A perfect evening to take a walk across the meadow. Why not come along? =]:)

A storm moving in on Limestone Mountain.



Of course I was busy taking photos, and forgot that I had walked a couple of miles away from the vehicle. The rain felt good though. =]:)

I spent last weekend at my favorite lake, swimming, walking by the beach and doing something new for me...paddle boarding.


I have a new obsession!


While walking along the beach, we came to a couple of kids who were each making a sand fort. I thought they did a great job. They wanted us to judge which was better, but no way could we choose. They were both winners. I thought these were creative.


A little further up the beach, we spotted this tree. It seemed ready to jump in the lake too. If that tree could walk, it would definitely waddle.

I stopped and took this photo while on our way back from the mountains where we spent the day swimming. This is Red Rock Canyon. I love driving through here on my way home. It's peaceful, always green and lush and the rock formations look amazing framed with the grasses and wildflowers.

The buttes rising on either side give this place a feeling of solitude, and just for a while, you can forget about your cares and worries. This is a good place to go mountain biking or hiking too.

There isn't much car traffic here, just the occasional one, so if you go biking or hiking, you won't have to concern yourself with that. If you're ever in the area, I can't recommend the drive through here highly enough. =]:)

They took this photo of Wind River Canyon long ago when the road was brand new. I'll try to take a photo soon of the canyon for comparison.

I drive this canyon at least once a week, and the only thing that looks changed is the road itself. They dynamited the area where the car is and moved the road over when they put in the pavement. There's also a train track on the other side now.

How spectacular it must have been to drive through the canyon on the freshly graded road, seeing what only those on horseback could've witnessed before.

I can’t find an exact date for the photo, and I also don't know who took it. If you do, please tell me so I can give credit.

Update: Emaralive from Tipua.com and Philo Yan from MeWe.com gave me the following information about this photo. While this does look like the Wind River Canyon I drive through regularly, the photo is most likely the following:

Credit: Library of Congress / Contributor
Collection: Corbis Historical
Date created: December 31, 1899
Source: Corbis Historical

Title:
Tourists in Yellowstone National Park

Description:
Tourists drive their car on a dirt road along Yellowstone River in the early days of Yellowstone National Park.

Thank you, Emaralive and Philo for the information! I appreciate it. =]:)

My new favorite word is Sweven

It's one of the largest cats in North America, and a top predator. It's the Yellowstone cougar (puma concolor), also known as the mountain lion. Cougars are beautiful, sleek creatures.

Seeing a cougar in Yellowstone is rare. If you do see one, consider yourself lucky, and go buy a lotto ticket! They are stealthy, and are good at keeping out of sight. One could be staring at you from a ledge, a tree, or the brush and you will never know it or see it.

There are few documented cases of cougars attacking people in Yellowstone, even so, it's always wise to hike in groups. If you encounter one, pick up any small children that may be with you, make noise, act dominate by staring into its eyes, and show your teeth while making noise. Yes, really. Never run. If you do, it will likely chase you. Never bend down, whether to pick up something from the ground or to crouch. In most cases, a bit of noise will scare it off.

The average male can weigh 145 to 170 pounds and live from 8 to 10 years. The average female weighs 85 to 120 pounds and can live 14 to 14 years. Their length, including the tail can be around 6.5 to 7.5 feet. Their litters usually include 2 or 3 kittens with a 50% survival rate the first year.

Male cougars will often kill other male cougars in their territory. Wolves are known to kill adult cougars as well as their kittens.

Cougars like and thrive in rocky areas. They also like forested areas because it provides cover for hunting their prey and to get away from bears and wolves. They usually prey on elk, mule deer, marmots and other small mammals. many times, bears and wolves will chase the cougar away after it makes its kill and will claim the kill for themselves. Not very neighborly!

Unfortunately, in the early 1900's cougars, and wolves (canis lupus), were killed throughout the lower 48 states, even in the national parks. Even though cougars were eradicated from Yellowstone, the species survived in the west, probably because of its preference for rocky terrain where it is difficult to track. Thankfully, the survivors reestablished themselves in Yellowstone and thrive here today. =]:)

Mr. Mouse was minding his own business, walking through the snow on his way home, but he never made it. He just disappeared. So, put your Sherlock cap on. Can you deduce what happened to Mr. Mouse from the evidence in this photo?

