“a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,” (Ecclesiastes 3:4).
One evening, Steve and I were privileged to join in the singing, dancing and making merriment with guitars, spoons, and voices! There was a special hoedown 80th birthday party for Jack. Jack lives at Shoshone Lodge and works there for free because he loves the area and the people so much.
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We met “Ranger” Alex in the Buffalo Bill Dam parking lot. He was wheeling around in his padded, shaded golf cart. With his initial offer to take us for a spin to the other end of the lot to the visitor center, I knew he enjoyed his job. Most of my family and friends (well, probably all of them) would tell I’m not the bashful type, so I immediately began to talk with “Ranger” Alex.
“Alex, are you a real Ranger?”
“No, I just like the hat, so I wear it. Used to be in the military, but I retired. This is my Forest Gump job, and I’m loving it!”
“Ranger” Alex supplied us with much information coupled with his own sense of humor. He’s the right man for the job! I think he’s found his niche. The dam was completed in 1910 (started about 1905) and stands a staggering 353 feet tall, 200 feet wide and 108 feet at the base. Simply amazing sight!
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Day of endurance: Left Shoshone, Wyoming (3 miles from Yellowstone) this morning at 40 degrees – arrived in Miles City, Montana this evening. Long, hot, weary day – saw 102 degrees. Big Horn Mountains w/the snow – beautiful (plus, loved the cooler air!) Sweltering, hot and not much to see once left Big Horn. Wind blew sideways although didn’t cool; only more hot breeze.
Shopped in Cody, Wyoming for blue turquoise and ate at Hotel Irma where Queen Victoria donated the cherry bar. Hotel built in 1902 – very cool décor.
Loved staying in one place for four whole days and nights at the Shoshone Lodge. Delectable food, great out-west service, and a successful horse ride. Doesn’t get much better than that!
“In quietness and trust is your strength…Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” (Isaiah 30:15b–18).
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Powder Pass, Big Horn Mountains (outside Buffalo, Wyoming) – elevation 9,600. Temperatures started out at 61 and rose to in the 90s during the day.
Lunch in Ten Sleep WY at the Crazy Woman Café. The name Ten Sleep got its name because it took ten nights to get from one camp to another.
Earthy smell of pine trees which were thick on both sides of the road.
Toured the Buffalo Bill Dam built in 1910. Amazing rush of waters held back by a 320 foot concrete wall providing power, irrigation plus a recreational lake, and much more. “Ranger” Alex drove us in his golf cart from the far end of the parking lot to the museum. Alex retired from military and this was now his Forest Gump job and he loved it!
Day #9 – got to 32 degrees overnight! The cabin desk clerk says they’ve had frost before and some of the leaves have started to turn already.
Drove through the eastern Yellowstone entrance doing the southern loop. Met our Grand Rapids, Michigan friends, Kathy and Ron, on the porch of Old Faithful Inn and watched our first showing of Old Faithful geyser. Saw a bear cross the road and bison in the fields—one bison walking along the edge of the road). Witnessed many thermal phenomena where sulfur hangs in the air.
Love our cabin at Shoshone Lodge, just 3 miles away from the east Yellowstone entrance.
Many I’ll get brave tomorrow and ride a horse…although I had a bad experience the last time I rode many years ago.
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Morning started cool at 47 degrees; day ended in the upper 80s. Yesterday, I felt weak and half-sick, tired, no ambition. Pat (owner of Custer’s Mansion) suggested I was dealing with the high altitude and its adverse effects. Napped for a couple of hours and felt good enough to ride out to Mt. Rushmore for the night lights…which was totally worth the effort! I know to drink LOTS of water and/or Gatorade.
Devil’s Tower, Wyoming—location of film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Indian legend claims the line markings down the side of the granite was made by a bear’s scratches. The tower is sacred to some.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling” (Psalm 46:1-3).