The dock at Gananoque, Ontario Prov. Our tour boat is moored at the end of the pier.
10 March 2010
Yellowstone National Park August 2009
Mary Lou and I spent the last four days of August 2009 at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel, pictured below, in Yellowstone NP. Construction on some of the roads limited our access to some of our favorite parts of the park and the weather didn't cooperate on at least one day, but we still enjoyed ourselves. (Left-click mouse on photos to enlarge them)
The Lake Yellowstone Hotel, viewed from the distance to get all of the sprawling four-story building into the picture.
The front entrance view of the hotel from the lake side
The hotel is on the National Historic Registry (NHR), despite the boxy appearance of the architecture. The building needs renovating and updating, but they are limited on what they can do by the NHR requirements to keep it historically accurate. Despite the worn interior in spots, it still was a lovely place to spend four days. Great ambiance and good food at the restaurant.
For the antique car lovers, a fully restored 1937 White touring bus (with a modern drive train and chassis.)
Note that because the hotel is in a national park, they don't do fancy, non-indigenous landscaping.
We had our share of thunderstorms that disrupted our sightseeing
I got one decent sunrise from the lakeside in front of the hotel.
A closeup of the sunrise.
We didn't see as many American bison, or buffalo, this year as in 2008 (see earlier post under "08," Custer State Park
I got a closeup view of this old timer plodding down the road.
Came across this coyote hunting for meal on our first day in the park.
Coyotes are a lot smaller than wolves (which we didn't see this year).
The coyote is checking out a burrow mound for a potential meal inside it.
We got a real close view of this bull elk alongside the road.
Perhaps I was getting a little too close, but he didn't look too happy with me so I backed off.
Got plenty of opportunity because of the weather to take photos of wildflowers. (Wild asters above.)
A golden eye.
Wild sticky geranium.
Dalmatian toad flax
Cinquefoil
The waterfalls on the Yellowstone River are impressive.
This is a closeup of the top of the falls from the previous photo. Note the people to the right give perspective to the size of the falls.
This river gorge is known as the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone."
The Lake Yellowstone Hotel, viewed from the distance to get all of the sprawling four-story building into the picture.
The front entrance view of the hotel from the lake side
The hotel is on the National Historic Registry (NHR), despite the boxy appearance of the architecture. The building needs renovating and updating, but they are limited on what they can do by the NHR requirements to keep it historically accurate. Despite the worn interior in spots, it still was a lovely place to spend four days. Great ambiance and good food at the restaurant.
For the antique car lovers, a fully restored 1937 White touring bus (with a modern drive train and chassis.)
Note that because the hotel is in a national park, they don't do fancy, non-indigenous landscaping.
We had our share of thunderstorms that disrupted our sightseeing
I got one decent sunrise from the lakeside in front of the hotel.
A closeup of the sunrise.
We didn't see as many American bison, or buffalo, this year as in 2008 (see earlier post under "08," Custer State Park
I got a closeup view of this old timer plodding down the road.
Came across this coyote hunting for meal on our first day in the park.
Coyotes are a lot smaller than wolves (which we didn't see this year).
The coyote is checking out a burrow mound for a potential meal inside it.
We got a real close view of this bull elk alongside the road.
Perhaps I was getting a little too close, but he didn't look too happy with me so I backed off.
Got plenty of opportunity because of the weather to take photos of wildflowers. (Wild asters above.)
A golden eye.
Wild sticky geranium.
Dalmatian toad flax
Cinquefoil
The waterfalls on the Yellowstone River are impressive.
This is a closeup of the top of the falls from the previous photo. Note the people to the right give perspective to the size of the falls.
This river gorge is known as the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone."09 March 2010
Grand Teton National Park, 2009
We spent six days inside Grand Teton NP last year. Three days at Jackson Lake Lodge and three days at the Signal Mountain Lodge, with four days at Yellowstone wedged in between the two lodges. Grand Teton has become my favorite national park to visit. We visited it in 2008 and we spent more time at it this year so that we could enjoy its many varied attractions. (See "08" postings under "Sep" for other pictures.
A great view of a sunrise reflected on Mt. Moran and it's siblings with Jackson Lake in the foreground.
A closeup photo of Mt. Moran in the early morning light.
Mt Moran has a wedge of metamorphic rock (diabase) in its granite that almost looks like caulking. Note that it is harder than the granite and hasn't eroded as much as its neighboring granite. Mt. Moran also has a thin topping of sedimentary sandstone rock from the time before it rose up from a prehistoric ocean floor.
Another Grand Teton mountain with "chalking" up the middle.
