ATV trip to Lucky Dog Springs

Tonight Brian took me on an ATV ride to Lucky Dog Springs.  Wow!  I had no idea such a place existed up here.  The springs are a tad smaller than Big Springs but look similar.  The big difference is that Lucky Dog is more remote and unknown, at least today.

 

There were 5 abandoned log cabins from a very long time ago.  The History of Island Park, by Dean Green, doesn't even have a mention of it that I can find, so I can't discover the history quickly.  A sixth cabin looks more like 50+ years in age.  It was boarded up with shutters that were screwed in and a working electric meter on the outside.

Brian was speculating that perhaps it was a lodge at one time with the old time cabins for rent.  Now it is more of a 'ghost town'-lodge.  When I google Lucky Dog Springs, all I can find is a reference to fishing on Lucky Dog Creek, but nothing of the springs.  That information is found on this link.  Hook and Bullet.com

Anyway, it was very lovely and an easy ride for me to take the girls on sometime.

There was evidence of moose...
 

and bear. (Probably a small bear from the size of the... pile.)










We both took phone calls while out there so there was plenty of noise to announce our presence to the bear, if he was still in the area. (Had to be a male bear.  A female would have hidden it better, right ladies?)

Okay, so joke of the day.  What is worse than a tree falling on your house???

A tree falling on your outhouse, of course.  Time to move out, I guess.

Swimming in Scot's Bay

 Scot bought this boat 2 summers ago.  Brian said the happiest day of any guy's life is the day his best friend buys a boat!  So true, so true.

 Today Brian and I took lunch to Scot and then swam off the dock.  Scot telecommutes, similar to Brian, so when he was off work, he took us out boating to Scot's Bay, on the reservoir.  We dropped anchor, swam and laid about for an hour or so before heading home for dinner.

 I needed to get a picture of Scot looking this way, but didn't realize that until tonight.  Sorry, Scot!

 Sunburned and happy tonight!  Someone remind me to bring a bungee cord for my hair next time!

Chris and Briana and family's visit

Last week we welcomed Chris, Briana, and the kiddos for a few days of fun.  ATV rides, a canoe float trip, drive to the top of Sawtelle, John Sack cabin tour, feeding the fish at Big Springs, and a trip into the Park were among the things we enjoyed with them.

Five Moose Float Trips

Today we floated the river with Chris, Brianna and their kids.  This was the second float trip this summer and both times we saw five moose.  That is the most moose on one float trip ever.  Here are a few pictures.

A Crash in the Woods!

Last week during a great wind storm we heard a tree crash to the forest floor.  At first I wasn't sure what it was but Brian knew.  Then I thought it had fallen into the water.  When we came back from our quick sojourn home we took a walk along the trail and low and behold, we found two trees that had fallen across our trail.  The only thing better is when you can push a dead tree over yourself, which both Brian and I can say we have done!

Meet Chewbacca

Meet Chewy.  Or maybe one of his relatives.  He is already storing pinecones under the Johnny Sack cabin. Must be an early winter coming!

Pioneer Day

Pioneer Day this year was sweet and casual.  Aimee, her mom Cherie, and her two darling daughters spent the day with us.  We started out with a walk up the nature trail to feed the greedy seagulls - ah - I mean the fish.  Norah had to carry her quarter for the fish food in her shoe, as she had no pockets.  The water was so lovely that both girls just had to put their feet in for a few minutes.

Then we went to West Yellowstone for lunch at KIWIs and some shopping.  KIWIs is not your regular burger joint.  They specialize in Kiwi food, or food that New Zealanders eat.  We had burgers with pickled beets and fried eggs, grilled cheese and pineapple sandwiches, and chips (large French fries) sprinkled with malt vinegar.  YUM...  They were fresh out of meat pies or Brian would have tried one for sure.  

Then it was off to the candy store to fill our baggies with treats.  Can you see all my black licorice???

After checking out the nativity sets at the IMAX theater, we headed back to the Subway to see Sarah and buy some cookies.  Then to the cabin for cookies and a rest before they headed home.  So glad they came!  A good time was had by all.

Thunder, Sunshowers, and Rainbows

Last night the weather changed.  It began with a sudden clouds and a big blow.  Then the thunder, lightening, and rain began.  Before long the power went out.  I was thrilled I had showered and was all done blow drying my hair!  Then almost as soon as it started it was over.  The sun was shining through the rain drops and there was a beautiful full double rainbow.  Sarah was disparaging over no power.  "NOW what!?!?" she exclaimed over not being able to get on the computer!  Oh my, the pain of withdrawal from Facebook!  Poor kid, she had to play a game at the kitchen table with her boring mother...

Osprey on The Water

Today we were working on the new deck and Brian noticed this osprey in the tree.  I went down to the water with my camera to get this shot.  I noticed fish splashing underneath the bird and so I waited for a few minutes.  Before long the osprey dove down into the water and grabbed a fish and flew off downstream.  Wish I could have gotten pictures of it fishing or flying off with the fish in its talons...  It was pretty cool.

Pictures of the Geysers

 Harold got some wonderful shots of the geysers and so with his permission, I am sharing a few with you.  Thanks Harold!

   And last, but not least, here is a big old bull, with his full winter coat hanging on in places, sitting in the heat    of the hot the sun, on the heat of the hot ground, next to a hot pool.  Go figure.

Dog Lovers: Beware of Postmistress!

