Friday, September 04, 2009

September beginnings


Here are a bunch of p
ictures and videos from the past 5 days we spent with a visit from family. We had amazing weather and saw SO much during the week; including a few wolves which we sat and waited for across Lamar Valley (American Serengeti) in Yellowstone. If we could post all of the pictures we would.

 


The two pictures above from Mammoth Hot Springs :)



One of many spectacular views in Yellowstone


Upper Falls


We took a boat ride on Jackson Lake from Colter Bay. This was our view.




Mt Moran. 2nd Tallest of the Teton Range at 12,605ft.


Early bird catches the worm. Get up at 5am, get these kind of shots.




The Moose we saw in the town of Moose. (Not one of the 42 collared for our study)



Video of Otters! Off of Jackson Lake Dam in the Tetons. 





Video of Dragon's Mouth Fumarole in Yellowstone.



Bison Bison Bison Video


Tuesday, August 25, 2009

"Every thing in life ain't nothin but a thing."


Well we're back from another stint in the back country and as always, really looking forward to the next. Lots of delightful moose, lots of scat, lots of vegetation collected and who could forget the willow transects. We were both barked at by packs of wolves, saw bears (and their steamy-fresh green poo), and hiked through some of the most beautiful landscapes our eyes have ever seen.
We love our job.


Start off with yet another shot of the Tetons, can't get enough...


Couple cow moose enjoying an evening stroll across the marsh.


Ben's humble abode


Carrie's humble abode


15 days without a shower, not bad.


Ben's Fox Park shot with Beaver Ponds


Snowed on in August; a first for both Ben and Carrie.
Temps dipped down into the low 20's at night.





Jellystone



The quaint cabin at and its outhouse at Hawks Rest.
Carrie and Mike got to stay here 5 nights of their trip in August and looking forward to staying in September once the temperatures really start to drop at night. You can see the cliff face behind the cabin called Hawks Rest

where you'll always find at least 3 birds of prey (ie: hawks, bald eagles) circling above.



View from the Hawks Rest Thorofare Cabin.


Note Worthy Animals Seen Thus Far:

Moose
Black Bears
Grizzly Bears
Wolves
Bison
Bald Eagles
Short Tailed Weasle
Pine Martin
Trumpeter Swans
Golden Eagles
Osprey
Jumping Mice
Boreal Chorus Frogs
Tiger Salamanders
Wandering Garter Snake
Boreal Toads
Pronghorn Antelope
Mule Deer
Elk
Grey Owls


Leave you with a quote from a man we ran into 30 miles out. He had been traveling that very back country for over 25 years and had quite a few memorable lines. He said to us "Every thing in life ain't nothing but a thing." He was referring to the traffic jam he encountered while trying to get to the start of the trail head....



Sunday, August 02, 2009

More Yellowstone and Teton pics you ask?


Ben's Adventures in Fox Park
:


Ben on his trusty steed while being packed in


Yellow Bellied Marmot who lives under the outhouse at the cabin in Fox Park/Teton Wilderness.




Tiger Salamander :)




View from Ben's cabin window. A luxury roof above ones head when out camping for a couple weeks... complete with wood burning stove and bunk style beds.


Next series of pictures are from Dubois Wyoming

- a 40 minute drive East of us
Amazing how quickly the scenery changes along this short drive


Very Painted Desert-esk, only prettier.



Brook's Lake - Nothing to complain about this hike


These mountains in Dubois Wyoming are part of the Wind River Range.


Yellowstone and its fabulous geysers in the next few pictures below...





Deep!



Bacteria/Iron Oxides create incredible patterns surrounding the geysers








(No, we are not secretly doing research on the Planet Venus)


Mandatory Old Faithful Picture.
Contrary to popular belief
it does not "faithfully"erupt once every hour;
rather it goes off every 45-122 minutes.



