USA 2018 (16), Aerial magnificence!

Tags

Bristol Airport, California, Colorado, Grand Canyon, Ivanpah, KLM, Los Angeles, Mojave Desert, Rockies, Schifhol Airport, USA, Utah, Wyoming, Yellowstone

USA 2018 (16), Aerial magnificence!  The Los Angeles/Amsterdam flight was of course an hour late taking off on Sunday, 25th February. This time the reason given was ‘an incident in the hold on the previous flight’. Is that all you’re going to tell us?! Oh well, I’d a few hours to pass at Schiphol, before my 9th and final flight of the trip(= chance for luggage to be mislaid), to Bristol, so no worry, (though others were not as able to be as laid back about it, with much tighter connections to make). I had been allocated the window seat at the right hand side of the plane, so I took a few photos on my tablet – camera not easily accessible – as we rose above the LA coastline.Then I turned to my book. That is, until I remembered that there was a good chance we might be flying over the Mojave Desert.  We were, though only over the southern part, I later discovered. What on earth are these incredibly bright lights, apparently within saucers? Alien invaders? When I got home I was able to discover that they had been part of the controversial and biggest solar energy scheme in the world, the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility, on the California/Utah border. Wow! (The ‘saucers’ had been an optical illusion – the constructions were flat in reality.)

The scenery grew more and more spectacular. I started to wonder whether we might be going over Yellowstone in due course.  The answer was no – the flight map showed we would be going too far south, over Utah and Colorado rather than over north-west Wyoming.  I was riveted to the window.  Was it possible that this was the Grand Canyon?  If not, it’s amazing viewing even so. (A check with my atlas once I was home confirmed that indeed this had been the Grand Canyon, and the Rockies in Colorado.) We were cruising at between 33,000 and 39,000 feet.

There was no way I was going to avert my eyes from the window now. The flight attendant had to disturb me from my reverie to serve me the first meal.  I was glued to the window until we flew into the eastern dusk, with the sun setting behind us.What an amazing end to an amazing fortnight!

And here endeth the 16-part account of a most amazing trip to the United States, one I’ll never forget.  I’ve had enormous pleasure in writing it up, and selecting from the literally thousands of photos I took. Some kind people I know have read every post. To you and everyone who has dipped in, thank you so much for coming along with me on the journey!

USA 2018 (12), the beautiful day’s end

Tags

Bison, Cooke City, Gardiner, Mammoth Hot Springs, Natural Habitat, Travertine, travertine terrace, wolves, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

USA 2018 (12), the beautiful day’s end.  As we arrived in Mammoth Hot Springs, around 3.30,  we learned that contingency alternative accommodation had been reserved for us in Gardiner, but also that the authorities were hoping that the road to Cooke City would be cleared by 5.30.  So instead of continuing straight on with our journey, Jeremy took us on a visit that had been intended for a day or so later, while Drew stayed behind to do whatever had to be done.  This visit was to the Upper Travertine Terraces.  Where silica is the main mineral which separates out from the hot water in the Old Faithful area, at Mammoth it is limestone. (I did ask if the remains of a mammoth had been found in this area, but it seems the name comes from the size of the terraces.)  This was perhaps the only time in the whole of the trip where I might have preferred to have been there in warmer weather.  The extreme cold meant that the water vapour was so very extensive that it was difficult to get a full idea of the splendours. Our nevertheless lovely walk was a There-and-Back one.

From the start of our walk There

I kept finding myself a little behind the group as I stopped to take photos

When we were at the furthest extent of There, Jeremy had a call to say that the road to Cooke City was now clear, an hour earlier even than hoped. Great! We could continue on our way!

We start walking Back to the vehicles, in the shade, as the sun starts to disappear behind the mountains

In the course of this time in the Mammoth area we said goodbye to our faithful snow coaches, and reverted to Natural Habitat ‘ordinary’ Sprinters. On this last lap of the day, a further couple of hours’ driving, pretty well due east now, it was minus 23ºC/minus 9ºF.

 

Drew said there was a rule that drivers should do nothing to impede the intended paths of the wildlife, but that it was not always respected. Here it was the bison who moved over and decided to impede us!

 

And then it became too dark to take any more photos.

The last two days were to be spent concentrating on wolves…

USA 2018 (11), What a beautiful ride!

Tags

Cooke City, Gibbon Falls, Golden Gate, Huckleberry Ridge, Krakatoa, Mammoth Hot Springs, Mule deer, tuff, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

USA 2018 (11), What a beautiful ride! Little commentary necessary for this magic afternoon.  I’m still in the seat next to the driver.(And since publishing the last post, I have discovered how to eliminate the blue effect of the smoky windscreen glass, although it does leave a slight distortion of colour towards brown.) Our first stop was at Gibbon Falls.

