Month: September 2015

It was pretty close to 4-1/2 hrs from Adrian to Hastings. Maybe a bit more, there was some construction.  It is hard to say but after almost 5,000 miles through North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming and South Dakota some of the worst roads we have seen are right here.  I 90 and US 52 are in pretty poor shape. It was a stark contrast between I 90 in South Dakota and Minnesota. So why is this? What is it about Minnesota? I 94 heading NW towards Fargo when we left was the same way.  

Our last stop before home.  

We left the Devils Tower National Monument after two nights. It rained a bit overnight. We went up over the top of the Black Hills into South Dakota and then down towards Rapid City and then east. It started raining again, the wind was blowing from the north at 20-30 mph.  We had to stop at one point because one of the awnings was trying to unwind in the wind.  We pulled into a gas station parking lot where there was another coach there with the same problem. We added a couple of ropes to hold the awning in place.  It was fine. So it just poured and blew all the way across the wasteland. This has to be the most boring drive we have ever done.

It was still raining when we got there and slowly stopped while we got set up so we got a walk in.

The drive across Wyoming was interesting, diverse and engaging.  Things to look at, wonder about, ask questions and postulate answers. From Caspar we headed north east towards Gillette and then a bit east to the first National Monument in America, Devils Tower.  Yes, there is no apostrophe.  Whether left out on purpose or accident it is as the act of Congress declared it to be.

Just as Richard Dreyfus imagined it, it looks like a giant pile of mashed potatoes formed with a fork.  More than 1,500 ft high. In fact, it is a highly regarded sacred place by many Native American people.

Very quiet, lots of RVs and tent campers.  

The Tower is an old volcano core which filled with molten lava and then cooled.  As it cooled the lava cracked and formed hexagonal columns which are the vertical columns you can see.  Most of these are 10 feet across on each side or more. In the middle of this picture there are two climbers decending this side of the tower, the more difficult to climb. Permits are required and nothing can be left behind. When we first saw them they were standing on the top of column to their right about 80 ft above where they are now.

When the core filled with lava and cooled it was more than a mile and a half under ground.  All of this happened before the Tetons were formed. Ancient rivers, several ice ages and weather wore away at the landscape until after millions of years this is what is left.

The base of the tower is surrounded by the rubble field.

Many of these fallen rocks are sections of columns much bigger than a city bus.

Here is another climber.  I took this with my iPhone at maximum zoom through a binocular device visitors were using to look up at the Tower.  It took a bit of adjusting until everything was aligned and then I took the picture.  Pretty amazing.

Same thing with the iPhone with no zoom just the binoculars.

We baked one last loaf of bread.  Amazing how it came out.

Ponderosa pines and oak trees were all around.

Just to the right of the green fields below is where the landing site in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” was filmed.  At that time there was nothing there. The land owner rented the land to the movie company and with the money he opened a KOA and gift stores right near where the entrance to the Monument is today.  Lots of alien references. Only eleven minutes of actual local scenes were in the movie.  Everything else was on built up sets.

We had thought about going to the Buffalo Roundup at Custer State Park but it is a week away and we just don’t think there is enough draw in the Black Hills for a week.  So we will get to the buffalo roundup another day.

A few more days to get home.  There is the vast wasteland of South Dakota to cross.  A Corp of Enginners Campground at Big Bend Dam looks like our next stop.

A bit more later.

Roger and Susan

We have really enjoyed our time here in Colter Bay, Grand Teton National Park, The National Elk Refuge and Yellowstone National Park.  There is so much to do and see that two weeks is hardly enough.

Schwabacher Road gets you down to a side channel of the Snake River.  Another one of these dirt roads on which most people don’t want to get their cars dirty. But when you get to the end of the dirt road there is a small parking area near where Schwabacher’s homestead was. There was river access through the channels out to the Snake.  Not something used by anyone other than fishing folk now.  No boats.

It is down there near the trees.  Don’t you just want to sit there and marvel at what is right in front of you?  What a spectacular place to be. Two weeks was barely long enought to begin to discover all of the treasures.

The primary user of this bit of Snake River side channel are beavers and ducks. We walked up the river and saw a series of dams each bigger than the downstream one holding back bigger and bigger ponds. 

Perfect time of day, good light, almost no breeze.

