WYOMING: So Much History (Part 2 of 2)

 

There is so much amazing beauty in Wyoming, not the least of which . . . Grand Teton National Park.  And while Yellowstone National Park spreads through three states, the majority of the park is in Wyoming as well.  (The other two states are Montana and Idaho).

Where you have mountains and rivers, you will also find canyons.  When driving through the Rocky Mountain region, you cannot help but to be impressed with your surroundings. 

And the wildlife . . . truly "home on the range" moments as you wiz by fields of elk, pronghorn (antelope) and deer.  If you're really lucky, you may also stumble upon bears (black or brown/grizzly), moose or big horn sheep.

My drives through Wyoming never disappoint me, so with my three day weekend, and roughly eight hours in each direction (to Rawlins and home from Evanston) I was able to take a more scenic routes not taken before.

Sightseeing highlights from my Wyoming adventure were Legend Rock State Park (petroglyphs), Thermopolis (hot springs), Meeteetse (old western frontier town), Fossil Butte National Monument (ancient fossil lake) and Rawlins itself.  Most of these places have been on my list to visit, but I just never seemed to have the time or be going in the right direction.  I will admit, I didn't know Fossil Butt NM existed until doing a NPS search for Wyoming.  I'm so glad I was able to make all of them this trip.

Legend Rock State Park
Legend Rock is a world-renowned petroglyph site. It has been a sacred site for Native Americans of this region for thousands of years.  Located near Thermopolis, I have known about these petroglyphs for years!  Due to its remote location and required walking, it hasn't been someplace I felt comfortable trying to explore alone in previous years.  When I arrived, I guess I expected a bit more for a state park.  But being a weekday (Friday) after the summer season, I should have realized I might be in for a more remote experience.  Add to it the on and off rain showers since roughly Cody, I wasn't sure what more to plan for.

The walk along the loop viewing pathway, was less than a half-mile. It started at panel 1 of 15, each numbered so you could follow along on their Interpretative Trail map/brochure (available in a waterproof box near the visitor center).  As you walk along the path, going right to left, there is a slight incline which also requires some minor climbing over rocks.  At the end of the trail, you can either turn and go back the way you came . . . or "walk down" several stone steps to the main gravel pathway below.  While I was initially concerned (mostly because it was pouring rain and the rocks and path were slippery), I made it without incident.  Good thing, because I didn't see another human there during my hour walk.

I have so many photos of these beautiful artifacts, so here are just a sampling of these historic works of art.  This panel features some of the oldest petroglyphs at this site . . . believed to be over 11,000 years old.

There are other that are more clearly defined and recognized in terms of the human and animal figures depicted. Check out the panel below.

As much as the cloudy rain was a disappointment, I was really happy that the weather helped to "bring out" the images carved in the rocks.

Fossil Butte National Monument
I'm really glad I found out about this place Saturday night through a GOOGLE search of National Park Service sites in Wyoming.  Fossil Lake was one of three "great lakes" that covered areas of what are now Wyoming, Utah and Colorado.  The fossil beds in this region have been excavated for nearly 200 years.  The layers of rock have preserved thousands of plant and animal life from an estimated 52 million years ago.

While there are no easily accessible trails to view fossil beds here, they have done a remarkable job of providing visitors with exhibits of actual fossils including trees, birds, fish and other animal species.

Again, I took a lot of photos so I'm only sharing a few that I think are most interesting in terms of the life shown through the layers of limestone, volcanic ash and mudstone.

Rawlins, WY
I had couple of hours after breakfast with Patty & Rodney, so I paid a visit to the Carbon County Museum and the Wyoming Frontier Prison.  They are conveniently located within blocks of each other, so it was a nice opportunity to take in some local history.

The Wyoming Frontier Prison might have been "frontier" given it housed its first inmates in 1901 . . . but it remained an active prison until 1981!  The prison had a death row, with hanging being the initial means of execution, until in 1936 a gas chamber method was implemented.  In total, 14 death sentences were carried out here (nine by hanging and five by hydrocyanic acid gas).  There is a small museum open and free to the public.  One-hour guided tours are also provided based on seasonal hours ($10-$12/person).  I highly recommend the walking tour.

I suppose after a prison tour, the historical society's museum may seem tame . . . but it is also worth a mention and visit (and it's free).

Besides . . . who doesn't want to take a selfie with the Sinclair Dinosaur? 

Meeteetse, WY
My timing wasn't great given it was a Friday morning, a couple of weeks after Labor Day . . . but I still enjoyed a short impromptu stop here.  Initially it was more of a "stretch my legs" potty stop, but I was glad I took the opportunity to walk the small frontier town's wooden sidewalks to peer inside some of the many main street shops and museums.

