Granite Hot Springs.

There are two options when visiting Granite Hot Springs. You can either go to the man made concrete pool where the hot springs waters flow into and they drain daily or, if you want to escape some of the crowds, you can cross Granite Creek and reach an area where the spring flows into the creek. We chose the latter of the two options. It is a nice option, not just to avoid the crowds but also because it is free and you can bring your dogs. You just have to brave crossing a very cold creek that can often be deep in areas to get there.

The pool that we swam in was very small and shallow as you can see from the picture above with Alan sitting in it. The pool was formed by people circling an area with river rocks. The majority of the water in this pool is from the hot springs but you can actually allow creek water into the pool to cool it down from the very hot temperatures. I enjoy this feature because you can control the temperature of the hot spring to be whatever you want it to be. Another advantage of coming to the creek access as opposed to the concrete pool is that you have the beautiful view of the Granite Creek waterfall, which is pictured above.

One might wonder why someone would want to visit the concrete pool where they would have to pay for an area where you can't bring your dogs, you don't have a view of the waterfall, you can't control the temperature of the water to your liking and you are there with several other people you don't know. Well, there actually is a time and place for this venue. For some people, crossing the swift and cold creek can be a challenge. Another reason is that the concrete pool is much larger than the pool by the falls. The pool at the falls can fit about 2-3 people comfortably. You can get more people in this pool but you start to become crammed and if you are having to share it with someone you don't know, it might become uncomfortable. And it's not as though the views from the concrete pool are bad either. You are surrounded by beautiful mountains and pines. The concrete pool allows for you to submerge yourself more as well and it actually gives you enough room to actually swim. So, depending on which sounds like your cup of tea, either pool makes for a great venue. The road to the pools is closed in the winter but many people access it by skis, snowmobiles and dog sleds. It is a ten mile trip one way to reach and can be driven other times of the year. The other picture above was taken on the drive leaving the springs. It was a beautiful sunset with the moon coming up over some of the peaks.

Wolves & the Ranch.

The first picture (top left) is one of what Alan and I thought to be a wolf track. We found it in a remote area of the ranch. We compared it to my Alaskan Malamute's paw print and found this print to be much larger.

To give you an idea, she weighs right around 100 lbs. Alan's hand is in the picture to give you another idea of the size of this track. Wolves have been spotted around the ranch before and they frequent that area so it wouldn't be out of the question.

The second picture (below the pawprint) is of the "Marlboro" barn on the property and the shed beside it. The next is another view of the barn & the shed. And the final photo (bottom) is a unique picture of an inversion occurring (which causes the low clouds to remain in the valley) in front of the Tetons.

Wolves have become a huge topic here in the west. It seems either you love them or hate them. I personally find them to be beautiful and intriguing creatures, however, I understand the frustrations of some people. Since wolves were reintroduced back into this area between '95-'96, our ecosystem has changed (as the park service and others had assumed). The number of ungulates (hoofed animals such as deer, elk, moose and bison) have dramatically gone down. This makes perfect sense considering, this is a wolf's main diet. However, there lacks a balance in the amount of wolves. Because wolves are still listed on the Endangered Species Act, there is no protocol in which to keep these animals in check with the balance of nature. In other words, the hunting or killing of these animals is highly illegal and the act of doing such a thing would have very large consequences. Hunting is allowed for most all other animals in the region. This allows Fish and Wildlife to keep healthy numbers of each one of these animals. The hunting quota for different species vary each year depending on how the population of that species is doing. I heard one person tell me that there is a chance that Fish and Wildlife might not be issuing any moose hunting permits next year due to the dramatic decline of this species based on them being thinned out by wolves. In my opinion, every species needs to be in check because if not, it can effect the whole ecosystem. you might be thinking, why should we mess with our ecosystem at all? I wish we could just leave our world to run the way it was meant to, however, with the impact that we have made meddling with it by living our own lives, we are now responsible to correct the wrongs we have made. Or at least try to keep things in check. I often wonder if wolf advocates ever think about the effects that these animals have on other creatures? I for one am very happy to have wolves back in this region! I just think their numbers have gotten out of hand.

