Rainy Nights, Snowy Days: Yellowstone – June 20-21, 2009

It was cool the night of June 19 in the Tetons. A foreshadowing of our weather to come in Yellowstone. I had hoped that we could get some good pictures of the morning light on the Tetons but the sun was nowhere to be seen. Grand Teton wore a streamer of moisture as we ate a cold breakfast, broke camp and packed up for some sightseeing. Driving back through Jackson and around the south end of the park we headed for Teton Village and the tramway at Jackson Hole ski area. Walking up to the tram we saw some backpackers headed into a field next to the parking lot. The packs they were carrying were huge. I wondered how they ever made it up and down the trails. Then we realized that they weren't hikers, they were parasailors. On the tram, there were five of them clustered around their packs in the middle of the tram. By this time there were broken clouds and the sun shone brightly on the two to four feet of snow that still lay at the top of the tram. There were even a few snowboarders and skiers trying there luck at traversing the scattered patches of late spring snow. The tram operator pointed out places in the snow where algae grew giving it a faint red cast. She cautioned us not to eat that snow as the algae was a very powerful natural laxative.

The parasailors were gathered in a clearing just below the top of the tram. The slopes faced east towards the Snake River valley. The wind was blowing hard upslope, an unusual direction according to the parasailors. It made launching easy as they just let the sail fill and jumped up. Landing in the field to the east was somewhat problematic as they were blown up and back as soon as they launched. It took some skill to change from sailing up through the wind to down and upwind to land.

Dark clouds gathered to the south with streamers of rain. After snapping pictures of the parasailors, the mountains and each other we headed for the shelter of the little refreshment cabin to await the next tram. The remaining parasailors rode the tram down as blowing rain pelted the windows of the tram as we headed down.

We ate another fancy lunch of turkey sandwiches in the parking lot of Teton Village before heading out for more sightseeing. Since rain was intermittent, we decided against a boat trip across Jackson Lake and instead headed for Yellowstone. We were forced to take a detour as an accident on the road outside the park closed the road and we had to take the road inside the park to get to Yellowstone.

Storms preceded us into the park and the land of geysers was steaming as we rolled in the southern entrance. A long drive into our campground allowed us to see bison up close and lots of the forest both burned and re-born. We drove along Yellowstone Lake and the Yellowstone river stopping often to take pictures and enjoy the view. After setting up camp, we bought a few fresh groceries and went back to camp to cook dinner. After dinner we went back to the cafeteria to work on our blogs and process the pictures that we had taken in the previous days. When the cafeteria closed, Dave went to bed and I searched for the site of the ranger talk that evening in the amphitheater. By the time I finally found it, in the rain, it had apparently been canceled so I returned to camp and climbed into my sleeping bag. It was cold that night. The cold and damp got to both of us but we stayed dry throughout intermittent pouring rain throughout the night.

The next morning I rose early and started coffee and frying up strips of beef for a hot breakfast. It was a pretty primitive meal of fried beef and bread but it brought us the warmth that we needed after the cold night. After breakfast we set out for one of the most beautiful spots in Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We stopped first at the Upper Falls. This cascade had been swelled by the rains of the previous day and night. Even the short walk out to the top of the falls tired both Dave and myself at this high altitude. After taking pictures and video of the upper falls, we returned to the car to travel to the lower falls. Declining to take the 100 step stair path to the top of the lower falls, we drove on to the viewpoint called “Artist's Point” that gives a magnificent view of the lower falls and canyon about a mile downstream from the lower falls. Dave stayed near the parking lot as I went up and down the stairs that led out to the overlook. It is truly a beautiful sight with the cascading falls in the background and the colors of the canyon with the river below arrayed before you.

Leaving the canyon, we re-traced our drive from the previous day along the Yellowstone river and lake. This time we stopped at the Mud Volcano area and I got out to take some pictures. It was a difficult climb up the boardwalk but I made it after two pauses for breath. Just as I started back down, rain began so I headed quickly back to t he car. Fortunately, it was downhill. We then headed west towards Old Faithful. Stopping at a small picnic area at the continental divide we ate our usual lunch of turkey sandwiches. While we were eating, a western jay perched on a tree not more than three feet away. At the time we thought it was cute. We were to learn otherwise later.

Dave wanted to take pictures of the Old Faithful lodge so we pulled into the parking lot and stopped. As we were snapping pictures, Old Faithful erupted and we also got a few pictures and some video of the geyser. We strolled around briefly inside the lodge before heading out again. Dave remarked at the incredible expansion of the roads and the number of people in the park. There is now a mini four lane expressway leading into the Old Faithful area.

