Geysers, Hot Springs, and Blisters

So today we did a lot of walking. We walked around different areas and saw lots of geysers and hot springs. We avoided any really steep hills so I didn't have a medical scare today. The only issues I have are really sore calves and feet. I am use to sitting in a cubicle all day on the computer so I am not use to lots of walking. It was fun though.

We also spent a lot of time at Old Faithful. I LOVE the Old Faithful area because that is where I lived and worked for a few months when I was 16 yrs old. It is tradition to stop and eat lunch at the grill at the store my parents worked at. We got the Old Faithful early so we wanted to kill some time before getting lunch at the grill. We wondered around the Old Faithful Inn and went and sat up on the little patio. We even watched Old Faithful erupt from the patio... but sadly Old Faithful doesn't impress me anymore so it wasn't too exciting. Then we went and walked 3 miles around the area.

After all that walking, we headed over to the grill for lunch. Unfortunately it was packed! We had to wait to get a table. The food was good.. and it brought back loads of memories. It was fun. I am glad Mike's parents were fine with joining us for this little tradition.

Tonight we did the tradition of Pizza in our room and watching TV. It is always nice to sit and relax the last night of our trip. Tomorrow we will get up and head home. We have to stop in Tremonton and pick up the pets but should hopefully get home at a decent time. It will be nice to get home early enough to get unpacked and have some relaxation time.

We actually took pictures this time in Yellowstone. We never take pictures because we have been here so many times that we don't really think to do it. This time we got plenty so I will post a select few that I really liked.

Quite an adventurous day

Our first full day in Yellowstone was rather interesting. We decided to drive the Grand Loop. We did the Firehole drive. Mike showed me the cave with bones in it a couple years ago but I have never gotten a picture until now. I guess these bones have been in this cave for a long time. Who knows whose bones they are... but they are still neat.
Next we stopped at Mattie's Grave. It is a grave that is really in the middle of nowhere. Not many people know about it. There use to be the Fountain Hotel which her and her husband were the care takers of back in the mid 1800's. Anyways Mattie ended up getting sick and dieing 1889 and was buried near the hotel. Well eventually the hotel burned down and they rebuilt a bigger hotel... which became abandoned when the Old Faithful hotel was built and became so popular. Anyways they burned the abandoned building down in 1927. You cannot even tell there was ever a hotel there... so now her grave sits pretty well in the middle of nowhere. Her husband had wanted to be buried next to her when he died but unfortunately by that time they had made it a law that you could not be buried in National Parks... so she is alone. Anyways... its tradition to stop at her grave when we come to Yellowstone.

Later on in our drive we saw a Grizzly Bear. Mike ran over and got pictures while I sat in the car. At first I thought it was just a brown bear... but looking at the pictures we realize it has a hump, and it was a big bear... so it I am pretty sure it was a grizzly just walking along the road.

The next interesting thing was when we went to Tower. There is an upper viewing area but you can also hike down to a lower area. Going downhill was great... but going uphill didn't work so well with me. I had a little medical scare. I guess I am still trying to get over my health issues last month when I got really anemic. I have felt much better... but still not 100%. I also was very dehydrated. I had a really hard time going back up the hill and had to keep stopping. I felt like I was going to throw up and also was feeling faint. It got really bad when I stopped and sat down on a rock. I have never gotten so close to passing out. There was a lady who was walking past who asked if I was ok and offered me water. I was very out of it and wanted some water but couldn't tell her because myhearing at that point started going funny. It sounded like everyone was talking to me from the other end of a tunnel. Then my vision started blurring and I honestly thought I was going to pass out. Luckily I didn't pass out and eventually made it back up to the car. Mike was awesome and stayed with me the entire time until we got up by his parents.. he then ran ahead and got me a drink and brought it back to me. I guess my lips had no color and I looked really pale. It honestly scared me when I almost passed out. I have never gotten that close to passing out and it was scary. I am glad I survived. I guess I still need to take it easy until I can get all healed up. Plus I am thinking it might be time to visit a Dr when I get back to Salt Lake.

Prior to the whole medical crisis we had an interesting drive around Yellowstone Lake. There was tons of smoke. There was the Arnica fire that started burning Wednesday night. It went from 4 acres to 250 by this afternoon. Anyways the smoke was very thick going around the lake. This was the best picture I could get which showed the smoke.