Some people in this region have very harsh views toward wolves. I often see the stickers, "Save 100 elk, kill a wolf, " or "Smoke a pack a day, " with a picture of a wolf next to it. Another common sticker is, "I break for wolves, then I back up and run 'em over again." It is frustrating to me to see these stickers around my hometown. And I find it frustrating because I feel our government is doing a poor job of regulating and handling this issue. The states that these wolf packs call home are also the home of many ranchers who ranch cattle and other expensive animals. The ranchers become frustrated at the fact that the wolves are costing them thousands of dollars annually because their cattle fall prey to them. I have heard some make the argument that the species of wolf that were reintroduced to this area were a much larger and faster breed than the packs that inhabited this area originally. I am not certain the facts on this myself. Those same people claim that the larger and faster wolves should have never been introduced to this area to begin with. I personally believe that it is pertinent to remove the wolves from the Endangered Species List and try to get a better hold on their population so that we can hopefully balance out our complicated ecosystem a little better than what it is right now. This is much easier said than done for several reasons though. For one, if wolves were taken off the Endangered Species List, it would be difficult to regulate the killing of them by people who hate these animals and want to see them gone. Once an animal is removed from the list, the penalties for killing them goes down. Second, wolf packs are very complicated networks. It is my understanding through research that, the killing of one wolf can result in the death of the whole pack. This is dependent on which member of the pack is killed. Wolves have a hierarchy and work together like a family or a team. Often, when one of those teammates or family members dies, the pack can fall apart and result in the death of the remaining members. Basically, it would be difficult to just open a hunting season on these animals because the death of one could potentially result in the death of others. I guess the best way to solve this issue would be to start with a small amount of wolf hunting permits.

I am hoping that one day, we can find a balance with the wolf population. I love the excitement of knowing that they are out there. And though I don't particularly want to have a close encounter with these animals (especially with my dogs with me since the wolves would see them as a threat and kill them), I like knowing that they are out there. I enjoy learning about them and their lives. And seeing the amazing pictures and footage that photographers and such from this area collect. I also know that if I ever saw a wolf threatening the life of any animal I might own (dog, horse, etc.), that I could defend my animals from the wolves without having to risk getting in serious trouble (i.e.- jail, high money penalty, etc.). I would never want to hurt one of these amazing creatures. If anything they look just like my malamute. However, if it came down to something I loved or a wolf, you can bet I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger. It is exciting to know they are visiting our ranch though!

Huckleberry Hot Springs.

Set out to Huckleberry Hot Springs for the first time and it was beautiful. The hike to access the springs is a short one (just under a mile). And you can even cross country ski or snowshoe out to them in the winter.

There is debate as to whether or not it is safe to swim in the hot springs. My friend Shawn was telling me that the park used to warn people of high levels of radiation to keep them out and now it is warnings of amoebic meningoencephalitis. Most people believe that the park has posted such warnings to keep tourists away from the hot springs since they are so easy to access. This would make absolute sense considering these fragile areas would be ruined by high traffic use. Not to mention, I have heard that hot springs can breed bacteria due to there temperatures and as we know, humans carry a lot of bacteria. As you can see from the picture above, they do post warnings. In my opinion, I believe that the waters are safe to swim in as long as you don't get any of the water in your mouth. And as long as you don't submerge your head. I heard one story about a guy who lives here in Jackson that got an amoeba in his eye and the doctor believed that there was a chance of him getting from the hot springs. Anytime I visit a hot spring, I normally follow the motto of no splashing; just sit, relax and enjoy!

On a humorous note, I had some friends who took their child up there to swim in the hot springs this spring. The hot springs are in prime grizzly habitat and as they were sitting in the springs enjoying the warmth, they were startled when they realized that a grizzly had gotten ahold of their backpack and was on his back playing with it. Needless to say, they had to wait till the bear left so they could leave. They now have a bear box (a bear proof container to store food and other belongings) there for people to store their gear while enjoying the springs. It is common to see wildlife back there, especially in the winter because animals such as bison seek the warmth of the springs. There are different swimming holes that people and nature have created. And each pool has a different temperature to it. Some of the holes look much more inviting than others because of algae growing in some of them while others are clear. If the waters don't look that inviting to you, you can always just go to stick your feet in and enjoy the beautiful scenery. But, if any tourists ask you about Huckleberry hot springs, it is probably best to just scare them off with horror amoeba stories :-) Cheers!