We didn’t see the beavers but there were three beaver lodges.  This was an amazing place. Quiet and peaceful, water running throught little openings in the dams, huge effort by the beavers to create this ecosystem and then the reflections in the ponds of the Tetons just in front of you.

On the other side of the Snake River closer to the Grand Teton is Jenny Lake.  This is the closest destination in the park to Jackson and therefore the busiest part as well.  Jenny Lake is another lake in the fault line between the valley and the Tetons filled by melting glaciers.  It is not very big, maybe a mile across and two long.  On the far side of Jenny Lake the Grand Teton just emerges from the lake. There are no foot hills, just mountain.

A small harbor to the right in the picture above has canoes, kayaks and small motor boats for rent.  There is also a boat shuttle to the far side of the lake which cuts off about four and a half miles from the hike up Cascade Canyon to the Hidden Falls.  They have four forty passenger boats. One leaves this side every fifteen minutes.  One leaves the other side every fifteen minutes.  It takes about seven minutes to cross and eight minutes to load.  The boats are pretty much full all the time.  320 people an hour all going up a steep narrow trail to Hidden Falls and the other 320 people coming down.  Some walk around the lake instead of riding the boat.

Just a bit too crowded for our liking.  There are other places to “get back to nature” without a tour bus full of people with selfie sticks.

But across Jenny Lake the Grand Teton looms large.

And of course there is a Gift Store.

Where we found another patch to add to our collection.  We now have about 40 from places we have been stuck to the fabric window valances in the coach.

We do OK without a selfie stick.

Another great day in the Tetons.

More later.

Roger and Susan

There are many side roads and trails in the Tetons.  Some have names, some do not.  Some are easy to follow, many are not.  It is up to each visitor to look for these places and to go or not go.

Jackson Lake is pretty big, 7 miles wide and 15 miles long.  About 460 ft maximum depth.  The natural lake was expanded when an agricultural group from Idaho proposed building a dam.  They would build it and maintain it in exchange for water rights to any additional water it added to the lake.  Three dams later the latest one is “earthquake proof” beyond anything ever recorded here.  The new maximum water level is 39 ft above the original level. Lots of water for Idaho farms.  They rarely use it all or even half of it. Colter Bay exisits because of the higher water.  If the farmers used all they could Colter Bay would be empty.

Every angle looks different and I just never got tired of looking up at the mountains.  Up on Signal Mountain I didn’t have to look up as much.

Another stunning day in the Tetons.  Mornings are usually bright and clear.  Some clouds push over the mountains from the west in the afternoon.

Haven’t caught the mountains yet in the morning when the lake is calm.  I got up pretty early one morning and it is interestimg how the mountains light up as the sun comes up.  

We were headed down to Jackson on an errand so we wanted to try the Snake River Road on the west side of the Snake River marked on the map as something more than a trail but not a real road.  It said 4WD only. Perfect. These are the 5% places or 1% places that we look for.  (5% of park visitors go there). After driving this 20 mile long road that ranged from deep ruts to mud to gravel to softball sized boulders my guess is far less the 1%.

The road isn’t marked on the highway. No sign, no gate, no turn lane, just ruts.  So turn we did.

From the top of Signal Mountain you can see (sort of) the road coming in from the right along the tree line and then heading more southeast. (The little squiggly line). It is mostly sage brush out here.  The road follows the Snake River along the bluff. Down below the bluff there are trees, mostly cottonwoods.

It is a couple hundred feet down to the next level.  The river is in another level below that.

Our old Jeep and the older driver did well. Susan got nervous a couple times when we got close to the edge.

Dead Man’s Bar on the Snake River from above.  We could see the road from the other side to this access point.  Lots of raft trips begin here.  

And tall tales of fishing.  There were many fishing people.  Many on shore, some wading in. Many in these boats that look like New England dories.

The orange rust colored ground cover is actually blueberry and huckleberry bushes.  Everyday we were here colors changed more and more.

We made it all the way through the road.  From the high bank the road dropped down to a lower level, still two steps above the river.  There were signs of animals all over and animal trails too.  We did see a small herd of antelope. And then there was a steep rugged climb back up to the upper level. And then finally  a long downhill run and back towards the highway.  We saw maybe 5 or 6 other 4WDs on this drive, no cars.  We did see one Ford van all set up with 4WD and lots of bolt on stuff.

We did our errand in Jackson and headed back towards Colter Bay on the east side of the Snake looking for the Dead Man’s Bar access.  It is on the map. It had signs and a turn lane.  So off we went.

