Huts Galore

Back in Austin it is not uncommon to find a small hut, truck, or trailer selling tamales or tacos. I’ve never thought much about them, except that they often provide good food.

More recently, cupcakes have also been sold in small trailers—often Airstreams. These cupcakes are sold in trendy communities where only Airstreams would be appropriate.

When we got to the northeastern section of Texas and into Arkansas, we started to see tiny huts and trailers selling BBQ. It seemed they were everywhere. I don’t think any of these were Airstreams, though. In fact, I think these BBQ places would be appalled by the idea of selling BBQ from a Yuppy-mobile. Unfortunately, I never took pictures of these small BBQ huts.

Now that we have hit the north, here they are again. Only, they are not selling tamales, cupcakes, or BBQ. Instead, these huts sell coffee, and they appear on nearly every street corner. I haven’t seen any Airstream Espresso-mobiles, yet. But here I think it would be quite appropriate.


Who knows what the Canadians or Alaskans will be selling from huts. I’ll keep my eyes open. Perhaps we will find a Mooseburger hut. I won’t even be surprised to find Sarah Palin selling wolf meat from a posh Airstream after a good hunt.

Fat Chicks Don't Jump

“In the first place, the best information
I can get from experienced fliers is that
all parachute jumpers are more or less
crazy—-just a little bit unbalanced,
otherwise they wouldn’t be engaged in such
dangerous undertaking.”
--Evan Kelly, Regional Forester, July 1935

I’ve wanted to visit Missoula, Montana for years because it is the location of the Smokejumpers Training Center and Museum. Why would a fat chick like me be so interested in smokejumpers? Perhaps I’m a bit “unbalanced.” After all, smokejumpers have to be in excellent physical condition and cannot be overweight. Still, I am sane enough not to jump out of a plane, let alone jump into a fire.

So, my interest in smoke jumping is a bit odd, but not if you’ve met my great uncle Calvin Hilty. He was a conscientious objector during World War II and became one of the early smokejumpers as an alternative to fighting in the war. I’ve been fascinated with smoke jumping ever since I learned of his service and this history.

As the quote above implies, the idea of putting out fires by sending in parachute jumpers was considered crazy when it was first suggested back in the 1930s. Perhaps that is why conscientious objectors were sent to do the job during World War II. Many Americans despised conscientious objectors because they refused to fight in the war. They were treated as if they were cowards and given undesirable jobs as alternative service. Like many conscientious objectors, Uncle Calvin wanted to prove that he was not a coward. Becoming a smokejumper was a great way to do it.

Smokejumpers parachute into forests to stop fires. They clear area around fires so that the fires will not spread. The smokejumpers then hike to the nearest road, carrying all their equipment—often over 100 lbs. including chainsaws, food, and tents. Their hikes can be anywhere from 15 to 30 miles. I can hardly comprehend this; I start complaining if I have to hike 2 miles carrying a 30 lb. pack.

Before World War II, smoke jumping might have been an undesirable job. Today, it is much in demand. Only the very best are accepted into the training program. Of those, 20% to 35% don’t finish. Interestingly, approximately 10% of smokejumpers are women.

I’m not sure exactly what smoke jumping was like in the 1940s when Uncle Calvin was jumping, but it must have been much more difficult than it is today. The Missoula Center has done a lot of research to develop better systems. Still, the airplanes used today are old World War II planes. Unfortunately, none were on the tarmac while I was there.

Craters of the Moon

When I was little my parents took me to Hawaii. There we saw a volcano eruption and lava flow. Of course, I don’t remember the event now. In college I visited Pompeii where I saw the destruction caused by Mount Vesuvius.

Visiting Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho renewed my curiosity about volcanoes. The area was not affected by just one volcano. Instead, it was the result of eight major eruptive periods. Today the land is fascinating with black lava rock covering much of the surface. But, to my surprise, red lava rock is also very common.

The campground was gorgeous with each space separated by lava rock. A trail leads out of the campground to a lava field.


