Rocky Mountain National Park and Destruction

Today we drove a lot. We started the day in Craig, Colorado and ended the day hundreds of miles away in Dillon, Colorado. We drove almost all back roads, some dirt, up and down mountains and through canyons and valleys, following the Yampa River for most of the day and then the Colorado River later on. We saw a lot of beautiful scenery and had lots of sunshine and a short hail/thunderstorm. We drove into and through Rocky Mountain National Park, and after seeing the damage the beetles had done to the trees, decided to drive the scenic route across the park and head on. The beetles have killed most of the trees all through the Rockies. From a distance, it looks like Vermont in the winter, with no foliage on the trees - only the dead trees are evergreens and just stand there turning brown, with needles falling. The Park Service is logging many of the dead trees. It was very unappealing and the thought of hiking through a massive dead forest was depressing. The campground, once covered with tree cover now sits in an open field. Not too pretty or scenic. We'll try again in 20 years when the trees have grown back...

We did enjoy the arctic tundra of the Rockies though. A storm was rolling in and the clouds were low and magnificent. The tundra is not affected by the beetle problem and looked healthy and normal.


We listened to Susical's Road Trip and Wonderful World mixes all day - and the songs were wonderful. We listened to "Watching the River Run" by Loggins and Messina on repeat for hours, I think. Singing along. What a perfect song for our trip. Also, we worked on memorizing the words to "Route 66". Thank you, Aunt Susie!

Today we are heading into Leadville, CO. It is an old mining town with quite a few museums and historic buildings. I'm pretty excited to see this place. Mining towns are intriguing to me.

Interesting side story to our travels today. We were driving through Roosevelt National Forest around dinner time, looking for a campground (all full...) when we started seeing Sheriff's standing guard with rifles in hand standing at each pull-off along the road. This went on for miles and miles, with more sheriffs arriving all the time. Obviously something was very wrong. Bear on loose and attacking? Missing person? Kidnapping? They weren't stopping traffic, so we continued on. We passed by a group of sheriffs who were talking to a man and a woman by the roadside. The woman was clutching a pillow and crying, the man had his arm around her. Missing person or kidnapping seemed more likely now. We continued to wonder about what was going on, as more sheriff cars were arriving mile after mile. Our intuition led us to decide to keep driving and get away from whatever was going on. We stopped even checking to see if campgrounds had any sites open. We drove a few more hours, past Boulder, and finally stopped around 10 pm at an inexpensive hotel. I checked the news outlets for reports of what we had driven through. Apparently the man and woman we saw had been kidnapped in the forest by an armed man, handcuffed to trees, and later escaped somehow. The campgrounds surrounding that area had been evacuated and residents were reverse 911 called telling them to lock all door and windows. The kidnapper is still on the loose. Yikes. Glad we kept driving. After checking the news, we also found out that a motorcyclist was killed yesterday morning in Craig (where we had spent the night) after a deer ran in front of his bike. Also, a man in SUV was off-roading in a canyon we drove through and flipped his vehicle down an embankment, and died after being thrown from his vehicle. I wonder if all this horrible stuff happens every where we go? Remember the bear attack in Yellowstone. We were there for that too.

Kidnapping article:
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/ci_15382741

Dinosaur Mouse

We have another mouse in the house (Prius). But this time, it's okay. Dad tricked me into driving to the Visitor Center at Dinosaur this morning, saying that he needed a map, but really he wanted to buy a little stuffed animal mouse to keep in my car. We'd seen it the day before. I scowled at it. Anyway, now this mouse lives in my car and we thoroughly abuse it. First thing, my Dad started hurling that stupid idiot mouse at the windshield. It spends most of its time upside down in a corner. Tomorrow maybe we'll practice some of our trapping methods on it. Bring out the cinch-string bags and duct tape. I have a feeling that stupid idiot mouse will end up eating our cookies again, somehow... We call the stupid idiot mouse "Fievel", after the mouse character from An American Tail: Fievel Goes West.

Fievel is the idiot mouse in the back standing on his head. Idiot.


We had pizza at a local place (Carelli's) and Ben and Jerry's ice cream for dinner! Perfect. We're in Craig, Colorado for the night at an inexpensive hotel. 11 days of camping, and several days without shower access. It was time to change clothes and get clean. Also nice to have WiFi and no mosquitoes for a change.

We have spent the last few days camping at Green River Campground at Dinosaur in Utah. We found a campsite right on the Green River and shared it with Mary Ellen and Karen. Thanks to their half-price Ancients discount we each paid $1.50 per night.

Amy walking on a trail.

