Yellowstone Excursions

Since we were here almost two weeks, we had time to explore areas other than Yellowstone. One day was a short trip to Livingstone, MT for dinner and along the way we were in the heart of large black angus cattle ranches some of which were what is called “free range” meaning that you have to be on the lookout for some cows that want to see what’s on the other side of the road. Also took in a side road to Chico Hot Springs Resort which has fine dining, stables, bar, spa, etc. It is quite secluded attracting the beautiful people, Hollywood celebrities, and what is called a destination resort for upscale wedding parties. On one of our excursions we went to see Old Faithful and West Yellowstone. On the way we visited many of the Geysers that in early years is what made Yellowstone stand out… the extravaganza of geysers and hot springs. There are more than 300 geysers here!! We started in Mammoth Springs where there is Upper Geyser Basin, Midway Geyser Basin, Lower Geyser Basin and then there is Grand Prismatic Spring---Yellowstone’s largest single hot spring which is very colorful as the rising steam reflects colors of the rainbow, depending on the sun and the time of day. Then there is the Mud Volcano area with the even more intense smell of “rotten egg” , a result of the microorganisms eating away at sulfur, which creates sulfuric acid. As it evaporates, the acid becomes hydrogen sulfide gas, which gives off its noxious smell. There are a lot of small ones of these around. Fountain Paint Pot, is one of the many mud pots with some a cauldron of hot reddish pinkish mud. The steam responsible for paint pots colors the clay with shades of white, brown and grey. There are also arrays of Hot Springs with travertine terraces which are created when hot water and gases ascend through the limestone deposits, “sculpting” the rocks along the way. You will see what we mean as you look at the photos of all of the above and you should be able to pick our each of the ones we have described. They are quite interesting. Now, let’s talk about Old Faithful. We drove for hours to see this most famous geyser in the world. With much anticipation we finally saw the sign for the entrance but as we came around the bend we saw hundreds of cars, RVs, tour buses and a large array of buildings housing places to eat, souvenir shops, etc. It was just too commercial for us and we didn’t want to wait the 90 minutes, plus or minus, when there were so many other geysers to see. Afterwards we went to the town of West Yellowstone and the western entrance to the park. West Yellowstone is a town considered by some as the base camp for exploring Yellowstone, Montana and Idaho. We however found it very commercial as well and did not stay there too long either. ….only long enough for Debra to have her first elk burger (which was over-cooked) and me to have some local tacos. The best part was what has become a favorite…wild huckleberry ice-cream!! And yes, at least one of us (Debra) tried a buffalo cheese burger, which afterwards decided she liked better than elk. As for me, I stayed with the tried and true, with the exception of the ice cream….just couldn’t bring myself to eat one of those buffalos after seeing so many of them and their babies. We were oh so glad that we decided to take the day long trip to Cody, WY going through Lamar Valley and over the Chief Joseph Highway going through Montana’s alpine tundra to Wyoming’s high plains desert. The road winds through some of the most beautiful and spectacular varied landscapes of the Yellowstone region. Upon driving through the little village of Silver Gate we saw our first black bear!! Another one of those rare and spectacular moments that you will always remember! We went through the Absaroka Range in a blowing snow storm – we had no cell phone signal and there were no other cars on the road!! We kept thinking about getting stranded without blankets and nothing to eat except some energy bars and water. And just as we thought we ought to turn around the snow slowed to a fine dusting with us breathing a sigh of relief (ok, ME breathing a sigh of relief). We then traversed Beartooth Pass, and at one point we were at over 12,000 ft! What a beautiful sight for miles and miles. The road kept winding around and around and we could always see the next level and wondered when it would ever end. I kept looking over the rim hoping we didn’t careen over the side because it was a very long way down!! Finally, it was down to the valley and on into Cody!! It is very much a cowboy town and we loved it. There are a lot of horse ranches here and some wild herds out towards the mountains. Not too far from Cody is Heart Mountain to which to many is a symbol of power, to some it is a memorial to powerful emotions and terrible upheaval, and a reminder of pain. To the Crow Indians, it is a symbol of power – a sacred place known to the tribe as “Foretops Father” To more than 10,000 Japanese internees it served as a bleak World War II home. If you remember, Roosevelt was convinced by his military leaders that the Japanese here in America posed a threat to our national security. It is a very sad story. Many lost their homes and businesses as they couldn't keep up the mortgages while detained and of course, some died in the camp. Anyway, we lifted our spirits by having some of the best Mexican food in Cody and afterwards visited the Buffalo Bill Museum before starting the trek back via the southern route in which we again experienced some more snow showers. The bed looked so good that night.

