July 30 - More of Yellowstone

 Another early start.  To get to one of the most promising areas for critter sightings, I needed to get myself over to Lamar Valley, but that was about 2 hours away from our campground...  I couldn't quite bring myself to a 4am alarm, but I did get up at 5:30am, and turns out, that worked pretty well.  A lot of animals were in position and ready for me by the time I arrived in the valley...!  This was an early sighting, before it was really even light out - an elkling.

 The other car and I weren't the only ones crossing over this Yellowstone River bridge!

 It was funny watching this guy swing his head back and forth, with very exaggerated motions.  Here, he wasn't really looking at me so much as I caught his head swing in my direction!

 It was just a few minutes later that I (and a bunch of other people!) came across this herd of bison.  You can see how some of them are still in transition to their summer coats.

 Baby bison.

 Nothing like a good roll!  Kick up those heels and throw some dust around!  Mmm, good!

The most impressive part of hanging out near the bison were the big potent males, trying their best to convince the ladies of their superiority.  Huffing and puffing, swaggering, thrashing any trees who dared be in their way - as this one dared.  Maybe it's just because I'm a female, but I was impressed!

 One of the best parts of this morning was the patch of antelope I spotted in the sagebrush, very close to the road. 

 Most of them were laying down so no one else had discovered them yet. 

 A little head-butting practice...

 Given the chance to see them more up-close, you might say they are a little funny-looking...

 "Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam, where the deer and the antelope play..."

 It's a family thing...

 At another stop, where there was a guy with a serious video camera (turns out he shoots for Nat. Geo.), I tried to see the wolf he had seen just before I got there.  I never did see his wolf, but I did see this antelope crossing the river, who seemed to also be seeing the invisible wolf!

 OK, here's the "dot picture."  See that brown dot just above and to the right of the bushes?  Well that's a griz!  There were three or four of them out that morning, but this was as good a photo as any I got of them!  Just too far away to pull in with my 400mm!

 Nice backdrop though, eh?

 Bison and Rock.

 Bison and Tree.

 The Yellowstone River.

 Flowers on the way back, enroute to Dunraven Pass.

 Up on Chittenden Rd to Washburn Mt.

 The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

 Falls at the Grand Canyon.

 "On the way" back, I went to the Fairy Falls parking area and took the trail to the hill where you can clamber up and get as close to an aerial view of the Grand Prismatic Springs as possible, lacking an airplane or helicopter.

 Pretty cool look-out, yeah?  That hill's a dusty, straight-up adventure.  If you ask me, they should put in a formal trail as practically everyone knows about it and does it, but since there's no established path, they thrash the whole hill.  But then, you didn't ask me (and neither did "they"), so...

Back at the campground, the lake was swarming with ospreys, busy fishing.  The light was good (well, occasionally it was - between clouds!), and sometimes the ospreys got kind of close.  So it was a good time to try a little bird photography.  I need a lot more practice and a longer lens, but it was fun trying!  

July 29 - Disappeared into The Annals of Vacation History

I have no idea and no record of this day.  I believe, however, that it was (nearly completely) spent vacuuming the RV...!  (no photos enclosed!)

July 28 - W. Yellowstone & The Park

 On our first full day, we went into town, picked up our general delivery mail, and visited the Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center.  At the latter, we watched "Spirit" enjoy the nicely-done exhibit and entertain the guests with occasional close-ups and various antics such as...

 scratching one's hiney on a tree...

 or searching for goodies (looked like a tangerine had escaped its hiding spot and rolled out into the open by the rocks on the right - Spirit soon found it and ate it!) as part of the habitat enrichment the keepers do.  This guy was obviously living the good life and had adapted to his new settings.  Most of the bears at this place have, unfortunately, become "trouble bears."  Because of ignorant, careless humans, they have accessed easy, tasty human food one too many times.  And rather than be killed, these lucky few at least get to live out their years in comfort and ease - thanks to entry fees/donations by visitors - so go visit:  http://www.grizzlydiscoveryctr.com/!  (they have wolves there too, but you know, a CarrieBearie's bias would be towards the bears!)

 I heard a few bear bells on fellow hikers, but mostly what I found was no noisemakers were necessary on the popular trails (I did go on one lesser-used trail outside of The Park, and I made occasional noises, just in case - but no bells)!!  The endless chatter of hiking groups on these crowded paths was more than enough to warn any wildlife away well in advance!!

 One exhibit at the center featured...trash cans!  Their bears participate in design testing!  Especially smelly goodies are placed in the various trash containers and the bears do their part and try to break in.  If, after 90 minutes, the bear has not succeeded, the container is certified as bear-resistant, and you probably have a grumpy, frustrated bear!  Otherwise, the bear is happy, but the trash can is not a good one for bear country!

 A Carrie and A Bearie!

Man, this guy is a real animal lover, eh?!  Some of you might recall a certain photo from our Carlsbad, NM, visit last year - where he was caught kissing a bat statue!

 OK, now to the good stuff!  Here's our first real stop in The Park.  This is the run-off from one of the little pools (Silex Spring, I believe) by the boardwalk around the Fountain Paint Pot area in the Lower Geyser Basin.

 A pretty little geyser (that fount is only a few feet tall) in the same area - I'm not sure what this one's name was (OK, I think I figured it out - Clepsydra Geyser).  Hard to keep them all straight - there are reportedly over 10,000 geothermal features in Yellowstone!!!  And I believe it!  There are pools, springs, vents, fumaroles, geysers, and other steaming, spitting, and stinking things all over the place here!  It's wonderful!

