Map of Trip Four
Monthly Archives: June 2013
2013 Trip Four, Out West, Map
2013 Trip Four, Out West, June 9
Sunday June 9
Tomorrow we are home.
7000 miles.
11 states.
40 days and 39 nights.
Only one rain out day.
Umpteen national parks, monuments, wildlife refuges, forests, etc.
Trip 5 is June 13-18 to see Deb and Rebecca in Boston.
Trip 6 will be the Northwest-Alberta, British Columbia, Washington State, etc from June 28 to August 18 or 19.
Right now it is just good to be looking at MN even if it is only for a few days. While we made two stops today, at Minuteman Missile site and National Grasslands visitor center, it was primarily a boring drive through S.D. Not that S.D. does not have nice features, it was just that we were ready to be getting home.
We compared our top five events of the trip and found 60% in agreement.
Hope you have enjoyed the pictures and travel comments.
Ed and Chris June 9 9pm
South Dakota along I-90
South Dakota at Missouri River
Categories: road trip, travel
Tags: Minuteman Missle Site SD, National Grasslands visitor site SD
1 Comment
2013 Trip Four, Out West, June 8
Saturday, June 8
Well we went from sleeping with angels to walking with the devil. We left the Angels Keep B and B in Cody WY after making a last minute adjustment to our schedule. We decided to spend the night in Spearfish SD instead of Gillette, WY. We looked more closely at the map and the mileage and decided we would hike around the Devil’s Tower Monument and then keep going to Spearfish rather than backtracking to Gillette.
Devil’s Tower
The B and B, Angels Keep
The drive from Cody involves going over the Big Horn Mountains. The route we selected involved a pass at 9666 feet. Our last high elevation drive of the trip. The route was a good road with few travelers. Prior to the mountains, we went through high plains including the town of Emblem, population 10.
Going through the Bighorn Mountains
Lunch was at a small, local restaurant in Buffalo WY and then through the Powder River basin region of Wyoming. This area produces coal,oil and gas. In fact, Wyoming has no income tax, relying heavily on severance taxes paid by mineral extraction companies. We saw a large coal burning power plant, numerous coal hauling trains, oil rigs, and devices that appeared to be related to natural gas collection.
We arrived at the Devils Tower National Monument in mid afternoon. DT was the first national monument, signed into law by President T. Roosevelt in 1906. It is comprised of igneous rocks in columnar form that is surrounded by sedimentary rock that eroded, leaving the harder DT standing. It is over 800 feet above the surrounding area, a distinctive feature in NE Wyoming.
Devil’s Tower
two climbers on Devils Tower
We walked around it, about 1.5 miles. Much easier than the people who climb it of whom we observed two. (Click on the picture to better see the climbers.)
Chris and Ed June 8 10 pm
Categories: road trip, travel
Tags: Big Horn Mountains, Devil's Tower National Monument
Leave a comment
2013 Trip Four, out West, June 7, 2013
BEAR
Friday, June 7
On our way home! WE FINALLY SAW A BEAR!!!
Actually we saw four bears. The first sighting was along the highway where multiple cars and people had stopped. In the woods, we could see a mother black bear with 2 cinnamon colored cubs. This time, we were able to see and watch them move and forage around the area with our own eyes. We stayed a while and watched.
We were traveling from the northwest entrance to the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park. This route goes through the Lamar Valley. The valley has always been highlighted as a great wildlife viewing area and it was our first time on the road.
Lamar Valley of Yellowstone NP
The second bear sighting was along the Lamar road a few miles further east. Once again, multiple cars and people identified a potential sighting. Sure enough, a black bear was ambling not far from the roadside and parallel to it. We slowed down, took a picture, and then continued our journey. Aren’t we getting blasé about these animal sightings? During the rest of our journey along the Lamar Valley, there were multiple bison herds.
