"Blue Bird"

Dena and I were watching Ken Burn's "National Parks" on PBS. It explores the origins of Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks. It was captivating and the photography was breath-taking. We hope to be able to watch the balance of this series, as we love nature.

I looked up stuff on Yellowstone National Park and took a photo of the "Smokie the Bear" stuffed toy I purchased for Dena on our excursion into Yellowstone's natural beauties.

Last night I was tired and was still trying to find info for the blog that might be interesting to you readers. I came upon the live "webcam" for Mammoth Hot Springs. I could not get it to work, though I tried several times. It finally dawned upon my that it was a "live view" and it was dark outside. DA!!!!! Please, do not make the same mistake when you click on the site above.

When we went to Yellowstone for the first time in the early summer of 1993 it was a magical experience. We had traveled west, first to Steamboat Springs, for the wedding of Dena's niece, Laura and hubby Bob. That in itself was a wonderful leg of the journey. Just to see "The Mountains" is always a high point in any trip for me.

Since we were that far past the Mississippi, we decided to trace some of the head water's of tributaries such as the Missouri River. It seems as if it and many rivers owe their birth to streams that come from the northwest "Rockies" region.

We headed for Wyoming and Yellowstone. We traveled through the park to find it's treasures. There was one wonder after another, geysers, mud pots, water falls, mirrored lakes, mountain peaks, valley moraines and big animals, all seemed to be impossible to top. But, around every corner and over every rise, there was a new and more wonderful feature or inhabitant of this park.

I had an epiphany or revaluation, that transfixed me for some unknown time. The earth slowed down as I watched a surreal mountain blue bird sitting on a branch superimposed on the backdrop of the ultra-white Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces in north Yellowstone Park. I can not describe the blue color of the bird, except to say that it looked as if you held the bird upside-down by it's feet and shook it, that bright blue powder would fall everywhere. As if you were sprinkling fine blue baby powder, or that an excessive amount ladies' blue eye shadow had been applied by an unsupervised child. (Disclaimer: Do NOT attempt this at home, unless if you are a professional blue bird handler. (Ha!)),

Paul McCartney wrote a song about a "Bluebird" and some of the lyrics are as follows: "... Touch your lips with a magic kiss and you'll be a bluebird too and you'll know what love can do. Fly away through the midnight air, as we head across the sea and last we will be free... Bluebird, ah ha, Bluebird, ah, ha...". Not one of my favorite songs, but the title fits my theme. (Ha!)

We looked for and saw some animals in the park, but the easiest to photograph was the ubiquitous ground squirrel, shown here posing for us. He made a stink when we did not offer him "scale" (wages), so we tossed him some scraps before he called his agent.

My favorite large animal is the moose, but the harder we tried to find one the more invisible they became. As we returned to our cabin at Lake Yellowstone back in 1993 we were slowed by a mob of people walking and blocking the road. I waited patiently (though my wife might disagree) for the crowd to clear when a larger than life moose came right past the car. Sitting in the car as it ambled along very near to my vehicle I found that I was looking at his/her (?) under belly. This majestic creature was very, very large. I watched it with some fear, but mostly in awe and wonder, as the question came to me, where is my "darn" camera??? I had put it in the case because we were finished sight-seeing and now searching for food. By the time I got the camera out and was able to squeeze at shot, the moose had moved on and was quite far away. The photo below is with a telephoto lens and does no justice to the enormous size of the moose.

My next and last (to date) moose sighting was a year or so after I had retired and went west, fishing with a friend. I was again in Yellowstone searching for a place to fly fish. I am not the worlds best fisherman, fly or any other kind, but I enjoy the outdoors and fishing is as good an excuse to visit Mother Nature.

I had found a very nice, large and abandoned pond (small lake?). I put on my considerable equipment and walked carefully towards the lake. As I approached the shore, I saw some ripples on it's otherwise mirrored surface. I decided that I would make my first cast to that spot, quite sure there was a nice trout just below the surface. I had seen some caddis flies circling me on my way down. Luckily I had already tied a home-made elk hair caddis on to my line. They are my favorite and relatively easy to tie and I can watch the fly as it floats on the surface, it is a big help knowing were to look for your lure.

As I spooled some line out to begin my back cast, there was a great disturbance in the water. At first I thought I might be gas being vented from the unstable earth below, but all doubt left when the biggest pair of antlers I had ever seen emerged from the lake. A head of a moose was attached to that rack, and that connected to the neck, etc. As the moose rose to shoulder height out of the water it gazed at me with no concern. He must have had his fill and exited the opposite side of the lake. Now, I could get a better guess at the enormous girth, length and height size. It seemed as big as an elephant, though I know it was not. I was dwarfed by the creature. It is an experience that will stay with me forever and I am grateful to have witnessed God's great glory.

Before that day, I did not know upon what the moose feed, but I got a crash course their favorite meal. It seems that the vegetation growing under the surface of lakes is considered a delicacy by them. I found out later that it is not uncommon to find a moose partially of completely submerged for long periods of time while grazing on this tasty (?) flora.

Somewhere in our journeys in Yellowstone we came upon an elk cow that did not seem to be particularly impressed with our invasion of her home. The cow gave us a gesture that I will not put in words, but I think you can decipher it from her body posture. Elk or no elk I hope that you all experience that great national treasure.