Grand Teton National Park

After living across the street from one of the Teton's most legendary climbing rangers, Leo Larson, and his brilliant writer-naturalist wife, Helen, for more than a decade, we FINALLY made it here to Grand Teton National Park. And, to quote Leo, Man oh man, I wish I'd listened and come here years earlier, as it is spectacular!

Seriously, is this the best vista you've ever seen?

Or perhaps you prefer this classic highway shot?

Even close up, nature is stunning.

Helen worked on many of the Teton's Visitor Center displays, including this one about climbing rangers and mountain rescues. Leo's pano photos are also a highlight of the many visitor centers here.

While in the Jackson area, we also visited the Teton Raptor Center to support their work in raptor rehab, research and education and to meet some of their bird ambassadors. This is a Swainson's hawk.

The National Museum of Wildlife Art provided a different perspective on the natural world that we have so enjoyed here in the Rockies.

This Carl Rungius landscape of the Canadian Rockies was one of my favorites.

I wish that I had more photos to share, but sadly, summer in the Tetons is super-crowded with tourists, and we couldn't find any parking spaces near Jenny Lake, Lupine Meadows or any of the other trailheads that we had identified. Instead, we drove on, opting instead for solitude at our friend Cathy's home in Wilson, just outside of Jackson, Wyoming. A pretty great alternative to the crowds for the next few days.

So now I'm here with Louie the Elk watching over me as I read, relax, and write a new play that I will workshop in Seattle next month. Life is, indeed, so very, very good. 

Yellowstone National Park

What can I say about Yellowstone other than it exceeded all of my expectations for beauty, nature, wildlife and geology? No wonder it's the first and probably the most famous national park in the America, designated as such by President Ulysses Grant in 1872. 

Since it's the peak of summer, we wanted to beat the crowds and see the bison during their early-morning feeding and mini-migration from the hills to the valleys, so we left Bozeman at 4 AM and drove 2.5 hours to the Lamar Valley at the north end of the park. Our timing couldn't have been better, as the bison were everywhere.

Bison calves have the nickname "red dogs" because of their rust colored coats. This one was probably born in early May, so it's only a month or two old.

This guy looked right at me!

We were lucky enough to get stuck in two bison traffic jams...

As dozens of adults and babies moved together from the hills to the Yellowstone River as the sun rose and the valley floor warmed up.

In case you're wondering, we took these photos from the truck or very near it. Bisons can charge if they feel threatened.

The weather was perfect all day, cool and sunny with blue skies.

Wildflowers were in bloom all over the park.

Look who else we stumbled across by the side of the road!

This black bear was helping itself to roadside flowers, grass and whatever it could find digging in the dirt. As we slowly passed, he smelled like wet dog.

We stayed away from most of the geysers and fumaroles because of the crowds, but we did walk around some fascinating mud pots, in which the mud was boiled by steam and sulphuric gasses that arise from deep under ground.

These mudpots are highly acidic, so much so that they literally dissolve the earth around them. The pH (power of hydrogen) in Sulphur Cauldron is 1, nearly as low as battery acid. As with the bison, you don't want to get too close.

Yellowstone River

Picnic spot on Yellowstone Lake. 

Spent the night at a campsite in Flagg Ranch, between Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Park, forthcoming. With so much to see and do in Yellowstone's nearly 3,500 square miles, we hope to visit again, but for today, we are so grateful.

Montana Shakes

 We've been having SO MUCH FUN that I've fallen behind on my blog posts. To catch you up, we spent a few more days in Bozeman and enjoyed a hike in Bear Canyon and a picnic with the Montana Shakes folks while we enjoyed Much Ado About Nothing that Johamy directed. Here are a few pix to enjoy.

Always fun to see Shakespeare outdoors

Charcuterie, naturally

Mi amiga

John took his Nikon on the hike and caught this pretty butterfly

Goofing on the trail

Summer flowers

X-ing a stream. No one fell in today!

Blue skies, only blue skies from now on...

Next post: Yellowstone Wildlife!

Bozeman, Montana: I Can't Think of Anyplace I'd Rather Be

Perhaps I'm channeling a past life as a mountain man or a black bear, but I feel 100 percent blissful in the Rocky Mountains. The last two days in Bozeman have been super special. Not only have we spent time with our good friends, but we've hiked some gorgeous trails, seen stunning vistas, eaten some great food, relaxed in a very chill Air BnB in Bear Canyon, and enjoyed an excellent production of The Merchant of Venice directed by Kevin Asselin at Shakespeare in the Parks. 

Hyalite Reservoir and Palisade Mountain

We're at about 6,000 feet and it feels like the Swiss Alps.

John and Matt on the trail

Hello from a mountain meadow

I feel like spinning and singing, The hills are alive...

A happy place for both of us

Our Air BnB called Bear Canyon Casita, which is the house on the right. The architect-owners live in the main house.

Another perfect day in paradise!

 

Day 1: Montana

It's a fool's pursuit to post photos of Montana and Wyoming because the scenery is so grand that no photo -- especially a tiny, lo-res one taken on my iphone -- can possibly capture the scale, the beauty, the awesomeness of earth and sky. But because I am still foolishly posting to this blog after more than a decade, here I go again.

Our first glimpse of the Tetons in the distance, taken from the west.

The rushing Gallatin River, between West Yellowstone and Big Sky, Montana, in the Custer-Gallatin National Forest. Noted for being one of the nation's best fly-fishing waters, the Gallatin was featured in one of our all-time favorite films, A River Runs Through It.

Horses grazing in a sunlit valley.

After arriving in the Bozeman area, we drive to Blackmore Campground. At 6600 feet, it was a little cold and wet, but also quiet and peaceful. The best part of our stay there was meeting up with Matt and Johamy for a yummy dinner and nourishing conversation around the campfire.

Johamy and Matt

Chicken grilling over the fire.

John loves his Sasha time!

Next stop: A warm, cozy AirBnB house in Bozeman, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks (Merchant of Venice on Saturday and Much Ado on Wednesday). 

Did I say Life is Good? I hope you're enjoying your summer, too. 

 

On the Road Again

Both John and I got home late Tuesday night, and 12 hours later we were on the road again for our summer vacation to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. 

So far, the road has been clear and the weather sunny. The truck is always happy on the highways.

Day 1 was boring and hot driving through the desert, but Day 2 took us up I-15 to  northern Utah, which is green and mountainous.

We arrived at Malad Summit Campground around 5 PM, time for a nice walk among the aspens and evergreens.

Manmade waterfall into the stream that ran by our campground.

Mossy rocks.

We miss the teardrop, but sleeping in the truck bed was cozy and comfortable, considering we're now old enough to qualify for half-price campsites at National Parks. At $10/night, it cost less than our Starbucks order in the morning. :)