Archive for the Wyoming Category
Posted on October 29, 2009 by jason
The jackalope is perhaps the rarest animal in North America, and Douglas Wyoming is the epicenter of all things jackalope related. In case you didn’t know, there are two varieties to watch out for – the mountain jackalope and the prairie jackalope – noted by their distinctly different horns.
Douglas had the first sighting back in 1939 it’s still their primary claim to fame. Despite their rare status, Bode was able to get a Limited Non-Resident Jackalope Hunting License (limit one). We looked around outside the Douglas Visitor’s Center and only found some smaller ones – probably less than a year old, as they didn’t have their horns yet and were certainly below the size limit.
It’s amazing what passes for entertainment when you are miles form nowhere.
Douglas also has a really cool huge steam engine – it’s monstrous. I’m thinking this might also be the same train used on an old Johnny Cash album cover, but they didn’t claim it. They should.
Another interesting stop on the way out of Wyoming was the town of Lost Springs, population 1. I’m not sure how this person manages to have their own town, but it is remote. From the looks of it, I think they might be exaggerating – the population must be at least double that.
Angela was driving a shift through Wyoming until she felt a noticeable decrease in power…and we were going downhill. No problem, we pulled over into a driveway and I replaced the gas filter. It was all gunked up from little black chunks in the gas. Wyoming has had the cheapest gas of anywhere along our route so far, so I’m wondering if there’s a quality issue involved.
Crossing over into South Dakota was notable in one particular way – they have TREES! We made our way up to Custer to find… “closed for the season” on most campsites and attractions. We were really only there to see some big heads anyway.
Posted on October 28, 2009 by angela
We slept in until 10 am, and woke to find it snowing. Giant fluffy snow! Funny thing is, both Bode and I woke up in the middle of the night because we were hot. The dangers of over-dressing to sleep in sub-freezing weather.
The park ranger at Old Faithful had told us that the moose were mostly in the Tetons. They preferred old-growth forest and since Yellowstone had a major fire in 1988, there weren’t many to be found. The tall charred old-growth trees are still abundant, sticking up 50 feet or so higher than the new growth.
Early in the trip we had proclaimed that we would find a moose no matter what. Canada wasn’t any help, Yellowstone was no help, so we went south to the Grand Tetons. We followed the road the ranger had recommended, but I had a hard time looking for moose. The mountains were so beautiful. The clouds covered the very top of the Tetons, but the views were still breath-taking.
We hit the Visitors Center at the south end of the park to see what gives…no animals spotted. They directed us to a route just south of the park. We pulled out maybe 100 feet from the Visitors’ Center there were two beauties just standing there waiting for us. Success!
We took this as a good sign and kept driving the recommended route. About 5 miles later, herds of bison in the distance. Check!
Then, as we headed back up around and toward the north again, a herd came right across the road in front of us. We sat through it for a while, but then there was a small break in the bison and Jason decided to drive through. I had a few fears that the van would be gored, but luckily they just looked at us. Also, bison = buffalo.
A few more of Bode’s shots from this day:
Since we’d seen all the wildlife on our checklist, we decided to hit the road. Outside of the Yellowstone, the trees go away and the rest of the way across Wyoming saw the occasional painted hill, but otherwise there wasn’t much. There’s a lot of road between Yellowstone/Tetons and South Dakota. A LOT OF ROAD!!!! We did witness a real cattle drive and cowboys, right on the highway.
We had to make the executive descision to bypass Colorado, where we hoped to visit some friends, but maybe we’ll swing back through before we head south of the border. It’s on the way from Texas to Mexico, right?
Posted on October 26, 2009 by jason
After a few stops for supplies, we headed south towards Yellowstone. There’s not much between Bozeman and the West Yellowstone border, but there is some really nice scenery. We headed straight for the park and on cue, we happened upon some elk wandering around. One male with 30 females… that’s pressure. On hikes, we felt like experts identifying the independently-movable dual-hooved tracks because of our prior elk education.
It’s places like this that make me wish I was a fly fisherman…Montana and Wyoming must be the fly-fishing capitals of the world. Since it’s pretty late in the season, the fly fisherman were about the only other folks around. In the distance, you could see guys just quietly casting in the river while a herd of elk grazed around them, steam vents blowing the distance. Kind of other-worldly.
1000 Yellowstone wonders are calling, look up and down and round about you!
- John Muir 1898
Yellowstone was the nation’s first national park. They have more hydrothermal features than anywhere on Earth – geysers, steam vents and bubbling mud pots everywhere. Fun fact – there are 500 geysers in the world and 300 are at Yellowstone. And, a bubbling mud pot sounds exactly like you think it should sound.
Old Faithful was a required stop and certainly worth seeing. The parking lot and visitor’s center dwarf the actual geyser, but that’s the way it goes, I suppose. There were maybe 30 other people around to see it go when we were there. She was faithful within 4 minutes. She now blows every 90 minutes or so and the rangers advise visitors on eruption times within 10 minute intervals.
Bode has been itching to use the ‘good’ camera more and more and we’ve now fully handed over the reins. He’s got a unique perspective on things from 3 feet off the ground and many of the past photos have been his. The photo of Angela and I below is probably one of our favorites of the trip. Sure, he cut off our heads, but he insisted it was the only way to get the shot of the geyser he wanted and include us in it. There’s something about it – we just like it. Symbolic maybe. You just never know how things are going to turn out, but it’s usually pretty great.
I think we crossed the Continental Divide 4 times on way down to our campsite at the southern tip of the park. It had been snowing and the temperature was dropping. It was interesting to see a distinctive line where the trees were flocked along a thermocline in the distance.
The best part of visiting in October is that there is no one here. Yellowstone – one of the most visited national parks – all to ourselves. Zero people at our campsite. Camping at Yellowstone with no reservations and no neighbors. Cold, but recommended.
After dark, one person rolled into camp. Probably a fisherman who was just sleeping in the truck before an early start the next morning. We could occasionally hear the distinctive creak of an ice chest opening in the distance and that was the only sign of another person all night. We also heard a very loud owl.
The rangers told us that any downed or dead trees were fair game for firewood and I imagined a raging campfire this evening. It turned out that the ground had been scoured clean over the summer and there wasn’t much other than remnants from other campsites. Not a problem – we still had a nice fire and roasted marshmallows after a chilly chili dinner.
