A Mammoth Bear Encounter

I couldn’t work out what had woken me on our first full day in Mammoth Hot Springs. It sounded like a whole flock of small birds were calling noisily outside our window while taking a bath in the rain. When I got up to investigate, I found that the ‘rain’ was actually the hotel sprinklers, and the ‘birds’ were actually Uinta ground squirrels. I’m sure the hotel viewed them as pests, because their burrows were everywhere in the lawns, but I found them quite cute.

Ground squirrel

As the hotel didn’t have a restaurant, we walked across the road to the Mammoth Hot Springs Dining Room for breakfast. It was already pretty hot outside and the glare from the sun was strong. It’s the first time I’ve had to wear sunglasses simply to get to my breakfast!

The food was nice, although the service was a bit slow, and we ate looking out at the Hot Spring Terraces which were just across the road. They would form the focus of our morning, although I did wonder how I would fare under the increasing heat of the sun. I was also nursing a painful foot, having discovered before leaving the UK that I was suffering from plantar fasciitis, also known in the UK as ‘policeman’s heel’. Basically it is inflammation of the ligaments which support the arch of your foot and it can be extremely painful, especially first thing in the morning. Mine had been caused by a circuits exercise class called ‘Nemesis’ (yes I know – the name should have warned me!) back in March. I still find it ironic that something which was supposed to help me stay healthy had caused so much discomfort. Beware of exercise – it can seriously damage your health!

Anyway, all throughout this trip I was having to be careful of walking too far, or even of standing for too long, which was a serious handicap considering the nature of the holiday. But I was determined not to let it stop me from seeing all these fantastic sights and, once we finished our breakfast, we made our way to the Hot Spring Terraces.

I have to say that they were magnificent. First there was the Liberty Cap, the solid inner remains of an extinct spring. This must have been quite spectacular when it was active, as it was 45 feet high. Then we moved onto the boardwalks and followed them around the site until we reached the Minerva spring and terrace. The colours here were unbelievable, as were the flowing ‘pillow’ shapes made by the ever-trickling water. The sound of the water would have been cooling if not for the clouds of hot steam wafting around our faces.

Liberty Cap and Minerva Terrace

The other thing that fascinated me was the amount of birdlife I could hear all around. Although I’m not fanatical about it I do love birdwatching, and I couldn’t resist trying to identify the birds I could hear. We’d acquired a leaflet showing some of the birds we could expect to encounter and while Dave searched the surrounding trees and sky with our binoculars, I dug out the leaflet. I was very pleased when we managed to see and identify a Northern Flicker (a type of woodpecker) and the exceedingly pretty Mountain Bluebird. We took photos but were fast coming to realize that our camera, while plenty good enough for ‘ordinary’ photography, didn’t have a powerful enough zoom to really capture things like small birds. This lack would become more apparent – and more frustrating! – as the trip went on. So although I do have pictures of those two birds, I will not be including them in this post. You can look them up on the internet if you want to see them!

We were both pretty hot by the time we finished our tour of the Hot Spring Terrace, and my foot needed a rest. So we headed back to town for an ice cream. On the way we passed the conveniences and were so tickled by the thought of a mammoth using a restroom (childish, but who cares?) that I had to take a photo.

Wow – how big would the seat have to be?

After lunch, we decided to take a drive east on the road to Tower-Roosevelt because we’d learned there were some spectacular waterfalls on the way. This was to prove a momentous decision because it gave us a truly fabulous view of some black bears. Quite by chance we came upon a ‘bear jam’ around a bend in the road. We stopped and got out, and there, maybe twenty yards away down a slope by the side of the road, were two black bears. Only one of them was actually black – this, the Ranger told us, was a male. The other bear was brown, and this was a female. Both bears were peacefully grazing, neither taking any notice of the vast hordes of people lining the road above, all clicking furiously with their cameras. I was entranced, still unable to believe I was standing so close to such an incredible, yet potentially dangerous wild animal. Suddenly, another bear appeared from the right-hand side, a light cinnamon-coloured bear which ran toward the male black bear. The Ranger got quite excited. “That’s another male,” he said, “he’ll try and lure the female away. This could get interesting.”

