Sweet Pea

Jo
1994-2012

Yesterday our sweet “Jo Jo” passed away at the ripe old age of 18. She seemed to be doing a little better after the antibiotics, but we guess the infection must have been just too much for her weak little body. We found her on the floor at the foot of the bed on the same rug where Mikey had taken his last breath.

Jo adopted us back in 1994 by showing up at our back door one day in CA. Russ opened the door figuring she’d run off like most cats would but instead she walked right in and made herself at home. We had a couple other cats at the time so she helped herself to some food and water and checked out the rest of the place. We assumed she belonged to someone and put her back outside that night. It was the weekend, and Russ had gotten up before me the next morning. When I walked into the living room, there she was laying in his recliner! She had been at the back door again when he got up so he let her in, and when he returned from the bathroom, that was where he found her. We put up signs around the neighborhood, but no one ever claimed her. We took her to the vet, and they estimated she was about 6 months old. Though she appeared strong and healthy, she did have some minor health issues and then we nearly lost her when she had an allergic reaction to the vaccines. Once we got past that first year though, she was relatively healthy the rest of her life. Russ had named her Jo (just a name that came to him) before we even decided that we’d keep her.

When we adopted Mikey, she was not too thrilled with her new brother and they never did become best buds, but she and Abby always seemed to have a special kinship, and Jo would regularly rub up against her.

Jo was a very independent little girl, like most cats, and could be ornery at times, but would love to “help” me make the bed and loved to sit on Russ’ lap, especially the last couple of years…she was always “daddy’s girl”. Of course like most cats, she loved going where she shouldn’t like laying under the Christmas tree.

Over the years she lived all over the country, coast-to-coast, and during the past 5 years saw more of the country than most people. When we first hit the road, she would run and hide when the RV engine was started and sometimes it took awhile to get her out of her hiding space as she had found a crevice we didn’t even know existed initially. Eventually though she grew to love the traveling, and when we’d start the engine, she’d jump onto the front dash to get the best view and lay in the sun. Though she was totally an indoor cat, throughout her life she loved going outside to eat some grass and soak up some rays, and when we hit the road, we’d try to find ways to let her enjoy some outdoor time.

This will be the first time since Russ and I have been together that we have no cat, and the first time that we humans outnumber the animals. We found a nice sunny place to bury her and will miss her sweet face, especially the next time we start up the RV. Just won’t seem the same without her peering out the front window checking things out as we travel down the road. Although her name was Jo, more often than not we called her Jo Jo (though I usually called her "Jo Jo baby"), and she was always my “sweet pea”.

The Mother Lode

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2012 trip so far: prairie dog, bison, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, llama, white tail deer, elk, grizzly, coyote, badger, black bear, yellow-bellied marmot, wolf
*Birds we’ve seen on our 2012 trip so far: Western meadowlark, magpie, wild turkey, killdeer, osprey, red-naped sapsucker, sandhill crane, bald eagle
*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2012 trip so far: 2

Sometimes when we go out for a drive we don’t see much of anything but then other times we see lots, and one evening last week we hit the mother lode! In the space of a little more than 3 hours, we saw more different animals in one trip than we’d ever seen in one day including these young bulls crossing the road.

We decided to head towards Lamar Valley, and not far from the campground near the Upper Terraces we discovered a mob of people and a couple ranger cars which usually means there’s a bear in the area. Sure enough there had been, but we had just missed it. However I was able to get a beautiful shot of the terraces. We’d never seen so much water flowing over them!

As we continued our drive, we caught a glimpse of a cinnamon colored black bear, nearly ran into a yellow-bellied marmot, and passed a couple more black bears near the Blacktail Plateau turnoff. Unfortunately, I didn't get as many photos of the different animal varities as I would have liked but am sharing with you the few that I did get.

Once we got to Lamar Valley, we saw several folks with spotting scopes and pulled in behind one couple. As it turns out they weren’t spotting wolves but had discovered a grizzly sow and her cub at the very top of a ridge across the valley and offered us a look. While we were chatting with them, someone pointed out a wolf that was mingling among the bison herd in the valley below near the river. They turned their scope to find it, and sure enough, there was the most beautiful wolf we’d ever seen. It had a golden brown body with a black head and legs. Oh, how I wish I could have gotten a picture of it but the distance was too far except with a scope.

