Three dull days...

July 7 – Kind of a lazy day and I think we deserve it!  I actually took a nap!  Those that know me, know I do not take naps.  That’s what reading during the day does to me!

Bill did some cleaning of the compartments and put his wheel covers on.

I cut up the rest of my rhubarb and made a 5-6 serving crisp.  I did the usual load or 2 or laundry and there’s perpetual cleaning to be done.  I really wasn’t very industrious!  We had planned to do some sight seeing late in the day and see if any of the local wildlife would be out, but we just didn’t get motivated to do it.

July 8 – It was rainy this morning and of course chilly to go with it.  Bill made an appointment to get his hair cut at noon in West Yellowstone.  Since the weather came and went several times, he cleaned the windows that had bird doo on them.  We hoped to clean the roof today but not in the rain or cold!  I’m the roof person!

While Bill was gone I made double chocolate macadamia nut cookies.  Altered a recipe a bit and they are very chocolaty and crunchy!  Then I was going to organize my recipe box and in the process came across my beer bread recipe and I happened to have some beer in the fridge that was in the fridge at home and no one we’ve met so far travelling drinks beer, so I made a medium and a small loaf of bread that went well with our meatloaf, baked potato and fresh lemon/dill green beans.  I used ¾ of white wheat flour instead of all white and it was nice and hardy bread.  We had rhubarb crisp for dessert.

The park managers popped in and asked if we would move the RV forward a couple of feet as they had someone almost hit our rear turning to go down our row to park.  So we brought up the legs and Bill moved the truck and there was enough slack in our hook ups to move forward 3-4 feet and Bill  now parks the truck sideways in the front.  Better than getting hit and not telling us!

That was our excitement for the day!

July 9 – Our last day off….but, not so bad as we work one and off the next!  I made a hardy breakfast this morning once we got moving.  I toasted slices of the beer bread and made an omelet with day old bacon and shredded cheese.  Of course we had fruit, so it was a complete meal for a change!

I’m supposed to be walking 30 minutes a day and really slacking, so we walked all the rows of the park and to the office to drop mail and again to pick up mail!  Two things I had ordered arrived!

Bill was making another trip to Idaho Falls and we had made a list for Wal-mart on the way, the address of a CPAP supply place for him to get a new mask, and he was going to Lowes or HD for a new hammer for the park AND THEN going to the hearing aid doctor.  He couldn’t get an appointment until 4 and then by the time he got out it would be late for stopping places so he could just head for home. 

He made it home at 7:45 and got everything done, so it was a good day!

Trip to "Town"

July 6 – Even though we were off today we didn’t really sleep in.  I cooked some of the sausage Bill picked up this week at Dave’s Jubilee and cut up some fruit.  He had a toasted bun with his.  It was such good sausage.  I plan to freeze some to take home again.

I did a load of laundry while Bill went to the office and went through a bag of quarters looking for Denver mint ones that I need for my National Parks Quarter Collection.  He found 10-12 that were on my list!  It’s a beautiful day out and not nearly as windy as it’s been.

We left for Rexburg, 60 miles south.  We stopped at the Mormon thrift store and Bill got 2 shirts and 2 books and I got 1 book and a kitchen gadget.  Then we went to Dollar Tree and I checked out the clothing store next door but nothing my “style”.

It was lunchtime so we went to the Great Harvest Bread shop on Main St.  We’ve eaten there before and they have delicious sandwiches on fresh made bread.  They let you sample 2 breads and you can chose from 5-6.  Bill was going to get a sweet roll but we decided we were going to Freddy’s later for frozen custard.

A couple of blocks down the road is Broulim’s grocery.  It’s a great store.  Very high quality and pretty much everything you could want or need – except my wild rice I like!  I checked the ad and got some things and the rest was left for Wal-mart.  Broulim’s is more upscale than our Publix at home.  They have several lunch stations and then an upstairs dining room for guests.

