Where are the Bears and other Animals?

Posted on December 24, 2017December 23, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

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Looking for Wolves, Bears and Other Critters

The Hayden and Lamar Valleys are known for wolves, bears and Bison and Elk. I’d had enough of the bison for one day. The Lesser Falls is really right at the junction of the 2 huge valleys. Hayden Valley is to the south. I would be driving right through it to return to Jackson.

Hayden Valley

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I stopped at several lookouts. The gentle rolling hills spread out below me but I didn’t see anything. Maybe it was too early in the afternoon or maybe the animals were back in the trees. Whatever was going on I was just there at the wrong time.

Entering Grand Teton National Park

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The rest of the drive out of Yellowstone was uneventful. I didn’t take the time for any more stops. There’s always tomorrow. As I approached the entrance to Grand teton National Park I saw cars overflowing the parking area. There were crowds of people lining the road and 2 rangers. My first thought was an accident but as I drove past it became clear something was in the woods. My curiosity got the better if me and I turned around. Wonder of wonders I found a a place to park in the lot! Camera in hand I headed for the crowd.

Where’s the bear?

When I joined the fringe of the crowd I quickly learned there was a grizzly bear in the woods. The rangers were trying to keep the crowd a safe distance from the bear. At first I couldn’t see what everyone was looking at but finally the bear moved into sight. At first he paid no attention to all the gawkers. He just scratched around in the leaf litter. Then he seemed to notice the crowd. The rangers were pushing frantically to get the crowd back while the bear headed right toward us. That was my cue to head for the car. After my bison experience I wasn’t going to press my luck.

Overheard in the Crowd

One onlooker near me observed that he was going to stick it out when the bear started toward us. He said he didn’t have to be able to run fast. Just faster than the slowest person there. Well, I figured I was the slowest in that crowd so retreat was the best option for me.

Natural History Tour into Denali

Posted on June 27, 2013June 27, 2013 by Dusty Roads

As we’d been told our tour was on an old school bus style bus. Remember those windows that you could open from the top by squeezing the release mechanism ? The window would then open 1/2 way so the top of the window was open but not the bottom. Sort of like a double hung window for a bus. Well that’s the kind of windows we had. To take pictures you had to balance on the seat to get the window open and then either lean back (Still standing…sort of) or lean over the seat in front of you to get a shot with no window glass or frame in the way.

The bench seats had been replaced but that was the only change and it might have been easier to take pictures from the bench seats than the captain style. Each row of seats was placed so the frame of the window was right in the way.

Sandy and I settled in and I took the inside by the window. We’d been told that the bus would stop for wildlife and if it was safe, let us out to take pictures. In all the brochures you see the bus on the side of the road with the occupants standing outside watching the wildlife. We were about to discover that “art” and life were very different.

Once everyone was on our driver made a strange announcement. He said if we were on the tour to see wildlife then we were on the wrong bus. As far as I knew from chatting with the others on the tour, we all wanted to see wildlife. No one got off so I thought he must be kidding.

He took a head count and we were on our way. Everyone’s eyes were peeled hoping to see animals. And we did begin spotting some. First up were moose.

We spotted a couple making their way through the snow. One of them had a radio collar and she seemed to be struggling.

At first we were all concerned until someone suggested that she might be about to give birth and that was why she was having trouble getting through the snow when the other moose was fine. I hope that was the case. It made everyone feel better anyway.

We stopped at a rest area where 2 rangers gave a short presentation about the history of the area.

One of them had a really vintage looking uniform and with his beard he was a ranger “poster boy”.

We also got another chance to see Denali (Mt. McKinley) who was again cooperating with us.

The “rest rooms ” were quite state of the art too.

As we stopped at the ranger check point that was as far as cars could go we saw a little Alaskan ground squirrel. He stuck around for quite a few minutes so we all had a chance to get pictures. He’s a cute little fella, isn’t he.

I also spotted a grouse, in fact several, but they blended in with the brush and were so quick to hide that I didn’t get a picture . The bus was moving and if I’d yelled stop they would have been out of sight before he could hit the brakes.

There were more sea gulls flying around. Seemed strange so far from the sea. But it was time to turn around and head back to the lodge.

On a Tram again….

Posted on March 2, 2013March 2, 2013 by Dusty Roads

There are 3 ways to visit Shark Valley-walking, bicycling or taking a ride on a tram.

I’m a firm believer in getting the lay of the land before I head off on foot and I don’t have bicycle so the choice for me was easy. Tram Ride.

The tram ride is a 2 hour tour narrated by a naturalist or park ranger. It covers a 15 mile loop trail that is closed to private vehicles. At the half way mark is an observation tower. On a clear day you can see for miles.

At 11:00 am I took a seat on the bench near the Tram’s ticket booth. It was a beautiful, sunny day. For the next 2 hours I’d receive an education about the Shark Valley eco- system and it’s wildlife.

As other riders joined me on the benches one of the attendants came by to chat. It was his role to give us the safety briefing. He told us to stay 15 feet away from all wildlife but especially the alligators and they can be unpredictable. He then went on to tell us about another tourist a few weeks back who kept trying to poke the alligators. Seems he’d been watching too many reality shows like Gator Boys and wanted to see if he could out maneuver the gators the way they do on that show. After being warned repeatedly he was removed from the park and fined.

About then our guide arrived and we loaded onto the tram. Right away we saw wildlife. A red-shouldered hawk perched in the meadow.

A mama gator and her babies sunned by the side of the pavement.

A whole panne was filled with Wood Storks.

Seeing so many of these our naturalist explained that these birds had been endangered because of habitat loss. They are very fussy eaters and if the water in the panne is the wrong depth or temperature or any of a number of other things, they will not feed there so it was exciting to see so many in one place.

Herons were everywhere, all kinds as I had noticed by the info center.

The tram would stop whenever our guide spotted something interesting so she could talk about it and give us plenty of time for photographs.

We met lots of bicyclists. They gave us the right of way and waved as we passed. That looks like a great way to see the sights up even closer than the tram. I believe there is a bike rental kiosk located near the parking lot.

About noon we reached the observation tower. We had about 1/2 hour here so we could climb the tower and take a look around. So far our guide had been pointing out the birds and gators and talking about the diversity of the wildlife in the Everglades. Now she let us head out on our own.