Weekend Trip to Yellowstone and Tetons

Last weekend Ryan came home from Blanding and we almost immediately headed up to Yellowstone National Park.

We headed out on Friday morning and realized that we forgot our french press to make coffee.  We stopped at a Marshall's about an hour away and bought a personal sized one so we could have our coffee in the mornings.

We stopped again in Pocatello, ID for lunch.  TripAdvisors number one pick was closed, so we ended up at Cafe Rio. It was kind of a clown show and the staff didn't really know what they were doing.  I ended up getting my salad for free because they overcharged me for it initially (all I wanted was for them to fix the price, but they just took it off completely).

We finally were almost to the park.  On one of the final stretches of road before reaching West Yellowstone, we went over a small bridge and Ryan notices two moose in the water.  We turned around and went back to get some pictures, a few other cars did the same thing.  We werent even in the park yet and already saw two moose!

Can you spot the moose?

We drove into the park to our campsite.  Yes you read that correctly.  The lady at the check in desk said "Oh you're brave" when we said no RV, just a tent.  There turned out to be lots of other tent campers, but ours looked like the smallest one.

We set up our tent and and some chili that I had made the night before.  We cooked some vermicelli rice noodles in Ryan's jet boil to have with it.  We ate at the picnic table by our tent.  Ryan very considerately requested the site closest to the bathroom, it was also convenient for getting water for cooking.  

Our tent

We had a little daylight left so we went to Artist's Paint Pots trail.  Its a short loop through some really neat geysers, fumaroles, and a really neat mudpot.  The whole area is steaming and smokey looking.   

A mudpot

We came back, layered up, and got ready for bed.  Here is something I learned:  Do not being a memory foam pillow to camp when the forecast is 22 degrees.  My pillow was like a block of wood.  Luckily I had a small travel pillow in the car.  Anyway, we got into the tent and Ryan helped me get zipped up into our mummy style sleeping bags.  

I found the whole process of getting in and getting comfortable very cumbersome.  It was like a scene out of a movie.  Ryan is laying back all nestled in and reading a book.  I am squirming around trying to get an arm free to reach my water, then being unable to get my arm back in through the tiny face hole, while wriggling and making plenty of annoyed noises.

A few minutes after we go to sleep I hear Ryan said "I think I'm losing air."  I try to plug my nose, but can't get my elbow bent that far.  Just kidding.  He was losing air in his sleeping pad.

I laid in my sleeping bag half-trapped and half not wanting to go out in the cold while Ryan went tent-to-tent asking for duct tape.  He found a piece that patched the hole and we went to bed.  He later said the fix only lasted an hour or two before he was on the ground again.

Not our best night's sleep.  We were up at 6 making breakfast and coffee as the sun came up.  It was so cold that our mugs and the french press were freezing cold.  We had to boil water in Ryan's jet-boil.  Over.  And Over.  The thing barely makes a cup of water at a time and it takes a good 10 minutes to boil it.  Eventually we had our coffee and oatmeal. 

Still dark starting breakfast

We drove all around the park.  The terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs were really colorful and steamy.  We saw elk right near the parking lot.  After that we headed into Lamar Valley.  It had really pretty views especially since the leaves were changing.  We saw a pronghorn, a marmot, and a bunch of bison.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Lamar Valley

We had lunch in the car in Lamar Valley.  We made sandwiches and had some tortilla chips.  On our way to "The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" we saw a bunch of cars backed up.  Usually this means a wildlife sighting.  We asked a guy walking by what was up, and he said there was a grizzly ahead.  We didn't see it front he road, but we parked down a ways and walked back to the crowd.

We got a great view of the bear when we walked back.  It crossed the street right in front of us and up a hill past the "grizzly lake" sign.  

Bear Crossing

Earlier in the day we saw an osprey in the trees near a river, and a black bear cub climbing up a hill near the road.

We stopped at Yellowstone's Grand Canyon for a look at the falls before heading out of the park to West Yellowstone.

We decided that we'd had enough of the tent situation.  Since our internet service wasn't very good, we called my mom to book a hotel for us after finding on online.  What a life saver!  We had some bison burgers at a cafe across the street, then enjoyed a hot shower and great night's sleep at the Stagecoach Inn.

