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2005 ROCKY
MOUNTAIN HIGH
A TRAVEL JOURNAL
| May 3 - Tuesday
The plan is to drive across northern
Washington, over the Cascades, through Idaho, into north-western
Montana then southward into Wyoming and Yellowstone Park; through the
Grand Tetons and south east through Casper, Wyoming, down through
Colorado to Durango and a ride on the Durango-Silverton steam train;
into New Mexico, back north to Salt Lake City, west to Reno for the
All-American Sheep Show in Sparks Nevada; north through eastern Oregon
until we hit the Columbia River. We will follow the
Columbia down stream to Portland and then scoot home some time around
June 2nd. |
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Well, that’s the plan ... but
then this is only the first day and travel plans, to where-ever, should
remain fluid. Doing so allows the traveler to be open for new experiences
and we welcome new experiences.
Crossing the border into Washington State was uneventful other than
the pleasant visit we had with the US customs officer who, being from
Colorado, recommended we drive the Million Dollar Highway. "Claimed," he
said with home-state pride to be more "magnificent than drives in the
Swiss Alps".
We weren’t long on the I-5 before we turned eastward on Highway 20 driving along the Skagit River and headed for the Cascade Mountains.
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| After climbing two mile high summits
the mile high altitude we stopped to admire the saw toothed mountains
and the valley we were descending into. Just down the road a little
further we passed an older gentleman peddling his bike and stopped again
to look back at Liberty Bell Mountain.
Our conversation with the rider lasted
from the time he rode into earshot until we could no longer hear each
other a few seconds later. |
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"How long have you been on
the road?" we asked. "Two days."
"Where have you come from."
"Started in the San Juan Islands."
We were impressed.
On to the western themed town of Winthrop.
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| Winthrop was founded in 1891.
Guy Waring set up a frontier store which attracted trappers, prospectors
and homesteaders. A few short years later a narrow-gauge wagon road was
carved across the Cascades linking Winthop’s valley with the Slate Creek
mining district. Waring also opened a saloon but, surprising to most, he
despised anyone getting drunk and would kick his patrons out if they
drank too heavily. A friend and Harvard classmate of Warings, Owen Wister, spent his 1898
honeymoon in Winthrop just four years before his novel (the first western
book) "The Virginan" was presented to the world. The town was
named by it’s first postmaster after a young Yale graduate who had
toured the Northwest in 1853. |
| In Winthrop we took
the hour or so before closing to visit some of the shops and galleries
that front Winthrop’s main western style street. We were tempted to stay
but with our relaxed start this morning we felt fresh enough to move
on. |
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| Some clouds, finding it hard
to scale the peaks, were left behind allowing baby blue skies to let the
sun shine on new vistas. Still traveling east on 20 sharp peaks gave way
to smooth foothills and a dryer climate. The kind of scenery that
reminded us of cowboys and cattle .... indeed we were where history had
been recorded. |
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Before 1900, the cattlemen
had the rangeland to themselves, except for wild horses. Sheep were
brought into the area and with their arrival tempers between cowboys and
shepherds began to heat up. Haystacks for the feeding of sheep were
"mysteriously" burnt to the ground. One night in 1903 near the spot
where we now stood there was a wholesale slaughter of several hundred
sheep belonging to A. A. Curtis. The sheep were clubbed and left for the
sun to bleach the scattered bones. Time has healed the age old disputes
between cattlemen and sheepmen. |
| This first night we spent in
the town of Omak, Washington in Okanogan Country. Okanogan (spelt
Okanagan in Canada) country spans the US-Canada border.
Back when missionaries and explorers, for the Hudson Bay Company and the
Northwest Company, first came in search of souls to save, furs, gold and
silver, no passports or photo ID was needed because there wasn't any
border ... just a new frontier. It
has been a pleasant start to our "2005 Rock Mountain High" journey. |
| May 4 -
Wednesday
We started out the day at 7:30 by using
the paved path around East Side Park. Terry ran, Sherrie walked.
Omak was on the move. A school bus picked up elementary students
across the street at a townhome complex, while teens walked to the high
school. Two large lawn mowers cut the park's grass followed by
robins and seagulls picking up their breakfast. As the path wound
its way closer to the perimeter friendly "good mornings" were exchanged
taking away any gloom that might have come with the refreshing mist.
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East of Omak we drove through Indian Reservations (yes, in the US it is
still politically correct to call them Indians). The
Colville Reservation covers 1.4 million acres (or 2,100 sq miles); half of what
it once was.
We kept seeing large mounds of dark layered rock ~ the result of built up lava that once gushed out of enormous cracks in the
earth.
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The next stop was the Grand Coulee Dam. It took 24
million tons of concrete and steel to build this dam which began operation in
1941. Up stream the Columbia River widened and created Lake
Roosevelt; a lake that now boasts 600 miles of shoreline. |
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The statue shown in the picture (right) was created in 1999 to honour
those who laboured on the dam's construction and is titled "After Work".
