Yellowstone

Rita on the Beaver Ponds trail

We're just wrapping 5 days in Yellowstone - this time it was a Spring visit. We were here last September too, which seems to be the better time of year to visit. Most of the park is at an elevation of between 7,000 and 8,000 ft. so Spring tends to come late and leave early. The local saying is that there are two seasons in Yellowstone - 10 months of winter, then two months of tough sledding in July & August.

It was still a little drizzly and cold this week, although the weather cooperated for the most part (ie not too much rain) and the temperatures on the trail (mid 50's) made for pretty nice hiking conditions. There was some mud but not enough to turn us around on any trails, and the water level in the rivers & streams was quite high. There's a lot of bear activity this time of year since they're just emerging from winter hibernation & looking for food. For that reason some of the back country trails were closed, including one of our favorites - the Nez Perce Creek trail near Old Faithful - we hiked it last year and liked it so much we wanted to do it this time too, but after driving 50 miles to get to the trail head we found a sign at the entrance advising that it was closed because of foraging grizzly bear activity in the area. Not wanting to become bear poop we heeded the warning and went somewhere else.

There were lots of lower altitude options (lower than 7,000 ft that is) to choose from so we stuck close to the Mammoth area in the northern part of the park. Here are some photos of the treks.



It being early Spring in the park, the meadows were full of wildflowers. The yellow ones that Rita is standing in are called Arrowhead Balsamroot.




The Aspens were just leafing out too. A little further down the hill the cottonwood trees were sending out their seeds - something they were doing when we left Vancouver nearly two months ago.


On the Trail to the Beaver Ponds


Lots of nice views along the trail, especially those along the high plains on the Wyoming-Montana border



This pretty meadow is usually home to grazing buffalo, elk, and deer



Came across this "Trail Marker" on one of the hikes along the Yellowstone River. This big elk bull obviously didn't make it thru the winter and became a meal for one of the grizzlies.


Creature sightings: we finally stopped taking buffalo pictures because we saw so many, but here are a few animals that we hadn't seen before.


This little guy is a Rock Marmot - usually rather shy, but he popped up to check us out as we passed by on the trail. We were about 5 miles into the back country so he probably wasn't used to company.



This is a Uinta ground squirrel. They're similar to prairie dogs but don't group together quite like the prairie dogs do, although you usually see several together.

During one of our hikes we happened upon a baby ground squirrel that apparently got disoriented and stayed just ahead of us on the trail for several yards as we proceeded on. We stopped to let him escape into the brush and get back into his den, but instead he turned around and approached us - trying to figure out what we were I guess. He actually hopped right up to my hiking boot, at which time I was considering what I was going to do if he made a dash up my pants leg, when he finally lost interest and bolted into the sagebrush. Made for an interesting interlude on the trail.



Saw a LOT of elk this week, including these two cows that watched us pass by one day. Not too skittish, but did move off into the trees if we stopped to watch them.



This coyote was cleaning up some previous road kill as we drove by (and trying not to become road kill himself in the process). We had seen lots of scat on the trails but this was the first live one we saw. They forage near the ground squirrel colonies looking for easy meals. Based upon all of the fur we saw in the Coyote poop they're apparently pretty successful at it.

We didn't complete one of our hikes until after 5 PM after we got a late start one day. We were surprised at the number of animals that were out in what was basically twilight - really had to be careful on the roads, especially since the tourists are famous for just stopping suddenly for no reason (in the middle of a two lane road) to watch whatever critter is nearby. They must have about twenty rear-end collisions a day here. It's as if some of these folks leave their brains at home when they go on vacation.

Heading out tomorrow for the last leg of the trip back to Vancouver. Going to take the scenic route thru the mountains of western Montana & Idaho - along the route that Lewis & Clark passed in 1805 enroute to the Pacific, and which was also the route of the Nez Perce in 1877 as they fled the US Army. Should be home the evening of the 19th.