The lower falls

The next morning was rainy and cold.  We headed back into the park and toured around some really neat hydrothermal features.  The hot springs are really pretty shades of blue.

Hot spring

We had a really neat view of bison grazing in front of a large hot spring and around several steam vents.  Afterwards we headed to Old Faithful.  She wasn't due to erupt for another hour, so we had some tea and cookies in the lodge while we waited.  

Ryan braved the cold and stood outside waiting, while I watched from the visitors center.  It was really neat to see, and the predicted time was really close.  

Old Faithful

After Old Faithful we headed out of Yellowstone and on to Grand Teton National Park.  We didn't get a very good view of the Tetons due to the weather.  Our cabin was in Driggs, Idaho.  It was really cozy and we had a tiny kitchen area where we heated our frozen veggie burgers and boiled some potato.  

The next morning was a little nicer and we headed back into the park.  We walked around Jenny Lake for a while and the weather cleared a little more.  We had a great view of a rainbow over the lake.  On our way back to the parking lot some deer crossed our path.

On our way back to the cabin we stopped in Jackson Hole, WY for some ice cream.  We also stopped in a thrift store and bought a pair of ski pants and a ski mask for me.  

More veggie burgers and a "Breaking Bad" finale later, we were in bed.  

The next morning we headed home just after hearing that the government shut down and all National Parks were closed.  We just made it!  

We had a really good time.  I can see why Yellowstone is such a popular park.  We didn't have the best weather for either one, but they are both really beautiful and we highly recommend them!

 

Not so Bland in Blanding

On Thursday after work I headed down to Blanding in southern Utah to reunite with Ryan. He is down there for the whole month of September on a clinic rotation. Thursday was the day after our 3 year anniversary, so at least we got to see each other within 24 hours of the day :)

The drive is about 5 hours. It took me a little longer because of lots of construction and a little rain along the way. The drive was so scenic, sweeping views of mountains, plateaus, mono lines, mesas, buttes, spires... Rock changing from gray to brown to orange and red. 

I was so happy to pull into the driveway of Ryan's home for the month. It's a 70s style brick home with a garden kept by the neighbors who live in the basement-turned-apartment. Ryan had dinner ready which was great because I was starving. 

We didn't do much else that night, but got up early to head to some petroglyphs and then onto Monument Valley. We stopped for breakfast at a coffee shop in Bluff. This is the landscape I've wanted to see in person ever since enjoying Wile E. Coyote chase the roadrunner all around the buttes and mesas of the southwest. We put the Fit to the test, and thankfully it made it all around the unimproved road through Monument Valley. 

Goosenecks State Park also had a really neat lookout into one of the worlds "best examples of an entrenched meander" according to the sign. It was one of my favorite lookouts.   

We had some ice cream that evening and watched a thunderstorm for a while before starting one of the puzzles in the apartment. 

Saturdays plans were changed a little due to Friday nights rain closing some trails. We headed to the House on Fire ruins which has us repeatedly crossing a stream using stepping stones we threw in ourselves. 

Ryan even took his socks off at one point in anticipation of me going ankle deep in water. He was going to give me his socks to change into. Fortunately it wasn't necessary and we both made it across each time. 

We drove through natural bridges monument and enjoyed more scenery before heading back in. 

We made popcorn and brought it with us to watch another storm. Afterwards we finished the 500 piece puzzle (one piece missing of course) and went to bed. 

Sunday morning after breakfast I followed Ryan in my car to Arches National Park. Time flew as we hiked around a bit looking at all the rock formations.

Soon it was time to head out of the park for lunch. We had some soup and wraps at a small cafe in Moab before we parted ways and I began the (now an hour shorter) drive home. I got a few new reviews done for TripAdvisor and some neat pictures of our adventures. 

It was a really nice weekend, hard to see it end!

Coffee shop breakfast

Arches national park

Over 500 pieces!

Thunder storm

House on fire

Arches

And there I saw a field of cans...

September is the month in which Ryan was assigned to go down to Blanding, Utah and work in a community health clinic.  He will be there the whole month, and I plan on visiting him next weekend.  