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The road stretched out long and straight before us, undulating ever
so smoothly. On both sides, as far as the eye could see were
rolling fields of cultivated land. Some were a mass of emerald
green blades standing about 10 inches to a foot high. Others
were brown and tan, the image of velvet where a hand has brushed the
nape in different directions; and yet others looked like light brown
corduroy with just a hint of grass stain where new growth pushed through
to the sun. A plane flew overhead making its decent to the Spokane
airport. Passengers must have been in awe of this patchwork quilt of
fields tufted by farm buildings.
We didn't know what the crop was that had been in our vision for
miles and miles, so we stopped at a grain elevator where men were roping
off a huge new-looking black-top pad and met Ed the manager.
The crop was wheat. They claim that this area is the second
largest winter wheat producer in the USA. The emerald green fields with
growth well underway are winter wheat which was planted in the late fall and
will be harvested in August. The light brown "grass stained"
fields were planted with summer wheat in spring and would be harvested in the
fall. These are dry land crops, meaning they do not get
water other than what comes naturally. The area experiences, on
average, only thirteen inches of rainfall a year.
"This year has been one of the
driest.
If we get one good rain in May and June, it's usually enough to grow the
crops," Ed explained. "They get more rain over by the mountains
(closer to the Columbia River) then here by the highway."
In answer to our question about farm size Ed told us, "They used to
be mostly small farms, around 500 acres but
they are giving way now to the 2,000 to 3,000 acre farms."
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We finished off the evening with a pleasant stroll through a park and
viewed art in one of the resort's galleries.
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| May 5
-Thursday
Just a little southeast of Coeur d'Alene
we left the highway to take scenic Route 7 along the eastern shore of
Lake Coeur d'Alene down to Harrison.
Harrison has a population of 267 and using
the commercial part of town as a reference point (one of the
largest businesses is the bait and tackle emporium) we felt perhaps 267
was a generous number. |
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Outside the
bike/espresso/gift/consignment shop some people were trying out a new
tandem bike. It had been donated to the shop by a doctor who had
won it in a raffle and then only stored it in his garage. Terry
joined the others and shortly the shop manager had him trying it out.
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| "It felt a little odd," Terry
said, "because you can't see the front wheel as it's directly under the
driver. You have to take that into consideration on turns."
Both the front and back pedals work in unison which is different than
the "standard" tandem. |
| We looped back up to
Highway 90 only to depart again at the Old Mission.
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In the 1840s
Father Ravalli, a Jesuit priest arrived in this remote
location along with Brothers Magri and Huybrechts and began
to build the structure that still stands today. They
came at the invitation of the local tribe who had heard
about this "medicine man" dressed in black robes.
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The mission building stands
about 90 feet high and 40 feet wide. Holes in the upright
timbers held saplings; reed grass was hug over the saplings and then
braided before mud was daubed to create 10-12 inch thick walls.
Boards were hewn and planed with a broad axe to create floor boards.
No nails were used in its creation.
Inside the ceiling panels carved by
Brother Huybrechts start simply by the doorway and become more detailed
as they get closer to the alter (as is seen in a many European
churches). Twelve side ceiling panels are plain, except for the
framed molding, and all the boards are placed in the same direction ...
except one. A spiritual meaning? The Indians made a
blue stain from huckleberries, lots and lots of huckleberries, to stain
the ceiling boards to look like the sky. |
| In the area of the alter
Ravalli made wainscoting by pasting newspapers to the walls then
painted them. He also made the frames that hold the twelve
stations of the cross and painted those as well to match his
wallpaper (the flowered material above the wainscoting was added at
a later date). |
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Construction of the
alter is wood. Ravalli carved the braces and then painted
the lower portion of the alter to appear like marble. The
moldings above the alter hold inserts that can be changed to
reflect the season. Two statues on the sides of the alter
arch were also carved from wood by Father Ravalli (one of Mary
and the other of St. John the Evangelist) which were later
painted to look like plaster. |
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The sacred heart painted on
the transom above the door (a substantial piece of glass in its time)
was also painted by Ravalli as were paintings inside. Since it
would not be proper for a Jesuit priest to take credit for his work, the
paintings are unsigned. The metal adornments which
adorn the alter and act as candle holders were made from tin cans.
Now services are held at the Old Mission only once a year. |
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| Next to the Mission building is the Parish
House. It was first constructed in the early 1850s. Twice it was
destroyed by fire and rebuilt. It was almost lost to neglect, but has
since been refurbished and is now a protected heritage site.
Our night's stop was in Missoula, Montana.
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| MAY 6 - FRIDAY
Heading south-east towards Helena, the capital
of Montana, we dipped into Drummond known as "Home of the Bull
Shippers". It's main street commercial buildings are on one side while
the other is taken up with loading facilities adjoining train tracks.
Cattle guards (a series of bars imbedded in the road, spaced at a distance
not conducive to a bovine's hoof) are placed at both ends of town. To
keep runaways within the confines of town?
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The Continental Divide: the
high point where on one side all waters flow to the Pacific and on the
other all waters flow to the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico. The
elevation here is 6325 ft. In the 1870s this was a toll road with
half a dozen six-horse stage coaches passing each day between Helena and
western Montana. Near here, in September of 1911, Cromwell Dixon
became the first aviator in America to fly over the Continental Divide.
