Month: September 2018

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Glacier National Park…Grizzly Bears Change Our Hiking Plans!

After a day of riding the bicycle in  frigid temps we wanted to see what hiking opportunities there were.  A 13 mile hike that the guide pamphlet rated as moderately stressful and isolated seemed like the way to go.  After a good hour of hiking and taking some nice pics we ran into an obstacle:

Our first chosen path promised to show us a microcosm of what Glacier NP was all about. We were supposed to see 3 glaciers and be able to touch one of them but….
We wanted to make sure we were not one of those casualties discussed in the signage!
For whatever reason we had decided to carry our bear spray canister just in case. We had not practiced with it but were aware of how to use it after reading the literature on it.
From a safe distance we noticed what looked like a “moving rock”. We kept watching and discerned it to be a brown bear eating it’s lunch. We had seen a black bear on the side of the road yesterday while cycling but these grizzlies were much larger in stature. Can you pick it out?
Here is a closer shot. We did inch a bit closer making as much noise as we could but our noise did not seem to phase the bear.

The grizzly did seem to move up the slope and away from the trail after a while so we ventured even a bit closer until……..we saw another grizzly eating behind a tree.  At that point we decided to abort the hike and leave them to their lunch.

This was a nice view we had on the way back to the truck.

We decided to take two more hikes, each one around 4 miles.  We hoped we could still share the park with its wildlife and be a bit safer at the same time!

By mid afternoon the haze and clouds were burning off and the temps reached 60 for a while. We were a bit intrigued by this rock structure apparently blowing off steam if you look closely.
There were lots of good pictures to be taken on these two hikes.

We did employ the scooter to help us get from our second hike up to Logan Pass to find the beginning of the trail that went to Hidden Lake.

The tunnel went by a bit faster today on the scooter!
A quick look at the map as the lake still remained “hidden” after an hour of walking.
Laurie thinks she has the lake in her sights.  Is that a small glacier in the background?
It really was worth the walk! Beautiful lake.
So pretty it deserves another photo.
We did find a passerby to take our photo together.

Here are some other nice pictures we took on the way back to Logan Pass.

 

And finally, a nice panorama shot of St. Mary Lake near our campsite.

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Glacier National Park, Montana….A Bicycle Ride For The Ages!

When I was a teenager riding my bicycle across the country I decided not to ride the Going To The Sun Highway in Montana and stay a bit north of the Canadian border.  I have regretted that decision and promised myself that someday I would be back.  Today is the day!

On a chilly 35 degree morning we were ready to warm ourselves up riding up the 18 mile hill called Going To The Sun Highway in Glacier NP.
Glad we brought the “skull caps” with us as the ears were just a wee bit cold.
The first 8 miles were not very steep but boy was the scenery grand!
We did pull over at a few scenic overlooks to take pictures (not to rest mind you)
This was the only tunnel on the eastern part of the highway.  We could not figure out why they simply didn’t blow the rock away instead of burrowing out this short tunnel.  Very cool to ride through tough..
Such a nice panoramic view!
A lifelong dream of cycling to the top of Logan Pass on Going To The Sun Highway has been realized..
Looking down the road due west from the summit.  The western segment had been closed for the summer due to wild fires burning near by. It did reopen the day we cycled up but we will save that ride for our next visit to Glacier NP.

Notice the skinny tree stuck in the road. At first we thought it was a prankster or something but as we kept seeing them we figured the park put them there to help guide cars up or down the very steep and winding highway.

More views of Glacier National Park:

  

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Yellowstone National Park….The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Great hiking trail along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

We have never been to the Grand Canyon in AZ so have no idea how this compares but, my was it beautiful.
Beautiful view all around!
Nature finds its way!
The old saying goes….”like water under the bridge” but we can change that to “like water over the falls”.
During a different part of our day long hike we actually got to see all the water going over the falls.
This picture was taken right next to those lovely falls.
We wondered what it would be like to sit and slide down the canyon walls through the portal in the picture and into the water. I think that would be a one time only occurrence!
This old guy decided that the “eats” were better next to this guy’s tent in the campground than on the open range.
Pretty sure this was the same bison that loitered in our campground earlier in the morning. . We found him enjoying lunch as we left the campground.

These shots were taken on a different hike, further upstream on the Yellowstone River:

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Yellowstone National Park….Day 2

On day 2 we did a short hike up Elephant’s Back Trail to a wonderful view of Yellowstone Lake.  Then we did a driving tour of the large loop at the bottom of the park.  We both agreed that riding the tandem bike on the roads here would not be wise.  Very curvy roads and absolutely NO shoulder (not to mention all the folks driving huge RVs)

Sunrise at Bridge Bay Campground in the heart of Yellowstone.
After a nice hike up a beautiful path we were rewarded with this view of Yellowstone Lake. There was also another couple there who were happy to take our picture!
Here is a clearer view of Yellowstone Lake.
On our LONG drive around the bottom loop we kept pulling over at thermal events to take pictures. They are either classified as a geyser, hot spring, sulfur pot or mud volcano. This was called a geyser basin as there were many areas of thermal activity.
This is called the “Dragon’s Mouth Spring”. I think you can see why. Probably the single most interesting feature we saw at Yellowstone.
Another breath of “fire”.
We are not sure about the name but figure it is because of the acidic nature of the area? Very pretty though.
This area had a sign posted that it “blew up” many years ago and eliminated all the vegetation. We decided not to stick around too long waiting for another eruption.
The  mud volcanoes were bubbling. We would not like to fall into one of them.
The smell of sulfur was everywhere in the park but boy, are the hot springs beautiful.

