Near Death in Yellowstone

My friend the game warden lent us his copy of the book, "Death in Yellowstone" the day after we returned from our latest two day excursion there. Here is a picture of the hotsprings we did not allow our two year old granddaughter to fall into. Here is the geyser that our son in law did not peer into. Here is one of the waterfalls none of us jumped off of. Here is a picture of a buffalo that we managed not to be gored by. Here is another picture of a buffalo taken by the Yellowstone Lake that we managed not to capsize a boat in and subsequently die from hypothermia. Here is the river flowing under the Fishing Bridge that we did not drown in while fishing in hip waders. The forest fire caused by lightning was still under control while we were there, so we were not burned, overcome by noxious fumes, or hit on the head by falling snags.

Good thing we did not have the book before we left or I may not have gotten out of the car. (Although I must say that the closest I felt to death all week was while I was a buckled in the backseat when Jimmy was driving down the mountain.)

Here then is my favorite quote from the book so far (in relation to the canyon):

I couldn't help thinking what a thoroughly elegant place this was to commit suicide. Jump and your family would have ample time to forget you while you were reaching the bottom.

Pot Pie and Olive Oyl

The Iovinos are in the air. On the way to Wyoming. While they are here we will cook something Italian. And maybe a big pan of pot pie with beef. In anticipation I went grocery shopping with the Goob the other day. (The Goob agreed to go because I was grocery shopping in the small city with the BIG store with an electronics department.) The Goob wandered about the grocery aisles and reported back to the cart whenever he spotted something of interest. Like olive oil.
He discovered virgin olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, 100% pure olive oil, and olive oil with a questionable past.
Any idea which we should use for pesto?

Beginning of the Season

Announcing the arrival of a new list, fall, football season... and the new satellite dish. (Because 'upgrade' is still one of the STP's favorite concepts.) The Goob has inherited this trait directly from his dad. In addition to the new dish network and the DVR upgrade, we now also own two Wii remote adapters that make it possible to kayak and target shoot in front of our HDTV. I'm still going to make a list of things to do and places to go for fall, but the STP says he has hauled all the rocks he's going to haul for this year. (Unless I let him 'upgrade' to a pickup truck...)

End of the Season...

...garage sale find!

A serendipitous end to a great garage saling season.

What did you do this summer?

Oh, I did a little kayaking and a good bit of saling.

Climb Every Mountain

Her Royal Highness, Princess Amidala, is preparing to pack her car and move back across the country. I am excited for her to be there, to start her new job, to have her own place. I am devastated at the thought of her leaving here. On Sunday we did a little more mother/daughter bonding. We climbed a mountain. (Actually, we forded every stream as well.) We did it with another mother/daughter team. Here we are at the trail head. In truth, the daughters hiked together. And the mothers hiked together. The trail guide hiked in between. He was kind enough to stay close enough in case we needed anything. He said that he just listened for my labored breathing. If he couldn't hear me breathing he came back to check if I had fallen that far behind (or off the mountain completely), or if I had really passed out. The mothers kept plugging along. The daughters sat and rested quite often. (Okay, the daughters sat and waited for the mothers to catch up.) Here we are at the top--9500 feet above sea level and about 500 feet above my comfort zone. Dixie felt the same way about being out on the ledge. She sprinted up the mountain. (The only reason she was breathing heavy is because she was straining against her leash.) But once we were at the top, she cowered against the lookout building and refused to look over the edge. So that's where I am with the princess--at the edge of my comfort zone. Pretty sure she is ready to launch. Not quite willing to let her go. I am having a sound of music moment right now. Wanting to hold on tight. Trying to remember that you can't hold a moonbeam in your hand. Willing myself to say 'follow every rainbow'. 'Til you find your dream'.

Maybe I should get my marionettes down from the attic.

My Son, The Capitalist

Before we went up the mountain the Goob was not exactly enthralled with the idea of camping for a long weekend. He explained that his misery was caused by the mere thought of spending three days with PEOPLE in the OUTDOORS. Two of his least favorite things. He went on to explain to me that he doesn't just naturally like to be around people. Says he is just not much of a 'socialist'. That explains a lot. And yet he almost thrived for three full days in the mountains. He managed to live on hot dogs and poptarts. He slept in the tent, climbed on the rocks, went to the river, chatted by the campfire. And I didn't even have to bribe him. Maybe there is more 'socialism' in him than he cares to admit.

Fear and Trepidation

Time for our second time on the annual all church camp out on the mountain. Now that I know what to expect I am looking forward to it even less than last year. Plan to cook everything on a stick, but the STP wants steak, corn on the cob, pancakes, and green tea. He also wants all of this to be gluten free and appear magically at the campsite. I am going to take a book, and a chair. The STP and the Goob will share the tent. The STP's daughter and I have reservations in a camper with extra bed space. Hoping to see some big horn sheep--in the wild. Camping is really only fun when you are a kid and your Mom does all the preparation and all the unpacking and all the laundry. I have a new appreciation of all those trips to Clear Creek and Cook's Forest. With 8 kids, and a tent. I'm going to put a chapter on camping in the book.

A New Month

I lit the candles in the lanterns on the front porch this evening. I ordered some fabric online for curtains in the downstairs room. I started a new list, but decided I would continue to work on the summer list until after Labor Day. Life is good.