Island Park lost an earthbound angel to the heavens yesterday. Kari Dalton lost her fight with cancer. She will be greatly missed by the entire community.

I was privileged to work with her for a few months in the Young Women's organization. She taught me so much. She established the after school program to give the children in this community opportunities that they would never have enjoyed if not for her unfailing determination.

The greatest thing she taught me was to look for the promise that God gives to us for each of His laws we obey. Every day as I read my scriptures, I look for His promises. Thank you Kari for giving me that insight.

I took this family portrait (with the two children still living at home) just over a year ago, near the end of Kari's first round of chemo. During her entire battle, she always showed us a positive outlook and absolutely glowed with the spirit of God that dwelt within her.

Although I am glad she will no longer suffer the pains of this world, I sorrow for those she left behind. May her memory always be in our hearts.

I Learn to Snowshoe, Thanks to Blew

I thought I had before and after pictures of the house. Before the roof got shoveled, and after. Evidently I have managed to lose them somewhere on my computer. I took this picture yesterday after my adventure with Blew.
We started out the day with nary a care in the world. When I opened up the garage door I knew that I would have to snow blow the driveway, but decided to take Blew on her walk first. She was excited because I didn't put the leash on her. I noticed some moose tracks as we went by Bart's house, but she didn't even take an interest in them. Too glad to be running free and bouncing all over the place, I guess. We went around the sheds and she obeyed me every time I told her to come,
amazing in itself. Don't let that innocent look she is giving the camera fool you. Notice she is on her chain....

I began to snow blow the driveway and Blew took off again around the neighborhood. I wasn't worried, because she always runs around while I am cleaning the driveway. I finished, and turned the snow blower over to my next door neighbor. I started my usual walk to pick up the kid (she usually comes running to go on another walk). No Blew. As I circle around to Bart's house I hear barking off in the distance. I know what that means. Blew is trying to play with a moose. I can tell she is over near the bone yard (description given by the forest service employees to the place where they keep stuff that can be used somewhere, sometime). It is only about 1/4 of a mile away across the pasture...an impossible distance because I have no snowshoes and I really can't cross country ski worth beans. I call, knowing that she will NOT obey me this time, her adrenaline is up and running. While I'm calling, I'm wondering if there is any possibility that I can get to her by following the trail the guys have made with their sleds out to the groomed trail. I head over to the sheds, calling off and on, hoping she might listen...but she is too excited to have a playmate. I start up the trail from the sheds and make it past the first two fire crew cabins. Then I have to venture off into the snow to get to the bone yard. The snow is only five feet deep on the level, but it is way too warm of a day. I call some more, then head back...trying to figure out how I am going to get the silly dog before she gets stomped.

I went home and drank my vitamins and minerals because I knew I was going to need something to fortify me as I tromped through all that snow. I walked back over to Bart's and climbed this mountain of snow on the east side of his garage--following the tracks of Blew and the moose. They went into his backyard, and I looked over to the bone yard and could make out Blew running around in the trees. I climbed back down, wondering what I was going to do. As luck would have it, Jim had decided to plow the roads. As I came down the mountain of snow, he was stopped on the other side of the duplex. So I asked him what he would suggest. He said to climb in the truck and we could go over to the warehouse and get the extra snowshoes that were hanging on a wall that he knew about. We went and got the snowshoes (he had to show me how to lace them up), then I went home and got my cross country ski poles to help with my balance. These shoes were a cross between the old wide type and the newer, skinnier snow shoes.
As you can see from the picture above (all of these pictures were taken after the fact), I managed to traipse across the pasture, following the moose and Blew's tracks. That little greenish oblong in the left of the picture is part of the weather station. Blew finally came when I called her, she just had to tell me all about her fun playmate. Simple enough to catch her in that deep snow.
Instead of following our trail back to Bart's house, I headed over to the warehouse. That showed me what snowshoeing across an untracked area is like. Even with the shoes on, I would sink clear up to my knees.

It doesn't look very far, when looking at this picture. But, the distance from that trailer up to where I am standing took three stops to catch my breath. It didn't help that I only had a four foot leash for Blew. When she followed behind me, she would step on the shoes and when she tried to break trail in front of me, she couldn't get very far ahead. When we got to the warehouse, I took off the snowshoes and walked them out to Jim (who was plowing the front parking lot). Then we continued on home, where I hooked Blew up to her chain and went inside to get my camera. By this time it was only 9:45 a.m. I was exhausted, but, needless to say, I had a blast! Snowshoes are now on my wish list...along with that kayak. Sigh.


