Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

At ten weeks in, it seems there are still more "gems" in the park that Andre and I are just getting to. Last night after we were done working and eating, we set out at about 6:30 to drive the north road of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We had driven the south road and done a great hike on that side of the canyon earlier in the season on Uncle Tom's trail, a sometimes paved, sometimes dirt path that involved a number of switchbacks alternating with metal staircases that dropped and dropped and dropped until you arrived at a great view of the lower falls.

After hiking back up via the same endless staircases, we'd continued on a path that meanders along the ledge of the canyon for a few miles until we'd reached "Artists Point", one of parks famous overlooks that provides an amazing view to the canyon and the waterfall. On that day, the view, although as stunning as promised, was obstructed for the most part by the busloads of visitors of every age and nationality jostling for position to see, pose in front of, video and photograph said view.

Last night on the North side of the canyon it was a completely different story.  Our first visit to the canyon had been in bright sunlight early in the day. This time, 7 or 8 weeks later, it was about 40 degrees colder, and early evening just before sunset.  There were only a handful of hearty folks at each overlook and the view was stunning, if a bit chilly!  The canyon itself, carved out by water through layers of  volcanic lava and ash from the large eruption that shaped most of this part of the park was magnificent and the colors along the canyon walls made it well worth the trip. Here are some photos from the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone....

 

 

 

August Unfolds in Yellowstone

Week 9 in Yellowstone.

August has begun to unfold and we have begun to see small changes in the park that harken the coming of autumn/winter here in the park. Yes, I said winter. The seasons are short here, and we have been told that snow will arrive before we prepare to depart on Labor Day.  I certainly believe it - because we have begun to have cold spells that, although intermittent, are sharper and more distinct. It is frequently in the 30's in the evening. We have had frost on the windshield.  And for just a few minutes last week, there was snow just a few miles away from our location in the park.

We have noticed small changes in the animals as well.  Rutting season is nearing. When we are stuck in "Buffalo Jams" in the park, the sounds of Bison are louder as they snort and grunt - even growl as they move in the herds, the larger males jostling, bumping and basically irritating each other as they move through the valleys.

Your standard buffalo jam passing through Hayden Valley

Grizzlys have also been spotted more frequently in the valley and soon the elk will begin their loud bugling - a sound that we've been told fairly screams through the air. We look forward to experiencing it - as well as all of the more subtle changes that the shift to a new season bring. Of course, we will be gone by the time Autumn truly arrives - a fact that, as is often the case, brings both happiness and sadness. We will be ready to leave when the day arrives. Three months is a long time for us to sit in one place, and we will certainly welcome back reliable phone and internet service and the novelty of watching television on occasion!

Of course there are plenty of things we will miss as well - which is why we will spend our free time seeing as many parts of the park we can in the time we have left. We have just begun our 10th week of work here and have about three and a half weeks to go.  We know they will go by fast - and we are already juggling scheduling and decision-making for what comes after.

For Andre, the after is already happening now, as he has had to fly out of the park for training and some early work for the job he will do primarily in the fall, and has begun to juggle both obligations simultaneously. Thrown into that mix, was a visit from Nick as well, which was the highlight of our time here so far.  We were able to share with him all of our favorite spots in Yellowstone, as well as the Grand Tetons and some of surrounding Wyoming and Montana over the course of five well-spent days.  We would have liked to have Dylan here as well (in the past they have road-tripped out to see us together), but Dylan was busy defending his dissertation (Successfully! Congratulations Dylan) and preparing for his new teaching job with the University of Delaware that begins in a week or so. We will look forward to seeing him and Vicky when we are on the road again after labor day.

For now, here are some photos of highlights from our recent weeks in the park.



 

Elk on the shores of Lake Yellowstone

 

 

Morning ranger talk at the Old Faithful geyser basin

Our daily Elk sighting

Grant General Store where we work

 

 

Steamy morning on the Yellowstone River

Mary Mountain Trail in Hayden Valley

 

Hayden Valley

Trumpeter Swans

 

One of many geyser basins

 

Nick in Lamar Valley

Andre and Nick atop the Beartooth Pass

Andre and I at the top of the world..

 

 

Andre & Nick after the final scramble to the top...

 

Bison in Lamar Valley

Still snow at the top of the Beartooth Pass

 

 

 

The Mighty Grand Tetons

 

Each weekend, we try to get away to see the amazing places that surround Yellowstone. After four weeks in Yellowstone, we finally made our way south into Grand Teton National Park. We set out after dinner on Thursday (our last work day of the week) for a late evening drive south out of the park to our neighbor-park, the Tetons.  We had a wonderful drive at dusk on the Moose-Wilson Road to our sleeping destination in Teton Village, where we slept in the van and then got up and out early for a boat ride across Jenny Lake and a gorgeous hike that yielded stunning mountain views, roaring streams and a serene lakeside. Oh, and did I forget to mention moose and a close encounter with a black bear? Here are some photos from the weekend.