After settling in to the campground, Adolfo and I took a drive around the park. We hiked up Inferno Cone. From there we had beautiful panoramic views of the area.

Spatter cones, like this one, are miniature volcanoes. They looked much more like I would expect a volcano to look if you looked in the top. They had large, deep holes.

The lava tubes were fascinating, as well. We walked over lava fields full of these lava tubes. As the lava flowed out from volcanoes, the outer layer solidified, but the lava continued to flow inside. This created a tube. Many tubes crumbled over the years revealing long tunnels. Adolfo and I hiked down into two of these that are now caves.

Drive-In Movies Forever After

Neither Adolfo nor I had been to a drive-in movie since the 1980s, so we were delighted to learn that the old drive-in theater across from our RV park in Idaho Falls is still showing movies. Double features were $6.50—-not bad.

When I called for showtimes, I got a strange recording: Shrek Forever After was to begin at approximately 9:15. I told Adolfo, but he was not satisfied. As usual, he wanted an exact time. I called back to check that I had heard correctly. Approximately 9:15 it was. Finally we realized that it would have to be approximate since the movie cannot start until the sun goes down. So, at 8:45 we saw cars lining up at the entrance. We packed some snacks, water, and blankets and headed for the drive-in.

It was just as I remembered. Before the movie started, trucks pulled in backwards so that everyone could jump into the bed and wrap up in blankets or sleeping bags. Children started running up to the screen, jumping and doing cartwheels. Teens headed for the snack booth to get popcorn and sodas.

We waited, and waited, but the sun was slow to go down. The movie didn’t start until approximately 9:45. How were these people gonna keep all the kids awake for a double feature? Perhaps the idea was that the smaller children would fall asleep, allowing the teens and adults to make out during Ironman II.

As usual, we enjoyed Shrek, but we were too tired to stay for Ironman II (and prefer to make out in the trailer). So, we pulled out during Intermission and made our way to the exit. Perhaps we'll find another drive-in theater during our travels.

Last Day Among the Tetons

Our last day in Grand Teton National Park was bittersweet. The morning was cold, so I slept in under nice, warm blankets. When I finally got up, I spent the morning finishing up a baby quilt I’ve been making for a friend in Austin. She has been waiting for this quilt for way too long, and I really wanted to finish it before we left the park so I could send it from Idaho Falls, our next stop.

It wasn’t until afternoon that I finally got up the nerve to go outside and say goodbye to the beautiful park. As I stepped down from the trailer, I was greeted by my constant friend, a ground squirrel. He has a hole just beside our door. He scampers in and out of his hole depending on how menacing we look. Sometimes we just silently stare at each other. Adolfo was preparing for our departure. When he turned on the air pump to inflate our tires, the ground squirrel was quite unhappy. He came out of his hole and started complaining quite loud. I felt quite guilty about being so intrusive.

Later I went to take a final look at the owl living in our campground. The owl has made a nest in a hole in one tree. We have gone over to see her several times, but on our last day, rumor had it that the owlets were also visible. I went to see, and sure enough a tiny fur ball with huge eyes and beak was looking out at us. At times the top of the second owlet’s head would pop up, but I never saw its eyes. The mother didn’t look a bit interested in the campers who were all looking into her nest. The area was partitioned off, so we did have to stand at quite a distance and use binoculars.

When I went to the campground office to talk with the friends I’d made there, a ranger informed me that a moose with a new calf was just outside the campground along the river. Taking into account the ranger’s warning that moose cows are very protective and dangerous when with calves, Adolfo and I took off to find the moose.

At first we saw nothing. Then we saw the mother looking right at us from behind a bunch of trees. We slowly made our way to the side to see if we could get a glimpse of the calf. No luck, but we did get to see the moose cow better. She had given up on staring at us and was grazing. Adolfo took a few pictures and began to make his way back into the campground when he saw the calf walk toward the cow. We watched as the calf fed. When the mother started walking, the calf followed close to her side. They finally took a drink at the river and moved back into the forest.

