Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
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Mammoth Cave National Park images
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Haw Creek galleries
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From the category archives:
critters
Rocky Mountain National Park — September 5, 2009
We’re really not much for spending a lot of time in shops or arts and craft shows any more, so after Saturday morning in Estes Park, we decided to head back into the park again — up to Trail Ridge Road by way of the old Fall River Road.
(click on any of the following photos to view a larger image.)
Sure enough, a nice group of elk, bedded down for the day.
One of the many switchbacks on the one-way Fall River Road.
Quite chilly, 46°F with a 26mph wind speed for a 37°F wind chill
On the way back down, headed to Estes Park.
Soon after we were in the park, we saw certain indicators of wildlife ahead.
On the way up, we saw much more fall color than just a few days before.
At the top, it was spitting rain with a little bit of frozen stuff mixed in.
Trail Ridge Road at about 12,000 feet above sea level
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Commentary and images from the road
image and information from September 5, 2009
This post is being simultaneously published
on Exit78 and Haw Creek Out ‘n About.
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Madison River
September 15, 2007
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
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“Around the Lower Loop” Yellowstone gallery September 15, 2007
check out our Yellowstone information page
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Haw Creek galleries
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I first saw this big fellow from the road below the campground. He and ten or more other elk had moved up into the trees between the campground, which is on a lateral moraine and the Moraine Park meadows below.
I walked back up the trail to the camper to let Karen know about elk being very close to the campground and then walked a few sites down to see if I could see them again. Sure enough, there they were. This big bull elk was in the woods slowly moving up the valley.
At about the same time, I could hear a bunch of coyotes yipping off in the other direction. We had heard a some a couple of nights before, but not nearly as clearly.
Eventually the bull elk bedded down for the day. I guess they are most active at night with their feeding and breeding. The meadows are closed to the public from 5 PM to 7 AM during the rutting season. The closure started the first week of September.
Where this guy decided to bed down was pretty neat, too — right below our campside. I took the picture of our camper below from the same spot that I shot the image above.
This post is being simultaneously published on Exit78 and Haw Creek Out ‘n About.
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Young spike elk in West Horseshoe Park area
Still smoky
Gold mantled ground squirrel on Aluvial Fan Nature Trail
Karen and Mike at Hidden Valley
Controlled burn in the park
Elk in meadow (click for larger panorama view)
A smoky sunset
Rocky Mountain National Park — September 1, 2009
We decided to limit our first full day to lower elevations rather than heading directly to Trail Ridge Road, which runs up over 12,000 feet above sea level. We started out by going to the visitor centers on the park’s east side.
We got out of the camper fairly early and made it to the Fall River Visitor Center before it opened and saw more elk on the short drive over.
The Fall River Visitor Center is just outside the Fall River entrance station. We hadn’t planned to spend any time in Estes Park or do any shopping until later in the week, but, since the visitor center wasn’t open yet, we decided to check out an adjacent gift store.
The air in the area was still very smoky. I asked the rangers at the visitor center information counter about it and wasn’t terribly surprised when they told me that it was from the fires in California.
After leaving the Fall River Visitor Center we drove through Estes Park to the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. It really isn’t much, as visitor centers go, even though it is at the entrance to the park that has the highest traffic. The park headquarters is also located at Beaver Meadows.
The next visitor center that we stopped at was at Moraine Meadows, in the same area as the campground. As we were going to an exhibit area on the upper floor, one of the volunteer nature interpreters was announcing a guided walk on the nature trail at the center. It was interesting and we learned a few things.
For example, have you ever got a good whiff of a Ponderosa Pine? Get up close to one and take a smell in one of the cracks in the tree’s bark. I was surprised to find that it a very pleasant odor, reminiscent of vanilla.
Our next stop was the Alluvial Fan.
In July, 1982, the old Lawn Lake dam failed and sent a torrent of water down Roaring River to Fall River. Along the way, it swept anything in it’s path away, including trees and huge rocks and boulders. It left behind an alluvial fan where the steep river mountain valley met the meadow of Horseshoe Park. Several people died and Estes Park streets were flooded with 6 feet of water.
We’ve visited the Alluvial Fan Nature Trail several times over the years and it’s interesting to see how nature is healing, albeit slowly, the scars of a man-made disaster.
Other places we visited included Beaver Ponds boardwalk, where a short boardwalk takes the visitor into meadows that are slowly being formed as silt is deposited in old beaver ponds, and Hidden Valley, which is one of several commercial ventures that have been returned to a natural state.
For many years, Hidden Valley was a ski area. The ski lift was closed in 1992 and removed within 10 years. Restoration of the area to near natural condition continues.