 

Just to prove I haven’t made up this whole extraordinary adventure

The walk back to the vans

Our road continued. The amateur geologist in me was fascinated by the yellow stone (er… Yellowstone?) through which we were driving.

Golden Gate

 

(My battery ran out!)

I have since discovered that the yellow stone is a thick layer of tuff thrown out 2.1 million years ago from one of the huge (Krakatoa was hundreds of times smaller) volcanic explosions, and it’s called Huckleberry Ridge Tuff.

What’s this? Mule deer!

What is it about an animal with snow on its nose?

It was about his time that we learned that Drew and Jeremy had been keeping something from us that had been worrying them for two whole days. We were (relatively) fast approaching a spot called Mammoth Hot Springs. The road onward to Cooke City, where we were to spend the next two nights, had been blocked for two days…

 

USA 2018 (10), Mud pots and fumaroles

Tags

Bison, Bombadier, Fountain Paint Pot, fumarole, geyser, hot spring, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen sulphide, Lower Geyser Basin, Madison Information Station, Mud pot, Old Faithful, red-breasted nuthatch, snow coach, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

USA 2018 (10), Mud pots and fumaroles. Our next stop for a walk in Yellowstone National Park, this Monday, 19th February, was at the Lower Geyser Basin.

Dead lodge pole pines, with petrified bases. They have absorbed the prevailing silica material through their roots, and ‘frozen’.

More evidence that bison like warm water

Here we learned more from Drew about hot springs, fumaroles, and mud pots, having already learned about geysers, such as Old Faithful. We saw for ourselves how vegetation and even small birds could thrive in well below freezing ambient temperatures. At 7.30 this morning, it had been minus 2º Fahrenheit, which sounds even colder in Celsius – minus 19º.  Photos can show the water vapour/steam – but not the rotten eggs smell of hydrogen sulphide, H2S, (“very poisonous, corrosive, and flammable” – Wikipedia) which invaded the nostrils from time to time, and had done the previous day also.

 

Red-breasted nuthatch, at the edge of the field of mud pots.

Regaining our yellow snowcoaches, we found one of those dark red Bombadiers, the precursors of the modern vehicles we were travelling in. Onwards and northwards.

Snowmobiles approaching, and in the distance, the northern edge of the most recent (640,000 years ago) Lava Creek caldera

 

This is my very favourite bison portrait

Not a human footprint in sight

After a short while we reached our next warming hut, Madison Information Station I think, where we took lunch (in the company of a load of snowmobilists) – and were visited by a coyote.

  I saw no-one give him/her anything to eat!

 

USA 2018 (9) Old Faithful!

Tags

Bison, Bombadier, Old Failthful, Old Faithful Snow Lodge, Snowmobile, Sprinter, Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

USA 2018 (9) Old Faithful! Monday 19th February was the very best day for me on the Yellowstone adventure, in terms of experiences. Masses of snow on the ground, none falling, Old Faithful, clear skies for much of the time, excellent wildlife sightings, and I had the privilege of being in the seat beside the driver all day. We were not due to leave until 10 a.m., but baggage had to be outside our rooms for collection by 7 a.m., so there was no chance of a lie-in.  I chose not to go out for a group walk at 8.00 a.m., so was able to enjoy a somewhat more leisurely breakfast than usual. I heard a rumour that Old Faithful was due to blow next at around 9.00.  (Formal predictions don’t start until a little later in the day.) I was planning to go out for a little walk on my own before departure, so my destination was clear.

Quietly steaming away

False alarm

Around 9.15, she did blow. I tried a couple of videos.

 

I’ve since read that the difference between the temperature of the emerging steam and that of the ambient atmosphere on a really cold day can be some 115 deg C/240 deg F.

I dawdled back to Snow Lodge.

A snow plough had cleared a broad path – the bank seen here came almost up to my waist.

We shortly set off in our Sprinter, a yellow one this time. (All our vehicles were Sprinters; they were just adapted for different road conditions.) Maximum speed allowed: 25 mph, but we were able to do considerably less for most of the time – all the better for enjoying the views.

The eye can disregard the smoked glass of the windscreen, the camera does not lie.

Bison enjoying the steam/water vapour – I am reminded of the picture at the Museum in Jackson Hole.

Snowmobiles and a Bombadier, the predecessor of our snowcoaches

Some had seen bison on their walk earlier in the morning.  I saw my first on this drive.

Some found their faces menacing.  I thought they were lovely and gentle – though it was safer to take these pictures through a wound-down window!  The animals were just feet away.

