Snowpack Rescue

A series of Pacific storms will pummel the Cascades and Sierra Nevada for the next few days and  produce flooding along the West Coast.  Over the next week, the snow is forecast to spread throughout the Intermountain region, including the mountains of Idaho, the Great Basin, the Wasatch Front of Utah and the Rocky Mountain corridor.

Snowfall has been far below normal throughout most of the American West this winter, endangering its varied ecosystems and the water supply of its cities.  These storms are expected to significantly boost the mountain snowpack across that region, a welcome development as we approach March.

Of course, higher elevations of the West can generally expect more snow through the spring and peak snowmelt does not generally begin before mid-late May.  Hopefully, this vital recovery will continue until then. 

Flashback Post LVI

Yesterday's hydrothermal explosion at Yellowstone National Park, while a threat to nearby humans and wildlife, does not begin to match the eventual volcanic eruption that threatens the region and, potentially, the planet.

See: The Yellowstone Time Bomb

Yellowstone Flooding

Yellowstone National Park is currently closed to visitors due to severe flooding along all of the Park's streams, especially the Yellowstone River.  Rapid snow melt (due to a recent heat wave) combined with torrential rain from thunderstorms are responsible for the devastation.

Of course, such events have occurred over the centuries, molding the landscape that we observe today, but these disastrous floods are likely to increase as the climate warms.  Indeed, there is little doubt that the current deluge is a reflection of our changing climate, however reluctant many Americans are to accept that fact. 

While private property has been destroyed beyond the Park and many visitors will be forced to change their vacation plans, wild residents of Yellowstone have also surely been affected.  The young and the old, too frail to escape the floodwaters, have likely succumbed.  "The Circle of Life," some might suggest, but a circle distorted by human activity.

Excessive Heat in the West

Excessive heat is plaguing most of the Western U.S., severely exacerbating the severe drought across the region.  While afternoon temperatures approaching or exceeding 110 degrees F are not unusual in the Desert Southwest, that area is expecting highs near 120 degrees.  Furthermore, afternoon highs as far north as Montana will approach or exceed 100 degrees in the coming days.

Here along the Colorado Front Range, we are expected to reach 100 degrees the next few days, under intense sunshine; fortunately, our elevation, combined with the dry air, will enhance radiative cooling at night, providing some relief as the temperature falls into the mid sixties.  Furthermore, the Continental Divide is a focus for thunderstorm development, offering spotty and transient relief for some towns and cities as the storms drift eastward.

A persistent atmospheric ridge is responsible for the excessive heat, diverting cold fronts and Pacific moisture into Canada.  By next weekend, that ridge is expected to break down, withdrawing toward the Desert Southwest; then, those of us in the northern and eastern regions of the American West can expect more seasonable conditions.

Searching for the Arikaree Breaks

Heading back to Missouri today, my wife and I decided to make a detour to the Arikaree Breaks in extreme northwest Kansas.  These "breaks" are dendritic canyons, carved in Pleistocene loess and underlying strata of the Ogallah Formation (Miocene-Pliocene in age) by the Republican River and its tributaries.  This landscape occurs across a swath of the High Plains in the tristate region of Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas.

We drove north from Goodland to St. Francis, Kansas, where signs for the Arikaree Breaks directed us across the South Fork of the Republican River and back onto the High Plains where we soon entered a grid of dirt-gravel roads; unfortunately, no additional signage was provided and we spent a couple of hours driving across the semi-arid landscape, dipping at times through tributary canyons of the South Fork Valley.  All in all, it was a confusing and not-so-productive tour.

Nevertheless, we encountered new territory and enjoyed a mild, sunny afternoon.  Birding was also fairly good, including Swainson's hawks (back from their winter in Argentina), western meadowlarks, horned larks and western kingbirds (the first of the season for me).  Better signage (including roadside maps for visitors) would have made our detour far more interesting. 

Wolf Watching at Yellowstone

After a long, foggy drive across Beartooth Pass (10,947 feet), I arrived in the Lamar River Valley just after sunrise.  There I found hundreds of other hopeful "wolf watchers," scanning the landscape with their binoculars, spotting scopes and telescopic cameras.  Indeed, this Valley, in the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park, has become the wolf-watching mecca of the Lower 48 ever since these apex predators were reintroduced to the Park ecosystem, in 1995.

