Weather is Always Fun?!

Yesterday's forecast called for thunderstorms with the 'possibility' of hail. After having heavy clouds hang over the house all day it finally happened after dinner. Thankfully I got back from the evening walk with Bridger before the bottom dropped.

Just as I said, 'I'm surprised it is not hailing', the hail started. Bill said I'm no longer allowed to say that phrase. Probably a good idea since every time I've mentioned 'hail' it does start to fall. The size wasn't too large, but the Airstream was in the driveway while Bill is working on a few things. 

Both the truck & AS survived the experience...thankfully! 

The hail lasted several minutes...enough to gather on the road and we still have it at the downspouts this morning. I do hope the weather settles down so we can get to some mountain biking or kayaking. Hard to plan much with it so unsettled & the rivers are still running fast. 

Quickie Tour dragging the Tin Can

Harlequin ducks

After 2 weeks we are heading back to one of our happy places. First, we had to drag the Tin Can Allie through the bison & bear jams of Yellowstone National Park. We didn't see much until we reached the Le Hardy Rapids PO...harlequin ducks are a must see this time of year. The crazy ducks live & feed in heavy duty rapids at Le Hardy. 

There were several drakes & one poor hen sitting on the rocks in the middle of the Yellowstone River with water rushing all around them. The colors were more muted with the cloudy skies, but it is fun watching these guys jump into the swirling water & swim upstream to feed. 

Harlequin drake in the middle of Yellowstone River

Bison herd heading for the road

Next up was a drive through Hayden Valley & our first bison jam of the day. We passed 2 older people riding their bikes just before the jam. We are not fans of biking in this Park. Way too dangerous with the animals and the turons, aka tourists driving while gawking. We stopped to wait for the herd to cross the road. The biking couple stopped beside the truck & asked us ''are you moving?'' Well, it should have been obvious that there's a few dozen bison in the middle of the road along with multiple stopped cars so no we are not moving. Naturally they walked even closer to the crossing herd. Turons on bikes.

Coyote

After getting through the jam we decided to drive up Dunraven Pass to Tower Falls rather than miss out on spotting some bears. I got the 'pleasure' of driving the beast & Tin Can over Dunraven...joy. Thankful the new & improved road isn't as bad, but it could really use a guard rail in a few places. 

A coyote was spotted as we started down the other side of the road. An actual pullout was close to it with enough room for us to pull over for a few shots & watch it hunt. 

The coyote casually came down to the road & stopped for a few minutes. I waved to cars to slow down since it was so close to the roadway. After a bit it wandered down into the meadows and we lost sight of it. 

Coyote heading down Antelope Valley

Off we went towards Tower...no bears seen at our usual location. Just as we decided to stop at Buffalo Paddock for a break we spotted the 2nd jam of the day...this one black bear. Wouldn't you know the black bear sow with her 2 yearling cubs were right in the middle of Buffalo Paddock. 

What not to do in YNP...much too close

We pulled in... figured there was enough 'parking' and the needed bathroom. Immediately noticed the turons much too close to the bears...especially the dude with the big lens camera. All common sense must leave when they enter the park gate. Does it look like 100 yards? We shot from the truck cab.

Black bear sow with her 2 yearling cubs

Off they go

The bear family eventually wandered through and headed off down the hill along with everyone else. No other critters were sighted as we headed toward Mammoth Hot Springs and the town of Gardiner, MT.

Since it was lunch time we stopped at the Corral in Gardiner, MT for a bison burger and fries. One of us even splurged on a raspberry milkshake. Afterall the beast & the Tin Can made it through the Park without an issue.

We got back in time to pick up Bridger from his vacation at the Spa...though he didn't seem overly excited to see us. He really does love his Spa days!

Now to the Tetons

Headed north to spend a few days in Grand Teton National Park. We've been to the Park a few times over the years. The scenery is beautiful, but the animal sightings have been hit or miss for us. On this trip we discovered that Bill's niece and her family would be visiting the Tetons while we were in the area. We planned on getting together for dinner before heading back to Montana. As luck would have it we 'ran into' them when we pulled into String Lake picnic area for lunch on our 1st full day in the Tetons. 

