Day 5, July 22, l997
Another
day of fishing, another l8 fish were caught. I cooked l0 for dinner. Steve
played with the chipmunks; they are sure cute. Heidi would chase them,
sometimes. Steve and I walked around the lake. It was fun until we came to the
brush and mosquito's got too aggressive. Steve and I went to town, had lunch. We
had a buffalo burger and a long horn burger. Also a piece of fresh baked peach
pie. Rick and dad wanted pie too, oh well, too late
now
Day 6, July 23, l997
Steve and I headed for Cheyenne to see the air show. On the way we stopped at Landers’ Wyoming to check out new fishing spots. We were told that a 31-mile loop was great. Narrow roads, but lots of turn outs and camping spots. We continued our trip, walked around Independence Rock. Stopped at lots of interesting points of interest. Stayed at a motel in Laramie. Did laundry, ended up with yellow socks, undies and anything else that once was white. Next time Rick, leave that yellow shirt at home.
While the laundry was being done, On the news we heard that we missed most of the Air show. Steve was so disappointed. I had checked on the internet for the air-show dates and had it marked! When I finally arrived home at the end of the trip, I rechecked it. It wasn't the "Official" AF site I had found, and there information was off! We went out for dinner, and a movie. We saw Contact, with Jody foster. It was really good. Meanwhile, back at camp, Rick and dad went to the Wind River and fished. Got about 6 fish. Went into town, to get some pie. They had lunch, but they couldn't get any pie. Thunder storms started to move in, and Rick went to the lake to fish and got real wet. The vent on the trailer, above the kitchen area leaked. More wet floor.
Day 7, July 24, l997
Steve and I went to the airport where there were lots of different airplanes on
display. Saw the Stealth bomber, F-15, Big cargo planes and a KC 135. Also the
Thunderbirds were still there. Watched them do their fancy routines, take off
and a fly over in formation. So I did get to see them. We shopped for gifts for
friends, things for me. We drove a big circle, up through Jackson Hole, heading
to camp. Meanwhile, Rick and Dad were stuck in the trailer, as it rained all
day. We had fairly nice weather where we were. Again Rick headed to town to get
patch for the roof and pie. Got the patch, but they were out of pie. We ate
dinner during a thunderstorm at Pinedale. A real nice café, they had two
15-year-old girls waiting on tables. They were so cute. And did a great
job.
About
2 miles from the cut off to camp we came across an accident. A motor home hit a
moose. One dead moose and one dead motor home. The family was ok, but the shook
up. We gave a ride to Grandma, mother and 7 month girl, 2 and 5-year-old boys to
Dubois. There was 1 room available in town. We then went back to tell grandpa
where the family was. The moose's head did the damage to the windshield and
his body wrapped around to the drivers door. The next day we went to look,
someone had already removed it's horns. The family has a son stationed at
Minot, small world. Back to camp at ll30pm. We woke the fishermen up. They
didn't expect us until tomorrow. Guess where most of the leak was? On
my bed!
Day 8, July 25, l997
Rick and I went to town to get more stuff for the leaky roof. We found 5 pieces of PEACH PIE. We bought it $11.00 and took it back to camp. So Jerry and Rick were happy. We relaxed and just enjoyed the area.
Day 9, July 26, l997
Packed up and headed out. Saw the camp host
vehicle over turned off the road. Stopped and checked to see if anyone was hurt.
No one around. Poor camp-host. He lives in a tent, now he doesn't have useable
wheels. He was a funny guy. Down to Lander’s to get more fishing licenses and
head to a new fishing area. Got groceries, ice too. They are trying to pave
it now, but have met some resistance.
Up we went on a really rough road with a switch back. Lots of drop off
spots. I rode with Steve. I'm a chicken on narrow roads. Just as we got to the
top of the mountain, onto a straight stretch, Jerry’s pickup died. I fixed
lunch, while we let the pickup cool off. We were able to limp into a campground
next to Fry Lake. 
There
was a family there with 2 dogs. Both dogs bit or tried to fight with Heidi
within the next hour. She didn't like it there. The guys figured out that there
must have been a bad fuel pump or blockage in the tank, as when they
switched tanks the pickup ran ok. We noticed all the traffic and helicopters in
the area. There was a massive search for a missing 24-year-old woman (Amy
Wroe Bechtel). She went
running and disappeared. They found her car, but not her. Really sad. We set up camp and just rested.
