August 25

Ms. Dolphin wants to review the summer with her companions. This is her last day of summer travel. Jan starts work Monday with a quick run to work today.

So lets recap the summer experience

Best places to stay.
* Rafter J Ranch-Black Hills----great biking, ok pool, great Wi-Fi access. Best sites
on the hill.Want to go to Yellowstone 0n 90 because of the Stugis events in August.
* Interior KOA---great view, good pool, Wi-Fi access.
*The companions think the land at Island Park is the best place to park of
everywhere. We are quite comfortable except for several hours in the afternoon
when it gets hot. Our solar panels (cloudy afternoons meant no DVD that night)
and propane (about a pound a day) took care of our needs. We need to dump and
fill every four days when boondocking. Katz loved it cause she got off the leash.

Best food:
*Our breakfast of fresh fruit, omelet, and english muffin......love the fruit!
*Nevada City Restaurant.
*Moosewood.
*travel food of pasta salad.

Best exercise
*Fairy Falls walk at Yellowstone.
*Boardwalk at Old Faithful
*Mickelson bike trail at Black Hills.
*Biking Lone Star trail.
*Uncle Tom's trail for Lew (Who finally did it this year!)

Additional comments
* stone and concrete hurt the foot lots, asphalt not as bad...dirt is good....
boardwalk is great!
* new roads---Alternate 14---never again! Chief Joseph Highway--very pretty
but slow. Going off I80 helped distract from the very boring drive.
* Wi-Fi is very nice to have in the evenings.

August 24

Ms. Dolphin wants to get moving so we arrived at the apple cider store before it opened! Two shelter cats have a nice life at the store. Katz had a fine time hissing. The owner was a teacher at Cornell. Geophysicist who went to the Red Lodge geology field camp! Wow, what an interesting world. Talked Yellowstone and Geology, then apples and cider. He also gave us a hint to try for parking to eat lunch at Moosewood.

Ms. Dolphin managed to park near Moosewood! Jan had a great, fabulous lunch. It was Broccili Cheese Frittata. It was sooooooo good that Jan and Lew ate it all up before they thought to take a picture. Lew's taco was ok but he loved Jan's food too.

The chef said to follow the basic Frittata recipe in the New Classic Moosewood cookbook. Everyone said to go and take pictures of the recipe pages....so we did. Ms. Dolphin wanted one more day of travel so we stopped at the Bellefonte KOA with a good pool and fine Wi-Fi. E-mail indicated a quick trip to work was needed tomorrow to save database information, so tomorrow will be an early start.

August 23

Ms. Dolphin worried that the trail at Robert H. Tremain would be stone. She was right to worry but Jan managed the whole walk! Last year, she walked 1/2 mile of the trail. This year she walked 4.5 miles! Wow!!!! Ms. Dolphin's new refrigerator makes lots of ice, so the foot got a icing when the walk was done. Last year when Jan walked the Butterfly Falls trail she didn't know that stone was a problem. It was about two miles and when she was done, she was ready to crawl for days..rather than put any weight on her foot. Jan was ready to crawl the last mile of the trail today, but could actually still walk a few steps by evening! How great is that! By tomorrow, it will be better. No swimming today, even though the swimming hole is open, Jan and Lew are sure that the one bug left will find them.....

August 22

Ms. Dolphin arrives at Watkins Glen for Lew to take a morning hike up the Glen.  Jan says. "No way am I walking on stone for a long time."  Instead Ms. Dolphin takes her back to the KOA for a fine aerobic session in the KOA pool.

After lunch, Ms. Dolphin makes her way to Robert H. Tremain campground.  Ms. Dolphin is thrilled to get her underneath rinsed with creek. 

This is the third year that Ms. Dolphin has visited this lovely campground.  The swimming is closed!  Its a good thing that Jan swam this morning.  It will seem strange to be here with someone else in Cabin Number 2.  Last year that is where Adam and Trista stayed with Cordelia.  Amy and Chris stayed on Ms. Dolphin's site.  This year it is just Ms. Dolphin.....do you think Ms. Dolphin will be lonely?  Hmmmmm????