In the evening, we walked from the campground down to the meadow to see if we could see any elk. There was a large number, spread out over the meadow in the area just below the campground.
This post is being simultaneously published on Exit78 and Haw Creek Out ‘n About.
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From our campsite
Trail from campground to Moraine Park meadows
Elk on the north lateral moraine, west of campground
One of the younger large bull elk
Rocky Mountain National Park — August 31, 2009
Our last day of travel on our way to Rocky Mountain National Park should have been our shortest of the three days. However, the GPS showed us getting to the park at 5:30 P.M., about the same time we stopped each of the first two days.
We were traveling mostly on two-lane highways, missing most of the freeway traffic — and bypassing most of the urban areas along the eastern slope of the Rockies, though I made one change to our route while traveling that had us going straight into Denver until I got it straightened out when we stopped at a big box store — (WalMart).
Unlike the previous day, there was virtually no wind. Unfortunately it was very hazy and we had no chance to see the mountains until we were almost up to them.
This was the worst day, so far, for delays due to road construction.
On the last stretch of road heading into Estes Park, we had to wait for a lead vehicle to guide us through the construction area.
We were the first in line and a long line of traffic built up behind us. We tow a small car behind our small motorhome and I was a little afraid that I would have to pull over to allow faster vehicles to pass on the hills.
It didn’t happen. I was able to maintain the speed limit going up hill and, after 2 minutes, there was only 2 cars behind us — and by the time I pulled over to let the faster vehicles by, there was only one. The other cars must have all turned off — or got hung up behind a slow vehicle.
As we got closer to Estes Park, the haze began to look more and more like smoke. In other years, when we’ve been in the mountains, there were many forest fires in the mountains to the west of us, which isn’t the case this year. We were wondering if it might not be the fires in California.
Our campsite in Estes Park is wonderful. The campground is on top of a lateral moraine — built up from the debris that was pushed to the side by glaciers during ice ages.
A trail next to us goes down into the meadows where the elk feed and breed during the fall of the year. We’ve already been able to see quite a few elk after supper when we took a drive. It wasn’t until we got back that we realized that they were actually quite near to where we’re camped.
We also drove up to Bear Lake. There are a lot of good trails in the area. Hopefully we’ll be able to get some hiking in.
Oh, and the GPS was wrong. I’m not sure what error I made, but we were in the park and set up by the middle of the afternoon.
This post is being simultaneously published on Exit78 and Haw Creek Out ‘n About.
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[between 1898 and 1905]
Detroit Photographic Co.
Library of Congress Photochrom Print Collection.
The Photochrom Print Collection has almost 6,000 views of Europe and the Middle East and 500 views of North America. The richly colored images look like photographs but are actually ink-based photolithographs, usually 6.5 x 9 inches.
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Near Tower Falls
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
September 17, 2007
From the Tower Falls and Canyon Area gallery.
day 65
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park
May 5, 2009
from Great Smoky Mountains National Park photo gallery
(see more photos in other Haw Creek photo galleries)
day 62
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Image Info:
Near Old Faithful Inn
Yellowstone National Park,
Wyoming
From the
Madison Junction
to West Thumb
gallery.
day 51
Park Visitor Gored By Bison
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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK NEWS RELEASE
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A visitor from Southern California was gored by a bison in a Yellowstone National Park campground Wednesday morning.
The 55-year-old man from Norco, California, was staying in Bridge Bay Campground. About 11:30 a.m., he was taking pictures of a bull bison that was wandering among the campsites. When the two got to within about ten feet of each other, the bison charged the camper.
The man received a puncture wound to the upper left thigh. He was treated at the Lake Clinic, and then transported by ambulance to St. John’s Medical Center in Jackson, Wyoming. His injuries are not considered to be life threatening. The man’s name is not immediately available.
This is the second time a park visitor has been injured by a bison this summer. A 50-year-old woman from Spain was tossed in the air by a bull bison in the Canyon area on June 24, while talking on a pay phone. She was treated for minor injuries.
A bull bison can stand six feet tall, weigh up to 2,000 pounds, and run at speeds up to 30 miles an hour. Bison can be dangerous at any time, but may be more so during the next several weeks which are the peak of their mating season.
Park regulations require people to stay at least 25 yards away from most animals like bison and elk, and at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves at all times. Those who fail to abide by these requirements not only put themselves in danger, they may also be subject to a citation and fine.
Visitors desiring a closer look at animals are encouraged to use binoculars, a spotting scope, or the zoom lens on their still or video camera.
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