Today a four-lane highway and an air beacon replace the buckboards and
biplanes of earlier eras.
Pictures below are up [left] and over
[right]. |
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| Helena, is the capitol of
Montana. Like many towns in Montana, Helena was founded by miners
looking for gold. We walked along the pedestrian street known as
Last Chance Gulch. It was here that one of the most successful
gold veins was discovered and by 1900 Helena had more millionaires per
capita than any other town in the United States. It became the
capital and in doing so caused the town's architecture to be preserved
and commerce to continue after gold mining was no longer the main
industry. |
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| St. Helena's Cathedral, a
replica of a cathedral in Cologne, Germany, dominates Helena's
skyline with its 230 foot spires.
On the recommendation of a post
mistress we stopped for lunch at a little tea shop called Ryan and
MacLean. She had given us good advise. |
| Before leaving Helena
we stopped for gas and were delighted when a Model T was towed
in. The owner lifted the cushions off the seat and filled
the gas tank below. The tow rope was detached and the
Model T left under it's own power. |
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| Driving east from Helena
it was again evident why they call this big sky country. The
sky is a baby blue and takes up most of the visual space.
Magnificent. |
| We
took a bridge across the north end of Hauser Lake and
proceeded down its east side. |
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A shell of an old homestead
caught our eye and pictures had to be taken ... a future painting
perhaps? And then on the down stream side of the dam
pelicans cruised the waters. |
| We were heading for the
headwaters of the Missouri River when we saw these three as
though they were waiting for the school bus. |
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| The Missouri River is the
longest (2341 miles long) river in the United States and is one of its
most important, providing water for commerce, irrigation,
recreation and wildlife to a large portion of the country. |
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| If you
floated down the Missouri River in an inner tube it would take you
2.5 months to reach the Gulf of Mexico. |
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On July 27, 1805, nearly 200
years ago, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark passed this way. They
found three small rivers coming together to make a larger river. Lewis
described in his journal how they determined this to be the source of
the Missouri River. "Both Capt. C. and myself corresponded in
opinion with respect to the impropriety of calling either of these
streams the Missouri and accordingly agreed to name them after the
President of the United States and the Secretaries of the Treasury and
State ... " signed Meriwether Lewis, July 28, 1805; thus were named
the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin rivers. |
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Tyler would be proud of her Gramma for
putting her hand into the headwaters of the Missouri and picking out four
special rocks. |
| We have been passing so many old barns and
homesteads, each with it's own story to tell of the people who lived within
... but with time those stories are being lost. Log cabins were
introduced to North America by the Swedes and Germans. Because they
were easy to build and made use of readily available materials, log cabins
became the most common building on the frontier. |
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Cabins had dovetail
joints and were chinked with moss, clay, old rags or newspapers and later
cement. |
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We continued on to Bozeman
and finding all accommodation booked, as Bozeman is home to the
University of Montana and it is graduation weekend, we proceeded on to
Big Sky. We passed twenty or more big horned sheep grazing on the
mountainside. A little too far for our camera to get a clear
picture but they certainly added to the excitement of traveling through
the area.
May 7 - SATURDAY
It was a comparatively short drive from
Big Sky to West Yellowstone, Montana only a couple of miles from the
Yellowstone Park entrance and the border of Wyoming.
We secured a room and did the paperwork
but didn't unpack; instead we headed to the Tourist Information Centre
to pick up maps, literature and our park passes. Then it was off
to Yellowstone Park. |
| Most of us have heard of
Yellowstone Park; of how big it is, the geyser Old Faithful, beautiful waterfalls and
animal life. Were
we ever in for a treat.
Winter is leaving Yellowstone. The
willow in the marshes is golden and red. Snow still clings to the
shaded grooves of the hillsides. Many of the elk have taken to the
high country where they give birth in privacy and protection.
Buffalo are also in the middle of birthing season but, for the most
part, they like the open fields. |
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| Our first excitement was
seeing buffalo. There they were right on the bank of the river
while we stood on the other. We had seen buffalo in
domestic enclosures but these were wild ... just doing what they do. |
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Little did we know how many we would be seeing and how very close
they
would get.
Minutes later a traffic jam
- Yellowstone style. Some buffalo (bison - same thing,
different name) were the cause. It is a phenomenon which happens regularly in
Yellowstone .... and not once did we mind.
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A short time later we
got out of the car to observe from a hill top more buffalo in a
large pasture. Much to our wonder and delight these
bovines came up the hill and passed close by. |
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If they took any
notice of us at all, it was with complete disinterest.
After passing, a number of them
swam across the river and joined some elk grazing on the
other side.
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| It was raining by the time we
reached Old Faithful, so we took refuge in the lodge while awaiting this
famed geyser's approximate time of gushing.
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| After going through
the gift shop (the only purchase a postcard for Tavis and Tyler) we
spent some time talking with artist Earl Cacho.
