The Big Bang Theory

Whoa!!  What is that???!!!  Could it be?...... a random man fishing in...... YELLOWSTONE!!!!!!  Huzzah!!!!!  I did indeed return to my good ol' Montana home last month to bask in the splendour of mountains, wildlife, and rivers, and veg around my parents' house eating all of their food.  Ahh, that's the good life.  Ya.

 All right, it appears as though I've messed up the order of pics whilst trying to place text and Blogger will not let me correct....  (Does anybody else have this kind of problem????  Blogger hates me.)  Anyway..... It's The Parents!!  My mother has opted to keep her shoes on for this trip along the Old Faithful boardwalks.... ;)

Yay!!  We have returned to the land of thermal features!!!!   We need only to flee the boardwalks and head into the surrounding forests to find our own hidden hot pools.... Who knows what's beyond those trees.... 

Old Faithful Inn!!  And another hot pool!!  It doesn't get any better.

And, of course, no online photo journal of Yellowstone would be complete without a shot of Old Faithful.  As we waited for the eruption (or is it "explosion"?!?!  That's right, everyone.... we are chillin' in the Immediate Kill Zone.  Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnn....), we listened to a riveting explanation of Yellowstone's geothermal history delivered by a most attractive park ranger.  O, the people you shall meet within the park....

 

What up, Pete?!  I was shluffing out cabin rooms in Canyon the last time I saw you!  Time to load up the vacuum! 

I have perhaps viewed the sun in Norris Geyser Basin once.... Every other single time the area has been veiled in a heavy fog.... a fog that does not persist throughout the surrounding areas of the basin.... what up with that....

The sun was perfectly visible just 30 minutes later at Artist Point.  Such a thrilling sight!!  Now let's simply jump the canyon and settle ourselves in to watch people from the hidden confines of The Cave!!

We wrapped up the second day of our Yellowstone Trip in Mammoth.  As the hot park ranger at Old Faithful reminded us, the structures of Mammoth are composed of travertine, which grows much more quickly than deposits of silica.   Aww yeah.

I am now back in Kentucky.  Sad day.  However, I feel that my next visit to the park (which shall include backcountry wanderings.... we're off to finally find Tomato Soup!!) will take place sooner rather than later.  Hurray!!

Cheers.

Soap Bears Unite!! It's a Fairyland Anniversary!!

Happy 5-year Fairyland Anniversary, Zack and Tim!!!!  It was 5 years ago today, on a Friday the 13th, that Expedition ManBearPig descended into Fairyland Basin, bringing with them (I believe) the first-ever Soap Bear.  Huzzah!!!!!  We spent a most lovely afternoon among the geothermal features, swimming in the river and marvelling at the unparalleled beauty of our surroundings.  Here's an interesting tidbit (which readers would know if I'd ever finished my Fairyland Blog.... fail).... We ran out of water on our way back to camp that evening and drank from what we later suspected to be thermal run-off.  Yummmmm, sketchy water never tasted so good.... We consumed copious amounts of charcoal water upon our return to Canyon the following day in an attempt to ward off giardia.  Ahhhh, life in Yellowstone.... I do so miss it.

Speaking of which.... I make my triumphant return to the most brilliant place in the world this September!!!!  That's right.... You'll find me in various Montana/Wyoming hot spots in a mere two months, and a weekend shall be devoted to Yellowstone National Park.  HUZZAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't think I could be more excited.... Smith has been informed that I most likely shall not return to Kentucky....  It is time, brothers!!

Again, Happy Fairyland Anniversary!!!!!!!  I canNOT wait to be back in the park!!!!!!!.....

Cheers.

An End to the Toastings of Poe

Alas, it would seem as though the Poe Toaster has gone a third year without leaving roses and a half-empty bottle of cognac.... (click cognac for the link....) :(

Happy birthday, Edgar Allan Poe!

Honey Honey

I was finally gonna upload various end o' summer shots but Blogger is being pissy and rejected my requests to post the pics. I do believe Fate has decreed that on the days when I am not too stupid/lazy to retrieve pictures from the camera, Blogger will always fail to cooperate. Ah well.

So.... America's. Next. Top. Model. Thank god Nigel dispensed with the hair piece early on.... that was kinda not okay. Bald is Nigel's brand, as we obsessed viewers can attest. Anyway.... I'm not really enjoying this season. The girls don't really seem to give a sh** since most of them have actual careers to return to after they flunk out of Top Model again. Lack of energy does not make for quality smut television.

Speaking of television.... my new favorite show is the Biggest Loser. O Bob Harper, how I love you. I have acquired several workout videos featuring Bob and now maintain a vigorous daily weight lifting regimen. My new goal is to get incredibly fit, then go strut about Orange County till I'm discovered and asked to appear on one of Bob's tapes with him. You better believe it's gonna happen.

That's all I've got.

Cheers.

