A Wolf in the Park

We were waiting for Grizzly 399 to emerge from the woods. Out of the corner of our eyes we saw a flash as a large bull elk ran full speed across the highway. Luckily it did not get hit by any cars and ran into the meadow before disappearing into the thick ponderosa and lodgepole forest.

Turning back to where we thought 399 and her cub would emerge, but we instead saw a flash of a canid. I snapped a quick picture as it ran next to our group of photographers.

It then stopped to watch the elk, hoping it had been hit by a car, but instead the elk was unharmed and the wolf caught its breath, looked at us, and then loped into the forest, going over a hill and disappearing as fast as it had appeared.

It was the first wolf we had ever spotted in Grand Teton National Park and spotting it made our day, (notice how sharp its teeth are and thta the wolf has been radio collared)!

It won’t be long before the grizzlies move high up in the mountains. Then, they will be eating carpenter moths and white bark pine nuts. The moths are about fifty percent fat, and the bears will turn over rocks finding and eating as many as twenty thousand moths a day, (I have been told that their fat content is so high that you can light a moth with a match and it will burn like a candle, and no I would never do that).

The moths account for about twenty to thirty percent of the bears weight gain in the summer. Because we rarely see bears in the hot summer months, we have been going to Grand Teton National Park every week. The last two times we did see Grizzly bear 399 and her cub but they were so far away that the pictures were poor, (that’s with our 600 mm Sigma Telephoto Lens). So you take what you can get and hope to see flowers, moose and elk.

We did hike about one third of the way up Grand View Point Trail and Renita took pictures of some of the wild flowers. In one picture of Phlox she captured a pretty black and white spotted butterfly!

It didn’t matter as we had a wolf closer to us than we had ever been.

It was a red-letter day, our first wolf sighting in Grand Teton National Park. Clear skies The bears eat lots of grass but one of their favorite foods is clover, so where you see clover is a good place to see grizzlies.

Kingman Turquoise

We had just about worked and sold all our turquoise and so we went to our favorite turquoise rock shop in Rockport, Texas. It’s the only place we purchase turquoise as it is often faked. Previously we had purchased old stock Sleeping Beauty Turquoise at that store and some Morenci Turquoise from our mentor. At the store, we learned to our dismay that the store was closing. The owner had planned on retiring and his son was going to take over the store. Sadly, his son suddenly passed away. As he told us he showed several pictures of his son working in a turquoise mine and showed him holding a huge slab of the rock he had helped to unearth. The owner still had some turquoise that he had not sold. It was Kingman turquoise, from Kingman Arizona. Realizing that our source of authentic stone rough was going to disappear, we bought all that he had.

I so wanted to work the stone in Texas but our clubs rock shop had closed and so I had to wait until we got back to our studio and equipment shop in Wyoming. A few weeks after we got back, I was able to finally take time to cut some of the stone, grind it, polish it, and finish it into jewelry. To finish the cabochons, (the finished pieces), I wire-wrapped them using sterling silver twenty-two -gauge wire. I did not wire wrap all of them as some clients prefer to simply have bails attached to them as the wire pieces can get entangled in long hair and fuzzy sweaters.

The finished Kingman Turquoise pieces all took an exquisite shine and represent the best examples of our shop. Next week our summer shows start, with the Alpine Mountain Man Days Show. Our schedule continues with the Fourth of July Festival on the fourth of July in Cody, Wyoming. Our last scheduled show is a small show at the Star Vallet Rv Park Craft show, which is at our RV Park in the large log Barn.

As with all our work we guarantee that the stone, rock or fossil is correctly identified, and we will gladly refund any purchase. We also tell our customers that we will repair or replace any piece that is damaged with a lifetime warranty, (my lifetime). We have never had any piece returned and we have repaired a few pieces including a wire wrapped bracelet that had been stepped on. Clear skies If you want to test your turquoise to see if it is real. Take a cotton ball and wet it with acetone, (fingernail polish remover). Then rub it on the stone. If the cotton ball turns blue it is fake. For example the mineral howlite, a white stone, is often soaked in tidy bowl cleaner and turns blue. Almost all turquoise, (97%), is stabilized as the matrix in the turquoise can react with humidity and weather badly. You can often see this in old pieces. All of ours has been stabilized, (always ask). Also ask the dealer which mine the stone comes from. If they don’t know be careful. We have bought old necklaces, taken them apart, and repurposed the stones, but again ask for a guarantee. Sleeping Beauty Turquoise used to come from the mine in Arizona. The name is now patented, and it can come from anywhere. We have been told that most comes from a mine in Mexico. Ask before buying

Anniversary Bears, 399 with its cub and Bear 1063

We had been in the park for four hours and arriving at a new spot, we saw people moving away from their cameras and tripods. Asking if there had been a bear, they replied yes but added that the bear had just moved into the forest and was no longer visible. One of the ladies showed Renita a picture of the bear, a grizzly with a single cub. It was 399, the most famous grizzly bear in North America.

