Big, Bold, & Beautiful

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2014 trip so far:  pronghorn, horse, llama, elk, bison, grizzly, bighorn sheep, mule deer, Uinta ground squirrel, wolf, black bear, moose, coyote, fox, bullsnake, bat, white-tailed jackrabbit, mountain goat, yellow-bellied marmot, river otter

*Birds we’ve seen on our 2014 trip so far: bald eagle, grouse, osprey, magpie, red-tailed hawk, Canada goose, great horned owl, American kestrel, sandhill crane, cliff swallow, mountain bluebird, Ferruginous hawk, cinnamon teal, Clark’s nutcracker, northern flicker, Brewer’s blackbird, red-winged blackbird, Lazuli bunting, common merganser, American white pelican

 

 [Click on any photo to enlarge.]

 

Perhaps beautiful isn't exactly the correct word.  Handsome or majestic is probably more accurate but that would have messed up the alliteration or flow.  J  As we’ve mentioned before, the elk rut can be an amazing but dangerous time.  The mature bulls can stand 5 ft. high at the shoulders and weigh

   about 700 lbs. with antlers that can curve up 5 ft. with a possible 6 ft. spread at the top.  They are unpredictable and can turn at any moment, charging at anyone or anything they perceive as a threat even their reflection in a car.  (And

      they really don’t like diesel engines or motorcycles!)  Your safest recourse is to take cover next to or inside a building or behind a vehicle.  Rangers and trained volunteers work at keeping visitors safe and informed, and though we

   are technically not trained, we still assist in the campground trying to keep folks far enough away but still able to enjoy the elk.

 

Though the bulls are not officially named, they are given nicknames by some folks which can help
   identify the location of the various bulls when needed.  The most aggressive the last couple of years is referred to as Touchdown, and he’s well known for charging and damaging quite a few cars.  At one point this fall the report was that there were not only 5 bulls in the
    campground (one of which was Touchdown) but also 5 bulls up the hill in town plus plenty of cows and calves!  Everyone was on their toes!

 

However, without a chart, Russ and I can’t tell one from the other except for one big guy affect-
tionately known as Broke Nose.  A few years ago, he got his antlers caught in a set of construction cones that were roped together and tied to a post.  Before anyone from the Park Service could get to him, a visitor decided to help and cut the rope.  However, the cones were still attached to his antlers, and he frantically ran off,
running head-on into a Suburban and that’s how he got a broke nose.  Eventually staff was able to tranquilize him and remove the cones, and the damage doesn’t seem to really impact his luck with the ladies as he is one of the dominant bulls in the area.

 

  When the cows come into heat, the mating begins (not that the bulls won’t try sooner!)  A bull has to be ready because the cow is receptive for mating for less than 24 hours and won’t be willing to mate again until her next cycle in about 20 days.  They can have up to 4 of
   these cycles in a season but usually become pregnant fairly quickly.  However, sometimes the gals will get into a little sparring match…trying to impress the guys?!
 

 

       The older, more mature bulls will sometimes allow spikes (year old bulls) to hang around but anything much older will be chased away.  We’ve witnessed this many times over the last few years and usually doesn’t amount to much.  There’s
   always a lot of posturing, staring down, thrashing of nearby landscape, bugling, a big chase, and on occasion head butting, though we’ve only seen that occur once.


   The rut is very tiring and draining for the bulls, using up much of their energy.  They rarely eat during this time and may lose up to 20% of their body weight so even a drink of rainwater can be greatly needed.

 

As you probably know from previous posts, elk aren’t the only big critters that like to visit the campground.  We’ve been known to have 50-60 bison at a time occasionally visit, usually simply meandering through the sites, grazing as they go, and sometimes
     simply taking their siestas for a few hours.  Of course with their size, somebody needs to let this guy know he really can’t hide behind that tree…we see you!

