Category: vacation

Tatting With Friends and Travel

Is it Friday already? The week has gone by so fast! It has been an extremely busy week. Last weekend we took a trip to Missouris and I feel we’ve been running ever since.

My husband and I traveled to Springfield, Missouri last weekend to meet up with a few tatting friends. Kristina Fry arranged for a room at The Library Center where we could tat and catch up. It was a great location for us to spread out, share what we’ve been doing, and do a bit of tatting together.

Tatting with Kristina, Kay, and Peggy on wandasknottythoughts
Tatting with Kristina, Kay, and Peggy

Kristina Fry, Kay Pettyjohn, Peggy Rogan, and I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of tatting. We all met at tatting events put on by Tatting Corner and went on the Tatting Cruise last year. Our time together went by so fast! My husband left us to our threads to go to Bass Pro Shop, where he enjoyed himself much more than if he had stayed with us.

Tatting and chatting on wandasknottythoughts
Tatting and chatting

Thanks to Kristina for taking a few other pictures than the one I took. I was so busy doing I didn’t even think about pictures.

Ladies, I’ll see you in Anderson, Indiana in July for the next Tat Days.

From Springfield, Jack and I went on to Branson, Missouri. The only plan we had there was to see the Titanic museum. We’d seen the outside before but had never gone through it. It is amazing!

Titanic Museum, Branson, MO on wandasknottythoughts
Titanic Museum, Branson, MO

It takes about two hours to go through and you must purchase tickets before showing up. There is limited space inside so they restrict how many people can be inside at one time. We spent a bit over two hours inside, there was so much to see and hear. It is self-guided, but they give you a device with audio descriptions. I highly recommend this place!

Presidential suite on the Titanic on wandasknottythoughts
Presidential suite on the Titanic

This is a recreation of one of the largest accommodations on the Titanic, one of the two presidential cabins. The portrait is of the couple who were in this one on the fateful voyage.

All of the people working in the museum dressed as they would have if they were actual crew members.

Musicians of the Titanic on wandasknottythoughts
Musicians of the Titanic

This gentleman’s name is Tommy, who explained how the musicians from the Titanic were paid and lived, and then sat down at the beautiful piano and played for those of us in the room.

If you’ve never been to Branson, MO. before, it has lots of things to do and see. Just driving around is fun (at least for us!). Here is a couple of pictures I took (of the many I took).

Wax Museum of Branson, MO on wandasknottythoughts
Wax Museum of Branson, MO

This is the outside of the Wax Museum at night. King Kong can be seen from a long distance, especially at night.

Aquarium in Branson, MO on wandasknottythoughts
Aquarium in Branson, MO

The outside of the Branson Aquarium. The water is a show all by itself. We stopped in the parking lot to watch it.

There are a lot of shows in Branson and many choices for places to eat. If you don’t mind the crowds, it can be a lot of fun. It’s a fun place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” Martin Buber

I have no affiliation with anyone linked in this post and earn nothing for mentioning them.

Autumn Earrings

While working with all the threads in autumn shades, I thought it would be great to make some earrings. I have some really cute owl beads I wanted to use, so I tried a few different things in an attempt at earrings I like. Most didn’t work out as I envisioned but what I ended with looks okay.

Owl bead earrings on wandasknottythoughts
Owl bead earrings

The split rings have a tendency to twist, but that’s the nature of split rings. They are fun to wear.

When you think of fall, Halloween, or Thanksgiving, pumpkins come to mind. I came up with these earrings.

Orange pumpkin earrings on wandasknottythoughts
Orange pumpkin earrings

I think I’ve seen patterns for pumpkins similar to these, but this is my take on them. I gave them to one of my daughters, who was thrilled to get them. She has a sweater that they look great with. Sometimes I get things right!

I’ve been working on several other tatted things, but I’m not quite ready to share them yet. So I’ll share a few pictures of our most recent vacation.

We spent the last week of September in Colorado with another couple. We rented a house together in Grand Lake, an area we’ve been to several times, but the first time in town. It was a terrific house with beautiful views.

The view south from the deck on wandasknottythoughts
The view south from the deck

This is the view south from the deck of the house, overlooking Shadow Mountain Lake. The colors were wonderful! I took pictures from this vantage every day so I can look back and see the changes in the trees. We loved the time we spent on the deck.

