We've finished our five day backpacking trip, only the mosquitos nibbled on us. No bear attacks. We're heading out to explore the other areas of the park. Animal count so far - 4 bears, 4 goats, 2 marmots, 10+ deer. More details later!
Mark and Joanna
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Orca Whales
posted at http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
Day 2
August 23, 2009
We are ready for the start of our backpacking trip tomorrow. I'm very excited. But, I should go back and tell you about today.
Our bed and breakfast was very charming last night. It was the Solstice Farm right outside Port Townsend. We had a huge bedroom, perfect for repacking and organizing for a backpacking trip. =) Breakfast on the farm was a 2.5 hour affiar. The couple who runs the place has led quite the full and exciting life. They told us all kinds of stories about their travels, different jobs they've had, and even all about their farm and lambing. They have about 45 lambs each spring. The food itself wasn't too long, but the stories that followed were interesting. This couple is very interested in sustainable living and told us all about how they built their house using wood deconstructed and recycled from other buildings. We learned about bringing the salmon back to their creek in the back, and even about a new way of logging sustainably.
After the stories and the repacking, we drove to the small town of Port Townsend. So far the Olympic Peninsula and it's small ocean towns remind me very much of Nova Scotia. We had lunch at an eclectic cafe called Fountain Cafe and then headed to the harbor for our afternoon whale watching cruise.
We couldn't have asked for better weather for our whale watching. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and the sea was calm. The weather was a chilly 65 on the dock and 55 on the water. We did get to follow a pod of female orca whales with a baby in tow. No males, but the females were fun to watch. We stayed with them for an hour - the maximum time a boat is allowed to follow whales. The whales were in travel mode and just coming up for air every so often. There was no jumping out of the water like at Sea World. =)
Once back on land, we hit up the Elevated Ice Cream Shop for some homemeade dessert and then drove an hour to Port Angeles.
Port Angeles is bigger than Port Townsend, but not by much. We had a yummy Dungeness Crab dinner at the Crab House and are now relaxing in our hotel, The Downtown Hotel.
Tomorrow we will start our 5-day backpacking trip, so no posts from me for a few days. It will be cold at night. Tonight we were chilly walking around in the 50 degree weather outside. The weather is still looking amazingly sunny with just a small chance of showers on Tuesday. We know this is a rainy area, though, so we are prepared for the rain. It looks like the highest high we will see is all the way up to 69 on one of the days.
Have a good start to your week ahead. We will post more in 5-6 days.
I attached a photo of the whale pod we saw.
Day 2
August 23, 2009
We are ready for the start of our backpacking trip tomorrow. I'm very excited. But, I should go back and tell you about today.
Our bed and breakfast was very charming last night. It was the Solstice Farm right outside Port Townsend. We had a huge bedroom, perfect for repacking and organizing for a backpacking trip. =) Breakfast on the farm was a 2.5 hour affiar. The couple who runs the place has led quite the full and exciting life. They told us all kinds of stories about their travels, different jobs they've had, and even all about their farm and lambing. They have about 45 lambs each spring. The food itself wasn't too long, but the stories that followed were interesting. This couple is very interested in sustainable living and told us all about how they built their house using wood deconstructed and recycled from other buildings. We learned about bringing the salmon back to their creek in the back, and even about a new way of logging sustainably.
After the stories and the repacking, we drove to the small town of Port Townsend. So far the Olympic Peninsula and it's small ocean towns remind me very much of Nova Scotia. We had lunch at an eclectic cafe called Fountain Cafe and then headed to the harbor for our afternoon whale watching cruise.
We couldn't have asked for better weather for our whale watching. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and the sea was calm. The weather was a chilly 65 on the dock and 55 on the water. We did get to follow a pod of female orca whales with a baby in tow. No males, but the females were fun to watch. We stayed with them for an hour - the maximum time a boat is allowed to follow whales. The whales were in travel mode and just coming up for air every so often. There was no jumping out of the water like at Sea World. =)
Once back on land, we hit up the Elevated Ice Cream Shop for some homemeade dessert and then drove an hour to Port Angeles.
Port Angeles is bigger than Port Townsend, but not by much. We had a yummy Dungeness Crab dinner at the Crab House and are now relaxing in our hotel, The Downtown Hotel.
Tomorrow we will start our 5-day backpacking trip, so no posts from me for a few days. It will be cold at night. Tonight we were chilly walking around in the 50 degree weather outside. The weather is still looking amazingly sunny with just a small chance of showers on Tuesday. We know this is a rainy area, though, so we are prepared for the rain. It looks like the highest high we will see is all the way up to 69 on one of the days.
