As we made our way towards the back of the ranch and the Snake River, we came across a scene rare for July... a large bull elk with all his antlers, accompanying and bugling to a harem... a herd of cows (females) and young calves. Apparently this doesn't usually happen until fall during the rut or reproductive season. We watched them for a while until they spotted us and started leaping over the buck rail fence. Once all the females were over, the bull followed. Three calves ran up and down the fence line until they figured out how and where to cross. It was super cool to see. I got a blurry photo of the bull.
Elk bugling is heard fairly often around the ranch and I only recently learned what the strange sound was. Click here to check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYzWmKlZtrU. Our time along the river was cut short due to watching the elk herd, but the sun had just come up and it was still beautiful! There were geese, a red tailed hawk, white pelicans and even trumpeter swans. No bald eagles or great grey owls today. speaking of wildlife, this week some strange "scat" (poop) was discovered about 100 feet from the crew cabins on the path to the stocked pond. There was initial debate whether it belonged to a mountain lion or wolf but the consensus was eventually mountain lion. Now that's a little scary! The maintenance guys said they've been finding little deer legs around the ranch too. Nature takes its toll ;(
Along the way, various wildflowers and plants and were highlighted, including the Common Mullein (below).
Also called bunny's ear and flannel leaf, the leaves of common mullein have been used as lamp wicks as well as toilet paper. A member of the snapdragon family, its leaves were once placed inside of shoes to provided both warmth and softness. The dried leaves on the long stalk have been used since the time of the Romans for torches (once they had been dipped into tallow). Legend states that such torches were used by witches or were used to repel witches, giving rise to one of its many common names of "hag taper." “Quaker rouge” refers to the practice of reddening cheeks by rubbing them with a mullein leaf. And a yellow dye extracted from the flowers has been used since Roman times as a hair rinse as well as to dye cloth. Mullein tea is a traditional treatment for respiratory problems, such as chest colds, bronchitis and asthma. Both the leaves and flowers contain mucilage, which is soothing to irritated membranes, and saponins, which make coughs more productive. Research has shown that the herb has strong anti-inflammatory activity, and lab studies suggest that mullein flower infusions have antiviral properties, as well.
Many of mullein’s traditional medicinal uses were similar throughout the Old and New World, but whether European settlers learned to use the herb from Native Americans or vice versa is open to debate. Besides using mullein leaf and flower teas to treat respiratory problems, some Native Americans also used the plant’s roots. The Creek Indians drank a decoction of the roots for coughs; other tribes smoked the roots or dried leaves to treat asthma.Topical applications were equally varied. The Cherokee rubbed mullein leaves in their armpits to treat “prickly rash.” Leaf poultices were used to treat bruises, tumors, rheumatic pains and hemorrhoids. Mullein flower oil (made by steeping the flowers in warm olive oil) also has been used for treating hemorrhoids, as well as earaches.
Mullein... who knew?! Just one of many interesting plants along our walk. We were also told that wildflowers at our elevation are going to seed now and are on their way out after a brief 2 months long appearance. Glad I got to enjoy them! As we circled back towards the lodge for 7:30 AM breakfast, we were treated to some hot air balloons floating past the Tetons. Lovely ;) Some co-workers of mine are going paragliding this week, taking flight from a mountain peak in the Tetons. At $285, that's a 10-15 minute thrill I can pass up.
Finally, as I walked around the ranch on my own, look who I found! The moose's mate was chomping on tree leaves about 100 yards away, right in the middle of the guest cabins. Never gets old. I frequently forget that moose can be more aggressive and dangerous than bears or bison. They seem so innocuous when eating and minding their own business.
After breakfast, I went on my first all day horseback ride. This one involved trailering the horses (6) about an hour northeast into the park and starting our ride there.
This ride is called "Potholes" because it winds through miles of glacial kettles. These depressions commonly pockmark outwash plains, such as in the Potholes area of the park. Kettles/potholes form when a block of stagnant ice becomes wholly or partially buried in outwash and ultimately melts, leaving behind a pit. They can be a few or hundreds of feet long, but are generally wider or longer than they are deep. In many cases, water eventually fills the depression and forms a kettle pond or lake. Trees take root in some kettles creating forest islands, while water pools in other kettles forming tiny wetland communities. We saw our first one, with water in it, about 15 minutes into the ride.
As we rode, we spotted more, some dry, some wet.
We crossed miles of rolling hills, covered in dry sagebrush. It was a hot, dry day, and we actually cut the ride short a bit so as not to exhaust the horses.
These photos may be my favorites of me on horseback since I arrived in May. As always, the Teton views were beautiful. Our seasoned wrangler eventually found a small group of trees and some logs for us to sit on to eat our lunch, hearty sandwiches prepared for us at the ranch. We tied up the horses in the shade and everyone got a rest before we headed back after eating and some picture taking.
My horse today was Dove. I rode her a few weeks ago for team steer penning... a sweetheart ;) Above, that's us in the middle of the pack.
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