Time for Freddy's!  We went through the drive through and each got a vanilla single scoop dish of frozen custard.  Not quite as good at Culver's but definitely will do in a pinch!

We did stop at Wal-mart as it’s also the last place on the north end of town.  Bill did his

The Three Sister of the Tetons

shopping and I did mine and we headed towards home.  The view of the Tetons was magnificent today.  There still plenty of snow and we could see it most of the way home.  We stopped for me to get a couple of photos.  We are miles and miles from them!

In Ashton is Dave’s Jubilee grocery and Bill had promised Gina and Rick that we would stop and get sodas for the campground.  While he was filling his cart with sodas, I got rhubarb, fresh green beans, Bing cherries and peaches that were on sale and once Bill was ready we stopped at the ice cream case and got a box each of huckleberry ice cream sandwiches and huckleberry ice cream bars.  The challenge was getting them in the freezer!  I need to be using up the items I brought with us as we need to have it empty when we leave to fill with ice cream!  We’re meeting with our camping buddies in October and I want them to get to try huckleberry ice cream!

I put the inside stuff away and Bill put his stuff away and delivered our campground purchases.  Since we were having lunch out I put half of a pork loin roast in the crock pot and we had shredded bbq pork tonight.  We finished off a couple of things in the fridge.  It’s packed as I can’t send him to the store every few days like at home.  So now it’s “eat what we have” and love it!

The evenings are still cool enough to leave the heat to come on at night as needed but the days are getting a bit warmer.

Time to clean my rhubarb and put half in the freezer!  Kam I’ll try to bring you some!

Not much to report

July 5 - It was back to work today and believe me we were dragging and so were Gina and Rick.  I met and worked today with Sherrie.  She was such a pleasure to work with.  We got along great and meshed really well.  She brought me more up to speed on the computer and we had a pretty busy day.  We ended up short $11, which was attributed to a  deposit on shower keys and we failed to collect.  It was 8:30 by the time I left. 

Gina had put chicken in the crockpot and shredded it with bbq sauce to share.  Bill left earlier than I did and he took his sandwich with him.  I took mine and had the leftover pasta salad.  It was delicious!  It was nice not to have to cook when I got home.

I've got hummingbirds!!!

July 4 – Bill volunteered to work to day and help get all of the sites mowed.  So he left about

8 and worked until 4.   I kept busy in the RV.  Our “bosses” are coming for grilling this evening so I made a pasta/veggie salad, a lime jello pie, prepped for the table settings, got the grill out and set up, took the trash to the bins, put out some Patriotic decorations, ironed, fixed the trim around the shower and hung the newly painted shower caddy and got my shower!  By then it was 3 o’clock.  I was just starting on my checkbook when Bill came in. 

I hung my hummingbird feeder and within

minutes I heard the buzzing noise their wings make when they fly.  I had 2 birds right away.  I was very excited.  Two is definitely better than none.  They were not the same colors, but they don’t sit long enough to really check the out too closely.

Gina and Rick came over to eat grilled hot links and cheddar brat burgers.  The weather had turned pretty cold and very windy so the plans to eat at the picnic table fell by the wayside.  Bill put the chairs away and brought in the tablecloth before it blew away.  He did do the grilling out.  The meal was good and of course I had plenty of leftovers.  Gina and Rick each had to go to the office once or twice for late arrivals.  We ended up talking til 11:30.  No one could believe it had gotten so late.

Work starts ....

July 3 – First day on the job was great!  Bill did a lot of painting and making hose connectors for a lot of the sights.   After lunch time  I told Gina, my boss,  that I thought it would be most beneficial  to her if I  kind  of  traded  with  the lady working the  front as  she has  a lot of ex- perience on  the  new  software  for  reservations  than I do  and I didn’t  want to  be  making mistakes and  creating more work for her.   She agreed  it was a better  move so  I spent the afternoon at  the front desk and  did start learning  about the software but not from the email reservation system.   Most of the  duties I  know from my  2 previous stints  here just need to refresh on the cash register and the balancing.

