Wyoming Skies

We saw a variety of skies on our trip to Wyoming.

Unfortunately, often they were hazy skies, due to the many fires in the west.

Even this iconic view of Mt. Moran from oxbow bend In Grand Teton N P had haze, probably a combination of water vapor and smoke.

 On the day we all went to Yellowstone we had clear blue skies followed by a night time down pour as we drove back to our lodging in Grand Teton.  Kudos to d-i-l Mimi for driving us back safely.

 Misty Morning sky

Morning light on the Tetons

Sunset

Night light

I'm linking to Skywatch Friday where you can see many more beautiful skies.

Where are the Wild Things?

Before I show you the wild things I want to get on my soapbox.We are fortunate in this country, we have parks and wilderness areas where we can go and experience nature.  Places where we can pretend that the modern world doesn't exist. While most of public lands are open to modern vehicles and equipment, these things have been excluded from wilderness lands.

Unfortunately, my own Congressman, Tom McClintock wants to change this.  His bill, HR 1349 would permit mountain bikes in wilderness lands.  Not only would bikes damage trails, they would disturb the very nature of wilderness.  If this passes I can't help but wonder what would be next, motorcycles?

Enough politics, let's find some wild things!

Our National Parks and our designated wilderness areas offer homes and refuge to a wide variety of wildlife.  Yellowstone offers habitat to a wide variety and one can see more large animals in a day in Yellowstone than most people will see in a lifetime.

I was surprised, then, to see nothing more than some squirrels while visiting the geothermal areas with my family, but I had already made plans to go back with Jules after the rest returned to their homes and I knew where to look.

We saw Trumpeter Swans in several places but it seems fitting that this one was in Swan Lake.

My destination, though, was Lamar Valley on the road to the road to the Northeast Entrance.  Our first sighting was of mountain sheep, right along the road.

Then we saw a herd of pronghorn.

I like these delicate looking animals and I was glad for my 400mm lens and new EOS 80 D which allowed me to get not great but decent images without invading their space.

Next, we encountered a herd of bison.  This guy was scratching himself on a rock, not far from the road.

I was a bit disappointed not to see wolves or elk as we had on a previous visit.  Many people know about Lamar Valley and the turn outs were full of people watching the animals.  Most were wise enough to respect the wildness and keep their distance.

  As we were leaving the park the next day I couldn't resist taking a picture of this blue heron.  We have plenty of them around here but I always enjoy seeing them.

Not the best image but one of my favorites, a shot of these bison along the Yellowstone river.  It is rutting season for this species and it was interesting to watch them square off against one another.

Check out Our World Tuesday to see more views of our wonderful world!

Traveling with a Disabled Individual

It is challenging to travel with a severely disabled person.  When planning our trip to Wyoming I had to keep in mind Michael's special needs.

 The ADA requirements here in the United States are a great help, most sidewalks have ramps at corners and most hotels offer one or more accessible rooms. The degree to which these rooms are accessible varies, though.  We were very pleased that the room at Springhill Suites had wide spaces between furniture making making it easy to negotiate with a wheelchair.  The tub had a fold-down bench and hand held shower making transfer and bathing easy.

Many hotels offer microwaves and small refrigerators, important items in accommodating those with special diets but the manager offered the use of a food processor when he learned that Michael required his food to be pureed.  We didn't take him up on it, though, as we had brought our own.

 

Accommodations in National Parks are a bigger problem.While accessible rooms are offered and some now have small refrigerators I have yet to see any with a microwave.

I was pleased to find Signal Mountain Lodge, a privately owned property on Jackson Lake in Grand Teton.  We didn't choose one of their accessible rooms, that room did not have a refrigerator or microwave.  After discussing our needs with a staff member we chose a room with easy access, a kitchenette and a lake view.  Michael enjoyed sitting on the deck and watching the boats bob on the water. 

Actually, we all enjoyed sitting on the deck enjoying the view!

When traveling with someone with special needs, know what is needed and ask questions.  I find most people want to help but they need to know what is required.

Vertical Harvest

From the window in our hotel in Jackson we could see a building across the street with what appeared to be blinking lights.  As it turned out, the lights were not blinking at all but trays of lettuce were passing in front of grow lights at Vertical Harvest, an indoor farm.

 The trays of lettuce move on what resembles a flattened Ferris Wheel.

 The top floor of the building is used for growing tomatoes.  Year around salads in a part of the country that has a short growing season.  According to their website the hire variously abled individuals to work in their operation.