Life on the High Plains

With over four and a half million visitors to Yellowstone each year it can be difficult to find spots that you can be alone to just enjoy the beauty of the area while regenerating your soul. The Madison River is especially peaceful and beautiful.  You just have to be willing to put on your hiking boats and venture away from your car. Happy Skywatch Friday!

A couple coworkers and I headed out to the Bighorn Pass trail head after enjoying breakfast at a local cafe. Those of us who work in the park tend to find places outside the park to hike on our days off.  Bighorn is actually inside Yellowstone, but it's located on highway 191 north of West Yellowstone so there aren't any tourists here. This trail is very flat and meanders through beautiful meadows and sagebrush fields. There were a couple water crossings and the Park Service has one a terrific job with the foot bridges. This one that crosses the Madison River is especially nice.  Have you ever stopped to think about how much work it must have been for the trail crew to haul in the materials to build bridges like this? The trail follows the Madison River. Although the wild flower season is almost done, there was still the opportunity to stop and "smell the roses" along the way. You'll notice the sky is hazy.  The Bacon R...

After checking into the beautiful Glacier Park Lodge we loaded into the car and made the 30 mile drive to the Many Glacier inside the park. Although it was only a 30 mile drive it took well over an hour because the road was narrow, curvy and along the side of a mountain.  We got our first view of Glacier National Park. My pictures do not do justice to the beauty of this place. The wildflowers were in full bloom. It took us well over an hour to reach our destination--the Swiftcurrent Pass Trail. Fully loaded with bear spray and hiking sticks for protection we started our journey. This tree was awesome. One thing you'll notice about Glacier National Park is that the glaciers have severely receded.  Of course global warming is fake news, but I suggest you get up there soon if you want to see any trace of a glacier. The undergrowth was just like a rain forest. We loved the rock walls. Beautiful aspens and streams a...

Our next stop on our trip to Glacier National Park was the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls, Montana. We met some really nice volunteers and rangers who are passionate about this center.  We looked at exhibits and listened to a presentation about the expedition and grizzly bears. The expedition apparently thought that grizzlies would be no match for their modern day weaponry, but they quickly learned differently. I have to admit that I didn't know much about the Lewis and Clark expedition other than it was to explore the northwest after the Louisiana Purchase.  Ask me anything about the expeditions into the Yellowstone territory, but I must have been absent in my history class when Lewis and Clark was covered.    Now I know more though.   The expedition was over 8,000 miles and took place in 1804-1806.The terrain was rough and the weather conditions were harsh.  We had followed the Missouri River on our drive t...

Last week Irv and I went on an adventure to Glacier National Park.  Our first stop was the Lewis and Clark Center in Great Falls, Montana.  Not long after exiting I-90 on highway 287 towards Great Falls we saw a large herd of horses on a hilltop. This is not an uncommon sight in Montana, but something wasn't quite right. Irv flipped a U-turn and we went back for a closer look. These weren't real horses at all.  This was art and someone put a whole lot of effort into it.  With my telephoto lens I was able to get a closer look. Absolutely amazing!  Horses of every shape and size in different positions. Of course my curiosity was peaked and I wanted to know who had created this beautiful scene.  Thanks to Google it only took a minute to locate the information about these horses. The sculptor's name is Jim Dolan and the name of the exhibit is Bleu Horses.  Some of the pieces are as high as 8 feet at the shoulder. ...