Life in Casper: Day 8

Ashley's coming down today! Mikkola and I spent the whole day cleaning and getting the place ready for her. Mikkola even had a yummy dinner planned for it! So today we didn't do much outside of the normal morning yoga, cleaning, and shopping.

I kept in touch with Ashley for most of the day eagerly waiting for her return! Finally, after 6 hours of traveling, she made it safely to Casper!

She's here!

When she got here, we were working on making cookies. Because she'd been driving all day and had barely eaten, I offered to make her a sandwich to keep her going until dinner was ready. Then we hung out and watched the last few updated episodes of Steven Universe before dinner was ready. We ate happily, then went to bed and watched the 3rd Hobbit movie before heading to bed. 

Tomorrow we had a few errands to run and I couldn't wait to show Ashley a little bit of Casper!

The Return to Casper

We woke up tired and sore from the previous days walk. We needed to be out of the condo by 10am, so we packed up all our things and prepared to head out. I ate what was left of my steak and the baked potato for breakfast. Delicious! We went to the nearest Krispy Kreme to get some donuts, then dropped the condo keys off and headed back to Casper.

The drive was long and boring, and honestly, I slept through most of it. I did manage to take a few pictures of the drive down and how beautiful Montana was. It was also a bit cloudy on the drive back. I thought it was going to rain, but luckily, we seemed to miss it.

Montana Beauty

Cloudy skies

Rolling hills of green

Farm in the clouds

Once we got back to Casper, we spent most of the day relaxing in the comfort of our apartment. We ended up ordering stuffed crust pizza, which was delicious, and picked up They-Chey from daycare. She seemed happy to see us, but still hesitant to come back with us. Once we all got home and ate, we did absolutely nothing else. We ended the night early and went to bed, all too exhausted from our day of travel. 

I went to bed not long after that, ready for the next day. My sister, Ashley, was coming up from Salt Lake City and I had so much to show her!

Interlude: The Trip to Billings, Montana Pt. 2

We woke up the next day with a plan in mind. First, we'd walk down the street to the Strawberry Festival, find a good place to eat lunch, check out the historic Moss Mansion, then head back to the condo to change and go to this really nice and fancying steak place for dinner. After that, we'd see where the mood struck us to go. We figured that was more than enough for us to do for the day. So once we were all dressed, we headed over to the Strawberry Festival!

Strawberry Festival!

The walk was fairly present. The sun was warm and welcoming in the morning light and the further we walked towards the center of down town, the more people we noticed. Eventually we made it to the heart of the festival. Music, dancing, food vendors of every kind, shop vendors, balloon animal makers, face painters, and henna stands. These were all available to view. Though I had to admit, for a strawberry festival, I couldn't really see very many strawberry items yet. Maybe they were in the street where the food vendors were located?

Some of the Vendors at the festival

The first stall I had to visit was the henna stand. I already had a tattoo, so I thought it would be fun to get a little henna art on my arm. I opted for something easy: the astrology symbol for Leo. It was simple, easy, and cute! Mikkola got a bit more creative with hers and asked to combine two different designs into one crocheted hand glove design. Hers had a mermaid at the center of her hand surrounded by cross stitching and mini roses that trailed all along the back of her hand and fingers. It was really beautiful. Once we were done, we were told to keep the paste on for a minimum of four hours to get the lasting effect. 

My design is on top and Mikkola's is on the bottom.

Once our henna was done, we walked around the rest of the festival. There were a lot of shops there with a lot of vendors full of knick-knacks and all kinds of homemade stuff, but none of it really caught my eye. I managed to find a little something my dad might like, nothing special, but something I thought he'd appreciate for Father's Day.

After we'd walked around the festival for a couple hours, we decided to eat at this greek restaurant called The Athenian. I wasn't feeling very hungry, but I really wanted to try their baklava. I also ordered a side of pita bread because who could say no to pita bread?! Mikkola and Dar-Dar each ordered a falafel. When our food arrived, Mikkola insisted that I try her falafel and while it wasn't to my taste, I could see how many other people liked it. But back to the pita bread, which was so freaking good! I scarfed them down in a few minutes. God, I love pita bread! What else can I say about the baklava except that it was perfection? I've never been able to handle large quantities of sweets. I'm the type of person where three bites into a chocolate is all I need to reach my sugar intake for the day. I've just never been into sweets. But let me tell you, that baklava had the perfect amount of sugar! Probably because it was made of natural sugars like honey instead of processed sugar. Between the taste and the texture, it was the perfect dessert! 