You're right! Let's put out an APB on Mr. Hawk! He might be responsible for other disappearances in the area too. =]:)

Spring is finally on the way. Are you ready? My camping equipment keeps calling to me whenever I'm out in the barn. Soon, I'll be able to answer!

Maybe this is Rutt and Tuke from Disney's Brother Bear? They really need to get along better!

The naming of the mountains is credited to early 19th-century French-speaking trappers—les trois tétons (the three teats) was later shortened to Tetons. At 13,775 feet, the Grand Teton rises more than 7,000 feet above Jackson Hole, almost 850 feet higher than Mount Owen, the second-highest summit in the range.

The park has numerous lakes, including the 15-mile-long Jackson Lake and streams of varying length and the upper main stem of the Snake River. Though now in recession, a dozen small glaciers linger at the higher elevations near the highest peaks. Some of the rocks in the park are the oldest found in any U.S. National Park and have been dated at nearly 2.7 billion years!

The struggles to preserve this region as a national park began in the late 19th century, and in 1929 Grand Teton National Park was established, protecting the Teton Range's major peaks. The valley of Jackson Hole remained in private ownership until the 1930s, when some conservationists led by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. began purchasing land in Jackson Hole to be added to the existing national park. With repeated Congressional efforts to repeal the measures, much of Jackson Hole was set aside for protection as Jackson Hole National Monument in 1943. The monument was abolished in 1950 and most of the monument land was added to Grand Teton National Park.

The Gardner River (also known as the Gardiner River) is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, and is about 25 miles long. It's located in northwestern Wyoming and south central Montana but the entire river is located within Yellowstone National Park.

It rises on the slope of Joseph Peak, Gallatin Range in the northwestern part of the park, and winds southeast through Gardner's Hole, a broad subalpine (just below the timberline) basin which is a popular trout fishing location.

The river and the town of Gardiner were named for Johnson Gardner who was a free trapper in the early 19th century. In the 1830s, he worked northwestern Yellowstone and sold his furs to the American Fur Company.

On September 13, 1869 the Cook–Folsom–Peterson Expedition entered the park region and crossed the river at its mouth on their way up the Yellowstone. On August 26, 1870 the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition entered what was to become the northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park at Gardiner and camped near the confluence before they crossed the river and proceeded south up the Yellowstone river.

Neither of these expeditions explored the Gardner and so did not encounter the geothermal features of Mammoth Hot Springs. The 1871 Geological Survey of the park region by F. V. Hayden did explore the Gardner and described Mammoth Hot Springs, but the Mammoth area itself was named by an illegal concessionaire Harry R. Hohr who tried to claim land in early 1871 in the newly explored park region.

The lower few miles of the river is paralleled by the North Entrance Road Historic District. =]:)

Here is a Belted Kingfisher. He sort of looks like he might be having a bad hair day. No?

This guy depends on open water so it can dive after fish and other aquatic animals. It lives a solitary life except during breeding season when a pair digs a tunnel for the nest into the bank of a creek or pond. You will hear and remember its distinctive, loud, “rattle” cry year round. The female has the extra, reddish brown colored “belt” and sides. =]:)

At the north entrance to Yellowstone is the Roosevelt Arch. It was constructed under the supervision of the U.S. Army at Fort Yellowstone. The entrance is in the town of Gardiner, Montana.

I don't go through this entrance as often because it's farther away from me, but I always try to have a look when I can. It's quite imposing and a rather fun way to enter the park. Sort of like the Jurassic Park entrance. LOL

The top of the arch has an inscription. It's a quote from the Organic Act of 1872, the legislation which created Yellowstone, and it reads, "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People." Folks would enter the park in 1903 by horse-drawn coaches.

