Potluck!

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far:  bison, pronghorn, elk, white-tail deer, Uinta ground squirrel, coyote, snowshoe hare, grizzly bear, moose, wolf, red fox, black bear, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, mule deer, llama, white-tailed jackrabbit, American badger

*Birds we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far: osprey, pheasant, magpie, raven, Canada geese, mountain bluebird, grouse, golden eagle, bald eagle, American avocet, sandhill crane, red-tailed hawk, cliff swallow, northern flicker, Clark’s nutcracker

 

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What’s a potluck?  A gathering of people…a sharing of food…a fun time!  Everybody bring a dish to share and let the camaraderie begin.  We’ve been fortunate to be included in four of them this season starting in May not long after we arrived.  Longtime ranger, Russ, was retiring and a farewell potluck was held at the Mammoth Community Center.  Burgers and 
hot dogs were provided as well as this specially decorated cake.  After everyone had eaten, several friends and co-workers got up to share stories and pay tribute to his many years of service (that’s Ranger Russ on the right in the photo).

 

The 4th of July potluck was held at Indian Creek Campground starting about 4pm. Unfortunately Marilyn and Tom had to work, but Ron, Kris, Russ, and I represented the Mammoth Campground.  At one point it started to rain but that wasn’t going to stop Jay from enjoying his chicken wings!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

             Mid-August Ranger Chris hosted one at her house in Emigrant, about an hour from the campground.  She and her husband, Steve, have a beautiful log cabin up in the hills with gorgeous views from their porch.  They have 4 dogs and Abby was

  welcome to come along to join the fun.  We showed up early so she and their pups could get acquainted which included a walk down to the creek.  Our hosts provided your choice of bison, antelope, elk, or deer burgers, kebabs, and hot dogs, and with the

    spread provided by everyone else, there was more than enough food!  I think the highlight of the day was probably Marilyn’s chocolate dipped Krispy Kreme donut holes that she skewered and stuck in an angel

food cake to keep them upright. They went quickly and not one was left!  The cake did not go untouched either as Steve provided ice cream to go with it, and he does like his ice cream…that’s a 3 gallon bucket!  Great time meeting some new folks and getting better acquainted with others.

 

It was starting to get dark when we left Chris and Steve’s, and once we got down onto the main highway, we could see the head of a couple of fires burning in the distance.  Fortunately these were nowhere near where we were going but instead up in the mountains.

 

The last potluck of the season was once again held at Indian Creek and was in celebration of Christmas in August and the National Park Service’s birthday, but this year we celebrated a day early on “Christmas Eve”, Aug 24th. For those who don’t know, according to local legend Christmas in August
   was created after some visitors to Yellowstone were stranded at the Old Faithful Inn in a freak snow storm some time in the early 1900s.  Instead of lamenting about being snowbound, the guests decided to celebrate Christmas complete with decorations, carols, and a festive dinner.
At our potluck, we didn’t sing any carols, but the cabin and an outside tree were decorated (don’t seem to have pictures of either this year), and there was plenty of food including the spiral ham provided by Donna (we pretty much made short order of that!)  Plus a couple
     of the rangers were able to stop by for a quick dinner before continuing patrol.  Another great time was had by all, and we’ll look forward to more of these fun times again next year.

Yellowstone Tidbits:

• More than 1,600 archeological sites have been documented in Yellowstone.
• Lodgepole pine trees, the most abundant trees in the park covering nearly 80% of it, depend on fire to regenerate.
• The Madison and Gallatin are two rivers that flow from Yellowstone National Park to create the Missouri River.
• Wolves were re-introduced into Yellowstone in 1995.

Up In The Hills

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far:  bison, pronghorn, elk, white-tail deer, Uinta ground squirrel, coyote, snowshoe hare, grizzly bear, moose, wolf, red fox, black bear, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, mule deer, llama, white-tailed jackrabbit, American badger

*Birds we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far: osprey, pheasant, magpie, raven, Canada geese, mountain bluebird, grouse, golden eagle, bald eagle, American avocet, sandhill crane, red-tailed hawk, cliff swallow, northern flicker, Clark’s nutcracker

 

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Up in them thar hills above Gardiner is the little town of Jardine, Montana.  We had heard it was a nice little drive to get there and that the town was kind of interesting so decided to check it out.  From Gardiner, the first mile is paved but then turns into a gravel and dirt road.  Within those first couple of miles looking back down across Yellowstone into the Gardiner Canyon, the view is beautiful.

