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……

A Low Angle Detachment Landslide

Way back in 1972, I was a Geology student. As part of my degree, I needed to complete a summer of geologic mapping. As my university did not hold a summer field camp I applied and was accepted at Iowa State University for their summer field camp in Shell, Wyoming. The field work involved doing a lot of walking as each day we were handed an aerial photo several square miles or larger in size and were expected to complete a geologic map with correct formation contacts, folds, faults. At the end of the day were expected to turn in a completed map.

We also traveled to different areas to study unusual formations, one of which was the Heart Mountain Thrust fault outside of Cody, Wyoming. While there a Geologist with the United States Geologic survey talked about the Heart Mountain Thrust Fault. He explained how old rock formations could move on top of younger rock layers in a thrust fault. One of my fellow students, was attending Princeton, said that his professor said that the geologist was wrong . He said that he had learned that the mass of rocks had slid like an air hockey puck. Imagine a block of several thousand feet thick rock the size of Rhode Island moving at a speed of up to 700 miles per hole. The Geologist got angry as he had studied Heart Mountain and said that the idea was ridiculous. It turned out that the Geologist was wrong! If you want to see how it happened you need to go to YouTube and look up a presentation from Myron Cook on the Largest landslide the earth has ever seen, (well that we know)

On the second day of our trip we decided to drive the Chief Joesph Highway and enter Yellowstone National Park by the North East Entrance. This would allow us to travel backwards along the slide path and take some pictures… Now to really understand what you are seeing you need to watch the presentation. Thank you Myron Cook for your outstanding presentation! Clear skies Imagine a block of rock moving up to sixty miles, moving at 700 miles per hour. Imagine it racing towards you! Pictured above Heart Mountian, Dead Indian Point, and the Sheep Mountian Blocks thst moved from the sudden detachment in what is now Yellowstone National Park.

Driving from our Home to Buffalo Bill State Park

It’s been a while since we last posted. We are now back home, recovering, from an eight day trip to Cody, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone. I have so many pictures and stories to share so I guess I will start with the drive. In March we reserved eight days at Buffalo Bill State Park, outside of Cody Wyoming. The reasons were two-fold, spend quality time in two of our favorite national parks, and to sell our jewelry at the Cody Wild West Arts Festival, (July 2 through the 4th). After some truck repairs we loaded up the car and truck and took off for Buffalo Bill State Park. The journey was just two hundred and twenty miles and took us through Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Having our cameras ready we entered Grand Teton National Park and encountered a traffic Jam. As I was driving the truck, loaded with our Camper, I didn’t have any place to pull over and ended up driving to a pull out near Leeks Marina. Renita was able to find a spot for the Subaru and tried to take pictures of the small bear. It is the only survivor of the three cubs of the grizzly 1063. It was not with its mother and its doubtful it will survive., (I will post the picture if I can find it…). Leaving the park we continued on to the South entrance of Yellowstone National Park. From there the first part of the drive was up to the rim of the Caldera’s crater, marked by a sign that we were crossing the continental divide. The truck did not overheat and as we headed down, we drove through a thick forest seeing little in the way of wildlife. Turning onto the Grand Loop Road we reached the edge of Yellowstine Lake and stopped at our usual place for a picnic. A cold wind was blowing off the water and so we ate and then headed for Sylvan Pass. There were not many people on the Fishing Bridge and we didn’t see the usual number of Buffalos along the shore of the lake. Starting up to the pass we encountered another bear jam. This one was a large grizzly bear busy digging up plants, The bear was either grubbing or rooting, (they have over two bhundred foods in their diet). It was in an area where trees had blown down from a past fire and the bear would disappear, occasionally lift its head over the deadfall to make sure the crowd of people were not approaching. No one was stupid enough to bother a large grizzly bear, (I am still looking for those pictures), As we could no longer see the bear, we continued up and over the pass to the East Entrance of the YNP.

Arriving at Buffalo Bill Stat Park we set up camp. Our campsite had great views of Rattlesnake,(first picture) and Sheep Mountain. I will write more on these two Mountains in one of the next blogs. Clear skies

Alpine, Wyoming Mountain Days, 2025

We only do five or six shows each year. The Texas shows are now an early memory and now it’s Wyoming showtime! Here we have a stretch where we exhibit and sell at three shows in three weeks. The first major show is the Alpine Mountain Days and this year the weather was windy and cold. The first day, the wind came up and gusts blew down some of the other canopy tents. Luckily, we were in a good place with trees, other secure tents, and even a school bus blocking the wind.

Another factor is the four fifty-pound bags we use on each corner and a ten-pound weight anchoring the center. We also have an advantage as our jewelry cases are heavy and so we never have had any major problem.

However, the first day ‘s crowd was less than usual and so we hoped for better weather on Saturday. The weather finally cooperated, and it reached sixty-five with some sun and we had a good day with many returning and new customers.

