We have been relaxing this week; didn't do anything exciting. The RV had to go into the shop and Billings could do it faster and was closer, so we took it there on Monday. Billings is the largest town in Montana, with more than 100,000 people. That is much more than we have been used to seeing. Before you even reach there you can see this dark building from very far away. It is the 23 story Crowne Plaza which is the tallest freestanding brick building in the world. We visited the rim (a rock walled bluff) which is a high section of rimrock that runs the length of the town and then some. From here you can see all of the city and three mountain ranges: the Pryors, the Bighorns and the majestic Beartooths. The Bighorn Mountains are known for the Battle of Little Bighorn where Custer lost his fight with the Indians. Billings airport is also located here. This is the same airport that we flew into 16 years ago when we visited Yellowstone Park in March to ride snowmobiles and stay at Buffalo Bill Cody's Hunting Lodge.
We wanted to visit the Peter Yegen, Jr. Yellowstone Museum which is located across from the airport. It is housed in a 104 year old log cabin and was visited by Teddy Roosevelt and Buffalo Bill Cody. The brochure said it has a vintage steam engine on the grounds and a stuffed two-headed calf which we wanted to see. But they were closed on Sundays and Mondays. Today is Monday.
The town of Billings was named for the owner of the railroad, Frederick Billings in the 1880s. It started as a railroad town, became a booming oil town and now is the progressive medical center for all of eastern Montana, the Dakotas and Wyoming. All around the town are fields of pasture land and wheat. You see cattle and horses everywhere. We were surprised by the direction of the Yellowstone River. It flows east not west. And it flows through Billings also. Almost everywhere we have traveled recently we see the Yellowstone River. We had no idea it was such a large river.
I called Pop Pop's cousin, Mel Gerholdt, while we were here because he lives relatively close to Billings, in Buffalo, Wyoming; but it was actually a three and a half hour drive. Out here to get anyplace you have to drive far. At the rented house we are 23 miles from Livingston which has only 2 grocery stores. Mel was excited to hear from me and we will try to visit him when we pick up the RV. But it will have to be an overnight trip.
Tuesday we stayed around the town of Livingston since we drove so far yesterday. We checked out different fishing places. Daddy went to talk to a fishing guide and that guide spun his yarn for an hour. He couldn't get away. Then Daddy took a hike up the Pine Creek mountain for three and a half miles. Up there it's still snow on the ground. He had a ball. He said you could see this house from way up there.
Wednesday we went into Bozeman to do some shopping and go to the movies. In Livingston the only movies are Clash of the Titans and Hot Tub. We wanted something different. The Back Up Plan was the movie we wanted to see, but the light bulb in the projector was burned out; so they let us watch Date Night for free. They had really good popcorn. Then I went to Joanns and Daddy went to Sears and Barnes and Nobles. Then we went back to see The Back Up Plan, cute movie. When we got out the sky looked really weird to the west. It's a full moon, but there are so many clouds, the moon is highlighting them. We ate a small supper at the Montana Ale House. Had to try it to see how it differed from Mandarin Ale House. It's in an old railroad warehouse and it's done up nicely. I ordered 1 pound of steamed mussels which were awesome. Daddy ordered an Alaskan King Crab crabcake. He said it was really good. The restaurant flies in all fresh seafood. I can't wait to go back there.
Thursday morning it started snowing a really fine snow that was not really sticking. (I guess that's why the sky looked strange last night.) But it kept up all day and by nightfall, it started sticking. This valley sits so low that it stays warmer than the surrounding towns and mountains. Friday morning it is still snowing, but it is so fine that there is only one and a half inches on the porch. It doesn't stop the birds or horses or dogs. They are outside acting as if it never snowed. Now, the alpacas, I watched the rancher have to shoo them out of their barn. When he wasn't watching, they went back in. You would think with their thick fur they wouldn't mind the snow.
Yellowstone Park was to have gotten 10" of snow. Ours has all melted away. You can still see it in the mountain tops, but not here in the valley. In fact, it is in the lower 60s now. At Great Falls, which is about 275 miles northwest of us, they have power outages; but we are fine here. Tomorrow we will find out how much fell in Bozeman when we pick up Jonathan at the airport. He will get in just before the running of the Kentucky Derby. Tonight we are going to Chico Springs to eat dinner and play shuffleboard. They also have a live band tonight, 30-ot-Hicks New@Chico-Livingston, Montana's Own Homegrown Roots Rock Band. Wonder what they'll be like. The last time we were there, it was standing room only, which is odd for a saloon so far out in the sticks. There is nothing anywhere around them.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Today was a rather relaxing day for us. We went into Livingston to see the model train exhibition at the old Livingston Railroad station. But, Daddy was wrong about the date. It was Saturday and we spent yesterday in Three Forks. But we did check out the town's Sacajawea Park. It's a typical town park with playground equipment for children. But, they also had about 15 horseshoe games set up for anyone to play. Daddy really liked that.
We also took a long leisurely drive to a town called Big Timber that has no traffic lights, only stop signs. So you can imagine the size of this town. On May 15they will have the 40 best professional bull riders competing on their fair grounds. We will probably go to see that. We also stopped at several of the Montana Fish and Wildlife Parks they have set up for public fishing. Some of them you can even camp there for 7 days. This is the time of year for the best fishing here. The Yellowstone River is flowing rather quickly. We were going to go all the way to Red Lodge, but it was too far away. You can only reach it this time of year by going around Yellowstone. Yellowstone ia 2.2 million acres- that's a lot to go around. Tomorrow we need to take the RV to either Billings or Great Falls to a Winnebago dealer. That is going to be a long drive. We may end up staying in that town overnight. Great Falls has a really informative museum on the Lewis and Clark exoedition. It seems that has been our favorite part of history. We have been following their route for quite a bit of this trip.
We also took a long leisurely drive to a town called Big Timber that has no traffic lights, only stop signs. So you can imagine the size of this town. On May 15they will have the 40 best professional bull riders competing on their fair grounds. We will probably go to see that. We also stopped at several of the Montana Fish and Wildlife Parks they have set up for public fishing. Some of them you can even camp there for 7 days. This is the time of year for the best fishing here. The Yellowstone River is flowing rather quickly. We were going to go all the way to Red Lodge, but it was too far away. You can only reach it this time of year by going around Yellowstone. Yellowstone ia 2.2 million acres- that's a lot to go around. Tomorrow we need to take the RV to either Billings or Great Falls to a Winnebago dealer. That is going to be a long drive. We may end up staying in that town overnight. Great Falls has a really informative museum on the Lewis and Clark exoedition. It seems that has been our favorite part of history. We have been following their route for quite a bit of this trip.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Saturday, April 23, 2010
4:30 AM we are up and leaving to drive Debbie and Bill to the Bozeman Airport. It is an hour away. We saw the sun rise. It just fills up the sky. The3 sky is just so BIG out here.
In the afternoon Daddy and I drove to Three Forks, Montana where the 3 rivers meet: the Madison, the Jefferson and the Gallatin. This is the headwaters of the Missouri River and it is all east of the Continental Divide. That means all of the water flows eventually to the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean. The Indians used to find chert and black obsidian here on the banks. Today the ranchers move the horses from their winter pasture to their summer pasture. They round them up and drive them through the town's streets. There must have been 500 of them and they all looked really healthy. It is a yearly festival at this time. There were stalls of food and items to buy, thrift shop articles, and an auction to raise money for the town. They auction off these stick ponies (like toddlers play with) for over a hundred dollars. The idea is to help the town. They had a band playing on the veranda of the Sacajewea Hotel. We walked around the town and went in the museums. Brad they had a display of N gauge trains with a landscape that looked like the real surrounding land. It even had plastic dinosaurs where the college has found real dinosaur bones. It is really a different way of life here. And you really have to drive far to go someplace. We must have driven 250 miles today alone. But we're loving it.
In the afternoon Daddy and I drove to Three Forks, Montana where the 3 rivers meet: the Madison, the Jefferson and the Gallatin. This is the headwaters of the Missouri River and it is all east of the Continental Divide. That means all of the water flows eventually to the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean. The Indians used to find chert and black obsidian here on the banks. Today the ranchers move the horses from their winter pasture to their summer pasture. They round them up and drive them through the town's streets. There must have been 500 of them and they all looked really healthy. It is a yearly festival at this time. There were stalls of food and items to buy, thrift shop articles, and an auction to raise money for the town. They auction off these stick ponies (like toddlers play with) for over a hundred dollars. The idea is to help the town. They had a band playing on the veranda of the Sacajewea Hotel. We walked around the town and went in the museums. Brad they had a display of N gauge trains with a landscape that looked like the real surrounding land. It even had plastic dinosaurs where the college has found real dinosaur bones. It is really a different way of life here. And you really have to drive far to go someplace. We must have driven 250 miles today alone. But we're loving it.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
This morning the mountains are above the clouds. It is really unusual looking. We are supposed to get some rain; and I guess this is it coming in. The wind isn't strong yet, but you can hear it howling in the distance. We ate lunch at the Pine Creek Cafe. It is the old General Store and has been added to many, many times. They have an unusual menu Today we went to the Museum of the Rockies at the Montana State University in Bozeman. They have a large dinosaur exhibit. Many dinosaur bones have been found in Montana and the Montana State University specializes in this field. Many of their exhibits are replicas of the real thing. The real bones are in more well-known museums, such as the one in Chicago.
They have hypothesized that dinosaurs are descendants of birds because they have the same bone structure. They also breathed like our birds do with air sacs inside their vertebrate. That's why they do not have very large lungs. Also, the dinosaurs did not drag their tails as we previously thought because they have extra muscles in their tails to hold them up. In addition, they have also found that some dinosaurs were partially warm blooded. This showed up when they discovered that they have a fast metabolism. All of these were eye-openers for us.