The main Meeteetse Museum was open to the public and had several very interesting exhibits, including a ranger station and the "Wild Sheep of North America."  I'll admit to feeling sad for Big Joe, a 600+ lb grizzy bear that had become a nuisance to local ranchers and was euthanized in 2018.

Ranger's cabin as it would have appeared in the 19th and early 20th century

Big Joe is on display, in his taxidermy state.  He was an amazingly beautiful animal, that just got into trouble on the local ranchers' land.

Peering in through the front window of the old garage

 

 

 

 

 

Thermopolis, WY
This town is perhaps best known for the local hot springs turned tourist/resort stop.  Today, there is a state park that includes the thermal features which are beautiful. More than 8,000 gallons of water a day pour over the terraces which are easily accessible for viewing and photography.  There are several commercial hot springs pools in this area, for day use and overnight visitors.

Here is a video of one of the terraces . . . turn up the volume to hear the hot mineral water flow.

This is also where I stopped for dinner Friday night.  Missing a "Friday Fish Fry" for months . . . I enjoyed the fish dinner at One Eyed Buffalo in town before heading on to Rawlins for the night.

 

The sun setting on another fabulous day!

WYOMING: Like No Place on Earth (part 1 of 2)

I know it to be true, because I have the t-shirt (thank you Patty & Rodney)!  This past week, I took a three-day weekend to visit friends I have in the southern part of Wyoming.  Sandy & Doug Purcell have been friends since the late 1980's, through bowling in NoVA.  Patty & Rodney Schuler are friends made through my love of vintage era bowling alleys, and the small 10 laner they own in Rawlins.   The drive "south" would make for a long day trip, or even an overnight, hence my taking a few days to enjoy the trip and take in some of the sights along the way.

Sandy & Doug moved out here to Wyoming five years ago after he retired from the Air Force.  It's no surprise that living in Northern Virginia is a rat race . . . too many people . . . too many cars . . . and too expensive.  They bought a place in Evanston, pretty much sight unseen from an internet listing.  Talk about taking a risk and just making a decision to DO IT!  It was a great evening of reminiscing about bowling BITD . . . including a memorable trip to the 1990 ABC Tournament in Reno.

Patty & Rodney became friends . . . DEAR FRIENDS . . . when I finally got to make a visit to Memory Lanes the summer of COVID (June 2020).  My sister Pam and I made the long road trip (8+ hours round trip) up from Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.  While I've only seen and spent "in person" time with them twice since 2020, we are like friends known for decades.  Sadly, their bowling center has not reopened since COVID and is still for sale.  Retirement looks good, and I couldn't be happier for them.

Making the most of my 1,200 mile weekend, I did take in a lot of sights "off the beaten path."  Over the years, there have been several places I've wanted to explore but just couldn't seem to make them fit into my annual pilgrimage to Yellowstone National Park.  This year, with the weekend dedicated to visiting people and places in Wyoming, I was able to break up the nearly eight hour drive (each way) with some wonderful places to get some history, stretch my legs and take some photos.

My next blog post will share those experiences, with lots of photos too!  For now, I will leave you with these two photos of my Grandpa McAlister and my Mom's family.  She was born & raised in Sinclair, WY . . . and attended Rawlins High School (class of 1955).  I have always felt drawn to this region of the United States . . . I suppose it is in my DNA.

TO BE CONTINUED

A Summer of Audibles - Camping in Yellowstone National Park

Since the epic flood of June 13th, how people enjoy and recreate in Yellowstone has been dramatically impacted.  Businesses in the entrance communities of Gardiner (where I live at the North Entrance) and Silver Gate (at the NE Entrance) have been hit especially hard financially without direct access into the park for visitors and locals.

So my whining about how it has impacted me is really something I try to avoid.  But no doubt, when you're a photographer seeking opportunities to observe wildlife, the time to be in the park is around daybreak and sunset.  I feel fortunate that starting the July 4th weekend, employees of the park and concessionaires serving the park had access into Yellowstone over the "Old Gardiner Road" . . . a dirt stagecoach road dating back more than 100 years.  That access however, is still very restrictive, with "convoys" allowed to cross over in a one-way direction based on a very limited schedule.

For me, I was initially just happy to have access and with the long hours of daylight, heading over at 5am allowed me some early morning photography as the animals got active.  But as the summer went on and days got shorter, the times were not really conducive for my interests and use.  I decided that it would be better to take the last convoy into the park after work on Saturdays at 5:30p, and then overnight camp Saturday and Sunday (for my "weekend off" on Sunday and Monday) so I would be in the park until dark . . . and then get up before sunrise the next day.

This was a generally good plan in early August, but as the summer went on and the temperatures rose, many of the animals I sought were at higher altitudes and inaccessible without hiking (which isn't something I would consider doing alone, especially with gimpy knees and asthma).

