“Whiskey is for drinking;
water is for fighting!”
Fresh water is an essential western
resource, and the battles over water rights in the Western region of the United
States can be bruising. Famed humorist Mark Twain is often given credit for this
incisively funny remark about water.
Irrigation is the lifeblood of
the western states and attorneys specialize in water litigation out west.
Irrigation was the first priority of pioneer landowners in the arid west. They
dug canals to bring the water from the streams through the valleys and dug
lateral ditches to bring the water to the towns and agricultural crops. These irrigation
systems have been improved and even incorporated into legal irrigation
districts, but in many places the old 1880’s canals and ditches are still seen
and being utilized.
Water shortages in
bureaucratic systems have long been a source of conflict. State is pitted
against state and region against region in the political struggle. The fight
will continue as long as water is allocated by politics instead of the market
or until the water vanishes.
My interest however, is how
the old, original irrigation systems are still effectively delivering water
after 140-years. These longstanding irrigation systems are surviving in the old
towns and small valleys, where things have not changed much over the years. Just
too remote and not much room for growth! You can see water flowing in ditches
that are 140-years old and amazingly not much maintenance has been done. Even
more interesting is that erosion is generally not an issue. Because of the
rocky soil composition, erosion is minimized but sedimentation occurs,
requiring some cleaning of the lateral ditches. In the south, a small lateral
irrigation ditch would erode into a canyon in a brief period of use. I find
western irrigation history and associated irrigation systems interesting and
water is only becoming more critical. If the current trend continues water
issues will spell an economic end to food and fiber markets in the west and
that will be felt by all of us.
Tuesday morning, September 24,
2019
This morning we had a sleep-in
at the Fireside Buffalo Valley RV Park in Moran, Wyoming, just south of the
parks. For breakfast, we made Chiles Rellenos, finished to perfection in our
convection oven.
My first notes must be to
recap yesterday’s trip from Wapiti, Wyoming to Moran Junction, via the east
gate of Yellowstone National Park. Traveling up the North Fork of the Shoshone
River was a very scenic ride. The North Fork Highway, the road to Yellowstone's
East Gate, follows the North Fork from Buffalo Bill Dam Visitor Center all the
way to Pahaska. The canyon road is paralleling the North Fork of the Shoshone
River and meandering through some of the most magnificent mountain scenery in
the nation. As you ascend through the forest, cliffs and narrow columns of
volcanic rock carved by water and ice begin to appear on both sides of the
canyon. These formations, including Chimney Rock, are the remains of ancient
volcanic dikes. Geologically, the section of the Absaroka Range in Wyoming
consists of volcanic breccia, whereas there is a transition to granite and
gneiss bedrock further north of the state line, into Montana. We observed this
transition and the amazing formations that occur from this material.
Entering the east gate of
Yellowstone, we continued our climb along the Shoshone River headwaters. As we ascended
Sylvan Pass (8530-feet), we encountered snow at 8000-feet but the road had been
plowed and was drying in the sun. At Sylvan Pass, we walked around, admired the
views, played in the snow, and took a picture. The downhill drive from Sylvan
Pass was easy and scenic, with views of Yellowstone Lake, the steam vents, and
the Tetons far to the south. We stopped at overlooks for pictures and spotting
with our binoculars. There were lots of Bison and some birdwatching. Around
Steamboat Point to Fishing Bridge, the road construction made for rough towing
but the slow, stop-and-start pace provided opportunity to admire the scenery
and wildlife.
At Gull Point Drive, we found
a nice picnic spot and had a picnic lunch. It was cool but the sun felt very
nice. This location was perfect for our picnic!
Heading on south, through the
Parks, we turned east at Moran Junction, to the Buffalo Fork of the Snake River.
Fireside Buffalo Valley RV Park will be base for our visits to Yellowstone and
Teton Parks.
We love Fall in the Yellowstone
Country, there’s always plenty of room to breathe in the cool, clear mountain
air, but in the fall, there’s even a little more. Autumn in Yellowstone Country
is pure gold. Elk are bugling. Birds are migrating overhead. Hillsides are
aflame with tamaracks and rivers are lined with the oranges and yellows of
aspen and cottonwood trees. Evening sunlight filters through autumn’s hues.
Fall is the time to take a scenic drive, explore, picnic, walk trails, or just
sit-and-watch. It’s the time to see the Yellowstone Country in full color.
Tuesday afternoon, September
24, 2019
We made a picnic and headed to
Teton’s Colter Bay. Located on the shores of Jackson Lake with the majestic
Grand Tetons as a backdrop, Colter Bay is a super-scenic setting. We toured the
Visitor Center, then hiked the Lakeshore Trail on Colter Bay and Jackson Lake. The
water was so blue and clear, with the Tetons reflecting on the surface, it was
picture-perfect. We saw lots of color and splendid views of the Tetons from the
east side. We returned to our picnic and then headed back to base camp for a
rest after a good hike. It was another great day in Yellowstone Country!
