Yellowstone Adventures Day 1 Part, ?

 I had never been to Yellowstone prior to this so forgive my excitement over what you may yawn at. 

The first day out it was foggy and damp. The sort of day made for spooky adventures in a magical forest. One of the first unusual sights to catch my eye was wisps of steam curling up from holes in the hillsides. It rather unnerved me to think that you could potentially step into a steaming hot hole and not even know it until it was too late, but it's fascinating to see.

 Most of the mist floating through this valley came from steam vents in the rocks and hills, along with a little from the river.

I tried to capture the jewel like droplets of water glittering from bare shrub branches. It sparkles a bit, don't you think? You can see that the sun was starting to come out here, and brighten the day. 

There will be more to come, as I can't figure out why my edited photos aren't showing up here. Good night for now. Sweet dreams all you in blogger land.

Family Time- Enjoying it in spite of challenges.

We are on our way back from a Spring Break run to the Midwest to visit my daughter and family. I took this photo of Jinxy Cat, who was skulking under the dining room table. I'm really loving the things my new camera can do. She was in the dark, but this looks as if she was out in the light. Amazing!

I would love to share some great family photos of our trip, but everyone was sick! Strep throat got my daughter and oldest grand daughter, and the two younger kidlets were suffering fevers and such off and on as well. We enjoyed our time in spite of it and I can't wait to see them again. I was glad Nature Guy got to meet everyone, plus we have a commitment of them coming out our way. Yay!

I tried a new recipe twist that I hope to share when I get a photo before we munch the last of the treats sometime today. Best in the West Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars I've dubbed them.

My daughter has done a great job decorating her home! Funny, she called me in a panic when they first moved, not knowing where to put everything, but she's done a very nice job. Sick bodies all over the furniture didn't give me an opportunity to share though....lol.

For now we are making our way to Cheyenne for the night. The weather is pleasant, signs of spring are cropping up, migrating birds are gleaning last Fall's leavings as they stop on their way up north, and we are rested believe it or not. Time is running out on the lap top battery so taa taa for now!

Thrifty Thursday - Best Day of the Week to Shop

 From gas....

 to groceries.....

 and clothing,

or travel, there are better days of the week to make those important purchases. Here's a great article that came out recently I'm sharing in hopes you will find a good deal by following these guidelines.
Yahoo! Finance - Best Day of the week to shop
I am planning a trip with my youngest daughter so I'm going to put this to the test. Let me know if you have some success yourself.

Thursday Travelogue - Portland, Oregon

 Beautiful Portland, Oregon is a wonderful city full of arts, events such as the blues festival coming up tomorrow, and eating establishments galore. International taste treats from so many countries I can't list them all here at this time, but if there's something you like in the way of food, clothing or art, you will find it here.

We are staying at the Marriott Waterfront Portland, which, if we had been given and choice and known would not have been our favorite. Don't get me wrong, Marriott usually has some of the best hotels around, but we are not so impressed with our room here. The pros are the view, the bed, and furniture are nice, the concierge service, which is perfect, and the pillows, which are like sleeping on a cloud. The room is small though for the price, only one towel rack in the bathroom, and it's in the shower, no fridge or microwave, which is a must for those of us who like good food but can't eat the whole meal all at once. Having said that, our preference would have been the Marriott Residence Inn, which is incredible! The rooms are so spacious and well equipped, with a way to store and cook food if needed, a nice living room area, and I do remember the bathroom being much bigger. I do have a question though, why is it there are no exhaust fans in the bathrooms of the fancier hotels? Anyhew, we are enjoying our stay, and love being here.