Jackson, Wyoming

Jackson, Jackson Hole or the Tetons, it is all the same place.  

Jackson, WY is just south of Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons.  We are camped in Jackson Hole Campground.  It is outside of Jackson and on the way to the Teton Village ski area.  We are in between the ski season and the summer tourist season, so lots of venues are closed.  Speaking of closed, our campground is also closed.  It seems when we made the reservations we were talking to someone from one of the owners other campgrounds which is open.  When we arrived bleary eyed and tired yesterday, the woman at the office came out to greet us with "Hello, do you need something?"  We said yes, we are checking in and she asked if we had reservations and have we already paid.  She told us they are not open, but would find a spot with power.  There is no water, but the beast is like a camel and we have plenty in our tanks.  So far its been real quiet.  We can turn the tv up as loud as we like and no one is there to complain.  

The local restaurants do a buy one entree and get the second for $2.00 with the $2.00 going to a different local organization each week.   We enjoyed cheese grits, ribs, spinach, salads and a pitcher of Grand Teton double vision Doppelbock beer at Roadhouse Q, next to our private campground.  All were yummy! Doppelbock was brewed there and hit me fast!  Gotta love retirement!

 

The Geese are everywhere here.  We also saw a beaver in this pond.  

Elk Reserve 

Yes, those little dots are actually big elk.   After a visit to the Elk Reserve, we walked the two doggies along the Snake River.  It was low, but running pretty fast.  We had to hurry back as it was starting to snow and get colder.  We got home just in time for some wind and lots of snow, but it has stopped now.  Expecting more snow this evening and overnight with tomorrows high of 33 and the low of 11.  Sure do wish Spring would hurry and get here.  We'll be exploring this area for about a week, then heading farther north, depending on weather of course!

Things to do in Salt Lake City While you wait

While waiting for the hydraulic lines for the slide outs to be completed and the weather to improve, you can kill time in Salt Lake City by filling your days with odds and ends...

First up is a Grizzlies Hockey Game.  The Grizzlies were in the first round of the playoffs.  We splurged and got front ice side seats.  We had a great time, but the Grizzlies did lose in overtime.  The food was good and the beer better.

The Mormon Temple is a popular spot, especially in the Spring.  The grounds are meticulous, (think Disneyland clean) and there are lots of young missionaries there to guide you if you wish.  You can also do self guided, with the only building not open to the public is the Temple itself.  The Temple took 40 years to build from 1853 to 1893.  

  There is a family history library where you can access family records and trace your roots.  The conference center holds over 21,000 and has a four acre rooftop garden with waterfalls.  It is a beautiful place to see.  

Assembly Hall built in 1882

The Tabernacle is open to the public daily for Organ Recitals.  The Organ has 11,623 pipes and was built in the 1860s and rebuilt in the 1940s.  It was quite impressive, however about 3 songs too long for me.  I began to daydream....Hubby took a snooze.  Guess we are not into Organ music....

There are Tulips everywhere in Salt Lake City, The Temple grounds were no exception....

 

The Capital of Utah

The flags were at half staff for the Boston Marathon Victims.

The view from the Capital south down State Street.

The capital dome is made of copper, the main entry is onyx.  It is beautiful.

When you do most everything, you can visit the Chocolate Factory.  Sea Salt Caramels were yummy!

Ok, When your done with all that, you can always re wallpaper the bath area.....

Next you can dress up the dogs...

Charleston looks thrilled!!!

I know this is a long post, but had a set back with the new computer and took me awhile to figure it all out.  Besides, you can see how busy we've been goofing off.  The temps have not improved farther North, but the repairs are all done and we are itching to get on the road!  Saturday we head North to the Tetons and Jackson, WY.  More on that tomorrow.

April Showers...

We laid in bed last night and enjoyed the pitter patter of rain drops on the Beasts roof.  Being desert rats, that sound is unfamiliar and soothing at the same time.  We've had wonderful weather with lots of dog walks and visiting of family.

 Ashley and I with my Grandmother and her Great Grandmother.  She is 95 years old and we had such a great visit.  We visited my aunt and uncle for the day.  It was a beautiful day and it was great catching up.

 Watching the NCAA tournament at Ashley's house.  She cooked dinner and we had a good time.  Michigan beat Kansas and the puppies had fun with her pooches.  

My Grandmother and Gidget.

Right next to the Capital in Salt Lake, they have a park with an off leash dog trail that goes into a canyon with a calm river running down it.  All the dogs ran and played in the water.  Four very stinky and dirty dogs on the way home!  Ashley's old dog Charleston got carried in a backpack as he gets very tired and looks for excuses to pause, making the hike last forever.

 A very Happy Gidget!  She never gets to run off leash, so this was a treat!

Tired Schmoo!

On Saturday we were back at Petco with the Utah Animal Adoption Agency with five cats and five dogs that needed forever homes.  One Cat and two dogs were adopted.  This is a great organization that gets animals off the euthanasia list at the kill shelters and finds them homes.  Some of these guys are there because simply because their previous owners were done with them.  They all have a lot of love to give.  It's great to see them go to a new home!  

 Eric and Ashley went out on Easter for a quick bite-Guess who they left behind?

We are still waiting on the hydraulic lines to be replaced, so we'll be in Salt Lake a little longer.  It's been fun just getting things done, puttering around, and reading.  I've been able to read several books, something I haven't done since our last cruise!  We've only been retired and on the road less than a month, but we are falling into a very nice rhythm.  Yesterday was Baseball Opening Day and we were able to watch the Red Sox whoop the Yankees!

The Groundhog Lied!

