Yellowstone, Tetons, Jackson Hole

This week we went with Adrian, Arleen, and Brittney up through Rexburg and Ashton to West Yellowstone, where we stayed in a hotel as a base to visit Yellowstone.  But before photos from the trip, I should comment that within the last week Alicia got engaged to Mike Andrus (yay! for them).  Also, Saturday before last we did the Ride Around the Wellsvilles (RAW).  Alicia did the full 105 miles (altered route).  But by Brigham City (from the north end) I realized I was having one of my weird heart rate things.  I asked Mark Firth, with whom I was riding and who is a doctor, to check my pulse.  It was irregular.  So we went over Sardine Canyon and only did 68 miles (per my iphone - although Mark did 70, having ridden his bike to the start).  We drove to his house to get his office key and went to his office where he did an EKG on me.  Yes, I was in atrial fibrillation.  I think I go into it periodically, but not usually during a serious athletic event.  I'm going in for more tests this next week.  Oh, and just before our trip we spent several days moving Alicia's stuff from her house back into ours.  She and the girls will be moving down to the South Jordan area until the wedding, when they'll then be with Mike.  She's probably got a bank job lined up down there (just waiting confirmation).  Now back to Yellowstone --

 In West Yellowstone there is a nice Grizzly and Wolf facility, complete with live animals (besides homo sapiens).  Here Adrian hams it up next to a grizzly.

 Brit inside the facility.

 Two of the wolves we saw.  Within moments they and some others started a howling chorus which was pretty entertaining.

 Just one of I believe 9 grizzlies they rotate through the feeding area.

 Brit inside the gift shop.

 I pulled shots from our camera, our two smart phones, Brit's camera, and Adrian's smart phone.  In other words, it would be difficult to arrange all the shots in chronological order, so I'm not going to try very hard.  Many shots will be in random order.  Here's our group outside the Grizzly and Wolf facility.  Next door is an iMax in which we saw an Alaska movie one night, and a Yellowstone movie the next.

 Adrian and Arleen.

Brit looking at bear skulls.

 A blurry shot of us and a polar bear.

Our grizzly seat.

 A view of Yellowstone Lake over a series of hot springs.
 Brit and her dad.

 Gayle - who was very ill with a respiratory viral infection the whole trip - trying to rest on an overlook.

 The soon-to-be 16 yr. old.

 Brit got a poncho while in West Yellowstone and loved to wear it.

 Me in my Gran Fondo bike ride shirt.

 Gayle next to Madison River.

 There were waterfalls aplenty.

 Gayle observing one of multitudinous geysers.

 A colorful hot spring near the lake.

 Some canoeists in Yellowstone Lake near West Thumb - which by the way is a caldera within the greater Yellowstone caldera.

 Arleen got to see a moose while we were returning via Emigration Canyon above Mink Creek.  We others weren't fast enough.  We all saw bald eagles, deer, elk, and bison (and tons of ravens).

 

Here's Gayle holding up her Samsung smart phone to take a picture of Old Faithful (I figure you've all seen pictures of it before, so I put in this one showing her taking a photo).

That's lower falls in the background as we pose next to the Yellowstone Grand Canyon.

 Brit, signaling for world peace.

Looking down from the lower falls observation area right next to the falls.  The shot does not do justice to the serious height.  The next shot, from a bit downstream, puts it into better perspective.

The last shot was from just to the right of the falls, where there is an observation deck.

 We noticed way below an osprey nest on a high pinnacle above the canyon.  Brit took this shot with a telephoto lens.  What happens when the mom is fishing and the wind blows a youngster out of the nest?

 And yes, we did see a grizzly in a field near the road.  Here Brit captured it running - fortunately not at us.

 The Dragon's Mouth was impressive in that it was constantly shooting out steam and periodically sent out waves too.

 The cars always stopped for bison.  Too bad they also stopped for deer, which we see all the time in our own yard (and which have taken to eating our hostas lately too).

 Speaks for itself.

 I went down the metal stairs of Uncle Tom's trail to see the lower falls from the opposite side of where I had earlier (see the folks just to the right and above the falls).  Very impressive (and scary when you have acrophobia).