Have a good start to your week ahead. We will post more in 5-6 days.
I attached a photo of the whale pod we saw.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
First day is the travel day
Posted at http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
Day 1
August 22, 2009
All vacations start out with a travel day. Our travel today was smooth and uneventful.
Our flight from Houston to Seattle was on time and even arrived 25 minutes early. Our luggage all arrived with no problems. We were a little curious how the backpacks would fair in the checked luggage. We used large duffel bags made to cover up backpacks for airline travel.
Lucky for us, Seattle just opened a brand new light rail transit from the airport (via a connector bus) to downtown. The light rail was easy and arrived in downtown only 2 blocks from the Avis rental car place.
After we rented the car, we ran a few errands like going to REI for stove fuel and home depot for Mark's hiking stick, and then boarded the Bainbridge Ferry to leave Seattle.
The ferry was rather interesting. I can't even estimate how many cars were fit on there in multiple levels. Then, we left the car and walked around the rest of the ferry for the 30 minute trip. The ferry featured itself as a free gym included as it measured laps for walking and encouraged passengers to use the stairs more than once for exercise.
We arrived in Bainbridge, and on the way to Port Townsend and our bed and breakfast for the night stopped at a local grill for a yummy steak and potatoes meal. The funny thing was we had to pass by multiple mexican food restaurants and a couple fast food joints before we finally found a place to eat.
Now we are at our bed and breakfast and headed to bed. The weather here is cool during the day and chilly at night. It is a nice change from the humid 100 degree Houston heat.
Tomorrow we will get ready for our backpacking trip and go whale watching in the Pugent Sound.
Good night.
Day 1
August 22, 2009
All vacations start out with a travel day. Our travel today was smooth and uneventful.
Our flight from Houston to Seattle was on time and even arrived 25 minutes early. Our luggage all arrived with no problems. We were a little curious how the backpacks would fair in the checked luggage. We used large duffel bags made to cover up backpacks for airline travel.
Lucky for us, Seattle just opened a brand new light rail transit from the airport (via a connector bus) to downtown. The light rail was easy and arrived in downtown only 2 blocks from the Avis rental car place.
After we rented the car, we ran a few errands like going to REI for stove fuel and home depot for Mark's hiking stick, and then boarded the Bainbridge Ferry to leave Seattle.
The ferry was rather interesting. I can't even estimate how many cars were fit on there in multiple levels. Then, we left the car and walked around the rest of the ferry for the 30 minute trip. The ferry featured itself as a free gym included as it measured laps for walking and encouraged passengers to use the stairs more than once for exercise.
We arrived in Bainbridge, and on the way to Port Townsend and our bed and breakfast for the night stopped at a local grill for a yummy steak and potatoes meal. The funny thing was we had to pass by multiple mexican food restaurants and a couple fast food joints before we finally found a place to eat.
Now we are at our bed and breakfast and headed to bed. The weather here is cool during the day and chilly at night. It is a nice change from the humid 100 degree Houston heat.
Tomorrow we will get ready for our backpacking trip and go whale watching in the Pugent Sound.
Good night.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Travel to Washington State
Posted at: http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
Our next adventure starts this Saturday when we take off for Washington State. We will be spending 2 weeks there soaking up the cooler weather. The bulk of our trip will be spent on the Olympic Peninsula in Olympic National Park including a 5-day backpacking trip in the Seven Lakes Basin. The last few days of our trip will be in Seattle where we will attend the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). PAX is a three-day game festival for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers.
