Field of Flowers
May 28, 2011 § 3 Comments
We were driving through Missoula, Montana on our way to Target for the first time since moving out West. It was our pit stop during our 11-hour drive from Moran, WY to Moscow, ID, where I would be a bridesmaid in my cousin’s wedding.
It was here where I felt it and smelt it, what my soul had longed for since May arrived: summer.
After glancing over at the digital temperature in our car and seeing 70 F, I yelped and rolled down the window. The warm breeze rushed over me like a rejuvenating bath. I heard a lawn mower purring, and the smell of freshly cut grass wafted into the car. It was like smelling a long-lost friend’s perfume and then feeling nostalgic.
I wanted to soak up every ounce of the warm summer air and smells, and carry it in a bubble to protect me from the mean Jackson cold overstaying its welcome.
In honor of the weather, I bought a bright pink T-shirt with a funky flower design in Target and got a iced coconut mocha. I felt like I was on an island in the Caribbean.
Then in Moscow we found tulips. Quaint homes in the town had fire red, bubble gum pink, and lemon yellow tulips blossoming in their gardens.
And on the outskirts of town were freshly vacuumed carpets of green wheat fields. Dom said it looked like Microsoft Windows wallpaper. You see it?
Dom even found a field of yellow flowers that was the perfect photo shoot.
But the refreshing weather didn’t last forever. The day of the wedding the skies were blue for most of it, but the cold winds from Jackson somehow found us and chased us most of the day into the the picturesque outdoor reception. Everyone threw on jackets and sweaters over their summery dresses, and shivered.
And then we drove home back into the muddy, brown snow lands, and we had flurries yesterday and today.
Planet Yellowstone
May 23, 2011 § 2 Comments
We felt like our space craft had landed on an unknown planet–one that was so jaw-dropping beautiful, and so nose-prickling strange at the same time.
But we don’t have a space ship, so we weren’t on another planet. We were spending the day in Yellowstone National Park, and one day wasn’t enough. Thankfully we will spend the summer just a 23 mile drive from Yellowstone’s south gate.
Our first stop appeared to be Jurassic Park. Before us the top of two mountainous volcanoes were cut off and left on the other side of a lake. We walked nearer and saw what looked like dinosaur droppings all over the squishy ground. Steam was rising out of the volcano holes as if they were witches cauldrons.
We later learned that Yellowstone is one big volcano, so what we saw was part of a volcano, but not a normal Hollywood one.
After looking for dinos and not finding any, we drove on to a hot spring. The wind rudely pushed the steam in our noses, and we almost gagged as the rotten egg aroma infused us. We hurriedly took a picture and ran back to sniff Alejandro’s air freshener.
After running from the smelly spots, we had lunch with some buffaloes. We ate our sandwiches in the car, and they ate their organic grass calmly in the valley near us. Then a van from Idaho University full of Korean exchange students from pulled over to join us.
They got out of the car and one boy ran up towards the buffalo with his tour guide screaming at him, “Remember what I told you! Stay away from the buffalo!”
The boy reluctantly stepped back, staying as close the the permitted perimeter as possible and inching nearer to the buffalo when the guide wasn’t looking. But soon they left, and the boy wasn’t Buffalo Dessert.
As we drove along the road, we came upon 10-15 people swarming a lookout spot. They all had professional cameras and monoculars as long as our car and were almost dancing with excitement.
After milling around we overheard that moments ago two wolves killed a mule deer. Some of the photographers were watching the wolves when it happened, and others had just arrived.
We got out our puny binoculars and found the black wolf and gray one on the horizon chowing down. Then one of the kind wildlife people felt sorry for us and let us look in their high powered monocular. We felt like we were watching the Discovery channel as the wolves came into focus preying on their prey.
After the wolves, we came to one of the most beautiful natural places I’ve seen in America: the falls at Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon. I was reminded how America has exquisite wonders too that the Germans, Chinese, and Australians around me left their countries to visit.
Then we arrived on Mars. At least I feel like they must have bubbling mud pots on Mars. It was so captivating to watch the mud gurgle and pop like there was some Martian underneath breathing gross bubbles.
Maybe they have geysers on Mars too. I couldn’t stop watching the water spurt straight up into the sky, naturally. It wasn’t some man-made fountain at the park, but God showing off his handiwork.
I’m not sure what planet we arrived at next, but it was as windy as a hurricane, and full of colors and steam— like what an artist’s brain must look like at work.
We escaped the wind to head to our final stop for the day: Old Faithful. We joined the crowd sitting on wooden benches waiting for it to explode. I felt like I was in an international airport. There were Indians to the left of us, Chinese sitting behind, Americans in front, French to the right, and a Thai with his arm around me. I love how natural wonders unite the world.
All of us internationals sat waiting for Yellowstone’s famous site do its thing…and we sat…and sat…and sat for about an hour. Then whoosh, he burst forth for one and a half minutes, and then went back into hiding. It felt just like waiting hours for a roller coaster that only lasts two minutes.