After stopping to take more geyser pictures at lower geyser basin and a trip along the river to see Gibbon Falls, we headed back for our campsite at Canyon Village. Except for brief periods of sunshine at the continental divide and lower geyser basin, rain had been threatening all day. Dark clouds gathered again as we fried up hamburgers for dinner. That was the only thing that gathered. One or two western jays also gathered as we cooked. No more than an arms length away from where I was cooking, one swooped down and tried to pick up Dave's hamburger. They did this several times apparently undisturbed by our proximity. Dave was trying to start a fire with our damp wood and he saw one of the birds swoop in and pick up a burning ember! Apparently it thought it was food cooking. As it started to drizzle, we retreated to the car for shelter from both the rain and the marauding birds.

Dave crawled into bed shortly after dinner and I sat in the car to keep warm. About 8:00 PM I decided to drive over to the cafeteria to work on the pictures and blogs again. As I strolled over to the tent to inform Dave, I heard thunder rolling in the distance. I urged Dave to come with me and just as he came out of the tent, the storm let loose and it began to hail! Not just a little, but a lot. We quickly zipped up the tent and jumped into the car. By the time we reached the parking lot of the cafeteria, it was raining and hailing so hard that we just stayed in the car. After about fifteen minutes, we decided to make a mad dash for the cafeteria, gathered up all our electronic gear and splashed through to the cafeteria. It was full of campers and visitors taking shelter from the storm.

We worked until closing and then packed up to return to our campsite to see if our tent was still there or rent with holes from hail. We both agreed that we sleep in the car if the tent was gone. It was in fine shape. The weather had turned even colder and was predicted to drop as low as freezing that night. We put on all our cold weather gear and crawled into our sleeping bags. Although it was colder than the night before, we were actually warmer with all our hats, long underwear, dry socks and extra blankets. Still we rose quickly, got the stove going underneath some hot coffee and ate a cold breakfast in the car with the heater going. As we finished packing up the tent, it began to snow.

Next: Back down to the Plains

Tired Travel to the Tetons – June 19, 2009

After a groggy start trying to find an Exxon service station and stopping to get some cash, Dave and I left Salt Lake City and headed north on I-15. Our destination for that day was another one of America's beautiful national parks, the Grand Tetons. Leaving I-15 near Brigham City, Utah, we traveled north on US-89 along the edge of the Wasatch Cache National Forest. It was another beautiful drive through pine covered hills and the snow capped Bear River Range to our east.

Our mid-day stop was at the alpine watershed of Bear Lake which is split by the Utah/Idaho border. We had lunch at a rest stop and information center overlooking the lake. Couldn't ask for a better place for lunch even though the fare was simple bologna and turkey sandwiches. Heading down to the lake, we crossed into Idaho and noticed that development on the Idaho side of the lake was much less than on the Utah side. This is similar to the development on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe compared to the California side (which is much less). We passed through a series of interesting small towns in Idaho, cutting across it's extreme southeast corner before crossing into Wyoming and heading north to the Tetons.

When we got to Wyoming, Dave was very excited to be back in the state where he had lived in the early '70's. He recounted stories to me about the harsh winters working on the oil rigs when they could only work outside for fifteen minutes at a time before returning to warm up in forty degree below zero temperatures. Organizing his work so that they could get something effectively accomplished in each of those short time frames. The loneliness of waiting in hotel rooms on call for the driller. Summers when his friends would visit and they would travel up to the Tetons and Yellowstone.

The Snake river was swollen with rain and rafters. Much more snow lay in the mountains than I had seen on earlier trips which were later in the season. But it wasn't too early for visitors who packed the road in Jackson strolling the streets and visiting the shops. But our destination was not the city, it was the wilds of the Tetons and we as yet had no campsite so we hurried on to the park. Upon entering the park just north of Jackson, the Tetons rose out of Jackson Hole. It is these two geological features that give the Tetons their unique beauty. The mountains were caused by uplift and at the same time, Jackson Hole sank to the east. There are no foothills on the east side of the Tetons as they rise directly out of the valley bounded by the Snake river at the foot of the Tetons and the Wind River range to the east.

The sun was beginning to sink behind the Tetons casting shadows across the sagebrush in Jackson Hole and casting a glow on the Wind River range. After setting up camp on the Lake in the middle of the park and Dave decided we should treat ourselves to dinner at the ??:?: ??? Mountain Lodge. We sat on the deck and watched the boaters and fishermen come in while we feasted. Dave traded tasks eating and snapping pictures of the lake and mountains beyond.