 

Yellowstone Tidbits:

• Yellowstone National Park is located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.
• Elk are plant eaters and have four-chambered stomachs.
• All visitors are required to stay 100 yards (length of a football field) away from wolves and bears, and 25 yards (length of a school bus) from all other animals.
• A bull elk sheds his antlers in March and they begin growing again around May, up to as much as 1 inch per day.

A Grand Getaway

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2014 trip so far:  pronghorn, horse, llama, elk, bison, grizzly, bighorn sheep, mule deer, Uinta ground squirrel, wolf, black bear, moose, coyote, fox, bullsnake, bat, white-tailed jackrabbit, mountain goat, yellow-bellied marmot, river otter

*Birds we’ve seen on our 2014 trip so far: bald eagle, grouse, osprey, magpie, red-tailed hawk, Canada goose, great horned owl, American kestrel, sandhill crane, cliff swallow, mountain bluebird, Ferruginous hawk, cinnamon teal, Clark’s nutcracker, northern flicker, Brewer’s blackbird, red-winged blackbird, Lazuli bunting, common merganser, American white pelican

 

 [Click on any photo to enlarge.]

Since our camping trip to Glacier had gone so well, we decided to try a couple of days at Grand Teton National Park (www.nps.gov/grte) located about 30 miles south of Yellowstone’s south entrance.  We took the road over Dunraven Pass (8,859 ft. elevation) through the park, and on our way passed this big guy walking along the very edge of the road.  One misstep could have found him at the bottom
of the valley!  We continued through Hayden Valley, past the 29 ft. high Lewis Falls, and along the John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway (www.nps.gov/grte/jodr) that connects Yellowstone to Grand Teton.

 

    Part of the reason for our trip to Grand Teton National Park at this time of year was to see the beautiful fall colors that we’d heard so much about, and as you can see, they did not disappoint.

 

All the campgrounds are first come, first serve, run by an outside concessionaire, and when we arrived at Colter Bay Campground, we were assigned a wonderful spot in the tent only area.  Unlike many of the other sites, our tent pad, table, and firepit were down amongst the trees below the road where our car was parked…very
secluded.  Our first morning we even had a visit from a fox running through the trees, but my camera was in the car.  Abby was enjoying her breakfast al fresco and didn’t seem to notice the fox or care to interrupt her meal, though it did stop briefly and gave her a quick glance. It was the most beautiful, healthy fox we’ve ever seen.

 

Most folks love going to Grand Teton National Park for the mountains, of course, but we love going for the wildlife.  The Oxbow Bend area is our favorite, not the turnout, but rather a spot right on the Snake River.  There’s a gravel
     side road that takes you to a little parking lot from where folks like to launch their kayaks or canoes (and photographers like to hang out).  We visited both days we were in the park and saw plenty of bald eagles, osprey, American white pelicans, common mergansers,
Canada geese, and more.  In fact, one morning we saw the largest, most beautiful bald eagle we’d ever seen perched high in a tree across the river, but the sun on it created too much glare to get a decent picture.  Besides the birds we also watched a family of river otters frolic in the river and along the
   bank.  There were at least 6 of them but may have been more, and they were having the best time, even doing some fishing.  If you look closely at the photo of the one on the riverbank, you’ll see that it’s got hold of a big ol’ fish!

The mountains, though more impressive when snow covered, are quite amazing.  They were created about 13 million years ago when a series of earthquakes caused the earth to thrust up a block forming the mountains and at the same time dropped the valley floor so there are no foothills like most mountain ranges.  The elevation
ranges from 6,320 ft. in the valley to 13, 770 ft. at the summit of the Grand Teton peak.  The rocks found in the core of the mountains are some of the oldest in North America while the mountains themselves are some of the youngest in the world.

The best views of the mountains are found by taking the one-way 4 mile scenic drive off the main road along the east side of Jenny Lake (unless of course you are into hiking).  This lake was formed about 12,000 years ago by glaciers that carved the Cascade Canyon
    and is about 250 ft. deep.  Some of the views along this drive are absolutely spectacular, and the water is so clear as you can easily see in the close-up photo.

