September 22

Today proved to be another chapter in our two against nature struggle. To neither of our surprise, Kari's 2nd covid test was positive. Uggh, a broken foot wasn't enough I guess. We headed over to the local clinic for a batch of paxlovid, then hung with Shirley all day as we regrouped and thought about how this would impact the rest of our trip. 

I did some reading by the lake, and listened to an Axe Files podcast with Chris Wallace. They're 2 of the good guys in politics and it's a really good interview, very personal at times. It also reminded me of the Wallace interview of Don Trump where Don bragged about "acing" a cognitive test-the famous "person, woman, man, camera, tv" moment. It was one of those surreal moments where the POTUS was actually bragging about acing a test that is not an IQ test, but rather a test that is administered to people when there is concern over dementia or other compromised mental acuity. It was hysterical and terrifying. Wallace cracked up, he had taken the test and pointed out there were questions like "identify this figure"-answer-"an elephant". Or, "count backwards from 100 by 7"-answer-"93". For a chuckle take a listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGQ18yacJCQ

I even have the t-shirt, compliments of a friend:

At least he never suggested ingesting bleach to fight covid 😟 Speaking of which, did you realize that the Onion actually ran a spoof before Don's comments that effectively predicted the bleach moment? Check it out: https://www.theonion.com/man-just-buying-one-of-every-cleaning-product-in-case-t-1842493766

But hey, let's hand him the nuclear codes again...what could possibly go wrong?

In the evening we got a pizza and watched State of Play. 

Another marginally successful day...

At least the lake was nice.

September 21

Today dawned lazy again, Kari was still feeling a little punky, so we hung with Shirley in the morning. Later we headed to Jenny Lake-I was going to hit a bike trail there while Kari did some yoga and worked her guns. But alas, it was a mob scene, and we ended up in one of our rare arguments. Over what? Parking of course, that most eternal of arguments between husband and wife. All guys will relate when I say that its impossible to park in a correct spot if you're with a woman. 

In any event, Kari decided she'd rather go to Jackson solo, depriving herself of the opportunity to listen to my sarcastic claptrap. After dropping her off I headed out on a wonderful ride through Jackson Hole-which is the valley between the Teton and Gros Ventre mountain ranges. I parked at the national elk refuge, which apparently is a great place to be an elk...

Once again our drive was spectacular, as I mentioned earlier we hit the fall colors perfectly. We listened to a Hacks on Tap podcast on the way home, always a good way to shut me up. Kari was in bed early, and I did some reading and listened to a few tunes. 

A marginally successful day...

September 20

Today was kind of a lazy day. The highlight was dinner at Jenny Lake Lodge, an item on Kari's bucket list. She had made reservations months before on the first possible day so she was psyched. This was also our official 40th anniversary dinner, even though we were cheating by a month. The bummer was she wasn't feeling well, that damn Two Against Nature thing was flaring up again. A few folks at the wedding had contracted covid, so she tested and was negative. 

I made breakfast-scrambled eggs with fresh guac and salsa, all from the farmers market. We headed down to the lake, me to read and Kari to pump up. Combined with her new steroid regimen, her guns really took on a whole new look during this trip. Wait til you see her. 

A little later we headed to Jenny Lake Lodge, the drive was beautiful. 

If you've not been to the lodge, do yourself a favor and check it out if you're in the neighborhood. It's really cool, and expensive!

While we waited I kicked Kari's ass 2 outta 3 games in tic tac toe, nuff said!

The food was yummy.

The view was ok too, Kari had requested a window seat. Excuse the glare.

We even saw Michelle Obama and Jon Voight!

Ok, that’s obviously a lie. But for the record, Harrison Ford WAS real, ask Kari.

After dinner the park had a naturalist with a telescope set up to look at the Montana "big sky". It was a portable contraption but had surprising clarity. It was the first time I've seen Saturn's rings and moon so vividly, very cool. On the way home we saw elk, a fox, and a porcupine. A fitting end to another successful day...

September 19

We embarked on another grueling day. Kari made breakfast, using up the smoked salmon we'd bought from the South Bend dude at the fish market. Later we moseyed over to the Jackson Lake Lodge, it really does have a million dollar view. I guess it's no coincidence that these public spaces are some of our most precious real estate. 

We were lucky and caught the fall colors perfectly. The aspens were gorgeous, and the colorful bushes in the valleys created a really cool textural look.

After such extreme exertion I felt entitled to a nap as the sun set over a neighboring airstream.

 

My view: 

We ended the day by the lake. As in Oregon, the water was just a stone's throw away:)

September 18

Today was a travel day, and also a Sunday. We didn't watch any morning news shows, but we did say our weekly prayer for our republic. Next we swung by the breakfast put on by the newlyweds. It was fun to see everyone in a sober state after the previous 2 nights. 

We said our goodbyes and headed to Colter Bay in Grand Teton National Park. The Tetons are perhaps my favorite mountains in the US. They're gorgeous, jutting abruptly from a breathtaking valley. The whole region is cool-Yellowstone, Jackson, the Wind River Range, just a ton of stuff to do. And we got to use our lifetime national park pass, yet one more advantage of getting old. We thought today's drive may have been our most beautiful yet, and that's sayin something. The Gallatin River valley, mountains, and always the wheat...

This was our crib for the next 7 days, Jackson Lake was about 100 yards away.

In the evening we watched the new Rings of Power episode, putting an end to another successful day...

September 17

We started the day visiting Leigh's home. It was beautiful, with amazing 270 degree views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. 