Our journey continued from the north east entrance to Cody Wyoming. We had decided to pass up the opportunity to take the Beartooth scenic highway. This highway had been closed for snow just a week ago and the top elevation of the pass is at 11,000 feet. It would’ve been somewhat out of our way and we decided we had seen and driven enough high elevation roads.
Chief Joseph Scenic Highway in Wyoming
Chief Joseph Scenic Highway
Our journey instead took the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway whose pass was only at 8000 feet. The route honors the Nez Perce Indians in their 1877 attempt to evade the US Cavalry. The road had great scenery, nicely paved roads, shoulders on the roads, not a lot of RVs, and speed limits of 65 mph, not 35-45 mph.
Chief Joseph Scenic Highway
We arrived in Cody WY where we are staying at a B and B. Cody is the home of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. There are five museums in the complex; firearms, Buffalo Bill, natural history, western art and plains indians. We spent two hours here, one could spend all day.
Dinner was at a local rib place and we then watched the local free evening entertainment. Cody has a cowboy re-enactment just off the Main Street. It was a little cheesy but pleasant.
Staged cowboy show in Cody
Ed and Chris June 7 10 pm
2013 Trip Four, Out West, June 6
Thursday June 6
Part of Norris Geyser Basin
Today was geyser day. Well, maybe a few other items also. We started with a quick visit to the museum at the Mammoth Hot Springs entrance and then proceeded to Norris Geyser Basin. Norris is considered one of the hottest and most active of the hydrothermal areas at Yellowstone.
While not the home of Old Faithful, it has a wide variety of types of geysers along with hot springs, etc.
Close up of runoff from spring showing effect of varied minerals and micro-organisms
run off from thermal pool
Norris Geyser Basin has two long walks that allow you to observe the diversity of the geysers, along with springs. We had visited portions of this area in the winter of 2009 but not as thoroughly and expansively as today. Some of the sites brought back fond memories, like the photo we remembered taking of one of the walkway railings piled with snow over a foot deep.
Still at Norris
We drove along the Firehole River, another fond memory from 2009 when hoarfrost covered the trees along this river. We had lunch, our first peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in a while, at a picnic table along the Gibbon River.
Old Faitthful- was not sunnny most of the day
at Castle Geyser
gorgeous isn’t it?
The afternoon and evening were spent at the geyser basin around Old Faithful. Could not come back home and tell people we had not seen Old Faithful so we did that first. Another ranger walk went through the Upper Geyser Basin in the early evening. It seems that many of the rangers are permanent but seasonal employees. Many have been doing this for years, working at whatever job they can get in the off-season that allows them to come back to Yellowstone to work in the summer.
driving back to Gardiner
Our trip back to Gardiner occurred from 8 to 9:30 pm, prime wildlife viewing time. Sure enough, we saw plenty but the highlights were the times the male bison were walking down the roadway uncaring if vehicles were attempting to use it. We were stopped one time as the second bison in a group decided to walk directly in a line with the center of the front end of the Saturn. At the last minute, it decided to move to the side by Chris.
Our friend
Tomorrow we leave Yellowstone, driving out the Lamar Valley which is also prime viewing. It will involve driving through two roadways under construction so the process might be slow.
Ed and Chris, June 7 9 am
Categories: road trip, travel
Tags: Firehole River, Mammoth Hot springs, Norris Geyser Basin, Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park
Leave a comment
2013 Trip Four, Out West, June 5
Wednesday, June 5
We spent our time today in two main locations, Mammoth Hot Springs and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and driving between the two. Mammoth Hot Springs is near by, at the north entrance of the park. It is also the home of Historic Fort Yellowstone-which we have not visited yet. Fort Yellowstone was the home of the US Army troops who protected the park, similar to what occurred at Yosemite, until the Park Service was created in 1916.
