Over the Hills to Yellowstone NP

My friend Jill (from college days) and I do at least one trip together each year.  Often the trip is coordinated by Elderhostel, which now calls itself Road Scholar.  This year Yellowstone National Park migrated to the top of the list, so Labor Day weekend found us on our way there.

It was a very good trip.  The group was congenial, the weather crisp but nice, and the viewing was nothing short of spectacular.  Our wildlife list included bison, pronghorn, elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, mule deer, and wolves.  The wolves were exciting, because I hadn't expected to be able to see them.  We missed bears of any kind, moose, and coyote, but I've seen those before so it wasn't too disappointing.  This bison didn't seem to care that we were there and gawking at him (from the safety of the bus). The sheep were higher up and more aloof.  The wolves were seen with binoculars at dusk and at a distance--not a subject for photography under those conditions--but there were four young ones and adult.  A nice find, thanks to our leader.

The geothermal features were, of course, the big draw, and we saw all four varieties.  You expect to see geysers because of Old Faithful, but Clepsydra put on a bit of a show for us, too.

Mudpots were interesting.  They reminded me of similar features in New Zealand.  The mud appears to be boiling briskly as if it were on the eye of a stove turned on high.  In a way, I suppose that's fairly apt.

Fumaroles just spout steam.  You wouldn't want to stand too close!

Then there are hot springs, and the water from it can be very beautiful--but don't dare put your hand in it or you'll draw back a nub.  The only easily accessible place for hot spring bathing is not too far from the northern entrance, and the water, while hot, is not so hot you can't bath in it.  This pool is NOT one of the bathe-in types!  I believe it is called Turquoise Pool.

As the water spills over the edges from the hot springs, it can leave a coating of various kinds in varying colors according to composition.  One area has a series of terraces formed this way.  To get the terraced effect you may have to click on the photo.

It was a great trip.  To see other pictures, go to https://picasaweb.google.com/ejoyce2 and click on the Yellowstone album.

Riding out the Storm

Hurricane Irene is still making herself felt from NC to the Northeast.  Thousands of people in this area are still without power.  Children have gone back to school in most places in the state, but there are still schools scattered about the area that are closed with no power.  I was lucky to have weathered the storm with family in PA.  The initial reason for that trip was to celebrate little Abby's first birthday, but that got postponed, because many of the activities planned for the event were to be outdoors.  I was encouraged to come up anyway so I didn't have to ride out the storm solo.

Abby didn't seem to mind the birthday delay.  Quite honestly, I don't think she has a concept of birthdays yet.  She is a contented child with a sweet smile, and she has become very mobile in the last few weeks.

The older girls always want to do a "craft" when I come to visit.  This time we made picture frames decorated with stick-on additions.  Both Ava and Elizabeth did a very nice job of it.

Both Jake and Emily are very active two-year-olds, with Jake being the senior of the two.  Jake thinks Emily hung the moon and is never happier than when she is around and will play with him.

Jake surprised me at one point.  This not-yet-three little one was sitting with what we used to call an etch-a-sketch, and he was working away at it.  I thought I heard him say, "Now I'm going to draw an oval" and by golly he did!  I've known first graders who couldn't do as well!  

 Other than some flooding in one niece's basement and loss of power for their family for several days, we seemed to have weathered to storm well.  Actually, I think their area got more rain than we by at least an inch,  but my house lost power for almost a day.  There have been many times when outages here were considerably worse than that.  Perhaps all the preparation work BGE has been doing, upgrading lines and poles and trimming trees, has paid off.  I'll take it.

Jarring Experience

Wow!  That certainly got my attention!  About 20 minutes ago my house started shaking like a tree was going to fall right on top of the middle of it!  I ran into the hall, waiting for it to hit, while the dishes rattled and the house shook worse than it did when the biggest of trees in the area has fallen, but "the tree" never hit the ground.  Turns out it was an earthquake in VA that registered 5.9 and shook things up all the way up to NYC at least!  No damage here that I know of it, but it surely was exciting!

A Birthday Celebration in PA

Over the weekend the Haber clan celebrated Len's birthday.  There was a cake and a family dinner on Saturday at the senior Habers' abode, and an extended family party happened at Jen and Len's place on Sunday.  On Saturday the featured cake was created by Clays, cake bakers extraordinaire!  

