Yellowstone National Park, Part III

23 Jun 2010 10 Comments

by Glory Bea in Off Topic, Places I Recommend Tags:

Okay, here’s the part you’ve all been waiting for:  The Animals! 

But first, we need to start off with some warnings. 

Not kidding here.

Pay attention like your life depends on it, because it does.

Take time and let this warning set in.

Okay! Who's the dumbass who's NOT listening?!

Trust me, you do not want to see a buffalo up close and personal!
We’ll start off with the most abundant animals in the park, the prey animals.
BUFFALO, DEER, ELK,  ANTELOPE & MOOSE
 
Moose are found in the wet, marshy areas of the park.  They are very shy and sometimes hard to spot.
A couple of years ago a cow moose was separated from her calf around a North Fork campgrounds.  The cow rampaged the campsite and fixated on a 6 year old boy as her calf.  No one said moose were smart.  Game and Fish officials reunited the cow and calf, leaving a few scared humans behind.
Antelope are probably the least dangerous wild animal.  They are very low on the the food chain so they tend to run away like lightning.  They are also the dumbest wild animal.  They will literally run into the side of a vehicle rather than avoid it.
Deer are sweet and very common in this area.  There are herds that hang out around my house.  They do tend to eat everything so they are something of a nuisance.
Honestly, I am more afraid of a buffalo than I am of a grizzly bear.  These animals are huge, fast and crazy.  They have horns.
Don’t let this image fool you.  They like their babies, but not much else.
Do you see how he doesn’t care about the cars behind him?  He doesn’t care if you’re in front of him either.

Elk are another prey animal high on the human hater scale. 

 

Again, no one said they were smart. 

 

Another human hater are Rocky Mountain Wild Sheep or Bighorn Sheep. 

 

They tend to ram cars when people stop to look at them along the highway. 

 

If you think that won’t put a dent in your door, think again. 

Now, we’ll move to the more dangerous park animals, the predators. 

BEARS, BADGERS, COYOTES & WOLVES 

If you see a traffic jam, but can’t see any buffalo meandering down the highway, chances are there’s a bear in the woods. 

 

 

 

Grizzly bears aren’t nice.  Stay in your car.  Keep moving or you will be bear poop. 

 

Black bears are a little more friendly, but eventually they will eat you too. 

 

 

Human/bear interaction has taught bears to be beggars. 

 

 

 

There is a saying:  ‘A fed bear is a dead bear.’  Once a bear can’t get what it wants, it decides to take from humans and the encounter is bad for everyone involved.  

DON’T FEED THE BEARS! 

 

Oh look, aren’t they cute! 

 

They play and dig in the ground and they are furry just like a cat.  Can we have one, pleaseohpleaseohplease! 

 

Uh…no.  They aren’t cute and you can’t have one.  My mother encountered one of these balls of fur and hatred when she was a teenager.  She had to smash the damn thing’s head with a rock to keep it from tearing her leg off. 

 

 

Coyotes are the tricksters of Native American lore and are revered for their intelligence. 

 

 

Coyotes are typically the size of a medium dog and they feed on rabbits, mice, birds, squirrels and carrion.  

 

Wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in the late 90s and it’s been one huge controversy ever since.  I am on the side of NO WOLVES! because, as you can see from the above picture, they hunt in packs and there isn’t anything they can’t take down.  The wolves have not stayed in YNP as the reintroduction nuts promised and have wandered as far as the Meeteetse area where they have decimated local moose and elk herds.  If you are pro wolf, I say put one under each arm and go home.  Around here it’s ‘Shoot, Shovel and Shut Up’ as far as wolves are concerned. 

 

 

 

This concludes our animal tour.  If there is an animal you didn’t get to see in the park, chances are the wolves ate it and it’s now an endangered species. 

Pow Wow Weekend

21 Jun 2010 8 Comments

by Glory Bea in Off Topic, Places I Recommend, The Daily Grind Tags: , , , , ,

I forgot this was Pow Wow Weekend in Cody.    

My first clue that things were going to be out of control.

 

My second clue was that the restaurant parking lot looked something like this:  

Arg!

 

 And any thoughts of a peaceful night were dispelled by the sight of the lobby:  

Crap.

 

Okay, so I exaggerate, but I’m not lying when I say the restaurant was jammed from before I got there until I served the last meal at 10:30.  We didn’t finish closing until a little after midnight.  It was crazy.  