Fall trip to Yellowstone.

Excited about our wildlife viewing.

Some of the cameras that were getting pictures of the animals eating the buffalo carcass.

Mallard ducks flying.

Coyote sharing a buffalo carcass with some ravens.

Big bull elk.

Ahhh, Yellowstone is such an amazing place! If I had the time, I would just stay up there for a while and hike all the trails and kayak the rivers. I certainly understand why they don't allow people to bike the trails but I wish they did. Alan and I went on a hike in Hayden Valley in hopes of seeing a grizzly or wolf and I wished that I was on my mountain bike. Though I wouldn't have taken in my surroundings as well, my bike would have taken me into the backcountry much further and the trail would have been so much fun to ride.

While driving through the park, we came across a common animal road block. When the car reached the ranger that was directing traffic we asked him what was causing such a distraction. There was a dead buffalo carcass on the side of the road and the photographers and tourists lining the road were taking in the cycle of life as a coyote ate the carcass. This was the largest coyote I have ever seen. We stopped to see for ourself and asked what other animals had been around. Apparently, the day before a grizzly, wolf and coyote all shared the carcass at the same time (which is very rare because normally the grizzly would chase the others away). Everyone was hoping to see some more action. One guy showed us video footage he got of a single wolf (the beta male from the pack in that area) tiring the ill buffalo. There were two speculations as to why the buffalo was ill. One was that the female buffalo had a very bad case of bloat and the other was that she was giving birth to a breach baby. I never found out which was correct. Needless to say, she was struggling and this male wolf recognized it as he slowly harassed her to a point where he took her down by himself. It was a surprise to photographers and park rangers that the rest of the wolf pack didn't come to help him with his prey. The wolf pack in that area has become proficient in hunting buffalo because that is their main food source since deer and elk are not as abundant due to large buffalo numbers (at least this is what locals from the area said). The animals in good ol' Jellystone are very prevalent throughout the whole park. In just one day, we saw pronghorn, deer, elk, buffalo, marmot,coyote, red tailed hawk, osprey, canadian geese, ducks, and the biggest cutthroat trout we had ever seen. It was about 2 feet in length and had the most beautiful color markings on it. We were lucky enough to see this due to a fisherman who caught it. We were both very jealous!

One thing I didn't get too many pictures of are the amazing geysers around the park. It is crazy to think about what is going on underneath the ground as you stand on the soil. I can't imagine what it was like for the Native Americans, explorers and trappers of this area. To come across so many of the sulphur smelling geysers, mud pots and hot springs must have been terrifying! At least I know I would have wondered what all of these formations were. If you have never been to Yellowstone, I highly recommend visiting.

Pics from the ranch.

Here are some pictures from the ranch. The first one is of the "Marlboro Barn." This barn was given its name because of the Marlboro Man Cigarette commercials that were filmed with it in the background and within it. The Walt Disney movie, "The Wild Country," was also filmed on the ranch. This barn is almost a century old. The ranch was founded in 1927 and originated as a cattle ranch. The next picture is one of the views of the Gros Ventre river from the ranch. And the final picture is one of a local owl taken on the ranch. The ranch offers so much history and wildlife.

Animal Adventures Part II.

After getting back to the main area of the ranch and my run in with the bear, I thought I would try to take advantage of some of the fall foliage and get some pictures. I felt safe since we were back out in the open where you could get a good view of your surroundings (or so I thought). If you look close at this picture you can see both my dog Boone and Teyah checking out another guest at the ranch. They both got a lot closer than I wanted them to. This picture was taken from an elevated stand that the old owner of the ranch built. I was busy taking pictures of the river that is facing the other direction when I hear my dogs playfully barking at something so I turned to see what it was. To my disbelief, there was a giant lone buffalo. Once again I called my dogs back to me which thankfully, they obeyed. The buffalo had moved closer to the bottom of the stand after this picture was taken and I was up high with my dogs. I considered just waiting for the buffalo to move along but with the way my luck was going this day, the buffalo probably would have decided to take a break at the bottom of the stand. So, I decided to risk walking 40 ft from this behemoth bison to get back to my truck. He closely watched as the dogs and I slowly walked farther away from him. And without harm, we once again escaped a tense situation with the surrounding captivating wildlife.

