swalker
Very helpful member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2014
- Messages
- 1,580
- Reason
- DX MND
- Diagnosis
- 07/2014
- Country
- US
- State
- CO
- City
- Vail
I will start this post by thanking everyone for their kind words in this thread. I can't respond to them much, as I don't have cell phone coverage to review them as I type this.
Becky, I know from your posts that Matt and I are kindred spirits. I hope that you are able to share some my elk picutres with Matt.
Reading the story of someone actually getting to the thoroughfare area is remarkable. That was one of my dream destinations before diagnosis. It remains an unfilled dream.
The weather forecast that promised warming tempertures and clearing skies turned out to be optimisitc, at best. The temperatures for the last 2 days have been in the 40s during the day and teens at night (F). The sky has been consistenty overcast with ocasional spots of blue. The snow we received over the last week has not melted much and some places still have close to a foot on the ground, though the campground and the Madison Valley are pretty clear of snow.
Many trees were downed by the snowstorms and during the storms most of the park roads were closed intermittently. The Park Service has done a good job of clearing and reopening most of the roads, though some of the side roads remain closed (and I suspect will do so until next spring).
During the bad weather yesterday we made a trip to West Yellowstone to refill with propane, get gas for the generator, do some grocery shopping, and do various other errands. On the trip there and back we saw many buffalo (bison) along with a few scattered elk.
Yesterday was the last day the Old Faithful Lower General Store was open for this season. We drove to Old Faithful to have a farewell snack with two of our good friends who have worked there over the years. One still works there. They are headed out for an end-of-season road trip, which is what they usually do at the end of each season.
As we arrived at the Old Faithful area, Old Faithful Geyser started to erupt and Beehive Geyser was just completing an eruption. It was magnificent!
Today, we took the long drive over Dunraven Pass to the Mammoth area, which has wonderful hot springs and magnificent travertine terraces. We had some ice cream there and then started our return trip.
On the way we saw many birds including ravens, canada geese, and assorted waterfowl. We also saw buffalo, black tail deer, and bighorn sheep.
On our way back to the campground we made the excursion to the Grizzly Overlook in the Hayden Valley. There we saw many elk along with a few buffalo and some trumpeter swans.
The highlight is that after awhile some of the wolves from the Wapiti pack made an appearance. There was one adult (gray) and five of the juviniles (3 gray and 2 black). They were socializing and some of the youngsters took off in half-hearted pursuit of the elk.
The elk scattered and one of the junviniles chased after a group of 3 cows and 1 calf that had split off from the main group. There was no serious hunting involved here, just juviniles working on their skills.
It was a magnificent evening that I was able to share with many people at the overlook. The great news is that the only van accessible handicapp parking spot was available and the stripped area next to it was not occupied, so I was able to get the wheelchair out and view the action from the comfort of the wheelchair. Often I just have to look through the windshield with binocculars (which is a very distorted view) or exit the van for a few minutes while I lean against the van.
On the way home we saw a fox, which we don't see many of in Yellowstone.
As usual it was a great day. The weather forecast has once again deteriorated. We are expecting cold temperature and potential precepitation over the coming days. I sure hope they are wrong again
.
Until my next post,
Steve
Becky, I know from your posts that Matt and I are kindred spirits. I hope that you are able to share some my elk picutres with Matt.
Reading the story of someone actually getting to the thoroughfare area is remarkable. That was one of my dream destinations before diagnosis. It remains an unfilled dream.
The weather forecast that promised warming tempertures and clearing skies turned out to be optimisitc, at best. The temperatures for the last 2 days have been in the 40s during the day and teens at night (F). The sky has been consistenty overcast with ocasional spots of blue. The snow we received over the last week has not melted much and some places still have close to a foot on the ground, though the campground and the Madison Valley are pretty clear of snow.
Many trees were downed by the snowstorms and during the storms most of the park roads were closed intermittently. The Park Service has done a good job of clearing and reopening most of the roads, though some of the side roads remain closed (and I suspect will do so until next spring).
During the bad weather yesterday we made a trip to West Yellowstone to refill with propane, get gas for the generator, do some grocery shopping, and do various other errands. On the trip there and back we saw many buffalo (bison) along with a few scattered elk.
Yesterday was the last day the Old Faithful Lower General Store was open for this season. We drove to Old Faithful to have a farewell snack with two of our good friends who have worked there over the years. One still works there. They are headed out for an end-of-season road trip, which is what they usually do at the end of each season.
As we arrived at the Old Faithful area, Old Faithful Geyser started to erupt and Beehive Geyser was just completing an eruption. It was magnificent!
Today, we took the long drive over Dunraven Pass to the Mammoth area, which has wonderful hot springs and magnificent travertine terraces. We had some ice cream there and then started our return trip.
On the way we saw many birds including ravens, canada geese, and assorted waterfowl. We also saw buffalo, black tail deer, and bighorn sheep.
On our way back to the campground we made the excursion to the Grizzly Overlook in the Hayden Valley. There we saw many elk along with a few buffalo and some trumpeter swans.
The highlight is that after awhile some of the wolves from the Wapiti pack made an appearance. There was one adult (gray) and five of the juviniles (3 gray and 2 black). They were socializing and some of the youngsters took off in half-hearted pursuit of the elk.
The elk scattered and one of the junviniles chased after a group of 3 cows and 1 calf that had split off from the main group. There was no serious hunting involved here, just juviniles working on their skills.
It was a magnificent evening that I was able to share with many people at the overlook. The great news is that the only van accessible handicapp parking spot was available and the stripped area next to it was not occupied, so I was able to get the wheelchair out and view the action from the comfort of the wheelchair. Often I just have to look through the windshield with binocculars (which is a very distorted view) or exit the van for a few minutes while I lean against the van.
On the way home we saw a fox, which we don't see many of in Yellowstone.
As usual it was a great day. The weather forecast has once again deteriorated. We are expecting cold temperature and potential precepitation over the coming days. I sure hope they are wrong again
.Until my next post,
Steve
