Arriving at Star Valley

It’s really amazing to see how much technology has changed since we became full timers. Now we can use our smart phones and actually access web cameras showing road conditions. So I knew that the Salt Pass would be wet but not icy as we crossed it and drove down into Star Valley.

Using the hourly weather reports we avoided the predicted winds and drove forty miles on interstate eighty before turning towards Kemmerer. Passing Opal, (pronounced Oh- paul, thank you Blain), Renita spotted the burned out stack from the recent natural gas explosion. The fires are out, and three of the gas plants have now returned  to normal operation.

The drive was easy and the traffic was limited to a few trucks and very few cars as tourist season is still weeks away. We made our usual stop for diesel and a break at Cokesville. It still amazes me that you can’t buy a newspaper there and our Verizon smart phones couldn’t connect.

As we drove along the fields were full of sand hill cranes, feeding in the lush green meadows as they have reached their breeding grounds and are preparing their nests. The streams are all flooding and murky and it will be quite a while before they clear enough to cast the first nymph, hoping for a nice Snake River cutthroat trout.

The temperature was only thirty five Fahrenheit as we crossed the path and the truck handled it fine. Stopping on top of the pass I checked the brakes and tires before our descent. It’s still winter here as it is so easy to see. We both wondered if we had arrived too early.

Our spot at Star Valley was wet but the leveling and grading we had done last year provided a firm base for us to park our rig. We barely made a tire track and so now we are parked for the next five months.

Tomorrow we will unload our new rocks and toys, but most importantly we will celebrate Mother’s Day.

Last evening we watched from our rig as a herd of cow elk grazed on the mountainside. We even spotted a cow elk, separated from the heard. She was accompanied by a newborn calf that frolicked around her before stopping to feed. Luckily we saw no wolves or bear who stalk the herds during calving season, but they are there.

 It been about six weeks and over three thousand miles since we left Texas, and we are safely at our summer home, remembering that our home is where we park it. Safe travels to our friends and of course, Clear skies.