Even with that many people, we pretty much rocked.  Cora and Brittney handled the hostess and cashier duties.  They kept a nice flow of people in/people out.  The cooks, Cody, Chris, and Chets were at the top of their game and I must say they kicked ass.  April, LMKIA, Raecheal, Amber and I ran our asses off and had a ton of fun doing it.  Raecheal started bitching early in the evening, so I grabbed a bus tub and cleaned off three of her tables.  Then I slammed her with three groups of people.  Find time to bitch now.  I didn’t hear another word out of her.   

I love summer when the restaurant runs like a well oiled machine and everyone is cracking jokes because they are high on endorphins.  It’s why I do what I do.  

Okay, so now that I’m done patting myself and everyone else on the back, you are probably wondering what the Pow Wow is.  It is a weekend of costumes, dancing, music and wares at the Joe Robbie Pow Wow Garden of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.  Below are some images of past contestants.  (All images were taken from Travel Web Shots and all credit goes to member “menramerika”)  

  

  

  

  

  

If you go, be sure to bring your camera.

Yellowstone National Park, Part II

21 Jun 2010 4 Comments

by Glory Bea in Off Topic, Places I Recommend Tags: , ,

If you are just now tuning in, please visit the previous post, Yellowstone National Park, Part I, for the first half of the journey.

After resting at Mammoth Hot Springs our next stop is Obsidian Cliff.  This is interesting because obsidian was one of the materials Native Americans used to make projectile points.  It is clear and as hard as sharp as glass.

Now we are starting to get to the really interesting stuff, the geysers (pronounced guy-zers NOT gee-zers.  If you tell me about all the geezers you’ve seen, I think you’ve been hanging out at the Irma.)  Norris Geyser Basin has some amazing sights:

http://www.relaxia.cz

The colours are produced by micro-bacteria which lives in the warm water.  Unfortunately, these sights also inspire warnings:

It seems like it would be self evident, but people think they should go traipsing around in the thermal areas and they get badly burned.  Stay on the path!

Come on, come on.  Get back in the car.  Things only get better.  We can stop at Gibbons Falls and cool off from the hot springs.

The Fountain Paint Pots are next.

Just when you think things couldn’t get more spectacular, we get to Midway Geyser Basin:

Grand Prismatic Spring (left) and Excelsior Geyser (Top).  Grand Prismatic Spring displays a stunning rainbow of colors created by species of thermophilac (heat-loving) bacteria that thrive in narrow temperature ranges.  The blue water in the center is too hot to support any bacterial life, while the outer orange rings are the coolest water.  Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest spring in the United States and the third-largest in the world. 

 

Hurry!  Old Faithful is about to errupt and we don’t want to wait another 91 minutes to see it!  That’s right.  Old Faithful Geyser errupts every 91 minutes.  You can set your watch by it.

If you are exhausted, we can stop at the Old Faithful Inn for some refreshments.

Old Faithful Inn opened in 1904 and today it reigns as the largest log hotel in the world.   It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1987.  One year later it was nearly destroyed in the forest fires that rampaged through the park.

Our last stop is the Lone Star Geyser.

This also requires something of a hike so I’ve never seen it.

This concludes the scenery portion of the guided tour.  I know you’ve been asking, “But what about the ANIMALS?”  Hold your horses.  Part III of the tour is all about the animals of Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone National Park, Part I

20 Jun 2010 6 Comments

by Glory Bea in Off Topic, Places I Recommend Tags: , ,

A while ago someone asked why we get so many summer visitors.  I gave the brief answer of Yellowstone National Park.  I will now elaborate with stolen Google pictures and research found on:   

 

HISTORY 

Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is the United State’s first national park.  It was established on March 1, 1872 and is located in the northwest corner of Wyoming.  More than 90 percent of YNP’s 3,468 square miles (8,980 km) is in Wyoming with smaller parts in Montana and Idaho. 

 

In 1807, John Coulter, a member of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, passed through an area that later became part of YNP.  He described a place of “fire and brimstone”, but his story was dismissed as delirium since he was found wandering naked and wounded from a battle with local Indian tribes. The area, which includes land around the town of Cody, was nicknamed ”Coulter’s Hell”.  

 GUIDED TOUR 

The visitors we see are going in or coming out of YNP via the East Entrance. 

Typically not until mid-May, though.

 

The East Entrance is the only one that matters.

Visitors are given a stack of pamphlets at every entrance to YNP.  Most of them are warnings about staying away from the animals: 

Seriously, stay away.

  

Visitors are also given a map of the park and our guided tour will start at the East Entrance since it’s the only one worth mentioning. 

 

  

Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North America and is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest super-volcano on the continent. The caldera is considered an active volcano; it has erupted with tremendous force several times in the last two million years.  Rumour has it, if it decides to blow, we’re all dead.  