Mammoth Hot Springs
Mammoth Hot Springs
My initial impression of Mammoth Hot Springs was of a rather dull location but closer inspection proved me wrong-amazing, isn’t it? Part of the area is inactive, showing where hot springs had flowed previously. The white rock and dead trees are then complemented by several springs, usually colored by minerals and highlighted by steam. As always, you are walking on boardwalks to protect the sensitive areas from intrusion by visitors, and protection from contamination.
close up of a hot spring
As discussed on several of the walks, various microbes, bacteria, and algae live in the waters and contact with human organisms can change the environment for them. Despite all of the warnings, we still see people walking where they hadn’t outta and trying to scoop water out. The differing types of organisms frequently give the color to the thermal feature.
Portions of Mammoth Hot Springs are on elevated terraces giving a great view of the historic fort and valley beyond. The steep hikes provide great exercise even if the walks are not multiple miles long.
The afternoon was spent at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone which is over 1000 feet deep. The heating action of this volcanic area softens the rock slightly to make the erosive effect of the Yellowstone river greater. We did some exploring on our own and took a ranger hike along the south rim.
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Close up of lower falls
Again, no bears were sighted. The ranger did point out grizzly claw marks on one of the trees along the trail, about 7 feet up the tree. An English couple staying at the Headwaters of the Yellowstone B and B with us have seen three bears so far.
Grand Canyon looking away from the falls
Ed and Chris June 6 11 pm
2013 Trip Four, Out West, June 4
Tuesday, June 4
We took a morning walk along Yellowstone Lake before breakfast. The day holds promise of not being as cold as Monday although one would certainly not call it warm.
Chris and I visited Yellowstone in January of 2009. It was a great trip with beautiful scenery but limited in its scope of viewing the whole park. That trip focused on the west and central part of the park.
This time we came in from the south and we have been viewing portions of the park not visited (or not remembered) from the previous trip. We never made it to West Thumb or the Lake Village area in 2009 so this is a new experience. It has been eye opening to realize that thermal features are not even present in numerous areas of the park, except underground.
Yellowstone has the world’s largest collection of thermal hotspots-geysers, mud pots, fumeroles (steam vents) and thermal springs. There are over 10,000. It sits on top of a volcano and magma is less than two miles beneath the surface here. Part of the park is within an ancient caldera, yes another caldera for us. We slept in a volcano last night! Earthquakes, of a minor nature, occur daily.
Bison on storm point walk
Storm point on Yellowstone Lake
Our first ranger hike was to Storm Point on Yellowstone Lake. Yellowstone Lake is the largest high elevation lake in the U.S. Yellowstone River is the longest free flowing river in the U.S. We are going to have to make a list of the longest, oldest, highest whatevers we have experienced during this trip.
The walk to Storm Point was more pleasant and an adventure in varying terrains. We came across bison and marmots but not much other wildlife. The day tried to warm up but was not very successful.
Lodgepole pines in the forest
We had a quick lunch at one of the park’s grills and met a couple from Buffalo, NY. He had been to many, many car shows at Carlisle and we exchanged remembrances. He also mentioned that Massey’s Ice Cream had been sold to Dickinson College and closed (site of the girls’ first summer job). The abandoned Masland Carpet plant burnt down also.
She had volunteered for numerous years at the Chautauqua in New York State, the inspiration of the program Chris initiated at St. Kates.
Our second ranger hike was to the Mud Volcano area. There were many non-geyser features here. One was called the Cooking Hillside. In the 1950s, a placid field suddenly had the temperature of the ground increase and the increased ground temperature started killing the trees. Soon after, a hot spring emerged. Now the spring is pleasant to observe and dead trees trunks remind you how nature can suddenly completely change an area.
Cooking Hillside
Thermal spring at Mud Volcano area
A second neat feature was called Dragon’s Breath. Out of a cavern, noisy steam erupts above a pool of water. Reminds one of the dragon (Smaug) in the Hobbit. We are seeing some people again on the hikes, it is almost old home week as we greet one another.
