Back in West Yellowstone again

We entered Yellowstone National Park through the east entrance from Cody Wyoming and drove across the park. The climb over the pass in the Absaroka Mountain range was beautiful through the snow (this was May 21). Here are a couple of pictures.  (Reminder: you can click on pictures to view them larger).

Crossing the Absaroka Mountains on
May 21

Yellowstone Lake still ice covered
on May 21

 We arrived back to our camp site on the Gallatin National Forest Ranger station compound and were greeted with a pile of snow. We didn't think to take a picture before getting to work with shovels to move snow, and after backing in, to level out ruts in the mud. At least the pile wan't too bad, the mud was a bit more discouraging. After that welcome, we are all settled for another summer of adventure.

Our hiking options were limited because most trails were still closed due to snow until recently. We have had a few hikes now as the snow is quickly disappearing other than at higher elevations. The wild flowers are starting to pop out in numbers and the birds are arriving back.

Whits Lake - an alpine lake in the
Gallatin National Forest

Western Tanager

Field of White Mule Ears

Glacier Lilys

So I go on an 8 mile hike in the back country hoping to see wildlife and all I see is one deer and the normal ravens and small birds. Lots of scat, but no critters.  Then while driving home along the Madison River there is a pair of Bald Eagles just hanging out. Go figure.

Heading back to Montana

I haven't given an update for a while so I thought I would get caught up. We left Tucson the beginning of April and stayed a week in Phoenix to get some stuff done before moving on to Denver for a month. We had a great time visiting our daughter and family in Denver.  We are now on our way back to West Yellowstone Montana for the summer. We had such a great summer last year we decided to go back again.

On the way to West Yellowstone we spent a night in Casper, Wyoming where we visited the Fort Caspar Museum. This was a neat little museum on the Platte river in a location where several westward trails crossed the river. The history of ferries and bridges was highlighted along with other local history.

We then moved on to Cody, Wyoming where we visited the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. We spent close to six hours in this amazing museum (link to website: http://centerofthewest.org/ ). It is really five museums in one and each is very good. I won't spend time explaining each because the website will do a much better job. If you are anywhere near Cody plan a day to visit.

Tomorrow we will arrive back in West Yellowstone. I'll post our hiking and travel adventures as we enjoy the amazing beauty and history of the area.

Buffalo Bill statue - Cody, WY

Tucson

We moved to Tucson in February and are parked in the Sabino Canyon volunteer RV area.  We work as volunteers in exchange for our hookups.  Sabino Canyon is one of our favorite places in Arizona, not only because it is very pretty and affords a lot of hiking, but also because we've been coming here as visitors for many years. We have many fond memories of climbing on rocks along the stream when the kids were small.  We'll be here into April when it is time to start working our way north.

Here are a few pictures from Sabino Canyon.

View north from our campsite
to the canyon

Migrating Cedar Waxwings stopped by
for a visit outside our window

Bear Canyon hike

7 Falls on Bear Canyon trail
Not a lot of water this dry winter

Bear Canyon hike

We had an amazing, full, crisp double
rainbow at sunset on a rare rainy day

Happy New Year - 2013 year summary

What a great year! Although we put on fewer miles in the motorhome than in the past we sure had a wonderful time. Starting with last winter, we finally got to the west side of Arizona to Bullhead City and Lake Havasu City. Although we wouldn't want to live there, we had a good visit. We had the dream summer staying in West Yellowstone Montana on the edge of Yellowstone National Park and the Gallatin National Forest.  We weren't sure how we would handle staying in one place for 3 months but it wasn't a problem. The beauty and hiking trails are boundless and there are a lot of historical places to see on day or weekend trips. When we left there we did a week of history, with an emphasis on the Oregon Trail, in Wyoming and Nebraska on our way to Denver.

We were in (around) Denver for almost 3 months for the arrival of our first grandchild. This of course was the next highlight of our year. She is healthy, happy and precious beyond words.

As I said, we didn't put a ton of miles on the motorhome the past year but we still saw a lot of great places and scenery, this time by car. Not to mention the ultimate fun of a grandchild.  

Here is the updated map of our travels with 2013 added (the red line) and a recent picture of sweet granddaughter.  (As always, you can click on a picture to see it enlarged.)

Christmas outfit

Go Packers!

Back in AZ

We arrived back in Arizona and spent a couple of weeks in the southern part of the state. We didn't do much except visit our friends in Serra Vista, including Thanksgiving, and family in Tucson.  We then moved up to the Phoenix area where we will stay until February visiting friends and doctors and such. Yes, we need to take care of business just like everyone else, we just pack it into a couple months each winter. 

I thought I would give this little update and say Merry Christmas.

Silver City, NM

After almost three months around Denver it was time to hit the road and head for warmer weather. We were very fortunate to spend a lot of time there during Mia's first 11 weeks. We headed south on I-25 and decided to go all the way down to I-10 and stay a couple of nights in Deming, NM so that we could drive up to Silver City. We really wanted to go to the Gila Cliff dwellings also but decided to save that for another trip because of the time it would take.

The one house that survived

The Big Ditch

We were hoping for a little more out of historic Silver City. There were some old buildings from the 1880's but there wasn't much of a wow factor. The most interesting thing about the town was learning about the Big Ditch and how it was Main Street when the town was first built. The short story is that a big flood went right down the street wiping out all but one building and gouged out a gully. In spite of efforts to save the street, subsequent floods just kept making it deeper and wider. It eventually became known as the Big Ditch, and with reinforced sides, it still flows with every rain. Part of the ditch now has a city park in it proving that the residents have embraced the Big Ditch.

Interpretive sign that says it all

Denver

Two weeks old

We arrived in Denver August 24 and our focus has been on our first grandchild.  Mia was born September 6 and is, of course, cute and sweet.

Fountain Valley trail

So far we've only done one short get away and that was to Roxborough State Park which is just southwest of Denver.  It is a neat little park with it's only focus on hiking trails which is perfect for us. The trails weave around through pretty upthrust red rocks with neat formations.  Here are a few pics.

Fountain Valley trail

Fountain Valley trail