Christmas at Silver Falls

The yellow leaves of fall have left behind an amazing evergreen forest of Douglas fir and hemlocks.  The trail photo you see here is now a tunnel of Christmas green.  The annual Christmas Craft Festival here on Dec. 9 welcomed 4000 visitors.  I helped with the crafts and Terry tended the fires in the Lodge.  It was an exciting, very busy day.

There were Ranger led hikes, a Country music band (I loved that!) and free Hot Chocolate and cookies.  The Lodge area was covered in Christmas lights and 11 trees were lit.  A Grand Fir in the center of the Lodge nearly touched the ceiling and was decorated with crafts made by the Rangers, hosts and volunteers.

Behind the scenes the 10 waterfalls rolled on.  Did I mention that you can walk behind 4 of them.
Here are some photos from my hike in the fall.

Winter Falls and my host friend, Barb from 2 seasons at Yellowstone and at Silver Falls.

Middle North Falls--a huge curtain of water--you can walk behind!

Totally enchanting little cove with Double Falls-- a short walk from the main trail!

Our Christmas wishes to you are Advice from Silver Falls--

     Let Your Cares Fall Away

     Spend Time in the Woods

     Feel the Energy of the Forest

     Free Fall into Nature

     Live in Harmony with All Creatures

     Make a Splash!!!

Have a wonder full Christmas and best wishes for 2018!!!

Tall Trees and Ten Waterfalls

For over a month now we have lived in an enchanted forest at Silver Falls State Park near Silverton, Oregon.  The vine maple trees are covered in layers of green moss and drape over the shield ferns that are 4 feet tall.  The evening sun spotlights the tall trees just before it sets.

Our work in the park includes clean up of the picnic and visitor day use areas, greeting in the Lodge, maintenance of equipment and cleaning cabins.  The Lodge was built by the CCC in the 1930's and early 40's.

I work in the Lodge on Sundays and Mondays.  My favorite parts of the job are tending the fire and helping visitors plan their hikes.  (That's my desk chair.)  There's a take out cafe in the building.

The park is known for it's 7 mile trail that includes 10 waterfalls.  You can actually walk under 4 of them in an eroded section of the cliff wall.  The South Falls is only about 1/4 mile from the Lodge.

You can see the trail in the dark area behind the Falls.  It is cave like in one spot and you have to bend under to get through.  This was a late afternoon photo at the end of our 7 Waterfall Hike.  Stay tuned for other photos of the hike.

Yes, we are having a great time in spite of the cold and the rain.  Put this Park on your list, only an hour from Portland.

A Wonderful Late August Visit!

One of the highlights of our summer was a visit from Ann, my sister and Frank, her husband.  They had a great train trip from Charleston, West Virginia to Salt Lake City where they rented a car.  With a stop over to explore some of Idaho, they arrived to spend 5 days in West Yellowstone.  It was so much fun to share some of the Park with them.

We did the sights at Midway Geyser Basin without the crowds of July- such a treat!

The wind turned just in time to clear a view of Grand Prismatic and there was a Bison at the tree line beyond Opal Pool.

This is the top of the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River with an incredible roar of river power.

You can see the River racing to the Falls here- an awesome spot!

Late in the day we got to the famous Lower Falls.  It was also a little smoky from the MT fires to the north of YNP.

On the way back to the Campground we saw a crowd at Elk Park and there was a wolf tossing his supper around in the meadow.  A great close up view!  We were tired and hungry too so we didn't stay too long, but our timing was perfect for an unusual view in that area!

The next day we headed South past Kepler Falls for a great Scenic Boat Ride on Yellowstone Lake.  Ann had planned the trip and invited us to join them.  What a great time we had!  We learned so much about an area we knew nothing about and had a lovely lunch at the Lake Hotel.  Visits are such a great time to share other's joys and make them your own!!

On the last morning of their visit Ann and I got to walk along the Madison River at the Campground before we waved a sad good-bye as they headed for the Grand Tetons.  What FUN we had!  Just not enough time!