On our way back we saw several pronghorn, another grizzly and cub, a bull elk with the beginnings of a nice rack, a couple more black bears, and more elk. In fact as we got back to Mammoth, we spotted this cow keeping a watchful eye over three calves. As we were driving back down the hill towards the campground, we passed a bison making his way up the hill to town but the picture I was blurred. Didn't expect to see him there!

A couple of days later we went out once again later in the evening for a quick drive, and though we didn’t see much wildlife this trip, we did spot our first bald eagle since we got to Yellowstone this year. It was perched high on the limb of a dead tree near Swan Lake Flats, and the zoom on my little camera was able to get a halfway decent shot.

During the past week we made it out to dinner a couple of times with different folks, and there were also a couple more training classes. All 6 host couples from Mammoth and Indian Creek participated in the proper technique and use of the radios we’d been issued. Ranger Allan was in attendance and joined us for a “class photo”. Next we headed over to the community center for training on the portable Automated External Defibrillator (AED). Hopefully we’ll never have a need to use it.

Yellowstone Tidbits:
* Black bear: Males (boars) weigh 210-315 lbs. while females (sows) weigh 135-200 lbs. and can be black, brown, blonde, or cinnamon in color.
* YNP is the only place in the lower 48 states to have a continuously free-ranging bison population since prehistoric times. * YNP has the largest concentration of active geysers in the world, half the world's total.

Five On The Road

Five years ago today around 6:30 p.m. Central time The Folly pulled out of the driveway of what had once been our home in Louisiana to begin our new adventure of fulltime RVing. And what an adventure it’s been! Though there were some initial bumps along the way adjusting to this new lifestyle, neither of us would trade the time we’ve spent exploring this great country, experiencing new things, and making new friends. We’ve had the opportunity to spend more time with family in the last 5 years than we did during the previous 25, and have reconnected and gotten closer to friends from our past. And we're still friends with each other!

This past year we made our annual month-long trip to St. Louis visiting friends and family, went east to see Russ’ sister and family in NJ, and Susan’s sister and husband in DE. Once again we made our trek out west and were fortunate enough to be able to camp host in Yellowstone for a month. It gave us the opportunity to stay longer than the allowed 14 days in our favorite national park, and then we moved to another site and stayed another 30 days since it was now after Labor Day. Each year since we started coming to Yellowstone, we’ve stayed longer and longer, and now we are camp hosting here again which allows us to stay and enjoy the area for at least 4-1/2 months.

During the winter we camp hosted just outside of DC at Greenbelt National Park and enjoyed trips into our nation’s capital many times day and night. There’s just so much to see and do for free! Only down side to our time there was that we lost our beloved Mikey who had just turned 15 years old. Life seems strange without him around.

Throughout our travels we traveled new roads and discovered new things. We’ve hiked those trails that we were able, are constantly amazed by what we see and learn, and marvel at the stars we can see without the light pollution of large cities. We have taken many pictures over the last five years and have many fond memories. We don’t know where this journey will continue to lead us, but we are truly appreciative for all that we've experienced and look forward to another great year…and more!

FIVE YEARS BY THE NUMBERS
42,497 RV miles
42,411 Saturn miles
11,158 feet highest elevation
5,676 gallons of diesel
2,311 monthly health insurance premium
625 longest 1 day drive
222 National Parks/Monuments Cancellations (in our National Parks Passport book)
151 most consecutive days in one place
115 campgrounds
106 highest temperature
95 National Parks/Monuments visited
80 cost of an annual National Parks pass (well worth the investment)
45 cost of our C2C campground membership (best investment we have ever made)
40 states traveled in
38 states spent the night in
35 annual maintenance fee for our campground membership
26 nights spent in Wal-Mart parking lots
23 Sweet Adelines choruses visited
23 Saturn mpg
20 Junior Ranger badges earned
19 nights spent in Camping World parking lots
18 lowest temperature
18 family members visited
12 Missouri Tigers football games
11 State Parks stayed in
8.1 RV mpg
6 St. Louis Cardinals baseball games
4 MLB parks
3 ferry rides
2 ferry rides that included the RV
2 states of residence
2 countries visited
2 shuttle launches
2 fish caught
1 St. Louis Rams football game

