June 25-26 Yellowstone, Cody & Visiting Luthy's

June 25 Monday

48 degrees this morning.  Greg says he killed his first mosquito and saw 1st bison both before 7:30!  Also saw several elk outside of town before we got back on the road, heading east through the northern part of Yellowstone.  Everything is flush with water and very green.

 We see two black bears grazing on a hill, but by the time Greg can get off the road, they are out of sight behind a hill.

Back through the Lamar Valley and hundreds of bison.  This is definitely the "home where the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play".  At 8:30 on this Monday morning there are hundreds of humans watching thousands of bison and other animals.  Several with binoculars and spotting scopes looking for wolves as well. (the people, not the animals :))

The Beartooths are clear this morning.

 We stop for breakfast at The Bistro in Cooke City and enjoy pancakes, eggs, and real bacon.  Overpriced, as expected, but at least it tasted good! Skipped the moose drool this morning.  We pick up a copy of a two-sided "newsletter" for the area.

Not far after Cooke City, we take a turnoff to head towards Cody on the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway.  More towering mountains, switchbacks and windy roads.  Beth isn't feeling too well, so rests in the back while Greg makes his way to Cody with a few ooh and aaah stops.

 We arrive in Cody about noon and make our way to the Cody Library for a few hours. Blogging and catching up on emails, news, etc.   Paul and Sandy are both at work, so we plan to arrive at their home around 5:00.  Parker gets home at 4:30 and Skylar will be leaving for her job at a New Mexican restaurant about then.

We say hello and goodbye to Skylar, and chat with Parker till Sandy gets home. Rue, their enthusiastic dog, is happy to have someone play ball with her.

 Paul is held up at work so we wait for him and then all head to Zapata's, where Ky is working, for dinner.  Fun to have her wait on us :).  So much to catch up on!  Paul has a new job with the county,  Sandy is liking her job with an engineering firm, Parker is doing roofing work and plans to go to Diesel Tech in the Fall to become a diesel mechanic.  He loves working on cars and trucks and has a nice diesel pickup, as does his Dad.  Skylar will begin her Junior Year of high school in the Fall.

Cody is a nice town of about 10,000.  Paul drives us around a bit after dinner, showing us where the town is expanding.  They seem very happy here and despite some of the typical city problems, they feel it is a good place to raise their family.  Parker definitely wants to stay around here, though Ky has a bit of the wanderlust bug.

Tuesday, June 26

We will stay one more day and it is nice to relax for a bit.  While the family is off to jobs, we do laundry and grocery shopping, getting things for a dinner of chicken alfredo and salad.  Greg does a little work in the yard.  Sue, Sandy's Mom, comes for a short visit.  This is Chap's first wife and we haven't seen each other in a looonnng time - 35 years!??!  We always got along well, and keep up a little on Facebook, so it is a nice, comfortable visit.  Tonight, Chap's granddaughter by son Chuck  (also named Sandy) will come to visit with her new husband.  They have just announced that she is expecting!

New terminology learned from Ky - a girl who likes cowboys is called a "buckle bunny".

We begin fixing dinner and Sandy arrives and takes over.  Dinner goes well and Sandy & Brandon arrive later since she works till 7:30 in retail.  Brandon is an apprentice electrician.  A nice evening and we take a few photos before everyone heads their own direction, leaving Sandy, Paul, Greg and I to kibbutz for a while.

 Good to see everyone!