Monday, December 29, 2008

Be Avalanche Aware

YELLOWSTONE AND
SURROUNDING AREA

Be Informed

.. Resources for The West Yellowstone Area (and Yellowstone National Park):
- Current Advisories
- Audio (right now)
- Podcast (right now - or sign up)
- Email (sign up)
- Current Videos (Avalanche Guy's You Tube Channel)

..

.. From the hard working folks at the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center. Thanks !!

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Earthquake Swarm

RISING DOME IN LAKE SHAKES
Seventeen In A Day
.. Just a note to remind us all that earthquakes can cause avalanches. For real time information visit the sites listed in the masthead.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Norton's Revenge

QUICK AND DIRTY
Look Out Utah
arches in peril
.. The Bush Administration is doing with a stroke of the pen what Gale Norton tried to do within the system -- and failed.
.. Big Oil is working hard these last few days of the present administration. Look for more to come.
.. Read it HERE.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Winter Use Plan?

LESS SNOWMACHINES
Same Coaches
.. The NPS has released a draft plan for comment. Read it and comment. Here's the press release:

PARKS SEEK PUBLIC COMMENT ON NEW WINTER USE PROPOSAL
New plan would provide for limited, guided snowmobile and snowcoach travel

Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks are seeking public comment on a new plan to guide the management of winter use in the parks.

The previous plan was rejected by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., in September. Neither snowmobiles nor snowcoaches can be allowed in the parks this winter without a new plan and new regulation.

The preferred alternative would allow up to 318 commercially guided, Best Available Technology (BAT) snowmobiles, and up to 78 commercially guided snowcoaches in a day in Yellowstone. The 2008-2009 winter season is scheduled to begin Monday, December 15, 2008.

The preferred alternative would also provide for motorized oversnow travel over Sylvan Pass and Yellowstone’s East Entrance road as agreed to by the Sylvan Pass Study Group this past summer.

The daily snowmobile limit is slightly above last winter’s average of 294 snowmobiles a day. It is well below the 720 a day allowed the past four winters, and lower than the 540 snowmobiles a day that would have been allowed this winter under the plan rejected by the court. The daily snowcoach limit is the same as allowed during the past four years.

In Grand Teton and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway, grooming and motorized oversnow travel on the Continental Divide Snowmobile Trail (CDST) between Moran Junction and Flagg Ranch would be discontinued. However, those interested in through travel on the CDST could transport their snowmobiles on trailers between these locations.

Twenty-five snowmobiles a day would be allowed to travel on the Grassy Lake Road, with no BAT or guiding requirement. Twenty-five unguided, BAT snowmobiles a day would also be allowed on Jackson Lake to facilitate ice fishing by those possessing appropriate fishing gear and a valid State of Wyoming fishing license.

The plan would be in effect for a period of up to three winters for Yellowstone. It would provide long term direction for winter use management in Grand Teton and the Parkway.

Park managers believe an approach including both snowmobile and snowcoach access reduces impacts of both to acceptable levels. This environmental assessment addresses the impact concerns raised by the recent ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The Winter Use Plans Environmental Assessment (EA) and an electronic form to submit comments on the Internet can be found on the web at http://parkplanning.nps.gov. Written comments may be submitted through this web site, in person, or by mail. Comments will not be accepted by phone, fax, or e-mail. All public comments must be received or postmarked by midnight, November 17, 2008.

A proposed rule to implement the preferred alternative contained in the new plan will be published in a few days in the Federal Register, and will also be open for a 15-day public review and comment period. The rulemaking process supports, but is separate from, the public review and comment period on the EA. The proposed rule and an electronic form to submit written comments will be available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. You can find the proposed rule by searching the “Documents Open For Public Comment” and selecting the National Park Service as the agency.

Once comments are analyzed, the National Park Service will make a decision on the proposed plan. If the preferred alternative is selected, the Regional Director of the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service would sign a Finding Of No Significant Action (FONSI) containing details of his decision.

A final rule would have to be prepared and published in the Federal Register in order to implement the FONSI and provide for motorized oversnow vehicle travel in the parks this winter. The National Park Service expects to have a decision regarding winter use management prior by the December 15, 2008, scheduled start to the winter season.