Earl started drawing when he was four
years old. His first art lessons of any kind were the ones he
took in high school. He sold his first oil painting at the age of
seventeen. His preferred medium is watercolour. Tourists
favour his animal paintings (he was painting a wolf's head while at the
time)
but he enjoys diversity from Indian peoples, portraits and paintings of
civil war reenactments to animals and landscapes.
When we told him of our
amateur efforts he was very encouraging. |
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It was almost time for Old Faithful to
blow, so we joined the others in finding a favourable spot to
photograph the occasion.
Old Faithful turns out to be a bit of
a tease. Those, like us, with digital cameras took many
pictures and clicked at every tease. Those using film waited
until the real thing was confirmed.
Then the real thing happened.
Click. A bulletin pops up on the screen of our camera: "Battery
Exhausted".
So we watched.
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| More buffalo viewings on
our way back from Old Faithful. Each time we were cautious of
our distances. Buffalo can be unpredictable, the brochures
warn, especially mothers with babies.
The night was spent in West
Yellowstone and we looked forward to another day in Yellowstone Park. |
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| May 8 -
SUNDAY Our first pictures of the
day were of Trumpeter Swans.
At this point on the Madison River, the
water slows down and meanders through the rich silted floodplain.
Trumpeter swans feed on the lush aquatic plants and sometimes nest on
the riverbank. Though their large nest mounds appear exposed on
the marsh, the swans get a clear view of approaching predators.
Despite frigid temperatures, many swans,
Canada geese and mallards winter in the thermally warmed waters.
Swans often return to these same nesting grounds year after year. |
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Another day, another
Yellowstone traffic jam. These commuters would make short business
of anyone who exhibited road rage! |
| The elk must have gotten
an earlier start because it looked like they were already on their
first break. |
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A marmot just
watched like some supervisor.
We turned north at the junction
(where we had turned south yesterday for Old Faithful), and
passed the tuff cliff. |
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Once dense clouds of
volcanic ash flowed across Yellowstone. Rock fragments in the
ash were so hot they welded together and flattened as they settled.
A series of such ash flows formed the light coloured rock (a welded
TUFF) like the one exposed in the cliff (shown left). Water,
frost and roots erode the cliff now. Severe earthquakes cause
sudden rockslides and send boulders tumbling off the cliff.
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Yellowstone is waterfall country.
Abundant runoff water, precipitous fault scarps, steep-sloped lava flows
and abrupt differences in rock hardness all contribute to the number and
variety of Yellowstone's waterfalls. |
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| A hot spring's colour often indicates the presence of
minerals. In a clear blue pool, the water is absorbing all the
colours of sunlight except one -- blue, which is reflected back to our
eyes. Sometimes another factor joins with light refraction to give
a spring its colour. This 27 foot (8 meters) deep pool
(pictured right) is lined with yellow sulfur deposits. The yellow
colour from the sulfur combines with the reflected blue light, making
the hot spring appear a magnificent emerald green. |
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Hot springs create different water temperature environments for
living things. Cisterns Spring's brown, orange and green colours
represent species of visible algae and bacteria, each requiring a
different temperature environment. Only a handful of hard-to-see
species of bacteria can live where spring water is near, at, or above
boiling. As water gradually cools - by moving away from its
source -- it creates lower temperatures ideal for these colourful
species of algae and bacteria.
Hot water bacteria have a value beyond beauty. Some of the
park's hot water runoff channels produce an enzyme used in DNA
"fingerprinting" and testing for the virus that causes AIDS.
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When Steamboat Geyser (shown left) erupts, it can rocket
a column of scalding water 90-120 meters into the air (2-3 times the
average height of Old Faithful). Odds were against us witnessing
this drama since Steamboat's eruptions can vary from 4 days to 50 years
apart. The small eruption we did witness was about 7 meters
in height. |
| The view of Roaring Mountain with its many steam
vents, reminded us of sections in the Rockies after the
August 2003 fires. |
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In contrast the marshy areas were alive with
willows showing their spring colours. |
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| Speaking of colours ... Orange Spring Mound looked
like a melting Creamsycle. (See Terry standing to the
left in picture lower right.) |
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Heat dwelling bacteria and algae grow abundantly in
Orange Spring Mound's water, creating tapestries of living colour.
How does such a mound come to be? |
| Yellowstone's volcano heats water deep underground.
Under great pressure, the water percolates upward through buried
limestone, dissolving a mineral called calcium carbonate. After
bubbling through several vents along the top of the mound, the water
starts to cool and evaporate and the leftover calcium carbonate or
travertine is deposited adding another layer to the mound.
The same kind of thing happens at Angel Terrace (right), Palette Spring (below left) and Minerva Terrace (below right).
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| As we climbed to higher elevations in Yellowstone Park
we found a lake still skimmed with ice before reaching "The Grand Canyon
of the Yellowstone".
The canyon varies from 800 to 1200 feet in depth and from 1500 to
4000 feet in width. Its length is about 24 miles. The upper
two and a half miles is the most colourful and has been inspiration to
many artists and painters. Hot spring activity has continued
through the ages altering the lava rock to produce lovely colours which
are largely due to varied iron compounds. |
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| There are still steam vents and geysers at work on
the canyon walls. Can you see the steam vent in the
picture to the left? At the centre point of the picture, look
just slightly up and left.
