Springtime Hiking in Yellowstone

Springtime in Montana is fickle.  You really don't know what you're going to get until the day actually arrives.  One day it will snow and blow, and the next you'll be enjoying sun and maybe 70° weather.  You just have to plan for everything to occur on the same day.

Despite the drastic weather changes of this northern desert climate, I hiked last week quite a bit—about 19 miles altogether.  It's good to get out of the house and be outside.

On Tuesday, April 23, I hiked about 7.4 miles along the Lava Creek Canyon Trail between Mammoth and Undine Falls.  I was by myself, which isn't usually advised in Yellowstone Park at this time of year, but I didn't have anyone that was able to go with me at the time.  I really hoofed it too, because I got back to my car in about three hours.  Fortunately there wasn't any snow on the ground on the trail.  I saw some elk, bison, and mule deer along the trail, and I saw old paw prints of other animals too.  It was a little tough finding the trailhead in Mammoth because it's kind of hidden, but once I did, everything else fell into place.

One book I read said that there was a wooden bridge across Gardner River.  Well, that bridge has been replaced.  It's now metal, so it really swings and bounces like a "real" suspension bridge!

Lava Creek

The Grand Loop Road bridge over Gardner River; Bunsen Peak in the background

I went to Boiling River with Greg on Thursday, April 25.  Round trip, the walk is about 1.3 miles.  The water was super hot that day!  While we were soaking and talking, we watched as an osprey dove into the Gardner River and pulled out a small fish.  That was a really nice treat.

An osprey flies away with a small fish.

Boiling River is very colorful this spring!

My longest hike though, was this past Saturday, the 27th.

Mike and Lynn came from Idaho Falls to see the park, and we've been friends for a few years.  We first met at the hotel where I work.  My first real hike in the park was actually with them to Grizzly Lake in 2007.

We started at the Hellroaring Trailhead and walked in a counter-clockwise direction on the loop.  We enjoyed seeing black bear, porcupine, wolf, and coyote sign along the trail, and we saw a herd of bison with calves on the trail too.  A couple pronghorn and a small group of deer ran past us, which was nice to see.  We walked a short distance on the Yellowstone River before getting back to the trailhead.  It was such a perfect day!  I actually got a little sunburned on my ears.  In all, we hiked about 9.8 miles that day in less than 5 1/2 hours.

Garnet Hill Loop Trail

A buck pronghorn walks past us.

Bison tend to their calves.

Bison are near a pond in front of Mount Washburn.

I'm hoping I can do a lot of hiking this summer and am looking forward to those adventures too.

Family Discoveries

When Jean and Jalane were here in January for Grandma's memorial service, we came across a photo of my great grandmother Eloise.  She was May's mother.  We believe it to be her high school graduation photo.  I recently scanned it and added it to our family tree.

Ruby Eloise Benson, around 1919

Awhile back we found a picture that we assumed to be from Betty's first husband's family.  The woman in it looked so much like Betty's mother-in-law, I thought it was Betty's grandmother-in-law.  Well, it wasn't so!  I discovered that this unlabeled photo was actually Eloise's mother Maria (pronounced "Meriah") Highland, Eloise's mother!  I realized it when I compared that photo to a labeled photo of Maria in 1939.  Later, I discovered there was more evidence for this photo being of Maria.  Eloise's graduation photo and Maria's photo were taken at the same photo studio in Billings!  I think that this photo is also from 1919.

Maria (Highland) Benson, about 1919

Also, I've been continuing my work on George's photo album.  Recently I've slowed down a bit because I've been more busy, but I'm continuing in my progress none-the-less:

Lyford cuts a fallen tree in the middle of a road in Yellowstone Park.

Jerry and George look at the scenery from the top of Bunsen Peak.

Happy birthday, Sammy!  He just turned 3 years old.

Runoff from Excelsior Geyser Crater flows into Firehole River.

Jerry watches Vixen Geyser in Norris Geyser Basin.