Interesting? He wasn’t kidding! I was so ‘interested’ I was glued to the spot! We all held our collective breath as the cinnamon bear slowed before approaching the male black bear. He turned towards it and moved closer. But instead of chasing it away, as the Ranger clearly expected, he began to sniff it with obvious interest. It wasn’t another male, it was a second female! I suppose we were all hoping to see some kind of territorial behaviour, either from the male bear or his original female, but in fact they didn’t react aggressively at all. The cinnamon bear made a pretty feeble attempt to lure the black male away, which he ignored, and his original brown partner cast hardly a glance at the prettier (to my mind!) newcomer. Eventually the cinnamon female wandered off, probably muttering under her breath.

A really close bear encounter

After that excitement, we carried on toward the waterfalls. Little did we know that our bear encounter wasn’t quite over!  

On To Mammoth Hot Springs

Waking to another bright and sunny day, I was amazed to find that I didn’t ache at all from yesterday’s trail ride. Maybe I was fitter than I thought! We went down to another sumptuous breakfast and then packed our stuff. Before we took our leave of Sherrie and the Wildflower Inn, we wandered round the beautiful gardens once more, taking photos. I also signed a copy of King’s Envoy for the girlfriend of the Inn’s chef, Michael.

Wildflower Inn gardens

After loading up the Jeep we began our drive to Yellowstone National Park and Mammoth Hot Springs, where our next hotel was located. Mammoth is in the north of the Park, so we would get to see much of its scenery as we made our way through. I confess that although I was eager to see Yellowstone, I was sad to leave Jackson and the Tetons. The valley was so beautiful and the surrounding mountains so majestic, and I had begun to feel quite at home there despite only having been there two and a half days. I could easily see myself living there, should the opportunity ever arise.

Our first stop after entering Yellowstone was at West Thumb, on the western edge (well, where else?) of Yellowstone Lake. Here there is a geyser basin, and I couldn’t wait for my first view of an actual geyser. It was seeing a picture of Old Faithful in a book probably owned by my older brother (we’re going back 45-some years here, so forgive me if I can’t exactly remember!) that ignited my lifelong desire to visit Yellowstone. I knew Old Faithful wasn’t at West Thumb, but the basin sounded well worth a visit. We would arrive there around lunchtime, so it would be a good place to stop. The speed limit in the Park is 45 mph, and some of the trailers and campers were going far slower than that, so even the driver had ample time to look around and drink in the spectacular scenery.

Yellowstone scenery

West Thumb lived up to its write-up. There were boardwalks across the thermal areas and the smell of sulfur wafted on the scant breeze as we walked along them toward the lake. Many of the springs had name boards, and it was easy to see how they had been given names like ‘paint pot’. I particularly liked the one named ‘Black Pool’ – despite the fact that it was clearly blue! It was nothing like our own Blackpool in the UK.

Black Pool

A couple of the springs were actually in the lake itself, only exposed at times of low water, and we were fascinated to see that the colourful yet toxic-looking stuff coming out of the springs didn’t seem to affect the fresh water of the lake. The other thing that amazed and delighted us was the profusion of wild plants that seemed perfectly capable of thriving with their roots buried in what looked like solid calcium deposits. Blue, yellow and orange flowers blossomed across this seemingly inhospitable and alien-looking landscape, which had clearly killed many of the surrounding pine trees.

Hardy yellow flowers

After our walk and lunch at West Thumb, we continued on to Old Faithful. It was on the way to Mammoth anyway but I think I would have wanted to detour had it not been. I had simply been waiting for this opportunity for too long, and I had to find out what times the geyser spouted and whether we needed to make special arrangements to see it go off. West Thumb had been surprisingly quiet and peaceful, with none of the overdevelopment, amusement opportunities or retail outlets that I had been imagining. The area around Old Faithful, arguably the most famous and popular site in Yellowstone, did have a more touristy feel to it, but even here there was none of the “Disneyesque” hype we expected (and dreaded!) to find. Yes there was a newly-completed Visitor Center, which looked a touch too modern to me, but it was actually quite attractive and it held some fascinating information and exhibits. There was also a large hotel, which was clearly quite old. And there was a very large building, Hamilton’s Stores, inside which were all the souvenirs, postcards, posters, maps, books, etc you could possibly want, as well as clothing and groceries. But it was the construction of this building that was most striking. During our drive that morning I had remarked upon some pretty unusual trees which had strange, gnarled and knobbly protuberances on their branches. I never did find out whether this was due to some form of virus or disease, or whether it was natural to this type of tree. Whatever the cause was, it was clearly a feature of the area and this large wooden building had many of these deformed and gnarly branches, called “burled logs” in its construction. The whole thing had been stained a very deep brown and the effect was striking.

