Sunday, January 26, 2014

Yellowstone (August, 2011)

August 11-16, 2011 (Thursday - Tuesday)
Yellowstone
Dave, Christine, Mike (21 years old), Laura (17 years old)

We left at 5:00 pm on Thursday and drove to Rexburg, ID to a Walmart with the idea that we would spend the night in their parking lot, then get an early start for the rest of the drive the next morning. We arrived just before 10:00 pm, then went into the Walmart to get a few items. Though we were pretty tired, it was fun to go shopping. There were hardly any customers, and the workers were stocking the shelves for the next day. We spent an uneventful night in the fifth wheel, then left the next morning about 9:30. 

We arrived in West Yellowstone about 11:00 am and had lunch at Wild West Pizza--which was delicious--then we drove into Yellowstone. The weather was very pleasant--low 70's--and beautiful. Laura had a cold and was not feeling well. We saw plenty of bison, as they are always a reliable animal in the Hayden Valley.


We stopped by the Canyon Village and took a couple of pictures.

Laura and Dave

Laura and Mike


That evening (Friday) we went “bear-hunting”, which is when you try to spot bears and other wildlife. We've found that our chances are better as dusk approaches. We saw three grizzlies, which were in a group. We think it was two adults and one cub. We watched them for a while, but they were too far to get a picture.

On Saturday Mike, Dave, and I got up at 6:00 am and drove to the look-out point (10 miles north of Fishing Bridge). A ranger was having a program at 7:00. Fog blanketed the valley as we pulled in to a parking space. While waiting for the fog to burn off, we listened to the ranger, Christeal, who was from San Francisco. She had four pelts for us to look at and touch: wolf, coyote, fox, and bear. They were all about the same softness, but the bear pelt had the longest hair.

Wolf pelt

Bear pelt

A short while later the sun burned off the fog and we were able to see two of the grizzlies from the night before. As the night before, they were too far away to photograph.

When we got back to the trailer, Laura was awake but still in bed. Still not feeling well, she declined the offer to hike with us to Natural Bridge. Dave, Mike, and I went on our own. The hike was relatively easy and we had fun.

Mike and Dave

We came back and had lunch, then all four of us drove out to Lamar Valley. We saw lots of bison as we passed through Hayden Valley (as we did all the days we were there), but no other wildlife. We arrived at the Trout Lake trailhead and set off. 

Dave, Mike, and Laura (I guess I need to have them take pictures of me once in a while!)

This was a short hike, which led to Trout Lake, then around the lake. Laura led for a portion as we circled the lake and saw a garter snake in the path. It slithered away before any of the rest of us could see it.

After the hike we retraced our path through Lamar Valley. This time through, we saw a small creature cross the road and clamber up the hillside. We pulled alongside it. We think it was a badger.

We drove on further and finally saw a group of four pronghorn deer. They ran through the meadow, then across the road. Between the hike, the badger, and the pronghorn, we felt satisfied with the long drive out to Lamar Valley.

On Sunday we drove toward the Geyser Basin. We took the easy, but long (5 mile round-trip) hike to Lone Star Geyser. No one was there when we arrived. We sat on a log in the shade and looked through the log book that the rangers had left there. People from all over the world had written in it over the past year. Laura added her contribution. 

Mike and Laura reading the log at Lone Star Geyser

We ate our lunch as a few other people arrived. An hour and a half later the “minor” eruption began, shooting hot water forty-five feet into the air. We watched that for a while, then hiked back to the parking lot.

Next, we drove to the new Old Faithful Visitor's Center and enjoyed the exhibits. We had ice cream, then drove back to camp. 

Me and Laura

After relaxing for a while, we went “bear-hunting” in the Hayden Valley. We saw deer, elk, of course bison, but no bears. Here is a pretty sunset picture that Laura took.


Today is Monday. We plan on going to the Grand Tetons. We've never been there before and are excited to see what it looks like and hope to see some wildlife.

Tuesday—today we'll be going home. It is 7:10 am and everyone but me is asleep. It's 38 degrees outside today.

Yesterday started out overcast. In fact, we drove into Grand Teton park and when we stopped at an overlook to eat our lunch, a thunderstorm with pouring rain rolled through.

Me and Dave

Mike and Laura

Last night we went to our favorite overlook point to watch for the wolves. After about a 30 minute wait (about 7:45), the wolves came out. We saw five of them. Some were dark, others were tan. Through our scope we could see their tails wagging as they played. Very cute!

When we drive home today, we'll go through the Tetons. There has been a grizzly sow and cubs seen along the roadway. We're hoping they'll be out as we come through.


--We didn't see any bears.

Here's a short video of a bison causing what they call a "bison-jam". We love it when the bisons walk right next to our truck.



Thursday, January 2, 2014

Goblin Valley (November, 2010)

November 4-7, 2010 (Thursday-Sunday)
Goblin Valley State Park (Our first time here)
Dave, Christine, Mike, Laura

Highs in the 60's, lows in the 30's. Beautiful weather.
Arrived Thursday evening and set up camp. Not many people here.



Friday went to the “Valley of the Goblins”. We climbed on rock formations.

Mike and Laura

Mike, Dave, Laura


Saturday we went to “Little Wild Horse” slot canyon. Lots of narrows. We had to scramble several times. Pretty and fun hike!

Mike and Laura

Laura and Mike

Laura



Saw trillions of stars on the first and second night. The last night was cloudy, so we couldn't see as many stars.

Me