 

We’ve traveled part of this road before…to check out Eagle Creek Campground which we’ve given as a referral when our campground was full, and when we were looking for a place to bury Jo Jo last year.  We stopped along the way and
      found the knoll where we had buried her.  The big, heavy rock Russ had placed over her grave had been overturned (above), and the box was gone, so we’re pretty sure she became part of the circle of life.  There’s plenty of evidence around to indicate that other
critters have also joined the circle.  After all, this is prime bear country.  Of course, we were quite surprised to find what we believe was a bison foreleg which seemed to have been cleanly cut as opposed to having been torn apart by a bear or wolf.

 

   Located just 6 miles northeast and about 1,000 ft. above Gardiner, Jardine sits at an elevation of nearly 6,500 ft.  This former gold and arsenic mining town seems pretty remote, and there’s really not much to it though a few people still live there.  In fact as of 2010 the population was 57.  Remnants
from the mining activity are evident here and there, and apparently from what we’ve since been told, had we continued further up past the town square, we might have seen even more.  But we decided not to chance it and turned back the way we came, passing boarded houses, mine cars, and even a pretty little creek amid the lush trees.

 

Before we got very far back down the hill, we spied this red-tailed hawk perched atop a telephone pole.  We sat and watched for several minutes as he scoured the landscape and then suddenly took off, probably having spotted some tasty prey.  What a majestic sight to see as this magnificent creature soared overhead!

 

Though this has nothing to do with our trip to Jardine, we wanted to share another creature we’ve spotted this year in the park.  At Indian Creek Campground not only do they have a resident black bear sow and her two cubs, but they also have this handsome badger who loves to hang out there.  This one is only ever seen by himself,
and while some are solitary, moving from home to home, others are known to form clans called cetes that can vary in size from two to fifteen badgers.  And evidently somebody forgot to tell this fella that badgers are generally nocturnal because he’s seen out in the daylight quite a bit, but don’t worry, I didn’t get too close as they can be some nasty critters. Thank goodness for that zoom lens!

 

Yellowstone Tidbits:

• American badger: male (boar) weighs about 19 - 25 lbs., female (sow) about 15 lbs., young (cub) disperse from the family home at 5 - 6 months
• The wingspan of the Red-tailed hawk can range from 45 - 52 inches.
• Because crimes committed in Yellowstone are federal offenses, the Park contains a jail and a federal courthouse, a federal judge who lives in the park, and an F.B. I agent who is assigned to it.
• Yellowstone is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined.

Natural Beauty

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far:  bison, pronghorn, elk, white-tail deer, Uinta ground squirrel, coyote, snowshoe hare, grizzly bear, moose, wolf, red fox, black bear, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, mule deer, llama, white-tailed jackrabbit

*Birds we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far: osprey, pheasant, magpie, raven, Canada geese, mountain bluebird, grouse, golden eagle, bald eagle, American avocet, sandhill crane, red-tailed hawk, cliff swallow, northern flicker, Clark’s nutcracker

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Sunsets in the west are beautiful, but sometimes they are simply spectacular.  Of course, it also depends on where you are, the amount of moisture/dust/clouds in the air, or any number of factors.  Mainly it’s being in the right place at the right time.  One evening on
      our way back from looking for critters the sunset above and behind the Mammoth Terraces was spectacular.  As usual these photos don’t even begin to do justice to the beauty that the eye can see.

    As we’ve mentioned before, elk are abundant in the Mammoth Hot Springs area, and we can’t seem to get enough of watching and photographing them whether it’s up in town or in the campground.  They are such exquisite, elegant, and fascinating creatures.