This video shows one of them using its strong neck muscles to shovel the snow out of the way with its muzzle to reach the vegetation.

 

It’s only 11.30. Such a full day still to come!

USA 2018, (8), to Old Faithful in the snow

Tags

continental divide, Firehole River, Old Faithful, Old Faithful Snow Lodge, Upper Geyser Basin, West Thumb Geyser Basin

USA 2018, (8), to Old Faithful in the snow. For our post-prandial walk In the West Thumb Geyer Basin on the Sunday, we were firmly told by Jeremy not only to keep to the boardwalks but to keep to the trampled centres of them. This was perhaps the trickiest walk of the whole trip, in fact. But it wasn’t a very long one, even though some of us stretched it out a little, rejoicing in being out in the falling snow.

Jeremy explains the thermal features

Not frozen because warm

The depth of the snow indicated by its height above the handrail of another boardwalk

Muddy colour because thermal mud is bubbling to the surface

The red poles indicate the width of the boardwalk, but we must keep to the trodden part in the middle. The rest is too soft – as one or two discovered as they tumbled

While I went on further than most, I didn’t go as far as Pam and Don

My main problem was glasses steaming up every time I stopped to take a photo, and their remaining in that state until I could wipe them clear.

 

Leaving the West Thumb Geyser Basin, we turned due westwards to make for the Upper Geyser Basin, and the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, where we were to spend the night. We crossed the Pacific/Atlantic continental divide three times during the day, this one being the highest at about 8300 feet/2500 metres. Once arrived at Old Faithful, a few dashed off to catch an eruption of the Old Faithful geyser, which was due to take place in the next few minutes, but most of us held back, preferring to settle in our rooms first.

View from my room

About 30 minutes later we set off for a walk, led by Drew, around the area, aiming to be at the geyser in time to observe the approx. 5 o’clock eruption. Drew explained the various thermal features, of the area, including the colourful bacteria.

“The Firehole River will never freeze”

Why do you take your mittens off?  To take photos – those inner gloves make it bearable!

Once at Old Faithful – oh disappointment. Not only was it not very easy to see much because of the hot mist and snow, but my camera found it impossible to focus at the time of the actual eruption!

Before

During…

…

… and coming to an end

Oh well, I hadn’t come to Yellowstone to see the geyser.  I had come to see the snow and the animals.

 

Little did I know that things were to change radically for the better the following day, Monday.

USA 2018 (7), Otters!

Tags

Flagg Ranch, Grand Teton National Park, Jackson Hole, JD Rockefeller Memorial Parkway, Lewis Falls, Natural Habitat, otter, River otter, Snake River, Yellowstone National Park

USA 2018 (7) Otters! If I had been disappointed at the lack of snow hitherto, I could have no complaint now. This was the view from my Lexington hotel bedroom at Jackson Hole on the Sunday morning.

It had snowed!

We set off northwards through Grand Teton National Park.  The views were beautiful, (though not as beautiful as the following day).

Like many of my photos, taken through the smoked glass of the vehicle window. And the mist.

Wanting the opportunity to take photos in the open, we stopped after a while by the Snake River/Jackson Lake, to be delighted to see through the mist and snow some little dots – which turned out to be river otters! Now otters, along with dolphins and felines, are my favourite animals – not very original, but there we are.

Emerging from their holt

 

There were swans as well – this is a very long way off…

Right on cue they came bounding in our direction, though they were not aware of us. (These photos were taken with my camera on maximum – x24 – zoom, and I have enlarged them a little since.)  Then two more otters revealed themselves, nearer to us, and the first group ran towards them.

I love how you can see their converging tracks.

All enjoyed a playful bundle for a couple of minutes.  Then, just like that, all seven decided to turn back. I decided it was time to take a video,

and the otters disappeared back to where they had come from.

The swans were still there

What a magical experience!  Many agreed at the end of the trip that this had been a real highlight.

We continued, leaving the Grand Teton NP, and stopped at the Flagg Ranch Information Station in the JD Rockefeller Memorial Parkway, for hot chocolate and a change of vehicle. (For some reason they didn’t charge me for my hot chocolate as I had provided my own insulated drinking can, a gift, along with a metal water bottle, from Natural Habitat at the outset.) We continued climbing, into Yellowstone National Park, the first (1872) NP ever declared in the world. The snow was getting thicker and falling faster. Snowcoaches it was now.

I don’t know how our luggage made it from hotel to hotel every night, but it was following us on skis at this point!

Our next stop – and descent from the vehicles – was to see the Lewis Falls. These are at the southern rim of the Yellowstone supervolcano caldera.  Not that I was aware of it at the time.

