[1]

November 16, 2010

For all the naysayers to global warming or is it just climate change {I don't see the difference in the end result}Winter setting in for the past number of years with the exception of last year is again about 3 weeks late. we had temperatures into the 60's much of October and early November even reaching 70 on one occassion in late October. The past 10 days has seen an abrupt change to much cooler weather and a little snow which is a little more normal. This morning we have a nice storm blowing through the area with snow beginning about 7:00 and by 9:00 I decide it is just too tempting not to get out and see what is happening. I have always had a love affair with storms and feel some of my best paintings have come from my experiences in them. Torrey Crek is my destination and just off the hiway I am glad I made the decision to go out. Snow is covering everything in a very low visibility and the wind is having its way with all things out here. It is only 30 degrees so not too cold temperature wise which also contributes to the snow sticking onto everything as opposed to blowing off.

[2]

November 16, 2010

Wildlife such as these Mule Deer does are keeping a pretty low profile hunkered down in this wintry blast. I am lucky to find even these two out in the open.

[3]
November 16, 2010
Visibility at times is near zero until I get into the more protected regions such as along trail Lake. The inlet has nearly frozen shut in just the past few days.

[4]
November 16, 2010
Just above the inlet to the lake is a favorite area for Bighorn Sheep as there are natural salts in the soil that are craved by these magnificent animals. I am surprised this early to find about 15 head scattered about chewing the dirt for the salts the soils contain. Their snow covered bodies attest to the hardiness of these critters. There are a number of Ewes, one lamb, a very young Ram and a Ram about 5 years old. There has not been that much snow to drive these animals off the mountainsides yet here they are. The first of many that will be showing up in the next week or so when Rams will fight and vie for the many ewes standing around waiting for outcomes. The area will then be filled with many artists, photographers and wildlife watchers all showing up to watch, photograph and even paint this extrodinary event.

[5]
November 16, 2010
They are so engrossed in this salt treat that they only casually look up in wonderment that I would be out in weather such as this.

[6]
November 16, 2010
At the Glacier Trailhead the snow has let up to just flurries and I decide it is a good time for a short hike. This is an intriguing area where the granite geologically abruptly shoots up out of the earth from overlying sedimentary rocks. Over time with glaciation huge granite boulders have been deposited along morain ridges such as what I am hiking over creating a magical land of Rocks, Pines. Douglas Firs, Spruce and grasses. Huge dead trees are scattered about creating an interesting landscape. It all makes for a fun interesting hike.

[7]

November 16, 2010

Of course I can't be satisfied with a nice pleasant walk through the woods and end up [still nursing this crushed heel]in the bottom of the canyon just to see what the creek is doing and getting some photos of it nearly iced over. It is actually pretty pleasant down here scrambling over downfall, brush and rocks and carefully along the ice covered shore. Such a pristine soothing world where all cares are shed away.

[8]

November 16, 2010

By the time I gain surer footing the snow has become merely flurries and the visibility has improved to the point that the surrounding high peaks are visible through a misty haze. Circle Mountain looms above through light snowflurries. The wind has even dropped to a mere breeze.

[9]

November 16, 2010

As I leave headed back to Dubois I encounter the Sheep again who have now left the salt lick headed for somplace out of the weather. They pass so close to me that even a telephoto lens is barely needed.

[10]

November 16, 2010

I spend some time photographing and just visiting with these brave creatures of dizzying heights. They pass on by and head up the steep slopes of Whiskey Mountain.

[11]
November 16, 2010
Approaching Trail Lake I see what appears to be a fog bank rolling up the canyon with great speed. It is not a fog bank but another onslaught of wind driven snow that hits me with a punishing ferocity. For a time it is a total whiteout and I stop the truck at the head of Trail Lake which is just yards to my right but completely unseen. While waiting I get a call on the truck phone from Vicki wondering where I am and to tell me that Dubois was hit with this same wall some minutes earlier. Pretty wild. I am sporting a bad cold and she was not much in favor of me going out. I figure nothing could be better for a cold than exercise and fresh air.
Thirty minutes later the "sudden" storm is over and the clouds even breaking a little. I head for home and by wednesday morning I have a doozy of a cold that I am now nursing. Maybe I need some fresh air and a little exercise?

[1]

November 10,2010

Winter has taken its sweet time in arriving this year. Up to this last weekend we have had record breaking warmth and it has been quite dry with the exception of one snowstorm of about 3" over a week ago. Saturday afternoon was clouding up and the change towards winter was quite evident. Vicki and I had the opportunity to go to Jackson and spent some time walking along the beaver ponds at Scwabachers Landing along the Snake River. There were no people. We had the place to ourselves. The Grand Tetons themselves were reflected in a stormy looking reflection in nearly calm waters with no sign of a breeze whatsoever.