And of course today was the Morton wedding. It was held on his aunt's ranch, the Hammer Ranch https://mtlandreliance.org/success-stories/bob-dana-emery/. His aunt and uncle are quite wealthy, and their ranch is just astounding. The wedding was very well done, no expense was spared. They even had furniture movers... It's impossible to capture the scale of the joint with my phone, I'll just say it was bigly. I'm proud to report that I was the only dude in jeans:)

Here's a pic of Patty, and Mike & Emily riding in on their horse drawn carriage...

September 16

Morning broke with a steady rain, one of the few such days we've had. Unfortunately we had to pack Shirley up to store for the weekend since we're bunking at an airbnb in downtown Bozeman. In these moments I do my best to make Kari feel guilty for not being able to contribute as much given her broken foot, that's how small I really am.

We did a little shopping-we picked up a couple new chairs at REI, got Kari a pair of shoes that matched her boot height, and I snuck into this cool record store: 

I picked up Richie Havens and Laura Nyro albums. This is Richie Havens first studio release from 1966 and it's really cool. If you're not familiar with Laura Nyro check her out, she's an interesting figure who's written a bunch of songs you'll know. If you like Joni Mitchell, you'll like Laura Nyro. 

Town was bustling during the day. We hit Jam https://www.jamonmain.com for lunch. I had the cuban in honor of my amazing daughter in law:) Kari had huevos rancheros with pulled pork, both were fantastic. 

In the evening we attended the welcome party for the wedding. Mike Morton was the man of the hour. Mike and his parents Patty & Lee were our neighbors for many years. They're a cool family, a bunch of Cornell grads and pilots. Lee was a B52 pilot trained to drop nukes on the Soviet Union, his dad and sister flew in the military and privately as did others in the family. I still have memories of watching Lee & Mike fly remote controlled planes in our old hood. Needless to say Mike is a pilot today-Fedex like his dad. Lee passed way too young, at 44. Mike really favors his dad now, seeing him in this setting was comfort that life moves on. 

September 15

Shirley was cold this morning. Mr Preparation had managed to misread the battery monitor and our battery died late yesterday. This even though I had sprung for 2 insanely expensive lithium batteries before we embarked. Unfortunately there was no way I could blame it on Kari-always my first inclination. But, even though she was cold, Shirley still provided more comfort than what we enjoyed on trips when we were young-backpacking to a remote wilderness and sleeping on an inch thick pad in a tiny tent.

Regardless, it was time to move on. We battened Shirley down and hit the road. It was a bummer to leave this park, but hey, we're headed to Bozeman so how bad can it be?

In keeping with the wheat theme, we had breakfast at the home base of this regional company. We saw their stuff all over the area, their headquarters facility was literally at a crossroad in the middle of nowhere-Three Forks, MT. And have I mentioned how beautiful those wheat fields are?

One of the fun parts of the trip has been seeing friends while on the road. Between 2 weddings, a visit to an old work acquaintance of mine, and tonights visit, we've managed to catch up with lotsa folks. After setting Shirley up we had dinner in Bozeman with an old work friend of Kari's, fellow NP Leigh Dykema. She and her hubby Pete moved to Bozeman from Zionsville a few years ago, a longtime dream of theirs. She's a lovely lady, like all the nurses I know, and I know a lot:) She's a wise person, the kind who listens well-she's delightful to be with. And what a beautiful smile, check it out!

 Another successful day...

September 14

We started the day listening to Miles Davis's "Kind of Blue" from 1959-last nights movie was the inspiration. It's the best selling jazz album of all time, and also an accessible album for skittish would-be jazz listeners. Next was Stevie Wonder's "Talking Book", another of the classic 1972 albums from the play list I mentioned earlier in our journey. 

Kari made breakfast, she was hard at work in Shirley's galley-leftover pancakes, eggs, and a big ole bowl of our never-ending fruit. It was morning, but it's scenes like this that have me counting my lucky stars regardless of the time of day: 

A nice place to dine huh? This park (Lewis & Clark Caverns SP) is really cool. The wheat-filled valleys in this region are as beautiful as the mountains.

In the category of "what might the future hold", we also caught a glimpse of our temporary neighbors, a glimpse foreshadowing what we'll look like in another 20 years?

The park is also home to one of the nation's most extensive cavern systems. And though Kari isn't a spelunker at heart (she's claustrophobic ya know), it seemed a perfect activity given the limitations imposed by her broken foot. So we ventured up the mountain and joined the tour. Kari received special treatment-she got to ride in the golf cart to get to the cavern entrance. 

The tour was cool, worth the time. 

I snuck in a great ride on the remote road leading to the park, it was a gorgeous valley.

Kari hit the yoga mat.

For dinner we headed to the metropolis of Three Forks, MT, home of the Sacajawea Bar in the historic Sacajawea Hotel. Apparently Three Forks was her "home town". The town is of course tiny, the hotel and bar are clearly the highlight. A classic old structure, very cool. We ate at the bar. Dinner was tasty-they even had lit menus, likely for 2 ole folks like us struggling against nature:)

About halfway through dinner I looked up and Harrison Ford was sitting down next to us. I casually mentioned this to Kari, who promptly scoffed at me. But it was obviously him, I knew even before I saw the Millenium Falcon parked outside. Check him out, he didn't seem pleased with my not-so-surreptitious photo...

A fun ending to another successful day...except Shirley’s battery died…and it was a brisk night to come.