The Fires are still burning, cutting Australian Opals

The fires are still burning, even after the heavy rains. In some places the thick forest canopy acts as an umbrella for the fire and in other places the fire is so intense it didn’t die out. Finally, in some areas, (think steep valley mountain canyons), the fires cannot be safely fought. The current Wyoming fires around us are: The Willow Creek Fire of 4065 acres, (6.4 square miles), is thirty eight percent contained The Red Canyon Fire near Thermopolis, has burned an area of 125,000 acres, (195 square miles), is 93 percent contained The Dollar Lake Fire near Pinedale covers an area of 16236 acres, (25 square miles), is 22 per cent contained Finally, the Little Grey Fire, about 35 acres which is 100 percent contained We have not had any air quality warnings, even though we stay inside when the smoke is so thick that the government should have issued one. Perhaps it’s part of the cuts in federal funding……. One recent release on the fires said that the fire needs a big snowfall to finally put them out. Meanwhile I have been cutting a friend’s opals, cleaning our rock studio, and cutting cabochons that we will make into jewelry for next year’s shows. We were taught by our mentor, Dick Cline, (may he rest in peace), to never waste time working inferior quality stone. Today I amd planing on painting the dog house which is a cover for our heat pump and air conditioning. It is necassy to prevent damage from the winters snow, (two years ago we had twenty one feet)! Its too early for snow for the fires, but being a former member of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, I always end my posts with Clear skies.

The Willow Creek Fire

Yesterday afternoon our neighbors arrived from their Utah home. Their route had taken them along Highway 89 and they told us of encountering heavy smoke and firefighters as they neared and traveled over Salt Pass. The night before our friends Becky and Fred had gone to a dark sight to view and take pictures of the Milky Way. They had seen and photographed the flames from thirty miles away. Yesterday, after Pickleball we could see the huge clouds from the smoke and last evening heard that Salt Pass and Highway 89 were closed. The news was good and bad, Good in that the firefighters had prevented the fire from jumping over the highway and bad in that the fire had grown in size to almost four thousand acres, (about six square miles). We don’t live in a forest and should be safe from this fire, but we are less than a mile from National Forest land and are surrounded by unmown grasses and fields filled with hay. There are no fire hydrants in our Rv Park, that we know of, and so we decided we need a plan in case of a prairie fire. We once saw a prairie fire in a field in Gillette and how quickly the flames grew to over eight feet tall. If the flames are over two feet tall, a person cannot stop the fire. At over eight feet even equipment must flee, and the fire can’t be fought, Gillette was lucky that day as the wind died down. People had gotten out their water hoses and were standing and waiting out the flames. It wouldn’t have worked. The best thing to do was to evacuate. So, we discussed what we should do. Evacuation is the safest thing in a fire, before it’s too late. To prepare we need a emergency pack with our papers, passports, and insurance information. The vehicles need to be gassed up and ready to go. What we really need is a good soaking rain, something we have not seen for almost two months…… And so we pray for rain and not for clear skies. Ps we are not in any danger and thirty miles from the evacuation area, but now is the time to prepare for future fires

Hummingbird Wars August 2025

The Aztecs God of war was a hummingbird or sometimes depicted as an eagle. His name was Huitzilopochtli.

If you ever have had a hummingbird feeder, you may have seen a hummingbird war.

It happens when a dominant hummingbird, like a male rufous guards its nectar source. The male perches in our white lilac bush and attacks any other hummingbird that dares to try and feed.

Each hummingbird needs to eat half its body weight per day just to fuel its rapid flights, (a hummingbird weights about the same as a penny). It’s no wonder our feeders are emptied in about three days…..

One year we even found a dead hummingbird, after the fight had moved to a ground feeder. The nectar source is so important as the hummingbirds are in a state of hyperphagia, which the bears are also entering now, and they need to put on fat for their southern migration. Clear skies

Fly fishing with Jen and Renita

The weather here has been hot and dry. Jen had driven down from Montana to visit us for five days of fly fishing, hiking in Grand Teton National Park, shopping, and seeing our new Park model, (think tiny home). She has spent a lot of time on the water and is an accomplished flyfisher woman. Her goal here was to catch two of the four species of native cutthroats in Wyoming, working on the Wyoming Cut Slam award that Renita and I both earned years ago. On the first day of flyfishing we drove to Salt Creek and attempted to catch Bonniville Cutthroat Trout. Despite our best efforts the stream appeared to be devoid of any catchable fish. She did manage to catch several other small fish but no Bonneville.

Heading back over the Salt Pass we next drove to a public area on the Salt River. Working along the shore we finally found a spot with several active cuts, and she caught her first Sanke River Fine Spotted Cutthroat, (she had caught one another time but did not have a good picture for submission. The river was full of people drifting on innertubes but as soon as they passed the fish would start rising and we were frustrated that we couldn’t get any to take our flies).