 This is what the "landing" looks like at the bottom of the stairs.  It is in the middle of a very tall canyon wall (mostly cliff).

 Looking at the bottom of the falls.

 Some of the 320 plus stairs.

 Lower falls from down river.

 We came back via Teton Park and Jackson.

Quite the scenery for the family to see!

 Yes, they are all real.  Elk drop their antlers annually and the boy scouts collect them from the local elk refuge.

More July Plus Georgia Trip

It has been a very full and interesting summer, with lots of activities.  The week after the Gran Fondo ride Gayle and I were in Georgia visiting family.  After some recent random shots below, the remainder of this post will be of our Georgia experiences.

Brian Olsen, our next door neighbor, recently had his 17th birthday, and the Olsens invited over the neighborhood for outdoor oven cooked pizza and ice cream.  Naturally the girls had to have some ice cream to cap off a good meal.

The girls got new shoes and wore them with their outfits to church on Sunday.  Here they are relaxing on the sofa before church.

 Both girls grow hair prolifically.  They recently went to Richmond to visit Gayle's hairdresser for a trim.  Here's Avril, cooperating while her hair is trimmed.

 Believe it or not, this is after the trim!  Pretty long for a 4 year old.

 McKel is only two and look at her hair.

 You can see Gayle in the mirror, taking this photo with her phone.

 

And here is McKel after the trim.

After Richard and Rosemarie (Gayle's sister) picked us up from the Atlanta airport we stopped on the way to Social Circle (where they live) for a bite at a Red Lobster.  Here's Gayle eating one of their yummy biscuits.

 Here is Gayle with her cousin, Leon, at his flower shop in Eatonton, GA.

 Gayle, a flower amidst the other flowers.

 We visited Robert (Beth's widowed husband) in Milledgeville and went out to a Mexican restaurant with him.

 Here I am with Katie, Blythe, and David Sells, ready for a jog.  Dave and I got in two jogs together.

 Richard and Rosemarie had to give up their prior house in the country because a reservoir is being built which will put part of their property (and former house) underwater, literally.  Their new house is closer to the road on another piece of their land.  The floor plan is similar to their last home, but this one has upgrades and more room.  This is looking down from the road at it.  The last house was back in the woods in the background.

 Gayle and Richard relaxing in a back room of the house.

 View down from the stairs at their kitchen and dining room area.  It is a very open plan.

 Looking out of the front windows from upstairs.

 They also have a large shed where Richard stores his motorized equipment.  Behind us is the golf cart he uses to get around on.

 Richard still makes art out of metal objects.  Here he and Rosemarie sit near a couple of his pieces.

 Rosemarie and Gayle pose next to another piece of art.

 Ouch!  They have big bugs in Georgia.

 Rosemarie created this from a gourd.

 Another clever creation by Rosemarie - a potted plant display from a stool.

 We also drove with Richard and Rosemarie to visit Chester, Emily, Aaron, Abby, Ashley, Amanda, and Andrew who were camping at a lake near Macon, GA.  This is their RV.  We ate outside and later went on a boat ride on their pontoon boat (and pulled some kids skiing - while Aaron and Andrew rode their jet ski).

 Family portrait of the Cleggs - Abby, Ashley, Chester, Amanda, Emily, Andrew, and Aaron.

 Gayle in the shade.

 Their pontoon, ready to go.

 I got to drive awhile too.

 Gayle got to come along on some runs by riding an old bike Richard had at the house in town (their old home they keep in town).

 Gayle and her cousin Ann, who lives out in the country near Milledgeville.

 One morning we went to a farmers' market in Monroe, not too far from Social Circle.  They had a blue grass band playing too, complete with a dobro (far left).

 Couldn't pass up the kettle corn - posing with it next to a pretty plant arrangement.

 Boiled peanuts brought back memories for Gayle, so she had to get some while we were in the local Piggly Wiggly (a super market chain - recently just bought out by the way).

 A trip to Georgia would not be complete without eating at the Varsity (actually there are several locations, we ate at the one in Athens).  I had some chili dogs with chopped onions (must have been Vidalias, they were very mild).

Lots of lovely plants - this was at the airport as we prepared to leave.