Golden Wind Catchers

Our time here is almost over. I can't believe how lucky we are to have had the opportunity to be in such a magnificent place for every season. We arrived here in May with snow on the ground. The snow continued into June and even though I was freezing, it was a magical winter wonderland, with this blanket of pure white everywhere you looked. The snow peaked mountains were spectacular. (Sorry, I just got done watching a Disney movie.) Anyway, with spring came the flowers; Lupin, Balsam Root, and Indian Paintbrush peaked and then blossomed on every inch of the flats with yellow, purple, white and reds. It was fantastic. The summer was equally beautiful, with warm days and cool nights. But my favorite season has been fall. The Aspen and Cottonwood trees are alive with color. Yellow and gold leaves that shimmer like wind chimes, with no sound, in the breeze. Natures version of a fireworks show.

I hate to leave this breathtaking place, but we are going to Tahoe in a couple of days. Our new adventure. We have decided to settle there for a little while and sell the RV, as hard as that is.

I want to thank you for coming along on the journey with us. With each comment you made on the blog, we felt like each one of you was with us. It is always a little easier to take a big leap in life when you know you have people rooting for you. With that, am officially closing this chapter of the journey. Thanks for enjoying the ride.

Kelly & Scott

Happy Anniversary

Today is August 13th. It has been exactly one year to the day that we started this trip. I can't believe it. We have had such an amazing journey. People ask us all the time, which place was your favorite? That is really tough to answer. I would have to say that it has been the actual journey that is my favorite, not the exact places. The people we've met, the food we've eaten and the experiences we've had, have made each place we've stopped amazing. Being able to eat an apple picked right off the tree, getting drenched by one of most powerful falls in North America, looking into the vastness that is the Grand Canyon, living in a National park, and so much more, are the memories that I will never forget.

Karma

We have had a lot of visitors lately. It is always great when we can show off this amazing park to other people. Scott's mom, her husband Bobby, my sister Jessie and cousin Arden were all just here. It was great. We went white water rafting, hiking, and just tooled around.

I wanted to share a story with you about karma. My sister, cousin and I decided to go hiking, but first I wanted to take them to the top of a road that has spectacular views of the Tetons. After taking a ton of pictures we met a mother and daughter that had hiked up and needed a ride down, which I told them was no problem. (By the way, it is totally out of character for me to give rides to strangers, but this place has that kind of affect on people.) Turns out that the mothers name is Denise (same as my mom's name) and the daughters name is Kelly (same as my..well, you know), too weird. They were from New Orleans and were super nice. We dropped them off at the Signal Mountain Lodge and decided to go to lunch.

After lunch we went on a 2.9 mile hike to Phelps Lake. It was great fun we even saw a moose, nothing like my 16 mile hike in Yellowstone, ugh the horror. Anyway, I digress, later that night when we were getting ready for dinner we realized that Jessie's wallet was missing. The last time she had it was at lunch. To say she was panicked, would be an understatement. She was getting ready to fly out in a week and had no identification. We called the restaurant, but they told us they did not have it. So we decided to drive over there and look for ourselves. Turns out we ended up finding it at the front desk of the lodge, which was such a relief.

The girls left the next morning and I went back to work. When I got there one of the staff said to me, "You know those two girls you gave a ride to yesterday? They found your sisters wallet on the bench outside the restaurant and had turned it in. They just wanted to let you know".

Karma

Over The River And Through The Woods To Union Falls We Go

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but we have made friends with our boss Gill and his fiance Nicole. They are super nice and we hang out from time to time and always have fun. So when they suggested going on a hike we were all for it. When he said it was a 16 mile hike, I had to think about it. The longest hike I have ever completed was eight miles. Gill is a pretty good salesman and made it sound like a blast with a huge reward at the end of the first leg, Union Falls, where several rivers come together and make a vail-like falls. It sounded spectacular.

