And Yellowstone, Again!

30 Jul 2010--We went into Yellowstone for our final trip this past Tuesday. We are leaving Wyoming on Sunday, heading to Salt Lake City for 3 weeks, so we figured we would give it one more try in Yellowstone in hopes of seeing and filming a moose. Well, it was not to be, but we had a good time anyway, so all is good!

We saw more deer going into and out of the park than is usual, and even saw a bunch of antelope in the park. Neither of us remember seeing antelope back in the 80s when we were here, but they are here.

We saw a few herds of elk, with babies, who are always fun to watch. This one in the 2nd pic is calling...I assume to her mother.

In the almost 2 weeks since we had taken our last trip into the park, there was quite a splash of color in the fields. The little photo is a stitch to click on, and the rest were just individual plants I found in the area. There was quite a dramatic difference in the fields than on our previous trips.

So we didn't see any moose, or even any Grizzlies. We figured they are on the run after they attacked those people in Cooke City!

But we did see this black bear, very close to the side of the road, and observed quite a few people getting much closer to this bear than common sense would dictate. People were stopped on both sides of the road, and lots of people were out of their cars taking pics and videos, but one girl, probably about 18 yrs old, easily got within 10-15 ft of this bear. She was so close she actually made Cathy and I nervous...I yelled out to her that she should get back, but she ignored me! Then, either her brother or boyfriend informed us that she was fast, so she could outrun the bear if it went after her. I wanted to slap both of them.

Several minutes later, as he was getting into his van, this same brother/boyfriend wanted to throw some marshmallows he was carrying at the bear. Needless to say, Cathy and I told him in no uncertain terms that he better not throw those marshmallows while we standing there...I was now contemplating kicking him in the ass!

This bear looked like he was an adolescent, not a cub, and not full grown, maybe old enough to have been let loose by his mom, maybe the mother was still in the area. What amazes me is how the black bears completely ignore all the hubbub going on around them. We were probably watching it eat berries for at least 15 minutes, and it was there before we arrived and was still there when we left. It seems like they would have to eat a tremendous amount of berries every day to sustain themselves.

Here are a couple videos. Check out how close everyone is. (The videos loaded differently this time, so I have to look once I post this blog to see how it will show up to you.)

As we were driving to leave the park, we saw these people going out on a sightseeing caravan. It made me think of my idea to get a caravan of RVs going next summer. haha

Because of the way the sun is hitting the mountains.valley, you have to enlarge these pics to see the Ospreys in the nest at the top of the huge rock. There was a mother, father and 2 babies in it. Look how big the nest is, and check out the bottom pic...one of the adults is feeding one of the babies.

Here, the 1st video shows a buffalo swimming across the lake/river. As heavy as they are (average 1000 pounds), and as seemingly "front"-loaded as they look with all their bulk up in their shoulders, you wouldn't think they would be able to swim.

Here he is shaking off and then rubbing his head in the dirt trying to dry off.

And now, up to the tree line to scrape some bark off the trees.

I didn't get a picture of it, but we saw a car off the side of the road...and I mean "off"! There was probably an 8-10 ft drop straight down off the shoulder, and this car went off "Thelma and Louise" style, landing on all 4 wheels without any visible dents that we could see when driving past it. We heard a cop say on his walkie-talkie that the guy was watching animals, not paying attention, and went off the side of the road. The man and woman that owned the car were on the side of the street, standing and looking on sheepishly. You could tell they were embarrassed. With as many cars on the road, and all the animals to be seen, it is surprising this doesn't happen more often!

So, we are leaving the area on Sunday after 31 days here. Most of our faithful readers are probably happy to be moving on (haha), but I will miss it. I was last in this area in 1991, have always loved it, and can only hope it is not another 20 years before we get back here.

Evidence of Life

26 Jul 2010--Friday and Sunday we went hiking (this is Monday as I write this) so I am combining the 2 days of pictures here. Like Colorado, Wyoming has a lot of public lands and trails for use. The biggest difference is that you see more people actually using them in Colorado. In Wyoming it seems they do more horseback riding than hiking. As a matter of fact, there is no doubt in my mind that there are more horses here than humans. At least in this part of Wyoming.

Anyway, up the road a piece from our RV park, there is a trail that leads to 2 separate trails, called the 4 Bear Trail and the Jim Mountain Trail. The Jim Mountain Trail is the more mountainous of the 2, so we decided to take that one on Friday and leave 4 Bear for Sunday. Before you go on any of the trails you are supposed to sign in on a logbook provided by the state. That is so that if you get lost and they have to come look for you, they know where you headed. Comforting!!!

I took pictures of these signs within a couple miles east or west of our RV park. It makes me think 2 things: I don't think they would waste the money unless bears really were around this area, and secondly, I wonder if the bears know they are only supposed to use this area from April to October???

Heading into the mountains the 1st day we went into the hills behind the house in the 1st picture on the left. The 2nd day we headed into the hills on the right.

I took these pictures behind us as we headed into the hills. We had to pass all these houses to get where we were going, so without knowing it we actually ended up on private land.

The owner of these horses came out and asked us what we were doing...and then explained to us that we could cut through his fence to get to public property!!! haha

Once in the mountains/hills, we saw quite a few tracks of different animals. The 1st one is a deer track, while we think the 2nd one may be a goat of some kind.

This 1st one is definitely an elk, while the 2nd is a horse. We saw some that looked like dog tracks also, we just didn't know if they were domestic dogs or coyotes, and they didn't come out good on the pics I took.

We don't really know what this track is of. I thought BEAR, while Cathy thought maybe 2 Elk tracks hitting each other. I still think BEAR!

And this is why!!! Half way up the mountain on Friday we came upon this deer carcass, cleaned to the bone except one leg/hoof that was about 20 feet away from the scene of the crime. We don't know what killed it, but we were a lot more attentive to our surroundings after we saw this. haha

Just beyond the deer carcass were these rocks. Cathy reminded me that it was a good spot to see mountain lions. Thanks!

I never think of Wyoming as desert country, but it is. We saw a lot of cactus on our walk.

And seeing these bushes/trees with berries on them reminded me that bears like berries.

We were disappointed to not see a lot of animals. Cathy saw one rabbit, and we both saw a chipmunk, but other than that all we saw were these 2 bluebirds.

Here are some pictures we took along the trails of the scenery. That's Cathy looking for the ever-elusive wildlife, and a picture as we look down into the valley from the 4 Bear Trail.

Here is a stitch photo of the valley from Jim Mountain Trail.

That's Cathy ahead of me as we go into the 4 Bear area, and then once we got up further in the mountains. There are so many bushes you think at first it is the end of the trail.

That's me with the Jim Mountains behind me, and Cathy looking again for the ever-elusive wildlife! haha

About half way up the 4 Bear Trail is this section where they have placed railroad ties in an effort to keep the ground from sliding out from under you. When you stop and turn around it is really beautiful.

Here we are heading back out of the mountains. Doesn't Cathy look dwarfed by the scenery around her?

2 stitch photos to click on. How beautiful, huh???

Walking along the Jim Mountain Trail.

A look down at the Valley from 4 Bear Trail.