Finding an empty pull-off (not easy), I began my own search and fortunately located an adult black wolf, trotting across the valley floor; even more stirring was the chorus of a pack, howling from Specimen Ridge, which rises above the south edge of the Lamar Valley.  Other sightings included a grizzly, rummaging through a meadow at the base of the ridge, a lone coyote, searching for rodents in the riverside wetlands and a couple hundred bison, browsing along the road and on hills above the valley.  Though mule deer and pronghorn were observed, elk remained out of view despite the cool, cloudy weather.

By keeping the elk population in check, Yellowstone's wolf packs have allowed the Park's ecosystem to recover from over-grazing and forest damage.  Of course, they have also restored the "wildness" which the Park was meant to protect.  Today, I was honored to witness their return.

Journey to Devils Tower

Leaving Laramie, Wyoming, this morning, we headed east on Interstate 80, climbing into the Laramie Mountains.  Beyond the pass, we began a long descent on The Gangplank and then switched to I-25 North at Cheyenne.  This highway parallels the Laramie Range, initially at a distance and then at close range near Wheatland, where Laramie Peak (10,500 feet) looms to the northwest and where the Interstate crosses the Laramie River.

Farther north, after passing the Glendo Reservoir and crossing the North Platte River, we headed east on US 18 to Lusk, crossing nondescript grasslands along the way.  At Lusk, we turned north on US 85, soon driving through a scenic landscape of hills and mesas and crossing the upper Cheyenne River.  Nearing Newcastle, yellow sweet clover blanketed the hills and valleys and bee-hive boxes were spaced along the highway; north of Newcastle, US 85 undulates through the west edge of the Black Hills, where Paleozoic redbeds adorn the scenery.  At Four Corners, we cut northwest on Route 585 to Sundance and then followed Routes 14 and 24 north to Devils Tower, America's first National Monument (established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906).

The geology and natural history of Devils Tower is described in an earlier post (see link) and I will not repeat myself in this one.  On this mild day in mid July, we were greeted by throngs of fellow tourists and by an approaching summer thunderstorm.  Though we did enter the Monument and joined a parade of humans on the Tower Trail that circles the famous landmark, Devils Tower is best appreciated at a distance, where one can observe its placement in the landscape and view its grandeur in relative solitude.

Curt Gowdy State Park

Curt Gowdy State Park, named for the sportscaster and native of Wyoming, stretches across the eastern flank of the Laramie Mountains, west of Cheyenne.  The Laramies are a broad uplift of Precambrian granite stretching from northern Colorado (NNW of Ft. Collins) to Casper, Wyoming, and bisected by the Laramie River.  The Park is best reached via Route 210, which leads north from Interstate 80 near the summit of the ridge and soon curves eastward through scenic terrain.

Deciding to escape the heat wave in Metro Denver, my wife and I drove up to Laramie today and then out to Curt Gowdy State Park.  Characterized by three reservoirs, rolling hills adorned with ponderosa pine parklands, scenic outcrops of granite and, in shaded canyons, pine-fir forest, the 3500 acre Park is popular for camping, hiking and fishing.  After stopping by the Visitor Center, we set off on the Crow Creek Trail, which leads upward through a beautiful canyon to Hidden Falls (4 miles roundtrip).  It is clearly the most popular hike at the Park but was not uncomfortably congested on this Tuesday afternoon; other than humans, we encountered mule deer, golden-mantled ground squirrels, red squirrels and a host of "Montane" songbirds.

In no hurry to return to 100 degree F temperatures along the Colorado Front Range, we have decided to visit Devils Tower tomorrow, a spectacular National Monument in northeast Wyoming that we have not yet had the pleasure to "closely encounter."  Details on that experience in the next post.

The Medicine Bow Range

North of Rocky Mountain National Park, in north-central Colorado, the Front Range splits into the Laramie Range, to the east, and the Medicine Bow Range, to the west.  The Laramie Range, modest in elevation, continues northward (east of Laramie) and eventually curves westward, ending near Casper; its highest point is Laramie Peak (10,276 feet), northwest of Wheatland.

