Lucy the Nature Detective/Gardner

I was having a bad day the other day. So I decided to indulge in some free outdoor therapy. "What can I possibly do outside?" I thought...
















And, well, you only get to see two things since each picture miraculously uploaded in a mere 15 minutes. I planted pots of geraniums and marigolds. Heaven. Then! I found these caterpillar nests. Turns out the are EVERYWHERE and are super creepy crawly.

Lonestar State

Well, if the Texan and I were playing who is the better employee - I officially would have won this morning since he quit. Ha! We all knew it was coming because, well, he had his bags packed last week and he was young, immature, and ignorant to boot. So, good riddance. We are hoping our new fishing guide is a match for our 60-year-old housekeeper Nylla so that we all might have something to coo over.

Being back at the ranch after my sister and Johnny's beautiful wedding feels like I never left! Not only will I from here on out avoid ever flying out of Cody/Yellowstone International airport, but I will also make it a point to avoid driving the back roads of Wyoming past sunset. I only almost hit 1 deer, which is super (!), but I also had to use my brights - something as a city-dweller I have not done in years, oh and I drove straight past the ranch. Afraid I was lost...I don't need to tell most of you where my active imagination brought me.

Last note - I want to post more - photos and all, but the ranch itself has technical difficulties and getting on the Internet is proving more and more difficult. So, I am doing my best. I've started running along the Yellowstone Highway and it's gorgeous! Sort of terrifying with all the wild animals, but I can think of no better motivation to run than being chased. It is also a test to my lungs to run at 7,000 feet. Makes me feel like an out of shape badass. Point is, I will try to show off some pictures of my running route soon. But for now...enjoy these random photos just cause I think they are swell!

*Did you know: Brown bears (sub-species of the grizzly) can run up to 40 mph! Wow!

**Ok, this is what I am saying. I have tried too many times to get these pictures up. So...now the blog is sort of lame, but I will keep trying! For now, I am publishing this post and calling it a day.

Light to Moderate chop

Never do I find myself excited to walk on a tarmac in order to board a prop plane. I realized this morning that I find myself less excited when the pilot says something like, "We are number one for departure and will be on the ground shortly." Uh, duh we are number one for departure - we are the only plane at the airport. Such is the case in Cody, Wyoming where there is only ever one plane on the ground - if that. It looks more like a mall than an airport. And we'll be on the ground shortly? We haven't even taken off yet! That is unnerving....but less unnerving when you pop some valium before your flight. Thanks Fat. I think I'm converted and I don't even think flying is that scary. Beyond take-off of course. That is panic inducing.

Also...moving walkways are not so you can get a free ride cause you're too lazy to walk. They are actually to walk on. So you can get to that flight that is about to take off without you, or in my case, get to your spicy bloody mary faster. Wedding vacation officially underway - watch out New Mexico!

OMG! Am I a Heathen?

First of all, this is rad:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/photogalleries/zombie-ants/index.html

Second of all, I drank a bottle of wine tonight playing Cranium with my new favorite ranch friend Megan. Then, I waited outside while she smoked a cigarette, which I am not offended by, but in the current context seems extra terrible! Because truth be told, I just feel super weird stumbling into a cabin to find my Mormon roommate (who is so sweet!) praying! Literally (wha>>?) and Rachel on her 13th hour of sleep. Giggles ensue and never have I felt like such a sinner. And it's only 11:30 pm. What is going on here? It all feels rather foreign for this to be out of the ordinary. Thank God I am partying with the fam in a day and a half. And on that note, my Sunday night brain leaves you with more pics of our griz cause he's rad and would totally eat you for dinner as fast as I would down a bottle of wine playing board games. If ya dig.

Last post today, but it's a doozey!

To experience the magic, copy and paste this link! :)

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Cast of Characters

Bailey with Linda and ME! Besides being adorable, my favorite thing about Bailey is he squats when he pees.































The Texan, Chisum, and Megan
















George, the chef























The girls, Meg, and Rachel


















OUR GRIZZLY!
















Jake and Megan

They're not kidding: Your Yellowstone weather and bear sighting report

I had an amazing day and a half off this week. Johanna and Toren, my friends from Portland, were in town and we decided that after our wild romp in Cody, we should spend some time out in the wild, wild wilderness. After stopping to see some sights along the way to our campsite, including a stop at the general store for such camping essentials as jiffy pop and s'more fixins, we arrived at the Madison Junction campground. It was such a beautiful day! When the ranger informed us our site was located on a ridge, we took his assurance that it wouldn't necessarily be more windy with little more than a shrug, needless to say we were on cloud 9 from a beautiful day out in Yellowstone!






























