Errand Boy........

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7:52 am - Saturday - November 4th - SoCal - 50º F, humidity 76%, wind 1 mph out of the northwest.....clear blue skies! Forecast high for our corner of SoCal is 68º F.....great day for an outdoor wedding!

We didn't wake up until after 8 am Friday.....I always remark that the first night in a 'new' bed, or place I don't sleep well, but each time we return to our son's home I sleep better the first night, and this was the best I have slept....I think this is the 3rd, or 4th time we have stayed with Chris and Rochelle, so I guess I'm getting used to the bed.....it is a good bed, don't get me wrong.....I'm just used to MY bed.

We had a busy day scheduled so we were out of the house by 10:30 and on our way to our first appointment.......a haircut at Supercuts for moi......it's been almost 6 weeks since my last haircut and if I am going to a wedding I needed to get my ears lowered significantly.  I was able to walk right in and sit down in a chair manned by Cassandra.  She gave me a wonderful cut and shampoo in 20 minutes flat.  Then it was just a few doors down to visit the local Trader Joe's to stock up on some of our favorite wines and single malts.....it will be a while until we are close to at TJ's once again.

From there we moved south on Haven Ave. to the local Goodwill where neither of us found anything without which we could not live, then it was over my son's (Chris) office to pick up our mail, of which there was little.  We then spent about 30 minutes back in his warehouse going through my backpack stuff to pickup two Kelty down sleeping bags, my Kelty tent, a couple of inflatable sleeping pads, two Kelty internal frame backpacks, my Jetboil backpack stove, fuel, eating utensils, cookware, etc. in preparation for our planned trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in the near future.  I'm so glad I didn't get rid of this stuff!

Then it was on to a local tire store where I planned to get the two new tires I wrote about yesterday, but they didn't have my brand in stock, so they ordered them from one of their other stores, and we made an appointment for Saturday morning to have them installed.  Next it was across the parking lot to Home Depot where I stocked up on a few things I needed (a couple of drill bits, some electrician's tape, some more shrink wrap tubing, etc.).

Next we moved another mile down Foothill Blvd. to the local BevMo to pick up a few more adult beverages, then across the street to the local 'The Hat' for some of their world famous Pastrami Dip sandwiches, and onion rings......it has been a long, long time.......

.......TLE an I split on Hot Pastrami Dip, and the onion rings, and we still ended up being 'stuffed'!  Everyone who tells you about 'The Hat'  Pastrami Dips will tell you enough pastrami falls out of the sandwich while you are eating it to make another 'Hot Pastrami'....you could almost feed four people with one of them!

We had two more stops to make before we headed back to Chris and Rochelle's home.....COSTCO and TJ Maxx (TLE wanted to buy an extra set of sheets for our bed)....we were back home by 3:30 where I took a much needed nap.....shopping wears me out!

Around 5:20 we got back in the VW to drive down to Nick and Kate's home (used to be our home) to visit them and their children (Elijah, Charlise and Jolene), and while we were there Meredith (our oldest daughter) and Rod (Sharon's husband) dropped by with their son (Rod and Sharon's) Brayden.  None of the kids will be coming to the wedding so we wanted to get in some grand children time.

We were back at Chris and Rochelle's by 8:30 pm and settling in for the night......that may be an average day for someone on the workaday world, but for us that was a jam packed day, and we were tired.....but not tired enough to not watch a few more episodes of  'Mad Men'.....

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Roady........

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8:26 am - Friday - November 3rd - SoCal - 54º F, humidity 72%, wind 3 mph out of the west by southwest.  Heavily overcast with a forecast high for today of 66º F.....quite a difference from one month ago when it was 100º F!

Thursday was road trip day so we were up by 6:15 am putting the finishing touches on our packing (TLE) and writing the blog (moi)......our goal was to be in the car and on the road by 8 am at the latest, and we beat that goal by 20 minutes!  Within 10 minutes we were stopping off at the Union 76 gas station near Lone Rock (has the best prices within 30 miles....$2.89/gallon for premium) to fill up our tank, and then we were on our way north on US-89 to Kanab, UT where we then took US-89A to Fredonia, Arizona where we picked up SR-389 westbound, which became Utah SR-59 just past Colorado City, AZ.....SR-59 took us to Hurricane, UT where we picked up SR-9 and within 10 miles were merging on to I-15 which we would ride back into Arizona, then into Nevada and through Las Vegas and into SoCal once again........

