Monday, 27 through Thursday, 30 September 2021
I spent a busy 4 days here. I managed to write 10 blog posts, so I lacked only 3 when I left Wyoming, a vast improvement over both North and South Dakota. Doing these posts also required editing the last 5 batches of photos I've taken, including figuring out which ones to use, a process that takes more time than you might think.
The weather was really warm for the first couple of days, and then I guess a cold front came through because on Tuesday night it got down nearly to freezing and on Wednesday I'm not sure the temp even got up to 50°. And it rained off and on all day and then nearly froze during the night again.
On Wednesday, the weather service issued a severe air quality alert because of wildfire smoke drifting our way. Given my recent problems with asthma, I decided to heed their warning to stay indoors as much as I could. I took the dogs out 4 or 5 times, of course, but it helped that the weather was so chilly and the wind was blowing and the rain was raining - they don't like that much more than I do.
The cold weather kept up on Thursday, too, though it warmed up a bit by mid-afternoon. I found it'd been so cold that I needed to buy more propane, and it took more than 6 gallons (it's about a 7½ gallon tank).
I did the usual chores: laundry (4 washer loads - almost all the clothes I had in the cabin), shower, run to the grocery store, clean the windows.
I also found a dog groomer who was willing to take the puppies. She charged me $56 for washing and brushing the two, which I figure is a real bargain. And she willingly used a non-scented shampoo, which I (and I think the dogs) appreciated. While she was doing that, I went back to the campground and washed the dog bed covers and aired the beds out on the picnic table. I don't think they've had a bath since June, and it seemed the dogs were almost as glad to be clean as I was to have them so.
I found a vet in Vernal, UT (our next stop) who was willing to take on Lily while we'd be there, and was proud of myself for having thought of it in advance for a change.
Being here mid-week as we were, I noticed how reduced the number of campers is, compared to just a week ago. They still had plenty of business, but up until now, campgrounds have been nearly full even on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Suddenly, it's not tourist season any more. The people I talked to were mostly in transit - to or from visits to relatives. Not many seemed to be in Wyoming to see the sights. There were plenty of folks a couple of weeks ago in Yellowstone and Teton, but that was a couple of weeks ago. There were more people here in Rawlins just last week than I saw this time through. Hope that holds up and I can see Utah without fighting crowds.
The whole time we were here, I was seeing what I thought were antelope in the campground on our early walks. Several times I saw at least 2 of them, making dog walking a hazardous occupation. Well, Thursday mid-morning, we saw 3 male deer (not antelope) - all with full heads of antlers - standing together at the side of the campground. I barely got the dogs away from there, since the deer didn't bother to run away.
I was really glad to have this time to regroup from the month and get ready for the next one. Occasionally I'd wish I could do all these things while I was still traveling and seeing new things. But I'm learning my brain gets too scattered to do both at once, and my energy level isn't quite what it was a few years ago. I wouldn't wish to be any younger, but sometimes I wish my body were a little younger. Well, we all live with what we've got.
No comments:
Post a Comment