A DEER LODGE SNOW DAY!!

April 28, 2009

Today we are staying warm and cozy in our little condo on wheels. It is really snowing hard-and very cold-a high of 28 is what we will get today. We are smart(really) and have planned ahead. yesterday on the way home from our tours-we stopped at the neighborhood Safeway. I am making beef stew in the crock pot-homemade biscuits(we hope) and chocolate chip cookies. ok, it is all a play to keep the house warm-but Mike thinks I am being very domestic-it is all good!
We have this little park almost to ourselves, it is very quiet and pretty in the white blanket that covers all. Mike has decided to rearrange some furniture, I am happy catching up on a suspense novel I have started. We know within a week we will be doing work again-whatever that may entail! We are excited to get to Whitefish, but for now-we are pretty happy in our little happy house. Ginger and I got to go play a bit in the snow-she really seems to like this weather! Mike took some pics of the icicles on the house and the truck will need a bath soon. Tomorrow will be more of the same-by Thursday a thaw is in the forecast. This has been a great place to spend some time and relax and get ready for what is to come!

THE OLD MONTANA PRISON

April 27,2009

Here we are at the old Montana Prison in Deer Lodge. Talk about incentive to stay nice and honest! This prison was started in 1896. The first cell house was divided into two sections by a two-foot thick wall. the smaller section held up to 32 youths, the larger section could hold up to 258 men. the cell house had no running water or sewer facilities. each cell had two buckets. one for sewage, one for water-as I said-you needed a reason to be nice? The prison underwent many revision and expansions over the years. During the 1893 depression,warden frank Conley instituted a program of prison labor for the necessary expansions, including the great rock wall, maximum security building, and the theatre.Prison crews built 500 miles of road at Flathead Lake,MacDonald Pass, and most of the roads around Deer Lodge. They even built much of Montana State hospital and Montana Tuberculosis sanitarium. Conley leased and owned 11 ranches-all were totally or partly run by prison inmates.In 1916, 50% of all prison inmates lived and worked outside prison walls. While the prisoners were in the prison, they did make some beautiful crafts-and a lot of them are on exhibit there. Beautiful frames woven from cigarette packs-horsehair items and more. also a lot of contraband was on display-really interesting!
While we did enjoy and appreciate all of the exhibits of the prison-it was a bit spooky and creepy-personally, I liked the ranch waaay better!!-and no, there were no porcupine sightings-but the old theatre is full of pigeons-eek!

MUCH TO SEE IN DEER LODGE-WHO KNEW?

April 27, 2009

Today we have decided to check out the town of deer Lodge,Montana-and its vast history. It is a decent day-no snow-yet,but dark and stormy looking. First on the list is the Grant-Kohrs Ranch. Deer Lodge was named by the Indians-travelling from the Bitterroot Vally to West Yellowstone to hunt the Buffalo. John Grant was on of the immigrants attracted to the are with news of gold mining, timber and other business opportunities. He was known as a cattle baron, and drove 400 head of cattle from Deer Lodge to the sacramento valley. By the 1880's, Conrad Kohrs was shipping 10,000 head of cattle annually by railroad to the stockyards in Chicago. He and Grant met, and soon Grant sold Kohrs his ranch in Deer Lodge. Grant moved to Carmen,Manitoba Canada-leaving behind a great legacy of stock-raising in the sheltered and grassy valleys of southwest Montana. Conrad Kohrs began is empire in Deer Lodge valley. He eventually acquired 30,000 acres at the home ranch-he raised fine breeding stock-horses and cattle. He and Theodore Roosevelt worked together to form the Montana stock-growers assoc. in 1884. He (Kohrs) and his half-brother even helped to draft the constitution that led to statehood. Conrad died in 1920, his grandson,Conrad Warren became owner of the ranch in 1940.He was responsible for keeping everything at the ranch-the ranch house and furnishings exactly as they were when he took over. Today when we toured the ranch-it is as if nothing has changed. All of the buildings have been preserved-the numerous carts and buggies all in pristine shape. The ranch house interior is as clean and perfect as it was in the 20's. Today it is still a working ranch to some degree-in 1977 it was opened to the public and declared a National Historic site. Summer is the time to see the working demonstrations at the ranch. Our guide,Lyndel, is the resident blacksmith! We truly learned a lot and had a great time touring this ranch-oh, and while walking out, I saw a huge porcupine! now, on to the prison-no porcupines there,I bet!