August 21

Ms. Dolphin got Katz to wake the companions early. Let’s GO! Adventures await! So off the companions went to see what today would bring.

On the way to Interstate 15, Ms. Dolphin saw an abandoned iron furnace from another time. In Pa. these can be seen where nothing but trees exist now. A different world was in existence for the people of that era. Hmmmmm, what will the future land look like for our grandchildren’s children? What do you think?

Ms. Dolphin just loves to drive among Penn’s Woods. On Route 15 the woods were everywhere for miles and miles.

OH! After stopping for fishermen traffic jams as well as elk and bison, it was interesting for Ms. Dolphin to slow down for the feathered friends of PA. Turkey, our almost national bird.

A quick lunch and Ms. Dolphin is left in the parking lot as Lew and Jan travel to Gorge of Walkins Glen. The CCC spent 7 years making this path. Over 800 stone steps

and three tunnels help people go up the gorge.

It has 17 waterfalls….

Ms. Dolphin is not happy to report that cement and stone paths HURT the foot…..Wow that two mile hike hurt! Lets go the the KOA and use Internet and do nothing tonight and maybe tomorrow….NO MORE STONE WALKS……

Since Katz had a early rising, she needed a nap while the humans went on their hike.

August 15-20

Ms. Dolphin got to see her winter home for two days and then travel to the woods. The woods is the ancestor home of the Johns clan. The land is above the Allegheny River and Ms. Dolphin gets her own spot under a pine tree when she visits. Wade (Lew’s Dad) (age 94) was sick so the companions traveled to the woods to see if they could be of any assistance in the getting better process.

Meals were cooked and the Kittanning farmer’s market visited. The Amish who go to the farmer’s market, hire a non-Amish (called English by the Amish) to take them to the market where they sell not only their wares but also produce from other parts of Pa. The companions got very good peaches from the Chambersburg Area. But how do the Amish get the peaches from Chambersburg? Hmmmmmmm……bet more “English” are involved in that process.

Walks were taken by the companions of Ms. Dolphin. Katz loves to take walks at the woods. If Jan and Lew forget her and she can get outside she runs and runs until she is with them. Katz and Jan needed a rest and a drink of water when they got the family picnic shelter (its roof was nailed down by Jan, years ago).

Sunday, Wade was much better, but Jan and Lew were both wheezing and headachy. So the plans changed and they left for New York. Ms. Dolphin was ready for more adventures.

August 14

Ms. Dolphin carries three everywhere she goes. Lew almost always drives (note the change to almost), Jan rides in the passenger seat or sometimes on the back couch. Katz rides right behind the driver’s seat. Here is what she looks like all day long while traveling.

Sometimes she moves to the couch, but not often. Katz is much like Ms. Dolphin, both complain lots when the road is rough. but otherwise valiantly travel where-ever the humans want them to go. What great companions the humans have for their adventures!

Ms. Dolphin arrived a Jerri’s to a great surprise. Christine was here and had made a wonderful dinner of chicken. How great is that? We had some wine with dinner, too.

August 13

Ms. Dolphin senses something different! Jan is driving in Nebraska! Ms. Dolphin is soooo surprised! The cruise control in Ms. Dolphin does not work correctly, so Lew has to use the gas petal through the big winds of Nebraska. His foot got sore, so Ms. Dolphin had Jan drive for over an hour and everyone lived through the experience! You can teach a old dog new tricks! But which old dog needed taught? HMMMM….Lew, Jan or Ms. Dolphin….you decide.

The winds of Nebraska act as a sail but the sails are pointed the WRONG way. Ms. Dolphin valiantly pushes through the wind, but Nebraska takes all day. It is dark when she arrives at the Riverside Resort Campground in Blair, Nebraska. The manager opens the pool for Jan, who exercises in the dark, with the stars…then just floats and watches the stars from the pool.