Both the EA and the proposed rule are available on CD or in hard copy by writing the National Park Service, Management Assistant’s Office, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190. Document requests may also be made by sending an e-mail to Yellowstone Winter Use; by calling 307-344-2019 during normal business hours; or by sending a request by fax to 307-344-2025.

- NPS -


..

Friday, October 10, 2008

P.S. / Cycle Tour

CAN THE WEATHER
STOP OUTDOOR CYCLISTS?

Keep Up To Date

CANCELED !!
.. "in the effort to help participants plan accordingly, the Bicycle Committee will make a decision on the status of the ride at 9AM on Friday, October 10. At this time, we will assess current weather conditions and forecasts. If conditions look favorable, the ride will go on as scheduled. If conditions are deemed unsafe, the ride will be canceled."
Phone: 406-599-4465
Web: CYCLE TOUR
..
P.S. At 9am on Friday morning, the temperature in West Yellowstone hovers around 20 and there is a fresh dusting of snow on the ground. Although road conditions at this moment could support plans to go ahead with the tour, all forecasts are predicting with at least 90% certainty that a large scale Pacific storm will reach us by this afternoon leaving an accumulation of snow. With these predictions looming and riders’ safety our first priority, the West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce is forced to cancel the Fall Cycle Tour scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday October 11, 2008.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

It's Cycle Time

BRING YOUR WOOLLIES
Two Feed Stations & Warming Hut
in 31 miles ?
.. The Fall Cycle Tour is happening this Saturday, October 11 2008. For more information call 406-599-4465, or visit the web site to register. There are only 25 spots left for this year's tour.
.. This should be the tour to provide stories of a lifetime.
-------
MONEY QUOTE FROM THE SITE
We will have two feed stations along the route again this year. The first will be located at Madison Junction and the second will be located at Old Faithful. We still recommend that you carry enough food to keep you energized and we will provide a few portable snacks at registration. Those of you concerned about your ability to ride the entire 60 miles need not worry. The route is patrolled by 2 or 3 sag wagons (vans with trailers) that, once full, can give you a lift back to West Yellowstone. Two mechanics, Les from Yellowstone Bicycle and Melissa from Freeheel and Wheel, also patrol the route to help with repairs and flat tires.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Growing Pains

REVAMPED
&
MORE COMPREHENSIVE

Oh My -- Oh Ranger

.. The ohranger.com site is undergoing a complete revision and rebuild. We'll wait and see what the final outcome is.
MONEY QUOTE:
We've been America's leading publisher of visitor guides for national parks for more than two decades, reaching visitors during their planning stages at home and again while they're on the road exploring America.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Hungry

BEARS EAT TWO HUMANS
Kamchatka Fish Poaching Blamed

.. Via Moldy Chum: The Guardian.co.uk reports that two mine workers were killed and eaten by hungry bears.
MONEY QUOTE:
Up to 30 hungry and desperate bears have attacked and eaten two men in Russia's wild far eastern region of Kamchatka, and have trapped a group of geologists at their remote site.
The bears - apparently starving - killed the men last Thursday, Russian agencies reported. The bears had surrounded a local platinum mining company. Both victims worked at the mine as security guards.
About 400 geologists and miners are now refusing to return to work, afraid of further attacks. Attempts by local officials to fly to the scene by helicopter and shoot the bears have so far failed, because of bad weather, agencies reported.
.. With the rapidly disappearing Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout and the increasing bear population in central Yellowstone, we wonder if this is a situation soon to be faced in our nation's first park?

Monday, June 30, 2008

POISEN AWAITS YOU

LOVE MORELS ??
COOK THEM WELL

.. Straight from New West: "Morel Mushroom Poisonings Up In Montana . . ."

Morel mushroom poisonings have recently increased in Idaho and Montana, according to the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center.

The Center wants us all to know that it’s dangerous to eat raw, dried, or partially cooked morels, and it’s also unsafe to drink wine or other alcohol with any morels, cooked or not.

Morel poisoning causes impressive, repeated vomiting, usually right after you eat those bad boys.

From the Center’s press release, it’s easy to tell that this is more than a dodgy situation – it’s serious.

Do not drink and eat morels, cook them to death, and reject the dried kind.