The next day we decided to fish the Greys River. It’s the longest undammed river in the longest forty eight states. It was another frustrating day as the fish seemed to have lockjaw but at one of our spots Jen hooked a large Snake River Cutthroat. She fought it for quite a while before the hook pulled free about the time I got there with my net……. We also fished the Little Grey, a tributary, and there we both caught small cuts. I caught and released three on the lower stretch and Jen caught several. Deciding to take it easy we did not cross McDougal pass and pursue a Colorado Cutthroat. The next day we took a day off from fishing and went on the hike, which was the previous blog entry. On the following day we decided to float the Salt River. Wyoming Game and fish requires invasive species stickers. Thank goodness we could purchase them online, so we loaded the kayaks into the truck for a four-hour drift.

Renita and I dropped off our truck at the takeout point, and when we returned Jen told us she had already caught and released a fish. A guide boat started their drift, just ahead of us, and it’s never a good sign to have a guide boat just fishing in the water before us. I took the water temperature, and it was sixty-one one degrees so we could safely release any fish. Storm clouds started to build but we still were able to fish, and I caught and released a nice cut. We ended up catching five fish before the had to stop fishing and paddle quickly to the takeout point

At the first rapids I read the river wrong and got stuck on a shallow rapid. Jen easily floated by me, (I have been dieting and have lost thirty pounds in the last three years but still got stuck). It was the first time she had attempted to fish from a kayak. She had brought her inflatable float board but was glad she wasn’t using it while fishing on the fast river. She was already ahead of me, fish wise, and caught several more cuts before I finally had some success. Storm clouds started to build but we still were able to fish, and I caught and released a nice cut. For the day our total was five fish before we had to stop fishing and paddle quickly to the takeout point. Taking the kayaks out, we loaded them into the truck and had just finished loading them when we got hit with a deluge. It’s always a good day when we are fishing and Jen made the day special. It was the first time she had tried fishing from a kayak. It’s a lot more difficult while drifting than being in a drift boat,(or raft). Jen and Eric are thinking about buying a raft for fishing on the Bitterroot River in Montana, (near their house). Thank you, Jen, for the visit and for making more memories, we had a great time during your visit. Clear skies, and love... ps I do not use AI as you can tell from my mistakes....Renita opted to be the offical photographer.

A Hike to Lake Taggert, Grand Teton National Park with Jen and Renita, July 2025

Jen took a few days off work and came down for a visit. She had three goals. one was to check out our Park Model, another to spend four days fly fishing Salt River, Salt Creek, the Greys River, and the Little Greys. She also wanted to spend a day hiking in Grand Teton National Park and a little shopping at the secondhand stores in Jackson. We asked her where she wanted to hike and she selected the Lake Taggert Trail. A few years back, we hiked the trail while Eric and Jen also hiked to Bradley Lake. Arriving at the Parking lot, it didn’t surprise us that the lot was full. We were still early enough that we didn’t have to walk far before we reached the trail and began our hike. The trail is about one point four miles to the lake and the same distance if you return on the same way to your car. You can also hike it as a loop, but we didn’t want to as that is on our list for a September hike, (in September the elk are bugling as it is rutting season).

Jen led us at a slow pace as we were not sure if we were in good enough shape to climb the trail. Jen paused often to wait for us and we rested in the shade at each pause. Renita and I were both surprised when we quickly reached the last stretch that we call Broadway.

By then it’s an easy and relatively flat hike to Taggert Lake. There were quite a few people there, and the wildlife was all scared away, so we didn’t see any moose, bears, or anything else, (we don’t relish encountering bears when we are hiking, and we always carry bear spray).

Stopping for pictures and a snack we turned around and headed back down to our car. Maybe we are in better shape than we thought and now we can concentrate for our yearly hike to Grand View Point.

From there we drove up the park road to Moose and then turned south to Jackson. Both Renita and Jenny told me where to turn for the first secondhand store. I parked the car and decided to join them. I was surprised at the unique items in the store, and we found an oak card table and chairs. It was a great buy, although we only wanted two chairs, we bought the set (still some room in our storage). The second store was filled with women’s clothing, and I sat in a chair by the door while the women shopped. Renita joined me by the door and some folks thought we were guards and thanked us for volunteering our time, (no one offered us money). Our last stop was at a fly-fishing store on the main square. We stopped at a deli for an easy dinner. Jen bought a package of sushi, while we both had a chicken dinner. It was a good day at Grand Teton National Park. Clear skies.