Early the next morning, Ms. Dolphin gets to see the highway that the Lewis and Clark Discovery Corps used. The mighty Missouri runs through the campground (name is Riverside) and the Corps camped close to this location. The waters run fast, it would have been lots of work to go upstream for those many miles. Kinda like sailing with the sails in the wrong direction!

At Fort Washakie, two days ago, if the forest fire hadn’t been raging we could have visited Sacagawea’s grave. Tomorrow we will reach Jerri’s in Illinois. Ms. Dolphin hopes the wind is blowing in the right direction for that part of the trip.

August 12

Ms. Dolphin arrived in the afternoon at Cheyenne, Wyoming. The home of her friend-Ms. Gulfstream! Ms. Dolphin so admires Ms. Gulfstreams shiny appearance. So Ms. Dolphin got to visit while her humans visited and had fun at Donna and Jim's house! First lets look at one of Donna’s flower beds. They have worked so hard to make a very nice home.

Donna and Jan have been friends since they were teenagers. Donna has many photo albums that she is redoing.

Jim and Ms. Dolphin watches the mountains and sky while Jan and Donna looked at old pictures.

Then Jan took pictures of some of the pictures! This one is a really nice picture of Jimmy, Adam and Amy playing at their house at Hubbard, Ohio.

Over the many years, we have visited each other and covered many places and homes. This is Lew and Jan's first home in the woods.

They loved the bookcases, around the window. It was made to fit only paperback books. A whole shelf was Nero Wolfe books. Another shelf was Heinlein's Sci Fi books. A librarian would remember these things. The metal furniture in these pictures is the same furniture that Wade has on his porch. Our lives were so different then, but still the same. Friendships last and so does metal furniture!

August 11

Ms. Dolphin does not want to leave her new driveway with its marvelous view. Ms. Katz enjoys a morning hiss at a visiting cat, but it is time to go.

Ms. Dolphin wants to see if Grotto is still erupting and maybe see Giant!

Breakfast was along the Madison River watching the fanatical fisherman.

Then Great Fountain had a superburst across the road and water to the grass! Ms. Dolphin was sooooo glad she did not get wet.

Why all the bikes? Must be a Giant recovery time, hmmm?

Lazy Grotto and Giant watcher.

Giant hot period is over. Now it is time to say Good-bye and leave! Ms. Dolphin leaves her parking spot at the Lower Store! Good-bye! Geyser Hill! Good-bye to our Yellowstone friends!

The Tetons have smoke in the air.

Ms. Dolphin did not stop at Falls campground, the road was tooo distrucked from construction, with a pilot vehicle….Fire in the air also. Dubois badlands.

More fire at Fort Washakiee. Lots of equipment racing to that fire.

Lander has a nice newer campground with a great view. Ms. Dolphin wants to stay.

August 10

An actually phone call back about water occurred today. Maybe with an entire summer someone will actually get water to Ms. Dolphin's driveway!

Ms. Dolphin got stuck in traffic all the way to Old Faithful. Ms. Dolphin really had troubles with the car jam for the fisherman, who yes, was actually catching a fish!

More Geysers and visits with the Millers.

Then Barry, MaryBeth and Rox appeared to visit.

A lovely day of friendship and geyser gazing in Wonderland.

Ms. Dolphin had promised Katz time for a run on the land. So off Ms. Dolphin went for her last night on the land. Tomorrow Ms. Dolphin will leave Wonderland for one more year.

August 9

Geysers and Friends,

The morning started with a lovely Pink Cone breakfast then on to Old Faithful.

The Millers arrived from Oxford bringing Ms. Dolphin some lovely notecards. She thought the dolphins were only found on roads!

Then Cynthia arrived with Alex and we had a lovely tunafish feast. What a lovely pile and we ate it all up!

Geysers were also watched until it was time to eat at West Yellowstone in the Schwarz’s new duplex with Chief Barry!