We did some hikes during the day and ate some yummy foods at night, thanks to the cooking of Mary and Karen. Dinosaur National Monument had everything from dinosaur fossils still embedded in the cliff walls to petroglyphs to a woman-rancher's old homestead and farm. Dad and I hiked to a Box Canyon where Josie, the woman-rancher, kept her pigs; to Hog Creek Canyon where Josie kept her herd of cows; on a nature trail along a creek bed; up the sides of cliffs to see the petroglyphs up close; and of course, up the side of a cliff to see the dinosaur bones. It was all intriguing to me and I loved it all. The weather was very warm, highs in the 90's every day. So worth it though. On the Hog Creek Canyon hike, my Dad and I got to the trailhead just as a Ranger was set to start his tour of the area. We didn't know anything about it - but since we were the only people to show up, we got our own private tour guide for the hike. Lucky us!!

Petroglyphs




Hole in the rock

Box Canyon


Ranger pointing to a Dinosaur fossil.

I'm awed by the geology of the area. I think I took more pictures of rocks and sediment deposits than of anything else. I need my own personal geologist in the backseat explaining how everything I see got to be how it is. So cool. Wishing I had taken more than one geology class in college. Luckily, my Dad is friends with my old geology professor, so I may be able to piece that geologic story together sometime. My Dad told me that when I was young I always said I wanted to be an "archaeologist, a geologist and an environmental scientist". My interests clearly have not changed.


Last night at 9:30 there was a 2-hour astronomy program at our campground. The National Park Service had 4 high-powered telescopes for us to use. I got to see the rings around Saturn and her 2 moons, Mars, and Venus. So awesome! I learned lots about constellations and can finally figure out which star is the North Star. At the end of the program, there was a gathering of the Vermonters. It turns out one of the younger rangers helping to put on the program is from the New North End of Burlington, Vermont. And another guy lived in Vergennes for 2 years when he was in school. And another woman had been visiting Vermont not too long ago. Very funny to find so many Vermont connections out here. Especially out of a group of maybe 30 people...

Today we all did another hike out to Harper's Crossing at Dinosaur. It brought us to a place where we could see 2 rivers meet. We were way up high and had canyons on either side of the path. Again, really hot.

After the hike, Mary and Karen headed for Salt Lake City and Dad and I headed into Colorado to explore Rocky Mountain National Park and some old mining towns. We're gearing up to next Friday when we pick Mike up in Durango, CO for a week of fun exploring Arches and Canyonlands and Zion and Bryce and Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon. Maybe even a rafting trip if we totally luck out.



We'll be in Colorado all week taking the scenic routes, avoiding crowds, and seeing the sights.

Dinosaur

We're in Utah now, not far from Dinosaur National Monument. We'll be heading into Dinosaur this morning, hoping to camp at the Green River campground. It's gonna be hot. I'm not expecting to find internet or cell service, so I'll probably be out of touch for 3 or 4 days. But I'll be back with lots of pictures.

Mouse Update: 4 traps set in the Prius overnight. No mice caught. No sign of the mouse at all today! Hoping to never have a mouse in my car again. Or a fat chipmunk. Or a bear...

Yellowstone, Tetons and Flaming Gorge

Here are some pictures of me at Yellowstone and Tetons. It was sunny and cold at the instant this picture was taken at Yellowstone. Later that afternoon, we saw rain, snow, hail, very gusty wind, thunder and lightning. Crazy weather.




Sirhc at Mammoth Hot Springs.


Amy at Mammoth Hot Springs.


Our campsite at Mammoth Hot Springs. On the phone with Mike.


Standing next to the Oregon Trail.


Our campsite at Grand Tetons - Colter Bay Campground. S'mores!


Our island picnic site at the Tetons.



All of the animals on the island.


Canoeing on Jackson Lake - Tetons.


It's still winter there....


Okay, now to the interesting part of our journey this week. We went to Flaming Gorge Canyon and stayed at Fire Hole Canyon Campground. The place was nearly deserted. Only us and 2 or 3 other campers for 3 days. It was a beautiful site. No cell service, but still good. I declared after only an hour at this site, that it was my favorite place yet. How quickly things can change.

This is the view from our site.


Here I am with all of our animal crew. Teton the Bear, Sirhc the Frog, Dokie the Prairie Dog, and Guardian Flubs the Buffalo. All loved and wanted harmless little creatures.


