TravelingMel

It's hot. Not Africa hot. Not southern US hot. Not even Livingston in August hot. But, it is still hot.

The City pool is still closed--and probably will be all summer--and the river is way too high for swimming, so Anders and I headed to the Best Western to use their pool. When we got there we were told "there was a minor accident and the pool will be closed for at least 3 days to disinfect it."

Minor accident? Three days? I've worked around pools before and even when some kid poops or pukes in a pool you can shock it with chlorine and have it up and running in a matter of hours. (Not that I'm anxious to jump into a poopy or over-chlorinated pool...). What could have happened?

So, we went to buy dog food instead. They have air conditioning there, so it's just like swimming. When the clerk rang up my purchase I was surprised--no shocked--to find out that the price of a 40 lb bag had gone from $32.99 to $49.99. Needless to say, after this bag, the boys are switching to a more economical food. Rigby has had almost 7 years of good eating and Diesel almost 5, so I think that's all they can really ask for. $50 dog food? They go through 2 bags a month.

Plus, Rigby eats such nasty stuff anyway (and by that I mean carcass--did I mention the absolutely disgusting tapeworm I pulled out of him last week? I almost threw up.) his body probably won't register the lower quality food. And Diesel finds his own gross items to eat, so he's no better or worse off than Rigs.

So, I guess Anders and I will play with the water table this afternoon. He'll be plenty happy, but I'll miss being weightlessly submerged in cool liquid.

The saga continues. On Sunday of Father's Day weekend we packed up all our junk and gave Henry his Father's Day gifts. There were several from me, but the best ones were the hand colored card and handprint washcloth from Anders.

Henry with his hand printed wash cloth and hand drawn card. And Anders.

After breakfast at Shades we headed through Grand Teton National Park and into Yellowstone. The Tetons were blanketed in snow; if you only saw the mountains you would have thought it was the middle of winter, not the middle of June.

We stopped for a picnic lunch at Grant Village.

Anders tries to stuff a banana in H's soda to make it less toxic.

Anders fell asleep after lunch so we drove as far as we could and pulled over at the first pull off when he woke up. I pity the fool who does not get Anders out of the car when he wakes up. He is often a delightful boy, but when he wakes up from a car nap--watch out. Norris Geyser Basin was our first available stop, and so while it is always crowded mid-day in the summer, we stopped anyway.

The locals sometimes take up the road and cause traffic to stop.

Anders tries to remove Henry's sunnies while Norris Geyser Basin gurgles and splashes in the background.

Just seconds after a young elk broke through the crust.

The elk seemed to be ok.

Even in mid-June the low hills behind Norris were covered with snow.

Anders walks the boardwalk at Norris.

Anders points out where my nose is. He can also point to mouths, eyes, ears, hands and belly buttons.

During a break, Anders picks up rocks and dirt...

...then deposits them in their rightful place.

I congratulate him on a job well done.

On Saturday we met Big H and Mogie for breakfast at the Bunk House in Livingston. Even though it was their 40th anniversary (HAPPY ANNIVERSARY) Big H brought presents for everyone. Mogie got a beautiful Yogo sapphire and diamond anniversary band and I got a mug with a photo of the Tetons (I had been going on and on about the view). Henry and Anders got breakfast. Well, we all got breakfast.

From there we headed back up to Brandon and Tucky's place for a short visit. Anders and I hung out in the car because I couldn't bear to wake him up after a night of not enough sleep and Henry chatted with his cousins.

Next stop the Grand Teton Brewing Company in Victor, Idaho--about 6 miles from Driggs. I'm writing a story about microbreweries for Big Sky Journal and figured I'd take a tour from one of the brewers since we were down that way. As it is their 20th anniversary this year it seemed like a good fit.

Henry and Anders accompanied us for most of the tour (check H's blog for what they did the rest of the time). All three of us enjoyed their root beer and Henry and I got to sip a couple beers.

A hopeful sign.

