GTNP

I've been itching to go back to Grand Teton National Park. I realized that we haven't been there since 2005. We moved to Montana in 2006 and have been to Yellowstone several times, but haven't made it further south to the Tetons. Of all the national parks we've been to, Grand Teton is my favorite.

Grand Teton has it all -- beautiful scenery, abundant wildlife, amazing lodges, lakes, rivers, and great campgrounds. Sadly, the majority of people skip GTNP on their way to Yellowstone. They might stop at a few scenic pull-outs, but many just drive through the park. Whenever we've gone, we've stayed at least 3 nights before heading into Yellowstone. Now that we're 6 hours from the West Entrance, we can go to Yellowstone a lot more. Grand Teton is further down though, so it will take us awhile longer to get there because we have to drive through Yellowstone. It's hard to drive through Yellowstone and not stop.

However, I've really been wanting to go back there. We always see moose in Grand Teton along with grizzlies, black bear, deer, elk, bison, eagles, and so forth. It's kind of funny now because we see those animals so often in Montana. Back when we lived in California, our annual trip was usually to the Teton/Yellowstone area, so seeing the wildlife was a big thrill. It still is to me and hopefully we can plan a trip there this summer.

Do you have a favorite national park?

Grizzly dreams ...

I had another one of my famous bear dreams last night. Actually, it was probably early this morning. I dream about bears a lot and it's really starting to trouble me. I know it's because we have bears in our neighborhood. They walk through the yard at night and sometimes even during the day. We haven't seen any in awhile though, but I'm sure they're out there. If not, they'll be waking up soon enough.

This dream was weird though. Usually, in my dreams I'm trying to get inside to get away from the bear, but something doesn't go right. I usually can't get the door shut or the windows locked. Last night's dream was odd because we were outside and I saw a big grizzly coming up. I yelled at everyone and then Rick ran up to take it's picture. The bear took off running. Next thing I know, I'm on this pole and the grizzly is slashing at my legs. Bizarre. Out of all the dreams I've had about bears, only 3 or 4 of them have included the bear actually touching me. Or as it was in this dream, slashing me to shreds.

I took this picture yesterday at the Fish & Wildlife Center in Kalispell. This is a grizzly, though he's dead and stuffed. They have all sorts of stuffed animals there. The boys did a little scavenger hunt trying to locate animals in the building and got a few prizes for their efforts. Of course, it's much better to see the animals when they're alive. Well, that is, unless they're in my dreams and slashing me to bits!

Nathan the Novelist

My ten-year-old, Nathan has been working on a story for the past few months. He's hand written it in a spiral notebook. He finally finished it the day before last. All of yesterday he reminded me that he was going to read it to me, which he did last night. It's called Wild Conflicts.

It's about two boys named Jack and Bob who run away from home and end up lost in Ottawa, Canada. They get ahold of a Jeep and manage to drive around the US, avoiding being caught by the police. Somehow they get involved with an army of deer, who ironically, carry MP-40 machine guns. And, as with any great story, there's a big battlescene. Finally, their mom finds them and brings them home to New York just in time for Christmas. A few parts made my laugh out loud, such as this one during the battle ...

"You idiots! You destroyed my fleet, my army, and most of all ..." Everyone paused. "Scared me for a moment!"

Such a funny kid. He's been using maps and the globe for reference as to where the kids in his story travel. He even mentions state capitals and famous landmarks. The story is 23 pages long and has 9 chapters. His writing is tiny too, so I'm kind of curious what his word count is on it. Maybe I'll type it up for him someday to find out. And of course, he wants to get it published now. Who knows -- maybe someday he will.

Happy Easter!

For those who celebrate Easter, I hope you have a wonderful day. For those who don't celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful day, as well. We're having a quiet day at home. The boys colored eggs last night and sadly, Nicole isn't home to eat them. She and I are the only ones who really like hard-boiled eggs. Too bad I can't mail her some.

I also wanted to share a picture of these beautiful sunflowers. My friend Gale sent them to help brighten my day after losing our cat, Belle. Gale lives in California and we've never met in person, but have been friends for several years through a message board. She's an absolute sweetheart. Thank you, Gale. The flowers are beautiful. Your thoughtfulness and kindness is very much appreciated.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Chomp, chomp ...