After a wonderful few days of great sites, food, and some family in town, we are headed to the back- country again.  See ya in a couple weeks with more stories and pictures to boot. (To boot or not to boot, that is the question)
 

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

July Backpacking Top 10



10. Carrie crossed into Yellowstone the way that 99.999% of people do not.
We entered through via the Thorofare trail to the south boundary trail by foot. (Vs. by car on the highway)

9. A Pine Martin came 10-15 feet away from Carrie and Mike and continued to pay them no attention as it walked along some fallen logs.

8. Ben saw the same moose twice munching aquatic vegetation (Narrow leaved bur reed) as it was using it ears to deter irritating bugs near its face. He continued to watch for about 40 minutes.

7. We were only rained on once or twice the entire trip!
As compared the month of July where both Ben and Carrie realized they needed new rain jackets, were hailed on, and woke up most mornings to wet soggy ground. Trail conditions were infinitely better.

6. Ben was packed-in to the Fox Park Cabin - Ben's horse loved to tailgate both other horses and humans as they made their way on the 18 mile ride. Elk steaks and potatoes cooked over a wood fire were provided by the Wyoming game and fish biologist otherwise known as Steve who packed them in.

5. Carrie heared a pack of wolves howling in the evening.
Carrie heard the eerie satisfying sound of ~6-7 wolves including pups as the sun makes its way below the horizon. Compete with Bald eagles and Pelicans fishing along the Yellowstone River.

4. Carrie ate dinner shared by an outfitter - An outfitter, his children and 2 clients of his asked if they could share our campsite and were gracious to share their stories and food around the campfire. Yellowstone cut-throat trout, chicken, cornbread, salad, lemon yellow cake complete with frosting (the most sweet tasting desert in the middle of nowhere)

3. Ben saw grizzly mother and her two cubs walking across a meadow ~150 meters away.

2. Ben had a Black Bear close encounter!
He was hiking through a meadow and came upon a little patch of forest and happened to look up and saw a medium sized bear ~30 feet away. The bear was running his direction until it instantly turned around and headed the opposite direction. 10 seconds later they saw two bears, one twice the size of the first, (most likely mom and cub) both running across the path making stress induced huffing noises.

1. Ben came across what at first seemed to be a deranged Elk.
The large bull elk was walking towards Ben and his partner as it licked its lips and they thought it was either going to charge or that it seemed a little off and disarranged... It showed no fear as it walked closer and closer making its way as close as 40 feet. Suddenly without reason, it took off in a trot and only moments later Ben saw a black wolf(!) glance their direction and take off after the elk. (Biologists DREEEAM of seeing things like this)


More Pictures to come....

Monday, July 27, 2009

Mighty Fine July

The O' Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack has a song that Mike and Carrie sing quite a bit while hiking around.  W thought you might enjoy hearing it - it is fitting for our setting. Click here to hear the song :)



View of the Yellowstone River and Bridger Lake in the Thorofare of the Teton Wilderness.



Close up view of picture above. Notice the burnt trees in front from the 1988 fires. Moose need cover to hide in once the temperature rises above 75 degrees. A lot of habitat and shade was lost in the fires of not only 1988 but also 2003 and 2005. (Most likely a major part of the huge 60% decline in moose population over the last 15 years.)



Collecting some Bog Birch. We collect ~30 plants four different times while out on trips to send in for diet analysis. See what kind of goodies the moose are getting in their diets.



View of the Yellowstone River from a bridge with metal support beams that was flown in before the area was designated Teton Wilderness Area in 1964. (Human activities in wilderness areas are restricted to scientific study and non-mechanized recreation; horses are permitted but motorized 
vehicles and equipment are not.)



View from where we ate a few meals.



Beautiful shot of one of the Peaks from Colter Bay in Teton National Park.



A spin around video in southeast Yellowstone Park. 

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Videos x 2



1 - Stormy Sunset
2 - Bison ~300 meters from our camper

Linkwithin

 
Free Website templatesfreethemes4all.comFree Blog TemplatesLast NewsFree CMS TemplatesFree CSS TemplatesFree Soccer VideosFree Wordpress ThemesFree Web Templates