Pictures!

The rain of the last few weeks have managed to produce some really amazing colors of green in the forest. These are some surreal colors and remind me of the greens from LOTR. It is simply beautiful but, I am sure you have enough with words and want to see some pictures! I haven't taken too many yet because I have been pretty much home bound but here are a few from these last few weeks.

These first four pictures are from May 22. It snowed and it snowed for several days off and on. I had thought I was going to miss the snows for this year but Yellowstone has had a few surprises for us!

But now I shall shut up and give you the promised pictures.

We had to close the road a few times due to snow on Sylvan Pass. People were not exactly happy about that but then, as I said-mountains breed their own weather.
And this is me, proof that I was in the middle of all this wonderful snow.
The mountain to the north of us. Just last summer that was filled with smoke from the Castle Fire.
And I love this snow line. You can tell where there was precipitation but one point is cold enough for snow and just below it is all rain.

And this is the first bison in the meadow. As you can tell the green shoots are just now coming up in this picture. Our meadow has yet to turn into marsh here but it is coming.
Memorial Day Dennis raised a new flag. Our old one was two years old, smelled funny and shall be given a proper send off.
And I love how these low lying clouds just sit there about the mountain. This happens whenever it rains. Just a beautiful effect.
And this is the tributary/cascade/whatever that had the mud flow.
same tributary, other side
and this is the meadow where it all runs into.
Ephemeral cascades and waterfalls form during the spring melt and when the rains fall.
An ephemeral water fall.
And the Shoshone River that is right next to us. It got high.
really high.
and it ran very fast!
and here is the beginning of our meadow/marsh
And this is the path that leads home. And no there are no winnows in there.
These crows were around for several days eating all the large, fat, exposed worms.
And one day I am at home and Coops just starts woofing so I decide to let her out to see what was amiss and there were 4 huge bull bison in the area. I took the following pics from the front door. And yes mark... I was not always inside the screen door when I took these but I did make sure I was far enough away. I was being careful.


















Coops had to go to this spot and smell it.




On Monday we had a cookout and it proved to be a bright and beautiful day.
There were a few snacks before the grub came one but the following takes the cake.
There are several people of Norwegian decent who are living at the east gate now and they all appreciated this. If you want to know what it means you need to ask Merethe. I have been told that it is the S word.

Anyway that is all for now. I am hoping to go into Billings in a few weeks to go to Costco. But DC is on sale, 24 pack of DC for $5 at wal-mart right now. I am SO stocking up! You really can't beat that price. You can't.

June

Apparently I have been lax in updating so I shall make some small attempt so that those whom I love will stop hounding me...

May ended without much fanfare. We hoisted a new flag on Memorial Day. Our old one was two years old and it is now in Mammoth where it will be retired with all the dignity it deserves. I took pictures but I have yet to upload them from the camera. Next time I am in Cody I shall remember to post pictures.

June came and with it Spring decided to well... spring. The grass in the meadow has slowly turned from dead and wilted grass pressed down with the weight of winter snow to small, green shoots that are already growing quite fast. It is very easy to go about one's day thinking, I'll take a picture of this tomorrow until those tomorrows have come and gone and that which you wanted to capture is gone for yet another year. I carry my camera in my bag with me at all times so I really have no excuse.

With the snow melt and the rains the river beside us is high and swift. I have seen large tree trunks flowing down the river on more than one occasion. Ephemeral water falls are once more flowing. There is a small cascade, I suppose you can call it, between the two housing units. For most of the year it is dry but it is alive with rushing water now and just yesterday it was dark with muddy water from a small mudslide. That was interesting. It could have been much worse but thankfully it wasn't and the Lake Maintenance crew came and cleared it up and then shored it up. The area now smells of good, clean dirt and rushing water. It is not an unpleasant scent. And though I do have pictures of this cascade, I do not have any of it when it was muddy and the maintenance crew was too quick to get it cleaned up before I could take a picture of it. Ah well.

And for us Spring has mostly meant rain and lots of it. It has rained every day for nearly a week. We were even getting reports of possible flash flooding in lower elevations. Our river has gotten high but not high enough to threaten us. It would take a lot more rain and more snow melt to make it not only run its banks but rise high enough to come up to the housing units. But still, it is amazing how high and how fast the river is running. And yes, I did take pictures of the river.

And between the rain, the snow melt, our meadow has become a marshy area where the faint of heart dare not tread-and those who do not have water proof boots. We have two paths that lead from the entry station. One leads to the housing units and the second leads to the ranger station and the out buildings. The path that leads to the housing units is not only covered in an inch of water but it has a current! I keep expecting to see minnows. But it is nothing compared to the path that leads the other way. I have a pair of keens that I have borrowed (read: stolen) from my mother and I have used to them to go wading through the water covering the path. It came up to my calves. I am glad I have water proof boots and a pair of solid water shoes.

Cooper, the dog who hates being in water, has fallen in love with the marshy meadow. I was showing some co-workers how to do the afternoon fire weather and I let Coops run about the meadow. She got wet and she had fun. At one point I was walking through the water to go back to the entry station and she was on the other side of the meadow. I called to her and she came bounding (literally) to me. She choose to go through the wettest part of the meadow to get to me. She has figured out less watery paths but she chose to go through the marsh. She got wet and smelly. She also got a bath. She does not like baths but her mommy hates that wet dog smell even more. Coops got a bath and she got treats then she went for a pee walk, she likes her pee walks. She is not suffering.