The Medicine Bow Range, 100 miles long,  angles to the NNW, forming the east wall of Colorado's North Park and, farther north, the west wall of Wyoming's Laramie Basin.  The Range's northern end is marked by Elk Mountain, a massive, isolated peak, just south of Interstate 80, while its northeast section, west of Laramie, is locally known as the Snowy Range; Clark's Peak (12,951 feet), in the Rawah Wilderness Area of northern Colorado, is the highest point in the Medicine Bows.  Tributaries of the Upper North Platte River drain the western flank of the Medicine Bow Range and the Laramie River, which rises near Cameron Pass, flows northward along the eastern edge of the Range, gradually dropping into the Laramie Basin and eventually cutting through the Laramie Range to join the North Platte.

The northern end of the Medicine Bow Range is drained by the Medicine Bow River, which rises in the Snowy Range segment.  Flowing northward, it descends through the mountains and then snakes across the semiarid grasslands of southern Wyoming where it merges with the North Platte River in the Seminoe Reservoir.

Hutton Lake NWR

Hutton National Wildlife Refuge lies in the Laramie Basin, SSW of Laramie, Wyoming.  This preserve, established to protect habitat for migrant waterfowl, is reached via a series of dirt-gravel roads that are easily traversed by most vehicles.  Drive southwest on Highway 230 from Laramie and proceed to mile marker 12; turn left (south) on Brubaker Lane (County Route 37), which soon crosses the Laramie River, and follow it until it curves to the east and intersects Sand Creek Road.  Turn left and proceed a few more miles to the refuge entry road, on the left.

Set amidst vast sage grasslands, the refuge also includes Hutton Lake, an adjacent marsh, a pond and a large seasonal lake that attracts migrant shorebirds.  The access road leads to an observation deck along the marsh and to a duck blind on the pond; walking trails lead from these areas for close inspection of the lakes and grassland.  Visitors will likely see an excellent variety of wildlife as they drive from Highway 230 to the refuge entrance; these include pronghorns, western meadowlarks, horned larks, vesper sparrows, a large diversity of raptors (especially northern harriers) and white-tailed prairie dogs, which are especially abundant within the refuge itself.

Today, thousands of swallows (mostly cliff) and hundreds of noisy yellow-headed blackbirds dominated the scene at Hutton Lake NWR.  Other sightings included American white pelicans, cinnamon teal, ruddy ducks, Forster's terns and, surprisingly, a small flock of ring-necked ducks.  Unfortunately, high winds and deteriorating weather cut my visit short but I'll return, perhaps in late summer or early fall.  After all, National Wildlife Refuges have long been my favorite settings for wildlife observation, offering unspoiled natural habitat, harboring an excellent diversity of species and having little appeal to the general public.

From Yellowstone to Lander

Not wanting to backtrack along the Interstates, I decided to alter my return route to Colorado.  This morning, I headed south through the scenic Yellowstone River Valley to the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park.  Arriving early, I hoped to beat the crowds and was successful for an hour or two; though I had not visited the Park in 25 years, I chose a route that avoided the tourist hotspots and took me through areas that I had not previously seen.

Elk, bison and resident birds (especially mountain bluebirds) were common but no moose, bears or wolves were encountered (rather predictable during the daylight hours).  As the crowds continued to build, I drove southward to Grand Teton National Park and cut across its northeastern quadrant after taking in magnificent views of the Teton Range.  Exiting the Park via US 287, I climbed toward Togwotee Pass (9658 feet); to my good fortune, a group of cars and photographers along the road signaled an unusual sighting which proved to be a young grizzly sow (my first observation of a grizzly in the wild).

Beyond the Pass, the highway begins a long, southward descent through the Wind River Valley, initially hemmed in by towering summits of the Absaroka Range (and residual deep snow) but eventually winding through an arid landscape of colorful Mesozoic sediments, reminiscent of the Colorado Plateau.  A spectacular view of the Bighorn Mountains unfolded to the east and the high peaks of the Wind River Range appeared behind hills of shale and sandstone, west of the river.  Today's journey ended in Lander, Wyoming, where I will spend the night; tomorrow I plan to visit the Hutton Lake NWR, near Laramie, on my way back to Denver.