Todd the brewer stands behind some of the cellar reserve beers made to celebrate the 20th anniversary. Turns out that he and I were in Missoula at the same time and know some of the same people.

The fermenting tanks where yeast is added to sweet wort and turned into beer. Todd said, "Brewers make sweet wort, yeast makes beer". Thank you, yeast.

Yummy organic beer.

Baby's first brewery tour.

From the brewery we headed over Teton Pass to Jackson to take advantage of their super fun recreation center. Part of the time I lived in Jackson I worked at the Rec Center and knew Anders would love the little kids' pool.

Swimming, swimming in the swimming pool, when days are hot and days are cold in the swimming pool... Does anyone else have this song running through their head almost everyday?

H enjoyed the pool and much as Anders.

Anders could stand up in most of the pool, which he loved. They have a bubbler, waterfall, 2 waterslides and a mushroom that spouts water. Not to mention balls and noodles. What more can a kid want?

Toweling off.

Next on the agenda (this was a fairly busy day) was checking into the Antler Inn and meeting up with my friend, Heather. While Anders napped, Heather and I walked around town a bit and picked up some Nepalese food for dinner.

But, wait! There's more. Come back tomorrow for day 3 of Father's Day Weekend.

I've added a few more names as they've come in.
Thanks to all the folks who gave us feedback on names for baby boys. I also appreciated the links to baby naming sites.

Here is the list of suggestions in alphabetical order:

Aiden (2)
Brody
Cameron
Cavin
Clifford
Cole
Drew
Elliot
Erik
Garrison
Jordan
Leif (2)
Liam
Logan
March
Matson
Nelson
Norris
Oliver
Reid
Walker
Theodore

We'll let you know sometime around 8.8.08 what we choose...unless it's a girl, in which case this whole discussion is just for fun.

After boarding the dogs and packing the car with more stuff than any three people need for three days, Henry, Anders and I headed down to Driggs, ID for a birthday party on Friday.

Brandon Harrison (first cousin of Big H) turned 70 and his family threw him a surprise birthday weekend extravaganza that included parties, a pig roast, rafting, shopping, wildlife ogling, shootout watching, rodeo whooping and a few other activities. We didn't make it for most of the events, but we caught a few.

Let me back up. Like I said we got our stuff together and drove down to Yellowstone through the Gardiner entrance and stopped for a hike just outside of Mammoth on Swan Lake Flat. From the trailhead you can hike (or ski, see my book) over Fawn Pass to the Gardiner River about 20 miles.

That was not the trek we did. The trail soon splits and one can hike through the hoodoos (interesting rock formations) a few miles back to the Mammoth Terraces. We didn't even get that far. But, we had a nice picnic and enjoyed walking a little ways on the trail through sagebrush, then forest and into the start of the hoodoos.

Out of the starting gates and ready to go the full 20 miles to the Gallatin Canyon.

Checking out the scenery.

After a loss of momentum, Anders was ready to be carried for a bit.

Making time on the downhill as we head toward the hoodoos.

Making friends with the camera.

Taking a break on the trail to observe rocks.

After the walk, we loaded back into the VW and drove out the West entrance, stopping for snacks at Ernie's Deli in West Yellowstone, and into Idaho. We made it to about 1/2 hour before Driggs when Anders had a total meltdown. Pretty standard for car rides lasting more than an hour.

So, we pulled over in the potato fields between Ashton and Tetonia for a quick break and a chance for everyone to collect themselves.

Everything is better with a toothbrush.

After checking into the hotel, we headed over to Brandon and Tucky's very nice home a few miles outside of Driggs. I left my camera in the car, so you'll have to picture the scene: sprawling lawns, ponds graced by swans, folks milling about sipping wine and beer enjoying the (finally) summer weather, a pig well roasted and empty of its insides laying on the table, Anders charming everyone (especially his grandparents) by opening and shutting the door of the playhouse--and pretending to wash his hands in the little sink.

Stay tuned to hear about the rest of the weekend...