.....the scenery in this part of the Canyon Lands reminds one of why you come here in the first place......just breathtaking.......

.......we made our first stop at Hurricane, UT for a bathroom break, and to switch drivers.  TLE then took the helm all the way to Jean, NV where we fueled up again ($3.85/gallon for premium....almost $1.00 more per gallon than Lone Rock), then I took the helm to Primm, NV.....the last Nevada city before you cross into California.  We again stopped to get a bite to eat at the local Starbucks.  Once again I was at the wheel and took us all the way into SoCal.  There was one more bathroom break near Barstow, CA........then it was just another hour to our destination.......we arrived at my son's home by 4 pm, which was what I had estimated the day before......perfect!

We spent a lovely evening with my son, Chris, Rochelle (wife) and their son Christopher.....Chris made up some fried shrimp with red potatoes for dinner and we sat eating and talking until a little after 8 pm.  They go to bed pretty early, so we went to our room and watched some more 'Mad Men' on their Netflix.....sweet.  I always tell TLE that staying at Chris and Rochelle's home is like staying at a nice hotel!

Friday will be a busy day for us.....we have to cram 3 days of shopping into one, which will include a couple of new front tires for the Beetle....time for some new shoes!

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Timely zones......

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6:30 am - Thursday - November 2nd, Page, AZ - 50º F, humidity 57%, wind 4 mph out of the southeast.....forecast high for Page, AZ today is 71º F, and for our road trip destination, Riverside, CA it will be 68º F under cloudy skies.

After 7 deliciously restful days at our beloved Lone Rock it was time to move the Newell 10 miles south to Page, AZ where we will park her for 5 nights whilst we make our way to SoCal for yet one more wedding.  She'll be connected to 30 amp electrical for the time we are gone for a pretty inexpensive price all things considered.

Since the distance to our destination was so minor, and we would be gaining an hour on the clock by moving to a new time zone, we took our time putting things away.  Once our stuff was stowed we moved 200 yards over to the local dump station to release 7 days of effluent into the local sewer system, then it was another 2 miles to the local fuel station to 'pay the rent' by topping off our diesel tank with 59 gallons of diesel at $2.79/gallon.  It is only another 110 miles to our winter destination at the Grand Canyon so we'll arrive there with almost a full tank.....we won't be paying the rent again for over 4 months.

We arrived at our rented site by 12:30 pm, and were set up within minutes after which we headed out to do a little shopping in advance of our 1,000 mile round trip to SoCal, plus locate a propane station to top off our 60 gallon propane tank prior to heading to the Grand Canyon.  Around 5 pm we headed over to a local gastro pub called 'State 48 Tavern' for dinner......4 Yelp stars on 282 reviews.  TLE had been doing some research a few days ago and wanted to give this relatively new place a try for dinner.....WOW......we were not disappointed.......

........they offer a number of fine beers on tap....I chose an 'Oak Creek Amber' (Sedona, AZ) and TLE a Scotch Ale.  For apps we ordered their beer battered avocados.....OMG!  We've only had deep fried avocados once before and that was at Prison Hill Brewing in Yuma, AZ, and these were every bit as delicious.  For our main course I had their Rock Fish Taco plate.....once again there was audible 'oohing and awing'.  In the background was a large screen TV with game 7 of the World Series playing.  Unfortunately for my Dodgers it was not a good night......the game was lost in the first inning when the Astros scored two runs....ultimately they won 5-1.  It was a great year, but no cigar this time.

We were home by 6:30 and settling into our evening....we watched a few more episodes of 'Mad Men' and were in bed before 11 pm dreaming about our ROAD TRIP!

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A new mindset.......

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8:25 am - Thursday - October 12th - 29º F, humidity 78%, wind 11 mph out of the south by southwest......looks, feels, and appears to be CALM right now.  Forecast highs along our travel route will be in the mid to high 40's......