This Museum of the Rockies had an exhibit on the Jamestown Settlement in Virginia. It has an interactive exhibit for children to experience what it was like to live in the Jamestown Settlement, including questions requiring them to make decisions in the lives of these settlers. It was really interesting. First, the settlement had no women, so the men had to do everything. You have to decide where you would live: in the wetlands, mountains, on the river or further inland. There are consequences for all of your choices and some of them are very surprising.
The next exhibit was about the Indians. The Crow Indians lived close to the mountains in the winter. When spring came they would send out Scouts to find a suitable campsite. The Scouts would take a chickadee with them. This bird would warn them of danger or of an enemy nearby. At night an owl would warn them of dangers, including weather changes.
The Black Feet Indians were expert horsemen and fierce warriors. They controlled the land from Northern Saskachewan to now Three Forks, Montana. Their name came from the discoloration of their moccasins from ashes. The Crows were considered the Bird People. They were divided into 2 groups: River Crow and Mountain Crow. The Shoshone Indians were considered to be the Snakes. The Sioux Indians were the first Indians in Montana in the 16th century.
In the summer and fall the buffalo herds were driven over the cliffs because it was too hard to hunt them with clubs. They would kill the maimed buffalos with arrows, lances and darts. The first knives were made of stone in the mid 1700s. Then they were replaced by metal knives from trading with the fur trappers.
They used all of the buffalo for their survival. The women wore leather dresses with long leather leggings and moccasins from the hides. They added fringe to hasten the drying time of the leather garment. They traded minerals and beaded items for wool blankets from fur traders in the late 1800s. Then cotton and wool replaced their leather dresses. Baby diapers were made of moss, cattail down, cottonwood fluff, rabbit fur and soft leather. The children had toys that were replicas of the adult things they would need to learn. They had dolls, tepees, arrows, tiny pots and toy dogs. A papoose stays inside cradleboards until they were 2 years old. The babies wore high-topped beaded leather moccasins and beaded leather caps.
The Indians dyed their paints to add color to their clothing and tepees. They made green paint from dried duck dung. The reds and yellows came from baked ochre. The blacks came from the minerals chert and obsidian. Blue and bright green were available once they traded with the fur trappers. They used an awl made from buffalo bones and horns to punch holes in the leather to sew together with sinew or leather threads. The womens' dresses were slit up the sides to facilitate better movement. They had to scrape the meat, fat and hair off the hides then they tanned the hides by rubbing animal brains and internal organs on them. They were left to dry for several days. Once dry they pounded the hide to break the fibers and soften it.
In the 1500s the Spanish brought horses to Mexico. By the 1600s many horses had escaped to the north. In the 1700s the Northern Plains Indians had horses. Horses made life easier for them. They used them to help catch buffalo and to carry their tepees, food and clothing when they moved from 1 campsite to another. Before they had horses in 1720, they used dogs to pull a travois with 50# of items in it. It was made of 2 sticks tied together at 1 end and leather straps woven at the other end to form a base on which to place food and other things. But a horse could carry much more.
The Cheyenne have a story about the creation of the Earth. The Maheo- All Spirit- created the salty lake and made a ball of mud from it. This became Mother Earth and she rested on the back of the turtle. Maheo created the Indians by breathing on his own ribs. This was the first man and woman Indians. Maheo gave the Cheyenne the deer for clothing and food. Maheo gave them the porcupines for ornaments. Then Maheo decided to give them 1 animal to provide them with everything -the buffalo was created. Surprising it is close to God's creation.
They have hypothesized that dinosaurs are descendants of birds because they have the same bone structure. They also breathed like our birds do with air sacs inside their vertebrate. That's why they do not have very large lungs. Also, the dinosaurs did not drag their tails as we previously thought because they have extra muscles in their tails to hold them up. In addition, they have also found that some dinosaurs were partially warm blooded. This showed up when they discovered that they have a fast metabolism. All of these were eye-openers for us.
This Museum of the Rockies had an exhibit on the Jamestown Settlement in Virginia. It has an interactive exhibit for children to experience what it was like to live in the Jamestown Settlement, including questions requiring them to make decisions in the lives of these settlers. It was really interesting. First, the settlement had no women, so the men had to do everything. You have to decide where you would live: in the wetlands, mountains, on the river or further inland. There are consequences for all of your choices and some of them are very surprising.
The next exhibit was about the Indians. The Crow Indians lived close to the mountains in the winter. When spring came they would send out Scouts to find a suitable campsite. The Scouts would take a chickadee with them. This bird would warn them of danger or of an enemy nearby. At night an owl would warn them of dangers, including weather changes.
The Black Feet Indians were expert horsemen and fierce warriors. They controlled the land from Northern Saskachewan to now Three Forks, Montana. Their name came from the discoloration of their moccasins from ashes. The Crows were considered the Bird People. They were divided into 2 groups: River Crow and Mountain Crow. The Shoshone Indians were considered to be the Snakes. The Sioux Indians were the first Indians in Montana in the 16th century.
In the summer and fall the buffalo herds were driven over the cliffs because it was too hard to hunt them with clubs. They would kill the maimed buffalos with arrows, lances and darts. The first knives were made of stone in the mid 1700s. Then they were replaced by metal knives from trading with the fur trappers.
They used all of the buffalo for their survival. The women wore leather dresses with long leather leggings and moccasins from the hides. They added fringe to hasten the drying time of the leather garment. They traded minerals and beaded items for wool blankets from fur traders in the late 1800s. Then cotton and wool replaced their leather dresses. Baby diapers were made of moss, cattail down, cottonwood fluff, rabbit fur and soft leather. The children had toys that were replicas of the adult things they would need to learn. They had dolls, tepees, arrows, tiny pots and toy dogs. A papoose stays inside cradleboards until they were 2 years old. The babies wore high-topped beaded leather moccasins and beaded leather caps.
The Indians dyed their paints to add color to their clothing and tepees. They made green paint from dried duck dung. The reds and yellows came from baked ochre. The blacks came from the minerals chert and obsidian. Blue and bright green were available once they traded with the fur trappers. They used an awl made from buffalo bones and horns to punch holes in the leather to sew together with sinew or leather threads. The womens' dresses were slit up the sides to facilitate better movement. They had to scrape the meat, fat and hair off the hides then they tanned the hides by rubbing animal brains and internal organs on them. They were left to dry for several days. Once dry they pounded the hide to break the fibers and soften it.
In the 1500s the Spanish brought horses to Mexico. By the 1600s many horses had escaped to the north. In the 1700s the Northern Plains Indians had horses. Horses made life easier for them. They used them to help catch buffalo and to carry their tepees, food and clothing when they moved from 1 campsite to another. Before they had horses in 1720, they used dogs to pull a travois with 50# of items in it. It was made of 2 sticks tied together at 1 end and leather straps woven at the other end to form a base on which to place food and other things. But a horse could carry much more.
The Cheyenne have a story about the creation of the Earth. The Maheo- All Spirit- created the salty lake and made a ball of mud from it. This became Mother Earth and she rested on the back of the turtle. Maheo created the Indians by breathing on his own ribs. This was the first man and woman Indians. Maheo gave the Cheyenne the deer for clothing and food. Maheo gave them the porcupines for ornaments. Then Maheo decided to give them 1 animal to provide them with everything -the buffalo was created. Surprising it is close to God's creation.
Montana NTRAK
A model railroad display was set up in the Masonic Lodge, the Milwaukee Road ran thru Three Forks, in fact it was the railroad that built the hotel for their passengers.
The Sacajawea Hotel, Three Forks, Mt
The Sacajawea Hotel was named for Sacajawea, the Indian squaw that was part of the Lewis and Clark exploration and given much of the credit for the success of the mission. The hotel was the site of the cowboy music players and also the charity auction took place on the porch. The weather was 63 degrees and beautiful.
Three Forks, Montana
Today we took Bill and Debbie to the airport in Bozeman, got up at 430am to get ready and drive the 60 miles. We then returned to the house and got a quick nap.
We then went back west of Bozeman to Three Forks where they were having the annual horse run, about 150-200 horses are run down thru the main street to their new pasture, will include a couple pictures, they then have music and a general celebration. We enjoyed it.
Three Forks got its name from the headwaters of the Missouri River it is where the the three rivers come together. The three river are the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin. These rivers were named by Lewis and Clark on their initial adventure sanctioned by Jefferson.
Madison was the Vice President and Gallatin was the secretary of Treasury at the time.
We then went back west of Bozeman to Three Forks where they were having the annual horse run, about 150-200 horses are run down thru the main street to their new pasture, will include a couple pictures, they then have music and a general celebration. We enjoyed it.
Three Forks got its name from the headwaters of the Missouri River it is where the the three rivers come together. The three river are the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin. These rivers were named by Lewis and Clark on their initial adventure sanctioned by Jefferson.
Madison was the Vice President and Gallatin was the secretary of Treasury at the time.
Chico Hot Springs, Friday, April 23, 2010
Dad, Bill and Debbie enjoying the hot springs at Chicos, after we finished we are going into the saloon for something to eat and a game of shuffleboard and several more Olympia beers. These beers sell for $1.00 a piece in 12 oz cans and quite a few get finished in the hot springs. After we eat they have a country band and as you can see, Debbie is dressed for the occasion as is Jan.
Friday, April 23, 2010
The cowgirls
Debbie and Jan celebrate winning a shuffleboard game (their only one by the way) at Chico's, our favorite watering hole. Tonight will be a hot soak in the pool and a country band and maybe more shuffleboard.
Alpacas
Our neighbor at the next house down the lane raises alpacas which we pass everytime we go out the road. We stop and admire these funny looking animals.
Bill and Debbie go home tomorrow and we have to leave at 515am to get them to Bozeman airport. We have really had a good time with them and we definitely will miss our hot spa and shuffleboard partners.