We ended our stay with a final drive around the park. Tomorrow we leave. We will miss this wonderful place.



(photos of owls and moose taken by Adolfo.)

ElkFest 2010

What do you do in Jackson, Wyoming on a snowy day in late May? Have an ElkFest, of course.

Today Adolfo and I woke up to snow. When we looked up to see the Tetons, all we could see was white sky. It was like the mountains had disappeared. Not a good day for photography. Instead, we decided to go into Jackson and see what was up in town.

When we got into town people were carrying antlers everywhere. Trucks were pulling trailers full of antlers. Town square had turned into an antler market and antler auction. And I thought the antler arches in town square had been too many antlers.


After reading information about the festival, we learned that the boy scouts and the National Elk Refuge had joined up for this yearly event. The Elk Refuge allows the boys to go into the park and collect antlers each winter when they are shed. Then the boys put the antlers for auction. The profits benefit both the boy scouts and the refuge.

The event became so popular that people come from all around to buy and sell antlers. The festival includes live music, educational activities, a chili cook-off, and a mountain man rendezvous. It seems the mountain men come out of their dens for this occasion only. Most looked like disheveled Santas with their long gray beards.

Too Quick to Judge

While waiting for Adolfo to take yet another beautiful shot of the Tetons, I decided to rest my feet and sit at a nearby picnic table. The table’s paint was chipped, leaving a very rough surface, and the wood was split and broken so that only half the bench remained. As I looked around, the entire area seemed to match the picnic table’s condition. Dead and rotting branches covered the ground. As the wind blew, I could hear the cracking sound of other branches breaking off the tree. One branch above me was broken off but hanging by a knot in the wood. It seemed as if the abundance of cobwebs were the only thing linking branches together. For such a beautiful park, I couldn’t have picked an uglier place to sit, I thought.

Within a few minutes I heard scampering and saw a tiny chipmunk with elegant stripes looking at me apprehensively. We eyed each other for a few seconds before it ran away. Another chipmunk ran after the first. Soon I was seeing chipmunks all around me. They chased each other from limb to limb and across the branches on the ground. As I watched the dance of the chipmunks, the sun caught the cobwebs and they began to glow.

Here among the rotting wood was an abundance of life and beauty.

Photography for Dummies

After all these years of being in the presence of greatness, I finally decided I should learn a few tricks from my husband, the soon-to-be famous photographer Adolfo Isassi. It seems this is working out for me because after my last post I got a number of comments about my photos. Perhaps these lessons will increase my blog traffic.

Over the years I have learned the basics—-much of which I learned as a child, but haven’t always practiced:
Composition: Separate the scene into thirds.
Lighting: If the color is too bright, press the shutter slightly in the brightest place and bring the photo down to where you want to shoot to darken the scene before taking the picture.
Lighting: The sun should be behind you.

Several days ago, Adolfo placed the strap of one of his nice cameras around my neck and started me on Photography 101 for Dummies.

Lesson 1:

Turn the camera on by switching to the On position.

Always keep the strap around your neck so you don’t drop the camera.

Hold the camera with both hands: one on the lens, the other on the shutter.

Change lenses by matching up white or red dots.

Always zip up your camera case so your gear doesn’t drop out.

Lesson 2:

Look carefully at the scene to select a focal length that fits the scene you want to capture. A shorter focal length shows more of the scene. A longer focal length allows you to zoom in on a subject.

Aperture is the amount of light you allow in. The lower the number, the more light.

If the speed is lower than 60, you need a tripod.

If the light is too bright, consider doing a silhouette by setting the aperture at 22 and the speed at 60.