Hamilton’s Stores.

From the Visitor Center we learned that Old Faithful erupts around every ninety minutes, and that there was twenty minutes to go until the next one. I hadn’t realized the eruptions were that frequent, and so we wandered around for a bit before taking our seats on the semi-circular benches placed around the geyser. The benches soon filled with other eager geyser-watchers and we got our camera ready, still not quite sure what to expect.

The geyser had been spouting steam the whole time, but soon we began to notice spits of boiling water being thrown up. The crowd made predictable “oohs” and “ahhs” each time one of these spits went a bit higher, but then the geyser would die down again, as if playing with us. But it was only a few more minutes before the pressure built enough to send the water rocketing skyward, and Old Faithful once again put on its ages-old display. I have to admit that I was enthralled, and found the geyser every bit as spectacular and beautiful as I’d hoped. I’m sure it would look utterly ethereal by moonlight, and even more beautiful during a gorgeous sunset, but I was captivated by its puissance and majesty on this simple, hot and sunny day. One of my lifelong dreams had been realized, and I was so grateful to have the chance to witness this natural and unique phenomenon. We took photos, of course, but I wanted to come back later with the camcorder. I needed to get this baby on film!

 

 

  Old Faithful

Trail Ride Day!

We didn’t think our second day in the Grand Tetons could possibly be as thrilling as our first – not after seeing all those wonderful animals the evening before. But today was the day we would get our trail ride at the Mill Iron Ranch, and I was really looking forward to that. I have been a horse rider for most of my life, and trained as an instructor on leaving school. It was originally my ambition to become a show jumper, but sadly my woeful lack of balance proved too difficult to overcome. My riding skills never progressed beyond average, which was a disappointment, but I made up for it by enjoying the instructing side. I also got to buy my own horse – once I got a job that paid enough money – and that fulfilled another early ambition. I don’t have a horse now, so I ride when I can, and this trail ride was going to be a whole new experience.

We still had most of the day to enjoy though before heading off to the ranch, so after another wonderful breakfast, this one consisting of raspberry waffles, we decided to explore the town of Jackson. We had heard about the awesome arches made of elk antlers, and simply had to see them.

Jackson

Jackson was only a short drive from the Wildflower Inn, and it was easy to find a place to park. We didn’t even have to pay! You have no idea how refreshing that was. We spotted the antler arches even before we got out of the car, and they were indeed awesome. There were four of them, one for each entryway into a pretty, small town park or square, and we went for a closer look. Each arch had an internal steel framework and the hundreds – or maybe thousands – of antlers that made up each one were skilfully woven together to make a stunning spectacle. It was also nice to know that these antlers had been naturally shed – no elk had died to make them. We both loved them, and took plenty of pictures.

Elk Antler Arches

The town of Jackson was friendly, and clearly prosperous, with a vast variety of galleries selling all types of artwork. There were huge bronze figures, both animal and human; pottery sculptures, ceramics, paintings, and more antler artefacts than you could shake a stick at! I particularly loved the antler chandeliers. All of these things, though, were so far out of our price range that all we could afford was a delicious hot chocolate and a cake! Well, that’s not quite true. Dave bought me a beautiful opal heart pendant and a shimmering blue opal and silver bangle. Anyone who has read King’s Envoy and King’s Champion will know that I have a ‘thing’ for opals – Sullyan herself wears fire opals!

After our visit to Jackson we drove to Teton Village, because we both fancied a trip in the cable car up to the top of the mountain. It was a great ride up, the sun was still out, but boy – was it cold at the top! Now I know we should have expected this, there was still snow underfoot after all, but we had forgotten how quickly altitude affects warm air. Neither of us had warm clothing with us, so after a brief time spent staring at the stunning panorama of the mountains and the valley laid out below us, we hastened into the café for a hot chocolate and a cookie. Then we rode the car back down and made our way to the Wildflower Inn to change for our ride.

Cable car view

The ranch had sent us directions and Sherrie at the Inn told us that it was easy to find. She was right, and we pitched up at the ranch right on time. We could see all the horses in a corral, some saddled, some not, and spent a few minutes trying to guess which horse we would be allocated. Then we went into the ranch office to let them know we had arrived.

Arriving at the ranch.