Thanks, Blew Girl, for giving me a fun new experience!

A few highlights from my day in Yellowstone with Pamela. I drove us up through Bozeman, over to Livingston, and down to Gardiner to go into the park. As we entered the park, there were two antelope right near the road. I like this first picture even though the antelope's face seems slightly out of focus, it gives the antelope a softer look, I think. I had flipped a "u" turn so that we could take pictures, and flipped another one so that the antelope were on my side of the car and took another couple of shots of them.


We rounded a couple of corners along the Gardiner River, and saw a lady with a long lense pointing up the steep hill across the road. Wow! A large herd of bighorn sheep. I continued up the road until I found a place to turn around, then drove back down the road to pull into a turnout a little down the road from the group of sheep. Pamela said she counted at least 16, and some were probably not visible as she counted.

When I took this shot, I noticed that there was a sheep on a rock beyond the bunch closest to me. The wind was blowing so hard, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get a sharp picture. I was glad I put my coat on before walking up the road to take pictures!

This little one was with the bunch closer to the road. What an adorable little sheep!

This shot catches a little bit of the acrobatics as the sheep climb up the hill. They are much braver than I am. I find that I get more afraid of heights as I age...probably due to the fact that I am more aware of my mortality!

The white fuzz in this pictures is just snow. It was cold here again today, but not as cold as it was two weeks ago. Brrr...I get cold just looking at this picture.

Yellowstone October 10, 2009

On Saturday, I needed to run to Bozeman to pick up some things from Costco. It was cold here
in Island Park (7 degrees), but the sun was shining. As I drove across the flats, I thought it might be nice to run over to Livingston and down to Gardiner and go through the park. So, that is what I did. It was freezing cold in the park, also, but I still managed to get out of the car and take some pictures.

My first stop was at Mammoth. Because it was so cold, the steam rose off the Mammoth Terrace and combined with the clouds in the sky. As I was going back to my car after taking a few pictures, a man got out of his truck. He'd been parked in the turnout when I pulled in. He asked me if I had binoculars (which, of course, I didn't) and pointed out where he was watching two black wolves. I looked through my camera lens, and sure enough, I could make out a black wolf. I snapped a picture, even though I knew the wolf would not be clear. It was too far away. In the next picture, the wolf is circled in red.

I got a surprise when I reached the Canyon area. They had changed the way you drive the north rim. It is now exactly opposite. I stopped at the path down to the lower falls and found out that you can now view the upper falls from this stop. The third picture is the upper falls from the brink of the lower falls path. My fingers really froze here, as I stopped a couple of times to look down into the canyon. I didn't bother to grab my coat, which was really stupid of me, but I didn't expect to be out of the car that long. I have no idea what the temperature was, but the wind was icy cold and froze me the minute I stepped out of the car.

Just south of the upper falls, in the deceptively calm water, I spotted two swans. There was not a good place to stop, and the park was suprisingly crowded for how cold it was, so I just grabbed a quick shot of one of the swans before moving on.

When I first entered the park, the ranger at the gate told me that I might not be able to get through to Old Faithful because there was a bad wreck between Fishing Bridge and West Thumb. Sure enough, they were still cleaning up the wreck. I hit the area just right, though, as I only had to slow down to a crawl. I never had to stop completely. BAD wreck. I took this picture of Stephenson Island before coming up on the backed up traffic.

When I got to the Madison I finally saw more elk. I only saw three at Mammoth. Plenty of buffalo along the Hayden Valley, but no elk. This spike was with about seven cows on one side of the river. Not 100 feet away, on the other side of the river was a big bull. He sure was a beauty. I hit the Madison at about 5:30, so the light was fading fast. I actually made it home before dark, so that was pretty good timing. I wanted to see how long it would take because Pamela and I are supposed to be going through the park on the 24th. I hope it warms up a little before then.

