Spring Fever

A 62-day adventure by Geezers in Paradise Read more

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Spring Fever Traveler
Jackson Hole
April 24, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F
Is it Jackson Hole or Jackson? I finally looked it up. This is what Wikipedia says:

'Jackson Hole is a valley between the Teton Mountain Range and the Gros Ventre Range in Wyoming. The term "hole" was used by early trappers or mountain men, who primarily entered the valley from the north and east and had to descend along relatively steep slopes, giving the sensation of entering a hole. The only incorporated town in the valley is Jackson, sometimes also mistakenly called Jackson Hole.'

Whatever they call it, it is some seriously beautiful country. These are photos taken as we drove around Jackson Hole today.Read more
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Spring Fever Traveler
The Clutch of Consciousness
April 25, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 41 °F
We both awoke feeling a little foggy this morning. Took our time over morning routine, and finally got going to find the recreation center. Gordon had been very much looking forward to working out to help his ailing back. The day fee was very reasonable, but turns out they have no equipment … only a gym and a very large pool full of frolicking families. A fine place, but did not fit the bill.

We stumbled over to the closest decent-looking breakfast place to see about some coffee and something to eat: the Bunnery Bakerey & Restaurant. What a find! We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast with eggs, bacon, and a signature whole grain pancake with real wild blueberries and Vermont maple syrup. Laurie, it turns out I was ahead of my time. Millet (aka birdseed) is now the hip grain, and added a delightful crunch along with the oats and sunflower seeds in our pancake.

I told the waitress we needed plenty of coffee as we were feeling fuzzy this morning. She said, “Everyone is. It’s in the air. It’s the clutch of consciousness.”

Well, I thought that just explained everything as I felt pretty clutched in my consciousness. Gordon later clarified that she said, “Collective consciousness,” but I am suspicious that he just heard what he expected.

Feeling very well fed and reenergized, we headed out to explore a few more shops that had been closed yesterday. The By Nature Gallery (bynaturegallery.com)
is not to be missed! They have an incredible assortment of gemstones, fossils, and unusual nature based artwork such as castings of anthills. The gentleman behind the counter (possibly the owner) was a true enthusiast and spent a good amount of time with us explaining everything. Gordon is pictured below with a cast of an actual T-Rex skull that you can buy (for a small phenomenal fee) and put in your living room … if it is big enough.Read more
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Spring Fever Traveler
Jackson Hole Continued
April 26, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F
The sun sort of showed itself today, lighting up patches of mountain peaks and valleys, while leaving the dramatic cloud cover in tact. We went driving on our last day in Jackson to enjoy the view in this gorgeous country.Read more
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Spring Fever Traveler
... and more
April 26, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F
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Spring Fever Traveler
80 degrees? WHAT 80 degrees?
April 26, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F
We had packed for a reasonable variety of weather before we left. Just 2 days before departure, reports of 80 degree weather on our route made an appearance. I snatched more hot-weather clothes from the shelves and tossed them in. Then we HIT the 80 degree weather and said, "this is nuts!" We headed for Jackson, WY where there were predictions of snow dusting and cool temps. We were disappointed on the snow front, but not the temperature. In fact, donning all my layers did not suffice, and I refused to wear the sheep skin outside the trailer in case any activists might throw paint on it.

On our way back to the campground today, we dipped into Sports Authority where they were having a nice end-of-season sale. The selection was thin. I thought one jacket might do, but it was unisex and kind of made me look like a box, or perhaps a murky fish aquarium in need of cleaning. Gordon found a VERY fluffy cold-weather down vest that looked like it would do the job. But the only color was white, and when I tried it on I looked exactly like a marshmallow with legs. Then we found this sweet transitional down jacket which had only one in my size ... fortunately purple. Now if only I hadn't decided I only needed to pack one of my snappy wool hats. I chose the red one, leaving the PERFECTLY MATCHED purple one at home. Fortunately, I'm just about that age where people EXPECT you to start wearing purple and red together.

