Monday, October 12, 2009

boats, bears and prayers...

Time is flying by, one day blurs into the next, and the weeks cease to matter. We have no real weekends here, our Fridays may be our Tuesdays, and our Thursdays our Mondays. Nobody knows what day it is, it is a common thing to hear in the EDR, ‘what day is it?”. Don’t even ask about dates, we haven’t a clue.

Tuesday, as is our custom, we set sail in a rowboat to catch a few rays of sunshine. Getting out of the bay was the easy part. We strayed far from our course, so the way back was a little difficult. We did make it back, with only a few minor sunburns and blisters.

Wednesday and Thursday were lazy days for me, I slept in til 11 both days, and watched movies until work. Thursday night, a friend from work was weightlifting without a spotter when 250 lbs fell on his chest, then rolled to his neck. He was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he remains in critical condition. I believe he is still in the doctor induced coma, as we have had no update. Please keep Cory, his family, and my fellow employees in your prayers.

My weekend days are Friday and Saturday. I share them with my friends, so we always plan things to do. Friday it poured rain, so we sat in the lounge and planned out the rest of our weekends. We scheduled a few camping trips to the Tetons, a whitewater rafting trip, horseback rides and trips to Jackson Hole, which is our favorite little western town.

Saturday morning we drove down to Grant Village for a guided kayaking trip on Lake Yellowstone. Originally the price in $95 per person, but for park employees, it was only $15 ( I think that’s a bargain). It was so cold when we first started out, but the sun soon warmed us up. We were two to a kayak, and that made things very easy. They took us along the shores of West Thumb and to the nearby geyser basin which is right on the water. All the tourists on the boardwalk snapped our pictures as we floated by. It was a 4 mile round trip, and it took us about 3 hours. By the end of the trip, we were ravenous.

After stopping to get some food, we drove down to Moose Falls, which is a popular spot for swimming. It had warmed up to 66 degrees, and for us that is summer! We hiked down the ravine to the creek, and sunbathed on the big boulders right near the falls. The mist from the falls kept us cool, but I received a wicked sunburn that still hurts. Next time, I’m wearing sunscreen.

That evening, a few friends and I droved to Lake Butte overlook to watch the sunset. We missed the sun actually setting, but the sky was still beautiful, and that mad it worth the drive.

After church on Sunday morning, we went hiking on Elephant Back Mountain. The trail is right outside our door, and we plan to hike it every week to get in shape for one big hike at the end of summer. This was our second time hiking the trail, and it felt easier than last time, but we still have a ways to go. We had packed our lunches and ate them at the top of the trail, which is an overlook of the lake, Absaroka Mountains and our hotel. The hotel looks like a dollhouse from the top.

There is a grizzly that likes to hang around our dorms, yesterday he was taking a nap in the field behind another dorm. Tourists love seeing a bear, and will stop traffic for miles in what we call a bear jam (there are also bison jams and moose jams). The rangers are trying to route Gus (that's what I call the grizzly, the are many names for this bear) so that his trail circles the dorms, and he won't cut through the parking lots. I think he's kind of cute, and harmless, unless you threaten him.

Miss you all!

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