The next day we met for an early breakfast and drove to Yellowstone for the start of the hike. On the way there Gill got a call from work that the computer system crashed and he needed to come in. I should have taken that as a sign that I wasn't meant to go on a 16 mile hike. About an hour later the computers were fixed and we were on our way, yet again to the hike from hell....I mean the hike to Union Falls. It started out innocent enough, with the mosquitoes eating us alive in the parking lot. A short ways into the hike we had to cross a knee deep (or upper thigh deep for us short folk) stream, which was actually quite cool, both literally and figuratively.

I like when a hike has different elements so that it is not boring and I will say that this hike was definitely not boring. We crossed streams, hiked through mud (where I almost lost my shoe), dust, Logepole pines, brush, rocky downhills, more streams, bypassed the hot springs (because it was just too darn hot outside to jump in a hot pool), and ultimately ended at Union Falls. Just as promised, it was spectacular. We ate our packed lunch and watched the falls....well... fall, took pictures, and then started the trek back. Mind you we had gone eight miles, only half way into the hike. We still had to hike the eight miles back the way we came.

I think ten miles was my breaking point. I was doing great, joking and telling stories, but then we started climbing up hill, step, by awful step. Gill and Nicole were way ahead and it was just Scott and I. Out of the kindness of their heart or pity, I don't know which, they would wait for us from time to time. I knew it was bad when I couldn't speak anymore. Both dehydrated and heat exhausted I thought I was going to pass out, but I trudged on. Scott stopped telling me it was almost over after I pretty much took his head off with my glare.

I was so happy by the end I forgot about the 10 miles of very bumpy dirt road that we took out to the hike and now had to drive back on. Now that the adrenaline wore off, and with the car rocking back and forth, the nausea started to set in. Yes folks this is the part of the story I would much rather forget. I got sick in front of my boss. At least I had the grace to make it out of the car. Not the highlight of my career.

Needless to say I don't think we will be doing any more 16 mile hikes even if there was a pot of gold at the end. Okay, maybe for a pot of gold.

Close Encounters of the Yellowstone Kind

I have never lived this close to nature before. One of our neighbors sent us an email the other day with a picture of a "visitor" we had. A big moose was right outside our coach just munchin' on some grass. We also have a resident fox and several mule deer that we see from time to time. Out of all the parks we've stayed in we have seen the most wildlife here. It is truly amazing.

We traveled on a short section of the lower loop in Yellowstone the other day, and stopped and saw Old Faithful, which was punctual as usual. It was so neat to see the boiling water and steam shoot out of the ground. The most amazing thing we saw were the geothermal pools. They were like something straight out of a science fiction movie. I just couldn't get over the vibrant yellow and blue coloring of the pools. It makes you want to jump in, except for the fact that the water is scalding and the minerals might make your skin fall off. No big deal.

One of the perks of working for Grand Teton Lodge Company is that you get to go on all the activities for free. You also get to use the boats on a first come first serve basis. (Remind me again, why we dragged our ocean kayak all the way across the US?) Anyway, we decided to take advantage of the kayaks, and took two out for the day. I am pretty used to tandem kayaking and when I get tired Scott paddles for the both of us. You really can't do that in a kayak for one. Man my arms are killing me!

Stayed tuned for more adventures from the wild, wild west!

Click here to see all our photos from Yellowstone

Click here to see some kayaking pictures

"Moose, Bison and Grizzly Bears, Oh My!"

For those of you that don't know, Scott and I decided to do some seasonal work out in the Grand Teton Mountains. We both got jobs at Jackson Lake Lodge. I am Activities Manager and Scott is the Front Office Manager. We thought it would be a great experience to work and play in such a beautiful National Park for five months.

On our way into the park we got a grand welcome from all the animals. We saw Elk, Moose, and Bison (not to be confused with Buffalo). Also, on our way in we saw this big crowd of people with long lens cameras and Rangers standing in the middle of the road. As we pulled up the Ranger motioned us to pass slowly. We didn't know exactly what was going on until we saw three Grizzly cubs (and by cubs I mean three year old looked like full size bears to me, cubs), just eating and doing bear things on one side of the road and a mama bear on the other. It was almost like a reverse zoo as we passed by them. Us on the inside of the RV looking out at them. We found out later that even though we went slow our diesel engine made the mama bear nervous and she called her three cubs over and they went on their way. I'm sure the photographers weren't too happy with us. Oops...