Soon, more guests arrived and then the ranch hands began bringing horses forward. Being somewhat stiff these days (oh – the pleasures of aging!) I was pleased to see that we didn’t have to climb into the saddle from the ground. Instead, each horse was led between two mounds of earth, making it easy for us to mount. I suspect the idea was to protect the horses, more than to help the riders, but it was nice anyway! My horse turned out to be a pinto (in the UK we’d call this piebald) named Cisco, and he was very comfortable. Dave was allocated a kind-eyed bay named Roy, and he seemed quite happy with his mount. In the past I have given Dave riding lessons, and he has good balance, but he wouldn’t call himself a rider. He also sometimes suffers a stuffy nose around horses, and I really hoped this wouldn’t spoil the ride for him.

Me and Cisco

Our guide then mounted his own horse and led us up into the hills. We climbed pretty steeply up through wooded tracks, keeping our eyes open for wildlife. Dave had managed to secure himself a place near the front of the line – there were about eight or nine of us – and so he could hear our guide’s commentary. But I was second from last, and couldn’t really hear him. So I just enjoyed the ride.

Eventually, we climbed high enough to leave the trees behind. We had a glorious view of the surrounding hills, and stopped right on the crest of the highest one to take in the panorama. Two large birds were circling overhead and one suddenly folded its wings and dived, showing its beautiful bronzed feathers. It was a Golden Eagle! After that, our guide dismounted and took photos of all the riders with their own cameras, just to prove we’d been there.

Dave and me on Cisco and Roy

Then we began the descent, and this time both Dave and I were right at the back. This wouldn’t have been a problem had it not been so dry and dusty, but the trail was bone dry and the horses in front were kicking up vast clouds of brown dust. Dave and I had to breathe this in all the way back down to the ranch, which took about an hour. We were both sneezing fit to bust by the time we got back! I was also beginning to feel the effects of riding for two and a half hours and was quite glad to slide off Cisco’s back. My legs were pretty wobbly for a few minutes, but the feeling soon wore off.

Our final treat that day was a steak supper at the ranch house. I have never seen steaks so huge! They were delicious, but far too big for me to finish. Baked potatoes, salad, chips and beer completed the meal, and another thoroughly fantastic day. My only worry was that I would ache so much after all that riding, I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed the next morning!

Day Two in the Tetons

Our second day, or first full day if you want me to be precise, in the Grand Tetons dawned sunny but windy. We had slept well in our cosy log cabin bedroom and wandered sleepily out onto the private veranda to sample the day. I confess I was very slightly disappointed not to see moose grazing the Wildflower Inn’s lovely lawns in the early sunshine, but I guess you can’t have everything.

No Moose on the lawn!

Over a truly wonderful breakfast of fluffy egg soufflé, cheese, bacon, juice and coffee, we discussed what we might do that day. Our original plan had been to spend the morning exploring, and then go for a trail-ride at the Mill Iron Ranch. However, the ranch had called the day before to ask whether we could transfer our ride to the next day, due to booking numbers. We didn’t mind at all, but it did leave us with no real plan for this first full day. On speaking to our fellow guests, however, we learned that they had been on a wildlife watching trip the evening before run by the Teton Science School, a non-profit making organization. They had seen lots of fascinating creatures, including a grizzly bear and her cubs! I was stunned, and we immediately decided to try to book one of these trips for that very day.

We were in luck – they had a couple of places spare. I could barely contain my excitement but had to, as the trip wouldn’t leave until 5.30 pm. So we spent the day looking round the Rockefeller center in the National Park, and had a very pleasant walk up to Phelps Lake. There we met two of our fellow guests from the Wildflower Inn. On the way back, we took plenty of photographs of the lovely native flowers, and also some of the pretty butterflies that flitted around our heads.

Phelps Lake.

Then we drove over to Jenny Lake, intending to do another walk, but the weather had turned showery. Instead, we bought sandwiches and ate them in the car, and then strolled around the parts of the lake that were nearest the parking lot. One of the things that most impressed us about this entire National Parks trip was its value for money. In the UK, you would have to pay for every single parking lot you pulled in to. And many other things besides. Also, the prices of virtually everything inside the park or attraction would be inflated, and your pocket would take a battering. We had expected it to be the same in the US, but we were very pleasantly surprised. For a one-off fee of $25 (hardly a break-the-bank sum) we purchased a pass for the car, regardless of how many occupants it had, which covered both the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, and which lasted for seven days. Provided we kept this in the car and showed it to the ranger each time we wanted to re-enter the Park, that was all we would pay regarding Park fees. It was excellent value. We were also very pleased to discover that the Park’s attractions had not been over-commercialized. Buildings were at a minimum, and most of them blended well into their surroundings. Road construction, too, had been minimalized, and in Yellowstone we learned that there were no more roads now than there had been when it first received National Park status. Good for you, US! Other countries could learn a valuable lesson from the way these National Parks are managed.
Ok – soap-box moment over.
 
