FosseOdyssey

We began our first work camping job at Yellowstone Golf and RV Resort.  Tom mowed and watered the greens while I worked in the pro shop and camper registration. The golf course is located outside the town of Ashton  The course and campground are located in the midst of farmland in an Aspen Grove.    Interesting fact about aspens...aspens grow in a stand, the root system is all interconnected.  Think of AVATAR - the mother tree.  In event of fire, the root system remains intact and doesn't die and new trees will sprout. Ashton (population 1300) is a small farming community...flat land, mostly dry crop farming...alfalfa, barley and seed potatoes.    The weather was very interesting during our stay.  April 29 started with snow, then wind and cold for 3 weeks. Weather then became a little warmer and more typical for end of May/early June.  But then on June 8th - we had 3 hail storms followed by 1 1/2 inches of snow.  This is Idaho f...

Craters of the Moon is a national monument and presser in the Snake River Plain in Central Idaho.  It an enormous lava flow with scattered cinder cones.  It was formed 15000 to 20000 years ago when lava erupted from the Great Rift.  It has some of the best examples of open rift cracks in the world.  In fact it has the deepest rift crack on earth over 800 feet deep.  Also are lava tubes (a type of cave).  We traveled here with Shantel and the grandkids.  This was Shanny's first "solo" road trip - over 3300 miles without Adam.  We met here and explored the caves.  Tom and I joined the kids on 2 of the caves - Beauty and Indian, but we passed on the Boy Scout cave.  It was fairly steep and rocky and once in the bottom the floor was wet and covered in ice in some areas......so it was a little slippery for us.  But the kids had fun and Shany didn't want to leave as it was so cool inside (and was hot above ground).  Of course the ki...

There are over 100 waterfalls in Idaho.....63 actually listed and named by the Geographic Names Information System.   We were fortunate to have visited 3 of the Falls and also nearby Big Springs. Shoshone Falls - located in Twin Falls on the Snake River.  It is referred to as the Niagara of the West. (45 feet higher than Niagara).  It's 212 feet high and 1000 feet wide.  Two years ago we visited in the fall of a drought year and the falls were a trickle  this year water was abundant and the falls were spectacular. Upper Mesa Falls -   We visited these falls several times - early May when there was still snow on the ground and again in July when our cousins - the Gafverts (Rick, Peg, Sidney and Kaylin) visited and again when Shantal and the grandkids visited.  This waterfall is located on Henry's Fork in the Caribou Targhee National Forest.  It was a quick drive from our work camp home base in Ashton - only 16 miles.  The falls ...

Monterey Bay Acquaium. A family outing to see the awesome sea life.  We haven't been here since our "boys" were youngsters.     At that time, the highlight was seeing the otters and starfish tanks.   The Aquarium has really changed and grown.     Now there are large tanks of mesmerizing jelly fish, giant octopus,  turtles, shark - you name it.  There are technology interactive exhibits for kids  - our grandkids colored their own fish, emailed to their parents and sent their fish swimming in computerized sea.   There are videos and even a new aviary.  And of course, the otters!!!   Beautiful weather and fun family day.

Our first trip to Hawaii 36 years ago was to the Island of Kauai.  Typically we like the Big Island, but we thought we would return to Kauai one last time. We golfed at Puakea Golf Course.  Parts of the Jurassic Park movies were filmed in the adjacent mountains.  It was as expect a beautiful course.   I've never seen a heart shaped sand trap before. A fun adventure was Mountain Water Tubing.  This was an awesome ride through the canal system.  We went through 5 lava tunnels (hand dug for the canal system).  Did you know that a 100 acres of sugar cane takes 1 million gallons of water.  Also 1 sugarcane only makes 1 cube of sugar.  As expected Kauai no longer grows sugar cane....too costly a venture. We trekked to SW part of the island and stopped at the Wailua waterfall.  Also had a great lunch at Bobby's in Hanapepe.  Our guide on the tubing adventure recommended it.   Also walked across the Swinging Bridge - not very swi...

While in Arizona, we toured the State Farm Cardinal Stadium   It was completed in August 2006, the Stadium has set the standard in multi purpose NFL facilities.  Designed with a roll-out natural grass field and retractable roof, it was the first of it's kind in North America.  The exterior shape is designed to resemble the barrel cactus with a snake around the bottom exterior.  The red and grey seating depicts the Arizona sunsets.  Great tour and I think I might want to consider a broadcast carrier...very comfy seat. You can't go to Arizona without going to FALL BALL.  Its an off season league owned and operated by Major League Baseball.  The Fall League attracts many of the top prospects in minor league baseball.  There are 6 different complexes in Arizona and we were able to go to the Surprise.   Our good friends, Denis & Judy Gendron treated us an afternoon of baseball fun.  They are avid (or maybe rabid baseball fans...

We stopped at the Boron Visitor Center on our way back to Sun City (we were home for Thanksgiving).  For those who watch Death Valley Days on TV in the 50's (yes - the 50's) will remember the 20 team mule Borax Soap Commercials.  This Kramer deposit has been mining since 1927.  It supplies 40% of the world's borax.  So you ask what is borax used for???   It is not just for soap.  Borax is used in manufacturing glass, fertilizer, wood preservative and even plasma screens.  Who knew....I just wanted to see the 20 mule team and since we're retired, we have the time to visit all these obscure visitor centers along the highways.