Life on the High Plains

 In my Skywatch Friday post I mentioned that I did two new trails.  I already talked about Ousel Falls so now it's time to show you Daly Creek. After leaving the green trees, lush grasses, and river at Ousel Falls I ventured south of Big Sky, Montana and into the section of Yellowstone that runs along highway 191 in Montana.  There are lots of trails in this area, but they don't get much use because they aren't within the gated area of Yellowstone where hoards of tourists hang out. When you go on the highway 191 trails you can expect to be alone and it was no different on this day.  One other vehicle was in the parking lot and it has a back country permit displayed so I knew they were camping far out on the trail.  I was going to be on my own so I crossed my fingers, got the bear spray close by and started out. The entire Daly Creek trail is 10.9 miles long with an elevation gain of about 1800 feet.  My goal was just to go a couple miles in and then come ri...

I'm back! I reinjured my knee about three weeks ago and took that time off to heal.  Today, however, I decided it was time to hit a trail again. I wanted to try a couple new trails.  The first stop was Ousel Falls near the town of Big Sky, Montana. The trail initially descends 130 feet to the bottom of the canyon then you cross to the other side and go back up the other side. The trail is beautifully maintained by the town.  Look at the quality of this bridge! What I thought was really cool was all the name plates along the bridge.  What a great way to raise funds for a project like this. The trail meanders along the South Fork of the Gallatin River.  The rock walls were beautiful. The berries are ready to be eaten although I have no idea what these are. Wonderful trail markers at all the intersections. Is this the falls I was headed to?  No, just another feature along the way. Before long I reached Ousel Falls.  Sorry, my pics came out really bad beca...

 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...