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Any time cars are parked along side the road or in a
pull out, it is usually a sign of a photo opportunity.
One particular stop encouraged us further to buy a camera with a
telephoto lens so it could see more of what our eyes see in the
distance. |
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This time it was a grizzly bear. He
wasn't taking notice of the tourists and their cars, nor the
Park Ranger who was keeping an eye on the tourists so no one
did anything foolish. Instead the grizzly seemed to be
hunting gophers for he would smell the ground and then quickly
dig. |
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More buffalo on the road and the camera clicked.
A marmot on the side of the road peeked out from between rocks .... it
kept watch as we walked closer. The camera clicked.
Across a river we saw more buffalo with young, and not wanting to
hurry out of the park, we stopped and watched with fascination as
one would watch a campfire burning. |
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| Some of the moms were trying to encourage their young
to cross the river. In a shallow spot, though the current looked
fairly fast, one brave soul took the plunge and stood beside its mother
... but not for long ... then it headed back to shore. We watched
longer and soon most of the others swam across. When the
moms had to swim, the babies swam as well being carried a
little further down stream before making it to the opposite shore. |
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| It is such an awesome thing to watch everyday survival
for these animals. We felt privileged. |
| At another pull-off, a fellow
was setting up his tripod.
We
stopped in to see what was fascinating him. Well, there was plenty.
The next hour was spent watching a real "National Geographic" episode unfold. |
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The gentleman from Minnesota caught us up to date as
to what had been happening. A buffalo had just given birth and
she was licking it and trying to get the calf to its feet. A
coyote was roaming the area and had just devoured two ground
squirrels. His activity in the area was of great concern to the
new mother buffalo. Watching with some concern were a pair of
Canada geese.
The little calf got to its feet and trembled on new legs. The
coyote continued to hunt and came closer to the Canada geese who fled
to the water. The coyote found the geese's nest. Taking
one of the large eggs in its mouth it walked a short distance away and
ate the egg. The geese watched from the safety of the water but
did nothing else.
The Minnesota gentleman had now got his tripod set up with camera
and telephoto lens and offered us a close up view. |
| The buffalo mom never took her eyes off the
coyote. The calf, resting from the ordeal of
figuring out its first steps, lay back on the ground with mom standing
directly over it. The coyote returned to the geese nest and took
another large egg in its mouth. This time it traveled some
distance away, dug a hole, buried the egg and marked the spot with
urine. He didn't waste much time returning to the nest, taking
the third and then the fourth egg, trotting off some distance and repeating the burying
procedure and returning. While he was gone, the parent geese hesitantly
approached their nest but as the coyote again came back they
returned to the safety of the river. |
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| The Minnesota gentleman could view inside the nest
with his telescopic lens and told us that there was a fifth egg
and that it was broken. The coyote took the last egg only a
short distance and ate it as the mother buffalo continued to guard
her new born and the geese paddled in the water close by.
After finishing, the coyote kicked dirt over the now empty nest
with his back feet, urinated on top and trotted off.
Our parked cars caused others to gather and we shared updates
to new arrivals. During the times the coyote was not near by
our attention was drawn to a Trumpeter swan and an otter.
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| Now that the coyote was off in the distance
the Canada geese approach their nest but only close enough to
catch the scent left by the coyote. Mother buffalo now
turned more of her attention in getting her baby up and nursing. |
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| We returned to our hotel room in West Yellowstone with
our emotions in high gear with all the wonders we had seen during the
day.
May 9 - Monday
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| We left West Yellowstone and Yellowstone Park and headed
south. Because of snow, the southern route through Yellowstone
Park was not an option so the route we took was just inside the Idaho
border.
It was a cloudy rainy day, but the
antelope and moose we encountered
didn't seem to mind at all. |
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Admittedly, we were a little disappointed when our first
good sight of the Grand Tetons was supposed to come into view, the
clouds obstructed our appreciation. The Tetons, three giant
mountain peaks, were a famous early western landmark known to fur
hunters and mountain men. Perhaps as early as 1819,
French-speaking trappers were calling them the Trois Tetons (the three
breasts). More prosaic English speaking mountain men named them
the Pilot Knobs, but the romantic French name stuck. |
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Flanked by rock formations more than 2.5 billion years
old these three granite mounds gained their height less than 9
million years ago ... very young as mountains go ... and they are still
getting taller. Over the past 250,000 years, glacial ice has
sculptured the peaks out of hard granite.
John Colter is credited with discovering the valley in 1808 while
he, with only his gun and a 30 pound pack, asked the Indians to join his
trapping business. After several escapes from the Blackfeet, he
returned to Missouri. |
| Reaching the summit of the Teton Pass (8431 feet) we
looked down into Jackson Hole.
The "Hole" created by the uprising of mountains in the area was the
favourite hunting grounds of Davy Jackson. Other fur trappers
referred to the area as "Jackson's Hole" ... shortened over time to
Jackson Hole. The town is named Jackson (also after Davy).