I'll be posting to our travel blog during the trip, so stay tuned and prepare to live vicariously through our travels. =) For those that are interested, here is our itinerary:
Saturday, August 22, 2009
fly to Seattle, drive to Port Townsend
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Whale watching leaves from Port Townsend
Monday, August 24, 2009 - backpacking day 1
Enter backcountry: Sol Duc Trailhead
Sol Duc Trailhead to Sol Duc Falls to Deer Lake (4.6 miles)
Set up camp, day hike along Low Divide
Night: Deer Lake Campsite
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - backpacking day 2
Deer Lake to Bogachiel Peak to Hoh Lake (6.2 miles)
Set up camp, day hike to Olympus Ranger Station
Night: Hoh Lake Campsite
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - backpacking day 3
Hoh Lake to Bogachiel Peak to Heart Lake to Sol Duc Park (6 miles)
day hike along high divide
Night: Sol Duc Park Campsite
Thursday, August 27, 2009 - backpacking day 4
Sol Duc Park to Appleton Jct. to Appleton Pass (5.6 miles)
Night: Appleton Pass Campsite
Friday, August 28, 2009 - backpacking day 5
Appleton Pass to Appleton Jct. to Sol Duc Trailhead (8.3 miles)
Exit backcountry: Sol Duc Trailhead
Saturday, August 29, 2009 - Tuesday, September 1, 2009
day hike in Olympic National Park
nights in various campgrounds in the park
Wednesday, September 2, 2009 - Saturday, September 5, 2009
Seattle
Sunday, September 6, 2009
fly to Houston
Our next adventure starts this Saturday when we take off for Washington State. We will be spending 2 weeks there soaking up the cooler weather. The bulk of our trip will be spent on the Olympic Peninsula in Olympic National Park including a 5-day backpacking trip in the Seven Lakes Basin. The last few days of our trip will be in Seattle where we will attend the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). PAX is a three-day game festival for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers.
I'll be posting to our travel blog during the trip, so stay tuned and prepare to live vicariously through our travels. =) For those that are interested, here is our itinerary:
Saturday, August 22, 2009
fly to Seattle, drive to Port Townsend
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Whale watching leaves from Port Townsend
Monday, August 24, 2009 - backpacking day 1
Enter backcountry: Sol Duc Trailhead
Sol Duc Trailhead to Sol Duc Falls to Deer Lake (4.6 miles)
Set up camp, day hike along Low Divide
Night: Deer Lake Campsite
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - backpacking day 2
Deer Lake to Bogachiel Peak to Hoh Lake (6.2 miles)
Set up camp, day hike to Olympus Ranger Station
Night: Hoh Lake Campsite
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - backpacking day 3
Hoh Lake to Bogachiel Peak to Heart Lake to Sol Duc Park (6 miles)
day hike along high divide
Night: Sol Duc Park Campsite
Thursday, August 27, 2009 - backpacking day 4
Sol Duc Park to Appleton Jct. to Appleton Pass (5.6 miles)
Night: Appleton Pass Campsite
Friday, August 28, 2009 - backpacking day 5
Appleton Pass to Appleton Jct. to Sol Duc Trailhead (8.3 miles)
Exit backcountry: Sol Duc Trailhead
Saturday, August 29, 2009 - Tuesday, September 1, 2009
day hike in Olympic National Park
nights in various campgrounds in the park
Wednesday, September 2, 2009 - Saturday, September 5, 2009
Seattle
Sunday, September 6, 2009
fly to Houston
Monday, April 20, 2009
From Houston to Austin and back
The 2009 BP MS150 was scheduled to start in Houston on April 18th and finish in Austin on April 19th. However, Mother Nature intervened and due to storms and flooding, Day 1 from Houston to La Grange was canceled. However, Day 2 was beautifully sunny and we rode 80 miles from La Grange to Austin. Of the 13,000 registered riders, just over 11,000 showed up in La Grange for an 8am start on Sunday.
We biked with the Texas Instruments (TI) Team which joined with the Schlumberger Cycling Club (SCC) for the MS150. Our Sunday began by leaving Houston around 4am braced for traffic and a fight for parking spots. We arrived at La Grange before the crowd and had plenty of time to unload and get a parking spot at the Tractor Supply on Business 71, 2 miles from the official starting point. The SCC started here to get us out of the mess of starting with the other 11,000 cyclists.
We soon encountered a fierce headwind that blew in our faces all the way to Austin. A few brief blocks of tailwind were a wonderful reprieve of the headwind, but they were few and far between. Luckily with a group as large as the one that bikes in the MS150, there was almost always someone to draft behind. Mark, Erik, and I traded off pulling our pace line to Austin. Other than the wind, the weather was beautiful with temps in the 70s or maybe low 80s and not a cloud in the sky. Except for a few patches of water and some flooded farms we could not even tell that it rained cats and dogs the previous 2 days.
This year the three of us took the challenge route through the park. The trees kept the wind away and in return we climbed some steep hills. I'll take those hills to the wind any day though, as everything that goes up must come down and I could recover on the downhills.
I always love the MS150 bike ride because all the supporters along the route make me feel like a star. I yell out thank you to all the supporters, volunteers, and traffic cops who make this day possible. Meanwhile, all these people on the side of the road have all their signs telling me how much I'm appreciated. People who don't know me clap, jump up and down, and yell as I bike past. Its amazing. This year was the 25th anniversary for the BP MS150 and many long time riders were interviewed and singled out. We heard about one man who had ridden in the last 23 rides. He missed the first one only.
