We (Tim and I and Jim and Kathy aka Tin Man) were able to meet up with Jim and Pat Dick, along with Bill (pancake bill) up at Old Faithful on Tuesday night. With everyone's schedules and Bill and Jolene leaving on Thursday for a blue grass festival it worked out pretty well. Bill told great stories about being at Old Faithful during the winter months; how they got their food, how they handled transportation and the skeleton list of those who stay for the winter. It was fun to see Jim and Pat again and they talked about how they are ready to get back to Florida to visit good friends. They don't stay in Yellowstone as long as Bill and Jolene do.
We nibbled on appetizers, drank beer and talked about a lot of stuff; but NOT black water tank issues.
Tim and I had not eaten so we scarfed down a hamburger/fries while I had trout cakes...(yum) I've attached a photo taken with Tim's smartphone that was running out of battery. We nearly closed the place down and began our drive home. I missed the turn off and ended up going several miles toward Norris before I realized what I had done. Tim was no help as he was asleep after some very good beers.
On Wednesday Tim and I along with Jim and Kathy drove to Roosevelt Tower for the Wagon Train Camp cookout. Jim and Kathy graciously drove and left early so that we could all travel together. Because Tim and I were taking the 2 hour horseback ride we needed to be there early. Got there with time to spare, checked in then Jim and Kathy headed to the lodge to wait to load up on the wagon ride. Tim and I got our horse riding instructions along with a pretty good safety pitch..."no cameras/cell phones, no jackets tied around your waist, no back packs".
Because Tim is tall, close to 6' 2" he was assigned "Big Ben". I was assigned "sunny" a short little thing, who could easily reach every blade of grass along the ride. The horse ride was a lot of fun, up, over and around the mountain; past a pristine lake and then down into the valley for the cookout. Because Tim and I were at the back we "ate" a lot of dust. The horses were great and I was quite a bit sore the next day.
The cookout was well planned and even tasty: rib eye steaks, barbequed beans, corn, coleslaw, cornbread muffins and some kind of cobbler....plus great cowboy coffee.
Jim and Kathy claim their horses on their wagon were the slowest of all....2 fresian horses that plotted along.
The weather was perfect....the food good...the horses easy to ride and good friends we haven gotten to know.
I tried to catch up with Don and Mary Ann; left a note on their motorhome door; then walked over to meet Bill aka photog. We talked for a while and I learned that he has a ton of knowledge about Yellowstone. I look forward to picking his brain at some later date. There just isn't enough time to get it all done. Hopefully we'll meet everyone "down the road a piece" as we say in the South.
Tomorrow Tim and I are off headed to Ririe outside of Idaho Falls on Highway 26 along the Snake River. We are in need of a big grocery store and some Fall/Winter clothing. Because we decided to stay in the Wyoming area until the middle of September instead of going to southern Oregon, we find we didn't bring enough cool weather clothes.
If you are following Jim aka Tin man, his rig is on it's way to Belgrade....keeping our fingers crossed that it's an easy fix.
Marsha~