BEST/WORST- 6/19/08

National Park
Picking the best National Park is a tough one. We are going to go with Shenandoah Valley for its sheer beauty and solitude, and Gettysburg for its significance and the most humbling experience. There really isn't a "worst" National Park. Updated 6/19/09: Badlands National Park has to rank as one of the best. We still have not found a bad one. Updated 6/19/10: Badlands may not even be in the top 10 anymore. Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Glacier, Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, and Devils Tower are all amazing in their own right, and are listed in no particular order. Updated 6/19/11: Now that we’ve had the chance to explore Capitol Reef, we may need to add it to the best list though we still haven’t found a “worst” National Park. Updated 6/19/12: Since we keep returning to Yellowstone, guess you could say it’s at the top of our list.
Campground
The Fiesta Key KOA in Long Key, FL, with its view out the front window of the Gulf and sunsets is hard to beat. Shiloh's RV & Travel Resort in Monroe, LA, was by far the worst. Updated 6/19/09: Hart Ranch in Rapid City, SD, and Pine Island RV Resort in Jay, OK, are two of the best. Although Shiloh is still the worst, Frosty Acres Resort in Schenectady, NY, comes close. Updated 6/19/10: Long Key State Park has to be added to the best…ocean 20 ft. in front of the RV. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: No change
Location
Long Key, FL, and Front Royal, VA, were equally enjoyable. No need to rush, no traffic, just the time to spend as you like. See Monroe, LA, for the worst. Updated 6/19/09: Add Rapid City, SD, to the list of best. Updated 6/19/10: Long Key State Park and any of the national parks of the Colorado Plateau. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: No change
Restaurant
If you ever make it to Titusville, FL, Dixie Crossroads is the place to eat. If you ever make it to DeFuniak Springs, FL, Bo's Family Country Cafe is a place of last resort. Updated 6/19/09: No change. Updated 6/19/10: Café Diablo in Torrey, UT, has been added to the best. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: No change
Pizza
Lombardo's in St. Louis, MO, is hard to beat. Think it has something to do with the cheese! Buck's in Denham Springs, LA, leaves a lot to be desired. Updated 6/19/09: No change. Updated 6/19/10: No change. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: Outlaw’s in Gardiner, MT, is pretty good but Lombardo’s still ranks the best.
Roads
Georgia and Texas seem to consistently have the best roads. Louisiana is the worst with New Jersey not far behind. Updated 6/19/09: Illinois and Minnesota have joined the ranks of bad roads. Although we are beginning to realize our federal highways are all in need of repair. Updated 6/19/10: Not sure that they are getting better. Updated 6/19/11: A lot of money being spent but still not much better. Updated 6/19/12: No change
Wal-Mart
The best Wal-Mart was in Front Royal, VA, and had only been open a few days when we visited. The worst is in Berlin, NJ, and we can understand why Russ' sister is not big on Wal-Marts! Updated 6/19/09: With Wal-Mart being our choice for basic staples, we do see a lot of them. Almost all of the newer ones are very nice, and one we visited outside Columbus, OH, is now #1. Updated 6/19/10: No change. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: No change
Supermarket
The Schnuck's in Eureka, MO, was great. We have never been to a Piggly Wiggly that is worth the price of admission. Updated 6/19/09: No change. Updated 6/19/10: Sweetbay in Clermont, FL, is added to the best. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: No change
Bakery
Tellico Grains Bakery in Tellico Plains, TN, was fantastic. As far as the worst, is there really a bad bakery?? Updated 6/19/09: We have stayed away from bakeries! Updated 6/19/10: No change. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: Haven’t really seen many bakeries on our travels so no change.
Moment
Another tough one. Watching the shuttle launch, seeing the Milky Way from the Keys, and a big black bear on the Appalachian Trail. The worst moment....was that the awning?!?! Updated 6/19/09: Niagara Falls and Walt Disney World at Christmas can be added to the best, and the awning still ranks as the worst. Updated 6/19/10: Grizzly bears, eagles, and walking The Narrows. Updated 6/19/11: Watching wolf pups frolic in the sage and a mama grizzly teaching her cubs to forage. Updated 6/19/12: Elk surrounding the RV and observing them during the rut was pretty cool. Added to the worst…who moved the road and fence post?!?!