This has to be my favorite non-religious cartoon for Easter. I don't know why, but it cracks me up every time. It always makes me want a chocolate bunny too. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Big question now ...

When you eat (or the last time you ate) a chocolate bunny, do you bite the ears off first or the tail?

Thank you, also, for all of your support, comments, and prayers for me and my family this past week. Losing our kitty, Belle really sucked and our lives won't be the same without her. Thank you all for being so understanding.

Critter is in Montana!

We received Critter recently from MG Higgins and are honored to have him visiting us here in Montana. We're looking forward to taking him to Glacier National Park as well as seeing the other sites around here. In case you're wondering who Critter is ...

Critter is an interactive art piece created by Ian Sands. Critter fancies himself to be the mascot of Children's Lit Bloggers. He has already visited several children's authors, illustrators, and writers. Critter has 8 more visits to go after ours. When he returns to Christy, he will be auctioned off. The full amount of the highest bid will go to St. Jude. Here's how you can help ...

1. Follow Critter's Adventures and blog, tweet, or FB about Critter.
2. Offer your blog to host a Critter visit.
3. Suggest his FB page to others.

I took this picture Wednesday morning when we woke up to some new snow. It's mostly all melted now, but Critter thought it was cool and wanted his picture taken. He was funny because he just wanted to pose in front of the snow, not in it. Maybe he didn't want to get his little Critter feet wet. Anyway, we're looking forward to his visit and we hope he gets to see lots of Montana critters while he's here.If you'd like to host Critter on your blog, please let me know because I have to send him off soon. Stay tuned ...

My apologies ...

I am sorry to not have been around much and for not visiting your blogs recently. I hope to get back into some sort of schedule soon. We had to put Belle down on Friday and then all this week is Easter Vacation for us, so I'm even more out of my routine than normal. Rick keeps saying I need to get back on track, but it's been hard for me. I've spent most of the week lying around in my pajamas, feeling sorry for myself.

I'm usually pretty good at faking things and putting on a happy face when I need to. I noticed how hard that was yesterday when I went out. I had a doctor's appointment and when she came in and asked how I was doing, I responded as best as I could. She sat down and looked at me for a few silent moments before saying, "Are you sure?" Then when I was at the pharmacy picking up some antibiotics, several ladies were commenting about another lady walking by with her dog. They were laughing because the lady's hair matched the dog. One of them goes, "Well, you know, they say we start to look like our pets eventually." That comment made me stop and think for a minute. Then the lady at the register was as sweet as she could be to me, telling me to have a nice day and hoping I had a nice Easter, etc. I responded to everything she said, but I think I disappointed her with my lack of smile. I don't know. I'm just not feeling that yet.

It sucks not having Belle here. It really does. I think I hear her every now and then. During the last few weeks, she had been sleeping behind a chair in my bedroom. There was a pillow back there in the corner and that's where she was most comfortable. Sometimes I hear noises in the office directly below me and it sounds like it's coming from that chair. She has always been in this house with us. In fact, she's been in 5 different houses with us. It's just surreal that she's not here. Coming home sucks. She was always there to greet me. I haven't slept well because I'm so used to her sleeping on me. I haven't been eating well either. Like I said, I've mostly been lying around feeling sorry for myself. Now that I can do well.

Anyway, I apologize for being a slug and not visiting your blogs and such. I've been on Facebook a little lately and it was nice to see everyone's comments there. Today, however, sucks because it's April Fools Day. I hate this day. The Yellowstone site on FB left a comment about some bears being shot in the park over a pick-a-nick basket. It was a joke, obviously, but not a funny one. I don't know and maybe it's just better I stay offline today since I'm not finding any humor in things, more or less a reason to smile. And to top things off, a truck drove by me yesterday and kicked up a rock into my windshield, leaving a pretty good crack. Not sure if it can be fixed or if the whole thing needs to be replaced. And if that's not enough, the antibiotics I'm on make me feel sick as a dog unless I eat, which has been hard for me. In addition, my recent surgery might not have corrected the problem, so now I have to be rechecked in 3 weeks and possibly put on another medication. Hell, might as well change my name to Schleprock. Anyway, thanks for stopping by and please bear with me as I continue to wallow in self-pity ...