It worked out alright, because I came home to Canfield to spend time with family and celebrate my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. 

I flew home with my iPod full of new music and my carry on full of more clothing than necessary.  I left my car at long term parking.  Thankfully the Salt Lake airport and the Denver airport both have free wifi, so I was kept occupied during my layover.  Southwest also had a promo going with a cable company and I was able to watch live tv on the iPad without purchasing the in-flight wifi. 

I was kind of strange being alone in the airport.  I'm used to being with Ryan so that oner of us can watch bags while the other one uses the restroom, I had to keep lugging all my stuff in there with me. 

I arrived in Pittsburgh around 11:30pm and my mom and Greg were there to pick me up.  Complete with White House Fruit Farm peaches and no-bake cookies in the back seat for me.

The next day we had breakfast at home and met Aunt Noreen and Jen at the fair.  Mom and I got a caricature drawn while we waited for them to arrive.  It was fun, but the drawing ended up looking pretty generic.  We walked around with them, took a few pictures, Jen had some nachos, and I got an Antone's salad.  It was nice to be at the fair, as its been about 5 years since I've gone.  

Saturday was the anniversary dinner at The Lake Club, aunt Noreen's boyfriend is a member. It was a really nice dinner. We had a long table with a nice view, there was a large floral display in the middle of the table, biscotti favors, and a pretty cake.  I even (barely) got everyone together for a family picture. 

The food was good and everyone had a good time, we even sat outside for a bit before leaving.  

Sunday we met Baba at a Croatian home in Youngstown.  Her band played, a kids group sang and danced, and the headlining act, a band on tour from Croatia, performed.  Their name is Drako, Djako or something like that.  They were nice to listen to, and we had some snacks while we sat with Baba.

Sunday night Train played at the fair, and my mom bought tickets for us.  It was really fun, and Train played a lot of songs that I knew.  We sat in the very last row (intentionally) and had plenty of room and a nice view.  

Aunt Cindy and Kaleigh were there too, but right in front of the stage.  Before the encore, we managed to get down there and see them, and talk a little at the end of the show.  You should have seen the young girls begging for guitar picks and drumsticks after the band threw a few from the stage.  

Monday morning Grandma and Grandpa had everyone meet for a thank you breakfast at Thano's restaurant in Canfield.  It was nice and the food was good.  

The rest of the week was spent Zumba-ing, running in the park, meeting Kaleigh and Jen for dinner, meeting Baba for dinner, meeting grandma and grandpa for lunch, doing a little shopping in Boardman, and heading down to Columbus to visit Ang and Stef, and say hi to Trillium.  

Stef and I ate lunch at Cafe Mimi's just outside Polaris mall.  We met a friend of hers to try on some bridesmaid dresses at a shop in Worthington.  The favorite of the 3 or 4 we tried is really pretty.

After the dress shop, my mom picked me up and dropped me off at Trillium to visit with some of my former residents for a bit.  It was really nice to say hello and update a few of them on how things are in Salt Lake.

Ang picked me up at the hotel and we got caught up over sushi in Westerville before walking around Polaris for a bit.  

Sunday morning we met Billy at Bob Evans for some breakfast and had a chance to see his apartment, which is a lot more spacious thanI anticipated for a one bedroom.

We stopped at Cabella's before heading back to Canfield.  

Endless Summer

Im looking forward to flying home tomorrow to celebrate my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary on Saturday.  I'm going going to catch up with friends and other family for a good 10 days! Hopefully my elderly dog Winston is up to the visit.

These past few weeks Ryan and I have been enjoying breakfast (and occasionally dinner) on our patio, and going on at least one hike every weekend.  We also stop at City Cakes about once a week for cookies, and a taco truck often as well.  They are so good and dirt cheap!  I've been hitting the gym quite a bit and really enjoying the Zumba, Barre, and Lift classes that are offered.  I've also started dabbling in alcohol inks as an art form.  See pictures below.

 Last weekend we crossed the valley and went to the other side - to the other mountain range who's name escapes me.  We hiked right next to the copper mines.  There were a lot of atvs going up and down the dirt road to the trail head, once hiking we saw several hunters with guns and crossbows which made me kind of nervous.  Good thing I had my rainbow scarf around my shoulders, not many elk wearing those this season.