 

     The largest glacier in Grand Teton National Park is Teton Glacier at about 3,500 ft. in length by 1,100 ft. wide, and it moves about 30 ft. per year.  As with most glaciers, it acts as a “conveyor belt” carrying rocks and boulders along the ice and down the mountain.

 

One afternoon we drove down to Jackson (also known as Jackson Hole), home of several massive elk antler arches.  There are 4 that grace the town park (one at each corner) and a few, like this one, scattered around elsewhere. The town is a huge tourist trap, but we
enjoy visiting the Jackson Hole & Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center.  Located in the heart of town, it’s a great resource for everything you’d want to know about the area and has some very impressive wildlife displays like the elk herd just inside the entrance (only elk we saw on this trip!)  Some of the critters almost look real, but thankfully aren’t since Russ felt the need to try and pet the grizzly! (Don’t worry …he didn’t actually touch the display. J)



On our way back, we drove towards Gros Ventre (pronounced grow vahnt) Campground hoping to spot a moose along the river.  Other than the birds, the fox, and a couple of deer, we hadn’t seen much wildlife in the Tetons this trip but finally got lucky and saw a moose cow.  There was quite a crowd watching her and hoping perhaps a bull would show himself as well but never did while we were there.

 

Early on our second morning we were awakened by the sound of rain on the tent and decided we better get up and moving.  Between rain showers, thunder, and lightning (Russ thinks one bolt came within 100 yards!), we got everything loaded into the car and were on our way by 8am.  We didn’t experience much rain the
rest of the way and were able to enjoy a pleasant drive home albeit slightly wet.  Back in Yellowstone, we passed more colorful foliage and in Hayden Valley even got stuck in a bison jam.  Overall it was another enjoyable and memorable tent camping adventure.

Fire In The Hole

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2014 trip so far:  pronghorn, horse, llama, elk, bison, grizzly, bighorn sheep, mule deer, Uinta ground squirrel, wolf, black bear, moose, coyote, fox, bullsnake, bat, white-tailed jackrabbit, mountain goat, yellow-bellied marmot

*Birds we’ve seen on our 2014 trip so far: bald eagle, grouse, osprey, magpie, red-tailed hawk, Canada goose, great horned owl, American kestrel, sandhill crane, cliff swallow, mountain bluebird, Ferruginous hawk, cinnamon teal, Clark’s nutcracker, northern flicker, Brewer’s blackbird, red-winged blackbird, Lazuli bunting

 [Click on any photo to enlarge.]

One morning we awoke to a dusting of snow on the hills and mountains but none in the campground.  We took a short drive to see if there was more out on Swan Lake Flats but only saw it on the trees and Bunsen Peak, nothing major in the Mammoth area.  The temperature was
   supposed drop to 25 degrees that night so we disconnected our hose from the water spigot but looks like we didn’t get all of the water out.  It was a little chilly that next morning, even the bull elk could see his breath!

Our plan for that day was a trip to the Norris Geyser Basin and then on to Old Faithful, an annual tradition for us.  We decided to wait till it warmed up a bit so didn’t leave until about 11am, and along the way passed Roaring Mountain which on such a chilly morning had its fumaroles really “roaring”!  Unfortunately when we arrived at the Norris Geyser Basin, there was not a single parking spot available and figured we’d hit it on the way back.

 

We made several stops along the way at places we hadn’t visited in awhile like the Chocolate Pots.  Located along the Gibbon River, these thermal features are “composed of mineral-cemented iron oxides, aluminum, manganese, and nickel, and are further colored by algae”.

 

Along the way we stumbled across another one of those first time experiences.  All that steam coming from the side of the road was being emitted from Beryl Spring, one of the hottest springs in Yellowstone with an average temperature of 196°F.  As we got
out of the car, we noticed what appeared at first to be snow on several of the trees, but as we got closer, we soon realized that because of the cool temperatures in the air, the hot steam from the spring had coated the branches of the trees facing the spring with thick layers of frost, sometimes referred to as hoarfrost.  Quite a spectacular sight!

