Donkeys, Scout and the chislers

The other day as we were finishing work, we walked out into the field where the 3 little donkeys live. They don't do much other than serve as the ranch "mascots." The guests love them, and I can see why... two of came right up and just kept nuzzling and head butting me. My "boss" took a picture ;)

This little guy Moe is the father of the the "round" brown one...

On another critter-related note... I have my cat Scout with me here on the ranch. She's 16 and pretty content to stay in my cabin and just look out the screen door and watch the birds. The last few days, the weather has been beautiful, so I decided to let her out under my watchful eye. She just sort of slinks through the tall grass and goes under the cabins to roll in the dirt. They're all raised or on blocks. When I head back to work, she gets put back in the cabin because there are coyotes, hawks, eagles, etc that could do her harm.

I noticed her looking at something and realized it was a very friendly baby prairie dog, otherwise known as a chisler. Ranchers hate them because they dig holes that people and horses step in. Scout had other ideas. They actually started playing! In the photo above, Scout is actually reaching out very gently with her paw and touching the baby prairie dog.

Before long, two baby chislers were popping in and out of holes in the ground, nuzzling each other and Scout and even me! No mother in sight. I have a feeling there may be a lot more where these two came from...

There was no chasing or biting, just very sweet and gently play. I couldn't believe my eyes. I'd say they've all made friends for life. Welcome to Wyoming...

Sunday bike ride to church through the Grand Teton National Park

I decided to bike the 9 miles to church through the park this morning and try out my new park pass which I bought yesterday.

I flashed it at the ranger station as I left the ranch, and started peddling. It's 9 miles, 2-3 of which are over dusty dirt roads with pot holes. My new mountain bike, complete with bell and granny basket, handled them well. Car traffic was light on a Sunday morning.

Crossing a creek above...

I didn't see any wildlife during my 18 mile ride, despite the Moose Wilson Road normally being a prime viewing route. The ranger said a moose had been spotted but I didn't see it ;(
I took a leisurely ride and arrived an hour and 10 minutes after leaving the ranch. My first view of the little Episcopal Chapel of the Configuration was worth the trip! No, this isn't a postcard!

The Chapel was built in 1925 on land donated by Maud Noble. It is constructed of lodge pole pine logs with pews made of local aspen wood. It served dude ranchers and tourists at a time when the 12 mile buck board ride into Jackson was time consuming and uncomfortable.




Two Presidents have attended services here, Carter and Clinton, and a Henry Fonda movie featured the Chapel in 1963. It's now on the National Register of Historic Places. 

The window behind the altar perfectly frames the Cathedral group of the Teton Mountain peaks. Best part of today's service was that they took up the collection.... in a cowboy hat! ;)

The ride home was beautiful and uneventful, and I crossed a number of streams and small bridges. Great day checking out the local national park for the first time!

A day in Jackson...

After working Monday through Friday, I had the weekend off so I ventured into Jackson, 15 miles away. It's Memorial Day weekend and also Old West Days with a parade, shoot out re-enactments, stage coach rides, live music, food and Brewfest! I ran some errands first and then started my day by exploring the Jackson Hole Historical Society Museums in town. There are 3. First I stopped at the Cache Street Gallery to check out their exhibits on old Jackson and the settlement of the area in the 1800s.

 For $18, a head of household got 160 acres and merely had to "improve it".

A typical homestead cabin

 

A replica hunting camp. Apparently, hunters and trappers carelessly killed almost 40,000 bison and the entire population of wolves around 1900. Both species had to become "protected" in order to rebuild their populations to current levels. Wolves were only reintroduced into the area in the 1990s, and once again are causing trouble for local ranchers by killing cattle and elk.

 Bison, wolves and trapper exhibits.... snowshoes and dog teams were common transportation. truly, a fascinating look at the difficult lives of the original settlers here.

Jackson Hole was home to some of America's first guest dude ranches.

From here, I walked a few blocks to the Mercill Archeology Center.

This stratigraphy wall above shows layers of earth from current times going back 13,000 years to the Paleo-indian times. Examples of artifacts and bones that have been unearthed locally are shown in each layer. Points from the various periods are also placed in an exhibit. Once again, fascinating....

Finally, I walked a few more blocks to visit the 3rd Historical Society Museum, dedicated to the Indians of the Greater Yellowstone. Mostly Shoshone and Crow, they existed here for thousands of years, living peacefully with the bison, wolves and later fur traders and settlers.

There was an exhibit devoted to their trading beads, showing how they evolved from local materials to things like copper and glass from far away regions of the world, including Russia, China, Canada and beyond.

There were cases with tools, arrow heads/points, elaborately beaded clothing, hunting gear and head dresses, tipis (tee pees), and even a big horn sheep trap, cleverly placed to catch sheep that were driven and herded into it, then clubbed in the head and used for their horns, skins and meat.

The Indians revered and respected the animals and their spirits and medicinal qualities.

 Tiny carved flint artifacts, obviously for fun or decoration and not just tools...

 

Horns of bighorn rams were used to make prized and highly traded bows.

After getting my local history fix, I headed to the town square to see Old West Days activities and enjoy a few cold, locally brewed beers at Brewfest. There are antler arches on all four corners of the square and a bronze statue at the center.

Statue below of John Colter, from Wikipedia:
John Colter (c.1774 – May 7, 1812 or November 22, 1813) was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806). Though party to one of the more famous expeditions in history, Colter is best remembered for explorations he made during the winter of 1807–1808, when he became the first known person, of European descent, to enter the region, which became Yellowstone National Park, and to see the Teton Mountain Range. Colter spent months alone in the wilderness, and is widely considered to be the first mountain man.

 

Stage coach rides... $6

Brewfest featured tastings by 16 breweries from Idaho to CA, OR, WA and Montana, and of course Wyoming.

An ID gets you a wrist band, and it's $5 for a souvenir mug. Tastings (3 oz) cost a $1 token. I'm not sure if it's just strong IPA beers or the altitude, but 3-4 was all I could handle. No really!
 

Afterwards, I headed back to the ranch and had it all to myself for a few hours since the entire crew was still at Brewfest ;) I heated up some ribs, pasta and green bean leftovers from last night, grabbed the local newspaper and had a late lunch on the front porch of the lodge. Another perfect day!

Evening walks around the ranch...

The last two nights, I ate so much I was determined to get out and walk after dinner. The ranch is about 300 acres and bordered on one side by the Snake River and on another by Grand Teton National Park. There is plenty to see. This is the creek where people go tubing in July and August, with horses nearby.

 

These are the ranch horses grazing after being sent out to pasture at day's end. As you can see, they're quite friendly.

 

The ranch has 3 adorable little donkeys... that's my co-worker Darcy from CA.

  I saw a handsome pair of elk on tonight's walk. Wish I could have gotten their 

faces  instead of their tails ;)

This is the creek that runs through the ranch and a beaver dam in the foreground.

And this (below) is the beautiful Snake River, allegedly full of trout. The ranch Manager said that an elusive grizzly and her cub were spotted on the opposite bank recently. It's a little rare for them to venture down from Yellowstone into GTNP. I walked with my bear spray just in case. Black bears and their cubs are much more common this time of year.

Another view of the Snake River at sunset with Aspen trees along the banks and snowy peaks in the background.

Everything here is so green right now it almost glows...

 

This was a pond along the way... 

 

We have LOTS of horses on the ranch, about 80....

One final shot of the snowy peaks in the distance as I returned home and the sun was setting behind me...