Parenting is a negative thing. Keep your children from killing themselves, or anyone else, and hope for the best.
- Erna Bombeck
Monday, August 31, 2015
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Quote of the Day
Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own mind.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Quote of the Day
I’m all in favour of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let’s start with typewriters.
- Solomon Short
- Solomon Short
Friday, August 28, 2015
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Quote of the Day
It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.
- Isaac Asimov
- Isaac Asimov
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Quote of the Day
Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
- Calvin Coolidge
- Calvin Coolidge
Monday, August 24, 2015
Quote of the Day
There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.
- Victor Hugo
- Victor Hugo
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Quote of the Day
Imagine there’s no heaven; it’s easy if you try
No hell below us, above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today
Imagine there’s no countries; it isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace
- John Lennon
No hell below us, above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today
Imagine there’s no countries; it isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace
- John Lennon
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Quote of the Day
Most people would like to be delivered from temptation but would like it to keep in touch.
- Robert Orben
- Robert Orben
Friday, August 21, 2015
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Quote of the Day
A hippie is someone who looks like Tarzan, walks like Jane and smells like Cheeta.
- Ronald Reagan
- Ronald Reagan
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Quote of the Day
A man of great common sense and good taste, meaning thereby a man without originality or moral courage.
- Walter Besant
- Walter Besant
Monday, August 17, 2015
Quote of the Day
The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances; if there is any reaction, both are transformed.
- Carl Jung
- Carl Jung
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Bears and wolves in Yellowstone
My last post from the US will be a return to Monday 7/27, when we spent over an hour in the freezing cold at around 6:30-8AM to watch three grizzly bears and 2 wolves duking it out for an elk carcass. We'd decided to get up early to catch the sunrise and maybe to have a better chance of seeing animals, and since a certain someone had read that the upper plateau (the part with Old Faithful in) was supposedly a good spot, we set off shortly after 5AM.
We stopped to take some pictures of the sunrise, but we did not see a single animal until we came to the road that connects the eastern and western halves of the Yellowstone traffic system. A couple of minutes in, we saw several cars parked along the road and people were all staring south. I parked and we got out. First I saw one wolf at the edge of the field. Then I saw another in the woods. And then I saw the bears. We spent over an hour there, taking loads of pictures and talking to other tourists and some locals.
We were told that the wolves had killed an elk either Sunday morning or Saturday night, but that the bears had now moved in and were staking their claim for the carcass, which I can only assume was dwindling fast. Apparently this is not uncommon behavior and can as easily happen the other way. What was special about this kill was that the wolves and the bears were now sharing the meat, if not in peace, then in a grudging acceptance of each other.
I also overheard some local old timers talking about the lineage of the wolves and Albie apparently saw pups at one point. There's actually an organization with their headquarters in Gardiner which tracks all the known wolves in Yellowstone, with family history and everything. Anyways, watching these magnificent animals was the highlight of my trip, possibly the highlight of all my trips everywhere and one of the greatest single moments of my life.
I started out with over 600 pics, but I have cut it down considerably - the whole photographic loot of 127 remaining photos can be viewed here.
At this point I only had eyes for the lone wolf in the field.
Then I saw the bears.
Three of them, in fact.
The elk had originally been slain down in the field, but the bears had dragged parts of the carcass into the woods. Here, a wolf is back at the source.
Later, the bears also went down there for refills. Every time one of the two species went down there, a huge flock of birds lifted from the dead elk. In many other pics you can also see several types of birds of prey sitting around in the trees, biding their time.
At one point, one of the wolves was alone up in the woods and used the time to tear off some good sized chunks.
At another, one of the wolves demonstrated her gender...
Later, she took off, possibly to check on the puppies. We then packed up and were ready to leave, but she came back, so we stood for another 15 minutes.
Beautiful doggie.
This one time, a wolf got too close.
And the bear reacted.
But it was just a warning, not an attack.
And soon they were back to stuffing snout at a somewhat respectful distance.
At one point, early in the proceedings, one wolf actually laid down in between three bears. I've never even heard of such behavior.
This is the last useful photo I took. The wolves had gone and two bears were mopping up the scraps. It had been a magical event, where the beauty and the savagery of nature were both on display and my love of Yellowstone has never been stronger than it was then and there.