The Black Hills

Distant View of Rushmore from the Trail

On our last day in the area we took a scenic drive thru the Black Hills National Forest and stopped to visit the Crazy Horse Memorial that's being carved (ie blasted) into a mountain near Mt. Rushmore. The artist has been at it since 1948, and his family is carrying on the work after he passed away several years ago. The intention is to create a monument to Native Americans similar to that recognizing the 4 Presidents nearby. No idea when it's going to be completed. As you can see from the photos only the face of Crazy Horse is complete. Per the model he'll eventually be seen astride his horse pointing towards the lost lands of his people. The Black Hilld were (and are) sacred to Native Americans, and Crazy Horse was something of a spiritual presence among the Indians, so the two are blended here as a suitable memorial to the Indian peoples of North America.


The Original Deadwood Stage on Display at the Memorial

The town of Deadwood is only a few miles north - and is the place where Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane held forth in the 1880's, and where Wild Bill took a bullet in the back while playing poker one afternoon in the local saloon. When he died he was holding two pair - Aces & eights - known ever after as the "Dead Man's Hand". Coincidentally, that was our squadron logo in VS-28 many years ago.

Here's the model for the carving on the Mountain

The scale of the Crazy Horse Memorial is really tremendous - all four of the heads on Mt. Rushmore will fit into the space occupied by Crazy Horse's head!


The Black Hills were gorgeous. The drive took us thru Custer State Park, which was full of creatures large & small. Took us half a day to drive 30 miles because we kept stopping at scenic points along the way. Tried to do a short hike but didn't get too far because of the muddy conditions. Still, we've added the Black Hills to our "return someday" list - it's just too pretty, with numerous world class hikes, not to come back for a longer stay.

Creature sightings: The place was like a little Garden of Eden, with herds of Pronghorns, Buffalo, Donkeys (released years ago), elk, and deer everywhere, along with scores of Prairie Dog Villages along the way. Used to think they were rare, but we lost count of the number after a while - it was pleasant just to watch them scurry around from hole to hole, barking at us the whole time.



The Buffalo had just given birth to the Spring calves a week or two earlier


Lots of Pronghorns, but usually in ones and twos. Didn't see any large herds, but they were everywhere


Must have seen about a million of these little guys


Yellowstone is next. Will be staying in Gardiner, Montana just outside the north entrance. Hope the weather cooperates - we'd like to hike some miles on the beautiful trails we remember from last September.

Mt. Rushmore & the Badlands

The Entrance to the Memorial

We arrived in Rapid City, South Dakota this afternoon after the long drive across Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The weather has been pretty rainy and cold for June - jacket weather wherever we've been - but not too bad for driving. We actually have been making better time than we anticipated during the planning for the trip so we were able to drive up to Mt. Rushmore today after a short detour for a scenic drive thru Badlands National Park.


Not the Prettiest Day for a Photo, but you get the idea


The rain let up just as we were walking up from the parking lot so we were able to go on the "Presidential Walk" up to and around the base of the monument...only about .75 miles but a nice nature walk nevertheless. Stopped off in the restaurant to have a snack and a cup of hot chocolate - both of which tasted pretty good on a raw, rainy day.





Badlands National Park was pretty scenic too - all the recent rain had greened up the grass on the prairies so the place looked pretty lush - not exactly the usual state of things we gather. Saw a few pronghorn antelope and huge fields of prairie dogs along both sides of the road for a considerable stretch.



We plan to take a meandering scenic drive thru the Custer National Forest tomorrow, go see the Crazy Horse Memorial near Rushmore, and maybe get in a hike on one of the scenic trails in the Black Hills if the weather cooperates.

Mackinac Island

Main Street on Mackinac Island. Our hotel is the yellow building in the center.

We're spending a few days on Mackinac Island, Michigan for our 40th wedding anniversary. It's a pretty but small place (only 8 miles around), which banned cars and other motorized vehicles many years ago in order to maintain the rural ambiance of the place. It worked. The only modes of transportation are horses, horse-drawn carriages and bicycles. Even the local taxi's are horse-drawn. The constant clop-clopping of the horses passing below our window really adds a nostalgic air to the whole place. Combine that with the smell of chocolate fudge wafting up from the store just below us and you have the makings of a truly memorable stay.



