Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Travel Tales Part 11

So I've managed to double my vacation time by posting about it. Beats putting pictures in a drawer.

These are pictures snapped from our little trek on Uncle Tom's Trail. This bad boy had some warnings about what we might encounter, and who should stay behind.

I don't remember the exact length of this trail or step count. But there were over 300 steps. That doesn't seem awful...no biggie at all, right? But before the steps were packed dirt switchback trails that delivered us to the steps. Then appeared the warning signs about the steep climb. Okay, I began to get a little more concerned that we were not on a simple stroll. We began to climb down. The first picture is the view of water from the beginning of the descent. The moss-dotted tree hid in the deeply shaded forest along the trail.

I did not count the actual number of staircases. This is representative of many and at the mid-wayish point...(used a picture opp as a chance to breath...ha.ha). Notice the caved in area on the step. There were plenty of those spots along the staircase. I'm assuming boulders shake loose and travel down the steps.

After several minutes spent climbing down we hit the bottom and a small platform almost close enough to feel the spray of the waterfall. There was enough room for about a dozen people to hang out a bit before heading back up the steps. At first I was concerned that we wouldn't actually get to take a picture or even see the waterfall because there was a photographer who had his big old camera set up on a big old tripod.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Travel Tales Part 10

These photos are from the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Which is also the most photographed section of Yellowstone. Vast and beautiful. Not actually Grand Canyon sized but breathtaking none-the-less.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Full Farm Day

Well, I had a full day yesterday.

Work. Check. Nothing too crazy there. Home for about 15 minutes to don farm attire and grab a water bottle. Check.

Next, the drive to the farm. Sometimes we play hide and seek when we get to the farm. We don't get cell phone reception and the farmers don't carry theirs. So we have to resort to old fashioned detective work. There are three main areas where we might be. Little greenhouse. Nope. No cars, no wandering bodies. Next farm, no one in the packing area so we took the hike to the high tunnel. Kind of a bingo. We harvested tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant and zucchini. Weeding and learning while picking. Heirloom tomatoes are tricky little guys. And picking at the right time is important. Black zebra picked green is not going to be good. But then there's green zebra. Tomatoes picked too ripe won't be good for a CSA pack. And squash bugs are bad. Squish squash bugs...and they smell tutti-frutti said the farmer. I squished but didn't sniff. Squash bugs lay eggs on the back of the leaves so you have to look and scrape. It's a brutal war in veggie land...plain and simple survival of the fittest or biggest.

The weather, of course, was quite toasty. Let's just say sweating was unavoidable. I didn't hit a delirious state but got a little over warm in the high tunnel. One of the farmers tends to wax poetic about veggies. I knew she'd gotten a little too much sun when she referred to our harvest as "stuff."

Next week's bounty is going to be impressive. Eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet corn, maybe some peppers. Today's box was the heaviest it's been. Definitely a good haul and a good day.

We arrived home in time for me to shower, eat speedy (thank you Trader Joe's and farmers!) and head out for Bible study. We arrived late, but saw two unusual sights along the way. A bright yellow bi-plane was crop dusting. (UGH) and at one point it was so low and so looking like it was going to land on our car that I almost ducked. Then. We saw wolves or a dog wolf hybrid. And I didn't have my camera!!! So annoyed.

When we got to Bible Study we started telling about the wolf sighting and everyone laughed. There is a new guy in the neighborhood who apparently likes very realistic yard decorations. Freaky. I think they were the real deal.

Then after Bible study we sat on the deck until Vampire Mosquitoes embraced the night and smelled our blood. Before fleeing for our lives we did enjoy the antics of three bats swooping through the air and five tree frogs suction-cupping their way across the siding to get closer to the lights so they could scarf bugs.

Way more than you ever thought you might want to know about my day, ehhh?

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Travel Tales Part 9

My youngest has officially left the teens. Happy Birthday! You know who you are!

Snow on the mountains in July.


Snow on the windshield in July.


Snow on the grass in July.


And a rainbow.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Travel Tales Part 8

As I said, Yellowstone is a crazy unique place.

Acres of trees, rolling hills, meadows full of buffalo...then, a sulfur scent would tint the air. We'd see wisps of steam and a sign telling us of an area of interest.


The classic...Old Faithful was indeed impressive. But it wasn't the most amazing sight at all.

We found two other geysers that were infrequent shooters and watched them erupt, too.

Morning Glory was beautiful, but they now call it Fading Glory because people have tossed junk into the "pond" affecting the intensity of the colors. Emerald (Lake or pond) was multiple shades of green blue depending on the sunshine. At first we were disappointed because we took a decent sized trek to get back to it. But the sun came out from behind a cloud and it was breathtaking green...perty close to emerald I'd say.

The colors and spewage is all scientific and chemical and heat and kind of spooky. There were warning signs everywhere about unstable ground. And they had horrific cartoonish pictures of a disobedient, off-path child in a cloud of steam. His horrified mom stood pointing from the safe pathway. And a man walking away, talking on his cell phone was not the father, we hoped. I tried to find the picture but couldn't. So I had to post the next favorite... of goring buffalo.

Needless to say, I was freaked a bit about stepping off the path. I actually saw one little boy get distracted and step off. He jumped back on and his mom freaked a little. The boy said in a shaky voice, "I thought it wasn't too dangerous because a plant was growing there."

Whew! I couldn't help it, I kept trying to glimpse the bottom of his shoes to see if they were melted. I think he was one of the lucky ones.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Travel Tales Part 7

Crazy sights from Yellowstone.

If you have never been, you might want to put it on your "must see" list.

There are acres and acres of your traditional (dare I say yawnish) scenery.

Then BAM!

something funky this way comes.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Travel Tales Part 6

We saw some of the most breathtaking scenery during our 2600 mile adventure.


Of course much of our traveled trails contained the signs stating "scenic byway" and the roads were often scenic of a serpentine type.


We live in a diversely beautiful country.