Yellowstone

The North Entrance Gate to Yellowstone just outside of Gardiner.

Our last stop was Gardiner, MT at the north entrance to Yellowstone Park. We'd learned from some trial and error that Autumn was the best time to visit...especially after Labor Day when the crowds thin out a bit. Stayed in a rental house we'd stayed in on an earlier trip here a few years ago. Had elk grazing thru the town and just on the other side of the property fence. The owner had several plum and apple trees on the lot which were all bursting with fruit at this time of year. He was in the habit of just tossing the fruit over the fence and into the little alley that ran next to the house...which attracted the elk every afternoon. It also attracted a black bear one evening. As I was sitting in the living room of the house I heard a commotion just a few feet away and looked up to see a mature cinnamon black bear trying to scale the fence to get at the trees. We alerted the owner who walked outside, clapping his hands and generally making a lot of racket to chase the bear away - which he finally did. Guess this particular bear had been seen in and around the town of Gardiner for the previous several days searching for a free meal. Made for a little excitement for us anyway - didn't even have to go into the park for our first wildlife sighting.

We experienced some great and scenic hikes on this trip, but I must admit that Yellowstone Park really is the gold standard when it comes to tramping thru the bush. Didn't hurt that the Aspens were just starting to turn - made for some spectacular walks on crisp September mornings.

One hike was well off the beaten path into the back country near the northeast entrance. As we plopped down at a remote camp site for lunch this Mule Deer came walking out of the forest towards us. At first I thought she didn't see us, but when I cleared my throat to alert her to our presence she just glanced over at us as she ambled on by (within 20 feet) to graze in the area. 

The hike went over a ridge and then down the other side into this broad valley that you can just see ahead. Never saw another soul the whole 5 hours.

The scenery in the back country is truly spectacular here, with the added attraction of coming upon thermal features like hot springs and mud pots in out of the way locations. On this hike, which parallels Nez Perce Creek, we came upon a small herd of 8 buffalo grazing near the trail and detoured up an adjacent hill to give them plenty of space. You tend not to realize just how huge these things are until you meet up with one (or more) on foot. They're also probably the second most dangerous animals in the park (after the grizzlies), but usually only threatening if you get too close and violate their "personal space"...like maybe a tourist getting out of a car to take a close-up photo for example.

Our last hike was supposed to loop around the Beaver Ponds, located just above the Mammoth area, but we only made it about 2/3rds of the way when we happened upon a small grizzly cub skittering off the trail just ahead of us. Didn't see the sow, but didn't stick around very long looking for her either. Just wanted to get the heck out of there before the mother saw us - didn't want to risk a charge from an enraged mama bear, even with the bear spray at the ready, so we hoofed it out of the area....warning several groups of other hikers as we exited. Surprising how many of them had no bear spray - a pretty basic, and necessary, precaution on any hike in the park.

I swear, there must be a special place in hell reserved for Yellowstone drivers - or at least for the type of drivers some people become when they visit the park. First of all let me just say that I have no problem with folks driving slowly and cautiously while they enjoy the beautiful scenery and wildlife that the park has to offer. I really do understand completely, and even have been known to do the same thing on occasion.        However, if you find yourself going 20 mph in a 45 zone, with cars backed up behind you in a line stretching to oh, say, infinity, and unable to pass you on the twisting and narrow mountain roads, you may want to consider using one of the handy pullouts provided every half mile or so for just this very purpose and GET THE BLOODY HELL OUT OF THE WAY! (There, I'm feeling much better already.)

Our timing turned out to be pretty good - the weather was crisp and sunny all week until the last day when the sky opened up and the rains came. So, we packed up the car and pointed the car towards the west and home. Drove out of the deluge within a couple of hours and had smooth sailing for the drive back to Vancouver.

Today is moving day. In fact the movers are packing us out even as I write this...standing up since they've just loaded all of the tables and chairs. Plan is to head out of town this afternoon and get into Colorado Springs on Saturday or (more probably) Sunday afternoon. 

