Winter Wonderland

I haven't had any outrageous demands for blog updates, therefore I scaled back for a few days. Actually, that's not the case at all. I had some issues with my photos, and have been having trouble getting them onto the computer and in the correct format to post them here for you, my lovely followers. I apologize for that.


What has been going on? Well, I'll try to recall what all I've done that is noteworthy. I finally took a visit down to Grand Teton National Park. It was glorious. The only drawback was the fact that it was raining almost the entire time I was there. Welcome to late August/early September in the mountains, I guess. I was able to get a few photos, but it is a bit of a bummer because I wasn't able to see the actual peaks of many mountains due to the low cloud cover. I did one very short hike. I hiked Taggart Lake which is located in the southern portion of the park, and it was only about 3.5-4 miles round-trip. It did provide a spectacular view. I do have photos of the lake, but unfortunately they have fallen victim to my image transferring troubles. I promise, once I figure out that situation, you will see them!

A few days ago I was up in Bozeman and experienced the Bozeman Farmer's Market. That was a good time. I ran in to a guy I work with at the Market and he was up there trying to "hustle" his photos. He takes great shots and they really portray this area of the country well. I'll link to his page when I can find it... It seems like you can't go too long around here without a trip into town, being that things are a bit more expensive in the park it just makes sense (or cent$?) to go outside of the park to gather new things. Bozeman is usually the city of choice because it's the quickest drive. Cody is closer in terms of mileage, but the time it takes to get there is much longer.

Two days ago I hiked Little Gibbon Falls. It was a very short hike out to a 25 foot waterfall. I stopped to take a few photos of the Falls, and continued on the trail behind it which leads to Ice Lake, Grebe Lake and even Cascade Lake. I was a bit strapped for time, so I stopped at the junction and decided to come back after a short rest.

Last night it began getting very chilly, and the forecast was saying rain and/or snow. I woke up this morning to probably an inch of snow on the ground. Not a lot, but enough to make the trees look great. I headed out to snap some photos, but Dunraven Pass was closed. Dunraven Pass is the road from Canyon Village up to Tower-Roosevelt, which is the next junction north. It is a stretch of 19 miles that takes anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour to drive. The road has a lot of turns and curves and spinny-type action that make you have to be a cautious driver. It passes Mount Washburn and travels above Amphitheater Valley where many different types of wildlife can be seen. It's probably one of my favorite drives in the park. I headed out to a different trailhead than I usually take for Cascade Lake and took some pictures there. I hiked a little ways in, but I hadn't packed gloves, so my phalanges were a bit chilled and I decided to head back to the Pontiac Vibe for warmth.

I have yet to mention that it is now rut season for the elk in the park. Many of the bull elks have "claimed" their females for the rut season, so while driving around the park you will see a male with up to 20 females nearby which he will mate with throughout the season, which ensures that he will pass his genes on to another generation. This is different than the bison rut where each male pairs up with a single female to pro-create. Just some differences that are noticed throughout the park when it comes to the mating of the many types of animals that live here.

Anyway, I've posted some pictures from the snowfall last night. I also attached two pictures from Little Gibbon Falls. The one with me balancing my way across the log is just past the Falls. I set my self timer on the 'ol Nikon and scampered my way to the log about 15-20 feet away and jumped on hoping I made it in time for the snap of the photo. I did. My arms were out because I was about to fall off, but don't worry, I caught myself. I may not be able to hear with my ears, but at least they can still keep me upright!