Seems like it was just July 4 and now we are moving to the middle of August.
On July 12, we went hiking to Glacier Lake (jva & abe went up there with JW in 2002 while they were here). The lake was still partially frozen and we had a heck of a time getting over to the farther part of the lake. The snow was piled deep on the trail. So one more scary snowdrift to climb over for this old woman. Since I made it over, I was a little less stressed coming back but then, I walked too close to the rocks and next thing I knew, one leg fell through the snow all the way up to my hip. That was not fun trying to get up and continue forward off the drift (especially with a whole bunch of people watching). The good thing was that no one else was brave enough to climb over the drift, so we had that whole side of the lake to ourselves. JW caught 1 fish, put it on the stringer and then didn't catch anymore so that one got turned loose.
It was an absolutley gorgeous day and a nice hike. Kind of steep but only 7 miles round trip.
The next day, Blaine and his family showed up on their way to the new home in Idaho. It was so great to have them back on this side of the country.
B & J stayed for a week and then they went on to Idaho and left the girls with us for a week. While B & J were here, we took the girls fishing at Wild Bill (the same lake we went to for the reunion). They each caught a few fish - nothing large enough to keep so had to just throw them back.
And we took them up Beartooth Pass to play in the snow. It was kind of cold though and they needed mittens. There was quite a bit of snow up there for late July:
JW had lots of fun spending time with the girls. Every day around 10, he sliced apples for them or found them some kind of snack. He made 3 swings for them in the tree and they spent a lot of time swinging. He took them on walks up the hill and helped Jules plant some flower seeds in a cup to take home with her. And the girls and I made a cake - they had fun licking the beater.
The girls loved their room.
On July 24, we had to take them to their new house. We decided to take a long drive through Yellowstone to see the water that spits in the sky and the bubbling water and the buffalo. Jules counted 162 buffalo. I told Jules about pine beetles and how the red trees are dying because of the pine beetles. So then Madison kept asking "why are the trees red", "why are the trees red". Finally, I asked her "Why are the trees red". She answered, "Cause a mosquito bit them".
It was fun in the park but even with staying just outside the park, there wasn't enough time to do what we wanted to do. Really need to go back and spend a few days. We didn't get to the paint pots again (somehow, we always miss the turn off - or maybe we needed to go north toward Mammoth).
On the 25th, we got to their new house around noon and ate lunch then kind of vegged a bit. JW cannot stand just sitting around so he decided that we needed to head home the next morning especially since B had to work. It was hard leaving them but it's great to know they are just over that mountain and a ways down the road so we can drive over for 3 or 4 days weekend when we can afford it.
As we came home, we saw this dreaded site:
The fires of August have started - This one was up above Wild Bill Lake in the area where we had taken our Timberline Lake hike a few weeks earlier. Knowing how much dead wood is in there, it is amazing that they have actually got it mostly contained now.
Back to reality and JW is back to searching for a job. He has apps in all over the place including back in AZ at the Ray mine where life started for us. Hoping to hear something soon from someone. Who knows where life will lead us. Maybe JW is done working forever - it's been kind of nice having him around all the time.
All we know is if we are meant to be in AZ at this time in our lives, that's where we'll end up. Not exactly our first choice but.........