It sure is a different world out here. We have been taking about a million pictures of the Teton Mountains, but they just don't do them justice. It it amazing! I highly recommend making the trip.

We have been out here a month and a half and are working hard and playing hard on our days off. Yellowstone is only 20 miles from us and we can't wait to head up that way and check it out too.

If you want to see the hotel we are working at, the website is http://www.gtlc.com/.

Click here to see all our photos from Jackson Hole

Hibernating in Mt. Hood

After spending a great couple of days in Washington we needed to figure out where to go next. It is still too cold to go camping so we looked at all sorts of cool Guest Houses and even a house boat, but ultimately found a cozy two bedroom cabin in Mt. Hood, Oregon.

It has been wonderful hibernating here. We got enough groceries for the week and have been reading books and just relaxing. It took some adjustment at first, this notion of relaxing, but it is something that I could really get used to. It even snowed a couple of days. For those fellow Floridians who have never experienced this thing called snow, it is like rain but much colder (Wikipedia eat your heart out). And in my dorky excitement I even called my mom to sing "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire", because the snow reminded me of Christmas. Not like Christmas in Florida, because we are usually wearing shorts of course, but other peoples Christmas. Like on TV...maybe I shouldn't have shared.

While here we also visited the Boneville Dam and fish hatchery and played in the snow on Mount Hood.

Next week we go pick up the Coach in Junction City and we are off to The Grand Teton Mountains! Woohoo!!

Click here to see all our photos from Mount Hood, Oregon

It doesn't Always Rain in Seattle

I haven't seen my cousin Storm in too long and these last couple of days with her have been great. She totally made us feel welcome in her home. Even her three cats put up with Maggie invading their space.

Let me tell you it is great fun going to all these different places and figuring out where to go and what to see, but there is nothing like seeing a city through the eyes of a local. They know all the cool places to go, how to get there and more importantly where to park. I think, as a tourist, most of the day spent going places is wasted on finding a place to park. When you travel with locals, you get to sit back and relax knowing you are being taken somewhere great.

We did so many things it is hard to mention them all. One of my favorites was going to Seattle and seeing the famous Pike Place Market. It is in all the movies where you see the guys throwing fish, which is neat, but the best part of the market is all the snacky food you can get. We got chocolate covered cherries, bags of candy, hazelnuts, cheese, and of course coffee. I also bought a silver bracelet that has "Happiness is a Choice" etched in it. It is a really nice reminder for me to, not sweat the small stuff. The ironic thing is that the woman had to bend it pretty hard to keep it from slipping off my rather small wrist and now I can't take it off. So happiness is still a choice, but taking off the bracelet is not, I am stuck with it. But I like it so whatever... We really enjoyed talking to all the different vendors. Most of these vendors are farmers and independent people that are so passionate about what they are selling.

The next day we went to another country...the Greene's second time in Canada. We drove around Vancouver and went to the Granville Island Public Market, where we ate more snacky goodness and drank more coffee. We also drove through the famous Stanley Park.

I must make mention of the food in Washington. We have eaten in some of the best restaurants and had some of the freshest food of the trip so far. My new favorite fish is Sockeye Salmon. Yummy!!! The coffee here is also great and not just at Starbucks. There are hundreds of little mom and pop coffee places. I must also mention that even thought this has been an extremely cold April for the upper west coast, we had two beautiful sunny days here. Debunking the myth that it is always raining in Seattle.

Thanks again to Stormy, Rainy and Dan for showing us such a good time!

Click here to see all our photos from Seattle and Click here to see all our photos from Vancouver

We Are Officially Homeless

Well, we made it to Oregon in one piece. Driving through the snow was pretty scary, but we watched the weather and drove slow. We found a great website called trip check, which shows you pictures of the highway. We could see that the snow was melting and the highway was clear.

This picture on the left is a view out our window on the drive through the Siskiyou Mountain Pass.

