Yellowstone While The Cat's Away #2

Open your eyes, Boy!  My sons at Sheepeater Cliff

So, the Hot Chick had a convention to go to last week which meant the three of us were going to be bachelors for a day.  So we did the most natural thing in the world, we went to Yellowstone.  I had picked up an app for my phone that predicts several of the geysers in the Upper Geyser Basin.  We decided we'd give it a try.  We had to be home early, though because there was a wedding reception we needed to attend.

Leg #1:  Mesa Falls
There are two ways to get up to Yellowstone from where we live.  One way is about fifteen minutes faster and it goes up the Ashton Hill.  The Ashton Hill is the flanks of the largest volcanic caldera in the world.  The second way is to go on Scenic Route 47 down through Bear Gulch and past Upper and Lower Mesa Falls.  Both ways are pretty, but the Bear Gulch way is much prettier.  When we aren't in a hurry, I almost always default to that route even if we aren't stopping at the falls.  Typically, we see Mesa Falls in the evening.  Last time we went the Hot Chick said we ought to see it in the morning sometime.  Challenge accepted.

The boys and I left our home at about eight o'clock, and headed up to Yellowstone by way of Mesa Falls.  We wanted to see it with morning sun.  Mesa Falls did not disappoint.  There is a turnout for Lower Mesa Falls that is perched on the canyon rim and the falls are about a quarter mile away.  It's a great photo op.  Upper Falls has a trail and a boardwalk down to the brink of the falls.  The early morning sun was just hitting Upper Mesa Falls when we arrived and it did not disappoint.  There was a rainbow over the falls.  Stunning.

First pic of the day.  This guy was completely unconcerned by us

Lower Mesa Falls from the vantage point

Rainbow at the brink of Upper Mesa Falls

Open your eyes Boy!

Rainbow over Upper Mesa Falls

Upper Mesa Falls

Open your eyes Boy!

Boys always see stumps, have to stand on them

Leg #2:  Upper Geyser Basin
We drove on into Yellowstone and headed for the Upper Geyser Basin.  As we passed Seven Mile Bridge, there was a traffic stop.  Cars lined up on both sides of the road.  I thought, "Bison." and was prepared to drive on by.  Then I noticed the majority of the license plates were from Montana, Idaho and Wyoming and the people were out with big lenses and spotting scopes.  This was bigger than a bison.  People from Idaho, Montana and Wyoming don't often stop for bison.  Too common.  This had to be a wolf or a bear.  Turns out it was a large grizzly bear.  It has been decades since I saw a bear in between West Yellowstone and Madison Junction.  Three decades or more.  It just doesn't happen.  But there it was.  Very cool.  Someone said it was a black bear.  I beg to differ.  Hump, longer neck, ridge over the nose.  This was a grizz.

Grizzly bear just after Seven Mile Bridge

We continued on our way and saw a couple of trumpeter swans on an island in the Firehole River.  They were preening.  Most of the time, people want to get pictures of the swan with it's head high because that's when it's at it's most elegant.  I had never seen the preening behavior beyond an occasional peck or two.  These swans spent a very long time just preening.  Later, when we passed by again, they were in the river with their heads held high in the classic position.  The preening was much more interesting to me.

Swans preening

A more classic look

More preening because it was cool.  One of them has a tag

So, the purpose for this trip was to go to the Upper Geyser Basin to watch geysers go off.  I got a free app for my phone that predicts the next eruption of six different geysers in the Upper and Lower Geyser Basins.  I wanted to use it.  It has dawned on me that in all the years I lived in West Yellowstone and the last fifteen years I've lived in Idaho, I have really only spent time with two geysers in Yellowstone.  Sure, I've seen a stray eruption here and there by chance, but for the most part I've seen Old Faithful in the Upper Geyser Basin and Echinnus in the Norris Geyser Basin.  It's time for me to see more geysers.  For the last several years, we've been more interested in the cold water of Yellowstone, namely waterfalls than we have the hot water.  I want that to change.  The app can be found here.

We got to the Upper Geyser Basin and I checked the app.  Daisy Geyser was set to go off in the next couple of minutes so we hurried and headed down a trail to the geyser.  The trail was too long and we missed the eruption.  We had to avoid a big bison on the trail back to the car.  The app said the next geyser to go would be Old Faithful, but we've seen that one alot of times.  After that, the next scheduled eruption was going to be hours away, it was going to go off at about the time we should be leaving the park to get home.  Time to change our plans.  Next time, I'll check the app before I leave the house.  I'm not deterred, I will see these great geysers erupt.