Work has picked up just a little.  I've been asked to be on the SPinal Cord Injury Team - which is a new initiative the company is starting with the U.  It's still in its infancy, but it sounds like it will be really interesting and I'll learn a lot.

I also got my hair cut!  Bangs!  There's a picture on facebook.

These are all on 6x6 inch ceramic tiles:

Be Well Utah

Ryan is on call this weekend, so our Friday night was spent just hanging at home.  It worked out since we were up early for the Be Well Utah 5k for A-fib.  Apparently Dr. Oz was there kicking it off, but I didn't see him.  The run was good, and we ran together.  There were hills and it was pretty warm, but I took advantage of the downhills to make up time.

Afterward, Ryan volunteered at the Dental booth of the health fair while I walked around.  I painted my nails at the sun safety booth (the nail polish changes color in the sun!) I got a freehand massage, blood pressure reading, memory assessment, had my freckles looked at by a dermatologist, free common allergy test (dust mites and grass are not my friends).  I also grabbed a lot of loot, jar openers, magnets, pens, temporary tattoos, pencil cases, stress balls, lip balm, bag clips, aromatherapy spray, and snacks like carrot sticks, almonds and fruit cups.  The reason I went all out is because Ryan put in about 4.5 hours at his booth, which was 2.5 more than expected.  By the end of the day the vendors were looking at me like "what is this chick still doing here?!"

We had lunch at the Red Iguana, a popular Mexican restaurant in Salt Lake.  We both ordered from the "Mexican Marvel" section of the menu and really enjoyed our meals.  

Ryan had to report to the ER from 7-11 as part of his call, so I made a grocery list, watched a move and went to bed.  The movie was "Divorce Invitation" and I give it one star.  

This morning. We had pancakes on the porch, got the grocery shopping done and watch a little gymnastics on tv.  

Not a bad weekend :) 

Sun reactive nail polish and a temporary tattoo 

Ryan at his dental booth talking to kids about their teeth 

Ready for the 5k to start

Shooting Stars and Sizzling Maseca

I can't believe it's the middle of August already.

I really enjoyed the health screening clinic for one week.  The pay was good and the work was easy, and I got to meet a lot of people. The room we were in had a really nice view of the mountains.  Unfortunately these screening clinics arent on any kind of regular schedule, so quien sabe (who knows)  when the next one will be.

I finally received a job offer from a home care agency with which I interviewed last month.  I've started training and should be out on my own within the week.  I'm happy to start working with some regularity.

Ryan has really been enjoying the GPR.  He's learning a lot and really just enjoying dentistry and getting more efficient at his procedures.  He is on call again starting Wednesday for one week.  He's also been listening to spanish lessons in the car on his way to and from the clinic.  I listen when I'm in the car with him and I'm getting a little better with it too!

We hiked to Lake Blanche on Saturday and came back down in time to see The Tour of Utah road bike racers go by, flying down Big Cottonwood Canyon.  It was really neat to see.  We finished off our day with gluten free pizza from The Pie near the U Campus.

Sunday morning found us waking with the nighcrawlers.  We got up at 4 and made it up to Guardsman Pass by about 4:45.   We were looking for shooting stars/meteors.  Ryan got an excellent shot of one with our camera.  We each saw about 4 or 5 go by over about an hour period.  We came home and got back in bed for a couple hours.

I've been making tortillas and arepas with the masa (maseca) flour I picked up a couple weeks ago.  Both recipes are basically just corn flour and water with maybe a little lime juice or salt and tossed onto a frying pan.  I use very little oil and we always have home made tortillas now, the arepas make a good bun substitute for burgers or sandwiches.

I've started dabbling in alcohol inks on yupo paper as well as ceramic tiles.  I'm still learning how to use them, but I'm having fun doing a little art work.

Ryan will be headed off to Montezuma, Utah in a couple of weeks for the entire month of September.  I'll be visiting Canfield for the first week he's gone, and I plan on meeting him half-way one weekend while he's down there.  He's bringing his bike and is looking forward to mountain biking is that area.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone back home, including celebrating my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary.  I'll also be going to se Train in concert at the Canfield Fair with mom  :)  Fun times ahead!