Animal adventures Part I...

Bear Scat found at the entrance to the bear den. It was all over!  And the picture below is a look into the bears bedding area. The animal on the right is not the bear. It is my dog Boone.                

I went out today for a hike with my two dogs and my brother Bob's dog. I took them out to my family's ranch near Kelly, WY. This ranch is new to our family as my parents just purchased it in August so a large amount of exploring still needs to be done there. I thought today would be a good day to do some of that exploring. It turned out to be more of a nature hike than I had expected. Normally when I hike in Wyoming, I bring a can of bear spray with me. It is basically a giant can of pepper spray that can shoot out 30ft in front of you. This is an effective bear deterrent because if a bear were to charge, you would spray the stream in their direction (hopefully not on a windy day)and it would scare the bear away (hopefully). This is a much better way to scare a bear away then say a gun, however, I normally carry a .44 mag hand gun with me in heavily timbered areas in case the bear spray fails. But to be honest with you, I probably would have not brought my gun with me today if it hadn't been for my boyfriend Alan telling me to. He had been fishing down there a couple weeks prior and saw bear scat so he thought it might be best to double up today on protection. However, I managed to forgot my bear spray...and of course it would be on a day that I run into a bear. I would NEVER want to harm an animal like a bear (and I am sure that those of you that have read my elk article are thinking, "Yea right"). But I really do mean it. There is something majestic, adventurous and exciting about bears and they are creatures that demand respect. They are amazing animals and ones that I don't particularly care to eat (which was the only reason for the elk hunt).

The dogs and myself began walking along the river for about 15 minutes when we came across a family of deer. The dogs of course spooked the deer and they ran off. After walking for another ten minutes, I looked over to my right and saw what looked like a large grouping of short tree's or willows and right in the center there was a hole in the trees and a trail going right to the hole. This caught my attention because I knew it was created by some sort of animal. My first thought was, "This must be where the family of deers had been bedding down," so I pursued the trail and its curious hole. When I got to the entrance I slowed my walk and looked around the inside. It was just a network of trees but it was clearly a den area for some sort of animal because there were beds (areas where the grass or ground has been flattened by an animal spending time laying on it). And then I saw a pile of what was clearly bear scat at my feet. And then I noticed that bear scat was littering the whole floor of the clearing. I got a picture and decided it would be best to leave when I heard a grunting about 75 feet on the other end of the den area. I knew exactly what sound that was and began to call the dogs while my hand reached on my hip for my gun. I frantically looked for each of the dogs and saw my dog Boone (black lab mix) and my brother Bob's dog Malary (alaskan malamute) come to meet me at my side. Then I saw my dog Teyah (alaskan malamute) and directly across from her was a black bear. I sternly yelled for her to come right as the black bear charged at her. Right as the bear moved, Teyah bolted toward myself and the other dogs and ran towards the opening of the network of tree's. At this point I had the pistol in my hand while backing out of the opening with the dogs by my side. Once I was far enough away and I knew the bear just wanted us out of it's home and didn't want anything to do with us, I smiled and laughed a little. I realized that it is moments like these that remind me why I love this place (Wyoming) so much. There is nothing like running into a bear to make you feel alive. It is exciting to know that we have one sharing our ranch with us. I never felt too scared of the bear since it was just a black bear (not that they couldn't attack a human but it isn't very likely). He wasn't too large either and if you look closely at the picture I posted, you can see that this bear has had plenty of berries to eat.

I thought my animal adventures for the day were over but not quite...

My First Elk!

Normally, it's not easy to get me out of bed early, however, this time was different. I have spent a fair amount of time going out hunting with my brother and boyfriend. Hiking up steep slopes in the wee hours of the morning when all I can see is my breathe as it hits the cold air and the stars in the sky as they fade away with the rising sun. Though it is peaceful, it is not my ideal outdoor pursuit. If it were up to me, I would sleep in longer and wait for that sun to heat the air a bit. I quickly learned though that if I wanted to see wildlife moving, I needed to get up much earlier than what I wanted.