A Mouse in my House:
At Yellowstone we were so cautious with the bears. At Flaming Gorge we were out of bear country and could finally relax a bit. Until we saw the chipmunks. They were the size of squirrels - FAT and very aggressive. They would jump up on the picnic table - one even jumped into the car landing on Dad's foot, then ran all the way through the back of the car. Dad chased it out, luckily. Well, those were the annoying daytime critters. Nighttime critters are worse. Our first night in the Gorge, Dad set up the tent and slept there. I decided I would sleep in the car. I read for a bit before falling asleep. But I kept hearing noises. Am I crazy? No, I hear plastic bags rustling. And it's in the car. I turned on the light and look down to the plastic bag with the chocolate in it, and looking back at me is a mouse. He's staring at me. I stare back. It's 3:00 in the morning, every is sleeping. No, I didn't scream or jump or panic. I opened the door - asked nicely if Mr. Mouse could please leave. Nope, he didn't leave. He started racing all over the car. Going in and out of nooks and crannies I didn't even know existed. I tried hitting him with an umbrella. He's too fast for that. I decided to call in the reinforcement (Dad) before this mouse ate all of our food. He tried to catch it, coax it out. Anything. No go. After awhile (almost an hour) we decided to move all the food to the tent with my Dad (definitely not a move to make in bear country - but we were clearly in rodent country now). I got back in the car, with the mouse, and tried to go back to sleep. I put on my iPod and cinched tight my mummy sleeping bag. I waited until dawn to empty the car of everything else in search of the mouse and it's hiding places. Last I saw it was staring at me from the driver's seat around 5 am. I didn't sleep much that night. After the car was emptied and the mouse couldn't be found, I put my sleeping bag back in the car and slept for a few hours. No sign of the mouse. The next night, we had a plan. We figured the mouse would be back. We packed the food in mouse-proof bags, and I moved to the tent with all of my stuff. My Dad would sleep in the car and try to capture the mouse. He set up bait in bags and had a plan. The mouse came back, and he spent most of the night almost catching the mouse. From 10 pm to 5 am. No sleep for him. I, in the tent, spent the night sleeping and occasionally waking up to knock the rodents off the outside walls of the tent. Yup, they were trying to climb the tent. Crazy rodents. As of this moment we don't know if the mouse just visited the car at night and then left or if it has taken up residence in a little mouse-sized place we can't find. I picked up all the mouse traps I could find at the grocery store and we'll set them tonight. We're sleeping in the tent though. No more sleepless nights for me. Flaming Gorge is a nice place to stop, take a few pictures and then leave. DON'T SPEND THE NIGHT. Mary and Karen also have a mouse in their motor home. I wonder if the campground was empty cause everybody that goes there finds their car infested with mice? Anyway, death to mice.



Me! And our animals.

Pictures from Yellowstone and Tetons

This picture is of a petrified tree at Yellowstone. It is the only thing we saw that is older than Dad - 50 million years old. It was his birthday week, so many old people jokes were made. This is an ongoing process, as he is still aging.


This is a picture of Mammoth Hot Springs at Yellowstone. I actually got a picture of this blue bird, finally. Every time I tried to snap a picture, it would fly away before I could focus the camera. I saw a few of these blue birds at different locations. Very pretty. Mammoth Hot Springs is where we camped when we were at Yellowstone. We had cell signal at our campsite = happy Amy. No WiFi though - which is why there were no updates to this blog.


Another blue bird picture. In flight this time. Still at Yellowstone. Very cool.


Old Faithful (or Old Mouthful, as Dad calls it) erupting. In the back-ground is another geyser erupting. Old Faithful is on a pretty good schedule, so we knew about when it would erupt. The geyser behind it erupts randomly, so we were lucky to see them both go at the same time. It was very cold the morning we were at Old Faithful. Woke up to temperatures in the 20's and snow falling. Yup, June 17th at Yellowstone is still winter. Also, June 17th is my Dad's birthday. Happy Birthday, DAD! It was pretty cold waiting for Old Faithful, so we went into the lodge for cinnamon buns and hot cocoa.



On the 17th we left Yellowstone and headed for the Grand Tetons. Dad and I rented a canoe and paddled out to an island where we sat on the beach and had a picnic. We brought Teton, the bear with us.


Teton, our little stuff animal bear is named after the place where we saw this guy:


This bear crossed the road in front of us, and here he is on the side of the road. I took this picture from the car, with the window down. He's a big BIG Black Bear. But he's brown. In the distance another bear was howling pretty loudly. Here's hoping this is the only bear we encounter on this trip. Or if I see another one, I hope I am safely in my car.

Here Karen, Dad and Mary Ellen are at the marina at the Tetons. It was gorgeous there. We finally had a taste of nicer weather here. We could stand to be outside during the day, and had fewer storms. Rain, no snow. It's beginning to feel like summer!



Beach shot of the Tetons. I love the driftwood on this beach. It was all over the place.