Cabin Creek, Ruby Valley and More of YNP

Our next adventure took us into southwest Montana to visit a family connection of my cousin, Olga, in Northern Ireland.  Olga helped set up our meeting since she visited them last year and thought we would love their corner of Montana.  She was so right!  Frank and Chris have a beautiful 3 room cabin at the base of the Ruby Mountains--gorgeous views, lovely veggie garden, perfect landscaping including a traditional white picket fence!  We want to move in next door.  Our visit included a tour of the Ruby Valley.

And a ramble through an old homestead.  The huge old barn was first to grab our attention!

Frank shared his favorite fishing spots and birding knowledge and Chris took us to her wool spinning cabin in a historical Nevada City cabin restoration.  We also spent a delightful evening at the Virginia City Players Theater production.  My Irish family has added two wonderful new friends and a beautiful Montana valley to my roving life.  Thanks Olga and Neville!

On our next days off our camp host friends, Ken and Missie, joined us for a hike up Cabin Creek after we stuffed ourselves at a Campfire Lodge breakfast.  Their friends, Dana and Scott, joined us too!  The narrow creek canyon is filled with stately Douglas fir, a nice change from the Lodgepole Pine of Yellowstone.

After much planning and anticipation on both our parts,  Ann and Frank, my sister and husband came to visit on Aug. 25-29.  It was so much fun being together that the days flew by and we didn't get to do all we had planned.  The weather was perfect and Frank proved himself a magnet for great parking spots in crowded lots.  So we didn't waste much time and got to all Ann's trip picks and a few more.

The Midway Geyser Basin River Bridge.

Grand Prismatic Spring.

The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River.

Ann also stretched our knowledge of the park by suggesting a Yellowstone Lake Scenic Tour.  We all were totally entertained by a great crew as they shared local history of the Lake area.

Ann and Frank's visit was a wonderful way to top off our summer here.

With only 9 days left, we are excited about our trip to Oregon and seeing our Oregon family and friends again.  It is sad to leave friends behind here, but our co-hosts Dave and Barb will work with us at Silver Falls State Park in Oregon. 

Backcountry Cabin Anniversary

We stepped out of the comfort zone for this celebration and hiked 3 miles-- with clothes, food and Terry's radio equipment on our backs--to a patrol cabin in the northwest corner of Yellowstone.  It was a wonderful experience!  Here are lots of pictures.

A chilly 7:30 am start.

The cabin is about a mile from the base of Black Butte, the far distant peak.

 Daley Creek twists through this valley beside the trail.

After a 550 ' climb we reached the cabin in a small meadow above a creek.

The approach trail crosses the creek, our water source.

There were plenty of basins, kettles and fry plans for cooking and cleaning.

I did lots of reading, writing and listening to the creek babble on the front porch bench.

Terry got on the radio at last contacting, the Hawaii net (group), Prince George, BC, Denver, Idaho Falls and California on a little wire antennae and 5 watts of power.  How exciting!!

On the hike out the wildflowers and views were even better.  That's Terry waiting for me on the aspen log bench.

Here's a happy hiker at the end of a fantastic 3 day backcountry escape.  It was such a privilege to use the National Park cabin as a part of our job here!!!!  Thanks YNP! 

Bear Aware Camping

Our campers at Madison are greeted by the Xanterra Staff at the Registration Office.  The July 4th celebration started here and quickly filled the campground.

Lots of campers decorated their RV's giving the Campground a festive air.

I love the Bandana Table Cloth!

At registration they also receive verbal and written instructions on camping in Bear Country.  Basically, store anything with food odors or scents like cosmetics, bug spray,  or citronella candles.
This does include greasy fry pans, coffee pots, grills and coolers.  Some campers don't hear or read how to save themselves, others and bears.

This is one of our most UN-aware campers.  Can you imagine leaving all this for a hungry bear to find?  3 Coolers, Cookware, a grill, food bins, etc.