Hoping for her to reappear, we heard a voice behind us yell, “There she is”! She had circled the forest and was grazing on the lush grass. Photographers grabbed their cameras, many set on tripods, and the shutters started up. We had left our place in Star Valley at 6:30 am. Nothing special about the time but it’s an hour plus drive to Grand Teton National Park. We wanted to spend a full day in the park. Our friends Fred and Becky had agreed to meet us at the Park Headquarters, and they waved at us when we arrived. The plan was to take the Teton Park Road to the places we had seen bears. There wasn’t much traffic and so we stopped at places but did not espy any bears. A few solitary bull elk were feeding on the grass and sagebrush bench. Some vehicles were at the Potholes, which are a serries od depressions caused when block of ice had been buried In the last ice age. As the ice melted the surface rocks collapsed forming kettles or potholes. No bears. There is usually a bull elk that grazes near the Chapel of the Sacred heart, but not today. Crossing the Jackson Lake Dam we drove across Willow Flats, which is one of the calving places for cow elk. It’s a good place to see a grizzly as they hunt the newborn calves. No bear were visible.

We next drove to Pilgrim Creek, Colture Bay, and Leeks Marina. Nothing except sunny skies and spectacular views. Fred took our picture on the dock.

Next, we drove north but no bears were visible. Stopping we continued to glass but no luck. We then decided to head to one of the fields alongside the road. There were a few people waiting but only one person and he was taking pictures of flowers, hmm. Still we parked for awhile before deciding to check another place only to find the road was closed. Parking at another open field we talked with a member of the bear management team who said the closed road was now open and after a lengthy discussion we headed to the road, (its always a tough call if we should go or stay). As soon as we drove to the parking lot we saw about thirty people, many with cameras all talking about the bears they had seen in the opening paragraph. Suddenly she reappeared in a different spot. It was 399 and her new coy, (cub of the year). She grazed on the rich grass and clover and her cub stayed with her often touching her backside with one paw as it stood and looked at us.

At one point the cub ran to the forest edge and turned to look at 399. IT wanted to be fed but she ignored it and it returned to its mother. They got closer and the bear management people told us she was too close, so we retreated to keep a safe distance.

The bears finally disappeared into the forest. What a great viewing. A little later they reappeared in a closer meadow and crossed the grassy spot before passing into the trees. Meanwhile hikers were coming down the trail, MOST WITHOUT BEAR SPRAY! They had passed a sign warning them to carry bear spray but the tourons had ignored it! (tourons is a word to describe a tourist who deliberately gets to close to wild animals, bears, buffalo, elk, etc). As they approached us a ranger walked out to escort them to safety. We figured the bear photo ops were done when another person yelled bear! This time it was a different grizzly, bear 1263.

She grazed and got near the cars. The Bear management team told us to retreat to our vehicles. She continued to approach, and the team told us we all had to evacuate the lot. As we left the road was closed and guarded by a different team member. It had been one of our best days of bear watching.

We celebrated our anniversary by going to the pizza place at Leeks Marine. Tired from the long day we headed back home, what a great anniversary. Clear skies It is extremely rare to be attacked by a bear. The rules state that you should carry bear spray, stay one hundred yards away from a bear and at least twenty-five yards away from other animals. The biggest danger, we think, is to accidently disturb a grizzly bear guarding a cache, (a place where a bear has covered a dead animal with leaves and brush. It will often lay on top of the cache to guard it from being stolen. We have discussed it and we both agree that if we are attacked it is our fault and the bear should not be harmed. We have been bluff charged by a black bear but it stopped when we did not run, (don’t run from a bear)!

Bears 399 and 610, A Special day in Grand Teton National Park

We decided to head back to Grand Teton National Park, searching for bear 399. She had appeared with her new cub, on May 16, spending two days along the road and then disappeared for the next week. We decided to go last Thursday hoping to be lucky enough to spot her.

Leaving home early, 6:30 am, we drove to the park and took up a spot where she had last been seen There, we sat and waited for several hours. Quite a few people had the same idea. Some of the cars left and then more. Our friends Fred and Becky called us to say that just North of us was a huge bear jam! Most of the cars seemed to be headed north and so we took left. Going around a corner we found the massive bear jam. Thanks Becky! Renita dropped me off and then parked before grabbing her camera and soon joined me, (you must always park with your vehicle tires being outside the white line).

Looking closer we saw it was with a new coy, cub of the year, and it was bear 399! The cub almost never left her side. They walked to a small copse of pine trees where she stopped and let her coy feed. After being fed she moved to the east and you could see her backside was wet from the feeding.

The two were almost inseparable as they turned west and then headed south into the forest. Most waited, as we did, hoping they would reappear. We discussed where they might head and we finally left, returning to where we had started the day. Rounding the corner, we saw we had waited too long. They were walking up Pilgrim Creek Road. She was feeding on the grass along side the road.

It was rare that both were visible as that’s how close the cub was to its mother. Turning into the field they grazed like cows and finally headed south into the forest. Having an idea where she would go we drove and parked but she did not appear. As we waited another car showed up. The person got a text from a friend who told her that another bear, bear 610 was visible near a different turn off. She told us the news, and following her we arrived at another bear jam.