 

 

  

Fishing Bridge, built in 1902, it was once Yellowstone’s most popular fishing location.  I remember my grandpa taking me here as a kid and I had to fight for a small space on the bridge to fish.  

Fishing Bridge Then

Fishing is now limited to catch and release so hardly anyone stops. 

Fishing Bridge Now

Turning left after Fishing Bridge, you will find Natural Bridge.  This bridge is a 2 1/2 mile hike from the road so since I’m lazy and don’t want to be eaten by a grizzly, I’ve never seen it.  But here’s a picture. 

Not worth a grizzly attack.

If you turn right at Fishing Bridge (which is my recommendation since there isn’t much between Fishing Bridge and West Thumb except Natural Bridge and a possible grizzly attack) you will find the Mud Volcanos.  They are less “volcanos” and more “oozing pits of hot, muddy slop”, but that doesn’t look good on a brochure.  They also stink like rotten eggs. 

And they are somewhat perverted looking.

Mmmm...can you smell it?

  

 

 Continuing on, you will find The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  This is probably the most photographed and painted sight in all of YNP.

 

Lower Falls

Upper Falls

  

  

  

The next stop is Tower Falls by Tower Junction.  I think this is a more impressive waterfall, maybe because it is less photographed. 

 

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

A nice resting place is Mammoth Hot Springs.  Lodging is available and it is well worth spending an extra day or two at the hot springs to see the splendor. 

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

This is also a nice place for this post to stop and rest since it is HUGE.  Part II will cover the area from Mammoth to the South Entrance.

My Reader

03 May 2010 7 Comments

by Glory Bea in Off Topic, Places I Recommend Tags: , ,

The following is a list of blogs on my reader which I would like to share.  The authors are clever, funny, inspirational, informative and/or in need of therapy.

In alphabetical order, just to be fair:

Ahmnodt Heare for President:  Join Mr. Heare’s grassroots campaign for the 2012 presidential election.  You will be entertained and you might do some good.

Blogmella’s Handbag of Wisdom:  She better have a big handbag because she’s full of wisdom, humour, and British savvy.  Luckily, she shares.

Blunt Delivery:  Funny, irreverent, and introspective, Brit always has an interesting view on life, love and women.

Darcknyt:  I credit The Darcs for starting me on blogging.  You can either thank them or send them some hate mail.  Darc’s blog is about the craft of writing fiction with some darned funny life stories and an occasional movie review thrown in.  For a treat, check out his fiction blog.

Sherri Blossoms:  Join Sherri as she works to get her novel published.  I’ve read bits of it and you will want to know her when it’s published.

Soylent Dave:  I just started reading this blog and so far I can say it’s funny as hell.  See for yourself.

The “Ness” in Darcness:  The other (better?) half of The Darcs, Vanessa has the distinction of posting to her blog every. single. day.  Talk about dedication!  It shows, too.  Join her for a daily dose of humour and posts on life, thankfulness and shoes.  Don’t forget the shoes.

The Problem with Young People Today:  This is a look at today’s youth through the eyes of a crabby old fart.  Funny, clever and on the mark, Don Mills dishes up a weekly dose of humour aimed at the fruits of our loins. 

What About Bob?  Tales of life and suggestions on what to do before you die.  Makes you think.

What I Got So Far:  Funny, inspirational or head-smacking stories by WIGSF in the Canadian North are guaranteed to make you think.  Music reviews and a world musical tour round out this blog of note.

I hope you enjoy my selections and if you would like to promote your favourite blogs, post a link and brief description in the comments.

Cheers!

Film Comedy Based in Part on Meeteetse

04 Jan 2010 4 Comments

by Glory Bea in Off Topic, Places I Recommend

From The Billings Gazette click here for the article.

CODY — Did you hear about the Morgans? If you didn’t, don’t feel bad. Apparently, neither did many people in Meeteetse.

The town of about 300 was used as a model for the fictional setting of Ray, Wyo., in the new movie “Did You Hear About the Morgans?”

But no one in Meeteetse contacted by The Gazette had seen the movie, released Dec. 18.

The fish-out-of-water romantic comedy stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant as an estranged New York couple who witness a murder. Federal marshals move the Morgans to a tiny Wyoming town to live under new identities.

Though most of the location scenes portraying Wyoming were filmed in New Mexico, filmmakers spent a few days in Park County during summer 2007 researching the story.

“They were just touring around the West, looking for areas to shoot the movie and get ideas for the script,” said Tim Kellogg, who works at a ranch west of town and owns Meeteetse Chocolatier, a Main Street coffee and dessert cafe.

State tourism and business development officials put writer-director Marc Lawrence in touch with Kellogg, who showed them a slice of Park County life.