A magpie on the post on wandasknottythoughts
A magpie on the post

We had several magpies that came around the house daily and entertained us with their antics. Between the cost of gas and eating out, we spent a lot of time at the house instead of traveling around the area as we usually do. This was not a hardship. We took turns cooking which somehow is not so much of a burden when shared with friends. We also enjoy playing cards together, something we do every year on vacation with them. This year we just played a lot more.

I didn’t get much chance to tat while we were at the house but I took advantage of the chances I did have.

Tatting with a view on wandasknottythoughts
Tatting with a view

I sat by the big picture window to tat so I could enjoy the view and the light. It did rain a few times while we were there as you can see by the drops on the window.

Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park on wandasknottythoughts
Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park on wandasknottythoughts

One of the reasons we like the area around Grand Lake is how close it is to Rocky Mountain National Park. This gives us a chance to go into the park to see the wildlife, mostly the elk. We go in the fall so we can hear the elk bugle during the rut. It is exciting to hear!

On our way home from Grand Lake, we caught sight of a herd of bighorn sheep. Amazingly, they were on the outskirts of the Colorado town of Empire. They were obviously used to traffic, just keeping an eye on us but not running away.

Big horn sheep in Colorado on wandasknottythoughts
Big horn sheep in Colorado

FYI, we do not approach too close to wildlife. We keep a safe distance from the animals to take pictures, usually staying in the vehicle. These sheep were very close, but we never got out of the truck.

We’ve had a hot and dry summer here, and most of the state is in extreme or exceptional drought. This morning we awoke to rain! It was not heavy and not much of it, but the right kind. If it had been much heavier it would have just run off instead of sinking into the ground. We’re hoping for more, but we will take what we can get. Sunday we had high winds with a lot of blowing dust and temperatures in the upper 80’s. Today the highs are supposed to be about 55° F with much less wind. Maybe autumn is finally here!

“Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.” Anthony J. D’Angelo

Another snowflake

I mentioned in my last post that I didn’t complete any tatting while on vacation, which is true, but I almost did. I finished this snowflake the day after we got home.

Victor Snowflake on wandasknottythoughts
Victor Snowflake

I still had the Lizbeth #674 Garnet Dk on my shuttles while trying to decide what I wanted to do. I started the center and was very happy with it. I’m not as happy with the outside arms, probably because the dark thread made seeing the stitches hard when I didn’t have the best lighting. Which was often. The reason the arms are a bit wonky is, I suspect, incorrect stitch counts as well as different tensions. This is what happens when you put it down and pick it up at odd intervals while making it.

Overall I’m happy with this snowflake, which I’m calling Victor after where I started it. I’m thinking this might be my family Christmas ornament this year, but I could change my mind at any time.

Victor, Idaho, is a cute little town right on Idaho state highway 33, just five miles from the Wyoming state line. The town has some nice businesses, several of which we visited while there. We did find the street parking kind of odd, none of us had seen it before. All the cars have to back into the parking spots on the street.

Victor, Idaho parking on wandasknottythoughts
Victor, Idaho parking

We were asking ourselves what was going on when we spotted the sign.

Victor, Idaho parking directions on wandasknottyhtoughts
Victor, Idaho parking directions

At least they gave directions. The street is marked with a line to give you space so you can pull over in preparation for backing in. Speaking to one of my daughters when we got home I was told that she had seen this before in a business parking lot. I guess you never know what you are going to find when you travel.

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” travel ad

Back from Vacation 2021

We went on our yearly vacation last week. After days of getting things unpacked, laundry done (mostly), and the yard mowed, I can finally start going through all the pictures I took, some of which you’ll find in this post. I only got a small amount of tatting done while we were gone, and nothing at all completely finished.

I take a lot of pictures, hoping that a few will come out without blurring, missing the subject altogether, and be worth keeping. I love digital pictures! Remember when you had to buy film, take pictures that you have no idea if they are what you want, and pay to get them developed to see even if they were bad? Yeah, I like digital pictures. But now I take so many it takes a while to go through and I rarely get any printed, good or not. There are always upsides and downsides to everything, aren’t there? There is a lot of pictures included in this post.

We went west again, to Idaho this time but we did make a stop at a place I’ve wanted to go to for years, coming close but never getting there, Devil’s Tower, Wyoming. Some of you may remember it from the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It’s very impressive. This picture doesn’t do it justice.