All in all this was a great experience and we look forward to more adventures along the way to and at Glacier National Park. Our parks are truly a national treasure and one that all should experience in his or her lifetime. President Lyndon Johnson said at the signing of the Wilderness Act of 1964: “If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them with something more than just technology. We must leave them with a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it “ Amen.

Yellowstone

Spring in Yellowstone is certainly a feast for your senses as young animals are being born all around the park, and birds-like the mountain blue birds, robins, & sandhill cranes return. Both grizzly and black bear cubs were born in the deep winter month of January, while their mother is still hibernated. The bison are shedding their winter coats and it was ever so much fun to see all the little cute bison calves-they have the cutest little faces! It is hard to believe that there are nearly 500 species that inhabit the Greater Yellowstone region. Yellowstone is the largest national park in the world and is like a zoo without bars! The most sought after for viewing by tourists, such as ourselves, are the bison, black bear , elk, pronghorn antelope, moose, fox, grizzly bear, coyote,and of course the wolf. We were ecstatic to see all but the last two…we were told we would see more of them when are at Glacier NP. John Steinbeck said it best: “Montana is a great splash of grandeur. The scale is huge but not overpowering.” As we’ve said before, it is again one of those sights that we or even the best photographers can’t seem to capture nor can we write about. It is truly what they call “Big Sky country”! There is just so much to see and do in Montana-it’s like a vacation for the mind and soul and a constant state of invigoration! There is something to do in every season here such as wildlife tours, exploring ruins, birding, hiking, rock & ice climbing, boating, fly fishing, kayaking, rafting down the white water rapids, downhill & cross country skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, dog sledding, hunting, golfing, gambling, go to a dude ranch, work on a ranch, experience a trail ride, stagecoach rides, watch a rodeo, visit an Indian reservation and attend a powwow, pan for gold, visit the many historic sites and of course visit a National park such as Yellowstone and Glacier!! One of our biggest and many thrills came on the first two days when we saw a red fox, which is a rare sighting! It was carrying its prey running across the road and then next to the car and up the slope to the woods. We were so excited we couldn’t get the camera ready fast enough. You can see it at a distance if you look closely at the photo. Of course we saw bison in the meadows as there are large herds of them mostly in the valleys. Many times they were walking or standing in the road and traffic would have to stop until they decided it was time to meander to the other side for the never ending crazing and pooping!! We also had some excitement when traffic was stopped both ways for a large bull elk with some good size antlers. Traffic finally moved slowly around it but to our excitement it decided it would cross right in front of our car. We did get photos of that. We were also ecstatic to see a small group of pronghorn deer which are so beautiful and graceful. Their horns go up and then curve in towards the center. We saw some cute rabbits and what I think was a marten (Debra thinks it was a marmet). Regardless, it was cute! We always enjoyed seeing the herds of elk along the valleys and near the roads and continued to be amazed at just how beautiful and varied the ecosystem is here. In one area you see the snow, in another you see geysers, in another you see flatlands, in yet another you see warning signs not to go off the boardwalk for fear of sinking into vats of sulfuric acid or getting scalded to death (and I mean death) by hot springs. The sad part of the beautiful Yellowstone vistas is that fires caused by man's carelessness or nature's lightning strikes (at least 22 a year) have dramatically changed the appearance of the landscape. It was during the summer of 1988 that the biggest national park fire occurred with 26 percent of Yellowstone burned and it was caused by man!! And yet not one of the major features were destroyed. The geysers, waterfalls, and herds of wildlife were, and are, still here. It is amazing to see just how the fires burned – there are side by side burned areas and non-burned areas. The dead trees are lying every which way and are left to rot and go back into the earth. The rangers say that new growth starts almost immediately. Thank goodness it left one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the park which they call the Upper Falls and Lower Falls…the sight and sounds of these are just magnificent – we can only hope that our photos depict at least a portion of their beauty. Nor could we capture one of my most favorite sounds...the wind blowing through the pine trees while walking through the soft pine needles as there is almost no underbrush here! Yes, it IS a grand place...President Grant was pretty smart when he designated Yellowstone our nation's first National Park back in 1872!