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Looking for something new, we
decided to visit Grand Teton’s, Two Ocean Creek today. Two Ocean Creek is an
unremarkable little forest stream in person, but, as you might guess from its
name, it's the only creek in America that flows into two oceans.
Anyone who's driven over the Rocky Mountains has probably
seen signs for the Continental Divide, the backbone of North America. What the
Continental Divide actually divides is watersheds. Everything on its western
slope drains into the Pacific, and everything on its eastern slope into the
Atlantic. But its most unusual feature might be one little creek in Wyoming, which
drains into both.
Two Ocean Creek splits into
Pacific and Atlantic Creeks at Two Ocean Pass, along the Continental Divide.
Pacific Creek travels southwest into Grand Teton National Park and receives
outflow from Two Ocean and Emma Matilda Lakes just before it empties into the
Snake River, immediately northwest of Moran, Wyoming. Atlantic
Creek flows into the Yellowstone, Missouri, and Mississippi Rivers.
That means that the
Continental Divide through the Teton Wilderness isn't a line. Around Two Ocean
Creek, it bulges into a whole, high valley over a mile wide. To me, a fan of
maps and geography, this is a nice little jewel-of-a-secret of Grand Teton
National Park.
After our exploration, we had
lunch at Jackson Lake Lodge and later walked the ridge trail for some grand
views of the Lake, Tetons, and some Bull Elk. We also encountered a Wildlife Cinemaphotographer,
attending the “Jackson Wild Summit” convention at Jackson Lake Lodge. A large
gathering of these folks was there for a film festival and meeting. They make
wildlife video for documentaries. Gordon, our acquaintance, works for National Geographic.
We had an interesting conversation and he was very excited to demonstrate his
two-hundred-thousand-dollar video camera. Opportunely, we got to view two Bull
Elk through the camera system, which can magnify 90-times.
Glad we went!
Thursday, September 26, 2019
We arose to a “killing frost”
this morning in the Buffalo Valley, not the first here but the first for us. This
will be good for the Fall colors but the tender vegetation is going fast.
Today, we head down to Jackson
for a five-day stay in town. The sun is coming up over the mountains and beginning
to melt the frost and warm the campsite, so we’ll hook-up and move before lunch.
Cruising the 30-miles down
Jackson Hole Valley to Jackson was a pleasant drive with spectacular views of
the Sage flats, the Tetons, lakes, and the glacial moraines. The warm sun, on a
clear day, felt really good in the cool NW wind.
We shopped and resupplied at
Jackson, then took our campsite one-block off the Square, at the Kudar Resort. We
strolled and shopped the Jackson shops in the afternoon, had dinner and then
had an evening stroll around town.
Friday, September 27, 2019
What a difference a day can
make! Fall in Jackson turned to Winter overnight! Weather in the high country
is unpredictable and can change rapidly, so we’re hoping Fall will return after
this weather front passes!
We had a Bar-B-Q lunch at
Jackson and then drove around town, with sprinkles, and sun breaking-through
periodically, accompanied by a cool wind.
Regardless of the rain, today,
we plan to visit the National Elk Refuge, which is really a refuge for all
sorts of animals and birds. We hope to see some today! My new word today is “ungulate”,
(a diverse group of primarily large mammals with hoofs). I want to see a large
herd of Wapiti, of the ungulate class!
We also visited the National
Fish Hatchery, which is also located on the National Elk Refuge. We had a very
informative, enlightening, and educational guided-tour which was given by a
knowledgeable, conversant docent. What an amazing job they do in producing the
native fish and providing stewardship of the fisheries.
I also visited the Wyoming
Fish and Wildlife Headquarters in Jackson, and enjoyed the interesting displays
and materials on Wyoming Wildlife. A very nice building and a pleasant surprise
for wildlife conservation and management information.
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Overnight, rain turned to snow
and we got out our winter gear and headed to the Cowboy Coffee Shop. We decided
that College Football would be the best attraction for today. Concurrently, I’m
catching-up on my stuff-to-remember notes.
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Another wet, cold, snowy day, so
we headed to the Cowboy Coffee Shop. We had lunch at the Liberty Burger, a
quality hamburger place. After lunch, we
headed to the theater to see Downton Abby. The movie, and settings, costumes
were really stunning on the “big screen”!
In the evening, we went for a
walk around town and dropped in at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, Jackson
Hole’s landmark honky-tonk. It was a great day for inside activities!
Monday, September 30, 2019
We started our cold day at the
Cowboy Coffee Shop then took a trip out to the Gros Ventre Slide area. The Gros
Ventre landslide (groh-VAHNT) is in the Gros Ventre Wilderness of Bridger-Teton
National Forest, on the Gros Ventre River. The massive landslide came down
Sheep Mountain, leaving a mile-wide scar. Billions of tons of rock damed the
river and created a lake. Several years later the dam broke and now the scar
and debris are all that remains. The piles of debris seen today contain large
chunks of Tensleep Sandstone, along with remnants of the original forest. It’s
a geological wonder to imagine to the power of the landslide.