Rivers and Ranges

Leaving Denver at sunrise this morning, I headed north on Interstate 25, passing the snowy peaks of the Front Range and undulating across the Piedmont, dipping to cross tributaries of the South Platte River.  Approaching the Wyoming line, the highway climbs onto the Gangplank, leaving the watershed of the South Platte and then gradually dropping into the North Platte Basin.  After descending through the Chugwater River Canyon, lined with flat-topped escarpments, I-25 passes Wheatland, where the traveler enjoys a spectacular view of the Laramie Mountains to the west, dominated by Laramie Peak; a few miles north of that city, the highway crosses the Laramie River, a major tributary of the North Platte (which is eventually crossed at Orin, at Douglas and at Casper).

Angling westward at Douglas, I-25 parallels the North Platte (as it flows eastward) and curves along the north end of the Laramie Mountains.  At Casper, it leaves the river and leads north; halfway to Buffalo, the highway crosses a low divide, leaving the North Platte watershed and entering the Powder River Basin.  Here the greenery increases dramatically and herds of sheep join native pronghorn on the lush hillsides.  Nearing Kaycee, the southern end of the Bighorn Range looms west of the Interstate, which crosses the three upper forks of the Powder River; farther along, I-25 also crosses forks of the Crazy Woman River.  Low clouds and heavy rain limited views of the Bighorn Range between Buffalo and Sheridan but the sun returned as I reached the Montana line and the north end of the Bighorns towered to the west.  Before reaching Billings, the highway (now I-90) crosses both the historically famous Little Bighorn and the Bighorn Rivers, both tributaries of the Yellowstone River.

At Billings, I drove westward on I-90 through the Yellowstone River Valley.  Before long, the Absaroka Range appeared to the WSW and the Crazy Mountains gleamed from the WNW; the highway eventually passes between these scenic massifs, following the Yellowstone to Livingston, where the river flows down from Yellowstone National Park.  I'll spend the night in that town before making my circuit through southwestern Montana.

North to Montana

In my 40-plus years of road trips, I have visited all but one of the Lower 48 States; that single exception is North Dakota, which I hope to visit this coming fall.  A close second is Montana, which I drove into for several miles during a family trip to Yellowstone National Park back in the early nineties.  Over the next few days, I will extend my exploration of Montana, circling through the southwestern part of that State.

Like most road trips, I know my intended route but have no idea whether plans will change based on a whole host of potential unforeseen circumstances.  Right now, I intend to head for Billings, then zigzag to Helena before looping back through Deer Lodge, Butte and Bozeman.  Rather than retracing my route from Billings to Casper (along I-25), I plan to drive south through the Bighorn Valley (west of the Bighorn Range) before angling east to Casper.

While I certainly hope to see a wide variety of wildlife on my journey, I will be most interested in the landscape and am especially looking forward to seeing the headwaters of the Missouri, northeast of Three Forks.  There, the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin Rivers merge to form the Missouri, a river that I have come to know well and one that played a major role in the exploration of the West (see Up River with Lewis & Clark and following posts).

Jim Bridger

Born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1804 (the same year that the Lewis and Clark Expedition began), Jim Bridger moved to St. Louis, Missouri, during his childhood; after his parents died, Jim joined a fur trapping company at the age of 16 and spent most of his life exploring the Rocky Mountain region, from Southern Colorado to Canada.

Despite having received little formal education, Bridger became fluent in French. Spanish and various Native American languages.  In 1842, he and his fur-trapping company established a trading post in Southern Wyoming on the Blacks Fork of the Green River; this was an important supply center on the Oregon Trail and would later become Fort Bridger, a military post.  After a life in the wilderness, Jim Bridger settled in Kansas City where he died in 1881.

