This is Not All Fun and Games

Many of you out there are thinking, “…it is just all fun and games with those two…” and many of you would be right most of the time.  But today was one of those mundane days that we have to do things like everyone else.

We started off heading back into Jackson, through three road construction projects and delays.  Jeez, might as well be commuting to Kansas City everyday (right Alice?).  The first delay might be a couple of minutes, while we look at the mountains.  The second is just down the road where we may need to turn the truck off for a few minutes if we don’t hit it right, but then we have to look at a stream and maybe roll our windows down to hear it’s irritating babble.  The third road project is just before entering Jackson.  This can be 5-10 minutes, depending on your luck.  Again, usually shutting down the truck, seeing what is happening in the National Elk Refuge.  This is a large valley where the elk come to winter.  So that is how we have spent multiple days while on “vacation.”  I know, see how good you have it?

We came to town to check out cameras, cause a blog without photos is like a retirement day without waking up late!  The two choices we had were Staples and Kmart.  Without too much detail, Kmart won.  Nikon Coolpix.

Because that was so exhausting and we had worked up an appetite, we gravitated towards a Pizza Hut Miki caught out of the corner of her eye and we didn’t want it to take all day, we had things to do!  We came to the conclusion that this Pizza Hut pizza tastes the same as our Pizza Hut pizza and because we both have post graduate degrees, we can make the hypothesis that all Pizza Huts pizzas taste the same.  We’ll keep looking out for you and let you know if we find any conflict within this experiment of sorts.

Our final act of common working people was a visit to the post office.  Andrew inadvertently left a shirt hanging in the closet, so the gracious hosts we are, we sent it to him C.O.D.  It was the right thing to do.

Now, back to being retired.  We hiked a 4 mile loop to Taggart Lake, one of the lakes our killer first hike overlooked.  It was a wonderful temperature and the smoke from the local wildfires had cleared since morning.  We donned our packs and headed to the trail.  It was a MODERATELY-EASY trail, says the Day Hike brochure and I concur.  

Taggart Lake is the smaller lake just above the large one in the foreground.

A nice bridge for a stream crossing.  Those silly National Park people think
of everything.

An example of an EASY trail.  Notice the lack of huge elevation change.

I talked this rangerette into coming home with me for a private campfire
program on bare awareness!

Once we arrived we looked for a place to fish, of course.  It turned out that the wind had come up (which blew the smoke away), but because we were on the downwind side in the trees, it was just a gentle breeze.  Once on the lake, you could have held a regatta.  I tried a few flies, but they didn’t fly well into the wind.  We shut that operation down, hung out for a bit, then headed back to the trailhead.  

Our arrival at Taggart Lake.

Stringing up my rod, only to end in frustration.  The white caps on the
water became visible shortly after this photo.

Tried a protected area where the lake's outlet is, but to no avail.  Skunked!

As we headed down the glacial moraine to the truck, we had a good view of the wildfire close to Jackson.  

In the end the dogs won and got more time with us.  Plus, Miki grilled some chicken for dinner and I walked around coveting other RV'ers stuff, like the kayak rack.

It is supposed to get below freezing tonight, so I am going to do what I think I should do, as a novice RV’er, and that is unhook the water hose from the spigot and hope there wasn’t something else I should have done.

Big day tomorrow.  I am leaving Miki and the dogs behind and heading out on a BIG hike.  That is the teaser for tomorrow’s post.

My Zen from the Road:  It is better to be lost on a trail without a map, than to be lost on a trail with one.  I know, pretty deep huh?  That is why I never carry a map (ha!)!