Grand Tetons National Park

Our last night in Yellowstone dropped to 27 degrees. The weather was getting colder and the aspen leaves had mostly turned and dropped in Yellowstone, so we headed a little further south to the Grand Tetons to see if there would be more color. Cold weather comes more quickly to the north and the higher elevations.

View of Tetons and Cottonwoods from Oxbow Bend

We camped at Signal Mountain Campground on Jackson Lake for 3 days and nights. The Tetons have always been one of our special places - the spectacular mountains and diverse wildlife never disappoint.  And just being there refreshes and restores the spirit.

Aspens

 

We had not been to the Tetons since the new Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitor Center was finished. The new center had huge windows with an amazing view of the Tetons in the lobby.  It almost felt like you weren't in a building. There were video panels on the floor complete with sound - a video river.  So as you walked and looked down it looked like a birds eye view of the park. Very cool!

Those little dots in the foreground are elk...

Our campsite neighbor, John, from California invited us to share dinner our first night in the campground.  John had some special cheese from Switzerland. He cooked  potatoes in the fire and we put the melted cheese on the potatoes and ate them with pineapples, tomatoes and pickles.  Interesting combination, but John says that is how the Swiss do it.  And it was really good.

Jenny Lake

 

We spent some time at Jenny Lake, one of our favorite places and saw elk and pronghorn antelope along the road.  We walked along the shore of Jenny Lake enjoying the aspens.  But the wind was taking the leaves quickly.

One morning we had breakfast at Signal Mountain Lodge and afterward drove to Oxbow bend and saw a male elk with five cows.  Then we drove further south to the Snake River to a launching point.  There were several people down at the boat launch and we saw that they were observing 3 moose - a cow and two older calves.  We got to watch the moose for about an hour as they slowly grazed and crossed the river.  Two bald eagles soared over head for a few minutes, so it was a real treat.

Moose in the river

Another place we looked for wildlife was along the Moose-Wilson road that runs from Moose to Teton Village.  We were so excited to see a young solitary black wolf running next to and then across the road.  I didn’t get a photograph as it ducked into cover fairly quickly.  But we saw it running for a few seconds and it was fantastic! 

One night we drove slowly along Jenny Lake Road looking and listening for elk. Our efforts were rewarded and we stopped about 20 minutes and watched a big bull, 3 cows and a younger male as they grazed just yards from us off the road.  The big male ‘bugled’ ever so often and we both wondered why he was tolerating the young male among his cows.  We returned to camp around 8:30 and compared our animal sighting stories with our neighbor, John, who had seen two bears that day. 

The Middle and Grand Teton

 

I think I'll ask Santa for a bigger lens this Christmas.  Mine isn't very long and alas I didn't get any close ups the animals we saw.  But just seeing them and being in the Tetons was pretty darn nice...

 

Yellowstone National Park

 

Bozeman and smokey skies in our review mirror, we headed out to Yellowstone National Park. We have both been to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons many times but being so close and with the potential of fall color, how could we resist?  The drive was very pretty through the Gallatin National Forest and skies were definitely getting clearer. 

We decided to stay in the town of West Yellowstone just outside the park boundary and use the electricity in the campground to get some cooking done. Once we were in park campgrounds there would be no electricity or water, so warming up our meals rather than having to cook would make things a lot easier. With tomato sauce, green chili stew and homemade brownies cooked we went to bed. (I had been craving some chocolate!)  A nice rain came down most of the night helping to clear the smoke from the air...
 

Isn't Yellowstone the most 'other worldly' place?

One of the many hot springs at Mammoth

 

The next morning dawned clear and fresh for the first time in many days.  As we drove through the entry station to Yellowstone, it was free admission - National Public Lands Day.  We hadn't planned it but we were about to spend National Public Lands Day in Yellowstone. 

Lamar Valley in fall color

 

Taking a leisurely drive to the Lamar Valley, our first stop was Mammoth Hot Springs. We took two walks around several sets of hot springs and then continued on our way to Yellowstone River Picnic Area where we had a nice picnic with brownies for dessert.  As we left the area we started seeing buffalo and antelope on both sides of the road and even in the road!  We looked for wolves in the Lamar Valley but didn't see any, then made our way back to camp. All in all it was a great way to observe National Public Lands Day.

 

Yellowstone traffic jam

 

 

 

Missoula, Bozeman and Strange Sightings...

Even though it meant getting back into fires and smoke we left the Kootenai National Forest and drove to a commercial campground in Missoula, MT. We started our adventure in June with new hiking boots but not new hiking shoes.  All that hiking had worn off our tread and we both needed new hiking shoes desperately. So REI in Missoula was our destination.  

We arrived in Missoula about noon and had a burger at Fuddruckers and that  made us think of San Antonio. We bought new hiking shoes & socks for both of us and dog food for Maya.  We were all geared up to hit the trails again. It was very smokey from the fires, so we spent the night and headed for Bozeman early the next morning.

Bozeman was a place neither of us had ever been and just 91 miles from Yellowstone National Park, so we wanted to check out the city.  Bozeman reminded us a little of Missoula as it is also a college town (Montana State University) located in a valley between mountain ranges with beautiful views in every direction. It wasn't quite as smokey as Missoula, but the air quality was not good.  Hopefully, fall and cooler weather will give Montana some much needed relief from these fires! 

 

Very scary...

 

The cooler weather has also brought reports of an unusual sighting.  Campground visitors throughout Canada and Montana have occasionally had early morning sightings of a strange creature in very colorful fall plumage usually frequenting restroom areas.  A black, white and brown dog is sometimes seen with the creature.  Rangers are advising people not to approach and give this creature space - she has not had her coffee yet.