Anyone who travels through the Rocky Mountain region encounters evidence of Bridger's historic importance.  Among the natural features named for this intrepid explorer are the Bridger Range, NNE of Bozeman, Montana, the Bridger-Teton National Forest, a major component of the Yellowstone ecosystem, Bridger Pass, near the south end of the Great Divide Basin (in southern Wyoming) and Bridger Peak (11,004 feet), the highest summit in the Wyoming portion of the Sierra Madre Range (which extends southward into north-central Colorado).  For an uneducated orphan, Jim Bridger accomplished a great deal during his 77 years on this planet!

The Yellowstone River

The Yellowstone River, the largest tributary of the Upper Missouri, rises on the western flank of the Absaroka Range, southeast of Yellowstone National Park in northwest Wyoming.  Dropping to the Yellowstone Plateau, the river feeds and then drains Yellowstone Lake; north of the lake, the river cascades through its Upper and Lower Falls and passes through scenic canyons before continuing northward into Montana through Paradise Valley.

Leaving the Rockies at Livingston, the Yellowstone flows ENE across the High Plains of Montana, eventually merging with the Missouri River in western North Dakota, just east of the Montana border.  Along the way, major tributaries arrive from Wyoming, draining the east flank of the Absaroka and Wind River Ranges and both sides of the Bighorn Mountains; west to east, these are the Clarks Fork, Bighorn (see The Two-Basin River), Tongue and Powder Rivers (see Powder River Basin).

Just over 700 miles long (including its headwater forks), the Yellowstone is one of the most scenic rivers in the U.S., crossing and draining a spectacular mix of Western landscapes, home to a fabulous diversity of wildlife; among the latter are bison, elk, wolves, grizzlies, mountain lions, lynx, bighorn sheep, mule deer, pronghorn, river otters, prairie dogs, trumpeter swans, sandhill cranes and a host of western raptors and songbirds.

Crossing Southern Wyoming

After leaving the Green River Valley, we drove east on Interstate 80 this morning, headed for our Littleton farm.  Between Rock Springs and Rawlins, Wyoming, we crossed some of the most desolate landscape in the country, covered by a rolling sage grasslands and broken by stark ridges of Cretaceous sandstone.  Lone cows, pronghorns and oil pumps appeared to be the only residents.  For geography buffs, such as myself, there was some reward offered by the topography: we crossed the Continental Divide twice, dipping through the Great Divide Basin.

As we approached Rawlins, a spectacular view of the Bighorn Range unfolded to the northeast and, once past that city, more interesting terrain began to appear.  Far to the south, the Sierra Madre of Colorado poked above the horizon and off to the ENE, Laramie Peak towered above its range.  Further along, we crossed the North Platte River and the massive bulk of Elk Mountain loomed along the south side of the highway, backed by the Snowy Range and more southern sections of the Medicine Bow Mountains.  With plenty of snowmelt from these peaks, the landscape lost its dull, dry appearance and numerous ponds and sloughs lined the Interstate, filled with waterfowl, white pelicans and phalaropes.

Beyond Laramie, we climbed across the broad ridge of the Laramie Range, which offered fabulous views of Rocky Mountain National Park to the south.  Finally, we descended into Cheyenne atop a Gangplank of Tertiary debris and turned south on the vehicle-clogged ribbon of Interstate 25.  We would be home, traffic permitting, in 90 minutes.

Flaming Gorge

The Green River of the Western U.S. rises on the northwest flank of the Wind River Range in west-central Wyoming and flows southward through its broad basin of Tertiary and Cretaceous deposits.  Approaching the Utah border, it has sculpted Flaming Gorge, named by Major John Wesley Powell for bright red Triassic rocks that adorn southern portions of the chasm; the scenic gorge now lies within the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area.

Having initially established its course in Tertiary sediments (from the Green River Lakes, regional volcanism and mountain erosion) the Green River cut through the eastern end of the Uinta Range as it rose from below during the Miocene-Pliocene Uplift.  Today, the northern two-thirds of the Gorge is carved in Eocene deposits while the southern third is lined by a progression of Mesozoic, Paleozoic and Precambrian rock (north to south); along its 91 mile course in the Gorge, the Green River (dammed since 1964) has cut through strata representing at least 700 million years of Earth's history.

