Life on the High Plains

 It was just a week ago that I posted about the comradery that exists between the rangers of the West District.   Who would have know that in less than a week we would be mourning the loss of one of our own?  You never really know what others are going through.  It's been a sad week. Rest in peace Ranger R.A.

 A couple weeks ago we made the trip to Idaho Falls for a movie, lunch, museum visit and grocery shopping.  My parents moved to Idaho Falls when my dad retired from the Forest Service. We always drive by my parent's house.  Why? I don't really know.  It's gone downhill since my dad sold it.  He always had a lawn maintenance guy who keep the lawn green and healthy, not so much anymore. My dad has been gone for four years now and I miss him every single day.  I'll always be grateful to both my parents for allowing me and my brothers to just be their kids all the way up until the end.   My dad was heavily involved in the Bonneville County Historical Society which is now the Museum of Idaho.  His legacy there is the Eagle Rock display in the lower level.  After his passing my brothers and I purchased a paver in my dad's honor which is outside the entrance doors. The museum is now a world class place with great traveling exhibits.  Curre...

Working the west entrance of Yellowstone is not for the faint of heart.  We're a hard working group of people who take untold amounts of abuse every day.  And for some reason we keep coming back. We don't get to socialize outside of work very often, but when there's a fee free day we sometimes get to close the gate early and have a barbecue or potluck. When we're working we are stuck in the booth most of the day and have very little time for interaction. That's why it was nice to get a night off to have a little fun. We invited one of the LE rangers to our potluck.  This guy stays close by the gate and makes us feel safe especially when people speed up to the gate at 60+ miles per hour when the speed limit is 15. You may have noticed from the first picture that the gate crew is heavy on the female side.  We have one guy this year.  He's the same age as my grandson so I always tell him to mind the old ladies.  He's a great guy who is a snow mobile guide in t...

So, last week was pretty rough at work both physically and mentally.  It's not easy working the gate at Yellowstone. The majority of the visitors are wonderful, but then there's the other 1-2%.  Anyway, my weekend can never come fast enough. Usually I unwind and regroup by hiking, but last week my knee decided it had other plans.  I had surgery for a torn meniscus in February and the doctor told me he was just buying me some time, I just thought he meant at least six years not six months.  Last week that knee started buckling on me every now and then.  So my days off this week were spent resting.  One day we decided to drive to Cooke City, MT to have lunch at one of my favorite restaurants.  Wildlife in the park have been scarce lately.  I think they're as worn out by the visitors as I am.  This lone juvenile female elk was heading towards the terraces at Mammoth. You get to Cooke City by going through Lamar Valley.  I can always guarant...

 This week's Yellowstone adventure was to the northeast section of the park.  We ventured to Lamar Valley and on the way back we took a side trip to the Blacktail Plateau. It is a 6-mile one way road that meanders through forests and meadows to a high plateau.  This road is in a bear management area so it doesn't open to the public until later in the season.   Speaking of bears, a black bear has moved into the government housing area where I live.  No more just stepping out the door of my RV without taking a good look around. The skies are still quite smoky here in Yellowstone so my sky shots aren't great.  Once every few days we get to see the blue sky, but not on this day. I'd definitely suggest having a high clearance vehicle if you're going to take this drive. Beautiful views around every corner.  The road comes out near the Petrified Tree.  I didn't get any pictures, but it also goes through an area that was devastated by the 1988 fires....

Today we went in search of the Queen's Laundry off of Fountain Flats Drive in Yellowstone.  Queen's Laundry was a bathhouse started in 1881 near a location where the thermal water wasn't so hot so people would be able to bathe.  The project was abandoned before completion when a new park superintendent was named.  The remains of the building are still standing and have been preserved by the thermal water. The trail starts on an old freight road.  The first stop was the Ojo Caliente spring. Then the trail follows an off shoot of the Firehole River. The narrow trail meanders through big open meadows.  Definitely not a trail you want to do on a hot sunny day. Irv showed off his balance beam skills on some of the water crossing logs.  Unfortunately I didn't get a shot of his perfect 10 routine. Beautiful wildflowers along the way. Many thermal features that the average tourist never gets to see. At points the trail went through some wooded areas and the shade w...