Tomorrow afternoon we will go to the horse run in Three Forks which is 30 miles west of Bozeman. They have rounded up the horses for two days and run them through the town tomorrow afternoon. This will be fun, then they have cowboy music and a public dance, I am sure Mom will wear her cowboy boots and hat. .
Bill and Debbie go home tomorrow and we have to leave at 515am to get them to Bozeman airport. We have really had a good time with them and we definitely will miss our hot spa and shuffleboard partners.
Tomorrow afternoon we will go to the horse run in Three Forks which is 30 miles west of Bozeman. They have rounded up the horses for two days and run them through the town tomorrow afternoon. This will be fun, then they have cowboy music and a public dance, I am sure Mom will wear her cowboy boots and hat. .
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010.
All around this house is a rock farm. Everytime you look outside there is a new rock growing. The neighbor has 7 alpacas and about 6 dogs. Only 1 dog is in the same pasture with the alpacas. He seems to have control over them. The dogs all run up and down the fence whenever we drive by. This upsets the alpacas and they start looking all around and the largest one starts herding the others. That rancher will always know when somebody comes down the lane. Out of all of his dogs there is not 1 alike. At the beginning of his property he has 2 signs: alpaca crossing and mutt crossing.
On the way to the Chico Springs there is a Stagestop Ranch. It's where old RVs and campers go- it's their last stop. A junk yard for RVs! Last night right around here when we were driving back to the house we rode over some road kill. It looked like a wolf cut in half, so we had to turn around to see. When we looked, the road kill was moving! It was 3 porcupines and the center one could walk away, but not the other 2. I had asked Daddy to check them out. He said he's real glad he didn't go out- porcupine quills hurt really bad! The next day the vultures are eating it on the side of the road.
The mountain bluebirds here are so abundant. They are an electric blue; and the male is bluer than the female. The ranchers around here have birdhouses on top of their pasture fence posts just for these birds. They are pretty small, like a sparrow, but a gorgeous blue and they flit all around really fast. Early this morning 2 bluebirds kept flying into the sliding glass door. Maybe there was an animal outside trying to catch them. To keep the road from becoming slippery, we noticed that in the mountains they use grit instead of salt. Bill says that's why the cars coming from Colorado and Montana are in such good shape. There is no snow around the house here, only in the mountain peaks and inside parts of Yellowstone. It has been almost 70 degrees everyday here.
This area is surrounded by 3 rivers-Madison after Vice-President James Madison, the Jefferson- after President Jefferson and the Gallatin- after Albert Gallatin the Secretary of Treasury. Lewis and Clark named these rivers after those men because they were instrumental in the backing of their expedition. Actually, Albert Gallatin had never been past the Missippi River. The city of Bozeman was named for a gold miner that protected the pioneers from the Black Feet Indians. He survived several attacks and built a fort to protect the pioneers. It was also named after him. Eventually he was killed by the Black Feet Indians. The Black Feet Indians were the fiercest of all the Indians and controlled the largest amount of land. They were called the Black Feet because their moccasins were black from the ashes of their fires. The old jailhouse is now the Pioneer Museum and it has the original gallows in it. Quite impressive! Bozeman became important on March 21, 1883 when the Northern-Pacific railroad came into town. Now Bozeman was connected to the east and the west.
There were many Indian tribes that the Lewis and Clark expedition came across on their trip. Some of these were friendly, some weren't. They hired a French-Canadian fur trapper to assist them on their trail. He had 2 wives whom he procured from the Hidatsa Indians. One of these wives was a 16 year old squaw who was pregnant. Her name was Sacajawea and she gave birth to her son while guiding the expedition west. She had been captured by the Hidatsa Indian warriors from her home tribe in Idaho. She was Shoshone by birth and remembered the trails to the west. When the expedition arrived at the Bitter Root Mountains she knew they needed fresh horses to go over those mountains. When they approached the Shoshone Indians, Sacajewea recognized the chief as her brother. After a joyous reunion, her brother was glad to trade them horses. At the end of the expedition, Sacajewea and her husband-the French-Canadian fur trapper went back to trapping. One of the group, John Colter stayed out west to fur trap also. He was the first Euro-American to go further inside Yellowstone and bring back stories of natural wonders that no one believed. He was eventually killed by the Black Feet Indians.
Lester Thompston brought the first Hereford cows to the Gallatin Valley from Herefordshire, England in 1910. All of the cows are descendants of those cows. He owned 4 ranches and started the Stock Growers Association. His wife, Bessie, was founder of the Cow Belles of Montana.
The Bozeman Trail made the trip to Oregan faster. It cut off 6 weeks travel time. In 1863 to 1866 -3500 pioneers traveled the Bozeman Trail. In 1866 alone there were 2000 people and 1200 wagons. The Sioux and Cheyenne Indians were fierce fighters and attacked the pioneers because they were riding into the Big Horn Basin which was their hunting grounds. The Indians felt the land where the buffalo roamed was sacred because it provided them with everything they needed- food, clothing and tools. The pioneers were messing with their food supply. This was called "The Bloody Bozeman" because so many lost their lives here. In 1866, the government placed 3 forts along this trail to protect the wagon trains. But the Indians were so fierce the government closed the trail in 1868. There were many Indian Wars- the Sioux War of 1876, the Nez Perce War of 1877 with Chief Joseph, to name a few.
The Indians' whole survival depended upon the buffalo. From 1 buffalo the Indians were able to get 1500# of meat which they cut into thin slices and ate it cooked over a fire or dried it into jerky to preserve it. Some of this jerky they pounded into a powder and mixed it with berries and buffalo fat to make pemmican. Pemmican was very high protein and would stay good for 2 years. They packed it tightly in skin bags made from the buffalo's stomach. They would also place buffalo meat, veggies and berries into the skin bags and boil them in water to make soup. Boy, that is a new conception of soup! They made rattles, tools and large spoons out of the buffalo hooves. The bones, horns, sinew and hair was made into containers, thread and halters. The buffalo hides were made into tepee covers, clothing and moccasins.
In the time before the wagon trains the Indians traded chert, obsidian and beaver pelts for wool blankets. The Hudson Bay Company wove black stripes into the side of the woolen blankets to indicate how many beaver pelts the blanket was worth. It just made trade easier. In this house we're renting they have a Hudson Bay wool blanket with 3 black stripes woven into the side. The Indians found chert and obsidian near the headwaters of the Missouri River(which is the town of Three Forks now) and used it to make projectile points for hunting. The Indians decorated their ceremonial clothing elaborately with beads and feathers. They decorated their pipe bags, moccasins, tepees, baby clothes and papoose carriers with beads. A bride would decorate moccasins for her groom inside and out with beads and give it as a wedding gift. These moccasins would not be worn outside.
On the way to the Chico Springs there is a Stagestop Ranch. It's where old RVs and campers go- it's their last stop. A junk yard for RVs! Last night right around here when we were driving back to the house we rode over some road kill. It looked like a wolf cut in half, so we had to turn around to see. When we looked, the road kill was moving! It was 3 porcupines and the center one could walk away, but not the other 2. I had asked Daddy to check them out. He said he's real glad he didn't go out- porcupine quills hurt really bad! The next day the vultures are eating it on the side of the road.
The mountain bluebirds here are so abundant. They are an electric blue; and the male is bluer than the female. The ranchers around here have birdhouses on top of their pasture fence posts just for these birds. They are pretty small, like a sparrow, but a gorgeous blue and they flit all around really fast. Early this morning 2 bluebirds kept flying into the sliding glass door. Maybe there was an animal outside trying to catch them. To keep the road from becoming slippery, we noticed that in the mountains they use grit instead of salt. Bill says that's why the cars coming from Colorado and Montana are in such good shape. There is no snow around the house here, only in the mountain peaks and inside parts of Yellowstone. It has been almost 70 degrees everyday here.
This area is surrounded by 3 rivers-Madison after Vice-President James Madison, the Jefferson- after President Jefferson and the Gallatin- after Albert Gallatin the Secretary of Treasury. Lewis and Clark named these rivers after those men because they were instrumental in the backing of their expedition. Actually, Albert Gallatin had never been past the Missippi River. The city of Bozeman was named for a gold miner that protected the pioneers from the Black Feet Indians. He survived several attacks and built a fort to protect the pioneers. It was also named after him. Eventually he was killed by the Black Feet Indians. The Black Feet Indians were the fiercest of all the Indians and controlled the largest amount of land. They were called the Black Feet because their moccasins were black from the ashes of their fires. The old jailhouse is now the Pioneer Museum and it has the original gallows in it. Quite impressive! Bozeman became important on March 21, 1883 when the Northern-Pacific railroad came into town. Now Bozeman was connected to the east and the west.
There were many Indian tribes that the Lewis and Clark expedition came across on their trip. Some of these were friendly, some weren't. They hired a French-Canadian fur trapper to assist them on their trail. He had 2 wives whom he procured from the Hidatsa Indians. One of these wives was a 16 year old squaw who was pregnant. Her name was Sacajawea and she gave birth to her son while guiding the expedition west. She had been captured by the Hidatsa Indian warriors from her home tribe in Idaho. She was Shoshone by birth and remembered the trails to the west. When the expedition arrived at the Bitter Root Mountains she knew they needed fresh horses to go over those mountains. When they approached the Shoshone Indians, Sacajewea recognized the chief as her brother. After a joyous reunion, her brother was glad to trade them horses. At the end of the expedition, Sacajewea and her husband-the French-Canadian fur trapper went back to trapping. One of the group, John Colter stayed out west to fur trap also. He was the first Euro-American to go further inside Yellowstone and bring back stories of natural wonders that no one believed. He was eventually killed by the Black Feet Indians.
Lester Thompston brought the first Hereford cows to the Gallatin Valley from Herefordshire, England in 1910. All of the cows are descendants of those cows. He owned 4 ranches and started the Stock Growers Association. His wife, Bessie, was founder of the Cow Belles of Montana.
