Passage Falls

Passage Creek

Today we headed back out to Mill Creek to hike Passage Falls. The last time we hiked out to the falls was back in July of 2015 with Helen & Craig. Our memory of the hike was slightly different. Bill had it in his head that it was a 'stroll of about a mile'. My memory was it was longer than that & had a short climb just before the falls. 

All Trails claimed it was 2 1/2 miles (total of 5 miles) out to the falls with a climb about 1/4 mile from the falls. My Versa 4 (Fitbit) registered the hike at 6 miles round trip so not too far off.

Passage Falls

Taking a break at Passage Falls

Neither of us remember the sketchy decent down to the base of the falls. It was more treacherous than either of us remembered it. Looking back on my photos taken in 2015 I think the trail had a different approach to the falls that was not nearly as steep & rocky.

Burn out

It was a good bit warmer on the return trip back to the truck. Several years ago a fire burned through the area so no shade was available to us. Bridger kept his cool by jumping into Passage Creek whenever the mood struck. He has defiantly become a water dog. 

Bridger found a huge stick and decided he needed to carry it along with him. My legs got a few scratches from his running down the trail with it. One happy dog!

Bridger and Bill

Bridger retrieving & cooling off

Bridger & the Big Stick

Edith's & Sagebrush Checkerspots

Passage Falls from July 2015

*click to enlarge photos

Wildflowers at Fairy Lake

Few-flowered Shooting Stars

Drove out to Fairy Lake to check out the road conditions for a future mountain bike ride. Wow, it was a rough & bouncy ride! 

It has been a pretty wet Spring and early Summer which has led to more exposed rocks. At least the road wasn't muddy. Lots of wildflowers were blooming so I took a few shots.

Little Larkspur

Parry's Townsend Daisy

Prairie Smoke

Rocky Mountain Iris

Scarlet Indian Paintbrush

Showy Goldeneye

Streamside Bluebells

Tall Larkspur

Tall Larkspur

Yellow Columbine

*click pictures to enlarge

Lake Swimming for Bridger

Today we headed out to Hyalite Canyon after breakfast. Since it was still early morning we let Bridger off leash. Yeah, we broke the leash law in a National Forest. 

Actually, it was his first experience swimming in a lake. Last season's algae bloom killed any chance for getting him in the water at Hyalite. He'd been in some rivers, but it's been difficult finding spots deep enough to swim.

Bridger was a bit tentative at first, but quickly got into it. Cold water and a touch of snow on the Gallatin Peaks for July 4th...just a perfect way to start the day. Cannot beat a tired dog too!

Mountain Biking at Mill Creek

The view below

The day was supposed to be spent kayaking a portion of the Jefferson River. Unfortunately, the morning was chilly & the winds had picked up. We were forced to change the plan. Too much wind on such a flat river could have made for a miserable day... especially when faced with a head wind or heaven forbid gotten wet. 

The decision was made to head out with our friends and do some mountain biking. I'd rather be on my bike so was pretty happy to make the switch. We headed out to one of our favorite rides from last year...Mill Creek in Paradise Valley. 

Bill taking in the view from where we came up

The View back from our perch

The original ride we discovered in that area was up Wicked Creek Trail, but the June flood last year took out the bridge to get to the trail head. So last summer we drove out to see if we could safely cross Mill Creek & get to the Wicked Creek trail head. 

Not possible, but Mill Creek Road looked to be in good shape so we took our bikes down the graveled road. As it turned out the road had been graded & prepped for summer, but the flood had compromised a small portion of it so no vehicles could access it. 

It became one of our favorite rides. 

Sandi & me... a selfie for proof of ride

This summer we took our friends to Mill Creek Road for a mountain bike ride. Not too many vehicles to have to deal with & lots of wildflowers to see as we rode up from the valley floor into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. 

About 9 miles into the ride a gate closure kept us from continuing up into the mountains. Not too surprised with the gate closure. 

There are several closures in the area to protect trails from getting destroyed while wet & muddy. Most trails at lower elevations open June 15th and the higher ones will hopefully open July 15th. It gives us an excuse to come back and do this one when the gate opens. 

We took in the view for a bit and headed downhill...18 miles in 2 hours in the beautiful mountain air. Doesn't get much better!

Western & Pale Swallowtails

Mill Creek 

Indian Paintbrush

*click photos to enlarge!

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