Here are some of my results:

Snap, Crackle, and Tweet

Jackson Lake at Grand Teton National Park

After taking pictures of the alpine glow over the Tetons this morning, Adolfo and I drove to Colter Bay to look over Jackson Lake. We had camped in this area back in 2007 and wanted to see it again. The area was quite different in 2007 since we were here in the Fall, and the lake had not frozen over yet. Today the lake is frozen and even more exciting to me than it had been before. Frozen lakes are a novelty to me since I did not grow up with them. It is difficult for me to believe that it could get so cold that a huge lake could freeze.

Adolfo and I began taking pictures of the lake. After a short time, Adolfo mentioned a cracking sound. I hadn’t noticed it over the tweeting of the birds, the clicking of Adolfo’s shutter, and the quacking of the geese, but when I listened carefully, the sound was evident. The ice on the lake was beginning to crack. As the sun beamed down over the lake, the cracking increased and snapping and popping joined the harmony.

I walked to the side of the lake in search of large cracks in the ice, but found something much more beautiful. Along the shores, the ice was just beginning to melt away from rocks leaving holes in the ice slightly larger than the rocks. I could also see the ice crystals and marble-like patterns created in the ice. This ice near the shore was thin and transparent, so I could see the many colorful rocks under the surface. I even saw a small fish swim beneath the thin ice.

Adolfo came over and we started questioning the ice’s thickness. I assumed it was very thin since it was so transparent and was melting away from the rocks, so I decided to throw different sized rocks to see which would sink through the ice. Surprisingly, rocks up to 3 inches in size just chipped the ice and rolled on. Most rocks of 4 to 5 inches created a hole in the ice, but bounced off and landed on the ice. Only larger rocks broke through and sank.

Again, as I write, I think about how these words must sound to a person who has grown up in a cold climate. These may sound like childish observations, but perhaps my excitement at seeing snow and ice will renew a since of childish wonder at nature even in those who find these scenes commonplace.

Back to Yellowstone

When we heard that my aunt and uncle were headed to the West entrance to Yellowstone, we decided to head back to the park and meet them. Still, we had several days before they were scheduled to arrive, so we decided to visit some other areas of the park.

We headed for the park’s Grand Canyon. This area of the park was packed with snow, and the roads were just opening up. The waterfalls in the canyon were partially frozen, and the lake was unrecognizable except that it was a very large field of white snow with no trees.

After taking a ton of photos, Adolfo and I decided to take a hike along the canyon’s rim. The trail had been used by several people before us, so we were able to follow it for a while. Then, all of a sudden the human tracks stopped—in their place were large bear tracks. We considered the option of turning back. For one, we weren’t sure where the trail was or how deep the snow was since the human tracks were gone. Secondly, would we find that a voracious bear was waiting for any fools who passed by. After all, these bears must be fresh out of hibernation and ready for a nice breakfast.

Adolfo noticed that the bear tracks led to a nice viewpoint over the canyon so we followed the tracks. The view was spectacular; however, we didn’t linger long. We took some pictures and headed out of there.

On another day we had a standoff with a Bison. We were driving into the park when we came across a bison in the middle of our lane. It was staring directly at us, chewing some grass, and standing firm. Cars driving in the opposite direction were lining up to take photos, so we were stuck. That dogged bison stood his ground for a good fifteen minutes. Finally, another bison on the side of the road began walking forward, and our tenacious bison moved farther into the middle of the road--not ready to give up the road. However, we were able to pass on the right side. Since no lions live in this park, this bison must think it is the king of the forest.


In another encounter with wildlife, we came across a gray wolf walking through the snow. As we scrambled for our cameras, the wolf slowly scouted out the Lake area before heading back into the woods. Beautiful!

Hot Tubs and Teens

When stuck in snow, take a hot bath. These were my thoughts when we passed by the Bozeman Hot Springs, and we passed it often since our KOA campground was right next door. After several days of nagging and negotiations with Adolfo, we threw our bathing suits in a bag and headed for the hot springs.