The Bozeman Trail made the trip to Oregan faster. It cut off 6 weeks travel time. In 1863 to 1866 -3500 pioneers traveled the Bozeman Trail. In 1866 alone there were 2000 people and 1200 wagons. The Sioux and Cheyenne Indians were fierce fighters and attacked the pioneers because they were riding into the Big Horn Basin which was their hunting grounds. The Indians felt the land where the buffalo roamed was sacred because it provided them with everything they needed- food, clothing and tools. The pioneers were messing with their food supply. This was called "The Bloody Bozeman" because so many lost their lives here. In 1866, the government placed 3 forts along this trail to protect the wagon trains. But the Indians were so fierce the government closed the trail in 1868. There were many Indian Wars- the Sioux War of 1876, the Nez Perce War of 1877 with Chief Joseph, to name a few.
The Indians' whole survival depended upon the buffalo. From 1 buffalo the Indians were able to get 1500# of meat which they cut into thin slices and ate it cooked over a fire or dried it into jerky to preserve it. Some of this jerky they pounded into a powder and mixed it with berries and buffalo fat to make pemmican. Pemmican was very high protein and would stay good for 2 years. They packed it tightly in skin bags made from the buffalo's stomach. They would also place buffalo meat, veggies and berries into the skin bags and boil them in water to make soup. Boy, that is a new conception of soup! They made rattles, tools and large spoons out of the buffalo hooves. The bones, horns, sinew and hair was made into containers, thread and halters. The buffalo hides were made into tepee covers, clothing and moccasins.
In the time before the wagon trains the Indians traded chert, obsidian and beaver pelts for wool blankets. The Hudson Bay Company wove black stripes into the side of the woolen blankets to indicate how many beaver pelts the blanket was worth. It just made trade easier. In this house we're renting they have a Hudson Bay wool blanket with 3 black stripes woven into the side. The Indians found chert and obsidian near the headwaters of the Missouri River(which is the town of Three Forks now) and used it to make projectile points for hunting. The Indians decorated their ceremonial clothing elaborately with beads and feathers. They decorated their pipe bags, moccasins, tepees, baby clothes and papoose carriers with beads. A bride would decorate moccasins for her groom inside and out with beads and give it as a wedding gift. These moccasins would not be worn outside.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010.
10:45- We are on our way to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone. This is exactly the parking lot we stayed on one night last week when the sheriff said we were disturbing the wolves. I guess they are the most vicious of the Yellowstone animals. All of a sudden 2 grizzly bears are trying to cross the road. The National Park Ranger is there in his car being sure the bears get across safely and that the people don't try to get friendly with them. They are the most vicious of all the bears. A Grizzly Bear has smaller ears, a hump on his back and a wider nose. His feet are larger and his claws are much longer. A Black Bear has larger ears, no hump on his back and a narrow pointed nose. His feet are much smaller and he has shorter claws. A local lady told us last year during Senior Week 2 girls ventured out into the mountains and got trapped by a Grizzly. The students here are taught to lay down and play dead. DO NOT RUN AWAY! They laid down and the Grizzly wasn't hungry so he covered them up with lots of dirt to hide them for when he is hungry. Once he was gone they left and ran to their cars. They won't be doing any more hikes again!
The bears mate in the summer, but the sperm stays in the female body until she finds a place for a den. Once she starts digging her den the embryo starts growing. The cubs are born when the mother bear is in her cave. She wakes up to nurse them and she curls herself around the cubs to keep them warm. The cubs nurse for 5 minutes and then fall back asleep. She could nurse 6 cubs, but usually only has 2 to 4 at a time. Bears don't really hibernate; they just go into a deep sleep. When she comes out of the den she must protect the cubs from the male bear because he will eat them.
Wolves in a den have a highly socialized caste system that changes all of the time. There is 1 wolf in charge of the rest- that is the alpha wolf. The second in charge is the beta wolf. The last wolf on the totem pole and in danger of being kicked out of the den is the omega wolf. The worst thing that can happen to a wolf is to be kicked out of a den. They need to be in a den or they won't survive. They need help to kill food to eat. It's very hard to be accepted into another den.
In 1996 the Park procured 14 gray wolves from Canada and introduced them into the Park gradually to be sure they adjusted. It was very successful. There are 2 dens of wolves- the Druids and the Rose Valley den. All of these wolves were tagged and followed to learn their lifestyles. They follow the wolves daily with a sort of GPS system. This system will tell them if they have left the Park or if they haven't moved in a while. The Alpha Wolf from this first den, the Druids, had stopped moving for 5 hours. They found him shot dead from a rancher. There are now several pups born in captivity. The Alpha female that is 2 years old has 4 other male wolves in her den. We saw this alpha female pick on the omega male. She bit at him so often that now he limps.
The geese we have seen are always in twos. There was 1 white swan- maybe a trumpeter swan. We were on our way to Lamar Valley to see where the wolves live in the wild and we stopped for lunch at a picnic site. There are picnic tables and special trash containers that are bear proof. If the bears can get food from people, they will always go up to them for food and not understand why some people won't feed them. That's when people get killed or hurt. The Park learned this in the 1970's and have stopped this pratice. While we were eating a lone buffalo came walking up the road right by us. He looked over at us and just kept right on going. Five minutes later 3 more buffalo came strolling by. These all must be the Scouts and they seemed to be all males. Five more minutes and a whole herd came strolling by- males. but mostly females. We found out from a ranger that in a buffalo herd there is a male buffalo in charge of the rest. Check out the pictures on the blog. I was so close to them.
3:45 PM on our way to Lamar Valley a mountain lion ran right across the road in front of us. In the Lamar Valley there are many more buffalo. It seems to be warmer here and we've been told the buffalo follow the melting snows. They need the grass under the snow and are on their way from their winter grounds to their summer grazing grounds. We went over a really high bridge and there were 3 buffalo standing in the middle of the bridge not letting any cars pass. The buffalo wanted to get to the other side where there was more grass. They finally moved over the bridge in their own time and we were able to drive over it. On the other side was an antelope herd, also called pronghorns. One more mile and there were people lined up in their cars with telescopes and binoculars waiting for dusk to see the wolves come out of the forest. We didn't see any, but it wasn't dusk yet.
Icebox Canyon is on the way to Cooke City, which is the northeast entrance to Yellowstone. The city before Cooke City is called Silver Gate and it was here that they mined gold, platinum and silver. This is the only town in the US where the building code restriction states the building must be a log building. At elevation 7365 at 5:39 one lone buffalo was walking the road just at the northeast entrance. I don't know if he will walk out the gate or not. They do not move fast,but just keep on moving.
The bears mate in the summer, but the sperm stays in the female body until she finds a place for a den. Once she starts digging her den the embryo starts growing. The cubs are born when the mother bear is in her cave. She wakes up to nurse them and she curls herself around the cubs to keep them warm. The cubs nurse for 5 minutes and then fall back asleep. She could nurse 6 cubs, but usually only has 2 to 4 at a time. Bears don't really hibernate; they just go into a deep sleep. When she comes out of the den she must protect the cubs from the male bear because he will eat them.
Wolves in a den have a highly socialized caste system that changes all of the time. There is 1 wolf in charge of the rest- that is the alpha wolf. The second in charge is the beta wolf. The last wolf on the totem pole and in danger of being kicked out of the den is the omega wolf. The worst thing that can happen to a wolf is to be kicked out of a den. They need to be in a den or they won't survive. They need help to kill food to eat. It's very hard to be accepted into another den.
In 1996 the Park procured 14 gray wolves from Canada and introduced them into the Park gradually to be sure they adjusted. It was very successful. There are 2 dens of wolves- the Druids and the Rose Valley den. All of these wolves were tagged and followed to learn their lifestyles. They follow the wolves daily with a sort of GPS system. This system will tell them if they have left the Park or if they haven't moved in a while. The Alpha Wolf from this first den, the Druids, had stopped moving for 5 hours. They found him shot dead from a rancher. There are now several pups born in captivity. The Alpha female that is 2 years old has 4 other male wolves in her den. We saw this alpha female pick on the omega male. She bit at him so often that now he limps.
The geese we have seen are always in twos. There was 1 white swan- maybe a trumpeter swan. We were on our way to Lamar Valley to see where the wolves live in the wild and we stopped for lunch at a picnic site. There are picnic tables and special trash containers that are bear proof. If the bears can get food from people, they will always go up to them for food and not understand why some people won't feed them. That's when people get killed or hurt. The Park learned this in the 1970's and have stopped this pratice. While we were eating a lone buffalo came walking up the road right by us. He looked over at us and just kept right on going. Five minutes later 3 more buffalo came strolling by. These all must be the Scouts and they seemed to be all males. Five more minutes and a whole herd came strolling by- males. but mostly females. We found out from a ranger that in a buffalo herd there is a male buffalo in charge of the rest. Check out the pictures on the blog. I was so close to them.
3:45 PM on our way to Lamar Valley a mountain lion ran right across the road in front of us. In the Lamar Valley there are many more buffalo. It seems to be warmer here and we've been told the buffalo follow the melting snows. They need the grass under the snow and are on their way from their winter grounds to their summer grazing grounds. We went over a really high bridge and there were 3 buffalo standing in the middle of the bridge not letting any cars pass. The buffalo wanted to get to the other side where there was more grass. They finally moved over the bridge in their own time and we were able to drive over it. On the other side was an antelope herd, also called pronghorns. One more mile and there were people lined up in their cars with telescopes and binoculars waiting for dusk to see the wolves come out of the forest. We didn't see any, but it wasn't dusk yet.