[2]
November 10, 2010
I am fortunate enough to stumble onto a pair of Muskrats working away along a beaver pond. both taking turns at preparing for winter.

[3]
November 10, 2010
I watch for some time as this little fellow climbs out of the waters up the steep bank into the tall mountain marsh grasses to cut and gather material for winter house keeping. His presence in the grass marked only by the movement of the grasses themselves. Then I watched him slip off the bank into the water with a mouthfull and swim along the bank only to dissapear underwater with his bounty headed for an unseen underground burrow. This little chore is repeated over and over. they are sure busy.

[4]

November 10,2010

It was nearly twilight when I stumbled onto these three Mallard Drakes casually resting and grooming along the shallows of a Beaver Pond. Their occassional outbursts of joyful quacking and light splashing of the waters was the only sound of an otherwise quite evening. A truely wilderness encounter.

For greater enjoyment of the photography simply click on a photo to enlarge it full screen

[1]
October 2010
It begins in early September. First a few spots of yellow and faded green. A little orange scattered amongst the Aspen goves. The temperatures are very cool in the morning. Even cold. Frost covers the ground most mornings. Days are warm and pleasant. The early morning sun filters amongst the groves even now illuminating trees in a little different brilliance. It is just a hint of what is coming within a matter of days. Elk are bugling. Their call echoing throughout the mountains and valley floors. There is a change in pace of all the birds and critters scurying about with a litle more purpose. The dog days of summer are gone replaced with this definite quick change of the season.

[2]

October 2010

Within days the early morning now casts lights filled with penetrating translucent colors. As shimmering and reflective as the Aspens themselves. This is the time of the Aspen clothed in the full glory of gold.

[3]

October 2010

frosted ground. Yellow and gold. Some orange and occassionally red in the trees. Mornings in as Aspen grove are a brilliance of color that dazzles the eye. even the white bark carries an ochre to greenish gold coloring. This year has been perfect for color as cool nights and dry days are the ingredient for the brightest of colors. Night time temperatures have been below freezing but not to the point of that killing kind of cold that turns everything to yucky brown and greenish black. It is a perfect year.

[4]

October 2010

It is pure pleasure to be able to walk amongst Aspen groves taking in their royal garments of gold. Listening to the lightest of breezes setting the leaves to music all due to the way their petiols[stems]are attached leaving the leaf perched almost precariously at the end. So well designed by our Creator for not only for function but for the enlightenment of all who will stop and take the time to see.

Birds and wildlife both large and small all inhabit this important ecosystem and also add to the pleasure of the visitor. Birds constantly add to the chorus of the leaves.

[5]

October 2010

Most days are warm and with very cool nights the time of the

aspen is not long lived. Leaves finally give way to wind and gravity falling as gold rain and covering the ground beneath with a beautiful gold carpet interspersed with grrens of browns of grass and reds of Wild Rose and Fireweed. It is all a grand kalidioscope show of nature.

After a rain or when a snow falls and melts the warmth of the day can heighten the senses with a wonderful odor that permeates an Aspen grove that is sweetly pungent and refreshing to the senses. A grand time to hike from grove to grove-taking it all in.

[6]
I especially love the early mornings and evenings to be out and following the light of the day illuminating the myriads of forms of the
aspen. Their contrasting colors and habitats with Pine-Spruce and Grass-Sagebrush all create a diversity of form, color and texture all contributing to such an elegant and calming viewscape.

[7]
October 2010
Their contrasting colors and shapes are also perfect backdrops to the mountains in this area.

[8]

October 2010

Vistas are perfectly framed with the enhanced coloring and brightness of Aspens such as in this scene looking towards Gannett Peak. The highest point in Wyoming at 13,804' south of Dubois.

[9]

October 2010

All too soon the Aspen season is over. In just a few weeks trees and groves have gone from touches of yellow and orange to bare trees deprived of their glorious cloaks. The gold of leaves on the ground have withered and dried and are brown colored as they begin to decay. Not lost but only a part of that returning to the soil the neccessary nutrients that once again bring forth a new season of growth climaxed by crowned gold.

The only gold now found is in the setting of the sun. The gold in clouds perhaps simply borrowed from a season of the Aspen.

By clicking onto each picture you can enlarge it to get a fuller impact of the wonderful and beautiful country known as the Greater Yellowstone in northwest Wyoming

(1)

Sept. 1, 2010

Several weeks ago my artist friend, Les Lefevre accompanied me up to Brooks Lake Lodge very early in the morning to deliver a painting I had sold. By the time we arrived at the lake the sun was barely breaking the horizon and casting its light across the face of the Breccia Cliffs. It is still and a heavy frost covers everything. The truck thermometer registers 19 degrees.

(2)

Sept. 1, 2010

While Les opens the gate into the Dude Ranch I snap a few pictures of the ranch horses in the corral next to the gate. They are way too busy eating to notice an artist gathering research. Breakfast is just way too important.

