August 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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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On the shore of Lake Ogallala, July 8, 2010, late afternoon.

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I had hoped to blog a bit differently on this trip than I had on others, and I did, but I still got behind and didn’t blog on all the places that I wanted to share.

So, while the trip is over, I still have some posts to write and photos to share.

Posts related to our trip will include the image above.

I’m creating an index so that I know what I’ve posted on before.  I know I’ve done quite a few, but sometimes, I forget whether I’ve actually posted something or if I just planned to, and I did a number of posts out of sequence.

I need and index – it’s that confusing.

• Joplin, Missouri – July 2, On the road again √
• Marais des Cygnes – July 3, Marais des Cygnes. (posted July 7)
• Indian Cave – July 3 & 4, Indian Cave State Park, Nebraska (posted July 9)
• Petroglyphs – July 3, Indian Cave Petroglyphs (posted July 9)
• Across Nebraska – July 5, 7, Across Nebraska (posted July 9)
• Lakes McConaughy and Ogallala – July 7 & 8, Bypass Flow (posted July 13), What a difference! (posted July 14)
• Ash Hollow – July 8, A Soddie (posted July 11), What caused this ravine? (posted July 16), An answer to a previous post (posted July 19)
• Emigrant trails’ landmarks and places – July 9, From the road in early July (posted July 27, Courthouse and Jail Rocks, Chimney Rock), Scott’s Bluff (posted July 28), Fort Laramie, Wyoming (posted July 29)
• Douglas, Wyoming –  July 9 – 11, A Long Day (posted July 9), Two very different places (posted July 10, Fort Fetterman and Ayrs Natural Bridge), Sunset near Douglas, Wyoming, (posted July 30), Ayers Natural Bridge (posted July 31)
• Pathfinder Reservoir – July 11, 12, 13, Pathfinder (posted July 12), Wind Blown (posted July 13), National Historic Trails Interpretive Center (posted August 4), Fort Caspar (posted Aug 14), Independence Rock (posted Aug 17), Pathfinder Dam and Fremont Canyon (posted Aug 18)
• Grand Teton National Park and vicinity – July 14 to 21
  • Just Grand! (posted July 15),
  • Travel Route Update (posted July 16)
  • String Lake (posted August 19)
  • Jackson, Wyoming – Art Show in Miller Park (posted July 17)
  • Hidden Falls and Beyond (posted July 20)
  • On Rendezvous Mountain (posted July 21)
  • Leaving Rendezvous Mountain via Tram (posted July 23)
  • Blogging – July 19, Blogging While Traveling
• Idaho Falls – July 22 – 24, On to Idaho! (posted July 22)
• Buffalo – July 24, Woman survives attack by enraged buffalo
• Arco, Idaho area – July 24 – 26, Familiar Scenery (posted July 25)
• Stanley, Idaho area – July 26 – 29, Travel Route Update and Reservations (posted July 26), Bull Trout (posted July 29)
• Danger in the parks – July 30, Danger in our national parks
• May Creek Campground, Montana – July 29 – August 1, Montana! (posted August 1)
• Livingston, Montana August 1 – 4, Grizzly Country (posted August 2), Heading into Yellowstone (posted Aug. 3)
• Yellowstone National Park – August 4 – 11
  • Black Pool (posted Aug 6)
  • On the Brink (posted Aug 7)
  • How we are posting in Yellowstone National Park (posted Aug 8)
  • Stay on the path… (posted Aug 9)
  • Crowds at Old Faithful (posted Aug 10)
  • Grand Prismatic Spring (posted Aug 11),
  • Grand Prismatic Spring – from above! (posted Aug. 16)
  • Yellow-bellied!!! (posted Aug 12)
  • Faster than you’d think…. (posted Aug 15)
• Heading to South Dakota – Aug 11 – 12, Traveling east for a while…. (posted Aug 11),
• Custer State Park South Dakota – August 12 – 14, My travel souvenirs (posted Aug 13), Across South Dakota (posted Aug 14, includes images of people too close to bison)
• Home – Home – and it’s hot! hot! hot! (posted Aug 21), Take an eleven state trip… and lose weight doing it! (posted August 24)

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I fully intended to make every effort to eat sensibly and exercise on our trip this summer. 

I even stuck my heart monitor in a drawer, with the full intent to wear it on walks and hikes to make sure I was getting quality exercise.

I didn’t take it out of the drawer the entire trip – so much for that intention.