The fun part was after we got to Norris. We were going to have to drive back the way we came because the road was closed for construction between Norris and Madison (which we were aware of). Anyways... come to find out since we had gone around the lake... the fire got out of control and they had to close the road so that meant we were stuck on the other side of the park from our Motel and only had one option to get back... going thru Bozeman and down the Gallatin Highway... which added a few hours to our drive. We weren't that excited... but it wasn't too bad. We were able to reminisce about our honeymoon and driving down the highway. It was actually fun reliving those memories.

We finally made it back to West Yellowstone by about 8 PM. We then went shopping at a few book stores and then had a very late dinner. It was quite the day but it was fun...(except not the close to dying part). It was definitely a day to remember!

Joe's Filling Station

So Mike's parents told us about a Classic Diner in Rexburg, Idaho called Joe's Filling Station. They have dubbed it their new tradition to stop for dinner there on the way to Yellowstone. So Mike and I stopped there for a late lunch/early dinner (Lunner?). I was really impressed. They had old gas tanks out front as well as an old gas truck.

Inside was even more amusing. They had old signs all over the wall and it was just like an old classic diner. The food was even good and decent priced. They had the usual burger and fries... but also had dinners like Chicken, Potatoes, and Gravy (my favorite). also they had cream of red potato soup which was to die for! I LOVED it and wished I knew the recipe. It was delicious!

Anyways.... If you ever find yourself in Rexburg.... I highly suggest this place. Yummy!!!

P.S. I know posts on a restaurant aren't that exciting... but we are now in West Yellowstone so maybe I will have some fun posts over the next few days. Vacations are sooo nice!

Another Rock...

Mike and I went rock hunting at the mouth of one of the canyons on Sunday. I have about 5 or 6 good painting rocks now. I am excited to have options again. The reason we went rock hunting is because Mike's friend Stephan wanted me to paint a Unicorn for his wife for her Birthday. Stefan was the one who let me collect little rocks which I painted a couple and gave to his kids as you recall from my previous post. Apparently they liked them because they wanted another one.

I had never done a rock made-to-order so this was a new experience. I also had never done a Unicorn, let alone a hourse. I am still not so sure I like the way it turned out... but it was the best I could do. I told them I would be willing to try again if they weren't happy with it. So far I think they are happy. Anyways I had issues with shading. White animals are always hard to do because of shading. If I go too dark... it then turns into a gray animal... which we couldn't have a gray Unicorn. Plus I felt like I was using too many grays, whites, and blacks. I wanted to get some color into it so I ended up outlining the horn in Yellow to make it stand out and to add color. I am always hard on myself when it comes to artwork. I always hate it at first but later on think it isn't too bad. Like the Owl in our tree. I HATED it at first and thought it looked like crap. Now it just makes me smile to look up in our tree and see the owl sitting there. Partly from the irony. How many people can say they put a rock in their tree as decoration??

Anyways... now for the unveiling!

Top of Utah Marathon

Mike ran the Top of Utah Marathon in Logan this morning. He was crazy enough to run only a week after his last marathon. Anyways he finished in 3:19:39. He came in 104 out of 2600 plus runners. I think he also was like 17th out of his age group. He managed to shave off 20 minutes from the last time he ran this marathon 2 years ago.

We went to Logan last night and picked up his running packet. Then we went to Jenny and Rogers and spent the night. This morning we got up at 4 am so we could be in Logan in time for Mike to catch the bus to the start line. I had made a nice little bed in the back of the SUV so I went back to sleep until about 7:30 am.

Anyways... Mike did well on this race. He tried to take it easy because he doesn't want to mess anything up before St. George in a couple weeks. We are hoping he will qualify for Boston with that race. Mikes parents also came and watched him finish along with Bob and April from the Mustang Club. It is always nice when Mike has a cheering section... especially since I am too shy to really cheer for him. I also remembered to put batteries in the camera so I got pictures. Woohoo!

Rocks

So last week I was able to go to Mike's friends house and pick up some rocks he wanted to get rid of. They were smaller rocks than I usually like but they worked. Anyways his kids were nice enough to help me find the smoothest and best shaped rocks for painting so I decided I would paint them some rocks as a thank you gift.

So I painted a Penguin and a calico kitten. Smaller rocks are quicker to paint but its hard to get a lot of detail. Anyways this is how they turned out.

I guess the kids really liked them. Now they want me to paint a bigger Unicorn rock. I am hoping I can pull it off for them... so we will see.

Our Honeymoon

So I am going to do a little remembering session about our honeymoon since I apparently never posted it. So here goes...

