Sept 12 & 13 trip

We visited Richard one more time this morning.  I stayed in the car most of the time because of the cat & dog.  Jim & Wendy cleaned his kitchen because it was quite dirty.  He has a cleaning lady come in every week but I don't think she knows how to clean very well.  He seemed in good spirits & talked working with a therapist to get him walking again.  I came in to say good bye and we took another picture.  Then it was off to the town of Gardiner at the foot of Yellowstone.  The motel we are staying at for the next 3 days is old but clean.  The layout gives both couples privacy when needed.  Kim & Wendy have the deluxe side with a TV, fridge & microwave.  Jim & I have a desk for our computer.  We share a very small bathroom (just a toilet & square shower stall).  We both have sinks in our bedrooms.  The town itself is very quaint & rustic.  That afternoon we took a short drive along Lamar Valley in hopes of seeing wildlife.  We did see a lot of buffalo, a couple of wolves & we think one bear.

The next day we went to Mammoth Hot Springs & the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone River.  Both were different but both awesome.  We took some pictures.  Hopefully, you will receive a few.  Some of the walking was quite strenuous so I opted not to participate but the other 3 are doing it all.  We saw 2 mountain goats up in the hills & a weasel running across the road with a mouse in his mouth.  At Mammoth the elk roam the streets so you have to be careful.

The weather has been just great.  Temps are in the mid 50's to mid 60's until late in the day when it gets as high as 80.  The sun feels good with the lower temps and there is a breeze.

There are little casinos in every town but they only offer video poker & keno.  Neither of those games really interest me so I'm saving my gambling money.

One last note. On the way down the mountain today our brakes overheated because the caliper got stuck.  We had to stop & let it cool down before we could continue.  We made back to our motel then went out to explore the town & when we got back we found out we locked ourselves out of our room.  We had to get the owner to let us in.  If we would have waited till after ten thirty we would have been SOL.

That's all for now!