Our view in Dillon Thursday morning

We took our time getting ready to leave Livingston Wednesday.....we only had about 176 miles to drive to Dillon, MT.  It only got down to 40 something Tuesday night, which was part of the two day 'heatwave' in the area.  Before we could merge on to I-90 westbound we had two tasks to accomplish.....first top off our 60 gallon propane tank, and secondly 'pay the rent', or in other words, put 115 gallons of diesel into our 180 gallon tank.  The last time we filled our propane tank was June 14th on our way into Yellowstone, and the last time we 'paid the rent' was June 10th in Dayton, NV.  We took on 35 gallons of propane at $3.25/gallon, and the aforementioned 115 gallons of diesel at $2.83/gallon.....all told we parted with about $440 before we covered one mile of the 176 miles to Dillon.  We shouldn't have to fill the propane tank again until we leave the Grand Canyon.....we may top it off just prior to our arrival there....we'll see.  We will have to fill our diesel tank again somewhere along our route south as it is 1,200+ from Livngston to the Grand Canyon.

We were finally on I-90 traveling westbound by 11:15 am.......the route was mostly flat for long stretches with a few big climbs and the attendant big descents, but generally we just cruised at 60 mph via our cruise control.  My task was to hang on to the steering wheel, and remain focused on the road ahead.  Usually we stop every 60+ miles at a rest stop for a break, but this day we didn't stop for a break until we had covered 135 miles......my friend Tom, would be proud of me!

Since it was going to be down in the 20's Wednesday night we opted to stay at a local RV park (Countryside RV Park) in Dillon where we would have 50 amp service, and be able to run as many heaters we might wish. This park is just off I-90 about .5 miles, and has mostly long pull through sites......perfect for us....easy off, easy on.

It took me about an hour to get into my traveling groove, but once I arrived there my mind began to transition from 'sitting in one place for months' mode, to 'rolling the wheels' mode.  It is a totally different mindset, and thought process.  A good example of where my mind was first thing in the morning:  In preparation for taking on propane I turn off the gas to the coach, which is a safety issue.  The problem was I forgot to turn it back on after the attendant disconnected his propane hose......I cannot remember ever forgetting that.  While we are under way the Dometic refrigerator runs off propane......I didn't realize the gas was still 'OFF' until we parked in Dillon....I went to light the water heather and the pilot light would not light.....DOH!  It was then I finally remembered I had forgotten to turn on the gas.  Amazingly, the Dometic was only a little over 40º F.....no harm, no foul.  Another thing I forgot to do was to turn 'OFF' the leveling system enabling the coach to return to 'RIDE HEIGHT'......I didn't realize this mistake until we rolled over some railroad tracks and I heard this loud thump meaning the suspension had bottomed out......double 'DOH!'.

Once we were on the Interstate, and the cruise control was set I began to focus on the various gauges on my dash......the temperature of the coolant is very important....it settled quickly at 182º F.....just where it should be.  In fact, all of the Newell systems worked as they should......good air pressure, good oil pressure, good running temperatures on the coolant, oil and tranny, cruise control keeping us at a steady 60 mph......can't ask for much more.....well, I guess I could ask for more, but that would just be bad form, no?

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Two more times........

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6:09 am - Monday - October 2nd - 32º F, humidity 89%, wind 5 mph out of the north by northwest.....cloudy......low chance of rain (less than 20%)....forecast high for Gardiner, MT today is 40º and 39º F in Mammoth Hot Springs, WY.....WOW, where did that come from?   Woke up to the news that some lunatic male opened fire from a room in a high rise hotel in Las Vegas last evening on a crowd watching a Country Music concert.......50+ killed, and over 200 hundred wounded....makes me glad I spend most of my time in rural America.  My heart goes out to those families who needlessly lost loved ones, and to those who were wounded, or trampled in the madness that ensued.  A good friend, and her daughter managed to escape, but suffered injuries when they fell and were trampled.....fortunately no serious injuries for them......just scrapes and bruises.

What a ride this summer has been!  Friendships continue to deepen as the season winds down.  It's time for another round of 'until next times' replete with long hugs and promises to remain in touch, and to somehow reconnect in the future. These are not hollow promises.....they are heart felt, and I know we will see each other again......