Sunday’s weather however was another matter as a cold front arrived, with snow just above our elevation, The show opened, with upper thirty-degree temperatures. It only warmed up to fifty-two! Both of us had every layer we owned on, and by drinking coffee we stayed kind of warm. At one point I was chilled and forced myself to eat, or inhaled, a hot funnel cake covered with sugar, (it helped, the first one I have eaten in years). In the afternoon some customers did return, and we had a few sales. Enough to make it an ok show, not great, but still ok. This week we are heading to Cody Wyoming where the temperatures are forecast to be in the mid-eighties. It’s usually a great show for us and hopefully this year will be good! Clear skies

Fly Fishing Wild Native Cutthroat

We are way too busy and it seems like every year gets harder to find fishing time. Remembering the wall hanging that Renita’s sister Pam gave us, (a quote from Jed Clampett)) that says, “ Anyone to busy to go fishing is too busy!”, we took a day off.

As we drove to one of our favorite streams, Renita discovered that she had forgotten her fishing license! This delegated her to a different role as the photographer! Reaching the stream, we parked and after rigging up my flyrod, a lengthy process, we walked to the nearest hole.

Making cast after cast nothing rose to my fly. There were quite a few fresh new boot prints so it was obvious that we were not the first anglers of the day. Moving to the next four holes produced nothing, but at the fifth hole, I got a fish to rise.

The fish was only slightly larger than my fly, which was a size sixteen dry fly. Fearing the worst, we walked to the next hole we finally had a larger but still small trout take the fly. It was my first cutthroat of the season. The next hole produced two more. All were safely released. These fish are wild native cutthroats, not hatchery produced, so keeping them would destroy the population.

At the next hole, a large trout rose and took my fly, I had switched to a size eighteen dry fly<(which is really tiny), and I lost the fish after a brief fight. Making another cast, I hooked it again and again and the fly pulled out! Moving further upstream produced a nice, larger trout. By moving a little further I ended up catching and releasing ten cutthroats. It had been a great morning and as we tire easier than we use too, so we called it a day.

Renita did a great job of taking pictures of my fish and also took pictures of wildflowers. All the pictures were taken with her IPhone. Next time it will be my turn as she found her license in another purse. Clear skies

The Grey's Lake Refuge, Spring 2025

Last year, we were so busy with the new park model that we were unable to take the time for a birding day at the Grey’s Lake Refuge. While we are still not done with our projects, we are waiting for a contractor, we invited our friends Fred and Becky and off we went for a fun day of birding.

Always hoping for a new life bird, we concentrated on recording the calls and taking lots of images. As we turned north on the East Refuge Road, we photographed a pair of Long Billed Curlews. Stopping we noticed several small chicks that belong to the pair and the parents provided a defensive wall as the chicks hurried to get in long grass and hide. It’s the first time we have ever saw Curlew chicks and they have a lot of their bill to grow! You can barely see the short bill. Not wishing to bother them anymore, we continued on, spotting Sandhill Crane pairs, a Northern Shoveler, and American Kestrels.

The Kestrels did not like their photo being taken and whenever we stopped, they would fly further down the road. Renita finally got a good image of one. It’s nice to have two people with cameras!

Further on we came across a

female Northern Harrier. The hawk was perched on a telephone pole and seemed content to let us take all the pictures we wanted. Next was a Western Meadowlark called from the top of a fence post. The call is my favorite, and I remembered the call as a small child, while visiting my Dads Parents graves in West Union, Iowa

At the refuge headquarters, Cliff Swallows had nested under the eves and the parents were busy feeding them insects. The noise made by the chicks was loud!.

It was the sound of spring and summer would not be far away. Continuing our drive two hawks hunted low to thr ground. I tried to take pictures as they would hover and then land on their intended victim. One of the hawks flew right at us and I got a grest shot of the male.

His head is owllike, and it allows the bird to locate the prey as its ears are far apart, (that’s how owls locate their prey). It was a Northern Harrier.

As we drove, we reached a place where the marsh waters stood on both sides of the gravel road and that’s when we saw lots of Yellow Headed Blackbirds.

This year I got a great picture of a female yellow headed Blackbird. A pair of American Avocets were guarding a nest and so we took a quick pic and moved on.

Next were Glossy Ibis and Western Phalaropes.

This year’s chicks were already swimming. They are so tiny, and of course I did not get a very good shot of them. Down the road I spotted a bird we see down south, a Marbled Godwit.

We didn’t see many other birds, but we did stop and spot four elk, or should I say Renita spotted them. Leaving the refuge, we headed back home after stopping for a picnic along the way. It had been a perfect day even though we did not see any new birds. Thanks for joining us, Fred and Becky! Clear skies