I went to the Post Office up the road the other day to buy some post card stamps.  They only cost 32 cents whereas first class stamps cost 45 cents.  I know, not much difference but somehow I can't bear to waste the extra 13 cents per 2 line post card to my old aunties back east.  So as I drove up I saw this lovely little barrel of flowers with a sign.  We had a prisoner on a chain once, Brian calls dogs 'poop machines', and up here 'bear bait', so I had to smile when I saw this sign.  Enjoy - or not.

Oh, how we LOVE having grandchildren! (and children)

Kelsey brought Jackson up so we could spoil the both of them.  We had a blast!  They came to the Park, Virginia City, canoeing, and shopping with us.  Here is a sampling of pictures we took while they were here.

52 degree water year round

No smiling now...

Did you know canoes made decent teething rings?  Whodu thunk it?

A good day was had by all

Welcome Back Summertime!

We are back at the cabin this summer and having fun.  Our first visitors were Harold, Kelly, Amanda, and Kara.  Geysers, canoeing, and fishing (a-hem) filled our time with them.

Our next visitors were Jackson and Kelsey.  Their visit overlapped Harold and family and also Wendy and John's visit.  Virginia City, Nevada City, and YNP were among the activities we all shared.  In the park we saw 4 bears, a few more antelope, a few more elk, and about a billion bison.  No, I think there are only 8000 in the park and we must have seen 7500, I think.  The wolves disappointed us, however.

Spring Break Trip

In April we made our only wintertime trip of the year to the cabin.  Our neighbors and friends, Katie and Ryan and children, braved the treacherous conditions with us.  Good thing, too.  Our ATV was no match for the soft snow and warming temperatures.  We got stuck on the second trip in from the trucks.  Lucky for us they brought 2 snowmobiles.  Sarah brought a friend, MaKayla, and we listened to General Conference together, skied, snowmobiled around, and just enjoyed the children in the snow.  Ryan and family left on Monday and we were left to fend for ourselves for the week.  On the next Saturday we began our trip back to the truck, in 12 inches of fresh snow.  Once again, luckily for us, our wonderful neighbors, Pam and  company, stopped by with their 2 snowmobiles and saved the day!  We are rethinking things for future wintertime trips...

Snow melting on bridge into river.

Warm temperatures even for April.

Stuck again.

Fox Sighting

Today I was washing dishes and turned around to clear the table when out of the corner of my eye I saw something orange go by the front door window.  I walked to the river view windows and saw a red fox checking out the corners of the chimney, looking for the squirrels and chipmunks.  He saw me but did not flinch.  I called to Brian and we sat eye to eye for about a minute with this beautiful creature.  Once he started off I found my camera and got this shot of him trotting off to the river.  What a thrill!

Thoughts on Life Preserving Jackets... and other things

Today I cleaned out the Johnny Sack 'guest cabin'.  This two-room log cabin was a gift from the US forest service that came with our signature on the lease of the property.  It is built of logs with a wood floor, metal roof, and concrete foundation.  The bedroom has a small closet and two windows with glass panes, screens, and shutters to keep out the snow.  The other room is a screened porch with screened, shuttered windows on 3 sides and a door.  I’m not sure any of our guests would like to sleep in this cabin.  It is drafty and dusty.  Chewbacca, our red tailed squirrel, lives in and underneath it with his family during the long, cold winters. 

Johnny Sack was somewhat of an enigma around these parts.  He stood 4 feet 11 inches tall and what a bit of a recluse.  He built several log cabins when all this area belonged to him and used them as 'guest cabins'.  Ours is one of them.  His original log home is open to visitors in the summer months and is not a mile from here at Big Springs.

My desire to clean out the guest cabin began when I pulled out bicycles left behind by previous owners in need of repair.  Once they were out of the way I could see better the mess that had been made by Chewbacca.  Sweeping and organizing was needed.  As I made my way through the bedroom, I pulled out life jackets from their bins.  I counted 31 in all.  How had we ended up with so many?  Some had been left behind by previous owners.  Some we brought with us from our years of camping and boating.  A few were donated by family members.  I recognized a few as having been worn by nieces and nephews and wondered if they had been left behind by Uncle Jeff.  As I took each one out and inspected it, I could picture my children, when they were children, in the some of the small ones.  Many were faded.  Some had torn areas.  I could see Kelsey in the little pink one with the head rest and handle, bobbing in the pool.  I could picture Keith and Jacob in the blue ones in the canoe.  Here was Brady’s yellow one.  And Sarah, being the youngest, wore all of them.  They were so small then.  There in the Johnny Sack cabin, I could almost hear their childish voices again and wanted to go back to another time when my children were young again. And liked me, needed me.  I remembered times in Nevada and California at the lakes we floated there in our canoe.  Times when we went boating with friends in their ski boats.  Times we swam in unsure waters.  Now my granddaughters have worn the little pink one and the yellow one.  As I carefully put each one back into the bins, I found myself thankful for the years of service these innate objects had given keeping my precious children safe in the water. 

The hours I spent in cleaning out the Johnny Sack cabin were dusty but enjoyable.  It is tidy and organized now.  My husband reminded me that he had already gone through it at least twice before I did today.  The other things in that little cabin are important, too.  The hammock brought back from Costa Rica by our son Keith, the Camp Chef stove, tools we need to keep things in order around the property, a bag of mulch for the new trees, hoses, shovels, a lantern.  Did I mention 11 canoe paddles and four kayak paddles?  But nothing touched my heart as much as handling those old, little life preservers that kept my children safe in the water.  In the end one of the small blue ones had been sacrificed to Chewbacca’s need to provide a nest for his family.  Thanks be to God for that person who first designed them and marketed them so that I could have them in bins in Johnny Sack’s guest cabin.