Curlew National Grassland

I explained what a “national grassland” is last entry but now I want to describe what our visit last month to the Curlew National Grassland was like.

From what I have read this valley was all tall grass prairie when the white man came. It was thought to be prime hunting grounds. Than the railroad rolled through. Next came the cattle ranches. First small operations which got bought up by bigger operations who overgrazed the land. Droughts, hard winters, and overgrazing destroyed the tall grass and the sagebrush moved in, than the farmers. Those folks last a couple of decades before the sagebrush and drought forced them out. Now there is the Curlew and a scattering of hardy souls who “make it” by running cattle and raising hay. Those we have met here aren’t rich in the pocket but have golden hearts. They are true country folks living on a beautiful but challenging land. IMHO, City folks wouldn’t last long here. Too quiet, too peaceful, too honest.

Sitting in the middle of an electric storm. Being one of the tallest things around. Rain pelleting down. Now I know how a goffer living on a driving range must feel. Seeing lightening actually strike the ground. Beautiful and scarey.

Ancient shoreline of the Bonneville Lake mark the mountains to our east while the mountain on our west still have snow on their upper most crags.

Birds sang me to sleep and were my alarm clock.

The lights from seven homeplaces can be seen but not one set of headlights. Lonely country filled with caring people.

Lunch at Ranch House Diner in Snowville, UT (one of two places cafes in town). Small four or five stool counter accompanied by a steady flow of locals asking for coffee, pie, and company. Best homemade chicken noodle soup I’ve tasted on the road and Fred’s “Matt’s Sandwich” was outstanding. Real turkey breast with thick slices of perfectly cooked bacon, a slice of cheese, lettuce, tomato, and all the fixin’s between three slices of whole wheat “Texas” (thick sliced) toast. Yummy. Pleasant, homey atmosphere with the server, cook, and local customers all talked and joked together. Two women walked in, looked at the menu, made a face and walked out - they have no idea what they missed.

But that sort of described folks how have never tried camping and exploring a national grassland - they don’t what they are missing.

Great drive thru Montana

After two nights in a private campground, we are back where the radio plays two types of music (country or western), directions given in advertisements using landmarks (“. . .turn left at the DQ”), funerals and viewings for the “dearly departed” are announced by a somber voiced speaker, the price of agricultural products, such as beef and soybeans, is given each day at lunch, and there is an hour each day set aside for listeners to buy, sale or trade all sorts of stuff (“I’ll swap two bushel of potatoes to have my garden tilled”). Here the sky goes on forever, creeks flow with coco colored water, and there are more semi-trucks on the road than automobiles. Only the less affluent drive Buicks, Oldsmobile, and Chevy sedans. Men wear baseball caps when they work and put on cowboy hats when they go out.

The scenery is beautiful but can be a little boring so I’ll listen more careful to the words of a song in an effort to stay alert. Found these phrases noteworthy: “”She looked too good not to go someplace.” and “G-d is great. Beer good. People are crazy.” Yes, there were others but those got stuck in my mind.

People in this part of the country (eastern Montana and western North Dakota) aren’t wealthy by any means. They make do and find a way to stretch a dollar. One way we saw was baling the tall grass that grows along the roadway and is mowed. Not sure if it is the landowner or the state but on the side of the road, in the center median, all over the place, there were little brick shaped bales of hay just waiting for folks to come and get them.

There has been a lot of rain recently and a sudden increase in the temperature causing tons of water to flow into the rivers, creeks, and lakes. Everyone appeared overly full. We spent all day to drive beside Yellowstone River (of Lewis and Clark fame). It’s water was the color of coco made with water instead of milk and appeared thick and sluggish. Not very pretty but would have been a good travelin’ route for canoes.

We are camped in a Little Missouri National Grassland campground named CCC. It is one a slight raise above the Little Missouri River which is about as thick and muddy as the Yellowstone. However, this is a really pretty spot. Ralf and Dani already discovered that Bighorn sheep like the lush grass growing in all the sites. Baths for everyone! We have a view of US 85 and occasionally the sound of Jake brakes can be heard. But the only lights I saw when going to bed was from the moon and stars. Talk about feeling like the last person on earth. Pretty cool.

What is a National Grassland?

We start our research of the Dakota Prairie National Grassland today with the Little Missouri Grassland. So you may ask, “What is a national grassland?”