Remember I said it was at least a couple hundred feet down to the next level?  Three or four hundred feet on this side.  This sign probably turned many around.  A steep winding road leading down.  We got down there and soon after a 40 passenger school bus did to.  So much for bravado.

This is the fishing boat experience.  One or two fishing, one rowing.  The rower and the boat are usually rented for a half day or all day.  Some folks have their own boat but you can’t fish and row at the same time. We talked to an older fellow who was all decked out in his fishing regalia for walking in the water.  He was from the local area and said fishing had been very good.  They catch and release cutthroat trout.  You can keep one a day if we understood the rules.

Another great day in the Tetons.

More later. 

Roger and Susan

Our original idea was to stay in Yellowstone for two weeks with a day trip or two to Grand Teton National Park.  

This type is called a cone geyser. The stuff blows up through a hole in a cone made by the minerals in the hot water. Eventually the hole gets smaller, the pressure higher and the hole cone will blow apart.

Very hot water full of minerals flows out of super hot springs and pools right into the cold fresh water of the Firehole River which flows north.

The minerals deposit some of the color but most of the colors come from bacteria and other micro-organisms that live in the hot organic soup.

The Firehole River flows out of the caldera over the Firehole Falls.

And through the Firehole Canyon where it merges with the Gibbon river coming from the east to make th Madison River which flows west and then north through Montana.

We stopped at Madison for a picnic, visited the Visitor’s Center and drove throgh the campground to see what it looked like. It was a nice campground with some shade and roomy sites. I can see why it is a popular campground, one we would like to stay at.  It is one of the first to open and one of the last to close.  Great fishing nearby.

And then back towards Old Faithful. It is almost like a theme park. Massive parking areas and many thousands of visitors. We went in to have a look at the Old Faithful Inn. We thought about staying overnight there but for the cost of a couple meals and a room we could stay for another week and a half in Colter Bay.

It was as big and as impressive as we remembered. Some one was asking at the main dining room about dinner reservations.  The next available were two days out at 9:30 PM.  Not only do you need to make room reservations you need dinner reservations as well. And then a tour bus disgorged 40 tourists who walked right in, got in line and went into the main dining room. Probably why nothing is available for a couple days.

There is also the Old Faithful Lodge. A 1970s looking hotel sort of thing right in front of Old Faithful.  I wonder how many people make reservations at the Lodge thinking it is the Inn?

Old Faithful spews forth from its basin (this is basin geyser) about every 90 minutes or so.  There are big signs everywhere telling visitors when the next spewing will take place.  About 15 minutes before crowds form on the semi-circular walkway in front of Old Faithful. A ranger said that there is usually about 3,500 standing there waiting holding their cameras up waiting for the inevitable which is that their arms get tired.  Once the geyser begins to spout the photographic clicking (mechanical or electronic) nearly drowns out the sound of the the geyser.  The eruption lasts about 3-1/2 minutes on average so there is plenty of time to get those arms up and click away. Before the event is even half over the crowd is dispersing heading back to tour buses or to the parking lots.

Pretty neat actually.

Lake Side and Canyon

Our other day started out the same heading north past the Lewis River and Lake Lewis and then east around Yellowstone Lake.

The lake is large, beautiful and has minimal access.

At the top of the lake are three major areas. 

Bridge Bay has a very nice campground, a marina, lake access and a store. We have stayed here before and it is a nice place.  The campgound was already closed for the season.

Lake Village has accomodations, stores and lake access.

Fishing Bridge has a large campground as well as an RV campground.  We drove through the RV campground to check it out.  It is in the middle of a very busy area off the main road into the park from the east.  The RV park was disappointing when compared to Colter Bay.  The sites were closer together, not as many trees and it didn’t have the same feel as Colter Bay. But if we hadn’t seen other RV parks in other National Parks it would have been OK.  We have been in private RV parks that were worse.

Up at the Canyon Area lies the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River.

The Yellowstone River flows out of Yellowstone Lake heading north towards the Canyon Area.  As it flows it starts to cut into the rock. There are rapids before the upper falls and the lower falls.

The lower falls drop 308 ft. There are trails along the south rim and lots of ways to have a look.

