From Star Valley to South Texas

 

We left Star Valley in early October and headed south to our friend, Val’s ranch. It is a hay ranch, but this year’s drought was so bad that she only got twenty-three bales, (she normally gets four hundred). This of course presents a huge problem, as she has two rescue donkeys, two rescue horses, her horse and deer.

She also has many bird feeders which bring in flocks of doves, scrub jays, and red wing blackbirds. The scrub jays land and empty her feeder onto the ground which brings in wild turkeys, and others. She even has a skunk that comes in but luckily, we never saw it, (did I mention she loses cats to an annoying mountain lion)?

You never know what you are going to see, and when you walk around after dark you want to take along a bright flashlight!

From Val’s, we headed further south and west and went to Surprise, Arizona. We stayed there for two hours, which was long enough for us to select and order a park model for our place in Wyoming, (The manufacturer is so far behind that out delivery date is in the spring of 2023). Jumping back in the car we next headed to Tucson, across New Mexico and into Texas. As we crossed the Hopi and Navaho Reservations, we did see Monument Valley in the distance and were lucky enough to get involved with a snowstorm, (we bought snow tires this year, so it was not a problem).

We ended up driving over twenty-three hundred miles in five days, which is way too much for us. Hopefully never again. Clear skies

So now we are in south Texas where the temperature is in the upper eighties with a high humidity. I miss the mountains already. We went birding to Lamar and did spot a red tailed hawk hiding it's kill. Clear skies

 

 

A last 2021 trip to Grand Teton National Park

It’s about time for us to head south, but before we do, we decided to take another trip to Grand Teton National Park. The hope was that we would see some more wildlife than when we had a few days before. ( we only saw a squirrel, one elk, and the usual cow moose).

Our friends Fred and Becky also wanted to take a last look before they headed to their home in Texas, and they followed us in their truck. We took two vehicles as they had to head back before we did. Turning off at Moose Junction we drove past the headquarters and then took the Moose Wilson Road.

Cresting the first hill, we saw a huge crowd, but we were able to find a parking spot and grabbing our cameras, quickly headed to the pond, (Fred and Becky are in this picture).

As we neared the edge of the steep cliff I couldn’t find the moose in the water, because they were resting right at the bottom of the hill, right below me!

There were three moose, a cow and her calf, and a huge bull. Its rutting season and he had been attracted by the cow moose. People referred the trio as a family, but the bull moose had recently showed up and there was no way to determining if he had sired the calf.

Didn’t matter anyway as he was a huge bull and by moving around, we were able to get some great shots. As we watched some people tried to get too close and a park person yelled at them to get back, (we later learned that early that morning the bull had charged a female photographer who had been within the twenty-five-yard safety margin required by the park.

We took quite a few images before we left to drive to Pilgrim Creek. We didn’t see much and at Pilgrim and so we turned around and drove to the Oxbow.

Two swans swam towards us, but they were still to far away for any great shots. We told Fred and Becky about the road to the Kayak Launch, and as they had never been there we decided it was a great spot to eat lunch.

There were only a couple of other vehicles, and we grabbed our lunch and found a couple of nice-looking fallen tree trunks to sit down on as we ate. After lunch we hiked up the Snake River and spotted a whole flock of hooded mergansers splashing along the far shore. Trying to get closer Renita spotted fresh moose tracks and we headed further upriver to see if we could find any moose.

A guided boat went by and as we watched them fly fish, (they were using nymphs and strike indicators), they caught and released two fish. One was good sized, but they didn’t hold it up for us to see. Across the Snake we also watched as a flock of hooded mergansers chased each other and dove for fish.

Continuing upriver Renita spotted more moose tracks and then a large black bear front paw print, (its as large as my hand).

It was very fresh, and we realized we had left our bear spray in the car. Feeling stupid we decided to head back to the car!

Next, we drove across Willow Flats where I spotted an elk and then a coyote,

I didn’t get a shot of the elk and the coyote pictures were pretty poor, but at least we had spotted it. We then headed back to the Wilson Road and decided to take some more images of the bull moose. It was a great idea as they had moved to the south end of the pond.