On our way back to the Wildflower Inn to rest and change before our evening outing, we took the road where our fellow Inn guests had reported seeing the grizzly bear mother and cubs the day before. Of course, I knew they wouldn’t still be there – why would they? – but it would be good to see what kind of terrain they favored. You can imagine my surprise and delight when we rounded the corner and saw the huge “bear jam” that had formed along the road – the grizzles were still there! We had heard about bear jams from the proprietors of the Wildflower Inn, apparently they were the best way to find the bigger forms of wildlife, as they were the ones everyone wanted to see. Also, bears can be dangerous animals, and so Park rangers are always in attendance whenever bears are spotted close to roads. They are there to protect the bears from people, as much as people from the bears.

We didn’t get a clear view of the grizzly family, they were concealed among the sage brush, but we were told there was a mother bear and either two or three largish cubs. But it was still a thrill for me – I had never expected I’d ever get to see wild grizzly bears so close up! We finally returned to the Inn full of our news and even more excited to see what we would find with the help of an experienced guide.

Pronghorn deer.

Our guide pitched up just before 5.30, and we bundled into her vehicle. I wish I could remember her name, but I can’t. She was extremely pleasant, quite young, around 21 or so, and was a student at the Teton Science School.  She certainly knew her stuff, and was a mine of interesting information. I was surprised to find that Dave and I were her only clients that evening, but she told us that there were two other Teton Science vehicles out that night, and they were both full, so we got the benefit of her knowledge and commentary – plus hot chocolate! – all to ourselves. She headed out toward the ranger station, and there we discovered that we hadn’t thought to bring our Park pass with us. Naively, we had expected that the cost of the trip would include entry to the Park, but it didn’t. We paid for a second pass, but had it refunded the next day when we showed our original one. (Another thing that probably wouldn’t happen in the UK!)

I will cut what could be a long story short. We had a fantastic trip with our guide and saw bison with young ones (wild this time, not farmed!), beaver, osprey, pronghorn deer, a herd of female elk with young, and two more grizzly bears. These bears, we were told, were adolescents that shouldn’t really be away from their mother. The rangers were keeping an eye on them to check that they were finding enough to eat.

Bull moose.

All this was wonderful, but there was one more special thing that happened. Our guide spotted a big bull moose just on the opposite bank of a river. There was a high patch of ground close by and we pulled off the road to get a good view. Our guide had several pairs of binoculars and we could all stand watching the placidly chewing beast together. Our guide called the other Science School vehicles on the walky-talky they all carried, and soon they arrived to share our success. Then our guide noticed a second moose, further away across another bend in the river. This, she thought, was a female. We could just see her through a gap in the trees. But while Dave and our guide turned their attention back to the big male, I continued watching the female. Suddenly, seen only by me, a glorious Bald Eagle flew in front of the female moose and landed by the river. This creature was high on my wish-list of things to see, and I was thrilled. But by the time I’d let the others know, the wretched bird had disappeared. How annoying! Even more annoying was the joky way my husband looked at me, as if to say “You saw a Bald Eagle? Yeah – of course you did!”

But I was finally vindicated when Dave, trying for a better view of the female moose, shifted his stance slightly. A different view of the river opened up and there, sititng proudly on a dead tree, was my handsome Bald Eagle! And this time, the contents of both full tour buses saw it. It even flew across our field of vision a few minutes later, giving everyone a fine view. What a fantastic end to a wonderful evening’s wildlife watching!

From Salt Lake City to Jackson Hole, Wy.

Ready to leave the Hilton Garden Inn, Salt Lake City.

When I woke up the day after Rhemalda’s ‘Got Stories?’ conference, I could hardly believe it had happened at all. It had been such an intense day, with such strong and wonderful feelings, that it would surely take a while to sink in. With this in mind, we enjoyed a slow morning, taking our time over showers and breakfast. Once we had eaten our fill and completed our packing, we collected the Jeep and drove it round to the nearest gas station. Here we washed the screen clear of dead insects and bought some water for the journey and a couple of road maps. It was also here that I swear I saw Simon Reeve, the TV presenter who had recently been on BBC 2 in the UK with his ‘Indian Ocean with Simon Reeve’ programme. Dave didn’t believe me, but I’m sure it was him driving away from the gas station!