Devil's Tower, Wyoming on wandasknottythoughts
Devil’s Tower, Wyoming

While in the car headed to our destination I thought I’d empty the shuttles of the Harvest Orange Medium thread I had left from the August Split Ring Cross I had made with it. I liked where this was going until I made a core thread join and split the thread. I could not get the join undone! I might try to save it later, but it was impossible in the car.

Orange thread in a tangle on wandasknottythoughts
Tangled thread while emptying shuttles

Before leaving the house I grabbed a couple of balls of thread to take with me. As usual, I didn’t really have a plan on what to tat while on vacation so I just take several colors of thread and hope for the best. Why I grabbed Lizbeth #674 Garnet Dark in size 20 I don’t know. I like the color but it is very dark which makes it hard to see in uncertain lighting. But after emptying the shuttles of the Harvest Orange, I wrapped them in the Garnet and started tatting. I think this is partially why I didn’t finish anything.

I started this next with a vague idea of what I wanted to do. There were too many distractions and I only got this far. Another idea I might come back to at another time.

An idea in Garnet Dk on wandasknottythoughts
An idea in Garnet Dk

One of the distractions was Yellowstone National Park. It is a huge park, with many features to see as well as wildlife. We stopped to see Old Faithful, the famous geyser that erupts at somewhat regular intervals. Recently it erupts every hour to an hour and a half for two to five minutes while everyone just sits around and waits for it. We watched it twice the day we were there, and some of that waiting time was a good time to tat.

Waiting on Old Faithful on wandasknottythoughts
Waiting on Old Faithful
Old Faithful on wandasknottythoughts
Old Faithful
Me tatting at Old Faithful on wandasknottythoughts
Me tatting at Old Faithful

Here’s another start that didn’t get finished. I don’t like this much, it didn’t go as planned at all. Yes, it was a vague plan, but not this. I didn’t have good backgrounds for my tatting pictures so I used postcards I picked up. This one is of a Pronghorn. We saw a lot of these on our trip this year.

Another unfinished object while on vacation on wandasknottythoughts
Another unfinished object while on vacation

This year we stayed at a cozy cabin outside of Victor, Idaho, which is about five miles west of Wyoming and west of Grand Teton National Park. It is cheaper to stay this far away from Yellowstone, anything closer can be quite pricey, though it makes for long days in the car. For all that the cabin was in Idaho, we spent most of our time sightseeing in Wyoming.

Tatting at the cabin in Idaho on wandasknottythoughts
Tatting at the cabin in Idaho

We frequently travel in autumn hoping to catch the color change of the leaves in the mountains. When we got there this year there was some color and when we left there was more. I think we hit it about the right time. We also got there just after it snowed in the mountains, in fact, we had to detour because some of the roads in Yellowstone were closed due to snow.

Idaho fall color on wandasknottythoughts
Idaho fall color

This was a road just outside of Victor that we checked out early one morning hoping to see some wildlife. We only saw two deer, one maybe a 6-point buck, the other a spike (only one point). It was still a nice drive.

Snow-covered mountains in Yellowstone on wandasknottythoughts
Snow-covered mountains in Yellowstone

This is looking east over West Thumb, a part of Yellowstone Lake. The weather was warm after the snow, so these mountains probably lost most of that snow cover within a few days. It was great seeing them with this much snow.

Teton Mountains, Wyoming on wandasknottythoughts
View of the Teton Mountains, Wyoming

We took a little jaunt up to the Grand Targhee Resort, which was recommended as a pretty drive. It was. Once there we turned around and drove back down. There was a lot of color and some beautiful views.

I did get one piece of tatting done shortly after we got home. I’m not all that happy with it and it has a few mistakes (dang that dark thread!) which I’ll share next week. Now I get to go back and enjoy all the pictures a little more slowly and re-live a bit of the vacation.

“Happiness is enjoying the vacation, then enjoying them again through the pictures we take.” Wanda Salmans

Revisiting a Snowflake

Last year while on vacation, I came up with a snowflake. I came across a picture of it this week and thought I would try writing down the pattern. I jotted down the stitch count and made it again. Did you know it’s easier to tat than put into words what you tatted?

