Stardate 2016.816

Yellowstone
Snowcatcher's and my trip to the Pacific Northwest has come to an end. The trip went by too fast, as they usually do. Our final days took us from Moses Lake, Washington, to Butte, Montana, and down into Yellowstone National Park. Our final day was a long-day-drive down into Colorado.

We left Butte, Montana, early in the morning and arrived at the north Gardiner/Mammoth entrance mid-morning. In the past, we've seen grizzlies between Tower and Canyon and were hoping we were early enough to see more.



We traveled south through the visitor depots of Tower, Canyon, Fishing Bridge, Grant and the Colter Bay area to a place known to have lots of bears. Regretfully, the dirt road we wanted was closed, due to recent fires.







Some of the main roadways were closed, and many trees in the fire area were tagged. We think this was a firefighter drop zone. A little rain had fallen throughout the day, hopefully aiding fire workers.



We pointed the car north again and journeyed back toward Gardiner, Montana, where we had a room waiting. We traveled up the Lamar Valley and then swung northeast toward Pebble Creek, the Absaroka Range and northeast park entrance – no grizzly bear to be had yet. We did see lots of bison and antelope.

This handsome devil is a buck (male) pronghorn antelope. Large populations exist here and in other western states. In the region of Colorado where I grew up, I casually refer to them as "speed goats." Does (females) have much smaller horns. Pronghorns are the fastest land mammals in the Western Hemisphere. They are often cited as the second fastest land animal behind the cheetah. They can hold speed much longer than a cheetah. A pronghorn can run 55 miles per hour for a half mile.




Lots of bison are grazing the Lamar Valley. This also is prime grizzly bear habitat.



The following morning we left very early. We had hoped for wildlife on Mount Washburn and Dunraven Pass. We had to settle for bugling elk and good photos at the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River.






I'll end our vacation with this frosty shot of bison grazing in a frozen Hayden Valley. Winter is close!



Thanks for reading!

Adios

Stardate 2015.745

Home James – Day Four

As usual, the time to leave comes too soon. The Yellowstone/Teton region is a place I would like to visit yearly. I also would like to give the Jackson Hole Ski area, about 30 miles south, a try. I'm envious of those who live and work in this region. I even selected to earn degrees (BS & MS) that may land me in a small mountain utopia. The cards read otherwise. There are a few places in Colorado and Utah I feel the same about.

Just before heading out, we followed a little fishing road for a spell and were treated to a fairly good-sized bull elk. I can't count how many times I've been treated to this. I'm spoiled; yet, I never tire of it. Part of this trip was spent listening to numerous bull elk and their eerie bugling. If you are close enough to one when it bugles, it will make your neck hairs rise. I kid you not!

Some of the shrubbery along the Snake River was in fall costume.



A good number of quaky stands (aka: aspen trees, Populous tremuloides) were in full-on color mode too.



Another annual player, SNOW, is currently heading down the latitude latter.



Sheeeesh, it seems like ski season just ended.



Wyoming's breathtaking Absaroka Mountains are a delight any time of year.



We weren't far from the lightly frosted summit of 9,658-foot Togwotee Pass (pronounced Togatee).



The pass separates Wyoming's Jackson Hole Valley from Dubois and provides access to southern Yellowstone from the east. Togwotee was an under-chief of Chief Washakie of the Sheepeater branch of the Shoshone Tribe. These mountain dwellers traveled and lived throughout the Yellowstone region.



A riparian zone shares its gold on the east side of Togwotee Pass.



The eye-catching Breccia Cliffs remained shy, hiding their heads in the clouds.




That's it for Yellowstone and the Tetons 2015. Now it's time to take on Colorado's color season. Stay tuned!

Adios

Stardate 2015.734

Wet And Woolly – Day Three

Day Three slid into Yellowstone in the rain. A wet day; it was a good travel day back to the Tetons. Our route took us through the park villages of Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris, Madison, Old Faithful and Grant Village. We spent another night in the Signal Mountain area. Close animal viewing had been a bust. The only animal I can think of whom might enjoy the deluge would be a moose. On the other hand, I'm sure there were some very happy land agency firefighters.

I actually enjoy rain days while traveling. You get to see and feel an entirely different persona of the landscape.



In places the understory was radiant in full-on autumn gold. The wet seemed to intensify the coloration.



We visited some geysers and hot springs along the way. The following pics are from the Norris Geyser Basin where we spent a soggy minute or two at the Artist Paint Pots.









We also visited one of the hottest springs in Yellowstone. Beryl Spring boasts 196 dancing Fahrenheits at any given time.



I tried to get a video of Old Faithful when it erupted but had a malfunction right at spew time. Oh well. As we left Yellowstone and entered Grand Teton National Park, the weather opened up a bit. Grand Teton was busy trying to shed its snow-laden shroud.



The mountain gods were busy with Mount Moran, as well.



Don't you want to see what's up Leigh Canyon? I do! Perhaps next year we will return for some hiking, climbing and running from bears.




Keep tuned for Day Four...

Adios

Stardate 2015.729

From Majestic Tetons To Diverse Yellowstone
Day Two

Day Two found Snowcatcher and I trying to get sunrise on the Tetons from String Lake. After sunrise we worked our way north through Yellowstone National Park. Our route took us through the West Thumb, Lake Village and Canyon Village area. From Canyon, we traveled over Dunraven Pass (we've spied grizzly here in the past) down into Tower-Roosevelt. From here we ventured northwest to Mammoth Hot Springs; the north entrance of the park. We splurged and rented a room in Gardiner for the evening. At sunset we drove a dirt-loop across Blacktail Plateau looking for game. All we encountered was a herd of buffalo. Following are some pics from Day Two.

The Grand Teton (center peak) patiently waits for the sunrise.





The Grand Teton (center peak) tickling cloud bellies far above String Lake.





The Tetons rise abruptly from the west shoreline of String Lake.





String Lake wetlands



Sun hit!



It was a beautiful morning, and the Lewis River riparian zone shared some of its fall color in south Yellowstone.



Very blue and pristine, the Lewis River flows south out of Lewis Lake to its confluence with the Snake River, close to the southern park boundary.



Yellowstone Lake lapped against its western shoreline about 20 minutes south of Lake Village.



Buffalo were everywhere in the Hayden Valley. Here they're lounging along the banks of the Yellowstone River, south of Canyon Village.



The source of most of our smoke was in Hayden Valley. The fire was lightning-sparked; favorable rain was in the forecast.


Still more to come...

Adios

Stardate 2014.658

Yellowstone Part I

Hi, Boo Boos! (Remember Yogi the Bear?) Welcome to Yellowstone! This was the last stop of our vacation. Yellowstone is a special place. The more you visit it, the more it grows on you. It’s huge in aerial extent. It is still very wild when away from the popular tourist pull-ins.



The bear population is strong for black and grizzly bear. The human-habituated bears lining roadways of past are no longer seen. Bears have slowly been de-habituated with humans. That’s good for both. Hiking remote sections of the park is still wild. In other words, carry bear spray and know how to use it.  Park rangers only recommend hiking backcountry trails with a party of three or more.



Our short stay was just that, short. We spent our evening and early morning wildlife viewing and had some luck, two black bears and a grizzly bear with this year’s cub.



We bypassed the geysers because they were, quite frankly, too busy. We’ll come back and play in the geysers during off season. However, we did get some late evening shots of the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces.











Adios