A view of the mountains later in the morning from the banks of the Snake River.
Took this picture of Willow Flats (in mountain shadow) and mountains on our first morning at the Jackson Lake Lodge.
Another view of Mt. Moran.
A view of the mountains from the valley floor.
A few of the big mountains, including Grand Teton itself, in Grand Teton NP.
The horses in the foreground were inside the park and used for recreational touring.
You may agree with Mary Lou that I took entirely too many photos of mountains at Grand Teton NP.
Spotting moose was a big thrill for us at Grand Teton NP
Got see plenty of moose toward the end of our visit to Grand Teton NP.
Got see a mother and child grouping along side the Snake River.
I took a "float ride" down the Snake River for a different perspective of the park.
Another vista from the Snake River float ride.
Seeing this bald eagle, and three others like it, along side the Snake River was a highlight of the float ride.
We saw this bull moose also along the Snake River.
I was surprised to see this blue heron along side a small creek inside Grand Teton. It was a chilly morning with the temperature just about freezing.
Watched these elk cross the Snake River about a half mile below the Jackson Lake dam.
We have seen plenty of elk on both our trips to Grand Teton NP.
Enjoyed photographing the butterflies near our cabin at Signal Mt. Lodge.
A different butterfly sharing the nectar with a bee
More butterflies!
This inquisitive deer visited us at our cabin at Signal Mountain. She came up to about 10 feet of our door. No telephoto lens needed!
The objective of mama deer's attention was her baby who was wandering about nearby.
Found this bumblebee outside the restaurant at Signal Mountain.
Found this blue columbine wildflower near the Jackson Lake Lodge
These horses are corralled just outside the NP, but provide a wonder foreground for the mountains.
Saw this moose and the ones below as we left Grand Teton NP on our last day there.
Moose aren't supposed to be grazing out on the sage covered flats outside the park, but apparently the Park rangers forgot to tell them that.
We saw these two hummingbirds, among a dozen or more present, outside Grand Teton NP near the Idaho - Utah border high in the mountains at a visitor's center. They sure were beautiful!
A great view of a sunrise reflected on Mt. Moran and it's siblings with Jackson Lake in the foreground.
A closeup photo of Mt. Moran in the early morning light.
Mt Moran has a wedge of metamorphic rock (diabase) in its granite that almost looks like caulking. Note that it is harder than the granite and hasn't eroded as much as its neighboring granite. Mt. Moran also has a thin topping of sedimentary sandstone rock from the time before it rose up from a prehistoric ocean floor.
Another Grand Teton mountain with "chalking" up the middle.
A view of the mountains later in the morning from the banks of the Snake River.
Took this picture of Willow Flats (in mountain shadow) and mountains on our first morning at the Jackson Lake Lodge.
Another view of Mt. Moran.
A view of the mountains from the valley floor.
A few of the big mountains, including Grand Teton itself, in Grand Teton NP.
The horses in the foreground were inside the park and used for recreational touring.
You may agree with Mary Lou that I took entirely too many photos of mountains at Grand Teton NP.
Spotting moose was a big thrill for us at Grand Teton NP
Got see plenty of moose toward the end of our visit to Grand Teton NP.
Got see a mother and child grouping along side the Snake River.
I took a "float ride" down the Snake River for a different perspective of the park.
Another vista from the Snake River float ride.
Seeing this bald eagle, and three others like it, along side the Snake River was a highlight of the float ride.
We saw this bull moose also along the Snake River.
I was surprised to see this blue heron along side a small creek inside Grand Teton. It was a chilly morning with the temperature just about freezing.
Watched these elk cross the Snake River about a half mile below the Jackson Lake dam.
We have seen plenty of elk on both our trips to Grand Teton NP.
Enjoyed photographing the butterflies near our cabin at Signal Mt. Lodge.
A different butterfly sharing the nectar with a bee
More butterflies!
This inquisitive deer visited us at our cabin at Signal Mountain. She came up to about 10 feet of our door. No telephoto lens needed!
The objective of mama deer's attention was her baby who was wandering about nearby.
Found this bumblebee outside the restaurant at Signal Mountain.
Found this blue columbine wildflower near the Jackson Lake Lodge
These horses are corralled just outside the NP, but provide a wonder foreground for the mountains.
Saw this moose and the ones below as we left Grand Teton NP on our last day there.
Moose aren't supposed to be grazing out on the sage covered flats outside the park, but apparently the Park rangers forgot to tell them that.
We saw these two hummingbirds, among a dozen or more present, outside Grand Teton NP near the Idaho - Utah border high in the mountains at a visitor's center. They sure were beautiful!
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