 

 

 

Dusk falls on the Tetons

 

 

Waiting to board our shuttle boat to cross Jenny Lake

 

 

View of a Black Bear from the trail

 

 

 

 

Great view of a Moose in the grassy marsh alongside Moose-Wilson Rd



Small Town America - Soda Springs, Idaho

Soda Springs, Idaho

Located in Caribou County.  4.59 Square Miles.   Population 2,975

In the two and a half years we've been on the road, we've travelled through endless small towns from one end of the country to the other. There's always a Main Street.  One stops sign or two.  Perhaps a traffic light.  Sometimes quaint. Often struggling. These are the streets of someone's life.

They are sturdy little things, these towns. Despite the cracking, peeling signs and the occasional boarded up buildings, they house all the necessities of an American life.

There's always a diner.  At least one grassy square with Monuments to the town's war dead.  Most assuredly a baseball field, a fire station, a drug store & a gas station - either shiny new or one with ancient pumps, depending on it's proximity to the nearest highway.  There is often an aging auto repair shop, railroad tracks, if not a railroad station, a small town hardware store, alongside a flower shop and a little place that boasts a little bit of this and little bit of that, with a hodgepodge of collectibles and oddities in the window.

These little towns usually have a small historical society, a modest library. And some kind of factory or industry - the industry that either founded the town, saved the town, sustains the town, or is in the process of revitalizing the town. In Soda Springs, it is a Monsanto fertilizer plant and a Gypsum plant. In other towns, it's the local meat processing plant, the Del Monte canning facility, or the paper mill. These are places that keep the town afloat, that sponsor the 4th of July parade, and that give folks somewhere to go each morning, and somewhere to return home from each afternoon.

If you visit in the summer, you will still see the vestiges of the most recent 4th of July proudly adorning houses and mailboxes. Posters for the upcoming local county fair are posted in shop windows, promising unimaginable fun and excitement - not to mention the crowning of the prize-winning heifer and best-of-show zucchini.

But over and above these things, that are staples of small town America in the warm days of summer, each small town seems to boast some special thing. Some geographic oddity, some small piece of celebrity, or history, or Americana to draw you into town. Something they can put on a small brown sign. Something to be proud of.

In Soda Springs, Idaho it's the Soda Springs Geyser.

 

Soda Springs derived it's name from the hundreds of springs of carbonated water that are located around the town. In the middle 19th century, they were a well known stop along the Oregon Trail. In the city's heyday, the carbonated water was bottled in a local factory and sold as a popular "soda water" that put the town on the map.

The famous Soda Springs Geyser was not an attraction when the early pioneers stopped at the famous "Soda Springs" on their way across the West. The geyser is, instead, an unintended man-made attraction, unleashed when the town fathers were looking to tap into the hot springs for a "hot pool" bathing attraction in 1934, and instead drilled into a chamber of highly pressurized carbon dioxide gas and cold water, releasing the massive geyser, that flooded the down town area as it ran for weeks to the astonishment of locals.

The town fathers got their tourist attraction - although not the one they originally intended. The geyser was eventually capped and "manually" released to the delight of visitors. Today it is let loose every hour on the hour by a timed release valve and both locals and tourists alike, gather each hour to await the show. According to the interpretive signs at the attraction, the geysers height and volume has not decreased after many years.

Here are some additional photos from our brief stopover in Soda Springs, Idaho.

 

 

Hail to small town America.....

Fountain Geyser Surprise

Just a quick hello this morning, to share a few quick photos from yesterday morning, before heading off to work for the day. This week we are on late shift - which means we don't go into work until 11:30 in the morning. On these days we try to go out into the park and see areas we haven't yet seen. Yesterday we headed out at around 7am toward the geyser basins that surround the Old Faithful Area. We had a really cool experience when we were walking the boardwalk around the Fountain Paintpots area of the park.

We were headed toward a spouting geyser that we had noticed from the road that intrigued us when we passed a large Geyser, Fountain Geyser, that looked to us to be dormant (or at least nothing was going on with it at the moment). We could see it was very large and very deep, but looked dry and empty. We glanced at it briefly then moved on toward the smaller geyser that was our destination. Suddenly we heard an eruption behind us and turned to find Fountain Geyser fully erupting, spouting water high and wide. The spray even got us a little wet! We then took out our book and read that the eruptions of this geyser could last as long as 25 minutes. We watched in awe for about 15 minutes before we had to leave to head back toward Grant Village to work. Here are some stunning photos of the eruption.