FUN-travel: Grand Tetons & Yellowstone Safari – Day 3
May 26, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Grand Tetons & Yellowstone Safari – Day 3
Today’s Animal Adventure…Up Close & Personal!
- 1st sighting – black mama bear…on the sloping hillside…with her 3 baby bears…
…frolicking on fallen logs…& causing a major traffic jam!
Mama Bear
- Slowly inching her way down…devouring as much as she can…
…ends up at the base of hill…in the small pond…
…for a nice cool morning bath…and a good back scratch on the closest tree..
…within 40 yards !
FUN-fact – We have seen 14 bears so far…from varying distances.
Baby Bears (courtesy of telescopic lens)
More Animal Adventures… FOD – Far Off & Distance…high powered scope a must!
- 2nd sighting – 3 Big Horn Sheep…grazing high atop the craggy cliffs.
Upper Falls
- 3rd sighting…Trumpeter Swans…splashing & squawking loudly…on the river.
FUN-fact – Trumpeter Swans are North America’s largest wild waterfowl, with a wingspan of up to 8 feet.
Me & The Mountain Man!
FUN-travel: Grand Tetons & Yellowstone Safari – Day 2
May 25, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Grand Tetons & Yellowstone Safari – Day 2
- Today’s Animal Adventure…
…Up Close & Personal!
- 1st sighting – Grizzly Bear…
…just off the road!
- 2nd sighting – White Pelicans…
…on shore of…
…Yellowstone River.
- 3rd sighting – Osprey on her nest…
…perched high atop a sheer rock pinnacle…
…in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River.
- FOD – Far Off & Distance… Bull elk
FUN-fact – Yellowstone was the world’s first national park created in 1872.
Word-Of-the-Week #720: Expected
May 24, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #720: Expected
Expected – likely or probable to happen.
When was the last time something you expected to happen didn’t turn out the way you thought it would? How did you deal with it? How good are you with handling the “speed bumps” of life?
This week long time friend Bill Marvin, The Restaurant Doctor, shares his perspective on dealing with the unexpected. He writes, “Lately my full-time job has been getting the house ready to put on the market at the end of the month. It’s a big house and we’ve been here since 2000, so we’re talking about some major de-cluttering and staging decisions.
Late April/early May is a firm deadline to list the house since we head to Portugal the first week of May to scout potential spots for our next chapter. It was all going smoothly, but we we hit a speed bump last Sunday when a “septic incident” flooded most of our lower level. Happy Easter!
Now the project has morphed into dealing with water remediation techs, septic re-designers, insurance claims and contractor negotiations. Half the house looks like a bomb went off. With luck, we’ll still be able to get the house repaired and staged by our deadline … but it will be a photo finish. Wish us luck.
I hope you never have to deal with an issue like this, but don’t think it could never happen. Let’s say a drain backed up in the middle of the night and wasn’t discovered until the morning shift arrived to find an inch of sewage-laden water covering the kitchen and dining room floors. You will have to close for weeks to get the problem resolved, do the repairs and get the appropriate agencies to certify you to serve food again.
Do you know who to call and what to do? Do you have adequate insurance coverage? [Hint: check the amount of your deductible before you have to make a claim!] How will you handle things with your staff? What will you tell your guests?
It might be worth making a few phone calls NOW … while you have time to do the research. It might be worth checking your store rooms and walk-ins to be sure no food items are stored on the floor. It might be worth staying on top of the regular maintenance of your restrooms and drainage systems.
Just sayin’ …”
While his post is directed to the Hospitality Industry his points are very valid for anyone who owns property. And this week we are heading to our grandson’s graduation. We turned the irrigation on Saturday because it was so hot over the past week and guess what we found on Sunday? A big pile of mud in our fire pit seating area and a big busted pipe. My first thought was “Thank goodness we turned it on before we left. Otherwise we would have had a bigger mess when we got back home.”
This week’s focus is when the expected doesn’t happen. How do you feel when the expected doesn’t happen? Are you prepared to handle whatever comes along? Have you ever had to use a backup plan?
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FUN-travel: Grand Tetons & Yellowstone Safari – Day 1
May 22, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Grand Tetons & Yellowstone Safari – Day 1
- Today’s Animal Adventure… evening drive
…thru Grand Teton National Park.
- 1st sighting – bison crossing the road…
…right next to us!
- 2nd sighting – Pronghorn grazing…
…in the grassy meadow…near the historic Moulton Barn.
- 3rd sighting – Mule deer…
…munching by Jenny Lake.
- Our omen of things to come!
FUN-fact – the Grand Tetons is the youngest mountain range in the Rocky Mountains & began forming between 6 & 9 million years ago.
FUN-travel: Jackson Hole, WY
May 21, 2018 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Jackson Hole, WY
- Abundant wildlife lured them to the valley…
…Native Americans… then fur trappers…
..then homesteaders.
- But soil was not ideal for raising crops…
…so the valley was used for cattle…
…the Dude Ranch was born… & tourism took off.
- Then In 1937…
…valley residents built a ski tow at Teton Pass…
…& the rest is history.
George Washington Memorial Park – iconic elk antler archways mark each corner.
FUN-fact –The term “hole” was used by early trappers or mountain men, who primarily entered the valley from the north and east and had to descend along relatively steep slopes, giving the sensation of entering a hole.
More FF – Spotted Meg Ryan on aisle 2 at the Pearl St. Market!