Friday, October 19, 2012

Yellowstone National Park

..and then came Yellowstone.  Miles and miles of discovery.  Miles and miles of road and pine forests.

Elk, black bear, grizzlies, pronghorn, mule deer, ravens, eagles, osprey, waterfalls, sulfur pits, Old Faithful.

Did I say...a week is definitely not enough time.

We stayed in the Mammoth Springs Hotel.  The rooms have no tv, no radio and no bathroom.  You share a restroom/shower area with an entire floor of rooms.  We were there at the peak of opening season, peak of baby season, and although we had to share the facilities with an entire floor, only once during our stay there did I have to wait an extra five minutes to get into the shower.  I never had to wait for the restroom itself.  We had no problem with noise and party people.  We had an awesome view the mountains around us.  Every day, right outside our window, right outside the hotel in the parking lot median area, were groups of elk.  Very very inspirational.  I still....don't want to come home.  I still sense the feelings I had while I was there.


This corner of the park definitely is the place to see (oh my gosh, I forgot to add Bison to my list above...truly the most abundant animal in the park) the wildlife.  I believe we drove every road in the park while we were there and this northeast corner has the most to offer from a wildlife viewing point if you are trying to do it from your car.  I highly recommend you get out from behind the wheel though and hike the trails.  It took us three days to see a black bear.It took us two and hiking on the back trails to get some awesome opportunities to get up close with the bighorn sheep,pronghorn and other little furry critters that entertained us.  We found one trail that followed a portion of the river that wasn't used much where I discovered all kinds of bird life that I had not seen anywhere else in the park..including a pair of mandarin ducks.

The last half of our week there, we moved to the Canyon Creek cabins.  They are not stand alone cabins.  More like duplexes...with thin walls.  We didn't have much of a view there and check in was long and way past normal check in time..but we had our own bathroom in our room.  The area there was under renovation but it didn't really pose a problem as you don't tend to spend a lot of time right there.  The cafeteria food was good and reasonable, quick and easy and all we needed.

It was this part of the park that we saw grizzlies...early early in the morning.  There are large open field areas where there were always entertainment from the bison and that is also were we discovered black and white coyotes.  A pair of each.
The Grand Canyon area of Yellowstone is awesome to see with the waterfalls and if you are lucky you will find ospreys nesting at the top of rocks in the middle of the canyon.  That in itself was worth the view.

If you have a lot of energy...I highly recommend the Elephant Back trail but...note...it is a climb.  We would climb five minutes and take a break...meanwhile, some young man that apparently lived nearby...jogged...yes...jogged past us on the way up.  Jogged?  Really??  And I thought I was fit!!!  This trail presented us with entertaining squirrels and fox and an absolutely 'to die for' view of Yellowstone Lake.

So again...please do find time to get out from behind the wheel.  The experience is so much more worth it.

Yes, we saw Old Faithful.  The food was good while we waited.  It was an experience to see all the people waiting...for a five or ten minute view of water spewing out of the ground.  I'm glad I experienced it.  Would I do it again?  Probably not...unless I do it at a time in the evening when it is lit up.  I think that might have been more inspirational for me...but it really is just personal preference.

The first few days we were there, the temperatures were in the 70s..and yet we were still able to enjoy some of the snowcapped mountain views around us.  Mid week when we moved to the Canyon area, we woke to freezing temperatures and light new dusting of snow...as we travelled up into the higher areas of the park, on narrow roads, but this is truly the one most beautiful view and experience that i will not forget about my trip to Yellowstone.    I'm glad it didn't 'dump' on us and close the park down...but so glad it did the bit of dusting that it did.

Definitely... a trip I will have to plan again.  This was a discovery trip and I know what I would do different next time.

You may, of course, email me, if you have any questions via the comment section of my post.

Happy travels.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Bighorn National Forest

Although we were headed for the northwest entrance for our hotel in Yellowstone National park, we took the road in on the east side of Yellowstone to then enter on the north east corner and work our way across the north route through the park.  This east route to the park took us through The Bighorn National Forest.  Another must see.

