Hullandia

Our friends, Roger and Bonnie Hull, live in Salem, OR. Roger is a retired professor of Art History at Willamette College, and Bonnie is an artist. They both have a great sense of humor. We thought they would appreciate this bit of whimsey:

Hi Bonnie and Roger:  As we were driving along today we unexpectedly went through a diaphanous veil and suddenly found ourselves in an alternate universe - we were at the center of the HULL UNIVERSE!! Here is the evidence:

Blatant advertising

A very busy guy

But into drugs

Studious though

A peaceful place of rest for a tired man

A real pro!

Maybe not this much rest!

A bit more modest

The trip home

We left Alpine this morning - said our goodbyes to Paul, Jenny and Max. We had a lovely visit and we hope to return in July.  Over the weekend we "babysat" Max while Paul and Jenny went to a Chamber of Commerce event at which Jenny was feted as "Person of the Year" for all the volunteer work she has put into the Star Valley Chamber. We were proud of Jenny and Max was a sweetie.

This morning was very cold. It was -17 degrees when we got up. It took a while to get the car warmed up. But I got it loaded up and we were off before 9a.m.  It was a gorgeous day - not a cloud in the sky. The mist off the river created hoar frost on the trees which were beautiful against the snow and sky.

 When we got to Grand Teton N.P., the mountains were clearer than I had ever seen them. Spectacular!

Togwotee Pass is a snowmobiler mecca - as evidenced by these patterns in the snow.

Somewhere along the way, a truck kicked gravel onto our windshield and caused a crack. We decided to stop in Riverton, WY at a little auto glass repair shop to get it fixed. We lucked out - the owner was able to take us in immediately.

His son normally works with him and restores cars in his spare time. He has a passion for Chevvie Malibus. Looks like he has his work cut out for him!

Tonight we are in Lusk, WY.

Paul's work site

Friday we went to visit Paul's work site. He is the Site Manager for a company called OSM (On-Site Management) at a $3 million custom home project outside of Jackson, WY, near Wilson, WY. The house is a modern, concrete and steel affair with two huge decks at either end, and spectacular views. We are awed by the complexity of the project and the amount of detail Paul has had to master to keep on top of what is happening. He has to order materials, maintain a tight schedule, oversee what the sub-contractors are doing each day to make sure it is right, do constant problem-solving and in many cases help design details that the architect has failed to provide. He has a great skill in organization plus a great deal of field experience in having built two of his own homes, but nothing on this scale before and steel and concrete is a new type of consctruction for him, so he's learning a lot on the job. He has the respect both of his boss and the workers on site. It's a demanding, challenging and often exhausting work, but it's a good job. He expects the owners can take occupancy by July this summer - may when we come next we can see the finished product.

Here is an architect's rendering of the house:

   
  








 And here how it actually looks as of now:

It looks bigger from the south side:

 
This is an interior shot of the living room fireplace.

 After we had lunch with Paul at Nora's Fish Creek Inn  in Wilson,

We went up into Grand Teton National Park  and walked a bit on a ski trail

And got a nice view of the Tetons.

Today we went to Idaho Falls - all five of us. Paul and Jenny had some shopping to do for their house at Loew's and Home Depot and Sam's Club. We ate at an all-you-can-eat buffet placed called Chuck-O-Rama. It's a good deal for sure, but I restrained myself, as did the others.

Chuck-O-Rama - nobody we know

When we got home,  I watched UNC play #8 Miami in  basketball  (UNC is unranked) - we had recorded it. Just as well - UNC got tromped 87-61 or something like that, so I could fast forward and reduce the pain. The Miami team had four seniors and one Junior. UNC has two freshmen, two sophs and one senior.  Big difference in experience. UNC is building and improving, but they were outclassed in this game.

This is Wyoming

Inside the herb store

We've found a really great herb store down in Thayne, WY - about 15 miles from Paul's house - which has all the dried herbs one would ever want, plus tinctures and lots of organic foods, etc. It's called Haderlie Farms, and is located in an old red barn. A little touch of Vermont in Wyoming.

