Yellowstone National Park

The other day I talked about my mom's favorite vacation spot. Now that I'm feeling better (see last post) I want to share the place that was everything & more than I could have hoped for. That place is Yellowstone National Park. One thing I had always wanted to do was see a bear in the wild. My trip to Yellowstone, this past June, was planned with the hopes that my wish would come true. I thought that if I got lucky enough to see one it would be through binoculars at a long distance. I thought wrong. Within 40 minutes of entering the park, on my first day there, I saw two black bears. They passed about 20 feet in front of my car. For several minutes I got to observe the bears up close from the safety of the car. I was so excited I couldn't speak.



The second day I saw two more black bears in a different location about 100 yards from the road. The third day a man offered the use of his spotting scope to observe two grizzly bears loping from a pond into the forest. Both of those encounters left me thrilled and excited. Yet, I don't think any wildlife I observe from now on will ever rival my first two black bears.


A few Yellowstone National Park area hotel reviews:
Big Bear Motel - Cody, WY
Super 8 - Sheridan, WY
Super 8 - Gardiner, MT

In a Mood

Menopause sucks. I never know when I'm going to wake up happy, sad or angry. Today is an angry day. No one or nothing has made me mad, I just am. It doesn't bode well for anyone I encounter today. Luckily for my husband I've created a guide for him to follow that will save him some trouble. It isn't a foolproof plan, but it does give him some guidelines.

Top 10 List for Men (a Menopause Guide)

Smoky Mountains

The Smoky Mountains are my mom's favorite place to visit. We've been to the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area twice and are planning a third visit. We always stay at the Colonial House Motel in Pigeon Forge. It is a basic hotel that is clean with friendly staff. That is all we require from a hotel. If you need chocolates on your pillow with turn down service it won't be for you.

If you like the outdoors and great scenery you will like the Smoky Mountains. Hiking trails, scenic overlooks and wildlife lend to great photography opportunities.

Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg have a great variety of shops, from the cheap souvenir to the very expensive, for those that prefer the town scene. While in Pigeon Forge make sure to visit The Old Mill. If you are like me, you will be amazed at the many, many types of jelly they have. Cactus jelly anyone?

We did take a trip through the Smoky Mountain National Park to Cherokee, North Carolina. I was looking for a pair of moccasins. After all, wouldn't an authentic Indian village have at least one pair for sale? Well, they did but they were expensive and made in China. No thanks.

Hey There! It's Me...

Hi, long time no see. Well, okay if you want to get technical I've probably never seen you. There are two reasons for that. One is that this is the first post in a new blog. Second would be that I live in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a cornfield*. You probably haven't been to, or even anywhere near, my home.

What am I doing in your neck of the woods now? I have photos, articles and reviews scattered all over the internet. I needed one place to gather the pieces I want to have easy access to. If you find some value in them or like a certain piece...great. Drop a comment, roll your eyes, love it or hate it...just please be civil. If you think you have a blog I would be interested in let me know. I'm new to this and looking forward to a long relationship with my blog.

*Due to crop rotation it may be a green bean, soybean, wheat, or any other type of crop grown here. This year just happened to be a cornfield.