Bison on the trail

I asked the boys what they would prefer to do, stick around the Upper Geyser Basin and wait for hours to see something or head to the north and look for animals.  They chose animals.

On our way back to Madison Junction, we saw a majestic sandhill crane.  Then, on the road, we were stopped several times by bison who think they own the place.  They sauntered down the road, not noticing or caring that there were some of us that had places to be.  It's always cool, though when a herd of bison walk past the car within arms reach.  Makes us remember our place in the world.  I love bison.  I think they are the coolest of the ungulates in Yellowstone.

Sandhill crane

unconcerned 

by my presence

Bison

think they own the place

Leg #3:  The North End
We were headed up to Mammoth to get a burger and noticed Sheepeater Cliff was open.  The boys opted to go climb the cliff.  One of their favorite things to do.  I like it too.

We went on to Mammoth and had a less than exciting meal at the grill there.  The boys said their burgers were just so-so, and my bison bratwurst was about the same.  Protein, that's basically all though.  Edible, just not spectacular.  It fulfilled the measure of it's creation, though so no big deal.

One of the boys on the cliff

The other boy on the cliff.  Can't tell if his eyes are open or closed here

Some violets in bloom at Sheepeater Cliff

My favorite feature of Sheepeater cliff

We were behind a very slow moving vehicle with nowhere to pass, and that always annoys me, so I pulled over to see Undine Falls.  It's one of our favorites and we've hiked over to the brink of the falls.  It's a three tiered waterfall that drops about a hundred feet in total.  Pretty spectacular.  I also wanted to stop because last year I "discovered" pasqueflowers there for the first time.  I wanted to see if they were there again.  I was not disappointed.

Undine Falls

Cluster of pasqueflowers

Closed bud

Open

All the way

As you can tell, I like pasqueflowers

a lot

Open your eyes Boy! For crying out loud

I was there too

Next we headed over to Petrified Tree because we often see bears there.  We didn't see any bears, but we did see a couple of blacktail deer.  A doe and a buck.  The buck's antlers were growing and still covered with velvet.  It was pretty cool.

Blacktail doe aka Mule Deer

Blacktail buck

We headed over to Tower, but the road was closed.  I asked a ranger if it was closed for bear activity and he said yes.  Bummer.  After that we headed to the Lamar Valley but time was drawing to a close and we didn't have much time after that.  Had to get back for a wedding reception.  We did see some baby bison, though.  On the way back we stopped for another bear jam.  This time it was a sow black bear and two cubs.  We didn't see the cubs but we saw the sow.  She was not very cooperative though.  Every time I got in position to photograph her, she moved or turned her back to the camera.  I didn't get any shots of her.

Bison cow and calf

Bison calf

I have seen ten hundred million billion bison in my life, so I usually don't seek them out for photo ops, but I'll stop for baby bison.  We really like them.  The boys call a big bull bison "BOB" which stands for "Big Ole Bison."  They call babies "IBB" which stand for "Itty Bitty Bison."  Otherwise, I take pictures of bison when they are in my path, on a trail or when they block the road.  I still think they are cool.

Even though our day did not go as planned, we still had a great time together.  It was fun to just hang out with my boys in Yellowstone.  We drove home without incident and got home in time to see the Hot Chick home from her convention.  We went to the wedding reception and saw alot of old friends.  It was a good day.

May--2014: Birding in Island Park, Idaho (Mesa Falls and Harriman State Park)

Wild clematis on the trail to the brink of Lower Mesa Falls

Wait a minute, this is supposed to be a blog post about bird watching and the lead photo is a wildflower? This trip didn't start out as a bird watching trip or a wildflower excursion.  We set out to show our sister, D'lynn some of the non-Yellowstone waterfalls in the area.  Some of them are pretty spectacular.  To get from our home in southeast Idaho to Yellowstone, we drive for about forty minutes through farmland and fifty minutes through the mountains.  A wilderness paradise called Island Park.  Some people think Island Park is Yellowstone Light, but those who take the time to explore it discover it has a peculiar beauty that is unique.

Rather than trying to categorize the images from this trip, I'll post them as we saw them.  That's why there will be photos of Lower Mesa Falls followed by Upper Mesa Falls, followed by Lower Mesa Falls.  I'll explain when we get to that point.