Icebox Canyon is on the way to Cooke City, which is the northeast entrance to Yellowstone. The city before Cooke City is called Silver Gate and it was here that they mined gold, platinum and silver. This is the only town in the US where the building code restriction states the building must be a log building. At elevation 7365 at 5:39 one lone buffalo was walking the road just at the northeast entrance. I don't know if he will walk out the gate or not. They do not move fast,but just keep on moving.
Monday, April 19, 2010.
Yellowstone is 2.2 acres of such unbelievable scenery. The Imax does not do it justice. So many people in the past campaigned hard to be able to save this scenery for future generations. Albright invited John D. Rockerfellar, Jr. and Teddy Roosevelt to view this creation. John Colter described to people what he saw in Yellowstone. Nobody believed it until the railroads came here.
The Yellowstone Volcano erupted 600,000 years ago. It's the largest volcano in the world. The area has over 4000 geysers, hot springs, mudpots amd steam vents all within the Park boundaries. The caldera of the volcano is hard to notice, but the geologists have marked its boundaries. It encompasses a very large area. Wherever you see a falls, it is a sign of a geologic event. 480,000 years ago the lava rose up and because it cracks very easily, cracked into zigzag patterns. The Yellowstone River flowed into the cracks and wore away at the softer rock over millions of years. This formed the gorge, similar to the Grand Canyon Gorge. This area is called the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We saw the lower and upper falls of this Canyonland. The upper falls flows down 109 feet. The Liberty Cap actually looks like a skull with a cone head; but it is a dormant hot springs cone.
We watched a pair of ospreys building a nest on top of a huge vertical boulder. You could only see them through binoculars. The elk in the Park only live an average of 15 years because there are so many minerals in the groundwater. Elk that live outside the Park can live 25 years. In the Park the minerals destroy their teeth and they die because they cannot eat.
Driving into the Canyonlands you pass a bridge that has washed out this winter. They are repairing it and that means some long lines waiting. But, it has to be done before Memorial Day because that is their big opening day. This week is the only week that is free to visitors; who are mostly the locals. The Core of Engineers built a wooden trestle bridge here in the early 1900's to save 1 whole day's travel over the summit.
In the late 1800's when the fur trappers and buffalo hunters were in Yellowstone all of the buffalos were almost killed off. By 1926 all of the wolves were gone because the ranchers killed them off when they attacked their cattle. Wolves are hard to keep within a certain area. They are natural roamers. So in 1995 they brought in 14 gray wolves from Canada. It has been really successful. They are breeding and they are top in the food chain. When the trappers were here, the ecological system was changed and not for the better. We have learned by our mistakes. The wolves breed in February and the pups are born in April. The gray wolves can range in color from light silver to dark gray.
The adult Red Fox weighs 15# and is 46" long with very catlike eyes, the better to see at night when they prowl. The adult coyote weighs 20# and is 4' long and 30"tall. It can leap up to 12 horizontal feet. The adult Bobcat weighs 30# and the adult Mountain Lion weighs 17 and 8' long. The adult Elk doesn't usually get attacked by any of these others because of his size. If he is dying and weak the scavengers sense it and hastens his death. The female Elk leaves the herd to give birth and hides the calves in the brush until they are 2 months old. Their fur just blends in with the shrubs, almost the same colors as fawns. Once back in the herd the wolves will not go after the babies because they are protected by the whole herd. The Elk are social creatures.
The Yellowstone Volcano erupted 600,000 years ago. It's the largest volcano in the world. The area has over 4000 geysers, hot springs, mudpots amd steam vents all within the Park boundaries. The caldera of the volcano is hard to notice, but the geologists have marked its boundaries. It encompasses a very large area. Wherever you see a falls, it is a sign of a geologic event. 480,000 years ago the lava rose up and because it cracks very easily, cracked into zigzag patterns. The Yellowstone River flowed into the cracks and wore away at the softer rock over millions of years. This formed the gorge, similar to the Grand Canyon Gorge. This area is called the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We saw the lower and upper falls of this Canyonland. The upper falls flows down 109 feet. The Liberty Cap actually looks like a skull with a cone head; but it is a dormant hot springs cone.
We watched a pair of ospreys building a nest on top of a huge vertical boulder. You could only see them through binoculars. The elk in the Park only live an average of 15 years because there are so many minerals in the groundwater. Elk that live outside the Park can live 25 years. In the Park the minerals destroy their teeth and they die because they cannot eat.
Driving into the Canyonlands you pass a bridge that has washed out this winter. They are repairing it and that means some long lines waiting. But, it has to be done before Memorial Day because that is their big opening day. This week is the only week that is free to visitors; who are mostly the locals. The Core of Engineers built a wooden trestle bridge here in the early 1900's to save 1 whole day's travel over the summit.
In the late 1800's when the fur trappers and buffalo hunters were in Yellowstone all of the buffalos were almost killed off. By 1926 all of the wolves were gone because the ranchers killed them off when they attacked their cattle. Wolves are hard to keep within a certain area. They are natural roamers. So in 1995 they brought in 14 gray wolves from Canada. It has been really successful. They are breeding and they are top in the food chain. When the trappers were here, the ecological system was changed and not for the better. We have learned by our mistakes. The wolves breed in February and the pups are born in April. The gray wolves can range in color from light silver to dark gray.
The adult Red Fox weighs 15# and is 46" long with very catlike eyes, the better to see at night when they prowl. The adult coyote weighs 20# and is 4' long and 30"tall. It can leap up to 12 horizontal feet. The adult Bobcat weighs 30# and the adult Mountain Lion weighs 17 and 8' long. The adult Elk doesn't usually get attacked by any of these others because of his size. If he is dying and weak the scavengers sense it and hastens his death. The female Elk leaves the herd to give birth and hides the calves in the brush until they are 2 months old. Their fur just blends in with the shrubs, almost the same colors as fawns. Once back in the herd the wolves will not go after the babies because they are protected by the whole herd. The Elk are social creatures.
Northeast entrance to Park
There was nothing open in Cooke City except a few motels and restaurants so we turned around and went back to the north entrance which as 51 miles back. The line was like a serengetti (spelling) and long winding mountains packed with Buffalo and Elk and also has a place where photographers set up to see wolf packs.
Just another waterfall
This is on the third consecutive day in Yellowstone and is the last route that is open so far this year. The Northeast entrance is at Cooke city and this waterfall was a pullover and a short walk.
Soon to follow...
These three are the followers, often the buffalo get on the roads and tie up traffic for a long time.
The Lone Buffalo
We were eating lunch, turkey sandwiches and chips, at a picnic area on the Madison River and I looked up and seen this, of course, we all had to take pictures, he was soon followed by many more.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
We entered Yellowstone National Park from Gardiner, Montana, which is the northern entrance, under a stone arch built in honor of Teddy Roosevelt. Just inside is the visitor center that used to be the Army Headquarters in the 1800s. The army was placed there to keep the peace between the Indians and the fur traders. They also built most of the original roads. Deer and elk are grazing on the sides of the road. When we went past the Visitor center there was a clinic and a male elk was just standing there posing for pictures. The female elk was off to the side grazing. When too many people were getting really close, the elks started walking away leaving good-sized deposits as they left. About a mile inside the park there was a 45th parallel sign; which means this is exactly halfway between the equator and the north pole.
John Colter was 1 of the Lewis and Clark expedition that stayed in Yellowstone when the rest came back. He wanted to explore and found some unusual things. When he went back east and thold the people he saw hot water boiling out of the earth and mud pots; nobody believed him. He called it Devil's Hole- hell coming up to the surface. These hot spots really stink, like sulfur. It's worse than watering our yards with the well water.
You drive around a curve and there is a buffalo grazing right on the edge. Daddy almost hit him. 2:50 PM- Then a little further up there are even more buffalo; only this time they are standing in the road just staring at you. Nothing seems to upset them or startle them. They stand there and just stare at you with these huge dumb eyes. Sort of like Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh- oh, woe is me! It's a stand-off between 12 buffalo and cars going both ways. You wonder who is the most stupid!
About a mile before arriving at Old Faithful we saw a 125# wolf digging under the snow. He would stare and cock his head listening for noises, then dive nose first into the deep snow. One time he came up with something in his mouth, which he immediately ate. We assume it was a mouse.
4:49 we watched Old Faithful go up! Yellowstone has 4 types of hydrothermal occurences: geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mudpots. There are 2 types of geysers: fountain and cone. Hot springs are related to geysers, but aren't restricted enough to build up pressure. Fumeroles have the hottest surfaces which vent only steam. What little water they have is converted to steam right away; so they are always steaming. Mudpots are acidic hot springs with limited water supply. Hydrogen sulfide comes from deep in the earth, is converted into a smelly gas and sulfuric acid which breaks rocks into clay. The gases escape thru the wet clay and it bubbles and plops. The volcano with molten rock called lava is 3 - 8 miles under ground. The rain and snow trickles down thru the soil and gets heated up at 3000 feet under. This is what comes up as steam. You need three things for a hydrothermal eruption:1. lava with heat, 2. water with heat, and 3. underground cracks and fissures. Yellowstone has all of these.
6:25 We saw a grizzly bear eating alongside the river. A National Park ranger was there too, to be sure nobody goes near the bear. Grizzlies are the most vicious.
John Colter was 1 of the Lewis and Clark expedition that stayed in Yellowstone when the rest came back. He wanted to explore and found some unusual things. When he went back east and thold the people he saw hot water boiling out of the earth and mud pots; nobody believed him. He called it Devil's Hole- hell coming up to the surface. These hot spots really stink, like sulfur. It's worse than watering our yards with the well water.
You drive around a curve and there is a buffalo grazing right on the edge. Daddy almost hit him. 2:50 PM- Then a little further up there are even more buffalo; only this time they are standing in the road just staring at you. Nothing seems to upset them or startle them. They stand there and just stare at you with these huge dumb eyes. Sort of like Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh- oh, woe is me! It's a stand-off between 12 buffalo and cars going both ways. You wonder who is the most stupid!
