Yellowstone and Grand Teton I-Phone Photos

The I-Phone Camera is easy to use and photos can quickly be placed on Facebook and our blog.  Take a look and give us your opinion.  Which photo do you like best?  Just click on comments at the bottom.

"Free Wiffy"

Along the way we have uncovered a few short stories from the park hosts that we thought that you would enjoy.  We are sure to find many more.

From Georgeina at Red Rock RV and Camping Resort ----A lady called in to complain that "free wiffy" was advertised and they didn't get theirs ----After explaining that it was "free wifi" the woman quickly apologized.

From Karen at Red Rock----A complaint was received about a washing machine not working and wanted her quarters back----On inspection it was determined that a clothes dryer was not meant to wash clothes.  Quite a mess to clean the soap out.

From Penni at Coulter Bay in the Grand Tetons ----A common question she receives ----When do they turn the animals out? 

Another from Penni----How can it be "dry camping"? ----When it is raining.

Do you think the Park Ranger's in Old Faithful get this question?----When is the next time that you turn the Geysers on?  Not confirmed, but I bet they have heard this one.

Scene Revisited

Back in the mid 50's a father and his four sons traveled on a much anticipated trip to Lake Vallecito, Colorado to do a little trout fishing.  They left Farmington, New Mexico early in the morning to make the trip north into Southwest Colorado.  As most young boys would do, they slept along the way while dreaming of catching "the big one".  The bragging rights that went along with the big catch was especially important to the three young brothers, but of course, the older brother and father would never miss a chance to rub it in if they were the lucky one.

Their journey took them straight to the lake marina where the father and older brother were required to purchase a fishing license.  The three younger brothers were less than the required age and a license was not needed.  When asked about the daily limit, the sales clerk informed the father that each person could keep 10 fish per day.  With the purchase of the special "red hot" salmon eggs for bait they were off to the lake in their newly rented boat.

The fish were biting like crazy and practically jumping in the boat.  In a few short hours the clan of 5 had their 50 trout and could not wait to meet mom and sister for lunch.  They quickly went to shore where they cleaned their fish and prepared them for the trip back to New Mexico.  As they passed the marina thy met a Colorado Conservation Agent and he asked to see their licenses and to check their fish.

Now this is where the story really gets interesting.  You see, the limit for children was 5 fish and not 10.  The agent quickly pointed out that law had been broken, despite what was told by the sales clerk.  The family was told to follow the agent several miles to a remote location so they could appear before a Justice of the Peace (can you say kangaroo court ?).  After declaring a fine in excess of $100 and the fact that the father did not have that amount of money, the agent decided to take the gang to the Durango jail until they could get the money.

While the father and older brother remained in jail, the 3 young boys wandered around the city of Durango while waiting for their mother to arrive.  The local authorities did not seem to be concerned about the welfare of the boys, but only about getting their money.

After paying the fine and a few hours of stress, the mother caught up with her family.  With a few hugs and kisses they left for New Mexico (without their fish) only to return the next day to catch their legal limit.

After the mother wrote a complaint letter to the Colorado Game and Fish Department an investigation was initiated and disciplinary action was taken.  The family later received a letter of apology. 

Red Rock RV and Camp Resort

We had a great stay at Red Rock RV and Camping Resort in Island Park, Idaho.  Even though the sites are cozy, their hospitality and willingness to work with you on the best available space helped make our stay very enjoyable.  While there, we met some great people and renewed an old friendship that dated back 37 years.  It was great to break bread with Charles and Cindy and to retell some old stories about Salem, Missouri.

While at Red Rock we had a chance to visit with the owners, Gordan and Karen.  They were gracious enough to tell us about a couple of incidents that they had experienced while running their business for the past 18 years.  Karen told about a lady that came in the office and complained about their washing machine.  It seems that she loaded the washing machine, put in the detergent , placed her quarters in and started the machine.  Her complaint was that while the machine did run, it did not wash the clothes very good.  Well, Karen just couldn't understand and decided to go with the woman to determine what was wrong.  It didn't take long to determine the problem.  Clothes dryers simply won't wash clothing very well.  Let the repairs begin!