After dinner, as the sun set, Dave crawled into the tent and settled down for a quiet evening of sleep undisturbed by man made sounds. Only the night birds and a few mosquitoes disturbed the quiet of the woods. I decided to attend the ranger talk at the nearby amphitheater and strolled down the park road to the site. It was right on the bluff overlooking the lake and seeing the view of the lake and mountains in the fading colors of the day. I rushed back to the campsite to grab my camera which turned out to be a mistake at this altitude. Soon, gasping for breath, I had to be satisfied with a quick walk to get my camera before all the light had faded.

After filming the blue gray scenes, I walked back to the amphitheater where the ranger had a roaring fire going to offset the gathering chill. As soon as he started to speak I knew it was going to be good. He had the perfect appearance for a park ranger, a full gray beard, weather roughened face and crinkled eyes. A Santa Claus in brown uniform and broad brimmed green ranger hat. He was a professor emeritus from the University of Colorado who now spent winters in the Everglades and summers in the Tetons and Yellowstone as he had done for more than forty years. Just hearing the professional and mellifluous tone of his voice inspired confidence in the accuracy of his speaking. The topic was fire in the national parks and forests and especially the great fire in Yellowstone in 1988 and the changes that resulted in a major change national fire policy. The fire started as a proscribed burn that quickly got out of control in the exceptional conditions of the summer of 1988, dry and high winds. Despite the fact that more than 10,000 firefighters and a proportional amount of equipment including fixed wing aircraft and helicopters, none of their efforts had any effect on suppressing the fire. A little over an inch of snow fell in early September and this quelled the fire completely.

The ranger was a Vietnam veteran. He said that the noise of helicopters, smoke and fog of fire battle reminded him of the fog of war in Vietnam. Further cementing the memory of this time in his memory was that his youngest daughter was born, in Yellowstone, at this time. Imagine how this heightened his sense of danger in this critical time.

The immediate result of the fire was a ban on all intentional burns in national parks and forests. The second was the appointment of a blue ribbon committee to study the effects of this fire and required changes to national fire policy. Several findings came from this study. The first was that efforts at fire suppression in the wild are ineffective. 100 years of complete fire suppression has resulted in a build up of deadwood fuel in our national forests that makes further suppression of fires that start either naturally or man caused almost impossible. Only heroic efforts around the historic Old Faithful Lodge had proved effective in the Yellowstone fire. This finding had a dramatic effect on the firefighters and their families considering every fire suppression effort puts lives in harm's way.

Another result was a new fire policy that includes a three pronged decision map, evaluated daily during fire season. Depending on weather conditions, terrain and human habitation o the area, fires may be let burn or limited intense suppression.

Lastly, a recognition of the natural role of fire in the ecology of a pine forest. Both the fir and pine trees of the high forests and the Aspens on the high plains are resistant to fire and depend upon it to periodically clear out plant competitors and activate fresh seeding in the nutrient rich ash left from the fires. The fire that burned 40% of Yellowstone has resulted in an explosion of new, young pine and fir that make a green carpet, 10 to 12 feet high, that fills the space between the blackened poles of their forebears. Wildlife too has benefited. Elk, who found it impossible to travel through the deadwood choked tees have returned in greater numbers to the high forests. Countable bear population has tripled since the fire yet human-bear problems have lessened due partly to good compliance by visitors with “bear-aware” policies and the return of larger prey population in the remote areas of the park.

Complete darkness had fallen by the time the ranger talk was completed and I returned by flashlight to the campsite. Although tired, I stayed up for a while enjoying the quiet and letting my eyes to open up to views of a vast star field above.

Next: Rainy Nights, Snowy Days: Yellowstone

Lakes, Trains and Orange Barrels – June 18, 2009

After being amply supplied with food for the road by my sister-in-law, we left early driving up I-5 towards Sacramento. Our destination for that day was Salt Lake City. In Sacramento, we made a third change in our route, taking US50 out of Sacramento towards South Lake Tahoe. Although costing us a couple of hours in time, it was well worth the scenic drive through the foothills of the Sierra Nevada along a canyon carved by the American River. Breathtaking beauty of the mountains, trees and rivers was highlighted by the view of Lake Tahoe as we crested Echo Summit.

We stopped for lunch and ate sandwiches at a roadside park right on the shore of Lake Tahoe. Once again, we had relatively cool, sunny weather, and watched the parasailers over the lake.

Crossing into Nevada and descending into the desert the foothills are much drier and rockier as Mother Nature drops all the rain on the west side of the Sierra Nevada. Alpine forests were replaced by the stark beauty of northern Nevada as we made miles and no longer made stops to take pictures. Principal among the sights were row after row of orange barrels. It seemed that most of I-80 in northern Nevada was under construction. Construction zone after construction zone dropped our speed from 75mph to 55mph or less. After stopping for dinner in Elko, where Dave’s grandfather had lived and worked for a time in the ‘30’s, we resumed our trip across the desert.