Today, our trip up and down
the Gros Ventre River canyon was very scenic, with Fall colors and river
overlooks. We made some pictures and headed back to Jackson Hole. We had a late
lunch in Jackson and stayed inside most of the remainder of the cold day.
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Western Wyoming places of
interest today, traveling from Jackson Hole to Rock Springs.
On July 5, 1840, Father
Pierre-Jean De Smet offered the first Holy Mass in Wyoming. A monument to the
event stands on its site one mile east of Daniel.
Before the present-day town of
Daniel, the Green River Rendezvous, a gathering of fur trappers and traders,
was held at the site six times, from 1833 to 1840.
At Pinedale, Fossil Butte National
Monument, perfectively preserved fossils are found in the flat-topped ridges of
southwestern Wyoming's cold sagebrush desert. Baffling to realize that this was
once a seabed.
Killpecker Dunes is one of the
largest active sand dune fields in North America. The ice-cells are a surreal
feature.
Near South Pass, this area was
traversed by the Oregon Trail and the Pony Express route.
We could clearly see Pilot
Butte where the actual trail ruts of the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer,
and Pony Express National Historic Trails passed the landmark.
At Eden, Wyoming, we witnessed
the Pronghorn migration. This agricultural area is a perfect place for the
herds of Pronghorn to winter.
At the Little Sandy crossing,
on Monday evening, June 28, 1847, Brigham Young and Mormon pioneers met James
Bridger and party near this place. Both companies encamped here over night and
conferred at length regarding the route and the possibility of establishing and
sustaining a large population in the valley of the Great Salt Lake. Bridger
tried to discourage the undertaking. In this conference he is reported to have
said that he would give one thousand dollars for the first bushel of corn grown
in the Salt Lake Valley.
At Rock Springs, we took a
campsite at the Rock Springs KOA Journey, a convenient spot just north of
I-80.
10/2/2019 9:56 AM
The morning started
comfortable but cold and snow began about mid-morning, obscuring historic Pilot
Butte. Pilot Butte is a prominent landmark used by the early pioneer travelers,
but now it’s for communication towers. After consideration, we decided to take
three nights at Rock Springs to relax, explore and drive the Flaming Gorge
Scenic Byway.
It’s a good day to look out
the window or go to the museum or go downtown! Terry decided to use our new vacuum
and it worked so well that she decided to vacuum Daisy’s bed-cover. It
instantly ate the whole thing! Use your tools!
Thursday, October 3, 2019
With a clear, cool, blue-bird
day, we hit the coffee shop at Green River, then took the circuitous,
loop-drive Flaming Gorge Scenic Byway, for a day-trip around the gorge. We explored
the west side in the morning and the east side in the afternoon, with a picnic
lunch at the Red Canyon Lodge overlook, on the south end. The Flaming Gorge sprawls
from Wyoming, south into Utah, so there’s a lot to see.
The west side provides some
expansive vistas and lofty overlooks, with great views of the water and
canyons. Looking out over great distances, you wonder how anything could live
here but the fact is, there is abundant wildlife.
Along the south end we could
see 30-million years of geology, in a glance. Over the several-hundred-millions
of years, the land has experienced many different environments, from tropical
seas to deserts. Abundant layers, formations and assorted fossils verify it
all. The whole area rises from 6,000 to 8,400 feet in elevation and many slopes
had great Fall colors.
On the east side, the Byway
ventures east into the side-canyons and washes, giving an enlightening
experience of the basin. US 191 descends down to Rock Springs offering views of
jagged escarpments, off in the distance. At around mile 17 on US 191, the
sagebrush flats turn to pinyon and juniper. A few miles farther and this has
become an alpine drive, with aspen the predominant roadside tree. This stretch
had some high ledges with no guard rails, so watch out for flat-landers,
hugging the middle of the road.
The Flaming Gorge Scenic Byway
encircles the gorge and lake, where you can just soak-up the scenery and
experience the amazing diversity of the huge National Recreation Area. Made of
spectacular red canyon walls and arid green forest, the Flaming Gorge National
Recreation Area sprawls across the southwest region of Wyoming and the northeast
region of Utah. Flaming Gorge Reservoir is the largest reservoir in Wyoming, on
the Green River, impounded behind the Flaming Gorge Dam. The dam, in the south
end of the gorge, is a water-storage and hydroelectric generation facility,
with an informative Visitor Center.
With the lake inundating the course
of the 1869 Powell Expedition, many of the landmarks that he described on his
journal are still visible today. Our only disappointment was a large road-killed
Elk on the east side. In my opinion, and my experience with Parks and Wildlife,
people drive out-of-control in the wild areas. Shame on drivers who kill
wildlife when it could be avoided.
We had a real-fine day in the
Flaming Gorge Country!
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