Celebrity sighting or not, we followed this car out of the gas station and on to the interstate between Salt Lake and our destination for the night, Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was easy driving and after a short while, I took over the wheel. It was nice because there was lots to look at, and even though I was driving, the road was so straight and the traffic so light that I could see the sights along the way. At one point we saw some large white birds flying in the distance, and neither of us could quite make out what they were. When we got a bit closer we were amazed to see that they were pelicans! For some reason, neither of us had expected to see pelicans wheeling in the skies close to Salt Lake City. A bit further along we began to see an unusual cloud formation approaching. There were a dozen or so flat, elliptical clouds looking as though they were balanced on top of each other. Dave took a photo of them but it didn’t really do the phenomenon justice.

Odd, elliptical clouds.

As it was nearing lunchtime, we started looking for somewhere to get a snack to stay the hunger pangs. We had seen signs for Idaho Falls and thought it sounded pretty, so that was where we aimed. I still don’t know how it happened but somehow I managed to turn off the Interstate, and we found ourselves driving through an industrial and pretty boring area which had no food outlets at all. Eventually we managed to find something approximating a town and stopped at the only place offering food that we could see. It turned out to be a very nice diner, with the added attraction of a beautifully carved wooden seat outside, featuring two horses’ heads. As horses are dear to my heart and these two were gorgeous, I simply had to take a picture. I’d love a bench like this in my garden!

Beautiful horse-head seat.

It was Fathers’ Day, and so the diner was pretty full and buzzing, but we got two very tasty sandwiches (and resisted all the delicious desserts!) before continuing our drive to Jackson Hole.
The day had been sunny and warm, but as we drove over the Teton Pass, clouds appeared in the sky. It was quite cold at the apex of the pass, and we got out of the car to feast our eyes on the view unfolding before us. We could see the valley stretching out and the mountains in the distance – quite stunning!

As we carried on over the pass and finally entered the valley of Jackson Hole, we came across the first real ‘wildlife’ (pelicans excepted) we’d seen – it was our first sighting of real, live, American Bison! Admittedly, they were enclosed by a wire fence, and I was quite surprised by this. I had thought that all the wildlife would be roaming free, but they had calves with them and were quite near the road, so we simply had to photograph them. After all, I thought, we might not get the opportunity to see any more. Had I realised what was to come, and that these animals weren't wild but were being farmed, I might not have been so excited, but still, this was my first sighting of real buffalo, and I was thrilled.

My first American Bison!

Shortly after this, we arrived at our destination – the Wildflower Inn, Jackson Hole.

  http://www.jacksonholewildflower.com/

I can thoroughly recommend this beautifully built and well appointed log cabin guesthouse. Our hosts Ken and Sherrie welcomed us, and allowed us to settle in to our room. I say room but it was really a small suite, with a comfortable sitting room, a wonderful bedroom and en suite bathroom, plus a private veranda complete with chairs. Lemonade and homemade raspberry pastries helped us feel at home. After chatting with Ken and Sherrie about our plans for our three-night stay, and looking at wonderful photographs of moose that they’d taken as the animals ate the grass on their guesthouse lawn, we took their recommendation and strolled fifteen minutes down the road to a very nice Italian restaurant. All the way we were scolded by pairs of nesting blackbirds; each pair, it seemed, having claimed the space between one electricity pole and the next. It was quite amusing to leave one angrily chattering pair behind, only to have the noise taken up by the pair in front! We also saw our first moose, even if it was only the black, lifesize cutouts that they place next to the road to persuade speeding motorists to slow down. I know they had a serious purpose, and that many moose are sadly killed each year by careless drivers, but I loved them – they even had reflective red eyes!

Encounter with a Moose

Then it was back to our lovely guesthouse for the night, ready to start our Jackson Hole and Yellowstone adventures in the morning!

CD-O ... Conference Day Has Arrived!

The day after our speedboat trip around Lake Travis, we bade a fond farewell to all our lovely friends and drove the 3 hours or so back to Houston in order to catch our flight to Salt Lake City. I felt rested and relaxed, and quite happy that I had done everything I could to prepare for my talk at the ‘Got Stories?’ reading and writing conference. The flight went well, although it was a little bumpy, and the air was clear, so we had a superb view of the mountains as we approached our destination. Dave and I had been to Salt Lake once before, a few years ago, when I accompanied him on a business trip. That time, we had visited Yosemite National Park, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, The Grand Canyon and Death Valley, also taking in the Hoover Dam and (briefly) Las Vegas. That had been the trip of a lifetime, but I had a feeling this one would be better.