Just as twilight turned to darkness, we crossed into Utah and the salt pan of Great Salt Lake spread before us. Both Dave and I came to a special weary kind of alertness, each scanning the road on his side for deer. I was not put at ease when we saw the heavy barred bumpers which had been added to the front end of the long distance trucks we passed. After spotting only a few jackrabbits, we pulled into the KOA in downtown Salt Lake City around midnight.

Readers, you may have noticed that, when called for, I have been complimentary of the accommodations that we have used during our road trip. When they have not been so good, I simply don’t mention them. The Salt Lake City KOA, however, is an exception. Every transportation device know to man was operating through the night near this campground. Trains, with accompanying whistles, came into the nearby rail yard every twenty minutes from midnight to four AM. Planes landed and took off from the nearby airport. When these two sources were quiescent, traffic noise from trucks on I-80 took over. I even thought I heard a boat whistle, although it was probably a switching engine in the rail yard. The birds chimed in with their wake-up calls at four AM until we finally gave up attempts to sleep and rose at six AM.

Next: Tired Travel to the Tetons

Lakes, Trains and Orange Barrels - June 18, 2009

After being

Wine and Family – June 17, 2009

Richard and I drove up to wine country at mid-morning leaving Dave behind to clean the car, work with my sister-in-law on dinner and then relax. Our first stop on the Silverado Trail on the east side of the Napa valley was the Sinskey Vineyards. They knew Richard here and we were treated to a tasting of fine wines. Since I cannot match the hyperbole of a wine writer's descriptions, suffice it to say that their reds were smooth, full bodied and excellent while the whites were interesting. Sinskey's also has a gourmet kitchen and the cheese, breads, olives and other snacks accompanying the tasting were also a treat. We took a tour of the natural volcanic rock caves where the wine was aged in French oak barrels. They were bottling at the time and the automation was similar to what is used in consumer goods plants in other places in the country. I was interested because it was similar to automation in auto parts plants. However, this machinery wasn't built in the machine shops of Warren, or Flint, MI. It all came from Germany. Why?

Our next stop was the Duckhorn Winery. Unlike most tastings which are served stand-up at the bar, we were seated on a porch overlooking the vines and with the smell of rosemary and thyme wafting in from the gardens outside. It was a beautiful, cool, sunny day in wine country and we anticipated an excellent tasting there. After being seated we waited,...and waited,... and waited, … and waited. I finally turned and gave the waiter my best Adelaide look, caught his attention and he came over and said “I'll will be with you in a moment”. The moment stretched to minutes but what finally ensued was an excellent tasting of twice as many wines as we had paid for. Richard and I enjoyed it immensely and laughed at the over the top hyperbole of both the written descriptions of the wines and the server's comments. Here is an example describing the 2006 Merlot: “...polished flavors of red cherry and raspberry are accented by an enticing layer of graham cracker piecrust.” Really? A wine that tastes like graham cracker pie crust! Fortunately, it did not. The wine, the outdoor ambiance and conversation fostered a connection between us that heretofore, as widely separated brothers, we had never had before. We stopped for lunch at the Frank Family Vineyards. Mr. Frank was a Disney illustrator so the building contained many mementos of his time in Hollywood. Good oakey Chardonnay and the only winery left in the valley with free tastings. When I lived here in the late '60's, we would take visitors on tours up the valley stopping to sample the wines and end up at the north end of the valley mellow and relaxed. The only price was the tour of each winery’s facility to hear about their wine making process and history. Not any more. Tastings are paid for up front and an appointment may be required to sort out the riff-raff.

It was still a gorgeous day as we drove back to Richard’s.

That evening a special treat had been arranged in my honor. We were having a family dinner. Richard’s family would be there, my brother Marc, and my Aunt and my cousin whom I had not seen in decades were also invited. Unfortunately, my Aunt was not able to attend. My sister-in-law served an excellent meal. She had been preparing all day. Roast chicken, roast asparagus and other gastronomic delights. Richard had prepared flank steak on the grill and all twelve of the guests and family enjoyed a wonderful meal. After dinner, I showed my cousin some of the 50 year old pictures that my father had taken including some of her father as a very young man and some of the 100 year old pictures that our grandfather had taken. She related stories to me of her maternal grandparents who lived in Iowa and of the wonderful vacations that their family had taken in Europe and elsewhere. Life in a small Midwestern town in Iowa was not so much different than life in a small Midwestern town in Michigan in the forties and fifties. We share an interest in music, science and literature. Sadly, we had an early day in the morning as we would begin our longest driving day yet. We said goodnight early and set about preparing for our next journey.

Next: Lakes, Trains and Orange Barrels.