into the truck at 3 o'clock in the afternoon). We stopped at the nearest grocery to pick up some hamburger buns - I planned on using the left-over pork chops from last night and making bar-b-que pork sandwiches, with french fries, and corn on the cob. I asked Dan if we had sauce and he was quick to say yes - I've gotten where I really don't want to buy something if I think we already have it - we just don't have a lot of storage space. Anyway, to make a long story short - we did NOT have any sauce so I decided to fix soup and grilled cheese sandwiches since it was still pretty cool - around 61. Now that is done, and the dishes are finished. We also rented a movie for tonight (this place rents them for $1.99 instead of $3.00 at the other place and they seem to have a better selection). Anyway, I wanted to rent either Australia with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman or Valkry with Tom Cruise - Dan wanted to rent Mall Cop - guess which one we rented. I'll let you know how Mall Cop is tomorrow.

Well, I really don't have much to report for today - please let me know if I did this right with getting the pictures where you all can see them. If this works, I'll get the others on in the next day or so - Take care everyone - hope to hear from you soon!

Trying to get pictures on the web

Here is a link to the all the pictures of "My first moose". I'm trying to see if I can actually get pictures on the web so all can see. Let me know what happens.

Bear and Moose and Elk - Oh My!

Today was an absolutely amazing day as you can tell from these pictures - I am just giving you a single shot of each of the three main wildlife sightings we had today - I was so excited today that I just can't explain it to you.

Well, can you tell we went to Yellowstone again today? We got up this morning and decided it was a Yellowstone day - so I took a shower, got dressed, made the bed, straightened up the kitchen and we were out the door by 9:30 - Pups and all! (We didn't know how long we were going to be gone today, so we decided to take the puppies with us - am I glad we did - we didn't get home until after 7 o'clock - Long Day!) We went into West Yellowstone and decided that we would head for Silver Gate - a town at the northeast entrance to the park. So, basically what we had to do was start on the west side, and travel the upper loop of the park to get to Silver Gate - and we knew this was the section of the park roads that are under construction - everyone tells you to expect 30 minutes delays, and we did have a couple but it was okay - the scenery was wonder - (Dan said that God was the best landscaper ever - no one can hold a stick to Him and I would have to agree!)

After we get into the park and head over toward Canyon (you have several intersections you have to go through to get to different sections of the park). Dan and I were talking about what type of wild life we would love to see. I said I wanted to see a bear and a bull moose. Dan said he also wanted to see a Bull Elk. Well, we weren't sure we would see anything, but we were hoping. Who would have guessed we would see all three?

First we saw the bear - and I mean it was right there and absolutely the prettiest thing you have ever seen - I was sitting in the truck window to take the pictures - it was so close I wouldn't dare get out of the truck. As you can plainly see it was wonderful. I must have smiled for at least 5 miles.

Next thing we know there are cars in front of us slowing down - that usually means there is some kind of wild life near. Dan says - pay attention this looks like it could be a moose territory and sure enough right there was the nicest Bull Moose you would want to see - now his rack was not that large (I don't know if they grow new racks every year or if he was just young) but he was standing in this lake and eating and posing for pictures. Once again, I didn't get out of the truck - there was a ranger there that was keeping a pretty close eye on everyone - We have found out that the window is a nice place to crawl out and sit to take pictures - I did that all day!

Now, Dan and I were so excited - I mean, we hadn't been in the park longer than an hour and we had seen a bear and a moose - what else did the day hold for us? Well, how about a momma bear and two cubs? Yep! They were far enough up the hillside that I did get out of the truck and took some pictures - the cubs like to play hide and seek behind rocks and trees, but I did get a pretty good shot of momma and one of the cubs - now this momma bear was MUCH bigger than the other bear we saw today - I mean MUCH BIGGER!!!! It was really neat to see her and the cubs, but to tell you the truth, I'm sorta glad she stayed up on the hillside.

We drove and saw the most beautiful scenery - waterfalls and creeks and lakes and mountains and snow! We went through Silver Gate (boy! am I glad we decided NOT to take the job there - it is right in the middle of all the construction and there isn't a whole lot there - Like maybe one or two stores and that's it!) We drove on down the road about 3 - 4 miles to Cooke City (we did have to wait in a construction line and we asked the construction worker that holds the "Stop" sign where would be a good place to eat - she gave us the name of 3 places). So, when we got there we stopped at the Bear Tooth and had lunch - chili burgers - they were really pretty good and filling!