A SNOW DAY IN DEER LODGE

April 26, 2009

This morning we woke up to snow! We had a bit last night when we went to bed-but this morning it is everywhere and so pretty-oh, and so cold too! There is just something magical about seeing those flakes falling from heaven-ok, when you have lived in So. Cal all of your life-it is magical! We are glad that we decided yesterday to spend a couple of days here-not a good morning to be on the road with your house behind you! Mike took Ginger out to do her business a few minutes ago-no, not what she wants at all-she was so ready to come back and sit by the fireplace.
We were up early this morning-'cause its snowing-and we have to watch! The weather forecast is calling for more this afternoon and tonight. Tomorrow we will go explore the town a bit-there is an old prison, and a doll and antique toy museum here-and a few more things too-not a bad place to be for a couple of days. We are less than a day away from Whitefish-let it snow! If you double click on the pic that looks like grey sky-you might see what we think are a flock of geese.

GOD WILLING, AND THE CREEK DON'T RISE....

April 25, 2009

God willing, and the creek don't rise-We'll be in Montana before the next sunrise!
Ok, so you all know-that is the first line of a new song Mike and Kenny will be co-writing-anyone who has suggestions for more lines or verses please feel free to post them on the comments page of this blog!
So, we left Idaho Falls this morning-heading for Deer Lodge Montana. We said goodbye to our new friends Ercel and Pam-they will be working in Yellowstone this summer. They have a beautiful 1960's era Airstream- Ercel totally refurbished the interior-it is sexy and sleek inside. The outside is as shiny as can be-really beautiful!
Note to Nolan and Kris: Ercel and Pam will be working at Fishing Bridge camp at Yellowstone-if you are planning to go there-you better look them up and say "hey".
We are camping at Indian Creek campground-this is the first place we have stayed at twice in Montana. It is very cold and we are expecting snow tonight-lets hope!!
The pic is of weird "neon" palm trees at the gas station across from our camp. I know I took pics of them last year-but they did not make it to the blog.
I called Nolan and Kris and Rylie and taylor last night-they have a new family member-"Hank" a baby Guinea pig-too cute! I learned that Nolan has some chickens too! We need to get them a small farm somewhere! The girls are growing up so fast-and when they call me "Ginger Gramma" I just melt! We cannot wait to see them this summer in Whitefish!

THE IDAHO FALLS-FALLS, AND MORE

April 23. 2009

Here are pics of the Idaho Falls-falls in town, and a real potato farm! Also Ginger in the snow-she has not been on the blog for awhile! Enjoy!

MESA FALLS,IDAHO FALLS AND POTATOES FOR MILES!

April 23, 2009

So we set out to find these mesa falls-heading toward Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons Mountain Range,it is hard to figure out just where these falls could be-it is pretty flat,except for the mountains in the distance. We just trusted that they would be there, and drove about 45 minutes thru quite a few tiny towns on the way. We went thru a town named RIGBY-a sign erected touts that the town was the birthplace of the television-hard to believe, but hey the sign says it, so it must be true! On we went,soon we see field after field of potatoes-we are in the potato state, so this makes sense. The wonderful thing is the view of the Grand Tetons in the distance. The range is absolutely majestic-still covered in snow-really something to see. The day is rather cloudy and windy and cold-but it is a perfect day to see these mountains. These farmers have quite a backdrop to enjoy as they are out harvesting and planting each day. We keep traveling,finally asking for directions to the falls.(yes, real men DO ask for directions sometimes!) We are told just go down main street and keep going. It is still quite flat,still mainly potato fields and a very small town-but soon we are headed up a mountain,there is a bit of snow-and pine trees and aspens that are still very bare. Soon, more snow-it is getting colder, and so very pretty. A few more miles, we stop to see a scenic overlook-there are those beautiful Tetons-way off in the distance,way down below is the river and it is really swift and noisy! We head up a bit further-finally-the sign that says "mesa falls" the road has been plowed-but to get to view the falls, we have to walk thru pretty deep snow-I sank a few times up to my knees-Mike thought that was funny-good thing I had my boots on! We are glad we left Ginger in the truck til we had investigated a bit more! Wow! the drive and the walk in snow was so worth it-the falls are amazing! The view is gorgeous-the wind is really whipping-it is cold as can be-but the sight is fabulous. We are very glad we came here! Just when we thought it was spring-it was winter again! We went back to the car-Ginger was wanting to take a peak outside. She was not so thrilled with this snow-like her Mom-her legs were too short to walk well in the stuff!
Back down the hill we went-and again were amazed how much the scenery could change in a few short miles-from Snow and pines to potatoes. We stopped and had a nice lunch and back to camp we went. we decided we had seen the best falls here-so would not hunt for the "Idaho Falls Falls"-but on the way home,decided to stop at a grocery-ended up going thru the town of Idaho Falls-and at a corner downtown-there they were-the falls! Really quite wonderful to have falls in the middle of town. There are walking paths here-would make for a great morning walk! We were glad to have seen ALL of the falls here-this is a great place to visit!
All day long we waited for rain, or snow-or both-got neither! Tomorrow is a "down day"-rain is again in the forecast-we will hope for some! The pics are of the mesa falls, and the view of the Grand Tetons from the mesa falls recreation area overlook.