Even with how cold it was, the park was still plenty beautiful. I didn't have any problems on the icy patches, even without my snow tires. I'll be getting my snow tires put on this week. Of course, any day is beautiful in the park. I am so lucky to live this close where I can go and enjoy the beauty on a whim. : )

Last Fall Fling (October 3, 2009)

I am so blessed! On Saturday, I decided that instead of staying home and listening to conference I was going to take one last drive to see the fall colors. It was supposed to snow 4 to 6 inches

Saturday night, so I knew the Ashton Flagg Ranch Road would not be accessible for the rest of the winter. So, I packed the car, gathered up my trash, and loaded up Blew. We stopped at Elk Creek gas station, where I put some air in my front tires, then headed on over to the dump. After leaving the dump, I decided to take a picture of Sawtelle with its little skiff of snow on top. Then, I needed to pick up a few groceries, so we went down to Rexburg. I stopped at the bottom of the Ashton hill to take a couple of pictures of the fall colors. They are more vivid than seen here, but wow! they are splendid. Upon leaving Rexburg, I was annoyed by a little shimmy in my front end. I couldn't figure out what it was. That should have been my first clue! We turned out the Ashton Flagg Ranch Road, and I stopped to take a picture of the Tetons about a half mile after we hit the dirt road. What a spectacular view!

Our next stop was at Indian Lake. There were some aspen leaves right where I parked that have my favorite tint. An orange/peach color. The ones across the road were just as pretty, and with the dark green of the pine trees surrounding them, they looked especially luminous. Again, not captured very well with the camera.

After leaving Indian Lake, we drove for quite a ways, Blew hanging out the window to catch every scent. When we crossed South Boone Creek, I caught a glimpse of the Grand in the distance. So, I pulled over and walked with Blew back to take a picture. When we got back to the car I noticed that my left front tire was very low.

That scotched the idea of going clear to Flagg Ranch and then back home through Yellowstone Park. I turned around, started driving, then decided I had better put on my donut. I got everything out of the trunk--no lug wrench. I searched under the seats of my car, but couldn't find it. Saying a prayer, I drove the fourteen miles of dirt road back out on a low tire, plus twelve more miles of pavement before we reached the Shell station in Ashton where I could put more air in my tire. I then prayed all the way up the hill that I would be able to make it home. As I drove, I wondered why the Lord would bless me when I purposely set out on this trip, knowing I wouldn't be able to listen to conference. I asked myself the same question three times, and then the answer came to me. I am blessed because my Heavenly Father loves me. Even when I am doing something He wishes I wouldn't, He loves me. I made it home, although the tire was really low by the time I got there. After three searches, I found my lug wrench (under my seat) and changed the tire after the afternoon session of conference. I then watched the morning session (thank heavens for the internet) after going for a short drive with Dion that evening. I am truly blessed.

Cliff Lake Pictures from August 22, 2009

The two mature bald eagles Amanda and I saw on our trip in the canoe at Cliff Lake.
One of the many ducks we saw.


The island in Cliff Lake is the rounded mound of land at the left and going into the center of the picture. Amanda and I went all the way around it to make sure it was really an island. :)

This cliff with its clinging trees is to the east of the island, and a cove goes back behind it. Next time I go up there with the canoe, I am going to explore! (This Wednesday, hopefully.)

Look at the color of this water. It is deeper than it looks.

I loved this rock with the fleabane growing on it.

Still trying to get a good picture of the color of the water. These trees add a little bit of interst with their scraggly branches and reflections.

Looking out to the first bend in the lake, and watching Amanda come ashore.

The view from the road going up to Hilltop Campground. I'll definitely be going back!

Cliff and Wade Lake Campout

The truck is loaded and we are ready to head for our campout. It has been so long since we've taken the canoe anywhere, that we forgot the end with the two ropes goes in front. We did fine until we were somewhere near Wild Rose Ranch when a wind gust blew the canoe to the side. What's a campout without a little excitement? Amanda got out of the truck and shoved the canoe back, and I drove a little slower up the road. Yes, those are the dog kennels you see in the back. We took them for the dogs to sleep in at night. They are pretty handy for putting equipment in, also, on the drive up. We didn't have to worry about anything blowing out of the truck!

We had to camp at Hilltop Campground because neither Cliff Lake nor Wade Lake campgrounds had any openings. There were quite a few up at the top, though, so we got to chose which one we wanted.

After we set up the tent, we took the dogs on a walk. There is a nature trail that goes from the Hilltop campground down to Wade Lake, so we decided to walk down. The 2nd photo shows a glimpse of Wade Lake when we were about half way down the mountain.

The third photo is Wade Lake at an overlook on the nature trail. It is looking further north, so it actually looks more of a distance to the lake than the last picture.

It is also a deeper part of the lake, so it is more blue than the green of the 2nd picture. The last part of the hike down to the lake was pretty steep.

The fourth picture is of Amanda and Carma hiking down the steep path in front of me.

Look at the color of the lake in the 5th picture. What an amazing color for a mountain lake! My next blog will have pictures from Cliff Lake.