Flashback Friday – Green River Lake, Wyoming – 2006

Think about what you would define as “God’s Country.”  We’ve been to multiple places that would fit that description during our seven-year rving escapade.  But, for sure, one spot in Wyoming is in our top five list. Green River Lake, at the edge of the Wind River Range of the Teton Mountains, near Pinedale, Wyoming, is one of the most beautiful temporary homes we’ve had. 

In early 2006 we were prospecting for a volunteering job in the northwest part of the U.S. On the volunteer.gov website we learned of the positions available in the  Pinedale Ranger District of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The location sounded good. And we liked the idea of experiencing the National Forest Service. However, we were hesitant to take a campground host slot as we had heard some not-so-great stories about camp hosting elsewhere.  But the Green River Lake Campground  sounded so tempting – 52 miles from the small town of Pinedale, Wyoming, 26 miles of that on a dirt forest road, next to a wilderness area. Doesn’t that make you want to be there? Spending a few months at the edge of the Bridger Wilderness could be invigorating.  We decided the location would keep our camping visitors to those who were serious hikers, fishermen, etc.  Besides, we were attracted to trying the remote experience for a few months, without hookups or cell phone.  Long-story-short, we took the spots as camp host and trailhead host, proceeded to Pinedale in mid-May for our training and had a super summer. 

There are so many experiences to describe here. This post could be a book.  I’m keeping my recollections to a minimum for now, but maybe this one will have to be continued. Our peek inside the NFS was positive and intriguing overall. The industry behind fighting the annual ravaging wild fires and hiring employees was enlightening. And, we encountered helpful and hard-working people in the Forest Service.

Our means of communication with the rangers was via a two-way radio, other than when someone stopped by weekly to check on us or we went to a meeting occasionally in Pinedale.  We were happy that our luck came through when we tried to setup our satellite dishes. Jerry was able to magically find a  small break in the thick forest cover to get the TV and Internet operating. We felt safe, yet removed. However, when a wild fire was within two miles and ashes were falling on us, we were somewhat concerned. The campground was closed and we were ready on a moment’s notice to evacuate.  Get the picture so far?

Fortunately, our predictions about the majority of the people who came to our campground and all of the people who hiked the 13-mile trail through the wilderness were correct. They were basically nature lovers who respected their surroundings. Working up towards the campground in the valley where the Green River flows is mouth-dropping. You follow the forest road with the Bridger Wilderness on the right and the Tetons on the left, while sometimes a moose or wolf crosses your path .  The scene at Green River Lake, just down the hill from our campsite, where Square Top Mountain stands watch, is out-of-this-world!  (See first photo in this post.)

Add to all of this that we were able to bring our grandson, Ben, at eleven years old, to visit us for two weeks. He tried his hand at trout fishing in the ponds and streams even though the giant mosquitoes chose those two specific weeks to swarm in our locale. Yes, he did catch a few trout and they were scrumptious.

What a memorable summer! We haven’t had the chance to revisit the Pinedale, Wyoming area, but would definitely like to do so.

 

 

 

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P.S. Fast forward to today………Our current home is still in Bushnell, Florida.  This is a new scenario for us - two months  (Jan-Feb 2010) in one location when we are not committed to volunteering. Seems as though there’s been a shift in our needs/outlook. We’ve been taking a good deal of time for pondering the future while in a friendly park with a nice climate.  Stay tuned for more developments.

Thanks for visiting Hurley Travels.  Talk to you later.

Our Tennessee Home – Stones River National Battlefield

The “Magical History Tour of 2009” brought us north another 200 miles to our Tennessee volunteering destination, the Stones River National Battlefield, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville. We arrived about ten days ago and are settled into our home for the next two months. Our parking spot is in the driveway of one of the houses next to the national cemetery, with 6,000 very quiet neighbors. Actually it is a superb spot! We are near the Visitors Center where we “work,” and we have a shady location. Our volunteer job is digitizing the photo collection for the museum. With 1200 photos under our belt, we are well into the project already. We'll keep you posted on developments as we learn more.

What else has been going on? The first weekend here in the battlefield we heard multiple viewpoints from soldiers and civilians as they described the Battle of Stones River and other Civil War events in Murfreesboro. They shared vivid descriptions of life for the local residents as the war approached and during occupation by the troops. We heard from the boys in blue and in gray who were in the horrendous battle at Stones River. They related their own regiments' experiences on Dec. 31, 1862, January 1 and 2, 1863. I can't say enough about all of these actors. They were all so great at activating our imaginations. They painted a clear picture of the emotions felt by an elderly southern widow trying to survive, a young black woman fleeing slavery, the town merchant dealing with new laws for selling goods, a Yankee doctor running the army hospital setup at the local college and a loyal young woman resentful of Union soldiers.
As well, the soldiers made us see the details of the battle as it hit them, their friends falling next to them as they were bombarded by ear-shattering cannon fire and dodging bullets running through an open field. Then we witnessed cannons firing with our own ears, although only one shot at a time, rather than 50 or 60 at once.

And to finish the day, we journeyed into 1895, visiting with families in the cemetery as they shared letters from their fallen friends and sons. All of us in the group walking through the Stones River National Cemetery had adopted our own soldier to memorialize. We all were given a dossier . Our soldier was Elijah Waller, private, 29^th Indiana Infantry, from Angola, Indiana, who was killed on July 10, 1863, in Tullahoma, TN, after surviving the Stones River Battle. We found his grave and paused for a few moments to thank him for his sacrifice.

Moving Along

In mid February the migratory birds begin their trip north from their winter home at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. It is our time to move along as well. These last few months have been jam-packed with beautiful nature, great people, learning experiences, lots of laughter and camaraderie. In fact, it's been so filled that I haven't had the time and energy to write about it all on the blog. Over the next few weeks I hope to touch on a few more of those episodes. They might involve Jerry's wildlife sitings while he mowed the channels, my taking part in the Biology department's duck banding sessions or any number of social events.


For instance, we enjoyed our own personal performance at the refuge by our favorite blues band from the Buckhorn Tavern in San Antonio, NM. We can attest from numerous sessions, that these local musicians rival any band from Rush Street or wherever.
Bobbie, on the left, plays the meanest harmonica you can imagine. He owns the Buckhorn.


The other guys are employed in various day jobs, from geologist to auto service dept. manager. But ohhhhh, can they get down! This winter gig has really been okay!

In the past week or two we've experienced farewell lunches, tours, potlucks, cocktails and our last morning's going away French toast breakfast. As we rolled out of our spot number 14 in the volunteer rv park toward Highway 1, we noticed something along the path that didn't belong there. Our friends, Dorothy and Barry, had posted this goodbye wish for us. It just summed up what a great group of folks we've had to live with this winter.
Soon the migrating Sandhill Cranes and snow geese begin their spiraling, searching for those warm wind currents to ride north. The summer residents will appear, both the winged ones and their volunteer buddies who occupy the visitor center and help prepare the habitat for next season. The staff will regroup, train the new ones and make new plans for the coming cycle of refuge management.
The two of us have enjoyed learning a little more about the workings of a wildlife refuge, the community and the people. We're ready to move along but will carry a little of the Bosque with us. We'll see you down the road.