Cascade Canyon

The Lake is now at 102 % full, overflowing into Willow bushes, trees on the shore, and Picnic Beach. I went paddling with 2 co-workers on Friday morning. Channels that had been narrow and shallow were now deep and wide. We paddled around a few islands and headed back to Colter Bay. Clouds were building and looking interesting. Later on those clouds dissipated and did not rain.
A week ago I took the shuttle boat across Jenny Lake and began hiking up to Inspiration Point. The torrents of snow melt had taken out a bridge, so the trail was re-routed up a hillside. Chipmunks were begging from hikers at the Point. I continued on thru the forest and into Cascade Canyon. Its a beautiful alpine canyon, carved by the rushing snow melt each Spring, with snowfields high on the steep mountain slopes. The surprise bird was a MacGillivray's Warbler.
Penstemon is blooming in many colors, as are the Columbine. Buckwheat comes in 2 colors, several types of bright yellow daisy-like composites are growing in different places and Lupine is abundant.

mid July

Birds are fewer now. Golden-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers who were singing through-out the day when I arrived, are busy feeding young ones and not singing much. A lonely Warbling Vireo is singing during the afternoons outside Cabin Office. Jackson Lake is rising fast and moving into the lowland bushes. Most years Snake River is flowing less than 10,000 cfs, now the flow is nearly 3 times normal.
This morning I launched Dolphin-kayak into an oxbow of the Snake River that is still connected to the river at one point. I was able to paddle between the Willow bushes into areas that usually don't have much water. The mountains are always looking down at the river. Its still surprising to me to see Barrow's Goldeneyes in quiet corners of the oxbow. The other avian excitement was a Trumpeter Swan who trumpeted at me as I came around an island !!! Canada Geese goslings are mostly grown up. I did not see any little ducklings today. A Spotted Sandpiper had 2 little chicks hidden in the flooded grass near the shore when I came in for landing.
........2 days ago I drove to Lupine Meadows trailhead intending to explore the meadow. In front of me, as I parked, was the steep mountainside of Teewinot. A rushing snowmelt stream was cascading down the rocks and disappearing into the Willows and Aspens. Finding an informal trail, I decided to hike up a short distance, It was a spectacular hike and I could not stop until I was halfway up the steep slope. Wildflowers were everywhere, and Balsamroot covered part of the slope with a bright yellow carpet. A Green-tailed Towhee sang from the top of a young Spruce, and a Mountain Bluebird perched briefly on a tall bush.
.......I learned later that my "informal trail" was part of the approach climbers use when climbing to the summit of Teewinot. 50 years ago my Dad climbed Teewinot with some friends.

On being an Employee

Colter Bay employee housing is mostly 2-story buildings, divided into Men's dorms and Women's dorms. I live in the one-story building for the "over 55" and retired people, who actually go to sleep at night. The Rec room is a favorite hang-out for the younger employees, with TV sports, a pool table, and bring your own beer. The buildings are surrounded by pine trees which makes taking photos difficult. Just imagine some un-exciting brown buildings with windows and a door at each end.
My first room-mate lasted about 2 weeks. She treated me the same way she treated the guests. Two weeks after I moved to a different room, she was asked to leave the park. I had room 11 to myself for 2 weeks, then a young woman from Turkey moved in. She stayed for about 10 days, until the Housing Director found a room for her at the Jackson Lake employee area. (closer to her work location)
Each room at North Rim had a full bathroom, the rooms at Big Bend Park had a sink with the bathroom down the hall. The bedrooms here at GT Park have neither. The bathroom is down the hall.
I solved the camera problem by setting up the old XP machine on the now empty 2nd bed. The old camera wanted to talk to the old computer, not this new-fangled Windows 7 laptop. I did lose a set of photos in the last incompatibility rout.
Most of the guests I talk to during the day/ evening are happy to be here and enjoying the park. "Could we have another pillow? ......Where is the horse-back riding ?.......What time does the (whatever) open ? Only a few dislike our rustic cabins, cannot sleep in a room without a TV, or an AC unit. "My cabin does not look like the photos on your website .........We can't see the lake from our bedroom......... Well, you can't make everybody happy, especially when they have decided not to be.
I had today off so I set out to go hiking at Phelps Lake. 5 miles down the road a large group of cars had formed another Wildlife Jam. Its usually worth stopping to see what is going on. The Elk herd had gathered in a meadow surrounded by willow bushes. Young calves are bigger now, faster, and more difficult catch. Suddenly 6 Wolves came out of the willows and began chasing the herd down the length of the field. Experienced with these Wolves, the Elk stopped suddenly and reversed direction. After a few laps of the field, the Wolves closed in on a young calf and pulled it down. The adult Elk came back on the aggressive, kicking and distracting the Wolves until the young one got away. It was an amazing show.
Photos of Spotted Coralroot in bloom, and the Snake River in early morning.

Time Off

The schedule finally turned in my favor, and I was given consecutive days off. I packed up tent, sleeping bag, binoculars and camera and headed north. Yellowstone Park was full of people, as usual. The day was incredibly windy, at one point I was nearly blown off the boardwalk by a strong blast of wind. I stopped at a few of the geothermal features. It was an odd sensation to have the cold windiness on my back, and have the hot breath of a geyser on my front. The wind blew the steam and water droplets from the Old Faithful Geyser onto the visitors.
..........I continued north into Montana and spent the night. I was following reports from the ebird program of grassland birds found in places of good prairie habitat. In the morning the air was cool and the wind was down. I drove another hour north to the dirt road off Hwy 191 mentioned in the reports and started looking for birds in the short grass prairie. Meadowlarks and Horned Larks were singing. LONGSPURS made occasional song flights into the sky. Chestnut-collared Longspurs landed on the fence, while the McCown's preferred to land on the road. Previously I had seen these birds only in winter drab plumage. It was exciting to see the males in breeding plumage.
The landscape was beautiful. Prairie grass stretched as far as I could see in all directions. Little flowers bloomed among the grasses, and a rugged snow-covered mountain range rose up in the west. By 9:30 am the strong gusty winds had returned and I went back to the safety of the truck. I wanted to visit another location the next morning, so I needed to wait out the approaching weather.
Eastlick Road turned out to be another gem. The storm had passed during the night and the morning was calm and clear. I found Vesper Sparrows, Lark Buntings, Meadowlarks, and Horned Larks as I walked the old road past an abandoned farmstead. As I turned the corner to another farm road an Eastern Kingbird flew up and SPRAGUE'S PIPITS flew down to the road. Long billed Curlews flew past and called in alarm, Prairie Dogs similarly barked their alarm calls from burrow entrances. I watched the Pipits for awhile before continuing to a flooded field pond ahead. A male Eared Grebe was swimming past a large Mallard family. Mama Mallard had at least 10 little ducklings following her. The males were sleeping on the shore, and preening.
On my return trip to GT Park I took Hwy 212 into the northeast corner of Yellowstone. Beartooth Scenic Hwy climbs to nearly 11,000 feet elevation and has spectacular alpine scenery. Snow is still deep in places, ranging from 6 inches to snowbanks towering over the truck. At the top of the pass mountain winds had cleared off some patches of tundra where tiny alpine flowers were blooming.