A FEW THINGS WE'VE LEARNED
1) A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road.
2) There are 10,000 species of spiders, and most have visited us.
3) Gnats do not taste good.
4) The average person standing on any street corner of any city or town in this country has more common sense than the entire U.S. Congress combined.
5) There are as many varieties of camping vehicles as there are people out doing it.
Updated 6/19/09:
6) Our house batteries are important…take good care of them.
7) Anything under 32 degrees Fahrenheit is cold.
8) We will again watch fuel prices rise throughout the summer.
9) We have more fear coming down the mountain than we did going up.
10) Financial experts/advisors are pretty much worthless. Once they get your money, they never recommend selling. They seem to use the same pitch as the market continues to plummet, “All my big clients are buying because we are near the bottom.”
Updated 6/19/10:
11) Time is short and passes quickly.
Updated 6/19/11:
12) As a campground host, you find that everyone is pleasant and super friendly until you have to tell them they cannot do something and then watch out!
Updated 6/19/12:
13) No matter the species, mamas are super protective of their young.
14) People are pretty much the same no matter where you go.

Tough Enough To Wear Pink

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2012 trip so far: prairie dog, bison, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, llama, white tail deer, elk, grizzly, coyote, badger
*Birds we’ve seen on our 2012 trip so far: Western meadowlark, magpie, wild turkey, killdeer, osprey, red-naped sapsucker, sandhill crane
*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2012 trip so far: 2

One of the most distinctive sounds I’ve heard is the call of the sandhill crane, and bright and early one morning as I stepped outside with Abby, I heard what seemed like a couple of them calling to each other. As I looked around, I spied up on a nearby hill across the road from the campground two of them greeting the new day. The sun had not yet come up over the mountain so they created a cool silhouette against the morning sky.

As campground hosts, some additional training is required such as how to properly use bear spray and when to use it, and one morning Travis with the Bear Management division came by as our instructor. We are provided with 2 cans during our stay that we can also take with us when we go out into the park. (If we would need to use it, they provide us a replacement.) The range is only 30 ft. max so you have to wait till the bear gets pretty close before using it. However, if common sense is used, one should not have the need to use it, but situations can arise so best to be informed. Travis had brought an inert canister that sprayed only a water mist but still allowed us to get the feel of how it handled (Jean is pictured here). The course only lasted ½ an hour and was much appreciated.

This was the 34th year for the Gardiner Rodeo & Parade, and since we’re only 5 miles from town, we decided to at least check out the parade. This year’s theme was “Are You Tough Enough To Wear Pink?” in honor of breast cancer research. Always ready to get into the spirit of things, I wore my pink shirt, and Russ not having one asked if I had a pink bow to put on his hat! It was your typical small town parade with lots of horseback riders and most participants throwing candy from their decorated cars and trucks to the crowd. We definitely filled our pockets! One of the horseback riders was Mary Jacobs, a woman who will be 100 years young this Aug. She’s pictured at right in the pink cowboy hat and unfortunately had just turned her head as I snapped the picture. However, the Livingston newspaper had printed an article on this remarkable woman and I’ve included the link here in case you’re interested, (MaryJacobs).

Always on the lookout for new and interesting wildlife, I didn’t have to look far on one of our workdays. On the registration board was perched what I thought was a beautiful and most unusual large butterfly, but after some research I discovered it’s actually a moth! Seems to be a Cecropia Moth, and we were very fortunate to see it as the adults only live a few weeks and are rarely seen during the day.

The next blog post will mark a major milestone on our journey so stay tuned!

Yellowstone Tidbits:
*The park was established in 1872 and run by the U.S. Army from 1886-1918 in what is now Mammoth Hot Springs. At the time it was known as Fort Yellowstone and about 35 of the original buildings remain. They are currently used as the visitor center, staff residences, offices, and the chapel still holds Sunday services.
*There are more than 10,000 hydrothermal features in the park including more than 300 geysers.
*Thermophiles are heat-loving microorganisms that create the many colors seen in the hot water hydrothermal areas.