And for those who know about my car yes, it too has flooded again. I am hoping that we'll have nice, warm weather so it will dry up. It was quite lovely yesterday. The sun was out, the clouds were a million miles away and it was warm without being hot and sunny without being bright. It was a beautiful spring day. It was a day to make me wish I had a porch where I could just curl up on a couch and read. I don't really have a porch, nor does it face the sun. Even if it was good for sitting out in the sun, I have no couch I could drag out there.

Much has happened and then not much has. We have started reporting our numbers for the afternoon fire weather. We collect and report the highs and low temperatures as well as the relative humidity from 1300-1300 to help the park determine the risk of fire throughout the park. It is really cool science that is used not only by the park but by universities and the weather service. We've had to close the pass, we've had to open it. And there is even talk of not only more rain on the horizon, not including the small amount we got this afternoon, but of snow this weekend. If we get snow then I am very glad I have a pair of winter trousers to wear. It is amazing how warm you can be with a pair of winter trousers and 4 layers of insulation.

But the day is done and with it the sun is heading ever more westward and soon it shall be dark and I do not really like walking in the dark here where all sorts of wildlife may come out of the mountains. And I think Coops smells a mouse and she is going crazy because she can't get to it.

Until later then-

EHM

That was odd

The temperature hovered around freezing, warming up to almost not freezing then dropping back down to freezing. It snowed, it was sunny, it snowed like the dickens, making everything white and pretty, then it stopped snowing, the sun came out and melted all the white and then it did it all over again.

Yesterday. In May. At the end of May. In fact, Sylvan Pass was closed from about 7 to almost 11 yesterday. Well, they had to plow it, then the plow broke down and then there was low visibility but still... We had a line of cars a mile back waiting for us to open.

Weird.

And this morning Coops and I woke up to a very light brushing of powder on the ground. It is bright, clear and crisp and very cold. It's a perfect autum day in spring. And though I was bundled up in layers (long sleeved shirst, vest, sweater and finally a fleece jacket) I enjoyed it a lot.

Traffic is still slow but this coming weekend is memorial day weekend and though I get holiday pay (score) the traffic should be scary bad. Of course, it won't be anything like what we've had during the summer or will have (I hope) at least I have the mad skilz to deal with it. I just wish we had more than 3 people working that day. oye. But more than that, I will be wishing I were celebrating the holiday with my family.

But we have a new flag and we will be raising it for the first time on memorial day so I am going to be down there, in uniform to witness it. I am going to ask dennis if I can have the old flag. He said that he is going to send it up to mammoth to be retired properly but I think I would like to bring it to hull with me when I come.

But there will be pictures from the flag raising next monday.

Until next time-

WHOOHOO!

Just found out today that I got accepted to the University of Hull!

I am beyond excited.

Of course now this means I have to find some way to pay for it, get coops able to go to the UK, get my visa, get a good copy of my passport and send it to the university...

Oooh boy.

Here!

I am currently sitting in the Library in Cody, WY and checking up on the vast numbers of emails and waiting for a certain english bloke to come onto skype (who emailed me while I was sitting here, not realizing it and telling me he was going to take a nap-of all the luck).

I got to the east gate a little before 1700 MST and I did something amazing (almost) I not only unloaded the car but I put everything away! Okay, I did neglect to put away the stuff in the bathroom but I did do that first thing this morning, seeing as I really needed brush my teeth and take a shower. I even made my bed, which has already been upset as I slept in the freshly made bed and put the clothes I was wearing into the laundry basket.

Banner start. The real question is, how long can I keep everything this tidy. I am determined to prove that I can change and not be the slob I normally am. Hey, the first step to recovery is acceptance right? And no, I am not addicted to Diet Coke, it's just a joyous thing I drink during breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, lunch, dinner then supper. And just because I sometimes have Diet Coke for second breakfast, dinner and elevenses doesn't mean I have a problem or anything...

And somehow I have, once again, gotten off topic.

Another bad habit.

But yes, for all of you who were waiting for word, I arrived safe and sound, thank you.

And now, because that english guy isn't online I think I am going to close up shop,, get a tasty sandwich from the bistro in the library (I prefer my sandwiches to be toasted) and go and visit some friends I have here in town, do some grocery shopping as, hi, there is no food then return home.

I'll update as and when I can. No pics yet, been too busy driving although with the clouds covering the mountains, beautiful.

On the road again!

Yep, for the third year in a row I shall be returning to the East Gate at Yellowstone. I still don't know if I am going to be following that with a graduate course in Hull because the letter has not yet arrived. I am assuming that it will arrive tomorrow morning.

But, as I will not be home, I shall depend on my mother to let me know.

And I shall not be home because by the time the mail arrives I should be long gone and driving through Nevada and heading east to YELL.

There are a few parts of the park I have not seen (read: a few parts that don't require hiking/backpacking) that I hope to be able to get to this year. I am hoping to be able to get in some hiking this year but, as I have a dog, it is very hard to do that.

As always I shall try and keep you all up to date with my ramblings and photos.

And if you're reading this then you're probably family or good friends so I shall say I love you and I'll talk to you later

EHM

Nothing, I have nothing!

I have been in CA since Oct and have done absolutely nothing fun or exciting or even remotely newsworthy.

Yes, my life is just that boring.

I am really hoping to be able to add some stuff here in a bit though. I am currently waiting to see if get accepted into Hull Uni. Yeah, I said Hull. If you know what I am talking about then yes, I do know where it is, yes I do know what it is, yes I know about Hull Uni. If you don't know what Hull is, it is the Fresno of England. Yeah, that exciting.

But I have a really good friend who lives there so hey, free rent right! :D