Spring and Summer 2023

Well, the months rolled by after the girls trip to Texas. I decided to start documenting my memoirs and enrolled in a local community College class to stay on track. If my readers are anything like me,  they find themselves motivated when they are accountable to another person...kind of like having a walking partner. It's a small class of 12-15 people. Folks over 55 can take classes for free and most are over 55. That being said, many are retired and take trips here and there. At any rate, there's always someone to receive feedback from and the others have some pretty amazing stories.  I enjoy the humor that's  interjected. I am continuing the class this fall as well. This might help explain the long lapse between blog entries.

My Michigan friend, Elin   and her husband visited Arizona on their cross country tour in March.  I was pleased and honored to join them near Page, AZ. We had booked a tour of Antelope Canyon and were lucky it wasn't canceled.   

If rain is predicted,  the company will cancel due to flash flood risks. There are many slot canyons near Page, AZ and Kanab, UT. I knew I wanted a tour since photography and lighting is key to good memories. Our tour guide took our devices, changed settings and positioned us "just so". He knows the angles! Believe me, it's worth the money to get a tour guide.

Elin and her husband drove West and I drove to the tiny community of Fredonia, UT in a blinding rainstorm. I was thinking again how fortunate we had been to book our tour the day before! I was on my way to see another friend I'd met at Glacier in 2018. Nancy had extended the comfort of her motel room to me after being evacuated due to the Howe Ridge Fire. After five days of sleeping in my car, I jumped at the opportunity to share space with my previous neighbor.  Prior to that we had scarcely said "Hi" and "Bye" to each other. We've seen each other in AZ  and FL since then but it had been a few years and I was so close! 

We sat out the day together at her house enjoying a dinner and playing with Dorothy, her cat as the storm passed. The next day she took me to Best Friends Animal Shelter in Kanab, UT. This is a shelter like no other. There's even a spot for exotic animals! Do take a peak at their website to learn how extensive it is. (www.bestfriends.org)

 The drive home was magical as I climbed to Jacob's Lake, just North of the Grand Canyon. As the beauty changed from powdery white snow framed by brilliant blue sky to flowing red, orange and tan colors of The Vermilion Cliffs, my breath was taken away. What a versatile and beautiful state I live in.

Little by little blocks of 2023 were getting filled in and I realized I needed to see my California military family. I took a quick week the end of March and was oh, so pleased to be on hand as my daughter was presented with a Meritorious Service Award.

Once I arrived home I had just a few days of down time before I met up with my Peace Corps friend, Michelle in Sedona. She and several other gals had an AirBNB for a week and generously opened the door for me also. We hiked (I learned to ALWAYS top off my water pak!), worked on a puzzle, enjoyed wine and appetizers out and group yoga outside. It was a remarkable time and I will always treasure being added to the fold.

Again, home a few days before my NJ friend arrived on her solo cross country trip. Victoria is a firm believer in not overstaying a visit and on the third day she scooted off. I took her up on top of the expansive Mogollon Rim where I enjoy kayaking in the summer. We also took a look at nearby Water Wheel. 

There was SO much more to show her, but glad she saw those gems. I was a bad host. Why? I thought I had allergy sniffles and it turned out I had contracted Covid! I took a home test just after she left and had to deliver the sad news to her as she was driving to her campsite. 

Oh no...Covid! I quickly called my doctor, got on Paxlovid and quarantined the proper amount of time. Let's see...in a week I was scheduled to begin a drive to Yellowstone by way of Las Vegas to visit sisters and family. Lucky me... the numbers worked just barely!

On my way to Yellowstone I popped in for an overnight stay with another Peace Corps friend in Salt Lake  City.  I reported for my Yellowstone Helping Hands gig in Gardiner, Mt. This would be a five week contract especially designed for senior citizens that agreed to work 20 hours a week. Sounds like a piece of cake, right? I was given my uniforms, had my photo taken and told to report to Lake Hotel where I would work Food and Beverage or Housekeeping.

My first glimpse of a thermal area on the way to Lake Hotel.

Here is the front of Lake Hotel which faces Yellowstone Lake.   My home in the oldest National Park hotel for the next five weeks.  

Ice COMPLETLY covered the enormous Yellowstone Lake when I arrived.  It would take three weeks before the ice began to crack and break up. 

Snow piles were everywhere.  Many roads were closed until Memorial Day and no chance of hiking trails being clear!  

 These short term gigs are a bridge for the concessionaire, Xanterra to have staff prepare properties for high season. At the end of the five weeks the college kids arrive and the seniors working the Helping Hands Program are excused. 

Overlooking the Yellowstone River.