Doing Projects at Home

During March and this part of April I've been working on a few projects here at the house in Gardiner.  I currently have enough time to work on a few projects each day.

I've been working on one of my great grandfather's photo albums.  I scanned the photos a long time ago and hadn't found the time to keyword tag, caption and edit the photos until now.  I'm about halfway finished with this album from 1955.  Typically, I've been working on about 10 photos per day.  Most of the photos are of his road trip from Denver to see my grandparents who were living in Mammoth, Yellowstone National Park.  In general my Great Grandpa George was awesome about captioning his own photos for location and people, and so most of the time I don't have to research whether his captions are accurate or not.  Besides, I know Yellowstone pretty well myself, and even if its 60 years ago, many things are very similar.

Jerry Harris, my 1st cousin 1x removed; Eloise and George Bolt, my great grandparents.  This is in Denver, Colorado, right before they started the road trip.

Jerry swims at Star Plunge in Thermopolis, Wyoming.

George labeled this Eleanor Lake, between Lake Butte and the East Entrance of Yellowstone Park.  Today Eleanor Lake looks pretty different.  Perhaps road construction made those differences.

Eloise holds my uncle Dan who was just a newborn, in Mammoth, Yellowstone Park.

This is a photo of the highway near my house, before it was built!  On the left, the bacon strip shaped thing is the Devil's Slide.

George, Jerry, my Dad, my Grandfather Lyford, my Grandmother May, and Eloise holds Dan.  This is a photo of a picnic at the Island Drive In at Livingston, Montana, a restaurant that has since been demolished.  Today Sleeping Giant Middle School is in its place.

In 1955, it was legal to dump trash in the park.  This is the dump near Mammoth.  As you can see, a black bear peruses the refuse.

May, Eloise, Jerry, George, and Lyford talk at Lyford's trailer in Mammoth, Yellowstone Park.

Lyford catches a fish in one of the small (I think unnamed) lakes south of Mammoth near Bunsen Peak.

Once upon a time, my dad was a cute little kid.  This photo was taken either at Black Sands Basin or near Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park.

Before the 1959 earthquake, Sapphire Pool at Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone Park, used to erupt onto the boardwalk.  This is a picture right before one of those eruptions.  Today the pool is calm.

Black bears on Grand Loop Road.  This is even a common occurance today!

George stands next to Mud Geyser at the Mud Volcano area.  You can't walk that close to the geyser today!

Jerry watches Black Dragon Caldron at the Mud Volcano area.  At that time, it was a very active mud pot.  Today it's much quieter.

Now that my grandmother has passed away, I've been going through this house little by little.  At this point, most of the garbage like empty toilet paper rolls and tin foil have been thrown away a long time ago.  I think the most important part about this is to decide whether people in the family want to keep what's here or not, and whether or not it's in sellable condition for a garage or estate sale.  I'm throwing away broken, incomplete, and ruined items with a few exceptions.  Eventually I'll have a list of what the family wants me to keep, although I have a general idea already of what is special to everyone.  I've cleaned out two bedrooms so far.

I have to admit that some of my cleaning is for my own purposes.  I've slept in the basement bedroom for almost nine years.  Since Grandma's house has been taken off the real estate market for at least the summer, I decided to move into Grandma's old bedroom.  It's good to stop living out of boxes like I have for the past year.  I plan on using my old bedroom as a storage place for all the family information—which is extensive.

Another reason for cleaning out one of the bedrooms is that now I have a new roommate.  I've gotten a little bit of ribbing from this—especially from all those hoping I've found a girlfriend.  Nope, I'm still single, and my roommate is a guy.  Besides, I don't intend to live with any future girlfriend until we're married.  It'll be nice having some company this summer.  Bills are reasonable here, but most of the responsibilities with this house revolve around keeping up this house.  Older houses need more attention.  Besides, the yard takes a lot of maintenance during the summer.  This yard is so beautiful during the summer!

Change is slow, but this summer promises a lot of change.