The NP is in the NE corner of Wyoming, slightly overlapping Montana and Idaho to the N and E respectively. The approximate line of the caldera is shown here in grey.

Our lunch stop was at West Thumb, in a ‘warming hut’.

 

The warming hut – outside

The warming hut – inside. Two of the Nat Hab water bottles can be seen.

The loos. Talk about amazing surroundings!

The hut was actually too warm for me, all wrapped up in the great boots and fantastic parka provided by Natural Habitat for the trip.  (The parka was 80% duck down and 20% feather.  I had packed silk sock liners and silk glove liners, which I wore under alpaca looped long socks and Hollofil mittens. I had very few problems with the cold, at which I was very surprised, given my usual hatred of anything below 21 deg C/70 deg F.  In addition, the leaders provided toe and hand warmers as topping up, of which I only availed myself on the last two days.)

We assembled to go for a walk in the snow.

USA 2018 (3) A day with my cousin

Tags

Black-capped chickadee, covered bridge, Erratics, Flume Gorge, Franconia Notch, House finch, Ice Castles, Lincoln NH, Manchester NH, Mount Lafayette NH, Mourning dove, New Hampshire, Pemigewasset, White-breasted nuthatch

USA 2018 (3) A day with my cousin. Wednesday 14th February.  Geoff had kindly taken time off work to be with me from midday on. Again rising later than the rest of the family, I had an enjoyable morning watching antics at the bird feeder.

Black-capped chickadee

Mr and Mrs House finch

Mr and Mrs Mourning dove (rather smaller than UK doves)

White-breasted nuthatch

But it was not only birds. The following sequence is a compilation of many attempts by the same squirrel.

Shall I try jumping? (It’s a long way down!)

I’ll have a scratch and a think

OK, perhaps not.

(But as this photo shows, the following day…)It was of course a great pleasure to get to know the affectionate Coco and Bam, sister littermates.

After an early lunch, Geoff and I set off on some local errands, including visits to a bank in Manchester for me and to their younger daughter’s school for her, and then headed northwards, while not leaving the state of New Hampshire.

Geoff had offered me the chance to see a covered bridge, once frequent but now sometimes preserved as historic features.

The bridge went over the Pemigewasset River

We were due to visit an attraction, the Ice Castles at Lincoln, later on, and swung by them now, in full sunlight. Other attractions there included a collection of trains.

Geoff then took me to the Flume Gorge at Franconia Notch State Park, where we took a short walk. I was not really shoed for more, but was very grateful to be wearing Nicole’s parka. Lovely to walk amongst such thick snow. 

Erratics abound (and to be clear, an erratic is a geological term for a boulder where it shouldn’t be, moved there by glaciers!)

Another covered bridge, a serendipitous find, to which we did descend

Then on briefly to see Mount Lafayette, from a distance, where we rang Geoff’s mother in the UK from the car, lost the signal, and picked it up shortly afterwards. As one not quite as familiar with technology as the next generation, I found this easy and clear contact all very weird – and it was free!

After taking coffee and dessert back in Lincoln, we kept our appointment with the Ice Castles. 

The adult slide

which I did enter

but which was much, much steeper than I expected, and from which my exit was not nearly as elegant as this. I wished I had taken a video – but not enough to choose to do the slide again!

I did wonder about elf ‘n’safety – what if one of those icicles fell on one’s head?

Nightfall is the most popular time to visit.

Thanks, Geoff, for a great day out!

 

USA 2018 (2). Bedford, NH.

Tags

Bedford NH, Icicles, Manchester NH, Red-tailed hawk, Squirrel, Wild turkey

USA 2018 (2), Bedford NH. Tuesday 13th February. A quiet day on my own.

My body clock ensured that I got 5 hours’ sleep maximum, and I found myself exchanging Facebook messages with Geoff’s sister in the UK at our respective 3 am/8am. I stayed in bed reading (online newspapers and e-novel), dozing, and Facebooking until all but one resident had departed for work/school, and breakfasted at 8 pm. I spotted this from my bedroom window as I got up. (I realised later that therewas a bird feeder immediately above.)

Later, having strolled around the garden, while being very wary of solid ice patches,  I went out for a lovely two-hour, 3 1/2 mile gentle there-and-back stroll in the neighbourhood.

The nearby city of Manchester in the distance

The sun was melting frozen ice, and this particular bank had me mesmerised on the way out. It was a soundscape as much as a visual pleasure, as icicles came crashing down.

 

 

Wild turkeys in someone’s garden.  I was told they come out of the forest to peck for seeds as the snow melts.

