The Western USA is in a terrible drought, not just the Colorado River System

We needed to make the drive to Jackson as we had a prescription to pick up. Crossing the Snake River at Alpine the river wasn’t its usual pristine self but instead was a reddish brown color from mud. We had heard that there had been a mudslide up the Hoback River and as we neared the tributary with the Hoback we could see where the Hoback River poured into the Snake. The Hoback looked like it was half mud and it didn’t take long for it to mix and discolor the clear water of the Snake. We also noted that the Snake River banks were full. That’s because the Bureau of Reclamation was dumping most of the water from Jackson Lake into the river. The reason for this is the drought. Almost all of the water, in Jackson Lake was claimed long ago by agricultural users in Idaho. In fact, the plan is to remove the water from the lake, about 95%, so that by this fall Jackson Lake will only contain about five percent of it’s water. Water rights out west are complicated but the claim to the water was first made by the farmers in Idaho and the law states that the first one to claim the water has the right to the water in perpetuity. Yup, forever!

THE LAKE WHEN FULL HAS ABOUT 833,00 ACRE FEET WHEN FULL! That will leave about 50,000 acre feet in the Lake, (an acre foot is enough water to cover one acre of land with one foot of water). Some of the downstream water will hopefully keep the Palisade’s Reservoir with enough water to power its generators. If not our electricity rate will jump much higher! We are currently paying about ten cents per KW, (it was 4 cents) because our power is from cheap hydro power. This will force us to buy much more expensive power from the grid. As bad as it seems imagine what is happening to the states along the Colorado River that makes our problems pale in comparision. If Lake Mead and Lake Powell reaches dead pool,(estimated as early as December of this year), Las Vegas, Phoenix, Much of Arizona, the Imperial Valley, and much of California will lose their water and electricity from Lake Hoover and Lake Mead, (This includes the Mexico portion of the Colorado, which Mexico is also entitled to by law). The Imperial Valley will also lose the water needed to grow winter produce. That’s where 95% of the winter produce comes from….Pray for rain and snow. Cloudy skies, Mark and Renita According to Jaclson Hole news and Guide, right now the Bureau of Reclaimation is releasing about 5000 cubic feet per second so the river is higher than normal. This Fall the plan is to release only abot 250 cubic feet per second and currently the flow is being reduced to 280 cubic fete per second.

A Day in Yellowstone Park June 30th, 2026, a really stupid tourist

We arrived home from Alpine and the next day loaded up and left for Buffalo Bill State Park and the Cody Wild West Show. It was an easy five-hour drive, and we arrived at the State Park about three pm. Setting up at our campsite we talked about spending the next day on an auto tour of the eastern half of Yellowstone National Park. Our favorite drive is up the Chief Joesph Highway. It’s a drive on good roads that is not for the acrophobic. The highway goes up and up until you reach Dead Indian Point. It was named for a wounded member of the Nez Pierce tribe that had been wounded in a battle with the US Calavry.

From that point you can see the place where the detachment, landslide, took place that moved sixty miles forming Heart Mountain and Sheep Mountain. It was the greatest landslide of all time and was caused by the explosion of a massive stratovolcano, (if you have you-tube look up Myron Cooke and the greatest landslide of all time). From there we headed down the switchbacks, narrowly missing a golden eagle, and then drove to the intersection of the Beartooth Highway.

Crossing the deep Clark's Fork Canyon. we stopped for pictures.

Turning west, we reached Cooke City and then Silver Gate. It’s near the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park, (we later learned we had just missed a grizzly bear roaming around Silver Gate). Entering Yellowstone Park, we stopped at a wildlife jamb where people were watching Mountain Goats. The mountainside had numerous patches of snow, and the goats were hard to see, being white. Several photographers with lenses larger than mine said the goats were too far away to see any details. I looked anyway but did not take any images.

Entering the Lamar Valley, we passed small buffalo herds with lots of red dogs. They were energetic and while I wanted to take some pictures we couldn’t find a decent parking place.

Continuing on, Renita spotted several antelopes, a family of Sandhill Cranes and more Buffalo. We drove down Slough Creek Road, but the wolves had left the den site. Returning to the Lamar Road, we passed an Eagle nest with young but there were no available parking spaces.

Turning west toward the new bridge we encountered our first bear jamb. It was a large Cinnamon Black bear busy catching a lunch of gophers. I got a few decent pictures. If you look closely, you can see the lack of a hump and the triangular shaped ears characteristic of black bears.