Last 'usie' with Dodge & Christina at the Mammoth Hot Springs General Store.....left to right: Moi, Christina, TLE and Dodge (Kristen)

.......if it is possible, and it certainly is, Sunday seemed to be the slowest day, I believe, at the General Store since we arrived.....painfully slow.  I'm almost positive the clock was running backwards at times.  There was about an hour of pretty steady activity, but that was pretty much it.  One of our fellow employees injured her back slipping and falling on a patch of ice in the employee parking lot on her way into work.  She attempted to man her post as a cashier, but by noon she was sent home in pain.  As a result I was asked to move my cash drawer over to the retail desk for the rest of the afternoon where I once again got to work alongside TLE.  I've enjoyed the change of pace the past two days as it is a little bit busier at the retail desk than at the 'Fountain'.

We closed the store at 6 pm, and were on our way down the Gardiner River Gorge once again......this time headed for the Rusty Rail to have a few drinks with Dodge (floor supervisor) and Christina (stocker)........we laughed and did some crying....this will be our last time at the Rusty Rail this summer, and we will miss these folks terribly......

Last 'usie' with our good buddy Dodge (Kristen) at the Rusty Rail....."Love you, mean it!"

.......by 8:30 we hugged some more, then slobbered a little more, then went home.......just two more times up and down the Gardiner River Gorge before we roll our wheels!

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Three more times.......

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5:52 am - Sunday - October 1st - 29º F, humidity 83%, wind 5 mph out of the west by northwest.......partly cloudy......forecast high for today in Gardiner, MT is 44º F, and 42º F in Mammoth Hot Springs, WY.....rain, maybe, this afternoon.

I know, the title was sort of predictable if you know me a little, but I like countdowns.....just three more times driving up the Gardiner River Gorge road to Mammoth Hot Springs to work, and the same number driving back down to our home.  The days are going by quickly as the General Store is staying comfortably busy during the day......

......once again I was paired with Addie and Jonah.  Under the new schedule (9 am to 6 pm) we begin our workday at 8:45 am in order to get the fountain area ready for business by 9 am.  It takes just about 15 minutes to get the hot dogs on the rollers, the chili heating up, the pretzels cooked and on display, and pull the lids off the ice cream tubs in the freezer.  Then we stand around for about 2 hours before things begin to get even a little busy.  Most of our early sales are coffee, hot chocolate and hot cider.....we may even sell a few soft pretzels.  Between 11 am and noon we usually get a small rush of folks dropping in for an early lunch at which time our hot dog and bratwurst sales accelerate, and we even begin to dish out a few scoops of ice cream.  Then there is a lull for about 45 minutes to an hour, but by 2 pm things pick up and stay comfortably busy for the rest of the shift.

The makeup of the post Labor Day tourists is completely different from that of July and August.  The people we are seeing now in YNP seem much more courteous in many ways.  We actually see folks pulling into the 'PULL OUTS' to let faster traffic pass them......we rarely, if ever saw this in June, July, or August.  Rarely do you see people just stop in the middle of the road to take pictures of a bison some 100 yards off the road......instead they find a place to pull over, and then stop to take their pictures...what a novel concept!  Those coming into the store seem much more aware of their surroundings, and rarely have to ask what a particular ice cream's ingredients might be, or where the nearest public restroom might be.....they actually either figure it out on their own, or actually read the numerous signs we have on display to explain the various flavors of ice cream we serve, and where the public restroom is.  For the most part the mix of folks, as one of our supervisors related, is made up of 'newlyweds, and the nearly dead'.....in other words......20 somethings and older retired folk.....very few young children.

As I was nearing the end of my shift in the 'Fountain' our floor supervisor (Dodge) asked if I would move my cash drawer over the retail desk at 5:30 as one of the cashiers went home ill (Thomas).....of course, I said yes.  Actually, we were done cleaning the fountain by 5:20 so I moved my drawer then, and spent the last 40 minutes working beside The Lovely Elaine.  We closed the doors at 6 pm, and then counted down our drawers......we were on our way down the Gardiner River Gorge by 6:15 pm.....the end of 'another day in paradise'.

Just three more work days until we roll our wheels......time is short, and another wave of 'until next times' is just around the corner.

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Four more times.....

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5:43 am - Saturday - September 30th - 39º F, humidity 84%, wind 5 mph out of the southwest......cloudy with rain on the way this afternoon.....forecast high for Gardiner, MT is 56º, and 54º F in Mammoth Hot Springs, WY.  Tomorrow is a new month.....October here we come!