You can see my pictures and story through captions at this website:
http://photobooksolutions.com/personal/2009/ms150
We made it to Austin at 3:48pm and greeted the Welsh family who came to cheer us on. I was also able to visit with my Pate friends in their tent for a while. Mark and I finally left on one of the MS150 buses around 6pm to be dropped in La Grange about 2 miles from our car. Getting back on the bike was painful, but necessary. When we arrived home in Houston at 10pm we went right to bed. A long, but memorable day.
Thank you again to all those who supported me with donations. I'm still accepting donations through May 19th, so if you missed out on my first round requesting your help, feel free to visit http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/joanna.covington and contribute to the cause. I ride for my friend Sally and we all appreciate our supporters.
Here are some TV broadcasts about the ride:
Cyclists ride into Austin (Click2Houston, 4/20)
BP MS 150 finishes in Austin (KVUE-TV, 4/19)
Bubbles and more for the BP MS 150 (News 8 Austin, 4/19)
Thousands cycle for MS cure (KXAN-TV, 4/19)
I can't wait until the BP MS150 2010 on April 17-18.
We biked with the Texas Instruments (TI) Team which joined with the Schlumberger Cycling Club (SCC) for the MS150. Our Sunday began by leaving Houston around 4am braced for traffic and a fight for parking spots. We arrived at La Grange before the crowd and had plenty of time to unload and get a parking spot at the Tractor Supply on Business 71, 2 miles from the official starting point. The SCC started here to get us out of the mess of starting with the other 11,000 cyclists.
We soon encountered a fierce headwind that blew in our faces all the way to Austin. A few brief blocks of tailwind were a wonderful reprieve of the headwind, but they were few and far between. Luckily with a group as large as the one that bikes in the MS150, there was almost always someone to draft behind. Mark, Erik, and I traded off pulling our pace line to Austin. Other than the wind, the weather was beautiful with temps in the 70s or maybe low 80s and not a cloud in the sky. Except for a few patches of water and some flooded farms we could not even tell that it rained cats and dogs the previous 2 days.
This year the three of us took the challenge route through the park. The trees kept the wind away and in return we climbed some steep hills. I'll take those hills to the wind any day though, as everything that goes up must come down and I could recover on the downhills.
I always love the MS150 bike ride because all the supporters along the route make me feel like a star. I yell out thank you to all the supporters, volunteers, and traffic cops who make this day possible. Meanwhile, all these people on the side of the road have all their signs telling me how much I'm appreciated. People who don't know me clap, jump up and down, and yell as I bike past. Its amazing. This year was the 25th anniversary for the BP MS150 and many long time riders were interviewed and singled out. We heard about one man who had ridden in the last 23 rides. He missed the first one only.
You can see my pictures and story through captions at this website:
http://photobooksolutions.com/personal/2009/ms150
We made it to Austin at 3:48pm and greeted the Welsh family who came to cheer us on. I was also able to visit with my Pate friends in their tent for a while. Mark and I finally left on one of the MS150 buses around 6pm to be dropped in La Grange about 2 miles from our car. Getting back on the bike was painful, but necessary. When we arrived home in Houston at 10pm we went right to bed. A long, but memorable day.
Thank you again to all those who supported me with donations. I'm still accepting donations through May 19th, so if you missed out on my first round requesting your help, feel free to visit http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/joanna.covington and contribute to the cause. I ride for my friend Sally and we all appreciate our supporters.
Here are some TV broadcasts about the ride:
Cyclists ride into Austin (Click2Houston, 4/20)
BP MS 150 finishes in Austin (KVUE-TV, 4/19)
Bubbles and more for the BP MS 150 (News 8 Austin, 4/19)
Thousands cycle for MS cure (KXAN-TV, 4/19)
I can't wait until the BP MS150 2010 on April 17-18.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
From Belgrade to Houston
January 17, 2009
Today is our last travel day. We leave the tiny Bozeman airport with it's 5 gates and fly to Denver. I've always heard to avoid the Denver airport because of all the weather issues slowing down flights, but I have to say that this is a very well put together airport. There is free wifi which is always good. Plus there is a lot to eat and do. The signage here is wonderful. It's not such a bad place to have a layover. We're here for 6 hours, but so far we've stayed pretty busy. After all our flight delays traveling to Tulsa back in December, I was well prepared for delays for this trip. We traveled through 3 different airports that receive freezing temperatures and snow, but haven't had a single delay. All our shuttles and flights have been as scheduled.