The Black Hills

After collecting Rita at the Denver Airport we headed up to Sheridan, WY for a couple of nights before continuing on to Custer, SD and the Black Hills. Drove up to Little Bighorn Battlefield NP to spend a couple of hours, then retraced our steps and visited historic Fort Kearney just south of Sheridan. Had been to both places before on previous visits but the individual sites are so evocative of western history, and represent such a significant chapter in American westward migration, that we usually stop by whenever we're in the area.

Since the drive over to Custer was a short one we opted for another side trip enroute to visit Devil's Tower, mainly to break up the drive a bit, stretch our legs with a short hike around the base of the monolith, and have lunch.

Still an impressive impressive place. Can see why Spielberg used it as the setting for Close Encounters.

The Prairie Dog village down at the base of the hill has expanded into a Prairie Dog city since our last visit a couple of years ago. The little guys are still cute, but there were signs cautioning visitors to keep their distance since it's been discovered that they can carry fleas infected with the plague virus... of all things.

When you think of all the scenic wonders that America has to offer your mind doesn't automatically turn to "South Dakota", but I think the Black Hills have to rank right up there with anything else the West has to offer. Amazing scenery, terrific hikes, and animals all over the place.

Custer State Park in the Black Hills has to be one of the prettiest in the US. Planned to do a short local hike on our first morning there, but this herd of Bison came wandering over the hill and into this meadow just as we were arriving at the trail head, which is located just the other side of this broad lawn.

Instead we hiked along one of the rivers nearby. Chanced to look up as we were proceeding along and saw this mama mountain goat with her calf looking down at us from the rocky outcrop above. One negative about the hikes here, especially along the river bottoms, was that they had the most luxuriant crop of poison ivy I've ever seen - absolutely fields of it in some places. Fortunately I recognized it from my previous encounters with poison oak in the Gorge, but I pity the casual hiker who wanders into the area unaware and unprepared (and in shorts).

Another risk encountered on hikes into the back country is the likelihood of meeting big bull bison like this one. Meeting one on foot is always guaranteed to recalibrate your startle reflex as you mentally rehearse your exit strategy should he take exception to your close proximity and start after you. While the herds tend to stick together in the meadows and open valleys, these rogue bulls are the ones that came in second in the annual competition for the females and thus are exiled into the woods for the season.

On days we rested our legs we drove around the Black Hills and just enjoyed the beautiful scenery. While Mt. Rushmore is the big tourist attraction in these parts, fact is that the granite mountains that give the Black Hills their unique character stretch over several hundred square miles, forming picturesque formation like these - the "Cathedral Spires".

We stayed near the little town of Custer in this farm house originally built in 1895 during one of the Gold Rushes that swept thru the area. Started out as a boarding house for visiting miners, and was the center of the little community of Kiddville. Some of the other outbuildings are still there (that's the assay office just to the right) but are boarded up now - we had the whole pretty little valley all to ourselves for the week. Even had deer come down in the mornings and evenings.

On one of our early morning drives to get to one of the trail heads we came upon this group (gaggle?) of wild turkeys in the middle of the road. Slowed to a stop to let them get out of harm's way only to have them start milling about and generally going in circles (gobbling the whole time) as they tried to figure out what to do. Am told that it's rare to see them, but I swear these birds were as dumb as a bag of hammers - I finally passed them slowly on the left, and in the process basically herded them off the road and back into the woods to safety.

One of our last hikes was up to a local feature called Sylvan Lake. Not a breath of wind at sunrise made for a neat mirror-effect on the lake.

Sylvan Lake was the trail head for a hike up to Harney Peak which, at 7,000 ft is the highest mountain in the Black Hills...and the highest peak east of the Rockies. Local lore has it that Gen. Custer himself made the hike up to the peak during his Black Hills expedition of 1874. I think I made it to the top a lot faster than he did and the view, as you can see, was worth the effort.

Our last day trip was to the Pine Ridge Indian reservation a couple of hours to the east - specifically to visit Wounded Knee, site the massacre of 1890 that ended the Indian Wars. The monument marks the burial pit of the hundreds of old men, women and children killed that day.

After a most enjoyable week in the Black Hills it was on to Gardiner, MT and Yellowstone.