(3)
sept. 1, 2010
Les has never been over the Barber Point Road so forgetting myself just how it is I take him. It is a very nerve wracking road or more a trail. There is no turning back and no room for getting around another vehicle if you did meet one. It used to be one way and I don't know why they ever changed that. It is sheer off the side and straight up from above. I have heard reports of folks seeing a grizzly sow and two cubs during the summer in the area and it is worth having a look. It is certainly a perfect place for them. Bears or not it is a spectacular view when one takes his eyes off the road. Timbered ridges push far into the horizon topped by Downs Mountain and Glacier, the northern most glacier that makes up the largest glacial fields in the continental United states.

(4)

Sept. 1, 2010

After a good quarter of a mile of extreme exposure the road is no wider but the drop off is way less severe giving one somewhat a sense of safety. The view looks out across beautiful mountain meadows and spectacular views to the south such as this of Lava Mountain, an extinct volcano that stradles the continental divide which we are also doing at this point.

(5)

SAept. 1, 2010

I love photographing and painting what I refer to as little environmental niches such as these little spruce trees tucked in with a Whitebark Pine youngster accompanied by an old fallen log of possibly their Great Grandfather? The light of early morning hitting it at just the right angle gives the whole scene a look of wholesome majesty.

(6)

Sept. 1, 2010

The road gives way to more lenient driving and finally comes back to the hiway at Togwotee Pass and Wind River lake. The beginning of the Wind River itself. A beautiful lake tucked amongst the forest and high volcanic cliffs.

(7)

On west of Togwotee Pass is the Spread Creek country accessed from the Flagstaff Road. Les has never been here befor so as it is only 8 miles further on I have talked him into going as there is definitely a chance of seeing bears. Everytime I travel this dirt road I have run across Bear sign. we are not long onto the road when we run into very fresh bear droppings all along the road. With all the seeds I can tell they are heavily utilizing berries as a food source. Then for a few miles-nothing until we turn off onto the north fork Spread Creek road. There is more there. I am guessing there are two bears in the general area. We don't find our bear but sure find a lot of sign including tracks. It is still a beautiful morning and the frost has burned off where the sun hits. Warming fast with the rising sun. Spread Creek is a beautiful mountin stream coursing its way through willow thickets interspersed with numerous beaver dams and ponds. It derives its name where upon entering Jackson Hole it spreads out for quite a distance through many channels befor entering the Snake River.

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Sept. 1, 2010

The North Fork road deadends at this willow covered madow. Beyond is the wilderness of the Leidy Highlands. A spectacular mountain land of high ridges steep stream canyons and alternating timbered and open meadow country. A virtual American Serengheti of wildlife.

(9)
Sept. 1, 2010
Back out on the main dirt road I show Les Lilly Lake with its Beaver House. It is full of waterfowl and we spend a time identifying various species. Wading birds are always present here as well. Some years ago there was a Trumpeter Swan nesting pair who had used this pond for years found shot dead and left floating on the lake. A reward was offered and it was always hopeful that someone in a bar might braggingly give themselves away but it never happened. There is surely a special place for these kinds of idiots who we still call human beings

[10]

Sept. 1, 2010

BeyondLilly Lake the road drops off westward and declines in elevation through Aspens, Pine and Sagebrush covered slopes. Always with the Grand Tetons in the background. The road winds and switchbacks eventually coming back to the hiway at the Hatchet Motel and restaurant. A lot of magnificent and beautiful back country has been explored and enjoyed by us.

For the full impact of this magnificent country refered to as the yellowstone Ecosystem simply click on a picture for full screen coverage

[1]

August 9, 2010

Monday and I have the morning off from gallery duty and in this busy time that is a treat so by 5:30 in the morning I am at Kathys Koffee where Frank who is reading a book completely at peace with the world is surprised to find anyone up much less heading into the back country. With a hot cup of coffee I drive down the hiway east of Dubois and turn off on the East Fork road and again about 8 miles further on I decide to check out the lower reaches of the Wiggins Fork where I drive a ways then park the truck and walk to the edge of the steep decline peering over the edge into the Wiggins Fork river itself some 40 feet below. There is a cow Moose just below me browsing along on willows and it is still pretty dark for photos so I back off and return to the truck to finish off my coffee and let the world brighten up. The sun finally makes its way into out darkened world and first sets the clouds on fire befor doing the same to the land. First the mountains then lower it comes.

[2]

August 9, 2010

It is still pretty dark for pictures down in the bottom and she has seen me as I carefully walked to the edge of the precipice for my pictures. She has made her way far enough along that if I wait any longer she will dissapear into the heavy growth of brush and cottonwoods. It is enough of an incline that one cannot safely climb down. I wish for better light but this is the only chance I get.