As we found out today, the Utah portion of the Flaming Gorge NRA is especially scenic, with steep cliffs that rise 1700 feet above the lake; mountainous terrain surrounds the gorge and road signs introduce visitors to the varied rock strata.  To the north, in Wyoming, the lake shimmers amidst a vast sage grassland, broken by Tertiary domes, buttes and mesas that illustrate the erosive power of the Green River and its tributaries over the past 30 million years.

Journey to Flaming Gorge

Though my wife and I have traveled extensively throughout the Western U.S., a visit to Flaming Gorge, on the Wyoming-Utah border, has eluded us.  Over the next few days, we plan to remedy that deficiency.

This afternoon, we'll head west on Interstate 70, climbing to the Continental Divide, dipping through the Blue River Valley, winding across Vail Pass and eventually merging with the Colorado River to snake through Glenwood Canyon.

After a night in Glenwood Springs, we'll leave Interstate 70 at Rifle, angling northwest across the Roan Plateau of northwest Colorado and the Uinta Plateau of northeast Utah, both of which are topped by Eocene sediments of the Green River Formation (see Green River Lakes).  From Vernal, Utah, we'll head north to Flaming Gorge, sculpted by the Green River over the past 30 million years and flooded by Flaming Gorge Lake since 1964; more on the Gorge tomorrow.

The Laramie Basin

North of Ft. Collins, Colorado, US 287 angles northwest, climbing into the Front Range foothills.  It then turns northward, passing through a scenic landscape of hogbacks, ridges, rock spires and domes; initially crossing foothill shrublands, it cuts through ponderosa parklands as it nears the Wyoming border.  Just beyond that border, the highway crosses a low pass, leaving the watershed of the Cache la Poudre and descending into the Laramie Basin (also called the Laramie Plains) which has an average elevation of about 8000 feet.

The Laramie River rises near Cameron Pass, in Colorado, flowing northward along the eastern base of the Medicine Bow Mountains.  Entering Wyoming, the river veers northeastward across its broad basin,  cuts northward through Laramie, enters Wheatland Reservoir and then turns eastward once again, carving a canyon through the Laramie Mountains before joining the North Platte River.  The latter mountains form the eastern wall of the Laramie Basin and outcrops of red Pennsylvanian sandstone adorn their western flank.  On the west side of the Laramie Plains is the massive bulk of the Snowy Range, Wyoming's portion of the Medicine Bow Mountains.

The semiarid Laramie Basin is underlain with shales and sandstones from the Cretaceous Seaway; since the soil is thin and the water table is high, the Laramie Plains are used primarily for ranching.  Pronghorns are abundant on the grasslands and numerous lakes dot the basin, attracting migrant and resident waterfowl and the raptors that pursue them; on my visit yesterday, I encountered several bald eagles, a peregrine falcon, a flock of American white pelicans and a wide variety of ducks.  Salt flats and ephemeral pools also characterize the Laramie Plains, attracting killdeer, white-faced ibis, American avocets and migrant shorebirds.  Finally, three National Wildlife Refuges lie within the basin: Bamforth, Mortenson Lake and Hutton Lake NWRs.

Boreal Owls

Boreal owls are small raptors that inhabit mixed conifer-aspen forests across Alaska, Canada and northern Eurasia; their range also extends southward through northern Minnesota, the Cascades and the Rocky Mountains.  Though widespread and fairly common, boreal owls are rarely encountered, primarily due to their small size and strict nocturnal lifestyle.

When observed, they are generally perched in a conifer, where they spend the daylight hours; identification is made by their small size (females are larger than males), tuftless head, yellow eyes, speckled crown, white facial disc and brown and white plumage.  Feeding primarily on mice and songbirds, boreal owls may fall victim to larger owls, fishers or pine martens.  Tree cavities are used for nesting and the clutch size varies widely, averaging 5-6 young; the female incubates the eggs while the male guards the site and brings food.

Though widespread in the subalpine forests of Colorado, boreal owls are (in my experience) most commonly observed and reported near Cameron Pass, west of Fort Collins.  Of course, this may reflect the large population of birders along the Front Range urban corridor and the accessibility of that relatively low pass (10,300 feet).