After deciding the rain tarp looked at once too confusing and too unnecessary, we then decided that the coolest thing we could possibly do at that moment would be to drive and get some food to grill over our open fire. And cheap beer for me and Hanna. We drove the 14 miles to West Yellowstone and ended up with Garden Burgers (they should pay me for that endorsement, ahem) and Ranier (ahemm!) and lots of fixings. As we started our drive back to our temporary home we realized we were racing some serious looking rainclouds. I had to cruise past some jerks ooohhhing and ahhhhing over some dumb buffalos and still didn't make it back in time to completely save our tent. Sadly, some of our blankets were wet and the rain fly had to go up.



You know - on our way out here - my mom and I read some stuff about how crazy and variable Yellowstone weather is with 50 degree temperature changes possible within a single day and man - they weren't kidding. Lesson Learned! The clouds rolled in so fast upon our campsite that we were forced to take refuge in the car. The thunderstorm was rad. Luckily living in the PNW for the last 3 years really allowed me to appreciate it. Growing up in MN however, made it unlikely I was going to find any appreciation for the hail. Mother Nature must have sensed this because she unloaded such a huge amount that I was in fact very impressed.







When it finally began to let up, we made our way to the tent and found it salvagable. We were tempted to run to a hotel room, but instead we just soaked up pools of water with paper towels (see Mom! That 42 pack of Bounty did come in handy!) The stars came out in all their glory, but sadly, we were all too tired and too cold to look at them for long and eventually just called it a night. I woke up probably every hour thinking, Man! It is SO cold - I am NEVER going to fall back asleep! Then I'd shiver myself into wacky dreams only to wake up and have the same thought I had had an hour earlier. All in all, it was a success because we woke up feeling like complete badasses for camping through such extreme weather.

































And the morning was Beautiful! 10 am be damned. We busted out the Gardenburgers, started up that fire, roasted marshmallows for banana boats and s'mores, and washed it all down with Ranier. Breakfast of champions is what that is. Then we set off for an amazing day trip to the Norris Geyser Basin.
























































Really beautiful stuff. After saying our goodbyes, I was halfway to the ranch when I realized I had left my wallet in Johanna's purse for safe-keeping as we hiked. (Those thieves still have me scarred!). I had to drive back and took the opportunity to stop at Biscuit Basin near Old Faithful to see more geyser's and pools. Also very cool. On my second trip home, I spotted two bears and found that I have already become resident enough that I want to honk at the tourists backing up the road 15 cars deep to gawk at buffalo. My advice to those seeking a trip out here - come in the off season. It may not be as hot, but the open roads will make it worth it. I also saw plenty of hawks and osprey and really....every time I drive around here...I realize how amazingly beautiful it really is. Bad weather and all :)

I took a ton of pictures that I am in the process of uploading to another site. Check back soon for the link if you want to be amazed by the beauty of Yellowstone. Trust me - you do.

In case you were wondering....

This is what it looks like to have fun in Cody, Wyoming:

I survived my first grizzly encounter - huzzah!

Yesterday - what a weird day. It started late afternoon when the Wyoming winds picked up. As I was closing down shop, I received a frantic call from Linda who was looking for Ray. Apparently, as she sat in the living room of their home, a tree toppled from the gales, dragging along another with it as it went. No one was hurt, but how many stories have I read about people dying from randomly toppling trees? A surprising amount.
I would have pictures of this were it not for my reluctance to walk in my least favorite type of weather - severe wind.

After shrugging of the sort of uneventful event, I ran the few steps to our cabin and learned through a phone message from my friend Johanna that a number of trees had also fallen in Yellowstone. She realized she was stuck in the park as she tried to drive around the barricades and out the east entrance to pay me a visit only to be yelled at by a ranger for it being too dangerous (hopefully they get that all cleared up and she makes it today!). With roads closing and trees falling, I decided to just stay in for the night - as did my 3 roommates. I downloaded the latest episode of Gossip Girl and snuggled down into my warm bed just as the power went out.

With no Internet, television, or light to read by, we made the most of our situation, using my crank flashlight to supplement our dancing in the dark party. It was totally dorky and fun. But, there came a point where my headache was too much for me and I was forced to climb back under my covers at the early hour of 9 PM. The day's events seemed to have a life of their own so I was hardly surprised when someone began shining a green flashlight in our window about 10 minutes after I had taken refuge.

I assumed it was aliens and the green light was something much more sophisticated than a flashlight, but it turned out just to be Linda.....and a mother effing GRIZZLY BEAR!!!!!!! Seriously - not 15 feet from our front porch stood this hulking beast of an animal. It was SO cool!!! Of course us girls screeched and screamed and ran around frantically excited about having this animal just show up on our doorstep as if it were a gift from the wildlife Gods.