The bull emerged from the brush and paused to smell the female’s scent. You could see he stuck his tongue out to further test her scent and he moved quickly behind her.

She did not want any more of his advances and she trotted to the water with her calf.

The calf, (pictured above), started nursing which means that she was not ready to breed yet and the bull turned his attention to all the people on top of the hill.

He climbed up to the halfway point and I thought he was going to charge the crowd, so I moved sideways to increase my distance.

As I looked back at the crowd, I saw that Renita was taking more images, hmm, the pioneer woman sometimes tends to be fearless, (I had mentioned to her that we should move, but at least she had several photographers in front of her).

The bull stared at the crowd for a bit and then decided the cow needed his attention.

Most of the people were pretty good and shared good spots by letting others take turns, but there were some that tried to bully their way to the front.

Someone said that they had seen a bear down the road and so we drove further south. At a place past the Lawrence Rockefeller Center, three park bear specialists motioned us past a brown bear in a tree. It was right on the road and as most bears do it ignored us as food was its main concern. We turned around only to find the bear had moved and was no longer visible.

Making another u turn we discovered the bear had crossed the road and as we passed by, I was able to get six shots of the bear. One was actually a good shot and I got most of its face. Deciding it was time to get back home we turned south. The rest of the drive was uneventful.

Next year the road we were on will undergo a major reconstruction and so it will be closed for the season. So, we look forward to springtime when the grizzlies are near the roads. Grizzly 399 and her cub should make an appearance before she pushes them away. Its their third year and as subadults they will be on their own. Grizzlies bears should be everywhere!  Clear skies

Crossing Union Pass. Part 2

 

The next day, we got up and packed our truck as we would be returning home that evening. Our usual breakfast place was closed and so we went to the other café in Dubois and after a short wait we drank several cups of coffee along with the usual bacon eggs and toast breakfast.

After breakfast we fueled up the truck, before driving to the Shoshone National Forest Service Office. After masking up, we were allowed in and greeted by the friendly forest service ranger lady. We told her of our desire to cross Union Pass, and after looking out to see our four-wheel drive truck she said we shouldn’t have any problem.

She said that the first part of the trip, up Union Pass Road, was quite good but things would get rougher after we crossed the continental divide. She cautioned us to be sure to have a full tank and then asked how long we had lived in Wyoming. After telling her we had lived here for forty-four years she smiled and said we shouldn’t have any problem.

She did mention that as we neared the Green River. We should take it easy and go slow as some people had broken their axles on that stretch of the road, hmmm. Now I had been taught how to drive four -wheel drive roads, and mud by several friends and so I envisioned rocks marked by metal scrapes from oil pans. Also, I had seen where people had left pieces of their taillights, so I expected the worse.

I

Leaving Dubois, it only took a few minutes to reach the Union Pass turn off and we drove up a steep but wide gravel road. We were treated to a great view, and we could eve see some of the Absarokas, including one mountain above Frontier Creek which was over thirty miles away.

The road was about as good as any Wyoming gravel road and as we neared the first plateau the road was lined with large and fancy log cabins. It was really beautiful, but we couldn’t imagine driving up that steep road in the winter. Soon we reached a huge plateau covered in grass, brush, and sage.

The cabins had disappeared and next we spotted a sign for the Union Pass historic site! Parking, we walked up a short hill where plaques had been affixed to boulders describing the pass and the surrounding mountains,

Fur trappers had been shown the pass by native Americans, the Astor expedition had used it in 1811, and it was given its name by the Captain William F Rayonlds during his expedition to Yellowstone, just before the Civil War, (the name referred to the pass being the divide for three major rivers). He was guided by Jim Bridger).

Ramshorn Mountain was to the north and to the southeast we could see the top of the Wind Rivers, with one of the huge glaciers there partially visible, already covered with fresh snow.

Next a large sign warned of grizzly bears and special regulations required while camping in the area. We passed quite a few hunting camps, and all had hoists where the hunters could tie up their kills and food above any grizzly bears reach.