I remember thinking about this snowflake and wondering if I should have stopped one round earlier. When I made it last year, I didn’t take any interim pictures, but I took a picture of it at this stage this time.

Vacation snowflake 2020 3rd round on wandasknottythoughts
Vacation snowflake 2020 3rd round

I guess if you like snowflakes without pointy tips this is okay. It might make a nice center for a doily, too. The good news is that when I write out the pattern a person could stop here if they wanted.

Vacation snowflake 2020 finish on wandasknottythoughts
Vacation snowflake 2020 finished

I made several mistakes in this but I’m not worried. This was to get the stitch counts and the techniques, which I changed up in the middle for a couple of things. It still came out pretty well. I did it in three shades of green: Lizbeth #187 Green Ice for the center, # 687 Peppermint Green for the next two rounds, and #638 Christmas Green for the outside, all in size 20. I’m not sure that I care for how the greens look together after I finished it. When I picked them out from my stash – with no natural light – I thought they were okay. When I was tatting with them I had my doubts about them going together, but by that time I just wanted to continue.

The finished snowflake is 5 inches (127 mm) from point to point. I have my notes and scribbles but I haven’t started the diagram yet. I don’t mind putting it down on paper, and sometimes it’s fun, but most of the time I’d rather be tatting.

“Like snowflakes, the human pattern is never cast twice. We are uncommonly and marvelously intricate in thought and action.” Alice Childress

A tatting observer

This year on our vacation we stayed at the same cabin we did two years ago, beside Lake Granby, Colorado. The colors were changing, showing us a lot of fall colors in the trees and brush. We did have to detour both coming and going due to the forest fires around the state, but we were never in danger from them. The air was smoky causing the mountain views to look hazy most of the time. This did not stop us from enjoying our stay.

View from the porch on wandasknottythougths
View from the porch

The view from the porch was still mostly green, but very inviting. We drove around to see the colors but spent a lot of our time at the cabin or fishing in Lake Monarch. I had a bit more time to tat and watch the wildlife. Do you see the two Stellar’s jays in the tree?

Some of the wild life was more friendly than others. The jays and the nuthatch liked checking us out to see if we left anything for them, but the ground squirrels and chipmunks were braver.

Curious ground squirrel checking out my tatting on wandasknottythoughts
Curious ground squirrel checking out my tatting

This ground squirrel wasn’t sure just what I was doing while I was tatting, so came to check out the situation.

Curious ground squirrel What are you doing? on wandasknottythoughts
“Do you have something for me?”

I kept telling him I didn’t have any food, but he didn’t believe me.

Curious ground squirrel 3 on wandasknottythoughts
He kept on getting closer to see what I was doing

Do you see those cheeks of his? He would get seeds and stuff himself, but was so greedy he kept coming back to see if I had anything.

Curious ground squirrel 4 on wandasknottythoughts
He really wanted to know if I had something for him

I know he was looking for food but he really, really wanted to see what I was doing. I love sharing tatting and showing others how it’s done, but I’m pretty sure the squirrel wasn’t getting it.

This guy and several other ground squirrels and a handful of chipmunks kept us entertained the entire week with their antics and curiosity. These little guys were friendly from the time we got there. One of our friends fed them with critter food (nuts and seeds) so they became more and more friendly as the week went on.

Two years ago we saw a lot of moose and a fox at the cabin, this year we saw neither. We were sad that we didn’t see the fox this time, though it didn’t look young then. There were also a lot more people at the lake this year. A lot more. With the dry weather and wind, we also dealt with a lot more dust. This doesn’t mean we didn’t enjoy our stay – we did!

I always look forward to our getting away for vacation, and seeing the wildlife is a bonus. And even more so when they are up close and personal!

“I have great instincts, like the instincts of a squirrel. You know, like when you’re driving and a squirrel stops in the middle of the road.” Simon Helberg

What to tat while on vacation

Every year before vacation I start thinking about what I will take to tat while we are away. What thread, what patterns, what findings if necessary, and how many shuttles. And every year, when it’s actually time to leave, my mind goes blank. Maybe because there are so many other things to think about, but whatever the cause, it happens. This year I had thought I would be working on my china hutch edgings. Surprisingly, I had them all done before we left. The unfortunate part is that now I had to think of something else to take with me.