We started our trip by heading north on Highway 20 out of Rexburg, Idaho.  At the town of Ashton we headed East on the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway.  I've talked about that road before.  The byway drops down Warm River Canyon and climbs up the side of the Island Park Caldera, which was one of the largest such volcanoes to ever exist.  Dust from the eruption of this volcano has been found as a rock layer in Israel.  This was a significant blast.  Mount St. Helens ejected one cubic mile of ash which was significant.  The Island Park Caldera ejected around 600 cubic miles of ash.  It's a big volcano.

Molten material above ground cools very fast.  Molten material below ground cools very slowly.  The Island Park Caldera last erupted approximately 2.1 million years ago.  The rock below is still emitting enough heat that the natural springs in Island Park, Idaho tend to be several degrees warmer than springs elsewhere. These aren't hot springs by any degree but they are warmer than most mountain springs.  It's why they named the river Warm River.

Up near the top of the caldera is a turnout that offers a beautiful vista of the Tetons.  We have stopped here many times, and there's always the temptation to not stop but since we had a newby with us it was a no brainer.  The last several times we've stopped the sky has been overcast over the Tetons so the mountains kind of fade into the clouds.  I'm hoping for a clear day sometime so I can photograph the Tetons from this vista with a bright blue sky.  They look really good like that.

An old stone bridge in Warm River Canyon

I believe this is a Triplet Lily, Triteleia grandiflora 

Sisters

Wild Larkspur

Seagull contemplating wading, floating, swimming and fishing

Part of the Caldera

The Tetons.  Holding out for a clear day sometime from this spot.

Leg #1:  Lower Mesa Falls
The first major stop on the trip was at Lower Mesa Falls lookout.  There's an overlook on the canyon rim that provides a very good view of the falls.  I've posted it on this blog before, but I never get tired of seeing these falls, photographing them, talking about them and blogging about them.  It's especially nice when we can introduce them to someone who has never before seen them.

Lower Mesa Falls from the scenic overlook

Leg #2:  Upper Mesa Falls
The next major stop along the scenic byway is Upper Mesa Falls.  This is a pay area.  It costs $5 to enjoy the upper falls.  The five dollar fee is also good for Harriman State Park and Henry's Lake State Park. Cheap at twice the price.  We walked down to Upper Mesa Falls.  The trail is paved and after the canyon rim there are iron stairs and guard rails.  There are several designated vantage points along the canyon rim for different views of the falls.  We started with the brink of the falls and continued downstream, pausing at each location for photo ops.  Upper Mesa Falls has been compared to Niagara Falls.  It's the same type of waterfall.  It's not as big but it is majestic in it's own way.

First lupine of the season

Brink of Upper Mesa Falls

Basalt on the canyon wall

Not sure what this flower is but I like it

Second view of the brink of the falls

The side of the falls

Further down

First indication this was going to be a birdwatching day

Huckleberry Ridge Tuff on the other canyon wall

View from farther down the canyon

From the falls looking downstream.  File this picture under "Why I live in Idaho."

Leg #3:  Trail to the Brink of Lower Mesa Falls
Last year, I took two of my sons to the brink of the Lower Mesa Falls.  We did it the hard way.  We scrambled down the boulder field from the scenic overlook and climbed out the same way.  While we were down there, however we found what looked like an easier way.  The problem was the easier way would have put us out at the parking area for Upper Mesa Falls which was quite a ways away from the car.  This year we hiked to the brink of Lower Mesa Falls the easy way.

We located the trailhead in the parking lot of Upper Mesa Falls and headed down the canyon.  The trail was wooded and shaded for almost the entire way.  It was only at the end when the trail ended up on the plateau that the tree cover ended.  There were many wildflowers along the way, some I'd never seen before.

When we got to the plateau, the trail to the brink wasn't readily apparent so we scouted the rim until we found the way down.  Upper Mesa Falls is serene, powerful and majestic.  Lower Mesa Falls is wild and unpredictable.

We climbed out of the canyon to the plateau and headed back to the parking lot.  It was an easy trail.  A well developed trail with no real hazards except one deadfall.  It's a trail I will take again, many times.

Near the trailhead

Wild clematis, open

Violet

Upstream along the trail

Picture doesn't do this justice.  Sheer drop-off on the left for fifty feet or so

Robin's egg.  Hatched.  More evidence this was a birdwatching day

I believe this flower is called Arnica

Moth or butterfly making a living on the trail

More clematis

I liked the light and shadow on this clematis blossom.  Shows how delicate they really are.

Pahoehoe lava.  Fun to say, fun to spell

Lichen on the basalt near the brink of the falls

First viwe of 

Add caption

Moss

The girls climbing down through the notch

First sticky geranium of the season

Brink of the Lower Mesa Falls

The sentinel.  A column of rock that missed the erosion of an earlier waterfall

First cataract

The toilet bowl.  I wouldn't want to ride a kayak down this, but people do.

