Crystal Park

On Monday, 6/14, we traveled south from Deer Lodge to the Pioneer Scenic Highway and Crystal Park. Crystal Park is part of a claim owned by an area gem and mineral club. They have opened it to the public to search for crystals and other gem stones.

 Crystal Park is situated about half-way along the 50 mile, scenic highway. The scenery was breathtaking and the lack of other travelers completely delightful! Upon arrival, we unloaded our equipment and climbed up the mountain along a nicely paved path. No digging is permitted within 5 feet of the path, so we picked a direction and headed uphill.

L

Larry found a spot he liked and got into his digging clothes. (This is the "GQ" shot of the day.)

After an hour or so, digging and sifting, we decided it was time for those peanut butter sandwiches we brought in the backpack. As you can see, I multi-tasked while he relaxed.        

The sky was a beautiful, clear blue and we replenished our sunscreen frequently.

The rules for digging require everyone to not dig under the trees. As you can see, the open areas have seen a lot of activity.

After about 2.5 hours, Larry decided that he was going to give his current site one more chance. He started to dig with vigor!

I told him not to work so hard, but he was determined to find himself a cache of crystals!

Well...enough is enough! We decided to move to a different part of the mountain. We found a number of people on the opposite side of the mountain top from where we had been. We stopped and talked with one couple and they gave us a lot of information on what to look for and where to dig. We took their advice and started to actually find crystals instead of just buckets of sandy dirt.

About 5 hours after we arrived, we decided to call it quits for this visit. Here a few things we found. The pics do not really show the facets. We were told that amethysts and other crystals up to 6" long have been found. We hope to get lucky on our next trip.

On our way back along the Pioneer Scenic Highway, we stopped to look over the campgrounds and trailheads in order to plan our return visit. The weather was absolutely perfect and the scenery idyllic.

Memories of our "perfect day" on Monday will have to keep us going until further notice. The rain started during the wee hours of Tuesday and has not really stopped since. Our only excitement...this morning (Wed), the sirens at the prison were blaring for forty-five minutes. We still haven't heard what is going on. In the meantime, Larry has been doing some preliminary study on his bicycle training in his new "office"... the bed. I've been having a much better experience with the blog site today (good thing!), and will take advantage of the crummy day off to work on the on-line, interpretation class I am taking with Ranger Julie as my mentor.

Yellowstone

We woke to a clear, crisp morning and headed north to the Yellowstone entrance.

I was traveling this same road in July of 1988 during one of the worst forest fires in the park's history. The remains of this part of the forest were still smoldering as I drove through. In this picture, you see some of the snags that remain standing, towering above 27 years of new growth.

         

We continued north and stopped to enjoy the early, morning sunshine on Yellowstone Lake.

 

As we continued on, we saw a number of buffalo and an elk

 

 We stopped at Yellowstone Falls and climbed down...and then back up the scary, metal stairs. The view of the falls was worth the trip.

 

At this point, I am completely frustrated trying to get this blog posting completed since my pictures keep moving or just disappearing. Four hours is enough!! Enjoy what's here and I'll edit when my BP drops back to normal.

                                  

Grand Teton #1

We finally found a weather window of opportunity that meshed with our days off. We had an all-day meeting at the ranch on Monday and immediately after, headed south.


There were showers in the area as we turned east toward Driggs, Idaho.
Everything was lush with spring greenery as we passed through first potato and then wheat country.



In the distance beyond the fields, we caught our first glimpses of the beautiful Teton range.


Going over the pass with its 10% grades will never be an easy trip for me. I'm just thankful we were in the Honda and not a motor home!


For my cycling friends: a sign we don't see in Ohio. Yes, there is a bike path that runs beside the road in the lower part of the pass.

This beautiful, new visitor center is located at Moose Junction...the southern entrance to the park.

Stephen Mather was the first director of the National Park Service and instrumental in promoting the national parks to the people of America.


This is the awesome view from the bank of windows in the VC.


Among the things of interest, are two "video floor" sections. They show video from nature. This is the deep blue of a mountain lake bordered by ice.




The various people from our history who became involved in forming the park system are depicted in bronze throughout the VC.



The code of the Interpretive Rangers is also displayed.


We arrived at the Jenny Lake campground with just enough light to get the tent in place. More on our Teton adventures in my next post.