 

There are many areas in the park where one can see the remains of past forest fires, but one thing we had not noticed before was the number of burnt out trees that look as though their very top should not still be attached and that the slightest breeze would just topple that thin section right off.

 

Our next stop was Terrace Spring, a small grouping of thermal features with a short 1/4 mile boardwalk overlooking a lovely meadow, all just off the main road (in fact you can see part of it from there).  Though this area has no active geysers, it’s still a cool little
       place to walk through with its bubbling pools, rising steam, colorful algae, and an interesting little spider situated on some of that algae!  Russ had spotted it first, and though I really, really, really, don’t like spiders, I had to
   snap a close-up picture of it.  Just so fascinating that it’s able to live near such hot temperatures.  Also had a visit from another daytime bat that kept buzzing around us…maybe it was going after the spider!

 

Firehole Canyon Drive is a one-way side road that takes you through the canyon along the Firehole River, past 800 ft. high lava cliffs as well as the Firehole Falls and Cascades.  The area gets its name because it was once covered by bubbling lava as well as the many thermal features surrounding the river that empty into the it creating warm spots throughout.  It's a very popular place with fishermen because of its abundance of trout.  It had been a couple of years since we’d taken this drive, and we always forget how beautiful and fascinating it is.

Next stop was the Midway Geyser Basin which contains two of Yellowstone’s largest thermal features, Excelsior Geyser Crater and Grand Prismatic Spring.  Excelsior Geyser used to be the largest geyser in the world, but in the late 1800s an explosive eruption destroyed the geyser’s
underground system leaving a 300 ft. wide crater.   There have been rare occasions where it has erupted again over the years, but mainly now it is a deep blue pool that pumps more than 4,000 gallons of hot water per minute down its channels into the Firehole River (photo at right).

 

Continuing along the half mile boardwalk loop takes you past the Turquoise and Opal Pools before arriving at the Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest spring in Yellowstone and second largest in the world.  This oval pool is 200 ft. across so it was impossible for me to get a decent photo of the whole thing from ground level, but here’s
a picture of the informational sign which shows an artist’s rendering of it.  We understand there’s a hiking trail up the hill behind the Basin which would give you a spectacular view...perhaps next year. J  It was hard to get any decent shots anyway because of the amount of steam rising from it due to the high temperatures of the water (160°F) and the cool air.
This bright blue spring is 120 ft. deep and gets its name from the colorful bands of yellow, orange, brown, and green algae that surround it.  The runoff channels carry about 500 gallons of hot water per minute to the river, and it looks like a brave critter might have been walking on some of them! (below right)

We finally made it to the Old Faithful area, and while I went in the visitor center to check the next eruption time, Russ brought Abby out to stretch her legs.  The next one was not expected for another hour, and since we’ve seen it many times before, we decided to start heading back home.

 

On the return drive we took another of those little one-way side roads, this one called Firehole Lake Drive (not to be confused with the earlier drive through Firehole Canyon).  This short 2 mile drive passes several hot springs (such as Firehole Spring at right), pools, and geysers.  Though none of the
    geysers erupted while we were there, I still got a couple photos of them.  Great Fountain Geyser (at left), known as one of the “grand geysers of the world”, was not due to erupt until some time between 6pm & 10pm, and though White
     Dome Geyser (at right) generally erupts every 12 - 24 minutes, we decided not to wait around.  We still had a long drive home.

 

By the time we reached the Norris Geyser Basin again, we had been gone nearly 5 hours and decided to save it for another time.  It had turned into a beautiful day weather-wise, and we had a wonderful drive through the park.

 

Yellowstone Tidbits:

• Yellowstone is considered an active volcano as evidenced by the many hydrothermal features in the park as well as roughly 1,000 - 3,000 earthquakes annually (most are not felt).
• Fumaroles (steam vents) are the hottest thermal features in the park.
• Norris Geyser Basin is the hottest, oldest, and most active thermal area in the park.
• Yellowstone has the largest concentration of active geysers in the world.