Fun

Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks trip August of 2017 Day 3 (part 1)

/ Terry / 5 Comments

I will be breaking this day into 2 posts as we covered a lot of ground during our all day adventure.

1800s Accounts From Out West
For decades, fur trappers and mountain men told stories of the lands out west. To folks living back east, all of the accounts must have seemed fantastical, yet today we know that some of the accounts were quite accurate (and some embellished works of fiction). How do you go about determining the truth of a story?

Here are some excerpts from people who explored the region now known as Yellowstone. Which do you find realistic? Which do you find fantastical?

“Boiling fountains having different degrees of temperature were very numerous; one or two were so very hot as to boil meat.”—Alexander Ross, 1818

“There is also a number of places where the pure suphor is sent forth in abundance one of our men Visited one of those wilst taking his recreation there at an instan the earth began a tremendious trembling and he with dificulty made his escape when an explosion took place resembling that of thunder.”—Daniel T. Potts, 1827

“The general face of the country was smooth and rolling, being a level plain, dotted with cone-shaped mounds. On the summits of these mounds were small craters from four to eight feet in diameter. Interspersed among these, on the level plain, were larger craters, some of them from four to six miles across. Out of these craters issued blue flames and molten brimstone.”—1868 account by Joseph L. Meek of his time in the region in 1829

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Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks trip August of 2017 Day2

/ Terry / 3 Comments

The next day my son, his wife, grandson and I did the park loop drive while the rest headed to Jackson Hole Ski Resort to take the gondola to the top then left for the cabin outside Yellowstone.

Stopping for breakfast at the Bunnery Bakery and Restaurant in Jackson we filled up on a delicious meal before heading out of Jackson. My son and I each had a Breakfast Sandwich of two eggs and cheddar or Swiss cheese with choice of ham, sausage or bacon on a homemade croissant. My daughter-in-law had the Croissant Breakfast of 2 eggs, chocolate Croissant and hash browns. Grandson ate off of everyone’s plates. WOW a wonderful place for breakfast, friendly staff, great service, and outstanding food.

 

 

Breakfast sandwich at the Bunnery
Chocolate croissant breakfast at the Bunnery

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Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks trip August 2017 Day 1

/ Terry / 7 Comments
Day 1 Tetons iPhone-1

Early morning in the desert

Pocatello Best Western

Pocatello Best Western room

Blasting through Southern California, Nevada, Utah and entering into Idaho on my first day I arrive at the Pocatello Inn Best Western, Pocatello, Idaho for a nights stay after an 860 mile (1,384 km) 14-hour driving day. This very nice complex has a indoor pool and spa, seating area, free in room wi-fi and a buffet breakfast. When I arrived at 6 PM I was pleasantly surprised to find an Applebee’s Restaurant within walking distance of the motel to grab a small bite to eat for dinner.

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A little road trip for the Fourth of July

/ Terry / 6 Comments

Well over the 4th of July I decided to visit my son, daughter-in-law and 2YO grandson up in Vancouver, WA. My daughter, 12 YO grandson and 9 YO granddaughter tagged along for a 7 day adventure. Daughter only got to go 5 days, as she had to fly back for work on the 5th.

Drive up

After an 18-hour straight through drive up there on Saturday, we arrived about 8:30PM. Tired we visited for a while then all went to bed.

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San Diego Zoo visit

/ Terry / 11 Comments

It has been many years since I last visited the  San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park.  This zoo of approximately 3,700 animals of roughly 650 species and subspecies is situated on 100 acres (40ha) and is one of the most well-regarded zoos in the USA. it was a product of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition using the wild animal enclosures that were abandoned when the exposition ended. Its permanent location was agreed upon in 1921 on land and with animals owned by the City of San Diego and managed by a conservatory. The zoo is a pioneer of cage-less exhibits that protect the animals and visitors by a moat system.

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A little day trip to Joshua Tree National Park

/ Terry / 4 Comments
JT map

Park Map

At the end of May I decided to head out to Joshua Tree National Park to visit the Old Dale Mining District on BLM land that is located just outside the northeast portion of the park. Joshua Tree National Park is an environmental melting pot where 2 desert ecosystems meet, the Mojave Desert to the north and west and the Colorado Desert to the south and east. The Mojave Desert ecosystem consists of boulder stacks with pinyon pines, junipers and scrub oaks and the famous joshua tree. The Colorado Desert ecosystem in contrast consists of creosote, spidery ocotillo and jumping cholla cactus. Jumping cactus or teddy bear cactus got its name from the fact it tends to stick to anything within its range and is very painful to remove from the skin.

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Trip to Vancouver with a stop in the Redwoods

/ Terry / 3 Comments
All packed and ready to go

All packed and ready to go

On my way up to visit my son, his wife and my grandson I stopped for the night for a stroll among the redwood groves. I stayed at the Burlington Campground in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park of northern California just north of Meyers Flat. Situated along the Avenue of the Giants, a 31 mile long country road that passes through 51,222 acres of stunning redwood giants.

Paralleling Highway 101 it provides an outstanding display of these magnificent trees. This state park is just a small section of the 500-mile redwood belt, the largest remaining virgin stand of redwood trees in the world. It is a beautiful place to picnic, hike, camp, raft, bike or just experience the silence in the groves. There are plenty of tourist sites and attractions to visit and some pretty good B&B’s around, from what I have read.

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Taste of Huntington Beach

/ Terry / 6 Comments

I live on a very nice street here in Huntington Beach, the neighbors are all very friendly and have been supportive of my situation the last month. They have check in on me, came over just to talk, and brought me so much tasty food I found it hard the eat it all, but I did manage to finish it all in the end.

Well last Saturday the grandmother of our street, I call her that as she is a lovely woman always concerned about everyone’s welfare (very thoughtful), who does a lot of volunteering at the local library came over and offered me a ticket to the Taste of Huntington Beach, so I would get out of the house and do something different. This has been a yearly event since 2002 that donates the proceeds to The Friends of the Children’s Library with the Huntington Beach Restaurant Association volunteering their time, food and drinks to raise over $475,000 for the Huntington Beach Children’s Library!

My afternoon featured exploring the tents to sample delectable tastes from local restaurants and catering companies, being provided unlimited sips from wineries and breweries (although I do not drink myself), along with live entertainment for your listening and dancing enjoyment which made for a perfect afternoon of food and fun, entertainment. You where able to continually “graze” the afternoon away while enjoying live entertainment on the grass seating in front of the band stage.

I had so much fun walking around sampling all the food and deserts I was stuffed when I left for home, luckily only a short 10-minute drive away.

Here are a few photos of the event:

Well this post has been sitting for a few weeks as I just returned from my visit for one of my grandson’s first birthday party in Washington State. Trip report coming soon.