The Jeep Wrangler, and my handsome driver!

On landing, we picked up our hire car, a white Jeep Wrangler. As we drove out of the airport, we were pleased to learn that we remembered the way into the city. It was admittedly pretty close, but it’s still easy to miss your way if you’re not paying attention. I think we must have passed the hotel we stayed in last time as we navigated our way to the Hilton Garden Inn. We checked in, and also checked that they had our additional room reservation for eleven days time, when we would be returning after our Yellowstone visit. All was well, and we settled into our room, where I called Emmaline to let her know we had arrived.

Around half an hour later, Emmaline called to say she and Rhett were in the hotel lobby. I couldn’t get down there quick enough to meet them, I was so excited. As I turned the corner and saw them waiting for me, I got the lovely feeling that I wasn’t meeting them in person for the first time, but instead greeting close, familiar friends. As we hugged, and I introduced them to Dave, I didn’t have time to wonder why this should be. We had only ever spoken by phone or on Skype, and although you can get to know someone a little this way, nothing beats meeting them in person. I had expected some nervousness on my part, some feelings of awkwardness, but nothing could have been farther from the truth. I felt like I had known them for years, and they seemed to feel the same. It was such a lovely surprise.

We spent quite some time discussing my books, the way our future relationship might go, the next day’s conference, and the publishing world in general. Dave was a star and asked all the technical questions I had asked him to. He has run his own business for years and has a much better business brain than I do. I could probably have asked the questions, but I doubt I’d have understood – or remembered! – the answers. Rhett and Emmaline were very happy to discuss Rhemalda Publishing and its goals, and it was all very relaxed. We ended our discussions around 9 pm, by which time Dave and I were starving! So we found ourselves an Italian restaurant and ordered some delicious pasta.

I slept well that night, which surprised me, and woke with a feeling of excitement and readiness. After breakfast, Dave and I took my posters, fliers, bookmarks and business cards, plus the notes and slides for my talk, into the conference room. Rhett and Emmaline were already there, along with their two sons, whom I had met the day before. Aldrich and Darcey helped me decorate my table with my posters and fliers, and Emmaline gave me one of the beautiful displays of flowers she had organized for each table. The room looked lovely!

My table at the conference.

And then my fellow authors began to arrive – I won't list them, you know their names. As I met each one in person, that feeling of having known these lovely people already just kept growing. Yes, we often refer to ourselves as the Rhemalda “family”, and that’s exactly what it felt like. It was exciting to have this feeling strengthened by being able to hug each person and speak face to face. The conference guests also began arriving, and soon it was time to start. Originally, I had been told I would be the third person to speak, but because Rhett decided to speak last, instead of first, my talk moved to second place. Good – less time to be nervous! I sat listening to J.S. Chancellor’s fascinating talk on Character Development, trying not to hear the loud thump of my heart. She took questions when she finished, and after each one my heart raced faster, anticipating my turn. But when it finally came, and Rhett introduced me, my nerves suddenly vanished. I felt like I was speaking to a gathering of friends, and as my slides went through – controlled by my glamorous assistant (Dave!) – and my talk progressed, I found I was enjoying it more and more. I had some great questions afterward, which were fun to answer, and then it was over. I could go and sit in the audience, and listen to the rest of the talks. They were all brilliant, and I was amazed at how well each talk related to the others. Some authors were clearly more used to public speaking than others, but even those who were nervous got their points across and acquitted themselves well. I was so proud to have been a part of it all!

The really fun part was the book signing.

The really fun part was the book signing once all the talks were over. It was a great chance to talk to book fans and aspiring writers alike. I heard and had some fascinating discussions concerning writing, and met some extremely lovely people. And even then the fun wasn’t over, as Rhett and Emmaline took us all, including our partners, out for supper at a sushi restaurant. It was just the best way to wind down and celebrate such a successful conference, and the shrimp-throwing was a hoot! Needless to say, I failed to catch mine, unless you count it hitting me in the eye!!

I think none of us wanted the day to end, but eventually it did. Dave and I took our leave, feeling we had made some lifelong friends. The sadness of having to leave them was only tempered by the anticipation of a vacation in The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park. But more of that in my next post.