The Athenian!

Yummy food!

After an insanely delicious lunch, we walked down the street following our GPS to find our next stop: Moss Mansion. Just down the street from the Athenian I saw a beautiful older building with faint letters spelling out 'Library' etched into the front of it. I was immediately excited and walked over there. Unfortunately, it turns out it was no longer a library but a museum. While I normally would have liked to walk around and view the exhibits, we had to get to Moss Mansion. Still, it was cool that the cabin of the American Author J.K. Ralston. That was a neat little touch outside the museum. 

Some pics from outside the old library/museum.

After a lot of walking around (seriously, the GPS didn't know where the fuck it was going), we made it to Moss Mansion! It was hidden between a garden of beautiful trees and bushes, peeking out above the treetops like a beacon. It was a beautiful red building three stories tall with countless windows. We walked towards the front door when we noticed a sign that said the entrance was actually located in the back, so back we went, enjoying the gorgeous landscaping and different sides of the mansion.

Moss Mansion

When we moved towards the back, I noticed a glass dome filled with plants and squealed with delight. It had its own little greenhouse! I already couldn't wait to go inside and explore! Mikkola and Dar-Dar insisted we take the guided tour, which I was more than happy to go along with! 

The many sides of Moss Mansion.

When we finally reached the back of the mansion, we noted that instead of going to the back door, we actually had to descend stairs to the cellar. Instead of a cold gloomy cellar, we entered a bright and cheerful gift shop. Once we had our tickets purchased, we waited a few minutes before the next tour started, happy to have a chance to sit down for a moment. When it finally began, we were taken to the next room where there were several seats set out so we could watch a 15 minute about the history of the Moss Family. (Curious about the Moss Family? Check out the website for the mansion right here!)

Some pics of the gift shop and mansion.

Once it was done, our tour guide arrived and took us upstairs to the entrance hall. He showed us one of the oldest items int he museum, a chair that Mrs. Moss acquired that was dated to the 14th century. From there he took us to a door to the right, which ended up being the library that Mr. Moss used as his study. My favorite part of this room was the stained glass on the wall of William Shakespeare. Our guide told us that Mrs. Moss decorated all the rooms herself and wanted them to be the height of fashion.

One of the oldest items in the house.

From there we went across the hall to my favorite room: the French Parlor. This room looked like something straight out of one of my favorite Netflix shows, Versailles. The room was also used as a music room, though the guide said that it was actually very rarely used. The room was also embellished with wreaths and bows, the symbols of King Louis and Marie Antoinette. I want this room design in my house one day. It was simply gorgeous. 

The amazing, gorgeous French Parlor room. (Yes, its picture is bigger because I love it so much.)

My other favorite room was actually the conservatory. The room was so warm and inviting filled with so many plants! It reminded me of the conservatory in the Clue board game. I'll admit it was pretty hot in there, but it was still so beautiful and filled with so much life! Plus, it had a bunch of recipe cards from the Moss family! Bonus!

The Conservatory

It was us, in the conservatory with the camera!

I could go on and on about all rooms that we toured, but it would honestly take up an entire blog post and I want you all to go visit it yourself so you can learn all about the amazing history and see the artifacts yourself! So down below will be a bunch of pictures of some of the rooms we saw. You've been warned.

The kitchen and grand staircase.

The guest room.

Another view of the parlor, a floor plan of the third floor, the ceiling of the second floor, and a look into the grandparent's room. 

The nursery and peek into the master bedroom.

The bathroom (with the first indoor plumbing in the state) and the girl's room.

Some of the beautiful paintings and peeks into all the rooms.

The Moss Family tree.

*Phew* That was a LOT of photos. I had to put them in collages otherwise this post would have been REALLY long. So anyways, after we said goodbye to Moss Mansion, and headed back to the condo to get dressed up for dinner. Once we were all ready we, thankfully, drove to the restaurant. Jake's was one of the more high end restaurants in the town. Mikkola and Dar-Dar insisted it had some of the best steaks they'd ever had, so I was extremely excited to try it out.

Some pics from Jake's.

After much debate, I finally decided to try the New York steak. OH. MY. GOD. That was the juiciest and most delicious steak I have ever had in my life! It tasted so fresh and delicious and UGH! I could go on and on about that steak. SO GOOD!!!! It also came with a baked potato topped with butter and bacon, but I couldn't even finish my steak, much less eat the baked potato. Can you say leftovers?