It had been raining all morning so we didn't head out until late. In the meantime, Becky had sent a text that they were hiking around String Lake. While I was taking a few pictures of the larkspur blooming...Bill texted Becky for their location. No message back, but we were only 5 miles from String Lake so we decided we'd head in that direction. Once we parked the beast I noticed someone who looked very familiar sitting at a picnic table...Becky & her family. We caught up with what they were up to for a bit and set up dinner plans for the evening. They headed off to see if they could scare up some bears and/or moose. We pulled out the food basket just as it started raining...again! The monsoon season has been crazy this year.

Hidden Falls

Friday the weather was much improved. We decided to hike to Hidden Falls near Jenny Lake. It was a moderate out and back hike on a very popular trail. The overall length was supposed to be 4 miles which somehow turned out to be over 7 miles (according to my Fitbit) by the time we returned to the parking lot. It was a spectacular waterfall of 100 feet near the end of Cascade Canyon and on the far western shore of Jenny Lake.

It appears most people choose to take the boat across the lake and hike the short trail to the fall's overlook. Luckily, we are not those people. Otherwise, we would have missed out on some cool critter sightings.

Trail up Inspiration Point...NPS Photo/J. Bonney

Just past the waterfall the trail continued up towards Inspiration Point. A fantastic view of Jenny Lake from the cliff. The trail is a bit exposed with a rocky & steep drop off towards the lake.

View of Jenny Lake from Inspiration Point

While taking in the view & having our snack a Unita chipmunk paid its respects...looking for a handout. Once again you can tell when an animal has been fed by turons, aka tourists. Poor thing was sadly disappointed by us. 

Unita chipmunk

As we headed back down the trail a few people mentioned a 'bear' was somewhere on the trail ahead. It turned out to be true. The trail was following the lakeshore when a year-old cinnamon black bear popped up on the trail ahead of us with mom 'somewhere up the rocky mountainside.' 

When I saw the bear I got the bear spray in my hand & removed the safety latch. Since it seemed really interested in licking & pawing the muddy pool of water I took a few photos. It wasn't too long before the people on the other side started pushing forward with their cell phones out...the bear turned quickly to run from them & then it saw us.

Bill said he didn't think I could 'move that fast up the rocky slope.' I started popping my hiking poles together & the bear moved off the trail & toward the water. It wandered past us along the shoreline. We never saw the sow despite keeping an eye out looking for her. Not one person who passed us had bear spray on their person. Jeez, you can even rent a can to carry while hiking. My second time pulling out the spray...you just never know when one will pop out on a trail.

We did see a pika in the rocks that was curious about the crazy people taking its picture. Slightly surprised to see one at an elevation less than 8000 feet. No one else noticed the little guy sitting on the rocks.

Once back at the trail head I saw a flash of bright orange...off I go after another bird. I knew it was a male Western Tanager with its bright yellow & orange feathers. 

The 1st time we ever saw one was in 2014 at Cave Falls in the Bechler area of Yellowstone National Park. At first we thought it was someone's escaped parrot it was so unexpected & vivid. We managed to get a shot of the bird with a huge dragonfly. 

Male Western Tanager

I'm always trying to get a better shot of them...flighty birds are difficult to get a clear shot of since they always flit from tree to tree. Lucky for us there were 2 birds near the Jenny Lake trail...a male & a female. 

The female posed for her shot. The darn male was a bit more difficult...especially so since the camera was not allowing me use the automatic focus. 

Long story...once again I 'forgot' the location the other switch to fix the issue. One of these days...

Female Western Tanager

We met a very nice couple from North Carolina who were spending their summer hiking the tallest mountain in each state. She wanted to know if the bird I was taking a picture of was a mountain bluebird.  Even though it was not they were pretty excited to see a western tanager. They were heading to Yellowstone next & hadn't seen a bear in the Tetons so we passed on some information as to where the best locations to see one...or 10 were in YNP. 

Headed out for a lunch of ice cream...7+ mile hike claimed we burned enough calories so why not!