Three Days In Yellowstone Park, with the wildlife cooperating

After studying the landslide detachment, we headed into Yellowstone. Pilot Point was ahead of us, (it was a waypoint for pilots to get their bearings),, when Renita spotted two Red Tailed Hawks perching in a tree alongside the road’.

I pulled over and she jumped out, heading closer for a better picture. Deciding she was having too much fun I grabbed my camera, after parking, and joined her. As I approached one of the red tails flew off and it was soon joined by the other, Both if us got great shots of the hawks in flight.

Driving through Cooke City we reached the entrance, and not long afterwards cars and people were pulling over. The attraction was several small groups of Mountain Goats. The problem was that they were so far away that all of our pictures were mediocre at best.

As we watched them a mule deer doe and her two fawns came out behind us as if to see what everyone was watching.

We didn’t see much else, so we continued driving along the Lamar Valley. Large herds of buffalo filled the valley. Nearing Slough Creek, a large group was watching a black bear looking for food. We both got out and one of my pictures caught the young bear and the light just right. It’s one of my best black bear pictures this year.

Many people were looking north toward the place where the Slough Creek Wolf Pack had denned. Parking we talked with several of the wolf watchers, and one told us that there were five new wolf pups lying in a small copse of trees. He set up his spotting scope and allowed us to look for them When it was our turn to use his scope I saw two running thought the shadows and Renita saw three.

The wolves must have laid down in the shade and so we headed west and then south as we drove e across the Yellowstone River to Roosevelt Junction. From there we continued to Canyon Tower. There were warning cones at one spot but there were no bears or car jams so we continued. We headed to Hayden Valley, where we saw many buffalo and a grizzly bear with two cubs feeding. They were on the other side of the river, at an extreme distance, but I did get one shot that showed the hump, It was definitely a grizzly.

We had heard that Harlequin Ducks were again at Le Hardy Rapids.

Upon stopping we discovered that not only were the Harlequin ducks there, but a huge hatch of salmon flies was occurring.

The two and a half inch insects were flying and crawling everywhere. Som of the others screamed as they thought the harmless bugs were dangerous. We shook our heads, the bugs are harmless, and wished we had a Yellowstone fishing license as the trout had to be in a feeding frenzy. At the fishing bridge, we turned and saw nothing else until reaching Buffalo Bill State Park.

A few days later Renita got great pictures of a herd of bighorn sheep and a cow and calf moose at Sylvan Lake,

(which is at Sylvan Pass).

Any day in Yellowstone is a delight and this trip, we got to spend three days in the park! Clear skies

The Japanese Dentention Center at Heart Mountain Wyoming

14th Amendment Section 1 All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. If you're in Cody, Wyoming, be sure to visit the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum. There are actually eleven museums in one large building.

A lesser-known museum is located outside Cody but is well worth the visit. It’s the Heart Mountain Internment Center. Each room in the museum contains displays portraying the concentration camp and a box of tissues. Many of the visitors cried as they read of their ancestors’ detention. This is the Heart Mountain Japanese Internment Center, (think Concentration Camp). It’s where twenty-two thousand American Citizens of Japanese descent were held captive for over three years, (It was one of ten such centers built in remote areas of the United States. It was the third largest city in Wyoming)

Their crime was that they or there parents were from Japan, and we were at war. Never mind that Americans of German, or Italian citizens were not arrested or detained. The Japanese Citizens had a different skin color….. These Issei and Nissie, (an Issei is the first Generation who had arrived here from Japan and and Nissie were their children who had been born here in the United States).

They had been torn from their rightful homes, farms and business The people detained here were from Southern California homes and moved to the Japanese Detention Center, Concentration Camp, in Northern Wyoming, they were never given back their homes, businesses, or stolen possessions).

They were guarded by armed Army Guards who sat in watchtowers, and their barracks were surrounded by barbed wire and machine guns. They were only allowed to bring one suitcase with their clothing which was insufficient for the harsh Wyoming Winter. It was the coldest winter in a long time and their only source of heat was Wyoming coal. Eventually the young men were allowed to prove their loyalty by enlisting or being drafted into the Army and sent to Europe to fight. (they fought in the newly formed the 442nd Regiment, which was the most decorated unit in Untied States Military history). A small group, thirty-one individuals, refused to be drafted until their parents had been released from the Concentration Camp. They were convicted and sent to federal prison. Clear skies

This has been the most difficult blog I have ever written. One of my reasons for going to the Museum was to show Renita one of the barracks I lived in while I attended Iowa State Universities summer field camp in Shell Wyoming. Iowa State donated the last one of the barracks to the Museum and it was moved from Shell, Wyoming and is being renovated to its original condition. It is the only original barracks left from the Heart Mountain Interment Center, (Concentration Camp). How many of you have ever read the United States Constitution. I wonder how many of my readers see the parallels to what is happened today……