Beartooth Highway Day

 Back in 2013 Bill and I made a trip out west and hoped to drive the Beartooth Highway.  The day we planned to take it they had closed it due to snow - in mid September.  So we hoped to be able to take it on this trip even though it would add a few hours to our drive between Grand Teton and Bozeman.  We woke up early and were on the road right about 7:30.  Bill and I swapped places for the morning.  I drove and Bill navigated.  I always say Bill doesn't really get a break because he's mentally driving when I am driving.  I now know the same goes for navigating... I found it very difficult to give up the control of that function!  As we were driving in Yellowstone we kept seeing signs about a road closure.  We saw it multiple times and it had us concerned.  Eventually we realized that this was going to make our already long route even LONGER because we had to take an alternate route.  We debated bailing out and just going to Bozeman but decided to hang tough and go for it.  We did have a nice drive thru the park, seeing various animals including Bison, a wolf, a fox, and even a horse drawn wagon!

Besides the animals and their resulting animal jam on the highway we also saw lots of fly fisherman.  I even saw one guy in a full wetsuit WITH a snorkel.  The stream did not look that deep... so who knows.  

Finally we found our way to the Beartooth Highway.  

There is one shop on the whole highway called the Top of the World.  The sign was next to the pit toilet next to the shop.  

We also saw our first open carry here.  Even though we have open carry in Virginia, we rarely see it.  

Just a reminder...

The views would have been just amazing but the smoke from the fires was very heavy.  This was the best I could get - and the wind was so strong up there that I was afraid I'd blow over the edge!  Here the temp dropped to 60 degrees (before wind chill)!  When we got to the end of the highway it was 85.  

Yep - curves ahead.

As we moved into Montana, Bill deserved a round of applause for his steady nerves while driving some really tough highway moments!

Gotta do that selfie.

All in all it took us 11 hours to get to Bozeman.  Taco Bell was next door to the hotel and for the first time in maybe 12 years, we called that dinner!

We close another great day happy but tired.  Tomorrow we will begin our Glacier adventure and will have no internet for some time.  I'll post again when I can.  Till then we'll just work hard at making more wonderful memories (and I'll try to take notes so I don't forget anything!)

Grand Tetons Day 3

 One of the things one must accept when you live with someone who loves photography is early morning wake ups chasing sunrise.  So we were up at 5, out the door at 6, and still missed it today (mostly).  Bill had wanted to shoot from a particular spot that had been suggested by the photographer we were with and we BOTH missed the turnoff for it.  By the time we realized it and got back there he decided to pass it on by for an easier stop which did NOT involve the bone crushing drive down a very pothole heavy dirt road since we missed sunrise anyway.  This alternate spot was the location that Ansel Adams set up to take his now famous photos of the Tetons.  I stayed in the car as I'd been there done that for that location and it was in the 30's!  I did however grab a semi-sunrise shot on the road...

 

We were on our way on up the road heading to the northern less busy part of the park and decided to stop at a couple of the pullouts along the way.  We pulled in to one and I saw 2 birds off in the sagebrush.  To our delight it was a pair of Sandhill Cranes!  When I first got the binoculars out they were both standing tall with their heads high.  Unfortunately they were too far away for any iphone pic.  Bill got set up as quickly as he could but by then the male had started preening a lot....  but Bill got a good pic of them and a good pic of the pair with geese, and in the back you may pick out a pronghorn as well!  Three species in one shot!  I'd say that's a pretty special moment.  

We noticed first thing the haze on the mountains.  We didn't know if it was clouds or smoke.  Later when I spoke to a ranger he said it was smoke from the California wildfires.  Very sad for those folks dealing with these fires.  

We worked our way up to Colter Bay to check out that visitor center.  Behind it were bone dry boat docks.  It was disheartening to see.  Climate change is a real thing, and the fires and drought are evidence of it.  

Later it got smokier.  Sometimes you really had to work to see the mountains.  

We stopped to grab some lunch at Dornan's where we could sit outside and also grabbed a huge sandwich from their deli which will be dinner tonight in our little cabin as we repack and get ready to hit the road once again.  We will get an early start as we are going to go up thru Yellowstone and catch the Beartooth Highway to get us to Bozeman which adds a few hours of what we hope to be fabulous winding driving thru some beautiful mountains.  Sorry this is kind of a sleeper post - I hope to make up for it in upcoming ones!

Grand Tetons Day 2

We slept in today - YAY!  We still got a fairly early start on our day and after seeing cars parked up and down the highway outside of the parking area for our hike yesterday afternoon we decided to do that first.  We drove to Jenny Lake and after talking to the rangers decided to head out on a hike to Hidden Waterfall.  There are 2 ways to get there - one is by boat then a short hike and the other is a 2 1/2 mile hike around the lake to the point that the boat lands then a short - but fairly steep - hike to the falls and another short steep hike to Inspiration Point above the falls.  We decided to do that hike around the lake and it was lovely.  A few pics from the hike.  

We at least were out early enough that the moon was still visible!

Hard to see, but this was at a Moose Pond side hike.  No moose but if you look closely you will see a beaver dam. 

Along the way I passed a woman who had a dog and I thought her husband behind her had a dog too but when we passed it it was a CAT!  A pretty calico cat on a leash hiking!  I was too shocked to think to take out my phone and grab a pic.  I hear her name is Marilyn and she's on Tik Tok.  I tried to find her but was not able to.  But we may have met a cat celebrity!

Gotta take a selfie in front of the waterfall... 

We got to what we were unsure if it was inspiration point or not.  We saw folks going further and higher up and we just didn't have it in us at that point.  Bill started calling this Semi Inspiration Point.  Maybe it was the real thing?  Maybe not.  But it was beautiful!