Haderlie Farms Herb Store

I learned it does most of its business by catalogue, online. Which doesn't surprise me because this area just doesn't strike me as being populated by a lot of herbal-type folks. But as I was going in, I noticed a little sign that brought me up short - I'm in Wyoming, not Vermont. I guess this sign means the folks inside are armed. So reassuring!

Herb store protection!

Wedding Photo

We were sent a link to an archive of photos by Ryan and Alicia McQuen from their wedding last July.  It included this photo which I think is pretty classic:

Where we are, what we do

So, we are at the home of Paul, Jenny and Max Baker in Alpine, WY. Paul built the house himself four years ago. They got a lot of snow just before we arrived and even though it has melted some, it's still pretty deep.

Paul's house in Alpine, WY

 We try to take a walk every day, and we get lovely views like this one in the late afternoon:

The view from above Paul's house

Sunday mornng when we got up, we discovered the world had been transformed. A freezing mist had covered every twig with hoar frost:

Hoar frost on the trees next to Paul's house

We got ourselves organized and went to church with Max at the Star Valley United Church, which is Presbyterian/Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

Star Valley United Church

It is a small congregation but very friendly. The pastor, Rev. Steve Crittenden, took advantage of it's being Super Bowl Sunday and the fact that the two coaches, John and Jim Harbaugh, are brothers - a unique situation which, he said, creates "a very theological Super Bowl." He imagined watching the game through the eyes of their parents, knowing that one of their boys would be happy, and the other disappointed. The parents had been asked by an interviewer what they would do after the game. They responded - "we'll celebrate with the son who wins, but we'll be with the son who loses." That, said Pastor Steve, is an analogy for the way God looks at humanity.

After church we went to the Alpine Market to get some last minute snacks.

Max helps Ellen pick out some snacks

After we got home, Jenny created a little ski run on the berm in front of their house, and encouraged Max to try out his skis. He was more interested in using his sled.

Fun on the sled

Ellen and I took another walk and marveled at the birches against the snow and blue, blue sky.

Beautiful birches

Road Food

Effie's Oat Cakes - Yum!!

We haven't said much about food as yet. Actually, we like our little snacks out of our box in the car - string cheese or cheddar cheese on an Ak-mak cracker, an Effie's oat cake with peanut butter (we LOVE Effie's oat cakes), a handful of nuts, a square of dark chocolate. 

But we love looking for Roadfood restaurants (that's Michael and Jane Stearns' book which we  find usually sends us to interesting, locally noteworthy, restaurants).

Heid's Diner in Liverpool, NY

Our first Roadfood stop was at Heid's in Liverpool, NY. It is famous for its hot dogs. It was a classic Art Deco diner.

We stopped in Oberlin, OH at one of our favorite restaurants, the Aladdin Eatery which should be in Roadfood  but isn't - a middle eastern restaurant with fabulous falafel cakes and lentil soup.

Falafel cakes at the Aladdin

Actually everything there is scrumptious. We hoped Arthur Davis might walk in while we were there but then realized  he was probably still on break.


 Next door to the Aladdin is a Ben Franklin 5 & 10 which in addition to the usual variety store stock has a great used and new book store. We always make a stop there if it's open.

Ben Franklin cum bookstore in Oberlin, OH

Grove Cafe Breakfast Menu

Grove Cafe, Ames, Iowa - Ellen in window

The BIG pancake

Our next Roadfood stop wasn't until the Grove Cafe in Ames, IA (home of Iowa State University). It is famous for its frisbee-sized pancake. Ellen got one. It was so big, I had to help her eat it. 

We also had breakfast in Schaumburg, IL in a Richard Walker's restaurant - Ellen had her usual Dutch Baby pancake (also huge). And we ate at the Good Earth Cafe in Minneapolis with our friend Arleene Sweet. That's been it for special food so far - a little thin in the Roadfood department, but not too bad overall.