My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

chet6.7.....I haven't had a chance to watch one of the videos but I did scan through his video list. It looks like good stuff. I subscribed.....

ITTOG.....blurry ? Do you mean from the smoke ? That's not been much of an issue for us this summer which is really surprising considering how dry it's been (and still is).....



I had planned for our next trip out to be a backpacking trip to the Wind River Range but the knee still was not 100 % healed so we stuck with the truck camper, and we headed for the mountains. We drove south on Highway 191, followed the meanders of the Gallatin River, and then it was Grayling Creek, passed through a section of Yellowstone National Park as we neared the divide.....



Our first night out was spent in the National Forest just south of West Yellowstone, Montana. As we were driving along the Forest Service road I noticed this massive bird fly by.....not more than several feet above the ground.....



Remarkably it would later visit us at our campsite. I believe it to be a Great Grey Owl.....with a wing span of 4.5' to 5'.....not a bad start to our road trip.....

"Great Gray Owls generally do not call attention to themselves and tend to avoid areas with people. They quietly perch on the edges of meadows or forest openings and are nearly invisible despite their size. Great Grays hunt at night and during the hours before dawn and dusk. They quietly fly low, on broad wings, over meadows watching and listening for small mammals." (All About Owls).....



We were up early the following morning.....very typical when traveling in the truck camper. We entered Yellowstone National Park from the west hoping to get there before the crowds.....





It was eerily beautiful.....the quietness and the calm.....



As the sun rose over the mountains and the forest and the river.....that quietness & calm began to receed.....and the crowds arrived.....





I had prepared myself for this trip through the park.....I actually an internal debate with myself.....go north and be alone ? Or go south to see something that I wanted to see (and to experience).....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

And the fact that I had prepared myself for the crowds on this trip.....well, that would almost become a theme for the trip.....





Now that I was in this great frame of mind.....we actually took the time to visit some of the more populated sites.....and they were remarkable.....





We even pulled into the paved lot and I took a stroll to see Old Faithful (that's not it in the picture below.....I left there before the geyser performed).....





We spent a good bit of the day at the park.....it was challenging yet very interesting......





As far as wildlife goes.....we didn't see a lot. Of course there were the Bison.....this one forcing me to stop in the roadway.....something that I just hate to do while in Yellowstone National Park.....



And the dogs, well, I'd venture to say that they pretty much hate the park (way too much truck time).....they would prefer me when I too hate the park.....

 

[ITTOG]

Blurry as in dogs can't see far distances. Most stuff I have read indicate things get blurry after about 20'. Some breeds are better than others.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

ITTOG.....I never knew that.....I was aware that dogs see colors different from man.....just one more thing that I'll have to Google someday I guess.....



Sometime in the afternoon we finally left the park and drove a bit further south. We stopped near Flagg  Ranch.....along the Snake River.....a place that I know very well.....





I was concerned with finding an open campsite here as the spots are limited and the fall foliage was near its peak. I was pleasantly surprised to find an empty campsite along the river.....that for sure couldn't last long.....not at this time of year.....



We parked, and immediately hit the road.....walking.....just to see what we could see.....





A Forest Service employee stopped to have a chat.....and he reminded me of the bears and told me that they were really active right now.....he'd seen both a Black Bear and a Grizzly just two days before at my campsite.....

We didn't see any bears on our initial walk.....just a harmless snake crossing the gravel road.....



I'm not sure how many walks we got in that late afternoon & evening.....it was just too nice out to sit in a chair or inside the camper.....





When we got bored with walking along the road.....we headed up and into the forest.....I just love this type of walking.....my favorite.....just wandering around aimlessly.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We also walked along Polecat  Creek.....





Somewhere amongst these 360 pages, I've got some of my best moose pictures ever at this very spot.....but no moose this year.....





We also attempted to walk along the shoreline of the Snake River.....it was difficult here.....small pockets of water here and there would stop our forward progress.....





And the shoreline was covered in Willows probably 10 to 15 feet in height.....the bears love this habitat during the warm afternoons and evenings.....they love to lounge on the cool, damp soil.....yet we saw no bears.....

Fortunately the only threat to our well being was this hornet's nest overhead that I saw just in time.....



Just as the sun was setting we took our last walk of the day. A car pulls alongside and two young guys stop to ask if I knew a spot where they could pitch their tent. At this point every campsite was taken. I invited them to my campsite.....I thought why not ? I only use a single parking space.....



They invited me to their campfire to drink whiskey with them that night.....well, I think that's a young man's game so I declined. They turned out to be great guys.....so yeah.....this theme of allowing people into my world continued.....

The following morning I awoke to this.....and honestly, it didn't bother me one bit.....

 

[Arjan]

Thank You.