By the time we arrived we had to walk a bit before we could get her picture. It was grizzly 610 and she was just going down a ridge, where she disappeared. Bear 610 has three yearlings with her, but we never saw them. It had been a great day! Finally, bear 399. It is the fifth year we have photographed her. Clear skies

Finally Bears!

We had seen a grizzly a few weeks ago but the bear was so far away, and so obscured by brush, that I refused to put its picture on our blog. Meanwhile it seemed like everyone was getting great shots of grizzly 610 and even 399 with her new coy, (cub of the year). Deciding to get up early, six am, we drove to the park in hopes of getting some close ups of bears. Before we reached the park, we saw large herds of elk.

The elk migration was in full swing. The elk first move to calving grounds and then continue to Yellowstone Park. Entering the Grand Teton National Park, we didn’t see much so and did not have our cameras out of the cases. Just as I asked Renita to pull over, we both spotted a large black bear staring at us. Renita wisely took pictures with her cell phone as I hurried to get our cameras ready

I should have used my cell phone as all I got was a picture of a black bear butt. Still, we had finally been close to a bear and so we drove further, to Pilgrim Creek in hopes that 399 would make an appearance. There were quite a few cars and trucks all also waiting. Sitting there, we watched and talked and watched as almost all the cars left. Deciding to try another spot we drove around the curve where a large bear jam was in progress.

The bear was a sow grizzly , bear 1062, and she did not have any cubs. She was grazing on some lush grass on the side of the road. A member of the bear management team let us all approach to about one hundred yards away. We both took pictures and as usual Renita took better ones than mine. She had snuck in between people and gotten closer!

We finally decided to go look for another bear and as our luck would have it, we never saw another bear. However, we had taken pictures of a black and a grizzly bear and any day you encounter bears is a good day. Returning to Pilgrim we sat there for two hours, ate lunch, and napped, No bears. We next drove to the Chapel of the Sacred Heart where a large bull elk was feeding on the roadside grass. He returns there every year at about this time ,and you can take pictures weekly as his antlers grow. Leaving the elk ,we drove past the potholes and encountered another traffic jam. This time someone said it was a bear and so we parked and joined a group of bear management people. Spotting something brown I took a picture and upon enlarging it saw the unmistakable ears and head of an elk. It was getting to be late afternoon, but we still wanted to try another location.

This time we ran into a cow and yearling moose and the young moose posed for pictures. We also spotted a nesting sandhill crane and as I chased other birds

Renita watched as it rose, turned around, and repositioned the eggs.

Meanwhile I took pictures of a chipping sparrow and a hairy woodpecker.

Yellow warblers were everywhere but I was unable to get a decent pic. It was time to head home and so tired but happy we left the park. It had been a great day as we had finally gotten close to bears. Tomorrow morning, we are heading back in search of more! Clear skies

Back to Grand Teton National Park

We left Hamilton and heading south, our hope was that the snow in Grand Teton National Park had melted. There had been reports of bears out of hibernation, both grizzly and black. Our rv park in Star Valley park was still not open, (due to a record snowfall of 250 plus inches of snow), so we stayed at a motel in Jackson. It was the off season ,so the room cost was very reasonable. Entering the park, we quickly realized that it was still winter.

Bears were out but they were having a hard time finding anything to eat. It was reported that grizzly bear 610 had collapsed on a park road and was having a hard time finding enough food to feed her cubs.

A flock of trumpeter swans were preening in a thawed channel of the Oxbow turnoff.

Renita got a great photo of a northern harrier flying low over the upper bench along the Snake River.

The bird has also been named the grey ghost because of its darker topside and a white underside with black wing tips.

Moose were easy to spot as they are so large especially when feeding in the sagebrush at Moose Junction.

A pack of coyotes were engaged in mousing just south of the Oxbow and we watched as one caught two mice and gulped them down. Using their superior hearing they locate the prey and then pounce headfirst into the snow.

We watched as a pair of bald eagles soared overhead. Below the dam I took a great picture of a pair of hooded mergansers.

The light was just right, and the beautiful plumage shone in contrast with the Snake Rivers blue water! I thought I saw a black bear, but Renita pointed out that it was just a person wearing a black coat. Bears don’t have human heads.

We took pictures of an Audubon’s warbler which is a subspecies of the yellow-rumped warble.

It has different coloration of the yellow-rumped warbler, (named Myrtle’s Warbler that we see along the Gulf Coast), especially the bright yellow throat.

The next day we drove to the Elk Refuge looking for Bighorn sheep. There are currently over five hundred sheep in the herd. That’s a huge number and usually such a large number results in a drastic die-off as they spread pneumonia to one another.

It has been proposed to have a special bow hunting season to reduce the numbers and prevent the spread of the disease. The sheep are so used to people that they approach both people and vehicles, even licking salt off cars and trucks, (which also spreads the disease. Both of us were concerned with how close the rams neared us, before crossing the road and grazing on the other side. \Never spotting any bears, only bear tracks we enjoyed the time in Jackson by eating at two of our favorite restaurants, between trips into the parks. Clear skies