“They wanted to go to a rodeo and check out a working ranch, so I showed them around and answered questions,” said Kellogg, who also is an occasional rodeo competitor.

“I took them to the Cody Nite Rodeo, and it was in early June and it had been snowing. It was still pretty cold, and they asked if it was always like this,” he said.

Kellogg said the filmmakers spent a day in Meeteetse and a day in Cody, and kept in touch for a while with some Meeteetse residents to continue their research as they wrote the script.

“I got specific information and insight that was utilized in the script. The people were terrific, welcoming and very generous with their time,” Lawrence said.

Location scouts and others working on the film spent some time in the Cowboy Bar, a Meeteetse saloon founded in 1893, said owner Jim Blake.

“They seemed like real nice folks, very polite. They didn’t give off the big showbiz deal at all,” Blake said.

It’s not the first time a story set in Wyoming was filmed elsewhere. “An Unfinished Life,” adapted for the screen by Cody author Mark Spragg from his novel of the same name, was filmed in Canada, as was “Brokeback Mountain.”

The state’s modest budget for film incentives and relatively small pool of film industry specialists makes it difficult to lure big productions from other states.

But Michell Howard, manager of the Wyoming Film Office, is hopeful the film will bring Wyoming to the attention of a large audience of potential visitors.

“The possible tourism effect is difficult to gauge, but the story being set here can only help to reach many people who aren’t familiar with us,” Howard said.

So far, the phone isn’t ringing off the hook in the Meeteetse Visitor Center, said director Linda Benson.

“I didn’t even know it was out yet. I had seen the ads on TV, but really, I had no idea. Nobody told me,” she said.

Kellogg and Blake both said they had not seen the film either. Meeteetse has no movie theater, and Billings is the closest place to screen the picture.

Reviewers have widely panned the movie, which has earned about $16 million since its release and cost $58 million to produce.

“The movie is like a car wreck in which no one is injured but the onlookers,” wrote Richard Corliss in his review for Time magazine.

“There’s a scene where Hugh Grant confronts a grizzly bear, and I’ve never rooted so hard for a predatory mammal,” wrote A.O. Scott, a film critic for The New York Times and other publications.

Benson said that she was unlikely to drive the 275-mile round trip to Billings to see the film.

“I have every intention of renting it from Netflix,” she said.

Contact Ruffin Prevost at rprevost@billingsgazette.com

The movie might suck, but our little town doesn’t.

Places to Go, Things to See

15 Jun 2009 2 Comments

by Glory Bea in Places I Recommend

Being in the service industry, I like to check out the competition and see if I can improve my service a little.

In March I took a week off and went on a mini-vacation with my daughter to Buffalo, Wyoming. We stayed at The Occidental Hotel in the President Hoover Suite. My goal on this vacation was pampered rest and relaxation and that is exactly what I got. All of the rooms are named after famous people who have stayed there or notable area attractions. They are all furnished with original antiques and luxurious claw foot bathtubs. Billy Bob Thornton probably shouldn’t stay there.

Dawn Wexco and her staff are nothing short of fabulous. Staying at The Occidental Hotel is like taking a step back about a hundred years, when things were a little slower paced. However, the hotel has all the modern conveniences including wireless internet.

The night we arrived, we planned to eat at The Virginian restaurant in the hotel. Dawn made sure we got a window table, which is something like a private dining room, with a view of the downtown area. I ordered the baby back ribs with the raspberry chipolte barbeque sauce and they were devine. Word of my tip percentage got out after that first meal and for the rest of my stay, if I looked like I was even thinking about wanting something, someone was attending to me. Huh, tipping. It really does work.

I don’t want to give the impression that no one would help me until I flashed some green. These are all top notch people and should be compensated for their service. The service just went over the top once they realized I wasn’t going to be cheap. Take note.

Every Thursday night the Occidental Saloon hosts a bluegrass jam session with some of the best musicians, young and old, from around the area. The saloon was packed with people so I opened the door of my room, sat on the sofa President Hoover used and listened to the music while I worked a crossword puzzle.

My only irritation came when my daughter and I were sitting in the lobby one night, listening to the 20s era big band music from the radio. An unattended kid, about 3 years old, was jumping up and down on one of the hundred year old sofas. It finally became too much for me and I told him to stop it. His mother appeared out of nowhere and said he wasn’t hurting anything. Seriously?! Do you let him do that at home?! Show a little respect for other people’s stuff, you moron.

If you are ever in Buffalo, Wyoming, I highly recommend a stay at The Occidental Hotel. Be prepared for an out of this world experience and don’t be cheap.

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