So when you are in Jackson, Wyoming, you are also in Jackson Hole.
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Jackson appealed to us from the moment we drove through
town ... a western town with class.
We settled in and went to the recommended Bubba's for Bar-B-Q.
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| As a result of another recommendation, we finished off
the evening by having a beer nightcap at the Million Dollar Cowboy
Saloon. When a customer saddles up to the bar there ... they
really saddle up ... as the bar stools are saddles. |
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| May 10 - TUESDAY
The weather was inclement. A stroll around town took the
place of a morning drive to get a better view of the Tetons.
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| Jackson is set up for tourists, but not in an
abrasive manner.
One gift shop we entered was heavy into taxidermy. Along
with the serious stuffings they had some comedy scenes like raccoons
fishing and roasting marshmallows over a camp fire (picture right).
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| If you have someone on your Christmas list that
prefers to blast and stuff their own catch well then, how about
buck-shot Christmas lights to liven up the season of peace and
good will to all ... good for both indoor and outdoor use.
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The visitor's centre in Jackson is a great facility.
They do have a display of stuffed elk, but they are also connected with
the National Elk Refuge. Approximately 7,500 elk spend each winter at
the refuge. In the spring after bulls
shed their antlers and the females head up into high country
to calf, the local Boy Scouts are allowed to enter the refuge area and
collect all the discarded antlers. These are then sold by public
auction each May. Designers purchase antlers for furniture, light
fixtures, clothing buttons and gift products. Some are purchased
by those who will use them for medicinal potions. The auction is
held in Jackson's town square. All four corners of the
square are embellished with arches made of elk antlers. |
| For clarification: Horns on an animal are
permanent, whereas, antlers on an animal naturally drop off each year
and they grow another set. The number of "points" on an antler do
not indicate age, as some believe, but are an indication of health and
vitality. The better fed and better health a male elk is in, the
larger the set of antlers. Perhaps not of importance to humans,
but to a female elk ... " Even though the skies did not get any
brighter and the forecast for rain did not change, we drove out to Jenny
Lake in Grand Teton National Park.
The lake was named after Richard "Beaver Dick" Leigh's wife, Jenny
who lived in the area in the 1800s. The 200 foot deep lake was
created and fed by a glacier, similar to the others in a chain of lakes
at the base of the Teton range.
We were becoming concerned about the weather forecast of snow and
decided not to delay our departure from Jackson Hole the next morning. |
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May 11 - WEDNESDAY
Heading south to warmer and drier weather. Part of the
route we would take was forged by early explorers, trappers and a
multitude of pioneers. |
| We paused at the junction of the Snake and Hoback
Rivers. John Hoback, Jabob Reznor and Edward Robinson were
legendary trappers from Kentucky. They were the first white men in
this area. In 1811 they guided an expedition of 61 people
and 118 horses, heading for Astoria on the Pacific Coast, through the
northern part of what is now Wyoming to the Snake River. At the
junction of the Snake and Hoback Rivers the group passed through Jackson
Hole, over Teton Pass and on to Henry's Fort in Idaho. The
guide/trappers were detached from the expedition at that point in order
to trap beaver. |
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| The following summer the eastbound Astorians, met the
trappers in the wilderness, starving and destitute, having been robbed
by the Indians. They were given clothing and equipment and
continued hunting and trapping until the winter of 1813 when they were
killed by the Indians. From that time on, the stream and canyon
became known as The Hoback.
[Information from Teton County and Sublette County Historical
Societies.] Further down in our day's drive we came to the spot
where the first protestant service was held in the Rocky Mountains.
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It was on Sunday, August 23, 1835, Jim Bridgers and Kit
Carson's brigade of trappers and Indians and the Reverend Samuel Parker
were north bound. The basin was then known as
Jackson's Little Hole. While the Reverend Parker was delivering a
sermon to the motley group, buffalo appeared. The congregation
left for the hunt without staying for the benediction. [Information by Sublette County Historical
Society.] The buffalo are now gone
but we saw mule deer. |
| We passed an Oregon Trail campsite. It was
part of the immigrant road suggested by mountain man John Hockaday.
He told the pioneers that by using this route they could avoid the
alkali plains of the desert, shorten the trip to the Pacific by five
days and have access to more water, grass and wood. In 1857 his
suggested route was improved as a wagon road by the US government.