So, Friday has come and gone......just 'another day in paradise' as my good friend Roscoe would say.  For the second day in a row the weather was idyllic......low 60's, no wind, mostly clear skies.....we even opened all the entrance doors for the second day in a row.  The day began slowly, but ramped up to a moderately busy day.....I'm guessing we did over $10,000 again.

I spent the day in the 'Fountain' running the register about 98% of the time while Addie and Jonah scooped ice cream, which was what I expected.  They prefer not to be attached to the register, and that is fine with me.  By 5 pm, closing time for the 'Fountain', the customers had all but disappeared.  

Jonah, Addie and I had the 'Fountain' cleaned and ready for Saturday's business by 5:20 at which time I pulled my cash drawer to count it down for another day.  I'll do that 4 more times, and that is what it has come down to for me......4 more times driving up the Gardiner River Gorge......4 more times driving down.....4 more days working in the Mammoth Hot Springs General Store.....4 more days with our YNP friends......4 more days living in Gardiner, MT.  When we began our sojourn in YNP in mid June the days seemed 'unlimited', but now they have become quite finite.  Soon we will be changing our view without going through escrow.  We will simply drop the trailer on the hitch of the Newell and roll our 10 wheels once again.

With the end of our time in YNP my mind begins to think about what comes next......a round trip flight to SoCal for our son, Tim's wedding, our trip south to the Grand Canyon.....where will we stop along the way.....what will we see that is new.....what new friendships await us.  The future is not yet written, but thinking about the possibilities makes me happy.

We were home by 6:20 at which time I quickly changed clothes and began straightening up the interior of the trailer so TLE and I could drag the artificial turf inside before the rain comes.  It took me less than an hour to clear the rear of the trailer and then it was time for TLE to help me fold up the turf, and then drag it over to the trailer.  In just over an hour from start to finish I was once again locking the rear ramp door, and the turf was inside.  All the bikes are stowed for travel.....there is a little left to do, but that will all be inside the trailer, so the rain/snow will not be a factor.

In the middle of getting the trailer organized I noticed we were the beneficiaries of another wonderful Montana sunset......

.....the end of the season is upon us......Yellowstone RV Park will be closing for the winter in four weeks.....one of the two camp hosts has already departed.  Time is moving forward, life is good and I am content.

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9 to 6.....

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5:40 am - Friday - September 29th - 33º F, humidity 79%, wind 4 mph out of the south by southwest....should be sunny when the sun comes over the eastern horizon.....forecast high for Gardiner, MT today is 62º F, and 60º F for Mammoth Hot Springs, WY.  Beginning Saturday we are forecast to have 4 straight days of rain/snow.

Those overnight temps are getting consistently into the 20's and just over the next two weeks (if we were still going to be here) they will be dipping consistently into the teens.  When I get up in the morning (I'm first up about 99% of the time) I turn on two heaters to take the chill off the coach.  You're thinking.....".....he turns ON the heaters?  Why aren't they ON all night?"....I know, right?  Well, we both like it to be cool at night as we sleep better.  Plus the dry heat coming from any running heater (electric or gas) dries out our collective sinuses/throats......not good, or pleasant.  Anyway, no heaters on at night works for us.....at least for now.

So, we were on our way driving up to Mammoth Hot Springs by 8:15 am.....that's a mostly new experience for us.....we did two 'OPEN' shifts way back in mid June just after we arrived, but for the most part we have been departing for work at 9 am (only a couple of times), or later as we have had only 'MID' and 'CLOSE' shifts since then.  Having to be ready to go to work by 8:15 am means I once again must get up when it is still dark, and means I must go to bed much earlier than the 11, or 11:30 pm I have been used to all summer.  Oh well, it's only for a few more days.

Upon our arrival at work I felt compelled to go outside and take a video of the steam coming off the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces.....the colder it is the more noticeable the steam is.......