Here are few pictures of the elk we saw today:

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Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming….Day 1

We were not sure if any park would beat the scenery of the Tetons but we were willing to give it a try in a few more northern parks before we get snowed out.  As the Tetons and Yellowstone are only a literal “Yellowstone’s” throw away from each other, why not check out Yellowstone?  Of course, as the ranger at the visitors center said “Old Faithful is a must as it is on everyone’s ‘chore’ list”.

In our minds we figured to fight off thousands of visitors to see Old Faithful but this crowd was easy to deal with. Very cool eruption indeed!

We actually prepped for this wonderful sight by having breakfast at the Old Faithful Inn.  A really cool log structure with all sorts of neat architecture etc.  It is billed as the largest log structure in the world.  When we were done, we found that we could sit on their porch and watch Old Faithful so we would not have to deal with the throngs of folks getting off the tour buses.

Who is that guy not wearing hiking/biking clothes?
Oh what would we pay to have this clock on our mantle at home. Oh yeah, we don’t have a stone chimney to put it on!
Laurie is relaxing a bit before we head out on the hike du jour.

The hike of the day was to Fairy Falls and Imperial Geyser:

We are not sure why this is called Fairy Falls but my is it pretty. As it is a 12 mile round trip to see it there were not many folks there.
No, that is not a really long selfie stick. There were a few souls who walked the 6 miles in to check it out and they volunteered to take our picture..
We even dipped our hands into the warm creek that is just downstream of the Geyser. The water there was hot but not scalding anymore.
The path from Fairy Falls to Imperial Geyser was lined with Autumn colors.
We had Imperial Geyser all to ourselves. It erupted for a few minutes, stopped, and then after a few seconds of silence, it would erupt again. Not as powerful as Old Faithful but there was no one else there to see it!
We decided to walk this path up a huge, steep hill only to find out it wasn’t a people path at all. It turned into a herd path shortly after cresting the top. After walking on it for a while we found some bison resting and having lunch near a lily pond.
How many bison can you see?
On the way back we stopped to take a picture of what is called the Grand Prismatic. One can see it from the road so that is where all the people were today. The colors are absolutely amazing…..and I am shade colorblind!
We found a heart-shaped geyser! (All I need to do is Photoshop an R&L into the center of it)  Check the clarity of the water. The hole in the middle is actually very deep.

 

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Grand Teton National Park: A Hike to Bradley Lake

 

We went on a shorter 7 mile hike to visit Bradley Lake and Taggart Lake.  We simply cannot get enough of the views we see with the jagged peaks of the Tetons in the background!

I knew Laurie was up to something!

Great view through the pine forest.

You will notice the haze surrounding all the mountains.  This was caused in part by smoke from wild fires out west.  This was about as clear as we saw over our 3 days in the Tetons:

Lunch time at Bradley Lake. We could have stayed there all afternoon including a nice nap but…..
This little critter was so hungry he seemed to be eating the pebbles!
I think he phoned ahead to a relative on the beach that there were people coming. This guy was not very shy. No feeding the wildlife though.

A few more wonderful views of the Tetons near Taggart Lake:

The water in the rivers and streams around here is cold and incredibly clean. We still need to purify it before drinking as who knows what animal may have been bathing in it?
Okay, one final view of the Tetons but check out the fencing that the National Park Service created here and all over the park.
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Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming….Day 1

After hearing about the Tetons for years both of us were very excited to visit the park.  After a relaxing drive across Wyoming we lucked into a nice campsite at Colter Bay Campground inside the park.  From there we took 3 nice hikes and a short bike ride.

The Tetons are the youngest mountain range in the Rocky Mountain Chain. They have no foothills but simply jut up out of the ground spectacularly. We will not be climbing any of these but will make it a significant way up to visit their peaks.
Just before entering the park we crossed the Continental Divide for the first time on the trip. This is the imaginary line that winds generally north-south in North America. The water that lands on the east side will reach the Atlantic Ocean and the lucky water drops that land on the west side will reach the Pacific Ocean.
Why wouldn’t Laurie smile? The marina at Colter Bay on Jackson Lake was a great place for a rest during our bike ride.
This was the view of our upcoming hike. We would hike 8.5 miles up the valley between the two Tetons. I suppose we will also have to walk back.
It is still a long hike but we are getting there right?
Boy that is a long hike just to get close to the summits!
We trusted that the huge boulders would once again stay put while we took the picture.
Check out the trust we are putting in those huge boulders!
Notice the Autumn colors in the foreground. It is only the first week of September!
What a great spot for lunch! No slipping though.
We finally found Bullwinkle on our hike! The first moose since New Hampshire.
Roy says: “Man that is a long way to the top”
An 8 hour, 17 mile trek gave us beautiful views of the Tetons up close and a wonderful day of all around scenery.
Many lakes provide an opportunity for boat enthusiasts to view the Tetons.

