Grand Teton National Park-Part 2

We spent a cold night in the tent during which Larry piled every extra piece of clothing there on top of me because I was freezing! We were very glad to see the sun shining brightly and knew it would be a good day for hiking.
Following breakfast, we set out along the path toward the lake.


We decided to hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point, about a six mile round trip.
We reached an area of the trail and saw people crowded around with cameras...a sure sign of wild life.


In the valley below, we saw a bull moose meandering through the pines toward the lake.



On our return trip, we watched this grizzly cross the valley. When it appeared to be coming our way, we (wisely) left the area.


Larry caught this pic of a young moose. We almost missed seeing it
concealed in the brush.


We took the side trail heading to Inspiration Point. The climb was strenuous, but I ceased to be inspired when the trail narrowed to a single-person passage. It appeared that some people on the trail did not understand "wait until it is your turn." Being a bit timid around high places...especially with shear drops on one side, I elected to wait for Larry while he went the rest of the way up. We were able to get some up-down pics.
Larry is UP.


Larry is WAY UP.


I am the green speck ...WAY DOWN!


We returned down the trail to the intersection. Larry decided to test the waters coming from the snow pack.


He decided it was too cold for wading.


We then resumed our climb to Hidden Falls. It was worth the effort.


Mother Nature at her best.


We stopped by the lake on the way back to catch this beautiful scene.


Well, Larry really is not pushing me into the lake, he just was too slow getting to me before the camera timer expired.
This one is much better.



He loves finding strange places to balance the camera in order to get us both in the picture.
A great day was followed by a lovely evening for a walk along the lakeshore. Just enjoy....








And then the sun disappeared behind the mountains.


We enjoyed a warm campfire before heading to the tent. I decided that a tarp might be a nice insulating addition. It worked!


We had rain through the night and the morning was gray and wet with showers predicted. We decided to leave Jenny Lake a day early and proceed to Yellowstone, but first, Larry wanted to visit the town of Jackson, WY. I warned him that things in Jackson were not for persons of our "income." He soon found that to be true, but we had a good time. After splurging on a good, but pricey lunch at The Bunnery, we headed north toward Yellowstone.
The recent rains have combined with snow-melt to create a lot of high water. We stopped by the dam at Jackson Lake where the gates were totally open. The roar of the water was awesome.





By the time we left Jackson Lake, we decided that going into Yellowstone was not a good idea since we had heard that campgrounds were full. Instead, we decided to try Flagg Ranch Resort. We did not realize that this was not an NPS site and were not happy to pay $38. for a tent site.
We did inquire about their cabins. The lowest price was $179. per night...plus tax! Most were empty (go figure) so Larry decided to try out the view from their rocking chair.


This was the most expensive tent site I've ever stayed in.


Next post - Yellowstone NP.

6 Degrees of Separation / Gold Fever

In my weeks as a member of the interpretive staff at Grant-Kohrs Ranch, I've had the opportunity to meet many, many people and make some new friends too. Most of those new friends are 4' and under. This is Rayna, my new friend of today. What a cutie!



Rayna was actually getting ready to take a wagon ride with Joe and his team of Belgian horses. Joe and his son are enjoying a cup of my campfire coffee while they wait for additional riders.


Some of my older, new friends have unique connections to my own life. I've met quite a number of visitors from Ohio including those from Dayton, Cleveland and Tallmadge. I always ask folks where they are from and also introduce myself. Last week, a woman told me she and her husband were visiting from Townsend, MT. The next day, I was in the ranch library doing some research when the phone rang. Another ranger was calling to say the same woman was back at the ranch and wanted to speak to me. She then gave her phone to that woman who proceeded to tell me that it dawned on her that I had said I was from Ohio...and she actually had been born and was raised in Ashland. We then started to compare notes about places we knew and had enjoyed in common (Jumpville, Dairy Dolly, the drive-in movie) and had a great conversation.
Today, I had a couple come to the chuckwagon and I never did get to give my talk! I asked where they were from and they said Idaho. When I then introduced myself and where I am from, the woman said, "You're kidding! I'm from Homerville, Ohio." I then shared that a number of my ancestors are buried in the Homerville cemetery. We found that we had both spent time in the same hospital in Lodi and, as a child, she and her family attended a church in my first hometown, West Salem. She got SO excited at the connections that she jumped up from her seat to give me a big bear hug.

GOLD FEVER
Our days off last week were not too weather-friendly. We did manage a morning drive to Gold Creek. Our local prospector had given Larry directions to the remains of an old mine. At the location, anyone can come in and take as much of the tailings as they want. Tailings are what is left over after larger pieces of gold have been extracted. In this case, there is still a lot of "gold flake" left for the taking.
In 1858, prospectors James and Granville Stuart and Reese Anderson discovered gold in the creek. The three men didn't have sufficient tools do begin excavating, and were unable to return with the proper equipment until 1862. The creek was renamed "Gold Creek" because of the gold found there.
This picture has nothing to do with Gold Creek, but I took it just outside of town because it was so interesting. Look for the dog and for his owner. Who is in charge here??