Arriving at Yellowstone

The drive from Jackson Hole to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park was only 79 miles, but once we got into the park it took us a total of about 5 hours in all. The terrain and view was constantly changing from high peaks to valleys with up and down winding roads; a real challenge but Debra was up to the task as usual. The challenges were increased by trying to concentrate not only on the road but watching for wandering animals. We were also trying to watch all the scenic venues such as the large Yellowstone Lake that we parallel most of the way. Yellowstone Lake is North America’s largest mountain lake and now drains into the Atlantic via the Gulf of Mexico and is 20 miles long, 14 miles wide, and 430 feet deep at its deepest point. It stays pretty cold all through the year so swimming is discouraged by the park. We also drove over the Continental Divide at one point which we weren’t expecting so soon . With all that to contend with we made it however and arrived at the Rocky Mountain RV Campground with our assigned RV site right on a cliff overlooking the small town of Gardiner, MT. The town has mostly small bars, several restaurants to serve the tour buses & tourists, the large Yellowstone Tour Company, and of course a few souvenir shops and very small casinos. Of course, we found a favorite restaurant…can’t beat those Angus beef!! We decided all you needed to have in your wardrobe here were about seven pairs of jeans, some good hiking boots or cowboy boots and a warm coat & hat as well as a truck with 4-wheel drive!! The view from the front of the RV looked out over the beautiful valley and the snow covered mountain peaks across the valley. The sun comes up early here and doesn’t get dark until after nine o’clock which gave us plenty of time for sightseeing after Debra finished work. Spring is just really beginning here with the trees starting to put out buds to augment the existing Lodgepole and Ponderosa Pines. The campground’s been busy hanging out flower baskets and planting large rock gardens. The elk & mule deer were regular visitors in the early morning and late evenings so it will be a miracle if they all survive.

Grand Teton

“Man’s Heart away from nature becomes hard.” Standing Bear We arrived at the Grand Teton RV Park in Moran, WY in a light snow with the wondrous Teton Range surrounding us….it was more than I had imagined. I had always wanted to come here after seeing them through my Christmas present of long ago-a View Master(wonder how many of you remember those)! Across the way was a large herd of horses, still with their winter coats who watched us as carefully as we watched them through the falling snow. I was immediately filled with contentment and a swelling heart. I knew right away it would be very difficult to capture the beauty of this place on film. The RV Park was not quite ready for the arrival of us early spring travelers and although closer to one of the entrances to the Grand Teton National Park; we decided we would prefer to be a little closer to Jackson and drive to the park for each of our sightseeing adventures. We ended up at the Virginian (remember that TV show?!) It was a nice quiet park and was so easy to get to wherever we needed to go. Jackson has a wonderful free shuttle to the town square and Teton Village. Jackson Hole is known for its skiing and all kinds of winter sports as well as trout fishing. The town square is full of art galleries, restaurants, specialty shops and goodies for the tourists. There are striking large bronze sculptures all around the town square as well as the focal point of the square which is the four corners of arches made from antlers. Antlers are shed each spring and are gathered for decorations, hunting and carvings. We learned that Jackson is the town and Jackson Hole is the entire valley…but to Olympic and novice skiers from all over the world; the town is also known as” Jackson Hole”. It is home to the wealthy and most homes near the mountains are well into the high millions. There is even an airport here to support the private jets and several commercial air carriers for the rich and famous to come in for the snow sport season and après night life. Harrison Ford has a home/ranch here, as well as his jet. The relative scarcity of private land drives the Jackson Hole real estate market so high as 97 % of Teton County, WY is publically owned national park, national forest, or wildlife refuge. We found a nice log home and some acres with views of the Tetons for only $22,000,000!!! Lacked about $21,999,990 or we would have scoffed it up!!  There is also an abundance of restaurants here to suit everyone’s pocket. We especially loved “Bubba’s Barbecue” as they had the best salad bar we had ever seen…you could make a whole meal on it from appetizer to dessert! The barbecue was great also. We were thrilled to find a Diary Queen to satisfy our dessert cravens for Debra’s favorite…an Oreo Blizzard and I was thrilled to see the new flavor was a Buster Bar Blizzard!! This was our first major stopover where there was no Indian restaurant for us to savor. The peaks of the Teton Range are regal and imposing and stand 7,000 ft above the valley floor making one of the boldest statements of the Rockies. These young mountains are still growing; as the mountains rose the valley sank creating the spectacular landscape we see today. The drive through the scenic heart of this preserve is built around one of Earth’s most dramatic geologic statements. They are unencumbered by foothills; rising through steep coniferous forest into alpine meadows which are strewn with wildflowers in the late spring & summer; past blue and white glaciers to snow covered granite pinnacles. Jackson Hole is the broad valley at the base and is covered with sagebrush and occasional forested buttes and groves of beautiful aspen trees. There are a string of jewel-like lakes fed by mountain streams with the Snake River beginning in Yellowstone NP winding leisurely past the Tetons on into Idaho. Sections of this river make excellent habitats for and support moose, deer, elk, beavers, trumpeter swans, sandhill cranes, Canadian Geese and all sorts of ducks and other animals. We loved seeing almost all of them and on one evening especially we came upon lots of bison and almost a thousand elk from one meadow to another. One afternoon we had a laugh watching some marmots playing in the sun on the rocks on our way into the National Museum of Wildlife Art in the United States which has the largest collection of wildlife in the world. I am a huge fan of Robert Bateman’s wildlife art and one of his great pieces hangs at the focal point of the museum. It is probably his largest work and is called “Chief”. . It is of a bison running in a cloud of dust right at you and you will be mesmerized by it as is everyone from all over the world. We also viewed a video of Bateman and how he focuses on each of his works as he travels the globe to seek out his subjects. He is very intelligent, intriguing and sensitive to nature. We spent a lot of time driving from one vista to another throughout the park and you find that you don’t talk as that would seem so intrusive to the beauty and the many sounds of nature and all of its gifts. God must have had a wonderful time designing all of this for us!! I am so thankful for his work and getting to see it firsthand. Hope you will enjoy some of our attempts to capture that beauty. “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Salt Lake City Tours and Drive to Jackson, WY

