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| From Fall 2011 |
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| From Fall 2011 |
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| From Fall 2011 |
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| From Fall 2011 |
Friday, November 4, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Early snow melted so we get some more Fall Hiking
These first few shots are from eastern Utah on our way home...
Today, we followed the Pacific Crest Trail north, then veered off to get a great overlook (8,776 ') of Frog Lake and the Euer Valley - which in winter in home to Tohoe Donner X-Country.
Hiking back towards Donner Summit up in the alpine, with the east face of Castle Peak silhouetted.
Looking east towards the Euer Valley with Frog Lake below...
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| From Fall 2011 |
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| From Fall 2011 |
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| From Fall 2011 |
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| From Fall 2011 |
Today, we followed the Pacific Crest Trail north, then veered off to get a great overlook (8,776 ') of Frog Lake and the Euer Valley - which in winter in home to Tohoe Donner X-Country.
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| From Fall 2011 |
Hiking back towards Donner Summit up in the alpine, with the east face of Castle Peak silhouetted.
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| From Fall 2011 |
Looking east towards the Euer Valley with Frog Lake below...
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| From Fall 2011 |
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
October 5 Snowstorm kicks off the winter season
Woke up this morning to 8" of wet snow on the ground with more on the way....
View from the living room...
Time to find a safe haven for the camper for the winter. The canoe got buried this morning, so I'll have to shovel that out and find some covered storage for it too...
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| From Fall 2011 |
View from the living room...
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| From Fall 2011 |
Time to find a safe haven for the camper for the winter. The canoe got buried this morning, so I'll have to shovel that out and find some covered storage for it too...
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| From Fall 2011 |
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Yellowstone National Park, WY
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Hot springs empty 4,000 gallons per hour of boiling water into the Snake River
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Bison crossing the Yellowstone River
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Bison swimming across the deep section of the river...
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Bison crossing the road as we wait...
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Signal Mountain Campground, Jackson Lake, Wyoming
Perched 30 feet above the shoreline of a cold Lake Jackson on a recently rain packed sandy bluff at the edge of a pine forest I am awaiting the sunrise and a clear view of the Teton Range across the lake. It is very still and cold, around 34 degrees and the only sounds are that of the lapping water on the frost nipped rocky shore. As the sky brightens on the eastern horizon behind me the 1,000's of geese begin to rustle in the reeds 1 mile away on the far shore. A raucous honking soon ensues with occasional bouts of frantic flapping as small groups jostle about. Soon the geese's song is joined by a lone loon and then the forlorn bugling of elk in the timber.
I am fidgeting with the camera with my stiff fingers trying to frame something compelling and waiting for the rose colored light to illuminate the mountains and lake surface. One half hour before sunrise I take the first exposures then slowly practice some yoga poses as I wait for the scene to evolve. By seven-thirty I am throughly chilled, the geese have silenced, and the campground noises behind me and through the woods begin to invade my consciousness. Now the full range is illuminated, but the spell is broken. I pack up my gear and rush back to the warm camper for some hot coffee and breakfast.
Grand Teton Range in morning light
Mount Moran from Oxbow bend - Snake River
Cascade Canyon
Moose family in Cascade Canyon - (taking collections for a bigger lens)
]
Hiking in Cascade Canyon - towering walls of the Teton Range above us on each side
I am fidgeting with the camera with my stiff fingers trying to frame something compelling and waiting for the rose colored light to illuminate the mountains and lake surface. One half hour before sunrise I take the first exposures then slowly practice some yoga poses as I wait for the scene to evolve. By seven-thirty I am throughly chilled, the geese have silenced, and the campground noises behind me and through the woods begin to invade my consciousness. Now the full range is illuminated, but the spell is broken. I pack up my gear and rush back to the warm camper for some hot coffee and breakfast.
Grand Teton Range in morning light
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Mount Moran from Oxbow bend - Snake River
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Cascade Canyon
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Moose family in Cascade Canyon - (taking collections for a bigger lens)
]
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Hiking in Cascade Canyon - towering walls of the Teton Range above us on each side
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Friday, September 23, 2011
September 23 - Sink Canyon Campground - Lander Wyoming
We departed Rocky Mountain National Park after a night of rain and hail camped along the source of the Colorado river on the west side of the park. Our attempts to spot a moose had failed, but we did see a lot of Elk and enjoyed the wistful airy and somewhat magical sounds of their bugling to one another across the marshy lowland spanning the slow moving waterway. The morning broke clear and very cold so we determined to find warmer climates and improved weather for our final leg homeward. Just outside the park is the mountain hamlet of Grand Lake, on the shores of, you guessed it, Grand Lake. Lots of newish development, but also a few gems found as we seek out internet connectivity to check weather and to look for groceries. The small country store in the rustic barn like building has the essentials that we need, but we pass on the overpriced bacon ($9.00/package). A quick stop at the local soft ice cream shop (called Dairy King) nets a wonderful coffee milkshake and news of a used bookstore nearby (named Hoarders). At the bookstore we find a very helpful book seller willing to take a pile of used books off our hands (a 2 month trip will generate a pile of used books) and in exchange for a very small amount of cash we are provided with a restocking of our on-board library suitable for the trip home. (Basin and Range by John McPhee, Close Range - Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx, and English Creek by Ivan Doig). Sufficiently fortified and reprovisioned, and informed by weather updates from a stop at the visitor center upon exiting the park, we set our sights on northwest Wyoming, and the Grand Teton National Park.
After a long afternoon's drive we arrive in Lander Wyoming and discover Sink's Canyon State Park, just west of town. I believe I stayed here over 30 years ago but had no clue at that time of what a jewel the place really was.