“Impressive vomiting” is enough for me.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

More Weather

FROM THE NWS

Snow Advisory


/O.EXT.KRIW.SN.Y.0043.000000T0000Z- 080612T2100Z/ YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...LAKE... MAMMOTH...OLD FAITHFUL 902 AM MDT THU JUN 12 2008
...SNOW ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM MDT THIS AFTERNOON...

THE SNOW ADVISORY IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM MDT THIS AFTERNOON.

OCCASIONAL SNOW WILL CONTINUE ACROSS YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK THROUGH 3 PM TODAY. 1 TO 4 INCHES OF SNOW HAS FALLEN AT MANY AREAS ACROSS THE PARK WITH UP TO 7 INCHES AT SYLVAN LAKE. A SNOW TOTAL OF 4 TO 8 INCHES IS EXPECTED WITH AS MUCH AS 6 TO 12 INCHES EXPECTED OVER SYLVAN PASS NEAR THE EAST ENTRANCE BY 3 PM TODAY. MUCH LESSER AMOUNTS OF AN ADDITIONAL INCH OR TWO ARE EXPECTED AT MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS AND THE WEST ENTRANCE. ROADS ABOVE 8000 FEET ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN OR BECOME SLICK AND SNOW PACKED THROUGH THIS MORNING.

A SNOW ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING. ROADS CAN BECOME ESPECIALLY SLICK WHEN THE TEMPERATURE OF THE ROAD SURFACE IS CLOSE TO FREEZING.

VISITORS TO THE PARK SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR UNSEASONABLY COLD AND WET CONDITIONS AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF ROAD CLOSURES INTO AND THROUGHOUT THE PARK TODAY.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Spring Snow

BRING YOUR LONG JOHNS
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
621 AM MDT WED JUN 11 2008
MTZ008-014-015-052-055-111800-
/O.CON.KTFX.HS.W.0007.000000T0000Z-080612T0000Z/

BEAVERHEAD-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK-MADISON-JEFFERSON-
GALLATIN-

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...DILLON...HELENA...LINCOLN...ENNIS...
BOULDER...BOZEMAN...WEST YELLOWSTONE
621 AM MDT WED JUN 11 2008

...HEAVY SNOW WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM MDT THIS
AFTERNOON FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 5000 FEET...
A HEAVY SNOW WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM MDT THIS
AFTERNOON FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 5000 FEET.

SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. BY
LATE THIS AFTERNOON...3 TO 9 INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION ARE
EXPECTED AT ELEVATIONS BETWEEN 5000 AND 7000 FEET...WHILE THE
MOUNTAINS ARE EXPECTED TO RECEIVE BETWEEN 9 AND 14 INCHES OF
SNOW.

EXPECT VISIBILITIES TO BE REDUCED TO LESS THAN ONE QUARTER OF A
MILE AT TIMES IN HEAVY SNOW. TRAVEL CONDITIONS IN THE WARNING
AREA WILL BECOME HAZARDOUS THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON.
ADDITIONALLY...THIS WILL BE A VERY WET SNOW. IN AREAS THAT
RECEIVE HEAVY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...THERE COULD BE SOME POWER
OUTAGES OR DAMAGE TO TREES THAT HAVE LEAFED OUT.

A HEAVY SNOW WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST
THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF
YOU MUST...KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT...FOOD...AND WATER IN YOUR
VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.
----------------
..

Friday, May 30, 2008

HOTSPOTS

ARTIST PAINTPOTS CLOSED TEMPORARILY

..The Artists Paintpots area in Yellowstone National Park has been temporarily closed due to visitor safety concerns. The area is located along a one mile loop trail east of the Grand Loop road, about two and a half miles south of Norris Junction.
.. A visitor was injured yesterday afternoon when she was hiking on the established dirt trail with family members. Utah resident Jeanette Hogan says she stepped in a surface puddle of rainwater along the edge of the trail when the crust beneath gave way. She broke through to a previously undiscovered pool of hot water, and received burns to her ankle and lower
leg.
.. Members of a park s trail crew were working on another section of the Artists Paintpots trail at the time of the accident. Crew members were able to provide immediate first aid and summon park emergency personnel, who took the patient by ambulance to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. The extent of Hogan s injuries and current condition are
unavailable.
.. Park geologists are currently evaluating the area. The water in the pool is 171 degrees Fahrenheit. Water boils at about 197 degrees Fahrenheit at that altitude. The water at the surface of the hot pool was found to be slightly acidic, with a pH similar to vinegar.
.. The parking lot and trail will remain temporarily closed until the area can be safely reopened to visitors.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Spring (for a day) Bike Ride