.......by 8:45 am we were both at our stations ready for another day in the General Store.  Micheal and I were manning the 'Fountain', and TLE along with Thomas was at main desk cashiering away.  I also put a cash drawer in as I would be relieving Michael for his breaks and lunch.  On Friday I will be the main cashier guy in the 'Fountain'.  Business was slow at first, but gradually gained steam and we finished the day with over $11,000 in sales.....much higher than the $6-8,000 we had done over each of the previous three days.  That is just busy enough to keep the time moving along.  5 pm (the new closing time for the 'Fountain) came quickly and it was time for us to clean it in preparation for Friday.  The store itself stays open until 6 pm, so I had to wait about 45 minutes for TLE to finish her shift and count down her drawer.  Under the new 9 am to 6 pm hours I work about 8 hours and 15 minutes.....TLE's works about 9 hours.....I like my shorter hours, except for the waiting part.

As we were exiting the door to the employee parking lot we were stopped in our tracks by the presence of two bull elk........

......my picture only shows one, but there were actually two two bull elk kind of sparring over one cow.....so we were stuck for a few minutes until they took their festivities elsewhere.  As we waited we could hear bull elk bugling in the distance.....these two were not bugling, but just glaring at each other.

Finally we were able to safely get to our car and begin the drive home.  As we passed the USPS we saw another bull elk chasing a car about 200 feet in front of us.....yup, it is the rutting season!  We were home by 6:30 where we changed our clothes and went outside to begin drying out our artificial turf by turning it over, and did the same to the awning mat I had in front of the trailer entrance.  They will get sun on them Friday, and then when we get home Friday we'll fold them up and put them in the trailer.  All I will have left to do is to organize the trailer just enough to pull it up to Livingston Wednesday....we will not be inserting the VW for the 52 mile drive.

Our last work schedules were posted Thursday and have us working Thursday through Sunday for the current pay period (all pay periods end each Sunday), and then Monday and Tuesday in our final pay period......we leave on Wednesday.  So, we will work 6 straight days to finish out our season here in Yellowstone National Park.

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Iconic......

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5:56 am - Thursday - September 28th - 30º F (Brrrrrr!), humidity 95%, wind 2 mph out of the south by southwest....when the sun comes up it should be clear blue skies.....pitch black right now.  Why am I up so early you ask?  Well, today begins our new 9 am to 6 pm hours.  Our shift begins at 8:45 am, which means we must depart Gardiner by 8:15 am, or thereabouts. 

Wednesday would really be our last opportunity to do some more site seeing here in Yellowstone National Park.  The one iconic view we had not been able to get even close to was Canyon Falls.  Every time we would drive by the entrances to the several vista points the traffic into them was at a standstill.  Some of the entrances to the parking lots can be anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 mile in length, and the thought of sitting in stop (mostly stopped) and go traffic for an hour just never appealed to us.  We were hoping that this trip over Dunraven Pass to Canyon Village would be different.......and it was.

We left home around 11 am to make the 1+ hour drive over to Canyon Village to first have lunch with our good friend Art Young who is a manager at the Adventure Center store there.  We first me Art at Amazon in Fernley, NV when we worked Peak Season there a few years ago.  We became friends and stayed in contact.  He is the one who helped us secure our job here at Mammoth Hot Springs, and we will be forever grateful.  At any rate, we met him around 12:15 pm at his store and walked the short distance over to the General Store and their Grill for lunch.  We were quickly seated, and placed our orders for food, and then commenced a non-stop conversation for the next 40 minutes before Art had to return to his job.  He is also going to the Grand Canyon this winter, so we are excited that he will be able to join us on some hiking adventures this winter!

From there we drove a short distance south to the 'Artist's Point' vista point for Canyon Falls....as we drove past the first two entrances we saw there was NO traffic......how exciting!  There was no traffic at the 'Artist's Point' entrance and we just whizzed right into the parking lot finding a parking spot within seconds......a few minutes later we got our first view of the iconic Canyon Falls.......

.....we gradually worked our way over to the optimum viewing point, and I have to say it exceeded my expectations by a mile.....it is literally the most breathtaking view I have yet seen here in YNP.....

 

.....unfortunately, the Uncle Tom Trail, which everyone we know says to hike, has been closed all summer for repairs.....I understand there are some 300 stairs that take you right down to the base of the falls.....we will have to return to do that hike in the future.....and we will.....

.....our next stop was the 'Brink of the Falls' entrance where you can hike down from the north rim to stand on a platform right next to the falls.......I wondered how many gallons of water are going over those falls every second.......

.......we managed to view Canyon Falls from every conceivable vantage point....we were literally able to drive into each parking area and secure a parking spot with no wait whatsoever.

