Inhale, Cough, Cough

 

Smoky Haze

We have been experiencing poor air quality over the past few days, due to Canadian wildfire smoke moving slowly across Wisconsin.  Julia was all excited to see that the Northern Lights were going to appear recently in the Upper Midwest.  Not in southern Wisconsin, I'm afraid.  Those aren't clouds.  Just smoke.

Last week, Julia and I helped move my Mom to her new apartment in a Continuing Care Residential facility.  The multi-building campus has independent living, assisted living, memory care, and a nursing home.  She qualified for independent living and was "allowed" to pay an entrance fee that guarantees a lifetime rate that includes all higher-level services, except for inflationary adjustments.   

My mom is downsizing, moving from a two bedroom condo to a one bedroom apartment, but it is a much nicer space with freshly painted walls, newer appliances, a walk-in shower and great natural light.  Breakfast and dinner are included, although she does have a full kitchen if she doesn't feel like going to the restaurant-styled dining room.  She is already enjoying her new community.  

We are back at the campground.  Julia just came from the showerhouse, reporting that the showers are now working, but the stalls are out of toilet paper.  We are living at the Ritz, for sure.  At least it's quiet mid-week. 

 

Wild Horse Canyon Road

I am camped in the mountains (7300’ elevation) overlooking Green River, a small town in southern Wyoming. The directions to this site were quite simple: drive on Wild Horse Canyon Road past the Hampton Inn and continue up the road beyond the pavement to the top of the hill. At first, I was worried that the road up the hill would be steep, but it was not. The gradual grade was bumpy but fairly easy. Once at the top, a dirt road cuts off to the right where there are several campsites within a half mile. At that point, the road becomes deeply rutted and plunges more steeply down.

I chose a big wide campsite that looks directly down on Interstate 80, Green River and the railroad tracks. Due to the distance, the road noise isn’t bad, and the sound of the trains was soothing to wake up to. The gravel road on top of the mountain goes about 30-some miles, and there are reportedly wild horses to be seen. I chose to remain at my campsite, to read, and to prepare a supper of scrambled eggs with fried tortillas, onion, and tomato.

As evening crept in, I could see a couple of small bumps on the horizon on top of the next crest. My binoculars confirmed that the bumps were actually two wild horses. Elvis and I set off on a walk along the road and were able to get close enough to the horses that we were both getting a little nervous. I think the horses are probably used to fending themselves from coyotes and wolves. Elvis must have seemed a strange-looking canine that they weren’t going to mess around with. The bigger horse started approaching us, stamping feet. We decided that we were close enough (although a better camera with zoom would have captured the moment), so we slowly backed away and then and then turned around back to the campsite. Both parties seemed satisfied with the conclusion.

Just before turning in, I noticed a large fire off in the distance, creating considerable smoke. I asked an older couple passing by on an ATV if they knew about it and whether it was anything to be concerned about. Yes, they said, it’s about a three-hour drive to that fire, and you can rest easy tonight. I would never have guessed that the fire was more than 100 miles away, but I did sleep well.

In the morning, temperatures had cooled off to the lower 40’s, and I could smell the fairly strong odor of smoke for the first time during my trip. By the time I finished breakfast and coffee, the odor was gone. Nevertheless, this stop will be a short one. We will continue south.