The areas now designated as "grasslands" were settled in the 1800s under a variety of "Homestead Acts" which opened the land to people, generally farmers, and helped to settle the west. A prolonged period of drought in the late 1920s into the 1930s caused some homesteads on sub-marginal farmland (a location receiving 15 or less inches of annual moisture) to literally dry up and blow away. During this time, Congress established the Land Utilization Program (LUP) which bought homesteads from bankrupt private owners and returned it to public land status.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was brought in to help stabilize the eroding soil by re-seeding it and applying other conservation techniques. In the 1950s, the LUP holdings were assigned to the USDA Forest Service which was tasked with management of these sub-marginal lands. Over the years the Forest Service has established some twenty National Grasslands. "The designation of the area as National Grassland is not a description of the area as much as a statement of policy and effort to restore the area to a multiple of uses and benefits."

In many ways National Grasslands are land management experiments being practiced. These grasslands are managed for a variety of purposes including forage, fish and wildlife, timber, water, and recreation resources. While National Grasslands are valued for these basic goods, they also deliver other important services that are often perceived to be free and limitless. Taken for granted as public benefits, ecosystem services lack a formal market and are traditionally absent from society’s balance sheet. As a result, their critical contributions are overlooked in public, corporate, and individual decision-making.

FYI - This definition is from the Forest Service. I’ll have a better description shortly.

A sample of Yellowstone NP wildlife

Here is a small sampling of the wildlife we saw during our two days in Yellowstone NP. The herds of bison were like a scene from "Dances with Wolves" and an elk could appear just about anywhere within the park. We saw a nice variety of birds and other mammals, such as moose and fox, but my trigger finger was fast enough to get a good photo of the other critters.

Poor Fred is having all sorts of problems with our electronics. Makes one long for the old days when our camping equipment wasn't much more complicated than a cabin tent, Coleman stove, and a couple of candles.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The first wildlife we saw was this bird merrily singing at Steamboat Springs on the north shore of Lake Yellowstone. Such a happy tune.












Bison are huge and impressive creatures from a distant.











Elk appear so tame and mild manner. They are everywhere.









The last wildlife we saw was this herd of Big Horn Sheep.

A few sights of Yellowstone NP

When does it take you nine hours to drive 97 miles? Answer: When you are driving the north loop of Yellowstone National Park! The south loop took only 8 hours. It was a good, although long, week.

Some observations:
- All the “ghost” trees (stands of dead white barkless trees) was terribly sad and there were miles upon miles of them. Whole mountain sides were covered with nothing but “ghost trees.”
- The number of “red” trees (trees being killed by beetles and other things) was alarming. It forecasts another devastating “Yellowstone-type” fire.
- We saw more fly-fishing people than moose, elk, and bison combined!
- The Park is large enough that you don’t really notice the number of visitors until you see the cars parked at a Visitor Center, scenic attraction, or you stop by the side of the road for a few minutes.
- You will probably hear every language spoken inside the Park.
- Sunscreen must be worn when exploring the “thermal” spots (no shade and steady sun make for many red noses and shoulders on the visitors).
- Maybe they aren’t as spectacular, but I still like my quiet “little” national forests.

Fred is putting together photo albums but here are a few snap shots for now.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone - Awesome









A quiet place








Example of "Ghost Trees" on the western shore of Lake Yellowstone





What everyone comes to see - Old Faithful blow!










Sapphire Spring - may be not as spectacular as Old Faithful but so very pretty (and this isn't even its best side.

My new and improved First Aid Kit

Each year I go through our first aid kit. In the past, I just tossed the expired items and stuffed everything back into an old shoe box. This year I tried something new - I organized our first aid kit.

After doing some research, I made a list and had our family doctor take a look. A few things he advised against having (“You are better off leaving suturing to professionals,” was one comment and “Taking aspirin with your anti-inflammatory medicine isn’t a good idea,” was another) but basically agreed with my list. Here’s what I packed:

Ziplock bags for washing and rinsing a wound.
Moleskin to prevent chafing and blisters although duct tape will work in a pinch.
Gauze pads for cleaning and protecting.
Sunscreen for everything including lips. (One if my Kit and one in the dashboard.)
Non-antibacterial soap for cleaning.
Butterfly band-aids (instead of sutures) to close a cut.
Imodium A-D for diarrhea.
Ibuprofen for pain relief and anti-inflammatory (instead of aspirin). (A prescription was need for heavy-duty dosage.)
Duct tape is good for everything, so why not for wrapping wounds? And it was doctor suggested.
Iodine or antiseptic ointment.
Tweezers for removing splinters, ticks, etc.
Safety pins for fastening, an alternative to duct tape.
ACE bandage for support, limb stabilization.
Krazy glue for wound closing when butterfly band-aids just aren’t big enough. (I would use only in major emergence but doc says its okay.)
Aloe Vera get for burns from fire, sun, wind, whatever.
Oral dehydration salts/powders or electrolyte replacements in case of diarrhea.