Gordan told us about his closing the park in 2003 and the reasons they do not stay open past September 23rd.  In 2003, he decided to stay on a little longer to accommodate some hunters and fishermen.  While the weather report on October 1st greatly concerned him he just could't believe it could be that bad.  How could it change as quick as the report indicated.  It was a beautiful short sleeve weather day.   Even though he doubted the report he quickly went about winterizing the park.  And boy was he glad.  He woke to blowing snow that accumulated to several inches and the temperature remained 12-15 below zero for over 10 days.  So now we know the reason the deadline for closing the park is September 23rd.

Chevrolet Silverado and Mobile Suite - A Perfect Match

After reading about the new 2011 Chevrolet Silverado we decided to make a switch from our Ford 350.  With us pulling nearly 18,000 lbs. in our 2010 Mobile Suite RSSB3 5th wheel we were concerned about the pulling power and braking system on our old Ford.

We have not been disappointed!  We are now on our second week of a 7 week journey through Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.  We have tested our equipment on several mountain passes with grades up to 6%.  The power up the grade is great but the exhaust breaking system is fantastic.  By tapping the brake you can set the downward speed to a level that fits your comfort.

As far as the Mobile Suite goes, we love the quality and get compliments at each campground.  We had the side by side washer and dryer added and we highly recommend them if you are planning extended trips.  The generator has also been a great addition and will be very useful during our trip through Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.

Bottom line---The new Chevrolet Silverado and the Mobile Suite is a perfect match and we recommend each if you are planning on making a RV switch or getting into it for the first time as we did.

Camping and Sci-Fi -----A Strange Mix!

Story # 1

In our recent stay at the Denver area Chatfield State Park, I had a chance to visit with a young park ranger by the name of Doug.  I let him know that I was looking for unusual stories for the Boomer Road Runner Blog.   Since the blog is centered around camping and outdoor events what better source for these stories than from camp hosts, rangers and fellow campers.

Well Doug did not dissapoint me as he quickly told the story of a naked man that had been reported in the park.  After much caution and observation (binoculars) the rangers decided to approach him.  When questioned, he explained that he was being followed by "Tron" and that it was this day that he would be taken to a much better place.  By shaving his body and head he would be properly prepared  for  his journey.  He explained that "Tron" had been pursueing him for several weeks and had a vision that  he would be taken from Chatfield State Park.

Our "man in the buff" explained that things had not been going well as he had lost his wife, his job and also his home.  He told the rangers that the police had forced him into an interview about the matter and had shoved shotguns with long attached microphones in his face and questioned him about his pending journey with "Tron".

With a quick check of police records and a clean background the rangers thought it was best to let the man get dressed and go along the way.  It was never determined if "Tron" made a visit to the Park that day.

Story # 2

Doug also told about a second report of a man in the nude that happened around the same time that "Tron" was to appear.  A boater reported a naked man lying on a brushy shore of the lake.  After several minutes of searching by land and water the individual was found.  He was completely nude and covered in mud and twigs.  He explained that he was preparing his body in a natural way that would cleanse himself of the earthly problems that he had encountered.  His background was also checked out and no police records could be found.  The rangers also let him go as he promised to move into heavier brush and out of the view of the public.  

The Chatfield Park Rangers have been "exposed" to the unknown and may want to check out "Tron" and  other Sci-Fi characters that may visit their park in the future.

    

Need Help

Testing!

Car Prank

I am sure you receive many funny e-mails like I do and every so often one comes along that gives you a big belly laugh.  Well this is one that hit my funny bone and I thought I would share it.  Thanks Megan for helping your old dad and showing him how to capture it for our blog.