Back in the car and drove back into Yellowstone - going on around the loop to end up back in West Yellowstone. And lo and behold, what did we see but Dan's Bull Elk - once again so close to the truck that I sat in the window and took the pictures - I must have twenty of the Elk - in one he is eating the grass but looking straight at me - it is so awesome!!!!! Now the rack on this Elk is absolutely amazing - it's HUGE and it is still in velvet! I don' think I uploaded the best picture of the Elk but if you would like to see more let me know and I can email them to you.

Anyway, we had a fabulous day - the puppies were the best ever - they stayed in the back seat and didn't try to come up for me to hold them all day. It made it very nice when I am sitting with the camera in my lap they whole time looking for game. We also saw buffalo - I got the cutest picture of a little baby buffalo - it's looking right at me - then he turned to run to momma and I have a picture of a little buffalo butt! We also saw deer and antelope and female elk - I have lots of pictures of female elk. I just can not describe the beauty and majesty of our trip today! All I can saw is AMAZING!

Tomorrow we have to come back to real life and go do laundry - Dan will probably try his hand at fishing (we bought his fishing license in Rexburg yesterday - $98.00 for an out of state licenses- YIKES!) Oh well, he wants to fish and he had to have a license so it's fine! We did go to Wal Mart in Rexburg yesterday and then we watched a movie last night (Shrek 2 - bought it for $3.00- there were some funny parts).

Well, I'll sign off for now and if anyone wants to see more pictures let me know and I'll be glad to email them to you - they are pretty awesome!

Our work week is over!

Hello everyone - hope you had a nice and restful holiday weekend! Dan and I had over 700 people come through the cabin this weekend - we were very surprised at how busy we were today. We thought we would be busy yesterday but we didn't think that we would be that busy today. Boy, were we wrong! The good thing about being really busy like we were is it sure does make the day go faster! However, it was another day without any pictures. Maybe I'll just go back to some of our other pictures and post some of those.

Dan wants to get his fishing license and go fishing some this week - maybe I'll work some on my scrap booking. I've just about read everything that I brought with me - I've read four books since we have been gone - has that only been two and a half weeks ago???? It seems like it was forever ago - and I don't mean that in a bad way. Maybe I'll pick up a few more books when we go into Wal Mart in Rexburg. Or, I might check out the local library and see if I can check books out from there.

I'm not going to stay on too long tonight - I want to take a shower and wash my hair before I go to bed. Plus, not much is going on around here. See, everyone has down days - even those of us who live in a RV. I'm sure things will pick up next week. Everyone take care!

Happy 4th of July

Hello all - Sorry I did not post last night - Dan and I bought a frozen pizza and I fixed it in the convection oven (I'm beginning to like that thing) and then we watched a movie ("Night at the Museum"). By the time the movie was over we decided it was time for bed. We did have to work today - and will work tomorrow also.

Boy, was today busy!!! We probably had over 300 people come through the cabin today - at times there were so many people inside they all couldn't get up the stairs to see the bedrooms and had to wait in line. I was really pooped when we got home - BUT I fixed dinner (ham steak, macaroni and cheese, and green beans) then cleaned up the kitchen. I figured I needed to let you know that the last couple of days have been sorta quiet. We knew we would be really busy at the cabin today and probably tomorrow morning - then things should slow down as people have to pack up and get ready to go back home after the holiday weekend.

As of right now we don't have any definite plans for next week - I'm sure we will go back over to Yellowstone and explore a little more and I will need to do laundry again at some point. Dan is also talking about going down to Rexburg (about 60 miles away) to the nearest Wal Mart. We'll see how that goes.

I don't imagine we will stay up and go see any fireworks tonight - they are suppose to shoot some off at the lake at 10 pm - that's a little late for us since we need to get up and get ready for work - I think that our bodies are still on eastern daylight time - we are going to bed around 9:30 - 10 and getting up at 6:30 (that would be 11:30 - midnight and up at 8:30 if we were still in Florida). In one way, I want to stay on eastern time - but I don't know how long we will be able to - I mean we will be here for two and a half months.

Well, I just seem to be rambling on about a lot of nothing - so I will sign off for today - Dan, Sam, Jessie, and I wish everyone the happiest of 4th's - stay safe out there!

Let's Talk Money

Hello all - today has been a day to get things done. We did not leave the campsite at all today - Dan worked outside - weed eating around the camper and getting the yard cleaned up - hopefully it will help with the mosquitoes but I don't guarantee it. He also got the door hung back up today - we (I did help by holding the flashlight again) reinforced the rail that holds the door and HOPEFULLY we won't have the problem any more.