Construction of the arch began on February 19, 1903, and was completed on August 15, 1903, at a cost of about $10,000. The design of the Roosevelt Arch has been attributed to architect Robert Reamer, but documentation is inconclusive. The idea of the arch is attributed to Hiram Martin Chittenden. Several thousand people came to Gardiner for the dedication, including John F. Yancey, who caught a chill and died in Gardiner as a result.

The archway was built at the north entrance, which was the first major entrance for Yellowstone. President Theodore Roosevelt was visiting Yellowstone during construction and was asked to place the cornerstone for the arch, which then took his name. The cornerstone Roosevelt laid covered a time capsule that contains a Bible, a picture of Roosevelt, local newspapers, and other items.

If you like history as much as I do, or if you just want to take a great selfie of yourself entering the park, the North Entrance is the one you want. =]:)

The Lion Group comprises four geysers which are Lion, Lioness, Big Cub, and Little Cub, and they are all connected underground. Lion has the largest cone and eruptions. Active phases occur each day. Eruptions of Lion Geyser last 1 to 7 minutes and are preceded by sudden gushes of steam and a deep roaring sound, just like a Lion.

This is my favorite time of day, when the sun sets behind the mountains, and the world gets still. Minds and bodies relax, and everything slows down little by little. Friends might gather for dinner, and then some dancing, or maybe sitting around a table with a drink or two, and stimulating conversation. You reminisce about the events of the day, and plan for the next. And then you go to sleep, and dream about a world like you wish it to be.

When you wake up tomorrow morning, decide that you will do something to make the world a bit closer to your dream. We can get there, one little dream, and one little step at a time. Peace. =]:)

The beautiful West Thumb area was the first Yellowstone feature to be written about in a publication. Daniel T. Potts, a trapper in the Yellowstone region in the 1820s, wrote a letter to his brother in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, regarding his experiences in this area.

The letter was printed in the Philadelphia Gazette on September 27, 1827. Here's the letter. The part describing the northern section of the West Thumb Geyser Basin is now known as Potts Basin...

...on the south borders of this lake is a number of hot and boiling springs some of water and others of most beautiful fine clay and resembles that of a mush pot and throws its particles to the immense height of from twenty to thirty feet in height. The clay is white and of a pink and water appears fathomless as it appears to be entirely hollow under neath. There is also a number of places where the pure sulfur is sent forth in abundance. One of our men visited one of those whilst taking his recreation. There at an instant the earth began a tremendous trembling and he with difficulty made his escape when an explosion took place resembling that of thunder. During our stay in that quarter I heard it every day.

In 1869, the first scientific expedition to explore the Yellowstone area, the Folsom- Cook-Peterson Expedition, visited the West Thumb Geyser Basin. David Folsom described the area:

Among these were springs differing from any we had previously seen. They were situated along the shore for a distance of two miles, extending back from it about five hundred yards and into the lake perhaps as many feet. There were several hundred springs here, varying in size from miniature fountains to pools or wells seventy-five feet in diameter and of great depth. The water had a pale violet tinge, and was very clear, enabling us to discern small objects fifty or sixty feet below the surface. A small cluster of mud springs near by claimed our attention. These were filled with mud, resembling thick paint of the finest quality, differing in color from pure white to the various shades of yellow, pink, red and violet. During the afternoon they threw mud to the height of fifteen feet.

In the old days, visitors traveling to Yellowstone would arrive at West Thumb via stagecoach from the Old Faithful area. At West Thumb, they had the choice of continuing on the dusty, bumpy stagecoach or boarding the steamship "Zillah" to continue the journey to the Lake Hotel. The boat dock was located near the south end of the basin near Lakeside Spring.

This is one of the most beautiful and interesting areas in the park, no matter what season. =]:)

This is my new favorite word

Pronounced: /əˈkwɪv.ər/

I'm sure you've experienced this word in real life at least once. Maybe it was right before a kiss, when your knees went all weak with anticipation, and you were filled with the promise and hope of new love.

Can you find ways to use this word? Please write your sentences in the comments. Here's one idea to get you started:

"I love you more everyday" she said, her lip aquiver.

Okay... Your turn!