Huckleberry Hot Springs

Today got off to a rocky start for John and me but we managed to get back on track by the early afternoon and the rest of the day was fantastic. John decided to ski in the morning and left the house around 9:00 AM only to discover once he arrived at the gate to the park that he had left his wallet at the cabin. So he went to the library and caught up on emails before driving back to the house. The Comcast guy showed up around 11:00 to install wi-fi service and after about 45 minutes the cabin was wired! Fortunately, I checked to make sure it was working before the guy left because it was not working and he had to spend another 25 minutes or so working out bugs in the system. John arrived home a few minutes before the internet guy completed the installation. We decided to drive up to Dornan's for cookies and snacks before driving out near the entrance of Yellowstone National Park. We stocked up on cookies and milk and hit the wide open highway for about a 40 minute drive. The point of the drive was to get within snowshoeing distance of a geothermal area and hike to a hot spring there: "Grand Teton National Park’s worst-kept secret is actually located just north of the park in the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway area. Formerly the site of a private campground, all traces of development have been removed and the 100°-105°F springs have reverted back to their natural state. Locals soak here year-round, using cross-country skis to gain access in the winter." The drive was beautiful, clear and sunny and even a little warm with temps in the 30s. The park ranger told us that sea otters had been spotted near some open water about 3 miles into Teton National Park so we stopped hoping for a sighting but no luck. The hike to the hot spring was really nice and very easy because others had made a trail so this snowshoeing adventure was really just walking in those clumsy snowshoes, and as a matter of fact we didn't even use them on the walk back to the car. The hot spring was HOT! A jacuzzi in the middle of nowhere surrounded by snow covered mountains and evergreens. The water was very warm probably close to 100 degrees and in some spots scorching hot, but unlike a jacuzzi the natural spring is muddy, slimy, rocky, and a wee bit stinky. It was still a lot of fun and I'd definitely recommend a trip to the hot spring to visitors to the park. We got back to the house around 6:00 PM and had a really nice dinner, a fire in the fireplace (finally), and watched a western, The Outlaw Josey Wales starring Clint Eastwood. I could barely keep my eyes open 20 minutes into the movie but John enjoyed it; he loves westerns. This post is late because I really couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to blog last night.

Walking Through Snow

It’s hard to believe that two years ago tonight I was meeting John for the first time at Lucia’s restaurant in Minneapolis. Tonight we’ve just finished dinner together in Wyoming after an afternoon of snowshoeing in Teton National Park. In my wildest dreams I could not have envisioned this journey and that has made it all the more amazing. Although we’re embroiled in a disagreement tonight I wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world.

I met John at the airport at noon and we headed into town for lunch at Shades Café and then to the library for a wireless connection. Fortunately, we didn’t spend much time at the library because it was an absolutely gorgeous day and one to be enjoyed out of doors. We stopped at the cabin and picked up the snowshoes and drove up to the park. This was my first experience on snowshoes and the hardest part was getting them on properly. Lucky for me I got it right the first time around and my snowshoe remained intact throughout the hike. John wasn’t as fortunate or maybe as skilled so his snowshoes came off a few times. Snowshoeing is basically walking through deep snow on something resembling a lightweight mesh skateboard (the original ones looked like gigantic tennis rackets). While snowshoeing is just walking through the snow it is much harder than it looks. Imagine walking through mud with 5-10 pound cement blocks on your feet! I stumbled a few times and fell down in the snow but my new soft shell pants and jacket kept me warm and dry. Actually once we got going on our snowshoes the performance gear proved a little too warm because it was easy to work up a sweat even in the cold because it’s hard work and the sun was intense. We pranced around on our snowshoes for a little over an hour but it felt more like two or three to me. We were back home before 6:00 and just finished dinner and I’m off to the Swedish cabin to copy and paste today’s blog post

Oh I forget to mention that I managed to lock myself out of the Swedish cabin last night after I posted that I would be sleeping there. I decided around 11:00 last night to put John’s car in the garage. Once I walked out to move the car I realized the door had locked behind me! Luckily I only had to drive about a 100 yards to find shelter and warmth.