After our stressful drive we packed up the Coach and left it with the mechanic and are now officially homeless. It was such a rush to get here we hadn't planned where we were going to go next. Originally we thought we were going to go camping during this time, but because it has been such a cold spring and in the rush, forgot to pack most of our gear, we needed to stay somewhere with a heater. So I researched Bed and Breakfasts in Oregon and found a cute B & B on the Oregon coast that allows dogs. It is pretty hard to find a nice place that is affordable and lets you have pets.

I don't know why, but we are not big B&B'ers and have only stayed in one other B&B. After the hot tub, homemade breakfasts and freshly baked cookies (and I'm not talking slice n' bake), we sure are fans now. The name of the Guest House is Pana-Sea-Ah and it is great. Not only is it on the beach, it is in Depoe Bay and close to Newport and Lincoln City. So there is plenty of stuff to do and places to eat. Mostly we walked on the beach with Maggie (she absolutely loved it) and relaxed. Our host Mary was great and really made us feel welcome. I would definitely recommend it. http://www.panaseah.com/

Next stop is Bellingham, WA to see my cousin Storm.

When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth

We are staying in Chowcilla, CA which is just an hour away from Yosemite National Park. We went hiking in Yosemite yesterday and there was snow on the ground. I don't know if you read that..SNOW. We were just in Indio where it was 97 degrees and now we are hiking in the snow, crazy! Anyway, the park is huge and we only had enough time to see a small part of it but what we saw was fantastic. The part of the park that we hiked through was called Mariposa Grove and had some of the oldest Sequoia trees in the US. One of the trees we saw was named the Grizzly Giant, a 2,700 year old tree that is 209 feet high and 100 feet around at the base. Look closely at the picture to the right, at the very bottom you can see me standing with my arms in the air. I look like a speck compared to the Grizzly Giant. It was pretty amazing to see these huge trees that are among some of the oldest known organisms on earth and think that dinosaurs roamed through forests like these. It figuratively and literally makes you feel very small as a species.

Our next stop is Junction City, Oregon where we are dropping off the Coach for some service. We spoke to a couple from Oregon who left the park and came back the same day. We jokingly asked them what happened and they said that a snow storm was moving into the Oregon area and they didn't want to drive through it because they didn't have their snow tires with them. I'll let that sink in for a moment... These "locals" didn't want to drive through an area that we "tourists" were supposed to drive through the next day. Great!

If you haven't noticed I am kind of a winter wimp. Give me Hurricane any day (knock on wood), but driving the Big Rig through snow is not my idea of a fun time. We've decided to drive to Redding, CA and watch the weather. If it looks okay we will move on to Oregon. Yikes, I'm scared. :(

Click here to see all our photos from Yosemite National Park

In God's Country (U2, The Joshua Tree album)

We left Arizona and headed for Indio, California. Let me tell you I usually do a ton of research before booking a spot at an RV park. There are several resources I use that rate each park including Woodalls, Trailer Life directory, and several books. The best book we have found is called Big Rigs. You can also go to each parks website and they usually have pictures. Unfortunately, most of the time what you see on the website and what you see at the actual park are usually two different things. However, in the case of the Outdoor Resort in Indio, it was even better than their website. The park was fancy! I thought Palm Beach Gardens was manicured, boy was I mistaken. The resort (I can't really call it a park) was foo foo, with paved streets and manicured lawns, a big pool, a fountain at the entrance and million dollar coaches in many of the sites. We were only able to stay there because I found a buy one night, get the next night free coupon. I felt like the Clampets' driving into Beverly Hills. Despite the stigma, everyone was super friendly there.


While in Indio we went to Joshua Tree National Park. I don't know if you have ever seen a Joshuah Tree, but they are super neat to see up close. They are part of the Yucca family of plants and grow in all sorts of strange directions. E very tree is a little different. When you see a bunch of them together they look like trees that should be in Seuss Landing at Universal Orlando. I think we got a little tree picture happy, but I was in a great mood after making it to the gas station without running out of gas. Oh, did I forget to mention that we forgot to get gas before heading out to the park. We only realized it after seeing the "next facilities 50 miles" sign. But have no fear, we coasted most of the way downhill and made it just fine. It's always an adventure with the Greenes'.

Click here to see all our photos from Joshua Tree National Park