When it finally lumbered off around the lodge, Linda made a dash to the outside where she told us she was trying to snag a picture. We all fumbled for our shoes in the dark so we might run for our lives to the lodge where we could catch another glimpse of the bear. Megan and I were left behind and as we walked into the eerily silent night, we had no idea where the rest of the ladies had ventured. I realized I had only managed to slip on my slippers as we peered around the front porch of the lodge only to see that dang grizzly standing down at the opposite end - sniffing the grass for traces of girl no doubt. Running away from that sight in beat up Target slippers proved difficult. (Note to self: Always wear sturdy shoes when running from a grizzly bear). (And note to you: Proper bear defense methods say never run from a bear.) We finally found everyone in the game room snapping pictures of the bear as he walked around the front yard and finally into the darkness.

We hopped and skipped back to our cabin in awe of Linda's decision to calmly walk back down to her house...ok, crazy, but I suppose she did grow up here. A big old, man-eating bear wouldn't scare the likes of her. The power was still out as our excitement waned and our energy drained finding us back in bed in a matter of moments to dream of bears and, in my case, aliens. Alien bears...I couldn’t resist.

And now here I am. Waking up this morning feeling like an effing pioneer! The power had been out since 9 last night and an inch of of snow had fallen on the ground in the night. It is COLD! No heat. No phones. No electricity. What the heck? The power has since made its glorious return and I am sitting here waiting for this dang heat to warm up this unbearably cold room. Get it? Unbearably? Heh.

I will try and get pictures of something soon. That grizzly you see above obviously isn't our grizzly. Fear and cameras lost in dark corners kept us from getting any good shots of that guy. By far the coolest thing I have seen since my arrival in Wyoming.

Going Once, Going Twice...

Sold to the man with the feather in his cap.





















I have to say my favorite part of yesterday was the horse auction. It took place in the middle of downtown and the people watching was superb. The horses were ok too I guess :) I think the highest sale was $10,000! I was tempted...but decided not to go there.


The rodeo on the other hand was a bust. After eating at one of Cody's most upscale eateries, Arby's, Megan realized she locked her keys in her car. After trying our hand at car theft via wire hanger, we gave up and walked to the rodeo. A smattering of people took residence in the bleachers and we came to find out that they had decided to throw the event together last minute for the first time in the history of Cody's Wild West Day's...a conclusion we could have reached on our own after watching for about, oh, 1.5 minutes. And, they didn't sell beer there. Apparently the name of the game is to bring your own when the event is such a haphazard affair. At least now I know.

Finally Ray showed up with Megan's extra set of keys and drove us back to her car. Thank goodness too because by that time the cold mountain wind was really starting to pick up and the sun was going down. I am sure had I been brave enough to look around I would have seen the coyotes circling. But alas, we made it back to the ranch where I am spending my Sunday safe indoors. I could and probably should and maybe will get outside today, but for now I am content to sit and read while drinking copious amounts of coffee.

Happy Mother's Day Mom! You better be relaxing as much as I am or else.

The Church of Lucy

It came to my attention today that I have followers. Heh, awesome.

Other things that came to my attention today:

I am Jess's Wesley - as you wish my dear - look at this cutie horse!


















He liked to eat the snow. Silly horse!
























Shoot. I don't know how to get it to stop underlining. Anyways - I just like these following two photos. Especially the big horse head! I am going to print that sucker out and frame it.







































and you say you want cool bird pics pretty lady? As you wish. This nest belongs to Mama Robin. She's building it right outside my window at work.

And this is a flock of...blackbirds (?) that I watch swoop around all day together.


















In other news. I can't see my cursor so writing on this blog is an abstract endeavor tonight. And....it's December in Yellowstone!!! Check out these photos taken inside the east gate. I really thought I might die when I drove past the AVALANCHE ZONE sign that instructed me not to stop for the next 15 miles. I really thought I might die when I looked over and saw Chisum, the Texan, sitting next to me. Really? I'm going to die in an avalanche with the Texan? That about did me in right there.

We drove until we could see the lake, which looks stunning! This snowstorm coaxed the McCoy's into giving us the weekend off, so I have big plans to drive all the way to the lake on Sunday - Grizzly Country!!!! Tomorrow, it's off to Wild West Days in Cody where some of the other staff and I will watch a horse sale take place in the streets of downtown before going to a rodeo that advertises activities such as wild cow races, wild cow milking, and barrell racing. I think I've got the last one down, the other two? Not so sure. What I am sure of is that my pictures will enlighten us all.




























Look at the color of this sky!!! Of course, this was one small patch, but still, brilliant.