[3]
August 9, 2010
I make my way farther upriver and begin hiking the river itself. The sun has not reached into the river bottoms but is putting on a light show with rainbows from scattered morning showers off to the west and south. I am really working my heel walking river rocks torquing this way and that way. it hurts but I am convinced it is good exercise for it.

[4]
August 9, 2010
The morning is warm and only a few mosquitos so hiking along is very pleasant. These cottonwood riparian areas are picturesque and fun to walk through and the morning view are magnificent. I suddenly get a whiff of a scent I have run across a number of times. It is that cross between a wet dog and something dead that has Bear signature all over it and this is definitely bear country. I love seeing bears but want to do so on my terms and this is not it. I back off and return to my truck. it may be nothing but I don't take chances.

[5]

August 9, 2010

Leaving the Wiggins Fork I run into two Whitetail deer standing in the light watching me as I watch them. It is very unusual for Whitetails to stand without running off and I enjoy the moment.

[6]
August 9, 2010
They can no longer stand it and are off with high bounds into the dark of the cottonwood forest. Flags waving in a saluting gesture.

[7]

August 9, 2010

The sun is now fully up as I drive on up to Bear Creek. The road makes its way along the edge of the timber on the creek side of the road and as I slowly drive along something catches my eye back in the cottonwoods below the road. I back up to get a better look and am fortunate to photograph this little fellow who just knows he is well hidden from prying eyes. Another great moment.

[8]

August 9, 2010

After spending some time along the creek I continue on up the two track road enjoying the mountain views marred only by the millions of dead evergrens from the devastating outbreak of Pine Beetles that have ravaged this area as well as most western forests from Alaska to Mexico. Last years reds hve given way to the grays of now bald trees.

[9]
August 9, 2010
Driving slowly again on the way back out of Bear Creek I am hopeful of catching sight of the fawn I had photograped earlier. From a ways up the road I see it and its mother out in the clearing and though I approach slowly and cautiously they are savvy to me and are off and I don't see them again. I do watch and capture a few photos of a Killdeer who is displaying her behavior of the broken wing act just to get me to follow her away from her nesting area. After a time as I follow her she wings off and circles back towards where she began the whole sherade.

[10]
August 9, 2010
The morning is over and I find that I have actually shot 96 pictures of some great research for paintings and memories of the morning. The East Fork country is full of great surprises and adventures at every turn. It is a fabulous country that I have witnessed from horseback to its headwaters to 4-wheel and easier traveled roads all unimproved even at lower elevations. This Photo is so typical of the varied forms of terrain that supports so many vistas and wildlife.

To get the full impact of this magnificent country we call the Yellowstone Ecosystem simply click onto an image to enlarge it to full screen size

[1]

July 19, 2010

I usually take mondays and tuesdays off at the gallery and from painting and spend that time in the mountains. Yesterday Vicki and I took off at 5:30 pm and headed towards the East Fork River trailhead. It is a 22 mile drive off the hiway over an increasingly rough road particularly the last 4 miles on the Shoshone National Forest. The scenery is to die for. Castle Rock rises skyward and is the leading landmark as you drive up the valley. This area is maintained for winter elk habitat and is amagnificent mix of badlands, high hills, grass and cottonwood filled valley floor. The road rises higher and higher towards the peaks of the Absarokas.

[2]

July 19, 2010

Leaving the valley floor we climb into the hills. Eocene era badlands give way to rock faces of many colors and descriptions. All lending themselves to a rainbow color of land forms.

[3]
July 19, 2010
We finally make our way up and over a pass and drop down into the East Fork Basin. This is wild country with many peaks and timber covered ridges interspersed with sage and the East Fork river itself flowing along the valley floor until it enters a deep canyon to emerge further down country onto those meadows we had followed just 30 minutes earlier.
I did a pack trip into the headwaters of the East Fork River several years ago and camped at the base ot the steep sloped mountain on the left. It is an extinct volcano.

[4]
July 19, 2010
Coming to the trailhead the afternoon is fast turning to evening with the westward coursing of the sun.
With bear spray, camera and lenses and binoculars in hand we hike up the steep trail that leads into the wilderness to where we can look out over the river bottoms both upstream and downstream being able to see a lot of country and mountainsides leading up above timberline. It is quite a view of a lot of great country

[5]

July 19, 2010

From a vantage point high above the river bottoms with binoculars it is fun to scan the countryside searching for wildlife that might be found among the sage, pine covered mountainsides. There has to be many including Grizzlies but they are just not visible to us. The river bottom is covered in willows that alone could hide anything.

We are alone in the basin except for the sounds of Clarks nutcrakers that are jay like going about their business announcing to all of our presence. That and the constant hum of mosquitos. Thank goodness for mosquito spray

[6]

Wildflowers cover the basin in an array of color and form. These American Bistort amongst the sagebrush and aspens are only a sampling of what can be seen.