Tomorrow, we head to Bozeman by way of YNP...fingers crossed for a few bear sightings along the way.

Upland Larkspur

Marmot

Lupine...buds ready to pop!

Teewinot Mountain from trail

*click photo to enlarge

Dinosaur National Monument

Last view leaving Capital Reef National Park

We packed up bright & not too darn early (at least for us) to start our trip back north. We headed to Dinosaur National Monument near Vernal, UT. An interesting spot for a day or two. Our plan was to spend one full day biking in an area we had not seen on our last visit.

View of the backside of Split Moutain

We headed out to an area we didn’t visit 5-years ago. The drive along Brush Creek Road out to Island Park Road wasn’t too bad. There were quite a few potholes & farms along the way. 

We passed a very interesting Ranch just before the turn on to Island Park Road...it called itself an Alpaca Ranch, but none were visible from the road. There were a large number of bronze sculptures of various dinosaurs, eagles & pterodactyls...certainly an odd assortment. 

They must have a large family since there was an enclosed water slide & indoor pool. Somebody has (or had) a lot of $$...alpaca raising must be good business.

We turned off of Island Park Road & parked at Rainbow Campground along the Green River. There were only 4 sites along the river, but not sure how one could spend anytime outside. The mosquitoes attacked as soon as you exited the vehicle. Wow. 

Thankfully they couldn’t keep up once we started peddling up the road. The scenery along the road was not as spectacular as Capital Reef, but the ride was very pleasant. Lots of flowers blooming and no vehicles. 

Wyoming Indian Paintbrush

Pink sego lily

At some point I managed to lose the lens cap off the camera. We packed up the bikes & drove back along the road to find it. Luckily it was found. We still had to drive most of the road & it showed up in the very last spot where it never was taken off the camera. That’s always the way…

Island Park overlook...where I found the lens cap

Mormon cricket

We went into the Colorado side of the Monument just to be different & have lunch. The roadway was covered & I mean covered with 1000’s of grasshoppers? 

Not exactly sure what these creatures were doing, but they were getting crushed by vehicles. You could hear it too...way beyond creepy. We found out later that these were Morman crickets in their swarming phase.

Check out what's happening in Elko, Nevada ...a big problem right now with these critters.

Of course I had to chase after the birds in the Green River Campground. I managed a get a couple of decent shots of a few birds... Western Kingbird, Tree Swallows, Lazuli Bunting, & a Say's Phoebe. Lost the shot of a Western Yellow Warbler...that darn bird landed on the sagebrush directly in front of me. Did I get the shot...nope, foiled by the inability to focus on the darn thing.

Say's Phoebe

The Say's Phoebe was a much easier to capture. She had built a nest on top of a light at the campground bathroom. It was fun watching her fly a set pattern across from our site and return to her nest. 

Patience paid off on getting the shot. Never got the warbler...he teased me with his song, but never got another clear view.

Say's Phoebe on nest

Western Kingbird

When you can't get the critter shot if all else fails there are wildflowers and if you're lucky butterflies & bees. The flowers have been abundant throughout the trip. During our lunch the hillside on the Colorado side of the Monument was covered in Arrowleaf balsamroot & Lupine. Two of my favorite flowers...always brings a smile to my face!

Arrowleaf balsamroot

Lupine

Purplish copper butterfly on shaggy fleabane

*click to enlarge photos

Thunderstorms Wreak It

Eph Hanks Tower

Road into Capital Gorge

On our last full day in the Park we decided to bike to the end of pavement & head down Capital Gorge to the trail head. A bike to hike rather than worry about parking in the small lot. It was a beautiful blue sky cloud free day... or so we thought. We rode down Capital Gorge & Bill decided to shoot a little video of our route. The canyon walls are really tall & from the bike you certainly can appreciate the beauty much better than from inside the truck. 

Capital Gorge

We locked up the bikes and took off for the 1-mile hike along the canyon floor. Along the way were a few petroglyphs carved into the canyon walls. It was difficult to see them from the ‘idiots’ that feel the need to destroy stuff.