We've talked about how much more rain there’s been this year than we’ve experienced in the past couple of seasons here in the Mammoth area, but on the plus side, we've seen some incredibly beautiful rainbows.  Just look at this one across the street from the campground.  I couldn’t even get the whole thing in one frame!

One night on the way home from going into town, several cars were pulled over in Gardiner Canyon watching the bighorn sheep.  Several were on the hillside including this little lamb at the very top of the cliff, but a few were on the road and even crossed over not far from where we were standing.

We made a trip out to Lamar Valley to catch some of the bison rut and found this bull doing his best to impress a cow by kicking up as much dust as possible.  Believe it or not this is just one way he displays his strength and vigor to the receptive female.

   Whether we drive a long way to look for critters or just down the road, we’re generally lucky like spotting these pronghorn in the valley or simply a white-tailed jackrabbit across the road.
     The abundance and vast array of wildlife are what we love about Yellowstone.

Yellowstone Tidbits:

• Bighorn sheep:  male (ram) 174-319 lbs., female (ewe) up to 130 lbs., young (lambs) can walk within hours of birth
• Pronghorn:  male (buck) 100-125 lbs., female (doe) 90-110 lbs., young (fawn) can walk within 30 min. of birth; both sexes have horns, males are pronged and they have a black cheek patch
• The park sees about 65 fires in an average year, and 90% are lightning caused.

Road Trip

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far:  bison, pronghorn, elk, white-tail deer, Uinta ground squirrel, coyote, snowshoe hare, grizzly bear, moose, wolf, red fox, black bear, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, mule deer, llama

*Birds we’ve seen on our 2013 trip so far: osprey, pheasant, magpie, raven, Canada geese, mountain bluebird, grouse, golden eagle, bald eagle, American avocet, sandhill crane, red-tailed hawk, cliff swallow, northern flicker, Clark’s nutcracker

 

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Generally the furthest we venture from the park is Livingston, MT, about an hour away, but Russ needed some routine bloodwork done, and the closest lab covered under our insurance was in Butte, MT, about 2-1/2 hours from here.  What a great excuse for a road

trip to somewhere we haven’t been!  Before we even got out of the park, though, we spied this shaggy looking coyote along the rocks in the Gardiner Canyon.  He’s obviously collared and tagged so not just a stray that wandered into the park.

The drive took us through Livingston, which meant we once again got to pass this llama farm on the way there…very cool looking animals, and just another critter we could add to our list of those we’ve seen on this year’s trip so far.  We could also see evidence of
   the Emigrant Peak fire off in the distance.  It had been burning for about a week and at this point was at about 600 acres but in no danger of harming any structures or people.
 

 

    The drive to Butte was not all that spectacular though the ride through the canyon was pretty.  This rock (at left) has a specific name but darn if I can remember it!  Didn’t write it down and didn’t take a picture of the sign…duh!  We
   also spied this interesting old rusted tractor at the top of a hill, and we crossed the Continental Divide again, but if there wasn’t a sign on the highway informing us of that fact, we wouldn’t have known.

 

  Butte is known as the “richest hill on earth” because of its history of mining for gold, silver, and copper.  Dotted along the skyline you can see these black steel structures which kind of look like oil derricks that mark the remnants of the old mines.  There is a national historical district, part of which we passed through on our way to the lab, but didn’t have time to really check it out.  Once the labwork was done, we headed back to Bozeman for a quick picnic lunch at KFC, then stock up at Walmart, then a quick stop at Albertson’s in Livingston, and then home…a very long day indeed.

 

Yellowstone Tidbits:

• Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is about 20 miles long, more than 1,000 ft. deep, and 1,500 - 4,000 ft. wide.
• Bullsnakes are Yellowstone’s largest reptile, ranging from 50 to 72 inches long. They are nonvenomous, and are often mistaken for rattlesnakes because of their appearance and defensive behavior.
• The oldest thermal area in the park is Terrace Mountain near Mammoth Hot Springs which may be a dormant thermal area dated as 406,000 years old.
• The most active thermal area is Norris Geyser Basin.