The third day, Saturday, was overcast and had threats of rain but it didn't keep us from going out on a couple of drives. Dad stayed at the cabin since he was still recovering from the negative affects of gallivanting with us in West Yellowstone the day before.

Mom, Lou Jean, and I decided to go for a drive up Black Rock Canyon, which was near the cabin, first. The fall colors were stunning against the green of the pines and evergreens.

We drove quite high up the canyon and saw the valley below.

We had to go potty by the time we made our way back down so we stopped at the cabin and fixed a sandwich before going around Henry's Lake.

It was raining quite a bit by then but we still pressed on. I hoped to get closer to the lake but we went on the wrong road to get close to it (as we found out!). It was a beautiful drive though.

Along the way, I saw a road sign that I thought said, "Spotted Potty" and just past the road was an outhouse.

I had to turn around to take a photo of this sign and when I did, I cracked up because it actually said, "Spotted Pony Road." Mom and Lou Jean laughed too and said, "Only you, Karen." Why thank you! LOL

We continued along the road and the north end of Mount Sawtell was in front of us - as if we were looking right up his nose. Again, Mom and Lou Jean laughed and said that only I would think of that. Aren't they sweet?!

We ended up on the main road again and stopped at the Mack's Inn area where I got out of the car - in the rain - and took some photos of the Snake River.

There is a lot of history of Mack's Inn, originally there was a large lodge, grocery store, gift shop, motel, etc., but unfortunately, it all burned down a few years ago. They still call the area Mack's Inn but the lodge was never rebuilt. There are small businesses, a post office, and fishing still but it's far from being the Mack's Inn I remember.

After we got back to the cabin, everyone laid down for a nap. I got up after a few minutes and went outside before I fixed dinner. I walked back towards the river and noticed some moose prints, which is nothing new. However, I did see some bear tracks! They were a small black bear, I'm guessing; they weren't big enough for a grizzly. They weren't fresh tracks but had come through some time that day because the rain hadn't washed them away completely. Needless to say, I headed back into the cabin. I stood on the back deck and listened to the wind through the trees and the river flow - it was so beautiful. I shot this video:

I made a yummy dinner then we sat at the kitchen table and played dominoes for a while then decided to watch a movie. Lou Jean hadn't seen Wild Hogs yet so we watched that. About five minutes before the end, all of the sudden, hell broke loose, in the form of a bat flying out of the fireplace! It flew over me first and I screamed and hid my face under my pillow. The bat proceeded to fly around the room, over Mom, Dad, and Lou Jean's heads then it disappeared.

We turned on every light in the cabin and we each had a flashlight to find the darn thing. *shivers* We moved everything on the walls but didn't find it. Finally, about 45 minutes later, we were looking in the back bedroom, where we were sure it was, and voila, there is was on a wall facing the living room. Mom handed me the broom and said, "go for it." Thanks Mom................

I swung, hit it, but not hard enough to kill it. It flew over my head and down to the other side of the room above my aunt's bed. I swung and hit it again, but again, not hard enough to kill it. It then went behind the bed and we had to pull the bed out to get to it. I crawled on the bed and I located it and it was just hanging there on the log.

EWW. UGLY, UGLY! However, that didn't prevent me from getting my camera and taking a photo (actually, I was keeping it there with the flash! LOL) and besides, I wanted proof of what I was about to do. My third strike was here... I had to get it.

I didn't have enough leverage on my knees so I had to stand up on the bed. My aunt yelled "Tuwanda!" (From the movie, Fried Green Tomatoes) as I was about to swing, and I yelled it as I took my swing. Smack. I got it and had it trapped. I needed to get it to a flat surface because the logs were too rounded and I couldn't get it good enough. I hurt it enough that it finally dropped to the floor and I stomped on it with the bottom of the broom.

Feet under the broom... not moving. Success! The bat was finally dead!

Tuwanda!! GO ME!

We needed to be buried but it was raining out and we ran the risk of running into more bats and bigger critters so Lou Jean had the good idea of burning it in the kitchen stove. We giggled and went forward with the plan. I swept the bat into a big paper bag and handed it off to Lou Jean. Lou Jean carried it through the living room and my parents followed her, and I trailed behind with my camera in hand. Mom and Lou Jean stuffed it into the stove and waited for the bag to begin to burn. Burn, baby, burn.

Nasty bats. We had a nice cremation ceremony which consisted of lots of WOOHOOs, Tuwandas, and giggles.

With sweet relief, we went back into the bedroom to put the bed back in its place and were greeted by the awful stench that the bat left behind. I didn't notice before because I was high on adrenalin, but oh - it was BAD. Lou Jean and I sprayed air freshener while gagging and giggling. We ended up cracking the back door to get the smell to vacate.

We went back into the living room once we got everything cleared out and finished the movie. Lou Jean asked, "What should we watch next?" I piped up and asked, "Do you have Batman up here?" That got us all laughing again. We started watching a movie but didn't finish it; it was nearly about midnight and we were tired. Most the heebiegeebies had gone away (thanks to Xanax for me!) by then.

Here is a video that shows the lay of the land, so to speak, and takes you through the adventure without the bat flying around. It didn't start out to be about said flying things, so sit back and enjoy the sound of the rain.



I also decided to make myself a bat killing license with a Flickr Toy:

Tomorrow, I'll write about day four; the downhill end of my trip.