My dinner is on the lower left, Mikkola's is on the upper left, and Dar-Dar's is on the upper right.

Once dinner was done, we decided to head to this bar called The Last Chance Pub where they supposedly had some amazing cider. We drove over to the pub and walked inside and sat at the bar. It was pretty hot in there, but I really enjoyed the decor of the place. It looked like a modern industrial place (I actually think it looks like it used to be a warehouse).

I had a really delicious cherry cider. It was so tart, but I absolutely LOVED it! 

We had a couple drinks before the heat got to be too much, so we headed back to the condo. We all went back and changed into our pajamas. I had to admit, I was absolutely exhausted from our long day. We did so much walking! Still, I really enjoyed the day in Montana. I'm going to miss it, but I'll definitely have to come back another time and visit it for even longer. 

Interlude: The Trip to Billings, Montana Pt. 1

Mikkola and I spent the morning making any last preparations in the house before we went to Montana for the weekend. We dropped They off at her doggie daycare for the weekend and then waited until Dar-Dar got off work to hit the road. It was a long car ride, roughly 4 hours, but the sights were absolutely beautiful!

After a while we finally crossed into the state of Montana! I didn't know that it was also called Crow Country, which makes sense because the Crow Tribe lives on a good part of the land.

Now entering Montana!

We even passed near the site of Colonel Mustard's Last Stand: The Battlefield of Little Bighorn! Too bad we couldn't stop to check it out.

Some of the views we passed.

I slept for a good while, finally waking up when the sun was beginning to set. We were about 40 minutes away from our destination: Billings, Montana!

Sunset in Montana.

When we entered Billings, we went in search of the Air B&B that Mikkola had booked for us. It ended up being in a small condominium right next to the hospital called The Phoenix Condos. It was very quiet and for good reasons: the entire building was made up of elderly people! We had to be quiet because of this, but the condo we were staying in was so comfy! 

The inside of our condo!

After we settled in, we decided to walk the short distance to downtown Billings. We ended up at the Montana Brewery Company where we took a seat at the bar and ordered some of their specialty drinks: most of which involved strawberries. We had actually come to Billings because tomorrow we'd be going to the Strawberry Festival! We all ordered some delicious strawberry drinks. We also ordered a delicious apple cobbler. I've never tasted anything so good!

Some of their delicious drinks.

After we had several drinks, we walked back to the condo and called it a night. I'm looking forward to seeing the Strawberry Festival tomorrow! 

Life in Casper: Day 7

Not too much to report today. I mainly helped clean up around the house and wash my clothes for the Montana trip. It was honestly kind of a lazy day for me. I did go out to the store to buy some of the ingredients for dinner. It was a recipe I found on Pinterest that I was eager to try. A chicken stuffed with mozzarella, spinach, provolone, and grape tomatoes. Here's a look at the chicken before it was finished.

Pre-cooked mozzarella chicken!

Sadly, I didn't get a picture of it all when it was done, but boy was it delicious! I also made homemade mashed potatoes for the first time ever. I actually kinda liked the lumps! Who knew?! So we all ate dinner together. Chey-Chey came to me. We're best friends now, by the way! 

She's so cute!

So yeah, like I said, it wasn't much of an eventful day. I'm sure I'll have more to share when I got to Montana tomorrow! Until then! 

Life In Casper: Day 6

I dropped Mikkola off today at work and had a mission set for the day. My first stop: Artisan Alley. Its a small shop that does painting classes, ceramic classes, hosts paint and sips, and even has wood working classes. I wanted to go and see how much it would be to just buy some clay and come in during the free workshop time. I already miss ceramics and I don't want to get rusty over the summer. The ladies who worked there were so nice! While I don't think I'll be able to afford what they have, I think it would still be fun to do one of their paint and sip events!

Side view of Artisan Alley

Next I decided to try out this diner that Mikkola kept insisting I go to with her. I got a little impatient and decided too heck it out on my own. Johnny J's Diner was everything I expected it to be, an adorable and retro 50s diner that reminded me of Peggy Sue's Nifty 50s Diner back home. I was sat in a back corner next to an older couple and quickly ordered my meal: chicken strips with French fries and baked beans. 

My delicious meal!