About a mile before arriving at Old Faithful we saw a 125# wolf digging under the snow. He would stare and cock his head listening for noises, then dive nose first into the deep snow. One time he came up with something in his mouth, which he immediately ate. We assume it was a mouse.
4:49 we watched Old Faithful go up! Yellowstone has 4 types of hydrothermal occurences: geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mudpots. There are 2 types of geysers: fountain and cone. Hot springs are related to geysers, but aren't restricted enough to build up pressure. Fumeroles have the hottest surfaces which vent only steam. What little water they have is converted to steam right away; so they are always steaming. Mudpots are acidic hot springs with limited water supply. Hydrogen sulfide comes from deep in the earth, is converted into a smelly gas and sulfuric acid which breaks rocks into clay. The gases escape thru the wet clay and it bubbles and plops. The volcano with molten rock called lava is 3 - 8 miles under ground. The rain and snow trickles down thru the soil and gets heated up at 3000 feet under. This is what comes up as steam. You need three things for a hydrothermal eruption:1. lava with heat, 2. water with heat, and 3. underground cracks and fissures. Yellowstone has all of these.
6:25 We saw a grizzly bear eating alongside the river. A National Park ranger was there too, to be sure nobody goes near the bear. Grizzlies are the most vicious.
Saturday, April 17, 2010.
10:30 AM went to see the horse. Iknow now why she needs grooming. She rolls in the dirt to scratch her back. The paddock hardly has any grass; she's fed feed in a washtub. They put a sign on the fence that I need to ask first before I feed her.
12:00 we picked up Bill and Debbie at the Bozeman Airport. It's about 45 minutes away. We stopped at Costco again and then picked up the RV to drivce to the house. Check-in time is supposed to bve at 5PM, but it is so far out in the sticks nobody will know what time we arrive. I had to say goodby to the Neigh. She's going to miss me because nobody ever pays any attention to her.
The road to the house is a bit rustic- all gravel and lumpy. The bridge we had to cross was a single lane wooden bridge with a 15 ton weight limit. We held our breath as we drove over. We originally thought the weight limit was 30 tons. We're not sure the RV is as light as 15 tons!
We went to Chico Hot Springs after we finished unpacking. The water is from the center of the earth that just flows up to the surface around here. There has been a hot tub here for over 100 years now. The first were just 2 wooden tubs; now it is 2 cement pools filled with the hot water that bubbles up from the earth. They have to add some cold water to it so it isn't too hot. Talk about relaxing! The people here are really friendly. We were talking to a couple from Bozeman who were willing to sell their house to us. The husband went up to the bar and bought the guys each beers without asking us for money. We reciprocated, of course; but it was so unheard of to us. They had never seen us before.
For supper we ate at the Chico Springs Saloon. They have Wild West Burgers on their menu which is one fourth Elk meat and three fourths Bison meat. Pretty good. It was hard to find a seat when the band came on.It was called Tom Catmull and The Clerics- Americana Rock- a mix between country and rock. We watched a lot of people dance. One couple resembled a very young John Travolta and Kelly Pickler. They were really cute together and could really dance. Most of the guys had on cowboy hats and all wore jeans. Bill said he felt out of place in his white tennis shoes. All of the girls had on jeans also. That seems to be the dress of choice here. Nothing is fancy at all; even in the more expensive restaurants. I started talking to a lady sitting across from us. They moved from Seattle, Washington about 10 years ago. They raise cattle and sell eggs. When they have svaed up their egg money, they come to Chico Hot Springs. It was a really fun night,
12:00 we picked up Bill and Debbie at the Bozeman Airport. It's about 45 minutes away. We stopped at Costco again and then picked up the RV to drivce to the house. Check-in time is supposed to bve at 5PM, but it is so far out in the sticks nobody will know what time we arrive. I had to say goodby to the Neigh. She's going to miss me because nobody ever pays any attention to her.
The road to the house is a bit rustic- all gravel and lumpy. The bridge we had to cross was a single lane wooden bridge with a 15 ton weight limit. We held our breath as we drove over. We originally thought the weight limit was 30 tons. We're not sure the RV is as light as 15 tons!
We went to Chico Hot Springs after we finished unpacking. The water is from the center of the earth that just flows up to the surface around here. There has been a hot tub here for over 100 years now. The first were just 2 wooden tubs; now it is 2 cement pools filled with the hot water that bubbles up from the earth. They have to add some cold water to it so it isn't too hot. Talk about relaxing! The people here are really friendly. We were talking to a couple from Bozeman who were willing to sell their house to us. The husband went up to the bar and bought the guys each beers without asking us for money. We reciprocated, of course; but it was so unheard of to us. They had never seen us before.
For supper we ate at the Chico Springs Saloon. They have Wild West Burgers on their menu which is one fourth Elk meat and three fourths Bison meat. Pretty good. It was hard to find a seat when the band came on.It was called Tom Catmull and The Clerics- Americana Rock- a mix between country and rock. We watched a lot of people dance. One couple resembled a very young John Travolta and Kelly Pickler. They were really cute together and could really dance. Most of the guys had on cowboy hats and all wore jeans. Bill said he felt out of place in his white tennis shoes. All of the girls had on jeans also. That seems to be the dress of choice here. Nothing is fancy at all; even in the more expensive restaurants. I started talking to a lady sitting across from us. They moved from Seattle, Washington about 10 years ago. They raise cattle and sell eggs. When they have svaed up their egg money, they come to Chico Hot Springs. It was a really fun night,
The Neigh at the campground
The campground in Livingston backs up to a small farmette with a white horse that needs grooming. He is a little skittish and I gave him 3 carrots but he would not come close enough to eat them. I left the carrots there and 3 hours later they were gone. The next day he was looking for me for more carrots and comes to the fence now.
Tuesday, April 20th - West Yellowstone
Today we took off for Yellowstone for a 3rd consecutive day. Our feelings are all the same, this place is just incredible and this is the perfect time of year to see the place. No crowds is the main reason but the weather is just gorgeous, it stays around 60 degrees all this week but the sun is direct and it makes it feel much warmer.
Our mission today was to get to West entrance of the Park which mean we will drive back down to Madison Jct and make a right for 12 miles. The madison river flows along this route and the signs indicate "fly fishing only" and there are man picnic areas where we will stop on our way back from West Yellowstone and eat a sandwich and have lunch on the river.
We went to the Wolf and Bear sanctuary where we get first class viewing of the habits of these two interesting animals. This is the gray wolfe, they had 8.
More later, we are leaving for Livingston today, the weather is the same and we are going pawn shop hunting and I want to buy a fly rod
Our mission today was to get to West entrance of the Park which mean we will drive back down to Madison Jct and make a right for 12 miles. The madison river flows along this route and the signs indicate "fly fishing only" and there are man picnic areas where we will stop on our way back from West Yellowstone and eat a sandwich and have lunch on the river.
We went to the Wolf and Bear sanctuary where we get first class viewing of the habits of these two interesting animals. This is the gray wolfe, they had 8.
More later, we are leaving for Livingston today, the weather is the same and we are going pawn shop hunting and I want to buy a fly rod
Monday, April 19, 2010
Snow arond the hot pool
I cant explain what keeps this snow around this hot pool
Norris has the largest thermal area in Yellowstone and it is very impressive. The minerals are high in the water and the hot water runs down the mountain and goes into a cold water stream.
Norris has the largest thermal area in Yellowstone and it is very impressive. The minerals are high in the water and the hot water runs down the mountain and goes into a cold water stream.
Norris Area of Yellowstone
There is probably 2 miles of trails at Norris that go bye different hot spring pools.. This one is called Cistern
Another shot of Lower Falls
Again this Canyon is huge and the zoom pull in of this waterfalls does not give credit. This is probably the most beautiful displa y of nature I have ever seen. This is some of God's finest handiwork.
Canyon - Yellowstone national Park
Monday, April 19th we decided to go back to Yellowstone again today and visit the canyon section. The canyon is about 24 miles long and this area has two major water falls, this is the Yellowstone river which starts in the park and flows north through Montain. Mom is standing at the point with the lower water falls to her left. This is amazingly beautiful and the picture does not come close to doing this area justice.
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Four Mountain Sheep giving us a rear view
Best shot we could get of these four long horned mountain sheef up on the side of the mountain.
Elk in Yellowstone
Also on the way out we must of hit the elk feeding time because hundreds of elk were around the North Entrance before we went out. There are many Elk living around the home also but many time need binoculars to see them on the sides of the mountains.
Grizzly Bear
It was about 430pm and we were on our way back out of the park and pulled over and seen this grizzly searching for food, he was across a small stream and stayed around for about 30 minutes, it is unusual to see grizzly, some of the areas that are still closed in the park are due to bear activity and they don't want to submit the public to this.
Old Faithful
The geyser goes off about every 1 hr 40 minutes give or take 10 minutes and has been doing it for over a hundred recorded years. It reaches up to 175 feet but normally around 150. Other geysers in the area have much more time between its eruptions. Seeing water boiling out of the earth makes you think a little bit.
Coyote searching for food
This coyote we watched for quite a while, originally thought it may be a wolf. The coyote would find a place in the snow and then jump and ramp his nose down in the snow and at least once came up with a mouse.
Buffalo Traffic Jam
About 15 Buffalo decided it was their time to cross the road and caused this jam.
Thermal Activity
The geysers and thermal pools are numerous, the most scheduled geyser is old faithful, the sulphur smell is present at several of these.
Elk in Yellowstone
This is about miles inside the gate where the administration buildings are located. Two elk just were wandering around. The crowds are sparse but the weather is beautiful, what a great time to come no crowds and it is not hot.
The Roosevelt Arch, Yellowstone North Entrance
This is the Roosevelt Arch at the North entrance to the park at Gardiner, Montana, Teddy Rosevelt dedicated the park in 1872 at this spot, and Gardiner was the official White House for 16 days.