Our wedding night we spent in a nice condo in Park City Thanks to my brother in law Dave. It was very upscale and even had a hot tub on the patio. We didn't end up using the hot tub though. We actually didn't get up there till late so we pretty much just went to bed.

In the morning we headed to Cody, Wyoming. I had never been there before but Mike had. It was neat. We stayed at this motel where they had a bird in the office. We got a picture of it on Mikes head. It was a cute bird. It loved to talk.

We wandered around the Ghost Town. I think that they were old buildings from all over that they moved to Cody and created a little town. It was interesting though. I LOVE ghost towns so I was amused.Next we went and did some shopping in Red Lodge, MT before heading to our little cabin in Absarokee. It was the cutest little cabin. It was one room and so rustic looking. I enjoyed our stay there. I wish we could have spent more nights there.We then headed over the Beartooth Highway towards Yellowstone. That was an adventure because my car over heated. So we had to pull off the side of the road and sit around for an hour while it cooled down. I got some good pictures in the meantime.

We spent a few days exploring Yellowstone and then we headed to Ennis, MT. Ennis is like 30 minutes outside of Virginia City and Nevada City. Those are both really neat places to visit. While there we went to the Brewery Follies in Virginia City. They put on a little comedy act. It was rather entertaining. I quite enjoyed it. This is a picture of inside the old Brewery.

We stayed in some little cabins in Ennis as well. They were nice but not as cute as the Absarokee cabins.

After Ennis we drove to Bannack, MT. That place is incredible! It is a ghost town which they have preserved but not restored. So they have all the buildings in the town you can walk thru. they are empty buildings that aren't in the best of shape but they are still sturdy. One of the highlights was the Meade Hotel pictured below. It was big and very neat. I loved Bannack and would suggest it to anyone. It is by Dillon, MT and well worth visiting.

Then we went to the Lewis and Clark Taverns. Those were neat. We ended up getting a private tour because no one else had showed up yet. So it was just Mike and I and the tour guide. It was neat. It was hard to get real good pictures in there but this one turned out ok.

After the caverns we headed to Bozeman Montana where Mike ran the Lewis and Clark Marathon. He ran that marathon in 3:33:48 and I believe he came in 10th place. It was neat he got to do an out of state marathon.

After Bozeman... we headed back to West Yellowstone and spent the night before heading back home. It was an awesome trip. We were able to see and do a lot. One thing I will never forget is driving back to West Yellowstone. We were going thru a gorgeous area. It was raining off and on so the clouds were covering the tops of the mountains all around us in a thick haze. The fall colors were so vibrant. We listened the to the song "The Answer Lies Within" by Dream Theatre which I felt was so fitting. There is a part that says "You've got the future on your side. Your gonna be fine now. I know whatever you decide, Your gonna shine". It was so true. I felt that the future was on my side and felt like I was going to be fine. So that song forever is associated with our honeymoon. Plus I had a little addiction to Cotton Candy Blizzards from DQ. I think we had to have gotten at least 5 of them throughout the honeymoon. They were delicious!

Anyways I wanted to make sure I recorded some of the honeymoon. I am determined I will find where we wrote down more details on this. I really thought I had done a post about it but I cant seem to find it now. Oh well. It was a neat honeymoon and a great way to start out our marriage.

Anniversary, Marathon, and Memories...

So today is our one year Anniversary. I can't believe it has already been a year. It has been a good year though. I cannot imagine life without Mike. We get along so well and life is great with him. I couldn't ask for a better husband.

This morning I woke up around 4 am because Mike had a Marathon he ran this morning. Anyways I come stumbling out of the bedroom and looked up to see white roses sitting on the kitchen counter. I didn't expect it at all. I have the best husband. He also had bought chocolate and Carmel covered rice crispy treat for me. I LOVE rice crispy treats and White Roses. He knows me so well!

Anyways tonight we plan on going to the Desert Star for dinner and to see Snooty and the Beast. It should be fun. One tradition we wont be taking part in is eating the top layer of our wedding cake. Sadly it only lasted a couple days after we got back from our honeymoon last year. We figured in a year it would be so freezer burned and yucky that we wouldn't want to touch it with a ten foot pole. So we enjoyed it while it was still fresh, and it was good!

Mike ran the Prove River Marathon this morning. He ran it in 3:12:58. There were probably about 75 marathon runners and he came in 2nd place overall. I took my camera along but the batteries were dead so I didn't get any pictures. He did well though. I am very proud of him. Top of Utah Marathon is next weekend and then St George is two weeks after that. Crazy guy!