As I waited for my food, I talked to the couple sitting next to me. They were a sweet couple passing through from Denver, Colorado and heading up to Montana, then Idaho for their godson's graduation, then rounding back to Salt Lake City before returning to Denver. They told me some interesting stories about Denver, one in particular stood out to me. He told me of a man who went hunting in the national park and then hunted down and killed the pet elk of the town inside town. The people were furious and he was charged with like $6,000. So, I decided to do some research and see if the story was true and it turns out it is! Here's a link to the article: http://www.estesparknews.com/estes_valley_spotlight/article_fc6efca6-67ac-11e5-aa33-a3c6f8a88681.html 

So back to the food. It was freaking delicious. I was so full that I couldn't even comprehend eating dessert. The service was so great too! The waitresses were all really nice and had me mark where I'm from on their map of the United States! 

The Outside of Johnny J's Diner

So after I ate, I went back to the house and did a bit of laundry. Then I hung around until it was time to pick up Mikkola, then I made dinner. It was a simple seasoned pork chop recipe, but it was good! It was a fun day for sure. I'm planning to take Ashley to the diner when she comes down for their milkshake deal. In the meantime, I have to get ready for our trip to Montana this weekend. I can't wait! 

Life in Casper: Day 5

Today, after Dar-Dar and I dropped Mikkola off at work, we decided to head up to Casper Mountain. I was a bit nervous to go and hike on the mountain, but also really excited. I've always wanted to try hiking in the woods, but I always felt like I was too overweight to do it on my own. However, I've been feeling really good as of late. So anyways, Dar-Dar and I drove up the mountain, stopping once to get a good look at the city from one of the viewing points.

Casper from one of the viewing points up the mountain.

Once we reached one of the parking lots, we decided to check the maps posted for the different trails. There were several marked easy, so since I was a beginner, we decided to follow one of theeasy ones. Unfortunately, what appeared on the trails and what was actually there didn't seem to match. We decided to just take one of the paths and see where it led us.

The very unhelpful map.

The mountain was gorgeous. All the trees were tall and seemed almost endless, like a scene from one of those horror movies, except it was peaceful. I enjoyed walking and listening to the birds, the crunch of twigs and dirt beneath my feet, and the faint sound of water somewhere in the distance. I loved it.

The gorgeous trees

We hiked down one of the trails carefully. It was a little steep and I slipped several times going down, but we managed to make it to a little stream that blocked our path. We had two options: either hike back up the hill or cross the stream. Not looking forward to slipping while hiking up that hill, we opted to try and find a way across the stream. Eventually we found a way across by stepping on a couple of big rocks and over some sturdy logs.

The pretty stream we had to cross

Once we made it across, we hiked along the road, once again enjoying the scenery and serenity of our environment. We continued to walk along side the stream, so I made sure to get lots of good pictures of it to share with you all! 

Stream collage!

We eventually made it to one of the other parking lots and I took the moment to use the bathroom and take a woods selfie before heading off to our next area. 

Selfie time!

We decided to follow another path and climbed a bunch of rocks that kind of reminded me of stairs. Once we made it up, I decided to stop and take a few pictures. Then we continued down a blue marked path.

Some of the sights.

Along the path, I felt myself begin to reach the ends of my reserves, but I pushed myself forward. I could tell that Dar-Dar was enjoying it. He used to mountain and rock climb when he was younger. Along the path we found this weird little teepee like formation of sticks. I'm not sure if some hikers put them there or the rangers or...something else.

The strange contraption.

I ended up not hiking much further. I eventually grew to be so exhausted and short of breath, that I couldn't get myself to walk much farther. Da-Dar ended up so far ahead that I couldn't see him anymore. He came back soon after he realized I wasn't behind him and we both agreed to turn back.

More woods

We hiked back the way we came, passing the strange stick contraption, and down to the second parking lot. I snapped a quick picture of the memorial sign and then slowly trudged back to the car. We made our way back down the mountain until I we eventually reached the apartment. Then I took a long 3 hour nap. The rest of the day I relaxed and ate dinner with Mikkola and Dar-Dar, before doing our evening yoga and hitting the hay.

Wyoming Centennial Forest

It was a fun, but exhausting trip. I never dreamed that I'd be able to do something like this, but I was so relieved. I pushed myself to do something I wasn't used to or comfortable with and I had so much fun doing it! I still can't believe I managed to do this. It was a great experience and I hope to get in better shape so I can do more hiking trips for longer amounts of time.

Great hike!