Arrived at the Pony Express RV Resort (which was very nice) in SL City on Sunday, May 2nd after braving the early morning snow from Bryce Valley. It was just a little snow but the wind that came with it for awhile was pretty gusty so we didn’t hook up the tow until we got through the Dixie Forest. The weather did a huge turn around and was quite nice so we were able to get out & about during the evenings and on Friday/Saturday to do our touring. Salt Lake is a difficult city to travel in as all the streets are numbered such as W 2600 S. The Historic Temple Square is the city’s most important block and everything is numbered from that point and the 6-spired SL Temple is the centerpiece of this beautifully landscaped 10-acre plot in the heart of downtown. Thank goodness for GPS! SL City was founded on July 24, 1847 by a group of Mormon pioneers traveling what is now known as the Mormon trail after being run out of Nauvoo, IA. Yes, boys and girls, we all have our dirty laundry… (Mormons are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). They came with 138 men, 3 women and two children….(poor women)!!! Someone early on asked us if we were “LDS” and we thought they were asking if we had some disease or something…. apparently that is what they refer to themselves as rather than Mormon, at least here. It is interesting that only about 24% live here whereas most of them are overseas doing missionary work. SL was named for the salty inland lake that dominated the West many years ago. It covered most of Western Utah and small parts of Idaho and Nevada during the ice age but has receded and is now called the Great Salt Lake now 75 miles long & 30 miles wide with a surface area of 1500 sq miles and a depth of 40 ft. What is really amazing is that the total amount of salt dissolved is about 4.5 to 4.9 billion tons. At times the salinity is at 28% (beyond which water cannot hold salt). This is 3-5 times greater than sea water! We took two tours one of which was to the Salt Lake and what’s left of the old Saltair Resort from the 30’s, and to Temple Square where we got to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir which was quite impressive and the highlight of our touring. On that tour, we ate in Brigham Young’s house which is now called the Lion House restaurant run, of course, by the Mormons. We also toured Utah’s very impressive State Capital Bldg. This is a pretty diverse city with lots to do and see. Interestingly enough, there are a lot of immigrants here as Utah allows them to come here and settle rather easily. That said, there is talk in the legislature to stop that as there is a concern Utah will get too many folk from Arizona as a result of Arizona’s recent crackdown on illegal immigration. There has also been a large influx of people from California after the housing market went bust and a lot from Louisiana after Katrina, making Utah the nation’s fastest growing state (per capita). Another interesting tidbit is that Utah is the SECOND most arrid state, behind Nevada and BEFORE Arizona! That was a surprise to us! We also drove to Park City which is where part of the 2002 Winter Olympics were held. Salt Lake reigns as the Hqs for top athletes and training facilities and is where the US Ski, Snowboarding, and Speed Skating teams train. Lindsey Vaughn lives here. Another of our highlights was a tour to the Kennecott Utah Copper’s Bingham Canyon Mine open pit mine, the largest and richest mine on Earth!! It is 2 1/4 miles across at the top and ¾ of a mile deep. You could stack two Sears Towers on top of each other and still not reach the top. By 2015 it will be 500 ft deeper than it is now. It has produced more copper than any mine in history—about 18.1 tons! It is so big it can be seen by the space shuttle as they pass the U.S. The only other place that can be seen is the Great China Wall. Kennecott mines about 55,000,000 tons of copper per year and meets about 17% of the world’s copper demand. Think about everything we use that has copper in it. The equipment is extremely expensive….for instance the newest electric shovel costs about $3.5 million. Their profit runs however about $50 mil a day!! We took some photos for you to look at….it was very impressive. And no Karen. We didn't make it to Hill AFB and didn't see the neat restuarant you referred us to...Lord knows we looked as restaurants are more than a hobby in this household! :-) We left Salt Lake to head to Jackson, WY and Grand Teton. We’ve added a couple of pics of the drive so you could get an idea of the landscape. Our apologies for the delay in updating the blog but Jackson was super slow with the internet. Now that we’re in Gardiner, MT and up on a hill and just a mile from the north gate of Yellowstone, we will be able to catch up!