We traveled from the south central part of the park to the northwest corner for our lodging in the town of Gardiner, MT. Actually this B and B is outside of the town, along the banks of the Yellowstone River. The route takes us through Hayden Valley, a highly recommended site to view wildlife. We are finding that Grand Teton, so far, was a better place to observe wildlife. We did get our first close up shot of an elk.
mudpot
Dragon’s Breath at Mud Volcano area
After Hayden Valley we head further north into mountains, rivers, and high plains. Snow, while not prominent, is lying along many roadsides. Great vistas are all around without any steam features noticeable. Road construction slows us down on one portion, less so than slow drivers though. I tremble to think of driving here in July and August.
We arrive at the B and B without incident and started planning for Wednesday’s activities.
Ed and Chris June 5 10 pm
Categories: road trip, travel
Leave a comment
2013 Trip Four, Out West, June 3
Monday, June 3
June 3 and we had snow and sleet showers today. We left Jackson WY and drove through Grand Teton National Park once again, from south to north. There was one small piece of it we did not spend much time in, Coulter Bay, but otherwise we have covered most of it.
Last view of Grand Teton National Park
On our way through the park, we stopped at an overlook where Ansel Adams took a very famous photo of the Grand Teton. My picture did not come out as well as his, must have been the fault of the time of day and angle of the sun.
As we continued north to Yellowstone, the air became colder. We were climbing again from Jackson’s 4500 feet in elevation to 7500 feet for Yellowstone. (All elevations approximate and vary from location to location.) The skies became cloudy. We were back in mountains and forests, rather than looking at them from the valley.
New growth in burnt out area
You may not remember, but Yellowstone had a major fire in 1988. It burned over 30 percent of the park and generated great controversy and criticism of Park Service actions. 25 years later, the political and social climate has changed. We recognize much more that fire is part of nature and it is necessary for certain types of regeneration in the forest. But, we still look at downed trees and areas of shorter trees and can only imagine what it looked like 30 years ago.
We spent considerable time at West Thumb. This area is an arm of Lake Yellowstone and was created through a volcanic eruption. Fifty years ago, the West Thumb area was the heart of the park, this area came to people’s mind when Yellowstone was mentioned, not Old Faithful. Over time, views changed and much of the buildings housed here were taken down and a new complex created a little ways to the east, to what is now Grant Village.
mud pot in West Thumb area
Thermal spring
We went on two ranger hikes around the West Thumb thermal area. No major geysers here, but numerous fumeroles (Steam vents), mud pots and thermal springs. Some interesting tidbits: a. the Park Service used to have a fish and cook program whereby people could cook the fish they caught in a hot spring; and b. a few days ago, a young elk wandered into one of the pools and died, you can still see some of its bones.
a portion of West Thumb area looking toward Yellowstone Lake
The morning hike was colder and mosquitoes have hatched. The afternoon hike was not as cold but we were very thankful we had hats,gloves and winter jackets. Evidently this type of weather is not unusual for Early June.
The percentage of international visitors remains high. We spent Monday night at Lake Yellowstone Hotal. There were a group of English people there who owned Bentley automobiles. They had 18 Bentleys of differing models that they had shipped over from England to L.A.. The group was taking a leisurely drive to Vancouver, British Columbia.
Yellowstone Lake at dusk
Yellowstone Lake in the afternoon
Dinner was at the dining room in the hotel. Several of the restaurants, hikes, and lodging accommodations are not yet open.
Trying to walk by the lake after dinner was not people friendly, more mosquito friendly.
Since Internet and cell coverage was almost non-existent, today’s post is delayed.
Ed and Chris June 5 8 AM
2013 Trip Four, Out West, June 2
Sunday, June 2
We had devoted considerable energy to discussing a raft trip down a river on this western swing. Chris was a little hesitant. We discussed types of rafting excursions and which river would be best. In the end, we settled on a scenic float trip down the Snake River right through the heart of Grand Teton National Park. It was a great choice for us.