Killin' Time at Meijer

Who amongst my clever readers can tell me what a Meijer is?? And who amongst my most cleverest readers can tell me how the name is pronounced?! (*Hint: It is NOT Major.) From my vantage point at the bank counter overlooking the U-Scan area, it appears as though Self-Checkout is not running as smoothly as usual.... Stupid customers plus incompetent cashiers=long wait times. O joy. Remedial U-Scan classes are in order....

What else, what else.... I am about to celebrate an entire month of working out 4-5 times a week! If you've looked closely at pictures I've posted throughout the summer months, I appear to be getting a bit soft around the edges.... one might even go so far as to say that I've put on weight. GASP!!!!! I refuse to become a statistic! I will not be a complacent married person! I will divorce Smith and run 800 miles a day if that's what it takes to regain my former figure!!!!!!!! HUZZAH!!!!!

Okay. Or maybe I'll just stop eating late at night and keep going to the gym. 5 lbs in 1 month O Blog! Can you deal with that?!

Cheers.

Keep Austin Weird

Or the armadillos will flee. True fact.

Exciting news, Readers! Cold weather has finally arrived in Lexington!!! (And yeah, negative people out there, it IS supposed to reach 81 next Tuesday, but I don't want to hear it. Allow me this short time to revel in the rain and cold.) It has rained and stayed in the low to mid 60s for three days now!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!! I do tire of endless summer days. My poor herbs died weeks ago, due to excessive heat.... and the fact that I kind of stopped watering them.... really shouldn't have children.... and my flowers died too, but I think that may have been due to the arrival of a very large and very creepy bug that took up residence under the soil. BLEGH, it ran mad circles around the pot when I'd water the flowers.... and then, horror of true horrors, I found it a few weeks later in my living room. Needless to say, I could not eat for days. Kentucky has the creepiest assortment of big a** bugs that I've ever seen in my life.

Anyway, onward to happier topics! I'd like to give a shout out to my brother, who recently began his college adventures at the University of New Mexico. The Boy joined the Navy ROTC and I will now share exclusive pics with y'all. Looking sharp, Boy! Keep that iron handy....



Cheers.

Wild and Wonderful West Virginia

Oh. My. God. Who the hell is that??!! EVA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's right!!!! Two weeks ago I drove to The Plains, Virginia, to see EVA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and begin our excellent West Virginia adventure. The first night we took the party to the house of her fiance's parents (who were nice enough to accommodate me, a perfect stranger, with absolutely no notice.... West Virginia hospitality at its finest!) The next morning we performed the first of several grueling hikes, and reached the top of a mountain near their house. The hike was totally worth it, however, as it presented us with the above view upon its conclusion. The scenery of West Virginia is best experienced at great heights, I think, and perhaps you will agree after seeing more pictures of our travels.... Our Massive Mountain Death Hikes also gave me the exercise I so desperately needed.... I spent far too much time this past year shluffin' about in the starbucks kitchen and not enough time out in the wild blue yonders....
The above picture is another view from the same mountain top and shows the rocks that an industrious group of guys proposed to ropel from. They have guts.... I would sooner confront a black bear than drop myself from those heights.... maybe....

Eva looks absolutely no different than she did from Yellowstone. It was incredibly surreal to see her again after FOUR years. The last time we met was outside of the Canyon employee dining room (EDR for you Yellowstoners). Ha, sad day. Time goes by so freaking fast!!This map shows the area of Dolly Sods, where we spent the second night camping 300 yards (or was it feet....) from the roadside, off of one of the trails. 300 yards (or perhaps it was feet....) may seem like a scant distance from the road.... until you're consumed in darkness and every little night sound can be attributed to a massive black bear roaming about your tent. However, like the hardened Yellowstone backcountry hikers that we are, we laughed in the face of the imaginary black bear!.... and spent the night in terrified sleeplessness. Ah well.
Dolly Sods is an extremely beautiful wilderness area though, as evidenced by the above pictures taken from a scenic overlook. Look at all of the rocks!! And the most lovely field!! And the printed notice that warns of highly explosive bombs still present in the area! And the stunning mount-- Wait. What? Hmm.... black bears and bombs.... Bring it.
Here I sit ensconced in my backcountry rock throne, further down a trail in the Dolly Sods area. Huzzah! And thank you to all of the backcountry pioneers who made the Backcountry Rock Court possible.
Following our Dolly Sods adventures, we hiked to the top of nearby Seneca Rocks, which is shown in the above picture. Upon reaching the top of the rocks, we were confronted with this Sign of Doom.... Alas! What would hardened Yellowstone backcountry hikers do?!Bypass the sign of course! As if there was any question! Huzzah!! Another excellent West Virginia view!! (The very first picture of this post was also taken from the top of Seneca Rocks past the Doom Sign).
Blogger is starting to flip out due to the large quantities of photos I have uploaded.... hopefully it consents to publish this post.... I shall wrap it up now.... I don't think we could have asked for a more brilliant time to catch up and do the things that we both enjoyed in Yellowstone. Here's to sisters who continue to share excellent experiences! We will see each other next in September, when Eva and Daniel get married! Huzzah!!