We stopped to take some pictures of the sunrise, but we did not see a single animal until we came to the road that connects the eastern and western halves of the Yellowstone traffic system. A couple of minutes in, we saw several cars parked along the road and people were all staring south. I parked and we got out. First I saw one wolf at the edge of the field. Then I saw another in the woods. And then I saw the bears. We spent over an hour there, taking loads of pictures and talking to other tourists and some locals.
We were told that the wolves had killed an elk either Sunday morning or Saturday night, but that the bears had now moved in and were staking their claim for the carcass, which I can only assume was dwindling fast. Apparently this is not uncommon behavior and can as easily happen the other way. What was special about this kill was that the wolves and the bears were now sharing the meat, if not in peace, then in a grudging acceptance of each other.
I also overheard some local old timers talking about the lineage of the wolves and Albie apparently saw pups at one point. There's actually an organization with their headquarters in Gardiner which tracks all the known wolves in Yellowstone, with family history and everything. Anyways, watching these magnificent animals was the highlight of my trip, possibly the highlight of all my trips everywhere and one of the greatest single moments of my life.
I started out with over 600 pics, but I have cut it down considerably - the whole photographic loot of 127 remaining photos can be viewed here.
At this point I only had eyes for the lone wolf in the field.
Then I saw the bears.
Three of them, in fact.
The elk had originally been slain down in the field, but the bears had dragged parts of the carcass into the woods. Here, a wolf is back at the source.
Later, the bears also went down there for refills. Every time one of the two species went down there, a huge flock of birds lifted from the dead elk. In many other pics you can also see several types of birds of prey sitting around in the trees, biding their time.
At one point, one of the wolves was alone up in the woods and used the time to tear off some good sized chunks.
At another, one of the wolves demonstrated her gender...
Later, she took off, possibly to check on the puppies. We then packed up and were ready to leave, but she came back, so we stood for another 15 minutes.
Beautiful doggie.
This one time, a wolf got too close.
And the bear reacted.
But it was just a warning, not an attack.
And soon they were back to stuffing snout at a somewhat respectful distance.
At one point, early in the proceedings, one wolf actually laid down in between three bears. I've never even heard of such behavior.
This is the last useful photo I took. The wolves had gone and two bears were mopping up the scraps. It had been a magical event, where the beauty and the savagery of nature were both on display and my love of Yellowstone has never been stronger than it was then and there.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Zion: More Bighorns
That last day at Zion was magical - not only had we walked several miles and seen several attractions - it was rounded off by taking a car trip through the tunnel to the eastern part of the park, where we saw not one, but two groups of Bighorns up close. Afterwards it was dinner at Zion Lodge and as we were walking back to the cabin we could see several deer grazing on the lawn, just a couple of feet away from us. Perfect way to end our two week tour and my six week vacation.
We first spotted this group, not long after the tunnel. We also saw them when we came back, and they were much closer then. But my pocket camera was out of power and I just couldn't be bothered to pull out the big one. So I just stood and enjoyed the sight of these magnificent animals.
The other group was just about where I'd photographed a herd a month before. Possibly they were the same animals.
The alpha male and his missusses.
This was taken on the exact same ridge as the last pic of my previous post.
We first spotted this group, not long after the tunnel. We also saw them when we came back, and they were much closer then. But my pocket camera was out of power and I just couldn't be bothered to pull out the big one. So I just stood and enjoyed the sight of these magnificent animals.
The other group was just about where I'd photographed a herd a month before. Possibly they were the same animals.
The alpha male and his missusses.
This was taken on the exact same ridge as the last pic of my previous post.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Zion: The Narrows
We'd been talking a lot about going up The Narrows, which is, as the name implies, a narrow passage of river which is supposedly quite beautiful. However, we'd probably need wetsuits or something similar, at the very least some proper shoes. Additionally, none of us really had the necessary physical stamina to do something like this on such short notice. But we agreed that we would at the very least walk up from the last bus stop to the entrance of the Narrows.
Multicolored rocks bear witness to the eroding effect of water.
The path winds along the right hand side of the Virgin river for about a mile.