A PERFECT DAY FOR IT
Just Don't Get Used To It
yet
.. A time comes when all the elements are just perfect. Take advantage of it. Today was the perfect day for a spring bike ride in Yellowstone National Park. This early spring ritual is available to all who should choose to gamble on the weather and construction. The closer you live to Yellowstone - the better your chances of having a perfect time. It's a perquisite of living near "Wonderland."
.. The roads have miraculously appeared from beneath the snow. Only the wildlife, construction crews, and administrative travel are on the roads. The historic canopy from the old entrance station has been moved to the new entrance station and construction is moving at an appropriate pace.
.. The visitors that arrived on this perfect day displayed license plates from Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, California, and Montana. The streets adjacent to the park entrance filled up early and bikers of all stripes ventured to the park.
.. Walkers, joggers, runners, skaters, bladers, and boarders are welcomed to the park for free during the shoulder seasons and it is a joy.
.. Should you find yourself in the neighborhood, and be sans wheels; fear not!
.. There are two bicycle shops and this is as busy as it gets for both of them. They have trailers for the youngsters, and bicycles for whatever style of riding you chose to enjoy.
.. Recumbent, road bikes, trail bikes, balloon tires, tandem, you name it you get it.
.. While in town the most exciting thing, other than being mowed down by a bicyclist, is the new roof being installed on the Union Pacific Dining Lodge. This structure has nearly 1/2 acre of roof. It is an Underwood building and is on the National Register of Historic Places. As such the shingles had to be specially ordered and manufactured. The crane was erected last fall and work progressed until the snow became too deep. Roofing resumed last week and is well underway.
.. Should you choose to take advantage of the free entrance and the uncrowded roads, be advised that not all days are like today. And there won't be many more between now and the 18th when the 35 foot recreational vehicles descend upon Yellowstone.
---------

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Yellowstone For The Bicyclists

JUST A BIT COLD
But A Wonderful Experience
.. The first bicycle tour of Yellowstone National Park took place in 1883, when three members of the Laramie, Wyoming, Bicycle Club came to visit.
.. In June of the following year W.O. Owen wrote a piece for "OUTING."
To three members of the Laramie Bicycle Club — C. S. Greenbaum, W. K. Sinclair and W. O. Owen — belongs the honor of having made the first wheel tour of the Yellowstone National Park, and, having been appointed historian on this memorable trip, it falls to my lot to set down the incidents of the journey for the readers of Outing. There are two routes open to residents of Wyoming; one lies by way of Bozeman, Mon., the other via Beaver Cañon, Idaho. (HTML - PDF)
.. Ever since that historic outing bicycles have been welcomed in Yellowstone National Park. However as stage roads gave way to auto roads, and auto roads became more congested the bicycle has become less common, and is now both a dangerous and congestive mode of transport in Yellowstone.
.. The shoulder seasons belong to the bicyclists. There are only bears, bison, bears, cougars, bears, eagles, bears, waterfowl, bears, and a few administrative travelers on the roads. If you pick the right day, and have prepared well, there is nothing like a Spring bike ride in Yellowstone.
.. Because of construction at the West Entrance, and bears in the Old faithful area there are new restrictions on bicycle travel this year.
READ THE FOLLOWING IN PREPARATION
FOR YOUR SPRING RIDE
-- National Park Service Press Release
-- Yellowstone Park 'Spring Bicycling' Page
-- Yellowstone Park 'Hiking In The Park' Page
-- Yellowstone Park Bears Resource Page
-- Yellowstone Park Pet Regulations, your pet dog cannot run free beside your bicycle - no matter who you are.
-- Yellowstone Park Rules and Regulations,
-- Yellowstone Park 'Viewing Wildlife' Page
.. Many people, including Park Rangers, Park Employees, Concessionaire Employees, and self styled "experts" get hurt every year because they treat wildlife viewing as a game or a pleasant sport. Don't be fooled: if you join a screaming crowd of bicycle riders ooohing and aaahing this Spring, you too may become a target.
.. The videos below are from the Yellowstone Park Video Page. There is more danger and stupidity there if you care to look.
Bison Trees Visitor
Bison at Old Faithful
In 1896 the 25th Infantry rode, walked, and carried their bicycles cross country to Yellowstone Park, 500 miles from their Fort Missoula base. They pose below on Minerva Terrace at the town of Mammoth Hot Springs in a photograph taken and hand colored by Yellowstone's official freelance photographer F. Jay Haynes (1853-1921). Note that the troops mounted from the left side of the bike, according to the custom for mounting a horse. (FROM: Northern Rockies Heritage Center.)

