Life on the High Plains

Happy Birthday to this guy!  He's my best friend, my traveling partner, the father of my beloved daughters, the keeper of my zoo this summer, the man who encourages me to follow my dreams, the world's best provider, and most important--he's the best person I've ever known! He's headed up here to spend his birthday in Yellowstone!  I cannot wait until he gets here!  (I hope he brought his hiking boots!)

I just have to share these pictures of a family of Trumpeter swans that I came across last week. Here's mom hanging out with four babies.   Then there's dad trying to keep control of baby #5 who is obviously not cooperating with the rest of the crew. Adorable! I love it when I come across moments like this!  I look forward to watching the babies grow throughout the summer.

Natural Bridge Trail is near the Bridge Bay Marina and is an easy 3 mile in and out trail.  I did it with a friend early one morning before work.  The majority of the trail follows an old road that was closed in the early 1990s to preserve this area. Once you reach the base of the rocks there is a trail that continues upward and behind the bridge. I'm not going to lie, it was a little steep in places and kinda scary.   There are steps back there to help traverse through the area without causing an damage. The best view was definitely from behind looking through the arch.  Don't you love how that tree is growing on top of the arch? This is definitely a must do in Yellowstone--brings lots of mosquito repellent! Happy Skywatch Friday from Yellowstone!

This week I needed to go buy a few groceries, the most important of which was cat treats.  Sophie likes her "biscuits" and I'd be in big trouble if I ran out.  I decided to head to the closest "border" city, Jackson, Wyoming. No trip to Jackson is complete without a stop at Mormon Row. My next stop was the National Wildlife Museum.  I'm in the process of painting a buffalo and I am having trouble with the face.  I knew this museum has my all time favorite painting of a buffalo so I decided to stop and take a look.  Little did I know that Park employees get in free!  I'll be stopping there every time I pass by.   This painting is by Robert Bateman and I love it!  I got as close to it as possible to see how he makes it look so lifelike, especially with acrylic paints.  He is a genius! While there I stopped to enjoy some of my other favorites.   This bear is by Tucker Smith.   Of cou...

Wednesday and Thursday are my days off so I try to pack a lot into those two days each week.  I've been wanting to visit some of the geyser basins so I knew I needed to get up early in order to be able to find a parking spot. The first stop was Midway Geyser Basin which is the home of the Excelsior Geyser and Grand Prismatic Spring. This is Excelsior Geyser.  I love the colors and the flow down into Firehole River. Excelsior last erupted in 1880, unless you count a short eruption in 1985 that lasted a few days.  It has been quiet since then. I was lucky to have a bright blue sky for my shots.  The sun was trying to peek through all that steam.     Then it was onto Grand Prismatic.  My camera does not do justice the colors in this pool.  The water is a beautiful turquoise.  This is the largest geothermal pool in Yellowstone.   Here's a vies of Excelsior from across the boardwalk.   My ...

I took a trip to Jackson Hole this week to stock up on supplies.  No trip there is complete without a stop at Mormon Row. Mormon Row is a settlement that was started in the late 1890s by the Church of Latter Day Saints.  Settlers from the Salt Lake area moved to this are and built a community thanks to the Homestead Act of 1862 which granted land ownership to anyone willing to built a house and cultivate the area for five years.   Several structures survived and today they are on the National Register of Historic Places.  These barns are the subject of many photographs thanks to their setting in front of the majestic Teton mountain range. The above barn is the T.A. Mouton barn.  The homestead was settled in 1910 and it took over 30 years to build this barn.  Happy Skywatch Friday from Yellowstone!

 The 4th of July was my Friday so that night I decided to head down to the amphitheater to listen to the nightly ranger talk.  I arrived early so I could walk around and explore the trail on the lakeshore. I started at the marina.  I love the reflection of the clouds in the lake.   Since this is a developed area the trail was paved.   I must be going in the right direction. The trail has a suspension bridge.  I wondered if Irv would be brave enough to cross this.   Before long I can to an area where the trail was washed out.  I knew this was going to come up, I just wish it had been further down the trail.   According to a ranger I talked with, the lake is about 2 feet higher than usual for this time of year.  This area of Yellowstone had a tremendous snowfall last winter and got about 34 feet of snow.  That's why the lakes and rivers are running so high.   I took a shortcut off the tr...