And our doctor reminded us of the importance of having our tetanus and other shots up-to-date.

Remember, this is my first aid kit tailored to Fred, me, and our dogs (check with your vet for any special needs your dog might have). Your kit will probably look different. But be sure to double check with your family doctor to see if there is something you may have overlooked or some little “trick” they have found useful (I had never considered using duct tape for a first aid emergency) . Here's hoping you will neverr need any of it.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I'm hoping to get a couple of Yellowstone photo-blogs up this weekend. Great place to visit!!!

Gardiner, MT and Teddy Roosevelt

It has been a while since we visited Yellowstone National Park. It seemed like this was a good to time return to explore this world famous Park and for Fred to get some photographs with his new lens. (Boys and their toys, you know.)

We usually recommend Bakers Hole in the Gallatin NF or Three-mile in the Shoshone NF to folks looking for a campground when visiting Yellowstone. However, we opted for a very rustic campground named Eagle Creek. To some it wouldn’t be considered much of a campground but to others it is a touch of heaven. (I’ll post some photographs of Eagle Creek cg and the surrounding area on our website at the Gallatin’s Pictures {http://www.forestcamping.com/dow/pictures/pictures.htm#gallatin} asap.)

Eagle Creek campground basically stretches up a draw with only a few trees to block the magnificent views of the surrounding mountains. This is wilderness and bear country. Not the Congressional designated “Wilderness” many hiking-boot, hard-body young people head for but the type of wilderness that people overlook but wildlife love. This should be our most primitive and “back-to-basic” camping experience of the year (at least that’s what Fred is hoping).

I’ll write more about Yellowstone NP in a later blog, but for now I want to say a few things about Gardiner, MT. Last week I wrote a little piece about “Ecotourism”. Gardiner could have been included in the blog. I have no idea how these folks survive each winter until the tourists return but they do. Maybe Gardiner is full of artists who do a form of hibernation where they lock themselves up and just create but the town has a sleepy, lay-back energy to it.

Two of the strongest memories I have of Gardiner from our 1997 are our visit to the movies theater and the impact of an increase in the entrance fee to Yellowstone. The theater was a converted grain mill that, we were told, had been a roller rink at one time. Nothing fancy but it was a great experience. The entrance fee increase, plus the residual effects of the “Great Yellowstone Fire” ten years earlier, had caused some “Business Closed” signs to go up. I think it further illustrates the concept of “Ecotoursim” so clearly.

I am happy to report, if the fresh paint and numerous signs for Outfitters and other businesses is any indication, Gardiner has recovered. Let’s hope that recovery continues.

Physical, Gardiner, MT is a small town bisected by the Yellowstone River. I would say the setting is more attractive than the actual town is but that might be like saying Brad Pitt is prettier than Angelina Jolie. It’s hard to image anything very exciting happening in Gardiner but there is one 100-plus old event they still recall.

I didn’t know it but President Teddy Roosevelt came to Gardiner to visit Yellowstone NP, and hoped to do some hunting, around the spring of 1903. He was present and gave a speech for the dedication of Roosevelt Arch (marks the North Entrance to the Park) built by his fellow Masons. This visit (as best I can discover was his second visit to Yellowstone) hadn’t received much attention until recently. Several conservationist organizations and authors have been relooking at this 1903 visit and concluded it is a prime example of Roosevelt’s “overwhelming environmental ethic.”

I like the following quote from TR’s dedication speech:

“The creation and preservation of such a great national playground (Yellowstone NP) in the interest of our people as a whole is a credit to the nation. . .It has been preserved with wise foresight. The scheme of it preservation is noteworthy in its essential democracy. . .”

Roosevelt was also critical to the evolution of our national forests and for that we should all be grateful. Maybe, at some point, you too can visit Gardiner, stand at the Roosevelt Arch, where the Gallatin National Forest and Yellowstone NP touch, and send your “Thank You” to that remarkable man who spent time in Gardiner, MT more than a hundred years ago.