When we were in Jasper, it was so cold that I put on everything I had over my pajamas for an early morning run to the restroom.  One of the park staff was laughing and photographed me on his cell phone. No doubt you can find it on YouTube somewhere...  It actually would make an interesting photographic project "Campground Fashion."  I have seen some outfits that I would consider scarier than mine.

 

Ross Creek Trails, Bad Medicine Campground, MT



 'Twin' cedars on Ross Creek Cedar Grove Trail

Camping at Bad Medicine and Bull Lake was so serene that we decided to stay an additional day and night.  Another good reason to stay was the nearby Ross Creek Cedar Grove Nature Trail, known for its 500 - 1,000 year-old cedars. The Forest Service manages this 100-acre Scenic Area that was established in 1959 to protect the cedars for scientific and recreational value. 

Beautiful red fungi in the Cedar Grove
 

We started on the trail early as we planned to combine the Nature Trail with the South Fork Ross Creek Trail for about a 9 mile round trip hike with a 1500’ elevation gain. The first mile was through the Cedar Grove and wound through a canopy of hanging moss and huge western red cedars.  There were many large specimen trees and lush ferns on the shady forest floor.
 

South Fork Ross Creek Falls



Ross Creek near the Falls

 

Once through the cedars, the trail was not well maintained. After spending some time searching for a way to cross Ross Creek, we were finally able to crawl across a log (Maya did it in much better style). With a little searching we found the trail on the other side of the creek and followed the trail several miles up a steep canyon to a waterfall.  It was beautiful but very small and we thought for all the effort we went to, the waterfall should have been at least a few hundred feet high!

Lunch near the falls

 

 

Bad Medicine and the Kootenai National Forest, Montana

Kootenai River in the Kootenai N. F.

The next day dawned with more smoke in the air so we moved farther west to Bad Medicine Campground in the Kootenai National Forest. Along the way we stopped and hiked the Kootenai Falls and the Swinging Bridge Trail. Maya will try just about anything but she is not that crazy about swinging bridges. I don't blame her!

My leash is being held or I would be 'outa here'

Kootenai Falls

Our campground was on the shore of Bull Lake nestled in a forest of mostly old growth cedars. Bad Medicine Campground had two small loops and we shared our loop with one other couple and their dog. It was very private and beautiful, much less smoke and free camping too.  This was some 'bad medicine' that we could take...

Morning fog on Bull Lake - not smoke!
 

Bull Lake at Bad Medicine Campground

 

 

 

 

 

Kalispell and the Flathead National Forest, Montana

We enjoyed a few days in Kalispell, Montana - mostly resting and doing housekeeping chores - cleaning our clothes, car and RV after 22 glorious days in Canada. But we were back near forest fires again. This dry summer season of western fires has caused a lot of re-routing of our travels. Several of the fires that we avoided earlier in the summer were still burning in Montana, Idaho and Washington.

Kalispell became increasingly smokey with air quality alerts from the fires burning nearby in both Montana and Idaho.  We decided to move into the portion of the Flathead National Forest that was in the far west and north corner of Montana as that was about the only area in the state that didn't have an active fire.



Upper Stillwater Lake - still a little smoke in the air

A forest ranger recommended Upper Stillwater Lake in the Flathead as a good place to camp and hike. It was a short drive, about 40 miles north and west of Kalispell and the smoke was a little better.The campground was small, only six campsites and right on the lake.  We discovered that most Montana campgrounds 'winterize' around September 15th and after that the ones that remain open are free to camp because there are no services.

Hike to Finger Lake

We took a pleasant 3 mile hike to another nearby lake, Finger Lake.  When we returned to camp, Maya made friends with 3 little girls who were having a cookout with their family at the lake. Maya managed to mooch some bites of their dinner and a steak bone before they went home.  We had the campground and the lake to ourselves that night.  The solitude was wonderful and we watched a beaver in the lake as the sun set and the stars came out.

Give a dog a bone!

 

  

Back in the USA

Wild Goose Island on St. Mary's Lake, Glacier N. P.

Although Canada is not really all that different from the United States, it was still good to come 'home.'  We were able to see and visit so many great places but we still have many things we did not get to do on this trip.  One of my biggest regrets is that we were unable to visit the Burgess Shale Fossil  Beds in Yoho National Park.

I remember studying this formation famous for its well preserved  half billion year old Cambrian fossils in my college geology class.  Because of the exceptional fossils, only guided hikes are allowed to the formations and those hikes had ended for the year when we were visiting Yoho.  

David wants to spend time on the British Columbian Coast and search for the illusive 'white bear.'  Looks like another trip to Canada soon! 

Aspens just starting to turn at St. Mary's Campground

We entered the US through Chief Mountain, Montana next to Glacier National Park. Our first night back we stayed at St. Mary’s Campground on the eastern edge of the park. We drove the 'Going to the Sun Road' to Logan Pass, but had to stop there as the road was closed for repairs. The park service was getting ready for winter.  Even our campground had been winterized so no water was available.  

Unlike Canadian Parks, our national parks do not allow dogs on the trails, so with Maya only able to walk around the campground and everything being 'winterized' we decided to move to Apgar Campground in West Glacier and just stay one more day in Glacier National Park.  David and I along with David's brother, Jim spent two weeks in Glacier a few years ago so we were OK with just two days this time.  After two restful days in the park, we headed to Kalispell for some much needed cleaning and grocery shopping.  We were out of food!

The famous "Red Jammers" or touring cars,  in Glacier N. P.