Sinks Canyon is so named because of the Middle Po-Po Agie (pronounced Po-Po-shuh), a rushing mountain river that flows out of the the Wind River Mountains and through the deeply gouged and ancient canyon. Halfway down the canyon (near the campsite in fact), the river abruptly turns a corner into a large limestone cavern, and the crashing water - all of it - disappears (sinks) into fissures and cracks in the back of the cave. The river runs underground for 1/4 mile before emerging in a crystal clear sandy bottomed pool down the canyon called "The Rise". From there it continues down the expected watercourse down the canyon. In "the Rise" there is a year round congestion of very generously sized brown and rainbow trout feasting on the rich cold, upswelling water, all easily viewable from the overlook above.
What's truly amazing is that dye studies have shown that the water takes about 2 hours to travel the 1/4 mile underground, and comes out at a higher volume then it went in. No fish can make it upriver from the Rise. Geologists speculate that the water circulates up and down through a series of narrow winding fissures and subterranean pools until it resurfaces.
After a long afternoon's drive we arrive in Lander Wyoming and discover Sink's Canyon State Park, just west of town. I believe I stayed here over 30 years ago but had no clue at that time of what a jewel the place really was.
Sinks Canyon is so named because of the Middle Po-Po Agie (pronounced Po-Po-shuh), a rushing mountain river that flows out of the the Wind River Mountains and through the deeply gouged and ancient canyon. Halfway down the canyon (near the campsite in fact), the river abruptly turns a corner into a large limestone cavern, and the crashing water - all of it - disappears (sinks) into fissures and cracks in the back of the cave. The river runs underground for 1/4 mile before emerging in a crystal clear sandy bottomed pool down the canyon called "The Rise". From there it continues down the expected watercourse down the canyon. In "the Rise" there is a year round congestion of very generously sized brown and rainbow trout feasting on the rich cold, upswelling water, all easily viewable from the overlook above.
What's truly amazing is that dye studies have shown that the water takes about 2 hours to travel the 1/4 mile underground, and comes out at a higher volume then it went in. No fish can make it upriver from the Rise. Geologists speculate that the water circulates up and down through a series of narrow winding fissures and subterranean pools until it resurfaces.
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Roocky Mountain National Park
We awake to a crisp 31 degrees and a clear dark sky. The sun has just lightened the horizon but we are eager to get moving and see some higher ground from the trail ridge road. Yesterday's photo efforts yielded a few jewels, so the pressure is off today for capturing sunrise light.
Lie a theatre's colored flood the high peaks are ignited with orange yellow flares and the dark forest below thaws off it's grey night's cloak and color reemerges from it's overnight den.
Perched on a small knoll just after sunrise at the edge of a large meadow that defines Morain Park we watch as a massive bull elk emerges from the timberline with 20 cows in tow into the grassy valley bottom. Last night's frost still lingers on the tips of the dull green meadow plants and as the low angle orange morning light swings over the ridge it lights up the dew like a million waving sparklers.
Suddenly, the big bull has his head down, shoulders hunched and his bugling snorts take on a noticeably menacing tone. The moisture in his breath condenses in a cloud shooting out from his snout like the exhaust from a steam locomotive. Then he charges. Our binoculars scan ahead for the offending party and like a flash, a coyote breaks cover and darts away. Immediately upon seeing the coyote's retreat. the bull relaxes and resumes his shepard duty over the herd. As the bull relaxes, so does the coyote as he resumes hunting for mice and rabbits at a respectable distance from the elk.
If you plan to come:
This time of year large numbers of elk, broken into small groups can be observed easily in this vast meadow,, with good viewing access spots right from the road or from short hikes. The outboard "C" loop in the Morrain Park campsite are located a bit above the meadow with good oversight. Try to reserve one of these.
Mills Lake
Bugling Elk comes down out of the woods
Blue Gouse
Camp Elk
Ute Indian Grinding rocks in high alpine tundra at 12,000 feet
Never Summer Range
Old homesteading equipment at the headwaters of the Colorado River
Lie a theatre's colored flood the high peaks are ignited with orange yellow flares and the dark forest below thaws off it's grey night's cloak and color reemerges from it's overnight den.
Perched on a small knoll just after sunrise at the edge of a large meadow that defines Morain Park we watch as a massive bull elk emerges from the timberline with 20 cows in tow into the grassy valley bottom. Last night's frost still lingers on the tips of the dull green meadow plants and as the low angle orange morning light swings over the ridge it lights up the dew like a million waving sparklers.
Suddenly, the big bull has his head down, shoulders hunched and his bugling snorts take on a noticeably menacing tone. The moisture in his breath condenses in a cloud shooting out from his snout like the exhaust from a steam locomotive. Then he charges. Our binoculars scan ahead for the offending party and like a flash, a coyote breaks cover and darts away. Immediately upon seeing the coyote's retreat. the bull relaxes and resumes his shepard duty over the herd. As the bull relaxes, so does the coyote as he resumes hunting for mice and rabbits at a respectable distance from the elk.
If you plan to come:
This time of year large numbers of elk, broken into small groups can be observed easily in this vast meadow,, with good viewing access spots right from the road or from short hikes. The outboard "C" loop in the Morrain Park campsite are located a bit above the meadow with good oversight. Try to reserve one of these.
Mills Lake
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Bugling Elk comes down out of the woods
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Blue Gouse
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Camp Elk
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Ute Indian Grinding rocks in high alpine tundra at 12,000 feet
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Never Summer Range
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
Old homesteading equipment at the headwaters of the Colorado River
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| From 2011 Summer Trip |
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