YES VIRGINIA,THERE IS AN IDAHO FALLS!

April 23, 2009
On our way here, we found that there is also a VIRGINIA in IDAHO! Who knew!
Here we are in Idaho falls, Idaho. We are at a nice RV park-The Snake River RV Park and campground. When checking in at the office I asked if there was truly a falls here-and was told yes,and even better is a place called Mesa falls. Today we will head toward Yellowstone and find them. the mountain scene was our view from a rest stop shortly after we crossed the border from Utah to Idaho

BYE BYE SALT LAKE CITY

April 22, 2009

This morning we packed up and headed out of salt lake. We had a great time and saw and learned a lot here. We met some great new friends,Dwayne and Debbie-and their dog Dusty. ginger and Dusty had a good time chasing the ball together. We Hope we will see them on the road again one day-or maybe in Orcas Island when we get there sometime! We are on our way to Idaho falls, Idaho today. We will miss the park in Salt lake-here are pics of the pretty tulips in one of the flower beds, and Debbie and Dusty. Dwayne, hope I spelled your name correctly!

JUST A FEW MORE!!!

I know "they" say you can't go home again-but I really just did!
Mum, is this fun or what?!

MORE VIEWS OF MILLSTREAM LANE!

THE HOUSE ON MILLSTREAM LANE

April 18 2009

Ok, now that we are all sure that the "great Salt Lake" does truly exist-off we go to Millstream Lane. I don't know why it is, but I have had a mental picture of this house-well, not really the house-but the backyard-with the stream running through it-forever! I have heard stories of this place from my parents-and it has always fascinated me. I learned that my favorite doll-Lula Belle was told to have been sent down the stream by David-and that I cried and cried over her. David did not send Lula Belle down stream-and did eventually go and get her from wherever she was hidden,thank goodness! Today she is still my favorite doll-and she looks good! Mom took her to a dolly hospital years ago and had her rusted eyes replaced and a new wig,and shoes. Mom made her a beautiful new outfit that she proudly wears today! so, with that said-I have just always wanted to see the place where Lula Belle almost lost her life-and where apparently we all really enjoyed living!
Mom always told stories of their great neighbors-Margaret and Dale Bain. I heard how Mrs. Bain took me trick-or-treating in my red snowsuit. There were lots of stories of this place, and these great neighbors. When Mike and I found out we would be going thru salt Lake City on our way to Montana-I just hoped we could go to see Millstream Lane. When I told Mom of our plan-she looked up the street address for the Bains-and found out they still lived there! When we pulled up on the street in front of the Bains house, I was not sure what would happen. well, when Margaret Bain opened the door, and I told her who I was, she just got a big smile on her face and welcomed Mike and I inside their home. Next we met Dale, her husband-and their cute little dog Drew. While Margaret did not really recall the trick-or -treating episode-she did tell us of how she took their daughter,Susan, and David to a taping of Romper Room! I don't remember hearing this story from Mom-Dave, do remember going to Romper Room with Susan? It was just a pleasure to meet this cute couple-I can see now why Mom always said she was sad to leave Millstream lane! After we talked a bit, Margaret asked if we would have room for a jar of her homemade blueberry jam-she was in the process of making strawberry and pineapple jam, and the house smelled so good!
Dale said he would walk us across the street so I could finally see that backyard! The neighbors are friends and also not home-so we had a chance to go see that stream!
The house is cute,the street really pretty. The backyard is amazing! there was that famous stream-and it was running quite swiftly on this day. The owners are obviously quite talented gardeners-this was a very beautiful place-one could just imagine spending many lazy days enjoying the private surroundings. The new owners had purchased the property on the other side of the stream-making a great place for entertaining. We heard from Dale that the husband is a zoology professor at the university. They have made a beautiful place to enjoy-and with all of the spring flowers blooming-work pretty hard too! What a treat it was, and we really thank Dale for the personal tour! I now have real pictures in my head-and on my computer too!
It was a very special day-and so very special to finally meet the Bains. We really want to say "thank you" for your hospitality!! the pictures are of Margaret and Dale Bain in front of their home-with their beautiful garden in background, the front of "our old house" on Millstream lane, and a look at the famous "backyard" as it is today. more pictures to follow!

FINALLY I GET TO SEE MILLSTREAM LANE!

April 18 2009

Today is another beautiful day in Utah. We have two adventures planned-the first is to see if "the great salt lake" actually does exist. The second,and the one I am most excited about-I get to go see Millstream Lane-and the house where Mom and Dad and Dave and I lived when I was just two or three years old.
We start out and DO find the great salt lake. It is huge! not what I would call a beautiful lake, but it is very large, and seems to go on forever! there is a marina with lots and lots of sailboats-there are a few on the water-and a few people getting ready to go out. It is a bit chilly and breezy-I guess a perfect day for a sail! we learn that 400,000 tons of salt are extracted from the lake per year-that's a lot of salt! The shoreline varies by 15 miles by season,tat the Dead sea is the only body of water saltier than Salt Lake.Swimmers cannot sink in this water-that is a good thing! there are many brine shrimp that live in the lake-that's about it.
So now YOU know too! Now, on to our next adventure!

