006 For all you doubters...

September 28, 2008 – Sunday

Shoshone National Park, WY

After leaving Greybull, we started looking for campsites so that I could do some camping.  We drove past a bunch of them here and there but I didn’t want to do any camping in towns, or anywhere completely boring.  So, we made it into Shoshone National Park and drove into a campground that we found.  

What luck, it had just closed for the season and we could camp there for free.  We only got slightly anxious about the large post that said something to the extent of “Beware – Active Grizzly’s in the area.” There was no running water and just vault toilets, but I didn’t care!  My mom, however, thought that since the sign said that it was a “dry campground” that we couldn’t have any alcohol…  I quickly corrected her while opening a beer.

  

There were a few other people camping there but it was pretty much wide open.  I found a campsite where I could, in fact, hang up and use my hammock!  What a great feeling that was, though I was pretty nervous about hanging it up correctly and getting the knots right, it went more smoothly than it ever had before.  I think I work well under pressure.  

I made a fire, we ate some light dinner and I had a couple/few beers, then my parents called it a night.  Just before that, I had taken out my computer and started to write about the last couple of days, before I forgot all about the exciting details.  I wrote for a while and (sorry!) ended up writing more than I thought I would, but am satisfied that I have captured my adventures for all times, for your pleasure (I hope) and my treasure.

It was a beautiful campground, really; right in a valley with a river running behind us.  That night, it did get cold.  I’m not sure how cold, exactly, but pretty chilly.  Overall, I was comfortable but my toes got cold and I couldn’t quite figure out the best breathing situation while in my sleeping bag.  Tonight will be better, I believe.  Even though it will also be colder since we’re more out in the open, at about 7300 feet I think.  Cleanup and setup was quite simple since I finally figured out my knots.  It is very quick to clean up in the morning while drinking a cup of coffee from my French press.  Yes, I’m quite happy about bringing my French press.

At first, we had planned to stay at that campground for two nights since we were only about 22 miles from Yellowstone but after talking to a neighbor there, we realized that it would be a good idea to get into Yellowstone and camp instead.  I’m glad we did, it was a longer drive in than I had anticipated and there is so much to see in the park.  Tonight, we’re in Yellowstone at the Lewis Lake campground, site 49B.  Again, there are trees for me to hang my hammock (see that, doubters!).  We’ll be staying here for two nights so that we can do some biking around tomorrow; see old faithful, some hot springs, etc.  We set up camp, did some biking and then came back for some dinner and fire making before it got too dark.  It was nice to finally be able to use my new stove; it works really well, but it is quite loud as Daphne had mentioned at one point.  

Oh well, I’ll have hot food and hot coffee.  A lot of campgrounds in the area have been closed due to a ton of Grizzly’s roaming around.  So, we’re careful not to leave anything around with any scent.  I don’t think we’ll have a problem.  In the morning, we’re hopefully going to have breakfast at some restaurant near Old Faithful and see if there are any showers or internet access available.  It’s been about 3 or 4 days since I’ve showered now, so I probably smell like a lot of things, not that I care too much.  

Anyway, tomorrow is another day and I’m going to burn some logs for a while and try to keep warm for a bit while I listen to my parents watch The Princess Bride on their computer.

004 Another kind of life…

September 26, 2008 – Friday
Greybull, WY

There has been a lot of excitement in my adventures lately! After our time in Rapid City, we spent the next two nights with some relatives on a ranch in Greybull, Wyoming. I haven’t written about it yet since I really didn’t have time or internet or phone access… Ok, so I turned my phone off completely; it’s been off for a few days now. I did, however, take a lot of notes about my time there so that I wouldn’t forget the exciting and juicy details!

Wyoming had some strange (to me) and beautiful land. I admit, I was quite enthralled by it, especially when the mountains started showing up in the distance. Hardly noticeable at first, the looming blue shapes looked a bit like clouds and a lot like mountains far away… Which of course, they were. Unfortunately, again, we got to Bighorn National Park as it was getting dark. This was especially unfortunate this time because the roads were ridiculously gorgeous, steep and windy on our way up, and even more so on the way down into Greybull. Goodness, was it beautiful, though. I did almost hit one big white jackrabbit as it was hopping/running/flying in front of me, and one cow… Yes, a cow. It was a good thing that I didn’t hit the cow since it was free range area and I would have then bought the cow. But in the end, the cow decided to wait for me to go past him before crossing. Those cows were everywhere along the roadsides!

After passing through a town called Shell which had a population of 50 (I didn’t get the elevation but it must have been somewhere around 4500), we entered Greybull which was just beyond the foot of the mountain. I then met our relatives (my dad’s cousin Kathleen and her husband Art) who ended up being absolutely wonderfully interesting and welcoming people. I got to sleep in a bunk bed while I was there (like the princess and the pea, I slept on a shotgun… but didn’t notice it… guess I’m not a princess…) and we woke up bright and early both mornings, around 7:30am so that we could get started on some work on the ranch. As some of you know, I’m not the best “rise & shiner” but what can a person do when a real cowboy comes knocking on your door saying “rise & shine!” with a huge bacon, egg & pancake breakfast cooking in the kitchen. When a person doesn’t know when they’re going to eat next, you better start the day off right. My first step to waking up after changing clothes? Grabbing a cup of coffee. What else is new?

The first morning, we went out to the “old” ranch which was where they had been ranching for the past 6 years or so. They’re currently in the process of moving everything from their old ranch to their new one which is going to be simply amazing eventually! We met some of the horses and saw the little shack that they had lived in for about 3 years at one point. I think I could live there for a while… Be a ranch hand… They had no regular electricity there, so they rigged up a generator that stored wind energy in a battery. No running water, they trucked water in monthly or whenever they needed it. For lights, they used car lights to save on power; very simple, very basic, very much life. The cabin/shack was built so that it could all be taken apart wall by wall and moved anywhere they needed it to go (like the new ranch). They may be leaving it behind, however, while they build an A-Frame cabin on the new property.

I have heard so many stories now, from Art & Kathy, about living the ranch life, being a cowboy, hunting and rounding up horses & cows… I wish I could share a few, but maybe you should just visit there sometime with me, instead. Highlights, you ask? Well, one time, Art ended up with a Russian Olive tree growing out of his head… Really. The roots ended up being about a quarter inch long. Another time, he took Sammy Davis & Paul Newman elk hunting when he had his company, DiamondA Outfitters. For a while, he would take people out hunting in the mountains, providing a guide, horses & a cook for their overnights (amongst other stuff of course). I heard tons of stories and I couldn’t possibly repeat even a small portion of them.

With the eagles flying around the mountains, the mountain lion dens and all of the other mountain & ranch life, there was non-stop gorgeousness. Now, the sort of entertainment my mom provided us was a little different, it was called stepping backwards into a cowpie. Yup, cow pie. Yummy… Gotta watch where you step on a ranch!

Anyway, it was quite entertaining, enlightening & educational. How’s that for triple e’s? We went to bed early so that we had plenty of time for ranching the next day. What have I learned? I’ve learned that I could learn a lot here.

Speaking of ranching...