August 8

Ms. Dolphin asked for a small adventure today. Sure, lets go to Henry's Lake State Park. Its three miles from the land. It has a campground and a boat launch. We could get a year round pass for the boat launch. Our place looks different from this angle. Can you see our neighbor's house? Hmmm?

Then off to the Geyser Basin.

Ms. Dolphin saw several things so it wasn't a patrol of dead geysers.

The Trek bike was moved to the rack in antipation of the Miller's arriving. Ms. Cynthia called and she is driving to the geyser basin tomorrow with her old bike, Lew can play mechanic and change parts from one to the other.

Ms. Dolphin did not want to drive so much so we are spending the night at Madison Campground. That way Ms. Dolphin can watch Great Fountain and have an early evening. Note the many dead trees from the 1988 fire.

August 7

Ms. Dolphin needed an exhaust manifold stud. And the humans were OUT OF BREAD...so a trip to West Yellowstone was needed. After the purchases, Jan called the City of Island Park. Yesterday she had learned that Ms. Dolphin's driveway needed a permit! Well no, Fremont County construction required a permit but not the city. It was OK and Ms. Dolphin could keep her driveway.

The quest for water continues. Calls were made and people visited, but no response yet. Maybe tomorrow?

Ms. Dolphin paid close attention to humans discussion of where the cabin should go if and water is available. It was fun to figure.

Ms. Dolphin got bored and needed to go to the Targee Ranger station for maps. Yep one can walk or bike from the land to West Yellowstone. How cool is that? Using part of the old railroad grade as the path...even cooler.

Well the sun is setting and Ms. Dolphin needs to rest.

August 6

Ms. Dolphin started her day at Madison Campground. She wanted a quick drive and breakfast at Great Fountain…But Great Fountain was a big hole….so she watched White Dome with eggs and coffee. What a pleasant way to start a day!

Then on to Geyser Hill for a fine walk on the lovely boardwalk that doesn’t hurt Jan very much at all this year. Beehive might go……NO… but Plume did!

Then on to see Grotto…Ducks and Ducklings along the Firehole entertained us.

But no Grotto..

Lets see about Riverside…..No Riverside….

Lets bike to Fan and Mortar….No Fan and Mortar….

Ms. Dolphin is lonely and Katz is yelling out the window…..let’s go back to our land…

OK and we did. Met more neighbors but still NO water.

August 5

Ms. Dolphin loves waking up to the lake and mountains. Reading the listserv for the geysers is fun first thing in the morning. Oh my, T. Scott says Grotto was marathoning last night..HMMMM …..lets call the Visitor’s Center……is Grotto still in marathon? NO?

Does Ms. Dolphin want to go to the geyser basin? YES…..First lets get a campsite at Madison Campground for first thing in the morning Geyser Gazing.

On to the Geyser Basin. Lucky that Ms. Dolphin has the radio unpacked….MASTIFF to five feet!!! How fast can the bikes be put together? VERY FAST….Mastiff is surging…Bikes to your left!!! Run down the trail!!!! Watch out for the bikes…..Run down the trail!!!

Can we make it in time? YOU BET WE CAN…

August 4

Good-bye Children and Grandchild...We loved every minute with you... Ms. Dolphin parked at the office so that Jan can exercise at the KOA pool, while Lew does Internet things.

Ms. Dolphin is very anxious to take Katz to the land and spend the night.....OK Ms. Dolphin but first we do laundry and shop.....Then back to the land....A bit of catching up to do with the blog.

A nice quiet evening of listening to the news on PBS...not so quiet since it was about how everyone now believes in global warming....Ms. Dolphin had to close her ears..she doesn't like hearing people yell at television sets.

August 3

Ms. Dolphin has announced that "Its Cordelia's DAY".

Very Early in the morning, Ms. Dolphin moved to the cabin parking. Grandma went to the cabin and waited for Cordelia to wake-up.


Ms. Dolphin provided Cordelia with a fine breakfast, then through the window Cordelia saw the playground with children and announced that was the first thing she wanted to do. Grandma went with her in her sandals.....after a while Grandpa showed up with spring shoes....An hour later...chairs were provided at the playground. What a grand Cordelia day!


