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Welcome to my weekly update for July 3, 2022!
Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans! The current political situation makes this one feel…Bittersweet? Ironic? Fraught? but I hope you still spend time safely celebrating with your loved ones.
We’ve had a busy week. I reported in my last update that the southern loop of Yellowstone National Park was reopening on June 22. I didn’t mention that my husband’s cousin and his wife had made plans at the end of April to fly up on June 23 and meet us inside the park to spend a long weekend exploring together. You see why I was so disappointed when the park was closed. But thanks to everyone’s hard work, we were able to have our getaway reunion! We say they graciously adopted us and saved our sanity during California’s covid shutdowns around the holidays in 2020; it really meant a lot to spend time with them again. We saw Old Faithful, the Grand Prismatic Spring, more geothermal features than I can name, Yellowstone Lake, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and lots of waterfalls and wildlife. And as I write this on July 1, the north loop is scheduled to reopen on July 2! The north and northeast entrances remain closed but Yellowstone employees and volunteers really are miracle workers. Their next goals are reopening those entrances so the nearby towns can get the tourist dollars they rely on.
We drove back to Billings on Sunday evening and on Monday evening my aunt and uncle arrived to spend a few days with us. They love to travel but this was their first visit to Montana. My aunt is a history nut so she was thrilled to see Pompey’s Pillar and the Little Bighorn Battlefield (link to my post about both sites). We always have a fantastic time laughing and catching up with them. I also enjoy having thoughtful discussions about current events with likeminded people. I think my husband is happy to have someone take the pressure off him since he’s usually the primary outlet for my opinions and outrage!
Slideshow:
All images © Jennifer G. at Introverted Reader 2022
- Grand Prismatic Spring. The colors are so vibrant that when we were at ground level, they reflected up into the steam
- Everyone’s favorite, Old Faithful
- I loved that this rainbow looks like it’s coming out of Old Faithful. There was a pretty spectacular sunset behind us at this point too. I kept bouncing up from the card table to take more pictures like a jack-in-the-box while everyone else was trying to get me focused on playing rummy.
- Wildflowers blooming somewhere on the road between Cody and the east entrance of Yellowstone
- Yellowstone Lake. We feel pretty confident that the day was so clear, we were seeing the Grand Tetons over the lower point of the mountains in the foreground. This area was devastated by fire in 1988 so the trees are dead but shrubs and flowers are growing underneath them.
- And I had to include a picture that my husband’s cousin shared with us of their little dachshund at the boarders’. She’s so cute. She adopted us into her pack in 2020 too.
Posted:
Ten Books on My Summer 2022 To-Read List
Read:
I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site.
Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, edited by Paul Hawken 🌟🌟🌟 (Link to my GoodReads review)
“The Secret Life of Bots” by Suzanne Palmer (Short story recommended by Greg’s Book Haven. You can read it free online at ClarkesWorld Magazine.) 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (Title link goes to my GoodReads review)
Currently Reading:
Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
Heart of Iron (Heart of Iron #1) by Ashley Poston, read by Adenrele Ojo
The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack
Up Next:
As I write this, I haven’t even started the books by Evanovich and Mack so I definitely haven’t planned my next print books. I might finish my audiobook though and if I do, I’m thinking about listening to Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. We’ll see.
What did your week look like?
Hosts:
Deb Nance at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon and Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer hosts Sunday Post. Kathryn at Book Date hosts It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
40 Comments
Sounds like a great visit! The Yellowstone pics are great. I’ve felt for several years now like Independence Day is bittersweet. Ever since I’ve started learning how much injustice there is in America (racial, gender, etc) it just feels odd to celebrate. I’ve been trying to celebrate the potential while acknowledging that there’s still such a long way to go.
I also loved “The Secret Life of Bots,” and if you’re interested in a sequel Palmer wrote “Bots of the Lost Arc” last year and you can read it online here: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/palmer_06_21/
Haha! I should check to see if there actually is a prequel or sequel before I write that I wish there were. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Maybe we should sell blue hats that say “MAOIP”–Make America Own Its Potential. Not quite as catchy as the other hats, I guess.
LOL! I hadn’t clicked through to your Goodreads review, so I didn’t see that you were wanting a sequel. I just knew that *I* want more of Bot 9, so I assumed that any fan of the story would want more, too. 😉
Yeah, that’s not as catchy, but it’s still true. There is so much potential for greatness here, but we’ve honestly never lived up to that as a nation.
Love your Yellowstone pics. We were planning to visit but opted for next year due to the recent closures. Happy reading.