Note...it is a slower route also because you literally wind up through the mountains. If you have the time, please take this route.  Although Yellowstone is known for it's wildlife, we saw no moose in Yellowstone and it was one of our main goals for this trip.  We saw moose as we drove this easterly route through The Bighorn National Forest.  If you are travelling with an RV...be sure you have a full tank of gas because I can only imagine how much you will use on this route.  Again, it is literally climbing up and around..and around...and around.  Be sure to stay on your side of the road.

 Be sure to stop and visit at the Shell Falls Interpretive Site.  The water fall is extraordinary.  This stop also provides a wonderful opportunity to watch the hummingbirds at the feeders right at the parking area.  There is a gift shop and Park Rangers to answer all your questions.
 Enjoy the view all around you...below you...
 ahead of you. Yes, those white capped mountains...The Rockies...are quite a way off from where this was taken.  Awesomely magical.
 One of the many moose we saw on this route.
 I did state early on in these posts....that a week is way not enough time!!!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

The Badlands

 The Badlands National Park in South Dakota is worth the little side trip off of 90 going through South Dakota.  I highly, highly recommend you go through there either at sunrise or sunset as it truly brings out the reds of the rock.  When I think about it...and if I remember correctly, sunset will probably be the best as most of the redder, rockier hills are on the east side of the road if you are driving through from the main entrance area.  The above was taken late afternoon but as we drove through and the sun started setting the rocks really showed their color.
 Drive through slowly and watch all around.  You never know what wonders Mother Nature will share with you.  We thought we would see much more wildlife in the matter of pronghorns, mule deers, but the most abundant were, of course, the prairie dogs.  There is one section of the road that on the west, north side of the road (sorry, terrible at the directional thing but I believe it was the more northwest direction) that the prairie dogs have a large colony and will be right up close to the road.  There are a few spots where you can pull over for a bit and watch their fun antics....as they watch you.
We were there at the very beginning of June...in time to see a Pronghorn mom with her newborn...well, it was probably about 48 hours old.  It was amazing to watch it at a distance as it sunk down amidst the sage brush to hide...from whatever.  It blended so well into the landscape.

Definitely a place I will visit again some day...at a slower pace, closer to sunset.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Sioux Falls South Dakota

Our road trip from the eastern edges of Wisconsin westward to Yellowstone brought a lot of sleepless hours as we found we didn't want to miss a thing not having visited this part of the country before.d

Going westward through Wisconsin brought some hillier, rockier landscapes that were refreshing from the normal low rolling hills of Wisconsin farmlands.  The Mississippi River Valley was breathtaking and refreshing.

Onward through the southern edges of Minnesota brought miles and miles of highway bordered by what seemed like endless, flat, fields of agriculture...on both sides.  I can't say that much else really stood out on that southerly route.  Our goal was to make it the Black Hills of South Dakota before we bedded down for the evening.  It was a long thirteen hour plan, this we knew. Not being in a rush, we made a couple major stops to break up the day.

The first was the above, Sioux Falls South Dakota.  We heard there was a nice waterfall in town.  Yes, right dab in the middle of the city.  An awesome waterfall park dappled with old architecture that used to be an electric producing factory. Sioux Falls itself, definitely shows its age and I can't say much else caught our eye except the awesomeness of the falls.  Did I say it was right dab in the middle of the city?

The falls are surrounded by park area where one can walk around throughout the grounds.  It was an awesomely wonderful day and many were there picnicking on the grounds or just stretched out on blankets enjoying the view and the sound of the water.

The cafe at the top was a cute cafe where the manager was very concerned about the clientele.  They were out of some of their 'famous burgers' the day we were there and had to wait a bit for our meal to find out they had given it to someone else. When the manager saw us standing around he confronted us and solved the problem right away.  Most places would have just said 'your meal will be out shortly' and then walked away.  You can sit on the patio which has an awesome view of the entire park.

Parking is free.  Cute little seven lined squirrels scampering around...for us nature lovers.  There was even a wedding party there have pictures taken which was awesome. There is a light show at night which I understand isn't the best except in the winter months when it is done up for the holidays.