Lower Mesa Falls

Some Bluebells of some sort down in a grotto about twenty feet below where we were standing.  Not sure if sunlight ever penetrates this far.

Rainbows

Powerful waterfall

This picture is clear evidence that I was actually on this trip

Frothy scum at the brink of the falls

I liked this part of the falls

Another view of the sentinel

Lower Mesa Falls as we hiked out

Further down the trail

and even further

I believe this is called Beardtongue

A varmint

Leg #4:  Serendipitous sidetrip
Several years ago we had been exploring some of the side roads in the caldera and we happened upon a field of blue wildflowers that was so dense it looked like water.  In fact we thought it was water until we drove up to it and realized what it was.  We had never been back to find that field, but had talked about it many times.  As we headed down the scenic byway towards Harriman State Park, we happened upon a meadow densely packed with white wildflowers with patches of densely packed blue wildflowers.  It still didn't equate to the original meadow from several years ago, but I decided to drive down the dirt road and view the flowers.  At the end of the road there was a turnaround and a trail heading off to what looked like the rim of the canyon.

The canyon was beautiful from this vantage point, but the real intriguing thing were the birds circling overhead.  I believe one of them was a peregrine falcon.  They kept circling closer and closer until they were overhead.  They appeared to be some kind of raptor.  I took many photographs of them and when they were directly above me I saw the red, featherless head of a turkey vulture.  It was a magnificent sight.  There were at least a dozen of them in the canyon.  I was excited to see them so close.

Meadow

Patch of blue flowers in the midst of white flowers

May be some sort of daisy

The blue flowers are camas lilies.  I had never seen them before

This may be baneberry.  Need more research

Another camas

Camas and the pollinator

Ancient ox-bow lake, now filled in

Infamous pine beetle

I believe this is a peregrine falcon.  Didn't get a closer look than that though.

Circling birds

Turkey vulture

lots of pictures of these because I like them

again

once more

repeat

twins

Leg #5:  Harriman State Park
When we arrived at Harriman State Park, we elected to follow the Silver Lake Loop Trail because on the way in to the parking area we spotted several trumpeter swans.  As we started down the trail, past the buildings and developed part of the park we happened upon a pair of trumpeter swans.  The female was sitting on a nest and the male was very near her, possibly protecting her.

Later down the trail we spotted a sandhill crane.  Swans and cranes mate for life and so I figured the mate must be nearby.  A little further down the trail we spotted the mate.  I believe our presence agitated her because she performed the broken wing act for us.  Cranes, if they sense a predator too close to their nest will attempt to draw the predator away by feigning a broken wing.  When the predator gets too close to the bird, it will fly away, thus protecting itself and it's young.  I had seen the broken wing dance once before, when I was a teenager.  I hope to see it again.  For the record, we were never very close to either of the cranes.  I used the zoom lens and then cropped the images.

The trail wound it's way around a knoll and then came around the west end of the lake.  Shortly after we came back to the lake edge I spotted a young moose.  Turns out it was a shy moose and didn't fancy having it's picture taken.

We saw several other swans, some nesting some swimming.  It was getting late and we headed back to the car.  At that point, across the road I spotted three great blue herons.  Alas I was not able to get a photograph of them.  They were flying away and by the time I brought the camera to bear they were gone.

Trumpeter swan and mate

Reflective

Beautiful view

The whole park is like this

First sandhill crane

more camas

The broken wing dance

Step 2

Step 3, the collapse

Woodland Star

Moss on the tree

Awesome sky

The moose, minding it's business

Oh-oh, was that a twig snapping?

I don't think that was supposed to happen

climbing the bank

Getting out of Dodge

The sky reflected beautifully in the lake

Footbridge on the trail

The girls

The trail

Another trumpeter swan sitting a nest

Sunset over Silver Lake

Sunset over the mountains

Last Swan of the day

We have only just started going to Harriman State Park.  Last year was our first time.  We have fallen in love with it.  Some friends of ours spend more time there than in Yellowstone.  There aren't as many people in the summer months and it's a very good place for birdwatching.  The trumpeter swans are year round residents of the park and someday soon I wish to rent a yurt there and snowshoe around Silver Lake to see the swans in winter.  I think it would be very pretty.

This was a very nice trip.  We didn't set out to see so many birds, it was serendipitous.  I am happy we were able to share this part of the world with our sister.  I think she had a nice time as well.