As of this evening practically ALL of Wyoming east of us is getting snow. Tomorrow we are going to brave it and head for Lander. I feel prepared for the temperatures, but am now wondering if I should have picked up a pair of those "chains" for your shoes.Read more
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Spring Fever Traveler
Backtracking
April 27, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 45 °F
The winter weather looks to be hanging around in Wyoming for a while. The cold os not what is bothering us, rather the snow and ice on the passes. So back up into Montana where the roads are dry.
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Spring Fever Traveler
Backside of the Tetons... again
April 27, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 45 °F
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Spring Fever Traveler
Approaching West Yellowstone
April 27, 2016 in the United States ⋅ 🌫 41 °F
Coming into new territory again. Stopped for tea in West Yellowstone and got excited as a few snow flurries drifted around. Gordon tried capturing them with a long exposure, but only got a blurry photo and no flurries. We don't have an app for a super-fast exposure, so no flurries for you. Sorry.Read more
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Spring Fever Traveler
Sacrificing for the sake of art
April 27, 2016 in the United States ⋅ 🌫 39 °F
This route took us up through a corner of Yellowstone we had never seen. There were many gorgeous photo-ops, even with the dim lighting. There was one particularly difficult photo that just wouldn't be caught. Gordon even walked through the mile-high snow to get the best Wilson L Nicoll memorial point of view, keeping a wary eye out for bears, and almost tumbling into the rushing river. Though we got some nice photos, this one eluded us. But the ones of Gordon are nice.Read more
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Spring Fever Traveler
More Yellowstone
April 27, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 37 °F
Including the Ruth B Nicoll memorial "well if they didn't want fingers in the photos, they should have put the little hole in a different place" photo.
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Spring Fever Traveler
Bozeman
April 27, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 37 °F
Looking at the weather, we agree we made the right choice. Almost every town we'd planned to go to in Wyoming is expecting snow and more snow for at least the coming week. By contrast, we saw this lovely sight in front of our restaurant in Bozeman.

Our intended restaurant was the Bozeman Ale House, known for it's good pub food and excellent beers. They were closed for some reason, so we poured over our options, hoping to find something similar. I had pooh poohed Ted's Montana Steakhouse as a chain, but Gordon convinced me that under duress it could be considered a LOCAL chain, since he DOES grow his cows here, and it IS called the MONTANA steakhouse. It was a good choice. The burgers were fantastic, and we still got our local brews, also top notch.

We are staying at the Bozeman KOA, which is no longer a KOA but is now owned by Bozeman Hot Springs right next door. As part of staying here, we can go soak in the springs, which we happily did after dinner. It's a family oriented place with a number of pools, large and small, hot, medium and cold. Lots of kids playing in the big one with their parents. We even went outside to try the two new outdoor pools but turned around as it was raining and 40 degrees. But we did have a delightful soak.

We are now unwinding in the geezer-mobile, cozy inside, listening to a gentle rain outside.Read more
Margaret NicholsWell, you are having fun and so am I reading your travel log. I am sorry the weather is not cooperating but you are seeing great things anyway. love M and G
4/30/16Reply
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Spring Fever Traveler
Leaving Bozeman
April 30, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F
We spent two days here and were so busy enjoying the city that we forgot to blog, or even take photographs. It's a great city in an amazing setting. Tons of cultural happenings, excellent grocery stores and good beer. They even have a tango community!

Too bad about the harsh winters, though we met one 90-year-old woman in the grocery store who had moved there from California 5 years ago. She said she had learned to drive in the ice and snow and now felt safe.Read more
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Livingston MT
April 30, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F
What a sweet little town. Flowering tree-lined streets and a lively downtown with historic buildings and very few of them empty. We MAY have indulged in a sweet treat purchased from the Coffee Pot cafe next to our campground this morning.

We enjoyed reading in their newspaper that the latest flap was over a recent policy banning display of the confederate flag on the high school campus due to the fact that their first black student was enrolling. One first amendment loving student tricked his truck out with multiple American AND Confederate flags and parked it on campus in protest. He stated emphatically that he believes in freedom of speech, and that ALL points of view need to be freely expressed. In addition, he stated that if we start tossing out our history as if it hadn't happened, we are in a world of hurt. When asked, the interviewer found the black student was blissfully unaware of the entire froo-faraw. The concerned administrators facilitated a get-together between the protester and the black student who talked for an hour. A heartfelt hug was cited by the article writer as the happy ending to the story. We believe, however, that the unfortunate censorship policy is still in place.Read more
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Spring Fever Traveler
Entering Wyoming
April 30, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F
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Spring Fever Traveler
Sheridan KOA
April 30, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F
We couldn't remember if we had stayed at this KOA or not. We thought that perhaps, maybe, we had. But nope... this is a new KOA for us. It is a nice KOA run by a lady from Equador.

We drove around Sheridan this evening just to get a feel for the layout of the town. We have driven through Sheridan before, but never off the main drag. We both got a bit depressed looking around the town, perhaps because we are a bit tired.