We started down Uncle Tom’s Trail. This at some long distant life in the past was a rope and ladder trip down into the lower canyon to near the bottom of the lower falls where dinner was served. This was in 1898 – 1905. Imagine climbing down in your suit and tie or dress using ropes and ladders.

Today there is a system of steel stairways, bridges, ramps and paths that lead down 350 steps and more than 500 feet to look out at the falls from a prespective few see. Susan got down about half way before the sharp drop offs and open stairs were enough. I went on to the bottom. Caught my breath and then the cardio workout of the year began. 350 steps. On stairs just hanging out in space.

And then back up the canyon to the upper falls. Beautiful.

We need to get a selfie stick. Maybe not.

We stopped for an ice cream on the way back to Colter Bay. A raven kept us company at the table.  What a big, bold bird.  Absolutely confident around people.

That is a short summary of two full days, lots of hiking, lots of driving and almost three hundred pictures and about 10 hours of dash cam video.

Yellowstone is a beautiful place. We would like to come back, find those back trails where the rest of the visitors don’t go, fishing spots where you might be alone with the fish and a campground that was more than a parking lot. Yellowstone is the fourth most visited park in the nation. The Smokies and Yosemite have nearby population to feed them. The Grand Canyon is a once in a lifetime sort of thing for many. 

We got back to Colter Bay. Calm, space, shade, quiet. The Grand Tetons are the second most revisited park in the nation.  If you drew a fifty mile radius circle around Colter Bay there would be only 15,000 people near by.  The first most revisited park is the Smokies.  In the same sized area there would be millions of people.  Something about the Tetons grabs and holds your attention and makes you want to come back.  We want to. We will.

More to come.

Roger and Susan

Saturday, September 4th.  

Sunday looked promising.

Sunday, September 5th.

Dave and Nancy enjoyed their summer here.  They come here almost every summer and have worked or volunteered in a variety of jobs.  This year was their longest, 4-/12 months and while they enjoyed the work and being here they were ready to move on. Sometimes work of any sort gets in the way of fun.

Nice spot for their summer stay.

We stopped by the Miller House out on the Elk Refuge.  It was built in the late 1800s by some guy named Robert Miller who had homesteaded 160 acres about 3 miles from where Jackson is today.  It had water.  He went back to Chicago to marry his wife and brought her to Wyoming.  They built a big 6 bedroom house here but never had any children.  

Farming here is next to impossible.  Only a few inches of soil sit on top of gravel and rocks.  They did well at ranching and kept buying more land.  They became realtively wealthy. MIller started a bank and a land title business. Both prospered.  Many of his neighbors and clients did not so their land holdings increased.  They moved into Jackson into a fancy home which is still there.  Mrs. Miller was elected Mayor of Jackson.  Miller worked for the Snake River Land Company (owned by John D Rockefeller, Jr) buying up as much land as possible.  The Rockefellers later donated more than 30,000 acres to the original Grand Teton National Monument.  Miller was the first Park Superintendent of the Grand Teton National Monument. 

The National Elk Refuge was created in the early 1900s.  The natural elk migration route led right through Jackson.  In the 1800s the elk just move through town.  By the beginning of the 1900s the town was big enough that the migration was blocked.  The area north and east of Jackson didn’t have enough winter food for the thousands of elk coming out of the mountains and many elk were dying.  Another rancher named Steven Leek took photographs of the dead and dying elk.  Many ranchers in Jackson Hole petitioned the Federal Government for assistance and in 1912 the National Elk Refuge was established and many but not all homesteads and ranched were purchased for the refuge.  

To keep the elk from starving the National Forest Service began feeding the elk in the winter.  This practice continues today but instead of hay they feed the elk alfalfa pellets about 3/4″ in diameter and 2″ long. Apparently it is more cost effective and nutritionally better than hay.  

They wait until the elk have eaten as much natural grasses as they can.  When the grass runs out or the snow gets too deep then the feeding begins. They are experimenting with many efforts to increase the natural food supply.  Many hundreds of acres are being irrigated to significantly increase the growth of native grasses to decrease the dependence on feeding.  The herd size is being managed as well with an annual hunting season. In the 2014-2015 winter there were 7,500 elk in the Refuge. A recent newcomer to the refuge are bison.  Last winter 500 showed up. They seem to be able to forage better than the elk.

No elk pictures, they are not here in the summer but in the winter …

Obviously someone elses photo.

Tomorrow we are driving up into Yellowstone.

More later,

Roger and Susan