I did enjoy "car camping" (a warm and comfy bedroll in the back of my SUV) over several weekends at Canyon, Grant and Bridge Bay campgrounds inside the park.  I was fortunate to get sites very close to the bathrooms (for the early morning, pre-dawn potty needs) so the inconvenience was really minimal.  It was sort of a frivolous expense for a campsite when I was also paying for an apartment roughly 50 miles away . . . but well worth it if I wanted to have greater time inside the park.

About the campsites in Yellowstone . . . most are managed by concessionaire Xanterra.  They have a pretty efficient registration system online and with my NPS/BLM "Access" Pass, I can get most campsites at half price ($16-20).  (Seniors with a lifetime NPS Pass can also get half-priced campsites.)  For the campgrounds that have shower facilities, you pay a little more because you get two showers per night per person.  The other campgrounds without showers are a little less, but if you save your unused shower cards from other stays, you can still access showers if you book and stay in a campground without showers (like Bridge Bay).

With many of the park concessionaires still having employee issues since COVID, the food options in Yellowstone are pretty limited.  As an employee myself, I do have access to the "EDRs" - Employee Dining Rooms - but even those are rather inconvenient.  I generally took a small picnic size cooler of food items plus a bag of dry goods for my two or three days in the park.  I also supplemented my food needs with trips outside the park to Cody (East Entrance) or W. Yellowstone (West Entrance) for a midday meal.  NOTE:  I found Jackson to be WAY TOO BUSY to find suitable dining options!  The last time I was there, I was told by my favorite breakfast spot "We don't seat singles at our tables when we have a waiting list."  And on that day, the wait was nearly an hour.

In August and September, I car camped six nights total.  It was a nice way to maximize my time in the park at a relatively minimal expense.

Here is a few of the other campsites I had this summer!

And with that, I'll say GOOD NIGHT! 

This Past Month in Yellowstone

 

Not all of Yellowstone's wildlife is big or on the beaten path.  On one of my drives over the Blacktail Plateau, I had to stop to take some photos of all the pretty flowers and butterflies.  The next time I came through there just a couple of weeks later, all the flowers had died and gone to seed.

Of course, with the bison rut in full swing this past month, there was a lot to watch from the sidelines, including these two bulls (sound UP).

In August I had four trips inside the park, three of them for multiple days/nights as I booked a campsite to avoid extra time (and miles) driving back and forth from Gardiner.  I have enjoyed car camping, as my Santa Fe is just about the perfect size for just me.  A bedroll and sleeping bag, and I'm set.

While I generally prefer Canyon CG, I have also stayed and thoroughly enjoyed the campgrounds at Grant Village and Bridge Bay.  I'm especially happy that the smell of fresh pine is not one of my known allergies! (This photo was taken a couple of weekends ago at Bridge Bay CG.)

Driving through each of the campgrounds, all of the cool camping set ups never cease to amaze me (and cause a healthy dose of RV envy).  I continue to hope that "someday" I will have at least a camper-van to enjoy my road trip adventures when I am truly and fully retired.

With just five weekends left here (including the one that starts for me tomorrow) . . . my time to spend inside Yellowstone National Park is drawing to an end.  I will not know if "this trip" will be my last in the park . . . until it's happened and over.  Nothing can be taken for granted, although I hope I'll have at least one more weekend in the park after this one.

I took this photo of the third year grizzly cub nicknamed Jam.  He is still with his Momma, Raspberry, which is generally a year long than most.  I was blessed to see them both on August 6th . . . the last time I've seen them in spite of driving through their known habitat multiple times daily.  It is possible, even likely, I won't see them again this year.  But I'm thankful I did get to see them several times earlier in the summer, and have wonderful memories of my time watching them.

I have also been able to capture beautiful sunrises and sunsets in the park, made possible by camping there rather than having to do the convoy to and from Gardiner in a single day.

This may be one of my favorite sunset images . . . this over Yellowstone Lake in early August.  And the next photo is of a foggy sunrise over the Yellowstone River near Hayden Valley.  I remember how chilly it was that morning (mid 30's) with the steam coming up off the river as well as the thermal features along its shoreline.

Every day . . . every sunrise and every sunset . . . is different.  No two days are ever the same.  It's why I (and so many others) continue to come back time and time again.

And if your timing is right, you might even see a rainbow over a waterfall.  This is the legendary Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River in the Yellowstone Grand Canyon area.  It's hard to believe this past Monday was my first time there EVER.

With the visitor number down significantly this summer, it has been nice to be able to access areas of the park that historically are overrun with people and vehicles.  Additionally, I've felt stronger and more capable to venture a little for short walks (I dare not call them hikes) so it's been a win-win for me in 2022.