Gardiner, Mt.
Gardiner is the North entry into Yellowstone park, it exists because of the entry which is the only entrance that is open all year. We went into the park on Sunday and our goal was to go to Old Faithful and see the wildlife along the way. I will show pictures of Elk, Buffalo, Grissley bear, Coyote, deer. What a day as we seen a lot of differnt wildlife.
Fishing heaven
The Yellowstone river, coming down Rt 89 there are fishing acesses about every 5 miles, I have not tried it yet but it is coming. The weather is much warmer than expected so the spring thaw will occur early probably before we leave and this will hurt the trout.
ARRIVAL ALPACA DRIVE, EMIGRANT, MT
We arrived about 3pm on Saturday, This is the first picture of the house which is really elegant inside with pine ceilings, marble counter in the kitchen, The only thing that caught me by surprise was the 3 miles of gravel road getting to the home. It was dusty but we will work through that. Note the Emigrant Peak right behind the house. The neighbor down the road raises Alpacas and has 6 dogs
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
We finished cleaning up the RV inside and out. Then went out to eat dinner. We ate at Park Place - a restaurant inside an old, old building. We talked to the owner- he's from Miami, Fl. His food is delicious. It's where the locals eat. He even has fresh seafood and of course he doesn't like the Montana Rib and Chop House! We will eat here again many times.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
We are heading to Emigrant, Montana to see what the house we rented for a month looks like. There are plenty of guys just fly fishing off the banks. Plenty of herds of cattle and llamas, horses and sheep just recently shorn. Now you know it's warming up because that's when they shear the sheep. Found a RV park right on the Yellowstone River- called Yellowstone On the Edge! It's so close to the river you could fish right out of your camper.! I took some pictures of bulls- see the horns. One of them actually posed for me. They are kept apart from the other cattle.
Almost to the house. It's 2 miles of bumpy gravel road. And I mean bumpy! We found Chico Hot Springs Saloon and ate lunch there. Then we found the Costco back in Bozeman.
Almost to the house. It's 2 miles of bumpy gravel road. And I mean bumpy! We found Chico Hot Springs Saloon and ate lunch there. Then we found the Costco back in Bozeman.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
4:45 AM- a knock on the door. A local sheriff said we can't park here for the night. Right behind the fence are live wolves and our generator disturbs them! So we drove 1 mile outside of town and pulled over in a truck stop to sleep again. We passed a yellow flashing sign- "Animals in Road"! We didn't see anything.
At 10:30 we went to West Yellowstone and the road is closed until Friday. Now we have to go the long way up #191 past Big Sky Ski Resort. The speed limit sign says 60 in day, 55 at night. We're riding alongside the Gallatin River on a curvy road- following the river driving between the river and the mountain. Glad it's not icy- no where to slide to! They're getting the campgrounds ready for Friday. We saw a guy fishing in the river. Bet it's cold! There are several rafting companies and buses getting ready also.
We rode through Bozeman first- good sized town with your regular stores. Called a RV park 2 times and all they had was an answering machine. So we left to drive to Livingston. Halfway there, the RV park from Bozeman called us. Too late! Livingston is quite laid back, strange looking old campers all patched up. This RV Park backs up to a small farmette with w white horse in the paddock. He's a little skittish and needs grooming. I gave him 3 carrots, but he wouldn't take them from my hand. Three hours later they're gone. I guess he decided to eat them.
We cleaned the RV- I did the inside and Daddy did outside. Daddy couldn't finish the outside. Check out the pictures. Talk about really dirty. The dirt just blows all over the place out here. We ate dinner at Montana Ribs and Chop House- excellent. We ordered ahi tuna as an appetizer; they charged us entree price- 18.00 but it was really good. Not as good as yours Jon, but edible. As entrees we had spinach and cream cheese stuffed pork chops and NY strip steak. The baked potato was the size of a cantaloupe! They must grow stuff big out here. We drank a bottle of Wild Horse Merlot- excellent. We need to find that one at the store.
Tomorrow we will scope out the things to do here.
!
At 10:30 we went to West Yellowstone and the road is closed until Friday. Now we have to go the long way up #191 past Big Sky Ski Resort. The speed limit sign says 60 in day, 55 at night. We're riding alongside the Gallatin River on a curvy road- following the river driving between the river and the mountain. Glad it's not icy- no where to slide to! They're getting the campgrounds ready for Friday. We saw a guy fishing in the river. Bet it's cold! There are several rafting companies and buses getting ready also.
We rode through Bozeman first- good sized town with your regular stores. Called a RV park 2 times and all they had was an answering machine. So we left to drive to Livingston. Halfway there, the RV park from Bozeman called us. Too late! Livingston is quite laid back, strange looking old campers all patched up. This RV Park backs up to a small farmette with w white horse in the paddock. He's a little skittish and needs grooming. I gave him 3 carrots, but he wouldn't take them from my hand. Three hours later they're gone. I guess he decided to eat them.
We cleaned the RV- I did the inside and Daddy did outside. Daddy couldn't finish the outside. Check out the pictures. Talk about really dirty. The dirt just blows all over the place out here. We ate dinner at Montana Ribs and Chop House- excellent. We ordered ahi tuna as an appetizer; they charged us entree price- 18.00 but it was really good. Not as good as yours Jon, but edible. As entrees we had spinach and cream cheese stuffed pork chops and NY strip steak. The baked potato was the size of a cantaloupe! They must grow stuff big out here. We drank a bottle of Wild Horse Merlot- excellent. We need to find that one at the store.
Tomorrow we will scope out the things to do here.
!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
3:01 PM Today is Tuesday and we just found out the southern entrance to Yellowstone National Park is closed to all traffic until Friday because they're not finished plowing the roads. It's 31 degrees and snowing pretty heavily now, but it's not laying on the roads. Because we need to travel over the summit on Rt#22 on the west side of Yellowstone, we have to disconnect the car. It isn't safe to tow anything because the grade is 10%!!! It's pretty icy and steep! These mountains are called the Grand Tetons and it's snowing and sleeting!
We are now in Tetonia, Idaho- they have a grain silo in the middle of their US Bank. You know what's important to them. In Ashton, Idaho is the Western Gateway to Yellowstone.This road is called a "chains-on road" to go over the mountain.In Driggs, Idaho we saw cows, pigs,horses and llamas!There is a reforestation project in the Targhee National Park; signs for trees planted in 1981 and 1985..
The Grand Tetons are a story of faulting and uplifting. They are so impressive because they rise up so quickly with no foothills. Being formed 8 millions years ago, they are the youngest chain of mountains here with a range up to 13,000 feet. It formed on the Teton Fault when a large earthquake caused the west side at the Idaho and Wyoming border to rise up many thousands of feet and the east side(Mt. Leidy and Gros Ventre) to sink. This revealed the extremely hard granite and the lower portion filled in with rocks and silt to form the valley.Every 1000 years there is a significant (over 3.5) earthquake here; so the mountains are constantly changing. Dr. Bob Smith of the University of Utah uses a GPS to measure the seismic activity of the earthquakes and ground movements. It's ready to change dramatically again with a large earthquake.
Grand Tetons is an 18 million acre geosystem with craggy peaks and sharp edges. The ice age glaciers formed Jackson Lake. A tiny stream trickles through Yellowstone and becomes the Snake River and travels for thousands of miles to the Idaho and Oregon border. The first human inhabitants came 14,000 years ago; they are the ancestors of present day Shoshone, Blackfoot, Bannock and Gros Ventre. These tribes were identified by their diets: buffalo eaters, sheep eaters and Salmon eaters.
The Indians called the mountains "Teewinot" which means many pinnacles. There is evidence they have been up to those peaks. When the French came they named them Les Trois Tettons- which means 3 breasts. The French-Canadians and American fur traders were the first Euro-American to live here; they came for the beaver furs to make top hats. When silk top hats became the fashion the furriers dropped away. Then Jackson Hole was left alone until the 1800s when the US government gave settlers land. The ranchers came out and built in the valleys raising cattle. When people from the east came to see the wranglers, they were called the Eastern 'dudes', shortened to just "dudes"; therefore 'dude ranches". The Indians still consider the Grand Tetons to be a spiritual place.
It took 50 years to convince the US government to declare the Tetons a National Park thereby preserving this beauty for future generations. Albright, in charge of it as a state park invited Rockefeller,Jr. to visit. He fell in love with it and in 1927 bought up 35,000 acres of land and started the Snake River Land Company to preserve the land. When offered to Congress, they refused his land gift in 1929. Finally Truman combined the 1929 and 1943 offers and Congress accepted the gift of land for a National Park.
In 1931 Glenn Exum climbed Grand Teton and had to jump over a wide ravine to get to the top. This was momentous because nobody had ever done it before. This started the sport of mountain climbing. You need to be experienced to try it. The Park Rangers have to rescue 30 people a year who try.
From April to May the pronghorns (antelopes) return here from their winter stay down south. Yellowstone is the only Elk Refuge in the US.
Life of a Geosystem
1. tree dies, decomposes, adds nutrients to soil; wildfires hasten this process
2. Aspens grow
3. Elk eat aspen shoots
4. Aspen leaves fall into streams and insects eat them
5. Trout eat the insects
The Wetlands are recharged by snowmelt-ie. Snake headwaters
The Sagebrush lands are many shrubs that are drought tolerant. The valley soil is young; porous and dry.
The Meadows is a community in transition- 1st was a pond, then filled in with silt and soil from the mountain runoffs. Then it fills with vegetation; small at first- then shrubs and trees.
Then it becomes a Forest with Aspens then pines and called Alpeni.
5:50 PM we see a Montana sign- the roads are worse here than in Idaho. Guess it's because of state taxes.
6:00 West Yellowstone- the same town that Jon, Tim, Daddy and I came into on snowmobiles 16 years ago!