As I arrived at the dorm area I discovered my roommate was arriving at the same time. Holly is from Los Angeles and had never worked a national park gig before. She opted for Host in the restaurant which meant getting there for early breakfast or late shifts closing after 9:30PM. I, on the other hand decided to serve/work in the Employee Dining Room where I would have the opportunity to see every employee on the property.  My shifts either started at noon and ended at 4 or started at 3:30 until cleaned up after dinner...between 7:30 and 8:30. 

Top photo: Overlooking the salad bar.  The sandwich bar is behind them.  In the distance is the hot entre set up. Bottom photos show the eating area where coffee, soda, tea and cereal stations sit. 

This is me, Holly, Mary and Patti enjoying Shakedown (practice for kitchen and serving staff) the night before Lake Dining Room opens. 

We often had our dorm room to ourselves, which was nice. I ALWAYS needed an Epsom salt bath after sweeping and mopping to close. What a blessing to have a tub! Some dorms had showers only. The work was tough on this old body, but the body did acclimate. A work vacation is the best way to take in a large national park. Even though all  roads weren't open for weeks and many trails were not cleared to hike, Yellowstone is flush with boardwalks. I was pleased that my stay took me in to June when wild flowers were just beginning to show. ADDITIONALLY, ice on Yellowstone Lake had just broken up and floated off about Memorial  Day. I was lucky to get a Lake tour in on the first day of the season and just one day prior to my leaving.

Here is what I call The Misfits!  My Texas traveling friends, Kathy, Lynnette and Becky who took on Helping Hands jobs in Yellowstone along with me.  We are enjoying a day off together near Gardiner here.

The road was rebuilt on an old stagecoach road on higher ground after the 2022 flood.

This is me, Kathy and Lynnette with the iconic yellow bus.

Human Resources provide activities for employees, including a paint session I tried my hand at. 

  This is my rendition of The Grand Prismatic.

The Misfits at a thermal area.

On my final day I was granted a one hour early dismissal in order to get my room checked and gear, keys returned. I quickly dashed away and arrived at Jackson Lake Lodge in Tge Teton's just as my daughter and her two children arrived! We spent the next five days poking around and recalling days of summers past ( Rachel and I had spent time in the mid eighties in this park). We drove back to Old Faithful one of the days but stayed close to the Tetons or Jackson most of the time. As they flew home, Ralph (my trusty Jeep) and I made our way to Park City, UT where I had another lovely hostel experience.  I have yet to stay in one that did not make me feel like I was with family! I had an enjoyable dinner with my aging uncle and his wife then a nice breakfast with an elementary friend!  The drive south through Utah never disappoints but I saw a bit of highway I'd never seen as I drove from Heber, Utah through the canyon revealing Bridal Veil Falls. I arrived back in Las Vegas prepared to take several days with family, including my eldest grandson from Silver Spring, MD. Jacob has had just a handful of occasions where he interacted with cousins close to his age. His Aunt Mimi is a school nurse, has close relationships as they all live in Vegas. She generously sponsored Jacob and arranged for activities every day for the whole crowd. This crowd also included a cousin flown in from North Carolina. Hopefully, this week will remain in their memories for generations. It was a beautiful reunion and wonderful for we three sisters (me, Mimi and Kay - grandma to Haven from NC) watch the bonding. After seeing Jacob off at the airport I made my way back home. 

Here are some of the gang from Camp Mimi!

Much of the first quarter of 2023 I found myself assisting friends with rides to/from doctors.  Some were in Payson but most in what we in the mountains call "the valley", meaning Mesa, Scottsdale, Gilbert or Phoenix. One of those friends took chemo and radiation while I was in Yellowstone. She asked me to stay with her upon her return home after six weeks in the valley. So, my first two weeks home were at her home. I'm happy to report that this feisty, independent 86 year old is showing the world a thing or two!

If you've never attended a Cowboy Poetry Festival, do yourself a favor. I took my friend, Val at the beginning of August to a long standing ( although not the oldest) event in Prescott, AZ. We thoroughly enjoyed original music, poems (from even a 16 year old) and the stories! Oh my- how some lived to old age WITH A MATE is beyond me!

This is 8AM free session: Coffee with the Cowboys.  Good stories from these folks!

 

From Prescott I drove back to CA to see my daughter and family. She had asked for some child care and I knew my last quarter was getting booked, so off I went. JUST. AS. AN. UNPRECEDENTED. HURRICAN arrived! The hurricane veered East and we saw basically a standard rain storm with 25-30 intermittent winds. However, I would need to be cautious with my return along I8. 

As I write this chapter, I've taken a break from the plans I'm currently making ~ another train trip! Stay tuned...the last quarter is a doozie! Oh! By the way, the rock in the first photo was found in Gardiner and repositioned along the wall of the hotel I stayed in.  I wonder if it is still hiding among the others in the rock wall.