Since Len is a Phillies fan, the cake had that motif.  Here his offspring help admire the cake (while they mug for the camera).

On Sunday there were gifts to be opened, and there are always volunteers to "help" open them--first Elizabeth, then Ava, followed by Emily K.  Len's dad Ken kept an eye on things.

It was hot, and the pool go a lot of activity.  Ava and Elizabeth are both swimming very well and have graduated from "floaties", but the younger children still required a lot of support and supervision.  Emily's suit surrounds her with floatation material.  Jake and Abby just enjoy life from the floating seats.

 Ava did a great cannonball!  Fortunately there was no one close enough to be affected by the big splash.

 Emily and her dad had a great time with the toss and catch game.  She apparently loved every minute of it!

 Abby thought the rest of them were a little nuts with all that splashing and bouncing.  She just grinned and showed her new teeth.l

 Jake thought splashing was fun, but he cautiously did it from the safety of the swimming tube.

As usual, Auntie Em took far too many pictures, some of which have been pulled into an album on Picasa.  If you want to see more of the busy weekend's activities check:  http://picasaweb.google.com/ejoyce2

Happiness Is...

Happiness is, among other things, ticking projects off the to-do list, especially when the projects have lingered on the list for a while.  Today's checked-off item:  a new ceiling fan in my living/dining area.  The one that was there was put up when the house was built in 1986 and has caused problems off and on since then.  It was literally falling apart, and I could neither find a true fix for it nor use it.   I've been in a fix-up-the-darned house mode this summer.  First things checked off the list were staining the outside of the house and getting about half the inside re-painted.  Today was new-fan day.  After agonizing over choices for several weeks, I found what I wanted on Amazon.  It had a good user rating, and it was shipped to my door.  The chore then morphed into find-an-electrician.  No one I asked had a recommendation, which is how I usually find workmen when I need them, so I did a bit of Yellow Pages and telephone research.  The company I chose had a good reputation; the workers came prepared to work and didn't mess around; they cleaned up after themselves and hauled away the old fan; and I got a senior discount.  If I need an electrician for something else, Weisman Electric in Annapolis will get the call.  Here's the new fan.  Photos of something up in the air are hard to do, but the idea is there.

Next up, carpet cleaning!

Family Fun on the Fourth

 Celebrating holidays with family is always fun.  Over the Fourth of July weekend, I celebrated with the Pennsylvania part of the clan.  As always there was good food and good fun.  The children kept us entertained and busy, too.  All of the children are growing so quickly.  It had only been about five weeks since I saw this crew, and already the previously toothless Abigail has several teeth.

Sister Emily wasn't feeling too chipper, but she seemed to enjoy arranging things in and around the doll's house.

 Elizabeth is our drama queen, and she plays all kinds of roles from comedy to that of a model.  (You should see the video of her descending stairs posing as a model.  I haven't mastered the best way to share videos yet, but take my word for it--she could have a career that way!)

Ava is our budding young lady and is so good with brother Jake--at least most of the time.  She is also good at swimming and bubble-blowing!

Jake is full of joy and energy, and he loves doing things with his daddy.

While Daddy Len entertained the troops with bubbles, the sisters had time for a chat.

At some point they decided to celebrate my birthday since I wouldn't be there on the actual date.  What a beautiful, delicious cake that was!  It should be illegal for anything so beautiful to taste that good.  There were even sugar-molded birds as part of the decorations on the cake.  And of course I had plenty of help with the candle.

It was a great way to celebrate the holiday.  For more pictures of the weekend, see: http://picasaweb.google.com/ejoyce2

ARGH!

If I could figure out who the culprit is, I'd give someone a piece of my mind!  What a dad-blamed nuisance!  Someone started using my credit card number over the weekend--apparently to try to buy an Iphone, because that's the kind of charges that were made (apps and equipment).  Fortunately, I monitor that card fairly carefully because it WAS my primary card, so I've gone through the rigamarole of cancelling the card and trying to remember who has charges outstanding (season tickets for a couple of things for next season, for example) and giving them a valid card number.  When I get the new card, there are several places like my prescription place that have to be notified!  What an aggravation.  At least I caught it before too much damage, but...  This kind of crook needs to get a job--and a CHEAP phone with their own money!