Cordelia spotted the minature golf course that was beside the playground. Since is was a Cordelia decides day, she decided to play golf. Of course some of the time was spent trying to find where the golf ball was.....


Grandpa cooked a fine lunch of mac and cheese and then it was off to the swimming pool.


After two hours of swimming, Ms. Dolphin was a grand place to get warm and rest. Cordelia actually slept about 20 minutes, she told Grandma that the geysers "worn her out". Then back to the playground until Mommy and Daddy arrived with pizza!

Ms. Dolphin took a trip out to the land so Trista and Cordelia could see the land. It was raining so we couldn't go out and walk around. But both agreed that it was lovely place to build a cabin.

August 2

Ms. Dolphin did not want to leave the cabin area, so all the humans took a fine walk to Observation Point. It was Adam, Trista and Cordelias's last full day at the geyser basin.

After our walk, Jan checked out of the cabins and Ms. Dolphin moved to the Lower Store. Ms. Dolphin had kept food for all of the people visiting Yellowstone. Jan and Lew packed up three nearly empty Jelly Jars and Peanut Butter and Bread and biked to Fan and Mortar for a picnic lunch. The golden-mantle squirrels were very irritating so after eatting, we moved to Riverside.

Ms. Dolphin decided to visit her new driveway.

Then on to register at the KOA. Ms. Dolphin did not get a site beside a cabin like KOA had promised, so she simply spent much of her time parked by the cabin instead of in her spot. Tomorrow would be Cordelia's day while the parents took a long hike.

August 1

Ms. Dolphin is grumpy. Today Amy and Chris leave. So it is a Grey T-Shirt day.



To cheer-up Ms. Dolphin , we went on two quick morning walks. Everyone went to the mudpots. Cordelia did not like the idea of mud up in the air.

Then Ms. Dolphin got to wait patiently for her people while they climbed the cliff opposite Midway. Wow its high!
Amy and Chris hung out at the lower store and Amy tried to wait out Beehive. They said good-bye and got in their car. OH NO, its the INDICATOR! Trista started yelling for Amy and Jan went running through the parking lot! STOP! STOP! DO THE BEEHIVE JOG! QUICK AMY! Will she make it?
YES! LOVELY BEEHIVE says GOODBYE to Amy and Chris....He got to do his first beehive jog.

July 31

Its a rest day for Ms. Dolphin. She got into the handicapped space and all set up for two more nights at the cabins. Then someone called Beehive’s Indicator and the humans ran to the hill and saw a wonderful dual of Old Faithful and Beehive. Cordelia says that Beehive Geyser is her favorite. It is Amy’s also but she wasn’t there…..So Sad……She was hiking with Adam and Chris to Shoshoni Geyser Basin.

Everyone but Ms. Dolphin, Katz and Lew went somewhere. After Beehive, Jan, Trista and Cordelia went to lake for lunch and a walk. A lovely lake day for them including Bison

and a Big Moose right by the road in the trees. Silly moose should be in the marshes, guess she doesn’t know that!

Adam walked in to Ms. Dolphin just as we were sitting to eat supper. Amy and Chris went to the Inn for a meal. Then we all had a happy drink to end another great day in Wonderland.

July 30

It’s a yellow shirt day! Remember that day Ms. Dolphin missed Giant? Hmmmm….those shirts were what was done that day. Look at all the pictures doesn’t everyone look nice? Breakfast was at Grant Village Campground, where we learned Adam had missed Giant the night before…so sad. Ms. Dolphin didn’t understand the frustration since she has never seen Giant. Its the world’s largest erupting geyser at the moment. Here is a past picture of it.

We were to go to Canyon then to Old Faithful, but we decided to switch things around and go to Grand then to Canyon.
Artist's Point is always a favorite to visit.

The hikes at Canyon were fun for everyone. Some of us did Uncle Toms Cabin Hike.
and some took the Lower Falls Brink hike.

