Blessed

This picture was taken only two hours after we arrived.

Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park should be on everybody's bucket list.  Within two hours of arriving, we saw a mama mouse and her baby.  The wildlife is unbelievable.  We saw elk!   That's unheard of around MA.

You'll laugh at this.  There're bears and all kinds of warnings about being careful around bears.  "A Fed Bear is a Dead Bear."  We had to be escorted by park rangers twice, due to bear sightings.  We had to purchase "bear spray."  I originally thought "bear spray" was something I put on to repel the bears--like insect repellent.  No, that's wrong.  "Bear Spray" is a weapon--like mace.  You spray it at the bear.  He will turn away.

Seeing buffalo became ordinary.  I got up real close to deer.  It was like paradise.  I was thinking that the early native Americans must have lived as if they were in the Garden of Eden.  There were plenty of game, nuts, berries, other plants, water, etc.  What more could anyone want?  

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

So sorry I didn't warn my readers that I was going on vacation and wouldn't be blogging.  I didn't want to tell burglars that my house would be empty.

Old Faithful at Old Faithful

We were in Wyoming touring Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park.  This is mountainous country, so I didn't even attempt to bring my computer.  I had hard enough time with my iPhone just texting when I could.

The very first day of hiking I got a blister on my heel.  I don't understand why because I've worn those hiking shoes many, many times.  I wasn't too upset because I could feel my asthma tightening in  my chest when we were climbing fast.  I had to stop a few times to catch my breath.

So the second day through the fourth day we rented a device called Gaperguide.  It's a Godsend.  It's a GPS self-guided auto tour.  Wherever we drove, the Gaperguide told us everything we needed to know about what we were viewing.  It gave directions.  It told us how far a hike was.  I was wearing flip flops because of my blister, so I couldn't walk too, too far, so the Gaperguide was perfect.  Gaperguide even mocked us for taking pictures at the Welcome to Yellowstone sign, when we were leaving.

The fifth and sixth day we visited Jackson City and Jackson Hole, buying souvenirs and enjoying the cowboys.  Everybody is friendly and the landscape is so different than what I'm used to here in New England.  The open prairies seem to go on forever, but I'll tell you more in subsequent posts.