As many as three hundred wagons and thousands of cattle, horses and
mules passed each day cutting a trail deep into the dirt of the
plains and mountains. The trail is now marked at all accessible
points with brass caps. [Information
from Sublette County Historical Society] |
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| Both weather [rain, snow, hail, sleet and sun] and
landscapes [desert flats to snow capped mountain summits] were diverse
today. |
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Cousin Laurie had asked through an email, "Isn't Ted
with you this trip?" |
Well, yes he is. Admittedly he has been
hiding out in the back seat of the car (intimidated by Yellowstone's
wildlife we suppose) but is now up front and making his presence
known on this trip. |
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| Here (left), Ted is looking at Blue Mountain just
before sunset. Fifty-five million years ago extreme forces
within the earth's crust caused rock layers to lift and buckle
upwards forming what is now called the Blue Mountain Anticline in
the middle of relatively flat land. |
| Ted wanted to stop and smell the flowers, but we
had some miles yet to cover before reaching our goal of Grand
Junction, Colorado. Now and
then we paused along the way to watch
elk, deer and big horn sheep. |
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| We wondered about the history of a deserted ranch and
watched the sun set on some wispy clouds. Was the cold damp
weather behind us now? |
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May 12 - THURSDAY
Today's goal is Durango, Colorado. To get there means driving
through the San Juan mountains over the "Million Dollar Highway". |
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The San Juan Mountains have long posed a barrier to
travel and, therefore, a deterrent to the area's economic growth.
Rocky trails were the "roadways" for early miners who had to
transport their ore by pack animals. Having to deal with such
obstacles made most claims unprofitable. Master road-builder
Otto Mears attempted to better conditions by building a wagon road
through the San Juans, but the difficult terrain and unpredictable
weather drove freight cost high still leaving the mines
unprofitable. In 1889 Mears built the Silverton Railway route
to the mining district creating a truly economical shipping option.
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| Ironically, Mears's wagon roads were paved in the 1920s
(including today's US 550 - the "Million Dollar Highway") and in doing
so has brought into the region its most economical commodity ...
tourists. |
| The town of Ouray sits on the north end of the Million
Dollar Highway. It owes it's beginning to the Denver & Rio Grande
Railway. It was once a place of wealth and importance. But
the railroad is gone now and as the area's mines declined so did Ouray.
Today it stands among Colorado's best-preserved Victorian Towns nestled
in a valley shadowed by 13,000+ foot mountain peaks.
Up into those mountains we drove. Certainly we have such
awesome views near home but that did not diminish our appreciation of
the magnificent scenery. |
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| Described by some as "the most beautiful drive in the
continental United States", there are different school's of thought
as to the nick name - the
"Million Dollar Highway". One theory says it's because of the
low-grade gold ore that went into making it's road bed, another is the
millionaires that used the highway to transport assets and still another
theory is the "million dollar views". Which ever, the journey
offered a number of high elevation passes with sharp switch-backs and
steep drop-offs. |
| We stopped in Silverton for
an introduction visit. We would come back tomorrow on the
Silverton on the Durango-Silverton train. |
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| In 1860 an number of
prospectors found deposits of gold and silver along the Animas River.
Winter weather, Ute Indians and the looming Civil War kept the original
prospectors away for at least ten years. By that time news had
spread and 1,000+ prospectors ventured into the high country. Even
though the Indians protested they could not halt the inexhaustible flow
of miners and settlers that followed. |
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In 1874, Silverton was
designed and soon became the business centre for the mining camps along
the Animas River. Silverton attracted the attention of many,
including the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. The first train from
Durango rolled into Silverton in July 1882. A year later Silverton
boasted a population of 2,000 people, 400+ buildings, 29 saloons,
several hotels, 5 laundries, 2 banks and a bawdy red-light district.
There were "respectable" families as well. From the very beginning
an imaginary line ran down the centre of Greene Street dividing the
law-abiding, church-going residents from the gamblers, prostitutes,
variety theaters, dance halls and saloons. In May, 1883 a Grand
Jury brought in 117 indictments against "lewd women". Prostitutes
were fined $5 plus court costs, gamblers were fined $30 plus court costs
and dance halls that opened on Sundays were fined $25.
Although the fines were levied, gambling and prostitution were generally
accepted (as long as they did not move to the "respectable" section of
town. One of the reasons it was accepted was because the fines
were needed as revenue for the growing community. |
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We continued south on the
"Million Dollar Highway" to Durango. |
| May 13 -
FRIDAY There is still romance
and excitement in the heartbeat clickity-clack of wheels rolling on twin
ribbons of steel and billows of steam and smoke huffing from an iron
horse.
"All aboard!"
We pulled out of the Durango station at
eight o'clock in the morning for the forty-five mile ride to Silverton.
The engineer blew two longs, a short and a
long on the whistle warning those within hearing distance that he had
the right-of-way through a crossing. As we did, this narrow-gauge
steam train left horseless carriages and their drivers behind and we
rolled forward into the past. |
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| It took eleven months
to build the railway but when it was complete it changed a
grueling two day journey by mule (if the mule behaved) into a
three and a half hour trip. |
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Conductor,
Frank, took our tickets. |
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In 1949,
Hollywood began to use the Durango-Silverton steam train in movies.
One of Marilyn Monroe's earliest appearances in movies was aboard
the Durango-Silverton train. John Wayne was another star who
joins the railway's celebrity history pages.
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| We sat back and enjoyed the
experience.
The first Silverton Depot was
built in 1882. Some kind of structure had to serve as a station
until the townsfolk and the railway could agree on a location for a
permanent station. One thing the townsfolk and the railroad do
agree on today is that if they had to agree on a site for the station
today, they would still disagree.