Crossing the new bridge, we looked far down on the Yellowstone River. At Rosevelt Lodge we turned left to Canyon Tower. Lots of orange cones spoke of a bear(s), in the area but they must have been napping.

Before we crossed Dunraven pass we encountered another bear jamb. This was on narrow road and there we saw one of the stupidest tourists we have ever seen. He stopped in the middle of the road, got out of his car and walked within ten feet of the black bear. Taking a picture with his cell phone he returned to his car and drove off. I was so surprised at his stupidity I forgot to take a picture of him for our blog. Before we reached Hayden Valley, we next got caught in a Bison jamb.

The huge bull stopped traffic, blocked the narrow road and at one point stopped in front of our car and glared at us. If you blow up the picture you can see the reflection of our Suburu in hs eye! Luckily it kept its tail down and let us pass, (if you ever see a bison raise its tail and it starts to twirl it is getting ready to charge)! Crossing Dunraven pass it was another thirty minutes of stop and go traffic. We arrived at the Mud Volcanoes where we got caught up in another slow-moving traffic jamb. It took over thirty minutes of stop and go until we arrived at the Hayden Valley.

The reason for the jamb, was a large grizzly bear sleeping under a tree. After we parked it woke up, left the shade, and started to forage for tubers in a large open field of arrowhead balsam.

The bear was about three hundred yards away, but we still got some good pictures, (note the rounded ears, noticeable hump,for digging, also note the radio collar), and the concave face.

Our next stop was at Le Hardy Rapids where we watched the Harlequin ducks chase each other in the swift turbulent water.

It wasn’t much further to the Fishing Bridge and Sylvan Pass. We did not see the Bighorn Sheep, often present at the Pass, or any more bears of other wildlife. It had been a great day with three bears, lots of beautiful scenery, and many bison. Clear skies

Alpine, Wyoming Mountain Days 2026

One of our favorite shows of the year is the Alpine, Wyoming Mountain Days Show. Normally it’s held on Fathers Day, but this year it was changed to the next Thursday through Sunday. This meant that we wouldn’t have a break as the show ended on June 28th and we would have to leave for The Cody Wild West Show on June 29th.

The Alpine show had set up on Thursday Afternoon and opened on Friday at noon. Unfortunately, so did the rain. Friday is a slow day for us and this year was no exception. Usually Saturday is our big day and we were greeted with heavy rain and cold temperatures. Wearing every layer of clothing we owned we sat in our tent and watched it pour. Free water out West, (rain), is nothing to complain about and we did have some sales but it was cold, cold, and cold!

Sunday the temp was slightly better and the rain stopped. A Native American dance group was able to perform. We both took turns watching the Dances. Our favorite was the Shawl Dance where the Women and Children twirled to display their shawls. It’s a beautiful dance filled with Color and pride. Our sales were good as the fair weather drew people and we had a good day.

Don't Feed the bears! Five have been uthanized

The word we got yesterday is that five black bears have been euthanized beacause thye have become problems bears as they keep getting people food from tourist feedings. If you see someone feeding a bear take a picture of them and their car licenise plate, and report it to the park. Jail time and fines are in their future and they deserve i it for their stupidity.

Two Ocean Lake Birding and Bear Closings

Before I get into our birding day at Grand Teton National Park, I need to stress that a fed bear is a dead bear. Once the bears get used to people’s food, they become problem bears and are captured and euthanized. A bear can easily rip open a car and eat any food, (this happened to our friends whose car was destroyed because the bear smelled the M and M’ s they had in their ash tray). Its not unusual as bears have an incredible sense of smell! A black bear in Grand Teton National Park was caprutred and euthanized last week, (five more black bears have been fed by people and are being monitored). We heard that there were bears at Two Ocean Lake and the road was open, Driving the short but rutted drive we arrived at the parking lot and were greeted by lots of cars and few parking spots.

Planning to hike the trail I discovered that I had forgotten the bear spray and so we decided to bird just the beginning of the trail. We only walked a short way before we spotted a huge flock of swimming Common Mergansers. They were accompanied by two American White Pelicans and as they neared us they dived and fed on a school of baitfish.

They had been herding the baitfish to the shallow end of the lake and all dived at once. If you have never seen this behavior, it’s common.

We also spotted a Song Sparrow,several Ospreys, and Renita got a great shot of a tanager flying overhead.