So I have been working on turning my 2008 blog entries into a book (stole that idea from Janae). Anyways I just recently put in the entries about the wedding and realized I never blogged about my honeymoon. I cant believe I never did! So anyways I am going to do a little post on it which I figure is fitting since today is our anniversary. Hopefully I can remember the order of all the places we stayed. I am frustrated because I know I wrote it down somewhere. I just cant remember where. Grrr!

The joy of shopping with other peoples money...

So Mike and I both wanted to get out of the house today but weren't sure what to do. Mike came up with the brilliant idea of using up the rest of our gift cards we got from Christmas and our Wedding last year. We went thru the house and gathered up all the old gift cards and called to get balances. Of course we had already used the bulk of the balance so most cards only had like $4. We didn't have a ton of money left on the cards but we didn't want them to go to waste. So off we went shopping.

First we went to Great Harvest. Mike gets coupons for free loaves of bread from a lot of races he runs. We stopped there and got a couple loaves. We had to pretend we were not together and each had to use a coupon because you are only suppose to use one coupon at a time. We also bought a loaf of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip bread because it was delicious and we felt bad using the coupons and not buying anything. So we ended up spending about $7 on the Pumpkin Bread.

Next we went to Bed Bath and Beyond. I had a gift card with $4.99 left. We ended up getting some drink mixes. I actually got confused and thought I have $8 so we bought a mudslide mix as well as Strawberry Daiquiri mix. When we paid we ended up not having as much on the gift card as I thought so Mike ended up spending $5 out of his own pocket.

Next we went to Old Navy. I had about $8 left on that card. They had some things on sale so Mike and I were able to each get a shirt for $5. So Mike ended up paying $2.50 out of his own pocket there.

After that we headed to Kirkhams. We actually still had $22 left on that gift card. I bought a "Life is Good" shirt since my old one got bleach on it. Mike bought a pair of running socks he really likes... and also some Powerbar Gel which he uses on his runs. I think he ended up spending $15 out of pocket there.

We then hit Walmart... but didn't use any gift cards there. We had to buy a birthday present for his niece Saleen. We are going to a birthday BBQ tomorrow. We also had to get some groceries we forgot to get before and some batteries. So that Walmart trip doesn't really count since we didn't use any gift cards. You don't need to know how much we spent there. We also hit Harbor Freight before walmart. Mike had to pick up some goggles and he also bought a fly zapper which was on sale. We didn't use any gift cards there either. Funny side note: we have had all these flies that got in the house buzzing around driving us nuts. Mike finally got his zapper and we can't find a single fly. He is so disappointed because he was excited to use it. He did manage to zap himself with it already. Poor guy.

After Walmart, we went to the Cheese Cake Factory. We had a $15.99 left on the gift card. We bought a six inch cheesecake (which is tiny). Mike only had to spend $0.44 of his own money there.

Then we grabbed lunch at Taco Bell and headed home. I think we did well. I think total Mike ended up spending $27 out of his own pocket at the places we had gift cards for. It was actually a ton of fun going and trying to find things for cheap so we could use the rest of our gift cards. It was a full day of shopping but it didn't cost us much at all.

This is a picture of all the stuff we bought with gift cards. I think we did well. Thanks to everyone who has given us gift cards for our Wedding or Christmas! We couldn't have done this shopping trip without you!

The New Washing Machine

Last weekend the Washing Machine died. We knew it was on the fritz so we weren't too surprised. Mike started a load of laundry and then we sat down to watch some Deadwood. Anyways it starts on the spin cycle and starts making a horrible sound! Mike runs in and messes around with it for a few minutes but to no avail.
Luckily Mike can get a good employee discount at R.C. Willey. He went in to work on Monday and ordered a Washing Machine to be transferred from their main warehouse. Tuesday he brought it home from work with him. He was anxious to get a new one since we had a wet load of laundry just sitting in the old washing machine. We didn't want the clothes to get too horribly mildewy.


We had to move the dryer and shelves into the kitchen in order to get the new washing machine in. This is a picture of how full and crazy my kitchen was.

This is the new washing machine.

I was anxious to see if it could handle my king sized comforter because I thought it was going to be bigger than the last washing machine. I am sad to say it didn't get all the soap out... but oh well. It is a lot faster than the old washing machine and it is sooooo quiet! We no longer have to push the washing machine back into place after the spin cycle... and the house no longer shakes. It is so delightful! Now we just need the dryer to kill over so we can get a new one of those too!