While I'm still very cautions about walking around many of the thermal features throughout the park, I did take the short walk on the boardwalk to Mud Volcano.  On past visits, the parking lot there has generally been crowded with lines to enter for a place to park.  Add the strong sulfur smells from several of the attractions, I've never made it a priority to check this area out.

Check out this short video of Mud Volcano (oh yeah . . . sound UP here too)!

  Until next time . . .

The 1959 Yellowstone Earthquake - A Visible Reminder of Earth's Changing Landscape

 

While campers were nestled in their sleeping bags in a campground at the foot of this mountain just outside of Yellowstone National Park, a massive 7.2 earthquake caused a 80 million TON landslide, effectively sheering off the entire side of the mountain as seen here from the visitor center observation window!

Twenty-eight people lost their lives that August night, many buried in the slide at the Rock Creek Campground.  The loss of property was also significant as the landslide dammed up the Madison River, flooding an entire valley.  Today you can see the "newly formed" Quake Lake, with the remnants of dead trees and houses still present throughout the area.

I had visited here back in 2017.  Since it was on my way home from Virginia City a couple of weekends ago, I stopped at the visitor center again. Unbeknownst to me, it was the anniversary week of that fateful night.  Watching the documentary video stirred deep emotions, listening to firsthand accounts from survivors who lost family members . . . including parents and siblings.

You can walk through the forest where you can visibly see how the land shifted and "dropped" some 20 feet due to the earthquake.  I would also suggest a drive along the river, as it is very pretty with anglers often in the river fishing for trout.

This area is about 30 miles from West Yellowtone, MT and the west entrance into Yellowstone National Park.  For anyone who is looking for an interesting day trip, I would highly recommend this as something to do.

GTNP (part two) - An Emotional Experience

Monday was a pretty emotional day for me.  Not really sure why talking about my brother-in-law Rex to some strangers (aka "friends I'd yet to meet") at the Chapel of the Transformation in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) had me overwhelmed with emotion, but it did.  I actually think it was the outpouring of empathy and concern expressed for me . . . directly and indirectly.  I know my presence, with Rex's remains, impacted others.

There was a tour bus full of middle to senior aged tourists on the grounds when I got up from the Menor's Historic District area.  They were mostly in and around the church as I approached so I took a seat and waited patiently for my time to stage the photo I wanted to take.  The view as you can see, is too amazing to not want to commit it to memory through a photograph.

As I step up with Rex's urn, one lady asked me if it contained the ashes of a loved one.  I replied that yes, my friend died in May and I was sharing my summer adventures with him.  She thought that was a memorable way to pay tribute to him.

I could hear her telling others in the back of the church, and when I exited, there were whispers as I walked by some of the couples.  One lady came up to me out in the parking lot and asked if I was OK, as I had been fighting the tears and sniffling back the snot building in my nose.  Like a 10 year old, I used my hoodie sleeve to wipe my face and tears.  She said, "Can I give you a hug now?  You look like you need a friend."

I chuckled and said I had a friend with me, thinking of Rex, but also accepted her friendly gesture of comfort.  People can be so kind and generous with their emotion and empathy.  In the car, I broke down into a full and blubbering cry, as much about the thoughtfulness of truly a PERFECT stranger, turned friend.

The Chapel of the Sacred Heart is another church in Grand Teton National Park. It was built in 1937, and continues to provide worship services today.  I have driven by this one a dozen times over the years, but never took the time to stop to see it.

I'm glad that on this day, I had the time and inspiration to do so.

The stained glass window at the front, caught my eye as I approached the front of the building.  I had to stop and take it all in, before entering.

Inside, the rustic and modest building felt like I was walking back in time.  The pews and kneelers looked to be original to when the church was built.  There were prayer books available for parishioners and guests.  I took a few moments looking for inspiration, finding a passage that had me fondly remembering my childhood experiences going to church with my family.

I reflected on the innocence of children and how the world has changed in over 50 years.  I felt old like "someone's grandmother" which is odd since I've never had kids!

Before leaving, I took this photo as I shared a moment here with Rex as well. 

Many people have written that exploring our US National Parks can be a near religious experience.  While I am a spiritual person, I don't consider myself particularly religious . . . not in the traditional or biblical sense.  Having the opportunity to live, work and play in one of the greatest national parks in the world, is something that will be with me until the day I take my last breath.  I hope to never take for granted the ability to travel freely and to enjoy as much of the great things here on Planet Earth.

Yes . . . I am living the dream!

I'll close this blog entry with one of the most iconic images from The Tetons!  I hope you enjoy the majestic beauty of Mt. Moran and its reflection in the Snake River as seen from Oxbow Bend.