Confused Boomer

Well, today was another experience in a test to add a video to my post.  What should have been a simple procedure turned out to be a two hour failed attempt at doing so.  So I felt the need to express my frustration at my lack of knowledge in this new endeavor.  I know that I can't be alone in such frustration.  But I dare not let it get me down.  I will try again tomorrow with the help of one of my daughters and/or son-in-laws.
Before my next blog I will learn how to insert a photo and/or videos.  Yes, I know you high tech youngsters out there are snickering at my incompetence.  I also know that some of my fellow boomers feel my pain.  Just let it be known that I will not be defeated!

Pretty Dresses

The flood of April, 2011 did come at the same time of my retirement party that was to be soon followed by our move to Arizona.  Wow!  What an exciting week. 

Now how about those pretty dresses for our granddaughters.  Now you need to understand that Grandma Nancy does not miss a chance to get clothing for our beautiful girls, Madeline age 6 and Grace age 1 1/2.  With our children planning on attending the retirement party and coming to Missouri from Phoenix and Denver, grandma wanted to make sure these special little girls would look pretty for all to see.  Of course, typical grandma, it took days and days to find just the right dresses.  These dresses were placed in a special place and just waiting for the big event.  That special place just happened to be in our newly flooded home.

With the second day of the flood and the quick breaking of the window and move of furniture to higher ground (see posting below) the thought of clothing was not on our mind.  As the retirement party date of Friday, April 29 approached we began to think about our clothing for the event and of course grandma wanted to make sure the girls were dressed properly.  Since gettting our clothing out of a home that had 12 feet of water in it didn't seem to be an option, off to the stores we went.  Well,, grandma settled on her clothing in a new record time and of course a one stop shop did it for granpa.  But those granddaughters took much more time.  From store to store all I heard was that they are just not as pretty as the ones we had in our flooded home.

What else could be done but ----you guessed it.  It is what all good granpa's would do.  I secured a boat, launched it in the swift waters, boated to the house, tied it to the upper deck, waded through that shattered deck window in that chest high cold water and came out holding those great dresses.

On a final note, grandma was happy, the retirement party was great and most importantly those little grandaughters looked fabulous.

From the Flood Waters of Missouri to the High Desert of Arizona

With one week to go before our planned move to Arizona and our new retirement home the rains came.  More than 14 inches of moisture in a 7 day period is more than the White River watershed could handle.  First came the release of water from the Beaver Lake Dam and quickly followed by the record release of water from Table Rock Dam.  Living downstream on Lake Taneycomo and just 3 miles from the dam we quickly experienced the effects of 68,000 cubic feet of water per second.  With a 7:30 knock on the door from a deputy sheriff warning us that the flood gates would soon be open we quickly went into action.  The warning to evacuate without a time frame was somewhat alarming. With a few phone calls, 4 moving trucks and 14 friends and co-workers came to our rescue.  Would you believe than from 10 am until 2:30 pm we were able to move out of the lower two levels of our home.

 Only one other flood had occured in the previous 40 years and that was in 2008.  That previous record flood only reached the two lower levels in our rented home.  With quickly rising waters we all departed and only could watch as the water quickly rose to the height of the 2nd level.  Everything seemed to be in order until we were notified that the flood gates would be opened and that we could expect an additional 4 feet of water.  What?  Another 4 feet in addition to the 8 we already had?  A quick decision was made to get a boat and to break a window (the deck level doors were locked) so that we could move the 3rd level furniture to the top and final level.  Do you know how hard it is to break a thermopane window with a sledge hammer?  After several full swings it finally exploded into thousands of pieces.  With four of us making a quick move of furniture to higher ground we were able to keep everything dry.

We will post the rest of the story including rescueing the grand daughters pretty dresses that grandma just had to have for the retirement party.  Yes a retirement party in the middle of a flood and move.  More to come with photos!  Stay tuned!

2011 Lake Taneycomo Flood