I checked what threads I had on shuttles, to see if any would inspire me to finish off those threads. It would be a handy way to empty them, right? I looked through my thread collection to see if any of them would spark an idea to create a new project. I tried to think back on my wish list of patterns I wanted to try (I wish I wrote them down!). I really didn’t want to take half of my thread or shuttle stash with me this time.

I finally settled on the green I had used for my recent ice drop, as both shuttles still had thread on them; a ball of Lizbeth 129, Purple Splender, because it looked fun; and a few others that tickled my fancy at the time. I also brought a small selection of findings in case I wanted to make earrings.

Vacation purple doodle on wandasknottythoughts
Vacation purple doodle

Just to get the juices flowing, I started with a little doodle in Purple Splender. The finding in the center I had recently picked up at JoAnn’s thinking they would be good for earrings. Not a bad doodle, but I only made one. So I put it on my billfold.

vac purple doodle on billfold on wandasknottythoughts
Vacation purple doodle on my billfold

Then I doodled a bit more. I’m thinking I might try and put this on my billfold as well.

Vacation doodle 2 wandaknottythougthts
The second vacation doodle

Then I picked up the shuttles with the green thread from the ice drop. And then I added just a little more thread because it got bigger. And then I added just a little bit more thread again because I thought I was almost done. Then I wasn’t, so added thread one more time.

Vacation snowflake 2020 on wandasknottythoughts
Vacation snowflake 2020

This snowflake is the end result. I noticed that it has some kind of stain in the center after I had gone on to the second round. Not sure what it is, but it doesn’t want to come out. As this was tatted by a lake and while on a pontoon boat day trip, I didn’t get it cleaned and didn’t worry about it. I have no pictures of the individual rounds as I did them, just this one is as finished. Not bad for doodling.

I enjoyed some beautiful scenery while on vacation this year. We like to go in September to see the Aspens while they change into their fall colors and we were not disappointed this year.

Colorado River from Lake Granby on wandasknottythoughts
View from a pontoon

Though the water levels of Lake Granby and the Colorado River were down a long way, it was still fun to mosey up the river while the guys fished and relax in the quiet and beauty of a pontoon trip.

Tatting at Lake Monarch on wandasknottythoughts
Tatting at Lake Monarch

This is the view I enjoyed while tatting beside Monarch Lake.

Hiking trail by Monarch Lake on wandasknottythoughts
Hiking trail by Monarch Lake

I did not take my tatting along when I hiked a little ways up this trail. The colors were so splendid and changed a little bit every day I could have gone back daily while we were there.

I have a lot more vacation photos I’d love to share, and I will share a few next week. Including one of an interested observer of my tatting.

“Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake.” Wallace Stevens

Pink vacation doily

Pink vacation doily start on wandaasknottythoughts
Pink vacation doily start

I started this doily on the trip home from our Colorado vacation this year. The thread is size 10 Lizbeth #621 Dusty Rose Light. I hadn’t realized it was size 10 when I grabbed the ball before the vacation, but I was glad it was. It made it much easier to see and work with while traveling, as it was cloudy and rainy almost all the way home causing the light to be a bit uncertain. The larger size thread and the light color were great to work with in those conditions.

I came up with this center, not certain it was just a center. When I got this far I decided I’d try another round, see where it went.

Pink vacation doily round 4 on wandasknottythoughts
Pink vacation doily round 4

My aim while tatting this was to keep it simple, something to keep my hands busy and still see some of the passing scenery without having to think too hard. I know that the scenery along I80 in western Nebraska isn’t all that interesting, but you never know what you might see when traveling. This fourth round fit the bill of not having to think too much.

Then it was a question of “is this done?” I decided the answer was “no” and tried another round.

Pink vacation doily 5th round on wandasknottythoughts
Pink vacation doily 5th round

This round was easy also, the most complicated part – besides keeping the count right – was the Josephine rings and they aren’t hard.  I think this last round gives it a nice finished look. The size 10 thread leaves it at about 5 1/2 inches across.

I want to do this in size 20 though that will make the overall size smaller. I suppose it can be a coaster instead of a doily.

“Travel becomes a strategy for accumulating photographs.” Susan Sontag
www.brainyquote.com

I resemble this remark 🙂

Colorado tatting

The last week of September my husband and I joined some friends of ours for a week in a cabin in Colorado. We have vacationed with this couple multiple times, they are very long time friends. Like all the other times we’ve vacationed with them, we had a fantastic time.