We've spent quite a bit of time in the Wasatch since moving here

Mint Limeade at the Pioneer park farmers market

Ferguson Canyon

Check out that meteor!

Hike up to Lake Blanch

Lake Blanch

The Tour of Utah bike racers

Alcohol ink on tiles, nevermind the TP!

A Birthday, more salt, job search and a Nevada Taco Truck

Lets start with some good news (not that there is any bad news, really.)

On Sunday night I'll be going in for a training so that I can start as a wellness screener at health clinics.  The hourly pay is very good, and I am scheduled M-F next week.  The work won't be consistent, but I'm happy to have something while I look for permanent positions.

Last weekend (my birthday weekend) we drove to Stansbury Island in search of petroglyphs.  We couldn't find them.  This marks the second time in my life in which a petroglyph search yielded no return (see Panama 2012).  

Since we were half way to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, Utah, we decided to go.  They were pretty neat, and we were able to take our shoes off and walk in the salt (which was under about 3 inches of water.)  We took a few pictures and headed back to the car (it was pretty hot, with no shade).  

Since we were right on the Nevada border we decided to drive across.  We immediately saw a casino, liquor store, and XXX lingerie store.  Luckily there was a taco truck in the parking lot of said underwear store, so we each had two before heading back to Salt Lake.

The following day we drove up to Park City to have a look at their Sunday Market.  We bought 2 iced coffees while we walked and an avocado-pistacio popsicle.  It was pretty good.

We then drove to Kamas, ate lunch at a little diner, then walked around Mirror Lake.  It was a nice day. (any time a hike is not "uphill", I typically have a good time ;)

The birds have been plowing through the seed in the feeder like its going out of style.  Every so often I'll skip a day of filling it, but I always feel bad when I see them looking for the seed.  

Ryan is taking is ACLS test right now, he studied a lot last night.  While he studied I made our favorite soup...Rachel Ray's Corn and Salsa Tortilla Soup.  We make it every summer and it never disappoints.  

And thats about all thats new so far!  Ill be coming back to Canfield the first week of September to celebrate my Grandparents' 60th Wedding Anniversary.  Looking forward to it!

Salt Lake so far

We've been in Salt Lake a good three weeks now.  We were fortunate to have a solid week before Ryan had to start his residency.

We've done quite a bit outdoors despite the triple-digit temperatures we had for a while.  We've enjoyed  some moose-spotting near Silver Lake.  We hiked to Grandeur peak among others.  The wildflowers are really something in the mountains.

My loyalty card to City Cakes (a vegan bakery with lots of gluten-free stuff) is almost full already!  

Our flowers and oregano are surviving pretty well on our little balcony.  A heavy rain did, however, knock a bunch of petals off of the geranium.

Birds have enjoyed stuffing their faces into our bird feeder and flinging seed absolutely everywhere.  We rectified this by getting a bracket at home depot and hanging the feeder about a foot out from the balcony.

The balcony has been really nice for breakfast.  We promised ourselves that we would use it - nice 2 apartments ago we had a balcony and only went out there to cut Ryan's hair.  Now we eat breakfast out there and have had a dinner out there as well (you were right mom, its nice not to be facing traffic).

I applied to several jobs, and I should have by Utah nursing license by the end of the day.

I've been learning my way around little by little while Ryan is at work.  There is a mexican grocery store here that I really like, Smith's and Ream's have been pretty good for basics, and Whole Foods is very close.  Got the library down the street, and Sports Mall (a gym I joined) has some really good group fitness classes.

I had an interview with a homecare company a couple days ago, so I'll call them today to follow up.  Seemed like they were going to take me on.

Ryan's been enjoying his residency.  Some of the days are a little long, but we knew they would be.  He spent 4th of July weekend on call, and had to go in a few times, but at lease he isn't on call for Christmas or Thanksgiving.

Thats all for now - I know this post a is a little scattered.  Looking forward to my friend Stef visiting this week.  I'll blog more after that.  :)