The 'Got Stories?' Rhemalda Family.

(many thanks to Michelle Davidson Argyle for the photo).

A Wet Day in Austin - or - How To Take Your Mind Off Giving Your First Conference Talk.

The day following my second experimental delivery of my ‘Got Stories’ conference talk was Thursday, CD-2. We spent it with another set of friends in Austin. They live by Lake Travis, a reservoir of the Colorado River that was formed in 1942.

Lake Travis

The weather was once again hot and sunny (yes, I know the post is titled “A Wet Day” – be patient, we’ll get to that!) and we had the air-con on full blast as we drove along MoPac. Following the instructions our friends had given us, we soon reached their house. I had formed the impression that you could see the lake from where they lived, but when we got there, I found you couldn’t. That very slight disappointment was immediately dispelled by the great welcome we received, both from our friends, and their three dogs.

Once the greetings were over and the dogs had all been fussed and played with, we sat in the yard, shooting the breeze and enjoying ice-cold drinks. The conversation turned to animals, mainly because I was interested to know what kind of wild critters they got in their yard. With a sideways look, I was asked if I liked spiders. Fortunately I do – they fascinate me – and I was delighted when I was led to a portion of the front yard and introduced to the resident tarantula. Well its hole, anyway. Apparently I just missed seeing its legs disappearing down the web-lined tunnel. Disappointing! There was a shed skin lying nearby, though, which showed that the spider in question was pretty sizable. It didn’t make another appearance, much to my annoyance, probably because the dogs were there. Apparently, they enjoyed catching and crunching tarantulas!

At lunchtime, our friends took us to Poodie’s Hilltop Roadhouse. http://poodies.net/ Boy – what a place that is! Willie Nelson used to be a regular visitor, and they still have live music every day of the week. It was pretty quiet when we were there because it was lunchtime, but there was still a wonderful atmosphere. The food was delicious – best hamburger I have ever had!

Ok-now comes the “wet” bit. Our friends own a speedboat that they keep on the Lake and they had offered to take us out on it for the afternoon. I was really looking forward to this, especially as the weather was so hot. We changed into our swimmers, loaded up with cold cans, and drove up to the Lake. I was amazed to find that it was only about half full, because there hadn’t been enough rainfall for a couple of years. Where we parked the car, its roof would have been underwater had the lake been at its normal level. We took the cool box and approached the covered pontoons where the small boats were moored. I saw that they have this really neat system for storing the speedboats out of the water without actually taking them away from their moorings. At each berth, a cradle sits in the water, and the boat sits within the cradle. Big floats are attached to either side of the cradle, with an electric motor to inflate or deflate them. When you want to use the boat, you press a button and the motor extracts the air, allowing the boat to settle into the water. You then drive it out, and go whizzing away down the lake. When you return, you simply do the opposite. Very effective!

Cradle and float system for storing boats

Once the boat was safely in the water, Dave and I got in and our trip began. Lake Travis is huge and our friends gave us a high-speed tour of their end of it. There were some other boats around, and we had fun with the waves they made, bouncing the speedboat high over them. But there were also plenty of quiet places had we wanted to stop and swim. The spray from our progress was very refreshing, so no one minded when we all got wet!

Having fun on Lake Travis.

Having taken in the guided tour, we decided it was definitely time to stop and cool off in the inviting blue water. We found a good place to drop the anchor, and once the engine noise died away, it was beautifully peaceful. Cans were lined up on the back of the boat, and one by one, we slipped into the water. I was last, because although the weather was hot, I knew the water temperature wasn’t. Finally, after suffering the taunts of my delightful husband and our friends, I knew I just had to grit my teeth and jump in. I only wish I’d remembered to take my sunglasses off first!

For the next hour or so we bobbed lazily about in the water. Although we could all swim, we had lifejackets on, because that made it easier to relax in the water and enjoy a cold can. We soon discovered that we had chosen a great spot to anchor because there were zip lines on the shore. One of these came right over the water above our heads, and we had lots of fun watching the various parties of people using them. Some were really enjoying the experience, while others were clearly terrified!  

To round off a lovely day and to say ‘thank you’ to our friends, we bought them a nice supper in a Red Lobster restaurant. We did most of our packing that night too, because the next day we were driving back to Houston to catch our flight to Salt Lake City. The conference was only one more day away!

Sunset over Lake Travis.