There is always tomorrow.Read more
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Exploring Sheridan
May 1, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F
We enjoyed driving around Sheridan, and loved it's geographic setting at the feet of the Bighorn Mountains. They have a beautiful YMCA, so Gordon wanted to workout ... AGAIN! I didn't feel up to it yet, especially as my foot has been really bothering me lately (strained in tango class before we left). However, I was sure I could find SOMEthing to do.

Well, the helpful young man at the desk gave us a pass to the "premium" locker rooms. I don't think he was supposed to, but when I saw that beautiful hot tub I knew I was in the right place. While soaking, I had a good conversation with a local resident, Flavia, whose family is from Sheridan, but who had lived most of her life in Brazil, France, Florida and other places. We compared life in Sheridan and Olympia, both of us loving many things about our beautiful cities, but both bemoaning a toxic political mono-culture: Sheridan's on the right, Olympia's on the left. Both of us were a little shocked to hear it was the same on both ends of the spectrum.

The conversation left me a bit chastened. Is there anywhere left where folks can respectfully disagree and still be good friends and neighbors?

But the soak was just what I needed, and my foot felt really really good the whole time I was in the tub. Gordon ran 2 miles, but didn't gloat so I guess it's ok.Read more
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Bighorn Mountains outside of Sheridan
May 2, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F
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Spring Fever Traveler
Buffalo WY
May 2, 2016 in the United States ⋅ 🌫 55 °F
Buffalo is in Johnson County, home of Craig Johnson, author of the Longmire books of which I am a big fan. The country is beautiful and the town welcoming. We ate a delicious soup and sandwich lunch at the Sagebrush Cafe. Sorry I didn't have room to add the photo of the cherry pie, but by the time I remembered to snap it, it was but a mere cherry bite so you aren't missing much.

Gordon has been puzzled and disappointed that there are so few gardens in Wyoming. The answer may have been revealed in Buffalo as we saw plenty of deer and a rabbit making themselves at home on the lawns of the locals.Read more
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Buffalo to Casper
May 2, 2016 in the United States ⋅ 🌫 57 °F
After Buffalo the landscape gave way to dry, endless prairie inhabited mostly by antelope. We have seen many of the prong horned variety, but alas are not fast (or near) enough on the camera to get a good shot. We offer someone else's off the web ... but THEY LOOK JUST LIKE THAT!Read more
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More Buffalo to Casper
May 2, 2016 in the United States ⋅ 🌫 55 °F
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Casper WY
May 2, 2016 in the United States ⋅ 🌫 57 °F
Can you tell we've figured out how to use the panorama setting on our iPhone cameras? Honestly, we tried to get some good looking photos of Casper, but the best one is actually that panorama of the highway coming into town. The town itself seems haphazardly laid out, temporary and run down at the same time. Even the presence of a YMCA couldn't mitigate our disappointment. We will head out tomorrow morning.Read more
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Casper to Lander
May 3, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F
Mostly dry dry dry. You'll see we finally got our own picture of an antelope. Finally! And I don't know why it was so difficult, because there's half a million in this state.

We had lunch at a wonderful little restaurant in Riverton. An award winning Cordon Bleu-trained chef met a cowboy and the result was Les Complements. I had the traditional crêpe with gruyere, Ham, and dijon sauce… Authentically Continental in flavor. Gordon went for a less traditional Ruben crepe. Delicious!Read more
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Harumph
May 3, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
We are waiting in the urgent care place. Heather thinks that they will take one look at her foot and think that they should look at the other foot cause they wont see anything wrong. I am sure that the swelling is so severe that nicknames like peg leg and club foot are perfectly appropriate.

Hopefully the nurse will see us soon so we can get out to see the town.

Not broken! Just like Heather said. She is right again as usual. Just need to elevate, wrap, ice, and ibuprophen.

OK, Heather here. If I may complain just for a wee minute. When GORDON went to the urgent care clinic in Albuquerque, HE got a cool splint that looked like a shark. What do I get? A SLUG WRAP. Humph.

Gordon again... the lines on Heather's swollen foot are not zombie virus scum, and I did not wrap Heather's foot in duct tape (I would have if I had thought of it), but Heather did wrap her foot in a tape for that purpose. It was hellish to peel off and left those horrible lines.Read more
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Lander, been here before!
May 3, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F
We did not remember being in Lander before, but we remembered the Sleeping Bear RV Park as we drove into it. It was three years ago when we took our maiden voyage with our roof top tent. The weather was lousy and cold, so we stayed in a cabin here. Then we went on to Cody and stayed there in a hotel. Then next morning there was 4 inches of snow on top of the car and tent.Read more
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Beaver Rim
May 4, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F
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