Dad just finished blowing out the candles on his little birthday cake. We did his birthday celebration in parts over several days. It was just too cold to go with our original plan on his actual birthday, plus other unforeseen circumstances had to be dealt with. Mary Ellen and Karen made grilled salmon for his rescheduled birthday dinner while at the Tetons, and even brought birthday candles for a little cake they picked up for him. I'd say the Birthday Boy had a pretty good extended birthday party. And yes, I remembered to wish him a happy father's day too.


This is a Yellowstone Bison. Saw lots of them, quite a few herds too. We have a little stuffed animal Buffalo that we picked up in Yellowstone. We call him Flubs, or sometimes Guardian Flubs, as I put him on my Dad's right shoulder when he drives. Silly little Guardian Flubs.

Yellowstone and Grand Tetons

I don't even know where to start - so coming soon will be a teaser of pictures of some of what we've been up to. We've been to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. Lots of geysers (with the geezers, or ancients as cousin Bill calls them) at Yellowstone.

I saw my first bear on the way to the Tetons. So we named our stuffed animal bear Teton. I was in the car when I saw the bear. Phew. A bear at Yellowstone mauled a man to death who was hiking at Yellowstone while we were there. We slept in the car the whole time, and did no backwoods hiking.

More to come when we have time to upload pictures.

Having lots of fun!

Big Horn Mountains, Sibley Lake, Pompey's Pillar, Baby Okie

Okay, best part of today happened about 20 minutes ago. I actually went into a hotel with my Dad to see about a room price (usually I let him handle that), and the lady at the desk gave us a discounted room cause my Dad is OLD enough for AARP. Best part of the day = AARP discount. Still chuckling. We're in Livingstone, Montana tonight. We'll pick up bear spray in the morning and head into Yellowstone for a few days of camping before heading to the Grand Tetons. Dad has a birthday on Thursday, so we'll have to do something silly and fantastic that day. Does AARP give a bigger discount the older you get? I'll have to research.

Today was already a really fun day, even before AARP. We left Sheridan, Wyoming and headed up into the Big Horn Mountains.

It was beautiful. And cold. Quite a bit of snow was still up there. So, we had a snowball fight in the middle of the highway. If you look carefully, you can see a snowball being thrown at me in mid-air a little above my Dad's hand.

We stopped for a picnic and walk at Lake Sibley. These are some pictures of the river near there.





We climbed pretty high in elevation today - the highest posted sign we saw was 9430 feet. We were driving through snow and the clouds. Pretty neat. It was about 48 degrees atop the mountain, but a nice 75 down below. No rain at all today!


We headed to Pompey's Pillar late this afternoon to see where William Clark (or Lewis and Clark's expedition west) carved his name into a stone outcropping on the Yellowstone River.

Another pretty spot. Of course. While there, we were browsing through the gift shop, and a little stuffed animal prairie dog caught my eye. Lisa has a prairie dog that is bigger than the one I saw named Okie that she got on a trip out west 10 years ago. So, we bought/adopted the little prairie dog and named him Baby Okie. So far, Baby Okie and Sirhc are getting along very well. They are both little jokers, and you never know where they will pop up!

Devil's Tower

This is Devil's Tower from where I slept. We spent the night in the Prius. It was cold and rainy outside, which isn't great for tenting. The Prius was very comfy. All of our stuff fit in the front seats, and we had room to stretch out on our sleeping pads and were toasty warm in our sleeping bags. We'll be doing that again, I think. We're heading into bear country, and I want more between me and a bear than just a tent.


I love that this trip is my Dad's 15th trip around the country and he still sees things he's never seen before. Today, his firsts were a rattlesnake and Devil's Tower. These were first for me too.


I'm not scared of snakes or spiders or most bugs - just bees, and gas pumps. Dad has taken on pumping gas as his job. THANK YOU DAD! I've never gotten a gas pump to work anyway, so it's quicker and less of a hassle if he does it anyway. At home, Mike is very good about making sure my gas tank is full. Yay!

The soil here is a mix of the usual grays and tans, but also has a brilliant red clay that is striking to look at. This a picture of Devil's Tower rising above some of the different soil types.

Nearby is a Prairie Dog village. I thought taking a picture of a prairie dog was supposed to be hard work, but these guys were very good at posing for a picture. I took a bunch of pictures, but I liked this little guy best. They are super cute.


We took a stroll around the base of Devil's Tower (1.3 miles) with Mary Ellen and Karen. Here is a picture of me!


And Mary Ellen.



And Karen - who just sat down like this in a perfect picture pose!


And here is Dad. There is a pretty valley below Devil's Tower - that is what you see behind him.

We're off to Bighorn Canyon and Yellowstone today! Wyoming has a lot of hills and fields, and not much else that I've seen. Serene. I might be out of touch while I'm there. At least we have a beautiful sunny day today. A lot of rain yesterday, again. And we're off.