When we were checking into Southwest at the Denver airport I was reminded of checking in with Delta at the Hayden airport a week ago. Delta, or at least Delta at Hayden had the most inefficient way of checking in baggage that I've ever seen. We arrived with a short line and they told us to put our luggage down in the line, leave one person standing with it, and the other walk over to the kiosks to check in. Since we were checking bags, they needed to see our ID. Well, Mark was over standing with the luggage. So, the Delta attendant found Mark and checked his ID. Then, I had to go to the ticket counter to actually get the luggage tags and they had to come get the luggage. It was insanely inefficient. Luckily at the time we were in no rush, but just shook our heads and laughed. Later, after walking around a bit, we saw the the line to check in to Delta was a mile long and there were piles of luggage stacked up in the zigzag part of the line blocking everything. What a mess.
Tomorrow we'll be getting back to normal life. It's been a very long vacation for us and we are thankful to be able to use it to travel. Though Monday will be hard, I think we're probably both ready to get back to work and sleep in our own beds for sure. Thanks for reading our blog and stay tuned for pictures.
http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
Today is our last travel day. We leave the tiny Bozeman airport with it's 5 gates and fly to Denver. I've always heard to avoid the Denver airport because of all the weather issues slowing down flights, but I have to say that this is a very well put together airport. There is free wifi which is always good. Plus there is a lot to eat and do. The signage here is wonderful. It's not such a bad place to have a layover. We're here for 6 hours, but so far we've stayed pretty busy. After all our flight delays traveling to Tulsa back in December, I was well prepared for delays for this trip. We traveled through 3 different airports that receive freezing temperatures and snow, but haven't had a single delay. All our shuttles and flights have been as scheduled.
When we were checking into Southwest at the Denver airport I was reminded of checking in with Delta at the Hayden airport a week ago. Delta, or at least Delta at Hayden had the most inefficient way of checking in baggage that I've ever seen. We arrived with a short line and they told us to put our luggage down in the line, leave one person standing with it, and the other walk over to the kiosks to check in. Since we were checking bags, they needed to see our ID. Well, Mark was over standing with the luggage. So, the Delta attendant found Mark and checked his ID. Then, I had to go to the ticket counter to actually get the luggage tags and they had to come get the luggage. It was insanely inefficient. Luckily at the time we were in no rush, but just shook our heads and laughed. Later, after walking around a bit, we saw the the line to check in to Delta was a mile long and there were piles of luggage stacked up in the zigzag part of the line blocking everything. What a mess.
Tomorrow we'll be getting back to normal life. It's been a very long vacation for us and we are thankful to be able to use it to travel. Though Monday will be hard, I think we're probably both ready to get back to work and sleep in our own beds for sure. Thanks for reading our blog and stay tuned for pictures.
http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
Winter Wonderland
January 16, 2009
Well, our vacation is coming to an end. We've been having a great time. I'm actually getting used to the snow now and bundling up to go outside. I love Yellowstone in the winter time. The views are just breathtaking. The landscape changes every day making taking photographs so much fun. I just can't get enough of this place. I would estimate that I've taken about seven gigs of photos in Yellowstone alone. That's approximately 1400 photos. And I could still take more. Plus there are so few visitors in the winter that we feel like we have the whole park to ourselves. We don't have to fight the crowds to see the mud volcano. The geysers and hot springs are so much more impressive in the winter as the steam billows out in the freezing temperatures. Plus you can see exactly where the ground is hot due to the brown patches surrounded by snow. The rivers that are fed from thermal waters run freely in the snow covered wilderness and steam as they travel. There is no traffic on the roadways except for the guided tours, so there are no traffic jams and less vehicles for the park to worry about. The number one killer of all animals in Yellowstone is the cars. You can find complete silence almost anywhere. The animals are much easier to spot with the snow on the ground. Not only can you see where they've been due to their tracks, but also they stand out against the white backdrop. Besides the wildlife, my next favorite thing to photograph and marvel at are the ghost trees. These are the trees that are covered with ice and frost formed from the thermal steam. They are white from afar and when you are close up, you can see all the ice crystals forming.
In fact, as we woke up today we saw that the whole park was covered in ghost trees. It was a perfectly sunny day and the clouds were low in the morning freezing to the trees in the form of hoarfrost. Or at least I think that's what happened. Beautiful. We took our last walk around Old Faithful and covered a much larger area seeing many of the hot springs and geysers in the basin. It hasn't snowed in several days and the snow is well packed along the boardwalks and pathways that foot travel is not a problem. The hardest part was not tripping in the holes caused by the bison crossing over the boardwalk.