A FEW MORE TEMPLE SQUARE MEMORIES

April 17 2009

I could not end the day without some more of the pictures from our tour of temple Square! Here are my photos of the Lion House, the inside of the Tabernacle and that fabulous organ. Just because I know you will want to know-the organ was originally constructed in the 1860's,and has been rebuilt and enlarged throughout the years.
It pipes total 11,623!! also-just one more look at those flowers!

A DAY EXPLORING TEMPLE SQUARE

April 17,2009

Hooray! we finally have a pretty day! As much as we loved the snow-and even the rain-we are coming down with "cabin fever" and are ready to do some exploring!
We are going to visit Temple Square today. I am looking forward to seeing the flower gardens I have heard about-I hope the snow and rain did not ruin them!
Temple Square is just a little way down the road-on the way we can see the beautiful snow capped mountains-and the capitol building-really quite majestic. 35 acres downtown Salt Lake City hold temple Square. This is where you can learn anything about the Mormon religion,its history,and anything else one might want to know about.
The entrance to the square is impressive-and yes, there are beautiful spring flowers-everywhere! Tulips of all colors-pansies,and other spring bulbs that I could not grow in calif.Cherry blossoms everywhere-the smell is intoxicating in spots.
We are greeted by "sisters" every few minutes to see if we have questions or want to take a tour. They are all young girls,and are eager to be of assistance. We explain that we just want to take a self guided tour, and that is fine with them. First we come to the Tabernacle. there will be an organ recital in a few minutes, so we wait. Soon we can go in, and we were able to just take a look at the beautiful room-and the magnificent organ-all lit up. We don't want to stay the full half hour to hear all of the music-as neither one of us is really a huge fan of organ music-but we did hear just enough to get the feel for this wonderful, and powerful instrument.
We strolled around the other buildings,gazed up at the towering temple-amazed at how much work it must have been to construct. Mormon pioneers began the construction in 1853 and dedicated it in 1893. With its six towers topped by finial spires, it is truly an amazing thing to see. It is recognized by Latter-day Saints throughout the world. tours are not allowed-but we did see several weddings taking place while there-I laughed when I saw the huge double doors-Mum had told me when I was little she turned around and I was trying to close those doors-I did not try to open them today!
We walked around the Joseph Smith memorial building-this is where one can look up information on their ancestors. It is a beautiful, modern and sleek facility. There are banks of computers set up, and also nice sitting areas for relaxing. The setting is quite nice. On of our neighbors in the park here spent every day in the library looking up family history. Next we walked around the backside of the square to see the two historic homes of Brigham Young. The first is the Lyon House. This was originally a residence for young-now it is The Pantry-a restaurant-so we had lunch!
It was built in 1856. The other is the Beehive House,built in 1854. This home served as the official home of Brigham Young-and there is a beehive on the very top of the home-symbolizing industry.Here we took a tour led by two "sisters", charming girls-one from Michigan, the other from Israel. The beginning of the tour was a brief history of the pioneers coming to the salt lake Valley-of Brigham Young and his family. The sisters also wanted us to be clear that plural marriages are not part of their religion today-and not condoned by the church. We learned a lot about how their furnishing were handmade from the handcarts and wagons the pioneers had arrived in. Mostly white pine was used-the furniture was quite ornate and beautiful.
After the tour, the sisters thanked us for our time-and we left really feeling like we had learned quite a bit! We strolled through the rest of the square enjoying the beautiful rain-less day and those wonderful gardens. the pictures are of the capitol building,the temple, and some of the spring flowers

A VERY RAINY SALT LAKE CITY

April 14, 2009

We left Cedar City this morning and are now in a very rainy Salt Lake City.
We are in a pretty KOA park and have decided to spend the week here. The city has a lot to see, and it is due to snow on Thursday-so we might as well stay put right here! It is still snowing in Whitefish-and the park there is still under snow-so we are waiting for a good thaw to happen! I was looking out the back window yesterday-and I could not believe my eyes! I thought for a minute that Ken (from Lake Elsinore)
had moved to Salt Lake City! well, it is sadly not Ken, but a look-a-like golf cart-what we like to affectionately call "the Pope mobile"-when it is wearing its rain coat)We wish it had been Ken!

April 15, 2009

It is still raining-we are happy to be not on the road today! tomorrow we may get snow( I hope so-but will NOT be doing my snow dance)
Today is my Aunt Jan's birthday-Happy Birthday Auntie Jan!!