 And I thought this was the Celestine Pool (when looking up this stuff on-line, I found that this was one of the pools that someone dove into - to save a dog - and died hours later as a result...).  Like in a Nathaniel Hawthorne story, beautiful but deadly!  But now I realize I don't know what pool this is!  I can't find a matching photo and can't figure it out!  Oh well, blame it on the next vision of greatness - this next one eclipses all the others - even on-line!

 Folks appreciating the Grand of the Grand - the Grand Prismatic Spring (in the Midway Geyser Basin), undoubtedly one of the most amazing and beautiful sights in all of Yellowstone.  Thus, all the photos that follow!

 No saturation required!  These colors pop on their own - they are realistically unreal/naturally unnatural!  (but a polarizer was used)

 Check out all the foot/hoof?prints in the orange part, probably bison?

Excelsior Glacier - another awesome sight, near the Grand Prismatic.

July 27 - Moving on...to Yellowstone!

 Leaving the Teton area, we drove through these amazing acres and acres of growing, glowing green crops.

 If you look real close, you'll see a little Scratty face peeking out from under the pillows (right above Ouray).  Usually, as soon as she sees the cues that indicate a moving day, she pops back behind the couch.  We're not sure why she "hides" back there during the ride, because she didn't do such a thing with our other motor home.  But somehow this RV has her seeking out her cave - but ONLY when we're traveling!  If we stop in a rest area and walk the critters, she pops back out, being sure not to miss out on her turn!  And on this day, during the drive, she decided to come out part-way and hung out like that the whole time.  Funny kitty!

 For this part of our trip, we stayed in the West Yellowstone area at a campground called Yellowstone Holiday RV Park, right along Hebgen Lake.  Here, Tractor gets a load of the lake!

And here the doggies explore the yet undeveloped area next to our campground.

July 26 - Cascade Canyon hike

Oh boy, behind on blogging again!!!  I wouldn't get so behind so often if a) blogging was more fun than exploring, hiking, and photography and b) I didn't have to commit so much time to other things - groceries, vacuuming, laundry, cooking, finding our next place to live, and moving days - oh, and eating and sleeping...!  But here I am again, so let's finish up on the Tetons!

 On this Tuesday, I planned on hiking a popular trail in the Grand Teton National Park.  So, while I was at it, I figured I might as well also get up early and try for the Oxbow Bend shot again.  Unfortunately, the clouds and sun did not cooperate for a grand photo, once again.  But it was pretty anyways.

Then, on to Mormon Row.  First, a stop to revisit the flowers.  It was amazing to see how fast the blooms had come and gone!

 But there were still enough for photos if you pointed it the right way!

 One of the famous Mormon barns.

 And another, less photographed, one that I like just as well.

 One of their cool visitor centers.

The Cascade Canyon hike could be started at the south end of Jenny Lake, or you could take a boat ride over to the western shore and shave about 4 miles off the roundtrip mileage - hmm, guess which way I chose!  Yep, the boat ride was fun too!

 After visiting the crowded Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point stops, the trail did indeed enter a canyon -  impressive rock walls and peaks on both sides. 

 From written, on-line descriptions, I had been led to believe that once past the two main attractions, the hiker density of this trail would drop significantly.  Not so!!!  That was, to be honest, the worst part of this trail.  I love to get into nature for the solitude, the quiet beauty and peace.  I had also brought my bear spray along, just in case some of the more aggressive or hungry natural beauty came after me.  What a joke!  Completely unnecessary!!  No self-respecting bear would visit this trail during the summer!!  I don't think there was ever a time when I could look in front of, or behind, me and not see people!  And I ended up taking lots of group photos for folks - and some returned the favor.

Some gorgeous water in the Cascade Creek!

 And this water is COLD!  It ended up being a much hotter day than forecast, and apparently I wasn't the only one whose radiator was running low.  I saw some brave people go completely underwater here - but they popped out pretty quick too!  All I did was wade in and get my hair wet (and fill water bottles - I didn't filter or treat the water, it was flowing fast and was a good water year - and I did just fine), and my feet were killing me from the cold within seconds!

 Some peaks on the Teton side, but I'm not sure which peak is which.  Potentials would be the Grand Teton, Mt. Owen, and Teewinot Mtn.

 Most Teton columbines I saw were white, but here is one that is light lemon and pale peach.

 The hike out.

 More pretty water views.  OK, here I have to mention the bears again - and the moose.  I did not see a single one of either animal!  But I heard from other hikers that they had "just seen one 20 minutes up the trail," etc.  A lot of good that did me!  Bum luck on the animal sightings!

 And this water did serve as a lifesaver on my way out.  Getting cooled off and rehydrated made a new woman out of me - well, almost!  At least it helped me limp out the last few miles.  This hike was longer than I'd gathered.  About 9 miles and 2000' gain.  Next time, I'd better pay more attention to those logistical details!

 The view back over Jenny Lake, looking east from above the boat dock.

A cute critter on my way back - a golden mantle squirrel - stuffing his cheeks with grass seed or some such.  This was my BIG animal sighting for the day...!! 

And with this, we will conclude our chapter on the Tetons.  It's been a fabulous stay in a truly gorgeous place.

But one final note...or one final rant...!?!  About that new bike path they're putting in at the park?  I stopped and asked someone in the know.  $20 million.  Money well-spent????  During these times?!!  From federal grants, most notably Obama's reinvestment and recovery stimulus dollars...  Hmmm, I think most of you already know how I probably view this...