 

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Wind Cave…..The Actual Cave

When in Rome…..The saying goes….Do as the Romans do.  Well, when in Wind Cave National Park, you must actually tour the park’s namesake.  We were thoroughly impressed with this cave tour.  It was much different than Howe’s Caverns back home in New York.

This was the actual entrance used in the 1800s to access the cave. It measures only 1 foot by 2 feet.
Today the wind was blowing out, notice Laurie’s hair. The cave exhales on days where the air pressure is higher on the inside of the cave and it inhales when the air pressure is higher on the outside.

We found a larger opening! For some really cool statistics about the cave depth, around 650 feet and number of miles of passageways, about 150 miles within a one square mile area of land! Visit: https://www.nps.gov/wica/learn/nature/wind-cave-natural-history.htm
These formations on the cave’s ceiling are called boxwork. They look like a post box in the lobby of a post office hence the name. They are extremely fragile so NO touching! And NO leaning or touching of the walls. They just  hand-picked over 300 pounds of lint off the walls to keep the cave pristine.
Our guide said there were 11 different exits from this particular big room in the cave. Not all of them have been explored yet.  There are still 1-2 new miles of cave mapped each year. They are always looking for people who want to become cave explorers!

Here are some cool pictures of the cave we took during our tour:

    

Our guide pointed to that small opening in one of the caves “big rooms”. She said that back in college she would  crawl up into it and go exploring. Not sure I could get through that little hole, never mind any further?

 

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Wind Cave National Park….Then Where Has Dando Gone This Past Week?

 

We named him Chumley. Looks like he had a smile on his face?

We spent a very nice 3 days in Wind Cave National Park.  The park is tucked neatly into the Southeastern corner of South Dakota.  We took two very nice hikes and a nice bike ride before entering the park’s namesake…..The Wind Cave.  We then traversed the state of Wyoming to find The Tetons National Park and Yellowstone National Park.  We spent 3 wonderful days at each place but there was no WiFi signal to be found anywhere.  We suppose that was a nice respite from technology but we realized we are in desperate need of solar panels to keep our battery on the camper charged.  We do have a generator but hate using it around other campers as it does make noise even when it is on eco-mode.

This big guy didn’t seem to mind us walking right by him on the path……
…..or did he?
Who’s that knocking on my door? Some prairie dogs are more social than others.
Can you hear the conversation before this encounter? You go over there and look cute. After a while they will give you some food and you will share it with me right? Make sure not to get stuck under the wheels!
Got to get some information before heading our on our ride.
Could you imagine a collision with one of these on a bicycle?
This must be where all the bikes involved with wildlife collisions go?
This “little” critter hitched a ride with Laurie for a while.
This hardy tree must have been trampled by a herd of bison years ago as its trunk was lying on the ground and the root system seems to have headed south into the ground in search of water.
Although we gave this bison a wide berth he seemed uninterested in us as he was evidently in love with the trail marker post?
Nature is amazing! How this tree managed to grow out of that rock we don’t know. The hole in the rock on the right must be home for some really big animal in the winter.
There were multiple very large bird nests on the cliffs that bordered our hike. Not sure what types of birds but they were very active indeed.
Roy is not sure what apparition is following him?

 

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The Badlands National Park

After visiting both the North and South Units of Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota we didn’t figure on seeing anything that would rival it and even wondered what the Grand Canyon would have on them……..The Badlands of South Dakota were astonishingly beautiful!  We tried a few shots with the panoramic setting on the new phone and we think they look nice:

As we entered the park we immediately pulled off and took this picture and figured our day ahead would be beautiful!
That is one trusting mother pronghorn antelope! Maybe she is just making sure that junior does not fall off his perch and into the road?
Our dream ride! We could not imagine the wind shear on this rig as the winds were easily 30 mph all day.
Nice shoulders for cycling but the 30 mph winds kept us on the hiking trails this day.
This pair of bighorn sheep was very polite as they waited for traffic (us) to pass on the road before they ventured across.
What would Yogi Berra say here? When you find a fork in the road….take it!
The storms around here look ominous but never seem to materialize. Notice the hawk looking for a meal.
These two fellas need a haircut badly!
The kiosk said the first 1/4 mile would be a doozy! It was almost vertical at points and even more fun on our way back down a few hours later.

Check out some of the beautiful scenery that surrounded us all hike long:         

We made it very clear to each other not to sit on this at our lunch spot!
This lonely flower caught our attention. So pretty.
Laurie says goodbye to the Badlands after a nice day.