Showing posts with label Yellowstone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yellowstone. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
If This Happened When I was Nine, This Would Have Been My Favorite Part of the Trip
One thing you need to know about me is that I love animals. And not just puppies and kittens, but all animals (well, not snakes, but who DOES love snakes?? Crazy people, that's who). So the highlight of my trip to Yellowstone in June was all the wildlife sightings. A later post will be dedicated more to the wildlife I saw in the park, but this post is about a kind that's a little more...close to home.
Let me preface this story by saying that we stayed in an historic hotel. The Old Faithful Inn was built in 1904. It remains true to form and the rooms in the older part of the hotel (we stayed in the section that was added in 1914) don't even have private bathrooms in the rooms. You have to walk down the hall to use the restroom or take a shower. There was NO WAY I was re-living that part of college life, so I insisted on staying in the newer addition. It's really cool that the inside and outside of the hotel is made of real logs, so it's very rustic.
We stayed at this hotel for three nights, and on the third night we had a delicious late dinner at the restaurant in the hotel. Afterwards, we went up to the terrace to watch Old Faithful go off one last time before bed. Sounds blissfully peaceful, right? Really it was because this hotel DID NOT HAVE TV. At all. No television! Crazy, huh? So I had to resort to enjoying nature and crap.
My mom got to the room first, and when I walked in I heard my mom shriek about some creature moving around on the floor. Figuring it was a roach or something, I was pretty disgusted. Then I laid eyes on the fuzzy gray creature and realized that it was a mouse.
I am from Texas. We don't get mouses in our houses (or mice in our hice). We get ants, roaches and spiders in our homes, but no mice. We had a squirrel in our wall once, and that had previously been my closest encounter with the rodent kind.
My first reaction was to GET IT OUT OF MY HOTEL ROOM! But then I looked it again and the little vermin melted my heart with his itty bitty ears and shiny, beady eyes. I couldn't call the hotel staff and let them kill it. I knew we had to capture him and set him free, so we got some cheerios and a plastic cup and lured the adorable little rodent into our trap.
Cute huh? It was actually my mom who thought of the cup, so I let her claim credit for the capture.
I, on the other hand, got the honor of carrying the little mouse (who I named Chester) downstairs. In a clear plastic cup. Past fellow hotel patrons. To let him outside. I freed Chester near a nice little tree so that he might life a full and happy life, frolicking in the shade with his little mouse friends. I'm SURE he didn't get eaten by a hawk or anything.
Let me preface this story by saying that we stayed in an historic hotel. The Old Faithful Inn was built in 1904. It remains true to form and the rooms in the older part of the hotel (we stayed in the section that was added in 1914) don't even have private bathrooms in the rooms. You have to walk down the hall to use the restroom or take a shower. There was NO WAY I was re-living that part of college life, so I insisted on staying in the newer addition. It's really cool that the inside and outside of the hotel is made of real logs, so it's very rustic.
We stayed at this hotel for three nights, and on the third night we had a delicious late dinner at the restaurant in the hotel. Afterwards, we went up to the terrace to watch Old Faithful go off one last time before bed. Sounds blissfully peaceful, right? Really it was because this hotel DID NOT HAVE TV. At all. No television! Crazy, huh? So I had to resort to enjoying nature and crap.
My mom got to the room first, and when I walked in I heard my mom shriek about some creature moving around on the floor. Figuring it was a roach or something, I was pretty disgusted. Then I laid eyes on the fuzzy gray creature and realized that it was a mouse.
I am from Texas. We don't get mouses in our houses (or mice in our hice). We get ants, roaches and spiders in our homes, but no mice. We had a squirrel in our wall once, and that had previously been my closest encounter with the rodent kind.
My first reaction was to GET IT OUT OF MY HOTEL ROOM! But then I looked it again and the little vermin melted my heart with his itty bitty ears and shiny, beady eyes. I couldn't call the hotel staff and let them kill it. I knew we had to capture him and set him free, so we got some cheerios and a plastic cup and lured the adorable little rodent into our trap.
Cute huh? It was actually my mom who thought of the cup, so I let her claim credit for the capture.
I, on the other hand, got the honor of carrying the little mouse (who I named Chester) downstairs. In a clear plastic cup. Past fellow hotel patrons. To let him outside. I freed Chester near a nice little tree so that he might life a full and happy life, frolicking in the shade with his little mouse friends. I'm SURE he didn't get eaten by a hawk or anything.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
I'm Back!
I got back from my vacation in Utah, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho on Sunday. I was gone for eight days and did NOT kill my parents, which should be noted. It was actually a nice trip (mostly), but I was very glad to come home. I have multiple posts brewing about this trip- LOTS of pictures to share and anecdotes to tell. I'm sure you will WAIT WITH BATED BREATH.
Also, I'd like to think I'm back to blogging. I haven't been at it for long and I'm already sucking at it. I don't post often because a lot of the time I feel like I don't have anything to share. Or I don't really have anyone who will read it, which is true. I like recording my thoughts to go back to later, though, so on I will go.
I started Weight Watchers yesterday! Well, really, I joined a few days before we went on vacation, which was STUPID. Who is going to diet on vacation?? So I used the time before my trip to figure out the online recording stuff and such, then began the program in full force yesterday. It's going well so far! I do have to say this. I LOVE FOOD. It sucks to have to watch what I eat. I realize that I have to do it, but seriously? Zero fun.
On a related note, I need to exercise. Unfortunately it is a MILLION DEGREES here in Texas so I am not venturing to the great outdoors for this. After hearing about it online, I decided to try the 30 Day Shred. My main reservation about it was that I wouldn't be able to DO it. I tried some clips of it last night on YouTube and I can tell it will be tough, but I'm going to do my best. I'll write tomorrow to tell you how Day One goes.
Wish me luck!
Also, I'd like to think I'm back to blogging. I haven't been at it for long and I'm already sucking at it. I don't post often because a lot of the time I feel like I don't have anything to share. Or I don't really have anyone who will read it, which is true. I like recording my thoughts to go back to later, though, so on I will go.
I started Weight Watchers yesterday! Well, really, I joined a few days before we went on vacation, which was STUPID. Who is going to diet on vacation?? So I used the time before my trip to figure out the online recording stuff and such, then began the program in full force yesterday. It's going well so far! I do have to say this. I LOVE FOOD. It sucks to have to watch what I eat. I realize that I have to do it, but seriously? Zero fun.
On a related note, I need to exercise. Unfortunately it is a MILLION DEGREES here in Texas so I am not venturing to the great outdoors for this. After hearing about it online, I decided to try the 30 Day Shred. My main reservation about it was that I wouldn't be able to DO it. I tried some clips of it last night on YouTube and I can tell it will be tough, but I'm going to do my best. I'll write tomorrow to tell you how Day One goes.
Wish me luck!
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