Red-tailed hawk…

… flying…

… to, presumably, its mate.

No idea.

The ice bank once more held me in thrall on the way back, and the droplets falling in this three-second video made me think of tadpoles.

 

Family members started arriving home at 4 pm, and the catching-up chat that hadn’t been possible the day before took place, followed by a not-quite-so-early retirement to bed.

Andalucia 11

Tags

Andalucia, Andalusia, domestic cat, Donana National Park, Iberian lynx, lynx, myxomatosis, Naturetrek, Sierra Morena

Andalucia: Felines, at last!  It has been suggested to me, from Canada, that if I wanted to see lynx I should have travelled to that country, where they are abundant.  Ah – but our quest was for Iberian lynx!  There are estimated to be only about 400 of these left in the wild, though recent conservation efforts have meant that this figure is fourfold what it was 15 years ago. It remains the world’s most endangered feline species. The two places we tried to see them, the Doñana National Park, and the Sierra Morena, are the best places to do so; there are more in the latter, but they are much more widely scattered there.  Naturetrek did not guarantee a sighting – how could they? – but 80% of these trips had had positive outcomes.

The Iberian lynx, considerably smaller than the Eurasian version, is about the size of a boxer dog, and has wonderful ear tufts and a short stubby tail. Its main prey is rabbit, and there is great concern for its future because the rabbit population has considerably declined in recent years, the result of myxomatosis and other disease.

We saw no lynx during our first, morning, drive – but a pug mark, thought to be made the night before.

Notice the claw marks

And on the roads there were warning signs. As we set off for our second, late afternoon, drive, we were told that a lynx had been spotted that morning eating large prey.  We (Sergio and the driver) found the prey:

Probably a small deer

The lynx would not be likely to be far away from such a larder, and could well be sleeping its meal off.  And eventually he – a magnificent nine-year-old male named Dardo (dart) –  was spotted resting in the shade.  

He has a collar

After a while, it was decided that we should move on to the one remaining patch of water in the vicinity, (see previous blog) and hope to see Dardo again on our return.

Lynx staple diet

He had scarcely moved, 90 minutes later. 

Not fazed at all by humans in a van staring at him, perhaps 50-80 metres away

Night was closing in.  Huge sighs of relief from all leaders, and huge smiles of pleasure from wildlife tourists.

 

We returned quite early the next morning hoping to catch the lynx eating.  He had finished though by the time we arrived, and was hanging around near where we had seen him the previous day.  This is the best shot I could get, partly because it took me a while to spot him, despite others’ efforts to help, and partly because I was on the wrong side of the van to get into a good position.  But I was able actually to see him walking around for a few minutes, in and out of and behind the bushes.  We decided to move on once he had finally disappeared, but just then a rangers’ van came up, someone leapt out, and went over to where the prey had been, and came back holding something.  We were most privileged to be shown the pictures his camera trap had taken the previous afternoon, before we had arrived there.  Serendipity or what!

No, we didn’t see any lynx in the Sierra Morena, just this old piece of lynx poo.  But there were compensations for cat lovers back at the hotel!  Cats (domestic) and more cats and more cats! Mostly happy to accept caresses, with just one or two rather more nervous – perhaps having had bad experiences from previous guests, and some very friendly indeed. It was impossible to know how many there were, especially since they were nearly all black and white.  There were two mothers, one of which was a sort-of Siamese, and it seemed to me that the rest were mainly 6-month-old kitlets with a couple of 3-month-olds.

I do know there were at least 13 cats (and I suspect more), because when we came back to the hotel on our last day, I had a load of chicken ham on me, left over from lunch.  As a result, when I got it out of my back pack, there were kittens into said back pack, after the smell, and then around my feet – 12 of them. One mother cat was absent from this feast, so that meant there were at least 13 cats in total at the hotel.  I didn’t manage to get a photo of the blissful experience of having 12 cats round my ankles, as I didn’t want to get my camera greasy, but here is a selection of the photos I got at other times. (Felinophobes, jump to the last picture.)

This is the one I would have kept in my back pack and brought back to the UK!

Or perhaps this one, though it was a little shy

I counted 6 in this hidey hole at one point, but it is not easy to get a good picture of six blackish cats in the shade!

One of the two mothers

I believe this granite piece was once used to crush olives

Apart from treats from guests, the staff made sure the cats were well fed and watered. This final picture shows a completely different and very admirable creature profiting from their bounty, at the start of a long journey, presumably back to a nest.  I really, really enjoyed my eight days in Andalucia, and it has really given me a great desire to go back – to see more of its rich cultural heritage, and also, perhaps at a different time to year, once more to explore Doñana National Park.