What did I do, you ask? Well, first I balanced the bank statements - then I paid the credit card bill - then I figured out the money situation - what it cost us to get here and what it will cost us to live - of course, some things I won't be able to finalize until we get our mail from Florida - I know that we will have some final bills to pay - you know things like the final light bill and final water bill. The only reoccurring bills we will have are: Verizon Wireless (cell phone and air card), the storage facility in Florida (I paid for 6 months before we left, so I don't have to worry about that for awhile), and the Credit Card (fuel and misc. charges). So, after this month's final bills from Florida are paid, we should be in good shape.

Now, I promised that I would be honest about what it costs us to live -so today I got all the figures for fuel, campground fees, meals out, and misc. expenses for the trip out - this is the breakdown:
Fuel: $985.23
Campground Fees: $210.87
Groceries: $ 97.85
Misc Exp. $120.77

Total $1,414.72

Even with the fuel charges we are still well within our budget and we won't have a fuel bill that steep for the next 2 months (July and August). Of course, when we start our trip back toward Florida the fuel expenses will go up again, but this just proves that we should be able to live quite well on my projected budget.

Dan and I are keeping a very close tab on the money we spend - we have a fuel log in the truck and I keep all receipts and write them down in the "little black book" - I don't want to have any surprises. I hope to start building the saving account this month - our little emergency fund. We have had more misc. expenses since we got here - we have eaten out four times (Pond's Lodge for dinner, Angler's Lodge for breakfast, Lunch in West Yellowstone when we did laundry, and Lunch at Old Faithful Lodge yesterday) for a total of a little over $100.00. Dan did buy his new hat yesterday ($128.75), and we bought a couple of books while in West Yellowstone (around $30.00) - now some of these expenses we have paid cash for (the Dinner's and books) we did charge his hat. We have also bought some groceries - mostly things like eggs, milk, bread, and lunch meat - that's been about $75.00- all that has been paid for. So far, since we have been here (I know it's only a week) we have only charged fuel once and Dan's hat. So far, so good.

Now, when the mail from Florida arrives (probably Monday, since this weekend is a holiday) I will let you know what the budget looks like from that standpoint. I do want to say cooking breakfast and dinner, and packing our lunch when we work or eating left overs here is not always fun, but I do enjoy knowing that we are living well within our means. We will look at being able to eat out maybe once a week and even taking a few overnight trips and staying in hotels (we just have to make sure we can take the pups). I'll keep you posted on the way things go. If you have any questions about any of this stuff - just let me know. I'll try and answer them for you.

Maybe tomorrow will be a more exciting day then today -but occasionally you just have to do the paperwork. Oh well - such is life.

First trip to Yellowstone!

Yellowstone - when most people think of Yellowstone National Park they think of Old Faithful Geyser. Yes, Old Faithful is a part of Yellowstone, but just a part. There is so much more to this wonderful creation. This is a picture of one of the thermal pots - the colors are magnificent - and this is just one of the pots. Dan and I went to Yellowstone today and only traveled 30 miles within the park. Yes, we went to see Old Faithful erupt - even ate at the Old Faithful Lodge, but there is so much more to see and witness.

For example, not only did we see this thermal pot we saw lakes formed by small geysers - beautiful rivers that hold all types of trout. We saw a Bald Eagle in its nest with babies - a herd of elk grazing beside the river - a lone deer lying in the grass - antelope feeding on the hillside - a bison herd grazing in the distance. We saw magnificent waterfalls that are hard to imagine they would be so large. And all of this in one 30 mile southern loop. Do you want to know what is really cool? We have all summer to explore this beautiful place - two and a half months. We will go to the park at least once a week, if not more. (Just so you know - this is not costing us anything but fuel - we have a Golden Age Pass which allows us entry into any National Park for free - it has saved us $75.00 so far on this trip along- Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, and today - it will allow us to go to the park as many times as our heart desires which will be many times.)

Tomorrow Dan plans on working around the "house" - he still has to put the door back on and he wants to weed eat around the yard a little more - we hope that will help with the mosquitoes. I plan on bathing the pups. We may ride around and explore the area closer to "home" after we get our chores done - if so, I plan on taking the pups with us. They have been by themselves most of the day since last Friday - they need to spend some time with us. I'll also work on the budget and getting those figures done. Also, I have figured out how to email pictures from Picasa to people, but I have yet to figure out how to post them to the web (I am now at the point that I would accept help from my tech savvy daughters, friends of my daughters, or even sons-in-law - if you know, please let me know!)

Well, I'll sign off for tonight - but before I do, I'll leave you with one more picture. Enjoy!