Soon it was after 3 pm and time to begin the laborious trek back over the beautiful Dunraven Pass once again......it is only laborious as the traffic can be very unpredictable, even on an off season day such as September 27th.....we stopped near the top to get this pano shot looking southward......again, breathtaking......as you can see, there is still a lot of unmelted snow from our last storm.......

......on our way through Mammoth Hot Springs (a little after 4 pm now) we stopped off at the Yellowstone National Park Post Office to close out our P. O. Box, turn in our keys, and get our $18 deposit back......another sign that our time here is getting shorter!

We stopped off at the Gardiner Market for some minor provisions, and were home just before 5 pm.....another amazing day in Yellowstone National Park!  In fact, what a wonderful three day weekend we had!  I was in bed by 9:30 am in anticipation of getting up by 5:15 am....okay, I need a few hours to get myself going in the morning!

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9:15 am - Wednesday - September 27th - 39º F, 85% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the south by southeast.....clear blue skies with contrails......forecast high for this day is 59º F in Gardiner, MT, and in Mammoth Hot Springs, WY 59º F, also.  Headed out to do some more site seeing today!  Slept in until almost 9 am today.....wow.....double wow!

Well, TLE and I have very big news to share this morning!  I alluded to a new adventure awaiting us for the summer of 2018 (next summer!), and now it has been confirmed.  After submitting our resumes and then doing a lengthy phone interview we have been accepted to work at an RV park just outside the gates of Acadia National Park in Maine!  We will be living about 12 miles from Bar Harbor, and in the middle of one of the most beautiful places in this country for about 5 months.  We're going to keep the name of the RV park 'under our hat' for now, but suffice it to say that this could not have worked out better.  We will be in a location which enables us to explore New England at our leisure, something we have wanted to do ever since we hit the road nearly 6 years ago.  We will be paid $11/hour for all hours worked, and if we complete our contract we will receive a $1/hour bonus for every hour worked at the end of the season.  Now we must fight the temptation to get too far ahead of ourselves.......May, 2018 is still 7 months into the future......there is a lot on our plate before that time.  Nevertheless, we are happy to know we will finally be able to tour New England!

Tuesday was a very, very laid back day for us......we were off work, of course, so we slept in...... 

.....when I stepped out the front door I was greeted by 4 deer who had taken up residence on my artificial turf once again......my presence, of course, startled them, and they quickly made their way to another site.......

.......around 12:30 we began our drive over to Chico Hot Springs for one last soak.....on our way we changed things up, deciding to continue all the way to Livingston for a late lunch at Katabatic Brewing Company........after a brief 5-10 minute stop at a construction zone we arrived in Livingston around 1:30 pm.........

A signal controlled construction zone

.......Katabatic was relatively busy when we entered, but we were able to find a table and quickly ordered.  You may recall that they are directly next door to a good Mexican restaurant, so we ordered from them.....I had their Chile Relleño, and TLE had their Mexican Hot Dog......to chase those entrees we both ordered the Katabatic Scotch Ale, which is still the best of this title I have every sipped!  I love it when we make things up on the fly.....what a great lunch, and I am so happy we were able to visit Katabatic one more time before we depart.

On our way back north to Chico we stopped off at the RV park where we will be staying in just a week to check out the site they had reserved for us.....it is a long 65' pull through, which will be perfect for us.....we won't have to drop the trailer!

We arrived at Chico Hot Springs around 2:45 pm and were soaking in their hot pool within 10 minutes......we only stayed in the hot pool for an hour, but we emerged totally relaxed and refreshed.  On our way home we were stopped once again at the construction zone, but we didn't care......we had received our Maine job offer while eating at Katabatic, and we had just soaked in a hot mineral pool for an hour......no need to worry about a 10 minutes rest stop along the way!

We were home before 5 pm, and relaxing shortly after that......what a great day of pretty much doing nothing, but in the end so much was accomplished!  One more piece of good news......I was able to cancel my DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket without penalty, and received a full refund of what I had already paid.  Apparently DirecTV (AT&T) has decided that they don't want to be on the opposite side of millions of Americans who are fed up with the injection of politics into sports.  Normally, if you cancel in the midst of the season there is a penalty....usually you continue the monthly payments whether, or not you are watching.

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