A bit further down you could see the signatures of pioneers that had passed through in the late 1800’s... they would stand in the bed of their wagons and sign their names in the wall. Hoping their signature would survive future floods. A few even used bullets to shoot their names in the cliff walls... although that seems like a waste of ammunition.

Pilgrim signatures

Petroglyph

Empty water pocket...aka Tanks

"arch" below tanks

We decided to take the spur trail up to see the water pockets...aka Tanks. Pretty steep rocky trail, but the view of the canyon floor was certainly worth the climb. A bit nervous about the decent back down, but up we headed. The Tanks were a bit disappointing...very little water in the first few and none in the largest one. We stopped briefly for water & noticed an increasingly dark cloud approaching from the rear. You really do not want to be in a slot canyon if rain is going to dump so out we headed rather quickly.

Blue skies moving slowly towards us

Thankfully, a picnic shelter was at the trail head and we moved our bikes under it. Just in time. The rain, wind & thunder started a few minutes later. The amazing thing was the number of people who headed down into the canyon while it was raining. We waited it out & once it looked safe we took off down the 2 miles of dirt road (more like mud at this point) to the pavement. Another dark cloud was approaching as we reached the pavement. Once again we hunkered down to wait it out. This storm took its sweet time moving off, but once the blue sky opened up we headed out for the 7 miles back to the campground. Since it was still looking rather stormy & no other shelters along the way we put the bikes in Turbo mode and booked it. Actually hit a bit of rain, but we were dry by the time we hit our campsite. 

The first time we’ve been caught by the weather. The forecast LIED.

All in all we had a great time in Capital Reef...lots of good weather. We rode the bikes & did a few hikes every day. The best thing about the Park is the lack of crowds. You cannot say that about Zion or Arches. 

The pizza joint from 5 years ago is also still in business. The owner claimed it was our anniversary & had the whole outside group of people sing to us. Weird right? All because we ordered a brownie for dessert. Got to love it!

*click photos to enlarge

Hike to Hickman Natural Bridge

Capital Dome

Hickman Natural Bridge

Under the Bridge

Backside of Hickman Natural Bridge

Today's activity was hike to Hickman Natural Bridge. Yet another one we didn't do on our last visit. I'm starting to wonder what did we do on that trip? The hike was a pretty darn easy loop out to a natural arch & return to the parking lot. Usually super busy since it is rated as 'easy'. The lot was full and the road was packed with parked cards when we returned from the hike. 

Kingcup cactus

 

We found a few smaller kid sized arches along the trail along with wildflowers & cactus blooming. 

At the natural bridge we were approached by a ‘friendly’ Unita Chipmunk. It obviously had been fed by others. Too bad for him that we’re not that easily manipulated by his begging. Cute, but no food for you!

Unita chipmunk

Hiking back down

After the hike we drove back down the road to Pleasant Creek for our lunch sitting on the tailgate. A couple of local families were playing in the creek & also having lunch before taking off on a hike. Their chatter & screaming wasn’t what we wanted for our hike so once they chose their direction we headed off in the opposite direction. We found another trail along the creek with only the flow of water & birds singing.

Stansbury cliffrose

Scarlet gilia

Plains prickly pear cactus

Bill rearranging rocks

Bill spent some time trying to rearrange the flow of the creek by tossing in rocks. I spent my time chasing birds. My Merlin bird app is pretty cool...record a bird song and the possible birds pop up. Then all I need to do is spot the bird for a positive id...easy right? Actually it is not so easy. 

The Yellow Warbler wasn’t playing fair...for a bright yellow bird they sure can hide in the cottonwoods. After chasing the sound for quite some time I found the darn thing. Too bad I had the short lens camera. It is a pretty bird with a lovely song.

 

Yellow warbler

The other birds were a bit easier to see...I found a western tanager, spotted tohee, black capped grosbeak & northern flicker. The flicker was sticking its head out a tree hole nest. That was pretty cool to spot. The Stellar Jays must hate having their picture taken since every single one took off as I lifted the camera.

Northern Flicker in nest cavity

Female Western Tanager

*click to enlarge photos