Sadly it was time to go and we took the express Bombardier out to West Yellowstone. It was a quick ride. Along part of the way we traveled at the same speed as an eagle flying by. We watched the trumpeter swans swim in the Gibbon River and we even saw Elk grazing in a meadow. i definitely recommend visiting Yellowstone in the winter time. It is an amazing experience and a wonderful vacation.
We had about an hour to kill in West Yellowstone before we were picked up by the Karst Stage Shuttle, so we walked over to the Grizzly Discovery Center to watch the wolves howl in song and the Grizzlies play with tree limbs. (Grizzlies don't need to hibernate in the Center because there is enough food for them) The Discover Center was empty except for only a couple other people. It was a perfect way to end our journey.
Our Karst Stage Shuttle picked us up and we traveled into the night to the tiny town of Belgrade. Belgrade is the tiny town next to Bozeman that holds the airport. The Country Kitchen next to our hotel was still accepting dinner guests, so we didn't have to eat only potato chips and Cliff Bars. =) Tomorrow we will leave and encounter the normal world full of people and the bustle of life.
Below you'll see pictures of a plant covered in hoarfrost, Canadian geese, Mark and Joanna with some ghost trees, and a wolf at the Discovery Center.
http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
Well, our vacation is coming to an end. We've been having a great time. I'm actually getting used to the snow now and bundling up to go outside. I love Yellowstone in the winter time. The views are just breathtaking. The landscape changes every day making taking photographs so much fun. I just can't get enough of this place. I would estimate that I've taken about seven gigs of photos in Yellowstone alone. That's approximately 1400 photos. And I could still take more. Plus there are so few visitors in the winter that we feel like we have the whole park to ourselves. We don't have to fight the crowds to see the mud volcano. The geysers and hot springs are so much more impressive in the winter as the steam billows out in the freezing temperatures. Plus you can see exactly where the ground is hot due to the brown patches surrounded by snow. The rivers that are fed from thermal waters run freely in the snow covered wilderness and steam as they travel. There is no traffic on the roadways except for the guided tours, so there are no traffic jams and less vehicles for the park to worry about. The number one killer of all animals in Yellowstone is the cars. You can find complete silence almost anywhere. The animals are much easier to spot with the snow on the ground. Not only can you see where they've been due to their tracks, but also they stand out against the white backdrop. Besides the wildlife, my next favorite thing to photograph and marvel at are the ghost trees. These are the trees that are covered with ice and frost formed from the thermal steam. They are white from afar and when you are close up, you can see all the ice crystals forming.
In fact, as we woke up today we saw that the whole park was covered in ghost trees. It was a perfectly sunny day and the clouds were low in the morning freezing to the trees in the form of hoarfrost. Or at least I think that's what happened. Beautiful. We took our last walk around Old Faithful and covered a much larger area seeing many of the hot springs and geysers in the basin. It hasn't snowed in several days and the snow is well packed along the boardwalks and pathways that foot travel is not a problem. The hardest part was not tripping in the holes caused by the bison crossing over the boardwalk.
Sadly it was time to go and we took the express Bombardier out to West Yellowstone. It was a quick ride. Along part of the way we traveled at the same speed as an eagle flying by. We watched the trumpeter swans swim in the Gibbon River and we even saw Elk grazing in a meadow. i definitely recommend visiting Yellowstone in the winter time. It is an amazing experience and a wonderful vacation.
We had about an hour to kill in West Yellowstone before we were picked up by the Karst Stage Shuttle, so we walked over to the Grizzly Discovery Center to watch the wolves howl in song and the Grizzlies play with tree limbs. (Grizzlies don't need to hibernate in the Center because there is enough food for them) The Discover Center was empty except for only a couple other people. It was a perfect way to end our journey.
Our Karst Stage Shuttle picked us up and we traveled into the night to the tiny town of Belgrade. Belgrade is the tiny town next to Bozeman that holds the airport. The Country Kitchen next to our hotel was still accepting dinner guests, so we didn't have to eat only potato chips and Cliff Bars. =) Tomorrow we will leave and encounter the normal world full of people and the bustle of life.
Below you'll see pictures of a plant covered in hoarfrost, Canadian geese, Mark and Joanna with some ghost trees, and a wolf at the Discovery Center.
http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
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