Teton Range and Snake RIver
Floating down the Snake River
The company we selected, Barker-Ewing, came highly recommended. However, it was not clear in anything we read that there are now two Barker-Ewing companies. Evidently, two families had been jointly running this company for a number of years. However, a few years ago they split although both use the name; one focuses (not exclusively) on scenic float trips and one (not exclusively) on whitewater rafting.
The websites for the two companies differ by one having a dash between the names and one not having a dash. After a few phone calls, we chose the non dash Barker Ewing that focuses on scenic, non rapids float trips. Their rafting permit allows them to be in the park itself and is of longer duration.
Snake RIver and the Tetons
Bald eagle
Our trip ran from 10 AM until 12:45; 20-30 minutes of that is orientation and being driven to the starting point. The river was running fast but no rapids. The temp was in the high 50s to mid 60s with a breeze so it was cool on the water.
We just sat back-not too far back or we would have been in the water-and let Jim (our guide) do all of the work that the river did not do. We looked at mountains and river, listened to bird songs, and enjoyed the breeze and swaying. Jim provided narrative along the way, highlighting vistas and explaining history of the river’s development.
Snake river
The six passengers, MN and TX and OH, peppered Jim with a variety of questions including his background: 20 some years on the river, now a Jackson city council member, former journalist, etc.
After the journey and the hard work we had to do, we had lunch in downtown Jackson. Then it was back to the hotel to do laundry and finish yesterday’s blog.
We spent the later afternoon and early evening driving up to Signal Mountain for the view and hoped for additional wildlife sighting-maybe a bear??? The drive and view were fine, no bear joined us however. The TX couple on the rafting trip had been telling stories about the multiple bears thay had seen in the last few days. We, okay me, are still looking.
Northeast valley view from Signal Mountain
Ed and Chris Sunday June 2 10 pm
Categories: road trip, travel
2 Comments
2013 Trip Four, Out West, June 1
Saturday, June 1
Another gorgeous day. Sunny and highs in the 60s (Remember we are at higher elevations here and it is cooler than elsewhere.)
We started out our day at the visitors center and went to see the film on Grand Teton National Park. Only problem, the film which was supposed to start automatically at 8:30 forgot that it was supposed to start. I guess it missed its first cup of coffee to get the day underway. Three visits from us to the front desk finally got it rolling.
We drove around a bit and took a few more pictures and then headed to the Laurance S Rockefeller preserve. This is part of the park; the Rockefeller’s were instrumental in getting parts of Grand Teton into the park system through private purchase and bullying the federal government to act.
They kept this piece of land as a private residence until the early 2000s when it was upgraded and given to the park service. It includes a lake, 1000 acres, and a visitor center that is very nice and open but does not do an awful lot. Isn’t it good that we allow people to rip us off and then give some of that money back so they can be considered philanthropists?
From there we drove up to Jenny Lake, stopping at several vistas to observe scenic views and animals (No bears yet). At Jenny Lake we took a shuttle boat to the other side to hike to Hidden Falls. We passed on the longer hike to Inspiration Point.
Teton glacier in the center of photo
Jenny Lake
One of the scenic drives in the park is called the Moose-Wilson road which is warned as curvy, narrow, etc. and a great place to see wildlife. Based on our past experience, the road was pretty easy, just a little bumpy on a dirt portion. No wildlife either.
THe afternoon was moving on and we drove up to the Signal Mountain portion of the park to attend church. There is a church in Jackson but we thought we would go to this chapel in the woods which was about an hour away instead.
Jenny Lake
View from Hidden Falls
The chapel holds about 100 and there were about 50 people there. A foreign born priest who sang well but a poor homily. I did manage to stay awake. Dinner was at a lodge in the park where we chatted with a guy from Michigan who was going to start work for the Forest service on Monday; a server from Connecticut: and a family from Jackson that chatted about the area and best views.
Pronghorn
Moose
The drive home did not present any overwhelming sunset views, but continued the views of majestic mountains and wildlife.
Herd at dusk
Ed and Chris June 2
Chris Klejbuk and Ed Heimel travel adventure 
Recent Comments