Bill was painting signs and he recruited me to do around the letters so I helped him out for a

Cute little bird on our roof

while with that.  Everyone helps with closing up for the night.  It used to be just who was working the front desk, so that was nice.  Gina did part of the restrooms and swept, Toby cleaned the dryer vents, I mopped the floors and bagged the trash.  Makes it go much faster and not so back breaking!  Bill used to help me do the floors a lot when we were here before.

The weather has been in the 40’s at night so we’ve learned to put the heat on before going to bed.  The days are a bit windy at least part of the day.  We had a bit of “weather” for a few hours today but it blew over and the sun finally came out in full force.

We got to the RV around 7:30 so I cook a “bag meal” that is 2 servings.  It’s 10 minutes on the stove.  It was Three Cheese Chicken and has your meat, pasta and veggies all in one.  I will keep a couple on hand for nights we don’t have leftovers and it’s too late to cook from scratch. 

Watched a bit of TV and then read til we were both falling asleep.

Rough weather

July 2 – I was awakened  by thudding  on the roof  and thought  we were  in a  hail  storm.   I looked out at the picnic table expecting to see clear rocks  thudding on it but it  was just  BIG drops of rain.  Bill got up  after me  and was  looking for  the same thing.   It  was a cold  and nasty morning.  Poor Bill had to leave in it to drive to Idaho Falls for a doctor appointment.  It wasn’t til the afternoon but he was  running an errand  for the park  manager and  had some things to get for us as well.  He hoped to get  his hair cut but  said by the time he  located all the places and did the shopping it was time for his appointment and then he was stopping in Rexburg at Walmart and Dave’s Jubilee in Ashton for his homemade  sausage! It’s so good, I will take a few pounds home when we leave!

So Bill rolled in about 7.  I didn’t bother cooking, I had an apple with almond butter about 6 and that was it!

The view behind us

While he was gone I cleaned all my counters and backsplash, made a new brownie recipe that is super rich!  Did a load of laundry, put our my hummingbird feeder, put out a string of lights, put 2 coats of spray paint on my shower caddy, made hotel and car rentals reservations for Jared to go to Ohio and pick up our cedar siding, and checked in with our bosses.  I did not get my ironing done or my shower caddy re-hung as I noticed the trim it hangs from is coming off the wall.  I need to charge the drill and drill holes to screw it back up.

All in all it was a busy day!  The sun finally came out around noon but it never got past 64 out.  Not that I’m complaining!  I invited Gina and Rick to eat with us for the 4^th!  She was very happy to be invited and more so when I told her not to bring anything!  Bill got corn on the cob today and I have my menu all planned.

Tomorrow is our first day of work.  Not sure what I’m going to be doing for sure, but I’m flexible!

Settling In

July 1 – It was cold when we got up this morning, I should have turned the heat on last

The view in front of us

night.  It was in the 40’s!  Bill cleaned outside and I cleaned inside today!  I’ve Orange Glo’d all the wood in the RV, did my floors, found homes for most of the stuff in the way.  Did more laundry.  That was just this morning!

We agreed to work hard this morning, shower and go to West Yellowstone for lunch and we wanted to go to the hardware store, the outlet store, the store where we get soft serve cones for .50 (and now they have huckleberry), the jewelry store, the grocery store and the visitor center.  Not one thing has changed.  You’d think in the years that we’ve come here the town would be growing but it’s the same streets as before.

We dropped some mail in the post office. Then we drove around a bit and stopped at the general store ad eventually headed home.  Lunch at The Outpost was good.  We both had the soup and salad bar.  Both soups were very thick and good.  The salad bar had some interesting choices!

We saw no wild life on the way into or out of town.  Quite often in the past we have seen a variety of animals, but maybe they’re still hiding from the tourists.