Gold Creek - There is a Post Office/General Store. Both are closed.


This "memorial marker" notes the life and demise of the PO.


There is a one-room school in Gold Creek. Many of the small towns have these K-6 or 8 schools. Upper grades are all housed at the Powell County HS in Deer Lodge. It's a l-o-n-g bus ride for them from here!
This school was actually showcased on NPR in '06. Here is the link for those interested:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5176063


A number of old buildings remain, remnants of another, more prosperous time.




We passed through town and continued to follow the road as John had indicated. This was certainly another beautiful valley.


Finally, we saw the huge piles of rocks lining the road ahead.


The tailings went on for probably 1/2 mile. We have no idea how far back the piles went on both sides of the road.


Larry picked out a "promising" area and unloaded his equipment.

In Larry's estimation, the VERY best place to dig had to be up and over that first row of piles. What you need to know is these are piles of rocks, not really held together with anything. Being careful where you place each footstep is important to keeping yourself upright...and not a part of the rock slide to the bottom.



He got up and over and went down toward the bottom where he dug through the large rocks to get to the underlying dirt...and rocks.
As I watched, he filled his pail to the brim. There was no chance that I could help carry 100 lbs of ore. I did climb down and get the shovel and his scoop.

It took him some time and some "forward three feet, back two" moments, but he did make it to the top and back down on the car side.



"Nothin' to it."

Back at our campsite, he spent a few hours washing and classifying the material. When you "classify," you wash the material through a series of larger to smaller screens, examining the material as you go and tossing out what is not gold. It's messy work (but somebody's got to do it?).



Our official "camp dog" watched for a while, but then decided to beg a treat from me instead.

Larry did find some very fine, gold dust in that 5-gallon bucket of tailings. I'm wondering how many buckets it will take before we are rich....

NEWS FLASH!!!

It's official. As of 8 PM, MDT, 6/2/10, Larry Davis is a fly fisherman!! First catch is thought to be a brown trout, approximately 14" long. The catch was made in the Clark Fork River with a red-white-blue fly (very patriotic).
He did release the fish back into the river, but not just because he is a nice guy. Reasons: 1- neither of us knows how to clean a fish and 2- the Clark Fork is part of a National Superfund Cleanup due to pollution from copper smelting and mining.

A Day in Helena

With rain in the forecast, we again decided to postpone going to Yellowstone/Grand Teton this week. Instead, we enjoyed some running and a morning bike ride before the rain arrived...usually around noon. On Tuesday, we returned to Helena to explore some areas we've heard about, the first being Last Chance Gulch Street. Remnants of the early city are located in this area that holds its original name. Streets have been closed to form a pedestrian mall. On weekends, street vendors and musicians position themselves along the several blocks. There is also a trolley car that includes the area as part of a city tour. Things were pretty deserted at 10 AM on a cloudy morning. We enjoyed our exploration. The early wealth of the area is reflected in the architecture of the buildings.




Metal sculptures are carefully placed and become part of the ambiance.
Larry really liked the miners with their sluice box. He was disappointed that the water in a meandering, concrete creek bed had not yet been turned on.


A fly fisherman is very appropriate for this area of the state.


This sculpture is a tribute to newsboys who distributed the papers in the 18 & 1900's.


Old and new are melded together in this capital city.


After enjoying some shopping and an icecream cone, we moved on to the Montana Historical Society. The building is located just across the street from the state's governmental complex.



The museum is home to several, wonderful displays including a gallery of various works by Charles Russell. We could not take pictures in the gallery. However, a large sculpture outside the building is a copy of a smaller work by the artist.


The following piece is not Russell's, but is representative of the "trademark" he placed on all of his work.



The museum currently has a display celebrating the 100th anniversary of Glacier National Park. Of course, we had to take advantage of the "promo" area at the museum entrance.


Larry met a playmate in the gallery of Montana history.
The large gallery holds a wonderful and comprehensive collection of artifacts representing the Native American tribes, Lewis and Clark's exploration, discovery of gold, silver and copper and many other significant events in the history of the region and state.


No flash photography allowed, so some pictures are not the best.



This very dark area represented the vision quests that are still a part of Native American culture. Just a note - the "politically-correct" term is not accepted by the tribes in Montana. They prefer to be called Indians.


There was a nice progression showing settlement from the east represented by wagons, log cabins and also more "modern" home interiors. I included this picture because that HAS to be my little brother's high chair! It is identical...even the colors. I remember he slid right out of it one time and also pinched his fingers between the tray and arm rest. Ah, memories....


I've had food at the 4-B's restaurant ever since my first trip to Montana, but never realized how much it is a part of the state's history.


The legendary White Buffalo has a place of honor on the second floor mezzanine of the museum. The Indians believe that a white buffalo has special medicine (power) and is sacred.


The last area in the museum was called "For the Young At Heart." We enjoyed playing with things in the room until some other, younger kids showed up.
Wishing Happy Trails to you, until we meet again!