VISIT WITH FAMILY IN DALLAS

Our work commitment in Wyoming has ended, and we have begun our journey eastward towards Florida.

After four long days of driving, we stopped in Dallas for a weekend visit with our eldest daughter Wendy, husband Scott, and grandchildren Amelia (age 9) and John (age 6). Wendy wanted us to enjoy the lovely and not too hot weather, so she planned a trip to the Dallas Arboretum.  The Dallas Arboretum features 66-acres of spectacular display gardens that showcase incredible seasonal flowers, ornamental shrubs, trees and plant collections in a serene setting on White Rock Lake. We have previously visited in October for the Halloween themed displays and in December for the Christmas themed displays, but we always enjoy return visits to this lovely natural setting.

The main purpose of this trip was to view the Chihuly exhibit, a special artist event.  Renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly has brought his dramatic sculptures and glass installations to be displayed throughout the Dallas Arboretum. Paul and Ann are pictured with John and Amelia in front of the "Yellow Icicle Tower", the tallest glass exhibit at 30 feet tall.

The "Cattails" was one of the more colorful of the blown glass exhibits with a mixture of orange and yellow glass in swirling patterns.

There were several collections of large spheres,up to 40 inches in diameter and 60 pounds in weight, amongst the various flower beds. What sometimes got overshadowed by the glass ornaments were the colorful flowers in the well-manicured flower beds. 

Here Paul and John are walking past some purple "Reeds" surrounding a yellow and green "armature". There were multiple collections of various colored reeds throughout the Arboretum.

The "Float Boat" and the "Carnival Boat" are pictured in a reflection pond. It is an optical illusion that these two exhibits are floating on White Rock Lake, which is actually below and in the background.

What would be more fitting for Dallas and the state of Texas than a special piece of artwork, appropriately named the "Dallas Star".

It was great to spend a special and relaxing day with family at the Arboretum.

WORKING BESIDE WILDLIFE

One of the more unique aspects of working in a national park is observing wildlife on a regular basis while we work. .

Near the end of June, several families of mud swallows began building nests above the doorway to the RV Park office where Paul works. Once the nests were begun, they were "protected" by the park service in that we could not remove them even though our guests  were subject to being splattered by "white stuff" as they entered the office to check in.

It was fascinating to see how quickly these nests were built. Then, in less than 3 weeks after completion of the nests, there were pieces of broken egg shell on the ground, indicating the eggs in the nests had begun to hatch. We could watch the baby swallows first stand on the upper ledge of the front of the building and soon begin to fly. Here you can see three little baby swallows looking down.

Most days we have visits from mule deer. Below a buck is enjoying a snack of green brush. Notice the antlers are still "in velvet".  Velvet covers a growing antler and provides it with blood, supplying oxygen and nutrients until the antler fully develops and hardens.

A doe often traveled through the RV Park and campground with her three fawns, two of which are visible near the sign that says, "All RV's Stop Here". This is where RV park guests drive-up to park while they register inside the office.  The deer never seemed to be bothered by people nearby.

Also, notice the red/white striped pole above the utility box on the right-side of the photo. The pole shows the snow plow drivers where there is an obstacle to avoid while plowing during the winter. The top of this pole is nearly 6 feet above the ground.  A very quick reminder of why we don't want to be in the Tetons during winter.

Two of the fawns have moved behind the RV Park office, which is the structure on the right side of this photo. Notice the detail in the construction of the office structure. Back in the early 1900's, this building was the gas station for the village of Moran while the first Jackson Lake Dam was being built. The building was moved about 7 miles north to Colter Bay in the 1950's when the RV park was first opened.

During the summer we also had periodic visits from a black bear cub, as well a fox family.  Unfortunately, we have no photos of these visitors, as they came and went too quickly.