But it was worth it.
Yule Hill
May 16, 2011 § 3 Comments
Our work friend Nicole said her Jeep Liberty would be the best car to take. So all six of us work pals crammed in it to get to her favorite snow-free short hike.
It was a perfect day for it. The weather was the warmest I had felt so far at around 60 degrees: heavenly.
I gripped Dom’s hand as her car conquered the rocky dirt road, and the small streams she breezed through. After a few miles we were there, at Yule Hill.
Nicole had discovered the trail up the hill on her own by following the bisons’ path. The landscape was full of scrubby bushes we stomped through, dirt we slid in, and rocks we clambered over—or climbed in.
When we reached the top of the hill, the green landscape, snowy mountains, and pristine lake brought me back to New Zealand with a nostalgic sigh. I told Dom one day he will see those NZ views too.
Dom kept calling for the bears to come out from hiding in the trees, and I keep telling them to stay.
They listened to me.
Apparently a mountain lion lives on Yule Hill. We saw his paw prints, and dried up bones from his prey. Maybe he was stalking us, but thankfully he was as sly as a cat, so we didn’t see him.
Even though we didn’t see any wildlife on the hill, Dom did find cool photo shoot spots.
And we found a perfect ending.
White
May 9, 2011 § 4 Comments
This morning Dom wondered if it was cold outside. He opened the door and said, “Oh my gosh!!”
I glanced over and saw it: huge, swirling, whirling, fluffy, white flakes falling from the sky. I immediately thought, “Forget my green post from yesterday!”
After I told my mom about the snow, she and I both said the wicked, winter Witch from the Chronicles of Narnia must still be in Wyoming. I thought Aslan had arrived and brought spring, but the snowy, icy Witch popped out of hiding, hopefully for the last time this season.
But for now, we will make the most of the white stuff while dreaming of the green yet again hidden below.
Green
May 8, 2011 § Leave a comment
A few days ago on my run, I saw something bizarre. I was told it existed in Wyoming, but didn’t really believe it did.
Green grass. I ran right over it with my jaw dropped.
Then today it rained and rained instead of snowed and snowed. Someone in the cafeteria said May showers bring June flowers in Wyoming.
“Bring on the rain!” I said with visions of vibrant wildflowers in my head as I watched the white, hard snow melting away drip by drip.
Nature Date
May 7, 2011 § 5 Comments
It was twilight. The perfect time for our first Nature Date. After dinner in the dining hall, Dom and I decided to drive two miles to the Jackson Lake dam to watch the animals at sunset.
After turning on the road to the dam we pulled over. Dom had spotted a coyote on the desert of snow. We took out our binoculars and laughed at him.
He jumped in the air and into the snow like he was on the high dive at the pool. Then he popped his head up, shook off the soft snow, sniffed the white ground and went to a new diving board, and tried again. Dom guessed he was diving for his delectable dinner of mice.
We drove on after the coyote meandered away into the brush. Then Dom pointed to some trees, and said, “Are those flamingos?”
I quickly told him there aren’t flamingos in Wyoming, but then when I looked in my binoculars I thought maybe there are flamingos here but brown instead of pink ones. We watched them bop up and down like they were grooving to some music with their knees bending backward as they strolled.
Then we came upon Jackson Lake, the lake our lodge is named for. We got out of the car, and Dom held me as we gazed at it. The frozen waters had a slight glacier light green tint to them. The sandy shore eagerly peeked out of the snow looking for bare feet and warm rays.
After leaving the romantic lake, we made it to the roaring dam. We parked right near the edge of the rushing river, and sat on a nearby log, trying to keep each other warm.
We both felt a bit disappointed we hadn’t seen any bears or moose yet, but were happy to just look up at the flock of birds near us, zooming in circles over the water like small, black model airplanes.
Then Dominic said, “I am cold.”
I was astonished. He was wearing shorts, and the wind was blowing fiercely, but it was still something I had never heard him say before. So we moved to sit in Alejandro to watch the sunset.
Then I spotted him to the left of our car in the distance.
“Dom! It’s a moose!”
He didn’t have his glasses on. “Where?? Oh! No, that’s a bear right?!”
He took the binoculars, “Oh yeah, it is a moose!”
Then it started to walk. Dom got out of the car, to stand behind it and get pictures. I sat and watched Mr. Moose in the binoculars. Then I spotted another one walking behind him. The other didn’t have stubs of wooden antlers poking out of its head, and it was smaller, so we guessed it was Mrs. Moose.
Then they came closer. And closer. And closer. I took off the binoculars because they were so close I didn’t need them. Dom jumped in the car.
“Do you think they will ram into our car??”
‘I don’t know…”
Mr. Moose kept looking at us very curiously–wondering why we were in his path to get to the shrubs on the other side. We chose to leave before he decided we were in the way and forced us to move.
But we were too entranced to go. We pulled away a little to give them more walking space. They walked/tripped down the road, right in front of the mountains that had set on fire as we were watching Mr. & Mrs. Moose.
