On the Road Again

Hey Everyone! Sorry, it has been so long since I’ve written. I know I have probably inundated you all with photo after photo of recent explor-cations on Facebook and Instagram. We have been to Yellowstone and the Tetons twice more since you last heard from us. Every time we go it’s a brand new experience, so different from the one before. A couple weeks ago we went, hoping to knock some more animals off our bucket list and to catch some Fall colors. I asked Father to PLEASE bless us with both a bear and a wolf sighting. And He did! We saw a mama black bear and her two cubs right outside our campground. And when we ventured to Lamar Valley we came upon a group of wolf watchers willing to share their scopes with us and our kids. We saw three wolf pups, playing in the grass and practicing their howling skills. So amazing to hear! Did you know a wolf’s howl can be heard up to nine miles away?! So cool. Then we headed to the Tetons where the most amazing colors of Fall, as well as the snow capped mountains, made for the most beautiful scene you’ve ever seen. We chilled out a bit more than usual, enjoyed a couple long bike rides, and a boat shuttle ride to a hike around Jenny Lake where we came across a bull moose and his partner. It was another animal on our list that we wanted to see a little closer. They are insanely cool looking creatures. Father was so good to us! This last week we went back for one more visit before all the passes close for the winter. Erich’s mom flew in to join us and we enjoyed showing her all of our favorite spots, this time with more snow! We drove over Bear Tooth Pass and down into the Northeastern corner of Yellowstone, our favorite. We brought our own scope this time and spotted three adult wolves, playing in the snow and chasing mice. We also saw a grizzly way up on a mountain side, tons of elk, bison, pronghorn, deer and another coyote. Yellowstone in October is amazing. We got a fresh layer of snow the first night of camping which, paired with the Fall colors still on the trees, was just breathtaking. After showing her our favorite stops in Yellowstone, we headed south for a few days, where we enjoyed the snow covered Tetons and the most amazing sunsets ever. I was so sad to watch the silhouette of the Tetons fading into the night as we drove home for the last time. I feel like the wilderness feeds your soul, and for me, the Tetons just draw me in and, I don’t know, energize my soul. I think maybe the National Park Service should hire me for marketing the Tetons and Yellowstone…

Anyways, our contract here ends in less than 3 weeks and we have accepted our next contract in a small town called Mantesano, Washington. It is near the coast, about two hours from my family. It is going to be wet and cold with a lot less exploring, but my kids will get to enjoy some birthdays and the holidays with my family and their cousins in Washington for the first time ever. We are pretty excited. Our exploring budget could use a break after this whole mess with our fifth wheeler anyways. Which by the way, has still been an ongoing battle. We finally “fired” the Forest River rep we had been working with and were assigned a new one, who finally called today to say that they are approving an upgrade on the tire size. After 11 weeks. Of fighting. Jeeesh. We are still trying to figure out what we were suppose to learn through all of that, maybe it was “how to keep your cool with people who make you crazy.” I probably got a B- at best. Either way, we are choosing to count our blessings instead of our losses. New wheels go on this week, we will retrieve the camper next week, and start moving all our stuff back into it before our trek to Washington the following week. We were blessed with a nice little rental house for the three months we’ve been without our home, but we are all excited to get back into the Arctic Wolf. Thanks for following our adventure, we love and miss you all!