Friday, July 14, 2017

Surprise Yellowstone Adventure

After being in and out of work with loosing my voice through June, I decided to see the doctor just to get things checked out. Well she took me out of work for about a week so I could rest my voice. So I decided with a week out of work to go heal myself with wildflowers, wildlife, waterfalls, and my family in Yellowstone. Since mom and dad are hosting there this summer, I decided to go spend a couple days with them. 

On the first day we drove to Cody to have their camper serviced. On the way out we saw a grizzly and cub. We dropped the camper off and had breakfast at a dinner in town. We did their grocery shopping for the next couple of weeks at the Walmart. I visited a cute little local bookstore for a couple of Yellowstone field guides. The camper was fixed early, so we got back to the campground and set up early enough to go wildlife viewing. 

We spent the next few days doing tourist things around the park. It just so happened my parents had all 3 days that I was visiting off of work. We covered every inch of the parks road system in those 3 days. We watched geysers erupt, waterfalls dropping hundreds of feet, and wildflowers blooming everywhere. We had picnics on the shore of Yellowstone lake, and watched bears, bison, and elk for hours. Over those 3 days we drove almost 500 miles around the park.

It was great to get out of Ketchikan for a few days and to get to spend some time with my parents. My voice didn't completely heal, but it was well worth the trip. Here are some pictures of the Never Ending Adventure and the Ramblin' Ruis's weekend in Yellowstone.




Yellow-Bellied Marmot 


Elk

Sunset over the Yellowstone River

Beehive Geyser

Arch at the North Entrance  

 


Pronghorn

Trumpeter Swans

Lower Yellowstone Falls

Dad and I at Yellowstone Falls

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Yellowstone Lake

Lupine


Baby grizzly playing among the wildflowers

Swimming bison called submarines 


Little baby bison

Grizzly bear and Bison in the valley

Sandhill Cranes

Old Faithful

Bear watching


Old Faithful


The Junior Rough Rider Teddy 
My 4 days in Yellowstone were a much needed adventure! But until October when the Never Ending Adventure and Ramblin' Ruis's meet up in Utah, I said goodbye to my parents for a few months. And with that I will leave you with this posts quote, from none other than Teddy Roosevelt. 

There are no worlds that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy, and its charm.




Wednesday, July 12, 2017

May and June...

This month has been filled with work, work, and more work. The beginning of May was filled with training. Then on the first Friday in May our busiest day of the season happened with 7 cruise ships and about 13,000 people visiting Ketchikan in one day. I was very thankful to have a job where I take less than 150 of those people out into the wilderness. 

May was pretty much all about work. There was a surprise trip to Petersburg for a boat swap one week. There were a few days off where we got to go and play on the beach. There was a -4.5ft low tide which led to incredible tidepooling one morning before work. I also developed a weird death cold that was trying to kill me. I lost my voice for about a week at the start of June. And my voice has been in and out since then, coming and going as it wants.

So far it has been a pretty cool and rainy summer. This makes for beautiful and breathtaking views in the Misty's. The rest of this post is just going to be pictures. I got a new camera in May, so there will be lots of pretty pictures to share.

In June Tristan and I snuck away to the muskeg to play among the wildflowers and the dragonfly larva for an afternoon, between both of us being sick. Since I was pulled out of work for a week because of my voice, I got to visit my parents in Yellowstone. Tristan and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary at the end of June. Then I was whisked away for an adventure on one of the Dream Cruise boats at the end of June into the first week of July (another post for this one as well).

Sorry it has taken me so long to post, but I have been pretty busy since the season started. So here are some pictures throughout May and June.


The captain on his first solo Misty trip 

I love when Eddystone floats in the mist





An afternoon hanging out in the Hammock 

Moonsnail love

Leather seastar with Eel grass, Bull Kelp, and Rockweed

Sailfin Sculpin

My love looking for dragonfly larva in the pools

Shooting stars



Breaching Orcas thanks to Claire 

Cute little Black Bear


Petersburg

And this post's quote:

At some point in life, the world's beauty becomes enough...