We look the part don't we?  After we got done hiking I realized I had worn my shirt backward all day.  Fortunately the back looked like the front but was a bit higher cut.  Oh well....

The hike was a bit more challenging than I thought it would be - but we did it.  OK, so others with small children and ladies with bad knees did it too... but we won't let that bother us too much.  It was a great hike.  We did however opt to take the boat back instead of hiking!

After a bit of lunch we headed out to see the view from the top of signal mountain.  It was a winding narrow road but no hiking - just a walk from the parking area.  And it was lovely. 

Next we headed off to see a historic cabin - Cunningham Cabin.  On the way we encountered some bison off the side of the road having a lazy afternoon.  

The cabin wasn't too exciting but here it is....

We rounded out our day with a visit to the Chapel of the Transfiguration.  Very small Episcopal chapel still in use today.  It was beautiful inside and out.  

A carry out burger and fries from the place we are staying (and a piece of pie we felt we earned) tasted pretty darn good when we got back to our little cabin in the woods.  Tomorrow will another early to rise day, but day 2 is in the books as a good one. 

 

Grand Tetons Day 1

 We made our way from Idaho Falls (after having someone yell at us to go back to Oregon - where the tags on our car were from) on thru forested land and some pretty good Miata roads and stopped in Jackson to grab our lunch of apples, peanut butter, and triscuits before coming on to the park.  Right outside the entrance to the park is the Craig Thomas Discovery Center - one of the visitor centers at the park.  We kinda looked it over quickly, grabbed a newspaper for the park and a map and headed on our way.  We stopped to check out the Jenny Lake area and it was so beautiful!

We got checked into our "room" -  really a cabin type thing in a triplex and were very pleased.  We took what was available when we decided to book this as an alternative to Canada and it was classified a deluxe country room.  It really has a living room area with a gas fireplace and a small kitchenette on step up level where the bed and bathroom are.  It's quite nice and we appreciate the extra space even if it was a bit more in the cost department.  

We slept well but were awakened by our alarm at 4:30 am to get ready for Bill's birthday present from me.  It was a sunrise half day session with Brad Schwarm - a local and well published professional photographer.  As we headed out to meet him we saw our first wildlife right outside the entrance to our lodge area - 2 big elk.  We didn't have cameras ready so you have to take my word on this one.  Brad was very personable and I cannot tell you everywhere we went, but we had a very successful day of spotting wildlife.  First were some pronghorn - including a nursing mom!  

Next stop - Moulton Barn on Mormon row.  The Mormons settled here but in the end decided it was too tough to farm so they moved on.  This is a much photographed barn.  

Next up - a real dream for me - a MOOSE!  I've been wanting to see a moose for SO long.  We travelled all over Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.  No moose.  But Brad delivered my moose.  My shot with my iphone is not that great.  Bill has an excellent shot!  But getting photos from his camera to my fingertips is tough so until I get his great pic to include here's my little iphone shot from far away.  

This big bull is apparently known as Shoshone.  

Next up we went to an area and saw the cutest little badger you will ever see.  He even posed for us.  Again, Bill has great pics.  My iphone pic isn't even worth posting.  A big moose I can somewhat get a shot of but a little (ok not so little but not big) badger not so much.  But we saw him and Brad was very excited.  He said it was the best badger capture he's ever gotten.  

Our day with Brad was wonderful.  Here are a couple of pics of the two of them shooting.

We said our goodbyes to Brad (who gave us the leftover banana bread - yum!) and headed to Moose to Dornans to have pizza on top of the restaurant overlooking the mountains.  On the way back we began listening to an app that I downloaded - the Gypsy app for the park.  It's great - for something like $5.99 you can download it and it uses gps to know where you are and tell you all about where you are and it's history etc. even suggesting things you can pass if you don't have time and must sees.  One of it's must sees was the Snake River Overlook.  

Next must see was Schwabacher Landing which Bruce said was the best place to go for sunrise.  Let me tell you this is one pothole filled road but it was worth it!  Bill drove slowly and we had no problem but we did shake, rattle, and roll!

How majestic are these mountains?  Breathtaking.  

Then we headed back home and I did laundry.  Yes - laundry.  Some things you can't ignore on vacation.  But the laundry area here is beautiful - has probably 10 machines each with a washer and dryer, marble folding tables, and with the windows open it was very pleasant in there.  I just took my kindle and got the job done.  

And so ends our first full day here - it was a good one!

Craters of the Moon

 Up early this morning to head to Craters of the Moon National Monument.  The landscape changed quite a bit after heading that way from the rugged canyon walls we had seen to vast expanses of farm land and great expanses of nothing.  We went thru few towns on the way, one (didn't get the name) boasting a population of just over 400.  We knew the visitor's center was closed due to covid but they had set up outside to answer questions and give assistance.  We also had watched the movie we would have seen online the night before so we had some idea of the history of the area.  To say it was surreal is an understatement.  

This is a cave that we got a permit to go into and then decided it wasn't such a great idea!

This is the trail to the top of a cinder cone.  Yep - it was long.  Yep - we walked it!

We made it to the top!  There was some huffing and puffing on my part along the way....

This sparkly stuff in some of the lava chunks is volcanic glass.  When the lava spews up very hot then cools quickly in the air it creates this beautiful sparkly stuff!

As I mentioned, there were very few towns along the way.  So what to kids do in towns where that is the case?  They paint things on the mountains!

We brought the night to a close with a nice dinner at Copper Rill to do an early celebration of Bill's birthday.  It was delicious!!