Day 10, July 27,1997
I
was fishing on the lake when a small rain shower came over us. After it left,
the sun was contrasting so nice that I rowed like heck to get to shore for my
camera. That's when I took this nice shot of the two rainbows. The picture in
the previous paragraph has a faint rainbow over our camper. Kind of like
we were blessed. The fellows went fishing. Caught some small ones. I visited
a woman camped near us. She had MS and was unable to do anything. Her husband
brought her and 2 kids up for a few days. She was only 34 years old. Later in
the day they gave us antelope steaks, which I'll cook later. Rick and I drove up
the road about 5 miles to Fiddlers Lake. It is a small lake, but the campground
is really fixed up and clean.
Day 11, July 28,l997
We took the trailer up to Fiddler's Lake. Didn't catch any fish it this lake.
Parked and met some people next to us. They had a little dog, and it didn't try
to bite Heidi. So she liked it there. We saw 3 big deer in the field that
evening.
Heard there was a moose that came around every evening. But we didn't see it. It cost $6.00 a night to stay there. It was worth it. Not many mosquitoes, so I was able to spend more time outside. Steve and I walked around this lake too.
It got real dark by the time we got back to the
campground. Rick and I hiked into the woods to a beaver pond. Caught
a few fish, it was a shallow lake.
Day 12, July 29, 1997
Steve and I made a run to town, but not down the switchbacks. As we left, we saw the remainder of the search party. It was winding down for it had been going on for over a week already. They were losing hope. (It's been over 3 years and they still haven't found her) They were out of worms and beer. Which one do you think was the most important one to get? We also bought a cherry pie to bring back. This one cost $7.50.The guy’s went to the Popo Agie River to fish. Caught 3 fish. Gave them to the neighbors. Rick went fishing for water lily bulbs. Not much luck, as they are embedded in the muck and mud too good. But he did try real hard. Cooked the antelope steak for dinner. It was wonderful.
Day 13, July 30, l997
We headed for Lewis Lake. Parked at a picnic area. The guys took the raft and took turns fishing. Had great luck. Each one almost limited out with nice size fish. So the two best lakes for fish were Brooks Lake and Lewis Lake. We roasted hot dogs for lunch. Steve got a wet butt in the raft (a small leak) and Heidi almost got run over by a chipmunk. The road out of the mountain loop was terrible. Real rough, a washboard road. It shook all sorts of things loose in the trailer and pickup. He headed for Rock Springs to a civilized campground. One with electricity, water, a dump for the trailer tanks and a pool, shower, and hot tub and showers. We went out to dinner. Had 2 drinks, I had a steak, the guys had beef tips Yum-Yum THANKS RICK, IT WAS SURE GOOD.
Day 14, July 31, l997
Bye-bye Steve, sob-sob, It was a fun vacation. Off to North Dakota for Steve, and Mt. Home for us. Hit several thundershowers, got a rock chip in the pickup window. We stopped at Little America, had breakfast. When we stopped to get gas, Rick was in seventh heaven; lots of Harleys were there. Arrived at Rick's 5:30 PM. I fixed hamburgers for dinner. Gave Heidi a bath, she was DIRTY. Took Rick's bed one more time. We forgot just how HOT Idaho gets in the summer
Day 15, August 1, 1997 Grandma Jo's 82 birthday
Left Mt. Home 7:00 am. I rode with Rick to Fruitland, where we found a fruit and vegetable stand. Got lots of good things. Then bye-bye Rick sob-sob, vacation is almost over. Had breakfast in Vale Oregon. Followed a tank for about 50 miles. (It was on the back of a truck) Got home about 6:00 pm, unloaded the trailer. Zucchini was so glad to see us. I was glad to see my own bed
I have a long list of things for Jerry to fix on the trailer after that rough road. But since he is retired he has time.
This is the end of my story. I sure enjoyed learning how to play hearts; glad you brought your laptop Rick and the bike got used quite a bit too. What fun. I agree! It was some of the best times, we saw some beautiful scenery and some wonderful areas.
Page written by: Mom, FBI (Federal Bathroom Inspector), Designed and edited by Steve