Day 13, August 25, 2009: A day trip by gravel road through the mountains!!

A beautiful day was waiting me when I managed to pull my sagging hulk out of the horizontal position, take care of the morning rituals, and then enjoy some of my favorite coffee.... which most of you already know about. After the 1st Lady was ready, we walked over to Mac/Gail's home.....and soon we were packed into their Jeep Commander....and with two other trucks following us carrying four other couples/friends, we were off to the Grays River Road.........and after four plus hours we emerged on the other side of the mountains, crossed the hills on the plateau and after driving for about 15 minutes, we were in the town of Pinedale, WY.

But.....the trip through the mts., along the Grays River.....and then up and over the pass....THAT was the best part of the day!!!! It was a gorgeous day, the views from the gravel road were spectacular, and the stops we made to take pictures and relax were so enjoyable!!!!! The road was not as severe as the Falls River Road in Colorado which I drove last week....this one was in much better shape, not narrow at all, and certainly did not hang onto the side of the mts.....but, it was just as beautiful!!! I think that the 1st Lady and I found some places we would like to drive back to so that we can do some fly fishing in the next 10 days!!! And.....we WILL do that!!!!

We arrived in Pinedale about 1:30pm.....found a little restaurant.....and, OMG, it had the best burger and french fries that I have had in many moons!! And......every one of our traveling group today that had burgers agreed completely!!!!! Just a wonderful lunch, it was...it was!!

From there, some of us went to the Museum of the Mountain Men......a really well organized and detailed museum about the Mountain Men.....and those who had helped to open the west from this area of Wyoming. Lots of wonderful exhibits......and I certainly enjoyed the time we spent there. A quick stop for ice cream......and then we were all on the road.....a real highway this time.....and two hours later after going through some great canyons and following the Snake River for many miles, we arrived in Alpine...and then made the quick drive on south to the Star Valley Ranch RV Resort.

Back in TheHowserHouse, the 1st Lady and kicked back for a while.....and then I packed up the laptop and came over to Mac's to get online through their DSL hookup. Thank goodness this is possible because it would virtually impossible to get online from the resort's wifi.....everyone says it is just not reliable!! I barely have phone service with AT&T from here.....although I do get on the Edge network and can pick up email and other not so lengthy webpages.

You know......many of you have not ever been to this part of Wyoming, I'm certain. Everyone goes to Yellowstone/Teton Nationial Parks....which is not too far north of here.....but very view people know of this beautiful Star Valley area which is southwest of Jackson Hole...about 50 miles. It is just a lovely area....sooooo clean, sooooo green, sooooo many amazing views of the mountains on both sides of the valley. It is definitely a growing area......but, because of the natural beauty, it is not an inexpensive area in which to reside. Property values are HIGH.....VERY HIGH, but when you see this place, you can certainly understand why.

We are enjoying thoroughly our time with Mac/Gail.....and with their friends, some of whom we have met when we spent about 5 weeks in Casa Grande, AZ, back in the winter/spring of 2007. It is really soooo good to see them again.......and, we do want to return to Arizona for a part of a winter very soon. We all have sooooo much fun, soooo many laughs and good times together!!!!!!

Mac and I have a "reservation" for a six hour guided fishing trip along the Salt River for this coming Saturday!!!!! This should be great fun......and I am really looking forward to doing this. Everything is furnished, including lunch....and our guide has been taking fishermen along the Salt River for 20 years!! WOW........a great day is already anticipated!!!!!!

And sooooo, another day of our journey to the west for this late summer/early fall period!!! We are having such an incredible time.......such a fabulous way to enjoy our retirement!!! I just can't talk about it enough.........there is just nothing like this type of lifestyle!!! Soooo relaxing......sooooo fun.......sooooo full of unique experiences. If you are still working.....if you enjoy getting away from home and those day to day responsibilities....then consider, seriously, taking up this RV lifestyle, even if it is not full time, like the 1st Lady and myself. We have kept our home as a base to return to whenever we need to do so......but, the freedom to move around the North American continent when we please. In fact, we have just this morning made reservations for next year's International Cedar Creek RV Owners Club rally in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, which is right on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Can hardly wait to return to that beautiful part of southern Canada!!!!!!!

As you can well imagine.....

LIFE IS JUST INCREDIBLY GREAT!!!!!!!.......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!