Thursday, March 06, 2008

The Straight Skinny

JUST THE CAMS, MA'AM
..
.. The Yellowstone National Park website has a web cam page that is always current, and so far always correct. It's originality in titling is wonderful: Yellowstone National Park's WebCams. For those of you that like to view the park from afar - this is a blessing.
.. The recently added streaming camera at Old Faithful has had some glitches and some address changes, during it's set up and the usual tinkering that goes along with new installations of this sort. You can always be sure of your address or link if you go to the above mentioned page.
.. Come July and August the air quality cameras should prove interesting - given the price of gas and it's continuing escalation.
------------------
.. As an aside, the NPS photo above shows a genuine UFO captured by the Old Faithful Web Cam. Don't believe it? Go to the National UFO Center for more information.
.. And, the current streaming web cam is the outgrowth of discussions with the Ames Research Center in their development of the 2005 wayside interpretive center. But - it seems that Mars and Yellowstone have stopped being a topic of discussion.
-------------------
.. Finally, the west entrance station will have it's old canopy moved to the new entrance station and the construction will hamper free access during the shoulder season. Read the NPS Press Release.

Saturday, March 01, 2008

It's Birthday Time Again

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YELLOWSTONE
And Many Happy Returns

.. As is our tradition, here is the text of the 1872 bill and the "Grant Signature"


----------------------------

Forty-Second Congress. Session II Ch. 21-24. 1872. March 1, 1872. CHAP. XXIV. -- An Act to set apart a certain Tract of Land lying near the Head-waters of the Yellowstone River as a public Park.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the tract of land in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming, lying near the head-waters of the Yellowstone river, and described as follows, to wit, commencing at the junction of Gardiner's river with the Yellowstone river, and running east to the meridian passing ten miles to the eastward of the most eastern point of Yellowstone lake; thence south along said meridian to the parallel of latitude passing ten miles south of the most southern point of Yellowstone lake; thence west along said parallel to the meridian passing fifteen miles west of the most western point of Madison lake; thence north along said meridian to the latitude of the junction of the Yellowstone and Gardiner's rivers; thence east to the place of beginning, is hereby reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United States, and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people; and all persons who shall locate or settle upon or occupy the same, or any part thereof, except as hereinafter provided, shall be considered trespassers and removed therefrom.

SECTION 2. That said public park shall be under the exclusive control of the Secretary of the Interior, whose duty it shall be, as soon as practicable, to make and publish such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary or proper for the care and management of the same. Such regulations shall provide for the preservation, from injury or spoliation, of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonders within said park, and their retention in their natural conditions. The secretary may in his discretion, grant leases for building purposes for terms not exceeding ten years, of small parcels or ground; at such places in said park as shall require the erection of buildings for the accommodation of visitors; all of the proceeds of said leases, and all other revenues that may be derived from any source connected with said park, to be expended under his direction in the management of the same, and the construction of roads and bridle-paths therein. He shall provide against the wanton destruction of the fish and game found within said park, and against their capture or destruction for the purposes of merchandise or profit. He shall also cause all persons trespassing upon the same after the passage of this act to be removed therefrom, and generally shall be authorized to take all such measures as shall be necessary or proper to fully carry out the objects and purposes of this act.

APPROVED March 1st 1872
U. S. Grant (Signed)




--------------------

Friday, February 29, 2008

Yellowstone Plans Plowing

PLOW DAYS ANNOUNCED
West Yellowstone Clears Streets
..
The National Park Service announced the Spring plowing schedule yesterday. The entire press release is reproduced below:
---------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28, 2008 08-011
Al Nash or Stacy Vallie (307) 344-2015

----------------------------------------------------
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK NEWS RELEASE
----------------------------------------------------

Spring Plowing to Begin in Yellowstone National Park

With the impending arrival of spring comes the end of the winter season and over-the-snow travel in Yellowstone National Park.