Another highlight of mine...being that nature lover that I am and a really big fan of the Robin was this little lady who seemed to be perfectly okay congregating with the human life on 'her patio'. I've never seen a Robin be so close to human ramblings.

I highly recommend Sioux Falls South Dakota as a rest stop for a road trip from east to west or vice versa.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Yellowstone or Bust


I turned 55 this year.  To me, it is a scary year.  Scarier than 30. Scarier than 40.  Scarier than 16. Scarier than....

I hope I make it to 75.  I'll be happy if I make it to 75.

I woke up one morning early this year and thought...okay...it is time to make that bucket list and to start to tackle it.  I can't keep this on hold any longer (and yet...I feel my life in many ways is on hold and hopefully my home will sell soon so I can put it back in forward again).

I'm a member of a couple different camera clubs and one in particular has a lot of mention of Yellowstone National Park.  It wasn't difficult to figure out that it was probably the most interesting and easiest to get to at this point with my current location being in the midwest.  Only a two full thirteen hour days drive away.  I love road trips.  I was going.  With or without someone by my side.  I am glad I was not alone...but I would have done it alone.

What an awesome trip.  We headed out of Wisconsin through the northwest corner travelling the southern edges of Minnesota and on into Sioux Falls SD, and on into the east of Wyoming, travelling through the Badlands, the Bighorn National Forest and into the northeastern entrance of Yellowstone.  From a landscape perspective, I believe Bighorn National Forest and Badlands was right up there and, at points, even more impressive than Yellowstone.

Yellowstone was filled with it's share of wildlife and yet we had a nice share of wildlife also in Bighorn National Forest (more abundant with moose) and the Badlands (prairie dogs and Pronghorn).

Yellowstone is abundant with Bison and Elk, and Mule deer.  We had to hike to find the mountain goats and it took us three days to see the bear.  We saw coyotes and black wolves.  The bison, elk, mule deer and goats all had young ones.  This was the first week in June.  We were probably a little late for some of them but there were enough to really get the excitement of the wildlife.

I highly recommend booking in advance and if going at this prime spring time of the year, book at Mammoth Springs. The wildlife is most abundant along this Lamar Valley of the park.  We also stayed at Canyon Lodge in the cabins at the end of our stay which is where we saw the wolves and coyotes, large elk along the road and grizzly bears.

We meandered from there on down to the Grand Tetons for a day trip and definitely will venture back there again some other time for a longer stay.  They are definitely a site to see.  There I felt the landscape was much prettier than Yellowstone.  Yellowstone had it's spots but there are so many areas covered with downed trees that it took away from the view sometimes.  Don't get me wrong, it had some awesome spots and definitely a variety of ecological environments.  The sulphur springs were amazing. The waterfalls were breathtaking.  To me, the prettiest view I had in Yellowstone was the one above.

After the first few days there with highs in the mid 70s, we woke to move to the Canyon Lodge Cabins on Wednesday morning in below freezing temperatures and light snowfall that dusted the earth in just enough snow to make you realize how powerful Mother Nature is.

Breathtaking.  Refreshing. Inspiring.

On our way back, we went west out of the park in search of a wildlife preserve hopefully harboring moose in Idaho, back up through Montana and North Dakota and northern region of Minnesota.  All of this we crammed into a week.

Please...take more than a week and appreciate what the earth has to offer.

More to follow.


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Have I said.... I love to travel.  I love nature and the wilderness.  The beach. The city. Unique and unusual places and things.  I want to see the world.

I've lived in seven states, been through more than I can count on my fingers and toes.  I've been abroad to Europe and even lived for a year and half in Okinawa.

Follow me....back in time to the places I have visited that I am able to share with you.

Follow me...in to the future...as I discover more of the world as it is today, tomorrow and for as long as I can travel.

Please be patient.  All I need to do now...to move forward...is find that perfect tall, dark, handsome, rich person that will support my rambling habits!!!

Ah heck, who really needs that.  All I really need is the pot of gold.  Let's start the search for the richness the world has to offer.