Ms. Dolphin kept Cordelia happy while the various humans hiked.

Then to a cabin for the night. The handicap spot was taken by a rude person who did not need it. So Ms. Dolphin parked in front of the cabin. Someone complained and the Zanterra man came and tried to get Ms. Dolphin and Katz to move and park somewhere else! Oh no…find the person who should not be in the handicapped area, please….nothing was done except Ms. Dolphin did not get to sleep until very late waiting for someone to come and tell her to move….It was not a good evening for Ms. Dolphin, Katz and her humans.

July 29

An early breakfast and a quick start for a busy hiking day. Ms. Dophin had a very patient wait at Iron Bridge, while her humans went to Fairy Falls on a long hike.

Cordelia is such a grand hiker. She went to the falls and played in the water with Horsie who wanted to see the falls also. The trail is over three miles one way. What a big job for a little girl.

After the hike, the afternoon was spent visiting and seeing Great Fountain.

Ms. Dolphin then spent some time with Cynthia and Alex.
After supper, Alex met Cordelia and we all had ice cream at the Lower Store!

July 28

Ms. Dolphin drove her humans to the geyser basin where Amy and Chris saw many geysers and waited for Beehive. Sigh…Ms. Dolphin wanted to see another Beehive but didn’t that day even though she waited so patiently.

Mark Elder appeared for a visit and went to see Grand with everyone. Jan stayed in the motorhome and didn’t feel too good. But for Ms. Dolphin, it was a geyser gazing type of day. Fun for all, even the motorhome geyser gazer!

July 27

Ms. Dolphin was awakened by Ms. Cordelia who wanted a breakfast at the Tower Fall Campground. This first come, first serve campground prohibits generators and was a very quiet place to sleep. Ms. Dolphin did not like the smelly campfires, but that seems to be part of the American camping experience.

Then on to a Walk behind the Roosevelt Lodge.

Up the mountain to find Lost Lake.

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Then across the ridge to Petrified Tree. Adam did not think he had been there, but he remembered it when he saw it.
At this point, we had a communications breakdown. Lew went the road route to get to Ms. Dolphin since Jan’s foot wasn’t very happy. Adam and Trista went up over the hill at Tree to find the trail listed in their book. Jan walked the road to Roosevelt until Ms. Dolphin appeared. Then she waited at the lodge for a very hungry little hiker and her parents.

Then Ms. Dolphin drove to Old Faithful. When she pulled into the lower store parking lot she was so surprised to see the indicator going. Quick how far can we get to Beehive? Hmmm???

Then right after beehive was Grand! The children then took Cordelia to Geyser Hill while Ms. Dolpin waited for Amy and Chris to appear. After they arrived in the early evening, Chris got to meet an honorary family member, Big and Little Anemone Geyser.

July 26

Can a day get any happier? Ms. Dolphin does not think so. She looked out over her wonderful septic system and left her very own driveway to meet with Adam, Trista and Cordelia at Roosevelt. First a campsite for Ms. Dolphin was needed at Tower Campground.

Then Ms. Dolphin saw the terrific gulch that is part of Tower Falls. Wow! The columnar basalt formations near Tower Fall, the volcanic breccias of the "towers" themselves, and numerous igneous outcrops all reflect the district's volcanic history. How neat.

So after a hailstorm and a wait, in comes our family. Cordelia stayed in Ms. Dolphin and visited, while the ‘rents checked in to their cabin. Then it was off for the Yellowstone Cookout!

Ms. Dolphin did not think much of Champ and Charlie, the Percheron Draft horses who lead our wagon. She thought she should go to the cookout too. But it wasn’t a road we took across the plains to the sheltered area, but a wagon trail, so Ms. Dolphin could not go.

Cowboy coffee and Bob the Singing Cowboy met our wagon. Cordelia loved the music and went up and thanked him at the end of his singing. He let her run her finger across his guiter. The smile was worth everything.