After seeing my boyfriend get a good sized buck my hesitations about shooting an animal that large dissipated. I didn't know how I would react to such a large and beautiful creature being killed. I handled it better than I thought I would. My hesitation was filled with a surge of excitement and curiosity. What did the animal look like up close? What did he smell like? Was he really dead? How do you even begin to gut it? Will I be able to handle the smells and the blood? I kept reminding myself that it is no different than my high school biology class. It is just a much larger animal. After watching all that went into hunting for your own food, I knew I was ready to find my own.

After several weeks passed, I asked my boyfriend if he would go out with me the next morning to look for my elk. It was in an area where he didn't have a license for and he would have to help me cross a river in a canoe to get to an island where several large bulls lived.

Needless to say, I owed him considering he was doing all of this to help me get an elk. The following morning we set out with the canoe in tow. I was nervous about crossing the river in the canoe. The area where we had to cross was deep and swift moving water. And I did not want to fall in! As we drove up to the hunting area, we stopped the truck and I grabbed my boyfriends arm. "Right there! There is a huge bull right there!" We were still in the comfort of the truck as we watched him meander through the field. I couldn't believe it! After hiking all around, here was a huge bull just standing there! And the best part was he was on the right side of the river which meant we didn't have to brave crossing the river in my canoe. Could this be? Is this even considered a hunt? I sat there watching him walk proudly around his harem of cows as they grazed. We stepped out of the truck and admired. Then I heard him bugle which sent chills down my spine. I began to doubt myself. Maybe I am not cut out for this. He is so beautiful. My adrenaline was racing though. Then I remembered why I had come this far to begin with. I eat meat almost everyday and not once besides birds, have I ever worked to get my meat other than going to the grocery store. Then I thought of how my sister had been in this same position as me and she had been able to do it. She was a big inspiration for hunting elk as was my brother Bob. They had both been successful elk hunters. This is my chance and what a chance he was! He turned his head and began rubbing it on the trunk of a tree and on its branches and we both noticed a huge plastic fencing that was tangled on his six by six rack. It was tangled all around his antlers and there was no way he could get it off without some type of aid. He could seriously become injured or even die a slow painful and scary death if he got this fencing caught on something. It was almost as if God was telling me that this was the elk I was supposed to take. So, with that I took my safety off on my gun, pulled the scope up to my eye and aimed. Nervous and excited I was shaking. My boyfriend prompted me to use a post that was standing next to me to stabilize myself. Once I was stabilized I fired! The elk just stood there, frozen. All of the cows and calfs ran but he just stood still. "Did I hit him?" I asked my boyfriend. He instructed me to reload and take another shot. Just as I went to chamber my bullet, it jammed. I quickly handed my 7mm rifle over to him and he chambered it. Once I got it back, I aimed again and fired for a second time. The elk then ran for a few steps and fell over. I just stood there taking in what had just happened. After the reality had set in and I began swiftly walking up the animal to make sure it was indeed dead, the tears began to well up. They were tears of excitement, exhilaration, pride, and in some ways a tinge of sadness that I had taken the life of such an amazing animal. No regrets though. I have been dreaming about this moment and now I had accomplished it!

As much as I had felt I had already been through, I knew the real work was about to begin. I called my brother to let him know what happened and I began the gutting as I awaited his arrival so I could show him my accomplishment. Adrenaline took over again as I looked over it. His fur was still wet from crossing the river. I took in the smell of his fur and I looked into his one eye that was facing me. I saw the two bullet holes that took his life and I reached for my knife. With my boyfriends verbal directions, I managed to gut the elk myself. Just before my brother arrived, I cut my index finger while cleaning the elk. "This can't be good," I said to my boyfriend. I ran over to the river to clean it off but it would not stop bleeding. At this point my brother arrived and I told him about my finger. "There's not much that you can do," he said. "Just finish it up." So I did. Bleeding and all. The elk got the last laugh in a way. The smells from gutting him out were ones that I will never forget, however, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I am just happy that I didn't puncture his intestines at all! I have learned from previous hunts with others that doing that is something you really want to avoid because that smell is something fierce. When I completed my task my brother and boyfriend helped me to cape it (remove it's fur from its head so that you can get it mounted) and helped to load it into the truck which we were able to pull right up to the elk (another perk about the location of this elk). This whole experience was one of the most memorable and amazing moments of my life! And I have to thank both my boyfriend for going with me and directing me what to do and for my brother Bob who dropped everything to help his little sister with her first elk. Thanks guys!