Ride to Salt Lake, Sunday 2 May 2010

When we woke up early Sunday morning to leave Bryce Canyon and Cannonville, we arose to a new snow fall and blowing wind!! The road to the major highway was covered and a little scary for us so we did not hook-up until we hit the main hwy through the Dixie Forest on our way to Salt Lake City. We have decided that Utah is a beautiful state with lots to see and do. We hope you will enjoy its splendor as well and realize yet again what a beautiful country we are honored to live in.

Hoodoo Country

Okay everyone...get ready for some more rocks!! Just remember the last several ones we have visited have been canyons and now we are on to National Parks. But I must say these are so very special and beautiful. We drove from Las Vegas still with some money in our pockets, and arrived at the KOA in Cannonville, UT in the heart of Bryce Canyon Country, where the World’s largest concentration of scenic attractions can be found. We loved our little campground that was more in a rustic setting versus the more commercial larger resorts. Our hostess was also the owner and went out of her way to accommodate us in every way along with making recommendations for a day at Bryce since we were only going to be there for two nights. We got up early Saturday and drove up the road to the entry to Bryce (early morning is the best time to see everything at its best and get ahead of the tour buses) had breakfast at the lodge and then it was off to all the scenic view points as outlined in the park guide. Viewpoints offer the close-up views of Bryce and hundred mile vistas of the Colorado Plateau. The first thing we saw was a herd of mule deer grazing in the meadow and managed to click off a photo before they got wind of us. At our first view point I was very much in awe of what I was seeing, as were the other tourists. We even met a couple from Winding River, NC (small world as they say). The Grand Canyon was amazing just in the size and depth…but Bryce is just beautiful with the various colors of the rock formations as they constantly change with the sun throughout the day. The azure sky, the cotton ball clouds, and all the evergreens just seem to frame the plateaus and hiking trails. It was especially beautiful with the snow covering many of the peaks. There are miles of carved pinnacles of stone-called hoodoos-radiating in oranges, golds and pinks. For millions of years water has carved Bryce’s rugged landscape, and continues to do so. Unlike other rock formations which are caused by rushing water and erosion, hoodoos are created by water getting into the pores of the rock and then splitting the rock as it freezes; expanding the existing cracks. Apparently this process occurs some 200 times a year. We did the 37-mile round-trip drive through the park and must have taken a hundred photos between the two of us. There is definitely a sense of place here that goes beyond the rocks. Some of the local Paiute Indians explain it with a legend….Once there lived animal-like creatures that changed themselves into people…but they were bad, so Coyote turned them into rocks of various configurations. The spell-bound creatures still huddle together here with faces painted just as they were before being turned into stone!! (I think I recognized a few folk!!) Then it was on to the designated National Scenic Byway 12 considered Utah’s all-American highway. Only a few of our highways achieve this status making Byway 12 one of the most unique roads in the US. We did the 124 mile round trip having lunch/early dinner in Boulder which was recommended by our campground owner. We came into Boulder, which is just a town of 200, and saw the little restaurant recommended by our hostess. To say the least we were skeptical but oh boy were we ever surprised! The husband & wife were chefs and had worked in many establishments before deciding to live the quiet life in Boulder, UT. We enjoyed our culinary experience and did take a photo of the little place along with the cows next door for your viewing. Raising cattle and alfalfa for the cattle is the main occupation out there. The highway is another beauty in itself and there was hardly any traffic so we meandered along taking in all the sites. It was a long day and we didn’t have time or the energy to do Zion NP which was okay as we were told it was like looking up at a lot of stone walls. Debra confirmed that since she had been there before. We were surprised when we arrived back at the campground seeing at least 25 “CruiseAmerica RVs. They were all from France; touring the country in a group in their rented RV’s!! Cannot begin to tell you how many RV’s there are out in this part of the country. Next stop, Salt Lake City!