It was a perfect time to cross Union Pass as the Aspen had turned golden yellow and orange which contrasted with the green pines and firs, (there weren’t any red colored foliage here).

Renita snapped image after image, while I concentrated on watching the road for any large rocks.

The plateau was relatively flat as we passed Lake of the Woods and Mosquito Lake. We only stopped for pictures and did not take the side road to see Lake of the Woods, (it was hidden by trees).

The road narrowed as we drove by large rocks that made me keep a vigilant eye as I had to carefully choose our path.

Heading down towards the Green River, it narrowed further, and the conditions worsened, requiring my full attention.

I slowed down and carefully missed all the rocks that might cause problems, but it really wasn’t a problem as our truck had high enough clearance and I went slow,(the road is not suitable for passenger cars).

We finally made it to the Green River Bridge at the intersection with the Green River Lakes Road, (highly recommended).

From there we headed to the Forty Rod Road and then headed down towards Hoback Junction.

We hadn’t seen any wildlife but as we drove down the highway a flock of Bighorn sheep threatened to cross the road and so we stopped for pictures.

Bighorn lambs were in the flock, and they were starting to grow their horns.

Sighting the Bighorns was the perfect end to a great trip into the mountains.

Clear skies

 

Ps, this year, we purchased the Onx Hunt app for our phone, and we strongly recommend it. It allowed us to track our passage and allowed us to know we were on the right forest service road. We get nothing from any purchase as this is a non-commercial blog

 

 

 

 

 

A trip Hunting agates on Wiggins Fork and crossing Union Pass, Part 1

Quite a few years ago, we had gone for a drive to the Green River Lakes, north of Pinedale, Wyoming. At one point our son had mentioned that a road that turned left from the lake road, took you to Dubois. Since then, I had always wanted to take that road over Union Pass.

This trip, along with a day agate hunting on the Wiggins Fork, was on the to do list for this summer. As my birthday neared Renita suggested that we should spend two nights in Dubois, Wyoming and take a day trip to Wiggins Fork, and a second day crossing Union Pass.

Now we had been to Wiggins Fork before and so we knew the way to the confluence of Wiggins Fork and Frontier Creek.

It starts out as a good, paved road and crosses Horse Creek turning into a forest service road. It is actually a pretty good road, as four-wheel drive roads in Wyoming go. It’s a beautiful drive along the east flank near Yellowstone National Park.

Arriving at the trail head we were greeted by the sight of numerous hunting camps and even got to watch as three stings of mules plodded by, laden with supplies for back country camps.

There were even other agate hunters searching for the petrified wood, some of which is agatized.

The wood was covered by a pyroclastic flow, (if you don’t know what a pyroclastic flow is, (look it up and think of what happened to the people of Pompeii) and formed a mold of the exterior. The organic material turned into gas from the heat leaving a hollow cavity which was than filled with silica rich water. It often formed silica lines but sometimes, formed prismatic agates.

When these are polished as thin sections, and held up to the sun, their beauty becomes apparent, (I had been given a slice of iris agate three years before and just got around to polishing it this summer. Our goal on this trip was to find some of this agate)!

We found a good spot to park, put on our waders, and crossed the first braided section of Frontier Creek. Renita and I have different rock hounding techniques, she slowly checks out every rock and I move along at a good clip looking for a rock with the telltale exterior.

I left her with bear spray, and I headed across the braided sections. At one point I had to pass through willow stands and finally reached a few pine trees. Being aware that grizzly bears inhabit the area, I moved out of the dense foliage and slowly walked downstream looking for petrified wood.

My high hopes were quickly dashed, and as I searched and searched, I finally found a few pieces of the replaced wood. Greeting Renita, she showed me a beautiful piece she had found soon after I had left. Hers was much better that anything I had picked up! Returning to the truck she decided to take a break and eat lunch while I headed back out.

There were three other agate hunters in the area and two of them had found their own agates. One of the agate hunters told us years ago, the agates had been plentiful! As usual at popular spots, its quite a bit harder now to find good specimens.

After taking with them and seeing their finds, we headed back to Dubois for a nap before dinner and planning the next days drive over Union Pass. Clear skies (end of Part 1)