But we did walk and we did take hikes.  I limited my lunch to one sandwich and a bunch of chips – and they weren’t always low fat chips, either.  Most days I had 1 small snack in the morning, none in the afternoon and another snack in the evening.  At supper, I didn’t really limit myself.  We did eat out a few times, and I didn’t really limit myself on that, other than not finishing up the half of Karen’s meal that she didn’t eat.

I knew that I might be losing a bit of weight, because I ended up on the last hole on my belt – and, on this belt, that hole had not ever been used. 

I had been tempted to take a scale along with us, but decided against it.  Space is at a premium in our small camper and I didn’t want to obsess on weight and dieting.  I usually do well when we take our trips and come home lighter or no more than a pound or so heavier – even from the two cruises that we’ve gone on.

I weighed myself after we got home and was pleased, but didn’t say anything.  I wanted to wait until I weighed myself at the gym.  My heart monitor watch has a weight diary and I update it every time that I work out.  The last entry was at the end of June.

The new entry was 14 pounds lower.

Fifty days, 11 states, and I lost 14 pounds without even trying – much.

Monday, I decided if I didn’t “get back” to the gym right away, it would soon turn into going when I “get around to it” and I would slip back to old habits – plus I’m trying to maintain my “travel diet.”

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While we’ve been gone, we’ve seen a couple of days in the 90s, a few days in the 60s or 80s, but most of the days’ temperatures peaked in the lower to mid 70s. 

In the mean time, our home state of Arkansas was baking.  Over 20 days so far this summer have been over 100°F.

Today, we drove from southern Illinois.  Much of the morning was rainy and cloudy and the temperature stayed about  73°F.  Once we got into Missouri, it started clearing and warming up.  At Conway, when we got on the interstate it was over 100°.  By the time we got to the point where we leave the interstate and head up into the Ozarks, it was 105°, though earlier we had seen 106°.  It was 101° when we got home.

We have a nicely shaded yard and a big front porch. When we left, we turned of the air conditioner, water, and hot water heater.  All the shades and shutters were closed.  We have a minimum/maximum thermometer with both inside and outside temperature instruments.  The hottest it got on the porch was 101.2°, while down in the valley temperatures were running much higher.  The house was 88° inside when we got home and the hottest it got was 89° on August 14th.  We must have gotten some rain as the yard plants do not look nearly as bad as we had feared.

Part of the reason we like to travel to the mountains is to escape the summer heat.  We certainly did that this year. 

We did anticipate cooler weather than we ran into this year.  A lot of times when we go out west, we end up spending a fair amount of time in long-sleeved shirts (or sweatshirts) and jeans.  However, we do know that it can be warm and take short sleeve shirts and shorts – which I ended up wearing more than anything else.

Our trip map is complete.  The pins indicate places we stayed (camped).  We had planned on being home no later than tomorrow.  However, camping in the heat, especially when you’re not used to it, is not fun.  So we decided to make it home in two days from Wisconsin instead of three.

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On July 13, we were camped at a site on the shore of Pathfinder Reservoir, south of Casper.  We planned to take a short drive and then spend the rest of the day relaxing and reading.

Pathfinder Reservoir, Pathfinder Dam and Fremont Canyon all are all named for John Charles Frémont – the 19th century military officer, explorer and political candidate.  Frémont was known as “The Pathfinder.”

Pathfinder Dam and Fremont Canyon:

The flow during the summer is usually much lower than this due to drawdown for irrigation and power production.  Exceptional rainfall combined with good winter snowpack had resulted in almost all reservoirs along the having higher levels that had been seen for several years.  Some, in fact, had campgrounds that were closed due to flooding.

Looking downstream, the bridge below us is an old footbridge:

A closer view of the footbridge and the canyon:

A view from the bridge:

We found a couple more locations downstream where we could view the canyon:

After our drive, we went back to the camper.  While we were gone the wind had picked up and, with the heat, it very uncomfortable sitting outside.  There was no power at the campground and we didn’t want to run the generator, so we decided to forfeit on day’s camp fee and move on down the road (see Wind Blown).

From Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office:

The Pathfinder Dam, is a masonry arch dam which completely blocks, from bedrock to canyon rim, the course of the North Platte River. Construction of the dam was completed in 1909. Fashioned from huge blocks of granite, quarried nearby from the same formation into which the river had trenched its canyon course, the dam stands 214 feet high, has a crest length which reaches to 432 feet, and tapers from a base 97 feet wide to a top which is no more than 11 feet in width. The building of Pathfinder Dam was a successful testing of the late nineteenth century concept of arid lands reclamation in the western United States. The reservoir basin had a shore line greater than 75 miles in extent and afforded opportunity for storage of more than one million acre feet of irrigation and industrial water to previously arid lands.

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