I’m sorry your plans were disrupted but I hope you found a new vacation location that’s just as interesting!
Great photos! I do hope to get to Yellowstone some day. Great assortment of books too. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
Thanks! I hope you get to visit Yellowstone in the future!
I have fond memories of Yellowstone from my childhood…and visiting friends, who live in Montana.
These memories do help during these troubled times.
Have a great week!
So many people seem to have fond memories of Yellowstone from their youth. It’s truly a magical place.
Yellowstone is definitely on my list! Your trip looks amazing!
It was!
Glad you made it to Yellowstone. It’s been a while since I visited, but it’s a gorgeous place. I also appreciated Drawdown because at least it highlights things that can make a difference. I really liked Seth Klein’s book, A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency, that showed how we can make the changes that need to made through a model similar to how the Canadian government dealt with the second world war. Thanks for the heads up about
Mobilizing for climate change the way we mobilize for war sounds like a good idea to me.
I’m glad you were able to get in and see Yellowstone! Last I heard, it was completely closed, so it sounds like they have things under control again. Have a great week!
I’ve been shocked by how quickly Yellowstone has reopened!
Your Yellowstone trip sounds lovely! And I’m glad the park reopened enough that you could go. We haven’t been there since 2006, so I enjoyed seeing your photos.
Thanks!
Love your pictures!!! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you!
I feel the same way about the 4th. Glad you were able to have your reunion- and yes it ls also nice to have people to talk with about things. Everything is so crazy now we need that!
I love that picture of Prismatic Spring.
I’m glad you liked the Secret Life of Bots! I loved it. And I saw it in turn on someone else’s blog- I wish I remembered who
Venting is definitely a necessity right now!
I’m so glad you were able to have your Yellowstone reunion… definitely a bright spot amidst all the turmoil in the news. That was supposed to be part of our 2020 travels but, of course, we have yet to reschedule that great western adventure. Your photos, as always, are beautiful!
Thanks! I hope you get to visit Yellowstone and other western destinations soon.
I hope to get to Yellowstone some day. At this point in my life I may just have to plan a driving vacation by myself to see all the places I want. Your pictures are beautiful! Sounds like a nice trip and nice to see family too!
https://lisalovesliterature.bookblog.io/2022/07/03/weekly-wrap-up-74-july-3rd-2022/
There’s never enough time to read all the books I want or to see all the places I want to see.
I love your pictures as always. I haven’t been to Yellowstone in 24 years. Your pictures are making me want to go again. I’m glad you got to go in the park with your family. 🙂
I hope you get to visit again someday!
OK, maybe I need to rethink a trip to Yellowstone… Great photos!!
After a couple of busy weeks, I’m looking forward to a quiet week ahead. We have nothing on the calendar! Maybe I’ll curl up with my summer reading and be lazy. Probably not since the yard and weeds are always in need of attention…
We find that we don’t miss yardwork or gardening at all since we’ve been traveling! 🙂 A quiet week sounds nice. I think we’re going to take it pretty easy this coming weekend. If you can squeeze in Yellowstone, you should think about it!
Lovely photos and I’m glad you got your reunion.
Have a great weekend!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2022/07/03/sunday-salon-11/
Thank you!
I love your photos as always. I went to Yellowstone as a child with my parents. But my daughter hasn’t been there. Outrage is the correct word about politics these days. I’m so glad you are getting to see the parks and visit with your family.
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
I hope you’re able to visit Yellowstone with your daughter someday.
We were terribly disappointed that we didn’t get to go back to Yellowstone, so thank you for sharing your photos. That photo with the rainbow is amazing. Yellowstone is my happy place, and the book I’m working on is a memoir of the summer I spent there.
I have the latest Janet Evanovich novel here (maybe from last summer?) but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet. Evanovich always makes me laugh. It sounds like Drawdown wasn’t as helpful as it proclaims that it is. I guess I will pass on it.
Ooh, did you work in Yellowstone? One of my aunt’s friends worked at the Old Faithful Inn back in the day, and was excited to learn that was where we stayed. It was a splurge for us but it was all that was available in the park when we booked it. I’m sorry you didn’t get to visit. We were on the brink of disappointment but the park opened just in time for our trip.
Your Yellowstone photos are beautiful! I agree that the workers and volunteers did a remarkable job.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
I can’t believe I’ve never been to Yellowstone! Your photos remind me that I really do need to get myself there; it look stunning.
So glad you got to enjoy Yellowstone. I was there years ago, and would like to go again.
Your pictures are beautiful! I definitely need to get to Yellowstone one day.
You absolutely do!