Park roads will begin to close to snowmobiles and snowcoaches in preparation for spring plowing. Beginning at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 2, groomed roads from Mammoth to Norris will be closed, followed by the closure of Norris to Madison and Norris to Canyon at 9:00 p.m., on Tuesday, March 4. All remaining groomed roads will close to oversnow vehicles at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 9.

The road from the North Entrance at Gardiner, Montana, to Cooke City, Montana, at the park's Northeast Entrance, is open all year to automobiles, weather permitting.

Visitor facilities will also close for the winter season according to the following schedule:

Saturday, March 1
Last night for lodging at Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel

Sunday, March 2
Mammoth Hot Springs Dining Room closes after breakfast
Mammoth and Indian Creek warming huts and Mammoth fuel station close at 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 8
Last night for lodging at Old Faithful Snow Lodge

Sunday, March 9
Old Faithful Snow Lodge Dining Room closes after breakfast
Old Faithful Geyser Grill & Gift Shop close after dinner

The following facilities will close at 5:00 p.m.: warming huts at Madison, Canyon, Fishing Bridge, Old Faithful and West Thumb; fuel stations at Old Faithful, Fishing Bridge and Canyon; and the Old Faithful Visitor Center.

At Mammoth, the Yellowstone General Store, clinic, campground, and Albright Visitor Center are open all year.

Plowing operations will begin this Friday on the road from Tower Junction to Tower Fall to allow for administrative travel in order to conduct rehabilitation of the Tower Fall restrooms. The plowing of this segment will affect cross-country skiing access to the Lost Lake Trail and the Tower Fall/Chittenden Loop. Although no public vehicle access will be allowed, the road will be accessible on foot or bicycle. Please watch for falling rock along this segment of road.

The road beyond the Tower Fall Store will not be open to bicycles until conditions allow, after May 8.
Weather permitting, the roads will begin opening again to vehicles on Friday, April 18, from Mammoth to Old Faithful; Madison to the West Entrance and Norris to Canyon. The roads from Canyon to Lake and from Lake to the East Entrance are scheduled to open on Friday, May 2; Lake to the South Entrance and West Thumb to Old Faithful, Tower to Tower Fall on Friday, May 9; and Tower Fall to Canyon over Dunraven Pass on Friday, May 23.

Yellowstone's weather is very unpredictable. Always be prepared for a range of conditions. Updated Yellowstone National Park road information is available 24 hours a day by calling (307) 344-2117.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Eclipse

8:18 Old Faithful

Amazingly Rational

A VERY GOOD READ
finally !

.. With the warmth of terminal winter comes a very fine article from George Wuerthner over at New West. No "Breast Beating," no "Post Pissing," no "Whining," and no "Bleeding Heart," in this: just a succinct, rational, factual analysis of a pressing problem.
.. Bison die variously at this time of year. One way they die is their removal from lands outside of Yellowstone National Park by the interagency task force. They are then slaughtered. They are rounded up and killed by agreement between: Montana, Yellowstone Park, and the USDA.
.. The agreement is ill-founded and needs review and augmentation. Wurthner provides a cogent analysis of the situation and the article deserves a complete reading.
.. Theatrical moaning, verbal whining, and poor reporting cannot bring about a change in the policy. Rational, factual, and informed discussion has a better chanch -- and Wurthner shows us the way.
Thanks George !

Thursday, January 31, 2008

It's Not Yellowstone

BUT IT'S SPACE
and you could see yellowstone
..
.. OH, to be 40 years younger and very rich. Virgin Galactic, is ready with "SpaceShip Two." This is going to be a real joy. The world's largest all-composite airplane is going to carry it to launch altitude . . . . . stay tuned. (Link - Link - Link - Link)

Monday, January 28, 2008

A Warm 20 Degrees

BUT THAT'S THE LEAST OF IT

.. Wind: gusting to 40 mph,
.. Snowfall: 16": the same predicted for the next 24 hours,
.. Cars: Lost forever.
.. Drifts: to 8'
.. Diesel: in short supply, over 25 front end loaders going full bore,
.. Sledheads: happy,
.. Skiers: waiting it out,
.. Prognosis: more of the same for the foreseeable future.
__________________
Remedies:

Watch the "Snow Dog Video"
..