Animals Abound

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2012 trip so far: prairie dog, bison, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, llama, white tail deer, elk, grizzly, coyote, badger
*Birds we’ve seen on our 2012 trip so far: Western meadowlark, magpie, wild turkey, killdeer, osprey, red-naped sapsucker, sandhill crane
*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2012 trip so far: 2

The last couple of weeks have been rather interesting. Our cat, Jo, developed some sort of infection that had her right eye swollen nearly shut by the time we were able to get her to the nearest vet 60 miles away in Livingston, MT, and over the course of a week and a half we made 3 trips. First they thought she had injured her eye, the next visit the doc was 99% sure it was an abscessed tooth, and at the last visit they decided that she had either gotten a scratch or a bite on her cheek that had become infected. Each visit we weren’t sure if she’d be coming home with us as she had become weaker and weaker but the medicine seemed to help. She has begun to eat a little again and seems to be improving but is still pretty weak. We're not sure how much longer she’ll be with us.
Additionally, our microwave/ convection oven decided to quit. Fortunately it was right after I had taken dinner out of the oven, but it’s been interesting living without the microwave for a couple of weeks after so many years of having one! We do have a gas oven which helps, but still strange not having the microwave. Russ and Richard managed to get it down from under the cabinet and checked the wiring and fuses but to no avail. We’ll have to check into the cost of repair vs. buying a new one.

The third set of hosts arrived which now puts us all on a schedule of working 2 days and off 4. Steve and Holli currently live in southwest MO and have never campground hosted before but have picked things up quickly and are doing a terrific job. We’ve been having a great time getting acquainted with all of our new co-hosts.

And speaking of hosts, two of the couples from Indian Creek Campground stayed here the night before their stint was to begin. Indian Creek is about 10 miles from here and is very different in that it has lots of trees and seems very secluded and serene (probably because no generators are allowed). The 6 of us went for pizza the night they stayed here and though I have no pictures from that, I did get several shots of the bighorn sheep we passed on our way. The ewes and lambs seemed to be everywhere…on the road and the rocky hillside. I had the window open and as we passed this little lamb, you could clearly hear it bleating for its mama (pictured at left). A little further along these 5 lambs were having the best time playing, running up and down the rocky terrain. We were amazed at how at such a young age they are able to maneuver the slopes!

On one of our excursions through the park, we came upon a bear jam…in other words, loads of tourists pulled off to the sides of the road checking out the grizzly that was coming across the meadow. We stayed in the car and as he got closer, most everyone else got in theirs except for one photographer trying to get that perfect shot. Fortunately for him the bear paid him no mind as he was right on the other side of the guy’s truck and crossed the road right in front of it and about 20 ft. in front of ours! This bear was collared and only seemed interested in lumbering along to his destination. We made a U-turn as we could see he was heading towards the road from where we had just come. We (and several others) watched as he continued across the meadow and the dirt road, and then finally crossed the main road to the hills beyond. Just a couple minutes after he crossed, a pronghorn came bounding back across the road to get away from the perceived threat.

From there we drove into the Roosevelt Lodge area since we had never been back there. Established in 1906, there are several log cabins, a general store, horse corral for trail rides, and a rustic lodge for dining. As we were leaving, I just had to get a photo of this mule deer nursing her new young fawn right by the road.

On our way back we spotted a couple of rangers and photographers at a pullout and wanted to see what they were watching. Since everyone had binoculars or scopes, we figured there must be a bear or wolves in the distant trees. (Earlier we had seen several photographers packed in that pullout but couldn’t see anything and kept going.) As it turns out, they were watching a family of badgers just off the road…three youngsters bounding and playing near the dirt mound they call home. Having never seen badgers before that was definitely a first for us!

Yellowstone Tidbits:
*The park covers 2,221,766 acres (96% in WY, 3% in MT, 1% in ID) and is considered an active volcano whose last eruption was 174,000 years ago.
*Approximately 2,000 earthquakes occur every year but most are not felt.
*YNP is home to the largest concentration of mammals in the lower 48 states.