Finally, being chased by mosquitoes, be sure to bring bug spray, we headed to our next spot, the Hermitage Trail. The trail begins at Colter Bay and after parking we were greeted with a bear warning and closure signs. A grizzly with three cubs is in the area and no one wants to bother a mother with cubs, (it's different when a bear uses people to keep any boar away).

A hiker approached and stopped for a visit. We mentioned to him that the bear spray he carried was in a bad spot, attached to the back of his pack. We had been chastised several years before for doing the same thing and warned that we would never have time to reach it when we needed it. Keep it in front! Deciding not to hike the trail we headed to our usual lunch spot, a small pond near the Moose Entry! On the way we watched as a helicopter was being used to move supplies to an area of a trail being repaired.

As soon as we left the car, we spotted two Sandhill Cranes with their chicks. The parents, which are usually shy, were feeding directly below us and feeding the young,

Every so often the chicks would practice flapping their wings, getting ready for they day they would take to the air.

It has been a short but fun day. No bears but lots of birds! Clear skies

My phone is fixed and clean!

My phone is fine now. We found the most amazing techie who figured out my phone's problem and fixed it in less then half an hour. We were attacked with malware from three different places and they all were crashing my phone with pop up ads. Thank you Izzy Tech, located in Jackson, Wyoming!

Hollywood and a two-bear day! 5/29/2026

Once we saw our first grizzly bear of the year, we were anxious to return to Gand Teton National Park. Leaving early, we stopped at our usual fast-food place, bought breakfast, and then drove to Moran Junction. Once inside the Park, we headed towards Leeks Marina but no bear jams or bears. Next, we drove toward Moose but didn’t see any wildlife. Returning, we drove by Signal Mountain and encountered a traffic jam, It was the resident elk nicknamed Hollywood, so named because he spends the summer feeding and posing for pictures alongside Teton Park Road. He uses the tourists to keep bears and wolves away while he feeds and grows his impressive antlers!

Even though he is somewhat benign in June he still poses a danger and everyone should stay at least twenty-five yards away. Toward August he will feel the approach of mating season, the rut, and become aggressive! As it was nearing lunch we went to one of our favorite picnic spots. I forgot our bear spray, so trail hiking was out for the day. I don’t keep it in the car as I am concerned that it might get too hot and explode. If that ever happens, I will face Renita’s wrath. That’s something I do not want to endure (again).

After lunch we headed back to Colter Bay and there were cars parked alongside the road, it was a bear jam! Parking safely, you must be outside the painted white line. We walked down the hill but as we neared the crowd of people, they started to leave! The bear had sauntered into the woods. Waiting for a bit, people suddenly began to take pictures and so we headed further downhill. It was the grizzly bear Miracle who moved into an open space and was digging for tubers and worms. Watching, she eventually moved up and towards an area where seasonal workers lived. The show was over, so we headed back to the car. Later we learned that she had been captured and relocated to a place away from the workers and roads. Hopefully she won’t return as that usually ends in a bad outcome for the bear, (a fed bear is a dead bear, never feed the wildlife)!

Renita wanted to go shopping in Jackson and after a brief discussion we headed to the Moran exit. Just before we reached it we encountered another bear jam!

This time we were some of the first to arrive and we found a great parking spot. Getting our cameras out we walked down the road and there was a feeding bear! At first, I thought it was a grizzly but after spotting the triangle shaped ears and lack of a hump, we both agreed it was a cinnamon black bear. It wasn’t bothered by the people and simply kept grubbing.

We both realized we were too close to the bear and backtracked to the car. A park ranger arrived and using his loudspeaker cautioned everyone to get away from the bear. In other words, get in your car! We always keep others between us and any wildlife. After all at my age, I would be the slowest person in the crowd. Sitting in the car the bear moved into a clearing and Renita was able to get some pictures by sticking her camera out the window. That’s ok to do that as long as you don’t extend any part of your body outside, (imagine a fast-moving bear). This includes putting your body above the sunroof, which is never a good idea, (we once took a picture of a person doing just that as three grizzlies walked around their car. I took a picture and posted it on the blog only to discover that I had the license plate in the picture. It turned out to be a law enforcement person from Utah, the picture got lots of comments).

It was a great end to the day, two bears and Hollywood. It was a relief to see that he made it through last fall and winter’s hunting seasons, (humans, bears, and wolves). Clear skies Renita’s shopping was successful