It's our job to find a shared Bear Box somewhere in the CG to store all this or take it a quarter mile away to the Ranger Station Storage Garage.  We also give the camper a warning note and in this situation the warning included a visit with the Ranger and a $200 plus fine.  We all take our bear protection job seriously.  Food habituated bears are killed.  On the busy July 4 weekend two campers were fined for lack of attention to safe camping instructions.  There were many others who didn't store food items, of course, but not to this extent.

Once our 'Food Security' workdays were over, we did get up to see the wildflowers blooming at Gibbon Meadows.  I had never seen Elephant Head up close and each tiny flower section looks like an Elephant Head and trunk.

The heavier winter snows and wet spring have made this a fantastic wildflower season.  There are so many more flowers and the blooms are taller and very full.  Even the roadsides are full of blooms and very colorful!

Bears, Bison, Snow and Wind

The busiest spring ever in the Park has included lots of Bison roving the roads, daily bear sightings and  the road jams they cause, a winter snow storm on Tues. , June 13 and a severe wind storm on the Lake resulting in the drowning of a kayak tour guide.

 This year our work includes one day a week helping with traffic jams, accidents and animal management.  Terry has become an expert bison herder in the YNP Dodge Ram Dakota.

We still enjoy seeing more of the backroads of Montana on our days off.

We got a short hike in to a small thermal hillside called Artists' Paint Pots.  The colors are super there!

We've had a great visit from my friend's Senith and Barbara.  Company always helps us see more of the Park's wildness, like our first Bighorn Sheep- 6 females and one very lazy male sleeping under a tree.

I didn't get a picture of the young Grizzly we saw or the 2 Black Bear Cubs eating dandelions, since I was driving and stopped in the middle of the road for them to cross.  But we did see Mountain Goats on the flat ridges of Baronette Mountain near the many waterfalls.

A stop at Black Sand Basin a thermal area near Old Faithful was especially bold and showy!!  Check out this orange bacteria mat growing in the hot water.

We had another great visit from our Oregon friends, Carlie and Craig, as they celebrated their first anniversary.  We attended their wedding a year ago.  We had the pleasure of  sharing geyser basin rambles, the Old Faithful Inn, a wet and snowy morning and finally a relaxing campfire and supper when the weather cleared the next day.  They let us discover the joys of a 75 pound lap sit too!

We adore their Ruger, a handsome loving Spring-ador, part Springer Spaniel and part Lab.  

More snow flurries are predicted for tomorrow,  so I might not make the Ranger led hike to Mystic Falls, but the end of the week might be in the mid-60's.  Yay!

Late Winter at Yellowstone

After dodging snow across Wyoming, we arrived just 2 days after an 8 inch snow at Madison Campground.  Our site looked cold and blue.  We were happy to settle in, however, for a very cold, 19 degree night.

We had a few days to unpack before our first workday and trip up to the Park Headquarters in Mammoth for our staff  ID registration.  The word was out that a Grizzly had been spotted north of Frying Pan Pool and sure enough there he was busy re-fueling after hibernation.  He had a beautiful blond stripe near his front leg.  (Click on picture to enlarge).

The weather changed to a heavy wet snow just as we wove our way through a group of bison about 10 miles further north.

Here's the same location, Swan Lake Flat,  about 45 minutes later on our return trip.  The snowy peaks and bright sun is such a contrast!!

For my birthday at the end of the week we went to Lamar Valley hoping to see some of the wolves that live in the area.  On the bank above the river near the trees a carcass had been spotted.  We knew there was something happening nearby as we approached.

When you see lots of scopes out you know wolves or bears are in view.  Everyone was eager to share their views with us and we got to see a Grizzly feeding on the carcass and a wolf nearby waiting for the bear to get his fill and move on.  The wolf was gray, tan, and brown with black ears.  I got to watch him walk toward us.  Fascinating!  In another location we got to watch a female wolf at her den feeding her 3 pups.  So I had a very special birthday adventure.  Lunch at the Old Faithful Inn Dining Room was a special treat too!

The weather was spring-like for our first trip out of the park yesterday.  We found lots more snow in the Gallatin Valley and a raging river on the way to Bozeman.  It is such an exciting time to be here.  Snow showers are predicted for the coming week and much colder weather.  We'll see!