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.

July 17, 2010  (same day as the Art Show in Miller Park)

July 16, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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
  • 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)