It was a perfect end to a perfect Nature Date—the first of many to come.
Our First Hike
May 3, 2011 § 2 Comments
“How do I put these on??” I was talking about the wide, awkward snowshoes under my feet. Our friends Adam and Erin had borrowed some so each of us in our four-person group could have a pair.
“I’m not sure…” They all mumbled together.
We worked together, and after a couple of tries our feet stayed firmly in and didn’t fly out of our metal, sharp shoes.
We laughed at how all of us novices were hiking together to the Huckleberry Hot Springs.
But I did have a map of the trail. It was drawn in pen on a scrap white piece of paper. My friend at work had explained and drawn the map well, but directions don’t like to stay in my brain, and my eyes don’t translate maps well.
But right after we got out of the car, and Erin attached her 8-month old son to her in a sling, another car pulled up. They got out with their shiny cross country skis, and were dressed like they just stepped out of an REI catalog.
“Do you know where the Huckleberry Hot Springs are?” Adam bravely asked them.
“Yeah, we are going there. You go down that road, and it curves to the right, and then you will see a trail head sign. Don’t worry, on my first time here I had no clue how to get there either,” one of the ladies kindly told us.
So we walked. And walked. The road curved, and curved, and curved. But no trail head sign. We decided on a consensus to turn around.
Then down what looked like a driveway we saw people getting in a car.
Maybe they know! We waved to the car, and they rolled down their windows.
The four guys in the car discussed among themselves the best way for us to go, gave us simple directions, and we were back on track.
We were almost to where they had described, and they drove by us again, almost like they came to check on us. They pointed to the right as they passed the very small hidden trail head sign. What sweet angels.
Then we noticed that the cross country skiers had of course made it to the trail first. We were so thankful to just follow along their smooth narrow tracks in the snow, and not have to worry about getting lost.
We had heard there were a lot of bears on this trail since bears love water and the trail followed a stream. So we had a bear spray per couple. Dom and I would toss ours back and forth like a hot potato. Neither of us wanting to be the one holding it when a bear came.
As we walked Erin and I spotted distinct paw prints in the snow. The boys had been chatting and walked right by them.
We shouted, “Wait guys! What kind of tracks are these??”
They came back, and all of us guessed, “A bear??”
“No, too small right?”
“A wolf?”
“Yeah! Maybe! Or a coyote?”
“But they look a little bigger than a coyote’s. I don’t know, maybe it could be a bear.”
Then we kept seeing more as we hiked along the stream. Some looked bigger than the ones before, others smaller. We think we saw elk, or moose, or fox, or wolf, or bear tracks while we walked.
But we all we saw were their tracks. Dom was bummed. “Man, we haven’t seen any animals! Only ducks!”
But Erin and I were delighted no hungry bears, giant moose, or scary wolves had run into our path.
We loved hiking along the tundra of snow, with the mountains, and running stream to the left of us, and the evergreen forest to the right. The snow was so deep we wondered if some of the tree nubs sticking out of the snow were the their tops. We decided we were walking on trees.
Eventually, we had to head home. Erin was getting double the workout from carrying her adorable son Titus, and he would be hungry soon. We felt more secure going back, and even took off our snow shoes at one point, thinking the snow must not be that deep.
Then I saw Dom’s leg start to sink in over and over, making huge endless black holes in the snow. Us girls put our snow shoes back on, while the boys frolicked.
We made it back to the car, and weren’t novices anymore.
Now we all know how to wear and walk in snow shoes. Also, we are going to look up the animal prints to figure out which ones were watching us like an audience, wondering what these crazy creatures were doing stomping through their beautiful home.
Stalking Osprey
May 2, 2011 § Leave a comment
While taking a horse back riding tour at the Outer Banks, N.C., my dad and middle-school-age-me would sometimes see osprey (sea hawks) in the naked trees along the sandy path. It was hard to spot them while bouncing on our gentle horses. But sometimes he or I pointed excitedly to the sky as we saw one soaring above the trees or peering down at us from its nest.
I never expected to see osprey everywhere in Wyoming. Especially since we aren’t near ocean. But I guess they can live anywhere.
On Easter Sunday, Dom and I were walking around our friends’ neighborhood, and of course taking pictures. We happened upon an osprey nest bristling with branches. It was at the very top of what looked like a telephone pole with a wooden flat board.
For at least half an hour, we stalked the osprey. Dom was trying to get the perfect picture. Here is the play by play below:
“These are my babies. Go away!” Dom didn’t listen.
“Come and get me then. Just stay away from my kiddos!”
“Ok!”
She lands on a tree. Dom says, “Run and make her fly Sherri, so it’s a better pic!”
I walk calmy towards her, so I don’t scare her too much.
“Great! She’s flying! Keep making her fly!”
“Perfect!”
Then she picks up a stick and circles us over and over.
“I’m tired of flying around with this stick! Go away so I can go back to my nest!”
Dom finally listens…but he will be back.
The End.
America: Through an Immigrant's Eyes 