It has been officially Spring for two days now.  The warmer weather we had last week departed and left us with SNOW!  Not a lot, but steady 31 degree temps, snow and windy conditions.  I drove the toad into town today to get a haircut and it looks like Christmas time in downtown SLC.  Its supposed to last for a few more days, then warm up.

We are starting to route the trip to Alaska.  A lot depends on the weather so we will be flexible.  Looks like stops in Teton, Yellowstone and Glacier will be on the itinerary.  It will be good to get on the road!

Next week is Spring Break so the plan is to visit family in the area.  I have two aunts and uncles and my Grandmother nearby.  It has been so busy being retired that we have not yet had time to just goof off.  ;).   A couple of days ago daughter picked me up and we went to the Utah Animals Adoption Center.  They have lots of sweet little dogs that ware waiting for there forever home.  We walked a beautiful boxer, a little sweet mutt, and a yorkie.  I'm sure they'll be adopted soon.  They have a cat room with tons of cats.  My favorite was Heffner, a cross eyed siamese mix.  Saturday we will go volunteer at the cat adoption event at Petsmart.

The shakedown is going well.  We found a few more little issues, but that is why we are staying here for a month where we can get things fixed and fully operational.  Next week looks like we'll get all new hydraulic lines for the slide outs.   Oh what fun!!

Safe Journeys Everyone!

A little Jaunt on a cold windy day

This morning we departed the Pony Express in Salt Lake City for a quick trip to Wyoming to take care of business.

It was cold and windy with temps in the low thirties.  The winds were expected to pick up so we wanted to get everything done and back by 1.  We got our licenses, the beast registered and new plates, and the two papillons licensed for a lifetime.  Small towns are awesome compared to Las Vegas.  The Drivers Licenses took about 1/2 hour, Vegas would be a 1/2 day ordeal.  The city just can't keep up.  With all business taken care of, including 17 gallons of Diesel at $3.86 and 15 gallons of Propane at $2.39, the Beast was happy.  Topped of the TOAD with unleaded and away we went.  The winds were really picking up and we were happy to be back in our spot by 1PM.

The view along the way was pretty with red sandstone and rivers.  I'll bet this is beautiful in the Spring and Summer!

This week is filling up fast with Dental Appointments, Vet Appointments and Haircuts.  How did we ever find time to work full time?

Many thanks to E Squared of Two To Travel Phaeton for help on the blog!

Gidget enjoys a lap nap on the way back

Mowgli enjoys the ride back all snuggly on his quilt

Gremlins

The ShakeDown Continues!

(Or The Gremlins have snuck in)

The first week has been an adventure and exercise in patience.  How can the TV be fine when we go to bed and the next morning the screen be purple?  The solution? Rerun all the HDMI cable and redo all the connections.  Did it work?  So far so good!

For all the little things, I am not going to miss this......

On Friday we drove the toad to Wyoming to see what we needed to do to become citizens of WY.  We are now registered voters and the toad is registered with Wyoming Plates.  So long Nevada!  

 Next week we will drive the Beast for a VIN inspection and get plates for it and hopefully get our new Driver's Licenses.

Today we participated in the St Patricks Day Parade with the Utah Animal Adoption group.  Lots of really good dogs that need a forever home.  DimSum afterwards at the HoHoGourmet was interesting with lots of different dishes.  A little bit of this and a little bit of that and next thing you know, you're full and need a nap.  And nap we did!  It's finally getting relaxing and realizing I don't need to rush to fit everything in.  

Tomorrow is St Patrick's Day!

So here is an early toast to all!

First days on the road and lessons learned.   

1.  If  something works today, it may not tomorrow.
2.  If something is tight and difficult to move, don't force it.
3.  Don't use the washer and take a shower at same time with the tank valves closed.
4.  Just because a park has wi-fi, it may not be enough to download photos and post to your blog.

We left Las Vegas at 4:45 Sunday morning.  We had to leave early because there was a NASCAR race that day and we needed to drive right by the Speedway. We headed North and the sun came up just across the Utah state line. It was a drive of over 450 miles. I don't think we will drive such long distances on future jaunts. We were tired when we checked in since we stayed out late on Saturday night with old dear friends.  We had a great time, gonna miss them!   As we were setting up, the levelers wouldn't go down.  The slide out hydraulics were leaking.  Too tired to do anything more than settle in, we decided we had all week to get to repairs. The satellite was working, then it stopped in the middle of Walking Dead.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day.
On Monday, we called a couple of repairmen and I was shocked they were able to come that day, we're on time, professional and did all the repairs.  I was amazed. Customer service is alive and well in Salt Lake City.  Tuesday I discovered that just because you think the tank valves are open, it may not be so.  The shower stopped draining and the washer backed up. Easy fixes both,  whew this may be getting easier.  Wednesday morning we awake to the tv not working. This time it was the splitter box. Trying to get it separated from the DVD player it was attached to, the hdmi cable broke off.  Not the one that goes to the front tv, but the one that runs to the back. The day was spent repairing that problem.
The wi fi at the park is not not strong enough for anything other than a quick check of email. I'm posting with the iPad. I think I'll check with Verizon to see if there is something that will get us a better signal where ever we are.  I'm not very good with the iPad yet and don't know how to transfer pictures from my phone to the iPad. It's all a learning process!
Today is Thursday and fingers crossed, all is well!  I spent the morning making "adopt me" harnesses for the local no kill shelters dogs who are walking in the St Patricks day parade on Saturday. Hubby spent  the day at our daughters school celebrating 'pi day'.  This retirement stuff is pretty good!