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| The 4th of July, 1882 was to be the first
arrival date of the train into Silverton. Grand festivities were
planned, miners came into town for the big event and the townsfolk were
ready in their finest finery. When the train finally did pull into
Silverton on July 8, the fanfare was rather anti-climatic and there were
few witnesses as most miners and workers had returned to their
jobs. |
| In Silverton we had time
to lunch at the Pickle Barrel, browse through gift shops and listen
to a piano player in a hotel on the respectable side of Greene
Street.
Terry, with his wallet
out and ready, had other ideas on Blair Street ... but ... the Shady
Lady Saloon was closed.
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Anyway ... the train had
turned around and was now boarding for its return trip to Durango.
It had been a great day. The weather
cooperated. The ride and the scenery were everything we could hope
for. A wonderful memory.
With four long toots of the whistle, the
engineer told the rear brakeman to prepare to stop.
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May 14 - SATURDAY
We left Durango heading west. We
were about to head back even further in time than the Silverton-Durango
train. Our destination was Mesa Verde National Park.
National Geographic Traveler named Mesa Verde as one of the fifty "must
see" places of a lifetime. From our travels to Hovenweep
National Monument we had some idea of what to expect at Mesa Verde and
our anticipation grew as we drew closer. |
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Square House |
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Mesa Verde (Spanish for green
table) is an archaeologist's Disneyland. It
speaks, in visual terms, of people who lived between 600AD and
1300AD and built their communities clinging within alcoves of
canyon walls ... for protection from the elements ... could it
also have been protection from invaders? It is these very same
overhanging cliffs that have preserved their dwellings for over eight
centuries. Mesa Verde, America's first World Heritage Site, is a
place with many more questions than answers: Who were these
people? How did they live each day? Why did they leave?
Where did they go?
Archaeologists are still putting together
some of the answers. Will
they one day answer them all? Probably not. In some
way, the mystery is part of the charm for multitude of
visitors who come each year.
The park presents to visitors numerous communities. The
earliest tell of people who were hunters and gatherers while the
later settlements depict Ancestral Pueblo farmers who grew crops atop the mesa and stored the
foods they reaped. |
| With a casual glance into the distance these ancient
villages blend into the tree studded rocky terrain. It was so in
December 1888 when two brothers-in-law on horse back, searching for
stray cattle, peered purposely through the falling snow. They
didn't see their strays but what they did see was to become known as the
"Cliff Palace". |
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In the
years that followed, artifacts were removed from the site and most are
now in private collections. |
| The only way to see the Cliff
Palace (the largest of the cliff dwellings) up close was to go on a
tour. A steep path led the way down. The Park Ranger
explained how the builders had used local sandstone and mortar of clay,
ash and water. Some of the walls and floors took advantage of the
existing stone outcrops. One such rock was showing a serious
crack. Park authorities, careful not to alter this heritage site,
felt it necessary to reinforce the rock to avoid destruction of the
buildings it supported. When they dug down to place the rebar
support rods, they found thick wooden beams placed there centuries
earlier by the Ancestral Pueblo - a testament to
their skills and intelligence. Earlier buildings showed
rough hewn stones while later buildings exhibited honed brick shapes.
At one point the archeologists thought
that around 500 people might have lived in the Cliff Palace. More
recently they believe that many of the structures were used for food and
seed storage and that perhaps 100 people called this home (not counting
visitors).
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Returning to the top of the mesa took
steep paths and a series of ladders. |
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The Mesa Verde museum gave us
a look at some of their tools and decorative items. Pottery
represents the highest artistic expression of the ancient Pueblo
Indians. Mesa Verde pottery is noted for its clear, black,
geometric designs on a grayish-white background. The decorations
were painted freehand and indicate a remarkable sense of balance and
design. |
We were able to continue our
self-guided tour in another canyon by going down to the dwellings at
Spruce Tree House the third largest settlement at Mesa Verde.
Spruce Tree House boasts 130 rooms and 8 kivas.
| Kivas are ceremonial
rooms, usually round, built below ground. Their strong roofs
were used as court yards where food might have been prepared and
children played. A ladder allowed entrance into the centre of
the room where the fire was place and smoke rose through the hole.
Another hole on the surface was tunneled down into the kiva to
provide air for the fire. |
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Another small hole was
dug into the dirt floor of the kiva; this hole is called the Sipapu,
a Hopi word for "place of emergence". Much like the
Christian's story of Noah's arch, Hopi's believe that a previous
world was destroyed with only a few surviving to begin a new world.
Each time the Ancestral Puebloean climbed up
the ladder and emerged into the brightness and business of their
community they might have been reminded of "emergence".
An interesting observance shows that in all kivas the main shelf of
the kiva, the emergence hole, the fire and the air duct are all
placed in a row from north to south. We had seen a number of
kivas without roofs, but at Spruce Tree House we were able to climb
down into a complete kiva. |
| We stayed the night
in Cortez. Our room gave us a pleasant view of Mesa Verde
in the setting sun ... although a beautiful sight, it did not
hint of the ancient treasures it held within its canyons.
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