Glaciers create moraines that retain moisture to assist the lodgepole pine trees to grow. Their roots flourish and the ground becomes protected so the spruce can grow. They eventually tower above and prefer the cool, moist and protected soil. They creep along the ground in a dwarf form and the forest is called "Krummholz" or "crooked wood". Cottonwood trees also survive here along reliable streams. The3 Aspens are the first trees to grow after a fire. The Alpine area is an extreme environment with very little soil, intense sun, short growing season and bitter winters. The plants that survive here are in dwarf form with fuzzy leaves. There are 3 stages of a glacier- peaks, glaciers then u shaped canyons. The last ice age ended 14,000 years ago and it left cirques, aretes and horns and 3 lakes in Yellowstone. New glaciers formed 1000 years ago in the Upper Elevation, but they are disappearing .
This area averages 400" of snow a year, a long winter and a short spring and fall. The snow is absolutely beautiful! It's laying on the ground but not the roads. We couldn't find a RV park that is open to stay in overnight; so we parked on the lot belonging to the Wolf and Grizzly Bear Discovery Center. Hope they won't chase us away!
We are now in Tetonia, Idaho- they have a grain silo in the middle of their US Bank. You know what's important to them. In Ashton, Idaho is the Western Gateway to Yellowstone.This road is called a "chains-on road" to go over the mountain.In Driggs, Idaho we saw cows, pigs,horses and llamas!There is a reforestation project in the Targhee National Park; signs for trees planted in 1981 and 1985..
The Grand Tetons are a story of faulting and uplifting. They are so impressive because they rise up so quickly with no foothills. Being formed 8 millions years ago, they are the youngest chain of mountains here with a range up to 13,000 feet. It formed on the Teton Fault when a large earthquake caused the west side at the Idaho and Wyoming border to rise up many thousands of feet and the east side(Mt. Leidy and Gros Ventre) to sink. This revealed the extremely hard granite and the lower portion filled in with rocks and silt to form the valley.Every 1000 years there is a significant (over 3.5) earthquake here; so the mountains are constantly changing. Dr. Bob Smith of the University of Utah uses a GPS to measure the seismic activity of the earthquakes and ground movements. It's ready to change dramatically again with a large earthquake.
Grand Tetons is an 18 million acre geosystem with craggy peaks and sharp edges. The ice age glaciers formed Jackson Lake. A tiny stream trickles through Yellowstone and becomes the Snake River and travels for thousands of miles to the Idaho and Oregon border. The first human inhabitants came 14,000 years ago; they are the ancestors of present day Shoshone, Blackfoot, Bannock and Gros Ventre. These tribes were identified by their diets: buffalo eaters, sheep eaters and Salmon eaters.
The Indians called the mountains "Teewinot" which means many pinnacles. There is evidence they have been up to those peaks. When the French came they named them Les Trois Tettons- which means 3 breasts. The French-Canadians and American fur traders were the first Euro-American to live here; they came for the beaver furs to make top hats. When silk top hats became the fashion the furriers dropped away. Then Jackson Hole was left alone until the 1800s when the US government gave settlers land. The ranchers came out and built in the valleys raising cattle. When people from the east came to see the wranglers, they were called the Eastern 'dudes', shortened to just "dudes"; therefore 'dude ranches". The Indians still consider the Grand Tetons to be a spiritual place.
It took 50 years to convince the US government to declare the Tetons a National Park thereby preserving this beauty for future generations. Albright, in charge of it as a state park invited Rockefeller,Jr. to visit. He fell in love with it and in 1927 bought up 35,000 acres of land and started the Snake River Land Company to preserve the land. When offered to Congress, they refused his land gift in 1929. Finally Truman combined the 1929 and 1943 offers and Congress accepted the gift of land for a National Park.
In 1931 Glenn Exum climbed Grand Teton and had to jump over a wide ravine to get to the top. This was momentous because nobody had ever done it before. This started the sport of mountain climbing. You need to be experienced to try it. The Park Rangers have to rescue 30 people a year who try.
From April to May the pronghorns (antelopes) return here from their winter stay down south. Yellowstone is the only Elk Refuge in the US.
Life of a Geosystem
1. tree dies, decomposes, adds nutrients to soil; wildfires hasten this process
2. Aspens grow
3. Elk eat aspen shoots
4. Aspen leaves fall into streams and insects eat them
5. Trout eat the insects
The Wetlands are recharged by snowmelt-ie. Snake headwaters
The Sagebrush lands are many shrubs that are drought tolerant. The valley soil is young; porous and dry.
The Meadows is a community in transition- 1st was a pond, then filled in with silt and soil from the mountain runoffs. Then it fills with vegetation; small at first- then shrubs and trees.
Then it becomes a Forest with Aspens then pines and called Alpeni.
5:50 PM we see a Montana sign- the roads are worse here than in Idaho. Guess it's because of state taxes.
6:00 West Yellowstone- the same town that Jon, Tim, Daddy and I came into on snowmobiles 16 years ago!
Glaciers create moraines that retain moisture to assist the lodgepole pine trees to grow. Their roots flourish and the ground becomes protected so the spruce can grow. They eventually tower above and prefer the cool, moist and protected soil. They creep along the ground in a dwarf form and the forest is called "Krummholz" or "crooked wood". Cottonwood trees also survive here along reliable streams. The3 Aspens are the first trees to grow after a fire. The Alpine area is an extreme environment with very little soil, intense sun, short growing season and bitter winters. The plants that survive here are in dwarf form with fuzzy leaves. There are 3 stages of a glacier- peaks, glaciers then u shaped canyons. The last ice age ended 14,000 years ago and it left cirques, aretes and horns and 3 lakes in Yellowstone. New glaciers formed 1000 years ago in the Upper Elevation, but they are disappearing .
This area averages 400" of snow a year, a long winter and a short spring and fall. The snow is absolutely beautiful! It's laying on the ground but not the roads. We couldn't find a RV park that is open to stay in overnight; so we parked on the lot belonging to the Wolf and Grizzly Bear Discovery Center. Hope they won't chase us away!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Yellowstone National Park
This photo at the West entrance to the park at West Yellowstone, Mt. The town was basically closed down when we were there as the park road does not open until Friday. We stayed on a parking lot again due to no RV parks open, in fact, we stayed on two parking lots after the officer told us we couldnt sit at the first one, this change occurred at 0430 and I was not real happy but that is life on the road. We had dinner at the Holiday Inn which was the only restaurant in town except for a pizza joint that was open.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Jackson Hole Visitor Center
Another shot of Jackson Hole Visitor center and the fresh 6-8 inches of snow and still snowing. We decided to leave and get up to West Yellowstone, Mt and spend the night. We had to go over a 20 mile segment and the Teton Pass which is very steep and the police restricted it to no trailers or towing so I had to take the honda off and Jan had to drive it over the summit I did about 15 mph down the 10 percent grade for about 5 miles and there was plenty of snow on the roads, WOW this was an experience. We got down the summit and then stopped and hooked the honda up and went onto West Yellowstone. We are now about 100 miles from Bozeman which is where we have to be on Saturday at noon to pickup Bill and Debbie from the airport. Saturday is also the day we get into our house in Emigrant, Mt.
Jackson Hole Nat Park Visitor Center
We travelled from Salt Lake City to Jackson Hole Wyoming and the drive was beautiful through the Utah country side, we didnot take I-15 the Interstate and went all state roads which offers much more scenery but more challenging roads. The big diesel is holding up well and we have travelled almost 4,000 miles so far. This is a picture of the visitors center at Jackson Hole National Park. We could not find a RV spot open so we opted to sleef on a Kmart parking lot which was fine, when we woke up it had snowed 4 inches and was still snowing when we visited the park. This was about all that was open in Jackson Hole NP. I was surprised as the ski slopes had closed April 4th.
Mormon Square
The gardens in the square were impressive. This entire area was full of mainly Mormons and they spend the rest of their Sundays in this area as there are libraries and things to do.
Original Mormon Church
Of course, when you are in Salt Lake, you are in the home of the Mormons. The city is basically built around the Mormon square in downtown which has several large administrative buildings and the churches. The square itself is beautiful and offers visitor centers at each end. This church was built by the original group of Mormons who established Salt Lake in the 1870's. It is made of Granite and is very beautiful. This square is also the home of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir that you often see on the Xmas shows. Will include a picture of the gardens also
Salt Lake City, RV park
After leaving Moab, Utah we drove about 250 miles to Salt Lake City for a couple of reasons. The air conditioner needs repaired on the RV and this is the last big city that we will see for a while. Thank god it is still under warranty. Our trip was good and followed some of the Union Pacific Powder River Basin tracks along the way. Seen several coal trains with helpers on the rear pushing thru the mountains. This RV park was the best we had ever seen, it was paved and had Concrete patios at each site. Talking to the manager many people stay in the winter for a month of skiing. Costs $32.00 a day or $550 a month so the month is a deal if you have skiing business.
RV Park Moab, Utah
The OK RV park in Moab, Utah was unpaved and dusty but did the trick for one night. Cost a bout $30.00 and had good cable TV. The place was pretty well filled becaue Moab, Utah, as far as the town only exists because of the National Parks. People bring RV from Colorado and other surrounding states and stay in the RV parks to hike, fish and see the parks and ride on 4 wheel drive trails. Basically if you live in Moab you work in one of these tourist industries.
Jan at a beautiful place in Arches
You can see the beautiful woman in the front and then the Arches park mountains which are sandstone which look red due to the iron in it, in the backgound are the Rockies in Colorado with the snow tipped peaks. Wow what a picture.
Balancing Rock
Balancing Rock is one of the 33 roct structures that are protected, you can't touch it or climb on it. Remember these rock formations were made as the result of earthquakes and erosion and this park is an artists dream. Nature surely is the best artist.
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