These hot springs were nothing like the ones in Arkansas. After changing into our bathing suits, we walked into a room filled with a large swimming pool surrounded with smaller pools. Each of the pools had a different water temperature--unbearably hot to unbearably cold. This room brought back a memory from my childhood—-perhaps from these very pools. My sister and I found it fun to jump from one temperature pool to another, giving our bodies a shock. I tried a few of the pools this time, but would probably have had a heart attack if I jumped around as I did 30+ years ago.

Apparently children (well teens) today still enjoy jumping from pool to pool. They were swarming the area like noisy, buzzing bees. This must be the Bozeman hangout. I couldn’t blame these kids, either. After all, if you live far away from a beach and in a cold climate, the best way to see other scantily clad teens would be to visit a big steamy room full of hot pools.

For our taste, having teens running in all directions distracted from the relaxation, to say the least. We stayed for a half hour and headed back into the frigid cold.

So in conclusion, I guess I should apologize to all the adults who put up with Cindy and me back in the 1970s. We had no idea how annoying we were.

Waking Up in a Snow Storm

We heard it would snow during the night, so the first thing I did when I woke up this morning was look out the window. Wow! Did it ever snow!! Everything was completely covered in a 3- to 4-inch quilt of white snow.

Adolfo went outside and within a few minutes, he was throwing snowballs at the window where I was sitting; he was begging for a snowball fight. I quickly put on my shoes and jacket and went outside to join the fun. We got into a full-blown snowball fight, and I was getting killed. He obviously has much better aim than I do.

Our neighbors in the KOA camp were from Washington. They were watching out their RV windows with big smiles on their faces. They must have enjoyed seeing a couple of 40-something adults acting like children. After our fight, which I stopped after getting whipped, Adolfo made a small snowman before going inside. I stayed outside to create a snow sculpture. I finished feet, legs, and the beginning of a torso for a person sitting on a log, but in the process I became very cold and tired, so I gave it up and joined Adolfo inside.

Every few minutes, I looked out the window at the beautiful snow. Both of us laughed whenever we heard snow falling from the top of the trailer or saw icicles hanging from normally boring objects such as the camp dumpster. It's interesting how snow can make the mundane look beautiful.

Winter Wonderland in May

Yellowstone National Park

Adolfo and I have been concerned about snow ever since we left Texas. I must seem a bit paranoid because when I see white in the distance I keep warning of snow. Adolfo counters my suggestion by saying that all white patches are simply some sort of very light dirt. Well, today I won the battle. There is no question that much of what we saw today was snow—glorious, white, unspoiled snow.

We started heading for Yellowstone about a week ago, but decided not to go due to weather reports. The forecasts suggested that it would be in the teens here. A call into the park confirmed that we would need chains to drive through the park. So, instead, we stayed in Billings for several days and then headed for Bozeman. Adolfo has an affinity for Bozeman because it is the town where the protagonist in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance lived. I assume Adolfo hopes to move to Bozeman and go insane.

As we drove toward Bozeman, we got to Livingston and Hwy 89 which goes to Yellowstone. The weather was nice, so we decided to stay in a campground in Livingston and take a day trip to Yellowstone. If it gets too icy, we’ll turn around, I thought.

The road into Yellowstone was fine, no snow except on the distant mountains. We drove into Mammoth Hot Springs. Still, very little snow. What’s the fuss. Continuing on into the park, we began to see more and more snow, but the roads were clear and dry.

The snow became very deep as we ventured farther into the park. Wow! It was beautiful. Where there were streams or rivers, the snow gave way to icy blue water weaving through the mounds of snow. Gorgeous!

Adolfo and his cameras were popping out of the truck with every turn of the road. We kept creating a car jam as the other befuddled tourists pulled over to see what great wild beast we had spotted. Oh, those crazy Texans are just excited to see snow, they must have thought.

Of course, we weren’t the only ones to start traffic jams. We got caught in one for a beautiful black bear walking across the snow. Again, a crowd surrounded a group of bison. Cars nearly plowed into each other when they saw a tiny bison calf with its mother. Ok, I must admit, I was very interested in these creatures, too.

Adolfo remained focused on the snow.