Here are a few views of Main Street to give you an idea of how pretty it really is. The weather cooperated the day we arrived so we hustled out to take as many photos as we could before it turned showery. It cleared briefly the afternoon of the 7th, our anniversary, so we went out to dinner and walked around the town some more. Most of the day-trippers had returned to Mackinaw City on the ferries by 6 PM so we pretty much had the place all to ourselves. The shops were open until late - especially the several confectioners making & selling fudge, which is something of a local institution here. Guess they make it by the gallon and sell as much as they make to all of the tourists who descend on the island between April and October every year. It's a pretty seasonal destination - but a beautiful one when the weather cooperates.

We donned our rain gear and walked about half way around the island before returning to the town.


Rush Hour - Passing is on the left



A view of our suite in a downtown hotel - right across the street from the ferry terminal


Making fudge by the bucket-load


40 Years and counting



The island was the setting for the movie "Somewhere in Time" back in 1982, starring Christopher Reeve & Jane Seymour. Most of the film was shot at the Grand Hotel just up the hill from us. Would have stayed there but the recent reviews were pretty bad. Guess the place was sold a few years ago and the new owners are running it into the ground. So...we opted to stay at the Main Street Inn & Suites in the center of town - a new place that has justified its number one ranking as far as we're concerned. Really a gorgeous place, and a warm, sry and inviting haven on a blustery day...which is what we have today.

Leaving on the 9 AM ferry tomorrow to pick up the car in Mackinaw City, then continue the drive - this time towards Rapid City, SD and Mount Rushmore.

Valdosta, North Georgia and Cincinnati

Our "Gone With the Wind" House in Valdosta

We departed Valdosta on June 1 after two great weeks with Mike, Jennah, Kevin, Makenna and Shane. Finally stopped raining after the first week so we were able to get out of the house to help with some yard work and generally get out of doors. We were also able to finish packing up the last of our household stuff that we'd previously stored in Mike's attic - some of which we're lugging home in the car in a couple of packing boxes and some to be shipped via FEDEX once we return to Vancouver in a couple of weeks. Hot, sweaty work in the close confines of the crawl space above the garage, and aggravating as I tried to find some packing tape that would actually stick to the boxes in the heat & humidity of a Valdosta summer. I think I became "Customer of the Month" at the local Home Depot thanks to my numerous visits there for packing supplies and yard equipment.

As you can see from the photo above the place we rented in Valdosta was a "Gone With the Wind" themed place - actually an old Victorian home originally built in 1906. It had a play room on the 3rd floor which we put to good use when the family came over one evening. Here are a few photos.










After leaving Valdosta we drove up to the mountains of north Georgia to visit one of my old Naval Academy classmates and his wife on their horse farm. Bob Eikenberry retired from the Marine Corps as a helicopter pilot and is now operating a forge out of his farm - manufacturing everything from horseshoes to huge brass & iron decorative gates for the well-to-do gentry of the Atlanta area. One of his long-time clients is country singer Kenny Rodgers. We'll be seeing them again at our 40th class reunion this October in Annapolis.


Our most recent stop was in West Chester, Ohio (just north of Cincinnati) to visit Don & Susan Tanaka. Don was my roomate at the Naval Academy and was also the Best Man at our wedding. Hadn't seen them in about 10 years so we had a lot to catch up on. I think we carried on a running 3 day conversation with them the whole time we were there. Went up to Dayton one rainy day to visit the Air Force Museum there - a monumental and quite well done museum of USAF aircraft old & new. They had everything from WWI era fighters to a B-52, and also had an interesting display of the various generations of "Air Force One" aircraft thru the years, including the versions used to haul around Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy (it was the airplane that flew his coffin back to DC after the Dallas assassination), Johnson & Nixon. Also went downtown with them to see the sights of Cincinnati.

We really enjoyed our visit with them - we talked for hours. Basically a running 3 day conversation getting caught up. It was really hard to break away this morning to keep heading north towards Mackinac Island where we'll be for our 40th wedding anniversary.

So... we're back on the road - will be catching the ferry tomorrow from Mackinaw City in Northern Michigan over to Mackinac Island, then turn west towards Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone before we arrive back in Vancouver on June 18.