During the eight hour drive from our place to Fort Collins, Colorado where we spent our first night, I did a little tatting.

Blue thread medallion with finding center on wandasknottythoughts
Blue thread medallion with finding center

For all that I try to have a variety of tatting threads and miscellaneous items with me when we travel, I’m never sure what I’m going to work on after we leave the house.  Once we were on the road and I delved into my travel stash I found this finding and a shuttle that had this size 20 blue Lizbeth thread. I had thought to bring the ball with me so was able to tat this piece. I finished it the first evening.

After we started through the mountains I didn’t tat much due to the marvelous view. I had been afraid all the aspens and willows would have already changed colors and possibly dropped all their leaves before we got there this year – we are two to three weeks later in the year than usual – but there was plenty of fall colors still showing. We were so busy that I barely touched my tatting for several days.

Dark purple medallion on wandasknottythoughts
Dark purple medallion

The next time I picked up my shuttles I made this small medallion in purple size 20. This was not a good choice to tat with. It is such a dark color it was hard to see the stitches while in the cabin, especially when I made a mistake and had to untat. I did finally get it done.

Pink vacation doily in size 10 on wandasknottythoughts
Pink vacation doily in size 10

The next time I started a project I chose the lightest color thread I had with me, size 10 light pink. I hadn’t realized it was size 10 at first, but it was a good choice. I started this on the way home and didn’t finish it until after we got home. This picture is not of the finished doily, I’ll share that later.

The cabin we stayed at had several chipmunks that were extremely friendly. We could see right away that had been fed before. My friend immediately decided to buy a bag of critter food (seeds, peanuts, corn). These little critters kept us entertained the whole week with their antics.

Chipmunk advice on wandasknottythoughts
Chipmunk advice

I had one chipmunk come to check out my tatting. When he saw it wasn’t anything to eat he abandoned me in search of more tasteful things.

Curious fox on wandasknottythoughts
Curious fox

We had another visitor. This fox would come by twice a day. He would pose for us and gave us time to admire him through the cabin windows.

Bull elk in Rocky Mountain National Park on wandasknottythoughts
Bull elk in Rocky Mountain National Park

Our cabin is on one end of Grand Lake, just down the road from the west entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park. We bought a seven-day pass, which we used every day. There is a campground about 10 miles inside the par where it is very common to see elk, usually in the evening. One evening this magnificent bull elk was there keeping an eye on his harem. At one point he and one of his ladies ran past our truck so close he almost scratched the paint with his horns.

The trail to Cascade Falls on wandasknottythoughts
The trail to Cascade Falls

My husband and I took a hike one day on the trail to Cascade Falls. Did I mention that there was still a lot of fall color to be seen?

Colorado River west of Grand Lake on wandasknottythoughts
Colorado River west of Grand Lake

This is the Colorado River just before it enters Shadow Mountain Lake. My husband stopped the truck in the middle of the road so we could get this picture. The only thing I did to this picture is crop it to get rid of the window frame. I can hardly believe these gorgeous colors are real.

The timing for our vacation was right on. We caught the color change when we thought we would miss it. The weather was pretty warm for the end of September, but not hot. One week after we got home Trail Ridge Road, the highway through RMNP over the continental divide, closed due to snow.

It was such a wonderful vacation. But like all good things, it had to come to an end. We are now back to work with only memories – and a lot of pictures – to remind us of our beautiful week in the mountains.

“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.” Emily Bronte

Tatting in Yellowstone

When we travel I try to document myself tatting at different locations.  I admit I didn’t tat much on our Wyoming vacation, but I did think to pull it out at a few places. My husband surprised me by taking a video this time.  We are at Norris Geyser Basin pretty early in the morning. The museum located on the site is not even open yet. It is also chilly, which makes it hard to see the pools and geysers.  The steam is much thicker than normal but you can still hear the heated water. Because of the cloud cover, the fog, and the steam, you can’t tell which pool we are standing by – I think it is Emerald Pool. I hope this comes out.

Advice from a Hot Spring                                                                                                       “Let your talents spring forth, Keep new ideas bubbling, Be warm and welcoming, Have deep reservoirs, Let off a little steam!”  YourTrueNature.com