It then stops abruptly and you need to get your feet - at the very least - wet to proceed several miles upstream. One day... one day...
The squirrels in this part of the park are unbelievably cheeky and sadly unafraid of humans. I watched several almost get trampled in the frenzy to get some goodies off of stupid tourists.
This pic almost looks like it's a painting.
Multicolored rocks bear witness to the eroding effect of water.
The path winds along the right hand side of the Virgin river for about a mile.
It then stops abruptly and you need to get your feet - at the very least - wet to proceed several miles upstream. One day... one day...
The squirrels in this part of the park are unbelievably cheeky and sadly unafraid of humans. I watched several almost get trampled in the frenzy to get some goodies off of stupid tourists.
This pic almost looks like it's a painting.
Zion: The valley floor
After Weeping rock, we crossed the road on foot and then proceeded to walk to the next bus stop, over the narrow valley floor. I took some pics here, mostly in black & white.
Lush and green.
Notice the greenish leaves at the bottom, near the trunk.
Plenty of colors.
Black and whites.
Lush and green.
Notice the greenish leaves at the bottom, near the trunk.
Plenty of colors.
Black and whites.
Monday, August 10, 2015
Zion: Weeping Rock
After the Emerald Pools we took the shuttle up to Weeping Rock. This is another overhang, where the water has been dripping for thousands of years. We were told that tests had confirmed the water running down the rocks to be appx. 1,200 years old; that's how long it takes to pass through the layers of sandstone.
This water is 1,200 years old.
There's a platform along the overhang where the water runs down. It's usually full of Asian tourists taking selfies.
The views in Zion are puuuurdy.
There are some nice places on the steep path up there too.
I'm no geologist, but I think what's happened here is a tree split the rock in two.
Naturally, I was skeptical of Weeping Rock.
This water is 1,200 years old.
There's a platform along the overhang where the water runs down. It's usually full of Asian tourists taking selfies.
The views in Zion are puuuurdy.
There are some nice places on the steep path up there too.
I'm no geologist, but I think what's happened here is a tree split the rock in two.
Naturally, I was skeptical of Weeping Rock.
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Zion National Park: Emerald Pools
After Glacier we hurried down to Zion for the final chapter of this six week odyssey. We got there in the early morning and when I saw a sign that said they had available room up at the lodge we made a quick decision to book it, damn the budgetary consequences.
The first touristy thing we did afterwards, was to walk up to the first of three levels of the so-called "Emerald pools".
I suppose emeralds are a shade of green, but this was somewhat underwhelming.
The multicolored walls curved inwards due to the water carving out rock over the centuries.
I'm told it's quite the sight to see when there's more water coming down.
And from certain angles it still looked nice.
But as a whole, I was still skeptical of the place.
The first touristy thing we did afterwards, was to walk up to the first of three levels of the so-called "Emerald pools".
I suppose emeralds are a shade of green, but this was somewhat underwhelming.
The multicolored walls curved inwards due to the water carving out rock over the centuries.
I'm told it's quite the sight to see when there's more water coming down.
And from certain angles it still looked nice.
But as a whole, I was still skeptical of the place.
Friday, August 7, 2015
Return to Glacier
After the wildlife & scenery bonanza that was Yellowstone, we set course for Glacier National Park in Montana. Fires had closed the eastern parts of the park, but the western bit was open up to and including Logan Pass. Albie, who grew up in Switzerland felt very much at home in Glacier, as did I when I first saw it.
"The hills are aliiiiiiiive..."
I love those Alpine meadows.
All sorts of wildflowers in all colors grow here.
From the bend in the road where they stopped traffic because of the limited parking up at Logan. We waited for appx. 45 mins and were then allowed to drive up in groups.
I still want my little, red cabin placed in that clearing just above the trees.
Needless to say, I was skeptical of Glacier.
"The hills are aliiiiiiiive..."
I love those Alpine meadows.
All sorts of wildflowers in all colors grow here.
From the bend in the road where they stopped traffic because of the limited parking up at Logan. We waited for appx. 45 mins and were then allowed to drive up in groups.
I still want my little, red cabin placed in that clearing just above the trees.
Needless to say, I was skeptical of Glacier.
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