September 5, 2010
I was on another boat going in the opposite direction on Jenny Lake, in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming on July 18, 2010, heading toward Hidden Falls and beyond.
The boat images are actually from three photos taken as one boat crossed the lake in the opposite direction as us. I had hoped for more separation when I manipulated the image, but the other boat was going slower than I thought.
The inspiration for this image was one that I had created in 2007 in A FUN digital image — 4 bugs in one:
September 3, 2010
When we visited Grand Teton National Park in 2007, a new visitor center at Moose had just opened. Some of the interesting exhibits included the in-floor video displays.
This video is from July 2010.
Video segments included water flow with bubbles, seen under ice, a flowing stream, wildflowers, wildlife and more.
It is a little strange to be walking through exhibits with a video playing under your feet.
September 2, 2010
August 31, 2010
There were quite a few of these Uinta ground squirrels in the Gros Ventre Campground in Grand Teton National Park.
When we lived in Idaho years ago, we would see these little critters along many of the roads, often running across, though we didn’t see many that had been hit by passing cars. That was long before the internet and Google, so all we knew about them was that they were “some kind of ground squirrel.”
The Uinta ground squirrels are not prairie dogs, though related. Though we did see some prairie dogs on the trip, I don’t think I got any decent photos of them.
From Wikipedia:
The Uinta ground squirrel (Urocitellus armatus) is a native of the northern Rocky Mountains and surrounding foothills of the United States including Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming. Their habitat includes dry meadows, grasslands, and cultivated fields close to water.
The squirrels eat foods including seeds, green vegetation, insects, and meat. They are fully active for roughly 3 1/2 months in the spring and summer before beginning estivation and hibernation in burrows underground. During their active periods the squirrels are diurnal and often live in colonies.
The squirrels mate in the early spring and females give birth after about a month of gestation. Young leave the burrow at twenty-four days. Litters usually include four to six young with older females generally producing larger litters. Adults weigh between 285g–425g.
August 30, 2010
In the midst of the heavy rustling of cottonwood leaves and the lapping of waves on the shore, a twittering and chittering could be heard. At first it seemed to be just a part of the background of the windy day at Wyoming’s Pathfinder Reservoir. On investigation, though, it turned to be an upset female Bullock’s Oriole.
Her mate seemed to be busy flying back and forth and searching for food.
These were the only Bullock’s Orioles we saw on the whole trip.
August 29, 2010
July 18, 2010 – One of our favorite hikes starts with a boat ride across Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park.
We got a start in the morning, as did a number of others. Our boat, below, is returning empty to pick up more hikers. Later in the day, the boats will be full both ways and, in the late afternoon, will be packed with returning passengers while empty in the opposite direction.
Hidden Falls is one of the most popular destinations in the park. When we visited back in the 70s and 80s, there were lots of places all around and right up to the falls where people could sit, rest, and have picnics. Unfortunately, all of the “lovin’” of nature, was causing the area to erode unnaturally. So the park service undertook measures to restrict access to specific areas.
Today, access to the area of the falls and along the trails is restricted and has returned to a much more natural setting.
Beyond the falls is the trail to Inspiration Point. Part of it is a bit unnerving to those nervous with heights.
A ways beyond Inspiration Point, the trail opens up into Cascade Canyon. We went about a mile past Inspiration Point.
August 29, 2010
Clouds in the late afternoon and at sunset near and at Kingsley Dam and Lakes McConaughy and Ogallala in western Nebraska.
The “specks” in some of the pictures are not flaws in the images. They are swallows flying around.
August 28, 2010
Ash Hollow area, western Nebraska, July 8, 2010
This is something we had seen years ago in this area of Nebraska and I was hoping to be able to get a picture to share.
The biggest question I think that most people have when they see this is, “Why?”
I didn’t know, so I did a search. I don’t know if they are right, but, being from Nebraska where they built houses out of sod in pioneer days due to lack of wood, I like the last two answers the best.
“In 1988, a historian turned up a report of another row of boot-topped fence posts east of Mount Rushmore. Those boots were said to have belonged to ranch hands who quit.” American Profile
“David Feldman in Why do Clocks Run Clockwise? posits that 1) the boots may deter coyotes. 2) It’s better to stink up a fencepost than a house. 3) Some people just do things.” Answers.com
“Cowboy boots on fence posts at ranches isn’t something new. The (Longmont Times-Call) article mentions how it used to be a signal that a ranch or homeowner was at home when there was a cowboy boot sitting on top of a fence.” Allens Boot Blog
“In the Southwest exists a similar practice, that of placing old, worn boots upside down on fence posts by the side of a road. Driving along, one passes upturned boot after upturned boot. Some people tell us these boots are a way for a homeowner to indicate if he’s gone to town for the day; on his way out, he stops where his driveway meets the road and adjusts the boot so its toe points outwards. When the toe is pointing towards the house, he’s telling the world he’s home. Others say it’s just a boot-on-a-fencepost thing with no more rhyme or reason to it than there is to those sneakers hanging over telephone wires.” Snopes.com
“Before treated wood farmers would put cans, old pie plates, and yes, old boots on top of wood posts to keep them from rotting.” kjb answers
“Boot fences came out of wood being scarce and expensive in the western plains. Barbed wire was strung between fence-posts. Whenever possible, old boots capped the tops of the wooden poles to keep them from rotting. It’s a unique sight to see – old boots strung out on a line!” Boots In Nebraska on flickr
